ANOTHER fantastic week...Cherish Every Moment

Wow. Simply WoW.

An important thing I have learned in my (almost) 11 years of lacing up is to enjoy the journey (and not just in your running shoes). This week's theme: Cherish Every Moment.

This week had so many incredible moments, starting with the Boston Marathon. Although I was not a runner in Boston, I know several runners who were there. This race is just such an amazing event....I (like many runners) get just as excited watching it as the actual runners who are running it.  I worked in the morning, but watched some of the highlights after I got home.

I did my "nevermissaMonday" run bright and early, in Boston colors.

Although the shirt appears to be lime green, it actually is yellow #Bostonstrong

Tuesday, was a day with beautiful, spring weather. I worked all day, but headed out after work and ran four effortless miles at a progressive pace.

Ahhhh...that stretch hurts so good!

Wednesday...prom work (see below).  This was my seventh year being in charge of the Presentation festivities. I have a committee (that has changed as the members have had students graduate), and I design and build (with the assistance of the husband and fellow committee peeps) the stage set as well as overseeing all the "behind the scenes" details.

As usual, we're not able to get into the auditorium to build/construct the set until Friday evening, so my garage becomes a makeshift workshop/studio and I spend most evenings (in that final week) stooped over my garage floor...painting, cutting, lifting, and moving large (flimsy) cardboard pieces. It makes for a crazy week!

Thursday was another long day at the office. I met up with Barb (my main partner-in-crime) and we ran a solid six miles at a near-tempo pace.

I am getting much better about post-run stretching

Friday...more prom work, this time actually at the high school in the auditorium. After loading and hauling all the cardboard pieces to the school, we begin the set-building. Most of these individual pieces are 8-ft. tall (not including the golden toppers), and need support-brackets to keep them in position. Thankfully, my husband is pretty handy with power tools. He's been doing this construction gig with me from the beginning, so he knows what I expect of him and he does a great job of bringing my "visualization" to life.

Everything is up and stabilized! 

A few colorful luminaries, and we're ready for the prom-going couples to enter through the archway

This year's theme was "Moroccan Moonlight," so this is my rendition of a Moroccan castle

Saturday morning the temps were somewhat cool (high 50's) but very sunny and the wind was minimal. We have a half marathon coming up next weekend that will give us plenty of hills so we decided to tackle some hills in town. My husband even joined us for the first 4.5 miles.

I have been drinking Beet Boost prior to my longer runs, and BAM! My energy is off the charts, and the running feels (dare I say?) effortless. Even with the numerous hills, I never felt like I needed to slow down. I didn't have my GPS watch with me, but Barb said we ran the second half of the eight miles with a negative split. I would even venture a guess that we ran those final miles with progressively faster splits as well.

#gothills #anotherreasontosmile

Saturday was prom night!  Although we had no one from our household attending, the husband and I were there. Thankfully, the Presentation of Couples went well, and we had the complete set taken down and dismantled within 45 minutes. Our night didn't end there, though. The husband and I also volunteered at the after-prom party. Our shifts ended around 2:30AM, and we were home (and sound asleep) a very short while later.

Sunday was a day of active recovery. I did have some residual stiffness, probably from the hilly run the day prior (and also from the late night working at Prom). I allowed myself a "no-alarm" slumber, and woke up around 8:00AM. I went for a long (and somewhat hilly) power walk with my sister, for six miles of cardio.

Also, I spent several hours working in the raised "garden" by our garage. This little garden has become such an eyesore. It is completely overgrown with all of this wayward grass that I have no idea where to begin on getting it back under control. I also have several clumps of daylilies awaiting to be transplanted (from a recent dig-up/transplant job from another of my garden plots). When all was finished (for the day), I had almost half of the plot cleaned up. And, my glutes, hamstrings, and back got a good work-over as well.

Isn't it a mess???? This was at the halfway point of my project...the entire plot was covered in grass when I started

Total mileage for the week was 19 miles of running, most of which was at a fairly fast pace. My energy level has been in tip-top condition, and all of this week's training runs went well. My body has been pretty sore, though. Last weekend, I ran my first-ever 10-miler in several months, and it was in the wind. With all the prom set construction this week, I have been in a constant state of squatting, so my hamstrings and quads have been on fire.

This next week looks to be another busy one.... tennis meets, last-minute rehearsals for the youngest daughter's dance recital (which is Friday night), a party honoring all the graduating seniors at the other daughter's sorority on Saturday evening, and a half marathon on Sunday morning. Yes, the timing of my "taper" could not have happened during a more perfect week.

In other news:

I am really enjoying all the beauty of spring! I wish all of these budding trees could stay like this forever!

#colormespring

I've been continuing to have fun experimenting with different ways to wear my hair. It boggles my mind, however, that my hair actually looks longer when I do the beachy-wave look than when I keep it straight.

#beachywaves

Our little guy, Max, has really been loving the warm weather! He loves going for car rides (with the windows down).

#MaxtonMcCarthur

And, I have to pay a short tribute to Prince. Growing up in the 70's/80's, Prince was of my era. He was one of those icons who had his own uniqueness, flamboyance, and cutting edge sense of style. Although I wasn't one of the goo goo-gaga crazy obsessed Prince fans, I always admired him. He was a true artist, one who always did things HIS way and his way only. I knew he was a musical genius, but I have recently learned about his humanitarian side (which he successfully kept hidden from most of the world). He certainly was a legend, and someone I thought would be around forever. Cherish every minute...

#ripprince

So, enough about me. How was your week? Any races on the agenda? Ever done a bunch of gardening and felt like you'd spent an afternoon power-lifting instead?  Were you a Prince fan?

As usual, I'm linking up with Holly from HoHo Runs and Tricia from MissSippiPiddlin  for the Weekly Wrap. Do head over and checkout their awesome blogs, as well as all the other blogs linked.