Sunday, April 19, 2009
5 Days til Florida!
Its 5 days until a Daytona Beach, Florida vacation with the family. We are going back to the resort that we use to stay at when growing up during many Spring Breaks, the Sun Viking Inn.
I have 2 more pounds to lose until we leave on Thursday and will reach my 5% goal from Weight Watchers. Its going to be close!! I have been eating the Weight Watcher veggie soup last week, and that helped lose 2.2 this past week. I will need to keep up with my Triathlon Training in Florida, so hope to maybe do some open water swims in the ocean, although I don't want to swim into any jelly fish or sharks. I can already picture myself running on the beach down to the pier and back in the mornings!
I have just finished registering for the May 9 Fifth Third River Bank run 5k, the Seahorse Challenge Tri on 5/31, and have rented my wetsuit and purchased anti-chaffing cream. Its complete! I am pretty much all set, but will need to purchase new running shoes this week at Gazelle's as mine have been getting old.
I am also thinking of doing the Reeds Lake Run 10k on 6/27.
So far my summer schedule is looking like this:
5/9 - 5/3 River Bank Run - 5k
5/31 - Seahorse Challenge - Sprint Triathlon
6/20-6/21 - NSA Potterville Softball Tournament
6/27 - Reeds Lake Run - 10k
7/11 - Kalamazoo Softball Tournament
7/24-7/25 - ASA State Softball Tournament - Grand Rapids
8/23 - NSA State Softball Tournament - Potterville
9/12 - Reeds Lake Triathlon
I have 2 more pounds to lose until we leave on Thursday and will reach my 5% goal from Weight Watchers. Its going to be close!! I have been eating the Weight Watcher veggie soup last week, and that helped lose 2.2 this past week. I will need to keep up with my Triathlon Training in Florida, so hope to maybe do some open water swims in the ocean, although I don't want to swim into any jelly fish or sharks. I can already picture myself running on the beach down to the pier and back in the mornings!
I have just finished registering for the May 9 Fifth Third River Bank run 5k, the Seahorse Challenge Tri on 5/31, and have rented my wetsuit and purchased anti-chaffing cream. Its complete! I am pretty much all set, but will need to purchase new running shoes this week at Gazelle's as mine have been getting old.
I am also thinking of doing the Reeds Lake Run 10k on 6/27.
So far my summer schedule is looking like this:
5/9 - 5/3 River Bank Run - 5k
5/31 - Seahorse Challenge - Sprint Triathlon
6/20-6/21 - NSA Potterville Softball Tournament
6/27 - Reeds Lake Run - 10k
7/11 - Kalamazoo Softball Tournament
7/24-7/25 - ASA State Softball Tournament - Grand Rapids
8/23 - NSA State Softball Tournament - Potterville
9/12 - Reeds Lake Triathlon
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The First Race of the Season!
Well, race day finally came. The Irish Jig 5K on March 21, 2009 in East Grand Rapids.
This was my third race ever. First being the 8k Mackinaw Bridge race in 2008 and the 5k Run for the Hills in Forest Hills in 2008.
My race didn't start until 9:30 am, but still, I am an early bird, and got up about 6:30, anxiously awaiting Keith to pick me up at 8am so we can head over to Gas Light Village in East Grand Rapids. The previous days leading to the race had been quite nice, about 50 degrees. But no, I wake up to a balmy 35 degrees with a light snow on the ground! Now, I have to rethink my outfit. I decided to go with green pants (well, greenish brown) and I wore the long sleeve Irish Jig race shirt that I received from picking up my registration the night before. I still wanted to wear a pink shirt over my clothes so I could hopefully stick out for Keith when he takes pictures. I also wore gloves, a pink hat and a black zipped up sweatshirt, over my pink shirt, because it was just too damn cold!!! Here is my ensemble:
I also was scrambling to find safety pins to pin my race number 3259 on me. All other races I have been in has given me the safety pins, I am not the type of person to have safety pins lying around. But, I remembered I was given a first aid gift from one of my vendors at work, so inside I found 2 pins, 3 would have been ideal, but 2 worked.
I also had to put my disposable D-Tag race trip on my shoe, I always get nervous that I will do it wrong, but I seemed to get it right. This a new technology in the past few years where you don't have to turn your chip in, you just throw it away after. Just a lot less hassle. Here is what it looks like:
Keith arrived at 8am and we were off. I made sure I grabbed a water and skipped breakfast because I hate to eat before working out, although if I was doing something longer for an hour, I would have some fruit and a little peanut butter to keep me going.
We had a bit of a hard time finding parking at first, but parked in the parking ramp in the middle of Gas Light Village. It such a cute area, very upscale neighborhood with trendy shops and restaurants, and of course the beautiful Reeds Lake.
It seemed to take forever for my race to start. We walked down to race festivities at about 8:40am and waited on the side for the men to start, their race was at 9:00am. It was so cold, but jumping up and down to the music they were playing over the speakers helped a bit. Seeing racers in shorts did not help! I debated jumping in to join the men because it was so cold and I didn't want to wait any longer, but, I decided to race with the women. It finally hit 9 am, and the men were off!!!
After the men's start we had some time to warm up and went into the D&W Foods Grocery store to get some heat. We weren't the only ones with that idea, tons of racers were hanging out in the store, I am sure the manager was pleased because no one really bought anything.
Ok, time to get ready for the women's' race. We didn't start until 9:45a or so. Keith snapped a pic of me and I wasn't ready for it. I gave him my telephoto lens (70-300mm) because I wasn't sure where he would be standing in relative to my running. He only had to use it at 70mm, so we could have gotten away with my standard lens of 18-55mm. Oh well, we learn.
I was off an running! I made sure to start my stop watch as soon as I crossed over the timer.
When everyone starts at once, its hard to maneuver between slower runners. They didn't line people up by pace at all, I finally passed the slow runners and got into a groove on a sidewalk. Most people were in the street, but there were a few of us running on the sidewalk, I at first thought, will I be disqualified if I am running on the sidewalk? But others were doing it. It was nice. Three songs went by on my iPod playlist (Love Story remix by Taylor Swift, Walk Away remix by Kelly Clarkston and Lose Yourself by Eminem) I was already at mile 1, and there were tons of people cheering on. It motivated me even more! All of a sudden I saw Keith in the crowd and he even ready and snapped a picture! Cool! I was grooving on to mile 2 with my new favorite download, Sandstorm, an 8 minute song! I could feel myself get a little tired around mile 2 and after plus there was a bit of a hill on Hall St, I think I start out too fast sometimes and tucker out, but I never quit running, that is my rule. But when I felt like it was 2.5 mile, I started picking out people that I thought were my age group and tried to pass them, a little game I play. And then I see the East Grand Rapids Higschool and a big crowd. I am so tired at this point, I see the 3 mile marker and think to myself, I still have .2 miles afterwards (but then I forgot it was only .1). ha! I stared sprinting to the finish line as soon as I saw it, and saw Keith again really quick. He took a picture really quick, its a little blurry, but I attribute that to my fast speed, ha right!
My race results time was 30:37. Not bad, I accomplished my goal of under 31:00. I plan to run in under 30 for the Fifth Third River Bank Run on May 8.
We later found out that mile 1 picture didn't take, but no big deal, I just appreciate Keith waking up early and standing out in the cold for a couple hours to cheer me on and take a couple pics. Here are some other pictures from the race, including a man in the 70-85 year old age group that had a finish time of 27 minutes! Impressive! This old man can beat me!
Also the goodies that I received post race, long sleeve shirt not shown, not bad for $22 registration fee?
This was my third race ever. First being the 8k Mackinaw Bridge race in 2008 and the 5k Run for the Hills in Forest Hills in 2008.
My race didn't start until 9:30 am, but still, I am an early bird, and got up about 6:30, anxiously awaiting Keith to pick me up at 8am so we can head over to Gas Light Village in East Grand Rapids. The previous days leading to the race had been quite nice, about 50 degrees. But no, I wake up to a balmy 35 degrees with a light snow on the ground! Now, I have to rethink my outfit. I decided to go with green pants (well, greenish brown) and I wore the long sleeve Irish Jig race shirt that I received from picking up my registration the night before. I still wanted to wear a pink shirt over my clothes so I could hopefully stick out for Keith when he takes pictures. I also wore gloves, a pink hat and a black zipped up sweatshirt, over my pink shirt, because it was just too damn cold!!! Here is my ensemble:
I also was scrambling to find safety pins to pin my race number 3259 on me. All other races I have been in has given me the safety pins, I am not the type of person to have safety pins lying around. But, I remembered I was given a first aid gift from one of my vendors at work, so inside I found 2 pins, 3 would have been ideal, but 2 worked.
I also had to put my disposable D-Tag race trip on my shoe, I always get nervous that I will do it wrong, but I seemed to get it right. This a new technology in the past few years where you don't have to turn your chip in, you just throw it away after. Just a lot less hassle. Here is what it looks like:
Keith arrived at 8am and we were off. I made sure I grabbed a water and skipped breakfast because I hate to eat before working out, although if I was doing something longer for an hour, I would have some fruit and a little peanut butter to keep me going.
We had a bit of a hard time finding parking at first, but parked in the parking ramp in the middle of Gas Light Village. It such a cute area, very upscale neighborhood with trendy shops and restaurants, and of course the beautiful Reeds Lake.
It seemed to take forever for my race to start. We walked down to race festivities at about 8:40am and waited on the side for the men to start, their race was at 9:00am. It was so cold, but jumping up and down to the music they were playing over the speakers helped a bit. Seeing racers in shorts did not help! I debated jumping in to join the men because it was so cold and I didn't want to wait any longer, but, I decided to race with the women. It finally hit 9 am, and the men were off!!!
After the men's start we had some time to warm up and went into the D&W Foods Grocery store to get some heat. We weren't the only ones with that idea, tons of racers were hanging out in the store, I am sure the manager was pleased because no one really bought anything.
Ok, time to get ready for the women's' race. We didn't start until 9:45a or so. Keith snapped a pic of me and I wasn't ready for it. I gave him my telephoto lens (70-300mm) because I wasn't sure where he would be standing in relative to my running. He only had to use it at 70mm, so we could have gotten away with my standard lens of 18-55mm. Oh well, we learn.
I was off an running! I made sure to start my stop watch as soon as I crossed over the timer.
When everyone starts at once, its hard to maneuver between slower runners. They didn't line people up by pace at all, I finally passed the slow runners and got into a groove on a sidewalk. Most people were in the street, but there were a few of us running on the sidewalk, I at first thought, will I be disqualified if I am running on the sidewalk? But others were doing it. It was nice. Three songs went by on my iPod playlist (Love Story remix by Taylor Swift, Walk Away remix by Kelly Clarkston and Lose Yourself by Eminem) I was already at mile 1, and there were tons of people cheering on. It motivated me even more! All of a sudden I saw Keith in the crowd and he even ready and snapped a picture! Cool! I was grooving on to mile 2 with my new favorite download, Sandstorm, an 8 minute song! I could feel myself get a little tired around mile 2 and after plus there was a bit of a hill on Hall St, I think I start out too fast sometimes and tucker out, but I never quit running, that is my rule. But when I felt like it was 2.5 mile, I started picking out people that I thought were my age group and tried to pass them, a little game I play. And then I see the East Grand Rapids Higschool and a big crowd. I am so tired at this point, I see the 3 mile marker and think to myself, I still have .2 miles afterwards (but then I forgot it was only .1). ha! I stared sprinting to the finish line as soon as I saw it, and saw Keith again really quick. He took a picture really quick, its a little blurry, but I attribute that to my fast speed, ha right!
My race results time was 30:37. Not bad, I accomplished my goal of under 31:00. I plan to run in under 30 for the Fifth Third River Bank Run on May 8.
We later found out that mile 1 picture didn't take, but no big deal, I just appreciate Keith waking up early and standing out in the cold for a couple hours to cheer me on and take a couple pics. Here are some other pictures from the race, including a man in the 70-85 year old age group that had a finish time of 27 minutes! Impressive! This old man can beat me!
Also the goodies that I received post race, long sleeve shirt not shown, not bad for $22 registration fee?
Friday, March 20, 2009
Irish Jig 5K
Well, tomorrow is my first race of the season, the Irish Jig 5K in East Grand Rapids. The course is near the Reeds Lake area, running on Lake Drive and Wealthy. Here is the course map. I haven't ran outside yet this year, so its been all treadmill workouts, but am confident I will have a good run. I am not the fastest when I run, so I am hoping to do my run in under 31 minutes. I pretty much average a 10 minute mile, later this year I hope to improve on that.
I hope to have some pictures posted this weekend of me at the race. I was going to deck my self out in green, but then I was afraid Keith wouldn't be able to find me when taking my picture at the end of the race, so I may just wear a bright hot pink shirt. :) After all, St. Patty's Day was last Tuesday!
I hope to have some pictures posted this weekend of me at the race. I was going to deck my self out in green, but then I was afraid Keith wouldn't be able to find me when taking my picture at the end of the race, so I may just wear a bright hot pink shirt. :) After all, St. Patty's Day was last Tuesday!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Blogger and HTML
Looks like I need some work on layout with this blog. I am use to working in Dreamweaver, so putting text near pictures in my previous post didn't seem to work well. Oh, well.
Friday, March 6, 2009
The Happy New Year Goal list follow-up
Well, its been a couple months since I made my New Year goals. This is how I am doing:
1. Compete in at least one Sprint Triathlon:
My first tri is scheduled on May 31.
2. Pay off my second mortgage
I now only have $3000 left on this - I should just take care of it now, but will definitely knock that out before June.
3. Try snowboarding
This was done in January. Not sure I will do it again, I prefer skiing, a lot of wear on my ankles. Plus, I really wanted to go down the hill both ways, right and goofy (left).
4. Volunteer my time in some way
I am on the board of Variety Children's Charity in Grand Rapids, so this year I will get to do this.
5. Go on a photo walk once a month
Yeah, I haven't been able to do this, plus I haven't been inspired and the dreary colors of winter months in Feb and March are ugly.
6. Write a monthly budget each month, stick to it, and review budget/actuals on my excel sheet
This is something that is hard to do, it seems like something new comes up all the time, but I am not a huge spender to begin with. Except, with tri-sports, it can be expensive, I need to purchase a wet suit, tri shorts, biking shoes and other little things here and there. Oh, the big one, a road bike is what I want now.
7. Do 5 pull-ups in a row
I can only do 2.5 without help from a chair - progressing slowly
8. Run a 10k
I have added mileage in my training and now up to 3.5 miles now, so summer I am sure I will be ready.
9. Read 1 book a month
January - "New Moon"
February - "Slow Fat Triathlete" and "What Would Google Do" - haven't finished it yet
10. Of course, something that has always been on my list, lose 15 pounds.
I joined weight watchers on 2/16 and to date I have lost 3.8 pounds, I will weigh in tomorrow, and hopefully lose more than a pound tomorrow. I am hoping for 2!
1. Compete in at least one Sprint Triathlon:
My first tri is scheduled on May 31.
2. Pay off my second mortgage
I now only have $3000 left on this - I should just take care of it now, but will definitely knock that out before June.
3. Try snowboarding
This was done in January. Not sure I will do it again, I prefer skiing, a lot of wear on my ankles. Plus, I really wanted to go down the hill both ways, right and goofy (left).
4. Volunteer my time in some way
I am on the board of Variety Children's Charity in Grand Rapids, so this year I will get to do this.
5. Go on a photo walk once a month
Yeah, I haven't been able to do this, plus I haven't been inspired and the dreary colors of winter months in Feb and March are ugly.
6. Write a monthly budget each month, stick to it, and review budget/actuals on my excel sheet
This is something that is hard to do, it seems like something new comes up all the time, but I am not a huge spender to begin with. Except, with tri-sports, it can be expensive, I need to purchase a wet suit, tri shorts, biking shoes and other little things here and there. Oh, the big one, a road bike is what I want now.
7. Do 5 pull-ups in a row
I can only do 2.5 without help from a chair - progressing slowly
8. Run a 10k
I have added mileage in my training and now up to 3.5 miles now, so summer I am sure I will be ready.
9. Read 1 book a month
January - "New Moon"
February - "Slow Fat Triathlete" and "What Would Google Do" - haven't finished it yet
10. Of course, something that has always been on my list, lose 15 pounds.
I joined weight watchers on 2/16 and to date I have lost 3.8 pounds, I will weigh in tomorrow, and hopefully lose more than a pound tomorrow. I am hoping for 2!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Catching up on movies
Well, lately it seems I am working out and watching movies on my free time. Since the beginning of this year, I have been going to the movies more frequently than ever. Movies seen at the theater:
The Reader - pretty good if you're into the german and holocaust movies, great acting by Kate Winslet
He's just not that into you - terrible movie, great actors in it, but kind of waste of time, and was mad that i used my free pass to Celebration on this, at least i didn't pay for it. the trailer was great, but that was it!
Taken - Awesome! Very entertaining, I am so glad I am not young and beautiful - that is my out so I am not kidnapped and sold into sex slavery.
Seven Pounds - Wil Smith always makes for great entertainment, but this movie was so slow, and one that the viewers don't know what's going on until half way and they start explaining things, too slow for me and sad.
Doubt - I love Meryl Streep, and this was interesting story about "doubt" and some fine actors. The story always kept you on the edge wondering who to believe.
Ok - I have also been renting a lot of movies this year, so far:
Vicky Christina Barcelona - nice Woody Allen movie, fun story, setting and good actors
My Best Friends Girl - gotta love Dane Cook, very crude humor though
The Bank Job - pleasantly surprised, good bank robbery movie, and a true story
Nights in Rodanthe - love Diane Lane and Richard Gere, overall, just ok, sad.
Changeling - Great acting by Anjeline Jolie, interesting 1920s story about her boy being kidnapped, and the corrupt LAPD not believing her when she says the boy returned to her is not her son - true story.
The Reader - pretty good if you're into the german and holocaust movies, great acting by Kate Winslet
He's just not that into you - terrible movie, great actors in it, but kind of waste of time, and was mad that i used my free pass to Celebration on this, at least i didn't pay for it. the trailer was great, but that was it!
Taken - Awesome! Very entertaining, I am so glad I am not young and beautiful - that is my out so I am not kidnapped and sold into sex slavery.
Seven Pounds - Wil Smith always makes for great entertainment, but this movie was so slow, and one that the viewers don't know what's going on until half way and they start explaining things, too slow for me and sad.
Doubt - I love Meryl Streep, and this was interesting story about "doubt" and some fine actors. The story always kept you on the edge wondering who to believe.
Ok - I have also been renting a lot of movies this year, so far:
Vicky Christina Barcelona - nice Woody Allen movie, fun story, setting and good actors
My Best Friends Girl - gotta love Dane Cook, very crude humor though
The Bank Job - pleasantly surprised, good bank robbery movie, and a true story
Nights in Rodanthe - love Diane Lane and Richard Gere, overall, just ok, sad.
Changeling - Great acting by Anjeline Jolie, interesting 1920s story about her boy being kidnapped, and the corrupt LAPD not believing her when she says the boy returned to her is not her son - true story.
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