Compressed

Yesterday's Run:
3.68 mi/ 32 min

I know I didn't post Saturday's run. I'll sum it up for you - it sucked. I was slow. It was hot. I just didn't feel like I had any energy. I ran 2 miles, walked a full mile and then ran another 2.5. It just wasn't my day. But Monday's run made up for that. I've been told that the bad runs only make you appreciate the good ones even more. That is true. For the first time since early June, I ran close to my typical 5k pace on a regular weekday run.

I've never been so thankful to see 8-somethings on my MotoActv. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever run faster than a 9 min mile again. I was pretty much convinced that it wasn't going to happen. I know none of this is rational, but it was starting to bring me down. Yesterday's run helped my confidence.

Today I purchased my first pair of PRO Compression socks. My dad had a circulatory disease, so I'm quite familiar with medical compression socks. These are not those ugly, white, smelly socks like I remember. These are pink and awesome and on sale. I've read so much about them but they just weren't in the running equipment budget at $50 a pair. Today they were half off - score!

I think I will start wearing these as a recovery aid until I start seriously training for my half or until it gets under 65 degrees on my morning runs. But they may be too cute to wait to wear.

Sweat to Street Sunday - Lady's Who Lunch Edition

Sweat to Street Sundays!

When I found the Sweat to Street Sundays link party on Erika's blog, I knew I had to join in the fun. Nothing better than showing off awesome workout gear and cute outfits in the same place! Count me in! 

Meet Your Hosts!

Family and Life in Las Vegas (Emily)

Wild Things RUN Free (Charlotte)

Running and Cupcakes (Samantha)

MCM Mama (Erika)

Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli (Tenecia)

***IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW SWEAT TO STREET ON TWITTER OR PLAN ON TWEETINGYOUR POST, PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #SweatToStreet***

Sweat to Street has been created as a place to link up your favorite outfits of the week as a new Sunday blog feature. The idea is to have some fun and change it up! Each week we encourage you to post one workout outfit and one outfit you wore that isn’t fitness related.

Sweat
I feel like I wear this get up frequently, but I like the gray/pink plaid combo. And the Nike hat is a must this time of year. I sweat too much for sunglasses, at least I've not found a pair that doesn't fog up.  Roxy tried to photo bomb me.

Top: Danskin Tank from Walmart ($5)

Shorts: Nike Tempo

Hat: Nike

Shoes (np): Brooks Ravenna 3

Street

This is what I wore for a casual lunch with an dear friend on Friday. She recently lost someone very special to her and we spent some of our hour or so together teary eyed and sharing stories. I love having a friend that is so passionate about life and can remember the smallest of details about everything. Please ignore my messy bedroom. I'm in the process of sorting and removing my old clothes and shoes. My process is to remove everything from the closet and drawers and then put back what I want. It's a disaster zone for a few days, but it works for me.

Top: TJ Maxx ($7.99)

Capri: Elle for Kohls, Dark Wash

Wedges: Madison Studio for Belk

Bird Land

Yesterday's Run:
4.14 miles/41 min

Birds in a pond.

I don't know if I'm doing myself any favors with all of these little short runs, but for a girl who does not do well in extreme heat, I'm proud that I've gotten out of bed and actually hit the road - even if the miles per run can be counted on one hand. I will continue to contemplate running the Labor Day 10K in a few weeks. It will depend on the weather for sure. I love getting ready for a race. I don't want to be totally miserable and get discouraged. There's a very fine line.

Hey lady, can I come in?

I was out the door by 6:20a and the neighborhood was quiet and still. We have a pond in our neighborhood that used to be deep enough for canoes and full of fish and other wildlife. Thanks to several years of severe drought conditions, the pond is barely there. Where there used to be water, now there is marsh/swamp and it attracts a number of long legged birds. This collection of herons or maybe they are cow birds (who knows?) have been there most every morning this week chilling in a small pooling of water. They kind of look like an exhibit you'd find at the zoo.

While I was icing I heard a little tapping and this little guy was pecking on my front window. We do have a nest of birds in our front shrubbery, but I think he was up to no good. Those mocking birds (maybe?) are a little aggressive.


I'm not sure what the universe was trying to tell me with all of these birds in my morning, but as long as it wasn't some Hitchcock-esque apocalypse, then I was happy to have some unexpected and friendly wildlife around. Maybe I should download a bird watchers guide for my iPhone or something.

Yesterday was Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen. Each year all DQs in the country donate $1 of every Blizzard they sell on that day to the local children's hospital. Buy ice cream and do some good - count me in. I enjoyed my Oreo Blizzard for lunch.

Tonight I plan to enjoy a glass of wine - or two - and take in all that the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics has to offer. I'm still debating about signing up for Run with Jess's Virtual Olympic Games. Maybe tonight's Olympic viewing will inspire me to take the plunge.

Bootcamp

Latest Workout Stats:

Monday: Bootcamp Class 60 min

Tuesday: Run 3.22 Miles/ 31 min

Faith and I, post-Dirty Girl Run in April

I do have a pretty good excuse for taking two days to post about my first CrossFit/Bootcamp experience on Monday night - I have been so sore/weak I could not type until this afternoon. No lie. I even tried to write a grocery list yesterday and had trouble holding a pen. Wuss.

My friend and running partner, Faith, has been nagging encouraging me to join her for bootcamp all summer.  I'm calling this class bootcamp out of respect for the CrossFit brand, since this isn't an official CrossFit gym, although according to my research, the workouts are similar. 

Monday night we had loose plans to do something together. Here's what I had in mind - drinks, laughs, food, drinks, laughs, goodnight. Here's what we did instead:

• Abs, abs, abs
• Tire runs
• Squat jumps
• Wall swats
• Some arm press thing with 25 lbs that I totally believe is going to require me to have Tommy John surgery
• Triceps presses
• Rope slap and burpee thing
• Pull ups
• Lift some weighted bar over my head and try not to drop it on your foot
• Push ups with dumbbell lifts
• Squats with arm curls
• Jump on a giant tire (in 100 degrees)
• Shuttle sprints (in 100 degrees)

The MotoActv doesn't lie - does it?

I will admit, as an adult I've never been to a gym to attend an organized fitness activity. Oh, sure in college I went to the fitness center and walked around the indoor track with my girlfriends while we gossiped and I think I went to a step aerobics class or two, but that is the extent of my "gym" experience.  I had also never lifted a free weight heavier than an 8 lb dumbbell. So going into this experience it is safe to say I was a tad nervous. 

The verdict - it was fun and I enjoyed the challenging sets our cute little trainer, Clay, had designed for us. We laughed at ourselves, got incredibly sweaty and then went for drinks and food. So I got the best of both worlds - although the only drink I could tolerate was water, but I didn't need the extra calories anyway.

This brings us to Tuesday's run. I knew my arms would be worthless, but I was surprised that my legs felt pretty good in spite of the 100 squats I did the night before. Well, that all changed 2.0 miles into my run. My legs were more tired than I thought they could be. If I decide to add CrossFit into the mix weekly, I'll go on a day that I run so I have a whole day to recover. I had to take a walk break after 2 miles for about a quarter of a mile and then ran another mile and called it a day. A check of the MotoActv, it looks like I ran negative splits. Hey, I'll take that any way I can get it.

Half-Crazy

Yesterday's Run:
6.08 mi/ 57 min

I continue to not get up early enough on long run days to make the weather bearable. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. As much as I complain about the hot weather on my runs, you'd think I'd be up at 5a without fail. I have only myself to blame for the sweltering temps by the second half of my run.

I ran the same route I did last week where I found my running buddy. I now know the farm she belongs to and she wagged her tail at me and gave me a "woof" from her place on their front porch on Sunday. She knew it was too hot to be running too and decided to stay put in the shade. I'm glad to know where she belongs and I'm happy to bring her back to them anytime she decides to go on an adventure with me from here on out.

After my run and a brunch with my hubby, I enjoyed a couple of hours by the pool with the August issue of Runner's World. The focus this month was half-marathons and since I have plans to run at least one in 2013, I read it cover-to-cover. I'll admit, I've done very little research on which training plan I'll use, nor have I looked at the calendar to have a clear picture of when I need to get serious.

I've looked at Jeff Galloway plans, Runner's World plans, the FIRST plan and I have no idea which will work best for me. I guess I have some time to sort it all out and do a little more research and I know there's no one-size-fits-all plan, but boy it would be nice if there were.

Mid-way through my run on Sunday I started to think that I must be insane to believe I could run 13.1 miles. I was struggling to finish four at that point. I'm hoping I can reset my brain to think a bit more positively this week with a few short runs and a Crossfit class or two.

Sweat to Street Sunday

I missed last week, but I got back on the fashion wagon this week with my third Sweat to Street post.

Sweat to Street Sundays!

When I found the Sweat to Street Sundays link party on Erika's blog, I knew I had to join in the fun. Nothing better than showing off awesome workout gear and cute outfits in the same place! Count me in! 

Meet Your Hosts!

Family and Life in Las Vegas (Emily)

Wild Things RUN Free (Charlotte)

Running and Cupcakes (Samantha)

MCM Mama (Erika)

Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli (Tenecia)

***IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW SWEAT TO STREET ON TWITTER OR PLAN ON TWEETINGYOUR POST, PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #SweatToStreet***

Sweat to Street has been created as a place to link up your favorite outfits of the week as a new Sunday blog feature. The idea is to have some fun and change it up! Each week we encourage you to post one workout outfit and one outfit you wore that isn’t fitness related.

Sweat
I scored a cute pair of Nike shorts at TJ Maxx on Saturday and I couldn't wait to try them out. No better test than a long run on a Sunday morning. The tag said they were tennis shorts - whatever those are. The tag also said they were $40 retail and the TJ Maxx price was $12.99. Say no more.

Top: Danskin Performance Tank - $5 at Walmart

Shorts: Nike Tennis Shorts - TJ Maxx

Socks (np):  Brooks - TJ Maxx

Shoes (np): Brooks Ravenna 3

Street

I wore this dress to a casual client dinner last week. I did wear a cream sweater with it to make it a bit more modest, but this dress is really comfortable and can be dressed up or down. Packs well too.

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft

Wedges: Madison brand from Belk, last season

Planked

Yesterday's Run:
6.1 mi/ 57 min

High Plank

Well, I think this distance is right. My iPhone and my MotoActv decided to get cranky on  yesterday's run. MotoActv said 6.1 when I started my cool down, but I did a little sprint work at the end and when I restarted my watch it got all crazy. I had an app running on my iPhone (I was listening to my book) app to see how the two GPS trackers compared and it said I did 9.22 mi. That, I know, was not right. Maybe they interfere with one another. I really need a new iPhone holder anyway. Now that I have a MotoActv I think I could run with it in a SPIbelt. It is on my wish list for my next running purchase.

My legs were really tired by the end of yesterday's run. I did run a faster pace than I have on my previous longer runs, so it should be expected. It felt good.

Dolphin (or low) Plank

I also jumped on the Plank-A-Day bandwagon this week. The basic idea is to do one plank each day, holding it as long as you can. Planks are an awesome ab workout, so I hope this helps to strengthen my core as I start ramping up for my half training this fall.

All the cool kids started Plank-a-Day in January. I started on July 18. In an effort to make up for all those lost days, I'm doing two or three planks a day to catch up. I'm doing three variations on the plank - high, low and reverse - to work different muscles each time. It only takes a minute or two - perfect for commercial breaks - and I'm already holding it longer than I did on day one. I think it just took my body a minute to figure out what the heck I was trying to do.

Reverse Plank

Yesterday afternoon, KC and I decided to clean out our garage. I put on a mask late in the process, once we started sweeping, but I wish I had done it sooner because today I cannot breath through my nose. After four hours of trashing, sweeping, organizing and more sweeping, I was exhausted and my legs were trashed. After a quick swim to get the grime off and a hot shower, I think I was asleep by 8:30p. The garage looks awesome, but today I feel like I was hit by a train. Let's hope I'm back on the tracks tomorrow.

Running Knits

Today's Run: 
3.8 miles/ 36 min

Granny's Dishcloth Pattern

It is official, I run much slower while listening to a book. Or maybe it is a combo of listening to a book and the 1000 degree heat. I have grand plans of running a 10k on Labor Day, but I've delayed registering waiting to see how darn hot it might be at 8:30a. I really should stop putting it off and start getting outside more in the middle of the day to help acclimate myself to the weather.

When I started running in October, I absolutely didn't think I'd run outside during the summer. My body really doesn't tolerate heat very well. I have to admit that I think I'm getting used to it. I've started running around 7:30a lately which makes the end of my run much warmer than it would be if I had set out at 6:30a. Although it might be 70 degrees at sunrise, once the sun comes up it is a game changer (for me at least).

I mentioned that I was listening to a book about knitting and I picked up my needles again on Monday evening for a refresher before picking up an unfinished project. Muscle memory is an awesome thing and my hands seemed to go on auto-pilot. I whipped up this dishcloth in a couple of hours while watching the Red Sox game.

I love a cotton dishcloth for many practical reasons, but as a knitter - it is the ultimate in instant gratification. You can finish a usable project in a couple of hours, which is especially helpful when working on long and involved projects, where there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

It feels really good to pick up my knitting needles again and I think it really compliments my running in some ways. Feeling my hands create something is like feeling my legs carry me forward on my runs. Figuring out a difficult pattern is like pushing through that voice in my head that says - it's ok to stop, no one will see. Building up the endurance to finish 13.1 (without dying) is like maintaing the focus necessary to finish a lengthy sweater or blanket. I think I may build in some knitting time post-run, while I ice.

Running Buddy

Today's Run:
6.25 miles/ 62 min

It was a hot, sweaty run this morning, but I feel back on track after a weird week of trying to get settled after being gone for a week and then getting back in the car to travel for work. I don't know what it is about a long run, but it seems to center me a bit.

Riding back home, post-run

I listened to an audio-book for the first time on today's run and I have to say, for long runs, I think this might be a great way to keep my pace moderate and my mind focused. Today's book was the second in the Friday Night Knitting Club series by Kate Jacobs called Knit Two. I taught myself to knit five or six years ago and loved it for a long time. I've not knit in two years and I'm not sure why (ADHD?). I have several unfinished projects in bags that I want to get back to, but never do. Listening to these books make me want to pick up my needles again. Maybe this week it will happen.

My husband calls me Dr. Doolittle. My family has called me Elly May Clampett all my life. If it is furry, I want to have my hands on it. My children have four legs - both retired racing greyhounds - and many people would think that they make good running partners. Greyhounds are sprinters by nature, so running more than half a mile - a mile at most - isn't in their DNA. I'm hoping I can convince my youngest (Roxy, 8) to join me this fall when it is much cooler on some shorter runs during the week, but that is very questionable.

We live out in the country so occasionally, I will have a neighborhood dog join me on my runs. Most of the time they are younger dogs who think I'm playing and they will hang with me for a little bit before returning home (or I run them home). Today I took a new route and ended up picking up a running buddy about half way through my run. This cute, black lab somehow knew I needed a pick me up and nipped at my heels and ran along side of me just as I was slowing down. She was so happy and so excited to be running that it helped me pick up the pace. I figured she'd realize she was out of her "home zone" and turn around, but she didn't. She followed me for about 3.5 miles, all the way home. She had a collar on - no tags, but I remembered where she approached me, so after some water and some shade, I put her in the car (very reluctantly) and took her back to where she came from.

I may have made a couple of drive-bys to see if she was sitting there waiting for me to return, but she had moved on. I'm calling her Ruby and I will do my best not to dog-nap her if she shows up again.

Lagging Behind

Latest Run:
4.32 miles/ 39:25 - This was on Thursday

I'm behind. I'm behind in just about everything this week. I'm behind on laundry. I'm behind on house cleaning. I'm non-existant in the grocery shopping category. I'm behind on my running schedule. I'm just behind. Sigh.

On Thursday, I drove to Florida for a business meeting. I indulged at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse - you've not lived until you've had their sweet potatoes. I indulged on my six hour drive home with a strawberry shake from Steak and Shake. I indulged myself this morning by sleeping in, instead of running. Ah well, I'll make it up to my slow-poke-self tomorrow.

I have a long run planned for tomorrow. Maybe that will get me back on track.

Princess Wannabe

Today's Run:
3.67 miles/ 32:00

Today was hot - 78 degrees and 100% humidity at 6:30a. I always have trouble after taking two days off, so it wasn't a stellar running performance, but I did get out there no matter how much I wanted to stay in bed. Even on short runs, I think I'm going to have to start taking my water bottle with me.

Today I registered for the Princess Half-Marathon at Disney World in February. This is the first half I've ever registered for and I'm only a little freaked out - more excited than hyperventilating. Based on my research, every Run Disney experience appears to be a lot of fun. Maybe there will be so many distractions on the course, along with the 20,000 women participating, that I will forget how far I'm running.

Princess Half Costumes (source)

Before I decided to run this race, I had no idea that running in costume was kinda the norm and showing up dressed like a normal person is actually un-cool. People are really serious about their running costumes and I've been doing some early planning on what I may actually wear, because as we all know one must look cute while sweating. 


While I'm not one to dress up on Halloween, I'm actually looking forward to running dressed like a Disney Princess. I'm thinking I'll go as Snow White as it was the first Disney movie I remember seeing as a child at an old movie theater in Boone, NC, with my grandfather. I'll be sure to post pictures of my costume as it comes together, but I do think a sparkle skirt  and sparkle Chickband are in the cards.

Sweat to Street Sundays - Altitude Edition

Sweat to Street Sundays!

When I found the Sweat to Street Sundays link party on Erika's blog, I knew I had to join in the fun. Nothing better than showing off awesome workout gear and cute outfits in the same place! Count me in! 

Meet Your Hosts!

Family and Life in Las Vegas (Emily)

Wild Things RUN Free (Charlotte)

Running and Cupcakes (Samantha)

MCM Mama (Erika)

Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli (Tenecia)

***IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW SWEAT TO STREET ON TWITTER OR PLAN ON TWEETINGYOUR POST, PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #SweatToStreet***

Sweat to Street has been created as a place to link up your favorite outfits of the week as a new Sunday blog feature. The idea is to have some fun and change it up! Each week we encourage you to post one workout outfit and one outfit you wore that isn’t fitness related.

Sweat:
This is what I ran the Beech Mountain 5k in yesterday. I totally broke the rules of don't do anything different/new on race day. I bought the running skirt the night before and thought it was too cute not to wear!

Top: Champion, from target

Skirt: Hind, from TJ Maxx (my first running skirt - but won't be my last)

Socks: Experia, TJ Maxx (I should have bought more)

Headband: Chick Band, Hot Pink Glitter

Shoes: Brooks, Ravenna 3

Street:
For dinner with my sister and her hubby on Saturday night at one of my favorite Boone restaurants. It was a skirt kind of day.

Top: Ann Taylor Loft

Skirt: Ann Taylor Loft

Shoes: Vera Wang for Kohls

Running with Altitude

Today's Run:
Beech Mountain Club 5k
31:45 unofficial, First in Age Group

I searched high and low for a race to run close to me while I was on vacation in the mountains of NC. I secretly hoped the race would be on the low side. I wasn't that lucky. The only race within an hour of me today was at 5400 ft. Crap! Sign me up!

The drive up to Beech Mountain is intimidating. The switchback turns make your GPS think you are actually making left and right hand turns, not going around curves. I was a tad nervous this morning, mostly about dying. There was no course map and I had no idea how tough it might be, so of course I thought the worst.

The course was actually on the Beech Mountain Club's golf course, which was pretty cool. Starting at the recreation area of the club, we ran up the road and on to the course, around the back nine and a water obstacle, then back up to the club house. The terrain was a bit like an obstacle course - asphalt to gravel to concrete to grass (we ran on the fairways!) to concrete to gravel to asphalt. The hills were steep and plentiful. The downhill parts were kind of scary - especially on the gravel.

I felt good the first 2 miles. I could feel I was running a slower pace than I normally would, but there were at least 4 large hills in the first 2 miles of the race and I didn't stop on any of them. Personal victory. But I struggled through mile 3. My legs felt strong - not tired at all. It was my breathing that became a problem. I seriously thought that somewhere on the back 9 of that golf course someone removed a lung from my body. I walked probably a quarter of the last mile just trying to slow my breathing down and get back into a rhythm. I finished strong once my body figured out how to use oxygen again.

Because I had no cell signal and my GPS was screwy, the app I use to track my splits wasn't really accurate, so I only have the time I saw on the clock at the end. They haven't posted the chip time yet, but I think I was 31.45 - fast enough to be first in my age group. Okay, so there were only three in my age group, but I wasn't last.

I'm not shy. I'll talk to just about anyone. And I found myself chatting with a family waiting for the race to start. Lori and her husband (Mike I think) and their 10 year old son, Jack were vacationing in the mountains from Columbia, SC. On the out and back I spotted Jack and his dad on the other side of the course and they both gave me a high five (too cute). Lori has been a personal trainer for years and she is seriously in amazing shape. She came up behind me as I was struggling on mile three and helped me get through my lung suddenly turning black.

Lori's friend Judy (who looks closer to 50 than her real age) was a total inspiration to me. She had just run in an ultra relay in Florida on a team called 100 Shades of Gray. They wore handcuffs and t-shirts that said Laters, Baby. Awesome, right? Judy has done it all - triathlons, cycling, marathons, ultras - and she didn't start running until she was 39. There's hope for me yet! Both Lori and Judy were running The Bear at Grandfather Mountain on Thursday and invited me to tag along with them - even after they realized they are way out of my league. Unfortunately, I'll be back to my real life by then, but we've all exchanged information and will absolutely keep in touch. The Bear is on my bucket list for sure.

This was the slowest time I've ever put up in a race. But in retrospect, between the heat (yes, it was 78 degrees even in the sky), the altitude and the hills, I feel like it was a great test for me and I had so much fun meeting Lori and her family. Really, it was a win/win kind of day - blue ribbons and new friends!

Running Independence

Today's Run:
5.06 miles/ 47 min

I ran on the Greenway Trail again today. It got hot and humid quick today. I saw a cute little bunny on the trail this morning. He was waiting for me after I turned around to head back, so I took a picture of him. Not too many people out today. I guess everyone was recovering from a fabulous Fourth of July. 

Speaking of Independence Day...

I spent yesterday with my extended family on my dad's side. Two aunts, two cousins, their four kids and spouses, my sister and her husband, my mom and I enjoyed a pot luck cookout. We laughed about our crazy family stories and enjoyed remembering "the good old days."

My cousin Thomas is a crazy person serious athlete with a number of marathons and triathlons under his belt. Besides filling my face with the best guacamole I've ever eaten in my life, much of my time at the family gathering was spent picking his brain about hydration, nutrition, cross training and all things running. Really, there's no better time to talk about exercise than when you have a giant plate of banana pudding and crack brownies in front of you.

I'm going to get on the chia train, thanks to Thomas' ringing endorsement. I'll let you know how it goes when I start adding it into the mix - probably next week. I'm sure it won't make me super human, as many chia advocates believe, but maybe it will make me feel better on these longer, hotter runs and that might be just as good as being super human.

Working Up a Mess

Today's Run:
3.88 miles/ 35 min

Short run at a fairly slow pace on the Greenway Trail today, but boy I needed that after those hills last night. It's late in the evening now and for the first time ever, I'm sore thanks to running. I've always had strong legs thanks to 20 years of dance growing up and so far that foundation has served me well. This also marked day 3 of a personal running streak record - you gotta start somewhere, right?

I am glad I'm sore this evening. It lets me know that my body is getting stronger and it is stretching, growing and changing in ways that will benefit me later. That pain I feel is actually a gain. And a few Advil will help just about anything.

I spent many weeks each summer in this part of the country and one of the things that all of us grandchildren had to do on a regular basis - like at least every other day - was to string beans. An adult (usually a grandfather) would go out to the garden and pick a "mess" of beans. Much of the cool morning was spent on the porch stringing and breaking green beans so they could cook the rest of the day with fat back or bacon or ham hock. I'm pretty sure that every meal in the summer time included green beans.  It had been 15 years since I "worked up a mess" of beans, but it was just like riding a bike. 

My aunt from Colorado arrived today and to celebrate I prepared a vegetable dinner with farm-fresh beans, squash, corn, zucchini, and new potatoes. For dessert - a ruby-berry cobbler (rhubarb and strawberries). It reminded me of the meals my grandmothers would make.

Mountain Mamma

View from the top (of the hill)

Today's Run:
2.2 miles - Hill Repeat

I'm in the mountains of North Carolina for a week of family fun. This is where my mom and dad were both born, raised, met, fell in love and were married. Where I spent every summer as a child. Where I spent four years in college. Where I've buried my grandparents and my father. Where I have more incredibly happy memories than bad ones.

This flat lander rarely has the opportunity to run hills. I mean, Georgia has hills, but not like the Appalachian Mountains. So, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity to get some serious hill work in this week. Pictured here is the hill behind my grandparent's home (now our mountain house) that looks challenging, but do-able. I figured 5 repeats of the route from the end of the road to the top of the hill (approximately a half mile) would be a great goal.

What I didn't realize is that the elevation change is 121 feet over the course of that half mile, but after three repeats my legs figured it out. Can you say Jello legs? I cheated the last two repeats and walked the large hill at the end instead of running it. I can totally tell that my glutes are not strong enough for serious hill running. I see many squats in my future.

Sweat to Street - Mountain Edition

Today's Run:

6.78 miles/ 58 min

Today I ran in Boone, NC - aka, God's Country. More about my mountain running later this week, but I have grand plans to run every day while I'm here. Is there any better excuse than "I'm going for a run" to escape your crazy family for some peace and quiet?

Sweat to Street Sundays!

When I found the Sweat to Street Sundays link party on Erika's blog, I knew I had to join in the fun. Nothing better than showing off awesome workout gear and cute outfits in the same place! Count me in! 

Meet Your Hosts!

Family and Life in Las Vegas (Emily)

Wild Things RUN Free (Charlotte)

Running and Cupcakes (Samantha)

MCM Mama (Erika)

Boobs, Barbells, and Broccoli (Tenecia)

***IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW SWEAT TO STREET ON TWITTER OR PLAN ON TWEETINGYOUR POST, PLEASE USE THE HASHTAG #SweatToStreet***

Sweat to Street has been created as a place to link up your favorite outfits of the week as a new Sunday blog feature. The idea is to have some fun and change it up! Each week we encourage you to post one workout outfit and one outfit you wore that isn’t fitness related.

To kick off my participation in Sweat to Street Sundays, I actually photographed what I wore today! 


Sweat
I'm such a loser. I totally didn't think about posting my workout outfit on my blog today when I set out my workout clothes last night. Nothing like coming out of the gate with a race day shirt! Dork.

Hat: Nike Dri-Fit

Shirt: 2012 Jim Gibbons 5k Race Day shirt - the black sides are very slimming

Shorts: Nike Tempo in Red

Shoes: Brooks Ravenna 3

Street

After my run I had lunch and little retail therapy with my mom and sister. In the dressing room at the Ann Taylor Loft I snapped this shot. The lighting was better than at the vacation house we are in. 

Sunglasses: Jones of New York, TJ Maxx

Top: Old Navy

Capri Pants: Madison Brand from Belk

Shoes: Vera Wang for Kohls, last season