Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Training for Ironman - Week 5


WEEK 5
July 2-8, 2013

This week was good! I really worked on my running. I enjoyed training this week!!



Schedule:

Tuesday: Off Day

Wednesday: I rode on the regular bike at the gym for 45 minutes, steady pace...I went 9 miles. Then I QC to a run for 15 minutes at an 11.45 and then one lap around at a 10 minute pace!!!!

Thursday: Got up early and swam with my hubby! I swam for 35 minutes. I worked on sighting and keeping head down better. Then I rode for 30 minutes on the spin bike. 

Friday: Ran for 1 hour with my friend Jessica and my hubby on the treadmill (UGH!). I went 11.30 the whole time!!!! - 5 miles!

Saturday: My hubby fixed my *new* bike on the trainer for me and I rode for 1 hour-45 minutes. MY HINEY HURT!!!! OUCH!!!! It was brutal and I did not enjoy it. I felt like I didn’t train very hard due to my hurting hiney!! - (Or maybe because it was from 10:30-12:00 at night!)
Sunday: Took another day off and helped try to do stuff around the house

Monday: Ran for 1 hour on the treadmill with my friend Bobbie. I ran at 11.30-11.06 pace. Took 2 minutes off my run from Friday!!!!

Total: 6 hours - 50 minutes - 5 days


Things I Learned:
  1. I am training my mind more than I am training my body. My mind just wants to give up - constantly!!
  2. I need to drink more water and eat healthier food!!!
  3. I like getting up earlier and getting my training out of the way - who knew?! LOL!!

Training for Ironman - Week 4


WEEK 4
June 24- July 1, 2013


This week was a really great!! I felt very accomplished with my training! YAY!!

Schedule:

Monday: Rest day (whew!)

Tuesday:     Swam 22 (25 yard) laps!! This was the first time I “breathed” the whole way swimming!! Then I ran hill intervals on the treadmill for 30 min. (ugh...not  fun!) - I got to do all of this with my training partner, Bobbie!

Wednesday: I rode 30 min on my regular bike throughout the neighborhood, 7 miles. It was fun being outside and NOT on a stationary. THEN.....I did a QC and ran for 15 min......at a 11.5 mile pace!!!!! YAY!!! 1.25 miles! WHOO-HOO!! 

Thursday: I swam for a few laps, not very much. I didn’t even keep track! Oops! I got on the bike (not spin bike) for 30 min - 7 miles. 

 
Friday:           I did not do my usual 1 hour run. I opted for a “core” class. I’m VERY glad I chose to do that. It was VERY hard and worked muscles that needed to be worked out!!! I was SO SORE!!!! It made me miss Crossfit, and that is kinda sad.


Saturday:       The hubby and I went on a 1 hour, 45 min ride out on our regular bike. We rode 20 miles. It was an effortless ride but super, super fun. We talked about important stuff and then did a little bullfrog hunting!!!!!! GREAT WORK-OUT! Lol!!

Sunday:          I woke up sick. Again. OMG!!!! This time it felt like a sinus-infection/flu. I thought I would get out of doing my 1 hour run. However, the hubby made me get up and dragged me to the gym!! Good thing, too..... Because I ran 5 miles in 56 min!!! I was probably the most proud of myself that I have been thus far!!!

Monday:          Remember how proud I was yesterday? Meet Monday, Crystal. You got up super early (7:30...LOL) and went to a spin class on your OFF DAY!!!!! Spin class was AWESOME!!!! How have I missed this???I LOVED IT!!!! 

Total: 6 hours, 45 min - 7 days

Things I learned:

  1. New song I will listen to while training: “Overcomer” by Mandissa
  2. I LOVE (and NEED) spin class
  3. I also NEED muscle building classes....adding more training will be tough though
  4. I MUST start eating better.....much, much better
  

Training for Ironman - Week 3


WEEK 3
June 17-24, 2013

This week was a mental week. I had to get “out of my mind” a few days this week and really push myself. I was very up and down in my training. Some days were amazing while others were miserable. I can’t quite figure out HOW to push myself when my body is screaming “NO”!! Especially when the day before a bad workout my body was screaming “THIS IS EASY” during a great workout!! So confusing.  


Schedule:

Monday:         rest day (drove back from SPI)

Tuesday: ran 45 minutes - 3.2 miles (ok, ok....my sweet hubby had to FORCE me to run on our treadmill at 11:00 at  night. I was exhausted from vacation and had  almost decided this “Ironman thing” maybe wasn’t for me.)

Wednesday: 30 min bike and 5 min run. (I felt only a little better about training. I was called  out for my crying baby before I could finish my 15 min run.) 

Thursday: swam 25 min (these little kids were swimming next to me and going much 
                        faster. I am so slow!) 
                     45 min bike (17.2 miles....felt great!!!)
                     12 min run (1 mile)
                     Yes...my very own mini triathlon!

Friday:           1 hour run (with my hubby!!!!! He was very helpful and allowed me to push myself!!! I went 5 miles!!!!!! I was continually telling myself to keep  moving....and I DID IT!)

Saturday: 1 hour, 45 min bike (I woke up with what I thought was the stomach flu. Yuck!!   HOWEVER, I got on the bike  and rode anyways. It was slow, I did NOT push myself.......but I did it. I finished.)

Sunday:          1 hour run - 4 miles (THIS WAS HORRIBLE!!!! I felt like I had never run in my life. My legs felt like bricks and  I could barely keep a 14 min/mile pace. Ugh, ugh, ugh. I actually had to walk!??!!?? I was very disappointed in this run. I felt like my body was giving up and my mind had zero control.)
                                      Total: 6.5 hours - 6 days

Things I learned:

A. I have a new favorite workout song: “The Only Way I Know” by Jason Aldean.

B. Do not go for a long run right after dinner.

C. I do GREAT with my hubby by my side! 

D.    I’m getting impatient about my body becoming “athletic” and  “in shape”. WHEN will this     baby weight go away?


Training for Ironman - Week 2



WEEK 2
June 12-17, 2013

Week number two of Ironman training was.... well, not very “Ironman”-ish.  However, I did learn more about pushing myself and to just stay deterMined.


Schedule:

Monday:    Rest day

Tuesday: Swam 30 min. And ran 39 min. (swimming was just ok. I really need to 
          work on technique. I am SUPER slow! My run felt good, stayed around
          12.5 min/mile)

                                              * began going to Lifetime*

Wednesday:  Only a 20 min. bike (baby cried too much)

Thursday:      Drove to Padre.....no work-out!!!!

Friday:           1 hour run on the South Padre Island beach!!!! Ran 4 miles in the
                         heeeaaatttttt!!!!!

Saturday:  Ate bad food and soaked up the sun.... No work-out! 

Sunday:          Ditto Saturday! :)


Total: 2 hours, 29 min. - 3 days


Things I Learned:

This week Aunt Flo arrived. You read that correctly. That horrible thing followed me all the way to South Padre Island during vacation.!! Ugh. So, there I was.....bloated, crampy, in the middle of the summer..... but needing to work-out. I told myself if I could get past a run on the HOT beach with bloating and cramps, then there wouldn’t be much worse things during the course of my training. You know what? I did it. And. It. Felt. Great. Well, at least once that grueling hour was over!! I learned that I have to tell myself, “yes, you can"!!!

Training for Ironman - Week 1


WEEK 1
June  4-11, 2013
I just finished up my first week of training for the half Ironman (and eventually the full Ironman!)!!  My prior training had been "getting workouts in when possible" and a few Crossfit classes. I still have TONS of baby weight......about 35-40 extra pounds!!!! So, I was a bit nervous to dive into hard-core training! However, it was much easier than I had anticipated. I think I have already learned a lot of things about my body, my mind, and triathlon training! 

Schedule

Monday:       Swam 30 min - (meaning, I learned how not to drown)
                     Ran 30 min - Only 2 miles!

Tuesday:     Swam 30 min - (with my bestie, Bobbie. Got a tiny bit better at my
                      technique and breathing.)
                    Ran 30 min  - (barely made 2 miles. They were in the 14 min/mile range.)




Wednesday: Bike 30 min with quick change to 15 min run. 

Thursday:      Bike 30 min - went 9.5 miles with the Hubby! Fun! We were interrupted early 
                        when the baby cried too long in the gym nursery. :(

Friday:           Ran 45 min - went 3.5 miles! (I ran on the treadmill, with the baby in the
                        bouncer and older kids watching a movie. No one disrupted me! Yay!)
Saturday: Bike - 1 hour, 22 miles. (My family waited in the car for me to finish!)
                     Swam - 30 min (worked on technique and breathing. I went 150m non-stop and     
                       250m total)

Sunday:        Ran 1 hour - (ran in the neighborhood, went 4.66 miles!)

Total: 6 hours - 7 days

Things I learned:

A. Songs I like to listen to while working out:
1. “My Body” by Young the Giant
2. “Stronger” by Mandisa
3. “Move” by MercyMe

B. I hate the first 15-20 minutes of running!!

C. Your body is much, MUCH more capable than anyone cares to admit. Before this week, I thought I could only run 1 mile at a verrrrrry slow pace. I learned that isn’t the case at all. My body AMAZED me this week. I started off by running 2 miles at a 15 min/mile pace and ended the week at 4.66 miles at a 12.5 min/mile pace!!!! I kept telling myself that impossible is not a word, it’s just a reason not to try.....keep on moving those legs!

Training Hard


Training for Impossible

So....I must go back to the summer of 2012 to start my story. My hubby announces to me, “Babe, I think I’m going to train for Ironman”. Cue my heart stopping and jaw dropping. But he is gone so much as it is! But I’m pregnant! But we have three kids!! BUT....BUT....BUT!!!.........

I kept those thoughts to myself (for the most part) and silently prayed for God to help me be the best wife for my “crazy” husband. Weeks and months went by with my hubby spending enormous amounts of time training. Thankfully, he took a short hiatus while we had baby #4, but he was back at it before long. I could not understand WHY he wanted to do an Ironman, the training just didn’t seem worth the outcome. It was just a silly race, in my mind.

Move forward to race day, May 18, 2013. I was only A LITTLE more understanding of why he wanted to do an Ironman. I was very proud of his hard work and couldn’t wait to watch him race!! Mostly though, I was proud that we had survived the “ridiculous” training and our life was about to get normal again. Or so I thought.

Something changed in me that day. As I watched those athletes get in and out of the water, ride for HOURS, and then run a FULL marathon.....I was inspired. Half-way during the race my heart was encouraged, motivated, and ready. I had this deep urge that I HAD to do this “impossible” thing. I have coined myself with the “give-up” gene. I hardly ever follow through with anything. I hardly ever accomplish what I set out to do. I hardly ever give myself credit. I hardly ever keep going when things get tough or when I get too scared. However, this race....this race could give me what I have never allowed myself to have. I knew deep, deep down that this race could change me. 

I cried like a baby when my hubby stepped over the finish line. I have never been more proud of an accomplishment. I had never looked at my hubby with so much respect and admiration. That moment will forever be seared in my brain. I need that memory to penetrate my thoughts as I move forward with MY training, keeping in mind that as I cross the finish line, he too will be looking at me the same way I looked at him. With respect, admiration, and love.



Philippians 4:13
 “I can do ALL things with Christ who gives me strength”

“Everything is impossible, until it’s not anymore” 

“Impossible is not a word, it’s just a reason not to try”




Friday, May 10, 2013

Dr. Suess Baby Shower




My soon-to-be sister in-law is about to have a sweet baby boy! Yay! More babies! This little guy makes 9 grandkids on this side of the family!! Wow!! So, as expected, I asked her if I could throw her a baby shower!

The theme for her nursery is Dr. Suess and I couldn't have been more excited about it! I went ALL OUT for this shower!! I LOVE Dr. Suess because of how whimsical and versatile it can be!!

First was the invitation. In the beginning of planning, I wanted to go with "Dr. Suess Books" as my main inspiration. I was thinking books for everything (decorations, the cake, etc). So.....my invitation was a modified The Cat in the Hat book. I found an image of the cover of the book on google, copied pages from my book and replaced the words with my own, and then put in some brads to hold the invitation-book together. Here are my pics:

The sun was not out. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house wishing we could have fun on this day.


"I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny. But we can have baby shower fun that is funny!"

We can all bring a bag or a box and inside them we'll put bottles or sox. Presents for Stacy and the new baby boy. Showering him with things he may need, what a joy!

We thought about it and what fun for you and me! Baby shower for Stacy and her little baby to be! We watched out the window for guests to appear! We can't wait for the party, the date is almost here!

Once I began planning.....I fell in love with all of the story characters. I wasn't happy with just "books" as the party theme. So....I began drawing The Lorax, Horton, and The Cat in the Hat characters on dollar store foam board to incorporate them into my decorations. Then I just used an Exacto knife and cut the little guys out!





I began thinking of how I was going to do the main dessert table. It occurred to me to bring The Cat and the Hat to life!! So I began drawing more on foam board like the window the kids look out, the kite, their mom's dress, etc.  I went shopping to find ANYTHING that looked crazy and/or colorful to create a Suessville experience. I bought frames from the dollar store so that I could put a bunch of Suess quotes on the table. I also bought foam balls, craft sticks, and feather boas to construct a bunch of Truffela trees. Here are some pics:







The cake was crazy. Plain, old crazy. I decided I wanted the cake to be HUGE!! It ended up being the thorn in my side through this whole party. I baked for DAYS, then ended up throwing the icing and decorations on it at 2 am the night before the shower!!! The dumb top layers began to lean from the weight almost immediately. At least the guests all thought the cake was supposed to be leaning, you know, Dr. Suess style!!!  

The top layer was the trunk of Horton wrapped around and holding a flower. The middle layer was The Lorax and the bottom was Cat. I went with buttercream smoothed by Viva paper towels , rather than fondant. I know almost everybody dislikes fondant. I THREW this whole thing together so quickly.....it really bums me out that I didn't have more time to make it look good. I also made some chocolate cupcakes with caramel filling and buttercream frosting. 






Finally was the game table. I made up a game to go with the Dr. Suess theme and then bought a 
candy Dr. Suess game from etsy. The game I created was played by answering the questions I made up from Dr. Suess books and having two teams compete to find the answers within 1 minute. If the team found the answer in the book then they would spin to see how many spaces they could move on the board. (I used the board from The Cat in the Hat game that Stacy had). Example questions were: what was the first game they played, what did Thing 1 and Thing 2 bump on the wall, etc.



 Then I made some decorations for outside.....you know....because I couldn't stop drawing pictures!!



It was some of the most fun I have had throwing a party!!! I cannot wait until the next one.....well, maybe I can wait a little! ;)


Congratulations Stacy and Kris!! We cannot wait to meet your baby, sweet Dexton.