Happy 4th of July!

I love to celebrate my freedom in this country! Yea for the 4th! I am so thankful for living in a country where I have the right to choose what I want. That I am free to choose what I want. I am so thankful for my husband for fighting for our freedom on a daily basis to give us these rights.

~Daddy's return from Iraq in 2012~

On the schedule for today is fun in the sun at our friends house for a BBQ and I am sure plenty of swim time for Mason. Collin and I will stay clear of the sun as I am very prone to FRY and I think that Collin will follow suit with me. I look forward to yummy food, time with friends, and fun fireworks at the end of the day!

~Mason's first July 4th- 2012~

Happy 4th everyone!

Little Bit of a Set Back

Recovery from having a baby is unpredictable and hard! When you think you are all better, BAM! you take 2 steps back and have to take it easy again. It all started with the run on Saturday. Now 4 days later I am still having "problems" and having to just take it easy. I have been sick to my stomach, not really hungry at all, and other problems. I am 6 weeks postpartum and thought that I would be through with all the post baby stuff but nope! So here I rest because when I do too much it bites me in the butt! ARGH!

It is all worth it though, I love Collin, and I would go through this again to bring such a sweet angel into this world. It is just hard when you want to actually go running and chase after your toddler whom you also love very much. Balance is the key!

runDisney Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler

~I bet the hitchhiking ghosts on the 5k medal glow in the dark! AWESOME!~

New bling was announced yesterday for the runDisney's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10 Miler. It is AWESOME! My BFF Elizabeth ran in this race last year and loved it. During my training runs and even during the 1/2 I did 10 miles seemed like it was my max before my mind started to trick my body into thinking that I couldn't do it. That is my breaking point as it were. So a flat course at night 10 miler would be a pretty fun race. I will run this race eventually, but not this year.

June Week 4 Workout Recap

~Sorry for the messy background, just keeping it real!~

I'm back with my workout recaps! YEA! Tomorrow I will be 6 weeks postpartum. I forgot to schedule my postpartum checkup with my doc so I will be doing that tomorrow to get the official "all clear" for exercise even though I know he will. That being said, I did not run 20 miles last week. Actually the only "actual" exercise I did was yesterday.

My first postpartum run/walk: I did 2 miles and I wasn't planning on running but when the leader of the running group started to jog I was quickly getting left behind so I did a slow jog. It felt funny but good. As the jog continued with various walking breaks (jog down the hills and walk up) everything started to feel better. I took a break at the base of the "big hill" that was on our route to cheer all the other ladies on. Then when the rest of the stroller group came back around we were on our way back to the track. I decided that I was going to run up the big hill. Nice and slow, pushing my stroller with Collin in it made it up at the top. My legs burned SOOOOO GOOD! It was awesome! I felt great. the remainder of the route I continued to do run/walk intervals and ended running the last .10th mile or so. I am super excited with how well it went. I felt strong and in control of my body at the end of the run. I wasn't breathing hard or over did it. I looked like I had though since I am a red head and I get pink faces super easy! But it just felt so great to get that blood pumping in my legs.

Running with a stroller: IS HARD WORK! You don't have your arms to help force the momentum of your legs. I think that is why my legs were burning in different places than usual. And I am a little sore today, which is to be expected, but I am sore in different places than usual. I had to keep reminding myself not to grip the handle of the stroller as I ran so that I was as relaxed as possible. But what a workout it is. I am thinking now of how easy running might become when I stop pushing the stroller to run.

First workout week: This week will be my first week back to working out. I won't be at the gym because I am not teaching yet and other reason so this will all be at home work outs. We shall see how it goes. I am still trying to figure out what I am going to do on the different days but I know I will have a yoga day, a leg day and a core day and next Saturday is another training run. YEA! Here is to my week back!

Saturday: 2 miles

Total mileage: 2 miles

~6/21 Saturday training~

Destination Racing

(source)

A day after I had Collin I was talking to my OB/GYN doc what races he was going to do next. He is an avid running and 2 weeks prior he ran in the Tacoma City Marathon and was raving about how beautiful it was. Part of the course was running in a rain forest another part through a beautiful city. All the while staring at the beautiful mountains all around. He just said it was beautiful and wants to do it again. Anyhew, he didn't know what races to do next. I asked if he ever raced over seas. He said no and I mentioned the Dublin 1/2 coming up. I didn't know the dates that day but the next day, while still in the hospital I told him that it was in early August. He said that that fell right at the same time as his wedding anniversary and was seriously considering running in the race while they take 2 weeks and check out Ireland. He is stoked for this race now, wishing it was a full marathon but still he doesn't want to pass up on a great excuse to race and vacation at the same time. 

I have been looking in to it. Why not combine a race and a vacation. Just make sure you allow time for some recovery and then go do your sightseeing. Here are some of the the top races that someday I might try and do. (I will do the Disney ones eventually!!!)

1. Berlin Marathon-  I have always wanted to visit Germany and what a great excuse to visit Germany and to actually run through it. But this is a dream for a long time from now!

2. Disney World Marathon Weekend-  Ok so I have already done a WDW race and absolutely loved it, except for the small things like not enough potties (are there really enough when there is 20,000 people running?) But I remember when I was working at one of my jobs reading a Runner's World magazine and I saw the beloved MICKEY medal and I knew I wanted to do it! That was the ultimate race I wanted to run in. So someday I will earn my Mickey medal! And then some other day I will earn my Dopey medal with all the other medals that go along with it! I REALLY AM THAT DOPEY TO TRY IT! But not for many years!

~2104 WDW Marathon Weekend Medals~

3. Honolulu Marathon- Why are all these marathons so far??? Anyhew Yes, I would love to run in Hawaii. My BFF K ran this race a few years ago and said it was super hard, because even though it is in December it is still pretty dog gone hot!!! But I would love to go back to Hawaii and why not have a race part of it, I mean with all the spas they have there, imagine if you will all the MASSAGES you can get to help recovery! Oh and soaking in the ocean listening to the waves lap the shore, HEAVEN!

4. Dublin Rock 'n' Roll Half- Ok finally a 1/2! Yes, talking to my Doc about this race peaked my interest too, and We Run Disney Bloggers are running this race this year too, so I have been reading a lot about it and it sounds amazing! I have never been to Europe or that part of the world and would love to go and visit, and since I am part Irish being a ginger and all might as well visit and enjoy the amazing sites there!

5. runDisney's Castaway Cay 5k-  Disney Cruise? YES, PLEASE! The next time we go on a Disney Cruise and it visits Castaway Cay I will be running in the 5k on the little island. I read about it for the first time on Through Heather's Looking Glass Blog . And was kicking myself that I had NO IDEA when I was on the ship that there was actually a 5k!

6. runDisney's Disneyland 1/2 Marathon Weekend-  Yep, another Disney race but that's ok. I AM A LOVER OF DISNEY and runDisney is really what peaked my interest in running and Disneyland is closer to GMA and GPA and they have the Cars Land which Mason would LOVE! I would do the Dumbo Double Dare challenge, to get as much bling as possible and hopefully earn my coast to coast medal too! I would have to time it just right.

~2014 Disneyland 1/2 Marathon Weekend Medals~

7. Versailles la Grande Classique- The 16k race begins at the Eiffel Tower and ends in Versailles. The course travels through Paris and along the river Seine, turns onto tree-lined boulevards and continues on winding paths all before a majestic finish in Versailles. Paris? WHY NOT! This sounds awesome and you end in Versailles sounds awesome!

QOTD: Have you ever wanted to run a destination race? Which ones are you thinking about???