Sometimes I wake up on a Monday morning feeling sad. Monday means the weekend is over and the next weekend is a full five days away.
Today, however, I woke up feeling fantastic.
I feel rested.
I feel excited about what the week has in store.
And I feel like I’m riding high after a super delightful weekend away.
Let me take you back in time…to Friday.
I woke up at the butt crack of dawn (Is 4:30 am considered dawn’s butt crack? I guess I’m not sure. Seems about right though.) to get my long run in. I dominated 16 miles in 100 degree heat. No big deal.
Except, actually, it kind of was a big deal, for me at least, and all of your amazing comments made me feel like some kind of superstar. So thank you for that.
Then it was off to New Hampshire, where my cell phone gets no service, blogging was put on a back-burner for a while and the black flies, mosquitos and deer flies were out in full force.
Trust me. Those bugs are beasts and I have the welts all over my body to prove it. Yes, I’m very sexy, always.
The drive (yay rental car) to New Hampshire on Friday took just about 7 hours. It should have taken fewer than five. I guess everyone had the same idea I had: Leave NYC around 1 pm and you’ll be golden.
Fail.
Good thing I had made a kickass mix CD for the drive. And good thing it got played multiple times…
So by the time I finally got to my parent’s house…
…I was pretty exhausted. 16 miles + 7 hours in the car = Sleepy, Cramped-Legs Ali.
My mom made dinner and then I was thinking I’d head off to bed. No no. Mom and Dad wanted to play. We played cards. My dad drank Scotch. We went swimming at 11:30 pm.
Bedtime came at 1 am.
The best part about this weekend was guilt-free sleeping in on both Saturday and Sunday morning. Getting my long run done on Friday meant relaxation the rest of the weekend.
But I still ran. And biked. And sweat a lot.
Saturday Coach Cane had me doing a 3-mile recovery run.
First I went for a bike ride though.
Yes, I know to wear a helmet. Don’t worry. I was just testing out the wheels and making seat adjustments.
So yeah, before I hit the road for my run, I decided to bike. I like biking in New Hampshire because it’s way less terrifying than biking on the crowded streets of NYC (which, confession, I’ve never actually done — just predicting that it would be scary).
My legs weren’t sore from the previous day’s run, but they were definitely a little tired. My quads were burning in no time!
I biked 15 miles through hilly Contoocook, NH.
Then I hopped off the bike, met up with Becky and John and banged out 3 miles.
Brick workouts are no joke! Also, doing all this starting at 11 am? What a dumb idea. I was melting.
The rest of Saturday was spent laying by the pool eating good food (I swam from one end of the little round pool to the other at one point, so basically I did a triathlon yesterday, right?), and the evening was spent at Becky and John’s engagement party!
Yes, I was very sweaty at the party. Hot sun + margaritas + too much food = I’m not sure, but it involves me sweating.
After the party, during which I got eaten alive by bugs, I was happy to curl up in a cozy bed with air conditioning blasting. Thanks for installing the AC, mom and dad!
And then I slept in again. Laying in bed on a Sunday morning is surprisingly awesome. Who knew?
I woke up to my brother making breakfast downstairs.
Chocolate chip pancakes? Sure. I hear that’s perfect pre-run fuel, no?
Yesterday Coach Cane asked for 5 miles on rolling terrain at an 8:30-8:45 pace. Consider it done, Coach!
Running in New Hampshire annoys me because I find it to be incredibly boring and way too hilly. The hills near my house are giant and steep and put Harlem Hill and Cat Hill to shame.
But it’s also kind of pretty, so whatever.
I was kind of shocked that after two days of pretty intense workouts I was able to keep a quick pace on all those rolling hills (and giant hills), but somehow it happened. Needless to say I was disgusting by the time I was done with the 5 miles.
Good thing my parents have a pool.
Good thing no one was home when I got done. Post-run skinny dipping!
Just kidding.
Kind of.
I do have neighbors, after all.
My goal was to not stress about getting back to NYC, so I ran, I swam, I showered, I made lunch and I finally got in the car after 2 pm to drive back.
And the drive back was awesome. No traffic. Super easy. Bam!
I was in bed by 11:30 last night and slept in until 6 am. No running today means later wakeup and that means I’m rested and happy.
All in all my weekend in New Hampshire was everything I could have hoped for. Solid workouts, good friends, great food, quality time with family and lots of sleeping in.
Oh and that nice boy I kind of really like? He was there, too.
So yeah. Good weekend. And it’s going to be a fantastic week. Trust me.
TELL ME: What was the best part of your weekend? If your name is Emily, you became an IronMan. You probably win for most baller weekend. Everyone else, tell me your highlights! Please.
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Looked like a hoot! You have a great smile… it is like it lights up wordpress
Cheers
Best part of my weekend: Going for an evening run on Saturday night. I rarely take evening runs as I prefer morning runs but I did not run that morning and really didn’t feel like running now but I still dropped everything and pounded out out a few miles in the heat wave because I’d rather regret a bad run than no run!
I was home with my family this weekend too! So nice and relaxing..and full of running of course!
Your arms look amazing in your 16 mile triumphant photo. You go girl!
hooray for a great getaway! Your house and town look adorable. This weekend sucked in NYC – going outside was torturous. (16 Handles didn’t even make it that much better). So glad it’s cooling down – let’s run this week?
Gosh, you are amazing! I am so scared right now of even during more than 8 especially with my shoe problems. I am so impressed by you. The house is beautiful. I totally feel you on the bugs. I agree Emily totally wins, I tracked her all day. I think i went to bed before she finished. Best part of the weekend spending time with my family who came to visit from NJ
What an amazing weekend! Going home can be the most relaxing thing for me. I always leave feeling well rested! 🙂
Mmm, I want those pancakes!! Your hometown looks gorgeous, and I love those pics of you on the bike.. too funny.
Best part of my weekend was probably a lil wine tasting par-tay my best friend and I participated in, although the whole wkend was pretty delightful, to be honest!
Great weekend! And to think I was just over the border in Maine. We need to schedule some time to run, bike, and eat before summer ends. Just sayin’. And three cheers for handsome boys. Woot!
I went to the zoo!!! It was so FUN!! I haven’t been to a legit zoo in years.
Don’t you love it when parents are the ones that force you to stay awake?? Whenever I go home, my mom wants to stay up late and drink wine/play games. And I just get so sleepy after 10 pm!!
Girl you are my hero for running 16 miles outdoors this weekend – and having a huge smile on your face afterward!
I went to Chicago for the first time EVER for a friend’s bachelorette party and I wished I got to see more of the city! That place is gorgeous!
Sounds like a fabulous weekend! New Hampshire looks pretty. I’ve never been there.
The best part of my weekend was finishing my first triathlon and officially catching triathlon fever! I ended up having the 15th fastest swim time of the whole race and wondered several times why I quit swimming 6 years ago. 🙂
We really need to hear more about this male friend!
I got to go swimming this weekend too, in my bf’s parents pool! Why don’t NY apartments all have pools? haha no fair…Oh and running 10.5miles in the horrendous heat was kind of a highlight of my weekend, because it felt good to accomplish it.
Have a wonderful week!
I survived the heat in NYC with no AC in the apartment!! I also had a close examination of things to do to improve my life and to gain some serious motivation. It allowed me to realize that I should have been more motivated and structuring my days better all along. You are a serious source of motivation. The thought of running one mile is daunting and you rocked 16 and than ran the two days after too!! And congrats on the boy joining you with the family- that is always a big deal!!
Gosh, your home town looks gorgeous!
And woo hoo! on the the boy joining you on your weekend at home!
Oh, and the runs, you’re my hero!!
The boy came to NH!!! Thats awesome. Next time come to Boston too : )
Sounds like you had an awesome weekend in the ‘burbs. The burbs aren’t so bad! : )
Did you see they got a video of the east side groper?! Obviously, I saw that on the news and thought of you? Does this make me a total creep?! Maybe. haha.
I’m glad that you and cute-nice-ali-cake-boy had a great weekend!
I cleaned my closet this weekend, in preparation for my move in a few weeks, not so exciting.
I umm went movie hopping and saw FOUR new movies. I did it with friends to escape the heat because my awesome NYC apartment doesn’t have ac. Girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Other than that, I did nothing productive all weekend. It was awesome.
Sounds like a perfect weekend at home. I live 15 minutes from my parents and there is still nothing more relaxing than being at their house.
Highlight of my weekend? First post-“you can’t workout because you have a big flare up so it feels awful and doesn’t really work” workout! Baby steps. YAY!!!!
So glad you had such a wonderful weekend 🙂 I have never been to New Hampshire but it looks beautiful!
Any chance we’re going to get to learn more about this cute boy anytime soon??
Best part of the weekend: discovering a the new Edy’s yogurt blends at the grocery store (highly recommend the caramel praline crunch) which means not having to walk a mile to froyo when it’s 100+ F now!
The best part of my weekend was eating at Eataly while visiting friends in NYC!
The best part of my weekend was eating at Eataly while visiting friends in NYC!
Wait your handsome friend came with you to spend the weekend with your family??!! Here is what I have to say about that: !!!!!
I really like that purple top. Cool Racerback? I don’t think I’ve seen it in that color. I want. You are so hardcore for running both days after your 16-miler.
Sounds like a fun weekend! It is always nice to see friends from the hometown!
I spent my weekend with two ladies from high school – as we walked nearly 60 miles alongside 1700 walkers – to fight back against breast cancer. It was pretty awesome.
I love going home, too – one of my favorite “vacation spots” minus the ginormous hills I always have to run on. So, where did you find said “nice boy?” Sister needs help over here.