1 Year + Some Days Ago

Friday a.m.: 3 mile treadmill run

Happy Friday!

This has been a long week - and I've only been back from vacation for three days. How is that possible?

Last night after work I collapsed on top of my four thousand pillows on my bed.

 I only slept for a few minutes, but I was OUT.

So, needless to say, I did not make it to the gym.

However, I am proud to say that I made it to the gym this morning for a quick run!

I'm hoping by the end of this weekend I won't be so exhausted and I will get back to my normal routine.

Our first picture together - 2 weeks after we met.

Last Sunday marked the one year anniversary of our first date!

In so many ways it feels like yesterday and in just as many it feels like we have known each other for a hundred years.

Hard to believe that in 2 months and 2 days we will be getting married!

Have a great weekend!

Recovery Time

I feel like I need a few days off to recover.

Not from a big race, but from vacation!

We had a great mixture of relaxation and activity on vacation, but I'm still worn out. So, last night we did not work out. 

Since I have no new workout news, here are some pics of the gym where we stayed in California. I was super impressed, it was really nice.

One of the great things about ActivTrax is that you can switch the type of gym you are doing your work out at, so we were able to still use it to create weight routines for us using the equipment at this gym.

 

I had high hopes of using my Yoga Studio app while on vacation, but it just didn't happen.

#lazyvacation #maybenexttime

I'm sure being tired has nothing to do with staying up Tuesday night to watch the US Men take on Mexico.

Anyone see the above game win against Costa Rica in 4-6 inches of snow? Crazy!

Luckily we watched that one from warm and sunny California.

And last night we decided to watch Hunger Games.

 I loved it just as much as I did the first two times I watched it.

Only 8 more months til the second HG movie comes out!!

I. cannot. wait.

Sand Castles to Snowmen

Vacation workouts:
2 weight workouts, hiking a mountain, walking the San Diego zoo, other random walking (beaches, Hollywood, etc.) and one short cardio gym workout

Home sweet home.

Oh, it does feel good to be home!

I could do without the snowmen in our neighbors yards and scraping the frost off of my car this morning though. It's almost April for Pete's sake!

Other than that though, home is always a good place to be.

You might have seen these on Instagram, but they are so pretty...so here they are again!

I do miss these views and temperatures though!

More on the trip coming soon!

A little break

I'll be taking a break from this little blog for a few days while I enjoy this view, some relaxation, sightseeing and HTB.
Check back next week! See you soon!

Calves and Pugs

Monday: 4 mile treadmill run

The weather has been unpredictable lately.

That's nothing new for Ohio, really.

Can't wait to get to Cali soon!
 

Kelly and I decided to run on the treadmills instead of outside because it looked like it might downpour at any second. Of course we knew if we stayed inside it wouldn't rain, but if we ran outside it we would get soaked.

So of course, it didn't rain.

I have awesome picture taking skills.

I got a quick/easy 4 miles in and called it a day.
The first mile was tough, but after that I hit a groove and felt pretty good. I could have gone much longer, but I had several errands to run on the way home.

I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with my feet.

Last summer the tops of my feet started getting really tight overnight. I can't walk normally when I first get up in the morning, but after a few minutes they feel fine.

My best guess is that my calves are too tight.

I've been trying to be better about stretching them and massaging them, but my feet still feel the same.

Ugh!

At least it doesn't affect my running.

But it is still weird and annoying.

On another note...

Pugalicious cannot stay out of my bags.

I really don't get it, but it makes me laugh.

Weekend Review: The Final Move

Saturday: 6.5 mile run outside, moving
Sunday: weights, moving

Friday evening started with celebrating my soon to be MIL's birthday with the whole family!

Sixteen of us all gathered in celebration.

I might have arrived before anyone else and started the party on my own.

Once everyone arrived, we still had to wait on the little girls to finish up some very important business.

No party is complete without cake!

I am so blessed to be part of such a fun, loving and amazing family!

Saturday I met Kelly for a run.

6.5 miles in 51 degrees!

See the shadows? That means SUNSHINE!

 I think I even got a little sun on my arms!

The rest of the day was spent packing up more of my apartment and moving it to our house.

Fun, fun.

Sunday we slept in then headed to the apartment to finish up the move!

Yay!

Sunday evening we hit the YMCA for some ActivTrax action.

I wore my green to the gym!

We ended our weekend watching Wreck It Ralph.

It was very cute and the old video game references were fun - even for this non video game playing girl!

How was your weekend?

Kiss Me I'm Irish

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Thursday: unloading the car/unpacking/cleaning

That's a legit workout right?

I mean, I was tired and bit sweaty afterwards.

I'm disappointed with the news of Google Reader being shut down, but no fear!

You can follow RunnerB on Bloglovin.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Have a great weekend!

Inspiration: Once A Runner

Yesterday was a crazy day. No workout and I'm not exactly happy about it.

 But I did eat ice cream.

And that makes most things OK.

 

And of course I walked Piper dog in the snow flurries.

 I took a lovely picture on my phone, but I can't share that with you because my phone is currently MIA.  Please see above mentioned crazy day.

 Mother Nature, if you are listening, it's March. Pleeeeaaaase stop making it snow.

Love, Ohioans.

My friend Jen and I planned our next big adventure over the weekend and she also gave me Once A Runner to borrow for some inspiration.

I am so excited to read it. I'm saving it for our upcoming trip to California, but it keeps staring at me tempting me to go ahead and start it.

I love watching running movies before races and reading inspiring books in between.

 

I think it is just the inspiration I need for our next big adventure!

Time to find just the right training plan... 

Runs and Guns

Tuesday: 5 mile run outside, weights (and of course a walk with Piper dog)

I met Kelly right after work for a run. It's so much easier for me to run right from work, almost like it's just part of my work day - I can't go home until I run first.

If I get in my car and drive somewhere, it's much more tempting to just go home or once I get home it is so much harder for me to get dressed to run and back out the door.

 After walking Piper I did get back out the door for some weight training. For some reason (most of the time) it's easier for me to get back out for weights than cardio.

I wore my Save Second Base shirt in honor of my PSA post yesterday

I'm still doing ActivTrax and loving it.

It's so nice not to have to think about what exercise to do next and it is enough variety that I have not gotten bored yet.

At first I had a hard time feeling like lifting was a work out since I don't get very sweaty while lifting, but now that I can feel some of the results I am totally loving it.

Pretty soon I might need Skinny Meg's shirt.

 How cute is that?

 

Pugalicious is not the only furball in our house (we won't get into how many we actually have...), he is just the easiest to photograph. 

The other night I tried to get a pic of Big Dog (a.k.a. Merlin). Here are the results:

He does not sit still for more than 1/100 of a second.

One of these days I'll get a good picture.

A Public Service Announcement

Monday: Rest

Monday became an unintentional rest day.

I was just completely beat.

I did get to walk Miss Piper Dog though.

I don't think she likes to stop for picture, she just wants to walk!

"C'mon let's go!"

Since I don't really have anything running/working out related to say, I will put out my public service announcement for the year.

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer on Friday.

It seems like it is everywhere: my friend, my aunt, my sister-in-law, my sister's mother-in-law.

Go to the doctor. Don't skip your regular exams.

Wear sunscreen. And your seat belt too.

A Case of the Mondays

Friday: Rest
Saturday: Shamrock Shuffle 10K
Sunday: Stretching, rest

Monday, we meet again.

With a time change....ugh!

An hour shouldn't make that much difference, but somehow it gets me every time.

I really think I had an easier time adjusting to the difference in Japan than I do every fall and spring for daylight savings.

Getting my hair did!

After a little pampering with a hair appointment on Friday after work I met Autumn for Thai and sushi and maybe a little wine too! The food was delicious and the company was great. I laughed so hard I cried and everyone might have been staring at us.

That's what girl friends are for.

This is why I don't take selfies. Don't mind the possessed look in my eyes.

Saturday morning I was up bright and early to run the Shamrock Shuffle.

I've been running this race for several years now.

It's a tough, hilly course, but a lot of fun.

It wasn't a great race for me, but not too shabby either. I finished 18th in my age group (out of 164), 127th overall, 32nd female (out of 424) with a time of 51:01 (8:13 pace).  Sunday I had lunch/dinner with my good friend Jen. She was kind enough to drive down from Dayton for the Santa Suit run but then with the excitement of the engagement (not to mention the flu) I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with her. Jen and I at the Louisville Derby Marathon 2011 We might have been plotting some future running craziness!  But I swear, it was all her idea! Now the goal is to keep that 8:13 pace for 20 more miles... More on that coming up!

TGIF

Thursday p.m.: weights bicep focus

Apparently my arms weren't sore enough, so it was time for a bicep workout!

There were some leg exercises thrown in too, thankfully!

I'm hiding in there somewhere. This is my version of a selfie!

I took Friday morning off.

I needed rest.

It felt great to sleep until 6:15!

Now I'm ready for the weekend!

I'm racing tomorrow morning - my first race since....I got engaged? Whoa!

I have done the Shamrock Shuffle for the last few years. It's a great race with a 5 and 10K option. I always try to switch tot he 5K and my friends never let me.

Who doesn't like a race with breakfast and beer afterwards?

I love St. Patty's day and it's always fun to celebrate a week early!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Weights, Yoga and Snow, Oh My!

Tuesday p.m.: Weights
Wednesday: Yoga and Snow Shoveling
Thursday a.m.: Insanity Pure Cardio

We hit the gym for some weights right after work on Tuesday in hopes of not getting snowed on.

We made it (and only got rained on).

It was definitely hard - once again too much time had passed between weight lifting sessions.

My workout was whole body with a bicep focus.

The biceps were crying after the first exercise.

I should probably work on my selfies skills so I don't bore you with dumb pics like this

Well, the forecast said snow and snow it did!

It's so pretty, but I am totally looking forward to 50s and 60s this weekend!

So, Wednesday morning tried out my new Yoga Studio App (in the comfort of my own bedroom!)  that I won from Jen. 

Guess what....I totally loved it!

I only did a 15 minute flexibility session, so I will write more after I try a few more sessions.

Since my arms didn't hurt bad enough after the bicep workout Tuesday night, I shoveled snow on Wednesday.

This shovel is a monster. The pic doesn't do it justice.

HTB got to come home to a nice clear(ish) driveway. Can I get fiancee of the year award for this?

This morning Autumn and I got up even earlier to do Insanity Pure Cardio.

In the mornings we do the workout in our gym at work in the group fitness room.

A new class was added Thursday mornings that starts at 6:15, so we had to make sure we were finished by then. Which means starting right at 5:30.

Lately we've been starting at 5:45 or 5:50. 15-20 minutes makes a HUGE difference that early in the morning, but we both made it.

And we might have jumped on the bikes for 10 minutes afterwards as well.

We might be insane.

Or we both just have beach vacations coming up!

Ohio Weather

Monday p.m.: 3 mile run outside
Tuesday a.m.: Insanity: Cardio Power & Resistance

Last night was a bad run. REALLY BAD.

They happen and I try not to let them bother me, but it is still frustrating!

The plan was to do 5-6 miles; however, my body had different plans.

My stomach hurt so bad that I only managed to get 3 in.

Still better than nothing I suppose.

Fortunately I felt better this morning for another round of Insanity: cardio power and resistance.

This one seems to fly by for me. There are a lot of water breaks which my shoulders definitely need in this one!

It's back to the weights tonight!

I seem to be slacking on the weights a little lately but I am blaming HTB's work schedule.

What, you mean I can go lift weights on my own?

What fun would that be?! 

They are predicting 6-8 inches of snow where we live for tonight/tomorrow.

Of course the majority is supposed to happen overnight.

We'll see what happens, but that may change the morning workout plan a little!

I think someone forgot to tell Mother Nature it is March now!

Oh wait, it's supposed to be in the 50s this weekend!

Welcome to Ohio!

Weekend Review

Friday: 5.5 mile run outside
Saturday/Sunday: Nada, Zip, Zilch
Monday a.m.: Insanity Cardio Plyometric Circuit

Wow, what a busy yet lazy weekend!

Friday night's run was just what I needed after a few rough days at work.

A good friend to vent to and nice (cold) fresh air cure a lot of things!

A margarita might have done the trick too.

Saturday I got to spoil my friend Tara who is expecting her little girl in May.

This little princess is already spoiled rotten.

It's so fun to spoil babies though!

Sorry for the bad pic, but i was way across the room and only had my phone

This gift got lots of laughs - best part is that it was from her mother-in-law!

Sunday I got to hang out with some great ladies and do a little shopping!

Autumn and I started the week off right with Insanity this morning. Hopefully we'll get at least 3 Insanity workouts in together this week. It's so much easier to get up at 4:50 a.m. when you know your work out buddy is counting on you!

I feel like all I did was run around all weekend, but it was worth it to spend time with so many friends.

Boot Camp

Wednesday: 45 minute Boot Camp
Thursday: Rest

I'm trying to mix things up a little bit to make sure I don't get bored and it seems to be working. I have enjoyed working out much more this week. 

Wednesday night I went to boot camp at Custom Physiques with my friend Autumn. She has been telling me about it for months and it was finally time to try it!

The gym is super cute. It's small, but very modern.

Photos from Facebook

There were only 7 of us in the class. It felt almost like personal training for only $10!

We did 3 different circuits.

The first circuit had 4 different exercises, the second had 3 and then we did an all ab circuit.

Wow, it was tough!

But of course I loved every second of it - I will definitely go back!

I needed a rest day Thursday. So we rested and ate ice cream. Perfect end to the day I had.

Have a great weekend!