I was off from work today and still in recovery mode so I did not run although I admit I wanted to =) Instead I got up super early and walked the dog. It was pouring rain last night so he didn’t get a chance to do all his business if you know what i mean =), which meant he was more than happy to get out and about at 6am! Then we had breakfast and chilled on the couch…
Thursdays are the best day ever.
I got some paperwork done and ran a few errands and then we went for another walk since the weather was so nice.
The sky is so blue you’d never know it poured buckets yesterday.
hey ma! I love when you’re recovering from a marathon. Do you realize we went for 3 walks already today? SCORE!
Then I I finally put my Runner Girl replacement magnet on the car. (The first one was a casualty at the car wash and then my friend Valerie sent me a replacement for a birthday gift back in October but I’ve been waiting for the winter to end.) I even put my Center of the Nation Series sticker on too! (Sheesh! That was last September!).
i like people to know i run =)
For lunch my friend Mike and I went to our favorite Tex-Mex joint for some early Cinco de Mayo celebrating…
Frozen Margarita and fresh, warm tortilla chips and salsa while waiting on my fajitas to arrive.
Then we hit up the mall so I could get my niece’s birthday gift and card. I knew this was the card when I started tearing up while reading it.
And since Dicks Sporting Goods is in the mall, I decided to buy the same running shirt I just got a few weeks ago in a different color because it’s SOOOO comfy that I have been wearing the pink one when not running (like today!) Plus, it was on sale for $29!
I’m currently doing laundry (for real) and planks and burpees (in my mind).
I’m almost done with my recap for the NJ Marathon but just waiting on a few pictures. I warn you now it’s a novel so be prepared =)
Yesterday I focused on recovery and hydration.
requirements for the day after a marathon…wear your finisher’s shirt and HYDRATE!
As I was thumbing through some of the pics we took I noticed how cool this one was that my new iphone case that says 26.2 shows through the clear pouch so nicely on my fuelbelt!
cute pink iphone case makes the second best fashion accessory. The “necklace” is the best accessory =) Two HAPPY girls!
Since I’m not running today I took Duncan for a little play time at the park really early (as in BEFORE COFFEE EARLY!). We were on the baseball field and apparently he found himself a ball =)
Since NJ is complete I pulled the trigger and registered for my next marathon. San Francisco here i come!!!
time to train for hills!
I hadn’t anticipated running more than one full marathon this year but I wanted to be there to support Lisa’s sister Valerie as she runs her first full. I have NO time goals for this one. I just want to take some great pictures and enjoy the journey. =)
Hoping to have that recap up tonight or tomorrow.
Question: do you like water? Are you a purist or do you add anything to it or go for flavored kinds?
How has your week been going? Yesterday was Earth Day. It’s sorta that for me every day. I love nature and spend as much time as I can outside. Yep. I’m a tree hugger =)
tree-hugger sally
I had to work from home yesterday to wait for the appraiser to come. I’m refinancing because the interest rate on my mortgage is ridiculous. I bought my house back in 2000 when the rates were between 7 and 8 percent. So now i’ll be down to 3.625 and I’ll be able to pay the house off sooner. Feels so good!
Anyway, I got some miles in…
my penultimate training run. (I had a thing for vocabulary is school)
Just 3-ish. It really feels so weird to be running such low mileage but it works out ok because to overshadow my allergy woes, this past Sunday my sciatica/piriformis muscle decided to spasm. I’ve been dealing with horrible annoying pain since then. Remarkably running and walking make it feel a little better. I’m currently taking anti-inflammatories, rolling my butt on a tennis ball to massage the tight areas and rotating between ice and heat. I never get it right. Is it ice first then heat? or the opposite? I get this every now and then usually from sitting for too long or sitting the wrong way. But timing-wise it sucks. Hello! I have a marathon coming up in 4 days!
Since most of my physical training is in the books at this point I am trying to work on some mental exercise because my mental muscle is mush lately. I started with a peaceful walk in the woods with Duncan. Green is finally popping up!
I enjoy these walks because I can talk to myself out loud and there isn’t a soul around to hear me. Well I did scare away about 5 deer. Poor little guys were seeking out their dinner and when they heard me they bolted. All I saw were 5 white tails as they darted away.
I’d love if you all could share with me the sayings/quotes/mantras that help you feel confident and inspired.
I have been a little wishy-washy with my expectations for Sunday. I’m nervous and doubting my abilities lately…part of the taper madness? I want that fire to return for race day. I want to “crush it” as people say. But I don’t want to be disappointed if I have a slower finish time or if I struggle during the race. I did get in a solid 16 weeks of running but I never got on the bandwagon with things like strengthening my core or cleaning up my diet. So while my endurance is good, my weak core isn’t going to help me keep strong in those later miles. (Slapping my hand!) Maybe I need to just start singing that song from the movie Frozen…LET IT GO, LET IT GO! =) It’s all gonna go down just as it’s supposed to anyway. So long as I can keep smiling from the minute I line up in the corals to the minute I cross the finish line that’s all that matters right?
Just pulled out this pic. I took it the day before the NJ Marathon last year. It’s the finish line! Right on the boardwalk with the beach to the right. I will stare at this pic each day. I had an amazing day last year and set a PR. I’m hoping to have a repeat of that for this year.
NJ Marathon finish line
Well, I need to get ready for work. I’ve got one of those days with back to back meetings. At least it will be a good distraction from everything.
Questions: How do you handle pre-race nerves? What are your mantras? Ice then heat or heat then ice? Tree-hugger?
Yesterday morning I got up super early to travel to the city to run with friends.
my beloved bridge
We ran two 4-mile loops in Central Park.
a real Spring day to run in Central Park
We had some fun post run activities planned too. First, we set foot on an Easter egg hunt…This sure wasn’t your typical egg hunt though. We participated in the Big Egg Hunt to search for Fabergé eggs. It’s a really cool interactive hunt where you download an app on your phone and then, as you find the eggs you take pics of them (well, technically you scan the QR code below them) to confirm the discovery of that egg. Each egg is designed by a unique artist. You can also share your finds on Twitter and Instagram too.
there’s lisa snapping an egg
A handful of the eggs we discovered
These eggs were fairly large. Here’s a pic of me next to my new friend…
My new friend
After our egg hunt we went to Whole Foods for some breakfast and then parted ways. Always a memorable and enjoyable time when I’m with my running peeps.
Please excuse my gut! LOL! No washboard abs were used in the creation of this post. =) Seriously though these were SO comfortable. Much better than the Endurance Capris I wore the other day. These stayed put! There’s an internal draw cord but I didn’t even use it. Oh and 2 pockets! A small key pocket in the front waistband and a zipper one on the back of the waistband. While we’re speaking of waistbands, this wide one was very comfortable. The same for behind the knee. Thumb’s up!
When I got home, I showered and then pondered over where to take the dog for his walk. It was such a perfect Spring day and I wanted to get in a decent walk since technically I was supposed to run 12 miles and not 8 according to my marathon training plan. That’s when I decided on the beach. It’s just over 4 miles out and back.
Boxer chose the harder surface and Doodle chose the softer surface
After all the time on my feet and out in the sun I was tired. I was flipping through Facebook while relaxing on the sofa when I noticed my friend Doreen was looking to do something.
That’s one way to find something to do on a Saturday night
Doreen has 2 dogs. They are French Mastiffs (also called Dogue de Bordeauxs). We walk with the dogs frequently like this time and this time but I thought it would be nice to get a chance to be humans “unleashed” so I suggested going to a local German Bar/Restaurant. =) And so I picked her up and off we went. I was having one of those moments where I was feeling a bit funky about my appearance so I put on extra lip gloss because that always helps =)
slimming and beautifying lip gloss
Killmeyer’s was crowded. Eventually we got seated. They bring you a big warm soft pretzel with mustard to start. That’s my favorite part of this restaurant. If you read #7 on this list you’ll see that soft pretzels are my secret pre-marathon fuel. For the main course I had German meatloaf. Anything with bacon on it is going to be good right?
German fare with my secret pre-race fuel
Before dropping Doreen home she gave me this lovely homemade cake pop!
home made cake pop
(actually she gave me 3 but I ate 2 before I took a pic). Now you see why we’re friends. She is a great cook AND baker!
This morning I’m starting off slowly. Eventually I’ll go for a nice short and easy run and then drop the dog off to the groomer before doing some major cleaning of my house. Saw this posted yesterday and had to share!
taper time
Question: How’s your weekend going? What’s your favorite pre-race fuel? Have you ever been to a German restaurant?
And since Dicks Sporting Goods is in the mall, I decided to buy the same running shirt I just got a few weeks ago in a different color because it’s SOOOO comfy that I have been wearing the pink one when not running (like today!) Plus, it was on sale for $29!
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