Why hello! I hope your week is off to a good start.
Sunday morning, Rebecca and I knocked out a huge chunk of our #runlovechallenge mileage. We ran 24 miles! We had been planning that one for quite a while. We were both (at one point) training for New Orleans and both had 24 miles on the schedule as our long run that week, so we were pretty pumped that it worked out like that. Fast forward a few weeks … I decided not to run the marathon in New Orleans, but I definitely still wanted to do the 24 miler with her. We had been counting on that mileage to help us meet our goal of 214.
We got an early start and ran an out-and-back route towards Weeks Bay, with bathrooms and a gas station conveniently placed around mile 10 (on the way out) and 14 (on the way back). Rebecca is pacing the 3:40 group at the Big Beach Marathon in Gulf Shores this weekend, so she wanted to practice that pace on our long run. It was completely dark when we started (the moon was gorgeous!), so we waited until about mile 10 to start trying to consistently hit 8:22 pace. It was definitely harder than it seems, so it is a good thing that we practiced! By the end of the run we were able to consistently hit 8:20 – 8:25 without stalking the Garmins.
We enjoyed some warm post-run beverages at Coffee Loft. Notice the very eccentric table art …
I also got to play tennis Sunday afternoon. I know, pure craziness … but I don’t get to play all that often and I’m going to be playing on a team again this summer, so I want to at least hit every now and then (aka whenever someone asks me to play) and keep my skillz from getting quite as rusty as they did last year.
Sunday afternoon the weather was pure perfection. It was sunny and warm, which is the opposite of what seems to be our regular weather these days. I really enjoyed being out on the court and soaking up some rays. Even though I am outside running quite a bit, it is usually dark out and it sometimes feels like I never see the sun, especially during this time of year.
Since today is Tuesday, I wanted to share a few Tuesday Tangents with you, in the form of things that made me smile recently …
First up is this little guy. I think that he just like a lion king character, but Daniel thinks that he looks like Yosemite Sam. What do you think? Regardless. It’s cute.
And what about this guy!? He was decorated as Santa a few weeks ago and now he is in the Mardi Gras spirit. A regular chameleon!
This sunset … just wow.
Rest! Lots of rest. I took running rest day Monday (a well-deserved rest day, if I do say so myself). Unfortunately I did still have to tend to other grown up activities, such as work, but I gave my legs a break at least. In fact, I think Monday might have been the fewest steps I’ve ever taken since I’ve had my FitBit. I only took 940 steps all day (less than half a mile). Impressive, right?!
Brookser enjoyed my resting as well. Don’t let the slightly annoyed face fool you, he is just in the zen zone (and possibly aggravated at daddy for taking his picture).
I got a Stitch Fix box Monday evening, which was a nice surprise. Usually those come mid-week, so I wasn’t really expecting it.
What is making you SMILE this week?