The weekend always goes by so fast!  Hopefully you are having a good Monday!

Let's take a look at last week's schedule and workouts, shall we?

Sunday: Run 3 miles

Ran 3.21 miles 

Monday: Strength + 2 mile run

Strength + 2.13 miles

Tuesday: Crosstrain + Strength

Swim for 30 min + strength

Wednesday: Run 5 miles

Softball, left field.  Lots of sprints.

Thursday: Strength + crosstrain

Strength 

Friday: Rest

Ran 6 miles

Saturday: Run 6 miles

Rest

I didn't follow the plan quite as closely as I would have liked.  I forgot about an appointment which threw off the second half of the week since I couldn't run 24hrs after the appointment, so I missed a run.  I was planning on making up for it Saturday, but it's been a while since I've run over 3-4 miles and my legs were a little like jello after Friday's run.  I hope to do better this week!  Here's the plan:

Sunday: Rest

Monday: 4 mile run + strength

Tuesday: strength + 2 miles/crosstrain

Wednesday: 3 mile run

Thursday: strength + crosstrain

Friday: Run 10+ miles

Saturday: REST

This week will be a little unique near the end of the week.  I'm participating in a Relay for Life team and am going to try to run one mile every hour I am awake.  We will see how that goes...I'll keep you posted. 

If you're interested in donating to our team, it is King's Realm.  All donations go to the fight against cancer.

How were your workouts last week??

Have you ever participated in a Relay for Life event?

White Chicken Chili

I made this chili a while ago, after a friend of mine telling me about it.  It's yummy and pretty good for you too! 

White chicken chili

2 cans cream of chicken soup (I used reduced fat)

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans northern beans

2 cans shoepeg corn

1 mild rotelle tomatoes

1 can diced chilies

2 teaspoon lemon pepper

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon garlic

3 tablespoon lime juice

1 medium onion

4 chicken breast, cooked

Mix everything, boil & let simmer for 30 min

You can also put it all in the slow cooker on low and let it simmer for the day if you want.

Enjoy!

For the love of endorphins!

Let me start out by recognizing Lily's 6th Birthday on Sunday!  I can't believe my little diva is that old already.  I hope cloning gets really good in the next 10 years! Ha!  I couldn't imagine my life without our little fur-baby.

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I've got a plan and I'm working it.  I know I probably say it a lot, but it's amazing how much better I feel when I'm consistently working out.  I feel better physically of course, but mentally, I have a whole 'nuther ballgame going on up there when I'm taking care of myself.

You're so right, Elle.

My mental ballgame has been particularly important lately, as I easily have been getting into little funks lately.  I've been getting a little too much in my head and then pushing myself back into reality which I guess is part of life for me right now.  But, the past couple mornings, even if I've been a little sleepy, I'm still in a much better mood.  I'm ready to bring on the day!  Go Team!

I'm following a little workout plan I found online, adjusted it to my wants and added in my Brazil Butt Lift workout (which is awesome and corny) for strength days...yay legs and butt!

Plans for this week:

Sunday: Run 3 miles

Monday: Strength + 2 mile run

Tuesday: Crosstrain + Strength

Wednesday: Run 5 miles

Thursday: Strength + crosstrain

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Run 6 miles

So far, I've hit Sunday and Monday, and then some!  We'll see how the rest of the week lines up!  My goal is to be back to half marathon shape by this summer and maintain it through the fall.  Speaking of half marathon shape and the fall...how about we talk races I'd like to dominate this fall...ok? Ok.

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Close to home on my favorite beach...yes!  A definite possibility!  Plus, it gives me an October race!

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Another race very close to home...in case I don't get to run Philly...which means this race will probably happen.

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One of my favorite cities!  I will run this race one day if not this year!  I'd like to save up this race until I get my marathon legs ready again, but if we can swing it, I would love to do the half this year!

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Close to home and Thanksgiving weekend.  

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We go to the area of Tennessee that this race is in fairly often.  I really like the name and the date and have a free place to stay near the race! 

I won't be able to do all of them, but these are ones I have my eye on right now.  My top races would be the Beach 1/2 in October, Philadelphia 1/2 in November, and the Santa Hustle 1/2 in December, but I doubt I'll be able to hit all of those, so I have other races that are closer to home and around the same time picked out too listed.  I've also been talking to my uncle who started a Tough Mudder team and is competing in December which I may do...it's just so darn expensive.

What are your race plans for the fall?

Have you done a Tough Mudder race?

It's Thursday...which is very happy!

After cursing my alarm and the softball game that ran over to 10:30, I started my day out with this beautiful sight out my window

then, when I got to work I found $20 in my pocket, so I knew today was meant to be a good day.  Despite all the stressful nonsense that has gone on this week and the fact that I got hit in the face with a softball last night because there was this hole in my glove (embarrassing. stupid lights.) the past few days have been pretty darn good.

I felt like my workouts have suffered a little bit, but looking back, it was more just a running fail.  I have gotten in a two hour tennis date with the hubs, a few 30 min swims and a couple bike rides within the past week, but runs since last Friday=0.  Fail.

I had a bit of a rough weekend.  Holidays and I aren't friends right now.  I made some choices that made the workout-thing take a bit of a backseat, I even missed my 2012 race debut (the nerve! I really was sad about that) but I had some fun with friends instead and now have to redeem myself to...myself.  It's sad race season in Florida is about over due to the rising temps and I missed most of it, but I'm determined to find a few 5k's to conquer if nothing else.

...as well as a few other treats in the works that I may share at a future date...

But for now, that's not important.

Acisc.  Tonight, it's you and me.  And some speed.  Get ready!

Happy Easter!!!

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Happy Easter friends!  I'm off to sunrise service with the family!

Mark 16:1-6 

¹ When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. ² Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵ As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
 ⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”

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Good Friday!

Good Friday has such a great significance in the Christian faith.  It is the day we recognize Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world.  He paid the price for us.  It is the greatest gift we could ever be given...to have our sins wiped away and to live with God in eternity.  The crazy part is, all we have to do is trust in Jesus to receive this gift.  Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast".  We don't have to do anything more than believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins.  We don't have to live a perfect life.  We don't have to do or say all the right things.  We just have to have faith and accept Jesus as our personal savior.  How amazing!

Matthew 27:11-54

Jesus Before Pilate

 ¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
   “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
 ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
 ¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus^[b] Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
 ¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
 ²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
 ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
   “Barabbas,” they answered.
 ²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
   They all answered, “Crucify him!”
 ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
 ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
 ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
 ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

 ²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

 ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

 ⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,^[c] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).^[d] 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”
 ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
 ⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
 ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and^[e] went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
 ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

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Lunchtime Workouts

My best time of the day to work out is mid-day.  I'm unmotivated by the time I get off work more often than not, but I can push through a workout about 70% of the time.  I've never been a morning person, although I do enjoy the feeling of getting my workouts done before anything else, the bed has been winning every day lately.  Mid-day, I have the energy for it and my mind is ready.  Plus, it's a nice break from work.  Today, I got in a lunchtime workout...the first in a long time:

1500m swim:
500m freestyle 10min
500m kickboard 15 min
500m freestyle 10 min
Not too shabby for the first time back in the pool in a year.  I kicked myself a little because I could've gone another 100m and made it a mile.  But, there's always tomorrow!

3 mile run in 27:00

Quick shower, lunch at desk!

Welcome to a few days/week during my summer.  The local pool is just minutes down the street from work and there's a treadmill here so it works out well for me!

I feel so good right now, even with the work day is wrapping up.  Endorphins really are the greatest!

What is your best time of the day for workouts??

Here we go...

I know I've been pretty absent lately...I'm still working on getting settled into the new "normal" of my life I suppose.  I thought I'd share a few things going on in my life that have made me happy recently:

I'm excited to say I've signed up for my first race of the year!  I hadn't had time or desire to race earlier this year, but I've gotten the itch again so I went out searching for races.  I found a 5K close to home and will be making my 2012 racing debut this coming weekend!  I miss training for something, so I'm sure I'll be back up and running more races in no time!  I've got my eye on a few distance races in the fall and I can't wait! 

John says I'm trying to kill him because I've gotten him out running with me again...I love our running dates! 

John and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary last Monday.  To celebrate we took off on a cruise to the Bahamas.  It was beautiful.  

I think we've figured out a way to live there...we just need to get some winnings in from the lottery so we can make our little business venture work out right now!

I was a little late on the Hunger Games trilogy, but I've really enjoyed getting lost in the little world of Panem.  LOVED the books and the movie...all while reading on my new Kindle that my hubs got me as the paper gift for our first anniversary!  Now I'm just a little sad all the books are over and need to find a new book...any suggestions??

I have been working on getting our house spruced up.  So I got a few items and rearranged and made the entry way look so much better!  

I'm happy we've been house hunting and finding some houses we like.  Now, if only the owners of the houses would let us buy them for the price we want...that's TBD, but we're going to give it a shot!  I love house hunting!

I have some pretty awesome friends and they make me happy too!  Lots of fun things planned in the near future with some of my favorites.

Plus...a trip to a great city with a few amazing girlfriends!

Starting off Mondays with Happy Thoughts is a good way to begin.  I might try this from now on!