Bagel Dash

Today my friend and I were supposed to do the Donut Dash that Run + Eat + Play RVA is putting together. We were actually pretty excited about this. I seriously couldn't sleep last night. I think because it is my first race type run since October, and I was just looking forward to doing something fun and different.

So this Donut Dash is a series featuring 3 different RVA donut shops this summer. The first was supposed to be at the Sugar Shack. Well, yesterday their mixer broke and they were unable to make donuts today! Oh no! So the first Donut Dash was post poned to next weekend.

We made the best of it though and went over to Wellesley lake and ran around there a few times. Afterwards we hit Einstein Bros. Bagels for a bagel and coffee. It's not a donut but you can't beat the vanilla hazelnut blend! Yum....

Looking forward to next Sunday! Pretty sure I can make it.

Mmmm...shmear 

Summer goals

I do not make New Year resolutions. This is simply because I do not follow through with them. I believe that if you want to make a change in your life, no matter how small, you have got to do it for yourself and start whenever you are ready, not just because it is a new year.

On my run the other day I was thinking of what I want to get out of this summer. I came up with these goals:

1. Run at least 3 times a week. It doesn't have to be a long run, it just has to be a run. Traditionally I can get a little lazy with running in the summer because the heat just kills me. This week I have been getting up early and running while C is still home to be there for B (even though they both sleep through my run) and I can run without having to worry about waking the baby and getting him in the jogger. So far it has worked out really good. Early morning runs really aren't so bad.

2. Complete the 30 Day Ab challenge. I saw this on Facebook the other week but had missed starting it at the beginning of June with everyone else. I finally started 3 days ago. So far so good.

3. Go to the gym at least twice a week. Even if I have to wait and go late at night.

4. Find new and fun things to do around town with B. He's old enough now he can actually enjoy things. I am going to enjoy pretending to be a SAHM over the summer.

5. Blog more. 

That's it! I hope I can achieve these goals over the summer!

Summer Kickoff 2014

Summer time and the livings easy!

So happy that it is finally summer once again. It is my favorite season of all time for so many reasons: it's warm (hot) out, I can swim at the river, I can wear flip flops and shorts everyday, no work...it's so fun. 

This weekend we went to the river and although I was unable to get a run in there I made up for it today. This summer is going to be a little trickier than I thought with not having B in day care and also not having him on my gym membership. I'm not going to get to use the gym like I thought I would and that makes me sad but I'm going to do the best I can. Anyways today I actually got up early and went for a quick run. The picture above is of the trail that I run almost every time I go out because it is at the end of my street. I got up early because it was going to be so hot today. Not only did I want to keep the kiddo out of the heat, I didn't really want to be in it either. The weather was great and it was getting pretty hot by the time I finished around 7:20AM. Unfortunately my hip decided to act up. It hurt to run on it about half way through and I had to stop and walk a bit. Then I decided to limp-run which I'm sure was a sight. After a few minutes of that I was able to run again without pain. Not really sure what changed or why it worked but it did. Now the outside of my hip is really hurting. I guess it's time to really start taking those PT exercises seriously again. 

On another note, last Thursday night the hubby and I had a quick date night at a place down in the bottom called On The Rox. It is right across the street from Tiki Bob's and is owned by the same people. It is a bar though, not a club. They were having a special that night and they had Sly Fox beers on tap. Sly Fox is a micro brewery in Pottstown, Pa which is where my husband lived and grew up. One of the times I was visiting him we ate there and had a good time. On Thursday I had a beer with raspberries and blackberries and it was really good. If you are looking for a quiet scene though, Rox is probably not your place. It is more of a bar than a restaurant but we had a good time even though it was a bit noisy for us-I guess we are getting old??? 

My 2 guys over the weekend. Happy Father's Day!!

The end of the school year is always a little bittersweet, especially when you teach a resource in elementary school. As an art teacher I have the same students for 6 years. I get to see them grow from 5 year old babies to 11 year old big kids ready to tackle middle school. It is fun to see how they change and to get to know them. These flowers were from a student who came to us just last year from China. He quickly became one of my favorites. He learned English extremely quickly and is an amazing artist. He came up to me during his last art class and asked if he could come back and visit me in 10 years. I had to laugh, of course! 

I survived my first year as a working mom and now I get to enjoy this view for the next 3 months. It is going to be a great summer. 

The Bacon Festival

Ahhhh the weekend. I do love it so. I especially loved this past weekend. Saturday morning I woke early and went for a 2.5 mile run, the farthest I've gone in awhile. The weather was perfect and the big thing I noticed was how quiet it is that early in the morning. It was nice to run my usual route without cars whizzing by and only a few people outside. It really set the pace for the rest of the day. I have a 5k in one month and I hope for that to be a great race so I really need to get back on the bandwagon. 

Today I was again up before everyone else. I took the opportunity to curl up in the chair with a Runner's World, coffee and my dog. It was a great start to the day. I'm super excited for this upcoming week to be done and school to be out so that I can have the mornings to be more like this one. 

Today was also the Bacon Festival! Even though it was kind of humid we had a great time and got some good bacon food! I was surprised that B liked the salted caramel bacon brownie ice cream from Gelati Celeste. We also got some goodies from Deep Run Roadhouse and Halligan's. And of course beer ;-) 

I hope to have more updates in the next few weeks as I train for my upcoming 5k in July. Seems weird to say I am training for a 5k after running 5 half marathons. I guess you have to start somewhere!