Cycle # 9

Almost Happy New Year! We are heading out to go to dinner with some friends BUT this afternoon after running a ton of errands I went out for a quick bike ride around my inlaws neighborhood.  Hope everyone has a fun but safe New Years Eve!

Results of Cycle #9
Distance: 6.13 miles
Time: 22:34
Pace: 16.3 mph

Run # 45

"The pride you gain is worth the pain" - Dennis Ogilvie


1st run since the OUC race and since I've been home. Florida has been quite chilly lately so I've been sticking indoors on the elliptical instead and slowly easing back into this whole workout routine.

Tonight though - it was a little warmer so I decided to test the legs out and go outside. Not too shabby for not running for 3 weeks. tee hee

Results of Run #45
Distance: 1.00 mile
Time: 9:19

Merry Christmas!

We are home! And that means getting back into running.

We were on vacation from December 10 - 21st, then of course Christmas came out of nowhere as well as some really cold weather. Right now as I write its 38 degrees in Orlando - way to cold!!  Vacation was amazing, the hubby and I went to Tahiti, Moorea, and Bora bora and then on the way back stayed in LA for 2 nights to see Hollywood and Disneyland.  The islands were gorgeous, beautiful, amazing, and we had a wonderful time. here are a few pics of the trip

In Moorea we went swimming with Blacktip sharks and stingrays - yes it sounds crazy and living in FL and going to the beach where shark bites are extremely common had us nervous at first BUT we had the best time and this was a TON of fun. We gave stingrays hugs and kisses and the sharks would come about a foot away.

 Bora Bora is a 30 min plane ride from Moorea and its absolutely gorgeous. It doesnt seem like it could be real the way there are so many different color blues in the water, but the amazing thing is that its all real. We had a great time and went jet-skiing around the entire island, went on a tour by 4x4 and were able to see some of the old WWII cannons, and of course snorkeled and got to see sea turtles! 

Hope everyone had a great Christmas - I know we did! Now its time to get back to the gym !

Run # 44

"When the gun shoots, you got to go." - Ato Boldon

This morning at 7am was the Downtown Orlando 1/2 Marathon and 5K. It was a great race and a great time. There were a ton of 1/2 Marathoners and they started first - when I got to the starting area I guess they asked who was doing the 5K and a bunch of people were in the corral for the 1/2 and the announcers said you need to go to the side of the road unless you want to run an extra 10 this morning. hahah oopsie.              

It was a chilly one this morning! The temp outside said 40 degrees when I woke up - I made the smart choice and wore my long running pants, and my nike long sleeved shirt - I was still cold but not as cold as I could have been. Once the horn was blown everyone took off and I (like usual) started off quick and I hate the beginning of races - so many people running at varying speeds so everyone is weaving in and out. The course was nice - going through downtown residential areas where its brick streets - the path they set up was nice though there was a tiny unexpected hill that kinda sucked but all was still ok. Too bad the Garmin doesnt track elevation, I'd like to know how 'big' this 'hill' is. haha.  Had 2 stop 2ce, kinda - 1ce to tie my shoe that decided todays the day that it was going to come undone and then at the water stop i had to walk to not spill it all over me since 40 degrees being wet didnt sound like a fun idea. It wasnt a long stop just enough to gulp down a mouthful and get another in my mouth to hold and then spit out just so my mouth wasnt dry.

Ok So the end of this race was the all time favorite. We made a right turn and had to run maybe .3-.4 of a mile (or at least thats what it felt like) - then we made a left and the finish line was right there like less than .1 away. I hate when you're in a race and you turn the last corner and the finish is visually so far away. So this way i was super motivated to pick up the speed and finish.  I'm happy with this morning - so glad I got up and for the hard work I have a new 5K PR!! Guess I'm going to have to start running more than 3 miles now

Results of Run #34

Distance: 3.15 miles

Time: 29:55

Pace: 9:30 / mile

M1 - 9:21

M2 - 9:56

M3 - 9:22

M4 (.15) - 8:30 pace

November Summary

Sigh - another month is over - kinda wish I had a 'good' month but with the CPA test and then being out of town for Thanksgiving my time was really limited. Yes I could have ran at my parents but Ohio in November = C-O-L-D! I'm a FL girl - I dont do cold. haha

Just a warning about December - vacation and holidays will be here before we know it, I'm trying hard to get some miles in before all this happens so dont be disappointed when you dont see an update from me in a while.

33.25 miles in November
Biking: 15.49 miles
Running: 9.4 miles
Elliptical: 5.36 miles
Walking: 3 miles

News Flash

I am still Alive I promise!!

haha - I havent been out for a run since sunday - monday was gym night which consisted of the elliptical and treadmill where I did 1 mile on each. Havent seen my best friend since I was out of town and missed our annual Turkey Trot 5K so we walked on the treadmill and chatted it up before Spin class then for an hour sweated out all the yummies from turkey day.

Tonight - back to the gym, decided to show the elliptical some more love and pushed the interval button. The 'program' looked like a rolling hill that never stopped. 2.5 miles later it was weight time. There are these great machines at the gym and they move with you (I'll have to get the name later) but it was a great workout and I have a feeling I might be yelled at by the muscles tomorrow morning.

Ooh Ooh - this weekend 5K - i'm excited. I havent ran a race 5K since well umm April. Its ok - I am a slacker. Ahh so race day - is a 5K or 1/2 marathon (sigh - one day I'll sign up for that one) BUT kinda booo hiss is the fact the race starts at 715am for the 5K - its right outside my house so I dont have to worry about having to get up early to drive somewhere but still - ugh! I love sleeping in. ::Fingers crossed:: for a new 5K PR - we'll see though.

Run #43

"The real purpose of running isnt to win a race. It's to test the limites of the human heart." - Bill Bowerman

So tonight after our bike ride, we got back to the house and after helping his parents hang a few more Christmas lights - we got the dog on the leash and went for a run around the neighborhood. I think I've said it before but the neighborhood is small and its nice because its one loop and when you include the driveway (its a long one) you can easily do 1.5 miles which is awesome. BUT holy hills - well I'm not sure you can call them hills but in 3 spots there are some really good inclines.

Brett and I ran together - the garmin died on us starting up so we found a stopwatch (so no splits - boo). I really enjoyed running with him tonight. Yes usually I hate it but he was a HUGE help. I was not in the mood to run, once we started i wanted to quit and he gave me pointers on how to run downhill without killing my legs. THEN, near the finish he was pushing me to get there and to my surprise, had a decent time in my book. :)

Results of Run #43
Distance: 1.5 miles
Time: 14:26
Pace: 9:37 / mile

Cycle #8

"Ride your bike, ride your bike, ride your bike." - Fausto Coppi





Hello World - yes its been a while. I had my 1st part of the CPA test last week and when I finished it was get home and pack the car for a nice 16 hour drive up to Ohio to visit family for Thanksgiving. Its not fun driving at night but its great because there is no traffic and the dog sleeps the entire way.

There is the Kady Monster in my parents backyard, going for a walk on the trail. While walking, I thought it would be a nice run because the scenery is gorgeous, but it was SO cold!! Brett tried going for a run while we were there but when its only about 40 outside and the wind makes it feel colder, forget it!

So anyways - we are back in FL - it was a nice 76 today!! Went to visit Bretts parents and we went out for a nice bike ride. After being couped up in a car for 16 hours on the way home it was nice taking a nice ride around a few neighborhoods.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I know I did!

Results of Cycle #8

Distance: 12.1 miles

Time: 51:30

Pace: 14.1 mph