Three Things Thursday ...

Race Day - I got a notification from my countdown app that the Flying Pirate Half Marathon is a month from today. It is likely my only stand alone half marathon this year and thus, my only chance of a new PR. After I nearly surrendered to the course at the Seaside Half Marathon in October, I am itching for a good race.

The thing is, with all this Z2 training I am doing, I am kind of doubting my ability to run fast. OK, I lie. I know I can run fast, but I'm just not sure for how long. All these two hour runs at an 10:30 pace are kind of killing my mojo. I just keep telling myself that I'm doing the work for my "A" race, Rev3 Cedar Point 140.6 and that what will be, will be. I guess we'll see. Either way, I get to spend the weekend with some of my favorite running friends, G, Kim and MCM Mama (who also happen to be pretty awesome bloggers too). It's highly likely that the weekend won't suck.

Bikes - Speaking of a weekend that probably won't suck, Doodle turns 6 tomorrow. Yeah, somehow that happened. Since J is traveling this week, we are celebrating on Saturday, but before we do I am headed up to Rev3 Headquarters for a bike fit in hopes of getting a sweet Quintana Roo CD0.1. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out.

Epic Cuteness - Over the past week, the girls have been getting their costumes for this Spring's dance recital. We still have two more to get, but I'm totally convinced that my kids are pretty much the cutest thing ever.

I'm right, aren't I? Go ahead and admit it. I won't tell your kids.

Three Things Thursday ...

Halloween - I'm kind of a big fan of Halloween. And although I don't really get into the whole "decorate your house and scare the crap out of people" thing, I truly believe there is no age limit for wearing a costume.

If you are trick-or-treating with your kids, you should be wearing a costume.
If you are handing out candy, you should be wearing a costume.
If you are going to the grocery store, you should be wearing a costume. If for no other reason than to freak people out.

Every year, I try to coordinate my families outfits. Back in 2009, we were BBQ themed.

Hamburger, Hot Dog, Pickle and Ketchup Packets ...

Last year, the food theme reappeared ...

Hot Dog, Cupcake, Ice Cream Cone and Chef ...

This year, I couldn't convince anyone to go with my "Fairies" theme. So, instead we were a mishmash of recycled costumes ...

Princess Dancer ...

Spider ...

Sushi Roll ...

Rainbow (Note: I didn't purchase anything for this costume. All of those things are part of my actual wardrobe.)

Witch ...

We may not have been coordinated, but we had a blast.

BOO!

Candy Overload - On a separate, but not completely unrelated note, I may be a parenting genius. Heading into trick-or-treating, I came up with a deal for my kids to deal with the massive amounts of candy about to enter our home.

The girls were allowed to trick-or-treat like normal. We were out for 2 hours and they could get as much candy as they wanted. When we got back, I sorted and counted the contents of each of their bags.

Today, they will be allowed to choose up to 40 pieces of candy (one piece for each of the next 40 days). Then, I will purchase each remaining piece of candy for $0.05 each. They do not have to keep 40 pieces and I will pay them the five cents for each additional piece they give me. J also started them each off with a dollar for agreeing to this arrangement.

For example, Doodle got 125 pieces. If she keeps 40 and she "sells" me the remaining 85 for $0.05, she will have $4.25. Then, she'll also get $1.00 from J. Giving her a total of $5.25.

This morning, I gave the girls a final option. They could sell me their ENTIRE bag of candy and I will triple their payout. So, in Doodle's case, she would get the $1.00 from J, plus $6.25 for the 125 pieces of candy in her bag. Then I would multiply that by three for a grand total of $21.75.

I think this is a pretty sweet deal. At this point, I am not sure what they will pick, but they have until they get home from school to decide.

Quote of the Week - Recently, I have been trying to help J better manage his time. The other day, I asked him to finish washing the dishes after dinner. When I woke up the next morning, the sink was still full. When I reminded him of his chores, he said, "Well, at least I ran. I am taking baby steps," to which Doodle replied,

"Dad, you're not a baby. Walk like a normal person."

There you go, J. Put in your place by a five year old ...

Three Things Thursday ...

Training Overload - I hadn't ever noticed it before, but on the side of my Training Peaks calendar, there is a pie chart that tracks my completed duration and completed mileage. Being the numbers geek that I am, I was instantly in love.

Plus, once I ran the totals for the last 13 weeks (since the start of Half Ironman training), I felt like a total bada**. Since November 28th, I have logged 94 hours, 36 minutes and 39 seconds in the pool, on my bike and with my feet. Completely insane. It breaks down like this:

Swim: 11:22:12, 33459 yards, 1.848% of total distance, 12.01% of total time
Bike: 40:27:45, 739.80 miles, 71.92% of total distance, 42.76% of total time
Run: 42:46:42, 269.72 miles, 26.22% of total distance, 45.21% of total time

Huh? I really thought I was running less than that.

Disney Goals - Since I am training like a crazy woman, I will not taper for Sunday's Disney Princess Half. My long run this week is supposed to be 14 miles, so the timing of this race works out quite well in regards to my training plan, but after two weeks of heavy mileage, I'm not sure how my legs will hold up if I attempt to race.

So, the goals for Sunday.

1. Have fun.
2. Look fantastic.

I'm pretty sure I can accomplish that.

Monsters, Inc. - Speaking of looking fantastic, here is my race costume for Sunday. (Note: I have shifted the eyeball higher since taking this photo.) I present to you, Mike Wazowski ...

Pretty close, right?

Wordless Wednesday: Dressing the Part

Source: Pinterest

My Disney Princess Half costume inspiration. Do you see where I'm going with this?