Hello. How was your weekend? How’s the week starting off for you guys? I was up around 6:30 a.m. to enjoy a quiet start to the day with some coffee and catch up before teaching yoga at 8:15. I was thrilled to walk into a buzzing classroom with over 50 yogis this morning. Everyone seemed to be in such a good mood and the energy was infectious. I think we all got our Monday started on the right note!

Before I take off on a new week, let’s recap the weekend. It was a really good one full of good food, friends and an awesome race/long run.

End of Summer Bash at City Lights

On Friday evening we ventured out to City Lights for an End of Summer Bash hosted by Diet Coke.

While I don’t drink much Diet Coke these days (once in a blue moon and usually at the beach), I did appreciate the opportunity to enjoy a beautiful rooftop sunset while catching up with some old friends and meeting some new.

It was our first time at City Lights and it offers an incredible view of the Charlotte skyline.

I was home and on the couch with this burger to the face by 9 p.m. I had a race/long run planned for the next day so I wanted to get a good dinner and and get to bed early. We picked up dinner from Namastay Kitchen. I had our new turkey burger which features pecan wood bacon, caramelized onions, grain mustard remoulade and arugula. It was ah-mazing.

Hit the Brixx Race/Long Run

I was up super early on Saturday for the Hit the Brixx 10K and 5K. I was running both races as an ambassador for the Charlotte Marathon. I was excited for the opportunity to make a race my long run. I made sure to arrive to the race early so that I’d have time for packet pick up and KT taping. I stopped by the Greenapple Sports & Wellness tent before the race to get my left calf/achilles taped up and ohmygosh…I can’t even tell you how much it helped. I literally felt like someone was holding my calf and giving it support throughout the race.

My left calf/achilles has a tendency to get sore when running long ever since I got achilles tendonitis on the left when training for my first marathon back in 2009. This is why I usually train in compression sleeves but I think KT tape will be my new go-to.

I lined up for the 10K around 7:40 and we took off at 7:45. My plan going into the races was to take the pace slow and treat it like a long run. I was shooting for somewhere between 9 and 9:30 miles but it was one of those really good running days so I just went with it. I was surprised to look down at my watch and see that I was running an 8:15 pace that felt pretty effortless…and I ended up sustaining it for the whole 10K. Here are my splits.

Mile 1: 8:18
Mile 2: 8:21
Mile 3: 8:15
Mile 4: 8:08
Mile 5: 8:01
Mile 6: 8:24

I crossed the finish line with a smile and feeling really good. Finish time for the 10K was 52:03.

I had about 16 minutes between races so I had a cup of Gatorade, a banana and a water and ran to the bathroom before it was time to line up for the 5K race.

Race #2 felt great as well and 3.1 miles flew by. I finished the 5K in 25:49.

Mile 7: 8:14
Mile 8: 8:17
Mile 9: 8:07
Last .49: 7:54

My mileage total for the two races was 9.5 miles, a little over…per usual for races. It was an awesome morning of racing and I can’t wait for the three remaining races on my fall race calendar!

I hurried off to the farmers market after the race before I had to be at the studio to teach at 11:15.

Saturday Afternoon

I made us big salads when we got home from the studio and then we got to work cleaning the house.

We had a very important 2 year old birthday to attend later that afternoon. Funfetti cupcake = YES!

The birthday girl was too cute (and working on three different flavored cupcakes all at the same time). I loved making this “Then & Now” to send her mama when last year’s birthday picture popped up in my TimeHop this morning.

After the party, Tanner took Zoey on a run and I took Sullie on a joyride to get coffee.

Dinner at Namastay Kitchen

We went to dinner at Namastay Kitchen because we just hired a new chef and he’s done a major overhaul of our menu. One of the things he added was a few dinner items available after 5. I tried the BBQ rubbed salmon with brown rice and quinoa, goat cheese and tomato coulis. I asked for our new crispy brussels sprouts with apple cider gastrique on the side. It was DELICIOUS!

Tanner had the Cast Iron Beef Tenderloin with blistered tomato and cauliflower gratin, mushroom veloute and crispy kale.

Sunday Stuff

I was up at 8 a.m. on Sunday but grabbed my laptop and climbed back into bed and worked until 10:30 a.m. before getting up and making brunch. I kept it simple with fruit, sourdough toast, scrambled eggs and bacon.

I took a yoga class, taught a yoga class and then showered and headed over to our friend Lina’s house for dinner and a toast. They are moving to Brussels, Belgium for an incredible job opportunity. I am so happy for them but so sad that she’s leaving!

Her son loves the yoga mat so there was a lot of yoga silliness along with our conversation.

I can’t believe how fast my friend’s babies are growing up. This little man is also just turned two.

Dinner was so good. We had baked chicken in a lemon/white wine sauce with veggies, salad and rice.

We ended the night playing the most entertaining game, Bean-Boozled by JellyBelly. The jelly beans all look the same but you might be getting Tutti Frutti or Stinky Socks, Coconut or Rotten Egg, Chocolate Pudding or Canned Dog Food, etc. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard in a long time. Highly recommend picking it up for your next get together.

I hope you all have the best week! Remember, you choose your attitude every day when your feet hit the floor and you can dread what’s in front of you or embrace it and make the best of it. <3

Tell me about your weekend! Did you go out to dinner? Did you get together with friends? Did you race? 

Favorite party game?