Sunday, June 30, 2013

Goals Update - May & June

Well the past 2 months have flown by in a flurry of activity!  I fell behind on my blogging & by the time I went to update in was towards the end of June so I decided to just combine 2 months.  We are having a great summer so far!!  My goals haven't been that great, but that's OK.  Here is the update on my goals for the past two month.

Exercise Goals
1.  Do 13 races in 2013 - I finished three races in May & June, CapCity 1/4 marathon, Fast 5 5K & Columbus 10K, bringing my total for the year to 9.  I also did Color Palooza, but since that wasn't time chipped I didn't count that one.  I'm on a great pace for this goal, wondering if I may get 20 in for the year?
2.  Exercise 5 days/week - I have been up and down with this but for the most part I'm doing pretty well.  It is harder now that the boys don't have school, but I'm getting to the gym a few mornings each week, a few nights & I'm walking every Sun.  I suffered a minor setback this week when I hurt my back on Monday.  I have been pretty much sedentary since that happened, but plan to kick off July right tomorrow!
3.  Do monthly challenges - In May & June I focused on burning 500 calories every day in the month.  This was a very interesting challenge to do.  I didn't burn the calories every day, but was over the total goal for the month of May & finished about 100 calories short in June.  I planned to do 30 day shred in June, but I could never get motivated to do it.  I'm not sure if I just suck at in home working out or if I just don't really like Shred.  I'm planning to start Insanity tomorrow, will see if I can stick with that better.  I've heard great things about it!

Weight Loss Goals
1.  Stay under my calorie goal for the day for 13 out of 14 days - Again, I was all over the place with this.  I would go for lots of days straight, then be over the goal for lots of days.  I don't see this getting any easier in July with lots of things planned, most of them centered around food.  I will be focusing on exercise a lot this month!
2.  Lose 1-2 lbs/week - This hasn't happened.  I'm actually altering this one for the summer months as well to just maintain my lowest weight which was 215.  If I can be there when I weigh in Aug 14 I will be a happy camper!
 3.  Get under 200 lbs by my birthday the 1/4 marathon the end of the year - I'm currently at 217.  Totally do-able, just need to do it.

Family/Personal Goals
1.  Declutter this house - I've had to go back & reorganize & declutter a few places I already did this year.  I redid all the boys clothes & switched out sizes & seasons.  I also redid our pantry & am in the middle of going thru their toys.  Adrian & I also decluttered our clothes.  And I finally got to our linen closet & have 3 huge bags of stuff from there ready to go out for donation on Tuesday.  My goal for July is to get thru some papers in the loft & our books.
2.  Read at least 12 books this year - I finished 1 book in May:  "Wonder" by R.J. Palacio.  This book was wonderful!!  I highly recommend it!!  Then I finished 2 books in June:  "Bossypants" by Tina Fey which was hilarious and "Summer Sisters" by Judy Blume which was also great & I highly recommend.  I have hit a great streak of books right now, yay!  This brings my total to 10 for the year - seems like I'll be able to hit this goal.
3.  Take one picture each day - This has been a super fun challenge so far!  Not like I needed to take more pictures, but it is a really cool way to chronicle the year.  You can check out the pictures on Facebook.  Still going strong with this one, haven't missed a day yet, although some days are harder than others.
5.  More consistent blogging - I have done quite a bit of blogging in May & June, although not always in the time I would like.  Hope you're all enjoying keeping up with us!

How are your goals for 2013 going??

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Color Run Recap & Workout Summary

Last year I was just easing back into racing around this time & my first race was The Color Run. I had a great time but since it wasn't really a "race" I wasn't planning to do it again this year.  But since I got home that day, AJ has been asking when I'm going to do another color run & when he can do it with me.  So when I got a discount code for Color Palooza I asked the whole family to do it this year.  Daniel wanted no parts of it (no surprising if you know him & his texture issues) so Adrian suggested that just me & AJ do it.  I signed us up & AJ has been so excited for the past 3 months.

We headed up to Road Runner to pick up my packet on Fri.  I was a little disappointed that the only thing in my packet was my shirt & my number.  If I had known that I would have picked it up Sat morning.  They also didn't have color available to buy, you had to wait until race day.

Sat morning AJ & I got up & headed downtown.  I was back & forth about a stroller & finally decided I should take one just in case.  I used our free parking again (thank you State of Ohio!) & walked the 1/2 mile to the start line pushing AJ so he could save his energy.  We got to COSI & met up with my 2 friends who were also doing the race with their kids.

The race didn't start until 10am & it was well into the 80s by that time.  We were all hot & sticky when we lined up but thankfully we were near the front & in the first wave to go out.  The course was nice, no hills!  But it was a little rough since I was pushing the stroller most of the way, usually with 2 kids in it.  AJ refused to walk saying he was too hot & it was too sunny. 

AJ did get out for the color stations & he says he had an "awesome" time.  I enjoyed the course, had fun watching AJ & the other kids get "colored" & enjoyed the coloring myself.  But it was very hot, the water stations were non-existent & I was sore all over after it.  It took us over an hour to do the 3 miles & then we stuck around for the color bomb at the end & had to hike back the 1/2 mile to the car.  Not a great day for me, but seeing AJ have such a good time I'd do it all over again next year if he asks me.

You can see all of our pictures here, but here are a few of my favorites.
AJ took this pic of me before the race - look how nice & clean I look
AJ the King before the race  :)
AJ in yellow
AJ with all his color from the 5 color stations on the course
AJ & I after the race & the color bomb!
Here is the rundown of the rest of my workouts for the past 2 week since I missed last week:
Thursday, 6/13 - rest day
Friday, 6/14 - 50 minutes of Zumba - 715
Saturday, 6/15 - 50 minutes of Zumba, 25 minutes on bike - 999
Sunday, 6/16 - rest day (celebrating Father's Day)
Monday, 6/17 - 40 minutes of TBC, 55 minutes of Zumba - 1,306
Tuesday, 6/18 - 20 minutes of Zumba, 60 minutes of spinning - 968
Wednesday, 6/19 - 45 minutes of Aqua Zumba, 55 minutes of Zumba -1,430
Thursday, 6/20 - 50 minutes of spinning - 568
Friday, 6/21 - rest day
Saturday, 6/22 - Color Run! - 643
Sunday, 6/23 - 4 mile walk with friends, 3 mile walk with family - 1,146
Monday, 6/24 - rest day, injured :(  I threw my back out early this morning.  It sucks!
Tuesday, 6/25 - rest day, injured :(
Wednesday, 6/26 - rest day, injured :(

Total calories burned so far in June - 14,450 (goal is 15,000)  I'm gonna try really hard to get one or two workouts in during the next 4 days so I can hit my goal.  But I'm listening to my body & not gonna do it if my back still hurts.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Zak's Rough Month

I'm a little late on this post because we've been super busy enjoying our summer. Zak had settled into a nice routine & everything was going along really nice...until the last weekend in May.  That week everyone got strep, including Zak.  He was miserable for like a week with it.  Then the antibiotic he was on gave him a diaper rash so he was miserable for a week with that.  On top of those two things, he cut 3 molars.  Lots of sleepless nights & snuggles with Mom & Dad for the poor little dude.
One of the few happy moments of the 2 weeks
Now we finally seem to be on the other side of all that.  We've still had a few rough sleeping nights, but it's getting better.  In between all of the crankiness, Zak has been having a blast with his brothers this summer so far.  He loves having them home all the time, especially Daniel.  He also loves to play outside.  His favorite things to do are swing & play in the water.
First time on a trampoline!

Zak has also started to master a new skill...walking down the stairs.  I'm very excited about this because in addition to my arms & back getting a break from carrying him down all the time, we will be able to take down the gates for good...yay!!  He still needs some more practice so that's probably a few months off, but I see the light.

Finally this past month Zak got his second hair cut.  I had them go much shorter because his hair grows really quickly.  Plus it's so nice & cool to have short hair over the summer.  He looks very grown up with the shorter hair, but I love it!!
Haircut!

Friday, June 14, 2013

AJ's big week

I think I may have used that exact title around this time last year.  I have just realized that the last day of school will always be the same week as AJ's birthday.  How fun for him!  How stressful for me!  ;)

School ended for AJ on Thursday, May 30th this year.  He had field day the day before, which he had a blast with even though it had to be moved inside.  Then on Thursday morning he had "Kindergarten Celebration."  The classes celebrated finishing kindergarten & moving on to first grade.  We all went to watch AJ & then went out to Scramblers' (AJ's choice) for breakfast.
AJ & his certificate - in his K class room for the last time
AJ & Miss Fish
Adrian was able to take the whole day off so after breakfast, he took AJ & Daniel out for a day of fun things that AJ chose to do.  They went to the splash pads, got a brownie for a treat & played in the park.  AJ had requested a camp out but since Adrian had to work Fri morning, they did that early & slept in the tent Thurs night instead.  Very fun end of the year for AJ!

The weekend after that was AJ's 6th birthday.  It started with a tee ball game where Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jackie, Josh & Great Grandma all got to go watch.  AJ played a great game & won the game ball for the game!!
Getting the game ball from Coach Luke
After the game everyone came back to the house for a family party and Uncle Carl, Aunt Sarah & Isabelle joined us.  We had yummy food, lots of great presents & ice cream cake.  Such a fun day with the family!
AJ ready to dig into the ice cream cake
Sunday morning was the actual birthday!  We got up, had breakfast & then we got ready for the friends' party.  We headed out to Magic Mountain for our day of fun.  They did a great party for us!  We had pizza & drinks, then opened presents & ate yummy Star Wars cake.  And I didn't have to do anything.  :)  Then we headed downstairs to the arcade, play area & mini golf.  AJ had a great time playing & stayed for 4 hours!  When he finally got home we did our presents & then Skyped with Nana & Pop Pop to open their presents.  It was a super busy weekend & so much fun!!
AJ & his Star Wars cake
The party!
Mini Golf!!
I'm so proud of all AJ has learned and done this year in Kindergarten!  He is growing into quite a young man & I love seeing his personality develop.  We are looking forward to some quality time together this summer.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Race Recap - Columbus 10K

This past Sunday was the third race in the Coughlin race series, the Columbus 10K.  This race had some ups & downs (literally & figuratively) and I'm a little pressed for time so I'm gonna do this recap bullet style.

The Good:
- Very nice course through Columbus.  I had never done a lot of this route
- 9:00 start time, got to sleep in
- Pancakes & sausage at the finish line - yum!
- Nice race shirt that I got to pick up wash & wear for the race
- Quick & easy packet pick up
- Start/finish line at COSI which meant free parking & flushing toilets (yay for no porta potties!)
- PR with a finish time of 1:37:01 & an average pace of 14:47, my fastest ever!!  This would have been a PR race anyway since it's my first 10K. But since we walked off the course at the end (see below) I actually got a distance of 6.55 on Runkeeper which would crush my PR from Cap City of 1:44:32
- I got to see my awesome friends & walk the whole race with Amy again  :)
Joni, Dana, Amy & I at the start line
 The Not So Good:
- The race started at 9:00am in June...it was VERY hot!
- The course wasn't well marked.  There were a few times we were hoping to be on the right path & near the finish we actually walked almost .2 of a mile out of the way (up a hill) because we picked the wrong path.  Thankfully someone stopped us & directed us to the finish line. 
- There were a lot of hills on this course.  Thankfully we just kept chanting WWJD & made it gracefully up them all
- I accepted a work assignment for that afternoon (thinking the race started at 8:00).  It went almost an hour longer than scheduled.  I was tired & hurting when all was said & done.  Not the races fault, just didn't make for a great Sun for me.

So other than a few tweaks, this was a really great race.  I had fun & am really proud of how I'm getting quicker.  Next race on the schedule is the ColorPalooza with AJ on June 22nd.  He's SO excited!!

As for the rest of the week, it was a pretty good one.  I lost 3 lbs bringing my total to 5 for the month (goal is 11 in June).  I worked out 6 days & took Monday as a rest day.  I'm on track with my calories burned for the month.  Here's the rundown for the last week:

Thursday, 6/6 - 50 minutes of Zumba, 20 minutes on bike - 1,003
Friday, 6/7 - 25 minutes of Zumba, 20 minutes on bike - 587
Saturday, 6/8 - 35 minutes of Zumba, 25 minutes on bike - 730
Sunday, 6/9 - 10K race - 792
Monday, 6/10 - rest day
Tuesday, 6/11 - 60 minutes of Zumba - 862
Wednesday, 6/12 - 45 minutes of Aqua Zumba, 1.5 hours of strawberry picking with the kids - 863

Total calories burned so far in June - 6,675 (goal is 15,000)

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Race Recap - Fast 5K

I had another race this week, the Fast 5K which is the second race in the Coughlin Race Series I signed up for earlier this year.  I missed the first race in this series, so this was my first one.  I was super excited about this race as it's practically in my back year (10 minute drive...that never happens!)

The other cool thing about this race was that it didn't start until 8:45.  That means I got to sleep in, enjoy some coffee at home & head out around 7:45.  Got there & parked at Kroger with no problems.  Then I went to text my friends & realized the guy at Verizon had not transferred all my contacts into my new phone the night before, only some of them were there.  Thankfully Amy texted me & told me where they were in the bathrooms - I should have guessed!!  :)


The 4 of us ready to race - Dana, Joni, me & Amy

The race started & ended at a car lot & they had a bunch of nice cars lining the finish line for us.  We lined up at the start line & took off right on time and headed back into the development behind the dealership.  The course was nice, very quiet & pretty.  There were some hills, but nothing we couldn't handle especially since we walk Sharon Woods so often now.
Amy & I at the half way point
The worst part about this race was it was super hot & sticky!  And my allergies were bothering me.  So the combo of those 2 things didn't make it my fastest race.  We finished in just over 47 minutes, don't have the exact time, I had no way to keep my new huge phone on me during the race.

There was a medal & cup for all finishers.  The cup was for beer later in the morning which I couldn't stick around for since I had a very important birthday party to prep for.  There was also a ton of swag after the race, I came home with bags, pens, sunglasses, cups & a few other things.  The only bad thing is they didn't have the food or water right near the finish line, we had to walk a ways to get them...and I was both hungry & thirsty after the race!

All in all it was a very fun race.  This series was so worth the money so far.  The next race in the series in the Columbus 10K this weekend so look for another recap next week.

Finally, here are my workouts for the past week.  It was very hit or miss this past week, I have a feeling that will be how the whole summer goes.  I'm happy that I met my goal for calories burned in May, working for more in June.  I haven't gotten over the birthday hangover & got my butt in gear to start the 30 day Shred, but I will soon!

Thursday, 5/30 - rest day (too much excitement over Kindergarten graduation)
Friday, 5/31 - 50 minutes of Zumba, 718
Saturday, 6/1 - 5K race, 384
Sunday, 6/2 - 4 mile walk, 539
Monday, 6/3 - rest day (we were all exhausted after a full weekend of parties for AJ)
Tuesday, 6/4 - 60 minutes spinning class, 20 minutes Zumba, 915
Wednesday, 6/5 - rest day (Adrian got stuck at work & I had to miss my night class - boo!)

Total calories burned for May - 16,615 (goal was 15,500) - yay!
Total calories burned so far in June - 1,838 (goal is 15,000)