Happy Halloween – The Saturday Six

Happy Halloween!

I had this post all roughed out Thursday night in my notebook, and then just never got around to writing it yesterday.  I spent Friday afternoon at the mall (more on that later), hit the 4:30 CrossFit class, and then went out for chicken wings with friends for dinner, so getting this post done just didn’t happen.  That’s okay.  I will write it today and instead of a Friday Five, I’ll go with a Saturday Six!

1.  We carved our pumpkins today.  Nick and Rory took the easy way out and drilled a bunch of holes in their pumpkins, but Jacko and I took our pumpkin carving duties seriously.  I went poop emoji and Jacko went Minion.  We were both pretty pleased at how they turned out.

2.  October is coming to an end and so are my challenges.  The plank challenge just did not happen 😦  but my mobility challenge was awesome  🙂  I spent at least 20 minutes just about every day either foam rolling or using a lacrosse ball.  It was awesome.  It feels so good and I’m really hoping that I can keep this up even though the challenge is over.  Most nights I roll before I get into bed and read while I roll out my back and legs.  After a month of rolling I am surprised at how much my back still cracks when I roll it out.  I would have thought by now the creaks would have been rolled away!

3.  November Member Challenge has been announced.  Now that October is over its time for a new Monthly Member Challenge at CFNC.  November’s challenge is to log everything you eat into My Fitness Pal every day.  This will be a piece of cake for me as I just hit a 400 day streak on MFP.  The powers that be at the gym know there are a number of us that already log daily and track macros, so for us, the challenge has been kicked up a notch.  For this group, the challenge it to come within 2g for each macro (carbs, protein and fat) every day and to actually have perfect macros 2 days a week.  This will definitely make it a much tougher challenge.  I’ve been paying more attention to what I’ve been eating and sticking to clean choices most of the time, but I haven’t been all that close on my macros for quite a while.  I tend to go over on fat and fall short with carbs and protein.  This should be an interesting month as I try to come within 2g every day and getting 2 perfect days a week will certainly keep things interesting.  If any of you out there are on MFP and would like to follow along, feel free to “friend” me, I’m CathyO13 on MFP.

4.  I’ve lined up some good eats for next week.  Knowing I will need to eat pretty healthy for the next month for MMC, I’ve got a few tasty meals lined up:
Guy Fieri’s Stuffed Acorn Squash with Turkey Sausage from Clean Eating Magazine.  I have made this before and it is delicious.  It is currently lined up for dinner Monday night.  I can’t wait!

I also found a recipe online that looks yummy and is on the menu for Wednesday night.  Paleo Pumpkin Curry by Fed and Fit.  (photo from Fedandfit.com)
I’m already looking forward to dinners next week!

5.  They say “Go big, or stay home”…so I went BIG!  I mentioned earlier that I spent Friday afternoon in the mall…well, I was at the Apple Store getting a new phone!  I went big and got the 128GB iPhone 6s Plus in Rose Gold.  It’s big, it’s beautiful, and I’m loving it.  It is significantly bigger than my old iPhone 5, but I can actually see things on it.  My old eyes were struggling with small stuff on my old phone.  Not the best picture since I took it with my ancient iPad, but here’s my new beauty on the left and my old 5 on the right.
6.  I haven’t had any Halloween treats yet!  Hubs bought a ton of Halloween candy last weekend.  Not usually a good thing for that much candy around this place as it usually all gets eaten before Halloween if we get it early.  To try to make sure that didn’t happen, I hid it all before the kids saw it and Rory didn’t know where I put it either.  Today I got it out just before the little trick or treaters started knocking at the door.  I had told myself that I could have 5 pieces of candy tonight, but I would need to do 10 burpees before each piece. So far, it’s 11pm, and I haven’t had a single piece!  I even have room for a piece or two in my macros, but I just don’t feel like it. But I really should find something else to eat.  I have 30g protein, and 14g of fat left for the day.  I guess as soon as I hit Publish, I’m off to the fridge to eat some strange combination of food to try to hit those targets!

Well, that’s about it.

Hope you had a good Halloween….and did something more exciting tonight than writing a blob post!  🙂

Motivational Monday

It’s late and I’m barely squeezing this post into Monday, so it will be short and sweet.

I was away for my golf weekend and had a really great time.  We ended up coming third and if not for a couple of bogies towards the end of the round, we might have tied for first and then it would have gone to a scorecard playoff to see who would won.  No idea how that would have gone, but it didn’t matter.  Those bad couple of holes took care of that.

While I was away, I managed to get my miles in on Friday and Saturday. 

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34 (CrossFit route)
2. August 2:  10:05 (cottage route)
3. August 3:  10:14 (cottage route)
4. August 4:  9:44 (cottage route)
5. August 5:  9:41 (cottage route)
6. August 6:  9:43 (cottage route)
7. August 7:  10:10 (cottage route)
8. August 8:  9:54 (cottage route)
9. August 9:  9:30 (cottage route)
10. August 10:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)
11. August 11:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)
12. August 12:  9:45 (through the neighbourhood in the rain.  I just couldn’t face the treadmill again)
13. August 13:  10:05 (neighbourhood route:  not feeling the love on this one.  My poor old body is tired!)
14. August 14:  10:04 (CrossFit route)
15. August 15:  10:00 (hotel treadmill)
16. August 16:  ??  (not too sure of time…ran around the hotel and neighbouring building’s parking lots after golf between Corona!  It might not have been a mile, but at least I ran)
17. August 17:  Did not run – travel/recovery/rest day
18. August 18:  10:00 (treadmill in the basement after CrossFit…really did not want to do this!

I really didn’t think today’s mile was going to happen.  I’m still pretty tired from my weekend away and my body is still recovering from Thursday’s killer workout of Front Squat strength and Death by Thrusters for the MetCon.  I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed early enough to run before work and I had no motivation to run after my WOD tonight (Thrusters for strength and Dumb Bell Fran as the WOD).  But, as I sat on my bed after I got home from CrossFit, debating with myself whether to shower or run, I somehow managed to drag myself down to the treadmill and just got it over with.  I was too worried since I didn’t run yesterday and if if I didn’t run today, it would be too easy to not run tomorrow either and that is not the trend I want to continue, so I sucked it up and did it.  It was not fun, but it’s done..and who knows…maybe the miracle of not hating running is just around the corner!

DON’T GIVE UP!!! 

Now, I’m off to bed. I’ve got a busy week ahead as I’ve got lots to do before Hubs and I head off to sunny St. Lucia for our 20th anniversary trip on Saturday morning!!!

Here’s to this week going by quickly!

How are your miles going?

I’m Off To Michigan!

You may remember that my scramble team won our EWGA Chapter Championships back in July…if not you can read all about it here. 

Well, today we leave for Michigan and the next round of the Championship.  We are playing in the Upper Mid East Semi-Finals this weekend at Twin Lakes Golf Club. 


I’m sure we will have a great time, and hopefully play some good golf.  Just as long as we can stay out of these monster bunkers!

But, seeing as we are scramble, the chances of us having to play out of the sand, or any other crap, is significantly reduced.  Out of 4 shots, one of us should be able to get us a decent next shot!  Fingers crossed!

We are meeting up at 4 to drive down together.  We  have the rules meeting tomorrow at 1pm and we don’t play our practice round until tomorrow at 3:30, but we are going down tonight so we can enjoy a few cocktails and have some fun before we need to get serious about things tomorrow! 

Aside from my golf clubs, I am also packing my running shoes.  I’m hoping to get out and run my mile each day.  Saturday will be the tricky day as we tee off at 8:31 for our competition round and won’t finish up with lunch and awards at the course until late in the afternoon.  Hopefully I can squeeze in a run before we head out for dinner Saturday night (assuming we haven’t celebrated too much and I can still run!  LOL) If not, I will have to run 2 miles on Sunday when I get home.  (Which does not sound like a lot of fun!)

I ran today’s mile after my CrossFit class at noon.  I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed to run this morning before starting work.  Here’s how the last few days have gone:

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34 (CrossFit route)
2. August 2:  10:05 (cottage route)
3. August 3:  10:14 (cottage route)
4. August 4:  9:44 (cottage route)
5. August 5:  9:41 (cottage route)
6. August 6:  9:43 (cottage route)
7. August 7:  10:10 (cottage route)
8. August 8:  9:54 (cottage route)
9. August 9:  9:30 (cottage route)
10. August 10:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)
11. August 11:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)
12. August 12:  9:45 (through the neighbourhood in the rain.  I just couldn’t face the treadmill again)
13. August 13:  10:05 (neighbourhood route:  not feeling the love on this one.  My poor old body is tired!)
14. August 14:  10:04 (CrossFit route, after the WOD: squat 3Rep Max strength test and Death by Thrusters…my legs were NOT happy.  It felt brutal….but it’s done!)

I’m not sure I will get a chance for a blog post over the weekend, but I’m pretty sure I will post a few instagram pics, so be sure to follow me over there  www.instagram.com/collerhead I see a beer on a golf course pic in my future!  LOL!

Have a great weekend!

Please be sure to send positive vibes to me and my teammates at the semi-finals!

Motivational Monday

Hey kids!  Happy Monday!

I am just back from a week of vacation and I will say that working for a living sucks! The only thing that makes going back to work bearable is knowing that in 12 days I’m off to St Lucia with my honey for our 20th wedding anniversary trip! 

This week’s Motivational Monday quote is a good one.

This one really hits home with me.  If you’ve been following along, you know that I’ve given myself the August Mile-A-Day Challenge.   A mile isn’t that far and I know I can run a mile a day, no problem, but will I?  The tough part is actually getting out there and doing it.

I was doing great while at the cottage on vacation. There was no schedule and nothing that really had to get done each day except sitting in the sun, hanging with friends, and enjoying a few cocktails.  Plus, I had company most days on my mile, which made it easy to get out there.

Yesterday we spent all day cleaning the cottage, getting it back in shape after a busy week with lots of guests, and I didn’t get a chance to run while we were up there.  Then we came home and I had zero motivation to run.  Thankfully, my hubby and kids got on me just before dinner (we ordered pizza!) and made me go run.  I ended up just going down to the treadmill in the basement, but I got it done!  I ran today’s mile this morning on the treadmill too, since I had a massage schedule for right after work and didn’t want to have to run after that…no sense wasting a good massage!

The last mile that I posted was Day 7…here’s how my miles have gone since then:

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34 (CrossFit route)
2. August 2:  10:05 (cottage route)
3. August 3:  10:14 (cottage route)
4. August 4:  9:44 (cottage route)
5. August 5:  9:41 (cottage route)
6. August 6:  9:43 (cottage route)
7. August 7:  10:10 (cottage route)
8. August 8:  9:54 (cottage route)
9. August 9:  9:30 (cottage route)
10. August 10:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)
11. August 11:  10:00 (Treadmill – set at 6mph)

I will need to run tomorrow’s mile either first thing in the morning or I will be forced to run it after CrossFit at 9:30pm or so, since I’ve got my golf league tomorrow after noon at 4:30.  I am really hoping I can get my act together and actually get outside to run tomorrow’s mile since I really don’t like running on the treadmill.  For me, running the mile on the treadmill was way harder than running it outside.  Not sure why, but it is.  Maybe that’s why treadmills are often referred to as dreadmills!

 
Anyone out there running with me?
How are things going?

August Mile-A-Day Challenge–Day 7

Another day, another mile!

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34
2. August 2:  10:05
3. August 3:  10:14
4. August 4:  9:44 
5. August 5:  9:41
6. August 6:  9:43
7. August 7:  10:10  (cottage route)

Day 7 and I’m starting to get used to this!  Today I had even more company on my mile run. This time, my sister and one of our friends joined in for the mile.  We chatted the whole route and it was a nice easy mile.  Did I just say that…an easy mile!  God, this might just be working!

This wasn’t my fastest mile, but it was a nice easy run and I wasn’t even huffing and puffing when we finished.  Today’s time:  10:10. 

Now, everyone else is off doing something – playing at the park, picking up a seadoo, or dropping a kid back off to his parents – and I’ve just finished cleaning the cottage between rounds of guests, and I’m about to go outside and enjoy a nice cold Bevé. 

Cottage life is good!

Did you run your mile today? 
How did it go?  Feel free to share your time in the comments below.

August Mile-A-Day Challenge–Day 6

6 days in and still feeling good!

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34
2. August 2:  10:05
3. August 3:  10:14
4. August 4:  9:44 
5. August 5:  9:41
6. August 6:  9:43 (cottage route)

Today I ran a little bit later, but still in the morning.  We had quite a late night last night, so it took a little while to get things going this morning. 

I had company on my run today…my sister joined me for my mile.  We ran my usual cottage mile route and we did it in 9:43, so no new record, but I seem to have settled into a fairly steady pace.  Hopefully I can keep it in this range, or maybe even just get a little quicker.  I guess time will tell!

Now I’m off to sit by the fire and cook a few s’mores.  We are having a great week up at the cottage with friends.  I’ll fill you in on all the fun later…I’m off to the fire!

Did you run your mile today? 
How did it go?  Feel free to share your time in the comments below.

August Mile-A-Day Challenge–Day 5

It’s day 5 and things just keep getting better!  Took a few more seconds off my time.

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34
2. August 2:  10:05
3. August 3:  10:14
4. August 4:  9:44 
5. August 5:  9:41 (cottage route)  

Once again, I did this run pretty much as soon as I got up.  There are a ton of people coming up to the cottage today, so I definitely wanted to get the run in before the party gets started.

I’m almost afraid to say it, but I think it might be getting easier!

Did you run your mile today? 
How did it go?  Feel free to share your time in the comments below.

August Mile-A-Day Challenge: Day 4

Well, I’m 4 days into my mile-a-day challenge and still going strong.  So far, since being up at the cottage, I am running my mile as soon as I get out of bed.  I figure I may as well get it over with first thing in the day, rather than have to run it later when I might be having too much cottage fun and not want to go.  This will be especially true once friends start rolling in later today and throughout the whole week.

August Miles:

1. August 1:  10:34
2. August 2:  10:05
3. August 3:  10:14
4. August 4:  9:44  Same route as miles 2 and 3, at the cottage.

Today was a new mile PR for me.  While still slow as molasses compared to lots of people, that is blazing’ fast for me!  Not sure I will be able to do that everyday, but nice to know I am improving.

Did you run your mile today?
How did it go?  Feel free to post your times in the comments below!

August Mile-A-Day Challenge

I mentioned this in my Friday Five post, but for the month of August, I am going to try to run a mile every day. 

Despite the fact that I used to run a lot, these days I am not a big fan of running at all.  Running seems to be creeping into a lot of my CrossFit WODs lately – either 200m or 400m between rounds in a WOD, or 1 mile timed runs – and I hate it. So, in an effort to improve, and not let the running portion of WODs wreck my overall times, I gave myself the mile-a-day challenge.

I am 3 days in and so far I’ve ran every day!

August 1:  after CrossFit class (which included a 400m run in the warm up, and 5 200m runs in the WOD already!), time 10:34

August 2:  at the cottage, time 10:05

August 3:  at the cottage, time: 10:14

I’m not breaking any land-speed records, but I’m getting it done.

Hopefully I can keep it going all month.  I know I will have a few days when it will be tough to squeeze in – like when I’m golfing in Michigan in a few weeks, or when I’m in St. Lucia for a week at the end of the month – but I’m going to do my best. 

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Anyone want to join in?