Man, I don’t know how Alicia does it all, but she puts on one hell of a party.

Both the food and drinks were spot on Wednesday night.

I immediately went for the drinks and Jay, obviously, went for the food. I wish I had a picture of him, you guys. He was on a MISSION. A mission to eat all.the.food.

Which he definitely did.

All those check marks?? Yeah, he tried all of those. 29 out of 40. TWENTY-NINE. And the only reason he didn’t try all 40 is because it was food he had had already (Angelo’s pizza, Aladdin’s hummus, etc).

Jay’s two favorites were Deagan’s and L’Albatros (with Jammy Buggars giving them a run for their money!).

Mine? Deagan’s (omg, the chicken paprikash was to die for!) and Blue Canyon (s’mores, yum!). But I mostly dominated the cocktails. It was that kind of night.

And, best of all, we got to support The Arthritis Foundation and all our favorite local restaurants in one night. A win-win!

Plus, a lot of our favorite people were there, too, so it was a complete trifecta!

It’s sad that our favorite event of the year is over already, but we’ll be back for more next year. That’s a promise!

Do you have a favorite dish from a local restaurant where you live?

Every year I’m so late at posting about the Greensburg Turkey Trot. I get so caught up in the holidays that I completely abandon my computer and blogging.

It was our 4th year running the 5k in J’s hometown and those hills never get any easier. They actually get harder because C gets faster every year!

But it’s been getting more fun every year because more and more of J’s friends come out for it now.

I can’t wait until their kids are old enough to join us!

This race was the best one yet. C went into this race with determination. He really wanted to beat last year’s time, but he especially wanted to break the dreaded 30 minute mark. His PR is around 28 minutes, but that’s on a flat Ohio course – the hills in Pennsylvania are no joke.

• 2009 = 37:42
• 2010 = 33:44
• 2011 = 31:40

All I wanted was for C not to cry. He has a bad habit in mile 2 of wanting to quit (especially up the long hill!).

And not only were there no tears, but he charged the last, worst hill of them all (deemed “Cardiac Hill” because it’s right next to the hospital).

He’s even smiling!

I’m such a sappy, proud mom. He wanted this so bad. This was the first year I didn’t have to drag him up the hill or give him any pep talks – he did it all on his own. All I did was follow him.

I’m not gonna lie and say he was happy with this time. He wasn’t. BUT I told him that he was my hero that morning. Everything that I’ve ever taught him came out during this race. He was cheering others on, talking to us, having a good time, and running hard – never quitting even when he knew breaking 30 wasn’t going to happen. And then, instead of sulking, he turned his mood around and went to cheer everyone else on.

God, I love that kid.

What did you do this Thanksgiving? Did you host at your house, go to your parents, visit friends out of town??

Oh, and the winner of the entry to the Santa Hustle is #22: Anna!!! Guess all those tweets made the difference, girl! Email me your info and I’ll get it over to the race director. Congrats!

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July with lots of friends, family, food, and fun! I know I sure did.

I spent the morning sweating my butt off with an early morning run at the high school track and then again watching our city’s parade shortly after. I’m not normally a huge parade fan but, this year, C was IN the parade!

My two closest friends, their kids, and my parents all made the trek to Lakewood for the event.

And C did not disappoint.

From what I hear, he did not take a break the entire parade. The kid is a machine on that unicycle!

I give him credit – the heat was pretty much unbearable today.

But that smile says it all.

He had a blast. And we had a blast watching him.

Did you watch a parade today? What did you do to beat the heat?? J and I went to the movies this afternoon to see Ted. Who has a pool and wants to be my friend?? I’ll bring cookies……….!

Saturday I ran 10 miles.

They weren’t the best 10 miles, but they weren’t the worst either.

I’m not going to lie and say that my marathon training so far has been ideal. I’m only 3 weeks in, but the worry is in the back of my mind. Just a little, but it’s there.

I remember when I was training for the Glass City Half Marathon and I rocked all my weekday runs and sucked at my weekend long runs. Seems to be a common theme this time around, too. Luckily I have the reminder that everything magically came together the day of Glass City and I PR’d the crap out of that race. That’s the one thing keeping me grounded when a have a “not so great” long run right now.

So instead of freaking out about it, I headed out to spend a day in the sun with good friends. Friends who don’t care that I’m having belly “troubles” from my run, that I’m wearing compression socks and Sperry’s (together), or that I’m lazy our entire visit and let them cook for me.

I think this training cycle is going to be A-OK. My mind is in a good place and while that little bit of worry is still there, it hasn’t taken over (at least not yet!). And with good friends like these, I think I’m gonna be ok.

What do you like to do after your long run? Sleep? Drink? Shop? Dance?

Hey, Friends!

These past 2 weeks have been the definition of CRAZY.

In the midst of all the condo renovations, J lost a friend near and dear to him a week ago today and we spent a few unexpected days in Pittsburgh. It was incredibly sad and emotional, but it was where we needed to be for those days.

The new tenants move in tomorrow and we put the finishing touches on the condo today. I even did some renovations myself – check out what a little spray paint can do:

Except now my favorite Banana Republic sunglasses are covered in speckled spray paint. Fail.

But the 2 biggest updates have to be the new bay window.

OLD:

NEW:

And the kitchen!

OLD:

Wish I would have gotten a picture before they took out the upper cabinets!

NEW:

A lot of man hours went into that kitchen. And now I am forever in J’s and my dad’s debt. I’d offer their services to you, but I think they might kill me. They’re both over kitchen cabinets right now.

We will all be so so so so glad to hand over the keys to the new tenants tomorrow!

In addition to all the above, I’ve been trying to keep up with all my scheduled workouts.

I’ve been spinning for the pups:

Bike riding with J:

Ummmm…..hello, booty shorts. Had no idea they were so short!

And running/playing/sweating with C in our matching shirts:

It’s been a whirlwind, fo sho.

Oh, and I can’t forget, C got braces, too!

Isn’t he the cutest 10 year old ever?? He told me when we left the orthodontist, “I look good in braces, Mom.” Hehe. So modest – not sure where he got that from.

So that’s what I’ve been up to. Sadly I haven’t been able to spend any time relaxing in the sun yet. I’m looking forward to getting some sun on these white on white legs this weekend!

What have you been up to this past week?

Saturday was a ridiculously busy day. I wasn’t sure how we were going to do it all, but we dug down deep and got it done.

Here was the schedule:

• 9am Hyland 5k
• 9am baseball game
• 11am soccer game (J coaches!)
• 12pm birthday lunch for my mom
• packet pickup at the expo
• date night

Hmmmmm……..

Luckily I have the best parents in the entire world who showed up at our house at 8am Saturday morning to take C to his 9am baseball game.

J and I made it to the Hyland 5k with just enough time to pick up our bibs and gear up.

And somehow managed to find Kimi and Stef (volunteering) for a quick hello before the start!

We ran a quick(ish) 5k, finished with Chelsea, cooled off a bit, and got right back in the car to go to C’s baseball game.

Got to the game just in time to watch C pitch!

J left at 10:30 to fulfill his soccer coaching duties and I stayed with my parents to watch C finish out his baseball game.

As soon as it was over we booked over to the soccer fields (with C experiencing his first ever full car wardrobe change!). Once the game was over we came back to the house for a little lunch cookout/birthday celebration for my mom (she’s somehow 55 again? Weird).

We enjoyed some sausages from TJ’s Butcher Block and a little homemade Hershey’s Perfect Chocolate Cake before my parents took C home for the night and J and I headed to the expo to pick up our bibs for Sunday’s race. We went smelly and all. No showers yet – and, just for the record, 5k sweat, mixed with baseball field dust, is not a good combination. I sincerely apologize to anyone who was next to me in line at the packet pickup.

We finally made it home around 4:00 and ended up falling asleep (yep, still no showers) for about an hour or so. Which could quite possibly have been the best nap of my life.

And date night? Yeah, never happened. We ate leftovers, showered (yay!), and went to bed early. Like good runners do. Or like old people do. Your call.

Tell me one thing you did this past Saturday!

I’ve always loved spinning. I even became certified to teach spinning a few years ago (though, I found out the hard way that it was more fun for me to take a spinning class than to teach it – I’ll stick with step and weights – classes I know I’m good at teaching!). However, I didn’t fall in LOVE with spinning until I attended one of Jenn’s classes. And when she opened her own studio (Psycle) I was ecstatic!

It’s seriously a party on a bike. Great music, motivating instructor, and a badass attitude – she basically kicks my ass every class. It’s awesome.

So when I received an email saying that Anne, one of Psycle’s instructors, had made it to the final round of Bad Girl Ventures, I couldn’t not promote it. She wants to create an indoor cycling studio using bikes that generate electricity while you spin, making her studio “green”. Check it out:

Anne Hartnett, 28
Prospective Founder, Harness Fitness
Founding date TBD, Cleveland, Ohio

The idea: As one of BadGirl Ventures’ Spring 2012 Finalists, Hartnett is in the fledgling stage of her entrepreneurial career. She envisions Harness Fitness as a wellness studio that will garner a “triple bottom line.” With stationary bikes that capture the energy exerted by their users, Hartnett says she’ll evaluate her success not only on profits, but also on “the community we create, the impact our products and services have on the planet, and the influence of our profits on our local economy.”

Sweet inspiration: “I really look up to the entrepreneurs that we’re seeing birthed through our compromised economy,” says Hartnett, citing Danielle Deboe, who opened the the trendy retail spot The Dredger’s Union in Downtown Cleveland in 2010 and the niche boutique Room Service in 2007. “She’s paving the way for local businesses to grow. She sells all locally made products and they’re very unique.”

(source)

If you think Anne’s idea is as cool as I do, please complete this short survey. Once the survey is submitted you’ll be entered to win a $50 Lululemon gift card. Win win!

Edited:  Sorry, the Lulu survey is closed, but this one will enter you to win a $25 gift card to Market Garden Brewery (it will literally take you 2 minutes).  Sorry about that!

Do you spin? Do you have a favorite spinning studio in your city??

This weekend was the epitome of over-indulgence. I was in a wedding and for some reason all bets were off. Friday and Saturday I ate and drank like the world was ending. I got little to no sleep and my diet consisted completely of carbs, carbs, and more carbs.

Oh, and lots of this:

And this:

And these:

Ugh. Never again.

But I did get a meet a reader who introduced herself to me at the rehearsal dinner. Turns out there are people out there other than my family reading my blog (well, at least one)!

Hi Nikki!

So, even in my food/alcohol hangover and with only a few hours of sleep, I got up this morning and went for a 5 mile run with J. I hadn’t run since last week’s half marathon so it felt good to get out there and pound out some miles. I’m happy to get back on track after a weekend of overdoing it.

Is it hard for you to get back on track after a period of over-indulging? Two days usually is my max before I start to feel gross and NEED some veggies and exercise back in my life.

This weekend I ran the annual St. Malachi 5 Mile race. It’s the first real race of the year and it’s also the one year anniversary of meeting Kimi!

I didn’t sleep very well Friday night due to my nerves, but knowing that I’d be representing Team Sparkle Skirt traveling skirts with Kimi put some fun into the race for me. It helped me not focus so much on the 5 miles of hills I’d soon be facing.

And as funny as it sounds, the massive crowds of people actually helped calm my nerves. There wasn’t a lot of time to wait around for the race to start once I got through the port-a-potty line. There was just enough time to snap a few photos and then head to the starting line.

Running (and real life!) friends, Christie and Kimi

Before I knew it the bell rang and we were off.

Whoever designed this course was not fooling around. Holy hella hills. Cleveland is a relatively flat city, but this race runs through hill after hill after hill.

• Mile 1 = 8:22 This isn’t so bad. I feel good! Wait, ouch, that guy just kicked my right ankle. Crap, not my ankle! Stupid guy. Get out of my way.
• Mile 2 = 8:07 Wow. Is my ankle ok? It seems fine. Stop focusing on it and just run. Are these guys mad that a girl in a sparkly skirt is passing them? I kinda hope so. Suck it, boys.
• Mile 3 = 8:47 Ok, this is starting to blow. Plus, I’m going to have to go back up that hill I just came down. Just hang on, Heather, hang on.
• Mile 4 = 8:48 Suck it up, Heather. Breathe, breathe, breathe. Don’t look at the upcoming hill. Don’t look.
• Mile 5 = 8:00 OMG, I.want.to.die. And who’s touching me? Oh, hey Andy. Don’t talk to me, I’m concentrating on not dying. Go ahead. How the hell is he running so fast up this hill right now? Showoff. But, wait, there’s the finish line. RUN!!!!!

Final time = 42:05 (8:25/mile pace). Shut up. The last time I ran Malachi I ran a 44:50! I can’t tell you the last time I PR’d at a race so this felt pretty damn good. It’s coming back, my friends, it’s coming back………

Congrats to everyone who ran Malachi (and to anyone who raced this weekend!), I hear there were a ton of PR parties happening. Love it.

Oh, the winner of the FREE LARABARs is:

Congrats, Jeni!!!! Email me your mailing address by tomorrow night and I’ll pass it on to the people from LARABAR!!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Have you PR’d lately?

Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. Kimi and I had organized a Cleveland #RunforSherry for this past Saturday but, unfortunately, the Cleveland weather did not cooperate. The snow wasn’t TOO bad, but the wind was absolutely brutal.

So we all did our runs virtually, keeping Sherry in our thoughts and simply running because we can.

My run wasn’t the best. I even cut my schedule 7 miles down to 5 because I wasn’t feeling it. I was pretty emotional and had a hard time focusing. But when I wanted to quit at mile 4 I thought of Sherry and how her ability to run was taken away from her, and ended up finishing pretty strong.

5 miles at a 9:16 pace (the treadmill’s numbers include walking at the end).

What made me really happy, though, was seeing the #virtualhighfives my friends sent me from their runs.

Kimi:

Alana:

Heidi:

I’m so proud to be a runner and be a part of a community that comes together to support such an important cause.

Runners are awesome.

How was the weather by you this weekend? Were you able to run outside?

Oh, and the winner of the Vega Sport giveaway is Melissa!

Congrats, girl! Email me your address by the end of the day Monday (Feb. 13th) and I’ll send it to Vega asap!