a small peak into this week...

..it was cold.
..i studied biology. a lot.
..i played with my cute little dog.
..we had a bucket of spaghetti for dinner.
..i played with baby abigail.

this week was good :)

23 things.

i have been inspired by michelle {and lots of others, but her blog is where i first saw it} to make a list of 23 things i want to do before my 24th birthday. i started making this list when i was making out my new year's goals, so i've actually completed two of them already.... yay!

hopefully i can do them all before my birthday on july 9th, 2010! wish me luck!

in no particular order...

1. run the derby half marathon {04.24.10}
   
2. give blood {i've never done it before!!!}
3. visit the newport aquarium and play with the penguins {02.14.10}
4. complete the triple crown {03.06.10 ; 03.20.10 ; 04.03.10}
5. have a girls' night {1/22 with the girls from the gym. thanks, elise!}
   
6. read at least one of the books josh has gotten me
   
7. make homemade ice cream {05.31.10}
   
8. try new recipes for dinner {03.10.10}
9. take weekend trip with josh {does a week count? 05.01-06.10}
   
10. spend a day with my favoritest cousin before she gets married in april {got snowed out} :(
    
11. take a walk and/or go for a run in the rain
    
12. get a new lens for my camera {02.24.10}
    
13. run/plan a half marathon out of town
14. visit with my tennessee friends {04.17.10}
    
15. get 2009 & 2010 pictures printed out and organized
16. make a photo book and/OR start on a 2010 scrapbook
    
17. try a new workout {tried bootcamp and started incorporating turbokick and step class in my weekly workouts}
    
18. get a new hair cut {02.13.10}
    
19. get my nails done professionally {never done this either!}
    
20. smile at people more often
    
21. volunteer somewhere/give to charity {03.14.10}
22. take pictures in a photo booth {07.08.10}
    
23. finish the semester with all A's
    

so there we go... 23 things i want to do before i'm 24. fun things but also maybe a little challenging. i wanted to put down skydiving, but i don't know if i will have a chance to actually do that before my birthday... it is on my "life list of things to do" though.. and it'd be awesome to do this year. i've only been wanting to do that for the past 5 years.

anyway. i hope i can get them all done! we shall see...

Half Marathon Training Update {week 3}

This picture has nothing to do with this post. I just hate posting without a picture.. so you get a picture of some chocolates! Sorry for the sweet temptation so early in the morning!

Well... if anyone watches The Biggest Loser, you know that week 2 is notorious for not being very great... well, I'm in week 3 of training but I'm going to compare it to week 2 on The Biggest Loser. It just wasn't that good.

Here was my schedule for last week:
Monday - spin, Turbokick
Tuesday - weight training, speed run
Wednesday- spin
Thursday - weight training, tempo run
Friday - rest
Saturday - rest
Sunday - long run {9 miles}

Monday I skipped spin in the morning. I don't really remember why at this point, but I did. I think because it was MLK day and I had the day totally free so I just decided to go in the evening. I can Monday evenings anyway, so I'm not sure that I'll always go to spin Monday morning. It's nice to have some sleep, too... and sleep helps your body heal and recover. But then again, if I don't go to spin Monday morning I can only go once a week and it's even harder for me to go on Wednesdays... so we'll see.

Anyway, I did end up doing Turbokick though. I LOVE it!

Tuesday was the only day I actually made it to the gym in the morning. I don't know why because I always feel great after I go.
I also did my speed run which was five 1k repeats at a 9:00 pace. It was pretty challenging! {1k is equal to 0.625 miles...or 3.1 miles altogether - hence the term 5k for a 3.1 mile race}

Wednesday .... yeah, somehow slept through spin. I don't remember why now... Probably because I was tired after Tuesday and knew Wednesday was my long day at school. Yeah, I know, not a good excuse...

Thursday I slept through weight training {I know, I know} but did my tempo run. It was 4 miles... 1 easy, 2 at a 9:45 pace, 1 easy... not too bad.

Friday was my rest day.

Saturday I had no plans of working out, but I ended up going to weight training in the morning and then to Elise's new class called BOOTCAMP. I've been trying to up my weights in weight training and I could really tell after Saturday. I was SORE {and still am!}

Bootcamp was hard! It was kind of like my old favorite Crosstrain class, only about 10 times harder. I loved and hated it all at the same time!

Sunday I totally sucked at my long run, which was supposed to be 9 miles. It was nice temperature-wise outside {around 50 degrees} but it was raining, so I was debating between running outside and running at the gym.. I ended up going to the gym. Which I guess was good because Josh did his run {supposed to be 10 miles} outside and stopped after about 5 because the rain was cold and miserable. However, I also stopped at around 5 because apparently they had the heat on or something in the Cardio Theater.

So yeah. Overall I would say week 3 kind of failed. But really, I guess it wasn't a total loss. Not every week and every workout has to be perfect. I guess I just feel like I have to stick to my schedule exactly and one mess up equals failure... which I know is a bad way to think. I still got in some really good workouts and some really good runs. And I'm still adjusting to my school schedule and the whole getting up early thing. Lame excuses, I know. I know the majority of my problem was that for some reason, mentally I just wasn't totally into it this week.

BUT THIS WEEK THERE ARE NO EXCUSES!!! :o) My mom has decided to train for the Anthem 5k... and her enthusiasm is inspiring me! I'm so proud of her! She is going to ROCK IT!

"It takes awhile to understand that the whole idea isn't to beat the other runners. The real competition is against the voice inside your head that wants to quit."

- George Sheehan

Ribs & Red Velvet Cake

Yesterday we celebrated Doug's birthday!

Morgan kept the birthday boy company while everyone else was getting dinner ready..

We ate TONS of delicious food, including BBQ ribs! {which there were, sadly, no leftovers of}

....thanks to RJ!

We also had macaroni and cheese, potatoes, green beans, and steamed veggies. And of course.. birthday cake!

Red velvet birthday cake! The kids loved it!

Gage got in trouble for sticking his finger in the cake and licking the icing. However, I almost want to say I can't blame him! He didn't think anyone would know he did it if he just said it wasn't him... he didn't think anyone would go looking for his fingerprints in the cake!

Aww...aren't Morgan and Josh cute? :)

Happy Birthday, Doug! Hope it was wonderful! :o)

All over the place!

I had a busy week {hence no blogging} and a FUN weekend!!! This post may be all over the place since it's been awhile. You have been warned.

The week was busy... and rainy... which kind of drained me. It was pretty much a week straight of this:

Gray skies and rain! But I got to use my pretty umbrella..

AND I got pretty red roses on Friday. :)

Unfortunately these were not from Josh either, who now claims it's impossible for him to compete with all the flowers I've been getting from other people, so he shouldn't even try ;-)

On Friday night I went to a fun Girls' Night In party with all the girls from the gym {and a few guys} at Elise's house. It was fun to see everyone in regular clothes and not so stinky {in other words, outside of the gym} and get to know a few people I haven't really gotten to know too well before. We had lots of delicious food, played games like charades and Cranium, and just hung out! I'm so thankful for all of the awesome people I've met at LAC. I ♥ my gym family! :) Unfortunately I forgot my camera :(

Saturday morning, Gage had some TV time with "Unc." {That's what Gage and Morgan call Josh}

Kosmo even got in on it..

I love how Kosmo is yawning and Gage's little belly is sticking out in the background!

We also did this pretty much all day long:

Kosmo LOVES that red ball! Which is good because it's pretty much the perfect Kosmo toy: indestructable, doesn't soak up slobber, and it's too big to go under the couch!

We also celebrated Doug's {Josh's dad} birthday yesterday, but I have to leave for class in a minute, so I'll write about that later!

Friday.

So glad it's Friday! How about you?

Be back soon with a real update! ♥

Weekend tidbits..

My paycheck came delivered with flowers again this week! I could really get used to this. I hope it continues to be a weekly thing :) Although, I do find it a tad ironic that I've now gotten flowers twice in the last 2 weeks and neither time was from Josh... hehe ;-)

On Saturday evening after the race we went out for dinner to PF Changs with Pat & Sheri.

As always, it was delicious! Mmmm lettuce wraps! :)

Then I washed a blanket that had been needing washed since Bogey was here...I'm pretty sure he left his entire coat on that blanket!

It came out in the dryer vent!! It was also all over the washer...eww.

And then Josh decided to exfoliate and revitalize his face... while we watched 24 of course! {Best show ever!} Doesn't he look thrilled about me taking this picture? ;-)

It was nothing overly exciting, but sometimes it's the little things that make it good. Like flowers. And dogs. And PF Changs. And running a race and setting a PR. And a cute studly boyfriend. And candy in a heart-shaped bowl :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Half Marathon Training Update {week 2}

Seriously, how attractive is this picture? WOW. This is me looking like I'm about to die at the end of the 5k on Saturday. I should probably pay more attention to the photographers at races and try not to look like an idiot in all these race pictures.

Josh made a pretty good face at the end, too!

Clearly, we are sexy runners! At least his eyes are open. ;-) Thanks to Tom Moran for the pictures.

Alright, on to the work outs from last week. They were pretty good... I made it to 3 of my 4 morning workouts, which I considered a success, especially for week 1!

Here was my schedule for last week:
Monday - spin, Guts & Butts class, Turbokick
Tuesday - weight training, speed run
Wednesday- spin
Thursday - weight training, tempo run
Friday - rest
Saturday - 5k race
Sunday - long run {9 miles}

Monday was day 1 of morning workouts! Did spin at 5:30 in the morning. My schedule allows me to go to the gym in the evenings on Mondays too, so Hope and I have been going to Guts & Butts and Turbokick. I love Turbokick! I didn't think that I would, but I do! And I caught onto it surprisingly fast {it only took 2 classes before I got the hang of it!}

Tuesday - slept through weight training :( Oops! Did my speed run though... 8 quarter mile repeats at a 9:00 pace.

Wednesday - did spin in the morning.

Thursday - made it to weight training in the morning! I loved it... I always love it once I'm there, but for some reason I always dread it. I realized during this class that I don't think I am using enough weights... so next time I'm going to try to bump it up some!

My tempo run was pretty hard... 5 miles at a 10:13 pace.

Friday was my rest day.

Somehow all week I kept forgetting that Saturday we were running a 5k. I pretty much forgot about it until Friday night. I was so proud of myself afterwards!!! But I already wrote about that...

Anyway, apparently the 5k screwed up my long run. I thought my knee injury was FINALLY getting better. My knee had been feeling tons better, even after long runs... after my 7 mile run last week, it didn't hurt at all! But I guess the hills kind of threw it off again. I ended up having to cut my long run short on Sunday. I was supposed to do 9 miles, but I cut it off right under 6. It started hurting around mile 4-5, but I knew that the treadmill was going to kick me off at an hour anyway, so I wanted to push through at least until then. I hate it when stuff like that happens, especially when I'm so close to the end. At that point, I only had 3-4 miles left and I just wanted to do it! But I know I have to look at the big picture and realize that it's only one run, and I have to let injuries heal so they don't get worse. My goal is the half marathon, not my long run on Sundays. It just stinks after having such a good run last weekend.

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." -PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian

This morning I set a PR.

This morning we did the Frostbite 5k. This was my 2nd 5K, which meant my main goal was to beat my first 5K time. My first 5k was back in October and was my first race ever, so you'd think that with 3 and a half months of running/training between now and then that'd be a pretty easy goal. However, it was in the same park as the Reindeer Romp, which if you remember, has killer hills!!! And my first 5k was completely flat! So I wasn't sure exactly how it was going to go, but I was determined to do it. My other goal was to not stop at all on the hills like I did at the Reindeer Romp.

I actually think this has probably been my best race so far! I actually pushed myself more than I usually do, because Josh is always telling me that I don't push myself enough. I usually sprint towards the finish line, which means I have it in me to do more during the actual race. So, that's what I did... and it felt good! :) I couldn't even really sprint to the finish line this time because I was so tired by the end.

I ended up with a time of 30:58 and a 9:55 average pace.

I was so excited!!!!

I really wanted to finish in the 30th minute, but I wasn't really counting on it with the hills. I just wanted to beat my last time which was 32:14. And I've NEVER run any race with an average of less than 10 minute miles!! I think that was my favorite part!

So, over all I am really proud of myself for pushing myself, not stopping at all, accomplishing my goal, and running less than 10 minute miles even with the hills! I can't wait until the next 5k {in March}... it doesn't have hills, so I can't wait to see how fast I can run that one!

And of course, it wouldn't be a race without congratulatory Starbucks afterwards! :)

Stats:
Frostbite 5K
January 16, 2010
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 30:58 / 9:55 pace

Today, by numbers.

I've got to get used to having two blogs. I feel repetitive updating two of them when most of the time I end up writing the same thing in both of them...at least a little bit. But I guess that's to be expected when one of them is updated daily. I guess I'll get used to it?

Well, week one of school is officially behind me! So far, the schedule isn't that bad. It will take a little bit to get used to getting out of class when it's getting dark {or after it's already dark on Wednesdays} but other than that it's not so bad. It's also not the most fun thing in the world to get out of a nice warm, cozy bed at 4:45am to go to the gym at 5:30am, but once I'm up that's not so bad either. Plus it's a great feeling at 6:30am to know that I've already worked out for an hour. I'm not sure that will ever get old.

I don't really have anything else too interesting to write about, about that. I could elaborate on the whole school thing, but who wants to hear about that? Probably not you. I promise it's not very exciting, but if that changes I'll be sure to let you know.


Moving on to more exciting things. Week two with Abigail is going pretty good as well. She's still a cute, happy baby... although she's a little more fussy this week since she's getting teeth. But I guess if sharp things were cutting through my gums I'd be a little fussy, too.


Today also marks month five with Josh. Five months ago we went on our very first date... to Chick-Fil-A on August 15th. :) In some ways I feel like it's been longer than 5 months and in some ways it doesn't even seem like it's been that long. So Happy Anniversary, Josh! Wait, is it called an anniversary when it's only months? I thought anniversary meant years... so Happy 5th Monthiversary, Josh! Sorry it's not on the 12th... ;-)

Half Marathon Training Update {week 1}

Well, it's official! There's no turning back now! I just registered for the half marathon!!! I guess I'm really doing it.. only 3 months, 1 week, and 6 days to go!

I felt great about my training last week! I feel like I have a new attitude and a re-newed sense of energy.. or something. I don't know if it's the fact that it's a new year so I have the "new start" mentality or if I'm just finally getting "into it." I think I've finally come to realize that it's going to be hard, and it might not always be fun, but I CAN do it if I work hard enough.... and it will be worth it.

Now, I might have a different perspective this week when all of my workouts begin at 5:30am.

But that'll be the point when I just picture crossing that finish line with my family & friends waiting there... and it'll keep me going.

Anyway, here was my workout schedule last week:
Monday - guts & butts class {core workout}, spin class, yoga
Tuesday - speed run, Crosstrain, weight training, yoga
Wednesday- guts & butts, spin, yoga
Thursday - tempo run, weight training
Friday - rest
Saturday - yoga
Sunday - long run

Monday I did guts & butts and spin class as planned.

On Tuesday I did my speed run. I ended up doing it at the gym on the treadmill {blah} because for one it was really cold outside and for two, I wasn't sure how much time I had between work and my cross training class. It wasn't actually that bad running on the treadmill.. I pushed through. The speed work itself was pretty challenging though, and I worked up a nice sweat before my 1st of 2 classes at the gym that night. Here was my workout:

• run 0.25mi at easy pace
• run 0.13mi at 9:00min pace
• run 0.25mi at easy pace
• run 0.25mi at 9:00min pace
• run 0.25mi at easy pace
• run 0.38mi at 9:00min pace
• run 0.25mi at easy pace
• run 0.50mi at 9:00 pace

it was definitely challenging, but I did it and it's nice to see progress and feel accomplished after working hard.

After that I did cross training and then group power {weight training class}. I really love cross training and I'm going to miss it... stupid school.

On Wednesday I did guts & butts, and then instead of spin, Hope and I tried out Turbokick for the first time! I was surprised at how much I actually liked it. It was hard because we didn't have a clue what we were doing, but we still had fun! I think it'll be a lot of fun once we actually get the moves down. I think we are going to start going to that on Monday evenings.

After that Josh called and said he was going to spin. Typically the classes fill up super quick, so I was almost certain I wouldn't be able to get a ticket 5 minutes before the class started, but I did! Miracle of all miracles! So I got to do spin too!

On Thursday I didn't exercise at all. Boo snow. I thought about trying to run IN the snow, but after I slid a million times just walking to my car, I figured running in it wouldn't be very good for my health. I also didn't make it to the gym to run on the treadmill or do weights either.

Friday - rest day... even though Thursday was too. I was going to make up my tempo run but between working and other plans time got away from me.

Saturday - I was finally going to do my tempo run but my coach {Josh} said to just go ahead and do my long run. Since there was still snow on the ground and the wind chill was something like 50 below {I made that up, but the point is it was really cold}, I had to psych myself up to run it on the treadmill....7 miles. We all know that I'm not a big fan of running on the treadmill, but you gotta do what you gotta do. And guess what? I DID IT!!! I was pretty excited because for one, the most I'd ever run before that was 5.5 miles, and for two, I've never run anything close to that on the treadmill... and I pushed through and did it! I didn't give up. And I felt great afterwards, too. I probably could have done at least 9 miles. So, at least I now know I can run over half of the half marathon without stopping :)

Coming up on week 2: This week starts my new schedule of morning workouts...
Monday - spin, guts & butts, turbokick, yoga
Tuesday - weight training, speed run, yoga
Wednesday - spin, yoga
Thursday - weight training, tempo run, yoga
Friday - rest day
Saturday - might try out Bootcamp at the gym
Sunday - long run

We'll see how this goes...!

"Running is a luxury that I am afforded. Not everyone has an able body and two legs to stand on. Someone somewhere is in the hospital begging God for the opportunity that you have. Take it and GO!!!"

Lately..

I've been busy!! Can you tell? I hate neglecting my blog... even though no one but me {and occasionally Josh and some of my family} really reads it! I have a ton of laundry and cleaning and organizing, etc etc to do, but here I am blogging! Oh well! Anyway, I will post my HALF MARATHON TRAINING UPDATE soon, but for now here's what else has been going on this past week...

1. Season 9 of The Biggest Loser started!

And therefore, we resumed our Biggest Loser pizza nights! If you don't watch this show, I would highly recommend it... it's very inspiring.

2. On Tuesday I started a new job!

I am watching baby Abigail 4 days a week. She's a happy little baby, always smiling. I think we will be great friends!

Plus her family sent me flowers in the mail... how cool is that?!

3. On Thursday it snowed! {but I already wrote about that}

Tobey loves the snow! His winter coat? Not so much.

4. On Friday we went to the Improv and saw Whitney Cummings.

It was a good show! I also enjoyed the opening acts, especially a guy named Dave Waite. I can't find his website, but Google him. Or ask Josh. He has a shirt that I think has his website on it.

5. On Saturday, Morgan fixed my hair and we tickled Gage.

Morgan decided she wanted to make my hair pretty, so she got her Tinkerbell hair brush {because she looked, and I didn't have one}, and brushed my hair. This is also involved hitting me in the head and face with the brush. But she said, "pretty hair" the whole time, so I let it slide.

Eventually I even got some pretty pony tails!

While Morgan was busy fixing my hair, Josh and I were busy torturing tickling Gage.

Poor guy never had a chance!

6. On Sunday we went to the movies.

We saw Daybreakers. Josh wanted to see it. If you do, save yourself some time and money and don't. It was pretty lame. Wait until it comes to Red Box, or the dollar theater. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen, but it was yeah, pretty lame.

Alright...I'm off to start on some cleaning & laundry! School started today.. but more on that later. I'll be back soon with my HMTU! :)

Happy Monday!