20k, ok!

Hello Friends! I have a 20k trail race this weekend and I'm thinking it might be a bit chilly. I've run this particular run before with a time of 2 hours and 14 mins. It's roughly 12.4 trail miles ( meaning it will be slightly more than that). I'm excited to see what time I get this year.

More sick cooties!

My daughter has croup. My son had that about three weeks ago and it's now going around the in-home day care that my daughter goes too. I have no sick time left at work so I had to drag her into my office at 7:30 am and wait until the Dr's office opened at 8:30 am. 

My sick baby at work! This is another major reason why my plans for June just make sense. Why should I have to bring a sick child into work just because I don't have enough sick time? 

Our appointment was at 10:45am and we were told that she does indeed have croup. We were given a prescription for a mild steroid for her to take for three days (to bring down the swelling around the larynx) and use a humidifier, drink liquids and rest. 

This is what's currently going down:

Poor kid. 

I was pretty much up all night long with her. I'm exhausted. I'm drinking a cup of pumpkin spice coffee because I have to go pick up Ethan shortly. Oh pillow, I'll see you soon! 

Tomorrow, I plan on diving head first into Chapter 2 of my Fitness Instructor Manual. I really want to read the entire textbook before the class starts in January and I have a nice long two and a half month window of time to grasp all of the terminology. My goal is to ace this course and be offered a job right away. I mentioned to someone in my Body Pump class that I was taking the course in January and she  said that I would be awesome at teaching Body Pump. Yup. Spin, Body Pump, Trx, Cxworx etc. I would love to get some HIIT classes going at the YMCA too. I'm not sure I'm coordinated enough to teach Step but I'll give it a wurl. I would also love to do a couch to 5k program there. I wonder if I could pitch the idea to them? I can't wait to get out of my little office where I sit and waste hours of my life. That's just not me. It's time for movement!

ACE Group Fitness Instuctor manual

So, I told my husband all about the stuff I'm reading about in my textbook. Everything from ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to the basic organization of the Nervous System. Chapter 1 is all about exercise physiology. I'm a total geek. Next chapter is fundamentals of anatomy.

New kicks and a new book

Well hello there!

Tuesday Thoughts

BGood morning all! I have to admit that the dark mornings are starting to affect me already. I've already started to up my vitamin d levels and I hope it starts to kick in.

Monday catch up

Happy Monday! Well, the weather here is dreary and rainy. It's also oddly humid which makes for some nice frizzy hair.

Life after training?!

I always have a really hard time adjusting from training , training, training back to just normal weekly work outs.

Megatransect 2013 Recap

Friday afternoon, my dad, husband and myself ventured back down to Lock Haven, PA for the Megatransect. If you haven't heard of the Mega, it's an endurance trail race through the mountains. This year, it included 5,300 feet of climbing elevation, raw trails, boulder fields and of course, that last green mile. I would place this years mileage around 32-34 miles.

New Excitement in the air!

Have you ever had something happen that sort of pushed you into a new direction? I think sometimes, we need that little kick in the butt to get ourselves to do something that maybe we've always wanted to do but were too scared or worried to just go ahead and do it.

My babysitter is retiring in June of this year. The only way it made financial sense for me to return to a full time job was because my babysitter has been sitting for 30 years and practically never raised her prices. This summer alone, for both kids to go to day camp/day care, it is going to cost me over $1500 a month! I can tell you friends, there is no way in hell that I'm going to sit in an office 40 hours a week to hand my entire check over to someone else to watch my children.

I feel horribly guilty as it is being at work all day long. I am not a materialistic person and money doesn't and never will matter to me. I honestly , after paying daycare, my car insurance, my car payment, gas to get to work, am not in any better shape now than I was working 2 days a week years ago. I feel in the depths of my soul that I need to be here for my children. Things are happening my friends. 

I spoke with the Fitness Director at the YMCA and have signed up to take the Group Fitness Certification class starting in January. She said that she personally trains and certifies and if an individual does well in the class , she will offer them a job. I love working out and getting paid to work out and motivate others to work out??? Hello! That's for me. Plus, there is another 8 hour course, taught in one day, to get Spin Instructor Certified. Yes. I will be doing that as well. Come to my spin class...Seriously, it will be awesome! 

I have some time to let this stuff sink in. I want to be a very active parent and involve myself in my children's school. I'm sad that Ethan is already in Kindergarten and that I never got time to be home with Maya. I don't think it's fair to them. 

Family is more important. I have other opportunities as well, some that I currently already do, to make some income that won't involve a 40 hour a week desk job. 

Happiness is more important as well. I feel guilty....so guilty for not being able to be there when my kids are sick or just around when they need me. I'm going to blink and they are going to be all grown up and I will regret that forever.

 

These little guys make me so happy. Fate has informed me of my new path and its weird that it is exactly a 9 month time frame. A rebirth! Yup. I'm excited. And also, come to my damn fitness classes when I start teaching :-)

Fall Favorites!

Sunday was dedicated to a 3 hour training run on the trails with my dad and husband.

10 things: Let's Share

Since I always feel like September is a new beginning, let's share, shall we?

10 things you might not know about me: September Edition

1. I used to bite my nails all.the.time. Since I had braces at the ripe old age of 31, and only on the top teeth, my bite doesn't allow me to bite my nails anymore. Problem solved!

2. I love sleep. I mean, LOVE sleep. I go to bed every night super early. I started doing this while the kids were babies and it has carried over. 

3. I have to eat breakfast as soon as I get up (probably because I go to bed so early?) . 

4. I absolutely cannot eat a big meal 2 hours before I got to bed or else I will have horrible stomach problems all night long. Yuck!

5. My husband taught me to play bass and I learned all of his songs in two days. Bass prodigy baby! 

6. I do web based FAQ's on companies websites all over the country as a part time job. I have done over 50 so far! (It's like a little commercial on someone's website)

7. In January of 2014, I will be getting my Fitness Instructor Certification! I can't wait! 

8. I am very attached to my hair and will probably never cut it above my shoulders ever again. I don't even take the time to style my hair everyday and its mostly tied up on the top of my head but I just can't cut it. It's more than half way down my back. 

9. I haven't read a book in years. Every time I try to read, I immediately fall asleep. 

10. I have specific lotions and body washes that are used each season...it's September so all of my fall scents are out.

By the way, My son made it to school today! He was nervous but he stayed brave and got onto the bus. I can't wait to hear all about his first day of kindergarten!

Mega Ever Closer!

This summer has flown by! My posting...uh...has not seem to have happened.

What I've been up to

.Why hello! It's certainly been some time since I've updated. What have I been up to??

A lot of training. The Mega is becoming ever closer (6 weeks!) so I've been concentrating on cross training, weights, cardio and yoga. I've steadily been building lean muscle as I began incorporating weight lifitng 2 days a week. The progress is fun! 

I ran the Rothrock Challenge on June 1st in Pennsylvania and was impressed with my time and the level of fitness that I'm at. I have 6 weeks more to train! 

My First Running Award!

I am so excited to have this little beauty sitting on my dresser right now:

It really reiterates my current training plan which includes speed work, cross training and weights is really paying off.

My Heart Goes Out to Boston

I have no words.

I don't understand what this world is becoming and I fear for my children.

Last night, we sat on our front step and ate ice cream as a family.

I am thankful for them every.single.day.

The New Work Out Plan

I decided to change up my weekly work out schedule a bit to incorporate more strength training.

Still A Coupon Addict! (Updated!!)

If you know me, you know I LOVE coupons and saving money.

Voskos !

A while back, I received 5 free yogurt coupons from the good people at Voskos.

A Show, Some Spring and a Body Pump Class

Friday night, we played a show at Lovin Cup. (Btw, did you know that I play bass??)

My New Juice Bottle and some "dreadmill" talk

I didn't want to run on the "dreadmill" today.

Spring Forward 15k Recap

Pat and I ran the Springforward 15k (9.3 miles) at Mendon Park on Saturday, March 30th at 8:30am. This is a road race that is notoriously hilly with sections that can be windy and freezing during certain weather conditions.

Put Your Best Foot Forward

So, I'm once again in the midst of training for my upcoming race events. I've been steadily working on speed training through intervals.

Those who leave the Veggie Bandwagon

There have been quite a few well known individuals who have decided, after many years, to stop being Vegan.

Remember the movie "Supersize Me" by Morgan Spurlock? His girlfriend Alexandra Jamieson was a devout vegan who was  upset with his McDonald's experiment. She is no longer Vegan.

A Little Recap

My good friends at Voskos Yogurt sent me a little surprise this past weekend:

That's 5 free yogurt coupons! I don't know about you, but I LOVE Greek yogurt. Voskos has a variety of flavors from Wild Strawberry to Honey Vanilla Bean (my fave!) to Exotic Fig. They also have two times the protein of regular yogurt and offer fat free varieties.

Things I'm Obsessed with These Days

I have found a new bar that I am completely obsessed with!

The "dreadmill"

So I ran 7 miles on the "dreadmill" this past Saturday. The only thing that helped me along the run was my new fabulous playlist that I created on ITunes.

Fab Friday!

Happy Friday!! Oh Boy. I am TIRED today. I went to Bikram last night at 7:30pm and knew today would be rough.

Back from the Brink...

Friday night was the Music4Everyone Benefit Show at Lovin Cup.

Let the Training Begin!

I did my first outdoor run of 2013 on Saturday.

"Suffer 90 Minutes in Here"

I went to Bikram last evening at 5:30pm. The instructor said in class "Suffer 90 minutes in here or suffer 90 years in your life".  This class was tough, as usual, but the heat didn't bother me at all. I learned from my last class not to wipe the sweat off (unless its in my eyes) because the sweat keeps your body cool. I also told myself before class that it wasn't going to be too hot in there. I paid no attention to the heat during the 90 minute class. I concentrated on each of the 26 poses and breathing and the heat absolutely did not bother me at all. She didn't even crack the door open at certain points in this class so there was no cold air break at all and it still didn't bother me.

Morning Sky

Take a look at this:

Weekend Recap

Holy Cold!! It's a whopping 12 degrees today...

Happy Valentines Day!

It's official!

A Little Bikram?

Saturday night was a dinner date with an old friend from way back. I met my friend Corina at Trata. Yes, this is the restaurant with the "unisex bathrooms" .

Music4Everyone Benefit Concert

Come on down to Lovincup, 300 Park Point Dr, Rochester, NY 14623 on Friday, March 1st, 2013 at 8pm and help support this great organization! They will be accepting old/used instruments!

2nd Avatar Shoot!

I just completed my 2nd Avatar shoot!

Our 72 hr Mind 2 Movie Submission

Mind 2 Movie Competition!

Tonight is the night!

Mind 2 Movie Competition!! 

Sara the Avatar

I did my first avatar gig yesterday afternoon during my lunch break. I wish I could do that as a full time job! As soon as I see the finished website, I'll post the link.

Pink eye!?

My son woke up with pink eye yesterday! Another trip to the Dr. and $40 later, we have a diagnosis and eye drops.

Vitamin D

I took my first vitamin D supplement last night and I swear I already feel better. The label said "the sunshine vitamin" and it just might be!

Living in an ice world

Wednesday mornings mad dash to spin went off without a hitch. The weather report was calling for snow...anywhere from 1-8 inches but we just got a dusting, thankfully!

10 degrees

Oooh. That's the high temp for today! Lovely.

72 Hour Mind to Movie Competition

Here's some info on what we spent most of the weekend doing:

http://www.rochestermoviemakers.org/events/m2m

Training 2013

Since I have two major events coming up this year that will require me to train, I thought I would share what I've learned over the past two years training for marathons/ultras.

I've got Soul but I'm not a Soldier

That line was from one of the songs at spin this a.m. I believe its from "All These Things That I've Done"  by The Killers. It was a freakin awesome class. Do you ever have certain people in your life , whether just acquaintance or friend, that just put you in a great mood because you can feed off of their energy? Well, that's Patty and that's the reason I get up at 4:50 am every Wednesday!

Rover and Some Girl

I actually made it to Body Pump yesterday during my lunch break. They now have an entire new track, new routine and new music. I'm kind of bummed! I really liked the old routine but I guess it's good to change up your workout.

Manic Monday

It's monday and I am:

What dreams may come

Oh man. It was so difficult to get up early this morning for Spin. Why does 5 am come so fast??

My office: Where plants come to die

I cannot keep a plant alive.

Don King?

My alarm went off at 4:50am today. First thought Coffee. (oh and pee) but mostly COFFEE. I was out the door by 5 am. Wednesday is Patty's spin class and is always a mad dash to get a spot.

January Gym Rats!

 It's that time of year when the gym is packed with people who have resolved to get fit this year...they're never in for the long haul which is nice because then the machines aren't all occupied (eventually) and the cardio rooms stop smelling so bad. (Seriously, last night was just GROSS!)

Back to the Pump!

I actually made it to a Body Pump class on Saturday at 11:35am! They are onto a whole new track and silly me decided to pile on the weights even though I hadn't been to a class in like a month.

Hunky Dory

Friday a.m. usual:

Come on and Motivate!

Yesterday afternoon, I headed outdoors to shovel (once again!):

New Year, New You!

I took today off from work so I would have two short weeks in a row. It feels nice to be home. I'm sitting on the couch right now, relaxing with a this:

It's a pomegranate seltzer with a splash of apple juice. Soooo good! Seltzer has seriously helped me curb my diet Pepsi addiction. Ethan's at school and Maya is up in her room, not napping, but reading some books and having "quiet time". I'm pretending that I am rich and don't work :-) AND I may or may not have a mask on my face right now AND Kitchen Nightmares may or may not be on my TV.

Happy 2013!

I'm waiting patiently to sign up for the Megatransect at 12noon...it will close out in 10 mins!! Wish me luck!!