My New Favorite Cupcake Flavor…

I found some inspiration on a blog that I follow.  I thought I’d do a little experimenting with my regular chocolate cupcake and came up with my own chocolate peppermint chunk cupcake with peppermint buttercream.  What I came up with is my new favorite holiday cupcake.

Chocolate and peppermint, what a fabulous combination.

Race with the Stars Recap…

I almost forgot about the 5k I registered for in the beginning of November. 

The OCU Race with the Stars was a bargain.  It was only $20 to register for this race and the race t-shirt was a long sleeve Brooks technical shirt.  You can’t buy that for $20.  My only regret is not getting a small, the medium is just too big.

When Josh and I drove up to the race I was thinking that maybe we should have stayed home.  We didn’t get timing chips with our race packets and I had visions of a fun run with only a gun time.  It was cold and windy on race day, and there was some confusion as to the starting line, but this was a race that turned out to be very well run and worth every penny we spent on it.

The route was a little hilly but for the most part was around campus, and we only had to run into the wind at the start and towards the end of the race.  My official time was 24:06 and I won my age group.  Much to my surprise they had actual prizes for the age groups.  I won a certificate to learn how to row at the OKC Boathouse District.  How cool is that?

And I got some pictures while Josh and I hung out and waited on the results.

I think we look fabulous and you can’t tell that we were freezing out butts off.  What a great, well run race.  For $20 I’ll definitely do it again next year.

Turkey Trot Recap…

The last 5k for the year was the Turkey Trot that was hosted by the Downtown YMCA.  I lucked into free race entries because BMI was a sponsor of the event and they didn’t think anyone else would want 8 race entries to a 5k except for me.  I was more than happy to take advantage.

All I can say about this race is that I am glad I hadn’t actually paid for it because I was very disappointed in how it was run.  Josh and I picked Kim up and met Jen before the start of the race.  It was chilly out, but much better conditions than the Route 66 half four days earlier.  I was bummed that I couldn’t find Patti before the start of the race, but luckily she found me after we got started.

This race started with a couple of hills, then had a steady incline, and then finished with a couple of hills.  Not my most favorite course, but I was pretty happy with my time.  My chip time was 23:49, but they had me listed in the men’s division at first, and they had my age wrong.  It wasn’t just me, I think everyone I knew that ran this race had screwed up info for their results.  I know it’s just a 5k but it’s nice to see how you stack up against everyone else and I’ve never seen results as messed up as these.

Oh well, we did get a good picture at the end of the race…

It was nice to start Thanksgiving off with a run with some of my favorite running friends.

Route 66 Half Marathon Recap…

So it’s been about five weeks since we ran the Route 66 Half Marathon in Tulsa, and I am just getting around to writing about it.  I figured I’d better get all my blogging in before I recap the year later this week.

Let me begin by saying how much I would love to run a race with good conditions.  We thought it was going to be a beautiful day, temps in the mid 50s with no rain is what we were hearing all week, and that’s what I packed for.  We headed up to Tulsa on Friday to spend time with the in-laws and met up with everyone at the race expo on Saturday afternoon.

I have probably said this before but I love race expos.  I haven’t found one as good as the Rock N Roll in Dallas earlier this year, but I always have high hopes for freebies and all things running related that can be found at a good expo.

Kim, Rochelle, me, Josh, Jesica and Jeanne posing by the Route 66 sign.  Since this was Josh’s first half marathon, we had to document it.

Me, Kim and Rochelle cheesing it up before we headed out. 

After the expo we went to Dick’s Sporting Goods and dinner and headed home for a good night’s sleep.

I got all my gear laid out, and called it a night.  I was quite surprised to wake up to temps in the 30s and while it wasn’t raining there was a lot of moisture in the air.  I was very thankful for my long sleeve shirt I bought at the expo.  Without it I might have froze to death.

Of course we had to take pictures before we left the house…

And then we had to ask a random stranger to take a picture of us freezing before the start of the race.

Once we got into the corral it wasn’t too bad.  We were a part of what might be the world record for the most people doing the running man prior to the start, but I haven’t heard if we broke the record or not.  What I didn’t remember, or decided to block out from last year’s race, was how many hills were at the start of the race.  They changed up the course from last year but I recognized a lot of it at the start and it was about six straight miles of hills.  That is a lot of hills. 

Kim dropped back a little bit and Josh hung with Rochelle and I for most of the hills.   Once it leveled out Rochelle dropped back a bit, but she wasn’t far behind me.  The rest of the course was pretty flat and thankfully it didn’t ever rain, but the final three miles were straight into the wind, right by the river and they were pretty brutal.

I was hoping to finish in under 2 hours, and honestly I was pretty untrained for this race.  I think Rochelle and I had ran 8 miles about four weeks earlier, but other than that I hadn’t ran more than six miles in the month leading up to the race.  My chip time was 1:58:34 and I was very happy with that.  Rochelle came in in under 2 hours as well.  Josh finished in 2:06:01, and even though I was sure he was going to hate me forever for putting him through it, he is planning on running the half at the OKC Memorial this spring.

Of course there were pictures at the finish…

 

And more pictures when we went to our Tulsa office, which is conveniently located not far from the start, where we changed our clothes before we headed home.

I’m not sure if you can tell just how cold we were.  I would kill for a race with good conditions.

Baby it’s Cold Outside…

I'm not sure if I've said before how much I hate the treadmill. I HATE it. I have done one treadmill workout since July and I have the remains of a nice blood blister on my center left toe. I won't include a picture of said toe, as always my toenails hate me and I have a few on their way out and a few on their way in as we speak.

That being said, it's been pretty dang cold around these parts.

I started running with my friend Patti in July. She was super intimidating at first, you've gotta love someone that is willing to get up at the crack of dawn and meet to run at 5:15 am three mornings a week. When we were running in July, and I might have mentioned this before, it was about 85 degrees at 5:15 in the morning with about 97% humidity. My how things have changed. Seriously, I need to live somewhere that there is actually a fall and a spring. This morning, I think my phone said it was 23 degrees out. I'm just going to say that 23 degrees with no wind is WWWWAAAYYY better than 30 degrees with north winds at 15-20 miles an hour. That was Monday, by the way.

I committed to six miles this morning even though the weatherman told me I was crazy. The hardest part of running in the cold is convincing yourself that you are not going to freeze to death. That would only happen if you stop moving. Did you know that if you are meeting someone to run at 5:15 you have to get up at around 4:45 in the morning? I am a morning person, and I have been for quite some time, but this is ALMOST too early for me.

I had all my stuff laid out. My one pair of long pants, my insulated shirt, a long sleeve technical shirt, ear warmers, my Bad Ass hat that my friend Kim bought me last year which doesn't actually cover my entire ears so I have the ear warmers too (I try really hard to not look like a dork in a knitted or crocheted hat but I have since been unsuccessful), my jacket, and my Gap gloves that I have had for about a million years (Patti said her hands feel cold just looking at me with these on).

I got up, got dressed and then I made a cup of green tea that I put in an insulated mug for post run warmth on my way home. I was surprised that it did stay pretty warm, I'd do it again.

All in all, the run wasn't bad because it was cold. It might have been the bootcamp class last night that has my booty all kinds of sore that was the problem, but I felt HORRIBLE. Sure we were running at about an 8:15 pace and we slowed up to about 8:45 or 9, but mentally it was a very hard morning.

Now I need to see about some real cold weather running gear and I'll be all set.

I still need to recap the Route 66 Half and the OKC Turkey Trot. Man have I been slacking lately…

November 8, 2011

I am sticking with my being behind theme; this is how my life feels right now so my blog should feel that way as well.

Yesterday, I was thankful for National Public Radio. NPR for short. I love my drive time with NPR. I love that it's not all death and gloom like the evening news. It's not all happy and cheerful either; it's a nice blend of the good and the bad.

On my way to work this morning I got to listen to Frank Deford's commentary. I just love my Wednesdays when I get to hear him talk about sports. Today's story was a good one. He proposed that Greece leave the EU and join the SEC to solve their debt problems. He also compared West Virginia's move to the Big 12 to ditching Michelle Bachmann's campaign and jumping on the Newt Ginghrich bandwagon. So funny.

I also got to hear a commercial for This American Life, I love when I am in my car to catch this show, but sadly it doesn't happen very often. This week's episode is about the head of the maintenance department in a New York school that, after 30 years, he starts messing with his fellow employees. I bet that'll be a good one.

I love NPR.

November 7, 2011

I am still playing catch up from the weekend, so this is actually yesterday's post. Pretend it's still Monday, will ya?

So yesterday I was thankful for all my nieces and nephews. A few are borrowed, but they still count.
This could possibly be the only picture of all of them together. It's from Jen and Jeff's wedding in May.

Starting with the front row left to right we have Guerin (he's one of the borrowed ones, but he's such a mess and so cute). Then Lanee, who is not showing her face, this is my brother Billy's stepdaughter and I would have killed for my girls to have her curly hair. Next is Hannah, one of Karen's daughters, Hurricane Hannah as we loving call her (she hates it), she leaves a path of destruction everywhere she goes. Next to her is Bella, she's my cousin Leah's daughter, also too cute. Rounding out the front row is Matt, Billy's step son; he has the cutest red hair.

Row two is Ryan, my brother's youngest, and he looks so serious in this picture. Then Zoey, in pink and Zach in the suit, Jeff's twins, they are quite a pair and fit in well with our clan. Next to Zach is Caeli, Jeff's niece and Guerin's sister, my girls love Caeli. Rounding out that row is Adam, Billy's oldest, he is going to be a heartbreaker one day.

Behind them are Carson, Hailey and Camy. Hailey is Hannah's big sister; she is almost exactly the same size as Carson even though there are about a year and a half apart in age.

Then there is Will, Billy's oldest stepson, he's a year behind my girls in school and should go to the same middle school at my girls next year. Paige is next. Ah, Paige, she was the first baby, the first baby that ever stayed at my house. There is this picture…

Finally in front of Jeff, sot of behind Camy and Caeli is Parker. He is four weeks younger than my girls, but you'd never think that to look at them. He is such a sweet kid and again my girls just love hanging out with him.

Last but not least is little Haden. He's our last baby, and we saved the best for last. There is not a sweeter or better baby anywhere. It's sad that he is getting so big that he doesn't want to just be held all the time.

November 6, 2011

Yesterday I was thankful for Dave Ramsey.

If you don't know who Dave Ramsey is, you are missing out. You should check out the website.

Josh ran across him about a year and a half ago, and he has definitely impacted our lives for the better. We now drive used BMW's that are paid off, and we got rid of our credit card debt this summer.

My hope is that my kids will never feel like they need a credit card. Josh and I got into trouble with them when we were in college and if I could go back and not get that first card I could have skipped through a lot of really hard times. But we are who we are because of what we have gone through, so maybe I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I do today if we hadn't gotten those credit cards.

Who knows? I do know that I am very happy to be debt free.

Really, if you don't know Dave, you should check him out. He will change your life…

November 5, 2011

I didn't keep track of my thankfulness this weekend, so I'm playing catch up today.

Day 5, I am struggling a bit already with this. My family is a given, but picking out the specific pieces of my life seems harder for me. Let's start with my crazy dogs, Rocky and Penny. I can include my Lucy in this too, even though she is not with us anymore.

I will never understand people that don't have dogs. I understand less people that insist on cats. I grew up with cats, and I thought they were fine pets until I got my first dog. The cat and dog worlds are so different, and I prefer the dog side.

Lucy was one of a kind, but Rocky and Penny keep our lives interesting. Penny was the accidental member of our family. We had only had Rocky for about a year, and for some reason we ended up with little Penny. It's so funny how different these dogs are, so let's break it down.

Rocky

• He was named after a Beatles song, can you guess which one?
  
• He is pretty much afraid of just about everything. Thunder, loud noises, Josh.
  
• He has two fleece blankets that he sucks on. Yep, he sucks on them. We think he was taken away from his mom too soon.
  
• He does not like to go outside when it's raining or cold, and he can hold it for days. (This has not been tested, usually we have to push him outside when it's been too long and he likes to use the patio as his bathroom.)
  
• He makes me believe that the red Boston Terrier is actually the result of poor breeding, but his huge non-Boston looking nose is so cute.
  

  
   

Penny

• She was also named after a Beatles song, can you see the theme we have going here?
  
• She is the most stubborn dog I've ever seen. I would have to say that she is still not house broken.
  
• If she is overfed she tends to have not so solid poo, usually inside our house.
  
• With a little pumpkin in her food every day, and strict monitoring of her food we have solved the previous poo problem.
  
• She loves the laser pointer game.
  
• She barks, a lot. At the TV, the garage door, loud noises, when teased. It's weird because this is very different than Boston Terriers.
  

They are quite a pair. Lucky for me, Rocky has been sleeping with the girls for quite some time and this summer we got Penny to start sleeping with them too. I have a dog free bed for the first time in 16 years. Rocky sleeps in Carson's room with his fleece blankets and Penny sleeps in Camy's room with her million pillows on her bed.

Who doesn't want a dog? I'll give you one.

November 4, 2011

Day number four of my list of things I am thankful for would have to be my sisters.

It's a strange and wonderful relationship with sisters. I am extremely thankful for my sisters.

There have been lots of good times for the three of us, participating in the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago in 2006 is one of the best. One of my favorites was loading up the three of us with Camy, Carson, Hailey and Paige and driving back to West Virginia in our old Ford Explorer. Who knew that traveling cross country with four little girls would be so fun? We started the trip with some puke and ended it with some puke, (both from my kids) and along the way we had a great time.

Jen and I got to be pregnant at the same time; and Karen gave us the last baby we'll have for a while earlier this year.

Some days I wish we had an even number. Three is a hard number, and there have been many times that it has felt like it was two against one on any number of issues. No matter how complicated our relationships have been over the years I don't know what I would do without my sisters. They have seen me at my worst and at my best and they accept me as I am.

The three of us are very different, and I wish that our interests overlapped more. I guess the great thing about sisters is that you can be very different but still be linked together.

I hope my girls will always be close, the is no other relationship quite like the one you have with your sisters.

November 3, 2011

Day three is all about Carson, my little monkey girl. Baby girl B in the hospital when they were born.

Carson, who thinks her name is a boy name and has decided she hates it. When she was born the reason they were in the NICU for sixteen days was because she had to be tube feed most of the time. I tell her she wouldn't eat from the start and that hasn't changed. She has gotten less sticky as she gets older, things used to just stick to her hands and feet when she was little.

She loves to text, even when we are at work, and more and more she prefers to hang out in her bedroom. I assume this is what we have to look forward to in the next few years.

I don't think we could have a more picky girl, she likes what she likes. Things are not as easy for her as they are for her sister and it is hard to see her struggle so much but I think it will make her stronger later.

She is so much smarter than she thinks she is. She is so different than her sister and it's so fun to see her change as she grows up.

November 2, 2011

So for day two I don't want to talk about my girls together I thought I would go one at a time. The problem is picking one to go first. I guess since I said yesterday this is in no particular order it doesn't really matter. I am thankful for both my girls.

I'll start with Camy since she was my baby girl A when they were born.

Camy is such a bright girl, she is very shy though. I wish she could be a little more outgoing but she will get there. I love that she has become quite the swimmer in the last year and a half. Maybe there is a competitive swim team in her future.

I almost hate that everything seems so easy for her,I worry that it will make life harder for her in the future. She is learning that not everything will be easy and sometimes it's hard to watch.

She seems to be growing up so fast and I wish I could just freeze time and keep her as innocent as she is today. She has already started borrowing clothes and she can even wear my shoes. I think we may have some arguments in our future.

For now she is my girl that aspires to run with me and she doesn't seem afraid to try new things. She does prefer to not go it alone, maybe it's the twin in her. She seems interested in church and I am glad that she has friends to do that with.

When she was little when she was upset she would throw herself on the floor like a limp noodle, she does some version of that when she gets upset now. A little less laying on the floor and crying but she still gets that point across.

I am very excited to see the woman she will grow into even of I want her to stay the little girl she hasn't been for a while now. I hope she will always be close with her sister and remember that she is her own person who just happens to be a twin. I am very thankful to have her in my like and can't imagine my life without her.

November 1, 2001

I thought it was a good idea to have 30 days of what I am thankful for, so here we go. This is in no particular order…

For this first day of November I am thankful for my husband. We have been married for 15 years, 5 months and 7 days. J It seems like only yesterday. In the 5,638 days since our wedding we have definitely had our ups and our downs, but three dogs and two kids later I think it just gets better and better.

We have lost a little; our dear Lucy, Papaw, Granny, Jason. We have gained a lot; Camy & Carson, Paige, Parker, Zach, Zoey, Hailey, Hannah, Haden, Adam, Ryan, Will, Matt, Lanee, Caeli. I never thought my family would have so many kiddos in it, but it has been wonderful watching them all grow up and we have many years ahead of us.

With the bad days there have been so many more good days. It has taken us 15 years but I think we have finally figured out the whole money thing. Thanks to Dave Ramsey.

Even though there are a few items in his wardrobe I really wish he would get rid of, there are so many great things he does for our family. He does homework (not sure if I should have hurt feelings that the girls prefer him to me for this), he takes out the trash, he mows the lawn, he cleans out the storm shelter each spring, he gets thing out of and puts things in the attic, and he pumps my gas.

I am a very lucky girl to have someone who loves me and supports me. If this list were in a particular order I think he would have to be at the top of the list…

What I am Thankful For…

A blog that I follow HannahViolin had a post today about doing a post every day in November about what she is thankful for. I am so going to do this. It might be hard to do a post every day, but I know that I do have a lot to be thankful for.

Before that we've got a Halloween slumber party for the kiddos tomorrow night, what the heck was I thinking? Then Halloween and trick-or-treating on Monday, and I can't believe it's almost November.

I did get a 4.5 mile run in this morning with Patti and Rochelle; we hit the loop by my house and didn't take the easy way out. We saved the long hill for the end. Hills make me stronger. It was the coldest morning so far this fall but it felt great out there with very little wind. I can take the hills, I cannot take the wind. Tomorrow we are going to run ten and take that same hill again. I've got to get ready for Tulsa.

Camping…

I don't know if I've said this before, but I am not what you would call "Outdoorsy". I admit it, I feel no shame. When I was a kid when we spent summers in West Virginia on my aunt's farm you were more likely to find me inside reading a book than outside playing in the dirt. I used to be afraid of flies, and I remember spending hours killing flies on the front porch. The fact that the farm was in the hills of West Virginia and that flies do quite a bit of breeding there didn't deter me.

I did float down the creek on old tires with my cousins and siblings, although I tried my hardest to not actually get in the creek. I still feel the same about lakes and rivers and creeks. I like to think of myself as a swimming pool type of girl, I like to be able to see what is around me in the water.

That being said, the kiddos and I went out to Roman Nose State Park with my sisters and their families on Saturday. Josh had a medical procedure on Friday that prohibited him from participating in this fun filled trip. Here's what I learned this weekend…

• The girl with the least amount of camping equipment will be in charge of chips and baked goods.
  
• Even if I had a camping box, I don't own a car big enough to transport it.
  
• A task like gathering fire wood will keep kids occupied for a long time.
  
• If you sit close to the fire because it's freezing, you run the risk of getting burn holes in your fleece jacket.
  
• My family has never heard of Ivy Block. (This was a HUGE shock, as they are all expert campers.)
  
• When it's cold out there are less granddaddy longlegs on the outside of the tent.
  
• The air inside your air mattress gets really cold when it's in the 40s.
  
• Temps in the 40s and 50s might be perfect running temps, but they are not perfect sleeping in a tent temps.
  
• When you camp in October it's always better to over pack.
  
• That half bottle of wine will make you need to pee at about 3am.
  
• Just because you sleep in a tent with 4 girls between the ages of six and twelve doesn't mean you will have someone to go to the bathroom with at 3am.
  
• With eleven kids, the sleeping arrangements will change atleast 30 times between the time you set up the tents and actually go to bed.
  
• It is possible to get to the end of A Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall.
  

In all it was a great trip. The kids had a great time, and I'd like to think that this is one of those trips that they will always remember. We did take them fishing on Sunday after we had packed up our camp. You have never heard kids whine so much. We had four kids that fished and seven that complained almost the whole time.

I can't wait until next time.

The Smell of Fresh Baked Bread…

I love to bake. I love finding new recipes and testing them out and I love the look on my friends or family's faces when I hit the mark.
 I have always wanted to bake my own bread. I have had some attempts, some good, some not so good. I have a recipe for white bread that I have been making off and on for the last few months. I know what you are thinking white bread is bad for you, right? Well, I say that if it's made by me and I know exactly what is in it (how much sugar is in it) then it's not all bad. The white bread recipe is a good one.

I also have a recipe for cinnamon swirl bread that is to die for. So good, that I can't make it every week or I will eat it every week, and then I will have to run that many more miles every week. On a side note, this bread is AWESOME as part of an egg white, fake sausage and cheese sandwich. Sweet + savory = yum. It also works well for French toast…Anyway…
I found a recipe for Honey Oat Bread on http://www.bakingdom.blogspot.com/. I had it in my recipe binder for a few weeks and finally decided to try it out on Sunday. Can I just say, WOW! It's a little sweet and very soft which seems to be lacking in the homemade breads I have made so far.


Here's the recipe:

Honey Oat Bread

Makes 1 9×5-inch loaf

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups oats
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk (almond or soy milk for vegan/dairy free)
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
1/4 cup honey

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons honey warmed
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons oats

I

n a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt.

In a small bowl, or two cup measuring cup, warm the milk so that it's hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, stir in the water and honey.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing until it just comes together to form a dough. Knead for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is barely tacky. If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to soften it up.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Once doubled, place the dough on a clean, dry work surface. If the dough is too sticky, lightly flour the surface before continuing. With your fingers, flatten the dough into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Tightly roll the dough, tucking the ends as needed, into a loaf. Place the shaped dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan, cover with a clean dry towel, and let rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (180 C). Place an empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

When the loaf is doubled again, brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.

Place the bread in the oven and pour the boiling water into the empty loaf pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190 degrees.

Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool completely before serving.

 

I could go on and on about how delicious this bread is. I used almond milk in mine, and I threw the oats into the chopper before I added them to the flour, just to grind them up a little. I also omitted the oats on the top and just did the warmed honey because I would love for my kiddos to eat this bread and oats on top would definitely deter them.

Give it a try; I don't think you will be disappointed.

OKC Race for the Cure 2011…

Carson, Paige, Hannah and Camy bright and early...

Me, Jen and Karen

Carson and Josh walking the 5k

Karen, Hannah and Paige walking the 1 mile.

The RFTC is one of my favorite races, my sisters and I have been participating for about ten years, and this is the first race I ever ran. I think that was in 2008 and it was UGLY. I remember not being able to run the entire thing, and my legs hurt and I had a stitch in my side and it was so hard.

My official time back then was 35:55, and I finished 139^th out of 454 in my age group.
Since then I have gotten a little better:

Year	Time	Age Group Place
10/10/2009	0:28:24	24 out of 102
10/9/2010	0:26:19	10 out of 172
10/15/2011	0:23:48	1 out of 84, 43rd overall

This time I finished first in my age group. How crazy is that? It was just over a year ago that my sister got me a Runner Girl sticker for my car and I contemplated whether I qualified as a runner before I put it on my car.

I am so proud that I got to hang out at the starting line with Josh and Jen, and they both did awesome as well. The big problem with the RFTC in the past is that the race is so big that you would spend more time dodging strollers and people that would sprint and then come to a dead stop in front of you. Last year was better because we made sure to get up close to the start, but this year they changed it all up and it was wonderful.

The Competitive 5K started at 8am, and the run/walk started at 8:30. Not only did I not have to dodge non-runners, but I also got to walk the 5k with my girls after I ran it. How awesome is that? I hope they work it out some more next year and keep the new format, my only complaint is that it was a mad house after I finished running and I didn't find the water before we started walking. I got water at a couple of water stops on the course, but the first one was already closed down by the time we got there. I was thirsty.

They changed up the route this year, and I so hope they can change it back next year. It was hilly, really it was HILLY. I know that hills make me stronger, and I do run some hills atleast once a week. (There is a good route by my house, it's a 4.5 mile loop that ends with a long gradual hill that I honestly hate, but I do it anyway.) Hills make me stronger, that's what I kept telling myself as I was fighting to get up the hills on the new route. They did keep the one big downhill at the end again this year, and I was pretty happy about that.

In all it was an awesome day. I set a new PR and won my age group in a race that means a lot to me. What could be better than that?

How about pictures?

Fitness in the Middle of the Day…

I just walked a mile. Sure it was a pretty slow mile, it took me 29 minutes, but I am at work and I just walked a mile, and I was working. Wow, sounds impressive, right?

We have two of these…

I cannot get this picture to be right side up...

…right by where my desk is. They are in what we call Walking Room 1 and Walking Room 2. (You've gotta love when the place gets remodeled to make way for awesome things.)

So any of our employees in OKC can go in and schedule time and log into the computer and walk and work at the same time.

Generally, I hate the treadmill, I prefer to call it the dreadmill, and walking on a dreadmill is even worse. But, since I can get in there and get moving and get some work done I am all for it. I did, after all, have a big lunch and I hear that walking aids in digestion. AND, a mile is a mile no matter how slow it is.

I really should bring a pair of my tennis shoes up here and leave them in my desk, my shoes were not the best and I ended up barefoot because my feet were uncomfortable.

Now I don't feel like I need to take a nap.

What to do…

Since the marathon in May I have only done a few races. Here's what I have done with my summer vacation…

• I walked the Autism 5k with my girls less than a week after the marathon.
  
• The Corporate Challenge the second weekend in June. That was a 1 mile, 50 meter dash, women's relay (my leg was a 400), and a 10k.
  
• The Norman Conquest bike ride was in July.
  
• The Rock N Roll half in Chicago was in August.
  
• The Brookhaven 5k the beginning of September.
  
• The Tie Dye Tri was two weeks ago.
  

This is what I have coming up right now…

• The Race for the Cure 5k is this Saturday. This is one of my favorite races. I've been walking or running it for almost ten years, it was the first 5k that I ran the entire time, and I am hoping to PR this weekend.
  
• The Route 66 half marathon in Tulsa is the end of November.
  

Not a very impressive list of events in my opinion.

I love races. I love picking up my race packet, and getting my big and my timing chip. I love the feeling of anticipation and nervousness I get pre race. I love going out there and just giving it my all, not competing against other runners, but against myself.

Maybe I just haven't had a good long run in a week and a half.

Maybe it's because on the last few long runs I've done there was no one cheering me on towards the finish line. Yeah, maybe that's it; it sure makes all the difference.

Tie Dye Tri Recap…

I have been extremely slow in getting my recap together, so here goes.

I LOVE THIS EVENT!
 This is my third year to participate and it just gets better and better. As usual I was up at the crack of dawn to load up my stuff and head to Rochelle's house. We left my car there so her husband and kiddos wouldn't have to walk to the Y, and loaded up in her truck and headed over right as the transition opened at 5:30am. We meet up with Rochelle's friend Kelli and Emily and got a prime transition location.

Let me just say that it was cold. It was in the 50s, and even though it was not as cold as last year, it was cold. There was a north wind that on Saturday the weatherman said would be 15-30 mph. Last year they moved the race from Saturday to Sunday and just like last year, the weather on Saturday was beautiful. Perfect conditions, no wind, that sort of thing, and then on Sunday it's colder and windy. Oh well, what can you do?

We beat the line and got checked in, picked up our race packets and t-shirts. I give high points for the backpacks we got this year, much better than a plastic bag that I would just throw away. After we got all of our stuff set out, and took some pictures, we took our bikes over to have the tire pressure checked. Seriously, I need these guys to come with me whenever I ride my bike; I hate airing up my tires.



Here's all my stuff.

Kelli, Rochelle and Emily



Kelli, me and Rochelle

 

Rochelle

 

It was windy!



Me, Rochelle and Kelli

 The hardest part of getting ready, especially in the cold, is the point where the only thing left to do is strip down to your bathing suit, or in my case this year my tri suit, grab your swim cap and goggles and run half naked barefoot through the Y parking lot to the gym to wait for the race to start. The last two years I have done this race solo, and I must say it was way more fun having a group to hang out with and fill the pre race time. 

Me and Rochelle



Emily, me, Rochelle and Kelli.  We look professional in our swim caps.



The lining up for the swim was a little less organized this year than the last two years, but I got my spot (#26) and my nerves really started hitting me when we were lined up by the pool. The minute I hit the water, though, they went away. I passed one person in the pool, I am still not sure what that girl was doing because she certainly wasn't going anywhere fast, and I didn't get passed by anyone. I did get kicked or hit in the face; I am not sure what happened because I didn't see it coming. Someone was passing a swimmer on the other side of my lane and I guess didn't consider me swimming in the opposite direction in the same lane. My swim time was 8:15, not as fast as I would have liked but I'll take it.

The bike was WWAAAAYYYY better for me this year. After two years on the crappy bike I had been riding around on, it was awesome to be on a good bike. I have also been on my bike a lot more this year than the last two years and I am very happy with my progress. I did get a little nervous at the start and had trouble getting clipped in, but I just took a deep breath to settle down and got clipped in and was on my way. With the strong north wind, it was pretty brutal going north, and at the turn around points the cops didn't leave much room for turning so I was pretty nervous about that. Rochelle almost wiped out on the second turn, thankfully she didn't. My bike time was 43:12, which was over six minutes faster than last year. Talk about improvement.

Then it was off to the run. My second transition was a little slower, switching from my bike shoes to my running shoes might need a little practice if I'm going to speed that up. I have decided that when I can't feel my legs it's easier to run. I can't tell if they are hurting. I did a good job of getting out of my head for the run, I didn't talk myself out of pushing myself and I think I put it all out there. I finished the run in 24:50, which is only 21 seconds slower than the Brookhaven 5k and my PR. Maybe I should swim and bike before every running race.

Here are my overall results:

Time	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
1:21:30	0:08:15	0:03:05	0:43:12	0:02:07	0:24:50

 I finished 4^th in my age group, and I was 16 out of 129 women overall. I am very happy with how I did. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be doing a half ironman instead of a sprint triathlon. You never know.

Rock n Roll…

A few weeks ago I got an email from the people that put on the Rock N Roll Marathon Series. Turns out, when you participate in multiple events in the series you get an additional medal. How cool is that? The medals from the races in Dallas and Chicago are AWESOME already, but they sent me this…

I would love to do all of their events. Not only are the medals great, the races were fantastic. Great race support, great organization at the start, and in Chicago they had people with hoses on the route and a wet sponge station near the end. If it had been hot out those would have come in handy.
Overall these have been my favorite races this year and I hope to do more of their events next year.

What Should I Wear…?

I am so excited to be doing the Tie Dye Tri with some friends this year. The last two years it's been just me, I could never convince anyone to sign up with me, and it makes for some pretty boring time between setting up your transition, checking in and actually starting the race.

Really, if you are going to strip down to your bathing suit and run across the Y parking lot, or use a port-o-potty when before the sun comes up, it's better to have a friendly face to complain about the cold or the darkness to. This year my friend Rochelle is doing it. This is her second time, but sadly I didn't know her last year.

This is Rochelle, back in the summer when we were both breaking in our new used bikes. I think this picture was after a 20 mile ride in the 100 degree heat. Boy do we look good.

Rochelle sent me this text yesterday…

She could never look like a fat ass. She is one of the most dedicated and fit people I know. But we decided that all tri suits have to be designed by men. And talk about expensive! I found mine on eBay for about half what it would have cost me in the store.

I feel so serious with my tri suit.

I got these Hannulink tri shorts…

And this Zoot tri top…

I am impressed with the quality of these items, and the deal I got on them, but really, who designs these things? I know that I don't have a weight problem, but the first time I put this outfit on I felt like I was wearing a sausage casing. I am perfectly comfortable in my Speedo bathing suit that I usually swim in, and I wore for last year's tri, but there was something about the shorts and top together that really made me rethink how I would look on race day.

I did wear it last Sunday for the brick workout we did, and I swam in it on Wednesday so I know that it fits well and is comfortable. I'll just have to get over how I think I look in it in my own mind. Maybe I'll be so speedy on Sunday I won't have time to think about it.

I’m not being lazy, I am tapering…

Last week I rode 20 miles, and I ran about 24 miles. This week I rode 12, and I have run 7. I did swim 1,200 yards yesterday, but other than that I haven't done anything.

I did get up this morning with every intention to run our 4.4 mile route from the Y, but the weather was stormy. I even had everything but my shoes on when the run was called for weather. (Patti texted me that she saw lightening.) Instead of just going to the Y and running on the dreadmill, or doing weights or something equally horrible, I crawled back into my nice warm bed and slept for another hour. About five minutes after I was back in bed it really started storming, and boy was I thankful that I wasn't out in it.

Regrettably, I missed an opportunity to use my rain jacket that I bought for the Memorial Marathon that I spent a million dollars on. Oh well, I'll just have to wait until next time.

So now my plan is to get up and run the 4.4 miles tomorrow morning, and then run an easy (Read: jog) 2 miles on Saturday morning. Then I plan on doing a little carb loading on Saturday, a lot of hydrating during the day, and having a glass of wine on Saturday night. 5:30 am is going to come awful early on Sunday and I think I'm good and ready for it.

Tie Dye Tri #3

This Sunday I will again be participating in the Tie Dye Tri, it's a sprint triathlon that is put on by the Norman Y. I am super excited to be participating again this year. (I guess if I am not doing the Redman Triathlon, I should probably be doing something.)

I thought I would take a look at my race results for the past two years. Here's the breakdown:

Date	Time	Swim	T1	Bike	T2	Run
9/26/2009	1:29:49	0:08:14	0:03:59	0:48:43	0:01:19	0:27:32
9/26/2010	1:31:51	0:08:30	0:03:39	0:49:26	0:00:47	0:29:29

 

You might not be able to tell, but last year I didn't really train much for it. In 2009, I joined the training program at the Y, meet a couple of my favorite people, Tommy & Tara, and actually did a few brick workouts to get ready. The fact that I was terrified of screwing up really helped to keep me motivated to train that first year.

Last year I felt like an old pro. Ha ha! I think I might have ridden my bike to the OU Stadium a couple of times, ran the stairs and then rode my bike home. Nothing hard core though, and I think I only rode 12 miles on my bike once, maybe two times. The result was a little slower time. Can I defend myself by saying I ran my first half marathon eight weeks later? Probably not, but I did.

So here are my goals for this year's race…

• I would LOVE to swim a sub 8-minute 500.
  
• I would LOVE to not suck so bad with my first transition. Seriously, what am I doing for over three and a half minutes?
  
• I would LOVE to not completely suck on the bike.
  
• I would LOVE to run a sub 25-minute 5k.
  

Here's what I've done to help me meet those goals…

• I have gotten in some good swim workouts. Not just going in and swimming laps, but something a little more organized that actually got my heart rate up a bit.
  
• I bought a tri suit on eBay. (Love eBay!) I even swam in it this morning and I biked/ran in it on Sunday. Now all I have to do is get my Injinji toe socks on my wet feet in a timely manner and throw on my fancy bike shoes and go.
  
• I bought a better bike this year, and I know how to use it. Fingers crossed I can get both feet clipped in to my fancy pedals, but if not I am a pro at only being clipped in on one side.
  
• I have been running A LOT. My 12 mile bike/5k run on Sunday ended with a 5k in 24:48. Sadly, this is only about 20 seconds slower than the Brookhaven 5k that I ran just a few weeks ago, and I had ran 10 miles the morning before.
  
• It's taper time. I ran 4 miles Monday, slept in yesterday, swam 1,200 yards this morning (before they started lowering the temperature in the pool for Sunday), and I'm going to run about 4 tomorrow and 2 (READ: very slow) miles on Saturday.
  

So at 5:30 this Sunday morning, think of me, and hope that it's not raining or too cold as I set up my transition and get checked in for the race. One good thing about the snake swim in the pool is that it's seated by registered swim times which mean I am usually near the front. I can't imagine having to wait to be number 250 to jump in the pool. It sure seems unfair that #250 has to check in starting at 6 am too.

Camy and Carson’s 11th Birthday

I did a little experimental baking for the girls’ birthday this year.  We had dinner at my parents’ house and I made an Amaretto chocolate chip cake with a caramel filling and a rolled buttercream fondant icing.

I think that in all it turned out pretty good.  I am so used to making cupcakes and a cake seemed like a lot more work.  It was pretty sweet, although I think that is the point, and the caramel filling was a lot harder to keep inside the cake than I had planned, but it was pretty good.

 

 

 

For their slumber party there was a lot of baking going on.  First we had iced sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies.

Then I did a little simpler cake, the chocolate chip cake but just buttercream icing for the filling.  My second attempt at the buttercream rolled fondant was a little better, and I am looking forward to some more practice.

The slumber party guests seemed to enjoy all the baked goods.