Where's the Beach?

Happy Happy Friday. It's been a long, tiring week for me. Just busy all the way around and a little hectic too. You know, life. Yesterday I took a much needed rest day from workouts and spent part of the evening working on my ISSA personal trainer certification exam. We ended up grilling out despite the fact that it was literally 100 degrees out (that's without heat index mind you). The recipe turned out far better than I had expected and I'll share it with you for Tasty Tuesday. As a tease, if you like lime and tequila, you'll want to keep an eye out for this one ;-) This morning my plan was to get in a couple of miles before meeting Amy for a run. I was planning on waking up around 5:15. Instead I woke up promptly at 4:45. Ugh. I knew it was going to be a hot run. The "low" was 80 degrees. Is that even really a low? Sadly, I guess so when it's 20 degrees cooler than the day had been. I still wasn't prepared for the smack in the face humidity an

Halfway through the week! This morning I had to get up early to take my sis to the airport. I would have taken today as my rest day, but since I was already up at the crack 'o dawn, I decided to get in a run. I won't even say how hot and humid it was, that's just going to be how it is from here until October. Gotta suck it up and deal with it I suppose. I was feeling pretty good even after having run 9 miles yesterday. Maybe it's because I'm embracing my Summer Pace and not pushing myself harder than I should. With that in mind, I set out with no set distance or time. I fell into a pretty nice pace. I absolutely zoned out too and 3 miles flew by. So I decided to keep on keeping on. I ended up with 6 miles. I was a sweaty, hot mess and it looked like I'd been swimming. Since I already looked that way, why not jump in the pool right? I started keeping a bathing suit downstairs so I could quickly change and jump into the pool. I worry about the chlorine ruin

Well. It's Tuesday. I would love to say I have a recipe for Tasty Tuesday or some fantastic story to share about the weekend. It was really mostly running, biking and enjoying. No complaints about that. I got in a run Saturday morning (6 miles) then some pool time with friends before we had a crazy rainstorm that was apparently only in our county and the one just near us. The rest of the state was sunny and clear. Go figure right? It did drop the temps from 98 to 77 degrees though. I call that a bonus and an even trade. Sunday Jason and I went for a long bike ride. We got in 28 very hot miles. We stopped a few times, re-filled water bottles, that sort of thing. But it was a gorgeous day to be outside. And I'm continually getting more comfortable on the bike. The one good thing about biking is that you at least get the wind rushing at you so you stay much cooler than if you were running. I should have been more productive over the weekend. I did get a bench painted, some l

I thought this Fun For Friday could be all about creativity - in home decor or crafts that is. Let me just say that I love Pinterest for home decorating ideas. That being said, it makes me want to spend way too much money or start projects I'm incapable of taking on. However, I have gotten some great ideas along the way and actually put some into implementation. I thought it might be fun to share a few things I've been doing around the house and some great steals I've also picked up. Following through with a Pinterest idea - I painted this drawer being tossed out by a friend and it's now acting as a nightstand. Hello free - free drawer and already had the paint. Sorry for the blurry picture. Using  Command Hooks  on the inside of my cabinet to hang my pot holders, freeing up drawer space for dish towels. I also use to hang my necklaces in the inside of the bathroom cabinet. I took old frames and re-painted them then put in a sheet of chalkboard inste

Leg Day Happy Hump Day! This morning I headed out for a nice 6-mile solo run. It was just a tad cooler, 69 degrees. At this point, any single degree cooler I'll gladly take. I forgot to bring my sunglasses with me though. It's crazy how early the sun is up now. I misjudged that one once again. I'm still slacking on my leg workouts. I've just not been consistent at all. So today I decided to get in my legs during lunch. That way I couldn't make up excuses to put it off again. I know that I desperately need to strengthen my glutes and hamstrings, as well as vastus medialis and lateralis. Oh and then of course quads and calves. In other words, there are a LOT of exercises I should be doing. Because I was short on time, I decided to go with a circuit, gearing the exercises more for running and my current imbalances. Of course, it would be a good one for anyone. Start with a 5-minute warm up to get the blood flowing and loosen up your joints. Choose a weight that

Just a little bit of recapping before heading into my Tasty Tuesday recipe for Grilled Peaches, Beets and Tofu Salad . Mostly running, biking, grilling, and lots of time with sister and friend. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I know I did. And it went by way too fast (of course). Saturday I got in a run, we ran several errands, then I spent some time in the pool being lazy. I should have been more productive, but I wasn't. And that's perfectly ok.  Sunday morning Jason and I went for a 20-mile bike ride. My sister came up and we helped my friend organize and hang pictures at her new apartment. Then we all went for a really late lunch.  The day ended with Amy stopping by for dinner - I grilled a huge tempeh and veggie salad for the girls. Luckily the temperatures weren't too miserable, so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the food and the evening…and of course the great conversation and laughs.  Monday I used as a rest day, sort of. My sister has bee

After yesterday's heavy post (and the comments I've received have blown me away. You guys are amazing), I knew I wanted today's Fun For Friday post to be really lighthearted. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but then the lovely Angela at Happy Fit Mama tagged me in her Old School Blogging post. Super fun post! If you've not seen these going around yet, definitely check out Angela's as well as Christine's from Love Life Surf . A. Attached or Single? Married - 13 years in August. B. Best Friend? My husband and my sister  C. Cake or pie? Neither really, but pie over cake D. Day of choice? Saturday  E. Essential item? Food, I always have some sort of snack on hand. F. Favorite color? Periwinkle, mostly because I like to say periwinkle G. Gummy bears or worms? Bears, I used to love to squish them H. Home town? Hot Springs I. Favorite indulgence? Pizza and beer after a long run J. January or July? Ju

Source Today I wanted to talk about something I've touched on randomly here and there, but I've never really gone into great detail about: Depression . Occasionally I'll mention that I'm having a " Blue Day " (that's what my great-grandmother called it/them) or that I've been a little down. I try not to dwell on it, in fact, usually it passes fairly quickly. I have had major depression in the past though. I will readily admit that I was on several different medications over the course of about three years. I started with Prozac; I think most of us do. That helped to an extent. I finally understood what "normal" might feel like. In other words, not flying off the handle over nothing or crying because I tripped over my own feet. Basically, hypersensitive to anything and everything. Then I hit a point where I felt numb. No feelings. I couldn't cry. I didn't get mad when I should have. Nada. Nothing. Not normal. And the thing

This morning Jason got up early with me for a morning rundate. I knew it was going to be warm, but when I actually checked the weather I was really shocked: 77 degrees, 85% humidity and dew point of 72 at 5:30 am. Yowzers. We got moving and kept the pace relatively slow and steady. There was virtually no breeze to speak of. Usually running in the wind can be miserable, but sometimes having a breeze can be a blessing to help cool you down. No such luck. At least the sun wasn't high in the sky though. There were some sprinklers on near a park we run through. The water was warm so that didn't help out one bit. The pond started looking pretty inviting I must say. By the time we hit the house, 6 miles later, it looked like we had gone swimming. It's about time to keep a bathing suit downstairs so I can change into then jump into the pool to cool down (note for Friday's run). It was definitely not an easy peasy run. But, keeping a much slower pace made it more manageabl

Happy Tuesday! Today's definitely a happy day for me, much better than yesterday. I got in a pretty good 7-mile run this morning with Amy. But man, summer has hit full force. It was already 73 degrees with 90% humidity well before 7 am. Let's just say we both looked as if we'd gone swimming rather than running. I could literally wring out my shorts. Ick. While I do love summer, it does not agree with me for running. I'm finding my pace slowing drastically and the runs are just getting more and more challenging. It's kind of frustrating considering how much progress I have made over the last several months. I know this is fairly typical for most runners, or I think it is. But it's definitely a shot to the old ego. Does anyone else go through this during the summer - a rapid decline in your capabilities? Speed? And the fact that it feels twice as hard as it should? Of course, it probably didn't help that Jason and I have gone out on the bikes the past tw

Show of hands - who's happy it's Friday?? I have both hands raised and am jumping wildly about. Looks like we have nice weather ahead here. I plan on taking full advantage by getting in lots of lounging, reading, and pool time. This morning Jason got up and ran with me. I decided to try something new, possibly smarter this week ... No long run. Eek! I'm kind of fighting that little devil on my shoulder saying, "You should have gone for it, it was only another 4 miles." Because of my continued plantar fasciitis issues, I've decided to change up a few things about my running. Thankfully, Amy is on board with one change - a slow run day. I think we'll both wear heart rate monitors so that we can base our speed on that rather than just try to maintain a certain pace. It'll be hard. But I think it'll be beneficial for both of us. Also, the change this week is that rather than doing one long run (10 miles), I am splitting that into two days. M

Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean is at it again with another  Pin It Party ! I didn't participate last time, but really enjoyed all fo the Pin It Party posts, so I decided to join in this round. Here’s what you do: Round up 5 blog posts you’ve written that you would like to see on  Pinterest . Make sure there is a nice, pinable image or photo included in each post. Write a short post featuring the posts you chose - Put 5 nice images & links to the posts all in one place, along with a short description of each post. On first Thursday of each month, publish your post, then visit The  Lindsay’s Lean Green Bean  and add your post to the linkup! The linkup is open for about a week! I usually don't pin something FROM my blog unless it's a recipe or workout. I rather like the idea of pinning TO my blog though (if that makes sense). So pinning to a post not just a recipe or workout. 1.  HIIT Full Body Bike Workout I've really enjoyed playing around

Today is National Running Day . Guess what I did this morning? Cycling? Nope. Lifting? Nope. I bet you thought kickboxing right? Nope. Running? But of course! I actually sort of planned my running days this week just so I could participate this year. I didn't get to run last year and didn't even know about it the year before. But running has become such an integral part of my life and who I am, that I couldn't miss this year. Basically, I run to feel alive . It calms me, it helps me work through life, it's often a reason to get out of bed. No matter how tough a run is, it makes you feel ... period. My plan was to get in 5 miles (got in 5.5 actually). It was about 10 degrees warmer this morning and definitely more humid. That always makes for a tougher run. We decided to take a different route today. Well, it was really only a few streets over different, but still. The point is we took a different street. Sometimes that's good, sometimes not. I did realize th

Yesterday started off on kind of a down note. It was a Blue Monday for me. I tried not to wallow in it. It was an absolutely gorgeous day out - sunny, blue skies and upper 70's. I knew I didn't need to run, so I brought up the idea of biking with Jason. He agree that sounded like a good idea. Of course, once I committed, I immediately started to get nervous. This was only my sixth ride mind you. I still don't feel completely steady and have yet to figure out the true radius of my turns - in other words, I make obnoxiously wide turns for fear of cutting it too tight and falling. Rather than riding from the house, which would ultimately mean lots of traffic after work and crossing trolley tracks (the cause of my first fall), we drove across a bridge and started on the river trail itself. That definitely made me more comfortable - no cars to contend with. 14.5 miles and no falls = success It wasn't a fast ride, but it was a pretty good one overall. A) I didn't

Well, I ran my last 5 mile run for the 5 by the 5th Virtual Race Series on Sunday. I'm really sad that the series is over to be honest. I can't wait to participate in it again next year and I really hope more people do as well. Amy and I had decided to run on Sunday, which ended up being a really smart call. Saturday was a crazy stormy day. It was 78 degrees at 7:30 am with storms brewing. I had decided to do a Cathe DVD since running wasn't in the cards. Just after the warm up, a the electricity went out along with a frightening clap of thunder immediately after. I was pretty ticked off to say the least. My workout plans interrupted and all. Plus, no air conditioner or fan meant it was really hot in my upstairs workout room. I decided to suck it up and get on my bike trainer. At least I had that as an option or I could have done a tabata or HIIT workout as well. Yes, that's a puddle of sweat after my bike trainer "ride." Two words: Hot Mess . It