You Go Girl Recap

What is there to say really.  I went, I ran, I finished.  10K 58:53 only 2'ish min slower than my 10K pr pace, which I guess is a good thing given the lack of training, injury recovery, and the fact I went into it with one goal...to start the race.

I wanted to start, have fun running, not get caught up in numbers, not set myself back at all, and just run according to feel.  Mission accomplished!  The only time I looked at the watch was to see what the pace was compared to how I was feeling.  I have a pretty good idea now of what pace I can run before pain sets in, (the not good kind of pain, not the "normal" running related pain), and now feel like I can still run a bit and not do damage.  

It felt really good to get out there and just run, enjoy my music, not think about goal pace etc.  And, while 13.1 is my jam, and I would choose that distance over any other every time, I can't tell you how nice it was to turn off at the 6.2 mark and not have to think about the out and back the 1/2 marathoners were doing!

You know what's nice about a 10K though...it doesn't rule your day.  For me 1/2's still require recovery and kindness to my body the rest of the day, but with a 10K, it's life as normal whatever that may be.

It just so happened that this Sunday it meant a sick kiddo, and husband when I got home.  Blah.  I have it now too...so nice of them to share their germs with me!  First things first though...

Before I took care of them I took care of myself first!  Peach Fusion champagne is a pretty great recover drink!  If you have not tried this, do so asap!  If you can find it!  The local liqueur store ordered it because I requested it (awesome!), but it was back ordered for over a week...so good luck getting your hands on it!

Sky was sick for days which = lot's of cuddles, laundry, and mopping of floors.  Sadly Mark gets every bug that Sky does, so it's been lot's of fun around here.  Actually, to be honest, they both just want extra cuddles and love...them being sick isn't the worst thing in the world...for me anyway.

This was after vomiting all morning.  She was really miserable. 

So after vomiting all morning, and sleeping for 4.5 hours she asked to go to the park and play.  We get there and she decided she needed to rest because she was tired.  All that sleep and rest must have paid off because she was back to normal today and able to go to school!  Thank goodness because that's all she talks about.  She LOVES school!

 Watching a movie while we watched Monday Night Football. 

Sneak peak of a home project I will be sharing in the blog soon...Sky loves being outside with Daddy "helping" him with projects.  I would venture to say most of her help is not all that helpful, but this time she actually helped haul and shovel a lot of sand...while sick!  She really wanted to be out there with Daddy.

Not so sure helping place all those pavers was brilliant for my back, but our project is looking amazing!  :)

Anyone else race last weekend?

TGIF...Race Weekend

Oh my goodness I feel like a blog slacker.  I just have not had the time, which is funny because I really thought with Sky starting school I would have all this extra time.  Not so.  It doesn't help that as soon as we registered her for pre school I put off a ton of projects/tasks until school started, so now it's time to get stuff done!

It also doesn't help that I have multiple, lengthy chiro and massage appointments a week.  Just trying to get my back where it needs to be so I can run again!  It's better, and progress is being made, but I'm not where I was pre Tacoma Narrows.  It's hard not to get frustrated, but I'm doing my best to stay positive and stay active, but still be kind to my body.

Sunday is You Go Girl Half, and for the first time ever I'm dropping down to a shorter distance.   Given the fact I've run 4 times in a month and my longest run was 4.2 miles I don't think a half is in the cards.  I'll run the 10K and I'll run it at a very easy pace.  My goal is to start the race, beyond that I'm not thinking about it.  I'll start, I'll have fun, and whatever happens happens.  I kind of don't even care.

I was toying with the idea of not running the rest of the year actually.  Focusing on yoga, pilates, stretching, diet and getting back to running after the Holiday's.  But, my heart is happy when I run, and I really feel like I need to be running, even if it's short and easy.  So, I'll still probably do a whole bunch more of the other stuff, but keep a little running in my life.  

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A few camera pics from Whistler...thank goodness Mark has a nice camera and skills!

 Cheers at my favorite brewery in Whistler! 

 That is the face of a very satisfied chips and salsa fan! 

 Ready for adventure! 

 She was in love!  Her animal in the classroom that marks her bin and her coat hanger is a sheep sticker so we were exited to find real live sheep for her! 

 Man I love that little girl! 

Who's racing this weekend? 

Anyone had a Pumpkin Spiced Latte yet?
Not me...I'm an iced mocha drinker year round and iced pumpkin is nasty!

First Day of School!!!

Today was the big day!  Sky had her first day of preschool, and it was all very exciting!  She was so ready, and so excited.  It's all she's talked about for months, and we were just so dang excited for her and her new adventure!

I'm pretty proud of her for walking in, waving goodbye, and rushing off to play with new friends. Part of being a parent is getting your kiddo's ready to live their own life, and Sky is getting to do that. Granted it's in small blocks of time twice a week, but she now has a part of her life that is all hers.

She must like it, because while she hugged me when I came to pick her up she also asked if I could leave her there.  She wasn't ready to go.

I love her independent spirit so much!

 I'm going to school!!!  

 She couldn't get inside fast enough! 

Mrs. Lisa in the pink and Mrs. Michelle in red in the background.  She hit the classroom and had no more time for us.

First work of art from her first day!  While we will not be holding on to everything she creates at school this one is special!

I know it's mostly her personality, but as a stay at home mom to an only child I set out from day one to make sure she wasn't a velcro child, and that she was ok being left places without us for periods of time.  I'm so proud of her and how well today went.  No tears from anyone...we were all just really excited for this stage of her life!  

Last Day Of Vacation

I can't believe our time in Whistler is almost over.  It has gone so fast!  It's an early start it the morning to make it to the boarder before the back up is hours long.  

A look at what we've been up to the last few days...

 We explored some fire roads and found a well decorated abandon mine.

 This mountain lake was just behind the mine.  

 A waterfall we found. 

 I love the views of the mountain peaks.  It's so easy to just lay out a blanket and lounge at the park enjoying the view. 

 We have had some seriously amazing food!  Lamb Confit slinders = amazing! 

I am not a chocolate lover, and actually pass it up 9 times out of 10, but Canada has the best chocolate ever!  It's the one time I splurge and pretty much make myself chocolate sick!

 Laying on a blanket in the park, reading in the sun while Sky played...can't beat the view!

 Traditional margarita left and Cilantro margarita right.

Mango margarita left and Cucumber margarita right.

I'm not going to lie the two pictures above may be my favorite pics from the whole trip!  I love margarita's and I love chips and salsa...really I just love Mexican food in any form and margaritas. We decided to hold off on anniversary dinner until we were in Whistler, and while there are many, many amazing culinary adventures to be had in Whistler we opted for traditional Mexican food and hand made specialty margaritas.  Cucumber and Cilantro margaritas for the win!!!  I am going to figure out how to make that cilantro margarita...it was amazing!  

Back to real life tomorrow, but for now we get to enjoy one more mountain sunset!

P.S. - that second run that was supposed to happen...it didn't, and I don't really care.  I was having fun, so it was worth it!  

 

Travel Fitness - How To Stay Active on Vaca!

Since I'm currently on vacation it seemed like a good time to talk about staying active/fit on vacation!  

Let me be up front right off the bat...I'm pretty bad about vacation workouts, and when I say workouts I really mean running, since that's my primary workout activity.  Honestly, I've been lucky that most of my vacations have lined up with needed down time between training cycles/races, so the break has been welcome!  

Having said that though when I have traveled during a training cycle I get the run done!   

A few tips:

-Do your homework on your destination!  I'm a runner, so I like to find out if there is a local Fleet Feet store, or other running store, and then find out if they have group runs.  I also take the time to find out where the runner friendly paths, trails, streets are in relation to our lodging.  You would be surprised what you find!  

For example, did you know Vegas has some pretty awesome workout/running options?!  It's not a place I associate with working out/staying active, but check this out: Run, hike and exercise in Vegas it sort of makes me want to go!  

-Pack your running/workout gear!  If you don't have it you can't use it!

  My running bag for Whistler.

-Figure out the best time to get the workout/run in.  For me vacation is family time first...period.  So, I don't run if it doesn't work for the hubby and the tot.  I also would not plan on running the morning after a late night out, a big dinner, or lot's of wine/drink.  This trip I coordinated with the hubby and worked my first run in around the family time we had scheduled. 

-Lay your stuff out so you can see it!  Do you have any idea how many times I have packed my running stuff on vacation and never went for a run?!  If I can't see it I don't think about it, and won't do it.    

 Gear out and ready to run!

-Allow yourself a vacation style workout/run!  My 4 miler earlier in the week was slow...I like to call it vacation pace.  I got the run in, but I didn't kill myself doing it.  I still want to enjoying hiking and playing with the family!  

-Breaks are good for the body.  So if you need a break from the usual grind try a challenge of some sort.  When we went to Houston I did a pilates challenge that required 8-10 minutes of pilates a day.  Super easy to get done first thing in the am, or when Sky was napping, didn't require me to pack anything extra gear wise, and I could do it right in the hotel room.  Other challenges that wouldn't require any special workout clothing/gear would be planks/push ups/sit ups/squats/yoga/stretching. You get the idea.  You can find tons of these online and download to your phone or laptop to take with you.

-Plan it early in the week and early in the day to assure it gets done!  

  

Run done and feeling great!

-Get out there and get it done!  But, if you don't it's ok...it is vacation after all!  

Enjoying Whistler!

Just a quick, mostly picture post of our time in Whistler so far.  Even though the weather has been chilly and raining on and off we are still having fun.  It's nice to be away and relax!  Plus, the weather starts getting progressively nicer and nicer the rest of the trip...and I get to run tomorrow!  The trail system here is amazing and I can't wait to get out there and log some solo miles!

I didn't take much time to edit these/make them look fancy...I'm too busy drinking wine and reading a good book!

 Just having fun in Whistler!

 While Mark and Sky enjoyed the hot tub (temp turned way down for her) I enjoyed this!

 She loves spending time with Daddy, and she loves thinking this is her own personal pool.  She also thinks Elsa lives on the mountain (Blackcomb) we can see from the deck, and she spends most of her time yelling for her to come back and telling Elsa it will be ok.  

 After all the play time (pictured below) she was wore out!

 She may have had more fun pushing him on the spinning disk thing than being pushed on it herself.

 The view of Blackcomb from one of the decks.

 A bit out of order...she is an awesome road tripper, but when she's done she is done!

 Climbing, climbing, climbing!

How she spent most of the 5+ hour drive, before the blanket went over her head.  She can't read, but man she has a wicked good memory.  She can repeat the stories almost word for word.

I had a request/suggestion for a "How To Stay Active/Work Out" on vacation/while traveling post months ago, but life happened and things got busy.  So, since I'm on vacation I'm planning on doing that post (finally) while we are here in Whistler.  

So my question for you is...

-Do you exercise/stay active on vacation?

-Any tips for those that want to stay active while traveling or vacationing? 

I have my own list of tips etc, but wanted to gather more!