I am so excited that the 4-day Thanksgiving weekend has begun!  I was lucky enough to be able to leave work early today (as often happens on the last day before a holiday) so I snuck home to take a quick nap before my planned recovery run.  It was absolute bliss.  The outside temperatures are cool enough that the air in the house is a little bit brisk without running any air conditioning.  I curled up under my fluffy down comforter with the kitties and felt like I was in heaven!  It’s so rare that I just get to completely relax at home so I enjoyed every minute of it.

Hit the Ground Running

I had about an hour to relax and nap before I had to get out to sneak my run in before sunset.  I felt groggy when I woke up but, with little time to spare, I dragged myself out of bed, into my running clothes, and started stretching.  I take stretching seriously (since it seems my best tool in staying injury free) and it takes me about 20 minutes or so to do my full stretching routine.  I do a modified “sun salutation” routine borrowed from yoga, do 2 cycles of 3 different IT band focused stretches, and do a series of achilles tendon stretches.  Since I have started taking that time, I have greatly reduced the frequency and severity of my running injuries so I think it has definitely made a difference.

I headed out on a relaxing run through the boardwalks that run through the woods of Celebration.  It was completely relaxing and I really had fun jamming out to music (I’ll get to the headphones in a bit).  My watch is still not clocking my instant pace right so I have a date with the Nike+ customer service rep to do some troubleshooting at 11pm tonight (exciting, I know).  I am so happy to report that my hip weirdness that has been plaguing me since my long run on Sunday has finally gone away completely and did not come back during my run!  I think it was some minor muscle soreness that may have resulted from my new shoes.  I am just glad to be on the mend.  I was home quickly and readied myself to hop in the car and head to the airport with my Mom to pick up my Dad and Brother who flew in from Pennsylvania tonight for the Thanksgiving festivities.

Yurbuds Inspire for Women – the dish

I finally caved and bought the Yurbuds Inspire for Women headphones from Target just before the Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  Prior to this point, I had always used my iPhone headphones and never really had any issues with them.  I was very excited to try the new Earpod headphones that came from my iPhone 5 and was very pleasantly surprised by the deep bass and overall sound quality of these headphones.  Almost immediately though, I had issues keeping the right bud in my ear…just the right ear.  My left ear was perfectly snug but anytime I ran in those headphones, I found myself constantly adjusting the right ear, trying to jam it in somehow so it would stay.  I had seen the new Yurbuds for women pop up on several blogs and websites and was tempted to check them out.

We were perusing our local Target store one night and it occurred to me to look for them.  They were only about $30 so I figured it was definitely worth a try.  Although they come in a whole variety of lovely, feminine colors, I fell in love with the light blue.  They certainly win points on the fashion front with a nice, super long light blue cord.

 

One each bud is a rubber sort of funnel (also a lovely shade of blue) and, when inserted into the ear, stays put.  I can assure you, this really works.  They basically twist into place and trust me, they don’t move at all until you take them out.  Yurbuds wants to ensure that you have the perfect fit so they include an alternate set of rubber “funnels” (for lack of a better  term) in another size and also offer the option of several other sizes that can be requested for free.

Although I was concerned about the sound quality in comparison with my amazing Earpods, I was very pleasantly surprised.  Since they stay securely put in your ear, the sound is full, loud, and stays that way.  They were definitely a great addition to my gear collection and I don’t think I will be going back to my Apple earphones anytime soon.  I really love them and I am glad I took the plunge!

A Time for Thanks

I am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!  My dad and I plan to hit up a track tomorrow so he can coach me on some speed work (which I am definitely excited about).  We’ll all convene for dinner around 5:3o (we don’t do the lunch-time Thanksgiving that so many families do traditionally) and will stuff ourselves silly.

I am so thankful that our whole family will be together since it is so rare anymore.  I can’t wait to enjoy some quality time together, watching movies, chatting, and catching up.

Black Friday is also on the radar.  Charles and I are thinking about possibly buying a new TV (probably not on a crazy doorbuster deal or anything but doesn’t Black Friday always make you want to buy new electronics?  It does for me anyway).  I will definitely be using this 4 day weekend to relax, recharge, and log some good solid miles.

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What are you thankful for this year?  Are you traveling for the holiday, hosting, or headed to local family?

Are you hunting any Black Friday deals this year?