Weekly Wrap July 16

It's time for the weekly wrap. This week went by so quickly. Maybe because I feel like it was such a productive one! 

Sunday I did a 17 mile bike ride on the rail trail with my mom.

We rode to the end of the trail to the park where the 4th of July race took place and then rode all the way back to where we started. We stopped at an ice cream shop along the way but the line was like 40 people deep. We decided we could just load up our bikes and drive to another shop on the way home.

After getting ice cream, we had to go take our Peddle boat out of the water so my dad could take it home and wash it. We have it launched in the water at my Pap's house.  My mom and I had to peddle it UPSTREAM so we could get it into the launch so we could remove it. Trying to peddle against the current does not make your legs happy after just biking 17 miles!

Monday I wanted to start the week out right with a run, but I just didn't. I felt so achy. I stayed home and painted more trim around my door (and waited for the professional painters who never showed up).  Monday night I was so achy I couldn't fall back asleep. I ended up going downstairs to sleep on the couch. I was surprised to see Baylee laying beside me when I woke up. She sure loves her momma!

Tuesday was quite productive. I went to the paint store to pick out more paint colors and then headed to the trail for 4 steamy miles!

The sun was not out in all its glory because it was overcast so at least that felt good but all the humidity in the air did not feel good.  After the run, I rushed back home to shower and then went to a massage appointment.

There is a spa only 5 minutes from my house and I did not know about it.  The best part was that because I agreed to have an intern give me my massage, I got an entire hour for only $35 (plus tip)! Isn't that awesome?  Now if I was injured or had a major problem I would not have agreed to have the intern work on me.  But this worked out fabulous and to tell you the truth this massage was better than any I've gotten at any of the fancy resorts I've stayed at!

After the massage it was pool time with my favorite girl.

Wednesday was more working around the house.

Thursday-  I was up and out the door by 8 am and thought I could beat some of the heat.

I ran the 2 mile loop by my home and it certainly felt every bit like 89 degrees (or more). I made it home in time just to see the painters arriving at my house! That made me happy.

Friday was a rainy day so I stayed in with Baylee and did more housework and made food.

We ended up celebrating a friend's birthday later that evening at our house. I made Keylime pie for the first time and it actually turned out pretty good!

Saturday
Scott and I were on the go all day. we did get to walk at the marina, but it was actually more of a stroll as we watched the boats. We came home a cooked out while watching Baylee swim. 

Around 8pm I decided to go to my island and do a 3 mile run. I did most of  the run through the woods and because it was so late in the evening, I really thought that I would see some deer, but I didn't.

What was the least amount you ever paid for a massage? What is the latest you've ever ran? I actually plan to do more late runs this summer. They are so peaceful. -M

We are linking up with Tricia, Holly, and the guest host.

What does your Amazon list say about you?

So, unless you were living under a rock, you probably heard that Amazon Prime day was this week! Yup, it started Monday night and lasted into the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

I for one was very excited about Prime day because this was the first year I've actually been a Prime member! Let the shopping begin..........!

Except, I searched and searched and there wasn't anything I was wanting that was a Prime day deal.
No Mizunos, No dress shoes, no home furnishings, not even any beauty supplies. Womp Womp!

I guess I saved money though.

For today's post, I thought it would be fun to share what Amazon thinks we should buy!  What is on your "recommended" list?   The recommended list is obviously based off of your shopping habits on Amazon. Would you buy the recommended items?

Of course Mizunos are always my top pick because I indeed have purchased a pair of Mizunos from Amazon and I'm always checking to see if there are any good deals on the colors and style I like. The WaveRider 18's are my favorite and they are becoming harder to find.  This recommendation is Spot on!

I am always searching for dress shoes too. My favorites for work are the Anne Klein Sport shoes.  I have bought shoes that are similar to those first pair but would probably not buy the others. Good recommendations by Amazon though.

Amazon could have done a much better job recommending books to me. Yes, I admit several years ago I bought a book for school about Library media, and I DID buy a book about making candy creations (also for school), but that that was a long time ago. I have since searched and bought other books from  Amazon. I would not purchase any of these items again.

I'm not sure where these recommendations are coming from.  I know I bought my sister a season of Dawson's Creek DVDs but that had to be about 15 years ago and I'm not sure I even ordered them from Amazon.  I've never seen one episode of One Tree Hill not have I ever watched Dynasty.  I think  maybe Amazon is recommending Dynasty to me because I have bought several seasons of Dallas on Amazon and this show is similar. Yes, I would like to watch Dynasty some day but do I have time to get into another series?

These suggestions look pretty accurate too. I think I may have actually read that Beth Harbison book "Think, Rich, Pretty" although I did not get it from Amazon.


What would be on your Amazon recommendation list?  -M

An InLinkz Link-up

Running on Island Time

I mentioned in the weekly wrap earlier this week that I 've been visiting my mom at work and walking with her and her "work dog".  Well the other day we ventured over to the Marina which is actually on an island. Not the same island I usually run on, but a different island (that is much bigger). I bet you didn't realize we had so many islands in my state did you?

After we walked the loop, I ventured on my own to do a run.

There were so many people here walking, running, and walking their dogs, yet it was so peaceful and serene.

There is also a marina on this island and you can rent water craft. The morning we visited, there were several groups of people renting kayaks and putting them in at the launch.

We even saw some wildlife along the way.

This run wasn't anything amazing or anything but it was a nice little way to mix things up with a new route.  I've known about this island forever and it isn't too far from my home so I can't believe I've never ran here before.

I should have taken more pictures but honestly I didn't think that I was going to blog about it, so I didn't.

What are some new to you routes you've discovered this summer? -M

What's in the 20 year old running tote?

Whenever you head out for a run, do you have to double check and make sure you have everything? Have you ever made it to the start of your running route and forgot your Garmin? Your ipod or earbuds?

I feel like I am constantly gathering up all the things I need for my run. I rarely walk right out my door and start my run, I usually drive to a designated spot. For that reason I keep everything in a little tote bag. I've never carried a gym bag (even when I went to the gym) but this tote bag is the perfect size where I can easily grab what I need without digging around.

A little background story of this tote. This was a Christmas gift from a friend way back when. It has to be at least 20 years old. I don't ever remember using it as a purse or a tote then. I was on the verge of getting rid of it a few years ago but decided it would be perfect for my running essential.  I ALWAYS use it now. So glad I held on to it. 

My running essentials.

My phone -Sometimes I run with it, sometimes I don't, but I try to always have it with me in the car.

My ipod AND earbuds -There were times where I actually forgot one or the other. This is when the phone comes in handy. At least if I have my earbuds, I can listen to music on my phone.

My Road ID - Not only for safety reasons, but as of lately I've been clipping my ipod on it.

Garmin -This is a given. if I don't have my Garmin, I've lost my motivation to run. I know that is So wrong!

Pepper Spray- Not sure if I would need this for a personal encounter or an animal encounter. Thank Goodness I've never had to use it.

Personal Alarm - Same as above.

Water bottle

Sunglasses

Running belt /Roo pouch

Sometimes GU- Depending on how far I plan to run. Needless to say I haven't packed GU in several months!

Facial Wipes- These come in handy if I need to run an errand on the way home from a run, or stop at Starbucks for a frosty post run beverage.


This has now become my running tote and most of the time I just keep what I need in there unless the electronics need to be charged.

Seems like a lot of stuff just for a run, huh?

Do you feel like you have to "pack" for your run? Do you drive to your run spot or do you run right out your door? -M



                                      We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.

Weekly Wrap ....July 9

Wow, I haven't done a weekly wrap since the Monumental Mile back in June! I don't mean to be slacking but I guess I've been busy. I haven't even done a #FashionFriday post on IG with @Runningonthefly either. I need to catch up!

View of the lake.

Since that last week in June, I've been boating, doing some painting at my house, attended a graduation party at the lake, and had a chiropractor appointment (the kind that hurt so good)!

 There's been a little bit of running intermixed in there but nothing to really write home about because it's been way too hot to get in any "quality" runs.

Is it taboo to take a photo in a cemetery? 

 I did run in town to the cemetery.  I went to visit my Grandma. You would think running in a cemetery would feel morbid but it wasn't. It was peaceful and I could feel a sense of pride as I ran through and seen all the flags. That run was hot and hilly and I felt so accomplished.  It seems like all the cemeteries in our area are on a hill. Are yours?

A pretty house along the water. We passed this on our walk.

I've also been meeting my mom at work and walking with her around the lake as she walks her "work dog". We've done about 2 miles each time.

I've also done a couple little runs near my house. Again, nothing special.

I've been keeping my runs small lately because 1) it's just too hot, 2) I've been finding other things to do with my time this summer, and 3) I have nothing to train for right now.

When I say I have nothing to train for, I mean I haven't signed up for anything else just yet. I have a few 5ks I might run in the coming months and then 2 longer races I'm debating on in the fall.  It feels kind of good to not do any long distance running this summer. I'm sure I'll miss it thought and I'll be feeling the itch to get back out there soon.

Where's the oddest place you've run? Is your local cemetery on a hill? Is it taboo to take a photo there?

If you missed our posts this past week, you can read about the 4th of July 5k or How to soften your cotton race shirts (or any t-shirt).

We are linking up with Holly and Tricia (and the guest host) for their weekly wrap.

How to soften those stiff race t-shirts

Most races I do give out nice tech t-shirts but then there are the occasional 5Ks that still give out cotton t-shirts (ehem, Disney). The 4th of July race I did on Tuesday gave out nice tech tees last year but this year they were cotton ones. What gives?

Unfortunately these cotton race shirts are not always the softest but I've found a way to soften them up so I actually WANT to wear them.

Follow these 5 easy steps.

1. You will need a bucket, dishpan, or sink and fill it with a quart of warm water.

2. Add a half cup of plain old table salt.

3. Submerge your race shirt in the water.

4. You will need to let the shirt soak in the salt water for three days. Check on your shirt each day and stir it around.

5. After the third day, launder your shirt as normal.

Leaving your shirt in the salt water is like marinading it. You marinade meat so it becomes tender and in a way, the salt water is doing the same thing to your shirt.

I did this process with a shirt I didn't much care for just in case the salt water damaged it, but it didn't. It actually came out softer than when I put it in.

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For the remainder of July, the topics for the Friday 5 will be "Free Choice".
As we go forward, please tell us what YOU would like some topics to be.

Do you like new topics each week?  Would you like broad topics that rotate month after month? Do you like the 5 format?  Please give us your input.

An InLinkz Link-up

4th of July and a 5K

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July weekend (and week). Mine was full of housework, cookouts, swimming, boating, fireworks, and a little bit of running. It was actually quite exhausting and I'm ready to have the rest of this week to relax and have no plans at all.

On Tuesday I ran the annual 4th of July 5K race that is held in a neighboring town. I ran this race last year for the first time and although it was hot and miserable and had a killer hill, I felt so accomplished when I finished. That being said, I signed up again for this year.

My running buddy could not make the race this year so I carpooled with another friend from my neighborhood that was also running.  He also ran the race last year, and we both agreed that this was NOT a course to be raced!

Even though this is not a good course, this race always brings out a lot of runners and awesome crowd support.  Many people spectate from their lawns and hold out sprinklers and water hoses (which are much appreciated by the runners). 

For some reason my Garmin didn't start right away. I noticed this probably a half mile into the race. I had started it before the national anthem and then it went into battery saving mode. I think that when I clicked it again to start it, that click took it out of battery saving mode and didn't really "start" it like I thought it did. That's okay. I just decided to start it over again at mile one. I just made sure to pay attention to the clock at mile one.

When I finished the first mile, the clock read 9:03. Meh, not bad seeing as to how hot it was.  Since my chip time and gun time of the race were several seconds off, perhaps my first mile may have been even less.

After that first mile, it was time for that killer hill!  I thought maybe I would suck it up and run the entire hill, no matter how slow.  I felt really awesome running past all these other runners who were walking up the hill but then it happened.  I was almost to the top and then just felt the urge to walk. I had to walk till I reached the peak.  My friend said that by the time he reached the top of the hill, he saw some runners puking! Yea, it's that steep.  Remember that I said this race brings out huge crowds? Well, a lot of the people who live along the hill will bring their lawn chairs out in their yard and watch the race. I kid that they are probably all sitting there saying "look at these idiots running up this hill in this heat"

The uphill is very steep and that means so is the downhill. You would think that it would be easy running downhill but when it is that steep, it's not easy and you really have to have control. I almost felt like running in the yards beside me so in case I took a tumble I'd be safe!

Normally I can see the finish line clock as soon as I turn the corner to run towards the finish but this time I didn't want to see it because seeing it while I still have several yards to go makes me anxious. This time I just kept my head down while I ran the last several yards.

Turns out, I think I finished in exactly the same time I did last year. I wanted to confirm that so I tried to look up my official time from last year's race result page and guess what? My name isn't even listed as running last year. I KNOW that I saw it last year. For some reason  I see that the race results from 2016 have been updated on 1/24/2017. Perhaps my name was missed when they updated it.

We had some watermelon after the race and then headed out.

When we got home we hosted a 4th of July picnic (and pool party).

Of course no 4th of July is complete without ending the night with fireworks!


I hope you're having a great week!  Would you want to run this race next year? -M