Mmmm Pie!

Today's run – 3.9 miles/45:02 mins. I really wanted to go farther/faster but my legs were just so stiff today. I was disappointed because I haven't really been "going the distance" lately. Oh well, making it to the gym for a run in itself is good in my books! I'm going to do anther one tomorrow so hopefully it will be better.

Today at work was nice and relaxing. I enjoyed a nice big cup of green tea in my "latte" mug as well as a lemon meringue pudding. They are absolutely delicious and taste just like lemon meringue pie minus the crust which is the part I can't eat because of the wheat so it's perfect! Yum :)

{Not the best green tea, but satisfying none the less}

{Gotta love snack packs!}

I also got to use my new Nike gym bag from Sport Chek! I love it – it's the perfect size, has lots of pockets for all my stuff, as well as a good shoulder strap to make it easy to carry all my stuff to and from work and sexy colours to boot!

Now I'm gonna enjoy my supper of rice with a veggie and ground turkey stirfry and lemon sauce, watch the season finale of The Following, and call it a night!

S

Is it finally Spring?

What a gorgeous day! I had a great sleep in and enjoyed being woken up by the sun :) I made it out for my run around lunch time and did 10.27km/1:11:53 mins. I've been sick the past couple days so I didn't push myself too hard to add more milage. I got to try out my new hand-held water bottle I got from the Running Room a few days ago. I had to adjust it a bit until I learned the most comfortable way to hold it but it was great having water with me the whole way! I added half a Nuun tablet in Strawberry Lemonade flavour (my favourite). There was even a little pouch to bring a gel, although I didn't need one for today's run.

I started with a couple loops around the citadel (I have a love/hate relationship with that hill) and there was a bit of a commotion at the high school with two cops cars flashing their lights. Wonder what was up?

{Somebody's in trouble!}

Afterwards, I continued my run down Young Street. I love running down there and looking at all the beautiful houses. I ended up coming back down Tower Road, turned onto Inglis, up Robie, then down South Street back onto Inglis. I did the loop around to Barrington, then ran down Hollis to end up back at Barrington before reaching the apartment. I like to finish my run off with this hill to get a nice burn in :)

{This was about half way up, my attempt at taking a picture without stopping running}

All in all it was a nice run! And such a beautiful day :)

Afterwards, I ended up working a couple of hours at the lab then Matt and I headed to Bayers Lake, only to discover Costco closed at 5pm! Should have known, I guess I forgot it was Sunday. Oh well, we went to Super Store instead.

Happy Sunday! You know what this means – Game of Thrones!!!!

S

And her face was as red as an apple

Update from last night: went to the new Moksha studio that opened in Bedford to try hot yoga for the first time. I must say, I really did enjoy it. It was definitely a new atmosphere for me having to "practice silence" in the class room and "leave all my worries at the door", but it was very refreshing. I'm often constantly worrying about this and that so it was nice to focus on relaxing and strengthening my muscles. Concentrating specifically on my breathing will be especially useful for my running as I think breathing too shallow is what is causing me to often get the dreaded runner's stitch. The dripping sweat was a tad distracting as I had to stop multiple times to give my face a wipe and take a swig of water but the temperature difference did help you feel AMAZING when it was over and you stepped into the cool outside air. Ultimately, I think it's something I could definitely get used to and I may take it up as a cross training exercise to help strengthen my core and learn deep breathing. I didn't bring my phone so I wouldn't have any valuables to leave unattended so, to much disappointment I'm sure, there are no pics of me after the class was over looking like I stepped out of hell :) Don't get me wrong, an enjoyable hell!


I reluctantly will admit, I didn't get my run in today :( The weather is still disgraceful, my muscle are quite sore from last night's yoga, and today is going to be hectic as right after work I'll be meeting up with my parents and sister to see Jurassic Park 3D (can't wait, it's my Dad's fav movie and something my sister and I grew up watching repeatedly!) followed by a friends house party and seeing the Town Heroes play at Michael's. I know, I know, I'm full of excuses lately. I'll get back in the groove, feels like it was a weird week or something. Anyways, I had a nice wheat-free lunch of some Campbell's chicken and rice soup and some Pop Chips. Love the crunchiness and light flavour of the chips which don't feel as heavy as regular potato chips. Low in calories too which is always a plus!



I also forgot I took a couple of pics of my friend Adelle's cute-as-buttons (does that work plural? lol) cats, Loki and Luna. Their colouring is so unique and reminds me of a jungle cat! They are also super friendly and all around fun to cuddle :)

{Loki}

{Luna}

Enjoy your weekend, I know I will! (Even though I will probably be working at the lab both Sat and Sun, but oh well!)

S

Just the basics

 I decided today would be a good day to do a makeup post! I am not a makeup-applying master or cosmetic genius by any means, but, like most girls, I do LOVE doing my makeup and getting dolled up. Hey, it's makes you look pretty and it's fun to put on! :P So I thought I would share some of my fav products that I swear by :) I'd be interested in knowing what other people's essential makeup products are too (although I doubt enough people read my blog to make a post but I thought I'd just throw that out there).

I have to say Tarte, Benefit and Smashbox are my fav cosmetic brands by far. Tarte and Benefit products are reasonably priced (for good quality makeup) and have lots of fun and trendy products. Tarte cosmetics are also advertised as eco-friendly; formulated without many of the add-ins and preservatives found in lower-grade makeup such as synthetic fragrances and gluten (the dreaded gluten!). Benefit has a very retro-like advertising campaign with unique and sometimes humorous packaging and I have yet to find a product by them I haven't liked. Smashbox is a little higher up on the "will lighten your pockets scale" but the spending is worth it with a vast spread of salon-quality products that you will fall in love with. I used my points at Sephora to try one of their sample packs which includes their mascara, primer, bronzer and BB cream and was hooked :) I now have a full size bottle of their Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream and, while it's pretty expensive, you only need a small amount of provide full coverage. It blends right into your skin tone and is so light you don't feel like you're wearing makeup!

As for Benefit, there are a couple of their products I used regularly – the Hoola Bronzing Powder and the Erase Paste. The bronzing powder has a nice matte finish and is the right shade to do contouring when you want your face to look more defined. It adds a nice hint of sun that I love to wear over tinted moisturizer in the summer to give myself some colour. The Erase Paste is probably my favourite makeup product I've ever owned – no joke. It's a concealer and highlighter in one so you can use it to cover dark circles as well as illuminate under your eyes, cheeks, chin, wherever! It looks like a very small container (almost sample-sized even!) but you hardly need to use any to cover all the areas you want. Mine has lasted me quite a while and I use it almost every day!



My favourite mascara and lip products are both from Tarte. I recently tried their Lights Camera Lashes Mascara and am thoroughly impressed. Having blonde/short eye lashes has made it difficult to properly disguise them and make them look dark, long and voluminous. I used to swear by LashBlast mascara by Covergirl but I found I had to replace it constantly as it would very quickly dry out. This Tarte mascara thickens and lengthens without clumps and doesn't dry out. Sounds pretty perfect, huh? Another great product is their LipSurgence Lip Tint. I personally prefer the matte colours over the shimmer since you can always add a gloss on top for days you want it to stand out a little more. They have a great selection of colours ("lucky" is my personal preference, a nice light pink that if you layer on thick can almost have a 90s neon vibe to it) and a nice minty taste.

{The mascara tube is pretty neat too, it's covered in a shiny leather-like material that's pretty comfortable when applying}

 Lastly are the eyeshadows. For day-to-day, I use the Naked palette by Urban Decay. It has all the basic eyeshadows you need to create looks ranging from neutral to glamorous all in one palette with each shadow going on smooth and evenly. It also comes with a eyeshadow brush and a sample of their Eyeshadow Primer Potion which is great for making your look last.

Now, before Sephora opened in the mall I was a devout MAC shopper. Although I have now gone over to the dark side (how can you resist the endless array of pretty products at Sephora) I still love MAC's individual eyeshadows. The one I use on a daily basis is called Shroom and is a great base colour when doing a smokey eye or good all on its own!

{Not too glittery but has  more shimmer than a matte so is perfect for daily wear or to accent a going-out look :)}

So there are all the products I absolutely love! I hope this is useful for some people, I'm always curious what products other people love – I am addicted to expanding my makeup collection!

Tonight I'm trying hot yoga for the first time at a new Moksha yoga studio that just opened in Beford with my friend Ali. Although I don't find sweating my guts out an enjoyable experience, I think it will be a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to it! I'll post an update afterwards and let you know how it went :)

S

Update:

I also thought it would be fun to share some beauty blogs that I follow! The two main ones that I check religiously are The Beauty Department and MaskCara. TBD is run by a trio including a makeup artist, hair and nails expert, as well as Lauren Conrad (from Laguna Beach and The Hills fame, love her :)) who post regularly with makeup, hair and nail tutorials. Their pictures/explainations are easy to follow making it no problem for the non-professionals to replicate their looks. Cara (get it, MaskCara? lol) is a makeup artist who posts really cool makeup tutorials included super detailed videos where she walks you through her makeup regime. She also has the most GORGEOUS hair of which I am super jealous.

Enjoy!

Wing night? I'll take some nachos...

My blisters were finally healed enough that I was able to get a run in today! I was planning on doing a long run outside (to make up for last weekend) but it was so rainy and cold and foggy I opted for a medium run at the gym. So far, moving my runs outside has been a slow process – thanks Halifax :( After work I ran 9.5k/1:06:47 mins. It wasn't completely without pain as every once and a while my sock would rub my blister the wrong way, resulting in me making whacky facial expressions. If anyone was watched they would probably have thought I was crazy. Oh well, I feel good getting back in the groove. It's funny, if I even go two days without running I feel like such a slacker. As I should I guess if I am training for a half marathon! I still have just over 20 days left during which I plan on getting at least two more long runs. I'm getting excited!

Met up with friends at the Pogue for wings tonight. Unfortunately I can't enjoy wings any more (most of them are breaded) but I got their nachos which were REALLY good, and wheat-free :) I fully stuffed myself tonight though so I'm glad I did get that run in today!

Unfortunately I've been slacking on taking pictures for the blog (nobody likes a blog with no pictures!) so I really don't have any new ones to post :S I need to get better it but I'm not used to documenting my life this much.

G'nIght!

S

{Some food for thought ;)}

THANK YOU!

I wanted to use today's post to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has made a donation to sponsor my run! I've already reached my goal of $200 and there's still just about a month left before the race! Thank you so much for your support and know your donations are going to a great cause. The Halifax Sexual Health Centre (HSHC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free sexual health services to the community. Local doctors donate their time to provide pap and STI tests, prescriptions for birth control, counciling services, as well as anonymous HIV testing. All you need to make an appointment is a valid canadian health card which is helpful for those who are working or studying in Halifax and don't have access to their family doctor. I started volunteering at the clinic last summer and got to work with the amazing doctors, nurses, support staff and volunteers that help the centre run. During the school year, I've been involved in the Youth Committee for HSHC, helping to put together events for fundraising. We had our second annual Sexy Party at Pacifico that was a HUGE success, raising HSHC almost $7,000 with about 700 guests! Make sure to watch out for our third annual Sexy Party next February, it will be a night full music, games, dancing and all around sexiness!

I am very excited to be running the half marathon on May 19th on behalf of HSHC and am proud to be involved with such a commendable organization. If anyone would like to make a donation and help me surpass my goal, you can follow the link here! The money raised through the Bluenose Marathon is going towards converting an old office at the HSHC clinic to a third examination room, allowing the clinic to increase the number of clients seen by 30% and reduce wait lists for critical services!

Thanks again for your support :)

S

Time to kick some Organic butt

I was actually able to do a medium run yesterday at the gym, 5 miles/55:54 mins. Although it was slow (god, I gotta pick up the pace!) I bandaged up those blisters real good and made it through :) Today's long run started out great. I began by running up and down the citadel a couple of times.

{Nice view!}

It was a good challenge to make myself run all the way up the hill and push through, then repeat. I'm thinking I might move my 5k outside and do the citadel run. The hills should really help my endurance and the view is beautiful.

But alas, the blisters struck again! I continued my run down Young Street and the bandaids lost hold. The pain was almost unbearable so I had to turn around and head home :( Serves me right, I should have just let them heal in the first place. My exam is tomorrow so I will take a rest day then depending on how they are Tuesday I may take one more day. Then I will make it up during the rest of the week! I'll be sure to get my 16k down sometime during the week.

Had to go into work this morning after my run. Good thing I stopped by Starbucks for a pick me up!

{Yum!}

Now the rest of the day will be devoted to becoming an expert in Organic Chemistry. Wish me luck!

S

Blisters Suck

Soooo I'm being a little slack this week. I don't want to but sometimes you just need to. I took an extra rest day on Thursday. I really needed the time to study and my ankle had also been bothering me a bit since I rolled it (by falling off a curb – go me!) so I thought another days rest might help too. On top of these things, I also have had a cold the past couple of days. So there are all my excuses :P

I did made it to the gym for a run after work today but things didn't go exactly as expected. I attempted to wear my new shoes to work this morning and got some major blisters (should have known I'd need to break them in first). Then at the gym I realized I hadn't packed any socks. Stupidly I thought it would be okay to go in bare feet but I just ended up adding more blisters to my collection. After barely making it home without crying I am now covered in blister cushions and upset that I had to quit after only 3 miles.

{Me after I got back from the gym, got to wear my Run: Swiftly Tech SS in Pop Orange!}

I'm going to make sure to bandage up my feet real good and put in a longer run tomorrow. My long outside run will be on Sunday when the weather is (supposed) to be sunny.

I saw these two little guys the other day just hanging out. Didn't even blink an eye when I hovered over them to take a picture. Nothing scares Haligonian pigeons any more!

Anyways, I'm taking it easy tonight and catching up on episodes of The Following (great show) then heading into the lab for some work tomorrow morning followed by a run! The rest of the day will then be as below:

{Study Time! Organic Chem final is on Monday and I can't wait to get it over with}

Night night.

S

 

Billy('s Got) Talent!

Had a blast last night at the Billy Talent Concert! We pushed out way right to the front, and although you got mangled in the process, it was totally worth it! They are amazing live :) I'm heading to bed soon so I'm just going to post some pics and will do a bigger update tomorrow.

Oh and the lock button has been broken on my iPhone 4 for a week and I finally took it into Futureshop and they upgraded me to a 4S! Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Night!

S

{Somebody brought sparklers and passed them across the crowd, seriously cool}

{Krista, Maxine and I! Great time ladies :)}

{Love!}

{Extra love!}

{Got this Hollerado t-shirt, loved the turtle mosaic}

Yumm… Bread & Butter Pickles

FINALLY pushed myself to get up for a morning run. It used to be surprisingly easy to get myself up and out the door but during the past week or two it's been torture. Not only do I not get up when my alarm goes off, but I then continue to press snooze for another 45 minutes! And when I hit snooze I often feel worse when I get up – the extra time in bed is NOT worth it. So needless to say I feel good about starting the day off right. Did a short run, 5k/31:40 mins on the treadmill.

So I got home pretty late last night from volunteering and hadn't had anything for supper. Even though I hate eating that late at night I was STARVING so I made a yummy two egg/egg white omelette with sliced turkey and cheddar cheese. YUMMMMM. I also found the BEST pickles at Superstore the other day. Seriously, the best you'll ever have (if you like sweet pickles, that is).

{It's not as huge as it looks, the plate was just really small :P}

We are seeing Billy Talent tonight! I'm pretty excited :) I don't listen to them as much any more but I loved them in high school/my undergrad so I know the words to most of their songs. And the best concerts are the ones where you can scream out all the lyrics! SUM 41 was supposed to open for them which would have been so much fun to see (super nostalgia since I LOVED them in jr. high/high school). But they dropped out last minute due to one of the band members being injured or something so that was kind of a bummer :( Oh well, it will still be a great show. I'll post some pics from the concert later tonight!

Enjoy the nice weather :)

S

It's Monday (insert sad face)

Sadly I won't have time to run today :( I don't like taking two days off in a row since it makes me feel unproductive but I've had to shuffle things around a bit. I'm volunteering tonight after work until 9pm instead of next Monday since that is the day of my Organic Chem Final. On days when I'm working 9 to 5 and volunteering from 5 to 9 it's pretty difficult to squeeze in a workout. But it's worth it! I've been volunteering at the Canadian Cancer Society Lodge That Gives and it's been such a great experience. The Lodge That Gives is a home-away-from-home for people who are receiving cancer treatments in Halifax but live outside of the city. They stay free of charge with home cooked meals and there is always an activity or show going on. There's also tons of info on different cancer types and support groups. I've met really great people who have very interesting stories to tell and really are inspiring. I am often entertained by guests and it really makes the time fly by :) The other volunteers and staff are also incredibly friendly and just great people. This will be my second summer volunteering at the Lodge and I'm hoping there will be many more to come :D

Going in a totally different direction, I thought I would post a pick of the result of a little shopping trip on the weekend as it was a very interesting combination:

{Our bathroom sink keep getting clogged (ew I know, sorry) and I needed a new pair of falsies! lol}

I only wear false lashes on the occasional night out but I honestly wish I could wear them all the time (although I will have to get better at applying them so they look good in daylight!). I have pretty short, blond eyelashes so adding the extra layer gives them some volume and makes them look more full. When I don't wear mascara you can barely even see them! I like these "natural" ones since it doesn't actually look like I'm wearing false lashes when I have them on. Sometimes when you're going out though it's nice to have those big/thick lashes so I might get some "glamour" ones for those occasions :P Oh and the Liquid-Plumr worked like a charm!

S

Update:

It's absolutely horrible to hear about the explosions at the Boston Marathon today. Absolutely horrific. If you'd like to read the up-to-date new coverage you can find it here. Our thoughts go out to all those that were there and their loved ones.

Obladee Oblada Life Goes On!

Had a great night out at Obladee wine bar! We used to frequent this place in the past but it's been a while since our last visit. They have delicious charcuterie plates that you can mix and match. Matt and I had smoked salmon, duck prosciutto and some kind of cheddar cheese (don't remember the name but it was delicious). It also comes with bread (that I sadly remembered I couldn't eat after it came), apple chutney, bread and butter pickles, olives, and red pepper jelly. Great atmosphere too – dark and intimate with some nice jazz in the background.

I'm just having a lazy day today, run some errands in Bayers Lake, catch up on some shows and get some studying done. This crappy weather is really such a downer especially after we had a handful of beautiful days. What a tease!

{Ran around most of the day looking for new coveralls for Matt. Surprisingly both Kent and Home Depot didn't have any :(}

I made a yummy dinner tonight of Thai Shrimp Rice with lots of veggies and a squeeze of lime. Delish :)

Disappointed when we had snow again today, I hope it ends soon. Going to be a hectic week with my exam coming up and some extra stuff to do at work but I'll try and keep posting regularly. Hope everyone's relaxing on this gloomy Sunday evening.

S

What season is this?

I can't believe it snowed last night! Hello, what month is this? I thought it was April!

{View from my apartment, love the church, not so much the vents… Pigeons seem to love them though!}

Since last night's snow and this morning's rain made running outside kinda sketchy, I had to take to doing my long run inside on the treadmill (not as much fun). Brought some good shows to watch so the time went by pretty fast though. 8 miles (13k)/1:36:24 mins, my longest run yet! I tried out some new Clif Gel Shot in Razz I got yesterday and Nuun electrolyte tablets.

{Nuun in Tri-Berry flavour}

I honestly don't think I would have made it through without them! I didn't hit any hard spots during the run and had enough energy to increase my pace during the last mile or so. The gel shot was hard to get used too as it's super think and kind of has a weird taste. But once I got over that it wasn't so bad and they are nice and small so it will be easy to bring a couple with me during the race. It was also a nice change to have a little flavour in my water without any added calories :)
Also picked up a foam roller last night. Used it on my legs and back and it really did make a difference. I didn't even think about using it for my back until I talked to the guy at Sport Chek. He said the larger one was good for large muscle groups, especially your back. I told him that I had actually been experiencing some kinks in my back and he said it could be from putting too much weight on my heels when I run which adds stress to the back. I'm going to try and work on my form to see if this is something I do. At least I can use the roller for now to help work out the sore parts.

{Please ignore my gross carpeting, came with the apartment :S}

Now for a much needed shower and some laundry! Have a great weekend :)

S

Wheat – the root of all evil?

I've been waiting all week for today! Gotta love Fridays :) I'm taking a rest day so I can get things done (apartment looks like a bomb went off which is very unlike me and I'm currently out of clean dishes…). So I thought it was about time I did a post on the wheat-free diet I've been following for the past couple of weeks.

I found about about it from my parents who have been "wheat-free" for about  the past month or so after reading the book Wheat Belly by William Davis (you can find out more about it by visiting the WheatBellyBlog). It says some pretty interesting stuff. It basically describes the transformation of wheat through genetic modification into the new "modern" wheat we eat today. Davis believes that the current sky high obesity rates are due to over-consumption of this new/modified wheat. He also talks about how many health problems such as fatigue, digestive issues, even skin conditions can be solved by eliminating wheat from your diet. The book is a good read and a lot of his arguments against the grain are well put, although there are a few problems as with any new "miracle cure" (illustrated well in this Globe and Mail article).

Despite the controversies, I do believe a wheat-free diet could be beneficial for many, but not for everyone. It is likely that different people are affected by wheat consumption in different ways (obviously, if wheat is THE cause of modern obesity then why isn't' everyone overweight?!). A lot of people I know eat massive amounts of wheat on a daily basis and don't have any health-realted problems (that I or they know of). But, as described in the book, I definitely used to notice changes, with regards to my appetite, after eating wheat products. If I ate toast or pancakes for breakfast in the morning I was likely to eat a much larger breakfast or be hungry less than an hour later. Even after a HUGE bowl of pasta can you honestly tell me that a little while after you couldn't eat seconds? Wheat has been shown to increase insulin production which leads to increased appetite and storage of fat so it makes sense. It's also a good decision to eliminate GMO food from your diet, as best as you can. Although it's hard to escape GMO food these days, as it is the more efficient and cheaper method and most packaged/processed food is likely to contain GMO ingredients, by cutting out wheat I have somehow also been steered into a total healthier diet altogether!

By cutting out wheat I've had to make sure to purchase alternative flours and grains to make my own breads, cereals, etc. In doing so I've changed the way I eat in general. I've been cooking at home more to have things to take for lunch, snacks, etc. since eating-out is pretty difficult (in such a way that you can't just get whatever you want, you need to check the ingredients first. A LOT of places now a days have gluten-free alternatives so I shouldn't say it's difficult, it's just not as easy?). Thus, I also spend less money and eat less processed food as I love to make things from scratch at home. By making most of the things I eat myself, I also know exactly what's going in them and am paying closer attention to which food groups I'm eating or need to include more of. By paying closer attention to everything I am eating I'm also able to cut down on fatty and sugary foods which you don't think to much about if you're grabbing lunch at a restaurant or buying some pre-packaged foods. Since I'm eating really well, it drives my need for exercise even more (training for the half marathon is a pretty good motivator too!). And to top it all off I don't feel like I'm actually depriving myself of anything in particular as you can continue to eat the treats you love as long (as they don't include wheat of course). Other diets I've tried all tell you to cut calories and sugar and fatty foods (which is obviously healthy) but when this the main driving force of your dieting mantra it can be extremely difficult to maintain in the long run since you feel like you're cutting out a lot of treats you love (especially for me, I would be shaking with withdrawal if I had to go without icecream!)

All-in-all I've been feeling great lately, eating healthy and exercising more all by cutting wheat from my diet. No, it's not as easy as I'm making it sounds as you need to have a some self control (especially when you co-workers are having birthing cake and you can't have any!) and be willing to put in a little extra work if you'd like to have some wheat-free alternatives of staple foods such as bread, pasta, etc. in order to still have a balanced diet (bacon and chips are wheat-free to but they can't be all you eat!) I will say brown rice pasta is identical in taste and texture to whole wheat pasta, in my personal opinion!



So basically, I don't believe wheat itself is the demon behind people's weight issues these days and that cutting it out is all you need to lose weight and feel great. I think once you're ready to make the decision to go wheat-free, you're also finally in the mind-set to living a health life style. Only took me 25 years!

S

Update:

I got myself some new shoes this week! I am absolutely in love with them :)

{I think the crochet pattern adds a nice touch for the summer}

As I have unfortunately been cursed with clown-size feet, my shoes seem to barely make through each season. So although I love Toms and Keds, it's hardly worth me spending $50 - $60 on shoes that will fall apart after a couple of months. So I was ecstatic when I found these at Walmart of all places! And since they were only $12 a pair...


I got them in black as well!

Happy Friday :)

Work it out

Another delayed post, my bad! It's beginning to be a hectic time of year. I don't know how I did it for so long with a full course load as I'm only taking one class right now and I'm stressing out! I guess I have more things going on than usual: working full-time, starting another online class (that I have to finish ASAP), training/running, and fitting in time with friends. Oh and blogging too of course! There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!

I'm still somehow managing to get everything done (often by dragging myself around lately). I got in a short (but good) run yesterday. I thought I would see how fast I could run 5k and I managed to do it in 32:09 mins! No record by any means (10:22 pace) but faster than I thought it would be. I'm thinking I will throw in the occasional faster-paced 5k along with my medium and longer runs so I can work on cutting down the time and getting faster. Although I try and run as many hills as possible during my long runs so I get used to them, I think I will need to do a couple of hill training sessions too. Both of these things, plus my long runs for distance, will help me finish the race in May just a little bit faster than I would without them. I know that it's my first race and I'm pretty much just going to focus on finishing, but it would be nice if I didn't take like 4 hours to cross the finish line :P

One of my BFFs just got back from a trip down south so a bunch of us got together for wings at the Alehouse last night (I got nachos haha). It was great seeing them all, I didn't realize how much I missed them! My sister came too which was great as she is practically a hermit during school since she's so busy. She's done for the next couple of weeks (until her summer semester starts – ew!) so I'm going to try and see her as much as possible :)

{My sister's delicious looking wings}

I saw this on #howdoiputthisgently I thought it was pretty funny. I literally laugh out loud when I see the gifs on sites like this, in public, all the time. I laugh almost as much as when I watch AFV. Almost.

WHEN I START RUNNING AGAIN

 

I'm heading to the gym for another run after work tonight so I will try and load another post afterwards.

S

Update:

Great run at the gym today. Did 4.73 miles/52:36 mins. A bit slower than my usual pace, got a little tired at the end. Saw this ad though and it made me pretty happy!

{LOVE Awkward, so excited!}

Very (Point) Pleasant Park Run

What a beautiful day it was today! Slept in a bit this morning and it felt great. Managed to get myself up by 10 to get ready for today's run. I thought I would change up my running route and go through Point Pleasant Park. I didn't even really know it existed until our lab had a picnic there last summer. It was way bigger than I thought with lots of cool things to see. There were also tons of people walking their dogs, other runners, and parents playing with their kids, such a great atmosphere to run in! Got some cool shots of some of the sites on the way. The time goes by much faster when I run outside. Although I do love running on the treadmill since I can have my water with my all the way and can catch up on my fav shows, the time does seem to trudge by sometimes. I like mixing up my runs inside/outside. Since we haven't had too much of the Spring weather yet, sometimes I just don't feel like facing the cold and love the warm comfort of the Y :D

Here are some shots from my run this morning:

{I love running by the tracks, really neat view}

{It was cool being able to chose the terrain I wanted to run on, mixed it up between the gravel paths and the trails}

{Saw this little guy literally jump from a different tree onto this branch, pretty cool!}

MapMyRun.com had a hard time mapping my run through Point Pleasant since there were some main trails it just didn't want to go down. It was also crazy difficult to know exactly what paths I followed since I'm not very familiar with the park. So I'm not quite sure how much milage I accomplished today, I was aiming for 13k but I think it may have been closer to 11 or 12k (1h:22mins). Still a good run but next time I may do most of run outside of the park and just run the main stretch mid-way through, then I can know for sure how much distance I covered.

Last day of classes (in my case class) is tomorrow! I'm excited to not have to work late three days a week to make up for the lost time spent walking across campus. I'm thinking I will take advantage of the extra time and add another running day during the week :) May 19th is creeping up fast and I'm going to be ready for it!

Night.

S