Here we go again~

Met with the Heidi's for an intense session of strength training.  We did a movie that I have done only once before and WOW, it is a killer.  It's a silent killer though.  Your muscles burn throughout but you feel pretty good but then I know I won't be walking or lifting my arms tomorrow!! I actually really like that and like being sore so I look forward to it! Thanks to the Heidi's for accommodating my schedule this morning!!

I was supposed to meet with the Heidi's this morning for a 10 miler but woke up to rain that surpassed the sound of cats and dogs and moved right into the category of small people.  It was unreal!! So, I text them (the Heidi's) and my sitter and told them never mind (I Hope they were all having the same thoughts, assumed as much). I would love to say that I went back to sleep and slept in due to not getting home last night until 1:30am (my son and I went to see Wicked with my sis, niece, her sister in law, my friend , mom, and step dad, IT WAS SO FUN), but my baby woke me up at 6:25 ready to party for the day so I have been up ever since.  We (the boys and I ) are just gearing up for a big .50 mile walk around the neighborhood to make up for the run this morning, I think it will be comparable right!!! Oh well, I have had a fun day with my boys, so I am not going to complain, DANG RAIN!!!  

BEAUTIFUL morning, especially considering the weather we have been having.  I even got to bed early last night (10:30) so once I was up, I felt refreshed and ready to run!!!  We ran "New Leaf" this morning.  When I started running I felt a little sluggish, I think from not running for 3 days.  But, we pushed through and when we got done, Oh, how lovely I felt!!  

Avg. Pace: 8:37

Then we jump roaped afterwards for a few minutes.  I did a total of 180 "jumps" (3 sets of 50 with the last set getting 80) and whew, it kicked my butt!! We are going to start trying to jump rope more often to try and "jump" up the cardio a bit!!  It was a fun morning!!

WOWIE!!!  A new, fun, hard workout this morning with the Heidis.  It was Tyler's day to run so the gals were gracious enough to agree to do strength training with me at my house.  Heidi has Jillian Michael's 30 day shred movie ( I thought of you Britta) so we did level 3 and HOLY SMOKES!!!  Seriously, it was amazing how good of a work out we got in just 30 short minutes!!!! We were all dying!!  But, it was so fun and new and kept us hopping.  Then we went outside and jump roped for another 10 minutes or so.  Up until about 3 hours ago (it is now 7:00pm) my body was still shaking from it!!  We are going to run in the morning so I look forward to that and then plan to do the Shred again on Thursday, Shnikies!!!  

Woke up with sore abs this morning, HOORAY!! I think the last time my abs were sore was about 2 years ago after giving birth to my son and the last time they were sore due to a work out was...........Um Never.  REALLY, I Love it!! It is nice to know that the area my body suffering most these days (due to my sugar intake I am sure of it) is the area that got a significant work out yesterday, THANK YOU JILLIAN!!!  

But, onto today.  Met up with the Heidi's today for the New Leaf route!! What a beautiful morning and almost warm enough to start running in shorts (this takes time for me Tyler), can I get another HOORAY!!!  We followed up our run with some more Jump roping.  A total of 200 jumps plus some "jump rope running" (is what I am going to call it) down the road and back. It really gets your heart rate up.  Our goal is to be able to run (jump rope run) the entire distance of our street here soon!! We will see how that goes!! What a wonderful way to start my day, HOORAY!! 

Avg. Pace 8:33

Shredded again this morning with Heidi W and Jillian :)  We did level 2 today and Holy Smokes, it was hard.  It is so fun to do an all over body work out, get my heart rate up, sweat, strengthen and stretch all in about 30 minutes.  Wowie!!  Then we cooled down a little bit with a different home video working our butts (am I allowed to say that on the blog?) a bit and biceps.  We were going to jump rope but ran out of time so........darn it!!  Look forward to running tomorrow (solo :( and then a long run Saturday!!

Flew the 5 mile square solo today!!  It was a very pretty morning and I actually enjoyed the run even though I was by myself.  It gave me some good time to think about things and prepare for my busy day!!

Avg. Pace 7:51

Met up with Heidi W this morning at 7:00 for a long run.  WOW, what a pretty morning!!  We left our houses ran down canal road to Woodland Hills Drive cut back over to the highway, across and around the Krishna temple to the ball park and back home!!  It was a very fun run this morning with Heidi and I felt it was challenging at parts and then easy running in other parts!! The Sun was very intense this morning which was the first time I have felt it like that this year, so it brought on the heat and the endurance!!  It was a great morning and a great way to get my Saturday off to a good start!! The last mile was a gradual incline so that lap slowed our overall pace down a bit but I am still very happy with the outcome!

Avg. Pace 8:19

Level 3 of the Shred today with Heidi W with some jump rope to follow!! It was a little easier today than it was last week, but still very hard!! It was an exciting day today!! We found out the the Heidi's got into the SG Marathon, HOOORAYYYYY!!!!! I am so excited, CONGRATS HEIDI'S!!!  We also found out that our little Evan made the Salem Shooter Soccer Team so we are pretty excited about that!!  It was a good Monday, and a good way to start the week. 

New Leaf route this morning with Heidi W!! Let the Marathon training begin!! It was a very lovely morning and so nice to run.  My legs were a little sore from yesterday and my energy level was not up where I like it to be but otherwise, it was perfect!!  We then came home and jump roped.  4 sets of 50.  wahoo~

Avg. Pace 8:31

PM: 3.5 miles Late night, easy run with my friends JaNae and Courtney.  I met up with them about 9:30pm and we just went out and around the neighborhood and then ended with a little walk out around a little park right by JaNae's house.  It was a fun little moment with the gals!

So, for the first time in history, I actually consented to an afternoon run with Tyler.  He has asked me a few times before, but I have rejected his offers because it is hard for me to leave work, come home to run, then have to get all ready again to go back to work, but it was one of those moments that I though, Why the heck not!! So, we met around 12:00ish and just ran the New Leaf route.  It was a little cold when we started (57 degrees) but it warmed up very fast and took me about an hour after I got done to actually stop sweating.  It was a very fun change from my normal way of doing things.  It almost felt like I was doing something wrong running in the middle of the afternoon.  I kept having to think about where my kids were and what I still had to do for the rest of the day at work, then later tonight, etc.  Weird, but fun!! I wish I could do it more often but fear that it won't work out that way! Oh well, I will just have to take it when time permits!

Avg. Pace: 7:58

Nice easy run with Heidi this morning just to keep  our muscles warm in preparation for the Ogden Half on Saturday.  It was hard to get out of bed this morning but I was glad I got up and did at least a little something. I am taking tomorrow off (sleeping in) and hope to enjoy my Saturday run.  I am still unsure if I want to push myself and try to go fast on this 1/2 or just take it easy and enjoy the scenery!?! I think I might just take it easy.  I guess we will see what the morning brings!  

Avg. Pace:8:46

WAHOOOOOO!!! I am officially on cloud 9 right now.  We are actually in route home from the Ogden Half Marathon and so I am using Ty's computer to get my blog posted before getting home and getting into the normal husstle and bustle that Saturday brings.  Let me just say that today was seriously the funnest, most organized, "feel good" 1/2 marathon I have ever done, HOORAY!!!  I am not sure if it was due to eating ice cream with Kelli last night (which she claims in her normal pre-race ritual that I am considering taking on as my own ritual as well:)), or just that I was ready to get out and run some long miles, but it was AWESOME!!  And, the first time that I have not been nervous before a race.  I think it was because I had no expectations of myself today. I just wanted to get out and run with what felt good and luckily, I felt good the whole time so I was able to PR.  I have to say that I was very impressed with how well this race was organized and put together.  I would like to consider it as one that I will try to run consecutively in years to come.  

We came up last night and met up with Scott and Kelli, Heidi W and her hubby Jeron, and Sue (see Sue Run) and her husband Jared for dinner (Fun, and very yummy food).  Then it was off to get ice cream with Kelli and Scott (even though our husbands didn't eat any, what the heck?!?), then back to the hotel to get some rest.  What a fun date night before a race (maybe that is the second pre-race ritual I will have to start).  We woke up 4:00 and drove down to the race with Dustin, Wild Bill and James, what a fun group of guys.  Tyler has enjoyed getting to know them.  Then we headed up the canyon to the start line.  I was nervous because I couldn't find Heidi, but I found her and was able to start with her.  We ran the first 4 miles together and then I let the down hill take me away so we parted ways a bit.  From that point on, I just took each mile as it came and pushed things when I felt I could but tried to reserve some energy because I knew the last 3 miles were flat and that they would potentially be very hot.   I pushed the last 1/2 mile pretty hard and finished at 1:38:57.  My goal was to break 1:40, so all in all, I was very proud of myself. What a FUN race!!  Heidi came in at 1:44 which is incredible to me considering this was only her 2nd half marathon ever, WOW!!!  Tyler came in at 1:19:12, which placed him 1st in his age group and 5th overall, WHAT THE HECK??? WOW!!!  Seriously, a fun race, fun group of people to be there watching and supporting. Just a fun morning (can you sense the enthusiasm?).  I am considering bagging full marathons and just focusing on 1/2's for a while.  Not really, just a fun morning that made me realize why I run in the first place, how fortunate I feel to be able to run and just how much I love it!! 

Splits: 7:59, 7:59, 7:50, 7:48, 7:15, 7:26, 7:26, 7:23, 7:12, 6:58 (FIRST TIME IN HISTORY I HAVE GOTTEN IN THE 6 MINUTE MILE RANGE, HOOOORAH!! A small celebration took place due to this in the finish area :)), 7:19, 7:26, 7:23, 6:38 (last .2 miles).   

Enough said, I am signing off~

Nice, 5 mile square with the Heidi's this morning!! Wow, it was a beautiful morning, I didn't even need a jacket.  I still had some sore muscles due to Saturday but all in all I felt really good!! Finished it up with a little jump rope.  

Avg. Pace: 8:42

Phew............ I did it!! I actually woke up by myself and exercised in my basement by "myself" this morning, who knew the possibilities :)? Tyler left at 4:30 to go turkey hunting so I couldn't run, but that was okay because I wanted to do some strength training anyway.  I did level 3 of the Shred again today.  It felt a little easier, but is still a killer workout.  I would like to try and do it once a week if possible.  I think it will really help with strength and toning.  Then I did 20 minutes of aerobic yoga.  It is a very interesting movie, but is basically breathing and stretching but it is classified as no impact aerobics because you are basically standing in place and moving and breathing your so your heart race goes up but it works your muscles at the same time.  One of those movies you want to do by yourself when no one else is around to laugh at you, but I liked it :) ha ha.

5 mile square this morning with the Heidi's again. I am not sure why, but I felt really sluggish this morning, really sluggish!!  I didn't eat much more then some crackers after 6:00 last night so maybe I didn't have the "usual" (un-healthy dinner, etc) fuel in my body to run off.   All I know is it's mornings like today that make you grateful for the mornings that you feel good!!I guess sometimes you just have to take the bitter with the sweet! We finished up with some jump roping.  I just did 150 today instead of 200 because I was still struggling with the energy and I needed to get the morning started!   As a side note, it's always awesome waking up and seeing the Heidi's first thing in the morning!! I love running with these girls so Thanks Ladies!

Avg. Pace 8:37

In St. George for family vacation.  Just did 20 quick minutes of swimming laps in attempt to exercise while playing with the kids in the pool at the same time.  Hey, it was better then nothing and actually got my heart rate up, for 20 quick minutes anyway!

I am guesstimating my mileage today because we are in St. George and silly me forgot my watch, so.................................. 

We decided to take a long weekend and spend time with the kids for a family vacation.  Because we have our house in St. George we thought it best to make the most of it.  And, because we are considering this our Family vacation for the year. neither Tyler or I wanted to be selfish with running so we are each taking a day to run.  Tyler got up and went yesterday so today was  my day to run.  I really wanted to sleep in a little bit but Tyler threatened that if I didn't get up and go, that he was going to go in my place, so, I had to get up early and go.  But, I am so glad that I did.  It was an incredible morning down here. The weather was perfect.  The sky was a little overcast which was great considering the heat factor down here.  I ran down a route that Tyler told me about that we estimated to be about 10 miles.  Given the time that it took me, I assume it was at least that.  It was just me and my ipod today and it was quit relaxing and nice.  I am not sure of my pace but know that it wasn't fast by any mean.  And lately,  I am finding that I don't really get into my groove with running until almost 4-5 miles, which is weird.  It makes those first few miles hard to push through, but sure makes you appreciate when you get into that zone.  I followed up my run with a few lunges, some push ups and a little ab work.  A great start to a wonderful weekend down in St. George.  

Happy Memorial day everyone!  

We are still in St. George (actually driving home now as I type this), so I decided to get up and run this morning.  I usually run on Monday's and so I didn't want to lose a day of running due to leaving today. However, I really wanted to sleep in too (day off work, in St. George, on vacation, why not!?!) so I did.  However, I wish I'd gotten up earlier because BOY, was it HOT!!!  I didn't leave the house until almost 8:30 and so a mile in, I was sweating to death.  This comes from a girl who does not run well in heat and traditionally I don't sweat that much while I am running, only after I stop, so I was shocked to see how much I was really sweating.  However, I was up, and out running so I had to make the most of it.  I just ran around some neighborhoods and out to a main road and back.  Again, it was a very beautiful morning, just very hot.  I got home and got right to work getting things ready to load up and head home.  We had a wonderful time in St. George and enjoyed spending time with our boys.  We did lots of sight seeing, hiking, swimming, and eating.  It was a great start to what we hope is a great summer!!

Late night Taylor Swift concert resulted in an early morning today, but I was glad to get up and run.  I met with the Heidi's for "new leaf" route.  Wow, it is so beautiful outside.  However, it is starting to get hotter each day since the sun comes up earlier.  It was fun visiting with the gals and getting some mileage in!

 Avg. Pace: 8:33

200 jumps with the jump rope.  4 sets of 50

I decided to get up and do some strength training this morning by myself so it was a little harder to get out of bed.  But once I was up, I was glad to be up.  My house is so quiet in the morning as opposed to every other time of the day :).  I just did a workout movie that I do from time to time. My muscles feel tight so I expect to be sore tomorrow, YEAH, I love when I am sore!!

Ran "new leaf" again today with Heidi C.  For some reason the last few times I have run I haven't felt my best.  I hope that I get into again soon and can start to run with a little less effort and more ease (yeah right).  In any event it was a fun morning with Heidi and I look forward to a long run tomorrow.  We finished up with a little jump roping!!

Avg. Pace: 8:41

9.5 miler with the Heidi's.  Man, it is getting hotter each day!! It was a beautiful morning and nice to get out with the girls!!

Avg. Pace: 8:41