Fastest Weekend Ever

I can not believe it is already my Sunday night and that I have to get up early and go to work tomorrow :(

On the bright side... I only have two more work days standing in between me and my Vacation!!! I'm still in the process of doing laundry, but packing has officially begun

This is only suitcase number 1...

I actually really hate packing. I always feel like I have to bring my ENTIRE wardrobe with me, and I just really get frustrated. Probably because I have too much clothes... Either way... I'm excited to almost be on vacation. I was discussing it with my best friend, Allison, last night and I haven't had a REAL week long vacation in almost 4 years!!! Needless to say that it is WAAAY overdue.

Although packing is not something that I enjoy, I have done a couple things to prep for my trip that have been quite enjoyable. Like....

Getting my toes done!!! It looks like blue in this picture, but its really purple! 

My feet needed this so badly. I've been getting really bad calluses on my big toes and pinkie toes... as well as blisters on my toes. I'm pretty sure you can see ALL of them in this picture... and I am sorry to anyone who thinks toes are disgusting... especially my toes :(

After I got my toes done, Mom and I went to Target to pick up a few Vacation Items. I was mainly going to pick up a new Lithium Ion battery for my camera :). All of the pictures I've been posting are from my iPhone... and I really don't want to just use that while I'm in Bend. So, I'm really excited that I will have my camera up and running for the week.

I went to bed kinda early last night and made dinner really easy. I was suppose to get up early this morning to go on an 11 mile run... but i sorta failed at that. I did manage to get out of bed by 8am and started my run shortly after 9. Thank goodness that it was cooler today than it has been for the past few weeks, but it was still hotter than a jalapenos coochie!!!

My run did not start out smooth either. I did my warm up run from my car to the track, and after stretching, I realized i left my techno 4.0 watch in the car!!! Being the time/distance obsessed person that I am, I ran back to the car to get it and ran back to my starting position. I turned the watch on once I started, because I felt it was only fair I got to log that distance. I earned a whole quarter mile!!!

To get the full 11 miles I planned on running the 3 mile loop at Balboa Park, than the 5 mile loop and then repeating the 3 mile loop. I started my run, and was actually ready to give up in mile one. I started bargaining that maybe I only needed to do a 3 mile run... and that there was no way that this was safe. I made it through mile 3 and began the 5 mile loop thinking that this was how I was going to die.

Then, the most glorious thing happened....

courtesy of plano.com

Somewhere in mile 4... the park had their sprinklers on. I ran and frolicked through that water like I was a 5 year old on the hottest day of the year. It was amazing.

To be honest... I think those sprinklers saved my life. I don't think I would have made it through the 5 mile loop if it wasn't for those sprinklers :)

By the time I finished the 5 mile loop, my watch told me that I had completed 8.5 miles and that it was already 10:20! I knew there was no way I had enough time, energy or WATER to finish another 3 mile loop. Instead I just ran the straight line up and back for the last 1.5 miles and completed a 10 mile run. When I added my initial .25 of a mile (and the 1:44 seconds it took me to complete it) I wound up with a grand total of 10.25 miles in 1:32:25.
Not my best run, but certainly not my worst.

I also tried a new energy product during this run.

courtesy of greatracenutrition.com

I liked the shok bloks, but I found that it was really hard to breathe, chew and run at the same time... So I decided to try one of the Gu packets I got for free after the Seashore Half Marathon. 

To be honest... I had very mixed feelings about it. On the one hand... it tasted like cookie dough... and anyone who knows me... knows that I love cookie dough. On the other hand, the texture was a little bizarre and, no pun intended, "hard to swallow". It also had a strange coffee after taste that was both enjoyed and disliked. I only ate half the package, and I don't know that I will be finishing it any time soon. I know there is an energy product out there for me, I just haven't found it yet :/

I was a little disappointed with myself for this run. I know I could have finished, but it was my fault that I didn't. If only I had gotten up earlier, I would have had my 11, and I could have felt like I achieved my goals for the day.

I know what you're thinking..., "10.25 miles is GREAT, so quit your complaining!!!" But I cant help it. I don't like setting a goal for myself and missing it. Especially when it's my fault that I didn't finish. I decided that I was going to do a 6 mile run when I get home from work tomorrow to make up for my lost mile.

The rest of the day was spent at the Suicide Prevention Center, relaxing, doing laundry and starting to pack :). I cant believe I'm two days away from another race and some much needed time off!

What was your favorite summer activity to keep cool growing up?!?!