Hi friends! We had quite a treat this past weekend – randomly warm temperatures. Cue the run dates – hooray!!
My friends Kathleen, Sarah, and I met up for a run on Saturday morning and seriously the ENTIRE city was out there with us. It was so fun – everyone was clearly as eager as we were to enjoy the spring-like temperatures (60 degrees?!), especially after the snow/ice lately!
We had the best run – it felt so good to be out there with two of my best friends enjoying such a lovely day.
We did a nice loop from Georgetown over to Hains Point and the tidal basin and back, chatting away the whole time.
Such a blast! There’s nothing quite like running endorphins + a nice day + two good friends. 6 miles – done!
After our run, we walked over to Kafé Leopold in Georgetown for a little brunch action! I’d never been there before – it’s tucked away in a cute little alley just south of M street. I had their avocado toast with poached eggs and a crispy ham – perfection. Plus an unpictured mocha and a shared pastry because we wanted something sweet while we waited for our entrees!
Matt was off playing soccer so when I got home I took advantage of the beautiful day by taking a nice stroll and listening to a podcast. Then, I sat on the porch and read magazines and the newspaper for a couple hours and relaxed. It was glorious. 🙂
On Saturday night, we went out to dinner with a HUGE group of friends to Boulevard Woodgrill, one of our Arlington faves. We had some friends in town visiting so it was a good excuse to get everyone together. 🙂 I meant to get a photo of our 20+ person crew, but got distracted by food and conversation. I did get one of me and Kathleen, though! We thought a non-sweaty blog photo was in order for once. 😉
It was really great to catch up with so many old friends! After dinner, we moved the party over to a friend’s place for more chatting.
Sunday morning, I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed for another run! I was feeling a bit sore/tired but I had made plans to meet my friend Sokphal as well as some of my track group buddies for an 8:30 a.m. jaunt. It was another nice morning so I couldn’t complain. 🙂
To my surprise given how I felt when I first woke up, I felt AWESOME on this run! We gradually sped up and split into two groups and I stuck with the faster crew.
Since I had just run the day before, I was originally only planning to do 6 miles again, so the group looped back to the cars to drop me and Sokphal off before continuing on. But when we got back to our cars I felt so good I was like, what the heck – let’s do more! Sokphal headed home and two of my guy friends from the track and I headed out for more. Luckily one of them had some extra Huma gel so I snagged one – I wasn’t prepared to do a long run and didn’t have any fuel with me!
As we ran, the distance I was going to do gradually become longer and longer – peer pressure at its finest! First I was going to do 8, then it became 10, and then they convinced me to “just run to the bridge and then we’d turn around.” Lol! I was having a great time so I didn’t mind. 🙂 Good company and my legs felt surprisingly energized! We kept getting faster and faster – by our final mile I think we did a 7:45 pace. I forgot to turn my watch on when we stopped for water at one point so I snagged a picture of Paul’s watch for our stats – 10.49 miles at an 8:30 overall average pace. Hizzah!
I was pumped about the unintentional long run because I’m doing the DC Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in 3 weeks and haven’t been great about long runs since the Charleston Half Marathon a month ago. It felt good to get one in and remind myself why I love running so much. 🙂 I’m pumped for the race now!
How was your weekend? Anyone else enjoy the spring-like weather with a run, walk, or anything else outdoorsy?
Also – another big thank you to those who participated in the Winter Shape Up, which just ended yesterday! That flew by, huh?! Gina and I loved having you guys join us for 4 weeks of fun workouts and healthy eats. Thank you again to our fabulous sponsors for making it possible to offer the shape ups to you guys for free:
- Cabot (best cheese ever)
- Sabra (best hummus ever)
- Sizzlefish (awesome seafood delivered right to your door)
- Pure Canadian Maple Syrup (my sweetener of choice)
- Daily Harvest (ready to blend real food smoothies delivered to your home)
- Gluten Free Chex (love that crunch – excellent with yogurt, nuts, and fruit)
- Crunch Live (stream online workouts from the convenience of your home)!
Have a great day, everyone!
