Didn't Get In ....... YES!

We're sorry, Twila You have not been selected.

Which I am super excited about! I just entered for knocking off a year of the lottery entry! I do not have the money or the desire to hit New York next year. I have some other tentative fall plans that I am pretty excited about. Is it the 3rd year you get in OR after 3 years of not getting in??? I was shocked at how many people get in on their first try. I have read the odds are 1 out 9 which was making me sweat a little. Hoping to hold off on New York for a couple more years. I want to be a little more seasoned before I tackle that big of a race. I would also love it if I would get it the same year someone else I know gets it. Who out there enters the lottery?

Sorry to all the people I have not been talking to on their blogs. I have been stalking you as usual just not commenting. Trying to get back into the swing of things. Marathon #3 is coming up so I have been a good girl this week and getting in some really good workout. I have been knocking out some sub 24 minute 5Ks and keeping my 5 mile runs under 45 minutes. Tomorrow I get to run 8 miles outside! Always a rare treat to get to run outside : )

Hopefully my next blog is about an awesome 20-22 mile run! Looks like the rain and tornados will be gone after tonight.

20 Miles in Jinxed

Flashback to my last marathon: Grandfather passed away a couple days before 20 milers; did it on treadmill then the stomach plagued me for almost a week killing my second attempt at a 20 miler.

Back to present time : ) Friday night all was good for the 20 miler and actually looking forward to it. It all went downhill at 3 a.m. I am going to run through the craptastic attempt at 20 miles pretty quick. 3 am tornado sirens sent us to the basement with 2 year old in hand. Lack of sleep. Up at 6 am to try to run anyway but quickly turned around when lightning picked up. Hopped on treadmill for 5 miles but my foot hurt and the family was distracting me. Went outside. Small Monsoon hit. Went into house and husband told me AC was broken and he needed to go to town. Was at mile 11ish. Tried to hop on treadmill but the little man was having no part of that. I called it quits and I am thinking it was 11 miles for the day.

We had plans to go to Lexington for some Easter errands so even though it cleared off I was not going to ruin anymore of our day with an attempt to run.

Sunday: full intentions of getting up at 5:30 am to knock out my needed 10 more miles to make it a solid 20 mile weeks. Tornado sirens again at 3:00 am; back to to the basement. Then it was Easter breakfast, Easter service at church and Easter lunch (pay attention to those 7,000 calories I ate) After hanging out with the family we came home and I decided to run at the house. 1 mile to the end and back (5 times) Mile 5.5 I was channeling by inner SUAR because I had to GO! It was the worst ever. Barely made it to the house and tried to go back out BUT those 7,000 calories of food were not working withme I was was forced to shut it down a little short of 8 miles : (

Good news is the weather for next weekend looks better! Even better news I have the cutest son EVER! I had a fabulous Easter weekend with my family and loved a moving Easter service that was a wonderful reminder of what is important in life. Jesus died so that we can live! Embrace each day fore it is a gift from above : )

Brief Recap

Going back to work after a week long break always puts me in a crappy mood and tired. On top of that it was "that week" (sorry guys) so that always makes working out difficult PLUS my husband is working out of town in another state and will be for a while now : ( With that being said my week looked like this:

Monday: my foot was a little sore from Sunday's 11 miler so I was smart and did not run

Tuesday: did not get home from class until super late

Wednesday: 7 mile run on the treadmill

Thursday: 2.5 mile run (Parker went to bed late)

Friday: rest as usual

Saturday: 18 mile run (9:26 pace with the last 8 @ a 9:15 pace!)

Sunday: to be determined; possibly a bike and then a walk with arm weights while I catch up on Survivor

So this week was not great but I feel like I did the best I could considering the circumstances. On tap for this week...

Sunday: bike/walk

Monday: 5 mile run

Tuesday: walk with arm weights

Wednesday: 8 mile run

Thursday: 5 mile run or bike

Friday: rest

Saturday: 20 mile run

Sunday: family bike if the weather is nice and not super duper windy

Hopefully the next post I will have something more profound to say.

Interesting Facts about Me

So I was nominated for the style award and I get to tell 7 random things about me! Thanks BDD for the honor : )

1. I HATED to work out as a child. I refused to participate in gym and I may have over exaggerated my Mono in high school so I did not have to take my 9 week gym class. I did not want to take PE because I was SCARED run a mile. Coach Purdue look at me now!

2. I love orange flavored candy. It is a fact that today someone gave me a bag of starburst jelly beans and I ate all the orange ones by lunch time!

3. I will not sleep in an unmade bed. I can not having messed up covers tangled around my feet.

4. I have been recording reruns of 90210 since I was on Spring break last week. I am watching them like "OH MY GOSH I wonder if they break up?, will Kelly go to rehab?, will the catch Colin?" They are great for long indoor bike runs.

5. When I was pregnant I gained A LOT of weight as in close to 50 pounds or something and then after I had my 9 pound baby I walked out with 13 extra pounds due to severe water gain and post eclampsia. Check me out right before I was went into labor (27 hours might I add). Can you say motivation to not gain weight?? 50 pounds does not look good on me : )

6. I research everything. You say vacation or weekend get away and I am on Google and Mapquest like crazy. I put in hotels, malls and restaurant to plan every minute of the trip. I use Urban Spoon to look up where to eat and read the reviews. I am challenging myself to not do that when we head to the Outer Banks in June. I want to throw some beach clothes in a bag with some books and not go with an itinerary.

7. I dye my hair to go with the "season". In the fall I dye my hair reddish/brown since those are autumn colors and in the winter I go all brown since I am busy and don't have time to mess with the roots. And then close to Spring I go blonde for the Spring and Summer. I have been dying my hair since the 4th grade and could not tell you my natural color. It is possibly a light brown.

I am too lazy to do the hyperlinking to nominate : ) But I would like to see someone else do it! Thanks BDD for giving me something to do!

April 3 - April 10 Recap

So in trying to be better about keeping to a schedule and doing more than running here is a short recap of last week:

Sunday 4/3 1 hour indoor bike and 45 minutes of Yoga

Monday 4/4 5k in 23:58 and 30 minutes of Yoga plus Abs

Tuesday 4/5 5 miles at 45:18; 25 min bike plus a short arms/abs workout

Wednesday 4/6 1 hour and 20 min indoor bike plus 15 minute Abs

Thursday 8 mile run @ 9:24 pace (first outdoor hot run)

Friday 1.5 hour bike and P90X abs

Saturday 1.5 hour bike and 15 min. arms

Sunday Long run 11 miles outside and 5 miles inside (pace unknown)

The "heat" has been hard to get used to! It was 86 degrees or something crazy on Sunday. I could go look at my pace but I really don't want to know. I was panting and sweaty and swollen : ( I am going to assume it was a little over a ten minute average but I could surprise myself. My husband rode his bike with me and "paced" me for a good chunk of it so I know miles 6-11 were at a 9:23ish.

OH WELL! I was able to workout a lot since it was Spring Break; now I am back to night runs on the treadmill with the hope of being not dead tired and able to get in some additional stuff.

Time to head downstairs for a 5 mile run and then maybe more depending on the energy level. This week I am hoping for:

Monday: 5 mile run

Tuesday: walk or yoga after class if it is before 9:00 when I get home

Wednesday: 8 mile run

Thursday: 5 mile run

Friday: rest

Saturday: 18 mile run

Sunday: 6 mile run OR Yoga & Family bike ride : ) If the weather is decent!

My Own Personal Trainer

Today I was working out in the basement when Parker woke up and I really wanted to finish my ab work. I was going to do P90X Core Plus which is just 18 minutes long. I opened the door so he could play outside while I finished. Well he thought it was more fun to workout with me. I loved it! Check out his plank and pelvic lift crunches!

The best part is when I am not doing the exercise correctly he would say things like "touch the floor Mommy" or "kick your leg Mommy". One time I was going to stop and go outside and he told me "You finish I play by meself". He is so awesome! He is always saying "Run like you Mommy". I hope he is already taking an interest in being physically active. I was not physically active as a child and hope it is different for him.

In the next few days I will post my "7 things about me" since BDD tagged me : )

Remember to always reward yourself for hard work! Like my little guy loving his cupcake after going #2 in the potty. Potty training is hard work; notice in the above picture the potty is never too far away!

Great Running Day and Fears

This picture does not do justice for the view but today was BEAUTIFUL! Most of you know I rarely get to run outside (minus Saturdays) so today was extra special. My mom had Parker so I could go get my haircut and have some "me" time since I have been on house arrest to potty train all week! Parker took a late nap so I came home and went for a run in the 70+ degree weather. It was hot! As in I was sweating, thirsty and got a small sunburn. I ran towards the lake to get in some good hill work. The hills are brutal. BUT I love pushing thru and I always feel accomplished when I get done. I was able to maintain a 9:34 pace for the 8 miles which is so-so. I was not prepared for how hot I was going to get and had no fluids : ( Not a good idea.

I stopped on one hill to do some stretching and relax for a minute. It was so peaceful being up on the cliff over looking the lake.

Here is where the fear comes in; running over bridges. I HATE running on bridges more than anything. Especially this bridge. I seriously run down the middle of the road and pray for no cars to come. I have had nightmares about bridges and one with a pirate ship obstacle course thing. The funniest was in the nightmare the obstacle was you had to pee in front of someone in public Which is NOT a fear of mine. Random I know : )

Fear of Bridges = Gephyrophobia

Anyone else having running fears??? or just other funny fears; like my fear of slides!

Rocked It!

After taking an easy week after the marathon I made a new plan and decided to get focused on working out other parts of my body plus working on my running. My week went like this:

Sunday: 5 miles 43:49 8:45 pace and 30 minutes of Yoga

Monday: 5K speed work 23:32 7:35 pace and P90X Abs for 30 minutes

Tuesday: 3 mile walk and 30 minutes of Yoga

Wednesday: 5 mile run 44:48 8:57 pace 30 minute arm work and ab work

Thursday: 30 minutes Plyometric, 20 minute bike and 200 crunches

Friday: OFF

Saturday: 15 miles @ 9:14 pace! 2 hrs and 18 minutes

All in all it was a great week! The plyometrics kicked my butt. I was not that sore right away but by Friday night I was feeling it. I was worried about my long run on Saturday but it did not interfere at all. I don't think I will be doing a lot of the plyometrics because it is messing with my foot that still has a little tender spot from the marathon.

The best part of this week is my abs were sore! I hate ab work with a passion but want to wear a bikini when we go to the beach in June. I go through phases wanting to work on my abs but I never see or feel results. This week was great because the soreness makes me want to do the ab work I did this week plus some.

Next week is Spring Break so I should be able to get in plenty of run plus arms/abs. Plus lots of Yoga and stretching : ) Plyometrics is going to collect some dust next week.