Three Things Thursday

1. This is my new CPA Exam studying schedule. Lets just say you make yourself a hardcore schedule when the exam you took doesnt turn out the way you hoped.  Its ok - dont pitty me - its my fault. I didnt study like I should. Now come July 5th its on like donkey kong! I'll be studying every day, I'm committed to passing now.

2. Tonight me and my bff Jourdan skipped the gym to head here.
<3 <3 <3 Best dinner ever.  TFlats is tex mex - very very yummy tex mex. They have 72 locations - majority in FL but if you're lucky to live in Fishers, Indiana; Cary or Raleigh, NC; Bensalem, Pennsylvania, or Virginia Beach Virginia then you know what I'm talkin' about. For the other left out states - your loss.

3. I love GChat- because I've emailed Skinny Runner (who's email is gmail), she shows up in my Gchat now and OMG she was online. The green dot means shes online. Its like seeing a celebrity. LoL. I had the urge to chat her up and say hello but thats too creepy / stalker on my part.

Long Distance Running - part 2

Thanks to everyone with their comments about running with water / gatorade and all the links of products. I'm definately going to have to 1) look into a running group to have water available and to bond with others who enjoy torturing themselves and 2) head to the running store and check this stuff out in person to see what I'd like.

Now I have another running related question....

Because the 4 mile range is still new and not at all easy, mentally I'm ok, but then I wonder what about the 5,6,7+ mile range? I listen to music 99% of the time but even with the music going my mental chatter can be 100 times louder than music. I also play some games. When I'm running a similar/ same loop I'll tell myself at mile 2 that the beep the garmin just did was only mile 1 so suck it up because you cant quit after 1. Sometimes I'm pretty good at convincing myself its true and then once I hit the 3 mile mark I play the 'ok just run to that light, intersection, etc' and then i keep pushing myself to the next object, location etc.

I just feel like I'm going to hit a wall mentally.... so tell me,  

What do you think about when you run / how do you keep yourself mentally busy?

Weekend Overview

This weekend was Fathers day and my Brothers 1st Wedding Anniversary. (awwww)

(from 1 year ago - pre wedding)

It was a difficult fathers day since its only has been 4 months since my dad passed. I want to be able to have one more hug, one more chat, one more 'I love you' but I can't. Its hard, but when is life easy? I just know that I was a very loved daughter and that my dad is now healed and having the best fathers day ever.

Now though Brett and I have no human children, Kady, our doberman, is so very much our 6 year old child/brat/sweetheart and so she told her daddy how much she loved him on Fathers day with lots of kisses. We showed her how much we loved her back by making her get in the pool. (she hates the pool - and only likes standing 2 feet on the 1st step)

She much rather lay out like her momma.

Foxey likes laying out too - and is smart to realize the raft I'm laying on is the way to go when laying out

In addition to all the pool activities, I did the next best thing in life.....ok ok so Im a little scarcastic, but I have to stay positive and make it fun so I keep it up. What am I talking about?

S-T-U-D-Y-I-N-G!!

LoL - great stuff right there. Current Assets & Liabilities, Fixed Assets, Impariment, Fair Value...

dont you want to be an accountant?

Hope everyone had a great weekend.  :)

Long Distance Running

So I've been thinking lately about this running thing. I am so super amazed at myself for getting up to 4+ miles and for doing it 'smart' in my opinion. I'm also surprised that I've not hurt myself and I'm not burnt out yet.

On my last 4 mile run I started to think about hydration and running 5 miles then 6 then 7 and so on. Right now running downtown I don't take a water bottle with me and there isnt a real set up for me to leave a water bottle somewhere run a loop and come back to it (since 1- someone could take it 2 - someone could put something in it).

SO then it hit me, post about this and see what insight others have. So here are my questions running through my head.

On my 4 mile run I don't feel thirsty - I know its not smart to run without water so at while mileage point do you start carrying water with you?

What is the longest run you've done without water?

If you carry a water bottle - any recommendations? Do you carry water or gatorade?

Three Things Thursday

1) Today I'm taking a rest day. After 3 days of straight activity, my body is begging for a rest. I really wanted to go to my last Hot Yoga session tonight but I'm just tired. I cant do it. I'd probably die.

2)

3) Yes the above pic is legit. My husband is crazy. What is he doing? He heard about this new thing called Planking on the news. So he and his friend Mark are having contests for the best one. Oh and they are making T-Shirts about it.....some funny, some inappropriate, so if youre easily offended I don't recommend clicking the T-Shirt link.

Beat the Heat

Because its be Oh so Hot here in Central Florida....oh wait its pretty much hot here all year because our seasons are, Springish, Start of Summer, Summer, Late Summer and Fallish I figured lets do a quick post on how to stay safe in the Sun.

The following is from and article I found on Runners World. I've only taken bits from the article to re-quote here as some key take away points.


'Beat the Heat' by Paul Scott & Bob Cooper

"Warming to the Risk
         As the temperatures rise in May and June, so does the number of heat-related illnesses experienced by runners. Fortunately, your body will acclimatize to heat and humidity--mostly in the first two weeks of exposure, and maximally after about two months. But there are ways to nudge this process along by judiciously increasing your exposure to heat. The payoff: safer, better, more comfortable running and racing.

On the first hot days of late spring, start prepping your body with a few daily walks during the heat of the day. For this week, only run during the cooler morning or evening hours.

The next week, try three of your easy, short runs at midday (30 to 35 minutes per run is plenty). Then gradually increase the distance of those midday runs.This buildup may seem too gradual. But in May, June, and July it's heating up, so you'll be acclimatizing in two ways--increasing your heat exposure at the same time that temperatures are increasing.
          --William O. Roberts, M.D., is medical director of the Twin Cities Marathon."

Dress for success

      Wear apparel that's light in color, lightweight, and has vents or mesh. Microfiber polyesters, such as CoolMax and DuoFold, and cotton blends are good fabric choices. Also, be sure to wear sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher.

Drink early and often
      Top off your fluid stores with 16 ounces of sports drink an hour before you head out. Then toss down seven to 10 ounces of sports drink about every 20 minutes while running. And remember: Sports drinks beat water because they contain glucose and sodium (sugar and salt), which increase your water-absorption rate, replace the electrolytes you lose in sweat, and taste good, encouraging you to drink more

Training Forecast
      Meteorologist Cecily Tynan of ABC's affiliate station WPVI-TV in Philadelphia knows how to handle the heat. The sub-three-hour marathoner was a top-10 age-group finisher at the blazing hot Hawaii Ironman Triathlon in 2003. Here are her hot-weather training tips.

"Clouds don't always mean it's going to be cooler than on clear days. Oftentimes the opposite is true. When it's hot, the sun heats the earth, the air rises, condensation occurs, and clouds form."

"It's hotter in cities than in surrounding areas because asphalt and concrete retain heat. If you must run in a city, look for shade, and try to go in the early morning or late evening."

"If possible, start your summer runs with a tailwind and run back with a headwind. Running into the wind has a cooling effect, and you'll need that more in the second half of a run."

"When you run on a hot, windy day, the wind cools you off, but you actually need to drink more because your body loses more water through evaporation."

"If a severe thunderstorm is moving toward you, get inside. You can tell one by the big, towering, dark clouds. If you see thin, wispy clouds, no worries."
          --Amy Rushlow







Run # 67

"On days you don't want to run or think you will have a bad run, go run! You will surprise yourself." - Me

Tonight was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!!! New distance PR and 4 mile Time PR!!

Happy Dance

I did not want to run. It was super hot outside, I wasn't in the mood, but when Brett called and  said "can you pick me up from work" I said I was about to go run so he said "ok I'll walk, go run" (he works about a mile from home). So there it was, my committment I had to go run because I was making Brett walk home in the hot hot hot.

Rewind 2 days ago, I wanted to run 4 miles BUT at 8am on saturday it was way too hot and I slept 12 hours so I totally missed dinner, so running on a really empty stomach wasnt my best idea. Yes I slept 12 straight hours. Brett and I layed down to cuddle and whoops totally didnt wake up until saturday.



So tonight I had the inner struggle - I told myself get to 2 - once I got to 2, it was you know you can run a 5K. Once that was done it was 'you've done 4, do it again, just finish, dont worry about time, if you believe it you can achieve it (silly but it worked). Then for good measure and because I was a lil ways from home, I finished the 4 and did .11 more.  My distance is getting up there. I'm excited for myself.

For some proof - heres the tomato face Hollie! LOL and I got B to take my pic so no ghetto mirror photo! LOL

Really excited tonight - new distance PR and new 4 mile Time PR! Whoo Hoo

Results of Run #67
Distance: 4.11
Time: 41:29
Pace: 10:05 / mile
M1 - 9:54
M2 - 10:26
M3 - 10:08
M4 - 9:58
M5 - 9:25 pace (.11)

Let Down Your Burdens

Another email from work that I had to share

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'..... she fooled them all... "How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile.

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"

 - Author unknown



I Loved this email! I think thats why so many people enjoy running, swimming, biking, yoga, etc etc etc. Because when you are doing something you enjoy, you let your burden down and forget about pretty much everything in the world.  I definately notice this when I'm doing any physical activity and when I finish its like such a relaxing feeling.

Only you can define what a moment is for yourself, so do that for you and it can make a world of difference.

May 2011 Summary

Holy cow - Most Miles in the Month of May. What was I doing?? This is crazy. I'm super happy / proud of myself.

Lets take a gander back and see how the month played out

• CPA - I discussed the joy of taking this dreadful exam
• The hubby and I booked our Vacation (and then subsequently convinced my mom too come with us!! Hip Hip Hooray!)

Kinda a boring month with weekly overview posts. Hope I can get posting more in June - we'll see how it turns out.  Until then.....


73 miles in the Month of May!
Running: 27.81 miles
Cycling: 26.77 miles
Walking: 12.67 miles
Elliptical: 3.62 miles
Swimming: 2.13 miles

Busy Lady

So, I've been really busy lately - went to Ohio for Memorial Day to see the family. Now that I'm home I'm leaving town again for the weekend to be in a wedding.

This is my path of travel lately

Gotta run but hope everyone has a great weekend

Once its all over on Sunday I will have

• been in the car for about 48 hours
• driven 3,000 miles
• been in 7 states
• lost count at how many people I've yelled at for bad driving
• ate a lot of crap in the car and I've loved every minute.
• Ran 2 miles in Ohio - umm yah Ohio isnt flat. The 1st mile was uphill and the 2nd obviously down (because we did an out and back - if I'm reading map my run right - the elevation shows about a 150 foot climb overall..... crazy! when youre used to flat flat flat
• seen my 3 adorable nephews (one shown below and the chunker is only 5 months old!!)