Four Twenty, 2013: The Day of the Wardrobe Changes

Three Wardrobe changes, to be exact.
Or Four, if we're really being honest with ourselves, and I do enjoy being honest.

Yesterday was jam-packed with amazing fun with my dear friend Susan.
We realized last night we have known each other for ten years.
It seems not possible that we have known each other for 'that long,' but that might also be because we spent much of our weekend saying, "is X person/child/etc REALLY THAT OLD ALREADY?"
Time sure does fly.

Susan is one of those friends who I love dearly, but don't get to spend nearly enough time with. However, when we do (finally) get together, it's like no time has passed - even though we've had major life changes in between. She was able to visit Madison for a wonderful long weekend, and I can confidently say we both had an amazing time.

Yesterday we packed in as much as humanly possible, including quite the outfit changes, so I thought I'd give you a snapshot of what you could do if you, too, visited me in lovely Madison, WI.

Because she is a good friend, and an actual runner, we started our day with a run. She ran, and I did my prescribed workout from my friends at LoziLu. It was 25*. Did I mention she's a good friend? But it was sunny, so better than our workout the other day when we ran through a downpour.
Sorry, we forgot to take a photo after our run, so I'll share the one from Thursday.

OUTFIT NUMBER ONE:

After our run, we swapped our running gear for some jeans and warmer clothes to head to the Dane County Farmer's Market - the first farmer's market of the year! I got to introduce Susan to my favorite baked goods from Stella's - we got a little bit of everything I love from there - Hot & Spicy Cheese bread, scones, Cloud Cookies and a cherry turnover. I'm confident they are made with love and sent directly from Heaven. Yep, they're that good.
I didn't take photos of the baked goods. That's just mean. :)
We also helped Susan stock up on some tasty cheese goods from Wisconsin.
So here we are walking around the Square, enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful Capital.

OUTFIT NUMBER TWO:

After the Farmer's Market we rushed to get ready for Brunch at Sardine. We had an amazing breakfast before going to see my friends Alicia and Mitch get married. She was a gorgeous bride, he was a handsome groom, and the ceremony was beautiful. Hence the need for:

OUTFIT NUMBER THREE:

After the ceremony we were able to squeeze in a trip to Anthology, my favorite local store stocked with all things crafty, fun and Made in Wisconsin. I'm pretty sure it's a favorite of Susan's, too. We stocked up on some goodies and headed home for our last wardrobe change for the day.

We drove to Milwaukee to watch our beloved Cubs play the Brewers at Miller Park. It was the first game in Miller for both of us. Thank goodness the company was great, because the playing by our team was not. However, we had a fabulous time in our Cubbie gear, cheering on our favorite sausages during the sixth inning sausage race. It might have been the best part of the game. Except for our outfits. Including our awesome shoes. Here are a few shots of

OUTFIT NUMBER FOUR:

[Yes, our shoes coordinate with our Cub gear. That's how we roll.]

It was a perfect day, and a great weekend. I am so thankful to live in this wonderful town, and have both new friendships here, and old friends spread around the world. Those that I can call up and say "wanna join me for Fill-In-The-Blank in an hour?" and others that I can call and pick up where we left off days or months or years ago, those who I'm blessed to call my friend, and who will come and visit and let me share the reasons why I love living in Madison.

Who's next? The reservation book is open!

 

"Vitamin I" - My New Friend

My brain was all over the place during my workout today.
Which isn't really all that new.
It's Always All Over the Place.
I might be an Over-Thinker, so I'm finding these workouts to be even more of a time for my brain to hop all over the place.
Tonight was no exception.
I heard about the Boston Marathon bombing this afternoon. I watched a few minutes of the news, but didn't have time to get sucked in, so I sent a little prayer into the universe, and moved back to my work pile.
I knew today was going to be a rough run - I was tired, sore, and not looking forward to another run in the cold and rain. But I started anyway. And finished.
But it was rough, I'm not gonna lie.
While running, my thoughts kept going to the tragedy at the marathon. I just can't imagine - I'm excited about completing my 3-minute intervals - I can't even fathom training for, qualifying for, and then running the Boston Marathon, only to have the race ended so abruptly and horrifically.

When I got home from my workout, I attempted my normal post-workout multi-tasking: jotting notes on my run and stretching my (already) sore muscles. But like during my run, it was hard to concentrate on the task at hand because I wanted information about what had happened. It was challenging to focus on how I was feeling, both physically and mentally about my run, when my brain was clearly wanting to go elsewhere. It got harder when I started second-guessing myself - feeling whiny about my aches and pains, when others today had limbs blown off.
*sigh*
My heart goes out to the marathoners, volunteers, organizers, Boston residents, and all affected by today's tragedy.

I will also be true to myself and share the notes from today. Even though they feel a little ridiculous in the grand scheme of today, they're MY ridiculous, and they're real. So here are today's thoughts on completing week two of my training program:

4.15.13: Week Two, Day 3, Workout #6

This is going to be really hard.
Maybe harder than I thought.
Last week this slow delving into training seemed Very Do-able.
Today I ran two 3-minute intervals. I was proud of myself on Saturday for completing the first 3-minute interval, so today I was extra proud. TWICE I ran three minutes in a row!!!!
It was hard, but I did it.
It dawned on me that the walking time is quickly decreasing during these workouts.
Which means more running.

Which is when the doubt crept in.
The goal is to run a 5K. The whole 5K. Three point one miles.
Today that seems daunting and REALLY FAR.
But hopefully that's just because I'm feeling the effects of a long Monday at work, and I just need some Vitamin I. (A colleague introduced me to to this term today. The "I", my friends, is Ibuprofen).
BUT . . . I finished today.
I ran when I didn't want to.
I'm sure this won't be the last day I dread my workout, but here's hoping it is!

A Small Miracle that looks a little bit like a new blog post!

I'm behind.
I know.
It's a bit of a perpetual battle of mine.
And I've learned that I find jumping back into kelarious to be intimidating. I mean . . . I haven't blogged since August. Which is ridiculous. Not for a lack of topics, but from a lack of putting topics-to-screen in a timely manner. And at this point (and by 'at this point' I'm referring to the past four months or so), it feels like I need to have some sort of grand entrance.
So I'm putting together a list of "things you missed while I was not blogging" or "What I was doing instead of blogging." I'm trying to gloss over the last eight months. Not easy. Especially because I want to add pictures and links and all sorts of fun.
And so I haven't blogged.
But at work today I had some fun conversations that reminded me that A)I'm not a very good blogger - because I haven't written anything in ages and B) "Blogging is like riding a bike." - S. Powell.

So here I am.
Getting back on the bike.

Which is a nice transition to "The Run."

This would be my update for the last month. I've joined some friends and signed up to run the LoziLu Women's Mud Run in Milwaukee. It's a 5K with a bunch of obstacles to climb over, under and through. (www.lozilu.com)
With Mud.
Which Sounds AWESOME.
When I told my boss about it, his response was: "You know, other people who want to run a 5K pick a nice race, in town, on a PATH." My response was, "well, yeah . . . but you've met me, right?"
Yep. Jumping in.
Go big or go home.

So . .. I've started training with the "From Couch to LoziLu in 12 Weeks: A total-body take on the couch to 5k plan." Today I officially began Week 2 of my training workouts. Last week I decided to chronicle my journey via photos and a journal. I thought I'd share today's entry with you as a dive back into the blogosphere.

Thursday, April 11th - Week 2, Day 1, Workout #4
Workout: Walk 6 minutes
Run 2 minutes, Walk 1 minute
Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 minutes
Run 1 minute, Walk 2 minutes
Run 2 minutes, Walk 2 minutes
Walk 10 minutes
30 minutes Total.

Here are some of my thoughts and observations from today:
1. I can do this.
2. I'm really thankful I had the last two days off. I needed that.
3. I can do this, even in the cold and rain.
4. Shite. I'm training for a run in the summer. [June 29th] I hate the heat. Awesome. Perhaps it will be better for my muscles? [She says tentatively and begrudgingly.]
5. This plan to run the same path on the first day of each workout week is good. I'm already seeing progress. YAY!!!
6. I'm really glad I started my "weeks" on a Thursday. Seems apropos for this project. That's how I roll. :)
7. Can I really run this fast?
8. No. Not for that long.
9. Should I have "checked with my physician before starting this workout?"
10. Nope. I can do this. :)
11. Um? What are we to REVOLT against? Must take a picture of this before someone (appropriately) paints over it. It's been stuck in my brain since I saw it a week ago on Day One of this journey. So perhaps this can be considered effective tagging?
12. Holy crap. The lake looks like water again! (Note small portion of lake in upper left of photo). The lake was fully frozen when I started a week ago. Hooray! Spring is on the way!
13. I can do this.