July 3, 2009

Loving the extra weekend day

It was great to have today off and nothing super pressing to get done. I slept in until almost 9:30 and worried that it was going to be blazing when I left for my run, but it really was nice. We've had several low-humidity days lately that have been amazing for this time of year in D.C. I wonder what we are in for in the later part of the summer...but I am going to try to remember these reprieves when I am wishing for winter in the coming weeks.

I used my foam roller and did some muscle-activation exercises before I left the house and ended up feeling pretty good. I ran a bit on the Capital Crescent and mostly on the roads in one of the fancier parts of Bethesda. Lots of house envy. I was careful with my stride and did not have too many knee/leg complaints. I was a little tired, but I can handle that.

I did about 30 minutes of biking when I got back and by the time I was done with that and all showered it was somehow noon. Matt had a little bit of work to do today and I did some work on the slideshow I am putting together for my sister's wedding. Tonight, we decided to have a little date night in Georgetown--we hardly ever go there to hang out anymore--and had a late but very good dinner at Agraria, which is known for its use of local and organic ingredients. We even stopped for ice cream on the way back to the car. It was a real, old-fashioned date for married people.

Tomorrow we are heading down to Charlottesville for the weekend to visit friends of ours who are professors at UVa. It is supposed to be a beautiful town and I am hoping to be able to run a bit while I'm there.

Happy Fourth of July weekend to all!

Posted by becky at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)

July 2, 2009

Kicking off the long weekend

Boy, am I beat. We had another couple over for dinner tonight which is rare during the week. Of course, tomorrow isn't a real work day, so it's not too bad, but it's a lot more planning and organization than I usually have to worry about on a Thursday night! All went well though and we had a nice time. Our guests even left behind a caramel chocolate cake--score!

I had a hard time waking up this morning and I decided just to hop on the bike rather than divide my time between running and biking. I wanted to watch the last episode of Season 2 of "Brothers & Sisters," even though I will have to wait a long time to get the DVD of the season that just ended. It was a good episode and I have been very successful at avoiding any current news about the show so I am in good shape for the release of the next installment, whenever that may be. I don't remember too much about my spin so it must have been pretty decent.

I had heard that we were going to get out of work early today and looked forward to it all day, but I wasn't able to leave until close to 4:30 because I was finishing something up. There wasn't really enough time to go to the gym and lift before I had to get ready for dinner so I went home and did a bit more biking while watching a "Jon & Kate Plus 8" retrospective on the previous ten years.

That brings me up to date and I am going up to bed.

Posted by becky at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

July 1, 2009

Short week that feels long

I was really tired when I finally dragged my butt out of bed this morning. It took me a little while to mentally wake up and decide whether today was meant to be a running or biking day. I did a little of both, but mostly running. I did a very hilly route and focused on my form to make sure that I wasn't getting lazy and forgetting what I was supposed to be doing. It was slow goings at first, but I ended up finishing feeling pretty strong. My knee/leg didn't bother me during the run much but as usual was a bit sore later. The post-run biking that I did was easy; I didn't even get out of the saddle while pedaling along to last night's "Tori and Dean."

Matt and I both worked from home today for a couple of hours while we had our handyman fixing some things. I'm glad to be able to cross some of those "to fix" items off my list. Even though I didn't get to the office until around noon, my day seemed long. I think it was just in comparison to the past couple of weeks, which were ridiculously packed. The office has been quiet this week with a lot of people on vacation and I'm sure it will be silent tomorrow.

The gym was also pretty quiet. I rushed around trying to be quick and left at the same time I always do. I had a bunch of errands to do so I was trying to save time. But we're all settled at home now...just in time for bed.

Posted by becky at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

June 30, 2009

Take me out to the ball game

Today was a one-workout day because we had an evening company outing to a Frederick Keys game, the first minor-league baseball game I've even been to. It took a long time to get there (traffic) and we are home later than usual on a "school night," but it was a lot of fun to hang out with work friends outside of work, especially because today was the end of a rather stressful project a bunch of us have been working on. Matt came with me to the game so there was much socializing to be done.

I knew I would be busy tonight so I tried to squeeze in a slightly longer spin this morning. I got a few extra minutes, but (as usual) not quite as many minutes as I wanted. I think I forgot to turn up the a/c in the basement--or else I was working harder than usual--because I was really working up quite a sweat. My knee did not bother me on the bike but I did have my usual few twinges every so often walking around.

While we were at the game tonight, we got the great news that friends of ours who have been seeking to adopt are now parents of a newborn girl. We are so happy for them!

Posted by becky at 10:51 PM | Comments (0)

June 29, 2009

Perspective

When I was about to leave for work this morning, I was in a pretty good mood--I had a decent run (although I would have some discomfort walking around the rest of the day), and even had a few extra minutes to bike before I had to get in the shower. Then I checked my email and saw a note from my co-worker that the woman who had died in the tree-falling accident that I ran by on Saturday had been a close friend of hers. I talked to her about it later at work (she came in for a few hours) and it just reminded me how things can really change in an instant. I tried to remember that when I got down later in the day realizing that my knee was bothering me a bit.

At the gym tonight, one of the trainers who knows me mentioned that she had seen me "running or doing whatever it was I as doing" this morning. I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it but I wondered whether she thought I was walking because I was so slow? I think it was just a weird comment.

My grandfather in Boston had minor surgery today and everything went well. I was glad to hear the news. It put a positive spin on a strange day.

Posted by becky at 9:25 PM | Comments (1)

June 28, 2009

Another weekend ends

I'm glad to say that this weekend actually felt pretty long. I got a bunch of little things accomplished, got to watch a lot of track and caught up with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile, among other things. I started the day out on the bike, although I had intended to run. I just felt like my knee was a little tight when I woke up and felt strangely in the mood to sit on the bike instead of heading outside. My knee didn't end up bothering me and I actually had a good, hard workout--and caught up on some "Brothers & Sisters" and a new show that might be my most embarrassing one yet. It's an ABC Family show about aspiring gymnasts--clearly aimed at a much younger audience, but how can you turn off a show that stars Candace Cameron? I don't think I've seen her in anything since her "Full House" days.

I spent the next few hours hanging out with my friend from grad school who was in town for a Monday meeting. We had brunch (I made waffles) and took a walk in the shopping area closest to our neighborhood. It was a really nice time and great to catch up with her. I did some errands after that and then decided (just as it started to rain actually) to jog up to the gym to lift because I've got a couple of evening commitments this week and will have to stray from my usual routine. My knee behaved on the run there and back and the gym was nice and empty. So I got one lifting session for the week under my belt already, which feels good.

With all my activities today (watching track was in there, of course), I haven't had time to read the paper yet, so I'm off to do that.

Posted by becky at 9:26 PM | Comments (0)

June 27, 2009

Wishing for something better

Even though I sort of hit the wall on my run last Saturday, my knee didn't bother me (Sunday either) and I thought I had turned a corner. I can't call today's run bad--I did get into a rhythm after a couple of miles and didn't have two much discomfort--but my knee's been sore the rest of the day, mostly going down stairs. It's really a shame, because the weather was great for June in D.C. (no humidity) and I did the same loop I did last Saturday only in reverse. I ran along Connecticut Ave. for a couple of miles and noticed lots of tree work at a major intersection. I didn't think much of it until I got home and read in the paper that a woman and a child in a van had been killed by a falling tree in that intersection last night during a brief, but violent storm that we had (high winds, hail, the usual summer t-storm). The woman had been driving a carpool, it seems, and all of the other kids in her van survived, thankfully. What a week for tragic news.

I'd say that the last 2 miles of my run (I ran for just over an hour) were probably the best today, which is why I was surprised when I had so much discomfort later in the day. I did bike when I got home, but not for too long and very easily. I iced for a bit in the afternoon, figuring it couldn't hurt.

Matt was at the office for a few hours today and I met him up in Bethesda tonight for dinner. I spent the day doing a major house cleaning and then working on the photo slideshow for my sister's rehearsal dinner. I should have spent more time outside since it was actually bearable for once, but the bugs in our hood are unbearable.

I am getting ready to watch my DVR'd coverage of USAs from tonight. I am appalled at what happened in the steeple trials with the water jump--that is so dangerous! I knew something happened to Nicole Bush as soon as I saw her get up after stumbling and it's amazing that she apparently finished the race on a broken ankle...wow. It seems that every night so far has had some drama and I look forward to seeing what tonight brings.

Posted by becky at 8:19 PM | Comments (0)