A week in review and other things too

Training:
*  I have one last long run, my 20 miler, this weekend before I start my taper for my marathon!  I am actually looking forward to running it this weekend.  I hope it goes well because I'm starting to get a little nervous about the 26.2 miles I have to do in 17 days!  Yikes!

*  After my marathon, I am looking at doing some sort of tri winter maintenance plan.  I did one last year from beginnertriathlete.com that I really liked, so I may do that again or look for something different.  Do any of you do some sort of maintenance plan over the winter?  If so, what do you do?

*  I'm still doing my weekly yoga class.  The instructor started offering a Monday night class at 6:30 that I'm trying to get my husband to go to with me.  He's been wanting to do more yoga, and we tried some DVDs, but they weren't the best.  So, this would be great because we could drop our boys off at Kids' Club and do the class together.  We're going to try for this Monday.  I'll let you know if it happens!


Other Things Too:

So, I can't figure out how to embed this in my blog, so here is the link to get to the good stuff! :)

*  GU has a new flavor!  It's called Island Nectars and it's supposed to be delicious!  If you'd like to try it out, they are giving away a FREE 6 pack with any purchase at guenergy.com!  Woohoo!  You can click the link above to get the promo code!  

*  I am now officially a RRCA certified coach!  Woohoo!  I passed the test and the CPR/First Aid class/test and submitted all of my materials!  Now, I just have to wait 2-4 weeks to be up on the RRCA site...ugh! 

*  My youngest started preschool this year and we decided to put him in 3 days a week.  It's been a rough transition for him and he cries every time I drop him off.  While this is heart wrenching for me, his teacher always assures me that he's fine and playing within 5 minutes of me leaving.  Plus, when I pick him up he is always happy and tells me about how much fun he had during the day.  I just hope that the crying stops soon because it really is hard to just hand him off and walk away. :( 

On the days that he's home though, we've been having lots of fun!  This is one of my favorite pictures of us just being silly in some $1 wigs I bought at Target.  

   

I hope you all have a great weekend! :) 

Humpastry Day - Peanut Butter Blondies

Peanut Butter Blondies

Amber at Almost Vegan (Even if you're not vegan, you should check out her blog because she posts some of the most delicious recipes! Yum!) did a post for her White Chocolate Peanut Butter Blondies (here) and  put out the challenge for other people to make them.  They looked and sounded absolutely delicious, so of course I wanted to make them!  I asked her if she would be alright with me posting them on my blog, and she said yes! Yay! I made a couple of substitutions, but I have no doubt that the original recipe is delicious.  That being said, mine turned out soooo good!  So good in fact, that last night after dinner, none of us could eat only one of these.  We all had two, and believe me, I wanted more!


Ingredients:
Makes 16 bars

*  3.5oz white chocolate
*  6Tbl. creamy natural peanut butter
*  2Tbl. coconut oil
*  2 Flax eggs (2 Tbl. ground flaxseed mixed with 6Tbl. warm water)
*  1/2C raw sugar 
*  1/2C brown sugar 
*  2tsp. vanilla extract
*  1/2C whole wheat pastry flour
*  1/2C all purpose flour
*  1/2tsp. baking powder
*  1/4tsp. baking soda
*  1/2tsp. sea salt
*  1/2C chocolate chips/chunks (I thought I bought regular choco chips, but I just had mini...they still worked though!)


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9" square pan (or 8" pan).
2.  In a large bowl, mix the ground flax with the warm water, and set aside, allowing it to thicken.
3.  In a small saucepan, combine the white chocolate, peanut butter, and coconut oil.
4.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is mostly melted.  Set aside to cool.
5.  Take the bowl with the flax eggs and whisk in the sugar and vanilla.
6.  Add the cooled white chocolate peanut butter mixture and whisk to combine.
7.  Sift in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
8.  Fold in the flours until almost, but not quite combined.
9.  Add in the chocolate chips and stir until just combined.  Be careful not to over mix!
10.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 22-25minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

11.  Let cool, then cut into 16 bars.
12.  Enjoy!  Oh, and I bet you can't eat just one! :)

HELP-Opinions needed!

* Warning - this post is a little gross!
So, I've been sidelined a little bit.  You see, I have this crazy toe on my right foot that always bothers me after I run.  It is always sore to the touch after I run and is usually some shade of black and blue.  After my 18 mile run last week my toe was super sore.  Then, on Friday, I was walking behind my son when he stopped short in front of me.  I was wearing flip flops and somehow, my toenail got stuck on the back of his shoe and got pulled off a little bit.  OMG...I have never felt pain like that before!  It immediately started bleeding and I quickly put a band aid on it to help control the bleeding.  Friday night, my toe swelled up quite a bit and was throbbing with pain.  I took some Ibuprofen and was able to control the pain a little bit.

Fast forward to today.  This is what my toe looks like now.

 It is totally swollen and there is so much pressure behind the nail and on the nail bed.  Every once in awhile it oozes, which is really gross.  It hurts ALL of the time whether I am standing, walking, or sitting on the couch with my feet rested on a pillow.  

I asked my husband what he would do if a patient with my toe problem came to see him.  He basically said that I have two options.  1) Leave it be and let the nail fall off naturally, which it definitely will do eventually, but who knows how long it will take.  However, there is a risk of infection, and there is a chance that it could get caught on something again and ripped off.  OR 2) Numb the toe and have the nail removed.  This will stop the pressure and the swelling. We actually have all the stuff needed to do this at our house, so my husband could do it tomorrow if I wanted.  But, I'm scared.  

Here is where I need your help and opinions!  What would you do?  What should I do?  
Which choice do you think would have the fastest healing time?  Have any of you been in a similar situation?

I am kind of freaking out because I know I will not be able to run long with this toe problem and my marathon is in 3 weeks! I actually tried to run on it today and it was extremely painful.  And, because I was trying to avoid the toe pain, it was changing my running form which started hurting my left knee.  Ugh!!


HELP!! What should I do???

A week in review and other random things too!

Training:
* So training this week has been great!  I did my long 18 miler, and survived, which made me very happy!  I'm thinking about doing my 20 miler next Sunday (Oct. 3rd), which would be 11 days after my 18 miler.  I don't know when else I could do it and still get in a good taper for the marathon on the 17th.  For those of you who have done a marathon, is this a good plan of attack?  I feel like I need to get the 20 miler in, but I don't want to do it if I can't recover enough for it to do well in the marathon.  Does that make sense?  Ugh...being sidelined by sickness just screws everything up!

*  I had an amazing yoga class yesterday.  It involved a lot of stretching and moves that really helped with my piriformis.  It was almost as if she was catering the workout to me...:)

* I found a new masters swim class that I think I'm going to like a lot better than the one I was going to at 24 hour fitness.  It is put on by Swim Labs, the same company I went to for the video stroke analysis.  The coach actually helped me with my stroke and told me things I could do to improve.  Plus, it was a lot less intimidating than the other one and I just felt more comfortable there.  I know I shouldn't care about how the other swimmers are doing, but it's hard being the slowest one in a class.  Mentally, I just need a change from that.  I really want to focus on my swimming during the off season, so I think this will be good for me.

Other things too:

 *  So, I broke down and bought a pair of CEP Running Progressive Compression socks.  I love my Zoot compression tights, so I thought I would try these too.  I first wore them after my Naked Foot 5k.  My calves were a little sore from running in my VFF Bikilas, and these were awesome! I've since worn them several times after some runs, and I really like how they feel.  They are a little difficult to get on at first, but once they're on they feel great.  The compression is not too tight or too loose, which is nice.  I am planning on wearing them during a 10M run next week to see how they are during running.  If they work well, I may be wearing them for my marathon.  Do any of your have compression socks?  If so, how do you like them?  Have you ever worn them for a long run/marathon? 


*  I volunteered in my son's kindergarten class this week for a couple of hours and it was awesome.  I know a lot of moms and dads don't ever get that opportunity, so I feel very lucky to be able to do it.  It was so cute to see the little kindergartners working away, but boy does the teacher have her hands full!  I taught 3, 4, and 5th grade before being a SAHM, and I gotta tell you I would NOT want to teach kindergarten!  There were some kiddos in there that have never even been to preschool and were just completely clueless about everything.  Then, there were others that were kind of bored because they are already ahead of what they are expected to know by the end of the year.  Crazy, crazy!

Some Randomness:
*  The awesome Beth at Shut Up and Run! tagged me to post 10 random things about myself! Thanks, Beth! :)  So, here they are:

1.  In college I got a degree in Exercise Physiology before getting a degree in Education.  I graduated, and then decided that what I really wanted to do was be a teacher.  Two years later, I graduated again with an Education degree.  I love being a teacher, but what I would really love to do is be a high school running coach.  Then, I could put both of my degrees to use at the same time!  I would LOVE it!

2.  I have never broken a bone (knock on wood!).

3.  I had a red Jeep Wrangler in high school/college and ended up having to sell it.  I loved that thing.  I know it's not a very practical vehicle, but if I could, I would buy another one in a heartbeat!

4.  Moths freak me out.  They fly so sporadically and you never know where they're going to go.  Plus, they like to "hide" in the weirdest places like in the curtains, between the glass and screen door, and they love our garage door!  We get a lot of moths here in CO and I'm always asking my husband to catch them and throw them back outside.

5.  If I could, and I knew that I wouldn't gain a bazillion pounds, I would bake something every day of the week!  There's just something about the process of baking something and the smells that fill the air that I just love.

6.  I've said this in the past, but one of my dreams is to through hike the Appalachian trail.  I WILL do it someday!

7.  Because my dad owned his own construction business when I was growing up, I probably know more about tools and building things then most men (no offense guys!).  It is hilarious when I walk into Home Depot and the guys working there automatically assume I know nothing.  Then, once I start talking to them, I can actually see and hear a shift in the way they look at me and talk to me.  I love having all of the knowledge that I do, and I have my awesome mom and dad to thank for it!

8.  I am an organizational freak!  Seriously, you should see my cabinets.  Almost everything has it's own little labeled bin/container.  It just makes life sooo much easier when things are organized!

9.  I love finding ways to use what I have in my fridge, freezer, and cabinets to create something for lunch or dinner.  I do this because I really don't like to waste food, and it saves money, but really, it just allows me NOT to have to make a trip to the grocery store! :)

10.  I love wearing jeans, and would probably wear them every day if I could.  But, I have a really hard time finding ones that fit me well.  I have "runner's thighs" and a thin waste, so when I find ones that fit my legs/butt, they are huge in the waist and vice versa.  I swear the next time I find a pair of jeans that I love, I'm going to buy 5 pairs of them, just so I never have to shop for jeans again!

Alrighty, I liked how Beth choose people to tag, so I'm going to steal copy her idea!  I'm going to tag the first 5 people that commented on my last post!
1. Running, Tri-ing and Living
2.  Caratunk Girl
3.  Forward Foot Strides
4.  The Road (A Multisport Blog)
5.  Chiu On This

*  I hope you all have a great weekend!  I know there are some of you racing, so good luck to you!  

18 Miles Done and an Ice Bath!

The 18 Miler:
I was supposed to do this run last week, but because I was sick, I decided to rest and get well before tackling it.  I would rather take 5 days off to get better, then run through it and end up getting even more sick.  I did that in January and ended up with nasty bronchitis that would put me in coughing fits lasting over 20 minutes after trying to workout!  It was horrible!  Let's just say I learned my lesson!

I dropped my boys off at school, came back home, got everything loaded into the car, and headed to my favorite place to run long, the Highline Canal.  The weather was in the mid 60s, so it was perfect!  I wore my Nathan Speed 4 belt, which carried ~40oz. of liquid.  When it's warmer out, this is no way enough liquid to get me through 18 miles, but because it was cooler, I didn't know what I would need.  So, my plan was to park in the middle of the trail system and do an out and back to the north, then an out and back to the south.  That way I could stop at my car to refill my bottles if I needed to.

I really wanted to focus on staying at the right pace for this run, around 9:30, especially since it was the longest I have ever run and I was sick last week.  I definitely did not want to push the pace.  In the past I always found it difficult to run "slow" for my long runs.  For some reason, I would always try and run just below the pace I was supposed to.  I think in my mind, I was trying to "beat" myself, which is absurd!  After taking the RRCA class, I really understood the importance of the long, slow run and why we run it at a particular pace.  Having that mindset really helped and I found myself running pretty close to where I needed to be!

The Highline canal was absolutely beautiful.  The majority of the trees were already changing colors and because there was a breeze, leaves were falling from the trees as I ran.  And, it even smelled like fall.  The kind of musty, damp smell associated with leaves and rain.  It was awesome!

My piriformis on my left side was bothering me a little bit over the last month which was leading to some knee pain.  I decided to finally get another sports massage to see if it would help and the lady was AWESOME!  She knew exactly where to push and massage to get it feeling better.  I was really worried about it hurting during my run, but surprisingly, it didn't hurt at all!  I was so happy!

Around mile 13, I started getting kind of bored and it was getting mentally difficult to keep running.  I tried not to focus on how many more miles I had to run, but just to enjoy being outside on such a beautiful day.  That worked for about a mile...ha ha!  The way my route was planned, I passed by my car at the 15.5M mark.  That was tough to run past knowing I still had 2.5 miles to go.  I was so tired and my legs were feeling pretty fatigued.  I could definitely feel the effects of being sick for a week!  I just kept telling myself, "You can do it, you can do it."  I ran until the 17mile mark, then turned around to head back to my car.  That last mile felt sooo slow.  I would look at my Garmin and I would be at 17.3, then I would look again, hoping to be almost done, only for it to show 17.4...ugh!  Finally, I hit the 18M mark!!  I actually put my hands in the air and shouted, "Yay, you did it!"  I'm glad no one else was around, because I'm sure I looked pretty silly!  I finished my 18miles in 2:48 for a 9:20 avg. pace, which is pretty close to the 9:30 I was shooting for!  

  

The Ice Bath:
I came home, and decided it was time to take my first ice bath!  Now, I don't tolerate cold very well, but I was actually excited about it.  I made a cup of hot chocolate milk, put on my tri shorts, a long sleeved sweatshirt, and headed to the bath.

Can I just say, "Brrrrrrrr!"  It was soooo cold!  I was shivering and my teeth were chattering.  Yes, I am still wearing my Smartwool socks, but I thought that if I didn't my toes would freeze off!  If you look closely, you can see the goosebumps on my legs!  In all honesty, the ice bath felt awesome and almost rejuvenating!  I think it will definitely be something I try to do after all of my long runs from this point on.

 My warm, fuzzy sweatshirt and hot chocolate milk were wonderful!  Thank god for the little morsels of warmth they provided! :)

After my bath, I took a quick shower and slipped into these:

I LOVE my Zoot compression tights!!














Then, I feasted on a big bowl of yogurt, fruit, and homemade granola!  YUM!

Overall, I am really happy with how my long run went.  I felt like I kept a pretty steady pace and my nutrition worked perfectly.  I had 3 gels (at 5, 10, & 15M), and drank water and NUUN.  I didn't have any stomach issues at all, which was awesome!  I'm going to have to figure out when to run my last long run, a 20 miler, before starting my taper.  With only 3 weeks before the race, the timing is pretty tricky.  Any suggestions??

Back into the swing of things

These last two weeks have been a crazy combination of my youngest being really sick, crazy school schedules, me being sick, our internet not working, and a RRCA certification class!  For the last two weeks, I seriously felt like I had a newborn again.  With my youngest getting up 3-4 times a night, and then me not being able to sleep because of some stupid head cold, I have just been exhausted.  But, things seem to be coming back to normal and our family is slowly getting back into the swing of things.

I feel like I have so much to talk about, but the thing I'm the most excited about is the class I went to this weekend.  I decided to get my RRCA certification and they had a class in Denver-yay!  My husband got to spend 2 whole days with the boys by himself, which was quite a change for my boys.  I think it was good for them to have some "daddy" time, and I also think it was good for my husband to get some "son" time too without me around.

I really enjoyed the class, not only for the information that I learned, but for the contacts I made with other local runners.  It was nice to be in a class where everyone there was an athlete.  During the breaks we would share stories and get advice from each other.  It was great!

I also feel like I learned a lot about training and training plans.  Yes, some of it was basic and pretty self-explanatory, but there was some information that made me have some "ah-ha" moments.  When I was deciding which marathon training plan to follow, I looked at all of my options online and then picked the one that I thought would best fit into my life and schedule.  I didn't really research the plan to figure out why I was running certain things or doing runs at certain paces.  I know there are a lot of different philosophies on running, but what I learned from this class really made sense to me.

I still have to take a test and complete my CPR/First Aid class, but I am excited to become officially certified so I can use what I learned to help others become better runners.  My first victim client is going to be my husband.  We both signed up for the P.F. Chang's Rock-n-Roll marathon in January (it will be his first!) and I am designing a training plan for him.  I'm really excited about it, but I'm not sure how my husband really feels about it...ha ha!  I'll also be creating a training plan for myself, so it should be fun.

On a side note, it is AMAZING how many blog posts I have missed!  I am trying to get caught up, but some I'm just going to have to let go.  :(

I hope you are all having a good week!  I CANNOT believe that today is the last day of summer!  Where did the time go?

Humpastry Day - Baked Oatmeal

Baked Oatmeal

I came across a recipe for baked oatmeal on allrecipes.com and thought it sounded very interesting.  I love making the traditional oatmeal in our zojirushi cooker (best appliance EVER!), but let's face it, it takes quite a bit of time.  I love oatmeal, and although fall is quickly approaching, sometimes I'm just not in the mood for something hot and steamy (get your minds out of the gutter!) when it's not cold out.  So, with a few healthy tweaks in the recipe, I decided to give this a try.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the result.  You can see from the picture above that it kind of bakes into a type of oatmeal bar.  It is soft and moist and is actually good eaten as is, but it would also be a great snack for during the day.  But, for breakfast, we decided to heat it in the microwave (~45sec) with some milk, raisins, and bananas.  Yum, yum, yum!  Everyone loved it and my boys ate every last bit of it in their bowls!  It was a nice change from traditional oatmeal and I will definitely be making it again!

Ingredients:

Makes about 8 servings

* 3C rolled oats

*  1/2C brown sugar

*  2tsp. cinnamon

*  2tsp. baking powder

*  1tsp. salt

*  1C Soymilk

*  2 flax eggs (3Tbl. flax mixed with 6Tbl. water)

*  1/2C applesauce

*  2tsp. vanilla extract

* 1C frozen blueberries **Note: you could use just about any fruit (frozen, fresh, or dried) instead of blueberries.  Next time I'm thinking about using diced apples...yum!

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  In a large bowl, mix together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt.

3.  Mix in the milk, applesauce, flax eggs, and vanilla.

4.  Stir in the blueberries.

5.  Spread into a 9x13" baking dish.

6.  Bake for ~30 minutes.

7.  Enjoy!

Naked Foot 5k Race Report

Naked Foot 5K
The race wasn't scheduled to start until 9AM, so we were able to get up at our regular time, which is always nicer than having to get up at the butt crack of dawn!  I had my normal pre-race breakfast, a bagel with peanut butter and honey, then we loaded up the boys in the car and headed to the race site.  There was a 1K kids fun run at 8:30, and my oldest was really excited about doing it, but he wanted one of us to run with him.  My youngest has been really sick this past week, hence the lack of blogging, so he couldn't really run.  The plan was to have my husband run with my oldest while I hung out with our youngest.  Well, we had never been to the park where the race was before, so it took us a little longer to get there then expected.  We pulled up as all the kids were getting lined up for the race.  I really didn't want my son to miss it, so as soon as we parked, I grabbed his hand and ran to the start just as they blew the whistle.  There were only about 4 other kids running, so it was pretty fun.  My son loved it and towards the end, I asked him if he wanted to sprint to the finish by himself and he said yes!  So, I stopped and watched him finish strong!  It was awesome!  He ran the entire way and I am so proud of him!

I know he looks a little grumpy in this picture, but he was pretty much laughing the entire time!

Rehydrating after his race! :)









As soon as the kid's race was done, I went to the packet pick-up table to get my stuff.  They informed me that they no longer had my size small shirt (why does this always happen??), so once again, my husband got a new shirt.

There were no numbered bibs or timing chips.  In fact, they wrote our race number on our calf.  The race director made a statement about how he wanted the majority of the money to go to Soles4Souls, so he skipped the frills that other races have.  It was actually really nice to race at such a small venue.  I think there were maybe a total of 50 people running, and I am pretty sure I was the only one with a Garmin.  Ha ha!  It was so laid back, and just a nice change from the bigger 5Ks that we usually do.  I was also surprised at just how many people were barefoot.  If I had to guess, I would say 85% of the racers were barefoot, while the others had some type of Vibram Five Fingers on.  Several people came up to me and asked me about my Bikilas and how I liked them.  Everyone chatted with each other and talked about how long they had been running "barefoot."  The race just had a really cool vibe to it.

Before the race.  Notice the guys behind me without any shoes on?













Pretty soon it was time to line up.  I was going to give my long sleeve shirt to my husband, but I forgot, so I ended up wearing it during the race.  Ugh!  The director counted down and we were off.  I don't know if any of you have ever ran in a small race before, but it was awesome!  There was so much room to run!  The coolest thing about the race though was how quiet it was.  Because everyone was either barefoot or running with VFFs, the only sound you could hear were people breathing.  It was kind of surreal.  It really is just you and the ground beneath your feet.

The course was a mixture of grass and paved trails.  At one point, we ran across a soccer field while the sprinklers were going.  Running through the water was fun and made me think about how much my boys love to run in the grass, barefoot, through the sprinklers. :)
I was surprised at how effortless my running felt.  It felt awesome to run in my Bikilas and I found myself running a sub 8 pace pretty comfortably.  Before I knew it, I was almost to the finish.  The last 1/4M was a straight paved trail right to the finish.  I decided to kick it in and finish strong!  I saw my husband and boys on the side cheering me on and I waved to them as I passed.  It was great!  My husband took this action shot of my heading to the finish.

I crossed the finish line and stopped my Garmin and was completely shocked to see the time!  I ran the 5k in 22:40, which was a 7:27min/mile pace.  This time is 1 second slower than my 5k PR (22:39)!  I couldn't believe it!  But, truthfully, I think I could have gone faster.  I ran this race for fun, and for an opportunity to be part of the first "barefoot" running race in CO.  As strange as this may sound, when I was running, I was seriously not even thinking about "racing."  I didn't feel like I pushed myself, which I wasn't really trying to do anyways.  But, now my mind is spinning wondering just how fast I could have gone-ya know?  It's exciting for me and I honestly can't wait to do another one!

Labor Day Happenings

I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend!  I thought I'd share a little of what went on around here in pictures! :)

The Run:

What do Vibrams +













3.1 miles in 25:44 = ???

A very happy runner! :)

I registered for the Naked Foot 5k for next weekend (Yay!), so I decided to get in a short run in my Vibrams.  I felt great during the run!  Around the 2.5M mark I started to feel it in my calves, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. This was my longest run to date in my Vibrams and I was able to run at a nice pace.  Hopefully I'll be able to hang with all the other barefoot runners at the race! :)


The Work:

Gotta love painting!  If any of you are thinking about painting a wall in your house any version of red, I urge you to think very strongly about whether or not you may change it in the future.  Why you ask?  Because it took 3 COATS of some kind of primer paint to get that one wall ready along with 2 COATS of the actual wall color paint.  My arms are killing me!

Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm wearing a bandana over my head, it's because I think it's cute.  Actually, it's because I don't want my hair to look like  this when I'm done painting:

The Race:
My husband decided to do a 10M race on Monday called The Park to Park 10 Miler.  The course winds through and around 4 major parks in Denver and it is just an awesome, beautiful course.  I ran it the previous years, but he has taken more of an interest in running lately (yay!) so I encouraged him to do the race.
We got up at 6, drove to the race venue, dropped him off, then the boys and I headed to breakfast.  We went to a place called Snooze, and they have the most delicious and strange pancake choices.  My boys of course got the chocolate chip pancakes (not so strange), but I got the Machu Picchu pancakes.  They are made with quinoa, cornmeal, sunflower seeds, blueberries, and then drizzled with agave nectar!  Can I just say YUM, YUM, YUM!

After breakfast we headed to Wash Park to wait for my husband to finish.  He estimated that it would take him about 1 1/2 hrs. to do the race.  We found a place to hang out along the course and my boys cheered on the other runners while ringing their cowbells!  They loved it!  Finally, I saw my husband coming!  He was looking awesome and I was so excited to see him running strong!  Usually he's the one cheering me on, so it was great to be on the other side of things! :)  He swung by our spot, gave the boys high fives, then  headed to the finish line!
I am so proud of him!  10 miles is the furthest he's ever run and he did awesome!  Woohoo! :)

Plus, look at the cool Lulemon bag he got.  I love all of the sayings on it!

I  

I hope you all had a great weekend!  :)

A week in review, other things too, and a reward!

Training:
I have had a great training week so far.  Because both of my boys are in school now, I was able to tweak my schedule a little bit.  I decided to start doing my tempo runs on Mondays, my long runs on Wednesday, and my speed work on Saturdays.  Usually I do my long runs on Saturday which takes up a lot of time.  But, because I don't get to spend as much time with my boys during the week anymore, I wanted to free up some time on the weekend.  I know I'll be doing my speed workouts, but they are relatively short in comparison to a long 16, 18, or 20 mile run!  Plus, it will be nice to have more time on the weekends to spend as a family. :)  

*  I am happy to say that I did my first 16 MILE run this week!  I was actually really excited to do it because up to this point, the longest I've run is 14 miles.  I loaded up my Nathan belt with Hammer gel, Gu, water, NUUN, and watered down Gatorade and took off. The weather was perfect, and although I was excited, I had a little voice of doubt in the back of my mind questioning whether or not I could make the distance.  It seems like no matter what we're training for, we always get to points in the plan where self doubt comes into play.  But, I am constantly amazed by what my body can do.  I have found that if I'm consistent and do the work, then my body will continue to do things that I never thought it could do (like run 16miles at once!).  I know 26.2 miles is still 10.2 miles further than 16, but after that run I was finally able to visualize myself running the marathon.  I know that may sound weird, but up until this point, I haven't really pushed myself beyond what I've already done.   Being able to do the 16 miles, gave me a boost of confidence that I needed!  

Happy and sweaty after my run.  I have come to terms that I am just a SALTY, SWEATY runner and the "rocky mountain peaks" on my visor will always be there after my runs in the sun.

*  I started going to my weekly yoga classes again, and oh how I have missed them.  I have found that it is just an all around awesome workout.  I am able to work my muscles, get in some good stretching, and release some stress.  I love it!

Other things too:
*  We took our boys hiking in the Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday, and it was awesome!  We hiked up hill for 1.1 miles to two beautiful lakes, then hiked back down.  Although there was some whining throughout the 2.2 mile hike, which was totally expected with a 3 and 5 yr. old, they were both real troopers and did better than we expected!  My husband and I both commented about how we cannot wait until they are old enough to go on backpacking trips.

*  Diana from Diana Tries a Tri gave me the Cherry on Top Award! Yay!  If you haven't checked out her blog, do it, because she is hilarious and has the best pictures in her posts! :)

Here are the rules:  

#1 Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?


Answer:  Hmmm, this is a very loaded question. Of course there are things that I wish I could change, but ultimately I think everything we do leads us to where we are at this point in our lives.  But, maybe one thing I would change is I wish that I would have had more fun and gone on more adventures when I was in college and then newly married.  My husband and I look back to the time before we had our boys and think about all of the missed opportunities we had to go backpacking, hiking a 14er, or going on a spectacular adventure together.  Before we knew it, time passed by, we bought a house, and had two kids.  I LOVE my boys, and could not imagine my life without them, but when you have kids, your life automatically changes.  Our days of backpacking are long gone, and I know my boys will grow up way too fast and before I know it we'll be backpacking as a family.  But, there's a part of me that misses doing these things with my husband.  It's something that WE did together and it was awesome!  It makes me realize that I need to make more time for my husband and get better at planning date nights.    
#2 The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award. You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.


Answer:  This award has been going around like crazy, so there are already a lot of you that have been picked.  So, I'm going to pick bloggers that I don't think have received it yet!


1.  Anne Marie from Anne-Marie's Blog
2.  Kathleen at Dare To Dream
3.  Kevin at Ironman By Thirty
4.  Alexa at Just Keep Swimming
5.  Julie at You Just Have to Tri
6.  Alisa at Ambitious Aspirations Make Great Accomplishments
#3 The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.


Answer:  Diana, thank you so much for the award!  :)  Your blog always make me smile and/or laugh!  

Humpastry Day - Apple Chips and the Giveaway Winner!

Apple Chips:

I was at Costco the other day and saw a huge bag of dried apple chips for sale.  It got be thinking about how I could probably make them myself, so when I came home I decided to try.  I can not believe how easy it was!  Because I don't have a mandolin, I had a hard time getting my apple slices thin enough, so some of them turned out chewier than others.  That being said however, they all turned out really good!  My family gobbled up all of the slices for an after dinner treat.  Literally, they were all gone within 15 minutes! :)

Ingredients:
Makes 4 cups

*  4 apples **Note:  I used Braeburn apples, but I'm sure you could use any variety
*  2Tbl. sugar
*  1/8tsp. cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 225 degrees.
2.  Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.
3.  Slice the apples crosswise into 1/8" thick rounds.
4.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or a silpat).
5.  Arrange the apples on the baking sheets and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of them.

6.  Bake for 1 hour.
7.  Peel the apples off of the parchment paper, then return them to the paper.
8.  Continue baking until golden crisp, about 30 minutes more.  **Note:  It took longer than 30min. for some of the apples to crisp up because they were thicker than 1/8".  However, the chewy ones were actually really good too.  So, if you want more of a chewy dried fruit consistency, you could probably cut the bake time down. 
9.  Remove from the sheet, let cool, and gobble them up!  Or, store in an airtight container for up to 5 days!

Now, for the CSN Giveaway Winner!!!


Thanks to random.org,, the lucky winner is:

Amber at Almost Vegan!!


Congrats Amber!  Email me your address and I'll send it to the wonderful people of CSN!