later gator - january report out

GUYS. THE BIKES ARE OUT.

We may or may not have taken a quick little spin already. I'm just freaking out about it! Because it's been like a year since I rode. We just did a few miles but I'm so excited to add it back into my normal routine. 

While we did ride the bikes tonight I made sure to get in my last run for January. I did a short run to get in a nice even ninety miles. It wasn't the ninety-six I wanted but I'm not going to be mad about it. 

I don't have too many goals fleshed out for February yet aside from running miles. I do want to try and get on the bike at least three times a week and I REALLY need to get in the pool. I'm hoping this month will be a little less hectic personally, but I already know we have the next three weekends booked sooooo guess that's out the window.

How do you plan out your weekends? Do you block out time for just relaxation? I feel like I'm always overbooked. Tell me how to be better!

Until February, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

monday rewind

I think I got my mojo back guys.

At least I'm hoping it is. I'm crossing my fingers that the good running days are back. Slow days are fine sometimes just not ALL the time. 

While I had a few longer runs this past week, the few days I ran just a mile or two put me behind my goal of ninety-six for this month. I can't be too mad because this month has been all over the place. 

A nice little surprise came through this past week though. I earned another badge on smashrun when I hit a total of eight hundred fifty-eight miles since I joined. I'm normally pretty good about stalking the next badge but I had no idea I was close to getting it.

Of course, now I'm all over the next one I think I'm going to get. *Hint - it's not going to be the sunrise one.* #morningsaretheworst

And this is the week I get back on the bike. I swear it. They're getting set up tomorrow! Also, I need to change my food equivalent on smashrun. I'm thinking desserts. There's only so many bacon wrapped pineapple bites a girl can eat.

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

another one bites the dust - a goal update

GUYS. It's twenty-seven days into twenty-seventeen and I'm already crossing off a goal!

Okay, okay, to be fair, I knew it was going to happen in January but still. I had to write it down. Getting rid of another student loan is a momentous occasion! Especially considering that when Ryan and I got married back in twenty-eleven, we had over a hundred forty thousand dollars of student debt to tackle. In the five and a half years we've been married we've paid off over ninety thousand of it.

Yeah, you read that right. NINETY THOUSAND. In five years.

Thankfully, in the last five years, Ryan got funded through school and I've jumped up a few levels at my job. Both of those have helped A LOT. It also helps (aside from being depressing) that Ryan's ENTIRE paycheck goes towards paying down student loans. 

The next loan we're working on is Ryan's last unsubsidized one. We originally wanted to pay it off in November, but since we bought the house, our finances look a little different. We couldn't keep throwing three grand a month at it but we can still manage to do about eighteen hundred. Here's hoping for a payoff date in next March. *fingers crossed*

And on that depressing note, I'm going to dream about these shrimp tacos. Because they were really super delicious.

Until the next goal update, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

monday rewind

Guys, I need some motivation.

Like the kind of motivation I had when I started running or doing triathlons. The kind of motivation where everything is bright and shiny and new and you're challenging yourself like never before. That kind of motivation.

I feel like I'm just going through the motions (or not even that with biking and swimming - hello goose eggs!). I feel burnt out but know that most days it's the only thing that keeps me sane. 

The highlight of my week was knowing I ran at least a 5K each day. Three weeks in and I finally accomplished that. Somehow it just doesn't seem enough.

And this run route pretty much sums up my exact feelings about running right now. A two year old's angry scribbling.

If you're still motivated this time of year, how are you doing it? Any tips are extremely welcome. Upstate New York is killing with this dreary, cold weather.

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

we bought a house

So I know I already told you guys, but in case you forgot, we bought a house!

One Sunday back in October, we went to FIVE open houses. The first house we stumbled into is now the one we rush out of every morning. We fell in love with every. little. thing. The original woodwork. The hardwood floors. The big, huge radiators. The stained glass windows. Everything. We saw it and we loved it.

We emailed our agent that night asking to see it again. And so we went and saw it again...the very next day. The day after that, we signed an offer letter. The day after that we had officially begun the closing process!

Forty-seven excruciatingly, long days later, we signed our lives away and got a huge ring of keys in return. I'm not even kidding. There must've been ten keys per door.

The first few nights were a little less than glamorous but we're homeowners!

We still love the house but as we're living in it we notice things we want to change. Like getting rid of the cable wire that was fed through the wall, across the room, through another wall into the next room...and painting over the hideous green walls in the living room.

I know it'll be a few months until we have our house warming party (read: June or July) but I couldn't wait to share our new address with our friends and family. And it served as a good excuse to make Ryan put on a nice shirt and stand still for a picture.

Isn't he just the cutest?

Anyway. Four moving boxes perfectly stacked, some photo editing, and some inventive phrasing later, we had our cute, simple post card.

I'm kinda in love with how it came out. I may or may not want to frame this in the near future.

And now that I have a house warming party deadline, I have a long list of projects that need to happen first. Who wants to help?

Until the next house update, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

monday rewind

Remember how I mentioned it was a miracle I made it through last week?

It's even more of a wonder I kept my run streak up. Especially considering Saturday night I finished my run half an hour before midnight.

Talk about cutting it close!

But my toughest runs last week were also my shortest ones. Thursday morning I woke up congested but ready to run. I was going to do an easy out and back 5K before going into work since it was going to be a long day. Ryan grumpily got up and ran with me, since it was still dark. But after the first mile I was so congested and short of breath I had to stop and walk. After a bit of angry tears, Ryan and I walked back home without finishing the rest of the run.

After a really long day at work on Thursday, I woke up Friday exhausted with a really bad stomach ache. More tears and a short pep talk from Ryan had me out the door shuffling through a one mile jaunt around our neighborhood.

Saturday, I woke up feeling more refreshed. Thinking I would be out of work by late afternoon, I skipped a morning run and headed to work. Over fourteen hours later I drove like a mad man to get home in time for a run. Pumped that physical inventory was over, I ran an easy mile just before Saturday ended.

Now, I'm just really glad it's all over. If only I didn't have to do it again in October...

How do you stay on track with your workouts when work or life gets in the way? Do you power through or catch up later? If your life works perfectly, please tell me how.

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

it's a freaking miracle

I MADE IT.

With three fifteen hour days back to back fueled by little sleep combined with the worst cold I've had in the last five years, physical inventory is finally over. Can I get a freaking hallelujah? Ugh.

I'm debating whether I should be knocked up or stuck in another country the next time this rolls around. Especially considering I'm supposed to "run" the finance aspect of it next year and made a multi-million dollar mistake (thankfully fixed!) this time. 

Ryan held down the fort this week doing a bunch of projects. He installed our new dishwasher, switched out the light fixture in the living room, and discovered the fan in the dining room is plastered into the ceiling. #winning

My contribution to the house this week? Repotting plants. 

Since I don't have tomorrow off like most people seemingly do, I'm already looking forward to next weekend. Hopefully by then I'll be rid of this head cold. (And be sleeping a solid ten hours each night.)

What's on deck for you this week?Are you plotting payback for your boss for the cold he shared? Or are you planning on a few extra hours of sleep for good measure?

Until the next sleep deprive post, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

monday rewind and the year so far

I am officially, eight days, and twenty-five miles into twenty-seventeen. 

I'm also in with enchiladas and pizza waffles. So I'm pretty much breaking even. #whatdiet

Also - is that chart not that saddest thing ever?

This past week I continued my streak and goal to run everyday. I busted out a 5K each day, even though there were a couple runs I did only an hour or so after eating (terrible idea, by the way). I haven't started cycling or swimming yet this year. I'm currently going on like a year off of doing either seriously. 

Maybe I'll add "set up pain cave" to Ryan's list of stuff to do this week. I just have to make sure he's not too busy destroying my kitchen (RIP linoleum).

Now, I know this week has already started strong with another 5K today, but the latter half of the week is going to be a challenge getting in the miles. I'm back on site for work (after working from home for two months) and Thursday through Saturday is our physical inventory. 

If you've never been through an inventory process, first, I hate you, and second, say a little thanks to whatever powers may be. 

Physical inventory is basically when you go out and count every. single. piece. of material or product on site. From little bottles of stuff to tankers full of gunk. And since we have A LOT of material sitting around, I'll be working a few 17 hour days back to back. 

The options are either potentially sneak out at lunch and get in the miles or definitely crank out the miles before going in. I think I have to err on the side of caution and get them in beforehand. It just means that I won't be getting that much sleep.

And I'm a sleep person. 

Maybe I'll become a coffee person.

Probably not.

How's your year going so far? Are you breaking even or better? What are you looking to get into this year? Something old? Something new?

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

twenty-seventeen goals

So I may have gone a little overboard when writing down my goals for this year.

I may have also finally decided on a bujo versus filofax. Then, when I sat down and started writing my goals out, I sort of forgot to stop. It was like all of a sudden I had this list and I really wanted to do all of them.  #overachieverproblems

Honestly though, I think they're all doable. But I may also be a tad out of touch with what's realistic. (Like, I-want-to-put-coffered-ceilings-in-my-dining-room-with-absolutely-no-money-for-them kind of out of touch.) Maybe you can tell me what's realistic?

Pretty please?

I DO know that some of them aren't "SMART" so I'll outline what would make me feel like I accomplished them by the end of the year. That way I don't get there and think, "I suck," when really I did everything I set out to do.

So here's the twenty-seventeen, full of boundless potential. And to no resolution about my pant size. Because I definitely ate my weight in chocolate today.

Until the next goal post, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

monday rewind

Okay guys, we're two days in. How's your new year going?

Mine is off to a hilly and delicious start. Although, if you ask smashrun, it's not a good start since I didn't get that that first heart healthy week...

I'll be sharing my new year's goals in a couple days, but one of them is to run every day. And after reading an article about a sixty-eight year old runner came through my news feed, I'm want to make it a point to run at least a 5K everyday.

This runner had gone out for at least three miles everyday for thirty-six years. THIRTY. SIX. YEARS. He even upped his mileage after he retired, eventually going out for six to eight miles every. damn. day. Back in October, his streak ended when he was hit by a car out on a run. He thankfully survived and is working to get back out and running.

He's going to be how I shame myself into running more than a mile on days I feel like being lazy. Maybe I'll label those runs #robertsmademedoit. 

Tomorrow will be my first day back with my team since mid-December and while I'm looking forward to seeing them again, I'm not looking forward to my alarm clock tomorrow. Ugh.

What are you looking forward to this year? Any big plans or goals? What keeps you motivated and on track? 

Until the next rewind, peace out, lifers.

- Allison Rae

happy new year

I hope this one brings lots of peace, joy, and happiness for you.

- Allison Rae