it was a green kind of weekend

I’m not Irish. Nor do I really “dress up” for holidays. (Well, I’d love nothing more than uber-festive Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, but not everyone is up for that in my families. Sigh.)

But there is something about St. Patrick’s Day that makes me want to pull out all the stops and (tastefully) adorn myself in green. Maybe it’s the spring weather. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m already a huge ‘green’ fan. Maybe it’s the few ‘strategic’ green articles of clothing I own.

Anyway.

We’re having phenomenally good weather here this week (which is a boon for the parades and things), and so to take full advantage of it, I decided to run outside. In green. You see, for the last few (maybe four or five?), I’ve been running a 10K on, or in honor of, St. Patrick’s Day in head-to-toe green. Wright-Patt ABF always had their St. Patrick’s Day run (and I was a sucker for those lunchtime base runs), and even after separating from the military, Susy and I still participated in them until I moved last year.

Well, it’s just more than a 10K (6.3 miles, to be exact) from our driveway in Orchard Park to Andrew’s parents’ driveway in East Aurora. So, I ran there. I packed up a gym bag, my phone and purse and sent them all with Andrew so I could shower after at his parents’ house. It actually worked out perfectly; Andrew often goes into work for a few hours Saturday morning and then we like to meet up in EA for lunch/coffee/walking around/errands/hanging at his parents’ house, so this eliminated the second car I would have driven to get there. SCORE!

Which brings me to the POINT of this entire post: the green.

Sadly, despite thinking about snapping a photo during my run, I failed to actually take a photo of me in my running get-up and didn’t remember until I was half-naked and jumping in the shower. Sad.

Just imagine neon-green Nike running shorts, a light-green 3/4 length shirt with a light-pink “Speed Demon” printed on the front, paired with my hot pink “Suck it up, Cupcake” sweatband and sunglasses (thanks mom!). That shirt was perhaps the best Goodwill find yet. You get the picture.

With the nice weather, I busted out my favorite shoes on the planet:

We went to Arriba for lunch for outdoor seating and enjoyed Margaritas and tacos. I had wanted something light, (I would have been fine with a banana and yogurt) but Andrew doesn’t often request Mexican, so I wasn’t about to turn him down. And, in fact, we both ordered the single tacos, which I feared might not be enough, but it was plenty! I took half my grilled chicken taco home (essentially a taco salad on a burrito shell, minus the cheese), along with half the sides I ordered (corn pudding, because it’s AMAZING, and black beans). Score one for healthy options at what could have been a calorie-bomb AND portion control! I even went easy on the chips and salsa 🙂

Not to mention, Andrew ordered the carnitas taco, which is a seasoned pork taco filled with a pineapple salsa and cilantro cabbage slaw… Holy Smokes! He inhaled it. Let’s just say he’s counting the days until he can go back.

Afterward we walked about the village, popping into stores here and there. I needed more honey, so I got a bottle of the local stuff at the co-op’s mini-Market. We picked up a bottle of Rose at Salut, the new wine store, and I indulged in an ice cream cone from Fowler’s. (Hey, at least we walked a TON.)

We came home and promptly became bumps on logs and continued watching season 1 of Big Bang Theory, borrowed from Carolyn.

We did, however, manage to take a walk to Vincenzo’s, the local Italian Ice place in the Orchard Park village, for a post-dinner treat. They even welcome dogs INSIDE and have treats for them, too!

Please note my GREEN PSU sweatshirt 🙂

Check out my running outfit for Sunday morning: same shorts, different shirt. I mean, if one actually HAS neon green running shorts, you gotta take full advantage of them this time of year! (That, and the amazing weather!)

After church and lunch with friends, we headed all headed to the parade downtown.

We definitely saw some interesting things… Mohawks, various combinations of green and festive hats, sunglasses, tights…. You name, we saw it.

The parade was mostly marching bands and Irish dancing groups. Irish dancing is, apparently, very big around here.

There really weren’t all that many “floats.”

At least we got a nice shot of us 🙂

I’ve had a great spring break and weekend and am SO NOT READY to go back to ‘real’ life…

Bravin’ the weather

I finally ran outside this morning.

We got a dusting of snow overnight, so I was a little anxious about my footing. I think it’s going to take a season if running in the snow to really get used to it.
I was excited to wear my newest piece of running gear, my Under Armor tights.

Last time I ran outside, my poor legs were still cold in the shower after (boy is that a weird feeling–warm water on cold legs!),so I announced to Andrew that maybe some thicker running pants were in order. You know, since we live in Buffalo now.

Look! New laces!

These trail runners came with long, thin, round laces and they didn’t stay tied very well, so I used this as an opportunity to brighten them up. LOVE the result!

And man am I glad I had I had those shoes! For about half my run I was on snow-covered sidewalk, which felt a little like running in sand, so I was thankful for a little traction. I can’t imagine running in my regular shoes…I would have been sliding all over the place! That, and the slush would all but destroy them in a few short runs, so I’m really happy I ended up with these.

Verdict on the tights: my legs were definitely a bit warmer, during and after the run, but it also wasn’t completely frigid outside. I think a colder morning will have to determine their “cold gear” abilities, but I’m happy for an additional pair regardless.

Happy winter running, all!

intervals, and more

So, I totally wimped out on running outside this morning. I was so bummed because I’d been looking forward to trying out a new pair of winter running tights I just got. But, alas, it was damp, freezing and very windy and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead, I headed to the gym to use the treadmills. I don’t hate treadmills like some people do; in fact, I don’t even listen to music. I’m just not really a music person and usually people-watching and checking in on what’s on whatever televisions I can see is enough for me. Do I get bored? Definitely. That’s why, since moving away from my running partner, I’ve barely run on the treadmills if I can help it. Winter here, however, will inevitably force me inside more than I’d like to be.

Anyway, I did what I normally do if I’m forced to run inside: a speed workout. Having to actually pay attention to my speed and time is the only thing that gets me through a treadmill run. Tracking my intervals and things seems to make the time go bay faster. I feel like I’ve done a really good job keeping up my speed despite leaving my running crowd (and therefore, ‘competition’) behind. However, it’s the LONG runs that I struggle to fit in…

Part of it’s the weather, part of it is lack of motivation (who wants to be out on the road with no one to talk to for more than an hour??) and part of it my actual workout ‘schedule.’ With the beginning of a new semester, I’ve had to re-work my gym routine to try to fit it all in.

Here’s what it looks like:

Sunday – run outside

Monday – elliptical and weights

Tuesday – run outside, then Pilates at the gym

Wednesday – elliptical and weights

Thursday – run outside, then Pilates at the gym

Friday – elliptical and weights

Saturday – swim or maybe a class

I don’t even remember my last true long run (10+miles), and I haven’t done more than 6 since I was visiting Susy before school started earlier this month. I was supposed to do one this past Sunday, but my body was telling me to take a break. I don’t have a designated rest day each week, and I usually workout each day for about two weeks before my body overrides my desire to burn calories. I know it sounds bad to not take a rest day each week, but I change up what I’m doing enough that I think I’m OK.

Anyway, I try to do long runs on Sundays since we don’t have to leave for church until 10 a.m., but they don’t always happen. I’ve been doing a 3.5 mile loop around the house since we moved in, so it’s probably time to map another route to change it up. And I don’t have that much time on school mornings; I like to be home with Andrew in the morning, so I can’t leave until about 8, and need to be finished and showered and heading to Pilates by 10. Do-able, but tight. Especially when you throw in taking care of the dog, having a snack and all the other little things one does around the house in the mornings. I digress…

I’ve grown to really love my early-mornings and being an early-bird at the gym. I might complain about a lack of sleep, but that’s more due to frustration with the dog’s weird hours than anything else. As I learned the other day, more sleep is not always better!

Anyway, so this morning I was feeling intervals instead of a tempo run. The treadmills (and ellipticals) are preprogrammed to shut-off after 30 minutes (grrr…), so I my goal each time is to get 4 miles in before I have to start cooling down. I typically do, but it’s tight; this morning I finished my 4 at 29:45. Here’s what I did:

0 – .5 mile warmup – 7.0 and 7.30 on the ‘mill

.5 – 4 miles intervals – 9.0 (6:30 mile) hard and 7.7 (7:47 mile) easy for 1 minute on, 2 off

2-minute cooldown

I do gradually work up to those interval times, and if I’m getting close to the end and worried I won’t finish my 4, I start cranking up the speed or extending my interval times. My last two intervals this morning were 9.3 hard and 7.9 easy.

I’ve also really come to like the elliptical. I used to hate it when I was nursing a knee injury, but now I see it as killing to birds with one stone (gosh, doesn’t that analogy sound terrible? I say it all the time, but it wasn’t until just now when I typed it out that I realize what it means…) because I can workout AND study. I wouldn’t have aced anatomy last semester had I not been in my notes three times a week on the elliptical.

Anyway, not sure where I was going with this… I had the post all written out in my head while I was running, but somewhere between the drive home and now (fit in the morning rush, an article interview, more rushing to eat lunch, then class…), I lost all my good points.

Oh well! I love running 🙂 And I really mean that. And I love that, too. (Because I didn’t always feel this way. Not one bit.)