Things that Rock Thursday

Thursdays aren’t my favorite day. This is not a shock to those that I work with or those that know I am a member and founder of the I Hate Thursday Club. In an effort to make this dreaded day better, I started posting about things that rock at the end of the day to try and end it well.

But, Thursdays nights are now infinitely better because my half marathon training group meets then.

So, I thought I’d try posting it in the morning to start the day off on the right foot.

Bark at the parks

Two things I really love in life are dogs and baseball, so when I can combine them, it makes for a pretty rockin’ day.

I lucked out living in the Tampa Bay area because there are three very close single A stadiums (in addition to the Rays) that have all kinds of promotions to get people to attend. Thankfully, some of those promotions include bark at the parks and yappy hours.

Last Wednesday, we took Chloe to a Clearwater Threshers’ Yappy Hour. She’s been to a few bark at the park events, and she always has a good time. I swear this dog actually watches the game! There are people and dogs and food in the concourse behind her, but she likes to keep her eyes on the field.

 

Dog is happy. Owner is happy. That results in an awesome night.

‘90s reunions

It is no secret that, much like the VH1 show, I love the ‘90s. Shows, movies and music all reigned supreme in the 1990s, in my opinion (unlike my boyfriend who said the only good group to come out of the ‘90s was Nirvana … eh, what does he know?).

So, it is no surprise that a ‘90s lover like me loved the Olympics closing ceremonies. A Spice Girls reunion? Yes, please! I definitely needed to spice up my life again. Even though it was short and sweet (and I worried about Posh falling off of her car stage), it rocked.

And, I’m in love with the new Old Navy commercials showcasing the original “Beverly Hills 90210” cast. This girl can’t get enough of 90210. I’ll watch reruns of that all day long.

Notice what isn't on the list?

With some days off from work, I had time to spend however I wanted (a nice change). So, I:

• Did laundry
• Took Chloe to the dog park

• Cooked Thanksgiving dinner
• Ate Thanksgiving dinner (and leftovers and more leftovers)
• Watched football
• Watched "Beverly Hills 90210" reruns
• Got a massage
• Played beach volleyball
• Met friends for dinner
• Caught up on "American Horror Story" episodes
• Took my car in to check out that pesky "difficult to start" problem
• Bought the Lucky magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover

• Read the Lucky magazine with Jessica Simpson on the cover cover-to-cover
• Drank wine
• Shopped (online only, thank you)

You may have noticed that running was not on my list. I have not ran since my half marathon on Sunday. I'm not really sure why. I've thought about it some. It just never happened. I'm going to try and change that tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. (although I must admit I'm not terribly motivated at this moment).

Day 27 (Oct. 9)

After last week's Best. Run. Ever., I was excited to tackle 8 miles this week for our long run.

Problem: I didn't go to the group run, which is always so much better than running by myself. I think it could have been rained out; I'm not sure. I woke up and received a weather report from a reliable source (my boyfriend) that it was raining in Tampa. I live in Clearwater, which is about a 12-minute drive to Tampa. I debated, but I finally decided it wasn't worth the drive with such a high possibility of the run being rained out anyway.

But, since I was already awake, and it wasn't raining in Clearwater, I decided to run my 8 miles here. In my neighborhood, we have a 2.8-mile sidewalk loop, which is nice in some ways and daunting in others. I like not being far from home at any point in my run. But, I don't like the idea of needing to run around the same route almost three times to get in my mileage.

My legs still felt fatigued, but I was determined to get my long run in to stay on track with my training schedule.

It was overcast, but not nearly as cool as last week. Boo! And, the run wasn't nearly as smooth as last week. I didn't feel great from the start, but I stuck it out ... for awhile. At almost 3 miles, it started sprinkling. I decided to head back just in case the rain got harder (advantage: loop). Smart decision on my part. By the time I got home, it was pouring.

So, I started thinking about my options. I could: (a). wait for the rain to stop to finish my run, (b). hit the treadmill in the craptastic gym, or (c). give up and call it a day. I opted for (b). Surprised, right? I know that I go on and on about the craptasticness of this gym, but it seemed like the best option. I thought that if the fan was fixed, and I could find an old "Beverly Hills 90210" episode on TV, it might even be fun.

I got all psyched to run while watching the drama unfold between Kelly and Brenda or Donna and David or Brandon and Steve. And there is always the wonderful possibility of catching one of three episodes Dean Cain appeared as Rick. Problem: both of the treadmills were in use. Argh! There's never anyone in the gym (for good reason), but I guess the rain brought everyone there.

So, I'm now down to option (a) or (c). I went for option (c). I feel like I gave the run a valiant effort. But, at this point, I was frustrated. Considering it's still raining three hours later as I'm typing this, (a) wasn't going to work either.

Instead of an 8-mile run, I did a 3-mile run. Not exactly the same. Now, I'm not sure what I do ... do I try to run 8 miles on Monday? I don't even know if I have the time to fit it in on a weekday. Do I want to run 8 miles Monday, and then do a speed workout on Tuesday? Is that too much? Do I need a rest day after a long run? Is it OK to miss that long of a run? Ahh! Pesky rain brought on all kinds of questions.

Score!

I love "Beverly Hills 90210." Yes, the cheesy '90s show about those pesky rich kids living in California. So, I was super-psyched to find an episode on TV this weekend. Even better: it was one of the four episodes that Dean Cain appeared in as Rick, Brenda's fling-slash-boyfriend after Dylan. I heart Dean Cain, and I have for many, many years. Watch this, and you will too.