Ari's Menu

Little changes making a big difference.


The Last New Distance

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Today I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I knew I needed to long run, but I was alone and I wasn’t sure I felt like running for 2 hours by myself. It’s weird now. I started this training so unsure of whether or not I would be able to run 13.1 miles, and now I know that I can. I knew I wanted to get up to 12 for good measure, but I knew when I hit 10 that I could do this. So today I told myself that I had choices (which I suck at making). I could run anywhere from 8-12 miles. I was pretty sure I would end up doing 8, but I was smart and packed 2 Gu packets just in case. At mile 4.5, I decided I was over it and I was going to turn around and make it 9. Then somewhere around mile 6, I had a little chat inside my head that went something like this:

“What the hell, Ari? Stop being a little bitch and just freaking do it.”

I know tough love doesn’t work for everyone, but it often works on me, and today was no exception. So I changed my route up a little, took some detours and made it happen. At about mile 8.5 I got mad at myself and was like “Mother dicker, if I had just done 9 like I thought, I’d be almost home by now!!! My legs hurt!! My feet hurt!!! Waaaaahhhh!” Too bed self, too bad.

I realllly wanted to try to make it happen in sub 2 hours.

Close, but no cigar.

That’s okay. <2:01:00 is still pretty good. What I want to know is how do people run the entire half in less than that?! I see people all the time with their sub 2 half marathons, and I am amazed. One day, Ari. One day.

My splits were pretty even. The days of negative splits on long runs are a little behind me at this point, but negative splitting 6 miles is a lot different than 12, so I just have to be okay with that. Plus, my first race needs to be about tackling the distance. Speed will come. I’m a little impatient in case you couldn’t tell 😉

  • Mile 1–10:19
  • Mile 2–10:45 <–what the hell, body? I do not like you, mile 2.
  • Mile 3–10:23
  • Mile 4–10:04
  • Mile 5–9:55
  • Mile 6–9:48
  • Mile 7–10:01
  • Mile 8–9:59
  • Mile 9–9:50
  • Mile 10–10:01
  • Mile 11–9:53
  • Mile 12–9:11<–at least I finished strong!

Average pace 10:01. Not too shabby for me. I took my Gu at mile 5 and mile 9. PS, the mint chocolate Gu is really really good. In fact, Gu is kind of growing on me now that I’m using to the weird texture.

I also like to check my calorie burn just for fun. 1492. Thanks for that added perk, running. I would do it anyway because I like it, but as a person who still wants to lose weight and really likes food, I can’t pretend this part isn’t awesome.

There is always a place near the end of a long run that everything comes into perspective. Usually a great song comes on my ipod, I start to feel pumped, and I just run with this huge stupid grin on my face. I feel happy and powerful and like I really can do anything I set my mind to. Other goals in my life seem less out of reach, as cheesy as that sounds. It’s easy to forget when I want to sit around the house and be lazy. And half way through when I’m tired and want to be done. But, honestly, there is nothing more fulfilling than accomplishing things you never thought you could do. I don’t often feel very proud of myself, but the last 3 months (is that it?!) have been very different. That right there is reason enough to keep going!

And now I want to say to you, yes you! You can do anything you put your mind to. Whether its fitness or career or family, there is NOTHING you can’t do. If you have a goal, go freaking after it! Stop waiting. Stop making excuses. And for the love of God, stop letting the obstacles that life brings you get in your way. Face them. Crush them! Then tell me about your success. I will be your personal cheerleader! 🙂

What Comes After 10

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I love long runs. They are undoubtedly my favorite part of training. I mean, when I’ve only done 4 and want to be done, maybe for a minute I don’t love them, but I always at some point find myself so pumped during and after them. Today was Kara’s epic return post ankle roll injury. I mean, we did a short run on Wednesday, but today was really her big day back. The last time we ran together was when we did 8 miles.

Kara got to my house bright and early for some cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with almond butter and banana. I know that everyone eats nut butter and banana toast before long runs, but there is a reason. I felt fueled and energized the entire time. I don’t think I will ever do an other long run without this breakfast. We waited a few minutes for the sun to come out, put on our fancy new compression socks and we were off!

"Watch out run, we're coming for you!"

"HiiiiYA! Take that, road!"

I was feeling pretty good today and secretly the entire time I was wanting to do 11 miles. I haven’t repeated a number on a long run yet, and I am always anxious to cover new distance and do something I’ve never done before. I contemplated lying to Kara about how far we’d gone and then surprising her with a “Tadaaaaa, we actually did 11!!” when we returned, but I didn’t know if she’d appreciate that post injury, so I pretended not to notice that the Garmin beeped at 5mi, and then stopped at 5.06 and said “Ohhhh whoooops…” I made it a whole 30 seconds trying to be deceitful. Then I asked Kara if I could convince her to run for 4 more minutes before turning around, and because she is basically the most awesome friend and running buddy to ever walk the face of the Earth, she immediately said yes, and we changed the plan to 11. I was so excited I literally jumped up and down a little. New territory!!!! My favorite!!!! So we ran a few minutes longer until we hit 5.5, then stopped for some espresso love flavored Gu.

This Gu stop made me laugh for about a mile. I mean, I think the espresso flavor tastes pretty decent, but the stickiness of Gu sometimes makes me a little grossed out, but I look over and Kara is not at all phased and says “I’m thoroughly enjoying this!!” She straight up loved the Gu which for some reason was pretty hilarious to me. I’ve never heard someone say that I guess. We turned around and I continued to laugh about her and the Gu.

It seemed as if the second half of the run flew by. I was so excited. To run new mileage, to have my running buddy back, to be running. I finished the last mile of the run with a huge slapstick grin across my face. We finished with a respectable (for me) 10:11 average pace.

That is Steve's hand. I promise my hand is not hair like that.

Mile 1–11:12
Mile 2–10:36
Mile 3–10:32
Mile 4–10:25
Mile 5–10:25
Mile 6–10:05 (thank you Gu!)
Mile 7–10:09 (man so close to no positive splits!)
Mile 8–10:07
Mile 9–9:48 (that’s more like it!)
Mile 10–9:39
Mile 11–9:19

Really really close to negative splits!!! When we walked in the door I was just so happy. I get some serious runners high. I’m pretty sure I’m hooked 😉

Once we got back, I forced Kara to join me in some stretching and foam rolling.

Check out those hot sweat stains. It's no wonder half of my blog search terms include the word sweat.

"Aunt Kara, I will help you stretch! I am so good at stretching. How do you think I got this long?"

Then came the least fun part of all. I’ve been using the pool as my “ice bath” and as it’s gotten colder and colder outside, the icy pool bathes have gotten less and less fun. Today, it looked like this outside:

In Phoenix, 50 degrees is considered scary cold.

"AHHHHH!!!!!!!" and lots more curse words

Steve just made fun of us.

"Yeah, just keep laughing, jerk."

While Winston and Clementine were in full on play time mode. Thanks for the entertainment, puppies. You definitely made it suck less.

"Come out and play with me NNNOOOOWWWW!!!"

"Okay, you asked for it! Raaaawwwwrrrr!!"

 

It’s funny, once you’re actually in the pool, the only thing that seems worse than staying in is getting out and getting blasted by the cold air. Finally, once our toes started to go numb, we braved it.

Brrrrrrrrr

"Mom, why did you go in the scary water? I don't understand."

This much is true, ice bathes are better with friends.

Jello Arms

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Hello friends! I woke up this morning with some angry achilles tendons. Normally, I don’t run consecutive days in a row, and this week, I ran 3 in a row, and didn’t ice as much as I should have. I woke up wanting to run so that I could avoid strength training (which used to be my fav, but now I would rather do just about anything else…except row!), but as I hobbled out of bed, I knew that I needed to do something else. Okay tendons, I get it. I will not run 3 days in a row anymore, now can you chill the heck out please and not f up my program? That’d be great, thanks.

I know some people can run way more often than me and be fine. I also know that I will take myself out of commission if I don’t do what is best for my body, so I am listening. So after an hour of sitting around lazily, I finally made it over to the gym for an upper body strength training session which I will now attempt to actually put into words. Don’t judge my lack of terminology, or my wimpy arms. I’m hoping posting the weight amounts will motivate me to work a little harder and get strong again! 😉

Superset 1 (3 sets): Pushups (body weight) and incline chest press (30 lbs)

Superset 2 (3 sets): Skull crushers (20 lb bar) and bicep concentration curl (15 lb dumbell)

Circuit (3 sets): 3 point shoulder press (5 lbs dumbells), bicep curls (10 lb dumbells), and overhead tricep press (20 lb dumbell)

Lat pull (3 sets) @ 65 lbs

Reverse V up on exercise ball (3 sets)

 

By the time I left, my arms felt like jello. I am recommitting myself to AT LEAST 1 day of serious strength training per week. My body needs it. After my work out, I walked over to the Bux for my coffee

And then I got so excited when I saw this!!!

I LOVE the Starbucks holiday cookies and this one comes on a stick! Isn't he cute??

Well, I quickly changed my tune, because you know what is not cute? A 400 calorie cookie.

Sorry snowman, you are just not worth it.

As I sipped my coffee, I got to chat with Kara about our final weeks of training for PF Chang’s. Can you believe we are already mapping out the end of training??? I seriously can’t. But, I feel ready for it. I kind of wish I was doing the Vegas 1/2 on the strip this weekend. I think I could do it now if I had to, but deep down I am grateful for the extra time and ability to up my mileage a bit before the actual race. I know I will feel more comfortable knowing I’ve run 12 miles, than if I did it after 10. I need to go in with no doubts. And of course my original goal was just to finish, and now I have a time goal in my brain. Arg. It’s not a fast one by any means, but it’s there and I do NOT plan on sharing because I don’t want it to be my focus. I really do just want to finish my first big race.

Kara and I also had a chance to map out our work outs for the rest of the week and I am happy to say that my week is looking pretty legit.

Sunday: short run

Monday: speed run

Tuesday: strength training

Wednesday: run…we shall see how long and how fast it ends up–it’s Kara’s first run back from injury! Hooray!!

Thursday: spin

Fri: off

Sat: long run

I like having a plan. I like even more planning with someone else because it holds me accountable. Okay, I’m off to work. Have a great day friends!

 

Thanksgiving Leftover Sandwich

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Hello friends, I hope everyone had an amazing holiday weekend! I had three glorious, consecutive days off. It was fabulous.I did lots of baking, and spent time with some of my favorite people. I had two different running dates Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I ran around my neighborhood with Carolyn before heading over to Nicole’s taffy pulling party (Nicole is the BEST hostess). Then yesterday I convinced my bestie to get on the running train with me! I met Bethy at the lake with the duckies and after not running for quite some time, she ran 3 miles with me! I’m soooo proud of her!!

This morning it was kind of nice to get out there just me. I love running with friends, but it’s also nice to be able to zone out and focus on myself and some speed!

Okay, so speedy for me is like an other person's power walk, but I was pretty happy with it 😉

Okay, so lately I have been having seriously strange food cravings. I don’t know if it’s from running more or what, but yesterday I asked Steve if we could make steak this week. Ummm, I don’t really eat red meat. I mean, I don’t label foods as “off limits” anymore, but typically I just choose white meat poultry and fish. However, a nice juicy fillet mingon still sounds so amazing. I’m going to have to make it happen. Then yesterday as I ate my delicious sandwich at Dilly’s Deli, I found myself thinking “I wish this had bacon on it!” Also, my appetite is all kinds of out of whack. I’ve been hungry 24/7 for going on 5 days in a row!! You’d think I would have had my fill from Thanksgiving, but I just feel like a bottomless pit. Not cool.

So with my weird cravings, I cannot confirm that what I have dubbed the best Thanksgiving leftover sandwich ever actually is in fact that, but it tastes pretty amazing to me 😉 I started by toasting 2 slices of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread. I spread fig butter on one, topped with leftover white meat turkey and topped with leftover mashed sweet potatoes. On the other piece, I sprinkled goat cheese and dried cranberries. Then I put the whole thing in the oven on burn broil until warmed and the edges of the bread and cranberries were browned, then topped with apple sliced and put it all together. Yummmm.

I wish I had an other one right now.

Is it normal to be this hungry? I feel like when David After Dentist says “Is this gonna be foreeeevvvveeerrrrrr?”

A Milestone

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They say if you can run 10 miles, you can run 13.1. At least I’ve heard people say that. I never imagined I would train for a half marathon. I never really thought I’d be able to run longer than a couple of miles. But today, I hit a milestone that I will always remember. And I did it alone. No one else to push me through. Just me. It was the first long run (since back when 4 was a long run!) that I have done all alone.

As soon as I walked in my door, tears came immediately. I did it. I got up on the day I’m about to host and cook for 20 people and I WANTED to run 10 miles. And I made it happen. I know for people that regularly run this distance and have completed full marathons, it may not seem like much. But who would have ever dreamed that this girl would run 10 miles?

Yes, I am carrying soda, donuts and a mocha. And I used to wonder why I was overweight haha

I sometimes can’t believe I am the same person. I have been through so many highs and lows, ups and downs when it comes to my weight and relationship with food, and one day at a time, it is finally getting better. I am finding balance. That version of me could not have run 10 miles, but neither could the me who obsessed over everything I ate. I have spent a lot of time picking my body apart, but here is what I know to be true. My body is doing amazing things for me. Things other people wish they could do (and don’t know yet that they CAN). My body is amazing and whether or not I ever make it to my “goal weight” it can’t change that.

So today I say, hey legs, YOU ARE FREAKING AWESOME!!!!! Thank you for carrying me those 10 miles and not giving up when the going got tough. I am thankful for you.

So this morning I woke up at about 4:30am with no hope of falling back asleep. I never sleep well before a long run. I’m always too nervous and excited. Finally at 5, I got up and made myself breakfast. I have felt the last two long runs like I ran out of fuel, so I was determined not to let that happen today. I made 2 slices toast with almond butter and banana slices like I read on almost every single running blog I read, and let me tell you, that breakfast is legit! It did not upset my stomach and I felt nourished and fueled the entire 10 miles. Fabulous.

My plan was simply to run until the Garmin said 5 miles, then turn around and come home. At mile 5, I stopped at a gas station, got some water and took a coffee flavored gu. It was hard to get down–so sticky, blechhh–but I think it helped a LOT. I never got to a point where I really wanted to stop or where I felt overly exhausted except in the very last mile when I was running as fast as humanly possible to try to improve my time haha.

As soon as I turned around to head home, the sun started to come up and I was running right into the sunrise. It was beautiful and I just felt so happy to be out there running, and so grateful that my body was cooperating and things were going well. For the second half of the run, both of my achilles were definitely bugging me, but honestly, I almost didn’t care. It was a minimal amount of pain that I kind of knew would hurt worse later, but in the moment, it just couldn’t tackle the feeling of awesomeness.

As soon as I could see that the end was in sight, I picked up my pace big time and just enjoyed the feeling of knowing that I was about to accomplish something great. Something I’ve worked really hard towards, and dreamed of. I know I’m not to the race yet, but I honestly do feel this wonderful and accomplished after every new distance. The race is something to work towards, but every long run feels like I’ve already won.

I finished 10.1 miles in 1:40:43 with *almost* all negative splits.

And oh my gosh, I have never been so sweaty.

This is where I’m crying. I do not look cute in a single one of these pictures and I do not care in the slightest!

This is where I’m thirsty.

This is where I’m happy.

Good lord, my legs HURT. I stretched for a while with Clementine. Cute pictures of that will be posted later. She likes to sit on me and lick my face while I stretch. Winston just lays there and looks at me haha. I foam rolled (ouch) and then sat in the ice cold pool for an “ice bath”. Brrrrr. There is nothing that feels better than a hot shower after sitting in a freezing cold pool, let me tell you!

Steve has been so amazingly supportive. I came home to a congratulations card from him, Winston, and Clementine and sat there and cried before even opening it. He also bought me a camelback as a hostess present so now I will have water on my long runs! How did I get so lucky??

This is a Thanksgiving I will never forget. I am so grateful for my body and my life. I never in a million years thought I’d be able to say I’m grateful for my body.

Now I need to get ready for guests! Can’t wait to spend the day with the people I love. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

Scraped

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Hello friends! I am so glad to be over the lame-o sickness that got in the way of my work outs the past two weeks. This morning I woke up and it was a little drizzly out which is actually a lovely treat here in Phoenix. I only planned on running 3 miles, but decided to change up my route and went just under 4. I tried to focus on just letting myself run this morning, not worrying about speed or impressing anyone with my time. I’m still a little sore from my consecutive runs this weekend, so it was nice to just get out and not really think about anything 🙂

And guess what!! I got my Garmin in late September. My first run was September 26th and today I hit 100 documented miles!!!!

Whoot!

After my run I hurried over to my physical therapy appt. On Friday she mentioned that she wanted to have one of the other therapists perform a scraping technique on me. What? SCRAPE? That sounds awful. I asked if it hurt and she played it off like it was maybe minor pain and then said “Well, some people bruise.” Bruise???? So when I got there today, she informed me that ready or not the scraper was coming. Oy!!

There were these two new big football player guys there today. While I warmed up and stretched they were cracking me up. I don’t even remember what they were saying but they were loud and they were funny and I was amused. That is, until just before the scraping when they said “Oooohhhh you’re being scraped???” Then proceeded to scare the crap out of me about it. Thanks, guys. I wasn’t already nervous enough. I informed them that I no longer liked them and they told me to join the club haha. I asked one of the assistants to photograph the scrape sessions so I could give you a visual. They all thought I was kind of a freak, but I’m kind of used to that 😉

See that tool in his hand? He's going to use it to scrap the crap out of my leg and foot.

Here I'm pretty sure I was actually crying a little. Don't judge me.

"Is it over yettttt?????"

The technical term for the procedure is Astym (A-stimulation). The theory is that it releases scar tissue and promotes healing. I even found a video on youtube, except the video doesn’t show the patient jumping out of their seat in pain. They must not have legitimately been doing the therapy.

I had it done on my left calf, achilles tendon and the bottom of my foot–that was the weirdest spot because it tickled and hurt at the same time. I am one of those people that twists and laughs uncontrollably during a pedicure. This was not a pleasant tickle though. Not at all. But, to be honest, if it even gives me the hope of being able to run, dance, and live my life without my tendons giving me pain, it will be so worth it. I haven’t been without pain since high school, so it would really be incredible.

Have any of you ever had this done? What’s the weirdest medical thing you’ve ever experienced?

Good Friends, Good Run, Good Food

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Happy Sunday friends! Unfortunately, I went to bed and woke up feeling sicker than I have this entire time. I really felt like I was getting better Thursday and Friday, but maybe I pushed too hard when my body needed rest? It’s just a dumb cold, but it still feels pretty awful. At least it didn’t stop yesterday from being pretty fantastic!! I started the day with an awesome 5 mile run with Mariel. Mariel and I have been blog friends for a couple of months, but didn’t actually meet in person until yesterday. I was a little nervous that it might be awkward to be like “Hey, nice to meet you, let’s run” but it wasn’t at all! We actually chatted almost the entire time–which I NEVER do while running, so I kind of panted like a 500 lb man, but hopefully Mariel didn’t mind 😉 I was also pleasantly surprised to find a conversational pace was pretty much the same for both of us. I get super self conscious about my pace, but I felt like Mariel was a great running buddy and I hope she ends up joining Kara and I more often! And on top of the great company and chatting the whole time, I shaved a minute off the last time I ran 5mi!

Not too bad for being sick 🙂

After the run, I went to Starbucks (I know, you’re so surprised), and got seriously the most delicious drink. I almost wasn’t even going to post it because it’s not the healthiest and if you are anything like me you are going to want it over and over and over, but it’s a lot better than the latte version and just so delicious.

Grande sf vanilla bold coffee with a little steamed egg nog. Delicious.

After my coffee, I got ready and went to rehearsal, then came home and got to cooking! Jason and Nacho came over for dinner and a movie 🙂

"Hiiiii uncle Nacho. Put me down now please, I'm a big girl!"

I LOVE this picture of Clementine! Look at her cute, long little body! I love Winston, but Clementine definitely wins in the looks department.

Jason is so funny–he always wants to be right in on the action. The rule in my kitchen is that if you’re not functioning, you have to be on the other side of the counter. Too many people in the space gives me anxiety and makes me cranky! Jason wanted to be in the kitchen, so I gave him a job. I tried to get him to clean the sink again, but he opted for de-rine-ing the goat brie.

"I can cook too!"

Of course, I also made dessert which Nacho had fun playing with.

"I make Ari's food look as fabulous because I look fabulous!"

I absolutely loved everything I made last night and will def be posting recipes soon. Between dinner and dessert, I used an entire can of pumpkin. I’m sure you’re shocked 🙂

After dinner, we watched Crazy Stupid Love. I love that movie so much. I definitely feel like it was one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. We all saw it in theatres together back when it was out and as soon as Steve and I saw that it was out on blue ray, we picked it up immediately. In fact, it was one of our “for us” purchases from our shopping extravaganza.

Alright, I’m off to down a bottle of cold medicine with a side of breakfast. Have a great Sunday everyone!

A Day at the Dog Park

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Hi friends! Did you check out the new “Who’s Who” tab up there? The “My Story” and “Recipes” are in progress and will hopefully be up soon! This morning began with a 3 mile run

So, here’s the thing. I am super happy with that time. I was sprinting my little heart out, so I’d better be happy with the time. Buuutttt, I REALLY wanted a 7:59 mile. Like it’s all I can think about lately. I want to see it happen and I have tunnel vision.

Mile 3–8:04

F.

One day.

After my run, I ate a quick breakfast, then Steve and I grabbed coffee (obviously) and took Winnie and Clem to the dog park!! Clementine had never been and the weather is so perfect for spending time outside right now!

Winston! Go for a ride??

Winston LOVES running and chasing! Check out this dog in action!

Poor Clemmie was so scared of all the big dogs! She was having it a little rough until little Peewee came along! Cutest dog name ever. All it took was an other mini wiener and Clem was ready to socialize!

After the dog park, I had to head to rehearsal. Steve drove up with me so he could meet up with his mom and sister since they live even further than the 40 minute commute to rehearsal (When are you guys gonna move to the East Valley?! Seriously!). Today’s rehearsal was seriously amazing. In fact this weekend was the first time since Aladdin that I actually felt good at my job. I’m just kind of burnt out, so projects that I feel less passionate about are feeling really tedious, but Fiddler I am passionate about for sure and today it finally felt like everything started to come together. I got to really push some of my actors and saw some amazing results. I can’t wait to get this show into the theatre and really see it come together!

After rehearsal, Steve, Lisa, Ashleigh and I went to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes. I have seen so little of my family lately it seems that it was nice to spend some time with them! I miss my little sister!

 

I just can’t wait until Thanksgiving (what?? me?? I know, you’re shocked. You had no idea I was so excited for Thanksgiving) when we can all be together for the whooollllleee day!!

Will the Real Slim Shady Please Stand Up?

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I have been geeking out over the fact that we would be running a movie title for weeks now. I still haven’t watched the movie, but  I have a new found desire to drop everything and curl up on the couch with the puppies and watch it with popcorn in hand. I even thought about creating an exclusively Eminem play list for the occasion. What can I say? I like themese 😉 But a home girl got busy and that never happened. I will give you this, my very fav Eminem song. I love love love it.

Now the part you’ve all been waiting for. Or the part that I’ve been excited to share!

Confession: At about mile 7, we did pause Garmi and go into McD’s for a glass of water. We also seemed to hit every single stop light on the last mile which I always pause Garmi for because it doesn’t seem fair to have my time ticking away while I can’t run! But I think those extra pauses made it a little lot easier to pick up the pace. Still, I feel Fing ecstatic about that time. I almost used the real word, I feel so excited, but keepin it PG for the kiddos up in here. Except I posted Eminem which is full of expletives. Whatev. I ran 8 freaking miles with an average pace of 9:54. And in case I haven’t bragged enough this post, I will show you my next favorite part…the splits!:

Nooooo silly, these splits!

  • Mile 1–11:06
  • Mile 2–10:40
  • Mile 3–10:20
  • Mile 4–10:00
  • Mile 5–9:58
  • Mile 6–9:44
  • Mile 7–9:11
  • Mile 8–8:16!!!!!!!

Ok, yes, mile 8 is where  all the stars aligned and the traffic lights made my life easier, but I have never in mylife seen an 8:16 mile, so we’re going to pretend that was all me. And Kara. Kara even had serious achilles pain the last few miles and stuck it out and ROCKED it!!! There is no way I could do this without her!!

After our run I made us pumpkin pie smoothies (so yummy) and had to rush to my first physical therapy appt. I finally saw a dr for the pain in my hip and mentioned how my achilles pain is worsening and she recommended physical therapy–3x a week for 4 weeks., Oy! It wasn’t too bad. My right hip is def super tight right now and my range of ankle motion is pathetic. My right foot only barely gets to neutral which is not great. Hopefully this will help. There is nothing that I’m going to let hold me back. I am running this race!

Now I’m in my sweat pants and all I want to do is sit here and drink my delicious hot coffee

Fall is here, I think~~~ YAY!!!! Also, on my rush out the door, I realized this loveliness was waiting for me on the fridge

Most wonderful supportive husband ever. I’m so lucky 😉 I love that he knew the fridge was the place to catch my attention. Haha.

Okay, so here’s what I learned on my run today

1. No matter what happens, long runs are the BEST part of training. 2 out of 2 of us agree 🙂 Few things in life feel better than completing a long run!
2. The days of no food before a long run are no longer. I ate dinner at about 5pm yesterday and never eat before a run because I have to wait 30 minutes after I take my thyroid meds, and then the idea of waiting more time for my food to settle just does not work for me, but I have to figure something out. Today I actually felt myself run out of fuel at about mile 5.
3. The time to start mild carb loading the night before long runs is here (yay?). Nothing crazy, but if you see above, my dinner yesterday was not working for me this morning. I had eaten out at lunch and felt like my calories were probably pretty high so I had a lightish dinner (about 350 calories) which was long gone this morning.
4. I need to get that gu crap. I’ve been avoiding it because it sounds gross and I don’t want to carry it around, but I need the extra burst of energy to get me through now.
5. The time for ice baths is definitely here. I know for seasoned long distance runners, 8 miles is nothing, but before October, I had never run more than 3. Ever. This is an adjustment.
6. When we started, Kara and I both could only run 3 miles (repeat myself much?) leaving a total of 10 miles to train for essentially. Today we reached the half way mark in our training. The last of the half way marks and we really are almost there.
7. If I had eaten, and Kara hasn’t hurt herself today, we could have gone an other mile or 2. I had it in me. I can do this. I can do anything.

Well I guess I have to change out of my sweat pants to go to work. What’s up with dress codes? I can put them back on before I teach voice this evening 😉 The joys of working from home!

Today, I feel really good. I don’t feel overly exhausted. I feel excited and proud and capable. Annnnndddd my last piece of exciting news…!!!!

I’M FINALLY GOING ON VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!

Dec 28-Jan 2: Boston

Jan 2-Jan 4: NYC

I have 2 fabulous friends who have agreed to run with me in NYC–specifically Central Park 🙂 Anyone wanna run with me in Boston? I’m planned my trip around being able to get a long run in before I leave (judge away), but I could use a friend to get me through a couple 3-4 milers in the cold or help me not die of boredom on the treadmill. Let’s make that happen!

I hope everyone’s Friday is going as amazingly as mine!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Cardio, Cardio, But Not a Dumbell in Sight

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Hi friends! Well, Winston had a pretty great 2nd birthday I think. He started his morning with a treat and ended it with a walk around the block. Walks are his favorite. All I do is say “Go for a walk?” and he starts actin a fool! I started off yesterday with an abs/upper body work out and Spin with my fav teacher Linda! Class was awesome as usual except for one thing! She got off her bike about half way through and started checking everyone to make sure they were at the gear she thought they should be at. She walked around and checked every single bike in the room except for mine! I’m in the corner and I just got skipped. Of course me being a total teacher’s pet wanted to raise my hand and say “Wait wait wait!! Check on me check on me!!! Validate me, my spinning, and my gear!!” But luckily I have some social grace and just kept spinning haha. I was always that kid in school raising my hand super annoyingly so I could get called on and show off how smart I thought I was 🙂 Anyway, I ended spin feeling really good and getting in some decent mileage.

Came home to some delicious oats in a pumpkin butter jar! Sooooo yummy

This morning I went on a 3 mile run all alone since Kara has a lame schedule today, but I maintained a pretty good pace!

Came home, dip 50 dips and called it a tricep work out. I really suck at the strength training lately. Someone please say something motivating so that I can get my butt back to the weight room! I was also surprised with a skinny peppermint mocha from my fabulous husband! I love surprises and coffee surprises are often the best ones! Off to drink more coffee because I’m addicted. Have a fabulous day everyone!

Massages Necessary

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Whoo! Except for the recipe for Bethy’s cupcakes, I am finally caught up on blogging from my crazy weekend! I started this morning with a run around the lake–the one with the duckies–with Kara. I’ve felt pretty motivated to work on speed in these shorter runs lately, so check this out!!!

Hiiiiii YA! I felt pretty fantastic about that, aaaaannnndddd you may ask “What was your time on your last lap?” Or maybe I just want you to ask because it was 8:41!!! We had all negative splits and our first mile was the only one averaging above 10:00. Not sure if I’ll be able to make that happen again any time soon, but I’m glad it happened today!!

After our run, we hit up Sprouts because apparently my skeptic attitude about chia seeds has done a 180 and all the sudden I couldn’t imagine being out. Weird. Also, my amazing friend John told me that Sprouts had them $2 a lb cheaper than Whole Foods! Sweeeeeet!

Clearly, I have a problem. Look what else I found while I was there!

Same calories as a bagel thin, but they are thick and fluffy! And they have tons of protein and fiber! Score!

Then I grabbed an iced coffee and came home to the breakfast I’d been dreaming about for like 3 days since I used the last of my PB & Co cinnamon raisin swirl–oats in a jar!

After breakfast, I had an appt for a massage! I have a hard time making appts like this for myself because I get stressed out making time, but it was much needed. I’ve been experiencing pain in my right hip and left heel since my long run on Saturday, and I also get serious tension head aches usually at least twice a week. Turns out, the massage therapist agrees and I am a hot mess. She gave me some new stretches for my achilles tendons, worked the crap out of my neck and enlightened me as to why my right hip was probably bugging me–Uneven sidewalks! She suggested I switch up which sides of the street I’m running on and try going the opposite way around the lake to even things out. Apparently, my neck, right hip, calves and heels are kind of a hot mess. Oy. I will definitely be going back and trying to take more time to give my body the thank you it deserves for carrying me all those miles!

When I came home, I decided to try my new bagels out for lunch. Toasted, topped with sliced tomato and reduced fat muenster cheese then stuck it under the burner broiler until the cheese was melty. Delicious.

Now I’m off to my really annoying 2 hours of work (couldn’t I just have the ENTIRE day off??? Pleasssseee??) and then celebrating Halloween with Steve, Jason, Hermano and the puppies. I have an amazing surprise for you tomorrow. I’ll give you a hint: it involves really cute puppies looking extra cute in funny costumes. 😉

More Than Half Way!!

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Let me tell you, Saturday was a CRAZY day! I didn’t get to bed until almost 1am on Friday after the Fez fiasco, and I really thought my planned long run was going to be ruined because of it. But I got my butt out of bed at 5:40 and told myself I was going to make it happen. I must say, having the blog is fantastic for keeping me accountable. I tell everyone about my long runs in advance. Anyone who reads regularly expects a long run/new distance recap at this point. I am a people pleaser, so I have that extra kick when I would really rather sleep in. And the thing is, I am ALWAYS happy I did it. Always.

By the end of our first mile, I was already happy we had gone out and feeling pretty good. Then we got to mile 4 and I thought “Really?! I still have 3 miles to go?! Uuugghhhh.” But then something amazing happened! Once we hit mile 5, my attitude changed, I pumped it into gear and thought “Two miles?! Pssshhh, I’ve got this.” And I picked up my pace! Then we got to mile 6, and I got so excited about the idea of being done that I picked up my pace even more! We finished at T.C. Eggingtons in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 23 seconds. I am totally good with that time!

So at this point my fabulous husband took all sorts of pictures of us and celebrating completing our mileage and our delicious food. And then my fabulous husband deleted said photos because he thought he had transferred them. He hadn’t. At first I was super disappointed when I found out this morning, but then I got creative, drove to Starbucks and insisted to Kara that we do a reinactment of the moment.

“Grrrrr, you deleted our photos!”

“Wheeee, we ran 7 miles and are much less sweaty this photo shoot!”

“We are sooo hard core!!!”

“Look at our time! Pretty sweet, right?”

“And in case you didn’t realize how awesome we could be on 5 hours of sleep, check out our last mile! Why yes, that is an 8 in front of that 59!”

Unfortunately, this was the first time I felt a significant amount of pain after a long run. My right hip was really hurting and so was my left heal. Plus my achilles are always sore after. I was really worried and limping a little. I downed some meds, iced EVERYTHING and forced myself to get waist deep in the pool trying to simulate an ice bath since apparently there is no stopper for our tub. The good news is, I woke up this morning feeling totally normal! I just need to continue to be really careful and take good care of myself!

After our run and breakfast, I showered (you’re welcome), cleaned up the house and was off to sing with Jacob at Superstition Springs Mall, from which I headed directly to the theatre for Aladdin! It was definitely my fav of all of the performances. A good day to have 8 people there for me! My mom, Hank, my dad, his girlfriend Janie, my grandma, Steve, Jason, Liz and Bethany all came out to support me! And as if a great run wasn’t enough, during the Q&A the kids totally embarrassed me by answering a question (which complimented my ‘ography!) pointing me out and talking about how great I was. Totally blushed and all kinds of shy, but also I love to be told I’m wonderful 😉

Steve got some more family pics.

Bethy’s birthday celebration followed pretty much immediately. Let me just say, this weekend I have consumed about a week’s worth of iced coffee,  but it has been so worth it. I’m tired and a little cranky, and I forget what free time actually feels like, but I love my life. My husband, my family, my friends, my career, my puppies. All of it. Hope you all are feeling as lucky as I am this evening 🙂

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