“Lately I’ve been stuck imagining
What I wanna do and what I really think
Time to blow out…”
— “I Wanna Go” by Britney Spears
It looks like I’m starting my blog posts with song lyrics from my “Favorites” playlist in iTunes. Not sure how they relate to what I write but typically listening to my playlist inspires me while writing or running.
It’s been quite an adventurous week (caution: it’s all relative!) with the holiday. Last weekend, I discovered something really cool at Crumb’s; Cupcake Push Pops – genius! If I wasn’t already purchasing mini cupcakes to bring to a friend’s and just eaten lunch, I would have really considered buying one to try for myself. Josh actually asked me if I wanted one, he never humors me like that, but with enough self-control I didn’t end up buying one but did get to take a picture of how cool it is.
We were traveling over Christmas and with my latest addiction to the foam roller, I was concerned how I would do without it. Enter my Moji 360 Mini Massager that I had purchased months ago. It is perfect and even fits in my small purse. However, of course as soon as I returned from my travels, I purchased a travel sized foam roller and the marathon stick. The amount of toys I’ve accumulated from running is nuts. There is a separate basket in our living room just to store all these various items.
Fortunately, I was able to sneak in a few runs while away as well. It’s hard while traveling; I want to run but I don’t want to hold up anyone else’s plans and somehow when I think I can get a head start on the day, I never actually do. Christmas morning, I ran a sub-4 mile loop in Acworth, Georgia, about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta and man, was it hilly. After brainstorming with the locals, this was the best loop without any driving required. I was told if I ran down one of the streets, there would be a lake about 1.2 miles down, which at first excited me because I figured I could run around the lake. Nah, the Allatoona Lake is meant for boats and fishing, not running, but what a sight; such a nice, quiet, gorgeous, but difficult run.
The next running adventure on our trip took me to Piedmont Park in Atlanta. I was really excited about this run because we didn’t get to visit the park the last time we were in town, so to be able to run through the park is an even better treat. When we were looking at a map of the park, I was worried the park would be too big; I was imagining Central Park. However, it was the perfect distance. After all, I ate way too much over the last couple of days and a big breakfast just two hours before, so a 1.5 mile loop a couple times was perfect and I even ran on the track in the park. I don’t remember the last time I ran on a track – college, maybe? Almost a decade ago, geez… and there is a reason I don’t do that anymore, it’s pretty boring running in circles.
Due to the storm up north, our flight back was cancelled. With one extra day in Atlanta, what is one supposed to do but eat. After checking in to the Intercontinental Buckhead, we splurged on a pretty great meal (thank you, American Express Fine Hotels) at Southern Art, an Art Smith restaurant. I should have taken a picture of the dessert we had, Caramel Chocolate Pretzel Pie, because it was probably best the dessert I have ever eaten. And oh, did I mention that there was a ham bar in the restaurant as well (see picture)? And, there’s also a bourbon bar as well. Since I ran out of clean running clothes, I couldn’t even go for a run the next day. No problem, just eat a huge brunch – omelette, oatmeal, coffee, fruit, potatoes and then lunch a couple hours later.
Needless to say with all the eating, I needed to do more running and I managed to do just that. For the first time in a month and a half, I ran four times this week for a total of 20+ miles. Still not as much as I’d like, but at least I’m finally starting to feel like the old me again… and I think I may even try to sneak in a barre class tomorrow. For all those wondering about these barre classes that I talk about, I realized that I never gave a proper shout out to Local Barre. Barre classes are a fusion of ballet fundamentals, core conditioning, yoga, stretching, and you leave feeling like your entire body has been worked to its max! I’ve been actively going for over a year and I have to say that the instructors are amazing. I am not usually a fan of exercise classes since I feel like I cannot keep up, but at Local Barre, they do a really good job explaining the exercises to the beginners. For the people who have going for a while, there are many different levels that you can challenge yourself with. I highly recommend!
Well I’m off for now, must prepare myself for a family gathering and more food tonight!
