Week in Review (January 15 - January 22)

Tuesday (15,914 steps) - Strength class during lunch. Headed over to a new run club - Sunnyside at Factotum Brewhouse. The route was kinda meh, but it was fun running with my Belmar peeps. We stuck around for drinks after, but it was a bummer that there was no trivia like advertised!
Wednesday (13,007 steps) - On my way to work I called into a local radio station and... WON TICKETS TO SEE 2CELLOS!! What an exciting morning! Core during lunch. We skipped going to Boulder to go to the Denver store for Sip &  Paint with Saucony. Easy 5K with A, Mo & Colfax and then a fun time painting! My random watercolor earned me second place and a $15 gift card to the store! Woot!

Thursday (10,180 steps) - Supposed to go to lunch with my team, but canceled at the last minute. Ended up going to Rock Bottom and getting a burger instead. Stopped by the Pepsi Center on my way home to pick up the tickets I won (woot!)

Went to BRC in Boulder for an event with Dave Mackey. A didn't want to run since she had been at track earlier in the day, so we just did a walk around the area - a deer even ran in front of us in middle of downtown Boulder! (But apparently no pics from the event...)

Friday (10,158 steps) - Nada! Went to Joyride after work to hang out with Joni (and others) for a going away "party." Didn't stay too long since A was at home. Quick walk - cold and super slick out because it snowed all day.

Saturday (30,635 steps) - Runners Edge season kickoff! It was super cold, but I still managed to get in 12 miles AND I saw two bald eagles! Plus, there were pancakes after, so that was nice.

Sunday (12,350 steps) - Walk with A in the neighborhood before she had a Girl Scout field trip to the planetarium.

I thought maybe I might go do something while she was gone, but I ended up just going to Target and then went for a walk around the lake. Lots of cleaning for the rest of the day. Boring. Tried to stay up for the "Super Blood Wolf Moon," but only made it about halfway thorough because it was late/cold.

Monday (18,757 steps) - Stayed in bed until 8. Felt like getting outside, but not for a run. Ended up walking for a few hours. Watched a movie, picked up lunch and did more cleaning. A was dropped off around 2:30. Went for another walk, dinner, early to bed.

Stats:

• 111,001 steps
• 31.8 miles run/walked
• 2 gym classes

Week in Review (May 22 - May 28)

Tuesday (14,154 steps) - Up at 3:55 so I could be on the shuttle by 4:30 to the airport. Since I had my trekking poles with me I had to check my bag. The lines were long at the KLM counter, but it moved fairly quickly and I was through security in no time. The Budapest airport does a funky thing where they don't announce the gate you'll be at until about 45 minutes before it pushes back. So while I was waiting I sat in the food court and ate my bagel with peanut butter. The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful. Out of every connection I had, this was the tightest! I stopped briefly to pick up Sbux city mugs for Ruth, the only stop I made in the airport. By the time I got through passport control & Delta's customs, through the gate, I was on the plane with just 8 minutes until we pushed back. Eeek! I sat next a pleasant woman from Kansas City, and we chatted occasionally through the flight. Mostly, though, I was watching movies. This flight I watched I, Tonya, The Commuter, dozed off a bit during Murder on the Orient Express, Happy Death Day, and part of Dirty Dancing. We landed on time in Minneapolis, and customs there was about as seamless as I've ever been through. Certainly better than when we came through New York last year. The only middle seat I had was on this flight. I watched another movie on my phone, and once again, we landed on time. By the time we deplaned and I got to baggage claim my bag was already there. I was dropped off at my car shortly after 4. Home by 5:10. Immediately threw my disgusting race clothes in the laundry. Once A got dropped off we went to Red Robin for a belated birthday dinner, stopping at Kneaders for cake on the way home. I barely made it to 8:30 before I crashed. Longest day ever.
Wednesday (17,330 steps) - Runners Roost Boulder! Special run club with a BBQ provided by Saucony, so thankfully, we had a modified trail run that didn't go up into the hills. Actually not the worst run, considering what I had done over the weekend.

We stuck around until about 8. Had to stop at Target on the way home because A decided she needed tights to wear for her continuation.
Thursday (10,225 steps) - A's last day of 6th grade! How did this happen??

We opted to skip run club so that we could go out to dinner to celebrate her last day of elementary school.
Friday (10,965 steps) - Barre with Kelly! Extra tough, since it was my first class in 12 days! Dropped my car off at the dealership for brakes, and got a call later in the evening that I had a gash in the sidewall of one of my tires. OF COURSE I DO.
Saturday (13,313 steps) - Team run at 8:00 in Lone Tree. A decided to walk with Ang and I ran with Mo. It was insanely hot, and we all struggled.

Stuck around at the store until almost noon, socializing and eating. Arrived at the dealership to pick up my car and THE TIRES HAD NOT BEEN CHANGED. Urg. We ended up having to sit there for over an hour and a half while they got the work done. Such a pain.
Sunday (10,366 steps) - FINALLY got a great night's sleep, over 10 hours! Went to barre at 9:30. After lunch we went up to Runners Roost Boulder to help out with the last minute Bolder Boulder packet pick up.

"volunteering"

Monday (18,469 steps) - Bolder Boulder!! (Recap to follow). We got back to the store just after 12:30. We went to Under the Sun for food and drinks, until about 3:00.

Stats:

• 94,822 steps
• 16.7 miles run
• 2 barre classes

Normal (Week 14)

Tuesday - 2.25 miles in the basement inferno, video trifecta (legs, arms, core), 50 push-ups. Hope and Terry came over to give me.......... for FREE!! They are The Best!

Wednesday - I got off work a whopping 30 minutes early, then went to the gym and did an 8.3 mile "tempo" run.
Thursday - Redline Turkey Day 10k! Afterwards, I took the kids to see Frozen and was pleasantly surprised. It was a pretty cute movie!! Dropped H off at my parents, then headed down to the "misfit" Thanksgiving that was being hosted at a co-worker's. A was playing on my phone and took about a hundred pictures (literally) of us. I like this one, I'm shoving a piece of cheese in my mouth.

Headed over to my parents house after THAT for actual Thanksgiving. Loud and chaotic, but at least this time we had the sense to put all the kids at a separate table in the living room and it made for things being a TAD better. In bed EARLY.
Friday - L had the great idea for my parents to watch the kids for an hour so we could...... RUN OUTSIDE!!! The weather has been really mild and we enjoyed a nice 7.2 miles on Little Dry Creek, which I have only run one time. I struggled a bit the first few miles but the last 4 were great!

Around noon, A and I braved Black Friday. I'm being over dramatic, because it was not bad AT ALL. A got a new pair of Saucony's, I got a few pairs of running socks. I picked up a few work items at Loft, and we didn't overspend. Not a bad day!

Saturday - Ran a GREAT 8.25 miles at the gym. In the afternoon, A and I went to the Nutcracker with my mom. Such a fun time getting all dressed up and NOT be going to work:

Sunday - I had the brilliant idea to run 12.1 on 12-1. I also had the brilliant idea to get up early and get it out of the way, running in the basement inferno. I was on the treadmill a few minutes after 5. This was a hard, hot run. Later in the day I did the video trifecta (legs, arms, core), 66 push-ups and 66 jumping jacks AND 1:47 plank. Huzzah!! I also watched The Walking Dead fall finale. WTF. WTF. WTF. I was pretty traumatized by this episode but don't want to throw out any spoilers for those that may not have watched it yet. WHAT.
Monday - Maybe all those high mileage days caught up with me, I struggled through 4+ on the treadmill at the gym and called it a night. I've decided to start doing daily planks again (like I was doing in 2010 and 2011), this one was 2:51.

Weekly Miles Run - 48.46 (6.2 racing, 7.2 outside, 35.06 treadmill)
Minutes of Strength Training -  113

Gain - 1.0 pounds

• Oh.
• I was telling Heather that this was my second highest mileage week in six months. And yet...
• Of course it WAS Thanksgiving week, and I ate ALL THE THINGS. Co-worker/friend had a birthday on Tuesday and picked Mexican food. Wednesday we had our Thanksgiving lunch, and then of course the for REAL Thanksgiving on Thursday.

•  Clearly, the weight gain is A MYSTERY.

Everything Else

• Once again, ZERO dating gossip. Although, I got a strange series of text messages from the ex-husband on Thanksgiving suggesting a "hook up." Is this what it has come down to??? Womp.
• Work has been very slow lately, so other than the day dragging by nothing to complain about. There were a few people in yesterday interviewing. The temp had originally only agreed to stay through the end of October. She is still here. 
• Update on A's vision test... the school clearly didn't know WTF they were doing. She went to the eye doctor and has 20/20. So, false alarm on the glasses. But still, school REQUIRES follow-up, which cost me $50. Grrr.
• And of course, the best news of all!!!

I have OF COURSE accepted. I know a billion other people that have gotten in this year, and am looking forward to (hopefully) a big blogger meet up! I'm assuming hotels will sell out ASAP, so if anyone needs/wants a roommate (the more the merrier), or can recommend somewhere to stay, I would really appreciate it!!

I Joined a Run Club!

Yep. It's true. I did. So after running almost exclusively on the treadmill for pretty much the last two years, I decided I'm bored. Not super duper bored, just bored. And a little lonely. I have so much fun when I get to meet up with my friends at races, and then it's just me, all alone, at the gym. NO MORE!! If I ever feel like I could have done more in terms of training for Moab, it would have been running more outside.

Saturday was my first meeting with the group from Runner's Roost. I learned that there would be people of all abilities, with distances ranging from 4 to 20 miles on the weekend runs. SOUNDS PERFECT. Obviously I was in NO shape to be running that many miles. Six days after Moab? NO WAY. But what I wanted to do was get a feel for the group. See if it was something I maybe would enjoy. I've been training solo for so long, I didn't know if I would feel left out, too slow, too weird, you know, all the social anxieties I haven't dealt with in forever. Anyway.... it was rad. I was not familiar with where we were running, and everyone looked out for me to make sure I didn't get lost. A possibility since I was the slowest runner there. They chatted with me and made me feel welcome (warm fuzzies). The coach ran with me and she was SUPER AWESOME to talk to. I decided then and there that they were a pretty wonderful group of runners, and I would be back.

Regular weekday runs are on Wednesdays. I picked a good week to decide to join! With promise of "easy" running, 3-4 miles, and a sunny evening, I headed to Louisville. And was met with... an EASTER EGG HUNT!! How fun! Running AND looking for eggs to win prizes??? My kind of activity. I started out a bit fast, and ended up chasing a group of speedy ladies. While looking for eggs around the halfway point, I met a guy who is training to run Bear Chase 50 mile with his mom for her birthday. HOW AWESOME!! I didn't find any lucky eggs, but they gave away TONS of stuff, and I managed to win some Saucony arm sleeves. Although they were confiscated less than 30 minutes after I won them.

The best part about the weekday runs is that kids are welcome. I wanted to check the terrain before heading out to see if A would be ok on her bike (even 3-4 easy miles is too much for her to run right now). Looks like she will be joining me in the weeks to come.

Newton Lady Isaac vs. Saucony Kinvara 2s

Sigh. Fail. I was really excited to try the new shoes, so I headed off to the gym - looking great and optimistic that I had found shoes that could work. Sadly, my outfit would pretty much be the only good part of the experience.

Newton Lady Isaacs

Pros:

• Bright colors
• Wide toe box
• Overall comfortable

Cons:

• Life of the shoe... Newtons in general do NOT seem to last long. I am on my 7th pair (if I'm counting correctly) in the last year. At $140-$175 a pair of shoes, that is RIDICULOUS.
• Nothing I can specifically put my finger on, I just seem to have overall tired and achy legs. Shoes? Maybe.

Saucony Kinvara 2s

Pros:

• Pretty!!!
• Comfortable and LIGHT feeling. First mile I felt like I was wearing nothing at all!
• Basically half the cost of what I have been spending on shoes

Cons:

• Toe box too narrow. My left pinky toe starting feeling "rubbed" like a blister was forming. I only ran 4 miles in them.
• Too tight/form fitting. After about 2 miles my feet started to feel numb. I stopped, loosened the laces on both feet. Felt "better" for a few miles but then the numbness came back. Couldn't loosen the laces further or my heels would slip too much.
• After running, I did a "speed walk" for a half hour with incline. Left pinky toe still felt "aggravated."
• After leaving the gym, wore the shoes while running errands. Left toe still not comfortable.

Even though the shoes didn't work out, I still rewarded myself with a HUGE salad. Yum.

Today I'm headed back to buy the other pair of shoes that was in the running with the Kinvaras. Review to follow.

TGIF!!!

So I've been struggling with my Newtons ever since the ones I loved were discontinued. I'd switched to the other shoes Newton makes and nothing seems to feel quite right. So... I exchanged the last pair of Lady Isaacs and I'm happy to be trying the Saucony Kinvara 2's! Aren't they BEAUTIFUL??? I haven't done the treadmill testing in years. Turns out I've been wearing a neutral shoe but I have the highest arches in the world. Throw in a pair of insoles and I'm pretty psyched to try these! (Not to mention they are about HALF the cost of what I'd been spending on Newtons. And at 6-7 pairs in the last year??)

Look what was in my mailbox today!!! Thanks Silly Girl!!!

And......

Remember last week when I was talking about finding my passion?? I've decided what I want to do, and this week I filled out my application to take my starter course in... CRIMINAL JUSTICE at my local community college (where I got my A.A. over a decade ago). As you can see by the above, I just ADORE shopping for school supplies and I am PSYCHED that I will be going back in the fall. I was one of those people that went to college just because I liked it. I have a fairly useless BA in English (with a minor in History), so I don't need to take any general education course, just focused courses in my area of interest.