I ONLY WEAR DRESSES

{Happy Father’s Day}

This Father’s Day moment was brought to you by a few days of training Nigel to hold the card in his mouth to give to John. We gave it to him after John’s long run on Sunday!  The card made it.  The envelope…:D

And yes, we like a good foof joke around here so this card was perfect - I am sure for all you runners, the cheetah will be extra funny. ;D

{Long Run 3, Marathon Training}

I’m keeping a little journal of my long runs for our ninth marathon which we will run in Fall 2013.  

I am very jealous because Nigel Bear looks longingly out the window as John leaves and jumps right back there when he rings the buzzer.  Some people love the post-long run shower or post-long run brunch, but I love our post-long run bulldog time - Nigel Bear enjoys licking the salt off! :D

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Long Run # 3, The Deets:  

I ran 8.22 miles in total. 

Taking warm ups and cool downs more seriously, I ran 2 miles to loosen up my legs:  Mile 1, 9:25 + Mile 2, 9:50.

This was a cut-back mileage week, and my long run with the group was 6.22 miles in 56:30 with 9:05 pace.  My mile splits were mile 1,  9:18 + mile 2, 8:53 + mile 3, 9:00 + mile 4, 9:19 + mile 5, 8:55 + mile 6, 9:03 + mile .22, 2:02. 

I am pleased with my splits - I wish I had tried running with a faster group to push myself but maybe the next cut back week?  That’s a neat goal I’ve been batting around with - to run with the 8:30 pace group for 6 miles this summer! 

Have a lovely Monday!

We love Sunday brunch.  And after my early morning long run which John had sweetly driven me to, I wanted to spoil him - especially since he had spoiled me for our anniversary!

Our little patio redo has been the best thing we decided to do, and we plan on many Saturday or Sunday brunches out there enjoying the sunshine and the green. Nigel Bear loves lounging in the sunshine - it’s so funny listening to him snore.  he couldn’t understand why we wouldn’t share our plates though. :)

Here’s to feeling the sun on your toes!

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Menu

Oranges and Black Coffee

Breakfast burrito with eggs, jack cheese, potato, avocado, spinach, salsa verde, black beans in the bowl with cilantro from our garden!

Breakfast egg sammie with scrambled eggs, seitan sausage, aged cheddar, sourdough, breakfast potatoes, with oregano from our garden!

{Long Run 2, Marathon Training}

Things Making Me Very Happy 

*Celebrating our anniversary this weekend (post coming!).

*A baby shower + bbq + brunch, all outdoors.  I can’t get enough sunshine.

*This anchor dress which everyone seems to love, including total strangers. Can you believe it’s from Target!?  John got me that purse our first year together and I can’t believe how well it goes with the dress! #boyfriendswithgreattasteclub

*Walking around “Do Division” a music festival in our neighborhood last weekend.

*Our new furniture! We’re re-doing our living room, and I’m excited about how open and airy the space is and how much it feels more like us.

*With John working around the clock, I’m loving our lunch and quick dinner dates. And nothing like seeing a handsome man in suit waiting for you.  :)

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I switched things up because of our anniversary this weekend.  We celebrated Friday and Saturday and had a baby shower and BBQ on Saturday night - so I did my long run on Sunday.

Chicago Endurance Sports holds long runs on Saturday at Fleet Feet in Old Town (two miles away from us) and another on Sunday in Ravenswood (four miles away from us).  I am really glad I have this back-up option because summertime means being out and about all the time and sometimes the Saturday long runs won’t work. 

I enjoyed running a new trail through a very green park with little waterways -  I’m filing it away as another great city oasis to run through!

There were big differences:  the lakeshore running group has nearly 400 people in it, while the other only a 100. I actually like having a bigger group!  I also prefer running without having to stop for lights or cars, like I do during our midweek runs.  Also, I really like my coach from my Saturday runs - he seemed to be a perfect fit for me!

{Long Run # 2}

Last week’s run was a good confidence builder and this week’s was as well - I feel like I am making deposits in what we jokingly call the “Bank of Boston” around these parts.  

I ran 7.25 mile in 66 minutes and 6 seconds with an average pace of 9:16.

Mile 1:  10:05 + Mile 2: 8:52  + Mile 3: 9:21 + Mile 4: 9:33 + Mile 5: 9:14 + Mile 6: 8:53 + Mile 7: 9:07 + Mile 8 (.25): 2:01

I’m happy with this run - the first mile was painfully slow.  We seemed to hit every crosswalk and I think because the group was smaller, we didn’t start out aggressively.  We also stopped at the turnaround which surprised me - but I get safety concerns.  

Compared to last week’s run where the group was bigger, we held a more aggressive pace which I think is better for my racing goals.  John did point out that stopping and starting does add time to every mile and I am looking forward to my lakefront run next week.  

Most important, I like that my confidence is increasing and that I was able to tell myself, “I can run faster than this” or “this is an easier pace” and “this is my race pace.”  

Depending on the marathon we finally decide to do, I have 18 more long runs to go.  I’m pretty excited to see where I will be this October.  

There’s supposed to be a seriously big thunderstorm coming our way - stay safe, runner peeps!

Happy Wednesday!

{Kissing my prince in the Palace of Versailles}

Our photographs, here.