Minneapolis-Star-Tribune-runningkellometers

Sorry I haven't been posting much over the weekend. I only had my iPad with me and I don't yet know how to use many of the features. Warning, the "iBlogger" iPad app is not for the "Blogger" website, despite the logo being exactly the same. (I will be contacting Apple to try and get my money back from that scam, by the way.)

I spent the weekend (Thursday through Sunday) with my husband's family in Lake Geneva. We had tons of fun! The scenery is beautiful.

We always play lots of really fun games.

Drink too much alcohol...
and end up like this

The birthday gods must have been shining down on me because I didn't get sick the next day. I felt horrible, don't get me wrong, but didn't get sick. As my birthday is January 6 and most people are tired from Christmas and/or New Years, my birthday isn't usually a big deal. I have fun keeping things relatively low key and my husband and I just go out to dinner and that is it. This year was an exception and we had a ton of fun (as I'm sure you can tell from the pictures)!

I planned on doing a local race in Lake Geneva on Saturday, but we always go to church on Saturday night. I thought I would be able to squeeze in both but decided against going to the run and ran on the treadmill instead. I also planned on getting up early our last day to run around the area, but packing took longer than expected and I wasn't able to get out there. I'm disappointed I wasn't able to run outside like I always love to do on vacation, but I was happy to get the run in regardless! Now I know for next year to plan my time better to get it done!

I'm happy to be back to reality, sleep in my own bed, and catch up on all the blogs I've missed! Today I plan on hitting up our office fitness center to get in 3 miles and also see if I can do the circuit workout that my friend Kate and I did last Monday. We'll see if they have the right equipment to do all of the exercises! Half marathon training will start soon and I'm excited to get my butt in gear to work towards my first sub-2 hour half marathon in May! I think I'm going to enjoy not training for a marathon this year, but I already know I'm going to miss it. Do you get race envy? Wish you signed up or trained for something when cheering on a friend? Do you sign up for next year's race right away? What do you do to help counter your envy?

After a long day of travel and shopping we arrived at the Abbey Resort last night. The hotel restaurant is arguably the worst food you've ever eaten in your whole life. (I've been watching a lot of "Kitchen Nightmares" lately and am seriously considering nominating this place.) I was exhausted after dinner so we just hung out in the hot tub and went to bed early.

Since today is my birthday (I turn 28), I woke up to some Facebook notifications and a phone call from my brother. So far it has been a great day and most of my gifts have been running related! I got a new pair of Nike running tights that I'm really looking forward to testing out for the race tomorrow. Considering it is unseasonably warm, I'm glad I brought 5 different running outfits (which is more than regular outfits I packed). Everyone here thinks I'm crazy to run while on vacation, but I think of it as a new adventure. All of the trips I've taken in 2011 involved a run of some sort, whether on the treadmill or outside. Atlanta was way hillier than I expected, and the elevation in Denver didn't affect me as much as everyone made it out to be. And Santa Rosa, CA is beautiful any time of year, period.

What are your thoughts on running while on vacation? Or, what does your spouse/family think of your vacation workout habits?

I've been catching up on the latest issue of Runners World and am totally pumped up for the Olympic trials. The article on Des Davilla has me ready and raring to go. I've been reading up on all the different athletes and the female race sounds super competitive and exciting! Sorry Toph, I'm calling first dibs on the big TV on January 14! Are you all as excited as me? Who will you be cheering for?

For some reason I can't figure out how to upload images in blogger on my iPad so I apologize for the picture-less post :(

Yesterday I was so sore I could barely move so I decided to take a rest day. Working out at the gym is hard!

My husband and I will be leaving tomorrow afternoon to go to Lake Geneva. Every year his family goes up there around or after New Years and takes over a whole hallway at the hotel. It is a weekend where we sit around, drink, play games, and eat really delicious junk food. It's basically Christmas without all the stress of preparing, cleaning, and gift giving. We leave on Thursday and come back on Sunday. Since we won't be around to celebrate my birthday on Friday, I got to open up my present early. Drum roll please...

NBD

Yes, that's an iPad! I've been wanting one ever since they came out but would never justify such a large purchase (especially on myself). My husband knew what I was thinking so he decide to get one for me. (After I opened it, he did say that it was on sale because someone returned it after opening it. He really knows how I love a good deal.) on the plus side, I'll be able to keep up with all my blogs while in Lake Geneva, as long as the hotel has some kind of wi-fi. (Although, The Abbey tries hard to be upscale so there might only be free wi-fi in the lobby.)

Naturally the first thing I did was take a bunch of photos of my dog and mess with the Photo Booth feature. I know this is going to be a fun weekend!

Today on Living Social's website, they have a 1 year subscription to Women's Health magazine for $8. As I'm just starting to get more into lifting weights, I thought it would be a good starting point. If you want in on this deal too, here's the link!

Have any of you subscribed to Women's Health before? What did you think of the mag?

Do any of you also have an iPad? What are some good apps? Pinterest really needs a better iPad app.

Happy New Year to all of you! Its day 3 of the new year... Have you been working on your resolutions yet? :)

On January 1, I was quite possibly the laziest person on the planet. I did absolutely nothing productive all day. It was amazing.

Yesterday, however, it was back to work. I met up with my friend Kate LF at Charter Fitness as she can workout at my gym with me for free anytime. She had brought an issue of Muscle & Fitness magazine with her so we decided to do the circuit workout listed that focused on the upper body. We started out with 12 reps of each of the 7 exercises. After each circuit, we did 5 minutes on the elliptical, and at the start of each circuit, we took the weight up a notch (and decreased the number of reps). I felt fantastic afterwards (and am really sore today). It was great for me to mentally get over the "I can't do more than 20 lbs on the machine" hurdle. Before the end of the day, I had lifted 45 lbs all by myself (yes, I lifted just the bar). I felt far less wimpy than in earlier workouts. I plan on doing this workout again next Monday!

After this workout, I did some grocery shopping at Super Target before heading home to do some laundry. Does anyone else have problems getting the sweat smell out of their clothes? We don't buy Procter and Gamble so we can't use Tide, Wisk, or Gain. I've been using All but I feel it isn't doing the trick and my clothes still smell like sweat even after they've been washed, twice. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Also, since it was Monday and I was around, I headed to RFK for their weekly Monday fun runs. There was a pretty big group of us, and I was able to run with Kate S and Pepper! The dog had a much harder time adjusting to our pace, and we had a rough 1st mile. We finally got our rhythm; it just took a little longer than usual. In the end, we finished 5 miles in 44:01 (average pace 8:47). Now, my tracking of 2012 miles on Daily Mile has officially begun. I'm excited for the year to come! :)

RFK Running Group Where's Waldo. Can you see me?

New Years Eve morning was the Dash Into the New Year 5k, the last race of 2011. As I mentioned in my previous post, 2011 was a year full of ups and downs so I was hoping to end on a strong note. To get pumped for the big event, we watched the Tosh.0 Marathon which was hilarious in so many ways. If you haven't yet seen it, please do so. I'm telling you, you won't regret it.

At arrival at the Matteson community center about a 1/2 hour before the race, the staff was very helpful at directing us where we needed to go. We received the swag bag complete with race bib and shirt. The shirt is black, long sleeved, and dry fit. I haven't tried it on yet, but I already like it. I have so many long sleeved t-shirts, it is nice to have an actual long sleeved dry fit shirt.

Once in the gym/waiting area, a DJ was playing some tunes to get us pumped up. I really liked this aspect as there is nothing like a little LMFAO to get you going! I knew a few of my other blogger friends were running this race and I ran into them beforehand to say hi! I also met another new running friend as well! I did a quick warmup with Kate's TNT friends and continued to stay warm in the gym.

Kate, Kate, and I with our virtual 5k bibs

The start line was right outside and this was definitely a perk to this race. I took a quick glance at the race map ahead of time (as it wasn't posted on the website or anything) to get a feel for the course. I was going to attempt to run "tangents" as I haven't yet tried that method. There wasn't a timing chip so I tried to get close to the front before the gun went off. I was going to try for a 7:30 pace to start and learn from my mistake of going out too fast.

The gun went off and I started with Maggie and Amanda in front of me. There was an unanticipated hill about 1/2 mile in so I tried to keep a steady pace up the hill. Mile 1: 7:37. My garmin was SPOT ON with the 1st mile marker. I have faith in technology whenever that happens. We went around for a bit and completed a loop in the neighborhood. At about mile 1.5, I passed Amanda and saw Maggie still ahead. Competing with a friend always make races more fun for me, I don't know about you guys! I knew that big hill was going to have to be conquered again, but not yet. Mile 2: 7:36. Soon after this mile marker, I knew the hill was coming. I kept telling myself "what hill?" as many times as I could. By the time it was over, I was ready for the decline. After the hill, the end was in our site. HOWEVER, there was one more loop to go before the end. It definitely was a little tricky, mentally. Maggie and I had been neck-and-neck during the last mile switching spots with one another. When I turned the corner, mile 3 was complete (7:48) with only 0.1 left to go. The wheels were turning and I saw the clock. The 23's were starting so I knew I wouldn't get that PR. I kept pushing to that finish line and ended it in 23:40. I was pretty happy with the time overall. I can't PR every race! Maggie finished strong in 23:41, just 1 second behind me. She PRed and I am happy for her!

After the race was done, we hung around and cheered on some friends finishing up soon behind us before heading into the gym. The post race food was amazing with clementines, bananas, little water bottles, and little Gatorades (various flavors). Considering this was an inaugural race, I was quite impressed. The big thing missing was water on the course. Even though it was a winter race and dehydration isn't a huge issue, it is still nice to rice out your mouth or grab a quick sip.

After munching on 6 clementines, it was time for the awards. The awards were given for 1st overall, and then to 1st and 2nd place in each age group (of 10... mine was 20-29). I placed 2nd in my age group!

Close up of this photo to come (once I can find it)

I was really excited and got another age group medal! :) These 2 medals in the month of December have gotten the taste of winning in my mouth. I think I might end up completing more than 12 races in 2012. :)

Amanda also won for her age group so we took a photo together for our running club, the FN Runers. Overall, it was a great day and a race I would love to do again next year!

Amanda (TTF) and I, wearing our medals. Kate photobombing in back.

Happy New Years fellow bloggers and readers! Cheers to another year in the books and high hopes for the new year to come!!

Yesterday working from home went well, and I was able to get some stuff done. As a "late lunch," I decided to meet up with Kate and Susan from the FNRC. Kate is training for the Polar Dash and had 11 miles to complete. I met her part way for 4 miles and then ran a cool down 0.9 miles back to the car. Overall distance was 4.9 miles in 42:14 (average of 8:37 per mile). I was pretty happy with the pace as I haven't done very many speedy runs this week.

Tomorrow is the Matteson 5k that I'm very excited about. I'm going to try and break into the 22 minute category (last 5k was 23:03).

In the spirit of the new year, I've made a list of things accomplished in 2011 and goals for 2012. My mail goal for 2011 was to finish the Chicago Marathon. Things didn't workout as planned (which I've brought up a billion times), but I still got the medal!

I think these goals are achievable and I plan on using Daily Mile to help keep track of the miles and cross training, along with Athlinks to keep track of the races.

In OTHER NEWS... Toph and I are officially registered for the Warrior Dash 2012! I'm so excited as this is the first race we will both be doing, ever. He's not into races so I'm excited for us to complete this together. Obviously, the plan is to run faster than him. :)

Have you written out your goals yet for 2012? How do you plan on keeping track of them?

Yesterday I worked from home and was able to multi-task while also doing things around the house. I'm really hating the "Outlook" app that defaults in the internet browser. I can't seem to get anything done! I might have to go into the office a bit tomorrow to update my time card since I can't do it from home. :(

Since I was around, I was able to meet up with FNRC for their weekly Wednesday run at 5pm. Since Pepper was bored, she came too! (Photo credit: Maggie at Run for Pi(e))

From Left to Right: Megan, Jeni, me, Pepper, and Maggie

We finished 4.0 miles in 38:33 with an average pace of 9:38. That includes stop for traffic and the turnaround. I tried out my homemade ponytail hat (crafty idea courtesy of RFP) and it worked out perfectly. I felt good (no ankle issues) and the dog did a really good job!! She didn't start off super fast like usual so it was a lot easier to keep a steady pace. She even had on her blinking light too! I also got to see how the infamous Knuckle Lights operate and I must say that I was impressed. However, I'm not sure how they would work if I am also holding a leash.

After the run, I went to the movies and saw New Years Eve. It was cute but kind of  celebrity overload. There were so many different storylines going on, I wasn't really a fan. However, I now want to see Valentine's Day just because. :) The hardest I laughed at the whole movie was at the Muppets reminder to turn off your cell phone. I was literally laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. My 2 SILs weren't as amused as I was.



As I previously mentioned, I participated in a few virtual races on Christmas Eve (a 10k and 5k). I didn't win a prize for the 5k, HOWEVER.... I did win a prize for the 10k! Steph at Run for Fun worked with a few other bloggers to put on this race. The prizes were donated and I ended up winning best dressed (tied with another runner) for this ensemble.
I'm sure you're wondering "Kelly! Where did you find such a fantastic outfit?? That sweater is amazing!" My response is simple. I always like to stay up-to-date with the latest fashions. That is why I always pick up the finest Christmas attire at the thrift store.

The prize is a pair of Five Bamboo Cropped Leggings. I've never tried their products before so I will be sure to post a review once I've given them a good workout. I'm so excited! What types of blogger giveaways have you won?