February Half Marathons Training Log

Hello there and happy Friday! It's been a while and I do mean a LONG while since I posted on a Fitness Friday topic, but since I'm approaching a couple of half marathons next month, this is long overdue!

Currently Training For: 

• Spooky Trail 10 Miler 
  
• Cowboy Gallop 10K (Didn't run - was sick)
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Rock n Roll New Orleans
• Fairy Tale Challenge (Princess 10K + Half Marathon)

Monday of this week was my only chance for an early morning workout at Orangetheory, so I snagged it! 

This was a strength workout and well, those inclines...ouch.

Early morning workouts are my favorite because I love being able to go home and relax after work.

On Tuesday, I went for a 3 mile walk with Brayden and my friend Melissa. The weather was supposed to be hit or miss this weekend and it was a pretty afternoon, so we took advantage of it!

After arriving home from work on Wednesday, I was ready to RUN! I usually don't like to do too many back-to-back days because of my crazy knees, but I decided to go for it anyway!

Brayden and I were racing the sunset and made it home just in time. Sadly, it was too dark to finish out the last half mile, so we called it quits at 2.5 instead!

Thursday afternoon called for another Orangetheory workout and this time, it focused on endurance and power. 

The floor workout ended with planks...and lots of them! It was incredibly tough for me but I am seriously proud of how much of a change I've seen with my overall strength since starting Orangetheory. It may seem like a small thing to some, but before starting OTF, it was ROUGH for me to hold a plank for 30 seconds and now, I can hold them for longer without shaking! I love to see an improvement when you've been working so hard at something!

In other news this week, Brayden decided to surprise me by counting to twenty! He's had 0-10 down for a while, so we added 11-20 just about a week and a half ago. Much to my surprise, I asked him to count for me this week and bam...he knew them all! It's crazy how much toddlers soak up and learn in such a short amount of time! 

He's also been obsessed with the Alexa that Jason received for Christmas. He knows how to tell her to play a multitude of songs as well as how to turn the volume up. Sadly, she doesn't respond to him all of the time because he calls her "Wexa" which of course makes me giggle. It's so funny to hear him talk to her!

Tomorrow is a planned 10 mile training run in preparation for Rock n Roll New Orleans! The race weekend will be here before we know it and I can't wait! It's going to be a fun one!

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio Weekend

Well, despite not being fully prepared (due to this prolonged sickness I'm finally almost over), Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio weekend is here!

I'm currently registered to run the half and am looking forward to experiencing the sights (and hills...yikes) of 13.1 miles in a new city. To date, I've only run 10 miles of training, so I'm not expecting a lot from this race experience other than just that...the experience. This will also be a good training run on my way to the Princess Half Marathon in February.

Some things I'm looking forward to this weekend include:

• Running a brand new (to me) course 
• Extra bling for running both Rock 'n' Roll New Orleans and Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio
• Experiencing Christmas in a new city
• Seeing the River Walk all decked out for Christmas
• Visiting with my brother and sister in law again and spending time with family
• Expo shopping

Things I'm not looking forward to:

• Running hills
• Hills
• More hills
• Did I mention the hills?

I had to seriously laugh out loud last week when I was reading a review of this race course that called it a "flat course". Clearly the person who wrote that has never run a race in Southwest Louisiana...with zero inclines or even the slightest bit of a hill. We shall see what I think about the course after running this race! 

Ready or not, here we come!

Be sure to follow along on Instagram for all of our race weekend fun!!

Have you ever run Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio? Any advice?

Fitness Friday - 10/26

Happy Friday, friends! It's been a while since I've posted a dedicated "Fitness Friday" post, so here we go!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Spooky Trail 10 Miler
  
• Cowboy Gallop 10K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

This week has not been the best in terms of workouts for me, but I'm ok with that because I signed up to run a 10 mile trail run this weekend! More on that in a few...

Last week, I began coming down with some kind of sinus gunk. I never felt like I had a cold and I never ran fever, so I just assumed it was my sinuses. By the weekend, it had settled into my chest and I was coughing pretty bad. I made the decision to forgo my Saturday morning long run. We were also planning a trip to visit a couple of Louisiana plantation homes, so I figured a long day on my feet wouldn't help the situation.

On Monday morning, I needed to get in a workout, so I got up early and headed to Orangetheory for a Strength Day. It was a good workout and I felt great after I left.

By Wednesday, my cough wasn't getting any better and I already had an ENT appointment scheduled. After seeing my ENT, she confirmed that I had an upper respiratory infection and gave me a shot of steroids as well as an antibiotic. Great. Although I was planning a run that afternoon, I decided it would be in my body's best effort to sit that one out, too.

Since I can't sit still long (like at all), I decided to partake in my very first hell week workout on Thursday morning. It was a pretty intense but doable workout where you literally had zero downtime or rest time at all. It was also supposed to be a partner workout, but since I arrived a few minutes late and was the odd man out, I just kind of followed the group next to me and it all worked out!

Our coaches are all dressed up for the fun week, too! Mine was an inmate yesterday! 

Now it's Friday and I'm feeling a little bit better this morning, but I'm not sure what I'll do in terms of a workout today. Since I signed up for a trail run that is going to be held on Saturday morning, I might just take a short walk to get some fresh air today after work. I've never run trails before (except one time), so I'm nervous about what to expect. We were also informed that there will be no water stations along the trails, so I purchased a couple of flipbelt water bottles to use. Hopefully it will all work out ok. Yes, I'm incredibly unprepared for this, but it was a last minute decision and instead of running circles around my house for my scheduled 10 miles, I thought it would be nice to have a change of scenery!

This weekend is also our local university's homecoming, so I met up with my friend Jane for our traditional visit to the homecoming parade! We had so much fun and I loved that Brayden was old enough this year to understand what was going on! He loved it when I would pick him up so he could wave at the floats for candy! Picking the beads and candy up off of the ground was also another fun new discovery. It was just too cute!

Well, that's my week in a nutshell! I you have any trail run advice for me, I would appreciate it!

Fitness Friday - 9/28

What a week! After Friday night's Gleaux Run, I was worn smack out. My fitbit calculated about 8 miles for the evening and Saturday was spent catching up on rest. Let's see how the rest of the week went...

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Cowboy Gallop 10K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Sunday - Rest day
Monday - 4 mile run
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - Orangetheory ESP workout
Thursday - 3 mile walk with a friend
Friday - Orangetheory

Remember that cool front I was talking about that was supposed to hit this weekend? Yeah, well...it disappeared. Another front was coming through and pushed it out of the way. Sad times. It's like the groundhog in February, except it's as if we're going to have 8 more weeks of summer. Whomp whomp.

Anyway, I decided to hit the road on Monday for a 4 mile run after taking the weekend off to recuperate from Friday night's event. That time off was just what I needed and the run felt great!

See what I mean about the weather? UGH.

I felt great during this run and even managed to achieve negative splits! The first mile was a 9:20, the second was a 9:11, the third was 9:02, and the last was 8:49 - all of this was the result of a solo run (minus the Bob...and the 30 pound toddler)!

Wednesday's workout was a super difficult but great one as well! We had an ESP workout at Orangetheory and it seriously encompassed all areas of endurance, strength, and power.  For the last all out, I even managed a 30 second sprint that was a little higher from my norm. We also used power bands which killed my legs, but it was an overall amazing workout! I just love those!

I also got off of work early which means I arrived early and was the first one there. I thought it was hilarious to see my name by itself on the screen...naturally, I had to snap a picture! Nerd...yep.

Not fitness related at all, but super fun...our DVC kit arrived in the mail this week! Talk about magic mail at its finest! :)

Today, I'm headed back to Orangetheory for another session. I absolutely love working out first thing in the morning. Having a shower at the gym also helps, because I can go directly to work after the workout!

We don't have many plans this weekend and I'm 100% ok with that! I hope you all have a great one!

Fitness Friday - 9/1

Another week has come and gone! Although tomorrow is officially the first day of fall, it doesn't feel like anything has changed here. Thankfully, we have heard talks of a possible cool front next weekend which should leave temps in the upper 60's!! I cannot wait!

How did this week go? Let's take a look!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Saturday - 5 Mile Run 
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Orangetheory Power Day (OUCH)
Tuesday - Rest Day (my legs were so tired from OTF the day before)
Wednesday - Orangetheory Run to Row
Thursday - Walk at the Park with Brayden
Friday - Gleaux Run 5K

As I mentioned earlier, this week was HOT with no sign of fall anywhere. On Saturday morning, I made a dumb mistake and thought I could run a little bit later in the morning since it was "cooling off" outside. WRONG. By the time we finished our 5 mile run, the temps were "feels like 100 degrees" and I was so drained of all of my energy.

I definitely won't make that mistake again!

After a much needed rest day on Sunday, I returned to Orangetheory on Monday morning for a class with my favorite coach. It was power day and we seriously had like 12 all outs on the treadmill or something crazy like that. TWELVE. If you aren't familiar with the Orangetheory lingo, that's 12 times that we had to run our hardest for a set time (1 minute x 4, then 45 seconds x 4, then 30 seconds x 4). My hips were so sore by Tuesday morning!

After another rest day on Tuesday, I returned to Orangetheory on Wednesday for an endurance and upper body workout.

This one was a run to row (where we ran on the treadmills, then rowed - back and forth a few times). We also did an upper body workout which involved a bunch of pushups. My weakest area is my upper body, so to see slight improvements in the way I move and weights I can lift is really great!

On Thursday afternoon, Brayden and I went to the park for a quick walk, then I chased him around while he played between the splash pad and the slides. Chasing a toddler around is serious cardio, y'all. I'm not joking, either!

So much fun at the park!

The remainder of my week was spent planning Gleaux Run things! This will be our fourth Gleaux Run and I'm so excited to see how it all turns out!

I love volunteering with the American Cancer Society because I know my time, effort, energy, and dollars are going to a worthy cause.

If you'd like to follow along with the progress of this year's Gleaux Run, check out my stories on instagram - I'll be posting there throughout the day starting around 12 noon central time. :)

Last but not least, we had several good eats this week! For lunch one day, I visited my favorite salad place with my coworkers! I always order the China Town and it's delicious! 

Jason also cooked his mom's vegetable soup recipe and that was delicious as well!

I hope the first day of fall will treat you better than it's treating us! Have a fabulous weekend!

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

Fitness Friday - 9/14

Long time no Fitness Friday!

This was our first full week back at work from vacation and we really got back into the swing of things! Brayden is doing awesome at Mother's Day Out and loves his little class! I was also able to get back into the groove with running and Orangetheory as well. Let's take a look!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K (Cancelled)
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - 3 Mile Run with Brayden
Tuesday - Orangetheory Endurance Workout
Wednesday - Orangetheory Strength Workout
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - To be determined! :)
Saturday - 5 Mile Run

What a fun week we had!

Towards the end of last week, I had a small punch biopsy on my lower back which resulted in two stitches. All is well and nothing is wrong, but I was instructed not to work out for "a while". In my mind, "a while" translated to take it easy on the weekend and it's ok to resume on Monday...so yeah, that's what I decided to go with. Nurses are stubborn folks, I tell ya.

So, on Monday after work, I loaded Brayden up and we went out on a 3 mile run around the neighborhood! It had been a while since he'd gone with me and he enjoyed seeing familiar sights. About halfway through, I noticed the air in one of the tires was almost completely flat. Whomp whomp.

Oh well, we still kept a good cadence and pace! I was happy with it!

After work on Tuesday, I stopped by Orangetheory for an endurance workout.

This. Workout. Was. So. Tough.

We did mini bands along with other crazy things on the weight floor. The treadmill workout wasn't easy either. I've also noticed a huge change in my splat points since this new formulation they've come up with. My calories and average heart rate stay about the same, but I'm in red a LOT more. I used to feel like I had to workout to the max in order to just get in the orange zone and now, I'm hitting the red zone when I work out in the same manner.
 

So, I took that idea into account on Wednesday when I returned for my next Orangetheory workout and I dialed it back just a smidge. To be honest, I felt kind of tired from the previous day's workout, but by dialing it back a little, I actually felt great! I also love that no two days are the same movements, so where we did a TON of squats on Tuesday, we did mostly upper body on Wednesday. You'll notice my red zone time is much less, but my average heart rate and calories burned are close. I think I'll continue to take this approach from now on.

Thursday was a rest day because I was seriously sore from three days in a row of pretty hard workouts/running. I am pretty sure I haven't done anything like that since Dopey's Challenge in January!

Other fun things this week included a Disney Cruse Line inspired dinner of Jerk Chicken and Dole Whips for dessert. These "dole whips" are super easy to make and relatively low in calorie! I was shocked to see that this ranged about 70 calories per serving!

I'll definitely share this recipe in an upcoming post soon!

I also enjoyed a lot of fun Brayden time this weekend since Jason was working nights! We spent Saturday morning at the mall, playing with a friend!

He LOVES being around other kids and he especially loves the little playground in the mall. It's so much fun and a great way to spend a gloomy Saturday morning. Auntie Anne's pretzels might also be right across the way and they get me almost every time. Dangit.

Seriously, though...how grown up is he?! I just love it!

Well, that's my week in a nutshell! I hope to do some yard work this afternoon/evening and plan on a distance run tomorrow. I'll have to bring Brayden along, so air in the Bob tires will be necessary this time around!

Have a great weekend! Do you have any fun plans?

Fitness Friday - 8/24

Don't you just love a good Friday, especially one that means it's officially vacation time? I certainly do!!

Currently Training For:

• Dopey Challenge 2018 - Walt Disney World
• Rock n Roll New Orleans Half Marathon 2018 - New Orleans, LA 
• Contraband Days 5 Miler 
• 4 on the 4th
• Castaway Cay 5K
  
• Rock n Roll San Antonino Half 
• Fairy Tale Challenge 

Saturday - 5 Mile run with Brayden
Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Orangetheory ESP Day with Partner Workout
Tuesday - 3 Mile Walk
Wednesday - Orangetheory Run to Row Endurance Day
Thursday - Rest Day and Last Minute Errands Day
Friday - Travel Day!

Looking back over the week, here's how my workouts went!

On Saturday morning, Brayden and I set out on a 5 mile run. Hitting those 5 miles was so hard because I started a bit late and it as already in the "feels like" 90's by 8 a.m. Hello, Fall...you can visit us here anytime!

We made it, though!

Monday's Orangetheory was a partner workout and although it was fun, I still had a hard time keeping my heart rate up because it recovers so quickly. This was a partner workout from start to finish and that was a first for me!

Speaking of Orangetheory, about 6 weeks ago, I noticed that I had gained a bit of weight since starting my workouts with them. Yes, you definitely gain muscle which I've noticed, but I wasn't happy with the way my clothes were fitting. My appetite increased as expected and instead of choosing "good" foods, I most always went for the not so great options. So, I decided that I wasn't working hard for nothing and took a good look at everything I was eating. Now here I am, down 12 pounds and feeling great! I don't deny myself a treat every now and then, but it's not as much as it was before. It's amazing what a little healthier eating and exercise will do for you!

Back to my workouts for the week...

On Tuesday, my friend Melissa and I set out for a 3 mile walk. It was 7 p.m. and I couldn't figure out why I was having such a hard time breathing. Well, it was a freaking "feels like" 106 degrees. Hello!

On Wednesday afternoon, I headed over for my 2nd Orangetheory workout of the week. I was early and treadmill cards were still available, so I decided to try one. Y'all...I picked the right day for starting on the treadmill first, that's for sure.

This workout consisted of all legs with mini bands on the weight floor and I was SO happy I did that last. My entire lower half was on fire when I left!

The run to row felt great, too. I was able to keep my heart rate up and  made it pretty far down the block before time was called!

I do love me some Orangetheory!

As far as other happenings this week, how adorable is this picture of Brayden with my parents?! 

I mean, really. PRECIOUS!

He also had a meet and greet with his new Mother's Day Out teacher on Thursday. He was so excited to see his little friends again!

This class has "big boy" chairs now vs the little table inserts they were sitting in before. It's hard to believe how fast he's growing up!

Well, that's about it for my week! Stay tuned to instagram for updates from our week! We will be in Disney Springs today followed by boarding the Disney Fantasy tomorrow. I plan on running throughout the week on the ship with the Castaway Cay 5K on Friday. I'll also try to post updates to instagram once the cruise begins when I can.

Have a great week! See ya real soon!