What’s Up Wednesday July 31st Edition

What’s up this week?? Color Me Rad, weight gain, and getting out of my head. 

Up first is my head. I’m an over thinker, it drives me nuts, but it is who I am. I have a math/ science mind and will sit and dissect my runs split by split, and now that I am much slower then I was last year it is driving me nuts!! This led me to decide that starting this week I am making an effort to just do it and not over think it. I have told myself I am going to take it workout by workout and see what happens. I’m not going to get any faster if I allow myself to get so discouraged and I need to look at the bigger picture.

Next up is weight gain. I keep comparing myself to what I was this time last year, and well as of right now I am up 20 pounds, and on my 5’4” frame that is a lot! I keep trying, in vain, to get my weight under control and I just can’t seem to get there. So this week I started, once again,  logging my food in My Fitness Pal, which I hate by the way. Right now I am trying to take more of a Weight Watchers points type of approach by sticking within my calorie goal and macronutrient break down, but I’m not follow all the no carbs after 1pm type of things. I’m hoping to at least get back to my “normal” weight by the end of September, which means losing 10 pounds. So far this week has been iffy, but I plan to shop and prep this weekend and I am hoping next week will start to go better.

Last but not least I have been selected to be a Color Me Rad ambassador!! As an ambassador not only do I get to run a race, I also get to offer my readers a 20% off discount code (radfun) that is valid until midnight August 1st. My mom and sister ran the one in Houston in March and really enjoyed it so I am really looking forward to it. Right now I am trying to decide between San Jose and Orange County since the Fresno race is the same day as RnR Las Vegas.

Have you ever ran in a color run before? Love or Hate it?  

The Neon Splash Dash!!

I will start by saying this was my first “color” run of any kind, in fact the only other 5k I have ever done was the Royal Family 5k during Princess Half weekend in 2012, so I didn’t exactly know what to expect. After looking up some blog posts on other neon night runs I started to get a little worried. I had seen several reports of pre-race drinking, and rowdy rave-like environments!! Thankfully this race was not like that.


My mom, Officer P, Artsy Girl and me got to the venue around 6:30, about an hour and a half before the scheduled start of the race. There wasn’t a whole bunch going on in the pre-race area but we did wander around and take our “before” pictures with the Neon Splash Dash backdrop. They had a promo where you could post your before and after pics on a social media venue and tag them for a chance to win some “swag”, so we figured why not??

After taking our pics we went over to the Activate booth to get a free bottle of Activate water. If you haven’t heard of Activate water, which I hadn’t before this, it is a vitamin water where the vitamins  are stored in the cap and only “activate” with the water when you twist the cap to release them. Their claim is that the potency of other vitamin water products is compromised by sitting on the shelf. I had a choice between lemon-lime and grapefruit and chose the lemon-lime. Mine was really cold and tasted fine. It was a bit gritty toward the end, but overall not bad. Artsy girl had gotten blueberry-pomegranate and hers was pretty good. My mom had the same one as me, but hers wasn’t as cold and didn’t taste so good. 

After wandering around for a bit taking pics it was finally time to line up at the start line. Unfortunately, this line was in soft dirt which made it very dusty every time we moved up in the line, but I will say they did a real good job and letting each wave go so it wasn’t too congested. It wasn’t quite dark when we started, but it was dark by the time we got to the first color station. The first color was green, and honestly I think it was the one I was hit with the most. It surprised me a bit that it was warm. I was expecting it to be cold, but now that I think about it, it was probably sitting out in the heat all day in the buckets, and I appreciated that.  
 
The first 2 colors were pretty close together and then it seemed like a long time until we got to the third color. Around this time it was getting pretty dark and I started getting a little nervous because the pavement wasn’t in the best shape and it was too dark to see the groves and potholes in it. There was one water station at the halfway point and it was right around here that people started cutting across the course to the third color station. That annoyed me a bit but I decided it was a fun run so I wasn’t going to let it bother me.  
     
Overall I would say it was a very fun race! I loved looking back and seeing a line of blinking and flashing lights glowing behind me. There were also a lot of kids there!! I know it said it was family friendly, but I was a little worried it wouldn’t be. We didn’t spend a lot of time at the post race party since we didn’t eat before the race, but it was mainly only people standing around dancing and taking pics under the black lights.
 

What’s Up Wednesday

I’ve seen “Five on Friday” and “3 Things Thursday” so I thought why not start “What’s Up Wednesday” this way I can post all those random things I think of throughout the week that are not enough to have a whole post of their own.

This week’s “What’s up Wednesday” will be about Pixie, chiropractic care, and officially starting half marathon training. Up first is Pixie!! Isn’t she adorable?

Pixie is our 7 year old boxer who sometimes runs with me. She loves to accompany me on runs, and even stalks me around the house when she sees me put on my running shoes and watch. I would take her more often but she can be a little unpredictable. Not her behavior since, of course, she is an absolute sweetheart, but do you remember Dug from Up??? Yeah she is kind of like that. We will be running along and she will see a squirrel and will cut across the front of me. Thankfully there are less squirrels here then there were in Texas so I might take her out with me more often now.

Up next is chiropractic care. A couple weeks ago a FINALLY bit the bullet and made a chiropractic appointment. I emphasis finally because I have seriously been talking about it for years, but I kept putting it off. The good news was that I didn’t have any issues with disc degeneration. The bad news was that  my lumbar is making a S shape.  This is my x ray with the light box off, but you can see where the Dr drew lines across my spine to show the curves.
The first 2 weeks I went 3 times a week and now I am suppose to go twice a week for the next 3 weeks. Honestly, I am kind of getting tired of it. My favorite part is the therapy massage bed. The adjustments are really quick and painless, but I do tend to have a lot of tingling after. This is suppose to be normal, but it irritates me quite a bit. It’s also messing with my running a bit. Since my back was curved my pelvis was tilted and since it is now straightening out my body has to learn how to run differently.

Last but not least Monday will be the kick off to my official Rock N Roll Las Vegas half marathon training. I am both looking forward to and dreading it. The weather here is really hot so I am really limited as to when I can run and that really makes it rough but I am hoping since I *have* to train now I will be motivated to get through it.

So that is what is up with me on this Wednesday. What is up with you? What are you training for?

Island Boost Review

As a distance runner I am always looking for the best way to fuel my run, but in the past I have had a lot of bad experiences. I started out trying sports beans since I have texture issues and the thought of anything named a Gu made my stomach turn. Unfortunately, my stomach didn’t like the beans any better. Within 5 to 10 minutes of taking them I would start to get a stomachache and they felt like a rock in my gut. I then moved on to gummies and while they didn’t give me any stomach issues I found it a bit difficult to breathe while chewing them and they took way too long to eat. Here enters Island Boost!

While the packaging looks a lot like all the Gus and gels out there, their consistency is quite a bit different, which was a huge plus for me! The main thing contributing to the consistency difference is coconut water! That’s right there is coconut water in the fuel so there is no need to chase it down with a bunch of water. I found this to also be a big plus because too much water tends to make me feel sluggish.

Here are some things from the Island Boost website that they wants us to remember about their product:

• Faster fuel formulated with glucose, the fastest energy source that is absorbed into the bloodstream quicker to fuel muscles
• No need to drink a bottle of water to dissolve the carbohydrates, they’re readily absorbed via the coconut water
• No artificial sweeteners, flavors and shelf stable for a year
• Vegan and gluten free
• Delicious frozen for those runs on hot days

The last thing on that list really stood out to me. Here in Central California we have had  100+ degree temps for 16 days and counting so I put those bad boys in the freezer the minute they came into the house.

Island Boost comes in 3 flavors Passion Fruit, Strawberry -Orange, and Blueberry –Pomegranate. I decided to do things a little differently this morning and use the Passion Fruit one before my 6am run. If you have read any of my race recaps you would see the common theme that 1) I am not a morning person and 2) I have major issues trying to eat in the early morning hours, so I figured this might be a good alternative to me gaging down a banana and hoping for the best.

My initial reaction was that I loved that it was a liquid, but I didn’t love the taste. I am pretty sure this is because I don’t like coconut water. I wish I did, I know it’s great for me, but I just don’t like it. It wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t get it down, and if you like coconut water I am sure you would like it a lot more then I did.

I have to say I was a little unsure if it would work and if it would be able to get me through a 6 mile run so I brought the strawberry-orange one along just in case. I am happy to report that I did just fine and did not need any additional fuel on my run.

I look forward to trying the other 2 flavors on future runs and seeing if I can find one that I like a little better than the one I tried today.

What are your “go to” race day breakfast and fuel choices?

(Disclaimer: I was provided with samples for the purpose of providing a review on my blog but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own)

The ABCs of Me!!

I have been watching this go around the blogosphere for about a week now and I thought, oh that would be fun; I should do that, but I kept putting it off. Then Julie over at Run. Walk. FASTPASS. Repeat tagged me and that seemed to be just the push I needed to sit down and do it. So here they are The ABCs of Me . . .

A. Attached or Single: Attached. I’ve spent the last 12, mostly wonderful, years married to Officer P.

 

B. Best Friend: My sister. We actually like each other now days.

C. Cake or Pie: Cake! I love cake, especially ice cream cake.

D. Day of the Week: As strange as it sounds, Friday because I have the whole weekend ahead me! Also Sunday, if it’s a race day.

E. Essential Item: Internet!! Seriously I don’t know what to do with myself without it.

F. Favorite Color: Blue! But purple is a very close second.

G. Gummy Bears or Gummy Worms: Bears- Haribo, unless we are talking sour, then worms Trolli Brite Crawlers. I’m specific like that.

H. Hometown: I was born and raised in Southern California

I. Favorite Indulgence: Dark chocolate, or ice cream. Better yet dark chocolate ice cream with coconut.  

J. January or July: January because I have always lived in warm climates and July is just too darn hot!

K. Kids: I have 4. 3 girls Serena (12), Chyenne (10), Brooklyn (8) and 1 boy, Riley (4). Originally I wanted 2 and Officer P wanted 3 and somehow 4 became the compromise.

L. Life isn't complete without: Love. To love and be loved

M. Marriage Date: December 2000

N. Number of brothers/sisters: One younger sister.

O. Oranges or apples: Apples. My favorites are Golden Delicious or Granny Smith with almond butter.

P. Phobias: I have a few. Toping the list is heights and elevators. I always had crazy dreams about elevators when I was a kid and they stuck with me.

Q. Favorite quote:

R. Reason to smile: My kids! Even though they can drive me insane, they still make me smile several times a day.

S. Season of Choice: I love love love fall! The temperatures start to cool down, I can wear sweaters and boots, and I love fall baking!!

T. Tag 5 People: I’m not going to tag anyone, but I would love for any of my readers to join in the fun and leave a link in the comments so I can learn more about you too!

U. Unknown fact about me: I actually don’t really like cardio, like at all. I really like lifting weights, but aside from running I hate pretty much all forms of cardio. And even running is iffy.

V. Favorite vegetable: Baby spinach. I use it in place of lettuce for just about everything.

W. Worst habit: I’m an over thinker. I worry and run through all possible scenarios for every little thing. It really stresses me out, and is usually all for nothing.

X. X-Ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound! I’ve only had them for my kids and it was always such a neat experience. X-rays usually mean something is broken. :/

Y. Your favorite food: I’m a bit of a foodie so I have several. Pizza, crab cakes, and a really good steak top the list.

Z. Zodiac Sign? Capricorn! Some of it is fitting, some not so much.

50 by 50

Way back in May I was browsing at the Allied Medal Displays website because I really wanted to get something to display all my wonderful bling! As I looked around the site I found this awesome hanger and it got me thinking. Now I totally plan that my marathon career will be a one and done situation, but I think I can totally do 50 states and 50 half marathons.

As I tried to explain it to Officer P I realized it might be a bit harder to accomplish than I was originally thinking. I told him if I were to do 5 half marathons a year, all in different states it would take me 10 years to accomplish my goal.  If I am being honest even 5 states a year would be a challenge for me right now, if only I lived back east where the states are closer together it would be a little easier. It was around this time I discovered that 50 states by the age 50 was actually a “thing”. Since I am currently 33 I feel it is totally doable, and while I may make slow progress these first few years as the kids get older I will be able to make it to more races and hopefully pick up the pace and make more progress towards my goal.

To track my progress I added a 50 by 50 page to my blog. I am slightly ashamed that although I lived in Texas for the first 4 years of my running career I never actually ran a half marathon there. Which totally means that I have to sign up for the newest Diva race in Galveston on April 13!!

So far I have 2 states down, California and Florida. Can any guess what they have in common?? I’ll be adding Nevada to that list in November.
How many states have you raced in?

No Excuses??

Last week while I was running my mind started to drift back to the good old days of running with my sister back in Houston. As we would run side by side we would chat about anything and everything under the sun. It became very common for those conversations to turn into us over analyzing every little thing we could have possibly done up to that point that caused a run to be either a good one or a bad one. Did I eat enough? Did I drink enough water? Maybe doing Insanity and a run on the same day wasn’t such a good idea afterall??

Now I like to say that I don’t make excuses and I try not to. I even have a nice little saying, that sounds great on paper, that I like to tell myself and it is: ”I don’t make excuses. Whether I face a mental block, a physical block, or a little bit of both, on any given run I do the best that I can with what I have.” Is that to say that every time I head out I leave it all out there on the pavement? Absolutely not. In fact I am a very cautious runner so I would venture to say that I have probably never really, truly given it my all.  

I’ll be very honest here. I am comfortable with being comfortable. I push myself a little, but I don’t like to not push myself too much to where I am unsure if I will be able to finish. I struggle with this even in training runs, where honestly it doesn’t matter if I finish XX amount of miles or not. This is something I am really trying to work on and I plan to push myself a little further out of my comfort zone each time I go out for a run. I know it wont be easy, and honestly I know the hardest part is going to be being mentally okay with letting myself regress a bit so that I can come back even stronger in the long run.
 
Do you find yourself making excuses for a less than stellar run? How do you get past your mental blocks to push yourself out of your comfort zone?

Starting Over . . . Again

It’s no surprise that I have been struggling for a long time now. This time last year I was in the best shape of my life. I had just finished a round of Insanity, was half way through a round of P90X and was at my lowest weight since I started having kids 12 years ago.

Come September I got a new job. A job I had been trying to get for years! A job that I absolutely loved, but this new job left me less time to workout and that was he beginning of the end. I now found myself getting up at 5:30 in the morning and always cutting my run short in order to make it to work by 7:30. That then turned to sleeping in and skipping the run all together.
Of course then Officer P got his promotion and things got even crazier. I didn’t run for 3 weeks, the ran 8, 9, and 11 mile runs back to back to back weeks. Then it was time to move and I didn’t run again for 3 weeks and then ran Tinker Bell, between Tink and PHM I only had one 9 mile run. After this I was only running 1 day a week, when officer P would come to visit. I then had the great idea to run the Diva Half. That made 3 half marathons with pretty much no training at all.
I keep trying, in vain, to get back on track, but I have decided now is the time. I am trying to be okay with starting over from the beginning, but honestly I am struggling with it a bit. In my mind I keep comparing myself to what I use to be. Hopefully I can get back there sooner rather then later, but I am going to try and take it one day at a time.