My kind of perfect weekend

That was sincerely one of the nicest weekends I have had in a very long time. Things just kind of fell into place the way they do on occasion.  Friday night I didn’t do too much. I maybe ate just a little bit too much but not terribly. Spaghetti you know to carb load for the EARLY Saturday morning. We woke up about 4 something on Saturday morning and got up, got our crap ready and drove to the half.  I have to admit that I wasn’t feeling very well in the car on the ride there. My tummy was out of whack and I was slightly concerned about running a half at this point. I have a natural tendency to get motion sickness which sometimes can occur in the car.  I was a little off.  But by the time we arrived at the venue about 6:15 and mainly after I got out of a moving vehicle things seemed a little better.

We got our stuff and then I got all my gear ready and then we waited in the crazy bathroom line.  The race started at 6:50 AM, and we were still in line when we heard the sounder and announcement that the half was off. Oops. Looking around TONS of people were still about with half bibs on so I wasn’t too concerned.  We were almost at the front of the line and honestly I was going to run a better race if I peed first.  So we got into the porta-potty and as soon as I was out I jetted over to the start. Turns out it was fine there was second wave they were releasing about the time I got over there so I started with tons of people. Which turned out to kind of suck.

I guess I was amongst wave 2 of mostly walkers and such.  For the entire first mile I was seriously having to dodge people left and right and skirt around.  It was almost worse than a Rock N Roll event because those are corralled and you are grouped with people at about your own speed so it’s not typically this bad.  It was tough going getting around everyone for a while.  But when I finally found a comfortable pace to run, I settled in.  I was running a very decent pace for me. It’s ironic that during the week it feels hard and awful and torturous to sometimes run 3 miles at even a 10:40 pace.  But come race day, I can somehow knock out 13 miles at around 10 minute pace.  And in fact typically speaking my first 3 miles are around 9:30 pace.  But that’s what a race does for you.

So I just settled in and felt shockingly good considering I felt sick in the car ride to the event.  The race was pretty basic nothing too fancy about it. Just kept plugging along at my speed.  Miles passed.  Drank a little water here and there. Felt pretty good.  Noticed I was keeping a solid under 10 minute mile pace for a very long time.  In fact all the up until about mile 11 my watch told me my overall pace was 9:50 something.  I ran 11 miles quite effectively under 10 minute mile pace. Great for me.  But it was starting to get really hot.  And after mile 11 my body started to get tired.  And my pace slowed down. I knew it would.  And I was thirsty. Not enough water stations.  But I still felt amazing with where I was at.  I held on the additional 2 plus miles and finished crazy well for me.  My official time was 2:12:33 making this my 3^rd fastest half marathon ever.  Slowly but surely I keep improving on stuff.  This was very close to an average of 10 minute miles, a little more than but close enough.  I felt AMAZING.  Honestly, I felt like I had more in me.  Yes, I would have had to slow down for sure and if I were running a full I would have a different strategy and would have slowed down many miles back to compensate and not burn out.  But bottom line is, nothing physically hurt on my body and I was just tired. Could have ran more.

After the race we were both STARVING.  They had hot dogs and strawberry shortcake which I seriously shoved down my face in a matter of seconds.  Really excessively hungry.  We both felt great but tired. We drove home, stopped at the grocery store for a few things, including this cupcake I decided I needed.

Then we went to Subway because I was feeling very hungry and thought unless I ate something solid and substantial I was sure to binge.  It was solid thinking, but ultimately proved pointless because I did eat far too much. Oh well.  We came home, we ate, and then I did fall asleep for about an hour to two hour nap. I was really tired with the waking up early and all.  So eventually I woke up and went to my Mom’s house where my sisters were all hanging out.  We watched Independence Day and I ate like a whole bag of sun chips. And a maple bar, and sausage and a few other things. It happened. I didn’t care in the moment. And I moved on. Oh well.  It was the 4^th of July and all was good.

Sunday morning I woke up and stayed in bed far later than I ever really do.  It was my only day of the week to get to sleep and indulge in bed so I did.  I probably got more sleep than my body really needed which made me extra sluggish but I guess that was okay.  But as I was lying in bed I seriously did not want to go to the gym.  I knew in my heart I needed to do something active but the gym just sounded awful.  I leisurely got up, took some ab check in photos.

And then got dressed and went out to help Chris with yard work. I had promised him earlier in the week that we would do all the yard work on Sunday morning because well, we have to at some points. Chris kept asking me what my plan for the day was and I kept saying well I need to exercise and go to the gym. But in my heart it just sounded like not fun.  Like I knew I wouldn’t really want to and therefore probably wouldn’t really accomplish anything of value.  Plus Chris was home and well, sometimes other things are more important. I asked Chris what he wanted to do and early on he was like, honestly nothing just sit on the couch and relax all day. I said that was fine, but he kept asking me what my plans were like he was waiting for me to come up with a better option.  I said, let’s just go do the yardwork and see how we feel.

Realistically I knew that if Chris was lying around on the couch and with how unmotivated I was that I probably wouldn’t go to the gym. I really didn’t feel like running since I ran a half on Saturday and I was going to have to run today according to my training plan so I was looking for some alternative. Then it hit me, let’s go hiking.  Yup, the day after I run a half I want to go outside and hike and hike.  And I really did want to because I wanted to get a workout in that didn’t feel like a workout. Something that felt like fun.  Chris was being lazy but he didn’t balk at the idea of an outdoor hike.  He’s an outdoor kind of guy so this was right up his alley.

After we finished up the yard work, we got changed and then we stopped at Subway again because I was already starving and knew I needed fuel to hike.  We got to the hiking area and I saw this sign which made me laugh.

I wasn’t really that concerned about bears but it was still a mild thought in my brain.  And then we headed out for adventure.  We hiked and hiked and hiked.  Yup, up big hills, down the hills, back up again.  We actually did a ton of elevation.  It was beautiful and amazing and exactly what we both needed and wanted.  It was exercise but it was fun.  It’s the kind of exercise that doesn’t feel like intentional exercise.  It’s the kind of exercise that you do as a result of slaving away at the gym during the week, so that you are strong and capable and able to do these kinds of things on the weekends.

We hiked for 3 hours.  Yup, 3 solid hours.  Nothing too fancy in terms of speed. But hiking isn’t about speed.  It’s about the journey. And it was gorgeous. And mind clearing and peaceful and really just perfect!  3 hours, 7.15 miles hiked, 725 calories burned.  I was satisfied with this as my workout for the day.  It was harder than the statistics would suggest.  There was some serious elevation covered in there.

Oregon is gorgeous.  It is a beautiful place to live and hike and it’s nice on occasion to be reminded of the beauty that is around you.  Instead of cooping myself up inside a gym for the day I got to go outside and be healthy and active with my husband. An overall much better way to spend my day.  We came home and took the dogs for a walk, I showered, Chris made us an amazing dinner.

Chris is a good cook and his meals are always amazing. The weekend was seriously one of the best weekends I have had in ages.  Lots of family time, lots of bonding, lots of great activities.  Reminders of why I do any of the things I do. Quality of life.  To enjoy the moments that matter.  To smile. To live a full and productive life.  It has nothing to do with the scale or how I look it has everything to do with the moments that take your breath away.  The relationships you form. What you feel on your inside.  My heart is full. I am happy.

But with that said, I took this picture and holy damn shoulder muscles much.

And then that leads me to today, this morning I was up and at em and here we go again with a Monday, starting it all over again.

Tonight my training plan calls for a 3 mile run.  I think things are going to go pretty much a repeat of last week.  There is a class at the gym at 5:30 PM, so I will most likely take the class and then run my 3 miles and then lift for 30 minutes before heading home.  Then my plan is to wake myself up early once again tomorrow morning to do my 6.5 mile run before work. Right now this minute that does not sound like fun, but once again I don’t really see any other way to get it done.  And I am all about achieving my goals and ticking those boxes so that is my plan.  Be well my friends and have a great day!