Either/Or

Exercise: 7 mi run/ no idea what pace. Around 9:30 or 9:45 avg?

Little Man and I went out for our longish run today. I had planned to just do my easy 4 mile loop because Music Man is home but he suggested I run as long as I want (makes it easier for him to work without us as distractions.) So I upped my mileage to 6 and Music man was like "Might as well make it 9." I guess he really wanted us out of the house. ;)

I am still super sore from my Tuesday double and didn't think I had 9 in me but thought I could make it to 7. So we ran 5 miles to a nice playground and Little Man played for half an hour and we ran 2 miles home. It was a perfect distance in nearly perfect weather. A great start to the day.

So here's my dilemma: Urban Running Blogger Summit and Las Vegas 1/2 or Xterra Crystal Cove Trail Run?
I think it would be so fun to go to a blogger conference just to see what it's all about and to hear a ton of bloggers I follow speak. This seems like a good one because my in-laws are in Vegas so I'd have free room and board as well as a babysitter. (If you're reading this, Cathy, don't worry, it's not set in stone ;) And the Rock n' Roll is the following day so it would make sense to make it a package deal. But the Rock n' Roll is kinda spendy and I also don't know what Music Man's schedule is and would hate to make the trip without him.

I already had the Xterra in mind as training for the 2012 Bulldog and it's super close to my parents. The trail head is actually walkable from my parents house, in fact, I've probably done it close to 100 times. But only run the trails maybe 5 times. And although this is the the obvious choice I now have the darn blogger conference in my head and am willing to give up this training run/race in order to go.

So now my running and conference attending fate is in the hands of Music Man. Let's hope he has time off so I can get to Vegas! But truthfully, I guess I'm happy either way. Either/Or.

And here's today's pic:

Please remind me to stay away from stripes next time ;)

Have a happy Friday!

Moms, Kids, Fitness

Exercise: 4 mile walk

Music Man is working at home the next few days which means my free time is being spent with the family instead of blogging. It's seriously so nice to see him, especially since he'll be out of town next week finishing up Regina's album. He also had 2 albums he worked on this year released yesterday, Mastodon and Switchfoot, so he's in pretty good spirits.

Yesterday was an exercise crazy day. I did a 4 mile tempo run in the morning with an average pace of 9:02 with the stroller, it felt really good too. Then in the afternoon I kinda taught a group fitness class for the moms club I belong to. I say kinda because I'm not a fitness instructor, not certified, but I'm very interested in it and have some knowledge. I'm actually thinking of getting NASM certified because I enjoyed teaching so much.

There were 4 of us moms and 4 kids including a 6 week old. We were lucky to have a sports court at one of the mom's house to utilize and I brought all my weights and we did a hardcore 40 minute class. I incorporated lots of squats, lunges, sprints and skips with upper body as well, tons of compound movements; I killed them.

But I loved it for so many more reasons than just because I got to teach. I loved having this workout with other moms because there are so many reasons that make it hard for a mom to get a work out in but we did it. We had our kids playing and running across the court. It was chaos. We got to take care of ourselves while  our kids had a blast. We didn't have to pay sitters or for an expensive class or membership. Just a few motivated moms. What could be better?

Here's yesterday's very fuzzy self portrait:

In Little Man's very messy room. And speaking of Little Man. We just got his Halloween costume. Very cute I think he is, yes?

I'll try to get Music Man to take better photos while he's around.

Have a great rest of your week.

It Could Happen to You

Exercise: 45 mins elliptical intervals, speed and resistance. 20 mins strength

5k recap: Not much to say. It was the inaugural Peace Walk and Run so it was a little disorganized. It was fairly small so I was hoping to get a medal but a girl passed me at the very end, and just my luck, she got the 3rd place medal. Oh well, 4th isn't too bad. Especially since my 5k time was relatively slow at 25:40/ 8:16 avg pace. I also think the course was a little short but my gps didn't work so I think my pace might have been closer to 8:20. But it's still a win in my mind since it's only been in the last year that I've run sub 10 min/miles. Color me happy.

The last few days have been a bit annoying. Starting Friday my car decided not to start because the battery came unplugged. I suspect foul play ;) It's just so weird. Then Saturday I was up all night with Little Man before the 5k which probably isn't the reason for my slow time but a good excuse none the less. And then this morning I woke up to Little Man giggling, then making knocking sounds, then crying. I went into his room and he was standing in his crib totally naked and the bed was covered with pee and... I've heard of this type of thing occurring but honestly, never thought it could happen to me. So beware moms and moms-to be, your kid might do this. In general, around 15 months, your child is up to no good and I think this lasts for a good year and a half. Yay. ;)

Now on to less disgusting things. Lots of yummy food has been eaten since Music Man was home for a few meals this weekend.

I promise the steak wasn't that grey, oh well. tasted great with the beet salad and twice baked potatoes.

Sunday spinach cheese omelet with toast and orange slices

Leftover steak and massaged kale and all the veggies I could find, topped with goat cheese

Getting ready to dig into my pulled pork sandwiches 

Yes sandwichES!!!

Carolina bbq pulled pork topped with coleslaw and corn on the side

Best. BBQ. Ever

And because 2 sandwiches is never enough, dinner 2

Our Vietnamese neighbors brought over shrimp and scallion crepes. So Awesome!

Unfortunately we had no belly room left for them but so rad anyways

Breakfast for the little monkey

Pulled pork salad, I love you

BBQ tofu quesadilla w/ spinach and beet salad. 

Wasn't sure about this meal but it was a huge win for just under 500 cals

So I finished my 21 days and photographed a huge amount of my food, but didn't lose much weight. I've been exercising and eating a pretty well rounded diet so I'm thinking I may be at my happy weight? In a perfect world I'd be skinnier but I'm healthy and this weight seems maintainable, but we'll see. So I'm going to finish my 21+ days, til my vacation starts, October 27th with a photo of myself a day. The pic of me eating will be today's photo but I'll try to do standing ones from here on out to see if we notice any progress. I'm doing great with my exercise routine so I just need to focus on my eating, which is the hard part for me. Hello 2 sandwiches!

Have a great week!

Pass

Oh man, I've seriously been up all night with a very angry Little Man. Molars are no joke. I can tell he feels awful and there's not much that can be done to ease his pain. He's sleeping somewhat peacefully now and I am desperately trying to wake up and muster some semblance of energy so I can try to run this race. I am soooo glad I invested in some Red Bull yesterday, otherwise I don't think I could do it.

I've decided to allow myself a pass for this race. As long as I run sub 27 I'll consider it a good effort, although I'm still hoping for 25:21 or below. Cross your fingers and toes for me!

I'm off to make some peanut butter toast for breakfast. Have a great Sunday and I'll be back later with a race recap.

Ya Got Trouble

Here's a little video of the last band Music Man worked with. You get to see a few shots of Music Man (nerd glasses and black sweatshirt hovering over knobs and buttons.)

FYI: Video is a little NSFW

Massaged Kale, My New Love

Exercise: 25 mins easy elliptical

Today is my rest day for this week due to my race tomorrow. I decided to make it an active rest day because I haven't gotten a bunch of miles in this week so I don't have to worry about over-stressing myself. Also, I am one of those people that has to work out. Not so much because I think I'll get fat if I don't but because my head needs it.

When I was younger I had quite a bit of energy that I didn't know how to harness. I actually had a doctor suggest to me that I practice Sufism to become a whirling dervish so I would have a positive way to direct my energy. Crazy! I wish I had found running then, but that took a few more years. The point is that now I have to exercise daily to direct my energy in a positive way. Otherwise I can get very worked up over unimportant things. Working out is just as good for me mentally as physically.

Now I'm off to run some errands I wasn't able to get to yesterday afternoon because my car wouldn't start. This is the second time in a few months and I was so worried we'd have to think about buying a new car or ways we could be a 1 car family. But Music Man took a look at the engine and the battery had come disconnected. Weird, right? He said it probably happened last time it was in the shop. I guess we won't be going to that mechanic anymore.

I'll leave with with some delicious photos.

I had apples, pears and strawberry Fage Greek yogurt but I made ww french toast for the boys with sliced fruit on the side

Veggies from the garden for my lunch massaged kale salad 

Kale massaged with my favorite Trader Joe's balsamic vinaigrette mixed with all my sliced veggies and topped with a big dollop of hummus. Grissini on the side. 

(This was my first massaged kale salad and it will definitely not be my last. I have never been a huge fan of kale which is weird because cabbage is one of my favorite foods, second only to peanut butter. Kale chips are not my favorite, but this salad was amazing.)

Have a great rest of your weekend!

Five for Friday

1. Grey's Anatomy> Sitting at the computer. Phone blogging is awesome.

2. My lap top is not only really dead, it's really, really, really dead.

3. Exercise today was not as planned, naturally. I had wanted to do a timed mile but had a super busy morning. So instead of a race pace run I did some crazy intervals on the elliptical with one 7:30 min interval at what felt like 100 percent. I figure it was good training at least.

4. Instead of my run Little Man and I played with friends at the park for 2 hours and later went to Whole foods for a little shopping and a yummy lunch of garlic broccoli, saag paneer and mac n' cheese. Heaven.

5. So because I'm still losing weight I have thrown away all my large sizes and have a very limited wardrobe. Last week, at some point, I ripped the crotch out of one of my only pairs of jeans and had no idea until WAAAYYY later that night. Yeah, I walked around oblivious to my crotchless pants for a good 3 hours. Awesome.

Have an awesome weekend!