Giveaway at Active Bands

Go check out Active Bands new blog site.  They are having an awesome giveaway for 2 gift cards to their online store for the best Active Headbands you will find out there.  I just ordered three last week and LOVE them.  They stay in place and are beautiful! (Pictures to come soon!)

Please check out their blog and check out their site and all the awesome ActiveBands they have available.  Plus they have a 30% discount offer going on right now too.  Don't miss out!!  Great products, great company, great service!!!!

HM Week 2 Recap

So I finished up my Week 2 Half Marathon training plan a little lighter than expected.

I ended up moving my Tuesday and Thursday runs to Monday and Wednesday and got in one extra mile!  Woo-hoo.  On Friday though, I had a few distractions and didn't make it out.  Saturday I got in my long run before I travelled.

Today was a total cross training day with TONS of walking miles.  I wish I would have brought a pedometer because I truly must have taken between 15,000 and  20,000 steps today.  The Convention Center is four city blocks long and I went back and forth from one end to the other over 20 times.  It was a busy, crazy day and tomorrow is set to be the same. 

So although I didn't get the total running miles I needed for the week, if I were to add in today's walking miles I would definitely had it.  I hope my calf muscles relax a little tonight - I have a feeling they are going to be a little ache tomorrow. 

Tomorrow we should get done with the convention stuff early, so I am hoping to find a good restaurant for dinner and get back to the hotel to relax for a little longer before I tumble into bed.  I will post my Week 3 Training Plan tomorrow and try to figure out how I can squeeze some running miles out of some tired legs on Tuesday!  

Any suggestions on how to stretch out my calf muscles and the bottoms of my feet?  My heels are sore and I don't know how to make them feel any better after pounding on cement all day.

Got my Run In

Workout:  6.21 miles in 1 hr 5 mins with Copper and iPod

I was able to roll out of bed early this morning and get my run in before I left.  I was hoping between 5 and 6 miles and ended up with 6.21 so I was happy.  Copper and I did a similiar route that we did on Monday we just went a little further down the road before climbing the hills and heading home.  It was a good run.  The weather was nice and I felt pretty good after I got things warmed up.  The first two miles were a little tougher till I got in my groove and over the first hill.  After that I was able to settle in and just made my way.  For now, I classify them as hill runs in my Log Your Run calendar but after next week I will probably demote these same runs to training runs.  By then the hills should feel like a piece of cake. 

My colleague and I made it down to Philly in good time today and managed to find the hotel parking deck without too much trouble.  We got set up in the hotel and headed over to the Convention Center for our first training session.  I will be working as a Volunteer Captain for the ISTE conference.  Everything seems very overwhelming right now, but once I have a chance to get started and start working with all the volunteers it should be ok.  Luckily I am on the same team as another co-worker so we should be good to go.

Lots to learn and lots to do the next few days.  Good news is that the fitness center has some nice treadmills and I should have some time in the morning to get down there and run.  Now the challenge will be to see if I actually do them. 

Already off schedule

I haven't even left yet for my conference and my running and training plan is all off schedule.  I didn't get my 3 mile run in today.   It was one of those sunny-one-moment-pouring-the-next kindaof days.  So that put me off from running.  Cowboy's parents also came to visit and we went out to lunch with them so that took up some time.  We also took the Beagle girls over to the club to chase rabbits.  So my Friday was a little busy and I just didn't make time for running.

So before I meet up with my colleague to travel to Philly for the conference I am going to try to get in at least 5 or more miles.  I won't have the total miles I was looking for this week but it will have to do.  Luckily it is still early in the training plan and I can catch up later.   My week 3 plan is going to be goofy too.  It looks like I will be working 10 hour days at this conference so I'm not so sure if I will even get time to work out at the gym plus I HATE running on threadmill and don't really see myself running in Center City Philly so those runs might just end up getting skipped.  I am sure I will be doing tons of walking during the conference so I will just have to count those miles. 

I may be absent from the blog world for a few days but once I get back I will try to get back into the groove. Until then have a great weekend and week bloggies.

Two Runs Day

Workout:  2.44 miles in 22 mins with iPod

3.56 miles in 34:39 with Dad and SB

Today, I split up my run into two parts.  My car was down at the shop, and I needed to pick it up so I could head into town for my appointment.  So my two little feets-ies got me there in great time with a good hill workout in there.  It was only 2.44 miles and I was shooting to get between 5 and 6 miles in today.

When I headed into town I met up with Dad and SB after my appointment.  We did the local bike path and then looped through town to make it back to our cars.  I was a muggy, muggy day.  This morning when I was running, I felt like I was running through really thick - pudding like air.  SB said the same thing when we ran in the afternoon.  The air just felt so thick and heavy.  ICK! 

We ended up running 3.56 for a total of 6 miles even!  I've really mixed up my running plan this week, due to my car being fixed, appointments in town and leaving for the ISTE conerence in Philly on Saturday.   I'm hoping I can just get all the miles in before I leave.  Once I get to the conference I'm not sure how I will fit in running with the busy schedule I have as a volunteer captain.  It should be interesting.

Check out Words to Run By's blog tonight.  She posted about a great FREE opportunity to run a little safer.  I've used my Road ID for years, but never updated it when I got married, so I took the time tonight to fill out my information and get my free FinishSafe Tags and Life Pin Number.  Check out her blog for information and steps on how to get the free tags (7 in all!)

Oh I got my Active Bands and Hammer Nutrition products today.  I LOVE the ACTIVE BANDS!  They look great and really seem to stay in place.  I got them after my runs, so I am looking forward to trying them out on a run on Friday.  I tried one of the Hammer Gels today and some of the Hammer Heed today and I liked them both.    I also picked up some whey protien so that I can mix that into my smoothies, pancakes, etc.

Week1 Recap and Start of Week2

Workout:  6 mile run with Copper in 58:10

Week 1 of my Half Marathon training started out better than I expected.  I didn't go into the week with quite the base miles that I wanted beforehand.  I really slacked off on the running the last two weeks of school and it was rough to motivate myself to run when vacation started. But I finally got into the grove on Wednesday.

I like having a training plan, but I by no means follow it word for word.  I tend to move the miles around according to what I have planned for the day.  As long as I get a long run in and end up with close to the same total miles for the week I am happy.

As you can see below in green is my planned miles and in my blue is my actual.  Because my base miles were minimum, I didn't push for the full 5 miles on both Tuesday and Thursday.  On Friday I ran with Anda for 3.6 so I decided that I needed to give myself that rest day on Sunday and did an extra 2.5 miles after my race on Saturday. 

I haven't been doing the Cross Training (XT) that I had planned on doing (Yoga, Pilates, Abs, etc).  Instead I have been busy cross training by doing manual "farm girl" work around the house and several hikes/walks with the dogs.  This week I plan on trying to get some Yoga worked in somewhere.

Here's Week 2's Training Plan"

Already the plans have changed.  Since I "rested" yesterday I decided to run Tuesday's 6 miles today.  Copper and I headed out at 7 am for our loop.  It was a cool 65 degrees which felt really nice.  Wasn't too muggy and there was a lite breezy.  When I run out here by my house I really don't have any flat routes so today was more hills.  I surprisingly didn't walk much , I just kindaof found my pace and kept moving.  I did stop a few times while Copper found a creek to take a quick swim in.

When we made it back I gupled down some Gatorade and tried to find something to eat with some protein.  I settled on a Banana smothered in Peanut Butter.  It was DELICIOUS!  Now onto the "farm girl" work for the day!

Irv Z - Race Recap

Today was the Irz Z - 3.5 mile race.  It is usually a hot one and it a nice course.  Something different than the typical 5k. 

There was a great turnout for the race this morning and not the usual crowd.  We did a little warm up to get the kinks out and the race started on time.  I was a little ache to begin with but once we did the first hill my hips started to stretch out a bit.   I tried to keep SB in my sights for most of the race.  She has been doing a great job of staying focused during a race and not getting distracted by the little things.  There was no way I was catching up to her today.  As long as I didn't let any other females get between us I was happy.  Right in the last half mile I caught to a little guy, probably about 10 years old.  He had a great race but was losing steam, so I talked him in the finish and told him when to "race" me.  He finished just a few steps ahead of me and our time was 27:26.  Just 26 seconds slower than last year, I'll take it!

According to my "training plan" I was suppose to rest yesterday but I did 3.6 with Anda, and today was the race of 3.5 and tomorrow was suppose to be my long run of 6 miles.  The beauty of a plan is that plans change!  Since I didn't have my rest day, and this is my first week I wanted to make sure I didn't overdo things.  So I decided to run another 2.5 after the race to get a total of 6 and still end up with roughly the same weekly total.  Dad, Anda and I ran the race course backwards, except for the first loop to get an additional 2.5 in  24:06.

Overall a very nice start to my morning.  Another nice race and a successful first week of half marathon training.  Tomorrow I will do a weekly recap and comparison of plan verus actual runs.

Sissy Day

Workout:  3.21 in 29:53 with Copper and Anda

I got to spend the marjority of my day with my 'lil sis!  She came to pick me up at 9:30 and we went to pick up her GORGEOUS wedding invitations, response cards and table numbers from Raspberry Creative.  If you ever need any graphic design work from wherever you are Bethann at Rasberry Creative is the place to go.  She does excellent work, loves what she does and it shows in all the time and effort she puts into making sure everything is perfect.  She did my wedding invitations and thank you's and they were just what I wanted.  I was able to get that personalized touch and design without paying a fortune.  My sister was able to customize her own design as well and really make her wedding invitations what she wanted.  She didn't have to settle for anything less that what was perfect for her.  Please check Raspberry Creative for any and all graphic design needs.  You don't have to be local she is EXCELLENT at working with you online and communicating with you on a regular basis!

After ooohing and aahhing over the designs, Anda and I went to one of our favorite places on earth.  We both used to attend Wesley Forest church camp in the summers when we were in Junior and Senior High and were also both counselors for quite a few camps.  Today, we had a chance to go back and visit.  We walked around the elementary end of camp and the junior/senior high end.  We reminisced and shared stories and tried to remember little details from years ago.  We also stopped and had lunch at a camp counselor favorite - OIP before heading back home.  Anda has all the pics on her camera so I will try to get some of them to post later

We decided to take the Copper dog for a little run and get things stretched out before tomorrow's 3.5 mile race.  My hips were extremely tight from yesterday's hill workout.  It was quite painful to get started going down the hill.  Once we got going though they stretched out a bit.  They were still sore a little bit on the downhill but hopefully after some stretching tonight and a walk in the woods with the big dogs I should be ready for tomorrow's race. 

Still getting use to these self portraits!

Copper Dog is already slimming down and getting in shape for his Doggers and Joggers race in August!

More Giveaways

I finally have some time to stalk more blogs.  I've been finding a lot of great blogs and have added quite a few to my blog roll.  Her Name is Rio and She Runs is a very cool blog.  I'm looking forward to reading more from her.  She has a great giveaway going on too...go check it out.

Secrets of a Running Mom is another great site.  She has some great information for runners such as hydrating appropriately.  Girl on the Run is also having a great giveaway. 

I ordered some Active Bands today.  I am looking forward to them arriving and trying them out.  I got the red bandana, black paisley and flower power patterns. Don't forget if you order by Saturday to use the UVM42 discount code to get 42% off. 

I also order some Hammer Nutrition products.  I didn't know where to start, so I called the 800 number and spoke to a rep.  He gave me some great advice and told me what products would be best in training for a half marathon.  I also had a 15% discount for being a new customer.  If you are interesting in getting the 15% discount on your first order, let me know and I will send you the info.  I noticed on my confirmation order form that they are going to send me quite a few free samples too which is great.  I am looking forward to getting those products as well. 

Hills Strengthen Me

Workout:  4.65 miles in 47:23 with Copper and iPod.

....Or at least that is what I keep telling myself.  I was kicking myself for not taking my camera so that I could get some pictures.  Today's loop is a beautiful run but quite hilly.  I did good for the first 1.25 but then had to walk a good portion of the first hill.  I would walk some, run some, walk some.  Then came the downhill which is one of the steepest downhills I've ever run.  My knee usually screams at me part way down that, so I walked the steepest part.

This run has great views but also has lots of dead animals (today at least), a big ol' crazy steer with horns as wide as I am tall, a VERY loud Donkey, and three other dogs that like to run after us and scare me.  Copper though is a great protector and always gets between me and the other dog. It is always an adventure.

It is gorgeous out.  A little muggy but only 61 degrees and the sun is shining.  It finally feels like summer and I finally feel like I am starting to relax and realize that its time to slow down, breathe and take it all in.  I do a lot of reflecting on runs like today with just the sound of the quiet music in my ears, my feet hitting the ground, the jingle of Copper's bell and his little panting breathes.  It really makes me appreciate everything the Lord has given me.  I am so thankful that I am happy, healthy and can enjoy these quiet mornings to get out there run here in the beautiful country side. 

Great Giveaways

Another exhausting day but oh so productive.  I have some time tonight to do some blog stalking and was checking back on a few giveaways.  If you haven't already head on over to Julia's - Pain, Pride and Perservance blog for a sweet giveaway.  She is celebrating finishing her first marathon with a giveaway include a hat, glass, Hammer Nutrition Gels and a $50 giftcard to  ActiveBands.

There are some great patterns for the Active Bands.  You should go check them out.  I love the Red Bandana one and the Black Paisley.  I might just have to place and order and use the sweet discount that Julia mentioned in her blog.

Yoghi Bear is having a great giveaway too.  Although I am having trouble leaving comments on her blog.  I hope I can figure out why that is happening sometime tomorrow.  But for now, it is time to call it a night.

That's what I needed.

Workout:  4.10 run with Copper and iPod in 37:18

I did not make it out for my run yesterday.  I just couldn't get motivated.  I don't know why - but for me it is harder to run in the afternoons, especially if I don't have anyone to run with.  But if I can roll out of bed and go first thing I don't have as much trouble getting moving.

So, I made that my priority this morning.  After wake up kisses from my beagles, we snuggled back in bed for another 30 minutes before I got up.  Copper and I got all ready to go and took off on our first morning summer run.  We did our little four mile out and back run.  It was suppose to be five miles today, but I didn't want to kill poor Copper (that's my excuse for now!). 

Now that I have all kinds of energy it is time to get some things taken care of in this house.  Like - showering, since I haven't done that in two days and laundry and cleaning.  This house is a mess!  So today, should be a much more productive day than yesterday.

Monday and Tuesday's Recap

Well the first day of summer vacation zoomed on by.  It was a rough one though.  I had the root canal first thing in the morning and then had to run quite a few errands.  On my last stop by car started acting up and the check engine light came on.  That is never a good thing but I won't know until later this week what is wrong with it.

I got home and got to work on my first task.  Yesterday's goal was to get my herb garden set up and planted.  I ended up working on that most of the afternoon (after a 1 1/2 hour nap on the porch with my puppies).  Here's what it is shaping up to be:

I have lots of basil, oregano, chives, dill, rosemary, parsley, marjoram, and cilantro planted in the herb garden.  I decided to plant them separately from the rest of my garden so that I can keep up with them a little better and they hopefully won't get lost in the weeds. 

I didn't get my yoga in but I did do a 2 mile hike with Cowboy and the coon dogs last night when we went to chase some raccoon around. 

This was taken a while ago, not last night.

This morning the beagles and I headed to the Beagle Club to chase rabbits around.  It was a wet and dreary morning when we got started.  About an hour into our hike though it cleared up and turned out quite nice. 

When I got home I finished up my herb garden, planted more tomato plants in the big garden and painted the gate for our fence.    I still need to get in a 4-5 mile run and will hopefully head out for that soon if it stops raining.  In the meantime, as soon as I post this I am going to go do some Yoga Meltdown since I missed it yesterday.

Hopefully this little set up will protect my herbs from the rabbits and the wayward dogs.

Doesn't look like much other than rocks in the garden - but there are plants growing.

We got a late start to our garden due to all the rain and Cowboy being gone for 3 weeks.

One half of the gate is done, still working on the other half.

Even though I'm not teaching it still feels like I'm working a full time job!  I'm always on the go.  Have a great afternoon - I'm off to get my workout in now that the sun is shining.

QOTD - What kind of projects do you get into on your days off? 

The Training Begins

Well tomorrow is Week 1, Day 1 of my 15 week Half Marathon training plan.  Here's the snapshot:

Tomorrow is a scheduled rest day, but I think on those rest days I will be focusing on Yoga, Pilates and of course stretching.  I also am starting out my first weekday of summer vacation with a glorious and oh so fun root canal!  I won't even be able to sleep in.  Up at normal time and in town for the root canal fun before running a gazillion errrands and then home.  I am hoping to be home by lunch time, get in my 30 mins of Yoga and then do some outside work. I am looking forward to running with Copper on Tuesday.  I've missed running with my four legged running buddy.  I have to get him in shape for his 2nd 5k race in August.

Now that I will be home a lot more than usual, I am setting a goal of posting on the blog at least 5 days a week.  I really want to keep track of my training and some of my summer accomplishments.  I am also going to strive to do better at taking pictures throughout my day as well.  So tomorrow I am planning on working on my little herb garden and will hopefully have some pictures to share.  Ok....onto the next random thought poppin up in my head....

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have been really struggling at fueling properly before and have races.  I have heard quite a few good things about Hammer Nutrition and have begun to look into their products.  Has anyone tried any Hammer Nurtrition products?  Any recommendations?  I can't decide on what to try first.  One of my friends suggested I call and see if they will ship some samples before I buy, so I think I might see if they are able to do that.  I want to focus on fuel before and during the run as well as some recovery products to help rebuild my muscles, especially after those longs runs.

Well this post took longer than expected due to technical difficulties, so I am calling it a night. 

QOTD:  What products do you use to fuel before or during a run and for recovery after a run?

Hello Summer Vacation

YAY!  I made it!  I survived my sixth year of teaching!  (Three years at a previous school and three years at this one.) 

Yesterday was a busy day.  I had school until 11:30, graduation practice, and then a nice lunch with my beautiful lil sis, Amanda.  After lunch I went to the Beagle Club to work for a few hours to get the club house and grounds straightened before their Beagle Show tomorrow.  After sweating in the muggy sunshine I met up with my baby sis and stole my neice for a few hours.  We went back to Aunt Mandwe's house to play before I had to get cleaned up for graduation.  I attended the graduation and then finally made it back home by 10:45.  Long Day!

That leads me to this morning.  Up-and-at-em by 6:45 so that I could get ready for the 5k Race. I met up with Dad, Manda, Rob, Adam, Mom and Ella beans at the race and spent time lovin on the neice till start time.  It was just a small local 5k with a really good turnout.  My mom cheered us on while we all raced.  Even the little Ella Beaners raced in her Bob (running stroller) with her GrandBob pushing her. 

I felt pretty good during the race considering I hadn't run at all in 8 days.  I started out a little fast but was able to tuck it back in for a bit until the turn around where I slowly picked up speed.  When we took off I knew their was some good competition and was happily surprised at the turn around when I realized I was 8th girl overall.  I still had my sights on two girls ahead of me that I was pretty sure I could pass.  Shortly after the halfway mark I did just that.  I knew there would be a very very small chance that I could catch girl #4 and #5 that were right ahead of me. 

I started to struggle a bit at 2.75.  The sun was really cookin' things up by then.  I was hot, tired and out of fuel (probably because I didn't eat dinner the night before and only a granola bar for breakfast.) One of these days I'll learn to eat better before a race).  I finshed 6th girl overall, 2nd in my age group, in 23:49.  My dad was 2nd in his age group, Robyn and Manda were 2nd and 3rd in their age group. 

One thing I have to say about this race is that the course flat and easy.  It goes by quick and I like being able to do an out and back race every now and then so that you can see everyone in the race.  Another thing is this race has awesome raffle prizes.  They did a fantastic job of getting donations.  4 out of the 5 of us got gift certificates.  All together the value of those gift certificates was over $295.00! 

After the race it was home to mow grass, work on my herb garden and tackle 5 loads of laundry!  A very successful day!  Congratulations to Julia on her first marathon!  Go check out her race recap and congratulate her on an awesome marathon!

Dreams Do Come True

Back in 2001 - 10 years ago- I used to lay in bed and look at this picture hanging across my room.

I used to stare at this picture and dream of the day where I could would own my own home with this in my yard.  Well this weekend, my dream came true.  Cowboy and I worked all weekend to recreate this photograph in our own yard.

With six dogs we wanted to build a fence that would deter them from heading towards the road.  Cowboy originally wanted to do a picket fence, but I didn't think that would look right out here in the country with our remodeled 1900 farmhouse.  So I convinced him to go with a farm fence.  We shopped around and got a good deal on all the supplies.  $500.00 less than the original picket fence plan. 

Here's a few before and after pictures:



This was from when we bought the house in 2008.

And today:




Before




After



It was a very busy and exhausting weekend.  We are so glad to have the fence up and painted.  I still have another coat or two of paint to put on it and we still need to build the gate to go across our parking area.  I didn't get a minute to spare and work in the garden so that is what I will be doing every night after school this week.  It is the last week THANKGOODNESS! 

Lots more to share from my weeklong absences from the blogging world including a race recap but this girly is tuckered out so I am closing things down here on my computer and heading to be early.  Hope you all had a great weekend.