4th of July

Happy 4th of July everyone!

So I got my Nike+ sensor the other day and yesterday Mostest, hubby and I went out for a run and I calibrated it! I also got my nikerunning.com account all set up to log my runs and keep me on track for my training. When I get my next run in and log it I will post a shot of it :)

My run felt really, really good last night. I ran my callibration mile at a 9:27/mile pace, which is pretty good in general for me and especially since I have not run since when I first started this blog. Best of all it was not a bust-your-ass run at all, it was just a chill run you know?

Here's Mostest all set for a run: binoculars (because apparently he was bird watching...), and iPod with his favorite turns and headphones of course.

These things make him much more content to hang out in the stroller. I also enjoy listening to him sing to his tunes too :)

Today was the 4th of July and there are lots of food are pretty quintescienial... BBQ'd hot dogs being one of them. I looooove them! I caved and had one... But a cool thing that came out of it was that my mom mentioned that she was going to look for vegan hot dogs for me but that she ran out of time. It meant SO much to me to hear that not only is she being accepting of my choice to become vegan, she is supporting it!

I had a lot of anxiety about "coming out the closet" so to speak. I don't know any vegans so I wasn't sure how my family would react. Now that it is out there and they are accepting of it I am SO relieved!

Since I live in a small Alaskan town and it was the 4th of July today of course there was a parade! Here are some fun pictures from it! :)

Watching the parade with Mostest

I've never seen one of these before... crazy!

The PFLAG float! I'm so proud that we have one now! This is it's second year being in existence and in the parade!

This just made me laugh!

This poster on one of the floats really moved me...

Lastly, I had to get a picture of one of these biker jackets because the Hoka Hey came to my town and it was awesome that some of them participated in the parade!

Gone Fishing

Well, I didn't really fish but my hubby did :)

Spent a 3 day weekend camping, rafting and just generally enjoying Alaska! It was so much fun! Not so good on the food though. I grew up camping and rafting with my family and we had some staple river foods... chili and cheese, s'mores (of course!), and my personal favorite:

Yep, Ritz crackers and spray cheese...

These "camping comfort foods" are really hard to kick! I know I shouldn't eat them because 1) they really aren't healthy any way you cut it and 2) they are not vegan and I really, truly want to strictly eat vegan. *Sigh* Needless to say I did a super shitty job at eating vegan over the weekend. But maybe admitting the problem is the first step? Now I know how strong the tie is for me between camping and these foods and I will hopefully be able to plan better next time so I can do better.

As for running... Between being gone all weekend camping and catching Mostest's cold I have not been able to drag my ass out for a run. However, I am super excited because I have one of these coming in the mail!!

There is a whole section on the Nike site to help you train with it and motivate you! I already have Nike+ shoes too, so I don't have to go out and get new shoes!!

Finally, here are some pictures from my trip down the Kenai River this weekend! (I will post more later too)

This last one we were just having fun with the camera around the campfire and I thought it looked really cool! :)

Land of the Midnight Sun

Ahh! I love Alaska! The only thing that makes those long dark winter days (think 4 hrs or less of sunlight at its peak) bearable is the knowledge that the fantastic summer days of the Midnight Sun will come and make up for the darkness.

So since we recently had summer solstice I went for a midnight run tonight!! And THIS is what it looked like!

Come on! How awesome is that? As I sit here it is 1am and there is still a little light left and it will come back up in less than 3 hours! :)

Now, the run itself? Not so good. I have not run for at least 2 weeks, maybe more. In addition I felt sick to my stomach for a large portion of the evening. BUT, I was determined to get out there and run. I did 2 miles. Not great but it is a start! And hey, I got some miles up on my running ticker!