Running : 5K Challenge!

So I have completed the 3rd week of the Ease into 5K - C25K app on my phone.  Continuing onto the idea that I would like to be able to 'run' for 30-45 minute stretches with out dying, on a regular basis.

I didn't die, and it wasn't the worst thing in the world either. 

After running the 11.29 min mile, I would have to say it at least helped me to push through and run the 3 minute intervals, because I had to have 'run' for 5 minutes at least once, I mean, when I did the TC1Mile last week, I didn't stop running until I had hit the 1/2 mile marker.

I think doing the BodyWorks Plus Abs (mind you, I always step out of the Abs portion, only because I need to get home and get ready for work) helps a bit.  In the class you use hand weights (2.5, 5 or 7.5 lb) and do a lot of reps. 

The Thursday morning class is growing on me.  Yesterday she talked about how she makes us do about 100 reps per muscle move, and how high reps/low weight will help give muscle tone/definition.  She said the other option is to do high weights, and significantly lower reps.  Sometimes I think that would be nicer.

As I was sifting through the Internet blogs on my lunch hour, I came across a Virtual 5K Challenge on the blog page of KTJ Weighing In, and figured, why not?

  

I mean, really, I am doing the Hal Higdon C25K training program(again) anyways.  It happens on June 1st, which is a Saturday.  And I am hoping that while we are camping over Memorial Day, that I will go for a trail run or two, I wake up earlier than most, and plan on not drinking and staying up to all hours of the night, and that should help a little endurance training - right?  And allegedly we will be going on 'hikes' as a group.

I am a little apprehensive of the camping as well, mainly because, well, it is all picnic food! Pasta salads, creamy salads in general, chips, crackers, candy, bacon, eggs, pancakes, buns, you know, the tasty stuff that I have a hard time saying no to! 

I am hoping to bring a fair amount of veggies, fruit, and of course meat choices - chicken, steak, and skipping hot dog night.  Well, that's the other thing, no one plans anything with this camping crew (the Hubster's family and close family friends). 

There will be 8-10 children, depending on if his brother's 1st child from another lady comes, and if all the people make the outing too.  That is a lot of kids, and one brother, is notorious for not having enough food (in general) to feed his family.  At home they must eat like birds, but when in front of others, all bets are off.

What do you do to try to plan ahead for food/exercise challenges?.

P.S. If you are interested in signing up for the Virtual 5K Challenge - go to KTJ's Post, maybe she will let us in even though it might be 'closed'.

TC1Mile - 2013

This is probably my most favorite running event. 

The Twin Cities 1 Mile.  Like their slogan says "It's just 1 Mile."  And I love it.  You run down a pretty flat 1 mile stretch in Minneapolis, on the Nicollet Mall, which is generally open only to buses and pedestrians, and is supposed to be pretty popular for a Farmer's Market(in the Spring/Summer) and shopping.  It also has the Holidazzle Parade from the day after Thanksgiving through New Years or something, which is pretty fun too (read: cold and bundle up)!

One thing to note, there is the IDS Tower as well.  It was constructed to allow for 6" of movement at the top of the building to allow for the winds and what nots.  I will say this, it's pretty creepy to be on the sidewalk staring up, seeing the building move. I swear you can see it move.

At any rate, this is the 5th year in a row that I have completed the 1 Mile Race.  I was hoping to beat my best time of 11.22 *I know, this is not fast*.  But I failed, by 7 seconds.  Which is a little irritating, and I am a little sad with myself for not making my goal.  But I finished.

Here is a photo from before the race, in the photo are two of my friends from work.  Sarah and Karen have both completed the race 3 times I believe.. I know Sarah took at least 1 year off being pregnant, or post partum, or something.  And Karen, well, I know she has done this with me at least two times. 

Sarah, Me, Karen

 It was cold.  Like 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  With a wind.  I had to go pick up a sweet long sleeve shirt before I went down, since I only brought a running tank top and a layering tank to wear.  At least the shirt was on clearance for $11 at Target.

I did have running capri's and running pants to choose from.  It had been 60 degrees, sunny and no wind the day before!  I picked up the running pants last night at Kohl's on clearance for $15.  I couldn't love them anymore than I do already.  I think they are super awesome! What are your thoughts on my super sexy pants?

They make me smile, and because of the color pattern on it, any lumps or bumps are pretty well camouflaged.

What is even more funny, that after I was done watching Scandal tonight, I was just watching the news as I typed this, and they covered the TC1Mile.  Guess who made the news?  That's right, this one!  Well, not me specifically, but a crowd of people running.. I just happen to be able to spot myself in a crowd, not sure why.

What is your favorite running event?



Words for Wednesday : C25K - W1D3

Ugh. Wednesday you middle of the week beast you. 

Why does it take so long for you to show up?  After that warm welcome.. So glad you are here!

 

My vagine still hasn't fully recovered from last week's Spin class.  I don't know if it will ever.  I read on some other blog I was clicking through (sorry I cannot remember..) about how she was going to have to explain to her gyno about why her lady bits were bruised... I completely understand. I was tempted to grab a hand mirror and see if they were discolored!  Sorry.. TMI I am sure..

Since I was not up for another beating, I completed another day of the C25K Program this morning.  I completed W1D3 (week 1 day 3).  And then I stayed on a little longer and increased the incline to 5.  For 5 minutes.  I don't know really what that will do, other than make me work more (which it did).

 

I really do like the handy App that I could download on my iPhone. I think it was originally free and that I paid for the GPS add on feature. It shows that the Ease into 5K, by Bluefin Software is sitting at $2.99. I still think it is worth it.  They have some sort of subscription feature now that does more than I think I need, so I do not pay for it.. but getting little 'badges' is always fun, if that is more motivating to you?  The main things I like about the App, are that it

1. GPS you if you run outside
2. Let's you play your music
3. Tells you when to Run/Walk
4. and has a timer/shows your progress (walk 8 of 9)
5. It keeps track of your pace (with GPS) for your run vs. walk
6. It will track how many calories you burned and weight (accuracy.. I dunno)

I am not that great at keeping track of time, I get lost in lots of random thoughts, and forget to change it up.  Plus the person's voice isn't real demanding or anything.  Well, maybe when I get up to that 20 min run again I will think differently..

At any rate, I did it, I completed about 45 minutes on Mr. Dreadmill, and I lived to tell about it.

 

I would like to say, my gym is not the most AWESOME gym in the world.  My main complaint is that there is ZERO air circulation up in the joint.  Those fans on Mr. Dreadmill?  They are worthless, I can't hardly feel them at all, unless I put my sweaty palms over the vent.  So stupid. I wish they would just put like... 1 fan in off the ceiling.  Or open that door on the 2nd floor where all the cardio equipment is, where I spend most of my time.  I mean really people, the smell of stale sweat is not the most appealing. Maybe that's just me.

 

What you got for me.. any App recommendations? Gym variations?  Good libations? 

Leave me a comment!



Turkey Day 5K!

First off, Happy Thanksgiving!  My most favorite holiday of the year!

So, my running friend D and I have done the Turkey Day 5K for 2 years I think?  For sure last year, but I think the year prior as well, I could go through my closet with the pile of Race T's if I wanted, but I am not at home.



Our T-shirts and my personalized bib!

At any rate.  We did it, our 5K. Finished, I think she did better than usual, or I did worse? I didn't have my inhaler (that's my excuse), and neither of us really know when either of us finished. We both donated a bag of food, and once it was done, I zoomed home, and took a shower, and now we are headed north to have dinner and spend the night at my grandparent's house.  A two and a half hour drive, that I wish was quicker.

Turkey Day 5K, 2012

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving with your family, and you enjoy the fellowship around the table!

TC10Mile, ugh.

First, let me start out with, that was dumb.

I hated it, just about every mile after 5.  I have completed the 10k, and I have finished plenty of 5K's.  But this one sucked butt.

For real.  Yes. I will never do a 10 Mile ever again.  I honestly haven't run that much since the 10K.  I completed the 10K and the 10Mile with the same lady, whom I greatly adore.  I also completed the Color Run in July with her too.

For the 10 Mile, we walked, jogged and walked some more.  From Minneapolis, to St. Paul.  No thanks, next time, I will just jump in my car, catch a bus, or take a cab if I ever need to get from the Metrodome to the State Capital.  For the record, it is also not the shortest distance to the Capital.  I am almost sure of that.

But, I completed it.

I also received my very first medal!! That was exciting too!!

And because my friend is such a good socializer (I am not) she scored us a couple of passes to the special Medtronic Tent.  After we finished, we grabbed our shirts, and our medals, and headed over to the tent for some refreshments, they had sandwiches, and water, coffee (it was darn cold - it was SUPER windy too) and we got some sacks to put our loot in.  While we were there, they awarded the 1st place for men's, women's, and Marathon runners.  Literally like 10 feet away from where we were standing, trying to soak up some sun. So that was kind of cool.

Here is a mash up of some of my photos - notice the hat? My gloves were in my pockets. 

And this is right before the finish line, like literally 30 yards before I was done. Ugh. Again, never will I ever do another 10 Mile.

Have you ever signed up for something that you perhaps should have prepared a little better for?

Duluth! Big things!!

Saturday I did the Women Rock 10K, with my friend Karen. She is also one of the girls that I did The Color Run with too. I am not sure how I talked her into it. My friend Sonya hurt her ribs awhile back, and decided she didn't want to do it.  Karen and I are doing the TC10 Mile in October, and according to the training plan, we were supposed to be running that distance anyways.  I mean, I ran 20 minutes straight on Thursday, I can do this.. Right?

I will say this, I am not quite sure we should have done it.  It was long. But she did make it better than it could have been, and it was the first time I had ever done a race with anyone, like, running/walking with someone, on purpose.

But we got a glass of champagne (warm), a 'W' Necklace with a real sapphire, and a jacket.  If we had signed up for real, we would have gotten a calendar of the half dressed firefighters.  But, at the end, we did get our picture taken with one.

Finished!

So after we were done, I went and visited my sister's kids, she has 3 now.  I went to see my niece who is 12, and nephew who is 6, they now have a littler brother who is like.. 2 weeks old or something.  I don't have a relationship with my sister. She is evil, and my life has been better without her games in it.

But we went to the little city wading pool, my niece told me about her new school (she has a new one every year) and about the uniforms that they have to wear.  She says she misses me, I miss her a whole heap too.  I was like her second mom until she was 5.  Literally.  She was born in April my Senior year of High School.  That summer, if I went shopping, so did she, people thought she was my baby.  Which I thought was dumb, since she had been to my final band concert, and I had shown her off then.

At any rate, it sucks for her, because she is put in the middle of everything, only hearing the evil and half truths her mother spews.

Changing gears.

On Sunday the the Boyfriend and I went to Duluth!  We like to go once a year, and we hadn't made a trip up there yet.  So we packed in to the car, and started up.  The Boyfriend doesn't really like breakfast, allegedly.  But one of the things you do when you make the trip north, is you stop at Tobies!  They make delicious caramel rolls.  They have a gas station and gift shop and whatever else.  But we go to the restaurant portion of it.  So yummy!

Tobies Caramel Pecan Roll

Once we were stuffed, we hit the road again, and onward to Duluth!  It's a little bit of a drive, about 3 hours from where we live now.  But we did it.  The last time we went there, it was July 4th, and quite fun!!  They had live music in a band shell, and a carnival, and beautiful weather.

Any who, we went up to the rest stop on Skyline Drive.  It's always a nice view from up there.  As a child, we would pile out of the car, and stretch our legs, knowing that it would only be another 20 minutes or so before we got to our Aunt and Uncle's house.

After we stretched our legs we went to Spirit Mountain, just on the other side of I-35, and we took a ride on the Timber Twister, and the Zipline ride.  I will say, the Timber Twister was way more fun!  We rode down once together, and then we each went two more times on our own.  We bought a package that included a trip on the Vista Fleet down in Canal Park on the shore of Lake Superior.  So once we were done with our ride tickets, we headed down to Canal Park.

Once we got to Canal Park we checked in with the Vista Fleet Cruises, and it turns out the only cruise that had any openings, was the 8pm Sunset cruise.  Well, it was only 3, so, we had awhile to walk around.  It was apparently Gay Pride time up there this weekend.  We didn't know, but we saw the stereotypical sailor.  It made me laugh.

We went and signed the log book in the Maritime Museum, dropped a dollar in for a donation, and walked along the park.

We ended up taking a tour of the William A. Irvine, our tour guide, was a college girl, but she had attitude the whole time.  It was one of the worst tours I had ever been on, and what sucked even more, I actually wanted the tour to be good.

After the tour, we walked around figured we should eat something, so we headed over to Little Angie's Cantina.  The food was really good, and relatively inexpensive too!  But while we were eating, it was getting cold, the wind was picking up, and the sun was starting to set.  It was about 7, so we got up and tried to find a couple of cheap sweatshirts, since neither of us thought we would be up there that long.  Our cheap sweatshirts were $35 a piece.  Bummer.

Once we had the sweatshirts, the Boyfriend had to go back to the car to drop off something, I didn't know what, but he insisted I wait in line, we still had a 20 minute wait.  So he headed back to the car, I went in to the store to see if I could use the bathroom, they had closed it already, they really only had the gift shop open to sell any last tickets. The Boyfriend got back just in time for us to be herded up on to the boat.

I used the bathroom on deck, and then joined him on the upper deck which was open air.  It was a GOOD thing that we had sweatshirts, because it got darn cold.

While we were on the sunset cruise, my cousins asked us to stop by, they were camping at a campsite on our way home.  We decided we would stop by for an hour, at least make an appearance.

When we got off the boat, the Boyfriend wanted to take the long way back to the car, and walk along the sidewalk to the amphitheater that we had listened to the bands on the 4th of July when we had came up 2 years ago.

And I was reading a little plaque, and he pulls on my shirt, and I turn around, he's down on bended knee, and he asked me to marry him!!

I said yes.  SO now, I have a ring!! :)

Very fun!  BIG THINGS!

Duluth Skyline from Lake Superior, and my new RING!

To tie up this post, we did end up visiting the cousins at the campsite, drank well into the night, and basically got outed by my cousin's wife, so had a lot of congrats from the seasonal campers.

We got home, and we didn't want to do anything today, besides sleep.  And soak my feet again.

Time to plan a wedding!!

Did you have a great proposal or were you kind of like.. well I totally knew, and it wasn't a surprise at all?
I think as people get older, they, unfortunately, are not granted the opportunity as the young'uns are, I think older people tend to date longer too.. not old, but older than 18-26.

Breakfast and Dessert, not in that order.

Last week was a busy week at work.  I put in some over time, and almost wonder if there wasn't more work for me to do.

I got a massage during the week to.  I know that they masseuse always says, to let them know if the pressure is too much.  How are you supposed to do it 1 - without looking like a wimp.  And 2 - without sounding like you are dying.  I have no idea.  I would think if they paid attention to their clients breathing, they could figure out if they were massaging too aggressively.  There were a couple of times, where she was pushing through a muscle... and it was a little painful.  But I'm no wimp.  I made it through.  But here's the thing, I want to be sore the next day.  I am a freak like that.  I have had 3 massages now in my entire life, and I have never been sore.

But either way.  I had my last softball game of the summer season on Monday.  We won, barely.  Closest game ever for either of the teams I played on this year. 

On Friday Cook's Country emailed a recipe for Magic Strawberry Ice Cream.  It takes no special equipment, so I knew I wanted to give it a try.  On Friday night the Boyfriend and I went out to Tuttle's and had a pizza and a pitcher, and then went to Target.  He wanted to pick up the move Gangs of New York.  I had never seen it, and he thinks it's just great.  But when we were there, he couldn't find it, decided to pick up the Transformer's Trilogy.  And I had a light bulb moment, and picked up the stuff I needed for this 'Magic' ice cream.

When we got home the Boyfriend's dad called, and I ended up grabbing a beer, and going over to the neighbor's house, he was sitting outside.  The Boyfriend wandered over, we chatted it up for a bit, and then we headed back.  The Boyfriend could not find the remote for the DVD player, so gave up on trying to watch a movie.  He had to work the next day anyways.  So to bed we went.

On Saturday, I had lots of big plans.  I hadn't been out for a run in a week, and I have a chair reupholstering project that has been halfway completed for awhile now.  I didn't do a darn thing.  Other than the dishes, watch TV, and make the ice cream and get it into the freezer.

Making the ice cream was not hard at all.  It takes some pretty simple ingredients, and is ready to freeze in a matter of probably 10 minutes.

Get ready for magic!

The original recipe says to use a food processor, but my blender was already out.  When they say whip until foamy and then turn it up until soft peaks form.  They mean SOFT peaks.  I might not have been paying enough attention, and whipped the cream until stiff peaks formed.  I just googled it, and a blogger wrote about how to make butter.  Yes, butter.  I stopped at what he called the 'halfway' point.  So, when it says soft peaks.  They mean it.  They always do. 

Once I let it set in the freezer over night I scooped it out with a melon baller, because, well a photo with spooned ice cream isn't as pretty, and I do not own an ice cream scoop.

Magic Strawberry Ice Cream

You can find what I did here, or check out my other recipes I have tried here.  The end result wasn't bad.  But I can kind of taste/feel the buttery-ness of it.  I took the photo, ate a couple of the ice cream balls, and put them in a baggie back in to the freezer.  I am thinking I will drop them in to a glass of sprite or something - or maybe strawberry soda!

Once the Boyfriend got home from work on Saturday, he was whiney about working (he has been putting in 10 hour days, and 8 on Saturdays for the past few weeks), and tired, so we decided to make it a movie night.  He watched all 3 of the Transformer movies, had popcorn, and then went to bed. 

When I woke up this morning and started watching CBS Sunday Morning - which I absolutely love - I came across a pin to this page for a Honey Cloud Pancake on the blog by things{we}make.  I had left over strawberries, so I figured what the heck, I have eggs, milk vanilla, flour and honey.  So let's do this!

I gathered my supplies, and of course took a picture.

To make a Honey Cloud Pancake

This recipe calls for you to whip 1 egg white to peaks.  I did it by hand, it took a while, and I did take a break in between to mix the batter together. My end result didn't turn out quite like what I was trying to imitate.. but it still tasted good.


Honey Cloud Pancake

It did have an egg type texture.  I let it sit before I ate it, as I was frying up bacon, eggs and making toast for the Boyfriend.  I think that if I had patted the strawberries dry prior to putting them on the pancake, it wouldn't have been as bloody looking.  Either way, I may make it another time with raspberries or peaches.  Colorado peaches are coming into season soon - I can't wait!! (update: I just checked - it's time right NOW!)

The Boyfriend and I haven't done anytihng today, folded some clothes, washed the dishes, and now we are just being bums.  I will probably take a shower, and then paint my nails. (I might have spent $20 one morning on my way into work last week on nail polish at Walgreens).

Animation Domination starts in a couple of hours too.  Easy weekend here.  Hopefully this easy weekend set me up to start running in the mornings again the TC10Mile is coming up soon.. and.. well, I want to be able to say I ran most of it.

Do you enjoy lazy weekends?  What is your favorite thing to do on a Lazy Sunday?



Torchlight 5K!

What a fun event!

I will know better for next year.  It was hot (to be expected it's July in Minnesota)!  My good friend D and I did it.  I should have pushed myself more, I would have done better(Duh).  We left my house a little late.  My fault, I wasn't paying attention really.  This run did not loop back to the beginning, which is a little different, and not really a big deal.  We dropped one car off around the finishing area, and we parked another around the start.  We barely made it in time for the starting gun.



My good friend D on the left, and me at the start!



One of the fun things about the Torchlight Run, was that we were able to personalize our bib numbers if you signed up early enough.  Mine was Slow&Steady, and my friend D's was Turtle Pace - she has a thing for Turtles, and they kind of went together, so.. it's funny - no really.  Laugh! Also what was super neat, were the shirts (you can see it a little in the upper right photo).  They were SUPER soft with that vintage-y feel to them.

The finish was just after you crossed the Stone Arch Bridge, which was nice.  I did see a couple of girls literally making out.  Now, I don't care that they were girls, I care that you are SUCKING FACE in a public place.  I hate that - so gross.  Once we finished there were some goodies at the finish, and as a runner/participant, you had a couple free drink tickets to use.

My good friend D and I didn't stick around, she wasn't feeling well, so we basically just went to her car, and she dropped me off at the parking ramp I was in.  I paid at the bottom before returning to my car (like it instructs you to do) and it says you have 15 minutes to exit the ramp.  I took the elevator to my floor, get off, and hear a marching band.  A Marching Band!?

So I went to the edge of the parking ramp and saw a the parade was going on!  Oh man... if I had known/realized that it was going to be just starting by the time I got back, I wouldn't have paid my my parking pass, and would have just gone down to watch it.  The Torchlight parade is one of, if not THE largest evening parade.  And from what I saw briefly - they had a few marching bands, most parades seem to be all about advertising, floats/cars for businesses.  I miss marching bands. 

Next year I will know better for sure!

Let's Learn about Running

At work, they offered what they call a 'Lunch and Learn' about common injuries related to running, and what I thought, ways to prevent them.

These happen over the lunch hour with the idea of bringing your lunch and learning.  I think it is a good idea, but the thing where they fall short, is they have it set with just chairs, and no where to put your lunch, other than your lap.

This time around - they did have tables, which was great.  Except that based on previous experience, I didn't bring my lunch.

This session was okay.  They talked about the different issues runners have, those shin splints people get, and I have now diagnosed myself with Plantar Fasciitis.  But please note, they acutally didn't offer any solutions to get rid of it.  Thanks WebMD for your help. 

I had foot surgery back in December 2011 for bunion removal where the doc removed a portion of the metatarlsal, and then removed part of my pinky toe and I had him remove some ingrown toe nails on the big toes while I was out  Mind you, this was on both feet, at the same time.  My feet are now super sexy, especially with the scars.  The foot doc mentioned the plantar faciitis on the write up for the surgery.  I honestly didn't know what it was.  But now that I have been trying to run about 3 times a week (putting in a grand total of about 6.5 miles total).  My feet have been hurting a little more than I would like.  I mean, they are sore a lot, but they hurt now.

Basically, I should wear better shoes, and stretch the calf muscles and do some toe lifts/stretches or something every morning.  I really  should do that..

I will look into buying new shoes after The Color Run - the Happiest 5K on the Planet.  I am very much looking foward to doing this!!  My good friend D didn't sign up in time, but I am doing it with some other co-workers, the evil ones that suggested I sign up for the Medtronic TC 10 Mile in October, so I did. 

Do you have any running injuries/pains that bother you?  Have you been cRaZy enough to go through with surgery to correct them?

Are there any races you look forward to participating in - or know of fun ones I should?

Busy Weekend!

Did you see this post's title?

True story.

At work on Friday I was basically office less, as was my boss.  We both left around noon to work from home, which is really nice, since, at the end of the day, you are ALREADY home!

I might have stopped at Old Navy to buy a new pair of sandals.  I have a flip flop issue, well, not an issue, but more of.. and obsession.  You see, flip flops(or thongs..) are TERRIBLE for your feet.  They offer no support what so ever, and they force your toes to constantly flex or something to try to grip the sandal so that it doesn't fly off. 

Speaking of flying off, the Boyfriend bought a pair last year when we went camping, and he was walking in Walgreens and hear him coming down one of the cross aisles, and zoooooom... there goes his shoe, and then he is like hobbling after it.  It was so funny, as he was trying to be quick, but feeling odd about putting his bare foot on the floor. Probably was afraid some paparazzi was after him, and didn't want to get caught walking around barefoot like the Britney Spears incident of '04.

Oh geez, where was I? Oh, so I stopped at Old Navy for a pair of sandals, these ones now have a strap around the foot, making it a little more secure.

But, that quick stop, wasn't quick, I picked up 2 sandals, a swim suit, a blue gingham button down shirt for the Hillbilly going away party that night for a gal on my Softball teams moving to Texas, and a shirt in 2 sizes for the Boyfriend.

Ha, okay back on track, so I made it home after an hour and a half, which is fine, the Boyfriend was going to get a haircut after work anyways, so I could work a little later, and get my time in.

The mail lady came, we have one of those that walk door to door - so neat!  And so I went and checked the box, guess what came?! My LifeTime Fitness Torchlight 5K Run shirt!!

My good friend D is doing this one with me on the 18th too, and her singlet will read 'Turtle Pace'.  When in college she joined a sorority (Delta Zeta) and they have a thing about turtles.

So once he got home, I decided it would be a great time to start painting a design on my nails for July 4th.  LAME.  I was rushed, and in the end after I was done braiding my hair, I realized I had smudged most my nails anyways. 

So we went, made an appearance and left.  The girl's mom did a great job, it was at a bar, she had ordered a bunch of food, there were hay bales set up for sitting on and a photographer.  The girl is 22, and heading out of state to live with her boyfriend of 5 months.  HUGE leap of faith.  I really do wish her the best - she is a great girl.

So the next day, I wake up and take my nail polish off, and re-paint them.  We had the Boyfriend's family reunion. We headed out shortly after 1pm and made the little over the hour drive to it.  It was fun, hanging out with people.  There ended up being a water balloon fight amoung (mostly) just the kids.  Good food, and there were brownies!  They were a tasty treat.

The Boyfriend and I left there around 7 and started heading home.  He took me out to Joe's Sports Cafe in Fairbault, and we got All-U-Can eat Ribs for $10.99.  Such a great deal, my boyfriend LOVES ribs, and it was a great deal, we both ordered it, and it was pretty good.

We had to stop at the grocery store, my little sister's son's 2nd birthday celebration was Sunday - he is a July 4th baby! And I still needed to get the sugar cookies, cream cheese, marshmallow cream and the fruit for individual fruit pizzas.  Well, I still needed to get him a gift too.. but.. that was going to have to wait.

So we stopped, and decided we should pick up a Redbox, He let me get The Descendants to watch.  He figured he was just going to fall asleep since it was already past 9 by the time we picked it up.  It was such a sad/emotional story.  But it was good!  I am not one of those girls who went ga-ga over George Clooney (I LOVED George Lopez--oohhh and Mario Lopez). But George Clooney did a good job. :)

So we didn't go to bed until after midnight.

I woke up at 5:30 this morning, and started baking those sugar cookies I bought last night.  I had a tub of Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie dough, so I cooked that up too, since I had the oven going.

Basically to shorten this a little, I baked those cookies, packed them up, watched some Sunday Morning while enjoying my cold brewed iced coffee, made the cream for the fruit pizza's, took a shower, ran out the door with the Boyfriend, stopped at Target and found a super AWESOME toy for my nephew, and was only 5 minutes late to watch sir Payton so my sister could go and set up the picnic area at the park we were going to be celebrating at.

My nephew work up early from his nap, and I was still assembling the mini fruit pizzas, and I am pretty sure he gets snack when he wakes up, so I let him have a cookie and some fruit with his water that he never drank.  Got him ready, and then we were at the park by 3:50pm.  PERFECT! Party starts at 4. Or, uh, does it... yeah, it was hot as all get out today, and super humid, I think it rang in at like 98 degrees fahrenheit, with a feels like temp of 105.  Which is great, for a kid that didn't drink his water.  And the party?  It started at 4:30pm. So my sister had me bring the kid down to the river and drown him.  Just kidding, we went for a hot sweaty walk. 

It sucked.

We walked back and it was almost quarter after, and my sister asked me to take her kid for a ride in my car with the air conditioner on. I thought you would never ask!  Thank gawd. I was thankful.  Poor boyfriend, he was stuck helping my sister set up.

We ate, had cake, and sir Payton opened his presents. Not to brag (uh, yes, actually to brag) my mini fruit pizza's were a HUGE hit, sadly I forgot to take a picture. And sir Payton LOVED the gift I found for $20.  It was a Semi truck, truck/car hauler.  Pretty sweet - also - no picture.

Then we left, and came home, returned the Redbox, picked up some dish detergent, and setteled in for Animation Domination on FOX.

I am looking forward to my 2 day work week - I have the 4th off, and I took Thursday & Friday off too!! I am getting a Hot Stone Massage on Tuesday, going to a Comedy Club with the Boyfriend, AND getting my hair done this week - SO EXCITING!

Oh, and I almost forgot - here is a photo of my July 4th Nails.





HeartBeat 5000!

The 10th Annual HeartBeat 5000 took place today.  The money raised helps support the cardiac care program and efforts at Children's Hospital of Minnesota. 

How did I get roped into this one, and more importantly - how did my good friend D? Well, my company is a partner sponsor, and it was offering free race fee.  I went to the site to see about signing up, and yes, I did fill out the info, but it hadn't asked for payment info.  Which yes, would make sense since my employer said they would pay.  But I wasn't thinking, I hit next, and BAM! I am signed up.  And so I text my good friend D, and says, please tell me you have nothing going on, on this date, and that you are completely interested in participating in two 5K's in 7 days.. told her to use this code to get signed up for free.  She half reluctantly agreed, and signed up to take on the HeartBeat 5000.

Side note: My company is one of the partner sponsors.  I would like to point out, we did not have company t-shirts on.  Which is HIGHLY interesting, as the Big 3 medical device manufactures were present, and 2 out of the 3 were very well represented. 

The HeartBeat 5000 had t-shirts.  So, no worries, I still got one, that I will not wear - ever.

Not really sure what my deal is, I do not want to do a race with out a t-shirt, or other fun little perks.  But I have no care to actually put the t-shirt on.  I figure eventually, I will take that collection of technical and t-shirts and make one of those fancy shirt quilts.  Let me just say, I have never made a quilt.  But it can't be that hard, right?

So did the race, used my handy Couch to 5K app on my nifty iPhone.  And according to that map of my 'run', it puts the distance at 3.43 miles, which is .33 miles too far that what I signed up for.  My average pace was set at 12:53/mile - so that was pretty cool!!! :)  *for a non runner*  But it was warm.

I am not going to lie, the end - SUCKED.  It was on the Stone Arch Bridge, and it was still open to the public, which included, a pack of bicycles, and a Segway tour.  So freaking annoying.  Dodging random pedestrians, bikers, dogs, leashes, Segway tours.. are you kidding me?  Really annoying.

AND also, there were warm waters available at the end.  SUPER!

The view from the bridge.

On a high note though, on the walk back to my friend's car, there was a garage sale.  I 'heart' garage sales.  Many a stories of riding around in my grandma's station wagon garage sailing. :)   BUT - at this garage sale, there was a double papasan chair!  And I had seen this on the internet, where you change the papasan chair into a canopy! WAY cool.  We were in my good friend's convertable, so we put it on it.  I scored the chair frame for 3 dollars. Super cool!

What's not cool, is that it turns out that chair would not fit in my car, no matter how we tried to work it.  The chair is wider than my car.. oy.. BUT, crisis averted, as my friend drove me to my house to drop off the frame, and then drive me back to my car so she could get back to her place and continue on her way.

So, one day, I will get around to making the canopy... but for now it takes up space in me and and the Boyfriend's basement of the duplex we rent.

We will see when I get around to it.. sorry Boyfriend.

Flash Run 5K!

Today I participated in a Flash Run - I am sure you have heard of a Flash Mob by now.  Unless you have been hiding under a rock. 

If you have been hiding under a rock, the idea of a 'flash mob' is a bunch of people coming together at a pre-determined time in a public place, and busting out in dance (sometimes choreographed? that part I am fuzzy about).  Generally someone will have a boom box, or something for music. 

But enough of that.  This was basically a bunch of peeps getting together and starting at the same time, to run roughly 3.1 miles.  I went with my good friend D.  (please note, she and I would like to be runners, but lack a little *okay a lot* of the drive and determination)  My friend D and I walked the course for the most part, there were some bursts of jogging, but for the most part it was walking.  She had been at an Aerosmith concert the night before, so she was feeling peachy keen.

Side note:  Generally she and I do not travel the distance of the course together.  We will start together, and meet up after completing the course.  BUT  I had foot surgery on both feet back in December, the foot doctor told me that I might be able to do the Valentine's Day 5K in February(duh).  Well that was a lie.  But my friend and I had done this 5K the year before, and we signed up (me and my wishful thinking) and she was kind enough to walk with me, in February, in Minnesota, when the temp was 1 degrees above zero,  around a lake, with a wind at 15MPH which is roughly 20 degrees below zero faherenheit (without the lake effect).  It took literally about an hour and a half.  It was too freaking cold to be walking.  But she did it with me, so I sucked up and walked with her.

Okay - so the walk (sometimes 'running') wasn't so bad.  We finished in like 50 minutes or something (allegedly - there was no time clock).  I used my Couch to 5K app on my nifty iPhone, and that's what it timed us at.

But the nice part about the day, aside from driving up to her house, getting her out of bed on a Sunday that seemed way too much fun, driving down to Minneapolis, I got to see the Stone Arch Bridge.  Well, AND 'run' across it. 

And as it turns out.. I had been on that bridge previously, with the Boyfriend, after eating at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which is more hype than anything else, so you can go ahead and skip that restaurant, and make noodles, use Prego at home, mabye some garlic bread, and enjoy it more.

Let me show you a photo of the Stone Arch Bridge - and the Famous Grain Belt Beer sign.

(learn more about Grain Belt here.)

Oh, and I quite enjoyed the B1G1 at Caribou Coffee with my friend too, and sitting in her backyard chatting it up talking about everytihng and nothing, and then heading home to the boyfriend.  :)

In the rare case that you were noticing that this day was Father's Day and I do not mention hanging out with my Dad.. I hung out with him the day before for the Patriot Ride(sponsored by Dennis Kirk) at his house. :)