{5 by the 5th} #3/6

Happy March y'all!
A new month means, another 5 by the 5th virtual race.
And, I went with a spontaneous 5k.

{Monday} I woke up to a pee on laundry room floor, crazy dog!! Uhmm, this wasn't exactly my idea of a great morning start. Ehhh, I got busy cleaning, and I mean cleaning! I didn't stop until I noticed sunshine and then got in contact with a friend, who said she'd be running. I loaded my girls in the double jogger and met up with her and another gal for a park playdate, which turned into my warm-up. The sun was shining, kids were playing/exploring and we were chatting.

We parted ways, and I decided to RUN {runch = lunch run} And, headed the opposite way, tackling an uphill route. We spotted a mama and baby deer along the way, snapped a photo. Whewww, pushing/running with the double jogger is a major challenge and I kept at it! We got a 5k done! Whoop! Whoop!

Finished Strong; 3.13 in 43:07!

{Tuesday} I planned a run with a new running mama, I got there a little early and after some stretching, started to run. We got a mile in before she showed up with her little one. We walked mostly, and stopped to let the kids play.

Finished strong; 3.34 miles in 1:04.

{Wednesday} active rest day! I got some yoga in with a little foam rolling. And craft store shopping, fabulous project underway!!

{Thursday} today, I decided to shake my legs up. Baby girl and I headed out to the trail, she was cranky!! We took on some hills, speed intervals, and fabulous gloomy weather! I walked along the wood trails, as they were slippery! I kept thinking, how much I'd miss my little monsters during Saturdays trip up north for the Lake Sammamish half marathon. At the same time, I was excited because they'd want to hear all about it!! Plus, my brother is coming into town the same day, so we get to celebrate that too! He recently, became a first time daddy to a precious baby girl. He's been on deployment, same as my husband. And, will be finally settling into shore duty, new family, new state, new duty station, new baby, new beginnings. I'm so proud and excited for him!! Our family is always growing, I'm the oldest of 10 siblings!!
I currently have 3 nephews and 5 nieces and then there's my 3 girls! Wow!

Back to the running; this was the last run before the half marathon this weekend! I might spin them out tomorrow.

Finished strong; 2.16 miles in 31:10!

Barking Mad for Breast Cancer {13in2013}

{virtual} Half Marathon #5 is in the books y'all!

It didn't quite go as I had planned, I wanted to run it at one time. ahh well. There's always next time, like April's Virtual.

I dedicated this weeks running miles to a good cause that's dear to my heart. Barking Mad about Running hosted this virtual race.

Monday; jumped on the treadmill, it was by far challenging, and the longest I've ran on it since it joined the family. I pushed and pushed and pushed myself. Especially, since I had ran 6 miles the day before. I ran for an entire hour, and had a lot of things on my mind. I've made a lot of changes recently and have been defeated in a few things. It was the perfect opportunity for a major switch up, in all things fitness. I'm excited.
Finished Strong; 4.45 miles in 60 minutes

Wednesday; after a wonderful rest day, morning meetup at Joann's to pick out fabric for an upcoming {wreath project} craft play date! I set out Wednesday for a LONG [outdoor] RUN! I dropped off my girls at a friends house, about 20 minutes late and tried to make the best of the clock! I ran the usual routes but in the opposite way. HILLS, still got me but i was tackling them!! There was sunshine, just perfect!! I covered it all, pavement, trails, mud,....evergreen trees all around. I love Washington state!

Finished Strong; 7.06 miles in 1:28:05

Thursday; today was definitely a fabulous fitness-filled day! Started off with stroller strides, wheww!! Then, I got busy during naptime, jumping on the treadmill. I was a little sore from SS and yesterday's 7 miler, so I went comfortable. I have myself a few speed intervals, Britney's spears and will.i.am cheered me on.

Finished Strong; 2.01 miles in 27:03

I earned myself a fabulous medal to hang with the 2013 bling.

{Half Fanatics}
I'm eager and excited to run my first 2013 [Half-Marathon] road race next weekend (3/9) and then another the following (3/16) that's right, becoming an official half fanatics member!! MAJOR RUNNERS HIGH! The bling is SUPER FABULOUS but I'm more excited about the course, the views will be AMAZING/UNFORGETTABLE!!

weekend wrap-up

It was a crazzyyyy awesome weekend!!

How crazy awesome!?
This girl got herself a 5k PR and 25k under her runners belt!!
And, a sweet something from her man too!!

Sweetheart 5k; 32:08
I'm not going to lie, I was nervous! It's been a while since I ran a base race, last years, st. patty's run. Nonetheless, I was excited to slip into my running gear and lace up the running shoes. I noticed they had a new route mapped out, agh!! Race started, Running happened ALL THE WAY THROUGH!! That's right, I didn't stop once, no recovery, I eased off a few times, I continued to run uphill. Oh, yeahhhh, another addition to the route, MORE hills. I suppose, they were on my side, I took full advantage.

FINISHED STRONG; setting a new PR!!

After a little bit of recovery time, it was time to get dolled up!
From running shoes to fabulous heels. It was a sweet evening at ship wives valentines dinner. We got a amazing surprise, I LOVED the video shout out and love note from my man. Can we get the rest of this deployment done and over with!? C'mon!

Fishline 25k; 4:46:18
Actually, 16.62 miles!
This was a spontaneous decision, like, I signed up a few days before when another MRTT member mentioned it. I was instantly sold since it was literally down the street AND who doesn't want to get a 25k on the trails!?! Uhhhhmmmmm, what did we get ourselves into!? Trails!! Forest, Woods TRAILS!! I followed along on her 3:1 method, we ran longer in some instances. We hiked a lot of it, we had lots of random conversation, we pushed ourselves to keep going, we go lost twice. And, we laughed a iut it. It felt good, it felt awesome, it hurt. It was brutal, it was nothing like expected and then again, I totally loved it!! Those steep trails really got me, my poor knees. My aching calves too. Reaching the finish line never felt better, we were greeted with other finishers telling us how intense and crazy completing this trail run was. So glad, it just wasn't me thinking of it!! Uhmm, call me crazy but I'm totally looking forward to the rest of this race series. Trail running [in Washington] is an truly an AMAZING experience!!

{5 by the 5th} #2/6

Here we are again, another fabulous virtual race complete!

February's {5 by the 5th} Virtual Race Series, hosted by Mommy Run Fast. January-June Challenge; Run a 5k or 5 miles by the 5th of each month.

I had another mama runner join me for the RAINY run, although we ended up at the gym. Hey, I logged in 1.66 miles in 9:02 while waiting for a treadmill but after an unhappy baby girl in playroom, we dared the light rainfall. Back outdoors we went. Awesome!! I took her through a familiar {favorite challenging} route of mine.

We started on the roadways, then the trail around the lakes,....and then I asked if she wanted more, more of a challenge. We hiked uphill, I pushed my double jogger, she had her single jogger. And, we came up on a back roadway, and started our running intervals! Boy, oh, boy, were my legs on FIRE!!! At this point, it was raining more, like we began can to get soaked. It's an awesome exhilarating feeling to run and I mean, run in the rain! Kiddos were content in the joggers and we got a fabulous workout in.

Finished strong; 3.20 miles in 1:07:13!!

weekend wrap-up

Whewww!
What a Weekend!

Winter Runnerland Half-Marathon {MRTT virtual race}
As usual, things didn't go as [originally] planned.
no big deal. I was bummed that I didn't get to meetup with the fabulous ladies of our local moms run this town group.

I set out to the housing gym, to begin running miles for the Winter Runnerland Half-Marathon. With an extra toddler in tow, 4 kids, they did awesome keeping themselves entertained. After waiting (stretching) for an open treadmill, a main reason why i do want a home treadmill. I tackled some hill intervals, with some walking too. It wasn't too bad, I had Bruno Mars latest album on play {another obsession}. My hips were a little tight, since I had a 20 mile spin session the evening before. It helped to pick up the speed though. I run comfortably between the speed of 6.3-6.8, and go hard at 7.3-7.5. It's definitely challenging some days, I take it on. The burn is fabulous!

finished strong; 5 miles in 58:27!!!

I felt amazing!! Body was taking it pretty well too, my hips were stretched pretty well. Once back home, I started the lunch and naptime madness. Showered, cleaned, and did a load of dirty running gear. My friend was coming over to pick up her little dude. And, then stayed behind to watch my girls while I slipped back into running gear to {happily run} finish the remaining miles. Whoop! Whoop!!

I went in daring; tackling the major hills first on the trails! They are KILLER but the views are AMAZING!! Gloomy skies, some clouds, evergreen trees in every direction! First 3 miles were TOUGH!! Miles 4-5 were my recovery, nice, easy, comfortable, I was on the pavement at this point. I made a pit stop for a new pair of earphones and gu gel. And, finished off miles 6-7, on a familiar route. Oh, I missed my outdoor runs! A lot!

finished strong; 8.13 miles in 1:43:43!!

I earned that fabulous bling with sweat, and sweet determination! Woohoo!!
{This is also #3 for 13in2013!!}


Run Fur Fun {#anywhere5k}
They don't call me super {runner} mama for nothing! I was back at it, another fabulous 5k from #anywhere5k. This time we took Bonita out for the run, add in double jogger; we got ourselves an adventure! She did good, running alongside. So, did Leanna.

Imagine it; I'm pushing double jogger with a girl on each side ohh, it was tough! The girls love the trails and we had a pic if afterwards while they played at the playground. We did have to rush home because it got super cold!!

we logged in 2.97 in 1:07:33.

I've got a hot date with my foam roller, while I partake in a twilight marathon. Hope y'all had a fabulous fitness-filled weekend!

Resolve to Run {#anywhere5k}

{Virtual Race recap} Talk about challenging!!

It took everything I had to get through this 5k! And, I mean everything!
I participated in another fabulous virtual 5k hosted by #anywhere5k. This is race # 4 or 5, I think.

I planned to get this run in on Saturday but after an impromptu night out and hangover, it didn't happen. Yepp, I let loose and paid the price. That's not happening again. Ehh...

So, onto plan #2. Running on a Sunday morning. And, even that didn't go as planned. Baby girl woke up around 4:30am and cried for nearly an hour and 1/2. Ouch! I slept in past my alarms.

I was out the door around 10:30, ran to the store to grab a hat and Chapstick. I can't believe I forgot to pack my running hats! I ran along the country roads, loving the fresh air, the view of grass fields, horses and cows. I was not enjoying the cold wind, it was killing me, my legs were so heavy. I was sweating out the last of the hangover, agh!! I wanted to go longer (in attempt to knock off another virtual 5k) but it didn't happen. And, that's fine.

Finished strong; 3.14 in 36:44!!

December Miles

This mama FINALLY got an outdoor [SOLO] run!! It's been roughly 3 1/2 months since I had one. Crazy, right!?
my last SOLO RUN, was right before husband left for deployment!

My friend was so generous in continuing to watch my girls, once I got home from a 5hr shift. I was SO excited!!

I slipped into my running tights, pulled out a long-sleeve top, put on my favorite mis-match socks, buckled my spibelt, put on my earphones and laced up my Asics!

Mama was ready to RUN!!

It was already dark out with light rain, I carried my night light in my hand while running along my favorite 5k course.

BAM! Felt amazing!!

Fit Mama on the Move!!

My morning started off FOGGY, it seems like we kept getting thicker driving into in, as we headed to this morning location. Another fit mama followed to meetup for a quick run before BOOTCAMP!! We started off with a brisk walk a a few running intervals for .71 in 18:20. Not as long as I wanted but I was having some baby girls drama, so we cut it short.

Mama need s a BIG break, soon. REALLY SOON!

We only got through ONE ROUND of the 5,4,3,2,1 Go! Routine:

• 50 Jumping Jacks
• 40 Back Lunges
• 30 set Squats
• 20 Side Abs
• 10 set of mountain climbers

As we were on our way out, another Mama at the playground approached me, she actually stopped us earlier while we were walking to tell us that they are a walking group, if we wanted to join them afterwards. I mentioned the bootcamp to them at that point and we both said, thanks for sharing and continued on our ways.

Anyways, she asked if I wouldn't mind teaching a class for their group sometime.

YES!! AWESOME!!!

Without hesitation, we exchanged numbers. And, she said she was starting Zumba (exciting) soon, for other Mama's in the AMs; here we are two Mama's trying to get our Military Community Active. I also mentioned Moms Run This Town Group, especially since she said she just ran a MILE in under 15:30, huge accomplishment and we cheered her on.

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Moms Run This Town!!

Busy is the mother runner who is SO involved with running/pushing the double jogger, so another mother runner can get busy with running/jogging intervals, that she totally forgets to snap some photo's. It's all good.

It was a FABULOUS Morning, just one mother runner, who is a good friend!! She's working her way into running and is EXCITED about her FIRST upcoming 5k!! I was more than happy to push the jogger with our baby girl's in it,so she could focus on her strides/posture.

We logged in 3.37 miles in 1:12. She did AWESOME!!

Can't wait to get back out there tomorrow for another morning run, making it regular nowadays with the fall weather coming in! Then, it's BOOTCAMP!! Whoop! Whoop!


"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Super Saturday Adventures

Where do I begin, I've got side-tracked with tears...tears for a family loss. 
It just doesn't matter what the reason is, no one is ever prepared. 
Cancer is truly a horrible disease. And, I'm beyond amazed to know she fought so hard, she is certainly a fighter. And, will  be incredibly missed.
This has been weighing on me for the past few weeks, months, and even though we knew time was limited, she kept fighting onward. I cried every time, I thought of her little boy, just turned 3 a few weeks ago, same age as my little girl. Whewww...
The hardest part was passing the news along to husband, that's his cousin, so young, early 30s. I wish he wasn't an ocean away, it's a hard time for us all. 

Whew....lifting myself up. 
We had a GREAT bootcamp this morning, 3 Ladies got a butt-kicking with planks, core and a quick run. My balance was off today, must of been the extra sleep I got, it never does my body good. Then we headed out to a Care Package Party, we got crafty decorating boxes and filling them with goodies for our men, 2 Halloween themed boxes, can't forget my brother.

Now, to spend the evening with my girls.

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Tuesday Routine

Today's Bootcamp was CHALLENGING, besides the actual routine.
My girls did. not. give. me. space. They had no other kids to play with either. Bummer.

It wasn't pretty, I had been super pumped about this particular bootcamp because I REALLY loved the routine I had planned. And, we didn't complete it thoroughly, I think I'll have to share it again. It had intense plank variations for shoulder, core and legs. Oh, I loved it all. 
I was already hurting from yesterday PUMP session and 30 min on the elliptical.  It. was. worth. it
We worked through it, with pauses for chatting or to take my children OFF of ME! Whew!!
Now, I'm of to SPIN my 9.11 Miles in Memorial of 9/11.  I did the same last year. Never forgotten.

Bootcamp Babes

It went a little something like this;

Shoulders!!

·        Plank hold

·        1 arm pushups (alternating)

·        hold one side and give me 10 in a row – other side

·        spider pushups (1 arm and 1 leg out from plank and pushup) alternating

·        hold one side and give me 5 then hold it low for 5 sec.  - other side

·        Plank walk ups to  with hands from feet to plank (fast as you can go)

·        shoulder pushups – hold last one down and pulse then bust out a few more

·        -Plank walks left to right (the width of your mat)

·        side plank holds  -other side

·        Power plank to pushups

·        plank drops

·        30 pushups to finish

·        Core: 20 reps/10 slow

·        Russian twits

·        v-sit

·        butt lifts

·        crunches

·        scissors

·        leg lifts

·        bicycle

·        side v-sit leg raises (each side)

·        circle push ups

·      

Legs: 2 rounds

·         Jog on spot

·         jumping jacks

·         skaters

·         power jack squats

LOW SQUATS (back straight as you can when you get really low)

10 PULSES

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Wednesday RunDay!!

It was a Bussayyyyy Morning!!! Up at 6, got 40minutes of Lifting & Abs in w/Les Mills Pump!! Cleaned up and got ready. 

And, then came the craziness of getting all 3 girls going w/morning routine. 

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

I have a FIRST GRADER y'all!!!

She was nervous & excited and hearing her daddy's voice over the phone made all the difference. We miss that man of ours.

Same thing happened last year, her daddy was away and gave her a call.

We walked our girl into her classroom and got her settled. She was pretty excited!

School starts at 9 in Washington, later than what we were used to.

After, the drop off, we went back home, grabbed our water & snacks to headed out for 10AM Moms Run This Town Meetup, there was already a few cancellations, it was a pretty hectic day with school. I'll admit I purposely scheduled it on this day, so it would distract us from the first day of school. We had a Mama show up, a friend actually, and we got to catch up. At 17 weeks pregnant, she was rocking the running intervals! She is one awesome mother runner!

Baby Girls Ready to Roll

Seen on our Run

We logged in 2.35 Miles in 1:01:20.

Fabulous Weather; Conversation; Fabulous Run!!

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Run, Mama, Run

Phew!!

I'm getting in the last few miles for the Half-Marathon Virtual Run, The Bug Run. And, it was a wee bit challenging tonight. After a busy morning of MAJOR Cleaning, like living room vacuuming, inside couches, behind, under, LAUNDRY. I met up with a friend for an afternoon playdate, with a little rainfall and then dashed home to get dinner started. We headed out to the Base Track at 6, girls were a little anxious to get more outdoor play. And, to my surprise, everyone and their mama was out there too. The girls did okay for a while. Ailea ran the first lap with me, I paused the Garmin everytime she took a breather, but she kept at it; Proud Mama. Leanna was left out she wore sandals but did walk the lap with Serena. Then Mama got busy, it's like 4 laps for one mile and running the track is just as fun as running the treadmill. (sarcastically speaking) I was a little beat going in circles but I was happy to be OUTDOORS!! After the first mile, I found Leanna on my phone and she snapped the photo below, Ailea ran towards me, ready to smile. It was sweet. Can you see the exhaustion, I had to sprint toward Serena, she ran onto the track. Agh! There was so much going on at the track and flag football on the field nearby, that I was actually surprised they kept entertained with their toys and their surrounding while I finished the last mile. I went a little bit longer until I saw Serena getting annoyed with her sisters, keeping her off the track. So, it was time to head back home. The walk to/from the track was roughly a 1 mile, each way. I say I wore them out. 

2.36 Sweaty [Crazy] Miles; Got. It. Done.

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Fit-Loving Ladies BOOTCAMP!

Hello, Tuesday!!
DEPLOYMENT began yesterday. 
BOOTCAMP started today.
I was anxious over the last few weeks, kept tweaking the routine, even last night I was dropping down w/the routine reps. I wanted something fresh, something that would be challenging but wouldn't hurt them. I shared a bowl of grits w/baby girl before we loaded up, in double jogger and walked to the lake. It's funny today was a "REST" Day on the Les Mills Pump Calendar; I needed a workout to help get these sore muscles stretched instead. 
This was P E R F E C T.

A few fabulous Navy Mama's got together and got our fitness on!!

The weather was PERFECT, Kids were HAPPY, and I felt a LITTLE rusty. I got down to business once we started and it came natural, even though my knee ached a little as did my hips (yesterday squats), I still got it done.

Today's Routine included:

• Warm Up
• Legs; Kneeling roundhouse kicks, hip extension & cross, jump squats..
• Arms; tricep dips n' kicks, triangle/scorpion pups,..
• Core; side plank w/alternating leg raise, planks, side winders, mtn clibmers, moutain climbers, russian twists..
• Cool Down; Walk around the lake 

[Using the great outdoors as our gym]

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Sneaky [Rough] Miles!!

Husband was still out running errands with baby girls when Leanna [finally] woke up. I asked if she want to the gym, so Mama can get her RUN on!! Yeahhh, I was excited, she was too...we chatted to/from out short walk. I reminded her that her 6th BIRTHDAY is tomorrow and she reminded me that her Daddy leaves on Monday. Bittersweet.
I'll admit, it's always awkward not having all 3 girls in tow, not holding someone's hand, or carrying one on the hip.

 Well, there was nothing quick or fun about running on the treadmill. My knee was not feeling it, awful pain, no matter what I did, inclines, slow speed, fast speed, the 1 MILE 'run' was my roughest ever, on the treadmill. That won't be happening for a while... It's pretty bothersome because since the bum knee injury, I've still managed to get some good running miles, even with a little pain at the beginning, I feel great afterwards. Wahhh!! When we got home, we decided to get a little more running in, taking bonita for a walk/run to the lake. We squeezed in a mile before meeting husband back at the house. 

Well, at least I was able to squeeze in 2 MILES toward THE BUG RUN MILES. Only, 4.57 Miles to go. 

 Bummed about the SLOW/Rough Mile

 Happy with my girl

Bonita did good on the walk/run

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"

Barking Mad About Breast Cancer Virtual 10K

Whewww!!! 

My morning started off a little something like this; Baby Girl was up before I even rolled out of bed, 6:30. She was a fussy mess, even after nursing, some loving and breakfast. So, she needed MORE sleep. I layed her down about 7:50 (she went straight to sleep), got dressed into my running gear and sped out the door. 

I was pretty excited to get out there for some BIG miles and was running for Barking Mad About Breast Cancer Virtual 10K, there's still time to sign up. $20 will get you a medal, and $15 of that will go to Susan G Komen. The BLING is on it's way. Isn't it pretty!?!

 I started off a little "slow" to feel my knee out, it didn't give me much drama but I didn't want to stress it. Took walking intervals. There's my shadow!!

I saw a few deer, caught these fella's during a walking interval. I love the outdoors. They are always hanging around on base. 

Also, RAN around the other base housing. It's BEAUTIFUL!! A little secluded, and a little view of mountains too. 

I explored the base perimeter, and I really didn't know where it would take me, just kept running, kept following trail. Ouch, the HILLS, yep, I walked those and paced myself going downhill. 

 I was a SWEATY-MESS but still enjoyed my Happy {Running} Hour!! See, I'm HAPPY!!
It was more than a Virtual 10k Race, it was SO needed, time to myself!!

I'm feeling FABULOUS after these 7 miles. 

Showered, House is now all awake.

Time to Re-fuel!!

A little cleaning before grocery shopping.

"Don't wait to for inspiration to find you; BECOME IT!!"