My week

This week I have been checking on this daily

Spending lots of time in my car

Trying to keep Green Lantern from getting good and bad guys

Drinking massive amounts of water and sparkling water.. so miss my diet coke

And sorry to say we have been eating out a lot.  I have been trying to find places that are good for us so last night we ended up at the deli counter at Kowalskis.  A chicken with corn and mac and cheese please.   They also have a great salad bar that I can fill up on. 

I worked out a total of three days.. not great at all.  I hope to go tomorrow morning to the gym as well.  I was going to go yesterday but sleep won.  I am feeling ok.  SO glad it is friday.  This week took forever!

Happy Friday everyone

Not Going to Buy Them!

After my run today I will have ran approximately 536 miles in these puppies.  I bought them back in the middle of May so I would say that I did pretty good stretching out their life span to 4 months.  I know that all the running books out there say to buy new running shoes every 400-500 miles that you put into them.  Well after much contemplation I have decided to keep running in these!  They have been through a lot with me (can't ya tell) and I have grown a little attached :)

Gross some might say, although normally I would not be so bent on keeping these.  It is usually men who grow attached to tennis shoes, not women. But the truth is, I am feeling no awkward pains and I feel like they are still going strong. Not to mention I have many OTHER kinds of shoes I would like to buy this fall and running shoes are not among them!

If you look closely by the big toe area you will see a small hole beginning.

I felt like I just bought a new pair of shoes recently and OH YEAH! I DID!  Not sure if you rememeber but I bought these flat puppies for speed work back in August.  Well the truth is so many people told me to be careful because they were close to barefoot running and I could easily get injured if I run too much in them.  SO I got paranoid and now just save them for my in house DVD workouts until my race is over.  I haven't even ran in them yet.  That's ok, I can wait.  It is just that I don't want to buy ANOTHER pair of the same shoes again.  Anyone feel me?

So tell me, how long do you go before you buy new shoes?

Do you think it is super important to get new ones or do you think I can make in through NYC with them? :)

XX
Sarah

PS I have finally started to get excited for the NYC Marathon! (I like ingmarathon on fb and they are posting way more these days)

PSS My new favorite treat I found at Target!

The 20 miler Newbie =) and what is Too Fast?

This past Saturday I was able to finally complete my first 20 miler of the FIRST training plan. If you remember (if you don't, i'll remind you) my last 20 miler I bonked at like mile 13 because of a ragin' sideache.  But live and learn right...

Also, Hoooray to my friend Tara who completed her first 20 miler this past Saturday. Woot Woot!! There is something special about running 20 miles for the first time ever.  I dunno why, it is kind of like some right of passage into long distance running world. Anywhoo, she ROCKED it. She ran her first 20 miler faster then most run any 20 miler. I was very impressed but not surprised, that girl has some skills.

Tara after her first 20. =)

My 20 was also good. According to my garmin I ran an 8:34 pace, but my garmin is always the faster beeping garmins out of my running club bunch so I'll just assume my pace was around an 8:38 or something. Either way, I felt good but I ran it much quicker then I needed to.

Because I hate carrying water, I decided to make my own water stations along the way. I had two of these stools set up with signs and water. It worked great! Anytime I can, I will do this from now on. =)

So....I have a question that I would like some feedback on. How do you know if you are running too fast? According to the FIRST training plan you should always stick to the pace specified by their training plan. I am shooting for a 3:40 marathon and according to my plan I should have ran that 20 at a 9:08 pace. Which is almost 30 seconds per mile slower then I actually did.

During the run I felt good but towards the end I did get tired. Who doesn't get tired after running 20 miles I don't care what pace you go. Sunday I wasn't sore and I felt good so how do you know?? I don't want to jeopardize the rest of my plan by always running too fast, but if I run too slow am I going to lose what I gained? I dunno... any suggestions?

Anywhoo, my running Guru from club says I went too fast and to back off. So I probably will. I definitely don't want an injury or to overtrain.

But what would you do? Push harder or stay patient?

Happy Running all -Jen

We did a 10 mile loop twice so I used my car as a water station as well. One of our great running buds decided to leave us a nice note!  YAY for running friends. Lots of Love. Oh and I am trying to show you my nasty snarly hair. I have never seen hair like mine duplicated ever.  Anyone with fine ultra tangly hair out there..... or am I the only one?

Just one more....

Fifth time is a charm right??  At least that I what I keep telling myself  when I am feeling so sick and tired and it is only 10am!  And that some of the best families I know have 5 kids :)
We never were super sure that we didn't want just one more baby and now that I am pregnant we know that we are suppose to have another one.   Now you all know why I  have not been posting much and when I do they are super short.  I have been pretty sick.  I am really trying hard to still workout everyday.  Even if it is just a walk.  I find that if I can get myself up early that I still enjoy working out as early as I can.  Just makes my day better but sometimes is just doesn't happen.  Also my eating has just been so bad.  I eat what I think will make me feel better.  Which sorry to say most of the time is CARBS!!  Hate that part.  I just keep telling myself that I will soon feel better and back to my good food habits and until then I need to eat what I can to survive without throwing up!

Here is a very early picture....

So HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!
-Heather

Counting Down!

It may be a little early to start counting down until the NYC marathon BUT it is what I have to do to get me through the rest of my track workouts!  Yes, I am tired of going to the track once a week and doing speed work.  It is true that it is helping tremendously but that doesn't mean I have changed my feelings about speed.  Only 6 more times do I have to go to the track  :)  I don't mind my tempos as much, it is the track that I dread.

This Monday I had to do 3(2 x 1200m) with 2 min RI and 4 min between sets.  The 1200s in 5:10, which I did.  I actually always came under between 5:02-5:08 but once again I did my own RI of 200m(walk/jog) and 1x 400m after 3 1200s.  I am just glad that I am done for the week.

I find if I don't get up and do my track workouts on Mondays it throws off the rest of my week.  Plus I like to have a 2 day recovery from running before my long run.  I feel a difference in how tired my legs are.

This was me at breakfast after my 20 miler last Saturday.  Can you tell I look tired and worn out. 

This was my dinner last night.  I know, a lot of broccoli but really this dinner was for me and Scott but then he had to work late and I didn't want it to go to waste.  Yes, I ate it all :) 

Grilled Teriyaki chicken breast with a slice of provolone cheese on top.
Steamed Broccoli.

I am running my tempo run tomorrow, 11 miles with 1 warm up and 10 @ 8:00-8:23 pace.  Once again I am tweaking my plan.  Now I am going to try and do my tempo runs in between the 3:30 and 3:40 training plan.  Because my speed and endurance have improved I am able to challenge myself a little more with tempos.  

So I had to share this last!  The other day while I was running errands in the city I walked past The Soft Serve Fruit Company.  Ok this is the best thing EVER!  No dairy and gluten free!  It is frozen fruit whipped into a frozen soft served treat.  I got the banana with peanut butter, chocolate chips and pretzels.  It was SO GOOD!!!  Because the frozen fruit is just fruit and not yogurt it doesn't have an artificial taste. Banana always seems to taste the most artificial to me when it is not real.  This is why this place was so good!  Everything is REAL!

 

When do you guys start counting down?  Is 6 weeks too early?

Honestly I am enjoying the training it is just the track that is so tough. 

I also want to say that I know some of you out there are doing the plan as well.  Don't give up!  It is hard but you can do it!  If you are really struggling try skipping one of the training days and start fresh the next.  Think of the bigger picture at the end.  This plan really does make you a stronger runner and gives you the determination and drive to cross the finish line with success!


XX
Sarah

18 Miles and the Roller Derby =)

These last few weekends have been great! Last weekend was Les Miserables and then my friend surprised me this weekend with tickets to the Roller Derby.  There is nothing quite like spending the evening watching HoJ Simpson take down Leigh Vem Bruised. =) 

Amber and I with CICI before it started.

Fun Fact: In Denver alone there are 109 Full Member Leagues and 53 Apprentice Leagues. It is Roller Derby Madness around here. I love it!

Now down to serious RLRF business.  First, another shout out to Sarah who ran her 20 miles at an 8:19 pace! That is very awesome and very inspiring.  Also, I ran my 18 this past Saturday at an overall pace of 8:44. This was according to my garmin which always seems to be a little faster then most so I would imagine I came in a little slower then that. But non the less I took the first 13 miles real easy hanging around a 9 minute mile or so and then picked it up and ran around 8:15's or so to finish the run. It was a good reminder to me that if you start easy you can finish strong.  I hope to do something similar in my marathon this December but I guess we will see how it all goes!

This weeks workouts.

Monday: Total Conditioning
Tuesday: Speed 2x1200's and then 4x800's with 2 minute recovery
Wednesday: Bike 15-20 miles easy
Thursday: Tempo 1 Mile easy with 5 Miles at pace
Friday: Total Conditioning
Saturday: 20 miler (Let's hope I don't bonk this time around.... my last 20 didn't go so well.)

Has anyone else been to see the Roller Derby?
-I hope to go again

What are you workout plans for the week?

Who else is doing RLRF? Do you like it?
-So far I am liking it a lot. 3 days of running a week is great. Gives me lots of time to spice up training.

Happy Running -Jen

RLRF WORKS!

I just wanted to share a quick post that the Run Less Run Faster plan is working!   Today I did my 20 miler at a 8:19 pace.  Granted I did get tired at the end and I blame this partially to my walking around too much yesterday but the majority of my miles were around 8:10.  I am pretty happy about this because now I really know that a 3:30-3:40 marathon is within my reach!!

I made Scott take a picture of me right after.  Don't make fun,  I know I look like I was a walking glass of limeade :)  I also wore my compression socks today because it was cool outside so I knew I wouldn't get too hot.

Also another exciting thing happened on my run this morning.  I ran past Nate Appleman from Chopped All-Stars!  The cool thing is that he is in this month's Runner's World Mag.  I was tempted to yell out "Hey I just saw you in Runner's World!" but I didn't. I resisted :)  But the girl who he was running with had on the same limeade shorts as me!

Hope you had a great run today if you were out! Have a great weekend!

XX
Sarah

Roast Beef Sandwich

I have been super busy these days.  No time to do really anything for fun.  The kids keep me driving pretty much all day but the one thing that had kept me happy is working out in the morning and making sure I have a dinner to eat at night when I get home.  This sandwich is a hit every time and super easy to make.  Take everything from the below picture and put in the crock pot before you leave on low. Minus the bread of course.  I prefer to use a sirloin tip roast and I try to wait as long as I can to throw it all in.  Really it only needs about 5 hours.  All days works fine as well though.

  

About 30 mins before we eat I cut up some sweet potatoes and toss them with some EVOO and salt and pepper.  Then roast them in the oven at 400 for about 30 mins.  My kids love them.  I never even make regular potatoes anymore.

Then to serve the sandwiches I use banquettes, cut them in half and load them up with meat.  Place a little cheese on top and pop under the broiler till cheese melts.  Along side I use a little of the juice from the cooker.  And that is what we call French Dips.   

( was feeding George the apple sauce when Bryan took the picture so he really wanted to be in it.  Also Elsa is always up for a picture as well so there she is:)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Spring 2012

I know it is early to be talking about Spring but I just finished my new Spring 12 collection and had the shoot last Friday.  Things have been so crazy for me that I haven't taken any good pix of the other things I am up to.

I did my 18 miles last Saturday at an 8:30 pace.  I somehow made it through and not even sure how I did it.  I was up so late the night before and was sick so I was way dehydrated.  I felt really dizzy after the first 3 miles and had to stop.  I really didn't think I was going to make it.  I ate some sports beans, drank some water and started again.  I just kept thinking....just 9 miles out and then I get to turn around and come home.  I even came in at my 8:30 target pace!  Glad it was over.  This Friday I am going to be early!

Tuesday I did my track workout, which I can tell I can run my target pace with less effort.  Don't get me wrong, I still don't love it but it does seem a little less miserable.

I will do my tempo tomorrow and my 20 miles on Saturday.  I guess the nice thing about being busy is that I don't have time to dwell on workouts that I am not looking forward to.  I just wake up and do them and go on with my day.  Oh and another secret, maybe this is not a secret but I try to keep my mind thinking about anything and everything besides how I am feeling while I am running.  Before I know it my workout it over!

I really do love(like) my workouts but you know what I mean :)
Because I don't have any pix I just wanted to share some of my favorite looks from my new collection!

I am already wishing it was the weekend!  Anyone else?  Any fun plans?

XX
Sarah

Mud Brigade Recap and Jean Valjean!

This past weekend has been great! For starters, I was able to go see Les Miserables on Friday night with my family.  It was awesome.

Me and my Uber cute Niece. YAY for family outings.

One of the highlights was stalking down the actors after they were finished and asking for a pic. While waiting for Mr. Valjean to come out himself we talked to the Innkeeper for a while. He was telling us about broadway and his life on the road, very interesting!

Jean Valjean (J. Mark McVey)  and I. It was a family affair. His daughter was who played Cosette!

The Innkeeper (Joseph Spieldenner) and I. He has always been one of my favorite Characters. 

Then Saturday morning I was able to wake up and go participate in a race called, "The Mud Brigade". After my Sisters decided to give the Warrior Dash a try and loved it I thought I should probably find my own muddy event to attend.

The Hubs and I prior to the race. I came in 8th place out of the chicks. There was no age group category but I figure 8th out of 620 girls was good. 

A friend of mine came across this one and so we signed up and gave it out most. It was lots of fun. They had several obstacles that were indeed very muddy and required you to actually concentrate. Here are some of the obstacles.

-Climbing up a mud hill that required the assistance of a rope, (very slippery).
-Crawling under a blanket of chain link fences through a shallow mud lake.
-Swimming/Wading thew mud canals and then attempt to climb out of them. ( I could have used a rope again)
-Tight rope walking over a mud pit. Luckily they had a rope on top so you had something to help keep your balance.

So you get the picture. At the end of the race you had to run threw a shallow mini mud lake to which all spectators were yelling, "Dive, Dive, Dive" So I did my best. Bummer thing is I didn't get too many pics of the actual race.

A friend of mine and I after the race. We couldn't get pics right after because the camera was in the car. But this was us after we had hosed off in the horse barn......

This week I am back to the daily grind when it comes to the FIRST training plan. Here is my tentative plan.

Today - Total Conditioning
Tuesday - 3x1600's at just under 7 minute mile
Wednesday - Bike approx 15-20 miles (last time we rode we almost got hit by several cars.... people can be grouchy when commuting to work at 5:30 am. This week we are going out in no mans land to hopefully avoid that kind of situation...)

Thursday - 6 Miles with 3 miles at 7:35pace
Friday - Swim or TC. Not sure which yet.
Saturday - 18 Miles. (Hopefully I don't bonk!)

Have you all seen Les Miserables?
-If not, I totally recommend it. I love me a good musical every now and again.

Did you do anything fun this past weekend?
-The scheduled events I had this weekend were awesome. I love it when that happens.

Happy Running -Jen

Bonked if there ever was a Bonk

Wonder what happened to our post yesterday? Well I'll tell you. Instead of going out for my run and getting home in time to post, I bonked.

I went for a 20 miler, and ended up only running 13 and walking 7.  7 whole miles of walking really reminded me these few things.

#1 - I hate my water belt. I always have so regardless of whether it was the water belts fault or not, I will blame it.

Do you recognize this photo.... it is the chocolate covered cheesecake Heather and I ate at the State Fair a few weeks back. I was thinking about how Real Delicious this little slice of heaven was while walking those lovely 7 miles.

#2 - On any run longer then 10 miles I say as a rule of thumb, bring my cell phone. I used to always bring my cell in my little pouch that goes around my waist but have since done away with that pouch thinking the water belt was more important.... but alas, another reason to blame the dumb water belt, no place for my cell.

#3 - When you stop at some random store and ask to borrow their phone to call your husband and he offers to come pick you up, let him...... I was like, "na, don't worry about it." I thought it would be no big deal walking 7 lonely miles back to my car. But I'll tell you by the time I got to my car I was so hungry and thirsty (I ditched the water belt shortly after I stopped running) that I thought I started seeing little birds twirling around my head.

This was a delicious Giada recipe that I had made the night prior. I think she is my favorite. Towards the end of my never ending walk I started thinking about how I couldn't wait to eat the leftovers.

So anywhoo, yesterday wasn't one to write home about it but alas you get to all hear me complain in this lovely post. But really, although I am complaining this run didn't get me down too much. I have bonked before and will bonk again.  It is part of running. Live and learn =)

If anyone out there doesn't know what bonking is, here is my definition.

Bonking - When any someone can not finish a run for any type of reason they deem fit. Whether it be some kind of ache or pain, or maybe just they you weren't feeling it that day. All runners have bonk days.

I hope all your running adventures are better then mine was yesterday!  Happy weekend =)

-Jen

Rain, please stop..

I don't about you guys but over here on the East Coast it is raining like crazy.  It rained all day yesterday and will rain all day today and tomorrow which means......maybe no running?  I do run in the rain sometimes but not always.  Depends on my mood and how wet it is already.  It is days like these that I wish I had a gym with a treadmill.

Should be heading out for my tempo but I may end up doing Tracy Anderson instead. 

On a side note how was your Holiday?  Mine was great!  Saturday I had a totally great run with 13 miles @ 7:56 pace.  That never really happens for me so I can tell that the Run Less Run Faster Plan is really working.  Then we shopped and found a new bed.  Sunday we relaxed, went to church and I went to the flea market to find props for my photoshoot this Friday. They always have lots of good stuff but didn't find what I was looking for.

I really loved these and really wanted to buy them.  They are African Antelope horns.  I am still thinking about them but I didn't know where I would put them.  I said above our bed and my husband said ahhhh no.  Lame...

Monday night we decided to hit up 5th avenue to go into Niketown and shop around there.  I didn't end up buying anything but it was a beautiful night.

Work has been so busy that I love it!  I love it when I have too much to do and not enough time to do it in.  Makes me a little stressed but in a good way.  Yesterday I saw a ton of models for my shoot. I picked one but my husband said no (he is the creative director of Edelweiss, it's really annoying sometimes) so I am seeing more girls today.  Keep your fingers crossed!!

What do you do if it is raining?

Do you work better under pressure?

XX
Sarah

School Days...

It totally feels like fall around here these past couple of days so it is only right that school is starting.  I have mixed feelings about it.  It makes me sad that summer is over but my kids are so ready to get back to work. They cannot wait.   I am not looking forward to my busy days ahead.  Eventually we will be moving closer to the schools but for the next two months this is what my days will look like:

5:30am Gym

7:50 #1 Child gets dropped off at school #1

8:00 #4 Child gets dropped off at school #3

8:50 #2 and #3 children get dropped off at school #2

9:45 #4 gets picked up

12:00 #3 gets picked up

2:30 #1 gets picked up

3:50 #2 gets picked up

Then on Tuesdays and Thursdays we have dance from 4-6.  Yep... I will be in my car a ton over the next two months... but I am packing my bag full of water and healthy snacks and my kindle.  But I need a good book to read.  Anyone have any suggestions??

These are the kids all ready to go to school... I just love these little people..

 Elsa and Henry

Grace

Henry

Happy Fall Everyone

-Heather

Happy Labor Day

Today my family and I are going out to enjoy the mountains! I hope you all have a great Labor Day doing something active and eating some good treats.

This is my family out on one of our favorite hikes. I love it here! 

Have a great day =)

-Jen

More Photos Less Talking..

I wanted to have more pictures for this post and less talking.  Only because I have to hurry out the door for my 13 miles and then we are headed to Long Island to go to buy a new mattress during the Labor Day Sales!  So excited!  We have been waiting for this holiday for a long time because they always have such great sales.

So this is how my Birthday day went down...(btw thanks for all the Bday love yesterday:))

Had to go into the city for some work stuff so I got a ride with Scott!  Didn't have to take the train.  Booya!

After I got back to BK I had my favorite slice of Spinach and Garlic pizza.  Made fresh just for me.

Worked and worked then Scott got off early for the Holiday and we had an early dinner.  I picked Tiny's Giant Sandwich shop.  Always wanted to try it and it was a total hit!

I had the Veggies of Them All Sandwich with, 7-grain bread, spinach, carrots, cucumbers, avocado, oinions, roasted red peppers, tomato and hummas.  I need to make these at home more often.

Did a little shopping in Soho which was majorly crowded and I was not feeling it but Scott found some stuff.  I am too picky when it comes to everyday clothes.  I think because I always think I can make it better.  But take me to Lulu or Nike and I could shop for days! I don't know the first thing about making workout clothes :)

Then on to Butter Lane Cupcakes.  I had the Vanilla with Vanilla and Scott had the Chocolate Salted Carmel Banana Cupcake.  It was intense with a little homemade vanilla ice cream.

We were both so tired that by the time we got home I turned on Moonstruck (I love Cher) in bed and fell right asleep.  I will have to say I had a wonderful Birthday!!

So anyone hitting up the Labor Day Sales this weekend??

Forget running, I say let's go shopping!

XX
Sarah

Happy Birthday Sarah

For as long as I  can remember one of the things Sarah was best at was putting together the best outfits.  She has always had a eye for fashion. She still puts together amazing things and has major talent.   Sarah you are an amazing sister and great best friend.  We love you to death and hope you have a great birthday!!!!