What am I doing now?

I don't have any half marathons now until Sept, and that is when the craziness starts again with one every month. So, now that I don't have any long races planned for the summer, what is a girl to do. I am taking the rest of May and June as times to start incorporating other forms of training. There is no pressure to run so many times a week, and that might just be what I need. So, Monday was my off day, and I went back to CrossFit. In April, I had done a fundamentals class at South Mountain CrossFit, and then with training and my stupid work schedule, I didn't really get to go to any classes. So, now I have CrossFit booked bright and early Monday mornings and on my day offs (and or Saturdays depending on when my day off falls). So, on Monday I jumped head first into the box.
Monday's WOD
"Manic Monday"
Warm up: leisurely 400m run
Stretches to open up hips

Strength: Deadlift (DL)
5 EMOM (Every minute on the minute)
3 DL
5 minutes to work up to maximum weight DL *my max was 75#*

Conditioning:
4 Rounds for time
7 Box Jumps (BJ) *18 inch box*
9 Deadlifts (DL) *35#*
12 burpees over bar
Total time: 9 minutes 15 seconds

 My legs were stiff from running the half marathon on Saturday, but I knew it wasn't a good enough excuse to do nothing on Monday and  I was determined to get it done. I was drenched in sweat, and I am so glad that I went.  I am looking forward to Saturdays class, and the randomness that will now be the cross training as I prepare for a fall full of half marathons.

Twisted Thursday

For cross training lately, I have been swimming, but I have also been using the elliptical machine. I don't hate it, but really, running outside is by far more superior in my eyes. Today, I thought I would mix things up a little bit. Since I am so totally addicted to the tv show Once Upon A Time, I thought maybe I would try to watch an episode while running on the treadmill. Well, it managed to distract me enough to get my 3 miles in AND not loathe the treadmill. It does lead me to think that there is a possibility that I might run some more on the treadmill and elliptical. MAYBE just maybe it isn't terrible if I have something to distract the fact that it is the dreadmill after all.  Just when I think I enjoy it, I remember this....

 

and, for when I want to quit...

This adventure is so totally worth it. Everything that I am doing will pay off with every race I do, every run I have in everything I do. There is more to life than running, it's just that running as more spice! Running is where I do my thinking, where I get to be me. It's me time, even if I am running with someone else. It's all about clearing the mind, and knowing that the rest will follow. Work hard, live hard, play harder. Everything IS worth it!

Have a great weekend eve.

Half Marathon training

I have a little over 70 days until my first half marathon for this year. This is the time when my training steps up, my nerves start to build and I start to remember how much I love running distances.  I also must admit that I have not verbally committed to 4 more additional halfs or is it halves... this year, which brings me at 5 for the year! Yikes! So glad I got my orthotics today. Anyway, like for my previous half marathon training plans, I am using Hal Higdon's schedule. It has be running TWR and Sat. With M and F as off days and Sun as cross training days. I think I have changed my off days to Sunday and Fridays, but I am sure that is fine too. I have been trying to swim Monday mornings and the mornings of my day off, and I am doing only 1/2 a mile for now, but I will hopefully be doing a full mile twice a week soon. My mid week runs are so going to be hard until it stays light out longer, in the mean time I am going to be alternating between the elliptical and the treadmill. Tonight is a 4 mile training run. I was originally going to run outside during the day today, but instead, I am going to run with the local shoe store. Aardvark in their weekly Wednesday group runs.  Anyway, this week's run is called "Love to Run" and we get a pair of socks and chocolates! Whoot whoot!! I personally do not enjoy running solo, and that is usually how most if not all of my runs are. At least twice a month, on my Wednesdays off,  I can run with this group, to meet other runners, and to get outside more for my runs.
So, I cannot wait to blog about tonight's run! I also can't wait to share my half marathon training, for this and for my many races this year. But, before I go...

Have a great Wednesday me Mateys!

Catching a wave...

So, as you know, I have been going to therapy for my neuroma on my foot. I also have been waiting for my inserts to help alleviate the pain associated with the neuroma. Anyway, they have not arrived yet, but my training for my half marathon must go on.  This is officially the first week of half marathon training, and I was hoping to have them now so that I can begin to break them in.... Anyway, I had a race on Sunday. It was the LVRR's SuperBowl 10K. I was super worried about it, as mile 6 is when I usually get pain in my foot. So, since I set goals for EVERY race, I kept these simple...start, finish, have fun. But, also finish in 2.5 hours and  hopefully race pain free. The day before the race, it snowed, so on race day I added not to get hurt. 

This was my view before the race, how I could not enjoy every single moment with scenery like this!

  Well, I was happy that I had a race buddy to run with. I had met Jo at one of the BCR outings, she is an ultra runner, and it was great to have her for company for the race. She kept me sane the whole 6.2 miles. I was happy that I finished the race in 1 hour and 9 minutes, but more importantly my foot did not hurt me.

This is me after the race, some cute couple were fighting over how I should stand for this picture...

As much as I know I complain about going to physical therapy ( I want results when it comes to therapy right away) maybe physical therapy is helping me after all.  I just can't wait to see how my foot and my running evolves once I get the inserts.

A friend of mine over at Crazy Healthy Fit started a burpee challenge that runs until Valentine's Day. I started the challenge late in the game, but I also am fully committed to it.  I know her challenge ends on Valentine's Day, but I am going to keep doing them. I actually am going to keep track of them until the end of February so I can see how capable I really am. Here is my tally from the 4th. Since then I added 3 more sets of 10 on the 5th and I have yet to do my 10 today. I usually do my first set in the morning, but my sweet babe was sick so I didn't get any sleep.

So, since my sweet babe had a fever, I have gotten little sleep. I didn't get to run yesterday, and although I was supposed to run today, I chose a quick swim. That was something I knew I could do while the wee one napped. Glad I got that in. Tomorrow I will hit the dreaded treadmill for a 3 mile run, and then Saturday I will be out for 5 (weather depending). I have exactly 80 days until my first half marathon of the year, and it looks like my calendar is booming with races. I have planned for unofficially 4 half marathons this year! Oh, I hope my foot will cooperate, so I am planning the rest of my races after the one in April.  

I plan to continue my burpees daily and swim 1 to 2 days a week. Plus try to squeeze in 3 days of running during the week and then I have my long runs for the weekend.

Here's to excitement over the next 12 weeks! Sweat Pink!

 

A week worth of weakness and no excuses

And I hadn't blogged. I really need to work on that. I am going to try to start today, I can't promise that you will always get these long posts, but something is better than nothing right? So, what happened in the past week. I ran 4.5 miles pain free on Saturday. I had yoga again on Sunday. Yesterday was my day off. I am realizing that I am cramming in a lot of things on my day off and I need to try to limit what I do. There really is only a little bit of time in 8 hours. Well, yesterday I had a Physical therapy appointment which to put it nicely was emotional for me. I am not used to being injured, but also not used to being told I was weak. It wasn't a jab at me personally, but at my physical fitness. Through therapy, the therapist has learned that my hips are really weak, and that is the reason why I am having the foot pain. My hip gets tired, and it transcends to my foot which gets tired and then my foot strike changes and alas, I get the foot pain. It just wasn't something I was expecting to hear, but, it isn't really a set back right?!? If I know what is weak, I know what I have to do to recover. By recovering, I will get stronger and then I can run a pain free half. Which, is important to me since I have 3 half marathons on my radar for this year. I believe without reservations, that I will be able to complete those half marathons, its just a matter of strengthening my hip and getting rid of the pain.
Anyway, I had some free time yesterday from when I was finished visiting with a friend to when I had to pick my daughter up from day care. I had run every excuse in my head, "not enough time," "she will be disappointed if I don't pick her up early," yadda yadda yadda. I was talking with a friend and her text one text hit me hard "no excuses."  So, I threw all those excuses out the window, I ran home, grabbed my swimming stuff and headed to the Y. I managed to get in a 1/2 mile in 20 minutes. With enough time to get the exercise in, and still get M from daycare. I felt so much better since I was able to get it in, and I know that I didn't feel like my day was a waste.  I have my friend to thank for telling me "no excuses" and that is my mantra.  It will be applied to more than just my fitness, it will be applied to where ever I can.  Hopefully that means more blogging, more photos of life as it happens, more enjoyment of everyday life.
But, I better get moving. I have to get ready for work and I want to do 10 burpess before I shower. I hope you have a great day! Remember, to live today to the fullest, and make "no excuses!" Sweatpink, sweat strong just remember to sweat!
 

Something new

I keep saying that 2013 is going to be my best year yet. I hope I am not setting myself up for failure. Scratch that, I am not. While running 3 days a week is almost impossible with the hubs and I working opposite shifts, I think I have developed another plan that will work just as well. Starting next week, I will be getting up early  on Monday mornings and head to the local Y and swim (preferably a mile) but just get moving. Then, on my day off meet up with a friend (Hi, Bonnie) and head to Lehigh Parkway and run. Yesterday we ran 4 miles and maybe should have started a little earlier. That is my fault, but we made it work. Then I have my running with BCR on Saturdays. And, eventually I will get my bike back I can throw that in when Bonnie and I can't meet up. Starting this Sunday, I have my first of 8 weekly yoga sessions. I am so excited. I have to back off of Insanity right now, when my feet get tired, they cause me pain, and since I don't want to cause more injury to my foot while rehabbing, I am going to do whatever the therapist says.
So while ultimately I do want to get back to running 3 days a week, I am going to go at it slowly and optimistically. I believe that all of the things I have planned will help my running, and since 1/2 marathon training starts next month, I want to make sure I am moving on the right path. My training plans calls for cross training, I will already be doing that, and I in the process I am also starting my triathlon training. This going to be a busy summer/fall, and I cannot wait to see what comes of it!! Hang on, it's going to be a fun and exciting year!
Hope you have a great Thursday! After work today I will be doing my assigned at home stretches from therapy. Hope you move and shake your pirate booty!
Have a great day me mateys!

An unhealthy relationship

My name is Michele and I have err had an unhealthy relationship with ice cream. I am not sure if it was an addiction, no, it was. And admitting it is the beginning of the healing process. See, I relied on ice cream when I was sad, frustrated, scared even bored. I never went to it when I was happy or excited, it was for only when I was feeling bad about something.  It is about time that I stop this relationship before it gets any more addicting, or more detrimental. I made a promise to myself that this was going to be my year. My year for a better me. It has to start with what I bring into my body, working out will not erase all of the bad choices that I make. So, I am kissing my ice cream to the curb. I am now in the market for alternatives to ice cream, and by alternatives I don't necessarily mean food. Whether it is to turn to meditation, or yoga, a walk or something, I will find something else that will help break the ice cream addiction. I am not saying that I won't eat the ice cream at parties or other times like that, but I am not going to eat it when I am feeling blue. In this new adventure of healthier me, I continue to stay gluten free. I am disappointed that Ben and Jerry's has not developed a gluten free ice cream, but then again, for me that is a good thing. I will just need to look into other brands, choices, healthier decisions when I NEED sweets.  But, I feel this is going to be a huge learning curve for me. But, I am excited to see what coping mechanisms I come up with now that ice cream is out of the picture. If you have any suggestions as to what I can or should try as a pick me up.
I am going to keep this short, the ND-AL game is on. ND isn't playing pretty right now, but hopefully things will turn around.
Have a great night my mateys!

Sunny Days...

Sweeping the clouds away. Or dreariness, or sadness, or whatever sunlight clears for you. Today, was a beautiful crisp morning, and it was great for a run. Since I started therapy, I was told to not run further than I can without pain. That is fine with me, as long as I get to run. So, I set out to run only 3 miles, and knew I wouldn't be disappointed if that is all I ran. I also downloaded a new app for my iPhone, the Nike Run app.

 I planned on using it, and although it was only my second time using it, I have to say how awesome and excited I am to run with it. (As a side note, I really have no idea how to do things other than have it start and stop and play music, but that's all you need right?) Anyway, when I chose it to start the run today, it said that 3.5 miles was going to by my distance goal. Ok, fine. Let's do it. The day was too nice and I felt good running, so at 1.75 miles I kept going. I turned around at 2 although the Nike app did not know it. Anyway, I kept running, and when the app said I was close to the finish (remember it set itself at 3.5 miles) out of no where, Shalane Flanagan came on my phone and told me to keep going. Wow! Tell me that's not motivation. Anyway, I kept pushing along and finished the 4 miles absolutely pain free. I am excited.  When I finished the app, some guy came on and congratulated me for my fastest 5k run. Well fastest documented by the app. I am excited to see how it continues to motivate me and reset it's mileage each usage.  I enjoyed that I can connect it to facebook and receive encouragement during my runs. This will come in handy when I start doing my long runs as I train for my upcoming Half Marathon. I haven't tried it yet, but I am also wondering how many of my facebook friends will actually encourage me?!? I guess I won't know until I try it.
I also think its awesome that I can play music as I am utilizing the app. This allows me my tunes without obstruction the sounds around me. I think this will make my running safer, especially as I do my long runs and sometimes have to run on the streets. I don't usually listen to music on short runs, so as my runs get longer this will be a great tool. That and a completed playlist, which I am working on. Don't get me wrong, I will probably go back to using my Garmin in the winter months when I wear less layers, but in the meantime this is an awesome substitute. That, and since I am running the Nike Women's Half Marathon, I guess I should really know something about Nike running.
But, before my run even began, I wanted to capture this day in January. Here are some of the photos...

So, my matey's, I hope you have a great pirate afternoon. Enjoy your weekend, I think it will be a great one!

PV body...

Have you heard about the latest rage in fitness attire?!? I heard about this website called PV body and for $50/month and after answering a few questions, 2 new pieces of workout attire are shipped directly to you. How does it work, you ask... well according to their website...

I took the quiz and it resulted...

Well, my first outfit arrived today, and I cannot wait to wear it tomorrow to work out.  Trust me. I spend more than that sometimes on just a pair of pants, so to get a new top and bottom every month, to me it is worth it. Plus, it is name brand. Names like lululemon to name one. Plus, you can try it and cancel at any time. I will take a picture tomorrow, but I have a feeling, I am in love. I guess I can add that to my resolutions, work hard, but look good trying right?!?

Have a great night my pirate mateys! Here's hoping tomorrow brings you great pirate adventures!

Stepping up the game

Happy New Year! I hope 2013 started off well for you. For me, it's been kinda hectic, but sometimes I think that is the only way I know how to function. Anyway, just like I said on my other blog, one of my resolutions is to make more me time. In the me time, I have included blogging, so hopefully there will be some more of that.  Another one of my resolutions is to run more half marathons this year, but let's not jump to that one just yet.  The first thing that I knew I wanted to do was tackle Insanity. Yes, I am still doing it, and yes it is still hard. However, I realized quickly that my running shoes weren't going to cut it as cross trainers, and I began to do the workouts barefoot. (A bad idea with DJD and a neuroma) so I looked painstakingly hard, to find the perfect cross trainer. Thanks to a coupon I got from DSW for my birthday, I found these beauties...

All I know about these shoes are that they are New Balance Training, and the tops of the shoes have a lot of give, which is good for my fat feet. They are super comfy and they are so much better than doing Insanity bare foot. I am going to try them out without socks, and I will let you know what the verdict is.  I liked the sticker that was inside the box...

I really have no idea what this is referring too, but I felt like it spoke to me since I try to do most of my Insanity workouts as a wake up. It is also a wake up for me to finally get serious about this whole cross training business.

Also, here are my Insanity results. if anything, I learned how much stronger I am getting even with being inconsistent, but makes me want to see how consistency will pay off.

And finally, one last picture. It is way past my bed time, but I thought I would share this. It is fitness related (kinda). It made me chuckle and I hope it makes you as well.

Good night my pirate mateys! I hope you have had a fantastic week so far! Here's to more pirate adventures!

Dig deep

Have you ever done Insanity? Are you crazy enough to attempt it? Have you ever counted how many times Shaun T says it during a workout? Where do they get their music from?!?! LOL, all of these were the wonderful things I was thinking working out today. Today was Pylo day. It really should be called sweatfest, but who would buy that? "I'll take one sweatfest today please!" I know I am crazy. I must be. But still, I took some time off of Insanity last week to try to work out some kinks in my life, and if you know me irl, you know there are many. So, I promised myself that I would do whatever I can to make me a better me, a better wife and mom. And, I am doing just that. I have a half marathon in April that I totally want to rock, and therefore I am doing what I can  to help cross train right now. I have to say that I am not sure if it is me who is changing or if I just didn't work as hard at the beginning (ok 2 weeks ago when I started) but I am not only sweating more, but I also think I am slowly starting to be able to do more of the workout before I feel like I.must.die. That is the point right? I am also at a point in my life right now, where I am able to turn my head off and be asleep by 10-1030 at the latest and sleep until 6 am. This is one of the biggest changes that I have made so far in my life. I used to go to bed at 12 or 1 and get up at 6, how I managed that, I have no idea. However, all of this sleep is amazeballs (as my sister would say). I actually wake up refreshed and not tired. While I still don't know if I dream yet, I am ok with that because at least I know I am sleeping. What does that have to do with working out, since this is my workout blog. I feel that getting more sleep is directly related to my level I can bring to my workouts. The better rested I feel, the more I bring. So I can dig deep, over and over!

I am also trying something new, well new to me. I am not sure if I was ever well hydrated before. So, thanks to someone (I don't remember who, if it's you, please let me know so I can thank you) was talking about this app called Water balance where I am able to track my water intake and actually see how hydrated I am. I am one of those visual learners, so for me to actually "see" how much water I am drinking and how hydrated I am motivates me to drink more and turn more blue. I think yesterday I had to drink 1.3L of water! To me that is a lot of water, but I also noticed I didn't get a headache either. Hopefully I can keep it up!

If you read my blog last week, you saw that I had a doctor's appointment to find out about the pain in my foot. Well, if you follow me on Facebook, (if you don't do it NOW) you know that today I got the results of my MRI. It shows that I have some arthritis in my sesmoid bone of my big toe (yes, I said that right, my big toe)

Photo from here

and that between my second and 3rd toe I have a neuroma,

Photo from here

and that I have Achilles contracture. The doctor is hoping that the Achilles contracture will be corrected with Physical therapy and that an adaptive orthotic will help relieve the pain of the sesmoid bone and the neuroma. So, I start physical therapy on New Year's eve. I don't think I have ever needed physical therapy as much as I have since I started running, but I definitely wouldn't change anything for the world, unless the doctor says I have too. 

So, here's to nothing and to continually having to dig deep.  I have no idea what 2013 will bring me fitness wise, but I am working on a Fitness to do list that I will turn into a blog post as soon as it's done.

What have you done lately that had you dig deep?

I am going Insane!!!

No, I haven't lost my mine. Or wait, maybe I have. But, since I feel like my weight loss has hit a plateau, I am trying to kick it up a notch. So, I started Insanity. Today was only the Fitness test, and I have 4 words for you...it kicks your a$$! Sorry for the expletive, but seriously, I thought I was somewhat in shape, then I did this and oye vey! The next 60 days are going to be interesting. Is it bad that I am looking forward to my rest week already?!? No, seriously I am excited to see what Insanity will do for me and my roundness. If you saw me post on facebook about getting beach wedding ready, no, I am not renewing vows, but I have a cousin who is getting married at the beach this summer and I am looking forward to going, just not looking forward to the bathing suit part. So, hopefully after finishing insanity, I will be bathing suit ready. I will finish Insanity the end of Jan. I will try to do it again in June to do last minute tone-ups before the wedding. I know that the wedding is not about me, but I want to be comfortable on vacation, and yes, I am using the wedding as my excuse.
I don't have a lot of running on my plate so far for 2013, I am really going to try to find different races, races that are not only fun, but also longer than 3.1 miles.  So far, I have a 5 mile race this Saturday. I guess people usually get a costumed up, and maybe I still will, but I am more worried about staying warm than dressing up.  Who knows, I still might.We will see how this week goes. My allergies have been a little jacked up. I am on allergy medicine and while I feel like I am going die at times, I also think I am starting to feel a little better. However, while I let it keep me from running the stairs, (I cannot believe I didn't go) I didn't let it keep me from doing Insanity. I may just may need my inhaler to do the workout, and now seeing a Robitussin commerical, I may need that as well, but I will get through Insanity. Some of my friends are a day a head of me, I am looking forward to the jello legs and those fun things that they are telling me. I will bring in the New Year with Insanity. To help celebrate the new me, and leave the old me behind. Who knows what a little Shaun T will do.

So, hopefully I will blog about my Insane adventures every day, but I also hope I don't bore you. Happy Monday! What are you doing to get through the holiday season and bring in the new year?!?!

Fitness Friday

After getting my butt kicked yesterday from Level 3 of 30 Day Shred, I was totally looking forward to getting back at it today. Unfortunately, my allergies have flared up and I can hardly breathe. I know I will be ok, I am on my allergy medicine, it just takes some time to stabilize all the junk floating around my head. Sorry for all the gross details, but I keep it real here. Ha! However, since I am not doing the 30 day shred this morning, I am still going to get some activities in today. I am meeting with a Beachbody coach to discuss my new adventure in the business and with taking my fitness to the next level. Eeek. I start Insanity too. After this meeting, I will run the steps at Lafayette. It might take me longer than usual, but I need to do them. They are paying off (at least I want to believe they are). I am trying to let my legs rest.  Haha, rest so only doing one workout not 2. 

Tomorrow, my friend is hosting a run. It's an awesomely scary thing because there are rules and stuff but not stuff like normal runs.  This run is a loop of 4.4 miles in length. It starts at the top of the hour and the next loop starts at the top of the next hour and so forth. If you don't finish the loop before the next one starts, you are timed out. Apparently this race can go for hours. I am planning on only running 1 loop, but if my running legs are there, maybe I will be able to get 2 full loops.  Next Saturday I have a 5 mile race. I am looking forward to it because the distance seems awesome. I feel that a 5K is too short and with feeling under the weather I don't think I will die with 5miles (right now, 6 might seem forever).
Well, I better get going. I have to get ready for the day and wake my sleeping sweet baby girl. I hope you all have an awesome weekend! I will let you know how the loopy loop race goes!

Where have i gone?

Hi! Sorry I have been MIA, but my personal life is kinda hectic right now. To the point that I feel like every day is groundhog day. But you didn't come here to read about that. So, on with the show.
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I sure know I did! It was an emotional day for me, because as you know, last year, the Pumpkin Pie 5K in Nazareth was the first 5K I EVER did. I ran it again this year as race-aversy present and tried to look back on how far I came. Let me just tell you that this course was NO joke and the fact that for my first race I ran those big hills lets me know something, I LOVE challenges. I did manage a 30 second PR and although I was frustrated at first, I realized with the help of my sister and running friends that had I actually rested my legs (I ran steps the day before and did 30 Day Shred the day of) I probably would have done better. But, hind sight is always 20/20 so at least I PR'd. Speaking of 30 Day Shred, I managed to only miss Monday this week so far bc of my sick child, but tomorrow I am stepping up my game and moving on to Level 3. AGH! Goodness hopes it doesn't kill me, right?!? Right.
Speaking of fitness, I am stepping my fitness up to the next level. I am now a beachbody coach and will be starting Insanity here in the next week or 2. Goodness knows I want to look my best for myself and for my daughter, but I also want to be proud to wear a bathing suit again, especially with a beach wedding this summer. I am also taking Shakeology, another beachbody product, to also try to restart my healthy eating habits. Since I have lost 57 pounds, I am not stepping everything up. I am throwing all cards in the middle and saying go for it!! Who knows where this next stage will take me, but I know it can only take me closer to my goal. Speaking of goals, I am still looking into becoming a personal trainer, I am just kinda waiting for life to slow down a moment so I can catch my breath.
I am also going to be refocusing some of my energy back on my motivation board. I started it last running season, and now that a new one is upon me, I want to update it and add things to help me this year. I am also trying to add some of the same races, but different races this year as well. For instance, I am running the same race that was my first half marathon last year again, but I am also throwing in a warrior dash and a chocolate race (hopefully) this year as well. Variety is the spice of life right?!?
Well, I really should get to bed. 430 will be here shortly and I want to make sure I have enough energy to put into tomorrow's 30 Day Shred level 3 workout! Goodness I am scared and nervous all at the same time. I hope you all have a great night!

Sad yet exciting day

Today, is a sad yet exciting day. How is that possible, you may be thinking, well sit right there and I will tell you. Today is the night before Thanksgiving. Ok, still don't get it. Thanksgiving last year was my first 5K race EVER!! And here it is, the eve of that day 1 year later. I am running that race again tomorrow, as I may every year because of it's significance to me, and I cannot believe how far I have come.  Today, I took down my display of my race bibs from Nov 2011-until today. When I started running, I only imagined signing up for that one race, but something clicked. I never felt so alive as I am running. It's my chance to push myself, and it was something I wouldn't have known had I not signed up for that first race. I cannot believe that a year later, I have run a few 5ks, a 10k and 2 half marathons! Not only that, some of my friends are coming to me asking me for assistance to get them into running. Wait?!?! How did that happen? When did people start looking up to me?!?!  So,  I took down my race bibs and put them in a safe place until I figure something else to do with them. Today is the day that I start with a clean slate. I will reflect on what races I want to participate in this year and what races I most likely won't repeat. I will be looking for longer races (Preferably greater than 5K) and will think of other ways to work in cross training. I just cannot believe how fast that year has come and how when I am having a talk with someone over running, when it comes to a 5K I say "It's only a 5K," not intending for it to come out that way. Ahh well. I will work on that.  Later today, I will be running steps with Bob. He got me hooked on running them, I blame him for my steps obsession.

Tonight, I will be beginning our Thanksgiving festivities.  It will start with taking my daughter to my old high school to see the Bonfire. My high school plays a football game every year (I believe this is the 160th meeting) and the night before is a huge bonfire.  The seniors in high school started collecting wood Mon and then slept out last night to protect the pile of wood. Tonight it will get set on fire. My daughter was too young last year to go, but this year we will be taking her. After that, my cousin and his wife will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving Eve party. My cousin's wife's family comes up for Thanksgiving from Tennessee and we celebrate their arrival. I cannot wait. In the meantime, my sister J will be traveling from Chicago to join us tomorrow for food, family, fun.
So while this blog is about my fitness and all that, this blogpost today was a little about everything else. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving eve, but an even better and blessed Thanksgiving. I have a lot to be Thankful this year, and I cannot wait to see where the new year will bring me.

The Fighter

I don't know how I found this song, but I did. The lyrics seem to be where I am right now, wanting to give them hell.  Who is them? I don't know. I think the them is more my doubt, because I am sure that I am not the talk of anyone out there. But, these lyrics....

Give 'em hell, turn their heads
Gonna live life 'til we're dead
Give me scars, give me pain
Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me

There goes a fighter, there goes a fighter
Here comes a fighter
That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me
This one's a fighter

That's how I feel right now. I need to be a fighter, I need to keep on moving on.  

 

 

Today was an unintended rest day. I didn't sleep well on Wednesday night, and when it was time for my alarm to go off, my daughter climbed into my bed and wanted to snuggle. I am all about spending this type of quality time with her, and I wouldn't trade that in for anything in the world. I made up my mind to just work out then when I came home, but, quality time with my sweet babe is more important. So, today, I made it a rest day.  I enjoyed the moments of spending time with my daughter. I want her to know the sacrifices I have made to get healthier so I can be around for a long time for her.

As you know, I have been doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred. If you have been following me on instagram and/or twitter you can see the occasional post workout photo. Like I stated there, I am not sure if the workouts are getting easier so I am working harder or if I am just not as in shape as I thought, either way, it is kicking my butt. Starting tomorrow, I will be going back to an ab routine that I did a while ago as a challenge with some of my friends. Even if I do them 3 days a week for starters, hopefully it will help my core. My core is insanely out of shape.

 

I am focusing so much on the fitness, but I think I need to start looking again at my nutrition. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to send them my way.

Speaking of nutrition, with Christmas being a little over a month a way, and my birthday less than a month away, here are an example of some of the books that I am hoping to incorporate into my life. I am not asking anyone to buy them for me, but just trying to shop around so that I can eat healthier, cleaner.

 

I hope you all have a happy Friday! I will be running with my BCR friends this weekend, I have another race scheduled for Thanksgiving, it will be sentimental to me because it was this exact race last year that was my first race EVER! And look at me now. I would have never thought I would be where I am today. How far I have come and how much further I am going to go. I thank each and everyone of you for supporting me and helping me every step of the way. Thank you!



The Stairwell to Mt Everest

If you follow me on instagram or Facebook you would know that I had a rough week between working out (or lack there of) and eating (not the best work this weekend). Anyway, one of my awesome friends posted how today was a clean slate and clean plate. So, I vowed to pick myself up and brush it off. I cannot change last week, but I can move forward one step at a time starting today. So, I did. I woke up knowing that I needed to eat better, especially with all of my talks about running more half marathons and maybe a full or 2 next year. I know that when I eat better I want to work out. So. I ate healthy. Maybe not enough for breakfast (that always seems to be my problem) but I ate healthy. Then, I hit the steps. No, not your average stair stepper. I headed off to Lafayette to run their steps their. When I did it on Friday, I made it a game. Yes, I am aware that I am making myself sound crazy. But I thought that If I break it up into sets, then I won't lose track of what number I was on. So, I run all the way up the top, do 10 crunches, run down and then do 10 more crunches. I take a 5 second break and then do the halfway steps. At the top of these steps, I do 10 crunches, and then run down and do 10 more crunches.  This is one set. I rest longer in between sets. I give my heart rate time to come down, and catch my breath.  I did 5 sets; 10 total stair repeats. That is what Bob and I have been doing, except that we sometimes lose count. By early spring next year, I want to continue with the sets, but instead of each set containing 1 long and 1 short, I want them to be all long. I think that will definitely help with training for my running.

Anyway, I posted this picture at the end of my workout today...

And while I know this is a corny picture, (I am terrible with self-photography) when I posted it to instagram, I got the best reaction from a follower who I didn't know was actually following me. Anyway, this person said this... "is this the stairway to Mt Everest of what? Can't even see the top. You rock!!!" I responded how it wasn't the stairway to Mt Everest but just steps at a local college's stadium. And how they just made me feel bad ass.  They responded back "We've done stairs but nothing like those! We've got to get our game back on!!"

Thank you instagram follower designerwhey1 for making me feel bad ass! You helped refuel my drive again! Remember, if you are reading this and are ever in my area, bring it, there are plenty of enough steps for all of us! Even if it isn't to Mt Everest.

Tomorrow I will go back to the 30 Day Shred. Jillian Michaels needs to kick my butt and I enjoy it.
Have a great Monday!

ACK!!!

OMG! I feel like I have blogged in forever, and it wasn't that I didn't want to either. With hurricane Sandy taking our power in almost everywhere, we were ones of the fortunate ones who didn't lose power, but we did lose internet/cable/phone. Until this morning!! Back to a normal life I guess. Anyway, let me back track up to today...
Friday, we left bright and early for Chicago to visit my sister. You can read all about that over at my other blog Shelze's World (not yet, I didn't blog there yet, come one I just got internet back). Anyway, I knew that while I was there I would have some able bodied person more than willing to watch the babes so I could go for a run. I forgot my Garmin in the haste, so I had to use my mapmyrun app on my iPhone.  Saturday I chose was the perfect day. It was my first run since my half marathon, so I didn't plan on running far, just slow and steady to stretch out. I ended up going 4 I think. I love my sister's neighborhood, it was nice and flat and had a beautiful park with a 0.44 track in it that I incorporated into part of my run. Between the sights being all new to me, and the constant airport and trains, there really was no boredom for me. It felt really awesome to run again, and I didn't even have any pain. I really only planned on getting in that one run, but I packed so much fitness clothes just in case.  With hurricane Sandy, we found out on Sunday that our flight was canceled for Monday so since I knew we were spending another day there, I decided to run on Monday. With my mapmyrun app on hand, I set out for a 6 mile run. I don't know how accurate my speed was, and I hope it was really accurate, but since I didn't have my Garmin for me to constantly check, I actually ran all 6 miles with splits less than 10 min/mile. ALL 6 miles of them!!! I was so totally stoked. The run itself was awesome, no pain (I really hope it was just my shoes) and I thought I could run forever!! I absolutely loved how flat it was. I think I have made up my mind about one of the full marathons I want to run next year! (ACK!!)
While we were there, I did plan on continuing my 30 day Shred, but with the lack of sleep (I am totally ok with that) I chose to continue my week of rest post half. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely inactive. With 4 kids under 6, there were lots of walks to the playground and lots of walks themselves. It was nice to get to hang out with everyone, and come Monday morning I will be back in the zone for 30 Day Shred.

Yesterday I received in the mail a flyer from Lehigh Valley Road Runners with all of the upcoming races in the next month. I am so excited, there are so many races I haven't raced before, so I am looking forward to running this year. Thank you LVRR for a well timed and mailed flyer!!!

Today, I plan on running steps at Lafayette. Me and my arch nemesis doubt have a date so I can kick it's ass. Tomorrow I will be back to running with BCR to an undetermined distance at this point. In 9 days I have my first race since the half and I am looking forward to it.

Have a great Friday and an awesome weekend!!

Runner's World Half Marathon

This is a long overdue race review, but sometimes life happens. Anyway, as you know, almost a week ago now I ran my second half marathon. Everyone asks me how I did. I don't really know how to answer that. Physically, I finished. Was I pain free, no. Was it my IT band, no, actually, that felt really good. See, back in May I began to develop some foot pain on the ball of my right foot (yes, only that foot). The pain was not constant, and it only occurred once I reached mile 6.5. (yes, I know that that too is weird). I took it as my body telling me that my shoes were worn out and that I needed a new pair. So, I bought the next generation of my current shoe, because even though I love those shoes, they are not available. Fast forward to 6 weeks before the half. Still having the foot pain, although I relate it now to breaking in the shoes. Went back to the store where I bought the shoes and they allowed me to exchange the shoes for wider ones. Now, I know these new shoes won't be broken in on time for the half, so what do I do. I try to wear the new ones on long training ones to give my old shoes a break. Still pain :( So, fast forward to last Sunday and just know that I am wearing old shoes. Mile 6.5 came and my foot started to hurt. By mile 8, I really wanted to quit, but I had Holly and April to help motivate me. (Well, really they carried me through it because I didn't want to let them down). So, I guess you can say that I should be happy I finished. I am. I knew in the  back of my mind that I should be able to do it in about 2.28, that was my time at St Luke's. But, my runs had been cut down between life and work so I had my official goal to finish in less than 3 hours.  I am happy that I was able to finish it in 2 hours and 35 minutes, but I am not happy that I had so much pain. The nurse in me decided that it is not a stress fracture, 1 because it only starts to hurt at 6.5 miles and 2, because it doesn't hurt all the time. But, I am also going to be smart about it. I am going to see a podiatrist to look at my foot just to make sure there isn't something mechanically wrong with it. If I am going to survive a full marathon in 2013, I need to be able to run longer than 6.5 miles pain free.
Ok, so now, what did I think of Runner's World Half Marathon and Festival. I think that the organizers of St Luke's should take some notes. Having the expo in a tent outside allows for people like myself to feel less overwhelmed and claustrophobic. It really did allow a lot of free movement in an out of the expo. However, I do not think that there were a lot of vendors and definitely no free samples. (St Luke's was very crowded and very overwhelming, so I do not know if there were a lot of free samples, but, I do know that I did receive a few).  The race loot. I do not know how I feel about the "virtual race bag." I think it takes away from the whole race feel. We did get a pretty decent race shirt, but that was it. No bag, no free sample of the magazine, no pen, nothing. Then, when we went to the vendors, they didn't have bags either. So if you were planning on spending a lot of money, you wouldn't have had any place to put the goods. My only other gripe with the expo was that Shalane Flannagan was there on Sunday (race day) but she was only available from 10-11. I don't know about you, but if a race starts at 830 (it did) where would most average Joes be at 11 am (still running!!!) I was and still a lot disappointed that I didn't get to meet her.
The area for the half both the start and finish was awesome! I haven't been exposed to a starting area like this one, but I definitely thought it was awesome. Definitely enough bathroom facilities at the starting area, just not enough in the finish area.  I don't know how the food was, I didn't stick around for it, but I hear I shouldn't have missed it.
   Now, onto the race. What can I say about this race. One word hilly! The first 6.5 miles was the bulk of the hills, with one more long hill at I think mile 10. I am really glad that I had done the stadium steps because I believe it helped me with the hills (I will definitely continue that torture). Once we got out of Bethlehem proper, I think the run was beautiful. The fall colors really were a nice backdrop for the run, and we also couldn't have asked for nicer weather. It was beautiful.  I appreciate all of the effort that the citizens of the neighborhoods that we invaded did in supporting us. I definitely appreciated the "Got Chafing" sign, because it was at that point that I realized I had forgotten my body glide. I wish that the water and gatorade stops were a little more organized, but I do appreciate their timing. It seemed like every time I needed water we were at a water stop. I do wish there was more entertainment, although I am glad I found out before the race that there was none otherwise it would have been a longer 13.1 miles.
The finish area was awesome, although I really think that mile 12 was really mismarked. I think I was at 12.2 on my Garmin before the race marker came up. I know that really isn't a huge discrepancy, but when running 13.1 every mile marker matters. At this point of the race my feet were on fire. I got to see my family at mile 12,

photo courtesy of my husband

I briefly paused for my daughter to give me a kiss, and heard her crying as I ran away. After 12, it was only a matter of time to the finish. Every since I started running, my cousin told me to make sure you don't get passed at the end, that you do the passing. I KNEW I had to finish hard. Somewhere after 13, the road turned to bricks. I knew then that it was a matter of seconds until I was finished. As soon as both feet were on the bricks, I turned on the jets. I knew I HAD to finish hard. It was for all of the training. I believe I passed like 4 people at the finish.

I crossed the finish line and that was it. No one hung the medal around my neck. No one draped with me the alien cape. I walked around people loitering in the finish area. I finally got my medal. It was a really nice medal, I just wish it was put around my neck, not just handed to me.

Will I do this race again, most likely. Will I complain about the hills, definitely. Will I do it faster than 2 hours and 35 minutes, YOU BET!
Happy Friday!!

Race Day!

Today is race day! It is what the last 12 weeks have been for. I am not sure how I will do, all I can hope is to do my best. I know how fast I am capable of running, I know how fast I want to go, but I am just going to start, finish and enjoy every moment. It is the first time this race is being done, so there are no expectations. After mile 7, the race is all down hill or flat. Just have to make it that far! So, for today, here are my mantras....

 

 

 

Good luck to all the runners today who are running the Runner's World Half Marathon. I hope that no matter what your goal is, you will achieve it, but that you will also remember to have fun doing it! Good luck! Kick ass!!