Weekending - Not Long Enough

Growing up is the bane of my existence and I think that's why I enjoy the weekend so much - no work responsibility.  I'm much happier and more myself when I'm NOT at my job.  It's sad but also let's me go "Okay, I'm not on the clock, I don't have to be that person anymore." I have this weird rule for myself that I won't write when I'm in a bad mood, not because I don't have anything constructive to say, I just don't want to rely on this space as a venting, angry, teen-angsty diary type thing. And since I feel myself slipping into that place as the work week kicks off, I figured it would be better to focus on all the awesome from the shorter than normal weekend.

The Richmond Recap

As I started writing this post, I'm curled up on my couch in my Richmond Finisher's blanket, with my humidifier and hot tea, in the middle of a "Friends" marathon.  Because apparently the cold from hell decided to rear its ugly head and I am currently unable to breathe through my nose.  However, I'm proud to report that I ran and finished the Richmond Half Marathon this weekend.

Bloggers #RunOaks

I've been looking forward to this past weekend ever since Alyssa told me she was thinking about signing up for City of Oaks.  The fact that it's over already and I'm writing a recap doesn't feel real.  I hope that you've already been over to Alyssa's page and check out Tracy's as well.

I need to be a Time Lord

I haven't written a post in HOW MANY DAYS !??! Jesus, where the hell is the time going ?! Someone get me a Tardis so I can go back and update this more often. I could have sworn I only wrote a post the other day and it wasn't THAT long ago. Le sigh. Well, since it's been forever and a day, how about some updates, yes ?

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.

I Don't Know How To Human

Fun fact: I don't drink alcohol. So this morning as I stare at myself in the mirror, trying to become a human being, after about 4 hours of sleep, and feeling like death, I start to wonder: how the hell do you people go to a show, get drunk on all the beers, stay up till two in the morning and function the next day ?! I feel old.

Seriously, if there is some secret-ey hangover miracle cures for the I-didn't-drink-but-I-feel-like-I-have-a-hangover girl over here (i.e how to avoid the headache, dark under eye circles, and overall lack of motor skills) that would be A-MAZE-ING. I think the only reason I pass for human currently is that I never took my makeup off from last night.

Okay, shenanigans aside...last night was awesome. Got to see Marilyn Manson for the first time and Smashing Pumpkins for the 2nd. LOVED. IT. I would absolutely go see Manson again as I think this "co-headling" tour isn't bringing out his best stage presence. And Smashing Pumpkins powered through all their radio hits and surprised me with a little "Landslide" and acoustic performance of "Disarm". My ears were super happy.

Enjoy some super grainy (we had lawn seats) but still awesome photos from last night.

Linking up with Biana for the more Weekending Fun !

Triple Dent Gum (Weekending)

Has everyone seen Inside Out yet ? You should. If you haven't, I suggest you drop whatever it is you're doing (including work) immediately ! Okay, I know, leaving work isn't going to happen, but at least take 2 minutes and watch this.

It's been a long time since I've found a movie that I want to rant and scream "GO SEE THIS MOVIE !!" Which makes me happy that it monsooned on Saturday and Charming and I got to go see this movie. I'm currently stocking the photo app on my phone full of reaction gifs from the movie because they're THAT GOOD.

I also finished Sanctum by Madeleine Roux, which is the follow up to Asylum.  If anyone has an interest in creepy as f*ck, paranormal, ohmygod I can't stop reading, suspense type of books GO READ THESE.  I didn't want to put them down.  I think I legit finished Sanctum in 2 days. As much as I'm trying to save money, I think I'm going to splurge and buy the novellas because apparently I enjoy throwing my overactive imagination into nightmare mode constantly.

Otherwise, there was a whole lot of playing with Monsters, geeking out over my changing-color-in-the-sun nail polish, sitting by the pool, and watching of Seinfeld (thank you Hulu !)

She's SO ladylike...

No sun...SUN ! Thank you Del Sol ! I also have one that's mint green that changes to navy blue.

Sundogs !

Linking up with Biana !

What did you do this weekend ?

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 !)

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 !

Weekending -NO NO NO ! Version.

It's Monday.  Again.  Every week.  At least I have the Nog social run tonight.   Knowing I get to run when I get out of work is about the only thing that keeps me sane enough to get through work. Because mostly all day my answer to everything is "No."  No, I don't want to get up.  No, I don't want to put on pants.  No, I don't want to sit in an office and be nice to people.  

But enough about Mondays and their eternal suckiness.  Let's talk about this weekend (because it was AWESOME !) and this way I can drag my feet a little more and avoid dealing with the fact that the weekend is indeed over.  And I've got lots of pictures for you too !

The 4th was a day spent at the SPCA where I got to spend some quality time with my favorite low rider, Amy:

She's a 3 year old pit mix and adorable doesn't begin to describe her.  Can we talk about those ears ?! I would adopt her in a heartbeat, but she's an alpha female and I already have one at home that would disown me if I brought her another alpha female.  But I love going to visit her and hope one day soon I won't be able to because some awesome family came to scoop her up.

Then it was off to a pool party at a friend's place.  As per the usual with this particular group, there was a lot of laughing, a lot of delicious food (veggie burgers FTW !), and conversation that has provided inside jokes for the next few months...or at least until someone says something more outrageous than the phrase "concrete bikinis".

Since neither Brian nor I are fans of people (especially in large groups with explosions) and I worry about the dogs reaction to fireworks, it was back to my place to watch a very patriotic movie: Team America.  

Apparently Team America is 10 years old already.  Now that we're sad about how old we're all getting, I'll move on.

Saturday started as it usually starts: with a bunch of goofballs at the coffee shop.  The super awesome Rita managed to grab a pic of most of us that morning:

(We're missing Brian and Ed)

Then I headed BACK to the SPCA because an alum was coming back to say hi to the crew and to see about getting a sister ! Also more hangs with Amy.  I then managed to become slightly lobster-ish by not paying attention to my melting sunscreen while I read at the pool.  Oops !

Since life happened back when the movie was in normal theaters, I was super pumped to find out that Mr. Peabody and Sherman was playing at the $2.25 theater that night.  That movie was a great way to end Saturday !  If you haven't seen it, try and find one of those dollar theaters since it doesn't come out on DVD until October !  It was absolutely adorable.

Sunday was by far my favorite day of the weekend.  For the first time in probably about a year, Brian and I have actually had a day off at the same time.  It started, as usual, at the coffee shop.  Basically, in case you haven't figured it out yet, my life is this:

(And it's awesome !)

Then, we went to the flea market down the street.  We were smart and left our wallets in the car.  Which of course means that we found a million awesome things.  But we managed to leave and head to Krispy Kreme without buying a thing ! Go us !

(Top row from the flea market, bottom row from walk)

That night after dinner, we did one of my favorite things and went on a neighborhood walk.  I took a few pictures, but my favorite part was this hidden beach area.  There were people fishing, so we went down a little bit and found the "Money: you're doing it right" house.

(Basically one part of the house is entirely glass...and they have a spiral staircase)

There was also fun art that someone had on their lawn.  Not to mention a ton of "OMG" moments and "I need to live in their guest house".  

Overall, the weekend was EXACTLY what I needed.  Being surrounded by people that I love, not stressing about anything, and having way too much fun (actually that last part isn't possible).  So even though I'm not exactly a super fan of the work week, I feel like I have enough awesome from the weekend to hold me over until this coming weekend.  Who knows what will happen !

How was your holiday weekend ? Everyone still alive and with all their limbs ? Tel me !

Weekending - What's sleep ?

It's Monday again...funny how that seems to happen every week despite my objections.  Oh well !  I'm very excited for today's post because I can finally tell everyone how my 5K went this weekend ! And while I'm at it, I figured I could do another linkup as well :)  I love these because I'm finding so many interesting bloggers to stalk follow.

I love seeing posts about "Oh it was great to sleep in" or "I didn't have to set my alarm and it was nice."  On Saturday I got up at the ungodly hour of 6AM to run 3 miles.  My immediate thought:

Followed by:

It was a small race of only 108 people.  I spent a lot of time going back and forth in my head of "It would be cool if someone I knew was here" and "Oh man I hope I don't see anyone I know here".  I was nervous and excited and afraid I would screw something up (not quite sure how as long as I kept putting one foot in front of the other, but I'm a constant worrier so it happens).  About 15 minutes before the race was going to start, I had the best cheerleader I could have asked for show up with tons of good advice (as he'd run the course before) AND he ended up running with me during the hardest part of the course.  I pretty much won at life right there.

I stuck to my 3:1 but since I had music in, sometimes I didn't hear my watch or think to look at it so it ended up being more like 4:1 sometimes (I actually forgot my watch was set for that once I started and did 6:1...oops !)  I loved the course. It was a trail which made it interesting (I've never run on anything not paved before) and it was actually really enjoyable.

The end results were:

(According to my watch)
Time: 30:12.3
Pace:  9:58/mi

(According to the chip)
Time: 30:10
Pace: 9:43/mi

I'm going to go with my watch time for the more accurate results.  And I'm a little sad because it wasn't 3.1 miles (at least according to my watch).  Regardless, I still kicked butt ! When's my next race ?!

(I look ridiculous and gross after the race but I had too much fun to care !)

The rest of Saturday consisted of puppy time at the park, a quick nap (for them) and a birthday party for a 6 year old, which was awesome...except for the ridiculous amount of 6 year olds.  

Besides the 5K, my favorite part of the weekend was a Sunday night adventure around the NC Museum of Art.  It was probably the best way the weekend could have ended.  Now it's back to the daily grind of the work week.  Not sure about anyone else but I am SUPER PUMPED that this is only a 4 day work week.

How was everyone else's weekend ? Tell me, tell me, tell me !