It’s Oh Three Oh Four… 03/04.

Yep, It’s getting harder and harder to come up with blog titles. Figured I’d share a little update on the last 7 weeks. How on earth did I ever blog multiple times in a week when I can’t even post once a month now?

I’ll start on the fitness front.

I started running again! I ran my first miles of 2019 in Orlando Florida! More on that at the end of this post.

first miles of 2019

I have had some mild posterior tibial tendonitis (self diagnosed) but I’m doing a good job of keeping on top of it. I’ve been super diligent about strengthening and stretching. I found some great stretches and exercises online here and here and have been doing them every other day.

I ran a trail 5k last weekend (the Cold Feat 5k which is held in Staten Island’s Greenbelt) which was muddy and hilly but still lots of fun.

omg another hitch-hiking thumb

hitch-hiking thumb again

mud!

hitch hiking thumb

post race selfie!

I also finally took on the challenge of incorporating strength workouts into my life which is something I mentioned wanting to do in my last post. After listening to a podcast where the guest was a fitness instructor for an app called FITON, I bought the app. (there was a promo code so it ended up being a lot cheaper for a one year membership). I love it! I’ve completed 6 classes so far in the last 10 days. Most are bodyweight only classes but some use light dumbbells which I have. Some classes are as short as 16 minutes while others are around 30 minutes. There’s a really nice variety. You can choose from pliates, yoga, total body strength, dance/barre, cardio, and more. I’m really trying to strengthen my hips and glutes which will help as well in the ankle tendonitis department. Oh and core! I’m finally working on my core! And lots of arm work too. It’s felt so seamless which is bizarre to me because I’m 45 and haven’t been this jazzed about strength training EVER! Maybe it’s that I feel like it’s a really small commitment of my day and so easy to squeeze in. The instructors are very chill too. Hoping to stick with it for the entire year.

I had one really good run last month and came home and signed up for a half marathon because I guess I was having that “runner’s high”. Probably a very stupid thing to do but I am hoping i’ll get there. My attitude was “hey i’ve signed up and paid a lot for races that I couldn’t run in the past so what do I have to lose?” It’s the Love Run half down in Philadelphia. I ran it in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and I was signed up to run in 2017 and then got injured and missed it. Good news is they also have a 7k distance now so if I needed to I could drop down and not lose out completely. I completed my first “long run” of 5 miles last Tuesday and struggled for sure. I’m looking to do a 6 miler tomorrow. and then 8 miles next week. And a few short runs in between. I’m really just looking to complete the race so it’s a bare bones approach and not one I’d ever recommend 🙂

This was the run that I felt so great on that I went home and signed up for the Love Run Half Marathon

This was a run that got interrupted by a phone call from Mr. SOTSS. I don’t usually answer my phone but he rarely calls so I got worried. Ended up being nice to have a long walk break in between.

a nothing special run

My first long training run of the year and NEW kicks….New Balance 1080s. They’re currently being tested. I’ve got a couple of months to decide how I feel about them. 

For additional fitness I have been hiking here and there, and this past weekend Mr SOTSS and I took his girls skiing. So I got a good amount of exercise in traversing the mountain.

 

Found this heart shaped rock on one of the hikes

night hike!

In house-related news we repainted our back sunroom.

I give Mr. SOTSS props for closing off the room to the rest of the house, donning a respirator and sanding the layers of paint for a few hours. That was definitely the hard part. I just rolled on the paint.

Before and after floor closeup

It looks great except that after about a week a few little areas chipped and we’re now a little concerned that the prepwork we did (Mr. SOTSS spent a few hours sanding the old paint layers down with an orbital sander) wasn’t enough. I read that if there was an oil-based layer of paint underneath and you’re painting with a latex paint/primer that it could cause chipping without a special primer. Anyway, we’ll just wait it out and see if it continues. It could also be that the paint can take a full 30 days to cure and we only gave it 2 days before returning furniture and using the floor again.

In work-related news Mr. SOTSS and I attended the FASTSIGNS National Convention back in January in Orlando.

Learning a lot and enjoying some free lunches lol because isn’t that why everyone goes to a convention?

We learned a lot that will help us refine some of our business practices and grow the business too. I’m enjoying helping him with graphic design but sooooo happy I don’t have to do the sign production anymore. That was really challenging for me. And in my personal graphic design business, after a little lull in the new year, things are finally picking up! Whew! Freelancing can be quite the roller coaster.

In hair news I found an awesome new product line for my curls thanks to a sponsored ad in my Facebook newsfeed. Back in December I ordered some products from Lus Brands and can’t tell you how pleased I am. I got their travel kit size to try of both the kinky and the curly products and I mix a dollop of each into my hair when it’s soaking wet right after the shower. I scrunch and air dry and that’s it. The shampoo and conditioner are great too.

curly hair don’t care

Other than that it’s been the usual…

Cleaning up after dogs…

muddy doodle

Oh I wasn’t supposed to go on the furniture until you gave me a bath? My bad.

oops muddy

Hi mom. Can you let me in. I’m done digging in the yard.

Walking dogs…

Cuddling with dogs…

cuddles with duncan

Playing with dogs…

wanna play

hmm, I think we have a toy hoarder situation

Soccer anyone?

and clearly taking too many pictures of dogs. 🙂

Do you have any races coming up?

Do you like DIY projects or do you like to just hire someone?

Another year is here — hello 2019!

I’m finally starting to feel human again after getting sick just two days into the year. I don’t know if it was the flu or a virus or what but it really took me down.

how most of my first 2 weeks went down. First tea with lemon and eventually back to my beloved coffee

I went hiking that night and just couldn’t keep up with my group. I felt lightheaded and tired. The next morning i was full on feverish and achy and that lasted a couple of days before the head cold and chest congestion folded into the mix. Yucko!

Let’s just say it was a lovely “extra” gift from Mr. SOTSS this holiday. He was sick first. But he did give me another gift for Christmas that was AWESOME!

He booked us a ski weekend in Vermont for that last weekend of 2018. I felt bad that he was sick but he was a trooper and we had a great time.

snowboarding and sniffles

We are both super grateful that I didn’t get sick until AFTER the trip because I am not the a trooper type when I am sick. I’m actually the biggest mope and whiner you’ve ever met when I”m sick. 

All smiles waiting for the lift up for our first run of the day

Skiing always makes me feel like a big kid. Oh wait, maybe it’s the pigtails 😉

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Hi there,

TGIF! Hope y’all had a good week. Tomorrow I had planned to run 10 miles in preparation for the Love Run half marathon coming up on March 25th. But after two not so amazing 4 mile runs this week thanks to my hamstring situation I decided to take a few days off and delay that 10 miler. I’m thinking of shooting for Tuesday. That’ll give me 3-4 days off to let things settle a bit. Of I couldn’t resist joining some of my hiking friends for some winter fun this morning in the snow.

Wait for meeeeee!

Wait for meeeeee!

We had a quick storm that left a few inches and Duncan and I enjoyed the couple of hours out on the trails in the winter wonderland.

Hmm, red trail or blue?

Hmm, red trail or blue?

There's nothing better than fresh fallen snow in the woods

There’s nothing better than fresh fallen snow in the woods

My little hiker

My little hiker

This is the gate that is at the entrance of the parking area at the trail head. It's like sculpture.

This is the gate that is at the entrance of the parking area at the trail head. It’s like sculpture.

Speaking of winter fun, last Sunday Mr SOTSS and I took his 2 girls and my niece skiing in Pennsylvania.

That's my niece behind me! Yes, I was able to snap photos and video while skiing. I just held both poles in the other hand. I'm so talented.

That’s my niece behind me after skiing down the “big mountain” for the first time! She did amazing. Yes, I was able to snap photos and video while skiing. I just held both poles in the other hand. I’m so talented.

This was only the 3rd time each of the girls has been on skis. Last year when we took them they had a lesson and this year we started on the bunny slope but after about an hour they all felt comfortable trying out the big mountain trails. I’m so excited that I was able to teach my niece AND Mr. SOTSS’ older daughter (she’s almost 14) how to turn.

Last run of the day. She was so excited that I taught her how to turn she wanted to practice. I'm so proud of her.

Last run of the day. She was so excited that I taught her how to turn she wanted to practice. I’m so proud of her.

Once it clicked for them they got so much more confident and fell a whole lot less 🙂 It was a great day filled with lots of laughs.

A daddy/daughter chill session

A daddy/daughter chill session

Taking a quick nap before the struggle to get back up.

Taking a quick nap before the struggle to get back up.

My week was pretty typical. Duncan and I had our usual walks and trips to the pet store and as I said earlier, I got two 4 mile runs in. 5FE323DB-FA12-48D9-9041-ACE6E46FED3FThe first one on Tuesday was in the rain but it was about 50 degrees and felt really refreshing. IMG_8144The second one yesterday ended up being more of a trail run/walk. IMG_8177

happy trails

happy trails

IMG_8176I ran past the golf course and since it was 63 yesterday there were golfers in action. Hard to believe that today it snowed.

golfers

golfers

So now I’m going to do all the rehabbing for the next few days and see how it goes next week when I pick back up with training.

What is your idea of Winter fun? Indoors or Outdoors?

Any fun weekend plans?

What are your favorite glute, hamstring and hip strengthening exercises?

Don’t forget to turn the clocks ahead this weekend if you’re in Daylight Savings.

 

Hi there. Happy Monday!

Last week seems like a distant memory. Monday and Tuesday it poured rain. Tuesday evening Mr. SOTSS and I saw the movie The Founder, the story of how McDonalds came to be. the-founderIt was very important that I saw it because my cousin wrote the movie! Isn’t that cool? He also wrote The Wrestler, Big Fan and Turbo. robert-siegelAnd then Wednesday I had jury duty….hard to believe I stressed so much about it. jury-dutyI lucked out and only had to serve for a whopping hour and a half! I was home in the afternoon and took Duncan out to the park to celebrate that the rain had passed and we could finally enjoy some sunshine.

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

Yay for sunshine and no more jury duty

I also went on another night hike which I’m really becoming addicted to.

Thursday I worked a ton but got out for my once-a-week run (still trying to rest the darn hamstrings!). A short run that felt hard thanks to the super high winds.windy-run

And then Friday began my super fun weekend getaway with Mr. SOTSS. He booked our 3rd annual ski weekend in Vermont as a Christmas gift for me. And this year was just as fun.

Two years ago was when I had that little snowmobile “incident”. Last year we stayed at the same B&B as this year and let’s face it, the best part of the trip might have just been the amazing homemade breakfast options they served. Spiced apple waffles that were the perfect texture….soft and doughy on the inside and crispy and flakey on the outside. There were also homemade cinnamon rolls and coffee cake.

cinnamon-roll

Cinnamon roll!

Yes, I took a 2-day break from the whole healthy eating thing. But I’m back on the wagon today.

We drove up Friday morning with a stop at my friend’s house to drop off Duncan. He is very lucky to get that extra hour and a half with me before drop-off.

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Wait? Am I going with you to Vermont?

Road trips are my favorite. I'm such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

Road trips are my favorite. I’m such a traditionalist. A little hand holding and some good tunes.

After grabbing dinner we just settled in for the night.

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