(diva)logues

MUD RUN for MS...

Update regarding my prior post from earlier today...

If you would like to donate to MS on my behalf, you can do so on my page.  Thank you SO MUCH to Julie for being the first to donate!  You ROCK, girl! 

It's official... I have lost my mind.

Just signed my team up for the Mud Run (10K + obstacle course) in May to benefit MS. I'll have to raise a minimum donation of $100 to participate. Should be an experience to say the least... a very MUDDY one!

Cardinals Care Run Home For Kids 6K...

We got up early on Sunday morning to drive Bob downtown.  He ran in the Cardinals Care Run Home for Kids 6K race.  6 kilometers is about 3.7 miles. 

The race paid tribute to Stan Musial’s legacy, promoted health and fitness, and served as a major fundraiser for the team’s community fund, Cardinals Care.  Each runner was required to commit to a fundraising goal of $150. 

Cardinal legend, Lou Brock, was the master of ceremonies & kicked off the race...

Fred Bird was all over the place.  Bryn loved that!

 

The race began at the Stan Musial statue right outside Busch Stadium...

As soon as Bob took off, Bryn & I went into the stadium to get a front row seat, as the finish line was home plate...

The runners finished up the last leg of the race by running into one of the gates on the other side of the stadium.  I was watching the time on my watch because I knew approximately when to expect Bob & sure enough, we saw him run in the gate right on time!

Fred Bird greeted the runners as they ran across the finish line...

The first thing Bob said was, "It was really HOT out there."

I'm not sure what I was thinking, but I really should've worn one of my Cardinals t-shirts to the race.  I think it was too early & I was still half asleep or something.  Bryn, of course, was all decked out... she's always stylin'!

Bob finished 54th overall & FIRST place in his age division with a time of 31:32!  SO proud of him!  And DANG he's running fast these days!  I need kick up the training so I can keep up with that boy! 

Feeling good...

I just read Rinnavation.  I love Lisa Rinna & have been a fan of hers all the way back to Days of Our Lives.  I think I like her because she's just a few years older than me, but she's still doing all she can to look good, feel good & slow down the hands of time.  And like most of my role-models, she works hard for her body & looks better in her 40's than she ever did in her 20's.  I can very much relate to that. 

 It's a very easy read & I finished it in just 2 days.  In it, she talks about doing cleanses & detoxing.  One thing that works for her is SoCal cleanse, which I just ordered & received in only 2 days.  Super fast shipping & I didn't pay for that to happen either!   I also ordered some Spirulina to add to smoothies, for which she gives several recipes.  You can read more about each on their websites & she has her reasons in the book.  My reason for doing some cleansing/detoxing is really my sugar intake... specifically chocolate (or Dark Chocolate Raisinets, which I can manage to down quite a few of in one sitting).  While I do work my a-- off every day to allow for the extra calories, I've heard more than once that sugar really is the worst thing you can put into your body.  So... I'm making some positive changes.  I already have a multi-vitamin + vitamin D + Omega 3 that I take daily, but I just want to add more good stuff. 

    I have also made & tried her home-made cleanse she included in the book.  I have to say it's the oddest tasting thing I've ever tried, but I guess it works.  (2 T. of fresh lemon or lime juice, 1 T. pure maple syrup, dash of cayenne pepper & 8 oz. of water).  

Her Ballroom Body Blast dvd is a ton of fun, too.  Lately on my running days, I've been running for a 1/2 hour on the treadmill... about 3.2 miles... & then doing this dvd.  It's similar to my Zumba stuff I do on Mondays, so between LOVING Dancing With the Stars & LOVING Zumba, it's a win-win dvd.   And speaking of feeling good, nothing makes me feel better than a new pair of shoes (well, actually I have a list of things that make me happy that include more than a new pair of shoes, but you know what I mean!).  Here's my latest purchase, that I can't wait to wear with my "boyfriend" jeans & a tee... Found these lovelies here.  You can use 2 coupon codes at once (SUMMERLUV for $10 off any purchase of $49 or more and SHIP2ME for free standard shipping on $35 or more.) 

I have zero desire to be in my 20's again... ZERO.  But I don't exactly want to LOOK my age either.  No one's going to mistake me for a 20-year old (other than maybe that "blind" cashier at Whole Foods who carded me about a week after I turned 41... not that I was complaining, mind you), but I really don't want to LOOK my age either.  I'd rather look a few years younger than I am.  But the bottom line is that you can't just do it on the outside.  It starts with what you put into your body.  Junk in, junk out.  I agree with the general message of Lisa's book.  It takes some effort, but it's as simple as eating right, exercising & taking a few minutes on your appearance every day.  It takes as much effort to throw on a sundress & some flip flops to run your errands, as it does to put on some sweats & a t-shirt. 

When you FEEL good, you LOOK good.   

Get on Track...

I don't remember why I ended up on Bob Greene's email list, because I haven't paid to join his program.... BUT I do like reading his emails.  This time it's about going outside to your local track.  I know from training for my 1/2 marathon's, that the best way to work on your time is to do speed work (wind sprints).  Wind sprints are also a GREAT way to burn calories quicker than say to run the same amount of time at an even pace.  Here's the except from the email:

After a long, cold winter, you can finally take your exercise routine outside. A great place to blast calories: Your local track. Walk for 10 minutes to warm up and then 5 minutes to cool down. For each move, do one to three sets. On your mark, get set, go!

Wind Sprints
What they are: Sprints that are run at a pace that's just slightly faster than you could maintain for several minutes.
How to: Run the entire length of one straight section of the track. Walk slowly through the curve to recover. And repeat the "sprint" down the length of the next straightaway. One set is two full laps around the track.
Easier option: Focus on a fast "power walking" pace.

Stadium Stairs
What this is: Heart-pumping activity that tones the buttocks, thighs and calves.
How to: Run up a flight of stairs then move one flight over and walk down. Run as many flights as you can in five minutes; that's one set.
Easier option: Walk up instead of running and exaggerate lifting your knee and pushing off with the opposite foot with each step.

 

 

I try to do something different every day of the week to keep my body guessing (running, Zumba, Spin, Sculpt, sometimes Step).  When you do the same thing every day, your body gets accustomed to it & stops showing results.  Adding resistance training (weights) to your work-out will show you GREAT results.  And the best part of toning up & gaining muscle... muscle burns fat even at rest!  That's what you want... your body working for you even when you're not working out!

What a FUN weekend!

We didn't spend a whole lot of time at home this weekend.  It was a crazy fun weekend though.  Had a really good dinner at "1111 Mississippi" on Saturday night for my sister's birthday... arranged by her new boyfriend Joel...

 

He's really very nice... I like him a lot!

 

 

 

 

... then the 6 of us moved on to "BARcelona" afterward to join all her friends.  We only stayed an hour & were back home by 10pm.  She was out until almost 3am.  Oh to be 34 again...  

Had to get up early on Sunday for the Girls On The Run race.  What an incredibly beautiful day for running.  If ONLY we had this for the Marathon Relay... high of 68 degrees (in the low 60's while we were running in the morning), sunny & very low humidity.  I swear I could live in weather like that year-round & NEVER tire of it. 

Had our photo taken with Tony the Tiger (Frosted Flakes was a sponsor) before the start...

 

Before the race began, this girl (who was blind) sang the National Anthem and THEN ran the race (with someone jogging backwards infront of her)...

 

You can't help but feel inspired when you see people that are blind or people in wheelchairs finishing these races.

I ran my 5K first, while Bob & Bryn cheered me on...

So MANY kids in this race, along with people like myself who were running it competitively.  I'd say it was mostly girls, but a lot of young boys too... really a fun & inspiring thing to see so many kids getting out & doing something active. 

 

I finished in my best 5K (3.1 miles) time ever... 27:09... 17th in my age division.  Something about running with a bunch of kids on the course that made me a bit faster!  

  

Mom decided to jump in & run the 1-mile FUN RUN with us.  Even though she hadn't worn her running clothes, she did have her running shoes on.  That race was craziness... kids trying to get to the front of the start line (even though they weren't timing it).  I wore my Garmin so I'd know how fast Bryn ran it.  During training, she'd been run/walking the mile in 11:20.  I guess between excitement, all the kids inching to get their foot out first, & the rest of the kids taking off like a bat-outta-hell... she started SPRINTING...

 

... so I was sprinting to keep her in my sight & poor Gamma was thinking, "I thought you said she did about an 11 1/2-minute mile?"  I was just hoping we didn't run the whole mile at that pace, but sure enough she pooped out after a couple minutes.  Gamma had to cheat & run across the lawn to keep up with us though.  I later told her people were probably saying, "What's up with Rosie Ruiz cheating during the 1-mile fun run?"  (Incase you don't already know... she's the woman that cheated to win the Boston Marathon many years ago.)  Hilarious! 

 

Despite some cramps & stitches in her side, she finished the race in 10:50...

 

It was so FUN, she did so GREAT on her first race ever & I am so PROUD of her! 

There was a DJ playing music all morning & after the race we jumped in with a bunch of girls & danced to a few songs...

 

She was very proud of her first medal...

 

And we had the best fans cheering us on... Papa Jack & Daddy!  What a GREAT experience... parents running with their kids, kids learning to live a healthy lifestyle... & an experience I'm sure all of the kids won't soon forget.  3500 people turned out for this & I can say it's something I'd definitely do again in a heart-beat.  In fact, Bryn already asked me if she can run another race with me.  ☺

Happy Monday!  It's a busy & FUN week ahead!

"Now that it's raining more than ever, know that we'll still have each other..."

Ironic... Umbrella was one of the songs that played on my iPod during my 7.2 mile run through the POURING down rain 2 Sundays ago.  It made me smile.  Actually I smiled the entire time I was running.  While it was definitely less-than-desirable weather, I was well-prepared for the run & so happy to be doing this with my family.  They are troupers.  They did this because I asked them to do it with me and I love them very much for getting out there inspite of the rain!  

Bob & I spent the night at the Sheraton Downtown so we'd be close to the race.  The hotel was only a few blocks to the start line & right across the street from the Metro Link station I would need to get to my relay point.  Our hotel room window, however, did not face out into the street.  We had a view of the hotel atrium.  Therefore, we didn't know what kind of weather awaited us until we went outside.  Bob was our first runner, so he left our room by 6:30am to walk to the start line... the race began at 7am.  I stayed in bed & tried to sleep a bit more, as I hadn't slept hardly at all the night before.  Nerves I guess.  At 7:15am my dad called me from his car laughing.  Said he was going to wait in his car until he absolutely had to get out... it was pouring down rain.  I almost started to cry just thinking about Bob already out there running for the past 15 minutes (almost 2 miles at that point).  I turned on the news & they were talking about how hard it was raining for the the race going on.  They showed a shot of the Arch & you could barely see it. 

Bob came back to the room before I had to leave, completely drenched.   

My family & I participated in the St Louis Marathon (26.2 miles) as a relay team.  Bob ran first (6.25 miles), then he tagged my dad (who ran 6 miles), my dad tagged my sister (who ran 6.75 miles)...

and then I ran last leg (7.2 miles)...

The BEST part of the race was that at the end, they got to jump in with me and run the last .2 miles so we could all cross the finish line together...

 

We were all yelling & cheering & high-fiving each other.  It was quite a celebration...

  

We all wore matching DKM shirts (that my sister had made through the apparel company where she works) + my sister & I wore matching running skirts.  Unfortunately I had my shirt covered to keep an extra layer on me so I could fare well in the rain.  In hindsight, I should've worn my long-sleeve under my short-sleeved DKM shirt, but I remained optimistic that surely the rain would stop & I'd be so hot that I'd have to remove it during my run.  Nope.  Didn't happen.  

I am so proud of our performance.  Our team goal was to finish the race in less than 4 hours and our time was 3:57:05 (our actual chip time... not the clock time above)!  Sheesh, was I drenched though.  It felt really good to take a hot shower afterward.   

 

Such a fun & inspiring day.  My family is the best.   

Winners never quit and quitters never win...

I really DO have a story I'm itching to tell about the race last Sunday...

 

... but I am STILL waiting for the 2 digital images I ordered... one of us crossing the finish line & one of the 4 of us with our medals.  You'd think that by paying the low, low price of $60 for 2 digital images, that they could email them right away.  Highway robbery at it's best...

Just received some good news this morning!  My Girls Rule lay-out was selected as the winner at Ad This!  They're going to send me a prize AND I get the honor of being their next Guest Designer! 

And... received some not-so-good-news on Friday that I'm being summoned AGAIN for Jury Duty.  I sat on a jury for a week about 15 years ago.  It was a sexual harrassment case & actually very interesting to do it.  But, at this point in my life, frankly it's going to be a pain in the butt.  School will be out by then & I'll have to make arrangements for Bryn.  Hopefully I don't get chosen.  We'll see what happens on June 4th though.