Month: February 2018

Random Thoughts Thursday 6

Random Thoughts Thursday

Hard to believe it is Thursday already.  The week definitely goes by fast!  I am not complaining.  Wednesday was a half day at school and while I’d rather have my kids for the rest of the afternoon instead of being in meetings, yesterday was actually pretty good.  The 2nd grade team met and we were able to cross things off our to do list.  That is always a wonderful feeling!  Now let me tell you about my random thoughts.

Do you watch “This is Us”?  I feel like I am missing out on it.  My Facebook feed is always full of posts from friends commenting about it.  Do you watch it?  Am I really missing out on it?

I will admit that I watched Sunday’s game just for the commercials.  This year I don’t think they were that good.  I think the one I did like was the one from Budweiser.  I am not a big fan of Justin Timberlake but did like his performance.

I cannot stop watching the SNL Revolutionary War skit.  Have you seen it?  Haha.  It is pretty funny!

I haven’t had much luck finding a house to buy.  Why is it so complicated?  I’ve been looking since November and while I’ve seen some nice ones, a few are out of my price range.  There were 2 houses that I was ready to buy and put in an offer.  Unfortunately they were not accepted.  I truly believe that things happen for a reason and I have to believe that those two were not meant to be for me.  My house is still out there and I just to continue to be patient.

I am over the snow.  Ugh!  I dislike winter and snow more than ever.  Is it selfish to say that with that much snow it will affect my runs?  I am enjoying my runs outside but now have to be even more conscious and careful because I don’t want to fall.  Yesterday I went to the treadmill and it wasn’t so bad but for sure I’d rather be outside.  We are expecting more snow today and Friday.  

• And with the snow comes a snow day.  I found out a few hours ago that there is no school on Friday.  I just looked outside and it is already coming down.  No bueno.  I was really hoping for it to be a mild winter (I remember last year in February we had temperature in the 80s) this year.  With this day off now I can finally finish grading my math tests from last week.  🙂

What are some of your random thoughts today?

Illinois Marathon Training Recap, Week 10

Illinois Marathon-2

Week #10, January 29-February 4

M Ran 3.89 miles
T OFF
W Ran 3.02 miles
TH Ran 5.32 miles
F OFF
S Ran 10.00 miles
S Ran 2.80 miles

This week’s marathon training began on Monday with 3.89 miles.  It was windy and no matter which way I went, the wind was in my face.  I was very cold after my run.

Illinois Marathon-76

Wednesday was the end of the month and I ended January with 86.50 miles.  Dang!  My goal is to run 1,200 miles this year and was hoping to do 100 each month.  I missed it by 14.50 miles.  

Illinois Marathon-77

February began with a bang!  I was unsure on whether to run in the morning or after work.  I did get up to run and am glad I did.  It was about 10 degrees colder after work.  My workout was to run 1.5 mile warmup, 8×2 intervals at 10:02 pace with 1 minute recovery, then 1.5 cooldown.  Fun but tiring.  And I nailed each interval!  It was also so cool to be out there seeing the moon.

Illinois Marathon-80

I knew snow was is the forecast for Sunday so I asked my coach to switch my long run from Sunday to Saturday.  I am so glad I did.  I did wait till 1pm for it to get warmer.  It was 39 degrees by the time I finished my run.  It was cloudy, dreary, and windy.  Somehow I found the energy and motivation to push through the wind.  I was rewarded with tailwind the last 4 miles and those were my fastest miles.

Illinois Marathon-83

It started to snow Saturday night and by Sunday morning there was about 2-3 inches on the ground.  With my tired legs from yesterday and the snow, it was tough.  I was happy it was 35 minutes of easy running.  We are supposed to get more snow this week and I am not looking forward to it all.

Total mileage for the week: 25.03
Total mileage for this training cycle: 183.39
Total mileage for the year: 104.60

Here’s how training has gone so far:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9

How was YOUR week?  Any snow in your hometown?  Did you watch the Super Bowl?

Link back to the host and let’s support other bloggers linking up as they train for a marathon,  half marathon, or any other event.

Random Thoughts Thursday 5

Random Thoughts Thursday

How is your week going so far?  Can you believe that I got sick again?!?  Yes, Sunday night I started sneezing again and also had watery eyes.  I didn’t feel as horrible as last week but did feel tired on Monday.  It didn’t last long because by Tuesday I was better.  Can’t believe January is over.  Let me tell you now about my random thoughts.

How hard is it to make a good cup of coffee?  I have a Keurig and love it.  However, those pods are not cheap.  I also have a coffee maker and bought Casi Cielo whole beans from Starbucks (haven’t done the math to figure out if that is indeed cheaper than the pods).  The barista was nice enough to grind it for me.  I have made coffee on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday and it isn’t good.  I don’t know if it is the coffee maker or the water.  For sure it isn’t the coffee.  Now that I think about it, it can’t be the water because it is the same water that I use for my Keurig and that coffee always comes out good!  Seriously, how hard can it be?

I am training for a marathon in April but am already thinking of one in the fall.  I would love to run the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th.  Lottery opens in March and hopefully I get in.  I think that in my previous life I lived in DC because I love it there so much.

My gas bill is out of control.   I cannot believe how much it has gone up.  I live in a 3 bedroom apartment but I don’t think it is big.  My sister and I keep the thermostat at 67 degrees all of the time.  I looked at my bills from last winter and I paid around $50-$60 a month.  My November bill was $106, December bill was $162, and January bill was $222.  I know it has been colder than last year but find it hard to believe that it is that much more.

Fitness Challenges.  Do you participate in them?  I have tried.  I am not very good at sticking with them.  I’ve tried the kettlebell swings, planks, squats, and burpees challenges and have never completed them.  At the beginning of January I started the planks challenge.  I started with 20 seconds on January 1st and ended with 5:00 minutes on January 30th.  I remember feeling proud when I got to 1:30.  It did get harder and I had to alternate between the standard plank (high plank) and the forearm plank (low plank) but I am happy to say that I completed the challenge.  I will confess that I missed one day.  Only one day so that is definitely a win, right?  I also did 100 kettle swings each day.  On January 21 I began the wall push ups challenge.  I like that one because I cannot do regular push ups.  🙂  Today I will start the Supermans, Squats, and Twists Challenge that is being put together by Rachel who blogs at Running on Happy.  I’ve never done Supermans or Twists so we’ll see how that will go.

What are some of your random thoughts today?