That Sh*t Cray

Hi. My name is Maddie, and I think I've lost my mind.

On Saturday I ran four. No just four miles, but four miles in the snow.

Yup. It wasn't terribly cold, but it was wet and snowy. They were some decent miles though.

sweaty and snowy. #hot

This made me feel like I rock, so I decided to sign up for a half marathon. Yeah. Me. The girl who has never run more than 6 miles (and that barely counts because it was a terrible run). The girls who has confessed to not love running completely. It definitely seems like I've lost it.

Well. A lot went into me deciding on a half marathon, actually. First, I've been in need of a goal. I am planning on doing a tri again, but probably not until September. And I cannot for the life of me do the NROLFW...it's just not happening.

So I've been thinking about it for a while. But I never really was set on it. I had a possible half marathon goal for the May 2013 Zoo Run when my running friend Lou is back in the states, but even that was only a pipe dream. Until this weekend.

On Friday I had dinner with my awesome friend Emma. She's signed up to run the Chicago marathon in October! We talked about how training is crazy, but it's exciting. And it got me thinking some more about my own running plans. And the on Saturday I ended up wearing my sister's old BAA 1/2 Marathon shirt around my gma's house all day because I was doing my own laundry. And then at family dinner on Saturday night I mentioned to my sister that I was thinking about doing a half marathon. She said she wouldn't suggest the BAA because it's hilly, but that the Run to Remember was around the city and in May.

And that was it. I signed up.

So now I've worked out a training plan...and it leaves room for my crazy travel schedule coming this spring, and basically it will get me through so I can finish the race. I am going to work on goals for it eventually....but right now I'm still kind of in shock that I'm even signed up. I needed to be able to push myself and I'm actually really excited about this, so I think it's going to be just what I need.

We'll see in a couple of weeks though when I have to run more than 4 miles at a time...

Outside

I am endlessly thanking the weather gods for this winter. It has barely been a winter compared to what New England is usually like, and I could not be happier. I do not live here because I love the weather. I do not live here because I like seasons and I look forward to each one. Nope. I live here because it's my home and I love my family. But if we had winters like this for the rest of my life, I'd be perfectly happy.

Because it's been so mild, I've been able to run outside. And I love it. It took me a LONG time to be ok with running in public. The bff had to drag me out onto the streets in college. I didn't want people to see me or see how horrible a job I was doing. But I've gotten over that. Mostly because I don't care what people think anymore...at least I'm out there, right? And because it's worth it for the scenery.

On Saturday evening, I had the pleasure of catching this sunset on my run.

And last night, I had this view of the city on a quick (read: not quick) three miler.

I know it's blurry, but you get the point.

I'm not a good cold weather runner at all, but maybe I can use this to convince myself to run tomorrow when the winter actually hits and we get snow...but maybe I'll just wait since this is the 10 Day forecast...

Can't complain.

It's That Time Again

The time where I say it's been TOO long. And that I'm sorry. And that I've been so busy. And that I've not done any thing super exciting, but I'll catch you up on a couple things again. We have these times a lot. I'd probably say you might as well get used to it.

So what has happened since I went skiing? Well first, I did some bowling with my family, and I watched the Pats beat the Broncos and win the AFC championship.

Then, I went to Baltimore.

I visited my dear non-Welsh friend from Wales. We had a great time catching up, having some drinks, and stalking Charm City Cakes (I love Ace of Cakes, so I had to do it).

please excuse my pale legs. it's winter and i never actually get a tan anyway.

 Then, I spent a weekend at home alone. The hubs had a boys weekend of sorts, and after being busy the last couple weeks it was great to not do a whole lot of anything. I had dinner with my uncles, went for a run outside (I love that this winter has not forced me onto the treadmill all the often), locked myself out of my apartment, got let back into my apartment, and watched the Super Bowl. I don't want to talk about that part.

I also cooked and watched a lot of Mad Men (I'm just finishing up season one, so PLEASE do not ruin anything for me).

Yes, I cooked. I chopped veggies. I know. It's crazy. I pretty much never do either one of those things, but we had chicken sausage that needed to get cooked, so I made sausage, peppers, and onions to have for lunch this week.

It was exhausting. Well...it probably wasn't the cooking that made me tired. It was probably the run and the staying up to late watching TV. But Sunday (before I went out to watch my team get robbed), I enjoyed my Dunkin' Donuts coffee on the floor with my Mad Men, which I had to watch on my work computer because my beloved Mac is old school and cannot handle the software update required to stream Netflix. It was a depressing realization.

I knew if I sat on the couch I would be too comfortable to finish cleaning the apartment, and would watch too many more episodes, so the floor it was. It worked. The apartment is spotless.

Anyway, that about sums up the kind of interesting parts of life. Work is busy busy busy, which I love, but it doesn't leave much time for exciting dinners or workouts. I am starting the New Rules of Lifting this week though (about time, I've had the book forever), so stay tuned. That could make for some more juicy posts...

Still Here!

Happy (belated) new year!!

Once again, it has been far too long since my last update. The days have been long and busy and I'm hoping that some upcoming changes at work will help me leave there at a decent hour and free up some of my at home time so I can update here more often.

Despite my schedule, I've been doing my best to keep up with healthy eating and exercising. I owe a lot of the exercising I've been doing to Jay and my friend, V. Jay and I have a running schedule that he has been great at holding me accountable for, it really is a great thing to have a 30-60 minute block of time 2-3 times a week where we can run off the day's stresses and spend some time together. My friend V and I have set up a schedule to go lift weights at the gym 3 days a week, knowing she is busy too and is still going to the gym to meet me keeps me going - I just won't bail on a friend. And the in-between sets chats are fun and definitely a motivator to show up! I really don't think I'd be exercising as much if it weren't for these two.

I'm going to the grocery store today so I can have all the ingredients I need to make healthy meals all week. Jay and used to do this every week but with such hectic weeks it seems that all we want to do Sunday is relax and clean house. It's time for some changes!

We're getting closer and closer to the big day! Jay and I took some time this weekend to register. Jay was a pretty good sport about it - he took a bad fall off his bike during a ride earlier in the day and was cut up, sore and limping around but didn't seem to mind my lengthy discussions about which silverware really fit our lifestyle. What a keeper!

I hope you're having a good weekend! Now it's time to do some meal planning and grocery shopping. Have a great week!

Snow Patrol

Yesterday, I did something I've been wanting to do since last winter. I WENT SKIING!

On Wednesday, my sister texted me and asked if I wanted to join her on a ski trip this weekend. I've been talking about how I want to go skiing this winter, since I never went last year, and there was really no reason NOT to go. She found out about a ski club that has buses that leave from her neighborhood and you get a deal on the whole ski package. So of course, I jumped at the chance!

Let me preface. I have not skied since I was in the fourth grade. And that was only one time. My sister on the other hand, used to ski all the time and actually owned her own skis. Knee surgery in high school side-lined her for a while, but in the past few years she's gone at least a couple times a winter. She knows how to ski. I do not. But she promised me she'd show me the ropes and ride the easy trails with me.

We got up at 4:30 on Saturday morning and took the bus to Jay Peak in Vermont. It was COLD out, but we were properly bundled, so it wasn't so bad. It snowed at the beginning of the day, but that just made for some pretty chairlift rides.

I had SUCH a good time. I fell a couple times, but way less than I thought I would. And only once did it actually hurt (I fell right on my knee...the same knee I bashed into the coffee table last week, so it was just not going to feel good no matter what). We got ourselves into a blue square situation which was NOT pretty, but that was the only time during the day that I was completely enjoying myself!

By the end of the day my toes were FROZEN and my legs were pretty tired, but it was a great experience (my awesome $20 snow pants kept me super warm, even if they were SO unflattering). I happen to love my sister a whole lot, so spending the day together was an added bonus to the whole thing.

Today I am incredibly sore. My arms and back more than my legs, but I can definitely feel it all over. There are some bruises and even a bump (on my knee, of course), but I would do it again in a heart beat. It was great to get out of the city and try something new (and get a great workout in), and my sister and I are already planning our next trip. :)

Any suggestions for good beginner mountains in the MA/VT/NH area?