It's been a busy few weeks around here, but yesterday morning I finished my last work meeting until after Christmas, so Beer Geek and I headed out on a lunch "date". Now I'm relaxing with my family and enjoying way too many Christmas cookies and a lot of beer. Since I don't plan to spend much time online for the next few days, I decided to do my Friday Five a day early and include one of my favorite holiday recipes/traditions. I'll link it up to Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia eventually. Top five posts from 2015... Night Owl's Guide to Being a Morning Runner - Judging by the popularity of this post, I'm apparently not the only one who struggles to get up early to work out. Thankfully, my kids are back in school and it makes more … [Read more...]
Five outdoor things to do in Washington DC
It has been unseasonably warm the past few weeks in the Washington DC area which means time for outdoor fun. I'd like to say that is unusual, but Washington DC likes to throw a few beautiful days at us each winter. I think this year is unusual because it's been more than a few days. It actually feels like we've had more warm days than cold days so far in December. When these days happen, it's important to get out and USE them. Many of the activities that are crammed full of people in the summer and on spring break are EMPTY in the winter. In fact, a beautiful winter day is the best time to visit the city as far as I'm concerned. Here are my top five favorite outdoor activities in Washington DC on a beautiful winter day... Visit … [Read more...]
My Wish List
It's time for Friday Five and the topic is Holiday Wish Lists. I'm going to share my wish list of things I'd like to find under the tree, which shares some similarities with my holiday gift guide and I'm also going to share a bit about my hopes and dreams for the next year. Some of the limited edition Skirt Sports items (affiliate link) - Have you seen the adorable items that they just came out with? So cute with snowflakes and plumes and other designs. I love that they are black with a bit of added flourish. Because sometimes, a girl just needs basic black with a little zing. I kind of want one of everything (that's why it's on my wish list), but will be happy with anything that comes my way this year. A treadmill - I know. I've … [Read more...]
Five Dream Race Vacations
Traveling is my jam. Before we had kids, Beer Geek and I traveled to a fair number of foreign countries: Germany, Belgium (multiple times), Iceland, Scotland, Australia, the Netherlands, and the Azores (Portuguese Islands) in our first 6 years of marriage. Since kids, most of our vacations have been in the US (often in less traveled areas) although we did manage a family vacation to Ireland and we took Jones to Belgium once. So, the hardest part of creating this Friday Five for me was limiting it to five. Because really? I want to see all the things and travel to all the places. Check out Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia's blogs for more cool places to go. Here are the top five places on my current list, including the race I want to do … [Read more...]
Huge Under Armour Giveaway and Black Friday Thankfulness
My Black Friday plans are to go for a run, order our Christmas cards, and spend time with my kids. If I go shopping it will be after dinner tonight and it will be online. I can only think of one time I did some Black Friday shopping and that was back in my early career days where I took advantage of Macy's sales and bought myself suits. Yeah, I know how to really make the most of Black Friday. To help you out with your shopping though, I've joined with a group of awesome bloggers to create a huge Under Armour giveaway! That's right, we are giving away a $280 gift card to Under Armour and you know you want to win. That's a lot of running gear or kids' clothes or gifts for the holidays. What are you waiting for - enter! US only, 18+ … [Read more...]
Five Favorite Holiday Beers
Ah, it's Friday. And Friday means beer! Conveniently, the Friday Five topic with Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney is favorite fall drinks. You know I'm going to take the opportunity to share my beer love with you. And I know my holiday beers. Every year, I scour the area and buy 10 15 as many holiday beers as I can find. My excuse is that I'm buying them for our beer tasting that we hold every winter after the holidays are over, but I'll be honest, I'm really just a beer hoarder. One year I bought so many that we were still drinking them in October. (Right now I have a double stacked row of beers in my basement. I told Beer Geek I was done buying unless something special comes along. My definition of special is pretty liberal LOL) While it is … [Read more...]
Staying healthy over the holiday
You know I'm a big fan of moving during the holiday season. Why else would I be participating in a bunch of different holiday challenges AND have just joined a gym for the first time in 12 years? Sometimes though, just staying moving is not enough to keep you healthy during the holidays. Sometimes you need to do a little extra self care. Here are my go to tips for making it through the holidays as healthy as possible. Get enough sleep - I know. So much to do. So many events. So hard to get enough sleep. But make the effort. Your personal sleep needs may vary, but studies have shown that sleep deprivation does affect both your immune system's ability to fight off cold and flu, but also prevents it from recovering as fast. … [Read more...]
5 Things I Learned from 5 Marathons
This past weekend marked the finish of my 5th marathon. I'd like to think that the marathons have taught me something. Core work is key! My back was more sore than my legs when I got done with the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday. It is possible to run a marathon with a long run of only 15 miles. I would not recommend it unless you are an experienced runner and are doing heavy daily mileage. I think if I had been able to complete the full Hansons plan, I would have had a strong marathon finish. Mental strength plays a huge roll. Last week at Runner's World, Deena Kastor talked about using positive talk to get through a hard race. (Yes, even the pros do it.) I kept telling myself I could run for one more minute each time I got … [Read more...]
Five things that motivate me to run
Today's Topic for Friday Five is people who motivate me. I recently wrote a post about the people who inspire me and if I did that topic as suggested by Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia,I'd end up writing a very similar post. So, here are the things that motivate me to keep moving. My mental health - I started running to fight postpartum depression. I still struggle with situational depression and PMS. Running allows me to keep things in perspective and helps me to stay more of an optimist than a pessimist. I no longer need to run to cope with the day to day difficulties of being a stay at home mom to young children. Now it's about dealing with the bigger problems that come with bigger children. Trust me, the running is still necessary. (And … [Read more...]
Friday Five: #261fearless Ambassadors
TGIF! This has seriously been one of the longest weeks ever. Between the constant coughing, volunteering at Shoo's school book fair, a doctor appointment, a kid dentist appointment, and soccer practice, I've felt like I've had no down time. (Or really any time to do any of the 10o0s of things I need to accomplish). Anyway, it's FRIDAY! And I may or may not have a crazy weekend - lots of things have been canceled and various other things seem to be on the fence. I do know Ragnar is happening, so I'll be volunteering in whatever the weather is tomorrow. Should be interesting. Today's topic for the Friday Five with Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia is "Favorite Fitness Bloggers". I have a really hard time with this because as the book says … [Read more...]
The marathon training that wasn’t
I have a huge runfession to make. Huge. I really don't want to run any more long runs. I'm just over it. A month from now, I'll be lining up at the start line for the 40th running of the Marine Corps Marathon. When I decided to run it, I was riding high on my training for two marathons in one weekend. I was also enamored of the idea of running a "special" year. (Because, you know, years like 15, 20, 40, etc. are more important years to run than regular years. Or not.) So, yeah, my decision to run MCM again was nearly as poorly thought out as the first time I decided to run it. Of course, I knew I'd be running 6 half marathons in 6 days, so I knew I needed to train this summer anyways. Why not throw a marathon into the mix? … [Read more...]
Summer activities and Runfessions
This has been a fun summer, but it's been a challenging one as well. It was the first time in 7 years that I maintained a training plan over the summer and I can't say that I've loved it. It's had its ups and downs for sure. Today I'm sharing double fives with you today: 5 things I did this summer and 5 runfessions. I'm linking up with Courtney, Mar, Cynthia, and Marcia. This summer we went to Asheville for our family vacation. I really enjoyed the hiking and the breweries, but OMG, the hills nearly killed me on the runs! As per usual, we spent a good chunk of the summer in Wisconsin as well. I always love seeing my parents, eating all of the home grown produce, and taking a few dips in the backyard pool. I may also have enjoyed the … [Read more...]
