Yes, there is a reason my blog has that in its tagline: it's one of my favorite post race treats. And that's today's topic for Tuesdays on the Run with my buddies Patty and April: What is your favorite post race treat? … [Read more...]
My five favorite things about Ireland
Ireland was amazing. There's really no other way to describe it. With the exception of our flight back (which actually went smoothly once we took off), the trip went as perfectly as one could imagine. So, I'm going to take the Friday Five topic that Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney came up with and spin it a bit. 1. The weather!- I've never hidden my dislike for Virginia in the summer. I'm not a fan of heat and humidity. Ireland was a lovely moderate temperature every.single.day. There were periods of rain most days, but with the exception of one overnight downpour, the rain was either light or shortlived or both. I didn't wear shorts the entire time I was there! LOVE! 2. The beauty of the country - Everything was so … [Read more...]
How to PR a race in 3 easy steps!
Life has been a little crazy lately, so I decided to take my buddy Courtney up on her offer to fill in for me. I got to meet Courtney in person this year when we ran ZOOMA and the Fit Foodie 5k. I LOVED hanging out with her and am already scheming to find another race we can drink at, I mean run, together. So, here she is, Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC. Please make her feel at home! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi y'all! I'm so happy to guest post for Erika since she posted for me while I was off getting married. She's one of my favorite bloggers and I've been lucky enough to spend some time with her recently in real life and she's just as awesome as she appears on her blog. Anyway, I thought I'd share my tips on how to PR a race in 3 easy … [Read more...]
Ultimate Coffee Date #1
I don't usually post on Saturdays, but I'm feeling the need to do a mind dump because my brain is spinning way too fast for me to keep up. If we were to meet up for coffee in person, you'd find that I'm all over the place, going about a mile a minute, so it seems highly appropriate that I join up with Jill, Nikki, and Lynda at the Ultimate Coffee Date... So, pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and be prepared to not get a word in edgewise. I promise I'll be a good listener once I've gotten all of the totally unconnected thoughts out of my head... If we were having coffee this morning I would tell you that I'm going to Florida on Monday for a blogger event with Gatorade. I'm alternating between panicking (because I need to … [Read more...]
Savor the weekend
This weekend was our favorite beer event: Savor! It's an amazing opportunity to meet brewers and owners and try some really amazing beers. It's held each year at the National Building Museum, which is a gorgeous venue. I can't really put into words how much fun this is each time we do it. So, I'll just give you the highlights... We were first in the line to enter. I'd like to say I planned it that way, but it was one of those times when everything went smoothly and we got there 20 minutes earlier than I expected. We went to a beer-wine hybrid Salon put on by Lucid Brewing. The guys were great and the beers ranged from good to awesome. Perhaps starting out the evening with an 18% ABV beer was not my smartest move … [Read more...]
Eat all the things Wednesday
AKA What I ate Wednesday... Last week, I ran 68.5 miles. I'm pretty sure that's my highest mileage week EVER. Five half marathons + a 3 mile recovery run = a lot of running. It also equaled a lot of eating. Like constant eating. Here's how I came home weighing exactly what I did when I left LOL: Breakfast: Every morning started with either a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a peanut butter sandwich and a banana. (I never thought I could get tired of PB&J, but I am. I can't stand to even think about one right now.) During the race: I relied mostly on nuun. Even though I could have eaten an oreo (or potato chips or a sandwich or a snickers or...) after each lap, I found that I really didn't eat … [Read more...]
5 Photos Friday – Highs and Lows
The last seven days have been filled with some major highs and lows. It was hot, it was cold. I ran fast for 13.1, I barely made it through 10 miles. I worked, I ran, I shopped, I ran some more, I shoveled snow, I ran again. The one thing I didn't do was sleep. Funny how running for hours every day means it's virtually impossible to get everything else done. In all, I ran 57 miles over 6 days. (And if you follow me on instagram, you've seen several of these pictures.) 1. My week started with a jaunt through DC - the RNR USA Half Marathon. While it wasn't my fastest, or even my favorite half marathon, it was solidly in the top 10. Well organized, great course, and I felt strong the whole time. And I got the best finish line picture … [Read more...]
Go big or go home (+ a winner)
Beer Geek has a few days of leave he has to use by the end of the year. Because this year he's covering the office during Christmas week, he's decided to take a few random days off between now and then. Monday was the first of those days. Being the good wife that I am, (stop laughing), I asked him what he'd like to do on his day off. His response? Let's bike to Mad Fox Brewery and back. Although my immediate reaction was "hell.no.", what came out of my mouth was "Sure, I can do that." What??? Let me tell you a little bit about the planned ride. It's hilly. It's 5.5 miles each way. Some biking in traffic is required. It was windy yesterday. And, oh yeah, it's HILLY! And the farthest I'd ever ridden before was 3 … [Read more...]
5 ways a beer festival is like a marathon
AKA my Saturday in pictures AKA the Great Taste of the Midwest is the Boston Marathon of beer festivals. Every year for the last four years, we have made our trek home to Wisconsin coincide with the Great Taste of the Midwest. Every year, it does not disappoint. This year, I managed a nearly perfectly executed day and never hit the wall. ;o) So, how is a beer festival like a marathon? 1. Hydration is King! Like a marathon, you should hydrate before, during, and after. I also recommend a good pre-event meal and continued fueling throughout (mmm, brats and cheese curds). We also did a nice two mile walk, followed by a two mile bike ride (B Cycle rocks!) before we headed to the festival. 2. The first hour (mile) should … [Read more...]
Bad Blogger
We had a really great evening on Saturday night with a small group of friends. It was our annual holiday beer tasting, which we have to keep small because our living room is just so small LOL. We tasted 21 different beers, ate some good chili and cornbread, and finished up with pecan bars and an amazing chocolate cake (made with Guinness!). And I didn't take a single picture. Not one. Gah. I also did not run all weekend. And I'm o.k. with that. My run on Friday (in my new Newtons) did not go well. My calf tightened up at 1.4 miles, so I ended up walking about a mile home. Newtons are not good walking shoes. Just sayin'. I'll be taking those back, as I wasn't thrilled with them for running and, while I don't walk a lot … [Read more...]
TTT: Athleta, Nairn’s, and Alaskan Smoked Porter
1. Athleta FinishStrong2012 - I'm a huge fan of Athleta's clothing. I love the styles and the quality. I'm also a big supporter of Girls on the Run (why else would I get up at o'dark thirty to NOT run a race?) So, when the two join forces? Yeah, I'm all about that. Athleta will be engaging women to finish their 2012 strong by inspiring users to share their remaining 2012 aspirations and goals and encourage them to realize them before the year’s out. In the spirit of community, the efforts made across Athleta’s Twitter and Facebook will collectively result in inspiring and empowering young girls (through the amazing organization Girls on the Run) to do the same. With every action (pledge, share or like), Athleta will donate $1 … [Read more...]
Three Things Thursday
1. I'm having a bit of a crisis of confidence. I've run four days in a row and my legs are feeling pretty trashed. I was pleasantly surprised on my Wednesday run that my speed wasn't bad. I did find that my heart rate went up when I had to race a few lights and didn't want to come back down. I'm planning to run this afternoon and that will be the first time in ages I've run five days in a row. And I'm seriously feeling it. I've trained for marathons, so I KNOW my body will get used to this and that my endurance will improve, but somehow it's hard to BELIEVE that it's actually going to happen. 2. Yesterday I had a bit of a "Goldilocks" moment. We picked up Jones' new bike from Performance. It's a Schwinn that's a bit higher end … [Read more...]
