Warrior Dash with MR.  Heat advisory made it wicked hot to run in the afternoon, but we had fun in the hot mud anyway!

This is the last year we'll do this warrior dash- the administrative part of this run just goes downhill every year.  This year we had to wait in a line (in the sun and heat) for over an hour to pick up our packets.  When we finally got to the front of the line, we saw that the lines were divided into all females on the left, males on the right.  Someone should have mentioned that when we got into the line an hour before, because we were both on the left side.  Who comes to pick up a packet with their spouse and then wants to wait in line for an hour alone?  

Then they had the male/female lines separated by last names.  Hope you're on the right part of the line.  Some of the packet workers were kind and help whoever got into their line.  I saw one woman, who I'll call "Beverly," that when a woman and her husband got to the front of the line, she told the man he'd have to go to the back of the line for males (it's an hour wait) and that she wasn't going to help him.  If he wanted help, he could get in the right line or just go ahead and see if someone else wanted to help him who hadn't been working all day.  Really?  This guy had been driving over 3 hours just to get to the race that morning (no packet pickup available the previous day) and she is going to get nasty like that with him? 

 I will not throw my money at races that treat runners like this.  It reminded me of the Rock & Roll folks that were too busy catering to the half marathon runners and all but left the marathon runners to fend for themselves at the finish line.  I won't attend their races again either.  They charge nearly $100 for race entry and need to use some of that money to buy a clue.

After finally getting the packets, it was another 20 minute wait in the sun (again) to drop off the bags.  They had drop off/pick up at the same place, and it was chaos.  To my delight (NOT), Beverly had moved to the bag tent by the time we got to the front of the line.  What is it with that woman?  I wish I could have drown her in the mud pit!!!

The race itself was lots of fun- always a good workout.  They did a better job pacing out the obstacles so the back-ups we experiences last year weren't an issue.  The mud pit was crazy at the end.  It was really, really long and had really deep sticky mud.  My foot got stuck at one point and I couldn't pull it out.  My leg started cramping from me trying to rescue my foot.  MR had to help me pull it out!  It was a true obstacle!  Some people lost their shoes in the pit.  Which wasn't much of a loss if the shoes were just going to the donation pile, but a couple of folks lost the shoe with the timing chip in the laces.  The chip is what you turn in to redeem for your free beer.  So there were some unhappy sober campers at the end of the run.

Luckily for MR, he had his chip and mine to keep him happy.  We both got sunburned on our heads from standing in the afternoon sun in line for 90+ minutes.  Good turkey legs and people watching when it was finished.  On the car ride home the next day, we would see cars with orange mud all over the tailgates/door frames and we'd know where they'd been on Saturday!

Sore from the Warrior Dash.  Last year it was easier for me because I was nearly done with p90x when I did the 'dash.  This year, my muscles are angry about the workout I gave them.  I'll take a few days of sore muscles over 90 days of Tony!!

4 morning miles.  Work was so stressful today I thought my head was going to explode and leave brain detritus  all over my desk.  It was a workout not to scream at people.

Morning run.  It was the perfect weather for a nice run.  Breezy cool air, not too hot, not too windy.  Like Goldilocks, this morning was just right.  Legs still sore, I feel like I'm moving backwards in my fitness level.  I realize I'm not eating the right kinds of foods to give me good energy.  But knowing is less than half the battle.

After school, I was excited to go to the end of the year zumba party.  My foot feels healed up well enough to jump around for a while, and when I heard the word party I didn't want to miss out on it.  

It was a 2 hour party and I had heard there would be working out, and prizes, and partying.  I showed up late because I was finishing up work I had to do, and I was worried I was going to miss all the zumba-ing.  I was sure I would be there in enough time for the party and the food, so I wasn't worried.  WELL, I was wrong about this "party" and there wasn't a drop of food to eat, and they did zumba for the whole 2 hours.  It was fun as sin, but my body wasn't prepared for 2 hours of zumba. 

I had to go home and mow the lawn after the "party".  By the time 9 pm rolled around, I was pooped and falling asleep in bed.  Best night sleep I've had in a long, long time. 

I took the day off.  My body and brain are both exhausted. 

This time of year is so stressful and I get extra worked up when people who have more education and make more money than I do can't read and/or follow directions/instructions and then want me to do their job for them because they are too lazy/incompetent to do it themselves.

Just sayin'. 

morning run. overcast and just a little humid.  not a bad morning run.

snowcone & chili dog day at school.  the bright spot in my week of outer darkness.

Got to run with Wyatt this morning- so much to talk about.  With 1.5 miles to go, I realized I was supposed to be home in  5 minutes- and it is a 7 minute drive from Wyatt's house to mine.  Thus, I was going to be late getting home.  Very late.  

Mini- me had a babysitting job and I was going to make everyone late because I'd spent more time talking and not paying attention to the actual time.   I had to sprint home the last 1.5 miles.  By the time I got to the car I was exhausted!!

She was 20 minutes late to her babysitting job- I felt horrible.  The couple was going to a birthday lunch date. I feel like a rotten pirate P-(

After I got home and mini me took the car to babysit,  I went out for a couple more miles in my 'hood.  It was getting really warm outside.  It was 12:30 and the sun was doing it's job warming up everything, including me.

I had kicked around doing 4.5 miles, but at mile 2.7 I decided I was going to be happy with 3 more miles.  I've been slacking off my miles the last few weeks, and I don't need to over do it on a day like today.

After finishing my run, I had 3 hours worth of yard work to do.  Then an hour of housework.  Wish I would have kept my calorie monitor on!

Rain storms in the morning.  Did 20 min elliptical before work.

Rain storms in the evening.  Getting tired of the Seattle rain.  I have more mushrooms in my lawn than my refrigerator .  Not cool.

It's too close to summer vacation for me and my body does not want to get out of bed before 7 am.  I managed 20 min on the elliptical  before work.

After work, I got in 3.6 miles on the treadmill before my ride came to pick me up.  Then I went home and cleaned out the rain gutters which were full of walnut and oak tree bloom carcasses....and lots of mosquito larvae.  

Then I mowed the lawn.  Until the belt broke when I was 9.8% done with front yard.  2nd time in a month that stupid mower has broken down when I've just started mowing the front yard.  I had nothing nice to say after that.  It was 8 pm by then and getting dark anyway. 

Last day of work for the school year.  Did treadmill after work.  It's so humid outside that anything over 80 degrees is unbearable to run in.  I wanted to get in 4 miles, but my ride came early.

I've decided to go Full Pirate for the remainder of the summer.  To quote The Pirate Handbook, "Now there are those who believe an honest day's work equals and honest day's pay. Bilge! That lily-livered mentality will bring you nothing but boredom, regret, and poverty.  But pirating on the other hand, well matey, that's a life worth living."

Tomorrow I'll secure the plank for our first "walk" of the summer.

Hopefully I'll have time to run amid all my plunderin', fightin', gamblin', & drinkin'.  It's time to unleash my Pirate Soul.

Ran trails at the Paxtuent Research Center in Maryland.  We ran out to heron lake and back.  Beautiful weather, and some nice views along the way.

Ran in DC with MR.  We started just south of the Lincoln monument, ran across the bridge toward Arlington Cemetery, and from there we looped down onto the Mt. Vernon trail and headed north.  We saw a sign for the Teddy Roosevelt Memorial and went there.  It's on an island in the middle of the Potomac River.  We crossed the bridge, and took a little break exploring the monument.

Then we headed back toward DC taking the bridge near the Kennedy Center.  We stopped to see Watergate and the Kennedy Center, then ran back toward the Lincoln Memorial.

This pirate is not a crook  (see image below)

  From Lincoln, we ran along the reflecting pool toward the WWII memorial, then toward the tidal basin where we ran into the Martin Luther King Jr. monument.  I'd never seen it before, and it was really impressive. 

From there we ran back to the car and rented some bikes for the rest of the day.  The bikes are $7 to rent all day as long as you use them in less than 30 minute intervals.  Every! 29 minutes, you have to park them back in one of the bike rental racks, and then you can take them again for another 29 minutes.  If you do keep them longer than 30 minutes, you will be charged additional costs.  It was nice because we could take them to a museum, park them, and then take the bikes back out again when we were done.

Not sure my miles on the bike for the day; we were riding for a good period of time, but with pedestrians and traffic, you've got to go slowly.  And there's only one gear on the bikes.

Went on the rail trail with Terri!!  It was so nice to be running with her again.  The weather was perfect, and time went by so fast.

Both watch batteries were dead, so we just went for a run.  It was warmer than it'd been all week, so we had to take a few breaks to cool off.  

MR and I went back to the Paxtuent Research center to try a different trail today.  We went on the Whippor-Whill trail.  There was a really old cemetery off to the side of the trail.  I was able to make out one headstone that read 1600s for birth/death.  

The mileage is just a guess.  But I feel like it's a good one.

I'm having a great deal of difficulty waking up early enough to run in the morning before it gets hot.

So I've taken to running in the the evening after the thunderstorms have passed.  It was nice out around 7 pm.  I saw 20 airplanes flying to the drop zone for a big paratrooper drop.  That's a lot of folks jumping out of perfectly good airplanes!

Went to zumba in the morning- it was fun as always.

In the evening, I went to run with Wyatt out by her place.  It had finished pouring down rain just an hour earlier, so we were afraid the shoulders would be really muddy.  We took a break and went walking near the corn fields where some of the stalks are at least 11 feet high.  The cobs are already looking full on the stalks.  I so badly wanted to yank a few off and take them home to eat!

Not much wildlife be we did see a small 3 inch long turtle in the grass on our way home. 

Sore from zumba.  Can't sit down or get up without pain.

So I mowed the lawn.  On the riding mower.

Ran around the mall while I had firestone fix my flat tire.  Except the nail was in the tire wall and I got to buy a new tire instead.  I end up with more nails in my tires than I feel are my fair share.  I do not drive through random construction sites with large magnets dragging along my car frame!

It was nice to have a new place to run.  Sometimes the same old places get tiresome.

Got in an early morning run with Wyatt.

 Then we watched Duck Dynasty while she made us biscuits. 

Perfect morning!!

Ran with MR in the morning before the rain.