The suitcase is out ... so I can stop pinching myself.

Up until today the Ireland trip seemed more like an idea rather than something that was already planned and paid for. Whenever anyone asked me if I was excited I would say yes because I knew that is what they wanted to hear, but I honestly hadn't even thought about it.

So today was my last full day off both jobs before my parents come down to fetch me for the trip so I decided to make the most of the day. I finally pulled out my suitcase and opened my closet wide. I didn't really know where to start, but 4 hours and close to 100 songs on Pandora radio later my suitcase was almost full.

I have all clothes I need and most of my devices charged and packed (camera, nook, Ipod etc). I may have gone a little overboard in the underwear department ... especially since we will be able to do laundry ... but then I decided that you can never have enough clean underwear :)   The toughest part was trying to figure out what running clothes to bring. I decided on two long running pants, 2 running shorts and a few t-shirts and of course I am bringing my water-proof running jacket! I will be wearing my running shoes while traveling since they are the most comfortable shoes I am going to need.

Here is a sneak preview of the outfit I will be wearing to my cousin's wedding. I was going to wear the boots, but then I found little shoes that I thought would look better (but I don't have a photo of that) and I now have a leather jacket to wear on top of the dress. I must say that it is the most sexy type dress I have ever worn in public, but I like it :)  Although I am slightly worried about the Irish weather ... !!! So needless to say, my wedding outfit was the first thing to make it into the suitcase!

Having a whole day off like I did today I would usually have spent a solid 90 minutes or so at the gym, but I got so into my packing that it just didn't happen  :(   I guess you cant win them all. But on a plus note, I was playing hip-hop the entire time I was packing and danced any time I moved from room to room. So that will count as my workout for today!

On a final note for tonight ... now that I am packed I am anxious to get on that plane. Though I will miss Josh very much for the three weeks, I cannot wait to see all my friends and relatives! I cannot wait to see my home town, eat the Irish food and run the Irish roads. Good thing I am busy busy busy this week or I am sure it would drag!

Upwards and Onwards fellow runners (and dancers!) ... I hope you have some fun running adventures planned this summer!

How tired can one person be?!

After my 8 mile run yesterday morning I was excited that I made it through my day without a nap and really feeling tired at all. I even managed to stay up until after midnight. But oh my goodness ... when I woke up 8 hours later for work, I was exhausted! I felt like I needed another 10 hours of sleep.
I was sluggish all day long and while at work I just wanted to lay down on the floor and take a nap. Since that wasnt an option, I just thought about coffee all morning/afternoon. Was this exhausted really from the 8 mile run 24 hours earlier?!

When I got home from coaching gymnastics at 7pm, Josh was all ready to go to the gym. I was hungry and irritable and just wanted to nap, but I put on my shorts, sports bra and running shoes and slowely walked myself out the door. I wanted to just say, screw it, and go to bed ... but Josh was so motivated that I just didnt want to kill his spirit. Oh and did I mention that I wanted 'In 'n Out' ... I know I mentioned it to Josh like 10 times. But he kindly pointed out that if I ate a double double and animal style fries that I would hate myself and feel like complete and total crap. I agreed and so we decided that we would hit Trader Joes on the walk home from the gym. Thank You Josh :)

At the gym there were no treadmills which was a good thing, because the last thing my legs needed was another run. My joints needed a rest after all that pounding the day before. So we hopped on the bikes for 20 minutes and pulled out a solid 7.2 miles. Though there were times when I thought for sure that I was grinding to a hault. I comtinued to complain and whine for a few minutes into the bike ride and then became too tired to even try forming sentences .... Thank you Josh ... again .... for being patient with cranky me :)

After a little bit (and I mean minimal) strength training (for me) we left and I got a healthier meal at TJ's. I'm pretty sure it was delicious, but I inhaled it so fast that I cannot really remember lol. Just kidding ... it was Indian food, which I love!
It is now 10:10pm and as soon as I post this I am going to bed. Thankfully I will just sleep in tomorrow (until 8:30am), go to work and come home ... I need to rest. Then back at it on Thursday :)

Onwards and Upwards fellow runners ... and non-runners of course!

7am trip to the gym.

I got up at 6:30am, ate half a protein bar and hit 24hr fitness at 7am. I wanted to get my run in early today because I work at both jobs today and was afraid I would be too tired by the end of the day to put on my running shoes.
3/4 way through my run on the treadmill my Ipod died ... I always forget to charge it ... and I was forced to run in silence for the remaining time. During that time, while trying to distract myself from my aching legs, I noticed something. Looking around the gym I noticed that the 7am scene is quite different from the 7pm scene. There were a lot more older people, but more interesting than that was the fact that there were no college girls with perfect hair, brand name work-out clothes, and full face make-up pretending to workout. There were also no college men in shirts two sizes too small watching their muscles contract as they lifted weights. It was refreshing.
For once I didnt feel like little miss frumpy girl with my hair in a knotty mess, target sweat pants and a tshirt two sizes too big. I just felt like I was there along with everyone else getting an honest work-out in. Every single guy and girl in there had sweat running down their face. I am thinking that I might do my long run work-outs in the early morning more often  :)
My only complaints with this morning's workout was that I had mentrual cramps the entire time, making the whole run a little uncomfortable. However, if I could run 5 miles in 53 minutes with cramping, then it means tomorrow's run will be more comfortable and I will hopefully be able to go for a little longer.
Anywayz, time to start my day!
Onwards and Upwards my running (and non-running) friends :)
Have a beautiful day!

Having a cold sucks really bad.

I have had a cold for the past 3 days now. The only reason the cold annoys me is because it comes with a chesty cough, meaning that I cannot run  :(   Luckily I haven't needed to miss work, but honestly, missing my work-outs is much more devastating. I am determined to hit the gym tomorrow fore perhaps some biking just so I can get moving again. I wouldn't launch into a full on workout, especially with the cold still very much in my system. So maybe just a 30 minute cardio session and an easy strength training session after work to get back into the swing of things.
So something has been bothering me lately. I was hoping that if I didn't talk about it, it would just go away and never come back. But that didn't happen. My right knee has been acting up. More specifically, the front center of the knee. Dare I say, my ACL? I hope not! I am hoping that the few days off have allowed this 'kink' to work its-self out and that when I return to the gym, it will be fine. But I must say that I am slightly worried. So to my running buddies ... have you experienced this? What did you do? Did it go away by its self?

Onwards and upwards ... hopefully!