We’ve seen a few places that we’ve liked, but nothing that we’ve loved.  We’re lucky that we can go month-to-month at the end of April and that we like our current place a lot – we can afford to be picky, and we are in a situation where we can jump if the right place for us shows up on the market. Which is good, because the great houses are on the market less than a week around here.  Hopefully once its spring and more homes go on the market, the prices will come down a bit. Right now, the three bedrooms in the neighborhoods we are looking at are at the top of what we’re comfortable spending, which means there isn’t money left over to make the house “ours.” I’m not talking major renovations, but odds are we’ll want to paint, replace carpets, possibly fix up some bathrooms (there’s a lot of pink or mint green tile around here).

So, that’s where we are. We may be putting in an offer this weekend, or we may be waiting until September, or maybe until next year.  And in the meantime, we’ll keep stalking the real estate websites like its our job.

“The Bean.” In the three times I’ve been to Chicago, I’ve never been to see The Bean. There were lots of strangers there!

February 5: 10am

Adam and I could not wear our Giants gear during the actual game (superstitious? us?), so I wore my t-shirt out to brunch (and then on the flight home the next day after the win… hurrah!).

February 6: dinner

We got back home Monday afternoon, then needed to head out to meet with our mortgage broker (yup), then went to the grocery store, so by the time we got home at almost 8 we had no desire to make real dinner, so microwavable mac n cheese it was. (This was probably the lamest night ever for this prompt – we actually eat some pretty interesting and healthy dinners around here!)

February 7: button

I ordered this custom notebook clutch from Etsy to hold three LobotoME notepads (Feed Me, Fit Me, Save Me).  It’s sort of our go-to household planner.

** I skipped February 3 (hands – just never got around to it), 8 (sun – it never came out!) and 9 (front door – our plain brown apartment door is completely uninteresting).

This is the mug I keep at work.  I purchased it at the American Art Museum after seeing Mike Wilkins’s Preamble on display. A pretty perfect mug for a lawyer, I think.

I’m headed out of the town for the weekend to our annual college reunion Super Bowl weekend party in Chicago. (Although I’ve missed the last two years to snow and work, respectively.)  We booked the tickets back when Adam was convinced the Giants weren’t even going to be in the playoffs, otherwise we’d most likely be watching Sunday’s game on our couch, away from distractions.  It’s going to be nerve-wracking to have to watch the game with a few dozen other people… including several Pats fans.

I’m going to try to keep up with the photo-a-day on Twitter, but I’ll post them here sometime after I get back.

Today’s prompt: your view today.

This is what I see when I look out my bedroom window — Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, the Capitol.  I love this city.

Here’s a recap of my January goals:

1. Don’t eat out in January (except for unavoidable work-related events and special events). We did great at this! The only time we ate out was this past weekend when we met our friends Carla and Aaron to watch a Maryland-VTech basketball game and decided to prolong our visit together with a dinner out (at a restaurant where the average diner was 65). I think that was a good enough reason. (The company, that is, not the food.)

2. Work out 4 times a week. I did this 3 out of 4 weeks. The week I pulled/strained/tweaked my calf while moving boxes in high heels, I only got in two workouts.

3. Be in bed by 10pm on “school nights.” Overall, I did pretty well at this. I was much better about this at the beginning of the month, but generally I have been getting to bed much earlier than I used to.

4. Do LAPS – 10 lunges, 10 abs (crunches), 10 push-ups, 10 squats – every day. Ugh, I stopped this about halfway through the month. I don’t know why this is so hard for me. It’s so easy… I just have to DO it.

5. Take vitamins every day. I’d say I probably did this about 2/3 of the time, which is much better than the once or twice a week I was probably averaging before.

And now for February!

1. Blog more. Seriously, I have been in such a rut.  Pretty much all I’ve blogged about lately is running (and this is not a running blog) or recapping my monthly goals. BORING. Back before getting a “real job” (and before Twitter), I’d post almost daily… sometimes more than daily! (Uhh, most of those posts did not make the transition over to this blog though, but I swear I did!) I miss it. I just need to find a way to fit it in more and not be so afraid of opening up a new post window when I think I have nothing to say.

2. Work out 4 times a week, including 1 day of strength training. It only took me 31 years (okay, probably more like 16 years), but I finally realized I will never be “skinny.”  My body just is not built that way.  Even at my lowest adult weight (127 lbs, which at 5’7″ and with my build is not a weight I can, or should, maintain), I didn’t look like I thought I would once I lost the weight. My hips, butt, and freakishly large ribs (seriously, I had to order my wedding gown two sizes up to accommodate them, which meant a LOT had to be taken in up top, ahem, and at the waist) don’t go away just because the pounds do.  So screw it, my goal is no longer to be skinny.  My goal is to have an awesome, STRONG body. I know I can turn some of that soft squishiness into muscle. I miss my old boxing arms.  I miss my toned legs, muscular calves.  (I’ve never had flat abs – that’ll take some serious work.)  It’s hard to fit in regular strength training with all my half marathon workouts, but I’m hoping that once I finish the race, I’ll have a good enough base that I can cut back on some runs and add in a lot more strength training, yet still maintain my speed and endurance. In the meantime, I need to start strength training at least once a week.

3. Do LAPS — 10 lunges, 10 abs (crunches), 10 push-ups, 10 squats — every day.  FOR REAL. I mean, COME ON. Just DO IT, SELF.

4. Plan a vacation. We really wanted to take a beach vacation last year, but we never got around to planning it. We really, really just need to buckle down and start planning one for this year, or else another year will pass us by without taking a trip that doesn’t involve going to someone else’s wedding. (Not that we don’t love going to our friends’ weddings… just that they probably shouldn’t be the only reason we travel.)

5. Take vitamins every day. Let’s see if I can actually make it a habit this month.

It was a gorgeous day for a run/tourist-dodging on the Mall.  Now I’m going to shower, eat some delicious breakfast (lunch? it’s 1pm!), and go meet my friends to see a college basketball game.

Today is a good day.

* * * * *

Week 3: 1/9-1/15

Monday

Rest. (Was supposed to be a strength training day, but I have totally been failing at this.)

Tuesday

3 mile run (32:50)

Wednesday

4 mile run (45:27)

Thursday

I was supposed to run 3 miles this day (and do some strength training, but you know how that’s going), but ended up working kind of late so decided to postpone it until Friday.

Friday

Aaaaand, then I didn’t make up my run.

Saturday

6 mile run (71:00)

I originally set out to do this run on the treadmill because it was pretty cold outside.  However, when we got down to the gym, there was only one available so I let Adam take it so he could watch the UConn game while running. The guys on the other two treadmills had just started, so I decided to go upstairs, change into cold weather gear, and head outside for a run. I told myself I just had to run one mile out, then could turn back around if I wanted to and do my 6 mile run the next day. Once I got to the 1 mile mark, I told myself I could get to 1.5, then turn around.  Then that I could get to the 2 mile mark and turn around.  I was still feeling good, so I just went to the 3 mile mark (which is the Washington Monument, BTW), then turned around. I ran the WHOLE thing.  It was a little slower than I would have liked but it’s the farthest I’ve run in the new shoes and my legs felt pretty good.

Sunday

Rest.

Week 4: 1/16-1/22

Monday

Rest. (I’m starting to give up on the idea of doing any strength training this time around.)

Tuesday:

3 mile run (36:04)

Although my legs felt pretty good after Sunday’s run, I think I must have overworked my muscles a bit, because I tweaked my left calf at work.  See, we were moving offices this week, and apparently packing and moving lots of boxes while wearing heels was NOT a good idea. As soon as I started my run, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf. It wasn’t just the soreness and tightness I had been getting a few weeks earlier… it was definitely pain. I ended up walking a lot of this run.

Wednesday

Rest. (Still resting my calf, which continued to hurt all day.)

Thursday

Ditto.

Adam suggested I wear his compression sleeve on his leg and see if that helped speed up the healing process. I was a little skeptical of this, but I figured it couldn’t hurt, so I wore it overnight.

Friday

Rest.

My leg actually felt better in the morning, so I decided to wear the compression sleeve all day and again overnight to see if I might actually be able to get my long run in on Saturday.

Saturday

7 miles (86:57)

I alternated between walking a quarter mile, then running a quarter mile, although I ran my quarter miles at a pretty good clip.  But my leg felt just fine!  I am amazed at how well the compression sleeve helped speed up my recovery. I guess I’ll have to buy a pair of my own.

Sunday

Spinning. I didn’t love the instructor, but it was a decent workout.  I picked up the new schedule and saw that my favorite spinning instructor is back and teaches Tuesdays at 6am and Thursdays at 7pm.  I might see if I can fit some of those classes into my schedule.

I’m also making the switch to “minimalist” running shoes, in the hopes that it will reduce my risk of injury – especially considering how prone I am to running injuries.  This means that I’m adapting my running form so that I am running with more of a front-midfoot strike, rather than a heel strike, which means that I am engaging my calves a whole heck of a lot more than they are used to. Adam made the switch last year and said it took him a few weeks to adapt.  Because my calves get tired/sore/tight more easily, I’m running slower and taking more walking breaks as I’m getting used to this new running form. I’m hoping that in a few weeks I’ll see the benefits of the minimalist shoes and be as fast, if not faster, as I had been at this point in my half marathon training last year.

* * * * *

Week 1:

Monday 12/26, Tuesday 12/27

Last two days before we start training – in Connecticut and traveling home.

Wednesday: 3 miles (33:00)

This run went pretty well, but my calves were SO SORE after. I was hobbling around a bit. Rolling them out helped a little, but they were still pretty sore and tight.

Thursday: 3 miles (32:57)

Ouch!  Although my pace was pretty much the same for this run as the day before, it felt WAY more difficult.  Good news is that my knees and the spot where I had my stress fracture didn’t hurt or feel tender at all… hopefully that means the new shoes/running form are working!

Friday

We had a 3 mile run on the schedule, but my calves were SO sore after Wednesday and Thursday that I figured it’d do more good to take a rest day before Saturday’s race.  Seriously, there were a couple of times I almost fell over while walking in my heels at work.

Saturday: Fairfax Four Miler

This is the second time we’ve run the Fairfax Four Miler on New Year’s Eve. It was still so warm (probably mid-40s/low 50s) at race time, I wore my knee tights, a short sleeve tech tee, and a light running jacket. (By comparison, last year, I was so freezing cold, I had to buy running gloves at the store when we checked into the race.)  My calves were still pretty sore, but I made it to the 3 mile marker before taking a walk break. I was actually on a pretty good pace, maybe 10:20/mile or so, for the first two miles, but my third mile was about two minutes slower.  But even though I walked a little of the fourth mile, it was faster than my third, and overall I ended up at about 11:00/mile pace, which is what I’d been running the training runs earlier in the week.

I ran this race 1:30/mile slower than my four mile race PR.  It feels kind of pathetic for my runs to be going so slow and for me to need to take so many walking breaks, but I need to remember that I’m teaching my legs a new way to run and that this is using my muscles in ways they aren’t used to.

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 43:52
Pace: 10:58/mile

Sunday

Rest

Week 2:

Monday

Rest. This was supposed to be a strength training day, but we did do a lot of cleaning and reorganizing of our apartment, so it isn’t like our muscles weren’t put to any use.

Tuesday: 3 mile run (33:58)

We are following the Whole Living Action Plan for January, which means that we were a little light on the calories and the protein this week. The plan does not recommend strenuous exercise in the first week, so I took the runs a bit slower this week than I would have been able to had we been eating differently.

Wednesday: 3 mile run (34:52)

See above.  Also, this was the first run where my calves were not super sore afterwards. I could definitely feel them and they were tighter than they used to be after a run in my old sneakers, but I was able to walk around just fine.

Thursday: 3 mile run (34:40)

Even less calf soreness and tightness. I felt kind of sluggish though – this was day four of the Action Plan and my body was starting to really feel it.

I skipped the strength training I was supposed to do this day. I’m going to either need to get up early to run and lift or go to Body Pump after work, or just plan on eating pretty late on Thursdays if I’m going to get this in.

Friday

Rest.

Saturday: 4.7 mile run/walk (1:08:00)

The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, so I decided to take my run outside. (I generally do all runs under 6 miles on the treadmill.)  I mapped out a 5 mile route, threw on shorts and a t-shirt (in January!), laced up my sneakers and headed outside.

My planned route was to take me over the bridge into DC and then do a lap around the Lincoln Memorial.  Problem was that I completely forgot about the construction around the reflecting pool and I had no idea how to re-route myself to still hit 5 miles. So I decided once I got to the Lincoln to just have this be my cross-training, and jog/walk (with an emphasis on walking – didn’t want to wear myself out) home.  I measured out the distance of what I think was my actual path and it was closer to 5 miles than I thought. Oh well… it was nice to just get outside in shorts and a tee in January, although it is WINDY on the bridge and it got cloudy towards the end, so I started to get a bit chilly on my way home.

Sunday: 5 miles (59:49)

I’m glad I ended up re-doing this run. Although it wasn’t easy (I was pretty tired), I felt pretty good for most of it and my legs felt SO much better.  I think they are starting to finally adjust to the new running shoes/form… and hopefully next week, my runs will be even stronger.