September 30, 2008

I have some work to do!

On Monday night I decided to run 2 miles to see how long it would take. Every other time I run I normally go for time and estimate how many miles I run. The reason for that is that I often go trail running instead of street running. Well let's just say I need some work!

I ran the 2 miles in 24 minutes which for some people is not bad and I normally estimate that I am running a 12 minute mile. The bad part is that I was really trying to get it done faster and I was pushing myself to run harder. At the end of the run my heart and lungs felt like I pushed myself more than I normally do.

Oh well, at least I know where I am and where I need to go. I would love to average a 10 minute mile. There is a 5K coming up this weekend that I am going to do so it will be interesting to see how long that takes me.

September 29, 2008

100 Miles

Could you image propelling yourself forward for 100 miles straight? And no I do not mean in a car. This weekend while I went mountain biking there was a 100 mile mountain bike race in and around Crested Butte. This is a race just like the Leadville 100 that Lance Armstrong took second place in. I must say that Armstrong took second place to guy from Gunnison.

Maybe I should get in some 100 mile mountain bike races before I complete my ultimate goal which is the Ironman in Hawaii. I love watching it every year and every year I want to go out and do it for myself. My sprint triathlon challenge will the first in many and I hope to say one day that I completed the Ironman. If only dreams do come true.

For now I am going to keep track of my daily biking and running miles to see how many miles I complete in the course of a week, month and year.

September 28, 2008

Triathlon Training

This is the first week of my triathlon training schedule. My goals for the overall challenge are to 1 - Complete the triathlon is less than 2.5 hours
2 - Use this challenge to increase me speed while running and biking
3 - Finally get to under 140 pounds.

I will have a challenge each week that will bring me to my sprint triathlon in November. This week I am going to time myself running 2 miles, biking 6 miles (with no kids in the bike trailer) and for swimming just to get in the pool and see how well I do. Today we took the kids swimming in a small hotel pool and after a few laps in that pool I was tired so I have a long way to go with the swimming.

I plan to accomplish the above goal by running after work on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, swimming on Friday and biking with no kids this weekend.

Trail 401 Crested Butte

This weekend Joe took care of the kids and I went and did Trail 401 in Crested Butte. It was wonderful and it has been a long time since I went mountain biking. Of course I am riding my mountain bike every day around town but that is no where near the same as mountain biking.

A friend of mine went with me and it was a 3 hour ride round trip. We parked at Rustler's Gulch and started up the road. As soon as we started riding we had a STEEP hill to climb - great way to get the heart pounding. It was only about 3 miles of rough, steep jeep road but it took us about 40 minutes! We passed beautiful Emerald Lake and then shortly after that we reached the top of Schofield Pass at 10,707 feet.

Then the fun begins - single track. We had a very technical and steep climb. The first part was through the evergreen trees and the second part was high alpine. The second part of the climb was not as steep - but still a workout - and not as many rocks. I LOVED that last uphill climb - you just have to power through it. I really enjoy a good climb over the downhill - I know I am weird. That section took another 40 minutes or so.

The last section is ALL downhill for about 45 minutes. There are many points that you really don't want to look down past the trail because if you fall you are going rolling down the entire mountain. The whole way was beautiful, the aspens are bright yellow, the dry fall air, the crisp day - it was wonderful! The ride was great.

Here is a video I found on You Tube that is trail 401 to give you an idea of the downhill.

September 24, 2008

Wednesday's Blog Tour

This is a new feature I am adding on Wednesday's. Each week I will recommend a blog that I read daily.

This week I am recommending Newlywed Girl. Carrie has recently married - even through technically she is not a newlywed anymore (she has been married for a little more than a year) and she and her hubby just has a wonderful and very cute little girl. I found Carrie's blog when she was working on losing weight, but then she got pregnant so the weight loss stopped and now it is back on to lose the baby weight. In addition to being a mom Carrie has been busy doing triathlons, running 5k's, going to the beach and training to run 6 miles in a marathon relay.

Take a few minutes to check out her blog and cheer her on!

Triathlon Challenge

So far no one - not one person signed up for even left me a comment about my Triathlon Challenge. I am going to do this even if no one signs up but it would be a LOT more fun if even one person signs up. Please, Please, Please can one person join me for 6 weeks on swimming, biking and running! We will get in shape and maybe lose a few pounds along the way.

September 22, 2008

Stuck

My body has decided that it likes me to weight between 140 and 145. I was at my lowest right before I got pregnant with Lily at 133ish. Now I am back at the 144 mark and I am having trouble getting these pounds off. So I have decided that I need to cut 500 calories a day for a total of 3500 calories per week.

My goal to cut 3500 calories per week is to:
1 - No wine Monday - Thursday. If I have been having 1.5 glasses per night from Monday through Thursday that is at least 600 calories per week. (Lily drives me to drink so I think I have been drinking at least one glass a night!!)
2 - No snack or desert before bed. If I have even 100 calories before bed and I stop that all together I save 700 calories a week,
3 - Burn at least 250 calories per day. Finding time to workout is a struggle for any parent. I can seek in 30 to 40 minutes of cardio when I pick up Mikayla from preschool and take her to daycare. I have been picking her up with my bike and she rides in the bike trailer. Then instead of just peddling to 5 miles round trip to daycare and back I push hard and really workout. Try riding your bike fast while pulling an extra 55 pounds! I have also been running for 20 - 30 minutes right after work before Joe gets home with the girls so I thin I can burn the 250 calories per day as long as I focus.

September 19, 2008

Triathlon Challenge

I really want to do a triathlon but it seems as if it might never happen. As everyone knows I live in a small, remote mountain town in Colorado. There is a triathlon every year in Crested Butte, but I am NOT ready for that. Mostly because my mountain biking skills are not up to par anymore. You have to be able to mountain bike intermediate to expert and at this stage in my life I am back down to beginner. There is another triathlon that I have really considered in Montrose but I am not going to be ready for it this year - it is less than 3 weeks away. So I have decided to host a Blog Sprint Triathlon Challenge. We will all train together over the course of 6 weeks and then we will all do our triathlon together in our own cities and blog about how well you did. (One exception is that in November it can get SUPER cold here - we are talking -25. So if that is the case we might change weekends - or if the weather in your town is awful we can move it back a weekend.)



I would like to start the challenge on September 27th - that will give everyone a week and a half to spread the news. We will start slowly the first two weeks by getting use to the swimming (1/4 mile or 400 meters), the biking (20K or 12 miles) and the running (5K or 3.1 miles). In week 3 we will start to add weight training and weekly challenges and in weeks 4 and 5 we will add longer runs, longer bike rides, longer swims and blocks. A block is where you do two activities back to back - such as bike ride then run. Week 6 will be a fairly easy week and then we do the challenge on November 8th



Are you ready!!!

September 18, 2008

Great Mountain Towns to Live

I was reading MSN the other day and came across this article.

There are quite a few towns I would consider moving to but town number is 3 is only 30 minutes away!

September 17, 2008

Saving Money on Groceries

Going to the grocery store seems to cost more and more every week. I have read blogs where moms say they only spend $50 per week at the store for a family of 5. I have no idea how they do this. I think they must be shopping at Alde (don't have one of those in Gunnison) and they also must not be buying any fresh produce (I am sure I spend at LEAST $50 per week on produce alone). I have noticed that a lot of those moms make everything from scratch and I know that saves a ton of money but I have a full time job and I don't have time to make everything from scratch.

Here is what I do to save money at the grocery store.

1. Stock up on the good sales.

2. For coffee instead of buying the expensive flavored coffee I buy a HUGE can of the super cheap stuff and then a smaller can of flavored coffee and I mix the two.

3. Buy Generic in almost everything.

4. Make a weekly meal plan, write down what I need to buy after I have reviewed my pantry for what I already have and most important - shop alone - no kids, no husband and stick to the list.

What I don't do is clip coupons. All of the coupons out there are for name-brand items and it is normally cheaper to buy the generic instead.

What do you do to save money at the grocery store?

September 15, 2008

HELP/Advice

Mikayla started preschool last week and she goes Monday - Thursday mornings. I pick her up afterschool spend a little bit of time with her and then take her to daycare. She has not been transitioning from preschool to daycare well at all. Today was the worst. After tons of kisses and hugs Eric, her babysitter, had to pick her up and take her away as I left listening to her cry out for me and of course I started crying in the car. I hated the fact that I had to go back to work instead of taking her home with me.

What do you recommend to make this transition easier? I am even considering taking her out of preschool except she LOVES preschool. Also when she gets to daycare it is lunch time and then nap time so I think the fact that she is going to be playing anytime soon is hard as well.

Last week I would go inside at daycare and set her down for lunch, say hi to Lily and there were some tears and lots of hugs and kisses but today was much worst. Today I even decided to stay right inside the door instead of going inside hoping to make the transition easier. I even prep her before we go to daycare, once we get there but not inside - I just don't know what else to do.

I need help and advice - what should I do? Maybe she is too young for preschool - I just don't know.

September 14, 2008

Kansas City - edited

Last week the girls and I took a week long trip to Kansas City, where I am from. I have not been back to KC in 2 1/2 years so it was time. (My parents and sister still live there but they are nice enough to come out here to see us all of the time.)


We arrived on Saturday and Lily decided that seperation anxiety and stranger anxiety was going to happen now. This meant that Lily refused to be held by anyone other than me.


Sunday morning was a quick trip to Target (It is a good thing we don't live near one because I would be spending way too much money there), then Church. Mikayla was excellent during Church, playing quietly. Lily and I on the other hand were walking in the back trying to get Lily to sleep.


Kansas City has really grown since I was there. There is a new area in Kansas City, KS with a Nebraska Furniture Mart, Cabelas, a hotel with a huge water park (but you have to stay at the hotel to play), the Kansas Speedway race track and an outdoor outlet shopping center called Legends . The Legends was pretty cool but it was so hot that day. I made a comment to my mom, why build an outdoor shopping mall in Kansas when you can only use it for a few months in the spring and a few months in the fall.


On Tuesday my sister and I took the kids to the zoo. First off we almost did not go. Her baby, Jake (month) and Lily decided they both nedded a nap and decided to scream and cry themsleves to sleep. This was the first time I had heard Jake through a fit. Normally he fusses a bit and my sister gives him the boob and he is fine but not this time. Jake finally fell asleep and it took many "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and "Rock a Bye Baby" to get her to sleep. My sister was laughing at how silly this whole thing was. We made it to the zoo and it was HOT. Hardly anyone was there, which was great but it was HOT. We only saw a small part of the zoo but Mikayla had lots of fun and all the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home.

On Wednesday the girls and I were on our own and it rained all day long. It was nice to have a quite day because the girls and I needed a real long nap.

On Thursday it was raining again and Mikayla could not understand why it was still raining. In Colorado we are lucky to have rain for an hour. Mikayla kept saying she did not like it raining and she needed a rain hat, rain jacket, rain pants and rain boots!

Friday we went shopping with my mom and out to dinner with the whole family.

I forgot what we did on Thursday and Friday but my mom reminded me we went to the Deana Rose Farmstead.
This is a great petting zoo that I went to as a kid. Mikayla fed the goats, the geese, petted the sheep, milked a fake cow, ran through a tee-pee and had tons of fun. She also rode her first pony and loved it. She can't wait to ride another horse again.

Saturday we headed home. Our flight left KC at 6:30am and the airport is 45minutes away. We did get home at 9:30am which was nice. But boy was I exhausted. Lily decided to not sleep and between Thursday and Friday night I got about 9 hours of sleep total. Saturday night I fell alseep while reading to Mikayla. I woke up and both of us were sleeping in her bed.

September 13, 2008

Let's All Pray

How is that for a title.

I am scared to type this so I am writing this one night and posting it the next night.

Two night ago Lily slept from 7pm until 7am - without waking up!! YEA!!! Mikayla actually came into our bedroom at 6:30am saying her tummy hurt (her way of saying she is hungry) It is a good thing Mikayla woke us up because otherwise we would have been late to work. This was my first night since she was born that I got 9 hours of un-interrupted sleep.

Then last night she woke up at 2:30am and then not again until 7am. Lily NEVER sleeps in until 7am she is normally up betwen 5 and 6. I am hoping for another great night tonight.

September 12, 2008

Food Meme

I saw this meme Green Style Mom's blog and I thought I would do it. Mostly because it was a cut and paste so it is super easy.

I am not going to tag anyone because everyone that has ever tagged me I have not done the mem. Sorry!

If you do decide to do this just let me know so I can check it out.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.

2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.

3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (I could not figure out how to cross anything out so I put an * next to things I would never consider eating)

4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/ linking to your results.

I changed this up by adding my comments. I gotta say something! As I was really reading through this list I had to google many items because I had no idea what they were.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros - I have never had this but my husband orders it all of the time.
4. Steak tartare*
5. Crocodile (actually I've had alligator, but not sure about crocodile)
6. Black pudding*
7. Cheese fondue - I LOVE fondue and I love making it
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich - who has not had a PB&J
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart - I never had this until I met my husband and I went to meet his family in NJ and on a trip to NYC everyone had to have a hot dog. Not much difference between the street cart dog and any other dog.
16. Epoisses*
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (fejoa, elder berry)
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras*
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese*
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper*
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut - I hate the stuff and my husband thinks I am crazy since my heritage is all German.
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar - I have never had cognac and I have never smoked a cigar, cigarrett or anything else
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O - I have not had one of these since college but yummo
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (does a gnat that flies in your mouth count?)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu Nah
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel - I love eel.
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut. (best warm!)
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi - really don't like
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal - I have never had a Big Mac and I even worked at McDonald's in high school
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini* (Only because I don't like olives and martinis are too strong for me)
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis* (It would take a lot of talking to get me to try this)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette.
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill* (why would anyone every want to eat something that a car ran over and then sat on the hot pavement in the sun?
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini - yum
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (I have had items with rose petals in it - rose jam - but not this)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermido
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

There is my list and boy do I have a lot of eating to do! What does your list look like?