Hoodlums and a Birthday

First I will start with a good note. Today is my wonderful Dad’s Birthday!! He is honestly the best Dad i could have ever asked for and I thank God every day for him. He is a wonderful man of God and has been and continues to be a great example to me and the hubs and the rest of the family. Happy Birthday Daddy!!

So Last night I mapped out how my morning was suppose to go so that i would be able to run 7 miles, get my bagel and coffee, get my mom a bagel at Panera (yes I did go to 2 different bagel places) and then get my dad his favorite donut from his favorite donut shop and get back and get ready for church. Normally I only run 3 miles on sunday but I am now doing a full Marathon in May so I have to increase my training (hence the 7 miles). All was going well, I got up at 5:30 and got ready for my run. As I gathered all my crap stuff and headed out to my car I was stopped dead in my tracks! No way this can’t be happening??! Apparently my driveway is no longer a safe place for a car! That’s right folks, in pursuit of my IPod that i stupidly left in on the passenger seat, some eastside hoodlums smashed in my passenger window, glass everywhere, and now my IPod is gone forever!

after it happened glass on the ground

no more window

that’s gonna be fun to clean!

Honestly i don’t really care about the IPod, yes I am bummed but i had wanted a new smaller one anyways. I am just freaking furious about my window!! What the Heck! Luckily I had put up the GPS last night so they didn’t take that but just the fact that I have to replace my window and the time I am going to be without my car really got to me! I think i scared the lady that was walking by when i screamed in horror when I saw the disaster!

Oh and case-in-point of what a great dad I have…

It was 6:30 in the morning on his birthday when he gets a call from his frantic daughter telling him what happened in a very choppy voice due to tears and trying to breath! Oh and to clarify he lives at the same house (since i am staying with my folks right now) but he is a firefighter so he was at work this morning. As i called him he did is best to calm me down and then I realized I really didn’t need to call him but i just had to tell someone! He has also been on the phone/computer all day trying to find the best deals for the replacement (on his birthday)! Thanks dad..huge shout out!

I went ahead and left for my run (I took my sisters car and then realized that she had to be a church early today but luckily she wasn’t mad at me!). I still ran which helped to calm me down and clear my head some and then I got all the breakfast essentials, got home and tried to sort out the insurance stuff, got ready for church and then made it to church semi on time. The hubs has been great about it but as the saying goes…everything starts to go wrong once the hubs leaves for deployment! I know he’s working hard out there but seriously why does this always happen when he is gone?! I am so glad to have my dad here to help though,,if i was in NJ i would be really freaking out (i know considering something similar happened last time the hubs was deployed out there).

The thing that got me the most is that I felt violated. I just wanted to find who did it and punch them and ask them why? I also wanted to laugh b/c most of the music on my Ipod is praise music so maybe that will bring on a little guilt. The fact that it happened in the driveway and that this is MY CAR that someone intentionally damaged kind of rocked me for a bit. You think you are safe and when things like this happened you start to question (and the folks don’t even live in a bad neighborhood).
I was also a little mad at myself b/c normally i don’t keep my IPod visible or even in my car but yesterday I took a trip out of town with one of my best friends and grabbed it just in case and then we didn’t even use it! Oh well, i guess i learned my lesson!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! Oh and you need to all give your dad’s a hug (it can be via phone) in honor of Dad bday’s!

A mess of yesterday..

You know those days where everything is just off and you feel like crap..well yeah that was yesterday! It all started with the alarm clock going off at 3:50 am..really why the heck i thought it would be a good idea to try and run 7 miles before being at work at 7:30 is beyond me! But i tried to ignore how early it was as i did my pre-run routine. I had heard the night before that is was suppose to rain, so i was excited to see that it was in fact NOT raining when I looked out the window. Since I was running up by my parents house (complete with numerous hills..ahhh) I was going to have to run the same route twice so i decided to take the Charles on my first leg.

It is funny how dogs don’t seem to notice you waking them up at the crack of dawn as soon as they see their leash come out..oh we he soooo excited!

We headed out and he was doing pretty well. He doesn’t know how to pace very well so it is good to take him when i want to go faster b/c his average pace is about a 7:30 so he always pushes me. (I learned the hard way not to take him on my recovery runs..way too fast)! My route was suppose to be 1.5 miles out and back (3 miles total) and then drop off the Charles and head back out for another 2 miles out and back (4 miles) which is a total of 7 miles. Well at least that was the plan…

I have been having trouble with a tendon in my ankle (right behind the inside ankle bone) but i refused to let it slow me down..maybe not the smartest! The Charles was doing really well and when we hit the 1.5 turnaround so i decided to make the first leg 4 total so we went another .5 miles and then turned around. On the way back it started to sprinkle. We hurried to get back (me now really feeling the pain in the ankle) and the charles frothing at the mouth..come on boy don’t you know you have to hydrate!

Anyways since the rain was getting harder I decided to go out and back for only one more mile and then finish the last 2 after work. I hate running after work because being on my feet for 7 hours makes my legs feel like dead weight and it is so hard to run. At work i was limping around trying to ignore the pain and stay awake! I kept dropping everything and tripping over the mats. I only have a few more days of work left so i was trying to hold it together!

One funny thing was that they redid some buttons on the register so things were in different places and that being mixed with lack of sleep and pain was very amusing for the customers! They were all very nice about it and of course I did NOT keep forgetting to give them their cups or ask them 5 million times what the last part of their order was! Due to it being slow i got to leave a little early..yay! When i got home, fully exhausted i briefly pondered not finishing the 2 miles the stubborn runner inside of me barked the order to just get out and do it!

Why I thought i need to wear a fleece long-sleeved was beyond me (although i will say it was colder earlier that day) but for some reason from the time that i came into my house from work and then left for the run the sky cleared up and the sun came out a long with the heat! I finished the 2 with great difficulty and came back limping even more than before!

Last night i had small group for church and since i hadn’t been for the past two weeks I really needed to go! I iced and heated my foot before i left and then since we have our own drug supply here (all legal) my mom hooked me up with an anti-inflammatory patch. So there i was sporting the patch and heels to accompany my limp :)

When i got home that night the pain was even worse (stupid driving foot had to be the injured one)! Bring on the drugs mommy! She gave me 1/2 a muscle relaxant to take before bed, which i did and then didn’t go to bed right away. you know what happened then..i ran into every wall of the house (seriously these pills are not for the wimps and I couldn’t walk straight or function)! My sister was laughing at me as i attempted to brush and floss my teeth!

It knocked me out though and i slept better than i have for a while! note to self: don’t become addicted!

And now due to my stubborn running on said injured foot i have to stay down all day and not run for the next two days in hopes that it will be feeling a-okay for my 14 miles on satuday!

One quick side-note: Please pray for me b/c this whole reverse lent thing is really hard. I know it has only been a couple days but my pants are getting tighter and my mind is going crazy and i am doing my best to focus on God and not give into the intense desire to stop eating so much!!

Oh and one final request..i am trying really hard to get down a better eating schedule because right now i am not getting enough during the day and then end up eating a lot at night..IF anyone has a good eating schedule or advice could you please pass it on!! Thanks!

Oh and sorry for the extremely long post!

Try’em Out Tuesdays – Hair Extensions

Have you ever had hair cutters remorse?? Ask anyone in my family..i am the most fickle person when it comes to my hair. Usually I will grow it out and vow to never cut it short again and then get tired of it and cut it short and then have cutters remorse and want it long again. This last time upon the hubs request and my being tired of my hair i cut it short again. If you remember I blogged about it during decision time. It looks fine, it’s not like i dislike it but I miss my long hair BADLY! I am growing it out again but unlike when you cut it, it takes a lot longer to grow back out!

So what do i do in the mean time?? I have heard a lot about the new trend of clip-on extensions. Well that could be a solution :) I had never really looked at extensions before because I thought they were going to be too pricey.

Thank goodness for Google!

I googled “clip-on extensions” and found an amazing and decent priced website selling just that! They have a bunch of different types of brands, lengths, volumes, and types. One of the popular brands is the Jessica Simpson brand but I actually found better reviews on the POP brand. I decided to choose the synthetic because i read positive reviews and it is a lot cheaper. I didn’t want to invest a lot of money on something I wasn’t sure would work.

If you want to find out more on the difference between natural hair and synthetic go here: http://www.hairextensions.com/pages.php?pageid=24

Why are clip-in extensions a good choice according to hairextensions.com:

Clip-In hair extensions are becoming the most popular choice of hair extension systems in America thanks to Hollywood starlets such as Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, Megan Fox,

Eva Longoria and Beyonce (just to name a few). Clip-in hair extensions are the easiest and safest way to add length, volume, or color without causing damage to your own hair. They come in a multitude of colors and lengths and are offered in 100% human hair, heat resistant and non-heat resistant synthetic fibers. There

are many different clip-in extension systems available ranging from one piece to multi-piece systems.

Top 5 Reasons to Choose Clip-In Hair Extensions:

• Affordable Price Range ($75-$400)
• Low Maintenance
• Damage-Free, Clip-in Attachment
• Easy DIY "Do-It-Yourself" Application
• Virtually Undetectable

Clip-in hair extensions provide the perfect alternative to permanent hair extensions. Temporary hair solutions like clip-in hair extensions are more affordable and easier to maintain compared to permanent extensions. The Hair Professionals at Extensions.com highly recommend experimenting with clip-in hair extensions before choosing more permanent solutions such as

bonding, weaving, protein tips or mini-locks. Clip-in hair extensions work with most hair types and unlike permanent hair extensions, do not result in hair breakage.

Clip-In extensions are the perfect "Do-It- Yourself" system. They take only minutes to put in and seconds to take out. With clip-in hair extensions, you can have salon quality hair without having to spend hours in a salon.

Clip-in extensions are virtually undetectable. They provide a natural look and feel for unlimited styling versatility. No more waiting around for short hair to grow out, with clip-in hair extensions, it is easy to have long hair and volume in just a matter of minutes! Clip-in extensions are the perfect 'Do-It-Yourself' system. They take only minutes to put in and take out.

I was looking for more length and I also wanted some curl so I chose this style:

20-21" Wavy Clip In Extension System (2 pcs) by POP :: Put On Pieces

For more details http://www.hairextensions.com/product.php?productid=9&cat=10&page=1

I debated for days before i ordered them but then i figured that if i didn’t like it I was  only out about $40. I was so excited the day it came and i tried it right away :) They looked pretty good and they didn’t hurt my head. The next day I curled my hair so that it would blend it more and here is what it looked like:

Before:

After:

It’s not perfect but totally worth $40 and it makes me miss my long locks a little less!!

Have any of you tired clip in extensions before??

Reverse Lent

Okay so i know i am a little late in posting about or even taking part in Lent for 2010. Usually I don’t give up anything.. It’s not that i don’t believe in it or think it is important because I do, it’s just that i’m lazy! I’m not going to lie, each year i try and think of something to give up that i rely on instead of God and well when i think of giving it up i quickly turn and run the other direction. I have been praying a lot about what to do this year (and yes i realize that it has already started) but every time i thought of something and prayed about it, it just didn’t feel like it was the right thing.

Then today while i was running (i do my best thinking while running) I thought of something unique that would really be a challenge for me and would cause me to rely on God a lot during this time. It’s a little different than what i normally thought of when participating in lent (i.e. giving something up). In my case I am going to be adding something. That’s why i am calling it Reverse Lent..hehe! So what am I adding to my life you ask??

Well let me revel my big brilliant idea (or more like God’s that he stuck in my head and luckily i was listening)..

I have mentioned before about my realization that I need to eat more, especially with all this running and hoping to get prego when the hubs gets back from deployment. I have lived many years in the land of calorie deprivation and finally my body had enough. My mom is one of my biggest cheerleaders but she is also worried about me and is trying without being too pushy to get me to eat more. When had a good conversation after my 1/2 marathon on Saturday and it has had me thinking ever since about what to do. I have been eating a lot more than i have been for the last 7 years but still not enough for all that I am doing right now.

So while I was running today I decided that for Lent I would have to eat the total calories that I need for the day, Every Day, for the next 40 days not matter how my body changes. For example, my base calories for my weight is about 1200-1300 (i’m saying 1200) and then I have to add what I burned during running that day. Today I burned around 600 calories so I had to eat 1800 today (1200+600). To be honest I am scared. Scared to gain weight, scared to let go my control, scared to face the mirror and scale, just plain terrified. But when I asked myself what I turned to instead of God, well it is controlling my eating and doing whatever I can to stay thin. During this time I will really have to lean on God and turn to him because this is going to be hard!

I am not looking forward to gaining weight or having to buy bigger clothes but i have to face the reality that it is going to happen if i want to be healthy and continue to run and have babies. Since I have been eating so little for so long (and when say little i mean 600-800 calories a day for about 6 years) my metabolism is screwed up badly! I am hoping that eventually it will all balance out but i can worry about that right now..i just have to accept it! This is a time I am going to use to not only make me healthy but also learn to completely rely on God for everything (and not my jean size or the number on the scale). 

So there you have it. I am telling you because i know it will keep me accountable and make me do it! Today was my first day and quite frankly, I am tired of eating and I still have more to eat before the day ends! Wish me luck :)

Bako Race recap and inconvenient brain fart..

So i know you are all dying to hear about how the race went so with out further ado i will present you with my lovely rendition of the Bako 1/2 Marathon recap (hold on tightly the ride may get a little bumpy) :

First I had been reading so much on how important it is for both your health and performance to make sure you are properly fueled and your glycogen levels are full before the race. So i did my best to get my carb grubbing on last night (with the help of my mom’s home-made cinnamon bread..yum thanks mom). I am not great with eating a lot right before i run, and the my running nutrition book said it also worked just as well to have your breakfast right before you go to bed and then to have a very light snack that morning (which is what i did). There were also these terrible rumors that there might be RAIN in the morning ..eww i really didn’t want to run in the rain.

Sadly, I woke up bright and early at 6am to ..you guessed it..rain! I prayed and prayed that it would stop before the race started and thank God it did! It ended up being perfect running weather..not to warm and pretty dry. I got to the race about a 1/2 hour before start time and met up with my best friend and running buddy Olive Oyl who wasn’t running but had ran earlier that morning on the track and waited around to wish me good luck…thanks girl it meant so much to me!! Oh and by the way she is running the wine county 1/2 in Paso in March with me and is going to totally rock it!

Okay so now back to today. Right before the race started i made sure to empty my bladder and get the last minute stretching in and then we all lined up to start. It is always fun when you see familiar faces in the running mix and i looked over and say one of my childhood friends dad. We exchanged Hi’s and then proceeded to make sure our Garmin’s were up and running. Like I said before, this was a small production run and so there weren’t any time chips just good old fashion timer method.

The gun went off and so did I. There were only 233 people running so it didn’t take me too long to navigate my way to a comfortable spot. When i hit mile 1.5 I was running along side another guy and since we were both trying for about the same pace we decided to stick together. It really made the next 4 miles fly by as we chatted about previous races, the fact that this race was severely lacking hydration stations (only 2 on the route..ridiculous people), and kept each other on pace. Oh and this crazy guy is going to run marathon tomorrow..hell no would i even attempt to run more than 3 tomorrow!!

At about mile 5 my pace friend decided that he wanted to try and get under a 7:40 pace (we were currently running about a 7:46) so i cheered him on and told him to speed ahead. I ran about another mile and then my left foot started loosing feeling..like really bad! I kept praying that i would trip over it since i could hardly feel it. I was about a mile from the turn around point where i could get water and gu up. I was hoping that would help. luckily i ended up getting the feeling back into it before i reached the turn around.

I was counting how many girls were a head of me at this point and i had counted 5 so that motivated me to move faster! At the turn around I got some much needed water and tried to down as much of the gu packet with out losing too much time as possible. Side note – my drinking, breathing, chewing, swallowing coordination was pretty non-existent during this run! Oh and also the gu totally worked it’s magic and I felt really good for the next 3 miles and was able to keep my 7:45 pace. I didn’t run with a water belt (because i hate them with a passion) and i didn’t want to loose time going off the path for the water fountains so i was probably getting less water than i needed. Around mile 9 (and the last hydration station) i ate two gu chomps which helped get me through the rest of the race! The last mile was pretty brutal for me and the last .5 they made off the path and in the sand (no thank you) so it made me a little unsteady! I gunned it in the final .3 miles and finished at a 1:43 which was about a 7:53 average pace..which is what i was going for! I was really excited to realize that I have shaved off 37 minutes from Air Force 1/2 marathon :)

My wonderful mother braved the early morning and cold weather and was there at the finish cheering me on! We left shortly after i finished and headed off to a wonderful breakfast at Mimi’s cafe..so good! When i got home this afternoon one  of the guys that had ran the 1/2 too let me know via dailymile that he thought I had won my age group..What??? OMG i totally forgot about awards! I couldn't believe the brain fart! When we were there I was totally thinking there was some reason we shouldn’t leave right away but me actually placing never crossed my mind! I wasn’t sure if it was true (he could have thought my name was different) but when the final times were posted I was pleasantly surprised to see that I won my age group (25-29)!! I am really excited because i have been working on my speed a lot! I also found out that i get some added running bling for placing now i have to pick it up on monday due to my totally spacey brain!

When the final results were posted I found out that i placed 50th overall, the 6th female and 1st in my age group..yay!

Thank you all so much for your support! I am really excited for the next race a month from tomorrow!

Oh and remember when i said i saw my friends dad, well i had totally passed him at the turn around and he told me after that he was planning on running an 8:30 the whole race but when i passed him he couldn’t handle it and revved it up and was trying to catch me the rest of the way back ..but i still beat him :) it made me feel really good b/c he is super fit! haha :)

Have a great weekend!

P.S. here are some post-race pics (please excuse the nastiness, i just ran 13.1 miles)…

  

Thanks mom for coming out!!

Tomorrow is the Big Day..

So this post is going to be short and to the point :) I have talked a lot about running and training from a couple different races coming up, but i have failed to mention that the first of those races is TOMORROw! That’s right folks tomorrow i will tackle the second 1/2 marathon of my lifetime (with many more to come). And to make it even better it is taking place in my hometown, on the same bike path route that i have been training on! Bring on the Bako 1/2!

I ran my first 1/2 marathon in last September and fell in love! Now i am hooked and while the hubs is away I have signed up for some races to keep my sanity while he is away! I am excited but also really nervous (which is dumb b/c i would be running this much or more on a normal saturday). I have increased my pace a lot and so i am really hoping to get a better PR this round. Last 1/2 I ran it in about a 10 min mile but the last few times that i have clocked it I have been at a 7:45-7:50 min mile pace. I hope i am able to keep it up. Also, on monday my knee started hurting and so i have been icing it and trying not to push it too hard! Hopefully it will hold up!

Well wish me luck! I will be posting a recap after :)

Have a wonderful weekend all!

Striping on the Bike Path

Well I am happy to say i am back running in the wonderful bako air (for those of you who don’t know bako is known for it’s horrible air quality)! Isn’t it sad that i prefer this to the nice crisp of slightly thin air to tahoe :)

Anyways, yesterday was my first run back so i decided (since i didn’t get as many miles in as i normally would last week) to jump back in with a 9 mile run. For the past month and a half it has been colder so i have layered appropriately (shorts, long-sleeved cold weather compression shirt, tank top, and jacket). By the way this is also what I wore in the frigid cold of Tahoe snow. Yesterday I didn’t even bother to look at the weather or walk outside to see what the conditions were really like. However, when i was walking out to my car a little voice in the back of my hard head was like “wow it’s kind of warm today”. Should have listened but instead i proceeded to get in my car and drive to the bike path to begin my run.

The first 1/2 actually felt really good and I kept looking at my Garmin amazed to be going at a 7:30 pace and not feeling that tired..yay for being able to breath! However, as I continued to run i couldn’t ignore the fact that i was getting warmer and warmer and sweating more than usual.

Why i thought I should wear the same amount of layers in 70 degree weather as i did in 30 degree weather is beyond me!

I stopped at every water fountain so i could quench my parched mouth but then i started to get paranoid of drinking too much water and sweating out too much sodium and potassium (thanks running nutrition books now you’ve got me paranoid)! I hate running with my water belt and i didn’t bring any gel packets so i just continued on.

By the time i reached mile 7 I was on the verge of overheating (yeah something the hubs never thought possible b/c according to him i never sweat and am always cold)! I either had to stop and walk the rest of the way or start shedding some layers!

Now i am a very modest person..like i hate my stomach, avoid flashing it at all costs, and will only wear a two piece swim suit if the hubs begs me and i know there won’t be that many people around! So needless to say, the layer that really needed to be shed was on the bottom of all my layers and the only thing between it and my nude upper half was my sports bra. Now i know many people run in sports bra’s and shorts and i always think nothing of it, but i totally don’t have the nerve or confidence when it comes to exposing my torso (and i’m envious of those of you who do)!

But desperate overheating times call for desperate throw-all-your-concerns-out- the-window measures. That’s right folks, i did it, i stripped down right then and there to my sports bra (and then as quickly as i could put back on the tank top and jacket)! I did happen to notice that i picked the spot that was the most populated, complete with numerous construction workers to flash my blinding white tummy! typical.

Don’t worry though, i made it back alive and a little cooler than before :) And no i did not take pictures because

1) i don’t run with my phone or any type of camera and

2) again that whole exposing the tummy thing :)

Today however, I was a little smarter and left that extra layer at home which made my 8 miles a lot more enjoyable.

Accidental Shoplifting Revealed

Well today was our last full day in Tahoe. Sadness. But I am also ready to go home and get back into the normal routine again (well at least normal for right now). In typical Ashley fashion, a trip wouldn’t be complete without shopping! I have to give a HUGE shout-out to my wonderful daddy who sacrificed his last afternoon to take his favorite daughter shopping (shhh don’t tell the sis)! So this afternoon we headed out on our shopping adventure.

Destination: The Summit in Reno, NV.

Mission: serious wallet damage.

When we got to the outdoor shopping mall the first place that we had to go was the Verizon store. Why you ask? Well because for some unknown reason the battery on my phone has decided that it’s life needs to be rather short so it is only allowing me to talk for about 15 minutes before it decides to end it’s little life and my phone conversation! It has been getting worse so we decided, since there was a store there, to stop and see if anything could be done. They talked a lot of phone mumbo jumbo and i handed over my little darling phone with the promise that in approx. 30 minutes new software would be downloaded and my phone would hopefully be reborn.

Since my dad was totally engrossed in the different phones I left him to research his to his hearts content with a promise that i would return quickly (or maybe just i would return). I headed out to shop to my hearts content (thanks Gram for the “just in case” money)!

I hit the usual stores..Gap, Banana, New York in Company (which I don’t go into that much but they were having good sales), and American Eagle.

BTW..Gap has the best, and i do mean best, t-shirts that are currently only $10 so hurry and go there now (well after you finish reading this post and comment of course).

Anyways, it was a lot warmer in Reno that it was up at our cabin and since I was dressed for cabin weather I was defiantly heating up! Needless to say each time I tried on clothes I neglected to put all of my original clothing back on (good think i’m really into layering). So as my layers diminished the amount of clothes in my purse expanded (don’t worry i’m getting to the point)!

New York and Company was my last stop before I returned to my ever-loving-researching father. I found some really good deals and when i went in the dressing room I laid my purse down and then put the pile of clothes to try on on top of my purse. I narrowed it down to the choice pieces that were soon going to be joining their new sisters in my closet. I paid for the clothes and then as i was walking out the door the alarm (you know that beeping that happens when they forget to remove a sensor and then everyone stares at you like you are steeling..or ignores you). Well the girl came up and checked all of my purchases and we couldn’t find any sensors still on so she told me to just come back if i discovered one later and they would remove it.

I found my dad and after a quick stop to get the essential frozen yogurt that i require to survive we started to head back. Luckily I reached into my purse to get something and what did i find??? OMG!!

Apparently, one of the shirts that i had intended to try on at NY&C had ended up getting mixed up with the other clothes that i had shed and put in my purse. Yeah totally didn’t pay for it! OMG i totally just shoplifted on accident!

 courtesy of google images

So there i sat, holding the stolen shirt, while my dad is cracking up (he didn’t know he had raised such a criminal)! Well i had to return it..

I ran back into the store (and of course the beeping sensor thing went crazy) and tried to explain to the girl who had helped me before that i really didn’t mean to steal the shirt..really i didn’t (well maybe i shouldn’t have said “this shirt accidently dropped into my purse”). She just gave me a really confused look, took the shirt, and walked away! Well let’s just say i bolted out of there quick just in case she decided that she didn’t believe me and tried to call the cops.

That would have made a fun Valentines day adventure in jail!

Have a great weekend :)

Oh and don’t worry i won’t make this a habit!

Involuntary Mud run and Tahoe so far

We have been having a blast so far in Tahoe. For the most part it has been pretty chill (but isn’t that what vacation is for?)! A lot of hanging out, eating, some shopping and of course running! I have actually gotten in more running here than I had thought I would (although not as much as a normal week). Hey gotta make room for all that yummy food i’m devouring here :)

and yes that is yummy bread pudding from The Chocolate Bar..sooo good!!

Okay, sorry got a little distracted..but it’s such yummy goodness! I have been trying to get my run done in the morning (although it is pretty chilly) so that it doesn’t interrupt any plans for the day. Yesterday was really nice because although there was snow on the ground, the roads were fairly dry. Today, however was a different story! I knew this run would turn out interesting when i woke up and saw that it had snowed and rained during my slumber. The devoted runner i am though (or psycho runner) would not let that deter me. Today was a short run anyways (it was either going to be 3 or 4 miles, i figured i would decide when i got out there).

So I hit the slushy pavement in full force. I’m not going to lie it was a tough 4 miles..this altitude is a killer and I had to keep stopping to catch my breath (it was either that or throw up and i didn’t think the people on the street would appreciate that)! I was glad when the run was done. I didn’t realize it when I was running but I guess I brought a little of the outdoors home with me..

and yes about half way through the run i realized that a white jacket was probably not the best choice for this run!

Here are some other fun pics of our trip so far..

My fam minus the bro and my hubby (who we are missing very much)!

the Northstar resort..so nice!

my dad and sis enjoying the fire (which you can’t see)

The Northstar has all these little shops and looks like a cute village!

Don’t worry there will be more pics to come!

Wardrobe Malfunction..

I think I have become really spoiled running in Bako weather where, although I’m heavily layered on the upper half of my body, i am able to get away with shorts on the lower half. Not that i mind wearing pants or Capri's, but I have been having a hard to finding ones with pockets and my shorts have perfect pockets for my keys and running essentials (like Gu for the long runs). I hate to carry anything in my  hands and although i know i should be wearing a water belt on my longer runs, i keep forgetting/not wanting to wear one and just stopping at the water fountains along the Bike Path were i run. Anyways, getting off track here!!

I have been on a pretty heavy duty/no joke training plan for a marathon (even though i have two 1/2 marathons in the next two months and the full isn’t until july). I figure since i have the time right now I might as well take advantage of it and get my body used to running a lot of miles so when the hubbs comes back we can train together for the SF marathon in July!

One of the perks of living with the folks right now is getting to tag a long on their vacations :) This week we are in Tahoe! Now don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to be here and loving the down time but i freaked out a bit when i realized that our vacation up in the snow might throw a wrench in my running plan for this week (not to mention the weekend after we get back i am running in the Bako 1/2 marathon)!

I packed my running gear like the good runner i am, hoping and praying that there will be a long enough stretch to run on where i wouldn’t be slipping and sliding everywhere (no gym here = no treadmill)! We got here Sunday so Monday was my first running day! We are right on a main road that looked like the prime candidate for my run so I geared up and put on some new capri’s that I scored the other day (and they have pockets) b/c i figured running in shorts in the snow would be a no go!

I hadn’t worn these before but I figured they would work great! As i headed out on the road i was more concerned about my heal hurting (stupid Achilles tendon) and i failed to notice right away the my newly acquired pants may have fit okay while standing but were really struggling to stay up once i was in motion. it never dawned on me that since i found them on clearance at kohls and had to buy a small instead of my usual xsmall that there might be a problem!

Yup i was that person! running on the main road of tahoe having to keep my hands on my waist band so as to not flash the entire town as i ran by with my bright blue panties underneath! I am sure i was a sight! I literally had to stop about every 10th of a mile or so and pull them up as far as i could in hopes that they would take longer to get to the critical “I must stop and pull them up right now before another involuntary show starts” ! Luckily, the stretch I was running was only about 1.2 miles one way so I was forced to repeat it several times to get in my mileage for the day, which allowed me to stop back at the resort and change into my beloved shorts! the second half of the run was  a lot more uneventful for both me and the rest of the town! Now i have dubbed those pants “yoga only workout pants”!

If i have learned one thing from this little wardrobe debacle, it is to always buy running pants with drawstrings on them for this reason!  No free shows here people :)

Oh and on a random side note…I was running along focused on my own issues and i look over and what do i see…a dead raccoon frozen in a pool of water..ewww! Mr. raccoon now haunts me in my dreams!

The return of Try’em out Tuesday..ZipFizz style

So I am officially bringing back Try’em out Tuesday! While I had let my blog fall to the waste side I also had let this little gem die out…so sorry faithful bloggers. But don’t worry I am bringing it back with a vengeance :) And for my first feature back I introducing what i refer to as my new “miracle product”! No joke folks…this is serious stuff!

*Warning: Since the hubby is gone my life revolves around running (basically i have no life besides that right now) so I am sorry if most of my posts reflect that..i promise I will try to throw in some other stuff too :) But for now consider yourself warned ..

Okay back to the Miracle product….ZipFizz!!

Now don’t write this off as just one more energy drink…I actually bought it as sports drink supplement in an effort to increase my potassium consumption so that I can run and not end up in the hospital! I was in my favorite and most dangerous place, Costco (well it is a tie between costco and target for the most dangerous factor) and I saw these cute little tubes of vitaminy goodness.

First let’s take a look at what ZipFizz really is according to zipfizz.com:

“Zipfizz is an all-natural, great tasting energy drink-mix powder
that delivers a powerful charge of micronutrients to the body's fuel system. It contains no ephedra or other artificial stimulants. Most people experience an immediate, revitalizing burst of energy after taking Zipfizz.

Zipfizz is healthy energy in a tube! Give your body a rush of
vitamins, minerals and key amino acids to protect the immune
system. Zipfizz has created an advanced formula that provides a significant amount of vitamins, fewer calories, lower carbohydrates, superior taste, variety and unique packaging! Simply put, it's different because it's good for you!

Use Zipfizz as a morning or afternoon pick-me-up, or enhance
your training by taking it before, during, or after a hard workout.
Because Zipfizz contains no sugar, users will experience an
increased energy level for up to 4 - 6 hours with out the sudden
"crash" associated with other energy drinks.”

Sounds good right…well does it deliver??

I have to admit, i was a little nervous in trying this because i am not one for energy drinks. But since I was still feeling really weird after running (which scared me some) and I was having a hard time keeping my electrolytes in balance I decided to give it a go. Oh and don’t worry i researched it as much as i could first to make sure there wasn’t some unknown death warrant that was hiding in this drink. So about 45 minutes before my morning run I took a leap into the zipfizz world! I chose the orange flavor and yes it was fizzy but not horrible. I was talking to the hubbs via webcam while drinking it and he said i seemed rather zippy :)

That day I was running 10 miles and folks believe me when i say this stuff is legit!! For the first 3-4 miles i kept thinking that i must be going really slow because it was really easy and i wasn’t getting tired at all, but then i would look at my garmin (my baby..oh how i love you) and my pace would be about a 7:30ish. I really couldn’t believe how good i was feeling ..but it wasn’t like some caffeine buzz that i was all jittery or something, more like I felt alive and could breath and run and not get tired. I have to say though, that after about 5-6 miles the effect lessen and i do start getting fatigued but not anymore than usual.

The two real clinchers that sealed the deal were:

1. I felt really good after the run, a lot better than i had been and I didn’t feel tingly at all (which i had been with the whole electrolyte thing) and

2. I dropped a minute from my time. yay!!

Please note that I drank a lot of water with this stuff too which is important so that you don’t get dehydrated.

I have used this stuff every time before i have ran the last week and i am in love! I give it an A++. My time for my runs have gotten a lot better and i have felt really good. It can be a little pricey but I got a box of 30 at costco for about $28. I only use one a day if i am running so they will last for a little bit and I do believe they are worth the money!! If you are looking for good sports supplement or a way to feel energized without the jitters I would totally recommend this!

P.S. if you have anything that you have been eyeing or dying to try but are afraid to try it yourself..let me know i would be glad to check it out!

 

Hitting the big 40

That’s right folks…it hit 40 this week..40 miles that is!! Whoo hoo!! This is a goal I have been trying to hit for the last three weeks, so it was a pretty big deal for me!

It seems like this goal has lasted forever, or that I wasn’t going to accomplish it because each week something happened to make me cut back my miles. The first week it was horrible storms and last week it was a little potassium problem! However, this week I finally made it!

I was also supper excited because as I started out my 6 miles today, the final leg and the only thing looming between me the the 40 mile goal, I was feeling rather tired and unmotivated to go fast. I took a deep breath and told myself I was not going to worry about my time…I would just run at a comfortable pace and be fine with that. As i hit the pavement (literally) it took me all of 30 seconds to start looking at my pace and trying to go faster/stay consistent..haha i’m pathetic! anyways, I was really excited when i was able to end my run, feeling really good, with my best time yet…6 miles in 45:30 with my garmin showing an average pace of 7:34! The best part about it was that I really didn’t feel like I was dying or even going super fast…i’m really excited to continue seeing how much I can increase my pace! Now I have to tackle 16 miles on saturday (the furthest distance to date)!

On a side note…I have stated to notice my regulars on the bike path (like the old man with the Huge beard that wears a camel back and walks freaking forever…or the guy who sings at the top of his lungs while walking) but it has freaked me out lately as i run by people and then hear them say..”oh there she is”…or … “that’s the girl..”! So weird..maybe i run like Phoebe on friends or something! 

Hopefully i will survive to write another post!