Quick check in!

Good morning from one of my favorite places in the entire world--Hilton Head Island! If you've never been here, seriously--make plans to come now! I won't be home until Thursday (!!) but figured I'd check in with a few pictures this AM and do a FULL recap on Friday. 

I also plan on checking in for Tuesday's on the Run tomorrow for a special recap on my EPIC Fourth of July run. HINT: I CRUSHED my previous 5k PR! 

Anyway, on to the pictures. :)

First sweaty run on the Island! Faster than jnwas planning on but not bad!

Morning in shelter cove.

PR city baby! Only took me 3 years of running this race to win a medal--just call me Zina warrior princess. Ha. More on that tomorrow!

America. 

FINALLY got a few fireworks after all of the rain. 

#TRUTH

Epic sunset last night! 

Have a wonderful Monday! I plan on another run and more beach time--hard to hate a Monday like that! 

Sarah

I am.

Happy Monday! If only the weekend could have lasted just a TAD bit longer, you know? I'd take an extra day.. or half a day..... or even an extra 2 hours (for sleeping purposes only, of course).

It was a pretty low key weekend around here--highlights included winning overall female at the 5k I participated in (I'll recap tomorrow! One second off my PR!), finally doing a ride along with my husband (so much fun.. I hate that I've waited so long to do it!), and making a pretty awesome (and easy!) no bake oreo cheesecake pie. It was totally worth the 2 3 slices I had last night for Father's Day. 

Because it's Monday and because I'm teaching a power hour class in a few minutes (it's going to be a good one!), here's a fun prompt I found on Erin's blog! Also linking up with Healthy Diva Eats for Marvelous Monday!

I am working on becoming less of a control freak, less scheduled, and more spontaneous. Life doesn't always have to be perfect, it doesn't always have to be planned, and it certainly should ALWAYS be fun. I'm getting back to that.

I keep all of my race t-shirts. I probably have at least 4-5 drawers full at this point. Yikes.

I wish I could go back 5 months ago. I'd do things a little differently this winter. 

I sing karaoke with my best friends. We used to go every Thursday night in college--it was soooo much fun. We sang in front of 300 people once on Bourbon Street in NOLA. Totally rocked it.

I dance terribly and only when I've had something to drink. But once I get going, you can't stop me!

I think I'd like to find a new hobby. Something I can do on the side that doesn't involve fitness/wellness. Of course I love what I do but.. I want to branch out and try something new!

I really want to go see the new Jurassic Park movie. I've heard it's awesome!

I need a vacation. It's been a trying month to say the least. I'm ready to be in relaxation mode in Hilton Head for a week.

I should start getting ready for my power hour class. It's a doozy. I hope my class is ready. :)

I can run a sub-1:40 half marathon. I never thought I'd ever say that. I was just happy when I hit under 2 hours for the first time. :)

I like chocolate. Way, way, WAY too much.

I love my husband. More than I will ever know how to put into words. 

I make a mean chickpea cookie dough dip. I've gotten it down to a science at this point!

I always think I could be better at something. I don't give myself enough credit but... perhaps I need to start cutting myself some slack. 

Have a great Monday everyone! May it be short and sweet!

Sarah

Marvelous (Marathon) Monday!

Happy Marathon Monday to all my fellow runners out there! Even for those of us not running Boston, it's totally our runner's version of a holiday.

Time for some running themed Marvelous Monday action.

Marvelous is.... the Boston Marathon, of course. As a runner, my biggest goal is to one day make it to Boston for the marathon. But then again, isn't that every runner's dream? I can't wait to run my first 26.2 this November and test the waters!

Marvelous is.... my run this morning. 9.6 miles before work = best way to start the week.

Marvelous is... my fourth half marathon this Saturday! Looking forward to running the Kentucky Derby half and potentially going for a new PR, depending on how my legs feel/conditions/everything else that I need to take into consideration. My current PR is 1:42:38 so I'll have to really book it on Saturday to beat that!

Marvelous is... the new Asics Gel Nimbus 17's. I. need. these. now! The Saucony's I got in January already have 700+ miles on them so, yeah. And that being said, I love my Saucony's (I rock the Triumph) but.. I miss my beloved Asics.

Marvelous is... being a runner. Try and take our marathon away? We say screw you and come back stronger than ever. Rain/snow/sleet/hail... you better believe we're running anyway. Our sport is other's punishment. Our idea of a "short" run is 6 miles. We spend hours upon hours pounding the pavement. We run 26.2 miles for FUN. We don't exclude anyone from our "club".. if you lace up shoes, put one foot in front of the other, and take a quick jog around the neighborhood, you're one of "us."
I love this sport and am so glad I stuck with it 10+ years ago. I can honestly say I've never worked harder or been more dedicated to something in my entire life.

Happy Marathon Monday--go run some miles for Boston!

Sarah

Rainy Days and Mondays

To quote the Carpenters, "Rainy Days & Monday's always get me down." And the day after Louisville loses a heartbreaker. I think they forgot to mention that one in the song.

BUT that being said, I'll try and tough it out and think of some marvelous things for this dreary Monday.

Marvelous is... a killer treadmill interval/distance workout. Legs felt SO good yesterday. I'm feeling strong and ready to tackle the Kentucky Derby half in a few weeks!

Marvelous is... a low key & relaxing weekend at home. They don't happen often enough!

Marvelous is... knowing that this time next month, I'll be on my way to FLORIDA for a fitness conference--they are the best! 

Marvelous is... working at a place where I don't dread coming into work on a rainy Monday.

Marvelous is... finding out my local grocery FINALLY has the Chocolate Cupcake Luna bar for sale!

Marvelous is... knowing others trust me to help them with their health & wellness goals!

Marvelous is... starting off a Saturday with a killer TurboKick class. It was so much fun! And challenging!

Marvelous is... coming home each and every night to my incredible husband. <3 So lucky! 

Happy Monday!

Sarah 

Weekend Shenanigans: White girls really can't jump.

Happy Monday! It's absolutely BEAUTIFUL here today, I love my job, and it's the start of a brand new week. What more can you ask for?!

That being said, it's time to talk about my weekend! Linking up with Her Heartland Soul & Healthy Diva Eats today!

I had some extra overtime on my  hands so I decided to treat myself by taking Friday off... and it was everything I wanted it to be and more. ha. I got a great workout in that morning and then lazed around the house for a few hours before heading over to my parents around 4 with Peter to catch the Louisville game. From what I hear, it was waaaay too close of a game but I wouldn't know because I ended up watching Christmas Mickey for a solid hour with this kid. (It was totally worth it, btw)

She's at the age where she is soooooo much fun. Her favorite thing EVER is to make me blow bubbles with my chewing gum so she can pop it. :) I have no shame in admitting that my niece is my best friend. ;)

After the game, Peter & I weren't quite ready to go home yet so we went driving around for a bit just to pass some time. We use to do that a lot when we first started dating so it was neat to do it again. Upon returning home, we watched the new Hunger Games and then headed to bed around 11pm.. not bad for this grandma!

On Saturday, Peter ended up golfing for most of the day so I enjoyed sleeping in until 7 and catching up on a few Food Network shows. At 9, I headed to the gym to check out our new TurboKick class. Even though I'm Assistant Director of the gym and am in charge of group exercise, it's hard to make it to all of the classes during the week so weekends are my chance to try some new ones out. And let me tell you, TurboKick was so much fun! And a great workout! We were moving the entire time and it was certainly never boring. After class, I walked for a bit, did a 21 minute cross fit style AMRAP, and then decided to head home to do some MAJOR cleaning. I've been out of town for the past 2 weekends so our laundry was piled a mile high. I have to admit, out of all the chores, laundry is the WORST.

Peter ended up getting home around 3:30 so I pretty much MADE him take me out. ha. The weather was incredible and I couldn't handle being cooped up inside any longer. We decided to head to the new lookout tower on top of one our mountains here and it was incredible. Pictures don't do it justice.

And then I thought it would be fun to get a jumping picture so this happened. Clearly, I don't have ups. At all. ha.

And then because Peter hates taking pictures, I of course made him take one with me too. ;)

We had a great time and it was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. I can't wait to go back when the leaves change in the fall!

Saturday night was pretty low key. Although we did discover "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" on Netflix so that was a major WIN. It's freaking hilarious and we may or may not have binged watched it the past 2 nights.

Sunday was another beautiful day so Peter went golfing... again. I can't say I blame him though. I took advantage and went for a long run on the treadmill while of course, watching the Food Network (oh yeah, I'm literally that obsessed). I didn't really have a game plan going in but once I got going, my legs felt great and I ended up doing 10 miles.

Funny story--I thought the sticker said "Think Less Run More"... whoops.

Afterward, I took my normal Sunday trip to Wal-Mart. I'm starting Advocare's Lean in 13 today so I had to pick up a few extra supplies. It's a carb cycling plan and not too different from my  normal diet but we'll see what happens. It's always good to switch things up every now and again.

The rest of my Sunday involved food prepping, more cleaning and laundry (ugh!) and FINALLY getting a chance to read this month's issue of Women's Running.

I loved that it all revolved around marathons. Can you tell I'm excited for my first?!?!

When Peter finally got home, we had dinner and watched a billion more episodes of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" before I called it quits around 9pm. Unfortunately Louisville's game wasn't until 9:40 since they're on the West Coast so I completely missed it. :( BUT I ended up waking up around 1am and upon checking twitter, found out they won so I was a happy camper. :)

All in all, it was a wonderfully low key weekend. Now it's time to tackle the week ahead! :)

Have a great Monday!

Sarah

Simply Marvelous.

Guess who's working today?!

After 14 days of snow days, I'm FINALLY back to business... literally!

I have to admit--it was super hard setting the alarm for 5:25am this morning but now that I'm up, have my run over with, and am getting the work day started, I feel great!

In honor of the greatness, I'm linking up!

Marvelous is.... Spartan Race in Atlanta this weekend! I'm so stoked! Have I said that enough on here yet?! I've done several of the bigger obstacle races and in my opinion, Spartan is definitely the best! If I'm doing an obstacle / mud race, I want lots of obstacles/mud... not longs stretches of running. Spartan does a good job at meeting my expectations.

Marvelous is... 60 degree weather on Wednesday! After 2 weeks of snow and crap, I'm ready for it!

Marvelous is... spending last night with my niece. She's at the stage now where she is SO MUCH FUN! We have the best time. She's pretty much my best friend and I'm okay with that. ;)

child labor??! Lol

Marvelous is... getting a long run in to start the work week. I always like doing longer runs on Mondays. I think it sets the tone for the rest of the week.

Marvelous is... having pizza last night. I've been eating pretty "clean" for the last few months but snuck a few (okay, more than a few) bites of pizza last night and it was delicious.

Marvelous is... shopping! I haven't been in soooo long! We live 45-50 minutes away from the closest mall/Target (ugh, right?!) so I finally had a free day to go and I took advantage! I almost felt guilty about buying more black workout pants/capris but then... I didn't. At all. You can never have enough, right?!

Marvelous is... Advocare's Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake. Can't say it enough. SO. FREAKING. GOOD.

Marvelous is... having a husband who will drop your phone off at work because you totally forgot it in your morning rush. And who doesn't think you're weird because you ask him to bring ice cubes because it makes your Advo shakes that much better.

Marvelous is... thinking about new possibilities, the future, and reaching dreams/goals.

What's marvelous about your Monday?!

Sarah

Monday, Funday

Happy Monday everyone!
Brain dump today!

Not much news to report on my end. I had a pretty low-key weekend, which I'm totally okay with. About the most I did was go for a couple of nice long-ish runs Saturday and Sunday morning. Otherwise, I relaxed a WHOLE lot--something I normally don't get to do during the week.

On Friday, I made this cookie dough dip and it was so, so SO good! I highly recommend it and will most definitely be making it again. I also made roasted red pepper hummus yesterday and I'm pretty proud of how that turned out too. I've been trying to do more around the kitchen in 2015 and so far, so good. I can now cook a mean chicken breast, let me tell you. (That's how helpless I usually am--luckily I have an amazing husband who loves to be in the kitchen!)

Saturday I watched the Louisville-Carolina game--it was AWESOME! My boys came back from being 18 down to win in OT! Love exciting games like that! I'm hoping the birthday fairy will produce tickets to this Saturday's game at UVA. If I have to ring in the year 28, might as well do it watching my Cards play, right? Riiiiiiight.

Speaking of my birthday, I'm hoping to get the new Fitbit Surge tracker. I'm kind of obsessed. I've had my Nike Fuelband for about 2 years now and although I love it, I'm ready to join the rest of the world. The surge looks like a good fit for me--it has a GPS tracker in addition to the new HR monitor feature and of course, step tracker. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

And finally, the Super Bowl. Although I'm not really a football fan (unless Louisville is playing), I have to admit, I watched the game in it's entirety. If a football game can keep my attention, then you know it's a good one. I can't say I was really pulling for one team or the other but I've always liked Tom Brady so I guess I'm glad New England won. And my favorite commercials of the night? Of course the #LikeaGirl campaign from Always--I've seen this one before but I loved that they played it during the middle of the Super Bowl. And then I was STOKED to see this one from Reebok--it made me want to go out and run 8 more miles in addition to the 8 I ran yesterday morning. It's my mentality down to a T.



#BeMoreHuman today.

Have a great Monday!

Sarah