Of Pool Parties and Running

Saturday was filled with good food, great friends, warm water, and lots of sunshine.  We spent the day at a girls only pool party and enjoyed the first official day of summer with 85 degree weather.  We ate, drank, and took jello shots! 

Hello Summer.

Sunday I started the day off with a run on the Greenway.  I thought I would be early enough to beat the heat, but by the time I was halfway done it was already 80 degrees.  I am not cut out to run more than 2 miles in that heat, but with a couple breaks I went 4 miles.

Here's the recap of last weeks Wild Hog training:
Week 2: June 16- 22nd

Monday- N/A
Tuesday- 2 Miles + strength training
Wednesday- 2 Miles
Thursday- N/A
Friday- 2 Miles- Mia and I hit a snag so we walked about half
Saturday- 1.5 Miles + 10 minutes stairs+ strength training
Sunday- 4 Miles

Total- 11.50 Miles

Next weekend Darrin and I have a 5k in Grafton followed by an alumni baseball game and street dance!

~Anne

Wild Hog 10k Training



Photo taken a couple weeks ago during a 12 mile rollerblading adventure

So I have officially started my training for the Wild Hog 10k in Grand Forks this September.  I am giving my legs plenty of time to work up to the 10k.  It was difficult for me to get back into running last week- as evident by my lack of miles.  I was thrown out of my running groove when I went home and had to run my dad to and from appointments, garden, and help out with household chores. Here is my recap of last weeks workouts:

Week 1: June 9-June 15:

Monday- Strength Train
Tuesday- Off
Wednesday- Off
Thursday- 3.1 miles
Friday- Off
Saturday- 2 miles & 15 minutes stairs

This week I am hoping to get in about 12 miles and two days of strength training!

On a happy note- Darrin and I got a new kitten!  Meet Leia-as in Princess Leia...as in Star Wars Princess Leia...as in Darrin and I need light Sabers ASAP.



Leia likes our couch.

ok Leia REALLY likes our couch.

~Anne

"Old Man" Gillie

             

In honor of the upcoming Father's Day holiday, I thought I would share a little bit about my old man.  And no, he doesn't take offense to the designation "old" and has come to terms with the fact that he no longer gets carded on senior citizen day at the grocery store.  At the ripe old age of 76, he still rides his exercise bike regularly, helps out on his farm, goes deer hunting, and gardens tons of delicious vegtables that he shares with me.

Some of the high lights of my dad and me are:
*Him teaching me how to skate, but more importantly how to stop.
*Him making me weed the garden and mow the lawn(s)
*Us driving for 15 hours to visit my brother and family down in Missouri- without music, because "music is annoying"
*Us rollerblading for hours on country roads-this isn't smart as there are lots of rocks.
*Him teaching me how to drive while I practically gave him a heart attack- it was windy that day.
*Him meeting my fiance, Darrin, and promptly putting Darrin to work moving branches and mowing lawn.
*He showed up for and helped me move in and out of every dorm and apartment while I was in college.
*He went to every hockey game and skated at every hockey practice from 3rd grade through senior year.
*Despite sleeping through half of both, he came to both my high school and college graduations.

He has always challenged me to be a stronger, more independent, nicer, and helpful person.  He is always available for advice, but lets me make decisions (and mistakes) on my own.  He doesn't like asking for help, but knows when he needs it.  And I suspect I got my stubborn streak from him, although that might have been passed down from both sides.  I couldn't have made it this far without him. 

Here's wishing all you dads a happy Father's Day!

~Anne

Summer Hiking Adventure Part 1

Despite Turtle River State Parks close proximity to Grand Forks, neither Mia or I had ever hiked its trails before.  So Sunday morning we made our peanut butter sandwiches, filled our water bottles, and set out on the 30 minute drive to Turtle River.  Once we arrived we started spraying ourselves down with sun screen and bug spray, but then tragedy struck.  We ran out of bug spray.  Let’s just say we will never leave on a hiking adventure without an extra can of bug spray, ever again. 

Since there was an almost constant swarm around Mia's head, we decided to hike as quickly as possibly in hopes of loosing the mosquitoes. While it didn't quite work, we did get a good work out hiking up and down slippery hills and hoping over a small stream that blocked the path.  We only stopped to take a few hurried photos and before we knew it we were back to the Lodge.

The itsy bitsy stream we had to cross- it was rough ;)

 

We saw a snapping turtle here!

Despite the mosquitoes it was a great hike, followed by a few hours relaxing on the deck and enjoying ice cream cake. Is there a better way to spend Sunday afternoon?

~Anne