i am a girly girl. a runner. a daughter. a fashionista. a sister. a disney princess at ♥. a lumberjack alumni. a country girl. a coffee addict. a friend. a chocolate lover. a reader. a jeans, t-shirt, and flip flop girl. a movie goer. a grad student.
as amazing as the entire england trip was, we were actually there for a real purpose, a wedding! one of my best friends nate was getting married to an amazing girl named katie he met while studying for his masters at durham university. i had met her for a few hours when they came through las vegas about 2 years ago and knew they would be great together! soon enough we were all across the pond for the big day.
the bus came to pick us all up from st johns at 1130a to be to the church on time for a 1230p service. it was actually almost warm during the day and the sun was trying its hardest to poke through for a beautiful day. we arrived a bit early and were able to score great seats, i sat with alyses family! nate had taken his rightful place up front and looked cool as a cucumber. when they handed out the orders of service soon after we got our 1st clue this whole day was going to be quite a bit different than we were used to. it began with the bride walking down 1st and the bridesmaids after. katies dress was beautiful and it fit her perfectly:) after the vows there was actually a full sermon complete with hyms. the service was very thoughtful and the hyms went very well together with it (despite the wanna-be opera singer behind us who kept cracking me up, ha!). afterward the bride and groom walked down the aisle hand in hand to there new life. we werent allowed to take pictures during the ceremony, but i of course snuck a few.
theyre married!
once exiting the church i was super surprised to see the bride and groom outside talking to people! some of the boys had given us confetti as we left so i figured we would do that and be on our way. oh no. we did the confetti (which was soo pretty and fun) and then bride and groom mingled with everyone and took pictures with the guests. after hanging out for awhile the wedding photographer started with the official pictures, while we were all still there. it was a little weird, i wont lie. finally it was time to head to the hotel for the reception. we were super hoping for some food because it was almost 3p by the time we got there and we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast at 9a.
the families!
the whole wedding party!
there was full open bar at the hotel for cocktail hour with a super fun punch that was very citrusy and fun. we got the brilliant idea to start adding a shot of malibu to the punch which made it taste even smoother so we proceeded to suck it down like water. there were a few very cute appetizers floating around, a beef and potato puff pastry and a small pancake with a mango sauce and fruit to top. they were both delicios, but after about 2 hours we were starving! the bride and groom had arrived in their very fun car to mingle and take photos on the beautiful grounds, which meant more appetizers and drinks. once inside we formed a receiving line to make our way into the ballroom. that meant chatting with the brides parents, the grooms parents, and the newlyweds. about 45 minutes later we were finally through and able to see the beautiful room that was soo bright and airy.
alyses family!
nate and i :)
i got to sit with most of nates family that i had spent the week with so we chatted away and waited for the food. we discussed the differences in an english wedding and even met katies brother and his wife! the food arrived a bit later after everyone had sat down, starting with potato leek soup. i wont lie, i was a little leary because i had never tried it, seriously sooo good! light even so it didnt fill you up. next was the main course, a full pot roast dinner! complete with popovers, delicious veggies, an amazing potato thing, and of course the beef which was sooo good. we dove right in and im pretty sure i wiped my plate clean :) afterward there was dessert, not cake, full blown dessert. im not exactly sure what it was, but man it was good! then tea and coffee to top it all off. now i should have been stuffed but instead, nicely full. now in america the bride and groom always mingle during dinner, in the uk not at all. everyone sat firmly in their seats until we were all done. afterward they did speeches and cut the cake. then there was a whole second part we had no idea about!
her dad made a beautiful speech.
their speech was so full of love!
yay cake:)
we were cleared back into the cocktail area and found out they were changing the room around. now by this time it was about 8p and the bus we found out was actually going to return at 1130p. we had no idea english weddings were this long! once the ballroom was ready we returned to find a disco, haha! and there was a buffet line set up for more food, im not kidding. it was about this time though (830ish) alyses family and i decided we were going to call a cab to take us back a little earlier since we all flew out the next day super early, hadnt packed, and found out it was daylight savings time so they sprung forward! soon the bride and groom came in to do the 1st dance and it was just beautiful to watch them so in love:)
the 1st dance as husband and wife!
for some reason at this point we actually decided we were hungry. so we would stay for the food and to try catching the bouquet. the buffet was mostly appetizers and cake! the cake was delicious as was everything else that day. we headed out soon after, probably around 930p back to the hotel. we were exhausted! these english weddings are like marathons. and apparently they are all just like it!
the next morning i headed to the airport to begin my long journey home. i was very excited to see richard and sleep in my own bed. as well as not be cold every i went to use the bathroom and have some american food. but i love england, i would really move if i could. i got to know katie sooo much more and can not believe how either one of them were so amazingly calm all week with the craziness of that many people plus a wedding. i had an absolute blast that week. and i would not have been anywhere else but at that wedding to celebrate their love. i was able to not think about anything and purely enjoy the fantastic people i got to know and celebrate an amazing couple take the next step in their lives:)
this was my last full official training week, holy crap. i cant believe its all really here. not that this last week wasnt seriously packed with work, training, school, and the best part, travel. richard and i headed to phoenix for the weekend for one of my best friends from college wedding reception. that meant cramming everything into a few days. it also hit me that this is really for real!
sunday~rest. rest
it was easter so my normal spend all day in my pjs didnt happen quite as long, but totally worth it. we went to my parents house a little early so we could spend time with them and then some family friends came over for way too much delicious food. i was of course in charge of dessert :)
the cupcakery makes my heart happy!
monday~600m am swim. 4-5mi pm run. 750m swim = 30:00 minutes/64:22 pace 4.72 miles = 44:30 minutes/9:25 min/mile
the pool was much warmer than last week and much nicer. i was a little slower than i was hoping for, had to work off that easter candy/cupcake haha. but the extra meters felt good. my legs felt really good after wearing my compression socks all day at work, well except that whole i fell off my bike, banged up my knee, and had some wicked bruises. we had a bit of a bigger group which i was so excited for and it was just a good summer run:)
tuesday~25-30 miles bike. 26.32 miles = 2:07:29/ 12.4 mph
after the confidence shaker last week i had to get back at it. no matter how scared i was. we got my bike tuned up saturday so it was all better, i was just really nervous. i mapped out a few different routes and went with the one with the least amount of turning and felt the safest on. it was super early when i left so not much traffic thank goodness. the 1st 13 miles felt great! i felt strong and in control, i just had to get home now. which was a fine plan till i got on the tail end of rainbow blvd and realized it was a super skinny 2-lane road that i did not feel at all comfortable on. so i had to walk the bike a little bit but for a way better reason than last time. i conquered the fear! i capped off the great feeling day signing up for my dream race, the nike womens 1/2 marathon in sf. now i wait, wishing and hoping!
time to cross my fingers/toes/arms/legs
and wait till the end of april!
wednesday~1500m swim. 10mi bike. 1500m swim = 57:00 minutes/61:09 pace 11 miles = 30:00 minutes/22.0 mph
the pool was packed in the morning and a little chillier than the day before. but i ran into some very nice people and a guy thats doing the same race! it was sooo nice to know im not the only one in my position of runner->triathlon and thinking i may have bit off more than i can chew. he had all the same concerns! after the pool emptied i was able to get my laps in. i was hoping for a bit of a faster time, but sometimes its more important to get it all in. my original plan was to drive home then hop on the bike for an outside ride. but we were having another crazy spring windy day in vegas so i opted for a spin bike at the gym, definitely not the same. i did like the make your own workout option and to have my own little tv though!
thursday~600m swim. body pump. rest
i set my alarms like normal, but apparently my body had other plans because i slept through them both and woke up at about 615a. body pump started at 6a so i decided it was my bodys sign to get some sleep. my body felt great actually the rest of the day. i kept thinking, "oh is this how your body is supposed to feel on a thursday?" haha.
friday~15 mile bike. 600m swim = 32:00 minutes/85:50 pace 15 miles = 43:28 minutes/20.7mph
with an unexpected rest day i really had to kick it up friday! my swim was wayyy slow and i have no idea why. i kept feeling like i could go farther but my head just wasnt quite in it. so i decided when i hit the 600 meter it was just time to move on to the next thing. for as off as the swim felt, the bike felt great. it was another windy day lined up for us so i took to the spin bike again. i forgot my headphones so it was a good thing the bike has a interactive screen with an instructor! plus i had to get my calorie burn up for later in the day;) richard and i hopped on a plane not long after headed to phoenix. right after getting off the plane we headed straight for my favorite pasta dish at oreganos. i was seriously in love!
alfredo the dark!
saturday ~ 4-6 miles. 5.51 miles = 52:36 minutes/9:32 min/mile
i was up earlier than the rest of our group to get my miles in. now by early i mean about 930a:) it wasnt nearly as warm in phoenix as it has been which meant i could sleep in after a late friday night and still get my miles in before lunch time. the nice part about where jessica lives is it is super flat! the sun was a little bright and the wind was blowing quite hard to make up for the flatness though. sometimes its fun to run on vacation:)
total for the week=2850m swam+52.32m biked+10.23m ran
this makes an all time high for weekly mileage! i cant believe i made it to taper week either. wow. this is really going to happen this weeekend. like in 5 days. wow. i felt good about this last week, but now i go into the worried mode about did i do enough, train long enough, eat enough, do the right things on the right days? all those questions and more will be answered on saturday!
after a crazy, crazy week with early mornings and long train rides we were all very excited to keep the day simple and spend it around town. the only real plan for the day was to meet katie and the girls for nails at 230p in the square then on to dinner the rehearsal dinner with the whole group. so that meant sleeping in a little bit then going for a run around the town.
i ran wednesday morning just around the college and the river, but we had walked around for a few days so i figured i could venture out a bit. it was a crisp morning and i had a plan after looking at the map, but that went ayre quickly when i took a wrong turn. i found a new town map and thought i figured my way around but got distracted by a trail and then got totally turned around! luckily there was a bunch of people setting up an event nearby and i was able to ask for directions. turns out i wasn't really that far off, just didn't go down far enough to hit the right streets. unfortunately with a few wrong turns meant i was too late getting back for breakfast so i went back to my room and got to spend some time talking to richard before he went to sleep:) afterward i went to meet up with andrea and amanda so we could spend sometime shopping before getting our nails done. turned out andrea wanted to sleep and read so amanda and i ventured out for coffee and to explore the city. she had been there before to visit nate meaning she knew her way around a little bit. we stopped to have a scone and a hot chocolate snack at a tea house that was so so good.
fresh cream :)
soon enough it was time to meet the group and lunch, i was starving! we went to this super quaint cafe and i even branched out to have the corned beef and potato pie. whoa, i know. i imagined it would be a little bit like a pot pie or at least have some sauce in it, not so much. it was very good and an excellent side of cole slaw (which by the way was super different at every place we went to!) with it. after everyone was finished eating we headed to a nail bar, which was exactly that. i had planned to actually have a pedicure only and not do my nails. turns out all they did were nails and it was only to paint! that means wayyyy cheaper, it was only 5 pounds, hell yes! they did an airbrush french thing, it was so easy and fast.
alyse, her mom, and i headed out to accesorize to buy alyse a super cute passport holder amanda and i had picked up there, but never quite made it. we walked through a very small mall and were stopped dead in our tracks by fish. yes fish. as in a fish pedicure! i had never seen anything like it but alyse was wild over it. she had seen it on tv and always wanted to try it. i have very ticklish feet and wasnt so keen on sticking my feet in a bowl with a bunch of fish. but when the guy told us we could have wine while we did it and it was only 10 pounds i decided just to do it.
seriously the coolest thing i have ever done!! you have to sign a waiver about not having open wounds/sores on your feet or major surgery in the last year then spray your feet down with something, and let him check them out just in case. then they literally go in the bowl and the fish swim right toward them! it felt super weird at first and i freaked a little, but wow it felt amazing. they eat all the dead skin off your feet and swim around in the bin. it was some of the best 15 minutes ever! it also gave alyse and i so much time to chat and really get to know each other. we had heard so much about the other from nate over the years but i dont think we ever even met. for seriously 2 days my feet were the smoothest/best feeling they have ever been in my whole life!!
ahhh!
we headed back to st johns to change and head to the rehersal dinner. as soon as we sat down i started to feel in a fog. dinner was good, we got to meet some people from katies side and others in the wedding. the lemon cake with the cream sauce we had for dessert was fantastic! the kids were heading down to the pub once we were all finished and i decided to make a better choice and just go back to my room and sleep. over half our group had various forms of sickness all week and i was determined not to catch it! plus we had the wedding the next day, i could not be sick for that.
they give great speeches :)
it was sooo cool to finally see where nate had been all the years and where he met katie. plus i got to bond with alyse and we have a great story to tell others! i fell asleep pretty early that night very happy :)
this week was all set to be great and challenging at the same time. back to regular training and no jet lag? hell yes! it started out being just that, but good. then the end of the week happened that totally shook my confidence and beat me up in the mental and physical sense. luckily i was able to end with an awesome run and some fantastic support from family and friends that made me remember i can do this. no matter how much it hurts or how long it takes.
sunday~rest. rest
i was in definite need of a full rest day from work, school, and training. richard actually had to work so i got the apartment to myself to catch up on army wives and project runway allstars (ps the FINALLY picked the right person to win!). these sunday rest days are the best.
monday~600m am swim. 4-5 mile pm run. 600m = 25:00 minutes/67:03pace 4.72 miles = 44:05 minutes/9:20 min/mile
after the lake saturday i was for sure glad to be back in the pool! i felt good, just a little sluggish to start. plus i was super frustrated that my earplugs wouldnt stay in. apparently i have funky ears haha. with a 2 week break from my runner group i was sooo glad to get back to the boys and our normal route. the hill just about killed me as always, i swear 1 day it will get better. we even had a few new faces! oh and my bff (not!) the wind was there as always.
tuesday~12 mile bike. 13.75 miles = 1:01:24 minutes/13.4 mph pace
it was my first day back on the bike and i was definitely a little nervous, but it felt right. the hills were tough but nothing i couldnt push through! for sure time to get my bike legs back which means a return to body pump this week.
wednesday~2000m swim. 10 mile bike. brick. 2000m swim = 1:10:00 minutes/56:19 pace 10.12 mile bike = 44:21 minutes/13.7 mph pace
time to add another brick day. with the race getting super close i had to up the trainings for the next 2 weeks to really make sure i was ready. that meant a big swim 1st. i hit 2000 meters!!! holy crap. yes i was tired, and a little sore. but i felt good. the pool was freezing and busy but i broke it down in 500m sets and stayed in the zone! i finally was ballsy enough to try out my new tri shorts and man did they make a difference. my butt bones were a little sore from the ride on tuesday, but the padding in the shorts helped big time. it was supposed to be really windy later in the day so i thought i could beat it in the morning. man i was wrong. the wind is terribly mean! it may not have been as long of a ride but i paid for it with wind resistance.
thursday~600m swim. body pump. 600m swim = 20:00 minutes/53:38 pace 6am body pump class
i was certainly a little sluggish, the extra hard trainings caught up with me in the pool. i felt really slow but my pace was actually pretty good considering. i did have time for some extra meters, but just wasnt feeling it to be honest. we had a sub instructor which turned out to be a guy! there isnt that many guys that attend the class on a regular basis let alone teach it. he was alright, and not going in 3 weeks for sure caught up with me! i took the hardest nap before work i might have ever had.
friday~20 mile bike. 13.4 miles = 1:32:54 minutes/8.7 mph pace
i had so many high hopes for this ride and that it would build for this week coming up. it started great, much less wind and only a little chilly. i tried out a new route to be safer and see different things. then i hit mile 8 riding on the main road and a truck was coming down the hill on a side street. i didnt think he saw me and was going to blow through the stop sign! i tried to brake and swerve which really just meant i freaked and fell off smacking the street hard. my waterbottle flew into the street and the bike and i were in different places. i picked myself up as the truck turned and drove off and sat on the sidewalk for a few minutes collecting myself. after some water and checking out the bumps/bruises/scrapes i decided i was ok and could totally finish the ride. i got back on the bike and realized the chain had slipped off the gears. remembering what i learned the other night i was able to get it onto the smallest wheel thinking i could use the gears on the handlebar to bring it to the right one. apparently not. i started to ride and the gears but did nothing and i knew i could climb any hill or even finish the ride. luckily i had my phone so i could map the quickest way home. i walk/rode it most of the way till about 2 miles away when i was on silverado ranch which is super flat. i was tired of walking it and just wanted to get home so i hoped on for the last 2. about a 1/2 mile in i hear someones screeching brakes right behind as if they had to slam on them to not hit me. i was able to pull off into a side street where i promptly started bawling and continued all the way home. once i got there i collected myself to go upstairs and checked out my face in the bathroom since i couldnt see it on the road. that was all it took to completely loose it again as i sat on the couch near richard, bawling telling him everything that happened. i told him how this is the hardest thing i have ever done and what the hell am i doing thinking i can finish this. he just hugged and kissed me and let me cry as much as i needed to while getting really pissed at the cars (im telling you, a strong support team is huge!). afterward he headed off to the gym and i cleaned myself for work. the whole thing was a huge confidence shaker :/.
cars are terribly mean.
saturday~4-6 mile run. 5.2 miles = 46:52 minutes/9:00 min/mile
after wallowing in my failed bike ride for the night and icing my knee a lot i was determined to get up saturday to run. i would not let that stupid car win and the bike defeat me. my knee hurt quite a bit at the start and i figured this would be a slow paced run, i just wanted to finish. after about 2 miles i started to feel good and just let my legs go. getting back i looked down at my time and totally couldnt believe what that watch said! a 9:00 minute mile pace with a beat up knee and shaken confidence?! thats right. bring. it. on.
the aftermath.
total for the week=3,200m swam+37.27mi biked+9.92mi ran
this week, whew. it was friggin rough and tested a whole new set of limits. it also showed how strong i can be and the amazing support i have from the people around me. i have 1 more tough week, then taper, then race. im even starting to think about race day which is a whole new set of butterflies! if i made it through this week and finished that strong, i can make it through 1 more hard week and then race day!
now that i had been over quite a bit of england i was super excited about getting to see a new country! still part of the uk, but something very new. the minute i told anyone i was going to scotland they always asked about the lochness monster. it was so funny! so thursday morning we headed to our earliest train that we darn near missed because we left a bit too late from st. johns. most of us were not awake on the train ride up, the travel was really startin to get to us.
the view from the train.
when nate yelled at me to wake up lol.
about 2 hours later we arrived in edinburgh to a completely new scenery! it was so gothic and dark and daring, very cool. we split 2 smaller groups again because 13 people are wayyy too many to try and wrangle together. we started off heading up the street to the castle where the queen stays when she comes stay in scotland. i couldnt get over how different it all looked from england and that there werent nearly the amount of people as the last few days. it was actually quite nice and allowed us to slow down a bit.
once we made it to the top of the hill we decided it was time for lunch! i was hungry already (surprise, surprise) but we couldnt decide where to go. i was all in for the rave reviews we heard about jacket potatoes, i was dying for some carbs in my life, but the place didnt have seating so we would have had to sit outside and it wasnt the warmest day ever. we ended up at an "american" place that had quite the variety on the menu, for sure an american thing, but it still tasted uk-ish haha. i was so hungry though it didnt even matter!
i did see this very stylish hat on the way:)
afterward we headed to the top of the street to see edinburgh castle which was gorgeous and had a fantastic view of the whole city! the castles there were much bigger and taller than the ones in england, so interesting. also at the top of the hill was the scarf factory where they invented plaid!! I was so super excited because I seriously love plaid if you didn't know. it was really cool because all the different patterns and colors stood for different clans that each family hailed from, I never knew that! you could even have your own kilt made there:)
the view from the castle.
seriously huge!
soo cool. i heart plaid!
not far down the road and around the corner was another harry potter place i had to see. the elephant house, as in where jk rowling went to write the original harry potter books!!! she's even rumored to have a flat or home near there. we vintages shopped nearby for awhile to pass some time and so amanda could show us some of the places she went to while studying abroad. i realized while browsing that i am not a good vintage shopper lol. the things just don't look right one me haha.
nerd alert!
ahhh!
we headed back to princes street the big shopping street to browse for souvenirs and head back to the train station. i purchased my nessie stuffed animal and magnet for my parents, turns out we were much too far south to see her. after picking up some authentic shortbread and actually finding the shirt in richards size i had looked all over york for we needed to meet our group to return to durham. i could have seriously spent a few days there but we had to get back for the rehearsal!
he played so beautifully!
everyone was passed out asleep not long after the train left the station and it was a great 2 hourish nap back! we returned to st johns to drop our stuff and headed to the church. alyse and i finally realized why nate was always huffing and puffing while walking anywhere with us on the phone, cause holy crap the hills there are steep! once we reached the church we were glad for a break.
the church was beautiful and was actually celebrating its 900th anniversary this year! it was freezing inside but the pastor had us laughing and the whole wedding party buzzing while we were there. i sat back with alyses super nice husband brad and took loads of pictures of course, which turned out to be a good thing because we couldn't saturday!
once finished tearing up we were free for the evening and amanda and i headed back running into alyse and brad who i joined for a drink at the pub. the next day was pretty free and we could actually sleep in and and the nap had helped so we stayed out a little getting to know each other. it was so nice to sit down with such normal people my age and not have any cares other than we're going to have another drink or not. 1 was all we ended up drinking and then heading back to st johns to turn in. it was a great day :)
oh the first week back definitely kicked my butt in a major way!! i had big plans to just hop right back into things and thought that would actually happen. then after my body stopped laughing it was ready for a different type of training, recovery. i got sick at the end of the week, that coupled with jet lag and trying to catch up my training didnt go exactly as planned.
sunday~rest.
rest
across multiple time zones, 5000 miles, a 1.5 hour delay in gatwick, and a 45 minute extra stay on the plane on the tarmac there was no way i could have trained even if i wanted haha! plus american food never tasted so good. and by that i mean qdoba haha!
monday~500m am swim. 4-5 mile pm run.
rest
after not getting much sleep i decided to stay in bed instead of swimming but with full intentions to head to my runner group after work, i took my clothes and everything. i made it through 1 interview with a student and knew that i was barely going to make it to the end of the day. that meant no runner group, which made me a little sad, but i knew it was the right decision. plus the hacking up a lung every 5 minutes and sounding like a man wasnt going to make a good runner.
tuesday~1000m am swim.
1000m swim = 61:09 pace
with 10 days off from the pool i was quite nervous getting back in and seeing where i was. i actually think that 10 days was perfect! i felt really good and the swim went soooo well. it was tough, no way around that one lol. but it felt good and comfortable. and it made the rest day before worth every minute.
wendesday~spin.
rest
tuesday night i started having some serious doubts in lots of different areas, not just training and for sure played with my head. after a small comeapart with richard before going to bed, i didnt even set an alarm wednesday morning for spin. i had to kick that last bit of sickness and felt much better about myself after an extra day. plus i got to see my parents for dinner that night which definitely perked up my spirits! and i took a big step towards the race...
i tried on and rented my 1st wetsuit!!
the race is really coming, omg.
thursday~500m swim. body pump.
750m swim. 6am spin class.
it was time to shake all the crap from the week and get back to my training. i was feeling soo good in the pool and sailed through my first 600 meters that i had extra time so i spent it wisely.
since i missed my other ride this week i knew i needed more cardio than body pump so i tried out a new instructor and really liked her. the class seemed much more into it then some of my other classes and it felt great to have a back to back workout under my belt in my 1st week.
friday~12 mile bike.
6.2 mile run = 59:12 minutes/9:32 min/mile
i knew after my last bike ride i needed some air in my tires so i tried to do it myself. richard actually did it for me and the rear tire was super easy, but the front wouldnt take air. that meant no ride friday and we needed to head back to the the bike shop to help me. so i hit the pavement for my 1st run in a week. it felt good, cleared my head after an emotional week and something i needed. then that evening i got to spend it with my best friend at the free country concerts on fremont street! the acms are in town and they always do free concerts on friday and saturday night. we got to see love and theft, hunter hayes, brantley gilbert, and luke bryan! we had sooo much fun and exactly what i needed after a rocky week :)
love, loved luke bryan!
saturday~1000m swim.
500m swim
it was the big day when sandy and i were headed out to the lake for my 1st open water swim!! that meant i needed a wetsuit which i was actually able to rent from sport chalet. we headed to boulder beach but were surprised to find a race in full swing once we got there. that meant we had to find a new place and ended up at lake las vegas. we were running out of time so i didnt get to swim as long as i wanted to, plus we were running out of time, and we werent exactly sure how far i was going haha. i did spend 25 minutes in the water and got the feel i needed. i did run into a fish and was soooo glad that was toward the end cause i was ready to bolt afterward. i was a little freaked out to put my head in the water and the wetsuit made me so buoyant it was almost a little difficult. but i did it! and feel ok making that swim on race day:)
there i am!
total for the week=2250m swim+18mi bike+6.2mi run
this week threw me through a major loop and luckily i came out feeling good, which i didnt think i would in the beginning of the week. i very much thought i could just jump back in and learned the hard way that i couldnt. however, it is all about what you do with it that makes you who you are. i also could not have done it this week especially without the fantastic people in my life supporting me! they definitely kept me going and my head up. whatever you do, make sure that you have some of those in your life, they are so important :)
favorite run: the running tour around london of course!! seriously sooo much fun and different than anything. history and running put together? heck yes!
with my tour guide lloyd.
most hardcore run: the run i did on my brick workout the day before leaving. i decided to put it all together and dang that 4 miles was tough. i got a great idea of how my body will react and some of the things i will have to talk myself through when doing it.
current reads: goodnight, beautiful. well not really current, but i read it on my trip to england. sooo good, i could barely put it down, i had to know how it was going to work out!
current shame-inducing guilty pleasure: well it happened in england, it was throwing everything out the window and having an amazing time. i didnt count calories, or worry about training, think about work and students, worry about my balancing my time, or think about school. it was seriously amazing!
current obsession: getting back on track. while throwing everything out was fantastic, returning to it all is a bit overwhelming. but race day is coming and its time to return the focus.
current drink: gatorade with glutamine. after i started struggling a lot with sore muscles that would heal and hurting legs and feet, gary at the nutrition store suggested a glutamine supplement to be taken twice a day. let me tell you how much its helped!! omg. i mix it in with my gatorade so i know im drinking enough of that and it seriously helping my body sooo much.
current song:ours by taylor swift. i really do love her and was totally in love with song, then i saw the video. you must watch all the way to the end!
current wish-list: a new fun springy dress for kristins wedding reception. it sounds a little silly i know, but im in the mood for something new and different!
current need: to begin putting together a list for race day. i need to start doing some research and test runs of what i will really need and dont in each transition and for the day overall.
current triumph: making it to race month in 1 piece! i still have a ways to go before i am ready for race day, but this is the 1st step.
current bane of my existence: all week it has been the jet lag! getting sick at the end of my trip and trying to immediately hop back into the same routine of work, training, school, and life so quickly didnt work so great. i ended up taking a few extra rest days i wasnt planning for, but now glad i took.
current goal: to keep myself level headed about rage in a few weeks. its coming very quickly and i just need to stay calm and out of my own head to make it through.
current indulgence: the cupcakes from richards birthday! while in the airport he informs me that his best friend mike ordered him a dozen cupcakes from the cupcakery-yum. i was super excited, yet figured they would be gone by the time i got home. luckily he only ate 1 which means i needed to help him with the rest!! yes!
happy birthday my love!
and some for me:)
current excitement: all of the amazing and challenging things happening in april! easter (which means my brother is coming home!), kristin and seans wedding reception in phoenix (i saw pics from the ceremony in hawaii and am super hoping she is going to wear her gorgeous dress again!), the triathlon-holy crap its coming, and the warrior dash-yay! there are sooo many cool things happening in april this year, i cant wait:)
