This past week I spent 6 days in 80 degree Florida weather.  It was an awesome vacation.  I am going to write this one in two posts just because I don’t want to do it in one.

Thursday - Flew out bright and early Thursday morning and met Nicole at Orlando airport and shared a beer before heading to the resort.  Wouldn’t you know it if we weren’t wearing the same jacket.  First sign that we were in sync.  Caught the bus, checked in, and then headed over to the expo where we met up with my parents.  Of course Nicole and I proceeded to buy the same things, Goofy hoodie, and 39.3 magnet.  On the same page once again.  The parents came back to our resort and we had dinner and drinks.

Friday - Friday morning was the first ‘race’ of the adventure.  The Disney Family 5K.  It was an untimed event that started at 6:30AM, so we had to get up nice and early to get there.  We ended up getting out picture taken with Mickey and Minnie before the start of the race.  This race went through the parking lot in Epcot and then actually into Epcot for a bit.  We stopped at every character to take a picture.  I am not going to lie, this was not the easiest 5K I have ever done, although it may have been the slowest.  It took a bit to get the legs going and find a rhythm.  At this point, I was getting a bit nervous for the rest of the weekend.  However, there wasn’t much I could do about it then.  That afternoon we went to Downtown Disney to do some shopping, met up with the parents, ate at a great Irish restaurant, and then went back to the campground for some pizza!

Saturday – half marathon morning!  This race started ridiculously early at 5:30AM.  We had to be up at 3AM to catch a bus down there!  Everything went off without a hitch.  I was able to sneak into the B corral with Nicole.  I am still now sure why we were in different corrals since we put down the same expected finish time.  Oh well, it all worked out.  While we were waiting we were on the lookout for Dave Mari, and successfully were able to find him.  His friend Kim wasn’t able to sneak into the A corral with him, but ended up being able to sneak into B and start with us.  The day before, they were predicting 97% humidity at the start of the race, ugg!  But, thankfully it didn’t feel as humid or as hot as they weatherman had said – there was a slight breeze that helped it out.  Other than the one slight hiccup at the first character stop, this race went extremely smooth.  We caught up with Dave and ran with him for several miles (mile 3-10), had no problem finding my parents at Mile 3 and Mile 9, stopped and took pictures with my parents, took pictures with characters, and felt great the whole way.  My favorite part of this race was the Magic Kingdom. It is the first time you realize exactly where you are, the castle is lit up and gives you chills.  We got some great pictures!  Our finishing time (for both of us) was 2:26.  Nicole and I both commented on how the half marathon actually felt easier then the 5K.  Whew!  That evening we went to the Broadwalk and tested out the micro-brewery, it is the only one in central Florida.

It was off to bed at 7:30PM in order to get some sleep before the 3AM wakeup call of the Marathon!!!

**having trouble posting the pictures.  Will work on it.

Goofy Week –

It is officially GOOFY WEEK.  Three days until I am in bright and sunny Florida.  The weird thing is – my biggest stress right now is what to pack for non-running activities.  I know how to pack for races and most of my other trips recently have been to Illinois or St. Louis where my family will have everything that I need.  I can’t tell you the last time I went on an actual vacation - staying at a resort, sitting poolside with a drink in hand.  I just have to figure out what to pack.  I’m sure Nicole will have plenty, but I don’t want to rely on her.

This weekend I took it pretty easy.  The weather in Texas was perfect running weather.  Upper 40s and low 50s with the sun shining, so it was hard to hold back.  I did 2 easy 5 milers, which makes close to 40 miles this week.  It probably was a bit much the week before the marathon, but my long runs were in the beginning of the week and I did take it easy most days. 

I am not working out at all today; instead I am going out for the National Championship football game.  Tomorrow is volleyball and I always get nervous that I am going to twist an ankle, land wrong, or get ran into and somehow get hurt right before a race.  The week before the Chicago Marathon, I think I skipped volleyball out of fear of getting hurt.  Wednesday I will get in a light workout – easy couple of miles, lift arms, and maybe some elliptical.

The hard work is done, just gotta pack and then enjoy the ride!!

Body Combat –

Tuesday used to be my favorite gym day.  I would get there and run 3 miles, do the Les Mills Body Pump (lifting) class, and then take a spin class.  I would be at the gym from 4:30-7:30 and loved it.  Then I started playing volleyball on Tuesdays, so I missed the workouts.  Recently I have been trying to get back into the gym.  Once the new year came along I started looking at the class schedule and was SUPER STOKED that they are going to start offering a new class – Les Mills Body Combat!  And it is on a day and at a time that I am free and was going to make as ‘gym time’ anyway.  Score.

What is Body Combat?  Basically it is Cardio Kickboxing.  Check it out…

http://w3.lesmills.com/global/en/classes/bodycombat/about-bodycombat/

Office Work(outs) – making time.

One of my new goals is to use my lunch time more effectively.  Rather than sitting at my desk browsing the internet or just messing around, I am going to use it to be productive.  I have decided I am either going to get in a short workout or get in some studying.

Yesterday I did a quick stair workout.  I am in recovery mode from the New Years Double and rest mode for Goofy, but I wanted to test it out and see how it worked.  I work on the 8^th floor of the building.  So I went to the stair well and walked down all 8 floors and turned around and walked up 11, then back down to ground level.  You cannot get into our floor from the stair well (security measures) so I had to take the elevator back up.  I was not being lazy!  After that, I did a little bit of internet research on how many calories that would burn.  Each floor had 22 steps.  So 176 steps down, 242 steps up, 242 steps down for a total of 660 steps.  There were a lot of opinions on how many calories that would burn, but I picked the method that seemed conservative and most in depth.  For the up portion it is 0.11 per stair and for the down portion it is 0.05 calorie per stair.  My grand total was 47.52 calories.  I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but I am going to take it.  I plan on doing this 2-3 times a week and once Goofy is over, I will be making it more flights of stairs.  If I can burn between 100-200 calories on my lunch break, while getting away from the desk for awhile, it will definitely make a difference physically and mentally!

I am also going to try and incorporate some desk workouts.  A volleyball friend of mine, who is a personal trainer, came up with a desk workout for one of her clients.  You can do the exercises throughout the day, in any order, in any denomination just get them all in by the end of the day.  I modified it slightly for my own benefit.  I also keep a post-it note with a running total on my desk so I know how many I accomplished.

               -100 desk push ups

               -100 desk triceps dips

               -100 squats

               -100 lunges

Even with an office job you can find a way to incorporate little ‘bouts of exercise.

New Years Double Recap –

So how did I spend my New Year’s Eve and Day?  By running half marathons, of course.  Yes, I am officially crazy.  It is a pretty sweet medal holder that you get, and we all know, running is all about the beer and bling!  This race was all about final prep for Goofy.  I didn’t want to run too hard because I don’t want to stress the legs this close to Goofy, but I wanted to see how I held up.

They called the course 2 loops, however it was 2 out-and-backs on the same course.  The course was in a park in Allen with a paved path 8-10 feet wide.  They had a 5K, half marathon, and full marathon (4 loops on the same course).  It was a small race, but it was still difficult to pass runners at times with limited space to work with and people going all different speeds both directions on the path.

Day 1 – Probably the worst weather conditions I have ever run in.  It was cold, rainy, and windy.  Uggg!  I ran in long pants and a water proof/wind resistant jacket.  The jacket saved me.  Megan and I ran together the whole way and both wanted to take it easy.  I was hoping to be sub 2 hours both days.  As much as I wanted to hold back, that is hard to do in the wind.  No matter how slow you go, your legs still have to work hard and mine did get a bit taxed.  We finished the first loop, and hit the split at 1:00:28.  We kept the next several miles steady, but picked it up at the end to finish under 2.  Finishing time: 1:59:17.  Most of the run was spent talking, reading the motivational signs, and cheering on other runners.  Our last 2 miles were 8:39 and 8:40 with a 7:46 kick at the end.  Overall, I thought it was a strong run, and I spent the rest of the day trying to get warm.  My whole body was cold and my neck got super stiff.  I did manage to get in a nap before the New Year’s Eve festivities.

New Year’s Eve – party at NatNat and Rob’s house.  It was a good time, but I was tired and not feeling festive.  I didn’t want to drink knowing that I had to get up and run in the morning.  I had a total of 2 beers and half a glass of champagne.  It was great to see people I haven’t seen since summer and they are always a blast to hang out with.  I ended up staying longer than anticipated and was up later because I was taking care of drunks.  Sometimes it does suck giving up the drinking and partying for my running, but I never regret it.  I LOVE my running.  Yes, I was lame at the party just kind of sitting around, but I was super stoked with my run the next day and that made a great start to 2013.   

Day 2 – I didn’t know how this one would go.  I got practically no sleep the night before, it was my first back-to-back halfs, and the weather was still not great.  It wasn’t raining, but it was still cold and windy.  Megan was hurting right off the bat.  The muscles in my legs felt good (I had done enough training), but my body was tired.  It took me a little bit to find a rhythm and I was glad I packed an extra gel for a little bit of a boost!  Since it was the same course, the same motivational signs, the same lead runners we were cheering on it was much tough to be excited.  Physically I was fine, mentally was a bit more challenging, but I did it.  They don’t have the split times posted, but I know our first loop was faster according to my watch and we finished with a 1:58:45.  Solid 30 seconds faster.  Again I was cold and stiff, and managed to get in a nap and be pretty lazy the rest of the day. 

It was a great end to 2012 and a great start to 2013. 

January Goals

I don’t really believe in New Year’s Resolutions for several reasons.  First of all – it is hard to keep something up for an entire year.  Things happen and you need to adjust expectations; which is why I prefer monthly goals.  You don’t get as off track with short term goals.  Also, if you want to make a change, don’t wait until the first of the year, make it now!

January Goals –

·        Run: 100 miles – 55.5 miles will be races

·        Gym: 6 times –

·        Sit-ups: 1,500 –

·        Push-ups: 750 –

·        CPCU 510: read entire book

December Recap

Miles: 115          

·        Close enough (114) – I had several good runs of the mid/long distance.  And the Christmas weekend at home with back-to-back double digit runs, along with the New Years Double.  I think I had a good month of running leading up to Goofy!

Gym: 1-2 times a week

·        Check – I was trying to go on Thursdays, but even weeks I was traveling I made it to the gym on a different day.  It only totaled 4 days at the gym, but that was 4 more days of lifting than the previous couple of months!

Sit-ups: 1,500

·        I didn’t go a good job keeping track of these.  I know there were several days that I did do a lot of sit-ups.  However, I don’t think I reached my goal.

Push-ups: 750

·        See above

CPCU 510 – Vocab for all chapters typed

·        Check – Finished those up after Christmas break.  Now on to reading the actual chapters.