Week in Review (October 4 - October 10)

Tuesday (17,515 steps) - It was super windy on my morning run and my legs were still heavy after my "fast" run at RMRR. I only managed to get 2.5 miles in. Blah.

When to Laura's barre fuzed class during lunch. Regular busy afternoon of picking A up from soccer, homework at the library and gymnastics. Dinner, homework, TV and bed.
Wednesday (15,258 steps) - Totally invested in winning the barre challenge, so I got up early and went to a 6 am class with Nicole. This was only the second class I have taken from her, and I didn't love it. After work we went to run club. Fun evening running with Heather and Colfax, and then a pizza party at the store. Managed to not buy anything.

Thursday (14,371 steps) - 6 am barre class with Meredith. After work and school we headed down to Denver Roost for another Ladies' Night. We opted to not run, but we did enjoy the food and raffles.

 

Friday (13,708 steps) - DEAD FROM THE PLAGUE. My "maybe cold" turned into a full blown nightmare. Nightmare compounded by the main bathroom sink flooding.

The universe knows that sugar and carbs makes me feel better, so I had quite the feast for breakfast:

Went to a barre class during lunch with Sasha. I really like her classes, but it's hard to get away for more than one class during the week.

In the lead for now!

After work A and I went to Lowe's to buy parts to repair the sink. I was feeling like crap and we were pretty pleased with ourselves thinking we had it fixed. And then we realized the sink was leaking right at the drain. Long story short, we had to go back to Lowe's, buy more parts and channel locks and completely redo everything. Good news, we fixed it and we are awesome. Not the best way to spend a Friday night, especially when you're sick.

Saturday (8,259 steps) - Up early for A's soccer game. They were actually playing a team from their own school. They are playing better, but they still lost 4-0. A was pretty bummed.

Went back home to rest on the couch until I went to barre at 10:45. EVERYTHING FELT HARD. After showering and grilled cheese for lunch, HOURS of napping on the couch. Got up around 5 to get ready for Heather's birthday party. Instead of having it at her house like usual, it was at a bar/restaurant in Golden. The food had huge portions and the drinks weren't too expensive, I just don't like going out. It was great to see everyone, and I have to say that I was relieved that they kicked all minors out at 9 so we could go home.
Sunday (35,008 steps) - Louisville trail half  marathon.

After the race we headed home to shower and get ready for the Broncos game! We met at Heather's house and then she drove us to the stadium. What a cluster getting into the lot!

We walked around the replica of the original Mile Hi stadium and got to our seats a few minutes after the game started... with the Falcons already scoring a goal. The game was a lot of fun, even though we lost.

I hadn't been that hungry during the game, but pizza sounded really good. We decided to go to California Pizza kitchen for dinner. I had a chipotle chicken pizza (yes, I ate the whole thing), and A and I shared a slice of pumpkin cheesecake. Then we went to Heather's and watched the Presidential debate. What a fucking disaster. We didn't end up leaving her house until 8:45, so by the time we got home it was really late. Where did the weekend go???
Monday (13,913 steps) - Both of us slept in a bit too late. Chaos in the morning and we ended up leaving the house super late. At least it was a "holiday" so there wasn't too much traffic. Picked up A at Scouts and then went to barre class.

Stats:

• 118,032 steps
• 17.9 miles run
• Six barre classes. I ended up skipping the Sunday one since we went to the Broncos game.
• Current weight 123.8. One would think, that being sick with the plague and not being able to taste anything would aid in weight loss. Sadly, I barely moved all week, didn't hit my step goal on more than half the days, barely slept, and ate like crap.

Everything Else:

• Work has been really rough. Troy is getting ready for a 2-week trial and has been an nightmare to deal with. Compound his attitude with scheduling issues and I have NOT been looking forward to coming to work every day.

Week in Review (January 19 - January 25)

Tuesday (16,572 steps) - So extremely tired in the morning, so I opted for sleep. Ran 4 miles on the treadmill during lunch. Must've been ok, although I don't remember. I picked A up at school and we headed down to the Sie Film Center for a special screening of "Spirit of the Marathon II." They provided food (BBQ and fancy mac & cheese), which was nice. The event was put on by the Colfax marathon and they had an elite panel for Q & A before the movie. Super fun event!

After it was over we went across the way to "The Tattered Cover" - where we each got a book. I still love REAL books.
Wednesday (21,698 steps) - 3ish mile run in the morning.

After work/school we went to run club, where we did another couple miles. As always, good company and good snacks/beer. Fun evening!
Thursday (22,814 steps) - Got up early for a "long" run. Felt great running 6 miles, almost wish I'd had more time.

Friday (18,004 steps) - A rest day, but I still went out for a few miles thinking that it would be great to run on the dirt trail by the lake. FALSE. It was so damn cold when I got out there I thought I was going to die of hypothermia. Womp.

Saturday (35,585 steps) - Long run with Runner's Edge (and Heather). I was pretty excited about the forecast (50's by the time we would be done). The route was one of the uglier ones I have run, but it was nice to have a change of scenery, and it's always nice to run with Heather. 14 miles done!

After lunch A went to a birthday party while I was baking cookies. At 6 we went to the Runner's Edge party downtown. We had a lot of fun in the photo booth.

After THAT party, we went to my friend Ben's house for his birthday celebration. Ended up not getting to bed until 10. EXHAUSTED.
Sunday (16,915 steps) - Up sorta early to head to Waterton Canyon for a "group" run with the Happy Trails run club. Most of the group planned on running to the dam (about 12 miles), but A and I obviously weren't going that far. Except for the wind it was a gorgeous sunny day.

After grocery shopping and a shower we went to Jessa's house to watch the football game. Ate way too much "game food" and ended up going to bed very early.
Monday (18,320 steps) - Now that I finally have a training plan, I'm relieved to see that I've been pretty much doing exactly what I should be. Ran 4 miles by the lake - and it was one of the best (and fastest) runs I've had in a while. I didn't need a single break the entire run, which is pretty rare.

I left work a bit early to go to A's school to watch her in the spelling bee. Like last year, she got out during the first round. She was most upset that she was given a word that was not on her study sheet. Her two classmates (and friends) were the winners.

I had to go back to work while she wen to Girl Scouts. We ended up going out to dinner at Sweet Tomatoes - we actually hadn't been there in a long time. In bed pretty early again. Winter is so exhausting!!

Stats:

• 149,908 steps
• 40.8 miles run. Wow. NO races, and only 4 on the treadmill. SOLID.
• No cross training.
• No strength/stretching. Need to get back at this, but with running in the morning, I've pretty much lost all motivation by the time I get home.

Everything Else:

• It's almost time for Girl Scout cookies. I hate this time of year.

Week in Review (January 12 - January 18)

Tuesday (16,694 steps) - Another sunrise jog! It's unseasonably warm in the mornings right now - like mid 30's!

We stopped at Tokyo Joe's to pick up dinner and then I actually did a total body strength video. Wow, I am so weak.
Wednesday (21,795 steps) - Early morning run, and again, pretty darn warm!

After work we headed to run club and there were a ton of people there again. We did 2 miles with Heather, Maureen and Colfax. None of us won anything in the raffle this time. Sigh.
Thursday (19,276 steps) - Actually got up early enough for 5 miles! It went pretty great until the last mile when the wind really picked up and it was ridiculously cold.

Had to leave work a little early to take Robin Sparkles back to the vet for a follow-up. Her eye looks a million times better. After dinner I did a yoga/pilates video that was pretty decent. I am always aware that I need to stretch more and I rarely do, I'm glad I made the time for it.
Friday (17,183 steps) - Been exhausted lately, so I slept in this morning. A had a Girl Scout sleepover after school, which worked out nicely since I had to stay late at work. Grr. Attorney's are the worst at time management! Stopped and picked up some pho for dinner.
Saturday (24,699 steps) - I had to pick A and her friend up by 7 from her sleepover. After dropping off her friend I had to take the car in to get new brakes. I ran home (the long way), and then after shower/breakfast, A and I jogged back to pick up the car. Not a bad way to get in 8 miles.

(Did you know that brakes in my Mini are almost $500??? Just for the front ones??? And that was the least expensive bid I got??? Blarg). We headed down to Annie's to meet up with Heather, Dan and Maureen, who had all run Frosty's Frozen.

Stopped at Runners Roost to try on some Hokas, got some Nothing Bundt Cakes, actually got a car wash and then picked up some groceries on the way home.

Sunday (32,894 steps) - Winter Prairie Dog half marathon with Heather.

We did nothing the rest of the day except watch the Broncos game (which involved LOTS OF SCREAMING).
Monday (20,032 steps) - "Slept in" and then went for a run around 9:30. I was expecting it to feel warmer being in the upper 30's... I jumped on some of the trails on the way back, but the single track was very rutted and icy, so after about 3/4 of a mile I got back on the sidewalk. Last few miles were pretty great.

After a shower and breakfast, we went down to the Belmar skating rink. $17 for skating, including skate rental. We only skated about an hour, but the weather was perfect and I didn't fall! I cannot remember any of my fancy skating moves from all my ice skating lessons as a kid.

We got Indian food for lunch (A's choice????) and lucky for ME, it was an all you can eat buffet!

After lunch we headed over to my office to finish what did NOT get finished on Friday. Sad, I was supposed to have the day off. Turns out, I couldn't get much done because we were having trouble with the fax lines. Urgh to technology!! We spent the rest of the evening snuggling with the cats, watching TV and studying spelling words. I also did a butt and thigh video and tank top arms. (When did I become so weak??)

Stats:

• 152,573 steps
• 40.2 miles run. ???? that's crazy!!
• No cross training (unless ice skating counts)
• 71 minutes of strength/stretching

Everything Else:

• Meh. Other than frustration at random expenses (vet and car), not too much going on right now.
• Really really really looking forward to spring. Yes, I know it's a billion years away, but I'm ready for it.

Week in Review (Jan 28 - Feb 3)

Tuesday - 1 mile in the basement inferno and then a little bit of everything (arms, thighs, 8 min abs, little black dress boot camp and yoga/stretch). I really enjoy doing a bunch of really short videos. Yay Fitness Blender!

Broncos Mania in full force Downtown Denver

Wednesday - Really REALLY great 2.15 miles before class. BodyPump killed me. Again.
Thursday - Just over 6 miles. It was Broncos day at the gym, so I did all this in cotton. How I ever did this in the past is BEYOND me.

Friday - 2 miles in the basement inferno. I don't even know why I would do that.

Saturday - Sadly, no outdoor run this week. Way too cold, snowy and icy for someone as wimpy as me. I dragged L to the gym and did just over 4 on the treadmill. Not great, not awful, not as long as I wanted. Oh, and for some reason I wore long sleeves. Why would I do that?? Oh wells.

 

L brought home VOODOO!!! We had 3 Dirty Bastards to split between the two of us. What a lovely surprise!! Spent most of the day on the couch, but also did some grocery shopping for my great adventure of the weekend - cooking dinner. Yes, I know that many of you do this ALL THE TIME. I, however, do not. So that night, I spent 1 hour and 3 minutes preparing dinner (spoiler, so far we have had 2 dinners and a lunch and there is still enough left for one more lunch). PS - It snowed for like 2 days straight:

Sunday - I did my mile in the basement inferno early, to get it out of the way. Good thing I did, because I literally spent the rest of the day eating. I had thought I might do something else later, but no. I did nothing. We went to get donuts in the morning, then more Target shopping. A had homework about Groundhog Day. This picture has had me lol'ing for days:

Couch/TV time and then headed to my parents house for the Superbowl. What a ridiculous game. I watched it all, except the halftime show. My favorite commercial was the Audi Doberhuahua.
Monday - 5 pretty terrible miles on the treadmill. During the winter, they don't turn on the ceiling fans in the treadmill bay. I DON'T KNOW WHY SINCE THERE ARE A BILLION PEOPLE AND IT IS THE HOTTEST EVER. Speaking of the hottest ever, the cute guy from the gym was on the treadmill next to me for a few minutes AND I saw him shirtless in the sauna again. Best part of my week, lol.

I normally go to Yogurtland every Monday. This Monday they were giving out free froyo from 4-7. I didn't want to wait in line, so we went after the gym, only to find out they were CLOSED for clean-up for at least an hour. We went home, had dinner, and came back. Ended up with 10 free oz. My addiction is getting a bit out of hand. I realize this.

Weekly Miles Run - 21.39 (all treadmill)
Weekly Cross Training - ZERO
Minutes of Strength Training - 98 (slacked a bit...)

Weekly Gain - 0.2 pounds

• More than ok with the gain. Sunday alone, I literally ate a whole box of Girl Scout cookies. (There are only like 14 in a box now, don't panic).
• Superbowl was a free-for-all. Jalapeno & Chipotle bratwurst from Sprouts, chips and queso, DONUTS, potato salad, brownies and beer. Yum, yum, yum.
• I think I only had 1 frozen dinner all week. I took sandwiches for lunch almost all week - another experiment to see if this will save even more money. Not sure on this one yet.
• Again, did not go out to eat all week (except to get donuts and froyo - those aren't MEALS though, lol).

 Everything Else

• In the never ending saga that is my job... So I made a risky move on Wednesday. I went into the Office Manager's office and told her I thought it was best if I just put in my two weeks notice. I don't feel appreciated and I don't make enough money to go "down with the ship." She claims that conversations have been had with the Shareholders and that she thinks I will be getting a raise, and she hopes it is a "number that will make me happy." She followed with, I will personally help you find another job if we can't make this work for you. In between all of that there was a bunch of "we really like you and want you to stay." 
• My boss and the Office Manager have both been out since that day. My boss came down with the newest zombie bird H1N1 swine flu and the Office Manager's son has been really sick. Soooo... as of today, there is still no resolution. I had left the conversation with - "How about instead of giving my two weeks, I will give it two weeks to see if things improve." I guess I have another week to go at this point.
• Related: Our new attorney started yesterday. It was super awkward sitting in the docket meeting with her and her never being introduced to the support staff.
• Related: The new attorney wasn't even given a computer, she was told to use the firm laptop while we "shopped for a good deal" on a machine for her. We've known she was going to be starting for over a month. WTF does she still not have a computer???
• Related: She apparently doesn't have a phone in her office. When trying to transfer to the other assistant's desk we discover there is no longer a phone there. Sooooooo.... are they not replacing her? Why is there no phone? Also, the file clerk's computer broke the other day so she went to use the computer at that desk... and it was gone?
• Related: I'm still the only assistant - what is this, week 5?
• Related: Out of all the jobs I've applied for, I've had 2 "no thank you's" and zero interviews.
• NOTHING ELSE.

The Year of Awesome

I've had an exceptionally great few years since I got divorced. I wasn't sure I'd be able to top 2009, but let's do a quick run down of what happened in...

2010 - THE YEAR OF AWESOME

RUNNING

I ran a ridiculous amount in 2010. I technically won't post my running stats for another few days, but I beat my goal of running 1000 miles. This was a little intimidating considering I'd never run more than 643 miles in a year! Also a little scary since I spent the first 6 weeks of the year nursing an injury to my left quad (so there is no confusion that was NOT an awesome part of 2010 :D )

I had never run more than about 7.5 miles at one time when 2010 started. I had never raced longer than a 10K. I had never run for longer than 70 minutes.

After entering a few 5Ks at the end of 2009, my older sister convinced me and L to sign up for the Canyonlands half marathon lottery. The lottery results were posted in December, and shortly before I injured my quad, I found out I would be running my VERY FIRST HALF MARATHON. And I was terrified. I had no training plan. I had a good base but I needed something more...

Here are some of my favorite running moments of 2010:

A stretching with me before the Sweetheart Classic

Bright colored outfits, running skirts, knee hi socks!

A's first run with me

A sprinting!!

Not only did I run a lot, I raced a lot... here we go!!

• I ran a total of 29 races in 2010. I set PRs in all distances EXCEPT the 10K... I've got a score to settle with THAT (Compare that with 6 races in 2009 and only 3 in 2008)
• 5Ks - I ran four with a PR of 26:58
• 3.3 Mile Race - Warrior Dash - Dirtiest but most fun in 39:22
• 4 Mile - Ran in 40:56 (First race after recovering from my injury)
• 5 Mile (Mountain/Trail race) - Ran in 54:07
• 9.9K - Ran in 1:03:19 (suffering a hangover)
• 10K - Ran in 1:05:06
• 10 Mile - Ran in 1:49:55
• Half Marathons - I ran 18... yes... 18... with a current PR of 1:58:54!!
• Marathon - Just one (and it was AWESOME) in 4:42:14

Here are some of my favorite race (or race related) pictures:

Me and A before the Sweetheart Classic 2/13/10

L and Me - Snowman Stampede 2/27/10... First double digit run ever!

Team Bee Rad right before starting my FIRST half marathon - Canyonlands in Moab, UT 3/20/10

L and Me before Deadwood Mickelson Trail half marathon - 6/6/10

J, Me and L before Warrior Dash - 8/21/10

Jumping over the fire - Warrior Dash - 8/21/10

Kauai Half Marathon - 9/5/10

L and Me - You Go Girl! half marathon - 9/25/10

Maine Half Marathon - 10/3/10

L and Me in NKOTB shirts for Boston Half Marathon - 10/10/10

L and Me before the Zombie half marathon in Anchorage - 10/23/10

Athens Classic Marathon - Greece - 10/31/10

Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon - 12/5/10

Thunder Road half marathon 12/11/10

Whew... I could go on and on and on about racing and running, but you all hear that on a regular basis.

A

I have a pretty awesome kiddo. We had a great year! She is now in her last year of preschool and is PSYCHED about starting kindergarten. Here are some of my favorite A pics:

J and A - getting ready for first time skiing

Day on the slopes

Easter

First time bowling

Road trip to South Dakota

Fishing

At the water park

First baseball game

First day of school

First Day of School

At the Circus

3D movie on her 5th birthday

Build-a-Bear

TRAVEL

A lot of my travels were because of racing, but some wasn't... I got to go LOTS of places in 2010. Here are some of my favorite pics:

Road trip with my awesome sisters to Moab, Utah for our first half marathon:

Prom? Yes, please

L and I went on a NKOTB celebrity cruise for my 31st birthday... I am a dork, I know it, but it was SO much fun:

Trip to California to visit my awesome friend at 365 awesome days:

Universal Studios

Disneyland!

Beach

Stopped at Mt. Rushmore on the way back from the Deadwood Mickelson Trail half marathon in South Dakota:

Spent an afternoon in Red Wing, Minnesota:

My second trip to Kaua'i:

Best running path EVER

On the Chocolate Farm

Hiking in New Mexico:

Visiting the Lobster Shack in Portland, Maine (yep, as seen on Man V. Food):

An awesome family trip (with kids and grandparents) for a week in ALASKA!!

A week in Greece!

Visiting the Hall of Flame fire museum near Phoenix, Arizona:

Running in Atlanta, Georgia:

Crazy happenings on the strip in Las Vegas:

All in all, I think I visited about half the states in 2010. Huh. It all seems like a blur.

LIFE IN GENERAL

L and I still did our "concert series" - seeing NKOTB, BSB, Green Day, Third Eye Blind, Daughtry... probably more that I can't remember. We got season passes to Elitch's (used to be Six Flags) and we took the kids there once a week. They LOVED it. I learned how to snowboard... and if you can imagine, my snowboarding outfit/board is as obnoxious as my running gear:

We had a super fun weekend in the mountains for my older sister's birthday. We went skiing/boarding, tubing... SO FUN!! There were gymnastics classes and swimming lessons, birthday parties and trips to the park. Always something going on!

I finally got a new job... sort of by choice, but not really. I had my old job for about 6.5 years when my hours were cut from full time to part time (due to the economy). Not being able to afford to work part time, I gave my notice of about 6 weeks. I was unemployed for about the same amount of time (also not so awesome), but I landed at a job that keeps me super busy, and of course is full time. So that rocks.

J and I have been together about 1.5 years now. He has been super awesome fantastic with helping me out with A when I am out of town for races.

Mother's Day

Camping

At the Broncos game

So... if you have made it to the end of this blog post (I know, I know, I went a bit overboard with pictures) then to sum up 2010... AWESOME.

Life is not a spectator sport. Get off your butt and get moving.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2011. 

STAY TUNED.