Hi guys. Happy Sunday! I’m on Block Island (off the coast of Rhode Island) this weekend to attend a wedding. But first let me fill you in on the last couple of days. 

I decided to do my long run on Friday morning instead of today since I wasn’t sure how much down time I would have while here in Block Island.  It was a drop back week so I only had 7 miles on the schedule. No issues. I took it slow thanks to the heat and covered the 7 miles without any issues. 

7 miles done!

7 miles done!

My normal drill before running is making Duncan sit for a cookie. He loves when I go running!

IMG_7201Then I went for a much needed mani/pedi so all my digits would look great this weekend. 

Gel for the fingers and regular for the toes

Gel for the fingers and regular for the toes

I packed and said goodbye to the doodle and then headed out to Long Island with Mr SOTSS and his girls to catch the first of 2 ferries that eventually got us here to the island. 

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Block Island, here we come!

We had a lovely lunch and then checked in to our room and spent some time on the hotel property doing cartwheels and handstands and basically just having fun. The only problem was that in my enthusiastic attempt at a cartwheel I seemed to have pulled my hamstring.

An injury in the making :(

An injury in the making 🙁

Seriously as P!nk says I’m a hazard to myself. I didn’t realize how bad the pull was until later on. 

The hotel has been here since the 1850s and the surroundings are breathtaking.

wildflowers

wildflowers

well hello

well hello

a bee enjoying a sunflower

a bee enjoying a sunflower

The hotel

The hotel

In the evening it was time for a fun clam bake at a restaurant that had access to the beach. The kids really enjoyed it.

We watched the sunset and the moon rise and then sat around a bonfire to toast marshmallows and make s’mores. 

Goodnight moon

Goodnight moon

Now that's a fire!

Now that’s a fire!

Getting ready to make S'mores

Getting ready to make S’mores

sunset

sunset

She's just taking it all in.

She’s just taking it all in.

Happiness!

Happiness!

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This morning I got up with the sunrise and tried to run. It was basically a shuffle. And I only did that because it actually hurt less than walking. I stopped plenty to take pictures and then snuck back in the room by 6:30am before anyone else even woke up. I covered about 2.5 miles and my pace is really not important to share. LOL!

Smiling anyway despite the disappointment about my hamstring

Smiling anyway despite the disappointment about my hamstring

The south east lighthouse.

The south east lighthouse.

i will never get sick of a gorgeous sunrise

i will never get sick of a gorgeous sunrise

good morning!

good morning!

And now I’m going to the wedding. 

Hope you have a great day!

Have you ever hurt yourself doing something that you didn’t expect to get injured doing? 

Have you ever been to Block Island? Beach wedding? Clam bake? 

Do you like S’mores?

Just 10 things to share with the class:

1. I went to physical therapy yesterday morning for my second visit. First I got ultrasound and electro therapy with heat and then we worked on strengthening my entire left leg since it’s so weak. I had to balance on my bad foot on a stability trainer like this dude…

stability-trainer

It was quite challenging as the minutes went by. We’re also working on strengthening my hips so she had me do a penguin walk with a resistance band tied around my legs like this chick…

photo: prevention.com

photo: prevention.com

I did some wall squats and the “shuttle”

photo: bridgespt.com

photo: bridgespt.com

Then they let me use the elliptical for 10 minutes!

2. I took this selfie on Sunday night…

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3. I hit up TraderJoes last night after work for some fresh produce and just had to get this bouquet of flowers since they were only $4.99!

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4. I bought this juice for the first time and I kinda liked it. Well except that it cost $8.50. I drank half yesterday and half today. But I don’t think I am going on the juice craze just yet.

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5. I went to the gym at lunch and did 3 miles on the elliptical….you know….a 3liptical.

3liptical

3liptical

I sweat quite a lot considering my entire workout was only 34 minutes. I really needed that. They just started offering Bodypump classes. Ever been?

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6. I sat I way too much traffic yesterday.

7. I was thinking of buying a new Garmin just because they make them in prettier colors these days but mine works just fine so I guess the frugal side of me will shoot down the idea.

8. It’s been 8 weeks and 2 days since the NJ Marathon where I set that huge PR and was feeling amazing until I felt my sore foot which we all know became tendonitis that i’m still dealing with. Maybe jumping for this pic wasn’t so smart.

jumpin for joy at my PR

jumpin for joy at my PR

9. And in the last 8 weeks and 2 days I have only run 4 times. (two 4-milers and two 10ks)

10. I drove with Duncan to the beach for a walk tonight.

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still unsure about the water

but loves riding shotgun

but loves riding shotgun. and its perfecting timing for #tongueouttuesday

So tell me 10 things or even just 1 thing…

Where to begin? Well I’ll just give you a list of the things that have thrilled me today because lists always make life easier:

1. Medal Replacement

My replacement NJ Marathon medal arrived today! (the one I received after crossing the finish line broke and I emailed them).

re-lived that great day today

re-lived that great day today

 

2. Limp Lambchop

I decided to let Lambchop live. I removed the remaining squeeker and stuffing and tossed it in the garbage and now Duncan has a limp Lambchop (Yikes I hope that didn’t sound perverted.)

lambchopstuffing

the last of Lambchop’s innards…

3. Retail Therapy (flowers and wine)

Went to Sam’s Club with my friend and we stocked up on stuff. I got some fresh carnations. (just threw out the ones I bought on 4/25! That’s why I love carnations….they last forever.
We also stopped at the discount liquor store where I got some little individual bottles of wine for those nights where I just need one glass and took a picture with Captain Morgan =)

captainmorgan newcarnations

4. Fajitas!

We also went out to eat at my favorite Tex-Mex joint, Jose Tejas, but I changed it up and went with the Steak Fajita Salad instead of just regular fajitas. The citrus-lime chipotle dressing was amazing!josetejas

 

5. An Edible Arrangement

My sister in law felt that the goodies from Amazon weren’t enough so today she sent me an edible arrangements and smiley face balloon! How lucky am I?!

ediblearrangements

6. LIMP-FREE steps!

And the biggest news is that I took some of my first LIMP-FREE steps since last Saturday!!!! I still feel soreness and tingles on the foot/ankle and definitely some unstable/wobbly-ness but it’s a small sign things are moving in the right direction.

And so now you know why I’m thrilled today =)

 

Question: Any Thursday thrills you’d like to share with the class?

 

 

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been all lovey dovey here…

First it was the heart shaped donut that I fell for.

Then came my romance with the treadmill

And I’m always in love with my main squeeze-best friend-puppy-doodleface:

true love!

true love!

But today I bought myself some candy and flowers at Whole Foods on my lunch break (along with some dog treats for Duncan to spread the love and some other good eats for me too!

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Must be something about February..Anyway, moving on…after ordering prints, buying frames and finally painstakingly filling the frames to cover off on all my friends and family (of course I forgot to include Gina and Cindy! Sorry guys, you’ll go in the album that’s going to sit on my coffee table)…I hung them all!

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before they had homes

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The black collage ones went in the hallway…

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The window pane style ones went in the corner of the living room (stacked) by my great big oversized chair

And the small frames went on shelves that I painted the same color as the wall and hung above my TV.

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I was on such a roll hanging things back up (post having the house painted) that I went up to my office and finally put back my running bling….

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The office that used to be my full-time office when I worked from home. I miss spending most days in here. Sigh!

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It was quite the accomplishment. This morning Duncan decided he was too short so he wanted to walk up on higher ground. I guess it was his Great Dane complex coming through…
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photo 2

Hey ma! This blows! I can’t squat because my back legs keep sliding out from underneath me….

It’s been rough for him now that the snow has frozen over. He slips and slides isn’t really enjoying it like he did when it was all fluffy and powdery. For breakfast this morning I took a non-traditional approach:

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avocado, multigrain tortilla chips and an apple

While I walked to Whole Foods at lunch I passed by one of my favorite places. =) My friends used to call me Mustang as a nickname.

photo 4OK enough randomness. Have a great weekend everyone! I’ve got a 10 mile long training run to complete and while love is in the air I’m going to get cozy on the couch with my foam roller to work on some tight areas.

Question: What’s on tap for your weekend? Anyone have any big races? Family events?