RIP Treadmill

It has been an eventful week in my little running world. First of all, to start with the good news I received my second present in the mail on Thursday. It came in a very large package which was a little weird....

Its a mini laptop, I mean Garmin GPS watch! Though it looks like a laptop on my arm, it is actually very light-weight. The Garmin watch will locate my position and will track my run, time, distance, and pace as I go. I can set different programs such as with a "ghost runner" that I can race as I go. There is a newer model which is smaller and more sleek, however it costs a LOT more! So I will sacrifice my fashion during my runs to have a great technology and a "trainer". Please excuse the low battery sign on my arm and be assured it has been properly charged. I have named her Gertrude because she isn't the cutest thing but we still love her.

Now to the sad news for the week. My treadmill is donezo. I had a very long run on Saturday (8 miles) on it and around mile 7 it started to smell and cut off. It refused to work again and actually started smoking when I turned it on later. After calling the company and multiple repairmen, I determined it was beyond worth fixing. It was fixable and the motor is still under warranty, however the cost for labor and parts that needed replacing along with the motor would cost around what I paid for it almost 2 years ago. So that makes 2 ellipticals and 1 treadmill I have killed in the past 2 years and 3 months. Seriously. I need to increase my budget for exercise machines with better warranties. Clearly I use them frequently.

So to the summary of my runs this week. I ran a total of 21.6 miles.

Monday-hit the TM for a quick 3.2 mile run/30mins total.

Wednesday-Ran 6.4 miles in historic Trussville/60 mins. I was planning on running a 10k Saturday and this was the course. I wanted to check it out before the actual run. It was a nice course and I will probably make this run more frequently now.

Thursday- Ran 4 miles in the neighborhoood/44 mins. Tons of hills in my neighborhood. This was a tough run for some reason. Just wasn't feelin' it that day.

Satuday-8 miles total- 7.25 on TM/.75 outside--UGH! The weather turned into crap so the 10k didn't happen. I hit the TM for a long run. I feel like the first few miles always start off so tough and it sure did this day. Around mile 3 I almost quit and called it a day but stuck with it. Started to feel better around mile 4 but it wasn't much longer than that when the TM died on me. I figured I could quit but only had 3/4's of a mile to reach my goal of 8 miles so I strapped on Gertrude and tested her out. I was doing good too, Gertrude told me I was running at a 9:24 pace.

RIP treadmill. You will be missed. Now onto a new one...

It's Gracies birthday but I get the present!

Today is my baby Angel, aka Gracie's birthday! She is 6 years old!! We got her when she was only 6 weeks old and I can not believe how time flies!! We celebrated by going on a run and eating cake. Well, I ate the cake.

Gracie says: "I'm how old?!?!!"
Since it is Gracie's birthday, I decided I should treat myself to a present (or two--stay tuned for present #2). What could it be???

Why, it's new running shoes!! My old Saucony's were beginning to hurt when I hit about mile 5ish so I knew it was getting time to get some new ones. I switched brands and went with the Brooks Adrenaline GTS. I ran in them today and liked them so far. They have much more support than my old Saucony's and I hope they hold up for the longer runs.

Here's what they look like on my feet, cause I know you care....

And here I am modeling them for you, also in a new skirt from Old Navy which I love. It is super cute and fun to run in! (sorry the picture is like 250145 miles away, I had to use the self timer and a shelf). Okay please don't think I'm going crazy Charlie Sheen style.

So Happy Birthday to Gracie!! Anyone else have a birthday coming up that I can celebrate by getting more presents?!

You want more? I'll give you more.

You can't get enough of my blogs? Want more? Kinda like I couldn't get enough of the leftover sweethearts candy from Valentines Day and don't ever want to see the end....gah those things are just so good! (this was a jar of them....)
Soo this weekend was a good one! Friday night Matt and I met some friends for dinner--mostly couples, at Cajun Steamer a really yummy restaurant in Birmingham. After good food and conversation we debated going bowling but ended up deciding we were old farts and needed to go to bed. I mean, it was getting late, like 9:00ish late.

Saturday morning the boys' were off to play a round of golf and I had plans to meet up with Bethanny for our run. We met around 10ish and began our nice trek around the Homewood area to Mountain Brook and back. We had great run and I realize I like running with others since I can be both productive and social, and most of us know that I do like to talk! After we headed to one of my favorite restaurants Ocarrs for some yummy chicken salad and fruit. To celebrate all of our hard work we went to Dreamcakes, a bakery in Homewood.

Dreamcakes was featured this month in Southern Living Magazine for their delcious cupcakes. They are filled with different types of filling such as cheesecake, a hersey's kiss, cream cheese icing, etc. I mentioned to Bethanny I had never eaten there and she persuaded me (okay, maybe I didn't need any persuasion) to go check it out. Here's what the place looks like, and this was a less busy moment: Bethanny and I tried this scrumptious cupcake called Over the Moon-vanilla with vanilla filling. It was fantastic.

Here's Bethanny in her cute lil' running outfit and her cupcake

I highly recommend going to Dreamcakes if you are ever in Birmingham.

Saturday night we had another couples date night and went to dinner with Mitch and Amanda and Matt and Angela at Ruby Tuesday. We headed home afterwards and went to bed (remember we are old--can't stay out past 9pm).

Sunday we ran some errands, cleaned, and relaxed....Good times.

Run Recap

For the weekly run report:

Monday: Ran 4 miles/40mins on TM, no incline, easy run. Though the weather was good I felt bad for my neglected TM and thought I'd give it a little love since I haven't run on it in a couple weeks.

Wed: Ran 6.25/1 hour. This was the run in at the new trail where I had no clue where I was going and turned slight stalker-esk. The run went well, and since my GPS on my iPhone no longer works, I had to track it once I returned home on mapmyrun.com and it turned out I ran 6.25 miles in about 1 hour. Not too shabby for not knowing where the heck I was going.

Thurs: Ran 2 miles outside/20 mins. Ran 1 mile on TM/9:30. So I started off with Matt and the dogs outside and the weather began to look scary so we all headed in. I finished up with an extra mile on the TM. TM's gotten lots of love this week.

Sat: Ran 7.18 and no clue how long it took. I met up with my friend Bethanny who is also running the CMM (Country Music Marathon). She has run it before as well as the Mercedes Half (I think more than once). She just completed the Mercedes Half this month at 1:56 so she's purdy quick!! We had a great run and the weather was perfect for it. I like running with someone faster and more trained than I, since it forces me to push myself more to keep up with her. We celebrated with cupcakes afterwards. More on that later.

So weekly total of 20.43 miles.

Neglect.

Dear friends and readers, I would like to apologize for my recent neglect towards you, as I know you sit anxiously awaiting my next amazing, life-changing post. (or not). I am currently sitting at work, shamming myself for being so gluttonous after the big brunch we had to celebrate a co-workers leaving and anothers' birthday. I always wonder why I fill my plate up with piles of food and eat-like-it's-Thanksgiving when we do the work pot lucks. But hey, it happened and I can't change the past. I must accept and move on. To another subject.

This week has been going well. Matt left me crying (or smiling, whatever you want) Monday to go to Nashville for a work conference which lasted until Thursday. I had lots of free time to catch up on really important stuff while he was away like watching previous recorded episodes of Glee, Jerseylicous, and Teen Mom. Woah. I sound like a 13 year old. Why you judgin'?!

My sweet in-laws (be jealous) took me out to eat at Flip burger on Tuesday night and we had a good time just the three of us. I told Matt they said I was their favorite. He doesn't believe me. Whatever, I know the truth. It was fun pretending I was an only child and getting all the attention. They were too kind to keep me company while I was all by my lonesome self.

Wednesday after work I was all pumped about running a new trail that had been recommended to me by Paige who is also running in the Country Music Marathon. So I headed to the park I planned to run, pretended like I knew where I was going, followed a random guy who probably thought I was a stalker so he ran super fast and I couldn't keep up, so then I almost turned around when another girl who looked like she knew where she was going ran by, so I followed her for a bit and then she disappeared! Man! What is up with these people running so fast like they are being stalked. I just want to know where to go. And a new friend. Geez. So I decided to be more independent and found my way and luckily made it to my car after a little over an hour of running.

Last night Matt came home from his trip and we hung out. I missed out on monthly Chow Down, aka girls night out, because I thought I'd be nice and spend time with Matt-- I mean, I married the guy, guess I should spend some time with him, right? We went for a short run around the neighborhood (props to Matt for 2 weeks of running!) with the pups. We cooked dinner and watched some educational television shows called The Big Bang Theory, Grey's Anatomy, and Jersey Shore. It is nice to have him back though I will miss having control over the television remote. And the thermostat.

No big plans yet for this weekend but hopefully it will be a good one!

Weekly Run Report

The weather has been amazing here all week so I have been trying to enjoy every minute of it while it lasts (I will not kid myself into believing Spring is here in February!). I have been able to run outside 4 times this week for a total of 20ish miles (will explain that later). Gracie (my dog) and Matt have run a total of 6 miles this week, and Max (other dog) ran 3. So here's the rundown:

Monday-ran outside 4 miles with lots of hill training. Awesome run! One of those that makes you realize why you do it and inspires you to continue. Gracie and Matt ran 2 of these miles with me. Max made it under 1 mile before he had to go in.

Wednesday-ran outside 6 miles will lots of hills. Complete opposite of Monday. It was hard, I kept cramping, and it felt as if it took forever. Blah. My pace was around 10:30/mile. Gracie ran 2 miles.

Thursday-Ran around 3-3.5 miles. My dang GPS/iPod app thing was turned off and so I am not exactly sure the approximate total. This run started off slow/difficult but ended well. I made a PR (running outside, that is) of a 9:40 minute/mile. Glad to see my time is getting faster if I push myself. Gracie ran a solid 2 miles. Max ran 2 miles with Matt.

Saturday-So here is where it gets tricky. I am in Atlanta visiting the parents and for some reason my GPS wouldn't locate so I couldn't track my run and distance. Talk about annoying and frustrating! So I set my alarm for an hour and 15 minutes cranked my iPod and just ran. I guess this is good to not be soo focused on time/distance/pace and just to run for the heck of it. I estimate that I ran around 7 miles and it was a great run. I explored the areas and neighborhoods around my mom's house and enjoyed this beautiful weather.

Overall it was a decent week but I hope next week is even better and that my time/stamina continues to improve. On the treadmill I put it on a pace knowing I will run 9:30 min/miles and it forces me to push myself, outside I don't have to keep up with a moving belt so it is harder to estimate my pace (until my GPS/run app tells me). Stay tuned for next weeks updates!

flashback!

Last night as I was pondering how many times Lindsay Lohan will get off from doing something illegal like stealing or abusing drugs I realized how simple life used to be. I didn't have to worry about important things like mortgage, car payments, taxes, or even celebrity gossip (other than whether JTT aka Johnathan Taylor Thomas had a girlfriend). I started to reminisce on the fun things I loved as a child and teenager growing up and thought I might share these with you.

1. Some great TV shows- Fraggle rock, the Muppet Show (ahh how they never showed the lady's face--killed me!), Clarissa Explains it All (FYI where I got my blog name, unlike my dad's continued error in saying that it is called "Jess knows it all"..and no, I do not know it all), Salute your Shorts (I can still sing that song), Hey Dude, Doug, Step by Step, Boy Meets World, Family Matters (Erkel!), Are You Afraid of the Dark (so scary!), and so many more...


2. Slap bracelets. In 3rd grade my best friend Megan Summers wore a slap bracelet to school and from that moment on I had to have one! Not quite sure looking back on the appeal of being able to 'slap' a bracelet on, but hey, it was cool.


3. Timberlands. In 8th grade I finally got a pair and loved to wear them with my Gap jeans. Along with that came the Cool Water and CKone fragrance.


4. Those super tacky plastic-y Nike soccer slip on sandals--The black ones with the white Nike swoosh. And yes, I wore them with tall tube socks that went up to my knees.


5. Warm up pants. Oh how, I used to wear these to school and say I was "scrubbin' it". And I loved boys who wore the tear away ones.


6. Hypercolor shirts. You know the ones that changed colors. And I would wear them with biker shorts. Classy.


7. I didn't actually have one, however, but I remember how cool "Starter" Jackets were. They had different ones for each team and I remember all the guys sportin' these. At least the cool guys.

8. LA Gear, Keds, and Reebok Pumps. My brother had some pumps and I thought it was the coolest thing. Mom wouldn't buy them for me. Said they only made them for boys. I have my suspicions that this is not true and she just didn't like them.

9. Bows. The clip kind. I had a plastic box full of these in every color and style. Gotta match your bow to your outfit. One even had cow print with a cow bell....Hmmmm.....

10. Kit-n-Kaboodle. Had a hot pink one. Not even sure what the heck I kept in it.

11. Polly Pockets. I had a couple of these--I know one was a Vet office and another was a townhouse maybe? Did they really even fit in your pockets?

12. Lisa Frank. There is nothing like a neon colored notebook with unicorns. You know you had one or wanted it.

13. Pogs. I think this is what those thick round cardboard things were. And you had a "slammer" that you threw down on the pogs. No wonder these didn't stay in style.

14. Skating Rinks. Who didn't go to the skating rink?! Ours was called Sparkles and had a dance floor we did splits on while the lights flashed up different colors. Oh yeah and a DJ booth you could write down a song request that never got played.

15. Kilo, Biggie, Montell Jordan, and Keith Sweat. Classics. I still love to play these songs cause they are just so good. Or not. I still like them though!

What are some things you remember growing up? Do any of these bring back memories for you?