Mexico, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island... in that order.

I'm back! I won't be doing a full re-cap on my trip because it was very involved and would seriously take me 8 posts to cover it all. Instead, I will give you just a little snippet as to what I have been up to for the last week and a half. First half of the trip - Mexico, for a close friend's wedding.

While I was in Mexico, I only needed to get in 5 miles on Saturday and then a 3 mile run on Tuesday. Since there was really no where to run, unless I did so on the beach or left the resort (a big scary no for me), we did a bunch of kilometers on the treadmill. Their treadmills are set up way differently than ours are, because I had no idea how far I actually ran. I pretty much just ran for 45 minutes or so at a speed of 10 (clearly not the same) and figured it was about 4 -5 miles. I ended up skipping my Tuesday run since that was the day we left Mexico and we had 12 hours of travel time ahead of us. I needed all the sleep I could get.

Wednesday we woke up in Boston and headed out for a 3 mile run around a nearby park. We really had no idea where we were going, so we ended up just going round and round and then through and around the park over and over. We just ran until we got to 3 miles and called it quits. The route looks quite funny on the Nike app.

I spent the entire rest of Wednesday exploring Boston, so I wish I had gone running after that. We could have gone on a much more fun run around the city than what we did, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

Thursday was another really busy day. After doing some touristy Boston things with my sister in laws, we literally had 20 minutes to get to our hotel, grab our bags, and be on a train towards Providence. I thought I would have time later in the day to go for a run, but it just didn't happen. As soon as we got off the train we were in full wedding planning mode for my sister in law and spending some quality time with family.

On Friday morning, Mike and I woke up with a plan to run 6 miles around his cousin's house. She lives near a park along the water in Rhode Island, so we headed out by 8 am to begin our run. The run started out great on pretty flat land and then we hit the park. For some reason, my knee started bothering me around mile 2 and just wouldn't let up. I had to stop 3 or more times to stretch it out but each time I began running again, it felt awful. I could tell it was very swollen and it hurt the most to stretch it out or bend it completely. With each step I winced in pain. Finally, at 4 miles, Mike made me stop. He told me I was going to end up injuring myself worse, and though he was probably right, I didn't want to listen. I was feeling great and felt like my energy was really high for a 6 mile run. We walked the remaining 2 miles back to his cousin's house.

I was really worried about my knee. I still am a little worried that it is going to interfere with my training. After we ran, I alternated ice on and off for the next few hours which really helped with the pain. I was able to wear heels the next 2 nights without any issues and now my knee feels completely normal. Granted, I haven't ran since that day, so we will see how it goes when I am back at it tomorrow.

We had every intention of running this morning but to be perfectly honest, we are exhausted. We got back into town at 10 pm on Sunday night after a very busy few days with Mike's family and then both of us headed in to work on Monday morning. Right after work last night, we met my mom and her boyfriend half way between our houses to get our dogs and didn't get home until almost 10 pm again, getting us to bed much later than we wanted. There are suitcases and laundry piles all over our bedroom and it took us almost 30 minutes to pack up our gym bags this morning before finally realizing that even if we left at that second, we wouldn't be able to squeeze in a 3 mile run. Instead, Mike jumped in the shower while I cuddled up for 30 more minutes with the pups. I think we are all feeling a very early bedtime tonight. Right after we get some laundry started.

 
My plan is to get my 3 short runs in tomorrow, Thursday and Friday, rest on Saturday, and then get my long (7 mile) run in on Sunday. Then next week I am going to try to get back on my normal Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sat schedule. After talking with a few people about what my knee is feeling like, I think I just have to treat the symptoms by icing after runs and doing some really good stretches before and after each run. Luckily, I can ice my knee at work after my weekday runs, I just worry about allowing myself the icing time on the weekends. I tend to go, go, go on the weekends, but hopefully I can get in some good rest and relaxation for the remaining weeks of my training.

Have a great day! 

fascinating

I had to do some more bland rice and chicken cooking again this week, which can only mean one thing...

Somebody is sick. But this time it wasn't Franklin, it was our rock-gut pup, Deluca.

I feel like I am dealing with children, and I realize that kids get sick 25,643 more times than dogs, but I am over it. Mike said to me at 4 am when we were taking care of sick Deluca, "Do you know what our friends are doing right now? Not this." He is so right. But, we love them, and they are our 'kids,' so I guess we have to take the bad with the good. Deluca is already feeling better and pretty pissed that we have been skimping on the food portions.

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So, now that I have decided on which half marathon to do, I have created a fun calendar to keep me on track. I am not really a fan of doing some things electronically, so I used some good old paper, pens, and markers to create an exciting calendar. I love my iPhone and I love all that it does do for me, but there are a few things that I would just rather have on paper... to do lists, shopping lists, etc... just not the same when you can't cross them off with a pen.

The awesome news is that my sister AND my mom have decided they are running with me! When I texted my mom to see if she was around that weekend and that I might come stay and run in the half, she responded; "will try to get ready to do it with you!" Rock on mom, rock on. I called my sister out on the blog the other day about running with me and she commented; "challenge accepted." I think it is going to be so much easier to train, knowing I will be running with them. And how awesome will it be to finish a half marathon with 2 of the most incredible women in my life? My family really is the best.

Now we just have to get ready!

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I am a bridesmaid in a good friend's wedding in 2 weeks and she is having a bridal luncheon the day before the wedding. In a way to have all the bridesmaids stand out from the rest of the ladies, they have asked us all to wear fascinators. Think Kate Middleton...

Source

How fun is this?? I spent days (seriously) searching for the perfect fascinator and finally ordered one. I chose a total rando color, and I hope that whatever dress I decide to wear will look OK with the one I ordered.

I can not wait to see all the ladies in their fancy head wear. What a fun way to make a wedding event more festive? The pictures are going to be epic and I can only imagine what some of the other gals will show up with. I just spent an amazing weekend with those ladies in Vegas and they are all so much fun! It is going to be hysterical. I think I might have to suggest this idea when it comes time for another of my best friend's weddings... cough.lindsay.cough. :)

Have a great weekend!

decisions, decisions...

This past weekend, Mike and I headed to Huntington, West Virginia to see my family. My family has a big reunion each year and we have had to miss for the last few years due to weddings and other obligations, so I was really excited to get to go this year.

It was a fairly quick trip, leaving on Friday after work and returning on Sunday, but it was well worth it. I didn't take too many pictures on my phone, since we really just spent the days and nights catching up with family and watching the kids play, but I snapped a few while on a run on Saturday morning. My sister, Mike, and I went out for a 3 mile run near my Aunt and Uncle's house and although humid, it was really pretty.

We started out at my Aunt and Uncles and ran along a trail that led to a park.

The park we ran around was really cute, so of course I had to take a few photos.

When we got back near my Aunt and Uncle's house, we were right at 3 miles, so we called it a day.

With the massive amount of eating that was consumed later that day, we needed to do a little calorie burn beforehand. After the run, we spent the day at my uncles. It was a great weekend full of family and fun. Of course there was plenty of time with this little gal... who happens to have turned 5 years old today! I can't even get over how big she is getting! Here she is, taking self photos on my iPhone, when I wasn't even paying attention and climbing a tree all by herself.

Happy Birthday, Lil Bug! Aunt Dee Dee loves you soooo much!

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A while ago, I talked about considering doing a half marathon this coming September. I thought I had my mind made up to go ahead and register, but now I am reconsidering. I really want to do it, but I have a few hesitations.

1. Timing - The half that I was considering doing was the Rock 'N' Roll Virginia Beach half marathon on September 2. I haven't started training for it, and although I think I could still get the training in, I am a little nervous about injury and trying to do too much, too fast.

2. Money - The cost is up to $100 to enter and is only getting more and more expensive as the time passes. $100 is a lot of money just to accomplish a goal. Plus, the plan was to run it with Mike, and now we are talking $200. If I wait until next week to decide, the price is even more expensive.

3. Travel - We have been going non-stop this summer and won't be calming down until the end of August. I don't know if I want to throw yet another out of town trip onto our schedule, right when we thought we were done for a while.

So now, I am thinking I will look for some more challenging runs to do around here, that don't cost as much. Maybe even push back the half marathon to another time so that the weather is cooler and I will have plenty of time to train. There are a few options, including the Neuse River Bridge Run in New Bern, where my mom lives, the Just Think First Thanksgiving day half marathon here in Raleigh, or the City of Oaks half marathon, also in Raleigh. City of Oaks is the full marathon that Mike and his friends are planning to run in and I was hoping to be able to cheer him on along the sidelines, not running as well. I guess I am going to do a little more research and then decide.  Any suggestions for me?

100 miles

Hey there! I am going to try my hardest to post everyday this week, but I have a lot on my plate, so we will see if that happens. :)

I know I have been running long before March 5, but that is the day that I used the Nike+ GPS app for the first time. Since then, I have been hitting the pavement with that app and it slowly counted up all the miles I have completed. On Friday morning, when Mike and I went for a pre-work run, I hit the big one.

In a little over 2 months, I put 100 miles on these legs of mine. That is certainly something I can be proud of. :)

We ran the route over by his work and decided to reverse it this time. Bad move by me. The hills were 10x worse going the opposite direction that we usually go. It was rough.

We only did 3 miles, since we both planned to get a long run in on Saturday up in Virginia. We headed to Virginia Beach on Friday night after work to celebrate Mike's sister, Haylie, and her fiance, Tim, at their wedding shower.

Saturday morning, Mike, Haylie, Tim, Jay (our friend), and I headed out early in the morning to go for a run. Or in Haylie's case, a "blading session."

Mike and Jay made a lot of fun of her for roller blading, but she took it pretty well. At least she came with us!

We went running along the waterfront of Virginia Beach and it was so gorgeous. Running is so much easier when there are new and exciting things to look at and take pictures of. :)

Along our run, we went past an aquarium so, of course, I had to stop in to see the seals.

It was awesome to see them swimming around in the open tank. They are so adorable!

Since Haylie and I stopped to see the seals, the boys left us. It was fine with me since they had planned to run 11 miles that day and I only wanted to get in 5. When we got to the aquarium we were right around 3 miles, so Haylie and I turned around and headed to the boardwalk to finish up.

We ran along the boardwalk for a little while before we finally hit 5 miles. Then we enjoyed the beach for a few minutes.

It was quite windy, so I was getting pelted by sand in order to get this picture. When I got home, I had sand all throughout my scalp.  Oh the things to get a blog photo...

It was a really fun run and I am so glad the weather allowed for us to enjoy it. It was nice to catch up with my sister in law too.

We did about a 2 mile walk after this to get back to the car, so my legs were nice and stretched by the time we got home. I actually wasn't sore at all on Sunday either.

When we got home, I had to rush to get ready so I could help set up for the shower at one of Haylie's friend's houses. I was in charge of the chalkboard signs and paper poms, so once I was dressed, I hurried over there to get started. Those poms take forever to puff out!

The backyard was perfect for hanging poms from the trees and everything turned out so nice. The food was also amazing. The party was thrown by myself and two of Haylie's bridesmaids and I think we did an awesome job.

Those spicy thai noodles were banging. Yesterday, after we got home, I couldn't get them out of my head, so I tried to re-create them with stuff I had on hand in the house. They didn't even come close to tasting like the noodles at the party, but they were still ok.

Since Tim's family is from England, we tried to sneak in at least one element for their sake. The host of the party found a recipe for a traditional drink that is called "Pimm's Cup." It uses Pimm's gin and fruit juice, along with fresh fruit, mint, and rosemary to make a sangria-like drink. It was really tasty.

The favors were mason jars, so I had mine in one of those. There is something about a drink in a mason jar that just makes me so happy. Especially being outside with paper poms hanging all around.

The party was a lot of fun and I think the bride and groom really enjoyed themselves. We had a blast getting to know their friends and hanging out with the family.

Of course, Mike and I had to get a photo together. It is mandatory.

We all passed out at roughly 9:30 pm after the party. Running + a few drinks + entertaining others = exhausted.  Oh, and I forgot to mention we had to clean up a huge mess from my little puppy dog who decided he didn't want to stay in his cage while we were at the party all day. He somehow wedged himself out of his cage and tore up the entire house. Needless to say when we went out for lunch on Sunday, we had to get creative.

Little punk...

Have a good week!

tour de eastern Virginia

No post yesterday, I know! Things are a little crazy over here, so it just didn't happen. Forgive me. :)

This past weekend was so busy, but a lot of fun. We headed to Newport News, VA on Friday after work to stay with some good friends, Cassie and Jay. Mike actually grew up there, so it was nice for him to go back to his hometown and catch up with some old friends. We got there pretty late on Friday, so we just walked to a nearby tavern for a few drinks.

Mike and Jay are planning to run in a marathon together later this year, so they decided they wanted to go for a longer run on Saturday morning. I had initially agreed to run 7 miles with them, but changed my mind when Cassie informed me it was a pretty tough course they planned to run. She and I went for our own run along the water and through a really pretty area of town.

We ran through the Mariner's Museum,

across the Lion's Bridge,

and even caught a boat race that was going on.

It was a really fun and relaxed run, and I always enjoy new scenery and entertaining distractions.

It was really overcast on Saturday, but the weather was still pretty warm with a nice cool breeze. Probably the most perfect running weather, but the pictures look pretty dark.

After getting a good work out in, we all got ready and headed to Colonial Williamsburg for the day. The weather had dropped even more and it started raining as soon as we arrived. One of Mike's (and everyone else) favorite place for lunch is called The Cheese Shop. They make awesome sandwiches and have a great wine and beer list. We got a bottle to split between 6 of us, and sat outside in the freezing cold rain, and enjoyed lunch.

Luckily, the rain let up a bit while we were eating, so we were able to continue our day in Williamsburg walking around and then heading to the outlets for a little shopping. Look at these gorgeous flowers they had planted all over the outlets! I want to plant these at my house!

Mike and I both racked up in the clothes department, so we are set for summer. Everyone was pretty exhausted after a long and busy day, but we wanted to go out for a good dinner, so we freshened up after shopping, and headed out.

my loot

We headed to a place in Hampton, VA called Conch and Bucket. It was a really cute place with really great food and wine. We started with a bottle of tempranillo and I got a bowl of soup to help warm me up.

This place had really weird lighting, so I couldn't use a flash, but it was a little too dark without, so I just had to make do. Sorry for the bad pictures.

The soup I ordered was poblano pepper soup with a big chunk of goat cheese in the middle. It was delicious. It was slightly spicy, but so creamy after stirring in the goat cheese.

For my entree, I ordered the mussels. I have only ever had mussels shared with others and never have ordered them just for myself, but I was so glad I did. These things were amazing. Of course they served some bread on the side, perfect for dipping.

After dinner, we sat around and talked for probably another hour. We were all pretty tired, so going somewhere else did not sound fun at all, but we were enjoying each others company too much to go home. It was a really fun night, with really great friends.

Our cute hosts!

We had such a great weekend with them and I am pretty excited that we get to see them again this coming weekend too!  A big group of us are heading to the beach to celebrate Mike's birthday and we are all so pumped about it. It is seriously TIME for a beach weekend, it just feels right.

On Sunday we packed up and headed to my sister in law's house in Virginia Beach to hang out for a bit. Then, we got to take my little baby cousin to lunch, which was a lot of fun. Isn't he so adorable? Can you believe I used to babysit him?? Wow... I am old.

After lunch we went to see our soon to be brother in law at work and got some really fun pictures since he is a firefighter.

Nerd alert...

It was a really great weekend, spent with some really great people. :)

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Needless to say, after an exhausting weekend, I didn't make it to the gym or out for a run yesterday. We worked all day, came home, made dinner, and then headed out to trivia night with our bible study crew. When we got back at 9 pm, Mike studied while I got ready for bed. 

Have a fabulous Tuesday!

Yesterday's Stats:
Calories (-) 278
Sodium (-) 183
Protein (-) 7