Fuel and Fitness

Runger. Every runner seems to have it. Runger is defined as a runner who has hunger from well, all the running that he/she does! I tend to suffer from runger big time. In order to help avoid runger as well as keep my energy levels up DURING runs, specifically long training runs, what type of fuel I take in is very important. As part of today’s Tuesday’s On the Run Link Up theme, let’s talk fuel and fitness!

Preach!

My fueling routine before runs depends on how much time I have between eating and running. For example, as an “after work runner” (at 5 p.m. on the week days), I generally eat a regular lunch and nothing “special.” Though I have been known to regret some lunch choices during a run, like wings! Yikes! But hey, I’m far from perfect and it happens. Below, I categorized my various fuel “go to” options based on time.

A few hours before: For a race day or a long run day that I have a few hours of time before, I like to eat toast with peanut butter, a bagel with peanut butter and/or oatmeal. A peanut butter bagel was always my go-to pre-race breakfast during my competitive high school and collegiate years in cross country and track. In fact, a peanut butter bagel is my top choice today if I have a few hours between a race and/or longer distance run. Often I will do toast and peanut butter instead, primarily because I always have bread at the house, and it does the job. This is both filling and an excellent fueling option.

Half hour to an hour before: Energy bars! My top energy bar pick goes to Clif Bars! While I don’t find very many energy-based fueling foods to be particularly appetizing, I actually really like Clif Bars. The standard Clif Bar is very much the same texture as a basic granola bar, but offers an additional boost of energy that’s perfect for running or other endurance based activities. I usually always have a Clif Bar before races, especially super early ones that don’t give me much time to eat “actual food” (I’m looking at you, early Run Disney wake-up calls!) I also often eat a Clif Bar or part of one before runs in general since they give me an extra boost. My favorite flavor is chocolate chip. Personally, I find the standard “chewy” PowerBar to be GROSS. I consumed way too many of those in high school running because there were less options available it seemed. (Eek! Does this make me old?!) However, it is still a good source of fuel and if you can handle the taste and texture, by all means have at it! When it comes to the PowerBar brand, I now prefer the Harvest bars. They are much easier to consume, taste better to me and get the job done! My favorite flavors are chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin! The other energy bar I'd recommend is the Snickers Marathon Bar. It's not the worst tasting energy bar on the market and gets the job done, especially for endurance events!

My FAVORITE! Jelly Belly Sport Beans!!!

Right Before/During: Hands down my favorite of all the energy products, Jelly Belly Sport Beans! My BRF Cailyn introduced me to these bad boys and the rest was history. They are quite yummy and give me the perfect energy boost. They are easy to get down right before a race/long run as well as during. I can usually feel myself perk right up during my long run when I pop even just a few beans. They come in a few different flavors. My favorite is the mixed version, which comes in a black package. Best part about these sport beans is that they also come in a resealable bag, which makes them super easy to bring on runs. As for gels, I don't think I will every truly really like an energy gel. The texture is just disgusting to me. However, I do take energy gels before and during races, specifically, because nasty taste or not, they are most definitely beneficial! I've tried various flavors, including PowerBar brand and GU, but Clif Gels are my favorite. Even though I'm not a real fan of any of the flavors, I think the Clif Gels taste the best and are easiest to take. They come in both caffeinated and non-caffeinated options as well as several flavors. Personally, I find the fruit flavored gels easiest to consume. My go-to Clif Gel flavor is always Razz (raspberry). As much as I dislike energy gels, they almost always give me a good energy zap during a long run.

Give me all the Clif Gels!

I hope these fuel tips help you if you are looking for ways to boost your energy for runs and control that pesky runger! What are your fitness fuel picks? I'd love to know! I'm always looking for new things to try. In fact, I recently purchased some Clif Shot Bloks to try. Let me know if you like them or not! Remember, the key to a good run always boils down to properly fueling yourself!

A Couple of Runners: Happy Anniversary!

A Couple of Runners!

I'm certainly not one for too much cheese when it comes to romance (unless we are talking actual cheese, like cheddar...one of the true keys to my heart), but today is special so I will make an exception. Why is today different?! Well, today the husband and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary! That's right SEVEN years! Wow, 2007 was a LONG time ago! Seven years married and a whopping TEN years together later, he still manages to make me laugh at even the dumbest of things and is still my best friend. (Awww). It hasn't always been easy and we are far from perfect, but we've made it through the rough patches and come across stronger on the other side! More than that though, we have built a life together and made so many wonderful memories! Right now at year seven, I can honestly say this is the strongest our relationship has ever been, and I hope with each passing year we can grow stronger as individuals and as a couple.

Magical memories! What a journey it's been so far!!!

Running is a huge part of my life, and if it wasn't for my love of this great sport I probably would have never met the love of my life (again with the cheese, seriously this is really making me want actual cheese. A block of swiss would be a great anniversary gift *hint*. What can I say, I'm a simple woman). We both attended the University of Charleston on track and cross country scholarships. We met because we were teammates. We quickly grew from teammates to best friends and then one day, I finally gave in, threw caution to the wind, and agreed to date him. We clicked so instantly that I remember not wanting to date him at first because I didn't want to throw a perfectly great friendship away if things didn't work out. I am glad I had a change of heart and that he won me over. After all, this shy boy was still willing to date me after he had already seen me throwing up after cross country races (sexy!), and that's a keeper!

We are just a "Couple of Runners!"

While we have many different interests and are in some ways opposite, running has always been a common bond between us. The husband is my favorite running partner. Now that we are "retired" from our collegiate competitive years, it's nice to train together for races and to just have a running pal in general. We complain about the sucky runs together and celebrate the good ones. We even finish each others...sandwiches! Next up for us is the Tower of Terror 10-Miler and he has even agreed (with a little pushing) to dress in a costume for the race! That's true love!

This is how mature, married of seven years, couples behave!

So, happy anniversary to the husband, or as they call him Daniel outside of the blog world! We are just a couple of runners! I can't wait for our next run together, but more importantly I can't wait to continue our journey together! I love you!

Successful Streaking: RWRunStreak Review

Well, as promised, I now present my review of the 2014 Runner’s World Run Streak Summer Challenge! I wish I could have posted this a lot earlier, but as you can see from my previous update, the month of July basically came and went in a flash! For those who are just now checking out this blog or if you don’t know what the RWRunStreak is, check out this post. If you really don’t feel like clicking on another post, I will break it down for you: the Runner’s World Run Streak 2014 Summer Challenge was to run at least one mile per day from Memorial Day to the 4th of July, marking a total of 40 straight days of running. This was my second time completing the summer challenge. Like any challenge it had its ups and downs. It was good, it was bad, it was ugly (ha! see what I just did there), and best of all, it was GREAT. Using the good, bad, ugly (and GREAT!) system, here goes all about my streaking experience!

THE GOOD: I have mentioned several times on here that summer isn't exactly my favorite season. I’m sure my summer-lovin’ friends are sick of me counting down the days to fall (my favorite season, obviously, mainly due to two words: pumpkin spice!). Where I live, the summers are generally very hot, but even worse VERY humid. As someone who primarily is an “after work runner” due to scheduling, it’s very difficult for me to run early to beat the heat unless I do so at an ungodly hour, like 4 a.m., which I reserve for Run Disney events only! This puts my runs at the hottest time of the day. I am not a fan of the polar vortex we experienced this past winter, but generally I’d be happier running in 30 degree weather compared to the 90s dripping with humidity we have in the summer. Enough summer complaining (because *yay* it’s almost over!). With my distaste of super-hot humid runs (yet again another thing that Run Disney enables me to naturally tolerate more), I have often found my motivation to run lacking during the summer. It was different when I had a XC season to prepare for, but since I primarily run for myself and my fitness now, I noticed I would slack during the summer months. Last year I used the RWRunStreak to hold myself accountable and MAKE myself run, and it worked! I decided to go streaking again for the 2014 Summer Challenge. I knew I needed to build my base back since it was a bit off balance due to being burnt out from Glass Slipper Challenge training, the usual sinus/allergy issues as well as a car accident that tweaked my back. I also knew with the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler race taking place in early fall that I wanted to be prepared and ready to jump into training, specifically long runs. Needless to say, it was good to have the motivation to get out there every day from Memorial Day to the 4th of July. There were days I certainly didn’t want to even just do a mile, but committing to the streak forced me to just get up and get moving. Even with some injuries and muscle fatigue, I could see a clear difference from my first to my last run of the streak. It was the perfect motivator. It also was good that the duration of the streak brought about some of this summer’s HOTTEST days, which without my goal to finish, I probably would have skipped or slacked off if I’m being totally honest. Even after a bad run or a run I’m not exactly thrilled to do, I always feel good about myself after. Rest days are nice, but I always miss the satisfaction of completing a run no matter the distance. It was nice to feel good and accomplished each day of the streak!

THE BAD: With anything, especially with a challenge, it’s not all unicorns, sunshine and rainbows. Just like the previous year of streaking, I could really feel the wear and tear of running every day in the final few weeks of the challenge. It didn’t help that I was running on a tweaked ankle, which I experienced during the WV 5K (more on that in THE UGLY). Aside from being physically draining, it was very mentally exhausting as well. I am a runner that thrives with days off and I’ve always been this way, even when I was at my most competitive in collegiate XC and track training. The strain of no real rest day definitely got to me. There were some evenings where I came home, laid down and then got out the door for my quick mile after 9 p.m. At least I was getting in the runs, but as a person who thrives with schedule and routine, I didn’t exactly like how those late runs were completely throwing me off balance. There were days when I wondered why I chose to do the streak again. “Why am I so crazy?!” thoughts ran through my head several times! Running every day without a break is flat-out hard to do! It feels great to finish, but they call it a CHALLENGE for a reason!

THE UGLY: Now for the ugly. I won’t dwell too much here, because for the most part the RWRunStreak was a very positive experience. I probably wouldn’t need to include “THE UGLY” portion of this review if it hadn’t been for my aforementioned ankle snafu during the WV 5K. I tweaked my ankle pretty bad in that race. My own stubbornness and adrenaline came in handy, because otherwise I’m not sure I would have been able to finish the 5K if it was just a training run and not a race. It HURT. Also, normally I would have taken a few days off to give my ankle a chance to fully heal before attempting to run on it. However, I was DETERMINED to finish the streak, and with only a few weeks left, in my mind quitting wasn’t an option. I did have conditions for the streak set for myself that I would quit in the event of illness/injury, but since I could still run on my ankle thanks to the wonders of KT Tape (and my previously noted stubbornness), I forged along. I did back off my usual distances, which helped, but it was clear that my ankle snafu made the final weeks of the streak not  so awesome.

THE GREAT: As I’ve said, the 2014 RWRunStreak was GOOD, BAD, and UGLY. More importantly, however, IT WAS GREAT! The positivity of the streaking experience outweighs the negativity and all the exhaustion. My ankle eventually felt better, and as I mentioned in THE GOOD, by the streak’s end my runs were significantly better than how I started. Not to mention the sense of accomplishment of being a 2014 RWRunStreak finisher made all the crappy moments worth it. It was GREAT that the streak propelled me to push through and get out there EVERY DAY for a run. It was GREAT that I was able to build my base back and be ready to jump into Tower of Terror 10-Miler training. It was especially GREAT to know that I could set a goal and work to achieve that goal regardless of the obstacles that got in the way. Best of all, it was GREAT to receive the support and encouragement through the entirety of the challenge from my family, friends and social media guys and gals, like ALL OF YOU READING THIS! Thank you to everyone who supported me in this venture. You all are what made my RWRunStreak truly GREAT!

Let me know if you are a fellow RWRunStreak finisher! I’d love to read all about your experience! Not a run streaker? That’s totally cool! I’d love to hear all about your summer running in general as well as what motivates you to get out there!

Run Princesses, Run!

WOW! I am sure you all are just bursting with one major question: "Where the heck have you been, Hope?!" I am truly sorry for my hiatus and my lack of Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up posts for the month of July! Last month flew by in a flash and I've just been quite the busy bee! Instead of a traditional wrap-up post today, we are going to talk the 2015 Run Disney Princess Half Weekend! I've actually had this post written and ready to go since registration opened a few weeks ago. However, a case of a bad migraine and then losing myself to another type of marathon, as in a binge watching marathon session of seasons 1 and 2 of Orange is the New Black (amazing show), made me delay posting this. I've also been in full-training mode for the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Upping my training and adding back scheduled long runs has made me a tired gal! Then of course life has been hectic with some weekend trips, my summer yard sale, and the normal work-flow! Enough excuses though, I'm back and really hope to get in a regular posting groove again! I am sure you all have missed me! If not, well, oh well! Virtual high-fives all around for getting back to blogging!

With my bling after the Glass Slipper Challenge!

Frankly, I can't believe it's already August! I am ecstatic that it's August too. This means I am closer to my favorite season, fall, as well as my Disney vacation and the Tower of Terror 10-Miler! Be sure to let me know if you are planning to run into the Twilight Zone with me this October! I've never done this villain themed night race (or a night race in general!), but am VERY excited as I love Halloween and have always had a special place in my heart for those naughty Disney villains! But, more on the Tower of Terror 10-Miler later, because now it's time to discuss Run Disney's shiniest event! Unless you are a Run Disney fan living under a rock (or just a normal, everyday non-Disney crazed civilian), you should know that registration opened for the Princess Half Weekend last month and all races sold out within a few days (not sure on how quick the 5K sold, but I know it went very fast as well)!

The Princess Half Weekend is generally the most coveted Run Disney event. It’s pretty much the crown jewel on top of the Run Disney tiara. Having participated in my first Princess Half Weekend last year by completing the inaugural Glass Slipper Challenge, which included both the Enchanted 10K and Princess Half races, I can see why this Run Disney event is such a hit. With the usual Disney charm included, the women’s focused weekend is just spectacular from everything to the race expo to the races themselves. The husband stayed at home last year and I did the Glass Slipper Challenge as part of a girl’s trip runcation. I’m sure he was cool with missing out on the overwhelming amount of estrogen and wannabe Disney princesses that lurked everywhere! Completing the Glass Slipper Challenge and earning three amazing medals with it (I’m all about the bling!) along with all the other race swag was a wonderful experience. It was also a mentally and physically exhausting experience. I even shed a tear or two when I crossed the finish line after the Princess Half last year because the Glass Slipper Challenge was such an emotional event for me. While it had the Disney thrills and fun, the CHALLENGE part of the race was certainly true. In the future, I hope to have a post on here re-capping my 2014 Glass Slipper Challenge so I can explain all my thoughts in more detail!

Duck-facing with Pluto & my GSC medal
at our celebratory dinner last year!

After talking it over with my BRFs (Best Runner Friends), I am happy to report that I will be returning for the 2015 Princess Half Weekend! However, we decided as a group to not do the Glass Slipper Challenge, which is probably a good thing because it sold out in less than two hours the day registration opened, I believe! Cost effectiveness was a major role in our decision to not do the challenge this year. Run Disney is awesome, but expensive! I mean I want to run ALL the races, but I have to do it EVENTUALLY since well, money doesn’t grow on trees lol! I’m not sure I enjoyed the back to back race experience with my mental psyche either. It was quite intimidating post 10K to know that I would need to run an additional 13.1 miles the next morning. Maybe if the races were reversed that wouldn't have bothered me as much. Even though it would be the same distance, I think getting the half out of the way first would have made me feel a lot better! Dopey Challenge will never be for me! But all you Dopey runners rock! I love running and adore Run Disney, but that’s just not my cup of tea both mentally and physically. Someday I’d love to do the Glass Slipper Challenge again or another challenge like the Dumbo Double Dare/Rebel Challenge events in Disneyland, but that’s all for another year! Instead, this year for Princess weekend, I will be running the Enchanted 10K again as well as doing my first Run Disney 5K! The girls and I typically start in different corrals and the 5K will be the perfect option for us all to finally start and finish a race together! After running solo for both the 2014 races, I am very excited that I will get the chance to do this race with my BRFs! Having someone by your side, especially when it comes to Run Disney, makes the experience even better!

Olaf & Elsa before the 2014 Enchanted 10K!
BRFs make races better!

Now, imagine my excitement when word leaked that the theme for this year’s Princess 5K would be FROZEN! That didn’t take long for Run Disney to capitalize on the Frozen hysteria! I have to say that I am also very excited to be running the Enchanted 10K again. I like half marathons, but I find the 10K to be my favorite distance now and sadly, there seem to be very few 10K races compared to the halfs, 5Ks and even full marathons out there. I absolutely loved the Enchanted 10K course and even though it doesn’t run through the castle, which is my favorite part of the Princess Half, I’d say I like it better than the Princess/WDW Half course. The Enchanted 10K’s beginning might be a little uneventful, other than the wonderful Elsa and snow surprise we got last year, but the middle and end of the race is spectacular. I loved running through the Epcot World Showcase and Boardwalk area. The views were gorgeous! Of course running through Epcot’s future world to the finish was fun as well. I’m excited to get to run the Enchanted 10K and to not be held back by the thought that I have to run a half marathon the next day. I won’t feel the need to keep reminding myself to take it easy and like my dear Elsa, I will be able to LET IT GOOOOO if I want to!

BRFs Celebrating with Mary Poppins after the Glass Slipper Challenge last year! 

I don’t know about you all, but this running princess is looking forward to another Run Disney Princess Weekend! Who else will be there? What races do you plan to run? See all you princesses in February!

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up (July 3-9)

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!)

Hello friends! So much has happened since my last weekly wrap-up. My apologies for no Monday post, but it was quite a busy holiday weekend! It was the good busy though. While not exactly relaxing, it was one of those truly great weekends that you are sad to see end. Oh Monday, why do you always ruin the fun?!

Independence Day celebration: nothing says patriotic like a flag cake!

With the short work week thanks to the Independence Day holiday, our weekend fun got started extra early. I woke up to amazing weather on Friday! Sunny skies, but not sweltering hot or terrible humidity like we’ve been dealing with pretty much since Memorial Day. There was also a wonderful breeze. If the weather could be like this all the time, I might not dislike you so much, summer! Needless to say it was PERFECT running weather, and that was how I started my day! This run was particularly special and I was very eager to get it done because it was Day 40, the FINAL day, of the RWRunStreak Summer Challenge! Not sure if it was a combination of the weather plus my motivation to finish the challenge, but it was probably the best run of my streak! It was an excellent end to the streak and I am very proud to once again be a RWRunStreak Finisher! I plan to have a future post detailing my RWRunStreak experience, so stay tuned!

I'm a RWRunStreak Finisher!

Finishing the streak was a great way to start the 4th of July celebration. In true patriotic form, I made a flag cake. It was delicious, light and fluffy! Also as a true American, I made the best version of “salad.” A snickers salad that is! Another brilliant Pinterest concoction. Snickers, cream cheese and cool whip? Yes, please! Also, there ARE apples in it, so that makes it better right?! It was delicious as well. Later that afternoon we headed to my hometown for my family’s Annual 4th of July cookout. It was a blast as always. We enjoyed the wonderful weather, played games, ate amazingly good food and just enjoyed each other’s company. The day was complete with homemade ice cream, which is just THE best! We closed out the evening by walking down the street to see the city’s fireworks display. Fortunately my parents live close enough that we can just gather on the street curb with the other neighbors to watch the fireworks. We don’t have to deal with large crowds or traffic! This has been a tradition I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid. It’s really fun to see my nephews, nieces and second cousins enjoy the tradition now as well. It was overall a truly wonderful day and an amazing 4th of July celebration. I am proud to be an American and proud to live in a free country!

Fireworks to celebrate America's birthday!

Homemade ice cream: one of THE best parts of the 4th of July!

On Saturday, the husband and I made the trek to Columbus, Ohio for our annual zoo trip! We go to the Columbus Zoo every year and generally make our trip around the 4th of July weekend due to the extra time we have off work. Despite getting a later start than we intended to, it was a wonderful day! I’ve been to other zoos, and I can say that the Columbus Zoo is one of the best. While the zoo was the busiest I have EVER seen it, we had a very enjoyable day! We love animals and always look forward to our zoo trip. It really is a staple of our summer! We loved the new Africa section at the zoo, which recently opened. For my Disney fans, it had quite an Animal Kingdom feel with the savannah area, where the giraffes and zebras could roam about! I’ve never been as close to a giraffe until this trip and it was amazing! I am so glad the giraffes are back at the Columbus Zoo! We also really enjoyed watching the cheetahs play. Once we left the zoo we stopped for a quick dinner at Chipotle before heading home. This is now like the third time (maybe more?) that I’ve mentioned Chipotle in a post. It’s safe to say we are loving Chipotle this summer! It’s probably good there isn’t one in our town, otherwise it might not be a treat anymore lol! Here’s a picture recap of some of the animals we saw on our zoo excursion:

Sunday was a much needed lazy day. We got a lot of walking in at the zoo and were pretty tired from our trip as well as our 4th of July fun. It was overall a fantastic weekend, and like I said, I was sad to see it go. But alas, if time stood still life wouldn’t be interesting would it? So far this week the summer heat and humidity has returned (yuck!) and it’s back to business as usual. I took a few much needed days off from running (both because I was exhausted and my ankle is still a bit sore), and am now starting my regular run schedule back up! It’s time to start adding longer runs, because before you know it October and the Run Disney Tower of Terror 10-Miler will be here! Who will be running into the twilight zone with me!? Now that the 4th is over, I am ready for this summer to fly by so my Disney vacation can get here! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend and enjoy the rest of your week.

Just hanging with some giraffes at the zoo!

Feel free to share if you completed the RWRunStreak. I’d also love to know how you celebrated Independence Day!

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up (June 26-July 2)

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!)

Hello friends! I hope you all are having a great week so far! Can you believe it’s already July?! Wow!

For this weekly wrap-up, I must start with my day last Friday. Instead of my usual work flow, I volunteered with a group of co-workers for Habitat for Humanity. Since our Habitat site is located in Huntington, I did have to wake up a little earlier to hit the road. I remembered how tired and sore I was after volunteering for Habitat this past November, so I also dragged myself out of bed even earlier to get in a quick run on the treadmill. That proved to be an excellent decision because it ended up being a hot and exhausting day! Despite the sweltering heat and humidity, it was more importantly a very fulfilling day and a wonderful experience. My family has volunteered with Habitat for as long as I can remember. It’s a cause that my family is passionate about and I’m proud to carry on the tradition by volunteering myself. In case you aren’t familiar, Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization devoted to building “simple, decent, and affordable housing.” For more information on Habitat, check out their site here.

I had volunteered with Habitat for Humanity before with my church youth group, but my experience last November was my first full-on work day with the organization. I quickly jumped at a chance to volunteer again with the summer group. While the house we were working on had AC installed, the majority of my day was spent outside painting. I actually enjoy painting so I was happy that was one of the jobs we could do for the day. My co-worker and I painted the exterior along with the trim of a shed. It sounds like a simple task, but it did take up the bulk of our day. The sunshine and no shade made me a sweaty mess, but it felt great to do something different for the day and to know that by doing so I was making a difference in someone else’s life. A shed doesn’t seem like much, but I am darn proud of the job we did and I hope the homeowner enjoys it!

Tropical Moon after a hot work day!

The husband also spent the day volunteering for Habitat, so once our group wrapped for the day we decided to treat ourselves to some froyo at Tropical Moon! After a hot day in the sun doing manual labor, Tropical Moon has never tasted so good! Then the husband had a genius idea that we get Chipotle to go and warm it up for dinner later once we got home. First off, I am so proud I now have him hooked on the awesomeness that is Chipotle. Secondly, he really is a genius because Chipotle (even warmed up) has never tasted so good either!

The rest of our eventful Friday was spent seeing the movie version of Jersey Boys! Thanks to my parents raising me right on GOOD music, I absolutely love The Four Seasons! Needless to say I was very excited for this film, and it did not disappoint. It was SO good. I bought the soundtrack this weekend, which includes songs by the cast as well as original tracks from Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. I might be a wee bit obsessed, but it’s just so good! I’ve been listening to the soundtrack non-stop. The music has even made my iPod running playlist! It’s made my hot/humid runs more enjoyable for sure! I really hope I can see the Broadway production of Jersey Boys someday! That's the dream!

Jersey Boys soundtrack is my current music of choice!

Perhaps the most eventful thing to recap is my RWRunStreak update! Last week, I, along with my fellow run streakers, started our decent into the home stretch of the summer challenge. Well, now we are REALLY in the final home stretch and the finish line is almost there! I can practically smell it! Today marks Day 38 of the streak, which means we only have TWO more days left! TWO MORE! TWO MORE! I can’t believe how quickly time has flown! I can tell I’ve been running for 38 days straight (actually 39 since I started a day early lol). Like this time of the summer challenge last year, my legs are really feeling the streak! I can tell I haven’t had an actual day off in quite some time. Knowing I’m so close to completing the challenge is keeping me motivated. For those wondering, my ankle still has some definite soreness, but is MUCH better! Fellow streakers, we’ve got this. Let’s knock these final TWO days out of the park!

RWRunStreak: ALMOST THERE!

Speaking of running in general, I have to note that Run Disney released this year's Tower of Terror 10-Miler Medal! I love it! I can't wait to be back at Disney in October for the race and all the festivities! Who else will be running into the Twilight Zone with me?!

ToT 10-Miler Bling!

What’s on the agenda the rest of the week?

1. Watching Independence Day non-stop. I’ve already seen it twice this week and plan to watch it over and over again with the 4th of July coming up! It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. I love the 90s cheese and really, is there any speech better than President Whitmore's?

2. 4th of July celebration! One of the things I do like about summer is the 4th of July. My family hosts a cook-out every year. I look forward to spending time with family, good food and of course, homemade ice cream.

3. HOMEMADE ICE CREAM. Yes, I realized I just mentioned it, but it’s just so good it must be mentioned again.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week. Have a safe and happy 4th of July! To my international readers, happy Friday! Fridays are always fun in general, right?!

Wednesday's Weekly Wrap-up (June 19-25)

(With my wrap-up posts I try to update each Wednesday about my week in review. I include pictures posted during the week from my Instagram @lilrunner1485 as well. Why Wednesday instead of Saturday or Sunday? Well, it just works better for me on this schedule. So, Hump Day it is!)

Hello friends! Hope you all are having a good week so far. We’ve already made it to Hump Day, which means the weekend fun is just around the corner! This past week was busy as usual followed by a pretty great weekend.

Immediately after work last Friday I planned to get a quick run in and then change in the car before heading to Huntington with the husband. Sometimes I wonder if West Virginia has been channeling its inner-Florida as of late with these random torrential downpours that occur for a few minutes followed by bright and sunny skies. I say this because my weather app indicated no change of storming/rain prior to my run Friday. While the sky did look a little overcast, I brushed it off thinking “well, it might sprinkle a little, but it should be ok.” Just in case, I grabbed my little running belt pack, aka my running fanny pack lol, and stuck my phone in there. As a precaution I put it in a sock since I didn’t have a plastic bag. Crafty! Well, I got about 400 meters into my run when the sky pretty much fell out unleashing basically a monsoon on me. I panicked because of my precious iPhone 5S, which was in just a regular case (not a protective one). I turned around and sprinted back to the car already soaking wet and my phone thankfully escaped this incident unscathed. I ended up finishing my run without my phone by doing laps at the park (boring yawn). The good news is that the rain shower distracted me from how hot it was! Always look for the silver lining folks!

WV 5K Fun!

After my shower, I mean run, we were on our way to Huntington to pick up our race bibs and swag for the West Virginia 5K Championship. We explored the race expo and then decided to have a quick dinner date at Olive Garden. I love Olive Garden salad and breadsticks. What I don’t love is them continually changing their menu as of late. They recently took my favorite dish off the menu and now the husband’s favorite is gone as well. For shame, Olive Garden, for shame. Don’t you just hate when restaurants take away your go-to order? First world problems indeed! It was still a great meal and a fun evening out. Saturday we woke up entirely too early for a non-work day for the race. You can read my full West Virginia 5K Race Recap here. Other than me badly rolling my ankle, which made the race itself not so great, it was a fun morning.

Blonder hair for summer plus a new
Run Disney Mickey for my desk! 

We continued our weekend fun by sticking around Huntington after the 5K to get some things done. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks (my favorite!) before heading our separate ways for the rest of the morning. I had a much needed hair appointment for a color and a trim. I love getting some hair TLC and I always feel fresh and renewed after a color touch up. It takes a while, but getting my hair done is super relaxing. It’s nice to be pampered! For the summer season my hair stylist made my hair a bit blonder, which I really like. It felt nice to get my layers and bangs trimmed as well. Bangs that have grown to be too long are one of the most annoying things. I’m sure many ladies can attest to that! After my much-needed girly time, I met back up with the husband at the mall. We had planned to get in some shopping but he was completely exhausted and I was having trouble walking thanks to my ankle snafu, so I only made a quick stop at Macy’s to get some makeup. Before we left Huntington we decided to have a late lunch at Chipotle, which recently opened in town. The husband had never experienced Chipotle awesomeness before and I was happy to introduce him to it! I absolutely love Chipotle! It was a really fun lunch date to close out a great day. The rest of our Saturday was spent icing my ankle, napping and being couch potatoes!

Now for a quick RWRunStreak update: Tuesday marked Day 30 of the RWRunStreak Summer Challenge! Fellow streakers, we are now in the HOME STRETCH! We’ve got this! I am very pleased to report that my ankle is feeling much better since Saturday’s 5K. It’s not at 100 percent yet, but with the help of an ice regimen and KT Tape I’ve been able to continue running to keep my streak alive! More importantly, thus far it’s feeling better with each day. Hopefully I continue to stay on the mend!

KT Tape is helping keep my RWRunStreak alive! Winston has also deemed himself my bodyguard since he knows I haven't been 100 percent with my ankle snafu lol! 

What’s on tap for the rest of the week? Friday I will be volunteering for Habitat for Humanity! I volunteered with Habitat this past November and as cheesy as it sounds, it was a very fulfilling experience! I look forward to helping such a great cause again. We are still kicking around our weekend plans, but hopefully we will do something fun! I hope everyone has a wonderful, enjoyable rest of the week!