It's Amazing...

how you can run 9 miles over the weekend and feel like you are on top of the world and then run 6 miles a couple of days later and feel like you want to die....

On another note, I have incorporated swimming into my training routine.  I'll swim on days when I am supposed to cross train which is twice a week.  I had been not doing anything so I think swimming will only be positive.

Next up 16 miles on Saturday... yikes!

Diary of a Runner

Saturday I ran 14 miles, my longest run yet.  Here are the highlights:

• Running at 6:40 am you tend to see lots of creepers so I tried to stay alert.
• It drizzled for most of the run (not sure what's up with the weather when I run long distances).
• Miles 13 and 14 were the roughest, I had to keep telling myself I could finish.
• I ran out of water miles 13 and 14...
• I was surprisingly not as sore as I thought I would be the next day. 

Every long run gives me anxiety since it's distances I have yet to ever run.  While I am happy with where I am, I realize I still have a long way to go before race day and that scares me.  I also need to think about changing my diet, it wouldn't hurt for me to be a little healthier.

Pizza Night

When we got back from our trip RSlo and I decided to have a pizza night.  We bought a pizza stone at Target and got all the ingredients for pizza at Trader Joes. We each were responsible for a pizza and we put on music and made our pizzas.  It was fun to cook together and it was nice to be eating at home.  Before I took off on the trip I got a new oven so I was excited to be using it for our pizza.

RSlo making his bbq sauce 

Making my pizza- you can tell I was excited 

Rslo used to work in a pizzeria- he was showing off 

My finished product 

Rslo's pizza

The pizza's were delicious! Both had good flavors and we enough for lunch the next day.  After dinner we headed over to a friend's apartment for drinks and to see many of our friends we hadn't seen all summer.  It's been nice being back here in California!

Road Trip

My first road trip is completed! I had a fantastic time and it was nice having RSlo as my travel companion.  After Nashville we drove to Memphis and stayed over night.  I don't know that Memphis is going to be on my list of favorite cities but we did get to go to the Civil Rights Museum which was constructed next to the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King was assasinated.  We spent about 2 hours in the museum reading about the history of civil rights in this country as well as the events surrounding Dr. King's death.  We were also able to see the room that Dr. King during his trip in Memphis when he was assassinated.  You can also walk across the street and see the room where it is believed that James Earl Ray sat when he shot MLK.  It was all really powerful and a great way to spend an afternoon.  In the evening we headed out to the Beale Street which is the Bourbon Street of Memphis.  There are a lot of bars and restaurants and  there is a lot of live music to see.  We ended up heading to BB Kings jazz club and listening to music which was nice since it was inside and air conditioned.  Memphis was blazing HOT.  It was close to 100 degrees during the day and cooled down to maybe 80 degrees in the evening.  We were melting but we had a great time.

We headed to New Orleans following Memphis and this was my most favorite place of the whole trip.  It was also really hot there but that didn't stop us from going out and enjoying the food, culture, and music of New Orleans.  From Bourbon Street, to Rebirth Brass Band, to jazz clubs we made the most of time in the Big Easy and lived it up!  I kept saying that I would live in New Orleans and RSlo agreed with me so who knows maybe that will be the next place we move to! 

Maple Leaf Bar where we saw the Rebirth Brass Band

On the trolley heading back from the bar

RSlo made a new friend with the conductor 

We had fun in the stores looking for gifts for our family 

So Handsome 

The room where this was taken was where this was signed

My favorite place in New Orleans! 

Beignets and Cafe Au Lait the perfect afternoon snack 

behind us is the Mississippi River 

Bourbon Street! 

After we left New Orleans we had a long haul for the next two days in an attempt to get to Las Vegas.  We left New Orleans at lunchtime and we got to Dallas where we stopped for dinner and then pushed on to Amarillo where we stopped for the night.  We slept in the car in the parking lot of a Walmart  (classy I know) but surprisingly it wasn't bad and actually comfortable.  The next day we kept driving and stopped in Albuquerque for lunch and then in Flagstaff for dinner.  We went out and enjoyed Flagstaff for the evening and it's a pretty cool town.  It was the first Friday and the town had an outdoor movie going on and many of the downtown establishments had drinks and appetizers, it was fun to walk around and see.  We spent another night in the car  (we looked up hotels but it was too expensive), this time not so comfortable as the last and by then I was ready to get to Vegas where we had a hotel and I could shower and be comfortable.  Vegas was not all that I expected it to be, and to be honest I wasn't impressed.  I'm not a big drinker anyway so the allure of drinking until you puke was not enticing and I don't gamble so I wasn't doing that.  We had a great dinner on the strip and walked around and then called it a night.  I am glad that I was able to go and see but it left me feeling "eh".  The next afternoon we had lunch in Vegas and that hauled the 7 hour trip back home.  I was happy to finally be home and not living out of suitcase.  We got home and celebrated the end of our trip with a movie night. We rented Invictus got snacks and drinks and enjoyed being back.  It's been nice having time back with out work but it is slowly ending as we begin work again tomorrow and the craziness of prepping for students to return ensues.  I also need to kick law school applications into high gear, which means finishing my personal statement and finalizing my list of schools.  But for now I will lounge and be lazy and organize my pictures from the trip.

Hoover Dam on our way to Vegas 

There's a bit of history for you 

Vegas! 

Bellagio Hotel 

The ending of our trip 

Water Show 

Last lunch in Vegas, he went out with a bang 

Summer Adventures Part II

I am finally back in California!!! I had an awesome vacation and it was so much fun seeing friends! I was bad about posting pictures so now I have some to put up and share!

NYC 

I grew up about 5 blocks from here 

It rained at the game 

We spent the day with my lovely mom! 

Indiana 

Had lunch with my friends from grad school, who I hadn't seen in 2 years! 

We went to the County Fair and I got to pet all of the animals, I was in heaven

The piggys were spooning 

Nashville 

Fitting that we saw this in Nashville (RSlo's hometown is French Lick, IN)

We went to a Blues Bar in Nashville to hear really great music 

Alie and Josh- Josh and RSlo have known each other since they were born and Alie is his lovely wife. They are really awesome friends 

Memphis 

National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis 

The Lorraine Motel where MLK was shot

When in the south you must have southern food 

BB Kings jazz club in Beale Street 

Diary of a Runner

Yesterday I did my longest run of yet...12 miles.  Today I am a little sore but feeling very accomplished.  We are in Nashville staying in with good friends and I knew I had to do a long run while we were there and I was worried about running in the heat so I got up at 6 am on Saturday morning and got down to the run.  I even slept in my running clothes to make sure it was easy to crawl out of bed and get on the road.  My plan was to do 6 miles out and 6 miles back to the house and it was easy enough that I ran down one road all the way there.  The first half was smooth, I had regularly run 6 miles so it didn't feel like anything I hadn't done before.  I recently bought a fuel belt so I had water when I needed it and I have a playlist for running on my Ipod.

The second half of the run is where things got interesting.  No sooner than did I turn around to start the second half did the rain come. Not a little drizzle, this was full on rain!  I thought about stopping, but I was reminded of my friend Kristy who once told me that if it rained during my race I would continue to run so I should run in the rain during my training runs.  She had a great point so I stuck it out and ran.  The only thing that was a little uncomfortable was that my pants were heavier since they were cotton and were soaked.  There were moments when I really wanted to stop but I pushed through.  Towards the last mile of the run, a white car drove by me and I realized it was RSlo! I thought he would have still been sleeping by the time I got back from my run, but he hadn't realized that I gotten up earlier to run so he was surprised that I was so close to being done. It was nice to have him there and right at the end of the run he was standing in front of the house and I was exhausted by then (and it didn't help there was a small hill I had to run up), so I simply focused on his tie-dye shirt all the way until the end.  I did the run in 2 hours exactly, which I was so proud of and I am glad that I pushed myself to do it!

I am super happy about my run.  I am getting into runs now which will be more that I have ever done before so every long run is a little daunting but I am staying motivated and positive.  I also need to start downloading more music because my playlist is only 2 hours long, and these longer runs will take a lot more time.