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!

Beat The Heat

Hello and happy Friday! It's June, people! How did this happen already? Summer is definitely upon us here in the south, too. Our mild and cool May has disappeared and the temps are rising fast!

Modifying a workout or a run to beat the summer heat can be tricky, but I've compiled a list of several ways to do so!

#1 Run early

Is it fun to wake up before dawn on a Saturday morning to go for a run? No...but when the summer heat is upon us, it's necessary. Even though Saturday is my only day to "sleep in", I still love waking up early and going for a run. It's such a peaceful time of day and the sunrise never disappoints! 

#2 Modify your routes to include water stops

Personally, I haven't found a hydration belt that I like - there's just something about the sound of water sloshing around behind me that drives me bonkers. Instead, I've discovered several routes throughout my home town that include a water fountain or two. Now that my running group has disbanded, a few runners from our crew have also come together to put water and gatorade coolers around town on Saturday mornings (which will be nice during marathon training season)! 
 

#3 Replenish those electrolytes

Salt tablets, salt packets, gatorade/powerade - make sure you're replenishing those electrolytes that were lost during your workout. This is so important for recovery, too!

#4 Wear cooler clothing

Summer friendly clothing is a must - sweat wicking, tank tops, shorts, etc. Moisture wicking clothing will help your body cool down faster after a run on a hot summer day. Most importantly, don't forget the sunscreen!!

#5 Eat yummy summer foods

So this one is not a must, but it sure is fun! Who doesn't enjoy a nice, sweet, cool watermelon after a long hot run?! This goes for oranges, snoballs, grapes, cantaloupe, too...you get the picture!

Happy (cool) running!


What's your favorite way to beat the summer heat and maintain a workout schedule?

It’s FRIDAY!
Link up with Running on Happy & Fairytales and Fitness for the Friday Five 2.0 linkup!

Fitness Friday - 10/14

What an eventful week this has been! Where I was sick last week, my husband came down with the same illness this week. Luckily, my sinus stuff only lasted a few days and wasn't that bad but for some reason, it always hits my husband really hard...including red swollen eyes that water non stop. (And I don't just mean...oh he's a man so he's a big baby....like for real, his sinus stuff is pretty rough). I am so glad that doesn't happen to me but I sure do feel bad for him when it hits him! The worst time was a few years back when it hit him while we were in Disney - we even had special pictures planned at the Grand Floridian. Poor guy - the bright sun almost did him in!

Anyway, I know he will feel better soon, it just takes a few days. To top it off, Brayden went to Mother's Day Out all three days this week (as opposed to one) to give Jason a chance to rest. Also, Pixie had to be brought to the vet again because the conservative route of trying to control her collapsing trachea wasn't working. We discussed all the options with the vet and came up with a medical treatment that I hope will work (vs surgery). It's all a waiting game!

Whew. I'm tired. Haha! However, somewhere in all of that, (on top of working full time and having a graduating nursing precepting student this week), I managed to get in a few workouts! 

Currently Training For:

• Cajun Cup 10K (Lafayette, LA)
• Cajun Country Half Marathon (Lafayette, LA)
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Saturday - 6 mile run
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - 3 mile walk with Brayden
Tuesday - PT workout - lunges/squats/stretches
Wednesday - Rest Day  
Thursday - 1 mile walk with Brayden/1 mile run on my own
Friday - 3 mile run


After doing a little math, I realized that I now have two races to obtain a decent time to submit for Princess in February. Both are 10K's and are coming up at the early part of  next month. I doubt I'll PR (my 10K pre-baby PR is 51 minutes and change), but I would still like to land a time somewhere in the 50 something minute range.

On Saturday morning, my friend Heather and I completed a 6 mile run around the lake. Our running group didn't meet  because a few in our group were running a triple weekend marathon (26.2 on Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday). The thought of that just amazes me. Anyway, we still stuck to our normal area/route and had a great time! The weather was beautiful and so was the sunrise! :)

I love this route!

My running skirt received a couple of compliments along the way, too! Yay for cute running skirts!

On Monday, Brayden and I walked 3 miles! 

My view... :)

He ALWAYS gets cranky around the 2 mile mark. I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I looked down......and discovered that he fell asleep.

3 miles for us! Score!

He loves going on walks with us! I can't wait to get my jogging stroller up and rolling. He has an appt on Monday for his 6 month check up and I'm going to ask about jogging with him now. I think it will be ok, but I want to make sure first.

Last night, we also completed another couple of miles! I walked one with Brayden, then ran one on my own before I ran out of daylight.


Today, I plan to get a run in after work and tomorrow I plan to run another one with my running buddy Heather! This weekend should (hopefully) be low key! Here's to another one!

Happy Friday and have a great weekend! :)

Fitness Friday - 8/12

Currently Training For:

• Cajun Cup 10K (Lafayette, LA)
• Cajun Country Half Marathon (Lafayette, LA)
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Saturday - Rest day due to long day/night setting up and helping with the Gleaux Run 5K event
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - 2 mile run
Tuesday - 3 mile run
Wednesday - Rest Day  
Thursday - 1 mile walk with Brayden
Friday - Cross train

This week was much better than last in the fitness realm! Thankfully, my husband's schedule and mine coordinated, so I was able to run a few mornings before work! 

On Friday night, I helped plan and coordinate the Gleaux Run 5K with our local American Cancer Society. It was a lot of fun but I was exhausted after it was all said and done!

I decided that instead of running on Saturday morning, I would get some much needed rest instead and it was awesome!

 On Monday morning, I woke up early before work and ran 2 miles. I was going to attempt 3, but the local neighborhood developer had a ton of burn piles going on and the air was full of smoke. Gross. Combined with the humidity, it was impossible to breathe!

 

Ah well - I decided to call it a day and try again on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning's run was much better although the smoke was still pretty strong in the air. Thankfully, it wasn't near as rough of a run!

One of my favorite parts of early mornings is the sunrise!

Three miles done!
 

On Thursday night, I went for a mile walk with Brayden.

It was still sweltering at 8 p.m. I need fall to arrive like yesterday...this is getting ridiculous.

He didn't seem to mind! :)

This week, I plan on returning to my normal Saturday morning run! Speaking of the weekend, is anyone else excited to watch the Olympic women's' marathon on Sunday? I can't wait!!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Fitness Friday - 6/17

 

Currently Training For:

• runDisney Virtual Running Shorts 5K Challenge
• 4 Miler on the 4th of July
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Saturday - 5 mile run with my running buddy
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - 2 mile treadmill run
Tuesday - 2 mile walk with Brayden and the pups
Wednesday - Rest Day
Thursday - Cross training/PT workout - core and legs
Friday - runDisney 5K Virtual Running Shorts (Red Pants)

This week was another interesting one as I attempted the transition of returning to work full time and being a full time mom. My workouts varied throughout the week depending on my schedule. I was able to reach 10,000 steps on most days but lets be honest....there were some days where sleep mattered more than walking circles around my house to reach those 10,000 steps at 11 o'clock at night. Wednesday and Thursday were two of those days. Ah well, it happens...

On Saturday morning, I met up with my favorite running buddy for a 5 mile run around the lake! It had been a while since I'd been out there so it was nice to see the sunrise over the water again! 

I just can't get enough of this gorgeous view!

It was a warm run on Saturday morning and although we started around 6:30 a.m., the humidity was still high and had reached 94% by the time we finished our run! We were both soaked at the end of it all! Hello summer time!

Something else we noticed on Saturday morning - hello...there's a million yellow trash cans all around and someone still threw trash on the road. Lazy lazy people.

Saturday morning's breakfast was delicious! I made egg-in-a-hole bread and had turkey bacon on the side. Delicious!

On Tuesday afternoon, Jason and I dodged rain showers for a walk with our kids. It was our first time to attempt a walk with the five of us and it was interesting to say the least!

Midway through our walk, Pixie ended up in the basket on the bottom of the stroller! Haha!

Those rain showers I mentioned? Well, the rain happened incredibly fast and came down in buckets - we were all under a flash flood warning. The neighborhood next to mine had water in several front yards - the ducks were even out for a swim!

My little man also turned 10 weeks this week! He had his immunizations on Monday and took them like a champ!

That's all for this week! I plan to run again on Saturday morning with my friend Heather. Hope you have a great one!! :)

One To Remember!

Saturday's long run was definitely one I'll remember forever!

Heather and I set out on our usual 6 mile run, this time the route took us along a river.

It's a beautiful route, one I love to run early in the morning because we are always greeted with a gorgeous sunrise!

This route is out and back and on our way back, Heather thought she saw a pair of alligator eyes peeping out of the water. We've seen alligators in the river before so that wasn't anything unusual to us. We stopped to get a better look and we soon realized it wasn't an alligator that we were seeing.

Floating on top of the water was what appeared to be a bunch of bubbles (maybe from a school of fish)? As we got even closer, Heather commented that the "bubbles" were slimy and looked like frog heads...definitely not fish! Neither of us had ever seen a bunch of frogs grouped together in the water like that....so we looked even closer.

That's when we realized what we were actually seeing - one of the "frog/bubbles" put it's head under water and it's body slithered to the top. It wasn't an alligator, bubbles, or frogs....it was SNAKES. A group of about 12 water moccasins hanging out, right there in the water, near the edge. (We later found out this is called a "den"...omg.)

I'm pretty sure my heart almost fell out of my chest as we both took off running as fast as possible. That was the fastest sprint I've been able to muster all summer!

Thankfully, all of the snakes stayed in the water where they belonged. However, I'm am 100% sure now that you will never ever ever get me into that lake...ever. Water here in Louisiana is incredibly murky, so you can't even seen a foot below the surface....which already creeps me out. This made it even worse!

I'll stick to the dry ground with my bird friend here and just enjoy the sunrise instead!

Ever had a scary wildlife experience while out for a run?

Long Run, Star Wars, & A Fire

Happy Monday! Another eventful weekend has come and gone - they never seem to last long enough!

On Saturday morning, I met up with my BRF for a 5 mile run. The humidity was pretty high, but it was a gorgeous morning and I really enjoyed the company! :)

After the run, my husband and I came home and watched Star Wars A New Hope. Up until Saturday, I'd only watched The Phantom Menace (I) and about 45 minutes of Attack of the Clones (2)...and it was eight years ago, at that! Someone suggested that we start from the "original" with Episode 4, so that's what we did!

Source

I've always been interested in the Star Wars area of Hollywood Studios and felt like I knew the characters enough to understand the movies. I also want to see The Force Awakens in theaters, so I knew I had to catch up!

My brother and I began texting silly Star Wars meme's back and forth (hence the origination of the kitty above) when he called and asked our plans for the evening. We didn't have any, so they decided to drive in and surprise my parents! I told him..."Safe travels. May the Force be with you..."

About an hour and a half later, I texted to ask where they were and I received this photo:

Immediately, my mind had two thoughts - either they stopped along the side of the road to help someone (my brother is a state trooper) or that's really their car.

I first called my dad (who again, had no clue they were coming to town) and he was already on his way there. He didn't even really know what was going on, so I told him their car was on fire. As he reached the top of the bridge (a super high bridge at that), he could see smoke rising in the air.

Sure enough, that was their car. Kayla said that the steering wheel locked up on her and so did the gas pedal. All of the internal lights started flashing and she couldn't do anything but coast to a stop on the side of the interstate.

Brian opened the hood and then realized that the inside was on fire. While waiting on the fire department to arrive, they had to stand there and watch as their vehicle became engulfed in flames.

They said several kind people stopped to check and see if anyone needed help - some even stopped on the opposite side of the interstate and ran across to make sure everything was ok.

One jerk stopped on the opposite side of the interstate to take a picture, then drove off. Obviously no "official" help had arrived at that point. Don't be that guy. Just don't.

 

I am sad this happened to them, but I'm also thankful they weren't on the top of that really tall bridge I mentioned earlier. I'm SO grateful for God's protection. This could have been much worse. I will also never tell anyone, "May the Force be with you" ever again. 

Despite all that happened that day, we had a good time at dinner and managed to decompress and laugh a lot!

Look what arrived on Saturday! YAY! 

On Sunday after church, we had lunch with our friends at Coyote Blues. I love their Smoked Duck Quesadillas! I even have enough leftover for lunch today! :) We finished up our evening by playing games at my house. A lot of fun times were had - someone might have fallen out of their chair from laughing so hard (it wasn't me, scout's honor).

Despite the crazy setback with Brian & Kayla's car, we still managed to have a great weekend!

How was your weekend? Ever had a crazy car situation happen to you?