Fitness Friday - 9/9

Hello and happy Friday! I'm back today with another recap of my workouts throughout the week! 

Despite Labor Day Weekend travel and getting back into the swing of things at home/work, I still feel as if I had a pretty productive week!

Currently Training For:

• Cajun Cup 10K (Lafayette, LA)
• Cajun Country Half Marathon (Lafayette, LA)
• Disney's Princess Half Marathon & Glass Slipper Challenge
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon

Saturday - 5 mile run in Irving, Texas
Sunday - My 1st Spin Class! 
Monday - Travel/Rest Day
Tuesday - 2 mile walk with Brayden
Wednesday - Rest Day  
Thursday - Tone It Up Girls Kettlebell Workout
Friday - 2 mile run

As mentioned, we spent our Labor Day Weekend in Texas with family. On Saturday morning, I knew I wanted to get in a run somewhere, so I asked my uncle about a few good routes around their neighborhood. Well, not only did he get me around the neighborhood, he also got me around Valley Ranch, too! I LOVED running here! Sidewalks lined the route the entire way and the views were pretty nice, too! The weather wasn't so bad, either! 

Beautiful sunrise!

My one main goal for this run was to pass in front of the old Dallas Cowboys training facility. You see, I'm not a Cowboys fan at all but I do LOVE the show, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Making The Team (I've been a faithful fan from season 1 and now they are on season 11)!

This spot right here is a popular one that's been shown in the show over the years!

I was SO excited!!

If you remember, I even ran Rock n Roll Dallas several years ago, just so I could see them in person! I've never been a dancer (ok, I was in like kindergarten) but I just love what they do!

Here's a throwback for ya....back to 2011!

I STILL laugh at myself about the moment pictured above. I'm such a nerd.

After rounding the loop nearby, I turned around and made my way back to my aunt and uncle's home.

Along the way, I spotted this miracle right here...

This was amazing to run through! I even managed to dodge the puddles so my shoes wouldn't get wet. I so wish I could take this with me everywhere I run during the summer months!

During brunch on Saturday morning, my cousin invited us to attend a spin class with her the following morning! Neither my sister-in-law nor I had taken a spin class in the past, but we took her up on the offer!

In all, it was one of the toughest workouts I've ever done, but it's one I think I would do again. You can read my thoughts on my first spin class here.

Back at home, Brayden fell asleep during our walk. He officially hit the 5 month mark on Monday and has also hit a few milestones this past month! I'll share more about them in his 5 month update next week!

We also FINALLY had the opportunity to take family pictures! The afternoon weather quit being dumb and stayed clear enough yesterday for us to get in a session with our friend Katie! I can't wait to see how they turned out! Yay!

Tonight is our local American Cancer Society's Jamaica Me Crazy! It used to be a Gala type event but has transformed into a fun Caribbean style theme instead. I'm no longer on the committee this year, but our hospital purchased a table, and I was included so that's why I'm going! Can't wait - this is always a fun one!

I hope you all have a great weekend! Anything fun planned?

Spin Class (My Very First!)

Spin class - something I never thought I would try, like ever. I'm not a fan of going to any form of group fitness classes by myself (I know I know, I need to get over that) and we cancelled our gym membership ages ago, so I honestly thought I would never have the opportunity to try a spin class out. However, while out of town visiting family this past weekend, the offer was given and I accepted. After saying yes, I kind of doubted my sanity...but I stuck with it anyway and decided to give spin a try!

We arrived at class a little early to claim our bikes. Of course, we selected bikes in the back of the room. My sister-in-law and I were newbies and didn't want to get called out by being on bikes in the front of the class!

After getting our things together, my cousin took us on a tour of the facility. I loved this place!! The Sports Club at the Four Seasons in Dallas, Texas had anything and everything your little fitness heart could imagine!

Indoor tennis courts, a running track, fitness classes, yoga, state of the art equipment, lap pool, sauna, spa.....the list of opportunities in the 7,000 sq ft facility were endless!

This was my view from the back of the class. The instructor sat on the elevated bike up front. What was on the big screen? Our bike info, of course.... (How fast we were going, how much effort we were giving, etc.) Yes, for everyone to see. Oh dear...

At first, I wished I'd brought a pair of capri tights but once class got into the full swing of things, I was glad I wore shorts.

Within 10 minutes of the start of class, I just knew I wasn't going to make the remaining 50 minutes. The "warm up" had my legs dying and my body covered in sweat. How and why do people do this to themselves on a regular basis, I wondered?

Throughout the class, we changed intensity, speed, patterns, and sets. The music is seriously what kept me going. After a while, I felt as if I had the hang of it, although I couldn't always keep up with the higher intensity used by the instructor. I did give it an honest effort, though. At one point, our instructor mentioned that "20" was the highest intensity we would go all class, so I turned it up to 20 along with her.

As I mentioned earlier, everyone's RPM's were displayed on the big screen TV's at the front of the class. Normally, the circles stayed yellow in color unless you were giving max effort, then the circles turned orange. I was able to get my circle to turn orange twice which I was super proud of!

Midway through the class, someone came around with chilled towels that smelled of eucalyptus (more like Heaven in the form of a towel)! That cold towel was just the pick-me-up I needed to finish up the hour long class. Yes, I did make it to the very end!

At the beginning of class, our instructor found out that my sister-in-law and I were newbies, then she promised us that she hadn't killed anyone yet. By the end of class, she commended us and told us we were rock stars for sticking through the entire class. She also said that most newbies leave her class within 10 minutes of being on the bike.

I'll admit, I kind of did feel a bit more hard core after that!

As soon as I stepped off the bike, my legs felt like jello and I was drenched from head to toe. Walking down the stairs felt a lot like walking down stairs after finishing a marathon. As a matter of fact, we "rode" about 20 miles during class!

This seriously was one of the most intense workouts I've ever had in my life. I found out later that our instructor was one of the toughest there and this class was intended for the "advanced cyclist". Oy.

This text was sent to my BRF about 20 minutes into class, then again at the end of class. I should have learned my lesson long ago about never saying never! After every marathon, I've said I would never run another and now I'm on number 5, so yeah...there's that.

After our workout, we all enjoyed a nice chilled hazelnut iced coffee which definitely hit the spot!

Would I take a spin class again? Now that I've had a chance to reflect on it, I would say yes. However, I think I would start with a class meant for the intermediate athlete instead of the advanced cyclist. This seriously was an intense workout (one of the hardest and most intense I'd ever done) and it left me feeling great the remainder of the day! I'm definitely sticking to my first love (running) but I think that mixing it up on the occasion is fun, too!

Have you ever tried spin? What are your thoughts?

Labor Day Weekend 2016

This past weekend, my family and I spent time with our extended family in Dallas, Texas. It was Brayden's first time to visit Dallas as well as his first time to meet several family members, and we had a blast!

No car trip is complete without Mickey! As far as travel goes, Brayden was a rock star on the trip! He got antsy when we had about an hour left to go, but his favorite rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" on repeat took care of all of that! :)

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and went for a 5 mile run around Valley Ranch.

My main "route goal" was to run by the Dallas Cowboys old practice facility. Although I'm not a Cowboys fan, I AM a fan of the CMT show "DCC Making the Team" (I've faithfully watched all 11 seasons)! Snippets of this entrance have been shown throughout the seasons, so I was very excited to run by it in person! More about my run in Friday's post.

Our post-run brunch was delicious!

After Brayden's mid-day nap, we drove to UNT to tailgate and hang out with family. 

I was so glad I remembered his Mickey fan! He also loved his new umbrella stroller!

Midway through, some Vita Coco reps came by with free samples of coconut water. I'm a fan already, so I loved it!

We didn't stay for the game because Brayden would have been too hot. Instead, we went shopping!

Of course, we stopped at the Grapevine Mills mall for a little Disney Store run! I found several items I'd been eyeing online and I purchased Brayden's Halloween costume! :)

 

On Sunday morning, I was invited to attend my very first spin class with my cousins. After debating it for a little while, I decided to attend. 

I wasn't so sure about my decision a few minutes into the class, but it was a great experience! I can't wait to share my thoughts on my first spin class in (hopefully) tomorrow's blog post!

We also attended a game at Globe Life Park on Sunday afternoon! Guess who the Rangers were playing?! THE ASTROS! Hello! I HAD to go!

....and of course I wore my Astros gear! I wasn't alone...at least a third of the people I saw at the game were also supporting the Astros! 

The only thing I don't like about this stadium is the fact that its hot! The stadium is open air which means the sun beats down the entire game. Despite the heat, it was a great game and the Astros won!

Go Astros! :)

I couldn't stop my tradition of ice cream in a helmet! I don't have a Rangers helmet so of course, I HAD to get  one!

Dinner that evening was homemade gumbo. It was delicious!

After dinner, we took a few family pictures...

I just love my family! :)

Board games followed shortly after!

The Game of Things is hilarious and we all had a good time laughing! We also played "Speak Out"...I'm sure you've seen videos of this game floating around facebook...

Although that stupid mouth guard brought back horrible memories of my days in braces, this game was HILARIOUS! We had such a blast playing!

Yesterday, we spent our day traveling home. In all, we had a fantastic weekend and really enjoyed spending it with our family and friends! :)

How was your labor day weekend? Did you run any races? Have a fun time with family? Catch up on rest?

2014 Relay for Life National Summit

This past weekend, Relay for Life Leadership from all over the nation came together in Dallas, Texas for a time of training and networking, with a little fun thrown in between!

What is Relay for Life, you might ask? Well, it’s not a race…nor a 5K…it’s an overnight event that was created to fight cancer. The idea behind Relay for Life began with the concept, “cancer never sleeps”. During a cancer journey, patients can’t escape the side effects and symptoms that their cancer brings to them – so for one night each year, teams all over the world gather together to relay. During each event, relayers celebrate survivors, remember those who have been lost to this disease, and fight back for future generations. Most Relay for Life events are held at a track and each team takes turns walking the track – the “relay” side is that each team should have one person walking the track throughout the entire event. Our hope is that we can finish the fight and end this terrible disease.

Ok…back to the conference! :)

The 2015 Summit was held at the Hilton Anatole in downtown Dallas.

This was a gorgeous hotel and I loved the lobby, complete with infinity pools!

The lobby was very pretty at night, too!

We arrived at Summit a little later than expected, so we headed straight for the conference and checked into our room a few hours later.

Throughout the Summit, we heard from inspiring speakers, survivors, and Relay for Life Hall of Famers – many tears were shed over the course of the weekend! Dr. Gordy Klatt, the founder of Relay for Life passed away in August from complications related to gastric cancer. We spent several moments over the weekend remembering his life and honoring the legacy he left behind.

On Friday and Saturday, we also broke into workshops where we shared and discussed ideas among each other. Networking was one of my favorite parts of Summit – I loved gaining fresh and new ideas from other top teams in the nation!

On Friday night, we participated in the Live broadcast of the Relay for Life 2015 Kick-off party – floor director and all!

After the broadcast, the party began! (An 80’s party, that is!)

Before long, Pac-Man Ghosts were running all over the room! No, really…those ghosts were the ACS Mid-South Division representatives! :) Aren’t we cute?

I loved the big hair, bright colors, and glow sticks…I even saw a Conga line break out!

On Saturday morning, I woke up early and made my way to the outdoor track for a quick 2 mile run.

I’ve never seen a “real” outdoor track at a hotel, and I loved it!

I also repped my ACS DetermiNation shirt during my run! :)

We celebrated Relay for Life’s 30th Birthday all weekend!

I had a fantastic time and enjoyed spending the weekend with good friends! I also really enjoyed Summit and hope to bring new ideas and ways to enhance our current Relay for Life event!

My name is Karen, I’m an Oncology Nurse, I’ve been relaying since 2007, and I’m proud to say that Relay is 30 years strong! Happy birthday, Relay for Life!

What’s the most exciting/favorite place you’ve ever visited for a conference?