Weekend Happenings

What a marvelous weekend! 

In the name of charity...
On Friday evening, I think I got an ab workout.  My stomach hurts from laughing so hard at the Firemen Auction for charity event that I attended.  The Firemen were very nice and the women were out of hand so much so I think my abs will never be the same.  Mind you, this event took place in Colorado Springs.  A location I tend to think is quite conservative.  I'm here to tell you that there are 400 women who don't fit my description of conservative.  The good news is that this benefit raised money for the Women's Resource Agency and gave me quite a healthy dose of laughter.  I even bid on a fireman.  It was fun.  I sure was glad to have not been the highest bidder!  Even though bachelor encouraged me to bid, I might have had some explaining to do.

14 Miles
On Saturday morning, I joined our group for a nice run on the Highline Canal.  I felt ready to have a good run and I'd have great company for the first six miles.  But as you learn in endurance running, you just don't know when the wheels will come off.  At about Mile 10, my body decided it had enough.  Could have been the poor sleep I have been getting.  Could have been cutting back my calories.  My mind was ready to finish the remaining 4 miles quickly but my legs really weren't happy about it.  Seriously, my legs just didn't have any strength in them.  However, when your car is 4 miles away, you have no choice, eh?  I very slowly made it back to the start area, never so happy to see my car.

Honestly, this 14 mile run and my Monday and Tuesday runs have made me nervous about the Greenland 25K that is less than two weeks away.  I'm hoping the running gods will show me a little love tomorrow and Saturday.  I'm sure if I slept more than 5 hours a night, I might not even need running god intervention. 

After the 4 mile slug-fest at the end of a perfect 10 mile run, I showered and took a hard 30 minute nap.  It's been a long time since I've taken such a hard nap after a long run.  Ate a little lunch and then went and got my hair done.  A nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

Deer Creek Canyon Park
Sunday morning brought me to Deer Creek Canyon Park.  I'm still amazed that these locations are so close to Denver.  A quick 30 minute drive and nothing but beautiful open space.  Space like this...

I was joined by two friends and one precious border collie. 

We didn't have a plan of how far or how long.  At least I didn't.  All I had on my dance card for the day was a meet-up with the boy at around 6:00pm.  My patient friends even waited for me while I chatted with the boy on the cell phone on the trail.  This is probably bad trail behavior but the boy makes me smile.

At the end, I think we went 4.56 miles in a little over 2 hours and 15 minutes.  At least I think so.  My Garmin magically turned itself off.  And this was after I forgot to turn it on when we headed out. 

It was a great trail.  Lots of different terrains and conditions.  Even some snow so puppy could cool herself off.

And we also saw two hawks.  What a way to spend a perfect Colorado morning!

And what was the wonderful capstone to the weekend?  Hanging out with the boy!  Life is good.

Other happenings...I lost 1.6 pounds this week.  Going back to Weight Watchers is a good thing.  I think my lack of confidence in running is related to my feelings around gaining back a few pounds.  Feels good to be doing something about it instead of complaining or whining.  Action is far better than words. 

And tomorrow evening (technically Thursday morning) I will be on a plane to Savannah, GA!!  For five days, four nights of relaxation with my best friend and her mom.  I'm determined to enjoy myself and not gain weight.  Wish me luck.  With Paula Deen food, this might be a little tricky.  I promise lots of pictures when I return!

Laura

Sleep Deprived

Even though this day has dragged, I'm glad the weekend is here!  I hope you have some fun plans.  This evening, I'm heading down to Colorado Springs to check out some Firemen.  Never fear though, its for Charity!  It's my civic duty actually.

Tomorrow I have a 14 mile run with the Group.  I'm looking forward to being on a crusher-fine trail.  And then in the afternoon, I'm spending a lot of time and money getting my hair done.  Sunday should bring a nice hike and some free time...hopefully with the bachelor. 

Time with the bachelor is the reason for my sleep deprivation.  And I wouldn't have it any other way!  It has impacted my running, so I'm hoping to become a little more disciplined because I'm not as happy when I miss a run.  This week, I did 5 miles of speed work on Tuesday and then 6 miles on Thursday.  So I missed my Monday and Wednesday runs.  This is no good!  But the Thursday run was really great.  The weather was perfect, the birds were chatty from beginning to end, and I was about 2 minutes faster than I was last Thursday.  But let's not even discuss any further progress on P90X.  Does it count that my new dumbbell weights arrived?

On the upside, the time with bachelor has been fantastic.  And this past week, my eating is well balanced in quality and quantity.  Finally.  On Monday, I joined Weight Watchers, mainly out of frustration.  And then a small group of us from the running group made a 4 week challenge.  We each contributed $20 and the person who loses the highest percentage of body fat will win the pot!  These two things were just what I needed.  I'm back to logging my food - and this really helps center me.  I've been keeping my calories around 1600/day and this seems manageable to me.  So all in all, my lack of sleep has been tempered with good eats.  Sorry, no pictures.  I'll try to get back on the blogging and picture wagon this weekend!

I'm hoping next week is a week to rejuvenate. 

And since I'm going to Savannah, how can I not rest and relax?  On Thursday, at the very early hour of 1:30am, I'll be on my way to the land of humidity, beautiful flowers, a great historic district, beach, and Paula Deen food.  What else does a girl need?  Well, the bachelor as a traveling companion...a girl can dream, right?

More about my admiration about Paula Deen later.  She won me over when I saw her wrap a ham in pastry dough and then glazed it with an orange sauce.  And I don't even eat ham!

Laura

P90X Fail

Monday started out so promising.  And then the wheels of this P90X operation came falling apart.  Monday was the only P90X workout I got in.  Oh Tony Horton, I know you are disappointed in me.  He would make some comment about not bringin' it and give me an ol' failing grade...

I'm not giving up.  Next week is a new start.  And I think I'll start my P90X week on a Sunday, when I have a lot more time!  I'm also thinking of trying to do two or three workouts this week as a way to ease into it, instead of going from zero to 60 in under a minute. 

So what happened to the P90X operation?  It was a busy week with the bachelor.  Lots of good times and little sleep.  And at the end of the day, I won't skip a run for P90X.  I had a fabulous 5 mile speedwork session on Tuesday which tested this Buttercup's muster.  On my last lap it started to hail. 

Yes, that's right, it hailed while I was running.  I'm not sure if I knew it was my last lap or the hail made it so...in any event, I had some good acceleration laps.  And then on Thursday, I had a really great 6 mile run.  I pushed myself a little bit more because I ran with someone the entire time - the benefits of running with others.

The weekend arrived early for me when the boss gave me the afternoon off.  What does a girl do with such free time?  Well, I went to Costco and am currently doing laundry.  Exciting stuff, no doubt but the only night I was home this week was Monday!  So I needed to do a little catch up.

I love Costco.  I know I'm not the only one...even bachelor loves Costco.  Today's trip I stocked up on hummus, clementines, apple slices, spinach, sunscreen, water with bubbles, chicken burgers and sundried tomatoes...

Tomorrow I have a 10 mile run with the group.  And then I think bachelor and I will do something on Saturday evening.  Sunday will be a hike with M & K and lunch or afternoon cocktails with other friends.  I also hope to cook something...I didn't forget about that New Year's resolution...Hope you all have an awesome weekend!

Laura

P90X Day One

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.  Oh.  My.  Day One was chest, back and abs.  And if yesterday's fitness test is any indication, I might be a little sore tomorrow.  Actually, I was a little sore by 11:00am.  The workout was hard, but Tony Horton is encouraging, shows you different adaptations, and encourages you to push through.  While not a connoisseur of workout DVDs, I've seen a few and this is by far the best!

Today's workout included variations on the pull-up bar and many different types of push ups.  52 minutes worth. Only a few exercises involving dumb bells.  It was fun.  Felt good to get back to strength training.  And then a 16 minute ab routine.   Could I keep up?  Definitely not.  But this is only Day One. 

The pull-up bar.  Rest assured I am not doing unassisted pull-ups.  Wouldn't want you all to be thinking I am super woman!  I managed 1/4 of an unassisted pull-up.  Well, maybe it was an 1/8 of an unassisted pull-up.  But I am rather proficient at hanging on the bar - but as a friend kindly pointed out, that isn't going to get me anywhere.  So my pull-ups were assisted by the chair, but I could still feel the burn! 

Last night was movie night with the bachelor, so I didn't get to sleep until midnight.  Needless to say, I had time to get the P90X workout in, but not enough time to get my run on.  I think balance between life, going out, work and running this is going to be tough to fit it all in.  Especially because above all else, I'd rather be running!

Before you start P90X, there is home work.  So, after yesterday's hike with M & K, I took the P90X fitness test.  You write down how you do with different exercises - pull ups, push ups, vertical leaps, toe touches, wall squats, etc.  While P90X might take me 180 days to get through, I'm motivated.

Hope you had a great start to your week!

Laura

And the Winner Is...

Hey Gang.  Well there were a total of thirteen entries.  And using the True Random Number Generator the result was....Number 5!

Here's the proof...sorry for the blurry image...

And the number 5 comment was provided by Mariah!  Congrats Mariah.  The promotions person from CSN will contact you to see if you what you are going to order...barstools or otherwise!  Thanks to all who participated.

On the Run Eat Date front...well, this morning was a great 12.25 mile outing with the running group.  The weather was perfect!  Sunshine...great temps and good company.  My legs are still weak but the knee pain I had on Thursday disappeared!  That made me quite happy.  I was going to meet up with the bachelor today but we are going to try for tomorrow instead.  Disappointed.  But now I might attend a 40th birthday party instead.  Decisions Decisions.  Hope you all are having some great weekend weather.

Laura

Finally It Arrived!

First things first.  If you haven't signed up the the giveaway, go to my Giveaway post and leave a comment.  You could win $30 credit to CSN stores to purchase your item of choice from over 200+ stores!

OK...guess what arrived yesterday?  After much back and forth and having to wait for it to arrive, my P90X is here! 

I'm quite excited.  And I'll start my P90X journey on Monday.  I'm sure I'll have some entertaining blog posts as I try to tone and become a lean machine!  It looks pretty intense and I'll spend the weekend going over the materials, taking "before" pictures and measurements, and figuring out how to integrate P90X into my running schedule.

I'm happy that Friday is here.  I have a ton of work to get done but I'm going into work a little early to get a jump on it.  Even with this works stress, I'm excited the weekend is here.  On tap for me: a 14 mile run on a hilly course (fun!), time with the bachelor (who I really really like), and a hike with some fabulous ladies.  Maybe even a little easter chocolate too. 

Have a great Friday.  And if you haven't signed up for the giveaway, you have until 5:00pm Mountain Time to do so!!

Laura