Last weekend I decided to head down last minute to Comic Con. I didn't have a badge but there is so much to do outside that I still had fun. Comic con was very different than I imagined it to be. Here are some reflections:

1. Lack of crowds 

It was not nearly as crowded as I expected it to be and many people commented the same thing. Some explanations I have heard are that it may just be fear and not as many people milling about. 

1. Lack of costumes

This was very strange to me! I thought there would be a lot more costumes. Maybe they were more on the Con floor so I didn't see as many. Most people were just in shorts and a t shirt. It was also very warm that weekend so that may have played into some of it. 
Quality of costumes All of the pics I have seen show top notch costumes so when I saw some not as good, it was a bit strange. Some peoples reminded me of race costumes which is fine when running but a bit strange when not. 
Harley QuinnHoly Harley Quinn! She was definitely the most popular costume I saw. Easily saw 20+. The costume is pretty easy to put together 
Lots to do outside the ConJust walking around there were tons of events to do like Adult Swim, ComicConHQ, FX, etc and we did the all on Sunday. One thing to note is there are long lines for everything so we didn't do too much interactive stuff. 
Virtual Reality (VR)wow-VR is really taking off. We were able to do it for a suicide squad trailer at the Samsung event. It was really cool but some of it made me dizzy. One thing I noticed was a lot of people were doing VR but the lines were crazy long because they would only have 3 machines. Hopefully as the technology get cheaper, it'll be more fun. 
All the fandomsSo I consider myself a nerd and know a decent amount about fandoms. However I was blown away by how much I didn't know. People would walk by with shirts on and I would have no idea the reference. I went to the adult swim outdoor event and literally had no idea what was going on. 
The coming together of the party We went out to a bar where a lot of 501st people were going and the juxtaposition of the comic con folks in their casual clothes and people just going out in San Diego. It was definitely interesting but also fun! 
Pokemon goUmm the amount of pokestops and Pokemons I caught was out of control. And so many others were playing too. 



Overall, I had a good time! I would definitely go back and at some point would want to go to the actual Con inside. There are heavy tumors that Comic Con may more to Anaheim in the next year or two so we will see. In the meantime, I need to buy my badge for the D23 Expo coming up next July! 

Have you ever been to Comic Con?

I had Thursday off and since I changed my class to Tuesday and it was too expensive to fly back to Texas, I had an entire day free! So what do I do? GO TO DISNEYLAND! I got up early and parked at 7:20 to be in the park for rope drop at 7:45. I was able to do the new things so let's get to a review.

SOARIN AROUND THE WORLD
One thing to note about the new Soarin: they got rid of the single rider line!! Thank goodness I didn't fastpass something else.
Overall, I enjoyed the ride. They incorporated 3 new smells which is awesome. The music was very similar which I also liked. They also added new transitions which spiced it up. For me, a big negative was the amount of CGI used where it didn't need to be. Also, the technology hasn't changed much since the ride began in 2001.
I do miss the random scenes of California as it the state I live in. I think the world works better at Epcot. I do however like that all of the scenes shown have a small Disney connection.

LUIGI
This opened awhile ago but I didn't want to wait for it. I was able to walk right on at 8:10 and I fell in love. It's so adorable and had a huge smile on my face the whole time. Basically the cars all dance with each other and I loved every second. Do note that the cars only hold 2-3 people as there is only one row (much like the seating on Mater)

FROZEN
Well I rope dropped to get fastpasses. When you get fastpasses, they are given out for 3 sections: orchestra, mezzanine and balcony. They have about 4 shows a day and are given out in that order. There is a standby line but I wouldn't risk it as I have heard it is as low as 100-200 people that they let in. I got show 1, orchestra and it had strict instructions. Show started at 11:30 and you had to be back between 10:30-11:10 with the line closing at 11:10 sharp (this was confirmed by someone I talked to that was locked out the day before and as well someone I sat next to the show) so plan accordingly.
NOTE:there are no restrooms in the theatre or in line so if you need to go, you have to get a pass to come back in. 

I was able to walk to the third row and had a great seat. Not to give too much away about the show, but I loved it. It had amazing costumes and sets and I was shocked by some of the things they were able to do (Elsa's flying cape, Elsa's dress, Sven, Olaf, the trolls!!!) . I highly recommend this show!
​
One thing to note: the show is about an hour so between needing to be there about 30 min before and the 5-10 min it'll take you to exit the theatre, it does take up a chunk of your day.

PAINT THE NIGHT DINING PACKAGE

I did the Paint the night dining package at Blue Bayou for the 4th and really enjoyed it. It's 62 dollars for 3-course meal (starter, entree and dessert) and reserved viewing for the parade. The viewing area is by the flag pole in town square on Main Street. 

I had the house salad,the lamb chop and Meyer lemon creme brûlée. All of it was excellent!! 

The fastpass tickets were for the 8:50 world of color and it said check in 30 min prior to show-8:20. The area was plenty big and was never completely full. You can a full view as the parade goes completely around the area which gives you a lot of opportunities for pictures! The main concern was seeing the fireworks right after which was accomplished. We left the area as soon as the parade passed in front of us and we're able to hop on the sidewalk and get in the middle of Main Street with no problems and without having to campout for a spot hours before. If I did it again, I would show up a bit closer to showtime as we stood around the whole time(about 40 minutes as the parade got to us around 9PM) waiting for it to start. Do be warned, use the restroom before as there isn't one close that can be used during the parade without crossing the parade route so you could get stuck and miss the parade. 

I think this is a great option for first time viewers as you don't need to camp out. It also gives you an opportunity to dine at blue bayou! Do be warned this books up quickly so make sure to do it 60 days out. We got lucky and got a reservation on Saturday-2days before. People get their reminder emails 2 days before their reservation and it is when most people cancel so make sure to keep checking back!

​Overall I had a great time seeing all of the new attractions. I rode Soarin again on the 4th of July and it's definitely growing on me.

Have you done any of the new attractions at DCA?

The alarm was supposed to go off at 3:15 but I woke up at 3am and just stayed up. I got ready quickly and called a Lyft over to the harbor side entrance as I figured the security line would be less. I hopped in line and chatted with some folks while we waited 15 minutes. Sadly I didnt read the book and notice that bag check was at the finish! Ugh I wasn't going to pay for a locker so I knew I would just have to run with my bag of crap haha. 
​
The corrals were insane. Basically there are not corrals. You are placed with when you arrive. Since I was one of the first 100 people in line I was in A. I made sure to stand by the rope so I could see the pre show and the castle. 

I think the no corrals is just silly. People show up and are told-you are in B with no other instructions. People wanted to run so they eventually pushed their way over to A. Also, want to use the bathroom? You had to go to the ones in adventureland and hope you could get back to where you were. So crazy! 
​
The pre show started and the banter was strained but at least I could see it! The national anthem was so unique-played by a pirate! Tinkerbell flew (which I enjoyed but heard it was not as good as years before) and it was time to start. We moved up next to Pixie Hallow and Carissa said GO! But I didn't move: it was a wall of walkers. I was able to pop through and stop for a pic with pirates by Small World

We ran through carsland and the photo pass pics I got here were beyond amazing. Holy smokes-look at these! ​

The lost boys were on the carousel but they said-only selfies allowed which was a bit strange. Me and another group just switched off for pics. We continued around the pier through Grizzly Peak. I stopped for a pic with Peter and Wendy where Peter told me to clean the deck​!

​We headed out to downtown Disney and on to the finish! 

All done and here were my splits according to my Garmin: 3.09 miles in 30:20 (9:42/9:52/10:09). My final moving time was about 37:52 which isn't bad for the photo stops I did. 
These splits for a disney race for me are crazy, it is really is crazy how fast you can go when there is no crowding. and that was with me forcing myself to slow down

The finish was dead silent! It was so weird. I also took a pic of when I finished so you can see how uncrowded the course was for me 

I was tired so I went back and relaxed and napped before heading to the park. I got ready to go to the #teamsparkle meet up and it started pouring! Which is crazy for California. I waited for the rain to die down and then headed to the park. I got a coffee from Starbucks (pre-order FTW! I walked in, they called my name, and I walked up). However, I hit a crazy bag check line(20 min wait!) and met up with Stephanie and went to Cove Bar and rode the Ferris wheel. I then went to an amazing meet up at tortilla Jo's and trader Sam's for one of my facebook running groups. I stopped for a quick visit with Carolyn and went to grab dinner at Tangeroa terrace. Ate in the room and slept like crap! No idea why! what is up with this crazy sleeping pattern before a Disney 10k after a disney 5k? I dont like this! 

Overall it was a great day. I liked the extra time relaxing in the room but definitely could tell I was tired. Doing the Disneyland 5ks are hard since I usually have to come straight from work and get all settled before I go to sleep. 
The race was super fun once I was able to break free and get to run my pace. The photos are beyond amazing and I'm so excited going forward with other races. I think it's very strange to not have corrals and it causes confusion and is a bit dangerous if people are really trying to run. 

Have you ever done the Neverland 5k? Are you a fan of the 5k? 

EAT WELL
Eating was fine this week. I had a lot of leftovers so I ate those and haven't gone proper grocery shopping. I have enough food to get through until the end of the week but I need to stop and get some fruit!

SLEEP WELL
I slept pretty well all week! My new bedroom set came in and I love my new mattress! It's nice to wake up refreshed.

EXERCISE WELL
Exercise was a bit weird this week. I was able to stay active in Arizona and then came home to tons of home errands which cut into my workout time. I got in 3 miles on Thursday and I didn't prep right because I ended up dizzy after 2 miles. Blah!
My plan to run 10 miles this weekend was a complete no go. The Sand fire is close to me and the air was thick with falling ash and smelling awful. I don't belong to a gym (unless you count the Usc gym which is awful), there was no way for me to get in the miles safely.
My workouts have also been wonky because of my tv. I'm down to one tv and in the living room it's not in a place where i can work out easily. I'm going to give it a shot this week and see what happens.

This week my goal is to get in 2 weight workouts, a Piyo workout and 3 runs-2 short and 1 long run of 10-11 miles.

BE WELL
I randomly ended up in San Diego for Comic Con. After waking up to the crazy fire weather, I knew staying indoors for two days would make me stir crazy. I packed and booked a ticket to San Diego to meet up with Chris and Mallory! I didn't have a badge but still had fun outside the Con and going out at night. We ended up at the Samsung Suicide Squad party which was super fun!

Class is going well but I can't believe I have 3 weeks left! I have my dissertation proposal in a week and even though I feel prepared, I'm getting a bit nervous.
Having an apartment to myself again is very time consuming. I spend a lot of time organizing and buying things but it's coming together nicely. My goal this week is go through all of my clothes and donate things I don't wear or are old to clear space.

How was your week?

Another Tuesday, another Tuesday on the Run hosted by our favorites: 
Erika from MCM Mama Runs, Marcia from Marcia's Healthy Slice and Patty from No-Guilt Life.This week's topic is Runner's slang. 

I do not consider myself cool (as I have often told by my siblings haha) but I do have a few slang words I use often and in non-running company, they cause confusion.

PR/PB: pretty standard but Personal Record/Personal Best. I am going for my best and have not have a had in a while :( 

Speedwork: I mean repeat-usually 800s but I prefer to do 400s haha

Long run: I usually mean 5+ miles but sometimes it can just mean 4. For non-runners, that sounds like a lot! 

see I told you I was boring! I don't use slang often :/

and because I am currently obsessed with Hamilton (for real, if you aren't listening and want to, let me know and I will email you my Dropbox link to the cast album), I often call a 10 dollar bill a HAM. In a sentence-My bill is 10 dollars and I have a HAM. and if I have a HAM I debate parting with it haha. jk jk

Time for some weekly accountability! I will recapping how I have done on the 4 Well Rules over the last week: Eat Well, Sleep Well, Exercise Well and Be Well New Linkup for Monday! I will linking up with MissSippiPiddlin and HoHo Runs to talk about my week recap! Welcome to the 4 well rules that I try to follow as I go through my week! Let's get to it!

EAT WELL
Eating was great! I was able to eat healthy before coming to AZ and since we are in a villa, we have a full kitchen. I went grocery shopping with my mom and was able to buy a ton of discounted veggies and lettuce so I have had veggies every meal which has been great. I can't wait to get back home and stay on track

SLEEP WELL
I slept pretty well all week! My knee was better until I slept next to my little sister and she kicked it multiple times throughout the night-OW! But I have been sleeping at least 8 hours a day which my body appreciates! 

EXERCISE WELL
No need to lie: I have not run since last Saturday. I have been going through a lot and have had to spend my mornings dealing with other things. Arizona has been too hot to be running but we have been active in swimming (my little brother told me today after we spent an hour racing-he is just learning to swim-that I wore him out and he needed a nap!). 

My true goal is to get back on track. I want to run on Thursday and Saturday. My goal is to get 9-10 miles in on Saturday. hopefully my knee will cooperate. I want to also get in a workout on Friday and Sunday. If I wake up early enough, I would like to go get in a quick workout before heading to the airport. 

BE WELL
I have one more edit to do on my dissertation and I should be ready to schedule my defense in the beginning of August! Super exciting but also a bit nerve-wrecking. My plan is to sit down this weekend and get organized so I can practice for my defense. 
Being in Arizona with my family has been the best!! The kids are getting older and we have had so much fun together. We went to a Diamondbacks/Dodgers game and I really do love baseball. It was the twins first baseball game and they loved it. We also saw Finding Dory which was just SO CUTE! I love it! 
This week I need to get back on track with school (first assignment due and a few group projects are coming up!) and also get in some good workouts. 

​How was everyones week? 

This morning was definitely a first for me: a wake up time with a 2 in it! We got back to the room pretty early and just relaxed before finally falling asleep. About 6 and half hours later at 2:45, we were up. What is this life?!!? We got dressed quickly and headed to the bus. We got right on and made it quickly to Epcot!
 
I needed to meet up with the slave leia group and had just missed the Jabba pic so I met up with them and got a pic with Han in carbonite, which was fun! I think our costumes all turned out great (here is my post on my costume!). After that, Mallory and I went over to meet a few of the BOGP Lizards before heading to the corrals. After the crazy walk the day before, we headed out a bit early. It was much less crowded today but still very dark. We split at the fork and I went corral C. I decided to stop and pee one more time just in case. I debated warming up but decided to just get in the corral. I had about 15 minutes to wait until the start. Rudy gave the slave leia/princess mashup group a shoutout which was so nice of him!
 
Corral C went off about 8 minutes after the start: so about 4 minutes between the corrals. It was definitely crowded at the start but I got a lot of compliments on my costume. We went the same way as the 10k and turned backstage around mile 1. R2D2 was out again so I decided to stop for a picture. Just like the day before, it worked out that I was at the back of a corral and it was very open. 

​We came in by China and continued the loop around world showcase like the 5k on Friday. We hit a water stop in china and it was MASSIVE: easily the biggest water stop I’ve ever seen. I made sure to grab a water and powerade. We continued around and there were not any other characters out until we exited at the International Gateway and Chewbacca was close to mile 2. I wanted to make sure to get through the narrow pathway before stopping for more pictures. We made our way by Beach and Yacht Club and passed the bridge by Swan and Dolphin and connected to the path. Even though I had to bob and weave a bit, it really was not that bad! I got really lucky again! 

I hit the 5k mark somewhere around here.
​5k split: 42:42 (running pace: 10:34/10:52/10:40)
​
We entered Hollywood Studios and I stopped to use the bathroom as soon as we entered as I was drenched in sweat and decided to wipe down as much as I could. Exiting basically felt like I had stepped into a fan so that was definitely a success. We came down Hollywood Blvd and made a left and lopped by Echo Lake before coming back to the main stage. Kylo Ren and First order Stormtroopers were on stage so I had to stop for a pic! Great story: I walked up to the stage and screamed HI BEN and waved, and he walked away! He is barely in my pictures haha

​We then exited down Hollywood Blvd and over to Sunset Blvd and I had stop for another tower of terror pic before exiting by the Fantasmic path. As we went up the hill, 501st were out so I stopped for a picture with Boba Fett. We hit a massive water stop again exiting the park and stopped for a pic in Vader’s chair again. 

We continued up the same hill as the day before and headed toward Animal Kingdom.
Around here was the 10k split: 1:31:57
Running paces:14:59 (i forgot to pause when I went to the bathroom)/11:05/11:01

Now here came the boring stretch that really needs help. Basically from here over to Animal Kingdom was miles of boring. A few screens playing star wars (which was hard to see with the sun coming up) left me so so so bored! I think they should have put some of the 501st here to give some distraction. One good thing was the course was pretty open so I was able to run my pace. Running on the highway definitely affected my legs as they started to hurt. As we entered Animal Kingdom, the Rebels were by the entrance but I skipped them.

This next mile was just out of control. It was basically a mile around the Animal Kingdom parking lot. My costume was starting to bother me, the sun was coming up and I was just over it. I definitely would have loved to sleep more and I started to wonder if I did not carbload enough (and the margaritas I had were probably not the best idea). As we entered the park around mile 9, I stopped for the woompa pic just because I was so bored!! 

​As we entered Animal Kingdom, we got our Clif shot which was much needed and appreciated. The 15k split was back here: 2:20:20 (mile splits: 11:42/11:27/11:42)
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We ran along the path that is used in mile 2-3 during the Holiday 5k and around the halfway point of the marathon so I knew where I was. It was a bit narrow but I was able to move. As we entered the park by Primeval Whirl, I was super excited. I really love Animal Kingdom and running through it so I was looking forward to it. I stopped for a pic with Everest

​And then continued through Asia toward Discovery Island and stopped for a pic with the Tree of Life

​Our time at AK was coming to an end and I knew it would be boring back to Wide World of Sports. As we exited the park, more cosplayers were out by the entrance. I decided to stop for the restroom to towel off again as I knew the sun would be up. Exiting Animal Kingdom, we went out the entrance and back to Osceola (just like the marathon) and I had my first encounter with the balloon ladies ever. They had death star balloons (ADORABLE!) and they were on the road heading into Animal Kingdom and there were still a lot of people behind them. Exiting AK was super narrow, down to just a few lanes and we even had workers walking towards us to get to work. I am not sure what happened with traffic, but the workers should have still been able to get into AK-that is just crazy!

This part brought on memories of wine and dine in the rain and the marathon and I was just trying to hold on. Mentally I just wanted to be done. My costume was becoming heavy from all of the sweat and the sun was coming up,. WAAAAH I know but I am just keeping it real. The rolling hills of the highway did not make it any better. At one point I walked for a few minutes so I could switch my ipod to my other arm as the music was going in and out which was super annoying. 

I tried to just stay steady to wide world of sports. I knew that the dirt path would be interesting so I wanted to make sure to stay safe. I have not mentioned water stops but they were plentiful. The only time I ever felt thirsty was heading into Hollywood studios at the beginning. During the end, I feel like they had lots of water stops (basically every mile) which was very helpful.
As we entered wide world of sports around mile 12, I completely forgot about the At-At leg-it was the only picture I did not get that weekend.

People were slowing and I was just trying to stay steady while also making sure my bib could be seen for pictures. We ran the same layout as the day before so I knew what to expect.

As we approached the finish line, I was getting excited for my medals: yay medals!
Finish time: 3:03:04 (final mile splits: 11:31/11:00/12:11/10:37/9:08 (final .16))
Final running time: 2:30:48 (only 30 minutes of photo stops and bathroom breaks-not too bad!)
​
Overall a running time of is pretty good considering the humidity and my costume!
I got my medal and took my finisher pictures!

​I sat down to get organized and cleaned up a bit before heading to take a pic with Jabba the hut which I love

​I walked to the bus and got on right away and we got back to the hotel much faster! I was able to get back to the room and showered and relaxed. I even took a nap! We headed to Hollywood Studios for a meetup and get some great pictures with our medals

​We had an amazing dinner at Sanaa and then went back to Hollywood studios for the dessert party which is I HIGHLY recommend. Unlimited snacks, dessert and alcoholic drinks was amazing. I definitely got my moneys worth and got to hang out with more of the Stormtrooper crew which is also so fun. 

Overall, I was not a big fan of this race. I think the actual course has a lot of pinch points and boring parts. All of the highway parts were just so boring and the loop of the Animal Kingdom parking lot was one of the most boring parts of any race I have ever done. I wish the cosplayers had been out there versus in the parks. I think the point to point course adds in a lot of logistics. I am curious to see if they change the course at all for the next year. In reality, this was my least favorite WDW race weekend in terms of the courses and on course entertainment I have done. I am hoping the issues were just because it was inaugural.
 
However do not think I did not enjoy myself. I had such a fun trip with Chris, Mallory and Marissa as well as the meetups we did. So much social fun! I even got to do something for the first time: register for a Disney race while still at Disney! I got into the Goofy challenge easily and can’t wait to do the Half and Full again. Yes, I love Dopey but I don’t think it is the smartest idea for me to sign up for that when I have a busy fall including finishing my dissertation. I may regret not signing up now but I would rather allow myself the extra time that would be spent training to working on my dissertation. and yes, I know if you go and read my disney recaps this is a point I make everytime and then I end up signing up anyway haha. But for real, I need to think of the dissertation haha.
 
Did you run the star wars half-what did you think? What is the last half marathon you have done? 

I cant believe we are already almost in August! time to review how I am doing with my resolutions. 

LIFE GOALS
1. FINAL Draft of dissertation By December- TBD
My proposal defense is set for August 2nd! Hopefully I can stay on track and have a final draft done by December, 

2. Watch one classic movie a month- C+ 
I started off well with this but since watching ET in April, I have not watched another classic movie. I knew this would be hard to do with summer courses but I can try and get on track for the rest of the year.  used to be in love with TCM and classic movies and have gone through many of the AFI top 100 lists. I watched 3 movies over my break-On the Town, How to Marry a Millionaire and High Society and loved them. I want to make it a goal to watch one classic movie (1980s and before. Preferably from 1960s but there are stand outs (Godfather, etc))

3. Develop a home routine B- 
I developed a routine and was sticking with it and then I traveled too much and it was a disaster that ended with a very messy bathroom for me. I still have the list of chores I came up with so I am going to jump back into them today. It is only 10 minutes or so (straighten up the kitchen, put away dishes, prep food, and then cleaning one room) so I need to get with it! I have been so lazy when I have gotten home from work but need to get back on track. 

4. Read one book a month A- 
I have stuck with this goal! I technically counted a textbook for class as my June book (I mean it was on Creativity so it counts) but I need to get back into it this month. I have started about 4 books, I just need to pick one to keep working through.  
RUNNING/EXERCISE GOALS
1. Race times: sub 5 for full, sub 2:05 For half, sub 58 for 10k, sub 27 for 5k - D
sub 5: DONE -2016 LA Marathon (new PR-4:56:48)
with my knee injury, many of these other goals will have to wait until the Fall. I am hoping for the best going forward but with the hot weather again, I am focusing on the number of miles and not so much the time. 

2. Lose 5-10% of my body fat and keep it off--D
Yeah not happening haha. I was so focused on the Marathon and Dark Side that I stuck in the traveling routine and just got lazy. This is going up and not done which is so frustrating!! and in a knee injury where I couldn't run for 2 weeks, couldn't do lunges/squats or even get down on the ground, it makes it super hard to stay in shape. I am hoping as my knee heals, this will get better! 

3. Rock Slave Leia outfit  A
I feel like I did this-minus the crazy marks and sweat I dealt with. I felt confident in it and got positive comments from both men and women, which was great! would I do it again? i am unsure because the costume got SO heavy from the sweat and the marks I had on my chest and arms were not fun. 

4. Weight train 3x a week B- 
I was doing great as I said, until my knee injury. I don't want to be too hard on myself as that was definitely an unplanned incident but it still has not been good over the last few weeks. I am going to try and do weights now with my knee better. 
BLOG GOALS
1. Join at least one blog share.  C
I have joined a few facebook groups which has been good for me and I have kept up with some linkups. I would like to work on this more as the year progresses 

2. Gain at least one ambassadorship  C
I have not done this yet. Definitely need to get working on this! 

3. Interact with social media B-
I have been commenting on instagram and facebook more but I decided I am not a big twitter fan. It is hard for me to follow and I am okay with that. 


How about you? What are your goals for 2016? 

​Time for some weekly accountability! I will recapping how I have done on the 4 Well Rules over the last week: Eat Well, Sleep Well, Exercise Well and Be Well New Linkup for Monday! I will linking up with MissSippiPiddlin and HoHo Runs to talk about my week recap! Welcome to the 4 well rules that I try to follow as I go through my week! Let's get to it!

EAT WELL
Eating was great! I finally went true grocery shopping and made some great meals with lots of leftovers so I don't have to cook much this week. 
I go to Arizona this weekend to hang with the family! I won't be shopping until after I get back. 

SLEEP WELL
I slept pretty well all week! My knee is better, the temps are cooler and I got new sheets for my bed. I am hoping to get 8 hours of sleep every night this week. It's been humid the last few days so I need to make sure to drink water before bed so I don't wake up with a headache. 

EXERCISE WELL
Knee is still getting better. I'm probably being overly cautious now but I want to make sure it heals properly. 
Last week: I ran Thursday (20 min) and Saturday (3 miles!) and felt pretty good. My knee is a bit sore at the beginning but is much better by the end. I was able to lift a bit of weights on Weds and Fri! 

This week: my goal is to run Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I would like to do 3 miles on tues and thurs and try and do 4-5 miles or 45 min on Saturday. I also want to try Piyo again so I'm going to try out Piyo on Monday and Friday. Weds is my new rest day as I have class until 10:15 on tues.  One of my other goals is to get back into a nightly routine. I used to be good at doing core work and stretching but haven't in awhile. My goal is to do it 3 times this week and see how it goes. 

BE WELL
Class was fine last week but only 5 more weeks to go! Along with that, I may be getting close to scheduling my dissertation proposal defense which is both so exciting and terrifying at the same time. I would love to be ale to start really working on my dissertation by August (and before the Olympics start!). 
Speaking of the Olympics, anyone been watching the olympic trials?!!?!? Track and field has been insane and gymnastics was incredible. I am so excited for Rio! 
Overall, I just need to get through this week and get through class so I can see my family on Friday night! I will be in Arizona until Tuesday! 

​How was everyones week? 

​Time for some weekly accountability! I will recapping how I have done on the 4 Well Rules over the last week: Eat Well, Sleep Well, Exercise Well and Be Well New Linkup for Monday! I will linking up with MissSippiPiddlin and HoHo Runs to talk about my week recap! Welcome to the 4 well rules that I try to follow as I go through my week! Let's get to it!

Happy 4th everyone! I am heading back to Texas in the morning but I had a wonderful time at my friend's wedding and catching up with all of my friends from high school. Seriously #blessed for real

EAT WELL
Eating was fine again. I need to get back into eating more veggies as I have definitely fallen off the 2 veggies per meal rule I had earlier in the year. In Texas, I made the best choices I could but had 3 meals of BBQ and 2 meals of Tex Mex and it was all WORTH IT!! But I can't wait to get home and get back on the healthy eating train. 

SLEEP WELL
 I slept pretty well all week! My knee has gotten much better so that made sleep so much easier. In Texas, I slept as much as I could. The A/C felt great compared to the heat index between 105-110! crazy!! My goal for this week is to sleep as much as I can. Adjusting to having class on Tuesday after working all day will be a bit rough but I'll manage! I am trying to make sure to put away time for completing final class assignments and dissertation time too. 

EXERCISE WELL
Good news: my knee is okay! I went to the orthopedic doctor and got x-rays and I just have a swollen bursae sac which should take 2-3 weeks to completely heal. The doctor said I can do whatever I want and I tried to run on Friday and got in a few 30 second segments at a 10:33 pace. I am trying to ease back into it so we will see how this week goes. 

Last week: I was able to go walking on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wednesday I did a short weight workout. Saturday I walked around the mall with my aunt for an hour, which was great before being at the wedding all afternoon. 
My goal for this week is to try and run a bit (short 30 sec segments) to see how my knee does. I would love to get some running on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I also want to incorporate some weights on Wednesday and Friday but I will of course listen to my body. 

BE WELL
One class down and one more to go! My cohort decided to switch classes so now I have a nice week off in between the classes which will be much appreciated! I start my final class of graduate school on Tuesday! eek! 
The wedding I went to this weekend was beyond incredible-just the best! Don't we look so cute? 

How was your week? Any fun 4th of July weekend plans?