Oh where to begin? I am warning you in advance this will be a long post, but I promise it will be entertaining.
So yesterday was Kerry's 40th birthday party in Seattle. The plan was for me to drive to Jaime and Kerry's house, ride up to the game with them in their car and then I would be the designated driver on the way home. That way I wouldn't drink more than I wanted to and the girls could let loose and enjoy the night. I left my house, running a little late already, got 5 minutes down the road and realized that my new insurance card was still sitting on the counter in the kitchen. I got a ticket for that last year so I turned around and got it (thank goodness) even though that made me even later. And for the record high heels, a clutch and stop and go traffic are a terrible combination. I should have driven over there barefoot! Sorry Kerry for being late!!!!
The Storm game was fun- we got to be up in a suite with our own food buffet and beverage station. I had smuggled in (shh don't tell anyone) a couple of small bottles of rum so I could make rum and cokes. It was fun to see some friends I hadn't seen for a while and our team won the game. Next we all decided to head to a little pub down the street. We hung out there for quite a while- our group managed to rack up around $250 worth of a bill. And the food total was probably $30!!!! I had one beer when we first arrived and then switched to water. I also took a shot from a round of buttery nipples Gene ordered (which was delicious by the way). I was happy to pass on the round of Washington Apple shots- no thank you!
By 12:30am everyone was pretty wasted and ready to head home. I was driving (of course) and as we head to I-5 south at the last moment the entire freeway entrance is blocked due to construction and we are forced onto I-5 north. SUPER! As I merge onto I-5 North all I can see is a million headlights just sitting on the other side of the freeway- there was a ton of traffic and it wasn't moving. So we decide to take the scenic route and head over 520, down 405 then to 167 (heading to Puyallup). It was an amusing ride as the girls were both pretty drunk and goofy so at least I was entertained.
We got just south of Kent and Jaime pipes up from the back seat that she has to go to the bathroom IMMEDIATELY. The next exit I see has a sign that says there is a Texaco- it is the exit to Emerald Downs. She says she can't wait that long, couldn't I just pull over on the off ramp and she will just go really quick. Well, I figure guys do that all the time, plus I was tired of driving and just wanted to be home and that seemed quick. I take the exit, get halfway up the ramp and pull over to the side. Jaime hops out and about 10 seconds later a car morphs out of thin air, pulls up behind me and flips its lights on. CRAP! It was like that cop just knew somebody was about to take a pee on the side of the road at any second.
31 July 2010
30 July 2010
39,154
39,154- that is the total number of calories that my Nike+ program says I have burned while running since January 14th! I was looking at my stats today and here is the lowdown:
Total workouts: 72
Duration: 55:08:14
Distance: 345 miles
Average pace: 9'35"/mile
Total calories: 39,154
I am slightly amused with my first run statistic- on January 14th I ran 4 miles in 45:42 and my pace was 11'25". I can remember how hard it was to just keep running. I was used to easily doing 45-60 minutes on the elliptical machine and just assumed that meant I could do the same on the treadmill. Which I did, it just wasn't easy- it was actually quite difficult. But I love a good challenge and I would never go back to the elliptical. Running is much better- and it does things for your legs that nothing else can!
Total workouts: 72
Duration: 55:08:14
Distance: 345 miles
Average pace: 9'35"/mile
Total calories: 39,154
I am slightly amused with my first run statistic- on January 14th I ran 4 miles in 45:42 and my pace was 11'25". I can remember how hard it was to just keep running. I was used to easily doing 45-60 minutes on the elliptical machine and just assumed that meant I could do the same on the treadmill. Which I did, it just wasn't easy- it was actually quite difficult. But I love a good challenge and I would never go back to the elliptical. Running is much better- and it does things for your legs that nothing else can!
28 July 2010
New Shoes and Sugar Free Fudgesicles
I finally got my new running shoes delivered today. AFTER I did my run of course, so I will test them out tomorrow. I have close to 250 miles in my old ones but I have realized that I need to go up a 1/2 size. I am one of those people whose second (and third) toes are longer than my big toe so what is happening is those toes are being slammed into the top of my shoes and they are not happy about it. So hopefully this will solve the problem and my toenails can go back to normal. Thank goodness for nail polish!!!!
After a quick lunch with my mom today for her birthday (which is Saturday) I decided to stop at a shoe store to see about some heels to wear out in Seattle on Friday night. My children were really excited for some reason and decided they both needed new shoes as well. So while I shopped they tried on some shoes too. I found a pair I liked and went to see what the rugrats were up to. I was thinking if they found some sandals I would get them a pair for summer. Instead they were picking out "back to school" type shoes so I told them no. They would just destroy them before school started and we could come back in a couple of weeks to get their new shoes. They asked me over and over again-which drives me crazy-and I just kept saying no. Which was kind of satisfying. My kids are not spoiled but sometimes it is just good for them to know that just because we are at a store does not mean they get to have something.
After a quick lunch with my mom today for her birthday (which is Saturday) I decided to stop at a shoe store to see about some heels to wear out in Seattle on Friday night. My children were really excited for some reason and decided they both needed new shoes as well. So while I shopped they tried on some shoes too. I found a pair I liked and went to see what the rugrats were up to. I was thinking if they found some sandals I would get them a pair for summer. Instead they were picking out "back to school" type shoes so I told them no. They would just destroy them before school started and we could come back in a couple of weeks to get their new shoes. They asked me over and over again-which drives me crazy-and I just kept saying no. Which was kind of satisfying. My kids are not spoiled but sometimes it is just good for them to know that just because we are at a store does not mean they get to have something.
27 July 2010
It's Official
Today I went to Fleet Feet Sports in Bonney Lake and officially registered for my next race. I will be running the inaugural You Go Girl half marathon on September 26th, 2010. The course is downtown Tacoma so I am exited to be racing on what is familiar territory for me. Also, a portion of the proceeds from this race will benefit the YWCA of Pierce County, so I am happy to be supporting something that is important to our community. If you would like more information about this race here is the website:
http://www.runyougogirl.com/
We also have another racer in the family now- my daughter wanted me to sign her up for the You Go Little Girl 1K kids run taking place that same day. She amazes me every single day. My timid, shy, quiet baby girl is a soccer superstar and now wants to run in a race. She is growing up fast. Someday we will be racing together!
So yesterday my hubby stayed home from work. I saw that as the perfect opportunity to go for an early outdoor run even though I was technically scheduled to run today. I headed down to the Ruston waterfront for my 6 mile tempo run around 8:30am. The sun was out and it was a beautiful morning. Warm but not too hot. I was thinking how lucky I am to have such fantastic places to run, Tacoma is such an awesome city! So different from last Saturday. Amazing how different running can be when you prepare for it properly!
http://www.runyougogirl.com/
We also have another racer in the family now- my daughter wanted me to sign her up for the You Go Little Girl 1K kids run taking place that same day. She amazes me every single day. My timid, shy, quiet baby girl is a soccer superstar and now wants to run in a race. She is growing up fast. Someday we will be racing together!
So yesterday my hubby stayed home from work. I saw that as the perfect opportunity to go for an early outdoor run even though I was technically scheduled to run today. I headed down to the Ruston waterfront for my 6 mile tempo run around 8:30am. The sun was out and it was a beautiful morning. Warm but not too hot. I was thinking how lucky I am to have such fantastic places to run, Tacoma is such an awesome city! So different from last Saturday. Amazing how different running can be when you prepare for it properly!
25 July 2010
My Terrible, Wonderful 10 Mile Run
Yesterday my training plan said to run 10 miles. Sure, no problem! It actually sounded fun to me- a chance to be alone, just me and the open road. My plan (yes, I always have a plan) was to wake up at 7:45am and be out the door by 8am and be done before it got too hot. Looks great on paper right? Well, here is the actuality of my 10 mile run.
I usually try to eat at least 2 hours before running, or playing soccer. So I ate a small dinner around 6pm on Friday night before the soccer game. The game was from 8-9pm, during which I probably played for around 40 minutes of the entire 48 minute game. If you have never played or watched indoor soccer this might seem insignificant. However, those 40 minutes were spent sprinting back and forth on a soccer field and burning a significant amount of calories. After the game I headed home and there was a bonfire and some friends gathered in my backyard. And marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars. So I ate a s'more. But just one. That is all I ate and when I went to bed I was hungry. It did not even cross my mind that would be a bad thing for my 10 mile run in the morning.
The other part of my plan was to test how my body performed without eating before a large run. Since I was not going to get up at 6am to eat breakfast, I was just going to use my energy gels to fuel my run and see what happened. I woke up as planned at 7:45am, got dressed and was looking for my ipod armband at 8am, pretty much on schedule. It took me 45 minutes to remember that it was in the tote we had taken camping last weekend. CRAP! So I didn't head out the door until 9am and it was already getting warm. I had taken the first gel at 8am assuming that I was about to leave. By this time I am in no mood to really think any of this through, just throw my ipod on and head out the door. In hindsight, I was actually hungry at that point.
I usually try to eat at least 2 hours before running, or playing soccer. So I ate a small dinner around 6pm on Friday night before the soccer game. The game was from 8-9pm, during which I probably played for around 40 minutes of the entire 48 minute game. If you have never played or watched indoor soccer this might seem insignificant. However, those 40 minutes were spent sprinting back and forth on a soccer field and burning a significant amount of calories. After the game I headed home and there was a bonfire and some friends gathered in my backyard. And marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate bars. So I ate a s'more. But just one. That is all I ate and when I went to bed I was hungry. It did not even cross my mind that would be a bad thing for my 10 mile run in the morning.
The other part of my plan was to test how my body performed without eating before a large run. Since I was not going to get up at 6am to eat breakfast, I was just going to use my energy gels to fuel my run and see what happened. I woke up as planned at 7:45am, got dressed and was looking for my ipod armband at 8am, pretty much on schedule. It took me 45 minutes to remember that it was in the tote we had taken camping last weekend. CRAP! So I didn't head out the door until 9am and it was already getting warm. I had taken the first gel at 8am assuming that I was about to leave. By this time I am in no mood to really think any of this through, just throw my ipod on and head out the door. In hindsight, I was actually hungry at that point.
23 July 2010
GOAL!
Did I mention that I also play soccer? I gathered all the friends I knew who wanted to play (which by the way is like 20 people!!!! how cool is that?) and formed a team. We are the Justice League. We are the opposite of undefeated- as in we have lost every game- but it is fun and good exercise. It is a coed league and the teams we are paired with have been playing together for YEARS, so they are really good. And most of our players have never even played soccer. Like me. So we are learning and getting our butts handed to us on a silver platter every week.
We had a game tonight and there was this guy on their team who was a real jerk. He was #8 which makes me mad because that is my favorite number. He was standing about 5 feet away from me, looked straight into my face and kicked the ball as hard as he could. All I could do in reaction was put my hand up because I really thought it was going to hit my face but it hit my pinky finger so hard it was numb. I even yelled at him which is not typical of me. Then he did it a couple more times, just kicking the ball really hard straight at me. I did not like him one little bit. Anyways, we lost horribly like 2-12. I took about 3 shots on goal but didn't score. Bummer. Great workout though, played all but maybe 8-10 minutes of the whole game.
We had a game tonight and there was this guy on their team who was a real jerk. He was #8 which makes me mad because that is my favorite number. He was standing about 5 feet away from me, looked straight into my face and kicked the ball as hard as he could. All I could do in reaction was put my hand up because I really thought it was going to hit my face but it hit my pinky finger so hard it was numb. I even yelled at him which is not typical of me. Then he did it a couple more times, just kicking the ball really hard straight at me. I did not like him one little bit. Anyways, we lost horribly like 2-12. I took about 3 shots on goal but didn't score. Bummer. Great workout though, played all but maybe 8-10 minutes of the whole game.
22 July 2010
flexible determination
For me to do what I am doing (working, being a mom and training for a half marathon) it is an added bonus that I have "flexible determination" because otherwise I would have definitely skipped my run today.
I am following a 12 week coaching plan with the Nike+ website for my upcoming half marathon. I am really happy with the Nike+, I started using it from the beginning and it seems to do everything I need it to. It is a sensor I put in my shoe, which sends data to my ipod about my pace, time, distance and calories burned. It also downloads into the Nike website so I can actually look back and see EVERY single run I have done. Which is really cool and a nice way to measure progress. The only down side is that it seems to not calibrate as accurately as I would like, no matter what I do. But it is close, and that is all that matters to me. Which is why you will find me going just a bit over what I am scheduled to do, just to be sure I am actually putting in all the miles it is telling me to- I don't want to be cheating myself!
Anyways, this morning my "coach" said I should do a 6 mile tempo workout. Tempo workouts are basically speed intervals- go as fast as you can maintain for a certain distance then recover. I was to do 1-2 miles of easy running followed by 5x800 meters at tempo effort then 4x200 meters at a fast effort with 1-3 minute recovery between intervals. My game plan- wake up early and take the kids to the park by 8:30am so I could run this around an outdoor track before it got busy and I became the crazy running mom not watching her kids properly.
I am following a 12 week coaching plan with the Nike+ website for my upcoming half marathon. I am really happy with the Nike+, I started using it from the beginning and it seems to do everything I need it to. It is a sensor I put in my shoe, which sends data to my ipod about my pace, time, distance and calories burned. It also downloads into the Nike website so I can actually look back and see EVERY single run I have done. Which is really cool and a nice way to measure progress. The only down side is that it seems to not calibrate as accurately as I would like, no matter what I do. But it is close, and that is all that matters to me. Which is why you will find me going just a bit over what I am scheduled to do, just to be sure I am actually putting in all the miles it is telling me to- I don't want to be cheating myself!
Anyways, this morning my "coach" said I should do a 6 mile tempo workout. Tempo workouts are basically speed intervals- go as fast as you can maintain for a certain distance then recover. I was to do 1-2 miles of easy running followed by 5x800 meters at tempo effort then 4x200 meters at a fast effort with 1-3 minute recovery between intervals. My game plan- wake up early and take the kids to the park by 8:30am so I could run this around an outdoor track before it got busy and I became the crazy running mom not watching her kids properly.
21 July 2010
PE 101
So, how exactly did I become a runner at age 32? Here is a brief overview of my life as an athlete. Because if I can do it, anyone can do it!!!! It is just a matter of getting started.
Childhood: gymnastics, bike riding, tag, baseball, basketball (around the world counts, right?) and football. All of which were played in my neighborhood where all the kids were boys. Except for myself and my best friend. Explains a lot right???
Junior high: I decide to play 7th grade girls basketball. It is NOT as fun as h.o.r.s.e and around the world. I ended up being the official score keeper, although I did participate in practice. Our coach thought it would be awesome if we were a "running" team. Hooray for line sprints up and down the gym! And that was the end of my basketball career.
High school: participated in required PE classes. We did go to parks a lot, but not to do any form of exercise. I did some of the cheesy VHS workouts like Jane Fonda and The Firm. Ok, ok...and Richard Simmons. Sweating to the Oldies was cool!
Childhood: gymnastics, bike riding, tag, baseball, basketball (around the world counts, right?) and football. All of which were played in my neighborhood where all the kids were boys. Except for myself and my best friend. Explains a lot right???
Junior high: I decide to play 7th grade girls basketball. It is NOT as fun as h.o.r.s.e and around the world. I ended up being the official score keeper, although I did participate in practice. Our coach thought it would be awesome if we were a "running" team. Hooray for line sprints up and down the gym! And that was the end of my basketball career.
High school: participated in required PE classes. We did go to parks a lot, but not to do any form of exercise. I did some of the cheesy VHS workouts like Jane Fonda and The Firm. Ok, ok...and Richard Simmons. Sweating to the Oldies was cool!
20 July 2010
What time is it???
This morning I woke up at 10:40am.
Let me back up a bit. I tend to stay up later than I should on a regular basis because I like the peace and quiet that comes along with it. However, last night I stayed up until 1am trying to get this blogging thing all squared away. Which took me a LOT longer than I had planned and I still do not have a clue what I am doing. But I wanted to write something anyways so as to not leave all of my fans without something to amuse themselves with! You are welcome.
So, at some point this morning my son crawled into bed with me and thankfully went back to sleep. The next thing I knew I woke up and looked at my phone and HOLY COW, it was 10:40am. That never happens, ever. I instantly felt guilty and also a little suspicious about what my children might possibly be doing. Well, they were coloring at the table like little angels. Amazing. So, I made them their favorite breakfast ever- pancakes (barf) as a little treat. Because I knew I needed them to keep being little angels while I ran for an hour...
Let me back up a bit. I tend to stay up later than I should on a regular basis because I like the peace and quiet that comes along with it. However, last night I stayed up until 1am trying to get this blogging thing all squared away. Which took me a LOT longer than I had planned and I still do not have a clue what I am doing. But I wanted to write something anyways so as to not leave all of my fans without something to amuse themselves with! You are welcome.
So, at some point this morning my son crawled into bed with me and thankfully went back to sleep. The next thing I knew I woke up and looked at my phone and HOLY COW, it was 10:40am. That never happens, ever. I instantly felt guilty and also a little suspicious about what my children might possibly be doing. Well, they were coloring at the table like little angels. Amazing. So, I made them their favorite breakfast ever- pancakes (barf) as a little treat. Because I knew I needed them to keep being little angels while I ran for an hour...
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