Confession(s)

I live in Arizona. It's hot. Waking up at 5:00 am every.damn.morning to throw myself onto the nasty concrete streets got old.

Confession.

The treadmill has become my friend.

Who am I?

Oh ya know...just driving to go run. Makes sense.

I blame working out at the gym in the mornings, and being on a schedule to meet someone at a specific time...if I wasn't already there, then maybe it wouldn't be so tempting to hop on that treadmill and fall into an easy and comfy pace and the luxury of having a water bottle, Pandora and a bathroom all within reach. The past few weeks have been sprinkled with far less outdoor running (minus San Diego) and way to much indoor running.

I mean having giant commercial fan blowing on my back and plenty of people watching to push my through my runs makes it kind of awesome, right?

Confession.

It makes me feel guilty. Like I'm not a "real" runner. Which is really really stupid. But I miss the streets, the coyote encounters, the hot air balloons just above the desert floor and the fact that I actually run faster outside than inside.

So I took it the streets today. No excuses. No reasons. No expectations. And I was slow. And sweaty as fuck. But I felt 100% times better after 5 mile shitty miles than I do after 5 treadmill miles.

If I want to get fast, I need to run fast. And in order to run fast...I need cooler temps. I need natural hills. And I need the pressure of not looking like a total douche walking and not running from the cars passing by. 

I gave myself permission to use the treadmill on the 2 days I train with Naydine, because it's easy and it makes sense. But once September hits...watch out streets, I'm comin for ya.

Will Ride for Food

{Whoops....forgot to post. From Friday}

At the recommendation of our friendly neighbor upstairs, we hopped on our cruisers and headed down to the Hippie-filled town of Ocean Beach to check out a restaurant Guy Fieri visited on Triple D called Hodads. He told us it was about a 2.5 mile ride, easy peasy.

It was 5.25....with a HUGE hill both ways. Lil off. On a single speed beach cruiser, it felt long.

I earned my burger. OK, not really, but hey, the little jaunt was a nice one. It's been chilly the last 2 days so it felt nice to ride in the cool beachy weather. It's out last day here so we wanted to do something fun and off our beaten path.

I am not a big burger person (or a red meat person really) but I was game to check this little place out and Wade is a HUGE burger guy, so I kicked my prissy burger attitude to the curb and rolled with it.  It was on point and I got about 1/2 way through my burger before throwing the napkin in. It was stacked high with beef, onions, a bacon patty (yup), lettuce, pickles, cheese, tomato and mustard/mayo.

Washed down with a cold beer.

Yum.

I'm going to go lay down and be fat now.

A Sunny Tuesday

We woke up to BEAUTIFUL weather, overcast this morning and a sunny breezy afternoon!

• 3.25 mile boardwalk run

• 12 minute HIIT workout...on the beachfront patio

• 1 mile dog walk

• 9.5 mile beach cruise to La Jolla

I'd say it was an active Tuesday! We also squeezed in a Mexican lunch and a couple of cold beers with limes....and a little shopping.

We are heading to Del Mar in a couple hours to have early dinner and drinks with a friend, and tomorrow.....we are going to be beach bums.

AFC Recap, 2012 Version

AFC Recap from last year here.

Well. I did it. And it SUCKED. OK, not really.

I'm not going to type out a full play by play because let's be honest...does anyone actually read that? And oh ya, I'm still on vacation!

I was slightly worried going into this race for a few reasons:

1. It was hot. 72 degrees at the start line. And in San Diego, that's hot. And this course is hilly
2. My left knee/muscle thing I have had issues with in the past felt a little off.
3. Being sick a week before the race left me feeling less than confident. (I know, so stupid)

Rockin our Lulu Gear

It was hot. Like all my clothes were soaking wet hot. It was a combo of sweat/water I dumped on my head at every aid station/people hosing down runners from their hoses.

Being an AZ girl, I wasn't too worried about the weather. And I did fine. I drank water at EVERY station (which I don't always do) and plugged along at a comfortable pace. Once I realized how warm it was I settled into the run and just tried to enjoy myself. But holy moly was it hot. I could feel my skin burning. No escaping it either. No shade. No breeze.

And I did. Races are so fun. 13.1 miles goes by so fast. So many people to watch. Signs to read. High fives to give. I knew I wasn't going to PR and I was totally good with that.

That hill at the end was just as ugly as I remembered.

I was crusty and wet at the finish line. But I was smiling. I felt good. No pains. No aches.

I rode my shiny new cruiser the rest of the day. Grubbed on the beach. Oyster Shooters. Had a few beers.

Ended the evening with some delicious pizza. More beers. More cruising.

We are moving rental houses today...rough experience with the one we are in but all things happen for a reason. This reason is, the new place is ONE house back from the beach/boardwalk in Mission Beach. I'm so excited I can't even stand it.

Wade and I have a date tonight at one of our favorite San Diego restaurants, George's. I brought a fancy new dress and I might even wear wedges vs. flip flops.

Off to the beach.

Road Trip, An Epic Start

Hello From Sunny San Diego!

For reals, it's hot as balls here. This air conditioned princess is not used to living in houses without modern day air. #1stworldproblems

We arrived yesterday afternoon after a fantastic drive where we "almost" ran out of gas in the middle of the desert. Not going to name names or anything, but it wasn't my fault. We were suckin fumes and ended up pulling into a scene straight from a bad horror movie flick. (did I hear screams?) Wade bribed some young guy to put a gallon of gas into the truck to get us the 10 miles up the road to a real gas station.

Wade claimed he saved the day. Scuse me?

This was the nice part of it.

So I sat pissed off for 10 whole miles (that's a long time for me) until we hit gas. And Subway. I was more upset about my eating schedule being interrupted.

I have been anxiously awaiting this trip solely for this purpose.

 You bet yo ass I got a new beach cruiser after Pinkie was stolen in Newport Beach earlier this summer.

So after the awesome car ride, we officially started vacation last night. Beer, beach and sushi.

Race tomorrow. I will be a sardine at the end of this thing. So sweaty.

I have zero expectations. (OK I mean very low) This race is fun. Scenic. Hilly. Humid. I don't feel prepared for some reason. Oh well.

Here we go.

I need a new name for my Cruiser....suggestions?

Beauty in a Box

Oh Hi Birchbox.

I received my 2nd one today, SQUEAL! ( <---- it takes a lot to make me squeal)

Chalk full of new beauty products in deluxe sample sizes, I just can't wait to get my grubby mitts on those little treats.

Monday Things

Monday is officially over once I shut down this computer to enjoy my evening with the Wadester.

I haven't been blogging too much lately - lack of inspiration possibly? I dunno. I'm still feeling a bit under the weather so I took a trip to my Doctor for some assurance. A few vials of blood and some pokes to the stomach later, I still didn't know, but he thinks it's nothing serious so I'm not too worried.

A bland diet and no alcohol. Rude.

My running has suffered because of this. But that's OK, I have a good base and technically I'm tapering, right? Normally my short 3 mile jaunt this am would have left my panties in a wad, but I'm content with it after my Monday morning session with Naydine. Ouch.

Wade and I spent last weekend up North. It was a perfect weekend. Beautiful weather, a long shitty run (yup it happens), pizza, a superb bottle of wine (such a fancy word) and a couple of great movies with my dude on the couch.

Lowell working on his yoga practice, so Zen.

Vanity Portrait.

We stopped at a creek side picnic on the way home on Sunday and saw this little sign:

Pretty cool, eh?

I had to run a few errands today and swung by Petsmart to grab some dog food for my furry beebs and upon making a wrong turn down the aisle, I ran into this:

Is it weird that I'm 30 and found myself wanting a teeny tiny hamster? Yes, I think so.

I also made a pit stop at my favorite store ever, Marshall's, and picked up a few vacation "essentials". I have found that shopping after your husband spends a larger than normal amount of money on himself (damn road biking habit) is the best time to do this. "Ya sure babe, get whatever, I don't want you lookin like a scrub on vacation". I almost fainted in the aisles of Petsmart while reading that text. For reals.

Don't worry, I won't post any vain self portraits from the dressing room.

But of course, some were taken. 

Happy Monday.

Back in the Saddle

So that weird stomach bug that derailed me for the past 3 days...I think it has left the building. I spent Sunday-Tuesday basically being a lump. Laying, watching TV,  sleeping, and definitely not caring about personal hygiene. Lucky Wade.

I finally ate a real meal last night (yay for ham and cheese omelets) and trudged into the gym this morning for a much needed workout with Naydine. I told her to take it easy on me, and she did. Kind of.

I broke a sweat within the first minute of weighted one-legged squats and didn't stop until I completed my 5 mile run/walk. Yikes.

I feel 100% better now. And hungry.

I won't be hitting 39 miles this week, but aiming for 30-35, depending on how I feel. We are heading up North for the weekend, so I'm super happy to bust out a long run in the cool mountain temps.

Anyone have anything fun they are looking forward to this weekend?

Date Night + 12 days

Wade and I enjoyed a lovely dinner date out this past weekend. We stayed in Friday and dined on homemade turkey pasta dinner to carb up for our early Saturday morning run. 4:15 am came early - always has me wondering "why" I do this to myself. Oh ya, because it feels good.

With 12 miles completed on Saturday this finished my week off at 39 miles. My highest week ever I think? Feels good. No pains. I even managed 3 1/2 strength sessions (1/2 = mini sesh because I was still sore) My run on Saturday was really really slow, which of course has me worried for AFC in 12 days. I feel prepared, but not. Running in 90+ degree weather is bound to slow you down, so I'm trying not to be bummed about it and just be happy I get to run in this awesome race!

We had a Groupon to use for dinner, so we did.

Drinks at AZ88, a favorite spot of ours.

 
Dinner: Spanish food + Sangria + Flamenco Dancers = Fantastic Date Night.  

And then I got sick. I don't know what the heck has been wrong with me since Saturday night, but it hasn't been pretty, I have hardly moved off my couch. So bored. So useless.

I'm more irritated that it's interrupting my running/workout schedule and that I can't eat. Silver lining? I've lost a few lbs. ;) Hopefully by tonight I'm back to myself.

Hometown Visit

I wasn't sure I wanted to do a recap of my weekend up in Washington...mainly because I didn't do a whole lot that deemed worthy of reading about. But I thought I'd do a short and sweet one, mainly for myself.

My Mom and I flew up to Seattle last Thursday to visit Grandma. I was really looking forward to this trip for a few reasons:

1. Get outta the heat and visit my old stomping grounds.
2. Spend time with my mom, we have NEVER taken a trip together as adults.
3. Visit Grandma and spend her Birthday with her.

The entire weekend was laid back and low key...we spent the weekend AT my Grandma's place and she lives in a retirement center. I was not super excited about this for obvious reasons, but it ended up being really fun! We spent the weekend watching the Olympics (I.can't.stop.watching.), eating, shopping, wine tasting, beer touring (my sis and bro-in-law joined, so fun) and taking walks. Grandma doesn't get around too well anymore, so my Mom and I spent one afternoon shopping and doing our own thing.

But at "just" 92, my Grandma is still sassy and smart and still hovers behind me telling me how to do things and trying to make me food, but of course, with age, comes changes and it breaks my heart seeing her slow down. I can't stress how happy I am that I took this weekend to just spend time with her. Eating PB toast each morning brought me back to being a kiddo, and it was nice to feel that way again!

I ran 2 of the 3 mornings I was there and one of the highlights of my weekend was running along the trails behind the property she lives on. It was cool, humid (82%) and hilly as shit. I had a huge smile on my face as I ran through the trails that were flanked with blackberry bushes on either side...it really brought me back to my childhood.

Runs like that are the reason I run.  

I also ran inside at the new gym on the property which is brand spankin' new and extremely high tech. It was so funny to be working out alongside a bunch of retired Seniors. They were all really friendly and were cracking jokes the entire time...for once I was the youngest fastest, and strongest!

Leaving was tough...but I was really excited to get home to Wade and my furry critters. Best part...18 roses at the airport from my sweetheart. xoxo.