Workouts for the week May 30th - June 5th

Monday - Jillian shred and 30 minute walk
Tueday - 5 miles
Wednesday - Jillian shred and 30 minute walk
Thursday - 5 miles
Friday - 4 miles
Saturday - Heights 5K (3.1 miles)
Sunday - off (but I'll be at the beach so I may run a few miles on the beach)

Workouts for the week 5/23 - 5/29

Monday -- Weights for arms and shouldlers and 30 minutes (2 mile) walk on the treadmill
Tuesday -- Took off because my back was hurting really bad from the weights the day before.
Wednesday -- 5 mile run
Thursday -- 4 mile run (struggled; left leg hurts, really need new shoes)
Friday -- off
Saturday -- 6.2 miles, really really really really hot!
Sunday off

Total miles for the week 15.2

Workouts for the week of 5/16 - 5/22

Monday -- weights and cardio
edit 5/16 -- 20 minutes of pretty heavy weights (just on shoulders and arms); 30 minutes of cardio alternating walking and light jogging intervals
Tuesday -- 5 miles
edit 5/17 -- 5 miles outside at night; knee and calf felt weird, not painful, just annoying, I think I need new shoes.
Wednesday -- weights and cardio
edit 5/18 -- some weights and 30 minute (2 mile) walk on the treadmill
Thursday -- 5 miles
edit 5/19 -- had the kids play at school so took the day off
Friday -- off
edit 5/20 -- 5 miles
Saturday -- 6 or 7 miles
edit 5/21 -- 6.2 miles
Sunday -- 4 miles
edit 5/22 -- 4 miles

Total miles for the week 20.2

Workout recap

So usually on Monday's I'll post what my projected workout schedule is for the week and then I'll edit that post each day with what I actually did.  I strive to stick as closely as possible to my schedule.  But sometime life gets in the way, sometimes my mental capacity gets in the way, and sometimes it just is what it is.
Last week (May 9th - May 15th) was just an off week.  And I have those sometimes.  I didn't eat well, and I didn't workout well.  It all started with an attempted 5 mile run on Monday (5/9).  I live in Texas after all and should know better than to try to run at 4 o'clock in the afternoon in Texas heat and humidity.  That was mistake number 1.  On top of that, I had run almost 8 miles that Saturday and a little over 3 miles on Sunday so my legs were pretty tired. So the run was a disaster, I did finish 5 miles, but I ran/walked and it took me about an hour to get through it.  Plus my left knee was pretty sore when I was done. As a result I ended up taking most of the rest of the week off.  Partly to let my knee rest, and mostly because I couldn't mentally get into working out or running.
Saturday though I got back in it.  Spent the night on Friday with my parents since B was in Baton Rouge for family stuff and got up and ran with my Dad on Saturday morning.  We ran a 5 mile route around my parents neighborhood.  Before this the longest my dad had run was 3.1 miles and we did this 5 miles at a pretty fast pace (average about 9:45 pace and ran a big hill at the end).  My dad is a super athlete though, this was a great run. 
Sunday I woke up before church and ran a little over 4 miles.  So I ended up with 14 miles for the week.  Not bad, but not great either.

Hell Run 4/30/11 Austin, TX

On Saturday April 30th Brandon and I ran in the Hell Run just outside of Austin (on a big ranch in Smithville).  There were several waves throughout the day and we ran in the 1pm wave which was perfect because we got to sleep in and it gave us plenty of time to get there, get our stuff and hang out before we started.  We got some great stuff at the race: in our bags we got a tech shirt, a super hero cape, and on our bibs we could put our super hero names (mine just said HD, Brandon had them put Captain America on his). 
This run was H.A.R.D.  It was 3.45 miles and had 12 man-made obstacles.  The obstacles that we had to do were the easy part of the run.  Obstacles included jumping over 4 foot high walls, through several mudpits, up a tall pyramid of hay bales, under barbed wire, climbing over junk yard cars, through some tunnels, climbing a 8 foot high wall, jumping over small flames and swimming through a stock tank (more on that in a minute!).
The actual trail course was the hardest part and way harder than any of the obstacle that we had to do.  The course was all off-road trails and the entire course was up and down rolling hills (very little of the course was flat).  Some of the hills were up steep rocky slopes or steep switchbacks deep in the woods (at several points I felt like I was hiking!).  I finished in 48 minutes and Brandon finished in 53 minutes.  After the race we got a super sweet finisher medal and they gave all participants a ticket for a beer (and let me tell you it was the best beer I have ever had!!) :)
Despite the tough course though I had a blast and will definitely do a run like this again.  Hell Run is coming to Houston in the fall and we will definitely be doing it.
So yeah, a stock tank! If you don't know what a stock tank is, it is a big pond in the middle of a cow pasture were the cows go to swim, cool off, drink, and do their business if you know what I mean.  Well, on Saturday I did not know what a stock tank was when I had to swim through one.  I came to what I thought was just a big, deep, muddy (turns out that wasn't just mud, yuck)  pond that I had to swim through.  Luckily I kept the water out of my mouth and kind of swam on my back to keep my feet out of what I thought was mud.  When we were both done and on the way home I turned to Brandon and said "That pond water was really stinky and gross!" to which Brandon looked at me strangely and then started laughing hysterically.  "That wasn't pond water, that was a stock tank.  You know, where the cows swim and poop (he didn't say poop though)!"
OMG!!  That would have been great information to have BEFORE I swam through it! YUCK!!  Needless to say, I took a very long shower when we were done!

Workout for the Week of May 2nd - 8th

Monday -- 5 miles
edit 5/2 -- 5.2 miles; beautiful weather 80 degrees but no humidity
Tuesday -- Got a new Jillian Michaels workout dvd "Ripped in 30" plus I'm gonna walk/run for 30 minutes
edit 5/3 -- did most of the dvd but not all of it and walked for 35 minutes
Wedneday -- 5 miles
edit 5/4 -- 5miles (garmin died about 1.5 miles into the run; I ran my 5 mile route so I know I did at least 5 miles, was probably more but we'll just go with 5)
Thursday -- Ripped dvd and 30 minutes on the treadmill
edit 5/5 -- legs still HURT from doing the ripped dvd on tuesday and then 5 miles on wednesday so I did an upper body circuit instead (3 rounds of 12 pushups, 12 bicep curls with 10lb weights, 16 tricep dips, 50 crunches) and then walked on the treadmill fo 35 minutes (a little over 2 miles)
Friday -- off
Saturday -- 7 miles
edit 5/7 -- 7.7 miles
Sunday -- 3 mile run
edit 5/8 -- 3.5 miles

Total miles for the week: 21.4 miles

Workouts for the week of 4/25 - 5/1

Monday -- 5 miles
edit 4/25 -- 5.2 miles outside; hot, humid, slow, had to take lots of water/walking breaks
Tuesday -- yoga
edit 4/26 -- took a rest day because I had to tackle laundry mountain
Wednesday -- 6 miles
edit 4/27 -- 6.3 miles
Thursday -- weights and 3 miles
edit 4/28 -- light weights (arms) and 2.7 miles on the treadmill
Friday -- off, traveling to Austin
edit 4/29 -- off
Saturday -- HELL RUN  (3.45 miles w/ 12 obstacles)
edit 4/30 -- 3.45 miles very very very hilly and off course trails and 12 obstacles; finish in 49 minutes
Sunday -- gonna try to run 3 or 4 miles when we get home from Austin
edit 5/1 -- off; didn't have any time to run due to traveling and family stuff I had to do when I got home

Total miles for the week: 17.6

CUIC Crosby 5K 4/16/11

This past Saturday, B and I ran in the Churches United in Caring (CUIC) 5K run put on by the Crosby-Huffman Chamber of Commerce.  (CUIC runs the food bank and resale shop here in Crosby)  We were pretty pumped to be running this since it was so close to our house, it started at the Crosby Fairground about 2 miles from our house.  It started at 8 and we left our house at 7:30 :) and got there in plenty of time to pay, get our goody bags (for such a small race the bags had some awesome stuff even though the shirts were lame, and white!), and stretch before the start.  This was an incredibly small race (I would say probably about 50 people, most of them were walkers).  It started right on time and made a big loop which I like so much better than out and back courses.  The course ran through some of the neighboring streets, making our way towards highway 90 and then back to the start.  I finished 5th overall (4th place female) with a time of 28:10 (a PR by 2 minutes!).  The women definitely dominated this run: the overall winner was a girl who finish in 24 minutes and 4 of the top 5 finishers were women.  The 2nd and 3rd place males finished behind me and they only gave trophies to top 3 male and top 3 female so that was a bit of bummer but I'm very happy with my time (plus I beat B!)  B did really well too and finished in 30 minutes and beat his previous 5K time by 3 minutes.  The weather was perfect (about 55 or so at the start and clear) and the roads were flat so it was perfect conditions for a fun, fast race.  I really hope they have more runs in the area cause it was a lot of fun.

Next up:
Hell Run  on Saturday April 30th.  This is a 3.45 mile run with 12 obstancles.  B and I are both doing this and making a weekend getaway out of it.  Should be loads and loads of fun.  I can't wait.

 Alex's 5k on Friday May 13th @7pm.  This 5k race raises money for Autism Speaks.  I'm really looking forward to this since it is a helping such an incredible organization and because autism is something that has directly affected my family.

Workouts for the week 4/18 - 4/24

Monday -- 4 miles
edit 4/18 -- 4.4 miles outside
Tuesday -- Yoga, abs, 30 minute walk
edit 4/19 -- 30 minutes of yoga (broken up because I kept having to check on Ella); then I just did some pushups, squats, tricep dips (3 sets of about 15 reps) then I did abs
Wednesday -- 6 miles
edit 4/20 -- 2.5 miles with my Dad then came home and did 3 miles for a total of 5.5 miles
Thursday -- weights and 30 minute walk
edit 4/21 -- P90X Shoulders and Arms (I didn't use the DVD because Tony Horton annoys me but the DVD's come with like a script for each of its workouts and I just used that) it's been a year since I've done P90X and I'm pretty sure it was the first time I've made it through a whole workout! I also did a little bit of abs and then walked for 35 minutes at 4.0 and alternated between a 5 and 7% incline
Friday -- 5 miles
edit 4/22 -- 6.2 miles
Saturday -- off
edit 4/23 -- OFF and went to the beach!
Sunday -- 3 miles and abs
edit 4/24 -- HAPPY EASTER; 3.4 mile run and about some ab work

Total miles for the week: 19.5

Workouts for the week 4/11-4/17

Monday -- 4miles
 edit 4/11 -- ran 2.9 miles outside but then it got creepy dark so I came home and ran 1.5 miles on the treadmill total miles = 4.4
Tuesday -- Yoga and abs
edit 4/12 -- Ella wouldn't go to sleep so I did about 30 minutes of yoga broken up because of having to keep going to Ella's room to rock or hold her.
Wednesday -- 5 or 6 miles
 edit 4/13 -- 5 miles
Thursday -- light weights and 3 miles
edit 4/14 -- took off, I'm don't remember why
Friday -- off
edit 4/15 -- off
Saturday -- Crosby 5k
 edit 4/16 -- 3.1 miles in 28:10
Sunday -- light weights and 5 miles
edit 4/17 -- 6.2 miles (great run!)
 Total miles for the week: 18.7

Blogspot is irritating me!! It won't publish my previous post or my workout post like a list like I typed it out. ARGH!! That is all! Carry on...:)

Sweet Redemption

Got back on the wagon (or treadmill) last night and it was fabulous. Granted it was pretty slow, but hey as long as my legs are a movin' thats all that matters.
Here's how the run went down:
5 minute warmup at 3.7mph
5 minutes at 5.2
5 minutes at 5.5 (and I was huffing by the end of the 5 minutes)
got off the treadmill for about a minute to catch my breath and get some water
5 minutes at 5.3
5 minutes at 5.6 (again, HUFFING by the end)
got off for a minute
5 minutes at 5.3
2.5 minutes at 5.6
1.5 minutes at 6.0
45 seconds at 7.0
15 seconds at 8.0 and then I JUMPED off caught my breath got some water
then walked for about 15 minutes alternating between 3.9 and 4.2 (with a 4% incline)
Total miles ran 3.2 total miles walked 1 and I was a sweaty, happy beast when I got finished!!

Confessions

I took the past week off from running/working out for my mental health. On Monday, after we had put the kids to bed and it was time to go get on the treadmill and run, I realized that I was just completely physically and mentally exhausted. So I figured it was from the weekend away from home and the lack of sleep from the weekend. Decided to take a day of rest and that I would be ready to go the next day. Tuesday rolls around and I'm just still not feeling it. After we put the kids to bed I got on the treadmill and was miserable. My left knee and calf were bothering me a little bit (which I think may have just been in my head), so I ended up running/walking a mile and half before I called it quits. My head just wasn't in it anyway so I decided to just take the rest of the week off. I felt good about my decision to rest for most of the week. I also made sure that my eating was completely in check. But then by Friday that all kind of unraveled. I'm an emotional eater and something got triggered and it snowballed from there. I'm not going to make excuses. Just going to kind of assess where I'm at and what the deal is, suck it up and move on. Thats all I can do really. I refuse to wallow in self pity. My workout goals for the week may be a little ambitious considering the past week but I've got to come back guns blazing if I want to get over the hump. I'll probably end up doing a running/walking combination to get through the miles, but miles are miles. Doesn't really matter how you finish them, just as long as you finish.

Workouts for the week of April 4th - 10th

Monday -- 3miles edit 4/4 -- 4 miles (3 mile run, 1 mile power walk after) Tuesday -- Yoga and abs edit 4/5 -- Yoga, and 10 minutes of abs Wednesday -- 5 miles edit 4/6 -- allergies bothering me, thought I may be starting to get a cold so I took the day off Thursday-- Strength, Abs, short run edit 4/7 -- 5 mile run Friday -- off/ gonna do yoga and abs since I took Wednesday off edit 4/8 took the day off Saturday-- 7 miles edit 4/9 -- 7.3 miles Sunday -- 3 miles edit 4/10 -- 2.8 miles plus a few sets of pushups and abs Total miles for the week: 18.1

Seabrook Lucky Trails 1/2 Marathon

Saturday March 19th I ran the Seabrook Lucky Trails 1/2 marathon. This was not really a huge race in that there were only about 700 runners (on Saturday) but it was on narrow trails the entire race so it seemed pretty crowded. There was also a 2 person relay option, and they were having another 1/2 marathon and marathon on Sunday as well.
It started at 7:15am, so I got up a little before 5 and got dressed and had my go-to pre-race breakfast: very large coffee, peanut butter and banana sandwich. Seabrook is about 45 minutes away so I left about 5:30am and got there about 6:15 or 6:20ish. There was plenty of parking not far from the start so I didn't have to walk far, but I was kinda bored until the race started. It was actually a little chilly at the start. Not cold (in the 60's) but pretty breezy which made it nice. During the race though the breeze leaves, the temp rises, as does the humidity. YUCK.

This was a trail run which I didn't have any training on. The trails were narrow dirt/granite/rock trails and it was an out and back (2 times) course, so it was EXTREMELY crowded. For about the first .5 mile I was barely jogging it was so crowded but by about mile 1, 1 1/2 in thinned out some and I actually kept a pretty quick pace. But I do have to say that I really don't like courses were you have to make multiple loops. It is very mentally tough to pass the starting line and know you have to go back out and do it again. Then as you are going back out there are people coming the other direction that are almost done. Proud of those fast people, don't get me wrong, but it makes me feel uber slow.

Anyways, I brought 2 Gu's with me cause I usually take one at mile 5 and one at mile 10. I didn't end up taking the first one until I got back to the start (around 6.5 miles) and was starting the 2nd loop. This will come back and bite me because I should have taken the 2nd one at mile 11 but I didn't because my brain just kept saying you're almost done why take one now and I almost ran out of steam altogether at mile 12.5. I had to really gut it out and my legs felt like bricks the last .6 miles.

I did it though, and I finish in 2:13.45. Was hoping to beat 2:10 but I think I was just overly ambitious and didn't know what I was in for with the trails and stuff.

It was a cool race. Very well organized, cool medals, and good post race food but I don't know if I'll do it again. Trails really aren't my thing.

I hate race photos because I think I look like such a goob in them. Here are mine anyway. I am a goob after all!

This pic looks like I ran a marathon in 2:14. haha

And because I have to....every.single.time.

Workouts for the week 3/21 - 3/27

Monday: 4 mile run edit 3/21 -- 4.5 mile treadmill run; legs a little sore still from Saturdays 1/2 so I took it slow but still a good run for the treadmill. Tuesday: 1 hour Yoga, 15 minutes yoga abs edit 3/22 -- 1 hour yoga Wednesday: 5 mile run edit 3/23 -- 4.5 mile run Thursday: 1 hour Yoga edit 3/24 -- off Friday: 8 mile run edit 3/25 -- 9 mile run Saturday: off edit 3/26 -- technically didn't "work out" but was at the ladies retreat and did a lot of walking and did an "amazing race" thing which was about a mile of short sprints Sunday: 4 mile run edit 3/27 -- off Total miles: 18

Spring Break hiatus

Sorry no blogging during spring break. I was busy busy, and when I wasn't busy I was sleeping or playing or breaking up wwIII, you get the picture :)

Here are my workouts for the week of Spring Break 3/14-3/20
Monday: 4.5 mile run (on the treadmill, it was torture)
Tuesday: went to the zoo for about 4 hours during the day, thats gotta count for some exercise right?! 30 minutes of yoga
Wednesday: 4.5 mile run outside
Thursday: off
Friday: off
Saturday: Seabrook Lucky Trails 1/2 marathon 2:13.45 I'll recap later
Sunday:off

Miles for the week: 22.1 miles

Dream vacations

It really is funny how your perspective changes as you get older. And a lot of it has to do with growing up, and maturing and just having different priorities and responsibilities. I get all that. I just still find it fascinating (and often times mind boggling) how much I've changed over the years.
Lets talk about vacations.
As a child, every single summer, we would take a family vacation for weeks at a time traveling all over the country (By the age of 16 I had been to every state but Alaska and Hawaii). Often times I would have a blast. More often than not though I would for the most part complain about the trip and how long we were gone because I was a teenager and that was part of my job description, to be a brat, and I was good at my job. (I would give anything to take one of those vacations right now!)
In my early 20's I took a lot of "vacations." Lots of road trips were taken to different places all over the state doing lots of things I don't want to post about because my mom and dad read this blog. That's all I'm going to say about that ;)
Then I got married, and got knocked up and a vacation was just something I got to dream about. Since Will came along in '07 we've taken a few weekend trips to water parks and such. Brandon took me on an extended birthday weekend trip for my 30th birthday this past summer. But we've never really taken a vacation like the vacations I had become accustomed to as a child. I do believe that we are going to remedy this in the upcoming summer. I'm hoping this summer we can take our first family vacation (thinking probably San Antonio and Austin for a week).

My dream vacation:
My dream vacation is a 14 day cruise to Hawaii and a 14 day cruise to Alaska back to back. Wouldn't that be awesome. I could take a month long vacation (with B of course!) and cross the last 2 states off my list. This is a bucket list thing for me.

It's funny how my mindset has changed though. I use to think of vacations as a time to relax, and maybe party a little bit. Or where could we go so that the kids have a good time but B and I aren't completely miserable.
Now when I think about vacations, I get excited about going to run or workout in a cool new place. I not only plan stuff for us to do, but I plan my runs or workouts for the trip before we leave (I am a total geek, but I completely embrace this!).
I came across an article in this months issue of Runners World magazine about 3 different cruise lines that offer 7 day cruises where you do a group run, or race in every port. There is an Alaskan cruise, and 2 different Caribbean cruises. Isn't that awesome? (feel free to roll your eyes at me, it's okay). I think I may have found a new dream vacation! Are you reading this B?!?!

This is a 7 day cruise that starts in San Juan and goes to St. Thomas (5k race), Tortola (5K hill run), Antigua (8mile run), Dominica (Trial run), and Barbados (5K race).

What's your dream vacation?

ABC's

A. Age: 30
B. Bed size: Queen size, and won't ever upgrade. B and I like to sleep close together.
C. Chore you dislike: Cleaning the bathroom, yucky
D. Dogs: I wish, but so far both of my kids are afraid of dogs
E. Essential start to your day: As soon as I wake up I drink a big glass of water, then I start making my coffee
F. Favorite color: Purple
G. Gold or silver: silver
H. Height: 5’6
I. Instruments you play(ed): Does Guitar Hero count? What about air guitar? I played the cornet (like a trumpet) for 2 1/2 years in junior high, and I can play chop sticks on the piano.
J. Job title: Teacher (I teach 11th grade U.S. History)
K. Kids: William Kenneth 3 1/2 years old; Ella Lee 2 years old
L. Live: Crosby, Texas
M. Mom’s name: Patricia Ann (Pat Ann, or Batman as Will calls her)
N. Nicknames: H.D.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Twice, after each of my kids were born.
P. Pet peeves: Laziness of teenagers, entitlement, adult idiots who think they are the smartest person in the room. Oh, and not properly putting kids in car seats
Q. Quote from a movie: "Would you like me to have the court reporter read it back to you?"
R. Righty or lefty: Lefty
S. Siblings: Matthew
T. Time you wake up: M-F 5:15am Saturday and Sunday whenever the kids decide to get up, or 5:30 am when it's summer time and I have to run before the heat gets unbearable.
U. Underwear: Um, Yes? I do wear underwear. weird
V. Vegetables you dont’ like: beets, and I can't think of anymore right now, I like most vegetables.
W. What makes you run late: My kids most of the time, but I'm just naturally not on time, most of the time I underestimate the amount of time I have to get ready
X. X-rays you’ve had: Teeth, chest, ankle
Y. Yummy food you make: Green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole
Z. Zoo animal favorites: elephants and the fish

5 days until Spring Break!!

The count down is on and I cannot wait!!
I've been completely and totally burned out at work which is not a good sign considering it's only March. Burn out for me usually sneaks up right after the TAKS test in early May.
I need a break in the worse kind of way. I'm looking forward to sleeping in a little (as much as my 2 darling, early rising children will let me), going on fun outings to the zoo and such, and running outside since we turn the clocks forward this Sunday. Oh, and I'm running a little 1/2 marathon next Saturday the 19th, AND I get to go see Ryan Bingham at the House of Blues that night. So I'm really ready for this week to be over and get my Spring Break STARTED!

Weekend update:
Saturday morning I woke up about 6:30. Actually my alarm was set for 6:30 but I was woken up by 2 hands on my face, 2 big brown eyes looking at me, and a cute 3 1/2 year old telling me the sun was up so it was time to wake up. I need to teach him to find his dad's side of the bed! So I got up and made my coffee and had a protein bar and a banana and tried to get motivated to get ready for my weekend long run. On the plan was a 10 miler. I looked outside and it was raining. But it was kind of cool and breezy (it was not yet cold, but it would get that way fast). Since it was still in the high 60 degrees I opted to wear shorts and t-shirt, I would regret that decision by about mile 8. I didn't start my run until about 7:45 and the rain had stopped but it was still overcast with just a little breeze. The first 5 miles were really good but I was running pretty slow (around 10:30 min/mile). I'm pretty sure this is due to the squat and lunge fest I decided to do as part of my workout on Thursday. My legs felt like bricks that were on fire for most of the run. I took a Gu around mile 5 (Jessica: it was mint chocolate and it was yummy :-) Jessica thinks Gu are the grosses thing in the world! She's gagging right now haha) and that helped for the 2nd half of the run and I averaged a 10 min/mile pace. Around mile 8 it got really windy, blowing me over windy, and temp dropped into the 50's. It was pretty cold, but I was almost done so I sucked it up and finished the last 2 miles a little faster than the rest.
I was very glad when that run was over.
The rest of Saturday was spent eating lunch with my little family (yummy Jason's Deli) and hanging with the inlaws for an hour or 2 before going home to do some chores. Husband rewarded me for my hard work with sushi! I may or may not be borderline addicted to sushi. It is so yummy.
Sunday was low key. Church, short 3 mile run, laundry, small group (where I ate WAY too much of Jessica's awesome food; my friend Jessica may be the 2nd greatest cook I know, #1 being my mother in law), home to get ready for the week.
B is working some crazy hours at work this week and his rodeo work shifts start on Saturday. I have a workout plan, but I'm not sure how closely I'll be able to stick to it. Depends on if my kids cooperate and go to bed easily and on time :) I'm afraid I may have to do my long run on the treadmill and the thought of it makes me want to weep. Maybe we'll invade my mom's house on Saturday. I'll have the kids ask her, she just can't seem to say no to them LOL
We shall see.

Workouts for the week of 3/7 - 3/13

Monday -- 4 mile run
edit 3/7 -- 4.53 mile treadmill run
Tuesday -- Yoga
edit 3/8 -- 1 hour of yoga (which I did in a long sleeve shirt to make it my own form of "hot yoga" and then I did part of the 15 minute yoga abs, only did part cause my abs were ON FIRE!
Wednesday -- 6 mile run
edit 3/9 -- 6.3 mile run outside in gorgeous weather! 1:03.25
Thursday -- Yoga
edit 3/10 -- 30 minutes of yoga
Friday -- off
Saturday -- 11 mile run
edit 3/12 -- 9.5 mile run; tough run, was ready to call it quits at mile 7 but gutted out another 2.5 miles and had to call it quits cause it was getting late in the morning and B had to leave to go to rodeo.
Sunday -- 3 mile run
edit 3/13 -- 3.1 mile run

Total for the week: 23.43 miles

Is crazy genetic?

The answer is most definitely YES!
My very young and hip father is my crazy hero. Since retiring from the Houston Fire Department 6 years ago he has been the wild and crazy guy on a bike. Oh, and he's almost 58 years old!!
Here's a quote from his journal about all of his adventures (I wanted to make sure I got it all right):
"Since retiring I've ridden a complete Southern Tier in '07 (for non riders -- this route goes from San Diego to St Augustine, FL -- 3160 miles), a half Southern Tier in '07 and have ridden three times from Houston to Kansas in '07, '09, & '10 (incorporating the OKFreeWheel). This tour will also be along the Southern Tier from El Paso to Houston. I tour on a Windsor Tourist (Molly) towing a Bob Trailer (Bob)." (He also does a ride called Ragbrai, which is a 7 day ride across the state of Iowa. I did parts of Ragbrai with him in the summer of 2005).

Tonight he embarks on his latest riding adventure. My dad and a friend are going to hop on an AmTrak train (with all of their riding equipment) and are going to ride the train to El Paso. Once there, they will begin making their way back to Houston via bike.

Pretty cool huh?!?!
Crazy is the new cool!
Good Luck Daddy! We'll miss you!!

You can keep up with his crazy adventures on his R.A.T. (Ride Across Texas) ride. He has an online journal at crazyguyonabike.com

Papa D and Ella (the Do-rag gang) at the Gulf of Mexico

He was dipping his tire (a bicycling tradition) in the water at the beginning of a ride trip to Oklahoma

Dad and his bike (Molly) and his trailer (Bob) after making it to Oklahoma

Dipping his tire in the Atlantic Ocean (in San Augustine, FL) at the of his Southern Tier ride.

Snack Attack

Meet my nemesis: The Vending Machine!!

For some reason this week I've had a huge case of the munchies. I cannot seem to get enough food to satisfy me. I hate it when this happens because a lot of time it sets off a very bad eating cycle for me. When I do get the urge to snack more in between meals, I try to keep healthier snacks around to munch on: carrot and celery sticks w/hummus, apple slices w/all natural peanut butter, strawberry Greek yogurt w/cocoa dusted almonds are my 3 most favorite snacks (I have a borderline addiction to hummus and peanut butter, oh AND almond butter! me loves!!). I also always have a protein bar or something in my purse in case I'm out and about and the munchies strike (to keep me from running through the drive through or something).
I am not perfect, however, and do sometimes cave to the temptations of the unhealthier food options (usually chocolate laced). When this would happen a year ago, I would have felt horrible, thought I was a horrible person, and then would have really beat myself up over it. Then I realized that I needed to give myself a break. A BIG BREAK!! I'm human and 90% of the time I make very healthy eating choices, and I'm also extremely active, so I really need to chill out (I hate it).

The weekends are usually the worst for me. Being a teacher I have a very regimented schedule and it's easier to schedule out my meals and snacks and they are eaten at the same time everyday. When I'm home on the weekends it seems to be a free for all in the eating department. And the kitchen is so close that it's really easy for me to graze all day out of boredom. I also have a bad habit getting into the mindset that it's the weekend and I need to just enjoy it and I'll go back to healthy eating on Monday. That completely defeats the purpose.
I'm throwing all of this out there because I'm trying to make myself more accountable. I want to enjoy the food that I love but I don't want to just eat healthy 5 days a week and then it be a free for all. (I'm fearful that if I don't get it under control it's really going to become an issue when summer rolls around and I'm home all the time).

This weekend I'm going to try harder (should be easier since I've confessed my sins, and now I don't want to disappoint!) to stick to my healthy eating plan and not cave! I have a plan to make my breakfast, lunch, and snacks ahead of time like I do during the week so it'll be easier. I'll report back on Monday and let you know how it goes.

P.S. this is not about weight, but keeping up healthier eating habits!

disclaimer: I do still allow myself some kind of treat almost everyday, just a healthier treat: frozen yogurt, healthy no bake cookies, fruit with dark chocolate, etc.

temporarily out of order

Sorry. No blog today. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what comes out of Charlie Sheen's mouth today. His incoherent, cocaine induced rants and ramblings have been the highlights of my days here of late :) I heard his publicist quit. Duh, wouldn't you?!?!
Charlie Sheen has quite effectively dethroned Mel Gibson as the captain of the Crazy Train!

There use to be an old Jeff Foxworthy joke about how if you think your family is crazy then just go to the state fair. Well, I use to think I was crazy until Charlie Sheen came along.

Charlie Sheen in one of my favorite movies, Ferris Bueller's Day off

On a sad note, he has small children. I weep for their therapist bill when they are older!

BBQ COOKOFF

Saturday, after the Rodeo run, B and I had a date at the BBQ cookoff. It's the World famous BBQ cookoff! :-) We had lots of fun and got to hang out with some of our favorite people, and listen to some good music. Funny enough though, I didn't eat any bbq. The night did end with me rolling down a hill, good times were had by all. :)

Because every fun day should start out with a self portrait head shot!

Sunny Sweeny -- super cute and sassy and a really good performer. She actually almost cried when the entire audience was singing "From a table away." She put on such a great show.

One of our all time/old time favorites Cory Morrow. We haven't seen him live in over 5 years so this was pretty cool. He put on such a great show and it was just like old times.

Maggie, Claire, me, and Nicole

love these girls!

Maggie convinced me that I really needed to be "that girl," super stalker fan right here!

love

Cause thats how he rolls

Workouts for the week 2/28 - 3/6

Monday -- 4 mile run
edit 2/28 -- 4.5 mile sweaty treadmill run
Tuesday -- Yoga
edit 3/1 -- 30 minutes of yoga
Wednesday--6 mile run
edit 3/2 -- 6.2 mile run (in 1:02.10!)
Thursday -- strength and 2 mile run
edit 3/3 -- 15 squats, 15 pushups, 15 jump squats, 15 back flys (10 pound weights), 15 lunges (each leg), 15 triceps dips, did circuit with no rest between exercises, once finished I rested 2 minutes and then did circuit again. finish with 120 crunches. Then I walked for 30 minutes on the treadmill at 4.0mph at a 5% incline.
Friday -- off
Saturday -- 10 mile long run
edit 3/5 -- 10 mile run; legs felt kinda sore from the squat fest I had decided to do on Thursday but still a pretty good run
Sunday -- 3 mile run
edit 3/6 -- 3.3 mile run outside and it was gorgeous!

Houston Rodeo Run 10K

Saturday B and I ran in the Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run. B ran the 5K and I ran the 10K. We ran the 5k last year and it was the first one we had ever done and really enjoyed it so decided to do it again this year. Last year I ran the 5K in a very speedy 44 minuts :) this year I ran the 10K in 1:01.30 which is a new PR for the 10K. My goal was to finish in an hour but I didn't really factor in the hills I would struggle through going over the viaduct, so considering that I'm very happy with my time.

B ran the 5K in 33:59. Not bad since he only started running again a couple of weeks ago and had been suffering from shin splints this week. I'm so proud of him!

Very foggy when we first arrived. It was also pretty warm considering it's February (humid at about 70 degrees) It's a point to point race with the start in downtown and the finish at Minute Maid park. We parked close to the ballpark and then walked (less than a mile) to the start. The 10K started at 9:35 and the 5K at 9:45.

runners in Alice in Wonderland costumes

The run starts off the beginning of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo parade. All of the floats were lined up behind the corrals of runners. Since the run is HUGE (about 15,000 people) we arrived about an hour early and walked around and looked at the floats.

The crowd is crazy at the beginning because everyone is there getting ready for the parade and around mile 2 it thins out a little bit.

At mile 3 we started going over the viaduct and that was pretty tough. It's about a mile of steep rolling hills (steep for me considering I hardly ever run hills), and then a big loop and we headed back over the viaduct and back towards Minute Maid park where the finish line was.

It's a good race, very well organized, and lots of good people watching which is my second favorite sport.

Workouts for the Week of 2/21 - 2/27

Monday 5 mile run
edit 2/21 -- 5 mile run outside; gorgeous weather right now
Tuesday Yoga
edit 2/22 -- 1 hour Yoga, 15 minute yoga abs; pretty much did the whole workout except for a few balance poses at the end.
Wednesday 6 mile run
edit 2/23 -- 7.2 mile run outside.
Thursday strength and 3 mile run
edit 2/24 -- 2 mile run; 30 pushups, 30 squats, 100 crunches, 6 scorpion flips(from the Biggest Loser on tuesday!)
Friday off
Saturday Conoco Phillip Houston Rodeo Run 10K
edit 2/26 -- 6.2 miles 1:01.30
Sunday strength and 3 mile run
edit 2/27 -- took the day off

Total for the week: 20.4 miles

March and April

When I turned 30 in July I challenged myself to run at least 1 race, any race, every month for 1 year. So far I have been successful in the challenge. My next race is next Saturday, the ConocoPhillips Houston Rodeo Run 10K.

Here is what I've got coming up in March and April:

MARCH

March 19th, I'm going to do 1/2 marathon (it'll be my 3rd 1/2 marathon in 2 months!). It's on trails which I've never really done before so I need to get some trail training in pretty quick like.

APRIL

April 30th

Hell Run in Austin. B is actually going to do this run with me and we haven't decided between the 3.45 mile obstacle course or the Super Hell Run which is a 6.85 mile obstacle course. We've looked into several of these type of runs (warrior dash, mud run, diva dash) but this one was one that we could both do and looked like the most fun to us. Can't wait.

3.45 mile course map

Runner's Guilt vs. Mommy Guilt

Whenever my first baby, Will, was born my whole world was flipped upside down (in a very good way). But I had to very quickly become accustomed to a brand new way of life. Every decision I made I always worried that I was making the wrong decision. I would second guess myself about everything: whether to keep nursing or switch to bottles, which diapers to use, which formula, should I keep swaddling him, the list could go on and on and on. This is called Mommy guilt. If you don't get it under control quickly, it can consume you. Even when Ella came along, and I thought I was an old pro at this baby stuff, the Mommy guilt was still there, and this time it was worse. Now I was worried I was making the wrong choices for 2 other lives not just one. At some point I do believe B actually told me I needed to chill out (gasp, the horror! now I know why my mom use to get so mad when we told her to calm down, or as my dad would say "calmy downy"). I believe that Mommy guilt is something that I will always have to contend with, but eventually I had to realize that I was doing the very best that I could (I actually did need to chill out), I wasn't always going to make the right decisions, but so goes life.
When I became a runner (runner? jogger? whats the difference really?) I began to feel a similar feeling that I came to know as Runner's Guilt. This is when you have your training plan all set out, a mileage goal that you want to reach, and then this thing called Life gets in the way and you miss a run or two, and feel guilty about it. Now, this may just be me. Other runners may not feel this way and just skip a run and not feel one bit sorry about it. I'm crazy though, and in my crazy mind this all makes perfect sense. Now, when I first started running, the guilt hit me HARD. If I missed a run I would be devastated and think that all of my training and hard work had gone to crap. Pretty irrational, I'll admit. Eventually, just like with "Mommy guilt" I had to, dare I say it, CHILL OUT! One missed run was not going to be the end of me. Sometimes I just have to give myself a break. I am, however, my toughest critic.
I promise, I have a point:
So last night I had 3 miles on the plan. Got home from a birthday dinner for my mom. The plan was to put the kids in bed and then run. But then my princess wanted me to rock her, and keep rocking her, and keep rocking her. Well folks, I'll be the first to admit, that rocking my sweet girl is going to beat running any.day.of.the.week.
Mommy guilt trumps runners guilt

They are only little once!

When I see this princess:

I still see this little baby:

And my big boy:

Will always be this chubby cheeked baby:

the sleeping princeBrother and sister love

I want to be on the Biggest Loser!!

I am a HUGE fan of the Biggest Loser. I've watched almost all of the seasons and it's so amazing to see the transformation of these people from beginning to end. Sometimes I think it's a little unrealistic with extreme calorie counting and obsessive amounts of hours in the gym, but for the most part I think it is very motivating and inspiring.
As the years have gone by, and the Biggest Loser has grown in popularity, the starting weight of the contestants they've picked has grown as well. Women in the high 200's and 300's, Men weighing in at over 400 pounds with a few in the 500's! That is jaw dropping. And completely amazing to watch these people push themselves out of their comfort zone and become healthier people both inside and out.
When the Biggest Loser first started, the seasons were shorter because they did not know if the show would be a success (boy were they wrong) and as a result the contestants were not as large starting out.
During Christmas break in 2009 I was watching a Biggest Loser marathon that was on WE or Oxygen, I can't remember which channel it was. As I was watching the opening episode (the season where a guy named Eric won) a couple of the girls starting weight was between 215 and 220. At that time that was almost how much I weighed and I was floored. They were on the Biggest Loser, they were making positive changes in their life, taking their life back and becoming healthier. Hey, I want to do that too?!?!This was the moment the light switch came on (and I really started to make the changes that I needed to). In January of 2010 a brand new season of the Biggest Loser started and every Tuesday I would only let myself watch it if I was on the treadmill. I've been even more obsessed the Biggest Loser ever since! (I have every single Biggest Loser book that has been published!!)

I have a major girl crush on trainer Jillian Michaels. When I first started exercising I mainly stuck with cardio workouts. Running or walking 5-6 days a week. The more I read and researched, I realized that doing strength training (weights) wasn't going to make me gain huge, manly, body-builder muscle like I had always thought. If you want to burn calories around the clock, you have to build some muscle. Enter Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.
I really enjoy doing my strength training with some kind of DVD. It makes me feel like I'm taking a body-pump class at the gym or working out with a personal trainer. It's a whole lot better for me than just working out with free weights which I'm just not that great at. 30 day shred is my go to weights work out. I love that incorporates cardio intervals and is only about 20 minutes for a quick workout.

For Christmas, B got me 2 of the new workout DVD's from the other Biggest Loser Trainer, Bob Harper. I needed to take a little break from Jillian, because the Shred wasn't as difficult anymore, and it's always good to shake up your workout routine every once in a while.

The Cardio/Conditioning DVD has 2 workouts. An intense hour long workout and a 25 minute quick strength workout. I'm going to start by doing the 25 minute workout after my 3 mile run on Thursdays.

The 2nd dvd that B got me was Bob Harper's Yoga for the Warrior. It has an hour long yoga workout followed by 15 minutes of yoga abs.

So sexy and focused

I did this dvd last night. Holy quads Batman, this was a super good workout. I think that I have tapped into an intense love for yoga. Lots of planks that had my arms shaking, low sitting lunges that hurt my quads, and the abs workout was killer! I'm definitely going to try to incorporate this on a weekly basis. It was awesome. There were several poses that I couldn't do, and I kind of wanted to punch the 2 girls on there because they made it seems so effortless to twist themselves into a human pretzel and balance on one hand and stuff. I won't ever be that good but I think if I could improve my balance and flexibility it will definitely help my running and recovery from running.

Team Bob or Team Jillian?

It's a toss up for me, but I think my love for Jillian's tough love will always win out. Plus I want her abs!!