Weekend Roundup #2

The boyfriend and I went to a wedding on Saturday.  Our friend from India (groom) weds his girlfriend from Nepal. They had a ceremony in India for his family, a ceremony in Nepal for her family and a ceremony in the good ol' U.S.A. for their friends in America.  Being in America, you gotto do the usual American wedding things - white dress, unity candle, garter toss, bouquet toss.

We got home early enough, watched "The Last Emperor" on DVD and slept. I was ready to pound out that 9 miles I was nervous about a few days ago.

Sunday 5 a.m. rolls around. I didn't want to roll out of bed. But I did! And I was early and waited on Ms. M and Mr. J.  It was a blustery morning. Ms. M, being the seasoned runner and all, taught me about how to "read" winds. After our 4.5-mile loop lesson, Ms. M headed home and Mr. J and I were left to our own devices. I had to "read" the winds to make sure that we don't come back head-on with that wind. Not too shabby. But I clearly need more practice. It was "HEAD ON" on our last 0.3 mile.
Funny how 9-miles today were much easier than the 4-miler killer runs earlier this week.
And we managed a very nice negative splits run. Check this out!

12:44
12:37
12:20
13:07,  13.04 (stopped to take the reflective vest, get a drink of water, and got my Gu Chomps)
11:34
11:29
11:27
11:17
9:42 (last stretch - uphill and we made a quick strong dash for it too!)

After the run, I headed home for a hot steamy shower and got back into bed for a nap.
Woke up and had breakfast fit for a princess at 1 p.m. (pancakes with real maple syrup with nuts, turkey bacon, coffee, OJ, eggs). I ate well and enjoyed a pretty sight outside the window because we got some snow, baby!

Looks like a bli-bli-bli zzard out there.

 I'm so scared that I can't seem to stand still for a picture

A Funny and A Run

Me: Well, she doesn't just run marathons. She does ultras.
Boyfriend: What's an ultra?
Me: That's further than a marathon.
Boyfriend: I know someone who runs ultra.
Me: Really? Who?
Boyfriend: Forrest Gump.

I love Forrest Gump. He might be a simple man but he sure knows a lot about honor, faith, love, and friendship.

Today's run started at 6 a.m. It was in the low 40s. Brrr ... but absolutely lovely. I struggled a little getting my wardrobe ready for today's run though. Since I am a beginner, I have yet amassed enough running outfits to get me through the seasons. Right now, I have summer running season covered. I bought a number of tanks (at a decent price) this year. So, I guess, it is time to hunt for cold weather running outfits. Any suggestions would be very much welcome!

I usually eat something before my weekend long runs (anything more than 5 miles). But today, sleep overrode all sense and logic and habits. I slept until the very last possible minute that I have to wake up and start getting ready for the run. And we ran. Slowly.  The joints felt like they needed some lubricant. Most memorable thing on this run? The smell of Downy and donuts wafted through the air. Then, we started talking about cinnamon buns. Seriously?  My intention was to do 8 miles today, but at Mile #5, we were back at the starting point - where my chariot was waiting. Ahhh ... I am hungry and called it a day! I came home to almond milk, oatmeal, an Asian pear and a kiwi. And the boyfriend came home an hour later bearing McDonalds pancakes!

My week in review?
I ran a short 5K route on Tuesday. Didn't run on Thursday because I was out of town for a speech conference and because we had no options but valet parking at an uppity hotel, I left bits and pieces of my running gear in my vehicle. Today's 8 miler turned into a 5.3 miler. I did stretch - once. :(
Not so good on checking things off my list, eh?
Will do better next week!
Now, I am going to go type some more speech evaluation reports before I do some resting!