Motivation with a hangover.

Fall Racing is definitely here. Each weekend my Facebook feed is filled with photos, stories, and new PR's from friends all over. I love it.

And as you know, I also love a good spreadsheet. I love a plan. Now executing the plan...that's the tough part.

The other night, we sat down and finally watched the 2012 Ironman Kona Championships from a few weeks ago.

Motivating? Yes. 
Intimidating? Heck Yes.

These chics are beasts. Animals. Machines. Athletes.

Miranda. My Favorite.

I know that will never be me, and that's OK....but every once in a while, I think to myself...could I train for an Ironman? Would I? Could I handle it physically or mentally?

And then I snap back to reality. I'll just make Wade do one someday.


I was amped up to run the next morning and I knocked out a great 6 mile run and then did a full body weight circuit. I was excited to log it and proceed with the next day'd double run.

And then I got drunk on election night. And woke up hungover and swore off alcohol forever. Who do I think I am? (<--- an idiot?)

I missed my double runs today. But that's OK, I kinda had a good excuse.

Two of my best friends from High School. Steph was in town from Florida and we finally got our shit together and made plans. It had been 6 years since the 3 of us were together. We laughed, talked and reminisced for 4 hours. (and Steph and I apparently drank too many beers, oy)

So tomorrow's a new day, time for that double run day.

Lately. And a PR.

Busy Week. Whew.

{Highlights}

A new baby arrived....and she is amazing, adorable and absolutely perfect.  I'm in love.

We Trick-or-Treated with Cyn, Jeff and little Natalie.

I attended a baby shower (do we sense a theme amongst my girlfriends?)

Wade was gone a few days working on projects at our Cabin, so I had some QT with my puppies.

And the best of all. I got my PR. I am on cloud 9 right now!

I set an intention this race during my first mile. I ran for NYC. I ran for my husband. And I ran for my new "niece" and her Momma...who better get her ass in gear once she is cleared so she can run side by side with me. I stayed out of my own head the entire race which I have NEVER accomplished before. I was happy, I felt good. I stopped smiling at all the cheering spectators at mile 11 because I was so focused on my goal and was feeling like a robot at that point. I hope no one thougth I was a grouchy ahole. I wasn't, I promise.

I almost cried when I looked at my Garmin at mile 12.5 and KNEW I was going to make it. Hard work pays off....what a concept.

Time to celebrate. (and set a new goals)

1.48.55
(Edited to add official results)

Hills = Make You or Break You

Hello from the Mountains!

Yesterday was spent soaking up the weather....I actually wore sweats and long sleeves!

 I had 11 miles on my schedule for this weekend's long run and naturally I hydrated with 3 beers yesterday and a tasty chicken burger.

A vision of running and health right there.

When I run up North I typically run the same route each time, out of comfort and because the roads are very confusing and winding up here.  Knowing me I would get lost. But running down the Highway is boring, so I decided to take a different road for part of my usual run. I knew what I was getting into this morning and I was actually excited.

Hills will make you or break you. 

Today, they made me. I walked a few, but that's OK. I felt good, strong and confident. And it was fun...I actually said "WEEEEEEEEEEE" while running down a really big one. (ya know, because I ran UP it on the way out)

I think my right arm is sore from all the waving I did to the passing cars. I got a lot of honks, waves and thumb ups. People are super nice here. Or they just think I'm weird - not a lot of runners up here. 

Change of scenery. Solid idea.

I came back and took myself through a decent all-over weight circuit and know we are off to Oktoberfest, that should be interesting!

Will Ride for Food

{Whoops....forgot to post. From Friday}

At the recommendation of our friendly neighbor upstairs, we hopped on our cruisers and headed down to the Hippie-filled town of Ocean Beach to check out a restaurant Guy Fieri visited on Triple D called Hodads. He told us it was about a 2.5 mile ride, easy peasy.

It was 5.25....with a HUGE hill both ways. Lil off. On a single speed beach cruiser, it felt long.

I earned my burger. OK, not really, but hey, the little jaunt was a nice one. It's been chilly the last 2 days so it felt nice to ride in the cool beachy weather. It's out last day here so we wanted to do something fun and off our beaten path.

I am not a big burger person (or a red meat person really) but I was game to check this little place out and Wade is a HUGE burger guy, so I kicked my prissy burger attitude to the curb and rolled with it.  It was on point and I got about 1/2 way through my burger before throwing the napkin in. It was stacked high with beef, onions, a bacon patty (yup), lettuce, pickles, cheese, tomato and mustard/mayo.

Washed down with a cold beer.

Yum.

I'm going to go lay down and be fat now.

5K #2 & My Weekend

Weekend Highlights...oh yes, I live a VERY exciting life. 

We kicked off the weekend with a nice early run on Saturday morning, and waking up at 5:00am on a Saturday is my idea of relaxing. Ugh. 9 miles followed by a stop at our favorite coffee shop. We ran into some friends there and hung out for a while, made some fun plans, and then walked home. I cooked up a delish and healthy breakfast, did a little yard work, laid out by the pool for a bit. And then this happened:

Oh Oregano's...my favorite guilty pleasure.

Th rest of the day was spent taking a nap, hanging out at home, furniture assembling, ceiling fan installing and being lazy. We also boiled some crap legs for dinner...good week at work calls for crab legs. Amazing.

I also did my weekly grocery trip....half my cart is always all produce. How 2 people can eat so much fruit and veggies is beyond me.

Another early morning today, with a 4:45am wake up call. Why I torture myself with this shit is beyond me. My club had a race so I woke up extra early to help with shirts and registration.

Plans for the 5k?

Wade's Plans: Balls to the Wall
Lindsay's Plans: Meh. It was hot. And dusty. And hilly.

My buddy Ryan and I decided to run together and and at the gun start I looked at him and said "let's go". I cannot stress how nice it is to run with someone in a race. I was hot, sweaty, eating dirt and cursing myself the whole time...but ya know what? I had FUN. And with Ryan biting at my heels, it kept me going. I got to yell at him to get his ass moving when he tried to walk and all of that resulted in a PR for both of us.

After we crossed the finish he gave me a high five and a big smile....and his teeth were covered in dirt.

Wade's PR: 20:06 (6:28/pace)
Lindsay's PR: 24:06 (7:47/pace)

We finished off the morning with a mimosa brunch with friends....and then I hit Nordstroms's Rack later on in the day....mwhahahaha. More on that in another post.


On running/working out this past week:

Miles: 29.1
Days: 5

This was the first week I think I have EVER run 5x/week and I actually was good with it and hit all my runs as I hoped for. Our training plan for the AFC Half has us running 5x/week and then bumping up 6x/week. Little scared about that. I worked out with a trainer on Wednesday and have some fun gyms plans for next week so I'm really liking my workout groove right now.

Have a great Sunday Night!

I'm Super Awesome

Here's why I'm pumped up today...

1. Starbucks this morning. Nuff said. (spaz)
2. My first gel/shellac manicure is still perfect, one week later.
3. Christmas cards JUST got done last night....better late than never.
4. My first bottle of Infinium chillin in the fridge...

5. These 2 under my tree.

Annnnd, that's all I got. Happy Tuesday!

Wonderful Weekend

I had a WHOLE weekend off! It was amazzzzzing! I even told Wade last night how shocked I was that I received no phone calls and only a handful of manageable emails. Win for me.

Highlights:

1. Friday Night - NOTHING. After an entire week of events, I couldn't wait to get home and sit on my ass. Achieved.
2. Christmas Shopping. We had one more person to buy for and while at the mall, we picked a name off the Christmas Angel tree. 10 year Bernice is going to have a Merry Christmas...
3. Dinner out....a few delicious beers might have been enjoyed as well.
4. 2 lunch dates with my favorite person.
5. A morning of ARR's Desert Classic...and not feeling a bit bad about dropping out of the 30k. Awesome last minute decision...doing it relay style with my favorite running partner. It was pretty rough though, a ton of hills...a small race so most miles were spent alone, and of course, feeling the last bits of this awful cold. But I had SO much fun with this talented group of people I have been spending so much time with.

6. Homemade Zuppa Toscana soup, Sauvignon Blanc, a fire crackling...all while watching Shawshank Redemption.

Our family does VERY minimal gifts (only the kiddos on Wade's side and we draw a name on my side) which I love. As I grow older, I have realized that Christmas has nothing to do with malls, gifts, spending excessive amounts of money for one day of gifting.....when being an adult, I can buy things for myself that I need or want. Instead, we focus on food, drinks, and just being with each other. Another reason it's my favorite Holiday of the year.

Happy.Lucky.Blessed.

Finger Lickin Good

I finally caved Tuesday night.

We had Barbecue. But not just ANY Barbecue. Bryan's Black Mountain Barbecue.

Wade is basically obsessed with this place. He is obsessed with the ribs, the sauce, the fries, the salad, the selection of beer and how cool the owner is. Being business owners, we like to support the local restaurants and businesses....and if I let him, he would eat there 4 times a week. No joke.

You better hurry up with this stupid picture...

It IS the best barbecue I have ever had. Hands down. The owner has a seriously fierce background in the world of food....he isn't just slangin ribs. His food is classy and sophisticated and unique. And utterly delicious.

Of course, it is NOT healthy which is why we don't eat there very often, but hey...every once in a while you have to indulge a little, right?

Right?

P.S. Wade was totally irritated at me for making him wait 3.2 seconds to take a picture before mauling his plate. Geez.

Weekend Fail

So my dreams of running a 12 miler and riding a 20 miler were shattered.

Shattered by pure laziness and wayyyyy too much beer. Ugh.

God I'm an idiot.

I woke up late on Saturday...fortunately we were up North so I thought a later run could be done. And then we got stuck waiting for Larry The Cable Guy. He was at our cabin for like 5 hours. Rude.

 And by then, I was super irriated because he was making me miss "Oktoberfect". Turns out, we didn't miss much. There were like 5 people there and half of the vendors had packed up to go home by the time we showed up.

So we cruised by the local bar to grab a beer and get out of the house for a while. Whoops. 675 pitchers of IPA later, we were both drunk as a skunk and needed to go to bed STAT.

Still Sober

Naturally, I woke up with a hangover and of course, no desire to do anything physical besides nap and BBQ myself a hotdog. Lunch of Champions right there people!

 

We drove our worthless asses back to the Valley just in time to hop on our road bikes. We busted out a 11-ish mile ride. I felt good, but I think I went so fast on the way home (all uphill) because it was dark and I was scared of getting creamed by a car in the dark on a pretty busy road.

End of sucky weekend.

I'm not even going to post my workouts for the week becasue it's 12 miles short of what it should have been. I have 4 1/2 weeks until Ragnar Las Vegas....oy.

All Hail the Weather God(dess)

So initially I was totally pissed that I couldn't take out my sweet bike tonight for a ride because it's raining....and then I slapped myself.

 I mean, I technically could have tried to ride, but knowing me...I'd probably eat shit.

So I'm just going to sit here, drink a brewski and eat some Chicken Tortilla Soup and not complain about being far from dying of heat this morning on my run.

Hells Yes.

3 Thing Thursday

1. Professional Beer Taste Tester

OK, so I am not  professional for reals...but I like to think I have a taste for beer. Good beer. None of that Natural Ice crap either, blech. I prefer my beer in a bottle or draft style. Wade always tells me how he loves that I love to drink beer....classy huh? (I wonder if he likes my beer belly too?) But in all reality, it IS something we enjoy together. We like to check out new brewery's, learn about the process and where the beers come from...and of course, mass consumption of said beers. I like the last part the best.

2. Makeup Artiste

My first job out of high school was a pretty cool one. I got a job at the local department store and landed a position with Lancome. I have always been a girlie girl and makeup was something I always loved. Having a job doing this every single day only made my obsession and adoration for makeup grow. I still dabble, working as a Freelance Artist for MAC from time to time and helping out friends on special occasions. And of course, I've met so many cool and unique people though the business. It sure doesn't pay the bills, but it sure is fun.
 

3. Animal Lover

I wanted to be a Vetrinarian when I was growing up. I guess all the schooling and the dark side of it turned me off...BUT, I have always loved animals. Almost every size, shape and breed. I have 3 pets, and I love them all (except one at times who is particularly annoying...not naming names here Lowell). If I had no reason to work and actually make money because I was already super rich, I would do something with animals. And it would be awesome.

End of story.

12 oz. curls

I am sooooo exhausted from my workout today...

Cheers to healthy living, it's rad.