Running Summer into Fall

Holy Cow, it’s Fall! It’s Fall? Really? Already? Where did Summer go? I was definitely a busy bee this summer with work, consulting, two-summer grad school classes, two weddings for very special friends, several bachelorette parties and showers to accompany those weddings, baby showers for other friends, a new nephew, keeping up with my 12-in-12 plan for running races, and of course, my own summer travel + fun. Whew, now I remember where it went!

 

For my last week of Summer, I spent it with the best friends a girl could ask for celebrating one of the “maids” weddings. Lots of time was spent on hair, nails, make-up and of course, making sure the bride + groom had the best day of their lives. I even managed to run 9 miles in the time I was in Swansboro which was very satisfying. And.. the wedding… it was ah-ma-zing. Seriously,  it was better than perfect and I’m so happy that I got to be a part of the special day and share it with my incredible friends.

Then we went to the Outer Banks for a few extra days of R&R. Lots of driving but totally worth it once we arrived… this was the view for the week and my view on my morning runs. And me, running in Corolla. I’m pretty sure nothing beats an early morning run on the beach with a little mist blowing on you as you pound sand instead of pavement.

I had a few extra days off that I got to spend with my adorable nephew at a lake house that had an "endless" pool. So cool. And um, so adorable?
As we exited Summer, and entered Fall, we spent our first Fall weekend cheering on the Virginia Tech Hokies. I’ve always said there’s no better college football atmosphere than Lane Stadium but on Monday night, there couldn’t have been a better (albeit slightly stressful at times) atmosphere ANYWHERE. The Hokies pulled off the “W” and I was one happy little girl.  

Now onto Fall classes, major changes at work and cooler running weather. What’s your favorite part of Fall?

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... on the beach.

Can you think of a more perfect way to start the day than a 3-mile run on the beach? Okay... it was February and 66 degrees outside... I mean seriously, does it get anymore perfect than that? We are in mid-training for the Cooper River Bridge Run, and even on vacation, we stick to our fitness plan. We were up and out the door, with the sand beneath our toes and that sweet, salty air blowing in our faces. Perfect, I tell ya.

The BF is still "working up" to his 6 mile run on March 31st. I'm a 10-k veteran, but haven't done one in well over a year so training is a must. He wanted to go for 2 miles, so I agreed to run 2, and we could walk 1. Compromise... right?

Since I have the Garmin 305, I am always in charge of monitoring our mileage. So off we went... pounding away. We actually slowed down our pace for this run, because running on sand is a lot harder on your legs than running on a sidewalk. Plus, on Wednesday, I did my Jillian Michaels 30-day shred video and on Thursday, I did Group Power (the equivalent of Body Pump) with my friend Katie - so prior to the run my legs were already burning, and about a minute in, it felt like they were going to fall off. Telling myself that I have to set a good example for my BF in training, I never walk first (it may also have something to do with my extremely competitive nature).

We could not have asked for a more gorgeous day to be out there running. I encouraged (or "tricked" as he called it) the BF into running 2.25 miles and only walking 3/4 of a mile. He did it. No problems. I just wanted him to prove to himself that he is capable of it and doesn't have to work up to it at such a slow pace. I promised to never do that to him again, but I was secretly very happy that I did and that he succeeded in the extra 1/4 mile without any issues. Now... we just have to add 3.4 more miles to that total.

Side note: It rained ALL day today and started sleeting/snowing around 6 PM. Let me reiterate what a B-E-A-UTIFUL day it was on Saturday to be running on the beach.