Running & Memorial Day!

I had an incredibly active Memorial Day weekend - which included an extra day off work! Who doesn't LOVE a 3-day weekend?

My fun really started on Wednesday, when we saw Dave Matthews Band at Verizon. What an awesome set list! We heard so many songs that we hadn't before and he played some of his new ones. Seriously an amazing show. Totally worth being tired and slightly hungover at work on Thursday.

Thursday, we went to the Charlotte Knights game with some folks from work. I really have some awesome girls that I used to work with (BF still works with them). So glad that we've stayed in touch and I get to spend some QT with them outside of the office.

Friday, I decided to run when I got home, went for a 3-miler but it was so hot (87 degrees) that I had to stop & walk three or four times. I still finished in 28 minutes, so I was proud that I was able to make up for the time that I walked. I also took my dogs for a mile long walk after that. Then we had an AMAZING dinner (shrimp & grits!) at The Fish Market in Baxter Village. Yum! Should be on everyone's restaurant bucket list!

Saturday, I took the dogs for another long spin and spent most of the day outside soaking up the sun (with sunscreen on of course!). We went to NoDa Brewery for some afternoon beverages and had the chance to taste Maki Taco Truck's tacos. Basically like heaven in your mouth. Seriously, the freshness and deliciousness combined was enough to give you a stroke (in a good way!)

Sunday, we took the dogs to Lake Wylie for a little morning hike before the temps got too high and then we went to Mac's Speedshop. This was really our weekend of good food and good beer. I needed a high-intensity workout after so many days of beers and big meals, so I hit the gym. I was doing intervals on the treadmill. Finished a 5k in 24:43 - pretty proud! My PR is 24 even. We ended up at the White Water Center afterwards for some music. Our friends had told us to check out the Black Lillies, so we stopped by for a beer and some jams.

Today, I did Body Pump to start the day and then took the dogs for a little over a mile long walk. My legs are begging for BioFreeze today. Seriously, so much pain. I'm a little nervous about how I will be able to walk tomorrow... should be interesting. But totally worth it because we just had a week that should go down in the record books. Loving life. And best of all... I'm going to be an auntie this week. Damon is due on Wednesday.... we'll be *patiently* awaiting his arrival until then! 

Running... Georgia

We just spent a week in gorgeous Jekyll Island, Georgia. If you haven't been, you should go... it's so serene and peaceful there. It's tucked away from traffic and tourists, live oak covered roads and sand dollar covered beaches, wild horses roaming at Cumberland Island which is just 45 minutes away, I mean, seriously, it's THE perfect getaway. Here are a gazillion pictures to prove it's beauty just in case you don't believe me..

My view on my morning runs

Every morning I went running and walking on the spectacular beaches. Now, I did have to wait until 8:30 or so because of high tide  (it was REALLY high) but when it receded, the beach was a treasure trove. We found dozens of sand dollars (only keeping the dead ones) and conch shells, and jelly fish and horseshoe crabs and fiddler crabs and rainbow colored seashells. It was such a gorgeous site.

On Wednesday, we went to Cumberland Island, which you have to take a ferry to, and it's basically an all day walking adventure. We took a picnic basket with us and enjoyed sitting on the beach and watching dolphins play. We saw dolphins EVERY DAY of our trip! Cumberland has wild horses, crabs that scamper right in front of your feet and majestic maritime forests.

If you can't tell, I'm head-over-heels in love with this place. It was vacation and I was up at 6 am ready to go every day. We spent one day riding bikes on the paved trails that go all the way around the island. We took a dolphin seeing boat ride one day (or attempted to, we had to turn back because of a storm), we saw deer and a bobcat one evening and on our last day, we watched a sea turtle being released back into the wild.

So, also on our last day, we did the Turtle Crawl 5k. The funds went to support the Sea Turtle Center (which is who released the rehabilitated turtle back into the ocean). It was an amazing, fast, flat course. Some of the turns were a little tight, especially when we had to turn around and come back, passing runners on a sidewalk was tough, but the entire time you could see the beach, which made it alright. AND, best of all, I PLACED in the race! 3rd.... probably would have been 2nd if I hadn't stopped to go to the bathroom 3 minutes in, but I literally did not think I could hold it for 3.1 miles. It was the perfect end to the perfect vacation. I highly recommend any and every active person make this trip at least once in your life. There are a million things to do while getting away from the rest of the world. 

*side note: I have now completed my 5th & 6th races of the year. I did the Run Wild 5k on 5/12 (placed 5th in my age group, 95th overall) and of course, the Turtle Crawl 5k on 5/19 and placed 3rd in my age group with a time of 26:19.

Running... for the past 4 years.

4 years ago today, I said goodbye to my boyfriend, bought my first car, said goodbye to my family, packed my new car full of all of the belongings I had as a 22-year old and moved to Charlotte.

Best move of my life. Rough at first. I didn't have friends in Charlotte. I didn't have my routine of working out, class, working at the gym anymore. My whole world was flipped upside down. But the world always seems to right itself.

I L-O-V-E North Carolina. I love being a Carolina girl. I love calling North Carolina home. I love being closer to the beach. I love Uptown, and the Whitewater Center and the parks that I can run in. I love my 2.5 mile loop around my house. I love running in North Carolina.  So 4 years since a really hard move, I've finally found where I belong.

Running... with friends.

Last night was graduation for folks in my Masters program. Next year it will be my turn. It's got me thinking about the last time I graduated and all of the huge changes that followed. I graduated May 3rd and moved to Charlotte on May 8th, started my first big-girl job on May 9th.

I left behind most of my family, all of my friends, and my boyfriend at the time. I also left behind the comfort of the small town, the school that I had wandered around for the past 3 years, and memories made at our favorite bar that was just 2 blocks away. It was a big change. And I was reeling from it for a long time. I didn't give my new city much of a chance and went home every weekend or at least every other. I was lost without my circle of friends. And then the break up came in July 2008. That's when I turned to running.

I ran before that, but, without someone to spend the weekends with, or talk to at night, I had more time. I was doing a couple miles before work in the morning and then 6-7 more miles when I got off. I was eating healthier than ever, with oatmeal for breakfast, a banana at 10 A.M., a turkey wrap for lunch, and an apple at 2 PM. I rarely ate out (mostly because I was scared I'd get lost). I don't know whether to count that as a high time or low time in my life. But I do welcome change...

I've now been in Charlotte for almost 4 years (crazy!) and finally have friends. I've been hanging out with some girls from my old office, and the wives of my now boyfriend's friends, and I've made new friends in my Masters program. It's nice, but different. They can't replace my friends from college, but they are my now friends. I really only talk to a few of my "college friends" - you know those people that you thought would be there forever? They're not. Same with high school. You drift as you get on different paths in life. I still have my 5 best friends, three I met in high school, two in college. Those are my one-day bridesmaids.

I have been in my new job for 6 months as of today, and around this time next year, I will be walking across the stage getting my 2nd diploma. I'm excited to see what changes the next year brings in my life.

Running... beaches, Florida and TSA!

I went to see my BFF + College Roomie in West Palm Beach this past weekend and wouldn't ya know it, it was grey skies and gloomy weather the WHOLE time. Literally, it actually poured down rain on my last 2 days. Bummer, but we made the best of it and relieved some of our fun college days:

tower of beer

Soul Bowl

I didn't get a lot of beach time (read: any) but I did get to check out West Palm and Sunny Isles beaches. Both of which were gorgeous. I also didn't get to run on either of these guys, my work outs were limited to the gym in Sarah & John's condo. I'm still feeling the one I had on Saturday morning though, so it must have been good, right? "Pain is weakness leaving the body." 

Now, I am a beach girl, at heart. Swansboro, NC to be exact on where I left my heart. It's been my "home" since I was 15 and I get a serious lead foot when I see signs for the town. Almost home. Something about that place is just so perfect and Southern lovely, that I have an obsession. Doesn't hurt that one of my best friends lives there. The beach is my fun place, my getaway place, my rest & relaxation place, my 100%, absolute FAVORITE place on earth. There are some others that I love too: Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, Folly Beach in Charleston, the beach on Coronado Island in San Diego, OBX... the list goes on. And soon to be added to it is Jekyll Island, Georgia when we go for a week later this month (holy cow, it's MAY!). I love, love, LOVE beaches and I love finding races when we travel so that we can explore the beaches and get a real feel for them. We did the Battleship 5k in Wilmington, the Mullet Run in Swansboro, and we're doing the Turtle Crawl 5k in Jekyll on May 19th (5th Race of the year!) 

As for TSA... they are my least favorite part of traveling. I think this is why I love road trips so much. Packing, unpacking, rushing through airports that are overcrowded and understaffed... not fun. So the TSA lady in WPB was awful as I was trying to get to my departing flight. My 1.5 ounce bottle of shampoo had fallen out of my zip lock baggie and was in my carry on... along with my dry (not liquid) spray sunscreen. I had an inkling of a feeling that she wouldn't let me take that through, but I figured I should try anyway. She started yelling at me about taking shampoo in my bag, obviously it fell out, which I politely explained. Then she told me I couldn't take the sunscreen and she promptly tossed both in the trash. I asked her for the shampoo back - which I didn't really need but she was just so rude! She asked if I really wanted her to dig around in the trash... "yes." 

Best part, I had 2 razors in my make-up bag, but clearly, sunscreen is much more dangerous. Heaven forbid I protect someone from the sun instead of using a razor on them. I'd much rather be sprayed with sunscreen than cut up on a plane. Makes no sense, but I made it through the security check point and back to NC safe & sound.