Month: April 2017

Sister-In-Law Wedding Weekend!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

I can’t believe the weekend is over. It FLEW by, much faster than the usual weekend. Most likely because we had tons of activities planned, my parents in towhead – oh yeah – my sister-in-law got married!

The weekend started with my parents coming into town. They were going to be watching FW during all our wedding festivities. It is so great to see them AGAIN – we won’t see them again for a few months.

FW got a kick out of meal time with Nonna.

Meanwhile, we were feasting on Italian food and red wine for the rehearsal dinner!

Saturday morning started earlyish – I had a run planned with a group of other runners as part of a 2nd Sole Cleveland Marathon training group! I don’t usually run in groups, but I did get out to do a 10k before getting ready for the wedding. 

And we also managed to take a short walk. FW loves waving these days!

Then it was wedding time! It was a beautiful ceremony and the bride was gorgeous. 

It’s fun getting dressed up to go out with B!And I NEVER wear heels. I can’t believe how much shorter I am than B still! 

The wedding reception was great – tons of good music, food and dancing. And a  HUGE cookie table (in addition to cake). These were some of my favorite looking ones – B’s mom made them! (I semi-helped by rolling and cutting out fondant)

Me and my other sister-in-law were twins 🙂 Both in black and gold! 

Sunday morning included some more time with FW and my parents, before they hit the road. 

There were some other wedding festivities going on, like a mass and a brunch. So much fun family things happening in one weekend! And because it was a gorgeous Sunday (80+ degrees!) we took a walk to the water. FW doesn’t look that happy, but I assure you, he wasn’t that upset about being outside. 

And that was it! Hope you had a good weekend as well.

Some questions for you:

  • When was the last time you went to a wedding?
  • Do you wear heels?

I’m linking up with Katie and the weekly wraps.

Training Tuesday: 30+ Miles!!

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

Folks, we are less than ONE MONTH AWAY until the Cleveland half marathon!!! Can you believe it? Where has this training season gone?!

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Well, I may be still sore today, but I’m pretty pleased with last week’s training – I finally got in a double digit run, the first one in AGES – more than a year, for sure! (last year at this time I was nearly 9 months pregnant!)

I rounded out the week with 30+ miles:

Sunday: None!

Monday: 6.4 miles. Mondays are usually cross training days, but I was unable to get in a 10k over the weekend like I had wanted to, AND since it was Marathon Monday, I had to get in a run! Even if it was on the treadmill.

Tuesday: 4.8 miles.  I only was able to get in 1.5 miles in the morning before FW woke up screaming and I had to feed him, soothe him, etc. He didn’t get back to sleep so I didn’t have time to finish any more, but I did manage to get in 3.3 miles later in the afternoon.

Wednesday:  5.3 miles.  I had 8×400 on the schedule,  which I did on the treadmill with my 400s at 7.7 mph pace. And I finished with a cool down.

Thursday:  3.75 miles. 3 miles running and then a cool down.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 10 miles outside with Mary!  B was out of town, so I was unsure if I was going to get in a run, but FW’s grandpa was able to watch him while Mary and I got out. I’m so glad we did it – 10 miles with a partner is SO much better than solo!

And that was it for the week – 30ish miles! 

Some questions for you:

  • Did you get in a double digit run? How often do you double digit runs?
  • Do you love Marathon Monday as much as I do? I LOVE LOVE LOVE Boston Marathon watching!

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Single Parenting Weekend

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

I

AM

SO

POOPED.

What a weekend. B was out of town from Thursday through Sunday evening and it was just me and a sick baby.

Which, let me tell you, was tiring. I have no idea how some people do this all the time!

Thank goodness he’s cute!

So, what did the two of us do this weekend?

Well, I tried nebulizing him a few times. TRIED is the key word. It’s not easy to get a 10-month-old boy to sit still long enough to put a mask on them and turn on a loud scary machine.

We took a few selfies. 

I ate ice cream/Halo Top from the carton after he was in bed.

I went for a run! I wasn’t sure this was going to happen, but B’s dad was able to babysit while Mary and I got in a 10 mile training run. We’re less than a month away from the Cleveland half marathon, so I feel pretty good about that run.

We baked! We went over to B’s parents’ house and did some baking for his sister’s wedding weekend. 

Sunday morning FW woke up around 4:50 a.m. and decided he was cranky and didn’t want to do anything but be held by me. And for the most part, be held while I was standing, not sitting. So, our plans to take a walk didn’t exactly happen. We did make it out of the house in the afternoon for Ladies Craft Beer Society! I didn’t get any pictures of the craft OR the beer because this little guy was cranky and barely let me put him down. Here is a one pic of when I was able to put him down and he hung out for about 3 seconds with Clara. (unpictured-  me chugging my beer at that exact moment)

Sunday evening we finally did get in a walk – to the grocery store – when B came home. And then we ate dinner and I passed out. Again, pooped!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you ever end the weekend more tired than when you started?
  • Do you wake up early on weekends?

I’m linking up with Katie and the weekly wraps.

Day In the Life  (WIAW Working Mom Edition)

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

For today’s What I Ate Wednesday,  I wanted to share a little “day in the life” action. And since the day technically starts at midnight,  here we go. For today’s WIAW, here was my last Thursday:

1 a.m.: FW is up.  We’ve been trying to night wean him, but since he is sick and didn’t eat much at daycare, I only let him cry a little before I go into his room to feed him. I am back to bed and asleep by 2 a.m.

4:45 a.m.: FW is up again.  I feed him and while he’s eating,  my alarm goes off. I typically wake up around 5 to work out, so after he’s done eating at 5:30ish, I head to the gym to workout. Since I’ve been up a few times, my stomach is a little off, so I grab a bite of a cookie as a pre-workout snack.

5:40-6:35 a.m.: This is my me time before the day begins.  I run 4.2 miles and then cool down for .8 and get to 5 total, which I’m happy about. I finish with a short plank.

6:45 a.m.- 7:05 a.m.: FW luckily hasn’t woken up while I’m working out so I have time to shower and get ready.

7:05 a.m. – 7:40 a.m.: FW and B are up! I usually make B a smoothie  (and save leftovers for FW) but B already has breakfast this morning so I instead use the time to send a few emails, get FW changed, dressed and fed, get his food amd milk ready for daycare, get my and B’s lunches ready  (I had prepped them the night before) and spend some time cuddling with FW before work.

8 a.m.-4 p.m.: work! I eat most of my meals and snacks at my desk, which include:

Breakfast! Plain yogurt, granola bites (cashew clusters), banana and a cutie.

A snack of some dried mangoes and nuts. 

Lunch was some roasted sweet potato slices and leftover cabbage and ground chicken stir fry.

And some leftover decaf coconut milk latte because I was getting sleepy in the afternoon.

My day is usually over a little later but I have a meeting out of the office in the afternoon and need to head out early to get there on time. I had a networking event at a place that had drinks and chips. These chips and salsa were great!

5:30-6 p.m.: My meeting was over around 5:30 and then I headed to daycare to pick up FW. I hit some traffic on my way home and didn’t end up getting back to our apartment until after 6.

6:30 p.m.: Since it was so nice out, B and I decided to go out for a walk. It was sunny and somewhat warm and not a bad night for a walk with B and FW.

7:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.: Got home and put FW to bed. While I was putting FW to bed, B was making dinner! We were having brinner.

7:45 p.m.: Dinnertime. While we ate, we watched the end of Joy, which we had started a few nights earlier. I catch up on emails and finish up some work when the movie is over.

9:45 p.m.: Get to bed.

And that was it- that was my Thursday!

Some questions for you:

  • How often do you have brinner?
  • What time do you get up in the morning?  And go to bed?

Training Tuesday: Long again

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

This was an interesting week running-wise. I started the week strong with a feel-good 9 miler. Got two days later I could barely make it 4 miles. My body was SORE from the 9 miles for way more days than it should’ve been. Still, I managed to end the week with 27 miles from five days of running.

By the way, ending my runs with hugs from this guy is the BEST.

Here’s how the week went:

Sunday: 9 miles. That’s right, I got in 9 miles outside and I felt GREAT during the entire run! I ran about 5 of them with Mary, and the weather was about 48 degrees, which was perfect for the run. I finished feeling strong and great.

Monday: 0 miles. I woke up so so so tired and sore that I decided to stay in bed and sleep longer. Good choice!

Tuesday: 4.5 easy walking and running. This run was a struggle. I was so tempted to skip it. I didn’t get much sleep the night before and was up with FW. When I did make it to the treadmill, my legs and feet still sore from Sunday. I decided to stick it out and do a combination of running for a little and walking for a little until I got to 4.5.

Wednesday: 8x400s to 5 miles. I did the 400s at 7.7 and walked in between.  With my cooldown and warmup I ended up with 5 treadmill miles.

Thursday: 5.1 miles on the treadmill. 4.21 running and then a cool down.

Friday: 3.5 or so (didn’t have my GPS on) miles outside. B and I were home since daycare was closed, and went out for a run with Mary. We didn’t have much time, and I forgot to turn my running app on, but I’m pretty sure we did 3.5 or so miles with FW in the stroller.

Total-  27.1 miles!

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Hooray for getting in a “longer” run, including 2 outdoor runs!

Questions for you:

  • How many outdoor runs did you get in this week?
  • How long does it take you to recover? Do you take days off between long runs?

Disclosure: As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, I receive complimentary race entry AND a free race entry to give away! I also get a cool shirt (see above!)and invited to some special events. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Easter Weekend With Family

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

Is the weekend really over already? Man, it was a really great weekend with family and great food and weather. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Friday afternoon started with a walk with B and FW. We hit up a local candy store that we had never been too – look at their soda collection! Do you see the sweet corn and peanut butter flavors?

We also looked around for some Easter stuff. FW was not impressed by the bunny ears 🙂

We then met up with my parents and brother who were in town! We enjoyed sushi for dinner.

Some of the bazillion pieces of sushi we got.

It was passed FW’s bedtime, but he got a story read by grandpa. 

Saturday morning started with a short walk around downtown for breakfast and then coffee with my brother. It is SO SO good to see him. He lives in Germany, so seeing him even for just a little over a day was great.

My brother had to go to the Apple store to get his laptop fixed before heading back to Germany, so while he was there, my mom and I got in a little retail therapy. What do you think of this dress?

We then got lunch at Boaz, one of my favorites. I love their fresh, cheap food.  This is  a sad with chicken, pickled veggies, hot sauce, beans, lentils, quinoa, tabbouleh and baba. 

We spent the afternoon walking around Ohio City and the West Side Market and then relaxing. For dinner, we ended up making grilled cheese which were SO GOOD. They definitely hit the spot. 

Sunday morning came early – B and I had DOUBLE the brunch plans! First, an early brunch with my parents and brother before they headed out.

And then after Mass, Easter brunch with B’s family.

Which included some sticky buns AND a snooze with Francis and Grandma.

We finished up with brunch around 5 and then went out for a walk. It was another beautiful day and great to be outside again for a perfect way to end the weekend.

Some questions for you:

  • Do you like Peeps?
  • What’s your favorite Easter candy?

I’m linking up with Katie and the weekly wraps.

WIAW: Holy cannoli, my Little Italy dinner

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

Ooh I love Italian food. Italian appetizers, meals, desserts, you name it. I love it all. And today’s WIAW features some eats from a night out in Little Italy. Amazingness.

The day started with some yogurt, fruit and granola.

And the rest of the banana from my yogurt was eaten with some homemade peanut butter.

Lunch was late so I first had some mixed nuts.

And then my late lunch included some veggies I had brought in – cauliflower, asparagus and others, along with some goodies from the salad bar at work – shrimp, chickpeas and cheese!

A snack? Clementine. And then it was time for our Little Italy dinner! We got mozzarella sticks as an appetizer.

And mushroom pizza for our main dish. YUM! Wine not pictured but consumed nonetheless 🙂

And then we got my favorite for dessert – cannoli. YUM. One for B and one for me! 

And that was my WIAW.

  • Do you like cannoli?
  • What’s your favorite Italian dish?

Training Tuesday: Fewer Miles

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 9 Comments

Happy Tuesday! For today’s post I have a runfession — I had a low mileage week.

At this point in my training, I probably should be increasing the mileage each week, but this week I was a little bit down in the numbers. I typically start off the week strong with a long run, but I was out of town for a bachelorette party and clocked in zero miles on Sunday.

Sooooo where did that get me? In terms of mileage, this week (Sunday-Saturday) ended at 21.53 miles. The runs included:

Sunday: Nothing! I was in Cincinnati for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party and the day involved getting brunch and then driving back to Cleveland. And going to bed early after a weekend of little sleep!

Monday: 4  miles on the treadmill.

Tuesday:  40 minute tempo run; 4.6 miles on the treadmill. 

Wednesday: 5.3 miles on the treadmill. I ran 3 miles and then had enough time to walk/run a cooldown to get to 5.3.

Thursday: 3.2 miles on the treadmill. I woke up Thursday TIRED. Beteeen work, FW being sick and being away the previous weekend, I felt as if I was lacking some serious sleep. Nevertheless, I managed to get in a few sluggish miles.

Friday: None – rest day!

Saturday: 4.42 miles on the treadmill. It was sunny but cold outside so I decided to take it easy and watch some Netflix while working out.

Total- 21.53 miles!

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Was it a bad week? No. Did I have any really bad runs? No. So here’s to hoping for a little higher mileage in the weeks moving forward!

Some questions for you:

  • What do you consider a “long” run?
  • What’s your average weekly mileage?

Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!

Weekends That Feel Like Spring

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 4 Comments

We finally had a springlike weekend in Cleveland!! The weather was sunny and Sunday it was WARM so we spent as much time as we could outside. Friday night, B, FW and I went to Little Italy for dinner and dessert! The weather was sunny and cool and it was nice to be in such a walkable area for dinner. We grabbed mushroom pizza at Mama Santas and the best cannoli at Presti’s.

Saturday morning started with a 4 mile treadmill run and some breakfast with the boys. Fun fact – we learned that FW loves mango!

We spent most of the afternoon looking at houses. Still no real contenders … but we did get to go out for lunch at one of my favorite places – Stone Oven! This is one of my favorite salads.

And since we ended up finishing our house hunting near B’s brother and his family, we decided to take a walk with FW’s cousins! FW snoozed for a bit while we walked.

Saturday night ended with some steak and potatoes.  I love it when B cooks for me 🙂

Sunday started with some more outdoor time- I got in an outdoor run with Mary. I got in 9 miles, and they felt great!

After the run, it was time for Sunday brunch with B’s family.  We typically do Sunday dinner, but this weekend was a delicious brunch.

After brunch,  we headed to the park to enjoy more sunshine. It was packed- everyone was at the lake!

Since we had Sunday brunch with B’s family, we had dinner to ourselves. B made an awesome meal – he roasted a whole chicken and put it with a giant salad. My type of meal!

And that was it. I hope the weather stays nice so we can continue to spend time outside this week!

Some questions for you:

  • Did you get in any runs this weekend?
  • How do you like your steak cooked?

I’m linking up with Katie and the weekly wraps.

Training Tuesday: Starting off April

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 5 Comments

I have a confession – I JUST signed up for the Cleveland Marathon events. I know, I’m writing about training but for some reason I hadn’t pulled the trigger until this week.

But it’s here-  I FINALLY signed up for the 8k and Half Marathon Challenge Series! So this training is getting REAL.

A reminder- if you are thinking for signing up for the challenge series, you NEED to sign up ASAP. The deadline to register is this week!

Now, onto the runs for this week. In terms of mileage, this week was a little low, mostly because I did my Sunday long run last Saturday so I kicked off the week with only 3ish miles. Also, I was out of town Friday through the weekend for my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party!

This week, my runs included:

Sunday: 3.22 miles outside. I had a little time before heading over to help with my friend Nicole’s bridal brunch, and was happy to be able to get in a short run OUTSIDE. It was nearly 60 degrees and I was so excited to be in shorts!

Monday: 47 minutes elliptical.  I had xtraining on the schedule and was able to get in some time on the elliptical to start off my Monday.

Tuesday: 4.9  miles on the treadmill.  I had 4 miles on the schedule and I ended up running for 45 minutes and got in 4.75 miles – then I finished with a short cool down.

Wednesday: 4.1  miles on the treadmill. I had intervals on the schedule and I did 7×400. When I was done, I did another mile or so.

Thursday: 5 miles on the treadmill. I had 3 on the schedule,  but since I started early, I managed to get in a nice cooldown and finished with 5.

Friday: 4 slow miles. I did a 5k and then walked and ran until I got a 4. It is normally a rest day, but since is was off and knew I wasn’t going to be getting in my normal weekend runs, I decided to get in some treadmill to me before hitting the road.

Saturday: 3.7 hilly miles in Cincinnati! I was in Cincinnati for my sister-in-law’s  bachelorette party, and me and my other sister-in-law got in a run Saturday morning before the festivities started. It wasn’t the 8 on the schedule, but I’m glad I got in some miles!

Total- 25 miles!

Some questions for you:

  • Do you like running hills? Are you used to them? Is where you live hilly?
  • Local CLE people – are you doing the Cleveland Marathon or any of the events this year?

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Linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs!