Monday, September 27, 2010
Akron Half Mary and Fall fun
This past weekend I ran the Akron half marathon with my brother in law Tim. Do you guys remember Tim? He lost a tremendous amount of weight and started running about 2 years ago. Last Sept was his first half marathon at Akron and he did so awesome. He loved it so much that he then signed up for Columbus and went and ran that course 10 mins faster. So, this year he wanted o revisit the course and we were met with wonderful weather. I love the Akron marathon. They do such a great job. Great course, an amazing amount of spectators, great gear, great food/medal at the end; the whole event is top notch. My only complaint is it starts at 7am, ugh. So, we had to get up at 4:30!
Driving down to the race my stomach was starting to feel kind of icky. This is always my issue and it did bother me throughout the run that day. However, I have certainly battled worse stomach issues and after a potty stop around mile 6, I was fine the rest of the race. Maybe I’ll gloss over the fact that that stop wasn’t in an official porta potty, it may have been behind an abandoned building with a guard dog barking at! LOL. Going into the race, I had thought maybe we could break 2 hours, but I forgot how dang hilly the course was. I knew there was a major hill at mile 11, but there are several good rollers throughout the course. This is not a PR course by any means. I tried to use the Garmin and really keep our pace steady. I knew that I wanted us to stay under 9:30 and we did. We averaged between 9:12 and 9:30 the whole day, except for slowing down on that last mile 11 hill t
o more like a 10min mile crawl. It is a hell of a hill. We finished in 2:03. Which is a course PR for me, as the faster I ever ran there before was 2:04. I had a lot of fun running with Tim and playing coach. Several times throughout the morning I was able to think strategically and tell him we needed to pick up the pace or slow down a bit b/c we were going too fast. It was nice to think about something besides just finishing. I was really excited to see him get a PR and am so proud of howww far he has come.The next day I went out for an 8 miler and my body would NOT cooperate. I ended up only running 4. My legs felt like tree trunks and I could not get my breath. What the heck is up with that? We had such a nice weekend overall though. On Sat. we met my in-laws to go apple picking. Harper had some much fun running up and down the orchard and chowing down on some fresh golden delicious apples. Gary even made a wonderful pie for us! I am not usually one for fruit pies, but with a little tofutti ice cream on top it was pretty darn good! Sunday I took Harper to the Lake Park Farm. They were having an antique tractor show and fall festival. She got to pet animals at the barn yard, play on a swing set, run around a hay bale maze, and play in some leaves. It was an amazing mommy/Harper day. The photos from this weekend are in the post and one of me and Harper from a recent birthday party that I really like.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
miles and miles to go before i sleep
Oh my the running that has been going on! I am so behind on my blog. But I have big plans! Big plans I tell you. First up, let me catch you up.
Race for the Cure!
Backtrack to the weekend of Sept 11. Harper, Gary and I ran our first family 5K! We did the local RFC to benefit Breast Cancer. Running is a bit of an overstatement. It was so dang crowded, there were almost 45000 people in downtown Cleveland. Despite the madness we managed to come in under 30 mins and I was pushing the jogging stroller! This was my first race with the stroller. It wasn’t a lot of fun though b/c I was so worried the whole time that I was going to clip someone the huge front wheel on my BOB stroller. But I love the idea of family 5Ks and I hope we have many more in our future. I can’t wait until Harper is old enough to try some of the little kid dashes. Harper was really good too. We were downtown for a long time b/c it was so crowded and I think she enjoyed looking at all the people and chaos.
River Run Half Mary
The next day I woke up bright and early to run my first half marathon since May. My friend Amy was running her first half ever, so I was really excited for her. This race is one of my favorites and I have done it 4 or 5 times. The course winds through a beautiful park, is point to point and mostly downhill! I had big hopes. I really wanted a PR. My last half was 1:56:50. I knew I had a faster half in me. But ultimately I wanted to beat the time my husband ran his one and only half mary in – 1:54 and change. I figured a 1:53 would do it. He says he’ll do another race when I beat him. I would love to do another half together! But unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I have had worst races for sure. But I just didn’t feel great and no matter what I did I couldn’t pick up my pace. I ended up finishing in 1:56:06. Which I can’t be mad about; it’s almost a min off my last race. But I kept yelling at my legs to pick it up and I couldn’t. However. I had no taper. I am training for a marathon and I ran an 18 miler the previous weekend. So, I keep reminding myself that I will get a 1:50 half marathon someday, but it won’t be on dead tired legs.
Running Miles and Miles
I hit a big milestone for me last week. I ran 40 miles! Usually I run somewhere between 30-35 miles a week and cross train a lot. But I am trying to switch it up this marathon season and I am trying to run more like 40-50 miles. I plan to add a few more miles each week until my taper. I am still strength training 1-2 times a week and usually doing yoga once. This past weekend I ran 21 miles on Sat and another 7 on Sun. I haven’t seen my bike or a pool in wayyy too long though. This weekend I have the Akron half mary. I am running it with my brother in law and don’t have any big expectations. My legs are very tired and the course is hilly. I just hope I can get him in close to 2 hours if not a hair below. That would rock.
Race plans
I also did something a little crazy and signed up for back to back marathons. I am a little worried, but super excited to see how I do. My friend JenC has also talked me into a June HIM. Ack! June. HIM! It’s called Race for Recovery and it’s in Monroe MI. What attracted me is that the swim runs parallel to shore and you are never in more than 6 ft of water. That sounds like a perfect induction into Half Ironman territory for me. However, I still have to get through a 1.2 mile swim, I can’t walk it. So, I must get back to the pool soon. Once these marathons are over I will hit the pool 3 times a week. I have a lot of work to do. I like having a plan though and races on the horizon, it keeps me busy.
The cute kid
Harper is awesome. She just turned 17 months. She continues to amaze me every day. She is one smart little cookie. Lately she is really into snuggling. She likes to lay on a pillow next to you and “cozy down” as her dad calls it. She laughs a lot and when she gets excited she opens her mouth really wide and lets out a shriek of delight. She seems to really like going to school and loves to color with crayons. Terrible twos are coming our way though. Girl definitely has an opinion and wants what she wants RIGHT NOW! Don’t think about taking something from her or telling her no or you are in for a serious meltdown, look out!
Race for the Cure!
Backtrack to the weekend of Sept 11. Harper, Gary and I ran our first family 5K! We did the local RFC to benefit Breast Cancer. Running is a bit of an overstatement. It was so dang crowded, there were almost 45000 people in downtown Cleveland. Despite the madness we managed to come in under 30 mins and I was pushing the jogging stroller! This was my first race with the stroller. It wasn’t a lot of fun though b/c I was so worried the whole time that I was going to clip someone the huge front wheel on my BOB stroller. But I love the idea of family 5Ks and I hope we have many more in our future. I can’t wait until Harper is old enough to try some of the little kid dashes. Harper was really good too. We were downtown for a long time b/c it was so crowded and I think she enjoyed looking at all the people and chaos.
River Run Half Mary
The next day I woke up bright and early to run my first half marathon since May. My friend Amy was running her first half ever, so I was really excited for her. This race is one of my favorites and I have done it 4 or 5 times. The course winds through a beautiful park, is point to point and mostly downhill! I had big hopes. I really wanted a PR. My last half was 1:56:50. I knew I had a faster half in me. But ultimately I wanted to beat the time my husband ran his one and only half mary in – 1:54 and change. I figured a 1:53 would do it. He says he’ll do another race when I beat him. I would love to do another half together! But unfortunately it just wasn’t in the cards for me. I have had worst races for sure. But I just didn’t feel great and no matter what I did I couldn’t pick up my pace. I ended up finishing in 1:56:06. Which I can’t be mad about; it’s almost a min off my last race. But I kept yelling at my legs to pick it up and I couldn’t. However. I had no taper. I am training for a marathon and I ran an 18 miler the previous weekend. So, I keep reminding myself that I will get a 1:50 half marathon someday, but it won’t be on dead tired legs.
Running Miles and Miles
I hit a big milestone for me last week. I ran 40 miles! Usually I run somewhere between 30-35 miles a week and cross train a lot. But I am trying to switch it up this marathon season and I am trying to run more like 40-50 miles. I plan to add a few more miles each week until my taper. I am still strength training 1-2 times a week and usually doing yoga once. This past weekend I ran 21 miles on Sat and another 7 on Sun. I haven’t seen my bike or a pool in wayyy too long though. This weekend I have the Akron half mary. I am running it with my brother in law and don’t have any big expectations. My legs are very tired and the course is hilly. I just hope I can get him in close to 2 hours if not a hair below. That would rock.
Race plans
I also did something a little crazy and signed up for back to back marathons. I am a little worried, but super excited to see how I do. My friend JenC has also talked me into a June HIM. Ack! June. HIM! It’s called Race for Recovery and it’s in Monroe MI. What attracted me is that the swim runs parallel to shore and you are never in more than 6 ft of water. That sounds like a perfect induction into Half Ironman territory for me. However, I still have to get through a 1.2 mile swim, I can’t walk it. So, I must get back to the pool soon. Once these marathons are over I will hit the pool 3 times a week. I have a lot of work to do. I like having a plan though and races on the horizon, it keeps me busy.
The cute kid
Harper is awesome. She just turned 17 months. She continues to amaze me every day. She is one smart little cookie. Lately she is really into snuggling. She likes to lay on a pillow next to you and “cozy down” as her dad calls it. She laughs a lot and when she gets excited she opens her mouth really wide and lets out a shriek of delight. She seems to really like going to school and loves to color with crayons. Terrible twos are coming our way though. Girl definitely has an opinion and wants what she wants RIGHT NOW! Don’t think about taking something from her or telling her no or you are in for a serious meltdown, look out!
Friday, September 10, 2010
Running Mojo
Oh my life is tough when you are a full time working mom who just happens to like to use all of her spare time to train for endurance events. Blogging has fallen by the wayside, but I am not ready to give up my blog just yet. I have a new goal in life people. It is so large that it just sounds silly to say it at this point. I want to run a marathon in all 50 states. Umm…1 state down, lol. I actually have 2 friends who are working on this goal, one has 13 states and one has 36. I think it’s a great bucket list lifetime goal sort of thing. I am signed up for 2 marathons before the end of the year, Nov 7th in Huntington WV and Dec 11th in Rehoboth DE. So my 2011 I will have racked up 3 states. I have my eyes on April in Louisville KY and May in Pittsburgh PA. So, if all goes as planned, by my 32nd birthday in June I will have racked up 5 states. Not too shabby. To join the 50 state club, you have to have 10 states. I don’t think 4 marathons a year is realistic long term, but I hope to do 2 a year.
I have a half marathon this weekend and I am really excited to run it. My long runs have been really good lately. This has been the best season of running I have ever had. Think becoming a vegetarian has anything to do with it?
Harper is doing awesome. She is getting so big I just can’t take it. She has a huge temper, but is mostly sweet. But when she is mad, look out! Just like her mom. She will be 17 months soon. It just doesn’t seem like it’s been that long. She loves to dance, loves animals and unfortunately tv!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Have a heart
So I’ve been vegetarian for 4 months now and I am working myself towards vegan. I don’t think I will ever be 100% vegan, I can’t see myself reading through ingredient lists and getting rid of anything that has milk in it, but I am lactose intolerant, so going from vegetarian to vegan isn’t that big of a deal. But I will miss eggs. I will say that I feel good. I feel really good about what I have done and I feel healthy and skinny and happy that I am no longer eating beings that I would totally have as pets. But at the same time when I stop and think I get overwhelmingly sad. I am sad that it took me 31 long years to make this leap. I am sad that I live in a world that is so content to look the other way and I wonder how I looked the other way for so long. It’s like all of a sudden I am completely raw to animal suffering. I want to help them all and know that I can’t. But I am happy to do my small part. I am helping to stop the suffering of at least a few animals in my life time and lessening my load on the environment. I wish I could convince everyone to make the same decision. Going vegetarian is not as difficult as you may think. Harper is a vegetarian at home, but I haven’t asked her school to stop giving her meat yet. I may in the future. I don’t believe you need meat to be healthy by any means and she gets a multivitamin and lots of calcium from all the yogurt and cheese she gorges on daily. So, I think when she moves classrooms I will make the switch for her. I think that Harper will be happy to pass up meat when she learns where it really comes from. I am lucky that my husband is not a picky eater and has been totally cool with no longer having meat at dinner. I did buy him chicken last week at the grocery and it is still sitting in our fridge, lol. I will make him cook it though, I don’t want those birds to have died to just be thrown away! How about you, what stops you from making the leap?
My running is going pretty well. I did run a 10 mile race in extreme humidity this past weekend and almost quit. It was my worst race ever and took me almost as long as a half marathon. I dry heaved on the side of the road at one point and hit the portapotty twice. It was brutal. I have 14 miles on tap for this weekend, I look forward to some nice long fall runs. I signed up for the Huntington WV marathon, it is Nov 7. I haven’t been on my bike or in the pool since my last tri in late July! Bad Monica. For now I am content to just run. I am also going to start trying to get yoga in 2-3 times a week.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Up before the sun and on my way
My alarm goes off at 5am. Usually my eyes pop open a few minutes before and I lay there debating trying to sleep for 8 more mins or just getting up so my alarm doesn’t wake up Gary. Fonzie seems to be able to sense as soon as I open my eyes and immediately he is up, ears perked, breathing in my face, wondering if today is his day. Today, will he get to run? I peel myself out of my cozy king size bed and tiptoe past Harper’s room down our creaky wooden hallway and stairs. Down to the bathroom to pop in my contacts, brush my teeth and get dressed. Grab a banana and leash up the dogs and I am out in the pitch black of my neighborhood streets by 5:06. I walk the dogs down the street and back home to allow them time to go to the bathroom and to get my system up and running, get my blood pumping, shake off the sleep. Some days I then go to the pool, other days I run. Today was Fonzie’s lucky day b/c Tuesday is a running day. By 5:23 we were in the car driving the mile up the street to the CVS parking lot where we meet our friend Bruce. Most days we head over to the track and run laps trying our darndest to go fast enough to call it speed work. But some mornings like today we head North up Fairmount, turn on Richmond and run into the Beachwood park. As the sun starts to come up we are greeted by rabbits, deer and the occasional skunk! By 6:20 we are heading back into the CVS parking lot, 5 miles under our belts, exhausted Fonzie at my side, I am ready to start my day. I get home and usually Harper isn’t even awake yet. I have just enough time to make a shake and grab a shower before greeting her. There is no greater joy in the world than seeing the genuine smile on your child’s face when they see you first thing in the morning. Today I was met with a huge smile, and a book being eagerly jammed in my face. So, we sat down in the rocking chair and read Brown Bear, Brown Bear before the crazy morning get ready for work in 30 min routine set in. Usually I have her and I ready by 7 and we then take the dogs for a half mile walk and I drop her off at daycare around 7:30. I am at my desk by 8.
I made it through day 1 of my cleanse! It was a little tough. I craved sugar at least 2 or 3 times, but here is what I ate, for anyone curious: protein shake (hemp powder, almond milk, unsweetened PB), 2 slices whole grain toast with Earth Balance soy “butter”, banana, pear, 2 veggie burgers dipped in some olive oil salad dressing, carrots, a few mary’s gone crackers flaxseed crackers, popcorn, dinner – scallops w/corn on the cob and roasted potato/fries, peach. Not so bad right?
I made it through day 1 of my cleanse! It was a little tough. I craved sugar at least 2 or 3 times, but here is what I ate, for anyone curious: protein shake (hemp powder, almond milk, unsweetened PB), 2 slices whole grain toast with Earth Balance soy “butter”, banana, pear, 2 veggie burgers dipped in some olive oil salad dressing, carrots, a few mary’s gone crackers flaxseed crackers, popcorn, dinner – scallops w/corn on the cob and roasted potato/fries, peach. Not so bad right?
Monday, August 2, 2010
I'm back and training!
Hi there Bloggy friends, hopefully some of you are still out there. I had thought I’d abandoned this blog, but I think I am back as there is a lot going on in my training and eating world right now! Since I last left you I went through a bout of the stomach flu, had a great weeklong visit with my mom while the husband was out of town for 10 days, chopped off all my hair (allll of it) and donated it to Pantene Great Lengths, picked a fall marathon and I competed in the Fairport harbor sprint tri.
First up, the Tri. If you’ve been reading my blog you will know that me and open water swimming are enemies. But the weekend of this race I met up at the beach with a swim teacher and my friend JenC and I had a swim lesson. I must say it really helped me a lot. The main thing she taught me was to not breath when I sight. To just sight with my eyes up like a crocodile (well the reptile image came from Jen). It was like a light bulb moment. I had a great lesson and even though I was still sick from a stomach bug I decided to go through with the tri the next day. Mother nature had a different plan and as I drove the 45 mins that Sunday back to the beach the clouds rolled in and sprinkling began. The water was looking very scary and the sky was dark and cloudy. Needless to say I was scared. The race directors kept threatening to cancel the swim, but eventually about 30 mins late they called for the waves to get in the water. Standing on the shore I was shivering in the cold rain in my tri shorts and sports bra, but once we were corralled into the water it felt great, the water was as warm as a bathtub. I had to stand in the water for 15 mins while the other waves went off. My nerves were building up but by the time they told us to go I was just ready to get it over with. The race director cut the swim in half, so we only had to swim a measly 250 yds and then run up the beach to transition about .25 mile. Now normally I end up breast stroking my way through the whole swim, but not this time! I did start off with the breast stroke, but once I got some space around me I was able to freestyle and sight off of a lovely lap line they have at this beach. I did go back into breaststroke a few times, but I would venture to guess that I swam freestyle for at least 175 yards. I was really proud of myself! The rest of the race was just okay. My stomach was kicking and I felt pretty week, I finished around 1:20, which is nothing to write home about. But for me it was a win. Now I had contemplated doing a oly triathlon in Sept, but I just have too much going on running wise to get the training in. So, my plan is to swim hard all winter and next summer I will do a few oly’s and international tris.
My running has been going great. I decided to do the Huntington WV marathon on Nov 7. I have a friend from work who is doing it. I have a small dream of doing a marathon in all 50 states, so you won’t see me doing any more OH marathons. I hope to do WV this fall and one in MI next spring. I am saving NY in hopes that one day I will get in the lottery for NYC marathon. I just started up my training and had a great 10 mile run yesterday. It’s been awhile since I ran double digits, but it felt great. I really do enjoy distance. I have 2 half mary’s in Sept. I have been doing speed work at least 3 times a month and I have high hopes that my next half mary can be close to 1:50, if not under! 4:15 fall marathon here I come.
I am looking at buying a new all carbon road bike if I can get the bike shop to come down on the price, as it’s an ’09. It’s a Specialized Ruby Compact. I am excited. I hope they will take the price I offered. If I get it I may sign up for another sprint tri just to race on it this year.
So, like I said I chopped off all my hair. I am getting used to it. The guy who cut it (Shawn Paul at Cedar Hill salon for you locals) did an awesome job, but sometimes I look in the mirror and it takes me by surprised. But I am loving the quick morning shower and not having to deal with all my hair under my helmet and swim cap. It’s hard to feel sexy with short hair, but I feel spritely and cute at moments. Plus short hair makes me feel skinny, lol.
Speaking of skinny. Ugh, I have put on a few lbs and have been eating sugar like it’s going out of style. So, today marks day 1 of my attempt at a 21 days cleanse. I have done this cleanse before, it’s based off the book Quantum Wellness, but I have never made it 21 days. Last time I lasted about 17 days then ate a bunch of cupcakes the day before a half mary and got horribly sick! I am excited. I have been a vegetarian since mid April and I think this will be easier for me this time. Basically I will not be eating any animal products, added sugar, or anything processed or chemical laden. Good bye diet coke :( This cleanse is also supposed to be gluten free, but I am not going to be sticking to that. I did last time and I found gluten free products horribly expensive and not very tasty. But I will be sticking to rice and oats for my grains for the most part and they are gluten free. But if I want a piece of toast with soy butter on it I will have it! Being vegan is only hard for me when it comes to cheese. I already don’t drink dairy b/c it makes me sick. The sugar is the big thing for me. Today will be hard, but by Wed I know I will feel wonderful. I am excited to get rid of this sluggish belly feeling and have my energy shoot through the roof like it does when I eat strictly whole foods. Why oh why do I always go back to the processed crap!?! I am going to reread “The Quantum Wellness Cleanse” and “The Kind Diet” as motivation.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A plan boss, a plan
Tuesday June 29 - So I have a plan. Not sure it will work out. But I swiped a 16 week training plan offline for an Olympic distance triathlon. The one I have my eye on is Portage Lakes on Sept 19th. Has anyone done that race? If so, please tell me everything you can about the swim. Do you start in deep water? Do you have to go very far out in the lake?
I only have 12 weeks until the race, but I am already beyond where I should be for this plan for week 5. But starting today I am going to train according to this plan. It calls for two a days twice a week, ugh. But I can do anything for 3 months. The plan basically looks like this:
Monday – Swim & Run
Tuesday – Bike
Wednesday – Brick (bike/run)
Thursday – Swim
Friday – rest
Saturday – Bike
Sunday- Run
I am not sure about the midweek Brick. I will likely swap the Sat bike with the Wed brick as the Sat bike next goes beyond 90 mins. But the brick goes up to an hour bike followed by a 45 min run. To complicate matters further I have a few races in between:
July 25 – Fairport harbor spring tri
August 7 – 10K corporate challenge with work
August 15 – Perfect 10 miler
Sept 12 – River Run half marathon – which was my A race, I really want to rock it, but if I do this Oly, it’s the week before.
I would be so pleased to do an oly before, I have never done longer than a sprint.
I only have 12 weeks until the race, but I am already beyond where I should be for this plan for week 5. But starting today I am going to train according to this plan. It calls for two a days twice a week, ugh. But I can do anything for 3 months. The plan basically looks like this:
Monday – Swim & Run
Tuesday – Bike
Wednesday – Brick (bike/run)
Thursday – Swim
Friday – rest
Saturday – Bike
Sunday- Run
I am not sure about the midweek Brick. I will likely swap the Sat bike with the Wed brick as the Sat bike next goes beyond 90 mins. But the brick goes up to an hour bike followed by a 45 min run. To complicate matters further I have a few races in between:
July 25 – Fairport harbor spring tri
August 7 – 10K corporate challenge with work
August 15 – Perfect 10 miler
Sept 12 – River Run half marathon – which was my A race, I really want to rock it, but if I do this Oly, it’s the week before.
I would be so pleased to do an oly before, I have never done longer than a sprint.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Happy Trails to you....
Monday June 28th: Hi Bloggy friends! Our computer is dead, dead, dead. We had ordered a new computer last week and then our laptop pooped out on us the next day. It’s like it knew we were done with it and it was its final F you. We decided to get a MAC. It’s our first, I hope we like it. MAC has a great deal right now where if you buy a Macbook, you get a free Ipod touch. Pretty nifty. So, anyway, I have some great pics to show you from this weekend, but I can’t until I have a computer.
I did the Munroe Fall Summi sprint tri this weekend. It was a 400 yard swim/12 mile bike/5K run. I finished in 1:27. It’s funny. This was my second tri ever 2 years ago. I finished that day in 1:27 and some change and got 3rd in my age group. 3rd! I thought they’d made a mistake. I finished the same this weekend and was 155th overall. LOL. Oh well. There were about 200 people; so not a very stellar performance. The stupid swim took me 10 mins and I was almost last out of the water. I had very respectable times on the bike and the run. I managed to go about 17mph on the bike and it was a little hilly and my chain came off which cost me a few minutes. On the run I was below a 9min pace. My transition times were a little slow. But that swim…oh its weird to be almost dead last out of the water. But the thing is, even if I had been in the first group out of the water, I would have only gained about 3 mins. I breast stroked my way through the swim. I tried to put my face in and hammer out some free style, but just couldn’t do it. My breathe gets too short and I panic. I hate open water swimming, what am I to do? I have another tri in July and my goal is to just finish the swim in under 10 mins. Modest goals. I also need to learn to not wear a wetsuit for such short swims. I am not alone though, there were plenty of people with wet suits on. If I really want to do tris I need to dedicate myself to swimming. My goal this winter is to really get used to swimming and hopefully join a master’s group again. I can also improve on my brick times for sure. I can’t be upset with my time considering I barely trained. There is an oly tri in Sept that I would really like to try. But I am not sure I can breast, side, fake my way through a 1000 yard swim….any tips?
After the tri we took Harper to Happy Trails animal sanctuary. It’s in Ravenna and they were having a 10th anniversary party. They rescue abused and neglected farm animals. It was horridly hot, but we had so much fun. Harper was thoroughly delighted to pet the pigs, rabbits, horses and goats. And she got a kick out of looking at all the different kinds of chickens. I loved it to. I am in love with pigs, how did I ever eat them! They are so loving and intelligent. They have mini pigs, but also big 1000+lb pink pigs. If you live around here, you should really check this place out. They are only open to the public for events, but are happy to show you around if you give them a call. They are doing great work and if you are looking for somewhere to donate a few dollars to, they could really use the help.
I did the Munroe Fall Summi sprint tri this weekend. It was a 400 yard swim/12 mile bike/5K run. I finished in 1:27. It’s funny. This was my second tri ever 2 years ago. I finished that day in 1:27 and some change and got 3rd in my age group. 3rd! I thought they’d made a mistake. I finished the same this weekend and was 155th overall. LOL. Oh well. There were about 200 people; so not a very stellar performance. The stupid swim took me 10 mins and I was almost last out of the water. I had very respectable times on the bike and the run. I managed to go about 17mph on the bike and it was a little hilly and my chain came off which cost me a few minutes. On the run I was below a 9min pace. My transition times were a little slow. But that swim…oh its weird to be almost dead last out of the water. But the thing is, even if I had been in the first group out of the water, I would have only gained about 3 mins. I breast stroked my way through the swim. I tried to put my face in and hammer out some free style, but just couldn’t do it. My breathe gets too short and I panic. I hate open water swimming, what am I to do? I have another tri in July and my goal is to just finish the swim in under 10 mins. Modest goals. I also need to learn to not wear a wetsuit for such short swims. I am not alone though, there were plenty of people with wet suits on. If I really want to do tris I need to dedicate myself to swimming. My goal this winter is to really get used to swimming and hopefully join a master’s group again. I can also improve on my brick times for sure. I can’t be upset with my time considering I barely trained. There is an oly tri in Sept that I would really like to try. But I am not sure I can breast, side, fake my way through a 1000 yard swim….any tips?
After the tri we took Harper to Happy Trails animal sanctuary. It’s in Ravenna and they were having a 10th anniversary party. They rescue abused and neglected farm animals. It was horridly hot, but we had so much fun. Harper was thoroughly delighted to pet the pigs, rabbits, horses and goats. And she got a kick out of looking at all the different kinds of chickens. I loved it to. I am in love with pigs, how did I ever eat them! They are so loving and intelligent. They have mini pigs, but also big 1000+lb pink pigs. If you live around here, you should really check this place out. They are only open to the public for events, but are happy to show you around if you give them a call. They are doing great work and if you are looking for somewhere to donate a few dollars to, they could really use the help.
Friday, June 25, 2010
31 years ago today
I was born! My how time flies. I must say that my 30th year was the best year yet. So, I bet this one will be even better. I have a tri this weekend. I am not really looking forward to it, not sure what I was thinking signing up. I have only swam for 4 weeks and only 2-3 times a week. Yikes. The most I have swam is 1500 yds. I know I can get through 500 yds, but I think I am going to be pooped. Last time I did this tri I got 3rd in my age group, so I am setting myself up to be disapointed. I am far enough off my pregnancy now that I am not amazed by every little thing that I do, lol. Oh well I will just treat it as a good workout.
This past weekend I met up with the lovely Iron G and we rode our bikes on the Mentor tri course and swam in the lake. My first open water swim in 2 years and I still have absolutely no ability once a wave of any size is near me. I do really love biking though and am so happy I got back on my bike. I honestly figured I never would for awhile, that I would just run. But I am a much better biker than runner and I hope Gary and I are able to bike together every other week and on the in between weeks I can meet my awesome tri gal pals.
On the food front, I am still eating vegetarian and having no issues whatsoever. I do have fish here and there, so technically I am a pescatarian. I am also eating pretty closely to vegan since dairy bothers me anyway. I feel really good. And I feel horrible when I do indulge in sugary treats. Which has been a bit too often since I got back to a desk job. It's amazing the difference in my body now and how much sugar really bothers it since I started eating really clean back in late April. Sugar is evil ya'll and so are animal products! They wreak havoc on your systems.
I put an excercise ball at my desk and sat on it this morning for about 2.5 hours. I can already tell that that was a bit too long for the first time. My back is killing me!
Have a great weekend bloggy friends, what are you getting into?
This past weekend I met up with the lovely Iron G and we rode our bikes on the Mentor tri course and swam in the lake. My first open water swim in 2 years and I still have absolutely no ability once a wave of any size is near me. I do really love biking though and am so happy I got back on my bike. I honestly figured I never would for awhile, that I would just run. But I am a much better biker than runner and I hope Gary and I are able to bike together every other week and on the in between weeks I can meet my awesome tri gal pals.
On the food front, I am still eating vegetarian and having no issues whatsoever. I do have fish here and there, so technically I am a pescatarian. I am also eating pretty closely to vegan since dairy bothers me anyway. I feel really good. And I feel horrible when I do indulge in sugary treats. Which has been a bit too often since I got back to a desk job. It's amazing the difference in my body now and how much sugar really bothers it since I started eating really clean back in late April. Sugar is evil ya'll and so are animal products! They wreak havoc on your systems.
I put an excercise ball at my desk and sat on it this morning for about 2.5 hours. I can already tell that that was a bit too long for the first time. My back is killing me!
Have a great weekend bloggy friends, what are you getting into?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Clean it up!
Work is kicking my butt right now. I have been going in early, staying there late and checking email from home. But it’s not going to always be this way I am just in the middle of a large product launch. Hopefully by next week the dust will have settled. Unfortunately when I get stressed I don’t watch what I eat. I wish I could be one of those people who barely eat when they are stressed but I am the opposite! I had 2 candy bars in one day this week! Ack. So, today I am embarking on another cleanse. Vegan, sugar/processed food free, mostly gluten free. I am not too concerned about the gluten, but will do my best to mostly have oats and rice as my grains. I am excited. My stomach feels rotten and I feel so so good when I eat this way. Goodbye diet coke. Goodbye splenda. Hello water with cucumber and pure maple syrup.
I got in a 1 swim, and 2 good runs of 4-4.5 miles each so far this week. I really don’t think I have it in me right now to marathon train and tri train. So, I decided to just focus on the 2 tri’s and the half marathon. My runs will be up towards 13-15 miles in Sept for the half. When I do my tri at the end of July I will decide if I want to marathon train or International distance tri train. One or the other, I am not going to try to work full time and do both. Remind me to come back and read this later.
I packed my nice little cleanse lunch up in my awesome new Tupperware set. I had my mom buy me new Tupperware for my bday and I threw out every last piece of my old one (well I recycled them actually. I love my new Tupperware and I am trying not to use Ziploc bags in an effort to be more green! I started my day with a coconut milk, amazing grass, hemp protein powder shake and some blueberries. For lunch I have tabouli and Mary’s Gone Crackers (yummy gluten free crackers) and a veggie burger, for snacks I have an apple, kiwi and carrots and hummus. Not bad!
I’ve been reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (Love Clueless!) and it is a really good read. If you’ve ever thought seriously about going vegetarian, I highly recommend it.
I got in a 1 swim, and 2 good runs of 4-4.5 miles each so far this week. I really don’t think I have it in me right now to marathon train and tri train. So, I decided to just focus on the 2 tri’s and the half marathon. My runs will be up towards 13-15 miles in Sept for the half. When I do my tri at the end of July I will decide if I want to marathon train or International distance tri train. One or the other, I am not going to try to work full time and do both. Remind me to come back and read this later.
I packed my nice little cleanse lunch up in my awesome new Tupperware set. I had my mom buy me new Tupperware for my bday and I threw out every last piece of my old one (well I recycled them actually. I love my new Tupperware and I am trying not to use Ziploc bags in an effort to be more green! I started my day with a coconut milk, amazing grass, hemp protein powder shake and some blueberries. For lunch I have tabouli and Mary’s Gone Crackers (yummy gluten free crackers) and a veggie burger, for snacks I have an apple, kiwi and carrots and hummus. Not bad!
I’ve been reading The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone (Love Clueless!) and it is a really good read. If you’ve ever thought seriously about going vegetarian, I highly recommend it.
Monday, June 14, 2010
You can't always get what you want
Boy did I have a mess of a workout weekend, but some good came of it. I was very much looking forward to a strong, long stroller run on Sat and then my first real brick as preparation for my tri that is approaching way too quickly. I met my neighbor on Sat morning at 8am with Harper and the dog. My neighbor has her daughter as well. She is a bit faster than me, the humidity had to be at 100% and I went out way too fast. This equaled basically the run from hell. I was trying out a new waist belt with Fonzie and we were just a mess. We kept getting tangled. He was having a hard time with the heat and so was I. I think I also went out too fast to try and keep up with her. Needless to say I bonked miserably. By mile 4 I was doubting I could take another step. I dropped Fonzie off at the house, but I only made it 1 more mile without him. So, I did not get my 8 and I felt stitchy and sick. Just a bad run. But hey, it happens sometimes! So, I decided to eat something, drink a ton and go hit the pool to salvage the day. Well, don't you know I get to the pool and stinking water aerobics had just started! grrrr. So, I decided to buck up and take the water aerobics class as I was dressed for the pool. Honestly, I really really liked the aerobics class! So much that I would love to incorporate it in weekly, but just not sure I can fit it in. IT was really tough, lots of plyometric jumps and twisting core work. Loved it! So, the moral of the story is that you have to be flexible. Are you listening to me Tim!!! I think sometimes we get so caught up in our training schedules that we forget this is supposed to be fun!
Saturday night Gary and I dropped the kid off at the inlaws for her first overnight visit! We headed to Blossom to see my all time favorite band, Phish! I loved every minute of it and had so much fun. However, even though we were in the lawn, the smoke was out of control and I felt so ill from it being puffed in my face constantly. I don't know how in the world I worked in a bar for all those years. I cannot stand to be around smoke now. I thought I was going to puke. But we walked a ton and danced like crazy. We didn't get home until 1am. When I woke up around 8am on Sunday morning storms were rolling it. So, it was all too easy to skip my brick :( I am bummed now. But I enjoyed the rest day.
Work is super crazy so I am sickkkk of the computer. Hope you are all doing well bloggy friends.
Saturday night Gary and I dropped the kid off at the inlaws for her first overnight visit! We headed to Blossom to see my all time favorite band, Phish! I loved every minute of it and had so much fun. However, even though we were in the lawn, the smoke was out of control and I felt so ill from it being puffed in my face constantly. I don't know how in the world I worked in a bar for all those years. I cannot stand to be around smoke now. I thought I was going to puke. But we walked a ton and danced like crazy. We didn't get home until 1am. When I woke up around 8am on Sunday morning storms were rolling it. So, it was all too easy to skip my brick :( I am bummed now. But I enjoyed the rest day.
Work is super crazy so I am sickkkk of the computer. Hope you are all doing well bloggy friends.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Preparing for the MOMA DANCEEEE!!!!!
I keep looking over at my calendar and freaking out. I have a tri in 16 measly days. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking. I have ridden my bike 2 times outside, 1 time on the trainer and been in the pool 3 times so far. Ack. I did have a good swim today. I managed to get in 1200 yds in the time it took me to do 1000 on Monday. I had a kickass 4 mile track workout this week as well. I overslept on Thursday, but for the most part the AM workouts are getting easier. The only think I am slacking on is weights, must figure out a time to get those in. I think that is the hardest thing about tris, fitting in any kind of yoga or weights. I mean honestly when do you have time? Hopefully swimming will keep my arms toned, but I do need to at least do some sit-ups and pushups before bed. I’ve been putting a lot of thought into my training and schedule. Trying to figure out how to do the tris and still train for a marathon is hard. B/c honestly the tris are short distance, swimming and biking can’t overshadow the miles that I need to get in. So, here is what I am going to try and do from here until after the tri in July. At which point I will decide if I want to go for the International distance tri at Greater Cleveland in August or just focus on running.
Mon: Swim
Tues: Track workout (3-5 m)
Wed: Brick (20-30 min on trainer, 3m run)
Thurs: Swim, pm weights/yoga
Fri: Easy run or rest day
Sat: Long brick (60-90 min bike, 30-40 min run)
Sun: Long run (10-22m)
Just typing that tires me out. The Sat/Sun workouts will flip around, depends on when I have running or bricking dates. I also hope to get in the water once over the weekend, but hopefully open water, hoping to do that every other weekend.
Work is going pretty good. I am happy I chose the job that I did. That being said, I ended up getting a job offer the other day that was more money. Ugh. The job offer was 3 months after the interview mind you. What’s up with that.
I am super pumped for this weekend! We are going to see Phish on Sat night. I used to follow ***Phish*** around in the summers during college. I haven’t seen them since 2000 so I am super excited. I was just reading over some set lists and can.not.wait! I hope Gary likes it. It’s certainly an acquired taste of music. On top of that Harper is doing her first overnight with the in-laws while we go to the concert. I hope I am not nervous about that the whole time. I’m sure she’ll do fine. She is such a big girl I just can’t stand it. Yesterday was her first day fully weaned. No boob at all! I am happy to be done with the breastfeeding, but honestly it made me a little sad too. I will miss that cuddle time. I know for now I won’t be able to snuggle her up to me before bed b/c she will be expecting to nurse. But I hope once few months past and she has totally forgotten that I used to be her main food source (!) we can get back to sitting in the rocking chair and cuddling before she goes to bed. I miss her so much. Seeing her 3.5 hours a day is just not enough. And at some point I’m sure I will have a longer commute to work. Being a working mom is a tough thing…
Mon: Swim
Tues: Track workout (3-5 m)
Wed: Brick (20-30 min on trainer, 3m run)
Thurs: Swim, pm weights/yoga
Fri: Easy run or rest day
Sat: Long brick (60-90 min bike, 30-40 min run)
Sun: Long run (10-22m)
Just typing that tires me out. The Sat/Sun workouts will flip around, depends on when I have running or bricking dates. I also hope to get in the water once over the weekend, but hopefully open water, hoping to do that every other weekend.
Work is going pretty good. I am happy I chose the job that I did. That being said, I ended up getting a job offer the other day that was more money. Ugh. The job offer was 3 months after the interview mind you. What’s up with that.
I am super pumped for this weekend! We are going to see Phish on Sat night. I used to follow ***Phish*** around in the summers during college. I haven’t seen them since 2000 so I am super excited. I was just reading over some set lists and can.not.wait! I hope Gary likes it. It’s certainly an acquired taste of music. On top of that Harper is doing her first overnight with the in-laws while we go to the concert. I hope I am not nervous about that the whole time. I’m sure she’ll do fine. She is such a big girl I just can’t stand it. Yesterday was her first day fully weaned. No boob at all! I am happy to be done with the breastfeeding, but honestly it made me a little sad too. I will miss that cuddle time. I know for now I won’t be able to snuggle her up to me before bed b/c she will be expecting to nurse. But I hope once few months past and she has totally forgotten that I used to be her main food source (!) we can get back to sitting in the rocking chair and cuddling before she goes to bed. I miss her so much. Seeing her 3.5 hours a day is just not enough. And at some point I’m sure I will have a longer commute to work. Being a working mom is a tough thing…
Monday, June 7, 2010
Shut it and just sign up already!
Good morning Bloggy friends. I hope you had a great weekend. We certainly did. Saturday morning started with a bright and early 12 min stretch tape. Then I got the kid and husband up and we went to the North Union Farmer’s Market at Shaker Square. I’ve been to this market a few times, but considering I live 4 miles away, I haven’t been enough. The weather was overcast and threatening to rain on us, but we still managed to scoop up some goods including: free range eggs, homemade strawberry jam, some banana bread, asparagus and peas. From there we stopped by a few yard sales. We are in need of a cute dresser for our downstairs bedroom. We didn’t find anything. Once home, I headed to the pool and managed to swim 1000 yards in 28 mins. Not too shabby right!?! I lounged in the sauna afterwards and only let the totally naked woman, who insisted on laying down without a towel under her (ick), creep me out a little. The rest of the day was spent lounging and then I met a few friends including Trisaratops for a beer on a rainy patio at Brennan’s Colony. Good times.
Sunday morning I woke up to more rain, yuck. But Michelle and I managed to hammer out 4 miles together and then I did 2 more after she left. I played a game with myself and tried to run the last 2 miles in under 16 mins. and I did it! Well I did stop to catch my breath at the turnaround and stopped my watch, but still, I kind of did it.
Now it’s Monday and we’re back to the grind. I got up at 5am and headed to the pool. I was worried that the pool would be packed. I used to swim at the JCC in the am and I always had to share a lane and circle swim. I hate to circle swim. But today I was in luck, there were 3 other people there, but I had a lane alllll to myself. I again did 1000 yards. I am going to start to keep track of my swims so I can keep an eye on my progress, today I did:
200 kickboard warm up with fins
100 breast with fins
100 free with fins
100 breast
200 free
150 of 25 breast/25 free (did the free as fast as I could handle)
50 kick cooldown
I took a HUGE plunge and signed up for 2 triathlons today. I am a nut. I have been on my bike twice and in the pool twice in the past 2 years. Oh well, I know I can breast stroke my way through 500 yards. I signed up for the Summi Tri (where I got 3rd in my age group last time, despite breast stroking the swim) on June 27th and the Fairport Harbor Pirate tri on July 25th. I am very nervous about that Fairport one b/c it is in Lake Eerie. Which makes me want to pee my pants thinking about it. But everyone raves about this tri and it’s in the break wall so it’s not wavy. This will be a huge step to help me overcome my fears I think. In the meantime I better get out to Mentor headlands at least twice to practice swimming with no goggle visibility. Yuck.
If I make it through these without drowning hopefully I can do the oly at the Cleveland tri, but again that’s in Lake eerie, so I don’t know….
Also on a foodie note, I have been a vegetarian for over a month now. I am madly in love with these 2 soups and have had them a few times a week. If you’ve never tried them, get yer butt to Whole foods.
Sunday morning I woke up to more rain, yuck. But Michelle and I managed to hammer out 4 miles together and then I did 2 more after she left. I played a game with myself and tried to run the last 2 miles in under 16 mins. and I did it! Well I did stop to catch my breath at the turnaround and stopped my watch, but still, I kind of did it.
Now it’s Monday and we’re back to the grind. I got up at 5am and headed to the pool. I was worried that the pool would be packed. I used to swim at the JCC in the am and I always had to share a lane and circle swim. I hate to circle swim. But today I was in luck, there were 3 other people there, but I had a lane alllll to myself. I again did 1000 yards. I am going to start to keep track of my swims so I can keep an eye on my progress, today I did:
200 kickboard warm up with fins
100 breast with fins
100 free with fins
100 breast
200 free
150 of 25 breast/25 free (did the free as fast as I could handle)
50 kick cooldown
I took a HUGE plunge and signed up for 2 triathlons today. I am a nut. I have been on my bike twice and in the pool twice in the past 2 years. Oh well, I know I can breast stroke my way through 500 yards. I signed up for the Summi Tri (where I got 3rd in my age group last time, despite breast stroking the swim) on June 27th and the Fairport Harbor Pirate tri on July 25th. I am very nervous about that Fairport one b/c it is in Lake Eerie. Which makes me want to pee my pants thinking about it. But everyone raves about this tri and it’s in the break wall so it’s not wavy. This will be a huge step to help me overcome my fears I think. In the meantime I better get out to Mentor headlands at least twice to practice swimming with no goggle visibility. Yuck.
If I make it through these without drowning hopefully I can do the oly at the Cleveland tri, but again that’s in Lake eerie, so I don’t know….
Also on a foodie note, I have been a vegetarian for over a month now. I am madly in love with these 2 soups and have had them a few times a week. If you’ve never tried them, get yer butt to Whole foods.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Sunday Goal day
As I was swimming yesterday for the first time in 2 years. I took the quiet time to myself to #1 reflect on how bad I am at swimming, lol and #2 come up with some goals. There are a million things that I want to do, a faster marathon, a faster half marathon, a half ironman, learn to flipping swim fast, do a 100 mile road ride and do P90x to finally get buff arms. And of course I want to do them all righttttt now. But that is just not logical at all. I am the mother of a 13 month old busy busy monkey, I work full time and already have to get up at 4:50am to do the workouts I already do. So, here are a few things that I want to do this year.
So there you have it, goals for me to focus on between now and Thanksgiving. The marathon I have my eye on is Oct 3. If for some reason I have a really bad day out there and feel the need to try again I can try Philly in Nov. But in reality Corning NY is my only shot this year to get under 4:30. I have a half on Sept 26th, if something goes wrong there I can try again at a local half that is right before thanksgiving. I haven't picked a sprint tri yet, but I really want one that doesn't swim in Lake Eerie and swims in an inland lake. I really like the sprint I did at Munroe Falls a few years back, so I may see if I can do that one.
In order to make these goals I am obviously going to have to focus on my running. I plan to run 4 days a week, one of those being a track workout. One being long, one being a tempo with the dog and stroller and then one other shorter recovery run as part of a brick. I plan to do 3 - 20 + milers. Running 4 days a week will allow me to swim 2-3 times and I will probably only bike outside once and then indoors once. But to do a sprint that is suficient.
Once these goals are over I am going to spend the fall/winter months focusing on swimming and I want to try P90X. Next year I want to do a half ironman and can do a 100 mile road ride as part of my training. Soooo there you have. Think I am taking too much on, lol. That's how I've always been, I'm not happy if I am not working towards some sort of goal. But I will be doing all these workouts at the buttcrack of dawn, to make sure I have plenty of Harper time!
#1 - A fall marathon well under 4:29, I really think I have it in me to get under 4:10, but just want to do better than I did last time.
#2 -Smash my recently obtained half mary PR of 1:56 and change. I did that on a really bad stomach day, so if I could get to the starting line without self inflicted cupcake GI issues, then surely I can do more like 1:51, if not better! I mean hell I lost 3 mins for a porta john stop and 2 mins hobbling with a side stitch to get that 1:56.
#3 - do a late summer, fall sprint tri
So there you have it, goals for me to focus on between now and Thanksgiving. The marathon I have my eye on is Oct 3. If for some reason I have a really bad day out there and feel the need to try again I can try Philly in Nov. But in reality Corning NY is my only shot this year to get under 4:30. I have a half on Sept 26th, if something goes wrong there I can try again at a local half that is right before thanksgiving. I haven't picked a sprint tri yet, but I really want one that doesn't swim in Lake Eerie and swims in an inland lake. I really like the sprint I did at Munroe Falls a few years back, so I may see if I can do that one.
In order to make these goals I am obviously going to have to focus on my running. I plan to run 4 days a week, one of those being a track workout. One being long, one being a tempo with the dog and stroller and then one other shorter recovery run as part of a brick. I plan to do 3 - 20 + milers. Running 4 days a week will allow me to swim 2-3 times and I will probably only bike outside once and then indoors once. But to do a sprint that is suficient.
Once these goals are over I am going to spend the fall/winter months focusing on swimming and I want to try P90X. Next year I want to do a half ironman and can do a 100 mile road ride as part of my training. Soooo there you have. Think I am taking too much on, lol. That's how I've always been, I'm not happy if I am not working towards some sort of goal. But I will be doing all these workouts at the buttcrack of dawn, to make sure I have plenty of Harper time!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Concrete gut
Hey there Bloggy friends. I am sooo ready for the weekend! Aren’t you! It’s going to be hard to top last weekend. My mom visited and we had a built in babysitter so the hubby and I took 2 long bike rides, ran a 5.25 mile road race and saw a movie. It was great. But this weekend, its back to the norm. My plan is to get into the pool tomorrow. I am so nervous. I wonder if I can even make it 100 yards! Then on Sunday I have an 8 mile trail run planned.
Not too long ago I did a vegan, gluten, sugar free cleanse. My goal was 21 days, I never made it that long. But I made it 14 days twice. I haven’t had meat since I started with those cleanses. So, it’s been about 6 weeks since I had meat. Anyway, my point is that I feel yucky. I keep eating junky carbs and it is amazing the effect you can see once you have cleansed. My energy level is so different and my gut feel sluggish. I almost wonder if I don’t have a gluten intolerance. I know I have a dairy one. I threw away the meringues and mini biscotti I had in my desk and I need to really try to back away from the packaged foods again. Yuck.
What is your favorite vegan snack?
Not too long ago I did a vegan, gluten, sugar free cleanse. My goal was 21 days, I never made it that long. But I made it 14 days twice. I haven’t had meat since I started with those cleanses. So, it’s been about 6 weeks since I had meat. Anyway, my point is that I feel yucky. I keep eating junky carbs and it is amazing the effect you can see once you have cleansed. My energy level is so different and my gut feel sluggish. I almost wonder if I don’t have a gluten intolerance. I know I have a dairy one. I threw away the meringues and mini biscotti I had in my desk and I need to really try to back away from the packaged foods again. Yuck.
What is your favorite vegan snack?
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Mic Check 1,2, 3
Testing 1, 2,3. Does anyone still have me on their blogroll? I decided to give up monicaonthego.com and come back to my nice free easy to use Blogger address. I just couldn’t stay away from talking about myself :) To bring you up to speed. I am not back at work full time and Harper is going on 14 months. Oh my goodness does time fly. She is a wonderful little girl and doing great at daycare.
I have kept up my running and even did a marathon 6 months post partum and had a fat PR at the Cleveland half marathon a earlier this month. I am currently training for a half marathon in Sept and maybe for the Wineglass marathon on Oct2nd. I am not sure if I will really get all my miles in now that I am working again, so not sure if that will pan out.
Just this past weekend I got on my bike for the first time since before I was pregnant (so almost 2 years!). I forgot how much I love biking and really how “good” I am at it. I was never super fast, but biking comes a lot easier to me than running. I did a hilly 21 miler on Saturday and then a hilly, rainy 23 miler on Monday. It was great. Biking is in itself a lot scarier than running and I did fear for my life on the Monday ride since we were on a small street with steep downhills. But being out on my bike made me miss tris….so maybe a tri is in my future. Let me get back in the pool first!
I have kept up my running and even did a marathon 6 months post partum and had a fat PR at the Cleveland half marathon a earlier this month. I am currently training for a half marathon in Sept and maybe for the Wineglass marathon on Oct2nd. I am not sure if I will really get all my miles in now that I am working again, so not sure if that will pan out.
Just this past weekend I got on my bike for the first time since before I was pregnant (so almost 2 years!). I forgot how much I love biking and really how “good” I am at it. I was never super fast, but biking comes a lot easier to me than running. I did a hilly 21 miler on Saturday and then a hilly, rainy 23 miler on Monday. It was great. Biking is in itself a lot scarier than running and I did fear for my life on the Monday ride since we were on a small street with steep downhills. But being out on my bike made me miss tris….so maybe a tri is in my future. Let me get back in the pool first!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
monicaonthego.com
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.
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.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Clean it up Day 2/14 - Dec 7th
Good morning Bloggy friends, it's looking to be cold and clear here in Cleveland today, but the snow is coming soon. Ugh. It stinks for me when it gets cold out b/c the dogs are going to want their walk and it will be getting too cold to take Harper. How cold is too cold? I have a snowsuit for her, so I don't worry about her body, but her little face gets so red. I put her in the baby car seat and zip the bundle me around her too, I feel that is more protection than just hanging out in the jogging stroller. Anyone else walk their dogs with the baby everyday? I could just wait until G gets home of course, but it is dark by then. On the agenda for today is Beamfit class at the gym, followed by Hard Core class. Then I need to get a few things at the grocery store and maybe head to TJ Maxx to finally finish up the Xmas shopping. Just a few more things to get. Maybe I'll be really ambitious and start wrapping today, although something tells me that may be a task better suited once grabhands Harper goes to bed...
Breakfast - 1/4 cup ricotta cheese mixed with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice, coffee with 1 stevia and soy creamer , cliff Z bar on way to gym
1 hour Beamfit & hard core class
Snack - Raw Revolution Live food bar (I had the hazelnut one and it tasty and had a nice moist almost brownie like texture) & golden delicious apple
Lunch - cup of pumpkin curry soup from whole foods food bar & Quorn Guyere "chickn" cutlet
Snack - Wallaby down under yogurt & a piece of toast with smuckers premium tart cherry jam
Dinner - Chicken breast simmered in curry sauce, 1/2 cup Quiona w/celery & carrots, beets soaked in balsamic vinegar
Snack-
Breakfast - 1/4 cup ricotta cheese mixed with 1 egg, 2 egg whites, vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice, coffee with 1 stevia and soy creamer , cliff Z bar on way to gym
1 hour Beamfit & hard core class
Snack - Raw Revolution Live food bar (I had the hazelnut one and it tasty and had a nice moist almost brownie like texture) & golden delicious apple
Lunch - cup of pumpkin curry soup from whole foods food bar & Quorn Guyere "chickn" cutlet
Snack - Wallaby down under yogurt & a piece of toast with smuckers premium tart cherry jam
Dinner - Chicken breast simmered in curry sauce, 1/2 cup Quiona w/celery & carrots, beets soaked in balsamic vinegar
Snack-
Have you ever had Quorn products? They are made of fungus. I like them more than soy chicken products. They are low calorie and have a good amount of protein. I like the plain ones with ketchup on them, I like ketchup on pretty much anything though. Today was the first time I tried the Gruyere cutlets and they were delicious!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Prepare to be bored - 12/6
In an effort to shame myself into not eating huge quantities of cereal and wendy's frosties on a daily basis I am going to start making a daily post about what I ate today. Not much is going to be off limits except for cereal and true junk food. Why cereal you may ask? Because I eat it 2-3 times a day, for real, small bowls usually, but still I want to completely give up cereal and have it out of my life. Years ago I never ever ate cereal, I picked up the habit when I was pregnant. I am going to post a food log for at least 14 days to try and make myself more conscious of the worthless food I put into my body. Not worried about calories at all, just about putting nutritious, clean fuel in. I get sick too much, maybe if I ate a little better that wouldn't be the case.
Breakfast (pre run) -
1 packet quaker high fiber oatmeal and 1/2 packet quaker simple harvest oatmeal, coffee with 1 stevia and silk soy creamer
8.15 miles run
Snack - Cliff Z bar & banana
1 hour power yoga
Lunch -
1/2 cup quinoa prepared with chicken broth, carrots, celery & craisins, garden salad w/radishes, beets, chickpeas, goat cheese and balsamic vinagrette
Snack: True North pistachio crisps (yummy cracker alternative, check them out) & 2 slices of very holey deli swiss cheese, big pear
Dinner: 2 tilapia loins sauteed in orange juice and rosemary & green giant frozen veggie mix that had cauliflower, carrots and cranberries in a light butter sauce
Snack: newmans own simply salted popcorn & carnation instant breakfast (was craving chocolate) made with skim milk
I haven't had the popcorn yet, but that is my plan in a few hours. I need some sort of after dinner snack around 8, that's just how it is, usually its cereal. I would give today a B, I overdid it a bit with the true north crisps, but then again I excercised a lot. If you've never tried the True North products you are missing out, they are all really yummy. Target usually has them. You can get a $1 coupon on their website. Time to put Harper to bed!
Breakfast (pre run) -
1 packet quaker high fiber oatmeal and 1/2 packet quaker simple harvest oatmeal, coffee with 1 stevia and silk soy creamer
8.15 miles run
Snack - Cliff Z bar & banana
1 hour power yoga
Lunch -
1/2 cup quinoa prepared with chicken broth, carrots, celery & craisins, garden salad w/radishes, beets, chickpeas, goat cheese and balsamic vinagrette
Snack: True North pistachio crisps (yummy cracker alternative, check them out) & 2 slices of very holey deli swiss cheese, big pear
Dinner: 2 tilapia loins sauteed in orange juice and rosemary & green giant frozen veggie mix that had cauliflower, carrots and cranberries in a light butter sauce
Snack: newmans own simply salted popcorn & carnation instant breakfast (was craving chocolate) made with skim milk
I haven't had the popcorn yet, but that is my plan in a few hours. I need some sort of after dinner snack around 8, that's just how it is, usually its cereal. I would give today a B, I overdid it a bit with the true north crisps, but then again I excercised a lot. If you've never tried the True North products you are missing out, they are all really yummy. Target usually has them. You can get a $1 coupon on their website. Time to put Harper to bed!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Reindeer Run 5K - 12/5
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!
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About Me
- Mnowac
- distance runner attempting to run a marathon in every state, vegetarian foodie, mediocre triathlete, sucky swimmer, mommy to Harper, tea lover, coffee drinker, animal saver, hubby snuggler, race addict, full time working 31 year old living in cleveland
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