Weekend Things

Things are happening with the house again! We had the plumber and electrician out this weekend for a few little things. They needed to get finished because insulation work starts tomorrow!

We actually started talking about paint colors today - it's happening! We aren't going to live in a construction zone forever!  :)

The plumber was going to be here early on Saturday morning, so I didn't think I would be able to meet up with my running group. He ended up having a schedule change which worked out nicely for me.

I was up and out the door early on Saturday and ran just shy of 7 miles on the trails with my group. Some of our normal trails still had snow/ice on them from last weekend's storm, so we were a little limited in our route.

I came home and lounged around with the pooch and some coffee.

My post-run clashing game is only growing stronger.

I got my race packet for the Nuun Year Dash, a virtual race that's being held next weekend. I'm not usually big on virtual races, but when it's hosted by Nuun, you know I can't say no!

There's a new flavor of Nuun coming out next week - I've heard a rumor that it's orange mango. I'm not usually big on all things mango, but I'll definitely give it a try!

Today was mostly errands and chores. I took our recycling in, which we only do about once every 6 months or when it threatens to take over the kitchen. Today's haul was 215 bottles and cans, which may be a record for us. The afternoon was spent moving firewood from the wood pile to the front porch, necessary, but no fun.

Today was also the last day of Yoga Camp. I have really enjoyed yoga camp, and I'm really impressed that I did every single day. It showed me that I can always find/make time to get a little yoga/stretching in. I'm really good about getting my runs in, but I'm also really good at convincing myself I don't have time for the other stuff.

So, what's next? Well, I'm almost definitely signing up for a free trial week of Adriene's subscription site, and we'll see how things go from there.

I may have started looking at fall marathons this weekend. Maybe.

Clashing and Running

Some randomness from my day:

My car has a little spot that is just right for a container of Nuun. 

I'm not sure I could clash any more if I tried. In my defense, I don't go out looking like this.

You can't tell, but it was snowing really hard when I took this picture.

So I quite naturally changed really quickly to go for a run in the snow. It was snowing harder than I thought it was and I had snow flying in my eyes for the first half mile. It was fun though!

I can't believe that Yoga Camp is almost over! There are only two days left, and I'm very seriously considering signing up for Adriene's streaming subscription. She has tons of videos on YouTube, but there are a lot more (and longer ones) on her member site.

I haven't done any headstands in a while. I got a little in my own head after I fell out of one last year and tweaked my neck. I decided it was time to start working on them again, because I really do like doing them. After yoga camp today I managed to kick up (near a wall, but without using the wall) into a headstand. Hopefully soon I'll get back to doing them in the middle of the room.

Buddy's ready for the weekend. He's been running with Tom a lot lately, so he's even sleepier than usual. I'm sleepier than usual too, but that's mostly my own fault since I can't seem to get to bed at a reasonable hour lately.

More Snow

We ended up getting around 8 inches of snow yesterday, which is much nicer than the 18 inches they thought we were going to get. 

I threw on some trail running shoes (for added traction) and hit the road for four miles this morning.

The roads were clear for the most part. There were just a few areas of slush and snow. The real danger was the people driving like maniacs through the neighborhood. One car flew by way too fast and way too close and ended up kicking a (small) rock up into my face.

Thanks.

On the bright side, it didn't leave a mark, but it definitely stung.

It was really pretty out though!

I took Buddy out to run around the yard when I got home. It doesn't take much to wipe him out for the rest of the day.

I can't believe how fast this month has gone. There is only a week left, which means only a week of yoga camp left! I'm already trying to decide what I'm going to do when yoga camp is over. I want to keep doing yoga, and it's been proven that I'm more likely to stick to something if I have a plan.

Snow Day

My training plan called for 5k at race pace today. That didn't end up happening. Barely anything ended up happening. 

The snow started at 8am and pretty much hasn't stopped. If it were just snow, I probably would have gone out for a run, but the wind made that a little lot less appealing. 

Buddy and I ran around the yard this afternoon - we've gotten a lot more snow since I took these pictures. 

It seemed like a good day to try out one of the hot chocolates that Tom's parents gave us for Christmas.

We only had jumbo marshmallows from making s'mores this summer, so I tore one up to add to my mug.

I did today's yoga camp video and 3 minutes of planks (not all at once), but otherwise spent a lot of time playing on my computer and watching Harry Potter.

There are worse ways to spend a day.

ALL the Cookies!

It's impossible for me to walk past new Oreo flavors. I can't help myself.

These ones are really good - I like the cinnamon cookie - though I do question if it's really an Oreo if it isn't chocolate.

Tom made really amazing clam chowder for dinner last night.

I may have had more than one bowl.

My run on Tuesday was 6x400m repeats at 5k pace. Every repeat was into the wind and it was super cold out, but I did it. Apparently it took more out of my than I thought it did, because my run today was insanely slow. It was supposed to be an easy run day anyway, so I didn't push it, but I haven't run that slow in a long time.

Does anyone else lounge around after a run rather than actually showering and putting on clean clothes? That's not just me, right?

Yoga camp has been great this week (and the whole month, really)! It has been more mellow and less power yoga, which feels great and has helped improve my mood on more than one occasion.

Buddy hasn't been able to go running lately because the roads are covered in salt right now. He looks so sad every time I leave without him, but I don't want the salt to hurt his paws. I also don't want him to eat any of it. I periodically chase him around the yard instead, which he seems to accept as an alternative.

He's so cute.

Bright Lights, Big City

I'm not sure how it happened, but the weekend got away from me again. 

One of my cousins was in town for a wedding, so we got to have lunch with him and his super sweet 11 month old. We realized it had been over 6 years since the last time we saw each other. 

Time is crazy. 

On Saturday we took the train down to the city to go to a baby shower for one of Tom's friends. Sometimes I forget how close we live to NYC, I don't have a reason to go there very often.

The party had a pretty great view, and way too much champagne.

I'm always impressed by how bright Times Square is.

Buddy was glad that we came home. He's always pretty sure we're gone forever. 

I managed to drag myself out for a few miles this afternoon, and, by some sweet miracle, Yoga Camp was only 15 minutes today. I wasn't really up for anything super intense.

My training plan is a mess this week. I pretty much didn't follow it at all, and my mileage was lower than I would like. I could come up with plenty of excuses, but I just didn't make it a priority this week. On the bright side, I did make it to the mat for all of my Yoga Camp days.

There's always next week.

Procrastination and Motivation

The thing I like about having a race to train for is that even on days where I just don't want to get out the door, I do. I did not want to do anything after work today. I spent a while laying on the bed and playing with my phone rather than getting changed into my running clothes. 

I did eventually hit the road for an easy three miles and, after even more procrastinating, I rolled out my yoga mat for day 13 of Yoga Camp. If you want/need a nice, relaxing bit of yoga today, look no further. It was awesome. 

I had to share this picture of the boys from this afternoon. They're too cute.

We made this for dinner from Blue Apron - I didn't actually manage to take a picture of it when it was done because I was busy eating it.

It was really good, and we're already trying to figure out where we can buy these little rice cakes (tteok) so we can make it again. You can check out the recipe HERE. I love that they have their recipes up so you can see them even if you don't get deliveries.

What keeps you motivated to workout? Race sign ups? Bribery? Reward system?

Weekend Wrap-up

How was your weekend? Mine went too quickly! Don't they all?

All was right with my Saturday morning again, because this week I was with my people! I went back to my usual group and had a great run on the trails. 

For some reason, my legs really tightened up on the drive home

Buddy tried to get into his bed by himself. He wasn't very successful.

I did my yoga by the fire and got in Buddy's face. He always manages to look away right when I take pictures.

Yoga camp was super relaxing on Saturday - seriously, there was a pillow involved. I like having yoga camp to get in everyday - it helps me actually stretch after my runs. It doesn't matter how many books/articles I read, I still can't get myself to stretch regularly.

We had crazy amounts of rain today, absolute downpours. The last clouds brought insane winds and tons of rain, and then they were suddenly gone - leaving blue sky.

We started watching Making a Murderer on Netflix today. I'm surprised we got anything done. Have you watched it yet? It's completely insane/frustrating/maddening.

What was the best part of your weekend?

The Firewood Workout

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The downside of the cooler weather (that I was just so excited about) is that we go through a lot of firewood. Our wood stove is pretty awesome and most of the time that's all we use to heat the house. Tom and I usually move firewood together because it goes much faster with two people, but he's been busy with work the last few days.

This morning I spent a few minutes trying to get the Polaris to start (it doesn't like the cold), and made a few trips from the wood pile to the front porch. I hardly ever drive the Polaris, so I had fun once I got the hang of it.

I started with this:

And stopped when it looked like this:

It took me three trips and almost an hour to fill the thing, but at least now we're set for a while. My arms are tired, so I think it totally counts as a workout. ;)

Buddy and I took my new shoes (Mizuno Wave Rider 18s) our for a quick couple of miles this afternoon. I didn't want to do too much since I ran 13+ miles in the last two days, and am getting ready to jump back into training mode tomorrow.

My shoes match my hat. I didn't even notice until after I got home.

After our run I hit the mat for day 2 of Yoga Camp. It was a longer video than usual, but it was just the right combination of relaxing and challenging for me today.

If you're doing yoga camp, don't freak out when you see how long the video is (51 minutes). It sounds like it is the longest of the entire month, do what you can, accept where you are. I still fall out of balancing poses all the time. Enjoy the time you're taking for yourself and remember that you're not supposed to be an expert - it's day 2!

Are you a matchy-matchy person when it comes to workout clothes? I am not, it sometimes happens, and sometimes I clash terribly. 

Get Out and Do Things

I ran with a new (to me) group this morning. I always get a little nervous just showing up places (new running groups, yoga studios, etc), but I'm trying to make myself get out and do things from time to time. This group meets at 7:30am (ewwwwww), but they're about 15 minutes closer to the house than my usual group.

It was a little tricky to find where they meet, but I managed to get there before they all took off. Everyone was really nice, and explained the route to me.

There was another new woman who I started out running with, but neither of us knew where we were going and we were quickly losing sight of the others. She told me to go ahead. I felt bad leaving her, but she had her headphones and seemed perfectly happy to run on her own.

I did a little speedwork to catch up to a couple of people and chatted and ran with one older man for a while before he told me he needed to slow down and that I should go on. They have water and gatorade set up about 3.3 miles from where they start (they take turns putting it out every week), and some of the group waited there to make sure I knew where I was, which was nice. Then they were off again. Some took what is about an 11 mile route, and others went on one that is 13+ miles.

A few of us turned around at the water stop and I ended up running back with a man and his dog in total silence. Not really my idea of running with a group.

They run around a reservoir, which is very pretty (I forgot to take pictures), but there really aren't any mid-pack runners for me to run with.

My usual group starts together and ends together and you can always find someone to run with at any pace. There's more of a community feeling than with this other group. I know part of that feeling is because I'm new to the group, but if I hadn't made an effort to catch up with people, I feel like I may have been left behind.

After I got home, I lounged around with Buddy and some coffee before tackling the enormous pile of dishes in our kitchen. I was doing so well keeping up with the dishes until this week and then we were out of clean plates...

Yoga Camp officially kicked off yesterday, but Adriene understands that people might not be at their best on New Year's Day, so the yoga actually started today. It was a pretty relaxing video, which worked out nicely since I've been doing a lot of running the last couple days.

Do you ever run with a group?

Are you good at mornings? I'm not.