Time to Start Training Again!

Hi! 

Its time to start getting back into training mode which is exciting and nerve racking.  I bought Train Like A  Mother and I am following their Marathon: Finish It plan.  I am doing most of the training this time solo with the exception of a few longer runs with Katie.  She has a new schedule and now has to work on our regular group run day.  Since I live a good 30-40 minutes from the group runs I'll probably do most of it on my own.    I am making a few adjustments to the plan but I am going to plan on 4 days of running along with 3-4 days of cross training.  Its a 20 week plan so that'll put me on target for spring marathon season, woop!  

I am excited to collect more of these pictures in 2013!

This morning I started another 90 days of Chalean which wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.  I guess taking time off isn't always the best idea!  I was all wobbly and couldn't lift very heavy but I am glad to be back in my routine again.  I didn't want to wait till after Christmas because I know that longer you stay off your routine it only gets harder to start up again.  I am glad I took the break though because now I feel motivated and refreshed instead of burnt out.

  

Hello ladies, I am back! 

If your from the Portland area you should try and come to Sherwood's 1st Friday Holiday Run this Friday the 7th at 5:00 pm.  We are meeting in Old Town at Symposium to do an easy 3-5 mile run and then afterwards enjoying all that 1st Friday has to offer.  I hope to see you there! 

Do you ever take breaks from your regular workout routines?  

Do you have a training plan for your upcoming races or just wing it?

Taper Time

Good morning!  I ran an easy 3.5 miles this morning and did the Chalean Extreme Abs which is crazy hard.

It has been a little while since I had a chance to sit down and blog, sorry about that!  Last week was crazy town and I was lucky if I had a minute to get a run in let alone sit and talk about it.  But this weekend and week are off to a great start and my marathon is in 2 weeks!  I was also able to finally start the final phase of Chalean, the Lean Phase.  I have to say that I am pretty sore from the last 2 workouts and they are really challenging this time around.  Everything about me is different when I am in my routine of working out in the morning, it is like the rest of the day just falls into place.  The mornings I sleep in and put it off and then it doesn't happen are the worse.  I think something I am going to change about my weekly set-ups are the scheduled rest days.  I am not going to schedule rest days anymore the plan will be set up for some form of exercise everyday and I know that there will be a day that ends up being a rest day, but it just won't be scheduled.  How is that for a nice long run on sentence?!  Life happens and kids are up all night sick and that'll eventually turn into your rest day so I don't need to schedule them.  I am going to give this a shot and see how it works out.  

OK on to marathon training!  I still cannot believe that it is in 2 weeks, I am pretty excited about it.  I had a dream a few nights ago that I was at the start line and then blacked out and was at the finish line and it took me over 8 hours!  I couldn't remember anything about the race and I was so mad about that!  It was the weirdest dream ever, hopefully it doesn't take my 8 hours to finish.  Saturday was my final long training run, Katie and I with our running group ran 15 miles and they were probably the best 15 I've ever run.  I stayed with the pack and when we were done I didn't feel like death, thank you training!  I came home and celebrated with a mimosa!  

Now we are in taper territory and since you are suppose to lower your mileage it'll give me more time to get my cross training done.  Plus all sorts of other things that get neglected when you are out running 15+ plus miles every Saturday morning.  Not doing a really long run every Saturday morning will be strange but I would like to keep Saturday as my long run day.  Ideally at least 10 miles either with a group or just myself around Sherwood.  The training was a lot of work and a lot of dedication but I feel like it was and will be all worth it on race day.  It feels really good to be so close!  

Have you ever ran a marathon? 

Do you have any suggestions for a first time marathon girl? 

20 Miles +1

Good morning!  This weekend was my final 20 mile training run and I have to say it was worlds better than my first.  I am huge supporter of doing a minimum of two of each distance before pushing to the next milestone.  I didn't start feeling like death till mile 19, that is an improvement from feeling like that at mile 16.5!  Part of our route was up Mt. Tabor and we took a picture in front of "The Dude".  Its amazing how much hills don't bother me as much as they use to, jeez I guess training has some perks!  

Once we got the 20 miles under our belt it was time for us to head home.  Later that day there was a benefit concert and fun run in Sherwood that I was really excited to get the girls to do.  Since it was only 1 mile I figured it would be a great little starter to see if its something they would be interested in.  When the bell went off Sarah was off and running!  She was so excited to be out running and ran the entire distance!  She would high five the Sherwood Cheerleaders as she passed and stayed ahead of me the majority of the time.  Sometimes she would fall back and hold my hand but most of the time she wanted to be on her own.  I was so proud of her for sticking with it and not complaining once during the entire run.  I think we have another runner in the family!  Katherine wasn't as excited about the running part, Jess carried her on his shoulder for about 3/4 of the mile, but she had fun too, just in a different way.  

What was so great about this particular event was that 100% of the proceeds went to a local Sherwood family who really need it at this time.  I have always loved living in Sherwood, we've been here for almost 7 years and I have met some pretty great people.  Its a special type of community to say the least and seeing everyone come together on Saturday afternoon to support this family was pretty moving.  Proud of my family and proud of my community, Go Bowmen!  

On Sunday OMSI was having a Mini Maker's Fair and Jess was dying to go and see what it is was all about.  I wasn't so sure sometimes that stuff can be pretty far out there but this turned out to be pretty interesting.  The first thing that caught my eye was these gorgeous sculptures this guy made out of old musical instruments.  I mean they were so intricate and detailed I couldn't take my eyes off of them.  

There were a lot of little stations and booths for the kids to get hands on with projects and lots of different exhibits with robots and legos, etc.  

It was a full weekend and I am tired today but I have a lot to get done so no rest for the wicked over here!  Its the start of the new phase of Chalean and I still have other things like laundry, child rearing and bill paying so I guess I should get to it.  Being up all night with Katherine last night isn't helping my motivation, but maybe one more cup of coffee will do the trick.  Have a great Monday!

What is something fun you did this weekend? 

If you have kids, do they ever do any of the fun runs at the races you sign up for?  

-I'll definitely get Sarah signed up for some more she loved it!  Katherine might learn to love it...

Happy Hump Day!

Happy Hump Day!  I ran a little bit this morning on my treadmill and did Push 2 and I am hoping to get in a few more miles tonight.  Yesterday was an impromptu rest day, I meant to get up and run but stayed up to late the night before.  I have to quit doing that!  If I don't get to bed on time its almost impossible to get out of bed to run, especially since its dark till so late in the morning again.  Not going to complain about it though because I love this time of year, especially living in Oregon.  The leaves are starting to change, its pretty chilly in the morning and school has started up.  Speaking of school, the girls started preschool on Tuesday!  AH!  I did so good the whole morning and through dropping them off at their class UNTIL it was time to walk out of the building, then came the tears.  

They had a really great first day and were completely exhausted when they got home.  They have another morning of preschool tomorrow, maybe I'll actually get something done this time!  

So on a random note I just wanted to share something I made for dinner the other night.  I bought this veggie pasta from Safeway on a whim and I have ended up really liking it.  I had a box just hanging out in my pantry and some other random stuff that needed to be used in my fridge so I made an easy pasta salad.  I added some navy beans for protein, sun dried tomatoes and cherry tomatoes for color, spinach for something green and parmigiana and basil for taste.  Think I'll serve some up after this post!

More randomness!  We went to Costco on Friday, which feels like a year ago by now.  I love to buy a lot of my staples from there, like the gallon of Sabra Hummus!  For less than $6 you get this giant tub of hummus, look how big it is compared to the Safeway brand for $2.99!  I have also been saying how much I wish Costco would sell Adams PB in the creamy not just crunchy and my wish came true!  I literally jumped for joy when I turned the corner and saw that big ol'boy of peanut butter!  Between PBJ sandwiches for the girls, apples and PB for snacks and my smoothies we go through that little guy of Adams in no time.  Plus buying in bulk for a lot of things its just cheaper.  They girls were also super excited about the Costco trip because it was a frozen treat sample heaven that day.  They had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce AND GoGurts, it was a big day for all the Sticka girls.  

So I have one more 20 mile run this weekend, it'll be my final 20 miles until the marathon.  Which means after Saturday I am officially tapering...how is that possible already?!  Mentally I am ready, I feel prepared and I have trust in my training.  It is hard to believe I struggled through a 5k back in February and now its less than a month till my first marathon.  Would I recommend a marathon in your first year of running?  No.  But I jump into a lot of things feet first before I stop and think about them, which is something I am working on.  I don't think it was a bad idea to set this goal, but a challenge.  I can go into a lot of details but I think I'll save all of that for a separate post.  This one is already getting pretty long and the natives are getting restless.  

What is your next big race?  

How are you feeling about it?  

How many races a year/month/etc do you do on average?  

Marathon Weekend

Hi!  Well it wasn't really Marathon Weekend, but in miles it was.  Saturday was my first 20 mile run and the first part was great, then it started to get warm, then hot, then miserable.  I am not use to running that late in the day when it starts to inch above 70 degrees, I can hear all you hot weather runners laughing at me.  We started at 8 AM and it took just over 4 hours to get to the 20 mile marker, it was rough those last few miles and I was hurting.  I feel good about getting it done and having an idea of what that is going to feel like in the marathon, I don't feel excited about having to do it again this weekend.  I am getting pretty excited and anxious for the race, its hard to believe how close it is to getting here.  We have one more long training run and then we start to taper next weekend!  

Part of our route was over the St. John's bridge and that part of it was really cool.  

Katie took this one, it was when I still liked to run, about mile 7 

Katie is in the orange (Go Beavers!) it was a beautiful part of the day when we headed over the bridge 

Yesterday (Sunday) it was time to run Katie's birthday run!  She decided quite a while ago that she wanted to run the Pints to Pasta 10K for her birthday, which is TODAY!  Happy Birthday Katie!  We ran it yesterday and it was a really great race.  Its organized by Portland Running Company owner's Paula and Dave and their running group Run with Paula!  I really like how smooth everything goes with their races and I would highly recommend their store and events for anyone who has a love of running.  They put a lot of thought and energy into all of the details.  It was a great way to spend a morning and a great race for Katie's birthday.  

So I technically ran a marathon this weekend!  If you don't count the hours of sleep in between...which I guess most do, dang it!  It was also pretty cool to be part of Jenni's very first 10K!  She was so nervous at the start line but she really surprised herself and did very well.  It is a lot of fun having her come to so many races and really put herself out there.  She has been working hard to build up her miles and her stamina and completing your first 10K isn't easy!  I remember my first 10K I never thought I would run one again...and here I am.  

I have so much more from the weekend and my last couple of long training runs that I want to share with you but there is a lot to get done today!  I hope you all had a great weekend too!  

Did you do any races this weekend? 

Any long training runs?!  

-Someone share that they are also crazy and do to much in a weekend than should be allowed!  

Wish Katie a Happy 29th!  I can tell its going to be a good year for her!

August Wrap-Up

This morning I did 5 miles and CLX Push 2, yesterday I ran 3.5 miles and did CLX Push 1...catching onto the theme here?  I was thinking this morning after my stretching that this is the last month of marathon training, holy cow!  I have been visualizing the race, well as much as I can without actually having ever run a marathon.  Trying to remind myself that I have done the training (almost) and I can get through it.  I keep telling myself its just a few hours of running (probably more like 5) and after that I'll have bragging rights for the rest of the year, right?  It doesn't seem as ominous when I look at it as just one really long group run.  I know its going to be a battle both physically and mentally, but I am determined to go into it with the best mental attitude I can.  Plus afterwards I get to rest, for like a really long time!  Granted I will still be doing my Chalean program but I won't have any long training runs for a while.  I heard you are suppose to take a rest day for every mile of the marathon.  Personally, I don't see myself taking 26 days off of running, but a full 7...maybe?  I am looking forward to having a little more wiggle room with my running and signing up for a couple fun holiday runs with Katie.  The marathon is going to be here before I know it and I am starting to feel ready to take on the challenge, finally!    

So I realize its already the 5th of September but I never got a chance to do my August wrap-up so what better time than now!  August was busy, actually lets face it summer has been really busy.  Some of the highlights of August were the girls first camping trip! 

I posted my 30 day results with Chalean!  My 60 day is coming up quick...half way through my 3rd week already!  I will post my 60 day results as well, but of course I feel like no change has happened. 

And I finally bit the bullet and brought one of these coat racks bad boys home

I have high hopes for September!  Its sort of like the beginning of the year in a way with school back in session and the changing of the seasons.  This Saturday is my first 20 miler and part of the run will be on the Portland Marathon route which will be a nice prep.  So ready to get another mileage milestone under my belt and glad I'll get to do it with Katie.  Although she said afterwards if she is really hurting she is coming after me...I always get blamed!  

How was your summer?  

-I know Fall doesn't officially start till the 22nd, but c'mon!  

Tell me something really fun you did this summer!

Random Friday

Hi!  Happy Friday!  My workout this morning was a short run to Old Town and back and CLX Push Circuit 3.  It was cold this morning, cold enough that my ears were froze by the time I got home and I could have easily wore my ear muffs.  Its still August right?  Just got me more convinced I am going to want my treadmill by winter time, which luckily gives me plenty of time to look!  Because from my search today I can tell I am going to need lots and lots of time to look.  After I finished Push and got the girls and myself fed we got dressed really quick so I could hit up some garage sales.  I don't do a lot of garage sale shopping mainly because I don't need anything, but today I was really hoping to find a treadmill.  To bad I am not in the market for an elliptical, about every other garage sale had an elliptical machine!  

I was successful though because I found some really cute Disney dress up dresses for the girls.  

They were $1 each and I looked online and they sell for at least $40 a piece brand new, score for this mom! I bought 3 different dresses and some play dress up shoes also, grand total $4.  My mom would like the white one because it has long sleeves.  I got married in the month of August and my mom wanted me to have a dress with long sleeves, no mom just no.    

Between garage sales we stopped at Trader Joe's and picked up some of my favorite things.  Trader Joe's is in Lake Oswego and I live in Sherwood, its a jaunt to get there, but sometimes so worth it.  Especially when I have my personal shoppers to run into my ankles push my cart.

I promise my children are really happy kids...except when a camera gets pulled out.  

Some of my favorites from my trip: 

Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels?!  Um...where have these been all my life?  

Trader Joe's is the only place I can find both sprouted bread and Laughing Cow Blue Cheese wedges for under $5, what is with that?  Cornichons are kind of a religion in my family, Jess said he didn't like them ONCE, he learned to never speak that blasphemy in this house again.  

After our TJ adventure we had a snack in the car to hold us over till we got home, I got an iced coffee to fill the void in my heart where a treadmill should have been today.  If you were wondering about the new flavor of Luna bars I can tell you its awesome, I'm a Nutz Over Chocolate girl and these blow them out of the water!

That's my random Friday!  Tomorrow I am running 16 miles with Katie and I am hoping I survive.  I've ran 14 before, but that was quite some time ago so we'll see how tomorrow ends up.  We are inching closer and closer to our Marathon so its time to get REALLY serious about the long training runs.  Hopefully she'll take me out to breakfast afterwards, oh I mean...no really, she better feed me.  Also I am not going to lie to all of you, I am so ready for the Marathon to come and then go, more go than anything.  I know physically I am more than capable of running this darn thing, but right now it is all mental for me.  I am ready to get back to running my way and not having such a large looming race hanging over my head.  Gosh I am such a motivator today right?!  Just want to be honest, don't want anyone out there thinking that marathon training is some quick and easy task and your such a loser for not completing one and therefore you are not a true runner.  I haven't even ran it yet and I already feel defeated a lot of the time, so YOU ARE A RUNNER even if you haven't ran a marathon nor do you have any intention of running one.  That is my PSA for the day!  I am sure tomorrow I'll be feeling much more marathon motivated, I think FINALLY getting this next hurdle/benchmark under my belt will boost my confidence.       

Who out there has ran a marathon? Please share any tips or advice you give a rookie!  

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? 

-There is an apartment complex across the street from this Trader Joe's, those lucky ducks!  

What are some food staples you always have in your house?

Marathon Training

Good morning!  Another beautiful day in Oregon, but don't get use to it tomorrow its back to June Gloom.  To say its been a crazy week would be putting it mildly, but the insanity is calming down and I had a really nice run this morning.  Plus its Friday eve!

Because of the insanity of this week I am way behind in all other things that need to be done, oh well I guess that is what the weekend will be for.  That and my long run on Saturday, 14 miles, it'll be my longest run which will probably become a reoccurring theme around here until I finally reach 26.2.  Speaking of marathon training, who is else is training for a marathon and which one?  I think Katie is mad at me for coming up with the idea to run the Portland Marathon this year...actually I think I am mad at myself! HA!  Well I was until I realized that I don't have to do anything I don't want to do and if I want to just give up before even trying than I can go right on ahead...not happening.  

Instead I got up this morning put on my big girl pants and had a great summer morning run.  I listened to MTA's podcast about Marathon Training and how not to let it get the best of you.  One thing they mentioned was to incorporate a medium length run into your weekly schedule.  This will help to keep the long run seem not so weighty and also help alleviate any dread you may be feeling about those miles...oh maybe that's just me.  So I am going to try and incorporate a longer mileage run somewhere during the week during this marathon training, probably 8-10 miles depending on what we are doing that weekend.  

Also they talked about my favorite activity....cross training.  SOOO ok fine I get it, its important, I give in!  So luckily Old Town Sherwood has a really awesome yoga studio that has opened up and offers some morning classes that are early enough for me to attend.    I have learned that if I don't do my workouts in the morning, I don't do them and that is basically how that goes.  

So I am learning quickly that as much as the physical training plays a part in getting ready for a marathon, about 60% of it for me is going to be a mental game.  And I will win.  

Who else is training for a marathon and can share any advice or tips?  

Any one else love Thursdays as much as me?  

Seriously it has been my favorite day of the week forever.   

Target Rewards

Good Afternoon!  Took a trip to Target this afternoon to get a few things, like detangler and shredded cheese, you know the basics.  I rewarded our under 40$ Target trip (will power!) with an iced coffee from S-Bucks, yum!  There is just something about that green straw.  

This also caught my eye as we were loading back into the car

Is that a woody convertible?!  Nice!  

So I am realizing that since I completed my half marathon this weekend that means its officially marathon training season for me and I am a little freaked out!  I have about 16 weeks of training to get ready for my first marathon and I am not going to a lie that I am little apprehensive.  If I hadn't have already signed up I probably would be backing out, isn't that awful?!  I don't know why I am so nervous about it, I am just afraid of not being able to do all that is required.  Luckily I have an awesome running group who has done this sort of training for years and years...I should be OKAY.  

I was reading The Happy Runner's blog this morning and she is currently doing a Marathon Monday tips and so far I have found them to be really helpful.  A friend of hers was sharing some of her tips from her marathon training and she said that it could be really easy to put on weight with the training.  Mainly because a lot of us (totally me!) think that because we logged 15 miles on a Saturday we have a license to eat whatever junk we want.  This just isn't the case, I know I was guilty of that this weekend.  So in order to keep my weight healthy and my training runs successful I will really try and keep the junk at a minimum...this will be no easy task!  

Does anyone else get that feeling of "I can eat whatever I want because I just ran a million miles"?  Please share any good snacks or meal ideas you like to have during your marathon training, would love any ideas! 

Signed my life away...till October

Well I did it, I register for the Portland Marathon this morning.  It seemed like the logical thing to do after just finishing up a really unsuccessful, didn't give it my best run this morning.  Right?!  I figured I need to register for it 1) because its filling up fast and I'll miss my chance and 2) so that it becomes a reality and I won't have an out.  So I am all registered and ready to go for October 7th at 7 AM with my Best Friend Katie and all the other crazies I love so much!

Other races I am registering for this next week are:

May 12th, Portland - Doggie Dash  5K

May 19th, Sherwood - Friar Trot  10K

May 20th, Sandy - Run Girlfriend Run 10K

May 27th, Tualatin - Rum Run 10K 

Some would say that I have a problem, by some I mean the Husband.  Happy Running today folks!  Do better than I did!

Who else is registering for a race this week?  What race?