May 31, 2016

Weekly Workouts 21




Monday: 3 miles, easy. I got luck with this run. It down poured during my evening commute and stopped just before I started running. It was still drizzling, but I was happy to not run in the pouring rain. My legs were pretty tired from running all weekend, but it was a short enough run.

Tuesday: Rest. I was supposed to do yoga and I didn't. Part of it had to do with the fact that I worked until midnight, the other part had to do with the fact that my body was just exhausted. I could have taken 20 minutes to practice, but I needed a rest.

Wednesday: 3 miles with 6 30-second stride. This was tough. My office had gone to the Nationals game and while we sat in the shade, I was hot, tired, and dehydrated. I biked home from the ballpark, had some water with Nuun, and then headed out the door. It was hot, and if you know me, you know I don't mind running in the heat, but it had been 47 degrees just three mornings before. I definitely struggled with this run, but I was able to get in the pickups that I needed to and call it a day.

Thursday: 4-mile bike ride. Today was a cross-training day but The Pilot and I had evening plans, so I decided to turn our plans into a workout and we went for a 4ish mile ride on the new-to-me Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Friday: Lunchtime Vinyasa class. I mentioned last week that Fridays are typically my rest days, but since I skipped Tuesday's workout, I replaced today's Rest Day with a nice, easy flow.

Saturday: 2-mile run. Today was supposed to be my long run but I didn't wake up early enough to get in a 10k run before we had to head to the Eastern Shore for my friend Ally's wedding. I'm glad I skipped the long run though because I was exhausted and my legs felt heavy.

Sunday: 10k run. This was tough. I tried to run down the Mall, but it was closed for the Thunder Road motorcycle ride. The few parts of the Mall I could run on, I spent inhaling motorcycle fumes before I was finally able to look back and then I had to find miles to finish this. It wasn't that hot and the breeze was nice, but I always find it a mental challenge when you have to find miles to tack on to your run. I always thought that ride was on Memorial Day, so that was an unpleasant surprise!

Total Mileage: 14.2

A great week in the books! I moved things around but I still got all of my workouts in! 3 weeks down, 11 to go! This week is a step-back week which means nice, easy, short runs! Can't wait!

How's your training going?

May 30, 2016

Reading Lately

I'm super late to my own book club this month. Oops!

Carolann and I were reading "Why We Came to the City" by Kristopher Jansma for our Beyond Bloggers Book Club. After waiting 3 weeks to get this book from the library (it was in stock, but they couldn't find it), I finally caved and just bought it and then read 100 pages a day for 3 days to try and finish it in time, but by the time I got to the 3rd day, I was pretty bored by it.


I thought the first 6 or so pages of this book were beautiful and I was so excited to keep reading but I got about half-way through and realized that there were going to be a lot of loose ends that weren't going to be tied up.

The book is about a group of college friends living in New York about ten years after college. Early on in the book, one of them is diagnosed with cancer and the book follows the group as they deal with this. I really hated the characters in this book and the book was full of cliches and too-modern references...like Lady Gaga lyrics, and terrible references to things that it was clear the author couldn't get the rights to use like a "Cobalt 7" instead of an iPhone 5, and this Spanish sitcom they all watch together that sounds exactly like "Friends."

I hated the way that one of the characters treated their friends' diagnosis like the worst thing that had ever happened to them, rather than the friend this was actually happening to. I hated that the oh so mysterious backstory of one of the characters was revealed in all of one sentence, and didn't even reveal much, and I hated that at the end, everything worked out just perfectly, despite the obvious fact that nothing was perfect at all.



This month, I also read "Mr. Churchill's Secretary," fulfilling my pension for trashy historical fiction (i.e. Philippa Gregory). The book is about a young American woman who finds herself living in London after being sent there to sell her grandmother's estate during World War II. While in London, she lands a job as a private secretary to Winston Churchill where murder, intrigue, and mystery follow her. This was a quick read and I enjoyed it. Now that it's finally summer, I highly recommend it as a beach read!

I'm 7 books behind on my Goodreads challenge of 50 books this year. I'm hoping that some plane rides and beach days (??) in my future will help change that!

What have you been reading lately?
Have you joined our Book Club? Click here to join and vote on our June pick this week!
Happy Reading!

May 26, 2016

Currently...


Feeling... on top of things.

Reading... "Why We Came to the City" by Kristopher Jansma. Carolann and I are linking up to discuss tomorrow for our book club! I may or may not be finished (eek!) but you should all join in!


Watching... Gilmore Girls. I just started Season 6 and I'm still obsessed. It rained in DC for a month straight so I watched A LOT of Gilmore Girls.

Listening to... Kenny Chesney all day every day.

Thinking about... how in the world I'm going to get my apartment clean after practically never leaving it for a month due to incessant rain and pretty awesome work-from-home flexibility.

Needing... a massage.

Wanting... to take a trip to the beach.

Excited... for Ally's wedding this weekend!!

Hoping... to get back to blogging (and reading) regularly. May hasn't been nearly as busy as April was and I think June might be pretty quiet. We'll see!

Loving... that after the worst month in DC history, it finally stopped raining! I don't even care that we went straight to mid-summer humidity. It isn't 47 and raining every day anymore!

What have you been up to?
Fill me in!

{Some links are affiliates]

May 24, 2016

Weekly Workouts 20

Another solid week of training in the books! I can't rave enough about how perfect this training plan is for me and where I am right now. It feels totally manageable with 2 yoga/cross-training days, 4 runs per week, and long runs that are building up slowly.


Here's a look at last week's training:

Monday: 3 easy miles

Tuesday: 40 minutes of at-home Yoga for Runners

Wednesday: 3 miles with 5 30-second strides with the Pilot

Thursday: At-home Power Yoga

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5 cold, rainy miles on the National Mall, 2 of them with The Pilot.  

Sunday: 2 cold, rainy miles followed by a 75 minute Dharma yoga class.

Mileage Total: 13

Overall, I'm feeling great, 

I definitely think I need to shake up the training plan a little but though. I don't think Friday should be my rest day. With Friday as Rest, I'm running my long runs in the middle of 3 consecutive days. It's working right now but I don't think it will when I move up to the double digits, so I might switch Friday's Rest Days with Sunday's shakeout runs and keep my long runs on Saturdays. 

We'll see. For now, I'm just trying to check the boxes and keep getting everything in! I'm 2 weeks and have followed my training plan exactly, and so far, Week 3 is off to a great start!


2 weeks down, 12 to go!
How's your training going?

May 23, 2016

We Went Out Last Nightt

Sometime between the 7th and 8th grades, I fell in love with country music. It was the year 2001 to be exact and I was addicted to the CMT Top 20 Countdown.

Kenny Chesney's "Don't Happen Twice" was the song that made me fall in love with country music, and subsequently with him. I was obsessed with every single song he wrote. Naturally, I really wanted to see him perform but it just never really happened. I always had some sort of conflict...college graduation, someone's wedding, summer vacation plans, etc.

It's been killing me! I've seen the Goo Goo Dolls (my all-time favorite band) three times, even met them once, but Kenny? Nope. It just hasn't been in the cards. For 16 years, it hasn't been in the cards. Until Thursday night.


Earlier this year, as I've done every year, I looked up his tour dates to see what my chances were and saw that he was playing in Columbia, MD, about an hour outside DC, in May. I kept it on my calendar, knowing that The Pilot wouldn't know his schedule until a few weeks before. When The Pilot finally got his schedule, I knew I had to buy tickets. They were more than I wanted to spend and I went back and forth on it for a few days, and then decided that a 16-year dream is worth spending some money on.

Can I just tell you that when I heard the opening chords to "Beer in Mexico" and he walked out on stage, I actually started crying? The last time I cried at a concert was when I was 13 and saw BBMak. I think I was channelling that same 13-year-old girl energy on Thursday night.

His show was awesome. It was one of the best concerts I've ever gone to and The Pilot and I had the most amazing night!


He played every song I could have hoped him to, including our wedding song, "Anything But Mine," which was amazing! It was like being at our wedding all over again, except with Kenny Chesney actually there (and, you know, 20,000 other people). 

I put seeing Kenny Chesney on my 30 Before 30 list because, after 16 years of dying to see him, it just needed to happen. I was actually really nervous that he would be terrible live and I would be disappointed, but that couldn't have been further from reality. He put on an awesome show and we had an awesome night and I'm already hoping he gets some time off in August when he's in the area again!

Best part? The Pilot was supposed to leave for 4 days the next morning, and ended up having his schedule changed so our Thursday night date night, turned into a nice, unexpected weekend together and it was perfect!

Are there any artists/bands that you've been dying to see that you haven't had the chance?
Who is your all-time favorite band or artist?
Are you a Kenny Chesney fan? Have you seen him perform?

May 17, 2016

Weekly Workouts 19


It's been over a month since my last Weekly Workouts post. I ran once in San Francisco and only one other time during the rest of the month of April. I came back from that trip jet lagged for what felt like two weeks, and then the three-week stretch of rain kicked in and it didn't do anything to motivate me to get outside.

While I haven't been working out, I have a lot to update on. I'm not running the San Francisco Marathon. When I decided to run that and start training, I was already a week into when I should have started training and I really just wasn't mentally prepared to commit to training for another marathon. That and the fact that my sister might not be in San Francisco that week led me to change my mind. I hadn't even signed up yet, so I'm not really missing out. Maybe next year.

My training for the Chicago Marathon was terrible. I had no motivation at all. There were weeks when I wouldn't do any run other than my long run, and then weeks when I would just skip my long run altogether. My time on the course, almost an entire hour slower than my best marathon (and 30 minutes slower than my worst), was evidence of poor training.

It took my almost 3 years to get back into running after I first got sidelined with ITB issues and I lost my motivation to run during that time. This year, I'm determined to get it back.

I'm heading to Vancouver this summer to run the SeaWheeze Half. Last week, they put out a 14-week training plan for the race and I decided to check it out. It's perfect for me. This will be the longest I've ever trained for a Half but the training plan is just what I need right now. Last week was the first week of the training plan, and my long run was 6km or just shy of 4 miles. (The race is in Canada, after all). This isn't the training plan for the seasoned runner who does 5 half-marathons in a year, the runner I used to be. I came back from injury three times. The first time, I dove into a 10-week half training plan and my knee gave out during mile 8 of the race. The second time, shortly after, I went into an 8-week plan and I had to drop out of the race 5 miles in. Then, I ran Chicago.

This training plan is too long for me to really feel like I'm training right now, and the distances are short enough that I feel like I'm slowly easing back into it, but it gives me a schedule and it reflects where I am now, rather than where I want to be, and that's exactly what I need. I might never get back to running 3 marathons and 5 half-marathons a year (nor do I think I want to) , but I want to get back in the kind of shape where I can say, "Oh, there's a Half next weekend, let me sign up!" or "Sure! I'll run your 15-mile run with you. I'm not training for anything but why not?"

I think that this training plan for SeaWheeze will get me there. I had an awesome first week of training last week. I think I'm moving in the right direction, I just need to stay committed. Here's what last week looked like:

Monday: 3 miles, easy with The Pilot

Tuesday: 40-minutes of yoga at home, using the SeaWheeze yoga video

Wednesday: 3 miles with 4 30-second strides (and my fastest mile according to my new Garmin!)

Thursday: 45 minute spin at Biker Barre. Awesome class, awesome playlist! I really thought of skipping this and taking Thursday as a Rest Day instead of Friday, but I 'm so glad I didn't. I ran into one of my friends at class and it was a great class!

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: "Long" Run of 3.5 miles. I had a pretty terrible run. My legs were not moving. I felt like I was running through molasses and I felt sore and achy all over. I don't think I stretched enough after Thursday's spin.

Sunday: 2 easy, shakeout miles plus 40-minutes of yoga at home

Mileage Total: 11.5

There's the week! I feel good about this. I've already gotten a solid start to this week's training, which of course, I'll recap next week!

It's been awhile, so tell me: What are you training for? 
Happy Running!

May 16, 2016

Weekend Thoughts (& Gilmore Girls)

Good Morning friends!


It's the middle of May and the temperatures are in the 40s. Yesterday was the first day it didn't rain in DC in 18 days and it's supposed to start up again tomorrow. It's so depressing! The temperature hasn't broken 80 degrees yet and I'm seriously contemplating moving to Florida.

Despite all of this, I'm finally starting to feel better about everything. I've been in such a weird funk for the last month, partially due to weather, partially due to being so busy at work, there was just a lot that was keeping me from really feeling like myself, but things are good now!

I'm planning a "Day in the Life" post soon so you can see just what's keeping me so crazy! In the meantime, I'll fill you all in over a morning cup of coffee on this cold, DC morning.

I started training for the Sea Wheeze Half-Marathon. The race is in August, 13 weeks away, and this will definitely be the longest I've ever trained for a half, but I've finally come to terms with where I am with running. Chicago was a disaster and then I spent the next few months half-assing my way through training plan after training plan, only to stop training, or never even sign up in the first place.

I'm starting to make some pretty amazing summer plans. Even though it feels like it might never be summer, I started finalizing a lot of summer plans this weekend including a girls' weekend in New York with Holly and a trip to Paris with my mom and aunt! I'm hoping to take a trip to Boston too, and possibly LA...then, of course, I have a few more baseball stadiums to cross off my list!

I've been binge watching Gilmore Girls at an alarming rate. I've gone through 5 seasons in 3 weeks. I'm obsessed. I had never watched the show before (I KNOW!) and now I can't stop. I'm in the middle of season 5 and here are some thoughts overall:

  • I hate Richard and Emily. I know you're supposed to, but their behavior is always the same and after 5 seasons, it's getting old. Maybe it wouldn't bother me as much if I wasn't watching eight episodes a day, but I can't stand them. 
  • I'm neither Team Dean or Team Jess. 
  • I love Luke and Lorelai but I was always Team Christopher until last night (Episode 100 when Richard and Emily renew their vows), and now I don't ever want to see him again. 
  • I've never liked Melissa McCarthy, but I love her as Sookie.
  • Did you know that Max Greenfield (Schmidt from New Girl) makes a cameo the night of Dean's bachelorette party?
  • I really hate that Rory went to Yale. Especally after that nonsense Richard pulled when he brought her to visit. 

That's enough Gilmore Girls talk for now. 

I found a new book series to fall in love with. I've only read the first in the series so far, Mr. Churchill's Secretary, but I highly recommend this series for any historical fiction fans! It's spy novel meets historical fiction meets World War II!

Speaking of books, if you've joined mine and Carolann's Book Club, our next book is Why We Came to the City by Kristopher Jansma, and we're linking up to discuss it next Friday, May 27th! 

I had a pretty uneventful weekend, but it was great. It was super productive, which is something I really needed! I could definitely use a vacation, but I'll get one soon! More importantly, I could use some sunshine!
Have a great week!


May 10, 2016

April Recap

Better late than never, right? I really didn't mean to go so long without posting but the weather in DC has been abysmal and everyone I know is in a funk. It's been cold, rainy, and downright miserable for weeks! Here I am, though, with my recap for the month of April and a strong desire to start posting somewhat regularly again!


Here's a look at how my month went:

Miles Run: 31

Minutes of Yoga: 135

Spin Classes Taken: 1

Books Read: 1 {Insert embarassed face}

Trips Taken: 1

New Recipes Made: 2

Blog Posts Written: 13
30 Before 30 Items Completed:0

Highlights:
  • My trip to San Francisco
Lowlights:
  • Not having any time to work on my blog or read posts
The Month Ahead (10 days in): 

Looking forward to:
  • Ally's wedding and a reunion with Sara!
Challenges to take on:
  • Actually training 
  • Wearing my Vivofit and counting steps on days I work from home
  • Using ClassPass regularly, instead of working out for 10 days straight and then not using it for a month...
  • Post at least 3 times per week (starting this week)
To Do: 
  • Declutter Part II
So, that's how April went. Like March, it was another whirlwind. Apparently, that's life at my new company, but like I said, this month really should slow down. I haven't posted since the month started because the weather has made me lazy, but I 'm already starting to feel better about everything!
How did your April show up?
What are you looking forward to this month?
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...