Who Runs This Mutha....

Apparently Beyonce does.  And girls.  But I don't want to exclude anyone... :)

As some of you may know, I am a HUGE music fan.  As well as a pop-culture fan, but for today's purposes let's talk music.  I would say 90% of my workouts I have my earphones in. 

Reasons:

1. I love bass while running.  Bass in the back of a lowered truck
    driving through my neighborhood at midnight...not so much.
2. Sometimes I just need a kick in the butt and music obliges.
3. I love running to a rhythm.
4. I can practice my madrappingskillz.
5. I can practice my maddancingskillz.
6. It works for me.

I know some of you don't need it or even like it while running.  And that's great.  A little weird, but I won't judge. :)

For those of you that are in the same boat as me...the boat that is rockin to the beat...I've got a little treat for you!!!  Call it a gift from me to you.  If you're on your computer, look up to the tabs or side bar on my blog page.  Click on music downloads.  You will then see a little info followed by a list of playlists.  These are professional mixes that you can download, put into your itunes and load to you music player.  If you're on your mobile/cellular device and can access my blog, click on the arrow by the Home button and scroll down and select music downloads.  Pick your mix and it will IMMEDIATELY load up and play right on you iPhone, blackberry, whatever!!!  Put your earphones in and go run, you're set!

How cool is that?????  Free music.  Awesome, upbeat mixes at your finger tips!  They range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half in length.  Right now the mixes I have available are pop/top 40 and hiphop.  I've got an 80's one coming and if you put in some requests I'll see what I can do!

I know that some have been downloaded already.  Let me know how you like them!  Or not like them, I can take it...I think.  Hopefully they'll help and put a little extra kick in your workout too!

You Know It's Summer When...

You live at the the pool and your kids turn into fish.

You visit a shack every night after dinner to have your fourth meal of the day...

And you pay $2.50 for a cup of flavored ice. 

You let your kids stay up way past bed time almost every night so they they can roast mashmallows for s'mores.

You can go for a run at 7 a.m. and it's gorgeous outside!!!

And yes!  I'm running!  Super slow but 8 miles today.  Whew hew!

What's your fave thing so far this summer???

Three Things Thursday

1.  Would you believe in my 10+ years of running I have never run on one of these....

Until today.  I didn't even run repeats, sprints or intervals.  I needed a nice, easy, cushioned, outdoor run.  It was a gorgeous morning but already 70 degrees.  A little warm.  It was the longest hour of my life, at least for this week.  Dang ITBS.  I'm so over it.  I wish my knee would get over it.

2.  My new find for the week...KT tape.  I've seen it around forever but tried some for my run this morning and IT WORKED!  Well, it took the pain away and left me with just ache.  I'll take it.  I think I just need to experiment with different ways to tape my knee to see which works best.  But I definitely felt a difference. 

They even make it in purple to match my shoes.  Bonus.

3.  Where's this guy going in the draft????

Probably not #2 but hopefully first round!  We'll see.... 

Who are you watching for today?  Or do you even care about the NBA draft?  ; )

Good News Tuesday

I ran last night.  On the treadmill.  For fifty minutes.  Okay, I ran two minutes, walked one minute.  But for fifty minutes.  My knee didn't feel like it was going to snap off.  Still flashes of discomfort, but it's getting better, which is good news. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the pool.  However, aqua jogging endless laps can mess with your mind.  I still have some more water sprinting in my future but I'm able to add in some land miles too.

In other good news...as I was leaving the gym, I saw this poster...

What?!?!?  Workout with this guy???  Sign me up!  I've still be doing the Insanity workouts a few times a week and seriously, I'm dripping sweat in the first 6 minutes of warm up.  That intensity training is something else.  I'm supposed to be somewhere else on that Saturday, but I'm trying to make it happen.  How awesome would that be???  Any of my Utah peeps gonna be there?

Have you ever worked out with Shaun T?  Have you done a class in LA?  Or worked out with another fitness celeb... the Tae Bo guy or Tony Horton?  :)

And some good news?  Please share???  I'm still floating from my run last night...

Shout Out To All The Dads...Especially This One...

I still feel like all of this blog stuff is new to me.  I'm quickly approaching my one year bloggerversary.  I actually started my 12/12 before I started blogging.  I was just a week out from my second race and my friend Lindsay said 'you've got to blog about this'.  Her blog was the only one I knew about.  I was doing the 12/12 as a challenge, for fun, and for something I could call my own.  I had no idea that anyone else would even care. I quickly found out that it would give me a chance to make many new friends and even create an amazing new support crew. I can't tell you how much I've appreciated all of the support along the way. It's been so great sharing this (for all the ups and downs) with a group that truly understands this addiction healthy lifestyle we all share. So with that..THANK YOU...to all of you. When that bloggerversary arrives, I will go on and on with more gratitude. :)

So, back to when I started the ol' blog....one of the first things my husband said was, 'Don't talk about me.  Seriously.'  Ummm.  Okay.  So I respected his wishes...until today. Father's Day is obviously this coming weekend and it feels right to use that excuse to break my promise. 

There is NO way, zero, zilch, nada...that I would/could have even imagined doing something like this past year without him. 12 marathons in 12 months...well...how do I even explain it?  He is my rock in all ways possible.  He has always been completely supportive throughout all of my races throughout the years.  The training, all of the Saturday long runs, all of the complaining of how sore I was and how tired I was after whatever workout I had just completed.  When I told him about my idea of 12/12, the first thing he asked was, 'Well, do you think you can do it?' and I said, 'uhh, yeah' and he said, 'Then do it...we'll make it work.'

I'm the 'Big Ideas' person between the two of us.  I'm sure as soon as those words floated out of my mouth, he instantly thought about logistics, time, and of course the money it would take to begin a challenge such as this.  He never discouraged me, he never questioned me.  However, he always, always worried and took the very best care of me.  More importantly, he never doubted me!  A weekend away every month was not an easy task.  Seriously, I could not have done what I did without him! 

If it were just him and I, it would have been a little easier but..umm...we have five children. When asked if he runs races himself, his quick reply was always 'Yeah, I run 5K's everyday...' ;)  5 kids is a lot of work.  It's time consuming. For those of you who have children...well...'nuff said. It is Crazy fun, Crazy busy, Crazy 'wear the crap right out ya' and all sorts of more Crazy.  I usually fit my workouts in around the kids' homework and various activities.  I workout early mornings, late nights, and even late into the night after the kids are in bed.  By far the hardest are the long runs that take up most of our Saturday.  I am gone 3 hrs or more most Saturdays and am not always my most energetic self for the rest of the day.  He puts up with it all.

He's an amazing DAD!  Our kids put up with me, but they LOOOVVVEEE DAD.  Sports runs in the family.  We're all constantly playing or doing something active.  The girls love to dance and the boys love sports with football and basketball at the top of their list.  He loves to hang with the kids, he loves to teach them, and even jump in and play with them...sometimes to even humble them when they get too cocky about their so called 'skills.'  He takes them to movies, the arcade, and  midnight 7-11 runs way too many times during the week.  I LOVE our family.  I wish we could freeze time and enjoy this stage for a bit longer.  I know that every stage is different, exciting, heartbreaking, and of course challenging in many ways. I am extrememly grateful to have the family I have and especially blessed with the man that chose to marry me.

So with that....



I Love You...Thanks for putting up with me during my 12 in 12, and all the the time for that matter.  Happy Father's Day.  You are the best.  Ever.

Bling

My family is pretty great.  I have a cousin, Kelli...who I don't even have a picture of, which makes me a little mad, who is awesome!!!  Last summer she started running.  I can't remember how it all went down, but I basically picked the Rock n Roll San Antonio race last November so I could visit her (she's a Texas gal) and run a race with her!  She ran her first half marathon and did amazing!!  She's still running and I'm hoping she'll do the Rock n Roll Las Vegas this year!  So fun.

Yesterday I went to the mailbox and found a little package...addressed to me from Kelli!  I was so excited. Popped it open and inside was the cutest little package!

And inside this cute little tin was this...

The cutest necklace ever!!!  My camera was giving me grief so it might be a little hard to tell...but on the small copper circle it says '314.4' which is 26.2 miles x 12 marathons!!!  Awesome.  And then on the outer silver circle it says 'TWELVE IN TWELVE'.  So awesome.  I immediately put it on....

I know.  Goofball pic.  Haven't mastered the art of taking self-portraits. ; )  Anyways, I LOVE, love, LOVE, love it!  Thank you sooo much Kelli!  So thoughtful!

In other jewelry news...  I was sitting on my couch today and when I got up, I saw something sparkling at me on the cushion.  I picked it up thinking it was one of my girls play jewelry.  When I looked closer I thought, hmmm, that looks familiar.  I then looked at my wedding ring and sure enough, the diamond had fallen out!!!!

How lucky am I that I actually saw it when it fell out!!!  So now I'm bandless and I have the ugliest indentation where my ring has sat for 16 years. 

So we have 3 options....

(1)  Repair, put diamond back in existing ring.

(2)  Get a whole new ring.  Good grief, 16 years, I can splurge on a new ring, right?

(3)  Take $$$ I would spend on new ring and have a getaway to here...

Just got the email this afternoon.  I think it's a sign.

Ever lost your wedding ring???  Or the diamond out of it???

I'm thinking of downsizing to a simple band.  Have you upgraded or downgraded from your OG wedding ring?

I Hate Eating My Words.

It all started with this...

My boys are Heat fans.  Actually, they just love seeing awesome athletes perform awesomely.  Earlier in the playoff season it was Wade and James.  My boys are ballers.  Well, they're working on it anyways.  Basketball camps all summer.  So for jokes, I sent a quick text to a certain someone that said...'I just picked up Dwayne and LeBron.'  Accompanied by that pic.  Who knew what can of worms I had just opened...

Sidenote:  I'm competitve.  I HATE losing.  And I know how to talk a real big game.  If anyone followed on twitter, I may or may not have gotten a little carried away a couple times.  Bantar is fun.  It seems like I might have said something like... "I'll start looking around for a grievance counselor for you...for when the Mavs lose."  and "No one likes to play games with me. I'm a bad loser, mostly cause I don't have much experience with losing.  Just a little FYI.  Heat will win."  I know. 

I even wore this on game day...

And I even thanked her for designing her t-shirt in Heat colors.  I just kept diggin' my hole.

The saddest part of all...

Even D-Wade tried to make himself a homemade version to try give him a little strength.  Emz denied him on the OG version.  It's ok D-Wade.  There's always next season.  You'll get another ring and MAYBE a real RUN-EMZ shirt, if you play your cards right.

So....congratulations to the Mavs.

You deserved it.  You played your hearts out.  And you killed the Heat.

And Emz...you were right.

I owe you some cupcakes.

Bleeccchhh.  I feel like I'm gonna be sick.  Admitting defeat is not a good look for me.  ; )

Saturday Fun...

Every morning when I have arrived at the pool, every lane is doubled up in the deep end.  Today, Saturday, this is the beautiful vision that I was able to behold....

NO ONE in the deep end.  It was perfect.  I didn't have to wear my purple running socks!  My feet didn't have to get shredded up!  And I could do my aqua jogging without any impact on my knees.  I will say though, that an hour and a half of 'running' water laps seems endless.  But, chalk it up.  Another water workout done and recovery to the knee in a quiet pool. 

And somehow this caught my eye everytime I turned a lap...

Thanks Rec Center...for the reminder that I am not running.

And then on the door as I head out...

I know you just finished swimming here but there's a local half marathon next month.  Hope you can make it Ms. Aqua Jogger.  Thanks again Rec Center.

And it's perfect running weather here.  My view on the way home...

Not the best pic but just know it's beautful blue skies and mid 70's.  Love it.  Hopefully I'll be back on the running circuit in another week.  Fingers crossed.

Happy Weekend!

It's All About The Feet

So I haven't purchased my aqua shoes yet. This is a good look, right?  My feet are literally tore up on their soles.  When I woke up this morning I thought, hey, I'll just wear my running socks.  That'll work.  And it did, for the most part.  I've got a big circle blister right at the ball of my foot.  But no shredding today.  I'm really not cheap, it's just that I think I'll only be aqua jogging for another week or two.  I'm thinking the socks will work. 

Today it was 30 second sprints, in the pool.  My heart rate was up so I figure it's a workout.  For some reason though it just doesn't feel like it.  I'm breathing hard, but not sweating.  I'm running hard and then recovering.  And to top it all off... the blue haired ladies are giving me the crazy looks like I'm the lightweight that can't swim or do water aerobics.  Whatever. ; )

I'm in the pool 4 days a week and doing some core/strength and stretching the other days.  I'm new to all this serious recovery stuff.  It's pretty nice.

And I did finally get a real legit summer pedicure.  You'd never know that I'm missing 3 toenails.  Don't mind my cat, she wanted to be in the pic too.

And just this afternoon, I went out my front door to find this stuck to it...

It's like they already know.  But if they really knew how bad it was behind my front door they would have sent their whole crew to my doorstep. ;)

I'm off to finish cleaning today so that we can actually enjoy the weekend!!!  Have a good one!

TTT: The New Game Plan: BQ or Die

1.  So I'm borrowing the beloved tag line from our newly cupid shot boy CK.  When we met up way back in February I mentioned that AFTER he BQ'ed I might need to borrow it.  And now that he is distracted with all things 'manly' I'm swiping away.  The twelve is over, sadly.  And now I constantly get asked, 'So, now whaddaya gonna do.'  Because running 12/12 just wasn't enough.  And if I didn't have this crappy ITB, I would consider keep going.  But alas, my body seems to need rest and recovery.  Crazy.  But next up....  training harder than ever and hitting less than a 3:45 in September, which will help with the new tag line.

2.  Aqua jogging is tearing my feet up.  Who knew that you really have to wear those aqua shoes for purpose and not just fashion.  I'm going to have to buy me some today...

3.  How bout the header???  Let me just answer everyone's first question now.  No, unfortunately those aren't my legs.  But a girl can dream.  Hopefully the new header will help me post more than once a week.  I really have lots to write about, I haven't even really wrapped up this 12/12 in an appropriate fashion just yet.  I'm on it though.  Just trying to adjust to summer...be patient. : )

Happy Thursday!

Three Things Thursday

Before I start, can I just say I LOVE TTT?!?!  It just takes so much pressure off...I can always come up with three random, non-related things. : )

1.  Two more school days left.  Does anyone else cram more in the last week of school than the whole rest of the school year knowing that you'll have ALL the kiddos home for the next. three. months. 

2.  My first pair of shoes...post-12...which are NOT running shoes....

I know.  So cute right?  It even just shows the toenails that I still have.  Bonus.  Thanks to my cute sister Callie...she thought is was about time to update my shoe closet from nike to cute summer heels.

3.  After this last marathon my IT Band decided to call it quits.  I'm just glad it waited til #12.  

And because of it I am now resigned to the pool.  It's now aqua jogging for me.  I'm aware of a few of you out there that are currently or have recently had to spend some pool time for recovery.  I hope to be as strong as you and not lose hope. 

Any aqua tips you'd like to share???  Summer plans???  Cute shoes???  I'm up for anything today!  Two more days left til summer officially begins.  Yahoooo!!!