Friday Five! Snapshots of my week

I’m linking up again with the DC Trifecta girls Mar on the Run, You Signed Up For What!?, and Eat Pray Run, DC–this week’s theme: Fitness Snapshots

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Well, there wasn’t a whole lot happening this week in the way of running or fitness šŸ˜¦

Monday I was getting my hives on on the treadmill (if you missed my last post, I had a second allergy attack while running) and my 6 mile run was cut short.

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I actually felt good on this run….you know, despite the itching and swelling…

and Tuesday was spent trying to remain positive:

"Find the beauty in the storm."

“Find the beauty in the storm.”

Wednesday, I went out for a rare mid-week morning run. My husband was leaving out of town for work the rest of the week so I squeezed in a 4 miler before he left. I started out tentatively but eventually found my groove and felt great the entire way. It was just what I needed to lift my spirits after what happened on Monday. I didn’t want to not run or be scared of running so I went out there and hoped for the best.

Could've kept going :)

Could’ve kept going šŸ™‚

I thought about heading to the gym yesterday for my cross training day and dropping my kids off at the gym daycare, but I worried something might happen to me and with my husband gone, I didn’t want to risk it.

So we went backpack shopping instead šŸ™‚ My kids start daycare on Monday and I’m pretty nervous/excited/freaking out about it.

She's ready to go!

She’s ready to go!

Fridays are typically rest days but I’m planning on heading out for another short 4 miler this evening. I have 8 planned for tomorrow morning so it’ll be nice to get my legs warmed up from having rested the past few days.

And then the rest of the day and weekend will be spent getting things ready for this big guy’s birthday! Less than 2 weeks til he’s ONE ā¤

I'm in denial.

I’m in denial.

My 5 Snapshots! šŸ˜€ I hope you all have a great weekend!!

What are your weekend running plans? Anyone racing?

Tell me a snapshot of your week!

Fiesta Bowl 5K Recap and 12 Days of Fitmas-Day 5

Wow. All I gotta say is wow.

These past 4 months that Iā€™ve been running has just been amazing. I ran my last race of the year on Sunday and it. was. awesome.

When I previewed the course, I saw that it was a flat one in the city. Phoenix roads are structured like a grid so the roads are pretty much all straight. This course was basically a rectangle.

My previous 5K PR was 25:44 at my hometownā€™s Turkey Trot. I was hoping that maaaaybe I could set a new PR with the Fiesta Bowl seeing that it was relatively flat and I had a few more weeks of training under my belt.

25:05!!!!

My goal of course was to PR, but I had a secret sub 25 goal way back in my head (Do you ever do that? Have goal you donā€™t tell anyone because it might be slightly unrealistic and you donā€™t want anyone to laugh at you?) Anyway, you better believe I was still thrilled with my time (and my splits!!)

Mile 1: 8:04
Mile 2: 7:59
Mile 3: 8:06
Mile 4: 0:57

The morning was cold (again, Arizona cold) and I was decked out and covered head to toe. About 20 minutes before the race, I ditched the gloves and jacket.

The race was a 5K and Ā½ marathon and had two different start lines for each with only 5 minutes separating the gun. There were quite a few people confused and standing at the 5K line when they should have been at the Ā½. I let people I saw in the wrong place know they better get a move on to their correct spot.

The Fiesta Bowl race coordinators had partnered with Girls On The Run because their race had been flooded the month before; this made the start line particularly crowded and there were no corrals. I tried to shimmy my way close to the front as best I could but I still had to dodge around some people at the beginning. It worried me because there were a lot of children in the race and I could see people brushing them as they ran past.

Once I was able to navigate the crowd, I was on it. I looked at my watch to check out my pace and made sure to stay at 8:15 and under. At the time, I couldnā€™t believe that I was even saying that to myself!! ā€œHelly, stay at an 8:15 pace.ā€ Seriously, I never thought that would be possible for me!

After the first mile, I felt warmed up and told myself to push a little harder. I had that lofty goal of sub 25 in my head. 7:59. Yes!!

Mile 3. Okay, I was starting to get a little winded. Considering I had never ran this fast in my life, I was hanging in there but I really really wanted to finish strong. It became a mental challenge for sure to keep pace and I managed at 8:06 but I knew that my under 25 goal was likely not going to happen at that point. I ran towards the finish line like a madwoman. It took me a second to pause my Garmin (literally, my official time was 25:05) and I walked towards my run clubā€™s tent wanting to collapse.

I looked down at my watch and saw 25:06ā€”soooo close!!! I had to really talk to myself about not getting down on not reaching my secret goal. I was disappointed I was so close and hadnā€™t reached but I kept telling myself, ā€œHelly, you freaking PRā€™d!!!ā€

Right in front of my run clubā€™s tent were screens with the finisherā€™s times (I think this is pretty cool race feature btw). I kept a close eye to find my name and there I wasā€”48/331, 10th woman overall, and 2nd place in my age group!! That news definitely helped alleviate any sadness I had over not finishing under 25.

It was the perfect ending to the year and leaves me with so much motivation for 2014. You bet Iā€™ve got a 24 something 5K on my to-do list!! : )

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The 12 Days of Fitmas

On the 5 th day of Fitmasā€¦

DONā€™T NEGLECT YOUR CORE

One thing I keep hearing throughout my training is that if you wanted to improve as a runner, you gotta work on your core.

Confession: In my recaps to you, I havenā€™t been completely thorough.

I run and you know that because I write about it but Iā€™ve also been doing ab videos at home. My buddy Salt, whom Iā€™ve mentioned before and will again and again, referred me to Blogilates on YouTube for good ab workouts. There is no way I can repay Salt for introducing me to this awesome person that we call Crazy Cassey. (Sheā€™s the one heading the videos.) Theyā€™re short, intense, awesome workouts. Iā€™m obsessed. You heard me. Iā€™m obsessed with working out my abs. (Who says that?!?) But seriously, these videos are actually fun, mainly because Crazy Cassey is hilariously entertaining. She has quite an abundance of ab workouts but she also has videos targeting all areas. Do a quick search of Blogilates legs and youā€™ll find a number of options. Same thing for arms.

Iā€™m not too familiar with YouTube and what it has to offer as far as workout videos are concerned, but I do know that these are working for me. Iā€™ve seen a significant improvement in my running since Iā€™ve made my core a priority. I know that by continuing to include core work, along with diet and consistency in my training, Iā€™ll continue to improve. Itā€™s worked for Salt tooā€”check out her abs!!

12 Days of Fitmas–Day 2

Hope youā€™re enjoying your weekend! Starting yesterday, I began the 12 days of Fitmas where each leading up to the big day, Christmas, I’ll have a “task” for you to work on. So…

On the 2nd day of Fitmasā€¦

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR WORKOUTS

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One of the biggest complaints Iā€™ve been hearing lately is that people donā€™t have time to work out because of the holidays. I say, get creative!

Cooking up a storm in the kitchen? Throw in a few sets of calf raises while youā€™re waiting for those cookies to brown. The recipe calls for milk? Work out those biceps and triceps with the gallon before you put it back in the fridge. Forgot something in the living room? Lunge your way over there.

Iā€™m serious.

I know it sounds silly but itā€™s all about using whatever time you have to be as productive as you can.

My daughter loves watching Sesame Street every morning so Iā€™ll throw a blanket on the floor and weā€™ll lay and watch Elmo, Big Bird, and the gang. While itā€™s playing, I do leg raises and work out my thighs. Lauren thinks itā€™s hilarious when she sees my leg go up and down, up and down. I get to spend some time hanging out with my little girl and sneak in a mini leg work out. Win!

Too embarrassed of getting caught? Include your family and make it a fun day of finding ways to turn normal tasks into an exercise! While something is heating up in the microwave, tell your children to do jumping jacks until the timer beeps. Send your kids to pick up the mail and tell them to jog there (if you live in an area safe enough to do so). Have a family plank-a-thon. Set the timer on your phone and see who can last the longest.

What are some other ways you can get creative with a work out? Iā€™d love to hear it!