This weekend was full of extreme ups and downs.

Saturday morning started nice and early…like 5am early.  We got up, ate, and packed up the car to head to Seabrook for the half marathon relay.

I ran the first leg of the relay so I got done and had time to walk around and take pictures.

After the race this turns into a big picnic area.  The race provides a great post-party cookout.

It was the first time I was ever waiting at the finish line for my hubby.  (He is the one in the white t-shirt)

Our relay team, Midtown Boilers, finished 5th with a total time of 1:54:01.  The #4 team beat us by nearly 22 minutes…in fact all the top teams schooled us…literally…they were high school cross country runners.

After the race we enjoyed the post party.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich and ice cream bar.

We then came home, rested a bit, ate a little more then headed out on the bikes.  We ended up doing a hilly route for about 10 miles.

After running and biking for 2 1/2 hours that day I thought it would be a good idea to wear these shoes to the bachelorette party.  Bad idea. The party was great….we had dinner and drinks, took a party bus all over Houston, hit up a bunch of bars….but after dancing/walking until 2am…my feet hurt!

Here is the lovely bachelorette opening presents before dinner.  The dinner was held at Little Pappasitos over in River Oaks area.  I highly recommend this place for a party. Although it took a bit of time to get seated they were prompt with service and catered to our large group!

Sunday morning was a bit painful…so we headed over to Kolache Factory to use a Groupon.  I really needed a huge coffee but the coffee was really weak.

Although I am really not a huge fan of kolaches I really liked their spinach kolache.  I also had a cream cheese kolache but it was nothing special.

We spend the rest of Sunday running errands, napping, and taking Trooper on a long walk since our legs were too sore to bike again.  Game time rolled around and I wore the exact same outfit again (yes I am that superstitious).

If you don’t watch the tournament or aren’t a sports fan you probably don’t understand why I care so much….but I do.  The game was demoralizing.  Growing up in West Lafayette…Purdue is a part of my life, a part of me.  It seems completely illogical to invest so much emotion into something I have no control over…but I have watched this Baby Boiler team come in as freshman newbies and turn a team around…turn a town around.  The loss was hard.  Seeing Robbie Hummel cry was even harder.  I will be quite honest…I cried.  Even waking up this morning was hard…just letting go of all those hopes.

Since I am back to school this week I started my morning with a very routine bowl of oat bran.  I am considering taking another rest day for my legs although I really need to be stepping up my biking.  For now, I need to find my backpack and do the homework I put off for an entire week.

Are you a basketball fan?  March Madness fanatic?  Is your team still in?

I don’t even want to watch basketball right now…it just makes me resentful.  And I know my Texas friends are hurting too.

Good morning everyone.  It has been awhile since I was up at 5am on a Saturday.  First I want to let everyone know my Boilermakers advanced to the next round of the NCAA tournament. Although everyone was sure that Georgetown would be our next obstacle…it is VCU.  Apparently VCU sort of dominated Georgetown last night, hitting every three they shot…not good since we managed to win without hitting three(s).

If you are a Boilermaker fan or in Chicago I expect you to go cheer on my team for me.

FYI:  My husband cannot take a picture to save his life so you can’t really tell but my hair is about 4 1/2 inches shorter with a few long layers now.

2nd FYI:  Check out those gold boat shoes I bought to wear to the tournament!

This morning the hubby and I are running a half marathon relay down in Seabrook.  Last year I ran the Pelican Challenge at the Seabrook Lucky Trails marathon:  two half marathons in one weekend. You see can see my Saturday and Sunday recap.  I will be honest…I am a bit jealous of those people running the Pelican challenge this year. I really toyed with the idea of running the double halfs again…but I need to concentrate on preparing for the MS 150 so the hubby and I decided to run as a relay team then get in our planned Saturday ride.

This is my first relay race (half marathon) so it should be interesting.  Plus, Seabrook always has the best volunteers and post-race cookout.

Have you ever run a relay race? Relay half/full marathon?

Hello Bloggers.  Sorry for being a bit MIA this weekend, but it has been hectic!

Friday:  Game

Saturday:  Mourning, tie hunting, dance

Sunday:  Dog race, errands, baby shower

Let me try and recap all of this for you:

I went with the blue dress and nude heels.  I was really debating on dresses, and the vote count was pretty equal, but I couldn’t find my deep plunge bra for the life of me.  Going no-bra to a law school function was just too risky for me!

We walked to Macy’s downtown around lunch time (a little last minute) Saturday and found the hubby a matching shirt and tie.  Trooper wanted to come with us obviously.

Did I mention that the Barristers Ball was in the same hotel that Purdue was staying?  Yeah, we walked in to see this banner.  Talk about a stab to the heart!

I look really weird in the photo, but nonetheless here we are.  I was starving and literally shoved down 2 rolls before the salad course!  People were not sitting down, thus our table couldn’t be served yet.

Here is our table with salad course and cheese (Christy and I could not pinpoint what kind!) stuffed roll.  You can also see our desserts at the center.  The hubby and I tried half of each.  I liked the creme brulee the best!

Me with the coolest kid at school of course.  Her dress was great!  She is always very stylish.

Jordan and I bounced pretty quickly after the meal.  We were exhausted and had to be up early for Trooper’s race!

Sunday:

We were up early and at Target to buy a baby shower gift.  I won’t lie, I am not a kid person…they just make me uncomfortable.    Needless to say I had never been in the baby section before, so  HUGE surprise to me when there were like 10 aisles!  We roamed aimlessly trying to read labels and figure out what stuff was!  Luckily we made it out alive and came home to whip up breakfast.

Then it was race time!  Jordan and Trooper ran in the Houston Humane Society’s 1 Mile dog race this morning.  We adopted Trooper from Houston Humane Society and honestly will never be able to support them enough!  For anyone thinking about a pet, I really urge you to look into rescuing an animal from your local shelter.  They are great animals and need the love and care most!

Trooper got his bib on.

Trooper was bored waiting for Jordan and I to get ready.

I love my boys too much!  They are both such cuties!  I didn’t race this one because it is a 1 mile race and this girl can’t sprint to save her life.

The park was a zoo, literally.  I loved it!  I love dogs so much, they just make me smile!  It was a little crazy but we all had so much fun!

There are my boys at the starting line.  You can see Trooper’s head right over the top of the black dog’s butt.  Haha.  There was some stiff competition here today!

The winner with a time of 4:31.  Dang!  The dog was so happy, he could have run forever!

There are my boys!  They finished 6th with a time of 6:02, and Trooper was the smallest dog to finish so well!

Trooper rocked his race!  We then strolled around the after party and  vendors.  Trooper got lots of treats and even more petting.  We spent a little bit just sitting in the sun watching the ducks play in the pond.

This was my first time being a spectator at a race.  I had a lot of fun.  I had my bag with everyone’s water and treats (human and dog) and got to stand at the finish line to take pictures.  Notice Trooper staring down the ducks.

After all the doggie play time and vendors, the hubby and I stopped at the people booths.  Jordan grabbed a kolache (Texas thing, I hate them!) and we both grabbed a Coldstone sample.  Good sized sample I may add.  We both went with the sweet cream flavor.  Yum!

Time to run errands, attend baby shower, then tackle homework!

Woke up Sunday morning a little after 5 to find out that it was freezing!  Brr!

Talk about a 180.  This is Sundays race gear.  I had to dig all my cold weather gear out of a box in the closet!

We got to the park nice and early.  The hubby went and signed in while I sat in the car.  It was about 38 degrees with a windchill of about 30 degrees.  I honestly didn’t think I was going to get out of the car.  The hubby saved the day and showed up with a giant cup of coffee!

I was bundled up!  I waited until the last minute to check my bag and get rid of my coat.  The wind was absolutely brutal!

About mile 3 we came up the the bay.  It was freezing, but the view was beautiful! ( It was the same loop as Saturday.  The half does 2 loops, the full 4 loops).

The first loop we got to see the sun rise over the bay.  My hubby was also stationed to volunteer here, not too bad of a job huh?

By the second loop, the sun had come out.  This view made not being able to feel my toes or nose much more bearable!

The hubby shot all these photos while he was volunteering.  Big thanks to him and all the wonderful volunteers for standing out in the cold for 2 and half hours to help make race possible!

Here I am on the second loop.  I am pointing to my Purdue headband!  Go Boilers!

Post race with my second half marathon medal and Pelican Challenge medal.  The lady who was handing out the Pelican Challenge awards actually hugged me and said congratulations!  Can you believe that?  I should run more small town races, the hospitality is unbelievable!

Since we skipped the after party yesterday so I could ice my legs, we decided to stay and eat today.  I had a grilled chicken sandwich and cup of coffee.  It is really hard to eat with gloves on!

Yes, I look like a serious goofball.  It was seriously cold and windy.  We were chugging coffee and trying to staying warm until they announce awards.

I was really surprised to hear my name called for my age group because I finished 5 mins slower than yesterday.  Guess the cold got to everyone though!  I placed 3rd in my division!

I got a plaque with the Pelican on it!

I also got really muddy shoes and a couple of blisters because it was impossible to keep your shoes dry.

In the end…

I came home with 3 medals, 1 placing, and a huge sense of accomplishment.  It was a great race, the people were amazing and kind, and the hubby and I are already excited for next year!

Recap time!

Saturday:  Half Marathon #1

Getting ready for the race.  This is the hubby’s first half marathon.  The weather was absolutely beautiful!

We ran the trails through the park and along the bay.  This was my first trail run-so much easier on the joints!

Woo-hoo, beat my Austin time by 2 minutes!

Medal # 1.  I love the pelican.

Post race.  My hubby couldn’t move, but he did awesome!

His first half marathon, and he finished in 1 hr 55 mins!  Not too shabby.

Such a fun run!  And yes my bib is sideways.  I tried using the seeded bib, and all the safety pin holes ripped.  I had to poke new holes and attach it while running.  I was pretty impressed I managed to even get the thing back on.  I ended up placing 4th in my age group.

Post race snackage.

We stopped at the first gas station we found and bought a giant bag of ice.  I had packed a bunch of plastic bags so I could ice my legs immediately.  I needed to be ready for tomorrow morning!

The minute we pulled up to our building it started pouring!

And I mean pouring.  I got soaked walking about 5 feet to the door.

All that rain led to soup and a grilled cheese for lunch.  The hubby and I then proceeded to nap!

After snackage of apples and bananas with peanut butter we decided to get some dinner.

Subway.  6inch sweet onion chicken with chips on the side.  The hubby and I also might have eaten one or two cupcakes!  Carb-loading right?  Right.

Bed time.  The hubby was volunteering at Sunday’s race so we had to be there at 6am.

Dear legs,

I am sorry.  I have made you wake up before 5 am and run 13.1 miles two days in a row.  Today, I made you run in 20 mph wind and 30 degree windchill.  I want to thank you for holding up, and helping me place 3rd in my age group today.  I promise to ice you, rest you, and take nice hot baths for the next couple of days.  We will be happy together again I promise.

-Me

That sums up my weekend.  Recap and pictures coming tonight or tomorrow after I sit on my butt and nap all day!

Happy weekend all!  Hope it isn’t as cold where you are as it is here in Texas.  This morning’s weather was a cruel joke Mother Nature, cruel joke!

Ahhh…rest, relax, massage, sun bathing.  Pre-race preparation is so fun!  I wish I had more active friends here to enjoy all the training and race day festivities.  Anyone else just love the whole race community/atmosphere?

Anyway, here are all the fun things that came in my race packet:

All runners get bag, hat, socks,  and tech shirt.  Yes ladies and gents: two bibs, two races, one weekend!

This race is great because they are very focused on recycling.  The following emails explain their efforts:

Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon is trying to do it’s part in reducing the carbon foot print. Your help will be appreciated. Several things we are doing, below is a brief description:
With the help of our sponsor and partner Wal*Mart, we will be able to recycle almost all of our waste this year. Cans, paper, and plastic, bins will be available @ the post race party pavilion, and all aid stations. Please assist us , in making this happen.
Registration is 100% on-line, no paper waste.
Reusable timing chips
Recyclable seeded bibs; the bibs we are trying this year are seeded with wild flowers, after the race you can save them, or plant them (in memory of), they should yield wild flowers.

Since we couldn’t predict the weather and we don’t have any experience with the seeded bibs, we chose  to print two, one seeded and one Tyvek, for each runner (extra expense for us, but worth it). You can wear either and recycle both, the Tyvek bib, you can give back to us at anytime before or after the conclusion of the race. Benches will be made out of the Tyvek bibs, and hope that wild flowers will be made out of the other one. You can keep them as well, they are yours to do as you wish.

So far I have this stuff set out for the race tomorrow.  I will probably add a long sleeve layer under this because it is going to be fairly chilly first thing in the morning.  There is also a pretty good chance of storms tomorrow…ugh!

Any tips for racing in rain/storms?  13 miles could be pretty miserable if I am soaking wet!

Pre-Race I had a few of these little babies and a piece of toast with AB.

Post-Race the hubby and I scored all this free stuff at after party.  Guess who now has a dozen more sample sized Lara bars?  Yep, me!  I also had almost a whole cinnamon raisin bagel while walking around the after party.

After a  long walk home (2.15 miles to be exact courtesy of Mapmyrun.com) I knew that I should eat lunch.  I had half an acorn squash that needed to be used in the fridge.

Boca-Stuffed Acorn Squash

4 chopped artichoke hearts

1/2 Boca Burger chopped up

Pasta sauce

Parmesan

After chopping up the artichoke hearts and Boca I stuffed them into the half of cooked acorn squash.

I then topped with a tiny bit of shredded mozz just to help keep the stuffing together, topped with a little pasta sauce, sprinkled with Italian seasoning and Parmesan.  Then bake at 400 degrees until warm.  Turn broiler on if you want the cheese crispy on top (I know I like it that way)

Get fork and enjoy.

After eating I became a bit snacky and had two caramel rice cakes with a mug of hot chocolate for dessert.

There were also a mini candy bars eaten from our freebie stash.  I am headed to a law school bowling event and will likely eat pizza and beer for dinner.  The hubby and I are vowing to eat better all next week again but you gotta give yourself a little break on the weekends (or after running an awesome race).

New 10k PR: (See below)

I had some issues with the organization of this race (like running out of size small shirts even though I was pre-registered, thus meaning they gave away all the small to walk-in registers at the packet pickup and the lack of time corrals), BUT the results page is awesome! You can find your individualized time, watch your finish video, see time break down, average times, compare your course location to other finishers…just amazing!

Click link below to see my finish line video:

I am towards the right side wearing gray t-shirt, gray headband, and sunglasses.  You can see me approaching at about the 6 sec mark.

RodeoRun2700

As with every Tuesday/Thursday I am in a huge rush to finish my briefs and get my butt to school.

For breakfast I had a Carnation Sugar Free Instant drink (made with Almond Breeze) and half a sandwich thin with a tiny bit of AB and jam.

I really wasn’t hungry at all given the massive amounts of after-dinner snacking that went undocumented yesterday, but breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

This week is totally messed up training wise!  Grrr!  (That is my angry noise)  It rained again all day yesterday and I was unable to fit in my hour tempo run.  Luckily I did those 3 miles of intervals at the gym.  This morning I had soooo much reading still to do I couldn’t hit the treadmill.  I did hop on my stationary bike here while I read to at least get some movement in my legs.

Friday was originally rest day, but I think it will be catch-up day.  I will not push myself too hard, but Wednesday the 10th is my last running day before my race so my legs will have plenty of rest.

So, I bet you are wondering what my new challenge is!  I knew if I didn’t find something else to train for it would be hard to push myself because of my school schedule.  Thanks to this lady-

my Mom, who paid my entry fees I will be running The Pelican Challenge as part of the Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon!

• The Pelican Challenge is running a half marathon on both Saturday and Sunday
• Maybe next year I can run the half on Saturday and then the whole on Sunday!  (A girl can dream!)

I am so excited to have something to keep training for!  I plan on taking a few days off after my half on Valentine’s then starting up again.  I would like to incorporate more cross and strength training this time around!

How often do you incorporate strength or cross training?  Any tips to get this girl to lift some weights?

Good morning all!  Even though it is pouring buckets out there, I am chipper this morning.  Why you ask?  Because one of my classes got canceled so I have a 1 class Friday!  Woo-hoo!  Either I am easily pleased or I really hate class.  I would guess a combination of both.

My breakfast this morning was a repeat, Fiber One, bananas, milk, you know.  So let me review Thursday dinner instead.

I was at school for 12 hours yesterday, and although the hubby cleaned up the whole apartment, cooking is just not his strong suit.  I was exhausted and not super hungry but needed to eat.  I found this tv dinner in the freezer and decided to go for it.

Nutritionals aren’t great, and there is a lot of sodium, but I could have eaten worse.  ( I used to eat these all the time in college)

I ALWAYS add veggies to my tv dinners.  While I microwaved the dinner I cooked up some frozen spinach, peppers, onions in pan.  I then added in the dinner and let it all heat together for about a minute.

It came out looking pretty good, and I loved the cool pasta shapes.  Taste-wise I wasn’t impressed.  I did not taste any sun-dried tomato, just regular old pasta sauce to me.  There was literally only 2 pieces of chicken and 4 pieces of zucchini.  If I hadn’t have added my own veggies I probably would not have eaten it.  But, it was dinner and it took 5 minutes to make.

I sat down and watched the last of my Boilers!  Then hit the sack.

Race Schedule

Here is a little rundown of the races I have planned for Jan/Feb:

• This Sunday:  Rockets Run 5k
• Valentine’s Day:  My first half marathon, Austin Half Marathon
• February 27:  Conoco Phillips Rodeo Run 10k

Yes, my husband is wonderful and spending Valentine’s Day supporting me in my first half marathon!  Honestly, I don’t really like Valentine’s Day so this is the best present I could get!

The hubby will be running both the Rockets Run 5k and the Rodeo Run 10k with me.  We are also looking into some exciting things for the remainder of spring!

Are there any races/events you are looking forward to?