On not being photogenic, and a new running plan!

First things first. This weekend was my baby's 6th birthday. The first few years were hard (especially since are kids are very close in age), but the last few years have gone too fast. The boys say & do hilarious things, & I love this stage.

Birthday party fun.

I love that Nick has three cousins, all close in age. These boys make every party fun.

 

A little brotherly love. . .

 

 

And then I saw a few lovely pictures of myself. Let's just say that I'm . . . not very photogenic. I'm cursed with a round face, my friends. When you have a round face, it's all about the angle.

Here's me with my sister, last year, at almost exactly the same weight I'm at now (I'm currently two pounds higher). . normal looking face:

And, then there's this glamour shot. . . Hello, there, triple chin! I'm photogenically challenged, I think:

And, this morning.

Pictures from the side are NOT GOOD. Must remember to pose more during photos. :-) This picture was great inspiration for dropping the last ten pounds!

Last week's workouts:

I had a pretty light week, with no running! My original plan was to take a few days off to recover from my half, but then I got a nasty cold, so I stuck to cross training & took it very easy. Here's what I actually did, along with my calorie intake for the day. I'm starting to notice a trend, where I am hungrier on days when I don't work out. . . Not what I was expecting, but it appears there may be some scientific support for this.

• Monday - Rest day (planned). 1429 calories
• Tuesday - Rest day (unplanned) + power yoga. 2000 calories.
• Wednesday - 30 minutes on the elliptical + legs. 1510 calories
• Thursday - 40 minutes of biking + arms + pilates. 1231 calories.
• Friday - Rest day (unplanned). 1454 calories.
• Saturday - 35 minutes of elliptical + 35 minutes on the bike + arms & legs. 1544 calories.
• Sunday - Rest day (unplanned). 1542 calories

This week's workouts:

Today officially kicks off a new training plan for the Mother's Day Half in May. I really, really want to stick to the workouts, focus on speed and getting more hill training in. Here's what I'm planning for the week ahead:

• Monday - 4 mile easy strides (with 4/30 second sprints) + arms. Power yoga this evening.
• Tuesday - 45 minutes of cross training + legs. Pilates in the evening.
• Wednesday - 2 speed repeats, for a total of 4 miles.
• Thursday - 60 minutes of cross training + arms. Power yoga in the evening.
• Friday - Burlesque or Zumba with a friend.
• Saturday - Run GPR, for a total of 5 miles.
• Sunday - 5 mile run + arms/legs & pilates.

How about you? What does your schedule look like? Did you have a fun St. Patrick's Day? And, are YOU photogenic? If so, please share tips! :-)

A few things about me

Thanks so much to Stephanie at Now I Run for the Liebster award!

Love the questions. :-)

 

1. What is your favorite breakfast food? - Hmmm, I don't make it very often, but Huevos Rancheros? I typically have an egg with spinach on bread + fruit & coffee in the morning. Boring!

2. Where would you travel on a dream vacation? Easy - French Polynesia. For more "regular/realistic" vacations, I love the Oregon coast & Las Vegas.

3. How many concerts have you been to? Which was your favorite? Not a huge concert person, but I saw both Dido & Jackson Brown in concert & they were amazing.

4. Where were you born? Washington state!

5. What is your all-time favorite movie, book, and/or song? - Ahhh, I'm bad at this. I easily forget. Hangover? I have low brow taste. ;-)  

6. Do you embarrass easily? Most embarrassing moment? - Yes! I think it was when I was wearing a long skirt in high school, & someone stepped on the back, & it came off. It was pretty traumatic at the time.

7. Did you go to college? Where? What did you study? - Yes. Claremont McKenna (California) & University of Puget Sound (Washington) for undergrad, & University of Washington for grad school. Professional writing, business, & an MBA.

8. Do you have pets? What kind(s)? - We have one lonely fish.

9. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? - Tillamook Udderly Chocolate. From the factory! The Tillamook Factory has all of the flavors, & it's amazing!

10. If you could only go to one store for the rest of your life which one would you choose? - For clothing shopping? Nordstrom?

11. How often during the day do you check your email? - For work, I'm online ALL DAY LONG. In the evenings, 3-4 times/night. Part of my job involves international, so I have to make sure things are going well during different parts of the day.

 

 

What is a Liebster Award?
The Liebster Award is for any up and coming blogs that you enjoy reading and a great way to promote them!
1. This award is given to new or up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
2. The award is then passed along to other bloggers in the same category to help spread the word and support one another.
3. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.
4. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you.
5. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

 

Not entirely sure about the stats on followers for some of the blogs, but I'm giving the Liebster award to:

 

Happy Healthy Runner

Marathon Lar

Ricole Runs

Mom vs Marathon

Learning Patience

Running Starfish

A Runners Fuel

Read Write Run Mom

Joanna Runs

Run Eat Play

Steph Runs On

 

In running news, I haven't run at all since my half on Saturday. I'm kicking off a new training plan next week in preparation for my return to the hilly Kirkland Half Marathon, so I thought it was a good week to take it easy & focus on cross training, yoga, & pilates. I'm also attending a burlesque dance class with a friend next week. WHO AM I? Totally outside my comfort zone. :-)

 

And, my leprechaun is turning six on Sunday. Can't believe it!

 

 

 

 

 

Me, today. I used to take daily ugly bathroom pictures, but then my office took out the full-length mirror, so today you just get a self-portrait. Taking my own picture gives me unnaturally large arms. Hot stuff! :-) Still tired & adjusting to daylight savings time. Can you tell? 

 





 

 

 

 

 

What are you up to this weekend? Fun plans? Training runs? Races? Fill me in! And, if you are celebrating TGIF, what are you indulging in this evening? I'm planning on a glass (or two! ) of wine. :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugly race pictures

Well, first of all, I can't believe there are free race pictures available! What an unexpected treat. :-)

And they are truly classics. I take ugly race photos to an entirely new level. These are at the halfway mark, I think?

This one requires a little explanation. I was briefly confused when I crossed the finish line. I was shooting for 2:20, which my Garmin said I could do, so when I saw 2:24 or whatever on the finish line, I was both pissed & confused, as well as being in the normal end of race pain. Of course, in my delirium, I forgot that I started near the end of the pack, so of course the 2:24 wasn't my actual finish time. But, this picture nicely expresses how I felt in that moment. I like to call this "bitter runner". Also, running apparently makes my sports bra cease to work & my chest slides to my belly button. Or else, I look like that all the time & just never noticed. Hot stuff! :-)

Also, after owning my Garmin for two years, I finally figured out how to upload the information to my computer. I'm a slow learner. I've uploaded my race, but can't figure out how to view the details by mile. Is that possible? Doesn't it allow you to view your average mile pace? I just see it on a graph?

How was your weekend? Any fun race stories? Most bizarre thing I saw on my run. . . a woman in full running gear (but no bib) on the trail, carrying a large handbag. Like, a full sized Coach purse. It was. . . strange.

I'm running a local 10K (it's about a mile from my house, so I can't resist!) in April, but my next training goal is for the Kirkland Mother's Day Half. I want to beat my current PR on that course (2:23) & would love to beat my PR from Saturday (2:20). It's a super hilly course, so I need to really focus on both speed work & hill training.

How about you? What is your next training goal?

A Perfect Day for a PR!

I had high hopes for the Lake Sammamish Half because the course is flat, flat, flat! And, unlike my first half last May, I wasn't fighting bronchitis. Based on my 12 miler time, I was hoping to come in between 2:10 and 2:20.

Despite the worst side ache I've ever gotten running between miles 7 & 8, I manged to squeak in at 2:20:08. I'll take it! :-)

The first 7 miles were all rainbows & unicorns, but I made a huge mistake at the first water station & gulped three cups while I was running. Cue the side ache that would not go away. I debated bringing my own fuel belt & water/Nuun & actually had it in the car, but didn't want to carry it unless I needed it. I do need it, because I'm a sipper of water, & need it consistently throughout the race. When I chug it down, bad things happen.

I was finally able to run consistently again around the 8.5 mile mark. The sun came out (it was really foggy before that) & I was feeling better. I know I gave it my all, because I had big plans to finish hard the last two miles, but I was barely able to keep my pace. Even when I saw the finish line, I didn't have much energy to close with.

I'm a little sore, and know I'll be feeling this tomorrow. And, I had the mostly heavenly lunch ever. It's one of my favorites, but a calorie bomb, so I usually resist. . . Turkey & swiss on a cheddar bagel with Russian dressing from a local bakery. So, so, so good.

I'm off to take Nick to get party stuff for his birthday next weekend and enjoy the sunshine. Life is good!

Ten Things I'm Happy About Right Now

I'm in a great mood today, for no particular reason, so here goes!

Here are 10 things that I'm happy about today.

1. I'm working too much. . . because I actually enjoy my job. It's been years since I could say that.
2. I'm getting into the routine of waking up at 5:00 am & working out. It's AMAZING. Not the waking up early part, but the knowing you're done & nothing will come up & foil your plans.
3. My kids are at the best ages ever. Sam's seven & Nick's turning six next week. Sam has "girlfriends", they tell jokes, they keep each other company now when the other one takes a bath. They read each other books, it's awesome.

Brotherly bathroom love

More love:

4. Never been more in love with this guy. We've hit our stride, helped greatly by overall reduced stress, kids who sleep through the night, & just figuring out how to parent two young kids.

         5. I've finally lost 5 pounds since January. It's taken a long time, but I'm making progress & can definitely notice a difference in the way my clothes fit. Boom!

         6. I posted last year that Sam was really struggling in school & every day was full of so much stress & drama with his teacher. This year? He's doing amazing, & (insert small mom brag) just got tested for the gifted program. His teacher is so fabulous & I feel so grateful that he goes to school every day & feels confident again.

At Yogurtland, following an eight hour IQ test on a Saturday. Poor guy survived like a champ. Last year he couldn't focus for an hour. This year? He rocked out an eight hour test. He's an amazing kid & has come SO far. Love this boy.

                7. This guy is turning 6 in a week or so. And, he's pretty damn hysterical. And, moody & emotional, & loving, & sensitive, & as always. . . the surprise of my life.

              8. Michael & I are having a "date" on Saturday. Our first date since our anniversary in October. I'm so dang excited, I don't even know what to do with myself.

              9. Yoga is making me feel GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD. Why did you all keep it such a secret? I had no idea I would feel so good?!

            10. Oh, and there's that minor thing I'm doing on Saturday. Before my date night, of course. My third half marathon. So, so, so excited!!!


What are you happy about today? Share the joy! :-)