HBBC Week 1 - Nov 19-25

The HBBC contest I wrote about in this post is underway!  I signed up in a hurry before we left for Aruba so I had to go back and read some of the rules today.  I decided the best way to track everything is to put it in a spreadsheet.  Shhhh, don't tell my boss that I spent about a half hour doing that.  We get points for all the exercise we do and for eating our fruits and veggies - at least 7 a day.  Here's how it breaks down:

1 Point per mile (run/walk)
1 Point per 3 miles biked
1 Point per 20 minutes of weight lifting, Pilates, yoga, stretching or abs
1 Point per 15 minutes of low impact cardio (i.e. low impact aerobics, easy biking, skiing, skating, water aerobics, snow shoeing)
1 Point per 10 minutes of high impact cardio (i.e.spinning, kickboxing, lap swimming)
1 Per day where you reach a minimum of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (here are details on what is a serving)


Originally I thought "I can't do 7 services of fruits & veggies a day" but then when I read her rules, a salad can knock a lot of it out for you!  I was up to 7 by the end of lunch!  Woohoo!  Even being Aruba for the week, I was able to recognize about 23.5 points last week after I reviewed the way you earn them.  This week should be even better now that I am home and on a regular routine!


Things I want to kick up this week:  more cross training.  I have been doing a lot of walking, yoga and TRX lately.  I need to get back into spinning class and start swimming or take the water aerobics class at Urban Active soon.  I am scheduled for one spinning class this week and will do more next week as well!


On a positive note, I went to a happy hour with some co-workers tonight at BW-3s.  I resisted alcohol and picked naked chicken wings for dinner - bones little strips of chicken.  They were perfect!  The best part?  My co-workers are noticing how I've changed.  One even said I was glowing and I am rubbing off on them!  I said I'd love to turn my passion into a job and one of them said "I'd sign up with you if you did."  Now to think about what I could do!  Any thoughts??


What's your motivation this week?  Are you letting the weather shift get you down?

Aruba Part I

This year for Thanksgiving, we decided to use our timeshare points and head to Aruba.  I did a great job of keeping it off the internet world (my hubby asked me not to say anything) and not many people knew we were sneaking away somewhere so beautiful for the holiday.

We left on November 19th at the buttcrack of dawn!  Dina was kind enough to offer to drive us to the airport for our 6AM flight (that meant arriving at our house at 4AM).  I hardly slept the night before - too many things on the mental to do list - and I finally just got up at 3AM after going to bed around 1 and not sleeping.  Thankfully nothing was forgotten.  We arrived around 1:30 local time (Aruba is on Atlantic Standard so they do not do daylight savings making them an hour ahead right now) and after a few bumps at the airport (Dollar Rent-A-Car could not find our reservation), we headed out to our resort - Divi Aruba Phoenix in the high rise hotel area.  Divi is who our timeshare is with but we own in St. Maarten at Little Bay (we've never stayed there).  After a beautiful afternoon of swimming and enjoying the views, we I promptly fell asleep at like 7:30PM (read 6:30 our time)......oops.

How can you go wrong with a view like this? 

Sleeping that early made it quite easy to get up early!  I was up & on the beach for a barefoot 2 mile run/walk bright & early!  What a beautiful walk..........but I do think that the beach area in the high rise hotel section is quite commercialized.  There was a pier not too far from our hotel with a Dunkin Donuts in it.  On the water. Wow, even in Aruba, Americans can't live without their Dunkin.  To be fair, we don't have coffee addictions so it is not attractive to us to have one nearby and I am sure some folks are thrilled to have it but we go to places like Aruba to forget our US needs, conveniences, lives, etc.  We don't have to have all the comforts of home.  Or am I alone in that thought?

Sunset first night at the Sunset Bistro @ Divi

Right before we left Saturday, Steve did a bunch of research into what we could see on Aruba.  He had come up with the Ostrich Farm as a go to place on the first day because they had a Sunday brunch.  They happened to be out by the natural bridge so when we got out to the farm and found out they didn't have a brunch, we went there first.   If you go to Aruba, the natural bridge area is a must see.  Absolutely stunning!  We headed back to the Ostrich Farm for a tour, feeding of the Ostriches & then lunch.  Yes, I tried an ostrich burger and didn't have any qualms about eating it right after I fed them.

Their necks were really warm. It was odd.

The high rise hotel area has its own shopping/dining area where you can eat almost anywhere so we walked over for dinner and ended up at Smokey Joe's.  A pitcher of sangria later, we headed to Senor Frog's for drinks.  Lucky us they were having happy hour (read free drinks) for the ladies from 9-10 & a clown to make us ridiculous hats.  4 hard liquor drinks in an hour (plus two shots) did me in.  I am a light weight.  To bed early again and Steve convinced me to NOT walk Monday morning since we were going on the first of our two Jolly Pirate snorkeling cruises.  A boat cruise + hangover.....unfun.  I did get in and try to snorkel at one stop but that's it. Thought I was about to puke for part of the day.  Was glad when we met up with some friends from Columbus on Friday whose cruise ship was docking in Aruba for the day and gave Jolly Pirates a second try!  Much better!

Check out her rack!

I happily walked 3 miles Tuesday morning before we headed out for our day of site-seeing.  We spent a lot of the day in the car exploring the island and checking out the many sites.  Beautiful, undiscovered areas that just take your breath away.  There are signs all over the island for the California Lighthouse & it is much better from afar.  It needs a paint job desperately!  We drove through Arikok which is another must see area and got the best picture of us in years in the Fontein Cave.

Maybe we should have tipped the park ranger more! 

There's a lot more to cover about Aruba but since the next day was Wednesday and my 37th birthday, I'll make my "Aruba Part II" post about that later in the week.


Until then...........are we the only ones who don't want to find American comforts when you hit a Caribbean island?


Do you snorkel? Does deep water make you nervous like it does me?  I am getting better than I was but a small "almost" drowning incident as a pre-teen has kept me nervous for way too long!

This is what happens when you blog at 1AM

Some of my plans for the new year and my fitness have left some people saying, "Really?"  I was going over with my mom that I was planning to race a half marathon April 22nd and then pace one on May 6th, two weeks later.  She thought it was too much too soon but I know I can do it.  When I race, I race but when I pace, it is usually at a speed that is +4 minutes slower than I am.  I can enjoy a pace like that and not over exert.  It usually works out well.  

Seems like a good motto to me.

When I am pacing, I have time to enjoy the sites and take in the scenery.  When I am racing, I don't.  It is simply about a goal, a time I want to achieve: a finish.  Pacing, on the other hand, is so rewarding.  I still have in my head someone's comment to Dina & I in September of "Thank you - I watched you the whole race & when we were close to finishing, I knew it was time to kick it in so I could beat you - my goal time."  That's what pacers are for.  To help someone cross the finish line faster than they had planned or just at their plan.  Boy, I bet if my mom knew Kara or Alyssa who are both doing 50 milers this weekend (okay, Kara's is 50.2 and Alyssa's is 51.5), she wouldn't give me a hard time.  I have been enjoying following them on Twitter and I cannot wait to see how they do!  You've got this girls!

This year has changed my life.  I am not sure if I opened myself up more to the world and saw what it has to offer but something changed.  I have so many blessings in life and I am so fortunate to be able to say I have friends who not only share a passion with me but would be there if I need them.  I celebrated my upcoming 37th birthday with a few of my MIT friends the other night and I received a handwritten card from LeDawn that said I had inspired her.  It touched me that she felt that way because everyone I have met this year has inspired me. 

I have been watching my friends post what they are thankful for on Facebook every day during the month of November.  I haven't posted anything yet but I thought I would write about what I am thankful for here.  I am thankful that I feel more connected to people; thankful for my health, my family (especially Steve who is quietly my biggest supporter), my friends and thankful that my paths  have crossed so many awesome people.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  Enjoy your holiday & your many blessings in life.

Anything you're feeling particularly thankful for this holiday?  Who have you drawn your inspiration from?

Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge

RunToTheFinish is putting on an awesome challenge on her blog called the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge that will help keep me motivated throughout the holiday season to exercise and keep the weight off!  I originally heard about it from Sara on her blog and I am excited to be a part of it!  There are some awesome prizes available and I think it will be a great extra motivator.

You can still register through her website and it will be a great way to keep motivated throughout the season.  Who doesn't love a good competition every now and again??  Go check it out and sign up if you are so inclined!

Things I like this week

Not a dog chew toy.

1.  Shopping at Charming Charlie's.  If you have one in your city, you need to head there and check it out.  Here locally, they are in the Polaris Mall.  They have the cutest things!  They organize the entire store by color and you'll never know what you can find.  This week I found the most awesome slippers.  Yes, they are little monkey heads.  Pulled them out of the bag & Riley & Annie thought they were toys. They've started to leave them alone now.  They are plush and quite awesome.  $20 and I wear them constantly.  They are warm.  I'll be known as the girl who wears monkey heads to check the mail.  I contemplated wearing them to the therapist office today but broke down and put on "real" shoes.  My feet were cold.

2.  My shoulders/arms.  This is the first time I've ever thought that they looked decent.  Tried on a bunch of sleeveless items for vacation & I actually liked how they look!  Excited about actually wearing them!  I may even not feel too awkward about wearing a bathing suit.  We'll have to see.

3.  Working from home.  It is awesomely convenient and I forget how much I like it when I have to travel 4 of 5 business days in a week.  I can get my workout on, wear comfy clothes & not worry about being judged.  I can also stick to my diet better.  It is much easier to eat lunch at home then when you are working.  Bonus!

4.  Fall comedy on TV.  Seriously, there has been some good writing this season.  From Monday nights to Thursday nights, I find myself laughing more at the comedy shows on TV then ever before.  Check them out - Two Broke Girls has got to be my favorite, followed by Happy Endings, How I Met Your Mother is always a fav and I have to admit - despite all the hype - Two & a Half Men is just rocking it this season without Charlie Sheen.  Winning!

5.  Fall weather.  I forgot that I liked it.  While it is unpredictable, you still get some amazing days with a beautiful sun shining through.  The leaves have just been so colorful and pretty this year.  Makes for a great season.  I'll be the first to admit that I am not ready for snow or winter yet but it is coming & thankfully doesn't last too long here in Columbus.  We're lucky.

Don't you love the awkwardly placed camo ribbon?

On another note, I totally gave into the pressure from www.marathonfoto.com and purchased one of my pictures from the Columbus Marathon.  All the rest stunk, so I chose the finishing one.  I figured I could share it with my family plus I got $20 to spend at Shutterfly so I am happy.



What are you liking this week?  Any TV shows keeping you smiling this season??

Buckeye Classic 10K Recap

I wanted to blog all week but spending 16 hours in a rental car for work made that tough!  And 6 of them with my boss - woohoo!  Walking to a restaurant for dinner one night last week he said "show me how you racewalk!"  Yeah, right, in heels.  That makes sense.  Didn't happen.

I was able to get mileage in on the Garmin despite my travel logging another 17 or so towards my 1,000 mile goal.  I have 48.70 to go by December 31, 2011.  I can totally do that!  Knocked 6 miles or so off today with the Buckeye Classic 10K.

The Buckeye Classic is held at Highbanks Metro Park on a trail that is quite challenging.  The first hill is a 154 foot climb.  It was rough and I was wondering why I signed up for this race again.  I had done it in 2009 and it was quite a challenge.  I wanted to see if I could maintain my new pace throughout a course like this one and I did a great job at that.  The race starts off on a paved path and as we headed to the first hill, I actually smiled and waved at a few friends who were taking pictures.

I had no idea what was coming.

The entire course was on a trail & there were many challenges with the rocks, gravel & sticks throughout the course.  I started out the race with a 12:13 minute mile, headed into mile 2 at a 12:42 pace with that big mountain hill we had to climb up.  I was grateful I remembered to bring my own hydration because with all the mouth breathing, I was parched.  I am not sure how others waited until somewhere between 2 & 3 for water.  I spent a lot of the race with people who would run for a bit, then walk, then run.  Whenever I caught them, they would run again.  Why do I let this entertain me so?  Mile 3 was 12:23 (not as many hills) and mile 4 was around 12:40.  There was a staircase we had to go up & no reason to be running it.  Lots of up hills & down hills through mile 5 and I had a shoe untie - 12:39.  The final mile was 12:00 and was mostly paved!  Awesome! There was a point where we passed the runners who were coming down the hill & I was tempted to turn around & join them.  Happily, my brain didn't remember the course from 2009 so it was almost like doing a whole new race.  I hope I forget again next fall & do it again.  I'll have to spend some time at Highbanks during the next year to practice the hills!  Very worthwhile!  Had a great time at the race with some of my MIT friends!  I am so glad to be a part of the group!

Sara, Amy, Mandy, Deb, Judi & I.

Finished this race in 1:18:08 which is 17 minutes faster than the time I finished in 2009.  A great finish for me and a PR.  I think I've only done 2 10Ks in my racing career if I really think about it.  48.70 miles to go by December 31, 2011.  Looking forward to each one of them!

Steve's mom was in to celebrate her birthday and my upcoming birthday so we had cupcakes leftover from Blue Frost Cupcake and I enjoyed this one post race:

Yup, I am not ashamed. Tasty.

Did you do any races this weekend? Making plans for your 2012 races??

End of the year goal: 1,000 Miles in 2011

When I downloaded my workout on Saturday to Garmin Training Center, I took a look at the totals for 2011.  As of Saturday, I had tracked 931.80 miles walking or cycling since January of this year.  It is the first full year I've used the training center as last year I got my first Garmin mid-year. I plan to do a breakdown of how many of those miles are walking and how many are cycling but I have not done that yet.  I did decide a new goal will be to hit 1,000 miles by the end of 2011.  Can I do it?  If I average about 10 miles per week for the rest of the year, it won't be an issue.  That number does not include any treadmill work outs I have done and I am not planning to add them to it.  It'll be purely Garmin tracked mileage - so time on my feet outside.  I don't think I've come close to this amount of miles in a year's period over the last 2 years I've been training.

My staycation was cut short by a drive to Michigan for work.  I accomplished some of the things on my mental to do list but have a lot to go!  I have become the queen of procrastination.  Christmas is just around the corner and one of the things on my list was to have all of my father's pictures scanned & albums made for my sister & I for Christmas.  It shouldn't take me long to get them scanned as I have a service that will scan up to 250 pictures for me.  The hard part is sorting them by sizes and sending them in.  I put together what I thought was 250 and it turned out to be about 150.  Now I have to get back to it!  Old pictures don't have one size either so it has been quite a challenge.

One benefit of having to give up part of my staycation for work was being able to stop at the Tanger Outlets just outside of Howell.  I had heard ads that The Gap was having a 60% off sweater sale and I knew I needed to stop!  3 blouses, one pair of dress pants & a sweater later, I was back on the road!  The blouses came from Eddie Bauer Outlet.  All 3 of them are the same type - wrinkle free fabric - but they are different colors.  2 are from last fall's line and were 50% off.  I couldn't resist the one from this fall's line even if it was full price.  I am excited to wear them and not have my business clothes falling off of me & looking sloppy at appointments.  The Gap has a line of "favorite" trousers that I fell in love with like 4 or 5 years ago that I was able to find again.  Now I can throw out the pair I beat to death!  I'll have to check their online store to see if they have more color selections.

I am currently trolling the web looking for a tracker I can add to my blog for the countdown to 1,000 miles.  If anyone knows one I could use, please let me know!

Do you track your miles every year?  What's the furthest you have run/walked/cycled in a year period?

Staycation Fail?

I took a couple days off work this week because Steve was on vacation so this was my first "staycation."  I had grandiose ideas of projects we could start or finish around the house and what did I end up doing? None of it.  Wednesday night we did a mini date night with a $5 Spotlight Movie at Marcus Theaters (Moneyball) and Chipotle.  Our kind of night!  Yesterday I went to the gym for hot yoga, took Trudy for what could be her last ride and then went to Highbanks to walk the Coyote Run Trail with the pups.  Today I walked 5 miles and then headed back to PAI for a TRX Intermediate class that whipped my behind.  Tried to nap this afternoon and failed miserably - for the first time since I left the crib.  The crown I was given for being the queen of napping may have to be relinquished.  The weather has been too perfect for projects or fall cleaning.  Plus I have to travel for work TWICE next week......ugh.  Relaxing and exercising seem to be what this staycation is all about.

The Coyote Run Trail was beautiful yesterday and I took a few pictures to share with Blog land.  Alas, Steve and I aren't in any of them - we both still don't really do pictures but here are a few for your enjoyment.

As if we'd forget to leash our dogs out in the wilderness.

Part way through the trail, you happen upon a burial mound. I am not 100% sure what a burial mound is but they seem to have a lot of them here.  Anyone know?  No, I didn't take the time to read the sign.

Can anyone tell me what this is for?

The trail was so pretty.

After walking around the burial mound, you can either chose to do a loop that adds more mileage or continue on.  Since some of the trail was muddy & Annie wasn't a fan, we turned and headed back.  It was just beautiful.  Annie wasn't a fan of being far behind Steve & Riley so after we slowed to take this picture, she had to start running.  She may have been trying to get the mud off her paws which I was trying to convince her was a mud bath for her pedicure. Didn't work.

We ended up walking 2 miles of the 3.5 mile trail but it was totally worth it.  We're very blessed in Columbus to have such beautiful Metro Parks and paths to work out on.  I spend a lot of time on the Olentangy Trail  and know it well.  I'll be enjoying a 12 mile walk on it tomorrow.  I love the trail in the fall but dread the winter because it can become an icy mess!

Anyone else have a staycation recently?  Are there published staycation rules out there I've missed?  We're looking forward to a trip here soon so a staycation was good enough for the weekend.  I've got to cut it short to head to Michigan (again) for work on Sunday.  It's just been awesome getting some work-free time with the dogs & Steve.

2012 Fitness Plans

When I got back from my trip to Indiana this week, I received my New Albany Walking Classic Half Marathon Age group award.  If you'll recall, I blogged about the race here.  I was excited and interested to see what it was.  After waiting for well over 30 days (the website said clearly it would be 30 days or more),  I was sure this prize wouldn't disappoint.  It didn't.  I think it was a nice representation of the race itself. I have to admit, however, that I was disappointed after waiting so long that it did not have my name or time engraved on it.  Last time I checked, I'll get old and forget my time!  Oh wait, I am ALREADY old and I forgot my exact time.  I think it was 2:41 and some change.

Where's my name?

I flipped it over and it was a picture of the race overall.  Not even an effort was made to pull one of the many pictures I had from this race and print it on the logo'd paper for me.  Instead, I get a picture of the crowd that made me crazy during the first two miles.   Score!  Just what I wanted to cherish about the race.  Maybe I'll just order my own picture and replace it.  Considering the award comes apart extremely easily, it won't be that difficult.  I think I'll skip the orange background but add in my time & pace.  Good idea?  I can definitely make it what I want it to be.  For now, it is hanging out in our living room.  I am sure one day I'll move it but for now, it needs to be front and center!

I am excited that I have found a group of ladies as crazy as me that want to try the Relay Around Columbus this coming June.  Apparently we can mix walkers & runners in our group - you are considered a runner even if you walk as long as it is a pace below 15 minutes/mile.  That's me!  Although if we are in the runner category, I'll have to walk further.  This will be an awesome challenge and I am really excited.  Next year has some exciting fitness firsts planned - the Relay Around Columbus, the Columbus Marathon & possibly riding in Pelotonia.

In preparation for the Columbus Marathon, I am going to finish reading a book on racewalking I picked up from Dave McGovern.  It is not long, it has just been a matter of taking the time to sit down and read it.  I am also planning to head to one of his racewalking clinics to get some more information on form.  I really need help with my arms and how I move them.  While I've gotten faster, the way you keep moving fast is by proper arm use.  I've been shown it many times and I just need to keep it up!  I think I'd learn a lot from these clinics.  Maybe I also need to sit down and figure out my 2012 fitness budget!  This could get expensive!

Have you started figuring out your 2012 goals?  Are you planning to rob a bank to help pay for them all?  I swear, being a couch potato was cheaper - but not when it comes to your health!

What do you do with formal race awards like the one I received?

Happy 13th anniversary to us!

It is hard to believe that 13 years have already passed since we got married.  Time has passed quickly since we looked like this:

I want to know why no one fixed that hair stuck in my veil!

We sure have had a lot of fun together.  We're terrible about taking pictures of our adventures as we both dislike pictures - although I like them better now.  :)  I thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures of us from over the years.  When you tell people you got married on Halloween day, the answer usually is really?   Then we get "Why?"  Here is the real story.  We decided to get married in June of 1998 after dating for just over 3 years.  October 31, 1998 was available at the church he grew up in so we went for it!  Only regret?  Not making it a costume party and having a bash!  Next time, right?  Maybe for our 20th!  Steve & I were wearing costumes even if no one else was!  Steve loves the date because he can never forget it!

Unfortunately, it seems like I have access to pictures post 2004 on this computer but at least you'll get a taste of what how we've changed over the years.  The first one is from November of 2004 right after we both lost 40+ pounds doing the South Beach Diet.

We had a membership to Franklin Park Conservatory and went there quite a bit while they had the Chihuly exhibit going on.

Shortly after, we discovered our favorite island in the Caribbean, St. Maarten and this picture is from our first trip there.  We have grandous plans of retiring on St. Maarten some day.  I'd really like to do that now.  Any lotto winners willing to help us out??

Aboard the Lord Shetfield - St. Maarten

It has been quite a ride that began in 1995.  We donated this brick to the Columbus Zoo in honor of that date.  Did I just show how old we are?  We were young when we met - I was 20 and he was 21.  There!  Now I have dated us!  If you want to ever see the brick live, it is in the Australia section of the zoo.  I know, thrilling, right?  We couldn't find it again when we were there last November for Wildlights.  Maybe it was because it was dark.....naaaaah.

Puerto Rico

At my friend Sarah's wedding in 2009

Getting ready to zip line in Costa Rica - 2010

In many ways, our story has just begun.  It'll be fun to write the next chapters.  Who knows where life will take us but we're heading through it together!  It'll be quite a ride!

Getting ready to whitewater raft - 2011