Hey everyone, happy 3rd of July! I hope that you're having a great time starting off your holiday weekend and have lots of BBQs and fun things planned. I wanted to catch up on my week before I got into my weekend, although technically it has already started since we had the 3rd of July as a holiday in our office. Three cheers for long weekends!
On Sunday, after the sprint triathlon and feast, I relaxed for a bit before heading out in the evening to go out and join my running group for a very special run. I mentioned a few times that the leader, founder, and some of the most positive spirit behind Movers and Pacers, the running group that I have become a part of, was moving out of Atlanta. He recently got a great promotion and moved to Portland, Oregon. For the running crew, it will continue on with a team of captains in place, for which I am very grateful. He's built something that will live on beyond him, but it is still very sad as he is a good friend to many, a great energy, and somewhat of a staple to the music, hip hop, running, and overall community in Atlanta. For his final Sunday Flagship run, we planned to all wear his favorite color, orange, pace behind him, and have surprise runners jump out all along the route. It was a very memorable and symbolic run to say farewell to Kaos.
I originally was just planning on going to cheer and support, since I had done a race that morning. But I ended up somehow starting the run course. I immediately knew it was not the best idea and ran/walked a very moderately paced 2 miles, stopping to take lots of pictures.
And after there were drinks, of course, and a few other surprises that we'd pulled together for him. I could have stayed out all night, I was having such a good time, despite my tired legs and body. I forced myself to go home at a reasonable hour, giving Kaos a few big hugs and hoping to see him soon!
The week I had a number of really good workouts starting with a much needed yoga class on Monday night. On Tuesday, I got up early and did 5 miles with a few friends, running part of the hill of the Peachtree Road Race course one final time. I was only supposed to run 3 miles per my training plan but was somehow suckered into doing 5, although I really didn't mind it with such fun running partners.
I'm really thankful I've found/convinced people to run in the mornings with me in Atlanta. I love getting my miles in before work and it makes the rest of my day so much happier. I don't have a necessarily regular group, but there are starting to be a number of people I can count on to join me in the mornings. Wednesday and Thursday I both had running partners, doing an easy 4 on Wednesday and another easy 3 on Thursday, running part the END of the Peachtree Road Race route on Thursday.
Two cool things about this race expo were that A) They were giving out beer samples. And, yes please!
B) I got to try out this recovery running thing that is this treadmill contraption where you essentially run as if you have less body weight. On the treadmill in addition to adjusting the speed, you can also adjust how much of your body weight you would like to run without. I went down to 25% and it was really bizarre. Lots of physical therapy places or universities/sports teams are getting them for players who are injured to be able to continue to exercise and run but with less weight impact. Interesting concept! I felt like I was running on the moon though. And the less body weight you let carry you, the bigger the wedgie. So I wasn't a HUGE fan of that.
I'm super excited for the race tomorrow and looking forward to the whole experience. I am in wave C, which I am really excited about because it puts me in a good position to really try and run hard and PR. I'm also conflicted because I hear that the race course is a party with people giving out shots and pizza and beer and I also could totally participate in that!!! I wish that I could run the race twice!!! I guess we'll just see how things go tomorrow and do whatever feels like the most fun at the time. Run hard or run (drunk) for fun?? Decisions, decisions! However, my first Peachtree Road Race is tomorrow and I am READY!!! Happy 4th of July everyone!!
On Sunday, after the sprint triathlon and feast, I relaxed for a bit before heading out in the evening to go out and join my running group for a very special run. I mentioned a few times that the leader, founder, and some of the most positive spirit behind Movers and Pacers, the running group that I have become a part of, was moving out of Atlanta. He recently got a great promotion and moved to Portland, Oregon. For the running crew, it will continue on with a team of captains in place, for which I am very grateful. He's built something that will live on beyond him, but it is still very sad as he is a good friend to many, a great energy, and somewhat of a staple to the music, hip hop, running, and overall community in Atlanta. For his final Sunday Flagship run, we planned to all wear his favorite color, orange, pace behind him, and have surprise runners jump out all along the route. It was a very memorable and symbolic run to say farewell to Kaos.
I originally was just planning on going to cheer and support, since I had done a race that morning. But I ended up somehow starting the run course. I immediately knew it was not the best idea and ran/walked a very moderately paced 2 miles, stopping to take lots of pictures.
The sky was really working its magic for us that night too.
It was a really sad final run for me, because Kaos has really been a major influence on my life here and I'm really thankful for that. His friendship, openness, warm heart, and fun energy really encouraged me to come out to the group over and over before I even knew anyone else. And now, I have a group that is like a family to me.
The week I had a number of really good workouts starting with a much needed yoga class on Monday night. On Tuesday, I got up early and did 5 miles with a few friends, running part of the hill of the Peachtree Road Race course one final time. I was only supposed to run 3 miles per my training plan but was somehow suckered into doing 5, although I really didn't mind it with such fun running partners.
I'm really thankful I've found/convinced people to run in the mornings with me in Atlanta. I love getting my miles in before work and it makes the rest of my day so much happier. I don't have a necessarily regular group, but there are starting to be a number of people I can count on to join me in the mornings. Wednesday and Thursday I both had running partners, doing an easy 4 on Wednesday and another easy 3 on Thursday, running part the END of the Peachtree Road Race route on Thursday.
I also got back on track (for the most part) with eating this week, tracking my Weight Watchers points as of Tuesday. I went back to weight training as well getting in a couple really good workouts this week. It feels nice to be back on track and I am hoping that I can stick with it through the weekend. Last night was a challenge, although I did have lots of extra points built up.
I hosted a party at my place last night inviting friends from the running group over who are all participating in the Peachtree Road Race for a pre-race pasta dinner. It's only a 10K but pasta is delicious and this race is a BIG DEAL so it is fun to be a part of the celebrations. The Peachtree is the LARGEST ROAD RACE IN THE WORLD. Yes, you read that right. The largest race in the WORLD. There will be about 60,000 people running 6.2 miles tomorrow morning from the Lenox Mall to Piedmont Park and it is going to be bananas.
Dinner was great last night and I made a lot of pasta sauce out of the delicious sauces sent to me by Tuttorosso [Disclaimer: although they sent me these products for free, the opinions are my own!] In December, the lovely people at Tuttorosso sent me a package with a few different sauces and recipes and I was really honored when they asked me if I wanted some additional product. This time I received a number of different cans of crushed tomatoes, some with chilis, some tomato sauce and some tomato paste. I used a whole bunch of the cans as a base for a sauce in which I just added ingredients I had around my kitchen... garlic, onions, seasoning, olive oil, etc. I even threw in a little cinnamon because I have heard that can be good in tomato sauces. I was pretty happy with how it all came out and to go along with the sauce I made some pasta, some sauteed veggies, and cooked up some ground beef to make a meat sauce.
Everyone thought that the food was delicious and it made me really happy that the night went so well. We barely took any pictures because we were too busy eating, playing games, and having a good time! That's what it is all about after all.
Thank you so much Tutorosso for helping make the night a success!!!!!
This morning I met back up with the two lovely ladies you see in the pictures above to go to the Peachtree Road Race expo and get our bibs and check out the goodies. It was a totally chaotic process, as expected with 60,000 people running the race. However, they did a very good job of having lots of volunteers, adequate signage, and lots of things to look at. There was just a lot of people!
We did my usual prerace ritual of wandering around, shopping, getting all the free samples imaginable and taking every photo opportunity available.
B) I got to try out this recovery running thing that is this treadmill contraption where you essentially run as if you have less body weight. On the treadmill in addition to adjusting the speed, you can also adjust how much of your body weight you would like to run without. I went down to 25% and it was really bizarre. Lots of physical therapy places or universities/sports teams are getting them for players who are injured to be able to continue to exercise and run but with less weight impact. Interesting concept! I felt like I was running on the moon though. And the less body weight you let carry you, the bigger the wedgie. So I wasn't a HUGE fan of that.
I'm super excited for the race tomorrow and looking forward to the whole experience. I am in wave C, which I am really excited about because it puts me in a good position to really try and run hard and PR. I'm also conflicted because I hear that the race course is a party with people giving out shots and pizza and beer and I also could totally participate in that!!! I wish that I could run the race twice!!! I guess we'll just see how things go tomorrow and do whatever feels like the most fun at the time. Run hard or run (drunk) for fun?? Decisions, decisions! However, my first Peachtree Road Race is tomorrow and I am READY!!! Happy 4th of July everyone!!
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