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?

All the Colors!

I was extra bright on my run this morning!

I had an easy 3 miles on my training plan, so I put on a podcast and had a nice run. Buddy stayed at home (much to his dismay) because I wasn't in the mood to deal with him stopping every 50 feet.

Yoga Camp was awesome today. Some days the practice is exactly what my body wants, and some days I can not slow down enough to enjoy myself. Today was a good one.

I track all of my runs on Daily Mile and they sent me a 2015 recap today. It's fun to see the mileage increase leading up to Steamtown in October.

Looks like a pretty solid year of running to me!

We made a Blue Apron dinner tonight. Well, I cut things and Tom did the actual cooking. Chicken Udon Noodle Soup!

It turned out really good!

And now I'm off to bed, because I'm planning on getting up dark and early to meet up with my running people!

I hope your weekend is off to a good start!

Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Crazy Tights

It is so weird how my level of motivation to do anything can vary so much from day to day. I didn't want to do anything after work today. Fortunately my training plan called for a rest day, so I didn't have to try to drag myself out for a run. I did today's Yoga Camp video and pretty much called it a day. 

I bought a crazy pair of running tights - they arrived today! I keep seeing all these fun tights on blogs and instagram, and I finally got a pair of my own. 

It's just a bit of a departure from all of my black leggings/capris. They're pretty - we'll see how they do on my run tomorrow!

The house was warm according to the Buddy thermostat this afternoon.

I normally do yoga up in the office, but it's been chilly lately, so I have been rolling my mat out in front of the fire. Then the side of my body that's closer to the fireplace gets too hot. I can't win.

I made dinner on the wood stove again tonight. It got a little out of control. Somehow I ended up with a mountain of sweet potato, onion, chicken, broccoli rabe and avocado. I wasn't mad about it.

Do you have any crazy workout pants or do you stick with more subdued ones?

The Buddy Thermostat

It's weird to have an alarm going off in the morning again. I have also gotten bad about going to bed at a reasonable hour. As much as I enjoyed having a break from work, it will be nice once I'm back in the routine. Plus I'm in training mode now too - I'm adding back all the routine at the same time.

I brought Buddy on my run today. He was psyched, but then drove me crazy the entire way back to the house.

For some reason, Buddy always gets really slow when we turn around to go home, no matter how long or how short our run is. I managed to trick him one time by taking a loop around a street he had never been on and he didn't seem to realize we were heading home. He's a weirdo.

We like to use him as our thermostat in the house. The warmer it gets, the more stretched out he lays. When he's cold, he curls up in a tiny ball and tucks his nose under his feet. But sometimes he's a little dramatic and inaccurate.

He is currently laying right next to the wood stove, which is burning furiously, like this:

Ridiculous.

I have nothing else terribly exciting to share today, so I'll just leave you with more cute Buddy pictures.

Winter Warrior

There's something extra tough feeling about running when it's stupid cold out. I mean, not really stupid cold, I did wait until the "feels like" temperature was above zero.

After having a freezing pair of legs on my run yesterday, I tracked down my serious winter tights (this is the newer version of what I have) - they're fleecy on the inside! They feel super restrictive at first, especially compared to the shorts I was wearing a few weeks ago, but they definitely do the trick when it's frigid out.

My training plan had speed work for today. Running faster is so much more mental than anything else for me. I get in my head and convince myself I can't do it. I can't run fast. Woe is me.

But I know I can if I try. I figured out how to set intervals on my watch (which I didn't know it could do) and ran my warm up to the flattest area in our neighborhood to run some 400m repeats.

The repeats were supposed to be at 5k pace, but I haven't run a 5k in so long I just ran them comfortably fast (if that makes sense). I don't know if I could maintain that pace for a 5k right now, but I was happy with my repeats, and now I have a baseline to compare future workouts to. The training plan I'm following alternates repeats and tempo runs every week.

I baked a potato in the wood stove tonight. It's hard coming up with one person meals with our limited cooking options. Tom has been working in the city this week, so I've been on my own for dinner the last couple days.

I tend to have snack meals when left to my own devices. This mish mash was my lunch today.

Grapes, strawberries, almonds, bell pepper, chips and queso. Don't be like me.

It was delicious.

Are you an all weather runner?

What's your favorite dinner? I need inspiration.

Back At It

I had just enough of a break from work to start sleeping in again. The alarm this morning was definitely a rude awakening.

I spent a ridiculous amount of time wandering around the grocery store after work. I am the queen of indecision and I couldn't think of anything that sounded good for dinner. I'm a little surprised no one asked me if I needed help...or if I was lost.

It got COLD today!

Half marathon training has begun! Not that I've actually registered yet, but Sleepy Hollow is a small race, so I don't have to worry about it selling out. I did register for a 5k the other day though. I haven't raced a 5k in...years I think. It's not my strongest distance, but some friends are going to be running it, and I convinced Tom to sign up too!

I had to dig out my one pair of full length tights for my run today. I even wore a long sleeve shirt under my jacket, which never happens. The wind was super cold.

I had to keep turning my neck gaiter - every time I pulled it down it would freeze. The funny thing was that it didn't even cross my mind to not run today. I'm sure our neighbors think I'm crazy.

Most of the time I do my yoga upstairs in the office, but I was so cold after my run today that I brought my mat downstairs and set up by the wood stove. I pretty much love all of Adriene's videos (which is why I never stop talking about them), but I am really enjoying Yoga Camp!

I absolutely refused to wear five layers to go outside and cook dinner, so I used the wood stove instead. It actually turned out pretty tasty - and I was warm the whole time! I count that as a win.

Apparently the roaring fire I have going isn't good enough for Buddy tonight. He kept pawing at his bed and looking at me sadly until I helped him get in his cave. He hasn't moved since.

Are you a shopping list maker or do you wander the store like me?

Have you started registering for races yet? 

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.