Half marathon training and July recap

And so it begins again. 

@goldsgym for #halfmarathontraining and I've got my @nike app working again! The trouble today was that it was on an outside #run when I was actually on the #treadmill. I'm still on the 3:1 minute intervals. I had a few extra walks in there but my #injuredankle handled well. Next #run will be on Wednesday in the #oklahoma #heat.  #runner #runnergirl #womenrunning #runnerproblems #injuredrunner #okc #ok #okwb #myoklahoma #runokc #runok #nike #nikerunner #run

Sunday was fun! 

Beer. 

And grilling. 

Last month, I ran 29 miles with is 11 more than June. I may not make my goal of a 1000 miles in 2016 but I've been on top of it for my bible reading goals. #accomplishment

Training schedule

I'm not training for a half marathon right now. I've decided to focus on my arms because I'd like the to be smaller. 

I'm going to Body Pump 3 days a week and I'll be increasing the weight once a month. 

I'll be going back the private island and my kayaking skills leave much to be desired. So I hope to get more upper body strength to get that kayak moving. 

I'm expecting all this strength will help be faster. We will see. 

A letter...

...to the 140s.

Dear 140s,

We have seen each other far too many times to count. I'm looking forward to saying goodbye and I hope its the last time I see you. However, I lose my focus and you have been too easy to return. I will continue my training and tweaking nutrition until you are gone. The struggle between us is real but I will prevail in the end.

Sincerely,

E

*I'm only halfway serious in this post and I'm linking up with the weigh in wednesday girls in spirit. It's too busy for blogging activities at work.

Half marathon training and McNellies mug

I made it to taper week! Woohoo! I was supposed to run 7 miles yesterday but instead ran 4 miles and walked 2 for St. Patrick's day festivities.

Isn't that the cutest little hat? McNellies is an Irish pub in Oklahoma. I've been to 2 of the 3 locations. This pub is about a mile from my house, which makes it easy for me to get there and home. The mug was a $50 investment with a 10% discount on beer. This mug was purchased in December 2012 and I'm confident that I've drunk my way into a profit.

I have logged 72 miles on the new purple nikes and I'm ready for race day. It's never a good idea to run a half marathon on brand new shoes but I think these beauties have been broken in enough for race day.

Weigh in Wednesday

 

I thought it would be a good idea to link up with my friends Erin at She's a big star and Heather at Pretty Strong Medicine. Last week I weighed in and managed to maintain my weight. I wanted a loss but I wasn't too upset. This week, I weighed in and lost exactly one pound. Yay!

 

I will be in Antigua in 30 days and I would like to lose 3 or 4 more pounds. I'm not going to hold my breath though. I can't wait to enjoy a nice vacation. I'm trying to figure out my nutrition plan while I'm there. I think I will have to focus on the protein and not worry about the calories. This may be ambitious but I hope to run 3 miles every day. I will have another half marathon to run at the end of April. I'll want to keep the mileage coming.

Music and half marathon training

Please enjoy these unrelated photos from the weekend.

As a musician, it's difficult to improve because it's my hobby. I've been playing since I was a little kid but I get overwhelmed easily even today. I think it's also hard because I'm not a genius or virtuoso. In an attempt to improve, I've been listening to the radio. Any and all music that I can find. 

My goal is to listen to more music to inspire me and give me ideas and recognize more patterns. It's good ear training. What I've listened to has been interesting. 

In other news, I got my hair colored after I rocked 6 miles. Woohoo!

Weigh in Wednesday and Half Marathon Training

This is my second attempt at blogging today. My first attempt was spoiled by my copying and pasting from Facebook. It looked so horrible, I had to just delete it. I'm blogging online to link up with Heather, Ash, and Erin. I usually blog on the trusty iPhone but the blogger app does not allow for any HTML. (Shouldn't that be an option?)

 

Here I am after the Spirit of Survival, my very first half marathon. I was in good shape. Today, not so much. I have gained those pesky 10 pounds again. This is possibly the fourth time I've had to shed those same pounds, which is rather annoying. I have 79 days until my trip to Sandals and I want to be comfortable in a bikini.

 

 

I need to make progress! This will happen with my current half marathon training and the race is before the trip! Tomorrow, I'll be running 5 miles. I have been focusing on nutrition and specifically trying to keep to the recommended ratios on Myfitnesspal: 55% carbohydrates, 30% fat, 15 % protien and net calories of 1290.

 

 

Me, before the Route 66 half marathon. I know with all this training for half marathons, the weight and inches will be where I need them. The clothes shouldn't feel so tight. I'll be ready for the beach before I get there. I haven't actually weighed in but I'll get around to the scale later. Is anyone else running the Go Girl half in OKC? Do you want to friend me on Myfitnesspal (username: esthernorine) or the Nike app? Sorry for the old photos and going link crazy but all my photos are on my phone and since I'm on the website, I might as well make my links.

Half marathon training update and Cafe Evoke

Today, I finished a very cold 5 miles with my friends, Deirdre and Rachel. It wasn't too windy but the temperature was around 20 degrees. I bundled up in tons of layers because it was so cold. 

Me and Rachel after we got inside. 

We went to Cafe Evoke in Edmond Oklahoma. The warm drinks and breakfast burritos hit the spot. 

Hot chocolate. 

They got my name wrong but I'm used to it. 

Breakfast burrito. 

The waffles look good and I may have to get that next time. 

I've been working on nutrition because the same 10 pounds came back. Uninvited of course. I'm in a different place in my weight loss journey. I'm training for another half marathon and I know nutrition will help get me there. I also need some strength training. This should help me speed up and have good form. 

I didn't take a photo because it was dark last night but the kitties have been cold and cuddling closer. 

Half Marathon Training and Travel Tuesday

Hello Friends!

This is a scheduled post, which is unusual for me because I'm usually blogging on my phone or iPad. FYI, there is no option to schedule posts in the lovely blogger app. (Dear Blogger, please fix that and allow html in the app too.) All of the links are to the different Sandals resorts.

It is only 94 days until our Sandals trip and I thought I would reminisce on prior trips and share a few photos. Above, is the gorgeous white sandy beaches of Exumas Bahamas. It was stunning and the service was top notch! This was our first reunion week experience and it was totally by lucky chance. We have made it our goal to go to reunion week every year now. The reason for this is two fold: tons of extra goodies (free little side trips and swag) and the crowd is not your typical honeymooners (read, a more fun crowd!)

Here I am enjoying a lovely bike ride through the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. We went in January and while it was not "hot" enough for the pool, we had a great trip. This was where we first stumbled upon Sandals Select and all the fabulous rewards.

This was us in St.Lucia La Toc and this may have been my second favorite trip to Sandals because my sweety discovered the joys of being a pool hound!

Today's half marathon training is an easy 3 miles and I will have no problem getting in those miles. I may consider some strength training at the end. It depends on how I am feeling. Lastly, I'm picking up my new phone from fedex! I will have to show off that beauty tomorrow.

Half Marathon Training and Make a Difference Monday

Hello Friends! My first half of 2015 will be March 22nd and I've started training today. I have had a cold lingering for almost a week so I started out slow today. I completed 3 miles in 45 minutes. I know I can go faster but I wanted to "take it easy" since I wasn't feeling 100%. That seemed to work out well because I didn't feel worse after the run. Of course, I can't say I'm all better but I know its working its way out. Good riddance!

It is officially 95 days until my trip to Sandals. The excitement is building! We will be buying our plane tickets in the next 2 to 4 weeks. Once that's done, we will request a private luxury car transfer. We haven't done this before and it adds a little something extra special to look forward to.

Sorry for the repeat on the photos but I'm slim pickings on new material. I wanted to leave you with a final thought about giving back to the community. I am a huge fan of volunteering because its a great ego boost (especially during difficult times) and it helps others. I am still going strong at church and while leadership is asking for more, I know my limits. I am at my max volunteering capacity. I spend one Sunday a month hosting the online service. I spend nearly every Monday night preparing for Wednesday night service. I play piano every Wednesday night for the youth group. I thought about volunteering at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter but realistically, there's not enough time (besides the fact that I'd probably want to bring every kitten home with me. Chomps and Kirby would be quite angry at me for that.) So, I will continue to volunteer where I am now and I would like to encourage you to find your place to volunteer as well.

Updates on half marathon training and goals

Today, I logged a total of 7 miles and it felt awesome. The half marathon is Sunday and I'm ready to rock! The weather is looking positive as well, which is crazy since it snowed Sunday (a week before!) 

  

Yeah that's me this past Sunday. I'm not a fan of cold weather. I'm thinking of doing a post on my neighborhood and actually it could be a series of posts. I'll be adding that to my list of goals. Also on my list is to run a whole marathon next year. I have friends and family in Anchorage and it would be so cool to run the midnight sun run. I just gotta find the time and money for plane tickets. Oh and train for it too. I actually think with proper training, any race is achievable,

My other goals are to get nutrition in check for my training and log my calories into myfitnesspal. One of my friends has actually logged over 600 days, which has inspired me to get to that level as well. So my blogging lacked a lot because of the snow. I'm a claims adjuster and I was oh so busy at the beginning of the week.

Wish me luck for Sunday!

Half marathon training

Happy Thursday friends! Today is my running day. I split my mileage into two runs. I just finished 3 miles in 41:38 and I'll do another 3.5 tonight!

Coop Ale sponsors tonights run and they have come out with cans. Before the run starts, everyone checks in and gets a ticket. The ticket is redeemed for a can at the finish. There have been times when I was too slow and they ran out of beer. That problem is now solved. Some people used to get refills but now it's limited to one can a runner. I'm pleased with the change. 

I have my final long run Saturday and then it will be time to taper before the race. I can't wait and I'm praying for good weather. This time of year is so unpredictable!