Cowtown 5K and Half Marathon

Two races in one weekend?  No run training since December?  Hey...why not?

These were my exact thoughts going into my 5K and Half Marathon race weekend in Fort Worth, TX....

Okay, so I had this AMAZING post written out and apparently my computer didn't save it.  I really don't have the energy to write it all over again, so I'll just explain it through my pictures!!



Our flight had gotten cancelled because of the snow storm from hell

They got us on the PLANE!!

Roger from Southwest got us rerouted from Omaha-Orlando-New Mexico-Dallas

We were alright with the stop in FL..we went from negative temps to 81!

We thought my sis-in-law needed some bling before we got to TX

Who doesn't want a shirt with wolves?!

During the weekend we ate at a food truck park!  Have you heard of these places?!  Well, they're pretty much the coolest thing EVER!!  My sis-in-law and I ate at the Gluten-Free truck..we both have sensitive tummies!

We didn't eat here, but had to take a pic..my dad belongs to the German American Society!

Picnic with my aunt, sis-in-law, and brother

RACE DAYS!!

Before my half..had my EnergyBits with me and took them at mile 8.  

The half and full racers!  My uncle, me, and sis-in-law did the half.  My brother rocked the full!

If you do one of the races (half, full, ultra) for 5 years in a row your medals form the Texas Star.  My uncle just did his 5th this year...here's his star!!

This may be my motivation to come back to this race!!  Other than having to deal with two snowstorms from hell while we were trying to travel back and forth from Texas, it was an AMAZING weekend.  The course was awesome, the crowd was fantastic, and not to mention hanging out with my family was great!  

Have you run any races recently?  What's your favorite?? 

Pre-Cowtown Jitters

It's finally here...race week!!!

Of course it can't come without some impending problems....like Winter Storm Q (yeah, apparently weather guys up here were getting upset that our big storms don't get names..) that's supposed to drop a foot of snow the day I am supposed to leave for Texas.  While writing this we decided to leave a day early to just not play with fate or Mother Nature (she's a real testy lady). Also, if I haven't mentioned my training for this half marathon has been (put on your ear muffs) a total shit storm.  I've been teaching cycling classes 4x a week, take college classes 4x a week, and do crossfit 4-6x a week.  Plus last week I got the 'end of the world, I hate my life, put me down now' stomach flu.  I was pretty much on a Gatorade diet from Tuesday-Sunday.

I'm hoping some serious adrenaline will kick in and my new strong muscles will carry me through the 5K on Saturday and 13.1 miles on Sunday (did I mentioned I signed up for the Cowtown Challenge..yeah it comes with a sick medal)!

I have no plans or estimated finishing time for this race, just because of how poorly this training has gone.  I just want to go out there, maybe without my watch (?!), and hopefully fall in love with running again.  I want to enjoy the company of my family and the scenery of Fort Worth (yes, I'm serious..I LOVE Fort Worth). I'm kind of excited just to have fun and no pressure on this race!!

I plan on using ENERGYBits about halfway through to help me finish this race!  I'll let you know how it goes!

Do you have any big races or events coming up? How do you deal with obstacles that come up? 

Crossfit Competition Numero Tres

Today I got to compete (or participate might be a better word) in another crossfit competition with my box (Crossfit Hydro) and two other local gyms (Crossfit Artis and Crossfit 402).  

It was awesome and sucked all at the same time!! I love these competition between the three boxes because it's not just about winning.  No matter what gym people are from, everyone cheers for each other.  We especially cheer for those who look like they need an extra boost!

They also make me realize how far I've come since I started in July.  If you would have told me 6 months ago that I'd be 100% engrossed in this sport and thriving off the community feel, I probably would have laughed in your face....

..but here I am 100% engrossed and thriving...I think the pictures do it better justice.

WOD #1:

1Min at each station; continous

Double Unders

Deadlifts (95#)

KB Swings (35#)

Jumping Squats

Wall Walks

WOD #2:

5min AMRAP

Squat Snatch (65#)

**This was 5# away from my PR, so I was pretty happy when I did 13**

WOD #3:

10min AMRAP

1 clean (65#)

1 push press

1 burpee

2 clean

2 push press

2 burpee

(and keep going up until 10min)

YEAH..that one kicked my ass

AND here are some more pictures about the community..

Talking to one of the owner's of Fit Farm

Oh Sweet Smoothie Goodness!

So I realized that my vegetable intake has seriously been lacking.....
I also realized that my schedule this semester is going to OWN me....example- I left home yesterday at 430am to teach spin (#PoweredByBits of course) and did not get home until 830pm! Today I left at 8am and will maybe get home around 10pm...yikes!

I decided that adding a smoothie to my day would help with both of my issues- I can put massive amounts of veggies in it and it takes about 5min to make (including clean up).

Here's my first recipe: (Sorry for lack of pictures- I drank it too fast!)

Spinach Goodness
Serves 1

Add the ingredients in this order
4 cups spinach (I also tried 2c spinach and 2c kale..yummy)
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
Blend
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used Blue Diamond)
1 banana cut
Blend
ENJOY!

I told you it's super easy! I'll be keeping you updated on other creations I make!

I'm off to Les Mis tonight...has anyone seen it yet?!?
Do you have a smoothie recipe with veggies you'd be willing to share?