Costa Rica: Arenal Volcano, Rainforest & Hot Spings!

Monday: 2.1 mile dog walk
Tuesday a.m.: Squat challenge

There's been a lot of excitement lately in the RunnerB household which has made it quite difficult to get back into a routine. I am trying though!

To help kickstart getting back to my routine I decided to give the 30 Day Squat Challenge another try.

 I did fairly well with this my last go round, but stopped right before the Flying Pig events to make sure my legs were ready to race.

So hopefully I make it through all 30 days this time!

Our first full day in Costa Rica we decided to do an all day excursion to Arenal Volcano, the rainforest and the hot springs. We really wanted to experience the country so we thought this excursion would help us do quite a bit of that all at once.

The day started out beautifully with an incredible blue sky. We made a few stops on the way (a 3 hour drive).  We took a boat across Lake Arenal to get better views of the volcano.
As we got closer to the volcano it started to cloud over.

Once we crossed the lake, the bus took us to the top of a trail in the rainforest so we could hike down. And trust me, they don't call it a rainforest for nothing!

At least we got the full RAINforest experience!

Unfortunately we didn't get a lot of pictures in the rainforest because of the rain. Lesson learned - purchase waterproof point and shoot camera - it would have come in handy quite bit on this trip!

After the rainforest we went to the Titoku Hot Springs.

This places was gorgeous! The gardens surrounding it were unreal.

I only took one picture because it started raining again after I was in dry clothes and I didn't want to get wet or risk hurting my camera.

There were 8 different pools and they ranged in heat - the top pool is the hottest and they get cooler as you go down. Of course there is a full service bar too!

After the hot springs we went to another resort for dinner before the long drive back.

It was a long day, but well worth it. We got to see so much of this beautiful country in one shot!

Weekend Review: Wedding To Do's

Friday p.m.: weights
Saturday: 8 mile run outside
Sunday: dog walking
Monday a.m: 2 mile treadmill run

Monday, Monday, Monday!

It was difficult to get up, but I greeted this morning with a very short workout.

A quick 2 mile treadmill run then squats. I am up to date on the squat challenge!

I'm a little behind on my trashy mag reading at the gym - I've been too addicted to news.

Saturday's running club was quite touching. Words can't express how amazing it was just to be with my running family.

#bostonstrong

 

 One of our members made the blue and yellow ribbons for each of us to wear. I got to run with my friend that started chemo last week and my friend that finished the Boston marathon just minutes before the bomb went off.

I felt very lucky to be able to run with them.

 

This weekend we also crossed a few things off of the wedding to do list!

Saturday we found my wedding band! I was stressing about this since we are only 39 days away from the Big Day, I am relieved it is taken care of!

I really didn't care about the wedding band since I LOVE my engagement ring so much, but it was still one more item to do and therefore I stressed.

We had a nice dinner at Wine Guy Kitchen & Bar then hung out with my brother and sister-in-law and the niece and nephews. They are too cute and so much fun to be around!

HTB had to work all day Sunday. I did all the fun errands (Target and grocery shopping) before my dress fitting appointment.

Sorry, this is all you get to see!

After HTB got home he settled in to watch the Liverpool game and I made some homemade pizza for dinner. I finally tried Trader Joe's pizza dough. It's delicious. Inexpensive. And super easy to use.

I may not make my own dough ever again.

I hope this week is less hectic than last week!

Sole Sisters & Squat Challenge

Thursday a.m.: 2 mile treadmill run, squats, abs

Thank goodness it's Thursday! This week has worn me out and Thursday means only one more day with a 4:45 a.m. wake up call!

Knowing I have a wedding dress fitting Sunday has made it easy a little easier to get out of bed each morning though! 43 days until the Big Day! #butwhoiscounting

I wasn't quite on time to the gym, so I did a shorter workout, but since tonight is a weight night at my other gym, I'm totally OK with that.

Source

I've seen this going around quite a bit, so I figured why not?!

We'll see how long I stick to it though, I don't always have the long term motivation for these type of things.

Last night we had the second meeting for our newly formed women's group part of my running club - Sole Sisters. We met a cute little book store and cafe.

It's been fun getting to know these women not in running clothes for once!

I'm super excited to see where this group goes!