Thursday, December 31, 2015

Tough workout to end 2015!

I copied a workout from another blogger that I have been wanting to try for a while.  It says to do 4-6 times, but it totally kicked my butt.  It took me almost an hour to do this 3 times and I was done.  Not to make excuses but I have a cold and I really need good lungs for this!

Run .5 miles (first .25 easy, 2nd .25 hard and fast)
1 minute narrow to wide jump squats
1 minute side switch planks (which I am not sure if I did right, as they seemed easy)
10 walk out pushups (yee-ow!)
45 second jumping lunges
30 second plank jacks (this burnt but in a good way).

I am not sure my time on the first half, but I hoped to jump right into the rest of my workout while my heartbeat was still high.  But....the girls were with me and Bg needed to poop right then and there and that always takes her forever, so my heart was back to normal when I started.  The jump squats killed me.  I am way too wimpy for that.  I really felt a burn doing the walk out push ups but it was a good burn.  My 2nd half mile was around 4:41 and my third was a bit faster. 

I got quite a bit of Christmas and birthday money and have been wanting a good GPS watch.  Something that does heart rate, elevations, GPS, etc.  But...I hate spending all my gift money on one thing!!  Not that I have many readers, but anybody have good recommendations?

These two guys are very dedicated- running outside in the cold in shorts!  It would be a nice day to run, but I would be dressed a little warmer!



I am starting a new Bible study/daily devotional tomorrow that I heard about on K-Love.  A friend from church is going to do it with me and we will be accountability partners!  I look forward to having a friend go through the Bible with me!



We are having a few friends over for a pitch (card game) party tonight with all the kids.  That way we don't have to worry about crowds and baby sitters.

Happy New Year!!

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Best thing about getting older...

So, the best thing about my birthday?  I moved up an age group for races.  The 30-34 age group always seems one of the most competitive so maybe I will have a better chance to medal as the youngest in my age group rather than the oldest!  Both Jeff and I had a birthday on Christmas Eve, but only one of us is less than a year until turning the big 4-0!  And it isn't me, ha ha.

The best birthday gift from my daughter Chloe.  This is the birthday cake she made on her cake app:



We spent Christmas Eve evening with my family again.  It is always so special returning to my home church that most my family still attends (my BIL is the youth pastor there) and I like tradition.  We had a beautiful service and returned to my parents afterwards for Pie Face!  Seriously, this silly game is a blast!



My mom with the girls.  My girls aren't usually the most cuddly or photo loving, so I was glad they got a good picture with grandma!


We had a GREAT Christmas!  We spent the Sunday before Christmas with my immediate family and had a crazy loud time. 

My sister and I....people constantly comment on how much we look alike and we get stopped in public often to ask if we are sisters/twins.  We do NOT see a resemblance at all and neither does our family.  Strangers always spot it. 



Christmas Day was spent with my inlaws.  They aren't as loud as my family but are such a great family to be a part of.  I had to laugh at the girls as we went out the door:  Chloe is always dressed like she is heading to the gym and Bg is super fancy all the time. 



And the good thing about my girls being so young...I can still force them to dress like me!


Wednesday, December 16, 2015

5K PR and Christmas Pageant

I ran a Christmas themed race on Saturday- The Candy Cane Course 5K.  And....I have a new PR (well, a PR as an adult runner- still way slower than I was in high school).  It was the PERFECT day for a race.  The sun was starting to come up, it was in the 50's and no wind.  The race was at a big arena, so it had indoor bathrooms as well, which is always a perk.  But, runners still poop a lot before races and the bathroom stank!

I made a race mistake that I am still kicking myself over- I started off WAY too far back in the pack. The sound system wasn't the best and I thought I heard them call all 10K runners to the front, so I thought they may release them and then release the 5K runners.  But I was wrong and both races started off at the same time and here I am standing towards the back with the walkers, etc. The first mile of the course was pretty narrow at times, so I had trouble passing people when I wanted to.  I got stuck a few times trying to run around people.  But after the first mile, it was pretty clear running.  My body felt good but I could tell my lungs were not in top running gear.  I was breathing way too hard for the fact that my body was saying "go faster!"  I have always had breathing problems and while I don't have asthma, I just have weak lungs I guess.  The good thing about starting in the back though is I passed a TON of people.  I can honestly say I don't think I was passed once.  That's a good feeling! 

I finished strong and was trying to pass this guy at the very end, but the finish line narrowed too much and I couldn't step around him, darn.  I thought my PR before this race was 26'01 so when I got my official time of 26'03, I was SO bummed.  Missed a PR by 3 seconds.  I also found out I got 4th in my age group, which is one place short an individual medal. I had looked at the previous 3 years race times and with my time, I would have gotten a medal at each previous race. 

Here is my Fitbit stats, which I didn't get turned off immediately at crossing, so it is a little off:
1 mile- 8'26
2 mile- 8'17
3 mile- 8'39
My official average pace was 8:23.  It is very odd that my mile 2 was my fastest.  Mile 1 was slower as I was blocked and not sure why I struggled on mile 3.  It was the hilliest of the three, but nothing crazy.

Placings:
Age group: 4/45
Female: 24/380
Overall: 61/518

After the race I realized my PR was actually 26'10, so I beat myself by 7 seconds!  I think strength training at the gym has already started to pay off, since I haven't been running!



Horrible sweaty picture!

I am the director of our church's Children's choir and we had our Christmas pageant on Sunday.  After my race on Saturday, we had our dress rehearsal at the local nursing home.  The residents loved it!  Chloe was the sheep and had a solo.  She sang it like an angel (maybe I am biased) at dress rehearsal and again Sunday morning.  Bg was an angel, but also the star (meaning she carried a star on a stick and the wisemen followed her). 

Chloe was fine at church Sunday morning, fine at lunch, came home and played for an hour and then came down stairs complaining of a headache.  I gave her meds, she took a nap and woke up feeling a little better.  I asked if she could still perform and she said yes. 

The pageant went great for the most part.  Dealing with 45 kids, there are bound to be a few issues.  Like Mary forgetting baby Jesus...Ha ha!  Chloe didn't look too good on stage and when she came up to do her solo, she just looked awful!  Her face was red and she stumbled on her lines.  I felt so bad for her!  Jeff took her home right after the pageant while I stayed at the church to clean up, etc and she was running a fever when they got home.  Poor girl ended up having strep throat. 

Here are some pageant pics:

My angel minus halo and wings, but doesn't she look pretty!:


Sheep and angel:



Chloe:



Bg:





Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Santa Visit

Although we live in the country, the town we most associate with is a very tiny town (population 400).  In a town this small, you can get away with inviting the entire town to the annual Christmas party.  I honestly don't know what group hosts the party, but they serve chili, soup and cookies to whoever comes all for a free will donation that helps pay utility bills, etc for struggling families within the community.  We always go to the Christmas party, but we actually helped out this year, as they asked our 4-H club to help with setting up, serving and cleaning up. 

Santa also always comes to the Christmas party and is pretty exciting to see him!  I love seeing Santa this way versus the mall, as it isn't crowded, we don't have to wait in line with the kids (I visited with friends until our turn) and Santa knows our kids.

This year Chloe only asked for a jump rope.  Bg asked for a baby doll for her dollhouse.  She is kind of freaking out though, as Santa misunderstood her and thought she asked for a dollhouse.  She is worried she wont get the doll and will instead get another dollhouse.  I reassured her that Santa knows what she really wants.





The girls like to put together a gingerbread house every year, which is usually stressful for my perfectionst Chloe, but this year went okay.  We actually created a little Santa Village:


Friday, December 4, 2015

Thanksgiving

So my blog is completely out of order but I found these fun Thanksgiving pictures to share.

My grandpa had his leg amputated about 6 years ago and although he has a prosthetic, it is hard for him to get around.  He bought this scooter last month, so of course, my sister and I had to try it out.  It has a big enough seat we could both fit and of course, all our kids had to jump on with us.  It was a nasty day outside, so we just drove it around his garage acting stupid (which is what you are supposed to do at family dinners, right?)


The basket on the front was perfect for Nolen!  And don't worry, my sister was holding on tight to him!



I make really stupid faces in pictures.

Cousin love, although Bg is looking at Nolen like he just farted or something:



I hit up the gym last night.  Did 1 mile on the treadmill in less than 8 minutes.  Which isn't all that hard for me, but on the treadmill it seems rough.  I don't like hearing my feet hit the treadmill.

We were invited to the Christmas party for my mother in law's church last night.  The girls begged to go.  It was an excellent dinner!

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Finally!!!! Back on the pavement!

It has been way too long since I have hit the pavement.  By the time I have Jeff home at night to possibly watch the girls, it has been too dark to run on my gravel roads (yes, I am a chicken) and definitely way too muddy.  Luckily I am able to take the girls with me to the gym so I have been stuck running on the treadmill.  I still HATE the treadmill and usually just do a mile while working on speed work.  I did chest day at the gym on Monday, ran at the treadmill 2 miles Tuesday night and then I got a miraculous phone call Wednesday- my MIL asked if she could pick up the girls from school.  And the sun was shining!  I didn't have my running shoes or really good colder weather clothes, but I wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to run outside! 

I knew I had limited time due to church and darkness, so since I have an upcoming 5K, I wanted to make sure I could still do a 5K!  And I am proud to say, I can.  My body felt good and strong.  I ran up and down hills, so I have a variety.  My time for just a run around town unchallenged was decent as well.  My lungs weren't as strong as I hoped, but they never are.  I use an inhaler before races or long runs, and take O2 Gold, an Advocare supplement, and they do seem to help with my wimpy lungs.

I really like that mile 3 is faster than mile 1!  That is what I have been working on!

I apologize in a Advance for my crazy picture format.  Trying the new drag and drop and still figuring it out.

So, my December has already been crazy.  This is about the craziest time for me at work during the year and this year is about the busiest I have been.  I was worried that I would have a bad day, as this is how it started:

That is a truck and trailer blocking over half our work driveway!  Luckily I was able to squeeze in.  I had a coffee grind accident though...  This was fun to clean up. 

A couple random pics.

Our Christmas tree with lots of fun filters:

Making the girls scrub floors (child labor- got to love it!):


Bg is obsessed with this old worn out pair of footie pajamas that are about 2 sizes too small.  She has a drawer full of pj's, but this is all she will wear.  Her poor little toes: