Summer Kickoff Success

Thank you for your wishes for great weather for our annual Summer Kickoff Barbecue last Sunday. The storms held off until well after midnight and we had delightful weather, albeit slightly warm for my taste. It just goes to show that stalking the weather does nothing more than add stress to the event and ultimately, we have zero control.

The whittled down guest list worked out really well and for the first time in years, Bill and I felt like we were able to spend a little time with all of our friends. Daniel, Jess, and Pablo spent the night so we got even more time with them which always makes my heart happy.

I saw clients from 6 AM to 2 PM on Memorial Day, but took time to pose with Bill and Pablo before Pablo had to go home. Once I’d finished up with my last client, I crashed and took a two-hour nap.

 

A Short Workweek

As I mentioned, I worked on the holiday; however, I didn’t work on Thursday or Friday. The youngest daughter of dear friends from college got married on Friday evening on the Outer Banks. We had three days worth of wedding events so we drove down to our beach house early Thursday morning.

 

Wedding Festivities

Our friends extended an invitation to all wedding attendees to three incredibly fun days of festivities…

  • ♥ Thursday evening – drinks and desserts at sunset on Currituck Sound hosted by the groom’s family

 

  • ♥ Friday afternoon into the evening – wedding ceremony, cocktail reception, dinner, and a night filled with dancing (and monsoons)

Around 3 PM a heavy rain storm passed through the Outer Banks and the bride had to decide whether to keep the 5 PM wedding on the beach or go with plan B and move it inside. She opted for the beach and was blessed with fantastic weather as two storms slipped past us, one just to the north and one to the south.

 

A special thanks goes to our friend Barb for taking our picture on the beach before heading back to the house for the cocktail reception.

 

The weather held out with only occasional rain, but by then we were all underneath the huge party tent. Around 10:15 PM, the monsoon hit and Bill and I were totally soaked by the time we got to our car. We were a little nervous about driving up the beach to our house in that weather, but all was fine and we made it to our house safely, but soaked.

  • ♥ Saturday morning – brunch hosted by the bride’s family

For many of us, the weekend was pretty much a college reunion. Three couples had already left for home when we got around to taking this picture, but suffice it to say, we loved seeing so many college friends and we had an absolute blast! Unfortunately, we did have one injury when one of our friends broke her foot while dancing at the wedding.

 

And Now on to a RunDown of this Past Week’s Workouts…

 

Running

Sunday’s run was at a relaxing pace in the shade on our neighborhood trails. I stopped to eat a few mulberries, but unfortunately, not many were ripe. They’re probably perfect this weekend while we’re away…

 

Tuesday’s run started out outside at a ridiculously early hour, but after three miles it started raining really hard so I moved inside to my treadmill (affiliate link) for my final two miles. I don’t mind running in the rain, but I didn’t want to get my hair soaked and not have time to dry it before heading into the freezing gym for four miserably cold hours.

After our bike ride on Friday (see below), we arrived back at our beach house just as the tide was going out so I laced up my running shoes for six miles. I was thrilled that after riding 40 miles, my pace was only 30 seconds slower than my regular (post-injury) pace. Considering that I was also running in the heat of the mid-day and on sand, I was extremely pleased with my 10:14 average pace.

 

Running was easier because I didn’t have to keep an eye out for beach traffic. Normally, people (ourselves included) prefer to drive on the packed sand so that’s always been a concern when running at low tide. The new law that went into effect last summer, makes life easier for runners, walkers, and parents of children playing along the ocean.

 

Biking

After receiving a text from our friend Barb that she was taking her bike with her to the beach, we decided to bring ours along as well. Barb is to biking, what I used to be to running, so I was a little concerned about being able to keep up with her and Bill. Fortunately for me, Barb had gone on a tough ride the day before we joined her, so I had no problem keeping up with them at their 15.5 MPH speed for 40 miles.

For those of you who know the Outer Banks, we met at Harris Teeter and rode south along Route 12 to Southern Shores before turning around to ride all the way north to where the paved road ends and the sand road begins. After that turnaround, we rode back to Harris Teeter to our cars, completing 40 miles, mostly riding along the narrow bike lane.

Our 6 AM start got us out before traffic got heavy along Route 12 and for the most part, drivers were very cautious when passing us. One pickup truck; however, decided to act like a jackass and speed by way too fast and too close.

 

After our ride, we stopped in at Duck Donuts to refuel. Disappointed that they didn’t have Bavarian cream filled donuts, I opted for a chocolate milk instead of a donut. The concept behind Duck Donuts is that you get hot-out-of-the-fryer donuts that are glazed/iced/decorated according to your order. Bill ordered a chocolate iced donut and gave me a taste. It was delicious, but it was no Bavarian cream. HaHa!

 

Strength Training

I skipped Monday’s lifting session due to extreme fatigue from our busy weekend. Wednesday’s workout went as planned and I moved Friday’s to Saturday when I had a little more time and hadn’t just ridden my bike and run. Here, I’m doing bench step ups with knee raises using the second stair.

 

Yoga

My first two yoga workouts of the week were in our basement – same ole, same ole – but a cool beach breeze made Saturday’s Yoga for Bikers a real delight!

 

It’s on the Blog

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

I had hoped to finish the second part of my recap of our Five Boro Bike Tour, but it didn’t happen. As I mentioned last week, I got a good start on it with my pictures, but have to add the story and didn’t have a chance to touch it. I do need to get it finished so I can start working on the DC Bike Ride recap before I forget what we saw.

 

In addition to the workouts I mentioned above, here’s a complete rundown of my workouts from this past week (completed mostly in our home gym)…

 

  • Questions:
  • Have you visited the Outer Banks?
  • Where was the last wedding you attended? ~ This was our first beach wedding, but our second outdoor wedding in three months. 
  • Did you race this weekend?

 

And that’s my rundown… Have a great week!

 

Disclaimer:  This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.

 

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I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!