Spring Running Pros & Cons

Spring!

Fresh blooms, gorgeous weather, new growth, new life, pollen, wildlife, spring storms - there are so many things to love (and not love) about Spring!

When it comes to spring running, I'm all about it. I love the weather (most of the time), fresh blooms along the way, and the whole overall expectation of Spring - new life, new growth, transformation, etc.

Today's Tuesdays on the Run topic is all about sharing your favorites and least favorites of spring, so here we go!

(PRO) I have two top favorites of spring running, the first being fresh blooms! I just love plants and flowers and seeing everything fresh and new for spring.

Aren't these azalea's beautiful? You can find them all over the south in the spring!

(PRO) My second favorite thing about spring running is the weather! Most of the time, it's cool and refreshing with just a hint of warmth, reminding you that summer is on the way...

(CON) With the pro of weather also comes a con - spring weather. It can be beautiful and it can be horrible all at the same time. Having a tornado in your backyard isn't the best way to kick off spring, either. Along with crazy weather comes lots and lots of rain and unless you love running in lots and lots of rain, that leaves running up to the treadmill. Ugh.

(PRO) Wildlife - I just love seeing little babies running around outside, enjoying the fresh weather. Sadly, I missed the little baby chick in this picture but it was so cute!

(CON) Wildlife - I need I say more? I'll occasionally see these guys in my running route and I never get close enough to figure out their "type".

(PRO) With spring running comes more opportunities to run with my little guy because the weather is just that nice (most of the time)!

...and that's about all I can think of! Spring is definitely a favorite time of year for me and I love getting out and breathing in the fresh air and getting in a great run!  

Did I forget anything? What are your spring running likes/dislikes?

It's the Tuesdays On The Run Linkup with Erika, Marcia and Patty. 

Seen On My Run

For the month of August, Tuesdays On The Run topics are freebies so I decided to pull an old one for today and share several of my favorite images from my running journey throughout the years! These are all taken from my perspective and were seen somewhere along my run!

Perhaps one of my favorite routes to run in my hometown is along River Road. The gorgeous views at sunrise never fail and are incredibly stunning!

Ever "stop and smell the roses" while out for a run? I do! When a gorgeous flower catches my eye, I have to stop and admire it, especially if it's one I've never seen before!

What about wildlife? I couldn't find a picture of the gator my running buddy Heather and I spotted one morning, so this peaceful egret during sunrise will have to do!
Edited to add: Nope, I found the gator! I knew if I looked hard enough, he would turn up! 

Our downtown area has a really nice path for running and I don't utilize it enough! I definitely need to run here more often!

It's no running post of mine without a little runDisney thrown in there! This was taken in 2015 from Castaway Cay at the start of the Princess Castaway Challenge!

Another favorite running route of mine is down by the lake. I also love running here during early mornings as the sunrise is almost always breathtaking!

A field of these wildflowers signals that spring has arrived! A lovely site after a crazy winter!

Last but not least, remember Maddie and her horse friend I mentioned in yesterday's post? Well, here they are! Madalynn is always excited to see her buddy!

What's the your favorite/the best thing you've ever seen while out for a run?

Link up with Erika, Marcia, & Patty for the next Tuesdays On The Run!

Rainy Weekend

This past weekend brought a lot of crazy rain!

As a matter of fact, my running group was cancelled on Saturday morning due to lightning (we usually run rain or shine, it's only cancelled if the conditions aren't safe). Instead, Jason and I (and Madalynn part of the way) were able to sneak in a 3 mile run/walk between showers!

Other weekend happenings included:

A taste of the new Starbucks "Red Velvet Frap"...I wasn't a fan-Jason said it was just ok. Then again, I'm not a raspberry fan so that was probably it for me.

Mickey waffles for breakfast on Saturday morning (and a bit of catching up on Disney vlogs, of course)! 

Date night at Outback on Saturday night...just the two of us! :)

Beautiful flowers thanks to the weekend full of showers! :)

Lots of good times with friends! On Friday night, Kenzie and I helped our friend Melissa pick outfits for her engagement pictures (which ended up being postponed due to rain...whomp whomp). Then, our friend Tommy surprised us on Sunday night with a visit! He was the best man in our wedding and lives about an hour away so we don't get to see him often! We had a blast!! 

Last but not least, we filmed a promotion for our upcoming 5K. It's sponsored by our church and all proceeds will go towards benefiting local veterans. I can't tell you how many people have approached me to say "I can't run...I can't do a 5K...", so that's the premise behind this video. It's open to ANYONE, runners and walkers alike! The promo is starring our Children's Pastor who is hilarious and a complete joy to work with! Again, we dodged rain showers in order to film this one. Enjoy!! :)

How was your weekend? What's your favorite thing to do on a rainy weekend?

Fitness Friday - 6/5

Currently training for: 
Louisiana Half Marathon
Rock ‘n’ Roll NOLA Half Marathon
Glass Slipper Challenge
Castaway Challenge
Diva’s Half Marathon
Contraband Days 5 Miler
4 on the 4th

Saturday – Vacation Day (out of town visiting friends)
Sunday – Travel Day home
Monday –  3 miles
Tuesday –  3 miles
Wednesday – 3.25 miles before work for National Running Day
Thursday – 2 miles
Friday – 2 miles

So.......I missed my usual Saturday long run which was ok by me because I enjoyed the much-needed rest. This week, though? I'm pretty sure I've never run 5 days in a row. Ever. My knee usually gives me issues if I tempt it too many days in a row. This time, I did it because I could...and it felt amazing...and my knee never bothered me! YAY!

Source

Speaking of running, how was everyone's National Running Day? Did you celebrate? 

The rest of my week looked a little like this:

Fresh summer berries...delicious! My mom grew the blackberries in her backyard and was kind enough to share them with me. Thanks, mom! :)

A few items from last weekend's Mandeville trip included almond flavoring for my coffee and a new pair of yurbuds! I've been enjoying both this week.

Can you believe that all of these flowers (except the plant in the middle) were on the clearance shelf at Lowe's a few months ago? They make a colorful addition to my backyard! 

Tomorrow, I plan on a long run with the running group. Can't wait for a fun and relaxing weekend!

What are your weekend plans? How did you celebrate National Running Day?

Birthday Festivities

How does time go by so fast? I mean really…I don’t feel like I’m 32. I honestly feel like I’m still in my 20’s.

Anyway, last night we celebrated my birthday! We weren’t able to celebrate tonight because I have church and am the director of the Wednesday night girls program. We are having awards/promotions to new classes/end of the year parties tonight so that’s something I don’t want to miss!

Yesterday, my husband came home with “day before my birthday flowers”. He’s so sweet (when he wants to be)! :D

We also had dinner with my parents at one of my favorite restaurants, O’Charleys!

After dinner, we returned to my house for cake and presents! This cake is AMAZING. It’s definitely a favorite of mine – I think I’ve had it the past 4 or 5 years in a row!

How am I 32…and why is fire that close to my face?

Chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and a scoop of Blue Bell homemade vanilla. So. Delicious.

We had a great time with my parents! :)

Present time!

Jason SURPRISED me with an iPad Mini! (He’s been telling me that the NSYNC CD he bought a few weeks ago was my bday gift…I knew better, but I sure didn’t know he purchased an iPad for me!)

To top it off, my parents bought a cute Otterbox to match! Now I’m all set!

I’m going to begin today with a Starbucks run (can we say TWO stars!?), then I’m headed off to work!

I hope everyone has a great day!

Have you ever been surprised on your birthday? If so, what was your favorite birthday surprise? I would have to link mine back to my 27th birthday when my best friend literally threw me a surprise birthday party and I had NO IDEA.

Spring Improvements: Flower Beds

Over the past several days, we’ve been graced with blue skies and gorgeous weather. One of my favorite parts about Spring is new growth and the feeling of a fresh start – perfect time for pulling weeds, planting flowers, and sprucing up the flower beds, right? 

The best part? Most of these plants were already in place and grew back, even after the hard freeze(s) we had over the Winter! Yay!

Before:

For starters, I pulled weeds until I was blue in the face. They were everywhere and taunted me for what felt like days. (I despise weeds.) Thankfully, they are mostly gone now. Whew.

After:

I’m very happy with the final product! :0)

Go Tigers! :p

Gerber daisies are a favorite!

This will be filled with some sort of greenery soon. I planted airplane grass in there last year and will do so again this time around (I think).

No Southern home is complete without an Azalea bush or two! :0)

The main bed. (There IS a large plant in the back corner – it’s in the process of growing back after the Winter freeze.)

All done!

We also changed the mulch of the beds from red to black.

Overall, I’m happy with the updates and although they took a bit of physical work, they didn’t require a lot of outside new plants because so many plants grew back after last year. The plants I did purchase were from Lowes in the clearance area. In my experience, a lot of the plants in that clearance area just require a little bit of TLC. For example, the flowers in the “LSU Tiger” area were from Lowe’s clearance area and look how pretty they are! Also, the Gerber daisies from above were in the clearance area as well.

I love finding something that was left to die and watching it bloom to life – that’s my favorite part of the whole process. Check out the clearance area next time you’re in your local garden store – it might surprise you! (There’s your tidbit of advice for the day!) :0)

Do you enjoy gardening/planting flowers?

Week In Review–3/28

Happy Friday, friends! The weekend is already here – this week seemed to fly by so fast (I’m definitely not complaining)!

This week has been a whirlwind of meetings, dinners, and event planning. I absolutely cannot wait until Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. – that means my life can officially return to normal!

You ever have to take it day by day until you “get there”? That’s how I’m feeling right now.

This week, I spent several after work afternoons and lots of hours in our front flower beds. The weeds basically took over and it’s time to replant new things now that the temps are warming up. I will never understand how a freeze will kill flowers and plants but not weeds. SMH.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t get any workouts in this week. The flower beds became my priority this week, so I devised a way to still feel a burn while working in the yard – something worked because after three days, I’m feeling it!

On Monday night, I had an after work dinner meeting at a local restaurant. When the head of our committee wasn’t on time, I began wondering what was going on. After half an hour, I got in touch with someone who told me that our committee head was no longer with the organization. Whaaa? SO, we had to conduct the meeting on our own – it was a productive meeting, but still. Craziness!

On Wednesday, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. (WAY LATE) and couldn’t believe I turned off my alarm. We were shooting a commercial for our work department and I had to flat iron my hair. Needless to say, I made it out of the house in record time but it was stressful getting there! Thankfully my crazy hair cooperated with me!

After the shoot, several of us went to McAlisters for lunch (our local favorite)!

Tomorrow (Saturday) is our area’s 2nd Annual Bark for Life with the American Cancer Society. I’m the event chair, which is a big part of the reason things have been stressful around here this week. I also have a work project due by Monday and I’m almost completely finished. Too many irons in the fire, as my grandmother used to say!

By Saturday at 2  p.m., I’ll hopefully be home free. Can’t wait!!

Last but not least, here’s my Tutu’s for Monika contribution. First off, I think Monika is a rock star and anyone who says otherwise is dumb.

My tutu story is from the Princess Half of 2012 – we ran the race, then decided to wear our tutu’s to dinner that night. In the meantime, we ran into Jeff Galloway! What a FUN night – I wouldn’t trade it for anything!!

I hope you have a great weekend! I’m looking forward to things returning to normal and getting back on the workout routine next week.

What are your weekend plans? If you’re racing, best of luck, hope you have a great race!!