Weekend Wrap-Up

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July!

I’m pacing a fall marathon training group for Fleet Feet.  If you’re in the area, you should sign up to train with us!!  We had a really fun group for this week’s 12 miler!!

This was also Day 1 of my NYC Marathon training!

It was a super hot and humid run.  I looked like I had jumped in a pool, so this cold kiwi didn’t stand a chance when I got home!

Nothing says America, like tex-mex for lunch!

Jason and I went to downtown Franklin for their 4th of July festival.

And, we picked up a coffee and the greatest homemade oatmeal cream pie from Honest Coffee!!!

Sadly, we had big storms all night.  The local fireworks and grill-outs were cancelled.  We decided to go to Sunflower Cafe and I’m so glad we did.  Their vegan BBQ sliders were the bomb!

Sunday:

I had the gym to myself for a surprisingly good treadmill run.  My legs are still heavy from the North Fork 50 last weekend, so I stopped at 8 miles.  I’m not 100%, but grateful that my body has bounced back pretty quickly.

I met Jason at First Watch for a fruit and oats breakfast.

After rave reviews, I broke down and bought a Yeti mug.  Apparently they’re the greatest mug ever.  I’m curious to give it a try!

Kindness is magic…so is coffee.

The sun finally peaked out.  I got to enjoy our front porch while the patriotic swags were still up.

We had dinner on the Burger Up patio…salad with a quinoa patty and rose to drink.  Perfect!

How was your 4th?  Did anyone else have to cancel plans because of the rain?

Do you have any Yeti products?  Thoughts?

Are you running a fall marathon?  NYC?

Peak and Pit from the weekend?  Peak: A nice, low-key weekend!  Pit:  The rainy weather.

#choosejoy

Peeing On Myself

Saturday:

This was our coolest temp in months and it showed up just in time for my last group training run before Chicago.

Lots of Saucony Vizi!!

I’m always sad when the training ends. I love the journey so much more than the race.  And, my favorite way to run is pacing a group.  I love that Fleet Feet gives me so many opportunities to pace 🙂

Every time someone uses a search engine that sends them to my site, it shows up on my blog stats page.  Normal searches revolve around running and recipes.  This happened…

I’m not sure what is says about me or the person searching!  FYI: I never know the identity of the person, so if it was YOU, your secret is safe.

I finally bought mums for my front porch.  Lots of yellow for my planters!

After the Depot, we went to Chuy’s for my favorite guacamole taco salad.

We were both worn out and decided to stay in and use our new outdoor fireplace for the first time. I was giddy and bought the jumbo marshmallows for roasting!

Miss Caroline enjoyed the fire, too.

I will now imagine a French Cat every time I read LMAO!

Sunday:

We woke up to this temp…what?!!! Perfect running weather.

I did a nice easy paced run to Puckett’s where my husband met me for breakfast!!

Strawberry goodness on my oatmeal and french toast! (Yes, I ate it all)

We hit the gym together afterwards.

After roasting marshmallows on veggie skewers, we went to REI to up our roasting game…they telescope and turn at the touch of a finger!

Dinner on the Burger Up patio:  Salad with a quinoa burger on top and

Check out Jason’s onion ring tower!

At the Whole Foods we discovered Rambutan.

Of course, I bought one.  It tastes like a sweet grape.

Lastly, we ended the day with a post dinner bike ride through our hood 🙂

Do you love the training or the race more?

Onion rings or french fries?

Did you race this weekend or long run?  Tell me all about it!!!

#choosejoy

Drop Week…BOOM!

Because of a big Labor Day race, my Chicago Training Group didn’t have a formal training run on our schedule.  This week also happened to fall on a drop week, and my long run called for 16 miles.

I ran 4 very dark solo miles.

I love that my Cocogo packets fit in my handheld sleeve!  Lemon Lime kept me hydrated today.  Cocogo is offering free shipping through Labor Day.  AND…you can use my discount code: JENCHOOSESJOY for 10% off your order!

I met these ladies for 8 miles.

The sunrise was spectacular!

We had awesome zucchini muffins baked by Lauren…I love friends that bring baked goods to a run!!!  I brought these little bags of granola for everyone.  Apparently, food is our love language.  (I’ll post the granola recipe this weekend.)

Then, I headed out to run 4 more miles.  I got super lucky and ran into the Run 4 Others training group. They were kind enough to let me jump in with them and I ended up with 17 miles.  I’ve said it a million times, but I feel so blessed to have this incredible run community!
I loved that today’s run was so relaxed. No set pace. No preset routes. Just great company. I don’t want every run to be loosey goosey but this was a nice reprieve. Also, when did 17 miles become my relaxed drop week?!!  Progress is beautiful!

After an ice bath and shower, I propped my feet up on my porch swing in my LF Oiselle sweats.  They are so comfy!!

 

After some rest, I went to Fleet Feet to pickup my packet for the Franklin Classic.  I signed up for the 10k and 5k.  With a broken toe, I won’t be speedy, but I still plan to run it for fun.

Of course I needed to buy this cute Nike pullover. It’s impossible for me to go to Fleet Feet without buying something.  Who’s ready for crisp fall running?!!

We went to Costco and I couldn’t resist this black bean “pasta”.  I have no idea what I’ll do with it,but curiousity got the best of me.  Side note: do NOT go on a Saturday afternoon. It was a zoo.

When I got home, I had to ice my foot.  It was a little cranky from my long run:(  Just another reminder that I won’t be racing on Monday.

We had a Mexican dinner with the tastiest blackberry margarita!

And a slice of birthday cake from Whole Foods…just because.

And then…Lauren Fleshman favorited my tweet!  I am definitely a big nerd.

I hope you’re having a super long weekend!

Have you tried Black Bean “pasta”?  Let me know if you have ideas for it!

Are you a COSTCO or Sam’s Club shopper?  Those stores are always crazy and stress me out.

#choosejoy

Homeward Bound

We booked an afternoon flight so we could enjoy just a little more time in the city.

Breakfast of champions! Have you detected a trend? I’m nothing if not predictable.

We opted for biking this morning and got to witness this beautiful sunrise on the bridge to Arlington!

Arlington National Cemetery.  I was humbled by the sea of headstones.  I didn’t want to take pictures out of respect, but in a strange way…it was a beautiful and peaceful place.

We continued our ride along the river to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park and onto the Crescent Trail.  It was full of legit cyclists…then there were these two goofballs!

Bike selfie. Didn’t crash!

Before the airport, we stopped for lunch at Zaytinya.  It’s a Mediterranean tapas restaurant.  The weather was gorgeous, so we dined on the patio that had these great parachute-like umbrellas.  This ended up being one of my favorite meals…so glad we were able to squeeze it in!

Kolokithokeftedes (Zucchini and Cheese Patties), Mushroom Couscous, and Crispy Brussels Afelia

**Over-packer Travel Tip:  My suitcase is always over-weight…especially on the way home after vacation shopping.  So, I check my bag at the curbside check-in.  The employees are allowed to accept tips.  Tip $5 (to avoid having to pay the $75 fee) and they almost always look the other way.  Today, he even tagged my bag, but didn’t charge me.

Once we got home, we stopped for dinner at Chuy’s for a guacamole taco salad…avocado goodness!  It’s not on the menu, but they happily sub guac for the meat.  Yea for restaurants that accommodate vegetarians!

We went to Fleet Feet to pickup singlets for this weekend’s Cumberland Plateau Stage Race.  I couldn’t resist a new pair of Kigers!  They’re my favorite trail shoe and I “needed” a new pair.

I ended the day with the perfect bedtime snack/ souvenir: Hippie Crack Granola from my favorite DC bakery, Baked and Wired!

#choosejoy