Howdy Friends,

Happy Workout Wednesday! I seriously feel like I just wrote last week's WOW post. The weeks seem to be flying by! In honor of the extremely hill half marathon I ran last weekend, I decided to do a hill repeat workout for today. I should probably have done a few more of these workouts BEFORE the race. But oh well! Live and learn right?

This workout is designed to be done on a treadmill; however, you could do it outside if you had a large enough hill. You would simply time yourself as you ran up, and turn around when you hit the corresponding time.


The whole workout should take about 30 minutes and trust me, 30 minutes is PLENTY! Let me know if you give it a try! If you need more workout ideas, be sure to check out my workouts page!

This past weekend, we took Belle to have her picture taken with Santa. She doesn't really have stranger anxiety yet, but I was a little worried about how she might react to the beard. It didn't seem to phase her one bit. She sat on Santa's lap like a champ and even smiled for pictures. There were a bunch of kids playing off to the side on snow they brought in (no snow here in Austin), so she was a bit distracted.





After meeting Santa, we snapped a few more pictures in front of the giant Christmas tree. Then, of course, we had to do a little shopping since we were already at The Galleria after all. Daddy introduced Annabelle to his favorite store, Dick's Sporting Goods. She seemed pretty impressed.



This is definitely going to be the best Christmas yet!! How did I get so lucky to get the sweetest tiny human around (I'm not biased or anything)?

Do you ever do hill repeat workouts?

What is your favorite way to incorporate the treadmill into your training?

In health,

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Howdy,

This past weekend I had the opportunity to run the Spicewood Half Marathon in Spicewood, Texas. I had to stop running pretty quickly after I found out I was pregnant due to some hip issues, so I was determined to get back to running as soon as possible after Annabelle arrived. I knew I wanted to do a race in early December (after football season slowed down) and near Austin so we wouldn't have to leave Belle (I'm so not ready for that yet). After looking around at my options, I decided on the Spicewood half.

Since it was my first race back in the saddle after baby, I liked the idea of starting with a smaller race. Additionally, the pictures of the course looked absolutely beautiful so I was excited to check out the scenery as I ran. Everyone raved about how intimate and beautiful the race was, so I decided I had to sign up. I admit, I was a tad bit nervous about doing a race in the hill country, but a few hills never killed anyone right?

WRONG!!! This was by far the hardest and hilliest race I have EVER done. I know, I know.... what did I expect? It was in the HILL COUNTRY after all. I guess I just assumed there would be a few hills here or there, but it felt like we were running up and down the entire time. Yikes!

Let's start from the beginning. It was such a small race, you actually picked up your packet the morning of the race. They had parking and packet pick-up so organized, it was a piece of cake. I don't think we had to wait in line for more than 5 minutes! They also had an indoor area you could wait in before the race started so you didn't have to stand in the cold (although it really wasn't all that cold at all). I stretched, drank a few sips of coffee, ate my banana, and go ready to run. At 8:25 AM they lined us all up and then we were off!





The first 2 miles of the race were not too bad at all, a few hills here or there, but pretty similar to my training runs. As we went, the hills started to get steeper and steeper and more frequent. At around mile 5, we came around a corner and I looked up and saw what I thought was "the hill." O-M-G! I shuffled my way to the top and even made myself stop to take a picture of the view and how high we were.


I jogged down, went around another corner, and saw another gigantic hill and thought, "oh crap, what did I get myself into?" It continued on like this until the turn around point. Yep, it was an out and back, so we got to climb those killer hills again going the other way. That had to be the most brutal part. The steepest hills were between miles 5 and 6.5 which is about where we turned around so you got to climb then again immediately.

To say my legs were on fire would have been an understatement. My right glute actually cramped a bit at one point. I shortened my stride and it worked itself out. Luckily, the gorgeous hill country views were a nice distraction. After I made it back over the killer hills on my return trip, I was still feeling fairly strong. My hips were starting to bother me a bit, but less than I was expecting. I was still holding strong at about 3 minutes under my goal pace.

With two miles to go the hills started to level out a bit which was just in time. This was the point that my hips really started to beg for mercy. Luckily, they held strong for me until the end and I finished in 2:06. That's 20 minutes slower than my last half marathon. I keep trying to remind myself that my last half was pre-baby and on a very flat surface, but I still don't love it! :) Oh, well, it gives me a good goal for next time!



After the race, I grabbed some water and a little bit of BBQ. They had lots of post race beverages to choose from. I grabbed a glass of red wine in a super nice wine glass that was engraved with the half marathon logo. Who needs a medal when you get a wine glass? I only drank about 1/2 of it before I decided that might be a little bit too much sugar for my system.



Overall, it was a great race! It was definitely the hardest half marathon I have ever done, but I would totally do it again. It was so easy to get to, packet pick-up was a breeze, the course wasn't ever over crowded, the views were awesome, and the post race party was great! If you are looking for a half marathon in the Austin area, I would totally suggest it!

For now, I am going to take a little bit of time off from heavy running to let my hips heal up a bit. I think I may have jumped back in to running a little too quickly post pregnancy. I will still run a few times a week, but I am going to focus my individual workouts on strength training for awhile to build my muscle mass back up!

Did anyone else race this weekend?

Has anyone else done the Spicewood Vineyards Half Marathon? What did you think?

In health,

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We headed down to College Station Wednesday afternoon and got stuck in HORRIBLE traffic. It took us almost 4 hours to get there when it usually takes us less than 2. Needless to say, by the time we arrived, we were worn out. I headed over to my parents house to help cook and Annabelle stayed with Dad so she could catch up with Uncle Greg and Aunt Meredith who live in Georgia.

On Thursday morning, I woke up early, fed the tiny human and then went for a quick 4 mile run. It was cool but not too cold and the run felt great! After my run, it was time for Annabelle to get dressed for Thanksgiving. Se decided she would represent the Indians at the Thanksgiving table!

Practicing her Indian yells!

After lunch, we headed back over to E's parents house to get ready for the A&M vs. LSU game. Not much to tell here. It was a rough game with some very questionable calls. Sadly, the Aggies lost. We did have fun tailgating with friends and family before the game. We even got a quick sister shot that was quickly photo bombed by Uncle Bryan.




Friday morning was D-day. Time for my 11 mile training run. Again, it was cold, but not too cold. Really, perfect running weather if you ask me. The first 8 miles felt great. Miles 9 and 10 were a little rough, and by mile 11, my hips were screaming for mercy. I'm not sure what exactly is causing the problem. I stretch, make sure I build in an extra long warm up, and foam roll, but nothing seems to help. I think they are still a little out of whack from my pregnancy. Anyways, I finished the 11 miles in a decent time and quickly showered and got ready to take Christmas pictures.


Eric's brother is a great photographer so he graciously took a bunch of photos for us (preview of those to come later). After pictures, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving again George style. More delicious food and great times with the family.  After lunch, we headed up to Cleburne to visit with Eric's grandmother and extended family.


Belle visited with everyone and tried out her cute baby rocking chair. We headed back home Saturday afternoon so we would have Sunday to decorate the Christmas tree and get life back in order for the week to come. We took a quick break from decorating and laundry to take little bit for a walk. It was her first time sitting like a big girl in the BOB stroller and she really liked it. I think she enjoyed being able to see everything.


It was a busy and fun filled Thanksgiving! I feel like I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have a wonderful husband, great friends and family, a fun job, and the most amazing daughter on earth. I seriously don't know if my heart could handle much more happiness.

How was your Thanksgiving weekend?

Favorite Thanksgiving food? Sweet potato casserole over here! 

In health,

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Happy Monday,

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Howdy Friends,

I hope you're week is going well. This morning, I woke up dark and early at 4:30 AM when I heard Belle starting to fuss in her room. I had hoped to fit in a run this morning so I ran outside to see if it was raining before going in to feed Annabelle. The ground was wet, but there wasn't any rain falling at that point. I fed the tiny human, got dressed, grabbed my ipod and headed outside to fit in a quick run before class. As soon as I stepped out from under the porch, I got hit in the face with a cold mist. Dang it!! I was too invested in the run at this point to turn back, so I decided to race the down pour that was coming and run anyways. Since I knew it needed to be a super fast workout, I decided to do a speed work focused run to make my short amount of time count. Since I was just running around my neighborhood (and my Garmin was dead) I had no way of tracking exact distances for sprint repeats, so I decided to go with a fartlek workout instead. Funny name I know!

Fartlek is a Sweedish word meaning "speed play." Sounds like a party already right? Fartlek training is simply a form of interval training where you alternate between intervals of high intensity exercise(sprinting) and shorter periods of low intensity exercise (jogging or walking). Unlike tempo and regular interval runs, fartlek training is unstructured. There is no set ratio of work to rest, and you can vary your intensity throughout your run. After a warm-up, you play with speed by running at faster efforts for shorter periods of time (say, to that red car on the corner) followed by easy effort running to recover.

This morning, I ran about .25 miles to warm-up and then would pick random landmarks (aka street sign, cars, mailboxes) to sprint to (about an 8-9 on the effort scale) and then I would jog to recover until I had caught my breath (about a 3-4 on the efforct scale). I tried to keep my sprint to recovery ratio pretty even this morning since I was trying to get out of the rain quickly, but you can do whatever ratio works for you.

Benefits of Farlek Training:

• Great mental break from structured speed work.
• Endless variety of intervals.
• Improves cardiovascular strength.
• Improves running stamina.
• Fun to do in a group because you can alternate who is the leader that gets to dictate the pace and distance.
• Great for when you are limited on time but want to get in a good workout.
• Helps improve running speed.

I don't have easy access to a track to do my speed work on so I love Fartlek training sessions. They always leave me feeling strong and accomplished but go by super quickly. Give it a try next time your training schedule calls for speed work and let me know what you think!

After a quick shower, it was time to head up to the studio for my 7 AM Pilates mat class. We had a great turnout despite the dreary weather and had a blast in class. After Pilates, E dropped of Belle sporting her super cute Barre outfit my friend Lacey, owner of Lacey Kaye Creations, made her. Her onesie said "Party at the Barre with my mommy!" She's a Pilates baby through and through!


After she partied at the barre with mommy, it was time to head home for a nap and work time for mom. I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your day.

What is your favorite kind of speed work to incorporate into your training?

In health,

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Happy Monday!

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. Ours was wonderful! Full of family, football, long runs, housework, and reading! We started off the weekend with some fun Halloween activities at the studio. If you missed Annabelle's first Halloween write up, it's worth checking out if I do say so myself. She was pretty darn cute! Once E got home, we headed down to College Station for the Aggie game. E, his dad, and his cousin Robert went to the game while Annabelle and I hung out with my folks for the day. The Aggies won, but it wasn't very convincing. :( We of course spent the rest of Saturday watching all the other football games on TV.

I woke up Sunday morning ready for my long run for the week. It was 45 degrees outside and absolutely beautiful. My legs and hips felt great until about mile 6 when my hips really started yelling at me, but I was able to push through. Overall, it was a great run, and I am really happy with how my training is going so far!

I think something is off with my Garmin calorie calculator. All of the sudden it just became really random with how many calorie it says I've burned. I remember looking down at mile four, and it said I had only burned 122 calories. Geezee, I hope not. It's the distance tracker that I really wear it for, but it's nice to have an estimate of how many calories I've burned during a run. I'll have to see if E can fix it for me.

Training Plan: November 3rd - November 9th
Monday: Metobolic conditioning workout, teach barre
Tuesday: 4 mile run, teach Pilates & Barre
Wednesday: teach barre & Pilates
Thursday: 3 mile run, teach Pilates & Barre
Friday: teach Barre 2x's
Saturday: 9 mile run
Sunday: rest

This morning I did a quick but so not easy metabolic conditioning workout geared to quickly overload the muscles and spike the heart rate. You might associate this kind of workout with HIIT (high intensity interval training) or CrossFit. I listed to an interview with a well known trainer and integrative physician, Jade Teta this weekend and learned more about the science behind this type of workout. Although it was super basic and only took 20 minutes, my arms were literally still shaking 3 hours after I finished. This type of workout not only burns calories during your workout, but afterwards as well thanks to a spike in your metabolic rate and your body working to repair the damage done to your muscle tissue during the workout. I could go into all the details here but that would make for one VERY long post, so let's just say, it kicked my butt with only 4 simple exercises. I do plan on doing more posts on the science behind these types of workouts in the future!

This is the workout Jade suggested trying during the interview.

Back To Basics Metabolic Conditioning Workout
12 Push-ups
12 Squats (I used 20 lb dumbbells in each hand)
12 Rows (I used a heavy piece of resistance tubing, but you could use dumbbells)
12 Overhead shoulder presses.

As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

What makes this workout so hard is that you are trying to keep moving continuously from one exercise to the next with essentially no rest . Once you reach a point you can't do another rep, you rest until you have recovered enough to start again. In the CrossFit world they call this workout an AMRAP (as many reps as possible). I wasn't keeping track very closely, but I think I finished about 7-8 rounds in 20 minutes. Boy was I pooped. I'll tell you what though, if you are in a time crunch, this type of workout is the way to go.


After my workout, I quickly grabbed some breakfast before Annabelle woke up. I scrambled up 3 eggs with some turkey sausage and served it with a side of roasted sweet potatoes I made last night. It was delicious!


Once I scarfed down breakfast, it was time to play with the tiny human. She woke up in a great mood and ready to play! We had to do a quick photo shoot right away because I just love this precious onesie! My friend Erin gave it to her, and I've just been waiting for her to grow into it. :)



What a ham! I'm off to do a little work before Belle wakes up from her nap. I hope you all have a great day!

How was your weekend?

If you only have 20 minutes to workout, what do you do?

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Howdy Friends,

Happy Workout Wednesday friends! In honor of the Spartan Race Giveaway (you still have time to enter) I have going on this week, I wanted to give you a warrior worthy workout! On days that I do my training runs, I still like to squeeze in a little core and upper body work as well. In today's video, I share with you my four favorite exercises that work your arms and core at the same time with zero equipment. You can just plop down on a mat or in the grass right after your cardio session and Git-R-Done! These four moves would also be a great addition to the end of any strength routine or on their own for a quicky workout at home or while traveling. Plank is truly the perfect exercise because it works your entire body at one time. It doesn't get much better than that! 




I am one lucky lady because I definitely have the cutest little production assistant ever! She stayed behind the camera and yelled out orders from her directors chair (aka bouncy seat) like a true professional.

I hope you enjoy the video and can incorporate these moves into your next workout. Let me know if you give them a try.

Do you do any core exercises after a run or skip right to the stretching? (Not going to lie, there are plenty of times I skip right to the stretching!) :)

How do you feel about plank? Love it? Hate it? What's plank?

In health,

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