Hi there. This week I’ve been celebrating so many things!

From Tongue Out Tuesday…

the progression of Tongue Out Tuesday

the progression of Tongue Out Tuesday

to Throwback Thursday…

Fall 2015....Chicago! A wonderful trip to celebrate my birthday.

Fall 2015….Chicago! A wonderful trip to celebrate my birthday.

and we can’t forget yesterday was Global Running Day!IMG_0499

I ran a few miles but to be honest my toe has been a smidge more achy since returning home from St. Louis (where I did a lot of walking) and I’m keeping the mileage low and probably thinking it’s best to keep to only one run a week for another week or two. I’ve come way too far to have a setback! (this weekend will be 12 weeks since the injury first happened).

Oh, and apparently today  is National Best Friends Day. I have lots of human friends but I think Duncan is truly my BEST friend. IMG_0502

This is how excited Duncan is to see me EVERY SINGLE TIME I return…

 

Excited is an understatement. #labradoodle #dogs #doodlesofinstagram #dogsofinsta #sillypup

A post shared by Sally Stilwell (@sweatoutthesmallstuff) on

 

How can I not want to be best friends with him?

Also, it looks like I’ve designated Mondays to be for yoga

Yoga Monday "top knot"

Yoga Monday “top knot”

Getting used to traveling with this combo

Getting used to traveling with this combo

If you had to choose would you prefer Tongue out Tuesday or Throwback Thursday?

Do you have another favorite day to celebrate?

Sweating out the small stuff and solitude with the ‘suckles

Happy Saturday!

I had a week with a whole lotta ups and downs. I knew all week that I was going to run after work on Friday at that park (Colonial Park) near my office that I discovered the first week I worked. But I didn’t expect to run more than 3 miles. I ended up running 10K because I was enjoying the solitude and those honeysuckles so much.

Honeysuckles!

Honeysuckles!

I wanted to run on the DnR (Delaware and Raritan) Canal Tow Path that both Mr. SOTSS and Meesh mentioned. I didn’t find the entrance right away so I ended up running along a couple of roads with absolutely no sidewalk or shoulder. It was stressful and I had to stop and literally jump into the woods to avoid getting hit by a car a few times. Then I ended up on a quiet block when all of a sudden a dog ran out to the front of his yard and then toward me. He was not on a leash. Holy F! I was scared out of my mind. I just turned in the opposite direction and ran super fast and sure enough after a few minutes I stumbled upon one of the entrances to the tow path! Thank god.

Finally found an entrance

Finally found an entrance

Hi!

Hi!

It was smooth sailing after that and about 3 miles in is where I saw that there was a connection to the park via a cute little bridge. SO MUCH SAFER! HA! I cannot wait to run a bunch more times along this tow path every Friday.

When self timer shots go wrong

When self timer shots go wrong

I cannot tell you how much I needed that hour + of time alone. I’ve been struggling to be heard lately and It’s been making me feel pretty crappy. And sometimes, because I’m so super open and honest with how I feel it makes people uncomfortable and defensive. I’ll just keep it at that. 😉 I loved the tow path because other than maybe a couple of bike riders and one or two other runners it was literally all mine! I could hear the birds chirping and the sound of my feet striking the ground.

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With each stride I felt more and more Zen. I saw a few chipmunks and a deer too. I think I could have run 10 or more miles but I had to get home to Duncan.

There are over 70 miles to cover

There are over 70 miles to cover

When my run was over I celebrated with my free donut that I got earlier in the day.

#NationalDonutDay

#NationalDonutDay

Dunkin Donuts was giving out a free donut with beverage purchase because yesterday was National Donut Day. And then I returned my beloved running car magnets to “Forest” now that he’s back from the autobody shop.

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I came home to my doodles and just chilled out for the rest of the night.

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Did you say it’s Friday?!

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His before and after from his latest grooming. I love his versatile looks 🙂

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Random doodling during a meeting at work

OK I better go be productive now. It’s already after 10am and I’ve been up since 7am doing nothing but watching TV and blogging….

Happy Weekend!

Doing anything fun this weekend?

Dear body: Thank you for showing up

Dear spirit: Thank you for showing up

Dear Spring: Thank you for showing up

Yesterday afternoon I had the perfect run. 4.1 miles of happy!

Happy run!

Happy!

Let’s rewind. So I mentioned that Duncan seems to have strained a muscle in his front leg and the doc has prescribed lots of R&R for him to heal.

I posted this video to Instagram yesterday.

Well we took it very seriously most of the day…

resting the paw again

resting the paw

resting the paw even more

resting the paw even more

resting the paw some more

resting the paw some more

resting the paw

resting the paw again!

I had to run out to do a quick freelance photography job and made a pitstop at Dunkin Donuts on my way home to grab a cup of coffee and my free donut thanks to National Donut Day.

NationalDonutDay

At 3pm, the sun came out and I decided to head to the beach to run the 4 mile route I wanted to run this past Sunday (but couldn’t due to the thunder/lightening storm). From the first step I just knew it would be a great run. I felt bounce in my step for the first time in months. And the weather was perfect. 65 and sunny with a lovely cool ocean breeze.

Finally feeling the run more than the injuries

Finally feeling the run more than the injuries

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More fragrant honeysuckles!

More fragrant honeysuckles!

Picture perfect view

Picture perfect view

Yep, this is my home.

Yep, this is my home.

My body felt strong. My overuse injuries didn’t bother me. I was just plain happy and that has given me some much needed hope that by mid-July I’ll be ready to tackle a full marathon training cycle starting at healthy too =)

In the evening I had dinner at my parents house and then while watching TV last night I had the craving for something a little sweet. That’s when I remembered I was given some goodies from Luna/Cliff Bar recently so I poked around and found this yummy dark chocolate almond and sea salt trail mix bar.

Cliff Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt Trail Mix Bar

Cliff Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Trail Mix Bar

It was perfection. They’ve offering more and more gluten free products as more and more people have sensitivities to gluten.

Happy weekend! Hope it’s going to be a good one.
What are your weekend plans?
Do you eat a gluten free diet?
Do you ever thank your body when it feels strong? You should!