Life Lately

Hello.

Remember me?  You know, the person who writes this blog?  I am sorry for the break, I honestly did not mean for it to go on for over a month, but once it started, it got harder to get back into it each day it went on (so basically this post is going to be rough, but I hope you stick around).

I don't know what spurred the (needed) break from the blog, but I think so of it came from a little bit of post TinkerBell blues.  I had been looking forward to the race weekend probably a little more then most people.  It basically kept me from going crazy during the long and cold winter here.  The trip was amazing (I am still going to do the race recaps) and so much fun it should probably be illegal.  So, I think it makes sense I came back with a little post-trip blues.  And I was also not feeling running at the time (more on that below), plus was crazy at work (in a good way).  So basically, I was probably due for a break.

Whatever the reason, it happened, so we'll just jump back in.  A lot happened in the last month-ish, so I'm going to do a bit of a life lately recap this today and ease myself back into posting regularly again.  I write this blog for fun, so definitely not planning on stressing myself out about it.  This post will be a quick recap and then I'll do some more regular posts.  I'm likely going to jump around in my posts (vs. going chronologically) based on what I feel like writing that day.

Running

Like I alluded to above, me and running have changed our relationship status to "it's complicated" lately.  If you've been reading this blog at all, you know I love running and usually have no problem getting all my runs in.  But post Tink, runs were just painful.  I keep doing them, but the paces were all over the place and even slow efforts seemed herculean to me.

But I had races on the calendar (for two states - Wisconsin and Washington - that I was not missing since everything was paid for) so I knew I couldn't take a break.  But I did give myself permission to skip runs or cut them short if I really didn't feel into it.  The strange thing was, during both the races I ran, I felt great.  And after the first, I was like, awesome, it's over, back to normal and went out for my first run.  But, it was not over.  It was miserable.

So now, both races are over (race recaps to come), I am full on giving myself a running break.  I have run only twice since Seattle and it was has been a nice change.  I still miss running, but I think I was getting a little burnt out and since marathon training doesn't start until the mid-end of July, I have some time to relax.  I have a half on July 13th, so I won't be taking forever off, but plan on taking a few more days and then easing into it, depending on how I feel.

I am not going to go back and do weekly recaps for the past few weeks - mainly because I wasn't running a lot, so there isn't much to say except for recapping what I said above.

Travel

I've been busy otherwise these past few weeks though with lots of other travel!  Probably a little too busy, if I am honest.  I've been pretty go, go, go since the end of April.  Since we last spoke, I went to Madison for a visit with my cousin and to do the half, Delaware for a baby shower and Seattle to visit another friend and run the RnR Seattle Half.

Madison was a blast.  We had mostly good weather (it rained on Sunday, but was otherwise it was beautiful).  We had a lot of cheese, ice cream and good food.  And of course, drank a ton of beer!  It was really nice to spend a relaxing weekend with family - we got a lot done, but also made sure to have some downtime.

My trip to Delaware was short - but it was so nice!  We have very good family friends who we call Aunt and Uncle and their kids are our "cousins" and it was one of the girls baby shower.  It's been a while since I've seen her (so lives in Cali on the Oregon border) so it was really nice to catch up.

And lastly, Seattle.  I had never been to Seattle before, but long felt like it was my soul city.  Don't ask me why, I just did.  And this trip did nothing to change that feeling.  I just loved it.  It was wonderful to spend time with Megan before she leaves the main land and moves to Hawaii (don't worry, I am already claiming a spot in her guest room for visits!).  And let me tell you - Seattle is gorgeous.  We had the most amazing time.  I'll probably do a whole post just on what we did in Seattle, but it was the perfect combination of running, touristy things and good food.  I had put the word out to my fellow Oiselle Flock members for recommendations about what to do while there.  And they did not disappoint!

PiYo

Since I haven't doing much running, I figured this would be a good time to focus on cross training.  And it has been!  I started doing PiYo again and am consistently following the schedule right now.  I am just finishing week 4 (out of 8) and it's been great.  I think it's been helpful to have something to do that's not running, but I know will help my running (if that makes sense).  My 8 weeks will finish right around the time I'm scheduled start marathon training so that works out perfectly.

Nutrition

As one can imagine, all this constant travel has not been good for my eating habits.  I haven't really put on any weight - maybe 1 pound or so, but its more that I am just feeling crappy.  So I'm using this time to also really focus on my nutrition and getting it inline for when training starts.  I've been trying to cook a lot and bring lunch so I know I'm getting healthy food and the right balance of calories.

I won't lie - I debated doing a Whole30 program.  But I thought about my experiment with paleo and knew in the long run, it wouldn't work for me.  So, I decided not too.  I am incorporating some portions of it to see how my body feels without the food.  Basically trying to curb my added sugar intake, wheat and dairy (which I already know makes me feel iffy).  I'm also cutting out soy, which I am especially interested to see what happens there.  I've been reading up on soy consumption and how your body reacts to it and I'm wondering if that could be some of my problems.  I only cut it out as of Sunday, so who knows.  We'll see how it goes.

Movies
I've gotten to the movies a bunch in the last month or so.  I've seen Pitch Perfect 2 (aca-amazing!), Tomorrowland (I liked it a lot, but I am also a Disney freak) and Avengers 2 (not as good as the original, but I still loved it) in the theatre.  Plus 2 cross country flights means lots of movie time as well.  Between those flights, I watched Imitation Game, Snowpiercer, Lucy and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. 

That's all I can think of right now (mainly because to cover everything would mean this post would basically not ever be done).  I am going to try and get back into posting regularly.  Thanks for sticking with me!