Good Running Mojo

Yesterday's run was awesome! It started out with me pushing snooze one too many times and texting my BRB to come 15 minutes late. We had planned on 11 miles, but by the time we drank some coffee and left my house, we had decided to just do half of our run.

At around mile one, we decided to switch up our route and do about six miles in a different direction. After that, we decided to head up the hill and add a bit more for about seven miles. At the top of the hill, we decided to keep going to the end of the road and ended up finishing with over nine miles! We only stopped at that point due to some time constraints. I love that we were both having a great running day at the same time. We so totally rock!

I still need to get in a 10+ miler before The Hippie Chick Half Marathon next month, but I know I could have totally knocked out 13.1 today. And that's a decent feeling.

That's a whole 1/2 mile difference. Come on Nike!

On a side note...Nike+ needs to come up with a way to recalibrate Sportwatch runs because mine has been off with it's GPS again lately. I can't begin to tell you how annoying it is to be shorted so badly on a run! I can use the FREE Nike+ app on my iPhone and it lets me recalibrate. Why can't I do that with my ridiculously expensive watch? Hmmm? I think Uncle Phil needs to make that happen for me...ASAP.

Days: 173-176
Daily Miles: 1,1,1.6,9.14
Total Miles: 375.94

A Week? ...What A Slacker!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in a whole week! I'm not good at remembering to do this sometimes. Maybe I should get back to the everyday thing so it's more of a habit.

I've been busy working out like crazy to reach my goal of weighing 135 lbs by June 24th. I joined a new gym that is closer to my house and has more activities for the whole family. The kids are loving the pool (plus the allure of the outdoor pool in the summer has me working even harder to get into swimsuit shape fast) and I have tried a bunch of new cardio classes. I'm loving BodyCombat more than I can tell you. It's awesome and I can feel my arms getting better looking by the minute! Today I discovered Cardio Sculpt and the instructor is WAY into squats of all shapes and sizes. Hello booty!

As for running, I'm getting ready for my 1/2 marathon season. Next up...The Hippie Chick Half on Mother's Day weekend. I only ran the quarter last year because I was having IT Band issues leading up to it.

On Easter Sunday, my girl Aimee (we'll call her my BRB--best running buddy) and I did a 9ish miler full of killer hills. This coming weekend, we have an 11 mile run planned. I'm getting pretty excited to run my first 1/2 since 2008! I can't believe I haven't run one since I was preggo with My Babe (who is now almost 3 years old) shame on me!

Days: 167-172
Daily Miles: 1,1,8.92,1,1,1
Total Miles: 363.2

It's On

In case you didn't know this, summer is on it's way. Even in Oregon. We will get a summer. Someday.

I've been putting in my due diligence and scouring Pinterest for the perfect body. Unfortunately, as you may have guessed, they all require a few more push ups and a few less cocktails than I am accustomed too. I used to be the girl with that body who drank little and worked out much. It seems my priorities have shifted over the years...

I've given myself a goal of weighing in at my wedding weight by our 12th anniversary in June. I'm not too far off, but I've got about 9ish lbs to lose and just less than 12 weeks to do it. If I'm going to get there, I know I will have to absolutely torture myself for the next 12 weeks (with little liquid gratification, which is the crappiest part). We were young when we got married. I had just graduated from college at the ripe old age of 21 and I never gained that freshman 15 (I waited until my early 20s to pack on that weight). Then I had three kids and that's never good for a girl's physique.

So far this week (since Monday), I've logged 11 miles and done Turbo Kick and BodyCombat classes at the gym. I have 2 (maybe 3) half marathons planned between now and then so I'll be running a bit here and there. Ha.

I don't expect a whole lot from myself. I'm pretty sure I'll only be as hot as this girl. That's all.

Image Credit

Days: 165 & 166
Daily Miles: 2 & 5.31
Total Miles: 349.28

I Will Continue To Rock

It's been a busy week since I last blogged. I've been running and Turbo Kicking and Zumbaing (is that a word?) as much as possible. I also got a handle on the whole potty training thing for The Babe. No more diapers in this house! WoooHooo!!!

Over this past week, I had a revelation. Ready for it? ...I'm actually in pretty darn good shape! I ran 6 miles (of hills) with a friend on Sunday but felt like I could have kept going and going. The next day, I ran 3 on the treadmill and felt the same way (but I stopped because it was after 10pm and I needed to go to bed). Yesterday I went to Turbo Kick (my favorite workout in the whole world) and did a round with some serious plyometrics. I kicked it's booty! I was doing sumo squat jumps and felt like I could have done them for days.

Here's my concern... I've been to this place before. I get fit, I kick ass, then I let it slide. My promise to myself this time? I WILL NOT STOP! I will keep kicking ass and getting stronger and I will treat my body as if it is the only one I have. My bones will get stronger with age, my body will have more lean mass and less fat. I will be healthy for my kids and their kids. This 1000 days is not a burden, it is a blessing and I will not forget that. I have a healthy body that is capable of so many amazing things and I will not take that for granted.

After all, I have to be able to keep up with these helmet wearing, playground kings! Why do I let my kids be so cool?

So, now I'm done going on about that. I appreciate everyone in my life who tells me I have inspired them to do something when they were used to doing nothing. Tell me your story if you want to share, I really do love hearing them!

Days: 158-164
Daily Miles: 1, 1.26, 1, 1, 6.05, 3.01, 1
Total Miles: 341.97

Spring Breakin' It

The kiddos and I are visiting my parents for a rainy spring break. Yesterday we got some decent weather and took advantage with a trip to the local park for a bike ride and some hula hooping. Because we're that cool. If you look at this picture it actually looks like it could be spring here.

Truth be told, this March is almost twice as wet as an average March in Oregon. Nice.

I've been able to run outside by myself two days in a row (tomorrow will make three!) and even if it's been raining I'll take what I can get. As I've said in the past, I love running with my kids, but what I love most about it is how much it makes me enjoy running solo.

Days: 156, 157
Daily Miles: 3.25, 2.2
Total Miles: 327.65

I'm Green!

I hit Green (155 miles) with Nike+ today! I need to take my watch with me more often so I can actually reach Blue (620 miles) in this lifetime. Nike totally knows how to keep me hooked on using their stuff. This Nike+ thing is addictive!

This past week, the weather has been totally bipolar. We had snow (and the first 2 hour school delay of the year), some super cold rain, and two absolutely beautiful days with kids outside riding bikes and running around in shorts and t shirts.

I said back in this post that we weren't going to buy anything new for two months. Since then, we have run the the grocery store and Redbox more times than I can count. We've also decided to enroll My Babe at a preschool closer to our house for next fall so that I can run him in the stroller at least one way each day. We've only bought 4 things new (other than food) since the beginning of March as a family of five and I've only filled the tank on my sweet minivan 2 times since January if you can believe it!

My shoes needed to be replaced, can't really go used there. They're Brooks Ghost 4 and exactly the same as my last pair only blue. I love them!

My Bud got a new bike. His old one was the hand me down of all hand me downs. I don't even know how old it was (at least 15 years), but it's rusty and the tires only hold air for a day at a time. Plus it was too small for him. I did try to get this one used. I had been emailing people on craigslist for about a month with no luck finding the perfect bike (or something closely resembling perfection). So on Friday, with the beautiful sun shining, we gave up and headed to Target for his new wheels. He's already put in about 5 hours of riding time so I feel good about the purchase.

The Hubs got an iPad...because he "needed" one. Who can argue with that?

As for the fourth thing? Its a shiny new toilet!!! Exciting purchase, right?!

Today I went for an early run with a friend and it felt great. I am not a fan of getting up early. At all. But I do love the feeling of already having my run under my belt by 8am. Today is going to be a great day. We're getting a new toilet after all...

Days: 149-155
Daily Miles: 1, 2.48, 1, 1, 1, 3.14, 4
Total Miles: 322.2

Shamrock 15k Race Report

I can see why people do this race over and over. It's a fun Portland tradition...you get up early...stand around in the freezing cold with 33,000 other people...run...run uphill...run uphill some more...run downhill...drink...then drink some more.

After race. So cold!!! And looking freaking awesome? ;)

Overall, I enjoyed it. The route is pretty fun and really challenging. There were two things I disliked about the experience.

One. IT WAS COLD!!! As in, it was raining the whole time and started to snow around mile 6.5-7. Brr! It was so cold that I didn't even take two coats off the whole race. And I totally forgot to get a picture of what was supposed to be my race outfit (because it was covered up the whole time).

Two. It was full of people who don't train for the race. That's totally fine, but they need to start back farther in the pack. We figured we would run around a 9:40 pace, so we lined up behind the 9-10 minute mile pacer. Instead of being in the pack with other similarly paced runners, we passed people. The entire race. Thousands of people. If you look closely at my Nike+ route you can see that I ran back and forth around people the whole time.

It's hard to see, but the line is not straight. It squiggles all over the whole way up the hill (mile 2-6ish). According to my GPS we actually ran 9.48 miles. In 1:31:05 (that's a 9:36 pace and I'm happy with that)!

Here are our splits. Not bad... Not bad at all.

Mile one is fairly flat but you start making your way up the hill not long after that. Then it's pretty much a killer climb until mile 6.5 or so. It's Portland, so you're pretty much guaranteed to be entertained the whole time. There were guys on unicycles racing along with us the first couple of miles. Bagpipers along the course to cheer us on. A guy on a bike riding up the Terwilliger hill shouting race support and holding a huge box or Voodoo Doughnuts. People handing out cookies at mile 8 or so. And some seriously awesome race bling if you did the 15k.

After the race, you get a free beer (and some lukewarm salmon chowder if you want to wait in line for it). I've never been so cold in my life, so we chugged our beers and headed for the Paddy's tent to get some Irish Coffees and a Bloody Mary. The tent was huge and heated and like heaven.

I think I'll probably do the race again next year. Even though the whole time I was running it I was promising myself I would never do it again! I just need to remember to line myself up closer to the front of the pack and eat some food because that's a lot of early morning alcohol to consume on an empty stomach. Live and learn...

Day: 148
Today's Miles: 9.48
Total Miles: 308.58 (I broke 300 miles!)