Recap and upcoming goals.

So this last weekend I decided to have a little fun with my long run and take a day trip down to Aberdeen, North Carolina, in order to run the 12k’s of Christmas at the Reindeer Fun Run. It’s a race that I had done before right after my first half marathon in 2012, and I remembered that it was a ton of fun even though I came away with IT band trouble right after (thanks, weak ass glutes!) So since I had 8 on the calendar as a cut-back and a 12k is 7.5 miles it was meant to be for me to return. Even though I had a really late night beforehand, I woke up at the joyous hour of 5:30 in order to hit the road with enough preparation time.

The thing I like about this race is that it is a bigger race (for a 5k) but has a real homey, small town vibe about it. It’s almost all families and pets, with everyone in costumes, and there are trains, and it is basically freaking adorable. It warms even my bitter cold heart. I was in sort of a grumpy cat mood (shock) because of the late night and the weather was a bit iffy with cloudy raining drizzle in the forecast. Luckily it was warm enough that I wasn’t going to freeze but I wasn’t in the brightest of places and prepared myself to feel tired and sluggish and just set an easy pace for the whole thing. As usual what I think and what actually happens are not the same thing.

So I lined up, Santa blew the horn for us to go, and started at a comfy pace…. a comfy pace of 7:36. Hmmm a little surprising but no worries, my plan was to just stay there until mile three and then back off. The course is a really nice course, but it is hilly and constantly either uphill or downhill. I wasn’t bothered, since I was just using it as a long run and was enjoying the opportunity to throw in some hill work. It came to pass that my goal to stick to a 7:30 pace for three miles expanded to 5, then 6, and then I decided to just take it all the way. I ended up finishing at a nice 56:22 pace which I was more than happy with. I felt great, not spent, just a little tired. Maybe my speed is finally returning!

I waited around for results (I was 4th in my age group) and then drove home after devouring some delicious tacos for lunch nearby. All in all, it was a very successful long run/actually-sort-of-racing day.

Now looking forward to this weekend I am signed up for the Kiawah Half Marathon. I didn’t have any sort of time goal in mind for this one because I thought that like the Battleship I would just run it super easy and have fun. Now I think I might be capable to sort of race it a bit. I had promised to pace a friend for part of the race (he is racing in the full), but now I might focus more on myself (I’m the worst). I don’t think I have a chance of PRing since I set that in the middle of marathon training and full fitness, but I plan to see just where my legs are at.

I am sure to take my laptop and try to actually chronicle this weekend properly but we shall see what happens. I also have finals and so part of my vacation will be spent studying like a nerd. Such is life.

The week I attempt to not be a social recluse.

With school devouring my soul like the heartless demon monster it is, I am trying to keep afloat of assignments while maintaining some sort of social life. I apologize to all my friends who think I go into some sort of hermit-like state during the semester. I am still enjoying my classes and most of my professors are pretty cool.

I nervously await my next Ortho visit on Tuesday and hope for some good news. I get to finally start to wean myself off of the aircast starting Monday. I realize that most people get weirded out when I refer to it as “weaning” as well. I can’t believe I actually followed doctors orders this well and for so long. So far the heel seems to be in fine working order and it has handled the cycling extremely well (knock on wood). I have gone back to my usual yoga classes a little early but I take it carefully and I really needed to mental clarity it brings. Plus being able to see my usual yogi people has made life seem a little more normal. I hope I am not a basket-case my first nights back at run club.

Besides school and my broken status, I decided to actually act like a hip twenty-something, and I went downtown to enjoy the Hopscotch music festival. It was pretty much my greatest idea in a long time. Even with the old aircast still on my foot I was able to enjoy the headlining shows in their entirety in City Plaza. It probably helped that the bands we fantastic and I completely forgot about anything besides dancing and enjoying life (something that hasn’t been easy lately). St. Vincent was amazing and it is now my life goal to grow up to be half as cool as Annie Clark. Spoon closed the show in the most amazing way ever, and I am glad I met new friends in the crowd who didn’t mind my spastic dancing with them. I wish that I would have had the physical strength to walk about and catch some of the other shows but after coming out of my star-struck euphoria, I was quite sore and had to relearn how to walk back to my car. Hopefully next year I will not be injured and can make an entire night out of it.

Now my weekend is pretty much over since I spend the rest working. I do get to enjoy a nice sleep in tomorrow morning before hitting up a yoga class and then it is back to the grind stone. I am keeping my fingers crossed that by next weekend I have tempted a short run. I am actually really nervous about getting back into it, I think it is just the fear of there still being pain (which is a little silly). I hope I have some good news to report soon.

Football + Food

This past weekend I had taken off for a trip out of town. I bought tickets to see my favorite football team, Liverpool Football Club, in Charlotte for their North American Tour. This was amazing because usually big teams do not visit places like North Carolina, and I had scored a really awesome seat. The plan was to stay the whole weekend in Charlotte and sight see and hit up Ikea (I have never experienced this greatness) but the ol’ busted heel put a damper on those plans. Instead myself and my brothers road-tripped just for the match (because Liverpool are worth driving 3 hours for).

Although there were a few testy moments dealing with crowds (Hello! I’m on crutches here!!), and handicapped parking was a lovely 40 dollars (being punished for not being able to walk!?), it ended up being a spectacular time. Liverpool won like the professionals they are with the first goal being scored right in front of me! I might have jumped up and down in my excitement but let’s not tell my doctor that. I had to do a reality check at one point and realize that yes, the team and players I spend every weekend rooting for where actually right there in front of my eyes. Mind blown.

And so Saturday ended with us driving back in a delirious haze of football enjoyment and with a cooler full of kombucha from a local brewery I hit up while there. Worth driving to Charlotte just to get growlers of the stuff. It’s made by Lenny Boy Brewing Company and is delicious! I wanted to try the kombucha wild ale they had but was holding off from drinking before the match. Don’t worry, that will only be another excuse to go back.

Sunday morning I met with a good friend for Sunday brunch and catching up. It was a full of delicious vegan noms and day drinking as homemade Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s were made. The mimosas were stellar but I have learned my lesson about Bloody Mary’s. The food was fabulous and my friend has become quite the vegan chef. Even with my own weird dietary constraints I am impressed by someone being that committed to their lifestyle. Veganism is something that I have always played around with (but I love cheese) and I have tried to at least make some changes to the way I eat. In short, Anna you are dedicated and amazing!

For the rest of the week I don’t have many plans besides work and then I will actually be out of town next weekend as well. So far this summer has been jam packed with fun times that I can’t complain about the trying ones… looking at you foot…

Weekend plans

Today being a Friday, it means that I am gearing up for my  weekend training plans. With my job I usually do not have the whole weekend off, so I never look forward to the weekend in a “Hey let’s do something fun!” sort of way. More in a “How am I going to fit my running and maybe one social activity in between working” kind of way. Friday has started with a 7 mile run, which will be followed by a 14 mile long run on Saturday. I like to refer to Sundays as “Sunday Fundays,” because that is when I actually have a fairly short run followed by cross training. I look forward to doing something that isn’t running just for the change of pace and although I spend a good chunk of Sunday working out it never feels like I do too much. I think this is because my usual combo of short run/cycling/yoga is spread out over the day and not just back-to-back sessions.

So with that said, this weekend is fairly untypical in that I have the entire weekend off to be social and enjoy myself. This is thanks in part to me taking a vacation day for the World Cup Final on Sunday. My only solid plan is the necessity to watch that while drinking and cheering on my beloved Germany to a hopeful victory!