Vacation Plans

My husband wanted me to make some plans for our upcoming vacation, so this is what I found:

Doesn't that look like fun? I thought so. The rest of my family did not.

I have always had a fondness of climbing up to high places.

                                            Mt. Kilimanjaro Summitt - 19,341 ft  (1997)

...and jumping down from high places

                                          Leap of Faith at Atlantis - 60 ft (Bahamas 2012)

Unfortunately, no one else in my family cares for heights. They will humor me though and hike up high places with me, as long as they are attached to terrra firma most of the time. My husband should know by now that if he puts me in charge of finding something to do, it most likely will involve some height. We took a family trip to Korea about 8-9 years ago and I had to go see all the mountaintop Buddist shrines. I ended up carrying a kid in a backpack and another in my arms so we could do it. We went to Savannah, GA several years ago for Spring Break but we had to stop in Chimney Rock, NC so we could hike up to the top of Chimney Rock. Get the picture?

Well, since rappeling down the waterfall got vetoed, this is what I planned instead:

Sunday - find an Easter service, then check out the waterfalls at La Paz and/or the Poas Volcano
Monday - zipline canopy tour of the cloudforest in MonteVerde
Tuesday - rest/beach
Wednesday - whitewater raft 18 miles of the Pacuare River
Thursday - rest/beach

I'm hoping to get my runs in on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday if I have some time. Everything we have planned involves driving at least 1.5 hours in a different direction; MonteVerde is a 4 hour drive each way. I'm not sure if I'll have time so I'll just see how it goes.

I got a 5 mile run in this morning so 25 miles total for the week. I didn't get any cross-training done.

Anyone want to rappel down a waterfall with me? Rappeling is easy. Just don't get your feet above your head or else you'll flip over.

Intervals - Week 6

I came to a realization this morning. My new shoes are REALLY PINK!
Like bright hot PINK. When I look at my shoes, they look like this

So at the store, they looked mostly gray to me with some pink accents. But, I got down to stretch today and realized they looked more like this



Yup, they're pretty pink. Oh well, not realizing the true color of things must run in the family. My husband once bought an SUV, a Jeep Cherokee, at night and thought he was buying a black vehicle. It was his car and I hate car shopping so he bought it by himself. I saw it the next morning and asked him why he bought a purple car. Yup, it was dark purple.

I decided to try out my new shoes today running those dreaded intervals on the track. I missed week 4 and 5 of intervals due to my work schedule and just not feeling up to it. I am tempted to just chuck this training program and go running like I usually do but decided I would try to stick it out as best I could. It's that age old problem I have - I want to run faster but I don't LIKE to practice running faster...but, I like the feeling AFTER I have run fast.

So here's the workout. One mile warm up. Six 800m repeats with 90 seconds rest in between - except I had a GI emergency after interval #3 and had to take a bathroom break. Somehow the added rest with the bathroom break didn't help my times!

1. 4:03

2. 3:59

3. 4:05

4. 4:09

5. 4:04

6. 4:01

One mile warm down. 5 miles total. I was like drop-over-tired, absolutely-nothing-left doing that sixth interval. I was sure it was going to be my slowest one so I was pleasantly surprised. It also made me feel better seeing that my times have improved since the last time I did this same workout on 3/6/13.

I am still nervous about trying to maintain a sub-9 minute pace for my upoming half. I think I need more tempo runs out on the road. I am hoping the weather will be agreeable once we return from Spring Break. As far as next week's training, I'm just going to see what I can squeeze in while we are on vacation.

Do you exercise when you are on vacation?

Speed Dating

I went speed dating last night.

No, not for a new man... but for new running shoes. I dropped my daughter off at dance and had one hour to find THE ONE. The shoe that I was going to live with for at least the next year. The one that would be with me through all my ups and downs. The one that would fit me comfortably and hopefully help me keep all my toenails!

I went to my running shoe store, Blue Mile, and started trying on shoes. The first shoe I tried on was the Brooks Ghost. I think it was pretty much love at first sight. It fit really well - plenty of toe room and my feet felt great! I currently wear a Puma Velosis but I wanted a lighter shoe. I played around with getting a minimalist shoe and tried on the Brooks Pure Cadence.

I liked it but worried it was going to be too big a change.I tried on about 6-7 other shoes and gave them all a spin on the treadmill. In the end though, I kept going back to the Ghost. I still want to get a lighter shoe but decided I'd get the Ghost for now and think about getting the Pure Cadence as a second shoe in the future.

                                                        my new running shoes

What running shoes do you wear?
Have you tried a minimalist shoe?

Also, my sister-in-law did not have surgery today. Her doctors decided to give the antibiotics a little more time. Thanks for your prayers!

Positive Thoughts

I am trying to think positively today but there is alot going on...

I think I might be getting sick. My head is all stuffy and I'm sneezing. Yesterday was a total bust. I got home from work at 3:30 am and slept a couple hours. The kids had a snow day so sleeping in didn't last very long. I had a 15 mile run planned. I finally got to the fitness center and ran a mile before I decided I couldn't breathe, I was breaking out in a cold sweat, and I was a little dizzy. I stopped and felt pretty defeated. I slept about 12 hours last night and tried it again today. I got all 15 done but was pretty tired the last 2 miles. I certainly didn't push the pace any so I'm wondering if actually running 15 today is helping me out in the long run.

I got news today that my sister-in-law will have surgery tomorrow. It's a long story but, to summarize, her knee hurt... she went back and forth to the hospital 3 times and kept being told it was arthritis... she got to where she could no longer walk... her family took her to another hospital 3 hours away (St. Vincent's) and she arrived there with a blood pressure of 60 (very low). Her knee was infected and the infection had spread into her blood. Then she couldn't move her arms and neck and they found several abscesses on her spine (epidural abscesses). She has a heart condition and her heart acted up too. She got a little better with strong IV antibiotics but then they found more abscesses in her abdomen. Today, the neurosurgeons found that the abscess on the top of her spine is causing too much pressure on her spinal cord so they will do surgery tomorrow. She is in so much pain that she is really drugged up so she is hallucinating. Overall, it's not been a good couple weeks. I may end up being at the hospital tomorrow.

Saturday, we are leaving for Spring Break. My husband is having a panic attack saying I haven't planned it out enough. Well, we have passports, plane tickets, a place to stay, and a rental car. What more do you want?!

Looks like I'll be checking out things to do in Costa Rica tonight and praying my sister-in-law doesn't get any worse. I still need new running shoes so I might try to squeeze that in tonight too.

Please pray for my sister-in-law and send some positive thoughts our way!

Training Notes

Well, my training this week wasn't a total bust but it wasn't what I had planned either. Maybe the problem was that I didn't have much planning... Plus, we had some other stuff happen. My sister-in-law became very ill and was hospitalized in the ICU. She was very critical for a  couple days and we spent the day Wednesday with family at the hospital, then it was back home in time to drive the kids around. Thursday, I plain didn't get much done. I did work stuff in the morning then couldn't get motivated to get out the door again. Friday, I got 5 miles in. This morning, I got another 5 miles in. So week 5, 20 miles.

The sun is shining now but I have to go to work. I'm hoping to be more motivated this coming week.

Ice Cream on the Brain

 

Quick! Before the kids get home! Which one should I eat first?

So here's the deal I found today... and it ends tomorrow, thank God! There's a manufacturer's coupon in the Marsh circular (the print ad that's piled up by the door of the store) for Haagen-Daz, Buy 2, Get a Free Gelato, up to $3.50. The Haagen-Daz is $3.99 at Marsh this "week" (the grocery store week that ends 3/20/13) so if you did the deal there, it would be $3.99 + $3.99 + $3.99 - $3.50 = $8.47.



I found a printable Target coupon for $1 off 2 Haagen-Daz. It's a Target coupon so you can stack it with a manufacturer's coupon. The Haagen-Daz is $3.54 at Target. So, first stop Marsh, grab some circulars. Next stop Target, get the ice cream and use both coupons.

$3.54 + $3.54 + $3.54 - $1 - $3.50 = $6.12

That's $2.04 each, sounds good to me!

I tried the Salted Caramel Truffle. Heavenly!

 I dropped the kids off at tumbling and dance and hit Target again for 3 more cartons.

OK, I actually did buy more than just ice cream. I've been trying out the Campbell's Go Soups. They are $2.49 at Target. There is a Target printable for $1.00 as well as a $1.00 manufacturer's printable coupon at coupons.com, making them $0.49. So far, my family has tried:

Spicy Chorizo and Pulled Chicken with Black Beans - I loved it; too spicy for everyone else

                                                                                         (wimps!)

Coconut Curry with Chicken and Shitake Mushrooms - Sweet but good, per my husband who ate

                                                                                          the whole bag by himself

Today I got: Creamy Red Pepper with Smoked Gouda

                     Chicken and Quinoa with Poblano Chilies

Target also has the Hormel Compleats on sale for $1.66 and there is a $1.00 printable at coupons.com. The kids like these for grab-and-go dinners on busy nights.

So here's my total Target take for the day



$14.44

So ... my younger daughter comes home from school and found the Haagen-Daz, eats some, then tried to hide it WAAAAY back in the freezer.

She doesn't know there's more in the basement.

So what's your favorite kind of ice cream?

Should I get more ice cream tomorrow?

Have you tried a Go Soup yet?

I got a baby workout in today. 30 minutes on the bike, 8.46 miles, 81 rpm.

















Back to the Track

So last week was just awash when it came to training. All I managed was the 5 miles I got in on Monday morning. I think I'm caught up on things now and decided to start the week with my long run.

It's still gray and cold and raining out. All I want to do is hibernate. Plan was to go to my dentist appointment this morning and then to the fitness center to run. Well, the dentist numbed my mouth for a procedure and afterwards I was so numb I couldn't even figure out how to swallow! I was drooling. I couldn't talk. I was numb on the left side of my face from my neck to just below my eye. Even my left nostil was numb! I had to go home first until I stopped drooling.

I finally got brave enough to venture out in public and went to the track. I got 10 miles in at a nice easy pace. My legs aren't hurting today and I'm not making any noise when my feet hit the track so whatever was bothering my left leg last week must have fixed itself. My only problem today was that I got incredibly bored after about 5 miles. I can't wait until it gets nice enough to run outdoors!

So, switching gears now, here are my
                           FREEBIES FOR THE WEEK so far...

WALGREENS - free 8 X 10 photo collage; enter code COLLAGE4FREE at checkout.
                              I'm planning to make a collage of my daughter's dance team photos.
                              Offer good until 3/20/13.

The DaVinci Code (book) is free until 3/24/13 in all ebook formats. I downloaded mine from Amazon for my Kindle. I never read it when it came out so I'm planning to read it over Spring Break.

I can't wait until Spring Break! I need some sunshine!