I just want to say thank you to everyone who entered my Tarma Designs Giveaway. There were 163 entries and thanks to Random.org the winner is ....
#118 - Miriam of Filly Runner
Congratulations! Please email me with your contact information and I will send out your necklace right away!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
RoadID. More than just ID?
Last night, while waiting a painfully long time for the girls to finish their dinner, Doodle and I had a conversation. It went a little something like this ...
Doodle: (noticing my new purple RoadID) "Why'd you get a purple one? Why'd you want all the colors?" (Yes, I have multiple RoadIDs).
Me: "Because I thought that it was pretty."
Doodle: "I want a purple one too. I want to match you. When are you getting me one?"
Me: "I don't know. Maybe next week."
Doodle: "THAT'S TOO LONG! Get it in ONE WEEK!"
Me: "Doodle, we'll see. Why do you need one?"
Doodle: "To run."
Me: "Well, Daddy has a black one. Do you want a black one to match him or a purple one to match me?"
Doodle: "I want a purple one so I can run really faster than Daddy."
Huh? So apparently, a RoadID is more than just safety gear. It also functions as a turbo-booster.
Doodle: (noticing my new purple RoadID) "Why'd you get a purple one? Why'd you want all the colors?" (Yes, I have multiple RoadIDs).
Me: "Because I thought that it was pretty."
Doodle: "I want a purple one too. I want to match you. When are you getting me one?"
Me: "I don't know. Maybe next week."
Doodle: "THAT'S TOO LONG! Get it in ONE WEEK!"
Me: "Doodle, we'll see. Why do you need one?"
Doodle: "To run."
Me: "Well, Daddy has a black one. Do you want a black one to match him or a purple one to match me?"
Doodle: "I want a purple one so I can run really faster than Daddy."
Huh? So apparently, a RoadID is more than just safety gear. It also functions as a turbo-booster.
Monday, May 3, 2010
you might have a fit family if ...
Ever wonder if the rest of your family is on the active train with you? Well, wonder no more. Here is a sure fire guide to deciphering your family's fitness obsession.
You might have a fit family if ...
... no one thinks it odd that you wake at 5 a.m. just to get your run in.
... you workout twice a day and it's seen as dedication and not pure lunacy.
... your children think that you need knee high socks to go running.
... your husband (who is built like a linebacker) takes your suggestion and trains for a half marathon.
... your children cry because they aren't invited to go running with you.
... your daughter will hip check her own teammates to get the ball.
... your three-year old has tree-trunks for quads and abs to die for.
... your family collectively owns enough workout clothing to outfit a small country.
... you plan your vacations around sporting events.
... you've walked in on your children doing push-ups and sit-ups.
... it's OK to spend over $100 on sneakers, but it's crazy to spend more than $20 on any other footwear.
... your kids would happily eat Gu and Gatorade as a mid-day snack.
... you (or your spouse) has run through the pain, because you thought it might go away if you kept moving.
... you've seen your children, who aren't old enough for Kindergarten, curl a five pound weight.
... your husband wants to get you a Kettlebell for Mother's Day. And you are OK with that.
... you decided what sports your children would play before they were born. Or better yet, you already determined which one would get them a college scholarship.
... a complete diet overhaul is seen as par for the course.
... your husband suggests that you convert your rarely used dining room into a home gym. And you immediately jump on board.
... "I'll race you," is part of your everyday vocabulary.
You might have a fit family if ...
... no one thinks it odd that you wake at 5 a.m. just to get your run in.
... you workout twice a day and it's seen as dedication and not pure lunacy.
... your children think that you need knee high socks to go running.
... your husband (who is built like a linebacker) takes your suggestion and trains for a half marathon.
... your children cry because they aren't invited to go running with you.
... your daughter will hip check her own teammates to get the ball.
... your three-year old has tree-trunks for quads and abs to die for.
... your family collectively owns enough workout clothing to outfit a small country.
... you plan your vacations around sporting events.
... you've walked in on your children doing push-ups and sit-ups.
... it's OK to spend over $100 on sneakers, but it's crazy to spend more than $20 on any other footwear.
... your kids would happily eat Gu and Gatorade as a mid-day snack.
... you (or your spouse) has run through the pain, because you thought it might go away if you kept moving.
... you've seen your children, who aren't old enough for Kindergarten, curl a five pound weight.
... your husband wants to get you a Kettlebell for Mother's Day. And you are OK with that.
... you decided what sports your children would play before they were born. Or better yet, you already determined which one would get them a college scholarship.
... a complete diet overhaul is seen as par for the course.
... your husband suggests that you convert your rarely used dining room into a home gym. And you immediately jump on board.
... "I'll race you," is part of your everyday vocabulary.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
why I am so tired today ...
I did not want to get out of bed this morning. I was pooped. Done. Over it. Unfortunately, with three kids, staying in bed all day is really not an option. So I got up and filled my IV with caffeine. But, I have a good reason to be dragging today. Just take a look at what I did yesterday ...
I RAN:
I got up at 5:20 so that I could meet G, Denise and Em at 6:00 for six miles before the rest of the group joined us. During that six miles, I ran far faster than the "10:44" my new prescribed pace zones called for. Plus, it was wicked hot. And humid. Ugh.
After the first six, we slowed a little, but I still failed to hit a 10:44. Seriously, this whole going slower to go faster thing is HARD. Anyway, I tried to stay hydrated with my new handheld (review/giveaway to come) and I tested out some Gu sent to me by the lovely people at Outside PR (yet another review on the way). Let's just say by the end it was rough. And I faired better than others. 2:11:51 later I had 12.7 miles under my belt and I looked like this ...
I RAN:
I got up at 5:20 so that I could meet G, Denise and Em at 6:00 for six miles before the rest of the group joined us. During that six miles, I ran far faster than the "10:44" my new prescribed pace zones called for. Plus, it was wicked hot. And humid. Ugh.
After the first six, we slowed a little, but I still failed to hit a 10:44. Seriously, this whole going slower to go faster thing is HARD. Anyway, I tried to stay hydrated with my new handheld (review/giveaway to come) and I tested out some Gu sent to me by the lovely people at Outside PR (yet another review on the way). Let's just say by the end it was rough. And I faired better than others. 2:11:51 later I had 12.7 miles under my belt and I looked like this ...
Note the now, see-through nature of my sweat-filled shirt.THEN I WALKED:
Yup, I walked for hours on end, pushing a stroller through Busch Gardens. (Didn't really help with the whole dehydration thing.) My Garmin said we walked around four miles in the 90 degree temperatures, but it was totally worth it. Just to see the smiles on the girls' faces ...
THEN I P90X'D: Because I hadn't spent enough time on my feet yesterday, I decided that I would stick to the plan and complete the next day of my P90X routine - YOGA X. And I totally get that you probably think that yoga is relaxing and more of a "rest day" in the P90X routine, but I'm happy to tell you that you are mistaken my friend. Instead, YOGA X is an hour and a half of pure torture. Bending, twisting, holding poses. I never thought I would be looking forward to holding a plank, but in YOGA X, the planks are the easy part. If you ever doubted that yoga could kick your butt, try this video.
So, needless to say, I'm beat. Oh, and I totally hit 36 miles this week. And did all of my P90X workouts, not sure how I got it all done. But, I did!
And on a completely unrelated note, my virtual race has had a name change. It is now the ROCK YOUR SOCKS Half Marathon and 10K. Nothing but the name has changed. And I might even throw in a prize for the person who best "rocks their socks" ...
Saturday, May 1, 2010
April Rewind ...
Four months down, eight to go. Here's my recap of April 2010 ...
Miles Planned/Ran: 115/122.3 (highest mileage in 2010)
Rest Days Planned/Taken: 10/11
Highest Mileage Week: 4/12-4/18: 40 miles (an all-time weekly mileage record!)
Long Runs Planned/Run: 4/4
Donuts Earned: 82.11 (my favorite statistic over at Dailymile)
Current Book: Does my coaching textbook count?
Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Sugar. I am constantly craving something sweet. Why can't I just crave carrots?
Current Colors: White - Crisp. Clean. Simple.
Current Obsessions: My new Keens. I won them a few weeks back from Run Like A Mother. They are super cute and comfortable. Want to see them?
Current Drink: V8 with LOTS of hot sauce in it!
Current Song: Follow Me Down - 3OH!3
Current Need: 1:59:59. May 8th is my next attempt at a sub-two hour half marathon. I NEED to hit that time (for my sanity, if nothing else). And I plan to drag Katye along with me.
Current Triumph: I have two. First, passing by coaching certification. And second, self restraint. If you read my March recap, you know that I lacked all forms of self restraint last month. I'm back on track now. I'm eating better. I'm working out more. And I'm running at prescriped paces, which is a true test of self restraint.
Current Bane of My Existence: P90X. How can I LOVE you and HATE you so much?
Current Goal: Get Half Fanatics status. I'm going to do this with half marathons two weekends in a row. First, I am going break two hours in next Saturday's race. Then eight days later, I am pacing J in his first half!
Current Indulgence: Chobani Greek Yogurt (yes, I realize that this is a healthy indulgence). I LOVE THIS STUFF. So yummy. I could eat my weight in it.
Current Blessing: Life in general. I have nothing to complain about and that is a blessing in itself.
Miles Planned/Ran: 115/122.3 (highest mileage in 2010)
Rest Days Planned/Taken: 10/11
Highest Mileage Week: 4/12-4/18: 40 miles (an all-time weekly mileage record!)
Long Runs Planned/Run: 4/4
Donuts Earned: 82.11 (my favorite statistic over at Dailymile)
Current Book: Does my coaching textbook count?
Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Sugar. I am constantly craving something sweet. Why can't I just crave carrots?
Current Colors: White - Crisp. Clean. Simple.
Current Obsessions: My new Keens. I won them a few weeks back from Run Like A Mother. They are super cute and comfortable. Want to see them?
Current Drink: V8 with LOTS of hot sauce in it!
Current Song: Follow Me Down - 3OH!3
Current Need: 1:59:59. May 8th is my next attempt at a sub-two hour half marathon. I NEED to hit that time (for my sanity, if nothing else). And I plan to drag Katye along with me.
Current Triumph: I have two. First, passing by coaching certification. And second, self restraint. If you read my March recap, you know that I lacked all forms of self restraint last month. I'm back on track now. I'm eating better. I'm working out more. And I'm running at prescriped paces, which is a true test of self restraint.
Current Bane of My Existence: P90X. How can I LOVE you and HATE you so much?
Current Goal: Get Half Fanatics status. I'm going to do this with half marathons two weekends in a row. First, I am going break two hours in next Saturday's race. Then eight days later, I am pacing J in his first half!
Current Indulgence: Chobani Greek Yogurt (yes, I realize that this is a healthy indulgence). I LOVE THIS STUFF. So yummy. I could eat my weight in it.
Current Blessing: Life in general. I have nothing to complain about and that is a blessing in itself.
Friday, April 30, 2010
so about that mileage base ...
It seems that a lot of you were shocked by the statement that my mileage base was too small for anything over a 10K. When I found this out, I was shocked too. But, let me see if I can clarify things a bit.
I want to begin by saying that my weekly mileage base is too small to be COMPETITIVE in any distance over a 10k. But it is NOT too small to FINISH longer distances. And there is a distinction in that. Some people see this as COMPETING VS. COMPLETING. And I would like to throw out there that to be "competitive" does not mean that you are in the mix to place, but rather that you be "competitive" versus your past performances and in comparison to your times in other distances. Make sense?
Let's use me as an example. I have a 5K PR of 24:09 and I run 25-30 miles a week. My base is large enough to be competitive at the 5K. If you calculate what I should be running a half marathon in based on my 5K time, I would have a half PR around 1:51. But what is my half PR? 2:01:36.
OK, so let's reverse that calculation. If you calculate what my 5K PR should be based on my current half PR, you come up with a time of 26:07 - a two-minute difference. Reversing the calculation like that shows that I have an adequate base for shorter races, but not necessarily so for longer races. Long story short, it comes down to endurance. I don't have the endurance to hold a comparable pace at a half marathon that I can at a 5K. And how do you build your endurance? YOU LOG MORE MILES. It's as simple as that.
And in case you were wondering (and I know you were), I am looking to build my base to 35-45 miles per week in order to COMPETE in distances up to a half marathon. This same base would allow me to FINISH up to a 30K.
I want to begin by saying that my weekly mileage base is too small to be COMPETITIVE in any distance over a 10k. But it is NOT too small to FINISH longer distances. And there is a distinction in that. Some people see this as COMPETING VS. COMPLETING. And I would like to throw out there that to be "competitive" does not mean that you are in the mix to place, but rather that you be "competitive" versus your past performances and in comparison to your times in other distances. Make sense?
Let's use me as an example. I have a 5K PR of 24:09 and I run 25-30 miles a week. My base is large enough to be competitive at the 5K. If you calculate what I should be running a half marathon in based on my 5K time, I would have a half PR around 1:51. But what is my half PR? 2:01:36.
OK, so let's reverse that calculation. If you calculate what my 5K PR should be based on my current half PR, you come up with a time of 26:07 - a two-minute difference. Reversing the calculation like that shows that I have an adequate base for shorter races, but not necessarily so for longer races. Long story short, it comes down to endurance. I don't have the endurance to hold a comparable pace at a half marathon that I can at a 5K. And how do you build your endurance? YOU LOG MORE MILES. It's as simple as that.
And in case you were wondering (and I know you were), I am looking to build my base to 35-45 miles per week in order to COMPETE in distances up to a half marathon. This same base would allow me to FINISH up to a 30K.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Three Things Thursday ...
So, after my love letter to P90X yesterday, a ton of you asked me if I was seeing any results yet. The answer is yes. But I am going to leave it at that. You'll have to come back in two weeks once Phase One is over to see how big of a change. Anyway, today is Thursday and you know what that means ...
1. On Tuesday, I registered Dizzle for Kindergarten. I'm totally excited but kind of sad at the same time. I think I'm just concerned that she's not going to miss me as much as I will miss her. Or even worse, what if I don't miss her as much as I think I am going to?
And speaking of Dizzle, she hit me with this one yesterday. I was watching the end of her dance class (which I never do) and I saw her doing all the same moves as her classmates, but she was doing them while spinning around. She must have gotten really dizzy, because once the music stopped, she fell to the ground. I couldn't stop laughing. When she came out, I asked her why she was spinning. To which she replied ... "I don't know. My brain told me to."
Really? What could I say to that?
2. I have run over 400 miles this year. And I am well on my way to crushing my 1000 mile goal. But, with that said, I learned in my coaching certification course this past weekend that my mileage base is WAY TOO SMALL for me to be proficient at longer distances (i.e. over 10K). Which leaves me with the following choice, either never run anything over a 10K again or up my weekly mileage. One guess at the answer ...
3. Big things are going on at Racing With Babes.
First, I have over 200 followers! Crazy! If I haven't made my way over to say hi, leave me a comment to let me know you are there.
Second, I am hosting a virtual race on the weekend of May 21-23. It's called the Run Like A Mother Virtual Half Marathon and 10k. You can find out more HERE. When it gets closer, I will post a list of all the participants. But for now, I leave you with the prizes. Three people (the fastest 10K, the fastest Half and one person drawn at random) will each win a tube of Nuun and two Gu.
Lastly, don't forget to check out my Tarma Designs giveaway HERE. You have until Monday, May 3 to enter.
1. On Tuesday, I registered Dizzle for Kindergarten. I'm totally excited but kind of sad at the same time. I think I'm just concerned that she's not going to miss me as much as I will miss her. Or even worse, what if I don't miss her as much as I think I am going to?
And speaking of Dizzle, she hit me with this one yesterday. I was watching the end of her dance class (which I never do) and I saw her doing all the same moves as her classmates, but she was doing them while spinning around. She must have gotten really dizzy, because once the music stopped, she fell to the ground. I couldn't stop laughing. When she came out, I asked her why she was spinning. To which she replied ... "I don't know. My brain told me to."
Really? What could I say to that?
2. I have run over 400 miles this year. And I am well on my way to crushing my 1000 mile goal. But, with that said, I learned in my coaching certification course this past weekend that my mileage base is WAY TOO SMALL for me to be proficient at longer distances (i.e. over 10K). Which leaves me with the following choice, either never run anything over a 10K again or up my weekly mileage. One guess at the answer ...
3. Big things are going on at Racing With Babes.
First, I have over 200 followers! Crazy! If I haven't made my way over to say hi, leave me a comment to let me know you are there.
Second, I am hosting a virtual race on the weekend of May 21-23. It's called the Run Like A Mother Virtual Half Marathon and 10k. You can find out more HERE. When it gets closer, I will post a list of all the participants. But for now, I leave you with the prizes. Three people (the fastest 10K, the fastest Half and one person drawn at random) will each win a tube of Nuun and two Gu.
Lastly, don't forget to check out my Tarma Designs giveaway HERE. You have until Monday, May 3 to enter.
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