Wicked 10k ~ 2012

This was my first run with my husband since last year's Wicked 10k.  We talked about it before the run and I told him that I was going to follow a run:walk ratio of 3:1.  I've only done one other 10k and that was the Wicked last year.  Last year my time was 1:45, so my goal was to beat that time.  

With the help of my husband pushing me along, I was able to beat that time....by 23 minutes!  We had much better weather for this race, even with impending tropical storm Sandy.  We kept with the plan from start to finish.  This was the first race I've really ran from start to finish with someone.  I'm usually the slow one of the group and I tend to start with a group and then we all run our own pace.  The first miles went by fairly quickly to me, I was enjoying the run:walk.

I guess I'm not a very happy runner, around mile 2.5, my husband looks over at me and says "I think I'll run ahead, I feel like I'm bothering you."  I told him he was actually helping me, and he agreed to stick with me as long as I'd smile a little.  So I did try to smile every now and then.  

We continued on over the next several miles and managed to cross the finish line at 1:22:05, average pace of 13:05, my best pace for a race to date.  I'm looking forward to finding another 10k to do sometime in 2013 to try for a new 10k PR :)

A Twist for Frosty's Great Cupcake Race

If you participated in The Great Cupcake Race last month, you may remember that my friend at Run Find your Happy Pace and I agreed to run as cupcakes as long as we reached 100 participants. Well, thanks to everyone spreading the word, we had over 160 registrants!

So, since I also agreed to run the Wicked 10k this weekend as a cupcake, we wanted to come up with another challenge. My husband has agreed to run as a cupcake with me if we can reach 100 participants by Friday, October 26th at midnight. We currently have 45 people registered, so we still need 55 people to register by Friday! I think we can do it- you guys have been a great support already!

Lots of pictures will follow if we get to 100 by Friday!

Frosty's Great Cupcake Race

Registration is now open for Frosty's Great Cupcake Race 5k or 10k!

When:  December 8, 2012 (or any time that is good for you!!)

What:  You choose, 5k or 10k 

Why:  This is our third virtual race to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through Team in Training.  

This time we are offering 7/8" Happy Bands from Running Happy!  You can choose from two Happy Band designs,  snowflake or snowman.  These bands will be at a special price only available for purchase here!

We will be closing registration on November 18 in order to allow time for the medals to be ordered and for shipping.  Please feel free to send any questions to run.in.sanity@gmail.com.  

Thank you for your participation!  

Crawlin Crab Half Marathon

This race was much better than I had anticipated!  It was held in Hampton, VA  only about 30 minutes away.  But, because of possible traffic, we decided to stay overnight at the host hotel.  It was great to get up and be able to have breakfast and then walk over to the start line.  The race started at 8 am, so we left the hotel about 7:30 and walked right into the start corrals.

I was doing the half marathon with my friend Jody and my mom and Caleb (oldest kiddo) were doing the 5k.  It was a little cooler than I had planned for, and luckily I had picked up a long sleeve shirt at Target yesterday that I wore over my tank top.

Once we got started, I warmed up pretty quickly.  I was following a run/walk plan for this half with my ratio being 3 min run/1 min walk.  That was working really well for me.  My 10k split was 1:26:58, which would be the fastest 10k I have done to date (that's my time to beat for the Wicked 10k coming up at the end of the month).  I was moving along really well.  The course was nice, they really took us through some nice areas.  

Then came mile 10.  And the rain....cold rain.  And the wind.  Last year the only race I got rained on was also in October....if it rains on me for the Wicked 10k again this year, I may boycott October races :)  Just not my favorite conditions to run in. But, coming up at the end I had 7 really great people waiting on me :)  That in itself was worth the rain and cold!

This makes half marathon #8 of the year.  And it will definitely be my last half marathon of this deployment!

Thank you! Thank you!

So today I took all of the medals for The Great Pumpkin Race and the Mini Pumpkin Mile to the post office and mailed them out.  That means that I was able to make the donation to my TNT goal as well.  Thanks to all of the participants for this virtual race, the donation total is $1500 so far (there may be a little more later on)!  This has put my fundraising total so far at $4615, already passing my initial goal!  This would never be possible without your participation, so thank you so much!

More blogs coming soon- especially photos of my Great Pumpkin 5k and my kiddos' Mini Pumpkin Miles :)

The Last Couple Weeks

Wow!  It has been so busy around here!  I kind of thought that when school started and we were in a routine that things would be a little more calmer.  A little more sane....well, nope!

I started my Jillian Michaels over again....ready for another 90 days of this challenge.  I'm loving that while doing the first couple weeks I feel so much stronger than the first time I did this challenge.  I love how much stronger I am feeling.  I really do like this program. So much that this is the third time I have done this program.  But the really nice thing about it (besides the fact that it is just 30 minutes a day) is the variety.  I have not been doing the cardio workouts because I have been running, so I just have the strength workouts, which I really like.  I will be doing a full 90 day before and after of inches and pounds lost.

I've been running 4 times a week, following the plan laid out for me by my TNT coach.  She's been great at working with me to meet my goals for the Tinker Bell half marathon in January, while also taking into account the half marathons that I have planned for this fall.

Speaking of half marathons this fall, I have two more coming up.  The first one is in less than two weeks!  I'm very excited to be running in the Inaugural Crawlin Crab Half Marathon on October 7.  I'm loving the cool, fall weather that we are starting to have in Virginia.  I am hoping that we are in for a great race in a couple weeks.  Next up will be Disney's Wine and Dine Half Marathon.  I'm really looking forward to being back at Disney to run, and this will be my first nighttime race.

I've been back to meal planning, which has been so helpful with helping me keep a little more balance in our busy schedule.  So far we've been pretty good at following a plan.  I have to say- I love how much easier our evenings seem to be when we have a plan.  And I am finding that my crock pot has become a permanent addition to my countertop- I've been using that most- I love being able to fix it and forget it!  Last nights Crock Pot Chicken and Rice was another big success.  I'm really lucky, my kiddos love broccoli, so I can pretty much make that our side vegetable every night and they'll eat it up. But, when I try out new ways to cook chicken, it can go either way.  This one they liked- the littlest one especially loved the rice part!

Other news- my great pal at Run Find your Happy Pace and I decided to start our own business Running Happy.  We make non-slip headbands and also extremely adorable runner decals!  Stay tuned for more....and if there is something you'd like to see us carry, suggestions are welcome :)

So, the kiddos and I are finding our balance again amidst school schedules, after school activities, homework, running, JMBR, and meal planning.  I am still working on what seems to be my best weekly schedule so that I can use my time wisely and not end up just wasting it....those 12 hours to myself a week really go by fast!

Sunday Meal Planning

This week we have another pretty busy week.  I'm trying out 2 new crock pot meals in hopes that we have some new crockpot meals to add to our growing list of crock pot meals.  I'm finding that it is so much easier to cook using my crock pot throughout the week instead of having to find the time to cook meals between getting home from school, homework, and other afternoon activities.

Monday- Crock Pot Chicken and Rice from Sparkpeople
Tuesday- Firehouse Subs
Wednesday- We have a birthday party to go to this afternoon and evening.
Thursday- Crock Pot Salsa Chicken from Sparkpeople 
Friday- Pizza/movie night
Saturday-Skinny Tuna Noodle Casserole from SkinnyTaste.  We didn't have this one yesterday, so I'm sticking it on for the end of the week again.
Sunday- Leftover night

What's for dinner at your house this week?