Spartan Beast

It's been 2 1/2 weeks now and I can safely say that I have fully processed the event that was THE BEAST. 
It really wasn't all that bad.  Now, don't get me wrong, it was by no means a walk in the park, but not nearly as bad at I was expecting or prepared in my mind.

Normally I go to races on my own.  With 3 very active kids, its hard to pack everybody up and bring them with me or someone has to stay and be chauffer to their activities. 
My husband was not having it this time.  It was a big race and he wanted to be there.  I'm really glad he made the trip with me.  We headed out after work on Friday, since it was only a 3 1/2 hour drive from Atlanta to Columbia, SC where our hotel was. 

Saturday morning I woke up without my alarm clock and was ready for the day. 
I debated back and forth about what to wear, and I had packed everything, but finally settled on compression shorts, with compression socks, tank top and arm sleeves.  I layered sweatpants and a sweatshirt on top since it was 30 degrees outside. 

I had been to this venue, Carolina Adventure World earlier this summer to run the Superhero Scramble so it was easy find and we knew exactly where we were going. 
The hubby has never been to a Spartan Race, so the atmosphere was new to him.  He kept commenting how organized everything was, how helpful the volunteers were, that the spectator area was set up well.  Spartan Race knows what they are doing and puts on the best event.

It was a very chilly 34 degrees at the start of the race and didn't warm up much by my 9:00 wave.  I finally met up with some of my teammates from Georgia Obstacle Racers and Mud Runners (GORMR) in the starting corral.  It was nice to see some familiar faces in the sea of runners out there.  Normally I like the start at the front or as close to the front as possible.  I am usually competitive when I run so I like to get out front and quick.  Today was a little different.  I wasn't out there to win the race or even to finish in a certain time.  My goal was to finish.  Period.  This race was the longest and most challenging race I had done to date and all I needed to prove was that I can do this.  So I started in the middle of the pack with my team. 

Within the first quarter mile, in true Spartan fashion, we were jumping into chest-deep cold muddy water.  That first jump into the first trench took my breath.  It was so cold.  But I kept climbing out and jumped right into another cold, muddy pit. 

 

I was miserable right out of the gate.  My hands and feet were numb and I was having a hard time breathing from the cold air and my cold, wet clothes.  But I kept moving forward. 

I caught up with a teammate, JD about a half mile after the first obstacle.  We had raced together before and I knew that he ran about my same pace so we hung together making small talk, anything to take my mind off being cold.  After a few miles we had caught up with another teammate, Josh.  The 3 of us stayed together the entire race.

 We pushed each other when one was getting tired or wanted to slow down.  We took turns setting the pace and leading the way.  We helped one another over and through the obstacles.  We were each others cheerleaders as we faced daunting tasks. I'm so glad we found each other out on the course.  It made the race much more bearable knowing you had someone pushing and cheering for you all the way. 

I did my fair share of burpees, the lovely penalty for failing an obstacle. Josh called me the Burpee Queen.  My race total came to....120.  I fell off the Traverse Wall. (I've been hit or miss with the Traverse Wall, but today it was so wet and slippery, I just couldn't hang on).  I missed the Spear Throw.  Go figure.  I fell off the Monkey Bars.  (I've been pretty good at the monkey bars in the past, but I think because my hands were so cold, I had a hard time keeping my grip.)  I fell off the Tyrolean Traverse. (I was nervous going into the race about this obstacle.  I've never done it before and didn't really have any idea about ways to cross. I gave it my best shot and will do better next time.  You live and learn)

Though the day was not hot...at all, I tried to keep drinking and stay hydrated.  I chose not carry my own water in a Camelbak.  I carried nutrition of Gu's and Sport Beans in my SPI Belt.  Though I felt hydrated and well nourished, my legs started to cramp towards the end of the race.  We would have a water crossing and my calves locked up from the cold and I was barely able to move.  The uphill climbs were rough to say the least. 

My Garmin beeped 12 miles and I was exhausted.  I was really struggling and my teammates were having a hard time too.  We came up a hill and then out of the woods and I could hear Eddie calling my name cheering for me.  I was so happy to see him.  I yelled out "how much further."  He called back, "about 5 more miles."  I flipped him off at that point not really knowing if he was serious or not.  But as we got closer to him he told us it was only about another mile to the finish line.  That was the best thing I had heard all day.  I got a second wind and cramps or no cramps we all started running.  Towards the finish line.

But before we could cross that finish line we had a gauntlet of obstacles to complete first. 

The never ending up hill barbwire crawl. 

 

Cargo Net Crossing

 

Under a wall and through the mud

Slippery Wall

Fire Jump



And the Gladiators

 

And after all that, 13+ miles, 30+ obstacles, I crossed the finish line a Spartan Beast.  I earned that bright green medal.   I knew that I did my best and I conquered my goal.  I've never been happier of a race. 

 

Not only did I finish my Beast, but I also earned my Trifecta.  I completed one race at each of the Spartan Races distances.  I ran the Georgia Spartan Sprint back in March, I finished the Mid-Atlantic Super in August and now the Beast. 

I did it y'all!!!





The countdown is on

Here it is.  The week of the Beast.  Back in April when I signed up for this race November was so far way.  Now I am less than a week a way from what is probably the biggest race to date.  Not only in distance.  (Which is unknown.  This is Spartan right?  It's billed as 12+ but no one really know until you cross the finish line.)  Add the obstacles and terrain and I am up for one heck of a challenge on Saturday. 

Part of me is ready.  Ready to run, ready to get it over with. 
But the other part is nervous and a little freaked out. 
I have not trained like I probably should have to prepare for a race of this magnitude.  My longest run has been 10 mile, which I've done twice in the last 5 weeks.  I was gonna do 11 or 12 week before last but I didn't.  I then decided that it was okay and I would do one more long run Sunday, but then I got sick.  My strength training has been lacking as well.  I average one strength training session per week.  And I know that it's not gonna cut it out on the course. 
I have been practicing my spear throw.  But have yet to really master the technique.  So I am hoping and praying for no burpees. 

This is probably the last race of the season for me.  My entire year of running and training (or lack there of) has come down to this race. 
I will finish
I will get that green medal
Better yet, I will get my trifecta medal.
I will wear it with pride.
Because I am SPARTAN! 

Group Run and New Goals

Last weekend I ran with a group of complete strangers for a nice 10 mile run. 
Actually I knew one guy from a Facebook group and I met him briefly at a race back in August, so I guess technically he wasn't a total stranger, but I still didn't know if he'd chop me up into a million pieces in the middle of the woods.  But seriously, these were some really nice people and good runners. 
I was on the fence about running with the group since I didn't know any of them.  I didn't know what kind of pace they would run.  I needed to get in 10 miles and I was worried that I would try to hang and then end up crashing in the later miles.  I was worried about trying to keep conversation and avoid the awkward silence that can come when running, especially with new people. 
I woke up without my alarm Saturday morning and figured this was a sign that I needed to go run with the group.  I quickly got dressed, ate some oatmeal, kissed the hubby bye and rushed out the door.  I message the group leader and said that I was in and on my way. 
It was a little chilly at 55 degrees and spitting rain.  Perfect running weather in my book.  As long as you kept moving it felt good. As soon was we finished I was freezing.  Not knowing exactly what the run would entail I packed my Camelbak full of water and more than enough gels and chews to last me on a 10 mile run. 
We met up at 8:00 am Saturday morning at a State Park. There was a group of 7 of us.  3 guys, 3 other girls plus myself and one dog.  Some in the group needed to do 15 mile and other wanted to do about 10 so we chose a 5 mile loop run.  The trails at the park are well marked, a little technical and mostly single track.  I love running on trails.  It keeps my mind busy looking ahead on the trail and focusing on where to step next.  Running on the roads is mindless and tedious.  It serves it purpose and I run on the road a lot but mainly to save time and for the convenience factor.  The pace was easy, even on the slow side for me.  But it felt good.  We stopped periodically to let some of the slower runners catch back up with the group any time the trail split to make sure we stayed together as a group.  After the first loop the guys wanted to drop the hammer and push the pace so they took off and I stayed with the other girls for another 5 mile loop.  Around mile 8 we came to a really LONG hill.  The hill wasn't very steep, it just seemed to go on forever.  Probably close to a 1/2 mile.  Since we were running a loop, we had already faced this hill once so we knew what we were in for.  As we approached the hill the girl I was running with, said "Let's run all the way to the top.  No stopping, no walking."  I was in.  I like a challenge.  I am competitive.  More so with other people than I am with myself.  My legs were on fire, my chest was burning, my knees hurt but I would not quit.  I'd look over and see her still pushing right beside me and I'd keep pushing too.  We finally made it to the top and it felt great!  We finished the last 2 miles with negative splits.  The adrenaline rush you get from conquering something difficult. We ran 10 miles in 1:57.  But it felt like nothing.  It felt easy.  I like that kind of running! 

This group run brought 2 things to my attention. 
1.  I like running with other people. I need someone to hold me accountable.  I would love to have a training partner to do track workouts and speed work with.  Someone to keep me company on long runs. I need someone to push me.   Keep me from quitting when it gets hard.  So I am on a search for just that. I have some good leads on a CrossFit gym with a running endurance team, and another local running group.  We'll see if its a good fit and how it turns out.
2.  I want to run an Ultra Marathon.  Next year.  Most of the group that I ran with on Saturday are Ultra marathoner.  50 and 100 mile races.  Crazy right?  As we ran, they talked about different races they've done and they made it sound fun and doable.  So I think I'm gonna skip right over the normal 26.2 and do a 50K (31 miles) next year. 

Just one of those kinda days

I took Monday off to rest and spend the day with my girls since I was off of work and they were out of school.  On Tuesday I was ready to get back to it.  I packed a bag and made plans to stop at a local park on my way home from work to get in some time on the trails.  I love trail running, but with the time change happening soon, I fear my time of the trails are limited.  But as luck with have it, as I'm getting ready to change before leaving work I realized that I left my sports bra at home. My girls are not big by no means, but I have too much up top to be running unrestrained.  So running at the park was a no go.  Instead I head home to change and I'm stuck running the streets around my neighborhood.  Boo!

I set out on my run and I feel sluggish, I felt tight and a little sore.  I felt like I was having to push my self, but I felt really slow.  Then my Garmin beeps and I look down at my mile split.  8:06.  What?!?  I felt way slower than that.  But I kept pushing along, hoping that at some point I would start to enjoy this run. The weather was fantastic.  Overcast, 68 degrees, and little bit of wind, just enough to cool you off.  By time my watched beeped again I was at 8:09.  I still couldn't believe it.  I couldn't believe I could be going so fast but felt so slow.  Mile 3 was even tougher.  I came to the big hill out on the dirt road.  It's not a real steep hill, but it seems to go on forever.  So that mile pace dropped off a bit at 8:31.  Surprisingly, in mile 4 mile my legs started loosen up and bit and I felt good.  However that feeling was too good to be true.  While I ran mile 4 at 8:02, I started to fall apart after that.  I'm really not sure what happened, but my right foot seemed to stop communicating with the rest of my leg.  Despite over concentrating on making my foot hit the pavement and going heel to toe, my foot just kept landing flat-footed and I felt like it was just flopping around.  It was the most bizarre thing.  My arch in the right foot started to tighten up and started to get a little painful.  Then I started to panic.  I spent way too much time (not to mention money) in physical therapy to help with plantar fasciitis for it to come back now.  Luckily, I was only about a half a mile from home and it was all down hill.  As soon as my watch beeped and a hit mile 5 I stopped.  I usually will kick it into the driveway even if I'm over my mile goal.  But not today.  I had to make the pain stop.  I limped back to the house.  Immediately took my shoes off and started icing my foot.  I iced my arches, the top of my foot, my ankles, and all the way up my shin and even my knee.  Too much ice never hurt anybody and I had no idea what happened out there on my run, so I was playing it safe.  Today my arch is a little tender, but my foot in general seems fine.  

On another note, my run was filled some of the most interesting smells.  Some good, some bad and some very bad. I passed a cow pasture, which smelled lovely.  Then someone grilling out dinner.  I love the smell of a charcoal grill, especially when it has food on it.  Then a few rotting road-kills.  But the worst offender was the garbage truck that I got behind.  They would be a little a head and stop for a pick-up, I would catch up to the truck and then they would pull ahead to another house for pick-up.  This went on for probably a mile.  It was horrible. 
Now if I had not forgotten my sports bra I wouldn't have to face any funky smells. 

But sometimes you just have one of those day.

Merrell Down & Dirty Recap

I drug the whole family plus my mom out to Conyers, GA so I could run the Down & Dirty Mud Run on Sunday.  I was signed up for the 10K which started at 8:30.  They also had several waves for the 5K starting at 9:00.  I typically like to get to my races an hour early so I can check-in, take care of business, warm up and catch-up with friends and fellow runners.  When you take the entire family things do not go as planned.  Getting the family up and out the door at 5:30 on Sunday proved to be a lot harder than I planned.  I packed the car with blankets, chairs, the cooler, extra clothes all the night before to help make the morning a smooth as possible.  Smooth did not happen.  We left late.  We forgot to stop at the ATM cause you never know if these remote races will have cell or internet service for credit cards.  We got caught in traffic, at 6:30 on a Sunday morning, can you believe it?  Luckily we had VIP parking, so we were able to park a little closer than most participants.  As soon as my husband threw it in park I hopped out of the car, grabbed my bag and took off running for packet pick-up.  At least I didn't have to warm-up now.  After I picked up my packet, I stopped by the porta-potty's, now with 10 minutes to spare, I felt like I could breath.
I made my way to the starting corrals and quickly found some familiar faces.  I positioned myself in the 1st start wave along with the rest of my friends.  After the national anthem the gun went off with Military and First Responders in the very first wave.  A few moments later our wave was off.

The race was rather nice.  Lots of running as you might assume with it being a longer race.  There were lots of grassy fields, and dirt paths.  Very few single track and technical trails which are my favorite.  The course was not too difficult, some hills, but not very steep.  The obstacles in my opinion, lacking.  Nothing difficult or challenging in any way.  Two inflatable slides, several sets of short walls, a balance beam, a tunnel to crawl through, tires.

The only somewhat original obstacle was the "Monster" (I think that's what I heard the volunteer call it).  It was a vertical cargo climb across a horizontal cargo net to another vertical cargo climb across another horizontal and now down vertical.  While not a challenge, it was something different.

 In the last 200 yards of the races they had the "gauntlet" of obstacles, a 10 foot rock climbing wall, to a slippery wall that you could only use your arms for.  This kind of threw me off for a second cause every slippery wall I've ever done you use your feet and arms to climb up, but the volunteer at the top kept yelling at me to get on my belly and just use my arms.

 Once over the wall, it was the mud pit.  If you want to call it that.  It was black mulch watered down.  Here in Georgia I am use to red Georgia clay, but this was black and chunky.  Then the glorious finish line.
My time, 1:01:51.  I finished 1st in my age group.  Which won me $110 in Merrell merchandise.  Very cool.

Teammate Shenoa with our 1st place medals

The showers were great.  Lots of water hoses with sprayers attached to them.  There was even tables with shampoo for you to use.  (The benefits of having Paul Mitchell as a sponsor.)  A changing tent with tables and chairs inside. After I cleaned up I found my way to the food tent that I somehow missed at the finish line.  There were oranges, cookies, muffins, trail mix and of course water. 

The atmosphere was great in the festival area.  There were tons on sponsor tents set up that allowed you to get samples, free swag or other fun activities for the kids.    I left with tons of new flavors of Larabars, some bright orange sunglasses, shampoo, and a Subaru bag. 

So the whole reason I drug the whole family out so early in the morning was so the girls could run too.  They have been bugging me to let them run "one of those races" with me.  For many different reasons, it just never worked out.  But Sunday, the star aligned and the girls were able to come with me and run the Kid's Adventure Race. 

They had a blast running their first race.  I'm pretty sure they are hooked.  Madilyn hasn't taken her medal off since Sunday.  She even wore it to school today. 

Overall, I had a good time at Down & Dirty Mud Run.  It was a well organized race, a fun family event.  It had everything I could have wanted in an event.  It would make a great first mud run to get your feet wet.  If you're looking for a challenge, this is definitely not the race. I'll probably be back next year when the Down & Dirty come back to town.  I'm a sucker for a good mud run!

M.I.A.

Yes, I've been Missing In Action for a while now. 
I have a ton of excuses as to why I stopped blogging.
Work got really busy.
The kids softball schedule was hectic.
I was running and training pretty hardcore.
I got injured.  And went through PT.
I was disappointed that no one even read my blogs, so why write.

The list is endless.

I really did miss putting my thoughts down on paper on the computer.  Regardless of who read this, or who doesn't.  I can make sense of my thoughts, actions and future goals if they are written out.  So for those lucky few that do read this, then congratulations; you get insight into my crazy life. 

So, to catch you up real quick on what's been going on the last 7 or so months. 
I've ran a lot of races.  More than my husband would have liked.  I was super nervous going into the race season starting with the Spartan Sprint back in March, but I killed it at that race and it was on like Donkey Kong from that point.  I've had a lot of success in my first year doing Obstacle Course Races (OCR's).  I finished 3rd in a lot of races, always 3rd.  I got picked up to run on a sponsored competitive team with Obstacle Racing Media.  I injured my knee in May/June and had a flare up of plantar fasciitis.  I finally broke down and went to the Dr. who promptly ordered 6 weeks on physical therapy.  The racing year is not over yet, I have a few more races, including The Spartan Beast in South Carolina next month to earn my Trifecta. 

The girls continued to play softball through the spring on their teams.  The Warriors went undefeated and the Jr. Aces lost only one game all season, but both teams come home with the Championship Trophy at the End of Season Tournament.  Madilyn continued on and played tournaments all summer with the Warriors.  We took some much needed time off from softball this fall to re-connect with the family.

And the main reason we needed time to re-connect is that my step-son Andrew has come to live with us full-time.  It's been a blessing but a challenge.  Having a boy in the house is something totally new to me.  He keeps me on my toes with all his little antics that I never in a million years would have expected from 2 girls.  I mean, never would girls lick the walls in my house or poop in the front yard. 

I hope to keep my writing a little more frequent.  I can't promise everyday.  (I honestly don't see how some of these bloggers can write everyday, have a full time job and be a mom.  WOW!) But I will be better. 

Here's to more writing and more blogs. 

Have a great weekend everybody! 

Bucket List

So after reading about Heather's 40 by 40 list this morning, I felt like such a follower and decided to create my own Bucket List. 
I've always thought Bucket List's was so clique, but deep down I like the idea of having goals and crossing them off.  I know a lot of my Bucket List ideas will probably never happen.  Unless I win the lottery or I have a rich uncle that I don't know about and I get left a sizable inheritance.  So here you go...

1. Run a Full Marathon
2. Graduate from college
3. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
4. Visit France and see the Eiffel Tower
5. Learn to surf, preferably somewhere in the Pacific where they have real waves.
6. See the Northern Lights
7. Skydive
8. Run the Boston Marathon
9. Complete a triathlon, maybe even a big one like The Half Ironman.  All 70.3 miles. 
10. Visit all 50 states
11. See a baseball game at Fenway and Wrigley Field
12. Learn to play the guitar
13. Visit New York City, Manhattan.  And do all the touristy things like see a Broadway play, ice skate at Rockefeller Center, go to the top of the Empire State Building.
14. Run an Ultra trail Marathon - either 50 or 100 mile would be okay with me.
15. Scuba Dive  - preferably somewhere tropical with beautiful coral reefs
16. Go Zip lining
17. Go to the Olympics, as a spectator of course.  I missed my chance in 1996 when the Olympics was right here in my backyard, but I was only 14 then and could have cared less. 
18. Ride a motorcycle on the road, like in the mountains during the fall.  Riding our dirt bikes in the yard doesn't really count. 
19. Learn to make really good buttermilk biscuits
20. Visit London.  See Big Ben and the London Bridge. 
21. Walk on the Great Wall of China

I can say that I have crossed a few very cool, Bucket List items off my list recently.

1. Swim with dolphins
2. Paddleboard in the Ocean.  Technically it was the Gulf of Mexico. 
3. Participate in a Color Run

I plan to add to my list as time goes on, and hopefully cross off many of these activities. 

What kind of things are on your Bucket List? 

Weekend Projects

With the hubs and kids gone for the weekend I had the house all to myself. 
I made me a To-Do List of projects that I've been trying to get done for a while, but just never seem to have the time do actually do. 

Saturday morning I actually slept in, until 8:00.  I was geared up and ready to go for a run and then I realized my Garmin battery was dead.  I hooked that bad boy up to the charger and worked around the house for a while until I had enough juice to go run. 

I cleaned out mine and the kids closets and hauled out 3 bags of stuff to donate to Goodwill. 


2 of the 3 bags of clothes donated to Goodwill

Once my Garmin was charged I headed out to run.  I got in 7 miles Saturday morning.  That was one tough run.  It was cold.  It was super windy.  My legs felt heavy and just didn't want to move.  I did not run or workout once last week and I think that had a lot to do with the way I felt.  There were so many times I wanted to stop or cut my run short, but I kept pushing through.  At the end of the run, when I made it back to my house, I felt good.  I felt like I accomplished something.  I finished, even when it was hard. 

Sportin' my new Spartan Race shirt....3 weeks baby!!!





After



Now on to the rest of my weekend projects



Before

I painted the Baker's Rack that sits in our Dining Room.  It has always been this burnt orange color that looked horrible and didn't match the color scheme at all.  Hell, it didn't match anything.  It was just plain ugly.  If it wasn't so functional, I would have gotten rid of it.  I painted it brown , so now it at least matches our Dining Room table.


I finally got around to hanging some art/pictures on the wall,  The hubs bought me the iron scroll thing months ago, I'm talking probably September and it's just sat in my closet for months because I just didn't feel like dealing with it.  And the Family Rules picture I received as a gift at Christmas and again, just sitting in my closet.

I've had this idea for some artwork that I found on Pintrest.  I needed something to go on the wall above the coat rack/book bag station by the front door that I made over the summer.  So while I was out running errands Saturday I stopped by Hobby Lobby and picked up a few things to make my pictures. 



Almost done, just need my little people's little hand prints and footprints to go on the canvas and then it will be all ready to hang on the wall. 



Also, while at Hobby Lobby I picked up some other things.  I just can't help it, I love that store.

I've been looking for something to hold my necklaces and bracelets, to get them off my dresser top.  I have a jewelry box that I keep most of my jewelry in, but those long necklaces and chunky bracelets just don't fit.  I think this was meant to be a coat hanger since I  found it in that section, but it works and does exactly what I need it to do and it looks pretty at the same time.  Winning! 

I found this frame on sale and I loved the texture and scroll work so I bought it!  It was originally black, but I fixed that with a quick coat of paint.  I was gonna paint it solid turquoise, but after the first coat it looked so good with the distressed look, I just left it.  Let it dry and found a cute printable on Pintrest for my Kitchen windowsill  

With all that done on Saturday, the only things I managed to do Sunday was grocery shop and clean.  I had to get the house back in order before my people got back.  I'm putting money that the hubs doesn't even notice the changes I made around the house. 

We'll see. 

Until tomorrow...

Peace out

Valentines Day can kiss it

I am not a big fan of Valentines Day.  Never have, and probably never will be.  I've had some bad experiences with Valentines Day that have scarred me for life. 

So it's fitting that this year on Valentines Day my hubby went out of town to visit with his son.  It was a little sad that I didn't at least get to spend even part of the day with my love.  I woke up to some candy and giant ass card on the dining room table. 

Not only did I have to be alone on Valentines Day, but this was also the first night Eddie and I have been apart since we got married.  Double Suck!

Since my hubby was gone, I decided that I take the girls out instead.  We went all out and headed to Applebees.  I didn't dare try any of the nicer places around town, and there aren't many to choose from in my little town, so I knew they'd all be super crowded. 



From Instagram



I enjoyed my little date with the girls.  The best valentines a mom could ask for. 

Updates and Shoutouts

I have been so incredibly busy this past week working two jobs that frankly I've been too tired and have no focus to sit down and write.  I'm too old for this crap, but you do what you gotta do sometimes. 

Because of my crazy schedule last week my workouts and eating suffered. 
I did what I could, when I could.  If I had free time I would do some squats, lunges, or push-ups.  I did get a 7 mile run in on Saturday morning before work.  I was dying for that run.

I started the week off eating really good, but as sleep deprivation set in, my food choices got really bad.  (I ate McDonald's at midnight on Friday and picked up a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts on Saturday night)
And while I ate like crap for a few days, I did manage to lose 1 pound.  I could only imagine what I could have done had I really stuck to healthy foods.
That's okay though.  I'm back on track today.  One month until Spartan Race!!! Which has me kinda nervous but super excited.

Speaking of Spartan Race...I got my free shirt in the mail on Friday.  (Sorry, no pic.  Since I haven't worked out, I haven't worn it)  Now I can let everyone know I am training for my Spartan Race.  You can get yours here, just pay shipping and handling fees


I saw an Instragram pic of SkinnyMeg with her BradyBand and I thought I would check them out. I love me some headbands.  I wear them to work, to workout, basically anytime I am too lazy to fix my hair.  I checked out their website and they are all so super cute and very affordable.  And to make things even better, 10% of all sales goes to Childhood Cancer.  You can't beat that.  I ordered 3 headbands to start.     I got 2 regular ones and one mini.  I was a little too worried that the skinny ones wouldn't hold all my hair. 
Use promocode HEADBANDS and when you order 3 or more and each band is $5. 

Rocking the Sunny Stripes Standard Band at work on Saturday

Back in January I participated in the Chilly Challenge with Janine @ Purple Giraffe and Amy @ Running Escapade.  Every week you would log your mileage and at the end of the month, the team with the most mileage won.  Members of the winning team would be entered to win stuff from various sponsors.  I won a Gold Bond Prize pack with a pair of Gold Bond socks and Gold Bond Friction Defense. 

I haven't tried the Friction Defense stuff yet, since I'm still mostly dressing in layers for my runs and not much of a chance for chaffing when your wearing compression tights.  I am glad to know that there's some else out there other than BodyGlide.  Don't get me wrong, I love that stuff, but it's such an inconvenience to find a sporting good store in the city, cause out in the boonies where I live, no store carries it.  I might have better luck finding Gold Bond at Walmart. 
Happy Hump day y'all! 

Updating the Jams

I am a big music fan. 
All genres and types.  It just depends on my mood as to what I'm going to listen to on any given day. 
I'm not gonna lie, I mostly listen to country.  What do you expect from a girl from Georgia?

My oldest daughter asked me last week to make her a playlist for softball.  Music to listen to before games to get her pumped up.  So over the weekend I downloaded her some music and took stuff that I already had on my iTunes to make Madilyn her very own, very first playlist on her iPod.  For her, this is equlivent to making mix tapes from the radio like I did as a kid and burning CD's as I did in college. 

While I was on the computer and in the music mode, I figured I would update my workout playlist too.  I'm constantly mixing up my music so I don't get bored with the same songs.  I'll add some new songs and put on some old ones and then there's the old faithfuls that I never get tired of listening to.

I need music when I workout and run.  That's just the way I operate.  I need that distaction.  I need to get lost in the music, the lyrics, the beat of the song.  The faster the music the faster I want to run, the harder I want to workout. 

Must have been running to some good music to avg 8:00/miles for 4.5 miles

Once in a blue moon, if I have a lot on my mind, I'll run without music.
Don't worry I run safely with my music.  I do run a lot on the road in and around my neighborhood.  When I'm on a main road, I'll take an earbud out so I can hear the traffic.  But I live in the country y'all, so even on the main roads, there's not a lot of cars. 

My Workout playlist

Back in black - ACDC
Rock N Roll Train - ACDC
Rolling in the deep - Adelle
Affliced - Age of Daze
Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast - Airborne
Party Hard - Andrew WK
Airplanes - BOB
Song 2 - Blur
Kick it in the Sticks - Brantley Gilbert
Aint No rest for the Wicked - Cage the Elephant
Lets go  - Calvin Harris
Fighter - Christina Aguilera
Your Body - Christian Aguilera
Let the Bodies hit the floor - Drowning Pool
Sing for the Moment - Eminem
Til I Collaspe - Eminem
Not Afraid - Eminem
Lose Yourself - Eminem
Love the Way You Lie - Eminem (Yes, I love me some Eminem)
Wake Me up inside - Evansecence
Bad Company - Five Finger Death Punch
Good Feeling - FloRida
I Cry - FloRida
Whistle - FloRida
Remember the Name - Fort Minor
Awake - Godsmack
The Anthem - Good Charlotte
Take Back the Fear - Hail the Villain
Young - Hollywood Undead
California - Hollywood Undead
City- Hollywood Undead
Undead - Hollywood Undead
Run this Town - Jay Z
Empire State of Mind - Jay Z
I Love Rock N Roll - Joan Jett
Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Numb - Linkin Park
Dirty Pop - N*Sync
Awake and Alive - Skillet
Dead Inside - Skillet
Hero - Skillet
Monster - Skillet
Black Betty - Spiderbait
Live your Life - TI
Haunted - Taylor Swift
Bad Girlfriend - Theory of a Dead Man
Move - Thousand Foot Krutch
Rawk Fist - Thousand Foot Krutch
Headstrong - Trapt
Congtgious - Trapt
Warriors Call - Volbeat
Let's Go - Trick Daddy ***My all time favorite go-to dig deep workout song

So what's on your playlist?

What's your go-to favorite workout/running song?

February Already?

This week has been crazy.  I'm so glad that it's over, while I'm sure the weekend will be any better. 

My new dishwasher is fixed.  Yay! 

But I still have industrial fans and dryers in my house in the attempts to dry out all the water damage.  There is talk of ripping out our tile floor this weekend. 

So with those giant fans in my tiny kitchen, we've had to eat out pretty much every meal this week.  Which has proved very difficult when trying to eat right/better. 

On that note, considering that I've eaten fast food all week I think I've done good for myself.  Not perfect though.  Monday and Tuesday I was under my goal, but the rest of the week I went over.  But only by a little.  I made good choices.  Wednesday I ate Chick-fil-a and only ate their grilled chicken sandwich.  No fries!  Thursday was a tough one.  We had pot-luck lunch at the office and then went out for dinner with the bestie since she is moving to Florida.  I'm gonna miss her like crazy, but now I have a good excuse to go to Florida. 

Wednesday we had crazy bad storms here in Georgia.  My friend Connie from work, her hometown was hit hard by a tornado.  While we mostly saw thunderstorms, lots of rain and 30mph winds.  I was glad that we had indoor practice Wednesday night.

Hell, we've had indoor practice all week between both girls.  But Saturday we take to the fields for good. 

Today, Madilyn and I went to the County Board of Education for the Spelling Bee.  As runner-up in her school spelling be, she served as an alternate in the county spelling bee.  I could only imagine the nerves those kids we feeling this morning.  36 competitors and a room full of parents and teachers. 

After the spelling bee we went to breakfast with the Principal and  the school spelling bee advisor.  I have to say, that I am so glad that my kids go to a school, a public school, where the leaders are Christians.  The powers that be may have ruled there is a seperation of church and state and taken prayer out of schools, but at every PTSO meeting, every assembly someone, whether it be the Principal, Assistant Pricipal, teacher or a parent, someone has opened up the meeting with a prayer.  And today, as we sat down for breakfast, my daugher's Principal prayed for her students and blessed our meal.  That means so much to me as a parent and as a Christian. 

No big plans this weekend other than waiting for my house to be put back together.  I'm aiming for a long run this weekend, maybe 8 miles.  We'll see.  I'll let you know on Monday how that goes. 

Feeding my face

After hearing so many recommendations about keeping track of what you eat, I decided that it was time to make the commitment and just do it. 

My weight fluctuates all the time.
Mostly I think its because I eat whatever I want.  I eat good during the day for breakfast and lunch, but when I get home it all goes to crap.  I end up grabbing fast food on the way home or before softball practice.  Or I make quick meals at home which are not the best thing for ya.  Then there's my sweet tooth.  I love me some cookies, cake, chocolate.  If it's sweet I want to eat it. 

Healthy lunches packed for me and the girls

I really only have 10 pounds or so until I reach my ultimate goal weight.  135lbs!!!  I've lost 40 pounds fairly easy.  I didn't really have to work at it.  I just ate better, and exercised a little.  I've had to work a little harder to lose these last 5 pounds and I know the next 10 will be tough. 

I need to hold myself accountable as to what I'm putting in my body.

I started using MyFitnessPal on Friday.  I downloaded it 2 years ago when I got my iPhone and have used it maybe 5 times in those 2 years.  It was kinda rewarding to look back 2 years ago and see that I weighed 152 pounds and that I've lost 7 pounds since then. 

I realized real quick from just tracking food from Friday that I eat way too much. 
But I love food!!

Like I said yesterday, I did horrible this weekend.  But Monday was a new day.  I turned things around and actually was under my goal for Monday and Tuesday. 

If you want to follow me on MyFitnessPal...look me up. Username: vikingchic213

Tuesday was absolutely beautiful here in Georgia.  70 degrees in January.  Can you believe it?

I had some time to kill between work and picking Madilyn up from her dad and taking her to softball practice so I headed out to a local park and hit the trails.  It was nice to get off the road for a change.
I mixed it up a little so it wasn't just a 4 mile run. 

Mile 1 8:04 then 30 burpees

Mile 2 10:06 then 30 jumping lunges

Mile 3 9:56 then 30 squats
Mile 4 8:49

I was exhausted afterwards.  I felt like I was running way faster than 9:14/miles, but I know Garmin does not lie.  However, I'm a little skeptical cause when I checked out my work out specs on Garmin Connect it said that I only had a 240 foot elevation gain.  I'm telling you those hills I ran were way more than 240 feet.  No matter what the data shows, I had a great run yesterday.  And I'm feeling it today.  My thighs are on fire! 

38 days until Spartan Race!! 

Weekend Rewind

I know I'm a little behind getting this out.  I typed it out yesterday, but couldn't get my pictures to up load.  No one wants to read a post with no pictures, so I'm just gonna have to be late. 

Friday I can home to a package with my name on it.  I love getting mail and it's even better when it's in a brown box. 

I ordered some new sports bras from Moving Comfort on Wednesday and they came on Friday.  That was some quick shipping.  Moving Comfort had some bras on sale so I thought I would take advantage of the discount.  I love the one I bought at Big Peach Running, but I can't afford $50 + for sports bras, I don't care how good they are.  I originally ordered a Juno and another Rebound Racer on Sunday, but on Monday I received an email that my items were no longer in stock.  So back to the drawing board.  Wednesday I tried again and crossed my fingers that what I wanted wasn't totally out of stock.  But it was.  I decided to venture out and try a new bra.  I ordered the Chill Out, and while its listed as Medium Impact, I ran 7 miles in that thing on Sunday and I had no bounce at all.  It was great!!  I also, ordered the Fiona, because the reviews were good and it was listed as their best seller.  I was not impressed.  It did not fit me well at all.  I did not feel supported.  There was no way that I could run in that bra...not even to the mailbox, much less several miles.  Luckily Moving Comfort has a great return policy and I can send it back for FREE!   I love free. 

On Saturday, we went over to Eddie's brother's house to shoot our new gun.  With all the talk of gun control and outlawing guns and ammo, we figured we needed to go ahead and get one before we couldn't get one.  We bought a 9mm handgun.  Think what you want.  I know everyone has an opinion on guns and gun control, whether you should have a gun in the house with kids or not.  But I know what works for our family and I know our needs and limits.  I grew up with a gun in our house.  My parents had a small .22 caliber pistol.  I knew it was in the house, it was no secret.  But I was also taught from a young age that we didn't touch the gun. We have lots of hunters in our family as well, so I learned to shoot shotguns and rifles as a teenager.  Saturday was the first time I've ever shot a handgun though.  I'm a good shot.  I know how to handle a gun and I know gun safety.  We already teach that to our kids and when they are older, much older, we will teach them to shoot as well.  Being very safety conscious, we are leaving our gun at my brother-in-laws house until our gun safe arrives.  I'm not bringing a gun into my house until I have a way to lock it up. 

Let me get off my political soapbox, now and on to other things. 



Washing the last load of dishes in our crappy old dishwasher

While Eddie ran the girls to softball practice Saturday afternoon, I stayed at home to wait on our new dishwasher to be delivered and installed.  Yay!!  I've been counting down the days.  I hate our old dishwasher.  It works, but it just barely. 

Sunday, I decided to load up the new dishwasher and try that bad boy out, when disaster struck. 

Water started pouring from the ceiling in our playroom.  We're still not exactly sure what happened but there's something very wrong with our new dishwasher :(  Between Home Depot and GE, someone is coming out this week to replace the dishwasher and fix the damage. 

After practice, Madilyn and I went out for a girls night.  Just the 2 of us.  It's nice to have some one-on-one time with the girls.  They too often get lumped together.  We went to Red Lobster, her choice.  We had nice conversation, as nice as a conversation can be with a 9 year old.  We talked about her friends, school and softball. 

She's such a silly girl

On Sunday I got out and went for a long run.  Got in 7.25 miles with an average pace of 8:20/mile.  My fastest mile was mile 7 at 8:08, but my slowest, mile 3 was 8:28.  I felt great running.  Despite the fact that I was pushing the pace a little, the run felt easy and very natural.  There was never really any point where I struggled or wanted to turn back early.  In fact I could have kept going and probably did 8 or even 9 miles, but we were suppose to have lunch plans and I didn't want anyone waiting on me. 

Thankfully, I got my run in on Sunday to balance out all the calories and bad food I ate this weekend.  I know you can't out exercise a bad diet, but I sure tried.