Hello. Happy (black) Friday! I didn’t go anywhere near a shopping mall today. I’m not a fan of chaos and lines. I took Duncan to the park for some fresh air instead.

best friends

best friends

notice that he's stepping on my toe.

notice that he’s stepping on my toe.

opt-outside-doodle

Let’s backtrack a bit. Last Sunday I went for a run in Mr. SOTSS’ neighborhood while he was at the Girls on the Run 5k with his girls.

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After the NYC Marathon 3 weeks ago I tossed my iPod and earbuds (with the missing ear piece) and Garmin into a drawer. Luckily for me there was enough battery power left in both because yesterday I WENT FOR A RUN! No set pace or distance to follow. Only requirements were to enjoy my tunes and feel the sunshine and brisk air on my face.

garmin-3miles

dorky pose to start the run

dorky running pose

When I came back I stretched my back and hamstrings which have been very tight lately.

Always keeping me company

Always keeping me company

There’s this song I’ve been obsessed with lately. Heard it on yesterday’s run. It’s called Catch and Release by Matt Simons. The lyrics sort of remind me of my connection to running. My special place to “release what builds up throughout the day”. Ironically trying to draft this post has created so much stress thanks to some weird “http error” stuff when trying to upload images I’m headed back out shortly for another run and hoping that I get to hear the song again. =) #prayingtotheshufflegods

 

Oh, and remember i mentioned that my Keurig died? Well I have a new one thanks to my awesome sister.

2.0!

2.0!

And remember my struggle with those Brooks Ghosts that I sadly had to return? Well last night Mr. SOTSS and I went outlet mall shopping and there was an Asics outlet and they had the Asics Cumulus 16’s…..in my size!!!!! I literally couldn’t even find them online anymore (well I had ordered one pair in a different color scheme but they were too small even though they said there were size 8 so I had to return them). I’m so stoked. This will give me a good 6 months before I’ll need to find a new model to work with my particular and wonky feet.

newkicks

Best feeling in the world to be reunited with my favorite kicks

old next to the new! I can thank the Beat the Blerch trail half marathon for the old ones looking so ratty

old next to the new! I can thank the Beat the Blerch trail half marathon for the old ones looking so ratty

I felt like Cinderella trying on her glass slipper. Fit like a glove. The night got even better when we came home to watch a movie and indulge in some decadence via ice cream, cookies and vino.

Best ice cream flavor I've tried in a while. And I went with Sterling merlot. I went to their vineyard in Napa a few years back and was feeling nostalgic =)

Best ice cream flavor I’ve tried in a while. And I went with Sterling merlot. I went to their vineyard in Napa a few years back and was feeling nostalgic =)

OK, well I’m off now to go for another run with no requirements. YIPPEEE! LOVE THE OFF SEASON!!!

Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. And big shout out to Mr. SOTSS’ two daughters who are minutes away from starting their Girls on the Run 5k. Good luck girls! Have a great run!!!!

I swear I don’t know what is wrong with me but I’ve just been so lethargic and not into any kind of exercise lately let alone running. But tonight, I forced my butt out for a decent walk with the dog when I got home from work and something magical happened. After about 20 minutes I felt the desire to pick up the pace and before you knew it I was sprinting a few blocks here and there. I think this is a sign that I just need a little more time to get back to business.

He's thrilled that I've finally decided that we could walk for more than 10 minutes after the sun sets.

He’s thrilled that I’ve finally decided that we could walk for more than 10 minutes after the sun sets.

I just ran 2 blocks!

I just ran 2 blocks!

a little moonlight

a little moonlight

The best part was that I finally hit 10,000 steps today.

FullSizeRender 915 days ago I had a 60,000 step day thanks to the NYC Marathon and since then I think I’ve reached 10,000+ maybe 2 or 3 days….one of which was the day we went hiking. Even this past weekend I took Duncan for a walk at the park both days but we didn’t go for more than 30 minutes because I just felt so fatigued.

Short walk Sunday

Short walk Sunday

Driving to the park

Driving to the park

Short walk Saturday

Short walk Saturday

I slept 8+ hours each night of this past weekend so maybe that had something to do with tonight’s burst of energy.

This is all very encouraging.

One sad piece of news. I think my Keurig is finally dead. So tonight I whipped out my handy dandy percolator and you know what? I missed it!

IMG_9339

I hope you all have a great week.

Are you a coffee drinker? Do you do drip, pods, k-cups, french press, percolator, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts???? 

Happy Saturday!

My life is so not about sweating out the small stuff lately so in the meantime here’s a great list I wrote 2 years ago when I took a running hiatus after the 2013 NYC Marathon:

10 things to do when you aren’t running long runs

10THINGS