You like running, remember?

I didn't want to get up this morning. I had previously anticipated this when I wrote the label for my alarm.

I was disorganized this morning and forgot my Garmin. I left late, hit every light on the way there, and almost missed the group. I pretty much had time to say hello before we were off.

I turned on my nike+ app and threw my ipod in my zip pocket so I could check my time/mileage at the end since I was without my watch. It was refreshing to not check my pace all the time. We ended up doing 6.26 miles at 9:46 pace.

Aside from the waking up early on a Saturday, I have really been liking my group runs.

There is something really nice about having another pair of shoes pounding the gravel beside you on a run. Even though there are miles where we don't even speak, it's  good to have someone else there for motivation. It somehow makes the miles go by so much faster. Even the hills.

I have a new respect for those of you who train in crazy heat/humidity. It was only in the 60s during our run this morning, but the humidity was somewhere around 97%. It wasn't too bad, but we were all sweating like crazy and I can only imagine how it is going to feel when we get into the summer months.

We had our work picnic today, the sun came out for it, which made it REALLY hot in the yard. Of course, it was cloudy and looked like rain when I left the house, so I didn't have sunscreen on. Luckily a parent had some, so I'm not a crispy lobster right now.

Lots of families came and there were tons of treats and snacks. Certain people (staff) arrived late and left early, leaving the rest of us to set up and put everything away. While I understand not wanting to spend your whole day at work, I wish they realized that they just made more work for the rest of us.

I did make off with some snacks during clean up though.

Don't mind if I do.

Buddy is watching out for the thunderstorms that are supposed to be on their way.

Would you rather run in really hot weather or really cold weather?

I would choose really cold, all the way. I'm not made for the heat, maybe I spent too much of my life in the Pacific Northwest. :)

I'm an excellent example

Happy Friday!

It's been such a long time since I have had my usual Friday assistant at work, but she was back today! They have needed her in another class the last few weeks (they are currently between lead teachers). The other class wanted me to give her back today. No way.

We only had 7 kiddos and had a generally mellow day. We also gave the moms their Mother's Day gift - I think they turned out pretty cute.

It is laminated, and I'm a lazy photographer, so it looks a little warped. Oh well.

We're having a picnic at work tomorrow. It's supposed to rain, which means it will probably end up being inside, in the same hallways I walk all day long during the week. Boo. I'm not really excited to be giving up more of my precious free time, but it's the one weekend event that we do all year and almost all of my class has said they're going. I guess I can part with a couple of hours on a Saturday just this once.

I had a ridiculous snack-a-thon for dinner. It just kind of happened. And now I'm having ice cream.

I'm an excellent example.

Barring crazy weather, I'm planning on meeting up with the group for a run again in the morning. I've been looking forward to it all week, even though it means setting an alarm on a Saturday.

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Speedwork and (not) tacos

I had to be the bad guy today and tell multiple people that it wasn't Friday. But on the bright side, tomorrow is!

It was rainy here today, so the munchkins couldn't get out to play. We managed to distract them pretty well though, they all napped anyway!

I actually got out before 5:30 (not by much though) which was nice because I had a run to get in.

It ended up being 4.5 miles. 1 mile warmup, 1 mile @ 9:14, 800m jog, 1 mile @ 9:05, 1 mile cool down. I actually felt better than I thought I was going to. I don't usually do a lot of speedwork, because it feels a lot more like work than my usual runs, but I know that it's important to help me get running a little faster.

Buddy doesn't like speedwork either.

I love that his face is the only thing in focus.

I really wanted delicious tacos for dinner, but I would have had to go to the store to satisfy that craving correctly. Instead I made a kale, egg, and onion "taco" with avocado and chips. Still tasty, but not what I really wanted.

 

I have really been trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep this week (ok, since Tuesday). I have been getting slightly better about getting to bed on time, and I'm really getting good about having things ready for the morning.

I lay my clothes out at night so I don't have to stand around and make decisions first thing in the morning (not my strong suit at any time of the day, but really not when I first wake up), and I set up the coffee maker.

The program feature on the coffee maker is my best friend. There is nothing better than having coffee ready when I come downstairs. It definitely helps me manage my time in the morning.

Do you do night time prep to make your morning easier?

I've got a dinosaur on my head

The neighbors have been putting some really random things in the recycling shed lately.

I got a fun package in the mail from my aunt yesterday. It had some new music for the kiddos. They are already obsessed with the song "I've got a dinosaur on my head," or as they call it, "Dinosaur my head." We listened to it a ridiculous number of times today.

It has also been stuck in my head all evening.

She also sent me a potholder for our cast-iron skillet (shown here with my awesome orange potholders that my dad made - we're a crafty family).

I wanted to test out the "burst mode" on my phone's camera, so naturally I used Buddy as my test subject.

We started with a denta-stick.

And then

This picture makes me laugh so hard!

And a happy mutt.

Today was a rest day on my training plan, so I got caught up on dishes (didn't I just do that?) and enjoyed getting to sit down for a few minutes since I'm on my feet all day. I have mile repeats on the agenda tomorrow, I'm both nervous and excited for them!

Now I'm off to get things done so I can go to bed at a reasonable hour - I was just shy of 8 hours last night, according to my fitbit - way more sleep than I have been getting lately!

I need to sleep more

I really need to get better about going to bed on time. I have been getting less and less sleep lately, and I'm starting to feel it.

Maybe it's a matter of getting more organized or maybe I just need to be better about turning off the computer/tv earlier. All I know is I need to do something, because sleep is essential to me still liking my munchkins and staying healthy enough to run.

For some reason, all the munchkins were really tired today too. We spent a lot of time outside in the morning so they (and we) could have space from each other, and they all took good naps!

Somehow, amidst the chaos, I managed to finish up our Mother's Day gifts so I don't have to think about them for the rest of the week.

I set up our new sensory bin during nap today. We're talking about weather this month, so it's weather themed!

It will obviously never look like this again once they touch it, but it's cute right now.

A little late-afternoon grassy playground action. (We have a grassy and a sandy playground. I hate the sandy one)

I had an easy 3 miles on my training plan for today, so I planned ahead and started part of my dinner before heading to the basement. It worked perfectly! There is still hope that I may get to bed on time tonight!

This is what happens if you leave Cadbury mini-eggs in your car and they get too hot. They still taste good!

A little bit of neighborhood springtime.

And springtime with Buddy.

And now a brief video of Buddy being ridiculous this afternoon.

How many hours of sleep is your ideal?

I try to shoot for around 8, but I've been closer to 7 lately and I'm really feeling the difference!

My glue stick ran out

I remembered to take a picture of my bulletin board today. I actually like it less in the picture than I do in person.

Also, something about the lighting made my blue letters disappear in this picture. They're not that close in color in person.

"Getting antsy in TE!"

It was a pretty uneventful day at work, just the usual Monday chaos.

Some of our new play equipment, isn't it cute?

After work was one of those days where I planned on doing so many things and then I barely got dinner made before it got too late.

I was trying to finish up part of a project we are doing for Mother's day at work (because it's impossible to do with the kids around), but my glue stick ran out after I did two of them. Maybe I'll have time tomorrow?

Today was a rest day on my training plan, which is good, because they way the evening went I probably wouldn't have had dinner if I was running.

And let's just talk about my dinner for a minute. Roasted butternut squash, broccoli, and chicken sausage. Really good.

I'm kind of addicted to chicken sausage right now, it's fully cooked, which makes it an easy protein to have on work nights. Plus there are a ton of different flavor options.

I have that nagging feeling that there was something else I wanted to share with you, but now I can't remember what it was. And my alarm that tells me it's time to go upstairs and get ready for bed is going off, so whatever it was is going to have to wait until tomorrow.

I'll leave you with some Buddy pictures.

He hates loves having his picture taken.

What's something you're looking forward to this week?

I have a speedwork session (mile repeats) later this week and I am both nervous and excited for it, I haven't done "real" speedwork in a very long time!

My day in pictures of Buddy

I took Buddy to the dog park this morning. He loves going for rides in the car, and got very excited when we turned in to the park.

There were dogs there that made him look downright tiny. 

After playing for a while, he started to slow down. I picked up his leash and asked him if he wanted to go home - he ran straight for the gate. I guess he was tired!

I had an 8 mile long run today. You know those amazing runs where you want to keep running forever? This wasn't one of them. I was pretty much dragging for the first five miles. It was lame. The last three went alright, and I got all 8 done in the end. I wasn't sure I would when I first started.

Buddy was zonked out for the duration. That's the couch his face is wedged under.

And, of course, he was right there to help me stretch when I was done.

He's a little ridiculous.

Now it's time to hit the grocery store and get some relaxing in before it's time to go back to work in the morning.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!