Friday Five: Five Things I Did This Week

This was quite an eventful week! The week kicked off April, as well as a week of pretty good weather here in the D.C. area. Hallelujah! Though, it was weird that the week started off with snow…

This week, as with the last two weeks, I’m participating in the DC Trifecta Friday Five Link-Up, hosted by Eat, Pray, Run DC, You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar on the Run. This week’s suggested topic was basically a freestyle. Post five things about whatever you want!

For my five things, I decided to highlight five things I did this week. In doing so, I realized that I was actually able to do quite a bit in a week!

1. I ran every weekday this week! I am participating in Jill Conyers’ Run This Year April Instagram Challenge. I’m working on getting my weekly mileage up, especially now that I can’t use bad weather as an excuse. Having an activity like this to keep me motivated was exactly what the doctor ordered, plus, COMPETITION! And we all know how much I love competing! How does the challenge work, you ask? For each day in April, you have a specific activity, exercise, or question, all related to running. You take a picture of you doing that thing, and share it on Instagram. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen a few photos of me being a total weirdo. For that, I do not apologize. I do, however, apologize for the next thing.

2. I learned that I don’t really know how to use Instagram. I tried, several times, to upload video of my dynamic warm-up yesterday. My app kept telling me that I failed at it. I know, man! I know! All I wanted to do was post a video of me. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, the answer is yes. Maybe it’s for the best, though. The one I was going to post was riddled with bloopers. (At one point, something falls out of my pocket. After viewing the video, I realized that the something was my glasses. How did they even get in there?!) Maybe one of my lovely readers can suggest some Instagram apps for me to try. Maybe a camera timer app too, since the one I have is really strange…

3. I got to run outside! Weeeeeeee! I was so happy to run outside, twice this week I ran in both the morning and the evening. Like. A. Bawse. The weather was pretty nice, and I appreciated every drop of sunlight. Amen for the end of the polar vortex! The treadmill is just so boring. I like being able to run outside and enjoy the fresh air. On one of my runs, I got to see a bunch of pretty orioles. On another, I almost had a run-in with an adorable, yet mischievous groundhog.

4. I also started the 30-Day Ab Challenge! These have been pretty easy so far, which has made it nice to add on to a workout. My abs are reminiscent of a manatee’s at this point, so this should help.

5. I attended the Road Runner Sports Girls’ Night Out Event in Rockville. If you’ve already read my review of Road Runner Sports in Rockville, Maryland, you know that I thoroughly enjoyed my shopping experience. Last night, they hosted an event for Da Ladies that featured champagne, beer, cupcakes, oh… and fitness-y stuff. They had a couple of tables set up in the store where you could talk with folks from Team Challenge (check them out if you’ve never heard of them) and Schrier Physical Therapy. They were running some raffles, and had some really amazing prizes! The grand prize winner won a head-to-toe (minus shoes) outfit from the store! Lucky! They gave away gym bags, compression socks, and more cool prizes. I didn’t win, but I still had fun. They’ve definitely turned me into a regular customer!

Since I set a goal for myself to compete in some sort of triathlon next year, I’m seriously considering signing up with one of the Team Challenge teams. I’m going to need some serious help if I want to be competitive next year! I had a nice chat with them, and they gave me a couple of SunRype Superfruits bars to try. I picked up the Mango Mangosteen and Blueberry Pomegranate flavors. I’ll let you know how those work out.

The folks from Schrier were awesome, and the PT I spoke with, Nicole, was really helpful. She did some tests on me, and talked to me about why my hamstrings and lower back are giving me problems. (My pelvis is likely tilted like the Tower of Pisa.) Nicole gave me a stress ball and a few exercises to do to help alleviate some of the tension in my hip flexors. She also gave me a card and a brochure in case I end up wanting to come by their office. We shall see! At the Schrier table, I also had a chance to talk with a volleyball player who I’ve actually competed against. The volleyball community is so small/connected in this area!

I’m not sure what sorts of adventures I will get into this weekend, but I’m sure I’ll be sharing them on whatever social media I can properly use at that moment. I hope you have a wonderful, happy, healthy weekend!

What are some activities you did this week? What do you have planned for the weekend? What are some of your favorite tools for Instagram? Have you ever attended an event hosted by a store?

P.S. This is the song I was going to use for my failed dynamic warm-up video. R.I.P. Chris Kelly.