(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: The Help

Read the BOOK and then go see the MOVIE when it hits theaters!!!

Back in Action! Week 5 Training

I am back and ready for week 5!! 

So not much happened during week 4 with the half marathon training. 

Week 5 Game Plan: 

• Monday: 3.15 miles on treadmill (DONE!)
• Tuesday: AM workout
• Wednesday: 3 miles on treadmill
• Thursday: AM workout
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 6-7 miles
• Sunday: Rest

Challenges:

• I am moving this week so I need to get my workouts done in the morning before work. It is going to be a near impossible challenge to get me out of bed to be at the gym at 5am but I need to do it!

Don't forget I am hosting my first giveaway! Enter to win your own pair of ZippEarz earbuds!! The best workout earbuds I have found!!  

Check me out!

Hey y'all!!

I wrote a guest post for FITBLOGGER and it is up today!!

Click HERE to check it out!!!

Have a great day!!

Don't forget to enter to WIN your own pair of ZippEarz earbuds!! It will make your workouts a million times better!!!

Product Review & My First Giveaway!!

Recently, I received a pair of ZippEarz earbuds to try out while I am training for my first half marathon. I was beyond thrilled to try these out. 
I have had many issues with headphones lately. My favorite pair shorted out, the iPod headphones made my ears literally hurt, and my Skullcandy Ink'd headphones would not stay in my ear once I got to sweating.

ZippEarz features: 

• High end  10mm speakers
• Ergonomic design for ear comfort
• Zippearz “zip up” wire for less tangling
• Patent Pending adjustable ear loop for high activity listening

I love that the earbuds come with different size ear cones. I have small ears so one size fits all does not work for me. I chose the smaller cone and it fit perfectly in my ear. I did not use the adjustable ear loop and the earbuds fit well without them.

The earbuds also come with a storage pouch perfect for the earbuds and an iPod shuffle.  

The ZippEarz offers a high sound quality and exceptional bass levels. I love bass in my music and these passed the test.

ZippEarz on the bus

I tested these out on my 40 minute commute to work on the bus. Once I turned the volume up a bit (it was turned down from my outdoor workout) it cancelled out the annoying sounds of taking public transportation.

ZippEarz stayed in during the entire 7 mile walk/jog!

For my outdoor workout I turned down the volume a bit and was able to hear the joyous sounds of nature around me. I tend to sweat A LOT while working out and the ZippEarz stayed in place the entire time which was great. Who wants to have to fool with earbuds falling out while trying to get in a good workout. Well with the ZippEarz it took the worry away and I could focus on my workout (both indoors and outdoors).

The good news is that you can own a pair for the low low price of $24.95 (it's an investment in your well being) or you can enter to win your own pair!!!  

Yes that is right! One lucky reader of my blog will have the chance to WIN their own pair of ZippEarz!!! 

(Open to US residents only)

To Enter: (leave a comment for each entry)

1. Like Zippearz on Facebook
2. Follow Zippearz on Twitter
3. Subscribe to my blog via Google Friend Connect or by email
4. Follow me on Twitter
5. Tweet about this giveaway: "@jhooker517 is hosting her first giveaway! Enter to win a pair of @zippearz earbuds! http://goo.gl/Nh8gT"
6. Blog about this giveaway on your blog and comment below with the link
7. Link this giveaway up through facebook, email, or whatever social networking way you like to spread the word.  Remember, leave a separate comment for each that you do.
   

You are not obligated to enter using each of the entry methods but, by all means, feel free to.

This giveaway ends on July 31, 2011 at 5:00pm CST. 

A winner will be selected via Random.org and announced in a blog post after the deadline. Winners have 72-hours from the announcement time to claim their prize by emailing me. Otherwise another entrant will be selected.

Remember to leave a comment for each way you enter, as each comment is an entry for the giveaway. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win.

Disclaimer: ZippEarz sent me a pair of earbuds to review. I was not compensated in any way for this review and it is my honest opinion of the product.

Training Week 3 Recap & Week 4 Game Plan

Intended Game Plan:

• Monday: 40 minutes on treadmill
• Tuesday: Pole Fit class
• Wednesday: 40 minutes on treadmill
• Thursday: Kickboxing class
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 7 mile wog
• Sunday: Rest

What Really Went Down: 

• Monday: 3.14 miles on the treadmill in 41:02 minutes 
• Tuesday: Pole Fit
• Just in case you don't know, this class is basically aerobics with a "stripper" pole (stop judging me). It is an AMAZING upper body workout. 
• Wednesday: Rest
• Thursday: 2.5 miles on the treadmill in about 35 minutes 
• I wasn't moving too quick and it was 5am. 
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 5.81 miles
• Sunday: Rest

The Good, Bad, & Ugly:

• Tracking
• I did not track a single thing this week. I am becoming better about listening to my body and its needs but I know I need to track to know exactly how many calories are going into my body.
• Strength Training
• Another fail! I need a gym buddy to do strength training with me. Clearly I am not doing it on my own
• Pain
• I am having some pain in my left shoulder blade area/mid back area that started after I took the Pole Fit class. It is not as intense as it was but it is still there. 
• After my walk on Saturday I had some crazy intense pain on the top of my left foot. Either my laces were tied to tight or I need the wide width instead of normal width.  
• My left side apparently is falling apart. 
• I had my first walk with friends on Saturday. It makes such a difference when you are not alone. Time does fly by!
• I had a Nike+ GPS fail!! Read about it HERE!
• I tried a new recipe this week!! I made Lasagna Cupcakes that I found on Emily Bites blog. Instead of ground beef I used ground turkey. 
• I have successfully completed my July goal of trying a new recipe! SCORE!

Week 4 Game Plan:

• I don't really have a game plan for this week since I have some other things going on. This will be like a rest week for me. I do plan to go to the gym today and possibly Wednesday. 
• I will be back 100% for week 5!

Long Wog Saturday Week 3

Today’s training wog began at 4:30am when my alarm went off. I wanted to throw my phone alarm across the room but somehow I managed to roll get out of bed. This weeks route took me downtown to the Town Lake trails. And by took me I mean I got in my car and drove to the Town Lake trails since I don’t live close to the trails.
Sadly I have been in Austin for two years and have never done the Town Lake trails. I got there around 6:20am and there was already a nice crowd out. It made me feel a bit safer. I was meeting Brittany and Stacy at 7am but wanted to get in a couple miles before then. Off I went. It was already hot at 6:30am but it didn’t feel too bad out because the sun wasn’t out yet.

I have been using the Nike+ GPS app to track my pace, distance, etc. Today I had a major app fail!!! Somewhere along the way the app messed up and got off course. It literally had my running through the lake. Thankfully I had looked at my distance before I looped back around to the beginning. Halfway was 1.25miles  so double that and I was able to do 2.5 miles before meeting Brittany and Stacy. The app has me at 3.25 miles but I know that is wrong.
I was not going to make the mistake of using the Nike+ GPS app again so I decided to try out the Map My Run app. It worked very well and helped us get back on track when we thought we were lost. I had a great time walking with Brittany and Stacy! We even stopped to take a few photos.
     

We did a whopping 3.31 miles in 65 minutes!! Time flies by when you are having a great time and great conversation!!!
Then it was time to get our grub on!!! We decided to go to Kerbey Lane Café! If you are ever in Austin you should check this place out. You can get breakfast anytime of day and it is so good!!
We were pretty hot and  sweaty but it was just proof of our hard work!


I had the Baked Potato Omelet which consists of homefries, bacon, green onions, cheddarjack cheese and sour cream! Also known as yummy goodness!!!
Soon it was time to part ways but I was ready to get home because I had a package arriving in the mail!
I would like to announce that I am the proud owner of a Garmin Forerunner 305!!! I can’t wait to try it out figure out how to use it! It will be a much more reliable than the Nike+ GPS app.

Thoughts from week 3 wog:

• I like my new pair of running shoes. I won the New Balance 940s from Shrinking Jeans but I have some pain on top of my foot now. I am not sure I need to lace them differently or if I should have got a wider width. They will be great shoes for my shorter wogs during the week.
  
• Getting rest the night before helped me survive the long day.
  
• Laying out my clothes and gear makes for a less hectic morning.
  
• Is it October yet? I am ready for this race (mentally) and to get my first medal. Also, the chocolate and champagne at the finish line will be nice too!
• Total miles today: 5.81 :-)

I attended an informational meeting about participating in Team DetermiNation to raise funds for the American Cancer Society through walking/running in the Austin Half Marathon. I am not sure I am going to do it but I think it would be a new and exciting challenge.

Anyone ever run a race to raise funds for a cause/charity? Did you participate on a formal team or just raise funds on your own?

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!!!

Three Things Thursday: Food Edition

I tried a few new foods over the past week or so and I would like share them with y’all!

1. Fiber One 80 calorie Honey Squares cereal
• The first thing I noticed is that this cereal smells really good. Strange, I know but it does and it tastes good too!! 
• I have seen coupons floating around on the internet for a $1 off. Get your Google on and get a coupon. :-) 
2. Blue Diamond Nut Chips: Sour Cream & Chive Flavor
• I had no intention of buying these chips but they caught my attention at the grocery store. They were on sell so I decided to give them a try. 
• They were located in the gluten free section of my local grocery store. 
• These were good but I don't think I will be adding them to my chip rotation. 
3. Uncle Sam Original cereal
• I am voluntarily participating in the Attune Foods Summer Breakfast Swap mini week challenge. I am on Mel’s team! I received a coupon for a free box of the cereal for participating in the mini week challenge.
• Come join the fun with Mel!!!
• This entire week I have been eating the Uncle Sam's cereal. I was skeptical at first but paired with a side of turkey bacon and an orange it has kept me full until about 11:30am. So no hunger from 7am-11:30am. Sounds like a win in my opinion. 
• I had to get used to the taste and (I admit) I put a lil sugar on it to make it a bit sweeter. My sweet taste buds need to be satisfied. Adding the sugar helped make it taste better for me. 
• I also ate this with unsweetened vanilla almond milk since I don't drink dairy milk. 
• I can't say that I will buy this again unless I have a coupon but it was nice to try it out. 

Information Overload

I think I may have sent my friend into information overload. She sent me a Facebook message about my half marathon training and I sent her information on everything I know. 

I can't take full credit for what I was writing. However, thanks to all the wonderful folks I have met on twitter (#runchat, #fitblog) and reading various blogs I realize that I know more than what I give myself credit for. AND what I am doing is a great thing and I need to OWN it and LIVE in the moment! I really thought no one would care that I am training for some little ol race but I have been proven wrong. 

I kind of feel like a big deal. I'm just saying. :-) 

Anywho, here is the short novel I wrote to my friend on Facebook. **Excuse the grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. It is a Facebook message after all**

"Yea they say you should have a base. I did "pre-training" before my plan started just to build up and make sure I was ready. If you know an event you want to do then it may be easier to work backwards from that date and put together a training plan. I registered and then tried to figure everything out lol

Fitted shoes are definitely important. I really want a GPS watch (Garmin Forerunner 305...to be exact) but for now I use the Nike+ GPS app when outdoors and it works great. If I am on the treadmill I use the Nike+ sensor that is in my shoe and the iPhone app. I think Garmin has a foot sensor too for indoor workouts.

Some people don't run with water. I have to have it because I sweat a lot and get thirsty really easily. I use a Camelbak hydration backpack. They also have waist packs. There are all sorts of brands and styles. I think fuel belts is the other brand I hear about a lot. It really comes down to your preference.
There is a local company here in Austin called SPIbelt that sells belts to hold keys, phone, iPod...small items. I  have one and I really like it and they sell cute colors. lol

For clothing i highly recommend wearing clothing that is dri fit/moisture wicking. Cotton is a no go! I also have my bff Body Glide that I put on my thighs which helps with chafing and I use it on my feet to keep blisters away. Speaking of feet, I have moisture wicking socks that i found at Old Navy that I use. I like them.
Also, make sure you get a good sports bra to support the girls. Since I am larger on top I decided to invest (painful on my checking acct) in the Moving Comfort Fiona and Juno bras. I found them on Amazon.com for way less than on the company website. Amazon is the bomb.com :-)

My latest experiment has been with energy drinks (Gatorade & Powerade Zero) and GU Energy Gels. I drink energy drinks before my long walks/jogs that I do on Saturday and after just to replenish. The GU energy gels (get the vanilla bean or espresso love) are good if I am out for over 45 minutes and need energy and just to replenish during. These are at places like Academy, REI, Sports Authority, etc.

For music, I put together a playlist using what i was already working out to. Then I read about a site called jog.fm that lets u input your pace and suggests songs based on it. So I used the suggestions to add to my existing playlist.

OMG this is probably information OVERLOAD... YIKES SORRY!

I tend to read a lot of blogs and I have got lots of info on Twitter. I feel like I know alot after writing this lol. :-) I may put this in a post on my blog lol.

Continue to ask away."

Well there you have it folks! My "knowledge". Take it for what it is worth but it's all based on my own experiences thus far. 

Any additional tips or suggestions you would like to add?

Training Week 3 Here I Come!

Week 3 has arrived! Bring it on!!

Game Plan:

• Monday: 40 minutes on treadmill
• Tuesday: Pole Fit class
• Wednesday: 40 minutes on treadmill
• Thursday: Kickboxing class
• Friday: Rest
• Saturday: 7 mile wog
• Sunday: Rest

Challenges:

• Tracking
• I am going to be intentional about tracking what I eat and what I put in my mouth. I need to cut back on the junk!
• Strength Training
• If I am at the gym, I need to lift some weights. Even if it is only 15 minutes worth. 

What's everyone doing this week?

Training Week 2 Recap

The plan for week 2:

• Monday: Cardio dance class or 3 mile treadmill walk/jog
  
• Tuesday: Treadmill – 45 minutes
  
• Wednesday: Rest
  
• Thursday: Treadmill – 45 minutes
  
• Friday: Rest
  
• Saturday: 6 miles walk/jog outdoors
  
• Sunday: Rest

What really happened:

• Monday: Nightclub cardio dance class at my gym along with 15 minutes of weights on the machines
  
• Tuesday: 3.11 miles on the treadmill in 40:27 minutes
  
• Wednesday: Rest
  
• Thursday: Rest (my body needed it)
  
• Friday: Rest
  
• Saturday: 7.02 miles on a park trail in 1:31:26
  
• Sunday: Rest

What I learned:

• Don’t eat Mexican and have a margarita the night before a long wog (mistake from week 1).
• Things never go according to how I plan but I am glad I have a plan.
• For me, I need to literally do nothing the night before my long wog. Last week, I did some decluttering and cleaning and didn’t get enough rest which I think affected how I felt last week.
• This week I felt great before, during, and after my wog.
• I still can’t seem to incorporate strength training into my training plan even though I know it is very important.
• I feel like my endurance is building slowly and I am getting a wee bit faster.

Have a great Sunday y’all!!!