This is my 100th Blog Post!!!

After I published yesterday’s post I noticed that it was my 99^th. Realizing that the next one I wrote would be my 100^th I thought maybe I should write something different/special for this milestone. I decided to ask out on the RRR Facebook page for ideas or topics people would like me to write about. My friend Jess came up with a great idea- 100 ways my life is different now than before I was Run. Ride. Repeat.

I loved this idea and immediately knew that this was what I wanted to do for my 100^th post! So here it goes, my list of 100 ways my life is different now since Run. Ride. Repeat. was born on 8/24/2012.

1.       I moved from San Antonio to Pensacola

2.       I moved before then too, from on post in SA to an apartment also in SA

3.       I became a Naval Officer’s wife.

4.       I completed my first half marathon- Rock n’ Roll San Antonio- second half marathon- 3M Austin- and third half marathon- Gulf Coast Half

5.       I learned how to swim properly, RE: with my face actually in the water, not holding my nose

6.       I have jumped into the deep end of a pool without holding my nose (this actually happened last night) for the first time ever

7.       I wore a bikini for the first time as an adult

8.       I wore a dress to work (that wasn’t part of a uniform) and now I actually wear dresses a few times a week, maybe even more often than pants

9.       I kayaked for the first time in a river

10.   And then for the first time in the bay

11.   I paddle boarded

12.   I did yoga on said paddle board

13.   I participated in my first ever trail race (UWF Bunny Dash 5K)

14.   I started attending barre classes (first in SA, now again in Pensacola) which was intimidating as hell at first

15.   I attending the wedding of my youngest cousin

16.   I learned my uncle has cancer

17.   I learned my mom has cancer

18.   I started a new job at a university, and not as a student

19.   I started taking grad classes towards a specialist degree

20.   I attended the annual Mullet Toss at/in? Flor-bama

21.   I visited Portland for the first time

22.   I attended a blogging conference

23.   Where I made some of the most amazing connections

24.   And ate some of the most amazing foods, drank some of the best beers, laughed until it hurt, cried a few times, and left with some of my most favorite memories I will cherish always

25.   I’ve made new friends

26.   I’ve watched some leave (downside of military life)

27.   I’ve left some amazing friends behind (see #24)

28.   I drove through, and visited since, Alabama for the first time

29.   I drove to a different state to run a race (also Alabama- we live very close to there)

30.   I ran my first sub-10 minute mile

31.   I ran a 5K at a sub-10 minute mile pace (30:26)

32.   I ran in below freezing temps

33.   I ran up the ramp I saw pictured in Runner’s World magazine and swore I would go there when I was in Portland

34.   I rode my bike wearing my running UA leggings over my bike shorts because I was so cold

35.   I ran in NJ, alongside a vineyard

36.   I learned what it feels like to spend Christmas without Paul or my family

37.   Same with New Year’s

38.   And my birthday

39.   And our wedding anniversary

40.   Had my first all vegan Thanksgiving dinner thanks to some wonderful friends back in SA

41.   I made my first vegan pumpkin pie

42.   And vegan whipped cream (using coconut milk)

43.   I saw some bands for the first time ever like the Black Keys

44.   And Florence + the Machine

45.   And the Alabama Shakes

46.   And Band of Skulls

47.   I bought a spin bike

48.   I bought a tri suit

49.   I ate a donut shaped like a penis…well, technically I only ate part of it

50.   I was able to celebrate the engagement of two of my favorite people, C+M, in person

51.   And celebrate J+A’s engagement over the phone

52.   I visited the Naval Base in Newport, Rhode Island

53.   I watched my husband graduate from OCS

54.   I toured Fenway

55.   I drank blueberry beer in Boston and celebrated with so many amazing people

56.   I visited the U.S.S. Constitution

57.   I started geocaching

58.   I’ve swam in the Pensacola bay

59.   I’ve drank lots and lots of Pensacola Bay Brewery beer

60.   I drank beard beer (at Rogue)

61.   And probably 100 other beers I’ve never had before

62.   I attended a pub crawl, like a real one – organized by a social group- where I met one of my best friends.

63.   I went to a Blue Wahoos baseball game

64.   I’ve eaten a vegan grilled cheese from the Pensacola food trucks, ironically I cannot say the same for Portland

65.   I took a jump fitness class (trampoline)

66.   I participated in a boot camp class held outside

67.   I saw a naked woman on a street corner

68.   I visited/traversed the 17^th St bridge (aka graffiti bridge)

69.   I started a team for trivia night

70.   I realized that reading all of the books and seeing all of the movies did not make me a Harry Potter expert

71.   I bought a vitamix

72.   I started making my own almond milk

73.   And sometimes rice milk

74.   And almond butter

75.   And all sorts of flours and cornmeal and whatnot

76.   I made my own chutney

77.   And I made Aloo Gobi for the first time too

78.   I biked through some crazy sandy trails, which took me forever to figure out how to navigate

79.   I rode the Pensacola observation (Ferris) wheel which is no longer in Pensacola

80.   I visited my friends in their new home in Daytona

81.   And attended a wedding of two complete strangers

82.   I went to Gallery night (three times now)

83.   And the Pensacola Symphony (twice)

84.   I rode the Blackwater trail

85.   And ran on it too

86.   I played with bubbles in a fountain

87.   I bought my first, second and third pairs of Brooks running shoes

88.   I ran in a torrential downpour, in a white shirt nonetheless

89.   I ran on a bunch of trails- nothing like I had ever seen in SA

90.   I broke up with my Garmin

91.   I got rid of cable (of course, it’s back now since Paul lives with me)

92.   I took my first ice bath

93.   I went to acupuncture for the first time

94.   I drank homemade chai tea

95.   I attended a vegan cooking class, twice

96.   I stopped chewing gum

97.   I started watching the West Wing

98.   I dropped a couple sizes (from 10 to 6)

99.   And broke away from weighing myself daily

100.                        ….and lastly….I wrote 100 blog posts!

And This is What Comes Out...

I really can’t think of one topic I really want to write about in-depth right now. My head has just been filled with random thoughts lately so I guess I will share those.

·         I have another half marathon (my third) coming up next Sunday, 4/7, and I am excited and a bit nervous. My only goal for Sunday is to relax and enjoy a few hours of running along the beach. I didn’t get to dedicate the effort I needed to try to improve on my times so this one is just for fun. Well, I guess they are all for fun (for us non-elite runners) but you know what I mean

·         I added a few new songs to my running playlist in anticipation for the half. This playlist is an ever-evolving entity. I am constantly tweaking it. Currently it has 84 songs on it- far more than needed for a half marathon, even at my pace, but I love that I can just hit shuffle and let the music guide my run. Newest additions:

o   San Francisco- the Mowgli’s

o   Breezeblocks- Alt-J

o   Forever- Haim

·         I went kayaking for the first time ever just the other week and had the most amazing time. I cannot wait to do it again. I am hoping we can get in a kayaking/camping trip in the next few weeks. I am super lucky that the friends I have made in FL enjoy doing outdoorsy things.

·         And I am also super excited that they want to try new things too. Next Saturday, 4/13, four of us will be making the trek out to Blackwater State Park to participate in a 10k obstacle/trail run. None of us have ever done a race like this before and even though my group is made up of far more athletic and faster people than I (Paul and two other Naval Officers from flight school) they have all said that we are doing this together as a team and refuse to leave me behind. Which is awesome.

·         Speaking of trail runs- Paul and I did our first trail race this past Saturday. It was a 5K held on the cross country trails at the university where I work. Paul killed it in 22:25 and came in third in his age group, fifth overall.  Unfortunately they only gave out awards for 1^st and 2^nd place so he didn’t win anything. I think is the third race we’ve done together where he placed in the top three. He’s freaking amazing. 22 minutes for a 5k TRAIL RUN. Ridiculous. I came in just over 11 minutes behind him at 33:58 and was pretty happy with my time. Especially for my first trail race J

·         My friend Blogging Molly is currently fundraising for her Marine Corps Historic Half/Team Fisher House which supports the Fisher House program- supporting military families in their time of need. It is a great charity- one that is desperately needed- and I try to support them whenever I can be it doing volunteer work at the Fisher House at Fort Sam while we lived there or through donations. Molly also has a really awesome giveaway linked to her fundraising so please stop by and check it out if for no other reason to learn more about Fisher House.

·         I had a really nice weekend/Easter Sunday spent with Paul and friends. It is always hard to be away from family, especially on the holidays, but I am thankful that I got to spend this one with others. It was also nice to have friends over that are new to the military. I kind of feel that part of my role as a military spouse is to not only provide a loving and supportive home for my spouse but also to make it warm and welcoming to others in the military so they never feel like they are alone. I know how tough that can be, especially the first holiday away from family.

·         Well, I did it. I finally broke down and ate meat. After a year and a half of being vegan I finally met my match- Easter ham. I used to love ham and pretty much requested it for every holiday meal. So I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that just having a ham cooking in the house would have been crippling to my vegan defenses. Apparently ham is my kryptonite. I caved. I ate the ham. And it was glorious. So good, in fact, that I am now on an all-the-ham-you-can-eat diet.

 

Ha Ha Ha

April Fools

Still a vegan- I didn’t eat any ham. Although I cannot deny that it didn’t smell really good.

Did you think I was for real with that or did you see right through my little hoax?   

Wordless Wednesday: Pensacola Pictures

Some pictures from around town; the bay, NAS Pensacola, and Pensacola Beach.

Happy Wednesday!

On the Road Again

Hello...I'm here...I'm not avoiding you- I swear.

Life has been somewhat hectic the past few weeks. Why, you ask?

Well, let's see. January 18th was my last day of work at my job in San Antonio. I gave my notice after the New Year and then spent a very chaotic 2.5 weeks there trying to train my former co-workers to take over my responsibilities. That was crazy. Just a few days after my last day there I headed up to Rhode Island to attend Paul's graduation from Navy OCS- Officer Candidate School. From RI we headed to Boston for the weekend to celebrate. From Boston, we both returned to San Antonio in order to prepare for our move to Pensacola, FL that would take place just 12 days from our return. I should mention here that we didn't even find out our move dates until we were in Boston so we basically had just 2 weeks to prepare.

We are beyond fortunate that the military contracts movers to take care of the packing, loading and delivery of the household goods so that made the move a million times easier. That being said, there are still alot of things involved in moving hundreds of miles away like finding a place to live, where to stay while the household goods are in transit, what needs to be packed and taken with us (like important paperwork, dog meds, underwear, etc) and of course all the fun stuff like calling the power company and waiting on hold for 38 minutes just to stop service - which took less than a minute to do once I was on the line with a human. Sheesh!

And of course in the mix of all the moving stuff Paul and I started training for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon on April 7th here in Pensacola. We had a crazy first week of training because we thought it would be smart to do back to back to back runs- speed work one day, long run the next, and then a 7K race the day after that. I should also mention that we did that 7K race after an 18 mile bike ride. Needless to say my legs were TIRED after all of that. We had to fit in the runs whenever we could but it would have been smarter if we skipped one of those and gave our bodies adequate rest. Or at least maybe done an easy run in place of speed work. Hindsight, right?

Week two of half training was almost non-existent for me. I think I only got in one run, maybe two if you count the tiny bit of time I spent on the treadmill and elliptical Saturday morning before we drove to Pensacola. I had great plans on how to squeeze in my training schedule around my move but it just didn't pan out. Faced with the choice between running or cleaning/packing/organizing I had to go with the move stuff. It NEEDED to be done. Oh well, I am definitely not losing sleep over missing a few runs especially since it was only week 2. Life happens, we have to be flexible.

Now I am 'settled' into our hotel room here in Pensacola and have much more free time this week. I have gotten in 2 training runs so far (both on the treadmill) and have a my long run on the books for tomorrow. Paul found a great, unpaved running trail along the beach at NAS Pensacola and since I am still not working I will be able to join him tomorrow for a run.

On Saturday we sign the lease to our new apartment. We were hoping to rent a house but that didn't work out. We did however find a pretty awesome apartment complex with some amazing amenities; two pools, two fitness centers, and a huge dog park. Oh, and it is just 2 miles from where I will be working. So, yay me! I totally lucked out on that one. We are still waiting to hear from the movers- we were told the other day that our household goods might arrive Saturday which would be awesome. If not, they will be here early next week. Either way, I am just super thankful that it won't be much longer before I can get back into a normal routine. My body is sick of eating out every day and sleeping way too much. Ugh! I just keep telling myself that this situation is temporary and that I just need to make the best decisions I can.

Next week I start my new job, we'll be able to settle into our new home, and hopefully the weather gets a little bit nicer (no more rain, please!) and we can do more exploring of the downtown/beach areas. It should be great! Oh, and last night Paul and I went to Mellow Mushroom for trivia night and even though we were just a two person team we managed to come in third place. It was super fun and I think it will become a weekly tradition for us. Yay!

So that's my update for now. I hope to be back blogging regularly soon.

Happy Valentine's Day!