Hi there and Happy Saturday!

I worked from home all last week and will be doing so for the next 3 weeks which is great because not only am I more in control of scheduling stuff like haircuts, workouts, dental appointments etc. but I’ve had some extra time to get some cleaning projects done as well. And Duncan has had tons of time to look cute for pictures because obviously I wasn’t taking enough already.

Cute pose 1,974,301

Cute pose 1,974,301

On Wednesday I was done with my work by 3pm so I decided to clean out my overstuffed running gear drawer. I painstakingly said goodbye to some race shirts but not the memories.

Bye bye sweet race shirts :(

Bye bye sweet race shirts 🙁

I tossed 2 Ragnar Relay shirts, 2 Rock n Roll Brooklyn shirts, 1 Rock n Roll New Orleans shirt, 1 Rock n Roll Phoenix shirt, 1 Wisconsin Half shirt, 2 Queens 10k shirts, 2 Staten Island Half shirts, 1 NYC Marathon shirt (the marathon that never took place because of Sandy), 1 Philly Love Run Half shirt and a few other NYRR shirts.

I even cooked for myself this week which hardly ever happens.

Pepper Steak!

Pepper Steak!

And yesterday after seeing my friend’s post about how much she enjoyed her rebounding (trampoline) class, I dusted off mine and was excited to see that my Garmin tracks steps while I’m bouncing. I hadn’t used it in quite some time. I bought it for myself for Christmas a few years back but eventually it got dis-assembled and stored upstairs out of sight and out of mind.

Weeee!

Weeee!

My living room is now my home office and my home gym!

All the necessities for a home gym/office....laptop, dog, couch, trampoline, medicine ball, kettle bell, foam roller....

All the necessities for a home gym/office….laptop, coffee, dog, couch, trampoline, medicine ball, kettle bell, foam roller, (not in the pic are also free weights, resistance bands and a jump rope)

Part of my plan while working from home all these consecutive weeks is to get a routine in place for all things healthy including strength and cross-training. Voila! I’m literally staring at the equipment now so hopefully it’ll force me to want to use it.

home-office-home-gym

This morning I wanted to get in a longish run of 7 miles. I have been running solo a whole lot so I decided to join the New York Road Runner’s Open Run that they hold every Saturday at 9 a.m.

nyrr-openrunIt’s a 3 mile run that is mostly on trails. I knew it would be a great catalyst to get me going and then I could cover another 4 miles on my own.

Trails....just what I needed!

Trails….just what I needed!

I averaged 10:10 for the first 3 miles and 10:54 for the entire 7….I slowed down a lot around mile 5. Since I have no time goals for my Spring races it really doesn’t matter but it did feel good to see so may miles in the 10s.

And today on my run, I saw another heart like the pothole heart I saw last Monday.

LOVE

LOVE

Happy post run smile

Happy post run smile and crow’s feet and laugh lines too…=)

7 miles done

7 miles done

And now it’s time for some stretching and chores. Then I’m off to Mr. SOTSS’ house for the remainder of the weekend. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be unseasonably warm and I’m sure we’ll be taking the dogs somewhere fun.

Have a great weekend!
Do you prefer solo running or running with groups? Or both?

Do you like to cook?

Do you have a hard time letting go of things like race shirts?

This morning I had to drop my Subaru at the service center for repair at 7:30am. It’s 6 miles away….ding, ding, ding….lightbulb moment….I decided to run home.

It's fun to be greeted by 2 furry faces

It’s fun to be greeted by 2 furry faces

I knew well enough to take it easy since I am just getting back on track after dealing with that upper respiratory infection. But, it was a good “assignment” for me. I treated it that way anyway. I’ve been feeling a bit ambivalent about routine and commitment when it comes to health, running etc. Seriously, ask me when the last time I went grocery shopping was? The last home cooked meal I made was on Valentine’s Day and that was with Mr. SOTSS assisting. I need to work a little harder at making smart choices and setting myself up for success. So by declaring to Mr. SOTSS that I’d run home from dropping the car off I basically forced the run to happen. I texted him halfway through for a little encouragement.

gogirlAnd it ended up being lovely. A nice sunny brisk winter day. I’m working from home all week and how nice to have over 12,000 steps by 9am on Monday. #winning

I chose not to listen to music because I was running on roads with very little shoulder and no sidewalks so I wanted to be alert. IMG_1204And alert I was….I noticed this heart-shaped pot-hole.

IMG_1207We’re always in such a rush that we can’t always find time to admire little things like that. It’s one of my treasured joys of running.

And now I’m waiting for my friend Sue to stop by. We’re going to have a little bite to eat and catch up. Happy that I’ll have company. It can get lonely working from home.

Picking up the car later won’t be on foot though. Mr. SOTSS will give me a lift. =)

Do you ever use your running as transportation? Run to the bank? Run to work?
What are you having (or what did you have) for lunch today? 

It’s 60 degrees! 30 degrees above average and that was all I needed to help push me out the door to finally get a run in since recovering from that nasty upper respiratory infection.

pretending to be in jail.

pretending to be in jail.

I’ve been feeling better since probably Wednesday and I’m sure I could have managed a few miles on Thursday or Friday but I was scared that running would cause me to relapse. Or maybe I was just being lazy? I ended up being rather busy with work on Thurs/Fri so I just took the extra 2 days to take it easy.

And today, with the warmish sun on my face, I set out for 3 miles which turned into 3.5.

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I think my favorite color combination lately is this chartreuse green and turquoise combo on my shirt and sneakers. I even have the green stitching up the sides of the leggings and on the cuffs of my socks.And I love that my earbuds match too!

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Of course I’m not loving the extra lbs I feel like I’ve gained over the last few months. I can see it in this picture for sure 🙁 Time to work on that. #storyofmylife

The highlights of my week involved spending time with Duncan, Mr. SOTSS, Chester, and various combinations of all 3.

Duncan squished in between me and Mr. SOTSS.

Duncan squished in between me and Mr. SOTSS.

Chester using Duncan as a pillow and Duncan using me as a pillow

Chester using Duncan as a pillow and Duncan using me as a pillow

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I’m going to shoot for another few miles tomorrow and then on Monday I’m dropping my Subaru at the dealership for service and I plan to run/walk the 6.5 miles from Subaru to Mr. SOTSS’s house. This should get me back on track for training for the Cherry Blossom 10 miler.

Speaking of the Cherry Blossom 10 miler, have I mentioned how excited I am for it?!

Are you excited for any Spring races? What are you up to this weekend? 

So I really wanted to name this post Sh–t happens. LOL.

I was feeling so good on my run last Sunday even though i had the “sniffles”. Well that turned into an upper respiratory infection and knocked me down for a bit. I’m on antibiotics and starting to feel a little better so hopefully I’ll be back up and running next weekend but for now I’ll just accept the health defeat.

Other than trying to get through the days at work and resting at home I haven’t done much. Yesterday Mr. SOTSS and I took the dogs to the pet store to celebrate Valentine’s Day and show them how much we love them.

IMG_1073Mr. SOTSS picked up some flowers for me and we made pancakes on Valentine’s morning.

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My sister-in-law dropped off some homemade chicken soup. I am loved!

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I felt well enough today that we took the dogs on a short hike. It’s the most exercise I’ve had in a week. It was in the 30s which is balmy compared to the single digits we had on Saturday and Sunday. And then it snowed.

I'll race ya....

I’ll race ya….

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hiking...it's what we do

hiking…it’s what we do

one solitary snowflake that landed in my car

one solitary snowflake that landed in my car

Hope you all had a happy weekend. Tell me what you’ve been up to!!!!