On chasing hot, shirtless guys and new bikes and running in the middle of the night

Busy weekend.

I was on deadline this weekend with one of my magazine clients. August is Healthy Kids month, so be sure to pick up your copy of Natural Awakenings if you have kids or if you just want to see my design work! Friday night after working, Jeff and I headed up to Big View Diner (I’m telling you, you gotta try it if you’re in South Charlotte). We ended up running into Colleen and Candace at the bar, so what was going to be just a quick dinner ended up being a fun night out with friends. Right before we left I called Kevin to let him know I wanted to run in the morning if he could go with me. While we were there he called and said that we would have to go at 4:30 if we were going to do it, as Jenn had to leave for work at 6 so he had to be home with his girls.

After two beers at Big View, I thought, well, why not. We had attempted a 4:30 a.m. run earlier in the week, and I had to bail on that one since I ended up working so late the night before. So I figured I owed him one. And actually, based on my crazy sleep schedule (which I’ll have to detail in another post), it wasn’t so bad getting up at 3:45 (ok, 4:10. I hit snooze a few times.). I felt like I’d had a “nap” more so than a night of sleep, and I knew I’d probably need another “nap” at some point, but since I was getting up so early I had plenty of time! Kevin and I had talked about running 6-7 miles, so I decided to take Breanna (instead of Kishin, who layed down on the sidewalk after 3 miles the last time I took him running.)

I got to Kevin’s around 4:40, a little late. His house was dark. So I called him – “are you up?”

“Oops, I am now!” he responded. No worries. He got dressed and ready to go, and we decided to drive a couple minutes to the intersection at Doby’s Bridge and 160, where the sidewalks begin in Fort Mill. Somehow it was 5:20 a.m. by the time we did all that. Oops! We ended up only running 2.5 miles  – but I’m just proud of us for getting up that early and doing it! I forsee more of these in the future as we start marathon training. It was super-dark outside the whole time; was just getting light when I got home. A sidenote: I got to meet a 195-pound Newfoundland that Kevin is dog sitting for. I love him! Have never met a dog that big before. He was adorable.

I got home, made coffee, and did some work until about 7:30. I knew I better try to get more sleep as I would be busy in the afternoon with work, so I curled up with the puppies until about 9:30. Then I went with Kevin to Try Sports so he could get a new bike (a tri bike.) I am soooo jealous and I want a bike so. bad. Just don’t have the money right now.

Then back to work and after that it was a lazy night.

Yesterday I finished up work and then I decided to try biking to McMullen Creek Greenway. I had been concerned about riding on Johnston road (a 4-lane road) but Candace and Colleen and Jeff helped me come up with an option that would mostly be on neighborhood roads and 2-lane roads. Probably would take longer but that’s kind of the point, right? So I biked up there, and it was great! A little more than 10 miles, and I’m still super slow on the bike, but that’s ok, right? I then ran/walked the length of the Greenway and back (about 12 miles).

God was messing with me, though. Every time I would need to take a walk break, a hot, shirtless guy would pass me running. Hmm, I thought. Something to chase? So I would run some more. Then I would take another walk break, and a hot, shirtless guy would pass me, so I would chase him. This happened 4 times! Hey, gave me some motivation (no, I never caught any of them, though I was running side by side with one for a few seconds. Then Katy Perry came on my ipod and I got a burst of energy and passed him. But then I got tired and walked and he was gone.)

Then I biked home. Burned about 2200 calories in all. I had 2 nutrition gels during the workout but I needed a granola bar the second I walked in the door. Next time I’ll put one in my backpack.

And that’s all, folks. I was lazy the first half of today which is why my blog is just now getting posted. Marathon training in about 3 weeks! And my nephew is due to arrive on Thursday – Cai, we are all waiting for you!