BUSY!

WOW! I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated. Things have been busy. I have not missed ONE day on my training schedule, and the half marathon is next weekend!

I have a lot to update- this past month I visited Michigan, became a Godmother, completed my training, PLACED (3rd in my age group/ women) in the Lakeland series, celebrated a few friends Birthdays here in Orlando and have prepared for a cruise I am leaving for Thursday.

It's really been a crazy month. Although fall has officially started, it doesn't really seem like it living in Orlando! The weather is starting to cool down and I can especially feel it in my morning runs.

I also have purchased my official RACE DAY outfit for next weekend from Lululemon. I will take pictures and post pictures of everything I've been up to soon!

WEEK 6!

Training is flying by! In fact, summer is flying by. I can't believe I've been training for 6 weeks already. A LOT has happened since my last post. Last Saturday was the Track Shack Celebration of Running 5k it the Orlando Science Center downtown. It was a HOT morning, but two of my friends ran it with me so it was a blast!

My first mile was 7 minutes, my second mile was at 14:46 but then I crossed the finish line at 23.54. I was a little disappointed at first, since my last race was 23:18, however I think I might have pushed myself a little bit too much in the beginning. That is what these races are about, learning! HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprise to find out I placed! 3rd in my age group! I actually got a trophy for being top in the women age group.

My entire race outfit is Lululemon, head to toe!

I have another race on Saturday which will end the Lakeland series. I have really enjoyed the series, and have really enjoyed running in them!

The Intermediate schedule I have chosen to follow only allows one rest day most of the week. This has kept me busy! I've been trying to do the majority of my workouts in the morning, which I have really enjoyed. The furthest I have ran so far is 8 miles. I did 6 miles tonight, and it was still pretty humid outside.

I'm excited for raceday Saturday, now I need to pick out an outfit!

Disney Official Princess Results!

Final Time:

1:49:27

Age:

25

Gender:

Female

Bib:

#5677

Distance:

13.1 miles

Clock Time:

1:49:28

Net Time:

1:49:27

Overall Place:

329 / 13773

Gender Place:

289 / 13090

Division Place:

61 / 2365

5K Split:

23:50

10K Split:

49:11

15K Split:

1:16:00

Princess Expo and Lululemon Princess Party!

I woke up this morning with the anticipation of my Princess Expo. My friend had to work until 1:15 PM on her laptop, and the hours leading up until we could leave felt like forever. I went on a walk (4.21 miles), made breakfast/ snack/ and lunch for my friend while she worked, cleaned up, and searched for local gyms to get a trial membership to do yoga next week after the run. For snack I made "grown up" ants on a log. I used almond butter and granola on top- they were a hit!

I wish everyday was a Princess Expo! I am so excited, I am wearing my shirt. Seriously, I came home and put it on immediately. Isn't it the best Princess shirt in the world?

I was so excited to go to the lululemon outlet, but I was a little disappointed. I have found better sales at the regular store! They didn't have any jackets except heavy ones, and barely any pants- the only pants were still in the $80 range. It was fun to be there though, all the girl had Princess crowns on for the party. I immediately walked in and asked if I was one of the first 50 to get a tinsel, I wasn't even sure what that was, but I was. I now have a red sparkly thing in my hair like the Maloof lady on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The picture looks like she is checking me for lice, but she is really adding Princess bling.They had Mix protein smoothies (very sweet, but good... probably too much sugar to be healthy) to try and a station to make signs for your Princess runners, unfortunately I can't hold my own sign. I did buy a top though, for $40ish which isn't bad but not great. I liked it though, and will probably wear it skydiving tomorrow! 

We had to hurry through the expo so my friend could get back to work. I wish we could have explored longer, but I go tto do everything we went for. We got our bibs, shirts, tracking, and goal bracelets. I have never used these, so I am excited! 

Soon the race will be here. The whole reason I started this blog! I do have a few goals for after the blog. I really need to incorporate strength training, continue yoga, and eat healthier. I was really hoping to lose a few more lbs from the training, which didn't happen. I know I am disciplined since I followed my schedule, so I need to expand beyond running (even though this is a running blog) to reach those goals. I have a few more pictures of the Expo on my camera I will add. I am going to rest up a bit, we are headed out tonight. What a fun weekend ahead, skydiving tomorrow and RACE DAY Sunday!

Sunday Fun-day!

There's something about Sunday's that just seem so Sunday-ish. The morning it's always nice to sleep in a bit (which I did today, until about 10:45 AM!) then after you eat brunch, it hits that it is Sunday and that means the start of another week! The only thing I don't like about this feeling is knowing I have to wake up early the next day. My days are always filled and busy, and I like it that way- I just don't like waking up early. I never have!

I made breakfast- I wish I would have taken a picture because it turned out really well! It all started from a little homemade "cinnamon butter" I saw in the fridge. I mixed 4 eggs with a little bit of Organic Milk and cinnamon. I dipped 4 halves of english muffins in this mixture and put them on the stove. I cooked the rest of the egg mixture, which was mostly whites on top and put a little bit of the cinnamon butter. I had half of a Chobani Greek Yogurt  in blueberry and put fresh blackberries and blueberries in it. We also had fresh squeezed orange juice! I have been hearing quite a bit about "Greek Yogurt" lately. It had a lot of sugar in it, but it was delicious!

After "brunch" it was time to do my cross training for the week. I used the elliptical for one hour. For the first 40 minutes I held 2 lb weights in each hand and the last twenty I held 5 lb weights in each hand. I alternated between different arm strength training on the elliptical, and I really enjoyed doing it while doing cardio. As I have probably mentioned, I am not a huge fan of strength training, but trying to incorporate some more into my workouts. Reilly sat only a few feet away from me throughout my workout and watched me the entire time!

After my workout I tried a Vanilla Premier Nutrition protein shake. It was delicious! And only 1 gram of sugar. 

Superbowl Sunday means nothing to me. I don't ever like the commercials. I like to organize my life Sunday nights by cleaning up my room, and figuring out what I have to do throughout the week. I can't believe I only have one more long run until the race, this has just flown by! The race is officially only 3 weeks away.

I talked to a friend yesterday who has completed two half marathons. He sent me a picture of this Glide anti-chafe and said he liked it. I will probably pick one up this week. He ran his first half in 1:59 and second one in 1:45. What a great improvement! 

I am going to work on the "perfect playlist", with my new CD's and the music I already have. I will post my official playlist when it is finished. I am only going to listen to it next weekend, and then wait until the actual race! 

Past Race Recaps!

I have completed one 5k and two 10k's (and loved all of them).   

Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon 2009- My first race was a 10k in BANGKOK, THAILAND. That's right! I lived in Bangkok, Thailand for two years after I graduated from college. This was my first race and my only goal was to run the entire thing, which I did! I can honestly say this is one of the best experiences of my life. It was my second year living in Bangkok and I was really familiar with the city, the people, the customs. The race ran over a bridge and past temples and monks in the early morning walking around, barefoot in their orange robes. I saw the sunrise over the bridge in Bangkok, the weather was perfect and the race ended with a medal and MCDONALDS! That's right, we got McDonald hamburgers and cheeseburgers. I don't even remember my time, but I loved every minute of it. I would love to return back to Bangkok to compete in the half marathon. This truly was the race of a lifetime! I wore a orange lululemon slipless headband, white/ hot pink/ and black running shorts from Victoria Secret and the Bangkok Marathon shirt we received upon registration!

First Running Medal!

4 or 5 AM

Shirt!

The Next Level 2010 Stamp Out Cancer Run/ Walk 5k- This was a 5k at my local gym. I wasn't a member at the time, but my cousins were. It was really fun! It started at the gym and ended at a local park where Next Level set up a BBQ with hot dogs, hamburgers (why do they also serve hamburgers after my runs!?), salad, fruit, and gatorade/ water! It was fun because it was pretty small, and they put a lot of effort into it after. It was really fun because my mom, dad and cousins all participated! They all walked and I ran, but nonetheless it was a blast. I bought my lululemon inspire crop for this run, along with a top that I'm not that crazy about (also from lululemon)- it's not on the website right now but I kind of look like a giant bubble bobbling along in it. I remember it was a beautiful day, even though it was the end of summer and it was a great time! I don't know what my time was, but I was one of the fastest girls running. Most of the people walked it however :) You can see how it looks below on the next race recap (I wore the exact same outfit). We also got a hot green t-shirt with this race, however I took one in X-Large and gave it to my dad's best friend who travels with! I don't have any pictures from this event :( 

10K Run Wild for the Detroit Zoo-  Sunday, September 19, 2010. I wore the exact same outfit I wore for the Next Level run, along with a black Satin Pirouette from lululemon. I love this headband! It doesn't MOVE throughout the entire run, the inside stays on your hair and you can adjust the sizes. I definitely recommend this headband for $12, I wear mine all the time! I own a few different headbands from there that I like, but this is definitely one of my favorites. In my age group I came in 16th out of 65 runners and my time was 52:28 with a pace of 8:27. The weather was beautiful and my dad also ran the race, his time was 1:09:07 with a pace of 11:08. We had a great time and then spent the afternoon at the Zoo. My favorite exhibit is the Polar Bear exhibit at the Detroit Zoo, but unfortunately they were not very active that afternoon. The sweatshirt I have on after the run is also from lululemon, and it's a sweatshirt hoodie with a sweater material on the top and hood. I don't really like it that much however, the hood is really heavy because it's a sweater material and I feel like I'm choking in it. The race was a blast however, they handed out cereal, chewy bars, bananas and water at the end. (Can you believe no hamburgers?) My dad and I both ate access bars before the run. We packed some fruit, bread and hummus packets for after the run before entering the Zoo, because I think the food court at the Zoo doesn't really have any healthy options. I also drank a Melaleuca Sustain packet in the orange splash flavor. For 1 packet there are 30 calories, 0g fat, 7g Carbs and 0g Protein. They come in easy packets or a container. My favorite flavor is the Ruby Red Grapefruit, however it came out after this race! The benefits of drinking this after a race are for the electrolytes which are important because:

• Help maintain proper muscle function
• Help ensure proper communication between the muscles and brain
• Support energy and water absorption into the body

T-shirts for the run, I didn't wear mine during.

Start!

My dad and I after the race!

Finish!

The Polar Bear Exhibit without the bears swimming around :( 

The heavy hood

The front of a not so favorite sweatshirt