Monday, December 15, 2014

Step Challenge & Christmas Cookie Extravaganza!

Good Morning,

10 more days to Christmas if anyone is counting :)  I am not really counting the days until Christmas this year because I just love the season so much I dont want it to be over!  I am however counting the days until Christmas Eve (9 days) because that is when I finish my challenge!  I am so proud of my progress right now, I have been killing it!

Yay!
This morning even though my fitbit said I slept a ridiculously small number of hours I got up and had my quality time with Jillian.  My husband laughed the other day when he walked by and heard her say "I want you to feel like your going to die"  She's such a sweetie :)  I think tomorrow I will switch to level 3, so I'll be ready for a new burn!  Otherwise progress is still going well with the exception that my extremities are so tired I am not running or swimming very fast right now.  I ran 3 painfully slow miles at the Pub run on Tuesday and added .45 seconds to my timed swim on Wednesday.  Bummer :(  But I am so proud of myself for sticking through this, Ill have to post my sticker chart that I use to motivate myself for my Challenge Wrap up blog.

In addition to Jillian I also have my step challenge which has been going well, lots of quality time on the treadmill which led me to say yes to an additional weekend fit bit challenge that my friend invited me to.  Oh my goodness I dont think I should do those in the future.  If your not a fit bit person let me explain, fit bit allows users to invite their friends to these small challenges, they can be workweek, weekend, one day challenges etc.  So my friend invited me and since I have been leading my step leaderboard lately I confidently said yes.  Saturday was good, I ran and skated and then was just super active as per normal Saturdays so I got over 20k steps.  Then I realized Saturday night that my friend was also at 20k steps and the next morning she got all of her step goal before 8am.  What the heck?  By now I felt too committed to bag out so away I went walking and running around like a crazy person until I had what I hoped was a sizable lead.  My husband laughed at me as I ran in circles around our house while my cookies baked.  Am I competitive?  Nah!  It wont declare the winner until 12pm today but I am fairly certain I blistered my way to a weekend victory.  Next time I swear I will say no.
Weekend Warrior Challenge
I did it!

On the sugar front I baked about 12 batches of cookies to deliver to our friends and family this weekend.  One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going door to door with cookies and seeing the look of surprise and delight on peoples faces as we drop off sugared goodness.  Its a really good way to get in the holiday spirit! I think I still have a few more batches to go, but majority of the hard work is done!
Yum!








Monday, December 8, 2014

30 Day Challenge Update

Good Morning,

I am on day 14 of my 30 day challenge, almost half way through so I thought I would do an update as to my progress.  I completed 12 days of the Shred DVD level 1 before I was pretty bored and decided to move to the next level.  I wasn't sure when to make this jump as I was not "perfect" at level one, but now seeing level two I understand that the idea is not to be perfect at any of the levels before I move on, or I would never move on!  Having said that, level 2 is a real ass kicker!  I did it yesterday and this morning and I am one hurting lady!

Yesterdays stats, no actual exercise just a busy day
So half way into this process, I haven't lost 10lbs yet (the claim is you will lose 20lbs in 30 days), but I do feel stronger and that is what I was looking for.  I am never going to be a waif, nor would I want to be.  I feel best when I feel strong and with this extra bit of weight I am carrying I have been missing that feeling of strength. 

Last week I was at 110k, but now my husband is beating me!
The other half of my challenge is to get 12k steps each day.  This has been the easier side of the challenge in that it is more enjoyable but does take up more time.  However I love to walk so I dont mind spending an hour on the treadmill walking and watching TV.  I am really proud that I have kept this up for 14 days when I looked back at my daily steps for the past few month and saw how low they had gotten!  This challenge is just what I needed to pick me up and get me going!  I have had a few days in a row where due to illness or forgetting my fitbit, I went into the evening with 2k steps so I basically spent my entire evening on the treadmill, but I got it done!  The only downside I have seen to the new fitbit charge is that it is not waterproof so none of my swimming counts :( 

Some Scandal with my walk/run
I also mentioned I had two other sideline goals and those were to track my food every day at least in my journal and 5 days a week in my Spark People.  I also wanted to drink at least 64oz of water a day.  I have not been highly successful at these goals, but I am thinking that now that I am in a groove with the exercise maybe this is the time to spark the food motivation!  So mini goal time, for the next 5 days I will track my food and drink my water!  I proclaim it aloud so it shall be!

Any one else like to do personal challenges?



Monday, December 1, 2014

Thankful for Fun

Good Morning,

I am absolutely exhausted this Monday morning after the long weekend.  Not to be too cheesy but I had so much to be thankful for this weekend.  We had an absolute blast, let me recap.

I completely agree!
On Wednesday I was really thankful that I work for such a great company that cares about the moral of its employees.  One of the ways they do this is to call "Sun Days' which are essentially extra bonus hours of paid leave that our Executive Director grants us unexpectedly a few times a year.  It is so much fun, everyone cheers when he comes on the intercom and announces a paid afternoon off.  So on Wednesday I used my time off to finish cleaning and making my pies and stuffing for Thanksgiving.  I am also so excited that the rest of the world is now ready for Christmas (like I have been for a month) we were naughty already and opened the double wedding ring quilt my grandma made us for our wedding and put it on our bed.  We were supposed to wait until Christmas but I was too excited, isn't it beautiful!

Double Wedding Ring Quilt
She makes such nice labels!
On Thursday I woke up early and went off to complete my 30 day shred before cuddling in with some coffee and the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  My husband joined me on the couch for a while before we got ourselves together and went out for a nice 3 mile Thanksgiving Day run. This year we decided to save the 70$ and forgo the organized turkey trot for a cheaper version of our own.  Since both of us are on the 30 day fit bit challenge and we knew getting the rest of our steps may be tough that day we finished our 3 mile run with a 3 mile walk. 

My first ever apple pie
We spent Thanksgiving dinner with some good friends and their children.  It was pretty wonderfully typical of Thanksgiving, good food, good company and lots to be grateful for.  After dinner we came back to our home and welcomed some friends over for an evening of games, pie and cocktails.  It was an absolute blast, we played a new game called Concept and ended the evening with some long deep conversations on life.

This picture was actually earlier in the week, but my second week playing poker and look what I won!
Friday we were pretty unimpressive.  I think we needed some recuperating. I honestly cant even remember much of what we did, I believe there was some biking/walking and a little shopping.  We are not black friday people but Kris needed some new swim goggles so we went to REI and he picked those up while I snagged a winter hat that has a pony hole.  We then went to our local running store where I heard smart wool socks were on sale.  I am in love with Smart wool PHD running socks, they are amazing!  Oh and I completely forgot, we got pedis!  Yes I have a husband that will get a pedi with me now and then, he likes how it keeps his feet feeling good for running.  To finish the night we went to our town's annual tree lighting.  Its a bit cheesy but we enjoyed singing Christmas Songs and seeing the lights.  This year due to the lack of snow Santa had to come in on a low budget sleigh with wheels.  Normally we have a beautiful sleigh that is pulled by real reindeer! 
Christmas Tree


Not one of our best pics, but I tried!
Saturday morning brought a wonderful surprise, SNOW!  I was like a little kid who jumped out of bed and flew to the window to see if the weather man was telling the truth and there it was in all its glory.  I got my 30 day shred out  of the way and went out to meet a friend for a run.  We had decided this week to end our 3 mile run with a couple miles of ice skating on the lagoon.  It was absolutely perfect until I got overly confident in my skating abilities and went down. 

Santa! Santa! Santa!
My swollen knee didn't hold me back from trying out my new snow bike for our first actual ride in the snow.  It was so much fun!  It is such a different ride from road biking, I am still getting used to the different feeling, its more like strength training!  We took it really slow as I was nervous for my knee but it was great to just ride around the woods and smile at the snow.

Saturday night we went to some wonderful friends' home for Catan and drinks.  The lady of this couple is from England and is by the best (fanciest) hostess I have ever met.  I tried pate at her house, and actually liked it a bit!

Enjoying the outdoors
A late Saturday night unfortunately didn't translate into a lazy Sunday morning, we got up around 8 to continue our tradition of going out to breakfast before heading out to play again.  Kris has been meeting some guys to go snow biking on trails around town and I have been tagging along then going for a run (I cant keep up with them on bikes yet!) so that I get out on different trails.  This Sunday was a beautiful snowy run through some really fun single track, but I was dragging pretty bad.  I don't deal well without sleep, not sure how I am going to have kids yet!  We came back home and I napped for a few before we had to head out again for a school function with Kris's students.  I finished the day with some cleaning and cooking before heading to bed at 8pm!

Snowy Running
While this weekend was extremely exhausting, it was such a blast.  I am so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family who love being active and outdoors.  I know what a blessing it is that I am able to do all of these fun things and share that time with those that I love!  I am also thankful that I dont work on Tuesdays and before my rolfing and hair appointments I will have time to take a long nap!












30 Day Challenge

Last week I decided I wanted to jump start my fitness and motivation so I came up with a 30 day challenge, well two of them actually that will end on Christmas Eve.  Last week was not an awesome day to start a challenge as I am fighting a cold, but I am way too obsessed with symmetry to have a 29 or 27 day challenge.  So I decided on two main 30 day challenge goals and then I have two other side goals going as well.  Why not go for it, eh?

So my first goal is to complete the Julian Michael's 30 day Shred DVD.  In the past I have had serious issues with this as its not highly sustainable but since i just want a jump start and want to go into the new year (and Mexico) feeling strong I decided to go for it.  I have been in an ongoing debate with myself about strength training, so I thought this may help me get started.  I actually really like how I feel when I strength train and I think my body type is much more suited to strength training rather than running!  I naturally carry more muscle mass than I think most women do, Ive always been good at weight training, so why not use that to my advantage and build back some muscle!

My second goal is to reach my 12,000 step goal every day for the next 30 days.  I just got the new fit bit and now that I have a treadmill in the house this goal shouldn't be extremely hard to reach.  Before I got the treadmill for my birthday this year I used to walk circles in our house to finish up my steps for the day!

I also have two other unofficial challenges to myself but I haven't really gotten started on them yet, one is to drink at least 64 oz of water a day and the other is the track my food in my journal or my food counter on my phone.  My main focus is getting strong and being really active but I know if I want to change my body composition I need to look at my food!

Christmas Countdown!
Wish me luck!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

Good Morning,

It is a very unusual winter morning in Anchorage, Alaska.  It is the end of November and we have no snow.  Seriously?  While I know the weather in the East right now is very serious and scary for them, those of us who are used to that weather are very envious.  We dont live in Anchorage because we hate the winter.  It is amazing actually not only how much Alaskans love snow, but how well we are set up to handle it.  It can snow several feet overnight and life just continues like normal, school is on time, races are not canceled, its just another day.  Its really fun to live somewhere that is so proficient in snow management, it helps us wish for more snow because we know the consequences wont be so bad.  Of course there are still accidents and things happen, but not on the widespread level that we are seeing on the East Coast.

Mts and an Eagle
Anyways while I do not always LOVE running in the snow I do love skiing and now that I have a pretty new fat tire snow bike sitting in my house I am really ready to bike in the snow.  I was talking to my husband the other day about training and how antsy he is feeling about not training for a race and I told him I feel just the opposite.  I think I put too much pressure on myself during the racing season, or actually I feel pressure to put pressure on myself, if that makes any sense.  During the season I feel bad about running just because I like running, I feel like I should always be racing, silly I know.  Now that its off season I am loving running because I want to run, not because I have to.  The last couple weeks I have run a few miles each Saturday morning with a friend and it has been a blast.  We don't care about pace, we just run and talk the entire time.  I start my weekend feeling good both mentally and physically, its wonderful!

Moose cuddling for warmth
Ahh nature!
While I enjoy the off season, snow or not, I am thinking forward to next summer and throwing around ideas of how I would like my next season to go.  This past year the theme was quantity over quality, next year I would like to reverse that a bit, but am not sure if I am focusing more on triathlons?  I have a hard time saying no to races so which of my favorites will I keep and which will I pass on. 

Does anyone else have this dilemma?
Morning on Mize Loop




Monday, November 10, 2014

Frightening 4K Race Report

Good Morning,

I am a bit behind on my blogging lately but I do have a race to report.  On the 25th of October I participated in a local Halloween themed 4k.  I was hesitant to do the race as I had signed up for it while working in a village with sketchy internet.  As soon as I signed up and paid my $30 I found out that none of my friends were going to run it after all.

Up until the day before I was still wavering on actually participating.  I don't mind doing races alone but this was more of a Halloween party than a race so I felt kinda funny.  Finally my husband told me the shirts were really neat and while he had to be in a training that day, he encouraged me to go for it.

The race started later than normal at 11am but I went down to the registration and picked up  my shirt.  Which was neat, but when you sign up for a size I expect to receive that size.  Especially for $30 which is a bit high for a 4k.  I grabbed my shirt and headed back to the car to drop it off, at the car I seriously thought about driving off and forgetting the whole thing. 

Instead I told myself to buck up and get back out there.  The race was backed up to our local trick or treat in the street so it was lots of kids and lots of very elaborate costumes.  I wore a shirt I made for my first half marathon which happened to be our Fall Zombie Half so it was Halloweeny themed. 

We started the race and I resigned myself to just enjoy a good run.  Every 1k of the race was marked with people giving out candy which I intended to grab some, but by 2k I realized I was hitting some good paces so I decided to push through the candy drops and finish with a nice average 10:30 miles. 

I did doubt my thought to race this race when part way through I ran through a fog machine enclosed area.  Not awesome on the lungs.  But overall I felt really good about my run and people seemed to have a lot of fun. Also even though I didn't get the shirt I wanted, it does fit ok :)

However, not to be a downer, but there were several things I didn't like about this race and I think it really comes back to for profit racing.  We have a local running shop up here which most people love, and Ill admit I flip flop a bit.  Skinny Raven does provide great opportunities for racing in our community but they seem to have dominated the race timing and now racing opportunities with mostly for profit races that are not cheap!   Yes it is fun to have a really nicely prepared race with all the goodies, but I really like more low key local races that support a good cause.  Paying $30 for the early registration for a Turkey Trot that doesn't even benefit a food bank is kinda a bummer!  I don't mind paying more when it goes to a charity, but when your the only running game in town, I already pay you enough for my running shoes and other gear!  The other issue I have with these races is that they don't have kid rates.  I think its important to encourage families to exercise and play together, but a Turkey Trot for a family of four would cost you $120!  We don't even have kids yet but my husband and I decided to save our $60 and go for a run ourselves on Thanksgiving.

Am I complaining too much about a wonderful sport, probably?  I guess I am just a small community race fan at heart!

Monday, September 29, 2014

Run for Beans 10k Race Report

Saturday my husband and I ran the Run for Beans 10k here in Anchorage.  This is the second year I have participated in this race and I really think it is a fun race!  This year it was my husband's first 10k and the furthest he has ever ran, so he was a bit nervous, but I think small friendly local races like this one are just the place to get those nerves out!

We got up early Saturday morning, and Ill admit it was really nice not being the only one who had to get up early to eat and take care of business.  Once we got to the race we went through the motions of getting bibs, hitting the pottys and meeting up with friends.  There was some confusion over who was starting when (you got to start early if you had a costume) but it all got sorted and we were off!  My husband (the shark) was running with my friends husband (who was in lederhosen), I was running by myself and couldn't find my costume and my friend and her mother in law were walking the 5k with her new month old baby.

Once I got running I knew my friends named shin splints were going to join me for a while.  I had shin splints for the first time this spring and since i ramped up my mileage a bit the last couple weeks they have come back.  So its back to ice, stretching, massage, Epsom salts and all that jazz for me.  However in a run I know the discomfort will fade after about 2 miles, so on Saturday I was able to press on.  The race route snaked along Cook Inlet on our Coastal Trail with a slight detour where the bridge fell in this past year, I hope they get the new bridge finished soon!  It was an out and back course so I got to see all the crazy fast people and my husband and our friend, Kris and Chris.  Another friend's girlfriend was running so its always fun to see her, she is super fast.  She has won multiple races and again got first female with a time of somewhere around 38 minutes.  I think I have ran a 5k in that time, but who is counting :)

As I ran I realized that while the 10k is one of my favorite distances, this race was only my third ever!  It is not an extremely popular distance up here for some reason so the races are few and far between.  My PR for a 10k is an hour 6 minutes and I came close to that with an hour 8 minute race earlier this year.  I was hoping to come in around an hour 10 minutes on this race and finished just a few minutes behind that with an hour 13 minutes.  I didn't push this race too hard, just enjoyed the run so I was happy with my time.

Afterwards we all met up to hear the award winners and oogle over my friends baby who they gave a kids metal to when her and her mom finished the race.  Isn't she adorable!  After the race Kris and I went to breakfast to celebrate and talk running.  I love that he is more into running now, even though I sometimes have to temper the urge to kick him for being so naturally good at it, it is a fun new dynamic to our relationship!

Lastly, I cant forget to mention, that while I love running races, I also love running races with a good cause behind them.  The Run for Beans is actually a fundraiser for our local soup kitchen and shelter, Beans Cafe and Brother Francis Shelter.  They are amazing organizations that work incredibly hard supporting our very large homeless population.  I have gotten the privileged of serving food and supporting their work several times and am  always so impressed with the grace and respect they have for people.  They are truly wonderful people.


Fall Fun


















Well I am officially post running season.  Yes this is a slightly arbitrary determination of what is "in season" but I finished my last big race/triathlon before starting on a quieter season of costumed 5ks/10ks and holiday races.  Being off season doesn't mean a decrease in running, I am planning on it actually meaning more/less running.  Sounds slightly contradictory but my current running plan is a 5k 3 days a week and 5 miles on the weekend.  This is supplemented with 2 days of swim, one yoga/strengths, possibly one day of spin if I am ambitious and some fun family activity on the weekend - bike/hike etc.  
Trail near my home


Hokas in the Leaves

 This plan will probably change as soon as the snow falls, but for now it sounds good!  I have been enjoying some awesome Fall runs, it is beautiful up here!  Normally Fall occurs in like a week and then it is winter, but since I moved here five years ago I have noticed the Fall and Spring seem to be getting longer, maybe its just me.  But I found a new 5 mile loop that winds around quiet trails near a lake and a few ponds that I am in love with.  Right now I would rather run this five mile loop than a three mile out and back.  There is something mentally pleasant about a loop and mind-numbing about an out and back.  When I do my long runs I never do out and back runs, I usually just run to a spot and have my wonderful husband come pick me up!

Beautiful!
My new 5 mile loop!
When Old Man Winter does come to visit us, my training will change a bit, but I am committed to keeping it more active this year.  Normally I swap out running almost exclusively for cross country skiing, but with some big races on the horizon, which I will share soon, I want to keep in running shape.  I plan on continuing my swimming and biking throughout the winter so I will have ample cross training.  How can I bike during the winter you may ask?  Enter my early Christmas present, a fat tire snow bike.  Yes, life is very fun!  My husband and I are getting a version of the bike you see below for Christmas.  We have ridden our friends bikes before and they are a heck of a good time.  We have always wanted some but when they came out they cost about the price of a small car, some still do, but now they are coming down in price a lot so its finally time for us to pick up some of our own. 
Fat tire snow bikes

Fun in the single track

Look at those mittens, they are connected to the bike!


I hope you are enjoying some fun Fall runs with ample pumpkin goodies afterwards!  I have been loving having pumpkin smoothies for a post run treat.  Last week I pulled on some layers and enjoyed my smoothie while hanging out our backyard getting some precious vitamin D!


Pumpkin Smoothie
Brr getting chilly
Fall Flowers
Love the Run

Monday, September 8, 2014

Tri the Kenai Race Report

I did it!  I completed my 5th Triathlon and 13th race of the season.  I was really excited going into Tri the Kenai because I did this race last year and it was my absolute favorite.  Spoiler, it didn't disappoint this year either!  Tri the Kenai is my favorite race because it is so well organized and set up, the community really comes out and supports the race, and the course is super fun.  It also doesn't hurt that both years I have done this race it has been sunny and gorgeous outside!
Getting ready!

This sprint triathlon was originally slated to occur in June but due to some serious forest fires it got moved to September.  I for one was not hurt by this in the slightest, I don't understand why all of our local triathlons occur within 2 weeks of each other!  However the large no-show rate probably shows that other people didn't like the timing as much as I did.  Can't please everyone I suppose. 

My bike sans tire
So Kris and I drove down to our friend's cabin in Moose Pass that has become our jumping off point for a few races this year.  It is nice to do the bulk of the drive the day before and only have to drive an hour or so on the morning of.  We had nice quiet drive down through some higher elevations that are already looking like Fall (yay!)  We got up the next morning and headed to Soldotna to get our bibs and set up or transition areas, but it was not without excitement.  First thing when we got there while pumping up my tire we broke the valve.  Crap!  Thankfully we weren't slotted to race until 1:30pm so I set up my transition area with my crippled bike and then set off to find a bike shop to help me fix the tire.  Before I even got out of the parking lot I saw a tent from a local bike shop set up and was super happy to hear he had a tube for my bike.  I sent Kris off to get cash (who carries that anymore?!?) and we had a few more back and forths before my bike was all set up and the good people from Beemans Bike Shop had their payment.  Phew!  Nothing like a little morning of bike repair to get your heart going.

Look at me run!
To calm our nerves we went up into the gallery to watch the elite athletes start their races.  Man they are awesome, it is so cool to watch them!  Due to the large number of no-shows we were able to start our race much earlier than expected which was really nice.  So off we went into the pool, its fun to start with my husband, even though we aren't together for long!

The final push
I was feeling deceptively good when I jumped into the pool, my plan was to do a freestyle/face in the water stroke and just stop at the walls when I got tired.  I knew it may lower my time but now that I am learning to swim properly I wanted to practice that rather than revert to my other strokes. Well I made a mistake and didn't take a warm up lap so the minute I went underwater the cold and nerves got to me and restricted my breathing significantly.  The first five laps I struggled to freestyle stroke, choking, having to breast stroke at times and taking a lot of water up my nose.  It was not pleasant.  Finally by lap 5 I was able to breath better but by that time I was so tired that I had to rest for a few seconds every darn lap.  My overall time was my worst ever but I figure that I am still learning and boy do I learn more at every race.  This race = take a warm up lap!  That and keep practicing how to swim properly!  I am currently swimming 2-3 times per week and have gone from no face in the water to actually being able to swim, its been really fun to see those gains.  My next tri is in December so maybe by then I will have it down pat!
Almost there!

After the swim I headed out to the bike and got on for my first clipped in race.  I was a bit nervous about the mega hills on this course but knew that the bike is my favorite leg and this course wouldn't disappoint.  The first mile of this course goes down such a huge hill that you can hit over 30mph while traffic zooms by at 60mph, its a definite rush if your into that sort of thing, and since biking seems to be the only place I have a need for speed, I love it!  Mile 2-3 brings a hill that surprises you, it just keeps going and it gets you breathing pretty darn hard.  After that it is rolling hills, amazing mountain views and just awesome biking.  That is until mile number 9, this is where the road goes straight up with only a small shoulder and a guardrail.  This is always the hill I am nervous for but when I do it, it ends up being hard but not a huge deal.  I heard my husbands excited voice in my head "kill the hill!"  this is what he shouts when we bike together :)

Tri the Kenai
After the bike I headed out into the trails for the 5k run.  I knew this was a tough run from last year but apparently I forgot how many hills are back in those woods, oh man!  I didn't get into much of a groove on the run, I was by myself and kept slipping back into my tired easy run then having to remind myself that I am in a race and I should hurry my rear up!  Finally I came to the finish which bless them, is on a lovely down hill, I heard my husband cheering and I found some speed and pumped it in.

My awesome husband
Overall my time was a few minutes better than last year so it was probably my fastest triathlon yet, hard to believe with my slow swim and run times, but my bike times seem to carry me a bit.  I was happy to have been in the top third of all participants for the bike and about 50% for my age group which is pretty good for me.

Tri Couple
2nd in his age group!!!
My husband on the other hand is absolutely amazing and got 2nd in his age group, 12th man, and 20th person overall!  He is way too humble to say it, but he could have started with the elite 12 that start in the morning because in the end he was actually faster than one of them!  We stayed for the awards because I had to get some photos of him accepting his second place ribbon, so cool!!!  He is an incredible athlete and humbles me by how dedicated he is to his training.  I think now that he races I will probably get better as well because I cant be a slacker in training!

Getting his award
We drove home after the race, high on endorphins and happy with life.  I love this race and while we are years out from kiddos we talk about how we can't wait until we get to do this race as a whole family.  I have realized thatmy picture of family bliss is a car full of zonked out kiddos with medals around their neck from the latest family race event.  Those of you with kids with minds of their own can go ahead and laugh at me, but Ill hold onto my dream for now!

Happy Racing!