Training Recap: June Week 1

When we are out of town, like we were for a week around Memorial Weekend, it seems to take me an entire week back home to feel normal again. This week seemed to fly and I felt unproductive everyday, even though I wasn't.

Monday
I tried to run with Brewer while Abigail rode her bike. I really do love that she wants to join me (even if it's killing my average pace on the Nike+ site). This was Abigail's first ride in our neighborhood so we had a lot of instruction discussion. She caught on that if she peddled backwards she can slow herself and stop. It was frustrating because she didn't want to stay near the side of the road and Brewer would pull so she couldn't ride in front of us. For the most part she did well, I did pause my GPS for little breaks but we finished 1.48mi in 29min. My favorite was our little break chatting with an elderly couple down the street. Abigail told the man about our blueberry bushes while he examined some of the vegetables in his garden, and told him we made muffins.

Abigail's Sweaty Pose, her suggestion

Tuesday
We returned to normal activities attending Abigail swim and dance classes. We skipped Food Truck Tuesday because Matt got a couple cavities filled and that just wouldn't be fun for him. I ended up heading out for a neighborhood run with Brewer while Abigail ate dinner. She was not happy with this, but running with both kids isn't something I can (or want to) do everyday. Running is very therapeutic, it clears my head, but when I'm constantly reminding a little girl not to run in the middle of the road and getting pulled along by the crazy puppy, I end up more frustrated after the run than when I started. So I promised Abigail I would take her for a run IF she was finished eating dinner by the time I got back with Brewer. Brewer and I ran 1.5mi and when we got back, we all went back out for another 2/3mi with Abigail. It was a good compromise for everyone.


Wednesday
After a fairly lazy morning, Abigail had afternoon swim then we headed to the gym. I was able to attend the Power Group Fitness class, it's been a good couple weeks since my last Power class. I decided to run a speedy half mile on the treadmill to get my heart rate up before the class started. When we got home, I took Brewer for another mile run.

Since it was National Running Day, I posted on Facebook that I'm running for the kids of St. Jude. I have now made a few smaller announcements that I will be running runDisney's Dopey Challenge in January for St. Jude. I am hoping to make a big blog announcement later this month.


Thursday
Abigail and I ventured to swim and gymnastics classes then came home to take Brewer on his daily run. We ran 2.2mi with a pace of 10.25 and battled the humidity the entire run.

In other news, I reached 600 followers and my first blog giveaway finished! It was so great introducing lots of Twitter friends to Modify Watches and announcing the winner. I still cannot believe it has been FIVE years since Matt started this blog.

Friday
The morning kicked off with my next blog giveaway. Sweaty Bands are a favorite of mine, and from the attention this giveaway received on the first day, I can tell lots of others love Sweaty Bands too!

We met up with a friend in the afternoon at Krispy Kreme for National Doughnut Day. The line was super long but Abigail got her free chocolate iced glazed doughnut with sprinkles. I was quite impressed with her, she ate half then decided she wanted to take the remaining half home for later. I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks it's weird that National Running Day and National Doughnut Day are in the same week?

I ended up at the gym to get my miles in and was limited for time because I reserved Abigail's childcare spot very last minute. I managed to run a sub30 5K on a training run! I still cannot believe it, but love that all my hard work is paying off because I am getting stronger and faster.

Saturday
I had registered to run the Strong4Life Superhero Sprint 5K benefiting Children's Healthcare of Atlanta with a few mom friends from MOPS. When it came down to it, Valerie and I were the only two in attendance. This was a complete 'fun run', it's not a certified course for times or anything so I decided to take this race easy. Valerie has been following the Couch to 5K plan and this was her first 5K "in many, many years" as she said so my plan was to just have fun and run with her. She kept a great pace as we looped around and around Piedmont Park in Atlanta. I hope she'll join me for more races in the future, it's so much fun having friends running too.

Sunday
After church I took Brewer for a run around the neighborhood. The weather called for some rain so Abigail stayed home and that was good too because it started misting only .25mi into our run. Slowly the mist turned into rain then got really heavy the last .25mi back to the house. In so many ways I feel like I am still a rookie runner and I can count every time I have run in the rain on one hand. It is refreshing, not nearly as miserable as I always expected. Even with the rain, we ran 1.3mi in under 14 minutes.

Questions:
-Did you participate in National Running Day or National Doughnut Day?
-Do you like running in the rain?

Abigail's Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Last Sunday, Abigail and I checked on our blueberry bushes and were excited to see so many blueberries ripe! She was very careful getting under the netting I have up so the birds don't steal our berries. If you are not careful getting under the net, sometimes it can stag on the berries causing them to fall into the grass, making them difficult to find or worse, causing them to fall before they are ripe. Abigail was gentle picking the blueberries and at some point asked if we could make muffins with them. Why not? Abigail helped me make the batch of muffins and she decided she wanted to take them to share with our friends at community group so we did. The muffins were a hit! All we brought home was an empty container. I knew I wanted to make them again but somehow the week just flew right on by, and here we are, Sunday again...and time for more muffins!

For a generic muffin recipe, I used my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (I registered for this over 7yrs ago so it's not really "new" but it has great recipes. 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil (we substitute applesauce)
3/4 cup blueberries

This recipe says it makes 12 muffins, but we used mini muffin pans and it made 40 minis. They cook at 400* for 18 minutes if you're cooking regular muffins, it only took 10 minutes for our minis.

Abigail posing with all the ingredients.

Abigail helped me count out the cups of sugar and flour and couldn't wait to crack the eggs herself. For the most part she does very well, I just end up picking out a few shells. She loves beating the eggs with a springy egg beater. Abigail helps stir the batter too. She is very careful not to keep all the ingredients in the bowl. This week I decided we should double the recipe, we still have so many blueberries!

Abigail's extra special ingredient is the white chocolate chips. I added a 1/2 cup per recipe.

Ready to fold the blueberries and white chocolate chips in!

Once all the ingredients are ready, it's my turn to fill the muffin tin and Abigail heads off to wash her hands. She was sweet to return and put the blueberries away for me too. The finished product of these muffins may not look pretty, but they sure are delicious! The blueberries are so fresh some seem to explode while baking and the while chocolate chips melt, so they are a surprise when you take a bite. I know what we're having in the morning for breakfast!

Yummy muffins, ready to be devoured!

QUESTIONS:
-Do you grow any fruit or vegetables in your yard?
-What is a yummy recipe you like to make with blueberries?

Sweaty Bands Celebration Giveaway

11.18.12 Women's Half Marathon

I originally heard about Sweaty Bands through twitter chat back in the fall. I didn't want to commit to an online order because headbands never seem to live up to the claims and I feel like I waste a ton of money. I stumbled upon a small display of Sweaty Bands at Big Peach Running Company, a local running store here in Atlanta. I was very hesitant to purchase a $15 headband when I have never found a product to work as claimed for me.

I absolutely LOVED my first Sweaty Band! The design was very cute and like the company claims "OMG...it doesn't slip!". I started wearing my Sweaty Band just about everyday, so I got a second. Then I a couple more at the Women's Half Marathon Expo in St. Petersburg, FL last November (and even picked up a few early Christmas presents!).

I wear a Sweaty Band during all my runs, training and racing. I am so accustomed to wearing my bands that when I happen to forget one, I usually end up cutting my run short because it really just isn't the same without them. My hair starts to tickle my face...and it's nice to keep all those fly away hairs in place.

01.12.13 WDW Marathon

During the WDW Marathon, I forgot my Sweaty Band was on and after when I was taking photos I could not believe it stayed in place for the entire 26.2 miles! I also got plenty of compliments on how cute the design is too.

03.17.13 GA Publix Half Marathon

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Modify Watches Winner

Without further ado, the winner of this Modify Watch giveaway is....

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Thank you all for entering this celebration giveaway! If you did not win, I suggest you check out the Mod of the Month Club. For $35 you get a new combination, of your choice, each month with free shipping! If you want to add something to your monthly order, you will get 20% off additional items. 

Check back tomorrow morning for another new celebration giveaway!

Wordless Wednesday: June Calendar Shot

There is nothing like finally cooling off as the sun goes down and getting off your feet after a long summer day at Magic Kingdom to enjoy the Electrical Parade!

QUESTION:

-Do you have a favorite "float" or section of the Electrical Parade?

Training Recap: May Week 5

The majority of this week was spent out of town, which is never good for me in the exercise department. Spending time with family and old friends always takes priority, and that's how I like it. BUT it gets me out of any exercise routine and there's the pitfall. Once routine is removed, it's really difficult for me to get back in another routine. But I am happy to say, I did very well this week even while being out of town.

Monday
Since my dad wasn't working today, he had practice to paddle with his Dragon Boat team. I hitched a ride to South Tampa so I could run Bayshore Boulevard. I started my run and was easily distracted, I'm used to running on a treadmill in a gym so to be running on the bay was a wonderful change of scenery! In my first half mile I spotted a pod of manatees, I paused my Nike+GPS watch to actually run back and try to take a picture (bottom left photo). They didn't all surface together but I think there were four in total. Later down the road, I spotted a partial rainbow then realized a cruise ship was coming into port directly under it. Once I finally got to the south end of Bayshore and headed the opposite direction I was running normal again, no more distractions or aches, just running. I finished 7 miles in 78 minutes.

Monday started the Runner World's Run Streak too! I am going to try my best to run at least one mile every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day. I hope this will also help me remember to take Brewer for more daily runs too!

Tuesday
I was about to take Brewer out for an evening run and Abigail wanted to join me. We're staying with my parents in FL where orange groves are part of their yard. So I decided we could run up and down the orange grove, I kept pausing the GPS when Abigail needed a break. It was nice letting Brewer run free, without the leash, so he could be extra crazy and get extra tired. We ran slightly over 1mi in 13.09 minutes. Abigail can keep a good pace but we did stop a good bit. The most hilarious was when it was time for us to almost hit the driveway, she sped ahead and shouted "I win!". Sneaky, sneaky girl!



Wednesday
I was about to head out for my quick RWstreak mile, and Abigail wanted to tagalong again. Sigh, why not? I guess it'll be a little slower than I wanted, again, but I cannot really tell her no. Part of why I'm running is to get/stay healthy so I should be encouraging her to run too. Well, yes, but I also run as a cheap form of therapy and I cannot really clear my head with my sweet 4yo wanting to stop or hold my hand or cry because I'm going to fast. So I took a deep breath and let her join in, noting this cannot become a daily occurrence. We did run slightly further than Tuesday, but still just over a mile, in 13:40.

Thursday
We had been in FL a full week and every single time Abigail wanted to fish it was either too late or we were leaving the house, so finially on our last morning (we headed home that afternoon) she finally got to fish! While Abigail was distracted playing with my mom and her cousin, I escaped for a quick run with Brewer.

Brewer and I ran through the orange groves again, and had much better pace without Abigail. We finished 1.14mi in under 12 minutes. I was hoping to be a bit faster but the uneven terrain of the grove was really starting to toll on leg muscles that are not normally used. It was a quick run but that's all we could do since I needed to get back and get all packed up to head home that afternoon.

Friday
The morning started out pretty rough, Brewer was in his crate for time out a good few times.

Saturday
I set out dark and early to run The Possum Trot 10K in Roswell, GA; this would be my very first race for this distance. I was exhausted rolling out of bed, and even took a nap in the car before the race. Usually I'm excited for the race and the adrenaline starts to kick in, not this morning. I eventually started moving and found my local running gals: Brandi, Jen and Ramona. We made our way to the starting line. It was nice chatting with the gals before the race because they all had run some form of this course before so it gave me a bit of head's up. We all run at a different pace so we split but since it was an out and back course, it was fun seeing each other along the way to the finish. I am super proud that I did not walk at all on the course, and I kept a good pace. I finished this race right under 64 minutes! The average pace is about 10:20 per mile. I love seeing the continued improvement!

Our finisher photo with the Possum! Sooo not Disney!

Sunday
We attended church again, FINALLY. It had been over 2mo since I've sat in our church for a sermon. We had been out of town for Easter Weekend, then volunteered with the youth the entire month of April then in May I missed as well (Abigail sick, out of town, rainy race morning, etc). It was super hot in the afternoon so I planned to run in the evening, after we attended our community group, so instead of an afternoon run Abigail and I picked some of our blueberries. We ended up with a huge container worth of blueberries and there will be bunches more in the next week or so! Abigail wanted to make muffins so we did, blueberry white chocolate chip mini-muffins. They were super tasty!  Little did I realize it was going to storm. During a break in the storm, I got all dressed for some rain and headed out with Brewer for a quick mile. A quarter of a mile into it, there was a huge clap of thunder that seemed to be right above our heads. We turned right around and headed back home only finishing a half mile run, but it was at under a 10 minute mile pace! Even though I'm supposed to be running a full mile a day for the Run Streak, I'm counting this in my streak. I give myself an A for trying!

Questions:
-How do you handle little wrenches (dogs, kids, rain, etc) that alter your exercise plans?
-What is the strangest mascot you've ever met? This Possum might be mine!

Modify Watches Celebration Giveaway

On Tuesday, June 10th 2008 Matt decided to start our blog. Originally, it was "Crashmattb & Family Think Aloud" and Matt was the primary blogger. Back in 2008 we were living in Nashville, TN and we were preparing to be first time parents that December. Fast-forward ahead a few months, we moved to Marietta, Abigail arrived and I became a full time mom! Somewhere along the line Matt blogged less and I blogged more and more. So here we are FIVE years later, crazy. In order to celebrate, I wanted to giveaway some of my favorite products!

So here it is, my very first giveaway! I couldn't be more excited to share with you our love for Modify Watches. We have been part of the ModiFamily for a couple years now. For the few of you who may not be familiar with Modify yet, let me introduce you... 

 "Modify Watches are super-dope, interchangeable watches. You can mix-and-match faces and straps to create the "Mod" that allows you to make your statement, whether (quiet) or LOUD."

Matt and I continue to add to our Mod collections. Modify offers two sizes, he wears the Classic while I wear the Mini. Most of the strap/face combinations have names, and they even take recommendations from fans! The name of the watch I've worn the most is "The MODfather", it's a white strap with a black face. Abigail's favorite is "The Fairy MODmother", a bright pink strap with a purple polka-dot face. I can also be found frequently wearing the turquoise or red straps and my newest favorite is the black glitter strap! There are so many dope colors and patterns to choose from, it really is hard to have only one favorite.

Modify Watches even has a Pinterest board highlighting the ModiFamily, check it out! You might even spot a cute, familiar face sporting a watch or two.

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May Foodie Penpal

I first participated as a Foodie Penpal back in November. It was such a fun idea and I was so excited when my items arrived. I wasn't blogging at the time so I never posted about my experience. In January, with all the excitement leading up to the WDW Marathon I completely forgot to enter myself again until this month.

What is extra fun about the Foodie Penpal matches is that you are matched with two different people, one to send goodies to and one to receive from.  Turns out both my matches this month were MIA and I ended up getting re-matched a few days after original matches were posted.

I would be receiving my package to Abby and she blogs at Life is Wonderific. I shared with Abby I do not like peanut butter or spicy foods, and some of my current favorites are coffee, dark chocolate and green smoothies. I was excited when her package arrived! 

Abby selected a cute card and wrote a simple note inside. I think my favorite item has to be the chocolate coffee, even though I haven't tried it yet! The Odwalla bar was delicious, I had not stumbled upon that bar yet and will be searching for it in the future. The Cookie Dough Luna Bar is one of my favorites (I actually have a box of them in my pantry right now). Lastly, the Cadbury Royal Dark Chocolate Bar is being saved for an extra rough day, as I know it will be delicious.

I sent my package to Jenna in Southern California and she blogs at Momma Told Me. After reading her likes and dislikes, and staying within the $15 spending limit I decided to send her locally made Williamson Bros BBQ Sauce and Jalapeno Cornbread Mix I was able to pick up during our weekend in Pigeon Forge. I also included two Pure Bliss Energy Bars, they are made locally here in Marietta and they are divine!

If you would like to read more about becoming a Foodie Pen Pal, you can do so at The Lean Green Bean. In addition to the spending limit, you'll find dates listed on when you can join, when you'll need to email your penpal and when you'll need to ship your package. You do not have to have a blog to participate either! Once you know all the specifics, you can sign-up HERE. 

QUESTIONS:
-Have you ever participated as a Foodie Penpal?
-What is one item you like to send or would send if you were to participate?

Training Recap: May Week 4

I feel like this week went by crazy fast! Maybe it's because a normal week was cut short with our trip down to Tampa on Thursday, but even before that, I remember posting sometime on Twitter Tuesday night that I couldn't believe how fast the last 48hrs had past.

Monday: Fun Workout
Abigail and I met up with friends at The Georgia Aquarium. Abigail has always loved our visits to the aquarium, especially when we go with friends. We walked through the River Scout exhibit, and the favorite was the river otters. They were so playful, swimming around and scratching their backs (usually they are napping!). The girls asked all types of questions with one aquarium employee at the beluga tank before it was time for the dolphin show, Dolphin Tales. If you've never seen the show, it's more theatrical with a Broadway style script and singing. While the show is done well, I'd prefer a more educational "show" to learn about the dolphins.

Our friends had to leave but we still went through my favorite exhibit of the aquarium, Ocean Voyager. Ever since our first visit to Georgia Aquarium, this has always been my favorite. The four whale sharks are massive in size and yet so peaceful to watch. You can spot a bunch of different fish and sharks, and the manta rays are truly majestic to watch as well. Abigail was using my camera to take pictures, just as she did on our last visit with her Papa last month. A little boy came over and was just as excited about everything and he started pointing at different fish, suggesting she take pictures of different ones. It was sweet. The aquarium employee, Ms Renee, who answered all the questions at the beluga tank, talked a bit about the exhibit (I did not remember this "tank" is the size of a football field! and this viewing area is "in an end zone".). Ms Renee started chatting with Abigail and the little boy, answering more questions. She was absolutely wonderful!

After the aquarium we popped over to Atlanta Station so I could return something at Dillard's. Then Abigail and I walked over to Athleta to check out their running apparel and swim suits. I've had cheap Target suits the last couple years, since they only seem to last one season since they are so cheap. I was in love with their selection, they offered amazing customer service and as I purchased my items I was told of their product guarantee "Love it or return it. Any time. Any reason.". If you are in the market for a new suit, I highly recommend looking into Athleta.

In the evening I was able to escape to the gym for the CORE group fitness class. It's 30 minutes of exclusive core workouts. When the class was finished I ran a mile on the treadmill, with the first half mile at a steep incline at a 10:55 minute mile pace.

Tuesday: 7 Miles
Our morning was postponed waiting for the cable guy. While we waited, I hooked up our bubble machine outside so Abigail and Brewer could pop bubbles. Abigail has always loved bubbles, but I had no idea how much Brewer would like bubbles!

Late in the afternoon, we went back to Food Truck Tuesday and met up with more friends at the park. I finally got to enjoy good food (not Abigail's leftovers) AND I remembered to take a picture of my yummy food. I ordered Lola's Coconut Chicken from Ibiza Bites and plantains with honey and coconut from a Cuban/Puerto Rican truck. I guess I was in a coco-nutty mood! The food was delicious and it was nice to not eat Abigail's rejected food selection for once. I really had my heart/stomach set on a panini, but that truck wasn't there so I'll have to keep that on a back burner for another week. I did learn a new pre-pay option with King of Pops so we were all able to get our preferred popsicle flavors without eating dessert first!

Wednesday: XT or Rest
Abigail and I joined friends at the local skating rink for the last Tiny Tots playdate before summer break. We usually skate together, but Abigail decided she wanted to take her bicycle. She rode her bike and told me to skate with her and she kept speeding up in the same spot and I eventually realized she was shouting "I win!". It was so funny, her little legs pedaling so fast and the disappointment on her face when I would skate faster than she could pedal. She is going to miss these Tiny Tot days but we'll have to find a park with a flat loop where she can ride her bike more often. Our driveway is too bumpy and she doesn't like riding there, and people drive way too fast in our neighborhood for us to want to attempt our street. Maybe I can try running while she rides, that would be a great combination.

This is the Amaryllis I planted late last spring and it never bloomed. It normally is sold around Christmastime but I bought it when it was on clearance and I planted it the following spring. I was super excited early in the week when I saw a bloom emerging. Then the bloom split, and I was more excited because I was going to have two beautiful flowers. I snapped this picture before we left for Tiny Tots. When we returned after Abigail's swim class, she and Brewer were playing out back and the next thing I realized both the beautiful Amaryllis blooms were destroyed. Sigh. He digs holes throughout our backyard, jumps in our compost to eat the rotting fruits and vegetables, has started jumping THROUGH a huge hedge, climbs over Abigail's sandbox... At least I got a picture before the blooms were just a memory.

In the evening I was able to head to the gym and run 5.5 miles in 58 minutes (10:32 pace). I knew I wasn't going to get any running in on Thursday since we'd be driving to Tampa.


Thursday: 5 Miles
I had some errands to run before heading out of town for the long weekend. My mom loves the dark chocolate edamame from Trader Joe's so we made a special trip to East Cobb to get her a few packs as part of her birthday gift. We also stopped at Whole Foods for a stash of my new favorite, Espresso Chip Bonk Breaker energy bars!

I packed and Matt had an afternoon meeting for work before we could eventually got on the road. It was late enough to get stuck in the after work traffic heading out of town, which is extremely annoying. Even with Brewer tranquilized  he was still more than a handful. I ended up sitting with Brewer and Abigail in the backseat, which helped him stay settled. He even laid on my lap the majority of the ride.


Friday: 4 Miles or XT
Even though we arrived after 1am, Brewer and Abigail were up at 7:30 as usual (she normally sleeps in later than the dog). I decided to start the morning taking Brewer for a run. We ran a fast mile, at a 9:39 minute pace then finished with a no leash all out sprint back up my parent's "driveway". We got to spend the morning with our nephew and I even got to rock him to sleep on the porch swing.

Matt and I headed out for "a date night", well that's at least what we told Abigail! We wanted to get in on the Monstrous Summer fun going on at Magic Kingdom, it opened at 6am and was staying open for 24hrs. We ended up meeting one of my WDWMarathon friends, Jen and her husband Clint. It was lots of fun riding all the more "adult" rides like Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. We had more sweet treats than we normally have when Abigail is with us. The Mickey cake pops were sure tasty, I had the vanilla and Matt indulged in the Red Velvet. We *only* made it until a bit after 2am, and I barely made it to get our picture with Mike & Sulley. I'm looking forward to the movie, it comes out the weekend of Matt's birthday!

Saturday: LR: 8 Miles, 10min strong finish
Since we stayed up so late, Matt and I slept in! We made it to my cousin's son's 1st birthday party out in Riverview and got to see almost everyone on my mom's side of the family. For dinner we stopped at a new place in North Tampa, Cigar City Brew Pub. They took over a property that used to be a TGI Friday's, and it was so neat to see how they customized. Most the features throughout the restaurant are repurposed from their brewery. If you're in the Tampa area, I highly recommend visiting, my family gave the beer and food two thumbs up!

Sunday: Rest
For my mom's birthday, we headed out to the beach to meet up with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. We all had a great time lounging by and playing in the pool, Abigail had a great time playing in the sand at the beach too.

QUESTIONS:
-Did you do anything fun last week?
-Are you excited Monster's University is being released next month?

Wordless Wednesday: Character Movie Stars!

We did not know Pocahontas & Meeko were going to surprise us with a meet & greet opportunity this morning at Camp Mickey-Minnie in Disney's Animal Kingdom! Abigail was very excited!

QUESTION:

-Who was the most impressive "movie star" you have met at a Disney Park?