Making Amy (old blog) . . .: My Weekend - Is Fall Finally Coming to NE Florida?

This past weekend was lovely. We FINALLY had our first hint of fall – the temps were in the low ‘60s in the mornings and the highs were in the 70s. I was seriously ready for it. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve always been a warm-weather person. I absolutely hated winter when I lived in Indiana and Tennessee (though I will confess that’s less because of the cold and more because it’s just gray for 3 months straight – yuck). However, I reached the point when I was sick of the excessive heat in August and was just ready for summer to be over already. Here in North Florida, we do actually get a winter – it just isn’t as severe as up north. Temps will occasionally drop into the 20s or 30s, but its really rare to see snow. At any rate, I’m happy we at least have some relief from the 90 degree days.

Cailyn came with me on my run.
She was biking and it worked out well.

Saturday morning I had an excellent (for me) 4-mile run. I’d have used the term bad-ass, but lets face it – it was only 4 miles! Still, I really pushed myself longer and harder than I have in YEARS. Ran a mile, walked a couple of minutes, ran another 10 minutes, and then I ran / walked intervals until I got back. My overall pace was 13:56 min/mile, which included all the walking. For anyone out there who knows running – you know this is SLOW. But it’s all good. My run pace is a little under 12 minutes per mile (also slow), but my goal at this point is to just build up my endurance. I’ll worry about speeding up once I’m able to run multiple miles straight again. And honestly, I’m really not concerned about competition – just improving my stamina and speed for my own sake – more competing against myself, rather than anyone else.

Heck yeah!

After the run was the highlight of my weekend - we went to see The Martian. I’ve been looking forward to this ever since I heard they were making the book into a movie. And it was excellent. I think anyone (not just space freaks) would enjoy this movie. I guess my only disappointment (and its really minor) is that the character is WAY funnier in the book. There was a lot of humor in the movie, but honestly, the book had me cracking up out loud while reading it - of course, I am kind of a dork :-). Still, I HIGHLY recommend this movie! Took the whole family and everyone loved it – even my youngest, and I was afraid he’d be bored during some of the slower parts (when they were building story and such). But afterward he said he loved it, too. And none of my kids have nearly my interest in (obsession with??) space. They all like science (particularly my oldest), but they aren’t really into space. So I think their approval is a good indication of how folks who aren’t space-nerds would enjoy the movie :-).

New shoes!

Another awesome weekend thing? New running shoes! Yes, that's right, I was due. Probably overdue. I always know when I need new shoes. First off, I'll start getting soreness in my feet after running. In my case, I have what is probably minor arthritis in the joint of my big toe on my right foot. It where you'd get a bunion if you wore high heels all the time. And frankly, mine might be from the heels I used to wear to work regularly back in the olden days. At any rate, it never bothers me except when I'm walking or running, and usually only if my shoes are getting old. Also, I ALWAYS rub through the padding on the back of my heels. I guess I have bony heels, because the padding on the back of the shoe almost always rubs through before I think the soles are worn out. This time I went with Asics. Can't wait to try them out!

The rest of the weekend was just yard work, house work, and relaxation. It was lovely.

With that, I’ll give you a little photo roll – stuff I saw while running, walking the dog, just enjoying the weekend, etc.