Running Ricig

it IS normal for a potato to whistle

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, was a bottomless pit day. I could not stop eating. I was so hungry, in fact, that I ate this:

dark chocolate peanut butter poop

It's not ACTUALLY poop, but that has to be the least appetizing peanut butter I've ever seen. Freaking delicious, though.

I plowed through all of the food I packed for the day well before the end of the day. I then became "that girl" and started coercing coworkers into giving me their food. What is wrong with me???

When I got home from work, though, I was ready to run. It's over 50 degrees in February, I have to run outside and if I'm running outside, Bungee's coming with me. She tagged along for 2.5 miles. The first lap was speedy and fun, but the second lap left something to be desired. So, instead of letting Bungee lag, I provoked her into racing me for the last .25 miles. Have you ever been attached to a dog running at top speeds? Yeah, you'll run faster.

Even with that sprint, though, we only finished in 23 minutes, for an average of 9:12 min miles. I then had to run speed racer style to fit the rest of the 4.5 miles into 37 minutes. I made things happen, though.

When Mike is gone for the night, I tend to go a little feral and forget how to feed myself. So, after I finished my run, I threw a potato in the microwave and hoped for the best.

Apparently, it IS normal for a potato to whistle. Also, in case you were wondering, a smashed up potato covered in cheese, sour cream, and salsa tastes INCREDIBLE. You should definitely try it. Sadly, there were no desserts in the house, so things got a little dicey after that. I won't get into details, but Bungee saw a side of me that, I hope, no human ever has to.

Do you have dessert or sweets everyday? Heck yes, multiple times a day.

Are you a good cook?

afternoon runs are significantly faster

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

Since I'm not really training for anything right now and my running is getting a little stale, Kara had a suggestion for me. In her most tactful way possible, she suggested that, even though I can run my daily 7 miles in less than an hour, I should run for the full hour anyway.

This goes against my obsessive need to finish up a run with a rounded mile. However, it will mean higher mileage for the week, and that's something I can get on board with. In the mornings, I tend to take over an hour to run, while afternoon runs are significantly faster.

So, if I could actually get myself out of bed in the morning to run, I might come out even.

If anything, it'll change up my routine just enough, until, you know, I actually run outside after work. I know, I'm wild.

This portion of the post might not be fun to read if you're a dude (or maybe it will be, you be the judge).

I'm currently on the hunt for the perfect sports bra. The bras I currently have are the worst. I don't want to bash any brands, but I think, along with support, athletic wear brands should really be concerned about not making their customers bleed. Not following?

All of my sports bras manage to overcome any applied amounts of body glide and cause the most uncomfortable amounts of chafing ever. I'll spare you pictures, but know that I do have the right fit and the elastic is not over stretched. These bras are just awful and they're by no means the cheap option.

I just bought this one from Moving Comfort, but I had a discount and gift card...

Let's be honest, I don't need a whole lot of support. It shouldn't be that hard to find a sports bra that doesn't rip me to shreds. My only caveat is that I really cannot afford to spend $40+ for something I'm going to wear for the sole purpose of sweating and stinking up. So, lay it on me. What's the best, affordable sports bra out there?

How do you you spice up your workout routine (or do you never get tired of it)?

Are you running brand loyal? I love Brooks and really can't stomach buying things from Lululemon (read the whole article and references), but other than that I'm open.

I took my favorite blog troll's advice.

2012-02-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

I promise my life isn't all boredom and complainy posts. Here are some exciting things going on around here:

1. Mike taught Bungee to roll over.

I love to LEARN!

We like to say that Bungee is Simple Dog. I mean, not every dog can walk the same route everyday, three times a day and suddenly decide to be terrified of a random mailbox. Most dogs don't have to be trained to bark by having their masters play doorbell sounds on the phone. Right?

Now, for your viewing entertainment, a video of Bungee. For those of you hoping to hear my "man voice," you will be disappointed. I'm using my high pitched, talking to an animal voice. Sorry, Kara.

In reality, though, I'm pretty sure she's smarter than we give her credit for. She also loves treats, so she gets super psyched to learn new tricks. Now if only we could convince her not to be afraid of, well, pretty much everything.

2. I signed up for the Hartford Marathon again.

my last race with Alyssa didn't turn out so well

I know it's not until October, but it was a great race and I can't wait to run it again. The best part, though, is that I've convinced Alyssa to run it with me and bring her husband along for an epic weekend. We're already planning race weekend menus.

3. I took my favorite blog troll's advice.

Last week, Brian suggested I make/bake something I've never made before to help me get out of my funk. I was already pretty well out of my funk when I did it, but it definitely didn't hurt.

I made an amazing black bean soup with this recipe. It was amazing, but made even better with the loaf of cheddar bread I made to go with it. I used this recipe (also from Brian) and kneaded in cheddar before baking. It will blow your mind. In fact, I'm attempting to plan my meals for the rest of the week around incorporating this bread.

I also made some pretty spectacular cookies. My aunt gave me this cookbook for Christmas and I paged through and found a recipe for cookies I'd never made before and had all of the ingredients to (which is basically the only way I'll try a recipe. Sorry Mike) and went to town. These suckers have chocolate chips, raisins, peanut butter, and cocoa powder.

The best part was that the ingredients sounded so weird, that when I brought them in to work, people didn't eat them all by 9am, so I still got to have one at lunchtime.

If you have pets, do you teach them tricks?

Do you run the same races year after year or do you like to change things up?

running for fun makes no sense

2012-02-20T09:26:00.002-05:00

To give you an idea of what my weekend was like, this is the only picture I took:

My weekend was filled with lounging, cooking, cleaning, reading, and watching more Downton Abbey than is, probably, socially acceptable. All-in-all a great weekend.

I did manage to throw myself out of bed on Saturday morning, though, and meet my running group. It's really sad how much fun I have on those runs. If only I had people to meet up with everyday to run. I'd definitely be less of a wuss and not use my treadmill like a security blanket quite so often.

I found out on the run that it doesn't look like I can get out of my 5 mile race registration in March and run the half. I guess now I have to train to try to place in the 5 miler. Ever since I started distance running, I also started HATING short races. I really hate the feeling of feeling like you're going to vomit or die on the side of the road for those few miles.

I've had people tell me to just run them for fun, but that really makes no sense. If I'm going to go for a leisurely run and not push my pace, I'm certainly not going to pay to do it. To me, a race needs to be a challenge. If I know I can run the distance, I'm going to run it as fast as I can without dying.

If the race is a long distance, then it's about survival and having a respectable time. I'm not going to kill myself, at least not until the last mile.

Does your race strategy differ depending on the distance?

Would you rather run a 5k or a half marathon?

How was your weekend?

I was being a whiny jerk

2012-02-17T08:35:00.003-05:00

Who would have thought a rest day actually made a difference in performance?

Wednesday I felt crappy. Physically I felt fine, but mentally, I was beaten. I really don't know what brought it on, but after work all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and do nothing. I didn't even want to eat (which only really happens if I feel really depressed).

So, instead of running, I read a book on the couch and Mike got us takeout for dinner. I still didn't feel great, but at least I didn't have to run. I knew if I ran, I'd get a mood boost, but I was pretty far past logical thinking at the time.

Thursday wasn't much better. Work was a fog. I got everything done, but I really just wanted to curl up under my desk and nap. At lunchtime, I almost didn't walk Bungee and contemplated just napping with her on the couch.

After work, I felt the same, but told myself I was being a whiny jerk and got ready for my run. It's a good thing I did, too. If I hadn't gone, I would have missed out on an incredible run.

The first half of the run felt SO easy, so I kept pushing the pace. By the end, I was hurting, but felt amazing. It was the best run I've had in forever. I guess finally taking a rest day after not taking one since November was a good idea.

In my head, I know rest days are good, but I also know how much I love to run, so I'm definitely not the most logical or smart in my choices. Sometimes it's just better for my body to slap me in the face and tell me to stop. I'm not good at this preemptive stuff.

How often do you take rest days?

Does your body tell you when you need to slow down or are you smart and stop before your body starts to fall apart?

more than a robotic runner...kind of

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Before we get to my wonderful post, I have story for you. Yesterday, I was having a pretty crummy afternoon, but came home to an awesome present in the mail.

The only problem: I had no idea who they are from! So I did what any social media sleuth would and googled like a madman and posted on twitter and Facebook. Turns out it was my SIL and her fiance. They win the award for best birthday present and mystery hunt.

Three things you may not know about me, because I'm more than just a robotic runner:

1. I used to be blond, not like dirty blond, but BLOND. You need proof?

To be honest, I think it suits me. Also, I like myself better blonde. Unfortunately, the maintenance is too pricey. When we bought the house and got married, I decided it was an necessary expense and went natural. Oh the days of an expendable income.

What do you think: Kinda blond or BLOND?

2. I have a seriously short attention span and I blame it on the internet. It's probably not the internet's fault and my attention is selective. Confused?

I can't sit through a movie without doing at least one other thing (laundry, cruise the internet, play a game, etc.). I jump around on tasks like crazy, just to keep my mind occupied. It drives Mike insane and even annoys me sometimes.

I can, however, sit and read an entire book cover to cover without even noticing. Go figure.

3. I've only ever really had a nickname (family ones don't count). My name really doesn't lend itself to being nicknamed and that kind of makes me sad. Then again, nicknames are risky. You never know what people are going to come up with and what's going to stick.

My mom's family is all named to discourage nicknames and I think it trickled down into our house. It all stems from my grandparents' nicknames being "War and Hel." Yep.

Do you color your hair?

Do you have nicknames?

Tell me something I might not know about you.

Thank you coworker for fueling the company sugar addiction :)

2012-02-15T08:00:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

not one to be corny or even remotely emotional

2012-02-14T08:22:00.001-05:00

I could write a post about how much I love my husband, but that might make you (and me) gag a little bit. I'm not one to be corny or even remotely emotional, especially not on the internets. So, instead, here are some things I'm loving right now.

1. My custom bracelet from Fetch and Co. Ashley made the bracelets (and mugs, too) to raise money for surgery for her pup. How could I say no? Plus, the bracelets are freaking awesome.

2. Words with Friends. I can't stop playing. I have over 20 games going and I play non-stop. Mike thinks I'm insane.

3. Downton Abbey. I think I'm a little late to jump on this bandwagon, but at least I made it. Well done, PBS, well done.

source

4. My Contigo mug. Hot coffee for over four hours and no spills? Yes please.

Happy Valentine's Day!

What are you loving right now (please nothing sappy)?

Do you watch Downton Abbey?

not even leaving an impression

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Mike and I lounged around for hours in the morning, then I got up, ran a little with the dog and finished up the run for ten miles. I went out with friends and later we went to a party.

On Sunday, I turned to Mike and asked, "What did we even do yesterday? The day was such a waste until we went out to the party." I completely forgot about the run, even thought it was one of the "longest" runs I've done in weeks. I've decided this means two things, one good and one bad.

The good:

Running is a routine for me. I don't even think about it, I just do it. When I'm running, in general, I really enjoy it. There are always bad runs, but, usually, it's great.

The bad:

My running is so routine, it's not even leaving an impression.

Moral of the story: I need to race.

There's a half marathon in MA in March that I want to run. I think it's time to bite the bullet and register.

Are you getting complacent in your running/training?

When's your next race?

Anyone want to run a half in MA next month?

non-runner dog

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

You know how people complain about having hyper, over-excitable dogs with endless energy? That is SO not Bungee. She didn't start out being a lazy bum, but, somehow, in the span of about two years, she's morphed into one.

In fact, for a while, Bungee could give me a run for my money. She's always been slower than me, but she used to keep up on five mile runs every other day. If you don't know about Bungee's beginnings, there's a whole post about it, here. It seems that as my mileage went up, Bungee's went inversely down. This is due, in most part, to the fact that Bungee is terrified of traffic and cars, and I'm not willing to do a 7 - however many mile run on a one mile loop around our neighborhood where I have to slow to a walk every time Bungee can't run on someone's lawn (she walks on asphalt, basically).

We still walk her three times a day, but she has also gained a hefty 18 lbs since we got her. Most of that weight is good, as she was malnourished when we got her, but, still, she could weigh in 8 lbs lighter and be fine.

Since the winter is so mild, I've decided to get her back in shape. I figure, if we can get her mileage up during the winter, running in the warmer months won't be so bad. This is making for some seriously painful, afterwork runs, though. When you're used to running at a certain pace and then have to take it down to 2-3 minutes slower per mile, it's painful. When those miles are actually a series of spontaneous sprints and walk/jogs, it's excruciating.

I know this isn't how I should be teaching her to run. We should try to maintain a steady pace, but I get so psyched when she starts moving fast, that I can't discourage her.

For now our schedule is a 2.5 mile run a couple days a week, less if she can't hack it for that long. Yesterday, we did one loop around the neighborhood (1.25 miles) and called it quits as she was literally walking behind me while I ran in place til she could catch up. Afterwards, I took to the basement to finish on the treadmill at a speedy pace.

It's days like that when I'm jealous of Kara and Peanut who wins medals for placing in a race. It's a good thing Bungee is so awesome, otherwise it might be sad for Mike and me to have a non-runner dog.

Do you run with your dog if you have one?

If you have a dog, but don't run with them, how often do you exercise them?

What are you up to this weekend?

genius moments

2012-02-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

This three things Thursday is going to be a little trip inside my head. Get ready for it.

1. I often suddenly want to exclaim "I'm a genius!" for small, yet seemingly genius, ideas I have. Here's an example for you:

For the last two days, I drove a loaner car from my mechanic while they did some maintenance and put on new tires. The only caveat the mechanic has for using the loaner is that you replace the gas you use. As I was driving to pick up my car, I realized I had no idea which side the gas tank was on (and there was no little arrow on the dash telling me either), but I was too lazy to pull into the gas station and look, in case I was wrong and had to move the car.

Heidi needed a check-up.

As I was about to get off the exit, I realized, I could just look for the same car and check which side the tank was on as it drove by and it worked like a charm. GENIUS.

Clearly, I'm not very innovative or even that smart, but at the time, I was very impressed with myself. For the record, Saab 95s gas tanks are on the passenger side.

2. When I found out that Mike was going to be gone for four days, I told him that the best part about him being gone was that the bathroom would be clean all the time. Mike isn't really dirty or messy, but I'm pretty obsessive compulsive, so even the littlest mess is a mess. We're back to having "dirty" bathrooms.

3. While my mid-week miles have gotten faster, I think my Saturday miles have slowed down. I finally figured out why. There's a new girl that's been coming to running group and she's awesome. I have to slow myself down to be able to talk to her. Don't get jealous Chaz, but you always talked enough for the both of us, so I could be speedier.

he's going to kill me for posting this again

Do you have genius moments?

Do you run faster with other people? Is it different for training runs and races?

What's your favorite part about having your significant other out of town?

mid-week slumber party

2012-02-08T07:55:00.000-05:00

What I haven't told you this week is that Mike has been gone since Sunday afternoon. That's why my birthday was less than stellar. He's had training for work in Massachusetts for the past several days, but he'll be home today. Woohoo!

My birthday week is getting better, though, because I got a freaking ridiculously awesome gift in the mail from Emily. He needs a name.

What I also haven't told you is that I'm a giant scaredy cat when it comes to staying home alone for long periods of time. Don't get me wrong, Bungee is fun and all, but she's hardly a protector, guard dog. Plus, she refuses to stay in the bedroom with me at night, so it gets creepy.

Yesterday, though, I had a brilliant idea and invited my friend over for a slumber party. I got home from work and took Bungee for 2.5 miles around the neighborhood. Either she's getting in better shape or she was just super psyched to get out of the house, because she was running faster than 8:30s the whole time. It was awesome. I finished up the rest of my seven and decided to be a good hostess and shower before Anne came.

Then I built a roaring fire. I love having a fire, but feel like of lame building one for just myself, so this was the perfect excuse.

Then we did what any 20something girls would do at a mid-week slumber party and made baked s'mores.

I'm pretty sure I ate about 5 servings worth. They are ridiculously amazing.

Afterwards, we couldn't move, so we lounged on the couch, complained, and watched tv. All-in-all a good night.

What should I name the robot?

Are you good at staying home alone?

new vacation-taking strategy

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

I took a little blog vacation this past weekend. I think I'm falling a little out of love with blogging, so when I don't feel like doing it, I'm just not going to. It's also possible, that the fact that my birthday was on the sad and pathetic side, didn't really help my mood any.

My birthday was Super Bowl Sunday, which means if you don't want to watch the game, no one wants to hang out with you. I'm kind of ok with that, but there was just a series of unavoidable obstacles this weekend that kind of ruined things for me. I ended up spending my birthday evening on the couch watching movies with Bungee. Definitely, not as bad as it could have been, but also not ideal. Mike and I have decided to try again and celebrate next weekend instead.

Yesterday, in order to prolong my sad celebrations, I took the day off. I did actually manage to have fun, though. I ran in the morning and then attempted to find a trashy novel to read during the day.

However, I'm really terrible at sitting still, so it didn't last. It was ridiculously mild out, so I took Bungee to the beach for a walk on some of the trails.

She was off leash for a little over a half an hour, but then decided to dive head first into a freezing cold river, so I leashed her back up to avoid having to fish her out again.

She seriously wore herself out. After we got home, she refused to move or even react to her name. I'm counting that as a job well done. Not that I was in much better shape than she was. We spent the majority of the rest of the day on the couch.

I'm thinking about implementing a new vacation-taking strategy this year. Instead of taking real week-long vacations with my paid time off, I'm going to just take a bunch of Mondays or Fridays off and have a ton of three day weekends/four day work weeks. It's actually kind of awesome. Then I can always have something to look forward to.

What do you do with your days off?

Anyone reading a good book right now?

How was your weekend?

everyone will know I'm a robot

2012-02-03T08:20:00.001-05:00

My day yesterday was spent entirely in meetings. Yesterday and today is our annual winter meeting with all employees. While the day flew by faster than a normal workday, there were some drawbacks. The main one being, I haven't learned my lesson about catered lunches at work.
There were vegetarian options for both lunch and dinner; however, I'm not really used to eating out more than once a week, if that, so food I haven't prepared myself can be tricky. This morning I woke up with a horrifically bad stomach ache. I slept an extra 45 minutes and then laid in bed for 10 more, hoping the nausea would pass. No dice. Today will be an uncomfortable day.

Yesterday, though, I did at least manage to wake up for a morning run, which is good since I was at my work dinner until after 9 and then crashed as soon as I got home. My run was painful and slow, but I made it happen. I understand when someone calls runners crazy after runs like that. I mean, who else, would run a mile, feel like they were going to die, pause for a quick break and then run 6 more, for the hell of it at 6am? Only a runner.

There were some bright spots yesterday, though. My new phone case finally came!

Now, everyone will know I'm a robot.

AND Gina brought me a ton of Vega products because she's not a huge fan, but knows I am.

Anyone have exciting plans for the weekend? My birthday is Super Bowl Sunday, but I'm not sure how exciting it's going to be...

Do you ever think "yep, this is why people think I'm crazy" when you do something?

Yesterday I...

2012-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Three things Thursday...

Yesterday I:

Almost died on my way to work.

On my way to get gas before going to the office, I pulled through a busy intersection and my car seized up. I lost power steering and power breaks, every light on the console lit up, and the car made some weird noises. I managed to wrestle the car to the side of the road before I got hit by anyone, but I definitely had a scare.

The car is fine now. I made it to the mechanic, who flushed the system and changed the oil (yes, planned maintenance on your car is important :)). Nothing like a little terror to get you going in the morning. Needless to say, the first couple of hours at work were weird with that much adrenaline going through my system.

Ran outside in a t-shirt and shorts, in February, in New England.

Last year you couldn't have paid me to run outside, mostly because there was always at least three feet of snow on the ground.

I can't decide if the dog is loving the extra exercise or hating it. By the end of the 2.5 miles I took her on, she was DRAGGING, but then she tore around the house like a crazy dog when we got home. Oh well. I managed to get 8 miles in on a weekday, which is fun.

Made a dessert entirely for myself. Mike plays poker one night a week, most weeks, so it seems silly to cook those nights. I made myself a giant bowl of cereal with a banana and called it good. That wasn't going to cut it for dessert, though.

All of the cookies I made on Sunday were gone. I brought some to work, sent some to Emily, and then we ate the rest. We don't buy sweets, so I had to bite the bullet and make something. Something turned out to be chocolate chip blondies.

Would you rather have baked goods or candy?

What was your workout yesterday?

wall of awesome

2012-02-01T06:00:00.000-05:00

I loved all of your comments yesterday about where you got married. Some of the stories were quite scandalous, just how I like them!

This may sound hypocritical, but no matter how much I enjoy my job, there's something depressing about sitting in a cubicle all day when I could be running. Yes, lately, I run inside about 80% of the time, but I'm still MOVING. Sometimes I fantasize about working in construction, working outdoors, getting all muscly without even trying. Then I remember I wouldn't last a day and I'd probably hate it because it didn't challenge me intellectually or something.

Anyway, all this is to say, I've come up with an normal way to remind me that I don't always sit in a cube, sometimes I run really far.

my new wall of awesome

My medals had been taking up space on a bookshelf looking sad and lonely and rarely admired, so I brought them in to work to gaze at whenever I want. Yes, yes I am a loser.

Now, I just need to add a few more trophies to the mix...Time to find some small races to dominate.

Where do you keep your medals, trophies, etc.?

Do you save your race bibs?

What's your ideal job?

dress up like Elvis to get married

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I finalized Mike and my plans to go to Vegas in April. We're going over our second anniversary and I'm currently working on convincing Mike to get re-married in Vegas. Who doesn't want to dress up like Elvis to get married? Anyone who wants to come witness is invited!

Did you know Emily is having an auction on a bunch of her headbands and dog collars off on the cheap? Speaking of Emily, in return for her designing my glorious new iPhone case, I baked a glorious batch of cowboy cookies for her.

I packed them up and printed out shipping for them and proceeded to have the worst post office experience of my life. Usually, I print out labels and drop boxes off at the post office. Easy, right? Yesterday, I was interrogated and yelled at for five minutes straight before the post man would take the package. It's a good thing I love you Emily.

On the running front, I've decided I really need to find a race. I've been running my normal 40-50 miles a week but with no real direction or purpose, which I don't actually mind. However, I kind of want to benchmark and see how fast I am compared to last year. The first race I ran last year was our local Leprechaun race for St. Patrick's day, so I'm signing up. Yes, it's over a month away, but it's a start.

last year

If you're married, where did you get married?

Are you faster than last year?

jeans and a t-shirt, in January, in New England

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

My Google reader is seriously intimidating me with the amount of unread posts. I'm kind of proud to admit that I haven't really been online since Thursday night. It's liberating.

Friday, I headed to Boston to stay with friends for the night. My friend, Susan, that I was staying with was working until about 4:30, so I met up with another friend for a few hours when I got in. We went out to lunch at a Tibetan buffet, where I had no idea what I was eating, but just had my friend point out what was vegetarian. The food was ridiculously good. Afterwards, we wandered around in the pouring rain until it was time for me to meet up with Susan.

The great thing about cities is you can walk for forever and it doesn't feel like you're exercising, just like you're getting from A to B. I kind of wish I'd worn my Garmin on Friday to see how far I walked. That's one of the things you miss out on living in the suburbs. I can walk around my neighborhood, but nothing else is really pedestrian friendly. We don't have any sidewalks, unless you're downtown, and I'm not hiking 5 miles down a road with a 50mph speed limit to get to the grocery store.

We had big plans to go out dancing, just the girls. We got dressed up and ready to go, even made it to a bar, but we were all so caught up in catching up with each other's lives, that dancing didn't really happen.

laser eyes will get you

It was still a lot of fun, though. Plus, it also meant I wasn't insanely exhausted the next morning when I wanted to run.

Susan lives about two blocks from the river in Boston, so I had a great run by the water. For someone who's runs are usually pretty bleak when it comes to seeing other runners, this was a revelation. There were HUNDREDS of runners out by the water. I played a game with my friend guessing how far everyone was going based on what they were wearing or how tired they looked. I did a few miles with my friend and then finished up the rest for 8 before heading back to Susan's. The weather was amazing. I felt super human. If all of my long runs could be like that, I'd be in marathon shape year round.

After the run, Susan and I headed out to a huge brunch and then played scrabble and hung out until it was time to catch my train home. The walk to the train was amazing. The walk was about a mile and I was comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, in January, in New England.

The rest of the weekend was spent being gloriously lazy around the house, at the movies (Haywire was weird.), and out to eat. I'm pretty sure every weekend should be a three day weekend. Actually, next weekend is a three day weekend, too, because I took the day after my birthday off!

How was your weekend?

Have you ever worn your Garmin just wandering around the city? How far did you clock?

best form of public transportation

2012-01-27T06:00:00.000-05:00

Five things Friday:

1. No work for me today! I took the day off and am heading into Boston to see friends. My friend, Susan, and her husband recently moved there, so another friend and I are visiting to have a girls night out. We're going dancing, baby! It's going to be awesome.

Susan's wedding in July

2. I freaking love the train. It is, by far, the best form of public transportation. It's cheap, low stress, fast (depending on where you're going), and comfortable. Instead of battling traffic and searching for parking, I will lounge around for two hours reading a book and watching Netflix.

3. Remember how I managed to destroy my phone case? Well, it pays to have creative friends, because Emily designed and epic new one for me.

4. Last night, I think Mike was trying to convince me to stay in town instead of going to Boston. Not only did he walk Bungee for me at 6am, so I could run, but he also cooked a glorious dinner. The man knows his way around breakfast food.

cheese toast, home fries, and an omelet

5. My sister wants to run a half marathon with me in the spring/summer in California (she lives in San Fran). I need to start saving my pennies for travel and registrations.

I actually don't have any races planned for this year yet. There's a Leprechaun race here in March that I'm considering, but nothing finalized. Oh, except for the Hartford Marathon again in October.

Would you rather go dancing with friends or stay in?

Do you ever take the train?

my dreams were so boring

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

You know how sometimes you wake up from a nightmare terrified or a sad dream crying (true story: I once woke up hysterically laughing. It FREAKED Mike out)? Yesterday, I woke up bored out of my mind. In that half sleep state, I complained to Mike how my dreams were so boring. Who has boring dreams??? I don't even remember what they were about, but it's probably for the best. That's what I get for deciding to sleep in instead of running in the morning.

Luckily, my day less than boring. When I got to work, my calendar reminded me that my coworker and I had a online class scheduled for the entire afternoon. Our class proctor recommended taking the class from home so there were less distractions and, since it's a four and a half hour class, you're also more comfortable. That meant watching the class from the glorious comfort of our new furniture and this:

The class was beneficial, too. We're learning a new automation software, so that's pretty awesome. I may actually be a nerd.

Because we were trapped inside for the class, Bungee didn't get a lunchtime walk. But, since I was home when it was still light out and ridiculously warm, I took Bungee for a run at 5 instead of walking her. She was SLOW. There's still snow on the ground, so she couldn't run on people's lawns. She's always crazy slow on the actual road. My joints were killing me speeding up and slowing down constantly, but she was SO freaking happy to be out there. Afterwards, I finished up on the treadmill speed racer style.

UPS stopped with our first installment of the peanut butter and jelly of the month club that Mike's sister and fiance gave us for Christmas.

Yep, cactus jelly. Mike was psyched and decided a pb&j would be his dinner. I sniffed the jelly and called it good. It smells like aloe. Mike said it tasted weird, but the peanut butter was delicious.

Are you adventurous with food? Would you try cactus jelly?

Do you have extreme dreams?

still a vegetarian

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Three things Wednesday? Sure, why not.

1. I finally got my new glasses yesterday. I feel like I have super-hero laser vision.

NERD ALERT

2. I made the most glorious pizza ever last night. It was half tomato and pesto and half pepperoni for Mike. When I made it, I ate a pepperoni, you know, to see if I actually liked them. Nope. Gross. Still a vegetarian.

girly side v. manly side

3. Mike started looking at PetFinder again yesterday, which means I started looking at PetFinder too. If only Bungee could tell us if she wanted a sister.

Mom, I like being a weirdo only child!

What's your favorite pizza topping?

What did you have for dessert last night? Mike's cookies are gone, I'm going through withdrawal.

giggling the whole time

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

It's like this week knows I only have a four day work week, so it's trying to cram five days worth of ridiculous into four.

Yesterday, I woke up in, what I thought was, the middle of the night to use the bathroom. When I came back to bed, I checked my phone and it was already 10 after 6am. Mike and I get up at 6. Whoops. Luckily, it was only 10 minutes of oversleeping. Unluckily, it meant I really didn't have time to run before work. So, I rolled over and went back to sleep while Mike walked Bungee. Yes, Mike is a better husband than I am wife.

At work, I booted up the computer and got this:

GAME OVER

After running some diagnostics, things were up and running, but it doesn't give me a lot of hope for the week.

To top it all off, the freaking awesome phone case my sister gave me for Christmas

not the weird thumb

is no more.

also, not the weird thumb

Though, to be fair, it did it's job. That case gave it's life to save my phone. It took a beating from the driveway and lost, but my phone doesn't have a scratch on it.

I started to cheer up at lunchtime, though, when I got to drive behind this beauty for like ten miles.

No thanks, I don't really want any mething.

I was giggling the whole time and really excited when we managed to get stuck at a stop sign long enough for me to snap a picture.

After that, I finally managed to win my two week battle with my insurance company. Kind of. I at least now have an active account. Now, if only, my doctor's office could recognize the account and I can get my contacts and glasses.

My luck held through to the end of the day when I finally managed to get in a run. My legs weren't feeling super great when I started, but loosened up way faster than they have been in the morning. Truth be told, my legs don't actually ever loosen up for my morning runs, so it felt amazing to not feel like I was running on squeaky joints. I ended up finishing 7 miles in about 56 minutes. Afterwards my calves felt tight and I wanted to eat the entire contents of my pantry (or maybe just all of Mike's cookies), but it was awesome.

Are you tech savvy? I'm pretty good, but that black screen scared the crap out of me. Mostly just because I'm afraid of our Director of IT. ;)

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Do you make yourself laugh?

I wanted treats

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, Mike said to me, "You know you're an adult when you wake up to a snow storm and you're happy it happened on the weekend." I told him he was crazy, but then remembered he isn't allowed to work from home on snow days and usually has to brave the conditions to get to the office.

We managed to make up for being adults by spending all of Saturday in our pjs and lounging. We were planning to head to New Jersey for Christmas celebrations with Mike's extended family, so I got up early to run. It was blizzarding, so I skipped running group and did 10 in the basement on the treadmill. Afterwards, though, it was pretty obvious that we weren't going to make it out of the house let alone to New Jersey.

So, instead, we frolicked in the snow with Bungee. She goes freaking nuts in the snow, it's awesome.

I WILL live up to my name, mom!

How sad is it that after running around in a foot of snow for a half an hour, I'm more winded and tired than from running a marathon? Ridiculous.

The best part of the weekend, though, was Saturday night. Mike and I were both feeling a little antsy and bored from being trapped in the house/neighborhood all day. While for me that translated into lots of whining, Mike wanted to DO something. We didn't have much food in the house and I wanted treats. I kept bugging Mike that I wanted cookies and that he should hike up to the grocery store a mile or so away and get some.

He kept saying, "Are you actually serious or just trying to drive me crazy?" Obviously, I didn't expect him to go up there, but I did want cookies. After about an hour, Mike was fed up and told me he was going to bake cookies to shut me up. This, from the man whose culinary abilities span from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to omelets (though he does excel at both).

I was skeptical. He pushed me out of the kitchen when I tried to help, found a cookbook and went about his business. It pains me to say it, but I think the man makes better chocolate chip cookies than I do. Can we call it beginner's luck?

Did you get snow this weekend? We ended up with 8 inches.

Can your husband/significant other cook or bake?

How was your weekend?

11 Randoms

2012-01-21T06:00:00.000-05:00

Morgan tagged me for "11 Randoms" - The rules (copied verbatim):

1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

Shhh, I'm cheating and not following the rules.
11 Random Things about Me:

Mike says I sound funny when I swear. Like, I don't know how to do it because I don't swear enough. Who knew there was a wrong way.
I'm currently in a fight with my insurance provider. Subsequently, I am also wearing a two year old glasses prescription and a danger to the road. You've been warned.
I love helping non-tech savvy people; it makes me feel like a genius.
I find it hilariously exciting to Google pictures of people I've only spoken to on the phone. I'm, literally, never right about what they look like. Same when I meet people's spouses.
I probably wear compression sleeves, shorts, etc. more often than necessary. I can't help it, they're so freaking comfortable. Plus, I'm lessening my risk for varicose veins, right?
I really hate talking on the phone. I text up the yin yang, but avoid using my phone for actual phone purposes at all costs.
I'm pretty sure Neatorama is my favorite website of all time.
I just read a new study that opposites don't actually attract, which I find strange because Mike and are pretty much polar opposites. We both run and like things that are funny, that's about all we have in common.

A friend recently said to me, "You're one of those people that just randomly bursts out laughing from your own thoughts, aren't you?" Yes, yes I am.
In my family, I have never been "the athletic" one (nor have I ever won a family feats of strength competition).
I don't really have any body issues except for the fact that I don't tan. I'd like to not look like a ghost sometimes.

Morgan's Questions:

What is the last thing you took a picture of? You saw it yesterday:
What finally made you decide to write your blog? My friend Kat can be very persuasive.
If you had to listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life, what would it be? Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band. I'd be insane before the end of the week.
What's one item on your 'bucket list'? I really want to skydive, but I'm pretty sure my Meniere's disease would have something to say about that.
If you could be on any TV show, which would it be? Can I go back in time and be on Seinfeld? If not, Modern Family.
If you could start your own race, what distance would it be? Either a half marathon or a 10 miler.
What would you name said race? "Run as Fast as You Can."
If you were forced to eat like something other than how you eat now, which would you choose? Maybe go vegan? I'm already a vegetarian and I'm not sure I could stomach eating meat since the taste grosses me out.
If you could rid the world of one social application, which would it be? If I said blogs, I'd have a lot more free time on my hands.
If you could choose just one person to train with for a training cycle who would it be? I'm going to stick with my current training partner. Chaz was freaking awesome for last year's marathon. Let's hope he wants to kick my butt again this year.
If you were a guest at our wedding what would you bring as a gift based on what you know about Spike and I? Well, since I know you've never had any, a giant box of Kinder chocolates.

I'm too lazy to tag people or come up with my own questions, but let's hear some of your answers!

ridiculous

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning was kind of a disaster, but the evening was freaking fantastic. Surprisingly, my foot didn't hurt in sneakers, so, either my morning runs are paying off or I was so elated that it didn't hurt that I ran like the wind.

I started out on the treadmill at my normal 7mph, but it felt easy, so I continued to jack up the speed. I ended up finishing the last .6 miles at 8mph and the whole run in a 55:41. RIDICULOUS. I was so psyched, I took a picture.

Then I danced around for a bit and showed off to Mike about how much of a speed racer I am. An awesome run was just what I needed to push me into a good mood.

Then I took the celebration to the next level and annihilated this box of chocolate.

Have you ever had Kinder? You can only find some of the Kinder varieties in the US, so whenever my family is abroad, we stock up. We may or may not also harass friends going abroad to bring us some. These were from my sister's recent trip to Switzerland. They lasted a week. We were really good at rationing them for the first few days, but then we ran out of other desserts in the house...

How do you make up for a bad day?

Any big weekend plans? We're heading to New Jersey tomorrow to see Mike's extended family.

What's your favorite type of candy?