Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I hope everyone has been enjoying the extended weekend as much as I have. After a couple of really busy weeks at work and an especially crazy busy one this past week, I was more than ready for a little R&R this weekend.

I suppose rest and relaxation wouldn’t be quite the best words to describe my entire weekend, since I stayed pretty active with the first of my summer races this weekend; nonetheless, the rest of my days were much more relaxing and being able to spend quality time with Philip was just what I needed. :)

Instead of rambling on about my weekend (and because pictures are worth a thousand words, right?!), here is a picture summary of my weekend. Enjoy!

A late Saturday morning stroll through the Madison Downtown Farmers’ Market followed by…

Picnic on the Square

with PB&J sandwiches, of course. :) We knew we were a match when we discovered we both have a love for PB&J. Nothing better than Homemade Almond Butter with homemade peach jam (canning recipe for this favorite of mine coming this summer!)

An afternoon of napping prepared me for the Madison Twilight 10K. Yawning right before the race starts is not a good sign…We joked I would be running when it was practically my bed time. We laughed, but we both knew we weren’t really joking.

Somehow I woke up enough to run hard, beat out several people and finish with a time of 45:35. Night running really isn’t my thing (I’d much prefer a morning run), but it was a picture perfect night and seeing Madison in a new light was pretty spectacular. With the restaurant-goers sitting outside cheering everybody on as we passed by, strobe lights flashing, and music blaring, I couldn’t help but smile as I crossed the finish line. What a great feeling.

…Except I knew I would be doing it all over again in less than 12 hours, only adding on another 7 miles. After some icing and trying to recover my legs as best I could, I caught a few hours of sleep.

Philip was great and woke up at the crack of dawn with me to cheer me on at the Madison Half Marathon.

It was a great course with it starting and ending at the Capital and weaving through University of Wisconsin campus, the UW Arboretum, and other scenic areas of downtown Madison during the middle of the course.

It was definitely a doozy of a course, though, with plenty of hills along the way. The weather was perfect, with only a slight breeze. I was thankful to get done when I did, though, as the sun really started to heat things up.

The spectators were great along the way and I gave it my all for them. Even though I wanted to smile as I came to the same finish as the night before, I was just too beat. I crossed the line at an official time of 1:37:31—a new PR for me (by a couple seconds; I’ll take it!).

2 races. 2 days. 19.3 mile challenge. Done.

Next up: For real rest and relaxation. Philip and I rode our bikes to the UW Arboretum in the afternoon with a bag packed with a blanket, pillows, snacks, water, and our Kindles. We spent the entire afternoon under a tree reading, chatting, and napping. It was the perfect day. (and yes, it does look like I’m reading a cook book, but I’m not…although sometimes I do! :)). I’m reading Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist—a great book filled with short stories about life happening around the table.

No Memorial Day is complete with out using the grill, so we grilled chicken with this new marinade from Iowa Girl Eats. Look at those grill marks Philip got for us!

And last, but certainly not least: A trip to DQ to cap off our Memorial Day Weekend. Couldn’t have asked for a better weekend!

Whatever you’ve been up to this weekend, I hope it has been full of relaxation, summer thoughts, and hope that warmer weather really is here to stay.