Summer is here!

The big 3-0 is right around the corner! It feels as if summer vacation is on its way and my to-do lists are ever growing. I have just the right amount of time to complete everything before we head out of town for vacation.

I had a genius idea around the 10th of June to compile a post per day, documenting every birthday thus far. Alas, I haven't kept the idea fresh in my mind when I'm around my mom's to poke around albums for birthday photos. I probably have a few on my flickr page and a few loose childhood photos floating around that I could scan.

We're still running into our 30s with Couch to 5k. W8D2 is next, although W8D1 was mighty difficult for both of us, mentally and physically. Here's the segment I'd like to call 

Awesome running tips!

1. Clip your toe nails and keep them short! Ugh. I found this out the hard way when my pinky toe dug into its neighbor, leaving an icky and painful mess. 
2. Don't consume juice or anything sugary prior to a run; stick with water!
3. Stretch. And when you haven't stretched enough, stretch a little more. 
4. Drink more water. Water, water, WATER.
5. If it's warmer outside than normal, run a little slower to ease into the hotness/humidity.  

I've been browsing 5k listing for late July/early August, hoping to peak Andy's interest (he finds them to be expensive). Yes, they can be with participation in frequent races, but think of the accomplishment you'd feel once complete! He won't read this so I might be preaching to the choir, but he's in veg mode at the moment and it's hard to retain his attention. Ugh, again. 

45 minutes later... We're registered for the Race for the Homeless, taking place on August 6, 2011! YAY! http://www.raceforthehomeless.org/ Matched donations will support Open House Ministries which helps homeless folks and families achieve self sufficiency.

Next agenda item... bed! I have more to share and will most likely have a few moments to write a post tomorrow.

Why not?

Win a trip to Paris!  http://ohhappyday.com/2011/06/goes-to-paris

Another lazy Sunday

Not much to report in regard to the weekend. I spent most of yesterday catching up on the last few episodes of Law and Order: SVU while Andy worked. Here are some other updates in bullet point formation:

• Our Las Vegas vacation begins in 38 days (as well as my 30th birthday)! We'll be staying at the Golden Nugget on historic Fremont Street, taking in dinner and a show, relaxing by the pool, drinking, perusing the multiple buffets, and potentially getting swayed into hopping on a few rides. I've been on the NYNY coaster and the Big Shot atop the Stratosphere, but the other two rides scare the bejeezus out of me!
  
  
  
• We celebrated Andy's 31st birthday last week with family at Gustav's.
  
  
  

  

  My nephew Tommy is a huge ham!

  

  Happy Birthday Andy!

  
  

  
  
• We hiked Dog Mountain on Thursday and it took us just over 5 hours round trip, but was well worth the multiple days of sore calves and core muscles. This is our second hike of the season; our first was the very easy Multnomah Falls. Not all of the flowers were in bloom on Dog Mountain, but the weather was perfect: 75 degrees, plenty of sun and minimal wind. No rattlesnakes were sighted, but we did encounter a bit of poison oak.



I wasn't too sure how I was going to make it up the side of the mountain.






The last .4 miles!






Us at Puppy Point






Andy, on top of the world.



Looking northwest toward Mt. St. Helens.






Looking southeast into the Columbia River Gorge.






Looking west.






The last pull to the summit!

• We're still in the midst of C25K and will be running W6D2 this evening. It's been nice to engage in other outdoor activities, and we've also had to kick our own behinds a few times to run in the rain (which is actually quite refreshing). I was very surprised that I could run for 20 minutes at a pretty decent pace, without stopping! We've been looking around for 5k races that are compatible with our schedule, but need to do a little more research before we commit.

Week 2!

I was a day ahead of Andy, so I repeated W1D3. HOLY COW! My shins pretty much gave out on me and I walked for runs 5-7. Again, I caught my second wind and was able to complete the last two runs. Andy's shins also gave him grief... I'm quite glad that I had the chance to repeat this run.

W2D1: It definitely felt easier running longer and stopping less. The shins were still a tad achy, but the workout seemed to zoom by.

W2D2: The endurance is there! This run was by far the least tiring, but the shins (again) were not having it. Not as painful as the extra run in W1, but enough to not allow for speedy jogs.

Overall, we're completing about 2 miles of walking/jogging each time AND we've managed to workout out 4 out of the last 7 days! Tomorrow will bring W2D3; here's hoping the last two days of rest will have helped the muscles repair!

In other news, we went out to Screen Door last night for dinner and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the Screen Door Plate that included a few samples of their house made mac & cheese, fried catfish and coleslaw. Andy had a massive portion of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and collard greens. We also ordered the hush puppies as an appetizer, not realizing how large the dinner portions would be. We brought home a LOT of leftovers! Following our feast, we checked out Full Metal Jacket at the Laurelhurst Theater for $3, while enjoying some after dinner coffee and candy. Talk about being desensitized to all things war... What's crazy is that I had previously seen the first 45 minutes of the film in a high school video production class, complete with all swearing and graphic imagery. Watching it 12 years later, I'm wondering how my teacher got away with showing it to a bunch of 16 and 17 year old kids. I recall him stating that the language wasn't anything we hadn't heard before, and we were supposed to pay attention to the filming style and incorporation of music. It's definitely an attention keeper no matter what your age!

Couch to 5k

If you're unfamiliar with Couch to 5k, the program gets you off the couch and jogging 3 times/week. By the end of 9 weeks, you should be able to run non-stop for 30 minutes. Here's a link for a synopsis of the workouts.

Personally, I'm still undecided on running a 5k. However, I have a feeling Andy is interested and we'll sign up for something before too long. I just completed W1D3 and Andy completed W1D2. I may repeat day 3 to stay on par with him and the extra run shouldn't hurt either.

Day 1: Felt like blah, running in cloudy weather on the nearby Burnt Bridge Creek trail. The run was easy at first; I made it 2/3 of the way before I felt super achy all over and walked the last 8 minutes.

Day 2: Felt okay, running in cloudy weather on the road/grass. Definite shin splints during the first 10 minutes, although I felt alright until the half way point and started dragging during the 5th run. I caught my second wind for the last two runs

Day 3: I felt good, running in cloudy weather on the BBC trail. I tried landing on my toes instead of my heels, which seemed to help keep away the shin splints. I did have a few right foot cramps for the first 5-10 seconds of the last few walks.

I'm trying to stretch for 20-30 minutes each day to keep myself limber. Yesterday before my run, I pulled a muscle in my back but ran anyway as it felt better than sitting in pain. Hopefully the strain will subside with my heating pad, stretching and rest!