road bike fail and walk in the park

Monday night I went for a group road bike ride. This is what it looked like pre-ride and the radar showed zero clouds.

those look like clouds to me...

It actually ended up being really nice despite the clouds. The weather was pretty perfect and we didn't get rained on. Despite the ideal riding weather, I was moving very slow!! This ride is a 21ish mile no-drop (meaning no one gets left behind) ride that usually has enough people and skill levels to break into 3 groups. I tend to stick with the slowest and ride a very casual pace. Well Monday there weren't many other riders, so we broke into 2 groups, a faster and a slower. Except the slower was still a little faster than my quads wanted to go. After 3 days of legs, a 4th was pushing it on these gams. I got really discouraged right out of the gate and was not a happy camper. I was miss Judy Attitudey. I am not very competitive with others (unless I'm in dead last), but I am with myself. Again..not a happy camper. I was happy afterwards, when it was over, and I had food and a glass of wine in my hand :) 

So Tuesday I decided to give the legs a rest. But the pup needed some running..talk about energy. We went down to one of the local parks and threw the ball. Absolutely gorgeous day! 

this is one of the two neighborhoods I'd like to live in one day

There really weren't very many people out surprisingly! Typically this park is pretty packed on a nice day. I suspect most of them were drinking beer outside on a porch somewhere. 

happy dog!

We both needed that walk!!

Sunny and 70s

This weekend was a rare cool and breezy June weekend! The weather was perfect! 

Friday I got in a quick run with the pooch, got my hair did, and headed to Joel's for the weekend. When I got there, he and his brother, Nate, were ready to build the first fire of the season. But everything was wet fro the rain during the week. So cardboard boxes worked as starters for the dry logs.

wagon wheel

brothas and their handy work

Ari has become a rather big fan of Joel's house, partially for Joel and partially because he can roam the yard without a leash. He's getting better at learning his parameters, thanks to cookies.

log thief

Saturday, Joel worked on the bikes in the morning (all 3 of my bikes were at his house for maintenance..ha). I slept in :) and then cooked a breakfast feast!

feast!

Our breakfast spot

Then it was off to Home Depot to get yard tools. Joel was determined to clean up his yard...it had gotten out of control. So Ari and I helped. I forgot to take a before picture but here is the mess after.

the after..looks way worse in person

We went mountain biking Saturday night. OH...can't forget. Joel is amazing and while I was napping, he installed a hitch on my car. So this time when we loaded up to go mountain biking, we could all three and go in my car with the bikes. Success!! I did my usual easy loop then ran into Joel and Ari. Joel showed me some other trails and I realized exactly how bad I am at the sport! Shew..I have some work to do! It was pretty cool watching Ari stay right behind Joel while he was riding. He would occasionally come back to make sure I was still there and then peace out straight for Joel. If I hadn't thought I was going to die the whole time, I may have thought to take a picture or video.

Sunday Joel had a ride planned with his buddies and I went trail running with one of mine. JB has 2 dogs and sometimes a 3rd. He brought 2 of them to the trail run with me and Ari. So the 2 of us ran with 3 dogs. It was awesome! It was his first time trail running and he loved it. And I won't lie. I loved that I kind of kicked his booty! I'm excited to say I now have a weekly trail running buddy that does more than bark :)

The awesome weekend ended with me passing out at 10ish and dreaming I was mountain biking straight into a tree... Hope that isn't a premonition.

someone was pooped!

No excuses

Since I am officially registered for the marathon, I feel the need to spend even more money on stuff to get me ready. I bought a hand-held water bottle for the long, summer (read hotter than hell) training runs! I do a lot of greenway running and the sections on my side of town are really lacking on the water fountain front. So hand-held, I hope you treat me right! I'll report back after I actually use it.

my fancy new water bottle

I also bought a new pair of shoes. My old ones have seen better days. I really like the Asics Women's GT 2170 Running Shoe. I ordered them this time around since my local running store was completely out of my size and couldn't get them in until July! Last time I got them in "electric violet" but switched things up this time with the "apple" color!

my sweet new shoes

So now I have no excuses! Game on!

I did it!

I did it!! I finally bit the bullet and signed up for my first marathon!!! ahhhhhh!!  I am running the St. Judes Memphis Marathon on Dec. 1, 2012!! I'm excited because I actually know someone running this race and it's a good excuse to visit my friends. One of my bffs, Michelle, moved to Memphis earlier this year and our other friend Emily moved there shortly after. Long story short...Michelle's hubby, Will, and Emily work together in Memphis and I haven't seen any of them since winter! I am supa pumped to see everyone! And run I guess.

me, Michelle, and her now hubs Will

In other news, I woke up this morning to my dog digging in the carpet. In my house, that only means one thing...Bug attack!! He's a fan of chasing and torturing playing with bugs. He rarely actually catches them, so this guy must have been a slow one.

Ari looking guilty for killing Mr. Bug (the black dot beside his head)

Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial Day weekend was absolutely beautiful! Sunny all weekend and hot! On Saturday, we hit the pool for some tanning action and then went mountain biking!!! This was Ari's first mountain bike adventure and my first enjoyable ride! I've been once or twice before but was not a fan either time. I'm stronger, more confident, and had an awesome teacher this time around!!! Joel took Ari out for his first mountain biking experience while I got my bearings on the easy loop.  

Ari loving some mountain biking!

We didn't have much time before sunset, so I only did one lap in the woods and played in the parking lot until Joel and Ari made their way out a few minutes later.

finally got out on the mountain bike at Concord Park!

 Ari did great! And I had a blast (even though I was super slow and terrified that I would fall to my death)! We had so much fun, we hit it again Sunday morning. It was a scorcher so we tried to get out there early.

Ari and Joel's bike

And by early I mean 11am. It was already pretty hot so Ari did a lot of cooling off!!

a water dog doing what he does best

I got two laps in and was tired. Definitely need to work on that endurance!!! So I changed and walked some of the more difficult trails (not getting anywhere near those on a bike just yet) and met the boys back out at the car. Ari was cooked!!

happy/worn out pup!

The only bad part was that Ari ripped both front pads :(

bffs

You couldn't even tell the poor guy was in pain until we got back to Joel's house. He limped pretty bad for the next two days :( Luckily it was just the 1st layer of the pad so he should heal up quickly. 

We went down to grill out at Joel's parents after the mountain biking. The company was great, as usual, and the food was delish!

On Monday, we went on a hike. Since Ari's poor little feetsies were still in pain, we decided to leave him and home and hike the Ramsey Cascades Trail...4 miles up, 4 miles back down. Couldn't have asked for better weather!

Ramsey Cascades, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

And we finished!

It was so awesome to spend the entire weekend playing outside with the bf!! I will leave you with two random pictures from the hike.

helllllllo Sweat Pink shoelaces!

prob the best pic from the hike

The recycling dog

I haven't been sick in nearly a year and managed to catch some bug this weekend. Monday-Wednesday were not so pleasant. And because I rarely get sick these days, I was a big ol' baby about it. Luckily for Joel, he was out of town and didn't have to deal with my whining in person! But I am back to feeling better, although still a little snotty!

I went on a run for the first time in about a week yesterday after work. It was rather toasty out but I was WELL hydrated and rested due to the sickness. Figured I would just run 2 or 3 miles since my body was a tad weak but I felt great!! The pup and I got in 4 miles no problem!! We did run it a tad slow but it was one of those runs where you feel awesome!! On this run, we got a few laughs. I was like "oh no...can you see my underwear???" Fortunately for me, all was good. Ari had picked up a water bottle and ran with it 3 out of the 4 miles. He's quite the recycler. Gets water bottles everywhere we go. It's like treasure to him! Other runners and cyclists got a big kick out of it!

my little recycler

I let him play in the water some on the way back and when we finished I still had motivation/energy to do laundry, dishes, and cook dinner. This was a RARE occasion so I took advantage!

On another note, I've decided I'm going to take the plunge! I am going to give a marathon a try!! Ahhh!! Went to the runner's market, my local runner's shop, and ordered a new pair of shoes (it was time anyways) yesterday after my run and am ready to do this! 

Crazy May, weekend numero tres

This installment of Crazy May brings you another wedding...and a bike ride.

This weekend, my cousin got married in North Carolina. The wedding was super emotional! She sang a song as she walked down the aisle (this was a surprise for her now hubby). She, Chelsea, has an amazing voice and not one eye was dry in that room!! The father/daughter dance had everyone teared up again! Getting ready for this wedding was fun and laid back. Chelsea's friends are hilarious! They were cracking me up! I also got to make all the jewelry for the wedding! I'm pretty proud of the way all of the pieces turned out!

my cousin Ally and I (her sis is the one that got married)

We made it back to TN safe and sound and I had a dog-sitter until Sunday. So when I got up Sunday morning, I had zero guilt for going on a long bike ride before I picked up the pooch. Did an easy paced 30 mile ride through South Knoxville. This area is beautiful with open fields and country views! Love riding here!

man it feels good to be a gangster felt good to be back on the bike

After my amazing bike ride, I showered and immediately went to get Ari and see the bf...without eating. I did have a protein shake after riding and I'm pretty sure that is the only reason I managed to get to Joel's house without fainting. After hanging out for a few, I ran to Kroger to get grilling essentials for dinner. I decided to make a list on my phone of things that I needed (ginger ale is all that actually made it on the list). So of course I kept my list out the entire shopping trip to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. I checked out and left my phone at the self-checkout. Nice one, spaz. I didn't realize I had left it anywhere for 4 hours!! Joel and I were starving so we grilled, slammed down the food, and tinkered with bikes for a while. I wanted to take pictures of Joel playing with my bike because Ari was "helping" him. It was quite the sight! Anyways, we finished up and I used Joel's phone to call mine repeatedly all over the house and in my car. After several calls and no ringer heard, someone answered my phone! Some kind person had turned it in to customer service at Kroger (I thought for sure someone had stolen my phone and my identity)!! Good karma exists after all!! Hope that person gets some good karma too! Thank you, whoever you are!

Oh...and Joel had a 12 hour mountain bike race at Tsali this weekend (gah..only 12 hours). His team got second place!!! Totally rocked it!