Sun, Beaches, Margaritas...Here I Come!

Well, I officially booked our 5 year wedding anniversary trip today...We are headed to the Riviera Maya in April. April 24-28 to be exact!

We have not been ANYWHERE since our honeymoon (almost 5 years ago). I mean we have gone on a few weekend trips, but to actually get out of the country and to go to the beach, I am SOOO EXCITED!

The only hesitation I have, is this will be the first time that me and my husband both have been away from our son at the same time. :( I am going to miss him sooo much, but I know deep in my heart, that me and my husband need this time! He will be staying with my parents 1/2 of the time, and then with Craig's parents for the other 2 days. I just get such anxiety thinking about it...

So, now since the trip is booked, I have to PICK UP the workouts!!! I am planning on going to Body Pump tonight (I haven't done weights in over a week), plus get in a 3 mile run. Then Saturday I have planned another 3 mile run with Body Combat afterwards, and then we have our 7 mile run scheduled for Sunday! Hope the weather warms up a little...this cold 15 degree weather with the whipping wind is not encouraging.

I also talked my husband into letting me sign up for WW online this week. I had tried their trial period out, and really liked it. Now, I have signed up for three months. I started Monday, and am already down 1lb. Better than I had been...I haven't lost anything in over a month. I finally had my husband take my measurements on Sunday. I hadn't been tracking that, but I have to be losing inches at least...I mean, 5-6 workouts per week, and NOTHING...I have to be losing inches, and just not knowing it. Now that I have those numbers documented, I hope to be able to check again in 2 weeks to see if I am making progress. (I did have a lady in Body Combat on Monday tell me I looked skinnier!!! oh, the small victories!!!)

Have a great rest of the week!

Stephanie

A give away fit for a princess!

I wanted to let everyone know about the AMAZING giveaway that Syl is doing on her blog, Live, Smile, Run. I LOVE THIS SHIRT!
A give away fit for a princess!

1/2 Marathon Training- Week 2....6 Miles

I am the one on the left..in the turquoise!

Well, another week of training down...only 6 more to go! We are basically half way there!
I did get in both my training runs this week...3 miles on Wednesday and only 2 miles on Saturday. (I had my Body Combat class at 9am, and ran out of time to get in that last mile)

Workouts/Training for the week:
Monday- Body Combat
Tuesday- Off
Wednesday- Body Combat and 3 mile run
Thursday- Off
Friday- Off
Saturday- 2 mile run and Body Combat
Sunday- 6 mile run

On Sunday at 7am I met up with my friends Becki and Kris to run our 6 mile training run. It was raining...pretty hard, but we sucked it up and headed out.
We all three talked most of the time. The first half was hard on me. The rain was shooting into my eyes and making my eyes sting. At our turn around at mile 3, I guess the rain was going with us, and it was much better. We finished in approx. 1hr 3min. Not a personal best, but I had a REALLY good run (could have ran a few more miles). After the run we were all soaked, but had to get our weekly pic taken, so we asked a nice ambulance man if he would take it. He willingly did! I was freezing the whole way home and as soon as I got inside, stripped down out of my wet clothes and headed for a warm shower. I was a little sick the rest of the day, but am feeling better today.
This was my first experience running in the rain, and had a great experience....snow last week, rain this week...wonder what next week has in store for us???
Next week we will be running 7 miles. It is sooo fun to have friends to run with. Makes it that much easier to get through the run, plus you have someone to celebrate with at the end.
Thanks Beck and Kris!

On a side note, I am SOOOOO excited!!! I have won Amanda's (5 Miles 2 Empty) name her Garmin contest. Her garmin is now named G. Money Nimrag. G. Money was chosen by Kerrie (Mom vs Marathon), but Nimrag is MINE!! (It is Garmin spelled backwards) How fun!! Can't wait to see the prize! This is my first win since entering the blog world. LOVE IT!!!

Happy Friday!

I thought I would send out a quick post to thank my new followers!!! I have a total of 8 now! Yea!
This week has been another busy week with trying to get my training runs in, going to my workout classes, plus we had our taxes last night, and I am having a 31 party tonight! Can't wait. I have approx. 18-20 girls coming over for a fun-filled night!
If you have never heard of Thirty-One, it is a home based party business where a host comes to your house. They sell really cute bags, purses, lunch totes, home decor, baskets etc that you can monogram, embroider or personalize anyway you want. There things are sooo cute!
So, I am looking forward to a fun night tonight!

Now, back to training....I did get my Body Combat workout in on Monday, and went again on Wednesday, where it was a total LEG workout! (My legs were burning after that class, and I was still scheduled to run 3 miles afterwards) I sucked it up and headed out to the treadmill, where I jumped on and ran my 3 miles. I felt GREAT!!! I was in the zone, felt like nobody was around, had my I-Pod up as loud as it could go, and I JUST RAN! The last .25 miles I ran at 7.5 (uncalled for in my world), but I did it and it felt great!
I had to take last night off due to our tax meeting and getting the food prepared for my party, and tonight is the party, but I am scheduled to run another 3 mile run tomorrow morning before another gruesome Body Combat class.
Then Sunday is the next long run....6 miles on Grant's Trail in St. Louis. They are calling for snow again, but hopefully it holds off until after the run. We will see!

Have a great weekend!
Stephanie

1/2 Marathon Training...Week 1- CHECK

Yea!!! I have followers! So fun! Thank you for the wonderful comments and the help in getting more followers! I am sooo new to this, and am not sure how everything works, but so far so good!

To recap my 1st week of training:

This past week was week one of my 1/2 marathon training. The schedule called for 3 runs...two 3 mile runs and a 5 mile run. I started out the week very excited and anxious to begin my training! Along with the training, I am wanting to get to the gym to workout 3 other days/times also. With Mexico 2 months away, I still want to work on getting in shape and losing a few pounds for swimsuit weather! So, my training/workouts for this week went as followed:

Monday: Treadmill run- 3 miles

Tuesday: Off

Wednesday: Body Combat

Thursday: Body Pump and treadmill run- 3 miles

Friday: Off

Saturday: Weights at the gym with my husband

Sunday: Long run- 5 miles

I felt great the whole week with all of my workouts. Not too overwhelmed, except for those Valentine's I had mentioned for my son...finished dipping pretzels late Thursday night, putting on all of the little tags and tying all of the bows...super cute though, and the kiddos loved them!

Sunday's long run turned out to be only me and my BF Becki...our norm! We met at Grant's Trail at 7am and it was 28 degrees. Snowflakes were falling, but it was on of the pretty snows that actually made it fun to run! My first time running in snow...it really wasn't slippery, except for one little bridge we ran across. We talked most of the time, about our hubbies, our kiddos, Beck filled me in on church from Saturday night (felt like I got my church sermon for Sunday morning!). We did do 1/2 a Gu packet each halfway through...I really didn't want to, but Beck told me to just split one with her, so I did. We finished the 5 miles at right around 49 min 30 sec. We both felt great!!! This was the first time we had used Beck's Garmin 305 watch, and it was AWESOME! I can't wait to get one of my own.

For Valentine's Day, my husband bought me a new running outfit. It was really cute pink and black Under Armour (my favorite) shorts and a really cute pink running top to match that had "Run" across it! So cute! Can't wait for it to warm up so I can wear it.

I swear, Under Armour is one of my most favorite clothing to wear when I work out or run. The cold gear is AMAZING and I love the way the warm gear keeps me nice and cool when my temp starts to rise. Plus, with me being 5'8, all of their pants are long enough and the sleeves on their shirts fit just right. You would think me and Becki were sponsered by Under Armour when we do our runs...we are dressed head to toe! I LOVE IT!!!

So, off to start week 2 of training...Body Combat tonight, and possibly a 3-4 mile run on the treadmill. We will see!

Again, thanks for following...Love the comments!

Inperspire Towel Contest

Erica at I Run Because....I Can has an awesome giveaway on her blog. If you go to the link below, you can sign up to win an awesome Inperspire Fitness Towel. They are super cute and super inspirational!

http://www.ericarunning.com/2010/02/inperspire-fitness-towel-giveaway.html

1/2 Marathon- Week 1 Training So Far...

This is week one of my 1/2 marathon training. It has been such a FUN and overwhelming week. Not just because of the training, but because I have been working like crazy to get my Valentine's Day cards made and sent out...finished them yesterday, and they are out in the mail, hopefully to be delivered today, plus making Valentine's for my son's daycare for today and making chocolate covered pretzels with sprinkles for him to give his buddies.

So, I started out the week with running 3 miles on Monday, took Tuesday off, did Body Combat at the gym on Wednesday, did Body Pump and a 3 mile run at the gym on Thursday, another off night tonight, weights at the gym on Saturday, finishing with my 5 mile group run outside on Sunday. I feel pretty good about everything...the runs so far have been fun, and my body feels great! I wish I could perfect my eating, but I guess that will come with time...maybe!
I always start out the week doing sooo good...counting my points etc, and then something comes up throughout the week (like that huge, yummy, frisbee sized chocolate chip cookie from Panara Bread yesterday at work) and then it screws up my whole week...Oh well, it was YUMMY!

Well, I just ordered my first Bondiband. I have been going back on forth on whether or not to buy one, and then I found an awesome fundraiser on Long Legs on the Loose's Blog, where she is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. For every Bondiband that is purchased, a portion goes to her fundraiser. How fun! So, I ordered the super cute, Boot Camp Babe one. If I like it, I will for sure be back for more!!!

So, I hope the training stays as positive as it has started! I am mentally where I want to be, and I know that physically I will get there! Can't wait for our run on Sunday...I love running outside and with friends!!!

Running for a New Me....

I began my running adventure when my son was 6 months old. I had never considered myself a runner, nor had ever run more than a mile or so before stopping because I dreaded it sooo much. I decided that to help me lose my baby weight, along with trying something new, that I would train for my first 5K. I completed it in May 2009.

After that race I continued on and off doing 5K's here and there, not really enjoying it. It wasn't until I went and watched my friend Becki complete her first 1/2 marathon, that I decided I wanted to start doing this FOR REAL. September 2009, I became a true runner!

Running is something that most people think is all physicial, and don't get me wrong, it is. But the one thing I wasn't focusing on when I first started, is how mentally challenging running is. If you don't have the right mental thinking when you start running, you will never become a true runner.

After I realized this aspect of running, I have come to really enjoy running. It has not only made me feel more empowered as a woman, but it has also brought me closer to my best friend Becki. It is so nice to have someone right next to you, step for step, to reach the finish line. Her motivation, along with my will to achieve, has brought me this far.

My next step is to train for the Go St. Louis 1/2 Marathon on April 11th. I know Beck will be there with me, and I hope a few other girls will join us in our training.

The two other people that have been there through each step of my journey so far, is my husband Craig and the joy of my world, Logan. Craig has been there to cheer me on as I cross the finish, to take pictures and to give me back massages, after a hard run. He is the best! There there is the Logster, who is my motivation to become the best Mommy I can. Anytime a run starts to get tough, I think of Logan and how proud he will be of me some day. Who knows, maybe someday we will complete a race together.

I hope you will enjoy my blog, and the many pictures and updates I will share with you along the way. And who knows, it might just motivate someone else to get off the couch, slip on their running shoes and take a lap around the block...that is what happened to me, and I am not looking back!