Some things just don't change
Friday April 24
Shylo was able to get me a weekend guest pass to the Y on Friday morning and I was there at 9:30. I had my oatmeal at around 8, let it settle, and then was off. This will be day 2 without coffee...strange...
They got some new and fancy equipment that I was really impressed with. I used the elliptical despite their new additions simply because I didn't know what the new machines were like. 30 minutes on the elliptical and about 20 minutes of weights, squats, lunges and abs, then I was on my way to visit my old boss at the newspaper. We decided lunch was going to be outside since it was GORGEOUS, so I met them at 12:30 with a sleeveless shirt and my new sunglasses. Even though it was only 72, I got a tan line on my arms and neck! Spring is HERE! (at least for now)
Lunch was OK...a chicken Cesar salad at the Country Club. I didn't eat the croutons (and got harassed for it) nor did I eat the mini muffins it came with.
After lunch I made my way over to Ives Cream for the B*E*S*T ice cream EVER. This ice cream shop is run by Alex and Katie Ives and all of their ice cream is made fresh with milk from their farm. The best. And they're great people, which makes it even better. I only had a baby serving of Butter Almond and a little bit of Birthday Cake (sooo good!) and had a nice chat with Alex. (Did I mention how amazing their ice cream is?)
Then it was off to see Keri and Ella (her beautiful little girl-she's 8 months old)
After eating a quick english muffin for dinner (which I got picked on for since it was whole wheat with organic peanut butter) we decided to go out. I knew I didn't want to drink too much, so I had water in between my beers. We got home around 1, which is much later than I've been staying up lately...wow I'm getting old...
So many babies, so little time
Saturday, April 25
My day was planned around my friend Sarah's baby shower in Norwich, and then to Binghamton to see Amy and Liz (college roomies) who were in town for their sister's bridal shower. It was HOT today, 90* in April?!?! But it wasn't humid so it felt nice.
I was so excited to see everyone! Sarah's party had an 80s theme but I didn't dress up since I was going to see the twins after. The party was a hit! Sarah looked so awesome!! I was very happy to see her.
The food was really great but I did my best to eat mostly veggies and fruit. I surprisingly avoided the pizza (can you believe I was in NY for four days and did not have one slice of pizza?) I had some chips and this amazing black bean salsa, some cheezy dip (not too much but man it was good) and about 5 chocolate covered strawberries. MMMM those were good. This wasn't a good eating day for me but it was Saturday, I was with my old friends, and I knew I'd be running 6 miles the next day...so I wasn't going to feel bad for a little bit of splurging.
After the baby shower I drove to Binghamton (about a 45 minute drive) to see Amy and Liz. We had a really good time...and of course, decided to reminisce about the good ol' days....when we were drunks and I was fat. We looked through about three boxes and two huge photo albums and I was thoroughly embarrassed. But hey, it's part of why I'm here right?
Seeing them was awesome as well...it had been waaayyy too long.
After I got back to Norwich Keri and I walked to for a night cap. We chatted over an ice cold Amstell Light and hung out until around 12:30 and now I'm realizing that my plans for a 6 mile run in the morning is creeping up on me. Will I make it?
------I'm trying to train for the Utica Boilermaker 15K...Starting last week I decided to add 1/2 to one mile to the end of my longest run once a week. My longest run for the past few weeks has been 5 miles, so I thought this would be a good week to try 6 miles. I have 13 weeks until the race so I figure that gives me plenty of time to get myself in shape for the 9.3 miler. GO ME!-----
Another gorgeous day in the Hole
Sunday, April 26
I woke up at 8 this morning and I was not a happy girl. I had been sleeping really well on the couch the first two nights, but last night something was different. I just couldn't get comfy. Plus I had been on the go for two straight days and that's something I haven't done in a while.
I had oatmeal and some water, hung out for an hour to let it settle, and was at the gym at 9:30. I could barely keep my eyes open. Day three without coffee?? This has to change. Soon.
I started my run out at a 10 minute mile pace to wake myself up and get things moving. Since I haven't run 6 miles in a looonnngg time, I had no idea how fast/slow/long it was going to take me.
The first mile was a great slow warm up pace and by the time I was at 9 minutes I was ready to push up the pace. But I had a little voice in my head saying "Easy Does It!" so I only pushed it up one decimal every two minutes until I got to 6.5 (9:13 mile). I ran at that pace for a mile and before I knew it, I had already completed three miles! I was half way there! From there, I decided to pump it up a little more. I had run the three miles in about 28 minutes, so for the next three miles I did something that looked like this:
28-30 min 6.6
30-32 min 6.7
32-24 min 6.5
34-36 min 6.6
(4 miles in 36:30 ish)
Mile 4 to 5 was a little faster
36-38 6.7
38-40 6.8
40-42 6.9
42-45 7.0
5 miles in 45 minutes.
At this point I figured, OK. I've made it this far. I'll push it to 5.5 miles and see how I feel from there. So I ran at a 6.7 pace (8:58) and when I got to the 5.5 mile mark I still felt good so I pushed it up to 6.8 for one minute, 6.9 the next, and 7.0 for a good sprint until I got to 5 3/4 mile, and jogged at a 6.3 pace to end my run, finishing 6 miles in 57:18. Not too bad, I think, for my first time running six miles with a pace in mind. I was really happy with myself.
I spent the next half hour stretching and lifting. It was a great workout!
After my shower, I decided a vanilla latte from Garf's Deli was in order. So I got my normal double in a single and a grilled chicken wrap with spinach, onions, cukes, tomatoes and hummus. SOOO GOOD!
The rest of the day was spent seeing more friends and Dennis's family, and dinner with Keri's parents. I will be driving back to Boston in the morning.
Highway drivers SUCK!
Monday, April 27
I had another crappy night on the couch. I could barely sleep and every time I woke up I could hear Roseanne's voice on Nick At Night. Do they have some kind of Roseanne marathon at night or something? (I used to love that show)
I woke up feeling kind of crappy at 8:30. I was able to have breakfast (surprise!! oatmeal!!) with Keri and Ella before she left for work, and I got ready to make my trip back to Boston. I stopped into Garf's to get another dose of my favorite double vanilla latte in a single cup and the famous Chicken Bennington salad sandwich at the Sunrise Cafe for my drive home. I filled up the car and was on the road at 11:15.
Now I don't know about you but I love cruise control. I use it often when I'm on the highway. The problem is, no one else seems to use it because I can't tell you how many times I had to step on my breaks to either pass or get passed by the same four cars on my way back home. I set it at 75. I figure the speed limit is 65 and everyone else usually goes about 75-80 so I'm safe right? Well apparently the people on the road today were either doing 60 or 90. So I'd have to move over to pass the slow person, move back over to let the fast person fly by me, and then five minutes later, hit my break to kick off my cruise control because the person that just flew by me is now in the left hand lane driving 60. WHAT? I think I yelled at the same four cars about 10 times the entire trip home. Welcome back to Boston!
It's nice to be back ... home?? When does where you currently live become home and where you grew up stop being "home?" Either way I'm glad to be back.
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