Gym Rat –

I finally got back to the gym yesterday and it felt GREAT!!!  I missed that place.  As much as running on the treadmill isn’t really my favorite, I still missed it.  I always went there after work and plugged in my head phones and watched ESPN.  I caught up on all my sports highlights and upcoming events. 

Workout consisted of:

·        3 miles on the treadmill

·        3 arm machines (should press, pull downs, chest press) 3 sets of 10 each – the dip machine was broken.

·        Stair step machine – 15 minutes

I don’t know what had gotten into me yesterday – I was ultra productive at work, hit the gym for a great first workout back, and then went home and did some of the winter cleaning.  Whew! 

Needless to say – I slept good last night. 

December –

I think I need to get back to posting monthly goals.  When you write them down and put them out there for people to see, you are more likely to follow through.  Also, with volleyball dropping down to 1 day a week I really want to get back into the gym!  I am going to get my arms and abs back!

December Goals –

·        Miles: 115

·        Gym: 1-2 times a week

·        Sit-ups: 1,500

·        Push-ups: 750

·        CPCU 510 – Vocab for all chapters typed

My running has been going well, but I feel like I have lost most of my strength and I want to change that.  I will get back to the gym this month.  I think now I have realized what works best for my running.  When not training for a marathon, around 75-85 miles a month is good for my body.  When training I can get to the 100 mile range, but 150 is unrealistic.  That does not work for me.  December will be my most important Goofy training month so yes I do need to push the mileage a bit. 

Volleyball went really well last night.  We only had one game playing reverse and I hit and served extremely well.  I also layed out for a ball and am feeling it today.  The hard courts don’t give as much as the sand J.  Indoor came back to me pretty fast.

Thanksgiving Gobble Gobble –

This was probably one of the best trips home I have had in awhile.  I was so excited and saw more family and friends than I ever imagined I would.  I will try and keep this short and sweet – There are so many cute pictures from this trip I will have to post some later!

Wednesday – Flew home (bright) and early.  Not really bright as I was up at 4:30 for my flight.  There was heavy fog in Chicago and I am lucky I made it in on time – many flights got cancelled.  I spent the whole first day at my sister’s house playing with my rug rats!  And managed a 3 hour nap.

Thursday – 4 mile Poultry Predictor run in Joliet.  Kyla cried when I left the house.  I ran most of the race with Nicole and finished with a 32:06 (8:01 pace).  Faster than last year and a PR.  It wasn’t an easy run for me, but it wasn’t too hard either.  I felt like I was working for that time.  Then it was Thanksgiving at the parent’s house.  It is generally mom’s side of the family, but Aunt Cheryl and gang came up from St. Louis/Texas and joined in the festivities.  Brad’s pit Drago was a bit hit.  I was staying at the parent’s house that night and of course my sidekick wanted to stay too.  She passed out at 8:00 on my arm watching a movie.

Friday – Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family.  It was absolutely FANTASTIC that the entire side of the family got together.  We could not remember the last time all 6 cousins were together.  It was well over 7 years ago.  Everyone enjoyed hanging out and just having a good time.  Met up with Stacey to have a drink or two and catch up on life. 

Saturday – Schaumburg Turkey Trot Half Marathon.  IT WAS FREEZING.  Nicole takes her job of keeping me dressed warm very seriously and I do have to say I was properly attired!  However, it was cold out.  I started the race with Nicole and Heather and they kept pushing the pace.  I knew by mile 4 I was in trouble.  Most of the time I looked down at my watch the pace started with a 7.  Yeah – umm no.  I don’t think so.  Nicole dropped back a bit, but by mile 8 I was toast.  I told her to take off and that I was truly dropping the pace a lot.  She asked if I was OK, and I was, I just could do that pace anymore.  I took some time to catch my breath and re-group.  Then I finished the last couple miles at a more comfortable pace.  I finished with a 1:51:53 which is still a top 5 time for me and I was very happy with it.  After the race we went out for some beers.  Saturday night we went to a little pizza place pub in Channahon.  My goal that night was to see Mata and Megan.  Both of them came out, and Mata’s girlfriend, and Stacey and Andrew.  So I got to see everyone I wanted.  We were all pretty tired and mellow, but I am so glad I got to see them.  Hopefully I can see them over Christmas too!

Sunday – Mom took Amy and I shopping (and Kyla and Brent).  I actually have things I want for Christmas this year.  I did pretty good at Old Navy and New York and Co.  After that it was dinner with Russ and Donna who were home from Arizona.  I haven’t seen them in 2-3 years either.  We went to Cookies for dinner and back to the house to hang out.  I always love hanging out with them.

Monday – I had both kids to myself for a bit.  Aaron was home sleeping, but I kept them alive and in one piece all by myself!  Then it was over to grandma/pas B’s house for lunch.  By Monday night I was ready to be back in Texas.  I needed my quiet house with my cats.  They were very happy to see me J!

Homeward Bound

I am super excited to be heading home tomorrow.  It has been 5 months and the longest I have ever gone without being home.  That being said…

Last night I did a 3 mile run/walk.  I jogged most of it, but did walk up the hills.  The legs were definitely tired and fatigued, but I wanted to get them going.  I’m glad I did because they feel much better today.  After that I went home and finally cooked the sweet potato and egg casserole.  It is quick and easy and tastes pretty good.  I took out the mushrooms and added green and red peppers.  The vanilla almond milk gives it a little bit of sweetness which is really good.
http://nataliehodson.com/healthyrecipes/sweet-potato-and-egg-breakfast-casserole/

Tonight is the first night of indoor volleyball and I am terrified.  It doesn’t help that we are starting off against one of the tougher teams.  Couldn’t they give me an easy team to start with?  I’m sure I will get the hang of it soon enough, but some of these guys hit hard enough out of the sand.  Give them a hard surface to jump off of and I don’t even want to know what they can do.

Everyone on facebook has jumped on the posting everyday what they are thankful for.  I know it is that time of year and everyone has a lot to be thankful for, but I find them annoying.  Then I got on fb last night and see that a girl I have known most of my life is in very critical condition in ICU, battling a very rare leg infection, 3 surgeries in the past 30 hours, transported to the Loyola Burn Unit.  We were in all the same classes in high school, played sports with and against each other from grade school through high school but were never really close, probably because we were so much alike.  She is very into running and has run several marathons.  Seeing what she is going through made me stop and think.  Being young, healthy, active, etc doesn’t make you invincible.  Things like this can still happen and you should be thankful EVERY DAY for everything you have and everything you are able to do.  Praying she kicks this infection fast!

Weekend Recap - BAM!

I didn’t have much to report last week.  Work events took up my Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday so I was actually quite lazy with my eating and exercise.  Friday I voluntarily took off because I knew I had a crazy busy weekend.  So this is a long one!  Big weekend for me.

Saturday – MY FIRST BIKE RALLY – so I was a bit nervous not knowing what to expect.  We pull into the parking lot and everyone is wearing their crazy bike outfits and getting their bikes set.  Get my bike out of the car and get it all put together.  Pechie tells me my tires are soft and need more air.  One thing I do have to say about bikers is they all look out for each other and are some of the most helpful people I have ever met.  More can go (mechanically) wrong biking than running and everyone looks out for everyone.  There were several different courses you could do ranging from 8 miles to 68 miles.  We had all signed up for the 29 mile course.  I was worried because the longest ride I had done on my bike was 15 – 18 miles.  Cardio wise I knew I was fine, but you use your leg muscles differently and I was worried about them. Pretty much an out and back course with a few decent hills.  At the water/rest stops, you actually get off your bike and rest – have some water, have a banana, some cookies, chit-chat, then get on your bike a go on your merry little way.  Most of the route was smooth roads with beautiful views, however part was on packed rock/pebbles, and made for a bumpy ride.  I did really well clipping into the pedals and shifting gears.  I dominated on the hills!  My legs are getting stronger.  One of Pechie’s friends did most of the ride with us and her and her husband are big time riders.  So I was asking her about proper biking etiquette.  She taught me the right way to take the corners – cornering – because I was doing it wrong.  I had the wrong foot down.  It was much more a ride with friends than a race.  Perfect weather, beautiful scenery and a good ride.  Very enjoyable first experience on the bike.

Sunday – Big D 30K (plus 1.4 miles) = 20 run.  BAM!  Sunday morning I get up bright and early to head down to White Rock for the Big D 30K – 18.6 miles.  Basically it was 2 loops around the lake.  You ran around it one way, turned around, and went back around it the other way.  My running buddy Megan was doing this race as well.  We are a pretty even match for each other.  She is a bit stronger of a runner than me, but it makes me push myself.  I figured I would stay with her the first loop and as much as I could the second loop.  My goal was under 3 hours (under a 9:30 pace), she was going for 2:50 (9:09 pace).  First loop was nice and easy – at the turn around point, I shed the long sleeve shirt and got prepared for the second loop.  Most of the course is pretty flat with a few slopes.  Nothing that was a make or break it hill.  I was letting Megan set the pace.  Her garmin wasn’t working so she had no idea that we were running an 8:30/8:40 pace most of the second loop.  I did and knew I was going to have to work.  I was still feeling good at 15.  My 16 I started to feel it, mile 17 I was struggling.  Megan still looked strong.  I told her she could just go, but she said she would stay with me.  I asked her to stay with me to 18 and I could manage the 0.6 without her.  Again, she refused.  We were both well under our goal times (again – she had no idea how much she had pushed the pace).  Going down the finishing stretch I held back a step.  We knew we were in the top few girls, but we didn’t know the age of the girls ahead of us.  I didn’t want it to come down to 3^rd and 4^th in the age group and me somehow getting a better time.  She would have easily beat me, but was nice enough to help me finish.  I wanted to make sure she got the award if it came down to it.  We finished the run and then did a 1.4 mile cool down so I hit 20 miles on the day.

20 miles in under 3 hours!

18.86 miles in 2:43 and change.  (8:40 pace) Splits are as follows: 8:55, 8:56, 8:47, 8:49, 8:56, 8:45, 8:40, 8:39, 8:31, 8:32, 8:37, 8:41, 8:27, 8:20, 8:44, 8:27, 8:33,. 8:44, and finished with an 8:42 pace.

1.4 mile cool down at a 10:30 pace.

We hung around for the awards because we knew there was a good chance of one or both of us getting an age group award.  Had a few beers.  I figured I had earned them this weekend.  When the guy was announcing our age group awards he announced ours down to the hundredth of a second because we were so close.  She took 2^nd (rightfully so) and I took 3^rd.  I was super happy with my run that day and am feeling more and more confident for Goofy.  Solid 18 a few weeks ago and 20 milers in the book this week.

Now I have 6 weeks to build up the back to back runs and then 2 weeks to taper.  I think I am on track for being in shape enough to run good and ENJOY Goofy without struggling too much!

Five for Friday

1.      Running – the weather has been absolutely perfect for being outside.  I have been doing tons of running and biking.  After this week fall is officially here and the temps are only supposed to be in the mid 60s.  That means I need to get in as much as possible this weekend.  I am hoping to do an 18-20 mile run on Saturday and some biking on Sunday.  It is supposed to be extremely windy, so I might wimp out.

2.      Eating – I found a new recipe that I am excited to try.  Sweet potato and egg casserole.  I am going to sub out the mushrooms for some green and red bell peppers.  Some people also add (turkey) sausage.  I think the first one will be straight veggies and we’ll see how that goes before I start experimenting. From Natalie Hodson’s website:

http://nataliehodson.com/healthyrecipes/sweet-potato-and-egg-breakfast-casserole/

3.      Home – 12 days, but who’s counting?  ME!!!  I am ready, ever since St. Louis I have been having a hard time not seeing Kyla and Brent.  Brent is already walking and I haven’t even seen him crawl yet.  Grrr.  The only good thing is I have stuff every single day until then.  I will definitely be kept busy.

4.      Work – In the past 6 weeks, this is only the second Friday that I have worked.  My weekend is going to feel a lot shorter than normal.  Getting ready to head to Houston next week.  I’m really not all that excited for the work trip, marketing is one of the parts of the job that I don’t like.  I am glad that my boss is coming with for some of the bigger brokers.

                                                                                                              

5.      Life – Everything is going good.  Livin life with no sense of time…

             

Tangent Tuesday –

Being healthy is a lifestyle.  And man did my lifestyle go out the window for a few weeks.  I wasn’t feeling the running, I was eating way too unhealthy, staying out too late, and drinking too much.  It is a vicious circle that is hard to break.  But I am happy to report that I have.  Been to the grocery store several times and got my eating back on track, been getting more sleep and (not so) shockingly I am back at my running and feeling good!

Yesterday I decided to do an easy 3 miles just to get the legs going again.  I was pretty sure they would be sore from the 18 miler.  Boy was I wrong.  I started running and the legs loosened up right away.  I was just cruising along and was happily surprised with my times.  3 miles in 25 minutes flat.  With an 8:40, 8:22 and a sub 8 to finish.  I felt great, and if I didn’t have volleyball I would have kept going for a few more miles.

Honestly it all starts with a healthy diet.  I can tell a HUGE difference if I fall off the wagon with my eating.  When I eat unhealthy it affects every aspect of my life.  I am much happier person when I am eating right and exercising.

Eat less CRAP, Eat more FOOD.

Wonderful Weekending –

This weekend was fantastic.  I had Friday off work because I am burning vacation days.  I spent most of the day lounging around.  Did some cleaning and 3.6 miles.  That being said, I get most of the house and adult stuff out of the way Friday and have ALL weekend to do weekend type stuff.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  Low 70s with blue skies and a light breeze.

Saturday I got up and did 2.4 miles to finish up Friday’s run.  Then I jumped on my bike for 11 miles.  About 3 miles in I ran into my friend Michael so we did a couple of laps on Spinks Rd.  He said he could see my bike from a mile away. J.  I am still pretty good at clipping in the pedals and getting better at the gears on the hills.  It was a good ride and had to remind myself not to do too much, but it was so pretty outside I just wanted to keep going.

Sunday was Sunday Funday to the max.  Starting off with the DRC half marathon.  I was using these 13.1 miles as the start of my 17 mile run. My goal was to hang back with the 2 hour group for most of it and then run an extra 4 miles.  I tried to hang back as much as possible, but I am a much stronger runner than I give myself credit for.  There were some good hills through the middle of the course and I still just could not slow down to a 9 minute pace.  I decided to let myself go to about an 8:45 pace most of it.  Official time 1:53:55.  I believe that is a top 5 half marathon time for me. 

After I was done, grabbed a water, had another energy gel and took back off.  Got 1.5 miles in and saw my friend who was cheering on runners.  Stopped to say hi and since I was feeling good, I went out another mile and turned around to head back.  2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back.  I did not care one bit about my time on this one.  I just wanted to get the miles on the legs.  Obviously I was tired, but I still felt pretty good.  18 mile run = I am happy J.

32 miles on the week.

After that I went home and relaxed, then it was out to Sneaky Pete’s to watch some volleyball and drink some beer.  I did end up playing a small amount, but wasn’t moving too well.  That whole squatting and getting back up wasn’t working out for me.  After that was over to friends to watch the Cowboys get beat by the Falcons.  I only stayed for the first half then it was home and straight to bed.  I think I have been in bed before 10 more these past two weeks than I had in the past 6 months.  Not complaining at all, it just means I am constantly going during the day!

Ready for a good week!