Monday, March 14, 2011

Weekend Madness!


First: Thanks for all your ideas on fueling! I'm going to try several of them and let you know what works best. It seems that stomach issues are kind of a big deal for a lot of people. I'm glad I'm not the only one! It never ceases to amaze me how great the blogging/running community is. I love that everyone is willing to share their tricks and that even the elites are willing to share their "secrets" to help the average joe runner become better. Awesome!

Second: I may have the best husband in the world. We had a really busy weekend planned. My brother was in state from Alabama with his wife and new daughter. They were blessing her while they were here with family and we were traveling down south to be with them. (She is a doll by the way! I almost stole her and took her home.)

But as such, we were leaving early on Saturday morning when I would normally be running. I jokingly told my husband that he should take Friday off so that I could do my long run then instead of being stuck on the treadmill for 15 miles. I didn't think much more of it until he came home from work 2 days later and told me he took it off. What a sweetie!

My long run can be summed up in one word: windy. YUCK. There is pretty much nothing more than I hate than running in the wind. Give me rain, snow, sleet, hail... but keep the wind! I feel like a big whiner most of the time when I talk about my long runs. So why would this week be any different, right? The muscles all around my ankles feel tight lately and it took about 5 miles before they felt loose and good. The top of my foot hurts right above my big toe, but it never got any worse during the run. I wore my VFF's with bandaids over the blister residue and socks. I still don't really like them. I think my off brand (Gist) work better on my foot. The VFF's just feel so tight around the top of my foot and a little too loose in the toe area. But the size down felt too tight all around. Argggg. I'll still give them another go before I make up my mind. I tried GU Chomps as fuel and got nauseous towards the end. I'll try Hammer gels again next week and see if it was a fluke that they worked for me last week or if they're a keeper.

Saturday, in the middle of family activities, I got to meet up with my elite runner friend, Janae. It was great talking with her about running and life in general. I love that girl. She is so sweet and really cares about people. If you are one of the few people on the planet that doesn't read her blog yet, you should. The only complaint I have about our meeting is that it just wasn't long enough!
Sunday we spent the day at church and then with my husband's side of the family celebrating my mother in law's birthday. So much fun! Especially since the weather was springlike! My favorite part of the night was having races with the kids across the grass. We did skipping, gallops, sprints, running backwards, wheelbarrow races, and combinations of them all. It was great and was the biggest reminder that spring really is coming!

Yes, that's me in the white dress. It was getting dark so they're all blurry!


And yes, I'm coming in 2nd. In my defense I was dodging kids. But I still beat my daughter so everything was good!

I missed all of my spin classes last week due to a charter school meeting (we are working on getting one going for the 2012 school year. It will be the first one in our area!) and a church meeting and I can't wait to get back at it again this week!

What did you do fun this weekend?
What work outs are you looking forward to this week?

Monday: 4 mile run outside in Evo's, upper body weights and abs
Tuesday: 6 mile run outside in Evo's (4 hills), lower body weights and abs
Wednesday: 6.25 mile run barefoot on treadmill, upper body weights and abs
Thursday: 2 mile hike (.5 barefoot)
Friday: 15.5 mile run in VFF's
Saturday: 5 miler run in Evo's

21 comments:

Stefanie D. said...

You neice is adorable!! SO CUTE! Ok...I'm assuming you live in utah...because those look like my mountains in your pic! Plus you met up with the fabulous Janae, so that confirms my suspicions! I am from the great state of Utah as well. :)

Stefanie D. said...

Ok...I'm just retarded. A quick look at all of your races would have given me the green light, that YES you do live in Utah! LOL.

ash & diz said...

Umm... that baby is adorable!!! Love the chubby cheeks and tiny hands. :) i would've wanted to take her home too.

If it makes you feel better, i wasn't too pleased with my 15 miler either. :/ we can only hope that next week will be better, right? :)

P.S. LOVE Janae! We had a fro yo date again on friday. She is amazing, sweet, and totally awesome!

Anonymous said...

Cutie pie-niece!
Just found your blog from Janae's, she is so fun, glad to find another motivating runner blog, it's becoming a little addiction of mine, I never realized how big the runner blog community is.

LAPT said...

1) Have I mentioned that I just love your blog? I do.
2) You and Janae BOTH look adorable. How are you wearing flip-flops? (Ummm yeah I looked at the pic on her blog, too.) It is freezing here in Boston!!!
3) I love how supportive your fam is with your running. It can be frustrating at times that my family just doesn't...understand.

Sam W. said...

beautiful baby!!

i'm sad the VFF's still aren't working out perfectly. what a sweet husband to give you the long run :)

ihaverun said...

Have I mentioned lately I love your blog. And when are we going to meet? What races are coming up for you?

Sounds like a perfect weekend. And your neice is adorable!!

Have a great week!

Stephanie said...

Beautiful niece! How sweet of the hubster!!

Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

How awesome is your hubs? What a perfect gift for a Friday--I couldn't think of anything I enjoy more than spending time with mine and exercising to boot!!

I hope your fuel AND footwear comes together. I have heard combining gu/gel and having a few almonds works well--the fat in nuts keeps you from experiencing a sugar surge which could contribute to the nausea. Just a thought.

Great pic of you and Janae! And, of course, you and your beautiful niece!!! Have a great week Jen!

A Prelude To... said...

What a fun time in the grass! It's pretty funny to see you in a white sleeveless dress with all that snow in the background!

Julia said...

Your husband is totally the sweetest for taking off so that you could do your long run...that is seriously awesome. I am sorry it was so windy...blah...wind is tough mentally to run through but you did it! So fun you got to hang out with Janae! I hope that we can all meet up again soon...I LOVE your blog and am inspired by it every single post. And I LOVED talking to you last time we met up...we must make that happen again soon. Also...that baby is ADORABLE. For fun this weekend I watched basketball and ate a lot of fro-yo...haha. I am so looking forward to ANY possibility that I may be able to run this weekend...even if it is just ONE mile. I will be SO grateful :) Have a good week! You are fabulous!

Emz said...

YAY for hangin' with Janae!

YAy for awesome husbands seriously - nothing better.

Amanda@runninghood said...

Thanks for the great comment. This is awesome that you got to see Janae. Love that girl too! I thought of you and my other barefoot running blog buddies as a woman in vibrams passed me at the end of my 5k.

Mallory said...

Your neice is precious!! Sounds like you and Janae had fun! I love her blog and that's how I found yours!! That was sweet of your hubby to take the day off. Hmm this week I am looking forward to my long run. I am doing it tomorrow!!

trisha*n said...

I love Sundays spent with family! They are the best. And those almost spring nights...love them!
Sorry about that windy run. Those really are the worst!

Unknown said...

I so miss having little babies like that :) I would love just to sit and hold one for a while now.

So, I prefer Clif gels and shot bloks. The GU stuff makes me have to run to the bathroom. Not feelings of nausea but man it makes me have to go! I use it when out and about and have low blood sugar or for shorter runs.
I ran the Des Moines marathon in October and used Clif products and felt awesome the whole time.
I ate 5 gels and three packs of shot bloks.

Those pictures of the racing are awesome! Yay for spring :)

Jamie said...

If your bikilas are too tight, they just came out with a new version with laces. I haven't tried them out yet, but I bet they would solve that problem.

Rachelle Wardle said...

Wind is seriously THE worst. I could not agree more. Nothing like trying to fight the wind.

Your family seems so fun! I just love family relay competitions....your pictures made me want to be a kid again.

Try the Hammer Gel's, they work for me for the most part.

P.S. .5 miles hiking bare foot? Who does that....you are seriously hard care.

Unknown said...

Your niece is beautiful! I love the full little cheeks! I am with you on the wind. It is horrible! Those blisters look so painful. I tried on some Vibrams this weekend but was not sure how I felt about them. I tried on two different kinds one had more traction on the bottom. I think of the two I prefered the pair with more traction on the bottom. I liked how they felt on the top part of my foot. What do you think/recomend?

zapmamak said...

Sounds like you had a great weekend! That's a cute pic of you and your friend, Janae. I've never taken a spin class, but I will be getting back into my riding soon. I find hill riding so rewarding. Great interval training on the bike!

Hannah said...

Ok, that sweet baby looks awfully content in your arms! Warm fuzzies!

Your barefoot/vff mileage is looking awesome! I thought of you this afternoon when my Dad told me my step-Mom just did her first minimalist 5k. I didn't know she was running again, let alone doing so taking the minimalist approach! Pretty awesome!