tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54890138701093747442024-03-13T08:36:27.831-04:00CrawllyFlower's Garden of ThoughtsFollow our little family as we train for The Disney World Marathon 2013!crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-50293402973756412342013-07-20T08:08:00.000-04:002013-07-20T08:08:02.383-04:00A New Challenge Once again, I've fallen off the blogging cliff. We did finish marathon training and we did run our marathon. Life just got a little too busy for me to continue documenting our weekly training. Maybe eventually I will post pictures of that day, and give a detailed account of the Walt Disney World Marathon 2013. But for now..<br />
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I'm back, and I'm going to try and post some thoughts and share my experience with a new challenge - a one week juice fast. Like many women, I've struggled with my weight and fitness goals. You'd think marathon training would take care of all that, but really I just balanced out huge calorie deficits by eating more, and gaining a lot of muscle. Since the marathon I haven't had any other serious fitness goals. I flopped a weight-loss challenge with friends due to, well, life - being sick for a week, buying/ moving into a new house, and having out-of-town family visiting.<br />
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Now I'm ready for something to kick-start my goals and 'start from scratch,' if you will. A clean slate. Nothing but fresh vegetable and fruit juices for a week, possibly two weeks. Cleanse out my system and detox. <br />
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I found a great website <a href="http://www.justonjuice.com/" target="_blank">(Just on Juice</a>) that outlines recipes for the week (x2 if you continue for a second week), and even gives you a grocery list. So today I'm headed to Sam's Club and here is my list. :-)<br />
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<ul>
<li>12-15 Granny Smith Apples x 2</li>
<li>12 Cucumbers x 2</li>
<li>7 beets x 2</li>
<li>1 Bag of Carrots</li>
<li>1 Bag of Oranges</li>
<li>6-12 Tomatoes</li>
<li>1 Garlic</li>
<li>1 Bag of Basil Large</li>
<li>4 Cups of Blueberries</li>
<li>A Bag of Grapes</li>
<li>3 Bag of Celery</li>
<li>5 Big Bags of Spinach or 8 – 12 Bundles of Kale</li>
<li>A Ginger Root</li>
<li>7 Lemons</li>
<li>2 Limes</li>
</ul>
This is everything for one week. Probably split it up into two trips, for freshness and room in the fridge. Not too bad, right? I'm also going to get freezer bags to separate some meals ahead of time, for quicker prep. Wish me luck! crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-64022571721432843252012-10-25T19:44:00.000-04:002012-10-25T19:44:07.658-04:00Week Seven (October 14 - 20)Sunday - Rest<br />
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I've gotten really lazy about taking that self-image picture, but have full intentions of getting back on track starting Week Nine. It just seems kind of silly because, even though I'm seeing changes, particularly the growing leg muscles (duh), I don't seem to be making any significant weight loss progress. As of today, I'm only down a pound and a half from the beginning of this training program. It's really not a huge deal though, because I know I'm getting faster and stronger each week, and I feel better in general. Why stress? After all, it's a rest day. :-)<br />
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If you're wondering how the vegan diet is going.. Well, let's just say, being a vegan is so much harder than being a vegetarian. It's a challenge, so I've decided to take it on gradually and learn from it as I go. Living dairy and meat free is definitely doable, it just takes a lot more thought and planning ahead, especially when you're training for a marathon. I've been pretty good about eating vegan for breakfast and lunch, but then I don't feel defeated if I'm a little more lax at dinner time (without losing complete control..ha!).<br />
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Monday - 4 miles<br />
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This week we graduated from 3 mile Mondays to 4 mile Mondays (yay!), which will continue through Week Ten. Today we took it to Downtown Orlando's beautiful <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/parks/lakeeola.htm" target="_blank">Lake Eola Park</a>. Tom and I split up again, which we just find is easier when running on crowded paths. This was an enjoyable run for me. I did about 4.5 loops around the lake while listening to some worship music on Pandora, and even singing along. Feeling so encouraged, I couldn't keep it inside. As I went along, I was delightfully surprised to find my pace picking up without any real effort. I finished with a 09:32 min/mi average. For me, this is fast. It felt so good. I ended up finishing only a few minutes after Tom and Jackson. (They must have been taking it easy.) Tom let me know that each time they passed the playground (where I take Jack every Friday after the library), he pointed and tried to direct them over to the swings! It's amazing how he can already remember these places. Of course we spent some time playing immediately after the run.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks like he's in a daze, but he's humming along to the bounce.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Neither of us managed to get a shot of the man out walking his snakes and pit bull. No, I'm not joking, but I guess I can't prove it. :-P<br />
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Tuesday - 7 Miles<br />
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Yep, Tuesdays have moved up from 6 to 7. (Hooray! Okay, I may have been genuinely excited about the 3 to 4 graduation, but this joy is slightly exaggerated.) Today Jack and I met up with our friend Cheryl from the <a href="http://www.orlandorunnersclub.org/" target="_blank">ORC</a> for three loops around the lovely <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/LakeBaldwin.htm" target="_blank">Lake Baldwin</a>. The temperature was noticeably cooler! Nothing makes those miles go by faster than having a beautiful sunrise and someone to talk to along the way. You almost forget you're running, almost.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little man fell asleep, but awoke exactly one second after this picture was taken, sitting up like a zombie.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Then he enjoyed his breakfast before we headed back home.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tom went for his 7 Miles right after work, through downtown Orlando. We usually run our Tuesdays separate because they are supposed to be 'pace days.' Since I'm pushing the jogger, I don't stress about my pace. Tom, on the other hand, has been doing a fantastic job at pushing himself on these days.<br />
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Wednesday - 4 Miles<br />
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Today we hit up one of our usual spots - <a href="http://uptownaltamonte.com/cranes-roost-park.php" target="_blank">Crane's Roost Park</a>, for four loops around the lake, and I think we actually stuck together for the most part. I felt a little bit slower today, but still averaged under 10 min/mi. Jackson loves running around by the fountain after our workouts here.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A large, grumpy looking bird.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captivated by the fountain.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see it here, but at the top of that tower, there is a giant golden globe. Jackson likes to shout up to it, "BAAALLLL!!"</td></tr>
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Thursday - Rest!<br />
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Friday - Long Run, 14 Miles<br />
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The plan for today was to head out at 4pm, shortly after Tom got home from work. Grab a quick snack and go. It takes a long time to run 14 miles, and we didn't want to spend most of it in the dark. Well, it didn't work out as planned, thanks to a switch in the usual nap pattern. Jackson didn't wake up till about 3:30, so we didn't want to rush off without giving him a chance to run around and play. So we had dinner and left around 5pm instead. We didn't realize our trail of choice, the <a href="http://www.traillink.com/trail/little-econ-greenway.aspx" target="_blank">Little Econ Greenway</a>, would take us over an hour to get to and not have any convenient parking. While Tom found a nearby neighborhood to park in, Jackson got to spend some time on his feet. Meanwhile, the sun was setting. Needless to say, we started this run off on the wrong foot, no other way to put it. Tom asked, "Well, do you want to make this our cross-train day and just walk for an hour?" I just wanted to get it done with. I had spent all day thinking about it, and if I had to hold it off till Saturday it would just seem like I never had a break. Cross-train Saturdays are kind of a break that we look forward to. We had mentally prepped and physically fueled for a long run - So we did it. We ran 14 miles in the dark, on a trail we were unfamiliar with. <br />
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We stayed together the whole way, 7 miles out and back. At the beginning we felt unsure about it and prayed, "God protect us and get us through this." We heard some loud animals and were SURE it was some kind of primate..haha.. Still don't know what in the world that was, but we also heard and saw a pretty big owl. Boy was that thing loud!! The first half wasn't so bad, actually. Jackson fell asleep somewhere around mile 9 or so. Tom and I both agreed that we were both struggling around the time when we had like 4 miles left to go. I was determined not to throw in the towel and start walking, having another defeated walk back to the car (like my 11 mile run a few weeks back), I mentally did not want to return there, and it was worth the fight. I switched around my music a few times, trying to find something with an extra drive to it. Nothing was really cutting it, and the miles dragged on. Tom was having a lot of knee pain. I was just feeling fatigued in general. (Thankful that I got a nap in that afternoon, or I probably would not have survived- ha!)<br />
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By the end, we both finished with the same mindset, "God, I'm glad that's done." We did not feel like champions; we were just relieved to have it done and over with. We were at the car, downed some bottled waters and I just needed a place to sit. I didn't care how strange it looked when I pulled one of our beach chairs out of the back of the car and sat there, stretching my legs out towards the bumper. The neighborhood probably wondered at our choice of a tailgate party. Like I said, it was the least of my concerns. That chair was perfect.<br />
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Do I regret it? Running these long distances.. Is it all downhill from here (we can only hope..!)? Nah.. I know there are good days and bad days. These bad days, and it could have been so much worse, only make the good days better. The days when you are literally running on cloud 9, the endorphins pushing you on as you run singing, with a smile. Every day can't be like that. But I know that these days are the ones that make me stronger. They are the ones that I can look back on, while I'm on another long run, and think to myself, "Remember that day on the trail, in the dark, and I was so exhausted, but I managed to still run 14 miles straight without taking a break? Okay, yeah, I can do this too then." This is what it's all about. I love it.<br />
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Oh, and this was the farthest distance Tom and I have EVER run!!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last view of sunshine.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We look forward to running this trail in the daylight sometime.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We passed a couple of parks at the beginning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tired little monkey kept falling asleep in between bites. I've never seen him chew so slowly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The run that convinced Tom to get a knee brace.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There it is. All those steps summed up into a concise little map. Two and a half hours is a long time to run.</td></tr>
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Saturday - Cross Train<br />
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We decided to take advantage of the College Park Jazz Fest 2012 and save our walk for that evening. Obviously too crowded to do any kind of cardio walking in the midst of the festivities, but College Park is a really cool district of Orlando and has some great neighborhoods to walk through. It was an unusually cool evening and we truly enjoyed the time with our little family. As much as we dislike Halloween and refuse to partake in it, lights are lights and Jackson, along with us, enjoyed several houses decked out in orange glow. It was too dark to get any quality pictures, but take my word for it, what a gorgeous night for a stroll along a lake and among historical houses, with the backdrop of jazz music and the energy of a nearby crowd - perfect! <br />
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On our way back to the car, we didn't really take time to watch the entertainers, however we were intrigued with this group of people. It wasn't your usual concert scene. There were candle-lit tables, complete with fancy dishware and wine and gourmet food lining up this whole stretch of road. We'd never seen anything like that! I mean, these people went all out, packing up their own upscale restaurant picnic, each one a little different. It was so cool!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IbHloLAR46Y/UInK-SF3ZlI/AAAAAAAAAqM/Jp0ON_OOyPs/s1600/IMG_1587.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IbHloLAR46Y/UInK-SF3ZlI/AAAAAAAAAqM/Jp0ON_OOyPs/s400/IMG_1587.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can see one of the table set-ups there, but there were many more. We were just trying to get through the crowd, so couldn't really capture it.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jazz Fest couldn't stir the sleeping giant.</td></tr>
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Stay Tuned: Next week we will have a guest entry from none other than Mr. Thomas P. Crawford, runner extraordinaire. ;-Dcrawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-42550635194690311892012-10-14T21:26:00.001-04:002012-10-14T21:26:35.747-04:00Week Six (October 7-13)Sunday - Rest!<br />
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I happened to *not* feel like taking a weekly photo this time, however, I did lose 4 pounds this week!! Yay!<br />
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Monday - 3 Miles<br />
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It was so nice to get together with the <a href="http://www.orlandorunnersclub.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Runner's Club</a> again for a group run. I hadn't seen them since the day Jack and I left for our trip to Michigan. The group meets at the <a href="http://www.mellowmushroom.com/" target="_blank">Mellow Mushroom</a> the second and fourth Monday of each month. Some people run 3 miles and some run 5. This was a really great run for me because I could just feel myself getting faster. We actually thought it might rain, and Tom had Jackson's jogger prepped and ready for it. The rain held off till we finished- go figure! Afterwards, we all enjoy a pizza meal together and catch up with each others' training and goals and life in general. It's really a great time and we always look forward to these outings. Runners are just fantastic people, what can I say!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckuVmTmw6JE/UHdifNFcWII/AAAAAAAAAf4/mxZdn7krG88/s1600/IMG_1972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckuVmTmw6JE/UHdifNFcWII/AAAAAAAAAf4/mxZdn7krG88/s320/IMG_1972.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kinda what we look like running through the neighborhoods..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for our pizza!</td></tr>
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Tuesday - 6 miles<br />
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Since this was supposed to be a "race pace" run, Tom and I decided to do our runs separately, mine in the morning with Jack and his after work. He takes his pace runs seriously, but since I have the jogger, I just take it as a usual run, keeping in the back of my mind that I should be going faster.. :-P<br />
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For these runs, we typically go to <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/LakeBaldwin.htm" target="_blank">Lake Baldwin Park</a> at the crack of dawn, in order to keep it cool and get it out of the way. This week we did the same, with the exception of- we had company! Our new friend Cheryl from the ORC welcomed us to meet up and start our run from her house, very close to the park. We greeted Cheryl and her Vizsla, Pumpkin, at 6:45am and headed out. We looped around the lake (greeting her husband Marcus, also out running, along the way), stopped back at her house to grab some quick water, then ran off to check out <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/blue-jacket-park-winter-park" target="_blank">Blue Jacket Park</a>. It was really an enjoyable run! And I know Jackson felt the same, because he stayed awake the entire time, singing and watching Pumpkin along the way. He never even fell asleep, nor did he need his favorite blanket- now that is distraction!<br />
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Wednesday - 3 Miles<br />
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Back to the Seminole Wekiva Trail, starting at the San Sebastian Trailhead. Highlight of this evening's run..announcing:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vD1PUjDXkOM/UHtYIX8orBI/AAAAAAAAAiE/GBYAKUowwJI/s1600/IMG_1517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vD1PUjDXkOM/UHtYIX8orBI/AAAAAAAAAiE/GBYAKUowwJI/s320/IMG_1517.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out with the old...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e7om8cFnQfA/UHdnaf9aIlI/AAAAAAAAAgc/EPpb6iSa7zU/s1600/IMG_1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e7om8cFnQfA/UHdnaf9aIlI/AAAAAAAAAgc/EPpb6iSa7zU/s640/IMG_1976.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...in with the new...kicks!!</td></tr>
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His last ones were in really bad shape, and contributing to some knee pain, so it was time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tim_2UCMfx0/UHdoHqvwhtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/yKnO4KFW2Lc/s1600/IMG_1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tim_2UCMfx0/UHdoHqvwhtI/AAAAAAAAAgs/yKnO4KFW2Lc/s400/IMG_1977.jpg" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He said they felt great, too! Style AND function.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Ab1zJhqp8/UHdoKFRh1AI/AAAAAAAAAg8/B4U6HDAjVvQ/s1600/IMG_1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-50Ab1zJhqp8/UHdoKFRh1AI/AAAAAAAAAg8/B4U6HDAjVvQ/s400/IMG_1979.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson loves to hold Mommy's hand during warm up walks. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oUODOfdbujc/UHdoI6qC0JI/AAAAAAAAAg0/BiO11A-vac0/s1600/IMG_1978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oUODOfdbujc/UHdoI6qC0JI/AAAAAAAAAg0/BiO11A-vac0/s400/IMG_1978.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We miss the REAL nature we used to encounter on our NJ trail runs. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> (Bears, deer, snakes..ok I don't miss the snakes..)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X5zN3FECEIM/UHdoFyWQU7I/AAAAAAAAAgk/Uap06-DW30g/s1600/IMG_1903.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X5zN3FECEIM/UHdoFyWQU7I/AAAAAAAAAgk/Uap06-DW30g/s400/IMG_1903.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afterwards, Jackson felt the need to water ALL of the bushes with his cup.</td></tr>
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Thursday - Rest!<br />
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Friday - Long Run!<br />
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This week's long run was 'only' 9 miles (as compared to last week's 12!). We decided to hit the Seminole Wekiva Trail, starting at <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parksrec/PassiveParksandBoatRamps/SoldiersCreekPark.aspx" target="_blank">Soldier's Creek Park</a>. We did a mile out one direction, to the end of the paved trail, then the mile back to where we started. Then we continued the opposite way on the trail till we hit about 6.5 miles, turned around and headed back to the start. We thought since we started this run a little earlier than usual, that we'd finish before the sun set. Nope. Both of us were surprised when it was dark around the time we turned around, with about 2 miles left to go.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eHeFmmBibPE/UHtZxR0gYrI/AAAAAAAAAiU/evOlPLBH9yM/s1600/IMG_1457.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eHeFmmBibPE/UHtZxR0gYrI/AAAAAAAAAiU/evOlPLBH9yM/s400/IMG_1457.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the mile 1 & 2 stretch, aka Locust Lane. I can't believe it's STILL (apparently) mating season for those nasty things.</td></tr>
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For this run, I chose to set up my iPod to Pride and Prejudice, which I began listening to over a year ago during my late pregnancy walks. I never got around to finishing it, but don't think it will be long now! There was also a reappearance from my good friend, the 'fanny pack.'<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMS2mCKdyaA/UHsfk74BMBI/AAAAAAAAAhg/MuN7gdW5JJw/s1600/IMG_1453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yMS2mCKdyaA/UHsfk74BMBI/AAAAAAAAAhg/MuN7gdW5JJw/s640/IMG_1453.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've decided to bring take my Gatorade/water mix on any run 6 miles or over.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CEVhcVFEpyY/UHtZqwIEtCI/AAAAAAAAAiM/wVGaE4RX_TI/s1600/IMG_1454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CEVhcVFEpyY/UHtZqwIEtCI/AAAAAAAAAiM/wVGaE4RX_TI/s320/IMG_1454.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family! (I love them :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5EO_-7_qVmI/UHtaNtd_02I/AAAAAAAAAio/THCpPo06drw/s1600/IMG_1460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5EO_-7_qVmI/UHtaNtd_02I/AAAAAAAAAio/THCpPo06drw/s400/IMG_1460.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was both frightening and cool to have a train pass right by us just as we approached the intersection!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWpQQXNQacw/UHtZ5_DopHI/AAAAAAAAAig/wZyxP2OKgO0/s1600/IMG_1458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fWpQQXNQacw/UHtZ5_DopHI/AAAAAAAAAig/wZyxP2OKgO0/s400/IMG_1458.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting Darker..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HZMdPfoUMN8/UHtaWGT9ynI/AAAAAAAAAiw/VGgSTr8Gx7I/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HZMdPfoUMN8/UHtaWGT9ynI/AAAAAAAAAiw/VGgSTr8Gx7I/s400/IMG_1464.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving Jackson a chance to stretch his legs and watch some kids practice baseball.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PjYld8B_Os8/UHtajFbRcUI/AAAAAAAAAi4/-wUIZWIgveQ/s1600/IMG_1473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PjYld8B_Os8/UHtajFbRcUI/AAAAAAAAAi4/-wUIZWIgveQ/s320/IMG_1473.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bonus: Got pulled over for having a headlight out. The officer was also from Michigan, so we got away with a warning.</td></tr>
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Saturday - Cross Train<br />
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We are blessed with some visitors this weekend! Tom's brother, his wife and their chocolate lab came down from Hilton Head Island, SC. We spent a lovely Saturday afternoon at one of our favorite spots- Lake Baldwin Park, first letting Coffee enjoy a run (with a bazillion other pups) around the huge Fleet Peeples Dog Park. We walked the 2.5 mile loop around the lake, branching off for a little while into the downtown area and catching a great outdoor lunch at <a href="http://www.labellalunafl.com/Location.php" target="_blank">La Bella Luna</a>.<br />
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Lots of pictures from Saturday:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5t63ba2RvwU/UHtfs0ZEK7I/AAAAAAAAAjc/9GENs05tqmY/s1600/IMG_1482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5t63ba2RvwU/UHtfs0ZEK7I/AAAAAAAAAjc/9GENs05tqmY/s400/IMG_1482.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson found a safe place in the dog park. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...Just some pretty things along the way that I'm usually running past.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee taking a break from a long walk in the sun.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson running around after lunch, before getting back into the jogger.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Headed back to our place! (Tom was on call all weekend, so we had to take two cars everywhere.)</td></tr>
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<br />crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-63115416260417559072012-10-11T20:03:00.000-04:002012-10-11T20:03:23.703-04:00Week Five (9/30 - 10/6)Sunday - Rest<br />
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Weigh In - Same as Start of Training.<br />
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This Sunday we enjoyed our day off by going to church, grabbing some sandwiches at the new <a href="http://www.wawa.com/WawaWeb/" target="_blank">Wawa</a> nearby, and finishing up The Lorax movie (which we loved!!) while Jackson took his nap. Sunday afternoon we were surprised to find out that Tom's brothers were headed to town on business. After dinner we rushed off to <a href="http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/" target="_blank">Downtown Disney</a> to see them for a few minutes and to explore one of our favorite hangouts. Even though we've been here many times already, we always make new discoveries, like <a href="http://www.babycakesnyc.com/2011/06/orlando.html" target="_blank">Babycakes NYC</a>, a cute little vegan bakery! I grabbed a doughnut and a couple pre-packaged chocolate chip cookies to go. They were fantastic!<br />
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We were also delighted to see one of the regular musical performers at DTD, <a href="http://www.dominicgaudious.com/" target="_blank">Dominic Gaudious</a>. Other times we've seen him there have always been a group of young children dancing to his lively music. This time, there was a very obscure man, "The Dancing Machine," stealing the show.<br />
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At one point "The Dancing Machine" came over to give Jackson a high-five. We were secretly relieved to watch Jackson turn and walk away, shaking his head 'no.'<br />
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Monday - Happy Birthday to my army sister on post in South Korea!<br />
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We took our easy 3 mile run to <a href="http://uptownaltamonte.com/cranes-roost-park.php" target="_blank">Crane's Roost Park</a> in Uptown Altamonte, and then headed over to <a href="http://www.u-swirl.com/locations.html" target="_blank">U-Swirl</a>, our favorite frozen yogurt bar, for dessert. With this new vegan diet, it's still easy to make a delicious sorbet concoction with their almost limitless toppings. :-)<br />
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Tuesday - 6 Miles<br />
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With storms looming and limited time, since I had evening plans to meet at <a href="http://www.infusionorlando.com/" target="_blank">Infusion Tea</a> with the local ICAN (International Caesarean Awareness Network) group, I basically had no choice to hit the treadmill in our apartment's gym. I wasn't actually dreading too much. Maybe it would be a nice change. Heck, it's air conditioned in there, and there's a TV, which I haven't seen the likes of in months! So I grabbed my bottle of half/ half water-Gatorade and set out. I turned the channel to Spongebob and started up the treadmill. I had my iPhone there if I wanted to switch to music or podcasts. With the hum of the treadmill I realized I hadn't turned the volume up nearly loud enough, and I resorted to reading cartoon lips till I noticed my wonderful husband and son looking in the gym window- what fortune! And so nice to have visitors. :-)<br />
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The run was surprisingly very pleasant. Another lady actually joined at the treadmill next to me, and it was nice to hear the footsteps of someone else. The only problem was keeping track of distance. I couldn't figure out if it was measuring in kilometers or miles. The flashing lights would let me know the km distance. The speed chart said 'per mile,' and yet another tracker had no specific unit of measurement. So I was left to estimate, and just ran for an hour. That should be about right, and the gym was closing at that time anyway. All in all- that wasn't bad, and I'd do it again. Maybe I'll try the other treadmill next time.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom, what were you doing?? Haha.. </td></tr>
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It rained the entire time I ran indoors. Then it stopped just in time for me to head out and for Tom and Jack to get their 6 miles in. Needless to say, they did NOT run on the treadmill, though part of me would like to see them try. ;-)<br />
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Wednesday - 3 Miles<br />
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This evening we headed to the San Sebastian Trailhead of the <a href="http://www.traillink.com/trail/seminole-wekiva-trail.aspx" target="_blank">Seminole Wekiva Trai</a>l. I realize each week we have repeats of the same places. It's true. Now that we have a baby, it's just not fair to drive long distance just to put him in another 'chair' for a run. So we keep it close to home. Just because we run in a lot of the same places over and over, does not mean that each run is a carbon copy of the other.<br />
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Take for example this run- it was a rainy day. Not stormy, but rainy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sound asleep in there.</td></tr>
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Thursday - Rest!<br />
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Friday - Long Run (12 miles)<br />
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**This week's favorite!!**<br />
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After last week's 11 mile catastrophe, I put a lot of thought into this one and did a few things different:<br />
1) Broke out the hydration belt. Tom got this as a gift for me years ago, and I just haven't had a real need to use it till now. To be honest, and I never told this to him, but periwinkle is one of my least favorite colors, so I was always a little turned off by it (seems so silly..). To my delight, the thing fit like a charm and was SO comfortable! It came with a water bottle, which I filled with half Gatorade and half water. It also made a great place to hang my bandana (which I use to dry my face as I run).<br />
The belt really was a life saver. As the run started off, I decided to take a big drink at the completion of each mile. This served as a great motivator, and also helped to ration out my hydration. I only had a few drops left at mile 11, but at that point it didn't even matter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't really see it, but there's my 'fanny pack,' aka hydration belt.</td></tr>
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2) We chose a different location. Last week we took a secluded trail and attempted 5.5 miles out and then back. Mentally, I think this made the run seem so much longer. This time, we headed to one of our favorites- Crane's Roost, which has a mile loop around a lake. The idea was to run as many loops as we felt like, but also feel free to branch off onto the roads. Even though Tom and I ran this one at our own paces (so Jack wouldn't have to sit quite as long), I wasn't alone. There are people everywhere at this park.<br />
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Off we went! I set my iPhone to <a href="http://reachrecords.com/artists/show/Andy-Mineo-" target="_blank">Andy Mineo</a> radio on Pandora, since I found it to be a strong motivator on another recent long run. I also came prepared with several chapters of Pride and Prejudice on my iPod, which I zipped into a pouch on my belt. I kept my favorite podcast in mind as well, <a href="http://theextramilepodcast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Extra Mile</a>, if I needed to change things up a bit. Turns out the Andy Mineo station was sufficient for the entire run. It never got boring, and it pushed me along. If it's not broke, don't fix it. If I'm doing fine mentally, it's not worth the spent energy and frustration of messing around with tech stuff while running.<br />
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A few miles in, I got a good sense and plan of how I wanted this run to go. I decided to do about 6 loops around, then branch out onto the road, 3 miles out and complete with 3 miles back to the park, catching up with my loves and hearing how their run went. That's basically what I did, except for as I was finishing up the 3 miles out, I realized if I turned left I could just complete the block and catch up to the park again from the other side. By the time I looped around, I still had 2 more loops around the lake, which was fine. I actually got to see Tom and Jack just before mile 10. They finished about 2 miles ahead of me! It was encouraging to see them and hear that Jackson did fine for the entire run! The longer I ran, the more I wondered if he was hanging in there, and tried not to stress about it, wondering if he was frantic or extremely bored. He benefits from these runs in populated parks as well, often shouting out to the people ahead, like "Make way! We're coming!"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's funny how it looks like I spent most of the run away from the lake, <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">but really that big square is only</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> 1/3 of the run.<br />
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I passed Tom and Jackson less than a minute before hitting the 12 mile mark, and that gave me the extra motivation to sprint to the finish! I cannot even put into words how amazing I felt. I felt like a champion. You could've told me I was an Olympian and I'd probably say, "Yeah.." as I collapsed and blissfully laid in the wet grass, breathing deeply with a huge smile on my face. I DID IT!! 12 MILES!! Never even felt like I needed a walk break! This run was never a struggle- I felt so strong, and happy. It was incredible, and I can't wait to feel that again. <br />
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At some point I needed to pull myself up and catch up with my family. That's when I realized how drenched I really was! As if I walked out of a pool, my shoes were squishing as I walked along, and I had to literally wring out my bandana. It made me wonder if, as these runs get longer, will I need to change my shoes or clothes along the way? Hmm.. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JhcQH5-93bU/UHdZ3Eig5YI/AAAAAAAAAek/0L89OSf0ojQ/s1600/IMG_1372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JhcQH5-93bU/UHdZ3Eig5YI/AAAAAAAAAek/0L89OSf0ojQ/s400/IMG_1372.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mom and Jackson are trying to hide the fact that they're eating while this picture is being taken. Fresh fruit makes a great post-run snack!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some vendors were nearby for a special event, and Jack suckered a balloon out of them. :D</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We grabbed a pizza on our way home, but by the time we got home all I wanted was a hot shower. Wow- that felt almost as amazing as finishing that run. I could have stood there all night! Afterwards, I learned something else about myself, or at least I chose to accept it. Even though I burn like a million calories on these long runs, I typically do NOT have an appetite afterwards. I just want to crash and sleep. This time I fought the urge to sleep (hey, it's Friday night!) and had some pizza. I didn't enjoy it at all- I felt nauseous. Next time I will just sleep like I usually do, and just have a big Saturday morning breakfast.<br />
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Saturday - Cross Train<br />
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We kept our walk simple and stayed in our neighborhood, enjoying the sunset together.<br />
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On our way back, we grabbed some snacks at the gas station across the street from our apartment complex.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F2wWht14SuI/UHdcIjagseI/AAAAAAAAAfM/_gjYf4fUQnc/s1600/IMG_1830.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F2wWht14SuI/UHdcIjagseI/AAAAAAAAAfM/_gjYf4fUQnc/s320/IMG_1830.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now where does this guy find the time to produce potato chips??</td></tr>
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<br />crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-54235821996085420742012-10-04T20:36:00.000-04:002012-10-04T20:44:34.352-04:00Week Four (9/23 - 9/30)<b>Sunday = Rest</b><br />
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This day was so jam-packed that I totally forgot about checking my
weight or getting my weekly progress photo. Still with family in
Michigan, we started the day off at <a href="http://rockpointe.org/" target="_blank">Rockpointe</a>,
the church Tom and I were a part of when we lived there. Shortly
after, we hit up Olive Garden, one of my bodybuilding sister's cheat
choices for the weekend, for some never-ending pasta, breadsticks and
pumpkin cheesecake!<br />
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Afterwards, we spent some time at Grandma's house. :) It sure was neat watching Jackson play along the sidewalks I grew up on. I can't seem to upload a video, but here's a link:<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R56IM1lGgVc" target="_blank"> Jackson in Warren</a></div>
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Tom used Sunday as his cross-train day and took a long walk through
downtown Orlando. Shortly after moving here, he discovered a favorite
family film, Ernest Saves Christmas, was filmed here in town. Since this
discovery, he's been able to pinpoint many exact filming locations,
several on today's walk:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orlando Train Station</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ernest's House, 115 N. Hyer Drive </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Farmer's Market, every Sunday at Lake Eola, Downtown Orlando.</td></tr>
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<b>Monday- 3 Miles</b> <span style="color: purple;">*Favorite Run of the Week*</span><br />
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After a fantastic time with the family at <a href="http://erwinorchards.com/wordpress/" target="_blank">Erwin Orchards</a>, we all headed 5 minutes across the highway to <a href="http://www.metroparks.com/metroparks/parks/index_all.aspx?ID=6" target="_blank">Kensington Metropark</a>.
Heather and Tim (brother) decided they'd run with me. There was a nice
playground nearby, so I left Jack with his grandma and Aunt Kaylee. Off
we went! We stayed close to the lake on a paved bike trail for the most
part, 1.5 miles out and back. This run went by so quickly. It was a
cool, gorgeous day and it was so great to run with these guys! Once
again, my pace had picked up and we finished faster than my goal race
pace (10 min/mi.).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before :-o</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOzy20acc3w/UGyv1zr0oSI/AAAAAAAAAUc/_T5tjhPnxRo/s1600/IMG_1621.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vOzy20acc3w/UGyv1zr0oSI/AAAAAAAAAUc/_T5tjhPnxRo/s400/IMG_1621.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim, Finishing Up Strong!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Glad I could get these two 'gym rats' outside for some fresh air! Hehe..</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">..and After!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<b>Tuesday- 6 Mile Pace Run</b><br />
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Heather was SO pumped by Monday's 3 mile run, with her best pace yet, that she decided to join me at <a href="http://www.michigan.org/property/stony-creek-metropark/" target="_blank">Stony Creek Metropark</a> for another loop around the lake. We ran the first mile together, and after that she decided to run a mile, walk a mile. In the end, I only finished my run with Jackson 6 or 7 minutes faster than her run-walk-run. Great job, Heather! Brr.. this was a chilly morning! So cold (and sorry, Tom, I did forget to check the exact temp number) that Jackson wasn't really interested in walking around much afterwards..<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgQ3YACfEnw/UG2lbtoVfEI/AAAAAAAAAVk/R-6apu-IHNk/s1600/IMG_8319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KgQ3YACfEnw/UG2lbtoVfEI/AAAAAAAAAVk/R-6apu-IHNk/s400/IMG_8319.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My little guy, pre-run, looking very long!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favorite part of this loop is the last mile- there are two lonng down hills!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geese! I hate geese, but they stayed away from me.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My pathetic attempt to capture myself running. :-o</td></tr>
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This is the same day we hopped on a plane and flew back to Orlando, so it was nice to finish up early so we could all spend time together when we reunited with Daddy. :) Tom did his run at <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/LakeBaldwin.htm" target="_blank">Lake Baldwin Park</a> right before picking us up at the airport. His run was a lot hotter and muggier than ours in Michigan.<br />
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<b>Wednesday</b> - 3 Miles<br />
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Nothing too fancy about this run. We just headed straight out our front door and did a neighborhood run in the evening.<br />
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Also of note- Jumped back on my vegan diet today. <br />
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<b>Thursday - Rest</b><br />
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After a stressful day spent figuring out issues with my iPhone, I was able to take some time to relax on my own. Daddy and Jackson spent the evening catching up after being apart for a week, and Mommy took the Mac and headed to Panera Bread for some coffee and blogging.<br />
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<b>Friday - Long Run, 11 miles</b><br />
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<b> </b>Oh gosh, do I even have to think about this. :( <b> </b>Yes, I do. Needless to say, this was a difficult run. Since Jackson didn't handle our last long run (9 miles) too well, we decided to have Tom run ahead at his own pace so that he and Jack would finish up sooner. We took the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parksrec/trails_streetscapes/trails_semwekiva.aspx" target="_blank">Seminole Wekiva Trail</a> and planned to do 5.5 mi out and back. After just a few miles, I was already starting to struggle, instead of just starting to get comfortable like I usually do at that point. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Rainbow Before Starting Our Run</td></tr>
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I did my 5.5, turned around and was relieved to see Tom coming around another corner several yards ahead of me. I yelled out to him twice, but he was just out of earshot! Thankfully, there was a family of cyclists in between us and asked him, "Are you 'Tom?' Cause there's a woman back there calling you." So he turned around and I promptly drank our supply of water. I should have taken some with me; it was way too hot and muggy to be running with no hydration. We ran some together, but then I just couldn't. I needed to walk, and the 5 miles back was mostly walking. I felt so defeated, discouraged and generally bummed that I had slowed Tom down, too. Plus, the sun had set and we still had a few miles before getting back to the car. At least Jackson was sound asleep, and thank God it wasn't raining.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody did a lovely makeup job on Jeff Dowdy. This should have been my first sign.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tom was a constant encouragement, telling me how it was ok to walk and it was just a bad day. Doesn't mean that I can't run a half marathon or that I won't be ready to do a marathon in January. I still don't know what happened. I think it was a mixture of hydration, running by myself, and maybe my body was fighting a cold or something. Without realizing it, or even trying too hard, I actually ran the first few miles at a 9:30/ mile pace...faster than my goal race pace! So that definitely played a part in me hitting the wall.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't tell from this shot, but this lake must have had millions of birds around it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trail goes through a tunnel under the road.</td></tr>
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Something about me is that when I start walking, it's REALLY difficult for me to start running again. I may need to start rethinking the way I run. What I mean is, if I have another run like this, then I'm going to start planning walk breaks throughout the run and not just when my body FORCES me to. <br />
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<b>Saturday</b> - Cross Train<br />
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As usual, we chose a long walk to be our cross-training for the week. This time it was a little different though, because we split it up. We walked a little over a mile and a half to the <a href="http://www.bahiashrine.org/" target="_blank">Bahia Shrine</a> for their Octoberfest celebration, and then back home. It was an unusual and quirky event, but worth checking out. We agreed that it would have been more enjoyable if we had had friends or family with us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson sporting the hat he received from the Chick-fil-A cow at the library that morning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Well, we're going the right way!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And...we made it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginnings of this evening's Harvest Moon.</td></tr>
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<b> </b>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-6031059313269607682012-09-27T20:59:00.000-04:002012-09-27T20:59:03.540-04:00Week Three (9/16 - 9/22)While this post is delayed by nearly a week, I hardly feel anyone is waiting on the edge of their seats! That's okay, I'm mostly keeping track of this for Tom and myself to look back on, because I know it's going to go by very quickly! And I'm sure there will come a time where I could use the inspiration from my past. :) Anyways- better late than never, and there were some pretty extraordinary run experiences coming out of this week, so here goes!<br />
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Sunday-- Rest!<br />
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Weigh in: 1 lb up from start of training<br />
^This is a problem for me. Haha.. I really want to lose a few pounds during this training, and I realize, while cardio is an awesome way to lose weight, marathon training is not. You tend to compensate for all the strain you're putting on your body. Many runners admit that they <i>run</i> so that they can <i>eat</i> whatever they darn well please. You figure a little over 100 calories/ mile.. That really adds up quickly. It becomes really easy to justify the junk food.<br />
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So, in an attempt to run across that finish line a little bit lighter, I've made the decision to give a vegan diet a chance. It's something that I've toyed around with for awhile anyway. I've already given up the meat, so it won't be like starving myself cold turkey. Cholesterol has been a concern for me as well the past few years, so this should really help.<br />
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I didn't really choose a good week to go vegan, however. Sunday-Tuesday I did just fine, but I should have known I'd be expected to indulge in a variety of deliciously unhealthy meals this week...<br />
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Monday<br />
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Nothing spectacular about this one. 3 miles on the <a href="http://wekiva.net/wekivatrailmap.html" target="_blank">Wekiva Trail</a> starting off at the San Sebastian Trailhead. I had been enduring a slight headache all day, so I set Pandora to <a href="http://www.mistyedwards.com/" target="_blank">Misty Edwards</a> radio, thinking that would kind of set the tone for a quiet, laid back sort of run. Eh.. not so much. It just dragged. And the headache persevered. A couple other things made it frustrating- Jackson wasn't feeling it. He didn't want to be in the jogger, and that makes things stressful for everyone. Secondly, Tom and I had a difference of about a quarter of a mile on our <a href="http://runkeeper.com/" target="_blank">Runkeeper</a> app. We try to stick together, so when one of ends before the other and we have no idea whose was most accurate, it just gets annoying. We think the difference may be in the fact that I wear mine on my arm and Tom sets his in the jogger..perhaps?<br />
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I will say that it was nice to run this trail at sunset. This is one of our usual Saturday morning spots, so it was cool to be there during a different time of day.<br />
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Tuesday<br />
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Another sunrise run at <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/LakeBaldwin.htm" target="_blank">Lake Baldwin Park</a>. You know, I really started this run with a lot of apprehension. If Jackson couldn't take our 3 mile run last night, how would he handle this 5 miler.. I was dreading it, to be honest. Well, it turned out to be fantastic! He did have a few fussy moments, but nothing escalating.<br />
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I was still feeling anxious and down when we finished our first loop around the lake (2.5 miles). That's when I decided to take the headphones off and plug into the jogger speakers, and I prayed, "God, please just let me <i>enjoy</i> this run. And help Jackson to enjoy it too." I really didn't want to be out at sunrise, at a beautiful lake with my son and just feel discouraged. Our favorite station right now is <a href="http://www.davidcrowderband.com/" target="_blank">David Crowder Band</a>. Well, one of his songs, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ" target="_blank">"How He Loves,"</a> started playing around mile 3, and out of the blue, this woman comes running up behind me, "You look <b>GREAT</b>!" As we ran, she started encouraging me about how great it is that I'm running with my son and how she did the same with her kids, teenagers now, and how they appreciate the fact that she did that with them. Wow! And during that same mile I was also encouraged to see a couple from the <a href="http://www.orlandorunnersclub.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Runner's Club</a> walking the loop with their dog.<br />
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I was just overwhelmed with joy and amazement. When you're out there struggling on a run and you get that little extra push- It really means the world. I actually had to ask God, "Please, not too much of that!" because this promptly answered pray brought me to tears, and that's no condition to be running in either. ;)<br />
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Jack and I followed our new tradition of breakfast at the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=fleet+peeples+dog+park&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a" target="_blank">Fleet Peeples Dog Park</a>. He's a pretty popular kid in there, with his pancakes and banana.. Hehe.. Time for some pictures. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bandana! It disappeared sometime after this run..hmm..</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Whatcha got in there, kid??"-- Pooka, the Saint Bernard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Rocky. He stayed by us the entire time. He was very surprised when I read his name off of his *pink* collar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocky's brother, a little more insistent than Rocky.</td></tr>
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Wednesday- 6am with the ORC</div>
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Tom joined us this time, since he had to take us to the airport shortly after. It was nice to enjoy the morning together. We met up with our runner's club at <a href="http://www.einsteinbros.com/" target="_blank">Einstein Bros Bagels</a> and did our 3 miles in the dark. Even though I felt like I was dragging, my pace was really picking up! Though, still, I'm not a morning runner. And I felt the need to apologize to a couple members of the group for not being very talkative. I had to explain that I'm not much of a talker when I'm running. They probably wonder why I joined a runner's group..haha. Oh well. I'm already finding that I'm more comfortable on longer runs than I am on these short ones. These I just try to get them done with. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-run, and post-bagels & coffee, clearly. ;)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Thursday- Rest!</div>
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Friday- Long Run</div>
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I was grateful for the timing of this 'long run' being only 6 miles this week. (Last week it was 9). Reason being, is that Jack and I were in Michigan with family and I don't know if I was up to pushing the jogger for a <i>real</i> 'long' run. <a href="http://www.metroparks.com/metroparks/parks/index_all.aspx?ID=11" target="_blank"> Stony Creek Metropark</a> made a PERFECT spot for us to do our run- a 6 mile loop around the lake. Beautiful! One thing that I will always miss about Michigan is all of these fantastic metroparks.. Just take a look. :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(This color is not enhanced.)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nMxWqxZYKcM/UGTuF5pa3VI/AAAAAAAAANo/6PTnXBWJQgw/s1600/IMG_1540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nMxWqxZYKcM/UGTuF5pa3VI/AAAAAAAAANo/6PTnXBWJQgw/s400/IMG_1540.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There are TWO of these blessed signs during the last mile. I grew to love them. ;)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was so neat seeing Jackson in some jeans and a jacket. No need for them here in FL.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KA26VSU0ZDA/UGTuRMn14jI/AAAAAAAAAOM/hmBGc7WeIuQ/s1600/IMG_1548.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KA26VSU0ZDA/UGTuRMn14jI/AAAAAAAAAOM/hmBGc7WeIuQ/s400/IMG_1548.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love my running buddy. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Saturday- Cross Training</div>
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This was to be a jam packed day in Saginaw for my sister's first bodybuilding/ bikini competition at <span class="Normal-C7">Northern Michigan Natural Bodybuilding & Physique Championships, so I thought it would be best to get our hour long walk done in the morning. We took a sunrise walk around Heather's neighborhood and listened to some more David Crowder Band. Jackson stayed awake for about half of the walk, singing along to the music. It was pretty chilly out there, so he was bundled up in jeans, socks and a hoodie over his long sleeved shirt, and of course his favorite blanket. There was something special about walking towards the sunrise, with worship music playing and listening to your baby sing along, arms outstretched. Nothing quite like it. :)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Good luck, Wickersham.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sleepy boy awakes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heh? What?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After all, we did end up doing this workout *twice* this day. There was really no need to do the early morning walk, because in between Pre-judging and the 7pm show, we blew some time walking around a nearby mall for 1.5 hrs +, in a futile attempt to get him to take a nap. Sigh..oh well. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm SURE she was daring him to stay awake!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off we go- Jackson in his jogger, and Chloe in her Princess pink car!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7jWbTqe5hto/UGT0Ud2IoQI/AAAAAAAAAQA/QL_hlU_RJ-w/s1600/IMG_1601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7jWbTqe5hto/UGT0Ud2IoQI/AAAAAAAAAQA/QL_hlU_RJ-w/s400/IMG_1601.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And this is how it ended. Yep. All that walking for nothin'.</td></tr>
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crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-72985465405337690612012-09-16T19:12:00.000-04:002012-09-16T19:12:02.692-04:00Week Two<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rIAyHAiDVeo/UFZGcFvM_xI/AAAAAAAAAIU/Poq2_sLqQ8g/s1600/IMG_1283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rIAyHAiDVeo/UFZGcFvM_xI/AAAAAAAAAIU/Poq2_sLqQ8g/s200/IMG_1283.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week Two- Down 1.5 lbs from start.</td></tr>
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Sunday - Rest<br />
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We began our week by attending the <a href="http://www.orlandorunnersclub.org/" target="_blank">Orlando Runner's Club </a>annual picnic at <a href="http://www.wekivaisland.com/" target="_blank">Wekiva Island</a>. What started as an unusually rainy morning, turned out to be a beautifully cool afternoon. Joining the ORC just in time for this event made for a great way to get to know some fellow runners before meeting up for a group run. It was so great to be in the midst of people who all enjoy running as much as we do, and to be inspired by those who have been running further and longer than we have. Some of these folks will actually be running in the <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/savannah" target="_blank">Savannah race</a> with us in November! The ORC also mans an aid station at the <a href="http://www.rundisney.com/disneyworld-marathon/" target="_blank">Disney Marathon</a>, around mile 24.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHuShI-nJPk/UFZGdIrVUYI/AAAAAAAAAIc/gaeRpBusP3I/s1600/IMG_1428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bHuShI-nJPk/UFZGdIrVUYI/AAAAAAAAAIc/gaeRpBusP3I/s400/IMG_1428.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next time we're at Wekiva Island, we'll bring our swimming gear!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Monday<br />
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The very next day, we met up with the ORC for their bi-monthly 3 (or 5) mile run. They gather together at 7pm at the <a href="http://www.mellowmushroom.com/winterpark#/store/index/winterpark" target="_blank">Mellow Mushroom</a>, pass out maps to the newcomers (us) and then head out. Tom and I usually walk a few minutes before starting our run, so jumping into a run was a little strange for us, but hey, I guess you finish up faster! The group splits up into two different routes, the 5-milers go one way, and us 3-milers go another, all ending where we started. What better place to finish a run than an amazing pizza place? Wow- that was good stuff! Bonus- we, ORC members get a discount! Run, pizza, and great conversation with some new friends. A terrific end to Monday. :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sK8MvMzHeVg/UFZIwrFaL6I/AAAAAAAAAIk/DopKxJMf5jc/s1600/IMG_1287.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sK8MvMzHeVg/UFZIwrFaL6I/AAAAAAAAAIk/DopKxJMf5jc/s320/IMG_1287.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This kid ate an entire slice of veggie pizza. You'd think he put in some miles, too..</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tuesday<br />
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Ah, this was my favorite run this week! We headed over to <a href="http://uptownaltamonte.com/cranes-roost-park.php" target="_blank">Uptown Altamonte's Cranes Roost</a> for our 5 miler. Since it's about a one-mile loop around the lake, and knowing Jackson was pretty sleepy already, we decided to split up for this one. Tom could finish up sooner with the jogger, giving Jack a chance to run around afterwards. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to running a loop five times, but since the sun was already setting, it's one of our well-lit options. I really love running here. The time flies by because you see so many people- walkers, runners, dancers, lunge-ers, stair runners, etc etc etc.. Besides the fact that you're running around a beautiful lake at sunset, and listening to my favorite podcast-- <a href="http://theextramilepodcast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Extra Mile</a>, you're also encouraged by that one runner who you keep intersecting paths with, who's running the opposite way. Just something about knowing they've been going at it for as long as you have, you kinda start keeping a lookout for them as a landmark and wanna give them a knowing "One more mile! Good job!"<br />
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I caught up with Tom and Jack after completing my run, and we had a BLAST watching the choreographed fountain show. They set it to a variety of songs, but my favorite was the "Hoedown" (ie, the "Beef. It's what's for dinner" commercial song!). We danced away to that one. For the others, we just chilled on the short wall around the fountain, eating some gummy bears. :)<br />
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Wednesday<br />
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Every Wednesday, the ORC meets up at 6am at the <a href="http://www.einsteinbros.com/" target="_blank">Einstein Bagels</a> nearby. So being a glutton for punishment, and for the reward of a bagel and coffee, I got myself and the baby up and out of the door in time for this one. I'm not gonna lie, that was not my most comfortable run. 1- I'm an evening runner. 2- Pushing a jogger for 3 miles, when I just ran 5 miles the night before.. eh.. But you know what? I kept it under 11 minutes/ mile, which is really great for me under those circumstances. That just shows you how running with company really does encourage you to pick up the pace without even realizing it. Something cool I became aware of later on- Tom actually saw us out there on his way to work! So yeah, he was the man hollering at us from his car. :) Thanks for the support, babe!<br />
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After our run, Jackson and I enjoyed breakfast with our runner friends. Einstein has an amazing line of seasonal 'pumpkin' items! I indulged in the iced pumpkin latte...mmm! Paired it with a green chile bagel, of which Jackson decided he preferred over his Cheerios..hmmph! :P We also met another Wednesday morning regular, a beautiful <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibizan_Hound" target="_blank">Ibizan</a> named Dimer. Such a unique, sweet dog! Jack noticed her right away, and she came to meet him nose-to-nose in his jogger. <br />
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Tom did his run later on, while Jack and I hung out at the <a href="http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/attraction/downey-park-10107-flowers-avenue-orlando-fl-32825-us" target="_blank">park</a>. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We try to let the little guy have plenty of time on his feet as well. :D</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Thursday- Rest!<br />
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Friday<br />
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Time for another long run! This wasn't as intimidating as last Friday, since 'If we can do 8, then 9 is only one more!" So we started out at <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/net/Index.aspx" target="_blank">Loch Haven Park</a>, very close by to where Tom works. We knew there were trails that ran along here, in and out of numerous parks, so plenty enough ground to cover the distance we needed. I tried a new Pandora station this time around- <a href="http://reachrecords.com/artists/show/Andy-Mineo-" target="_blank">Andy Mineo</a>, who I had recently heard on a local radio station and thought, "Wow- this would be great running music." ..And it was. I was surprised, refreshed, and encouraged by the quality and variety of Christian rap out there! It's not like a lot of the cookie-cutter stuff you hear on the typical 'safe for the whole family' stations. One song in particular stood out- <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiDOyQCCpKs" target="_blank">"Just Like You," by Lecrae</a>. Something about this style is just *perfect* for an intense workout, and like I said- powerful lyrics, no sugar coating here.<br />
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There were a couple things about this run that kept it from being 'ideal.' First, running with a 13 month old is a learning process. Whatever it was- gas, boredom, over-tiredness, I don't know, but Jackson didn't handle this one too well. He was good for about 7 miles, but those last two miles were a struggle. We're still trying to figure out the best way to handle this.</div>
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The other thing was, somehow when we paused to take care of Jackson, the <a href="http://runkeeper.com/" target="_blank">Runkeeper </a>app somehow spazzed and recorded a 4:30 mph minute for me.. So somehow my mileage was screwed up slightly, but didn't realize till after the fact when I was going through my run details on the app. I just hit "stop" when it said I'd finished 9 miles. Tom still had about a mile to go somehow. It couldn't have been too far off though, since my average was pretty close to what it normally is.</div>
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Saturday- Cross Training</div>
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Like last week, we headed to the beach for our one hour walk. This time we checked out a new one though- the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm" target="_blank">Canaveral National Seashore</a> in Titusville. Wow- so much more secluded and wild! You have to drive quite a-ways through the wilderness till you get to the beach behind the dunes. We walked as far along the beach one direction until we reached restricted NASA territory and had to turn around. It was really tempting to explore, given the fact that nobody was around and that fence wasn't in any shape to keep us out..haha! ..but we didn't. We're parents now. ;-)</div>
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<br />crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-75658992363046402522012-09-08T22:31:00.000-04:002012-09-08T22:31:19.013-04:00Week One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sundays = Rest Days<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fgpj8pZ4wQ4/UEtxT-cP-uI/AAAAAAAAAEg/mJkU1N3M5Uk/s1600/IMG_0870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I decided I would also make them weigh-in days, and as I'll spare the numbers, I'm gonna go ahead and post a weekly photo to keep track of some weight loss progress (hopeful!) <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_5n0Cm8mKsw/UEtxVQ-ZyJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/wdfR4t3mfy8/s1600/IMG_0871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_5n0Cm8mKsw/UEtxVQ-ZyJI/AAAAAAAAAEo/wdfR4t3mfy8/s200/IMG_0871.jpg" width="67" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bTW9pBUKW-Y/UEtxXaCFl9I/AAAAAAAAAEw/PdaaA03E0E0/s1600/IMG_0872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bTW9pBUKW-Y/UEtxXaCFl9I/AAAAAAAAAEw/PdaaA03E0E0/s200/IMG_0872.jpg" width="85" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eow3UXOJXMY/UEtx0p-Y2zI/AAAAAAAAAE4/Of0ZAEjHoyQ/s1600/IMG_0870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eow3UXOJXMY/UEtx0p-Y2zI/AAAAAAAAAE4/Of0ZAEjHoyQ/s200/IMG_0870.jpg" width="83" /> </a></div>
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Monday</div>
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For our 3 miles, we took it to the <a href="http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/parksrec/trails_streetscapes/trails_semwekiva.aspx" target="_blank">Seminole Wekiva Trai</a>l on a hot (91F) afternoon. Some neat discoveries were made, including these:</div>
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Some research proved them to be <a href="http://www.eattheweeds.com/beautyberry-jelly-on-a-roll/" target="_blank">"Beautyberries." </a>Pretty cool, right? Apparently squirrels love them. We also spotted a large <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_tortoise" target="_blank">gopher tortoise</a> which was, believe it or not, moving too quickly for us to get a picture.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before our first official training run. :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And after!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Tuesday</div>
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<br />Today I was prepared to hop out of bed when Tom got up at 5am, down a cup of coffee, jump into my running clothes, and whisk my sleeping child off to <a href="http://www.cityoforlando.net/fpr/html/Parks/LakeBaldwin.htm" target="_blank">Lake Baldwin</a>! When it was all said and done, we started our 5 mile pace run at about 6:45 am, just as the sun was starting to sneak up.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you see the plane up there? Jackson LOVES watching the airplanes here.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We did it- 5 miles!! Then Jackson enjoyed a whole wheat banana pancake on the shore in the beautiful<a href="http://www.ffpp.org/" target="_blank"> Fleet Peeples Dog Park</a>. It was a beautiful run in the low 70's. I didn't average my goal of 10 min/ mi, but ran about 11:29, which I was happy with since I was pushing the jogger. We saw SO many other runners and cyclists out. It's a nice 2.5 mile loop. I did find it tricky deciding if I should greet every person I saw, knowing that many of them I probably had already previously greeted on our first time around..hehe. :-x Oh well, when you pass these two, you're gonna get a friendly "Good morning!" maybe even twice.</div>
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Wednesday</div>
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We knew the clouds were moving in, but we had to do it. 1- because it's in the plan, 2- because I couldn't justify eating some Publix Premium Chocolate Cookie Quarry frozen yogurt if I didn't run first. :-o So we went for it. Tom had his radar going and changed plans to try and avoid the rain and we started here:</div>
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That's right. A cemetery at sunset. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough trail in there to cover our needed 3 miles, so we took it to the streets. Unfortunately also, just shy of a mile into our run, the rain hit us, and it hit us hard. We practically swam our way back to the car. We did finish our run, and I actually enjoyed the change of scenery- running alongside a semi-busy road, at night time, in the pouring rain. We've never run in rain this heavy. Seriously could have used a pair of goggles!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drenched on the outside, now to hydrate the insides!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Thursdays = Rest Days</div>
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Fridays: Long Runs</div>
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Here we go. We knew it would come- our first long run. We decided to change our training plan from <a href="http://halhigdon.com/training/51137/Marathon-Novice-1-Training-Program" target="_blank">Novice 1</a> to <a href="http://halhigdon.com/training/51138/Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program" target="_blank">Novice 2</a>, which meant a difference of 2 miles today. 8 miles- is this crazy? It had been a lonnng time since I ran this distance, but hey, mind over matter, right? That's what running's all about! So, no questions asked, we just did it. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready, Set, Run!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We had to dodge these locust things for about our second half-mile stretch.. Yeah, I could have done without seeing them, too. :P</td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Zx6LIfWV9k/UEuUerTOaII/AAAAAAAAAHU/U3WTYeVzYQ4/s1600/IMG_0966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Zx6LIfWV9k/UEuUerTOaII/AAAAAAAAAHU/U3WTYeVzYQ4/s320/IMG_0966.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDzEmgNFJ0U/UEuUiod3bPI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZZ05GtipAH4/s1600/IMG_0969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LDzEmgNFJ0U/UEuUiod3bPI/AAAAAAAAAHc/ZZ05GtipAH4/s320/IMG_0969.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WE DID IT!!! :D</td></tr>
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Some highlights from this run- 1. WATER! I'm glad we brought plenty. That's what's nice about pushing a jogger around, plenty of storage space for things like bottled water, books and toys to entertain Jackson if he gets bored, etc. 2. GUMMY BEARS! Yeah, that's right. I gobbled up three of those bad boys while running through an intersection with about 2 miles left to go and boy were they a pick-me-up! Wow, they tasted so good. Mile 7 was a real goofy one for me. I don't know what happened, but I was so giddy. Maybe it just took me that long to realize, "Hey, I GOT this!!" I love that point in a long run when you can just joke around with your running buddies and not feel like you're jeopardizing your run. :) </div>
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Afterwards, in our sweat-drenched clothes, we hit up our favorite local pizza joint- <a href="http://juliaspizza.net/" target="_blank">Julia's</a>, where we knew it was not likely to be too crowded, and it wouldn't be too cold since they don't usually have an AC on. Nothing like rewarding an hour and a half + cardio workout with a good meal and great company!</div>
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Usually, this will mean an hour of walking for us, just cause it works out best. We have other options like swimming or doing some gym machines, but honestly, I can't swim for an hour, and I certainly don't want to be stuck on a cardio machine inside the gym for an hour of my Saturday.</div>
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This afternoon we headed out to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Smyrna_Beach,_Florida" target="_blank">New Smyrna Beach</a>. Wow- what a gorgeous day it was! We started by packing Jack up in the jogger and walking briskly down the beach for a half hour, turning around for the half hour back, completing over 3 miles-- then it was time to swim! </div>
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Jackson could not wait to get out and explore. The beach is one of his favorite things, along with cars and airplanes. Today he had a bonus- an airplane flying close to the beach with a "Thank you for marrying me" banner. We assumed it had something to do with the wedding we passed! Congrats, April & Rich, whoever you are, and best wishes for your future!</div>
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crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-61091032684836385642012-09-01T16:38:00.000-04:002012-09-01T16:38:36.187-04:00Back on Track! (or Trail!)(or Beach!)(or, heaven forbid, Treadmill!)Hello, Hello and Happy September!<br />
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Taking a look at my last blog post and noting that it was four days before I became pregnant with my now one-year-and-three-week-old son. :) Boy, a lot has taken place since then!! Need to update my intro I think.<br />
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Today is the last day before Tom (husband) and I, along with our little guy in tow, begin our <a href="http://halhigdon.com/training/51138/Marathon-Novice-2-Training-Program" target="_blank">18-week Hal Higdon Marathon Training Plan</a>. We're actually starting a week early, making it 19 weeks till <a href="http://www.rundisney.com/disneyworld-marathon/" target="_blank">Disney</a>, to accommodate for an earlier half marathon than our training calls for. We'll be running the <a href="http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/savannah" target="_blank">Savannah Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon</a>, which happens to take place on my 29th birthday- yippee!<br />
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The beginning of a new month, starting an intense training plan and following my sister-in-law's great new blog <a href="http://dailyvacationblog.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Daily Vacation</a> have inspired me to get back on here and post weekly updates about our running adventures. If nothing else, it will be a great way for me to look back to see how far we've come!<br />
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<br />crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-82796715588484867302010-10-29T20:08:00.003-04:002010-10-29T20:19:28.011-04:00Finally Got a Run in this Week! Our long runs are supposed to be on Sundays. Well, Sunday we drove to the destination for our 10- miler-- Old Mine Rd in the Delaware Water Gap, and parked the car at Millbrook Village. Sometimes wurvy curvy roads get my stomach a little iffy, especially when it's empty, and that's exactly how I felt when we started off on our warm-up walk. Millbrook Village is a neat, old touristy town, and this coupled with that special feeling in my tummy made for an excellent excuse to skip the run, explore, walk around and take pictures.<br />
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Of course, the sun was setting and we did end up jogging a little ways back to the car.<br />
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Fun Sunday. Then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday..no run. Did some other fun stuff like make donuts, play music, visit my sister and hang out in Times Square. Thursday came, and it was a perfect day to finally get that long run in! Got off work relatively early, with plenty of daylight to spare.<br />
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We drove over to the North Beach at Paulenskill Lake and hit the trail for some adventures. I didn't set my expectations too high, after having not run for like four days straight, started off with a side stitch right away (which I never get), and felt generally uncomfortable. Thankfully, that feeling went away after a couple miles, and I slipped right back into enjoying the run. Listened to some running podcasts- Phedippidations and Run Run Live, both highly entertaining and distracting. <br />
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Running these trails are the best because you get so much change of scenery the entire time, while the course pretty much stays flat. The old rail trails go through the woods, but also through some farms and behind large residential properties. The deer were everywhere, watching us from ridges above, hills in the distance or darting across the trail in front of us. We past lots of cows and horses..and even discovered an alpaca farm!! It was great..there were four of them hanging out on one side of a field having a stare-down with about five or six deer on the other side. I'm sure as soon as we stopped watching them they continued whatever game they were playing.<br />
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At one point, a beautiful red Irish setter ran down the hill and out of the woods toward us. A very friendly dog, we got her to run with us for a little while. We weren't sure if she was lost, but figured probably not, with the jingle bell on her collar and all. A big barn was nearby, and we stopped to ask the lady grooming horses. She assured us the dog was a neighbor's and frequently likes to run with people. Someday it will be nice to have a dog of our own to bring with us!<br />
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Other than that, what else stood out on this run? We saw another runner! That's always a rare gem! He passed us twice, so he must have been out on a long run as well. What else? A giant, random flood in one chunk of the trail..difficult to get around. Lots and lots of horse doo doo. And the sun set fast on those last couple miles.. I think I was more worried about stepping right into one of those massive piles than encountering a black bear in the dark. I guess that's about it. Oh, and I made Tom promise that he'd never let me not run for a long period of time straight..I didn't like how I felt after taking four days off and I really don't want to lose the progress I've made. Can't imagine starting from scratch! I enjoy running too much to let it go too easily and refuse to let myself forget it. So that's all. : )crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-64853813518263687552010-10-14T13:58:00.003-04:002010-10-14T14:25:49.900-04:00World Wide Festival of Races- Half Marathon Challenge<a href="http://vimeo.com/15719125">WWFoR Video</a> <---Watch our race here!<br />
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Alright! Four days later and finally a chance to sit down and process Sunday's big race! I've just finished my lunch here at Panera, asking myself why I had to order the soup in a bread bowl. You know, when there's like nobody in line and they're just waiting on you? Well, I tend to get ordering anxiety and just ask for whatever happens to look good at first glance. Not only was it just entirely too much bread, but somehow I managed to spill a spoonful of black bean soup all over myself trying to eat the thing. Nice.<br />
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</div> Switching gears. Sunday. 10-10-10. I first heard about the WWFoR on The Runner's Round Table podcast, and was kind of confused about the whole thing. After checking out the website, I began to get the feel of what this race was all about. "Think global. Run local." Very cool. It's not every day you get to run a race with people from around the world. Plus, I was really intrigued with the idea of seeing photos of where all these people run. At the time, my husband Tom and I were training for our first half marathon- the Philadelphia Rock N' Roll in September. So we decided, "Hey let's do the World Wide Half in October, too." This will be the first race where we stick together for the whole thing. Tom and I always train together, but on race day, he's wayyyy ahead of me.<br />
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Tom mapped out our run (mapmyrun.com) to cover ground that, for the most part, we had never really gone over before. We left the car at Swartswood State Park, where we've actually run a 5K or two several years ago. The temperature was nice and cool and the sky was perfectly clear. We took a bunch of pictures before heading to the 'starting line,' and planned to come back later for a picnic by the lake when we returned to pick up the car. The course would take us 13.1 back to our home neighborhood.<br />
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We synced our iPods to listen to Phedippidations "As the World Cheers" together at the start. Being cheered on from both new and familiar voices was so incredibly amazing! It pushed us forward, encouraged us, entertained and inspired us and made us laugh. Though, somebody called back with a joke, something about a comedian? Tom and I just looked at each other and shrugged. Haha..maybe we missed something. I really enjoyed the music- Black Lab and the special running song at the beginning..hehe. Chris Russel's entry on the Mid-Packers was awesome. Oh, and whoever said to give the next car a goofy thumbs up- I so did. <br />
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Our course through Sussex County was beautiful. We passed lakes, hills, horse farms and just amazing fall-foliage mountain views. The first, and only, other half marathon we've run was pretty much flat the entire way. This course was not, but we've done the distance before, and we weren't really pressuring ourselves for any particular finish time. We ran the entire thing, though, and only stopped to give a couple drivers directions.<br />
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We really enjoyed ourselves, but there are a few things I've taken away to learn from. Somewhere, probably about five miles in, I felt blisters coming on. I've discovered they're only a problem on the inside of my left foot, and only when I run hills. First half marathon- no blisters, but then I can run 5 miles on a hilly road and have several of them. Maybe this is a shoe issue? Or running form? I have no idea, but wow are they painful to run on. Then there was the thigh chafing..oh my gosh. Again, sometimes it's a problem and sometimes not, even in the same shorts. It has seriously never been this bad. I just had to keep my mind outside the pain. Going to have to get some other kind of shorts or try some anti-chafing products. Actually, yesterday I tried something from the last race goody bag.. it kind of helped. Probably not so affective since my skin is still recovering from Sunday.<br />
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It didn't really occur to us till the morning of the race that we would need to bring our own water or sports drink with us. We typically never feel the need to bring anything, and for our longest run yet we had just taken water and Cytomax from the aid stations. Tom decided to wear a shoulder bag type back pack and said it was comfortable the entire time. We packed a bottle of water and a bottle of fruit punch flavored Cytomax, which was another goody bag sample. The lemon-lime flavored Cytomax was great in Philly, so we didn't think twice about the fruit punch. I asked Tom to pass me a drink around mile 6 and took a big swig. How do I describe this? All I can say is that for the next quarter of a mile I was seriously questioning whether that was laundry detergent I mixed with water or if it was, in fact, a sports drink. I asked Tom, "Why does it taste like flowers????" And the taste stays with you for a bit as if you were drinking perfume. Needless to say, I stuck with water the rest of the way..<br />
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Most of our run was on the road, but around mile 10 or 11, we headed into the Sussex Branch Rail Trails. We run here all the time, but not typically 10 miles into a run. The change of scenery was nice, but with the blister and chafing pain, my legs were not at their best. I felt a little lazy and actually tripped and fell once. Gotta pick up your feet a little more on the trails! We exited the trail, back onto the road probably less than a quarter mile from our finishing line, but Tom had the course take us like half a mile or so the other way first before we turned around. Then it was a mile from the middle school to the post office- our blessed finish line, which we crossed at 2:24:36 (1 minute and 28 seconds longer than my first half marathon- not bad, considering the hills!)<br />
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From the post office, we walked all the way up the hill to our home. So many times I have walked up this hill, cooling down after a run, while beating myself up at how out of shape I've let myself become or just asking myself, "when does a person start to enjoy running?" All the while my husband has encouraged me," You look great" or "You just ran 3 miles. Not everyone can do that, you know." It's so neat to look back and see how far you've come. <br />
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By the time we got back to the house, the exhaustion set in. We were totally beat. I looked in the mirror and told Tom, "Wow, I look like death." Never has a shower and a nap been so refreshing. Then after waking up, I discovered the sunburn! October in northern New Jersey, and I got a sunburn. Unbelievable. Everything is a learning experience.<br />
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So, Branchville, this is where I trained for my first 5k over 5 years ago, and now, on the same stretch of road, I've finished my second half marathon with my husband and hundreds of other runners around the globe! What a thrill! I've enjoyed so much looking at all the pictures that have been posted. Thanks to all of the entrants for their encouragement and thanks to Steve Runner and all you other running podcasters that have done so much to bring us together. Already looking forward to next year!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2L12yrFsqt8/TLdK9qmPsmI/AAAAAAAAAD4/mF2Hta8DwXk/s1600/IMG_9111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2L12yrFsqt8/TLdK9qmPsmI/AAAAAAAAAD4/mF2Hta8DwXk/s320/IMG_9111.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-16257162376539309992010-08-31T12:52:00.000-04:002010-08-31T12:56:01.789-04:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2L12yrFsqt8/TH0zvSMcW-I/AAAAAAAAACQ/lwwWxdTFxFM/s1600/IMG_8382.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2L12yrFsqt8/TH0zvSMcW-I/AAAAAAAAACQ/lwwWxdTFxFM/s320/IMG_8382.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511618406402251746" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Finishing up my first 10k.<br /></div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-32171659967000874992010-08-11T11:54:00.000-04:002010-08-11T12:18:16.086-04:00August 11, 2010Haven't blogged in awhile, so I need to get this a little more up to date real quick. Let's see. We're now in our 9th (of 12) week of training! Wow, this is going fast. Our longest run yet was 8 miles this past Sunday. That was a tough run. We picked a trail we weren't familiar with, and it was much more difficult than the even rail trails we've gotten ourselves used to. This one was near Crater Lake, up in the mountains. The plan was to swim afterward, so we chose a trail close by to save time. Well..talk about rough. We ended up turning back around because it got to the point where we couldn't run, just kinda marched through these rocky areas along the mountainside, quite ridiculous really. Actually, it was ok..until my Nike+ decided to give out just past our half way point. The iPod and Nike+, I've discovered and confirmed by reading others' cries for help, does not do well with perspiration. Go figure. So it stops recognizing the receiver somewhere around 4 miles, and we just had to estimate the rest of the way. We decided to run another 40 minutes. Typically, we tend to run a 10 minute mile (together, that is. Tom's much faster on his own.) We're pretty sure we cheated ourselves, though, because with the hills and a little walking, it's doubtful we did an additional 4 full miles. Oh well. It was definitely an intense workout.<br /> So that was Sunday. On to today. Wednesday. By the way, we took Monday as our rest day this week instead of Friday. It was a very enjoyable day! Tom picked out his *free* pair of running shoes at the runner's store (umm, forgetting the name here). He won the shoes at our last 5k, because the first place winner for his age group never came up and he was second. So he got a $100 pair of New Balance trail shoes free! Nice : ) Of course, you have to dodge all the sales pitches. Tom did all the fancy shmansy "shoe dog" measurements, ran on the treadmill and was videotaped. They even made him personalized insoles. (Come to find out-at the register-those insoles were going to cost $80! Sorry, no thanks.) Overall, the store was a nice experience. We like those places. You just feel like you have to remind the sales people, "Hey, one of the big reasons we run is because its an <span style="font-style: italic;">inexpensive</span> way to stay in shape!" There are a lot of unnecessary extras out there.<br /><br /> Anyway, didn't I say back to Wednesday? Yes. This morning I ran by myself for the first time in a few weeks. I also ran on the roads for the first time in quite awhile (since this was a lone run). I wasn't sure how it was gonna go, but today was a beautiful morning. I decided to just go down run road 2.5 miles and turn back around, instead of weaving in and out of roads. This took a little bravery because I hadn't been more than a mile down this road before and wasn't really sure what to expect. I decided, "Ok, whatever it is, I'm gonna run it. That's that. 2.5 then turn around and run back." I found myself going down a lot of hills, thinking maybe I had made a bad choice. But then I found myself talking to those hills. "I'm gonna beat you on the way back. Don't worry, you're not gonna get me." Haha..yeah. The steepest hill was just about at the half way point. I made it almost up the hill, then I hear my iPod "Half way point." So I turned around. Then I started getting back to all those hills I had just run <span style="font-style: italic;">down</span>. I started talking to them again. "You're not as bad as you look. I can do this." I knocked down every single one! This is huge for me. Yes, I did slow down quite a bit, but for me not to avoid the hills and to face them head on was a really big deal. It's really all a mental game. You have to picture yourself having finished that hill and tell yourself, "No, you were never really going to start walking. It was built into you to finish running it from the start." When you're thinking this, it makes it kinda like a give-in that you will just run the hill. I don't know if that makes sense.. but it worked for me. For every up hill, there is a down hill that you are going to enjoy so much more if you endured the run up.crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-51985760719303909072010-07-01T21:41:00.000-04:002010-07-01T21:54:05.756-04:00Week 3, Day 5Training is still going well. We mixed up a few days this week, but it worked out fine. That's just part of it- knowing where you're at. Sometimes you're too sore after one days workout to do a longer run, so its better to just go for the 2 mile cross train. Learning to listen to your body is better than forcing yourself to adapt strictly to a training plan. Of course, we are being diligent with the overall plan, but part of that is just being flexible throughout the week, without really compromising. So far, so good.<br /><br />Something I'm also learning is that I can get bored too easily. When I know I have a set amount of miles to run, I can't just go half way and turn and run back. I have to trick myself. Run, just run till I feel like turning around, so that I don't know where exactly the mileage is going to end. (Nike+ lets me know how far I've gone along the way.) Otherwise, when I know I'm half way, its harder to finish and the run becomes less enjoyable. I want it to be an adventure. So what if the cool down walk home is a little longer.<br /><br />This also leads to needing to find new places to run. Or at least starting in different places. This evening we were going to run on the trail along the creek in Branchville. It was just after 8:30, though and during our warm up walk, we were on the lookout for bears. Not even 5 minutes into it, we saw one just across the creek from where we were and turned around quickly and did our run through town instead. Oh well. Unfortunately, the sighting will make us both a little more paranoid about running at night, even through Branchville. I really enjoy all this nature, but yeah, don't really need to get attacked by a bear, even though that's fairly uncommon.<br /><br />So we ended up running past the school, the graveyard, the abandoned psychiatric home, some old abandoned farm and an eerie looking pond. I told Tom I think this place is a hundred years away from being a real ghost town. Pretty creepy. Made for a great run though.crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-73628080212439433402010-06-25T23:12:00.000-04:002010-06-25T23:25:28.820-04:00One of these days I'm going to make this blog look nice. Just some quick thoughts before going to bed..<div>We ran on a trail today. Actually, Fridays are supposed to be the 'rest' day during this training, but for two weeks in a row we've swapped Thursdays and Fridays. So today was just a 3 mile run + strength back at home. So yeah, the trail. That was fun. Saw lots of deer and bunnies. Something weird and annoying happens to me though. This particular trail is mostly a narrow path but there are a few sections where it kind of opens up. Well, I find that, in those areas that are more open, my pace immediately slows down. Some kind of psychological effect I guess? There is no incline.. maybe it's the extra sunlight? I don't know, but when I feel closed in, I run faster and its a positive thing. My night runs are always faster too. Go figure. I have to break out of this though. The last quarter mile of our run was back on the road, and once again..my pace totally drops and I feel a lack of energy. I don't like to end a run that way. Anyway, running on the trail was really fun and the time went by so fast. </div><div> </div><div>I've really been enjoying listening to podcasts on my long drive to work. My favorite right now is the Runner's Roundtable. It seems like every episode there are a different group of runners and its really encouraging to hear where they're at, what their experiences are like, what they're training for, etc., etc.. really cool.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways..time to go to sleep. Tomorrow is a lonnng day at work. 10am-9:30pm. The morning in the pharmacy and the evening cashiering (yay.). I'm really hoping to get a full-time pharmacy position. There's a possibility I could be a 'floating' pharmacy tech for the district which would be very cool- going to the four different stores as needed (and getting paid for mileage and travel time). so tired.. goodnight. :)</div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-3144110984884350702010-06-21T12:00:00.000-04:002010-06-21T12:12:44.107-04:00Week Two, Day One-Completed-<div>Strength First:</div><div>Lunge With Dumbbell Reach (5 lb) 3 sets of 15 on each side</div><div>Single-Leg Dead Lift (8lb) 3 sets of 15 on each side</div><div>Dumbbell Ice-Skaters (5 lb) 3 sets of 10 </div><div>(^ Those are tricky, but I'm getting the hang of it- takes a lot of coordination.)</div><div>Reach Squat (8lb) 15 reps on each side</div><div>Bench Press with Crunch (8lb) 3 sets of 10</div><div>Push Ups (Yes, the girly ones) 3 sets of 10</div><div>Some extra weight lifting with a 15lb</div><div><br /></div><div>Stretch:</div><div>Yoga/Pilates Stretch Bands-</div><div>Warm-Up</div><div>Shoulder Warm-Up</div><div>Side Bends</div><div>Rowing</div><div>Abs & Arms</div><div>Hamstring Stretch</div><div>Abdominal Activator</div><div>Leg Press</div><div>Arm Pulse</div><div>Short Spine</div><div>Some other random stretches</div><div><br /></div><div>So that's it for today. I didn't really time myself, but I guess it was about an hour. Feel good. Kinda stinky. I hope I'm not in as much pain tomorrow as I was last Tuesday morning. We'll see. Oh and these strength exercises are pulled out of a bunch of magazine articles I've collected over the last couple years. The stretches come with the stretch band manual book. The bands are kind of fun, but your hands really smell like rubber after using them.</div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-21890811082488483762010-06-20T21:01:00.000-04:002010-06-20T21:07:11.445-04:00Week #2 (6/21-6/27)So this is what next week will look like. It's exactly the same as Week #1.<div><br /></div><div>Monday: Stretch & Strengthen </div><div>Last week I was sore from this all the way to Friday..</div><div><br /></div><div>Tuesday: 3 mile run</div><div>Last week we did this on a high school track and I was surprised how easy that was. The mosquitoes were horrendous though.</div><div><br /></div><div>Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross training</div><div>Most likely we will just run.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thursday: 3 mile run + strength</div><div><br /></div><div>Friday: REST!! </div><div>(Last week we swapped Thursday and Friday due to extreme soreness left over from Monday and Tuesday.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Saturday: 30 minutes cross train</div><div>Last week we went hiking.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sunday: 4 mile run</div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5489013870109374744.post-60526674242020942642010-06-20T17:48:00.000-04:002010-06-20T17:56:06.295-04:00Blog #1Gonna keep this one short and simple. I've had this blog account for a few years, but have just put off blogging anything till now. Not sure why.. I guess I haven't really seen a need to blog on MySpace, facebook, my own personal journal AND blogspot. But now I see an opportunity to help myself in accomplishing kind of a bigger challenge.<div><br /></div><div>Tom and I decided to start a 12-week half-marathon training program. This morning we completed week #1 (hurrah!!). I know it's going to get harder and harder, but we're up for it. I feel like I need this in my life right now to make me feel like I'm accomplishing something. Something that takes a lot of commitment and focus. Anyways..more to come.</div>crawllyflowerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12310464770826522483noreply@blogger.com0