A few of my happy things.

There are a number of things that have made my week fantastic. I thought I’d throw a few of the highlights out on this sunny afternoon before starting another fun weekend here in CNY!

3 Miles at a 7:18 pace… on trail… (Whoot!)

Kickball complete with Walkout Songs (I know..old picture, but you get the point…).

A visit to Vermont

A few hours with the family in ENY (and a few 2 week old kittens…)

6 years of Racing

Tough Muddin’

Hydrangeas

My sidekick & her antics.

New Running Sneakers (Day Glow Yellow- Bonus!)

Gifts from afar…

Zoo Brew!

& 6 months of playlists, beers, dinners, races, road trips, & adventures.

These are a few of my happy things.

I hope you have a incredible weekend!  I know I will since I’ll be volunteering at Irongirl Saturday and then cheering on all my friends during the race Sunday.  To my friends: you are all amazing – have a blast and enjoy every minute!!  You’ve worked hard, and now it’s time to just have fun!!

Yogurt, Kicks, & Rollin.

I hope you all had a great week!  I know mine has had it’s ups and downs with some major ups – hello Wrangler… oh and new sneakers (see below) these are my first venture into some more minimalist style sneakers, we’ll see how it goes. 

I had some killer workouts the past few days – my legs and butt are definitely feeling the mix of high intensity shorter workouts from the schedule this week. 

Last night I went to the Blarney Stone to have a Blarney Burger with my friends R & P.   If you’re ever in Syracuse and want an amazing burger, you should go there.  I was so full from my burger and fries when I left, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stay afloat in the pool for my swim workout… I’m happy to report that I didn’t sink – must have been my awesome kick board and fins, but more on that later.   

Aaaannnd to top it off, last night SU Basketball advanced to the Elite 8 in the tourney – good times.   

I know that was a quick recap and I’ve definitely missed a few components of the jam-packed week but I thought I’d just leave you with a couple pictures to recap….

Yes, thanks to my job, I am the crazy lady with a purse full of yogurt.

Pure Connect or Pure Cadence. Decisions decisions.

I chose the Connects – I think I’m a fan.

Rollin’ with some help from my friend.

This weekend has lots in store with a swim session with my coach, a computrainer session, SU Basketball, Easter with a co-worker’s family, and some other adventures planned! I hope you all have some fun this weekend and spend sometime with friends and family!

Sunny Sunday, Manic Monday.

It was a crazy weekend, starting with another snow storm Friday and finished out with a sunny (and warmish) Sunday afternoon.  To take advantage of the nice weather – since its a rare occurrence in CNY during February – Rox and I hit up Onondaga Lake Parkway after my 60 minute bike trainer session on Sunday. It was beautiful outside,and Rox enjoyed trying to intimidate every other dog that was walking the parkway…

Onondaga Lake Park

Sunday also gave me an opportunity to hit up Fleet Feet in Syracuse to get a new pair of sneakers for the upcoming season. (love this store, if you have never been fitted for running shoes, go!  They do a great job and are committed to getting everyone a proper fit.)  After getting my new shoes, I also took the opportunity to talk to a few of the employees about the Ragnar Relay Series and left postcards for the upcoming Cape Cod and Adirondack races at the store.  Hopefully myself and a few of the other Ragnar Ambassadors in the CNY area will be doing a Ragnar 101 session at the store later this year.

Sunday marked the end of another training week, I was happy that I only substituted 1 workout from a swim to a run.  Overall it was a great week and I feel pretty good about the start of my training for this season.  This week, I’m already off the schedule but I guess some of that is expected since I’ve got a bunch of work meetings that will be competing for my time. 

Last night instead of my scheduled bike ride, I decided to start breaking in the new shoes and hit up the gym for a progression run on the treadmill.  I made this change mostly due to the fact that I needed a quick and fast workout, was craving a run (warm weather, please return… I’m anxious to get back to trail running at Green Lakes) and the thought of a long ride on my trainer was not overly exciting to me. 

So, even though I was feeling zapped from Monday at the office, I managed to run a 5K in 24 minutes, starting at 6.5 mph and finishing at a pace of 8.5 mph.  Overall pace 7:45 – which is pretty good for me, and made me excited about what I might be able to accomplish this year.  I hope I can get to a faster pace on some of my longer runs this year (without injury).

The new Kicks.

After running, I decided to sport the compression socks last night to help with recovery.  Overall I think it was a good move, my legs are feeling good today and I’m looking forward to a good “spin and swim” session tonight.

Compression Socks Rock!

To finish out the night, Rox and I chilled on the couch for a bit and I had to share a pic of her since she was looking pretty cute with the leftover Chobani on her nose from breakfast this morning, guess I missed that when I was rushing out to door before work! (Rox LOVES cleaning out the Chobani cups after I have my breakfast.) 

Now I realize this post was not overly exciting, but I certainly enjoyed my weekend and the start of my training week.  Hope you all have a good week!

The Journeys Traveled & The Adventures that Await!

I see a theme here with my running shoes. In the past 18 months I’ve become a Brooks Running convert. Love their shoes & gear!

As I look at my shoes I see the older pairs that have been through so many miles of roads and trails and feel a bit sentimental about the journeys we’ve taken together.

As I look at the new shoes that are still clean and only have logged a few broken yet to experience the mud and dirt, I can’t help but get excited thinking about the adventures that await!