July 16, 2015

Staycation/blog break

I've been having a fantastic week away from the computer, but I wanted to write some stuff down before I forget it all ;) I use my blog as a journal, and I hate to leave a big gaping hole in it. My kids have been at camp all week, so Jerry and I have spent some good, quality time together. I've also had time to unwind and just veg, which is exactly what I needed. I won't go into all the details of the week, but here are some notables:

Sunday:
The kids left for camp. Jerry and I walked to the bar to play Keno and have a couple of drinks. We each played $25 on Keno, and ended up winning $170! I always play four numbers, and once in a while, I'll hit all four (which is a $72 win). That night, though, I hit all four TWICE. It was exciting, because our whole evening was paid for--we shared a burger and had drinks, plus the Keno--and we still had money leftover.

Monday:
Jerry was off work, and we went for a run in the morning. I was scheduled for three miles, so he did the run/walk with me, and it was really nice. We chatted the whole time, and it went by quickly. Then we went to the thrift store for some clothes, where I bought a couple of dresses and summer tops. Then we drove down to Toledo for lunch and to go to Sam's Club. A pretty low-key day, but it still went by really quickly.

Tuesday:
Jerry had a short day at work, so when he got off at 3:30, I met him at a park with our bikes. I wanted to try and do a long bike ride, going through not one, but THREE Metroparks. From the park that we started at, through all three Metroparks, and back, it was 26.5 miles. The farthest I'd ever ridden was 20 miles, and the farthest Jerry had ridden was just 7. We were up for the challenge, though, even though rain was in the forecast. 


It was extremely humid, and the ride actually had a lot of small hills (tough on a bike!), but it made for a good workout. We had a headwind on the way out, so I was really excited to get to the halfway point so we could turn around. Shortly before we turned around, I took a picture of the sky, because it looked really pretty (although it looked like it was going to open up and downpour any second).

I didn't edit or filter this pic--that's just how it looked!
A little scary when you're miles away from the car.
We took a quick halfway-point photo, and then headed back toward the car. A couple of minutes later, it started sprinkling. And just a couple of minutes after that, it started pouring rain. Running in the rain is fun, but riding in the rain? Not so much. I was getting pretty muddy from rain splashing up my back from the tires on my bike. We were able to go a little faster on the way home, thanks to the tailwind, but it was still tough going. We both felt FANTASTIC when we got done, though! I was dying to take a shower, but I felt really accomplished with the ride. We did 26.45 miles!


We were both starving after that, so we asked Nathan and Kendall if they wanted to meet up for dinner. Jerry and I each took a quick shower, and then headed to Anson's, our favorite pizza joint, to meet Nathan and Kendall. I had a piece of chicken-bacon-ranch pizza and a piece of reuben pizza, and both were delicious! We sat and chatted until almost 10 pm, and then finally headed home.

Wednesday: 
I ran three miles in the morning, and then spent literally all day relaxing and watching One Tree Hill. I tried a new recipe for dinner, Sesame Chicken by BudgetBytes.com, and it turned out really good. It was 12 PointsPlus.


After dinner, Jerry and I went to watch the kids' last baseball game--yes, even though our kids weren't there playing! Noah and Eli asked us to go, so they could know what happened, so we watched a couple of innings. Then we went to McDonald's to get a cone for dessert. My favorite way to spend 5 PointsPlus :)

Thursday:
I had planned on running 12 miles in Central Park this weekend for my long run, but Thomas suggested that I do it at home Thursday, and then if I really wanted to run in Central Park, do a shorter run. After my disastrous long run last Friday, I didn't want to risk that happening again, so it made more sense to get the run done at home. Also, the weather was in the high 50's when I woke up, which is much nicer than the 80's in midday when I'm in NY. 

Due to last week's fiasco, I was falling behind on my long runs. I really needed a good long run this week, so I made it a goal to do 12 miles (run/walk). I wore my Camelbak, so that I would be SURE to have enough water. I brought a Gu and a pack of Shotbloks. And I just prayed that I could make it through all 12 miles!

I set my run/walk intervals for 2:30 run/0:30 walk, and I planned an out-and-back route near my house. I figured if anything went wrong, it would be easier to call for a ride when I was close to home! ;) The run was pretty uneventful, thankfully. I didn't have any real issues. I kept my pace nice and easy when running, because I knew the last four miles would be a challenge. The last time I ran 12 miles was in December during the Santa Hustle Half-Marathon with Nathan. That was the race where I stress fractured my leg. 

Thankfully, today, I didn't have ANY issues with the leg--not so much as a twinge! I was very conscious of my running form, so I could try and do what my physical therapist said to correct it. As suspected, the last few miles were killer, and felt like forever. After hitting mile 10, though, I was VERY determined to get in all 12. My legs were tired, but I knew I could do it. I felt like I was running through water that last mile, but my pace stayed about the same.

I was ecstatic when I got back home and collapsed on the porch hit mile 12! 


My pace was 11:07, including the walk breaks, which isn't bad at all. 


Tomorrow, we leave for New York. We have plans to meet up with a mutual friend, Mike (actually, it's because of Mike that I met Jerry!) tomorrow evening. Saturday, I have the panel with Prudential, which I'm pretty nervous about. Jerry is going to a Yankees game while I do that. And we come home Sunday morning, so it's a pretty short trip. I probably won't be writing again until Sunday or Monday. Hope everyone has been having a great week!

15 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2015

    Thank you for the heads up for that blog...never heard of it before. Will give that recipe a try. I get a lot of good ideas from Emily Bites blog...she posts light recipes that are easy to do and has the weight watcher points included. I ADORE her butternut squash soup...never had it before but decided to try it...one of my fave soups now. I am glad that you and Jerry have been able to have a nice week together. Ellen Renee

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    1. AnonymousJuly 25, 2015

      Just checked out Emily's blog, looks great, thanks for suggesting :)

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  2. What a fun week you've had! I am also using a run/walk method after a few months off - due to life, not injury. I am jealous that you are maintaining such fast paces doing that. Hope I get my speed back soon.

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  3. I make that recipe all the time! And don't forget to stop by the WordPress.com booth. I'll be working tomorrow afternoon and giving a presentation at 3:30 there. :)

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    1. Not sure if you'll see this, but I will look for you! I'm hanging out in the hotel lobby for a bit This morning. Stupid rain!

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  4. Sounds like a fun week!
    But please please .... buy yourself a NEW pants or shirt every now and then!!! Everyone deserves something brand new that only belongs to YOU!!

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    1. oh man I love going to consignment stores though! There are a couple of awesome stores out where I live- Buffalo Exchange, Crossroads Trading Company... I can't stomach buying clothes at "full price". its usually such a rip off. (having worked in retail and always getting at LEAST 40% off the clothes...)

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  5. Okay this sounds stalkerish, lol. I swear I seen you at Sam's Monday but wasn't sure. Knowing my luck it wasn't you and I would have been awkward. I live south of Toledo in Bowling Green and that's the closest Sam's for us.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, how funny! I wish you'd have asked, because it was probably me :) Hopefully I wasn't doing anything stupid, haha. Usually, we go to Southgate, but I like the Toledo Sam's better.

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  6. Oh very awesome! That bike ride sounds great! I usually keep a basket or mud guard thing over my back tire to keep my butt from getting wet heheh. I LOVE when long runs go well! It gets me so motivated. I've missed reading your posts! hahah I'm glad you are enjoying some time off but dangit I like updates! ;)

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  7. Wow! That's actually pretty good timing for walking breaks as well. Better than my time!

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  8. That thunderstorm pic is awesome! I'm a bad weather junkie and LOVE snapping pics of clouds like that rolling in!

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  9. AnonymousJuly 19, 2015

    Can I ask you what watch you are using for your walk / runs? I just bought a Timex Ironman & it has a timer function, but no interval function :o(

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    1. It's the Garmin Forerunner 620, and I love it!! It has a run/walk function (which just beeps at the intervals you specify) and an interval function, which keeps track of the data at the intervals you specify (great for doing speed work). The Forerunner 220 is about half the price, but does the same thing--that's the watch I recommend :)

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  10. I drove through the Detroit/Toledo area on my way to and from Canada last week. I saw a sign for a metropark once and thought of you. We don't seem to call park metroparks in the StL area. . .or maybe we just don't have the same thing!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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