Miller Lite

Na Pali Hike

May 14, 2012 by Kristy 12 Comments

Greetings from Kauai!

This will be short and sweet as I have some Miller Lite drinking to do poolside!

Today Matt and I hiked some of the Na’Pali Coast. I say some since it’s a 11-mile hike one way along some pretty narrow cliffs with great, big drops. I’m terrified (repeat, terrified) of heights and did my research ahead of time – these cliffs were no joke. Our plan was to go out maybe 3 miles (so we wouldn’t reach the cliffs; they come in around mile 6) and turnaround and get in a decent 6-mile hike.

That’s exactly what we did and it was spectacular, gorgeous, and amazing.

Warning signs at the very beginning…

One mile down…

Lunch near a waterfall…

The hike was tough coming back since we had to go mostly uphill. My feet hurt from all the uneven footing, although I must brag I didn’t fall once. I’m a total klutz when running and have scars to prove it. It was so worth it. The camera can’t even begin to capture how beautiful the views were.

Weekend Updates

March 19, 2012 by Kristy 22 Comments

In no particular order…

My new lucky number…
Is 17983. That’s what bib number I’ll be wearing on April 16th! Boston released bib, wave, and corral info on Friday. I’m in Wave 2, Corral 9…or 2/9, my birthday Smile

The 20-miler that wasn’t…
I was supposed to run 20 miles on Saturday (20-miler #4). By mile 12, I was aware of 3 things: (1) my legs were trashed. Maybe mile repeats 2 days before wasn’t the best idea or maybe all the miles and intensity of the Monster Month are getting to me? (2) my right hamstring was tight. This is 100% my fault, as I’ve slacked off a bit with my PT exercises. And (3) damn, it’s hot out!

I decided to back off my pace (I was running 8:30s up until that point). There is no sense in pushing the pace when my hammie feels tight. By mile 16 I wanted to be DONE. Oh god, was I hating life. I followed my gut and cut it short at mile 18. I wasn’t doing my legs any favors by running 2 more miles “just to make it 20”. I finished in 2:40 (8:53 average pace).

On Sunday I ran 8 easy and felt good. Just some residual soreness but otherwise OK. My gut is always right!

Low-key St. Patty’s Day
Staying home and drinking beer on the deck and watching basketball was the perfect SPD celebration.

Miller Lite looks classy in a frosted glass

So very true…
I saw this on Run The Edge’s FB page over the weekend. When I read through the comments, I couldn’t believe how many people didn’t get it or are completely void of a sense of humor.

Any part of the meme ring true to you? I love “what my mom thinks I do”. If you can’t read it, it’s basically a creepy man asking if you want to come to his house for candy. And…aren’t we all Kara and Shalane when we run?!

Check out my guest post on Terzah’s blog!

Philly Half Marathon!

November 20, 2011 by Kristy 17 Comments

Another Philly HM in the books…

Did I run a sub-1:45 like I wanted? No.

Am I disappointed? A little. I know I can run faster!

Am I already looking for a Spring HM to finagle into my Boston training? Absolutely!

Garmin stats:
13.35 miles
1:47:28*
8:03 avg pace
*A 1-minute PR from the Philly RnR in September!

Lots more to come. I met some wonderful bloggers this weekend and spent about 90% of the weekend talking and thinking about running. Absolute heaven. But for now, I have some Miller Lite to drink 🙂

I leave you with this….

Summer In October

October 11, 2011 by Kristy 18 Comments

10/11/11
5 miles / 44:10 / 8:50 avg pace
*1 mile WU, 3 miles at 8:00 pace, 1 mile CD

Happy Tuesday friends! After a long weekend of sun and fun, it’s back to reality.

Matt and I headed to Brigantine, NJ on Saturday for a long weekend. Saturday through Monday were perfect beach days…days you dream about during the summer…much less in October. We could not get over how unbelievably warm it was.

Hawk thoroughly enjoyed himself. Loved the sand, but water…not so much.

DSCN1867 — Hawk enjoyed snacking on shells

We sat on the beach until 5pm on Sunday. It was too gorgeous to leave.

DSCN1890 — Miller Lite makes everything better

Before we hit the beach on Sunday, I was glued to my computer watching live coverage of the Chicago Marathon. It did not disappoint. Moses and Liliya were fascinating to watch but did you read about the pregnant woman (very pregnant, as in 39 weeks) that ran the marathon and gave birth later that night (article here)? Holy crap! She ran the first half and walked the second half, finishing in an impressive 6:25! UNREAL!

Wedding Fun

August 1, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

8/1/11
7 miles / 59:51 / 8:33 avg pace

Another weekend, another wedding! Let’s start at the beginning…

FRIDAY
Matt and I drove to Baltimore on Friday afternoon. The wedding was at the beautiful Marriott Waterfront Hotel. The rehearsal dinner was that night and the bride and groom graciously opened up the event to all guests at 9PM. An open bar is the perfect way to recover from a 20-miler…thanks Amanda!

Baltimore at night.

The Bay Cafe. Sand floors and plenty of cold Miller Lite!

Late-night pizza and shenanigans.

SATURDAY
I started off Saturday with an easy 4-miler on the treadmill at the hotel gym. I wanted to sleep in but not deal with the heat so the treadmill was the only option.

We have been waiting for this wedding for a long time. Amanda and Mike are the last of the Mains – my close group of friends – to get married. Everyone was so excited for a weekend away (sans kids for many of them!).

Amanda and her dad walking down the aisle. Doesn’t she look beautiful?

Look at that veil…

The new Mr. & Mrs.

The cocktail hour was outside on a rooftop deck overlooking the waterfront. It was quite toasty but the perfect spot for a photo shoot.

Me and Matt. I’m desperately trying not to squint.

Hello Mains!

…and a little later on in the night…

One more…

All the lady Mains rounded up for a picture.

Congratulations Amanda and Mike! We had a fantastic time!

2 Years

July 25, 2011 by Kristy 22 Comments

7/25/11
7 miles speed work

Today is our 2-year wedding anniversary! We are celebrating tonight with pizza and beer. I’m a cheap date. We did class-it-up by going out to dinner on Saturday night.

My wedding was by far the best day of my life. Matt and I dated for 10 years before we got married so this was a long time coming. It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Here are some highlights with lots of pictures…

Obviously, marrying Matt was THE highlight. These are 2 of my favorite pictures from our wedding.

My wonderful bridesmaids.

Walking down the aisle with my Dad (photo from a friend).

Getting our pictures taken at St. Joe’s (where Matt and I met).

Of course the cake was a highlight! Our wedding cake was from Bredenbeck’s and it was absolutely delicious. Still delicious after 1 year in the freezer too!

Having the St. Joe’s Hawk (mascot) at our cocktail hour.

Busting out a Thriller dance at the wedding. Oh yes we did. We = me/bridesmaids/friends. Matt opted out 😉

Dancing (and drinking) with friends and family. Funny side note: Matt and I warned our reception place about the massive amounts of Miller Lite that would be consumed. We asked them to not run out of ML. They politely laughed and said it wouldn’t happen. At the end of the night, Matt caught them running in 6-packs of ML and throwing them in ice. So technically we didn’t run out but they did have to scramble at the last minute and buy more!!

*All pictures courtesy of Sean Marshall Lin (the best wedding photographer around).