week in review; june 30–july 6

Monday, June 30: 1.02 miles

Tuesday, July 1: 3.50 miles

Wednesday, July 2: 1.58 miles

Thursday, July 3: 3.30 miles

Friday, July 4: 7.4 miles in honor of Independence Day (+ .5 mile walk home)

Saturday, July 5: 1.54 miles

Sunday, July 6: 1.16 miles and Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred Level 1


Week total: 19.50 miles

#RWRunStreak Challenge total: 116.52 miles

July 4 was officially the last day of the Runner's World Streaking Challenge, but I wasn't quite ready to let the streak go, so continued on through Sunday. The thought of the streak and keeping it alive really kept me motivated and pushed me out the door everyday. I didn't want to disappoint myself by missing a day, and getting at least one mile done everyday made me feel accomplished. It may sound silly, but I was proud of myself for completing the challenge by running 40 consecutive days in a row. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if I could handle it. I know a mile a day isn't that much, but finding the time and energy (even on stormy days or sick days) to get out there would be my challenge, so having gone all 40 days makes me happy.

Tuesday was Day 1 of Dopey training, which was also on Thursday and should have been Saturday. Since I did a longer run on Friday, I skipped the scheduled 3 miles on Saturday and just did 1.5. I guess it's sort of a swap of days, though I did a longer run than was part of the training. I'm really excited to get started on training. I still have a few months before I have to worry about mileage, since days where I have to run more than I have so far doesn't begin until October. I'm hoping the running streak has helped prepare my body (even if just a little bit) for the back-to-back race days.

As far as fun things during the week: Thursday my hometown had their parade and fireworks. Friday my husband and I went to my cousin's house for a BBQ. On Saturday we went to the in-laws for some pizza. When we got home, I started to feel like I might be coming down with something (sinus/throat), so I drank some chamomile tea and went to bed early. Yesterday I had a lot of errands and house cleaning to do, so I didn't have much time to relax (or at least not as much as I was hoping for). I participated in the #RunChat, watched "True Blood", and then went to bed (though I had a lot of trouble sleeping). As far as eating, I might have overindulged and need to pay better attention of what I'm eating this week.

How was your weekend? Any races? Family or friend BBQs? I hope you had a chance to run a few miles and eat some delicious food :)

friday five: fourth of july

Technically it's Saturday evening, so I'm a little late to the Friday Five. My apologies, but better late than never, right? I am linking up with the DC Trifecta again for another Friday Five: Courtney at Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia at You Signed up for What?, and Mar at Mar on the Run. This week's theme is "Fourth of July". Here are five things that are on my weekend calendar/to-do list (or things that at this point are already completed...)

1. Hometown parade and fireworks/BBQ at moms house. Every year my hometown has a parade and fireworks the day before the fourth. I get the pleasure of spending time with my mom, sister-in-laws, nephews, parent-in-laws, and other family members (or family of family members, but to me, it's all the same :) ). During the parade, I help all the kids in our group gather as much thrown candy as possible – it's like Halloween for them. After the parade, my brother cooks up some burgers, brats, and hot dogs, and we eat lots of yummy food (this year I went with some pasta salad, potato salad, fruit salad, and a cheeseburger. And for dessert, a small piece of vanilla cake with strawberry filling) while the fireworks go off not too far from the house. It was a lovely evening.

2. Finish the running streak on July 4 with a 7.4 mile run. I actually ended up going about 8 miles total, but I stopped my watch at 7.4 for the purpose of the day. It was in the upper 70s/low 80s and sunny, but it was a pretty good run and didn't feel too miserable out. I almost stopped at 4.7 because I was having a bit of hamstring and arch pain, but after continuing at a slow pace during mile 3, the pain subsided, so I kept going for the intended 7.4 miles without any issues.

3. Another family BBQ. I was lucky enough to spend more time with family on the Fourth – cousins I don't get to see very often. More delicious food was eaten (bbq chicken, steak in tortillas, corn on the cob, and apple pie).

4. Relax. It's a very rare thing in my calendar to have nothing scheduled, so I plan on enjoying it with some couch time on Saturday and Sunday watching movies/tv shows, playing Super Mario World on Wii, and reading. 

5. Cleaning/errands. I have plenty of laundry and cleaning to do this weekend, along with a few errands. I'm hoping to make it to Target to look for some goggles and a swim cap. Then the only thing left to do will be to join the gym and start using the pool!

What were your Independence Day plans? Anything fun planned for Sunday? 

Again, sorry this post is coming to you late!! I wish I was better at blogging early and scheduling posts, but I'm just not there yet. I hope you aren't too upset. I'll get the hang of this one day...

I'm grateful for the freedoms we have in this country, and remember/think of all those that have helped us gain/keep these freedoms (both past and present). 

Thanks to Courtney, Cynthia, and Mar for hosting! Make sure to check out their "Friday Five" posts (links to the specific posts are at the top of the page) and link up if you are joining in!

Have a great weekend (what's left of it), everyone! I hope you were able to celebrate Independence Day with friends and family, and enjoy a longer weekend :)