Starbucks and Sequins

Wenesday’s are typically my busy days. I babysit bright and early, intern all day, and then have a 3 hour night class. There’s nothing particularly bad about Wednesday’s, they just seem to drag on for hours and hours. For my internship, I knew I would be sitting in meetings all morning so after I got the kids on the bus I made a quick pit stop at Starbucks and then headed off to my meetings. Yesterday also happened to be a very gloomy day (as is today) and so I decided to wear a sequin skirt to brighten up the dullness outside. And therefore yesterday was deemed a Starbucks and Sequin Day.

Yesterday was also a rest day from anything fitness related. I really missed being able to get a workout in because I feel that I have a better perspective about life and myself after I workout. Today I will be on the elliptical for one more day to give my hips a rest and then tomorrow I am back at running. Would it be weird to talk on the phone while I elliptical? I can’t decide if that’s a fitness center no-no or if it would be ok. I guess I’ll decide how I feel later! There is also a yoga class I want to attend tonight but with my hips being funky lately I feel like that’s probably not a good idea so I will save that for next week. Good thing I already have a date planned with one of my friends to come with me! Thursday’s are typically my easy days with school and what not so I am definitely looking forward to breezing through the day and having minimal things to do tonight.

Today is another gloomy day outside so my plans to walk downtown and get a chai have been crushed. I guess that means I just have to get moving a little bit quicker so I have time to drive down there. I hope Thursday treats you well!

I’m loving this weather

Monday I was freezing at my internship all day so when I got home to change for my run I was not about to be cold again. Therefore, I put on a long sleeve shirt in SEPTEMBER! To be honest I was a little toasty but in the shade it felt great! I ran for 30 minutes and ended at the park where I did a strength workout. I tweaked my hip flexor the night before doing squat kicks so I avoided anything legs related. My cool down was a brisk walk home, and at this point I was happy I had a long sleeve on!

I am back on the paved biking/running trail near my house and just about leaped for joy because it felt so great to run on it again! And then my walk back home was practically through a jungle for a bit. As you can see its overgrown but has a few woodchips that make a trail. Being the scaredy-cat that I am I always worry walking through there but it was over in a snap and I felt better.

My hip flexor was a little tight today so instead of risking an injury I went on the elliptical in the fitness center at school. It is so nice not having to pay for a gym membership and its definitely one of the perks that I will miss having next year. I went for 45 minutes and then did core for 10 minutes afterwards. I worked up a pretty good sweat and my hips felt good doing that. One of my friends met me up there before she started her workout so she ellipticalled (is this even a word?) next to me for 15 minutes. It helped the time go by much faster! I tried to take a picture of myself on there but it wasn’t working very well so to save you from a terribly blurry Iphone picture I won’t post one.

Tomorrow is a rest day because Wednesday’s are always my long days. However, I may head out for a quick walk/run if I get enough studying in today! We’ll see!

Since before I quit cross country I was dead-set on running a half marathon in November. Recently, however I have been wavering back and forth on my decision so I told myself that if I did really good with running this week that I would sign up over the weekend. So far I am doing really well and I feel so motivated to run everyday. Even to the point of not being excited for a rest day tomorrow! I am loving falling in love with running again. It is such a great feeling!

How is your running going? Signed up for any upcoming races?

Racer —-> Spectator

Saturday my team had their first meet at home. I was a little nervous to go because I thought I would feel uncomfortable, being that I was on that team no more than a week ago! But I did not at all the entire time think to myself, “I wish I was the one racing right now.” And that my friends is how I know I made the right decision! It was a beautiful day and the lake looked stunning!

Both the guys and the girls ran great! Times were much better than last year! We ran around the course and cheered everyone on! Some of the guys were on the team when Andy was so it was fun for him to cheer everyone on as well. Our number one girl did not race this weekend because she has been having back problems. She and I hung out and I made it my mission to try and cheer her up!

Over all it was a great weekend! We got to see a concert, watch a cross country race, relax, watch Sunday football, take a nap, and just be together! This week I worked out as I felt because I wanted a little downtime between cross and my non-cross life. I am looking forward to getting back into a fitness routine this week! Tomorrow will begin bright and early with pilates and then I am doing a run after my internship. With this cooler weather I am able to run at anytime of the day which is awesome!

How was your weekend?!

Any races coming up?

Jana Kramer, Easton Corbin, and Blake Shelton

Friday morning, bright and early on my way to babysitting I heard on the radio that there was a Blake Shelton Concert going on in Milwaukee that night. I decided on a whim to look up ticket prices, seriously expecting them to be outrageous. To my surprise though, they were affordable! We only paid $30 for tickets, mind you, we did not really care about our seats because saving money was more important than having good seats! So it was settled, Andy and I would be going to the concert!

We kicked off the night by heading to dinner at Applebees and then making our way down to the Bradley Center. Parking was crazy down there but we ended up parking off of Water Street for $5, which is nothing! Then walked the few blocks and made our way through the crazy crowds. It was such a beautiful day and you can’t beat the drive into the city with the sun setting behind the skyline.

We bought drinks and made our way to our seats. We were up pretty high but honestly we could see totally fine and I loved it! I was so excited to hear Jana Kramer because of watching her on One Tree Hill and lately I’ve been obsessed with her music. She sounded really good in person and had good energy, but she only played for like 30 minutes. Next up was Easton Corbin. He was also great but hard to hear when he was talking in between songs. Andy was most excited to see him because he loves his songs! Easton played for maybe 45 minutes and then it was time for BLAKE SHELTON!

I ran into my cousin inbetween the 2nd and 3rd sets which was neat!

Blake was FANTASTIC!! He not only sounded great but he was hilarious between songs and kept the crowd wanting more! It was my favorite concert that I have been too so far! (not that I’ve been to very many but ya know) My favorite part of the concert was when Blake came to the end of the stage with just his guitar and played 2 songs. He had the crowd hold up their phones and I swear to you it looked like fireflies all over the arena!

Honestly, the worst part of the whole night was the fact that we had high school seniors making out in front of us the whole time. I pretended to vomit on their heads multiple times lol. And behind us was senior citizens with their binoculars! At least there was never a dull moment 🙂

How was your weekend?!

Lake Geneva Awesomeness

This past weekend Andy and I headed into Lake Geneva to check out a trail that goes around the lake. In total, the trail is 22 miles so we only did a small portion but it was really nice. You could pick it up right off the main road, which made parking easy. The funny thing about it is that it goes through the backyards of all these HUGE lake homes/mansions. I’m not sure how it works, but it seemed like each yard could choose how they wanted the stone paved or not paved for that matter. Some areas were stone pavers, others it just looked like  a dirt trail that had been worn down from so much use. It was a beautiful day and you could see the lake the entire walk. I’m a little iffy about running on the trail because of how uneven it is, and some areas don’t allow much room for passing other walkers.

I loved the cute little mile marker. I have no clue how far we got but I know we didn’t come close to many of those! Next time we plan to take the trail the other direction to see how close we can get to the Wrigley Mansion. And yes, that is Wrigley gum!

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I have two classes today, and then a consult with a Florist. I’m not sure what to ask or what to talk about but I’m looking forward to finding out if they can work with our budget and if she has any creative ideas for me.

I am off to do a quick leg workout before class. Hope you all have a fantastic day!

Strength workout at the park

This post has been in the works for quite some time now but I always forgot to take pictures so that is why I am just now posting it even though I discussed it a few weeks back. Anyways, there is a park near my house that has equipment to do strength workouts. I love going there and I always feel stronger. Yesterday it was ridiculously hot here so I took a jog over to the park, worked out, and then walked home. And let me tell you, I was dripping in sweat! It was awesome! I tend to forget that running isn’t the only form of exercise to get myself in shape. I decided I will try and do strength 3 times a week, so I will be heading over there either again either tomorrow or Thursday, but enough talking for now and onto the pictures!

Do you have any parks like this near your home? Anyone know if this will still be accessible in winter?

A big decision was made

For those of you who have been reading my blog all summer, you know that I have struggled back and forth with deciding whether or not do go out for cross country this year. There were reasons why I felt like I should finish out my senior year, and there were other reasons pulling me away from it. One of my main concerns was disappointing the people that I care about most. After some thoughtful reflection, it dawned on me that I am the one living my life and my decisions need to be my own. What a powerful thought that is. So I decided to do something for me, and quitting the team is the best thing I can do right now.

I have so many other things going on and life is way to short to force yourself to do something that does not make you happy (this is within reason of course, we all have things we HAVE to do even when we don’t want too). I can not tell you how free I feel. It is like this HUGE weight has been lifted off of my shoulders! I’m sure I will miss it, but not being there and having the freedom to do the workouts and exercises I want to do is a wonderful feeling. So now that I am not running with the team everyday I will be back to regular blogging and picture taking.

I hope that if you have a major decision to make you are doing it for you, and no one else. Love the life you live, cliché but true.

Labor Day Recap

This weekend was one of the most relaxing I’ve had in awhile. Saturday I had the time trial for my team. It definitely wasn’t my best race, I can tell you that. My time as exactly the same as last year, which is a positive. I struggled with the mental aspect again but I am working on it! My coach called me into his office to talk about Saturday because he was concerned about what happened to me. Basically, I got beat by a bunch of people who I am usually ahead of so he was concerned about me. We talked and he is going to be patient and work with me to get through the mental barrier that I have right now.

Sunday, Andy got here early in the morning and we went to church and brunch together, followed by spending the rest of the weekend together! Brunch was awesome! We ate at the Ale House in Grafton and even sat on the porch. They had a make your own Bloody Mary bar for $5! Andy made one that was awesome, and I had a mimosa that I had been craving for weeks!

 

During the afternoon we walked downtown for ice cream and some fresh air. Then we went down to Harley fest in Milwaukee. It’s definitely not anything we would usually do but we went with another couple and it was a lot of fun!

Monday we had a workout involving 5 hills each  being 300 meters. That is almost a quarter mile up hill, and it is one steep hill! The weather was great though and the run went awesome! I am already scared for tomorrow’s workout. It is mile and a half repeats! Yikes! Wish me luck!

We are almost half way through the week already!