Mixed Emotions

I've been on a little bit of a forced spring break, but with less fruity drinks and sand in annoying places, and more working late hours, major spring cleaning, and, yesterday, sitting glued to the TV with my head shaking sadly. While I don't really have the words (or, sadly, the time right now) to express what's been running through my head since yesterday, I can say that I'm sad but hopeful, confused, inspired, and comforted. For every terrible act of unkindness, it seems there are a hundred more wonderful, helpful acts that tilt the balance of the world for the better. Runners are a resilient community, and their spectators are just as amazing. My thoughts are with Boston and all the people who are healing today, as well as with the police and firemen, doctors and nurses, and the brave bystanders who saved lives yesterday.
On a happier note, today I am feeling so incredibly lucky to celebrate two whole years of marriage to my very best friend. It is hard to believe that it's been two years, but as Kermit reminds us, "time flies when you're having fun" (or was that something about eating flies? hmmm...) I love him even more than the day we got married (though I would have sworn that day that such a thing was not possible) and I can't wait to spend so many more years together!

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites... Mostly

Today seems a good study in opposites:

Things That Are My Favorite:

 -- I won an NPR contest! Pretty excited to get my new shirt... and for the nerdy bragging rights that I figure must come along with such an epic win. 
 -- Speaking of nerds (were we?), I signed up this week for a coursera class. I've been wanting to try one for a while now, and when I saw that this one is taught by a professor who 1. teaches at our hometown university (can I come to office hours?), 2. co-wrote two of the books I read in my own college courses, and 3. served as the head of the 9/11 Commission and some other pretty cool stuff (check him out here), I knew I had to do it. Of course, this is one of the longer classes (15 weeks) and doesn't even offer a certificate at this point, but I figure I'll give it a try and if I can keep up, I'll sign up for a few more. I'm not subscribing to the idea that this will be anything more than a line on my resume that most people will give a puzzled look, so it's definitely more for my enjoyment than anything else right now. Ambitious? Crazy? I have until January to decide.
 -- I kicked some serious tail (my own, specifically) at the gym this week. My speed seems to be sneaking back up on me, and oh, how I've missed it.
 -- A certain someone is going to be coming home sometime next week. Next. Week. Meaning another someone has a LOT of work to do this weekend to get the house ready....

That's right, our cozy little family of three is about to become a rambunctious, fur-laden family of four... or three and one very pissed off cat. Can't wait!

Things That Are Most Definitely NOT My Favorite:

 -- My car seems to have three wheels in the grave... and it's rolling. Poor hubs decided he'd drive it to drill this weekend, and ended up on the side of the road as it spewed smoke and oil everywhere at 7:30 this morning. It's always fun to start a Friday with an "emergency" text, right?

I've had this lovely scrap of metal since college, and it was my dad's before that, so the darn thing is almost like a family member. After several pricy repairs recently and several more semi-critical amenities that have ceased to work (heat, air conditioning, turn signal... ugh), I think it's finally time to throw it a little party and send it off to wherever cars go to retire (don't tell me that's just a junkyard. It's not pretty when someone cries over a car.) On the plus side, that means that very soon I will have a fully functional car again, and boy am I looking forward to a little bit of warm air on the way to the gym in the mornings. I just have to find one with a great sound system to drown out that pesky sound of my wallet wailing....
Happy Friday, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Will Run for Pumpkin

Fall blustered in this weekend in so many ways, and I couldn't be happier (or colder, but unfortunately that comes with the territory). I was sadly husband-less for a lot of the weekend, as Dan was out of town Fri-Sun and had to work yesterday, but Toby and I made the most of it, got a few things accomplished, and caught up on some much needed shut eye. The lower temps that started Sunday made for a great excuse to snuggle up on the couch:

champion sleeper

awkwardly trying to capture him sound asleep on my lap (leaving my legs similarly sound asleep)

Besides the snoring, I also spent a little time in the kitchen, drinking pumpkin coffee and whipping up a few yummy meals. The weekend's cooking culminated in the season's first crockpot full of chili last night, which screams "fall" to me like nothing else. I feel like I spent hours washing dishes, but the delicious results were worth it (I may have had a bowl for "dessert" last night... meaning I'm ready for chunky sweater season anytime now, people).
The most exciting part of the weekend, however, involved another favorite way to welcome fall -- a sweaty few miles sniffing around the neighborhood, seeking out the best-smelling fire (kidding... sort of. I get pretty excited when I smell one). I've been feeling for a few weeks now like it might be time to switch out the treadmill belt for some real-live pavement, but like I've mentioned before, heading back out onto the roads after an injury feels a little daunting. Luckily the cooler, overcast weather, beautiful leaves, and the prospect of a new neighborhood to explore put up such a good fight on Saturday afternoon that I laced up and locked the door behind me before I could think twice... and it turned out to be the best decision I made all weekend. I originally planned to keep the run super short, but once I got going I actually didn't want to stop. I had a hard time convincing myself to turn around and head back home, and when I finally did, I was pretty tempted to run past my driveway and keep on trucking. My legs felt surprisingly fast and I loved exploring just a few of the new roads and paths that make up my new stomping running grounds. This neighborhood is truly runner heaven -- miles and miles of road, sidewalk, rolling hills, pond loops, and shady paths right outside my front door. I'm pretty sure that I could run 7 days a week and find a different route to take each time. And even though I was a little worried that the thrill would be short-lived, yesterday morning I headed out for another few miles, tried out a new loop, and had another speedy and fantastic run. I'm sold.
Even though the next few weekends promise to be filled with more exciting fall activities, this one was just what I needed -- some snuggling, some cooking, some pumpkin, and a good healthy dose of sweat.

   Love,

    Meg

Phasing Out

I haven't run in several weeks thanks to some persistent leg pain. I've been spending an insane amount of time cross-training (just ask my husband), but I've limited myself to shooting longing glances at the treadmill from my perch on the elliptical, and my Nike+ notifications have gone from "More miles this week than last! Great job!" to "Are you still breathing? Is there someone we can call?" It's been rough, but yesterday marked a breakthrough. I've discovered that every time I take a break from running for a weird pain (which has happened more often that I'd like), I go through three very distinct phases:

Phase 1: Denial

("It's just a little tiny pain, probably nothing... I'll just keep running and I'm sure it will go away... it's only getting worse because my legs are getting tired... I'm not a very strong runner if I let the pain stop me, I've just got to push through it... the only way I'm going stop this workout is if my leg actually falls off... I'll just take two Advil so that I'll be able to walk for the rest of the day")

Phase 2: Acceptance 

("Actually, this elliptical isn't so bad after all... At least I'm not outside running in the heat... That sucker on the treadmill looks pretty miserable, glad I'm not doing that... Why on earth would I ever think 10 miles was fun?... I'm not sure I ever want to run again")
 

Phase 3: Hesitant Rebound 

("I sort of wish I could be running right now... That treadmill looks kind of nice... I'd really like to try just a short run, but what if it's still painful?... I am actually dying to get back out there again, but I'm too scared of reversing any progress in the pain department... Just a few miles can't hurt, right?")

 

This time around, my denial phase was serious -- for weeks, I pushed myself to do a couple miles a day, ignoring the physical discomfort I knew would follow just for the mental comfort of continuing to run. I supplemented with cross training, stretching, icing, and lots of foam rolling, and honestly felt ok for a while, so I was hopeful that cutting back on mileage for a bit would fix the problem. Eventually, though, things got worse again and I knew I needed to stop completely.

After just a few days of mourning (and more than a little guilt), I plunged headlong into phase 2 -- thanks in no small part to the awful heat wave that hit around this time, I was actually thrilled not to be suffering through mile after mile of 100+ degree temps. Waking up each morning, I was relieved to head down to the air conditioned gym and a workout that, while still intense and seriously sweat-inducing (I have honestly never met anyone who works out faster, harder, or longer on an elliptical machine than yours truly), was less mentally challenging than pushing myself through yet another run. I stopped stressing about the miles I wasn't logging, the long runs I wasn't taking, and the races I had coming up. I was, frankly, quite happy to hit the gym once or twice a day and work out hard, but not have to run a mile.

Recently, though, as the weather has cooled off a tiny bit and I've been attempting to get used to a new gym, I'm feeling myself sliding towards the next part of my little running vacation -- the one that usually gets me back out on the road in a mentally and physically healthy place. Over the past week or so, I've felt a little less resistant to the thought of stretching my legs over a few miles outside. The treadmills have looked less torturous and more inviting (especially considering the new gym's lack of decent ellipticals and wealth of lovely looking treadmills). The itch has been building for days, but by yesterday, I was sure of it: I was dying to run again, even if it was just for 10 minutes. The only little problem with this part of the process is the nerves -- when I get to this point, I'm actually a little frightened to get started again. What if it hasn't been long enough, and the pain is still there? What if I aggravate whatever injury I had to begin with? What if, after a few weeks off, I just can't do it anymore? Lots of little nagging fears pop up every time I consider giving it a try, warning me to be careful and take things sloooowly. So as badly as I wanted to give one of the new treadmills a test run last night, I forced myself back onto my elliptical. Tonight, I'm going back to the old apartment for some more cleaning, and taking advantage of some time in the gym that feels more like home still. I think it might be the perfect time to test my legs with a mile or two -- on the treadmill where I've logged hundreds of miles in rain, snow, cold, and dark over the past two years. I'm nervous, but hopeful that this time around, phase 3 will ease me into a wonderful fall running season.

   Love,

    Meg

Monday Musing

It's true! The list is short, but the handful of you who stop by here to read regularly are definitely on it. And today, I believe you were promised a wedding-free post, yes? Well here you have it, ladies and gentlemen: here's what the heck is going on in my life that is absolutely not related to a wedding... at least, not related to my wedding. Since one of my very best friends is getting married this Saturday, I make no promises on that front.

I have not run in four days. To most people, this is a very normal statement. To me, who ran every day for the slightly more than 100 leading up to last Friday, this. is. killing. me. I've been fighting with my legs again, hoping that I could keep up some extremely low mileage while hitting the crosstraining hard and strengthening. It seemed to be working, and at the beginning of last week the pain was so much better that I actually considered venturing off the treadmill and heading outside to test the waters. Thursday morning, however, it returned with a vengeance -- bad enough to stop my nice little daily streak in its tracks. After a few days now of extended elliptical sessions (most boring 45+ minutes of my day, every day), my leg feels much better. I almost hopped on the treadmill this morning, but decided to give it just a little more time. I'm crossing my fingers that tomorrow will be the day and that the pain will stay (far, far) away.

Someone has a birthday coming up on Wednesday...

Someone is going to be a whole quarter of a century old... wow. Someone is also very hard to buy gifts for....

As I mentioned, this lovely girl is getting married this weekend!

I'm incredibly excited to celebrate with M and her new hubby. I finally found shoes for the big day over the weekend, so I'm officially ready!

I am absolutely itching to DIY something big -- like furniture-sized big. I'm thinking I should start with something easier, like an ottoman/bench:

or a bookshelf/dresser:

before I tackle an bigger project like one of these:

The ladder probably wouldn't be so tough, but that chair? That would take some skill -- skill that I surely haven't developed quite yet. For now, I'm just keeping my eye out for old, cheap furniture that I could re-invent -- especially because.....

We're moving! Dan and I found a great place for rent in an absolutely perfect location across town, so in a major effort to make September the craziest month possible, we will be packing up and moving into our very first real house! I am super excited to have a bigger kitchen, a yard, three whole bedrooms, and neighbors who reside more than three feet away. I am not a huge fan of moving in general and so I'm not looking forward to the extended packing/throwing away/organizing/unpacking cycle that is to come, but I'm definitely going to be happy once all of that is over and we can (fingers crossed) come back from our honeymoon to a great new home.

Phew... thinking about all things non-wedding for that long has left me exhausted -- and surely behind on at least sixteen things. I am off to catch up!

   Love,

    Meg

Questions... Served Warm

First, a disclaimer: I make no promises on the quality of today's thoughts. After several straight days of triple-digit temps and 60+ hours without electricity at home, my brain has turned to sludge and I am not at all far from throwing my hands up and crawling into the refrigerator to cry alongside all of our melting food. What I lack in mental capacity, however, I make up in curiosity today. Unfortunately, few of the questions plaguing me today come with answers...

Why did most of our neighborhood celebrate the return of their power on Saturday morning... except for our building? It has been torturous the past few evenings to drive past all the happily lit apartments on the way to our dark and increasingly sauna-like home. In an effort to get the most out of a tiny breeze last night, hubs and I slept on the floor in front of our back door. It may have been slightly cooler (even though we had to close the door during the night when yet another loud storm barreled through), but my muscles are certainly expressing their displeasure this morning. The only silver lining is that our clubhouse does have power, so I was able to enjoy a chilly shower there (which beats an icy shower at home) after working out this morning. 

How long until my ice cream melts? We evacuated most of our food to my mom's extra fridge and freezer on Saturday evening, but I left the ice cream behind as a safeguard in case my core temperature gets too high. Nothing cools you down like a pint of Phish Food froyo.

Why do my legs hate me? After a few blissful months of pain-free running, my right leg decided to hit the brakes on such fun. It has been killing me since early last week -- a different pain than the one I endured for most of the winter, but every bit as frustrating. I have been spending lots of time on the elliptical, which seems to be helping some, but I am so sad when I think of the miles I had planned to cover in the past week.

When am I ever going to pick bridesmaids dresses? I had a little mini panic attack about this one yesterday. I've known basically what I want for a long time, but the procrastinator in me has had a really tough time nailing it down. Now I'm having nightmares about rush order fees and dresses that don't arrive on time and bridesmaids that get fed up and bail. Luckily, this question is easy to answer: today. I swear, cross my heart and hope to still have six bridesmaids who love me at the end of this.

Is summer over yet? I have had quite enough of this heat. My wardrobe can't keep up with this many daily episodes of I'm-too-sweaty-to-keep-wearing-this-and-even-though-I've-only-had-it-on-for-ten-minutes-I-have-to-change-clothes-immediately.

What is the best movie you'll see this year? Thankfully, this very important question also has an easy answer:

Go see it. No really... now. It's ok, I'll wait.

How on earth do those people move so fast? Between the swimming and track trials, I spent most of last week trying to pick up my jaw off the floor and steady myself from the whiplash I endured tracking some of the speediest athletes on the planet. Those people are incredible.

And finally, a rather time-sensitive question that I am currently headed off to answer: what's for lunch?

Happy Monday, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Friday Favorites

You know it's going to be a weird day when breakfast is a bowl of soup (yep, that happened). Unfortunately, my Fridays have recently been the busiest days of the week... not exactly an ideal way to ease into the weekend. Today is no exception, with several back-to-back meetings and lots of things to get accomplished in between. Before all that gets started, however, there are a few quick favorites that I've been waiting to share with you. In brief:

I discovered and downloaded this song on Tuesday, and have already played it more than 100 times. No joke, I've had it on repeat all. week. long. I think I owe my firstborn to Pandora for knowing exactly what I want to fall in love with.

This article on being a military spouse is absolutely spot-on. If you are one, read it and just nod along. If you're not, read it for a rare opportunity to see life from our perspective.

Trials overload! Between swimming and track this week, I can barely keep up, but I am loving every second. This does not bode well, however, for the two week blitz that will be London -- perhaps my boss would grant me an extended vacation so that I can sit on my couch 24/7, basking in the glory that is Bob Costas? That man makes me inexplicably happy...

And finally, this:

happens tonight. Hubs and I already have tickets. I am beside myself with excitement.

Happy weekend, everyone!

   Love,

    Meg

Weekend Twofers

[grumble grumble] Monday morning [grumble grumble] temps in the triple digits this week [grumble grumble] sore legs [grumble grumble] so much to do this week [grumble grumble] I'd rather be in bed. Excellent -- now that we're caught up, let's begin.

My weekend seemed to settle neatly into pairs:

2 delicious meals

1. As you might have guessed from Friday's picture, my mom and I kicked off the weekend early with a yummy trip to Melting Pot on Thursday night. The highlights included two fantastic pomegranate martinis (half off!), the Boston lager cheese fondue, and our usual dark chocolate with Baileys for dessert. Yum indeed.

2. Dan and I headed out for date night on Friday and ended up at our local Mellow Mushroom. We often order takeout from here, but it has been years since I ate in their actual restaurant, and we enjoyed it a lot. We ordered a ton of food and brought home lots of leftovers, which is always a plus. I was in a rare mood and didn't feel like wine or beer, so I ordered a hard cider which turned out to be exactly what I was craving.

2 tough runs...

1. I have begrudgingly reinstated the long run in my training. Through most of the winter, I milked the "sore shin" excuse primarily on Saturday mornings (the pain drove me crazy all week, but came in handy when I wanted to sleep late on the weekends), so it has been tough to get back into the habit, but this Saturday morning I hit 11 miles for the second weekend in a row. I have been really good about starting early the past two weekends, hitting the street before 7 am to avoid most of the disgusting heat. This weekend was tougher than last, but I think it was mostly a mental thing -- I thought very seriously about cutting it short several times, but ended up just gritting my teeth and suffering through all of it.

2. My recovery run yesterday was equally rough. All I cared about was three easy miles to get me past my goal mileage for the week and loosen up my legs a little. I let myself sleep late, and then wimped out and headed for the treadmill to avoid the heat. I turned on the platform diving trials to keep my mind occupied... and it didn't take long to realize what a mistake that was. Something about the combination of running but not actually moving forward and watching people do handstands on an extremely high ledge and then spin through midair really did a number on my stomach. I watched maybe three dives before I had to turn it off, and I felt queasy for the rest of the day.

... and 2 great runs

1. Friday afternoon after work I headed out for just a couple miles, and despite the awful heat it felt pretty good. My legs felt fast and it was one of those (rare) times when I could have kept going and going. Getting home in time to shower for our date took precedence, though.

2. This morning I managed to talk myself out from under the covers early enough to have plenty of time for a run. Monday mornings are often a struggle because they are the one morning a week that Dan has to be at work by 8, so we are both rushing to get ready and out the door on time. This morning, though, I managed 6.5 miles (a workday morning record) and still had time to dry my hair and pack a lunch. Nice way to start the week.

2 movies... kind of

Saturday evening, we headed out to meet Dan's family at a drive-in movie "theater" in one of our neighboring counties. It was absolutely packed with a strange mix of relatively normal people who had also made the trip from our hometown and some real characters from the outlying counties. The line for the snack bar was truly people watching at its best. I made it through nachos, previews, the first movie (Brave, which was adorable and quite funny), twenty minutes in line for a bathroom (twice), and about five minutes of the second movie (The Avengers) before that morning's 5:00 wake-up call caught up with me. Luckily, it was easy enough to snuggle up under a blanket and nap -- and thankfully Dan enjoyed the movie enough to stay awake and drive us home at a ridiculous hour of the night early morning.

catching up with 2 great friends

Between work, wedding planning, running, and trying to find time for sleep in between, I have been terrible lately at keeping up with friends from college. Luckily, one friend was visiting my hometown this weekend and we were able to meet up for lunch on Saturday. I had such a great time hearing about her life and getting updated on lots of our mutual friends. I also finally got to talk to one of my awesome bridesmaids last night after weeks of playing phone tag. As tough as it can be to find time to sit down for a phone conversation these days, I love getting to talk to my girlfriends and know that I need to do that more often.

...and 1 breathtaking sunset

Finally, an 11th wheel: a wonderful addition to our weekend that has no matching set. Last night we headed out for milkshakes and a drive with some beautiful scenery...

Not a bad way to end a weekend!

This week is going to be a bit crazy... I'll be writing tomorrow about why (hint: those wedding bells off in the distance are getting louder by the week). Hope everyone has a fantastic Monday!

   Love,

    Meg

Starts with "Y"

yum.

yuck.

 

[hard to tell from the pic, but I honestly looked like I'd just stepped out of a pool...]

yikes.

yoga?

yes, please.

yay!

 [Happy Weekend!]

   Love,

    Meg

Weekend Sampler

This weekend was glorious. And I have proof:

date night! sad we didn't know where to look at the camera...

date night eats... yum. best fish and chips in town!

fantastic run super early on Saturday morning

refueling in the best way possible (pic stolen from a few weeks ago, but Saturday's tasted just as good)

more snacking...

beautiful view from the dog park

[his] and [hers] dinners at Outback Saturday evening with a wonderful friend. as you can see, hubs loves those cheese fries.

And then we made a horrible, terrible, wonderful mistake. 

Dan ran across a golden retriever kennel online and convinced me that we should go visit the puppies. Except it didn't take much convincing, so Sunday morning we made the hour drive to what turned out to be an awesome farm. With puppies. Be still my heart...

Go ahead, bask in the adorable:

chomping on my toes! these guys were definitely in the chewing phase... they wanted to bite our arms, legs, clothes, and one of them even got a rather large mouthful of my hair (luckily most of it remained on my head). I spent most of the time we were there with my fingers locked in the grips of little puppy teeth.

We did manage to escape without a little fluffball this time around (which is good and bad all at the same time, because there were at least three I would have taken, no questions asked). We are, however, excited to go back soon... these were by far the happiest two hours of my week, if not my whole month.

Honestly, who wouldn't just melt over a face like this?

Besides the pups, we also met a few horses:

a picture-perfect shaggy longhorn:

... and a donkey that may have had a thing for my husband:

donkey going in for a snuggle. Dan slightly unsure of the intentions of said donkey.

On the way home for Father's Day dinner, we also made a quick pit stop to love on our wedding venue a bit:

so beautiful!

All in all, a fantastic weekend full of food, running, wine, family, and puppies. What more could a girl ask for?

What's that? She could ask for one more adorable puppy picture?

Oh, well, I suppose I can do that for you...

Clearly he's a little depressed that it's Monday, too.

Hope your weekends were just as lovely!

  Love,

    Meg

Thursday Things

I was a little shocked when I realized this morning that it was not Wednesday, but Thursday. Did I sleep through yesterday? This week has flown by. In an effort to catch my breath and celebrate being one day closer to Friday, here are a few Thursday Things that have been taking up space in my cluttered brain these days:

 - I had a fantastic run last night -- my legs showed up for the party for the first time in a while, and I felt speedy and awesome. The cool breeze was a big bonus, and 8 miles ticked by with very little trouble. It was terrific right up until the end, when I discovered that I'd forgotten the whole use-body-glide-you-idiot step when I was getting ready. Let's just say that the cup of ice water I got at Starbucks after I finished was less for rehydration and more to hold between my legs on the way home. Ouch.

what a flattering picture, right?

- Speaking of Starbucks, who had this brilliant idea?

Why thank you, that's exactly what my drink needed: a huge, soggy sticker sliding along the side of the cup. Only one of the locations in my town does this, but I'd like to give whoever is responsible for the new practice a good plink right between the eyes.

 - My new goal is to cut out the shorter junk runs in my week and consolidate them into longer workouts. I know that some shorter speedwork is still important every week, but filling my calendar with lots of 3/4 mile runs really isn't making me a better runner. I'd like to see my average run somewhere closer to 6/7 miles. If we're being honest, I'm hoping that this will help me ease into higher mileage for my long runs, as well -- my ultimate goal is to slide into a few 13+ milers without thinking about it too much, so that one day I wake up and realize that another half would feel short and easy.

 - Apparently today is Flag Day. Shouldn't we get a day off for that or something? Today is also the US Army birthday, although I think we can all agree that they don't look a day over 236. Here's to many more years of last minute decisions, overcrowding and confusion, hurry-up-and-wait, always doing things the hard way, and somehow making it all worthwhile, Army. I'm not sure how you do it, but keep it up!

 - Recently I wrote that I was craving a long drive. Thankfully a 14-hour roundtrip to Charleston cleared that little urge right up, but now it has been replaced with something slightly trickier... I'm dying to fly somewhere these days. It's not even a matter of destination at this point (although I never say no to a good vacation), I just really want to get on a plane. That honeymoon thing sure is taking its sweet time...

 - Such a dangerous Pinterest find:

I have a thing for buttons and just so happen to have a big bag of red ones sitting at home. There are also these:

... and how cute are these??

I have a feeling it's going to be a busy little weekend...

 - And because it's been a while since the last Toby update:

... he's still just as sleepy (and photogenic) as ever.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

  Love,

    Meg