Blog Archives
First Post Isaac Run
Workout: 3 mile run
My neighborhood has a new soundtrack and it sounds like generators humming.
I ran the same route that I did the day before Isaac, but this time it looked very different. Tree limbs, branches and general debris lined the streets. There were even three power line poles laying across houses on Orleans Ave. I wanted to run the loop twice, but since I couldn’t always tell what was under the street debris (is that a power line or are those leaves just excited to see me?) and most of the street lights were out, I decided not to risk it.
On the bright side, today is college colors day. I took Jess’s advice and rocked my Camp Sweat tank for the run.
And added a little inspiration to my hair.
Afterwards, I took a cold shower and got out my potentially-controversial-but-still-funny Honey Badger tee.
We are still out of power but I’m thankful for my awesome New Orleans family, as well as the rest of my Louisiana family and all of my extended family and friends that have been checking on us.
I’m also grateful for my iPhone, along with twitter, bloglovin, and WordPress, which has made this a less stressful hurricane experience.
Oh, and Rouse’s Fresh. They reopened their salad bar today and man, have I been missing my perishables.
I may even run to Rouse’s in the morning and pick up a yogurt and some fruit so I can make my breakfast parfait I’ve been missing. But I’ll just have to be patient and stick it out til the power comes back on so I can make a Laurasippi. Drink one for me if you can!
I definitely appreciate all the out of state energy workers and trucks who are in town helping Entergy put Humpty Dumpty together again. They are working 16 hour shifts trying to clear debris, fix lines, and get power running as fast as possible, especially with temperatures in NOLA ready to rise. Sometimes the power outage problem seems really overwhelming though and I start to feel a bit like this.
Oh, we all need a little sense of humor and a lot of patience right now!
DIY Bib Holder
Monday Workout: 3.35 mile run / 33:12 minutes
Tuesday Workout: 3 mile run
We are hunkered down in New Orleans. In case you haven’t heard, there’s a little hurricane headed our way. I managed to get some running in this morning though and took a few pictures along the way.
The streetcars stopped running at 2pm so people could park on the neutral ground in case of flooding. Lots of buildings have been boarded up.
Since we have plenty of time on our hands, we got crafty!
I’ve been meaning to make a race bib holder to match my medal holder. This is a very easy project to do by yourself. If you don’t have wood the exact size that we used, you could definitely use a different size or potential get someone at Lowe’s/Home Depot to cut it for you when you buy the wood. You can also easily modify this to make a medal holder.
We started with a 9.5 ” x 11.5″ piece of wood, some paint, and hooks.
And of course I had my purple paint ready!
Start by painting the board.
It helps if you have a kitten wandering around while you paint.
Race bibs generally come in two sizes, so I needed to put 4 hooks in. I marked the spots with a pencil where the hooks would go so that Mo would know where to put the hooks. Mo simply pushed and twisted the hooks into the wood.
finished product
Next we put a hook on the back. I didn’t have a real picture hanger, so we hot glued a canned coke pop top to it.
And in the end, it looked great on the wall with the medal holder.
Would you make a race bib holder? Or would you rather make a medal holder?
Today’s Brick is Brought to you by…Tapering
Workout: Bike 10.7 miles / 53 minutes Run 2 miles / 19 minutes
The weather was awful today! We got up extra early to get our workout in before we went to breakfast with some friends and managed to get our bike ride in just as it started to rain. Initially I wanted to do the whole 15 miles like we have for the past two Sundays, but given our time constraint and the impending weather, it seemed good to just go ahead and taper. (Note that the actual upcoming race wasn’t actually a factor. I should seriously start using a training plan.)
so gross outside
After our ride, I was still planning on running 3 miles, maybe even 4. Just as I reached the half mile mark, it started to pour. Right around the 1 mile mark it started to thunder and lightning. I almost kept going to the 1.5 mile mark, but made myself turn around. Mo said he had actually expected me to turn around earlier than that but I wanted to get something in. Again, the proximity of Yam City Tri didn’t affect my decision to taper, just made me feel better about having to cut the workout short.
Soaked!
I have been thinking about my goals for Yam City. It’s a 150 meter swim, 14 mile bike, and 2 mile run. Based off of how Rocketchix went, I know there are some things I want to improve on.
1. Swim Time: I have swum once since Rocketchix. Once. It’s only going to be 150 meters so I am hoping that I can finish it in under 5 minutes. I am really not putting a lot of thought or obviously effort into this part.
2. T1: Rocketchix’s T1 time was 4:30. I’d like to see this more like 2:30 minutes. I bought a tri top and shorts along with a race bib belt and have been practicing biking and running sans socks so that I can cut down here.
3. Bike Time: 55 minute goal for 14 miles.
4. T2: This should be under 2 minutes. Maybe even around 1:00, depending on the transition set up. All I have to do is take off my helmet and rack my bike.
5. Run Time: My biggest strength is coming off the bike and running strong. My goal would be to do it in 16 minutes (Rocketchix time was 16:20). Deep down I think I could do it in sub 16:00 though.
This would bring my overall race time to 1:20. Of course, I know that the humidity made a big impact on my runs at GatorTrax, so I will have to play it by feel just a bit.
I’d like to think she’s saying a little prayer for me. More likely it’s for chicken.
Oh, and I think I knew what kind of GPS watch I want to get. I’m leaning towards the Timex Run Trainer. This review by DC Rainmaker has swayed me. He also has tons of reviews on other watches and heart rate monitors if you are interested in one. I’m planning to order it from Road Runner Sports since I do their VIP membership which gets me a 10% discount and free shipping. I’m not quite ready to buy it though.
Do you taper before a race? How far in advance do you start?
It’s raining $100 bills…hopefully
Workout: Run 6 miles/ 1:02:46 minutes
First off, this is one of the reasons we drink mostly canned cold drinks at our house.
Thanks Bella. And no, I didn’t finish that water. And when I left to run, I put my cup of water into the microwave to keep it safe from kittens.
About halfway through my run a little boy called out to me, “Hey LSU fan.” I planned on taking a picture of my purple and gold shorts when I got home so you could see what made him say that, but 38 minutes into my run, the skies opened up. I haven’t run in the rain in a few years so at first it wasn’t so bad. In the next 10 minutes or so, it got much worse.
These pictures were taken later in the day around New Orleans, just to show how much it’s been raining today.
It was a little ironic because yesterday I said that my least favorite weather to run in is thunder and lightning and that is exactly what I ended up running through for about the last 15 minutes of the run. So today’s question is going to be about my least favorite denomination of cash to find on a run ($100 bill, oh running gods).
If you have a chance and you like biking, especially in New Orleans, check out bike easy.
So, what’s the best thing you ever found? I really did find a $100 bill once at the mall and a few months ago I found a $20 bill while I was running. My littlest sister found a diamond ring on a soccer field once when she was little.
TGIF y’all!
Look Mom, no Fives!
Workout: Bike 10 miles/ 60 min Run 2 miles / 20:28 min Upper Body and Core Boot Camp / 60 min
Mo and I tried to take Jolie with us on our bike ride this morning.
She was not interested in the workout. Look at her pushing off that bike seat!
I’ve been trying to use up all the food in the refrigerator and not eat out so much, especially while Mo is at teacher camp, so I made cheese fries. I also inadvertently found a great new way to cut down on Weight Watchers points.
yum. baked on potatoes.
I was trying to make a Skinny Taste recipe and forget to put cooking spray on the aluminum foil first. The second potato had the benefit of me learning this lesson the hard way. I wonder how much potato I lost to the pan…
much better
Finished Product. Even served on the aluminum foil, just like our favorite BR restaurant Chelsea’s, serves their legendary cheese fries.
I was SURE boot camp was going to get cancelled tonight. It’s been raining all day. But at 6:17, I got a text saying Camp Sweat was still on under the pavilion.
I figured at least if I was going to be working out on a rainy night, I would lighten my bag. So guess what I left at home?
No more five pounds weights for me! I made the jump to just my eight pound weights. I can’t promise it’s a permanent thing, but I am hoping it’s pretty darn permanent. This was a goal I set at the beginning of the month and it feels great to be following through on it.
What’s the worst weather would you work out in? Rain? Thunder? Heat? Where do you draw the line? It’s usually thunder and lightning for me. Would you go work out inside if the weather was too bad?
What’s your biggest kitchen fail?
