{partners in crime}: September 2013

Mileage and CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of September 23rd - September 29th... I started off the week pretty good with my running and CrossFit workouts... but by mid to late week life got in the way as usual. We have been dealing with some health issues with Remington lately that caused me to need to monitor him pretty closely... so of course, me being the over protective dog mom I am, that meant cuddling him to death every hour of every day :) Here's to the start of a new week and better health!

Monday, September 23rd, 2013 - Ran 4.1 miles around campus

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013 - Warm up : PVC cleans & squats / Strength : max effort clean/jerk (70#) & max effort front squat (75#) / WOD : 10 minute AMRAP (9 dead lifts (45#), 6 hang cleans (45#), 3 push jerks (45#)... 6 rounds + 9 dead lifts

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013 - Ran 4.1 miles around campus

Thursday, September 26th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Friday, September 27th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Saturday, September 28th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Sunday, September 29th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Total miles ran this week : 8.2 miles

Photo a Day Challenge : Week #39

Day 22 - Made Me Smile

Day 23 - From My Childhood

Day 24 - Space (Smith Mall at the UIndy campus)

Day 25 - H is For... Hotspot (Remi is so high maintenance)

Day 26 - Curve

Day 27 - WTF? (upside down computer screen... just another day at the office)

Day 28 - 10 o'clock

30 Before 30 - September's Healthy Dinner (Summer Vegetable Tian)

One of my 30 Before 30 goals was to start cooking a new and healthy meal every month for my family. Everyone knows that I'm by no means a great cook nor do I enjoy doing it that much. But as I've come to realize it is probably a necessary evil that I'm going to have to endure in my life ;)

For this month I chose a recipe that didn't look to difficult to make and also something that was cheap. I plan to ease into this thing slllooowwwlllyyy...

Summer Vegetable Tian (bydgetbytes.com)

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1 medium zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 medium potato
1 medium tomato
1 tsp dried thyme
to taste salt & pepper
1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic. Saute both in a skillet with olive oil until softened (about five minutes).

While the onion and garlic are sauteing, thinly slice the rest of the vegetables.

Spray the inside of an 8×8 square or round baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern.

Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.

Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with cheese and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

This was decent for just mainly being veggies. And it's pretty for heaven's sake! I would make it again.

That was my healthy dinner for September :)

30 Before 30 - September Book (The Help by Kathryn Stockett)

The first book I read for my 30 Before 30 list was...

I have been wanting to read this book for a while now, but of course hadn't made time to do it lately. Glad my list is pushing me to make time to read for enjoyment again. It has been so nice turning off the TV at night and focusing on a good book. I rated this book at a 4.5 stars. I thought it was entertaining, educational, humorous, and kept my attention the entire time. Below is a quick overview of what the book is about that I copied from Goodreads.

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Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.

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If you haven't read this book yet I hope you do. It was a good reminder of what life use to be like and how far our country has come. It also made me cherish the friendships I have with people who are different from me.

30 Before 30 - Toes to Bar

CrossFit has become a big part of my life. I dream about it, talk about it, research it, obsess over it, and always try my best when I'm actually doing it. However, it is obvious I'm not the most talented in my CrossFit family... I have a lot of work to do to say the least. So when I set my 30 Before 30 goals there was no doubt I wanted some of them to revolve around this activity that I have grown to love so much.

When I started CrossFit I had to do modifications of this exercise. First, I started out doing knee ups, and honestly, it was all I could do to hold on to the bar for a long period of time. Once I got better at those I started doing the modification of knees to elbows where you bring you knees up to touch your elbows. I was doing those for quite some time. Finally, after months of practice I am able to do the real deal!

My proof is in the video below!

Did you catch that my nickname at CrossFit is Vitamin K! LOVE IT!

Time to check "Get Toes to Bar" off my 30 Before 30 List! Only 28 more to go folks!

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of September 16th - September 22nd... this past week was a killer... I ended up working 26 hours in just two short days so I was dragging big time. Just by looking at my exercise listed this week you can see I didn't do much of it. This happens every semester when I'm trying to get my life back in balance somehow. You would think I would be a pro at balancing things by now, but mostly this week was spent just catching up on sleep.

Monday, September 16th, 2013 - REST DAY... worked 13 hours

Tuesday, September 17th, 2013 - REST DAY... worked 13 hours

Wednesday, September 18th, 2013 - Warm up : hip mobility & 24 goblet squats / Strength : back squats (80#) / CrossFit WOD : 5 rounds (200 meter run, 20 hand release push ups, 200 meter run, 10 toes to bar)... time 26:18... RX

Thursday, September 19th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Friday, September 20th, 2013 - 100 squats, 100 sit ups, 100 push ups

Saturday, September 21st, 2013 - REST DAY!

Sunday, September 22nd, 2013 - REST DAY!

Total miles ran this week : 0 miles

Photo a Day Challenge : Week #38

Day 15 - Season (my mum is in season)

Day 16 - Frame

Day 17 - In Front Of Me (after working two 13 hour days it was good to see this)

Day 18 - Vintage (old cow creamer containers from my grandma)

Day 19 - What Is This? (Mr. Rain I haven't seen you in a while)

Day 20 - In The Morning (in P-town)

Day 21 - Rule of Thirds

30 Before 30 - Run another 5K (Greenwood Trail Trek)

This weekend I ran another 5K. I signed up for the Greenwood Trail Trek kind of last minute. I just happened to see it posted on a race website and figured why not? It was very close to home and the price was right! The only not so great thing about it was that the weather got downright chilly that morning of the race. O'well... better 40 degrees than 90 degrees I suppose. And the greatest thing about this race was my best buddy came along!

This was Remi's first time ever attending a race that I have ran in. Usually the races that I run take a long time or it is super hot outside. This race was perfect for my buddy! He was so well behaved while I was running. Dan said the only problems he had with Remi was him whimpering while I was gone. What can I say, my boy loves his Mom!

This was probably the smallest race I have ever ran in. I would say there was probably only 200 people there at the most. It was a nice change of pace and you didn't feel like people were standing on top of each other.

The race took you through historic downtown Greenwood along part of the city's trail system. It was chilly out, but man was it a gorgeous day to run! Not a cloud in the sky and calm as could be! Plus all the proceeds went toward the future expansion of the trail system.

While I was gone... Remington of course was determined to find me! "Dad... stop takin' pics, we gotta find Mom! Let's head south!"

I ended up finishing the 3.1 miles in 28 minutes 34 seconds according to my watch. They still haven't posted the actual race results, but I trust my time more than theirs. My average mile pace was 9 minutes 12 seconds! I couldn't believe it! I beat my last PR by 1 minute 15 seconds and my average mile pace by 24 seconds!

Best of all I was reunited with my boy at last which made us both happy!

And I got a cool shirt, new luffa, foot scrub, and a little carrying case! SCORE!

Time to check "Run another 5K" off my 30 Before 30 List! Only 29 more to go folks!

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of September 9th - September 15th... this past week was a crazy one. I worked 12:30pm - 9:30pm most days so my workouts were done in the morning time. I hate working out in the morning. I prefer to sleep in! But I sucked it up and got up at 5:00am to go to CrossFit with my hubs. This is one of the only times Dan and I have gone to this together... since our schedules are complete opposites we usually just do our own thing. It was different... in a good way. There wasn't much talking between the two of us during our WOD, but there was friendly competition :) It's nice to get close to beating your hubby at something every once in a while.

Monday, September 9th, 2013 - Warm up : 400 meter run, stretch/mobility / Strength : bench press (65#) / CrossFit WOD : 5 rounds (10 dumb bell push press (20#) & 400 meter run)... time 14:48

Tuesday, September 10th, 2013 - Warm up : double under practice then 3 rounds (25 situps, 15 hip extensions, 6 snatches) / Strength : heaving snatch balance (15#) & deficit dead lifts (55#) / CrossFit WOD : 12 minute AMRAP (120 jump rope & 10 over head squats (18#))... 4 round + 120 jump rope

Wednesday, September 11th, 2013 - Ran 6 miles / Stretch

Thursday, September 12th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Friday, September 13th, 2013 - REST DAY!

Saturday, September 14th, 2013 - Ran 3.1 miles... Greenwood Trail Trek... 28:34...new PR!!

Sunday, September 15th, 2013 - REST DAY / Stretch... Stretch... Stretch

Total miles ran this week : 9.1 miles

Photo a Day Challenge : Week #37

Day 8 - Made By Me (Remi's treat jars)

Day 9 - On The Wall

Day 10 - Sweet

Day 11 - What You Did Today (six mile run in my new skull junk band)

Day 12 - Shadow

Day 13 - Unexpected (an unexpected trip to the groomer)

Day 14 - Liquid (my liquid of choice after a 40 degree 5K... coffee)

Pajama Stealer

My schedule has been all over the place this week so Remington has been having a bit of a hard time figuring out why I'm not home at my usual time with him. When I got home at 9:30 last night Dan told me that Remington had a confession to make...

Apparently, Remington had been carrying around my pajama pants most of the evening...

... I like to think it's because he has been missing me so much and not just because he is sometimes naughty :)

Mileage & CrossFit Monday

Running stats and CrossFit WOD's for the week of September 2nd - September 8th... I feel like I have been MIA this past week, sorry for the lack of posts. As always happens at the beginning of every semester, I'm about to have a massive nervous breakdown with all the things going on. I'm thankful for running and CrossFit this week so I could clear my head. Tell me again why I wanted to get a Master's Degree in the first place? My life currently feels like it is completely and utterly out of control and I'm once again adjusting to not having any time for myself or my family. Let's just say there was definitely not a lack of tears this past week. I kept chugging along though... even though there were points in my day that weren't pretty. Honestly, I can't even remember the last time Dan and I actually spoke to each other face to face... this makes me sad!

Monday, September 2nd, 2013 - Ran 4.25 miles / Stretch / Short walk with Remi

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013 - Warm up : double under practice, 2 rounds (10 dumb bell push press (15#) & , 25 situps) / Strength : snatch from the box (45#) & rear jerks (55#) / CrossFit WOD : 10 minute AMRAP (1 power snatch (35#, 1 burpee... 2 power snatches (35#), 2 burpees... 3 power snatches (35#), 3 burpees... etc...)... 6 rounds / double under practice when I got home

Wednesday, September 4th, 2013 - Warm up : 400 meter run then 3 rounds (10 duck walks, 10 back extensions, 20 situps) / Strength : box squats 12" (55#) / CrossFit WOD : 15 minute AMRAP (10 kettle bells (18#), 10 goblet squats (18#), shuttle runs)... 8 rounds + 5 kettle bells

Thursday, September 5th, 2013 - Warm up : double under practice then 3 rounds (5 knees to elbows, 10 air squats, 3 hand stand toe and nose) / Strength : high hang power cleans (55#) & seated dumb bell presses (15#) / CrossFit WOD : 10 rounds for time (100 jump rope, 10 ring rows, 15 situps, 10 box jumps 16")... 30 minute time cap... got in 7 rounds in that time

Friday, September 6th, 2013 - Ran 5 miles / Stretch

Saturday, September 7th, 2013 - REST DAY - Phonathon Training most of the day

Sunday, September 8th, 2013 - REST DAY - Phonathon Training most of the day

Total miles ran this week : 9 miles