office knitting

it's what all the cool accountants do.

i realize that's an oxymoron.

and to further cement my spot in the cool kids hall of fame

i'm super excited to get home to catch my 'boo and knit some more tonight

and by boo, i mean:

obvi.

new shoes!

so


not to brag or anything


but i ran 5 miles before work this morning


and didn't get hit by a crazy school bus


but a big truck honked as he drove past and i almost leaped off the road thinking i was about to get hit (i wasn't)


it's not my ideal way of waking up


but it did the trick.


before saturday's run i checked the bottom of my shoes

annnnnd there's about zero tread left on my toes

it's kind of a great feeling to know you've ran SO MUCH your shoes are DONE.


but it also sucks because i have to drop considerable $$$ on new shoes


and ideally you shouldn't probably wait this long to buy new shoes


but it happens


and i'm cheap.


thank goodness i won on that scratch off this weekend or i might have put off buying shoes until there was an actual hole in them


about a year ago i found my forever shoe


the brooks' ghost series

my first pair were the 4's

which i loved on extra hard with lots of pavement


and my current pair - the 5's

a couple of months ago they came out with ghost 6


but i'm cheap


and brooks still offered their 5's at a discounted price (about $40 cheaper than the new model)

i kind of wanted to get the purple and blue again

but they were out of those

and the only ones they had left


are the "dark denim and blue angel"

which, really, i don't care what color they are - i refuse to wear tennis shoes any other time besides actual running because i think they all look hideous with jeans.

so in 5-10 days i will be the proud new running mama to fresh running shoes!

workouts and weekend

collective sigh


annnnnnd we're back


let's recap last week's workouts and the weekend, shall we?


monday - i was SUPPOSED to do 3 miles but had some serious tummy issues.  i walked with bill and woodford instead.  (i had the same issues this morning but sucked it up and ran without shitting myself)

tuesday- ran 4 miles like a boss

wednesday -  ran 3 miles

thursday - rest day!  walked woodford (should have made up those 3 miles, but didn't)

friday - ran 3 miles

saturday - knocked out a solid 5 miles.  the farthest i've ran in probably 9 months.  it felt good too!  i typically run the same route or stay in the neighborhoods for my 3 mile runs, but force myself out on the "real" roads for anything further to keep myself occupied and also work on hills.  the out and back 5 miler i like to do consists of SEVERAL hills.  3 tough hills out to the 1.5 mile mark and then there's a long uphill steep climb to the turn around point.  to get through the first 3 miles i promised myself i could take a walk break on that midway hill climb.  somehow i was distracted enough that i just kept chugging along - and before i knew it - i was at the turnaround point without walking.  after that point i play a couple of mental games to get myself through.  i count down the 3 hills on my way back and once i get to the last uphill climb i keep picking a focus point to "run to" and once i reach it i pick another, and so on - until i'm on top of the hill and ready to coast down!

and, of course, pictures or it doesn't count!


the rest of my saturday was spent working on a little something for two bebes

sunday - rest day!  amen!

it was bill's company's picnic at huber's farm and winery - so we headed out, but not before stopping for a soda and scratch off

 $60 on a $2 scratch off - had me feeling like a big baller...

but actually, i need to buy new running shoes...i guess the running gods were looking down on me and knew how badly my shoes were worn

so at the farm, we had lunch and set off for some u-pick adventures

and feeling like i had a fat wallet -

i told bill to pick ALL the apples!

gala and jonathan apples were 2 of the varieties ready for pickin'

so those were the two we loaded up on

$12 worth of apples and i was ready to call it quits

because there was a sign for peach ice cream and it was hot out

i shared with bill so i wouldn't have to feel as guilty about my indulgence

we were ready to call it an afternoon, but i wanted to make a quick stop by an art festival that i knew was happening not far down the road

and by art festival i meant wine garden.

we headed home because we had this little guy to get back to

 and because i couldn't wait to do SOMETHING with some of the apples purchased

i fried them up in butter and sugar like any proper southerner would.

so perhaps i undid all my hard work on saturday for my indulgences on sunday - but it was worth it!

back on track today and counting my calories!

friday, ryan gosling, knitting

whoop whoop

let's do this thang

you know - 5 things on friday...

1.  bill's company picnic is this weekend at a local orchard.  where i also found out it is apple and peach picking time!  i know i'm all on this eating healthy kick - but there ought to be an apple or peach pie in the future.

2.  several people at work have noticed my weight loss and it's making me feel all fierce and shit.  my once muffin top inducing jeans slid right up this morning (fresh out of the dryer even)

3. this happened last night

it's basically my favorite scarf pattern ever

and with knitting back in my life i'm ready for football - naturally these two go together.

4.  and with knitting back, i have 2 projects in my wip bag - two hats - that i promised people last year - so those will be getting done asap

as well as some pumpkin hats for two very deserving twins.  

5.  3 weeks in on the half marathon training and i'm feeling great.  5 miles tomorrow morning will be happening at the crack of dawn in order to avoid the heat (blech, i was getting use to those 55 degree mornings)

ANNND finally - bath and body works candles are 2 for 22 right now

 

which has me in the mood to bust out a sweater, a fall candle, turn some football on, and knit away for 4 hours

ryan gosling just gets me....

happy weekend my friends!

before sweat and after

before my run...

and after

so sue me - i don't remove my mascara at night.

i think some women think they'll miss their pony tail once they chop off their hair - especially if they're active

but it's no big deal

i like to use a wide headband to hold my hair back and keep sweat from dripping in my eyes

the wide headbands also keep me from feeling like they are constantly sliding off my head

i love bondi bands and have been wearing them for a few years now - bill even has a few he wears

*bonus - they are wide enough to cover your ears when it's just a wee bit chilly out!

i also love that i no longer have ponytail length hair - i HAVE to fix my hair.

of course, i've been late yesterday and today...which i'm choosing to blame on the back to school traffic and not my renewed relationship with my hair dryer

annnnyways

the highlight of my morning thus far?

forgetting to turn on my runkeeper app for my run :(

i discovered this about a mile in when it hadn't alerted me to my progress

and so, you'd think no big deal - i've ran the 3 mile route enough times to know when i've reached 3 miles

buuuuut i decided to run a different route in the neighborhood.

ugh.  so i ran approximately the same time as i normally do

but it's like - if runkeeper didn't record it - it didn't happen

so i'm bummed.

 

got the weave did

i got my weave did!

as you'll recall

i was rocking the squirrel tail

i haven't blow dried my hair in over 3 months.

curly hair.

don't care.

but seriously, my hair was a hot mess

and my salon was running a back to school special - half off!

oh yeah!

so my usual $40 cut was just $20

of course, i waited until the last possible day to use my discount.

and in true rachel hair cut fashion, my tardiness meant i would let someone new, once again, cut about 4 inches off my hair

whatever.

it's just hair

and i feel like the old rachel again

i was blessed/cursed with lots of hair

so i made sure she took those weird scissors and thinning razor thing to my head big time.

is that enough pictures of my ginormous head?

i meant to take a picture this morning before my run to show how i was trying to keep the hair out of my face - but i forgot - and post run i had what looked to be wet bedhead and yesterday's mascara had me looking like a raccoon on heroin.

so maybe tomorrow.

one more headshot?  ok.  #workselfie

s

it's the fair ya'll

obligatory whine about the weekend being over

we got it started with some preseason football

and trying to hulk woodford up in our arms

he's such a big boy now!

saturday i was up at the crack of dawn for my 4 miler

i was as slow as usual, but i was feeling really good

instead of an out and back i decided to do the 5 mile loop and just walk the last mile

knowing that i got to walk that last mile really pushed myself to finish the 4 miles

and before i knew it, it was over with!

all that hard work paid off sunday

 when bill and i headed to the kentucky state fair

where i promised myself a krispy kreme burger (i am much too wimpy to even think about the sloppy donut)

it was basically everything i imagined

and tasted like the worst possible thing you can ingest for your body.

bill didn't think it tasted too bad...

and since a burger sandwiched between 2 donuts isn't enough

 bill and i shared a pineapple whip

which was ahhhmazing - pineapple flavored soft serve heaven.

we wondered around for a few hours before heading back home to soak up the last of the weekend on the couch with toy story 3.

and as you can tell from the photo above and this one here

i'm rocking a lovely squirrel tail again

but just until this evening!

chop chop!  i will have short hair once again!

which means i will spend my lunch break looking at short hair photos, bring in a picture, and come out with the same haircut i always get

wish me luck - as this will be the 4th person at the same salon who has cut my hair.

i'm a rebel.

 

friday post

oh yeah!

it's friday ya'll...five on friday link up...

1.  i kind of feel like a broken record as of late so i took a couple days off from blogging.  honestly - i've written a couple of posts for a project and am kind of waiting for the go ahead to post.  so my brain dumps have been there and not here.

2.  confession.  i'm bombing on goal #3.  i haven't done ripped in 30 all week.  but, i'm ok with that.  i've stuck to my half marathon training plan.  i love being able to comfortably (slowly) run 3 miles again and am excited for longer distances.  i've ran 13 miles so far this week with 4 more to do tomorrow.  my schedule is building my leg endurance by having me run 3 days in a row plus run before my long run on saturday.  the back to back to back is leaving me tired.  maybe in a few weeks i'll be able to revisit ripped.  other wise i'm just going to pour my heart into running for awhile.

3.  my jeans are not only fitting better today - i can actually pull them out away from my belly.  the scale might be saying one thing, but it's clear my body is getting smaller.

4.  i am being absolutely spoiled by this weather right now.  i can't remember in the past 7 years when i was able to run comfortably in august.  which is probably why it's been so easy to get back into the sport.  yesterday morning was a walk day - and i actually wore a long sleeved tech tee since it was only 57 degrees out!  but it still has to get into the 40's before i consider running in long sleeves.

5.  the state fair started this week!  and we have plans to go sunday!!!  you can read about last year's trip here.  i really want to try a krispy kreme burger this year.  someone let me take a bite of theirs please?  oh, and fried girl scout cookies are definitely happening.

until monday! 

 

makeup runs

you know what happens when you put your run off in the morning

(granted, i had some serious tummy issues)

you get to run 3 miles in the pouring rain

and your mascara runs right along with you

so you can scare your neighbors!

woodford also joined me on the 3 miles

i was too nervous to venture outside of the neighborhood with visibility low

so i ran in circles

our neighborhood is an exact half mile loop

so i ran

6 times around

i was so bored.

i also nixed my earbuds so i could let my mind wonder

i ran past our gym 6 times

and every time, i secretly laughed at my neighbors running on the treadmill, going no where

don't worry

i immediately remembered i was running in circles and they were probably laughing at me since they at least got to watch housewives while they ran

i hated having to make up my run

it kind of sucked that it was raining so hard for most of it

i also didn't get to eat dinner until about 8 pm

but you know what!

i finished it

i did what i said i would

and it's a check mark on my ridiculously detailed running calendar.

and then, it sucked again this morning when i had to do 4 miles.

i would love to say that i powered through them

but my legs are still building up endurance and back to back runs within 8 hours of each other kind of sucks

i also decided to do the hilly out and back.

whoops.

i walked some and took my time

and it's over with for the day!

question out there for anyone who works out or runs in the morning:

do you have tummy issues every morning?

i, again, woke up this morning to a slightly off stomach. (thankfully i was able to take care of business before heading out)

maybe it's because i ate so late last night?

advice?

 

weekend, workouts, and football

so

i started the morning out on the right foot

running shoes on

music ready

started my 5 minute warm up

and then i got those low belly cramps where i thought i was going to go potty right there in the street

instead of running 3 miles, as planned this morning

i did an awkward shuffle walk back to the house in the biggest hurry of my life

so i would not, in fact, poop my pants.

thank goodness it was still dark out.

i was able to get a couple of miles of walking in afterwards

but now i get to spend the rest of my day dreading running 3 miles in the heat.

i WILL get it done.

i just don't want to.

so let's go ahead and re-cap last week's workouts!

Monday: 3 mile run + ripped in 30 DVD
Tuesday: 3 mile run + ripped in 30 DVD
Wednesday : 3 mile run (and no dvd - back to back running days were getting to me)
Thursday: REST hallelujah! but i walked for a total of 3.5 miles and did the ripped in 30
Friday: 3 mile run on the hilly route! (and slacked on the DVD)

Saturday:  "long" run of 4 miles - i dreaded it all morning.  i took woodford out to walk and realized it was soooo humid.  i came in and sat on the couch texting bill (who was working) complaining about maybe just doing my run later in the day.  he basically told me to get off my butt and get moving.

by this time it was close to 10 am - i HATE running when the sun is already up -but it was overcast

i slowly put on my gear, and got my music ready

i wanted my 5 minute warm up to last forever

but before i knew it, it was time to run

and i was off

the overcast skies lessened the heat

unfortunately, not even a mile in

it started raining

my metaphorical dark cloud/bad mood had turned into a physical one

which followed me most of the 4 miles.

but actually, i love running in a summer rain shower.

it sure beats the heat! 

i just wish i had worn a hat so i could have seen better

i chose an out and back path - and i felt really strong

the first 2 miles i was running at a faster than normal pace and wasn't feeling heavy or tired

i also met a friend

he passed me, but whatever...

i was at my turn around point before i knew it!

and just so you know, i run in the country!  well, it's country for louisville

on this particular path i'm always saying hay to horses, and dodging trucks pulling trailers of horses.

the 2 miles back to the house weren't as easy - the rain had let up a bit and the sun was trying to come out = hot steamy humid mess

my clothes were soggy and wet

and in general i wasn't comfortable

i took a couple of walking breaks before telling myself to suck it up and get home to shower

so glad to have it over with for the weekend!

sunday: was a rest day - so that meant walking woodford while bill ran 5 miles

and then dropping woodford off at his cousins cooper and kia's (thanks kim and nick!)

so mommy and daddy could go see some bill's football

at the colt's stadium

it's a heck of a lot better than driving to buffalo!

i know it's only a preseason game, but bills won 44-20

and it was also promising to see some young talent so perhaps i won't have to watch bill pout every sunday this season

i also decided it was time i get my own bill's fan wear - this outfit just didn't cut it!

to recap

1. i ran
2. i did ripped in 30 some
3. bills win!
4. i almost pooped my pants this morning
5. i get to spend the next 6.5 hours dreading coming home to run

happy monday!