It ends now

So I'm still in my funk. Haven't exercised all week. But my funk ends today and I'm starting back hardcore tomorrow...

This quote couldn't be anymore true for me this week. I have wanted to go run. I've set my alarm every morning but for whatever reason everyday I turn it off and go back to sleep....And I regret it all day. Some of you might be asking why I don't end my funk today and go run and that is a great question and I have a great answer....

Yup. It's hunting season and I am officially a hunting widow and don't see my husband at all on Saturdays. So unless I get a sitter for my three crazy munchkins that means no running for me on Saturdays. So I will start tomorrow.

On a completely other note....
I thought I'd share a recipe with you today. My Aunt makes these awesome homemade granola bars that I am absolutely obsessed with. I got the recipe and am finally making them myself and they are making my house smell divine. So here is the very easy recipe



Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup white chocolate chips (Optional: any Dried Fruit, Raisins, Craisins, Nuts, Chocolate Chips, Coconut Flakes, have fun with this!)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup coconut oil (Melted! I microwave about 30 seconds until liquid, this makes it MUCH easier to work with!)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:


STEP 1: Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 baking dish.


STEP 2: Mix together dry ingredients,

then make a well in the center

Then add the honey, beaten egg, melted coconut oil, and vanilla extract together.

Then pour wet ingredients into well of dry ingredients

and Mix well.
Pat the mixture evenly into the baking dish.


STEP 3: Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn golden. (I did 30 because we like them softer.) Cool for 5 minutes and then cut into bars and remove from dish WHILE STILL WARM. Otherwise, you’ll have to chip it out with a chisel.

STEP 4: Eat one before calling in the crew, well, unless you don’t want any that is. Then make another batch.
 Some substitutions: You can substitute olive or peanut oil, but I HIGHLY recommend the coconut, it provides great flavor! It’s found in the oil section of the baking isle.

And there you go. A yummy, easy, healthy(ish) snack. Enjoy!

Hard Week

This week of training has been really hard. I don't know why but I've just been in a funk and can't seem to find my groove.
I was supposed to run 3 miles on Thursday and ended up getting on the 'mil at home. I hated every step I took and after a mile I decided to stop. I just wasn't feeling it and my ankle was hurting a little.
Yesterday was supposed to be a rest day but because I didn't finish the 3 miles on Friday I decided to try to run outside. I got Eli in the bed and the kids were playing with Josh so I headed out.
A few minutes into the warm up I realized I hadn't waited long enough after dinner and was regretting that bowl of red-beans and rice. I also realized I had forgotten my water bottle. So not a good start. The warm up ended and I started off. I had my phone in my bra and didn't plan on checking it for pace, time, or distance. It wasn't too long after I started that the side cramp hit. I tried to just run through it but after a while I decided it would be more beneficial for me to walk for a bit and get it under control (looking at my phone later it was just a little over a mile when I stopped)
I walked for about 5 minutes and then started back. The cramp was still there but not as bad. I finished the 3 miles and then did my cool down.
When I got done I looked at my phone and realized I did the first mile at a 10:15 pace and thats probably why I got a cramp so intense. After my walk by pace was more around 12:15 which is where I needed to be for this run because it was supposed to be a light run. I really need to work on my pace because I'm really bad about starting off too fast.

Today I'm supposed to do six 400 meter sprints with 3 minute rest in between. I'm going to try to get it in later tonight but it may not happen...I'm hoping when I do run again I'll be out of my funk


So I don't leave the blog without a picture.....
Here's me after my run, Becca wanted me to wear her nerd glasses...

How could I say no? As long as she doesn't ask me to do it in public I'm good :)

Race Results and Training

Race results are up and I'm proud to say that I got 10th in my age group (25-29) and 103rd over all (out of 355 runners) with an official time of 35:17.

Not bad for my first race.

A few "borrowed" pics from the race

Stretching takes deep concentration apparently....

I look like death but I promise I'm ok

Crossed the finished line. You'd think I'd look happy....instead I look like I've been run over by a mac truck a few times...
Any-who


With my first 5k and goal completed and behind me it't time to start focusing on my next 5k and goal.

The Color Run and my goal to finish it in 30 minutes....
I'm not as determined to meet this goal the more I think about it. Don't get me wrong, I'm going to train like heck but if I don't finish it in 30 minutes I won't be upset by it. This race is about having fun and thats what I'm going to do.

With the Women Run/Walk group over for the year I needed to find a new training program to keep me motivated. RunKeeper now has the ability to "Coach" you in different trainings so after I browsed a few different ones I decided to go with on of the Half marathon trainings. Not because I plan on running a half race anytime soon but because the training had everything I wanted/needed. It does interval training to help increase your normal pace, and adds milage to your runs.
Today was the first day and I did interval training.

5 minute warm up
3 minutes of hard running (more intense than your normal pace)
3 minutes of light running or walking (I went with walking)
five times

I was averaging on my 3 minute runs about a 10:20 pace. My first two I was probably more around 9:45 and my last one I was probably more of a 10:45 but overall still more intense than my normal pace.
Tomorrow is a rest day and Thursday is a light to moderate 3 mile run.
I'm looking forward to this new training program that by the way is 6 months long.
Next year I plan to run the St. Jude half and I'm looking forward to crossing it off my bucket list.

First 5K Race

Well, I did it! I completed my first 5K race :)

Allie, Ashley, and Ashlee all met at my house at 6:40 this morning for us to ride together to the race. We were all super pumped and ready to go.

We made it to the park around 7:10, checked in, and got our bibs

We had some time to kill so we made a quick (and gross) stop at the porter-potties, did a warm up walk, and snapped some pictures...

At 8:00 we started the race with my goals of running without stopping and to a least finish at the 37:20 I had done on Tuesday.
I was running with Ashley and Marie with the hopes that we would be able to pace each other well. We (being the rookies that we were) started off way too fast and were going at about a 10:15 pace. We started to try to slow down and ended up getting a little slower than we wanted at about a 12:30 pace. So it took us a bit to get it right and at a 11:30 pace. Between mile 1 and mile 2 there was a killer hill that really took a lot out of me but I didn't let it slow my pace down and I kept going. I was really hoping for that second wind or for the adrenaline to kick in after mile 2 but it never happened and I felt like I was barely making it. I really wanted to stop to walk but refused to do so and just kept going.
I finally made it to mile 3 and was met by a coach that helped motivate me to the end by running beside me. It gave me that extra push I needed. I really thought my time was going to be awful because of how exhausted I felt and I was completely surprised when I took the turn and saw 35 on the clock.

I finished the last minute with everything I had (which wasn't much) at a 9:30 pace and crossed the finsh line at 35:17(ish) (I will have my exact time later next week)

I was so excited and couldn't believe I cut 2 minutes off my time from Tuesday. So I completed both my goals today : )

My self portrait with my glittery pink medal for finishing

All the girls showing off their medals

Allie and Me. Allie got 2nd place in her age category with a time of 25:49. Whoa.

My mile break down ended up being

Mile 1 11:29
Mile 2 11:24
Mile 3 11:25

So next up is the Color Run (that is just a month away) I can't wait!

"Day in the life"

So today I am doing a link up "party". Go check out Holly's blog. She's a cool chick, hysterical, and an inspiration to me for running and weight loss. I love reading her blog. Any-who enough about her lets get to me :)
Today I will be giving you a run down of a typical day in the Bobbitt house.
But for those of you that are new to my blog check out my "disclaimer" on the right of the screen before you begin and let me tell you a little bit about me and my family :)

My name is Emily, I'm 26 and have a new found passion for running. I am a follower of Christ, He is my Lord and savior.
I'm also a Wife to a wonderful Man named Josh for almost 7 years.

He is my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without him.
We have three beautiful kiddos together.

Becca is 5

and we just started homeschooling for kindergarten last week. She's our little princess, she is so stinkin' smart it scares me, and is an amazing big sister to her two little brothers.


Nate is 3

and is all boy. He loves Star Wars, trucks, and would rather be playing outside over anything. He can be kind of shy at times but he is the sweetest little boy I've ever known.

Eli is 6 months

and is just starting to get his personality. He is pretty laid back like his Daddy, and loves to cuddle like his Momma. This kid will be mobile any day now I just know it.

So this is a little taste of what its like in the Bobbitt house on any given day

4:50 Alarm goes off. Time to go run

5:00 I'm out the door, hitting the pavement.

I completed my first 5k running the whole time. I'm super pumped and ready for my first 5k race on Saturday!
5:45 Back home and stretch
6:00 Fix hubby his lunch and kiss him goodbye
6:10 Shower
6:15 Nate gets up while I'm in the shower
6:20 Get Nate settled in front of the tv with an eggo waffle (gotta keep him quite some how) :)
6:25 Eli wakes up and is ready to eat so I go feed him
6:40 Nate and Eli are fed and content in the den
6:50 Quiet time. Bible study, bible reading, prayer

7:30 Get Eli dressed and take his 6 month pictures I forgot to take on Sunday
7:40 Becca gets up and I feed her breakfast (Lucky Charms)
7:50 Read a few emails while Becca and Nate Brush teeth, get dressed, and take care of Phineas
8:00 Lay Eli down for a nap
8:15 Start school. Bible reading, questions, memory verse
8:30 Phonics. Review letter 'L' 'T' and 'F'
8:50 Math. Calendar, Counting bears, and pattern blocks. Eli wakes up so he hangs out in the highchair while we do school
9:10 Art. Mystery Painting that did not turn out as good as I hoped...
9:30 Becca and Nate watch a Leap Frog video to help with Phonics while I clean up from art, unload the dishwasher, and clean Eli's bottles
9:50 Feed Eli
10:00 Snack Time. Carrots and ranch dressing
10:10 Eli plays in the highchair while I finally fix me something to eat. Eggs, toast, and milk. Free Time for Becca and Nate.
10:30 I finish getting myself ready, do my make-up and fix my hair while Becca and Nate play outside with Phineas and Eli has play time on the floor in my room
10:50 Becca and Nate get the "Boredom Muchies" So we got out front to ride bikes to get over them

11:30 We come back in. They pick a show on netflix while I cook lunch while holding a cranky Eli who would rather still be outside...
11:45 Becca and Nate sit down to eat (hotdogs, apples, and goldfish) and I fix a bottle for Eli
12:00 Eli is down for a nap, Becca and Nate are playing in the den, and I tackle the mound of clothes that didn't get folded yesterday.
12:20 The clothes are folded and in piles but didn't get put away. Time for me to eat.
12:30 I sit down with my lunch (Tuna fish sandwich and an apple) and the computer to read some e-mails, do some facebook stalking, and post Eli's 6 month photos.
1:00 Eli woke up (probably because he went to sleep while eating his bottle earlier) So I quickly warmed up the other half of his bottle and went in his room to feed him and get him back to sleep to finish the rest of his nap
1:20 Do some chores around the house: Sweep/mop kitchen, put away clothes, vacuum...
2:00 Take a little break to do some reading
3:30 I'm startled awake by my phone ringing and I realize I've fallen asleep while reading. Josh is calling to say he's off work and on the way home so I venture out of my room to see what kind of damage Becca and Nate have done to the house while I was asleep

Not too bad. I've seen worse. So we do what I like to call a "quick clean". We do this when Daddy is on the way home so he doesn't have to come home to a huge mess
3:40 Eli wakes up ready to eat
4:00 Start preparing dinner
4:15 Hubby gets home!! :) and dinner is cooking
4:20 Get all of Becca's soccer stuff together, get water bottles filled, pack Eli's bag, and get the kids ready
5:00 Dinner is ready. Bacon wrapped tenderloin, steamed broccoli, and corn and we all sit at the table to eat
5:20 We all get the table cleared off and kitchen cleaned
5:25 Get shoes on and head out the door for Becca's first soccer game!
7:15 Back home. Becca's team lost :(

But we had a great time cheering her on! :)
7:20 We go into bedtime mode. Josh gets the older two in the tub and I bathe Eli in the sink. Followed by PJ's, brushing teeth, story, prayers...
7:35 Eli finally eats because he wouldn't eat at the game.
7:50 Eli fell asleep while eating and is in bed for the night.
8:00 Older two in bed after kisses, hugs, and "don't let the bed bugs bite"
8:15 I get Becca's school plan done for tomorrow while Josh runs to sonic to take advantage of the half price shake deal

Even though it's not 8:30 just yet I know how the night is going to end so I'm going to go ahead and finish up so I can enjoy some hubby time.....
8:30 Josh and I drink our milkshakes while watching netflix
9:20 We are old and will be headed to bed.....


So that's basically my day. I know this was very detailed compared to most of the other bloggers that did the "Day in the Life" but thats just my personality.
I hope you enjoyed it.

Take That Hill!!!

Today was a good run day. I went two miles without stopping and did it at a 11:18 avg pace. Woo hoo! :)

I walked for .30 and then started running again.

I did my route a little different hoping that I'd finish the 3.10 before I got to the dreaded hill. Nope didn't happen. As you can see below I start the hill at the end of the run when I had about .40 left to go.

My pace slowed going up the hill ranging from 12:30 to 12:50 but I didn't stop and conquered that hill! So take that stupid hill!

I finished the 3.10 at 37:17 with an avg pace of 12:01. I cut a little over 2 minutes off my time from yesterday!

Happy me after I finished. :)

So as you can see below with the mile avg pace broken down I improved a lot even with running up the hill...

This time next week I will be completing my first 5k race (running, I've walked one before) I am super excited!

Quick update

This update will be brief...

I planned on running yesterday morning but I slept through my alarm. Probably only the third time I've done that my entire life so that just shows you how tired I was. So I got up this morning instead and if it's not raining tomorrow morning I'll probably run tomorrow too.

This morning I set off trying to run with out stopping longer than I did my last run (1.42 miles in 16:41 minutes at a 11:45 minute pace)

I went 1.87 miles in 21:42 minutes at a 11:35 minute pace. Not bad.
I then walked for 4 minutes about .20 miles and then started running again.
I went almost half a mile in about 5 minutes and then got to that stupid hill again and ended up walking up it. So I walked another .20 and then finished the run home.
I was at my street when I noticed I was only .12 miles away from the 3.10 and at 38:00 minutes so I picked up my pace so I could finish the 3.10 in under 40 minutes.
The last .12 miles I busted out at a 9:45-10:00 minute pace and completed the 3.10 in 39:38. I did my cool down and finished at 3.43 in 47:00 minutes.

I'm pretty pleased with that. It's hard to believe that the graduation 5K is just a week away. I really hope I'm able to run it without stopping.

Sorry for the lack of pictures and short update. Check back Tuesday. I'm doing a Link-up with this blog. So you'll get to see what a day is like in The Bobbitt house.
You should do the link up too!

Moving on....

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've gotten on here numerous times and have started an entry but haven't been able to complete it. It still sits in my drafts. So instead of continuing to come back to it and not completing it I've decided to just move on and maybe come back to it later.

So yesterday with the encouragement of my husband I decided to train a little different. Instead of going by time I decided to run by distance. I decided I'd go with run .50 walk .10 for 3.10 miles....

So first run of .50 I was at a avg. 12:17 pace. I was actually feeling pretty good and felt like I could go longer but decided I should just stick with the plan.

Walk for .10 at 16:50 pace

Second run I slowed down. I think I was still in the 'minute' mind frame instead of distance and was thinking I needed to slow down to complete it. It wasn't until the end that I realized the faster I go the sooner I get done (Duh moment!) So this .50 I did a 12:44 pace

Walk for .10 at 16:30 pace

This one was at a 12:45 pace

Walk for .10 at 17:12 pace.

12:10 pace. Second wind I guess or maybe this is when I realized the faster I went the sooner I got done....

Walk for .10 at 16:05 pace. So at this point I was feeling pretty good. I started adding up when I'd been walking again and realized this would put me at walk at mile 2.90 for .10 and running from 3.00 to 3.10. So I decided to just got for the full .70 and see how it went....

Look at that! Busted it out at a 11:05 pace at the freakin' end of my run. That really helped my confidence.
One thing I realized on this run is
1. the obvious. I can run a lot more than I thought I could and
2. I spend way too much time comparing myself to other people. While I was running even though I should have been incredibly proud of myself I was debating putting this on the blog because I felt like I was going so slow compared to my friends that are runners. My friends are awesome and are running long distances and running it at a faster pace than me. I am so proud of them and all they've accomplished but I find myself comparing my running to theirs and it's just not fair to myself to do that. I am truly working on my frame of mind and trying to learn to celebrate in my own personal triumphs instead of focusing on where other people are and where I'd like to be (now instead of gradually)


This morning I got up and really wanted to go for another run and decided to go for it. My Hubby really wanted me to just run until I couldn't run anymore and see how far I could go. I left considering doing that but I hadn't really decided what I was going to do

This is what came from me just running. No looking at the time. No checking to see how far I'd gone. And not having any idea what my pace was. It says 10:14 pace at the bottom but that's just what I was doing at that very moment. My avg. pace was actually 11:45 pace (top right). As I was running I was still trying to decide if I should run until I couldn't stop. I really was leaning more towards trying to do the 3 miles and just run the majority of the time so thats when I decided to take a walk break so that I *could* make it the 3 miles. Bad idea. As soon as I stopped to walk my body was like *whoa* and I knew it was going to be really hard to start running again and even harder to do the full 3 miles. I knew I had to at least make it back to the house so I was going to walk for a bit and see if I could run a little more

I didn't plan on walking this long but I got to a hill and did not want to start running on the hill. So after my 5 minute walk I decided to try to run the rest of the way home

So I was able to go the rest of the way (about .60) with a .09 cool down. My pace for that .60 was on avg about 12:15 or so.

I'm pleased with the outcome. I'm on my way to running the 5K without stopping and then it's on to running the 5K in 30 minutes or less! :)