Challenge

Last week as I was trudging along on my 3M run I decided that I needed to put focus back into my workout life! Yes I am ashamed to admit that as soon as I stopped working with the coach well I stopped working out all together. The only excuse I was able to come up with is that I lost direction, I lost the passion that was driving me. All of sudden I was deflated, racing totally lost its appeal and thus training had no purpose.

I guess this year is the year of finding a new balance. Maybe playing the game "who is Sophie?" is the purpose of my life it sure feels like it most of the time.

This year though has been a bit different, I crossed to the dark side of the 30is.. I know I am not old and gosh I hope I look half as good as most 40+ year old I know but working with people who graduated from high school the year I got married doesn't do much for feeling young!

I think the harder part was to have my daughter leave daycare. A school we have been going to every single day for the past 7 years. Leaving people who saw and took care of both of my kids from 3month old until 5!

So back to my challenge and lack of gusto in training. I decided to try something new. I obviously don't feel like racing these days the mental pressure I put on myself is simply too much. But I thought what about challenging my self to do the following for the next 12 months:

- Monday Yoga/Off

- Tuesday 30-45 min run

- Wednesday 30-45 min run

- Thursday Yoga

- Friday 30-45 min run

- Saturday 1:30-2:00 bike (alternating between road bike and mountain bike)

- Sunday 60-90 min run.

3 weeks on 1 week lighter so on and so forth.

I don't worry about mileage or speed I just want to get out there challenge myself with the terrain and the consistency.

I am only allowed to miss a workout for another workout and only 1 run/week unless sick!

This is my challenge lets see if I can do it.

Today: - 41min run

The other challenge that I think every other woman has is to lose those damned 5-10lbs. I won't bore you with the details but I decided to really try this time...

Tonight I cooked:

- Ono steak which is a Hawaiian fish much like sword fish B cooked it on the BBQ (yes we did have fish tonight)

- Green pea sauce

- Orzo pasta

- Cherries

- 1 glass of white wine.

Now it is time to shower and go read.... Good night

BTW I'm still sewing although I have to move my stuff back downstairs and I need to post on those said projects

All the things I love to do...

My parents arrived from France last monday night! It has been nice to have them and the kids are spending some time with their grandparents. For us it means a bit more time together to run, to mountain bike or even go out to the movies and dinner. Since I stopped working with my coach I didn't train every day this week tuesday and friday and sunday were off oops. However I need to figure out my schedule and my workouts. Yesterday B took me trail running. I was a bit anxious because last time we went together I found it very hard. All the hard work I put in last year in terms of training has paid off and I had a blast. I totally fell in love with everything. We ran 7M total and 2.5 were on the trails but those 25 min went by sooo fast. I was so focused on where to put my feet and taking in the scenery that I wasn't worried for once about my speed, that B had to wait for me etc... I was just in the moment! As soon as we hit the pavement all those worries came back. I'm hoping that I'll do a lot more trail running in the future! First I need to find a few girls who don't mind to get scratch up and dirty! One reason I stopped working with my coach is to have a bit more time for my home projects! I do tend to have a long list of them. B has no problem with me being so creative but he has one rule! You gotta finish a project before starting a new one. Since my free time is quite limited I have had a few projects waiting their turn patiently. The one that irritates B the most is the so called "vagina" chair named for its lovely shade of pink. He utterly despises the color and thus couldn't wait for me to get started on the slip cover. Since my parents are in town I hired my mom as a helping hand. I always do that to her! So we washed the fabric last night I know incredible I followed directions! It was dried and ready to go in the morning. I did read a few blog posts describing vaguely the steps to follow along with a few pictures. I decided that was enough to dive in myself. Some areas were a bit more dicey than others. The results is less than perfect but for my second slip cover ever it isn't too shabby. This is where it is at after working from 10:30-6:45pm with a 2H00 break at lunch. You can apreciate the difference between the pink color of the sitting pillow and the rest of the chair! We still have to trim the fabric at the seam, iron it and remove the basting thread. I hope to post pictures of it next week finished and back to its spot! I'm pretty pleased I have enough fabric to recover the IKEA chair as well. I am also a bit bummed because the white duck fabric is more see through than I expected! Especially since I bought the heavier weight! I'm hoping that a bright colored pillow will distract the eye! Then I will be allowed to purchase a bit of fabric to make two accent pillow and a bed throw. For a complete post let me put down the recipe of what I threw together for lunch! It is a morrocan/tunisian spin of the shepherd pie... - Ground beef - 1 egg - 1 cup Couscous - 5 yellow squash sliced - Cumin - Tumeric - Paprika - Balsamic vinegar - Olive oil - Cilantro In a bowl, mix the ground beef with the egg, the spices (cumin, paprica, tumeric) salt and pepper. For the spice mixture adjust for the flavor you like. I tend to use about 1tbsp of cumin, 1 tsp of paprica and 1tsp of tumeric. You can probably also add coriander etc... Cook in a pan and break it as you cook it. Slice the yellow squash marinade in olive oil 2tbsp and 2tbsp of balsamic vinegar, add some cumin to this as well. Sautee in a pan at high heat so the squash carmelize a bit. Cook the couscous, add bit of olive oil at the end. Once everything is cooked, in a low rim serving bowl put the meat at the bottom, then the squash and finish with the couscous. Decorate with some spices sprinkled over the couscous and some chopped cilantro.

Carlsbad Half Marathon replay...

So here it is my second half marathon. I had a pretty agressive goal of an 9:30min/miles avg which is about a 2:05 finish time. I didn't think I was going to make it since my training although serious has been a little finicky. I had a lot of slow and painful runs.

The main goal of the day was to give it all I have.

Since B ran his first half marathon we sent the kids on a sleep over. Seriously first time without the kids and we get to wake at 5:40am! But hey we get up, get ready get there I thought 1h00 early was enough but so another 1000 people. We parked in the mall across the street and walked to the start line. It was chilly this morning but with the walking we kept warm.

I bumped into my GoTribal friends and B got to his wave start since he is much faster than me and I stayed behind with my friend. Started running, kept the pace reasonable. I was feeling pretty good my knees hurt and let me tell you the person who said Carlsbad half is flat was smoking crack! OK it isn't La Jolla half but it isn't flat either! Lots of small but nonetheless painful hills. Anyways I took my gus, felt decent until mile 9 where I just hit a wall. My last GU never kicked in! I had no energy but I didn't stop. I went slow but I went and it was hard.

So my finish time was 2:12 10:04 since it was actually 13.2 and not 13.1M not the PR I had hoped for but honestly today that's all I could give. I am very proud that I didn't stop and walk the last 3 miles because oh boy did I want to do that. On the other bright spot, I did go pass than the people I wanted to pass.
I have to admit that deep down I wish I was a better/faster runner, I guess I just have to continue trying, training and racing. I do have to do something about my nutrition because I do believe it was partly the problem. I finished my 12M run with B a couple of weeks ago way way stronger than I did today.

Anyways very tired and emotionally drained I found B at the finish line which is pretty overwhelming with like 4000 people around you. He had an awesome race he finished his first half marathon in 1:44 which is 7:55min/mile.

After that I dragged myself back to the car and we picked up the kids who had a great time! Went out to our favorite breakfast place Beachgrass Cafe then shower, bed while the kids played around us.

Around 3pm I dragged myself out of the bed and went grocery shopping because life goes on and we still want to lose 5-10lbs like everyone else. I cleaned the kitchen and now I am ready to go read on the couch.

Next week rest rest rest maybe some spinning, some swimming some running..... because triathlon season is going to start soon....

Butterflies

This morning we went to pick up our race bibs for tomorrow's half marathon. I have the jitters, butterflies in my stomach. We drove up the turn around point and this "flat" half marathon is false advertisement. Yes it isn't La Jolla Half but it isn't flat either.

Anyways I am scared. It is going to be interesting as I will be running alone probably. B will be starting 1 or 2 waves ahead of me. I hope I will be strong mentally I hope I will get in my groove and just push through the miles. I hope to get into my sprint triathlon mindset.

Which is slow and steady on the swim, push on the bike since it is one of my good sport finally get in the groove in the run. We don't stop, we can slow down but we just keep going. The whole things only takes 1:30 or a little less which is less than the half marathon and it is more diverse but I'm hoping to be able to apply the same mental attitude.

I did train for this thing. Maybe not as hard as I should but I didn't slack off either so I should be able to have a decent/good race.

What else is going on. On Wednesday I had lunch with Bunny which was nice since we haven't been able to chat much since she moved in the other building and since we are both overloaded with work. On thursday I went out with my neighbor to dinner followed by a chick flick. We saw leap year which was really nice, exactly what I was in the mood for.

Yesterday evening we had some friends over for dinner. At lunch time I had literally 5 minutes to throw the meat, wine and some herbs in the crockpot and leave. When I got home I sauteed some onions, garlic, mushrooms then the meat and the wine. I threw everything in the oven on 350 and finished to cook it for about 1 hour or 2.

I was hungry for biscuits so I made some. They are really easy to make and it was so yummy. As a side dish I made mashed potato/sweet potato. It was such a great rainy day dinner.

Tonight the kids are going on their first sleepover so MEC woke up last night and cried on and off for about 2H00. She finally went back to bed and fell asleep at midnight. I hope she will be good tonight!

Work has been crazy but I delivered my application and I started on my other tasks. Now on to some relaxation since the kids are completely into the "I Spy" book. MAC reading and the both of them trying to find the items.

How to...

How to get over a stressful busy week ! Go for a 12M run with your husband, well 6M would have probably been enough but we are ending our Half Marathon training and we had a 12 miler todo.
We plotted along and finished this 12M without me stopping without me quitting without having B yell at me to not stop. I did want a couple of time, I had trouble with my knees but I managed my pain which is more than I was able to achieve last year.
This was the longest run without stopping even though I ran a half marathon last year!
Now to the Sophie suck section the average pace was a little slower than I hoped 10:23min/miles which is after all my long run pace.
Anyways my back isn't tight anymore, my nerve isn't pinched any more and I'm actually feeling pretty good.
It took about 3h00 though, about 30mn after the run a severe nausea settled in and fatigue as well. No matter what I tried to eat it took 3h00 for me to feel better and only after I drank a glass with a 1/4 tablet of electrolyte.
Anyways I'm feeling much better and can actually think about dinner and even a drink. I am glad this 12M run is behind me. Now I just have to survive the race without B in front of me pulling me along. I really hope that knowing he is waiting for me at the finish line will be enough to get me motivated and to not quit.
Tomorrow I have to complete my self evaluation and I absolutely abhorr those. Seriously though isn't my hard work enough why do I now have to go brag about all the great things I have achieved this year. It is just not me but I guess it is going to have to be me though.
This is for now because it is 9:15 and a nice filet mignon is waiting to be cooked and a cold pear cider or a nice glass of red wine is calling my name!

Oh by the way I'm utterly and completely jealous of my husband who just bought a pair of zoot running shoes. These are "triathlon" shoes and they look cool and I want a pair ;) Maybe these will my next running shoes!

Holiday season

I can't believe Christmas is already there, and my birthday and the new year! I talked to my mom a few days ago and the Burgundy countryside is all covered in snow :( It is hard to not spend this holiday with my parents and sister. I'm sure we will have a nice quiet christmas since it is only the 4 of us. I will be cooking pheasant for christmas, still looking into how I'm going to prepare it. For my birthday dinner I think I may go get a fresh lobster and do some lobster pasta with home made pasta.
We have the Pisa tour of gifts in the garage. We have to open all the boxes and wrap everything up. B has yet to shop for my christmas presents. I think he got my birthday already covered. I'm super happy because his gift arrived in the mail yesterday after a annoucement telling me that it would be ship on Jan 20th!
The office is dead quiet and eventhough I have pretty tight deadline I find it extremely difficult to concentrate. I have made some good progress but unfortunately I still have quite a lot to do.
MAC has been going to a YMCA camp for the past two days and MEC has been really unhappy to still go to her regular school. If it was her choice she would already be in Kindergarten.
On the kids side eventhough we thought that the 3d kid options was killed a couple of month back it has reappeared and we are struggling to make a decision. To make things harder we have been watching our little neighbour. He is 20 months now and he is sooo darn cute. He fits in our family unit so well that a third one totally makes sense. But he is already almost 2, the idea of being pregnant for 9 month really doesn't apeal to me. I am also wondering how my gortex abb will handle a pregnancy. Will have to be reconstructed yet again after this. A baby now would be a age gap of at least 4 years between MEC and the little one at least. We are just coming out of the baby/toddle tunel do we really want to get back in. So many questions difficult to answer....

On the training side, after my really tough run saturday, I went for a short bike ride on sunday. Today I did my intervals 4x0.5M at 8:30 and it was work but easy. On a treadmill, doing intervals my mental isn't has negative as on the road. Too weird.
Anyways I can't wait for this training to be over so I can focus on shorter distance run which suit me just fine, and the bike and the swim.

I will be concluding this post with my carnitas recipe a new favorite:

- Pork shoulder remove as much of the fat as possible.
- Saute onion in a pan, brown the meat a little add some cumin and "Mexican spice" I think. This jar isn't labeled so I'm not too sure. If I had to make it I would put cumin, paprika, cinamon I think.
- Put the meat and onion in a crockpot, put chicken broth up to the middle of the meat
- Let it cook on low for 6-10 hours.
FYI I put my pork which was a really big chunk frozen in the crockpot, I started on high for a few of hours then switch to low. I did turn the meat after about 2hours.
- Take the meat out of the crockpot onto a plate
- Remove the fat pieces and pull the meat with fork.
- Add a little juice to moisten the meat.
- In a pan mix 2 tbsp of tequila, 4 tbsp of brown sugar, some more spices, and 2/3 cup of cooking juice.
- Add the meat and let simmer then caramelize a little bit.

Use it to make carnitas tacos or burritos....

Obsessed

First of all today was a great day since we got an estimate for all the painting we have to do in the house. Finish the master bathroom, the master toilet, the kids bathroom, the downstair bathroom and all the little patches. I can paint and I have painted a lot but lately painting at 9pm, or when they nap during the week end doesn't sound appealing. Hmmm I wonder why????
The quote came back very reasonnable and he starts tomorrow at 7:45 and will be done in the evening. We just had to pick a color for the bathroom downstairs and the kids bathroom.
I will just have to do the office because we don't have the courage to move the furniture around tonight.
Other than that I did my treadmill workout today and decided to do speed training since I ran hills during the week end. I didn't really mean to push it to hard but of course that didn't last. After 10 minutes of warm up at 10 min/miles I ran 10 minutes at 9 min/miles followed by a 5 minutes cool off at 9:30 min/miles (I think) then 2 minutes at 8 min/miles cool off at 10:30 min/miles for 3 minutes, 3 minutes at 8:30 followed by ? until about 38 minutes between 9:30 and 10 min/miles. My legs are hurting and tomorrow is swimming and thursday 4-5 miles outside. Arghhhh gotta take easy a little my body is feeling the burn.
Work has been good a lot is going on and since the boss is completely overloaded I'm on my own a lot which is quite interesting.... I didn't really study this week and even left the darn book on my desk. Ah well tonight is going to be Bryan cooking night which is going to be nice, and then some wine, cleaning a little for the painter, folding laundry (yirkes) I am soooo backed up in front of one of our favorite TV show. Of course sipping wine all along ;)
Arghhh I wanted to break my monthly running record this month while swimming and biking but I completely forgot that February is a short month. So I predict I will be anywhere 52 miles this month which is nothing to scuff at since it is about 14-15 miles/week.

Just do it!

For those of you who wonder how I keep motivated.
I said a while while back that I would run a half marathon before I'm 35! That was 7 years ago. In the last year a lot of little events played a key role in my motivation first there was this doctor who simply stated that I was the perfect candidate for a Nike add, he basically said just shut up about it and just DO IT. It made me realize it was very true I was so scared of failing of not being able to run 13 miles that I didn't even try.
Then Jessica started training for the La Jolla half marathon and moreover I started going to the gym with her and that's where our friendship started, not over lunch some place but at the gym or running outside both of us listening to our tunes.
The last thing was reading a journal that I wrote 7 years ago about how I would like to run the Carlsbad half marathon.
So here I am training for the Carlsbad half marathon, however I decided to start training 20 weeks before the race itself because I want to keep it up even when the race is over. Trust me it isn't always easy to motivate to go for a 10 miles run when the kids are asleep and that a nap would be very welcome, but just thinking that Jessica will go for her run and that I said I would run at least 8 miles that day is enough motivation for me to put my sneakers and go.

Holiday week

I knew this morning that the day will be very calm at work when I hoped on the 56 and there were no cars in sight! Bryan stayed home with Maia since she was sick yesterday and the school has a 24 hour policy.
I on the other hand went to work. I have a project to finish before I leave for my christmas vacation and unfortunately it is only 2.5 weeks away and with this mangled week time is going to go by fast for a change ahahaha.

What else is new I am back on the running scene I went for intervals today 2 miles warm up 6x0.25 miles at 8:40 min/miles, 2 minutes recovery and then I was supposed to finish by a 2 miles cool down.
Unfortunately during my 5th interval my knee started hurting and I was only able to run 4.92 miles.
Now I of course have the headache, the kneeache but I am pretty content. Also I calculated that since I've started my training 15 weeks ago I have run so far 165 miles! Even with low weeks yuppy!

I found a small turkey so for the first time ever I will cook a real Thanksgiving dinner and not a french version of it. I think I'm going to use one of the recipe from Williams sonoma which I will be looking for right now!

lotz...

A few nights ago I did write this long post since it had been a very frustrating day but of course the laptop I was on lost the connection and my post got lost in lalala land bewteen my computer and the server which totally summarize my day.
Anyways it was tuesday interval day and after fighting trying to figure out this health insurance coverage thing I went to gym with Jessica. We went early so all the treadmills were free... The weather of course super dry and hot. Anyways feeling like walking rather than sprinting I started my warm up after 5 minutes I zap myself on the treadmill which in returns just dies. Start again 5 minutes later same thing..... Grrrrrr... Switch treadmills, warm up 5 more minutes and do my first intervals, cool down and as I start my second half mile interval at 9:15 min/mile pace the treadmill dies once more. This totally disrupted my rythm I decided to stop after a 2.5 miles the lowest mileage in like 14 weeks! I decided to go back to the gym in the evening.
Disgusted I get back to my desk only to find an email from my boss volonteering me to do a presentation on thursday morning at 8:30am.
Of course frantically I try to gather some thoughts about the backbone of my presentation and now I have to get the kids from school and of course here goes my second half of my run.
Anyways wednesday was spent working to put together this presentation no break for lunch, so no swim, worked until 7:30pm. Thank go for my husband!
Thai for dinner, call from the boss discussion about the presentation at 10pm, scratchy throat and running around frantically to clean up a little before the house keeper.
The presentation wen well although I feel like it lasted 2 minutes and today was recovering from the preparation of that talk. Jessica took me for a 3 mile tempo run and i did succeed to drag her outside and we started soooo fast and we kind of got tired midway through, had to stop a little bit because of side stich and then sprinted down hill and ended up at 9:35 even with the walking.
We were both panting for a while. It was fun though. I like running with someone who is as fast as you and as "competitive". We have a great dynamic and push each other without competing in a bad way. Really fun
Then I left work a little early and spend 30 minutes at Anthropologie to scout for christmas gift for my sister. This store is evil, I found so much... But settled for a really cute hat and a cute blouse which I would have gladly kept for mysefl. I did buy myself a white shirt on super sale for 20$ did try the cutest dress but 99$ was out of my budget!
Anyhow I need to go cook since my lunch was very miscellaneous : small bag of cheetos, a banana, the second half of my chocolate croissant with a hot tea, half a rice cake before realizing that I was craving salty rather than sweet, and popcorn. Needless to say I am famished!
Yes I forgot to mention that I am getting sick!!! a week before my 10K Grrrr.... I have to at least run 8 miles this saturday but may just go for 5

Sake talk

Since the results of the body fat calculator of the magazine didn't make me happy and I can't really lose 3% body fat overnight I decided to recalibrate my body fat scale. Yeah my 2 year old is able to recalibrate the age, and height but it took me 10th trys and some serious motivation me on the acceptance range to do it.
So this morning just before my shower like every morning I know I'm insane here I am on the scale. This is a much nicer body fat measurement which puts me in between the in shape and acceptance zone, it is the gray zone the no man's land. This is made me much happier.
Especially because I knew today I wouldn't be able to make it to my swimming session. Lots stacked up at work and those longer runs take too much time at lunch for me. I either have to run faster thus more mileage in less time, get out of bed at 6 and run before the kids get up or run less! Thankfully the bulk of my training is going to be during my vacation in France.
Today I went to lunch really quick lunch with Jessica. It is actually nice to sit down and have a meal together and talk instead of either running alongside at the gym with our headphones jammed in our ears or via a keyboard. we can actually talk to each other and not t
When I complained to her that I was tired and not really in the mood for cooking she convinced me, I am weak, to go out to sushi my favorite. However when I invited them to join us she came up with a lame excuse... Hmmmm I wonder why a dinner with 2 young kids at a restaurant wasn't too apealing ;), maybe because she did it before and competing for attention with a 4 year old may be out of her league... Sorry I'm getting carried out and very facetious ;)
Then I folded 3 loads of laundry in front of 3 episodes of Bones one episode for a load ;) Gosh I love that show.... Then off to bed cuz tomorrow I have 5 miles tempo run scheduled and I'd like to make it in tempo time if weather permits meaning in San Diego terms if the temperature is below 80!

Running running but after what....

Today was interval training, the dreaded 3x1miles at 9:15 min/mile pace. Including warm up and the 2 min recovery I managed to run 5.2 miles. I wanted to go longer but I can't take 2 hours lunch break, 1:30 is already a stretch.
I forced myself to drink G2 before and after the run. I hate it it is siropy and salty at the same time. I also had a pack of GU before running. All this actually kept headache and nausea at bay!
The run was actually much easier than I expected and I was totally drenched in sweat. Each time I exercize I wonder how those beautiful woman manage to look so sexy and refreshed when I am sweaty and red. Do they actually have AC installed?
When we came into the gym, 2 guys were walking on the treadmill. One of them was slow walking up hill in a meditative state.... In which part of the world is this considered working out.... Leave the runners on the treadmill and go enjoy the fresh air outside.
Oops sorry that was really mean and uncalled for but maybe true! I am incorrectible.
I took several break during the afternoon to try to figure out my ideal weight!. According to my BMI I am in the healthy range why don't they have a hot and sexy range. Since I think the BMI stuff is a little crap I decided to use the body fat calculator Of course as expected the result was a little less positive. According to this rough calculation I am 25.6% which is in the acceptance range! Unfortunately I can't lie to myself it is exactly where I am I can hide it under my clothe but not to the naked eye :(
The problem is that at the rate this is going I will be in the in shape range (21-24) in another 10 years or so...
Yeah sadly I have been working on consistently and pretty hard for 13 weeks now. Without being on a hard core diet but yet being careful about what I eat and how much I only lost 1.5lbs!
It is hard to be a woman and it is even harder to grow older! Well maybe it is just the woman part since my husband's body fat puts him in the great shape borderline athlete zone! Not fair furthermore I am not even allowed to complain about not losing weight until an entire year of this workout regimen. Well in those all grim news I can hope to be hot for my 10th year anniversary and 35th birthday!
Now my homemade pizza menu doesn't sound as good as it used to an hour ago...

I just had 2 slices of homemade pizza and lots of salad.

Week end

As usual we had a frantic week end...
Friday evening cheese fondue was on the menue so lots of white wine and late night. The kids for some reason woke up earlier than usual so the crazy idea of running by myself pushing the stroller turned it a nice cup of coffee and a trip to the zoo followed by brunch at our favorite place BeachGrass cafe in Solana beach.
Later I actually motivated myself to go for a bike ride with my neighbor which was nice a relaxing then park and movie galore with the kids. James and the Giant peach and Meet the Robinsons a good distraction from little Einsteins.
Sunday morning was a traumatizing experience both for Maia and us, she had a first swimming lesson and although she loves the water wasn't too happy with being left alone with the teacher. She screamed the first 15 minutes until a very nice second teacher soothed her the next 15 minutes. Miles on the other hand had a blast.
After brunch, grocerie shopping tiddying up the house we went on our run. I had 7 miles planned and felt like going to bed. But huffed and puffed Bryan pushing the stroller and me pushing my butt and we had a really nice 7.9 miles which would have been 8 if Maia didn't lose her flip flop. But hey this seals my weekly record at 18.1 miles!!!!
Now I have to tackle my laundry pile :( but I think I am going to plop my butt on the couch for a little bit. The first time of the day!

Tired ...

The temperatures are still in the 80 during the day which makes it hard to motivate to go run outside at lunch. I mean it is Halloween end of october for crying outloud. I talked to my mom and they were thinking it was going to snow. I have trouble realizing that we are going to France in like a month in a half. At that rate we are going to go from tank top to down jackets. Last year the temperatures were in the 20....
I still ran 6 miles at lunch but on the treadmill. I always feel like I am a slacker when I run on the treadmill although when I see Carmen (in great shape!) it makes me feel a little better. So I ran 6 miles the first 3 miles at 9:40 min/miles but then I slowed down. At the end I wanted to be done sooo bad that I started sprinting ahahah the good joke I had to jog at 11 min/miles for a miles to recover my two sprints ahahaha. That'll teach me.
It was so hot in the gym that I was literally dripping... I feel sooo feminine when I run. To add to the complaints of all my female friends I have been working out pretty seriously for 12 weeks now, and I eat pretty well I would say. I lost a whole lb maybe. I haven't seen the scale lower than 117 for more than a few days in a long time.
Oops that is without taking into account my snacking on the kids food.
But on the bright side I've lost 3 lbs since last february! But hey muscle weighs more that fat right ahahaha! And lately to be honest I don't really care about my weight as much as how I feel and look. I still weigh myself every morning and pouts if I don't like what I see. Come on I'm still a woman.
Why every single woman I know skinny or not need to lose at least 5lbs!
To finish that post I am very proud since I ran 60.5 miles this month the most I ran in my whole entire life!!!! Yay! I just have to keep it up

Annecdotes

OK this is the third time I'm trying to write this post. Since this shouldn't be what did Sophie do this week I decided to collect a few annecdotes of the week:

I know I need to be more in tune with my kids preschool life when the teacher asks me as I walked in their open-house did you bring the pictures for the scrapbook. Usually I can exclaim ooooh crap I forgot but no this time I had this blank look on my face what are you talking about! I had no idea.... Note to self be more attentive. Man juggling everything isn't always as easy as I'd like

While I played house mom for the day I decided to go shopping so since I gave myself a more than enough budget to splurge I could not find anything that I wanted. Finally I found a nice pair of shoes at Nordstroms. I asked a guy there to get me my size in that model they usually bring you several other shoes that you might like. Although I had flats on and was with a kids I looked fairly hip. But boy this guy totally surprised me by bringing this old grand ma shoe. I was so flustered and insulted and still cannot believe that this guy thought I would actually even consider those shoes.
Ah well I bought the other pair which are different from what I usually wear more funky.

Although I have been seriously working out for about 9 weeks now and that I really eat better my weight has barely budged. I started at 119lbs and I am now at the neighborhood of 117.6lbs. I want to go back to 113lb to be nice and 108lb to be real nice. I don't know if my body will cooperate.
On thursday morning the scale was at 116.6lb but I took care of this promptly by making cheese fondue that evening.... So yummy!!!! We made it from scratch since Von's didn't carry the already made stuff and it was so well worth it. At least I enjoyed it tremendously I'll just have to exercize more ;)

Anyways I dutyfully ran my 4.5miles and 3.2 miles on the treadmill as the temperature are in the 80 and this morning I ran 6.3 very painful miles at 11min/mile pace. I don't like running right out of bed. Eventhough I was planning on running 7 miles I shouldn't be depressed by 6.3 miles run but I am... Ah well I'll do better next time. I think my monthly mileage is my highest and I still have 2 weeks ;) Sorry Bunny 9 min/mile-9:30min/miles sound great and after running on the treadmill sounded doable but after this morning's run I have much humbler goals for the Komen 5K race... 10 min/mile would be nice! How in the world am I going to run a half marathon at 10min/mile pace!!!!! Even finishing it would be nice..... I wish sometimes I'd settle for smaller goals like running 5 miles and be happy!

I'm beat

OMG you would think that after running 8.5 miles last sunday a mere 5.5miles maybe even 6miles, hey I can dream can't I would be easy. Well the run wasn't that bad but the recovery is painful. Maybe it has to do with the anniversary celebration of last night with more alcohol sake than water and the light breakfast 2.3 piece of bread no lunch and a run at what 1:30pm.... Anyways besides that my exercize regimen is on track and I can say that I do feel stronger and faster than ever. Well thank you I'd be pissed otherwise. I run like 3 times week at least 3-4 miles, swim 1K once a week and bike 10 miles once a week.
Eventhough my fitness level is much better, my weight isn't budging much but hey I do feel better.

Other than that we just celebrated our 9 year anniversary. I can't believe that 9 years just went by. I know I am going to sound sooooo gagging romantic but it has been a great 9 years and I hope we have many more to come.

The kiddos are growing too fast. Maia is biking with little wheels and Miles is just zooming by. We just moved Maia from a crib to her twin bed and she almost clean at night.... Where did my babies go? Well maybe they turned into the cutest ever how did that happen the wonders of genetic ahahaha.

With everyone around me pregnant celebrating their 1-3 years anniversary getting married I do feel a little old for my 33 years. So my answer is to work out.
On this note I am going to try to recover from that stupid run where I gave up 100yards from the end! I mean come on how could I do that!!! the wind maybe or just my body saying huuuu can't we just go dring a glass wine instead.
Tonights program, glass of wine in front of BONES love that show along with CIS, CIS NY, NCSI, and so many more it is impressive how many shows we are watching lately with no TV/CABLE

Running in summer ...

Well I'm trying to keep up with my exercize regimen which isn't allways easy. Errands, sick kids, work deadlines and meeting are often getting the way of my lunch run but now the weather is not helping me. Well it is summer in San Diego after all and I shouldn't be complaining about the beautiful weather we have been getting but hey running at lunch when it is 90 degrees is not easy for me.
Some people I know love to work out in the heat. It justs cuts my legs and energy and after a painful 2.5 miles with stops, I have headaches all afternoon.

I am proud cuz I did it but I will have to figure something out for the rest of the summer! I will try one of the following:
- get up early 6:30am and go for a run then
- get up as usual but get to work around 8am and run there
- run in the evening - not likely to happen since I like to spend time with the kids by that time and have my evening glass of wine to end my work day and start my evening ; )
Will keep you posted on the progress of my new workout regimen! I hope I can find something that works because running is so good for me.

Saturday evening ramblings

I did it, I mustered the courage to go for a run this morning despite my lack of sleep, despite the fact that I had a piece of french toast an hour before and the heat starting to rise up. It was slow but nonetheless I ran my 3.5 miles with a little break at the end!
Besides that I was looking for a ticker since I think I'm committed in my head to run the Carlsbad half marathon. I still can't decide since I've been wanting to run a half marathon for the past 6 years without making it past the wishful thinking. Maybe this time since I'm surrounded by women who did run a half marathon I will actually be able to do it... Anyways as I was browsing the internet I stumbled on a praise to moms starting by before I was a mom .... I thought I would write a few lines about motherhood since it is a big part of my life having two wonderful children of 4 and almost 2....

So here it is
Before I was a mom I slept 10 hours straight...
Before I was a mom I only made round pancakes now they are race cars, boats, trains etc...
Before I was a mom my husband didn't make very yummy chocolate chip cookies
Before I was a mom I didn't have to sing (off key I might add) because my son demanded it every night for a few month
Before I was a mom I didn't have to leave work abruptly...
Before I was a mom we didn't have to bring the class pet rabbit home who is now running all over the house I can hear him running around and wonder if he is pooping all over the place... Hmmm I'll have to clean the floors tonight.

Since I am a mom I've still been able to shower every day, cook nice meal which turned out to be one of my creativity outlet eventhough I now start at most of the time after 8:30pm.

I love being mom eventhough it isn't always easy to juggle family, work, home and all the things I like to do.

It isn't always easy but it sure is rewarding and fun!

Now off to cooking my saussage risotto yum!

Running week...

I thought I could jump right into a 10 weeks training for a half marathon after running 2-6 miles a week not even that regularly shows you how much of a fool I am... But hey I thought I can do it! But my body is screaming at me what are you doing to me. I have been passing out on my couch at 9:45pm when I used to be up until 11:30....

So I am taking a step back which isn't easy for me without feeling like I'm failing and decided to actually increase my mileage gradually...

This week I did Tuesday the week 3 interval training which as way easier than I expected. I started by jogging for 9 minutes at 5.6 mph, did the 3*1600 at 6.5mph with 2 min recovery jog at 5.7 then finished with 5 min jog at 5.9mph

On tuesday I went running with Jess at work outdoors for a 4 mile tempo run @6.1mph which wasn't tempo at all (5.9 mpg) and a little shorter 3.9 miles we made a wrong turn. It was a hard run it was warm and I was tired and had to stop a little.
Finally today I did my "long run" which turned into another 3.5 mile loop because after gardening I didn't have the energy. However I tackled Bryan's loop which is hills for the first half the run and then down hill.... this was a good tempo run at 6.2 mph.

So I didn't run a long run again this week end and my tuesday tempo run was a little sluggish so what... it will take me more than 10 weeks to train to be able to run 12 miles but I did increase my mileage this week and did run 3 times... which is what is important for me at this point.
Do I wish that I could breeze through a 6 mile run yes no doubt and yes I'm bummed because I can't but maybe if I continue like that will I be able to do that in a few weeks...

At this time fitting these 3 runs and yoga into my busy schedule isn't easy and trust me this afternoon I wanted to go lay down instead of charging up hill!

Like everything else running long distance is hard takes practice and time. Luckily for me I do enjoy running so I try to keep it enjoyable while pushing my limits a little.

This whole post is an argument with myself to make me realize that it is actually hard to run more than 4 miles and that it will take time!!!!

Mama

"She stopped being a full time mom when I was 13 to go do her own thing" told me someone speaking of his mom. I have been ruminating on that thought for a couple of days now.I know I know it is just a figure of speech one that I must add carries a lot of weight.
Why is the society implying that you are less of a mom when you are working? Is it so bad to contribute to the income of your family. Sometimes couples have the choice and luxury but not always. So why a mom who has to work should feel guilty about supporting her family just because society dictates that she would be more of a mom if she stayed home.
Is that really true.... And what defines a full time mom anyhow? In short I think the term stay home mom versus working mom is more appropriate.

Anyways enough rambling on that subject. Today at lunch I ran my 4mile tempo. I ran a little slower 10 min/miles instead of 9:45 but again I had a lot of trouble after mile 3.2 I even had to stop a little. So since we are not traveling to Montana this week end since Maia is sick I will try to run the long run again same 5.7 miles loop.
I'm going to stick with this regimen for a few weeks... Week 2 intervals and tempo and week 1 long run.
On this note I am starving need to put my raviolis in the boiling water and start an episode of Boston Legal... Love the witty dialog and James Spader is great! Nice relaxing show after a demanding day at work.