Halloween Rules

In an effort to keep us on track throughout the holidays, Krystal (@ Bia Fitness) gave us a list of rules for each holiday and had us sign it like a contract. Let's review Halloween's rules today, and how I'm making out so far.

Halloween Rules

1. No Candy in the House until 10/29/11. Broken. Because of the party we had last weekend, I did need to buy some for the party, and while I was at Costco, got some for the tricker treaters. Good news? I haven't had a bite. Can't say the same for Kevin & my roomie though.

2. No eating ANY candy at ANY time. So far I have avoided candy at work and home repeadedly. I am really working hard on this one to build up my self control for all the rest of the holidays to come.

3. Reward yourself & your family for choosing fruits & vegetables instead of candy. So far so good! Tonight I had raspberries & tea instead of candy. My reward for working hard all week will be a manicure on friday night.

4. ALL candy OUT of the house by 11/6/11. I don't for see this being a problem. Initially I thought "maybe I'll keep a small bag with my favorites hidden for later." who am I kidding?! I would probably eventually find it and eat the whole bag. Plus, I'm trying to develop new behaviors and tastes by NOT wanting the candy. It will help a lot more if its not here, which is why I will bring it all to work to be devoured by my coworkers on tuesday November 1st!

Do you have any strategies to help you get through Halloween?
Want to join me in following the Bia Fitness rules?

TRX class this morning was awesome, I know I'll be so sore tomorrow. Most of the exercises were ones I haven't done before, and either I have horribly weak abs or the TRX is just wicked bad ass. Honestly, I think my core is just incredibly weak, so this will be the perfect opportunity to help strengthen it. I'm sure it will not only help with running, but with my back pain I get often too.

I made Buffalo Chicken Chili for dinner tonight from Joy Bauer's cookbook Slim & Scrumptious. Remember when I did my review of this cookbook (HERE)? This recipe is another that definitely did not disappoint. In fact, Kevin couldn't stop telling me how awesome it was. I could see it being a great football party dish thrown into a crockpot to stay warm. I wish I had taken a pic, but we were hungry! Maybe you're even interested in me sharing the recipe? Let me know!

Tomorrow I have a quick 5 miler on the schedule and I need to take a muscle relaxer and get to bed with a heat pack. Cross your fingers that my back behaves tomorrow!

Life Moves Fast, Run Faster.

I missed my run yesterday.

I'm not dwelling on it.

Am I disappointed?

Yes.

But, I'm not gonna let it drag me down. 

The Halloween Party was awesome, and I behaved with only 2 drinks and a couple nibbles, thinking I would make it for the 12 miles. A couple late night drunkies stayed past 2am, leaving me cranky and exhausted. I could barely drag myself out of bed at 9am (horribly late for me) to get to church, then spent the day dragging along and cleaning up with a nap late afternoon.

Look at this spread!

Holy desserts!

Kevin & I were mile high pilots!

My future with this marathon is bright, with many future training runs to get in. Some runs or workouts may not happen, and thats ok. In reality, probably taking a little long run break may be better for my knee. With the switch up from bootcamp to TRX, my runs will now be tuesday, thursday, sunday, so I'm looking forward to tuesday's run!

Week 5 Training Recap

Monday- Rest Day.

Tuesday- Bootcamp. TRX sprinter squats, ladder work, kettle bells. My legs were killing me by the end!

Wednesday- Speedwork day! 3 x 1600m @ 6.4mph. I thought the speed would be tougher to handle, but I actually made it through with no problem. It felt great to rock this run with no knee pain after the Hartford Half last weekend.

Thursday- Bootcamp. TRX plank walks/push ups/knee tucks, slam balls, band rows. My abs were dying after this workout until sunday.

Friday- Skipped run. Tired, and decided to sleep in. whoops!

Saturday- Made up Friday's Tempo run. I actually hit the gym with my mom on side by side treadmills while she did her long walk/run for the week. She had 8 miles on her schedule and I had 6. I pumped it out, and headed home to do the party prep.

Sunday- Skipped long run, after a late night to bed.

Nutrition- Win this week! While I wasn't perfect (a few too many Kashi Pita Crisps), I tracked everything monday-thursday which was a big step for me! I avoided alcohol all week, with only half a drink friday night, and 2 drinks saturday. This week I didn't buy any Kashi crackers, and am going to aim to track all 7 days.

How was your weekend?

Do you beat yourself up over a missed workout or push along?

Around the house...

My new favorite wall in my house...

Want a close up?

"You don't know, until you try"

so true.

Many of us wouldn't be where we are today without giving something a try that we never thought possible. Seeing this reminds me to keep trying, working hard, and go after my goals. I can never say can't unless I've truly tried and exhausted all possibilities.

This is my new Allied Steel Medal Display that I finally hung up after winning it from Watch MeGo Run! Joel helped me create a custom hangar that I absolutely love. I can't wait to add my new medal on saturday to it!

From Whooha gear

This is the picture I have framed above it (my picture had a glare, so this is from the website). I bought it at my last Tri of the season and LOVED it. I found a great long sleeve tee that I bought from them as well.

I love to have things around the house to motivate me. What's on my list?

1. My medal display & Tri wall

2. My race schedule on the fridge

3. My clothes laid on the dresser the night before

4. My "hat" hangar on the closet door that only holds 1 or 2 hats, but mostly running headbands

5. My supply of Stinger waffles and chews by my running gear

6. Your blogs to check in with on the computer and iphone

7. My foam roller in the living room

8. My bike & trainer in the living room/dining room

9. New packages arriving in the mail often with new running gear and fun things

10. magazines and flyers for more races!

What motivates you around the house?

I have to admit, I did miss this morning's run. I had about 5 nightmares last night, and thought sleeping in would be better. Plus, I think in the long run it will help my calf for saturday's half marathon. Did I mention I bit the bullet & bought new black CEP socks, so I now have a pair to match every outfit. They have become a must have for me.

Tonight we worked on our plan for our big Halloween bash! Remember last year's fun?

I cannot wait!

What are your Halloween plans?

Who ya gonna call?

GHOSTBUSTERS....

Kevin & I at the party!

The party was a total success. After a day off on friday to clean & prepare, and skipping my run saturday to fit in everything that needed to get done, we were ready to go. The house was decorated, dry ice & beer bought, and all the food was put together. Kevin had worked wicked hard on our proton packs, they looked awesome, and I painted & put the patches on our shirts. We were really for an amazing time!

Some of the decorations (cant see the bloody handprints in this picture)

Veggie platter with finger dip

Spooky 7 Layer dip

Bat Cookies

Worm jello shots

Witches Brew

We had a good crowd show up, played some successful party games, flip cup, beer pong, and smashed the pinata successfully. Everyone went home with a goodie bag & my friends K & I went home with the best costume award!

All my work girls

Candy corn toss game

Pinata

Success! Awesome party, I didn't make it to bed until 2am (way past my bedtime of 9pm!) We slept in until 10 or so, then made breakfast & did some cleaning. Since I hadn't made it out yesterday for my 9 mile run, I really wanted to get it in today. I knew after multiple cocktails last night and a late bedtime, I may not make it. But I felt good last night before bedtime, and started with drinking powerade when I got up in the morning. I hydrated & fueled, and was feeling like I may make it out for my run! A quick weather report check showed me if I didn't get out there, I ran the risk of getting caught in the rain. I got dressed, and told my roomie I may be calling her to come pick me up.

Now I know several of you warned me against this, but I was feeling pretty good. I was wearing my new CEP running socks (hint, full review & giveaway to follow soon!), and a longsleeve top. It was chilly, a few sprinkles, but no major rain thank goodness. I decided that I would go nice and slow, because of my post party status and walk whenever I needed, not really caring about pace, just making sure to get the distance in. Off I went, slow & steady. I don't have a garmin (on my wishlist), and have a horrible memory so I had no idea how far along I was as I traveled. 

I was feeling pretty good, then between miles 3-4 my right knee was aching, so I slowed down and walked a little. Right before mile 5, I took some sport beans, then as I was chugging along slowly, another runner came up behind me and passed me & flew right by. I was a little discouraged, but told myself that there are plenty of people faster than me and I kept going. Mile 7, I saw a runner on the opposite side of the road, we waved and it picked me up a little. Miles 7-9 were not bad as I made the familiar loop back home. I finished in 2 hours and 43 seconds, a horrible 13:18 pace, but I was just happy to have gotten in those 9 miles. My major fail was forgetting my glide! I had the worst chub rub which I think was a contributing factor to the frequent walk breaks.

Looks like the Disney Princess Half Marathon may be a go! We talked about making a girls weekend of it last night, and so far 3 of us are in. We're going to try and see who else wants in, then book our airline tickets and start looking into disney timeshare rentals near the race start.

Time to relax! oh ya, and finish cleaning the house!

Another race?

Thanks for your advice on not running hungover sunday. You're right, probably not a good idea, so I'm going to try & squeeze in a long run between work & my party tomorrow. I did manage my 5 miler today, it was supposed to be a tempo run. Treadmills are boring the crap out of me lately (maybe a sign I'm becoming more of a runner?), so it was tough to make it through. Oh ya, I guess I was getting tired too. I got a nice surprise in the mail today, and hopefully will be able to post about it tomorrow.

Since I've been price stalking airfare for my new orleans trip, I randomly decided to check out the prices to Orlando for the weekend of the Disney Princess Half Marathon. The medal is an awesome tiara, which I think would be a good addition to my collection. Airfare is cheap. about $200. The problem? The race is 2 weeks after New Orleans. I'm think that 2 Half Marathons in 2 weeks is a bad idea, any input?

After my run this morning, it was time to get ready for the party tomorrow! My roomate and I cleaned the house like crazy, then went out to Costco & the grocery store for a few more things. I made some jello shots & cookies, she made the stuffed shells, and we put together the prize packs for our halloween contests. I'm getting soooo excited!

My first Long Run

since my training began for New Orleans anyways. My friend Angie & I made a running date for 8 miles on saturday afternoon, but she ended up car shopping. So we rescheduled for this morning, an early run at 7:30am. It was cold out, around 40, I wasn't really sure what to wear. What do you wear in 40 degree weather? I went with my running tights & shorts, and a longsleeve top that I ended up pushing the sleeves up on. I started with gloves because my hands were frozen, but ended up tucking them into my fuel belt. WOW what a difference having a running partner makes! It was great to chat to pass the time, and have someone I felt like I needed to catch up with and not wimp out on. I was able to stay up with her for probably about 7 miles until I started dropping back. I could see her, and wasn't too far away though. I still can't believe I made it through the 8 miles, since I haven't done that since the Disney Half last year, and the most I've run since surgery is 5 really tough miles. I'm sore, and hoping it doesn't get worse for tomorrow.

Yesterday I ended up going for a ride in the afternoon since we changed our running plans. I did my usual 12 mile loop, but it was so windy I almost got blown off my bike a few times! I made sure to wear my headband & gloves to keep warm. I can't wait for the toe warmers I won from Tech-Tri to come in so my toes will stop going numb!

We did some planning for our halloween party today. My coworker brought me in 2 HUGE buckets of decorations to borrow, then my roomate & I hit Walmart, & I Party to buy some other fun stuff. We picked out what we're going to make a serve for cocktails, and what games we're going to play. I took friday off from work so I can give the house a good cleaning and work on decorating for the party. I have to work at my per diem job on saturday morning & the party is this saturday night. So excited!!

My plan is to do a little cross-training & weight-training tomorrow, and my speedwork tuesday. I'm ready to start week 2 of my training!

Halloween?

This week Kevin & I have been trying to decide on a halloween costume idea. We've come up with a few clever ideas in the past, pregnant Britney & K-fed, wonder woman & superman, 80s rocker & groupie, but this year we were stumped! My best ideas were John Mayer & Jennifer Anniston, Hugh Hefner & a playboy bunny, ghostbusters, or legends of the hidden temple. I was really pulling for John Mayer & Jen, but I got veto'd and it looks like we'll be ghostbusters this year. We decided to throw a halloween party at my house, I'm a little nervous that it will be lame since themed parties are usually not my thing. Any suggestions are much appreciated!!

I haven't gone for a run or to the gym since tuesday, I'm feeling better & I'm looking forward to trying out my Yurbuds that I won over at Forward Foot Strides. Not too crazy of a run, since I want to do well at my first 5K back at racing this saturday in Hartford. Kevin decided to sign up and I am totally excited & proud of him! Since online registration is closed, he's heading down tomorrow after work to register and pick up my race packet. Hopefully we have nice weather on saturday!

Today was my weigh in day & I am down to 183, which is -1.5 pounds! Very exciting, especially since I felt as thought I worked hard at staying in control at the Sox game. Now I need to keep at it, so I can kick these 180s goodbye!

Don't forget to enter my Bondi Band giveaway HERE until October 13th!

"I'd like to think the best of me, is still hiding up my sleeve" John Mayer, no such thing

p.s. I have a John Mayer obsession, he is my celebrity "free pass". Does anyone else have one of those?