When negative is positive

Oh, January, I have never enjoyed you so much! Over sixty degrees today! Can you believe it?

Close your eyes. Put on your sunglasses. You might be blinded. (By my legs, not the tiara.)

It was so warm out the flowers and butterflies joined me on my run and followed me back into the locker room.

Horrible picture, but I needed proof that I ran outside in shorts on January 31st!

I ran 3 before meeting up with Ben then another 3 on the same route with Ben.

I saw my friends Leslie and Jim along the way - twice! What a nice surprise!

My second loop was 90 seconds faster than my first. This is why I like training with Ben! Go us!

Birthday Dinner

Monday morning I finally convinced myself to get out of bed and get into....the POOL!

It was a Christmas miracle. But not Christmas.

Unfortunately I didn't get up quite on time, so I didn't have a ton of time to swim, but I did get a decent workout in. I did 50 meter freestyle warm up, 4 different drills - 2 kick drills and 2 pull drills each for 100 meters, 100 meter breast stroke. I wanted to do more freestyle, but I was worn out! It still amazes me how different swimming is on your body.


I did reserve 3 minutes to sit in the hot tub. I have to reward myself somehow!

Marc's big birthday was this weekend, but he was out of town hunting so we went to The Melting Pot last night to celebrate. It was delish, but I must say dessert was by far THE BEST part. I really like the atmosphere at the Melting Pot too, very cozy and private.

Perfect Conditions

I ran across the Friday night (on Pinterest, of course).

Considering this was my view Saturday morning on my way to running group, it seemed very appropriate.

Even in the rain, sleet and wind 11.5 miles flew by. I ran with a few new people and got to catch up with Maureen. The first few miles of our route was VERY hilly. Maureen's story of her son's biopsy, getting him home from boot camp and the plan for the next 8 weeks helped pass the remaining miles. Tyler is starting chemotherapy this week, so please keep him in your prayers.


This morning I made it to Barbell. Woohoo! My legs weren't sore at all from my run, but we'll see how they feel tomorrow after 6 minutes of lunges AND 6 minutes of squats in barbell (plus 48 minutes of other torture!).

Time Flies

Wow, the week is over and I have been a bad blogger!

Fortunately, I have done pretty well on the work outs this week.


Tuesday was my night home with the dog while Marc was gone all night playing basketball. In between my domesticated awesomeness of making dinner, being a doggy mama, doing laundry, and cleaning I managed to squeeze in a Shred workout. Woo hoo!


Wednesday I finally ran with Ben again. It had been about 2 months since we last ran together. Possibly longer. The weather was out to get us, but we were determined to out run the sleet and ice. We headed out for a quick 3.2 miles. In true Ben and Bethany fashion, the rain/hail/sleet mix started just as we walked outside. Luckily it was mostly ice and hail coming down so we didn't get too wet. I thought I was going to have a black eye from a couple of the pieces of hail that nailed me right on the cheek bone. It was good to have my running buddy back and pushing me. 25 minutes later we were back inside...then it started pouring rain.


Thursday was another Shred day. I've felt really good being able to sneak these strength work outs in when I don't have much time to work out.


Friday was a rest day. We had a BIG offsite meeting today at work. It was so much fun. I topped off the day with. Margarita with friends. Perfect night before a long run!

Planning

I should know that if Plan A doesn't work, then B, C, D, E, F, and G won't either.

Plan A - group long run Saturday morning. I missed this due to 1/4 inch of ice (and my klutzy nature)

Via

Plan B - Run Sunday. I had a really bad headache and they are usually made worse by exercise for me.

Plan C - Run 5 miles Monday morning and 5 miles Monday evening. I had a horrible nightmare Sunday night - Marc had to wake me up, he heard me from the living room with the TV on. I woke up with my heart racing and drenched in sweat. I was really out of it and once I settled back down I felt like I was only half asleep the rest of the night.

Via

Plan D - Run 8-10 miles after work on Monday. At noon I found out I had a conference call at 5. Since I had arrived at work at 7 a.m., I decided to get a run in on treadmill between 4 and 5, then run back upstairs for my conference call.

Via

Plan D actually worked!

I was hoping for 5 miles, but only had time for 4.25. I did intervals to simulate a speed workout and help the time go by. I am so glad my office has a gym - it made it possible to get some miles in at least!

Camo & Deer Cupcakes

This weekend was a total letdown in the work out/running arena. I'm pretty bummed about it, but I have big plans to make it up...

Saturday morning we had a bunch of ice. Being the graceful person that I am (breaking my foot in the shower, separating my shoulder while running are all signs of ultimate gracefulness), I opted to skip the Saturday morning run and run on Sunday.

Of course Sunday I was fighting a massive headache all day. Unfortunately, exercise makes my headaches a lot worse.

I did have a couple of dates with Jillian this weekend at least!

Since I didn't run Saturday, I had plenty of time to focus on Marc's birthday cupcakes. His birthday isn't until next weekend, but we had dinner with his family Sunday night so I made the cupcakes for his family.

1. Make cake, divide into thirds and spend an hour trying to get the coloring right.

 2. Pour approximately 1 tablespoon of each color into camo cupcake liners. Take a knife and swirl the colors.

3. Bake!

4. Make deer cake balls.

I didn't take many pics of this step, so I apologize for the eye-less deer

5. Ta da!

Intervals on the Treadmill

I've been on the treadmill more in the last month than I have in the last 3 years. I'm not sure where this is coming from, I really really really dislike the treadmill.

However, I want to get my miles in and the mornings seem to be working out better for me to get my runs in lately. Since it is sooo dark out in the morning (I am at work before 7:30) and we live off of a pretty busy road, I feel safer running on the tread than outside.

I still can't do more than 6-7 miles without wanting to scratch my eyes out, but I have found some tricks to helping the time go by faster.

My biggest trick to surviving the treadmill is doing a speed or interval work out.

This morning I only had a little less than 40 minutes, so I did a 3.4 mile interval work out.
I warmed up, then increased my speed every 2-2.5 minutes, then decreased for 1-1.5 minutes. I increased each interval by .2 and they ranged from 7.8-8.6. I did my recovery time at 6.6 or 6.8.

Not super exciting, but a quick work out for some miles. Hopefully I'll be able to do Shred again tonight while I am starting the baking for a certain someone's BIG birthday!

I Heart Long Weekends

This weekend was fabulous (and long!). It started Thursday night with celebrating my sister's birthday!

Who doesn't need a purple birthday elephant balloon that comes with a leash you can walk it with?

Balloon courtesy of Erin and Carter. They sure know how to wish someone a happy birthday!

Then it was time for a few days off work to spend time with the family.

I only ran 9.3 miles this weekend. I'm not very happy with that mileage, but my foot is still healing so it's not the end of the world.

I also did Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred a few times as well. My good friend Sarah has inspired to get on The Shred bandwagon again. It's a great workout for my running days and days I can't make it to the gym since it only takes 20-25 minutes.

Morning Run

I actually got up and went to the gym this morning! Winning!

I did a 4.2 mile interval work out on the dreadmill.

A little core and arms on the bosu.

Then sat in the sauna for 2.2 seconds as my reward.

It feels good to have my workout completed before 7 a.m. Not to mention 15,500 steps on the good ole' pedometer before then as well!

Marathon Inspiration

Between Ashley running her first marathon since her bike accident 4 months ago this weekend and meeting Karen Cosgrove yesterday, I've been bombarded with marathon inspiration lately!


I was super excited to hear that Karen was speaking at work during lunch. I've admired her from afar for several years, so hearing her story in person was quite a treat!

I can't believe I'm posting this picture, it is the world's worst photo. Ever.

She is amazing.She ran her first marathon after only training for a 10k and finished in 3:56. She was ranked 23rd in the world and qualified for 2 Olympic trials. More importantly she turned her passion into a career of helping people reach their goals.


Monday was a rest day for me since I literally had a small piece of my foot cut off. It's healing nicely, but painful to put pressure on. I'm hoping to run before the weekend, but we'll see how my foot feels. Last night I was able to fit some core and strength training in at least!

Trail Running 2012

Sunday I was able to join my running group for the first trail run of 2012!

We will be running trails one Sunday a month as a group. It's a nice change of pace (literally as I am MUCH slower on the trails and trying not to fall) and scenery!

View along our run.

I was very thankful my friend Megan joined me for this run! She is much more experienced on the trails than I am.

My muddy shoes...but you can't really tell in the pic.

The park was absolutely gorgeous! The sunshine and 40 degree weather in January wasn't too shabby either! The trail we were on went around the lake and the views were beautiful!

 

We ran about 45 minutes out (3.4 miles) and then a little farther back. We still aren't sure how that happened, but ended at 7.5 miles. We never felt lost, but we obviously came back a different way than we went!

I was exhausted that afternoon. It was a good kind of exhaustion that my body needed to feel. It's good to be back!

2012 Official Training Has Begun!

Saturday was our first official training run for the spring 2012 marathon season!

It's time to pick a race (or 2, or 3!)

I had a great run - 10 miles. I felt pretty good for hardly running at all during the month of December. It was great to catch up with my friends.

Such a unique bond is shared with running partners. I spent most of my run fighting back tears listening to Maureen tell me about her son being diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Eve. Please pray for Tyler.

Now it's time to research some race possibilities!

2011 In Review

I should have done this last week, but just didn't get to it!

Some amazing things happened in 2011. It was a fun, adveture-filled year!

New adventures:

My first tri (and second soon after), our first MS 150, our first obstacle race, and my first trail race

Meeting famous people:

Sarah and I meet Pioneer Woman and I get to run with Dean Karnazes!

New things to work out with:

New gym, new cycling shoes for the new bike, and new tri kit!

There were lots of new things and firsts for 2011! I hope 2012 proves to be just as exciting!

New Year's Eve Surprise!

We had an amazing New Year's Eve. Best one ever, really.


A few weeks before NYE, Marc told me that he had a surprise planned. While I had visions of target ranges and ice fishing, he planned a really sweet and thoughtful night.


He took me on a progressive dinner (that kind of turned into a pub crawl) commemorating our relationship. We toasted at each place to a different part of our relationship and he said numerous sweet things. Schmoopy...but I loved it!

We are super classy!

We rang in the new year at Tony's with an amazing meal, party hats and champagne.