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...]
Going back to school with CVS Minute Clinic
Disclosure: I have received promotional consideration from MinuteClinic and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. All opinions are my own. Have you noticed how late Labor Day is this year? It's the latest possible date it can be in September. Know what that means around here? It means my kids get an extra week of summer. An extra week of sleeping in, an extra week of laid back schedules, an extra week of bickering with each other, an extra week of driving me crazy (oops, did I say that out loud?) Despite the late start to school, Shoo starts soccer practice as soon as we get back to Virginia (yes, I'm hiding out in Wisconsin where the weather is cooler.) And guess what I forgot to have done before we left? Shoo's sports physical. … [Read more...]
Beers of Summer – DuClaw Morgazm and Funk
Disclaimer: I have received compensation for this post, but hello? We all know how much I love beer and that I won't drink a beer I don't like. All opinions are my own. I love beer. If you follow me on instagram, you know that there is no question of that. I am also a huge fan of DuClaw Brewing. They are relatively local (in Baltimore) and they make one of my favorite beers - Sweet Baby Jesus. I like that beer so much I made cupcakes with it. But, here's the thing, I'm a dark beer girl. I love my porters and stouts and wee heavies, etc. So, each summer, I struggle with finding beers that are tasty and refreshing and not my usual heavy choices. When I was asked to review these beers, I was unsure of whether I would like them, but … [Read more...]
The Electrolyte Values of Summer Barbecue Favorites
Disclosure: SaltStick sent me some capsules to try and a bottle to give away. I did not receive any other compensation and all opinions are my own. It has been a wicked hot week in the Old Dominion AKA Virginia. Hot like, going for a run early in the morning and looking like you went swimming. Hot like, lots of feels like 100* going on. I've been sweating like crazy (and I'm a salty girl), so I have found myself frequently using electrolytes. SaltStick reached out to me and offered me the chance to try their product. Each capsule contains vitamin D3, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sodium, and potassium and you take them every 30-60 minutes with water while you are working out. … [Read more...]
Friday Five: Favorite Summer Drinks
Today's topic for the Friday Five with Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney is your 5 favorite summer drinks. I think it will come as no surprise that beer is on my list. In fact, last year I wrote a post about my five favorite summer beers. I thought about doing the same this year, but there are so many yummy beers out there that it was hard to narrow it down. 1. Water - I don't love straight water unless it's super cold and I'm hot. This does mean I drink more water in the summer than the rest of the year, but I still don't drink enough. So how do I get my allotted water in? Sodastream. I'm totally addicted to that thing. 2. Iced coffee - I love coffee. I can't start the day without it. But when the temps are pushing triple digits, … [Read more...]
A night owl’s guide being a morning runner
Morning running will never by my jam. I am a night owl, through and through and will never be a morning runner by choice. But some of you might have noticed recent early morning running posts on instagram and Facebook. I know. I'm shocked too. But heat, no school, and a challenging training plan have forced me out of bed and out the door. … [Read more...]
TOTR: Hot weather running + Timex GPS watch giveaway
Baby, it's hot outside! OK, maybe I shouldn't complain because my Tuesdays on the Run partners in crime, April and Patty, live in Florida and Arizona. They know hot. But since our topic for the week is hot weather running, I'm going to talk to you about my training plans and give you some tips on how to survive running in the heat. … [Read more...]
Awesome but exhausting weekend
We live a pretty low key life. It's quite infrequent that we have multiple social events in one weekend, but this weekend was the exception to that. I think I need a detox to recover... I'm linking up with Tara and Erin for my weekend recap, so stop by their blogs to see what everyone else is up to. Friday started dark and rainy with a 4am alarm. No, I didn't have a race - Jones had to be at the school by 5am for a field trip. After I delivered him safely onto the bus, I headed back home and went back to sleep for two hours, which totally discombobulated me. The rest of the day was a crazy blur of work, errands, running and kid transporting. Oh, and a mammogram. Because, hey why not schedule that on a crazy busy day? … [Read more...]
Ultimate Coffee Date – June
It's June! We are only two weeks away from school getting out. Woot! I'm joining up with my friends Deborah, Coco, and Lynda for a virtual coffee date. If we were having coffee, I'd tell you that I'm really tired this morning. We went to one of our favorite events last night - Savor. It's all about food and beer and I ate way too much. I had a lot of good beers, but I actually did not drink as much as usual, probably because I ate so much LOL. I'll share more about the food and beer tomorrow. I was amazingly constrained with my pictures of brewers, but that I did set up a few private brewery tours for Beer Geek and myself. Meeting the brewers and owners is my favorite part of the event. Speaking of, I met Emily at the Ninkasa … [Read more...]
Skirt Sports Katherine Tank: my new fave
Today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run is Favorite Warm Weather Gear or Tips. Patty, April and I are sharing ours. Won't you share yours? We all know that I love to run in skirts and my favorite skirt is the Happy Girl, so I'm not going to talk about that item today. After all, I've given it plenty of love over the years. Also, I've given up my best tips before. So instead, I'm sharing my new favorite: the Katherine Tank from Skirt Sports. I LOVE this tank. I actually own a number of non-running shirts in a very similar style, so I knew I was going to love it from the minute I saw it. I was lucky enough to try out the purple tank before it became publicly available and it was totally love at first wear. Never mind that there was still … [Read more...]
Deja vu all over again
August. How can a month with so many high points be a month I tire of before it ends? I mean, this month had a beer festival, a half marathon, and my birthday, for goodness' sake! Yet, every.single.year. I'm in the same mental place by the end of the month. Over.it. I swear I suffer from reverse seasonal affective disorder. The heat and humidity have just flat out worn me down (and this hasn't even been that hot of a summer). The back to school stress (Seriously, the only Latin class is at the same time as orchestra? Really?), the summer of juggling work and children and travel, the bizarre sleep schedules, the not enough running etc. It all adds up to DONE. I'm struggling with my weight, my running sucks, and I'm eating too … [Read more...]
5 things I will do this summer
Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia are hosting their usual Friday 5 and this week they want to know what I'll do this summer... I admit it. I am not a fan of summer. Even with our super cold, nasty, long winter this year, I am not in love with summer. I love the idea of summer: longer days, more relaxed schedules, sun instead of grey. But humidity? Heat? No, no, no. In fact, I think I suffer from summer SAD. Every summer, though, I make the effort to embrace it. I will try again this summer, but if you find me huddled in a corner of my basement with ice in my running bra, well, you know why. 1. Run 2 half marathons! I'm running a half marathon in Ireland this summer, where the high appears to be in the 60s, so YAY! The other one, … [Read more...]
