It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

Because I am working on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I spent today getting everything finished up for our weekend of Christmas Celebrations.  The presents are wrapped, the cookies are made and the Paula Deen Ham is in the fridge patiently waiting its demise.  

Here is Cody unwrapping his Christmas present to himself... more Jeep parts.  We have plans to go out on our annual four-wheeling adventure on New Years Day, so Cody has been working really hard!

Happy Holidays!

Three in a row...

I had three very wonderful days off, in a row!  No big deal you say?  My class is over for the semester (I got an A by the way), my Christmas shopping is finished, and my laundry is done.  Now, do you see why it was so wonderful?!?!  


So, what did I do with myself for 3 whole days?  I worked out.  A lot.  I read a book.  I addressed Christmas Cards.  I had lunch with my dad at Bread Co.  I met Erin for lunch at Ruby Tuesdays.  Drove all the way to Cape with Cody to buy a part for the Jeep.  Had dinner with Candice & Ryan.


I am working this weekend, but then have three more days in a row off next week. Unfortunately, that means that I am working both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.   I just keep thinking about how nice next week will be!


Merry Christmas Everyone!

Frostbite Series 12K

Yesterday was run #1 of 5.  We ran a 12K (which is about 7.5 miles) in about 1 hr 14 minutes.  We kept a nice slow pace, and I was able to run the entire distance without any pain in my knee/IT band.  I had been regretting taking so much time off running since the marathon, but I think that it has helped my knee recover faster.  It was chilly, but I dressed in layers and warmed up quickly after getting moving.  I am really looking forward to the rest of the runs.  

Friday night I joined Cody at the gym for a swim.  I had run 4.5 miles on the treadmill earlier in the day, but thought I should be getting in some swimming since I am still planning on that indoor triathlon in February.  Sunday morning I got up and went to power yoga.  It was a different class (and instructor) than I usually go to, but it felt great to stretch a bit after yesterday's run.  

Total miles run last week:  16

Plans for this week include:

-Working Monday and Tuesday (maybe a run tuesday night)

-Wednesday: Spin Class and Power Yoga

-Thursday: A run and swim

-Friday: Swim and Spin

R & R

I know I have been MIA for awhile, but it was well spent resting and relaxing at Breezes Rio Bueno in Jamaica.  We spent most of the week lounging by the pool, drinking and eating.  The restaurants were fantastic, as well as the drinks.  The resort was really beautiful, and the staff was very accommodating. We had such a great time, I can't wait to go back again!   

When we finally peeled ourselves away from the pool, we went on a zipline tour of the Chukka Canopy.  It was the coolest thing I have ever done!

(Nice Helmets, huh?!)

The food was so good.  You could choose from:

 La Pasta- Italian

Piacere- French

Munasan- Japenese

Victoria's Market- International Cuisine

Reggae Cafe- Jamaican Cuisine

This is us at La Pasta one night after dinner.  

Happy Thanksgiving

This year I am thankful for:

My healthy and happy family

Completing my 2nd marathon

(and all the people that supported me)

Recovering from my IT band injury

My Gold's Gym Membership

Starbucks

I decided not to participate in the Chesterfield Turkey Trot 5K this year.  I am still not completely well, and I don't want to risk getting sicker than I already have been this year!

It is supposed to be cold and rainy, and I heard there was a chance for that fluffy white "S" word.  

Shh! Don't say it out loud!

I hope everyone has a healthy and happy Thanksgiving day!

~Tara~

Ewww...

Anyone ever see that life-size replica of 5 pounds of fat?  It is pretty gross.  During some procrastination today, I stumbled across a website called mypetfat.com (I couldn't get the link to open) but you basically carry around a blob of fat and it is supposed to make you more conscious of the things that you are eating.  I am pretty sure that I am officially grossed out.  I am truly disturbed/intrigued/amazed by this.  I certainly have a much better appreciation for that 10 pounds I have lost this year.

Frostbite Series

Yesterday, we signed up for the St. Louis Track Club's Frostbite Series.  The series consists of 5 winter runs, building up some distance again for early spring.  They are held at Forest Park.  

Saturday, December 12th- 12 K (7.5 miles)

Saturday, December 26th- 10 miles

Saturday, January 9th- 20 K (12.4 miles)

Saturday, January 23rd- Half Marathon (13.1 miles)

Saturday, February 6th- 15 K (9.3 miles)

I have been a bit under the weather this week, but really have been itching to get outside and run again. I only got in a Zumba class and Power Yoga so far this week.  Maybe another day of yoga and a swim are in my future! I had better do something if I think I am running 7.5 miles on December 12.  

Kansas City Weekend

Our weekend started off on Friday morning with a 250 meter swim and a 50 minute spinning class with my favorite instructor, Shiela. I am really loving her classes. After quick showers at the gym, we headed out to Kansas City for Jen and Justin’s wedding festivities. 

Once we checked into our hotel, we started getting ready for the rehearsal. A quick run through at the Temple, then off to Houlihan’s with Jenny, Lauren and Matt for drinks. Dinner was at Garozza’s Italian Restaurant, and consisted of Pesto Ravioli (Yummy!), Salad, Chicken Speidini, Tomato Penne and Cannoli. We had a lovely evening, listened to some silly stories about the bride and groom and then zipped back to the hotel for an early bedtime. 

Saturday, we woke up to a cold, gloomy day. What a better way to spend it than in search of a farmers market. Some friends told us about the City Market. It wasn’t very busy (since it was cold and rainy) but we scored a few good finds. Jalapeño Cheddar bread, Sun dried tomato basil dip, and Jalapeño Jam. We finished our afternoon off with lunch at Gates BBQ, a Kansas City Tradition, and a nice nap before the wedding.

 

The wedding ceremony was really nice and we had a great time dancing, eating wedding cake and doing tequila shots with the bride! After the reception, what could be better than IHOP at 1am! 

 

We finished up our weekend away with a Sunday morning brunch dedicated to the newlyweds. 

 Thanks so much to Justin and Jenifer for a wonderful weekend &

 for allowing us to be a part of their special day!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I wish I could figure out how to stay at home, and somehow still collect a paycheck every 2 weeks!

Here is a quick recap of this week:

Sunday- swimming for 1 hour (with rest breaks), laundry, dishes, yardwork... all the stuff that never gets finished.

Monday- 12 hour workday

Tuesday- in for a 1 hour meeting (and sat in traffic for almost an hour), Zumba class with Christina, some research for my paper, then power yoga!

Wednesday- swam 500 meters, 1 hour spinning class, more paper writing, a decaf pumpkin spice latte, then yoga again.

Thursday-8 hour overtime shift (making some spending $$ for my vacay) and some more research. I really want this paper to type itself!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday- working again... anyone know the winning lottery numbers for me?

By Monday, I am going to be ready for a nap!

Up next?

There may be an indoor triathlon in my near future...

After the Chicago Marathon in 2008, I said I was never running another marathon. Look where that got me! Now, that I have 2 marathon's under my belt, Cody (and Brant) have been trying to convince me to move outside my comfort zone to an indoor triathlon. The JCC is hosting it's 6th Annual Indoor Triathlon on February 13th and 14th.

There are two distances for the indoor tri... the sprint distance is a 400 yard swim (8 laps), 8 mile bike and 2.5 mile run... the long distance is a 750 yard swim, 18 mile bike and 5 mile run. I am not deciding on anything quite yet, as I am still having some trouble with my knee/IT band. I joined Gold's Gym two weeks ago and have spent the majority of the last few weeks tackling spinning, swimming, yoga and Zumba. I am enjoying the challenge that these bring, they use a whole different set of muscles than running! The swimming has been the biggest challenge so far, but I am hoping that will get easier.

Marathon Recap (Finally!)

I am now the proud owner of a Nike Women's Marathon Tiffany's necklace... one that was hand delivered by a SF Fireman in a tuxedo! Overall, the race was pretty good. My finishing time wasn't as fast as I had trained for, but I finished and I have recovered really well! The couse was crowded at the beginning and I had a little trouble with my knee, but it loosened up a few miles in. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was great during the run. 55-60 degrees and overcast, great conditions for marathon running. There were a few moments I remember specifically... the orange slice station where Christina squirted herself in the eye with the juice... Meeting up with coach Rick at mile 7, 14 and 25 and the time he ran with us...the Ghiradhelli Chocolate at mile 21 (which noone told me how hard that would be on my digestive system)...trying to get an eyelash out of my eye at mile 20...Singing "Jesse's Girl" and "We are the Champions" with Michelle at the top of our lungs... and sprinting through the finish line with the girl from Conneticuit that I met on the course. After the race, we headed back to our hotel room for an ice bath, then went out for a cheeseburger and a beer (which actually ended up as 1/2 a french dip sandwich and a glass of water... boo.)

The most memorable part other than the marathon itself was the inspiration dinner. We were greeted upon entering by tons of cheering coaches dressed in funny hats/clothes, etc. I was overcome by emotion, and actually got a little choked up on my way in. The speakers at the dinner were Joan Benoist Samuelson, John "The Penguin" Bingham and a race participant/lymphoma survivor. I also want to congratulate Mindy, one of my fellow team in training members. The Nike Women's Marathon was her first marathon, and she qualified for Boston! Awesome!

I had a really great time with Team in Training. I want to send a huge thank you to Coach Rick, my staff contact Gail, my mentor Lisa, and everyone who donated to help me reach my fundraising goal. I am so proud to have been able to participate in this organization and I would love to do another event with them sometime in the future! By the way, the group that participated in Nike (both the full and half marathon) this year raised just over $180, 000 together!

Marathon Weekend Day 2

Today was our sightseeing day.

We started off the day with an early morning run through downtown San Francisco.

Back to the hotel to decorate our race shirts (and our nails) in true Team in Training Style

Then off to the best farmer's market I have ever been to! We had organic apple cider, homemade tamales, and a mexican egg dish (I can't remember it's name!) and had some lovely entertainment while we ate.

We headed down for the Alcatraz tour, only to find it sold out for the day. Here is as close as I got to the prison...

Playing in the water in the San Francisco Bay.

Then, off to Ghirardelli Square. This ice cream sundae was worth every calorie!

The day was full of lots of good food, beautiful scenery, and hiking up HUGE hills to get back to the hotel. Next up... Marathon Day Review!

Marathon Weekend Recap-Day 1

Travel Day:

We arrived at the airport at 8am (ok, it was 8:15, you all know that I can't be anywhere on time!) We took some pics...

Christina & I at the airport

Had some Starbucks and got onto the plane. 4 hours later... Hello San Francisco!

Cody and I on the shuttle to the Hilton!

We visited the Nike Expo, where we picked up our race packets, tried out the new Nike LunarGlide shoes and made a smoothie by biking on a spin bike! Really cool!

Making Smoothies on the spin bikes

Then we headed down to Pier 39 for some sightseeing and dinner. We ate at North Beach Pizza, where they had all you can eat pizza & pasta. (and REALLY good clam chowder)

Cody was in 7th heaven!

Cody and I at North Beach Pizza

Last Group Training Run

I met the team at Forest Park Saturday morning, not sure how my knee was going to hold up. I got an IT Band brace from Fleet Feet that I hoped would help. About half a mile in, I thought I was going to have to turn around, but I decided to stick it out. Total milage = 6 mile loop. I stretched and iced and foam rolled when I got home, but am feeling pretty sore today. I am planning on taking it really easy for the rest of the week.

One more week!

Ok, I edited that last post because I figured nobody really cared what bands are going to be at each mile along my marathon course. Point is, there is going to be a different band/cheerleading group/entertainment at each mile. Along with water and gatorade, it looks like we will be offered fruit, LUNA bars and the long awaited Ghirardelli Chocolate Station is at mile 21!

I will have to say, this is going to be one cool marathon course.

Wishful Thinking

How come... when I have to run, I don't always want to... but when I can't, it is all I keep thinking about?! My knee is still pretty sore. I have been stretching every day and using my foam roller whenever I can. I am going to try some yoga on thursday afternoon. My final group run is on Saturday. It is supposed to be 10 miles, but I would be really happy to have a pain free 4 miler.

Here it is!

The Nikon Coolpix s630.

I finally brought it home today after visiting it online for the last 2 weeks.

I can't wait to learn how to use it!

It's raining, It's pouring...

Thursday morning was a great day to sleep in. A cold, rainy, gloomy day. So, I did what any rational person would do... I laced up my shoes and headed out for a run. Needless to say, mother nature didn't think that I really needed to get in that last 2o miler. After 12.5 soaking wet, freezing cold miles, we decided to call it quits. Having some pain in my right knee, but don't know what caused it. Still hurting quite a bit today, nothing like a little R.I.C.E. for the weekend!

say cheese!

I sure do wish I was more technologically savvy! Recently, I have been investigating digital cameras. I am looking for the perfect one help to capture my trip to San Francisco. One day, I might even invest in taking some classes in photography...

Now I get it!

I think that I am finally getting the hang of this thing!

Half Marathon Day

Yesterday, Cody and I participated in the Lewis & Clark half marathon in St. Charles. It was a really pretty day to enjoy a run. Cody was planning on running faster than me, so after standing in an insanely long line at the porta-potty, we parted ways to our respective "start corrals". Christina and I ran together, along with Katie, who I met up with while in line for the potty!

A grueling 21 miles later, I met Cody at the finishers tent, had a beer and some food, visited with some friends and then headed home for the day. Overall, it was a really great day and has me getting super excited for San Francisco! Only 33 more days!

Starting a Blog!

Most of you know that I have been attempting to blog on my Team in Training website. I know that they will be deactivating that site once we get to marathon day, so I thought that I would try my hand at Blogspot and see how it goes!

Tara