Biker Babes and Football

Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Biker Babes TIU workout, abs

"Running, for me, is like a cheap therapy session. It's the solitude that allows me to think a bit more clearly and "de-stress."  Ruffin Rhodes,

This quote was in my email this morning and it seemed to fit in with my last post, so I thought I would share it.

What's better to de-stress than a looong weekend though?! Happy Labor Day weekend!

Wednesday night I had my women's running club meeting (pool party!).

It's always fun to hang with the ladies and enjoy some delicious snacks and wine.

On the way home, I witnessed this sunset. Yes, I pulled over to take a picture. #nerd

It was even better in person.

We've had some amazing sunrises and sunsets lately. They always make me feel at peace.

Thursday night I did a TIU workout. It was one I had never done before - Biker Babes.

It was tougher than it looked! And man, trying to do those squats right after jumping off the bike was quite the balancing act. I almost fell flat on my face.

That would make an interesting story on how I broke my nose...

I got home just in time to throw together a quick pizza using my now favorite 2 Ingredient crust before starting my Fantasy Football draft.

I can't believe football season is practically here!

Yum. Pretty good night at our house -  pizza, wine and football!

Now, just a few more hours of work to get through before the long weekend!

Enjoy and be safe!

A track work out is cheaper than therapy & Mizuno Sayonara review

Monday: TIU Love Your Booty, 3 mile run outside
Tuesday: Track workout: 6 800s, 1/4 mile warm up and cool down - 3.5 miles total

I definitely woke up on the wrong side of bed yesterday.

It didn't help that I woke up at 4 and didn't go back to sleep (should have just gone to the gym). 

But really that's just an excuse.

Source

I let the beginning of my day dictate the rest of the day. I had classic Eeyore syndrome.

It would have been easy to skip my track workout, especially given the 90 degree heat.

It turns out though, the track was just the therapy I needed.

A Mizuno representative met us at the track last night so we could test out the Wave Sayonara or the Wave Rider.  

I opted for the Wave Sayonara - it's similar to the shoe I currently run in.

Then it was time for the torture therapy to start.

The shoes must work, as my 800s were faster than normal.

I ran all of them between 3:21 and 3:35.

I'll take it! And the shoes!

Honestly, I was very skeptical.

I have a hard time finding the right shoes, so I was happy to test them on the track with the option of switching them back out if I needed to.
I was very pleasantly surprised though.

The Sayonara is very lightweight, but also cushiony.
I couldn't believe how great they felt on my feet! And the colors are great (because that's the important part, right?!). I mean, check out the pink ones!

And extremely spent after the work out.

I felt so much better after the good ole sweat session.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a real therapy session would help well, but sometimes a good hard run does the trick too and it's friendlier on my bank account.

Weekend Review: The Color Run #kindawesome!

Over the weekend I had the awesome opportunity to run The Color Run because of the amazing people at KIND.

Sarah and I arrived at the race early to pick up our packets and to have time to stop by the KIND booth since we were KIND ambassadors. As soon as you walked into the festival area you knew it was going to be #kindawesome!

We knew we wanted to do some sort of fun costume for the race, so we made tutus last week!

Lots of women (and a few men) were also rocking the tutus.

There were so many fun outfits - patterned leggings, silly hats and fun sunglasses. It was #kindawesome to see everyone's creativity shining through their outfits.
 

 

We had such a good time. It was #kindawesome to do a fun race. Sometimes I get so caught up in my time or training for longer races, that I forget about the fun and silly side of running.

I definitely recommend The Color Run for a fun day, family event, bachelorette party, girl's day or just any excuse you need to get a little exercise and have fun!

Don't expect to set any PRs, but do expect to have a #kindawesome time and be covered head to toe in color!

Recipe: Kale, Edamame, Mango Salad

Wednesday: TIU Abs & Summer Sizzle

Wednesday was strictly a toning day for me. I'm trying to give the calf some extra rest to make sure it's ready to run this weekend.

However, I did do some crafting last night and that always gets my heart pumping and makes me sweat.

I'm just not a good crafter and it totally stresses me out.

I think I handled this one OK though, and it's complete - and you'll get to see it Monday!

Over the weekend K and I attended a pool party.

I was trying to decide what side dish I would bring to share. I knew I had a race the next day, so I wanted a healthy option for myself. It's August, so it's hot outside, so I also wanted something light and refreshing.

Then, I was introduced to Kale, Edamame and Quinoa Salad.

Remember the girl who introduced me to the 2 ingredient pizza crust? She introduced me to this as well. She's a genius!

There's such a mix of flavors in this - red onion, edamame, lemon, mango, avocado, tomatoes.

It's amazingly delicious.

*I totally forgot the garlic in the dressing and it was still fabulous, so I can only imagine how much better it will be with garlic next time.

Now run to the grocery and make this, you won't regret it!

Back at the track

Tuesday: 3 mile track workout

Monday was a rest day since my race was Sunday, but by yesterday I was itching to get a run in. So, back to the track I went.

Pre-run fuel

 I tried to only run at about 85%, I didn't want to give 100% and have my body reject the effort. I also wanted to be careful with my calf. The calf is feeling better, but not 100%. I am still wearing my compression sleeve, but not 24 hours a day anymore.

The workout:

6 x 600s

4 x 300s

This was a very different work out for me. I'm used to doing multiples of 400 (400, 800, 1200, 1600). It was a nice change and those 300s felt short - and fast - after doing all those 600s!

I was definitely worn out after the work out was finished, but I could tell I didn't push myself.

Not pushing myself was the plan, but it still feels weird.

Race Recap: Little Miami Half Marathon

Sunday morning I arrived at the race fairly early - about 6:40 for a 7:30 start. I was nervous about parking and I don't like to take chances on race morning. We lucked out with a great parking spot so we stayed in the car to stay warm until it was time to meet our friends at 7.

Mojo had a great group of runners for the 10K and half marathon.

I was extremely  nervous to start running.  I hadn't run since Monday and I just didn't know how my calf was going to react. I decided to start out conservatively and just see what happened.

I ran the first few miles with Sarah and Maureen. My calf was feeling good and the miles were ticking by rather quickly. Around mile 4 or 5 Maureen told me to go ahead with fellow Mojo-er Bryan. So I did.

I was still feeling good. It felt like I was flying. My Garmin would go from 8:20 to 7:05 - the trees along the trail were messing with the GPS signal, so I didn't really know what my pace was. I tried to slow myself down, but I just felt good. I was worried  I would run out of juice though in the last few miles.

Between mile marker 8 and 9 Bryan told me he was going to hold back and to go ahead.

I held my pace as best as I could. I kept my eye on a guy in a red shirt and just tried to stay with him. I let him get a little bit ahead of me in an effort to conserve some energy, but made sure he didn't get too far ahead.

With 2 miles to go I knew I was going to PR if I could just hold on.

The guy in red passed an older gentleman and as he went by the older guy said "Way to go, you're passing a 74 year old man!". As I passed him he said "You're doing great lady!"

This made me giggle.

I kicked it in a bit with about a little less than half a mile to go. A guy next to me looked over and laughed and said "oh no you don't". In response I said "I'm about to PR, I don't care what else happens!"

We raced across the finish line and congratulated each other after we crossed. It's always nice to have someone push you at the end!

After crossing the finish line I stick my foot out for the volunteer to clip my chip off...

and it's GONE!!!!!!

My heart dropped to my stomach and I was about to cry. I'm always a little emotional after races.

K and Sarah's husband met me at the finish and I'm pretty sure my first words were "my chip is gone". I was so focused on finding a race official to see if anything could be done, I couldn't think about anything else.

Thankfully one of the race officials looked me up and my chip did cross the starting mat. I had worn my Garmin for the race (which I RARELY do), so they set my time by my watch.

I knew I wouldn't win anything - but it was a PR and so important to me that it was official.

K asked me if my leg hurt during the race. I barely remember this, but I looked right at him and said "yeah, it started at mile 10.38".

I was so happy it didn't hurt for almost 10.5 miles. And when it did start hurting, it wasn't nearly as bad as I had feared it would be. I wanted ice as soon as I crossed the finish, but the missing chip took my mind off of that pretty quickly.

So, my new PR is 1:46:32.

I finished 4th in my age group (by 19 seconds!) and 34th woman and 136th over all.

Not to shabby with a bum leg!

The race was a great event, I would definitely do it again. It's on the smaller side, but well organized. The course is scenic (but not many spectators since it's along the bike path), mostly shaded and flat.

Weekend Review: PR City!

Happy Monday!

Foggy Monday morning sunrise. View from my backdoor.

This weekend was quite fun!

Friday night K and I had a date night at the hibachi grill. Such yummy food!

Then we headed over to his brother's house and hung out (and drank some wine!) with his family. We ended up over there WAY later than we expected. Time always flies when we are with them!

Saturday was pool party time at our friends house!

The weather was absolutely beautiful.

I made a delicious quinoa salad I'll tell you about later this week!

We also played this super fun game Telestrations.

Imagine Telephone combined with Pictionary. Totally hilarious!

Sunday was the big race day!

 

I'll give more of a recap later, but the BIG news is:

I have a new PR and Sarah kicked some serious booty in her FIRST half marathon!

Race Goals

Thursday: Body Blast Class at lunch

I had to modify or (yikes) not do a few things in class yesterday because of my calf.

As hard as it was to do that, I am proud of myself for not pushing it and hurting myself even more.

We had class outside and it was gorgeous! It's always nice to get out and enjoy some fresh air in the middle of the day.

The sunrise became 1000 times more beautiful minutes after this picture.

I am feeling fairly confident in my leg for the race this weekend.

I plan to wear either a compression sleeve or compression socks during the race.

I'm sure there will be some ingesting of ibuprofen before the race (yes, I know you shouldn't do that, but I am anyway).

Luckily the course for Sunday is flat, hills would be really bad news for my calf.

So I've been thinking about my goals for the race:

A) PR. It's a flat course and my current PR isn't exactly breaking any world records, so should be doable. Or so I thought until I injured my leg...

B) No PR, but close to my last 2 half marathon times.

C) Finish. If all else fails and my leg is not cooperating, I still want to finish. I've only DNFd one race before and it was a 5K that I tried to run with a broken foot (I didn't know it was broken until 2 days later).

I think those are all fairly realistic goals! Fingers crossed for a healthy and safe race for all of the runners!

 

And on a totally random note, two different days this week I saw hot air balloons in the sky on my way to work in the morning. There's something I just love about hot air balloons.

Recipe: 2 Ingredient Pizza Crust

Wednesday: TIU Abs

 

I will start this by saying that I in NO WAY came up with this on my own.

It was mentioned to me by a friend, then I searched and found several different blogs with the recipe and slightly varying instructions.

Also, this is still a cheat meal, but much healthier than a normal pizza.
We LOVE pizza in our house and occasionally want to splurge on it, so why not make it healthier when we do?

 
Here's what you need:
1 cup plain Greek yougurt
1 cup self rising flour

Here's what you do:
 Mix the yogurt and flour together. Form a ball with the dough.
Knead it. The more you knead it the better.
It will be very sticky. I put a little extra flour on my pizza stone (and on my hands) and kneaded it directly on the stone then pressed it out just using my hands.
Bake the crust for 15 minutes on 350.

We love mushrooms!

Remove crust, add already cooked toppings, put back in the oven until everything is melted.

See, it's that simple! 
Delicious and husband approved!

I feel like the extra protein in the crust made me feel full for a long time and with less pizza!

**Since making this I've learned you can make your own whole wheat self rising flour by adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda and salt to regular whole wheat flour. I bought self rising white flour because it is all I could find**

All the cool kids wear compression sleeves

Tuesday: Weights and Abs

Yesterday I raised my white flag of surrender.

I'm not giving up on my race this weekend, but I decided I need to do everything in my power to make sure I get to the starting line and finish line on Sunday.

My new running shoes came in yesterday, so I stopped by Mojo after work to pick them up.

I had a little conversation with Mr. Mojo about my strained calf and what to do.

I took his advice to heart, went home and iced my leg right away.

Then I put my compression sleeve on and haven't really taken it off since.

I was in a lot of pain Monday night and all day yesterday, but I am hopeful that the compression and icing will work it's magic.

Last night K and I hit the gym.

He got some cardio in while I did some upper body and abs.

When I go to the gym I like to match wear as many colors as possible.

I did the same TIU workout from Monday and added some additional tricep, bicep and shoulder moves. Then it was time for some ab work!

This was a killer! I did the whole thing through once and was spent.

And I plan on doing it again tonight!

It's a good thing it's going to be a little cooler for the rest of the week. I don't want to wear a skirt or dress to work with my compression sleeve. I like it hidden under my jeans much better.

Why I should never ever stop running

Monday: 3 mile run outside, TIU workout

After work I headed to the gym to do some upper body strength training before meeting Ben to run. I wanted to rest my calf before running, so I picked a new to me TIU plan: 

 

That lat rollout is NO joke.

Ouch!

Then it was time to run.

I was nervous at first about my calf. We started a little slow and planned on just taking it easy.

Ben was a little beat up from soccer on Sunday anyway, so it worked out fairly well.

I could feel something in my calf, but it wasn't really painful.

We finished the 3 mile loop in 26:39.

I could feel my calf more towards the end, but it still wasn't horrible.

The the more time that went by the more it hurt.

So, I'm sure you are wondering what the lesson is in all of this?

Never ever ever stop running and my calf won't hurt (at least not too bad).

This arrived in the mail yesterday, so needless to say, it was a good night at our house.

 The evening was rounded out with K's soccer game.

 I hadn't been to watch in a while, so it was fun to see him play again.

So now I am debating on how to make sure I get to not only the starting line on Sunday but also make it across the finish line. Compression socks? Kinesio tape?

I haven't had a real injury in a long time, so I know I am lucky, but this is really bad timing too!

Weekend Review: Injury

Saturday: 7 mile run outside
Sunday: Kayak, arms

Friday evening I had to say see ya later to one of my best friends.

She came in from Texas for our wedding celebration and was able to stay for 3 weeks.

We had a lot of fun over those 3 weeks: shopping eating, drinking wine, talking, playing with her kids. It's always sad when they leave but I am so thankful they were able to make the trip.

Saturday morning I started my run when I'm usually finishing it.

Big mistake.

It was incredibly humid.

I ran from home, down to the park and along the bike path.

I hit the 3.2 mile mark in 28 minutes. Stopped for a minute to wipe the sweat off my face then continued on (after poking myself in the eye with  my sunglasses - don't try to put them back on while running).

It was hot and a hard run, but I was feeling pretty good. I was happy.

Then I hit mile 5.25.

I felt like I got stabbed in the calf.

I stopped for a minute to stretch and continued on my way.

I finished 7 miles at an 8:30 pace and a screaming calf.

Pre run and post run

I pouted my way through a shower then decided it was time for some ice, compression and elevation. I'm hoping it's just a strain. It did seem to be a little better on Sunday, so I'm still being positive and of course planning to race this weekend!

Saturday afternoon we headed to down to Washington Park for the Taste of OTR.

It was a gorgeous (and hot) day. Perfect to spend in the park enjoying delicious food and good friends! We had Eli's BBQ, a pork bun from KaZe and gelato from Dojo.

Yum!

That evening we met friends out for dinner and drinks. Quite a fun-filled and busy day!

Sunday we spent running some errands in the morning then out on the water in our kayaks.

We are loving the kayaks and are so happy we decided to buy them.

This time we saw tubers and water skiers out on the river.

Sunday evening was spent with this cutie patootie.

She was giggling and laughing the whole time, I'm not sure how I managed to get a picture with no smile.

She's just so fun right now.

My favorite H quote of the night: "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

We have our meal and work out plan set for the week. Hopefully we are able to stick to it. I'm ready to get back into our routine!

Working for the weekend

Thursday: 3 mile run outside, toning intervals

Thursday after work I met Kelly for a quick run. It's been a few weeks since we have run together so it was a great time to finally catch up a bit.

Kelly is quite the champ. She finished chemo several weeks ago just started radiation this week. She has continued to work out through it all, but hasn't been able to run much.

She has been an amazing inspiration.

It was pretty humid so we took 2 walking breaks, but they were very short.

This run wasn't about time or distance, it was about Kelly getting a run in outside.

And that was a success!

One more week until my next race - the Little Miami Half Marathon!

 I'm hoping for a PR, but not sure my training has been good enough for that. I am hoping the flat course will help with that and my fingers are crossed for good running weather!

Have a happy weekend!

Spaghetti Squash and Puppy Faces

Wednesday: Toning Intervals at home

What a week this has been!

So much has been going on and I have been absolutely exhausted by it!

Most of it has been fun though, minus that little trip to the ER Sunday night, but at least everyone is OK!

I found this guy at IKEA yesterday and really wanted to take him home with me.

I mean, seriously, that face is precious.

This weather has been giving my sinuses fits and making me so sleepy.

I managed to make dinner even though I didn't feel like it last night.

It was my first attempt at spaghetti squash and it turned out quite well!

Thankfully it is super easy!

I just poked some holes in it and threw it in a baking pan in the oven for an hour at 375.

Once it cooled down a bit I cut it in half then used the fork to make it spaghetti like (after removing the seeds and squishy part).

Next time I will add a lot of veggies, I was just lazy this time.

We planned to hit the gym after a quick dinner, but we were both worn out.

I still made myself do some squat, lunge, push up, and ab intervals though.

I did 3 sets of each and between 20-30 reps of each exercise.

My abs are actually a bit sore this morning!

Not a normal or hard workout, but much better than just laying around watching Breaking Bad which is what I really wanted to do.

And so I don't make Pugalicious too jealous, how about this cuddly face too:

Goodbye, Garmin?

Tuesday: Rest

Last night we had a fabulous dinner with the family that I nannied for while I was in college.

Of course I took ZERO pictures. I was too busy enjoying our time together.

And the ah-mazing food.

Now I feel old, really really old.

The oldest "kid" just finished her first year of graduate school and the youngest just turned 21 last week.

I still think of them as 3rd and 5th graders.

Sigh.

Something very sad is happening to my Garmin.

See that mark the arrow is pointing at? It's not normal.

And it's there all. the. time.

That being said, I have had this Garmin for quite some time.

I guess it's time to start researching the replacement for when the time comes. There are so many more options now, it's overwhelming!

Do you use a running GPS? Do you love it?

Tuesday Morning Sunrise

Monday: 3 mile run outside

Last night was another gorgeous night for running.

We have truly been so lucky this summer.

Yesterday's high was 81 which hit right when we were heading out the door after work to run.

We just did a quick 3-miler - I guess I'll just have to make Ben do the 4 mile route next time!

The run was pretty uneventful, just our usual loop, but it was our fastest one yet!

sweaty after run pic

The rest of the evening was spent doing laundry and picking up the house.

Exciting Monday night at our house! I know you are jealous!

We did get to watch The Newsroom from Sunday night though.

Totally love that show!

Tuesday morning sunrise

Today may end up being a rest day, we have fun dinner plans tonight!

Weekend Review: Double Digits & Kayak Adventures

Friday: Rest
Saturday: 10.1 mile run outside
Sunday: Kayaking

We started off the weekend celebrating one of our nephew's 8th birthdays!

It was another fun family night filled with bounce houses, rock climbing, air hockey and cake!

Saturday morning I was finally able to get to running club!

It was drizzling and overcast most of the drive there, but I kept hoping the rain would stop and at least hold off until I got my double digits in.

Luckily I was able to run with Sarah the whole time and the miles seemed to fly by as we chatted and caught up.

It drizzled a little bit, but not much at all.

It was so humid that I wouldn't have been upset if it decided to rain just a bit though.

I might have even changed my wish to wishing for a rain on a few of the hills we had to run!

I am happy to say I did achieve my double digits - the first ones since May!

The rest of the day was filled with a nap, errands, some house stuff and a movie night.

Nothing too crazy, but it was nice to have a day with NO plans!

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day, so we decided to check out the river right by our house in the kayaks. It took us a few minutes to figure out the best place to park to put in.

Apparently there is a dam with an 8-12 foot drop right downstream from where we put in, so we paddled upstream.

We discovered a boat club we had no idea was so close. There were several boats out and one of them was pulling tubers. Who knew all of this was practically in our backyard?!

I was hoping they would want a turn in kayaks in exchange for a turn tubing, but then realized how COLD the water was!

What a fun weekend!