Simple Things and Highlights

Hello! I hope you all had a great weekend!

Mine was just as I predicted it would be: relaxing, yet productive.

I spent the majority of my Friday cleaning and organizing the house. I took some time cleaning out my closet and made a trip to TJMaxx to pick up a few things. I also got my eyebrows threaded and am totally back on that train again. I don’t know what it is, but threading usually shapes them better to my liking, and I found a new place in the same shopping strip only five minutes from me. Score!

It also happens to be right next to a Chipotle. You know you’re getting older when… the highlight of your day is a Chipotle salad. Then studying. Turn up, ya’ll.

Saturday

The official weekend started with beautiful views like this.

Alex came over to tackle 8 miles of training with me and we hopped on the trail closest to my house. I’ve only taken it more than my normal four mile loop a time or two and found a surprise along the way!

I have mentioned it on the blog before, but the two of us will be joining a team of over 800 (!!!) with our church to run the Detroit Free Press Marathon for a great cause in less than a month. We are running the International Half which crosses over the bridge and back under the tunnel to and from Canada! Pretty cool, right?

To be honest, our run was a bit of a struggle. We finished with a decent time, but stopped a few times for a stretch here and there.

For those of you who have asked me, I do take water with me on longer runs. I usually carry it for a mile or two, then strategically hide it in a bush or something to grab again on my way back.

Sneaky, sneaky.

When we got off of the trail, we ended up being on the uphill side of the street and learned to take a different route next time. The weather was perfect, so I was thankful for that. Even through the harder runs, I still can’t get over how close I live to rivers and trails like this.

(This awkward faces photo obviously needs to be included.)

It really is breathtaking!

Directly following our run, we treated ourselves by hopping in the car and driving over to Downtown Rochester to try a new spot for brunch.

Rochester Brunch House is relatively new to the area and Scott and I only stumbled upon it a couple of weeks ago. I absolutely loved the light and airy, somewhat fancy environment!

Skipping the coffee (for now) we both ordered a small orange juice to up our sugar levels and similar meals. I ordered the Turkey Omelet with turkey sausage, peppers, onions, and Swiss cheese with a side of potatoes and whole grain toast.

I may have been a bit biased (every meal after a long run is the BEST meal), but everything was really good!

With full bellies, we ran a couple of errands together, including a stop at Dick’s Sporting Goods for some training necessities.

Alex has been dealing with a tight IT band which has caused a pain behind her knee when she runs, so I made her purchase a firm foam roller. I also pushed her to invest in a pair of quality running socks, running shoe insoles, and fuel for our next long run.

I found a Thera-roll 3.5″ firm roller while we were there! It has been amazing to use on my neck and feet, and I highly recommend it for anyone who likes to work out sore muscles in those areas. (<- everyone?)

I have received a handful of questions asking what I use and specifically what I do extra for training purposes, and I plan on dedicating an entire post to the products and tips I have gathered along the way. Stay tuned!

Sunday

I spent the morning at church, then went grocery shopping to grab the staples I need for the week and consider that to be my food prep. I have also been wanting to share a post describing what exactly “food prep” means to me. Thank you to those who have shared your suggestions for me to do so. I swear, it’ll happen one of these days!

I made a quick stop into the pet store on the way home, and of course, came out with more than just cat food.

I kind of went a little crazy there. New collars for the girls, a spoon just to use on their wet food (four years later? I’m a genius), a new hanging scratching board, and a fun toy that hides treats to get them to be more active all left with me. I’m ridiculous, but they didn’t seem to mind.

The highlight of my Sunday was a walk around the neighborhood with Roadie. It’s getting chillyyyy, friends.

The rest of my afternoon centered around eating all of the chips in the house studying, then back at church for our youth ministry (Alex and I are leading a small group together!), and I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning studying some more and eating whatever chips were left.

Scott and I are joining some friends in Ohio for a day at Cedar Point next weekend, but other than that, I have a feeling these weekend recaps are going to be somewhat repetitive for the next couple of weeks. With less than a month to go for my CPT test followed by the half the same weekend, I have some major studying, reviewing, and running to do in order to prepare myself. My goal is not to bore you, I promise!

Currently, Scott is overseas working an event for the NBA in France. I just got word that he is done for the day and is currently relaxing at the Mediterranean Sea. No big deal. Hey, maybe he can entertain you with his stories while I’m in studying snooze-ville? That would be interesting.

All right. It’s time to get to work. I hope your Monday has started on a great note. See you in a bit!

>> linking up with Katie for Marvelous in my Monday!

What was one simple thing that turned into a highlight over your weekend?