It's Kidd's Kids Day!

Y'all that have been reading my bloggie for a while know how obsessed I am with this charity and organization!  Kidd's Kids is a charity that Kidd Kraddick from the syndicated radio show, Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, created in 1991 (20 years ago this year!  YEAH!).  Its purpose is to raise funds to send 50 chronically and terminally ill children and their families on a five-day trip to Walt Disney World.  

The five days at Walt Disney World include:  Board, Park admission including those nifty fast-passes, food, shennanigans, clothes, anything you can think of!  Medical staff are even standing by!  We donate so that these children and their families can have less worry for five days.  Extra funds usually go toward families that are having a hard time with medical bills or equipment for the children.

This is absolutely my most favorite charity in the whole wide world.  I get to see, hear, and experience this trip with these kids.  They are always so very grateful for what they have received, and probably the most humble little humans you'll ever meet.  Their families are above and beyond the coolest and proudest people on the planet, and they are all truly deserving of 120+ hours of what I like to call "fun freedom".

Give what you want or can.  Every little bit helps in every little way.  I'm hoping that my donation gives a little girl a Princess Makeover at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! 

And On the First Day, God Said...

"Let There Be Light!"

First off, I apologize for my AWOL tendencies.  It wasn't until about two weeks ago when I realized that I needed a break for some "me" time.  Those of you that have blogged for years, without a break, truly amaze me.  If that creative genius can continue to run through you for so very long, then you deserve a medal.  I plum ran out of things to write about, as my day seems so monotonous and redundant:  Train, work, train, sleep.  But you know what?  Most of us have that, day after day, and we throw spice in it.  I finally found me some good spices, so here's hoping that my next mental "me" break won't be as long.

 Let's get to today and perhaps a new change, hence the Light.  You could say that I "jumped on the bandwagon" with this, and I'll admit that I've hopped on it, but not a full jump.  I'm doing a two-week gluten free test to see how things go.  The worst case scenario is that I find out that I am tolerant of gluten and that I can eat wheat.  That's the worst case.  There is no harm in trying it, and hoping for answers for more energy, less moody, more foodie motivation, and less digestive blahs and bloaties.

I actually wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be for this today.  QUITE LUCKILY FOR ME, I've had a lot of experience in eating clean, unprocessed foods, so it's not like I don't know how to not eat wheat or products that may contain gluten (good Lord, it's just about everything in a package or jar).  A banana and some natty pb (I checked the label:  Gluten free!) before my run (9.25 of the prettiest miles you've ever seen!) did the trick, and some Silk Pure Almond Dark Chocolate almond milk for post-run yummies (not labeled "Gluten Free" quite yet, but the company website explains that their products are made without wheat, wheat gluten, rye, oat, barley or malt ingredients, that their facilities do not process other products with those ingredients, but they have not run testing for their products for those specific ingredients yet, therefore, they can't OFFICIALLY say it's gluten free...smart), but I had no clue what was for lunch!  Mom asked if I wanted to go to some seafood restaurant, so I looked up their menu on the web to see if there were gluten free items.  No such luck.  I'm assuming that this will be a regular thing, but I'm looking forward to some foodie inspiration.

I knew that Pei Wei had a GF menu, so we hit that up!

My Gluten Free Pei Wei Spicy Chicken Salad, after I tossed it of course.  *Le eyeroll*  See how I've forgotten to even take pictures of food when it's pretty?  It was delicious either way!

I hit up Whole Foods for some GF love.  Can you imagine me living without oatmeal?!  :O  The goods:

Other than this, it's the usual suspects:  Fresh produce, chicken, turkey, etc.  See?  Life isn't over!  Hehe!  I'm learning so much from so many peoples' bloggies regarding gluten free living, and I thank you all for continuing to blog your experiences and recipes!  I hope everyone has had a healthy, happy life since I took my break, and I'm looking forward to catching up on my blog reading!

Oh and the title of this post was brought to you by the Sunday school lesson I taught this morning on Creation and God's blessing of creativity!  What a true virtue.  :)

The Heavenly Smell of Cool and Trainer Tip Tuesday

Source

So I kept yesterday's run short and sweet, as a cool front hath moved into the area.  But I knew that this morning would be even  cooler, and therefore, more epic.  I head out early with the cool sunrise, still rocking shorts in 59*F.  I looked down after a few miles and noticed that my legs had turned PINK, hehe.  The pace was easy, the air was that first feeling of brisk, and I couldn't get over the smell of cold.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  I wish Yankee Candle could bottle this smell; I'd buy every store out of it and burn candles all day long. This smell makes me close my eyes, and go "mmmmm", like I just smelled the most amazing, savory food.  It's only cold air, but it makes me so happy.

I know what you're thinking:  "Crazy woman, you are so getting ahead of yourself."  I get excited about this type of weather!  It means that beautiful things are coming.  I can run faster, breathe easier, and I feel way more efficient.  It also means some fun pumpkin, bread, and soup recipes make a comeback!  Ohmigawsh, Autumn...I just got overly excited again at the thought of it. While it might become quite depressing for some, it's like a feeling of rejuvenation for me.  Now, this cool front and cooler weather is only temporary, but I got a whiff of happy just in the nick of time.  Nothing could knock me down today, not even an easy 7-miler and 13 three year-olds coming back from a three-day weekend.

Trainer Tip Tuesday:  Stay Motivated by Changing Your Warm-Up

Are you the type of person that goes into the gym to lift and do the same, boring warm-up every single time?  You eventually roll your eyes at the idea of warming up at all (even though you know that you need to warm up your muscles before working them), and while you might avoid injury this time, you might not be so lucky in the future.  Do something new, for cryin' out loud.  This could be a warm-up for anything:  Running, cycling, lifting, playing tennis, golf, volleyball, etc..  Sometimes changing one aspect of your workout will keep you motivated, and excited to do something brand new for yourself.

Handwalks are amazing for warming up your upper body.  Your shoulders, while very strong, are very susceptible to injury and absolutely need a proper warming.  Most people neglect warming them up regularly, and often pay the price in chest workouts. 

Step by step:

1. Start in "extended" Push-up position by walking hands out above shoulders while keeping plank position.
2. While keeping knees straight (huge point!), let your hips go up as you baby-step your feet toward your hands.  
3. Keeping legs straight so you don't compensate, keep walking up with ankle steps until you can't safely fold any further at the waist. Ideally your heels would be on the ground with knees locked straight and hands flat on the ground. This isn't the ultimate goal, though.
4. After maximum functional hip flexion is reached, quickly walk hands back out while you leave feet planted.
5. Continue walking hands back out to the starting push-up position.
6. Perform 6-10 full hand walk up reps.
     
    Give these a try next time you go in to lift, play your favorite sport, or just want to work your shoulders and core while stretching your hammies.  They're fun to do, it'll make you feel more secure in your core, and people will stare in awe.  ;)

One Happy Run

Happy Labor Day, and to many, happy three-day weekend, friends!  I know that I hardly updated last week, but I hardly trained!  I think that it was my week back from my Bye Week, and I needed to ease back into a badass training status.  A couple of runs, a spin, some weight-training, and I felt like that was enough, without placing pressure on myself mentally. 

I was so looking forward to this morning's run!  Let me show you why.

Oh yeah!  Oh yeah!  It was 66*F when I laced up and busted pavement!  The Happy Feet started going IMMEDIATELY!  I decided that since tomorrow morning will be a bit cooler, that I'd just do a short, easy run this morning with some drills, and really go out for a longer, cooler run later. 

B-Skips comin' at'cha!

Coolness:  I luffs it!

Four miles later, and I was home.  I showered, and enjoyed some downtime before running some errands.  Lunchtime later with Mom and Dad at Fuddrucker's, and I opted for a Venison burger with sweet potato fries!  DELISH!

 I could eat about half of this, but it made for a great din-din later, hehe.

 I hope that everyone is had a fantastic Labor Day weekend!  Mine was just filled with a lot of rest, relaxing, and laundry.  :) 
 

Please keep my peeps in Central and South-Central Texas in your prayers, positive thoughts, or otherwise well wishes.  There are huge fires raging through many parts around Austin and some in San Antonio, and has forced many of my friends out of their homes.  Over 25,000 acres have gone up in flames, and over 430 homes burned down to the ground.  I pray that my friends and family members are lead down a safe path!

My First Bye Week

It's only the second week in marathon training, and I may have mistakenly taken this week off from EVERYTHING.  No training.  None.  Not even Yoga or Pilates.  Basically off on nutrition, had three days off from work (I'll explain why in a minute), and obviously off from blogging (even missing Trainer Tip Tuesday!).  For some reason, all things training-related were on the back burner.  Do not misunderstand:  This was not a case of the "Don't wanna's". I actively thought about running, then didn't think about it again.  I didn't freak out about not training. I just didn't do any of it.   It's like my brain and body were in cahoots, and the deal was that my body was going to get a rest and my brain would make sure I didn't find out, or at least mind.  Let's be honest, though:  When your body and brain cahoot, then there's something up.  Either I needed the physical break, or the mental break, or both.  I ain't worried.

Regarding the usual things that pile up (it's never just one or two things in life that changes things...it's usually more like fifteen):  I didn't actually get completely sick -- I think that I'm finally getting the knack of defeating a sinus infection before it becomes a full-fledged mess.  My legs and energy were fine, though I'll admit, not awesome.  My parents and I went down to Houston to visit my preggo sister and her hubs on Tuesday to find out the gender of their baby (IT'S GOING TO BE A BOY!), so the power of uncertainty got the best of me there (where to run, how far, how much time would I have, what if I got lost, etc.).  On top of these things, crappy nutrition and more lingering questions.

I'm not sure that I've ever gone a full week of just not doing anything before during training periodization, but by God, now I can say that I have.  I feel rested mentally and physically!  I don't feel pressure about the miles that I missed...at all.  That's either worrisome or a good thing.  I'm not sure which, but my Zen attitude says "I really couldn't care less," hehe. 

I'll be back to training (Yoga) and blogging tomorrow, and I hope that everyone has had an amazing week and weekend!

Official and Trainer Tip Tuesday

Yesterday was my first official run of marathon training!  Since I moved my run from Saturday to Sunday morning, I decided that the five miles should be at a recovery pace.  I had to do some work things early yesterday morning, so I got my lift (chest/biceps) done then, and ran after work, which worked out perfectly.  If I was in this position a month ago, I probably would've just skipped running and done it today (Tuesday).  I'm determined and ready, without the obsessive attitude I usually have during training. I got in a very easy spin on Q this morning, and some foam-rolling this evening.

Next up, Trainer Tip Tuesday!  I figure that a new segment is in order, and why not use my skillz to give you, the reader, a new idea or tip when it comes to your fitness?  I love coming up with new exercises or changing things up to work muscles differently (most trainers do...especially when they're bored, bwahahaha).  I posted a few months ago on "How to Survive the Weight Room", which a lot of y'all loved!  Why not extend that (now that I think about it, lol) to once a week?

So every Tuesday, I'll either show a different exercise, or give tips on fitness and/or weight loss.  You never know what you might learn.  ;)

Today's tip is regarding core work.  A BOSU (BOth Sides Up) ball is a great tool to add core conditioning to your workout.  You can strengthen synergistic (supporting) muscles all the way from your feet to shoulders by doing different (sometimes mundane) exercises on a BOSU.  Don't have access to a BOSU?  Use a fitness or stability ball!

(People watched as I did this...I think they were really concerned about someone perching themselves on a fitness ball, then whipping out their phone to take a picture.  I would be, too.)

First thing's first:  Get on the ball.  Get near a wall or pole that you can hang on to at first.  Don't try to just go out into open space until you feel comfy doing so.  Place your knees on the ball, move your hips forward, lift your toes off the floor, bring your chest up, and BREATHE!  You can place your hands on the wall or pole until you feel good enough to take your hands away.  You know what to do if you feel wobbly...just trust your core.  Keep working on this until you feel confident to do extra exercises.

I couldn't really video myself doing any exercises on it (I'll take my digi cam next time), so here's a reference to just one of many exercises you can do while stabilizing yourself on a fitness/stability ball.   You could also incorporate (once you are comfy in this position) dumbbell shoulder presses, dumbbell chest flyes, trunk extensions or leans with a weighted ball, lateral and front raises, and the list goes on!

Tonight's dinner while watching Master Chef...ooooooooo!  Not very chef-like, but still very delish:  1.5 cups of spinach, 1.25 cups shrimp, cherry tomatoes, red onions, pine nuts, and fresh lemon juice all over.  Yummy!

I hope you enjoyed this tip!  I have plenty in my brain to share, so I hope you tune-in on Tuesdays!  :)  And here's to a lovely training season!  Cheers!

Did I Do That?

First and foremost, I want to thank you all for your heart-felt messages and e-mails about my Uncle Frank.  He did indeed have a stroke (beyond unexpectedly) and unfortunately it occurred in an area of the brain that is literally the worst-case scenario.  He died very peacefully on Wednesday, just about 24 hours after my Aunt and cousin made the extremely difficult decision of taking him off of life support.  Uncle Frank meant a great deal to our family, often referred to "The Second Love of (Her) Life" by my Momma (hehe!), and I know he made my Aunt Jeannie the happiest woman in this whole wide world.  The amount of people at the hospital, his viewing, and the funeral spoke volumes of how much he was loved and adored, and seeing so many people there warmed my heart.  Again, thank you so very much for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words!
 

While I view death and dying as a part of life and the next great adventure, and I'm quite honest and blunt about it, I understand that it's quite depressing and something most people don't care to read about or discuss.  So let's get on to the heart of this post, shall we?  I did something today that is so typical of me.  Ever have that Urkel moment?  You run into something and a whole bunch of fruit or breakable items come crashing down, or say something you shouldn't have said?  I had an Urkel moment today that I'll get to in the middle of this post.

We got our first rain in a little over two and a half months yesterday, which brought in a small cool front!  YES!!!(ridiculous amount of exclamation points here!)  This morning, it was 74*F at my house (ZOMG!) and 76*F at White Rock Lake.  I noticed a ton of traffic, people, event tents and port-a-potties near the northern part of the lake, and thought nothing of it (I've been out there before and the race or event was held off the trails of the lake).  I parked at my usual spot, grabbed my Nathan hydration pack, set my Garmin and took off.  I wore my Zoot TTs today; I think that the longest distance I've worn them was probably around 7 miles.  I was very curious to see how they'd go on long runs, since they are designed for most distances, including marathon.  They ended up feeling so great the whole time!

So I set out on the trail.  The weather was SO GORGEOUS!  I'm sure that it was pretty humid out, but I didn't care.  Running in the mid-70*s was just so fantastic!  I soaked up every single minute of it, and gazed out at the terrific lake and forest scenery.  Trottin' along, I began to notice mile-markers.  Rut roh, I thought...Guess I'd be committing the cardinal sin of jacking a race course (I later found out that it was The Hottest Half).  As long as I stay out of everyone's way, it should be fine right?  I didn't think too much about it, and kept on with my easy pace and a smile on my face (I'm pretty sure that I smiled the entire time). 

By mile 5.25, it was time to take a couple of CLIF Bloks, stretch, and head back.  It was during this time that a huge surge of the race came through on the trails!  I gazed in amazement at all of the strong bodies leading the race, then jumped to the side of the trail to start heading back.  I got passed...a lot...then suddenly found myself in the 9:30-ish pace group.  I wondered what would happen if I just stuck with them for the rest of my run?  This was an easy pace for me, though it was faster than I had planned for this run, but oh well.  I hung out with these runners, whom were only on mile 3 of the race. 

Halfway point already?!

While I would never, ever suggest jumping in on a race like this, I definitely enjoyed being around so much energy...even the hills seemed way easier (probably because I couldn't see them!  There were THAT MANY runners!).  I stuck with the race peeps, cheering them all on, and yes -- passing all of the water stations (that would've really made me a bad runner!), then continued on the trail as they turned around to finish the last half of their HM.  I had another mile and a half to go, so I upped the pace just a little bit more.  I began thinking "Did I really crash a HM?  DID I DO THAT?!"  I began feeling quite guilty about my actions, thinking about how I'd feel if someone jumped into my race and stole my thunder.  I wondered if I had blocked anyone's Best Race Picture Ever, or worse, indirectly ruined someone's PR.  I tried to let that get out of my mind, knowing that I fret far too much over things like that.  Would you have jumped in, or would you have found another route?

Either way, it was another amazing ten miles in the books, and at an easy 9:54 average pace.

 

I got a nice, little walking cooldown (in the sun, when I realized that the temps had gone up and that I had forgotten to put on sunscreen...oy), then hopped in my Jeep to get home, shower, and go to breaky with my family.

One last picture I leave you with today:  My brother-in-law's breaky.  I didn't take a picture of my boring egg whites with spinach and tomatoes, turkey bacon, and fruit on the side, but Stephen is pretty epic when it comes to breaky, and I thought it was blog-worthy, hehe.  Four eggs, four pancakes, and hash browns.  The doode's a machine.

Happy new week, and I hope you find yourself living every single moment with joy, Friends!