More Christmas Pics

Here are some more Christmas pics. I ran only a little while on vacation, one time at a gym and twice outside. I did lots of pushups and will make my year's 20,000-pushup goal. Woot! I'll do a complete tally post, but so far I know I've completed the following:

• 30,000 meters swimming
• 20,000 pushups
• 1,000 miles running / walking
• 5,000 miles biking
• 8,000 meters rowing

Runs brought to you by...Seneca Fitness

The ugly-sweater-contest winner got this lei

Ugly sweaters. Who wins this one????

In Photos

This was part of my Christmas

Allentown airport. My sis wouldn't let me take my nephew :-(
New bag from Mom fit all my Christmas gifts!

Family workout time. Baby jumping, toddler bouncing,
Mom and Dad skipping, Aunt taking pictures

Lehigh Valley on a sunny day. This is not normal and I loved it.

Another photo of this part of the valley

My nephew loved this tow truck gift. I think it's
because it didn't require tracks in order to roll on carpet.

It's a stocking. That means feet go in it!

Big headband...baby has some growing to do to
fit into this handmade one.

Grandpa and toddler cutting a birthday cake
for Jesus on Christmas Eve

Ugly sweater / outfit. You can't see my socks or designs
on the sweater, but it's OK, I wasn't the winner

Toddler and baby by the tree

New Christmas ornament!

Chilling with both kiddos

Pictures from the Past Few Weeks

Put up my few Christmas things:
a nice nativity and a little tree

Wrapped Christmas presents...now to send them!

Did the Girls on the Run 5K with Anslee (and her dad Chris) in
25* temps; Anslee was awesome, and we finished in 35:15.

Shopped; apparently "snap-on pants" are the alternative (thanks to
a tweet reply from Kohl's when I asked what other kind of pants there are)

Nissan (where I charge) had a HUGE pile of donated toys

I like to be seen when I run -- if you're looking for a good
vest, I'd highly recommend this lighted, reflective one.

Hot chocolate; I don't know how people can
regularly spend as much on coffee as these drinks cost!

Thanksgiving with my nephew and niece

Getting the Christmas tree with the fam

Pond across from my office (where I walk)
and our office building's entrance

I was hoping to do the Honolulu Marathon (virtually), but it wasn't happening. My stomach was not happy, and I struggled to complete 10 miles on the treadmill and 5 on the elliptical. Ouch. I guess I can try again next weekend.

The Girls on the Run race was one of the only Christmas-related things that happened in Nashville this past weekend, because we were supposed to get lots of ice (didn't) and the Christmas parade, 5K, and tree lighting didn't happen or happened with no fanfare. Franklin's went on, but they were Saturday rather than Friday. It was freezing (25*), and it was the first time my girl Anslee had run in temps that cold. She was a champion despite new feelings she'd never had before. Side cramps were familiar (though not welcome), and I tried from the beginning to encourage her to breathe at least one deep breath every few tenths of a mile. Ice blocks for feet was a very unfamiliar feeling, yet she pressed on. I wish I would have thought to inform her (without scaring her) about those feelings and the fact that extreme temps make it harder to compete and perform. She was hoping we'd finish under 30 minutes like we did a few weeks ago, but her 35:15 was a fantastic time, and she was in the top 20 of at least 100 girls. She cried after...but she earned it! She put everything she had into that race. I was proud of her!

I spend Thanksgiving with the fam and had a blast. My nephew is starting to talk a lot and wants to play even more, and the weekend flew by.

Pink Cookware

This week has been pretty busy. We've had lots to do at work, and I had a practice 5K to run for Girls on the Run. Add in my normal training, running around with my cousin, and life in general, and I needed the 10 hours of sleep I got on Friday night!

This was the last time I'd be able to shop for stuff included in the Pink Cookware rebate, so I took advantage of another great week of sales at Publix. You get to see what I bought :-)

11-22-13 Publix Trip

Publix Trip (11-22)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Barilla sauce (2)	2.59 (5.18)	BOGO (2.59)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$1.49
Publix oats	3.49	--	--	$3.49
Duncan Hines cake mix (2)	2.89 (5.78)	BOGO (2.89)	2 x $1.00/1 MQ	$0.89
Puffs tissues (3)*	1.50 (4.50)	--	$0.25/3 MQ (multiplied)	$4.00
Sargento cheese (2)	3.99 (7.98)	BOGO (3.99)	$0.40/1 MQ (multiplied)	$3.19
Haggen Daaz ice cream pint	4.69	BOGO	--	$2.35
Downy Unstoppables*	7.99	--	$1.00/1 MQ	$6.99
Cover Girl lip gloss*	4.99	--	$1.00/1 MQ	$3.99
Duracell batteries*	2.49 (4.98)	--	2 x $1.00/1 PQ	$2.98
Bird's Eye veggies (2)	2.19 (4.38)	BOGO (2.19)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$1.09
Freshmate wipes*	2.69	--	Free wyb TP MQ (-2.69)	$0.00
BFAST shakes (2)	4.19 (8.38)	2.00 (4.00)	2 x $1.00/1 MQ	$2.00
Charmin TP*	9.79	6.99	$0.25/1 MQ (doubled)	$6.49
Publix eggs	2.00	--	Free wyb 2 Sargento PQ	$0.00
Totals: 22 items	$76.82	$55.64	$4.00 in PQs (**+1.75?) $12.69 in MQs ***$5 in Kroger Qs	+$4.19 tax $37.39 total (saved $39.43, or 51%)

Since I had to buy $30 worth of product to qualify for the rebate*, I'd say this was a pretty good result. Also I'm pretty sure my math is off, and I'm not sure if I included all the Qs. I didn't mark up my receipt right away and can't remember now what goes with what.

* Qualify for the Proctor and Gamble Pink Cookware rebate
** The top of my receipt shows three Qs I think came from my Publix card: 0.25/Charmin, 1.00/Pasta, and 0.50/Duracell. This would contribute to some of my math issue in the table above.
*** This was a competitor's (Kroger's) Q for $5 off when you spend $50.

Workouts for the week

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: cardio/iso workout in the morning, isos in the evening
Wednesday: isos in the morning, run in the evening (7mi)
Thursday: isos in the morning, GOTR run (with my girl Anslee) in the afternoon (6mi total with warmup and cooldown from Radnor Lake parking area)
Friday: isos in the morning, too many push ups to count in the afternoon
Saturday: 11-mile run (1:34:10) in the morning

My goal this off-season/pre-season is the get stronger, so I've been spending more time in the gym and less time outside. When it's 40* outside, I don't mind being inside. When it's 60* outside, I'd much rather be out running or riding!

Pictures from the week

If SR (skinnyrunner) does it, it must be cool, right? So in following in her footsteps, here are some pictures I took with my phone this week.

Saturday-long-run

Publix-shopping-trip

UPS-truck-with-sweet-decals

Beautiful-rainbow

Celebratory ride because the crit series is happening next year! 

A little surprise project I'm working on...

This week I did a lot of iso workouts and rode once. Saturday I ran loooong, Sunday I spent some time on the rowing machine, and Monday I will rest :)

Preparing for Pizza Night

It is another great week to grocery shop. I'm glad I have to eat every week :)

My friend Anna had a baby last week and I am taking food for them next weekend. I decided on pizza; pepperoni was on sale last week, and sauce and cheese were on sale this week. Perfect timing!

Today, I didn't deviate from my list and I didn't take advantage of all the sales. There are more to be had; if you want to know all the good ones, check out IHeartPublix.com, which is where I get all my information from. Here's what's in the picture.

Publix Trip (11-15)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Green Giant Veggies (6)	1.99 (11.94)	BOGO (5.57)	2 x $0.60/3 MQ	$4.77
Betty Crocker Potatoes (4)	1.43 (5.72)	BOGO (2.86)	2 x $0.50/2 MQ (doubled)	$0.86
BD Almond milk (2)	2.89 (5.78)	2.50 (5.00)	2 x $0.55/1 MQ	$3.90
Kraft cheese (4)	3.99 (15.96)	BOGO (7.98)	--	$7.98
Country Crock sides (5)	3.99 (19.95)	BOGO (9.98)	5 x $0.55/1 MQ	$7.23
Hunts sauce	0.99	BOGO	--	$0.50
Totals: 22 items	$60.34	$31.89	$7.05 in MQs	+$2.27 tax $27.51 total (saved $32.83, or 54%)

All real food or food to donate, lots of veggies, and lunches for two weeks (the Country Crock sides are perfect for me and have 2-3 servings depending on how hungry I am).

Publix Trip

This is the blurriest picture I could manage

The majority of what I bought at Publix today was veggies and chocolate chips. Perfect combination, right???

Publix Trip (11-12)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Eat Smart Veggies (5)	2.50 (12.50)	BOGO (6.25)	--	$6.25
Nestle chips (3)	2.89 (8.67)	BOGO (4.34)	--	$4.34
Santitas chips	2.00	--	--	$2.00
OM hot dogs	5.69	3.99	$1/1 PQ	$2.99
Fresh Express salad mix	3.99	BOGO (2.00)	--	$2.00
Hormel pepperoni (3) (thin slices)	1.59 (4.77)	1.00 (3.00)	$1/2 MQ (any Hormel)	$2.00
Hormel pepperoni (stick)	2.49	2.00	$1/2 MQ (any Hormel)	$1.00
Vitamelts (2)	7.99 (15.98)	--	3 x $3/1 MQ $6/2 PQ	$3.98
Totals: 17 items	$56.09	$39.56	$8 in MQs, $7 in PQs	+$3.27 tax $27.81 total (saved $28.28, or 51%)

$15 of the savings was from Qs (one of which I found in the store, and that was the $6 one), and $13 was from shopping the sales. Next week will be just as good!

The week in review

Pictures from the week. I'm too busy to write too much :-)

Monday evening, charging before running on the only
nice day of the new week

Teammate AJ with her husband SR on the top step of the
Lock 4 6-hour Endurance Challenge mountain bike race

I made these s'mores bars, and they turned out OK.
Not my fave.

Nice sunrise on morning!

Sunday, Parri, Cath, and I rode on the Trace. It was HARD
but beautiful, and I loved the company (as always).

Friday, AJ, Kat and I went hiking at PW. It was easy
and beautiful, and I loved the company :-)

Workouts
Monday: REST (with a 3-mile walk at lunch)
Tuesday: Hilly ride at lunch, 3 miles on the elliptical
Wednesday: 5K practice race with Girls on the Run, then 3.5 additional miles
Thursday: 1-mile walk at lunch, HARD 8-mile run on the Shelby Greenway
Friday: 3-mile jog at PW, 5-mile hike at PW
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 5 miles on the elliptical, 47-mile ride on the Trace.

Then I went to visit my friend Anna, who had her baby this week. A beautiful little girl!

Harvest Half Marathon

This weekend was a new race, the Brentwood YMCA Harvest Half Marathon, and I HAD to do it. This is one of my four home Ys, and I run and ride on the trails (paths) behind it all.the.time. How could I not race on those trails?!?

Start of the race
(source)

It was a perfect day for running. Great sunrise, not too cold, not too hot, not too many leaves but just the right amount of color, and good competition. We started in self-seeded "waves": The starter said, about 5 minutes to 8, "OK, if you think you're going to win, line up in the front now and we'll start you in 3 minutes." He also clarified that these should be those runners expecting to run ~7min/mile. I didn't line up with this group--not that I didn't want to win, but that I definitely don't run at 7 minutes per mile. I did, however, notice that only one lady went out with that group of 8 or so.

About 1 minute later, my little group started (we were labeled as ~8min/mile runners, and that's what I was going for). My plan had been to run easy for 2 miles and then run a tempo pace (consistently running slightly faster every mile) for the remainder of the race. However, that changed at 0.1 miles into the race when I realized I was in the group that contained the second place female. Since that was the case, I wanted to race right from the start to see how I could do!

Route map and elevatino

My first mile was 7:18. Not the easy (9-min) pace I was hoping for, but I was staying with the 2 ladies I was with. Eventually (shortly hah) I slowed my pace but still pushed myself to run faster than what I thought I could. I had two 9-minute miles (miles 6 and 7) when we went up and down and back on a hill on Raintree Parkway, but the rest of the miles were pretty much right around 8:20/8:25.

Finished!

I finished feeling good but like I had pushed myself. My overall time was 1:50:15, a pace of 8:25/mile. Not quite the 8 I was hoping for, but I'll definitely take it because I pushed myself and ran hard. This was enough for first in my age group and 9th overall female.

Morning sunrise, race bib, post-race snack

Results: 1/14 in AG (30-34), 9/118 females, 38/226 overall.
Total time: 1:50:15, pace 8:25/mile

Shelly, Cath, and Val

Team ride on Sunday was perfect. Not too fast, not too slow, lots of chit chat. The best kind of ride!

Monday morning sunrise. AMAZING beauty from an amazing CREATOR

Taste test: Brachs vs. Kroger

In this photo, it's obvious to me which is which. One looks like plastic, about as hard as the bag! I threw one bag away after completing the taste test (I only ate half of the plastic-looking ones in my test). Can you tell which is the Kroger brand and which is the Brachs brand? What's your guess on which one I threw away? :-)

Some of the Week in Review

Good mail day, thanks to Michelle from
I Heart Saving Money and Kohl's!

Monday was a rest day and I walked a few miles. Tuesday I lifted weights at lunch and then rode home. On my way, I rode up to Radnor Lake and then stopped in some intersection to pick up 75 of these:

Pennies!

Wednesday I rode in to work and then hiked 5 miles with Kat at Radnor Lake:

A nice lady took our picture

Thursday I went on the step mill instead of running because it was raining and super windy. I wanted to make it 60 minutes (I did) at a level between 6-8 (I started at 6). I always put it on random play, and it varied, starting at level 6 and making it to level 13 somewhere in there. My goal was to stay aerobic the entire time and use it in place of an easy run. Besides that I wanted to lower the workload the final 6 minutes (I didn't), it was a great workout and I finished up with 61 push ups. Friday I started the morning with 3-minute extreme slow isos.