Twenty-Nine

I turned 29 years old on Saturday.  For the first time in 4 years, I was able to travel home and spend my actual day of birth with my family and friends in the house and town I grew up in.  My heart is just so full from this weekend.

You're a Slacker, McFly

I'm not a fan of seasonal depression.  Obviously no one is, but I feel like I'm a prisoner in my own head because I'm all "THERE ARE SO MANY AMAZING THINGS I WANT TO DO" but in reality, I only have enough energy to watch Netflix.  I've had zero motivation or desire to train for races and have just slacked off of life in general.

HOWEVER ! I know this is a problem for me so whenever I can, I've been really pushing myself.  Taking Barre classes has been the BIGGEST help.  Without realizing it, I've been working towards trying to be healthier (I'm super nervous writing about this because I'm afraid my brain will realize what I've been doing and sabotage my progress !) and just taking the good with the bad.

Weekending - My Legs Hurt

I've come to the conclusion that if I could just pretend the weekdays don't happen, that I would be a much happier person.  Since that's not really an option, and I'm forced into adult responsibility and mandatory socialization, I'll just relive this past weekend to make myself feel better over my severe case of the Mondays.

Don't Call it Hump Day

It drives me insane that people call Wednesday, Hump Day.  Just stop.  Please. It makes me hate life.  If you need something to focus on because it's the middle of the week, focus on Wednesday:

See what I did there ?  Here's some random Wednesday confessions for you.

A decade.

I graduated high school 10 years ago.  So of course, I had to get the reunion invite on Facebook. Insert eye roll here.  Let's be real.  With the rise in social media since I graduated, do I even NEED to travel back to NJ to see a large group of people that probably don't even remember I exist ? If I'm so desperate to play catch up with people, I'll send them a friend request and creep them that way.  I can choose who I actually want to interact with, creating so much less social interaction, I still get the same information, I don't have to wear pants to do it, and I won't have to hide behind fake "Wow, that's so great for you !".

So why can't I stop thinking about it ?

Philosophy of my Mind

I've been thinking about posting some non-floofy posts recently.  Or should I call them, "Get to know the inner workings of a WeebleNugget?"  Maybe I'll just tag them, "Getting to know a Weeble."  Anywho, after having this conversation with a few people recently, I thought "Hey, maybe I'm not the only one who's constantly going 1000mph."  Also, I said I would let everyone out there get to know more about me.  So, *deep breath in* here goes...

Everyone's seen this floating around the internet.

Harry Potter Hilarity

I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned, but I'm a HUGE Harry Potter fan.  My mom used to wait in riddikulusly* long lines to get the books for me when they came out, only to hide it for about 2 weeks until we went on our family vacation.  Basically for about 5 years (I got the first 3 as a set about a year after they came out but about a year before they got popular) I was physically present for our family outing, but my nose was stuck in those books.  (I really don't want to talk about the vacation the year Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out. Page 596 ? Devastated. Ruined the whole trip !)  If you haven't read the books, or seen the movies you could bookmark this and come back after you've realized the error of your ways.  Or you could just stop reading now.

(*No, that's not a spelling error)

Homesick

Last night they lit the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.  I was way more sad than I should have been.  After a lot of thought, I decided that I would not be traveling to Jersey for Christmas.  There are too many factors to get into, but ultimately, I decided that staying in North Carolina was what was best for me & the monsters and my sanity. And also my wallet. I'm looking forward to seeing how I celebrate in my own way.  But I still feel like I'm missing a little piece of myself this year. 

I'm Not Dead

Hi. Remember me ? I'm not dead [yet]. I just tend to fall off the face of social media for an extended amount of time. Especially one that requires thought and planning and effort and it's not that I don't love you guys but honestly

Story of my life for the past 2 months. Which I feel SUPER bad about and will probably apologize for over the next million blog posts.

Especially when the creation of this blog was to track my progress for a certain half marathon that, oh yeah, I KILLED in 2:14:14.

So would it be okay that even though I haven't been around in almost 2 months, I got a little braggy ? I mean, you do come here to read about me, right ?

Oh good.  Want some pictures ? Of course you do. And I just happen to have some right here:

(Finish line pic - Sweatband dude is my FAVORITE)

(YAY for this guy. I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for him)

(Let's talk about the unnecessarily GIANT finishers medal, shall we ?!)

And you'll never guess who I ran into (no not literally, she was TOTALLY done before me) ?! The super awesome Tracy !

It was one of those fun moments of "Hey ! I'm so excited to actually meet you and I smell and you're here with your family and I'm awkward and I really want coffee but high fives for awesomeness and I'm gonna go die now, kbye !" I only hope that one day I can run a sub 2:00 half like this girl. Damn !

THEN, I ran the Santa Paws 5K which was my first ever 5K last year. The course was in a different place than last year, I got lazy and hadn't run since the half and holy hills batman did that course hurt. But I still PR-ed with a 29:01 !

(Again, This guy ? Best. Ever.)

And lastly...I ran my first Turkey Trot 8K on Thanksgiving. That however, was not a fun run for me as my lungs have decided to suck A LOT. I still managed to do it in 51:58 but I walked WAY more than I wanted to.  Shout out to Big Mike for running and walking with me the whole time while I was pretty sure I was dying. [Asthma that has been dormant for about 15 years has decided to rear its ugly head again in the form of exercise induced asthma.  Currently on a steroid inhaler to kickstart my lungs so cross your fingers they stop sucking - metaphorically of course - and breathing becomes not so brutal.]

Otherwise I've just been relaxing and having awesome adventures (pictures to come once I get them all off my phone, obviously): Front row seats to a Hurricanes hockey game, fun trips to the zoo, Dracula the ballet, and lots of other fun things. I can honestly say for the first time in a VERY long time, I am so insanely happy with my life. Now if I could just get a job that doesn't make me grumpy...

What does the future have in store ? Once I can get my breathing under control, I plan on training for a TBD spring half marathon. Only this time ? NO WALKING. Now that I know I can complete one, I want to run the whole thing. And I also want to nail some PR's in the process.

I guess the only thing left is...are you guys going to hang out and see how it all unfolds ?!

My Laptop Hates Me.

Bless me Blogland, for I have sinned.  It's been 2 weeks (!!) since my last confession.  Or blog post. Or any semblance of online blog presence.

It wasn't my fault though ! My MacBook decided that it didn't like its hard drive anymore and decided I needed to drop unnecessary monies into getting it a new one. So I want you to know that I still love all of you, I'm back, and the insanity that is my life can continue for all of the internets to see.  And what better way to start up again than with a confession post ?!

// In trying to look at the bright side of my computer failure (no really...it said "FAILURE" in HUGE letters) I've realized I can now start from scratch.  I'll still have everything backed up, but it's a fresh start in a sense. It's always good when you can just get rid of stuff you don't need anymore without having to sort through EVERYTHING !

// I REALLY don't want to hear about how it's automatically fall because September happened. STOP TRYING TO TAKE MY SUMMER AWAY FROM ME I FEEL LIKE IT JUST GOT HERE.

No, I am not getting my sweaters & hoodies & scarves & boots & insanity out of my closet and drink pumpkin things.  It is still summer until midnight on September 22nd.  And I will wear my flip flops and drink my iced things and drag out this summer for as long as I can.

// I want summer to stick around because training in this weather is the weirdest best motivator ever. I look at my times on my long runs and the fact that I'm running longer and farther, EVEN in this humidity and heat just makes me so excited for how I'll run when fall eventually graces us with its presence. Hopefully I'll see some crazy good improvements.  Just have to keep it up !

//  I want September to go by super slowly because I have so many awesome things to look forward to in October that I'm worried it will all go by too quickly ! I feel like I went to bed last night and it was July.

//  My last confession is also a promise that I'll be by your blogs sometime this week to play catch up and I'll make sure to update on my training.  City of Oaks is only 2 months away (as of yesterday) !!

I didn't die

I know, I know....I'm a day late.  But better late than pregnant never, right ?! [For those of you who missed the golden girls reference, please leave this post, go here, watch the episode and then maybe I can forgive you.]

Let's get right down to it: my 5K on Saturday.

I woke up at the most insane hour of 6AM.  Thankfully I set up everything the night before because I knew I would be in zombie mode.  I dragged my feet to my car and drove to the boys place so we could take one car and also because I hate driving/parking in downtown and honestly, I don't function before 9AM.  I then spent the next hour trying to come up with every excuse in the book to NOT run.

(Sorry for the feels Dr. Who fans)

Once I got over my anxiety (and by "got over" I mean I could hold a conversation with friends without wanting to burst into tears), it was okay.  We took some fun pictures and they laughed at my shirt.  Don't hate me, but I don't actually have a good picture of it.  I was slightly worried about not coming in last in front of all my friends ! Oops !

(My eyes are closed but oh well !)

(at the starting line before I hid myself in the anonymity of the crowd)

I adore these people.  I only get as nervous as I do running around them because they are just hands down some of THE most awesome people I have ever met.  But back to my story.

Here's a quick rundown of what happened after that picture:

• Can't get a GPS signal on my watch.
• And they're off !
• "Shoot, Guess I'll just run until it picks up." (I should mention that my watch times my 3:30 run/1:00 walk intervals which it can't do when I'm trying to get the GPS to work)
• Running
• Feeling awesome !
• Nice view of downtown !
• Watch still hasn't picked up GPS
• "How long have I been running ?"
• Get GPS signal
• Start running 3:30 interval.
• "Pretty sure I'm gonna regret this when I'm done."
• "Oh, some uphill, no big - OW !"
• "Am I ever going to go downhill ?!"
• "Thank you directing traffic person !"
• My IT bands just noped the fuck out
• "I'll take 'What is Breathing' for One Million Alex."
• A montage of pain and confusion but I'm walking it off.

• "I have to be done soon"
• Brian comes backtracking and finds me.  I must have had an epic look of relief on my face because he started laughing.
• Meghan and Rita and Matt and all the awesome people show up to run with me.
• Less laughing/talking, more running.
• More Ow.
• Meghan teaches me how to breathe: instant relief
• Running fast !
• Yelling !
• Finish line !
• Run Walk quickly away from people and try not to throw up.
• Drink water and become normal again.

So in summary, I ran longer than I have in about 5 months, it hurt like hell (but I recovered almost instantly which was cool) and I finished sub 30.  When I looked at my watch it only tracked 2.6 miles which makes me figure I ran for about 8 minutes between a 9-9:30 pace before I took a walk break.  Bonus points for being able to go that long, but I feel like it would have made the whole thing easier overall if I had stuck to the original plan.

(The results)

I'm currently trying to figure out my next few races.  I've got just about 3 months to get ready for City of Oaks.  Let's do this !

Other noteworthy things of the weekend:

• Had my chiro appointment for my IT bands after the 5K - ice has been my best friend for 3 days
• Did a lot of laying around with the monsters. Mostly because I couldn't sit/stand/move without pain (BTW - so worth it)
• Finally saw Jaws for the first time ever.  Didn't freak out or have nightmares.  Major points for me.

There you have it ! I'm excited to run again tonight after taking yesterday and Sunday off to give my legs some time to recover.  Based on the 8:30 minutes I actually ran without stopping on Saturday, I'm going to see what I can actually do.  Time to start pushing my limits a little bit !

Hope everyone had a good weekend  (and a good Monday !)

Confessions - Disney Style

By now, you all know what day it is.  So let's get to it !

// I had one of my best runs ever last night.  Not like time wise or anything, but just overall awesome.  Basically it was this:

// I'm not even going to talk about my job.  Or how much I would rather be doing anything else.  Anyone really good at resumes and want to help a girl out ?!  I am THE worst. 

// I will procrastinate HARD just so I don't have to go to work.  This morning I sat down and watched a good 10 minutes of Phineas and Ferb.  I knew it was bad when they said "I know what we're going to do today !" and I went "Yay !...Oh.  I should leave now."

// I'm that girl belting out Disney songs while stuck in traffic. My favorite part is seeing peoples reactions to me singing (and gesturing).  Priceless.  Sorry you can't all be as cool as me.

// I've been obsessed with all things Disney since the womb.  When I was little younger, on one of my first (of 10 so far) trips to Disney World, I went through the entire park screaming the Mickey Mouse Club song.  Except I couldn't spell.  So at the top of my lungs, I'm screaming singing "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-S-O-U-E !"  Yes, I thought everyone was laughing and "aww-ing" because I was cute and adorable, not because I was a moron.

// I hate seeing all those "Disney gave me unrealistic expectation about boys/hair/life" quotes.  Disney never gave me unrealistic expectations about those things.  It did however, make me think that I could be a mermaid.  I still believe that it could happen.  Seriously, any day now.

//  I don't have to buy lunch today or eat goldfish because *someone* is super awesome and put a lunch together for me !  On the outside I was all like "Aw ! Thanks !" and on the inside I was all like "OMG HE'S THE BEST HUMAN EVER AND THIS IS AWESOME AND I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW AWESOME THIS IS AND I ACTUALLY HAVE FOOD AND NOT JUNK TO EAT !"  Sorry to brag but it's pretty much the best thing to happen ever.  Even though I really want M&M's still, I need to learn that they're a snack and not a meal. Le sigh.

//  All this Disney talk has made me want to plan another trip to Disney World.  Who wants to go !?!?!  Let's do this.  I'm serious.  Group trip to the happiest place on earth ? Yes please.

What're your confessions ? Tell me, tell me, tell me !

I'm Back !

My apologies for not informing you that I would not be blogging last week.

Well I'm back now ! And rather than just tell you what I've done the past two weekends, I'll show you !

I've been trying to have fun and relax and do normal summer things when I don't have to be at work. Like reading at the pool.

There was an awesome adventure to a coffee shop I'd never been to and adventures at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences downtown.  For those of you that have been keeping up with the news last week, no.  Brian and I did NOT steal the dinosaur from the museum.  But thanks for thinking of us !

Whenever I miss the city (New York)  I love going to downtown Raleigh.

That weekend ended pretty epically at Umstead.

The week was an interesting combination of stress and awesomeness. Let's just say I get to hang out with my best friend basically everyday and it's pretty much the best thing ever which negates any negative stuff I had to deal with.  Also, there was a showdown at the WeebleNugget corral over the last dog bone...it was intense:

And this past weekend was more fun adventures ! Took the dogs to Woof Gang bakery in North Hills where Sadie preceded to take it upon herself and show no self control whatsoever and cost me an extra $15 because she just HAD to eat the cookies they had out on the table (which means I also bought them some treats since they obviously liked them so much).  Ryker rode in his usual puppy co-pilot seat.

(Trying to catch him giving kisses NEVER happens...this is as close as I got)

I did something AWESOME to my hair on Saturday but I don't have any good pictures...once I do, prepare to be spammed because I'm in love.  

This past weekend also had a fun road trip ending up at the Cape Fear River.  I decided to climb out onto the rocks and felt it would be best to leave my phone on the shore.  Budget permitting, I'm getting a waterproof case soon so I can TAKE ALL THE PICTURES (aka I'm planning on going back so don't feel too bad about not getting a million pictures this time) !

(One I managed to get of the old bridge)

As if the weekend wasn't already awesome enough, I got to end it with a visit to one of my favorite places to eat:

(I'm pretty sure I died and went to tater tot heaven.)

And before I forget (because I've been doing that A LOT today) I'm linking up again:

And now it's back to reality (and the work week).  While I generally despise Mondays, it's usually only until 5 when I can unchain myself from my desk, lace up some running shoes, and head outside for some much needed fresh air...if the humidity decides to cooperate and not set my lungs on fire.  Come back tomorrow and see how my run went and for an update on how my training for my first half marathon EVER is going/what the game plan is.  I'm pretty excited about it !! Thanks for reading and I hope everyone had a great weekend !