Updates

A week from today I will be off to Turkey! I am beyond excited but also a bit nervous - what to pack? what is appropriate to wear? will I like the food? how will I do my hair without using a plug?

When I get back from Turkey, it will only be 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, then the next week is my birthday, and then it will already be December. How is 2011 nearly over? I feel like it was just a month or two ago that I was in London. How time flies!

I've been running about 2-3 times a week, and I'm up to 4 1/2 miles. However, I just can't seem to seem to get over this cold (which I'm pretty sure is from allergies) which is really putting a damper on my training. My legs feel great but my chest and throat don't seem to want to cooperate.

I am so excited it's the weekend. The boyfriend and I have nothing really planned but I'm super excited for the Fall weather and some relaxation.

My mom sends me a pumpkin full of candy every year, and she even included the boyfriend as well. Now I just need to figure out what I'm wearing for Halloween (I will actually be in Turkey on Halloween (do they celebrate Halloween there?) but my office is celebrating Halloween on Friday the 28th, and the winner of the best costume gets a PTO day which I would LOVE to have!

New Shoes

My mom was in town for the past few days, and when I took her on a bike ride on Monday night, she was appalled that I was wearing sandals. Although I had zero problems with my choice of footwear while on the bike ride, she decided the next night that I needed to get a new pair of running shoes. The boyfriend came and met us at Pacers in Clarendon, and the sales person who helped us was super helpful. First he asked me a bunch of questions about what activities I would be doing with the shoes, and how often. Then he had me get on a treadmill and run for about 2 minutes. While I was running, they taped my feet running, and then we watched the video afterwards. I wish I had pictures of what my feet looked like while running, but when my feet hit the ground, my ankles turned inwards, quite significantly. The salesperson said I needed "stabilizing" shoes which would help my feet land flat on the ground instead of turning in. I tried on a pair of these and hit the treadmill again. He played the 2 videos side by side and you could immediately see a drastic difference! I took home these Asics Duomax shoes and hope that I can feel a difference next time I'm on a run (or a bike ride).

Weekend Recap - Sporty Edition

This weekend was a blast - full of sportiness and outdoors. It all started Friday after work when my sister Amy and the boyfriend ran the Crystal City 5k. Also, special shout out to the sister's boyfriend for cheering us all on and holding my stuff during the run. I didn't run quite as fast as I was hoping for, but it was still a great time and much more active than my usual Fridays after work. My sister did spectacular in the race, she came in 9th place overall for the girls! Congratulations and way to go!!!!

The boyfriend and I 

My sister

After the race I dashed off to go change back into my work clothes so I could go meet up with friends for my friend Jesica's going away party - she is leaving for Afghanistan today to go work there for about 2 months. This is her second time going and I'm extremely nervous for her even though I know everything will be fine. Dinner was a blast - we had a private room at the restaurant, the food was excellent, and everyone was having a great time. After dinner I ducked out to head home since I was exhausted while everyone else went to go out for the night.

The Monument and the Cherry Blossoms

The next morning I had to be on the National Mall at 7am because I was volunteering at the Cherry Blossom Soccer Tournament. The boyfriend was playing it, and I volunteered to help set up for the event and there was a lot to do. From the moment I got there I was put to work but it was so much fun helping out. The weather was less than ideal, it was cold, raining off and on, and even hailing at times. Around noon my shift was over, and I spent the rest of the day spectating at the boyfriends games. We also went for a walk to check out the Cherry Blossoms, since we were right by them. By the time we got home around 7:30 I was so exhausted and had been outside for 13 hours straight. 

Me and the boyfriend's teammates

The boyfriend about to score a goal

Me trying to stay warm

The boyfriend out on the field

The boyfriend on the sidelines

The tournament lasted 2 days - the top 2 teams in each group moved on to play the following day (went from 32 teams on Sat to 16 teams on Sunday). This meant that Sunday morning we also had to be out on the mall super early again. His team made it all the way to elite 8 but then lost so they were out. The good news is that since I volunteered I got us 2 free tickets to go see a DC United game!

After the tournament, we headed over to my soccer game. We ended up tying but the game was still fun - the other team was getting super argumentative in the second half, which made the game very entertaining to watch. Once all the soccer games were finally over for the weekend, we had a nice relaxing night with us going out to our favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner and going to bed early.

Racing

Last Sunday, I ran a Valentine's Day race called "Love the Run You're With". My sister ran it with me and pushed me the entire way. The boyfriend, who ran and finished before me, jumped in with us for the last 100 feet or so and we finished together. The pictures were finally posted, and here they are (I have on the red shorts, sister has on the gray shirt, and the boyfriend has on the white shorts):

Weekend Recap

Happy Valentines Day to all of you reading this! My weekend was so busy - it started off with me taking the boyfriend out to dinner. Earlier in the week I had bought a LivingSocial deal to Brasserie Beck, so I decided that we should go to dinner on Friday because it was our anniversary (19 months!). I got all dressed up and told him to meet me downtown, but wouldn't tell him where we were going. He had never been to where we ate out, and I think he enjoyed being surprised. All in all it was a great night.

Saturday morning my sister Amy and her 2 friends came over and made brunch and then made Valentine's Day treats for our significant others. We made chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered oranges, chocolate covered oreos, and chocolate covered cherries (are you noticing a theme here). It was so much fun, and I was very impressed with our skills. This is what the final presentation looked like:


Needless to say, the boyfriend loved the treats we made, and thanks again to Amy for organizing it all and for getting all the materials. After the cooking fest, my sister let me borrow the car (isn't she the best) and the boyfriend and I went to Target. I hadn't been shopping in so long, so I went all out - I got workout clothes, DVDs, groceries, and tons of other stuff. Did I mention how much I love Target - all you need in one place. I was able to stock up thanks to me having the car, and don't need to go shopping again for a very long while.

Sunday morning the boyfriend and I signed up for a 5k Valentines Day run. My sister Amy and her boyfriend also ran the race, and Amy decided to run with me. It was fun sister bonding time, and she really helped push me throughout the race. I was very happy with my time, and had so much fun! Pictures aren't up yet, but once available I'll post. After the race, we all had brunch which was fun, and then I took a nap. I'm still sore from the race, but it was worth it. Also, my sister Amy's boyfriend got 16th place overall in the race! Very impressive! He won this mug for doing so great. And of course, thanks to Amy for running with me, and congratulations to the boyfriend for doing amazing, like always!