Where's the Beach?

First off, how is it already August? Why does it seem like the summers just fly right on by? Knowing how short they always seem, I have been trying to take full advantage of summer. Over the weekend our typical summer weather returned - hello heat index of 109, nice to see you. The upside was that the pool warmed back up quite nicely making for some fantastic floating and lounging time. The downside, well, 109 degrees is ever so slightly oppressive. However, to go along with our nutty weather this year, the temps have dropped again. Yesterday was 74 degrees - the high, in July? Of course, the Runner Heather is not complaining. The lower humidity and temps definitely made for some fantastic Move.Eat.Live. times this week. Move After some very tough, very hot runs over the weekend, my body was happy for mid-60s and low humidity on Tuesday's run. I got in 8 speedy miles and threw in lots of hills, including running up to the top of the bridge so I could get a good sunrise (aka ...

I know that I mention running here and there, but I've not really talked much about my workouts in a while. I used to post my weight workouts, my running miles, even cycling miles. So, for Fun for Friday , I thought I'd do a little run down on my workout life .  1. Running   I've been consistently hitting 40-43 miles per week and feeling good. However, I know it's time to take a nice back-off week and let my body recovery. I also know that summer is here and as the heat and humidity continue to go up, my running will become more difficult. The summer plan is to maintain a solid baseline and just try to enjoy running.  2. Cycling   I've yet to take my bike off the trainer. Jason put on the clip on pedals and I'm absolutely terrified of riding it now. However, with all the rain we've had, it's been great having the trainer option and for easy access for riding in the early mornings when I'm not running.  3. Weight Lifting   I fi...

It's Friday and my brain is fried. I couldn't come up with any fun, cohesive ideas for a Fun for Friday post. I decided to go with the tried and true 5 for Friday. I hope you won't judge my lack of creativity! Here are some random 5 things that I'm enjoying or looking forward to enjoying. 1. Looking forward to spending some time with my sister tomorrow. If it will stop raining, then we plan on lounging on the patio in my new lounge chairs (which I've yet to be able to use). 2. Seeing the bottom of the pool finally! Jason has spent weeks trying to get the pool cleared up and ready for use. Of course, we need the rain to go away so we can actually enjoy it now. This also means that I can jump in and cool off after my sweatastic morning runs. 3. Embracing a non-running day this morning made me a happy camper. I still woke up early, but enjoyed an easy spin on the bike watching Friday Night Lights. Still trying to get into it, but I'm on episode 7 no...

This weekend turned out to be rather relaxing, and the weather turned out far better than originally forecast so that's a double bonus. Right now we're dog sitting for my sister and my dogs are loving Lily's bed. Maddie and Heath keep alternating control. But it wasn't all lounging around. I got in a pretty good 11-mile run Saturday. The temps were in the low 60's and the sun was out for the majority of the run. I just tried to enjoy the colors that are starting to emerge in the trees and flowers. Not a bad way to start the day. We ended up going out for pizza for lunch. Recovery right? Then we decided to get creative in the kitchen for dinner. I had bought wonton wrappers for pot stickers a while back. We finally decided to give it a shot. Neither of us had made pot stickers before. They're a little time-consuming to put together, but well worth it. And if you're in the kitchen with someone, it makes it way more fun. I had plenty of the ...

Saturday morning I got up and headed out for a 12-mile run. My plan was to do about 3-4 miles in my Newton's , lap back by the house and change into my Mizuno's then grab my water. I am so tired of lugging around my water for runs of any length. It was already crazy humid and about 75 degrees when I set out on the run. I knew I was pushing my luck not carrying the water, but I was being stubborn about it. I fell into a great pace and rhythm and ended up doing just over 6 miles before getting to my house to change shoes. Oddly, I wasn't as thirsty as I thought I was going to be. I figured I'd made it 6 miles without it, I could drink up then go another 6. Switching into totally different shoes makes you feel really wonky at first I must say. I kept reminding myself to "pick 'em up and put 'em down." Finally, I hit my rhythm again and my speed was increasing. Part of me had that inner struggle of slow down, no don't, just go with it. I chose to...

Do you ever get something set in your head to the point where you refuse to go with a different plan? No? Just me? Well, yesterday the "plan" was to go for a bike ride after work - me, Jason and Amy. It was Jason's birthday and what better way to celebrate than exercise right? Surely you all agree. He had actually gotten up and done his weight workout in the morning per my workout rotation I've set up for him. Yep, training my husband. I haven't decided if that's a good thing or not. I think he firmly believes I'm trying to break his muscles. Anyway, the plan was to ride after work. Around 5:15 I sent him a message asking when he was planning to be home, since he was supposed to be home "around" 5:15. He had a snafu situation at work. I texted Amy to see if she might want to try for a run instead. You see, not only was Jason stuck at work, but storms were popping up all around us. So there I sat, squeezed into in my diaper-like bike shorts ...

I never really know how well-received weekend recap posts are, but I thought I'd do one anyway. I don't have any fantastic pictures to share, but I did have a pretty fantastic weekend. It was mostly about enjoying life, taking in the little things around me, taking in some amazing weather. It started Friday evening when my sis came over with her kiddos to stay the night. They were crazy excited to stay with us. Jason played in the pool with C for a solid hour (maybe longer). I think they were both worn out. While they played in the pool, I played Sorry with my sis and niece. I haven't played a board game in ages. I literally had to dust that one off. I'm so glad I've kept them all these years though. It was really fun playing with my niece. She's pretty competitive. I have no idea where that comes from ;-) What was the most fun was seeing her really open up and just be silly and have fun. She's very much like me and often reserved and holds back. So to...

I've been lucky enough to have been fairly active the majority of my life. And over the years, my activities have definitely changed. Sometimes it's out of necessity, sometimes out of inspiration. I thought it would be fun to share my fitness journey and inspirations. Gymnastics - I started this when I was maybe 4th grade, mostly because my sister was a rough-and-tumble kid and we kind of did everything together. I hated it though. I am NOT a daredevil.  Ballet - Near the end of 5th grade my dear friend (who is no longer with us) did nothing but talk about ballet. She convinced me to try a class. I was literally in love the moment I placed my hand on the barre. That was it. It was my everything. It was were I went to escape, to just be me, to feel beautiful.  Weight Lifting - I credit my sister and Cathe Friedrich for my love of lifting. Sarah had started doing tapes (yep good old VHS tapes) like The Firm. I could wield those 3 pounders like nobody's busin...

I posted this picture on Instagram after our 21-mile ride last night. And it sort of got me to thinking about how lucky I am that my spouse does exercise and we can work out together. Poor Jason had to duck down to take this so I didn't cut his head off When we belonged to a gym, we would sometimes go up there together. Maybe do spin class together. We never did weights together though. When I first started running outside, we always ran together. But now? Maybe once a week for 3-4 miles. We do ride together. I'm not brave enough to venture out on my own yet. And, I enjoy the time we do spend together biking. Even though we don't talk much, it's just nice being together, enjoying the outdoors, enjoying life really.  I know that many people don't have the luxury of working out with their significant others. So, I try not to take it for granted that Jason will get out there with me, sometimes begrudgingly mind you ;-) He's not usually so eager to ju...

Show of hands if your weekend went by too quickly!!! I know mine sure did. It was busy, but good. Saturday morning I laced up my new kicks - Mizuno Wave Rider 16's - and set out for a run. I'll admit that I ran a mile more than I had planned. It was mostly because I miscalculated the distance on the route I chose. I quickly got cleaned up and we headed to the lake to spend time with the family. It wasn't a super sunny day, but sometimes that's ok. It definitely helped keep the temperatures down. The rest of the day was fairly lazy. That's not a bad thing at all. We made up for it on Sunday though. We went for a short bike ride than what we've been doing. We had to meet up with a friend, so time was a little restricted. We had errands to run then a late lunch before heading home and tackling the home office. We found a table on the side of the road Friday morning, so we set that up and started clearing out TONS of crap that's just accumulated ...

Happy Wednesday. Hope everyone's week is going smoothly. Mine has had it's ups and downs - guess it was part of last week, but we don't have to get into technicalities. Disasters: Saturday I had set out for a run. It was one of those runs where I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it at all. But then it was like a complete cathartic experience - sometimes a run is like a really good cry. Oh, and then you do cry at the end of 9 miles when you walk into your kitchen and see this disaster. The picture doesn't quite show the total carnage. Maddie had gotten my purse and my lunch bag off the counter. She completely shredded the inside of the bag. She pulled out nearly every item out of my purse. She managed to open up my wallet and chew up gift cards, my CPR card, money. She literally ate a tube of chapstick (only the cap remained), chewed into Imitrex, ate the entire package of gum minus one sliver of the outer packaging (but no wrappers survived), she exploded ...

TGIF! Hope everyone's had a good week. Mine has been a little hectic, but all good. I got in some really great runs, a fun bike ride with Jason and Amy, and also enjoyed a great lunch with a good friend (she was my physical therapist) who unfortunately moved away. Even cooler, literally, I got in a great 8 mile run in unheard-of-for-July temps - 68 degrees. Um, what month is it and where do I live again? Not complaining though. It was nice not being drenched by mile 1. I've done something similar to this before, using the letters of FRIDAY to talk about the week. I thought I'd do it again just for fun (and 'cause I can LOL). F - Fitness: running, riding, lifting R - Recipe: Greek Style Kale Couscous Salad (will share on Tuesday) I - Inspiration: Inspired by my dad who refuses to let age define him D - Day break: 2 pictures of this morning's sunrise. A - Awe: In awe of the progress my niece is making in her fitness journey Y - Yikes: How on ea...

I know that on Wednesday I said I'd be doing a follow-up post where I take you on a run with me. But, I haven't had a chance to get photos yet, and I think that's an important part of that post. I really want to share a route with you. In the meantime, I thought I would do a light-hearted, Fun For Friday post of 5 things for the week. 1. Painting kitchen cabinets Notice the streaks after 2 coats. Supposed to have covered in 2 coats. Yep, not working out as planned. I had hoped to do some fantastic post about this product that we used. Now? Um....no way. 2. Grilling Since the kitchen is in complete disarray, dinners pretty much have to be on the grill or microwaved. So we've had grilled veggie salads and sandwiches. Jason picked up some wood planks he found on sale and let me tell you, grilling tofu on a plank = yummy. 3. Humid Running As I discussed on Tuesday , humidity throws a wrench into running. Thankfully, we have a "cool" front moving...

Miles and Miles   Happy Tuesday! Don't know about you guys, but I'm super excited for a short week. I'm also super excited about a major cool down we have had here. Last week it was 100+ degrees. Then over the weekend we had a cold front move through. Usually a "cold" front at the end of June means 95 degrees instead of 105. But this time? For real cold front.  We actually have low temps again. As in 65 degrees low. A-mazing! Let's just say I've covered a lot of miles recently. Sunday Jason and I biked about 27.5 miles. Then yesterday another 20.4. Lots of miles being covered here. The only downfall of this cooler weather is crazy winds that are bringing it in. This morning I managed my first double digit run since mid-May. I got in 10 fantastic miles and it looked like I had run not swam. I got a little over 3 in then met up with Amy for 4 before finishing out the rest of the miles. Oh, another perk of the cooler temps? A speedier run that didn...

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 ...

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...

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 ...

I opted not to do a Way to Go Wednesday yesterday. I didn't feel like I could do everyone justice. How do I give a shout out to every single person who ran Boston; or to every single blogger who wrote such amazing, beautiful tributes; or to the millions of runners who have been running in honor this week? I just couldn't. There's just so much inspiration out there right now. It is a little overwhelming, but such a wonderful thing to witness. But, it got me to thinking about the things I'm loving and enjoying this week. I think that's so important - remember to enjoy the little things, the moments. So, here's my list of things I'm enjoying this week. Bike ride with hubby on Sunday. Checking out this cookbook that a good friend gave me. Also enjoyed that I skipped a lunch workout and enjoyed lunch with her instead.  Watching these baby doves in our backyard.   Running with this crazy lady despite the heat and humidity we've ha...

We finally had a weekend that was full of gorgeous weather. Not just one day, but both days. It wasn't too warm, either, so it actually felt like spring. Jason decided to run with me Saturday morning. He's not been running much, so he was going for 5 miles. I planned on getting in another 3 after he dropped off at the house. I ended going for another 5 though. My first double-digit run since my half marathon (aka foot blow out) on March 3. It was one of those run-all-day kind of runs. Everything was just clicking and it felt great. My foot held up as well, so that made me feel incredibly accomplished. After the run, I decided to do a little yard work in the form of trimming hedges. Holy back pain. Running 10 miles then trimming hedges is probably not the smartest move. But, I rewarded myself for all my hard work of course! We hit up Pizza Cafe for pizza and to enjoy their nice patio. Perfect spot for relaxing and just enjoying the fresh air. Pizza Cafe - Awesome pizza ...