Snapshot Saturday

Enjoy some photos snapped by the 3CheapRunners this week as seen on Instagram.

 

 

 

 

Follow Michelle

Follow Rhoda

Follow Mike

 

 

Behold the Beer-ita

Hey everyone!  Who has two thumbs and loves Fridays?

I'll be getting a run in over lunch today and then packing up the truck to head up to the cottage after work.  This is the girl's Niagara Falls Half Marathon weekend so Michelle will be off as well as my Mum, meaning my Dad and I get to bach it at the cottage…well, us and the kids anyways.  The weather looks nice though, so it should be a great weekend.

So I ended up missing out on some swimming this week…after my post the other day mentioning the Splash n Dash I received an email from Kevin, one of the guys in the club, mentioning that we had been pushed out a week due to the cold weather.  Thanks again for the heads up Kevin!  So if you were looking for a recap of my freeze my balls off open-water swim, you'll have to check back next week.

We also missed out on our Tuesday night Masters swim as we had some life issues come up…everything is fine but it meant no Tuesday night swim, and therefore no Tuesday night post-swim drinks.  We made up for it though and got out for some time together on Wednesday night where I may or may not have tried something called a Beerita.

Yup, it was as good as it looks

The running has been solid this week though…I got in a couple decent runs but neither was entirely without incident.  On one run I wore my Nike Flyknit Free's and went sockless…10K might have been asking a bit too much as I try to toughen my feet up as I had all kinds of hotspots going on almost from the get go.  In fact my entire right foot was one giant hotspot.  I made it through though, and only a couple tiny little painless blisters.

My other run was in some serious humidity and the temperatures were feeling like they were in the 90's.  I sweat my ass off, but had gone out prepared, appropriately covered in Body Glide.  I was so sweaty though that I still managed to develop some chaffing…at my eyelid.  seriously, that has got to be a first.

I had thought about getting out for a run last night after Michelle got home from work, but in the end I decided that since we wouldn't see her all weekend we should do something together as a family.  So after dinner instead of going for a run, I took the whole family out…to the grocery store!  Ya, no one was thrilled about that, so I had to throw in the lure of froyo afterwards…that got them interested

Hope everyone has a great weekend in store, and good luck to everyone racing!  I know that Chelsea is doing San Diego and of course Michelle, my Mum and Rhoda have Niagara Falls…good luck ladies!

What's the weirdest spot you've had chaffing?

Throwback Thursday

In honour of #tbt…I thought we’d have some fun and do a little throwback Q & A

1. What year were you born in?
I was born in 1979

2. Do you have any pictures of yourself from when you were younger?
I personally do not have any in my possession, but I do know that my mom has some albums at her place from when we were younger.

Boy oh boy…how things have changed – I don’t have any albums of my children; all of our/their pics are stored digitally.

3. What TV shows did you grow up watching?
Here are some of my favorites….Father Dowling Mysteries, Murder She Wrote, Matlock, Knight Rider, MacGyver….and I guess not much has changed ‘cause I still enjoy watching these shows…lol (for all of you wondering…yes I am an old soul)

4. What did you want to be when you grow up and do you still want to be that?
To be honest with you…I never had a “vision” of what I wanted to be…all I knew is that I wanted to love what I did…you spend so many years of your life working, and I did not want to be miserable for 40+ years doing it. I do (most of the time) love my job. I love the diversity of it – sure there are aspects of it that are not so fun, but it’s a great “industry” to be part of. I have been at my “career” job and place of employment for the last 15 years, and quite honestly, I don’t really picture myself anywhere else.

5. What were your favorite toys to play with?
Pound puppies, Lego, my little pony, cabbage patch kids and of course Barbies

6. What’s the most embarrassing thing that you can remember doing?
I can’t believe that I am actually going to admit this, but one time I peed my pants (on purpose), all because I did not want to loose a tetherball game

7. Three songs you loved to listen to as a child.
I don’t know that I actually have any particular “songs”, but I grew up listening to Colby and Salty (Children’s Christian tapes)

 8. Tell a funny story of something you remember happening when you were young.
I am not sure that I would call this “funny”, but I remember one time…I was about 4 years old, I got myself out of my seatbelt in the back seat of the car, opened the back door to the car and held on to the handle ‘cause I thought it would be a fun ride….my dad did not quite agree with my idea of fun

9. Are there any special things you’ve kept from when you were a child?
I am not very sentimental…so no I have not kept anything. My parents on the other hand held onto all of our old toys, and kept them for my children to play with

10. How is the world now different from how it was like when you were a child?
The one word that comes to mind – Technology. I my house – we did not even have a computer until I was in high school. I had a cell phone before my parents ever did (‘cause Mike bought me one for my 20^th bday)…now we have laptops, iPhone, iPads…I can only image what my children are going to have in the future

…Your turn…pick a few to answer, and comment below

Taper Time and Upgrading

I have been taking it easy on the running this week in order to taper off for the Niagara Falls Women's Half Marathon - June 1, 2014.  I did a couple easy 5 km’s and have been taking those opportunities to realize that I really do love running! My mindset is so different when I don’t have to worry about time or pace. I am thinking after Sunday’s race that I am going to take some time off from races and get my love of running back to full force! Life has been a little tumultuous lately and I think I need some time to regroup and recharge before I think about racing again. With that being said, I have no goals for Sunday’s race but to finish! I know it will not be my fastest time and will most likely be my slowest time so I am accepting that right now.

Well today is the day I am upgrading!

I decided to purchase a new vehicle. The for sale sign went on my car last night and today I go to pick up my new wheels! I have been thinking about it for a while but was thinking I would wait until the new year. A couple weeks ago I decided to just go out and look and see what I thought of the vehicles I was contemplating! Well, shopping around can be dangerous and it proved to be just that. I ended up landing a deal that I just couldn’t say no to so last Friday, I went ahead and made the deal!

Just kidding! This may be my next car though (in my next life)!

Here is what I really got…

Just as schweet, right???!!!

2014 Ford Escape. This is not my vehicle but one very similar!

I am uber excited! Out with the old and in with the new!

Have a great day everyone!!!

Do you take breaks from racing? How many races do you like to do per year?

Purchase a new car lately? Whatya get?

Furniture? More like Burn-iture.

It was another great weekend up at the cottage and it is safe to say we are settling right back into the cottage life.  Michelle was able to get off a little early on Friday and we were on the road shortly after 5:00.  I had entertained the idea of riding my bike up again, but it was pretty chilly and I learned my lesson from the previous week.  I'll do the ride again, but no need to freeze my ass off again!

We arrived at the cottage and my parents already had dinner ready for all of us…Taco Night!  Who doesn't love tacos?  After dinner it was fire time…we had a nice blaze going and it was a great night just sitting around enjoying each other's company.  There was a meteor shower that was supposed to peak around 2am, so I had told Kennedy we would stay up as late as we could to see if we could spot some shooting stars.  She was zonked (okay, we all were) by 11:00 or so, but we decided to walk down to the beach before we called it a night.  The stars were out in full force and it is truly an incredible sight…but we were still too early for the meteor shower.  Kennedy and my Mum both saw some shooting stars though, so the beach trip was worthwhile.

On Saturday morning I set out for a run and decided that I would venter out across the highway and run a bit longer through the countryside for the first time this year.  I used to run those country roads all summer last year while in marathon training and I really loved how peaceful it was with just me and the cows.

By no means was it my fastest run ever, but it was really enjoyable.  It was great seeing some old roads again, even if I did turn right into a brutal headwind at the halfway mark where I had wanted to step up my pace.  Ya, that didn't happen.  I ended up covering the half marathon distance for my longest training run in some time.  I was just over 20K when I was right around the corner from home, so you know I had to throw in that extra 1.1K to make up the HM distance

After the run I decided to sit by the campfire and read some magazines (Triathlete, Runner's World, Cosmo) and enjoy a nice cold drink.  I was lucky enough to find these at the back of my fridge and they hit the spot!  I can't drink too many of these, but one or two can be a nice change from beer now and then.

Eventually Michelle and my Mum got back from their shopping trip in town (where there was a town-wide garage sale going on) and they were going to head out for their run.  They saw me sitting by the campfire (well, the fire pit…no fire going yet) enjoying some bevvies and decided that was a much better idea, so they joined me for the rest of the afternoon.  We had a great time, and before we knew it it was time to get the fire going for dinner…we had pie irons to make!

If you recall from last weekend, my parents like to burn old furniture (why take up landfill space?  They fancy themselves tree huggers).  Of course they managed to find something to burn, even when it was at my fire.

The fire was so big that I had to get the shovel out to keep it under control…hopefully these soon-to-be senior citizens have their childish pyromania out of their systems!  I must say though, Michelle can be quite the instigator as well…she's a bad influence on my Mum ha-ha

Sunday was a picture perfect day with blue skies and nice warm temperatures.  I got some work done around the cottage and then we had some friends drop in for the afternoon.  We packed the kids up and went down to enjoy some beach time.

J-man was braver than me and enjoyed some time in the lake…it's still freezing.  Kennedy had her friend up and they got into the swimming action as well.

It was an awesome weekend up there as always, and it looks like we have a nice week in store here as well.  I already got out on Monday to enjoy a nice lunch run in some hot and steamy temps and there will be a couple more to come for sure.  I'm really looking forward to my first triathlon "event" of the year as the Tri Club has our first Splash n Dash of the season tomorrow.  There's a 750m swim (or you can do two loops for 1500m) followed by a run of 5K to 7K.  It's a great way to get out and try some open-water swimming and work on your swim-run brick.  It's held at a local conservation area just out of town…I'll be sure to let you all know how it went on Friday!

Anyone get to the beach this weekend?

Have you ever done a Splash n Dash?  Any open-water swimming?

Trying New Things and The One Time I Had Good Aim

We had a magnificent weekend here. Sunny and warm all weekend! My kinda weather!

Friday night, I went to spend some quality time with Sister Miriam! I took over a bottle of red wine but she had discovered some new coolers, so we opted to try them out instead.

Palm Bay-Ocean Peach Pomelo

VEX-Juicy Melonade

Both got thumbs up from us!

I live in an apartment but have a beautiful view from my balcony. I enjoyed my morning coffee there both mornings this weekend, which is the first time since I moved there in October that I have been able to do that.

I also got out both mornings to enjoy a run in this weather. Saturday I did a nice easy 18 k run. It was nice to not worry or think about my time and just enjoy the run. I used to do this a lot before I got a GPS watch and got all serious and stuff. More and more lately, I have been turning the pace off and just paying attention to the distance and I am amazed at how much more I enjoy the run! Sunday, I got out for a 5k to give my new Mizuno Sayonaras a test run!

Pretty good! They felt light without sacrificing the feeling of good support! I’ll have to try them a few more times to gain a true opinion but so far so good!

Sunday, I went out to practice my aim with a bb gun!

I felt awkward for the first round, but got the hang of it for the second round and even pinged off a bottle.

It's kinda hard to see but there was one there in the middle of those two!

Try anything new this weekend?

Ever shot a bb gun? How was your aim?

3 Cheap Runners' Weekend Wrap

While the 3 Cheap Runners enjoy their day off, here are a few of the happenings that caught their eyes during the past week...

 

Links we Liked

• As we finally have nice weather again, here are some reminders for running in the sun
• Iconic moments in pop culture...captured in Lego
• Here are 15 things you likely didn't know about running shoes
• Maybe teachers shouldn't ask their 4th grade class for dating advice...
• A new epidemic is sweeping the nation...find out the truth about running in the video below

 

In case you missed a day...

CheapRunnerMike has his Long Weekend Lowdown: http://t.co/MVquQzCGMk

— 3 Cheap Runners (@3CheapRunners) May 19, 2014

CheapRunnerRhoda says Speak to me in Louis Vuitton and GIVEAWAY Results: http://t.co/NeAnzTqWOK

— 3 Cheap Runners (@3CheapRunners) May 20, 2014

CheapRunnerMichelle asks What takes up Space in Your Life? http://t.co/HTNrIh7Tzj

— 3 Cheap Runners (@3CheapRunners) May 21, 2014

CheapRunnerMike has Scuba Steve & Special K: http://t.co/InAX8OIQrB

— 3 Cheap Runners (@3CheapRunners) May 22, 2014

CheapRunnerMichelle's Five Friday Fav's: http://t.co/cgLipLrIl6

— 3 Cheap Runners (@3CheapRunners) May 23, 2014

Snapshot Saturday

Enjoy some photos snapped by the 3CheapRunners this week as seen on Instagram.

 

 

 

Follow Michelle

Follow Rhoda

Follow Mike

 

 

Five Friday Fav's

Happy looong weekend to all of our American friends! Hope ya'll have a great Memorial Day weekend - even though it's not a long weekend for us - I'm still really looking forward to heading to the cottage, enjoying some campfires, BBQ and few bevy's! Cheers!

I haven't done a post like this in awhile - and thought today would be the perfect way to wrap up our short week that has flown by

1.

This was a MUST purchase when I was out shopping for Rhoda's bday present (spoiler alert - I got one for her too)

2.

I am super happy that I was able to get out for 3 great runs this week. Another long run in the plans for this weekend - and that will be the last until the Niagara Falls Women's 1/2 next weekend!!!!!

3.

I ordered this fab new phone case a few weeks ago and had it shipped to a friends place in the USA...so I finally received it this week...

4.

I dragged my butt out of bed this morning (after finally getting a good night's sleep last night) and headed to aqua-fit this morning...man oh man - what a work out...those foam weights are no joke in the pool

5.

Picked up a few new pieces this week from Stella & Dot...and I am lovn' this piece right now

What are done of your fav's from this week?

What are your looong weekend plans?