HBBC wrap up week #6

I haven't had a chance to do a weekly wrap up for a couple of weeks, but I have been doing well keeping myself moving during the Holiday Season.  The last couple of weeks have been busy, but good.  I love this time of year...not so crazy about the snow, but I am learning to embrace running in it. It appears I won't have much of a choice this winter.

Here's what I did this week:

Monday: Stayed inside on the TM and did a 5 mile easy run with 2 miles walking, then 20 minutes of stretching.

Tuesday: Just an easy 4 miles before we got going to Canton for Christmas celebrations at my Gramma's house.

Wednesday: Have been trying to do more yoga.  I found a great routine on youtube.com.  There were 3 parts:  Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  This was a nice 30 minute routine that I did after my 6 mile run in the blizzard and the WOW #6.  I added lying leg lifts and straight-leg crunches.  I think this might be my favorite of the WOWs so far.

Thursday: Took a much needed rest day.  Lounged around the house and enjoyed the family.  It was a great day.

Friday: Went to Blacklick Woods to get my 6 miles with 4 at MP in. There were no clear roads/sidewalks in my neighborhood and I needed to be able to get some good speed.  Luckily, the roadway was clear in the park, even though the trail was not.  It was so pretty, I had to snap a couple of pics.  The run went really well, and I was able to hit my goal pace.  I got home and did the WOW workout again, as well as 30 minutes of yoga.  Another good routine from youtube!

Saturday: I love the weekends, extra time to get workouts in.  I hadn't been in the pool or on the bike all week, so I took advantage of the time I had today to do both.  Tried to run outside, but the snow was just too deep, and too many people had not cleared their sidewalks at all.  Got 2 done outside, and then headed to the Y to finish up my 5 for the day.  Then did an hour of spinning, and a 2000 yard swim followed by a quick stretch and cool down walk.  Whew!  I felt good after all of that!

Sunday: Had 12 miles on the schedule, but the snow was still a problem in my neighborhood, so I relented and hopped on the TM.  I tried to do a progressive run, and I was doing great...until my TM stopped working at 8.5 miles....ugh.  I messed with it for a few minutes, and then got changed and headed outside to finish.  I was able to find some pseudo-cleared roads, and got the remaining 3.5 in.  last mile was my fastest, as I continued to try to keep the progressive run going.

Got my freggies in every day but one.  I am happy with that!
Total points for week 6:   78.18.

HBBC has been a great motivator for me these last few weeks.  I am excited for the coming year! Thanks for all of your support and motivation!

Honor and Remember...part 2

My last two runs were dedicated to the adult victims of Sandy Hook.  I was able to spend a full mile praying for each of these victims by name.  The stories of courage and sacrifice that have been told about the teachers and staff at Sandy Hook have touched and inspired me.  I hope that I have courage to face down any evil that may block my path.  

As I ran, I prayed for: 
~ Healing for the families of the victims. 
~ That God's grace surrounds each of the survivors. 
~ That the Lanza family can be greeted with grace. Hate breeds hate...the only way to battle hate is with love. 
~ That the survivors (including those parents whose children came home on Friday) not suffer from guilt because they survived.  
~That the town of Sandy Hook feel the prayers and support of the nation.  
~ That the nation begin to heal and do so through love and kindness towards each other.  

Run #1 
Mile 1: Vicky Soto
Mile 2: Dawn Hochsprung
Mile 3: Mary Sherlach
Mile 4: Rachel Davino

Run #2
Mile 1: Anne Marie Murphy
Mile 2: Lauren Rousseau
Mile 3: The Lanza family
Mile 4: The survivors

I believe that God has shown Himself in the aftermath of this tragedy.  At least, He has revealed himself to me.  I believe that love will prevail.  

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

 (Psalm 23)

Honor and remember

Yesterday, one of the most horrendous events in recent memory took place.  A 20 year old man killed his mother in their home and then drove to a nearby elementary school and gunned down 20 kindergarten and first-graders and 6 staff members and then turned the gun on himself.  When I heard the news, as a mother and a teacher, my heart broke.  The grief that so many strangers are feeling in the aftermath of this unfathomable tragedy is real and raw.  The feeling of wanting to help ease the pain of those affected is tremendous.  The solace and healing that running has provided for me inspired me to do the only thing I know how to do to cope with this...run.

My plan for this morning was to run 8 miles, head to the gym and spin for an hour, and then do a nice easy swim.  However, as I was getting ready, a little voice started making itself heard in the back of my head.  There were 20 beautiful innocent lives lost yesterday...run a mile for each of them.  Of course, I said to that voice at first....no way.  I haven't run more than 13 miles in over 2 months (not including my marathon).  But that voice just wouldn't go away.  So I made a decision.  I would run those 20 miles in an attitude of prayer and love...and I would finish.  No matter how long it took me, I would finish.  I knew this would be hard, and would probably hurt a lot.  But my pain and discomfort pales in comparison to the 20 families who will never get to hug, kiss, or hold their little angels again.

I found a worship music station on Pandora and set out.  I broke this run up into 4-5 mile runs.  This made it a bit easier mentally.  I spent the entire run focused on praying for each of those lovely children.  There were times I had to wipe away the tears, but I kept putting one foot in front of another. It was important to me to run for each of them today, so not finishing was not an option.  When it got hard at the end, I just kept my focus on asking God to provide healing and comfort for each family.

May God bless each of these precious children that were taken too soon...

Mile 1 - Charlotte Bacon, 6 years old
Mile 2 - Daniel Barden, 7 years old 
Mile 3 - Olivia Engel, 6 years old
Mile 4 - Josephine Gay, 7 years old
Mile 5 - Ana M. Marquez-Greene, 6 years old
Mile 6 - Dylan Hockley, 6 years old
Mile 7 - Madeleine F. Hsu, 6 years old
Mile 8 - Catherine V. Hubbard, 6 years old
Mile 9 - Chase Kowalski, 7 years old
Mile 10 - Jesse Lewis, 6 years old
Mile 11 - James Mattioli , 6 years old
Mile 12 - Grace McDonnell, 7 years old
Mile 13 - Emilie Parker, 6 years old
Mile 14 - Jack Pinto, 6 years old
Mile 15 - Noah Pozner, 6 years old
Mile 16 - Caroline Previdi, 6 years old
Mile 17 - Jessica Rekos, 6 years old
Mile 18 - Avielle Richman, 6 years old
Mile 19 - Benjamin Wheeler, 6 years old
Mile 20 - Allison N. Wyatt, 6 years old

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/15/sandy-hook-shooting-victims-names_n_2307354.html

HBBC Week 3

This was a fantastic week.  I met my goals for the week, and am feeling strong and relaxed.

Monday: Ran a really easy-paced 5.5 miles.  I was still feeling a bit under the weather, but it felt good to get outside and run. After the run, I tried the WOW #3.  I added planks and squats and did 5 rounds. Love the tabata style of workout!

Taken from: http://tabatatraining.org

Tuesday: Used this as somewhat of a rest day.  Got up and did a nice 2200 yard swim (Endurance-Form #4).  I recently purchased the book, "Swim workouts for Triathletes" and I am following the "general fitness" plan right now.  My goal is to get 3 swims/week in.

Wednesday: Hit it hard today.  Did my first every spin class before school.  I LOVED it!!  The instructor was surprised this was the first time I have ever tried it.  Came home that night and ddid a 10k  negative split run.  Cooled it down with just under a mile walk on the treadmill and then 20 minutes of stretching.

Thursday: Hit the pool before school and did a 3100 yard swim (Endurance speed #6).  This was a fun workout, and I got to swim fast for parts of it!  :)  Came home and did a really slow 4 mile recovery run and 20 minutes of stretching.  The quads were really feeling it today as a result of the spin.  It took until Sunday before I felt normal again.  I wanted to head back to the Y for a spin on Friday morning, but I was having a hard time just going up and down stairs, so I decided to hold off.

Friday: No morning workout today, but did an easy 3.5 interval workout on the treadmill, and then finished up with a 1 mile cool down walk.

Saturday: My goal when I headed out was to get 8-12 miles in at a nice relaxed pace.  As I progressed into the run, I started to feel really good.  At around 10 miles, I thought I would go for a half marathon...and try to negative split it. Mission accomplished.  I ran a 1:55 half marathon with the 2nd half of it 3 minutes faster than the first half.  I felt incredible!  I cooled it down with a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood, then came home and did some yoga poses and stretched the legs out.

Feeling pretty awesome after an unplanned half mary!!

Sunday: Headed back to the Y for a brick workout.  Did a nice easy 14 mile spin on the indoor bike, then hit the pool for 2400 yard swim (Force #2).  Came home and watched the end of the Browns game (THEY WON!!!) while stretching.

I am very pleased with this week.  I wanted to get over 80 points this week, and because of the quality workouts I got in, plus getting in my fruits and veggies every day, I was successful!  81.7 points this week.  I have found that I am more cognizant of going for a piece of fruit as a snack, instead of the chocolate or crackers I would normally go for.  I love fruit smoothies, and will often make my own, or buy the Naked smoothies from the store. My kids and I fight over edamame!  How awesome is that??? The best news of all, is that I have lost 4 of the pounds I have put on since my marathon in late October!!!  So very pleased.  I am hoping to continue that trend through the New Year!

Taken from http://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/eat-word-edamame

This coming week is a recovery week as I get ready to start a new marathon training cycle on the 17th. My goals for this week:
~ All freggies in each day
~ Post to FB each day
~ Do the WOW at least once
~ Stretch 4 times
~ Swim 2-3 times
~ Spin 2 times
~ Run 24-30 miles

HBBC2012 Week 2 wrap up.

This was somewhat of a rest week for me.  I guess I needed it, but I hadn't planned it this way.  That's OK, because I am rested and ready to tackle the coming week.

Monday, I took it a little easy.  Short 2+ mile run as a warm up and then I did 4 rounds of the WOW.  This felt amazing.  Then I spent about 20 minutes stretching and did 9 sun salutation as part of that stretching session.  I love sun salutations!

Image from: http://theyogalotus.blogspot.com/p/sun-salutation.html

Tuesday, I took a full on rest day!  I didn't plan it, but I definitely needed it.

Wednesday, I headed to the YMCA after school.  Got in a 6 mile progressive run on the tready and the track and then hit the indoor bike for a nice 15 mile spin.

Thursday, I got up early and went for a nice 2300 yard swim before school.  After school I did a 6+ mile run which included 4 Yasso 800's.  My goal for these by the end of my training cycle is under 3:40.  These were all right around 3:43.  I've got some work to do!   Spent 20 minutes doing some stretching again, and got up to 10 sun salutations this time.

Friday was a wonderful, easy 7 mile recovery run. I paced this by HR, and kept it to under 135.  This translated to about a 9:45 pace.  Just perfect!  Came in and did 2 WOW circuits which included 12 different moves.  It was fantastic!  I'm still feeling it on Sunday night.

Thanks, Amy Herring for putting this together!

Saturday was the Jingle Bell Run 5k.  Each year, my family makes the trip down here to do this run.  This year my mom, dad, gramma, my mother in law, my nephew, both of my girls and my oldest's boyfriend joined in the fun!  We had a lot of fun.  I was up most of the night with some kind of stomach bug, so I didn't put up my best 5k, but I was still one of the top 50 women, so I got a medal!  My official time was 24:15.  This is almost 90 seconds slower than my PR from a couple of months ago, but I know it was because I was sick.  By the time I included all the walking to and from the car, my warm up and then running back to finish the walk with my family, I ended up with 7 miles on the day. Did a little bit of stretching...10 minutes, and then tried to rest and drank lots of ginger ale and at pretzels so I could feel better for my family's Christmas on Sunday.

The family before heading out to the race!

Post race with my "Top 50" medal!

Sunday was the day we decided to celebrate Christmas with my side of the family.  I hosted for 19 people and loved every minute of it.  This translated to roughly 5 hours of cooking and cleaning.  After dinner and presents, we took the little ones out for a short walk.  The weather was unexpectedly warm for December 2nd.  My youngest got Just Dance 3, and I spent about 20 minutes playing the game with her!  We had so much fun today. The day was topped off by a Brown's win over the Raiders!

Some scenes from the day...

Overall, this was not the week I had been shooting for, but it was still a successful week.  Partly because of poor planning, I didn't meet my goals of getting 2 spins and 2 swims in, but I will get it this week!  I got in 3 days of stretching instead of 4, but that is still 3 more days than I have been getting, so that is considered successful!  I got my fruits and veggies (freggies) in each day, and participated in the FB group each day.  My total points for this week are 70.05, just a bit under what I had been shooting for, but still pretty good since it turned out to be somewhat of a rest week!

My goals for next week are:
2 spins and 2 swims
5-6 runs
3+ days of stretching
All my freggies/post to FB daily

I'm back

It has been a long time since I have last posted, but I recently joined a challenge that will be lots of fun! It's called the Holiday Booty Buster Challenge, and since I am very competitive, this will be a good way for me to continue to be active even between training schedules and especially over the holidays.  If you are interested, go to Holiday Bootie Buster 2012, and let them know I sent ya!

The first week went really well.  My goal for this week was to get 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies (freggies) each day this week.  I was successful, and I am very pleased about this!  Had a fantastic week of training as well.  I even tried the Workout of the Week, which is part of the challenge.  Did it twice!

I am loving this challenge and the accountability that the group is giving me.  Lots of inspiration as well!  Even on days when I don't want to do anything, I look at the wonderful things that others are doing, and I get off my butt and get my workout done!

The goal for the coming week is to get in 2 swims, 2 bike rides, and stretching/yoga 3-4 days this week...in addition to my normal running.  :)

Thanks, Amanda for doing this!

HBBC2012 week 1 points:

Bonus points:
1 point each day for posting to FB (7)
1 point for doing WOW (1)
2 points for getting family out on Thanksgiving (2)
1 point each for posting participation to Twitter and FB (2)
2 points for posting link on blog (2)

workout points:
32.8 miles running (32.8)
1 mile walk (1)
90 minutes swimming (9)
27 minutes WOW (1.8)
40 minutes stretching/yoga (2)
18.3 miles cycling (6.1)
30 minutes of football game on thanksgiving (2.5)
1 point per day for freggies (7)
cooking/cleaning for Thanksgiving (1.8)

Total points: Bonus + Workout = 76.7

I would love to see this closer to 90 this coming week.  My goal is to get this up to 100!  :)

plan for week 2 of marathon training

I am enjoying the Pfitzinger training plan.  However, I am finding that I need to really plan my weekly workouts.  So this is just a way for me to keep track of what I have slated!   He has a stretching routine, a strength training routine, drills, and a core routine.  My goal for stretching is 3-4 times per week.  Strength: 2-3 times, core: 3-4 times, drills: 1-2 times.

Monday: Rest/XT.  Strength, Stretch.

Tuesday: 8 miles w/10 x 100m strides. THR for the first 6 miles is 128-144.  Then 10 x 100m strides w/200m recoveries.  Drills before my run, Core afterwards.  Boot camp Tuesday evening!

Wednesday: 10 miles general aerobic (THR: 128-144).  Stretch.

Thursday: Rest (I have Conferences Thursday, so there will be no workout!)

Friday: 5 mile recovery run (THR: under 138).  Stretch, Strength, Core

Saturday:  13 miles w/8 miles at MP. (3 mile w/u at THR 128-144, 8 miles at THR 141-155, 2 mile c/d at 128-144.)

Sunday: Rest/XT. Stretch, Strength, Core

1 month of clean eating

It has been about 5 weeks since I started clean eating.  It has gone very well.  Initially, I lost weight very quickly.  Then I seemed to level off for a couple of weeks.  Then, I started to notice something interesting.  Even though I was not losing weight, I was losing fat...and gaining muscle.  This is what I wanted to see happen!  I am down about 12 pounds, but have lost somewhere around 4-6% body fat.  I will have a better approximation on Wednesday when I have my body fat tested.  This is so encouraging.  I have begun to notice more muscle definition in my body, and my clothes are starting to fit right again!

So, what have I been eating?  Natural, whole, organic foods.  I have gotten away from most processed foods, and have avoided added sugar and anything made with white flour, for the most part.  A couple of times in the last few weeks, I have had small portions of these foods I have been trying to avoid.  I have noticed that when I do have even a small amount of processed foods, sugar, or white flour, I feel icky.  

I have become creative in the kitchen.  I made turkey burgers with Wheat Germ instead of bread crumbs.  I didn't tell anyone and they all raved about them!  I made a very yummy citrus-y salmon with whole wheat pasta.  Yum!

I am obsessed with yogurt, blueberries, and granola!  Oh yea, and natural peanut butter with apples or bananas!

I treat myself to 4-5 Dove dark chocolate covered almonds each day....I have really begun to love them!

I have also tried a really good oatmeal pancake recipe with a home-made fruit topping.  I made yogurt cheese and put that on the pancakes with the fruit as well.  It was similar to stuffed crepes!  One of my favorite things to have for breakfast.

And I have discovered a love for Kashi pizza.  OH MY GOODNESS!!  So amazingly good!  

Overall, I am very pleased with this change in eating habits.  I can see myself sticking with this long term, I just have to accept that there will be times I will have to stray from it just a bit.  Especially for things like birthday parties, and other important celebrations.  However, I also know that just because I am offered something sweet that would be contrary to how I normally eat, I do not have to accept it!  I can say no thank you, and enjoy a few Dove Chocolates instead!  

week 7 in pictures

Sunday 2/12:  Kayla is part of the youth puppet squad at the church we attend.  Tonight was her big show.  She did so well!  These are just a few pics of her throughout the show and afterwards when the kids could come up and see the puppets.

Monday 2/13: Today, in student council, I noticed this lunchbox that one of my students had!  Being a HUGE Beatles fan, I was, of course, instantly jealous.  I must find one!

Tuesday 2/14: Valentine's Day!  It was a snowy day, and there was a Valentine's Day party in Student Council.  During the party, a box of 2 dozen chocolate covered strawberries was delivered from my Valentine!  It was a wonderful surprise, and very yummy!!  I made a yummy citrus salmon and noodles dinner for us.  Mmmmm...

Wednesday 2/15: I DVR'd the Grammys and sat down tonight to watch them.  I haven't watched an awards show in years, but this one was pretty good overall.  I was especially tickled by the fact that Sir Paul performed twice!  (Have I mentioned that I am a HUGE Beatles fan?!?!)

Thursday 2/16:  Tea ended up not having school today because of a power outage.  So, she spent the day with me.  I was actually out of class that day for a math departmental meeting.  She brought a couple of movies and made herself right at home. 

Friday 2/17: I registered for the Scioto Miles race series and as a result, got a fantastic Brooks running jacket with my registration!  I got to pick it up today.  I have since run with it twice!  LOVE IT!!!

Saturday 2/18:  My niece turned 3 this weekend and we traveled to Fremont, Ohio to celebrate her big day!  She is an adorable little girl and had a princess themed party!  

week 6 in pictures

Life has definitely been busy these last couple of weeks, so I have gotten a bit behind.  Get ready for some rapid blog posting!

Sunday 2/5: Superbowl Sunday.  Lucy was intent on getting a piece of popcorn from Kyle.  She was staring him down.  Tea tried very hard to stay awake for the game, but soon enough, she was conked out on the floor.

Monday 2/6: It was a relatively mild February day here in Ohio, so my girls decided that a picnic was called for.  They took their dinner outside, along with a couple of blankets, and ate it picnic style in the back yard!

Tuesday 2/7: A couple of my students drew some pictures on my whiteboard when they were finished working on their group project.  They were so sweet, I had to snap a pic.  I even told them their drawing might make my weekly blog post!  :)

Wednesday 2/8: I'm kind of obsessed with peanut butter...especially since the Eat Clean way of eating encourages eating natural peanut butter!!  This is what we currently have in the house!

Thursday 2/9: Tea brought home her math test today!  So proud of her...she got over 100%!  Makes her mom (a math teacher) very proud!

Friday 2/10: The weekly challenge was to run at a metro park.  I chose Sharon Woods... unfortunately, on the day I chose to run there, the snow and the wind presented a challenge. :)  This is me after finishing 1 loop at Sharon. 

Saturday 2/11:  Kayla played her flute solo at the regional solo and ensemble.  The highest score you can get is a 1.  She played almost flawlessly, and it was beautiful!!!   The drive was a bit dicey as it snowed a bit the night before.  It was well worth it!