I had a great, slightly busy weekend. However I did a lot!
Golfed in a tournament, saw Hunter Hayes, worked, rode my bike with my dad and even relaxed a little. 
Hunter was playing in Gettysburg this weekend so I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity to see him! And he’s adorable. (Hi Drew, not as adorable as you, promise)
An oldie of me and dad but we biked together yesterday and got fro yo together for father’s day!
Well finally, once again it’s Wedding Wednesday! (score 1 for alliteration as well!)
Oh yeah, remember I’m planning one of those? It’s been a while since I’ve really talked about it. Because up until last week I’ve honestly done…nothing. The end of the school year and all my other jobs pilling up didn’t leave me a lot of time to really do much.
Now that school is out I’ve had a little more time and this is what I’ve been up to for now.
One of the things I did recently, I downloaded a book on my iPad called “A Practical Wedding.” There’s also a great website that I have looked to for great DIY ideas and just general planning advice. I’ve enjoyed the books advice so far
I’ve made lists of things that Drew & I would like to try to get to this summer..some of the things like a Dress for me, my bridesmaids, photos, and booking a DJ HAVE to get done. But some of the others things I’m looking for are more for decorations/DIY ideas. I suggest this website and book to any brides-to-be!
Sparklers will obviously be necessary for a July 5th wedding!
Next up on my wedding stuff is trying on Wedding Dresses next week! My best friend is coming home and that is on the top of the list. I can’t wait…I’m keeping my fingers crossed to say yes to the dress!
Also, I’ve been literally pinning my life away on Pinterest. If you want to see my wedding board go ahead here. Sometimes I can get a bit overwhelmed BUT pinterest does have fantastic ideas and DIY type things that I’ve loved to pin. No, I understand I can’t do them all, but it will be fun to remember a lot of the things I thought were neat.
So that is it as of now! The big day is less than 13 months away and I’m sure it’s gonna fly by!
Speaking of Weddings- Yesterday was my parent’s 30th anniversary! Amazing. When I grow up I wanna be just like them.
Hi everyone!
I hope you all had a good weekend, and wherever you are I hope it’s not still raining! It was a miserable first day of summer here..and I had been hoping to get to a pool. Considering I’m now down from 3 jobs to 2l, I have a considerable amount of time on my hands than I’m used to. This meant on Friday, I got to get to my beloved Body Pump Class that I’ve missed so much! It was a good class, and I have to say the squat track this time is beyond hard. I was DYING during it. Which was good but…
What did that mean. I was on the pain train!
I was basically as sore as I was after running the half on Saturday… until this morning. My adductors hurt so bad if I wasn’t in a sitting or standing position, I was hurting. And then I worked at the restaurant 2 long nights in a row, which I cant say was easy to walk around a lot. I was definitely waddling.
On Sunday, I still wasn’t feeling up for a run. But at one point, when it finally wasn’t raining, I finally got to do this again:
It was awesome to get out on my much neglected bike on a beautiful night. I went out for a pretty easy 15 miles. Enjoyed the wind in my hair..clipping in and not falling..always a plus. Just time to enjoy getting back into the saddle again..literally. Now that it’s summer time I’m looking forward to getting out on my bike more often. I’ve enjoyed all my time I’ve spent running, but I’ve really missed my bike, and it will be a great activity for me to work in. (While still running! promise <–things i tell myself sometimes).
Speaking of doing other things, even after being super sore from Body Pump, I’ve definitely got the time to now focus even more on lifting. I really missed doing that too. I was doing more body weight activites/HIIT workouts, which will still happen BUT I missed my traditional lifting. That’s going to be another thing that will get worked in over the summer!
Oh PS- my Bestowed giveaway is Kate Wason!!!!
Yesterday was my last day of school..and the day I left a wonderful job with fantastic coworkers. Needless to say it was a sad day for me.
I was with Kindergarten all year..my job entailing me to work with 3 different classrooms and about 60 kids. Now, I was never one to say I loved little kids or wanted to only do pre-k or kindergarten, but this just so happened to be my job. They are work at this age..completely hard work and in an area that is not affluent many students require A LOT OF ATTENTION…to say the least. They can be frustrating and putting things at their level can be hard..but now I can barely imagine working with another age group. Funny how that works out, but I really made a connection with most of my students this year and saying bye to the little ones was hard. You can’t help but get involved with them on a level that goes beyond academics..you just do. I know about their lives and I’ll honestly say there are some that I will actually worry about. Not too much, but there are ones that have been in my life this year that I don’t think I’ll EVER forget.
And my coworkers…I mean. I walked into a school knowing NO ONE. Not a single soul..and I could not have gotten luckier in who I ended up with. You all know if you have great coworkers, it’s practically a given that you love your job. I never walked in hating my job or wanting to go home because I just wasn’t into. I met a friend who I became very close with and will be attending her wedding in 2 weeks, who has also given me a ton of advice on wedding planning..and she’ll be attending mine as well next year. I’ve also now been to so many concerts this year already because I met someone else who loves country music just as much as me (probably more!). It’s amazing the people who come into you lives…
and so anyways- obviously I’m moving on for good reasons. You know the whole marriage thing 
but sometimes the endings in your life to start a new beginning can be a little bittersweet.
But on that note: Let the fun Begin! a couple months til I move…13 months til my wedding… AH!
Last workout:
An extremely slow 2 miles and dog walk. My quads are still feeling sore from the half on Saturday… But it was National Running Day after all, so I attempted a little recovery run on a beautiful day. The pups enjoyed the walk too.
Last Dinner:
Brinner I should say… Blueberry pancakes and they look perfect cause I didn’t make them!
Last Game:
It was field day and this was the along relay. You know the drill: dunk the sponge pass it down a line and ring it out in the bucket. Good times!
Added bonus: run clothes to school! (All Oiselle!)
Last Workout:
I ran a a superrrr slow 2 miles yesterday. My quads are still recovering from the half on Satuday. This one has been much harder for me to recover. I maybe shouldn’t have run yet, but it was National Running Day after all. After this the pups and I went on a little walk around the neighborhood on a beautiful afternoon. They enjoyed it!
Last Fun Find:
Oiselle has partnered with someone who is involved with a group called “The Girls Gotta Run” which helps girls in Ethiopia have running clothing, footwear, and importantly: running bras: the thing they need most! If you have any gently used sports bras, Oiselle is taking up a collection. This is a pretty neat group because running is how these girls can escape poverty, providing them with proper attire can help them even more.
I just so happen to have some I need to get rid of and would love to donate to those who would need and use them most! Read this to hear from Gabby herself, who will be delivering these donations to Ethiopia.
So happy to be sending these out to put to good use!
If you are interested, go through your drawer and pull out those ones you don’t wear anymore- you know you got ‘em! and send them here:
Oiselle Running, 7109 Woodlawn Ave NE, Seattle WA, 98115.
(Include a note with an email address & they will send you a coupon code to
save 15% off a new Oiselle bra. Deadline June 20th.)
Hi everyone, hope you all had a nice weekend..I am currently recovering from my half marathon that was HOT, HOT, HOT. but overall a very enjoyable weekend This is a long post. You have been warned!
This race was in Morgantown, WV (WVU- Go Mountaineers!). My best friend recently moved to WV, so it was a good race for us to both meet up at and do, plus she knew the area, so getting around wasn’t confusing. I hate race day logistics! So that was all taken care of. We couldn’t get our packet things and bib til Saturday morning, but it was a later race start (8:45) so that wasn’t too much of as issue. We actually could walk from our hotel, got out packets and came back to completely get ready. I ate my usual pre race Clif Bar and drank some Nuun. We headed back down to the start and boarded the bus.
This was a point to point race so we had to get to our bus by 7:45 and then we were off to Masontown to the start of the trail. We then had to walk down the trail 1/3 of a mile to the start line. We waited til 8:45 and then we were off!
It was already hot at the start (Clue: Foreshadowing)..and the clouds that were giving us some much needed cover were starting to go away. Thankfully this trail was in the shade for 2/3 of the run. In all honesty, had it not been, not sure I would have made it. I had started my Garmin knowing that I may not get any signal because of being in the woods and lots of tree cover. My garmin didn’t end up picking an signal up til Mile 3..not much of a problem, but I would have liked to know what pace we were running so I could gauge it. However, I actually felt GREAT and just went with it. Emily and I had said we wanted to run it together, so we just matched each other’s pace. We chatted a bit and kept each other going which was so nice. This race was limited to 600 participants so at times it was pretty spaced out and I would have been running alone for sure. So good to have my friend by my side.
(Miles 1-7) Once my garmin started keeping track every once in a while I would look down and say “we are at 9:xx pace, feel good?” and she’d say yep, so we would just keep going at that. We would run steady until we caught up to some others and then would make a signal that we wanted to pass this group and we would spring ahead a little and meet again. The miles honestly never clicked away so fast for the first 7 miles. Around this time I decided to take my Gu and was hoping for a little energy boost for the second half.
The course was absolutely FLAT. If you would look at the elevation you would seem to think that the I ran straight down a hill, but indeed I actually felt no changes in elevation. We just started out higher on the trail and wrapped around til we eventually got back in the center of town. Of course you’re thinking great no uphills, however there were no downhills either…meaning no little speed boost at times when you just NEED gravity to pull you down and get your legs working haha, you know what i mean!?
Miles 8&9 were okay. We were still mostly in the shade, the little parts that were in the sunshine were brief, so not too bad. I could tell I was slowing up a little and I was feeling a little tired, but each time we got to the next mile we just kept telling ourselves, okay 5 mile run left, no big deal..etc. There were water stations every 2 miles which was very nice. generally when we hit them we walked a tiny bit to take a sip of water and continue on.
By the start of mile 10 we were back into Morgantown and we were now completely in the sun, and now running on scorching black top (literally, Emily was singing “my feet are on fire” to the tune of this girl is on fire…not sure how she had energy for that, but it was true!). Let’s just say I felt the heat getting to me, and very quickly I might add. I remember trying to be positive and just think 3 more miles, it really can’t be that bad…It will be over soon. Well….. I’ll let the splits speak for themselves. It wasn’t pretty. (only have splits for miles where my GPS started 4-13.1)
The last 3 miles I can remember the miserable feeling of heat and when your head just doesn’t feel right. I can remember feeling woozy and that out of head experience, that made me feel like I was floating. At least, thats my how I feel when the heat gets that bad. To say the least, I was miserable and in pain the last 3 miles and they were quite a struggle, my run was practically a shuffle. Each time we got near a water stop I took a sip and the rest went straight on my head. Thankfully there were 2 sprinklers spread out in the last 2 miles. I had to walk a couple times because I also had a nagging side stitch. (I just was not winning at this point). I shuffled along, and Emily, who was feeling much better than me stayed ahead of me a little bit and kept motivating me. I tell ya, I love that girl- without here I would have probably walked the entire way in. Or I would have sat down in the middle of the trail. I would be lying if I said those two thoughts never crossed my mind…
Anyways- we FINALLY hit the .1 left and once I saw the Finish line, I made every ounce of effort i had left to “sprint” in and finish the race with Emily by my side the whole way. (Check out that form- heel striker for life!)
I’ve said it before, and probably will say it again- I’ve never been so happy to stop running in my life. Time: 2:14.23, almost identical to my first half.
Positives: I’m impressed by my mile splits from 1-10. Especially those miles in the 9′s! Thank you speed training! (guess what, It works!)
Feelings: semi disappointed- yes, I pushed through these elements. But with the amount of time and training I have put into this race AND how great I felt between miles 1-9, I’m sad to say I didn’t get my secret goal of breaking a 2:10. Hitting that wall at mile 10 SUCKED. And being competitive, of course I wanted that PR. It wasn’t in the cards for me Saturday, however, I really did have a great time running with my best friend. She pushed me and I think I’ll have to hire her for another race and hopefully get that PR
PS- still time to enter my Bestowed Giveaway!
Hi everyone, I’ll get back to you about my half this weekend, I had a long traveling weekend, so I”ll keep this short and sweet. How about a giveaway on a Monday Morning??
The Bestowed Box company contacted me to review one of their boxes and host a giveaway on my blog. I love little boxes that come packed with goodies to try. I am one who does not like to buy a big box of things if I’m not sure I’ll like it, so getting samples of things is awesome! You can just try one out to see if you like it first. This box fits that bill for sure!
Directly from their website. www.bestowed.com
This is a great way to discover some things you may end up loving. The box they have me had some great goodies in it!
I enjoyed just about everything in here, and the Way Better Snacks and Olive Oil were my favorite items for sure! YUM!
So, basically Betowed is a monthly subscription and they deliver right to your door! How fab, right?
Bestowed is ever more awesome, but allowing one of YOU to win a month of these boxes to try them out for yourself! That’s win in my book!
To enter: Leave me a comment telling me what you are most looking forward to this summer!
I’ll pick the winner at random and announce on Friday!
Well as of this afternoon I’ll be on my way to Morgantown, WV to meet my best friend to run the Decker’s Creek Half Marathon!
I can’t say my training was spot on, but then again- if yours is…I give you tons of credit cause it’s dang hard to make sure you are! But anyways- my intentions are to go out and enjoy myself as much as possible. It’s going to be HOT. Very hot, so that may be an interesting element considering I’m not completely acclimated to heat yet. I am intending to run with my friend the entire way. We both aren’t really sure how either of our paces match up since we haven’t run together since we did a turkey trot together a few years ago. So hey, she may be faster and I may be slower, or vice versa, but I’d like us both to finish together!
My Oiselle singlet, violet Roga’s, running fuel (chocolate outrage Gu) snacks (goldfish, clifbar for the morning of), & gatorade is all packed and ready to go as well.
I even went with a coworker, whose birthday is today, for a manicure and got nails to match my violet roga’s as close as possible!
Decker’s Creek Half Marathon should be a fun one. It is a point to point race through a trail that is crushed limestone. After picking up our packets (only on the race morning! which is kinda weird..) we load up onto a bus that takes us up to the start. The race was limited to 600 runners and because of the busing system, there is an 8:30 start and an 8:45 start. I’m the later start, which hopefully isn’t a problem at all. The course sounds very well set up and I’m pretty excited about it! It will be an adventure. That ends with a little party in the center of town with beer and festivities. I’m very excited for that part!
Last Drink: water!
Theme of the week has been HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE! I’ve been drinking water like its my job the past few days. The heat has really hit here and I’m not trying to be dehydrated on the hot race morning.
Last Thing to Eat:
I’ve been on an ice cream kick all week. With sprinkles of course!
Last Workout:
A crappy 3 mile run followed by HIIT workout from Tone It Up. I am hoping that having the last 2 runs in a row being super crappy, that means Saturday will be stellar…am i right?? I think so. Hopefully the bad runs are outta the way!
Last Instagram Picture:
Izzy always hangs out with me outside after I run. I just like to sit outside when I’m done and she is always happy to sit too.
Today I’m getting through a LONG work day and the going home to pack to leave for Morgantown, West Virgina!!! “Country Roads…take me home, to the place I belong..West Virginia..mountain mama, take me home”
If you don’t know that song…well..that’s just sad!
I hope you all had a nice memorial day weekend Thanks to all who have served/are serving us! I am very grateful!
This weekend was mostly good.
I saw Eric Church and Kenny Chesney in concert..and it was simply amazing!!!! I really don’t even know how else to describe both of their performances… they were just awesome. I had such a fun time with some coworkers of mine! ( I feel like all I do is tell you about concerts I go to…it just so happens a lot of good concerts have been close to me, and one of my coworkers LOVES to go to them so..we go!:) )
I got to golf for the first time this year, and actually didn’t do too bad!
I had a great track workout with some mile repeats. I didn’t intend to do any sort of track workout but I ran to the track that is about a mile from my house and just felt like doing them. And it was one of those days where it all clicked and the run went very well.
but anyways- the bad…yeah. i had one really crappy run yesterday. like horrible. I guess my legs were a little tired and sore from the killer track workout because they were no bueno yesterday. I struggled with my long run. I somehow managed 6 (was shooiting for more) but with a lot of walk breaks, stretching breaks, and frustration.
Eh, I know. gotta have some crappy runs to appreciate the good ones, but it’s a little disheartening right before my half on Saturday… I’m hoping that it still goes well considering I just came off another half marathon training. One other little thing I’m worried about is apparently after this weekend where I was literally wearing long pants and 2 jackets outside yesterday because of the low temp’s and wind, this week we are going to have a heat wave and the extended forecast for Saturday is 90 degrees. YIKES. I am so not acclimated to running in heat yet … I know during the spring this may not reach 90 ti later in the day…but this race still doesn’t start ti 8:45 so there’s a good chance I’ll be running in some heat.
Oh boy.
