Friday, April 29, 2011

Race Day Ponderings

So, THIS is the forecast for Sunday's Half Marathon... lovely.
Kinda reminds me of the last time I had to race in the rain back in Waupaca 2007.
A good day for a duck.

At least once it is over, I plan on meeting up with another blogger, Geek girl and her hubby. She will be doing a full Marathon in Nashville on Saturday AND THEN the full flying pig on Sunday. I know I have NO reason to whine about me tiny half marathon and the weather considering the distances that she is about to accomplish.

I am looking forward to seeing her again. We met out in New Mexico years ago in her neck of the woods and now, it just so happens that she was coming to mine!

I am in corral D. I have never been corraled (sp?) before.
Been in waves before, but never corrals. This should be interesting.
My bib number is 19575.

It feels strange not having a long run waiting for me on Saturday. Not sure what I will do with my time. I could maybe clean my house, but what fun is that? Right?

The following article I copied from the Flying Pig website about the course that I will be running. Pretty interesting article. I highlighted some of the most interesting parts, for a condensed version.


Enjoy!~

Flying Pig Half Marathon Course Tour
By Brian Nash

I think that the Flying Pig Half Marathon course can be divided into four sections, 1) The Downtown and Kentucky Bridge Loop 2) The Climb 3) Walnut Hills and 4) The Slide Home

Part I - The Downtown and Kentucky Loop

The race starts between the Ohio River and the new Paul Brown Stadium. This section has many of the coolest things to see, enjoy them as you work to find your pace. Soon after the gun goes off you will run under the Roebling Suspension Bridge. The bridge was completed just after the Civil War and designed by John A. Roebling, who 16 years later designed the Brooklyn Bridge. Looking in a line from the Roebling Bridge toward downtown Cincinnati you will see the unique architecture of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The Freedom Center not only pays tribute to the important role that people of the Cincinnati area played in the Underground Railroad, but also in a much more general way offers lessons and reflections on the worldwide struggle for freedom. Just beyond the suspension bridge is a very valuable open area of land that over the next several years we will get to watch become "the Banks".

As the road bends to the left you will see and pass the home of the Reds, Great American Ballpark. The rectangular building closest to the road is the Reds Hall of Fame building. Anyone with even a passing interest in baseball would be interested to stop by after the race to review the rich history of the very first professional baseball team.

Past the ballpark the course turns right on 3rd Street in front of the downtown area. If you look back at the brick side of the ballpark from 3rd Street, you will see the words "Rounding Third and Heading for Home - Cincinnati Reds". These words are the nightly sign off of the beloved Cincinnati baseball pitcher and broadcaster, Joe Nuxall, who passed away last year and left the entire city with a heavy heart. Sometime after the race it would be worth your time to visit the northwest corner of the ballpark where you will find a statue of Joe pitching a ball to Frank Robinson.

A few blocks to the east another right turn leads the runners down Broadway across Pete Rose Way to the Taylor Southgate Bridge. Look to your right as you cross Pete Rose Way and you will see the Finish Swine in front of the ballpark. This is very close to the one mile mark of the race and is a perfect opportunity to remind yourself of your pace for the day. Are you running a pace that will allow you to finish feeling strong when you see that finish line again in 12 miles? If not, it is time to slow down now.

The Taylor Southgate Bridge is the first and the most gentle of three bridges in this section of the course. On the Kentucky side of the bridge you will see the Newport on the Levee entertainment district and the Newport Aquarium. At the base of the bridge is a gentle uphill on York Street for two blocks, then a right turn on 5th. Between 4th and 5th Street in Newport you will see the world's largest swinging bell, the World Peace Bell. It was cast by Cincinnati's own Verdin Company and weighs 33 tons. Listen for it to ring a few minutes before noon while you celebrate with your friends after the race.

Turning right onto 4th Street the course runs through somewhat urban areas of Newport and Covington. Between the two Northern Kentucky cities is the bridge over the Licking River. This bridge is fairly steep, but short. The good news is that most of the Covington side of the bridge is a gradual downhill that goes on for almost an entire mile. In this mile, on the right side of the road, you can see the IRS Processing Center that serves a big portion of the Midwest. Refund this year? Maybe time to be thinking about that cool GPS or at least a new pair of shoes.

Another right turn begins the climb over the last of the three bridges, the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge. This is a long bridge that seems to keep climbing longer than expected. Remember that the Ohio is a really big river and the highest portion of the bridge is in the middle. On the Ohio side of the bridge look to the right at the Bengals practice fields and Paul Brown Stadium. We are still waiting for our talented group of skilled players to really click, but things are clearly looking up for the Bengals in 2008.

Over the bridge back on the Cincinnati side, the route turns to the left to enter the west side of town for the first time in several years. The feel on this short section of the course is fairly industrial. In the late 1800's there were over 25 breweries in Cincinnati and many of them were here on the west side. You can see the smokestack of the Hudepohl Brewery on your right.

Another right turn directs you toward the downtown area on 7th Street. It has been a number of years since the Pig course has toured a downtown street and obviously the buildings on this street have a lot of history. On Plum Street to the left you will see the unique Byzantine-Moorish architectural style of the two spires of the Plum Street Temple. It was from this building that Rabbi Isaac M. Wise founded the institutions of Reform Judaism in the 19th century.

At Race Street the Art Deco style of the Shillito/Lazarus Building dominates the entire block. The building was originally a giant department store that has been converted to loft apartments in the past decade. The interior of the store was inspired by fashionable Parisian department stores; in fact, when the new store opened in the 19th century, Cincinnati was acclaimed the "Paris of America.". A few blocks further down 7th at Walnut Street you will see the Aronoff Center for the Arts, one of the cultural hubs of the city. Across the street from the Aronoff is Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse, a great choice for those of you who like to celebrate with a high quality steak after a race.

As 7th Street leaves downtown it becomes a ramp onto Gilbert Avenue. A slight climb up the ramp then a downhill brings you to the Cincinnati Greyhound Bus Terminal on the left side of the street. This is approximately at the 6 mile mark of the half marathon and marks a transition to the next section of the course�.

Part II - The Climb

This section is about 2.5 miles of mostly uphill running that climbs a total of 280 feet. In previous years the climb section of the Pig was 322 feet spread over 3.5 miles.

About a quarter of a mile up the hill from the bus terminal you will notice on the right side of the road a very unique looking Norman Romanesque mini-castle made up of two towers connected by an archway. This structure was commissioned in the 1880's by the Cincinnati Water Works as a tribute to Elsinore Castle from Shakespeare's Hamlet. At that time it served as a footpath entrance to the park, and also as a valve house for the water works.

What I consider the "signature mile" of the Flying Pig starts at the Elsinore Castle. From this point the course stair steps up to the top of the hill. This is also one of the most scenic parts of the race with a very nice view of a gazebo overlooking Mirror Lake in the park. It also turns around the woods a lot on the way up so that you cannot see the top of the hill until you turn the corner by the Krohn Conservatory building. A stone bridge spans across the road at the top of Eden Park's hill. Look for the bridge, keep your head up, and keep running to the top. Just after cresting the top of Eden Park, runners are rewarded with a short, flat loop around a scenic overlook that looks across the Ohio River into Kentucky. In past years this has also been a spot for some of the best entertainment on the course. Enjoy!

Do not be discouraged as you leave Eden Park when you notice that the grade continues to climb. In about half a mile and after a few turns you will notice St. Ursula Academy and Convent on the right side of the road. From here on the grade will be mostly either rolling or downhill. As you turn the corner onto Woodburn you leave the climb behind and enter��.

Part III - Walnut Hills

As you might guess from the name, this section is not flat. But, for the most part, the hills are not particularly long or steep and they are all followed by a downhill. Walnut Hills is one of the oldest of the original Cincinnati suburbs.

Looking up the street after turning on Woodburn you will see at the end of the road the impressive architecture of St. Frances DeSales Church. The church is located at the intersection of Woodburn and Madison and also houses a giant bell. Sadly the bell cannot ring because it would shatter the glass of the neighboring buildings. As you reach the church at the end of Woodburn, you will say goodbye to your friends heading further east in the full marathon. You will turn left on Madison and look for those runners ahead of you that you want to pick off over the last 4.5 miles of the race. (Do they know what to expect from the course like you do? Ah, �..you have the advantage!) The run west on Madison, which becomes Martin Luther King Drive in a half mile or so, is a real roller coaster of ups and downs. The climbs in this mile are the last challenging uphills of the entire race, so don't be afraid to "put the hammer down" a bit here.

The next turn is to the left onto Gilbert Ave. As you round the corner, look to your left at the old house on the hill. That is the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. Harriet moved to Cincinnati around 1830 with her family when her father became leader of the Lane Theological Seminary. It was here that she gained significant exposure to the abolitionist movement, particularly through her interaction with the students and faculty at Lane.

Gilbert Ave in this part of town has a very gentle uphill grade that goes on for a half mile or so. Go ahead and use up whatever uphill climbing muscles you have left, you are not going to need them again because you are about to hit��.

Part IV - The Slide Home.

After the gentle uphill of the first part of Gilbert, the course reaches the highest point of the race at the corner of Gilbert and McMillan. From that intersection to the finish line it is almost all downhill or flat. For those that have spent it all at this point, just roll up in a ball and roll on in. For those planning to run this race fast, you will need to practice your downhill running because the grade can be steep going down in several areas. The city skyline of Cincinnati opens up in front of you as you run down the hill, including the twin towers of Cincinnati's Proctor and Gamble.

Most of the severely steep downhill grade comes early in this section. Soon the loop of the course is complete and you will find yourself running in front of Eden Park, down the other side of the road that you were climbing just 5 miles ago. The faster runners in the race will be able to see, encourage, and be encouraged by, some of the slower runners as they continue on "the Climb".

When you reach Elsinor Castle this time you will turn right onto Elsinor Place for a block and then left onto Reading. Down the hill on Reading leads to a fairly flat but short out and back on Central Parkway. After the turn around on Central you will turn to the right onto Eggleston.

On Eggleston the grade becomes a nice gentle downhill that points directly toward the river. You should be able to really let it out as you come down Eggleston. As you come to the end of the road where it meets Pete Rose Way, be sure to look up and see the Flying Pig statues that are on top of steamboat smokestacks in Sawyer Point directly in front of you. At that corner you will turn right onto Pete Rose Way and hit a small incline then a short downhill to the Finish Swine directly in front of the ballpark. At the finish you will be greeted with a great finisher's medal, a walk along the serpentine wall by the river, and an open grassy park. Congratulations! Enjoy the satisfaction of a race well planned and well run!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Happy Adminstrative Assistant Day to Me!


My Job title is 'Site Coordinator' but that is only 20 hours of my week. 12 hours a week I am supposed to be Dr. Steve Yamaguchi's Administrative Assistant.

Thanks to made up holidays, I got flowers from Dr. Yamaguchi today at work!! Technically it was a day late, since I was off on THE actual day, but it was a VERY unexpected surprise.

No. He is not related to Kristi Yamaguchi the gymnast, but he does have three beautiful daughters that are in gymnastics.

I absolutely love my job and my flowers!
Thanks Steve!!
: )
Now, lets hope I can find my green thumb somewhere! lol.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My Trainer is EVIL... and I love it!

Ok, ok.

I know I was a slacker. Partly due to the half marathon training and I was busy yes, BUT sometimes made myself busy to avoid the sickness of my trainers evil mind. This is her first workout without her for the week.
See how sick she is?

Workout 1
1 min high knee (tap on bench)
30 seconds wall sits with front raise (10 lb)
run the stairs 1x
repeat for 3 rounds
20 squats, 10 pushups
6 sit ups
18 squats, 12 pushups
8 sit ups
16 squats, 14 pushups
10 sit ups
14 squats, 16 push ups
12 sit ups
12 squats, 18 pushups
14 sit ups
10 squats, 20 pushups
16 sit ups
run the stairs 3 times

I did all of this after my 3 mile run, so I skipped the 'high knee on bench' and 'run the stairs' at the end.
Pushups and I do NOT get along. I am a whimp. I have stick arms. They eventually make my back hurt due to the sad form. (when I have to do them myself)

About halfway through my two oldest kids got home from school and harassed me, um, I mean 'encouraged' me as I grumbled through the rest of the workout. Especially after they noticed my 'craughter', my crying/ laughter. I was 'whimpering' due to having zero motivation or energy left and laughing at the thought of being able to ACTUALLY complete 20 pushups. Even the GIRL ONES. I will gladly admit I cheat. I do 'girl' push ups and STILL STRUGGLE!

Reece began counting for me while, Brock said things like 'No crying until you get to #15!'. All the while of course he wouldn't even do a squat!

At least Reece did one burpee, which are on my next workout. Urgh. Those are the biggest pain in my neck. I have almost no muscle tone that requires them to look easy. Mine are painful to even watch. Thankfully she is allowing me to do those in the privacy of my home and not the gym.
I am greatful she doesn't want to embarass me! And she likes to push me!
: )
On Tuesday she had me slide a 162# tire across a cement floor for about 30 feet and back.... right next to the weight room... while buff muscle guys watched... probably getting a good laugh.... I couldn't watch, thankfully I left my glasses in my locker. I do that when I forget my contacts she makes me sweat something fearce. I had sweat litterally pouring off my nose that day. I am so glad it is only 30 minutes. I have no clue how those Biggest Loser contestants do it. Wow.

Oh, and on a side note... I have a new car. Check it out here!
Yay for all systems working!!! (sadly it is another black car, oh well)

Storm Watchin'


I just love watching storms come in. This one triggered a tornado warning but it was for the southern part of our county. (from the front porch and then my kitchen window) No Tornado's happened, but sure was neat to watch! Also on a side note, all this rain gives us the best noise to sleep to. The creek in our back is constantly flowing, it sounds so relaxing at night! Ahhh. Ok. Until you wake up to defining thunder at 2am. lol.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I Love lil' Notes!

I just had to share this little note I had on my night stand last night. Zeb loves to get up crazy early for some weird reason every morning. Just to hang out with me! : )

Saturday, April 23, 2011

I-pod Dead, Well, Back to Complaining... The Saturday Seven.

This week, getting back into the swing of things was not easy. Apparently for me or the kids.

7. "I am too tired to get my 9 miles in today" ~ me.
Sunday I was still on jet lag due to riding and trying to sleep all night in a bus from New Hampshire, so I neglected to get my long training run in on Sunday. Yeah, bad Rachel. I am pretty sure I am going to get a new PR for this half marathon coming up in 8 days. A PR for the WORST time ever. If I am near 2:30 I will be SHOCKED!! Kinda embarassing since many of my co-workers are doing it too. But I did manage to get my 8 miler in today at least.

6. "I couldn't fit my OVER DUE books in my back pack."- Reece
I have been getting an email now for two weeks. I keep forwarding it to my 13 year old hoping for him to be responsible for bringing his late books back. Thursday, when he told me he would MAKE SURE he would return them, I found them on the table after I got home from work. 'Cause you know it would be soooo uncool if he had to carry them out of the back pack in a PLASTIC BAG!! ha.ha.

5. "I need you to sign this.. NOW." - Zeb
He loves to get ready for school and play video games, while he passes the time, then after I tell him he has to get ready to leave... suddenly out pops a paper that MUST BE READ AND SIGNED right away! Gotta love those. Especially when it requires the sending of money.

4. " I can't find my only pair of 'must be black' pants"- Reece
This week Reece played the Star Spangled Banner for the Boone County School Board. Part of his 'uniform' for orchestra is solid black pants (not jeans) and a custom shirt with black shoes. We had to be there at 7 pm. About 6:15pm he goes to change and suddenly we are in a mad scramble to find the pants that are no where to be found. ARGH~! Suddenly a quick run to Target was in order... I quickly dropped him off and parked then found the pants (on clearence, YAY!) and while I paid I sent Reece into the bathroom to change. Whew!

3. " I left the directions at home" - Reece
SOOOO, as we are in a mad scramble to Target we realize that the google directions to this 'school board' were left at home. We tried unsucessfully to use my phone and google maps, but apparently the 'Ralfrush Center' is an 'unknown' location. We called Brock who was still at home and thanks to a minor MIRACLE he answered the phone. Reece told him directions to find the paper.
'Brock, go in the computer room'
'Ok, now look around for a piece of paper'
*blink, Really???*
I normally have a pretty low blood pressure but I KNOW it was sky rocketing with each comment coming out of his mouth! Finally, we got Brock to read what the final address was so we could put that into my phone. I KNOW I earned some gray hairs that day.

2. " My cell phone died and I lost it"- Brock
Last night Brock went to Dungeons and Dragons league. I made a deal with him, he got to skip the Good Friday celebration at Church if he went on Sunday instead. So I had to drop him off before Zeb, Reece and I headed to Church. After church, we were invited to have some dessert with some friends, while there I was a bad Mom and forgot about Brock. *** GASP!*** I know, I know... Well, he called me using a friends phone. I tried to call him back but my phone died as well. Needless to say his friends brought him home. They have since located the phone in his friends car. Yay!

1. "I-pod dead well back to complaining"- Reece
On the way to church yesterday Reece was playing on his Ipod. My car started to act up so we had to make an emergency trip to exchange cars with my husband's at his work. We didn't have much extra time, so I was getting stressed. I wanted to get a weather radio. So on the way I was planning on stopping my Wal-mart looking for one and Brock was going to buy his beverage for D&D there since Reece told me I was out of money in my wallet. I really wanted to skip Walmart and just drop off Brock, but since I didn't have cash I had to buy Brock a soda. THEN, I realized I had to put gas in the truck! Grrrr. Yet, another stop!!!

I am planning a stress free evening of non-cleaning or driving. Yes!!!!
Absolutely delightful.

Rain Delay

We are getting record rainfalls this month here in Kentucky. But boy, oh, boy is it ever making for some beautiful scenery out my windows. I love Kentucky... it is only fitting to post some quotes by Daniel Boone here. I completely understand.
(I personally love the first one! lol)
I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.
-----------------------
Soon after, I returned home to my family, with a determination to bring them as soon as possible to live in Kentucky, which I esteemed a second paradise, at the risk of my life and fortune.
Daniel Boone



Wednesday, April 20, 2011

A River ran Thru it, Really...

Yesterday while I was at work it rained. Lots. Our neighbors had quite the story with pictures when I got home from work. In this first picture you can see the far away view of our front yard. Note the mail box and fire hydrant. To the far left of the home is a retention pond.
This is the river that ran between the homes because our front yard got too much water in it. Our neighbor had water come in the house by his electical box! Yikes!
The normally empty retention pond by our house.

Dude, Wanna surf? Yep, that's our mail box! 'Catch a wave from a drive by!
Our neighbor said it only lasted 15 minutes and then it went away. Part of the problem is our storm drain has a cloth over it to prevent dirt from going in it since our neighborhood is still under construction.

Openly Broken

Ok. So.

I sat on a bus with 18 other people from my church to head up to a place that helps people with addictions. How was my trip?

Hmm.

How do you describe being in a place so welcoming, so safe you feel comfortable walking around in your PJ’s with your teeth not brushed and some serious bed head?

How do you describe hiking up a half mile hill to a huge rock, that no matter how chilly the air you can still feel the warmth?

How do you describe a place that even though your body aches and you feel you have nothing left to give you push on toward the finish line?

How about a place where beautiful people, skinny people, attractive people, people with smiles that make your heart melt, and with eyes that shine through the tears tell you and everyone in the chapel how broken they feel and how they struggle with there ‘issues’ every day. Many times to the point of breaking.

Hard to describe the humility of a long term addict who’s struggle seems as new as the day he arrived. The sincere voice as he cries out to God to help him. Then praises him with the very next song, so powerfully, from his heart!

A place where the openness to brokenness is a daily reminder of how God wants us to be.

Openly, broken for all to see, and yet still love!

'nuf said.

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Yay for the Taper!!!

And so it begins.

The wonderful taper. The point in which you reach your maximum training miles and gradually get less mileage in for the week before the big race. (Which is May 1)

Since I have kinda a crazy day today, I put my 12 miles in yesterday. The were the worst miles I have ever run!! Really. Not pretty. I think I walked 2 or 3 of them. It was hot. Almost 80 degrees and my ipod died on mile 7.5. I need my musical motivation!
I did two 6 mile loops in my 'hood. With the hills. After mile 4 my t-shirt came off. (I had a tank top on under). At mile 6, stopped at home for a snack, sunscreen and water.
At mile 8, I stopped at a Wendy's looking for water. For all times there was a LINE! And the woman at the counter couldn't decide what to get. I REAAAAAALLY wanted to bud in line but I patiently waited. The dude behind the counter apologized and gave me the largest cup filled with ice and water. As he put the cover on I wanted to grab it out of his hands and tell him I didn't need a cover. But he was trying to make up for having me wait too long, and kept apologizing. After a brief malfunction with the straw, I tried to down the entire thing, but got a brain freeze. So, I walked a little and hid the cup in a place that I would return to finish it on my return trip.

I am seriously worried about this race. I predict it will be the worst one yet. My first half marathon took 2 hours and 32 minutes. I think this will take longer than that. I hope I am wrong. But 2:32 is what it took me to run 12 yesterday!! I think it's the hills that are killing me.

I guess taking a year off with the move wasn't helpful, but ya gotta start somewhere right?

I am REALLY looking forward to getting toned up. That is where my heart is now. Not so much endurance, but tone and weight loss.

Now, I am leaving KY for a 16 hour drive to New Hampshire with our Church. They tell me there is little cell phone reception and Wi-Fi in the area we are going... I am actually looking forward to being 'un-plugged' for the week, so I can get 'connected' to what is really important. So, I guess I will see you in a week, or so...

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Cooking with Boys


I love having boys,when it comes to the kitchen it can be an interesting place.

My oldest, Brock, volunteered to bring a treat to school for a class project. He LOVES Merry Berry Cheese Bars. He wanted to make a double batch. One for home and and 'most' of one for school.

After digging out the recipe and grabbing the ingredients he decided he needed to cut his finger nails. (??) Ok. I started to measure it out.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be like or have creative tendancies similar to Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray. I am a RACHEL but MY homemaker skills include ordering take out with swift speed and endurance. Not 30 minute meals from scratch.

So, Brock had a nice chuckle when I went to measure out the oatmeal and realized the pampered chef measuring cup I was using was way narrow and taller than my arms could handle. ..SOOOO, I had my container of oatmeal in my right arm, trying to pour, while holding my measureing cup thing in my left. Shortly after begining, I gave up on the 'accuracy' part of the measuring process and opted for the guess-tamate version. He laughed at me. No worries here! It's still food, not rocket science. Right? (lol)

After hanging out at the table, cutting his finger nails, I asked him to bring me my glass-o-water. I had just finished working out and was a bit parched. He picked it up and inspected it for a minute.

I laughed. I thought he was looking for food particles to tell me are somehow in there. Nope. He was looking for his FINGERNAILS. When he told me that I laughed. WHAT??? He smiled, "Well it was in the area where I was cutting my nails and wanted to make sure I didn't get any in there."

What a sweet kid. ha.ha.

I asked him to open up the cream cheese.

Question: Can I see a show of hands if you know the correct way to open up cream cheese?

Ok. so, not everyone realizes to READ the word 'OPEN' on the silver package. Sorry. But, to enlighten those of you who do not know, you can quite easily open them with out a scissors by peeling back the silver seams. Really!

My germ obbsessive young many slightly debated the best way to 'disinfect' the scissors after getting some cream cheese on it. Don't worry he is all good now.

After telling him to YES REMOVE THAT WRAPPER BEFORE MELTING THE BUTTER, he mastered that task!

Next he had to blend the cream cheese until fluffy. He was a bit scared of using 'excessive' speed on the blender. Not anymore!

When he was digging out the second 9 x13 pan he noticed some 'stuff' that needed to be cleaned off, so I quickly washed it while he finished up the ingredients.

While loading the second one into the oven, water from washing the dish began to sizzle. He paused a bit while causiously pushing it in, as to NOT burn himself. The sound made him think of the way his skin would sound touching the oven, he said.

Comforting.


So, The desserts eventually made there way out of the oven, and most of one went to school. The other pan? Didn't last 20 hours.

I think I got half of one piece. It's hard to tell, since it was crumbs.

: )

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Trainer Tuesday!

Oh, boy. I love my trainer. She is KILLING MY ARMS.
She even thinks she saw a bicep today.
he.he.
Oy. I can't type much. too. sore.

Running outdoor's Must Haves for Rachel

Saturday afternoon, I dug out my camel-bak bag, got some fuel (aka: beans and gu), layered up and headed OUTDOORS to get my 10 miler in.





Oh, boy. Absolutely nothing compares to getting out side and pushing yourself. Plus, there is the 'code'. Ya know, how other runner smile and wave at you, just 'cause you are both running. I love that. You don't know who they are but it's like you have friends all over the place! Hills and all, it was STILL way better than a track or treadmill. Maybe 'cause just the thought of being able to , um, run... some call it jogging- when you are slow like me... but just to move.

Ok, so ....

Here are my outdoor running must haves: (for runs longer than 5 miles)

1. Camel Bak


It is a water bottle in a back pack. I can't have extra width to my hips, so I love my camel bak. Plus nothing to hold in my hands!


I haven't used my camel bak for over a year. It leaks, but it works. I knew I was goin' to get wet at 0.15 mile of my run. the bottom started to leak a bit. Oh well, since it was 60 degrees out, I knew I could manage.

2. My watch


My watch tells me how long, how fast, how far a ton of things I still don't know about yet. I only display how far and current heart rate while I run. The rest is fluff. When I am done, yeah, I look at my time, and my heart rate range, but that is pretty much it. I think it is supposed to tell me how many calories burned but I have no clue yet how that works.



3. My sport glide


I. heart. Brooks. running. shoes. But my left, um, ring toe? Well, it doesn't like my running so much. It likes to cram itself up under my middle toe, causing various blisters. Sometimes they are water blisters sometimes blood blisters. I never know what the luck will be. BUT, with body glide, my toes don't yell at me at all! Love it!


4. Red Running shirt

I don't care what I have under, but I have to dress as close to looking like a stop sign as possible. No explaination nesscessary. Our roads don't always have sidewalks and heck some are down right narrow, but at least they can see me from a long distance with that color.




5. Sport Beans or GU


Love, Love, Love my sport beans!! They are not messy. You can nibble on one at a time. Or a whole pack. They don't require much water to get 'em down either! Yum-o, too!


6. My I pod shuffle.

Lightweight, easy to use. I love my shuffle! And with songs to push me like Katy Perry's Firework, it really helps about mile 8 when my feet start whining.




7. Last but not least... my Fox Cities Tri Club running hat. I love it. Black, breathable, and light weight it sucks up all that sweat off my forehead quick! (sorry, no picture)


That's it. My must have's for my long runs. Next long run is 12 miles on Friday. It was supposed to be on Saturday but I have too much going on, so we well see how my body will like this... especially since my body developed a bit of reflux during last nights run... hmmm.

Monday, April 04, 2011

Growin' Stuff

Poor Zeb, that kid just can't catch a break. It seems like every time there is a field trip at school he gets sick! Ended up ok, slight fever, some nausea, but that was it. Just another missed field trip... *sigh* he was so excited too, he had a 'packed lunch' ready to go! Saturday we decided to skip Zeb's soccer game just in case. Since he seemed fine, we decided to get some spring supplies. Like garden stuff. Duner has been REALLY excited to plant a garden this year. He cleared an area and we picked out some veggies and the kids REALLY want to try our hand at growing a watermelon. Hope Duner's green thumb is better than mine. lol. Last time I had a garden, I grew pea's, butternut squash, sunflowers, the world's saddest sweet corn, and my pumpkins grew a fungus, OH yeah, and we hatched a KITTEN! Yep, we found our little Willow in the garden... under the pumpkin leaves. Lets hope that doesn't happen again! She is like a 2 year old I swear!

Friday, April 01, 2011

Brotherly Bargining

Last night Zeb wanted some sweet potato fries that Reece was getting ready to put in the oven. After asking Reece to make some for Zeb, Reece replied "Only if you let me on your computer time". Not wanting to give up any computer time Zeb replied "Only if you hug me for a few minutes". Smart Kid. He has been taking notes from me!

The Not so great Boot Camp.

My perfect little plan for weight loss included meeting my Trainer on Tuesday's, Thursday Boot Camp and my killer long runs on Saturday's. At least until the half marathon on May 1. Well. Not so sure about that now. *sigh* I LOVE BOOT CAMP. Been doing it for years. I finally have a trainer that really pushes me. I think. BUT, the boot camp instructor on Thursday is NOT the same one that teaches on Saturdays. J.D. is the trainer on Saturday's. J.D. is an ex-marine who is VERY serious about his job. He has a passion, that makes you want to do more, push harder, and just keep going. He WAS teaching on Thursdays, until recently. The NEW Thursday instructor is named Gage. I like that name, my God son is also named Gage. Gage is a 'sales person' who does the 'come and join personal training workouts.' He is physically fit and 'nice looking' more of a model to sell you on personal training. I have a strong dislike for sales people. I don't like fake. As I said in my last post, they tend to bring out the worst in me. Gage did NOT IMPRESS me at all. First of all, class begins at 6pm. He casually walks in at 6:20 pm. No apologies. Just casual. Secondly, he kept forgetting what we were going to do. Third he talked about how he couldn't wait til this class was over to go party since it was opening day for the Cincinnati Reds (and they had just won). Fourth, he didn't motivate me at all. I like encouragment, as in, Hey! Try to keep your butt down, or Hey! Get closer to the ground. Fifth, He did no correction at all. I like to know if I am doing something wrong. Oh if anyone else is, so I can learn from them do it correctly. I ended up leaving early. I am the mother of 3 kids. Even with an 'empty' bladder, I STILL can not do jumping jacks for 3 minutes without having, um, issues. I didn't exactly need to announce my delema, so I quietly just left. And didn't come back. I think I can get a better workout from a Jillian Michaels DVD. Maybe Thursdays are going to me my 'video with a trainer' night instead. Come May 7th, I will be back with J.D. I can't wait.