Third day to 5K

So all I could think while pounding the treadmill at a blazing 4.8 mph (instead of the 5 mph I did the previous two days) was "Man, it isn't any easier to 'run' for 60 seconds."

Which is partly why I slowed it down, cause if I'm ever going to make it farther going faster than a fast walk, then I need to be able to more comfortably make it through these intervals.  

But I still felt kinda down on the whole thing. 

Then I went to my Pinterest board "Words Matter" and re-read this little ditty that I re-pinned:

Source: here

Cue the "duh" moment.

In just over 29 minutes I still managed to do about 1.8 miles at an incline of 1 going an average of 3.7 mph (I think this is magic- cause I don't know how that remains the same).

So I should say "yay me!"

In the words of Santigold: "I got to be unstoppable." (Disclaimer: this was playing on one of my Spotify playlists while I wrapped up the post, hence the inspiration.)

If you aren't familiar with it here's the song (no crazy video this time.) Enjoy!

Second day to 5K

Today I did the second day of Couch to 5k that I talked about on my First day to 5K blog post . This was just as hard, probably cause I went to the gym last night and did a dance class (or would have it been even harder if I completely rested?). 

Again my average speed was about 3.7 (I don't know where I got 3.79 last time) and total milage for just over 29 minutes was 1.80. 

Aptly, this has been floating around Pinterest (just let me know if you want an invite) and I'll just say, I really only feel like the bottom image. No way am I like Lola in Run, Lola, Run, just yet. 

Apparently this was found here, but I couldn't find the exact location. 

 And I'll leave you with this thought because I'm sure it applies to you too. "Every day I'm shufflin'"

First day to 5K

You read that correctly.  Today I did the first run in my now 9-week goal to being able to run a 5K. I download the mps from this Podrunner Intervals website here. So in just over 29  minutes I did 1.75 miles on the treadmill at the gym at an incline of 1.  After my cool down, my average speed was 3.79 mph. 

But let's get it straight, I just want to be able to run without feeling like a fish out of water.  Or even jog. I think this image pretty much sums it up. 

Found on Pinterest and pinned from here. 

Today was rough towards the end, but it felt good to do it.

The big 3-0!

I started this blog a year ago tomorrow.  It was the day after my 29th birthday and I was having that last year of my twenties anxiety that seems to float around. Well, the year was amazing and this weekend we celebrated with a trip to South Padre Island. (Thanks to my free birthday day off from work!!)

The beach was awesome. The weather was gorgeous and the sun beat us into the cool ocean with its unbelievable heat.

Naturally, we had mimosas! We keep things classy with the strawberry garnish!

But we know how to have fun while on vacation too!

The amazing view from our amazing condo!

Justin's big beer and my sampler beer at Padre Island Brewing Company.

Birthday Bar-B-Q lunch at Van's on the way back from SPI.

I think the best Bar-BQ joint sausage I've ever had.

Homemade Chocolate Pecan Pie from my awesome friend and neighbor.

Other highlights:

• Tossing the Frisbee on the beach.
• Seeing what we thought were baby sharks in the water. (Highlight cause I'll never forget it.)
• Awesome Friday night Fajitas.
• A beautiful homemade birthday dinner by Justin: Wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon crumbles, Filet Mignon and shrimp with a Gorgonzola cream sauce, roasted asparagus and broccoli, oven baked macaroni and cheese, and an awesome chocolate cake with a fun frosting I picked out.  I was too busy eating to take pics of all of this awesomeness. 
• Fun with Friends.

  It was a super fun weekend! I'm definitely stoked for the all the fun to come in the next year. 

Oh Wookie!.

Our cute pup, who I prefer to think of curled into a giant puppy ball as seen here:

threw up. Yes. He threw up part of what appeared to be a towel he ingested. Normally this is not notable, but he is now sleeping in our bedroom at night. Not in our bed- that's like an extra person- but on the floor like the sweet puppy he is. 

But this morning at 5:30am- he threw up. I didn't take a picture to share because, really, who wants to see that? Definitely not me. And I had to get up close and personal with it to detect what it was. He has an old beach towel that he lays on to chew down his rawhides and he's torn it apart a bit too.  Well, he must have still had some chewing to do. And I have no idea how he managed to swallow it either. I also hoped this wasn't an omen as to how my day would go- so far, so good.

A contributing factor to this might have been all the bread he ingested on Monday. You might be thinking, "what are you talking about Ariana?" Well we had bought some yummy and delicious smelling King's Hawaiian rolls and 8 HEB Bolillo rolls and when I got home, they were gone, save a piece of cardboard wrapper and a shred or two of plastic bag. Our pup is apparently a carb addict just like his mommy.

For those concerned, he was his usually happy-go-luck self by the time we left for work.

My 30th Birthday Week!

The week leading up to my birthday suddenly got a whole light brighter when I found the following on my desk at work upon my return from lunch:

Pretty birthday flowers!

A balloon to go with them!

Everyone at work was confused and suddenly thought my birthday was today. But nooooo, my dear friend Amy (with an assist from my husband) sent them to me to start the week off the right way.

A bonus with these flower- they want you to reuse the vase so if you bring the vase and a coupon that came with them to a 1800flowers location they will fill the vase with $10 worth of flowers!  So it's like two gifts in one! And the closest location is only 5 minutes from my office. Winning!

Happy Fourth of July!

The pool is ready, the meat is marinating and the patriotic funfetti cupcakes courtesy of my friend Amy are ready to be eaten.

So far it's been a awesome long weekend!  Hope everyone has a great Day, with or without the fireworks!

And if you want some fun here's the link to all the NPR reporter reading the Declaration of Independence.

What are you doing to celebrate?