Some Is Better Than None

So happy that Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I'm looking forward to have a few days off of work. It's been crazy busy at my job the last week. Sales reps are trying to get those end of year orders in and sales reps can be very needy.

I decided at the last minute to take Monday off because no one else did and I just felt like I need an extra day. We are down one team member who's out on maternity leave but it'll be fine. Everyone needs a break now and then and I've been saving the last of my vacation in case Sophie gets sick.

I plan on getting some things done around the house, maybe a little more Christmas shopping (I'm almost done!) and possibly some Christmas decorating. I will be able to do this because I'm sending Sophie to school. I know, bad mommy but she'll probably have more fun there anyway.

This morning I was supposed to do 8 miles. Then I decided I only had time for 7.

I ended up only doing 4. I was tired and my legs were just not moving. Lead legs.

My body seems very tired ever since I ran 19 on Sunday. I rested Monday and ran 6 miles yesterday and I plan to hopefully get up tomorrow morning and do a quick 3 miles before we head to Charlotte.

I am not planning on bringing any running clothes with me, taking this time to rest, relax, eat and enjoy my family without worrying on when I'm going to get my run in. I will do my 12 miles on Sunday (we're getting back into town Saturday afternoon).

However if I don't make it up tomorrow then I will probably try to squeeze a run in Friday or Saturday. Haven't decided yet.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I Haven't Felt Like Blogging

I had a busy weekend.

I'm two weeks behind in my training recaps.

I really don't have anything really interesting to say.

I'm in a funk.

For some reason the Holiday's get me down. I really don't know why other than I work and don't have a whole lot of vacation time (I'd rather take my vacation in the summer and go to the beach). So I don't feel like I get to enjoy the Holiday's. I'm stressed, running around like a crazy woman to get things done, and by the time I have all my decorations up, baking done, home from visiting family, it's time to clean it all up.

So I put on my happy face for my daughters sake and smile my way through it. Honestly if I could just sit and relax and not worry about a tree, decorations and all that crap then I'd do it.

But I do it for Sophie because I remember growing up how my mom was always so festive and it made me happy.

Maybe next year if I get to finally be the stay at home mom I want to be I'll have more time.

Thursday we'll be heading back to Charlotte, NC to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It's so hard with two families, who gets to spend time with who, then traveling. I really just want to sit at my house and go out to eat. I sound like a Debbie Downer right now. Like I said I'm in a funk.

I never thought I'd hear myself say this but I think I'm getting burned out of running. Between training, working, being a mommy, Holiday's coming up, I feel stretched really thin and starting wondering if this was all a big mistake.

I know I don't have much longer to go and if I quit now I'll regret it for the rest of my life, well until kids are old enough to be self sufficient and I can leave them at the house while I go run. But I'm not a quitter so that's not an option. I want that medal darn in. I want Sophie and my next child to know that Mommy ran a marathon. It's important. So no, I will not quit.

I'm not sure where the statement above come from other than I was so tired after my 19 miles yesterday. But I got it done and I am proud.

I got a later than normal start, about 7:45 I made it to the trail. It warmed up quick too so I was immediately not liking the heat and sun. Plus I had to pee from mile 1 to 5. I am so thankful for that gas station that's close to the trail at mile 5. I felt 5 pounds lighter after. Relief!!!

I stopped again at mile 13, at my car, to get more water because I was out and it was so warm.

I continued on to finish the remaining 6 miles. Finished 19.05, 3:06, avg pace 9:48. Slow. Painfully slow but considering I have never run 19 miles before I'm happy that it was under a 10 minute mile. Barely.

Actually the whole run I felt tired and sluggish, probably because of the weather. It was 75 when I got back in my car.

Today I'm a little sore and taking a rest day. Actually I was supposed to do Body Pump tonight until mu husband forgot that he had a dentist appt. and couldn't pick up Sophie. Oh well, I wouldn't have been very good tonight anyway, I feel so tired today.

I must have a case of the Monday's to feel so blah today. I'll be a bit more peppier tomorrow!

This Is Why I Hate My Commute

All because a truck catches on fire. 3:00 this happened and it's 4:30 pm now and this is just getting cleared up.

Better be gone by 5:00 or I'm going to blow my top. Seriously.

In happier news I ran this morning and felt great. 5 miles in 42:33, avg pace 8:24. I alternated slow and fast miles to help pass the time.

Tomorrow morning I'm going to do a short run early before my husband has to go into the office and then when he gets home I'm going to hit the gym to do a light weight workout and some cross training.

That's the plan anyway.

An Omen

I should have known last night when my husband told me he had to get out of the house by 5:45 am that things were going to go to hell in a hand basket this morning.

Good things never happen when he has to leave early. I am not exaggerating this.

I needed to run this morning so he told me as long as I was home by like 5:30 it wouldn't be a problem. That means I'd have to be to the gym no later than 4:15, be up about 3:45. No biggie, I've done this before.

Sleeping soundly when I hear crying and "Mommy? Daddy?"

So I go in and Sophie is laying in her bed crying. Looks like just a little nightmare. Well she gets out of bed and wants to go watch cartoons. I think she's still half asleep so I try to convince her that it's still night time and we need to go back to sleep.

Not having it. She starts to meltdown.

So we go in the bonus room and her eyes start to close. So we then go back to her bed and she lays down.

And it takes forever for her to fall back asleep. At one point I think she's out and I get up only for her to roll over and start crying again.

Once she's really asleep I go back to bed and realize that it's 4:15 am. Damn. I missed my time and that means   I cannot go to the gym now. So I go back to sleep.

About 45 minutes later my husbands alarm goes off and that's it. I'm awake.

He leaves and I start to get ready. I turn on the news and hear that there is a multiple car wreck on one of the bridges along my route into work. Then I hear there is a wreck on the other side of the bridge, then 2 more along my alternate routes.

So in short, anyway I go to work there is a wreck.

I decide to call my boss and tell her that I'm just going to be late. There's no way around it. I'm going to take my time, drink my coffee, and let Sophie sleep in some (she was exhausted after finally going back to sleep). Boss is cool with it.

So luckily it all worked out because by leaving an hour later than normal I missed all the traffic.

But bummed that I didn't get to run. However I did go to Body Pump last night and I went a little heavier with the weight and had a really good workout.

There is always tomorrow. And Saturday. Long run has been moved to Sunday because Ricky is on call Saturday, which means he has to work half a day. It's always something to juggle.

It Looks A Lot Like Fall

But it sure doesn't feel like Fall. It's supposed to get up to 83 degrees today. It was 70 degrees when I left my house. And muggy too.

Ran 5 miles this morning on the treadmill and my knee felt good. There were just a few moments where it felt a tad funky but I would say 99% of the run my knee felt just fine. Plus walking last night and today at work I feel no funkiness.

Tonight is Body Pump if I am up for it. As I've done the last couple of weeks, I have my gym bag sitting right by my desk for me to stare at and feel guilty if I start to not want to go. I have a free night, husband is getting daughter and making dinner, so I really have no excuse to NOT go other than the usual tired and hungry.

In other news there's not much else going on unless you want to hear about how much a washer disinfector for a hospital costs.

I did finally get my car back from the body shop yesterday. It's all fixed and clean. If you live in the Charleston area and get in a wreck, call Norton and Richardson in Summerville. They do awesome work (for the 2nd time for me).

Potty training continues to go well. Sophie went all day with out an accident until late in the afternoon she did a deuce in her pants. It's OK though because it's going to happen and she knows she needs to go in the potty because as she's getting cleaned up she goes "you poo poo in the potty." Just have to get her to tell us before hand, which she does a good job for the most part. Either way I'm proud of her. She's doing awesome. I never did buy the small potty, mainly because I didn't want to have to clean it each time she went. Instead I bought the seat that goes over the big toilet seat so we could get her going there, learn to flush and all that. It's worked for us.

Now it's lunch time and I need to figure out what to eat because I didn't have any leftovers to bring. My choices are...Subway and that's about it. Not really crazy about Subway so I might have to venture over the bridge to find something.

I'll probably end up at Subway.

Slept In

I made the decision last night to not run this morning (even though I set out my clothes just in case I woke up anyway). My knee was still giving me a little trouble yesterday. When I got home I did a little jog down the street and it didn't feel quite right so I made the wise decision to rest it another day.

I'm glad I did that because as of this morning it's feeling much better. Last thing I want to do is injure myself. So tomorrow morning I will attempt to run and see how it feels. Plus it felt kind of good to sleep in.

I did my ab ripper ex DVD when I got up. I haven't done it in a while and it was tough. See my husband and I tried P90X starting in January 2010 (when Sophie was 7 months old). It was going really well because we would put her down early (that's when she would go to bed early) and then we'd workout and be done by like 9:00.

We made it to week 5 and then I got sick with 2 stomach bugs in March 2010, could barely eat for pretty much the whole month, and we never really got back into it. Bummer because I was a fan. Now it's all I can do to get Sophie into bed by 9:00 and then I'm pooped. I'll save it for after baby no. 2.

Anyway, tomorrow I will run and see how the knee is doing and then I should be able to go to Body Pump tomorrow night. It's becoming a Wednesday ritual.

Yesterday Sophie went ALL day with NO accidents. Way to go girl!!!!!!!

We Don't Need No Education

I sacked out at 8:45 last night. Sophie was out by 8:30. I was going to watch some TV but decided that last night was the rare occasion that I can get into bed early so I figured why not. I'm the early to bed early to rise girl and I need my 8 hours last night.

I was up by 4:15 to go to the gym. Happy Monday.

Actually I wanted to run at least 3 slow miles but my knee started hurting so I stopped and got on the elliptical for 15 minutes and then the bike for 10. The pain is behind my knee, where the hamstring meets the calf. If I turn the wrong way I get this stretchy tender feeling (if that makes any sense). It's not a sharp pain but a "watch it" pain.

I did mostly upper body weights and a few light weight leg exercises. My knee is not currently bothering me only when I step a certain way. So I will ice tonight and hope it's all better tomorrow morning.

I need it to please hurry and get better because I'm too far into this training to get injured.

My brother e-mailed me this morning and asked if I wanted to go see Roger Waters The Wall next year. Tickets were going on sale at 10 am.

I'm a big Pink Floyd fan. I grew up listening to classic rock courtesy of my dad. It stuck. I dig some Journey, Moody Blues, REO Speedwagon to name a few.

So July 10, 2012 I will get as close as I can get to seeing a Pink Floyd show live. It's not Pink Floyd the band, just Roger Waters who was an original band member, I believe he owns the rights to The Wall which is why he can tour and so the show.

Show is in Charlotte so we'll have to work out the logistics of travel later (kid and dogs). And I'll most likely be pregnant but pregnant women can still rock out to some Pink Floyd.

It's almost the most wonderful time of the year and I'm making great progress with my Christmas shopping. Not quite done but I still have a few more weeks before my own personal deadline.

Thunder Road Half Marathon, Charlotte, NC

Saturday morning I ran the Thunder Road Half Marathon in Charlotte. It was rather cold out, I think at the starting line temps were about 30 degrees. I had a great race. Another PR! We're back home and I'm worn out. No cross training today because by the time we got home and unpacked the car I wasn't feeling it. Plus my knee has been bothering me since about mile 6 yesterday so I'm resting today. And eating. Can't seem to stop eating, and that would be things that I shouldn't be eating (cookies damn you!).

Friday was a whirlwind of packing in the morning, potty training (2 for 2 - two accidents and two tinkles on the potty). By Noon I was tired and ready for a nap. Same for Sophie.

We got to Uptown Charlotte, the Charlotte Convention Center, about 3 pm. We parked at the Nascar Hall of Fame and I went accross the street to get our race packets (Ricky was running the 5k). Ricky stayed in the car with Sophie and the dogs.

The expo wasn't very busy at all so I got our packets right away. I even lingered to buy a few items. I wanted to browse longer but I knew our dogs were probably barking at every person that walked within 15 feet of our car so I cut it short.

Then we were off to my sisters house in Stanley, NC (which is a small town outside of Charlotte). I have no pictures of anyone in my family because I suck at remembering my camera and it was somewhere at the bottom of my bag.

It was a hectic night of trying to get Sophie to sleep in a bed that wasn't hers but she eventually fell asleep with me and Ricky. We didn't attempt to move her.

5 am my alarm went off and I was getting ready. We needed to leave the house about 6:15 to make it downtown (it's really uptown), park and get to the starting line. Weren't sure about traffic and finding a place to park.

It ended up being very easy to find a parking spot at the Westin Hotel parking garage. They even opened up their lobby for runners to find warmth and use the facilites. Thanks Westin!

We made it to the starting line and I got into my corral. I chose the 2 hour pace time because I just wasn't sure how this was going to go. Charlotte has hills and I didn't have the greatest week so I was playing it safe.

I tossed my fleece and the gun went off. As usual the start is very crowded so I had a hard time getting around people. I even ran past my old office building. I miss it. I used to work for Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) in one of the high rise buidlings uptown. They've done a lot to the area, it's so nice and clean, I really miss it (did I mention I miss it?).

Mile 1 - 9:02
Mile 2 - 9:10
Mile 3 - 8:51

I have to say I was worried about hills but at the start we went downhill a ton. This was nice but I knew those hills were coming at some point. I felt good at the start.

Mile 4 - 8:48
Mile 5 - 9:08
Mile 6 - 8:55

Somewhere between mile 5 and 6 I tried to side step some water cups and I felt something funky in my left knee that had me slowing down. Didn't hurt as much as it felt like I twisted something so it felt....tender I guess is a good word.

Mile 7 - 8:48
Mile 8 - 8:59
Mile 9 - 8:36

I ate some of my engery chews early on, I think about mile 4 because we encountered some hills. I ate two more at mile 7 to help me with getting over the hills.

Mile 10 - 8:33
Mile 11 - 8:38
Mile 12 - 8:46

I took two more energy chews at mile 10 and then two more at mile 12. Miles 11-12 were mostly uphill and I think I possibly groaned out loud at some point. It really felt like it was never going to end. Mile 13 was tough too because you rounded a corner and went up again until you finally saw the finish line.

Mile 13 - 8:28
.1 - sprint to the finish - 7:31

Done!!

Garmin:
13.22
1:56:27
avg pace 8:48

Chip Time:
13.1
1:56:23
avg pace 8:53

Overall Place 868 / 2494

Gender Place 296 / 1353

Division Place 59 / 256

I'm thrilled to PR again. I really was shooting for 2 hours but when I hit 6 miles and still felt strong (aside from the knee thing) I knew I could beat my previous half marathon time.
 
Ricky and my dad were there at the finish (still no camera, darn). We walked through the victory village, grabbed some free stuff and food and then headed home to hang out with the family.
 
This is my last race till the marathon and I really want to try and find one more half to run because I'm having a great time with it. It almost, ALMOST, makes me want to change to the half marathon in January and really focus on running it faster. But I know I'll regret it if I do that.
 



Parking garage picture when I realized I had my camera.



Being a dork, or looking like I'm constipated.





Something Is Better Than Nothing

Supposed to run 8 but only did 6 miles this morning, 53:12, avg pace like 8:41 I think. Oh well, at least I dragged myself out of bed and went to the gym.

I did make it to Body Pump last night and even managed to squeeze in 2 miles before class.

So I guess between last night and this morning it equals 8 right?

Can't decide if I'm going to run again in the morning or take it easy since I have a half marathon on Saturday. I'm still feeling a little icky so I'm basing it on how I sleep tonight and if I can make it up in the morning.

We are leaving for Charlotte, NC around lunch and originally I was going to work half a day but after yesterday's morning traffic fiasco I decided to take the full day off because I deserve a stress free day sometimes. We were having a difficult time working out the logistics of whether Ricky was going to take me to work, pick us up and then hit the road. What about the dogs? I have to get everything packed up and ready to go tonight....it was starting to stress me out so I just decided to take the whole darn day and pack in the morning at my leisure.

See, I try to be conservative with my time off because now that I have a child, it's not really my time off but it's mine plus Sophie's because I need it if she gets sick. Which happened quite a bit that first year and a half of her life.

So around Noon we'll be on the road with plenty of time to stop by the expo and then head to my sister's house to hang out with the family before we have to get up Saturday morning. Sounds much better than trying to work half a day.

Trying To Make it Through

I think this is one the first Wed. runs I missed training yet. I am bummed.

When my alarm went off I struggled to get out of bed when I realized that I had cramps (and we all know what that means). So I felt really blah and uncomfortable (you know, the feeling like your uterus is getting squeezed). I reset my alarm, took some Advil and went back to sleep. I hated doing it. I really should have made myself go but I couldn't muster up the energy or the will power - which is the reason I'm bummed. I wimped out. 

I still feel blah and uncomfortable. The first two days are usually like this and then by the third I'm fine. I guess this is the reason for my mood swings the last couple of days. 

And I cried this morning on the way to work because there was a 5 car pile up so I sat in a ton of traffic. Then Sophie told me she pee pee'd in her pants and that's when I started crying. I almost pulled into a gas station to change her but I was almost past the wreck plus I figured if she sat in her pee and didn't like it, maybe she would learn to hold it. I don't know.

When we got to school I pulled out an extra pair of pants and undies, got her out of the car seat and realized....she was dry. She didn't pee pee her pants. Huh. Maybe she had to urge but either way I praised her for not tinkling in her car seat. 

So I'm all frazzled when I get to work, Advil has worn off and cramps are coming back. Luckily I just ate a turkey and veggie sub and took some more Advil.

Luckily tonight is Body Pump class and I have my gym bag sitting right next to me. Ricky is getting Sophie from school and I am determined to make it to the gym tonight. I'm going to try to get in a few miles before and after class. Then tomorrow morning I should be able to get up and do my 8 miles. 

Just a little snag  in the schedule and I have to learn to roll with it and stop getting so upset if I miss a run or workout. But in my defense my time is limited so it's not like I can just do whatever whenever, I got mommy duties and a job so when I miss my run I am very hard on myself. 

Either way I'm hoping that I don't feel crummy this evening but if I do and for some reason turn right onto the interstate instead of staying straight towards the gym. It'll be OK!

There's No Going Back

It's official: We're potty training.

Lord help me!

Yesterday at daycare the teachers introduced the potty. Most of the kids have either started or are already potty trained so Sophie is sort of one of the last one's. I'm OK with that, I've learned that all kids are different and some take a little longer than others to get persuaded to wear big girl panties.

She sat on the potty but never went, except for in her pants :(  It's all good, it's her first full day. It takes a while for them to get the concept and she'll get it in time.

She did make it the whole way home without going in her pants (I have a plastic grocery bag on her car seat just in case) and when we got home she sat on the potty for about 5 minutes reading a book. I don't know if she went or not because I had to let the dogs out.

After dinner she was playing with Daddy. I was upstairs when all of a sudden I hear "Mommy, you need to come down here...."

So I go down and Sophie is jumping up and down all excited. She pooped in the potty! That's my girl!

So even if she doesn't pee pee in the potty maybe we can get the poop part down. I can handle pee.

I ran 5 miles this morning, 42:10, avg pace 8:24. I did the first 3.5 miles with hill intervals and the last 1.5 miles of speed work (on the treadmill of course). Regardless it was a good run.

After the run I didn't have much time to do weights so I did some kettle ball lunges and planks. Then it was time to head home with the sun starting to rise. So nice.

When the Crap Hits the Fan

I was planning on getting up and running this morning. My week is going to be kind of messed up because Wed. (my 8 miles) my husband has to be out of the house by 5:30 am so there is no time to run unless I get up at 3:30 and make it to the gym right at 4:00 when it opens.

That's still an option.

Last night just as I was roasting some red potatoes and getting ready to fire up the grill, my husband got the dreaded call that shit was spilling into the river. Literally, shit.

Because I don't know too much about the specifics, I do know that it means that the pumps he rented to the customer failed or didn't turn on like they were supposed to, to pump the sewer, which means it started flowing into the river. Not good. At all.

I rarely see my husband get so stressed out but at this point I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Because he is the sales rep, he must go and do damage control with the customer. So he takes off about 6:30 and it's just me and Sophie for dinner. I ending up eating a sandwich and Sophie chicken nuggets (mom of the year award right here).

Poor guy didn't get home till 1:30 am (Columbia, SC where his customer's site is located, is about an hour and a half away). Once he got home and into bed I had a hard time getting back to sleep and then my mind kept racing for some reason. Anyway we both didn't sleep well, I'm sure he was having nightmares about last nights fiasco.

So today ended up being a rest day like originally planned, which turned out to be a good thing because I am sore from yesterdays weight session.

I did cross train but I also ran 2 miles - sort of a recover run - and did the elliptical and then weights.

So tomorrow I will run and then see what to do about Wed. I have another half marathon on Saturday in Charlotte, NC - the Thunder Road Half Marathon.

Charlotte is home to the Lowe's Motor Speedway and Nascar Hall of Fame so that is why it's named Thunder Road. Plus we have Paramounts Carowinds theme park and there's a roller coaster called Thunder Road. But I don't that the race is named after the roller coaster.

So I need to make sure I don't over do it this week because Charlotte has a lot of hills. Plus we'll be traveling with child and dogs so it's not like it's going to be easy going, it's going to be tiring and stressful but we're staying with my sister so it's automatic baby sitter while we run (Ricky is running the 5k).

Ultimately I'm glad things worked out like they did, I needed the rest anyway. My right heel has been bothering me ever since the Mrytle Beach Mini Marathon.

Time change is both good and bad. I love when the sun rises early, helps me get out of bed. However getting home when it's dark out is going to be a little depressing. Grin and bear it, that's what I do.

Potty training blitz starts at daycare this week. So this past weekend I was trying to get Sophie all excited and get her in "big girl panties." She tells me "I not a big girl, I'm a baby." This isn't a good sign.

How much do you push till you realize maybe she's just not ready? Maybe daycare will have luck. She likes the fight me tooth and nail while she seems to tow the line with her teachers. This will be interesting.

Last night when she was bathed, dressed and ready for bed. We snuggled. It was wonderful. I cherish these moments.

Week 11 Recap

Day 1 - Sunday
Cross Train: 15 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the stair climber. Weights (legs, upper body and some kettle ball exercices).

Day 2 - Monday
Rest: Halloween! Trick or Treating with my little black cat. I was sore from the previous day's workout so this was a nice day to take it easy. Of course I was rushed trying to get home, cook dinner, get Sophie ready for trick or treating, and making sure the decorations outside were all set up.

Day 3 - Tuesday
4 miles, 33:08, avg pace 8:15. When I was on my way home from the gym I realized that I was supposed to run 5 miles this morning. Oops.

Day 4 - Wednesday
8 miles, 1:07, avg pace 8:27. Body pump class in the evening. My first Body Pump class in like 3 years and it was great! Looking forward to doing these more often as long as the hubby can get Sophie after work.

Day 5 - Thursday
5 miles Rest: I could have gotten up but my body was tired, not so much sore, just really tired.

Day 6 - Friday
Rest 5 miles, 43:05, avg pace 8:47. Taking it easy since I had my long run the next day. Ab workout after the run.

Day 7 - Saturday
18 miles, 2:55:56, avg pace 9:46.

I was not looking forward to this run for 1 reason: Wind.
The weather forecast was calling for windy conditions today 15-25 mph winds with 35 mph + wind gusts. Lovely. Not only the wind but it was pretty chilly this morning, which is not normally a big deal. but when you factor in the wind it was cold. I'm a whimp when it comes to the cold, but this was bone chilling.

Starting out was a little rough because my hands were freezing and I didn't bring my gloves, because I figured I wouldn't want to wear them very long anyway.

Before long I started to warm up slightly but was still wearing my fleece. I was a little afraid I was going to get to warm but when I was in the shade and the wind wipped through the area, I was glad I kept it on.

So I felt good overall except for when I was running head first into the wind. That just made me feel slow and cold and towards the end of the run I kept saying "effing wind" for the last 4 miles.

I was keeping about a 9:30 - 9:40 pace until...the last 4 miles (effing wind). I was getting tired and it was just a blowing. Plus I was on a different part of the trail and there were a ton of leaves covering the path and I almost tripped over a few branches that had fallen so I slowed down to make sure I didn't bust my butt.

Mostly I was getting tired and I was out of water. The annoying thing with all the wind is my lips were dry as crap and my mouth was getting dry too. I think for the race Ricky is going to have to meet me somewhere around mile 20 and give me another water bottle. I did really well with my water until mile 17.

I ate some of my power bar enery chews throughout the run as well as some peanut M&M's (don't judge - they were good at mile 12).

Last week I felt a little dizzy around mile 12 from being hungry I think so I made sure I had something with me just in case. Not sure it was the right thing but I figured the peanuts would help. Sometimes when I eat the energy chews I get sick of the taste but I hate gels. Not sure if the M&M's did anything for me but it was a nice snack to have (sorry Sophie - I stole them from her Halloween candy stash).

Regardless of the wind, I'm glad I got out there and did it. I really wanted to wimp out. The time was slow but then again I've never run 18 miles before so I'm proud all around.

Of course when I got home it was nap time for Sophie and I was looking forward to laying down with her while my husband went to the gym to do his workout. This would be the day she doesn't want to nap. I was half asleep when I felt like I was being watched.

There she was sitting next to me going "get up Mommy, I not tired, no nap." I tried for about 15 minutes to get her to lay down but she was not having it. So tonight it's almost bed time and I have a feeling I'm going to crash hard.

Today I'm thankful for my Recovery Socks!

Just Another Run

I did a slower run this morning, 5 miles, 43:05, avg pace 8:47. Did some abs after.

To be honest I wasn't really feeling it this morning. I didn't sleep well but I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least get some miles in today.

Once I started running I felt good but decided to keep it a little slower because tomorrow I have to do 18 miles.

Even though it's cloudy, rainy and cold today, tomorrow is supposed to still be chilly, sunny and WINDY!!!

I think I read where it's going to be 35 mph wind gusts? Um not cool. I hate running when it's that windy because it makes it harder and it's going to be a cold wind. Not excited.

Last week it was rainy and windy and this time it's just going to be windy. It's OK I will get it done, I have to. Can't do it on Sunday.

I always go by the rule of thumb that what if these are the conditions on race day? I must tough it up and get out there and be blown away! I will try to not look at my watch because then I'll get frustrated.

Other than my run we don't have a whole lot of plans for the weekend. I'm going to attempt to get some projects done around the house and then have dinner with a friend of mine who I have seen in a few months.

My good friend Pam and former running buddy (I say former because she's not really running right now, trying to get preggers!!)

Losts of races this weekend and sad that I won't be doing the James Island Connector 10k tomorrow but it doesn't fall into my training plan. Good thing too with the wind. Up a bridge over the water can not be ideal running conditions but it'll be challenging for sure.

Brings Back Memories

Last night I went to the gym that's close to my office for a Body Pump class. I haven't done Body Pump at this location in three years (since my last job that had a corporate membership with this gym).

Speaking of my last job, I worked for a software company that did online health benefit enrollment for insurance carriers and their employees. I was a Data Analyst and this is what my resume says about my previous position:

· Primarily responsible for ensuring the integrity and synchronization of the data provided to the    insurance carrier and aide in the transfer and exchange of electronic health data.

· Other responsibilities include handling changes in healthcare data made by the HR Administrator          and researching issues during data transmissions.

· Ongoing correspondence with the insurance carrier to ensure the appropriate information was received properly.

It's all very technical so I won't go into detail however my Art degree came in very handy for this job let me tell you. Actually when I interviewed my soon to be manager laughed and sort of made fun of my college education. He wasn't a very good boss to say the least. I kicked ass in that job. I worked long days with no overtime and was stressed to the max. I had never experienced anxiety before until I worked for this company. It was very demanding and it was the happiest day of my life when I left.

Anyway, when I was employed at this company I went to the gym and did Body Pump twice a week. This really helped my weight loss before I got pregnant. I missed it greatly.

Now that I have a corporate membership through my new company I am able to go again, just not as frequently.

For example last night Ricky picked up Sophie so I could head straight there but because he travels and is the bread winner, I pick her up most nights.

I used to think Body Pump was so hard but that was at a time where I wasn't doing much weight training. Last night I noticed that I have come a very long way. I probably could have gone a little heavier than what I did but decided to keep the weight kind of light because I didn't want to be too sore for my long run on Saturday but I had just enough to make it a little challenging while not overexerting myself.

Had a great workout and I was STARVING when I got home.

This morning my alarm went off at it's usual 4:00 but I decided to rest today. I wasn't really sore but my body felt tired so I will run tomorrow.

My husband asked if he snored last night because he was out of breathe right strips. I didn't hear a thing, I slept like a rock.

My Favorite Greek Yogurt

Over the last few months I've made the switch from my regular yogurt to Greek yogurt. It's been difficult for me to find a good tasting fat free brand.

I'm not a fan of Chobani at all. I think it's gross and has a funky taste. My coworker eats the fat free plain. She must not have any taste buds.

I tried another brand, Fage, but wasn't a fan.

Finally I found my brand:

It's a little pricey, at my supermarket it's 3 for $7.00 but so worth it!

Vanilla bean is my favorite flavor, not so much a fan of the fruit ones but strawberry will do when they are out of the vanilla bean.

They also have a Greek yogurt parfait (yogurt plus granola that you mix together) and it's delicious but I can't seem to find it on their website.

I try to eat yogurt at least once a day. I have found it very beneficial and because I don't drink a ton of milk, I have to get calcium in me somehow. 

My daughter drinks a "yogurt smoothie" every morning when she wakes up. When she was an infant she battled oral thrush which is common in babies. It was a pain in the ass to treat and turned into a yeast diaper rash (because as we were killing it in her mouth with medicine it got into her intestinal track - yuck). It was not a fun experience especially for a new mommy. 

Because her tummy was so upset from the whole ordeal the doctor told us to by a special formula with probiotics to help get her all regular and kill off the bad yeast and stuff. It worked. With in a few days she was much better. After that I bought a powder probiotic to add to her formula. 

Ever since she was old enough to eat yogurt I bought Yo Baby drinkable yogurt and put it in her sippy cup. It's been our morning routine for the last year and a half. Sophie calls it "gurt." :)

I really feel this has helped keep her regular and helped her recovery quickly from stomach bugs. Plus when she had all her ear infections and was on an antibiotic more than I would have liked her to be, the probiotics helped keep all the good bacteria in her tummy - which killing it off could lead to thrush again and antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. I did a lot of reading on this when she was younger. 

And because she's going through a "don't want milk" phase I know she's getting some from this.

I'm an advocate for probiotics.

Did 8 miles this morning, time 1:07, avg pace 8:27. 

Tonight my plan is to go to the gym after work for a Body Pump class at the gym near my office. My husband is going to pick up Sophie for me. Hopefully I will have the energy to do so. If the day goes well and I'm feeling good later, and the stars are all aligned I will do it. 

I have my gym bag right by my desk so I don't forget!

My Little Black Cat

Trick or Treating was a success! I'm so proud of the fact that she wore her costume with out a fuss, let me draw her whiskers on her face, and actually walked up to the doors and said "trick or treat" and "thank you" every time she got candy.

Happy kitty ready to get some candy. 

 If you look closely at my car you'll see the nice dented tailgate and bumper from my accident - that's finally getting fixed next week.

She carried that pouch of candy the entire time.

Went to maybe 10 houses and then headed home so we could get Sophie ready for bed. I'm happy she had a great time and look forward to next year. Now she realizes she got a bunch of candy, it was the first thing she asked for this morning so we hid it.

This morning I ran 4 miles, 33:08, avg pace 8:15. As I was doing weights I realized that I was supposed to do 5 miles. Oops.

I was going to do an extra mile after weights but then I ran out of time.

I also realized that this weekend daylight savings ends. Bummer!! I hate getting home from work when it's dark out. Makes me feel like I missed the day. However I do like it getting lighter earlier. I've been having such a hard time getting out of bed on the weekends because the sun doesn't rise till about 7:15 or so.

Gaining an hour of sleep is always nice though.