Five for Friday!

Five for Friday!

1.      Bike!  I did it, I finally bought my bike – the obnoxiously orange one.  It should be here in a week or so.  I sent a picture of the bike to my old boss since he is a big biker and has been encouraging me to start.  He looked up all the specs and components online – my bike is Bill approved.  He explained some of the extra little things to me and I think the bike is even better than I thought.

2.      My couch comes tomorrow.  After 5 months, I will no longer have a redneck living room.  I am super excited to see how it looks and how the house looks as an actual house.  All my big things are done.

3.      Southwestern Crockpot Chicken – 2 thumbs up.  One – it tastes really good and fills you up.  Two – there is zero prep time.  Dump everything in crockpot.  Turn crockpot on.  No chopping or anything.

http://musclesmilesandmeals.blogspot.com/2012/08/south-western-crockpot-chicken.html

4.      Labor day weekend festivities – I will be enjoying my new couch, running (a few) miles, watching some volleyball, celebrating some birthdays and STUDYING cramming for this test.

5.      Running update – feeling healthy, feeling good.  Weather is still in the 90s so I am just going to train through September and hopefully see the results aka faster times in October.  I want get back below 1:50 for the half.  I have plenty of tries this fall and winter!

Stress Relief –

Running is by far my ‘burn excess energy’ choice.  When I am happy – I run, when I am sad – I run, when I am mad – I run, etc.  It may not solve all the world’s problems, but it does burn the extra adrenaline and allow me to think clearly.

Yesterday was a crazy day for me.  Work is absolutely bonkers.  I feel like this week I am doing 4 jobs, and doing none of them well.  I have my previous job, I have some of Bill’s flow over, I have the brand new earthquake book that we are trying to get going, and Andrea is out, so I have her job too!  I feel like I am spread too thin and not making anyone happy.  I am also extremely stressed about the test I have in a week and a half.  Top that off with the chain on my necklace breaking and damn near reduced me to tears.  I didn’t lose the quarter or anything, but it was the final straw.

Worked late and then went home.  Talked to my sister (it was her birthday – and she got a treadmill) and then mama.  After that I laced up the running shoes and went on a run.  I did three miles – and the first one was all hills.  The last 2 miles were at a comfortable pace, not really pushing it, just getting in miles.  Ended with an 8:39 pace. 

After that I did some studying.  I skipped out on biking (insert sad face here L) and even an invite to Hooters for a fantasy draft – side note – that got me thinking it has been a long time since I had wings, I miss wings, yay for football season.  Hopefully tonight will be a fun night at volleyball.  This is going to be a long week….

Motivation Monday –

The first week of Goofy training was a success.  I do much better when I have a reason for training.  I stuck to the schedule and felt great on each run.  The weekend was the first attempt at the long run being on Sunday.  Saturday was 4 miles and Sunday was 8 miles.  It was hard to find the motivation to get out and run both mornings, but I made myself.  Thankfully the weather was fantastic.  Cloudy and cool (below 90).  There was a bit of humidity, but I will take it.

My goal for the first couple of weekends is a 9 minute pace on Saturday, followed by a 9:30 pace on Sunday.  This is not about speed, it is about getting the miles on the legs.  I had to tell myself to slow down several times.  Feeling healthy and strong, so it was hard to hold back.

Saturday’s run: 8:52, 9:06, 8:53 and 8:32

Sunday’s run: 9:14, 9:02, 9:03, 9:16, 9:16, 8:55, 9:04, 8:57.

Sunday I was able to test out a new trail and I like the route it takes me.  It was a good out and back course for the 8 miles.  I think I can extend it for my longer runs.

I have officially booked my flights for Goofy – thanks to the rest of my voucher it cost me just over $100.

I also cooked some crock pot beef and broccoli, zucchini fries, and threw together some trail mix for a snack.  I used the receipe below with some changes…

http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/2012/05/clean-eating-crock-pot-beef-and.html

This week’s training plan:

Monday – 3 miles

Tuesday – 3 miles (optional) and volleyball

Wednesday – 5 miles

Thursday – 3 miles and volleyball

Friday – rest

Saturday – Breakfast Bash 5 miler

Sunday – 9 miles

Five for Friday

1.      My Public Service Announcement – Since I do travel a bit I have my account set up to send me auto-notifications to my phone, about my flights starting 4 hours before the flight.  That is great for afternoon and evening flights.  That way if I am at work I don’t have to worry about checking for updates or being rushed.  That is not so great for 7 AM flights, when your phone goes off at 3 AM scaring the shit out of you.  It wanted to tell me my flight was on time, but the departure gate changed.  Gee thanks!

2.      Stupid Termites – ruining (maybe just delaying) me getting a bike.  They will be gone as of today.  At least they were only in the mulch on the exterior.  No interior damage.  Now I am crunching the numbers to see if I still want to go forward with the bike.  Going to look at a bike shop this weekend, but still am in love with the orange bike.

3.      Running - I was able to get in 4 miles between things yesterday.  They were super easy and I think I had adrenaline to burn.  8:50, 8:46, 8:56, and 8:48. 

4.      Volleyball was a lot of fun last night.  We had a double header and the teams we were playing weren’t the best.  We won 5 out of 6 and should have won all 6, but we had a good time.

5.      Training - This weekend is my first test at a short run, then double the distance on Sunday.  I started early so I could have plenty of time to build up.  So hopefully this weekend won’t be hard, or I am in trouble.  4 miles on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday.

Show me the $$$

I have always been very intense with my money.  I know exactly how much I have at all times and exactly how much I spend.  Yes, I have a spreadsheet that tracks every purchase I make for the month and a budget for each category (groceries, eating out, running, etc).  I have been struggling lately to buy a bike.  They are not cheap and I almost feel bad spending the money on it when there are other things I should could be doing with the money.  Buying a sprinkler system for the house, keeping it in the emergency fund, etc.  I am always terrified that something is going to happen and I won’t have the money for whatever I need….I know my family and friends would help me, but I would hate to have to ask when I have a $1,000 bike sitting in my garage (it might get the third bedroom – it’s too pretty to sit in a garage).

Biking is a lot more popular down here than it is in the Midwest.  I have tons of friends that ride for fun, several that do triathlons, and some that do bike races.  Currently I ride two to three times a week.  I’ll use the bike plenty and it is good form of exercise and cross training I just stress at spending money frivolously.  Not really sure if this is truly a frivolous purchase, but I am struggle with hitting the purchase button.  Everyone has told me to buy the dang bike and get over it, but it’s not that easy for me.  However, I did find an obnoxious orange bike that would be absolutely perfect for me J.

Yesterday I did my planned workout.  I ran 3 miles and it was extremely hard in the heat.  I didn’t run too much last week and I think I de-acclimated myself to the heat.  It was tough run and I felt like crap when I was done.  3 miles shouldn’t do that to me.  Then did a 13 mile ride and felt good for that.  It had cooled down a bit and there is a better breeze on a bike.  Today’s high is only 80, so hopefully the rain holds off so I can get in a good 3-4 miler before volleyball!

Motivation Monday: GOOFY

So I know I have been talking about this for awhile now, but GOOFY DOPEY TRAINING OFFIICIALLY BEGINS TODAY!

The first two or three weeks are pretty easy, but I need to get back into a routine.  Ever get to the point where you are constantly doing things/working out/being active, but have no real rhyme or reason to it?  That is where I am.  Time to get structured!

This week’s training plan: maybe if I put it out here I am more likely to follow it.  Yes, at times I will have to make changes, but that happens...

·        Monday – 3 miles and bike riding

·        Tuesday – 3 miles and volleyball

·        Wednesday – rest (out of town for work)

·        Thursday – 4 miles and volleyball

·        Friday – 2 miles (optional or rest day)

·        Saturday – 4 miles

·        Sunday – 8 miles

It’s all about the bling:

Wordless Wednesday – Thursday edition

The pictures from the Hottest Half didn’t get posted until late yesterday so here they are….along with a new favorite healthy eating quote…

Truth

Still happy

Stride for stride

And Done!

Ready for some volleyball tonight and a relaxing weekend ahead. 



Playing in the Rain

Last night it poured in Texas!  We definitely needed the rain and there are absolutely zero complaints about it.  There was also a lot of pretty lightning and some thunder.  And yes, there was also a lot of volleyball playing!  It felt great and was fun even though I kind of fell apart the third game.  I was tired the ball was heavy, but we were all just messing around.  It continued to rain well into the night, with even a chance for more rain today and later this week.  The highs are also only supposed to be in the 90s.

I took the night off running because I figured I deserved it.  Sunday was the Hottest Half and Monday I did a 3 mile run followed up by a 13 mile bike ride.  Back at it tonight.

Hottest Half –

Amazingly it wasn’t crazy hot!  I got there bright and early well it actually wasn’t all the bright – the moon was still out, got my packet and checked my bag.  It was only in the mid 80s and actually felt pretty good.  Mind you, this was at 6:30 AM.  Hung out for a bit talking to some people then it was time to start the race.  It was out at White Rock Lake, which is always pretty to run on. 

I lined up a bit further back than I normally do.  I really didn’t know what to expect from this race time wise.  My lack of training has been sporadic at best.  About a quarter mile/half mile in I saw a familiar shirt and pony tail combination, so I picked it up a bit to catch up with Megan.  We ended up running the entire race together which really helped me out.  We were able to talk a lot and that was a nice distraction.  She also pushed me in the middle of the race.  If I was by myself I would have slowed down and/or walked parts.  There was great cloud coverage which kept the temperature down for most of the run.  I don’t think the sun really started to come out until mile 10.  The last couple of miles got hot, but we can’t complain too much considering we were all prepared for much worse.  At the end I started to pick it up and she told me to just go, that she couldn’t push it.  We were at mile 12.8, I told her there was no way I was going to leave her now.  We just slowed it down a little bit and cruised on to the finish.  Official time: 1:57:14

I thought the entire race was well organized.  Plenty of water (12 stops) and volunteers.  Also, it was an out and back course so I got to see all the people I knew running it, which is always nice.  Afterwards, hung out, talked to everyone, had a couple of beers, then it was home for a nap
I was 18th out of 122 for my age group.  Top 15% ain't bad!

Megan and I post race

Race 2 of the 4 seasons challenge complete - Tyler Rose in October and Texas half in February.  Once complete – more bling!                                                                  

In other news: I got my kitchen table on Friday and I also got my Medal hangers.  Kitchen is complete, still waiting on the living room stuff - couch and rug.  Going to spray paint the medal hangers black, and might decide the get one more.  I know where I am going to put them, I just need to decide how I want them to go.

Wordless Wednesday

Volleyball went great last night.  The back feels good this morning and I played pretty well.  The team we were playing were all guys, but weren’t the greatest.  Amanda and I did all the hitting and the other team even went up to block a few times so I was working on hitting around the block. 

Pictures from the 15K last weekend and one of the B-man.



Tangent Tuesday – Food!

Still a favorite quote: YOU CAN’T OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET.

I was in such a rut with my eating.  I feel like I have cycled through my ‘go to’ recipes several times and am bored.  I’m bored with chicken, I’m bored with pasta, etc.  Therefore I started eating crappy.  I have been pretty good this week about getting back into good habits.

So I had set out to find new recipes and excited about several I came across with many new ingredients.  One thing I am excited to have found is chicken sausage.  I am also going to try out making salmon (scary!).

Here are some of the specific recipes I plan on trying (with some adjustments):

*Chicken Sausage with Penne Pasta - http://www.cleaneatingmag.com/Recipes/Recipe/Penne-with-Chicken-Sausage-Tomatoes-Spinach.aspx

*Dirty Rice and chicken sausage - http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/dirty_rice.html

*Crock Pot Beef & Broccoli - http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/2012/05/clean-eating-crock-pot-beef-and.html

Many of the ‘fit’ bloggers have a food/recipe tab.  Here are my go to ones, they have tons of ideas:

http://www.fitfoodieshealthylife.com/tummytreats/

http://www.littlebshealthyhabits.com/p/clean-recipes.html

I was able to run 3 easy miles yesterday and felt great.  Back is still feeling good today.  Tonight will be the first real test of the back – volleyball night!  Tomorrow the bike gang may go out to Texas Motor Speedway and ride around the outside of the place.  It is a closed off (from traffic) 5 mile loop.  I guess tons of people go out there biking, but it is not nearly as crowded as White Rock.

BACK at it – literally and figuratively

The past few days consisted mainly of R&R.  My back going out was my body’s way of telling me I needed a break.  It seems like the past 6 weekends have been nothing but go, go, go.  The past 4 days, I laid around the house on the heating pad, read 2 books, studied for my AU 66 test, watched the Olympics and felt like a lazy bum.  But guess what – it worked because this morning I feel GREAT!  Completely refreshed.  I did get some stuff done like cutting the lawn and a bit of working out.

Thursday and Friday I did 2 miles.  Thursday all I could do was walk.  I always see the neighbor out when I run my 0.40 loop.  He was heckling me for walking instead of running.  Friday I walked the first mile and then ‘jogged’ the second mile.  I use the term jog loosely because I felt it was the same pace as my walk.  I wanted to see how the back would hold with a little bounce in my step.

Sunday I had the Summer Bath Run 15K.  I thought about dropping down the 5K, but decided to stick with the 15K.  I have a half marathon next weekend and wanted to get in the mileage.  I figured I would walk when need be.  I started off in the back of the pack and very tentatively.  I believe my first 5 miles were right in the 8:45-9:10 range – which is perfect.  It was a flat and somewhat shaded course, however there were parts of the trail that were not in the best shape - cracked and uneven.  Not the best place to try and run with a bad back.  At about mile 6 my back and legs had enough.  I did a run/walk the rest of the called it a day. 

Time: 1:28:40 (2^nd out of 4 in my age group) – 9:30 pace

I left right after I was done, but I guess I should have stuck around for my trophy.  Didn’t think there was any way I would have placed with that crappy time.  It is over a minute per mile slower than my PR.  Wow, didn’t realize the race was that small.  Oh well – everyone in the 15K got a finisher medal, so that works for me.  I prefer medals over plaques and trophies

August 12^th is the Hottest Half – My original goal was to be under 2:00, then I changed it to 1:55.  A guy I went to high school with runs halfs and I saw him at the RNR – Dallas last year.  He is currently overseas (Afghanistan) and just ran a half in 1:55.  I revised the goal to 1:55.  Now with the back I am aiming for under 2:10.  I should be able to do that.  The heading straight to the beer garden!

August Goals –

My goals may seem a bit light this month, however I am taking it easy in the beginning because of the back.

·        Run – 70 miles

·        Sit-ups – 1000

·        Push-ups – 500

·        Pass AU 66 test

Goofy training starts at the end of this month.  Time to get at it.  I want plenty of time to build up mileage so I don’t go crazy.  I think I have a good race and training schedule planned.  There are a couple 15K (Sat) and half marathon (Sun) weekends that I am pretty excited about.

Other than that I have a pretty quiet August in comparison to July.  I plan on getting more done around the house and getting back in shape.  These last two weeks have not been the greatest eating and working out.  Time to get back at it.

Money Well Spent –

So my house is finally coming together all thanks to my mom and aunt.  They were down here for 6 days and we got sooo much accomplished. 

Let’s make a list: couch, rug for the living room, small kitchen table, kitchen rug, veggie copper, baking dishes, bottle opener, pictures for the kitchen, vase and flowers for the mantel, chip clips, valves for the hoses, and even some Nike sandals.

I was planning on buying the couch and loved the rug they picked out, everything else was bonus purchases.  I wasn’t expecting to find my corner kitchen table.  It was one of those I had to make a decision I wasn’t planning on making so quickly.  Definitely had to sit and process before I bought, just like the house (wasn’t expecting to make an offer so quick).  I think we looked at stuff just about every day.  I can only do so much shopping before I hit my limit – and I hit my limit.  Mom and Auntie B could just keep going.  I liked looking at stuff, but will forget everything by the time I am actually ready to buy.  I think I have all the big stuff I am going to buy for the time being.  I have a lot of plane tickets to buy.

Just a few pictures...

 Couch will be chocolate brown

 Living room rug - lots of color options

Best food chopper ever

Catch Up Time

Here is the first of several blogs: Running

My mom and my aunt came down for almost a week to help me decorate the house.  I was still able to get in decent mileage while they were here.

Friday I got in 5.5 miles and Saturday morning I got up bright and early to meet some friends up at the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve in Plano.  6AM runs are early, but it was nice to beat the heat and get in some good miles.  We did 8.75 miles and I felt great.  I was a bit nervous because I wasn’t sure of what pace we were going to do or how serious everyone was going to be.  We did a 6.6 mile route that they had mapped out.  After that Megan and I did a loop inside the preserve.  It was pretty hilly and when I made that comment Megan gave me the duh – it is called Arbor Hills. We took it easy and talked the whole way.  I figured it was good practice for the Goofy Challenge.  I need to learn to run with people.  Yesterday I did an easy 2 miles just to make my total mileage for the month.

My run at Arbor Hills made me much more confident for my 15K this Saturday.  However, I might have to revise my plan seeing as I can’t walk right now, much less run.  I threw my back out hard-core.  Thankfully I have absolutely nothing to do the next 3 days so I can rest!  Me and the heating pad are going to be best buds!

Upcoming posts – house decorating, July Goal recap and August Goals