July 30, 2014

A Little Dose of Wednesday Happiness

This morning, I was discharged from physical therapy and cleared for fall marathon training. I'm not planning on registering for anything just yet but this week will be dedicated to formulating a plan for a late fall marathon that works up a nice, slow build up, taking into account the weeks I'll be taking off for our wedding and honeymoon.

Yesterday, I biked to work for the second time. It was a crisp, fall-like morning and it was perfect. Unlike the first time I biked, I didn't get lost!


My office is almost all packed up. Tomorrow is our last day in the current space and come Friday, we move to our new office in Chinatown...and with that new office, comes my very own office!

My little sister turned 20 yesterday. I can't even comprehend that. Now I understand why my older sisters all freaked out just a little bit when they realized I turned 25.

The Pilot and I with my not so little sister
Our wedding is 6 weeks from Saturday. One of my sisters left me a voice mail last night and I was texting with my brother this morning, and I just can't wait for the seven of us to all be reunited again.

The 7 of us with our dad at my brother's wedding last summer.
I'm going home this weekend for my final dress fitting. I just can't wait to put it on again. I keep reading all of these articles and posts about how you should definitely wear a 'getaway' dress and I'm here thinking...I'm trying to figure out if I can wear my wedding dress to the airport the next day (not really), why in the world would I want to change out of my dress mid-reception?!

It's a good day today.
Happy Wednesday!

July 28, 2014

Love/Don't Love

It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts, so here goes!

1. My office is moving this week so there are boxes and bins everywhere. While I'll miss eating lunch in front of the White House, I'm excited to move to our new office in Chinatown. There's just so much more to do there. Who knows, I might even switch it up and take my lunch breaks at the National Archives or the National Portrait Gallery! Love.

The National Archives
2. I didn't run four days per week like I told myself I would. I ran twice. Oops. Don't Love.
3. I did manage to run 8 miles on Sunday. I left my apartment at noon. It was hot. It was hard. Every part of me wanted to stop but I didn't and it didn't hurt. I kept a really steady pace for the first 6 miles, and then I just kind of melted, but I was so, so happy with my run. Love.
4. My favorite part about running in that kind of heat is diving into the pool right after my run...and then spending the rest of the day evening out my racer back tan lines. Love.
5. Because I ran in the dead of the heat, the rest of the day wasn't smooth sailing. The Pilot and I talked about heading out to the National Harbor to go outlet shopping but a 15 minute pit stop at Target had me begging for the couch. Don't Love.
6. We bought a Nintendo Wii this weekend. I'm not at all embarrassed embarrassed to say how much time I spent playing Super Mario Brothers this weekend. Love.


7. I haven't logged on to Daily Mile in ages. I'm just now realizing, how much I've relied on it in the past for figuring out weekly mileage and build up. So this week, I'm going to enter all of my runs for the last few weeks, and figure out a good starting point for fall race training. Love.

That's what's going on in my world this Monday!
Hope everyone had a fab weekend!

July 25, 2014

One year ago today...

The Pilot and I went for a walk on the National Mall.

We sat by the World War II Memorial and talked while the sun set.

We reflected on our first visit to DC and talked about how much we had loved living here for the last six months.

One year ago today, The Pilot got down on one knee and asked me to marry him.


I said yes, and less than two months from now, I will.

So, to my love, my pilot, thank you for an amazing first year in DC, for an amazing five years together, and for what I know will be an amazing start to the rest of our lives.

I can't wait to marry you. 

Love always,

Christy



July 24, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... Tired. I didn't really sleep last night.

Reading... I'm still reading Reading Lolita in Tehran. There are parts where I love it, and other parts where I don't. Either way, I'm struggling with it.


Listening to... Norah Jones on Pandora.

Working on... Wedding things. What seemed like my ever growing to-do list, is finally starting to seem like a shrinking to-do list, which is great.

Anticipating... getting in all of our RSVPs. We sent them out three weeks ago and still don't even have half of them. It's a little bit difficult to get some of the stuff we need to get done without a better idea of our numbers.

Loving... that our tasting went so well! It was absolutely perfect. We had our tasting, did a walk through of our space, and everything is coming together so nicely!

There isn't too much going on today, which is a good thing! 
I've got a fun weekend lined up (with a lot of cleaning to do). 
How's your Thursday shaping up?

July 22, 2014

I'm calling it a come back.

The last two weekends, I've run 6 and 7 miles respectively.

My 6 miler was run on a Sunday afternoon when it was 94 degrees with 80% humidity. Other than taking it slow (on purpose), I felt great. It was the first time in over a year that I've gone out for a run and felt confident that my knee would hold up. It was the first time that I've felt strong through a run.

I went to PT two days later, and we decided that I would take two weeks off from PT in order to build up some mileage before coming back for one (hopefully!) last appointment.

This weekend, I ran 7 miles. I was unmotivated and nervous about it, but I think that was more an issue of the distance than anything having to do with my knee. After all, the last time I've run that far was during the Alexandria Half...which I dropped out of at Mile 8 after my knee gave out at Mile 7.

I felt awesome this weekend. I felt strong. I had such a great run. I started out a little too quickly, slowed it down, and then each mile was the same pace or just a little bit quicker than the last. It was amazing. I don't remember the last time I had a run like that. Half way into the run, my quads were aching from that morning's 5 mile hike, but I loved it. It felt the way my legs usually feel in the later miles of a marathon. Do you know how long I've been craving that feeling? The feeling that you're working hard, and it's starting to hurt just a little bit, but you know you have so much more in you.

That feeling. It's back.

This weekend, I'll run 8 miles. I'm transitioning from running three times per week to four. So I'll have two weeks of 4x/week running and long runs up to 8 miles the next time I'm at PT, and barring any issues, I'll be cleared.

I'm holding off on setting any goals, but know this: I have every intention of slowly, steadily ramping up the miles. As my PT said, "Now, you're looking like an athlete when you run." My form is dramatically different than it was just two months ago, and it's made a world of difference in my running. PT has full confidence that I can run a fall marathon. Whether I have that confidence is a different story, but I'm going to add one mile to every long run moving forward (adding in some necessary step backs) and just take it from there.

I'm back. I'm finally back. 

July 21, 2014

Another longish weekend

This weekend was another of those that felt gloriously long despite not being any longer than normal.

Friday, I left work and met up with The Pilot for Jazz in the Garden. I had been wanting to go since last summer. It wasn't that great. The musicians took a really long break after about 30 minutes, so we just left and headed to El Rey for tacos. Yum.

Jazz in the Garden!
Later that night, we picked up my friend Danielle from Union Station and brought her back to our apartment to hang out and catch up before going to bed.

Saturday, I got up and headed out for a run. It was hard. It was so humid and I just wasn't feeling it, so after a mile, I turned around and went home and called it quits. Sometimes, that's just the best thing for you.

We all got ready and made our way to Lavagna for brunch. All I can say is this. Honey Mascarpone Nutella Pancakes.


Post-brunch, we wandered around Eastern Market together before making our way to Union Market for DC Scoop...an ice cream festival, which was basically a disorganized, nightmarish mess. It was terrible. People were waiting in line for upwards of 45 minutes for SAMPLES of ice cream. No thanks.

After that fiasco, Danielle and I separated from The Pilot and headed to the mall for some shopping. I was in search of a bridal shower dress, but ended up with a great dress for our honeymoon instead!

After our shopping trip, we took Danielle out for some gluten-free pizza and then rested up for our morning hike.

Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to hit the trails at Great Falls for a 5ish mile hike. When we got back to my apartment, I threw together a kitchen sink salad before we had to get Danielle back to the train station and then I headed out for a 7 mile run. I was weirdly nervous and unmotivated and my wonderful fiance offered to bike alongside me for the run.

I felt awesome. Between the 6 miles I ran last week and the 7 I did yesterday, I'm finally starting to feel like my old runner self again and damn, it feels good. My quads started to get really sore about 4 miles in (mostly due to that morning's hike) but I ran a negative split and felt strong through the whole run.

We headed home for a quick dinner before making our way to Old Town for ice cream (and free cupcakes along the way, hey, I earned it!) before calling it a night.


Tonight, my mom is coming to town and we have our tasting at our reception venue tomorrow! We're taking care of a few wedding things in the next two days and I'm hoping to squeeze in a yoga trip in between! I've got a busy week ahead, but it's going to be awesome!

Hope everyone had a great week!

July 17, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... Frustrated. I got an email this morning that my library books are overdue...despite that I returned all of them before the due date. Until I checked out these books, I hadn't checked out books from a library in almost five years. Why? Because I still want to have an enormous library of my own, so I might as well just buy all the books and start my collection.


Reading... Reading Lolita in Tehran. I'm less than a hundred pages in and so far I've been disappointed. The book is just starting to pick up so we'll see. It reads in parts like a story, and in parts like a lecture. Hmm.


Drinking... Apple juice. 

Listening to... Anthem Lights Best of 2012 Mash Up. I also can't get Imagine Dragon's On Top of the World out of my head. I love that song.


Watching... nothing! I've haven't turned the TV on all week. It's debatable whether or not that's a good thing.

Working on... wedding things <3.

Anticipating... the weekend! My best friend is coming to town this weekend! She hasn't been here since it was veryyyyyyy cold outside, so I'm excited to show her DC in warmer weather and catch up before the wedding!

Loving... District Taco. The Pilot and I went there for lunch yesterday and I seriously don't understand how people in DC can KNOW that District Taco exists and still eat at Chipotle. I had the freshest, most delicious tacos I've ever had and I will be back...a lot. 

{via}
So, there you have it. That's what's going on on my end! Hope you're having an awesome week!

July 15, 2014

Wedding Things X: Two Months to Go

This Sunday marked two months until our wedding. While we both still feel like it's forever away and our engagement seems years ago, there's a lot of excitement starting to float around as the day gets closer and everyone starts making their travel plans.

There is so much that I want to post on here, but won't since I want to leave a lot of what we're planning to be a surprise for our friends and family. Since The Pilot and I are in DC on our own, we're doing most of the planning by ourselves, which means most of the details will be a surprise for almost everyone!

Last night, we decided on our table numbers, and save just a few printing tasks, our centerpieces are all set. I have some design tasks ahead for our escort display that I'm hoping to finish up in the next week or two and then everything for our reception will be all set!

Our reception space
{via}
The big thing I'm worrying about right now is our programs. I've been working on them since March and I just can't get them right. I'm trying to do something a little off the beaten path and creative, and unfortunately, my limited capabilities with Word and Publisher just aren't doing the trick. I've spent so much time and effort on them, that I don't want to scrap the project completely, but I'm really at a loss for how to move forward, so I just might have to.

I was hoping to have them completely done by this point, so I'm feeling a little bit of pressure in that regard.

My mom is coming down next week for our tasting which I am so excited for! It'll be so fun to finalize our menu. We're having our reception at one of the best restaurants in DC (which happens to also have an amazing event space) and I'm so excited for all of the delicious food...and to taste it next week!

Lastly, we booked our honeymoon flights but haven't booked...anything else. So that's what's on task for this week, but that's the fun part...and then maybe I'll finally get around to letting you all know where we're going!

So, that's that!
Two months to go!!!

July 14, 2014

A Recovery Weekend

I'm finally starting to feel human again. After two grueling weeks of late nights and early mornings, and just feeling tired all the time, this weekend was just what I needed to recover.

Guys, this weekend felt so long, it was wonderful! I felt like I was on vacation! I pretty much cancelled any and all plans in order to just go with the flow and that was wonderful.

Friday, I came home after work and cleaned up around the apartment. I put the laundry away, cleaned the kitchen, organized some wedding stuff, and then just kind of hung around until it was time to pick up The Pilot from the airport. We went and grabbed dinner and drinks around the corner from our apartment and then I crashed pretty early.

Saturday, I woke up at 7:30...so much for sleeping in. I spent the morning cleaning up my computer and then made some snacks before two of my friends came over for some pool time.


We spent the day lounging around the pool and it was glorious. Around 5:30, we decided to head to Old Town for dinner and drinks at O'Connell's, an Irish pub with surprisingly good food.


Sunday, The Pilot and I woke up and headed out for a 6 mile run. It was perfect. Well, the first three miles were perfect, and then I just felt like I was radiating heat and starting to boil. But the run? It was perfect. I never once even thought about my knee giving out. I just felt great. It was the first time I've run like that in over a year. Thanks PT <3.

We were so hot from our run, that we ran upstairs, changed into our swimsuits and DOVE into the pool. We spent about 30 minutes in the water, cooling down (and evening out my sexy racer back tan lines) before heading inside for the World Cup final.

I was hoping for an Argentine win but it was a great game and a great Cup and I had a lot of fun watching. After the match, I overhauled our hall closet and then we ran some errands before heading over to Bluejacket for dinner and drinks. I hadn't been there since there was snow on the ground and I wasn't at all disappointed, especially since it wasn't at all crowded. The last few times I'd been there, it was insane. We opted to sit at the bar instead of eating dinner, but I'm still itching to eat in the restaurant part of the place. Nonetheless, good food, good drinks and a perfect way to celebrate the 2 month mark to our wedding!

This weekend was filled with good food, good drinks, good friends, and a lot of Harry Potter. I have zero complaints.

How was your weekend?

July 10, 2014

Currently...

Feeling... a little sleepy. I had an early wake up call for PT this morning and for some reason, mornings this week have been unusually difficult.

Reading... Little Bee by Chris Cleave. I don't like it. It's dark and disturbing in a way that just makes me uncomfortable. The "We won't tell you what this book is about" book flap jargon annoys me. It got great reviews, so I picked it up at the library. I think it's trying too hard to be disturbing.


Watching... We finished Season 2 of Orange is the New Black. In hindsight, I didn't like it. "Vee" was pure evil and thus, really not that interesting. I walked away from the season not feeling tremendously compelled to watch Season 3, when I should have walked away dreading the year long wait for the next season.

Listening To... Be Okay by Oh Honey. I heard this song for the first time this weekend and can't get enough of it. It's so good! Perfect song for summer!


Working on... wedding things!! I have a to do list a mile long, but I'm hoping over the next couple of weekends that we'll get everything done so that I can just kick back and relax in August! My MOH is coming to visit next weekend and has given me strict instructions to put her to work! We're doing a few of DIY projects for the reception, so I'm hoping to turn all of those into blog posts for when we're away on our honeymoon!

Anticipating... upping the mileage this weekend. PT agreed that I need to get over my 4 mile mental hump and just get out there. So, here goes...

Loving... everyone's reactions to our wedding invitations! We sent them out last week and everyone loves them! It means a lot that people are taking the time to let us know that they got them and are excited for our wedding. (Pictures soon!)

Wishing... for a manicure. Might need to make time for a lunch mani next week!

What's on your 'Currently...' list'?


July 9, 2014

Book Review: Lolita

From Amazon: Awe and exhiliration--along with heartbreak and mordant wit--abound in Lolita, Nabokov's most famous and controversial novel, which tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for the nymphet Dolores Haze. Lolita is also the story of a hypercivilized European colliding with the cheerful barbarism of postwar America. Most of all, it is a meditation on love--love as outrage and hallucination, madness and transformation.




My Thoughts: Why did I read this book? Well, a few years ago, I picked up Reading Lolita in Tehran, and couldn't finish it, realizing that I really needed to read Lolita in order to understand Tehran. So, that's what brought me to pick it up at the library. It is every bit as disturbing and controversial as I thought it would be, yet very well written. The book was riveting...until about half way through, when it got terribly repetitive and a bit boring, and ended in a way that I don't think it should have gone based on the way the book was written. The end was somewhat anticlimactic and somewhat uncharacteristic. 

I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Have you read Lolita?

July 8, 2014

On Running

A few weeks ago, I had a bump in the road when I headed out for a 4 mile run and my knee gave out 2 1/2 miles in. I threw myself a giant pity party for 24 hours and then I got over it.

Since then, I've kept up with PT, I've been running 3 times a week and doing all of my warm up exercises beforehand.

I've majorly slacked on the single leg squats I should be doing, and I'd really like to get back up to running 4 times a week, but truth be told? Not running for nearly a year has made it really hard to get back into the swing of things, no matter how much I miss it.

This week, my goal is to run 4 times and get in a decent "long" run of 5 or 6 miles on the weekend. I've been doing a lot of ab work lately, which I think makes up for the lack of single leg squats in my life, since I'm working my core. Now, if I can just put it all together...

I go back and forth with whether I want to run a fall marathon. For awhile, I was thinking about running Richmond, but that would require me to start training in 2 weeks, and I just don't know if I'm ready to put myself through that and risk reinjuring my already reinjured self.

There's also the fact that our wedding will fall right in the middle of training. While I'm comfortable taking time of from training, I don't know that that would be the best thing for my injured self.

For the first time since I started running again, I'm starting to feel good about running. I'm not constantly worried that my knee will give out. It feels strong, and I'm in a good place, but I'm still hesitant to jump back into things.

This November will mark two years since I've run a marathon. I hate that. I'm dying to run one this year. While I think Richmond might be a little early in terms of training/wedding, Philly (two weeks after Richmond) and Rehoboth (two weeks after Philly), both look promising.

My PT thinks I could run Richmond, but I've been really conservative with upping my mileage. This week though, it's time to just get over it and go for it. So, 5 or 6 miles it will be, and then we'll reevaluate where I am. Of the three races, Richmond is my first choice, because it's much warmer than Philly or Rehoboth will be and I hate racing in the cold. But, running a marathon 6 weeks after I get married, may not be the wisest choice.

So, in an effort to turn this back into a running blog, that's where I am. I overslept this morning (oops!) but plan to get in an easy 3 or 4 after work today. For some reason, my legs have been toast lately...then again, I am in a challenge to walk 10,000+ steps every day this month, so that could be it...

So that's where I'm at! 
What do you think?

July 7, 2014

Another 4th of July Weekend in DC

One of my goals for 2014 was to 'Oops' my way to more places.

The reality of this year has been more along the lines of 'Oops...I didn't go to____.' In February, we tried to go to Hawaii. In May, to Geneva. This past weekend? To Texas.

I hopped on the bus to Dulles Airport on Thursday after work and about 10 minutes before I got to the airport, my flight got canceled. The Pilot, who was supposed to meet me at the airport after flying in from Charlotte, got stuck there overnight and didn't get back to DC until Friday around 5pm.

*Sigh*

I rode the bus all the way to the airport and then all the way back home, wrapped myself in sweatpants and a blanket (it had gotten cold outside!) and watched cooking shows all night while working on our wedding programs.

Friday, I slept in until the glorious hour of 10:00. I took Peyton for a nice, long walk, spent some time cleaning my apartment and then started baking brownies to bring to a 4th of July BBQ.

<3 Friends
Lots of grilling and beers, corn on the cob, pie, and games of Cards against Humanity and Settlers were on the menu before my friends and I all headed to the Mall to watch the fireworks. I have to say, it wasn't Texas, but watching the fireworks from the base of the Washington Monument on the 4th of July is perfection all on its own. It really doesn't get much more American than that.


Saturday, I again slept in until the glorious hour of 10:00. The Pilot and I got made a trip to The Home Depot to pick up some stuff for a DIY project for the wedding. A few minutes there and then a short stop at Michael's and we were on our way to our friend Jen's pool for the afternoon. Pool time, movies and a late lunch/early dinner trip to Busboys and we called it a day.

Sunday, I slept in until the even more glorious hour of 10:30! The Pilot and I put on some painting clothes and headed to the parking lot of our apartment building with Peyton to get started on our DIY project. An hour later, we were done! I'll post photos + a DIY tutorial the week of the wedding, but I really thought this was gonna be an all day thing.

DIY!
Post-DIY we headed out together for a 4 mile run that kicked both of our butts. (Sidebar: I can't wait until I'm running more than 4 miles again and have more to report on in regard to my running life).

After our run, we hung out at the pool for awhile, picked up some groceries, made delicious Penne a la Vodka together and called it a night by finishing up Season 2 of Orange is the New Black.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I'm disappointed I didn't make it to Texas, but hopefully I can get out there sometime before the wedding!

How was your 4th of July?

July 3, 2014

Currently...

Hello! Sorry for the radio silence, I've had a really busy couple of weeks! Here's what I've been up to!

Feeling... Busy! I was in a training last week that took me out of the office for 3 1/2 days so I've been catching up on work at work and busy getting all of our wedding invitations put together!

Reading... I finished Phillipa Gregory's The White Queen on the Metro this morning.. It isn't as good as some of her other books, but enjoyable nonetheless, and I JUST found out while searching for a picture, that it's a BBC miniseries!!! Queue Netflix!


Watching... Orange is the New Black. The Pilot and I watched three episodes on Sunday night while assembling our wedding invitations. I am also going to start watching The White Queen as soon as we finish OITNB...and when I finish Sherlock. God, I love BBC.

Anticipating... {hopefully} a weekend away for the 4th!

Loving... the shortened work week. I need a holiday weekend. Is it time to go on our honeymoon yet?

Wishing... that PT would be over. I'm running again...and fast too. Putting all of this form-correcting stuff together has me running at my usual marathon goal pace all of a sudden. It isn't easy, but it isn't hard, and I'm excited to start building my mileage up beyond 4 miles.

Hope you all have a fabulous 4th! 
I'll be back to my regularly scheduled posting after the holiday!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...