Weekend Wrap Up

 

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend. It feels like it's been so long since we had a "normal" weekend!

Here's what we were up to...

FREAKING A, IT'S FRIDAY!!!! My day started with an upper body lifting session at home. I got this Muscle Milk at Big Lots a couple days ago. It was so freaking good! So chocolatey! (I ended up going back to Big Lots on Saturday and getting 8 more!)

Work was work. The kids are done. Which makes me done. However, I was ready for the day...

After work, Paul and I went to his aunt and uncle's house to cat sit Leo and Sammy They are babies!

Then we had drinks and dinner at Federal Tap House. They make a damn good dirty martini and they have 50 beers on tap. The food was good but I felt like it was overpriced.

 When I got home, I couldn't wait to go to bed. Then I realized I forgot that I had to take my car to the shop so it could get inspected Saturday morning. We have one car and I'm the only one who drives, which meant I had to drive it to the shop (1/2 mile away) and walk home. I was not happy.

I went to bed as soon as I got home.

I slept in and it felt great! I got a call that my car was ready. It didn't need anything fixed, just the inspection! That's great news. My car is paid for and I'm going to drive it until it's dead. It's so nice not having a car payment.

That morning I started a puzzle, but it was hard and I didn't get too far. This is my puzzle buddy...

Then I went for a rainy 6 miler, which ended at the shop so I could pick up my car. Nothing was wrong with it! How awesome is that!?

I had generic Captain Crunch for lunch. I can't remember the last time I had Captain Crunch! It was soooo good!

After I ate and showered, Paul and I headed out and about. We had to check on the kitties again...

... Then it was off to Kohl's. I needed tank tops and short sleeved shirts for summer. I also got a visor to run in. I lost mine at the Damn Half last year.

Next, we went to Country Market so I could get all the veggies and herbs for my garden.

When we got home, I did some cooking. Then I kicked Paul's ass in cards.

It was a good night!

When I woke up, Chrissy was nestled in with me. I love when he sleeps with me.

I went for a run. It was slow (as usual these days) but enjoyable.

Then we went to my Aunt Patti and Uncle Randy's house for their annual spring picnic. It was so fun to hang out with my family. The kids went puddle jumping, which was super fun to watch!

We got home a little after dinner, and even though it was late, I decided to put in my garden. I did: 5 tomatoes, 4 peppers, 3 yellow squash, 3 zukes, dill, cilantro, basil, and rosemary. I have two eggplants and a mint plant as well but I am waiting until tomorrow to plant them because I don't know where to put them yet!

Do/did your kids go puddle jumping?
Did you plant your garden yet?
Tell me something fun you did this weekend!

Another day in America.

On Friday, 8 students and 2 teachers where killed by a gunman at Santa Fe High School.

Are we even surprised anymore that each week, innocent Americans are murder?

I feel helpless and I am SICKENED. This is like the twilight zone. People keep dying and THERE IS NO EFFORT TO STOP IT.

I. DO. NOT. CARE. WHAT. THE. ANSWER. IS.

Let's find the answer and solve the problem.

Until we do, children and teachers will keep dying.

Weekly Workouts

The week started with a race and the rest of the week was just taking it easy on the running to rest up!

Saturday- Ultra Race of Champions 25k (actually 17 miles.) The race was gorgeous. I felt amazing until a huge climb from miles 9-11. Then it was a struggle-fest. Race recap here. I had a lot of fun, which was the main goal.

Sunday- Rest/lots of walking. Paul and I walked around the UVA campus in the morning, then did a lot of walking around the grounds of Monticello later that day. It felt good to move my body but I was very sore from my race and had no interest in going for a run.

Monday- Lifting upper body. Due to being sick and then being away for the weekend, I hadn't lifted in over a week! Chrissy hijacked my towel, as usual. My legs were still sore from the race but not nearly as bad.

Tuesday- 6 neighborhood miles. It's been awhile since I clocked 6 in my hood! It was a very enjoyable, slow run. Most of my soreness was gone. My right achilles was a little tight later on, which annoyed me because I stretch my calves daily to prevent achilles problems as well as plantar fasciitis.

I saw one of our neighborhood white squirrels on my run!

Wednesday- 2 deck of cards workouts. I wanted to do something that would rest my achilles more than running would. This workout was perfect. I didn't feel my achilles at all but did some calf stretches and foam rolling just to stay on top of things.

Thursday- 5 neighborhood miles + mini deck of cards. My run felt great, albeit slow. My achilles was fine but I stopped at 5 miles because I didn't want to press my luck. I'd rather stop when I feel good than when something starts to ache. Since I had a little extra time left, I did a mini deck of cards, which means I took out all the hearts (which would be either burpees or jump rope rotations) and left in diamonds, clubs, and spades. So I did donkey kicks, bicycle crunches, and mountain climbers. Wow, it is hard to do mountain climbers after a 45 minute run!

Friday- Lifting Upper Body at home. Nothing to write home about. Still lifting light due to my shoulder being weird.

How were your workouts this week?
Have you ever seen a white squirrel?

15 Years of Running (Friday 5)

Hey all! I am linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 5 2.0!

For today's Friday 5, I have a short, less than 5 minute blog for your to read.

I've been running regularly for 15 years. During my race on Saturday, I was alone in the woods with my thoughts for several hours. As I was running, I felt very thankful for the many years of running I have experienced. 

Running is an activity that I love and it has enhanced my life in so many ways. Running makes me stronger mentally and physically. Running has given me great friendships. Running has led me to interesting and beautiful places. Basically, running is an activity that has made my life so full.

Having 15 years of running in the bank has helped my actual running performance in a myriad of ways. But the skill I am most thankful for is the ability to know my body, the wisdom to listen to it, and the strength to make adjustments when needed. 

Being in tune with my body makes me able to know what feels right and what feels wrong. I know when I can push myself and when I need to hold back. I think in the past couple years I have become more of a cautious runner (aka, not running through aches and pains and erring on the side of rest) but that's okay with me. I want to run forever, and I have to take care of my body if I want to do that.

As much as I love running, running doesn't define me. Yes, I am a RUNNER, but I am so many other things as well. I'm a teacher, wife, cat mom, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, puzzler, lifter, helper, performer, musician, singer... the list goes on. I don't need to be known as "the runner". In fact, when people think of me, I hope the fact that I'm a runner isn't the first thing that comes to mind. I hope that when they think of me, they think of me as a nice person, a helper, a friend, and a teacher.

I guess this post was all over the place today!

How has running enhanced your life?
What skills have you gained from your running experience?
What other things are you besides a runner?

Charlottesville Wrap Up (Part 2)

Here's the Wrap Up of our last two days in Charlottesville!

And in case you missed it, here's Part 1!

Race Day! Before we left, we fueled up at the free breakfast at our hotel. I love free breakfasts!

Then we drove an hour into the Blue Ridge Mountains to Skylark Lodge so I could run the Ultra Race of Champions 25k. It was absolutely stunning. You can read a race recap and see more pictures here. The short story is the race was actually 17 miles and my legs died on me around mile 10. It was difficult, hot, beautiful, and fun!

After the race, there was some drama. I had just cleaned myself up so we could go to lunch (I was starving at this point) when we realized SOMEONE HAD PARKED ME IN!!!

Why oh why oh whyyyyyy would someone park me in!? We had no clue who's car it was. What if they were running the 100k!? WE COULD BE STUCK HERE FOR HOURS! I will be honest, I let some F-Bombs fly.

Since no one was parked beside the car that parked me in, Paul thought maybe I could get out of the spot by pulling forward and to the right, and then backing out diagonally. But it was so tight. I tried a couple times and I just couldn't do it. I was too afraid I would hit a car. Paul doesn't have his license so even though he wanted to try, he wasn't going to risk it.

Luckily, there was a dude who walked by and noticed what was going on. He wanted to give it a try and I was happy to let him. He just looked like he was a good driver. He had tattoos all over his arms and a wad of chew in his mouth. With Paul's help directing and after several attempts, the guy squeezed my car out of the spot. I thanked him profusely and shook his hand. Thank goodness. But seriously, WHY DO PEOPLE PARK OTHER PEOPLE IN!?

Oh well, food was in our future! We drove to Blue Ridge Brewery. The place was HUGE inside and out. Even though it was gorgeous, it was a bit too hot for us to be outside at this point and we opted to sit inside. Our table was up a long flight of stairs. I was very sore at this point but I hobbled up! We both had huge sandwiches. Mine was a cheeseburger with fries.

Then we went back to our hotel to shower and clean up. But we weren't there for long. Our next stop was downtown Charlottesville where we walked around the historic district as well as the downtown outdoor mall.

While we were there, we found sort of a street party outside a music school. We sat and listened to this awesome band. The lead singer was playing the ukulele!

Charlottesville Courthouse

There were banners all over the mall promoting love. It was a stark reminder of the tragic events of August, when a Unite the Right Rally (aka, a white supremacist hate group) gathered in Charlottesville and clashed with counter protesters. As you may remember, many people were injured and one woman, Heather Heyer, died when a domestic terrorist rammed his car into a group of people. Fourth Street, the scene of the terrorist act, has since been renamed Heather Heyer Way, in honor of the woman who lost her life.

After chilling at the mall for awhile, we went back to our hotel and ordered takeout. Pizza and quesadillas!

On Sunday, we woke up early and took a walk to Starbucks. It felt good to stretch my legs. Then we walked to UVA's campus and marveled at the beauty! First, we checked out the rotunda.

Then we walked around the back of the rotunda where there was The Lawn, a huge open area. On the sides was student housing. I had to Google it, and apparently it is very prestigious to be able to have an apartment on The Lawn. Each apartment had a rocking chair. The apartment doors were decorated to express the occupant.

 

Just some more cool pics from the Lawn/Rotunda area...

After a quick hotel breakfast, we headed to Monticello.

The tour of Monticello was fascinating. I honestly didn't know much about Thomas Jefferson before the house tour. Now I know enough to know I want to learn more about him. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and was able to answer all the questions our group had. (We were lucky to get in a small group, which I think you would agree is always a plus!) It was amazing to me that most of the furniture and artifacts in the house were actually Thomas Jefferson's. Our tour guide told us that if he walked into the house today, it would look almost exactly like it did when he lived there.

For only $25 per person, you get a 45 minute house tour of the first floor. There are also slave tours and garden tours on the hour that are included in admission. Our tour guide urged us to take the slave tour. At first I didn't want to because I thought it would upset me, but then I changed my mind and felt that it was vital to have a well rounded view of Thomas Jefferson. However, Paul did not want to take the tour and I could not veto him. So instead we walked around the grounds at our leisure and explored the basement, which you were allowed to do on your own.

After quite a bit of time at Monticello, we drove a few miles up the road to Jefferson Winery. We did the classic wine tasting which included 4 whites and 4 reds. I didn't drink all of my wine because my stomach was a little iffy, plus I had to drive us home that day. I actually didn't really want to taste but I knew Paul wouldn't have as much fun if he was the only one tasting, so I put on my big girl pants and tasted some wine!

I wasn't a huge fan of the wines but it may have been partially due to not really wanting any alcohol due to the stomach bug I had. (It takes awhile for my appetite/stomach to bounce back fully and alcohol is always the last thing I want.) There was a white we both liked so we bought a bottle.

Then we enjoyed peanut butter sandwiches on the outside patio. Paul had a glass of red, and we just fueled up for the drive home. Classy!

After that, it was the long drive home to Pennsylvania! Fun fact, to get to PA from VA, you also have to drive through West Virginia and Maryland! Four states within a 3.5 hour car ride!

We listened to podcasts most of the way home. We were so excited to see the kitties! They were very needy when we got home and continued to be needy for the next couple days. I'm not complaining, I missed them too!

Any horror stories about being parked in?
Have you ever visited UVA's campus?
What about Monticello?