labor day weekend fun!

i escaped the city for the long weekend and took a girls road trip to see one of my besties in NC! we encounter lots of mountains, windy roads, and pit stops at Pilot, butttt we finally made it!!

On Sat we took a trip even further up the mountain to do a bit of hiking and mountain seeing. I'm calling this my cross-training for the weekend :) I was supposed to do an 11 miler on Sun, but that didn't happen.....so i'm going to re-arrange my schedule and do it tonight.

 

 

don't you love my mom-tied-around- the waist- sweatshirt look?

 

we spent the rest of the weekend eating good southern food, going out, and of course outlet mall shopping! and guess what....they had my fav. store. LOFT outlet. Special shout out to the girlies who let me take my sweet time in this store....buttttt it was so worth it because i got a lot of great new work clothes! and they were giving an extra 40% off for labor day weekend.

 

 

 

bye Sarah! See you next time! :)

 

 

We made great time on our way back to Nash, so i tried to get an easy run before my 11 miler that was going to be rescheduled for the next day. I'm so happy that I made this decision. not only did it feel great to run, but it rained the entire time! I love running in the rain...seriously. its da best.

 





Tucker always photo bombs my pics!

annnddddd guess what came in the mail over the weekend....

i. love. them.

wish me luck tonight on my 11 miler!

playlist thursday: who is on my playlist the most.

I'm realllly looking forward to this blog post, because I have one artist in particular that frequents my running playlist...justin timberlake.

youuu knooowww. i might have a little crush on him. I mean, who really doesn't? let's be honest. also he def. helps me keep my runnin' groove on.

Something Old: Songs that are at least 5 years old. (I know that isn’t too long to be considered old, but music turnover happens quickly.)
Something Current: Songs that have been released within the past year.
Something to Consider: This is the wild card category. Feel free to list any song: old, current, guilty pleasure, underground, whatever.


Something Old
Artist: Justin Timberlake (feat. Timberland)
Title: Sexyback
Sidenote: I'm bringing sexy back ( yeah!) I mean who doesn't this inspire to run??

Something Current
Artist: Justin Timberlake and Timberland
Title: Carry Out
Sidenote:  " You look good, baby, must taste heavenly. I'm pretty sure that you got your own recipe. So pick it up, pick it up, yeah, I like you. I just can't get enough I gotta drive through"

Something to Consider
Artist: N'SYNC (with Justin Timberlake)
Title: Just Got Paid
Sidenote: ok ok...but it still has Justin in it!! back in the good ol' days. plus this is an extra special song to play on payday!

anddd you know you want to check out Brian's Blog to see what his picks are!
Thank you for indulging in my obsession with JT. you may now stop drooling.

 

...try try again...and SUCCEED!

Take that 10 miler! I defeated you with lovely temps, gummy bears, and my head lamp and reflector vest.

annnddd i finished before my goal of 2 hrs. I made it through in 1:51:30 i think? something like that. Shout out to the local Subway for letting me fill up my water bottle 2x. The guy was super nice and cheered me on both times. talk about encouragement!

the gummy bears worked, but were not my fav. I think i liked the GU better. I'm going to have to start stockin' up.

ice was def. nessarily after this run. I shouullld start icing more, but i forget. horrible angle of my legs, but you get the picture.

 

 

soooo i broke down and bought my first pari of compression sleeves yesterday! I think i am a little too excited, because i keep checking the tracking status to see where they are! I just want to wear them!!!

 

I got these babies...look forward to reviewing them when the get here!

 



doing an easy 5 miler tonight! hopefully my legs will be kind...

if at first you don't succeed....

i bet you already know what i'm about to say....but i'm going to be a big girl and say it out loud for accountability purposes.  i didn't do my 10 miler on Sunday.

i even went to bed early! stupid snooze button. stupid wanting to sleep in on a weekend. it happens...

BUTTT. i'm tryin' again. I'm going to go do my 10 miler this evening with my head lamp and all! It's actually probably for the better since it will be a little bit cooler this evening without the harsh sun shining down.

don't worry, i'm very careful when i run in the evenings, and only run in safe neighborhoods. and ALWAYS run with my phone. I know it's not ideal, but it's what i like to do.

I'm going to try these bad boys for fuel this time. because i didn't have time to get any GU.

 

 

I think i'm going to try out some compression socks/sleeves for recovery after doing some long runs.

 

Does anyone have any good recommendations? I went to our local running store, but they didn't have very many options. I'm going to try Fleet Feet later this week.

playlist thursday: never deleted.

sooo in the blogging world, there is usually a theme to write about on certain days. For example, some bloggers do motivational monday, wordless wednesday, friday favs....etc.

I know i usually only do Friday favs, but i think i'm going to start doing this Playlist thursday theme! I'm a big music junkie and always am looking for new music to put on my running playlist, so i thought it would be appropriate to try this out for a bit...and hopefully lots of you like music as well and will join me on commenting! Here's the deal...

This week's theme is Never Deleted. These are songs that you think will always be a part of your running playlist. Ones that you'll never give up and delete for other new music. I look forward to this songs comin' up on my ipod when I'm running and know i did a little " power song" action.  The "rules" of Playlist Thursday:

Something Old: Songs that are at least 5 years old.
Something Current: Songs that have been released in the past year.
Something to Consider: This is the wild card category. Any song goes: old, current, guilty pleasure, whatever floats yer boat.

Something Old
Artist: Fleetwood Mac
Title: Go Your Own Way
Side Note: I'm a big classic rock gal and absolutely love this band and Stevie Nicks voice...i secretly wish i had it.

Something Current:
Artist: Maroon 5
Title: One More Night
Side Note: def a regular play when i need to get a fast, " i can finish" mile in. plus, it's Adam Levine...extra motivation.

Something to Consider:
Artist: The Wallflowers
Title: Reboot the Mission
Side Note: if you live in Nash they are playing for free on Live on the Green on Sept. 13th. i will def. be there!

Also, here's who started Playlist Thurs, Brian (pavement runner) ...be sure to check out his picks!

So do we vote to keep Playlist Thursday??....let me know what you guys think.

sleepin' in like it's my job

Why can i not EVER wake up early to go for a planned run??
seriously. i have attempted multiple times now and have failed at every one of them.

i think he has something to do with it.

Sunday was no different. remember that planned 6:00 a.m. 9 miler that i was going to run with the running group...yeeaaah def. slept in till 8:30.

I had to suffer the consequences of my actions and start my run at around 9:45 a.m. The first 3 miles were rough. it was already hot. the sun was out. and i was not motivated. If it wasn't for my mom's check in phone pep talks, i don't think i would have made it....but i diiiiddddd. 9 miles in 1:41. i'll take it!

Tried out the Chocolate Gu...not bad at all! I still like the PB one better though. I took it at mile 6ish and didn't really feel like it boosted my run very much, but i'm sure it helped give me a little more energy for the next 3 miles.

special shot out to Panera Bread and Co. for letting me fill my water bottle up 3 times during my run. yes there are that many Panera's in Nash. I'm sure their customers really appreciated my looks and smells.

I'm lookin' forward to some really great runs this week. The weather during the evenings will be in the 60's-70's...which is ideal. PLUS maybe i'll make it to the long run group this sunday as they are pushing back the time to 7:00 a.m. because of the nice weather...surely i can make that right??.....

Friday Favorites!

Happy Friday Y'all! here's to hoping this weekend brings Nash some cooler weather like last weekend! I have another long run of 9 miles planned for Sunday at 6:00 am with a running club in Nashville that is training for the Women's Half Marathon as well!

If you remember by past experience with running groups ( the tortoise and marleene) you know I'm a little nervous/anxious about going on another group run. Hopefully though I'm in a bit better running shape than last time. i hope. and that i don't get lost.

This week's edition of friday favorites is focusing on things digital. My co-worker Michael helped me come up with the topic! ( Heeeyyy Michael!)

1. DailyMile.com

Such a great website. if you look to the R of your computer screen you will see an orange outlined square ( you might have to scroll down a bit..) labeled " Training Widget". the helpful folks from the dailymile website provide this widget that let's others know how many miles you have ran during that week! It also will keep track of your pace and times.

If you visit their website ( www.dailymile.com) you can create you own account with them and track not just your running, but any exercise activity! It's a great way to see how much you have accomplished! My fav part is the " results" page.

I have burned 79.45 donuts?!? YES! and powered 52.32 TV's!

does that mean i can have a donut tomorrow morning....? :)


2. MapMyRun App for iphone.

My phone is always attached to my big toned bicep when i run for 3 purposes.

1. Safety
2. Music
3. MapMyRun app.

It is a free app that will map out your course based on where your phone goes! It let's you play music while using the app and also keeps track of miles ran. I have programed mine so that it tells me when I have reached each mile, my pace for that mile, and my total time running. It's also pretty nifty because you can " Start/Stop" your time if you have to wait to cross the street, take a water break, etc.

You can also go to the website ( mapmyrun.com ) and make/record your own course and share it with your friends or running buddies!


3. On-line Running Calendars

I am always on the look out for new 5k's, 10k's, half's in the area, and I have finally found a site that I like and that they keep updated regularly!

www.nashvillestriders.com and irunfortheparty.com are great resources for my Nash peeps who are looking to see if there are any races going on. I believe they even have the 2013 Race Calendar available!

For those of you who do not live in Nash, you should look to see if your city has any type of running website that lists all the races for that year/month/week. It's such a great resources to find new and exciting courses!