Our Realization and Big Decision

After much debate and evaluation of our current training progress, 13 miles in the first few months of September is not safely attainable. Since our long term health is more important we have pushed back the goal of a half marathon and have added a more reachable goal of 10 miles. We have selected The Perfect 10 race being run in Reston (no excuses about distance we want all of our friends at the finish line!) on September 26th. We'll keep everyone up to date on the next 8 weeks of training! It's going to be a tough one but we're ready for the challenge!

Jen's June/July Summary

Ready? It's a doozy...

"I'm a lazy blogger - I promise I'll be better :) I ran 8 times through the month of June for 23.9 miles most of which Zoe updated about. I ran 5 times through the month of July for 14 miles. It's August and it's time to pick up pace - I have commited to running a minimum of 3 times per week for the rest of the month so get ready for some big numbers! I've got to catch up to Zoe!!"

Zoe's Holiday weekend + beginning of the month

On July 2nd Ellis and I flew to Michigan to visit my brother and sister-in-law. They are expecting a little one in the near future. Congrats again!!!!

July 3rd I ran two miles in Ann Arbor, Michigan with my hubby. Beautiful place!

Not only was it quiet but the city has a lot of charm. They have these cute little fairy doors on some of the business. They are decorated for holidays and events. We found one with a ticket booth. Really cute!!!

http://urban-fairies.com/OBSERVATIONS/FAIRYfinderspages/FairyFinders1.html

My Bro, sis-in-law, hubby and I walked around the school. The architecture and art work made it for a very interesting afternoon tour.

Later on that night we went to an outdoors concert which included a late night DJ and some laughs.

The lovely 4th of July holiday started with the Henry Ford Museum. We saw the Oscar Mayer Wiener dog, the Rosa Parks Bus along with a ton of other things. The highlight of El's day might have been the old car game.

The pic below shows my brother sitting next to a statue watching a screen with an air show. Funny part of it was that he didn't realize he sat exactly like him and was dressed similar to the statue as well. Got us some laughs.

Slow's is a great ribs restaurant in Detroit. We went there for a late lunch and it was really yummy. Apparently the wait is usually a minimum of an hour and after eating I know why.

We drove around Detroit. As you can see from the pics the city is a ghost town. A little sad!

Late night we fired off some fireworks. We did think they were the ones that shoot off into the air but it was a laugh just seeing the disappointment on the faces of the boys. Aaaahhh good times.

Thanks Luis and Jackie for the fun visit!!!!!!!

When I returned (Tuesday or Wednesday) I ran 1 mile at the gym and another at home the next morning. I skipped a run I had scheduled for Saturday the 10 because of the weather. I didn't want to risk running in thunderstorms.



I hit the Gym yesterday (7/12) and ran 1 mile and I also ran a mile this morning on the treadmill. I'm looking forward to outside runs.

Zoe’s recap of the last month or so

Beginning of June started with a bad cold/allergies. I couldn’t run but was feeling better by June 5th for a visit with my brother (Luis) and his wife (Jackie).

What up Kids! Apparently they read the blog.






I was also able to run the Herndon Festival10k. This was probably one of the worst runs I’ve had. I do believe the weather played a huge role but so did being out sick for a bit. The humidity was so bad that there was a random (Glorious) lady spraying people with water. Jen’s family joined us in the run and it was nice to see them waiting for us and cheering us on at the end. They were joined by our friend Veronica (She ran the 5k) and my Husband Ellis.

Gotta love the Pics!

On Tuesday Jen and I ran 2 miles before work and then I had a small procedure that put me out from any running. Jens company sponsored a Relay-4-Life team and I was going to run with her but I walked. It was another hot day and Jen got some miles in but I just walked 9 miles.

Some pics from that day!

I have now been given the clear and now I have to start all over again. I didn’t realize that being out for a few weeks would cause me to feel like I’ve never run before but I’m up for the challenge. I ran a mile and a half on Monday and half a mile Thursday (6/21 and 6/24).

Jen and I ran 2 miles on Saturday the 26th and Monday the 28th. All I can say is that it was hotttttt!

I just had to include this!

Random Elvis in Herndon!

"The Most Interesting Man in theWorld" and my Hubby!

My Hubby has joined me and plans to do so into the future. I’ll get back to 6 mile runs and maybe even double it. We will see=)

which Half Marathon would you run?

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon VS. Woodrow Wilson Half Marathon

Sunday, September 5th VS. Sunday, September 19th

7:00am VS. 7:30am

Boardwalk of Virginia Beach VS. Mount Vernon in Alexandria, VA to National Harbor, MD

Fast, flat and scenic course with live music and cheering sections every mile VS. Beautifully scenic, rolling course but ending with the challenging "Rude Awakening" (half mile up-hill)

Labor Day Weekend/Zoe's Birthday Vacation with R&R at the beach/pool after the race VS. Work on Monday

$$$$ VS. $$

We do have a little more time to evaluate this decision but it's a tough one and needs to be made soon! Lots of Pros and Cons - so any suggestions are welcome! Coin flip anyone?

Month of May Recap!

This past month we let events, celebrations and birthdays get in the way of our training. Consider it a mini-vacation from running and blogging...but we're into June refreshed and ready to go with our first official race coming up this weekend!

5/1 Saturday - 5 mile run in the heat, 87 degrees to be exact. It kicked our butts, especially since we started a bit late for the day - around 9ish. We were almost delirious by end of it!

*Here we started a great streak of meeting up at 6am =)

5/5 Wednesday - 6:00AM - Bright and early! - 4 miles

5/7 Friday - 6:00AM - 2 miles

5/10 Monday - Zoe's 1 mile on the treadmill to break-in new shoes

5/11 Tuesday - 6:00AM - 3 miles

5/14 Friday - 3 miles - we had planned on 4 but half way through we decided to shorten it, trying to keep from being too sore for our big Saturday run.

5/15 Saturday - 6 miles - We met up early for a Saturday run, 6:20 to beat the heat...a tried a new way that will go back into the regular routes - up South Lakes towards Sunrise Valley and then up to the W&OD trail, got off the trail at Fairfax County Parkway and up through Reston Town Center. It was a cool, sunny and breezy morning and perfect for treating ourselves to breakfast at the Town Center. First 6 miles of the year went very well!

5/17 Monday - Zoe's 1 mile run on the treadmill and a 20 minute Jillian Michael's workout which kicked butt! Jen's 1 mile run on the track at the gym during a butt-kicking kickboxing class!

5/19 Wednesday - Zoe's 1 mile on the tready and yoga from Excercise TV.

5/25 Tuesday - Zoe's 2 miles (in 23.56) on the tready

5/30 Sunday - Zoe was a superstar and packed her gear for her vacation and got to run a good 2 miles through the beautiful suburbs of Chicago

Our fatttt kids

Meet our inside fattttt kids. We found them a few weeks ago when both of us just started eating and couldn't stop.


 

Weekly Recap - Warm weather is Here!

4.17.10 - Zoe was recovering from her tweaked back so the plan had been to do 2 miles or so, nothing crazy and we thought it be quick so we left our water bottles at the car. Well 2 miles turned into 3 miles, which turned into 4, which turned into 5.5 in all. We vowed never to do a long run without water or money to stop and buy some EVER again!
4.19.10 - Following our training plan we only needed to do 2 miles at a pretty slow pace, we felt like this wasn't going to be enough but after a long day of work for both of us - 2 miles was all we wanted to do.
4.22.10 - With Zoe out at her company event at a National's game, Jen spent some time with the family - Kristen, Heath and Dad joined her for 3.5 miles on a route that Kristen and Heath usually take down the W&OD, up the side of Fairfax County Pkwy and through Reston Town Center. This one will go on the favorite list because we'll be able to reward ourselves with smoothies at the end :)
4.26.10 - We thought 4 mile Monday was going to occur on the treadmills due to afternoon rain and the threat of evening thunder storms, but when we got out work the sky was clear and we hit the W&OD trail. We ran through patches of light rain and we both agreed that we wished we had hats on but we survived. On our way back from Herndon to Reston we passed a familiar face - James heading home from work! He turned and rode alongside us for a bit - we're going to hold you too it James! You will be running with us soon!

4.27.10 - In an attempt to finish her makeup miles, Jen hit the treadmill at the gym for 2 miles. It was painful and boring - even with the addition of some speed intervals, outside is so much better!

4.29.10 - We love having special guests run with us, and this time Ellis laced up his sneakers and joined us! One of our first regularly run courses was the loop around the golf course starting from Ellis & Zoe's house and we don't do it very often any more and last night we remembered why...the HILLS! In the end the GPS tracked 2.7 miles (we used to think it was 3!) and it was a good workout! We've gotten very comfortable with the flat stretch of the W&OD we've become so accustomed to. This will end up back in the rotation more often as we get closer to our 10K race in July at Rock Creek Park.

4.30.10 - Saturday's run started with a goal of 6 miles. We hadn't decided where to run so we just started running. It was unexpectedly hot and humid which made it a little difficult then usual. We got to the trail and then decided to go towards Lake Anne. We jumped off the trail and realized it was further then we planned to run so we turned around. After 5 miles the heat got to us and we walked home. There is always next Saturday to get that extra mile in.

Weird elbow pit tan lines made us laugh

Quick Up date!!!

3.27.10 - First run with the new toy (Jen's GPS watch), the first appearance of "Dead Arm", Mission Critical and Ellis' bday :) Both = 3.5 miles




3.29.10 - Treadmill Monday: Zoe = 1 mile and Jen = 2.5 miles



4.2.10 - Jen trying to catch up to Zoe: Jen = 1.5 miles



4.3.10 - With the Reston Runner's...we weren't the back of the pack - yay! we kept a good pace with some of the group :) Both = 5 miles



4.5.10 - Jen trying to catch up to Zoe: Jen = 3.25 miles



4.7.10 - What we thought would be a peaceful evening run in early Spring around Lake Thoreau turned out to be painful (due to the hills) and hard to breath (due to the pollen count) - but we finished our evening with quick browse through Footsteps - the running store in South Lakes Shopping Center - where we will be back to spend lots of money :) Both = 2 miles



4.8.10 - Treadmill Thursday: Zoe = 2 miles and Jen = 4 miles



4.10.10 - With the Reston Runner's - according to their site this run from Lake Fairfax is labled EXTREME and "the hilliest 5 mile course in the RR repertoire of courses" and they were RIGHT! A killer workout, one that won't be going on the calendar again ANY time soon! Both = 5 miles



4.13.10 - Treadmill Tuesday: Zoe = 2.5 miles and Jen failed while on her business trip to Florida = 0 miles

Week+ of Mostly Sunshine and Fitness 3/18 - 3/27

Week+ of Mostly Sunshine and Fitness

Thursday 3.18


It was a beautiful day on the W&OD trail...the sun was shining and everyone was out. We ran 2.5 miles and this was our first time adding interval training - today was 30 seconds at full speed with 90 seconds of recovery time and we repeated that 5 times. It was tough but good, we definitely felt like we pushed ourselves for this one.



Sat 3.20

We've been running the same stretch of the W&OD trail from Reston to Herndon for the past few months - so we decided to start in Herndon and run west - off to Sterling and a rather dull and flat stretch. It was about 1ish when we started running, big mistake - as the day just kept on warming up to the mid 70's - we didn't think to bring any water. Our run started off light and spunky but the heat took it's toll on Zoe - Jen took the lead and led us back to the car as quick as possible. 3 miles later we rewarded ourselves with plenty of water and Crystal Light Sugar-Free Slurpees from 7-11 =)

Mon 3.22

After a beautiful weekend we were greeted by a nice Spring rain on Monday night so we were sent off in our own directions for some treadmill time. We both agreed on 2.5 miles and to add some interval training again. Zoe started with hers - 30 seconds fast with a 90 second recovery for the first 10 minutes. Jen procrastinated her intervals a bit but after a good 1/2 mile started adding them in - 60 seconds fast with a 2 minute recovery. It was fun and exhausting at the same time.



Wed 3.24

The goal was two miles and the weather was awesome! It was slightly chilly. We did see the running club and were tempted to turn around and run with them but since we didn't start with them we just kept running. It was nice but took us a bit too long to finish.



Thurs 3.25

With a wonderfully decadent dinner of traditional German food infront of me - 2 workouts were in order for Thursday! I had only intended on going for the elliptical and bike but seeing as they were both full I jumped on the treadmill to kill some time and decided to run a mile on 6.0 and that was FAST! I wanted to jump off at least 3 times but I kept on pushing, I think I've gotten too comfortable at a slow steady pace so this was a good week of testing my strength and endurance.



Fri. 3.26

Woke up this morning set to do pilates and run a minimum of 2 miles. I did pilates for 20 minutes and go on the tready. I guess I lolly-gaged for too long and half a mile in realized I was already running late. Finished the mile and hopped off the tready. Had my new great breakfast and went off to work. The breakfast consist of a strawberry shake (low fat yogurt, strawberries, skim milk) and nuts. Yummy!!