background

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Half Marathon Training Week 10

OK, so the hub's precious Aggies did not win last Saturday :( womp womp! But they did put up a helluva good fight! I think I heard something like, they scored the most points that have ever been scored against Bama since Saban has been the head coach, so there's that. Hey, I'm just glad they didn't get blown out! And of course, I LOVE College Game Day and all the funny signs... like this one...
 
LOVE IT!
Or this one... this one is my personal fav
Embedded image permalink
Ahh - cracks me up!
 

After the game, we went to a friend's house to watch the boxing match/fight (unsure of the proper wording here??) between Mayweather and Canelo (who I swear has to be related to my bff, like for real!)
Both are red-headed Mexicans with strong jaw lines... coincidence? I think not!
 
Anywho, as I predicted, Mayweather won. I wish you could gamble in Texas, I would have put some dollar bills on that guy - he just doesn't lose! Let me just say that I am in no way a boxing fan, but the hubs always wants to watch the 24/7 show on HBO documenting both fighters as they prepare for the big fight. It's actually pretty good, although I'm pretty sure that the guy who narrates it (Liev Schreiber) could read the phone book and I'd be sucked in! I didn't realize it was this guy
Liev Schreiber 2012.jpg
Until I just looked up his name. Crazy! Never would have guessed. Anyway, I think he also does the narrating for Hard Knocks, which we also watch. Every year. They totes need to choose the Cowboys again, errbody knows there's no shortage of drama there!

So yeah, half training. It's going good, just trucking right along. Logging the miles. Some days are certainly better than others, but I try not to think of any of my runs as "junk" runs, even if they may feel that way at the time. I know it's just the heat and humidity. I'm going to try my hardest to stop bitching about it! You're welcome.

So Saturday's long run of 15K, kinda turned into a 10K instead. You see, I had a little shit-utation on my hands and had to run back home to take care of some bitness, if you know what I'm sayin'! So whatev, I logged 6.25 miles. I skipped BodyPump on Monday... again... I think I must have pulled something in my pelvis/groin area, so I figured I'd rest a little bit so as not to aggravate it.  I pulled out 4.25 miles on Tuesday instead of my scheduled 5 because it was just too dang hot and I thought I was going to die.
My hands get so swollen when I run in the heat - they're like sausage fingers - eww.
 
And today, I hit the treadmill for the dreaded 45 minute tempo run.
Bam! 4.77 miles in the books!
 
Here's what the genius Hal Higdon has to say about tempo runs, in case this is a forign term to you (it was to me before I started half training round 2):

Tempo Runs: This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 30 to 45 minutes would begin with 10-15 minutes easy running, build to 15-20 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout. Hold that peak only for a minute or two. I consider Tempo Runs to be the "Thinking Runner's Workout." A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly.

Ugh. I was just rudely interrupted from writing this by a screaming toddler with poop ALL OVER HIS FLOOR. Kill me now. This will require several glasses of wine tonight!

Anyway... you can click on my daily mile tab to the right to see my splits, but I knocked out 4.77 miles in 45 min - whew! I was a sweaty beast! Then I was feeling good and decided to go ahead and make a little Tabata workout my biznitch too! Booya! I use the Tabata Timer app on my iphone. Here's the rotations:
Tabata 1 - Bent over bench rows (alternated sides) with 15 and 17 lb weights
Tabata 2 - Overhead press on one foot using 10 lb dumbbells/ bicep curls with 10 lb weights (also on one foot)
Tabata 3 - Dumbbell Punches with 8 lb weights on one foot/tricep extensions with a 10 lb weight
Tabata 4 - Push Ups (on my knees, I am weak, like the Ukraine - only die hard Seinfeld fans with understand that reference, if you are Ukrainian, please do not take offense)/bicycle crunches
 
 
I gotta tell you, my current fav songs to jam out to while I'm running/working out are Katy Perry's "Roar" and Lecrae "Go Hard". Seriously, I could probably listen to those 2 songs on repeat and be totally happy! One thing I MUST do, is take that damn Harlem Shake song out of my playlist - it just pisses me off when it come on now, I just can't stand it, I want punch something! I seriously can't find the skip button fast enough. So yeah... I'm a psycho. Moving right along...

I figured out that I have 48 LONG days until my half in November. Which totally sucks. I'm ready to run NOW! Grrr. Why can't race registrations be like $20? #poorpeopleproblems

So I'll leave you with some of this cuteness - I need something to take my mind off of all that poop I just had to clean up!

what can I say, my kids are strong :)

every time I come home from a run and have my compression sleeves on, Emma immediately runs to her room to get hers on so she can be like mommy! Be still my beating heart!
 

Let me just tell you that this is such a RARE occurrence, that it mos def needed to be documented!

 

Morning snuggles with my baby girl. #iliveforthis


Max's first soccer practice!

He's a natural!
 
Sorry (I'm not sorry) about the impromptu photo dump, but I couldn't help myself! #cuteasskidproblems
 
I hope you all have a lovely Hump Day and rest of the week! We have our first soccer game this Saturday, so that should yield lots of fun stories and photos!
 
-Candice

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

I Answer The Burning Questions...

Sooo, I'm a "linkup" virgin. Not sure why, but I decided to dip my virgin toe into the water today and am linking up with Jake & Holly for a fun round of Finish the sentence...

button

 

QUESTIONS

My happy place... curled up with the hubs with a glass of vino watching Game of Thrones after the kids have gone to bed... ahh I'd like to be there right now! 

Whatever happened to... Fraggle Rock! For real, I was totes looking for it yesterday to show my kids and couldn't find it on Netflix :(
So what if I.... Bought a BAG of powdered donuts yesterday at the store, ate half of them while pumping gas and hid the rest in my glove box so the hubs wouldn't know!
E! needs a reality show about... teachers, although, as a former teacher, I'm fairly sure those teachers would prob be fired and parents would immediately begin home schooling! Haha! Just kidding... kinda... 
My go-to fast food meal is... Chic-fil-a #1, on a wheat bun, no pickle, and a Dr. Pepper! 
You might not know that I... went to Sea World Camp when I was 16 and got to kiss a Beluga whale... or rather the whale kissed me. I totes wanted to be a whale trainer!
The hottest quarterback in the NFL is... Easy...Tom Brady!
If I could.... have a million dollars to pay off debt, buy a new house, send my kids to school, AND buy a new wardrobe, that would be grrrrrreat!
My personality is awesome because... I like to eat, I like to laugh, I like to tell over animated stories with my hands (especially after I've had a few), I'm also pretty gullible, so that usually leads to some pretty entertaining moments! 
Twerking is.... Something I am incapable of doing, and I'm pretty sure there is one of those side by side comparisons of "what I think I look like twerking" vs "what I really look like twerking" out there that would sum up my whole experience with that!
I think it's super gross when... people chew with their mouth open - yuck!
Someone needs to tell Miley Cyrus.... to do some squats girlfriend! She be suffering from some noassital syndrome!

Bam! I did it! Virgin no more :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Slow is the new fast, right?!

Goodness gracious I hope so, cuz man 'o man was my run ssssllllllooooooowwwww on Saturday! Whew! I'm just glad it's over! just log the miles, just log the miles, repeat it with me, just log the miles! Let me just say, the difference between training for a half in the fall/winter and training in the summer is MONUMENTAL - mental being the operative word here, since you HAVE to be mentally unstable to run in this heat - for reals y'all! #truth

But, mentally unstable or not, I laced up and did it. All 10 miles. It wasn't pretty, and I wanted to stop and quit no fewer than 500 times during the whole dreadful event, but I did it. I finished in 1:51 - ouch! That time hurts. This was definitely a humbling run for me. Knocked me right back down to size and bruised my pride a little bit. But then I decided that I was looking at it all wrong and I needed to change my perspective. I GET to run. I CAN run. I AM faster than I was a year ago and I WILL continue to get stronger and faster if I just DON'T GIVE UP! Just like the number on the scale doesn't define you, neither does a bad run. Imperfect Progress. Thank you Lysa TerKeurst, those two simple yet powerful words apply to sooooo many areas of my life and have really helped me to put things in perspective.

Today, I got in my 5 mile run after dropping the kids at MDO. It was already warming up (80 degrees) but it was pretty cloudy and there was an occasional breeze, so that was good. I wanted to attempt a tempo run outside with this 5 miles since I think I am going to skip tomorrows tempo run and just do a light easy run and some weight training. I've only ever done my tempo runs on the treadmill, which makes increase and decreasing your speed and keeping a constant pace easy. I wasn't sure how well I would do with tracking it myself just by looking at my Garmin every 5 seconds, but it wasn't too bad! Here are my splits:

Mile 1 - 9:46
Mile 2 - 9:37
Mile 3 - 9:20
Mile 4 - 9:42
Mile 5 - 10:23

That last mile was pretty brutal. I had to run up a huge hill to get back home - poor planning on my part, otherwise, not to shabby. At one point during mile 3 I looked down and saw an 8 as the first number and decided I'd better slow my roll just bit before I burned myself out!
Now...HOW 'BOUT THEM COWBOYS! WOOT WOOT!

 
Can I just tell you how excited I am that football season is here! Ahh, now if I could just pull out my leggings, boots, tunics and scarves, I would be one happy girl! And let us not forget the ultimate goal for this week...
 
 
I just feel like I am in such a better mood during football season!
 
What about you? Do you yearn for football season too? What teams are you rooting for?
 
Have a great week! I'll leave you with a pic of these two cuties!
 
 
-Candice

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Candice's Crafty Corner & Week 8 Half Training

Sorry I've been a little MIA this week, I have been bustin' my buns cranking out some amazingly cute décor for my MOPS (moms of pre-schoolers) group. I cannot tell you how pumped I am to see it all come together. Eek! The theme is a "Beautiful Mess", seems pretty a propos for me! Here are some of the super cute things we have made...
 
plain tiles + scrapbook paper + mod podge + vinyl chalkboard labels = new food labels!

How freakin' awesome are these centerpieces?! Seriously, so excited to see a vision come to life and for it turn out so stinkin' cute!

Scrappy flower pens (please excuse the band aid, I had a little rotary cutter incident.
10 Ways to Make a Garland from A Beautiful Mess via Craft Gossip
Made several of these beauties!
 
So, this one I am recreating with a little somethin' somethin' extra - I really hope it turns out as awesome as I hope it will! I'll post the pic when I'm finished!
 
So yeah, that's what I've been up to lately! But even with all this crafting overload, I still managed to get my runs in this week. Holla! I indulged WAY too much over the labor day weekend, and I'll admit that I took several days off last week (um, like Tuesday through um, this past Tuesday... um yeah), so I decided to re-start week 10 this week. When you fall down, you just have to get back up!
 
 

But, I laced up and hit the pavement Tuesday for my scheduled 4.5 mile run and killed it, like a boss! It was about 2 minutes slower than my last 4.5 mile run on 8/27 (40:57), but whatevs, it was HOT as balls out there! Then I got in my speed training on the treadmill today, 9x400 (about 2.5 miles with a little cool down). 


I've got a 5 miler on tap for tomorrow (at pace speed) and then round out the week with a nice 10 miles - whew! I sure hope I can do it, I'm a little freaked out about it right now if you wanna know the truth! I haven't run 10 miles in quite a while, so I'm pretty nervous. I'll be reciting Philippians 4:13 over and over and over in my head the whole time! I plan on working my way up to 13 miles and then alternate my long runs between 8-12 miles in the weeks leading up to my half in November.