Come on Schwartz!!

Schwartz - you know, that special power that comes from a special ring that only princes from Planet Druidia possess? No, you don't know that? Doesn't ring a bell?
Am I the only Spaceballs addict?

The schwartz is like the 'force' (Star Wars). There's a line in Spaceballs when Lonestar (the Hans Solo equivalent in Star Wars) is trying to lift a huge statue using only the schwartz (and the cheap cereal box prize ring); he concentrating and saying, "Come on schwartz....come on schwartz!"

Well, I'm trying to use the schwartz to convince the weather to cooperate with race day plans.
Last evening when I logged on to weather - this is what I saw:

Today, the forecast looks a tad more favorable, proving the schwartz is strong!

So this race thing..........

It's the Great Race !

Sunday 9/25/11 -- Pittsburgh, PA

Sold out - 14, 500 participants and I'm one of them :)

I'm so excited for this race - the starting line is in Frick Park and we finish @ Point Park State Park 6.2 miles later.

With a race this large, my goals are simple: finish!

OK, maybe I have a little more hope than that:

Goal A: Finish ahead of my last (and only other) 10K race with a time better than 54:25. I really don't see this being reasonable or achievable given that my fast run paces me around a 9:00/mile (just not quite good enough to beat my last 10K time).

Goal B: Cross that finish line somewhere under 57:00. This is possible if everything lines up in my favor (maybe I need to use the schwartz). This would put me around a 9:11/mile or less......hmmmm. Like I said possible.

Goal C: Cross the finish line under 59:00. This is probably my most likely scenario. Most runners don't want to settle for their "Goal C," but honestly, I have a feeling I'm going to be so excited running through the city of Pittsburgh that I'll want to enjoy the sites and probably not focus so much on my pace/time.

So here's to fun times and an enjoyable race.

Thanks for reading!

Crock Pot is the new Dining Out

I used my crock pot to make supper twice this week.

I'm a little obsessed with it now.

Why haven't I been using it everyday to make supper?

It's so easy - you pretty much dump and go (sounds a little like a bathroom ritual, but I assure you I'm referring to meal prep).

On Sunday I made vegetarian chili - the hardest part was opening all the cans.

I use a large can of diced tomatoes (with juices) and then smaller cans (14.5oz) of:

diced tomatoes with green chilies and cilantro

black beans (I drain and rinse all beans)

kidney beans

great northern beans

corn (drained)

Then I add about a tablespoon (or more....or less...we'll just say to taste):

chili powder

cumin

paprika

garlic powder

chopped onion (not a fan of chopping onions, so I cheat and use dried)

salt to taste.

I cook it on high for about 4-5 hours.

Oh so good!

On Tuesday, I made Santa Fe Chicken - recipe found here

Who needs to dine out when you can make such yummy and quick meals at home.

I'm going to plot and plan for 1-2 new crock pot dinners in the coming week. I'll keep ya posted.

Do you crock pot? Often?

 Any good recipes or websites you use for crock pot yumminess?

Last Place

In every race, there's gotta be someone who finishes last. Tonight, that person was me.

We went to a 1-mile run/race this evening @ Saint Francis . It was an 'all levels of walkers/runners welcome' for a 1-mile test run/race. Well, let's just say that everyone that showed up was there for an 'all-out-run,' also known as 'tryin' for a sub 5:00 mile' run. Whereas, my pace is more like, 'this isn't going to be pretty or fast.' I originally planned on running the mile with my boys, but ended up running in the actual 'race.'

The best part was meeting up with some of my friends, who are all runners and better @ running than me. We ran a little to warm up and when we got to the start line, I tried to take the pressure off of them and me by stating, "I'm gonna take one for the team and finish last, so no worries!"

And I did!

But I'm not bummed because my 1-mile time was 7:47 - I'm THRILLED with that time. It felt so good to accomplish that, even if I was last across the line. The best thing about finishing last is that all the other runners are there cheering you on.

Me (in blue) warming up with my friends. We called ourselves the geriatric runners because the other female runners were all college-age runners (part of the track team). Of course, one of the geri-runners won our heat - Kate came in 1st in just a little over 5:00 - wow!

The kiddos waiting around for their 'heat.' They got to run a stretch of the track and their prize was a chocolate-chip cookie (lucky ducks).

 Go boys! Jackson's always checking to see who's chasing him :)

 H2O time (the chocolate milk refuel came a little later :)

Time on my watch. So think about it - I finished last with a 7:47 mile. Yeah, there were some pretty fast runners out there tonight!

Chasing his cookie with some Gatorade!

In every race, there's a winner and 'laster' (I refuse to say loser because I finished and in my mind, that's not losing) - tonight it was me. Ironically, finishing last turned out to be one of my best times!

Reminders!

I had a really nice conversation with a friend of mine today. I don't see her often, but when I do, we usually chat about our fitness goals and challenges and how we work exercise/fitness into our daily (or not so daily:) routines. We went back and forth about how it's so important to find your own happy medium and not compare yourself to others and their levels of fitness.

That conversation was important to me because it totally reminded me of WHY my health is important to me:

1. This man. He is amazing and loves us like crazy. Here's a recent picture of him coaching Jude's soccer team (with no prior background in soccer - that's love)!

2. This little guy who is getting really good at sneaking the camera and doing some self-portraits!

3. This big boy who I admire because of his kind heart and love of nature.

Thank you boys for being my everything.

It really doesn't matter the # of miles I run per week.

It really doesn't matter the # of times I run per week.

It really doesn't matter how many seconds I can shave (or add) @ the races.

What matters is YOU guys!

Love you!

It's Time to REFUEL (and vote)!

I'm so excited to announce that I'm a finalist in Refuel with Chocolate Milk!

I applied to be part of Team Refuel and my application was chosen as a finalist!

But now I need help to win the contest - your votes.

You can vote daily between today and September 15, 2011.

How you ask?

Just click HERE and you'll see this picture on the 1st page:



Just click on my picture and then click "Vote for this athlete" (they called me an athlete - yay!)

In the meantime, here are some photos of me with milk+chocolate :)

Thanks! and don't forget to VOTE daily :)

Tri-ing Some New Things

I'm getting all spunky and creative, with my workouts, as we head into summer's end!

Yesterday I did a double run:

2.27 miles in the morning + 2.24 miles after work.

I've never done double runs before; I think I like it for 2 reasons:

1. It allows me to better manage my time while still squeezing in those miles!

2. My pace was much faster in the afternoon run. I'm not sure, but I think the morning run layed some groundwork for the afternoon run (I'm no exercise physiologist so this is totally just my opinion:)

It's weird, but there's a theme running through all the blogs I follow.

Everyone seems to be 'tri'ing triathlons. It's very inspiring.......

That led me to 'tri' my 1st-ever brick workout this morning:

4.42 miles on the bike (it was an Expresso stationary bike) followed immediately by a

2.27 mile run.

Thoughts:

*If you ever wanted to experience what rubbery legs feel like, bike then run.

*At first, I was a little apprehensive, thinking I might fall over (I didn't).

* It seemed that I was running slower than usual, but alas, I finished my run about 40 seconds faster than yesterday morning!

Do I think I'll do buddy runs again (that's my cutsie word for double runs)?

YES

Do I think that I could continue to build on this brick workout idea?

YES

Do I think that I could add some swimming in the mix of all of this?

YES

Do I think that I could do a triathlon?
Maybe.....to be continued........

Tomorrow is a rest day, kinda, as we go have some fun at Kennywood .

Gotta Get on the Right Track

I really need some structure in the fitness area of my life. My runs have been somewhat haphazard - kind of. Vacation really got me off track; yes, I was exercising daily, but nothing major. I definitely noticed it when I got home. I need to get on the right track:

Structure = race goals

Race goals = Picking a race to train for

Race to train for = Pittsburgh's Great Race

Pittsburgh's Great Race = September 25, 2011

This gives me exactly 8 weeks to train so I signed up for the 10k!

Training started yesterday with some cross training and weights.

Today was a running day. I was scheduled for 3 miles and I did about 3.75!

I'm pretty pumped to get back onto a training plan. It's Day 2 of training and I can already tell I'm going to appreciate the increase in structure in this part of my life.

In other news, soccer practices started tonight! That means that Tuesdays and Thursdays get a little extra workout included since I'm coaching again this year! Here's me with Jackson last year:

All is good with the world!