In the zone and sick again

Saturday:

I almost didn't run this morning.

I woke up with my favorite pinched nerve in my neck a few days ago and it has really been lingering (just ask Tom, he has to listen to me whine). I said I wouldn't run today if it was still hurting, but I really wanted to run.

The first few miles were mostly unpleasant. The pain in my neck/shoulders made it feel like I couldn't quite catch my breath. At about mile 4, I suddenly felt better. I could still feel some pain, but I was breathing more easily.

Our run has a really mean hill towards the end, and for some reason today when I hit the top, I felt great. I didn't really realize it was happening until one of my group made a comment that I always say I'm slow, but that I was pulling away from the group.

I was in the zone, I didn't feel like I was working really hard, my breathing was even and my feet were barely hitting the ground. I just went with it and finished the last half mile ahead of the group.

It was a nice high until I got home and was telling Tom about it, and somehow managed to hit my head on the freezer door handle. Hard. Don't ask, I have no idea how I managed it.

It's fun to watch Tom and Buddy play.

Sunday:

So, I wrote the above on Saturday afternoon, and then I was taken down by nausea and fever. Today was spent on the couch trying to get some nutrients in me and sleeping on and off. Hopefully I'm functional in the morning, we'll see how it goes.

Faster and shorter

I know I said this before, but I have no idea how I used to work so many hours. With my assistant out of town, I worked 7:30-6:10 today. Then it took me a little while to decide what I was going to do for my run.

My training plan called for 6 miles - a warm up, 4 miles at 9:19 and a cool down. There was no way that was happening, but I wanted to get some speedwork done, so I went with faster and shorter instead.

I ran .25 miles @ 10:00 pace (that's almost like a warm up, right?), 2 miles @ 8:34 and another .25 miles @ 8:00 pace. I ended up at 2.5 miles in 21:39.

Gross.

Much better than the not running at all that I wanted to do.

When Tom leaves the house, Buddy runs upstairs to look out the window in the office to see if he can see where Tom is going.

Tom made a pizza on the grill for dinner.

I didn't manage to take a picture until we'd eaten half of it. Pepperoni and banana peppers, yes.

Tomorrow is finally Friday, and I can't wait! It has been a long week with crazy kiddos. They will be changing classrooms at the end of the month, and I think they're starting to get a little anxious about the upcoming change.

Some circus art, a hot run, and a spoiled dog

I'm just going to erase nap time from my memory for the rest of the week. I have a kiddo that will not be quiet/calm/still at all and has been keeping pretty much everyone up lately. Her family recently moved, so her last day is Friday. I can make it to Friday.

Here are a couple of our circus crafts from the week.

I actually ran outside after work today. Tom was doing some home improvement stuff and the power to the treadmill was off, so I braved the heat. It wasn't as hot out as I thought it was going to be, which was nice.

3 easy miles around the neighborhood, ignoring the pinched nerve I woke up with this morning.

I was feeling pretty runner-y when I got home.

There are worse places to come home to.

Buddy has such a hard life. He hung out with me on the back deck while I cooled off after my run. The hardship.

We wanted something easy for dinner, so I made BLTs and we inhaled some of our favorite avocado salsa along with our sandwiches.

I'm hoping to get to bed early, my assistant is on vacation until the middle of next week, which basically means I have to work all. day. long.  I'm not super happy about the situation.

Cholula goes on everything

I was pretty excited to get off work on time today. I got a new tank top (really just a new color of my favorite tank from Oiselle - it was on sale!) that needed to go for a run. 

It was 4 easy miles on the TM while I watched the latest MasterChef. And then I was sad because one of my favorite people on the show got sent home.  

Just a little sweaty.

Look how cute this dog is.

Look closer.

Dinner tonight was a big mix of things - sweet potatoes, onions, black beans, kale, eggs, avocado and cilantro.

That was before I covered it in hot sauce.

Cholula goes on everything.

House hunting and sushi

Oh hey, it's Monday again. 

We had a really nice Sunday, starting with coffee, pancakes, and generally relaxing. 

Buddy and I went for a walk in the sunshine. He was pretty much exhausted for the rest of the day.

Then, Tom and I headed out to check out some houses.

The first place we went was cute, but way too small. It had a really pretty yard though, and a little shed/chicken coop.

The second place we saw was really cute.

Really cute.

It also had a creek/brook in the front yard, and you have to drive over a little bridge to go up the driveway.

Then we were off to the last place, which felt really cramped. I didn't even take any pictures there.

We have a few more that we want to check out, it doesn't feel like we've found the right one yet. 

Today was fairly uneventful, just a very long day at work because my assistant called out. Then, Tom and I had sushi for dinner. I don't think I've had sushi since we left Kodiak. It's been a while.

Do you like sushi? What's your favorite roll? 

Not a bad morning's work

I woke up before my alarm this morning for some reason.

I decided to combine my group run with my long run this week. Technically, Saturday is a rest day on my training plan, and I usually run 6.5+ miles with the group and then do my long run on Sunday.

So I met up with the group and did 6.57 miles in 1:01:47. We started off at a reasonably slow pace this morning, but were joined by a woman who ran Boston in 3:18 at the halfway point. We were going much faster after that. When I got home, I ran another 6.6 miles on the treadmill in 1:09:28. 

Not a bad morning's work.

Buddy has been sleeping on my shoes lately.

I think he's trying to tell me that I have too many shoes in the living room.

My made a pretty lazy circus bulletin board at work the other day.

One of the other teachers made a crack about having a flaming ring, so, of course, I had to make one.

I probably should have made it bigger, but there were some structural issues since it's made of paper and pipe cleaners.

The main reason I wanted to move my long run this week is that we are going to look at some houses tomorrow. Hopefully we see something cool! :)

A little Thursday Randomness

It's been a little crazy here.

Buddy got string from his rope toy stuck in his teeth/gums and it got infected. He had to take a trip to the vet yesterday to get it taken care of. He was a little dopey the rest of the afternoon.

Since he's not allowed to have rope toys anymore, Tom bought him a couple of new toys at the pet store.

Buddy approves.

This was all over the internet, so when I saw it at the store, I had to try it. It was actually really good. Very refreshing, and not a weird fake watermelon flavor.

I dyed cotton balls with food coloring the other day so we could make "cotton candy" during art yesterday. They ended up being pretty cute, and none of the kids tried to eat it.

I ran 3 easy miles again yesterday in my fancy new shoes. I had a little bit of heel slippage on one foot (it must be my smaller foot), but a little creative lacing seems to have fixed it.

Today was supposed to be some speedwork with mile repeats, but I did something to my lower back picking up one of the bigger kids today at work. So, instead, I'm laying on the couch with Tiger Balm on my back and trying not to move around too much.

There have also been a lot of things happening at work this week. Some craziness because of the kiddos and some serious non-napping, and some craziness on the management side of things. It is pretty well sorted out now (other than the non-napping), so it should be a nice day tomorrow.