Happy Halloween

Last night after my long run and long nap my husband and I got ready and went to a halloween party at one of our friend's house.  Sitcoms and Serial Killers was the theme.  Can you guess who we are?

Fred and Daphne from Scooby Doo!  It was so much fun! 

As you know I ran 15 miles yesterday so today was supposed to be a rest day.  I'm obviously not very good at it because I went to the gym and spent an hour on the elliptical.  I really don't know why I do that to myself but I felt like I needed it!  I feel good when I work up a sweat!  Oh well, at least it was no impact, right?

Tonight my brother and I went to our dad's house and handed out candy to the kids.  They were so cute!  And now, I'm sipping on some hot tea and ready to watch Clash of the Titans with my brother.  I hope you all are enjoying your night and had a great weekend!

Happy Halloween!
Leah B.

15 Miles Report

This morning I woke up bright eyed at 4 a.m. because my sleep is all messed up from working night shift.  Luckily I felt rested and ready to go.  Anyway, I got myself up and prepared for my long run.  I haven't run much farther than 13.1 miles since last year's Marine Corp Marathon so I was pretty excited about 15 miles!  Irene is a friend from work and we decided to run together today.  She has done 10 full marathons and is an awesome runner.  She is training for a full marathon the same weekend that mine is so we are basically on the same schedule for our long runs.

I knew it was going to be cold this morning but I wasn't exactly expecting 48 degrees!  I wore my capri leggings under my shorts and a jacket for the first time this year.  I was out the door by about 5:45 and met up with Irene at a park in Mobile.  It just so happened that some of my teammates from TNT were there and it was so great seeing them!  Irene and I headed out at a nice and easy pace.  We chatted the whole time which is a great change from my ipod.  After about 9 miles we stopped at the store and I got some water and ate my sports beans and Irene got a gatoraide.  It started warming up outside to about 60 at the end of our run.  It really felt amazing outside!  The chill in the air was a very welcomed change from the heat and humidity of last week.  We really had a fantastic run!

When I got home I took my 10 minute ice bath, drank my chocolate soymilk, ate some rice and veggies, and took a 4 hour nap!  Impressive, huh?  I had no idea I'd be able to sleep that long.  I feel great and ready for a fun night!  I am off to put the finishing touches on my costume and get ready.

Next week is 16 miles!  Happy Halloween Eve everyone!
Leah B.

Long Run: 13 miles

When my alarm went off this morning I knew I was not ready to get out of my cozy bed.  I didn't sleep well at all.  So, I groaned a little and made some coffee.  I ate my usual oats and had coffee and water.  I soon woke up and got myself mentally prepared for today's 13 miles.  I headed out to get some mileage in before the Phatties all met up.  I ran 5.5 miles by myself and then the rest of the 7.5 with Lisa, a really nice lady that I met today.  My average pace was 9:23 min/mile and total time of 2:01:56.

Here's the breakdown...
1:  9:20
2:  8:59
3:  8:59
4:  8:58
5:  9:27
6:  9:37
7:  9:17
8:  9:41
9:  9:16
10:  9:26
11:  9:34
12:  9:26
13:  9:40

As you can see, I slowed down a little after the first 4 miles.  It may be because I went out a little too fast, ditched the ipod to be social, there were more hills after 5 miles, or that I was talking the entire time.  Regardless, it was a great run and I really enjoyed running with Lisa!

When I got home I was a good girl and I stretched and took a 10 minute ice bath.  Gah, I hate them!  Actually sitting down is by far the worse part.  I brought my Runner's World magazine in and read during the torture.  After I warmed up, I fixed a peanut butter and banana sandwich with a glass of soy milk.  I then climbed back in bed for a nice 3 hour nap!

I was at Barns and Noble yesterday and looked through this cookbook...

and I want it so badly!  It looks so great for everyday cooking.  I definitely need some new recipe ideas!  So, feel free to buy it for me.  :)

Happy Friday friends,
Leah B.

3 Things Thursday

1.  Yesterday I got to spend the whole day with my little brother, Jared.  He is such a kind and good hearted person and I'm so proud of him!  He's in nursing school right now (to be like his big sister) and he needed a little coffee break so I treated him to Starbucks.

Then my brother, husband, and I went to eat Thai food.  My brother spent the whole summer in Thailand so he was super excited about trying the food to see if it tasted authentic.  He said it did.  I ended up having veggie sushi rolls (surprise!) and they were delicious as always. 

Look!  A dragonfly carrot!

2.  Today's run was an easy 4 miler.  I mentally prepared myself to take it slow and easy and to really enjoy it.  I was chugging along and having a great time until my Garmin died at around 2.5 miles!  This was slightly frustrating but I kept on going and tried to keep a steady pace.  I would guess I ran around 4.5 miles based on my usual time and distance.  Oh well, I don't have to be dependent on that watch! 

Tomorrow I'm running 13 miles and the last 5 will be with the Phatties.  Yay, it's so fun to run with these peppy ladies!

3.  Today is a very special day because it is Calee's 23rd birthday!  This lovely lady means so much to me and I'm blessed to have her as such a close friend.  She's my long distance Disney training buddy.  I can't wait for this marathon!!  This is her 1st full and I know she'll do awesome!

I hope you all are having a wonderful Thursday!

Leah B.

7 miles of HILLS!

Today my training calendar had me scheduled for 7 miles of hills.  By the time I got up and ready to go, it was already 11:30 am.  Hmm, how's this going to feel?  So, I headed out my front door and ran toward the hilliest part of my neighborhood.  Luckily, I was in the shade for most of the run!  It wasn't an easy run but my legs felt fresh and I felt great!  I ran 7.2 miles with an average 8:46 min/mile.  I was pretty happy with my pace.

Post run I had an apple and a cup of plain Greek yogurt with cinnamon and lots of water!  Then I got cleaned up and ran some errands.  By the time I got back I was ready for an early dinner.  I made these...

Banana pancakes!  I topped my wheat pancakes with a small banana and a little maple syrup.  These are delicious and healthy!  It is one of my favorite meals.  I love breakfast for dinner! 

This weekend's long run is a 13 miler.  I've actually been excited about my long runs these last few weeks!  I would have to say my Disney training is going quite well and I'm right on track.  I can't wait for this marathon!

How is your training going? 

Leah B.

Gulf Coast Half Marathon

This weekend Calee and I went to Mandeville, LA for the Gulf Coast Half Marathon and we had a blast!  Mandeville was a beautiful little town on the coast about 30 minutes away from New Orleans.  The scenery was absolutely amazing.  The water was beautiful with tons of sail boats and there were huge trees with Spanish moss like this everywhere.

Our day began at 5 am.  We had our coffee, oatmeal, and a banana and headed out to Fontainebleau State Park.  We arrived at 6:15 and start time was 7:00.  Calee and I decided to run together with a goal to get her a half PR.  When we started the temperature was only about 60 degrees and warmed up to about 75 by the time we finished.  We kept a good pace and everything was going great until about mile 8.  Calee had a little stumble and scraped her knee and hands. 

After that she just needed a little encouragement to keep motivation.  I knew she had it in her physically but needed to fight those bad thoughts and get back in the groove!  We ended up meeting our goal and she beat her PR by 9 minutes!  We finished in about 2:18.  This is our first photo post race and  I think it says a lot!  We were happy :)

 

These are our bottle opener medals.

And here are a few post race photos of me and Calee.

 Isn't the water beautiful?

We had so much fun and I'm so glad we ran together.  I've never ran a half or marathon with anyone before and it was really fun to have someone with me the whole time!  10/10/10 turned out to be a fantastic day.  Yay for training, races, and beautiful places!

I haven't been to the gym in weeks because the weather has been a lot cooler and I've been doing my runs outside.  Today I ran an easy 5.5 on the treadmill and took advantage of the gym and did some weights.  I feel great!  Tomorrow will be a much needed rest day.  This week's long run is another 12 miler.  I hope to get to run with the Phat Girlz again this weekend for part of the long run.

How is your training going?
Leah B.

9 Miles and PHAT GIRLZ

This morning I drove to beautiful Fairhope, which is the next little town over from where I live, to do this weekend's long run.  This is a ladies only group that has recently formed in this area and I'm excited to be a part of it!  Last week they had 3 women who met and this week there were 13!  They do a 3 mile loop or a 5 mile loop and there are runners, and run/walkers.  I ran 4 miles before meeting up with everyone and then ran the 5 mile loop with the group.  I kept an average 9:24 min/mile.  It was great meeting everyone and I really needed a change of scenery!  After the run they made us do push ups and abs workouts.  I was exhausted but it felt great!

This picture of the group was emailed to me and I couldn't make it any bigger.

When I got home I was pretty hungry so I made a southwestern egg sandwich with red and green peppers, tomato, and cheese.  Oh, it was exactly what I needed!

Now, I feel nice and perky after a 2.5 hour nap!  I hope you all enjoy your weekend.  Yay for fall, cooler weather, and October!!! 

Leah B.