The ground might literally be on fire...

I can't take the heat . . . So, I got out of the kitchen Vegas

I've mentioned a few times how disappointed and unhappy I am with the way the weather is behaving in Las Vegas. I mean, I get it Las Vegas...you're a desert. No need to show off, have a temper tantrum or whatever you call this scorching behavior. Message received. I promise not to complain about 107 anymore.

Thursday, my co-worker and I went to eat salad bar at Whole Foods.  Apparently, I love spending $16 on salad (and my husband thinks that I spend too much money at Jason's Deli...). But, you see, there isn't a Yogurtland in the parking lot of Jason's Deli.  Therefore, I must go to whole foods due to its proximity to frozen, creamy heaven in a paper bowl.

It was so hot, that my rate of eating the frozen yogurt couldn't keep up with the rate of melting. That's ok.  I like mochi and heath bar soup in a red velvet and root beer float flavored creamy broth. 

I'm so glad that I'm escaping to Chicago this weekend. I mean, I don't even care that it might rain most of the weekend. It will literally be 30 degrees cooler. No joke

So, today, Las Vegas really impressed me with its misbehaving weather. American Airlines had to ask like a dozen people to take a later flight in exchange for a $500 travel voucher.  This request was not as a result of over-booking the flight. No. This request was because it was literally so hot in Vegas that the plane wouldn't be able to get enough lift if the plane was full. That's right. It is so hot in Vegas, airplanes basically don't work right. 

Have I mentioned how glad I am to be in Chicago?

7-11 Slurpees on every corner - one of my favorite things about Chicago

My orange chicken salad + adventures in staying hydrated in the desert

Wednesday Workout:
3 miles
This was all treadmill.  I started with a 0.5 mile warmup at 6.0 mph & 0.0 incline.  After that I did 3 sets of 0.5 miles at 6.6 mph & 1.0 incline + 0.5 miles at 5.7 mph & 1.0 incline.  For obvious reasons, this felt *so* much better than my run yesterday!!  

I followed up the run with just the tiniest bit of strength training, which, of course, including some planking.

Today was a full 6 degrees hotter than yesterday and, after my super sweat-tastic run yesterday, it would have been easy to give in to the desert weather and succumb to the charms of my couch and television.  However, I pulled myself up and marched off to the gym and got my 3 miles in.

If it is important to you, you will find a way.  If it isn't, you will find an excuse.

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Wednesday was such a pleasant day, look at this super healthy awesome lunch.

This was Plate #2 from the buffet.  Ok, that's a lie, it was Plate #3.

Behold, Lotus of Siam lunch buffet - Wednesday is orange chicken day.

So, after some super top-secret, time-intensive investigation, I've discovered that a mountain of orange chicken, numerous banana/coconut egg rolls, and an infinite number of pieces of sweet potato tempura is not the way to attain a flat stomach.  Who knew?  I mean, note the orange slice and the watermelon - don't they basically convert this plate of fried heaven into a salad?  No?  Well, agree to disagree then.

As I said, Wednesday was a pretty pleasant day ..... as long as we're avoiding the topic of the weather, that is.  The temperature got up to 108 degrees and was already almost 90 degrees when I woke up this morning.  I truly believe that living in the desert is a runner's worst nightmare (well, the desert or, maybe, chronic IT band issues).  I'm starting to understand why I haven't found an active running community here like I had when I lived in Memphis, TN.

.... and there is no relief from this heat in sight - in fact, it is only going to get worse! I looked at the weather on my phone and my only response: "You've got to be kidding me, 117?"

Thank goodness I'll be in Chicago this weekend - the highest temperature estimated for the weekend is 79 degrees on Friday!!

One thing I need to really focus on in this heat is hydration.  Drinking adequate water is not a strong point of mine, so I generally need a little help in that department.  I just get bored so easily.  I need something with some flavor (and apparently drinking 4 cans of diet coke a day will not hydrate you?).  I've tried the crystal light packets, but I also need something that is going to replenish my electrolytes.  So, I've decided to give nuun a try.  I sampled it at Ragnar and got a discount code, so I thought, what the heck and placed an order.

It was only after placing the order that I realized I had been using this stuff for years and just didn't realize it was the same stuff!  I had purchased several tubes of lemon-lime nuun tablets at Fleet Feet when I lived in Huntsville, AL (circa May 2011).  Unfortunately, they had been placed in a non-obvious box when I moved to Vegas and I only just found them this evening before heading to the gym!  Very excited to finish this final tube of nuun tablets up before I get my latest order!

Vintage Nuun
(well, maybe not old enough to be vintage - I mean, it isn't expired yet...)

PS - I get NO monies, etc. from nuun.  I'm just trying these out in a desperate attempt to stay hydrated in the aforementioned 117 degree heat!

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True or False, Orange Chicken is good for you?
       (well, at the very least, I think it is good for the soul)

For those of you that have been to Vegas, have you ventured to Lotus?  Or, did its semi-sketch shopping strip location scare you off?
       (If you fall into the deterred group, twist my arm, I'll be your chaperone)

What's your take on nuun?  Better than crystal light packets? 

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Stressed Out - Need Desserts (Watermelon Oreos & Cookie Butter to be exact)

Tuesday Workout:
4 miles
I forced myself to run outside, even though I didn't get up early enough to run this morning and had to run after work.  Even at 7pm it was still 100 degrees!  Living in the desert is really unpleasant sometimes.  It is supposed to 114 degrees this weekend (?!!?) - thank god I'm going to be out of town.  In addition, my legs still feel super heavy from Ragnar and my calves started burning .25 miles into the run (probably b/c of that epic 1700 ft hill).
Tomorrow is another day and I'll make myself more proud than I did today.


Monday was such a rotten day.  Well, it wasn't that bad.  The only thing that really happened was my being two minutes late to pick up my dogs from the vet and the vet locking me out and not allowing me to pick my dogs up until yesterday.  I understand that late is late, but I was just hoping that their sense of customer service would prevail and they'd cut me two minutes of slack.

Now, if I'm being honest, I think I was still overly tired from Ragnar.  That being said, I got a little emotional about my dog pick-up failure, but I was really looking forward to having my babies home.  Suffice to say, my plans for my first post-Ragnar workout got side tracked by my little breakdown.

To survive Monday I needed cookies

Cue the Watermelon Oreos (allegedly available only at Target).  These seriously made my night infinitely better.

So delicious.  Seriously, watermelon oreos!  What will those clever devils at Nabisco come up with next?

Speaking of grocery items that make me very happy, look what else I discovered at Target:

Move over Speculoos!  There is a new cookie butter in my life!!

Woah.  Biscoff Cookie Butter?!  I know the entire nation is obsessed with speculoos from Trader Joe's and that the entire nation is also being plagued with the unthinkable, a shortage!  Well, I think I can stop trying to show up at Trader Joe's the second they open on the off chance that they have cookie butter in stock.

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What strategies do you use to prevent the stress of life from interfering with your workouts?

Have you tried the Watermelon Oreos?  Thumbs up or thumbs down?

       (In case I was unclear, two thumbs WAY up from me)

Are you a cookie butter fan?  What's your favorite food to eat it with?

       (I'm thinking of putting it on toast with sliced bananas!)

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Weekend Roundup - Ragnar Recap

This was the weekend of my first Ragnar Adventure!!

I can't fully describe the ups and downs of this weekend, but I'm going to try anyway.  But, by way of preview:  there were moments of laughter; moments of team unity; moments of teeth-chattering cold; moments of triumph; and many, many moments of sleep deprivation.

Day #1 - Thursday - Travel Day
After super oversleeping, I had to rush around and frantically throw the remaining items that I needed, or at least the remaining items that I thought I needed . . .

I understand that it looks like I took a stuffed animal on the trip.
Well, I did take a stuffed animal on the trip, but I had a perfectly logical reason.....  Pluto here makes a *fantastic* pillow and he's much smaller than any of my other pillows.

I met up with the other 5 members of my team that were in my van (Van #2) at my work parking lot and were on the road to Logan, Utah.  I don't think I really comprehended how far away the start line for this Ragnar was from Las Vegas; it was an 8 hour drive.  That being said it was actually a very pleasant drive and not just because I didn't have to drive at all, but also because we stopped at one of my favorite spots for lunch:

Cafe Rio Fire Grilled Steak Salad w/ House Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Once we finally arrived in Logan, we settled in at a house that belongs to one of my teammate's relatives.  So awesome that we didn't have to stay further away or splurge on hotel rooms!  Plus, I made a friend of the only occupant that was home during our stay:

Yes, I'm totally that girl that hangs out with an animal rather than get to know people that I don't know.

After briefly settling in we headed over to Olive Garden to carb up because we had some taxing days in front of us (dang, I really love carbs).  Then it was off to bed...our start time was 5:45am the next morning!  

Day #2 - Friday - Ragnar Start Day

I had a 5am alarm so I could take a super quick shower (knowing that it could be awhile before I had another chance to shower) before we headed to the start line at Utah State to send off our first runner.  Even though it was crazy early, we got to see the sun rise over the mountains and it was phenomenal.

Now, let me start by saying how glad I am that I was in Van #2. By being in Van #2, all I had to do was show up at the start line to cheer on our first runner and then head over to Village Inn for a delicious breakfast (i.e., more carbs).

Bacon, eggs, pancakes, and french toast.  The perfect start to any Ragnar experience.

After breakfast we drove to Exchange #6 where we had our safety briefing and waited for van #1 to arrive.  It was so exciting when we finally saw runner #6 coming down the road.  He slapped the slap bracelet on MC's wrist and she was off.  We hurried off to the van to chase after her, drive a little past her, then jump out of the van and shake cow bells, jump in the air like crazy people, and cheer her on.  It was more of the same with runners #8 and #9.  Before I knew it, it was my turn!  Scott/Steve slapped the bracelet on my wrist and I was off, running down a beautiful Utah country road.  

The first mile flew by (9:18), but after that I turned and was running in to a *very* strong wind.  At about 2.5 miles, my shoe came completely untied! That NEVER happens to me.  I blame the wind.  Finally, at 3.7 miles, I rounded one final curve and I could see the exchange zone and my teammate #11/GS was there waiting to take off on a 7.3 mile, mostly uphill, run!

The wind and elevation affected me more than I thought it would.
I ended up averaging 9:57/mile.

Once #11/GS handed off, #12/DC went off for a super quick 2-mile jaunt on a trail run at Snow Basin Ski Resort.  He was back in a cool 18:39 and we had some time to recuperate while Van #1 was doing their thing.  

We drove over to Exchange #16 where we had the opportunity to sleep in our sleeping bags on the lawn outside a high school.  I got about 1 hour of sleep (not enough) before it was time to head over to Exchange #18 and wait for Van #1.  It was starting to get dark and it looked like I would be running my next leg in the wee hours of the morning.

Our van looked pretty snazzy in the dark!  We had Christmas lights around the edges of the van that were plugged in to an outlet inside the van.  I mean, the decorations on most of the vans were incredible.

Day #3 - Saturday - Ragnar Finish Day
My next leg was a 7.5 mile run on a gravel path with just a slight, steady incline.  I started running at the fantastic hour of 12:55am.  When running a night leg in Ragnar, you're required to wear a reflective safety vest, a headlamp, and a blinking tail light.  I really wish I had a pic of it because I looked like a certified crossing guard.  Even though I had a headlamp, I was really nervous about running in the dark on this gravel path because I am super clumsy and there seemed to be a substantial risk that I would misplace my foot and break an ankle.  This fear kept my pace pretty slow, but I survived the 7.5 mile run without breaking any bones and handed the slap bracelet off to #11/GS once again.

I neglected to mention that, when I started running, it was 43 degrees when I started my 1 am stroll through the Utah wilderness?  Well, it was...and that temperature plus the sweat involved in running 7.5 miles made me a shivering, chattering mess.  I seriously thought I would never be warm again!

The next few hours are sort of a blur of chattering and sleeping.  I seriously have no idea what we did between the time when #12/DC completed his leg and the time shortly before MC took off for her final leg!  At this point I was getting super nervous for RAGNAR HILL, i.e., 4 miles straight up 1700 ft in elevation.  But, before I knew it, my final leg was upon me.....and it was wonderful!!  It was a challenge, and it was the slowest 4 miles I've ever run/walked (outside of leisurely hiking), and I enjoyed every single second of it.  Once I reached the top of the hill, I realized that my Ragnar adventure was quickly coming to a close. =(

I'm so impressed if you're still reading this.  I told you, the last few hours of the adventure was a complete blur which meant I wasn't the best at taking pictures.

At approximately 3:35 pm MST, we crossed the finish line at Park City High School and I officially became a Ragthlete? a Ragnite?  a Ragnarian?  Well, I became whatever you call a person that completed a Ragnar Relay without going completely insane from lack of sleep and lack of showering.

I'm definitely already ready to sign up for Ragnar Las Vegas.  Who wants to join me?

Ready for Ragnar - Wasatch Back!

I'm going to be occupied over the next couple days.  Tomorrow morning is the beginning of my latest adventure.  At 9:45, I'll be leaving Las Vegas with 11 of my closest friends (okay, that's not really true, I only even know two of them) and heading to Logan, Utah to begin what will be my first Ragnar Relay!  Specifically, I'll be running on a 12-person team doing Ragnar Wasatch Back.

I am Runner #10, which means I run legs numbers 10, 22, and 34.

Leg #10 should be a breeze: slightly less than 4 miles and basically flat

Leg #22 is slightly less of a breeze.  Only because it is 7.3 miles.  The slight overall incline shouldn't be too big of a problem (I know, I know...famous last words...)

And then there's leg #34....Oh, leg #34.  Just a quick 4 mile jaunt through the woods.  Oh yeah, 4 miles + an elevation increase of nearly 1700 feet!

These are my legs and, whats more, these are the legs that I chose.  Originally, I was going to walk the easy path of runner #12.  However, the sick freak inside of me needed an extra challenge and wanted the extra mileage, so I requested (beg & pleaded) to get switched to runner #10.

I'm so excited and I'm pretty sure I'm overpacking.  My backpacking pack is full, I have a duffle full of food and drinks and I also have my messenger bag because there is no way I can leave my trusty laptop  behind.  This talk of the things I'm taking is freaking me out because I haven't finished packing!!

I already can't believe that some people do these as a 6-person team!  I'm pretty sure I'll be in even deeper disbelief come Saturday when I finish my third leg.

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Do you pack at the last minute before a trip?

       (I wish I wasn't, but I'm always last minute)

What are your go-to items that you always take on road trips?

        (I always need my laptop, chewy sprees, and diet coke)

What are you watching on TV now that most of the shows are on summer hiatus?

        (I've been watching a lot of Netflix lately.  The cord that hooks my iPad to the TV is a godsend!)

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Better Late than Never - Weekend Roundup

Yes, it is already Wednesday, but I'm going to recap my weekend anyway because it was so fun!  First, we got up at at 5:45 am, by choice, to meet up with some of our best hiking buddies to hike up to Cockscomb Peak in the Spring Mountains at 9,692 feet of elevation.

The hike was ~5 miles round trip beginning at Trail Canyon and most of it was on a very nicely maintained trail.  Once you get to the saddle (2 miles from the trail head), instead of going left toward Mount Charleston, you follow the slightly more faint trail to the right.  

The last little bit involved a little scrambling, but nothing we couldn't handle in the capable hands of our fearless and always prepared leader, Bill.

This was the most exposure we encountered

Doesn't it look like he loves it when I shove my iPhone in his face?

It was a beautiful day.  The weather was in the high-50s when we started and warmed up to high-70s by the end....a perfect day hanging out in the woods with my husband and some of our friends.  ...and we earned the Jack of Hearts for our troubles.  (My 15th card!  Only 37 more to go!)

Our selfies didn't turn out so well...but someone else took this and I kind of liked it.

I really love taking walks in the woods.
(I know I've said this before, but isn't my husband a pretty awesome iPhone photographer?)

After our hike, we each had appointments for a 50-minute massage.  It was awesome.  

This weekend was also awesome because I got to hang out with one of my dear friends from law school.  Her being in town was a total surprise, but we had a blast.  We did all of the Vegas-y things like gambling (I put a total of $6 on the line) a little and seeing the Bellagio fountains.  

But, we also did some of the uniquely Vegas things that people forget about, like hanging out with my other friend Flif at Boulder Beach at Lake Mead.  We also took Maggie!!  She *loves* swimming and it was so fun to get in the water and swim with her.  The only drawback was her claws coming in to contact with my legs as she was dog paddling.  

Really, Maggie was such a good dog and very patiently endured me shoving my iPhone in her face. 

she was so dirty from swimming then laying in the sand

If you live in the Vegas area and want to take your dog to the beach, just a heads up, you will get fined if you have a dog at Boulder Beach proper.  I didn't get ticketed because we didn't get out of the car before speaking with someone that had recently been ticketed $108!!  However, you are allowed to have dogs just south on the "Special Events Beach."  I actually think it is superior to Boulder Beach.  It isn't as crowded, isn't as rocky, and you can pull your car up closer to the water.

me shoving my iPhone in faces to take pictures seems to be a reoccurring theme in this blog post

I had such a super fantastic weekend, but I was (and still am) exhausted!  The exhaustion would maybe, sort of explain my absence from the blogosphere during the last few days.  

I needed my beauty rest; Thursday morning I leave for a weekend in Utah during which I'll be doing my first Ragnar Relay.    More on that in the coming days.

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Ever done a Ragnar?  What are the crucial things that I might forget to pack that are really important?

How do you feel about spending a day at the lake?  What are the essentials needed for a day at the beach?

       (I personally need some sort of float to lounge in the water)

Have you ever been to Vegas?  What's your favorite Vegas activity?

       (Obviously I'm partial to hiking, but I could watch the Bellagio fountains for hours.  They basically hypnotize me!)

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Another June day in Nevada = more treadmill time...

.....and there is no end in sight to the time I will be spending on a treadmill......

So, this is my most recent attempt to distract myself from the fact that I'm running in place for 50 minutes.  Yes, I find that the pink legal pad paper helps make it a little less miserable.  However, I can sympathize that taking a picture of the written workout doesn't make for efficient repeatability....mostly because I'm not sure the workout is legible in the picture above.  So, I made the below chart that shows the main nuts & bolts of my interval workout.  

It is basically 10x400m at 10K pace with a little recovery in between.  This workout took me to 4.25 miles, so I just sort of made it up as I went along for .75 miles to make it a nice round 5 miles.  The time passed like nothing, probably because I was watching the brilliant cinematic stylings of Dawson's Creek via Netflix.  Oh, you caught that, huh?  Try not to judge me...I watch a lot of Netflix and I can only watch Spirit of the Marathon and all the episodes of Arrested Development so many times....

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Mid-Week check-in:  How have your workouts gone this week?

What fruits have been eating lately?

     (I had some really delicious seedless watermelon today!!)

I think I need new running headphones.  Any suggestions?

     (I currently use yurbuds but they kept falling out today....umm, that's not supposed to happen?)

Blue Skies, brown box . . . My June StrideBox has arrived!!

My husband can attest to the fact that I don't often check my mail.  However, this pattern changes when I'm expecting something exciting....and at the beginning of the month, I am excitedly expecting my StrideBox and the latest issue of Runner's World.  This month, they came on the same day!!!

It's like the postal service new I needed a kick in the butt this week

This is my first StrideBox and I have to say, I am impressed.  The packaging was minimalist and tasteful (both really big positives in my book).  I also really liked the "Just Keep Running" tape on the outside.

And as much as I liked the packaging, I am even more excited about the contents.  I'll be holding off on most of these products until Ragnar (T-minus 10ish days! eek!), especially the banana blueberry almond butter pocket fuel and the skratch labs lemon/lime hydration mix.  I'm super intrigued by the PowerIce popsicle type thing.  I promptly put it in my freezer and will be consuming it after I get home from a sweaty run or bike ride in the near future.

I mean, this really is the perfect box of goodies for me.  For example, I have pretty near constant tightness in the arches of my foot and live in near constant fear of getting plantar fasciitis again.  Thus, I'm pretty jazzed to try the Due North Foot Rubz Massage Ball.  This item will definitely be packed in my pack for Ragnar, along with my foam roller of course.  

Finally, I'm looking forward to lacing up the Lock Laces in my LunarGlides.  In high school I had a pair of Saucony running shoes that had a toggle so that I didn't have to tie them and I loved them and how I felt running in them.  Unfortunately, I can't even find a picture of them and have no idea what the model was called =( .  Even if just for the purposes of nostalgia, I'm looking forward to lacing up this no tie shoelace system!  I hope these work half as well as the lacing system in my Solomon Trail Runners, these laces do not loosen for anything - so so awesome.

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Do you subscribe to StrideBox?  Which item this month are you most looking to try out?

Which other "surprise/sample boxes" have you investigated?

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Sunday - 6 mile Treadmill Workout (including Treadmill Roulette!!)

I think my feelings about treadmills are pretty much in line with the majority of the human population.  I   very, very much prefer running out on the roads, so I try to avoid treadmills as much as possible.  That being said, when it is 111 degrees outside on June 8th and the temperature is already 86 degrees (and quickly climbing) at 6 am, running outside isn't the smartest idea.  Thus, treadmills in Las Vegas seem unavoidable to me.

via someecards

I needed to run at least 6 miles this weekend and I was determined not to skip out on it.  I definitely did not get up to run at 6am to run when it was (relatively) cool, so I was stuck with the decision of either not running or spending an hour on the dreadmill.

To make it a little more entertaining, I came up with the following workout meshing a workout from the Hungry Runner Girl and an idea I got from Carrots n Cake:

The Part from Hungry Runner Girl (modified and repeated from this)

5 min warm up (6.0 mph)

1 min hard run (6.5 mph)

1 min easy run (6.0 mph)

2 min hard run (6.5 mph)

1 min easy run (6.0 mph)

3 min hard run (6.5 mph)

1 min easy run (6.0 mph)

4 min hard run (6.5 mph)

2 min easy run (6.0 mph)

1 min hard run (6.3 mph)

1 min easy run (5.7 mph)

2 min hard run (6.3 mph)

1 min easy run (5.7 mph)

3 min hard run (6.3 mph)

1 min easy run (5.5 mph)

4 min hard run (6.3 mph)

2 min easy run (5.0 mph)

Treadmill Roulette:  The Part from Carrots n Cake (modified/shortened from this)

Step 1: Get your favorite playlist and put it on shuffle

Step 2: Create your own questions or use these:

     Song #1 - warm-up (5.5 mph)

     Song #2 - Is the singer of the song male or female?

          Male - 6.0 mph

          Female - 5.7 mph

          Both - 6.3 mph

     Song #3 - Is the song longer than 3 minutes?

          Yes - 5.7 mph

          No - 6.0 mph

     Song #4 - Is the song related to love?

          Yes - 5.5 mph

          No - 5.7 mph

     Song #5 - Is the song title related to running?

          Yes - 5.7 mph

          No - 6.0 mph

     Song #6 - recovery (5.5 mph)

     Song #7 - Is the singer male or female?

          Male - 6.0  mph

          Female - 6.3 mph

          Both - 5.7 mph

     Song #8 - Is the song from before 2000?

          Yes - 6.3 mph

          No - 5.7 mph

     Song #9 - cool down (5.0 mph)

**I actually hit 6 miles before getting all the way through song #8, but you get the idea**

Normally, I think treadmill workouts pass by slower than the time passes at the dentist's office...but doing this workout made it seem not quite as bad.

Hiking Mummy Mountain - Ace of Hearts

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to join 18 fellow hikers from the Hiking Las Vegas meetup group on the ~9.5 mile hike up 3,732 feet to the peak of Mummy Mountain (some people call it Mummy's Tummy) for a final elevation of 11,542 feet:

via hikinglasvegas.blogspot.com

It was a very strenuous hike.  It was as strenuous as you can imagine hiking up over 3700 feet of elevation at an already high elevation.  The first ~3.5 miles, although severely uphill, were on a nicely maintained trail that wound through gorgeous forests of bristlecone pine and aspen trees.  

However, around that 3.5 mile mark the hike takes a turn for the exceptionally strenuous as soon as you see this tree:

"M" is for "Mummy"

This tree signifies the make a sharp right turn off the main path and head up the steepest most evil scree slope I have ever encountered.  It was so steep and the rock was so loose that I often felt like I was spinning my wheels getting to the top.  

The only thing worse than climbing up was climbing down.  I was covered in dust from falling.  Fortunately no blood was spilled.

Once we got to the top, we had a very special celebration for my friend Dinorah became a 53er!!  This means that she has climbed the best 52 peaks in the area surrounding Las Vegas.  By hiking and climbing all of these peaks, Dinorah has climbed over 110,000 feet and hiked the equivalent distance of the distance between Las Vegas and Los Angeles!!  She's also an incredible ambassador for organ donation because 2 years ago she was the recipient of a life saving kidney transplant. 

In addition to celebrating Dinorah, reaching the top of Mummy Mountain resulted in me earning my first Ace!! 

It was truly one of those fantastic days.  I spent time with incredibly interesting people; burned a ton of calories; and saw some incredible views from the second tallest peak in southern Nevada.

Finally, my favorite pic of the hike: 

This tree was almost completely hollowed out by what appears to be lightning.  The opening was just wide enough for my obviously very broad shoulders.  This is basically my new tree house.

And of course...after burning over 3000 calories, I was starving and decided a treat was in order.  Have you figured out that I'm pretty obsessed with these McDonald's caramel shakes? 

Now, I really need to convince myself to make my way to the treadmill and run 6 miles, but I am pretty sore from yesterday which has kept me pretty firmly within the clutches of my couch.  We'll see how that pans out.

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What have your workouts looked like this weekend?
(I obviously avoided the 111 degree Vegas weather by traveling to the Mt. Charleston area where it was ~25 degrees cooler!)

What do you think about my I <3 Sweat shirt?
(If you're jealous, you can get one here - and a portion of the proceeds goes directly to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America)

How do you survive long treadmill workouts?
(I'm still figuring this out...but right now, I write workouts and switch up inclines and paces.  I'm still open to suggestions)
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