TOTR: Favorite Race Signs!

It's time for another edition of Tuesday's on the Run, one of my favorites!

Today's topic; Race signs! 

I absolutely love race signs, especially during longer distance races. There's always that moment in my head when I start doubting my abilities or start thinking way too much about how many miles I have left instead of what I've already ran. That's when a funny or inspirational sign really comes in handy. They get my mind off the race for a few moments and make me realize just how awesome it is that I'm running a freakin' hard race! 

Here are a few of my favorites that I've seen over the years.

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This one always makes me feel pretty badass. How awesome is it that we train months for something so hard that only lasts a few hours and completely exhausts us? Not many people can do that. 

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Haha, so true. Mad props to all of the spectators out there. You have no idea how much you help during a race! 

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You have no idea. Hopefully a good t-shirt and medal are involved too. 

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Always much appreciated. 

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I love this one. Anyone that's ran a longer distance race can appreciate this. This takes me back to my very first half marathon...ha. 

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And I'm totally ending on this one because.. it wins. 

What are some of your favorite race signs? 

I hope I see some good ones when I run the Kentucky Derby half next month! 

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

Friday Favorites

It's FINALLY Friday!
And okay, I totally lied. I didn't work a full week. I definitely took today off using some of the hours I accumulated from the Spartan Race trip. But seriously, can you blame me? And for the record, it felt glorious to sleep in until almost 7:15 this morning. G-L-O-R-I-O-U-S.

Linking up with Clare from Fitting It All In and Heather from Life in Leggings!
That being said, here are some of my favorites this week.

1. MARCH MADNESS!! I love college basketball and even though I haven't quite been as into this year, I thoroughly enjoy watching the tournament, the upsets, the victories... I love it all. I haven't looked at my bracket/pool since yesterday morning before all of the madness starts but I'm pretty sure it's dunzo. I didn't put nearly as much time as I usually do into.. but who knows, maybe that's a good thing. ha. As long as Louisville puts on a decent showing, I'll be happy.

2. Switching up my workouts this week. I'm so bad about getting into a "routine" when it comes to working out so this week, I made an effort to mix it up. I've done more sprint intervals on the treadmill (killer!), added more abs, and really amped up my arm/leg routines. I miss cross fit a LOT but can't justify paying so much money for it when I have the exact same equipment in my gym.. for free. I've made several health/wellness/fitness goals for April and am excited to share them in a couple of weeks.

3. The weather this week! Well, for the most part. ha. Temperatures have been above 50 most of the week and it's been AMAZING. Monday it was almost 70! I'm so ready for spring/summer after the hellish winter we've had! I'm sorry if some of ya'll are getting snow today. :( But just think, spring officially starts TODAY so we've ALMOST made it!

4. This article from Greatist. I'll be the first to admit that I love the treadmill. Does that make me any less of a runner? Heck no. And I assure you it's not effected my times whatsoever outside. Embrace the 'mill people! It's not always such a bad thing! And it doesn't make you a whimp if you run inside instead of out if the weather is bad. Just saying. ;) (I assure you I'm not a whimp!)

5. My sorority. Greek life hasn't been in the best light lately (deservedly so) but I'm proud of my sorority because we've always done the "right" thing. I don't regret my time in the Greek life system whatsoever and feel sad that some of our fellow organizations have fallen so hard. I hate that some people grow up thinking that going Greek = Animal House. I assure you that my time in my sorority was nothing like that... ever. Hopefully all of the negative attention forces many organizations to rethink their principles and revamp their organization. 

What were your favorite things from this past week?

Were you a part of a Greek organization?

Have a fantastic weekend guys! Hopefully the weather will be nice where you are! It's raining here today but 60's and sunny the rest of the weekend! :)

Sarah

Thinking Out Loud

Happy Thursday! So glad this week is almost over!

Time to do a little Thinking Out Loud!

1. Being a grown up is hard. For real. So many decisions, so many questions, so many choices. Can I just go back to the time when all I had to think about was going to class and doing homework?! Jeeze. More insight on this at a later date.

2. It's official. The combo of Arctic Zero + calorie free chocolate syrup (surprisingly good) + chocolate PB2 + a spoonful of my fake cookie dough dip = HEAVEN. And I know it's good because I made the combo for Peter last night and he LOVED it. He typically turns his  nose up at my healthy(er) substitutes.

3. Core work is totally my kryptonite. I can run, lift weights, do insanity, etc alllll day long but when it comes to working my abs, I HATE it. BUT that being said, I'm making a conscious effort over the next couple of months to start adding more in. Stronger core = stronger runner. That's my mentality.

4. I'm so ready to head to Florida next month! My boss & I are going for a fitness conference and although I know I'll be absolutely EXHAUSTED by the time it's over, I'm so excited to check out new workouts, get certified to teach some new things, and bring back some awesome ideas to our wellness center! I truly love what I do ya'll! Working at a college + fitness = DREAM.

5. Speaking of Florida, it got me thinking about Peter & I's honeymoon and how much FUN we had! We spent a few days at Universal Studios because we're totally Harry Potter nerds and then went on a 5 day cruise! We had so much fun! I felt like I was in college again--especially on the bar crawl in Key West. You're looking at the Conch blowing champion of my group. I knew all of those years playing trumpet would pay off one day.

6. My house is an absolute disaster zone right now. Blah. Since I'm just thinking out loud, I figured I'd add that in.

7. I've got to take the Serv Safe exam next week for one of my online classes (RD program!) and I'm not prepared. At all. Which means this weekend I'll be studying my BUTT off.

8. And finally, I leave you with this. Because let's face it, it's the total truth.

Have a great Thursday!

Sarah

Hump Day Slump

Happy Hump Day! Is it just me or did Monday & Tuesday completely drag on? Of course, when you haven't had a full week of work in well over a month due to snow, traveling, and spring break, I guess actually working 5 days seems like, well, forever.

Since I'm lacking any form of brain function or creativity this morning and my blog is fairly new, I thought I'd post 10 (maybe interesting?) facts about myself.

1. I've changed my mind about what I want to do in life at least 10 times. I started college wanting to be a physical therapist, changed to a pharmacist, switched back to PT, thought maybe marketing would be fun, got a job in higher ed and thought maybe I'd want to do something with that, and then finally realized my passion is in health & wellness and here I am today, combing higher ed and health & wellness... all the while studying to be an RD. Go figure.

2. I met my husband when I started taking boot camp classes during college. He was the instructor's intern/assistant. He had a girlfriend at the time and I was more interested in having fun with my BFF's than committing to a serious relationship but we somehow became friends. He ended up going away to work at a camp that following summer and when he came back, he was single and well, I was still doing me. He asked me to go running with him one morning (uh, 7am which was EARLY for me then!) and that's kind of when the tide SLOWLY (and I'm talking SLOWLY) started changing. We started talking more and more but nothing really happened until the following summer. He went away to camp again but we talked EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. those 2 1/2 months he was away. He came back and we decided to go on a date, to see if the chemistry we had via texting translated into the real thing. Well, obviously it did. ;) We started officially dating in August 2011 and the rest is history.

3. I absolutely hating running up until about 6 years ago. Like, really FREAKING hated it. I think it's because in high school sports, running = punishment. I can still remember running my first mile for "fun" and how HARD it was! Funny how things change. 

4. Since there's a picture of my feet above, let's talk about the fact that I wear a SIZE 12!! Okay, I can understand having a foot that big if I was say, 6 feet tall or more but come on. I'm 5'7" 1/2 on a good day. Really?! Can we talk about how much it sucks going shoe shopping? Because it does. It's so rare that people have my size in stock! Most of my shoe shopping is done online, clearly.

5. I have one tattoo--it's a star on my rib cage. Everyone is so shocked when I tell them that because I guess I don't come off as someone bold enough to have one?! ha. Chiz, Anna, and I went and got them the first week of our senior year in college on a whim. We had all had a pretty terrible week and decided we wanted to do something bold and together. So Chiz suggested getting a tattoo and it seemed like the only logical thing to do. We all got stars and I still have absolutely no regrets about getting one because every time I see it, I think of my BFF's and how much they mean to me.

Throwback to our senior year

6. I traveled to Ireland my junior year in college on a spring break trip and it's still one of my favorite memories. I only knew one other person on the trip, my BFF Kristin, but everyone on that trip bonded and we had a KILLER time. I drank more Jameson than I can even begin to fathom and may or may not have proposed to our cab driver on the ride back to the hotel one night but.... it was so. much. fun.

Kissing the Blarney Stone

7. I have a slight obsession with Diet Mountain Dew. 

8. If I find something I like, I can eat the same thing over and over again and not get tired of it. Case in point, for the last 3+ weeks, I've had grilled chicken and veggies for dinner. And I always bring tuna for lunch. I guess that's kind of weird? 

9. I ran my first half marathon in 2:30 and freaking HATED it. I had some major stomach issues, cramping, and practically no sleep and swore to myself on mile 11 I would never, EVER do one again. Flash forward a year later and I signed up for Rock-n-Roll Savannah and it basically started my obsession with longer distance running. I ran that race in 1:49. Crazy the difference a year makes. 

10. And finally, I once weighed 220 pounds. In fact, up until about the age of 20, I was obese. I'm living proof that if you have a goal and the passion/desire to pursue, you can achieve it. I've worked my BUTT off to get where I am today and although there have been set backs along the way, I've learned so much about myself during the process. Helping others with their health & wellness is something I'm passionate about pursuing because I know what it's like to not be comfortable in your own skin.

Have a great Wednesday ya'll!

Sarah 

TOTR

It's time for another edition of Tuesday's on the Run! Love this linkup! :)

Today's topic is about good luck charms/race day rituals.

Funnily enough, as superstitious as I am, I really don't have any good luck charms or true race morning rituals. Of course I get up and eat breakfast but I don't really have that one "go to" meal. I live on the edge and switch it up. ;)

I don't wear a certain brand or kind of underwear, I don't care what kind of socks I wear, there's not one piece of gear that I HAVE to have before I race. Heck.. sometimes I don't even warm-up before a race... which makes me an absolute terrible runner and you should DEFINITELY not follow my lead on that one. ha.

I tend to get nervous before I race so I just try and stay calm. I've found that if I have "lucky charms" or rituals, I get a little stressed out and more nervous! Go figure.

BUT that being said, there are truly only two things that I do before every race. The first is get in the zone. I tend to step away from my runner friends a few minutes before the gun goes off and listen to music and start tuning into my body, the atmosphere, and my strategy for that day.

The other thing is kind of silly but it is what it is. I ALWAYS take a picture of my race bib/feet. Always. I started doing this a few years ago for fun and now it's turned into "my thing" and to be honest, I can look back on Instagram and see how many races I've ran in a particular time frame. ha.

Case in point.

Do you do any weird things before a race?! 

And before I forget... Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

From my run this morning. :)

Sarah

What a weekend.

Hey Ya'll!

I'm back from Asheville and had an absolutely MARVELOUS weekend! I love spending time with my best friends and am SO thankful that we've stayed so close! If I got nothing else from my time in college, I got my husband and 3 girls who mean the world to me so.. I think I did pretty darn good for myself. :)

Friday I got up early and did a quick speed workout before getting ready and hitting the road. Okay, I didn't get up super early and I didn't hit the road until 3:30 but still. You get the point. 

I ended up getting to Asheville around 6pm and as luck and timing would have it, Chiz and Kristin arrived within 20 minutes. Anna's trip was a little longer so she didn't arrive until about an hour later. The first thing we did was head to the grocery for supplies and by the time we got back to the room, Anna was there so we had a quick dinner at the Chop House (in our hotel) before getting to work on our tutus. :) I somehow managed to talk everyone into a St. Patrick's Day race the next day and the only reason I got them to do it is because I promised them fun costumes. 

Okay--I had DIY-ing and crafting but this was so EASY. I'm pretty stoked with how mine turned out and may or may not wear tutus for every race from here on out. 

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to head out for the race. It was raining which was kind of a bummer but it wasn't TOO cold outside so not totally miserable. When we arrived, we were definitely one of the only groups who went all out but we received SEVERAL compliments on our "costumes." :) 

My friends did the 5k and I did the 10 so they left out a few minutes earlier than I did. Okay. Let's talk about this race and how I'm so glad I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This was by FAR one of the hardest I've ever done. Seriously. It was ALL HILLS. Heck, we ran up a MOUNTAIN. According to my fitbit, we climbed almost 1000 feet during this race. It was absolutely brutal. I've never stopped and walked during a  race before but this was the closest I've ever came to considering it. ha. I knew pretty early on I wouldn't be PR-ing. That being said, I'm fairly happy with my time. I think it was 49:40 which is a solid 3 minutes slower than my previous 10k but my previous 10k didn't involve climbing mount everest. I won my age group and was the 5th female overall so I can't complain. Plus, I love being challenged and who doesn't love eating mountains for breakfast? Right?

After the race, I met up with Chiz, Anna and Kristin again. We enjoyed a green beer while waiting for the results and then headed back to our hotel to get ready for the day. 

We explored Asheville the remainder of the day and had fun looking around at all of the quirky shops and enjoying the PERFECT weather! The rain basically cleared out as soon as our race was over (go figure) so it was all 65 degrees and sunshine that afternoon. 

Around 5:30, we made it back to our room to regroup for a night out. I think we were all pretty exhausted from the race and just took it easy for a few hours. We ended up not getting back out until 9pm, which for this old lady, is late. ha. 

We went to a few bars Saturday night before I got the stomach ache of all stomach aches a few hours in. It sucked but luckily, I have amazing, AMAZING friends who didn't mind to head back to the room and be a grandma with me. That's what I love about these girls--we can be doing absolutely anything and still have a good time. I felt bad I had to cut the night short but it is what it is. I think the combination of fried food (blah!) and running that morning did me in. 

Sunday morning, the girls slept in and I, who can't sleep past 7am, got up and decided to walk a few miles on the treadmill to shake my legs out. By the time I got back, they were up and we packed our things and headed to brunch. We met one of our other friends at Mayfel's and it was AMAZING. I got the Asheville scramble which consisted of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, pepper, and spinach on top of homefries with the BEST BISCUIT EVER! Good thing it was a cheat weekend. :) 

We got seated out on the patio and had the best time just talking, sharing food, and enjoying a street musician a few feet down from us. It was one of those moments you wish could last forever. It reminded us of being back in college and having Sunday morning brunch at the caf--we were reminiscing about our weekend, planning for the future, and just enjoying each others company. Just like old times. 

When we were finished, we had to sadly say goodbye to Anna who had a 6 hour trip ahead of her. :( But not before taking more pictures, of course.

Kristin, Chiz, and I decided to stick around town a little longer since our drives were considerably shorter. We ended up checking out the Grove Park Inn and decided we MUST stay there next time. How can you go wrong with this view?!

Plus, we saw the spa and that pretty much sealed the deal. I'll be saving up for a while for that trip. ;)

After Grove Park, we headed to the mall and then I talked them into a quick trip to Whole Foods. I got 2 vegan cookies while we were there and they were freaking fantastic. Especially when I warmed them up later and added some Arctic Zero ice cream..... ;)

I ended up getting home around 8pm and wishing that the weekend wasn't over so quickly. I've said it a million times and I'll say it again--I'm so beyond grateful to have these girls in my life. They've been there for me during the best and worst times and I know I couldn't have made it without them. I'm already counting down the days until our next trip! We're heading to Charlottesville in June. 

Happy Monday!