You're Motorin'

Sister Christian is kind of my current favorite song. Ironic, since the song itself is not current. No idea why, other than it's awesome, and their hair is pretty rad. And by rad, I mean, perms have no business on men with mullets. Or do they...?

This Run Brought to You By

I knocked out 10 miles today. Boom. I got up later than I had planned on, but I still managed to get myself out the door and get my miles in. I ate half a Mint Chocolate Clif Bar and drank about 20 oz. of water before I left.

I ran on a treadmill this morning. There have been way too many attacks on women on trails in my area lately for me to feel comfortable running outside by myself--especially for ten miles. But I had a pretty sweet setup this morning. I downloaded Netflix onto my iPad and I was golden. Thank you Thor and Captain America for your stellar work not only saving the universe but also saving me from death by boredom on my treadmill run this morning. I had to stop for water (definitely need to find my water bottle), and I brought another Clif bar, but I ended up not needing it.

And the clincher: New. Shoes. Boom. I felt like I was running on clouds. It was magical. And the color. Love. Head nod to you, Saucony.

Oooh! Look! My socks match.

Finally!

I found a good spin instructor at my new gym! I tore myself away (more like sprinted away) from grading papers yesterday around 4 p.m. to head over to my gym for a 4:30 spin class. I was afraid I wouldn't make it in time because of traffic, so I was extra glad I did when about 5 minutes into the class, I realized this spin teacher meant business. She had me sweating and working harder than any other spin class has at this location. And she had great music to boot. The only downside was that I had to leave early to give myself time to get cleaned up and make it to a meeting.

And I'm so glad I rushed away from what was probably the best spin class ever to what was definitely the worst meeting ever. There are no words to adequately describe the 63-minute Purgatory I endured. Only two things saved me from giving way to madness and running screaming from the room: the endorphin high from spin class, and the four other blessed souls who--like me--were at the mercy of one or two temporally unaware individuals. Strength in numbers, right?

On the docket today: more paper grading, some research, fact finding, and writing, a run, some strength training, and perhaps some ultimate frisbee tonight as well.

Aaaand, We're Back!

Apparently summertime means I take a long, completely unintentional hiatus from blogging. You'd think the opposite would be true, given that I actually have some free time now that I'm not in classes, but there you have it.

A brief run-down of the last few months:

• I moved out of my crappy apartment right at the end of last semester--and not a moment too soon. So, so glad to get out of there. 
• I took a trip back out West to visit friends and family and ended up running races on both weekends I was there. First was the Dirty Dash (a 5-mile mud/obstacle run), and then the Sawtooth Relay (I'm now a four-time veteran of that one). This year was crazy; it snowed. Like unto a blizzard.
• I backpacked about 25 miles of the Appalachian Trail in 2.5 days with some pretty awesome people. Awesome = crazy (i.e., they did about 70 miles in 4 or 5 days the last time they went). I was really glad we decided to be less ambitious on this adventure.
• I joined a gym. While having access to treadmills during what is one of the hottest summers I've ever experienced is definitely nice, I have been kind of disappointed with the classes they offer. I have taken one really good spin class there (and I've tried a lot of them), and I am still trying to find a good muscle pump or weight lifting class to take (last night the instructor just didn't show up--lame). I miss my old gym, and my super rad, super buff, super inspirational pump teacher back in Utah. She was, obviously, super.
• I still have to find a half marathon to run this year! The full is off the table for now, but someday I will run another full. So help me.

Triple Tangent Tuesday

I've been entering data for HOURS today. It's one of the most tedious things I've done, and I still have HOURS more to go. So here's to taking a break and posting a few random tangents!

1. I have a love-hate relationship with Catch Phrase. I love it, because it's awesome and it's a word game. I hate it because I get seriously stressed out every time I play it. The beeping countdown makes me feel like Jack Bauer on the season finale of 24. And I have this embarrassing tendency to a) yell when I'm guessing/describing a word, b) fist pump every time my team gets a point, and c) throw the game set at the person sitting next to me when my team guesses the word instead of just handing it off like a normal person.  Like I said, it's embarrassing and strangely uncontrollable.

2. One of my favorite things to eat right now? Hummus + slices of red, yellow, and orange peppers + whole wheat wrap. Yum. The downside? Slicing the peppers. Blergh. Other than that though, it's super easy, fast, and yummy!

3. Ummmm...it would seem I have no more tangents for today. We'll call it a Two-Tangent Tuesday instead.

Counting Down!

Only 32 days till the Sawtooth Relay!! Teams 6 Tortoise and Lots of Hare and Tortoise in Training will be making their triumphant return this year. So. Stoked. (Slash, slightly worried about running at 6,000 feet after training at sea level...bah!)

Ukrop Monument Avenue 10K

Went to Richmond this weekend. Got to hang out with two lovely ladies. Ate some AMAZING fried chicken and grits (that's right, grits). Watched some GC. Sat in the same seat as Jason Mraz.

I'm pretty sure this means he and I should hang out. And he should maybe date me.

Oh, and ran the third largest 10K in the nation! The Ukrop Monument Avenue 10K takes place every year, and it's been rated one of the best races in the country (according to USA Today). I'd totally agree with that assessment. There were more than 40,000 runners, but I've never seen such an efficient race. Ever. In my life. Everyone started in waves, the race started on time, and it was smooth sailing all the way through to the finish! There were bands all along the course, and, as the name of the race suggests, tons of monuments to gawk at as we ran. They had great aid stations (maybe even too many, if you ask me), great volunteers, and sweet swag bags! The t-shirts left something to be desired (cotton...and pretty ugly). The post-race food was pretty standard (a la bananas and Powerade), but they also handed out the famous Ukrop White House rolls. They were indeed, life-changing.

Should you decide to run this race in the future, be advised: parking is insane, which makes sense with 40,000 people flocking to the start line. Because I stayed and ran with native Richmond-ers, I had the inside track to where to park, how to get there, and the best escape route. Traffic was super backed up, but we circumvented it all. I would have been right there in the thick traffic, cursing my horrible luck if I'd been on my own. So ask around, look up routes, and be prepared to be creative with parking. I think they have shuttles, but I'm not sure.

For another race review, check out Runner's World! They were totally there on Saturday!