New Year's Day 5K

Happy New Year!

For the last four years, I've started my New Year with a local 5K Race called The Hangover Run, aptly named following a night of perhaps one too many glasses of champagne the night before as people welcome the New Year. For me, I just like starting my year with a push.

Running 5K isn't particularly challenging for me--that's the distance I typically run two days a week among my other workouts. But running a race is always a push because I can't just go out there and do it to have fun. Oh I do have fun doing it, but I guess I'm a bit competitive [with myself] and I feel compelled to try to beat my time from my last race and set a personal best. Well, sadly, I didn't do that. I ran 5K in 30:59 [9:58 min mile pace] which is faster than my every day pace, but not faster than I ran it last January [30:31] or faster than my personal best [30:02]. I know I should be pleased with my effort and results, but truthfully, I'm kinda disappointed. But don't worry.. I'll get over it.

Hangover Run 5K
January 1, 2012

Because you know what I'm going to do about my disappointment? Turn it into motivation! I'm going to train more seriously to improve my running time in 2013. Which, I think includes losing some weight and finally reaching my target weight in 2013. I mean.. who wants to run 3+ miles with a 20lb. backpack on? I didn't think so.  So here I am repeating my goal for the last two years to run a 5K in under 30 minutes by the end of the year.

Looking back for a moment...

In 2012: 
I RAN        244.87 miles
I BIKED  1672.43 miles

I SPENT 292.71 hours EXERCISING

THAT'S 12 days 4 hours 48 minutes OF EXERCISE.

Which actually doesn't sound like a whole heck of a lot to me right now. . But if you want to see what I did in all those hours of exercise, feel free to scroll through my monthly workout logs on my fitness journal blog See How She Runs...

So what do I want to accomplish in 2013?
I'm still exploring specific events, but I'd like to do the following: 

• Run a 5K Race in under 30 minutes. 
• Bike another Gran Fondo [100 miles] or other long distance bike event. 
• Do another Sprint Triathlon.  

My first choice is to do the Danskin Tri again, but once again.. it is on the SAME DAY as the NJ Gran Fondo, so I'm not sure what I'll do. Maybe the SheRox Tri in August if it doesn't coincide with our summer vacation. I'll have to see.. 

What are your fitness goals for 2013?

Wishing you all a year of good health and happiness in 2013!

My May Adventures

If you stopped by looking for my Neverwhere Read Along discussion, I'll be posting that tomorrow.

It's June! June! Three more weeks of school and then summer! This is such a busy time of year around here. I'm sure it's the same for all of you as well.

I posted earlier this month about my youngest daughter's dance recital--such fun! She's also been busy with girl scouts as her Cadette troop is working towards their Silver Award. I am starting to feel tapped out as a leader, so I'll be glad to have a bit of a break from it over the summer.

My oldest has been busy, too. Mostly with schoolwork and a very busy social life. Last week we attended a small Academic Awards ceremony at the high school at which she received an award from Brandeis University for outstanding academic achievement and civic service. She also recently completed a wonderful project for her high school orchestra for which she filmed, photographed and edited a video about the impact of water on our community that accompanied the orchestra's performance of a beautiful piece by Philip Glass. The video was projected on a large screen behind the orchestra. It was quite moving.. especially given the devastating effects Hurricane Irene had on our community last August.

Lots of proud moments in May! While I couldn't possibly top the accomplishments of my kids, I may as well tell you what I've been up to last month. ; )

In fitness: 
I easily met my 100 fitness mile goal for May with a total of 120 miles. Interestingly, I took quite a few rest days this month, but apparently I made up for it on the days that I did workout, especially in cycling. Most of my rides these days are 30-40 miles which is at least 2 hours on the bike. On Memorial Day, my cycling partner and I clocked just under 4 hours to bike 59.4 miles---my new longest distance in a single ride.

I mentioned last month [in April] that I wanted to increase strength training and aside from my Monday powercuts class and maybe 15 minutes of abs, light weights at the end of kickbox class and a bonus TRX class, I haven't been doing any other strength training. I need to work on increasing that. Here's a look at what I did in May:

Run 23.07 miles :     ~241 minutes
Bike 170.54 miles :   ~705 minutes
Kickbox & Abs : 300 minutes
Spin & Abs :       150 minutes
Strength training:        240 minutes
TOTAL:   1636 minutes     or     27 hours 16 minutes

What did you do to keep moving last month?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

In books: 
I read eight books in May and from quite a few different genres, too. I'm pretty happy about that.

Non-fiction ...... 1
     [Health & fitness]

Romance .............. 2
     [Historical]
Crime fiction ....... 1
Young Adult ....;;.. 1
Fiction .................. 1
Fantasy ................ 2

1. Creation in Death by J.D. Robb
2. The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan
3. Saving Grace by Julie Garwood
4. If I Die by Rachel Vincent
5. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
6. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
7. Cold Magic by Kate Elliot
8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I have to say that I loved all of these books and would recommend each and every one. If I HAD to pick favorites? Hmm... The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan is a wonderful novella and the first in a new series. I have a review partially written that I hope to finish, but know that I did love it. It's Kindle lendable, too, so let me know if you're interested in borrowing it. I think I can lend it out at least twice.

Saving Grace by Julie Garwood. A timeless medieval romance and a favorite among so many romance readers. You can read my review HERE.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is a really solid, engaging read, too. A lot of readers classify it as romance, but it's not exactly. It's more general fiction with romantic elements. Not quite chick-lit either because most of the book is really about the male protagonist, so it's really more dude-lit which is a brand new sub-genre coined by Brie from Romance Around the Corner. You heard it first from her, folks. Remember that when dude-lit goes rampant. ;o)

Gigi likes Cold Magic by Kate Elliot!

Honorable mention goes to Cold Magic by Kate Elliot. I originally shelved this book in young adult, but it really straddles into adult fantasy fiction. The protagonists are not minors at nineteen years old and older and in fact at the marriageable age. The setting is Victorian-England-esque alternate history with a steampunk component. A lot of fascinating people--powerful mages, princes, spiritwalkers and others-- cultures, histories and politics between peoples and three main characters whose fates get personally entangled with each other and those of power. There is a lot of information to digest in this book, but the story premise, setting and characters were so interesting that it was so worth reading. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in this trilogy, Cold Fire. The concluding book in the trilogy, Cold Steel comes out in 2013.

What interesting books did you read in May?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A bouquet of African Roses

In photography:
My Project 366 is now a Project 362. Yes, I missed another TWO days in May. Ugh. Oh well. I decided to have a little bit of fun this month by participating in the photo a day challenge hosted by blogger fatmumslim who blogs at Fat Mum Slim. There's a daily prompt every day for the month and users post their photos on instagram, twitter, facebook, a blog, flickr or pinterest using the hash tag #photoadayJune. Fun!

As always, you can follow my photography challenges on http://web.stagram.com/n/thehappilyeverafter.

Are you on instagram? Friend me!

In the garden: 
The deer are in my yard almost every night munching on anything and everything green. I know what they're all saying..

"Hey, have you been to that organic salad bar down the street yet? It's amazing! They've got a wide variety of plants to choose from, loaded with tender shoots, plump flower buds, and lush leaves. Not only is it 100% organic but it's all you can eat AND open 24/7!" 

Nice. I woke up one day last week to discover they ate most of the tops off my budding purple coneflower plants last week. This means my coneflowers will be blooming late and won't be so lush this year. Again. I know they have to eat, too, but sheesh, I sure wish they knew how to show a bit of restraint so I could enjoy a few flowers. I have an inkling that the day lilies are on this week's menu. I haven't seen a day lily flower bloom in my yard for a couple of years now. But really, what are you going to do? They're only doing what they're supposed to do, right?

I started converting that section of my perennial flower bed into a new vegetable garden, but I haven't yet finished. In fact, that's on my to-do list for this week. A friend of mine gave me several pots of tomato seedlings that sprouted up in her garden from the seeds of last year's dropped fruit and I've got to get them in the ground soon. I'm already a couple of weeks late. A few of them even have flowers already. Oh how I love the promise of homegrown tomatoes! I'm not sure what else I want to try to grow this year. At this point, I'll be happy just to have a nice harvest of herbs and tomatoes.

Are you growing an edibles in your yard?


Thanks for reading about my month! Wishing you a joyous June! xo

My April Adventures

"Time flies when you're having fun." That explains why it's May already! 

What a month. It's been joyous, but also a bit bittersweet, when my baby.. whom I birthed, nursed, nurtured and protected all these years.. turned 17 years old this month and is now driving a car. This is way harder than the first day of school, first time away at camp, first period, first boyfriend... seeing your child get in car and drive away from home is SO SCARY. I am proud and happy to see that she has become a strong, capable, independent young woman so anxious to get out there in the world, who by the way, learned first hand how to jump start a dead battery about 60 hours after getting her license, but at the same time I miss the little girl who is no more. Never has childhood seemed more fleeting to me than it has this month. Did I mention she's smart, too? She was inducted into the National Honor Society in April. :)

In fitness: 
My workout pattern has been pretty predictable this month. I've been running twice a week outdoors and biking on at least one weekend day. At the gym, I'm either in spin or kickbox class. I haven't been keeping up with strength training this month and I can feel it! I'm making a point to get weights, planks, push ups and ab work back into my weekly workout plan--even if I have to do it on my own at home. Here are my running and cycling stats:

Run 21.0 miles [33.8km]
Bike 191.5 miles [308.2km] <-- A new monthly record for me!

I know there are many, many cyclists out there who bike way more than this in any given month, but for a weekend cyclist like me, I think 191.5 miles rocks! I'll probably end up breaking this record before the summer ends, but for now.. I'm pretty happy with this mileage. I also made some new personal records with distances in April. One is for the most miles in two consecutive days, which was 68.4 miles [110km] (42.5 on Saturday and 25.9 on Sunday). The other record was for my longest ride yet at 52.2 miles [84km]. This route was mostly easy rolling hills, with one climb at the very beginning (4 mile mark) and one at the very end (48 mile mark). Most of our rides have several climbs interspersed with rolling hills. Did I mention we're signed up to ride a Gran Fondo [103 mile (165.8km) cycling event] in September?

What did you do to keep moving in April? 

In books: 
April was yet another productive reading month for me! I read twelve books! Well, three of them were re-reads of a graphic novel and a fourth was another graphic novel, but since Lover Reborn was over 500 pages, it kind of evens out, right?

Non-fiction...... 2
   Health & fitness... 1
   Memoir ..................... 1

Romance ............ 6
     Paranormal ...........3
     Contemporary...... 2
     Historical ..............1

Graphic Novel .....4

1. Crazy, Sexy Diet by Kris Carr
2. The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole
3. Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
4. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole RE-READ
5. Lover Reborn by J.R. Ward
6. A Dangerous Beauty by Sophia Nash
7. The Sweetest Thing by Jill Shalvis
8. Amulet: Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi RE-READ
9. Amulet: Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi RE-READ
10. Amulet: The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi RE-READ
11. Amulet: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi 
12. Paris in Love by Eloisa James

I plan to review Paris in Love by Eloisa James, so stay tuned for that.

Do you read memoirs? If so, what compels you to chose the memoirs you read?

A girl and her cat

In photography: 
I missed another day in my Project 366, but I decided against starting over from the beginning. I'm just going to continue doing the best that I can and if I miss a few days in a year, so be it. I'm not perfect and the project is still fun.



In the garden: 
I haven't done a thing! I'll be so annoyed with myself if I fail to get my vegetable garden re-established again this year..



Thanks for taking the time to read about my April adventures!


Here's wishing you a marvelous May! :) 

Still Running

Approximately two years ago I did something completely out of my comfort zone and joined an outdoor running group. I had just started biking a month or two prior, but aside from that my regular workouts for several years consisted of pretty much the same four fitness classes at the gym, four days a week. I was not a runner. I would run once in a blue moon if I had to, but it was definitely not my thing. I decided to give the running class a try anyway, in order to support the instructor [who was also a friend] who was trying to get this new class off the ground.

So I joined this running group.

I admit I was not very good at it.

In the beginning, I could barely run 2 miles [3.2 K] before I'd have to slow down to a walk to catch my breath. But I stuck it out and thanks to the efforts of the instructor, the support and positive encouragement from the small group of awesome women in the class, I slowly improved. Five weeks later, everyone in our group signed up for a local race and I ran in my first ever race on November 28, 2009. It was a 5 Mile Race [8 K] and I finished in 1:01:46. It was a slow 12:21 / mile pace and I recall having to power walk a couple of times to catch my breath, but I did it. I was very proud of myself for putting myself out there doing something new and something that was downright hard.

I decided to run that same race this year so I could see how much my fitness level has improved over the last two years.

On Saturday, November 26, 2011, I ran the same 5 Mile Race [8 K] and finished in 51:17 !!! :)

That's more than 10 minutes faster than my time two years ago! My pace was decent at 10:15 / mile, but this actually placed me in the bottom 20% of the 800+ people who participated in this race. Ugh, that stinks. There are a lot of really fast runners out there, people! But this is about me, not them, so whatever. Besides, I look SUPER FAST and HAPPY in this [blurry] picture, don't I?  


And that's what really counts. Not the super fast part, although that is nice. The HAPPY part. 


Get out there and try something new. Challenge yourself. Work for it. Make yourself healthier and happier. It feels good.  :) 

Fitness Challenge Report Card: October 2011

Hello November! What a wacky few days we just had around here with that freak snow storm and the damage it caused. The kids were back in school today and things are mostly back to normal, but in some areas here and there it feels like you're in a labyrinth trying to figure out how to get from A to B with some roads still closed due to broken tree limbs and power lines in the streets. As far as our school calendar, it's going to be an interesting year. We already have one day taken away from our spring break in April and no snow days to get us through the winter. Let's hope it's a mild winter and all snow storms take place on the weekends!

Thankfully, our town allowed trick-or-treating on Halloween, because I heard that some other New Jersey towns "cancelled" trick-or-treating because of the safety hazards. My girls were out for a while and came home with several pounds of candy--including at least a dozen Reese's peanut butter cups [my favorite] but only one Twix bar [my other favorite]. And yet I am reporting to you with immense pride and astonishment that I have successfully resisted the evil temptation of Halloween candy for 48 hours! I haven't had a single piece! NOT ONE! This is major, people. I don't think there's EVER been a time in my life when I haven't eaten Halloween candy. We're talking four+ decades! Where this resolve came from, I do not know. Maybe it's because I know exactly how freaking hard I have to work just to burn 100 calories! Speaking of which...

Did you track your fitness challenge miles* in October?

What kinds of exercise have you been getting?

My ongoing goal is to reach 100 fitness challenge miles* every month. I came in at 119.65 for October, exceeding my goal by a nice chunk this time. I only took two days off from working out this month. One day because of those monthly cramps [omg how many YEARS am I going to go through this? For a lovely rant, see my post from 2008 titled Don't Do the Math in which I do the math. Add on a few dozen days for the last three years... ]. The other was the day after the snow storm when the gym had no power and it was just too dangerous out there to exercise under the trees!

Here's a summary of what I did in October to rack up all those miles:

Cycling [on road]....... 31
Strength training........ 25
Running [outdoors].... 28.65
Spin class [in gym].... 16
Kickbox class ........... 14
Cardio Interval class... 4
Swim [indoor pool] ... 1

TOTAL fitness miles ....119.65

I did a lot of cycling in October. My friend Maureen and I are planning to bike in a Gran Fondo, next September [100 mile bike course], so we started training by doing some longish rides together. We spent over 8 hours biking over four weekend days, logging over 118 miles. :)

I ran two 5K races in October, which was pretty fun. The first one was on my birthday in which I ran my new personal best of 30:02! I am very excited about that, but hope to break 30 minutes in my next 5K, which will probably be in January. [5K = 3.1 miles]

Empty Sky 9/11 Memorial
Liberty State Park
Jersey City, NJ
Photo taken on October 16, 2011
NJ Make-A-Wish 5K Run

The second 5K I ran took place in Liberty State Park along the pier where I had views of the New York City skyline, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty for the whole run. There is also a new 9/11 Memorial in the park that was opened just this September called Empty Sky Memorial. If you stand in front of the memorial [as I was when I took the photo on the left], the memorial fills in the skyline where the twin towers once stood. The names of all those who died on 9/11 are engraved along the wall of the memorial. When you get to the other side, you see the skyline as it is today... an empty sky. I like the design of this memorial a lot and think it's a very meaningful and appropriate addition to Liberty State Park. If you're in the area, I recommend you see it for yourself.

I still miss my Friday 5:45 am Bootcamp class. Okay, I don't miss the 5:45 am part, but I DO miss the friends with whom I took the class and I miss how freaking hard it was. At least now I get to sleep in until 6:45 am on Fridays and then I go running with my friend Marie after the girls are off to school. I have to admit it's nice to exercise in the daylight instead of just before sunrise, and Marie and I get to chat the whole time. Plus fall weather is the best for running! Not too warm, not too cold and the foliage is pretty, too.

In November, I'm thinking of running a 5 Mile Race on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. This is the same race that I did a few weeks after I first started running back in November 2009. I can't believe that was just two years ago--I've come such a long way since then. Anyway, I ran that 5 Mile race in 1:01:47 and would like to see what kind of time I could get now. Other than that, I'll just aim for 100 fitness miles again this month.

What are your fitness or exercise goals for November?


Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.

After the Triathlon: What's Next?

It's been a month since the triathlon and I believe it's safe to say that officially lost the tri "high." Sure, the pride and sense of accomplishment will always be there, but the thrill has waned. I imagine my family is grateful for the break. They were so patient listening to my incessant triathlon-this triathlon-that training chatter. :)

Last September's triathlon was on my calendar for almost a whole year and I hadn't realized how accustomed I became to having a goal towards which to train. Once the tri was over, it was a matter of days before I started thinking, "WHAT'S NEXT?"

So I've been PLANNING! Here's a running list--pun intended!--of events I'd like to do over the next several months:

_√_ October 1, 2011     5K Run for cancercare.org
_√_ October 16, 2011   5K Run for Make A Wish Foundation
___ November 26, 2011 5 Mile Turkey Trot
___ January 1, 2012     5K Hangover Run
___ January 21, 2012    Romp to Stomp Breast Cancer
                                      5K Snow Shoeing Event
___ July xx, 2012        Sprint Triathlon <--in ocean! OR Duathlon <--on land!
___ August 28, 2012    SheROX Sprint Triathlon
___ September 9, 2012  Danskin Sprint Triathlon <--so disappointed same day as Gran Fondo :(
___ September 9, 2012  Gran Fondo 100 Mile Bike Event
___ September 30, 2012  5KTunnel to Towers
___ November xx, 2012 SheROX Sprint Triathlon in Bermuda <--A girl can dream, right?

This is just a plan. Everything is subject to change. Events may be added or deleted at whim. But I do hope to do most--if not all of these events. In any case, it should be an eventful year for me. Literally.  : )

What about YOU? Do you have any Run or Walk Events on YOUR calendar? 


If not, you should find one in your area. It's FUN! 

A Happy Birthday Giveaway!

It feels like I just celebrated one of these, but here I am again! Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun. ;)

This first thing I did this year to celebrate my birthday was run in a 5K race. What a nice way to celebrate life, right? The best part--I ran the 5K in 30:02 minutes--my new personal best! Whaoo!

It was like a surprise birthday gift to myself! : )

The rest of the day was spent at home hanging out and relaxing with my husband and daughters and ended with a warm apple pastry, vanilla ice cream and a mug of my favorite herbal tea.

In the spirit of celebration and per my annual birthday tradition, I'm giving away a "birthday gift" to ONE lucky winner on my blog.

This year's "birthday gift" includes two of my favorite things-- a book [winner's choice ebook or paper book--mass market, trade or comparable priced hardcover] and a bar of dark chocolate with caramel with Hawaiian sea salt from Trader Joe's.* [It's SOoooo good!]

You're going to want to enter just for the chocolate bar. It's out of this world.

To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment below telling me how you like to celebrate your birthday.

Giveaway ends on Saturday, October 8, 2011 EST and the winner has one week to claim prize before I'll give it away to someone else.

Please also include your email address if it's not easily found on your profile or web page.

Open to everyone, but international winner*, if chosen, will receive book of their choice per the guidelines above and shipped from The Book Depository ONLY. Thanks for understanding.

Good luck!

My First Triathlon

Today was the big day when after nearly a year of mental and physical preparations, I competed in my first ever sprint triathlon! I'm also super happy to report that it was such a great experience and I met my goal of completing the spring triathlon in 1:30:00. In fact, I beat my goal by a little over a minute! Hey--every second counts! ; )

Here is my time card from today's race that includes all my stats. Times for the swim, bike, run and transitions as well as rankings for each event, my age division and overall rank. I am especially proud of my bike time and rank....  55 out of 1600 racers!!! Woooo! omg how did I DO that?

I signed up for this triathlon back in October 2010 after being inspired and encouraged by my small group of workout friends at the gym. At that time, I had been biking for a little over two years and running for almost one year. I was not a swimmer. In fact, I only learned how to swim freestyle after taking lessons just this year in February. Seven months later--today!--I completed a sprint triathlon. I swam a 1/2 mile open water swim, ranked in the top 4% of the entire race in the cycling, and ran a competitive 10:17 minute mile pace for the 5K... finishing with a total race time of 1:28:44. My final rank is 367 out of 1600 athletes, which places me in the top 23% overall. Woooo!!!! I almost can't believe it! ... but I DID IT!!!!

My friend Marie and I

I and my gym friends--missing the one taking the picture. 

Thank you all for taking the time to read my training posts and always leaving such kind words of support and encouragement all those times I write all about ME. I appreciate your presence throughout my journey--sharing this journey on my blog has been such a great outlet for expressing my doubts, concerns, plans for improvement and for rejoicing in my accomplishments both big and small.

I hope you to find something new and challenging to do in your life like I have with this triathlon. If I can do it, so can you. It'll be a journey you'll never likely forget. : )

Triathlon Check List

The triathlon is tomorrow! Finally!!! I've been planning and training and practicing for almost a year. Now it's time to pull it all together, "tri" my best and have a blast! I'll let you know all about it sometime tomorrow or Monday.

Thanks for all your support--you've been great cheerleaders!


 Clothing Items: [what I'll be wearing]
 •tri shorts
 •compression tank
 •ankle chip strap
 •sports watch
 •sweatshirt [remove just before swim]
 •flip flops [remove just before swim]

 Swim Items: 
 •swim cap
 •open water goggles
 •spare goggles

 Bike Items: 
•bike [race# attached]
•helmet [race# attached]
•running shoes
•running socks
 •spare running socks
•sunglasses
•race number belt [race# attached]
•water bottle
•flat tire kit
 •floor pump

 Run Items: 
•hat

 Misc Transition Items: 
•backpack
•headlamp [to see what we're doing at set up at 5 am]
•garbage bag [in case of rain to keep stuff dry]
•towel for transition area
•baby powder [to get sand off feet before putting on running shoes]
•vitamin water
•luna bars
•peanut butter & banana sandwich
•sunscreen
•bug spray
•antiseptic wipes
•tissues
•band aids
•lip balm
•cell phone

Fitness Challenge Report Card: July 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles goal in your comment.

I can't believe it's the last day of July already and it will be August in just a few hours! Poof! Well, it was a productive month for me in fitness. My fitness challenge miles totaled in at 123.2 miles for July! :) You can see my daily activities on my fitness blog, See how she runs... HERE. I got in a lot of swimming and biking this month and even participated in my first ever duathlon and practiced for September's triathlon by doing a mock mini tri with a local tri-women support group to which I belong.

I finished the duathlon [2mi run - 10.6 mi bike - 3 mi run] in 1:30 and a few seconds, with which I'm happy. The biking is my best component and I averaged 17.6 mph for that leg. The last 3 mile run after pushing so hard on the bike was brutal, but I did it!

I also participated in a practice min tri with a group of women from a local tri-women support group to which I belong just last Friday. The best part of that was that I did a 20 minute open water ocean swim! You may recall I struggled with that when I went to the beach earlier in the month to practice, but now I did it! Yay!!! The ocean was A LOT calmer this time and it helped that I was with such an encouraging and supportive group of women. I also did really well with the biking part, averaging 18.6 mph for a 7.3 mile ride! Hopefully I can do the same on race day in September! The run was still killer.. :/

So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

*ONE fitness challenge miles = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR = 15 minute increments of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.


How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for July?


What kinds of activities did you do to keep moving this month?

Duathlon Race Day!

sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean

RACE DAY

3:30 am wake up 

4:25 am at Ellen's

5:15 am arrive at race site

6:30 am check in, set up and ready

6:35 am at start line

6:50 am first wave starts

7:47 am MY wave starts

2 mile run | 10.6 mile bike | 3 mile run 

1:30:36 

9:17 am fini!

Fini! 

Lessons learned:
1. Wear sunscreen even at 7 am in the morning.
2. Hydrate well before and during the race. Do this at least when you're in transition if you aren't accustomed to drinking during your run or ride.
3. Fuel your body at the one hour mark in a race.
4. And finally ... include checking that your brakes are engaged in your set up. My rear brake was accidentally disengaged somewhere between mounting my the bike on car and starting the race. I figured this out during the race and had to stop to engage it. I only lost 30 seconds or so on my time, but I could have been in serious trouble if I really needed my brakes!

I'm waiting for the split times to be posted so I can see how I did for each leg, but overall, I'm pretty happy with my race results. :)

Thank you for your enthusiastic support! xo

Triathlon to Duathlon

I have been busy preparing for my upcoming triathlon on July 17 with quite a few new experiences under my belt in both biking and swimming. One new learning experience was attending an open water swim clinic earlier this month--an hour in the classroom and an hour in the pool with drills for open water swimming as well as an open water simulation. The next step was to swim in a real open water situation, which I did this past weekend by going to beach to practice swimming in the ocean where next weekend's race will take place. Let me just say that after [trying to] swim in the ocean, swimming in a pool is piece of cake!

The surf on Saturday was perhaps a little rougher than usual, but that's not an excuse, because I have to be prepared for any possible surf situation--calm or rough--on the day of the triathlon. It took me a good 30 minutes to get up the nerve to get in the water and get swimming. The waves were pretty big and even after getting past the breaks, which was really tough, the swells were still so powerful. The feeling of being pushed and pulled and tossed about like a cork was so overwhelming for me. I just couldn't get calm enough to be comfortable. I wouldn't say that I was panicking, but I definitely didn't feel confident or in control, and I decided that I'm just not ready for open water swimming in the ocean. So I'm not going to compete in the triathlon next weekend. :(

The good news, however, is that next weekend's event is a multi-sport event that is simultaneously hosting triathlon, duathlon and aqua-velo events. So I'm switching my race entry to compete in a duathlon instead. A duathlon is a run-bike-run event so I'm basically replacing the swim portion with a 2 mile run. I'll be doing a course that consists of a 2 mile run, a 10.6 mile bike, followed by a 3.0 mile run. An aqua-velo event is swim-bike only.

I am still planning on doing the Danskin Triathlon in September as that swim event is held in a bay as opposed to the ocean. I think I'll fare much better swimming where the power of the water isn't nearly as fierce as the ocean.

I felt pretty sad and defeated on Saturday when I realized I couldn't do the open water swimming in the ocean, but once I let it sink in a bit [no pun intended!], I feel so much less stressed out about next week's race and am now spending this week training and counting down the days to competing in my first ever duathlon!  : )

Another Tri

I got persuaded by my workout buddies to do another triathlon. So in addition to the one I'm signed up to do in September, I'm also now signed up to do one on July 17.

As in ONE MONTH AWAY! *gulp*

The July Tri is also a sprint event and in fact, a shorter course, notably in the swimming event. The swim is only 300 yards, or about 12 lengths laps of an olympic sized pool, the bike portion is 10.6 miles on a flat course, followed by a 3 mile run.

Of course, I'm anxious about it, but also kind of charged about meeting the challenge. I can do this! :)

First things first, though ... what to wear?? ;)

100 Days to Race Day

I'll be racing in my first triathlon in 100 days.
I've got a few things on my mind . . .

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swim bike run and  RACE!   : )

Fitness Challenge Mid Month Progress Report: March 2011

Sorry I'm posting this a few days past our mid-month check point. I had plans of posting more this week and now, poof! It's Friday afternoon already! Anyway, I've been working out really hard in the last few weeks having already accumulated 69.5 fitness challenge miles as of today, just a few days past mid month. Let's hope the rest of the month goes just as well.

As I mentioned last month, I started swimming lessons one night a week, which has already helped me tremendously with my freestyle technique. However, I still find swimming nonstop really hard. It's the breathing. I find a do a lap and a half of freestyle and have to switch to backstroke to catch my breath. I understand that it's more difficult to breath while swimming because the water applies additional pressure to your lungs while you're in the water and well, you can't breath when your face is in the water (!), so hopefully I'll see improvement if I just practice, practice, practice. Which I'm doing one other day of the week now in addition to the lesson. We learned breaststroke in this week's lesson, which is just what I need because from what I understand from other triathletes, many swimmers alternate between freestyle and breast stroke during the race. I'm guessing freestyle is best for speed and efficiency and breast stroke is best for sighting the course and other swimmers.

How are you doing so far this month?

Do you use any home exercise DVDs?
"Move-type" video games such as Wii or Playstation Move?
On demand exercise shows?

I've been using the Get Fit with Mel B workout game for the Playstation Move lately on days when I'm unable to exercise outdoors or get to the gym for cardio. I'm still exploring all of the options in the game, but it's okay so far. Not as good a workout as what I can do at the gym or running or biking, but it's a good back-up workout.

Wishing you all a great weekend! Got any fun plans?

It's a gorgeous 79 F (26 C) right now here in NJ--a real treat for this time of year. I'm off to pick up sticks in the yard and rake out my flower bed while it's so nice outside. We'll be back into normal March temperatures in the low 50s F (11 C) for the next few days.

Fitness Challenge Report Card: February 2011

Interested in joining the Fitness Challenge? Please visit the Sign Up post for more information, including the challenge rules. You may leave a comment there or on this post if you'd like to join. Be sure to include your fitness miles* goal in your comment.

*NOTE: One fitness challenge mile = 1 mile walked or run for fitness OR a 15 minute increment of other exercise for fitness such as cardiovascular or strength training exercises.


So how did everyone do with their fitness challenge miles* this month?

I set my goal for 100 fitness miles and came in at 96.1 miles. I spent most of my workout hours in spin class and strength training, followed by boot camp and kickboxing. I knew meeting my goal this month was going to be a challenge because February is a short month and I knew ahead of time that I was going to miss a few days in the beginning of the month. Yet I ended up coming much, much closer to my goal than I expected, so I'm still pretty pleased.

I'm even more pleased to be ending the month on really high note because I ran a 5K Race [3.1 miles] yesterday and ran my all time personal best! :D

Almost at the finish line.
I hadn't spotted my husband yet, otherwise I would have smiled. :)

Not only did I meet my fitness goal to run a 5K in 31 minutes, but I had seconds to spare!!!!

Jan. 1, 2010 5K    Race results: 34:51 11:19 min/mile pace

Feb. 27, 2011 5K Race results: 30:44.60 9:54 min/mile pace

Wooooooo!!!!!

That's over four minutes off my time from last year! I'm SO thrilled with this time. As if it isn't obvious, right? ;) I totally surprised myself yesterday. I set that 5K in 31 minutes goal and hoped I would come close, but didn't think I'd quite make it because I haven't run better than an average 10:17 min/mile pace before.
But I DID it!  

I'm looking for the official race results.
I'm anxious to know if I broke a 10:00 min mile pace!

Yesterday I ran an average pace of 9:54 minutes per mile!

Thank you to those of you who cheered me on yesterday when I posted about the race on twitter and facebook. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm. :)

This race was originally scheduled for January 1, 2011 but had been cancelled and rescheduled twice since due to snow and ice conditions. I'm so glad it finally took place yesterday and the weather was perfect. Overcast, but temperatures were upwards of 50 F [10 C].

I'm going to set my fitness challenge goal at 100 fitness miles again for March. :)

How did you do with your fitness challenge goal for February?

Did you have trouble meeting your goal?

If so, what were some of your obstacles?
Time? Motivation? Illness?

I hope you all join me again for March! :)
Please include your new fitness miles goal in the comments.

Thank you all for participating. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

Exercising minds want to know....


Do you own a jump rope?



[*Playstation Move workout]

200 Days to Race Day!

Some of you may remember back in October when I announced that I registered to participate in my first triathlon. The race is a sprint triathlon {1/2 mile swim [0.8 km], 12 mile bike [19.3 km] and 5 K run [3.1 mile]} that takes place in September 2011, exactly 200 days from today. I only figured this out an hour or so ago and am excited to start counting down the training days to race day.

I registered for the Tri with several of my regular workout buddies, but a couple of weeks after signing up for the Tri last fall, I learned that another friend of mine (not a workout friend) also signed up for the same race! We were both excited to discover this and have talked about training, what to expect, what we're worried about, etc. often over the last few months, both of us expressing a lot of anxiety over the swimming. Today she emails me to say that she signed us up for semi-private swim lessons at our community indoor pool and it starts tonight!

Say what? At first I wanted to laugh, but I knew she wasn't kidding and that this was probably a great idea to get me in the pool and start training--starting with learning how to swim freestyle properly. So I consented and was at the pool a few hours later for our first lesson. I'm also counting today as my first official day of training for the Tri. Out of curiosity, I later looked up how many days there are until race day and discovered that it is exactly 200 days away from today! Let the countdown begin!

I'm so glad we took the plunge tonight.  {ha ha! pun intended}

Are you a swimmer? 


What's your favorite stroke?


I can't do butterfly at all and freestyle is probably my weakest stroke, but only because I never learned proper breathing technique. Hopefully I'll get that straightened out over the next several weeks of lessons. :)

Triathlon Training Begins

It's official. I'll be competing in my first triathlon next September! Registration opened this morning for a popular woman's triathlon that is held every year in New Jersey and I'm in!


The triathlon is a sprint event, so the distances for each part of the tri are short with a 1/2 mile swim [0.8 km], 12 mile bike [19.3 km] and 5 K run [3.1 mile].

I'm really excited about this, but also a little nervous. I'm doing the triathlon solely to challenge myself, do my best and feel great, but I still get a little nervous if I think about race day. A little fear of the unknown, a little fear of being disappointed in my performance, and I admit it, a little fear of all those other women trying to pass me! I guess that's all normal. I'll have to work on those mental issues so that I can be calm on race day. 

Of the three components to the tri, the swimming is currently my biggest weakness. I'm definitely going to have to work on this component from the bottom up, starting with my stroke technique and building up to swimming a full 1/2 mile without stopping. A half mile is 16 laps or 32 lengths in an Olympic sized pool. Oh shit.


The biking is definitely going to be my strongest event since I already regularly ride 12-20 miles with hills at a decent pace and the race is only 12 miles on a flat course. I'll work on my speed and endurance so that I can maintain an average speed of 17-19 mph for 12 miles.


The running doesn't worry me too much either since I started running last fall. I now run at a 10 minute mile pace and my typical runs are between 2 and 4 miles, so running the 3.1 miles for the tri should be a comfortable distance for me. The fact that the running is the last event of the tri, however, means I'll need to work on maintaining a good pace when fatigued from the other events.


I already have a great support network set up for training and race day. My husband and daughters, as always, are great at listening to my near daily reports of my workouts, set backs and accomplishments constantly giving me encouragement. They're going to be so proud of me for doing this, I just know it. Then I have a small group of four friends from the gym with whom I already work out and who also signed up this morning for the triathlon. I'm sure we'll compare training strategies and even do some training workouts together as the race gets closer.


The triathlon is a long 11 months away, so for now my training will be to simply continue my regular cross training workouts, start doing laps in the pool one day a week and maybe bribe my friend Sharon to give me some free swim lessons so I can learn proper freestyle stroke technique.


Wish me luck!


Have you ever participated in a triathlon? 


Do you have any tips or strategies  to share?

Life is a bowl of cherries

Of course once you've eaten all the cherries I guess you could say life is the pits.

LOLOL! ^_^

In the kitchen:
I'm going to try to make time tomorrow to make Cherry Jam using Tracy's recipe at the Sugarcrafter blog. I already washed, pitted, and sliced the four cups of cherries I need for the jam. The cherries in the photo are the cherries I have left over. I made some white chocolate dipped cherries last week and I only tasted one before I gave them away to a friend, but it was so delicious. I really want make more. I also saw a recipe for rum soaked cherries at Rebecca's Foodie with Family blog that I'm dying to make, so I don't know what to do. I could go out and buy more cherries and make both, but (a) I don't have too much time to invest in the kitchen this week and (b) I still have all those blueberries to bake, freeze, and eat! Decisions, decisions!

In books:
I haven't read much in the last several weeks, which has been so frustrating. I have plenty of books to read... plenty that I'm even interested in reading, but I'm just not finding the time to read during the day and at night I start falling asleep as soon as I open a book or my laptop. Needless to say, I'm falling behind very quickly in my monthly reading goals in order to meet my 100+ Books in 2010 Reading Challenge. Well, the last thing I want to do is make reading feel like homework, so I'm just going to roll with it and see how it goes from here.

Right now I'm reading Provocative In Pearls by Madeline Hunter. It's the second book in her newest Rarest Blooms Quartet and I'm enjoying it very much. I've also got a stack of really fun non fiction books that I'm reading here and there as well.

In sports:
I guess you all know by now that The World Cup is over--congratulations to Spain! I have to admit that I had so much fun keeping up with this year's World Cup. My husband has been a football fan since he was a kid {many World Cups ago}, but this was the first year I followed it so closely. I was watching games, looking up results on the FIFA app on my iPhone and keeping tabs on my bracket in the pool I joined with my husband and his football buddies. I didn't win the pool, but ended somewhere in the middle so at least I didn't embarrass myself too badly. ;)

As far as my sports go, I haven't been running much since May because I've been trying to do all low or no impact workouts in order the heel planter fasciitis in my right foot that has been ailing me for some time now. It is healing, but it's taking a long time. One day last week, though, I went for a run anyway. I had overslept my alarm and didn't have a lot of time to devote to working out that day, so a 2 mile run seemed like just the power workout I needed. It was pretty hot and humid, so I took it easy, but was super thrilled to discover that I can now run a 10 minute mile! When I checked my pace at the 1 mile mark, I was surprised at my pace because I didn't feel like I was pushing so hard and yet I ran the first mile in 10:03. I finished the second mile at 20:00! As I ran the second mile, I thought to myself how many textbooks I would need to put in a backpack to simulate the 25 pounds I've lost since April. Then I envisioned wearing that backpack and running two miles. Um, no way. I'm never going to do that again! I wonder how fast I'll be when I get to my goal weight!

I've been cycling a lot over the last several weeks, and I'm happy to report that that mountain is feeling smaller every time. The down side is that I got a three flat tires in the last two weeks and it is not like the Tour de France where your team car follows you along and hands you a new bike when you get a flat. Nope. You have to stop and change it yourself using a handy dandy tire changing kit that you keep stowed in a pouch under your seat. Quite a few tears later, at least now I can do it by myself. :)

That about sums up my bowl of cherries this week, what about yours?

What seasonal food are you enjoying right now?

What are you reading?

What activities are you doing outdoors?

This and That + 2 Winners

Can you believe it's May already? The days and seasons are just flying by. I don't know where the time goes and I sure could use some more time in my days, that's for sure.

HEALTH & FITNESS
I'm going to try to be brief on this topic, because Lord knows I can go on and on and on about diet and exercise these days. Back in the beginning of April, I blogged about starting a calorie counting program to help me lose weight using the Lose It app on my iPhone. I started on April 1 and am happy to report that I've lost 8 lbs. as of May 1! All I can say is thank goodness I got some great results right away, because I was pretty miserable--hungry and cranky--for the first week or two. Don't get me wrong, it's still not easy, but it's definitely easier than those first two weeks.

April was a great month in exercise for me. I've been working out 5-6 days a week now as opposed to the 4-5 days a week previously, which has been awesome. Not just because I'm burning more calories, but my body simply craves the daily exercise now, too. When a day off comes along, I get kind of restless and my body keeps whispering, "go, go, go!" but my brain says, "wait! ice, ice, ice baby before you get hurt!" I battle myself the whole day.

My friend Maureen, who is also my running class instructor from the gym, started up a mixed level bootcamp class on Friday mornings at 5:45 am and of course, I signed up for it. Last Friday was our first class and while the drills were intense, because it was the first class, there was also some downtime for her to explain things, so it wasn't brutal. During one drill she said we would probably have muscle soreness over the weekend, and I nearly tuned her out thinking that didn't really apply to me. I workout six days a week and even cross train! Well, I've got one word to describe how I felt over the weekend: OUCH! I winced and maybe even groaned out loud every time I sat or had to go up or down the stairs. I'm thinking this class will be good for me.

I only went running four times in April, but I made the most of those runs and worked on my pace. One of my fitness goals for 2010 is to run at a 10:30 minute mile pace and this morning I ran 2 miles in 21:05-- the first mile at 10:33 and the second mile at 10:32. Totally made my day.

My husband and I also went out on our first cycling rides of the season in April. I think all the running I've been doing since last fall has improved my cardiovascular fitness level because I only needed to stop once on two of the most challenging hills of my favorite route through the wildlife reservation. Last fall, I had to stop twice on each of those hills. I'm hoping to do the entire loop without stopping at all by the end of the summer.

COOKING
I've got a handful of recipes that I want to share and will hopefully get them up soon. Most are main dish recipes, but I also want to try my hand at making Angel Food Cake and biscotti that is less than 100 calories per piece. I love biscotti.

GARDENING
I really wanted to re-establish my vegetable garden this spring as I haven't had one in three years because of the addition we did on the house, but it's nearly time to plant summer crops here in Zone 6, and I'm no where near ready. I wanted to get a fence put up in the yard first because the garden will back up to it and I haven't even called anyone in for an estimate yet. So I was thinking for this year, to maybe plant some vegetables in with the flowers that are in my side yard perennial garden. It's a small garden between the house and the driveway, but it gets enough sun and I'll see it every time I go out, so I'll probably be more likely to weed and water it anyway. I just wondered if it would be too accessible to the deer, but then decided no. The deer would have to walk up my driveway, go between my car and the house that is only maybe 6 feet wide and the only way out is the way they came in because the steps into the house are right there. Well, clearly, what do I know. Look what I spotted in that space this past Sunday:

Isn't that the cutest thing! It was so small, I wondered if it was born there early that morning or the night before. A couple of hours later it was gone and I couldn't find it anywhere in my yard. I wonder if it wandered away alone or if the mother came back for it. I kind of hope I'll see it again so I'll know it's okay, but it'll probably be back in a month or two eating my garden! I wonder if I'll think it's a sweet little thing then.


2 KIDS AND A DOG GIVEAWAY WINNERS!
Finally, I used the list randomizer at random.org to select two lucky winners of the 2 Kids and a Dog Calendar giveaway! And the winners are ....

BRANDY and DOODLEGIRL !!!

Congratulations! Please email me at krauscakes[at]verizon[dot]net with your mailing address so the lovely Alexia from 2 Kids and a Dog can get your calendar out to you in the mail. I hope you get some smiles out of their calendar like I do! Thanks for playing! :o)

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

I want to know what's going on in your world lately... do you have anything to share?

Do you have a garden? Do you container garden? What vegetables, herbs or flowers do you like to grow every year?

List Randomizer

There were 6 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Brandy
doodlegirl
Dru
orannia
Lover of Romance
nath

Timestamp: 2010-05-03 02:30:32 UTC