Treats, not tricks

 Hello there!  Once again, I am always missing.  Why is this?  I swear that I think about this blog more than I let on.  I write posts during workouts, during boring meetings (wait, what?) and during my commute.  I really need to get a Voice transfer option.....it's just that when I get 5 minutes to spare, I wont lie.  A bubble bath, cup of coffee, gossip sites, the latest Jodi Picoult....well, you know what I mean.  I need to get better at this though, because I always have so much to share with you guys!!

First, a marathon update.  We are 11 days out and....I'm nervous.  I rocked out my last 20 miler 9 days ago and officially started taper.  True to form, I managed to f*ck up my leg pretty bad and have been dealing with quad pain for the last week.  I stopped running, and did swimming and some low key biking and stretching, and attempted a 5 miler Monday.  It went well, cardio wise, but I felt super tight.  This is pretty normal for me (I hate taper wiht a passion) and I think its just a lack of rest, stretching, and a bit of a push on that last run.  I hope.  Hello epsom salts, foam rolling, and a massage pre race.  And crossed fingers.  Cause that works.  I would really like to PR, but I will take this one as it comes.  I could feel super awesome November 9, but if I don't, I won't kill myself.  It's been way too long of a season....it will be nice to have some down time, training wise.  But our other big development,.,,,is of course Rob.

He checked in at 15 months and is doing awesome - 24 pounds, 31" tall and ahead of the curve in terms of both physical (running) and mental (string words together) milestones.  Go Rob!!  And, of course, we have been having all sorts of fun toddler fall excitement....we did a fall costume festival put on by the rotary club with hayrides, carnival rides (yes, we took him on the tilt a whirl.....bad parents! and face painting.  Our little leopard loved it!!!

We also have been teaching fine motor skills...errr....how to dance!!  He's getting pretty good at it:

You know the ladies will eat that one up with a spoon.  And last night, we showed him the second best thing about Halloween (aside from Candy candy candy! )  We watched Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin, then made our own great pumpkin!

Clearly, we had a blast.  And Rob thinks pumpkin tastes pretty good, not that we ever doubted that one :-P  Halloween in t minus 2 days....and it's on a Friday!  I some trick or treating for a certain lil leopard!  What are you doing for the holiday?

What an "Incredible" 5k - Safe Journey Race Report

Hey hey there!  Hope everyone had a good week.  I actually seem to have turned a corner with marathon training- I'm still so freakin tired but I had a few awesome tempo runs in the 8-10 range, so here's hoping to a solid 20 mile run this weekend, which would make me feel so much better about this whole thing!  3 weeks to go - I know I have it in me to run a pretty solid marathon *if* the stars align as they should!

On a fun note, we did a family run this past weekend in a nearby town (Fairport).  It's a 5k that benefits domestic violence and incorporates a fun Halloween theme for all to enjoy.  This is a rare race that allows for strollers right in the rules (even includes awards!).  Rob and I did this race last year as our first race together (3 months old!) and I thought we kicked butt at 28 minutes, second stroller in and in the top half of my AG.  This year Greg decided to join the team and we had a goal of going sub 27.  To sweeten the pot?  We decided costumes were IN!

We dressed up as the Incredibles - Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Dash.  Rob wasn't too sure about the masks, but for the run, he was IN.  It was a gorgeous morning, mid 50s and cloudy, perfect for running.  We had a few family snafus and some upset tummies, but seeing as this is a flat course, we decided to push on.

We lined up toward the right and back in order to go wide.  I grabbed the handles and took first shift- before we knew it we were off!  The first mile of the course has a slight uphill at first, and then a great downhill section where you can fly!  We passed people left and right in mile one and clocked in at 7:40.  Mile two flattens out and is in a narrower section of the canal, so it was a bit harder to pass.  Greg and I relied on hand signals (he was having some leg pain and my tummy was not happy) but we managed a respectable mile 2, total clock 16:01.  Mile 3 was more of the same....we saw the lead stroller at the turnaround and knew we couldn't catch it (clocked in at sub 22) and so we held on the best we could for the last 2 miles and finished our 5k in 25:37, a firm STROLLER PR!  Gregs garmin clocked a 3.18, 8:08 pace which I was super pleased with.

Post race we had an awesome breakfast of breakfast pizza, granola bars, starbucks, and hot dogs (ROb ate one by himself!)  We didnt stick around to see if we won best costume (It was naptime, and Rob also wanted to get home :-P) but we placed 136 out of 500 people - I came in 6th out of 27 in my AG and Greg came in smack in the middle of his.  An awesome 5k and we will be back again next year, family costume in tow!!

Just 26.2. - NBD

Well, the time has come. No more putting it off.  Race day is 34 days away, and it's time to embark upon my 5th 26.2.....3rd standalone.  Yikes.

Before we get into that craziness, let's recap the last week....we had some birthdays (my 32nd), some sickies (hate colds) and....well...see for yourself.

blowin out the candles!

Helping mom open her presents!!

Sleepin off those sickies....love my boys.

PANTY RAID!!

I formally apologize to my 16 year old son in 2929 but....kid seriously has a thing for my clean underwear.  He wears them around the house like a vest and flings them like a slingshot.  Oh, the ladies are just gonna love him! :-P

All fun and games aside though, with minus 5 weeks till go day on my last race I've realized....it's ed been a long season.  Starting in May with my double marathon, 4 tris, a half, and assorted running races....I'll be glad to finish the season out soon.  I'm currently following the Runners World FIRST plan, which is supposed to be 3 runs a week - one tempo, one speedwork and one long run.  They are all timed off your 10k best - my long runs are about a 9:30, tempo is anywhere from 8-8:30 and speedwork 7:00-7:30.  I've been making some tweaks to allow for working full time and mommyhood along with work travel, but I've tried to be pretty consistent.  I felt good about it up until about 2 weeks ago and now my long runs seem to just fall apart.  Not sure why.  I've been testing out a varied approach and making 4 runs a week, one easy, one tempo, one long, and a HIIT workout thats about 25 minutes with 5' warmup, cool down, and then 1 minute all out (10 mph) alternating with 2 minutes easy run.  Eh, it's all a crap shoot.  Honestly, I'm a bit sleep deprived, a bit stressed, and I think my body is tired.  The goal is to break 4, but I'm honestly having some doubts about it...I did well with this plan back in 2011 and missed a sub 4 by minutes.  So the plan is good.  And I know my base is strong - I could do a marathon right now, no problem.  But the thought of holding a 9 minute mile for 26.2 kinda freaks me out.  Thoughts from you speedy people?  I know it's all relative and to be honest. I really am enjoying 99% of my runs.  I've learned how to run on 2 hours sleep.  How to do an 18 miler on the treadmill.  How to get in 15 miles...in 3 separate runs due to kiddo stuff.  How to run in the 90 degree heat at 6am after being hungover.  For the first time, running feels like a release and not always such hard work.  But....I don't want to be a hobby jogger.  I feel that 3:5x.  It's there.  And I'm not sure what I can do in the next 5 weeks to catch it.  I have one more 20 miler, two 15s and a handful of longish tempo runs.  I think this might be a don't let the horse out of the barn.  I've started doing some yoga and Pilate's.  Eating more meat.  Hydrating.  We'll see if it helps.  I probably just need rest, but when running is your stress relief....hah.

So there you go.  2014 marathon in a nutshell.  I'm an idiot.  But at least I'm an idiot with a goal, right? :-)