Fitness Friday...Halloween Edition!

Happy Halloween everyone! And a very happy birthday to my amazing husband!!! His birthday is today...and mine is tomorrow!!! I love sharing our birthdays together! I hope you all have an amazing Halloween! Stay safe and have fun! :-)

This week was a busy one! It was red ribbon week at the boys' school. So they got to do all kinds of silly things. Monday they wore red, Tuesday was crazy hair day, Wednesday was silly sunglasses, Thursday was silly socks, and today they had to disguise themselves so they wore their Halloween costumes! They've had a blast this week!

It was busy at my school too! We had community helpers that came to visit as well as emergency vehicles. We also had silly hat day on Wednesday and had a hat parade! The preschoolers were so cute in their hats! It was fun! Here is one of my co-workers and me in our silly hats! I LOVE being a preschool teacher!!!

This week I also had my weekly coffee date with my sister Christy! I love getting to hang out with her at least once a week! It's awesome having her live so close!

I also got a super fun package in the mail yesterday! My best friend Stephanie (the one we went to San Francisco this summer to visit) sent me something for my birthday!

She knows how much I love my coffee cups and I wanted to buy one when I was visiting her but was afraid it would get broken on my travels home. So she sent me one for my birthday!!! It is PERFECT because it has all of the things we visited when we were there visiting...The Painted Ladies, trolley car, skyline, and the Golden Gate Bridge! I LOVE it!!!!

Now it's time for Fitness Friday! The streak still lives on! But I tried to take it easy this week. As I mentioned before, there is a tight knot in my calf that is hurting. I know it's because I've been pushing my runs so much the last two weeks with the sub 2 half and the back to back 5K's. So this week I ran only one milers to keep the streak alive and try to give my body some recovery time.

• Friday- #plankaday 1:05, Trick or Trot 5K in 25:23 average pace 8:10...3rd in my AG

• Saturday- Turkey Trot 5K in 26:56 average pace 8:40...2nd in my AG

• Sunday- 1.06 mile run in 9:21 average pace 8:51

• Monday- #plankaday 1:30, 1.15 mile run in 10:03 average pace 8:45

• Tuesday- #plankaday 1:30, 1.15 mile run in 10:13 average pace 8:51

• Wednesday- #plankaday 1:31, 1.16 mile run in 10:01 average pace 8:39

• Thursday- #plankaday 1:16, 1.16 mile run in 9:48 average pace 8:28

The runs went fine this week! I wanted to run more but knew I needed to take it easy for my calf's sake. I could feel the calf when I was running so it was probably a good thing I only ran one milers. Hopefully the calf will loosen up soon. I've been doing lots of rolling, stretching, and icing. I don't have time for this lol!

I've been doing well with my eating. I've gotten a little closer to reaching the high end of my calories to maintain. That's good because I actually lost a pound last week. I don't need to lose any more! So I'm just trying to find the right balance. I definitely don't want to fall into those bad habits I had before the weight loss. 

The DietBet I'm hosting is going strong!!! There's still time to join in if you want! We are having a lot of fun and everyone is very motivational! 

We have a full weekend planned! Tonight Andy's parents, sister, and my sister are all coming over to celebrate Andy's birthday, carve pumpkins, and trick or treat! It will be fun!

Then tomorrow morning I am starting my birthday off with a 10K race! Hopefully the calf will do well and allow me to run strong. Then I'm not sure what the rest of the day will hold but I'm excited because it's my birthday!!!!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!

QOTD: What are you doing for Halloween? What was your best run or workout this week?

Turkey Trot 5K Recap!

This past weekend I ran back to back 5K's. The Trick or Trot 5K was on Friday night. Then Saturday morning I ran the Turkey Trot 5K!

This race was a little different than the night before because Andria ran with me! The night before I ran by myself. There were also several of my friends running this race too. And...my family was there again because we do this race every year with the Cub Scouts!

We arrived about an hour before race time. We got our race bibs in no time at all. Then we had some time to socialize before the race.

Me and Andria pre-race!

And some of my Sole2Soul Sisters...all dressed up in our turkey shirts we had made!

We headed to the start line. Hayden and his den were doing the flag ceremony for the race. Andy is their leader. I got to the front of the start line so I could get a quick picture of them! I was so proud of my boys!!!

Then it was time to start! This route started downtown which is one of my favorite areas to run in so I was excited to run it. I had never run this race so I didn't know exactly where the route would take us. But I knew it would be hilly....yes....hills again!

I didn't really have a goal for this race. I was still excited about placing in my age group the night before and knew I wouldn't run that fast that morning on tired legs. Plus my calf had been bothering me some the last week and the race the night before made it really sore. So I knew this race was going to hurt the sore calf some since it didn't really have a lot of recovery time.

Andria and I started out running at a pretty comfortable pace. The route led us through several turns but it was a gorgeous run. When we reached mile 1 we were in the 8's. That was faster than I had anticipated but we went with it. We were still in the 8's at mile 2. I was feeling good...although I was feeling the calf. But I wasn't going to stop. We encountered more hills and I zoomed up them. Before I knew it...the finish line was just around the next corner! I took off and finished strong!

My Garmin time read 26:54 so it was about 1:30 slower than the night before. But I was pleased!

Andy and the boys were running the fun run. They still had about 30 minutes till start time so Andria and I went to find them. Andy took some celebratory pics of us!

My friend Sandi was also at the race! We saw each other before the race but neglected to get a picture. So we got one afterwards! (Sandi did Disney with me in January and is doing Disney Princess with me in February!)

Then it was time to head to the start line for the fun run.

Family picture! My poor boys were facing the sun as you can tell by their super squinty eyes lol!

I decided to do the fun run with the family. I knew they would most likely walk it. I talked Andria into doing it with me! I decided I didn't need to run anymore because my calf was really sore at that point. So she agreed to walk with me even though I think it was killing her to not run lol!

Andy and my boys took off when it began! They were running but I knew the boys would want to stop to walk really quickly. A few minutes into the run my phone rang. It was Andy. He and Hayden were wanting to run but Sawyer wanted to walk. I could see them up ahead so I told Sawyer to wait on the side of the road for me until I caught up to him. That's what he did. We walked the rest of the way together until we saw the finish line. Then I told Sawyer to run for it and he did! :-)

At this time results had been posted so Andria and I decided to go check them out. I didn't think I had a chance of placing. But when I saw my name there wasn't an age next to it and my name was backwards! Andria, however, had placed 2nd in her age group!!! I was soooo proud of her!!!

I couldn't stand not knowing all my stats so I immediately found the race director and she got it straightened out for me. Good thing I pursued it because....I had placed 2nd in my age group!!!!!!!!!!

My official time was 26:56!

Not too long after that the awards began! I couldn't find Andy or my boys so unfortunately they missed it. But I was excited to receive a medal and cup with the race on it!

I was so proud of Andria and her 2nd place win in her age group too! I love that we are in different age groups...we run together but don't have to compete with each other! :-)

We were both really excited to place!!!

Finally I found my boys. They were playing at the park! Andy was surprised when he saw I had placed! :-)

On the way home I got a text from my friend Susanne. We had left the awards too soon because Sole2Soul Sisters had won for the best costumes!!! So awesome!!!

And here's a closer look at my medal and cup! :-)

This race was great! The course was challenging but gorgeous! And there were a ton of vendors there. And there was so much food there for it just being a 5K!

I love that it benefits a local food bank, the Prodisee Pantry. They always do this one about a month before Thanksgiving so that they can raise money to give to families that need a Thanksgiving meal. I will definitely be running this one again! :-)

It was a great weekend of racing! I enjoyed racing back to back but I wish my calf hadn't been so sore. That put a little damper on it. I never dreamed I would place in both races! So blessed!!!

QOTD: Do you run a Turkey Trot around Thanksgiving time?

Trick or Trot 5K Recap!

Last Friday night me and the family headed about 40 minutes away to the University of South Alabama college campus in Mobile. My husband's company was a sponsor for the Trick or Trot 5K and gave me their free entry! I was super excited because I had heard this was a fun race!

We arrived about an hour before race time and I headed to pick up my race bib and goody bag. The goody bag was stuffed full of fun items...including Halloween candy! It was a very simple process getting my bib. And the awesome volunteers even let me switch out my race shirt since it was huge on me!

Pre-race picture!

And here's my husband's company and their sponsor sign!

Since we had some time to kill we walked around the campus a little. We visited the Moulton Tower. My husband graduated from here but the tower wasn't there when he was a student. It was really beautiful!

The campus is really beautiful! It has tons of huge oaks that are really gorgeous. I was super excited to run there again...it had been a few years since I had run there.

Finally it was time to start! We walked a little way to the start line. My hubby and boys lined up on the side of the street to see me off!

This race wasn't a very big race. But there were still quite a few runners. I lined up pretty close to the start line..something I'd never done before. Usually I start about mid way. The horn blew and with a quick wave to my family I was off!

I had a goal for this race. I was hoping to PR. I knew I would beat my last official 5K race time (30:57). But I was hoping to beat my PR from my 5K training runs (25:52).

I started out running pretty fast. But I knew I could keep that pace if I really wanted that PR. The course was so pretty! Running under the oak trees was gorgeous! We never left the campus. But there were several hills. And I'm talking big hills. But I didn't slow down. I kept pushing.

I would make it up a hill, have time to catch my breath, and then another hill would be upon me! But I wasn't going to slow down.

I made sure to run the tangents as best as I could. I didn't want to waste any time weaving in and out of the turns.

Finally I was almost to mile 3 and I could see the finish line up ahead. But....there was a huge hill leading to it! Yes...we finished at the top of a hill!!! How cruel lol!

I crossed the line so out of breath! I looked for my family but didn't see them. I grabbed a bottle of water and kept walking, trying to catch my breath. And then I saw Andy and the boys on their way to the finish line. Surprise! I had already finished!

The boys saw some inflatables and wanted to go jump. I followed them there. I was still out of breath lol! Finally I caught my breath and looked at the time on my watch. I did it! I ran a new 5K PR!!! My Garmin time was 25:21!

I was sooo happy!!! I ran hard! I had earned that PR on those hills!

I was curious to see the official results. Had I placed? I've never had to think about that before. But I knew this time I might have a chance! I also knew that there weren't a lot of women around me while I was running.

While we waited on the results we walked around and visited all the vendors.

There were tons of things for kids! My boys even decorated pumpkins!

Finally....the results were posted! There I was!

My official time was 25:23, I was 22nd overall, and I placed 3rd in my age group!!!! What??? I placed??? I was soooo excited!!!!

I told Andy we HAD to hang around for the awards. I had never placed before and I was so excited about it! They were all ready to go but I made them stay lol! We played a few more games. They even had the University of South Alabama football game playing on a huge outdoor screen for everyone! It was really cool!

Finally it was time for the awards! I was super excited to get third place in my age group! And check out that fun medal! :-)

This race was so much fun! A ton of people were dressed up in costumes! The course was beautiful but challenging. And the vendors made it a fun family event! I hope to do this one again!

Thanks so much to Preble-Rish for the free race entry! :-)

Stay tuned tomorrow for race #2 of my back to back 5K's this past weekend!

QOTD: Have you ever placed in your age group? Have you or are you running a Halloween themed race?