Taking advantage of the last few weekday mornings I have to enjoy these views. Sunrises are magical. Good morning everyone!!!
Last few weekday mornings…
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Tag Archives: summer
Active.com’s Tips to Run through the Heat
The heat is getting fierce and my long runs have gotten slower and more taxing as a result. There are a few things you can do to stay safe during the hottest months of the year and the following article from Active.com lists most of the tricks that I commit to during the summer. On my last long-run, for example, I left at 7am only to realize that this was already too late in the day. The earlier in the morning (or later in the evening) the better. Check out the link for other useful info:
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/6-Tips-to-Run-Through-the-Heat.htm
Home-made Mango Jam
Its mango season in South Florida! People who are blessed enough to have a tree in their back yard are eating them up and desperately trying to give them away to co-workers, neighbors and friends, lest they should rot on the ground or get eaten by squirrels, opossums… or the dog. (My dog Charlie has eaten a few of my neighbor’s mangos and has come back into the house with quite the cute mango mustache on several occasions.)
Well, my caddy corner neighbor and my mother’s next door neighbor has the most gorgeous and fruit-filled mango tree in the neighborhood. Luckily they believe that sharing is caring and gave us a few. And this is what we came up with to use up that yummy goodness. Mango jam!!
Delicious on toast, on a ritz cracker with cream cheese, in the center of thumb print cookies or simply spooned right into your mouth! Although the process is fun, its time consuming and messy. All worth it in the end, though. Check out the photos of our afternoon together.
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- Mommy and I
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- chopped up mango
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- Keep stirring
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- Sterilize the jars
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- poor it in
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- let it set
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- beautiful color
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- salty cracker + cream cheese + mango jam = heaven
June 6th: First Day of Summer Vacation
So, although it was officially a “Teacher Work Day” I took Friday off to go for a run and disconnect before tackling the daunting task of creating the schedules for my middle school students for next year. Once I’m done, though, I’ll be completely off for the summer! Good thing is, my work day starts later and my office will be quiet and calm.
I decided to celebrate the end of a great year by doing my routine 7 mile run and follow it with a veg-out session at the beach. I may not have run it fast but, I went out there and did the mileage with no excuses. My reward was that I had gorgeous views of the beach and practically had it all to myself because of how early I arrived after my run. Summer-time, I missed you!
Check out my splits!
And other gorgeous views of the beach 🙂
June 5th: it’s time!
Woop woop!
June 3rd: Back on it!
Check out my splits from tonights run! I’m tired and still not with it 100% but not too bad if I don’t say so myself. I averaged almost 8 minutes in my last mile 🙂
Maybe I needed those 6 days off to regain some energy and confidence…. There are only a few more days left until school lets out for summer vacation! I won’t be completely off from work but, at least I won’t have to get in as early and will be able to run in the mornings! I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself!! Summer here I come!
May 2nd: Beach time!
I needed to spend my Friday decompressing from the crazy work week I had… What better way to relax than a trip to the beach for a swim, some beer and sandwiches for dinner. Simple, sweet and relaxing. No complaints here!
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- Lemony goodness 🙂
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- Sharks tooth found on the beach! Haven’t found one of these in a while 🙂
When Race Season is Over…
Since my epic race-season finale, I have no other scheduled half marathons in the near future. And, to be honest, there aren’t many (if any at all) to register for in my neck of the woods anyway. They probably won’t start up again until September or October.
Although its been cool and overcast lately, in about a month or so, Florida’s summer weather will kick in and it’ll be unbearably hot and humid by 8am every morning. Rather than start running indoors on a treadmill (the equivalent of Chinese water torture for me) I keep doing my thing outdoors but adjust times to avoid the dangerous conditions.
Here are 5 of my humble off-season tips to help you hit the ground running (pun is completely intended, of course) when you’re able to race again:
- You may not have to run as far but don’t stop doing your long-runs. I honestly don’t significantly lower my weekly mileage during off season. Maybe my long-runs will be 8-11 miles while I’m training but only 7-9 when I’m not. No biggie…
- Increase your cross-training to strengthen hips, legs and core. (something you can do indoors and in the air conditioning is always a plus.) You want to protect those knees and hips by staying strong!
- Sign up for shorter races. They usually organize these year-round. I’ll be doing a 10K in a couple weeks with one of my girlfriends just for fun. It may not be a half but, it keeps you motivated and honest about your conditioning.
- Start thinking about your goals. Do you have a specific time goal? Do you want to do a full? Do you need to save money to support your addiction to racing out of town? Start preparing as of now.
- Get social. Join a group through your local running store or meetup.com. Knowing that you have people waiting on you to run will keep you honest about getting out there even when its really, REALLY hot out…
I’m doing 7 or 8 tomorrow… 🙂
Little Miss Sunshine State 