Favorite Beaches: Fort Walton Beach, Florida.

Hubs calls it the Redneck Riviera. No wonder he chose to propose to me on this beach.

This was the first time I had ever been to the beach in Florida. Actually, it's the first time I'd ever been to a non-Atlantic Ocean beach. Except in Greece. I couldn't believe how clear and blue the water was for a "domestic beach." Compared to NC and NJ, this was some beautiful water! If I had the option, I'd take the Aegean Sea, but for a beach within driving distance to where we were living...not too shabby.

Favorite Beaches: Oak Island, North Carolina.

Oak Island is the first beach I ever went to. From when I was in utero until I was 14 years old, my mom's family would rent the same beach-front house for one week each summer.

The week was all about spending time with family, playing board games and cards with cousins and aunts and uncles, swimming, taking long walks to the arcade at the pier, and playing putt-putt.

The smell of gasoline still sometimes reminds me of driving bumper boats.

Happy Weekend: Move.

This next week will be planes, trains and automobiles (actually automobiles, long-term parking and planes) as we dart from one family reunion to another. Though we're just going from Maryland to New Jersey to Maryland to Florida, and maybe back to New Jersey and back to Maryland, I thought this video by independent filmmaker Rick Mereki would be a nice way to send you into the weekend.

Next week while I'm at the beach, I'll be doing posts about my favorite beaches. I would say that it's a top five beaches countdown, but I can't pick a favorite and they're in no particular order.

Where are you going this weekend?

Wearing: To the Beach!

Right after we get back from New Jersey, we are hopping on a plane to Florida for a little family time, sunshine and swimming. I'm not a huge swimmer. In fact, I'll be bringing the bathing suits that I bought two years ago when we went to Oregon. If you know anything about the Oregon coast, you are probably laughing your head off right now. The water is frigid. Short story long, this will be the first time I wear these suits.

My approach to packing is to keep it simple and to a minimum. So these are all the clothes I plan to bring with me to mix and match for the week.

Forever 21 sweater, Target t-shirt, Old Navy buttondown, J.Crew longsleeve

Target dress, Joe's Jeans, Old Navy pleated shorts, Old Navy khaki shorts

Old Navy black halter, Quicksilver striped string bikini, J.Crew bandeau,
French Connection print bikini bottom, Old Navy black bikini bottom

Target floppy hat, Target goldfish towel, Ray Ban Wayfarers, Threadless tote

But, really, don't think that's all I'm bringing. I will pack as much running stuff as regular clothes. Even though next week is a cut-back week, I'll still have about 20 miles to cover while we're in Florida. So for that I'll bring two pairs of running shorts, two shirts, two sports bras, two pairs of running socks, my visor, my handheld water bottle, two PowerBars, three gels, a wristband, GPS watch and iPod shuffle. And about 5,629 ounces of sunblock.

Wearing: 90th Birthday Party.

This weekend hubs and I are traveling back to New Jersey for my Bobchi's 90th birthday party. It will, sadly, be a very short trip, so other than my traveling outfit, I will only need to pack something to wear on party-day.

I love this olive-colored Target shirtdress, and love it even more with a pretty lavender satin lace-trimmed slip peeking out. The slip I have is from Anthropologie and was given to me a few years back, but this one on Etsy is also gorgeous. I will wear my favorite necklaces - my Max & Cleo "G" necklace and Jess LC "Be Brave" Franklin necklace - and these great wedges I found earlier this summer at Payless.

Just yesterday I came across this beautiful shirtdress by Rebecca Taylor and realized I had recreated this look without ever seeing it. I love the light fabric of the dress, the rosette slip showing at the bottom and the neutral wedges paired with the look. Sometimes rather than basing an outfit on an inspiring look, a picture will make you realize that maybe you were doing it right all along.

Training Tuesdays: 08.02.11.

Funny story -

I get home from another hot, but not as hot as last week, 17-mile run on Sunday, hobble inside and take off my running shoes and socks. I make my post-run chocolate milk, grab a snack and sit down on the ground to stretch. When I look over at my socks, I see something red on them and think, "Am I bleeding?" My toes have no blisters on them. I'm not in any outrageous pain (just 17-miles-is-a-helluva-long-way pain). And then I realize...my toenail polish melted.

Let me say that again. My toenail polish melted during my run.

Yeah.

So, now that we've established that a 17-mile run is so long it will melt your toenail polish, let's talk about something important: nutrition. I'm going to spend the next few weeks talking about what I eat before, during and after my runs. Let's be honest, I really shouldn't be giving anyone tips on general nutrition. I start salivating as soon as I see a McDonald's. And hubs and I have made it a new tradition to stop at the DQ in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, every time we drive home from visiting my family in New Jersey. Michelle Obama would be ashamed.

But over the course of the nine years I have been distance running, I have figured out what foods and drinks work for me when I'm running, but only because of a lot of trial and error. Different strokes for different folks, y'all. I encourage you to find out what your body will and will not tolerate. This is my pre-run meal every weekend:

First, coffee. There is a 0% chance of me waking up at 5:00am to do anything, let alone run, if there is not coffee involved. I usually drink one mug of coffee. It wakes me up and helps get things moving, if you know what I mean. I also eat a banana before every run longer than 4 miles. (Less than 4 miles, I usually grab half a cup of coffee and go.) A banana fills me up and is loaded with potassium to help prevent muscle cramps. Lastly, a PowerBar. These are the two flavors I can stomach. Right now I'm jonesing on the Berry Fruit Smoothie flavor, and I'm hoping I'll be able to get through the entire training schedule and marathon before I decide I never want to see another Berry Fruit Smoothie PowerBar for as long as I live. Then I'll buy a box of Cookies and Cream.

So that's it. Depending on the length of the run, I may only eat a few bites of the PowerBar and banana, or the all of both. Next week I'll talk more about what I eat and drink during my long runs. There are hundreds of brands and types of gels and beans and chews and bars and pills and drinks out there. I have found what works for me only by trying a lot, and I mean a lot of different things. Stay tuned.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

As you can see, it is a cut-back week. Can I get an amen?

Amen.

Weekend Recap: Beer, Milk, 1965, 17.

This was a weekend of extremes. On Friday night, hubs and I went out with friends for happy hour, and a few hours beyond. A margarita at a Mexican place, beer at an Irish pub, and milk at a motorcycle-themed bar. Wait, what? Yep. The bar happens to be next to a bakery, and what else was I going to drink with my cupcake? Don't judge.

Saturday I pretty much did this:

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Honestly, it is amazing that I don't have bedsores from the amount of time I spent laying on the couch watching this show. Thanks to Netflix finally making it available on streaming, we watched eight episodes of Mad Men on Saturday. And then I watched two more on Sunday after my 17-mile run, although I fell asleep during the second one. (I would like to justify my extreme laziness on Saturday with the fact that I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to run such a ridiculous distance.)

I am thisclose to finishing Season 4 and I'm not sure what I'll do until Season 5 starts airing next year (ugh!). Since we don't have cable, I'm also not sure what I'll do once the show does start airing again. I'm sure there is a restaurant or bar around here that runs the shows. I hope.

Well, I think I'll go finish watching that second episode right now. Goodbye.