Hi there.

Hope you are having a good week. Mine is going well. It’s been super busy but lots of good things. I’ve secured this freelance gig for the next 6 weeks so I can keep kibble on the table for Duncan. I struggled to get out the door for my run this morning thanks to the Dunkster. He’s just got the guilt trip face that says “stay with me”.

I posted this confession about my skipped run on Instagram.

 

But all day I promised myself that I’d redeem myself and run tonight when I got home from work. So I took Duncan to the park for a quick walk and then to the pet store for a new bone and got home just before sunset where I left him to gnaw contently and finally got my miles in!

enjoy your bone buddy....see ya in 33 minutes.

enjoy your bone buddy….see ya in 33 minutes.

I love a good pink hue in the sky

I love a good pink hue in the sky

running in the dark. mission accomplished

running in the dark. mission accomplished.

It was a beautiful night tonight. The humid rainy weather moved out and a nice cool summer breeze moved in. I felt like I was running my tempo pace which used to be 9:45-10:00/miles but these days it’s about a minute slower. Good benchmark though.

I’ve got so much to do so I’m signing off. But I’ll be back later in the week with an exciting giveaway!

Enjoy the rest of your week.

How do you get your workouts in?

Do you skip out on them frequently.

Have you ever redeemed yourself by just postponing your workout until later in the day?

 

Happy Monday!

Summer is now officially here! I went running last night and timed it to catch the first official sunset of the season.

Summer's first sunset

Summer’s first sunset

I covered 8 miles and brought my anxiety level down a whole lot of notches!

8 miles

8 miles

It was really peaceful and for a hot summer day I lucked out as there was a great ocean breeze and the humidity had dropped.

IMG_6404

Sometimes birds will just chill out on these wood pilings. I always get a kick out of that.

Running through honeysuckle-ville! So sweet!

Running through honeysuckle-ville! So sweet!

happy!

My view for a few of the miles!

I'll never be able to move away from the ocean.

I’ll never be able to move away from the ocean.

Here's the hare....I guess I was the tortoise =)

Here’s the hare….I guess I was the tortoise =)

sweating out the small stuff

sweating out the small stuff

I had a highly emotional weekend. It started on Friday with a trip to my friend’s house. Her mom is in her last days as she has been battling cancer and it’s taking a toll. She’s lived a very long life but it doesn’t make it any easier to see someone deteriorate and suffer with the. I went for a run friday too.

Since it was Flashback Friday I wore my very first Ragnar Relay team shirt—Running on Butter!

Since it was Flashback Friday I wore my very first Ragnar Relay team shirt—Running on Butter!

I’ve been much slower but just happy to be able to run. I’m on track to start NYC Marathon training in about 3-4 weeks. Woo hoo!

Saturday I joined my friend and his family for the Walk to Defeat ALS. His mom was diagnosed last year as was a former coworker’s husband. It was a wonderfully successful walk and my friend’s mom even walked the whole thing but it brought so much emotion out. The cold hard facts about this disease are grave and hard to believe.

In the car waiting for everyone to arrive. An innocent smile before it all sank in.

In the car waiting for everyone to arrive. An innocent smile before it all sank in.

Supporting Mrs. C because she deserves all the support in the world.

Supporting Mrs. C because she deserves all the support in the world.

My former coworker’s husband found a unique way to raise money for ALS research. It’s called Pickals. Go check it out.

After the walk I took Duncan to his first ever doggie birthday “paw-tee”. Peanut was having a bash for her 6th birthday.

it's not a party without a cake!

it’s not a party without pup-cakes and paw-tee bags!

How cute is she in this birthday dress?

How cute is she in this birthday dress?

It was really cute. Duncan was a little freaked out though by all the noise and hoopla. We stayed for an hour or so and he even won a prize for doing tricks. Then we had to head out to my brother’s house for a BBQ.

Playing with his loot the next day

Playing with his loot the next day

There was also some bargain shopping and some cleaning that went down in between everything else. And lots of chill time with this loyal companion…

Eyeballing my post run bowl of cereal

Eyeballing my post run bowl of cereal

in the car on the way to Peanut's birthday paw-tee

in the car on the way to Peanut’s birthday paw-tee

Here’s to a good week! Hope you all have a good one.

Tell me about your weekend?

So I just noticed that June 13th was my 2nd blog anniversary. I’m 5 days late! OOpsie! It’s crazy to think I’ve stuck with this for 2 years already. My life has changed so much in the last 2 years but one thing that hasn’t changed is my love of running and of course I still stand firm that it’s the best way for me to sweat out the small stuff!

My first post!

My first blog anniversary post!

Yesterday morning I met my friend Robin for a 5 mile run along the boardwalk. By 9am I had reached 10,000 steps. Love those kind of mornings.

I love the sun sparkled water and of course my favorite Verrazano Bridge!

I love the sun sparkled water and of course my favorite Verrazano Bridge!

My nephew turned 17 on Tuesday. It’s crazy to think he’s not that little toddler on the left anymore.

birthday boy!

birthday boy! (and photo bomb from his dog Casey)

I’m taking a rest day today. It’s actually good running weather—cool and rainy—but I know I need the rest so I will refrain and stretch and foam roll instead.

Last weekend my boyfriend’s daughter had a dance recital. It made me a little nostalgic so in honor of #throwbackthursday here is one of my very adorable recital shots =)

Me and my 2 left feet

Me and my 2 left feet

And before I leave you all to get some work done I just thought I’d share this pic of Duncan from last night. He was in his “Northern Exposure” phase and pulled out a buffalo and Bullwinkle the Moose. HA HA!!!!

Duncan

Duncan

Hope you all have a super day!

What did you eat for breakfast today?

I had peanut butter and apricot preserves on whole wheat toast and COFFEE!

Hi there!

How goes it? My weekend included back to back runs on Saturday and Sunday and let me say so many of my emotions were running along with me.

Saturday I woke up at 4am.

The 4am look

The 4am look

I haven’t had the chance to actually run with my friends in so long (I did get to spectate and see them at the Brooklyn half) that I made it my business to partake when I saw Lisa post on our running group page that they planned to do a long run from Brooklyn to Manhattan. So I set out from Staten Island to Brooklyn and met them at 5:30am (we were trying to beat the heat)

Can't wait to run over this bridge in a few months

Can’t wait to run over this bridge in a few months

We ran over the Manhattan bridge and up the east side and then cut across 34th Street.

Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges

Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges

Mike and Lisa

Mike and Lisa

I only covered 7.75 miles with them but it was plenty of time to catch up. I had some work stuff to share. Mike was excited about his new cushioned running shoes. Lisa’s been dealing with eliminating different foods to see if they can pinpoint some sensitivity issues. She’s also already planning out NYC Marathon long runs. I love that she is so good at mapping out routes for us. We chatted about our friends who will be running an ultra this coming weekend. Just a little 100 miler. You know NBD!

all done by 7am!

all done by 7am!

Iced tea lemonade combo was my reward after those sticky hot miles.

Iced tea lemonade combo was my reward after those sticky hot miles.

It felt SO good to spend time with Mike and Lisa and get in the longest run I’ve had since completing the NJ Marathon on April 26th. My ankle and knee are both really doing well and I’m ready to start increasing my mileage slowly again while foam rolling and stretching DAILY to prevent future issues hopefully.

I hopped on the subway back to Brooklyn and then got in my car and drove back to Staten Island. Quite a trek but since we started out so early I was home before 9am and had a huge smile on my face. Total runner’s high!

Sunday morning Mr. SOTSS and I each went for a run. He passed me in the first 1/2 mile and then took a left while I took a right. I was only planning on running 3 miles but I had a lot on my mind. I was feeling a lot of angst and super emotional and got lost with my head movies. I ended up running 4.69 miles and really wanted to run longer but i was worried Mr. SOTSS would be worried that I was gone so long.

I sweat out the small stuff and the big stuff

I sweat out the small stuff and the big stuff

Did I mention Mr. SOTSS has some running overuse injuries too? He’s been doing his PT exercises and strength too. Very proud of him.

Duncan supervising while Mr. SOTSS strengthens his glutes

Duncan supervising while Mr. SOTSS strengthens his glutes

I took yesterday off although I did do some hip and glute strengthening and Duncan did too.

floor work!

floor work!

Today I’m just going to get a few quick easy miles in and tomorrow I’m going to meet up with a friend of mine for a morning run at the boardwalk.

So grateful that I have running to help me deal with all my highs and lows. And so grateful that I have running friends to share some of those highs and lows with. 

I’m also grateful for chocolate chip ice cream.

2 scoops!

2 scoops!

And of course Mr. SOTSS =)

What are you grateful for?

What’s your mood like these days? Are you feeling great or not so great?