Post trail run bliss

Somehow this picture didn't make it into the last blog. Love these girls, and love running with them! We are all going to ROCK our marathons in 3 weeks... the question is though... who will run 26.2 miles the fastest?

Taking bets...

Rocky Mountain high...

Colorado

I’m crashing hard from the high that I got while I was in Colorado. No, no drugs were taken, but the high that I get from the fresh, dry, mountain air, leaves me wanting more every time.

I didn’t have many concrete plans going into the week. I went in with the intention to see my friends, family, and enjoy running outdoors. I accomplished all of them, and enjoyed them more than expected.

I started off the week with an 18 mile (planned) run with my dad biking alongside me on Saturday morning. We went out on the Highline Canal trail. I have run this trail hundreds of times, but because I haven’t run it in a while, it was a welcome change. I was worried about the altitude for the run, but decided to go out normally, and just see how my body did. I felt absolutely amazing! I was holding a fast pace for my ‘long run’ and really enjoyed the thinner oxygen and the cooler temperatures. Note: When I run in Florida, I usually start my long runs around 5am so that I can get my run finished before it gets too hot. My dad and I started at 9am, and I was actually cold at the start. What a wonderful feeling.

I’m crediting the cool air for my speedy pace. I think my body didn’t care as much about the thinner air, it just enjoyed not having to cool itself as much. Sadly, my leg started hurting around mile 3. This was a pain that I started to feel during my speedwork on Tuesday of that week, then again during my Tempo run on Thursday. Uh oh. Mile 7 I had to stop and stretch and massage it. I got to mile 9, my turn around. I filled up my water at the fountain, and could barely walk when I tried to start running again. This was super no bueno. After discussing with my dad, I decided that it’s better safe than sorry, so I called my mom to come pick me up. No use hurting myself more. I was mega-bummed. On the plus side though, I had a great time running with my dad, catching up with him, and being outside. I got to sit in the soft grass, in the sun, waiting for my mom. Things could have been a lot worse.

My leg stayed sore/injured for the rest of the day. My mom even massaged it out for me. I was RICEing it all day long. Ouch.

Sunday I went to the driving range with my mom. I have never played golf before, or even picked up clubs. However, I am playing golf with my work group this week, and I didn’t want to suck. So my mom and I played golf a decent amount during the week. I ended up being better than I expected… SCORE!!

After golf, I met up with Lauren and her new boyfriend, Eric. We did Sunday Funday at the Tavern and enjoyed some cold drinks and delicious food. It was so great to catch up with her, and hang out. We ended up there for a few hours, then went to the liquor store to bring home 3 different varieties of Pumpkin beer (as well as others) and take it home for our own taste test. AWESOME.

Monday was one of the best days. Ever. It started with a super easy 2.5 mile run [[to pick up the car I left at the bar on Sunday night because I took a cab home. Good life decision. +1 for Sarah]] The run was followed by an amazing yoga class with Lauren and Eric at Core Power Yoga. Wow. I really miss that place. We had an amazing flow, and a lot of energy in the room. Talk about bliss. After yoga, we walked to the neighborhood coffee shop, then walked back to Lauren’s house, changed, and met up with Nicole for lunch. Our 2 hour lunch included a bottle of wine, truffle fries, bruschetta and a delicious dessert (and a lot of other food.) It was great just to hang with the girls. After lunch, we went sailing on Chatfield Reservoir. Lauren’s dad has a sailboat, so the whole gang came (7 of us.) There was sun, drinking, 80s music & little to no wind, but lots of fun. That evening ended with a dinner at Stranahans with Dave, Lauren, Eric, Lauren’s brother and GF – a Colorado whiskey micro distillery—with the BEST mac and cheese ever… then drinks at the Hornet (with MARIO!!!). Yes. Perfect day.

On the boat with Lauren

Tuesday, Lauren and I had planned to go up to Rocky Mountain National Park to hike Sandbeach Lake. My friend Paula had blogged about this previously, and I really wanted to check it out. Mother nature had different plans for us. Unlike the previous beautiful days, Colorado had it’s first true day of fall, and it was cloudy, cold and a little rainy. We decided to hike the Royal Arch in Chataqua in Boulder instead. We brought the dogs, Lauren's dog Odin, and Dave's dog Tommie. They had a great hike, but were exhausted by the end of it. This was followed by another amazing lunch at my favorite restaurant on Pearl St, Centro. Then a little shopping on Pearl.

Tommie LOVES to hike

After I got home, napped and showered, I had a date with Dave at an amazing Latin-Asian Fusion restaurant: Zengo. DELISH! My favorite small plate of the night: tempura asparagus tacos. Mmmm. I also tried a dessert Malbec which was to die for.

Note: Somehow I didn’t gain 10 pounds on this trip, even though I had amazing food at every meal.

Wednesday was another dreary day, but my mom and I had a golf lesson scheduled, so we had to go. She helped me with my swing, and after a few adjustments, I was actually hitting the ball, and in the direction I intended to. This is a huge improvement from the driving range on Sunday. The afternoon included a blissful and painful 2 hour massage from my favorite masseuse: Ed.

Denver folks: This guy gives one of the BEST massages I have ever had. He is great for athletes, and works on a lot of the pro cyclist in the area.

He worked on my legs for an hour. I would love to say that this was the blissful part… but not so much. He did work out a lot of knots and pains, including my pain from Saturday that was still looming. There was a lot of whining on my part, but my legs felt great after. The second hour was the peaceful and blissful part. It was very therapeutic and relaxing. It included a hot stone massage (AMAZING), salt scrub for my hands and feet, and some work with energy flow… I think. Overall, it was another great experience. I just wish he was in Florida to work on me. Bummer.

I met up with my friend Sharon for drinks, sushi and gossip later that evening. 3 of our favorite things J then ended the night with Dave, Lauren, Eric and Mario at a wine bar downtown. Again. Amazing.

Thursday I got to sleep in a little bit, then had a lunch date with my co-workers from the Denver Siemens office. It is always so great to see everyone, and so tempting to just stay and work with them in Denver… not going back to Florida. Thursday nights in Denver= DTR –Denver Trail Runners. This is a weekly running group that meets up for trail runs every Thursday night. I got to see some of my favorite runners as well! Paula was planning on going anyway, and got stoked when I asked her if she was going.

I met Paula last year at DTR, and we realized we are basically the same person. Same majors in college, love to be outside, Colorado girl at heart… etc etc. LOVE her. It was great to run with her. She is doing her first marathon in October as well, CHICAGO! She has always been a super strong runner, she’s going to rock her 26.2.

Courtney and Luke were also there. They are, hands down, my favorite running couple. Luke recently proposed… so it was great to see them, hear the story and see the ring!! Courtney is also doing her first marathon in October, the same day as Chicago, but in Portland. She is also an amazing runner and is going to rock her marathon.

The trail run was a 6 miler that was ‘flat’ according to Luke. I’m sorry, I don’t consider a 1.25 mile uphill ‘flat.’ I ran the whole time with Paula, and felt amazing on the trail. There were some amazing views, especially at sunset :P There was a pot-luck after the run. This meant some delicious food, and more time with my friends. So sad I can’t do this every week.

Friday I played golf with my mom and her friend Kathe. This was my first game of golf…ever. It was REALLY fun! They taught me the rules and courtesies that come along with the game of golf. I had some awesome drives too! 2 of them ended up on the green! WOOT!! After golf, I met up with Lynne for a long lunch. We caught up on everything from her long road trip driving her fiancée back from Florida, to her wedding, to life. This trip I really appreciated my friendships. And no longer HOW long it’s been since I’ve seen them last, we were able to pick up and chat like I never left. I love my friends!!!

Saturday brought my longest run yet for my marathon training. I met up with Paula and Courtney at the REI downtown, and we set off for our 22 mile run. I was in heaven running through Denver, so I had to bring my camera. We ended up doing 4 laps at Wash park, with Erica, then heading back on the bike path. My leg was still bothering me, so I wore my compression sleeves. Leg hurt more at mile 8, so I moved both sleeves over to my right leg for more compression. Then at mile 14 I literally fell down in pain. It felt like someone grabbed my calf and was giving me an Indian burn from hell. OUCH. Fortunately, Erica’s car was parked in wash park, and she had a trigger point massage system thing in it. I had NO idea what it was, but she insisted it would help. After running back from her car, she pulled out something that looked like a yoga block, a dumbbell and a ball. Don’t be fooled by these ‘simple’ items. This is an intense system that triggers specific points on your leg (hence the name). Erica was an angel and massaged out my Achilles/calf. It hurt SO bad. Paula and Courtney hunted down some pain killers for me. I had been asking a lot of people if they had Ibuprofen, everyone said no. They found someone with Motrin, she gave them like TEN! I took three Motrin, one of Courtney’s salt tabs, and a gel. I was ready to go again. THANKS GIRLS!!!! We pushed it in toward the end, encouraging each other. When all was said and done, we finished 22 rockin miles, with a 9:30 average (including a few walk breaks.) Freaking awesome. Post run included Starbucks and an ice bath in the creek.

Pre-run picBeautiful REI Downtown

And we're off!

Met up with Erica in Wash Park Oh hello Mr. Fireman... will you take a picture with us? Erica taking care of my leg.... thanks girl!

Post run, we look pretty damn good!!Ice bath in the river

We said by to Courtney and Luke (who met us at Starbucks) and Paula and I walked to the car. She realized that she had lost her key on the run. Damnit. Shitty thing is we SAW the key on the trail. So we knew where it was. After flagging down a couple cyclists to go look for the key, it was nowhere to be found. I helped Paula try to track the key down and see if it was turned in anywhere. No dice. Sad. Fortunately, she has AAA so she was eventually good to go.

I had a haircut in about an hour, so I enjoyed some Starbucks in the sun, and pouted over my injured leg. One rockin haircut and glass of wine later, I was off to go home, pack and get ready for Carrie’s wedding that night. My mom *rockstar* helped me pack up all my crap. I got a lot of my winter clothes and shoes out of storage, and was taking it back to Orlando with me. (apparently it gets cold here….we’ll see). She packed everything up perfectly for me while I got ready for the wedding.

Dave had helped plan the wedding, so I met him there. I didn’t even recognize him when I walked in. Seriously, I looked straight past him. He has lost over 60 pounds in about 6 months. He’s also running his first marathon on the same day as Paula, Courtney and me, but in Denver. Amazing what marathon training can do to your body.

The only pic of me at the wedding...

Anyway, the wedding was absolutely beautiful! Jen and Dave did an amazing job planning every last detail. After the ceremony, Dave was able to take off the ‘wedding planner’ hat and was able to enjoy the rest of the evening with me, as a guest. J We had a ball dancing, hanging out with friends and talking. The big news of the night, other than Carrie getting married, was that I invited Dave to come live with me in Florida. He’s been wanting to do this since day 1, and I am finally letting him. J He’s coming down the week after our marathon. Nothing says marathon recovery like a 30 hour car ride. My flight back to Florida was early the next morning. Sad day.

Overall, it was a phenomenal trip. I was so happy to be able to see all my friends and spend such quality time with them. I didn’t get to see Gabrielle, which really really bums me out, but she is in Florida this weekend. I’m really hoping I get to see her then. Denver will always have a special place in my heart, and will always be my ‘home.’ Thanks for the great trip everyone. See you soon!

If you ever get sick of the cold and the snow, come visit me in Florida! It’s going to be a very nice winter!

48 Hours til I'm in the 303!

The countdown is on! 48 hours from now I will be landing in beautiful Denver, Colorado! I haven’t been gone that long, but I am so excited to go back and visit.

I tried not to ‘plan’ too much out for my trip but there are a few things on the agenda:

- Long run

- Race

- Massage

- Date with Lauren (and her new beau)

- Date with Lynne (and her new FIANCE!!)

- Friend’s wedding

- 22 miler with Courtney (and see her new FIANCE too!)

Not too shabby. Why does the majority of the plans for my trip revolve around running? Oh yeah, because I pretty much revolve around running. I’m SO looking forward to running in cooler air. Air that doesn’t make me sweat the second I walk outside, the second I start moving. Amazing to think I could actually do a run where my running clothes weren’t sopping wet with sweat when I finished. I’m a little nervous for the altitude, but I’ll take it as a trade off for the air. Oh and the views. I love Colorado’s mountains. I just want to sit and soak it all in. I hope to hike and run in the mountains while I’m there.

Thanks to Paula for the photos :)

There are no ‘trails’ in Florida, and definitely no hills. My marathon is only 6 weeks away, but I’m hoping to get a few good trail runs in (and hope that works with my schedule.)

I’ve missed my parents a lot. I can’t wait for the home cooked meals, drinks on the patio, and the board games that we’ll play. I’m excited for the friendly people. It will be nice to walk around in my running clothes, smile at someone, and have them smile back. I’ve missed the beer: the selection, the freshness and the flavor. I’ve missed . I’m excited to see my friends. It’s hard to keep in touch with everyone when you move away, but so easy to catch back up when you come back. Maybe I’ll even tie up some loose ends. Who knows. I’m super excited to come home, and am ready to soak up every minute in the mile high city!! :D

Yoga. In (then out) with the new.

Mountain pose teaches us, literally, how to stand on our own two feet.... teaching us to root ourselves into the earth.... Our bodies become a connection between heaven and earth.

~Carol Krucoff Partner yoga with Lauren- One of my BFFs and favorite yoga buddies

I have been doing yoga for about 7 years now. It's been a constant in my life since I started college. I didn't realize though, how spoiled I was with the yoga studios in Colorado. I have always gone to Corepower Yoga. They had 2 studios in Boulder (with a 3rd opening recently) and 3 studios to choose from near my house in Denver. I had many different classes and times each day to choose from. I established a solid practice at corepower and tried every class they had. My favorite classes were C2 (hot power flow) and the sculpt classes. Both were in a very hot room, where you sweat for the entire time. I felt like I was sweating out all the toxins and releasing all the bad stuff from my body.

Beach yoga in Costa Rica

Until I moved to Orlando, I was doing yoga 4-5 times per week. This was part of my health routine, both for the mind and for the body. I came to Orlando hoping to continue my yoga practice and to grow as a yogi. I found Orlando Power Yoga the first week I was here, and started their 40 days for $40 package for new students. This was a different studio than I was used to, but I really liked it. It was a smaller studio, but still did the hot yoga flow. They even have an 80 min flow class.

Note: 80 minutes of hot yoga, especially when it's over 100* outside kicks your butt.

Anyway, this was a great studio. My roommate also bought the new student package, so we would motivate each other to go after work. This was her first real yoga (and hot yoga) experience ever and she loved it. Yay. I didn't go as much as I would have liked to, because of a busy work and social schedule. I was glad to have that studio so close to my house, and available in the evenings as a release.

During my first month here, there was a living social deal for $30 for one month of yoga at a different yoga studio. This studio was farther away from our house, but decently close to work. Liz and I decided to buy it and to use it for when our membership to Orlando Power Yoga ran out. Tonight was that night.

Let me just reiterate that I have been extremely spoiled with amazing yoga studios, teachers, facilities etc. I try to keep my expectations for new things low... but I have had great experiences in the past.

Liz and I pulled up after work to said yoga studio. It is in the corner unit of a small strip mall in a random neighborhood. We grab our mats and our clothes to change in to, since we were still in our work clothes, and we head into the studio. We walk in to silence.... an awkward lobby.... and nobody. A few seconds later someone comes out from behind a big wall partition... who was MAYBE 23. She checks us in, has us fill out a form... and just stands there. One other person walks in while we are filling out paperwork, and by the time class starts, there are 5 of us total.

This isn't quite a yoga specific studio. This is a room in a commercial center with the cement floor painted, and a folding wall put up. No mirrors, no art, no yoga anything. I'm not going to sit here and rant about every second of class, but here are the main things that bothered me.

• Her voice was extremely annoying and she didn't shut up for the entire class, until shavasana at the end.
• Because there were only 5 of us, there was no energy flowing through the room, so it didn't feel like a powerful yoga session, just 5 girls stretching together.
• The whole place was air conditioned. When I started to sweat, the teacher walked over and cranked the AC.
• She was saying the wrong names for a lot of the poses. Not the Sanskrit names... the English names. She even made one up: Charlie's Angles Asana. No. Just no.
• She informed us at the beginning that we would be doing a 'flow' class, and we could take downward dog or child's pose at any time if we needed to. We didn't do one flow. Not even one sun salutation. Hmm...
• She walked around with stinky incense during shavasana which distracted both Liz and me
  

Just to name a few. I tried to be very open minded for this class and a new studio. It was definitely a disappointing experience for me. (Liz felt the same way) My body felt good because I was moving and stretching for an hour, it just wasn't at all what I had wanted. Will I go back? Sure. I have a month membership. Will I buy a 10-pack at the hot, awesome, flow yoga studio by my house? Most likely.

It just makes me sad that some people think this is how yoga is and how yoga should be. I just wish there was a way to politely tell them to branch out and try other studios.

I'm not a negative person, and I don't mean to rant. This was just an awkward and not so fun experience.

Paleo Fun

My last meal before starting Paleo...

Two weeks ago, I began the Paleo Diet. I have heard a lot about this diet/lifestyle through different discussions on twitter, but really understood the concept after talking to some trainers at my crossfit gym. The idea is to, "base your diet on garden vegetables, especially greens, lean meats, nuts and seeds, little starch, and no sugar. That's about as simple as we can get."

Taken directly from my friend Paula's blog post on Paleo:
"Paleo basically encompasses eating “like a caveman”, focusing on healthy proteins, fruits, vegetables and nuts. Notably, you cannot eat grains, dairy or legumes on paleo. As a former distance runner, this was a difficult concept to wrap my mind around. I grew up in a sport that encourages grains like pasta, bagels with peanut butter and granola bars. Not to mention the fact that I happen to love grains and dairy. I especially am a fan of yogurt, and greek yogurt with honey has been my standard breakfast for the past year or so. " -----I couldn't have said it better myself.


I have no intention to completely change my diet for the rest of my life. I have always lived on bread, pasta, pizza, etc. This was more just a challenge to see how my body would feel if I eliminated all the processed crap. My biggest worry for starting this strict diet would be the impact it would have on my running. I'm deep in my marathon training at this point, with my long run currently at 16 miles, and I need to be sure I'm fueling my body properly, for both workouts and recovery. After reading the book "Paleo for Athletes," I had a better grasp on how to fuel my body properly for the hard workouts. I don't need to eliminate every single carb from my diet. I'm getting plenty of carbs through fruits and veggies. As I eliminate the processed carbs from my diet, my body is changing to use fat as energy, rather than sugars.

I have cheated here and there, which I believe is ok. It's natural. But for the most part, I've stuck to the diet. I love fruits and veggies, so it hasn't been hard at all. I'll make up a big batch of food, and eat it all week long. Liz and I went to Sam's Club this weekend and got a bunch of fruits, veggies, chicken and fish and I was chopping, baking and mixing for a good 3 hours on Sunday night. Totally worth the effort!

Salmon, Tilapia and Chicken. YUM

My body is feeling great. I don't get the highs and lows that I used to get when I was eating a lot of grains. I am still using blocks, gels and waffles for my long runs, but refueling with proteins, fruits and veggies after. Surprisingly, I feel better than when I would use pasta to fuel and another carb to recover.


Am I using this diet to lose weight: No.
Would I be mad if I did: No.
Will I eat like this forever: No.
Do I like how I feel now: YES.
Do I think there is legitimacy behind the diet: Most definitely.

What are your thoughts on the Paleo diet/lifestyle?

My first month in Orlando (better late than never... right?)

My new "home" in Orlando

Have you ever had a time in your life where everything was working out better than you expected… and life almost seemed, well… Perfect? That’s happening to me right now and I couldn’t be happier!

I’ll start with my departure brunch. It was a perfect morning and afternoon, and I’m so glad that all my close friends were able to make it. I was especially happy to see my running/twitter friends there, and I know that I will be missed by everyone (I miss you too!!). The bottomless mimosas turned into a little bit of a shit show as the afternoon approached, but just know, that they get SOMEONE every week.

Dave and I hit the road from there, in the over-packed Civic, with our sights set on New Orleans, in one straight shot.

This would mean that we were going to be on the road for about 24 hours straight. Since I enjoyed some libations at brunch, Dave drove the first stretch. I ended up driving through the middle of the night, and Dave drove us into NOLA. We had a fun night at the W (thanks to my sister) and enjoyed Bourbon St. The next morning we headed out later than we wanted, thanks to a time change confusion with our cell phones and some delicious beignets, but we had an easy drive to Orlando.

Dave singing to me on the drive down...

We met my new roommate, Liz, and her boyfriend Paul. After checking out our new amazing apartment, we decided to enjoy a glass of wine together at the corner wine bar, just downstairs from our apartment. Talk about dangerous… a wine bar within a block of my house? Not just that, but probably 10 super cute and trendy restaurants, Starbucks, FroYo, Pizza, AND a grocery store? I’m in love with this city and my neighborhood already.

As the week went on, Liz (more about her to come) and I hung out with the other people in our group. Among food, drinks and dancing we have all decided that:

1. We have a lot of fun people in our group.

2. Liz and I live in pretty much the best part of Orlando

3. It rocks having guy friends that aren’t hitting on you because they have to work with you for the next year and a half (and longer)

4. We need to find a friend with a boat. (Still working on that)

After a trip to Ikea and a few trips to Target, my room was finally complete and feels homey. I also have a huge bathroom attached to my room, and an enormous walk in closet attached to that. Ahh, bliss. This closet is seriously amazing as it holds all my clothes, and all my shoes, and the rest of the crap that I decided to tote down with me.

Orlando is treating me better than I would have ever expected. The city is amazing, the people here, for the most part, are amazing. I have to initiate the smile to break theirs…

My roommate: Liz. She is absolutely amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything better. If you would have asked me to write out exactly what I wanted in the ideal roommate, she surpasses every one of those qualities. She is from Michigan, went to Michigan State, and studied Engineering (She’s super smart). She also grew up playing soccer, and leading a very healthy life. So she’s super fit and eats healthy and understands my crazy food and training etc. She is also very sociable and we have a great time going out together. She’s low key, so she can deal with my running late and messiness. Our lives are so busy that we live in each other’s messiness. And who else would get up at 5:30 with me every morning to run? She is also going to teach me how to golf, a vital skill for business down in Florida.

Liz and me on the first day of work :)

Job: For those of you who don’t know, I got a job with Siemens Energy in the Sales and Marketing development program. It’s a 14 month rotational program with three- 4 month rotations. We will get to work in 4 different parts of the energy industry, and work in 3 or 4 different cities. We will have the opportunity to network with a lot of people in different offices, and get to travel around. It’s an amazing program. My first rotation is based out of Orlando, and I’m doing sales and marketing with the Latin America Region (RLA.) My current tasks and projects haven’t really been defined yet, but there is definitely a lot to do. Everyone speaks Spanish, and the majority of the meetings are in Spanish. I was a little rusty on the first day, but I can now understand ~95% of what they are saying… just don’t ask me to respond. I’ve found that I’m a little more timid with speaking Spanish than I should be. ****Note to self: work on speaking Spanish…. **** There is opportunity for international travel, so I’m really hoping I get to go with the group! Woo hoo! Venezuela/Argentina/Colombia/Mexico… doesn’t matter to me!

The SMDP group of 2011. WOOT!

The SMDP group: There are 10 of us in the Sales and Marketing Development program. 3 of which are junior military officers, so they’re a few years older, but they have definitely seen and learned things that we can’t even imagine. The rest of us have graduated recently. I’m definitely the oldest non JMO, everyone else either graduated in December or in May. Liz and I are the only two girls. Some people would hate it, but we love it! The guys are great and they are more like our brothers than anything. We have formed a little clique and we go everywhere together, whether its out to dinner, or grabbing a glass of wine on the weekdays or whatever. We all get along well and they are a great group of people to both stay friends with and work with for the next few years.

Orlando: The city itself is amazing. Our apartment is right on Lake Eola, which is literally 3 blocks away from downtown. The area has the same feeling as the highlands or Wash park (Denver) but it right next to downtown. It’s an area full of young professionals, and a few homeless people. The Casey Anthony trial took place 4 blocks away from my house (don’t even get me started with her….) There’s a Farmer’s Market every Sunday in the park on the lake. We enjoy going every weekend to buy fresh produce, art, and I purchased my first orchid. I’m amazed I’ve kept it alive so far.

Farmers market next to our house

The path next to the lake.... and our apartment is on the corner here... 2nd to the top :)

The bar and club scene in Orlando is bigger and better than I imagined. I don’t really know how it compares to Denver because I didn’t really go out much in Denver. We (the clique of SMDPs, including Liz) go out pretty much every single weekend, and some weeknights. I haven’t partied like this since I was in college! It gets kinda crazy sometimes. There’s clubs and bars everywhere, and we just go out and have a good time. The guys in our group are very entertaining to watch as they try to pick up the girl of the night. In general, we move through downtown in our little pack of 5 or 6. We usually end up at the lodge, 80s dance music and fun people. Who doesn’t love 80s dance music? Liz and I usually have at least one person sleeping on our couch/floor every weekend…that’s the price we pay for living downtown!!

Running: I am keeping up with my marathon training while I’m here. I’m doing the Rock’N’Roll Chicago half marathon in August, and the Chicago (full) marathon in October, so I have to keep running! Liz gets up at 5:30 and runs with me most days before work. I also have been doing my long runs with My twitter friend Maddy (@maddyhubba) on Saturday mornings. It’s so nice to have someone to do my long runs with! We usually meet at 6am on Saturdays, which means I have to leave my house at 5:30… and wake up at 4:45 or 5 to eat… Needless to say, Liz and the other guys in the group don’t like that fact that I don’t go out late on Friday nights. We say that Maddy is cock-blocking my social life. Haha. I substitute going out late with happy hour, so I’m still out and social.

Note: before you start thinking that I’m partying all the time… it’s not all the time, but a couple nights a week. However, it’s not going out and getting drunk. I’m too old for that and my body can’t handle it (and I’m training!!!) Liz and I are known to order ‘soda splash of cran’ (without the vodka) so it looks like we’re drinking…. But we know better. It’s just fun to be out with everyone and be social.

I am starting crossfit at a local ‘box.’ I went through my foundations classes, learning how to do all the Olympic lifts, and will start with my WODs (workout of the day) today! I also found a great yoga studio in town that is similar to the studio I went to at home.

All in all, I LOVE it here. I love the people, my friends, my apartment, the city, my job. Everything. I’m super busy, but loving life. I’m down here through mid-October, if anyone wants to come and visit!!

Finally, I want to congratulate one of my best friends Lynne in her engagement last week!! She and Alex have been together for a long time and he finally popped the question! I’m so happy for you both!!! I’m excited for all the wedding planning! Congrats Lynne!!! I LOVE YOU and miss you!

Back to the Blog

I decided that I am going to start blogging again . The last blog I had was for the 9 months that I was living abroad, in Costa Rica and in Argentina. I wanted to write down my adventures, remember the fun events, good food, fun people, and share my fun with anyone who wanted to read it.

It's been about 3 years since I've posted last, but my adventures haven't stopped, I just returned home and stopped writing. Well my (traveling) adventures are officially going to start again. I will be moving to Orlando Florida on Sunday, for work. I will be moving around every 3 months, to a total of 4 different cities, to do 4 different jobs for my company. I'm stoked about this experience and ready to share!

While I don't consider myself a great writer, the only way to get better is to write, right? :) So that is what I'll do! Who knows what I'll write about, or how often, but it'll be fun just to keep an online journal of my thoughts/adventures. I'm sure I'll eventually be posting race reports, recipes and random pictures, so ENJOY!


Side note: I kept my old blog from studying abroad and am just going to add to it. My international adventures have helped to mold me into who I am today, and they are there if you want to go back in time and learn a little bit about me!

Also, if anyone has suggestions, tips or expertise in blogging/layouts etc, I need all the help I can get! My page is boring now, but I'll make it look pretty, I promise!