Weekend Recap and Six Places

Saturday morning I met a runner from Without Limits for an easy 3-miles down near the beach. We ended up taking Summer Rest road which is a beautiful paved trail. Despite starting at 7am, it was a hot and sweaty one!

I went straight to the gym for 15 minutes on the bike and a light leg/core circuit consisting of the following:

• Leg Press
• Calf Machine
• Abductor Machine (Outer Thigh)
• Adductor Machine (Inner Thight)
• Prone Leg Curls
• Manual Back Extension
• Oblique Extensions
• Roman Chair

12-20 reps on each, twice through! Then some foam rolling to finish it up!

At 10:30, I met my new slow pitch team at Wrightsville Beach to play our first game of the season! Couldn't tell you what the score was, but I know we won! slow pitch softball tends to be really high scoring so it's easy to lose track of each team's runs. 

Wouldn't you know our team name is The Pub as we are sponsored by The Pub at Sweet and Savory. So of course, the team headed over there for lunch and drinks to celebrate. 

Sunday morning I woke up to get in my long run of the week. I had 11 miles to complete at an easy pace which was a good thing because I was embarrassingly sore from softball the day before. There's no such thing as going easy for me when I step on the field so even though it's not hugely competitive, I take it seriously and go all out on every play. I could tell I hadn't played in a while Sunday morning when I woke up with a stiff neck, sore arm and aching legs.

For my long run, I completed the first leg running two miles downtown on the riverwalk, and two miles back. 

Then, I made my way over to Greenfield Lake for a five-mile loop. 

Last two miles were completed on a treadmill in the Fitness Center at my apartment complex. When I am running alone for that long, I like to mix it up so I don't get too bored! I spent the rest of the day relaxing at the pool!

Now, day five of the 10 Day You Challenge- six places. I've chosen five places that are meaningful to me and one place that I would like to go!

Six Places

1. Everett, Washington

I was born and raised in this city which lies just a few miles north of Seattle. Most of my childhood memories are here, my brother and his family lives there still and this is of course, where I met Michael. Though it looks completely different now, this is actually a current photo (I think, according to google) of the house I grew up in!

2. Madison (South Everett Little League field) 

I spent just about every day here growing up. If I wasn't playing a game on this field I was hitting in the batting cage late at night when my dad got home from work. I have a lot of great memories here playing with teams I loved, hanging out with my best friends, playing for my dad, screaming cheers at the top of my lungs and chilly night games snuggled up to my mom watching my brother play.

3. The Dot

From 2005-2009 this was my home! Playing softball for Marshall  from 2005-2009, we actually had the field renovated in 2006 to become this. Previous to that, Dot Hicks Field was a very bumpy, unsafe mess. I do have some amazing, great memories here including that I was the last person to hit a home run on "The Old Dot" and the first person to hit a home run on The New Dot! My very favorite story on this field was my senior day playing against ECU when they were first in the league with 39 wins. With their 40th win they would secure the championship. In the seventh inning, we were down by one run and I came up and blasted a homerun to left center to take us to the win. My dad jumped over the fence and ran on the field to give me the best hug I've ever received! Love the Herd!

4. Huntington, West Virginia

Country roads...take me home! When I left Everett, Washington to go play for the Herd, my parents moved to Omaha, Nebraska. This made Huntington my new home. I had a lot of fun in college playing softball, working and making some life long friends. Some of my favorite memories will always be there!

5. Oasis RV and Golf Resort

My family went camping a LOT growing up. That was kind of our thing to do in the summer because we didn't take vacations (they were all softball related) and my parents weren't into us missing school. We were always very involved at church, as were my parents close friends and their children so we had a group that went together every summer. We had a couple different spots but Oasis was always my favorite. I got to play golf with my daddy and "the guys" because I was the athlete of the group so it made me feel good that I could keep up with them as a kid. There was a putt-putt spot for mini golf, beautiful places to explore, and every single year I found and "adopted" a kitten for the week we were there. I still remember Tiger and Snowball and praying for them every night before I'd go to bed, long after the summers were over. 

6. Tropical places and other beaches

My ideal vacation outside of the typical party, hustle and bustle places like Vegas, New Orleans and Miami are tropical locations on the beach. I love the idea of Bora Bora which has beautifully clear water, lots of dolphins and cool little bungalows you can stay in! I also think Tel Aviv, Israel looks like so much fun! I'm very scared to go out of the country though for fear of having nothing (vegetarian) to eat, no clean water and getting kidnapped! Anyone ever seen Taken? Although I'm convinced my father would do exactly that for me, it still scares me, which is why I've only been out of the country with my father to play softball in Canada.

Bora Bora

Tel Aviv, Israel 

Your turn!

What kind of workouts did you get in this weekend?

What places do you love or want to go to?