We had a lovely weekend here in Philly! I try to take advantage of this weather as much as I can, so we spent a lot of time outside. Saturday I finally got to sleep in past 6:30 (yay!) and then my husband and I spent the day at Marsh Creek State Park. We went kayaking for a couple hours and had a blast! The lake there is a lot bigger than the one at French Creek State Park, so we were able to paddle all over the place and explore remote areas.
There were a lot of sail boats out on the lake too! The water was really choppy and it was hard to paddle because of all the wind, so we spent a lot of time just floating in the middle of the lake and hanging out together. It was so relaxing!
After kayaking, we took an hour hike around the lake. The views were beautiful! If you’re ever in the area, you should definitely check this park out! They were setting up for a triathlon that was taking place on Sunday, and I got a bit jealous. This would be an amazing place to do a tri!
Today I went for my first run in a few days. Andrew was busy watching the Eagles, so I headed out to Ridley Creek State Park on my own.
Running by the cornfields!
I made 2 big mistakes today: 1. I drank coffee about a half hour before I went running, and 2. I parked at a different location than usual. The park is really hilly and there’s really no way to avoid the hills. But due to my location I ended up having to run 1 mile straight uphill today, which was really difficult for me. Plus the coffee was making my stomach hurt like crazy, so my body was just not having it today. I somehow managed to finish 3 miles but it was definitely slower than usual. The funny thing was that after I finished, I had to walk back up a hill and I was visibly exhausted. A little girl was walking by with her dad, and she loudly said, “Hey daddy look, that runner is really tired!” I looked at the dad and we both laughed with embarrassment, but I was kind of secretly excited to be called a “runner”. I know I’ve been doing this for a while, but that hasn’t gotten old yet!
After the Eagles game, Andrew and I headed over to Cherry Hill, NJ to finally get my new Mizunos! A few weeks ago I mentioned that I bought them from Road Runner Sports online with a really great coupon code. Well they got to my house about 2 days after I ordered them – but they were too small. Apparently Mizunos just run small and I should have gone a full size up from my normal shoe size. But instead of sending them back and exchanging them for another pair (which would have cost some money for shipping), I found out that they were opening a new store in Cherry Hill on the 13th and decided to wait until I could exchange them in person. If you live near a Road Runner Sports, consider yourself lucky! The store is a runner’s version of heaven on earth, and I had to restrain myself from buying anything. They also have a huge area in the middle of the store where they run tests on you to find your ideal shoe. You run on the treadmill and watch a video to see how your foot lands, and you even stand on foam and they analyze your foot shape! You can also try shoes out on the treadmill before you buy them. If I hadn’t just been analyzed at Philly Runner I would have been all over that.
And here they are – my beautiful new Mizuno Wave Inspire 9s! I’m dying to try them out! I’m going to be so impatient all day at work tomorrow! I’m not really sure how to phase into using my new shoes, any advice would be appreciated!
How was your weekend? Did you spend any time outside? And have you bought new running shoes lately?
Mom in the Mtns 
I don’t like drinking coffee before running. It makes my stomach crampy. Also, as hard as the hills are, do them! Where I live it’s impossible to run more than a mile without going uphill, they are completely unavoidable. But I’m so grateful for this. I’m a much stronger and faster runner after just one summer of running a combination of hills and flats everyday.
As for new shoes, I get new ones about every 4-6 months depending on how many miles I put on them. There’s no good way to break them in, just take them out for a run. Go slower or stay flat, but just start breaking them right in.
Yeah, I’m never making that coffee mistake again! I usually run after work so it hasn’t been an issue before! And I have to give you props for constantly running hills. My park is hilly, but if I’m running longer distances I’ll drive to Valley Forge to run on a flat trail. I’m going to be running the Runners World Festival 10k in a month and I know for a fact it’s going to be pretty hilly, so I think training on the hills will help!
I feel like all I do is buy new running shoes!! But, I’ve been doing a lot more running this year than usual. Photos are gorgeous!! Welcome to the Sweat Pink community!
Thank you! I can’t wait to get my pink shoelaces!
Those are some awesome shoes! I love the colors! I also love Road Runner Sports, that’s where I got my current pair. I’m super bummed that the closest one to us is in New Jersey, and it’s a 6 hour drive from Upstate NY 😦
Boo, that stinks! Yeah before they built the store in Cherry Hill we would have hand to drive an hour and a half to the next closest store, which really isn’t worth it. Maybe they’ll build one close to you soon!