Hi there Bloggy friends, I am making the move from blogspot to my very own Blog. I am going to try really hard to do this blogging thing for some extra income. First step is to get my site up and running and people reading it, then try and round up some sponsers. So if you would please update your blogrolls to reflect my new site I would really appreciate it. For those of you who do a blogpost introducing my site I will send you a special gift in the mail (some food items), just please leave me a comment that you did so.

monicaonthego.com

Also - I am going to move my blogroll over, if for some reason you don't want to be on it, please don't hesitate to let me know.

Well no PR today, but close, I ran it in 25:45 , and the best I ever ran was 25:23 at that same race 2 years ago. But for me any race where I maintain under a 9:00 pace the whole run is a big success to me. I really didn't feel well out there today, I felt nauseous and really couldn't seem to push myself. One of these days I will feel great and get below 25, its coming soon I know it. Maintaining 8 and 7 something miles is getting easier for me and I really think a lot of it has to do with running with Fonzie. I got to do a little warm up with the super fast Salty and Eva who still beat me even though they are over 20 weeks pregnant, lol. Oh well they were twice as fast as me not pregnant, so it makes sense. Espeed had a PR and got 1st for females. So happy that everyone had a good day out there today. Afterwards we hit up the Original Pancake House and I ate as if I had just run a marathon. I can't pass up pumpkin pancakes, just can't do it. In the pic everyone is pregnant except for me (black hat/vest, Espeed in the front on the right and Christina, teeny one in back row all the way to right). There is something in the water around here!' In total I ran about 5.5 miles today and tomorrow I have 8-9 planned and power yoga.

Right now I am sitting in the kitchen next to Harp in her high chair and she is trying desperately to feed herself puffs, but just can't quite get it. Too cute. G is playing golf, when he gets back we are going to go see Santa at the mall, should be interesting!

I have a 5K in the morning. I am a little nervous. It is my last race of the year (out of 4 total, wowza ) and I really hope to have a good PR. It would be a nice way to finish out the year. After the race I get to have some breakfast with some other ladies I know from tris/running/blogging and I am really looking forward to it. 5 of them are pregnant right now, 2 with their seconds. I guess they're all drinking the same water, I better watch out. My goal was to run 4 days a week and with the 5K tomorrow I will reach it, I ran with Fonzie on Sun, then on the treadmill due to rain/cold on Wed & Thurs. I also hit up a weight lifting class and balance/pilates class. Tomorrow we are going to take Haper to get her santa photo...should be interesting.

I kind of don't like the holidays. I mean don't get me wrong. I love being around my family and the togetherness of the holidays, but I don't like the food. I am one of those people with absolutely no willpower. I am strong enough to not bring junk in my house, but if I am around it I mindlessly stuff myself. Anyway, I am glad Turkey day is over, now just to make it through Xmas. We only go to my Family's place on T-giving, whereas at Xmas we hit up 3 family houses and then 2 other extended family parties. I hope to be down to my goal weight of 125 by Xmas so that if I gain a few, it won't put me back up into the 130s. I stand firm at 128 right now and I barely worked out this past week. I got in 1 good run while I was home with my BIL, we ran a cross country course. I very rarely run on grass, nice to mix it up sometimes. T-giving was great, my sister made a weight watchers pumpkin pie that was yummy and I didn't overdo it too bad on my moms olive cream cheese dip and candied sweet potatoes! Today I am back on the wagon, but unfortunately I am sick AGAIN.

I am so sick of being sick, do any of you take any good immune system boosters? I take a pre natal vitamin and an Emergen C packet (most days, when I remember). But this is like the 6th time I have been sick in 2-3 months, its getting in the way of my training for this Jan half mary! I was supposed to go do the course yesterday but woke up with the worst sore throat and a nose full of cement, so back to bed I went. Ugh. I must say I have been running really strong though. I did a 5K the other day and did it in 26:03, which is my second fastest time ever. I am doing another 5K this weekend and I really hope to get in the low 25s. I was supposed to do a half marathon last weekend, but changed to do this 5K for charity (girls on the run) but then there was a snafu and I didn't get a partner so I just raced the race. I wish I had done the half, just to see where I am now speed wise. I am about 10 lbs less than I was for the Akron half. There is a 30K in PA in the spring that I might have to go do...I am contemplating doing either the Pittsburgh or Cincinnati marathon on May 2. I won't sign up for either until much closer b/c admittedly if I end up back at work, I may not get enough miles in to worry about a full. But if I am still at home most of the training time, I might be able to pull off one more 26.2 before going back to work. Seeing where my body is now at 128, I really think I can get closer to 120 and I think that will help my race times dramatically. I hope so! Looking forward to getting my runs up to 5 days a week. Starting this week I will make sure I run 4 days a week and then in Jan, add that 5th day. That's my plan for now.

These pics are from Salty's son's 1st b-day party. How cute are those babies! Yummy. Also my neighbor took a bunch of wonderful shots of Harper to try and help me get a xmas card shot. Below is the one I chose to send out! It was the first time her ever shot an infant and he did awesome! Last but not least, big shout out and good luck to IRONTRISH who is doing Cozumel today, can't wait to see her finish.

What a gorgeous day we are having in Cleveland. I fully believe it will be our last nice weekend until ohhhh June. So, I made sure to take advantage of it. I started the day with a 7 mile trail run at North Chagrin Reservation. Met a few friends and took Fonzie. I was afraid it would be too much for him b/c he's never ran hills and only ran 5 miles, but he handled it like a champ and could have gone further. He had so much fun. Too bad he tried to bite my guy friend, sigh, this dog is a nipper, really have to figure out how to break that. He was fine with everyone as long as they didn't mess with him, but the lone guy (hes not big on strange men) went to pet him and he tried to nip his leg, but I gave him a leash jerk first, shoo. He doesn't aggressively go after people, but gets a little scared and slowly nips. It stinks. Anyway, the run was great. The leaves were gorgeous and it was like 55 degrees and sunny. The run felt good and I was worried b/c I am just getting over being sick. But I was able to run fast without a lot of effort and bounded up the hills. Woohoo.

When I got home G and I headed to Chagrin Falls with Harper and did some window shopping and strolling. We also shared some Carmel corn and a milkshake. So much for those lbs lost while I was sick! Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.

I thought I had food poisoning, now its looking like the flu. Great. I went to the doc, but won't know if my swab was positive until Sat. Gary stayed home today, I feel awful, he can't stay home tomorrow b/c he has a project to finish up. Oh oh oh I hope Harper doesn't catch this from me. Is it inevitable? She had a flu shot a few weeks ago.

Ugh, I am having a little bad luck this week, lol. I feel horrible today, absolutely horrible. It's all tummy related. I had pizza last night and didn't realize it had garlic on it and I don't handle garlic well at all and I have been hunched over in sick pain all day. Not fun to take care of a 6 month old on the move when you don't feel good. Oh well. My own fault. On top of that, I totally overdid it at the gym on Monday (in weight lifting class, used too much weight big time) b/c I was so gung ho to get started again. I can barely sit on the toilet from doing squats. I have been hobbling around for 2 days. I went to the weight lifting class again this morning in hopes my nausea would go away and getting my muscles moving would help. No such luck, I was a sweaty mess the whole class and almost threw up and couldn't handle more then 5 lbs on each side of the bar and couldn't get through the squat set. Eieiey. I hope I feel better tomorrow. I have missed a run nd need to run tomorrow for sure.

Here is a pic of Harper and her playmate Nate. Every week my friend Salty and I get together to babysit each others kids while the other runs. Nate will be a year old in Nov. The pics are a little blurry, but I just love Harper's faces

Sunday, Oct 25 - I know I declared the other day that I was on a diet & giving up sweets, unfortunately I haven't been very mindful of my diet...at all. The scale said goodbye to 130 & planted me back at 132, so 7 lbs that I want to lose. Starting over again today. I am going to try and lose these 7 lbs over the next 6 weeks. I know that seems a little ambitious but you don't know all the stupid things I've eaten (hello pizza for dinner last night& giant creme puff) or the weights I have been slacking on. I have a pair of skinny jeans that I want to get into and I think it would be great to wear them on Thanksgiving to prevent me from overeating...I start anew today with a 75 min power yoga class. Here are a few goals I am going to try and stick to and be mindful of:

1. Work out 10-11 hours a week, this counts dog walks
2. Get more fruits & veggies, I have been awful about this and it used to be the easy part for me
3. On days that G gets home from work before 5 take the dogs for an extra walk even if its just half a blocl
4. Get to the gym classes at least 3 times a week, important for me and also for keeping Harper used to the playroom
5. After Harper goes to bed get on bike in basement a few times a week and watch one of my many shows that I DVR

Here is my workout plan for this week, not counting dog walks, they get one every day, varying lengths depending on weather, baby mood, etc:
Today - 75 min yoga class
Mon - Urban Iron or BeamFIT class and 5 mile run
Tues - 5 mile run, abs DVD
Wed - Urban Iron class, 2o mins on bike
Thurs - 5 mile run, yoga DVD
Fri - Urban Iron class, 20 mins on bike
Sat -6 mile run

For 2 days in a row I have weighed in at 130.5. I was hovering between 130 and 133 when I got pregnant, so yay! Pre preggo weight. I wanted to do it by 6 months and lo and behold Monday is her 6th month bday! I hope I can get a few more lbs off. I have enjoyed this week off. I worked out once. Starting tomorrow I am back at it.

Harper is sick. She got super stuffed up late yesterday and we were up all night. She didn't fall asleep until 11, in the swing, after screaming for an hour. She hasn't slept all day. I keep getting her to fall asleep, whether by rocking or feeding her, but then as soon as I lay her down, she is right back up. She is in good spirits for the most part if you are holding her. I hope this cold doesn't last 2 weeks. If she is sick next week I will go to the gym when G is home from work I guess. I am not taking any more time off the gym.

On the tattoo front, I made up my mind on the 3 little birds. But I also have to hold off until summer, as the lady doing the tat said that I really shouldn't get a foot tattoo in the winter and that she doesn't offer her retouching guarantee on foot tats during cold months. But I did promise my friend I would get inked with her after our marathons, so I think I am going to get the symbol for mother in kanji on my rib. Or maybe that little round owl. Although my hairdresser has the astrological signs of her kids on her back and that's a great idea too.

I think I am getting a tattoo. Picking a design is such a hard decision to make. I have some links below to tattoos that I like and I would love any input or opinion you have. I have a few ideas floating around my head:

1. 3 hearts all linked together or overlapping to symbolize each member of my family
2. An owl just b/c I love them and have done Harper's nursery in owls, so it would be a little harper tribute
3. 3 little birds, I love the song so much and always have, it makes me smile whenever I hear it and has such a nice message, I picture three little fat birds sitting atop my toes

now where to get it, rib, back of neck and foot, leaning towards foot, but maybe a symbol for mother on my rib.....


I love this quote, ignore the butterfly part :)
http://beautifultattoos.blogspot.com/2009/05/quote-tattoo-and-geisha-butterfly.html

Cool star
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/acda/one-of-the-better-stars

Love this trail of stars tattoo:
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/cindyyyy/my-1st-tattoo-64

This tattoo is shitty, but I like the premise, Harper's name in a star shape
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/emma-jane-m/childrens-names-in-star-shape

If I go with an owl, I like these:

This one I like, but muuuccch smaller, but I like the style
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/adidas2366/owl-14
cute and simple owl:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellomorning/3762031873/
I wouldn't do the circle, but love the owl in the middle:
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/cego_tattoo/109028


If I go with the three little birds, the little bird on this card is cute and I could do different colors, maybe a polka dot one, a striped one and a solid blue one?
http://www.amazingpaper.com.au/persistent/catalogue_images/products/LITTLE%20BIRD%20CARD.jpg

This is a neat tattoo - a swallow:
http://www.checkoutmyink.com/tattoos/itseasybeezy/swallows-38

Sorry running and triathlete buddies this blog is now switching gears to full fledged diet blog until I am 125. Well in a round about way that is running related, I don't think I want to try another marathon until I am firmly planted in the 120s again. I felt the extra 10 lbs I was carrying on Sunday for sure. I stepped on the scale this morning and it told me - 134. So, 4 lbs over what I weighed when I got preggo. I look fine, I no longer feel like I look like a lady who just had a baby and has that extra tire, wider booty, etc, but I know that I look and feel so much better 10 lbs lighter. And I think my running will get an extra boost from the weight loss as well.

Today I started my own version of a diet. The only rule is no sugary junk food for 2 weeks. Aside from the obvious no ice cream, cookies, etc, there will also be not one chocolate chip granola bar, bowl of lucky charms, or sugar laden yogurt. So, I will stand firm and strong for 2 weeks to get myself over the daily habit of sugar. Once I go a solid 14 days, I will then allow myself 1 weekly dessert that I will plan for and savor for all it is worth. Its time to start looking at the labels again when I buy things like cereal and yogurt and I will only be buying the product if it has under 10g of sugar in it. Hello fiber one honey flakes, goodbye peanut butter puffins - goodbye lemon yoplait, hello chobani, etc. I also need to dial back the diet coke and splenda. I firmly believe that the fake sugar makes me crave sweet things. Aside from that I am going to try and make my snacks veggies instead of cheese & crackers which have become a staple for me. Honestly my eating has been such a mess that I think a few tweaks should put me well on my way to 125.

I am feeling mostly back to normal. My knees are a little sore and my calves hurt if I lift myself up on them to like reach an upper cabinet, but mostly feeling good. I am going to go to the gym tomorrow and take my urban iron class, but I am only going to use light weights on the upper body and no weights on the lower, but I need to get back into the swing of the gym. So does Harper. It's been pretty much a month since she went to the gym 4 days a week and I need to get her used to that again.

So here we go, wish me luck. If all goes as planned I should see 125 before the new year.

(Monday, Oct 13) Other alternate titles for this entry could be - "I have no business running for that long", "Ow, seriously Ouch" or if I am being kind to myself "17 minute PR bitches". I woke up at 5am on Sunday to leave my house for the race at 6. When I stepped into my backyard it was around 45 degrees out. Thank goodness I "overdressed" b/c when I got down to the valley for the race it was more like 40 and freezing. I wore capris, a long sleeve shirt, a vest and gloves, it was perfect. I couldn't have asked for better weather. I hit the portapotty twice before the race and got lined up at 7:40ish. Since it was such a small race, I saw everyone that I knew that was going to be down there. I thought there were 500+ runners, but in looking at the results it looks more like 350ish.

My goal going into it was to just run as hard as I could and feel as good as I could at the end. I started off kind of fast. I was watching my average pace on my Garmin and I knew I didn't want it to get over 10:13. That was my pace for the half mary two weeks ago. I managed to keep that avg pace under 10 all the way to mile 18! I was very pleased about that, but everything kind of fell apart after that. I stopped to use the portapotty and my avg pace fell from 10 on the nose to 10:06. I managed to keep it together until the turn around at mile 21, then my legs just kind of quit. I hobbled my way the last 5.2 miles and watched my avg pace slowly creep higher and higher to 10:20. Oh well. I finished in 4:30:31. Which met my original long shot goal, but since I ran so hard (for me) and strong until mile 21, I would have really loved to get in under 4:20.

I would say that I really did feel just fine, 100% okay until mile 16. Then my stomach starting bothering me. I made a decision to stop at the porta potty at mile 18 and stomach was better after that. After mile 21 I started imaging my body was made of glass at that at any moment my hips and back were going to shatter. That's how bad I hurt! Mostly it was in my hips, knees and lower back, well and my feet, of course. Around mile 23 I probably slowed down to between 11-12 min miles and I REALLY wanted to stop, but I didn't. I made it through the whole race without walking, which was a goal as well. So, I am happy about that. After 23 I was counting 1, 2, 1, 2 in my head, one more step, one more step. Luckily I knew the towpath really well, so I was able to tell myself I just need to make it to lock 29, or the cut over to the falls, etc. Then I got near the finish line and I could hear everyone cheering. And there was Gary with Harper in a stroller, holding a sign saying GO MOM! It almost made me cry. I wasn't expecting them to be there, so that was a nice surprise. I picked it up a notch and really ran as fast as I could to the finish. My brain wasn't working at that point, I was shaky and totally out of it. Thank goodness a banana and orange took care of that. I was so glad to be done! I made it. I wish I could say I felt good and strong and I did think the whole last 5 miles if I ever really want to do this again. I am doing something wrong in my training to fall apart that bad. So, I need to really spend some time thinking about that. I know for a fact that I felt the extra 10 lbs and will not even contemplate a marathon until I am firmly back in the 120s.

I really hurt bad when I got home and felt like crying the rest of the day. I took a long ice bath and a lot of aspirin, that helped. Today I just feel like I got beat up, that's all :). I must say that part of me wonders if my skeletal system is fully recovered from Harper. My hips etc felt like they took such a beating, I wonder if it is b/c the relaxin has left my body completely, etc. Just a thought, maybe I am just a big ol wuss!

I'll admit it, it sounds horribly superficial, but one of the main reasons I really wasn't sure if I wanted to be pregnant was that I didn't want to gain the weight. I really wasn't sure if I could handle getting heavy and if I would lose the weight. I had grand plans to be the healthiest pregnant person you ever saw and those quickly flew out the window. I stopped weighing myself once I had gained 50 lbs, who knows in the end how much I actually weighed. All I know is that now, 5 months and 1 week post partum, I only have 5 lbs to go to pre preggo weight. Woohoo. I did it. I got my 5'3 body dangerously closer to 200 lbs than it should ever be and I almost back to the 120s, almost. I'm sure the last 5 lbs will be stickers, but I am okay with that, I know they will come off. I really was scared that I wouldn't return to a life of exercise, but I have. And I honestly think that once its all said and done, I will actually have a better body than I did before, thanks to twice weekly weight classes since Harper was 6 weeks old. There is a little extra skin on my belly maybe, but nothing to be too upset about. It would have all been worth it, even if I stayed in those much lager jeans I bought right after Harper was born, but I am glad that I am back in my old pants. And so happy that all the people who said I'd have a hard time losing the weight because of breastfeeding weren't right, at least for me.

Okay bloggy friends, I want you all to comment, all of you that read have to have something to say about one of these topics! I need opinions/advice on several things. They've all been on my mind and aren't related at all, so let the randomness begin:

1. I want some new tunes to run to. I've exhausted my playlist on all these long runs lately. So, please tell me a few songs you love to work out to. I prefer rap and angry white boy music like Rage Against the Machine.

2. Moms out there, what are your thoughts on the swine flu vaccine? My doc says they will have them in Oct and I can give it to Harper since she will be 6 months old. I just don't know that I want to give it to her or get it myself since I am breastfeeding. I do plan on giving her the plain old flu vaccine, but I am nervous about a vaccine that isn't even FDA approved yet. No history on it, you know what I mean? But then again, how bad will I feel if she does get the swine flu and I didn't vaccinate her? I haven't heard much about it here in Cleveland, but it is all over the place in my hometown in KY...what to do??

3. I can never just focus on the task at hand, so I am thinking past the marathon now. I know I want to do a spring marathon, and then my plan is to not do a fall one and train for the MS 150 bike ride with Gary and some sprint tris (back in the pool ack). Anyway, I want to get faster between Oct and late Jan when it will be time to train for a full again. What advice would you fast ladies give me? How many miles a week should I log? Should I get my butt on the treadmill and do sprints? Should I just focus on losing 10 lbs? I do know that I only want to run 3-4 days a week, I don't want to stop doing my weights classes and spinning classes, I will never be a 6 day a week runner. I think cutting my miles back for awhile and concentrating on losing the pregnancy weight and then some will make me faster for sure.... I have a half marathon in Nov and Feb, and figure I will keep my long run between 10-14 miles after the marathon.

I put another 20 miles into the Towpath marathon training bank yesterday. I was worried about the run. I was feeling under the weather all last week and only had 2 ridiculously short lackluster runs under my belt. I was still feeling aches in my ankles and feet from last weeks 22 miler. But I got down to peninsula at 7, camelback on, granola bars and gus in my belt, tunes in my ear, garmin set (sheesh I run with a lot of stuff) and ready to go. This week I got to run with a very interesting guy that I haven't ran with in awhile, so that made the first half of the run fly by. We had absolutely perfect weather and b/c we started so far south on the towpath (due to construction by boston store) we ran allll the way to Akron. I literally ran 3 miles further south than I ever had, so I had some new scenery. Some of it bad, hello water treatment plant, ughgggg. I felt pretty good on the 10 down and kept an easy enough pace around 10:30, but when we got to the turn around my ankles and feet really started aching. So, the way back was a bit slower and more painful. But with a few walk breaks in there I managed to do 20 miles in a little under 4 hours. So, I really do think I can maybe run with a 4:30 pace group, if I get scared I'll stick with 4:45. What do you think? All my long runs have been around a 10:30-11 min pace, but I think I could go a bit faster for sure.

Now what to do today? I never know what to do with myself the day after a long run. I think I wil take the dogs for a 2-3 mile walk, see how the ankles feel and do some yoga later. I weighed 138 this morning, I have been stuck there for awhile, but I have had countless cookies lately, so I need to get back to watching it. I really want to be as close to 130 as possible for the marathon. It's hard as hell to diet when training for a full, not that I think you should, but I can clean it up a bit.

Oh and I am horridly, unreasonably scared of spiders, they make me cry, make me nauceous. But look was has been living in the window at the top of my stairs all summer. The only reason he's still alive is b/c he's on the outside and that window isn't near anything! He's huge.

I am feeling better, in case you were wondering :) Harper still has a nasty cough, but is better for sure. She kept having coughing fits last night though and that led me to run into her room every time and make sure she was okay...she was. But just to be safe I am not taking her to the gym daycare. So this week is just creeping by, it's amazing how long the day seems when you remove the 8:30-10:30 chunk that was consumed by gym commuting and working out. Then I would come home, shower, eat lunch and the day was half gone. Gary is sick too. So we're not having a lot of fun around our house this week. I took a few days off of working out, but I finally ran last night. I took Fonzie for a really nice "fast" (for me) run. I plan to run tonight and tomorrow morning and then have a 20 miler on Sat. So, I should still get close to 40 miles in for the week I hope. I have made sure to walk the dogs 2-3 miles each day, so at least I am getting out there. It's amazing how off it makes me feel when I don't work out. It's weeks like this where I know I need to learn to relax and not worry so much about working out, but it's hard when it's ingrained into your everyday life. So many people out there just work out 2-3 times a week and are fine with it, yet if I don't get 6 days in, I feel like the whole week is lost. So silly.

I am feeling pretty good about the marathon. I don't think it will be fast, but I have no doubts in my ability to finish it. I really hope to finish in under 4:45 b/c that will at least be a PR by a few mins. But as long as I am under 5 hours, I will consider it a success. I have a 20 miler this weekend, then I am out of town next weekend, so I am doing my long run next Wed. I am going to shoot for one last 20 miler, but b/c it's so close to my Sat run, if I am hurting I will stop anytime after 16. Then the next weekend in my half marathon at Akron. I am going to do a 1-2 mile warm up and 1-2 mile cool down to make sure I get at least 16 miles in that day. Then it's taper time. woohoo.

Oh boy Harper had her first real cold this weekend, it was awful, for her, but probably more for me :) I was just so worried about her. Her nose was basically full of concrete snot and there's not really anything you can do about it! The bulb sucks, the saline is hard to get up their nose. But she is much better today. So, 1 bad night and 2 bad days and the cold is on its way out. Not too bad. But today I woke up feeling horrible. My throat hurts and one side of my head is totally clogged. Ugh. I guess I better find out what if any meds I can take. Fun, but it was a nice holiday weekend regardless.

I started it Sat am with a 22 miler! Yep I made it through it. Can't say I felt as strong at the end as I would have wanted, but I got through it and I got through it in a time that makes me feel like I may be able to try for a 4:30-4:40 marathon. Afterwards I felt pretty good. I went home and got a hour nap, and that night we went to dinner with the in laws. Gary's sister and her husband are in town from OR for the week. So we went to little Italy. That night Harper was up all night, so I was a zombie on Sunday and of course we had a party at our house! So, I was not a happy camper. I was a mess Sunday, sore, tired and an unhappy stuffy headed baby to contend with. But the party was fun, everyone seemed to have a good time. Harper got up from sleeping a few times, but she slept most of Sunday night so I was thankful for that. Yesterday we went to G's dad's house, they had a get together for that side of the family for his sister. So, I got to see a lot of family this weekend and its been fun.

This week's running is going to be hard. I didn't run Sun on purpose and missed my Monday run b/c we got home too late from his dad's. So, I pretty much need to run everyday this week. Today I will be lucky to get 2-3 done, I feel like shit and I'd probably be better off resting I guess. I don't feel like I should take Harper to the gym daycare until she is 100% so this week is just going to be off. I hate off workout weeks.

I love 1's, the first of the month, the first of the year, the first of a training plan. I am all about calendars. I thought when I had the baby I would loose a bit of that "obsession" but no, now I get to plot her growth on the calendar too! Anyway, I decided to start the 100 pushup challenge over so it coincides with the start of Sept.

Last week was a "rest" week and I barely ran. The week just got crazy and with the 14 hour round trip car ride to KY for the wedding, I just relaxed. But I started my week off right. Yesterday I hit spinning class and worked the heck out of my abs and then that night Ilana met me and we took Fonzie for a 6 mile run. This is the best running weather. I ran in a long sleeved shirt and capris, my fav thing to run in. I got up this morning and went to the gym for my Urban Iron class. I usually take it on T & Th, but they are changing up the schedule at the gym and I am going to have to change my workouts. I am excited about that though, there are some new classes I want to try and some older ones I've never gone to. I think I want my week to look like this:

Monday:
Beamfit & Hardcore class - 45 min class on a beam and then 15 min of abs on beam, run in the pm
Tuesday:
Spin class or Power Playt class (30 min class using weight plates)
Wednesday:
Urban Iron, run in the evening
Thursday:
Spin class, run
Friday:
Urban Iron
Saturday:
Long run
Sunday:
Rest of yoga

I can't believe I've been out of high school for 12 years. I graduated with the same people I went to kindergarten with. Small town, a lot of us stayed in touch. I can go years without seeing or talking to my hometown girl friends, but then when we get together, its so easy and the conversation just flows. This weekend Gary and I trucked Harper the 7 hours south to Danville KY for my friend Crystal's wedding. It was a long drive, but Harper did really well. She slept most of the way both there and back. Good baby! Here are a few pics. We had a great time and she had it at this gorgeous farm outside of our town. It was really nice to get caught up with some great friends and to see Crystal so so happy. This week I have to get back into training mode, I too my rest week a little too literally!


Look at those chubby cheeks!!!

First off I started the 100 pushup challenge yesterday! Anyone care to join me? I've attempted it before, but never really gotten very far. I fully intend to complete it this time and have a few friends on Facebook doing it too, so we can check in on each other. I can only do 8 measly boy pushups. So, I hope by the end I can do at least 50 off my knees. I can't imagine I'll be able to do 100, but 50 off knees and 50 with knees would be great.


And then this morning I bit the bullet and went ahead and registered for the towpath marathon. So ready or not I am doing a marathon on Oct 12. My schedule is going to be a little tough b/c I have a half marathon 2 weekends before, when I should be doing my last long run, but I will just taper 2 full weeks. I basically have to run 3 20-24 milers in a row, which will be a bit tough, but I think I will be okay. Wish me luck. New shoes came in the mail today and I slipped them on and took Fonzie for a quick 3 mile run. Nothing like running as the sun slips away for the day.

We are having some lovely weather. I love love love the end of summer, beginning of fall. Even though it means winter isn't very far away. Considering I live in Cleveland, we get about 6 months of winter. Ugh. Anyway, I had a great sunny 18 mile run this weekend. I went out to do 20, but stopped short due to some awful chaffing on my thighs. Gross, I know, but I felt it with every step and couldn't go any further. Boy I can't wait to be rid of the chub rub, which hopefully won't be too much longer b/c I was 138 this morning. Wooohoo. Once I am back to 130 all my clothes will fit, but I do hope I can see the 120s again someday. I am really hoping I can make it to 130 w/o much effort, as I haven't tried that hard yet.

But back to the running. The 18 miler did not feel as strong as I wanted it too. But I did a few things wrong, I didn't eat as much as I should have for breakfast, I need some new shoes and it was quite sunny so I got really hot and drank all my water and went a few miles w/o. So, I just wasn't feeling so hot after 14. I wanted to feel strong out there so that I could come home and sign up for a marathon. But after that performance, I'm still not sure I want to do a full. But then again, why am I running so far if I'm not going to just do it! This week I have to go out of town for a wedding, so I am using it as a rest week and will probably just do 10 miles for my long run, but next weekend I will attempt 20 again.

Happy 4 month bday Harper! We just went to the doctor and Harper is in the 90% percentile for height and weight, weighing in at 15 lbs 10 oz and 25 inches long. Big girl! Healthy girl. She handled her shots like a champ. A lot has changed this month. Harper is pretty much doing something new every day. She can almost sit up unassisted and hates to be held in the cradle position now. She wants to sit up in your lap, sit up on the floor, sit up in her chair, etc. She loves to babble and makes lots of new noises. Her favorite toy is her jangly giraffe from Lamaze, but she just got a Sofie the giraffe teether and is super excited about it. Harper usually sleep from 8 pm to 6 am, which is great. She is taking the bottle better and is really pretty much perfect, how did I get so lucky!

I made it through the 16 miler on Sat. I tried something new, I drank a 5 hour energy before I started. I did this once before a half marathon twp years ago and had a great race, so I thought I'd give it another try. I have to say it really made a difference, I felt wonderful from start to mile 13. Usually I feel pretty bad for 2 or 3 miles and then my running legs kicked in. But this time I was ready to go from first footfall. I made it through 12.54 miles w/o issue, then a friend I was running with got sick, so we walked a mile or so with her. She was having awful cramping. We ended up leaving her at a trail head and came back to pick her up later. So, I had 2.5 mile to get back to my car and then I ended up having some belly cramping and ended up run/walking the last 2.5 miles. Soooo I covered 16 miles, but I didn't run it all. Either way, 16 miles in the training bank. I only ran 3 times last week, I missed one run all together and one got cut short by a case of belly rot, so not the most successfully running week. But I am pleased with how my feet held up on the long run. I have to admit I am still thinking of a marathon. Can you run a marathon on the long run alone....? Some people do. If I do one it will be the towpath instead of Columbus. Logistically it will just be easier. Decisions Decisions.

As a public service announcement I will share with you something I didn't know even existed until my sister and BIL introduced me to it. Sports Cream! How did I never know this wonderful stuff was out there. If you are like me and don't know what it is, it's aspirin cream. I have been rubbing it on my feet after runs and it really helps. Love it.

Oh and guess who finally made it to 140! 10 lbs to go to pre preggo weight.