TGI... THURSDAY!

Mike and I had a great anniversary evening, complete with the ever romantic dinner in front of the TV. :) Like I said before, we did a big dinner over the weekend, so we had a very chill night on our actual anniversary. Of course there were plenty of gifts and a little wine, but we kept everything very low key.

Our dinner consisted of roasted potatoes and broccoli, with a fried egg on top. It is seriously our favorite dinner ever.

Then we enjoyed our dinner while sitting on the couch and catching up on some TV.

I ended up ditching my wine for some milk, cause that is how I roll.

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Yesterday morning, I got up and ran 5 miles. It is hard to believe that this is my last week of "training" before just a few short runs next week to prepare for the race. I took it easy on this 5 mile run, because I need to be able to do 12 miles this weekend.  I ended up taking Friday off, so I plan on getting my long run done first thing tomorrow morning, instead of trying to squeeze it in this weekend.

I am getting really excited about the race next weekend, but I am super excited about this weekend coming up. We have so many friends coming into town for a wedding and I am so excited to actually be able to just enjoy a wedding for once. This will be the first one this year that I am not involved in and I get to just show up and enjoy the festivities.

I hope you all have a great weekend!

2 years

I want to wish my wonderful, amazing, sweet, adorable, and always smiling husband a very happy anniversary. 2 years ago, I got to marry my best friend and the love of my life. I can't help but feel so incredibly lucky and blessed to have found him. I am excited for many, many more years together and if they are even close to being as happy as the last 2 years have been, I will be one lucky lady.

We celebrated over the weekend by going to a nice dinner and splitting a bottle of wine, so tonight we will probably just lay low, make our favorite meal (eggs over roasted veggies), and maybe have a glass of wine.

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After our run on Saturday, my legs felt like death. I started to believe that something was actually wrong with them, because it felt as if I had 1 million tiny charlie horses running through my calves and thighs. It was a feeling I had never felt before. We came home, took a shower, and then I iced my knee while elevating my legs on the couch for a bit. I tried to take a nap, but it wasn't happening. It was really nice to have the whole day to just relax for once.

We finally got ready and headed to one of our favorite celebration spots, Midtown, around 6. I didn't take any pictures, just one that the sweet waitress took after giving us some free chocolate torte to take home for later.

It was a perfect evening. :)

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On Sunday, Mike and I headed to church and then ran a bunch of errands. We went grocery shopping and while Mike went to the hardware store, I went to the Dollar Tree. I love to go in there every once in a while, just to see what they have. Sometimes, there is nothing worth buying, but SOMETIMES, there is something that you have been looking for forever, and there it is... just a $1.

Seriously, I have been searching for one of these for over a month. I feel like it will be so much easier to carry while I am running, and when it is empty, I can just fold it up and put it in my pants. I can not believe they had them. I went ahead and got one for Mike as well, since they were only $1. :)

We also decided to get a little fall festive on Sunday by purchasing a few seasonal items at the grocery store.

That cider is awesome but the pumpkin eggnog? OMG, delish. I am rationing it out to myself in very small increments, since it is not the healthiest thing in the world.

It is like fall in a glass. yum.

I headed to the gym this morning to do my run since it was FREEZING and raining outside. I am hearing that it is supposed to warm up for the rest of the week, so hopefully, that will be the last time I have to run on the treadmill until after my half marathon. I hate that thing... but I am sure I will be using it a lot more come the winter time.

300

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Ours was busy, but actually really restful and productive.

On Friday night our plans got cancelled, which was actually something we didn't mind at all. We took the opportunity to make some dinner, rent a movie, and get a good night's sleep. Since Mike and I both had really long runs planned for Saturday morning, we made a baked pasta dish that would give us some good fuel for the morning.

We also had a few glasses of red wine, since it was a stressful week and we needed to unwind a bit.

It was a perfect way to spend a Friday night.

For the pasta, we used grilled chicken, my homemade pasta sauce, and a bunch of different types of cheese all mixed together with some bow tie noodles. We cooked everything separately and then threw it in a casserole dish with the cheese and warmed it in the oven. It turned out pretty delish and we will be eating for lunch over the next few days. :)

On Saturday morning, we headed out early to get our long runs out of the way. I had 11 miles on the plan and they actually went really well. For the first time ever, I felt like I had paced myself really well, and didn't get burned out half way through. It wasn't until about 8.5 miles that my knee started to flare up. I took about 2 or 3 breaks to really stretch it out and I was able to finish out all 11 miles. I must say that by mile 10.5, I was ready to be done! I am really hoping that adrenaline takes over when I am running my half and I can push through that feeling.

I was really proud of myself for not letting my runs get any slower than 10'01. That is a pretty big accomplishment for me.

That run put me over the 300 mile mark. Pretty exciting! 

I am not sure how I am going to squeeze 12 miles in this coming Saturday with a house full of overnight guests and a wedding that evening. I hope my legs can handle dancing after 12 miles! We shall see!

More weekend re-cap in the morning! Happy Monday!

Life

This... probably the most incredible thing I have ever read. My sister is amazing. And, dead.freaking.on.

That is all. :)

Happy Friday!

a thrilling post on running and brussel sprouts

I just went to my phone for photos for today's blog post and realized I only have 3. 2 of them actually just being screenshots from my run this morning, so they really don't count. Things have been.... well, hectic in my brain lately. Today was the first day this week that I got out for a run because of a few unexpected activities with work, but I guess sometimes that happens.

So, I apologize for the quick, and probably quite boring post that you are about to see. :)

I got 5 miles in today because I figured that since I haven't ran all week, and I can't run tomorrow in order to save my legs for 11 miles on Saturday, 3 miles would have just been crap.

With a lot on my mind and a podcast blasting in my ears, I felt like this run went really well. I wasn't trying to go fast or hard, I just wanted to enjoy the cooler weather and finish in time before work.

For dinner last night, I made some ground turkey tacos and brussel sprouts. I know, rando combination, but Mike had bought me a huge stalk of brussel sprouts last week and I wasn't going to let them go to waste. I am working at the hospital tonight, so I wanted to use them up last night. They ended up working out perfectly because while I was hungry enough for a 2nd taco, I decided to go with a heaping mound of sprouts instead. That left me perfectly full, without overdoing it.

That is all I've got for today! Have a good one!

top 5

Mike and I ran in the March of Dimes 5K race on Saturday, with a bunch of people from his work. I was pretty excited about this race, since I hadn't done anything speed related since starting my half marathon training. With all of the miles I have put into running lately, I figured I could set a pretty good PR for this race, and I was pumped. 

Of course, it was a great getting to run with my favorite running pal, Layne, but just before we headed to the starting line, the rain started to come down. Before picture:

After picture... and after the rain:

 Of course, Mike and I had to get an after picture as well:

This run was awesome. Not really the course, or the rain, but because I felt unstoppable. I really pushed myself, which is not something I do very often, but it gave me a great feeling. If you can believe it, I finished this 5K in 25:41 with a pace of 8:20. My best 5K to date and I even finished in the top 5 females in my age group.

Not only did I make huge strides with this run, but Mike and Layne did as well. Mike finished his run in 24:01 with an average pace of 7:47. His best run to date as well.

Check out my splits! I was moving in that first mile!

After our race, Mike and I went home to get ready before heading to Greenville for the ECU game. It was rainy and gross out, but it was still a fun time. Plus... I got to wear my new rain boots. Win-win.

Sunday, Mike and I did a lot of running around. After church, he headed out for a 17 mile run while I went shopping. :) I got supplies to fall-ify our house, starting with a new wreath for our front door.

It turned out better than I expected and I love the way it looks. I expected it to take me all day to put together, but it was actually really easy!

While I was crafting, I had dinner cooking away. Mike and I were both in the mood for something hearty, so I ran to the store and got ingredients to make a pot roast. I had to call my mom for a few pointers, but it turned out really good.

I learned a few tricks for next time, and even figured out how to make gravy from scratch, so I was pretty excited for how it came out. Mike and I have been eating leftovers for lunch and everything actually tasted better the 2nd and 3rd day. I love when that happens.

Well, things around here have been really busy, so I better get back to it! Have a great day and week!

it's really happening!

This week I signed up for my half marathon. Not only did I sign up, buy my sister also signed up.  I was excited when I first signed up on Tuesday, but now that I know my sister has signed up, I am beyond excited. (and why do her blog posts always get me choked up??)

The nerves are definitely starting to set in, and I am feeling frantic about getting as much information as possible about the race: the fuel, the water, the everything. These next few weeks are going to be brutal, but I can't wait to cross that finish line.

Yesterday, I did my 3rd run in a row, and per usual, it sucked. After having 2 great runs in a row, this one just blew. My legs felt heavy, my body felt tired, and I pretty much just went through the movements to get 3 miles done. I am glad I did it, and I never regret a run, but it certainly wasn't anything great.

I will not be doing a long run this weekend, since my training plan has me running a race. Mike and I will be running in a 5K on Saturday morning before heading to Greenville to watch the ECU football game. I am hoping that I can PR at this race, since I haven't raced in a while and my running has come such a long way.

The last 5K I ran was back in April and was my fastest race ever at a pace of 8:34, finishing in 26:35. If you remember in this post, I have gotten progressively faster over the last year and a half, and I would like to continue my streak. Let's hope I can beat 26:35 tomorrow! (btw, my ONLY goal for the half marathon will be to finish... so don't expect anything spectacular).

On Wednesday night, I had the chance to make a real dinner. I had done my run in the morning, so when we got home from work, Mike headed out for a run while I cooked.

Quinoa in the rice cooker, made with homemade chicken broth.

Stir fried chicken, red bell peppers, onions, garlic, and soy sauce, with cumin and red pepper flakes added.

Roasted sweet and white potatoes.

Mixed all together for a delicious meal and plenty of leftovers. :)

Also on Wednesday, I had a lunch time favorite sandwich: peanut butter and banana, along with mango, carrots and celery.  (I didn't eat the apple)

My department always celebrates Chocolate Wednesdays, which is awesome, especially around Halloween.

I am super excited it is Friday, and ready for the weekend. Tonight I am going to prep some food for our tailgate tomorrow, and then probably just relax. I hope you all have a relaxing weekend as well!

chocolate glazed donuts

I am pretty sure it was a bad idea to run twice in less than 12 hours, but it just had to happen. I didn't wake up early enough yesterday morning to get a run in, so I went last night. Then, in order to allow for sufficient couch time tonight, I went again this morning. To be honest, it really didn't feel too bad, and I think I ran faster than normal.

We took Franklin with us last night, so he kept us moving. Mike and I were both running in the sub 9 minute miles for a majority of our run.

This morning, I went ahead and knocked out my 5 mile run. I was a little concerned that running 5 miles 12 hours after running 3 last night would be troublesome, but I think it worked out just fine. I wouldn't do it often, but every once in a while, it can certainly be done.

Both runs felt pretty awesome and I didn't have any knee pain or complaints. My shoes are finally starting to feel broken in and don't cut off the circulation to my feet after the first 15 minutes, which is a total win, I was really thinking I was going to need another pair of new shoes. This weather lately has been perfect, and I think that is helping a lot with my speed.

Mike has been recovering from his runs with chocolate milk, so I decided to give that a try today. I just read in Runner's World Magazine about how chocolate milk is considered the perfect recovery drink. I must say, it was a welcome treat after a 5 mile run. :)

So over the weekend, I woke up and decided I wanted chocolate doughnuts. Why? This is why. Ever since I saw that post last week, I haven't been able to get them out of my head. Sure, I could have ran out to the store and grabbed some, but I thought they would be better if I made them.

I made up the dough and heated some oil.

It took me a while to figure out just how long to leave them in the oil, because some came out dry and others came out not done.

They turned out pretty good. They were no Dunkin, but they definitely hit the spot.

Hope you all have a great day!