Wednesday, August 31, 2011



I am working on making that last line a true statement. While it seems (from previous posts) that I am busting ass working hard, there are aspects of my weight loss/workout journey that need improvement while others are going great. But truth is...

Even with all that is going great...I must work harder to see the results I want to see. Period.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Snakes, naked men and teenage boys..oh my!

Yesterday morning I had plans to meet my running buddy for my first double digit run since my half marathon in the spring. 10 miles was on the training plan. We made plans last week to meet at 6:30 at my gym to run the local greenway. My alarm was set and I was out of bed by 6am. I got dressed and was putting on my right shoe when I heard my phone buzz. My first thought was, "She's running late, no big deal..." So, I got up and checked my phone. Gah..GI issues so our run was gonna be a no go for her..

I sorta cried a little. How was I going to run 10 miles alone? NO way was I going at 6:30 am while it was still dark out to do it. I undress, crawled back in bed with my hubby, told him I was a loser and went back to sleep. I woke up at 9am and told my hubby I was loser again for not just going. I told him that after church, IF I could get a sitter, I would just go run my 10 at the gym on the treadmill. I would run 5, take a potty break and refuel and go back to another TM for the last 5. Sounded like a good enough plan, huh!?

Well, there was a lunch after church and hubby had a football meeting. He told me he hoped to be done so he could get the kids and I could go. I was down, bad. So, after lunch the kids and I went home where I told them to go straight to my bedroom. We took off our church clothes and I made them crawl in bed with me. No tv. Just us and a little nap. For some reason they agreed, willingly. Perhaps it had to do with a little monetary bribery but hey, whatever works. We slept for 3 hours.

Still no sign of hubby and it was about 5pm. Poo. Oh well, the gym closes at 6 and I know there was no way I could run 10 miles in an hour. Hey, I am not an Olympic runner y'all!! lol Hubby text me and told me to dress, that he would meet me at Dick's. He had bought me some Mace. What a nice man!

I got my mace, my iPod, my Nuun and was set to go. I went to the park where I had planned to meet my friend and started running. I told myself and hubby that I would just run as far as I could stand to go and that would be good enough. All I needed at that point was to log some miles and get out of my bad mood. Running works for that. :)

At about 1.5 miles or so in I was about to run under a bridge/overpass when I saw the trail move. Crap (only I did not say crap), it was a snake. I am terrified of snakes. This underpass is dark, by a little stream and there were lots of rocks. MY thoughts went to what if there were more snakes that would slither from the rocks? Ick, I hate snakes. I backed up out of there because this snake was taking it's sweet time across the trail. Jerk. And I waited until a woman and her son, on bikes, crossed through. At that point I hauled ass through there. Whew.

I was feeling good and even though my plan was to not take a single walk break until 3 miles I was making good enough time. My long run pace should be (according to Runner's World nifty calculator) 12 minute miles. I was just barely over 10 min miles at this point which is a good comfortable pace for me. But I knew I could not maintain that for the entire 10 miles. Little did I know that in another mile or so I would be stopped again.

That's where the naked man comes in. There was a huge group of little boys and there parents on bikes. AND there were cops. Lots of them (ok, maybe only 8 cops..but still a lot). One of the cops was putting on gloves. I was only at about 2.5 miles or so out. I thought to myself, "IF I have to turn back now I will just be in the worst mood." So, I asked the cop if there was a reason I should not run forward and he said, "THere's a naked man in the woods but we have almost caught him." Ok, fine. There as a couple on bikes beside me and they were wondering what was going on so I told them. We chatted it up and kept going. I figured if we could get pass the little naked man ordeal I would be fine. The lady started asking me about how I got into running and what I was training for. That was a nice break in my run and before I knew it I was at almost 4 miles. I stopped a second to get some water and eat a Honey Stinger. That was the first time I had tried those and they seemed to be pretty good.

Most of the rest of my run was uneventful. I did text my hubby around mile 5 and tell him I may have him come get me. LOL I was out of water at that point and wasn't sure I could go another 5 miles without any, ya know. But I ended up passing a friend/former boss and he gave me a fist pump to which I said, "This sucks." And laughed while running on. I stopped at the water fountain to refill my bottle and take another Honey Stinger or two. That must have put a pep in my step because the next 5 miles are almost a blurr.

The last 5 miles I just ran. I thought maybe my legs were numb because I didn't stop. I didn't mess with pace. I just ran until my Garmin beeped and I was at 10 miles. Done. I did it. I did it solo. I ran alone (well just me and my iPod). I ran double digits for the first time since April. I was proud. And since my phone was ringing off the hook I answered to let the hubby know I made it. :)

I ran too far out from where I parked. I did that on purpose, sorta, because I thought that if I couldn't make it back to my car that I would at least make 8 miles and have hubby come get me. DIdn't need to do that thankfully. But that meant I had about 2 miles to walk back to my car. I thought for a second that I could just run it and make my run 12 miles but since my training plan was for 10 miles I would stick to that and use the last little while to reflect on my run and cool down.

I came back to the snakes underpass and freaked out. I was on the phone with the hubby and I seriously thought I was going to hyperventilate if I had to go through there. But I had to. So he told me to sprint through and I would be on the other side faster. I did. Done. We hung up.

Less than a quarter mile up the trail I had the crap scared out of me by a couple of teenagers on a bike. I was lost in my thoughts and heard him yell, " ON your left!" Crap. I jumped, I squeeled. And then when he laughed going by me I said, "it's bad enough I am already freaked out being here alone." Shoot, dumbass why did I tell him that?! Then I was like what if those guys try to take me and gang rape me or some crap. At least I had my mace! haha It's so weird the thoughts that go through your head. I probably wouldn't have even worried a bit had it been daylight but since the sun was beginning to set and I still had a bit to go to get to the car I was mildly freaked out. Luckily there were lots of other bikers, mostly families, on the trail so that eased my thoughts and I made it back to the car.

I picked up pizza on the way home. I earned those two slices just for the mere fact that I overcame the mental obstacle and ran ten 10 miles solo!

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Do you like updates???

Haha

I should update here more often. Heck, I should just be regular.. as in blog regular... I have no real issues (most days) being regular. You're glad I shared that tidbit of info. Thank me later. :)

Anyhooo---
Thanks to everyone who gave me well wishes! I DO feel much better than I did last week even if the sinus stuff is coming/going depending on the day. I didn't go to the dr though I probably should have or needed to (may still be the case even).

The gym has seen a lot of me. My friend, Kelsey, the GO GIRL! has joined me a lot this week for some great workouts. I have enjoyed that. We went to BodyPump, Spin class and Ab blaster class already together this week. She text me today that she's sore. Sore is good! Tonight we plan to hit up a couple of treadmills (I have a 6 mile run with 4 mile tempo to do) and Abs Blast class again. I love the ab work I have been getting lately! Hopefully it helps in that area because I need it...bad.

I've sat down a few times since my last post to write a few different posts but my thoughts leave me and by the time I come back. ugh. I cannot get my head back into the posts I was writing. I hate that. Anyway, I am still working on trying to just be a regular poster like I once was.

My life is not overly exciting right now though. I am training for my 2nd half marathon (Oct 2nd - Atl, GA). My kids started school earlier in the month. We got a new puppy this summer. AND ....And... it is football season so my hubby is super duper busy all.the.time with football related activities.

Some things coming up-
~ My first double digit run since April of this year. Holy heck am I nervous about that one. Can I do it?? Gah.
~ Football game on Saturday. This makes the second week in a row for Saturday evening football. It is tough to work that in the schedule with my long run being on Sunday. Late night + early morning long run = sleeping in church? LOL
~ I had an InBody assessment done at the gym this morning. THe last time I had one done was in October. I am on the hunt for where I put the printout from October so I can compare. When I do, watch for a post!
~ I decided today to change my weight loss goals! See above post.


Question time...
~What do YOU think I should blog about? What are some things you wanna know about me, from me, by me? How can I liven things up here and get back to regular posting??

Thursday, August 18, 2011

TTT - How is it so?

It's Thursday already. I have felt all day like it was Wednesday. I'm glad I am one day closer to the weekend though. And since I have slacked (again) on blogging here are 3 things for today.

1. I started coming down with some sinus funk earlier in the week. Yesterday it was worse, today it's worser than worse (don't give me that look, I totally just said worser). It's mostly the pressure in my head and pain in my ears that irritates me most. I've been popping those little red sudafed pills like crazy every 4 hours though they seem to not be cutting it. And I guess I don't feel that bad or I would go to the dr but honestly I just do not want to deal with the dr's office for sinus crap. Instead, I would rather come here and gripe so maybe you will feel sorry for me. haha Kidding about that last part.

2. Despite not feeling well I am following my HMT plan to a T this week. Monday I actually rested. Well, the kids and I did take the puppy for a quick little walk through the neighborhood and those 20 minutes seemed to be just enough to keep me from wanting to throttle someone. Do you get like that? Say, if you don't exercise are you a stark raving mad lunatic like me by 8pm? hehe I enjoy working out. I do also enjoy rest days but I find that I am just not myself on rest days. I blame the lack of exercise. I sometimes tell myself that I could just go to the gym and do something light but often find that I can't just go to the gym and take it easy. Does that make sense? I'm either all or nothing, and I prefer all. I know my legs need rest though.

3. My gym has added a few new classes. One of those classes is an ab class. It's only 15 minutes but it is ALL abs the entire 15 minutes. I've been taking it on Thursday after my tempo run. Love it. I am still working on making my schedule work so I can take all the classes I like plus get in all my runs. Sometimes I feel guilty about the amount of time I spend at the gym when I know there is stuff needing to be done at home or with the kids.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Hotter'n Hell

NO folks, I am not talking about the weather..for a change! I'm sure most of you live in places where it has felt hotter than 10 hells this summer but I think we may be getting some cooler temps soon!

Anyway, you may also think hotter'n hell describes these two hot chicks...

Yes, I realize we are totally hot but please let me get onto the title!

You see, last week I mentioned my girl, Kelsey asked me late one night via text to run a 5k with her over the weekend. I laughed about it to the hubby in bed that night and said how unprepared I felt or something along the lines of spending $$ on racing/running. But he was supportive, as always, and told me to do it. So, I did. And Kelsey was kind enough to come by my work on Friday to pick up my $ and registration form to drop off and pick up my race packet. She rocks, in case I haven't mentioned that before. I was stoked to run the Hotter'n Hell 5k with her.

This was a great race because the $$ went to the American Cancer Society. My dad is recovering (I guess is the current word) from his mission with colorectal cancer since last year so I was glad the money was going to such a great charitable cause.

Earlier in the week I text Kelsey (half joking) that we should totally break 30 or at least get close to 31 for this 5k. She thought that was a great plan or at least that is what her text said. I had only ever ran a sub 30 5k doing speedwork on a treadmill. I had not ran an under 30 5k outside with hundreds of people on a hilly (sorta) running trail in the summer time.

We got to the race early enough to take a little warmup trot, potty break and chit chat with a friend or two. After snapping a few pictures we headed to our spot in the start line. We thought maybe we had lined up too close to the start but once we got to moving it seemed like we were ok. The race was on a local greenway and we knew it would be a little tight.

At one point I got frustrated by a little ol' granny runner because she pretty much elbowed me trying to get past me. Fine, I was running about a 9 minute mile at the time which seemed pretty good for me. Then granny passed. Ugh. Whatever, I let her go. From there my strategy was to just pick off people and run. It seemed to work. This was the first race I ran without music which I ended up not even missing. I was able to listen to my breathing and all the people around me.

Just before mile 1 Kelsey told me to go on that she needed to scale it back a bit. I debated on just staying with her but I was in my groove and had a good pace going so I went. She wasn't too far behind me and when I made the loop to head back (the course was an out and back) I met up with her and we high fived each other. She looked to be doing ok and that made me feel ok.

I kept running, looking at my Garmin once in a while to see my pace and for the most part it looked like I was heading into the end of the race at making my goal. Around mile 2.6 though I felt the need to scale back to closer to a 10 min/mile so at the bottom of a slight uphill I slowed down (I'm kicking myself for that now, but oh well). Then once I got to the top of the hill this one lady was in front of me and she had appeared to slow down. My goal then was to keep pushing past her. So, I did that.

At one point there was an older man and his daughter in front of me. He was talking SO flippin' loud and that became annoying to me, but they were in a spot on the trail that it made it tough to pass them. I finally broke my stride and just went for it. I just felt like being behind his voice made me slower than I wanted, weird I know.

I hit the 3 mile mark and it was on. I was not going to make my under 30 goal but I could get close to 31 minutes. SO I pushed it on the uphill to the finish and made it in 31:05 (chip time). I was thrilled. This was a 5k PR for me and I was happy for that. This was also the first 5k race I ran the entire thing and without music!

Once I crossed the finish line and had my chip cut off I went back to look for Kelsey. She was not too far behind me and I trotted with her back up the hill to the finish. She seemed to be in a bit of pain so I met her at the end of the finish line chute where she just sat down. A medic came over to check on her and we let him know she was chilled. I ran to get water while he got her a blanket. At this point I felt like a total tool for taking off so fast and not staying with her. I didn't want her to struggle or feel bad. :( Horrible running friend, I am.

After a few bottles of water and a few minutes on the ground my awesome friend was back to feeling fine! We got up and walked around and even chatted with a few people a bit. We hung around to make sure we didn't win any awesome awards but apparently they don't give one out to the hottest running babes so we split and headed to Einstein Bros for FREE bagels!

Our race packets included a coupon for one FREE Naked bagel. Um, yes please!!! I chose a cranberry bagel and had them toast it and add light cream cheese. I also got a coffee. It was heaven in a little black basket after a great race.


After bagels, Kelsey took me back to my car which I was glad to find still parked at the local Shoney's and I headed home. It was a great day and I was glad she asked me to run with her. So, Kelsey if you are reading this.. I hope you are feeling better and glad you didn't want to kill me! I can't wait to run with you again! Oh and thanks for letting me steal the pics. ;)

So, how was your weekend? Did you race? Were you awesome like us two hot chics and get a PR??

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Three Things Thursday

1. Pet peeve alert. I hate when non-exercisers or non-runners want to give those of us that do workout and run regularly advice. Seriously, I've been at this thing long enough to know what I should and should not do. I KNOW that I should listen to my body. Yes, my doctor knows what level of activity I currently am at. No, I do not have any restrictions because (shocker!!) I am healthy enough to partake in the exercises I do. Anyway, so on a message board I frequent one of the people mentioned mud runs and asked who is/has done such. So, of course the hubby and I are planning to run the local Marine Corps Mud Run next month. I piped in. This person, who doesn't run or exercise, goes on about giving everyone advice on doing runs such as these and how dangerous they are. That where they are from people have died during the race. hello, proper pre-race hydration is imperative and I can assure YOU and anyone else that I will most likely NOT die during a race such as this but heck IF IF it is my time to go then by golly take me while I'm running. And keep your unwanted advice about MY sport to yourself there. :)

2. My gym has been having a whole new membership "thing" to celebrate 30 years of health and wellness with the local hospital. They revamped their Group Cycling class to become part of the Spinning revolution. I loved the group cycling class before (more before the awesome Todd left) but I haven't been lately because I am not as fond of the instructors. However, I decided this month I was going to participate in this Spin Challenge with Jess and all the other awesome bloggy peeps. So, this morning I got up at the awesome hour of 5:18 a.m. and dressed for class. I was at the gym early enough to get a little pre-spin class ride in. Class was great even if I was/am not fond of this particular instructor. I did actually like her choice in music....hello 80s hair bands!?!? And I got a great workout. Anytime I can leave class or end a workout with sweat absolutely dripping off me is a success! Anyway, I am hoping to be a spinSTAR and make 6 classes this month.

3. I had pizza for lunch. I don't feel terribly guilty given my workout this morning and the plan for tonight. However, I do not feel like eating and know that I will need a snack before going back to the gym so that I don't crash during my run. And because I went for the pizza at lunch I guess I should take it easy on the Wholly Guacamole I had my heart set on to go with dinner tonight. haha

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Tuesday Tidbits

Good morning!

Yesterday I did something I have not done in a long time. I did NOT get on the scale. Usually I am a "several times a day weigher." But yesterday I just didn't want to deal with that number. I didn't want it to define my day. So I skipped it and went on with my morning. And I went on with the entire rest of my day.

I did skip the gym last night. My half marathon training plan called for rest/cross train for Monday. I had tossed around the idea that I would at least take it easy on Monday since I had a decent long run on Sunday. But knowing me and the last 4 weeks of my training schedule I was not sure I could just take the day off. BUT I did. At first I felt ok with it but as my evening went on I was not ok at all with it. My body, my mind, my sanity...all of it craved a workout of some sort. I should have just popped in a video or turned on the Wii. I suck sometimes. Boo!

Today I stayed off the scale again.
Today I have 3 miles (EZ) and BodyPump on my workout schedule.
Today is going to be a great day with eating and the gym. Period.

Last night I was home with the kids alone. This meant cooking dinner, which is just something I hate to do. Basically I hate to clean the kitchen. I admit that. Anyway, I had put out chicken tenders and scoped out some easy recipes yesterday. My kids (Peanut especially) LOVE Chickfila's nuggets. SO, I found this yummy recipe and stopped by the store for frozen fries to bake because what's a meal of chicken nuggets without fries?? The recipe was easy, tasty and the kids raved about the nuggets. Served with a side of baked fries and steamed broccoli. Yum. They asked to have it again tonight but with waffle fries instead. haha

I'm running a 5k race Saturday. Kinda spur of the moment or last minute decision. Got a late night text from my pal, Kelsey last night asking me to run one called "Hottern Hell" this Saturday. I laughed to hubby about it, he said do it and I giddily text Kelsey back YES!


Ok, I'm off to the gym to get my big calorie burn on. Later!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

No title needed.



I totally bought this awesome Nike tee yesterday. AND I wore it last night to dinner with my hubby. He vetoed the Nike tee that reads, "Move Your A**" and another one that I cannot remember the exact saying, but since I had been eyeing this one all summer long and it was the last one the store had in my size (and it's tax free shopping plus a sale!) I got it. Love it. The saying fits me perfectly. Enough about that....

This week was GREAT as far as running and working out. I had one rest day. Here is a list of the rest of the week...

~Monday - 5.5 miles on the elliptical
~Tuesday - 3.5 miles running/treadmill
~Wednesday- 5 miles on the elliptical
~Thursday - 5 miles w/3 mile tempo running/treadmill
~Friday - REST DAY!!!
~Saturday - BodyPump (new release!!!) and 3 miles running/treadmill
~Sunday - 7 miles ran with hubby and friends

I also lost 1 pound this week and hopefully after a lax weekend I have not gained. I'd like another loss this week on weigh in day. I have another full week (hopefully) of workouts but have decided that since my plan calls for rest OR cross train on a few days I may take it easy on at least one of those days. By take it easy I mean less than 5 hard core miles on the elliptical like I have been doing. And I am ok with taking it easy though I'm not sure if I will hold myself to that. haha

My goal for the week is to stay on track to lose. It's crazy season for us which translates to football season and that means a little bit more eating out than normal. IF and when we do have to grab food on the run this week my goal is to make the healthiest choice (which is something I have not been doing lately...oops).

ok, that's it for my Sunday. Have a great week y'all!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Goodbye July, Hello August

This summer came and went, quickly! One of my kids started school today and the hubby has been back since last week. I'm not ready for summer (vaca) to be over but I am so ready for the cooler temps of fall (and football!) to be here.

I am not sure I made any goals for the months of June or July and I pretty much refuse to go into August without some kind of goal.

So, here is what is going on.
~ I just registered for my 2nd half marathon. It will be Oct. 2, 2011 in Atlanta, GA. The goal is to finish obviously. Sure I would like to finish faster than my first but if I don't or come pretty close then that is fine by me. It will still be a great accomplishment.

~ The scale has to move. Period. I refuse to believe my body likes 168 lbs this much. My goal for August is to drop 5lbs but if I could lose 3 I would be satisfied.

~It is hard to cut all sugar and diet soda. I just cannot do it right now. That is not to say I am drinking kegs of Diet Coke or eating pounds of sugar either. Limiting these things, sure. That works and I will continue with the hopes that maybe *maybe* I can cut it completely.

The one goal I want to make is to really really focus on the muscle. Build it, make it, have it. Period. However, this week that is not going so well. I skipped my BodyPump class last night because I was late getting to the gym and knew I HAD to run the 3 miles on my HMT schedule. So, I had hubby write me up a workout yesterday that I planned to do after my run but time wouldn't allow it. (Kids, school, dinner, etc... that's not an excuse just life). I go with a plan almost every time I step into the gym.

Here is my weekly plan:
Monday - XT/rest (I usually choose XT)
Tuesday - EZ Run (3 miles this week)
Wedsnesday - XT/rest (XT for me)
Thursday - 5 miles w/3 mile Tempo
Friday- XT/rest (this is the one day I do rest)
Saturday - short run (don't recall mileage right off the top of my head)
Sunday - long run (7 miles this week)

Each week pretty much looks the same except I throw in a BP class or two and rarely take rest days. I tend to XT on those days listed but with football season approaching I have decided Friday's make great rest days for me. Sometimes Saturday's end up being long run days and I switch the SAT/SUN plan accordingly. My GOAL is to stick to the plan as much as possible but to add in the muscle work. ;)

I'm going to start posting weekly my workout plans for the week (on Monday) and then again on Sunday to mark off what I actually did do.

So, what's the actual goal?
* lose 5lbs
* workout HARD