In case you want the detailed version of our weekend, here you go...
Friday, March 20th - I did some grocery shopping after work and ran errands at Costco, Safeway, and Metropolitan Market. I had to get some last minute items for the baby shower I was hosting the next day for Heather. I decided to do my long training run tonight because I wasn't sure how my body was going to respond...I have a tennis match scheduled on Sunday, so in case I was sore, I wanted to have at least a day in between to rest and hydrate. I ran 10 miles in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I came home and we ordered in - pad thai. Yummy. I was exhausted after a long week and went to bed early.
Saturday, March 21st - We got up early and I started to finish last minute house cleaning as preparation for Heather's baby shower. Clark took Lucy to get a doggie mani and pedi at Petsmart. It is the best $11 spent...they clip her nails short and then file them down so they are short, but without cutting her and making her bleed. And they did it in less than 10 minutes. Lucy loved all the attention and pets she got...plus, she got to go for a car ride. Then Clark went golfing with Josh, Heather's husband, while we had our baby shower festivities. He was happy with his round - shooting only 2 over par! The baby shower I hosted for Heather was fantastic and I won't go into details because you can read all about it in the earlier post. But after everyone left around 5:30 PM, I put on my sweats and crawled into bed and watched TV and fell asleep early. Per usual, Clark stayed up late playing video games!
Sunday, March 22nd - We got up and decided to go out to breakfast. We went to the The Hub since I wanted to try their breakfast menu and it was delicious! I got a breakfast pizza that had scrambled eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, cheese, and Hollandaise sauce on it. Yummy! Then we went home and I got ready to play in my tennis match. I played singles in the #1 slot and I was feeling a little more confident since I had won my last singles match and had been practicing all week, but I am always a little nervous playing singles. I ended up winning 6-0, 3-6, and won in the 3rd set tiebreak. I think I played really well. My serves were probably the best I had ever had (even a few aces) and won a lot of points at the net. The weather was sunny and while it was chilly and windy, it wasn't raining, so we took advantage of it and went to the golf driving range. I had been itching to hit some golf balls, especially since I got a new pair of golf shoes last weekend. It was my first time hitting since last fall and it felt great. Clark gave me a few tips about my grip, stance, and swing. I discovered that there are beginner golf lessons with an LPGA pro on Monday nights, so I signed up. I am excited to take a lesson and hope I can get to the point where my shots go straight (right now they all slice to the right). Clark says that is okay...that can be fixed...he says what is important is that my fundamentals are good and that I hit the ball in the air, which most women cannot do as a beginner. We went out to dinner because I just couldn't stand the thought of cooking. It was a nice treat...we went to The Spar and I had fish and chips - one of my faves!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Half Marathon Training
I decided to run a half marathon for 3 reasons: (1) I have never done it and it's something I'd love to say I have done in my lifetime; (2) I ran the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in April 2007 and it was surprisingly easier than I thought and the thrill of the run was also surprisingly addicting; (3) I thought it would be a good way to get in shape and drop my last 10-15 pounds that I have been wanting to lose.
So that being said, I decided to run the Tacoma Half Marathon on May 3rd. I started a 12-week training program in early February. My training program consists of two short runs during the week and then one long training run on the weekend. I just completed week 6...it has been a tough process, but I am starting to feel like the training is paying off. Slowly, I am able to run longer distances without my legs feeling like a ton of bricks and I am recovering faster and faster with fewer and fewer days of stiffness and soreness. Most runs I average 10 minutes per mile.
Week 1 - I did two short runs of 3 miles each (I took Lucy with me!) and my long run was 5 miles. The weather was pretty bad the first weekend in February, so I did it on the treadmill. Not the ideal situation, but I did it.
Week 2 - I did two short runs of 3 miles each (again, I took Lucy with me) and my long run was 6 miles. I did this long run outside and mostly on the UPS track. My legs started to get heavy around mile 5, but knowing I only had one mile to go, I was able to get through it.
Week 3 - I did two short runs of 4 miles each and my long run was 7 miles. Again, I did this run on the UPS track and while my legs felt heavy, I was able to get through it. I was a little sore the day after, but seemed to have fully recovered a couple days after the long run.
Week 4 - I was supposed to do two short runs of 4 miles each, but between walking Lucy and tennis, I ran out of time during the week and was only able to get to one short run. I still went ahead and did my long run of 8 miles, and this was my hardest run yet. I had to stop to walk a few times throughout the run and my legs felt heavy after mile 3...so I knew it was going to be a long run.
Week 5 - I did two short runs of 5 miles each, but somehow ran out of time over the weekend and never made it to my long run (supposed to be 7 miles). I fretted about it and worried about how it would affect my training, but figured to just stick to my training schedule.
Week 6 - I did two short runs of 5 miles each and faced my longest run yet...10 miles. I was nervous, especially considering 1o miles is the longest I HAVE EVER RUN. I was also worried that the last two weeks I had missed some of my training runs. However, I was pleasantly surprised with my performance. I made it the whole way WITHOUT stopping or walking. I finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I averaged 11 minutes per mile, which is a little bit slower than usual, but I didn't even notice. I actually felt like I ran faster than normal. My first two miles were slow (as usual), but after I was warmed up, I felt great. Miles 3-7 felt great and I felt like I could run forever. Mile 8 I started to get a little tight in my calfs, but my quads didn't feel heavy (like they had in the past). By mile 9, I was just so happy I only had one mile to go that I felt like I sprinted home. No stiffness or soreness that night or the day after...only some minor knee joint pain that went away after I took some Advil. I actually ran from my house all the way to Pt. Defiance Park and then back. For those of you familiar with Tacoma, you can appreciate the distance!!!
So, here I am half way through my training...I am headed into week 7 where I hope to run two short runs of 5 miles and another long run of 10 miles. I have done it before, so I am feeling mildly confident that I can do it again.
I will keep you posted on my training progress. Wish me luck!!!
So that being said, I decided to run the Tacoma Half Marathon on May 3rd. I started a 12-week training program in early February. My training program consists of two short runs during the week and then one long training run on the weekend. I just completed week 6...it has been a tough process, but I am starting to feel like the training is paying off. Slowly, I am able to run longer distances without my legs feeling like a ton of bricks and I am recovering faster and faster with fewer and fewer days of stiffness and soreness. Most runs I average 10 minutes per mile.
Week 1 - I did two short runs of 3 miles each (I took Lucy with me!) and my long run was 5 miles. The weather was pretty bad the first weekend in February, so I did it on the treadmill. Not the ideal situation, but I did it.
Week 2 - I did two short runs of 3 miles each (again, I took Lucy with me) and my long run was 6 miles. I did this long run outside and mostly on the UPS track. My legs started to get heavy around mile 5, but knowing I only had one mile to go, I was able to get through it.
Week 3 - I did two short runs of 4 miles each and my long run was 7 miles. Again, I did this run on the UPS track and while my legs felt heavy, I was able to get through it. I was a little sore the day after, but seemed to have fully recovered a couple days after the long run.
Week 4 - I was supposed to do two short runs of 4 miles each, but between walking Lucy and tennis, I ran out of time during the week and was only able to get to one short run. I still went ahead and did my long run of 8 miles, and this was my hardest run yet. I had to stop to walk a few times throughout the run and my legs felt heavy after mile 3...so I knew it was going to be a long run.
Week 5 - I did two short runs of 5 miles each, but somehow ran out of time over the weekend and never made it to my long run (supposed to be 7 miles). I fretted about it and worried about how it would affect my training, but figured to just stick to my training schedule.
Week 6 - I did two short runs of 5 miles each and faced my longest run yet...10 miles. I was nervous, especially considering 1o miles is the longest I HAVE EVER RUN. I was also worried that the last two weeks I had missed some of my training runs. However, I was pleasantly surprised with my performance. I made it the whole way WITHOUT stopping or walking. I finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes. I averaged 11 minutes per mile, which is a little bit slower than usual, but I didn't even notice. I actually felt like I ran faster than normal. My first two miles were slow (as usual), but after I was warmed up, I felt great. Miles 3-7 felt great and I felt like I could run forever. Mile 8 I started to get a little tight in my calfs, but my quads didn't feel heavy (like they had in the past). By mile 9, I was just so happy I only had one mile to go that I felt like I sprinted home. No stiffness or soreness that night or the day after...only some minor knee joint pain that went away after I took some Advil. I actually ran from my house all the way to Pt. Defiance Park and then back. For those of you familiar with Tacoma, you can appreciate the distance!!!
So, here I am half way through my training...I am headed into week 7 where I hope to run two short runs of 5 miles and another long run of 10 miles. I have done it before, so I am feeling mildly confident that I can do it again.
I will keep you posted on my training progress. Wish me luck!!!
Tennis
I took up tennis five years ago as a way to take up a fun sport and get in shape. Along the way, I have met some incredible people and made some life-long friendships.
I have been playing at the 3.0 level the last few years and it was my goal to get bumped up to 3.5. After a year of hard work and many matches, I was achieved my goal - I was bumped up to 3.5! This year I am playing both singles and doubles. I play doubles with Jodi or Teri. Both are great partners and we've had success in tournaments. Teri and I won a 3.5 women's doubles tournament last summer and Jodi and I came VERY close to winning the 3.5 women's doubles championship at the Vivala tournament earlier this year. I don't have as much confidence playing singles, but I enjoy it because it is a challenge and a harder workout.
So far this season, I am 4-0. So far this season, I have played two doubles and two singles matches. I hope to keep it up and maybe try to win a tournament. Hopefully I can get my USTA rating bumped up to 4.0! At least I will have fun trying...most weeks I play 3-4 times a week, which I know sounds pretty insane, but it is a good alternative to other forms of exercise.
Jackie and Jodi
Tennis Lovebirds - Ann and Bill
DJ and Ann
Teri and Shauna
Andrea and Barb
I have been playing at the 3.0 level the last few years and it was my goal to get bumped up to 3.5. After a year of hard work and many matches, I was achieved my goal - I was bumped up to 3.5! This year I am playing both singles and doubles. I play doubles with Jodi or Teri. Both are great partners and we've had success in tournaments. Teri and I won a 3.5 women's doubles tournament last summer and Jodi and I came VERY close to winning the 3.5 women's doubles championship at the Vivala tournament earlier this year. I don't have as much confidence playing singles, but I enjoy it because it is a challenge and a harder workout.
So far this season, I am 4-0. So far this season, I have played two doubles and two singles matches. I hope to keep it up and maybe try to win a tournament. Hopefully I can get my USTA rating bumped up to 4.0! At least I will have fun trying...most weeks I play 3-4 times a week, which I know sounds pretty insane, but it is a good alternative to other forms of exercise.
My 3.5 tennis team after winning a tough match
(From L to R: me, Barb, Teri, Shauna, DJ, Ann, Jackie, Jodi)
(From L to R: me, Barb, Teri, Shauna, DJ, Ann, Jackie, Jodi)
Jackie and Jodi
Tennis Lovebirds - Ann and Bill
DJ and Ann
Teri and Shauna
Andrea and Barb
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Heather's Baby Shower
One of my dear and closest college friends, Heather, is pregnant and due on April 6th. Heather and her husband, Josh, are expecting a baby girl who they plan on naming Ryann. I am so excited for them and happily offered to host a baby shower for them. It was a wonderful day. Heather's mom was able to travel over from Idaho to be here as well as Josh's mom from Eastern Washington. We had her sister-in-law, her work friends, and various aunts, cousins, and relatives join us in the festivities. While the ladies were enjoying this baby shower bonanza, the boys (Clark and Josh) were golfing!
I loved decorating the house and having Spring and Easter made it rather easy. On the menu was turkey and swiss rollup sandwiches, caesar salad, chips w/ salsa and guacamole, taquitos (by Heather's request), my homemade baked brie (thanks for the recipe Michelle!), artichoke and jalepeno dip, and hummus w/ carrots, celery, and crackers. Panome, one of Heather's closest friends, brought us a red velvet cake and a mint chocolate chip Oreo ice cream cake - yummy! Heather also "gave us permission" to drink, even though she couldn't partake...so we had yummy pomengrante martinis and cocktails.
We ate, drank, and chatted and then the fun began...we started with a few games that I found on the internet (it's amazing what you can find!) The first game was fill in the blankof nursery rhymes. Good thing I wasn't playing because I would have lost. Heather's mom won and of course as a former teacher and daycare worker, she knew all the answers! The next game was everyone was asked to guess how many inches Heather's tummy was...I guess I should have asked permission in advance, but knowing Heather would be a good sport, she took it in stride. Two people both guessed the correct answer - 44 inches! Heather's tummy is big, firm, and definitely ready to pop! The third game was Guess the Gerber Food...it was a taste testing contest of baby food where I removed the labels, but for those that were turned off by the smell, they guessed by scent and color.
After games I had everyone write a note to Baby Ryann, Heather, and/or Josh on these pastel colored notecards. I am making Heather a scrapbook from her shower, including the invite, these notecards, the games, and pictures from the fun day. In addition to a scrapbook for mommy-to-be, I made scrapbooks for the two grandmothers. Heather's mom goes by "nana" and Josh's mom goes by "grandma." I made these accordian-style scrapbooks where you can put in pictures, but in the inside cover it says "Nana's (or Grandma's) Brag Book." I thought it is a special time for mommy-to-be, but also for the grandparents to be!
Last, but not least, we opened the gifts and Baby Ryann is so spoiled! She got so many cute outfits and mommy got lots of practical stuff, like a car seat, stroller, diapers, a nurse pump, bottles, bath stuff, and all the necessities.
I wish Josh and Heather the best of luck, though I know they don't need it...they are going to be great parents with all the love and support of their family and friends. I cannot wait to be an auntie!!! Congrats you guys!
Orange tulips on the coffee table
My shower gift basket for Baby Ryann - clothes, books, stuffed dog, bath toys, shoes, a sweater, and a first aid kit
Party favors for everyone - Spring/Easter pails filled with chocolate and "sweet pea" hand sanitizer...I got "sweet pea" for obvious reasons - it is pink, Baby Ryann is going to be their little sweet pea, and also it's important to sanitize your hands before feeding and after changing her!
This is the scrapbook I am making for Heather...on the first page is the invite to the baby shower and everyone that attended got to write a little note to the family
Panome measuring how big Heather's tummy is
Heather is enjoying herself and laughing when she realized we were going to guess how big around her belly was!
Heather's cousins sniffing and taste testing baby food
yummy!
Stef, Josh's sister, tasting baby food
Heather taking a look before sniffing or tasting baby food
Heather tasting it, trying to get used to the smell...
Funny reaction after sniffing one flavor of baby food
I don't recommend tasting this one...sniffing is bad enough! (it's prunes)
Panome, Melissa, and Baby Bella
Heather enjoying herself at the shower...starting to open gifts
Loving the new outfits!
Heather got a BEAUTIFUL and stylish diaper bag from her sisters, Haley and Hillary
Baby Ryann has a cute little pink sheep stuffed animal
I have always loved Heather's infectious laugh and her positive attitude...here she is laughing and enjoying herself
Panome brought a delicious red velvet cake...yes unconventional for a baby shower, perhaps, but it was darn good!
Panome, one of the sweetest and most caring people ever!
Heather and her mom ("nana")
Here she is, the most beautiful mommy-to-be!
Panome hugging her little niece
Me and Heather
Heather and Josh's mom ("grandma")
Mommy-to-be and Grandma's-to-be
Heather and Josh's sister, Stef (auntie)
I loved decorating the house and having Spring and Easter made it rather easy. On the menu was turkey and swiss rollup sandwiches, caesar salad, chips w/ salsa and guacamole, taquitos (by Heather's request), my homemade baked brie (thanks for the recipe Michelle!), artichoke and jalepeno dip, and hummus w/ carrots, celery, and crackers. Panome, one of Heather's closest friends, brought us a red velvet cake and a mint chocolate chip Oreo ice cream cake - yummy! Heather also "gave us permission" to drink, even though she couldn't partake...so we had yummy pomengrante martinis and cocktails.
We ate, drank, and chatted and then the fun began...we started with a few games that I found on the internet (it's amazing what you can find!) The first game was fill in the blankof nursery rhymes. Good thing I wasn't playing because I would have lost. Heather's mom won and of course as a former teacher and daycare worker, she knew all the answers! The next game was everyone was asked to guess how many inches Heather's tummy was...I guess I should have asked permission in advance, but knowing Heather would be a good sport, she took it in stride. Two people both guessed the correct answer - 44 inches! Heather's tummy is big, firm, and definitely ready to pop! The third game was Guess the Gerber Food...it was a taste testing contest of baby food where I removed the labels, but for those that were turned off by the smell, they guessed by scent and color.
After games I had everyone write a note to Baby Ryann, Heather, and/or Josh on these pastel colored notecards. I am making Heather a scrapbook from her shower, including the invite, these notecards, the games, and pictures from the fun day. In addition to a scrapbook for mommy-to-be, I made scrapbooks for the two grandmothers. Heather's mom goes by "nana" and Josh's mom goes by "grandma." I made these accordian-style scrapbooks where you can put in pictures, but in the inside cover it says "Nana's (or Grandma's) Brag Book." I thought it is a special time for mommy-to-be, but also for the grandparents to be!
Last, but not least, we opened the gifts and Baby Ryann is so spoiled! She got so many cute outfits and mommy got lots of practical stuff, like a car seat, stroller, diapers, a nurse pump, bottles, bath stuff, and all the necessities.
I wish Josh and Heather the best of luck, though I know they don't need it...they are going to be great parents with all the love and support of their family and friends. I cannot wait to be an auntie!!! Congrats you guys!
Pretty spring tulips as a table decoration
Orange tulips on the coffee table
My shower gift basket for Baby Ryann - clothes, books, stuffed dog, bath toys, shoes, a sweater, and a first aid kit
Party favors for everyone - Spring/Easter pails filled with chocolate and "sweet pea" hand sanitizer...I got "sweet pea" for obvious reasons - it is pink, Baby Ryann is going to be their little sweet pea, and also it's important to sanitize your hands before feeding and after changing her!
This is the scrapbook I am making for Heather...on the first page is the invite to the baby shower and everyone that attended got to write a little note to the family
Panome measuring how big Heather's tummy is
Heather is enjoying herself and laughing when she realized we were going to guess how big around her belly was!
Heather's cousins sniffing and taste testing baby food
yummy!
Stef, Josh's sister, tasting baby food
Heather taking a look before sniffing or tasting baby food
Heather tasting it, trying to get used to the smell...
Funny reaction after sniffing one flavor of baby food
I don't recommend tasting this one...sniffing is bad enough! (it's prunes)
Panome, Melissa, and Baby Bella
Heather enjoying herself at the shower...starting to open gifts
Loving the new outfits!
Heather got a BEAUTIFUL and stylish diaper bag from her sisters, Haley and Hillary
Baby Ryann has a cute little pink sheep stuffed animal
I have always loved Heather's infectious laugh and her positive attitude...here she is laughing and enjoying herself
Panome brought a delicious red velvet cake...yes unconventional for a baby shower, perhaps, but it was darn good!
Panome, one of the sweetest and most caring people ever!
Heather and her mom ("nana")
Here she is, the most beautiful mommy-to-be!
Panome hugging her little niece
Me and Heather
Heather and Josh's mom ("grandma")
Mommy-to-be and Grandma's-to-be
Heather and Josh's sister, Stef (auntie)
Happy Spring!
Today is officially the first day of Spring and what a beautiful day. The sun is out and no rain in sight. I thought I'd share with you some pictures of my blooming daffodils and growing bulbs as well as my indoor spring decor. Enjoy and Happy Spring!
Daffodils and tulips border my front flower bed
Daffodils blooming
Upclose view of pretty daffodils - you can see the variety of yellows and whites
One little patch where I planted about 50 peach and pink colored daffodils
Pretty daffodil
My first tulip looking like it's budding and getting ready to bloom
Intense yellow color daffodils
These tulips aren't from my yard, but pretty table decoration on my dining room table with Spring colored table runner
Hanging from our front door
Easter eggs hanging from mirror in front entrance
Happy Spring decoration on mirror shelf in front entrance
The look of it all
These orange tulips aren't from my yard, but thought they were a nice living room coffee table decoration
White and pink tulips on TV entertainment stand
Clark wasn't a fan of the yellow/purple combo, but I thought was a nice spring color mix
Up close view of orange tulips
Bright red tulips for the kitchen
View of my front walkway with daffodils in bloom
Daffodils and tulips border my front flower bed
Daffodils blooming
Upclose view of pretty daffodils - you can see the variety of yellows and whites
One little patch where I planted about 50 peach and pink colored daffodils
Pretty daffodil
My first tulip looking like it's budding and getting ready to bloom
Intense yellow color daffodils
These tulips aren't from my yard, but pretty table decoration on my dining room table with Spring colored table runner
Hanging from our front door
Easter eggs hanging from mirror in front entrance
Happy Spring decoration on mirror shelf in front entrance
The look of it all
These orange tulips aren't from my yard, but thought they were a nice living room coffee table decoration
White and pink tulips on TV entertainment stand
Clark wasn't a fan of the yellow/purple combo, but I thought was a nice spring color mix
Up close view of orange tulips
Bright red tulips for the kitchen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
