So Many Weekend Shenanigans!

I am going to attempt to keep this from turning into a novel, but I have a lot to recap from the weekend.

Friday night, I was home alone.  I got delicious take-out sushi, and made my own 6 pack of beer at the grocery store.  I chose 6 different kinds of beer that I have not tried yet so I could work on my 1001 in 101.  Friday, I ended up having 3 of the 6.

Saturday, I had to leave home by noon to meet Nick in Milwaukee.  I had intention of studying for an exam and running.  Instead, I cleaned the entire house, and then worked out like a fiend, which was more fun than studying.  I had the goal of burning 2000 calories last week, so I wanted to rack up some quick Ks.

Nick's mom got me a Garmin Forerunner 10, which I use all the time, and a Polar heart rate monitor, which I never use, for my birthday this summer.  Saturday, I finally decided to bust it out, and figure out how to use it.  To test it, I decided to run up and down our steps to get my heart rate up.  I found this to be a good, quick, workout so I did 2 sets of 5 minutes running up and down the stairs.  I ended up burning 128 calories doing this for only 10 minutes!  Sunday, and still today, my calves are super sore!!

After I ran up and down our stairs like a crazy lady, I wore the heart rate monitor while playing Wii Just Dance.  I danced for 35 minutes and burned 303 calories.  

Then, I decided to do a "long" run, and went out for 2 miles instead of just one.  Not going to lie, it was kind of tough.  Running up and down stairs and dancing before running probably didn't help, but I was still a little discouraged.  I thought 2 miles was going to be a breeze.  My first mile was 10:00 even, and then I had to bust my ass to get a negative split and finish my 2nd mile in 9:48.  To cool-down, I went for a .61 mile walk.  I wanted to walk further to get more mileage in, but it was misting and cold, and I was ready for a hot shower.            

Once I was showered and dressed, I left for Milwaukee.  I met Nick at his mom's house, and we visited with her and his grandma for a while.  Around 4, we left the dogs with them, and headed to Sheboygan for a friend's surprise birthday party.  Nick and I only stayed for dinner and a couple drink, and then we had to head back home.  And by home, I mean to Milwaukee first to get Nick's truck and the dogs, and then home.  We left Sheboygan around 10pm and didn't get home until almost 1am.  

All the girls from the surprise party

Sunday morning, for some horrible reason, I was up at 6am, after only 5 hours of sleep.  Since I couldn't fall back asleep, I figured I should get up and study because I wasn't going to have much time during the day because  Nick's step-mom planned the annual girl's shopping day for yesterday.  After studying for a couple hours, Nick and I headed to Freeport so I could shop with the girls.  

I am not a shopper.  I hate shopping.  Yesterday, I spent over 5 hours at a mall.  Five hours of my life wasted.  Ok, I should't say that.  It is always fun to hangout with my Beck and my future sisters-in-law.  We had a lot of laughs, and I will be getting some awesome stuff for Christmas now, i.e. kickass black boots.  

Nick and I got home last night around 7, and I was completely exhausted.  After lots of driving, not sleeping a whole lot, working out a ton, and shopping for hours on end, I was drained.  I told Nick I was going to take a quick catnap on the couch before I started studying.  Well, a quick catnap turned into Nick waking me up at 10, telling me to just go to bed.

That meant I had to study my ass off for my test today.  I actually just got back to my office from taking it, and boy oh boy do I think I bombed it.  Usually when I think I have done horribly on test, I end up doing ok.  My fingers are crossed that i at least get a B....

That, in short, sums up my weekend shenanigans.  To keep it short, I will write about my goals in another post.

An Adorable (!) LinkUp

Get ready for some freakin' cuteness overload with this linkup!! 

This new linkup is called, "Pets are People Too" and is hosted by Jade and Oak and Karly Kim.  It is a fun way to learn about other blogger's pets, and see a TON of cute pictures.  If you're an animal lover, check it out! 

If you have been reading this blog for more than a day, you should already know that I have two furbabies of my own, Molly and Skittles.  They are two kookie little dogs that we treat like our children.  We even bought a Burley bike trailer so we can take our dogs on bike rides with us...Yes, we are THOSE people, and damn proud of it!

The proof...

First up, Molly Elizabeth McGoo.

Molly is my sweet, old, baby-girl.  She is an 11 year old fox terrier.

Molly was actually originally my brother Dusty's dog when he adopted her from the Dane County Humane Society in 2007.  Dusty's wife is from New Zealand, and they made the decision to move back to New Zealand for awhile after my niece was born.  They did not know how long they would be gone, so they did not want to go through the process of taking an animal into another country.  My parents offered to keep Molly until they returned to the U.S. because they just couldn't see this lovebug back in a shelter.  Plus, she had already been in all our lives for about 2 years, and no one wanted her to go!

 During my 2008 fall semester of college, I opted to live at home with  my parents because I was studying aboard during the Spring 2009 semester, and did not want to have to deal with finding a sub-leaser for my apartment while I was out of the country.  Molly and I bonded over the next 4ish months, and I cried when I had to leave her behind.  When I got back from Italy 5 months later, this little pooch was BEYOND excited to see me, and I cried all over again.

About a month after I returned from studying abroad, Dusty and Kate returned from NZ.  They saw how close Molly and I had become over the year they were away, and they decided she was my dog.  She still gets uber excited to see Dusty and Kate, but she knows who her momma is now.

I've had my Molly-Monster (Nick's father's favorite nickname for her) for over 4 years!  She has seen me at my best, and at my worst, and yet she still loves me.  Molly has snuggled with me while I've cried, and ran around the house with me when I was excited.  She hates baths and the scent of oranges, but loves sleeping under the covers and going camping.

Furbaby #2, Skittles Marie McGee

Nick and I bought this little naughty baby as a puppy.  We bought her on 11/11/12, so we have had her for just over a year.  I call her naughty all the time, but it reality, she's a great dog!  Skittles was so easy to train, that it still blows my mind.  After having her for less than a week, she was already potty-trained, and starting to learn sit.  Nick and I are lucky in that neither of our dogs need to be on leashes.  They always go on leashes when we go for walks, but when we're just outside in our yard, or at someone else's house, they don't need them.  We were worried about trusting Skittles without a lease, but she had a good role model, and always just stuck by Molly's side.

Skittles is one of the quirkiest little dogs I have ever met.  She has just a distinct, silly, personality.  Her favorite activities include parkouring, running with mommy, and snuggling.  She hates wearing her sweater and when you make fun of her when she toots...I call her Princess Tooty Butt and she gets the saddest look on her face.  I feel a little guilty that I am shaming her, but it's just so darn cute and funny!  

Most of time, Skittles drives old Molly crazy, but deep down, I know Molly loves her little sister.  If another dog gives Skittles any grief, Molly is there in an instant to back her up.  

Our little Skittles and Molly mean the world to Nick and I, and we wouldn't trade them for anything!

Picking Up the Pace

Hello, my friends!  

So far this week, I have already gone on three runs.  They may be just over a mile each time, but I am still running!!  What I am most proud of this week, is that fact that my pace and overall time are getting faster each day.  This morning, I saw a 9:06 mile time, and an average page of 8:58! Seeing this improvement is highly encouraging, and makes me excited to start training for another race. 

I am pretty much all out booking it on these short little runs so once I start upping my mileage, I know I may not be able to maintain the same pace.  Truthfully, I am totally fine with that.  These short runs are giving me the confidence that I should be able to run a few miles comfortably at a 10:00/mile pace.  Basically where I was when I stopped running in August.  

By not running for a few months, I thought I had really set myself back.  According to the numbers though, I will be just fine :)

  

I may have taken a hiatus from running, but I'm getting back in game!!

Monday - 11/11/13 (I couldn't find my Garmin so I just had to use runningahead)

Tuesday - 11/12/13

Today - 11/14/13

-----------------------

26.77/150

1.14 Mile Run - 10:13

1.34 Mile Walk with Dogs - 22:27

596/2000
6.19/15

Chilly Run

Brrrrrr! It was a chilly run this morning!  

I put off my run for over an hour after I woke up because I didn't want to go outside.  The last temp I heard on the radio was 17 degrees.  Around 7 though, I knew I had to get to it, or I was going to run out of time.  

Since it was colder than it has been, I made Skittles wear her new sweater today.  You can't see it very well in the picture, but it's neon coral and purple.  Adorbs!  She was less than enthused to have it on, but I'm sure she was thanking me once we stepped outside.   

I thought I was going to have a speedy run this morning due to the cold and wanting to get back inside, but it was pretty average.  I felt like I was booking it, but my pace was right where it has been.  My mile time this morning was actually the slowest one I have had so far at 9:29.  Only the slowest by 3 seconds, that is...  My entire (very short) run was 1.12 miles in 10:32 with an average pace of 9:21.

Have a fabulous Tuesday, everyone!

----------------------

24.29/150

1.12 Mile Run - 10:32

.71 Mile Walk with Dogs - 11:43

360/2,000

3.71/15

Weekend Shenanigans & Goals

Happy Veteran's Day!!  

Thank you to all those who are serving, or have served, this country!

Now, time to look back on the weekend, and forward to this week.  For my weekend recap, I linking up with Sami for the first time.

As I mentioned in my Friday post, Nick and I had zero plans this weekend.  I was super excited about that, but by 8pm Friday night, I was already bored.  

On Groupon, I had seen a buy-one-get-one for a brewery tour so Nick and I decided to cash in on that.  Ashlee was invited too which means I was able to spend an awesome day enjoying a lot of beer with one of my bestie and my love.  'Twas a perfect Saturday, as we hit up both the Minhaus Brewery and New Glarus.

  At Minhaus I tried 7 or 8 different beers.  Though I did not really dislike any of them, I didn't particularly care for them either.  Each one had an extremely sweet aftertaste, no matter the style (porter, hefe, etc.) 

New Glarus is my favorite craft brewer of all time.  I may be biased on this since I was born, and raised, in New Glarus... But in reality, they have delicious beer!!  Nick and I frequent the NG brewery, so this weekend we only stopped by because Ashlee had never been there.  

Nick was not amused with our shenanigans.

Outside of the gorgeous NG Brewery.

After an eventful Saturday, I was ready to cash in on a lazy Sunday.  Nick was a sweetheart and brought me coffee as I reading in bed.  Then he was even sweeter, and made me breakfast in bed!  He's a keep for sure!  After we ate, we snuggled up in bed with the pups, watched a little tv, and actually fell back asleep until 10:30.

It. Was. Glorious!

During the week, Nick and I get up around 5:30.  On the weekends, we usually get pretty wild (NOT), and end up sleeping in until 6-6:30.  It's been ages since I've slept until 10:30, but it felt great. 

Once we woke up for real, we really didn't do too much.  We did clean the house a bit, and I ended up making a bunch of food.  I made beer and cheddar soup for freezer lunches, and butternut squash pasta for lunch/dinner.  I also pre-made chipotle cheddar meatloaf for dinner tonight.  All we need to do is reheat it when we get home tonight.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

And now, onto this week.

I took Skittles running with me again this morning.  I made the decision to stick with running a mile for one more week.  Next week, I plan on starting a training program.  I just haven't decided for which distance yet.  It is going to be 10k or a half marathon, but as the snow starts to fall, I'm probably going to do more indoor running.  I despise running on the treadmill so I might chose the 10k just because my runs will be shorter.

Since I am finally getting back into the workout groove, I need to make sure I am eating well too.  I also want to set some easily attainable goals to help encourage myself.

1.  Track everything I eat.
I've been a bit blasé about nutrition lately, and that needs to stop.  I need to know how many calories I am eating, and how many I am burning.  That being said...

2.  Burn 2,000 calories.
Since I have failed the last few times I have tried to reach the elusive 3,500, I am scaling it back a bit.

3.  Bank at least 15 miles for the 150 in 15 challenge.

---------------------------------
22.46/150
1.15 Mile Run - 10:41
.73 Mile Walk with Dogs - 12:30