40 years and 5 months

26. March 2014 · 3 comments · Categories: labradoodle, running, Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,

That’s how old I am today! =)

I hit the gym on my lunch break today to run 4 miles.

i have a twin! Nah! It's just smoke and mirrors

i have a twin! Nah! It’s just smoke and mirrors

I JUST discovered that you can select virtual workout destinations! I chose the Grand Canyon. I made a little video that I posted to Instagram.

While I was running I got a text from my friend telling me what her 2 1/2 year old daughter said.

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I’m all fuh-klempt! The feeling’s mutual sweet Nicolette!

Today was supposed to be 6 miles according to god my training schedule but I knew that I just wouldn’t have the time since I was on my lunch break so 4 miles was the compromise.

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After a quick shower I returned to work and whipped out my lunch. The first time in my life that the pit in my avocado broke in half. First I discovered the virtual workout destination option on the treadmill and now that the pit of an avocado can be broken in half.

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the more you know

And while we’re on the topic of new discoveries…My boss has been keeping a secret. All these years I never knew he wore wild socks.

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Checker socks: Check!

I stopped at the mechanic tonight to pick up my Jeep. Yep, this time it was the catalytic converter work. The repairs are really adding up and exhausting me to no end (pun intended…get it? the catalytic converter is part of the exhaust system). But I’m optimistic that this jeep will be around for many more miles. I had them change the oil too. And they placed a sticker on my windshield to remind me when my next oil change is…..

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Can you believe it???!!! I’m so close to hitting 100,000 miles!

It was still relatively early (5:30pm) so I went home to grab the doodle and we drove to the park for a nice walk. We covered 1,354,321 things to sniff 1.5 miles in 30 minutes.

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Running is my therapy (as I overuse in hashtag world) but lately I’ve been noticing that my anxiety seems to be getting the better of me. First it was some binge eating and frankly, just stuffing my face to suppress emotions. Today I noticed my mind was obsessed with time. I left work at 4pm on the dot. I had to walk 7 blocks to catch the bus. I had given myself 12 minutes to get to the bus stop which is plenty of time. I would walk one block and then count in my head how many more blocks to go and how many minutes left it’d take me. Seriously?! We’re talking 7 blocks….not 20! Sheesh! I just didn’t want to miss the bus and subsequently arrive at the mechanic after they closed. Needless to say all worked out well but these are some hefty red flags. I’ve got to add some other outlets…I’d run more but I don’t want to injure myself physically just to feel better emotionally =)

And so I might just cue up one of those yoga programs that I DVR’ed and try and calm that brain of mine.

Question: How do you manage anxiety? Anyone meditate? Do you reach for food when your stressed? Anyone wear wild socks? If you have a car, how many miles are you up to?

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Weekend Wrap-up

24. March 2014 · 1 comment · Categories: running, sweet treats · Tags: , , , ,

It’s Sunday evening and I’m watching TV and pretending that it’s only Saturday. I’m not ready for the weekend to be over. Today was a pretty lazy day. It started with me watching a program called Yoga For Life on TV. Last week I watched it and thought about actually doing the Yoga moves but I stayed on the couch.

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This week I came one step closer and decided to DVR the series so hopefully I’ll actually implement some yoga into my life soon.

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I did a token load of laundry and got a 4 mile run in but that’s about it.

photo 4It’s been a pretty hum drum day.

Last night though was far from hum drum…I went to a favorite mexican joint with my friends. I had a glass of sangria to go along with my quesadillas and we also split the best plate of nachos ever.

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I had the shrimp quesadillas

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we slaughtered that plate of nachos.

Dessert was amazing! It was a baked carmelized apple oat square thingy with vanilla chip ice cream, whipped cream and a dusting of cinnamon. I’ve been really out of control with the sweets lately. It was just a few days ago i had that warm chocolate chip cookie thingy with gelato. (Thingy is my new word obsession I suppose). And then there was the easter candy binge on Friday.

Tomorrow I’ll try and ease up on the sweets—try being the operative word. Of course Mondays are always a good day to celebrate with a scone.

Question: What’s your favorite dessert? 

 

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10 strong miles

22. March 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, recreational fun, running · Tags: , , , ,

Hi there,

How’s your weekend going?

I went for a run this morning at the beach.

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i didn’t run in the sand but it makes for a prettier picture than the asphalt loop road that i did run on =)

10 strong miles. I felt really good until mile 9 when my hamstring started barking a bit, i’m currently foam rolling away. I focused a lot on my form today. Tried really hard not to heel strike. Took shorter strides. It really is amazing how that in turn gives faster paces. This was supposed to be a long slow run but after 2 miles easing into things I ended up with 6 tempo miles before slowing it up a bit at the end!

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I came home, made myself a hamburger (90% lean ground beef) on a sandwich thin and placed a slice of reduced fat chedder cheese on it. Added some greens and a little oil and vinegar and voila….I was re-fueled.

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Next up was a 2 mile walk in the woods with the pooch—our first woods walk since we officially hit Spring. I almost tripped over a twig until it started to move. Yeah, it wasn’t a twig, it was a SNAKE!!! EEEEWWWWW! Not 10 minutes later and a squirrel (must not have been healthy) ran across the path under Duncan’s legs and Duncan actually tripped over him and the squirrel rolled a few times before trying to bolt! Thank god I grabbed Duncan’s leash and held him back. It’s the closest he ever came to actually getting his prey. Again I think the squirrel must have been sick because he could barely run away.

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he kept waiting for that squirrel to come back

I’m headed out in a couple of hours with some of my Wolf Pack to our favorite mexican joint called the Burrito Bar. There will definitely be nachos involved =)

Catch ya later!

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My Windication

21. March 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: labradoodle, running · Tags: , , , , ,

Happy Spring!
Never thought Winter would officially end…Started my day yesterday like this:

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Then I got the spring cleaning bug so i tidied up a bit and even vacuumed. I ran around town taking care of a few errands. Unfortunately I noticed some new noises (and smells) coming from the Jeep. I’m really bummed. I’ve been dropping money in boatloads to fix her but she’s just on her last legs. She’s almost at 100,000 miles. (that’s a lot of marathons!)

Later in the afternoon I met my friend and her dogs for a 2 1/2 mile walk. That’s when Duncan’s “ear barometer” let me know how windy it was outside.

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I knew I had planned to run 6 miles in the evening and started to get anxious about the wind. We all know how it’s been my nemesis the last few weeks. (I talk about that here and here and here)

But I made dinner plans with another friend and had limited time, so I couldn’t afford to drive to the gym and back taking precious moments away from what I needed to cover the miles. I got dressed, grabbed my music which I figured would be the only thing to carry me through and just bolted out the door.

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Maybe it was the pressure of knowing I HAD to be ready in an hour and a half to go to dinner but somehow I FLEW! There were 23 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 34 and they were headwinds for the first 3 1/2 miles:

weather

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I did it! my vindication over wind….my WINDication!!!! #SpringIsIn10K

I kept a 9:31 average pace! HELLO! That’s almost my 10k PR pace. I call that WINDication! Free of the fear that wind will ruin my run.

And of course that called for a celebration. So I opted for dessert…

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it may be a chain restaurant but this dessert did not dissappoint! Vanilla gelato and whipped cream and chocolate sauce over a warm chocolate chip cookie.

Have a great weekend! Tell me what you’re doin’….

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