De-Stressing...

Yesterday was a day from you know where. I was utterly stressed out & I hate that feeling. My shoulders & neck were achey, I was in a horrible mood, and I really just wanted to go to bed since it was raining.

Besides shopping, my other 2 "mood lifters" are working out & crafting. So I did both. (As opposed to digging a hole & putting my head in it.)

I am hosting a baby shower for my sis-in-law, so I started working on my infamous clothespins.


Those are one variation of the clothespins that I did for a lingerie shower. The ones I'm working on now will not be pink, since she's having a boy.

While I let the paint dry I popped in Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown dvd. It was seriously, just what I needed. My back was too tense to run & I thought I'd punch the tv if I put in a P90X dvd. (I think Yoga Meltdown may still be available on Fios OnDemand.)
Yoga Meltdown has 2 levels ~ & I find them both challenging. Yesterday I did level 2. It's not your typical "yoga" class. I've mentioned before in previous posts how fast paced it is. Jillian does not "build" on moves as you would in a sanctioned yoga class. Rather she takes you through a series of "power poses", incorporates repetition, and then has you hold on the last rep for 15 seconds. It's like yoga at a cardio pace.

By the end of it, I felt like me again.

Which leads me to: what do you do to "de-stress"?

When your body is put under "stress", it releases cortisol. Cortisol is an important hormone that regulates blood pressure, insulin release, glucose metabolism, & inflammatory response (to name a few).



Some positive effects of cortisol are: quick bursts of energy (think of 'flight or fight'), lower sensitivity to pain, & heightened memory function.

Our bodies have what's called a "relaxation response" where our bodies move from physiological arousal to physiological relaxation ~ once the perceived stress has passed. However this predominantly applies to acute stress. During chronic stress this is far more difficult & often takes the outside help of yoga, stress management techniques, or breathing exercises. This is why it's so important to "de-stress".


Or you could get yourself one of these kits...

As with anything else, too much cortisol can be a very bad thing. (Except shoes....I mean really, can you ever have too many shoes?)

Keeping high levels of cortisol in the bloodstream causes negative effects like: supressed thyroid function, higher blood pressure, blood sugar imbalance, & increased abdominal fat. The increase in abdominal fat could be linked to the fact that cortisol makes your body crave carbohydrates & want to eat more. Plus abdominal fat is the worst fat to have - - -> Abdominal, or visceral, fat is of particular concern because it’s a key player in a variety of health problems — much more so than subcutaneous fat, the kind you can grasp with your hand. Visceral fat, on the other hand, lies out of reach, deep within the abdominal cavity, where it pads the spaces between our abdominal organs. Visceral fat has been linked to metabolic disturbances and increased risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. In women, it is also associated with breast cancer and the need for gallbladder surgery. (Harvard Health Publications)

(Abdominal fat is clearly a post all in itself ~ and don't you worry, I'll save that super interesting post for a later date!) :)


This is why, when you're on a new fitness regimen or healthy eating plan, it's so important to not stress if you have a day that you forget to exercise or splurge & don't follow your diet. It's not worth stressing over. Just kick it in gear the next day & by all means don't count is a failure if you eat a cookie!



Every person is different ~ even down to how much cortisol their bodies secrete. Stress (cortisol, specifically) could be what's keeping you from your health & fitness goals. (Especially if it's causing you to eat cakes like THAT every day!)

1, 2....

Yesterday was a "2 BIC" kind of day


That would be BIC bands. I sported 2 yesterday ~ all day. Yes, all day. We have inventory this week, so it makes my desire to look "cute" at work that much less. Monday through Friday I put in about a 2 in effort on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being, all hands on deck, 100% effort was put in). Unless I have to go see a customer, the public really doesn't see me, so I don't see the point. Plus it makes it that much easier for me to work out as soon as I get home. But on Saturday & Sunday ~ WATCH OUT. Full force effort on those days.


Dexter was ready to camp out by the treadmill as soon as I got home. He has his ridiculously sweet moments, like these, but then he can be an absolute terror. It's our own fault ~ we named him Dexter.

He's a great treadmill buddy ~ he laid there throughout my 4 mile run. (He absolutely stinks as a running partner though.) I hit a wall at 4 miles for some reason & couldn't run any more. A half marathon seems more & more unobtainable on days like these. The first part of my run was great though. My speed was good & my leg felt AMAZING. No more sharp pains from the strain. At one point I was having a problem with motivation, but then I pictured that I was racing Kara Goucher & totally smoked her. Ha, and then I got to laughing picturing ME racing HER. Insane.

What do you do for motivation? Do you have any mantras you repeat to yourself?

Matt had a scrumptious salad waiting for me after I showered...and then we sat down to watch some amazing television.


I indulged. I love that show. I caught up from Monday night's episode just in time to see the results of who was voted off. I'm sad to report that my favorite, professional (girl) dancer, Lacey was voted off ~ I still have no earthly clue who this Mike guy is that she was paired up with.

I was super bummed. Matt even said "AW" after they announced it on the show. Sad day. Hopefully my other favs last a bit longer.

Do you watch DWTS? Please make me feel better by saying "YES" or by offering up an equally indulgent show.

I'm really procrastinating about this whole 'inventory' thing. Counting is not my idea of fun. I'm sure bossman appreciates that I'm blogging rather than counting. Off to the grind.

I have a confession...

Since it was monsooning here yesterday, I headed home after work to do a P90X workout. Yes, I'm done with the program, but apparently it's a hard habit to break. It was insanely lightning at our house, so while I wanted to hop on the treadmill I opted not to. Mainly because Matt's told me not to run on it while there's lightning ~ but I think in yesterday's case ~ he was really wanting to rush home to watch me run in hopes of the power shutting off abruptly, and me flying off.
oddly enough, that's what my hair looks like when I run...

So instead of giving Matt more things to make fun of me for ~ I spent some QT with Tony Horton, working out the shoulders & arms. I really like that workout...especially when it's just the music I hear :) I followed it up with the Ab Ripper X. By the time I was done, Matt was home & ready for dinner. 

Lucky for me, Matt brought me home my current addiction yesterday:

And instead of telling me "here honey, look what I got you"...he said "you have an expensive habit". Tuesday's confessional: I have a bad coffee habit.
I mix these little guys with my protein mix. Sometimes, when I've been really good not shopping online he'll get me these:
These are ah-mah-zing. It's an energy drink too. I know, I know, not the healthiest by any means ~ and I feel like such a hypocrite drinking them. It is Matt's aunt's fault though ~ she brought me a COOLER FULL of them. I couldn't let them go to waste. These double shots though, they are the bomb diggity. I can get enough for TWO protein mix drinks out of these!

I'm sure there are healthier options out there...but do they taste good? Yesterday, this giveaway was posted...which includes some CLICK coffee mixes. Regardless if I win (which the odds are not looking grand), I'm planning on giving these CLICK babies a go round. See if they can rock my socks like Starbucks does. 

Do you have any products that you're absolutely addicted to?

I'm also addicted to CoverGirl's lash blast mascara. I'm lucky if a tube lasts longer than a month.  
only the ORANGE tube please...yes, I've determined I don't like the others as much

after the 90 days

P90X is DUNZO!!!! I'm really, really, really glad to be done with it. 
So this post is totally my opinion and my thoughts on the P90X system.



As with any other workout program...you have to make the time for it. Since this was a dvd based program, it was ultimately up to me & the hubs to pick when we would do the workouts. I prefer morning workouts ~ but with our work schedules being entirely different, evenings were our prime opportunity to do P90X. It's been second nature to me to arrange my workouts week to week, based on plans & such. For Matt, and I'm sure many others, it's not second nature & especially since Matt isn't a "planner", it started to become more of an inconvenience for him.

P90X was developed on the structure of muscle confusion. Meaning, our muscles begin to adapt to the fitness regimens we do, so P90X is 3 phases, with 7 different workouts. Each phase lasts for 4 weeks (3 weeks of intense circuit training, 1 week of recovery).



The strength workouts included:
Chest & Back
Back & Legs
Shoulders & Arms
Chest, Triceps, & Shoulders
Legs & Biceps

The cardio workouts included:
Plyometrics
Kenpo X (variation of kickboxing)
Cardio X (combination of Kenpo X, Plyometrics, Yoga, & Core Synergistics)

Also included:
Core Synergistics
Ab Ripper X
Yoga X

I loathed the days when we had to do Chest & Back ~ it was predominantly pull ups & I suck at them. (Who likes doing something they are not good at?!?) I grew really bored with Plyo & Kenpo by day 35...as did Matt, so on those days we subbed in Cardio X. Cardio X is one disc I will still continue to incorporate with my workouts. (I also am a huge fan of the Core Synergistics disc ~ that's another keeper!)

Ab Ripper X is a 16 minute abdominal circuit...which, it's really a great workout, but after completing a hard strength circuit, it was sometimes really difficult to find the extra energy to complete the abs. We decided to change it up a bit on some of the days & do Ab Ripper first as opposed to last.

I love working out my legs & arms...so I really looked forward to those days! Plus I got to wear my super cute Femme Fitale gloves. (Matt was super jealous he didn't have a pair.)



We never did Yoga X together...we attempted it once, but then Matt ended up yelling at the TV & then started to critique my poses, which really irked me, so I shut it off. We did Jillian Michaels' Yoga Meltdown instead...haha :) Yoga X is an hour & a half....Yoga Meltdown is 40 minutes. Plus the Meltdown is faster paced...which in turn means if you're a newbie to yoga, you probably won't like it. The cueing isn't that great, so it's better to go into this dvd knowing the basics. Yoga X is too repetitive for Matt...it's a true yoga class. You build off of each move & work up to the most complex of them.

I wasn't 100% on board with the nutrition plan. If you need a jumping off point to clean up your diet, it's not a bad start; but neither Matt, nor myself, followed it. I figured out where we should be at as far as caloric intake based on our goals. We increased our veggie & fruit consumption, and I was finally able to get Matt onboard with whole wheat options.

If you're looking for a nutritional program to follow, check out Cynthia Sass' CINCH eating plan. (I studied under her at USF) She's a registered dietician ~ not a random celebrity ~ telling you how to eat.

Matt only did the P90X workouts, whereas I still ran.
So a typical evening for me was:
Run 4:30 to 5:30
P90X strength or cardio 6 to 7 / 7:30
Ab Ripper (on strength days) 7 to 7:20 or 7:30 to 7:50

So pretty much by 8:30, my grandma tendencies kicked in & I was out cold.

Okay so now for my critiques:

I wish we had the Bowflex quick change dumbbells...

It got really cumbersome changing weights throughout the workouts ~ plus, there were times I needed heavier weights / lighter weights...but was limited by what we owned. These would have been an amazing option.
I felt like this system is truly geared towards men. The women 9 times out 10 had on a sports bra & teeny shorts ~ and that's not me speaking out of jealousy, because the women did have amazing bodies. The men on the other hand, always had on shirts & basketball style shorts or pants. I think it only fair that the men take off their shirts. Ha!

Tony Horton got really annoying ~ and I feel horrible critiquing that ~ but it's true. His sayings became normal "speak" in our house & to our other friends that were also on the program. 'Bring It' & 'I love it, but I hate it' are now forever etched into our vernacular. Luckily the dvd's come with the option of just music, or just music & cues...so that helped...a bit.

To sum it up:
I enjoyed working out with Matt ~ that's what I liked the most. I did see changes in my endurance & strength capabilities ~ which is great. I think that anyone interested in this system should definitely try it out, but get a workout partner. It will make it that much more interesting, plus you'll be more likely to "stick with it".

I really enjoy incorporating dvd's and experiencing other trainers' techniques. I think it's a great way to stay not only active, but also to stay up to date on current fitness trends. If I don't agree with something in the health & fitness realm, I need to have firm information as to why. Ignorance is not bliss. Hence why, I try out various workouts. I haven't decided what system I'm going to try out next...there are a few that I'm torn between:

Tracy Anderson ~ I've read some pretty amazing reviews about her techniques
Physique57 ~ again, amazing reviews, and I really like how ecclectic it is
Insanity ~ another Beach Body workout; just looks super intense

More details to come!

A little bit of this & that

My CEP compression sleeves arrived yesterday so I was really wanting to try them out today...
Ignore my grandma knees...

I had to look up their instructional video....to make sure I put them on correctly. They were feeling not so "compressive" (hmmm, not sure if that's a word ~ but it works!)
My "why aren't they feeling 'compressive'?" face

And I wanted to try out my new garb that I got with the Nike giftcard from FitSugar...

Look who figured out how to use the camera timer!


At this point Matteo was yelling out "dork!" & clearly I figured out how to use the timer, but not properly since it went off as I was walking up to it...

I ran 5 miles ~ focused more on my speed & throwing in a hill ~ rather than on distance. I wanted to maintain 8:45 at least....but was closer to 9:15. I have IronGirl coming up & I'm still not 100% sure that this insane bridge is not part of the race anymore ~ hence why I wanted a hill in today's run.

Back to the compression sleeves...I really liked them. I am actually stretching as I blog so I still have them on & they really feel great. I was really worried at first that I had purchased the wrong size since they didn't feel as tight as I expected....but once I started running, I really felt them. I guess my calves turn into man calves as I start running. Regardless...no pain during, especially out of my left calf...didn't feel my strain at all!

In other news: Check out this strawberry!
It was HIS idea to take the picture....

AND ~ we finally have our front entry way like 90% done!!!!

BEFORE....


Ta da!

Replacing that rug is the only thing left to do! I've had no luck in finding one that I like AND that Matt approves of. We got the bench & the mirror online...the signs, the table, and the lamp post are from Bealls Home Outlet...and the coat rack, planter fillers, and lamp shade are from Ross ~ which we went there last night.

Matt's so stylish! (Note the shoes!!! His new Sperry's!)


Happy Saturday! Off to a cook out!

Thursday Arrivals!

This week has F L O W N by! I can't believe it's already Thursday! That means almost down to only 1 week left of P90X! YAY!!!

I've only logged 6 miles this week ~ but my minutes per mile have been improving: 8:00, 8:45, and 8:30


Well the UPS man had a delivery for me today

I ship most everything I order online to my job. So when packages arrive, they are a nice "pick me up"! Sure, Starbucks up the road would do the trick as well...but some days, I really despise driving.

So the big box was from HauteLook - one of my online shopping communities (invite only) that sells designer goods (apparel, accessories, home goods) for a discounted price. I've been working on decorating our house...so I ordered 3 sets of canvases. Only 2 arrived though - which was really annoying.



Turns out that I'm not going to receive the third one...which really stinks. HauteLook sent me an email alerting me that the manufacturer didn't pull through with the order (HauteLook doesn't stock goods...they just coordinate sells & the manufacturer ships). So HauteLook refunded me the third canvas, & then gave me a $20 credit! I thought that was great customer service!

The smaller box was from Nordstrom. I had to order in a pair of shoes that the store here didn't have stock on...my first pair of TOMS!


My fashionable friend Emily had hers on the other day, they were super cute...and I kept thinking about them the next day. (That happens to other people right???) So I caved & ordered a pair - little did I know though, these Classic Glitter Slip On's come in several colors: black, silver, gold, nude, and pink! Emily had on the gold ones, which I loved! I'm a sucker for glitter & comfy shoes. I opted for the nude shade...I figured Matt would be more likely to hold my hand in public if I didn't have on the silver ones (which were my other choice)!
Don't they look super comfy?!?

Nordstrom has quite of a selection of TOMS for men & women. Plus the shoes support a great cause ~ for every shoe purchase, TOMS donates one pair to a child in need.

happy belated WWD!!!!

Yesterday was World Water Day ~ don't worry I had no clue either. I'm sure if I had read my Zoe Report in a timely fashion I would have been well informed earlier in the day.

And then this inspiration of a runner blogged about her love of water ~ which I should have read yesterday.


Check out the world efforts here

Here's some information from the US EPA website on water efficiency:
Save Water, Save Money


The average household spends as much as $500 per year on its water and sewer bill. By making just a few simple changes to use water more efficiently, you could save about $170 per year. If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year! Also, when we use water more efficiently, we reduce the need for costly water supply infrastructure investments and new wastewater treatment facilities.

Save Water, Save Energy

It takes a considerable amount of energy to deliver and treat the water you use everyday. American public water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year—enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. For example, letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours.

By reducing household water use you can not only help reduce the energy required to supply and treat public water supplies but also can help address climate change. In fact:

  • If one out of every 100 American homes retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, we could save about 100 million kWh of electricity per year—avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. That is equivalent to removing nearly 15,000 automobiles from the road for one year!
  • If 1 percent of American homes replaced their older, inefficient toilets with WaterSense labeled models, the country would save more than 38 million kWh of electricity—enough to supply more than 43,000 households electricity for one month.

Here are some of the health benefits of water
 see the entire slideshow by WebMD here
  1. Aids in weight management / weight loss by supressing appetite & boosting metabolism
  2. Can give you an energy boost the natural way 
  3. Can help battle stress
  4. Prevents muscle cramps / strains
  5. Hydarates skin
  6. Aids in healthy digestion
I love WebMD, and diagnose all of Matt's ailments on there look up various topics on there all the time...here's some more info on exercise & dehydration:
Water Tips for Efficient Exercise

For those of you that aren't too crazy about water, here are some tips / suggestions:
  • Try adding fruit to you water - lemon, lime, strawberry, peach, apple...the possibilities are endless
  • If you opt for the vitamin or fruit infused bottled water from a store - check out the ingredients...avoid anything with added sugars, look at the ingredients, are they all natural?
  • How about green tea? You can brew your own, then drink it either hot or cold
  • There are packets that you can add to your water for flavor - but like I mentioned before, pay attention to the ingredients list - avoid products where the ingredients list reads like a foreign language or those that are bound to turn you diabetic because of the amounts of added sugar

There are various other aspects of water that I didn't mention - but hopefully you've caught on to how vital it is ~ especially since our bodies are 2/3 water!

Drink up!

Let's Get Moving ~ Balance Lunge

I did my legs & back workout on Sunday...it's Tuesday & my glutes, and inner/outer thighs are still sore. Love that feeling :)

Thought I'd share a move for you to try:
The Balance Lunge


Here the model is doing one variation which incorporates the use of a physio-ball. The variation I used on Sunday was putting my back leg on a chair & not using anything for balance.

Regardless here are some key things to pay attention to when using either a chair or physio-ball:
#1 - make sure your front leg is out far enough in front of you to where when you bend, your knee does not go past your toe
#2 - a lunge is more "up & down" movement rather than "forward & back"...focus on not moving your body forward when executing a lunge
#3 - engage your core for stability - even when using the chair you will feel a bit of instability
#4 - you can position your back leg as the model has in the position above or you can up the difficulty by not resting your shin, and soley using the tip of your shoe for balance
#5 - the model is using a chair in front to balance - this is a good starting point, but eventually challenge yourself to not to use anything for balance ~ put your hands on your hips & rep it out!

For beginners - first work on properly executing a lunge without throwing in the balance portion. Once that feels comfortable, move on to perhaps using a Bosu ball...keep your front foot on the Bosu as opposed to your back foot. It will provide just a little instability to make you engage your core & focus on balance.

To advance this even more: incorporate bicep curls or shoulder presses

Enjoy!

Shakira's hips don't lie ~ and neither does spandex...

I hurried to do my P90X workout in order to watch Sex and the City. Matteo brought up a hugely valid point the other day ~ why on earth do we watch movies on television...when we own them?!? They are edited for time & there are commercials! So yes, I hurried to finish up legs & back, and then ab ripper...in order to watch SATC on USA.

Back to the workout...spandex does not lie & it gladly shows you areas you need improvement. Kind of like the ideal friend? My zebra patterned "friend" was able to graciously point out my inner thighs.

Here's a thought...how does EpicMealTime consume these horribly, ridiculous, caloric-heart attack-inducing meals, and yet not look like the size of the house? My brudder in law came over for a visit the other day, while home from college, and he just had to show Matt & I these YouTube videos.
Here's one for your viewing pleasure...they have plenty more online incase you'd rather see a meat fortress, a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig, or a massive corn dog...this is just a meat salad:


I don't need to be an RD to realize that this is just not healthy. It makes me a little sad though ~ because I feel like the majority of the US eats like this (granted this is a major exaggeration). I won't turn this into a soapbox moment, but here's 2 words for you: portion control.

What are your thoughts?

While the cat's away, the mouse will play

Well, this was my passenger seat yesterday after work. I headed to Bealls Home Outlet ~ they are relocating which means liquidation sale! Super stoked. Since "you know who" is gone for the weekend, I have to make the most of every minute! Matt is letting me "re do" some rooms in our house. Pictures to come!

And here is a picture of the backseat of Mama Dukes' car after our Nordies' adventure:


In true shopper fashion, we arrived at Nordstrom when they opened. Lucky for us, the shoe department was having a GREAT sale!
How cute is this shoe box?!? Ha, part of the sale was the box! It looks like a shopping bag! The shoes aren't bad either. 




Finally found a cross body bag! Elliot Luca has an amazing selection...I opted for snakeskin & mom, the pewter. The chain is like tri-colored...it looks super cute on.


We finished up at Nordstrom & moved on to the Nordstrom Rack ~ where I found these Sperry's! I'm an imposter boater.


No, the ones on the left are NOT mine! Bought those for the hubs. The cute plaid ones are mine though!
How "his & hers" of us, huh? 
Actually, I was feeling a little guilty that I was finding all these great buys & poor Matt was fishing :( Oh wait, he CHOSE to go. It's not like he's fishing for food or anything. So anyways, I got him the Sperry's & then found this super chic men's dress shirt. I'm sure he's going to hate it. 

So in true What Not To Wear fashion....here's what I got:
3 pairs of shoes ~ 4 if you include Matt's
2 MAC lipgloss
 1 purse
1 dress
1 top
1 men's dress shirt
1 cardigan
1/2 a set of bangles ~ ha, mom found this killer set & there was only 1...so we went halfsies ~ she's forgetful though, so in a week they'll all be mine
Too bad isn't what on What Not To Wear's tab!

I'd like to interrupt this fashion rambling to tell you to DRINK WATER. I was super annoyed today, the only reason we STOPPED shopping....besides the fact that we don't have an unlimited budget....I was so feeling dehydrated. Sure we had water with us...but it wasn't nearly enough. And shopping is a sport, we don't stop for "breaks"...you keep going if you expect any deals!
No pain, no gain baby!

Well, I'm off to spend an hour with Tony Horton, P90X'ing it up ~ then it's off to a celebratory birthday dinner!

Tminus 24 hours before Matt's triumphant return!

TGIF - i heart Nordies

I'm super excited for the weekend! Well, it's actually a bittersweet excitement. The hubby is heading out of town for a fishing / camping / BPS thing with his fellow boyscouts guy friends. I will miss him....but Nordstrom must have just known I'd be sad, because this weekend is triple points for card holders! Woohoo!
So in honor of my shopping trip tomorrow with mama dukes ~ thought I'd share a fun Nordies experience....

In October of 2010, Tampa welcomed our first Nordstrom Rack (sigh)
After I stalked Nordstrom's website, placed numerous calls...I found out about the new addition in 2009 & found out the date of the opening in March 2010. I then took a day off of work for the opening - yes, minor obsession.

The opening was set for 9am, we arrived at 5:30am
Clearly this was an important event ~ left the sports bra at home & wore makeup!

It was super cold ~ for me.

The CBS (channel 10) news crew was there ~ well, one reporter & camara gal. I in advertantly left out a detail: mom & I were not the first in line. As we rolled up in the parking lot, another car was parking at the exactsametime. They parked and RAN up to the door to beat us. Punks. 

Apparently though the news gal, Janie, liked mom & I more ~ because she interviewed us (read: ME), not them. Mom opted to bail out on me during the 'air time'.  



Once the sun started to come up...more people started showing up (because they're normal).

More air time: Fox 13 news


Why, yes, I'm available for an interview ~ nominal fee of course
 So Nordstrom Rack's do this thing on opening days, where 15 minutes before the doors open they pick 1 lucky winner (via raffle) to win a 90 second shopping spree. The winner gets total access to the store, sales associates for help, and can grab anything & everything they want. Then once the time is up, they are allowed to try what they grabbed on, exchange sizes, etc. Amazing.
93.3FLZ was here to do the drawing portion ~ and give a play-by-play during the spree of all the winner was grabbing.

My heart was racing as they drew the name....

 I didn't win!?! WHAT! Yeah, some girl that literally showed up 5 minutes before the drawing one. Blast!

But Nordies pulled through for us ~ mom & I each got a $50 gift card for being one of the firsts in line (we were #3 & #4, we would have been #1 & #2, but I'm not bitter....)

At least we got "air time" :)
And a reusable tote bag! Holler!



And people actually saw my interviews!!! :) I got a few texts throughout the morning telling me that I was spotted on the news, or people heard an interview. The hubs even got a phone call from a customer asking if he was related to me, since my name was mentioned. MB was pretty stoked that his wife was an overnight celebrity ridiculous enough to take off of work to shop.


Champion 5K ~ a little recap

Champion 5K is a race hosted by Dicks Sporting Goods during the ESPN Weekend at Disney Hollywood Studios. I think I've mentioned before that 5K's really aren't "my thing" ~ but in this particular case, they only offer a 5K....and let's be honest folks - I really wanted a medal :

We had about a 10 minute drive to the theme park...the race started at 7am ~ so we arrived at 6:15am.

The hubby was ridiculously excited ~ the picture tells all!
My outfit: Nike Roadie shirt, black cheer shorts with Reebok pink & black zebra volleyball shorts underneath, and my Gel-Noosa Tri 6 Asics ~ my shoe of choice at the moment. (Yes....a variety of brands ~ I haven't received that sponsorship wardrobe quite yet).

The race had a late start ~ apparently there was a bus that was delayed??? I really don't know. But my thought process was that if each participant has their own time chip, why do we have to wait? The clock time is not going to be their race time ~ but whatev, if only I ruled the world...
I had to run with my iPod in hand, and I'm not super coordinated enough to manage an iPod & camara...so no race route shots....except for this one that was taken of my mom pushing my little brother...



The route was enjoyable ~ music all along the course. I was able to run without listening to my iPod the majority of the time.


The start was in the parking lot to the left of the park entrance. It started out really, really wide...no crowding at all. But at about 1/2 mile, the course narrowed as it approached the turnaround to head into the park. It was crazy tight & I had to slow down a tremendous amount to avoid tripping over a cone & this one lady. I completed the first mile in 8:27, which is a PR for me. At the first mile marker you loop into the side entrance of the park & begin the next mile in the "backstage" area.

It had rained the night before, so I made it a point to stay on the gravel area as much as possible. I did have to run in some "non gravel" areas - which I can only describe as painted cement....I did that as briefly as possible. I knew I'd bust if I attempted to run on it for awhile.

We finished the second mile by running through the stunt car show & the streets of New York ~ which really throws you for a loop. You turn a corner & see what appears to be a never ending road...alas, it is just a really good back drop. You turn immediately before it.

I finished the second mile around 17:42

The final mile took us past Aerosmith's Rock'n'Roller Coaster ~ a fav of the hubs. And then up & around Tower of Terror ~ where there is an abruptly steep climb. I was really excited about the downhill portion though ~ I had slowed up a bit due to some side stitches. I'm pretty sure I psyched myself out over PR'ing that first mile. All along the last mile are different personalities, like the Spartan Cheerleaders. The last mile took what felt like forever...I could hear the announcers from the start of the race ~ so I knew we were close. The deception of it all though was super annoying...I was ready to be done!

I passed the final mile marker at 27:35 (told ya I slowed down!) Crossed the finish line at a chip time of 28:17 (another PR ~ best race time).

I should have prefaced this all by saying that I wore mascara. Mainly because I look like death without it & well, it's ESPN, there were television camaras. Lesson learned though. As soon as I crossed over the finish line & found the hubs, I IMMEDIATELY regretted wearing it. My eyes burnt like HADES! It was miserable & took a good 5 minutes to stop hurting. AGONY!


END RESULT:

I accomplished my goal ~ beating last year's time

And the hubs accomplished his goal ~ beating me (by 23 seconds) Ridiculous.
This was smart positioning on my part. Matty is hiding the portion of my shirt that is stained with black from my mascara.


Why yes, we are P90X people...how ever did you tell?!

Something not right is going on with my leg here....my brother was telling me to sit on his lap & well, I stunk & felt horrible doing so ~ hence the awkward, side lunge?

Kudos to my mom for pushing my brother the entire race...& with a broken toe. She's hard core.



And kudos to my brother for giving away a medal to Mr. Bob...Ralphie has a service dog named Gracie ~ Mr. Bob & his wife Ms. Glenna watched Gracie during the race. This picture was right after Ralphie placed the medal around Mr. Bob's neck - note Gracie rearing to go in the background!




This was definitely a fun 5K to do ~ especially since it turned into a "family race".


Next up: