Starting Over

Can I just tell you that starting over with running, and yes I am starting from square 0, is really, really, REALLY hard to do! It just isn't fun. I am going through the same pains now that I did last year when I first started running with the 4 miler training program. I have shin splints again. And they really suck! I have noticed though since I have been trying to do more mileage than is required, even though it is just walking, that after the first mile and a half my legs are finally warmed up and fine.

This is the frustrating part. The first mile sucks and it takes me 1.5 miles for my legs to cooperate and to deal with what is going on with them. But at this point my required mileage is just over a mile.

But here is the cool part. I have a goal. I want to do this. I want to get back in running shape. And this is a great reminder to not stop running again. Even when I do get pregnant again, I will continue to run just as I did before. As long as my body will let me. This is also good motivation to eat better too because I am carrying more weight on my body and that is another reason why my body hurts while running. All I have to do is just keep on running. That's it. Just keep doing it.

Oh and another cool thing, hubs knew I have been wanting the Garmin Forerunner 15 for awhile now and he got it to help me with my training! Can't wait to use it on Saturday morning!

QOTD: Have you ever had to restart your running? How long did it take for you to feel normal again?

November Week 1 Recap

HELLO to November! Here comes the hard part about this time of year. It is like a constant flow of sweets, treats and all the stuff we shouldn't eat, all begin with NOV 1. Left over Halloween candy, holiday parties and baby it gets cold outside, so lots of home baked goods! To say we haven't indulged a little would be a lie. I have cookie dough ready to make in the fridge now, make for a friend and freeze the rest. But this is also the time that we can counteract all the delicious treats with MORE EXERCISE! And More exercise I did! WAHOO!

This was my first week back at the gym and I took full advantage of that. And being the emotional postpartum mommy I am right now I cried when I took Collin and left him there for the first time. It was just weird to drop him off and leave him. It isn't like I hadn't done that with Matt but this is the first time I left Collin with someone other than family. It was just a little weird, but then I got over it and went and exercised. Only to be so happy to pick him up after my time was done. I am so happy to be back at the gym and I am enjoying it!

Collin update: Collin is in the beginning awkward stages of crawling. He has been doing the "worm" crawl all week but as of last night he is now moving a hand with a knee then falls over. He will be crawling before Thanksgiving. GET READY FAMILY Because he is going to be EVERYWHERE! He is just such a happy go lucky baby and I LOVE THAT!

Mason update: Mason is just Mason. He is showing a lot more affection towards his brother and makes sure to give him a "HAR-UM-MUAH" ever night (hug and kiss) He loves that there is candy in the house. He is only getting 2 pieces a day. (I say only) but he only asks for it in the morning. He is getting so big though. He also went to the dentist for the first time this past week and was a champ! He keeps talking about how he needs to go back to the Teeth Doctor. Good thing, he lets us now brush and FLOSS his teeth without it being a big fight. So for that I am thankful! I will be having surgery at the beginning of the year on my mouth sadly. French horn playing has taken a toll on my poor bottom gums and I will have to have a gum graft. Now on to find a good parodontitis. Not looking forward to that. 

Overall things have been great! My training is going well. I have been keeping track through RunKeeper. I have 130 days to get even better and more comfortable in my running before the 10 miler! 

Workout Recap: 
Sunday: Yoga Fix
Monday: 1.85 miles walk and run (1 mile run 14:30 min/mile .85 miles walk)- 30 min total; 1 mile on elliptical
Tuesday: 2.36 mile walk
Wednesday: PiYo Lower Fix 
Thursday: 3 miles walk and run (1 mile 14:00 min/mile - 2 mile walk) - 50 min total
Friday: rest
Saturday: 1.5 miles walk/run 1.25 mile - 1/4 mile cool down - 20:32 total for both making it a 13:41 min/mile (including cool down!) 

So I am getting better and pushing myself. My body is tired and I am starting to get sick. I can feel it. Nose stuffed and my patience fuse is a little low. It doesn't help that Collin is waking up nearly ever hour at night right now to feed. Gotta love the 6 month growth spurt! 

Total Mileage for run/walk: 8.71 miles. No wonder why my body was super tired on Friday! Mileage only goes up from here though! Not too bad for my first week back!

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

I found this online today and let me tell you! This is going to be going on up in our house tomorrow night! Yep! Not sure if I can find blood oranges but can't go wrong with navel oranges, right!

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/18518_grilled_lemon_orange_chicken_with_roasted_garlic_rosemary_brown_and_wild_rice/

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bulb garlic, end cut to expose the cloves
• EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
• 1 cup wild-and-brown rice blend, such as Whole Foods brand, or make your own blend from bulk bins at market (1 part wild rice to 4 parts brown rice)
• 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 cups chicken stock 
• 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, 3 stems, finely chopped 
• 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper* 
• Salt and pepper* 
• 1 small red onion, cut into 6 slices
• 3 4- to 6-inch skewers, soaked in water 
• 2 lemons, halved 
• 1 blood orange or navel orange, halved 
• Baby kale or arugula, a few handfuls to garnish 
•  

  PREPARATION

  Preheat oven to 400°F. Place garlic bulb on a piece of foil, drizzle with
  EVOO and wrap tightly. Roast 40 minutes or so until cloves are soft and
  light golden in color. Cool to handle then squish cloves from skins into a
  bowl and mash into a paste.
  Place 1 cup rice blend and 2 1/4 cups stock in a pot with 1 tablespoon
  olive oil. Whisk in garlic paste and add rosemary, salt and pepper.
  Bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer 30 minutes,
  stirring occasionally, turn off heat and let stand 10-15 minutes. Fluff
  with fork and add the pine nuts. If rice gets a little dry before it’s fully
  cooked, add another 1/4 cup stock.
  Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat or prepare an outdoor grill. 
  Slice the chicken breast thinly, working across the breast, into large
  medallions. Lightly pound to make the medallions thinner. Dress
  with about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with red pepper and liberally
  with salt and black pepper or use your favorite seasoning blend. Secure
  the onion slices on the bamboo skewers. 
  Grill the chicken about 2 minutes on each side and remove medallions
  to platter.  Grill onions until marked and tender, 7-8 minutes. Grill
  cut citrus until charred and well-marked, about 4 minutes. Douse the
  chicken with grilled citrus juices and let stand for about 15 minutes
  and up to 1 hour.
  Serve a bed of rice in shallow bowl and top with grilled onion rings
  and chicken medallions. Top with a few leaves of arugula or baby kale.      

- See more at: http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/18518_grilled_lemon_orange_chicken_with_roasted_garlic_rosemary_brown_and_wild_rice/#sthash.IGYXHfH8.dpuf

Morning Workouts! HA!

So I said a couple months ago that I was going to try to workout early in the morning. That hasn't really happened yet, but soon or later I am going to have to make that transition. Here are some ways to help get us to stop hitting the snooze button and get up and out the door!

1) Prep The Night Before- I already do this now. When I have my training group on Saturday mornings I put all my clothing out, including my socks so that I don't have to think about it in the morning. I can just get up, get dressed and get out the door.

2) Get A Morning Buddy- If you have a friend getting up at the same time as you, that you are going to meet, you are more likely to get up and get going! Or if you aren't meeting them send a message to them saying, "I'm up are you!" Make it a game. If you sleep in X amount of times you owe them a breakfast or something.

3) Don't start cold turkey!- Let's say you wake up at 7am everyday. Don't try to wake up at 4:30am tomorrow. Trust me, it won't happen! Try for 6:30am for a week or 2 to get used to it. And then go a little earlier gradually!

4) Make it a routine- And stick with it. Don't do this for one week then decide something else then try to go back. If you make this move you must stick to it!

5) Have a good reason to get up!- You need to have that motivation to get up or else you will hit snooze every morning. If this is the only time that you can go running out on the street before it gets too hot, or the kids wake up, do it! 

Be patient and give yourself time to adjust to your new schedule! And you too can be an early morning workout person!

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10 Miler Training Plan

I am in a local training group for my upcoming race, so a lot of the guess work for my training is already taken care of for me. I was given a handout with how many miles to run on X day and I'm golden. The training calls for weekly runs on Monday, Wednesdays and starting next week adding Thursday runs as well, then the long run with the group on Saturday mornings. Sounds easy.

My goals for the race though are I want to go into it strong. There are a lot of hills. That's Charlottesville for ya! So I am making sure to do strength training this time around. I did not do any strength training at all for the Princess half I trained for. Plus adding in yoga to keep me limber and stretched. ENTER PIYO! I am going to be doing a PiYo routine at least once a week to get the lower body strength training and stretching that I need. As you know buns, and core are my fav workouts in that series and I will be doing lower define too. Still debating on the rotation. Those workouts will be earlier in the week. As far away from the long run as possible!

For upper body strength I will be doing 21 day fix and possibly PiYo. But have thought about adding in P90X too. (mainly for core though)

I also want to increase my speed. That means less walking breaks and just a faster run in general. With previous trainings I ran around a 4.5 speed on the treadmill with walking between a 3.8-4.0. I avg to a 14:30 min/mile.

This time I want my running to be in the 5.0-5.5 range, and minimal walking breaks. The cool thing about my training group is that on Saturdays we will be running on parts of the actual course so my body will be used to the hills by race time. But I know I can do the 5.0-5.5 speed because I have done it before. I just have to find that groove and stick to it! Goal under 2 hours and 15 min  for the 10 miler. (I think that is realistic. I would love under 2 hours but I have to be honest and real!)

So weekly my training plan will look like this!