• I run early in the mornings in my neighborhood and a neighborhood across the street.  I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen other runners running on the same side of the street as me in a different direction.  Do people not know that you are supposed to run facing traffic?  I mean, there’s not a lot of traffic in the suburbs at 6AM but still.  You run facing traffic because then you are not dependent on a driver seeing you to avoid an accident.  You can see the driver coming towards you and react accordingly.  This just makes good sense to me.  Bikers are supposed to ride with the flow of traffic but runners are not.
• I must admit I should technically be running on the sidewalk, but concrete is a harder surface than asphalt so I run in the street.  I still run on the correct side of the street though!
• This is the 4th week of half-marathon training and so far so good.  My tempo runs are hard but they are getting a little easier now that I’ve taken to the streets instead of the treadmill.  I’m up to a 9 mile long run this weekend and I have no fears about making the distance.  It’s been a few years since I ran super long distances in my marathon training, but my body feels like it still has a little endurance muscle memory or something.  After running 26 miles, a 10-12 mile long run doesn’t scare me at all.
• I took a day trip to NYC with DiscoDiva to see “In The Heights” on Broadway.  It was a total whirlwhind!  We flew out that morning, attended the 2PM matinee, grabbed slices of authentic NYC pizza (delicious) and cupcakes from the famous Magnolia Bakery (thumbs down), and caught at 6:30PM flight back to ATL.  I had a great time and the play was excellent even though Jordin Sparks was a no-show for her role.  I spent Monday in a fog of exhaustion though.
• I missed my baby boy so much when I was gone!  I saw him Sunday morning before I left, but when I came home he was sleeping.  I thought about his little face and kissing his fat cheeks all day at work.  He must have missed me too because he toddled over to me as soon as I walked into the door.
• I made some squash casserole last night that was so freaking good.  I looked at a few recipes and took ideas from all of them.  I freestyled a whole lot so if I make it again it won’t taste as good.  That is unfortunate.  I’m so proud of myself for producing something that tasted really good without a recipe and precise measurements!  I almost never do that.
• I’m officially in love with brussels sprouts.  A bag of frozen sprouts, bacon bits, olive oil, salt and pepper roasted for 45 minutes in the oven at 375 = delicious!
• 11 days until Lewis’ birthday party.  I will be so glad when I’m done with this because you know all the planning has fallen on me!  The Mister says I’m “doing too much” but he would be the first one to say something if this turned out to be super cheesy and poorly planned.  He has no idea what goes into this sort of thing so I just ignore him.   Babs and DiscoDiva have offered to help, but I don’t know what to tell them to do to help me!

I am thisclose to being able to do a full pullup again.  I tried 3 times this morning at bootcamp and got closer each time.  The last time my forehead was an inch away from clearing the bar.  Wonder how close I would have come had I not done a whole bunch of bench presses and wall balls beforehand?

Chin above the bar is the standard and my goal.  I can’t wait until I feel that final transfer of power into the upper shoulder muscles (rear delts?) that signifies that I made it again…that was such a cool feeling the first time around!

I am soclose!  And how cool would it be to get it at a much higher weight than I was before?  That means that when I drop this last bit of weight I will be able to do a whole bunch of them!  Slinging an extra 30 pounds around makes a huge difference when you are trying to lift your body weight.

Hmm…maybe when I hit my weight goal, I will stop playing around and try to compete in local CrossFit competitions.  Those girls don’t play.  I can’t come without serious “A” game.  I think I have it in me to do well if I train.

When I went back to work in late October after maternity leave, I had a goal of hitting my pre-baby weight by Lewis’ first birthday.  Yeah, that one’s not going to happen.  I started the month at about 175 and the last time I did a scale check I was 171 (after a 7 mile run so that doesn’t really count LOL).   I don’t foresee hitting 155 in the next few weeks, so time to set a new goal.

“Six by six” is my new goal.  I am shooting for a six pound loss each month for the next 6 months.  This would put me at 139lbs and give me a nearly 100 pound weight loss since having the baby!  The 140-145lb range is a good look for me physically (or at least it used to be) and one that is maintainable without a lot of effort and extra strict dieting.

I signed up for the Lean Eating Program again to keep me on track and I’m claiming a finalist spot in advance this time around.  It isn’t about the chance to win money for me (although that would be awesome).  It is about me finishing what I started.  It is about me being focused for the next 6 months.  I feel like I’m at a point in my weight loss journey* where I will be able to see a dramatic difference if I do what I say I’m going to do.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I’ve come so far from where I’ve been and I only have a little more weight left to lose.  This is the home stretch.

So I’m doing the Lean Eating Program again and exercising my butt off.  I still attend CrossFit bootcamp 3x a week and I still love it.  I’m now in training for the first of 3 half-marathons I have planned for the fall/winter running season.  If I watch my nutrition, I can surely lose a measly 6 pounds of month with all of that exercise going on!

I’m off to a nice start this month with a loss of 2-3 pounds already.  I’m excited about kicking the butt of this last 35 lbs!

*I hate that word from watching 15 seasons of The Bachelor (#dontjudgeme) but it applies to this situation.

DJ Lance Rock?

I am waist deep in planning and crafting for Lewis’ first birthday party.  Can you guess the theme?  I bought a DJ Lance Rock costume to use for a photo invitation.  I know my son has a big head so I bought a 3T-4T costume size.  Do you know that hat still didn’t fit properly?!?  Aww well, his body will catch up with his head eventually…right?

In other news, I can’t get this song out of my head now.  Good grief!  That show and party planning will be the death of me!

My 10K is behind me and it is time to start half-training!  I’ll be doing the Silver Comet Half for the first time ever.  I’ve done the Silver Comet 10K before and I’ve done tons of training runs out on the trail.  I love the place, so I figure this might be a good way to earn back my lost 13.1 car sticker.

I am adapting the Runner’s World training plan found here.  I’ve used this plan with great success in the past.  This plan is normally for 10 weeks and I have 14 weeks until the race.  I lose 2 weeks to travel, so I decided to use the other extra 2 weeks to build up more slowly to the first 10 mile long run in the early weeks of the plan.  I’ve also swapped around a few weeks in order to run some free races with the Atlanta Track Club.  I like using their low-key races as a part of my training.  It feels good to get out into the running community and the races are free to members!

Week 1: 07/26-08/01

KR #1: 4 x 400m
KR #2: 3 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 10

Week 2: 08/09-08/15

KR #1: 4 x 400m
KR #2: 3.5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 7 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 11.5

Week 3: 08/16-08/22

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 4 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 8 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 14

Week 4: 08/30-09/05

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 4.5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 9 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 15.5

Week 5: 09/06-09/12

KR #1: 3 x 1600
KR #2: 5 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run (*ATC Singleton 10M)

Total Miles: 18

Week 6: 09/13-09/19

KR #1: 6 x 400
KR #2: 6 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 17.5

Week 7: 09/20-09/26

KR #1: 4 x 800
KR #2: 8 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 8 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 18

Week 8: 09/27-10/03

KR #1: 6 x 400
KR #2: 6 Mile Tempo (*ATC Cartersville 10K)
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 13.5

Week 9: 10/04-10/10

KR #1: 3 x 1600
KR #2: 4 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 10 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 17

Week 10: 10/11-10/17

KR #1: 4 x 1600
KR #2: 8 Mile Tempo
KR #3: 12 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 24

Week 11: 10/18-10/24

KR #1: 3 x 800
KR #2: 3 Mile Tempo (*ATC Haunted Hustle Cross Country 5K)
KR #3: 6 Mile Long Run

Total Miles: 10.5

Week 12: 10/25-10/31

KR #1: 4 x 400
KR #2: 2 Mile Tempo
KR #3: Half Marathon!

Total Miles: 16

Training Paces

Half-Marathon Pace = 9:42 = 2:07:04
400m = 2:06 = 8:24 min/mile
800m = 4:18 = 8:36 min/mile
1600m = 8:53 min/mile
Tempo = 9:27 min/mile
Long = 10:18 min/mile

I need to vacuum...I know!

I purchased this classic ring stacking toy for Lewis months ago.   He ignored it for a long time.  Then he started chewing on the rings.  Then he delighted in pulling the rings off the base and flinging them around the room.  I haven’t seen the green ring in a month!

Recently, he figured out how to put a ring on the base all by himself.  It is so funny how babies slip those little things in on you!  It is so amazing to watch them finally make a connection on their own.

My boy is finally getting some fine motor skills!  I remember when he didn’t even realize those thing flailing in front of his face were his own hands!

I’ve been training for a 10K over the past 5 weeks or so.  It is way too hot in ATL right now to sign up for any organized races. Most races don’t start until 8AM and that is just too late to start running.  My last race started at 7AM and even at that early hour it was 75 degrees and humid as all get out.  I decided to abandon all outdoor running for the summer season after that experience.

That presented a little problem when it came to my 10K day.  I run on the treadmill, but I don’t like it.  It isn’t natural.  My gait feels forced.  I’m either going too slow or too fast and I can’t seem to regulate myself in a natural way.  It just sucks but I deal with it because it is better than sweating like crazy in the hot and humid temps.  That said, the treadmill just wouldn’t do for race day so I ventured back outside.  The Silver Comet Trail opens at the sunrise and I planned to be there bright and early.  I don’t mind running in the early morning dark in my neighborhood, but I’m not running in the dark on tree-covered trail where a woman got snatched up and killed 5 years ago.  Sunrise it is.

It’s 6:30AM and the temperature gauge in my car reads 80 degrees already.  It is moist feeling outside.  Sigh.  I’m committed though.  I’m trained and I feel prepared and I’m ready to do this.  I get started with my usual .3 mile/5 minute warmup.  When I hit the .3 mile marker on the trail, I set my Polar watch for the race and I’m off!

I went into the race with a 1:04 base goal.  I was 100% sure I could do this.  My stretch goal was 1:02 and my reach goal was 1:00.  I figured with a little pushing, I could do the stretch goal and wrap up the race with 10 min miles.  My plan was to hold a 10 min mile pace for the first 4 miles and then just run without holding back for the last 2.2 miles.

Of course, I started too fast.  First mile done in 9:45.  Slow down!  Second mile done in 9:52.  Slow down more!  I think I stopped sweating it at this point because I found my running groove.  I miss running outside!  I swear a 9:52 on the treadmill feels so much harder than a 9:52 outdoors.  That’s why I was finding it hard to slow myself down.  The faster pace outdoors feels about the same as the slow pace indoors.  I know people say running outdoors is harder but that just isn’t the case for me.  Maybe because I have short legs?

Anyway, I focused on keeping my time in the 10:00 min/mile range and found my groove.  It is still hot and I’m sweating like crazy, but I feel strong.  I got to my turnaround point where your cross the street before the 4.2 mile Floyd Road stop.  That was 3.5 miles in for me.  I’m feeling a little tired at this point (the heat!), but I made a vow with myself to not walk until I’d done at least 4 miles of running.

The 4 mile mark came and went and “You Can’t Stop The Beat” from Hairspray came on.  Instead of taking my earned walk break, I felt good and kept running.  I abandoned my pace restrictions and just ran according to how I felt.  I didn’t stop running until Mile 5!  I had planned to take a .10 mile walk break, but I chugged some water, took a .05 mile break and kept it moving.  I slowed down again a little later taking another .05 mile break.  It was getting harder to focus and I really wanted to stop.  I played my head games and told myself I could walk again once Kelis’ “Milkshake” went off.  At that point, I only had .5 miles to go and Destiny’s Child was singing “Sexy Daddy” which is perfect for running so I really couldn’t stop!

I finished strong with no clue about my overall time.  I purposely keep my watch on the mileage and pace screen so that I don’t see the overall time and get discouraged.  I checked my watch and literally jumped up and down to see my overall time of 1:00:08.  I nearly hit my impossible to reach stretch goal!  My overall pace for the race was a 9:40 min/mile.  I couldn’t believe it!

**Whoomp there it is!  I rocked it out even in the hot weather!  I will continue to get faster and become a better runner than I was pre-pregnancy (once I lose some more weight LOL).  It is totally possible.

**I get tired of seeing “Woot!” all the time on fitness sites so I’m going back old school LOL.. Woot.com is a deal of the day website, you know?

Kettlebell Swings

Photographer Brittany Wade was kind enough to allow me to be a model for a day for my Precision Nutrition photo shoot.  These are two of my favorite pictures.

On an unrelated note, can I say that I am thrilled to have gone from having hair that stopped at my ears to having the ponytail in the first picture!  Thumbs up to a solid hair care routine and the ever reliable slickback bun LOL.  In spite of years of sweaty workouts, my hair has thrived.

Now I’m back up to a 4 mile max run and I need to move past that.  I’m not doing any more real summer races because it is just too freaking hot.  I still need to run and I need to have something to train towards – otherwise I get slack.  So I’m running my own 10K!  The date is set for June 24th or June 25th.  Since The Mister and I alternate a “personal day off” from baby duty on the weekends, I don’t quite know right now if I’m “off” on that Saturday or Sunday LOL.

This will be a real 10K, just on the treadmill at the gym.  I might even plan out a “course” with elevation challenges to make it more fun.  Hmm…should I make my own finishers T-Shirt?  Maybe a medal?

I’m trying the training plan here once again.  I’m going to start with Week 4 since I ran a 4 mile race last week.  The end of this plan will dove-tail nicely with the beginning of my half-marathon training and allow me to ramp up to the long run mileage required for that plan.

06/21-06/27: 3M, 2M, 4M
06/28-07/04: 3M, 2M, 4.5M
07/05-07/11: 3M, 2M, 5M
07/12-07/18: 3M, 2M, 5.5M
07/19-07/25: 3M, 2M, 6.2M

Since the Hal Higdon training plan is pretty free form and I do have the goal of getting faster, I am using the McMillian Running Calculator to determine my best training paces.  I am going to do a steady-state run, a tempo run and a weekly long run and attempt to stick to the prescribed paces.  I think this will really help me build up to the distance.  I have an issue with wanting to run all out for all training runs.

My last race was the 4M at 41:07, but the heat drastically affects your performance.  I’m going to estimate that it caused me to run 20 seconds slower per mile, so that under ideal conditions, I would have run about a 40:30 min race.  Plugging that number into the calculator predicts that I can run a 1:04 10K and gives me training paces of 10:56-11:15 (steady), 10:29-10:56 (tempo) and 12:02-12:32 (long).

5 Weeks to 10K even though I sort of feel like I could just bust it out right now if I were being chased.  It wouldn’t be pretty though!  I know the half marathon training is going to be challenging though, so I’m going to take this opportunity to properly build up distance before crunch time.

I’ve decided to challenge myself to become a Half-Fanatic.  Having run distances from 5K all the way up to 26.2M, I can easily say that the half was my favorite distance.  I’ve tossed around running a full marathon again fairly soon, but I think I’ll hold off on that one for a while (there is a Disney marathon that would make a fun family trip!).

The easiest route to becoming an official Half Fanatic is to run 3 half-marathons in a 90 day time frame.  I’ve got that covered because there are 3 half-marathons this fall/winter/spring that I’m itching to try out or attempt again.  I had considered a September half but I know Atlanta and it will still be freaking hot here in mid-September.  Y’all remember what I said about the heat the other day, right?

So the chosen races are the Silver Comet Half (10/30), the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half (11/25) and the Aviation Foundation Half (1/15).  I love running out at the Silver Comet trail and have been wanting to do that half forever.  The Thanksgiving Day race was my first half marathon ever and is a challenging hilly course.  I’d love to see if I can do better at that one.  The Aviation half is out in Warner Robins, where my good college girlfriend now lives.  This will force me to stop being so lazy and drive the 2 hours+ out for a visit!  I also love that it is a winter race.  I love running in the cold.  My fastest 10K ever was on a snowy day.

I do not expect to PR with every half-marathon attempt I make in pursuit of this challenge.  I am going to focus on training hard for the first race – the Silver Comet and take it easy for the Thanksgiving race.  That one will just serve as a calorie-burning so that I can throw down guilt-free on Turkey Day.  I’m going to ramp it up again with the training for the January race.

The best thing about my plan is that if I do get crazy and decide to run the ING full marathon in late March, I’ll have 10 weeks to train and will be in good shape from half-marathon training!