2013 Summer Lovin' List

Summer is here.

In recognition of the current heat wave, I thought I'd skip the bitching about my butt sweat, and instead create a list of things I'm currently enjoying with the arrival of the warm weather. Look at me, all puppies and rainbows.

Prosecco

Actually, any sparkling wine will do in a pinch. The only issue with my newfound love of all things bubbly is that I feel pretty lame ordering it at a bar when everyone else is drinking PBR. I've been rewarding myself with a glass each time I survive a run (or a walk to the 7-11), so I had to figure out how to keep it fizzy for a couple of days. There's this trick, which is pretty much like magic. (Who knew?) But since DS is a gadget guy, he got me a real live champagne stopper. Spiffy!

Cheese Plates

This isn't necessarily just a summer thing, obv. DS and I have always been pretty into cheese (unusual, right?), but the obsession got kicked up a notch when his sister got us a sweet cheese slate last Christmas. We like when restaurants serve an assortment of extra stuff with the cheese. That way we can make fun little sandwiches and stuff with it. Free cheese-mustard-weird mini pickle thing sandwiches! Score. We recently attended a cheese tasting class because we're cool like that, and evidently the whole pairing thing is bullshit. It's all LIES. You can eat whatever you want, however you want. So don't buy into the hype. I know…I took a cheese class.

My Running Glasses

Remember Dan and Dave from the 1992 Olympics? (Team Dan!)

They would totally wear my new sunglasses. (Mine are way awesomer because they are bright 80s white.) I needed something to block all the sun/wind/dust/gnats/giant cicadas I kept getting in my eyes during runs and bike rides, but I didn't want to spend any money. The answer? Target, natch. I feel like people look at me weird when I wear these, like maybe I should be running faster than I am. Or wearing a side ponytail and Walkman. But I'm too busy judging their dumb outfits through my tinted plastic lenses (ummm that happen to say IRONMAN) to really care.

My Lulu Hat

OK, so this hat might look like something your mom would wear to the grocery store with her sweatpants and Crocs. The flowers under the brim are a little much for some people. But I've all but entirely swapped the headbands for hats when I run, and I wanted a light-colored one for summer, and I didn't want pink, and lululemon is a block from my office, and I really don't care what you think anyway. And I can wear my Dan and Dave glasses with it.

Bike Sharing

The interwebs have been all abuzz as of late about NYC's brand new bike share system, Citi Bike.

Ummm whatever, New York. You're old news. We've had bike sharing since 2008. Anyway, despite the fact that I had to pay full price for this year's membership (I didn't last year), I love Capital Bikeshare. If I don't bring my own pretty bike with me, it's a perfect way to get home from a bar. I'm pretty sure drunk biking is frowned upon, but tipsy biking is fine. Right?

Movies Outside

True, you can watch Princess Bride on TBS most Saturday afternoons. But. Can you watch it under the stars? Eating a gourmet grilled cheese from a food truck? Chanting, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." and "Inconceivable!" with a couple hundred other people? I'm pretty excited about this year's lineup, which includes Moonlight Kingdom. I kind of missed out last summer due to a hives outbreak that lasted six months. I'll spare you those photos.

Daft Punk's New Album

This album has received a lot of negative reviews. These reviews are bullshit. Don't read them. Daft Punk's latest album is the first album I've enjoyed in quite a while. It's just…groovy. There's a distinct 70s vibe, blended with their signature electronic sound. It makes you want to put on some cool bell bottoms and drink some Hennessy in a bar that looks like it vomited gold trim, disco balls, mirror ceilings and faux fur. If that's your thing, get this album. (It's also great running music.)

Not Wearing Pants

Thaaaaaat's right. I'm going pantsless these days. 

Because I've switched to dresses. (I just got this one.) I've even gotten pretty good at riding my bike in them (squeeee she's so European!), though my mounting/dismounting could still use some work/aka I'm totally spastic. 

I'm ruuuuuuunning in the rain...

Yesterday's poorly timed run left me drenched. It was pouring, with thunder, lighting...the works. I didn't really mind, since I'm usually disgustingly sweaty at the end of a run anyway. Plus the lack of traffic and very few pedestrians to dodge were a rare treat.

The only thing I was worried about was my iPhone. Fortunately, my hand-held bottle thingie has a pretty water-tight pocket for it. But next time I think I'll try this tip from Neon Blonde Runner.

Only in DC.

Only in DC would your run be interrupted by a motorcade. This is so NOT the only time this has happened.

Dr. Steve informed me it's National Police Week. Cool beans. 

Are you cute when you run?

I don't consider myself a particularly fashionable runner. More functional-meets-whatever's-clean. 

I was walking home the other day when a girl told me she liked my "outfit." I was wearing a t-shirt, running shorts and a hat. And I was sweaty to the point of disgusting. I was like, "Mine?" She nodded. It was weird. I still really think she might have been making fun of me. That would make more sense. 

(Hat: Nike, Shirt: Adidas, Shorts: Champion, Shoes: Brooks)

Restaurant Review: Standard

Standard is a beer garden. Sadly, this does not mean that beer grows on trees here. It means that it consists solely of a bunch of outdoor picnic tables, and beer is available. (There is no indoor area.) In my opinion, this is not nearly as sweet as an actual garden of beer...a Willie Wonka-esque paradise for adults.

If you consider yourself a DC "hipster," you have no doubt already experienced Standard. It is absolutely teeming with Wafarers, skinny jeans and mustaches. And you WILL wait for a table here. It's on my running route and from what I've seen, if it's open, it's packed, no matter the weather or temperature. This is why I try to avoid Standard, even though it's a mere three blocks from home.

They have a small but satisfying selection of draft beers, and if you're on the wagon, a handful of great sodas...like Coca-Cola with real sugar. Mmmm.

We attempted to order a beer in every color.

The food is good, although there's not a large selection and definitely not tailored for anyone counting their calories. You'll find no salad here. You WILL find doughnuts, brisket, bratwurst, pulled pork, onion rings... Bring your Tums and enjoy!

Standard is a great choice for anyone who never sat at the cool table in high school. All those kids are probably here at Standard, and you'll be squeezing right in there next to them, enjoying a big German beer and fried delicacies.

On an unrelated note, I tried the interval workout again and saw some improvement. 

Single Speed Sally

If I was a bike, I'd be a single-speed. I have no gears. I have no control over my running speed whatsoever. It's all just haphazard flailing randomness. 

I tried this interval workout on my run yesterday and it was such a fail. 

Clearly I'm really good at going slow. So thats something. Right? But the whole steady/fast concept is out of my grasp. 

Rucksack Runners

What's up with all the people running with backpacks these days? 

I'm not just talking about the Camelback things. These people are carrying just regular old backpacks, charging down the sidewalk. It's like they're all running for the schoolbus. It looks awfully uncomfortable to me. Maybe that's the point?

Headaches, you can be such a headache.

Anyone else deal with frequent headaches? And not just tension headaches. We're talking full-blown migraines.

If you do, you know that they can really get in the way of your life. Today, for example was supposed to be the day I started my running and yoga routine. Instead, however, I spent all night tossing and turning because of a headache, and the pain continued all day long.

This isn't the kind of pain I can just deal with and run through. It's the eye-watering, nausea-inducing PAIN that can last up to 10 days. These things SUCK.

So anyway, the first run day was a big fat fail. Bring on the name calling, humiliation and wedgies.

I ran.

If some people run like the wind, I run more like a fart. I just really stink up a room afterward. Also I'm super slow.

I hate reading runners' blogs when they're all, Oh I'm not a runner...I've never been a runner...except when I ran on my high school cross country team. UMMMM newsflash: you're a runner and have been since high school. I was on the swim team in high school, and even though I haven't been swimming regularly for 15 years or so, I can still swim circles around 90 percent of other folks.

When I say I've never been a runner, it means that when my swim team coaches used to try to make us run for cross-training, I would hide somewhere and then find a shortcut. I couldn't run more than two minutes without stopping to walk. Nor did I ever try. I have never made a secret about my hatred of running. I HATE IT.

Fast forward to my early 30s. Lately my body seems to have been...transforming? Actually, it's being a total asshole. Any muscle tone I've been able to maintain thus far is starting to get a little soft. And my jeans are sitting on a shelf, twiddling their thumbs (yes, my jeans have thumbs), waiting for my expanding ass to try and wiggle back into them.

Running is cheap and accessible. And trendy...heeeeyyyyy. So running it is.

And it's totally official now that I ran my very first race last month, the Crystal Run 5K Friday series. I placed in the top 500 women!

I'm the confused looking one. As usual.

The chick in blue is about to smoke me.

Anyway, I'm blogging about running to try and stay on track this time. I've been nursing a bad knee the last couple of weeks, but it's time to hit the pavement. My alarm is set for 5:30 a.m. You guys please give me a ton of shit if I start slacking. Be relentless. Call me names. Give me wedgies. Egg my car. (Please don't do that last one.)