Neverland 5k

This 5k came at the end of a very long day. My flight left Norfolk at 5:45 am, landed in Atlanta and after a short layover, I was off to John Wayne airport, landing there at 10:50 am. I didn't check any bags, so I was able to go over to catch my shuttle to the hotel. I was able to check into my hotel but since the room wasn't ready I left my bag at the hotel and headed over to the expo to pick up my race packets. I wandered around the expo a while, picked up a couple things and soon after I got a text saying that my room was ready.

Along with my entrance to the Neverland 5k, I was also given a twilight ticket to Disneyland. I changed my clothes and made my way over to the park.

Sleeping Beauty's castle

Entrance to the park

After wandering around the park, riding some rides, and getting an early dinner, I wandered back out of the park and met up with my roommate for the weekend. After talking for a little while, it was time for me to make my way to the start line.

Walking towards the start- this run started in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was very windy this evening, a little cool, but not too bad. I was happy that I decided to wear long pants and long sleeves.

Waiting on the start

This run started at 10:30, we ran through Disneyland and then ended in California Adventure. Unfortunately, I only got one photo at the end before my phone died. It was a very fun run and a great way to end a long day. I slept wonderfully! Finishing time was 45:48, 15:15 pace. It was not a run I was setting out to complete with a PR, but it did happen. I will say that I would have finished faster but this run truly was a fun run- lots of darting in and out of walkers, having to slow down quite a bit in the park- so even though this is a PR for me for a 5k, I do know I could have done better :)

So there you go!

This is it

In about 15 minutes I will be heading to the airport. Tonight is the Neverland 5k and Sunday is the Tinker Bell half marathon. I barely slept last night. I really hate getting up early, I'm always afraid I will oversleep. I'm happy for a long flight and short layovers, hopefully I'll get a nap or two in. It'll probably be either late Monday or early Tuesday when I get the race reports in for any of you anxious readers :)

Today's weigh in- down 3.4!

Getting Ready!

As I type this, I am also charging my electronics to get ready for my trip. I've loaded up more songs on my ipod, my kindle is charging for the plane ride, and my gps watch is also charging. Tomorrow I'll do laundry and pack my bag. I've made my list, I think I've got everything written down so now I just have to make sure everything gets into the bag- sometimes easier said than done!

I did not get my long interval in today. I did however, get a full 30 minutes of jumping on the trampoline in with my oldest boys. Talk about a workout! It's amazing how exhausting that can be- well, at least for me, the boys seemed to be able to go on forever. I did do my short interval on Monday. The best part? I ran all of the 400 meter intervals at 5 mph! Next time I'll bump that up a little more. I'm so excited about the fact that my speed is increasing. It gives me so much confidence in my ability to complete the Tinker Bell half marathon in under the 3:30 time limit on Sunday.

Since my flight leaves at 5:45 on Friday morning and I will be trying to sneak out of the house as quietly as possible, I will be weighing in tomorrow. I'm hoping that my watching what I've been eating and the exercise over this week will outweigh the dinner at Moe's (kiddo #3 chose it for his birthday dinner tonight)! Here's hoping....

Sunday Meal Planning

Not happening this week. I am slightly overwhelmed with getting ready for my trip on Friday. I'm trying to get all of my ducks in a row for this trip. Trying to make sure the kids stuff is all taken care of, leaving behind all the instructions and emergency information, etc.

Not sure why I feel so overwhelmed with stuff, I've got my lists, and that usually makes me feel better. I'm still planning on my short and long intervals this week and then I've got the 5k on Friday night with the half on Sunday!

Weigh in and Confession

I'll admit it, I have a problem-

I am a compulsive weigher (not sure if that is a word, but that is what I am). When I am trying to lose weight I will weigh myself every day- sometimes two or three times a day. I once had my husband hide the scale from me and only bring it out on weigh days. I never 'count' the weight until the end of the week, but I am obsessive about it- every morning I get on the scale, another time before bed, and every once in a while when I am upstairs I will again step on that scale. I'm not sure why I do it. I know I'm not going to see a loss throughout the day, why would I? I'm drinking about a gallon of water every day- that alone weighs 8 pounds. Of course my weight is going to go up through the day. I know the benefits of weighing only once a week- I don't obsess as much and it makes it easier to lose- I just concentrate on what I'm eating and my exercising. That being said- I'm adding another goal to my list. Only weigh in on Fridays. No stepping on the scale on any other day, unless I will be out of town on weigh in day.

Onto this week- it was a loss week, down 1.2 pounds. Not nearly what I was wanting to follow last week with, but it was a loss. I know last week was my first full week of dieting, so it was going to be high. I wasn't expecting anything less from last week. This week I did everything the same as far as point watching and running/exercising and it was enough for a loss, just not enough for a big loss. I wasn't thinking I'd have another 5 pound week, but I was hoping to get about 3, just to even out the total loss to 10. But that'll have to wait for next week.

Next week at this time I'll be on a plane, headed out to complete set 1 of my deployment goal. To say that I am nervous is an understatement. I know I can complete the distance- I've done it before. I am still nervous about the time limit. I've been working hard to get my pace faster. I just hope it's enough.

Any other compulsive weighers out there?

Long Interval 3

Ugh. I didn't mind the mile, but I did mind the sprint part. I did the miles each at 4.5 mph- a 13:20 pace- yay! I did the sprint at 6 mph- not as fast as I wanted to, but it was rough after each of the miles. I was just happy to finish it all. I know I can do the miles and I'm getting more confident about being able to finish this half within the time limit. I am going to squeeze in another run tomorrow and a long run on Friday or Saturday.

A recipe review- the Crock Pot Italian Turkey Meatballs were just okay. I think it was the turkey- ground turkey always seems a little drier to me than meat. Probably because of the lack of fat :) All of the kids ate them and seemed to like them- of course they had theirs with pasta and I chose to have mine with broccoli. They were good, just not as good as the other recipes that I've tried in the past couple weeks. I did like how easy they were- I threw them in the pot and just let them cook all day and they were ready when we got home from gymnastics.

Until the next time.....

A Horrible 10 Minutes

Today's run was short interval #4. Total workout time was 10:00. Not fun at all. First few sprints were okay- hard but okay. When the rest time shrank, it made it almost impossible. I finished, but I will admit the speed at which I did the sprints did decrease as I went on. I so look forward to doing that interval again! I am hoping by the next time that one rolls again I'll be able to keep up my sprint pace. My goal is to complete them at 7 mph.

About dinner....the Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken was amazing! This was the favorite recipe so far. All four kids ate it up without me having to prompt them at all. This is one that I would highly recommend, and we will be having it again. Very yummy and filling!