M.D.W.

6:00 AM: Strength Workout; 11:00 AM: Run – Hill Repeats

Happy Tuesday! The long weekend was great and I had too much fun with the kids.  Unfortunately, it’s back to reality for all of us.  I prefer to workout first thing in the morning, but Sebastian has been incredibly needy of me.  Sometimes I’ll be up and it’s like he knows and then wakes up with me.  So, as soon as I unrolled my mat, he did same.

Great workout session for both of us.  I wanted to run but didn’t have time… no really, I finished my workout, prepped Lili’s lunch, got the kids ready to go to school/in-laws, packed running clothes and by the time I knew it, I had zero time to shower. Oops.  So I quickly got myself ready and headed out the front door.

It was already hot when we left so I tried to go run at the earliest time that I could go.  I went at 11:00 AM.

And I was drenched.   But I am glad it is done.  I did a mile warm-up, then hill repeats on Clinton Ave.  It was so hot I could only stand to 1-minute repeats x 6 before calling it quits and then heading back to the office for a 1-mile cool-down.

Anyway, the weekend was great.  There was lots of running, food and park time.  First, on Friday morning, I dropped Lili off at school and Sebastian and I visited my parents.  After an hour, we met up with my friend, Jacquie, and her two kids for a 2-mile walk and then they played at the park.

We went home close to noon and then I fed him lunch before he passed out.

He was knocked! P was home by 1:30 and stayed with him while I picked Lili up.  Then we visited my in-laws for a few hours before heading home.  The kids played with playdoh before we ate dinner.

Saturday morning I got up early and baked.

Then the kids and I went food shopping and I made a big brunch.  Pancakes, sausage, bacon, oj. We but Sebastian down for a nap and then headed over to Celeste’s house for Rosa’s Birthday BBQ.  Celeste and John did a great job hosting.

Here are a bunch of gifts from the guests.  Everyone brought gifts and Celeste and John will be making baskets and donating them to a hospital for mothers that are going through a pregnancy loss.  They are amazing friends.

And here is a collage of photos that Celeste put together.  I was able to get a good video before the wind took a few down.

The food was good, company was great and the kids had a ton of fun.  It was such a beautiful, HOT … but beautiful day.

What a great time..

We left close to 5:30 and I had to make a stop at my sister’s to drop off her planner that she left at my parents house last week.  Since we were there, we hung out a bit, gave the kids bath and then she ordered dinner.

Lili fell asleep on the way home and was CRANKY!!!

Sunday morning it was HOT again. I made a quick breakfast and then took Sebastian for a haircut.  We actually saw my mom there so that was a nice treat.  After, we headed to Dunkin Donuts for iced coffee and donuts and then to the spray playground.  I got a great parking spot and a bench all to myself.

 

It was 90 degrees out at 11:30.

After two hours it was time to go!!! Sebastian napped like a baby and Lili rested most of the day. P went out to a late lunch with his mom.

Yesterday was pretty low key. We were supposed to get some storms but that didn’t happen. We did check out Sports Authority because they’re going out of business but there weren’t really any great deals.

Lili had a meltdown this morning when I dropped her off.  She was upset because I wasn’t picking her up from school.  MELTDOWNNNNNNN.  Then when I got back from my run, my phone was ringing and it was Sebastian trying to Facetime me.

I guess that happens when you spend too many days with the kids.  They are clinging to you for dear life.

Who ran some Memorial Day races? 

Anyone ever run a race and got to a certain point when they decided to STOP the race (due to weather conditions)? A few  of my friends ran Vermont Marathon on Sunday. That was my first marathon ever.  When they got to mile 21, they were shutting down the race because of the heat.  All of my friends gave them the F-U, I’m FINISHING and crossed that finish line.  Tough as nails.

Hope you enjoy the short week!

Race Day Photos

6:30 AM: Chalean Turbo30 + Extreme Abs – COMPLETED

11:35 AM: 3-Mile Run – COMPLETED

The weather is gorgeous outside so I need to take advantage and go for a run. It was supposed to rain today and tomorrow. I hope it holds off as tomorrow is National Running Day and I want to get an outdoor run also. How convenient that it falls on my birthday.

In any event, the race photos were emailed to me. Here are all the ones that I was captured in.

I think this was around mile 3 (I know it was definitely not anywhere between miles 4-8 as those miles were in a desolate area and there were not much spectators, photographers, etc. By far, the hardest miles.).

Thought Bubble: “Emma, you’re stresssssing me out!”

I know that this picture also has to be around mile 1-4. I’m still happy and feeling good.

Okay, I have no idea why the hell I am smiling so hard. It’s probably because I’m not hurting yet; the spectators were awesome (they had drag queens around this area) — I know this is after mile 9 and probably around mile 10. Anything after Mile 9, we discarded our tanks and before mile 13, I still had a bottle of water. I think I should have been a Detective.

Joker Smile

Again, around mile 12. I think the girls may have been a few steps ahead of me.

I was hitting somewhere around the 20s here. It’s becoming a blur. I know the last 4 miles were in the woods/trails. Lots of shade.

Holding on strong.

And what we worked hard for the last 4+ months… the light at the end of the tunnel.

So yeah, those were all the pictures I was captured in. Do you order pictures from your race? They can be pricey. I think I spent $50 on two 5×7 pics once. Yikes. What do you think? Do I buy?

The Marathon Edition Take II: The Expo

8:30 AM: Chalean Burn Circuit & Extreme Abs – COMPLETED

It was a lazy Saturday on my end. I had all these plans, but after my morning workout, Lili was in a playful mood, so we played and then tried to put her to bed. It took me forever to get her down for a nap, and by that time, she woke up at 3:20. I’m not complaining though. We’ve had such crazy weekends since February. I nice Saturday with NO plans, NO group runs, NO parties, NO lunches/dinners, NO holidays; you get the picture. I was feeling run down, so I’m glad that it was a lazy day (and yeah, that meant getting no LAUNDRY done. We’re saving that for tomorrow along w/ the food shopping).

Okay, so the trip to Vermont. Mapquest said it would take us 5 hours and 47 minutes, but with a baby, it took us a little over 6. No biggie. We made one stop to eat (an hour and half into the trip. It was poorly planned on our end. We had originally hoped to get on the road by 10, but that turned into after 12.). So yeah, we drove most of the way there and then half an hour before arriving, Lili took a major dump. HA. So we pulled over to some random gas station and there was an ice-cream hut that was closed, so we parked her right on the picnic table and changed her.

I was expecting to see CHAOS once we got to the hotel, mainly because we were staying at the hotel that was hosting the marathon. When we walked in, it was quiet. WOW. We got the last CRIB, too (not that we needed it. Lili stayed in the first night for like 2-hours).

She preferred the “king” sized bed.

We were going to head to the Expo but we didn’t want to rush, so we called it a night by calling in for room service.

The next morning, Pedro was feeling ill. I felt bad. His throat was hurting, he had a stomach ache, he was tired, etc. So when Lili woke up at 6:45, I quickly changed her, changed myself and then we headed downstairs to the main lounge for breakfast.

She was behaved most of the time, but towards the end got fussy. I hardly touched my food.

Guess that sort of thing happens when you have a baby.

After breakfast, Lili and I met up with my sister and her family. We decided to head down to the Expo together. I wasn’t sure what time Court and Emma were coming down, but knew we’d meet at some point.

The Expo was starting to fill in. Lots of people; lots of vendors.

We picked up our Bibs and bag. I thought the race swag was a little bit cheesy. Not much in there.

My sister and I walked around a bit and then Emma and Court arrived.

I bought a few things for us.

And for Lili…

I also scored the sunglasses I wore at the race ($15.00) and some bands for my hair ($5.00/ea). Not too shabby.

Do you buy a lot of things when you hit the Expo? I tried not to spend too much. The hooded sweaters I got for P and I were actually on sale since they were last year’s edition. The good thing is that it doesn’t have the year on it so no one will ever know (except you guys!).

More on the weekend tomorrow.

Boo! Here I am: The Marathon Edition I

6:30 AM: 3-Mile Run – COMPLETED

Yes, Yes. I’ve been M.I.A. this week. I had a few days off from work and anytime I tried to get a blog in, I’d have baby duty. All in all, it was a very busy few days off with “personal” errands (i.e. car getting service, husband’s car getting fixed, doctor’s appointment, laundry, and just spending time with the baby). Needless to say, I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and write this entry out.

So, I completed my first race post-pregnancy (only took 11-months). I know, that’s so long. I tried to get a few shorter races in, but the timing never worked out. It’s been a busy season of events (birthdays, communion, anniversaries, yada yada yada, making excuses). I thoroughly enjoyed this racing experience as it was my first race with friends and I had forgotten why I loved running so much. This race was full of spectators and such wonderful motivators on the course. I had a woman at mile 24 telling me that I look great and keep it going.

How was the race? It was awesome; amazing, rolling, and hot. Would I run it again? Heck yeah. Vermont is just a breath of fresh air. It’s also where Courtney BQ. Post-race I thought to myself, “Damn. Courtney is hardcore getting a BQ on this course!”

My sister and I headed down to the shuttle by 6:45 and we got to the race by 7:05. We used the porta potty beforehand and then waited on line for Courtney and Emma. They were headed our way and didn’t have to wait on any line.

I don’t think you all want to read about this mile to mile. So I’ll sum it up for you as much as possible:

Miles 4-8 were completely boring, but thank goodness for running friends to help you get through this.

Mile 3 and 9 we pass the same area, so that’s where our fan base stood. We were able to toss our tanks to the side and get more kick-ass shout-outs.

Mile 10-14 were pretty fast. A lot of rolling hills, a major downhill that made us feel like we were “flying”.

Mile 15 was the hardest. It was “THE HILL” that never seemed to end. However, that’s where the famous drummers were and the spectators were amazing.

After the hill there was a huge stretch where there was NO shade. It was mentally tough especially after the hill.

Mile 17-19 was in the neighborhood. What does this mean for us? SPRINKLERS!!!!!! Great neighbors making their out fuel stations for us.

Mile 20 was by the water. Perfect as there was some wind.

Mile 21-25 were in the woods/trail. Lots of shade, but rough around the edges as you sometimes bumped into people.

And that was it. We were pretty strong the first half. After that hill, I felt spent, but kept it strong. Mile 18, now that was a bit tough for me because I started cramping in my quads. I realized that it hurt more to slow down and/or stop. Courtney and Emma really pushed me here and soon, I forgot about the pain.

I felt strong at around mile 22. Our pace took a turn though, but we all continued on. We kicked it and got in at 4:33:01. We knew we could have gotten there sooner, but we’ll take it!

I was so happy to see Pedro and Lili at the finish line. I kept giving Lili hugs and kisses. Pedro said she was looking for me.

Unfortunately, my sister DNF. In her defense, she was coming off an injury and did not train properly for this race. She was okay though. She got a good 16-miles in and met a nice family that let her hang out on their lawn and even fed her. She cheered the other runners on and a lot of the other runners were confused and would shout, “Uh, you’re taking a break?” She finally decided it would probably be best if she took off her Bib. LOL

Post-race, I’m feeling great. I was sore the next day but just to walk down the stairs. Two days later, I knew I could run, but I didn’t. I waited till today to actually run.

So what’s next on the agenda? NYC Marathon in November. I have a month of fun running. Plus, I want to get some other fun workouts in.

I’ll write more on the Expo later and the rest of our weekend getaway.

Anybody else race last weekend? This weekend? I want to get some speed workouts in. Perhaps a shorter distance race in next on the schedule?

Start Together; Finish Together

05.27.12- VERMONT MARATHON – COMPLETED

9:30 AM: Tracy Anderson’s Workout Method – COMPLETED

I wanted to post something this weekend, but it’s been such a crazy weekend. I did finish my first race post-pregnancy. I know, it’s a long time coming. Thanks to Courtney & Emma for awesome training and running. We did it.

I promise to post more later on. It’s just been such a crazzzzzy weekend.

Hope everyone is having an amazing Memorial Day Weekend.

-Rachel

Running on Kawfeee

5:30 AM: Bob Harper’s Totally Ripped Core – COMPLETED

6:20 AM: Jackie Warner’s Xtreme Workout – COMPLETED

I’m going to be drinking lots of coffee this morning. Don’t be fooled by the way I spelled coffee in my title. I know everyone thinks that people in NJ say the word “coffee” with an accent. I don’t think I have one, but then again, whenever I’m out in LA, my cousins are constantly making fun of the way I talk (or tawk). They think I says words like, dog, talk, walk and coffee with a Jersey accent.

Moving on, I’m working on 4 (non-consecutive) hours of sleep here. Fortunately, I’m scooting out of work early (1pm) so that will be nice.

Lili was kind enough to let me cross-train this morning with Bob and Jackie. She slept the entire time. Usually, she’s awake and if I’m on the treadmill, she’s more patient with me than if I’m doing a workout DVD. Yesterday, she was looking under the hood of her walker.

Everything seems to be in order here.

FYI, I was in the middle of my run when I took this picture. I thought it was too cute.

Yesterday was also the first time that I used my Ninja. It’s so freaking simple to use and easy to clean.

A pineapple smoothie. It was good. I’m ready to try some other smoothies.

On another note, Lili had a surprise visitor on Friday afternoon.

Auntie Shady

It’s always nice to have a visitor when she’s actually AWAKE! We try to keep her up later but that’s not working. She’s cranky by 7 because she wants to be put down in her crib.

My girlfriend is getting induced tonight and hopefully tomorrow her baby girl will be here. What kind of gifts do you bring when you visit in the hospital? I was thinking, some sort of dessert? I feel like flowers are better when you send them to their home. Otherwise, you have so many things to take home.