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!!

I read a lot of different blogs. Running, fitness, health, food, family, even decorating blogs (hoping it'll rub off on me but no such luck yet). I saw this on a regular blog I read and thought it was too awesome not to share....

Everyone Needs This List
The most destructive habit – Worry
The greatest joy – Giving
The greatest loss – The loss of self-respect
The most satisfying work – Helping others
The ugliest personality trait – Selfishness
The most endangered species – Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource – Our youth
The greatest shot in the arm – Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome – Fear
The most effective sleeping pill – Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease – Excuses
The most powerful force in life – Love
The most dangerous pariah – A gossiper
The world`s most incredible computer – The brain
The worst thing to be without – Hope
The deadliest weapon – The tongue
The two most power-filled words – I Can
The greatest asset – Faith
The most worthless emotion – Self-pity
The most beautiful attire – A Smile
The most prized possession – Integrity
The most contagious spirit – Enthusiasm

source

Workouts for the week 2/14 - 2/20

Monday -- 4 mile run
edit 2/14 -- Happy Valentine's Day; 4.2 mile treadmill run. Hopin I undid the damage of all the Valentine's candy. Willpower is a muscle and I need to work on strengthening mine!
Tuesday -- new Bob Harper Cardio/Strength dvd
edit 2/15 -- ended up doing the Bob Harper Yoga for the Warrior dvd and found an intense love for yoga!! definitely going to incorporate this weekly
Wednesday -- 6 mile run
edit 2/16 -- 6.3 mile run; Grammie and Papa (my parents) watched my kids so that I could run outside. Legs felt like lead in the beginning but kept a good pace for the run. I enjoy running outside so much better than the treadmill.
Thursday -- dvd plus 3mile run
edit 2/17 -- took a rest day instead. Sometime rocking my baby girl for an hour at bedtime is so much better than running, and I'm not going to feel guilty about it.
Friday -- off
edit 2/18 -- it was gorgeous when I got home from work. Since B was already home and I took my rest day yesterday, I decided I could go for a quick run. 3.3 miles
Saturday -- 10 mile run
edit 2/19 -- 8 mile run; girly problems, nuff said
Sunday -- 4 mile run
edit 2/20 -- off

Total miles for the week: 21.8

Random thought: we need a holiday where we give each other vegetables! All of the Valentine's Day candy that my children have received is talking to me!

Jail Break 1/2 marathon race recap

February 12, 2011

This was the inaugural year for this event. All in all it was a pretty good race experience, and definitely the strongest I've ever felt during a run, especially a race. It was a very small race, only a couple hundred runners. Being the first year of the run I think this was pretty good. Since this is really the only organized race in this area, I expect it'll grow every year. It is definitely a race I'll do again.
The race started at 7am and was only about 15 minutes or so away from our house. We left the house about 5:45 or so. We got to the race start about 6:15 (B had to stop at the gas station for 3 Monsters :)) B was working the water station at mile 2 and mile 11 with Emma's Hugs http://www.emmashugs.com/ so he just dropped me off and then went to meet the group at the water stop.
IT WAS FREEZING!!! The temp in the car said 26 degrees. I had on spandex shorts with spandex capris on over it, a sports bra, tank top, drifit long sleeve shirt. When I stepped out of the car I knew it wasn't going to be enough. In all my planning, I had forgot to plan for this. Rookie mistake. It's Texas after all, we don't deal with cold weather that often, but after the winter we've had I should have known better. I knew that what I was wearing would be fine once I was running and the sun came up, but what was I going to do until then? Luckily I had a zip up hoodie in the car so I put that on, and with B at the 2mile water station I knew I could just drop it off with him.
When I got to the race start I was one of only about 5 or 6 runners that were there that early. I think though that a lot of the runners chose to stay in their warm cars until closer to race time, you know, all the smart folks. So I was standing there freezing and knew I couldn't just stand around for 45 minutes so I ended up running a couple of laps around the parking lot to warm up, literally. Once I did that I wasn't really all that cold anymore. Then more and more people started to arrive, I ran into some people that I knew and hung out until race time. I don't usually bring my camera with me but wish that I would have because my friend Christy sang the National Anthem and she was awesome, and remembered all the words ;) Take that Christina Aguilera!
As I was crossing the street to go to the starting line I heard someone call my name and it was my DAD!! He had drove out there and brought his bike and rode to different points in the race to see me and take pictures. Totally unexpected and totally AWESOME!! It was really motivating to see him several times during the race.
The race started right at 7am and it was a very cute way to start a race. They had a kid dressed as an inmate that was escaping and a guy chasing him in a cop uniform, they ran across the start like and the "cop" shot the gun to signal the start of the race. Very cute and original. Fun stuff.
The course started at the Police Department, wound through some older neighborhood in town, at mile 6 it went up to the top of the Fred Hartman Bridge and then came back down, then it ran through a park on a nice bike path until you got back on the same roads from the beginning of the race to make your way back to the police station for the finish.
Usually in long runs I like to start off a little slower and gradually pick up the pace and finish stronger and not burn out by the end. I like having negative splits and this works pretty well for me. In this run I used the strategy and picked a comfortable pace and when I looked at my Garmin I was running 9:50 min/miles, this is a faster pace than I usually do in runs longer than 3 miles. (usual pace is between 10:15 and 10:30 min/miles so I guess the speed work has been paying off) So I was a little worried that I might have gone out too fast and would burn out, but I was feeling good and stronger so I tried to stop looking at my Garmin and just ran at a comfortable pace. I haven't downloaded the data from my Garmin yet, but my time was pretty darn good by my standards. For a smaller race, the course support was awesome. There were several bands, cheerleading groups, and random people with signs along the route cheering us on. And all of the water stations were very well organized, especially the one at mile 2 and 11, no I am not biased ;) Lots of cheering for everyone, it was great. The bridge wasn't actually all that bad. I just slowed my pace and tried to enjoy it. I acted like an 8 year old and did fist pumps to try to get 18 wheeler trucks to honk their horns. Probably annoyed the people around me but I thought it was hilarious :) Once I got to the top of the bridge I knew I would be good, running downhill is the best part. The rest of the race went pretty well after that.
The one problem I have with the run is relatively minor, to me anyway. The course was long. 1/2 marathon should be 13.1 miles. By my Garmin the course was actually 13.53 miles (several other peoples Garmin said 13.5 as well, so it wasn't just me). Again, this is not that big of a deal to me, but I know that the guy or girl who won was probably pretty upset. So, my previous 1/2 marathon time was 2:19.45. For this 1/2 marathon my time was 2:13.01 (for a 13.5 mile run!). I looked at my watch at the 13.1 mark and it was 2:09.55 (which is the time I'm technically going to use for this 1/2 marathon!) so I PR'd by TEN MINUTES!!!!
It was a whole lot of fun. The finisher medals were handcuffs which were super cute. Awesome race that I can't wait to do next year!

Picture my dad took at mile 4

Emma's Hugs crew at their water stop

Mile 11

I'm a goober, I know.

I just dont know why

Had fun, but glad to be done :)

Jail Break 1/2 Marathon: Pre race

The race started at 7am, and was about 15 minutes or so from our house. I had set the alarm for 4:30 so that I wasn't rushing around and could take my time. I didn't go to bed until almost 11 the night before and shot out of bed a 4am wide awake with no chance of going back to sleep. Might as well get up and chill out a little before it's time to start getting ready.
I have a kind of ritual I do before races, we'll before pretty much all of my long runs. I like to get up before everybody in the house, make my coffee and my Elvis sandwich (peanut or almond butter, depending on what I bought that week, sliced banana on a sandwich thin) and eat my breakfast in peace.

This is what Brandon and I look like at 5am on a Saturday.

It's not pretty. I love that he loves me. :)

Coffee and Elvis sandwich.

Yes, that is a Christmas mug. But it is a giant awesome mug and I love it.
Sadly, that mug had a Snowman brother that died on my kitchen floor last week :(

Garmin 305. Best.running.purchase. EVER.

Jail Break 1/2 marathon 2011.
Bib #69....no comments from the peanut gallery please :)

I lay out all my gear the night before. Crazy? Maybe. But it keeps me from running around like a crazy person at 4:30 in the morning trying to find all of my crap. If you know me, you know I'm not at my finest early in the morning, especially before my coffee has a chance to go into effect.

My weakness...

I will always call these "Samoas"

The little girl across the street comes over and with her sweet puppy dog eyes asked me the loaded question:

"Would you like to buy some girls scout cookies?"

I pondered this for a second. She sensed my hesitation. She was good, a professional.

Before I could say "No thank you" or "How about I just make a donation?" the sneaky little devil child in the cute uniform turns to the 3 year old next to me and says "Wouldn't you like your mommy to buy you some cookies?"

SAY WHAT?!?!

Oh no you didn't!

So what do you think I did?

I wrote the check as fast as I could to get the 3 year old, now joined by his 2 year old sister, to stop jumping up and down screaming "COOKIES COOKIES PAHLLLEEEAAASSSEEE!!! COOKIES COOKIES PLEASE!!!!"

Oh yes I did.

Definitely not my finest moment.....

See that bad boy bridge right there? Thats the Fred Hartman bridge.I get to run up that thing in my 1/2 marathon tomorrow! Hills I can do. Hills don't really bother me. Thats a mega mountain I gotta run up. But, the silver lining, if there is one, is that other than the bridge the course is pretty flat. This is also a much smaller race than my first 1/2 marathon 2 weeks ago (Houston marathon, 1/2 marathon share the course for miles 2-9 and has about 22,000 people). This race has a cap of I think 1500 people or so. Hopefully I won't spend the first 5 miles dodging people like I did 2 weeks ago.

AH, the joy

of living in southeast Texas.....

You ever heard the saying about Texas weather, "If you don't like the weather in Texas just wait an hour or so and it'll change"

Well it's totally true. This morning when we left for school it was 40 degrees, by noon it was raining and sleeting and the temp had dropped to 30 or so and now it is in the 20's and the windchill is in the teens (Which means I'll be doing my run on the treadmill tonight!!!) I'm sure that people who live up north think I'm totally ridiculous, but us southern folk don't know how to handle this kind of weather :)

I have a 1/2 marathon on Saturday but the weather look to be pretty perfect. It'll be kinda cold in the beginning but it's suppose to be sunny and the high is 64 (but I'll be done running way before the temp gets up that high). And then next week it's gonna be in the 70's. Looking forward to it but I'm hoping the yo-yo weather changes don't end up making me or my kids sick. That would be no bueno!

Ella's 2nd Birthday

My beautiful daughter, Ella, had her second birthday on Sunday. It's really hard for me to believe that she is 2. Crazy. Ella is a ball of energy all the time, and definitely runs the show around here. I don't know where she gets all that sass from ;-)

She got 2 bicycles from her grandparents (one for our home and one for their home)

Sportin her bicycle safety. You must wear a helmet, even when riding your bike inside :)
lucky, lucky girl....

Thanking her Papa for her bikes

She got a box full of dress up clothes too. I see many performances and tea parties in our future.A party just isn't a party without cake

Posing with their cousin Brady who was only 12 days old

She can't wait to get her hands on him and play, play, play!

Get your sweat on!!

Or was I just trying to put my awesome rack out there for everyone to see?!?!

MMM...maybe a little bit of both :)

4 mile dreadmill run got the sweat goin. Guess thats as much as I could ask for. Running on the treadmill is as much of a mental workout as it is a physical workout. Sometimes it's the worse kind of human torture and I think the government should look into instead of waterboarding. I know I would give you all the information you wanted if you made me run on the thing for an obscene amount of time. Right now I don't usually do more than 4 or 5 miles on it and I do everything I can just to grit my teeth and bear and get through it as fast as possible......ewww(thats what she said heehee) sorry, it wasn't until I proof read the last sentence that I got it. I'm a weirdo.

Anyways, most of the time when I run or even walk on the treadmill I have to do some kind of intervals stuff to make it more interesting and make the time go by faster. I don't usually follow any kind of plan but make it up before I get started or as I go and try to push myself with each interval and sometimes I'll throw some sprints in the mix just to shake things up a bit.

But I'll always prefer running outside over the treadmill, sometimes that just isn't an option though.

Workouts for the week 2/7-2/13

Monday - 3 or 4 mile dreadmill, I mean treadmill run
edit on 2/7 -- 4.3 mile run on treadmill/45 minutes
Tuesday - Shred and 30 minute interval treadmill walk
edit on 2/8 -- working out didn't really go as planed. Was home by myself due to B having a rodeo meeting and trying to put both kids to bed by myself was a challenge. I did a few pushups and lunges in between Ella's crying fits but thats about all I could muster the strength to do. With a 1/2 marathon on Saturday I'll just chalk it up to needing an extra rest day ;)
Wednesday - 5 or 6 mile run (probably on treadmill)
edit on 2/9 -- 4 mile treadmill run that I struggled through. This was just a mentally tough run for me. I just wasn't feelin it, not really trying to make excuses, it just is what it is. Instead of doing weights or strength on Thursday I'm gonna just try to get in a few extra miles before Saturday.
Thursday - 3 mile easy treadmill run
edit on 2/10 -- 4 miles in 42 minutes on the treadmill; pretty good run, felt good and strong. Ready for Saturday!
Friday - off
Saturday - Baytown Jail Break 1/2 marathon!
edit on 2/12 -- 13.53 miles in 2:13.01 pretty darn speedy for me!!
Sunday - hoping to do just an easy 3 mile run around the neighborhood but I'll see how the legs feel after Saturdays 1/2
edit on 2/13 -- easy 3.1 mile recovery run.

Total miles for the week: 28.93

Usually on Tuesdays and Thursday I'll to Jillian Michael's 30 day Shred (I have a MAJOR girl crush on Jillian too!!) Hoping after this Saturday to maybe start incorporating some of my P90X strength training workouts again instead of Shred, but I can't stand Tony Horton for too long a period of time so it may not last too long. Too much of him and I want to drop kick him in the face :-)

Rock Out

7:10 am January 30, 2011

Beginning of the Aramco Houston Half Marathon

Gonna rock out my first half marathon in 2:19.44