Halloween 2013

I know we are in November already but I wanted to show everyone our Halloween getup this year. AND this year is THE first year that I actually convinced my husband to "dress up." He hates to dress up but I guess the idea of just a hat was fine by him. I have got my foot in the door now so we shall see what I can talk him into for next year! Buwahahahhaha!!!

Oh, and apparently I look good in a super bright blue wig as my friends on FB keep telling me. What do you think? Should I go blue more often???

~Here is what my shirt looked like~

QOTD: What do you do with your kids Halloween candy? Do you eat it, throw it out, save it for bribing? I need ideas!

My Future Bling!

Run Disney Facebook just announced/showed the pictures of the new medals for the Princess Half Marathon, Enchanted 10k and the glass slipper challenge medal. Also the new Tink medals for the Disneyland race in Jan.

I am so excited to see that beautiful piece of hardware that in a few months will be swinging from my neck. Ok I know this is silly but I first got interested in running a Disney race because it was, well, Disney but I saw the Disney World Marathon Medal with Mickey on it and I WANT IT! Someday I will get that medal. But for now, I am a princess in training to get my royal princess medal!

~Here are the 3 medal you can get in the 2 days of races. Not doing the Glass slipper challenge this year. Kind of glad seeing how I will be near 30 weeks pregnant!~

Pick up training with a vengeance next week! I have been walking more but next week back to jogging, slowly. Then a week from tomorrow I will finally be able to begin the 10 miler training program. (Hubby had military duty last weekend and this weekend)

Oh, and I did find a race in NC for Thanksgiving day. They are offering an 8k and a 5k. I think I am going to do the 8k. Just trying to talk the hubby into doing it with me since he can speed walk as fast as I jog.

Happy Halloween 2013!

Today marks my favorite season of the year! I love Holiday season. I really love Halloween for that reason! I am in a constant change of decorations around my house from Oct-Dec. I LOVE IT! It makes the house just so different.

~This is Wanda's Wardrobe (I named her Wanda), a hanging quilt my mom made for me a few years back~

~Halloween 2008. I made this with the help of one of my student's mom.~

I love halloween because it is the one day that I can be whoever I want to be. No rules (well some rules, not reveling, modest costumes) Just an excuse to wear that crazy outfit you have in the back of your closet. Or wear PJ's out and about and no one will think less of you if you do. Or bring out your old Letterman jacket from High School. (Haven't done that one yet.)

~ Halloween 2009. No he is not dressing up as a soldier. He actually had to go to military drill right after an activity we went to.~

Today, I get a special treat! Pre-natal yoga to start with. Then I get to see my fabulous chiropractor. (Been needing an adjustment for a few days now). Then right after is my amazing monthly hour massage! I AM SO NEEDING IT. My low back has been hurting for about a week and look forward to a nice relaxing massage. Then go pick up the last of the halloween candy at the store, take the kid out trick-or-treating and then pass out candy for the rest of the night! Debating on following a couple of friends traditions and busing out Hocus Pocus tonight. (I LOVE THAT MOVIE!)

 ~Halloween 2010. Look at all the weight I LOST!~

~Mason in 2011. We were Arizona State Fans~ 

~Halloween 2012. Renaissance Princess and her little spider~

~Archer from about 7 years ago! Love his face, "Mom, you have got to be kidding me!"~

I hope you all have a wonderfully ghoulish Halloween today!

Water and Toys!

Loving the water today. It was so relaxing and just so, perfect. I have been having low back pain, so glad that tomorrow I see the chiropractor and my massage therapist. It just did a body good today! Side affect to exercise, I am exhausted afterwards. So thankful for Mommy quiet time in the house so that I can get some much needed sleep/rest.

On another note: Mason's Nabi tablet, a tablet designed for kids, decided to die on us the other day. It hadn't worked right for a few days prior to Monday. This tablet has been part of his mommy quiet time. I put him in his room and let him play his tablet or sleep. He gets to choose. He usually plays for 30-45 min then sleeps for 2.5 hours. I am truly blessed!

We called the company and told them what was going on it with and they are sending us a BRAND NEW ONE! I can not wait till we get that tablet back because the little guy has taken over my cell phone wanting to play his puzzles and games! We use that thing so often.  He loves it! I will play pandora's toddler music station and he can continue playing his games while getting to hear nursery rhymes, and I get to learn the words to those nursery rhymes. As he gets bigger we can do chore charts with points associated and it has learning sections to help him grow and learn, like math and science. That tablet is seriously an amazing thing to have!

QOTD: Do you let your kids play on your computer, phone or tablet?

Some Days

Are not like the other. I am coming to the end of my first trimester next week and I am hoping for some relief of some of the common pregnancy related symptoms. My morning sickness is almost all gone, all the time. YEA! But fatigue and now dizziness has been more of a annoyance.

Yesterday was bad with the dizziness. Anytime I get up I have to take a few seconds to right myself so I don't end up on the floor. I have to remind myself that I can not stand up as fast as I used to. I don't remember having the dizziness this badly with my 1st pregnancy. So this is something that I have to either just get used to or just be more careful with.

My gym solution. The treadmill and elliptical have been giving me motion sickness. Inside my gym there is an indoor track. I call it the gerbil wheel. It is a small little thing. 12 laps equal a mile. So that is what I am doing. Walking and moving with things moving as they should instead of me running in place and bobbing seems to work best. So for the time being now, I will be running around on the indoor track. Yea for gerbil wheel track!

Oh and here is a pretty neat site for natural homeopathic remedies for morning sickness that goes along with my picture.

QOTD: What exercise would you give up if you had to due to a sickness or pregnancy?


Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. Contact your doctor or medical professional for any medical questions you have, diagnosis or treatment. All information found and offered on my blog are of my own opinion. 

Monday, Monday

Mondays are the hardest day to work out, for me at least. Why? Who wants to work out after a nice long relaxing weekend? Even though I take one day off, Sundays, it still requires a swift kick in the butt to get me out the door and to the gym. I usually like to go later in the mornings on Mondays personally because there are the select few people that LOVE going to the gym on Mondays to work off all the stuff they ate or drank over the weekend. I am not that person.

My big problem, if I miss Monday, I tend to miss Tuesday too. EEK! NOT GOOD! Being pregnant, I need to exercise as often as I can until I can not. There will be that point again where my body just says, "REST!" As I had many a days in the first trimester that I just could not go. Point in fact, the week after I found out I was pregnant, I went to the gym 6 days. I felt great. They the next week, I was hit with violent morning sickness that things just set my tummy rolling. So now that I am approaching the 2nd trimester I should be going to the gym quite frequently as hopefully the morning sickness subsides and the all day long fatigue goes away too!

So here is to Mondays and getting my butt in the gym every week!

QOTD: What is your hardest day to get to the gym?

Pregnant In Running Shoes!

I HAVE BEEN WAITING NEARLY 2 MONTHS TO WRITE THIS POST!!! I am so excited to start this topic of exercise while pregnant. This is the reason why I have not been posting as much. All the posts I have wanted to write about have been about my pregnancy and running and I couldn't spill the beans until we passed a certain point. Yesterday was that point.

I am currently 11.5 weeks pregnant. Yesterday we had a doc appointment and we have been waiting to hear the heartbeat over the doppler and yesterday was that day. It took a good 5 minutes to find the heartbeat but the doc did and yeah I pretty much lost it in pure happiness. With the 2 previous miscarriages I have been a nervous wreck but was thankful everyday that everything was going ok.

So here is the thing. I have been running while pregnant. I ran my 4 miler before we even found out I was pregnant. We found out a week after actually. Continued to exercise and run as best as I could. All those posts about having a hard time and such, was because of morning sickness. It seems running on a stationary object while pregnant can make me very motion sick with the morning sickness. The elliptical has been the worst culprit to bring it on. More swaying. But I have persevered and have continued as best as I could.

2 weeks ago tomorrow was my 10k. I was 9.5 weeks pregnant. I told my doc at my 7 week appointment about the race and he ok'd it. He asked me to have a running partner for safety so that I was never running alone and to slow down a little on my pace. He said that I would naturally slow down anyways, which I have. That is why I was aiming for the hour and a half time. I pushed myself but not too much. I actually felt really great during the race. No cramping, no pain just really empowered and strong.

So a couple of things. My blog is going to follow me training for my half marathon in Feb. Yes, I am still planning on running in it. Yes, I will be 28.5 weeks pregnant. Just I will be doing run/walk more than what I was planning on. My doc has ok'd the half as long as no complications arise in the meantime. He is actually really proud of me for continuing to run. (He is a marathoner, and usually take 1 week a year vacation to run a race.) The other thing is that I hope to encourage you that if I can do this pregnant you can do this anytime. It is not easy. I am exhausted after exercising. I want to sleep for days, but on the flip side there have been so many positive reason why I HAVE to continue to exercise. One, I have LOST 8 lbs since we found out I was pregnant. 6 right in the beginning and 2 in the last 4 weeks. I am hoping to gain as few pounds as possible!

Anyhew please join me on my journey of pregnancy and exercise. Tell your friends all about me too! I am so excited to take this turn on my blog and can't wait to see what I learn.

QOTD: Did you or do you plan on exercising while pregnant?

Throwback Thursday: My first 5K

I never got a chance to write about my experience on my first 5k. So I thought I would do that today. And next week I can recap about my second one. Why not? Need to have it to remember when I am old and grey as proof that at one point I did in fact move my butt fast enough to run!

~Pre-Race Photo Op why my little man!~

June 1, 2014
4 The Wounded 5K- Charlottesville Research Park

Exactly 3 weeks prior to this date I had my second miscarriage. It was a hard miscarriage. I was 1 day shy of being 11 weeks. 2 days prior I had an ultrasound that confirmed that there was no baby or growth only a gestational sac. We were devastated. I was angry, hurt embarrassed and just plan broken. On top of that in the 11 weeks I was pregnant I gain aprox. 15 lbs. I was getting blood work done every 2 days from when we found out I was pregnant up until the ultrasound. Most days was bad news only a few were good news that my levels were going up. I stress ate. I didn't exercise. I sat on my butt and didn't want to hurt the pregnancy. My husband was also gone for military during the entire 6 weeks so it was just me, and Mace.

A little over a week later I decided I needed to get my butt in gear. Stop feeling sorry for myself. And get working out. We got a membership at a great gym near my house that offers 2.5 hours of daycare A DAY! I started walking, Taking classes, and just moving. As I would drive to the gym I kept seeing a sign advertising the 5k race coming up. I finally decided that I am going to do it. Even if I had to walk the whole thing. I didn't care. I was going to do it!

For the next 2 weeks I walked and exercised. I just wanted to finish the race standing upright.

Day of Race:
It was a warm sunny sunny morning. I knew a few friends were running in the race. Actually running. I knew I didn't even dare to get in the pack with them. I meandered to the back of the pack. Where all the "walkers" were hanging out. Saw some ladies with strollers. As we were straining to hear the announcer talk, I mentioned to a couple ladies next to me that this was my first 5k. I was up half the night before afraid I would get lost on the course. Or come in last. Or a ton of other things that would not of happened.

They invited me to walk with them as one of them was pushing her child in the stroller. (Mason was on the sidelines with a friend of mine while I did my thing. This is mommy's activity. No baby allowed!) One lady, Janet (same wonderful lady that did the 10k with me last week!) kept talking about this training program coming up and basically trying to convince me that I should sign up and do it. It was for the Women's 4 miler. She is a good salesperson!

~The Starting/finish line~

The whole race we just chatted. I told them what happened a few weeks prior and they were impressed and probably a little shocked that I was participating in a 5k so soon after such a loss. We did jog to the finish line and I crossed in 55 minutes. I was so proud of myself. I cried. Thanked them for not letting me get lost. And told Janet that I would probably see her at the training program. We parted ways and Janet is a really great friend of mine as we have now done all 4 races I have run in together. (well we have run in the same 4 races. 2 were actually running with me the other 2 were her kicking some major butt in the speed department!)

~Almost to the finish line! Upright and Smiling? CHECK!~

So there it is. My first 5k! It is what convinced me that I can actually do this. I questioned why I never did this before. It was amazing. It is only 3 miles. Anyone can walk 3 miles for goodness sake. Just start walking and add a little jog every now and then. There is an app that is From Couch to 5k that you can try. You can do this. It really is as easy as signing up, arriving and doing. If I can do it seriously, you can too! As you see from the pix I am not a skinny minnie like the 2 beautiful ladies next to me! Someday I will be smaller, and I am currently smaller, tone wise, than I was in June but for now I am me. I am running. I am doing it!

QOTD: Did you walk or run your very first race you participated in?

Fish Out Of Water....

But in the water! Hmmm. Trying to do some cross training now so that I am not running ALL THE TIME! Yes I have a half marathon to train for but my poor feet just need a rest every now and then.

I took a water exercise class today. It is so weird sometimes because I AM the youngest person in the class, without fail, every time I take it, and THE OLD LADIES ARE KICKING MY BUTT! They can kick higher, travel faster, and just move faster in that water than I can. I was focusing on running in the water during the "speed" section and it was a great little workout. But man, some of the things we did just killed my shoulders. It was fun. And every Wednesday these little old ladies are just going to have to get used to a youngster being in the midst and I am going to have to work a little harder to keep up with them!

Yoga tomorrow! Excited to stretch and relax!

QOTD: What are your favorite classes to take at your gym? 

source

Stress Remover!

I felt it today! While doing my 3 miles I actually felt the stress of this week just melt off my shoulders. I have a crazy crazy busy week this week, in some ways it is great, and in others I am super stressed but not anymore. I just let it lift from me and AHHH! I feel so much better now.

This week is packed with teaching in the afternoon, then straight to a gig tonight, making halloween costume tomorrow then straight to symphony rehearsal all evening. Thursday is yoga, hair appointment and our family pictures followed by our church's fall festival. Friday is my least busy day with only an appointment in the late afternoon.

Next week is dead compared to this week and honestly I don't remember the last time I was this busy! This means the week should fly by.

Happy healthy running!!!

QOTD: Does exercise help you relax?

3 Days

It took me 3 days to not be sore anymore from the race! Wow, I think that is a new personal record for me. I have still been doing light exercise to keep the lactic acid moving and not building up. My friend K is adamant that after the 1/2 marathon in Feb, no resting just go straight to the park and walk, walk, walk. I'm a little nervous about that but I do know that moving is best. That and a hot tub would be really good too.

Now on to just taking it easy and in a week from Sat the 10 miler training program will commence. And a new running schedule will begin!

(on a side note, as I am writing this Mason is pushing his truck as fast as he can and when he hits the carpet he is doing barrel rolls and laughing up a storm, then does it again. He is having way too much fun. Oh to have that kind of energy!)

QOTD: Are you participating in the 10 miler training program?

My first 10k

WOW! I can't believe that I actually did it AND survived. To be honest, I felt totally unprepared for this race because I felt like I had barely run in the last 2 weeks. I did more walking than running. But amazing thing is, I came in at my goal. I wanted to do it in 1 hour 30 min and I did. My average pace was 14:40. My splits were pretty good too. The last 2 miles (mile and a half) were faster than some of the earlier miles. My first mile was the fastest at a 12 min mile!

Here were my splits thanks to the RunKeeper App on my phone:
Mile 1- 12:08- HOLY FAST!
Mile 2- 14:38
Mile 3- 15:13
Mile 4- 13:46
Mile 5- 15:22 (HUGE HILL! Knew I was going to walk up it at the beginning)
Mile 6- 13:03 (Can't believe that I am faster at the end)
Mile 7- 13:15

Couple of things. I had an escort with me. I had 2 running buddies who stayed with me the whole time! AWESOME! They encouraged me to keep pushing, when to slow down a bit, when I was pushing myself really well, when to take my jelly beans for energy, my form. Everything they took care of me.

Also we had a police escort for half of the course. We were the tail end of the 10k, which I knew we would be but didn't think I would get a police escort. While we were on the beautiful river walk area one of the police men blasted religious music for us. It was quite entertaining running to an amazing soprano belting our her love for Jesus. One of the cops almost biffed it when trying to pass us on the grass and coming back on the trail skidded on some mud. He asked later if he splattered us with mud and felt bad. He didn't but it was nice to ask. Sometimes they tailed us, when we got back on the road they did the race to the next intersection till we passed them bit. Funeral procession is what I called it since we were going at such a leisurely pace.

It was a fun race. A beautiful course. The river was swollen with all the rain that we received over the last week. Some of the leaves changed so we got to see some beautiful fall foliage. And to top it off, I got my first medal! I had only received a t-shirt and yesterday I got a medal. I felt super special!

Thank you Jen and Janet for running with me! You guys are awesome!

QOTD: Do you like doing fall runs to see the fall foliage?

Apple Picking

Today we are trying something new in our neck of the woods. We are going to visit our local apple picking orchard, Carter's Mountain. I have been asking Matt for years to go and visit and we just haven't. Yesterday he asked what are we going to do for today. I said I had some errands I had to take care of. He had a brilliant idea of, why not go apple picking?

HE is so smart! That sounds great to me. Funny thing. We are actually going to be there next week for our family pictures. So we are going to check out the place today and have fun and that way we can focus next week on taking pictures and trying to get THE PERFECT PICTURE!

Super excited for today and apple picking. Great non stress, no exercise, rest day activity to help me rest for tomorrows big race! Pictures to come later!

QOTD: Do you visit your local orchards to pick fresh fruit?

Something New

(source) 

I tried something new yesterday! I tried yoga. I have never done a class setting. Only by DVD. Thought I would give it a shot. It was actually really cool and I guess the DVD's did help me a little. I knew the names for most of the poses already and was able to hold most of them. It was a beginning super easy class. And to top it off.. I was the only one in there. I guess the cold rain kept everyone away from the class and I got an hours worth of personal instruction from the teacher. It was really neat!

I did the class to help me stretch a bit before Sundays run. I am feeling more relaxed and stretched and ready for the run. It is going to be a COLD morning and possibly rainy still. Looking forward to it.

QOTD: Any advice for cold rainy runs? 

Burnout?!?

Seriously! Already! It has been a hard 6 weeks for me. I miss the motivation I got by going every week to the women's 4 miler training program. I had set goals. I had to meet said goals to accomplish what I wanted to do. Currently, I have been my own trainer. I set myself to run 2 days a week and Saturdays are my long runs. Saturdays are going well, and I generally do the 2 day runs a week but the other 3 days of cross training, not so much.

So how do we get out of a rut? I just read an article here that I felt answered a lot of my questions and actually defined what I was going through. Yesterday I just thought I was getting lazy, today after reading the article, I AM BURNED OUT! I need something new. I know I have races coming up but I need that drive, push and motivation I felt with the 4 miler to get me going!

Sunday is my 10k. This past Saturday I did 6.5 miles out on the road with a friend. I did really well as that was my first time EVER doing that distance. So I know I will be fine on Sunday for the race. I just want to stay under 15 min/mile. That is my goal. Actually I want to finish the race upright but would like to be under 15 min/mile.

In a few short weeks I will begin my new training program for the C-ville 10 miler. I am excited for that and I think it will give me the drive and push I am missing.

I am going to try an incorporate some of the items in the article above to help get me going again. We all go through these times. It is ok. We just need to change our game plan a little to keep it fresh and new.

Thanks for hanging in there and still reading my blog!

QOTD: How do you stay motivated? 

October? ALREADY!?!

I can not believe that we are already into October. It is by far one of my favorite months of the year. The cooler, crisper air. The leaves changing. Apple picking season. And the jumpstart to the holiday season. I LOVE OCTOBER. In AZ, where I grew up I loved it when the nights were getting colder when I opted to keep my marching band coat on instead of nicely folding it inside out and stashing it somewhere on the stands. (Yes I am a band geek, don't judge!) Being in VA we get the wonderful season of the things I mentioned above. Today for the first time in the 6 years we have lived in this state we are going to the State Fair. Super excited.

Another great thing about October. Pretty much across the country it is getting cool enough to run outside, almost any time during the day. All my AZ buddies are super excited to get out of the gym and out on the streets pounding the pavement. Last Saturday I went on a very early morning run out on the street with a good friend. It was chilly, but so much fun running in the early morning watching the sunrise over the beautiful are we were in. This Saturday we are starting WAYYYYYY earlier, 5:30am, and doing a beautiful 6.5 miles. I am thankful for the people in my life that support my running and I am so glad to help support them too.

If you are in the C-ville area and want to join us, send me a email or msg me and I will certainly pass on the details. We are doing a nice slow steady pace so don't worry we won't leave you in the dust.

QOTD: What is your favorite fall activity?

Training Programs

~Me with 2 of my running buddies and Sarge. T (rainbow skirt) one of the pink ladies in the Women's 4 Miler Training Program~

I am so excited to begin my next training program. It gives me the drive and push to actually run, and to run during the week. I have fallen off the wagon a little this past month. I didn't run at all this past week but I was taken it easy. I did do 3 miles today out on the road with a friend and it went fairly well (especially for slacking this past week.) But there are going to be weeks where we don't run all that much, and weeks that we just kill it! It is OK! The point is to KEEP ON RUNNING! 

Ok back to topic, training programs. The Women's 4 miler training program was awesome. Had running buddies every Saturday morning. We all suffered through the heat and humidity together and got through it. 

In about a month from now is my next training program for the 10 miler. I am excited but slightly nervous as it is going to be frigid in the morning runs. (it was fairly cool this morning too and I was shivering until my body warmed up at about mile 1.) 

Look for a training program or group near you. They help you with your form, keep you motivated and just help encourage you to keep on moving. Do not worry if you can't run very well. Most TP will will have different running groups. The super speedy Gonzales' and even the groups where people are just getting back into running or learning to run for the first time. 

If you can't find one, make one with you and some other friends that have wanted to go running, or would like to go running but just don't know where to run or where to start. Be the leader. It really does make the time go by nice and fast too! 

Just the key to running, keep on moving! You can do this!

QOTD: Have you been part of a track club or training program?

Premieres All Around

Off normal exercise topic and this topic is what can lead to much inactivity in a week...you have been warned!

I LOVE THIS SEASON where all of my favorite show come back and I can get back into my regular TV viewing schedule. I know, this is putting me in front of the TV on my extremely comfortable couch but come on you know you have 1 or 2 shows that you love and are totally looking forward to their return. Shows that I am looking forward to the most:

Bones
Revolution
Once Upon A Time and OUAT Wonderland
Glee
Nashville
Totally enjoying Sleepy Hallow too!
Vampire Diaries (Oct)
Originals (really looking forward to this too! Oct.)

I Hulu everything since we don't have cable in our house so my viewing is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during "mommy quiet time". (best thing ever. Lock the kid in the room with his tablet and he will play for awhile then nap for another while. It is amazing! He loves it, I need it, BEST THING EVER!)

My goal is to exercise first in the day then rest and relax watching my favorite shows. So excited for all the new season!

QOTD: Has your favorite show returned this season? 

Picture borrowed from Once Upon A Time Facebook Page. Visit hyperlink on picture to visit the ABC Website for the show.

SAHM In Home Exercise- DVD's

I'm a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM). And there are just some days that I can not make it to the gym. So what is a Mommy to do??? I would love to just sit down and watch TV all day and eat bon-bons but my bum bum would grow to outrageous proportions! Thankfully, I have an energetic little guy around to keep my butt in gear and getting me moving around the house. So here are things I try to do if I just can't make it to the gym.

1. Clean house- I do a top to bottom clean of my house. I have 3 levels if you include my basement which is a very, very large area to vacuum. So I pick up all the toys, clothes and whatever will accumulate around the house and then just vacuum away (chasing and playing with Mason the whole time too). Normal weeks where I do go to the gym, I try to clean one room a day so this is definitely different for me.

2. Chase my kid- around said clean house. Now that there are no obstacles for him or me for that matter, to trip over we run, spin, or push him in his car. Lots of giggling will ensue!

3. Hike the stairs- over and over and over and over! 3 levels means lots of stairs. I try to avoid the stairs, stay in one level if I can because it is a lot of stairs, but nope Mace and I will go up and down as much as possible on no gym days.

4. Take a Hike- go for a walk. The dog and the kids will love it.

5. Pop in a video- AN EXERCISE VIDEO, not the 6 hours long BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. ( I do like to watch this often but maybe after an actual gym day or else I might not do anything else!) There are plenty of exercise videos out there. I know you have at least 1. Most moms or women have at least 1. Try it out. Push yourself. You can do it! **Hulu and Amazon have them on their sites too!**

Couple of things, look how many things I am doing with my son that day. I am the one wearing him out. He loves to go to the gym day care because all he does is play and play and it is good for him to socialize with other people. Some days it is just fun to just go crazy with him. Then after all the crazy time we "try" (meaning me mostly) to pick up the toys and "try" (like totally not working most days) teach him to keep the house clean.

So next time you just can't make it have some fun in your own home! Go on I dare you!

QOTD: What is your favorite activity to do at home to work out?

I Can Do IT!

~Cute pix of Mason playing in the rain this evening! AZ baby at heart!~

I am doing it! I ran 5.5 miles today, again on the treadmill. I ran a comfy 15 min mile. Well actually I did more walking today than running but I am keeping my walking at a faster pace. I am currently in the process of getting a more comfortable cruising speed for running. It is hard but it is totally worth it.

I have now lost 8 lbs from my heaviest in the last 2 months. I have lost an inch from my waist, tummy and hips. My thighs are more toned with less "stuff" on them that I have been trying to get off since I had Mace 2 years ago.

I have more energy most of the day, I do crash a little later in the day but that is ok. I feel better overall. I am recovering faster after my runs and I AM DOING IT!

~Me after my 5.5 miles. Sorry for the bad lighting but I AM STILL SMILING!~

Forget About It

Great thing I have finally found with exercise is that I can drop all the things that are weighing heavily on my mind and just focus on what I want to accomplish that day during my run or exercise of choice.

I have never truly been able to experience this freeing feeling before where I just forget about all the stuff that just bog me down. And have actually been able to solve some of the problems through clearer thinking.

I am so excited for this new experience I am having with my exercise to help me have a healthier body and state of mind!

QOTD: Do you leave everything at the door of the gym?

Feeling The Burn!

OOOO! Don't you just love it when you feel the burn in your muscles that tells you that you are working, and working it hard! Firing up your muscles! I LOVE IT! That is the point I know that if I push just a little longer it will make me stronger! I felt it today with my run as I upped the speed on the treadmill for my run. So when I was running, I was running faster than usual and forced myself to just go a little farther.

Burn is different than hurt! Don't hurt yourselves but it is ok to get a little burn going. So excited that my training is going well and that I am still running even after the 4 miler. I have new goals and will keep going!

Speaking of being on FIRE, GO SUN DEVILS (my alma matter) on their win this past weekend!

QOTD: When you weight train do you feel the burn there too? 

Rest Day

So Sundays are my rest day. No blogging, no exercising, just rest and relaxation (after church and after the kid goes down for a nap of course.) Today things have been a little crazy with visiting with friends and grocery shopping. My body feels fine after my run last Saturday, but it is just...tired. It feels tired. I am happy that I don't hurt, or too stiff, or anything but my body definitely noticed the upgrade in mileage this past week. So I will still keep up the mileage but I decided to take an extra rest day today. (Nap time for the kid and then I have a full schedule of teaching this afternoon.)

So here is to rest day for me and to keep on going! Tomorrow is 4.25 miles run. I'm loving it!

QOTD: Do you let your body rest an extra day when it needs it?

5 Miles

My first 5 miles post baby! YEA ME! I took it really easy so that I didn't overdo it at all. I am still doing a walk/run style of training which is great for me! Today though I increased the amount of running time compared to walking time. My goal was just to do a nice steady 15 min/mile pace which is what I did. I actually went just a hair faster than that due to the warm up which was nice and slow and I took the whole 5 min for that. At the end of the 5 miles I continued to do a long cool down giving me a total of 5.5 miles walked/ran. I normally don't include my warmup and cool down in the timing but since I new I was going to be on the machine for a long time I included the warm up and did the cool down as extra.

Findings for running my first 5 miles in 3 years:

IT IS A LONG TIME TO SPEND ON A TREADMILL! Even doing it in just an hour is still a long time. Today was a nice day out too and I should have run outside but I didn't and opted for indoors. At least I knew exact mileage though and I could time myself on the walk/run intervals.

Find a good show or have good music! Thankfully the machine I used had a TV and I could watch the food network, but I downloaded Pandora on my phone for next time just in case.

Use the bathroom. It is a long time on the machine or out and about.

Need more energy. Time to start using gel things or energy beans to keep me boosted up on energy. I got super tired and just felt like I was limping in my energy at about 4.25 miles.

Listen to your body. I realized that my breathing is amazing, now! I had a steady breathing pattern. I was taking full breaths not short little spurts that I used to. I would have been able to run and talk. I finally didn't sound like I was dying. I sounded like a runner. My thighs were burning which is great! They were really working it. NO SHIN SPLINTS OR CALF CRAMPS AT ALL!

I am so proud of my mind and body for doing what I asked it to do today. 5 miles is a long time, but every Saturday it just keeps going up by 1/2 a mile for the next few weeks in preparation for the 10k coming up. And honestly today I thought, "ok next week I am running 5.5 miles and the 10k is only 1.2 miles more, I CAN TOTALLY DO THIS! It isn't that much further!!!" And I felt like I was in a good groove and pace and one that I could sustain longer. Would I like to be fast, heck yes! But, I want to be injury free and cross every finish line with a smile on my face and as I proved with my 4 miler, I will get faster. This was just my starting point!

Total walk/run mileage this week alone: 16.4 miles!
Elliptical mileage: 11.75 miles
Spin Class: 21.4 miles

My legs have done a lot this week! 6 days out of 6 days! GO ME!

QOTD: Do you prefer indoor or outdoor long runs?

Needs Improvement

My needs improvement this week is to stretch much better than I usually do. Honestly, I admit it that I don't stretch as much as I should. I am usually pouring sweat and just want to get home and relax and take a shower. So I just rush through what is probably the most important part of the workout.

Yesterday after my second cycling class, we did awesome stretching. I felt my hamstrings actually loosen up while stretching and relax just a little more than they usually do. And because of the stretch yesterday, my thighs do no hurt today, which I was anticipating they would because of all the "hill" intervals we did and the amount of burn I felt during the workout. Today they felt strong, supportive and great which in turn made my short 2 mile run strong and it just felt great!

After my run today, I took the time to stretch, stretch and stretch some more. I have my long run tomorrow so I want to be nice and relaxed for that! If you couldn't tell, I am a little excited about my long run, because the last time I ran 5 miles straight was 3 years ago, but 3 years ago I did run it straight, currently, I still walk run but still power through it. This week has been a really great workout week for me! I did cross training instead of just running and I went everyday. I haven't done that in a while. I am super proud of what I have accomplished this week! Come back tomorrow for my highlights on my long run!

QOTD: What is your favorite cool down stretch? 
~Mine is the threading the needle where you are lying on your back and place one ankle on the opposite knee and grab the straight leg and it stretches the bent leg! LOVE IT!

Second Timer

Today I completed my second spinning class. Second class was not as hard as the first. It was much better. But don't get me wrong, THE CLASS IS HARD! Today we had a sub and SHE LOVES HER HILLS! It felt like ever song was a hill and almost was. BUT I really, really, really like this class! Thankfully my butt doesn't hurt as much and I still took it easier than some of the ladies in the class. Like the lady next to me, SHE IS A SUPER WOMAN! She was insane and amazing! One day I will be like her. Just getting warmed up!

Enjoying my cross training days! Tomorrow I run. Saturday I run. Saturday is my long run for the week and looking forward to seeing how well I will do with it. My first 5 miles in 3 years. EXCITED! Yes. NERVOUS? Yes!

QOTD: Have you tried a spinning class? Do you like the standing portion or sitting more?

It's The Little Things...

That are amazing in my life!

~Thankful for my little guy who keeps me on my toes but sure does give an amazing BIG hug when I need it most.

~Thankful for my body and health that it is strong and is working so well for me and with me to be able to run and exercise.

~Thankful for the friends that I have found to help encourage me to try harder and push myself because they know I CAN!

~Thankful for my studio and students who put their faith and trust in me to teach them music! I LOVE MY JOB! I love teaching music because it helps my students learn and think in a whole new way and I love seeing it "click" when they just get what I am teaching them!

~Thankful for my husband who has and always will support me in every way possible.

I feel so blessed today and just wanted to share!

Ch-Ch-Changes

It is amazing the changes out bodies go through when we exercise. But how much our mind set changes is pretty amazing too. As a stay at home mom most of my energy in each day goes towards my son or household. Finding activities for him to do to keep him happy. Chase him around the house. Teach him a new song, or read a book to him. Keeping the house clean. Making food for everyone. And it goes on and on. Too many times moms focus on everyone else and not themselves. I used to watch that show, What Not To Wear, and more often than not it was a mom who took care of everyone else. Finally they were taking care of themselves and felt so happy and vowed to continue when they got home. Not sure if they made the full change, but decide today that you are going to make changes.

It is ok if the house is messy. My goal is to keep the main floor clean incase unexpected guests arrive or for when I teach. I usually do a big cleaning day, or a laundry day, but never on the same day. Too much with everything else I have to do.

But now, everyday, I take a little time for myself. I love my gym because it offers 2.5 hours of daycare a day. I could go and do my workout and read and eat in the cafe after I work out if I really wanted to, (I don't to save money but still I could if I want to.)

Decide to take just a little time for you today. Have quiet time. Read a book, pop in your fav workout DVD. Go to the GYM. Follow a new workout on Hulu (there are tons!). Stretch. Do something and you WILL NOT REGRET IT!

Back Into The Swing Of Things

Last week was my "post race week." Which I have read from other runners that it is really hard to get back into the swing of things once you complete something you have been training for for awhile. Yep, last week was that week!

It was my first week back at my gym in nearly 2 weeks. My body still hurt/was being mean and didn't want to work right. But I still did what I set out to do which was do some running and a little something different.

This week is a new beast. No excuses this week. I am getting back to it. Going regularly to the gym will be the best decision I will make! I need to decide, commit, and succeed now because I am in full training mode again! So today cross training like mad. 1 hour on elliptical, (giving my ankle a little rest from Sat) and then walk on the treadmill for I don't know 30 min at least. I do get 2.5 hours of daycare at the gym so we will see what happens. I am trying to figure out my new running schedule now that I have added in that spin class. Normally I run Tuesdays and Thursdays but the spin class is on Thursdays and I don't think I can run after the spin class, I shouldn't be able to. So any advice? Saturday is going to be my long run of 4.5 miles. Goal this week is to be able to run 1.5 or more without stopping. I need to push past that point to be able to just run for longer periods of time.

So here is to a new week of training!!!

QOTD: What is your favorite cross training activity?

"I Just Wanna Run"

"I just wanna run" song by The Downtown Fiction. Check it out.

Some days are just hard to stay motivated to exercise. My body is just naturally lazy and it takes a lot of effort and pre-planning to go to the gym at a specific time. But I try to plan it out and I tend to go. So here are some tips on staying motivated or helping us get a little more out of our exercise:

1. Set a goal: Sign up for a race. It is that easy! Pick a race and sign up. If you think you can't, you CAN. 5k's are not hard. You can walk it if you want. They are just easy, fun and you will love the excitement.

2. Schedule a time to exercise: Yep! We schedule everything else in life we need to schedule this too. And stick to the schedule. You will never regret exercising. You will feel that much better

3. Sign up for a class: Classes help motivate you to push a little harder because that old lady in the back is KICKING YOUR BUTT! She is outlasting you and well, you will push yourself a little harder. That is just how it works!

4. Do know good times to go to they gym: Day after a holiday are bad days to go to the gym during busy times. THE GYM WILL BE PACKED! Everyone wants to burn off all the food they ate the day before. 11-12 or 1-3 are best times to go usually.

5. Find a friend: Go workout with a buddy or make friends at your gym. Get your name out there. Don't be shy since you are wearing workout clothing and about to sweat in front of them anyways, make some friends. Have something to look forward to seeing. So if you are a chatty Kathy, make a friend. Makes workouts fly by!

6. Have someone chase you, or sweep you: "I don't have to run faster than the T-Rex, as long as I run faster than you, I am good." Like the picture above, sometimes we tend to do better if we are being chased. Again it pushes us just a little harder. There are Zombie runs coming up soon, since Halloween is next month. Fun race to run in, I have heard. A zombie will chase you for your "life". Puts a little extra pep in your step I would have to say.

7. Sign up for a training group or a local track club: I am so lucky. My city has both. Training groups for the "big" races of the year and a track club for year round. They are fun! I loved the Women's 4 miler training program and met a ton of AMAZING WOMEN! And I am excited for the 10 miler training program. I know it will be totally different, but It is all about the experience and joining with people who love to do what you are doing.

8. Have support: My husband is so supportive. He watches my son for me so I can go run. He is at my races, cheering me one (when not chasing after my son) We talk about what I accomplish at the end of each day from my exercise that I did. He is engaged in my activity and fully supports it. Get a friend or a parent or whomever, just find support!

9. Be proud of yourself: Even if you couldn't do 3 miles and you only did 2. YOU STILL DID 2 MILES! That is more than you did a year ago probably. Be excited when you try and succeed! Clap your hands when you run a mile and at each mile. CELEBRATE THE SMALL VICTORIES! Because it is a VICTORY when you do something amazing!

10. HAVE FUN: In the beginning the goal for exercise and running is to lose weight or get more healthy or whatever your individual reason is. BUT you have to have fun with it. If you push too hard and just force yourself to do it cause you have to, you won't continue. It has to be something you enjoy and have fun with. Don't push too hard that you cause an injury because then you won't be able to exercise. Start small. And work up to more milage. only 10% at a time. Don't do 1 mile on your first day of running and the next day expect to run 5 miles. UM NO! Even people coming back from a long break from running take a little time building back up. Let your body adjust and you will feel accomplished and happy with that you do and will have had FUN and want to do it again!

Hope these tips help to motivate you and we will all continue to run!

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So Young...

Yesterday was my 11th wedding anniversary. I changed my profile picture on Facebook to be the picture at the top of this post. Man, I look at this picture and think I look so young. Not as many little lines on my face, my skin is AMAZING, and nearly freckle free, (unless you get up close and personal.) But I look so...young. I was 20 when we got married so I was young. I was also about 40 lbs lighter than I am now. (I honestly didn't know my weight because I found someone who loved me for me and didn't care) 

After this point is when I started to gain weight. I was happy to be cooking for my husband! I was so happy to be married and I thought, we would get pregnant right away and I would lose the weight anyways once I started breast feeding like my sister in law did. HA! It took us 8 years to get pregnant and many, many more pounds. I gained nearly 60 lbs from when I got married, lost them, then got pregnant. 

Anyhew, back to the picture. I might have been skinnier but I am in far better shape now than I ever have been. I have accomplished more athletically in the past couple of months than I ever have in my life. I am so happy with my life. I still have the wonderful man I married, who still loves me and loves me more than that day. I have a beautiful son who was worth every minute of the wait. I have learned to push myself and accomplish what I thought many years ago were impossible for me to try. I AM PROUD TO BE ME! 

QOTD: What have you learned the most about yourself in the past decade? I have finally learned self respect and confidence. 

Something New

First of all today is my 11 wedding anniversary! YEA FOR US! Over a decade and still going strong! Tonight is a shopping at Dick's Sporting goods for new workout clothing, Afghan food, and Melting pot for dessert! (all those calories I burned today were well worth it for tonight!)

Second, I tried something new today, (oh and I am wearing something blue today, borrowing make-up from Bobbi Brown getting a makeover, and wearing old sandals. So we are covered in all the fun wedding departments even though I am not a bride!) The something new today was my very first SPIN Class! I have wanted to try one since May, but had to wait for body to heal from miscarriage and today I finally got up the courage to do it!

Oh man my assets are sore! My butt and other areas hurt the whole hour and my arches in my foot hurt too when we do the standing and riding. But man, the class was fun. I really enjoyed it. I was pouring sweat down my face! It was a challenging class. I didn't do as high intensity as the lady was calling but I was trying out the class and I will build up my endurance for it the more I do it. By the end of the class the reader said I rode 23 miles! CRAZY!

So every Thursday at 9:15 I am going to try and be in that class!

QOTD: What is your fav thing about a spin class?

Totally Different

2 years ago I had this little guy! (Isn't he cute!!!) He changed my life. Everyday activities are totally different than they used to be. Before Mason I was exercising a ton. Up to 2 hours a day. I would run/walk for an hour and then come back at night and use the elliptical. Before I had him I lost 30+ lbs. Got down to below 200, which was really amazing to me since I hadn't been below that weight since I was first married. Once I got pregnant I didn't want to lose him so I only walked through pregnancy. 2-3 times a week. At least I walked.

Once I had him, it was just me. My husband was deployed and I was in survival mode 24/7 with a brand new baby and just me. So no one to watch him so I could go to the gym. I would occasionally do Zumba but he would wake up to the music (he loves music, since he heard it everyday while I was pregnant since I was teaching and playing in the symphony). So I really didn't exercise.

Fast forward to today. I'm a SAHM who teaches piano a few days a week. I play and chase after him. Try to teach him to be nice and say, "please" and "thank you". After a heartbreaking miscarriage at 11 weeks and adding 15 lbs to my waistline while still trying to lose the last 15 from Mason I decided to get my butt back in shape.

But things are TOTALLY DIFFERENT! Remember how I said I used to go back to the gym at night to do another hour on the elliptical. Well, apparently my body doesn't like that anymore. Went to the gym last night at 9pm. (We ate dinner around 5:30 maybe 6 at the latest.) I thought going later to the gym would be fine. I allowed plenty of time for food to digest. NOT!!! Totally not cool going to the gym and doing 3.5 miles. My tummy jolted all around and man I almost puked. My only goal was to FINISH so I could go home and rest or puke if I really had to. (Never puked but the rest was nice.)

Since having Mason, by body is totally different. It runs differently, (hips are still a little wide from having him) It feels different. It is bigger than before but I AM working on that. It is just like having to learn how to run all over again! But man LESSON LEARNED. Light meals before running then eating after run. And next time I do get pregnant...I AM GOING TO RUN!

QOTD: Do you prefer morning, midday or night running? Me: Morning! Just get it done and then I have the rest of the day to play with my little man!

My New Battle Plan

I am not a fast runner. My cousin, as you read yesterday, is. I am not.

My new battle plan for training for my 10k is to run as much as I can. I keep thinking back at how I did this past Saturday. I finished and I am so happy but I know I walked more than I wanted to. And that is what is making me want to try harder. So back to the gym I go and to start increasing my milage but also how long/far I can run without stopping. I have made it to 1.75 miles without stopping and that was hard for me. I pushed myself very hard but I made it my goal that day which was to make it to the bottom of the hill at the fields. I didn't actually know how far it was to that point but when I reached my goal my GPS said 1.75. So now to get comfy running that long.

My goal today: 1.5 miles out of 3 to be ran straight on treadmill as it is GYM day!

QOTD: Do you make little goals for yourself to get you through a workout?

In Awe!

This past weekend was the Disneyland Dumbo Double Dare extravaganza! Consisted of running a 10k (6.2 miles) and a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) all in 2 days! I knew a couple fellow bloggers who were running in it, Heather being the main runner I follow since she does a ton of Disney races. But also my cousin Jake ran in it too! He is AMAZING! He has been running for years. He is a fire fighter in Arizona now. He is an amazing husband and father too! Here is what his wife had to say about him on Facebook:

 My stud of a husband ran a 10k Saturday in 50 mins, after 12 hours at Disney park all day Friday, then stayed 15 hours in the park again Saturday, then ran a 1:46 half marathon this morning on 3 hours of sleep. Needless to say he could run circles around me for days. Prayers to him now though it did catch up to him...he's sick and dehydrated at the hotel resting. This vacation, though stressful and HOT, makes me stand back and stop to SEE what I have, and what I've been blessed with. Complainng has no merit!

Seriously?!? That is so amazing to me to be able to run that far and that fast and still survive and cross the finish line! HE is awesome! Granted his body, and I am sure plenty of other people, are feeling the affects of this weekends races plus walking around an amusement park all day long. Good luck! 

My personal goals are to finish with no injuries, upright and with a smile on my face when I run any race let alone 19.3 miles but I am sure after that amount of distance that I will be pretty tired too! (2015 I want to do the Glass slipper challenge at WDW which is a 10k plus the princess 1/2)

This past weekend has given me more motivation to work harder and I know that my half marathon is just around the corner. Lots and lots of training ahead for me and I am so EXCITED! And that is how this whole experience should be, EXCITING!!!

P.S. I didn't give props to my cousin, Holly, (the wife of Jake). She is awesome too! 2012 she ran the Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland and the Princess 1/2 Marathon at Disney World and snagged a Disney Coast to Coast medal too! She is quite the supportive running wife!

QOTD: Do you have a dream race you want to run someday?

Rest Day

Today, day after race day which happens to also be a Sunday, is my rest day. Day to relax and just, ahhhh do nothing that involves high exertion!  No running or exercising. Besides chasing kids at church and Mason at home. Today I nap or watch a movie/TV show or just read. So happy resting to all the runners today except for those in the Disneyland Half Marathon that takes place today! GOOD LUCK to my family and friends running!

QOTD: Which day is your exercise rest day?

Race Is Finished!

The women's 4 miler was AMAZING! There were so many women there running it was such a neat experience to be apart of. I have learned how to weave and bob through women like a pro! I did really well but looking back I probably should have pushed just a little bit harder. But the humidity and "soup" like conditions were not favorable for me! It zaps my energy and makes it hard to breath easily. I just feel like every breath takes so much just to fill up. I cough a ton after those kinds of conditions later in the day too! Anyhew, my legs don't hurt, my feet do because they got wet before we started running. I will say this, I love my run keeper app on my phone because it has been keeping track of my running time. This month alone I went from a 14:30 min mile to 13:30 min mile. So I am getting better and I love seeing the results of all my hard work!

~Foggy, humid morning~

It was fun a lot of my friends were on the other side of the street running back to the finish line before my second turn around yelling my name as we passed. They are all such amazingly fast runner! And are my inspiration to keep no moving my feet!

The last mile of the race is considered motivational mile which has posters lining the road of cancer survivors or for those who have passed. Sadly the last mile I get tunnel vision to FINISH THE RACE and just get in that zone to get back. But before the we had to line up and we were lined up right in the motivational mile. It was really neat to see who we were running for and for the great cause we were running for. (How do you like my pink top?)

Excited to run again next year! This is only the beginning! Oh and one thing. I did get a little too much sun, just slightly pink but man my freckles are so dark after today! I will get a pix of my amazingly awesome racer back freckle line, I mean tan line! :)

 ~Running buddies and Sarg T (Rainbow skirt) who keeps us moving! and Pacing group lineup! A SEA of Women!~~

QOTD: What is your favorite post race activity? Mine is napping!