Sunday, November 23, 2014

Weekly Recap- November 17-23, 2014

This weekend I had a long back-to-back run to prepare for Goofy--8 on Saturday and 16 on Sunday.  It was my longest back-to-back run yet and my highest mileage week that I've ever done and I could so feel it.  Not feeling so confident about Goofy right now.

Goofy training week 11

Monday--rest.  Softball tournament got rained out.

Tuesday--ran 6.40 miles in 1:08:21.  Mile 1: 10:43, Mile 2: 10:38, Mile 3: 11:00, Mile 4: 10:35, Mile 5: 10:49, Mile 6: 10:32, Mile 6-6.4: 10:07, Average Pace: 10:41.  Ran the whole thing!

Softball tournament at night.  We lost :(  It was so close the whole game then at the top of the last inning we went up by 7 runs.  Surely we should have it, right??  Nope, we lost it.  And I didn't help any on the last play of the game.  Sigh.

Wednesday--rest.  I had planned to do Dance Trance but apparently for the package I have, you have to sign up online 6 hours in advance.  I didn't know that and tried to sign up right before I left.

Thursday--Ran 7 miles in 1:11:47.  Ran 36 mins then did 2:1s. Mile 1: 9:46, Mile 2: 10:04, Mile 3: 9:57, Mile 4: 10:33, Mile 5: 10:45, Mile 6: 10:39, Mile 7: 9:59, Average Pace: 10:15.  Felt much better about my pace today.

That night I went to one of my student's baseball games.  They never look very small to me in the classroom because everything is their size.  But out there on the field, they look like babies!!

Friday--rest.  Kory and I had date night at Texas Roadhouse.  I've only been there once before but much prefer Outback.

Saturday--ran 8 miles in 1:21:48.  Mile 1: 9:31, Mile 2: 9:43, Mile 3: 9:49, Mile 4: 9:48, Mile 5: 11:05, Mile 6: 10:36, Mile 7: 10:39, Mile 8: 10:35, Average Pace: 10:13.  Great pace again!  I ran with Faith & Heather's church running group.  It was my first time running on the West Orange Trail and I really liked it!  We passed this odd sight of a Seminole, Gator, & Hurricane  Apparently a guy used to own this place and keep it great looking but he passed away and no one has kept it up.  It was kinda creepy though.


Sunday--ran 16 miles in 3:07:50.  Mile 1: 10:36, Mile 2: 9:47, Mile 3: 10:07, Mile 4: 12:32, Mile 5: 12:15, Mile 6: 11:59, Mile 7: 11:54, Mile 8: 12:13, Mile 9: 11:53, Mile 10: 11:45, Mile 11: 11:55, Mile 12: 11:57, Mile 13: 12:25, Mile 14: 12:08, Mile 15: 12:29, Mile 16: 11:51, Average Pace: 11:44.  Today was really rough.  I was over it at mile 9.  I think it was because I went pretty hard yesterday and then started out too fast today.  At mile 12.5 I had to drop to alternating between 2:1s and 1:1:s and I really wanted to quit.  I'm just not sure how I'm going to get another 2 miles for my 18 miler, another 4 miles for my 20 miles and another 10.2 for the marathon!!



Total miles this week: 37.5
Total miles in 2014: 395.45
Total miles: 1463.44

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Winter Park Krispy Kreme--Pumpkin Edition!

Last week Meghan was invited to attend an event at Krispy Kreme in Winter Park and let me tag along.  She knows how much I love doughnuts!!

When we were walking up, I was so excited to see the Hot Now sign lit up!


The Winter Park location has been there for 11 years but it just went under a really nice renovation.

Once inside, my eyes were drawn to all those yummy doughnuts being made.


I told Meghan I really just wanted to put my mouth under the part where the doughnuts get the icing.  Sugar heaven!

Today we were there to try the new Pumpkin doughnuts.  We tried the Pumpkin Spice Cake doughnut and the Pumpkin Cheesecake Doughnut.  (Why yes, that is a hidden Mickey in my doughnuts!!)


They were both really good.  The Pumpkin Cheesecake one was similar to a Chocolate Iced Custard Filled doughnut but the topping was cream cheese icing and a gingersnap cookie crumble and the filling tasted like pumpkin cheesecake. But the Pumpkin Spice Cake one was my favorite of the two.  It was just the perfect combo of pumpkin spice and sweet icing.



And I had to get milk to go with mine.

Next we got to dip our own doughnuts in chocolate icing and decorate it!!


You can tell I took my job seriously by the way I'm biting my lower lip!


Not too shabby!


I don't like sprinkles so I left mine with just the icing.  It was delicious!  I may need a new job!

There were blank snowman doughnuts and we got to decorate them.


I just had to bust out my Disney side again and sing "Do you want to frost a snowman?".  Frozen is everywhere, ya know.


Mmmm look at all of those doughnuts.

And I got to bring home a dozen!!


Yes, I was nice and picked some of them out for Kory.  But I was saving my set for my long run the following Saturday.  Doughnuts and chocolate milk are my post-long run treat!

We had such a great time!


Thank you Krispy Kreme!

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Weekly Recap- November 10-16, 2014

Goofy training Week 10

Monday--rest.  Softball tournament time hasn't started yet so I took the Goldsteins to Food & Wine.  We had lots of yummy food!

Tuesday--bailed on the run.  I took the day off from running since my achilles/peroneal area was still hurting from the race.  But Meghan and I attended the Fit2Run Fun Run in Celebration so we could set up a table to represent Best Damn Race.  We had our usual dinner at the Celebration Town Tavern
.
Wednesday--Dance Trance.  I am so horribly awful at it yet I think it is so much fun!

Thursday--6.28 miles in 1:11:30.  Ran 3.5 miles then did 2:1s. Mile 1: 11:13, Mile 2: 11:01, Mile 3: 10:49, Mile 4: 11:26, Mile 5: 12:18, Mile 6: 11:46, Mile 6-6.28: 10:37, Average Pace: 11:23

In the afternoon, I attended a Krispy Kreme Event with Meghan.  Yum!


Friday--rest

Saturday--15 miles in 2:52:53. Mile 1: 10:55, Mile 2: 10:41, Mile 3: 11:17, Mile 4: 12:37, Mile 5: 12:37, Mile 6: 12:01, Mile 7: 11:52, Mile 8: 12:04, Mile 9: 11:35, Mile 10: 11:31, Mile 11: 11:23, Mile 12: 11:31, Mile 13: 11:30, Mile 14: 11:37, Mile 15: 10:39, Average Pace: 11:35  My longest run since this time last year!  I definitely didn't do as well as I did last year.  For some reason when I run with my friend, we run slower than normal.  And she's faster than I am.  We can't figure it out.  I was definitely really achey after.  Not sure how I'm gonna do 11 more miles. (plus the half the day before!)

Kory I went to Gators Dockside to watch the Gators lose to South Carolina.  So frustrating!

Sunday---rest.  worked at Disney.

Total miles this week: 21.28
Total miles in 2014: 358.05
Total miles: 1426.04

Saturday, November 15, 2014

Race #51- Miracle Miles 15k

I was looking forward to running Miracle Miles 15k again this year.  I was hoping for a PR.  I had recently started running in the mornings with some girls I had met through a couple of friends and they let me tag along with them for the race.


It was raining so we tried to stay dry for as long as we could, but soon we were off!

The run felt good.  My legs and body felt good the whole time and the rain kept things cool.

I had thought that Faith and her sister were ahead of me for the first part of the race.  But they were behind me and caught up about halfway through.  We played tag for awhile, with me doing my intervals, but soon they took off.



I finished in 1:31:51, a 2:40 PR!



I placed 826 out of 1541 so not top half ;/  But for women, I placed 371 out of 926 so top half there.  I look forward to next year's!

(My only complaint--please make gender specific tees!!  I can never wear these because they're too big!)

Thursday, November 13, 2014

David's Club Ingredient of the Month

Recently Meghan was invited to David's Club at the Omni at ChampionsGate.  I have driven by the hotel several times and it always looks so enticing.  When Meghan invited me to join her, I eagerly jumped at the chance!



She was invited to try out the Ingredient of the Month. Executive Chef Robert Ash came out to greet us and explain to us what we would be experiencing.  Each month one ingredient is chosen to be featured in a special menu.  All of the featured ingredients come from local Florida.  Our ingredient was Mango.



First we we treated to cranberry scones, corn muffins and maple honey butter.



Very yummy but I didn't want to fill up!

Our meal also comprised of a tasting of two wines.  The first one poured was Eroica Riesling (yes!)



The first appetizer we tried was Mango and Lump Crab Salad with avocado, arugula, quinoa, and a mango citrus vinaigrette.


This salad was so complex.  I loved all of the flavors and how they combined, even though I would never have thought of putting them together.  The quinoa was crunchy, which we weren't expecting and raised the salad up a notch!

Next we tried the Pulled Pork Sliders which had crispy onions, cabbage slaw, cotija cheese, and mango bbq sauce.


These were so good too!  The addition of the onions and the cheese made these just different from your normal sliders.  I devoured mine!  Chef Ash came out and asked us which one we preferred.  I chose the sliders but only barely.  I would easily order both again!

Next we got a tasting of a Viognier wine.  This wine wasn't as sweet as the Riesling.


Our awesome waitress noticed that I seemed to enjoy the Riesling more so kept topping off that one for me.

It was time for the entrees!  First we tried the Grilled Mayport Shrimp which came with potato-bacon hash, roasted peppers, and Winter Park mango glaze.


The glaze--oh the glaze.  We were spooning that sucker up!  It coated the shrimp, mango and hash so nicely.  And we happened to mention to Chef Ash that we loved it so much that it should be served over ice cream!

Next we tried the Roasted Florida Wahoo with chorizo dirty rice, garlic spinach, mango lime chutney, and shellfish broth.


The wahoo was delicious but I loooved the rice mixed with the shellfish broth.  I easily could have eaten a bowl of just that or even the shellfish broth alone!

We were getting stuffed but had left just enough room for dessert--Warm Mango Fritters with caramel, raspberry & passion fruit dipping sauces.


If you notice in the picture, there is a fourth sauce not mentioned on the menu.  That's right--Chef Ash had listened to us gush about the Winter Park whiskey mango glaze and given us a bunch to dip the fried mango into.  And it was delicious!!

On a completely random, non-food note, when we walked in, I immediately loved the setup towards one side of the room.  There were a bunch of chairs set up in front of a big TV.  Perfect watching the big game!!



The whole night was truly amazing.  We were completely spoiled.  We were told that the Ingredient of the Month for November was crab!  (Yes please!!)

Many thanks to Chef Ash, David's Club and the Omni at ChampionsGate for a wonderful night!

Disclaimer:  I was provided a complimentary meal in exchange for a review.   As always, the opinions here are completely my own.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Weekly Recap- November 3-9, 2014

Busy running week.  I had a double race day this weekend!


Goofy training Week 9:

Monday--softball. The other team forfeited so we won.  And that means we won our league!  Woohoo!  Before softball, my dad was in town so Kory and I went out with him to celebrate his early birthday.  We headed to Johnny's Hideaway.  They have a great happy hour.  We had tons of seafood!

:
Tuesday-- 5.79 miles in 59:48.  I tried speedwork and it about killed me.  1 mile slow, 7 sets of .5 miles fast followed by 45 secs slow, 1 mile slow. Ugh. This about killed me. I ran the 1 mile then 2:1 fast until about 2.5 miles. Then my poor breathing got to me & my diaphragm started hurting so I dropped down to 1:1s fast. Then I got stuck at 2 long traffic lights. So that threw off my speed work. So no idea what it would really be
1.00 mile: 9:46
0.50 miles: 9:14
0:45: 13:04
0.50 miles: 8:36
0:45: 14:33
0.50 miles: 9:15
0:45: 16:12
0.50 miles: 10:35
0:45: 12:46
0.50 miles: 10:24
0:45: 10:27
0.50 miles: 10:58
0:45: 8:11
0.50: 11:41
1:00 mile:11:11
Average Pace: 10:20
I'm not sure how some of my walk times were fast since I definitely don't walk that fast!

Wednesday--rest.  We had Portfolio Night at school.

Thursday--6 miles in 1:07:05.  Mile 1: 10:53, Mile 2: 10:15, Mile 3: 10:20, Mile 4: 12:00, Mile 5: 12:11, Mile 6: 11:25, Average Pace: 11:11

Friday--rest.  Cori and I went to the Wine & Dine Half Marathon expo to do some shopping and pick up our race packets.  We had sent Kory to get some of the goodies earlier in the day since they sell out.  But this time, they sold out of the necklaces (which they never have before!)

Then we met up with our hubbys at Olive Garden to carb load.

Saturday-- double race day!!  

Race #1
Gingerbread Run 5k at Give Kids the World.  3.15 miles in 26:55! Ran the whole thing!  Big PR! I was hoping to only shave a few seconds off my PR of 28:55 but instead I took off 2 minutes!! Mile 1: 8:26, Mile 2: 8:36, Mile 3: 8:38, Mile 3-3.15: 7:22, Average Pace: 8:30.  I met up with Meghan, Kelly, Kacie, and some of their friends.  It was so neat and inspiring to run through the village.

I went home, showered, rested and then headed to the Expo again to get visors for us to wear for the race.  It was predicted to rain and we didn't want to worry about the rain in our face.  And I found another cute shirt for my Marathon weekend race!




Then I went over to the Boardwalk Resort for a cupcake meetup!  It was fun to get together with a bunch of running friends!  Ashley, Joe and I ran into Food & Wine for just a minute so Ashley could get a slushy drink.


Ashley and I were freaking out about the rain that was coming during the race.


And we were right to be!  It poured once we were in the corrals.  It was quite the miserable race.

Race #2
Wine and Dine Half Marathon--13.49 miles in 2:29:53.  Mile 1: 11:09, Mile 2: 9:55, Mile 3: 9:42, Mile 4: 11:13, Mile 5: 11:07, Mile 6: 11:37, Mile 7: 11:34, Mile 8: 11:39, Mile 9: 11:52, Mile 10: 10:39, Mile 11: 12:04, Mile 12: 11:22, Mile 13: 11:01, Mile 13-13.49: 10:26, Average Pace: 11:07.  There were several times I just wanted to stop.  And we were so cold and miserable that, even though we changed after the race, we decided not to go to the after party and just go home instead.


Sunday--rest.  I slept in then Kory and I went to Food & Wine.  We did a lap around the countries then headed to Downtown Disney to see a movie.  We saw The Maze Runner which I thought was really good.  We also went into Fit2Run so I could get a box of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Gu.  I had tried the new flavor the night before the race and it tasted like a melted Reeces Peanut Butter cup!

Total miles this week: 28.43
Total miles in 2014: 336.77
Total miles: 1404.76

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Race #50-- Hit and Run 5k

When I first found out about the Hit and Run 5k--I couldn't wait to sign up!  A 5k combined with Wipeout-like obstacles??  Yes please!!!  We signed up as soon as registration opened.



Then I started reading reviews.  How horrible the lines were.  How the water was muddy.  Just lots of negativity.  Luckily, I had nothing negative to say and I'd definitely sign up again!

Our group was called Tangled Feet (carried over from races Cori and I have done together).  We put word out that we wanted to get a group together and we had fun group compiled!


Nicola, Steve and Kerry joined us.

When we signed up, we registered for the first wave.  And I honestly think that's why everything worked so smoothly for us.  I think the longest wait we had in line was MAYBE 5 minutes.  But I could see by the end how the lines were getting long.

I didn't take my phone because I didn't want it to get wet so I don't have any close up pics of the obstacles...only 2 far away ones.  We had brought a GoPro to use, but unfortunately the case cracked open and it met its untimely death on the water obstacle.

There were several obstacles: (And since I didn't bring my phone, I'm taking these from the Hit and Run 5k website with my commentary before it).

~Running across an inflated balance beam-type thing that was slippery with soap.  Nope--didn't make it across.



~ A wall to climb that was soapy.  The foot places were inflated and tiny so they didn't help.  You had to use the strap to pull yourself up.  I was sore for days!
 (They have a different obstacle and pic online..sorry!)

~The dreaded wall that has doors that suddenly open up and smack you.  All while there are people throwing dodge balls at you. I was so afraid of this one.  And poor Nicola went first and right at the end got smacked pretty hard.  One of race people controls it and I think he felt pretty bad.  Good news was that if you go first, you get to throw the dodge balls at your friends behind you.  Steve went last---you can imagine how much fun we had!

~The Big Balls!  I COULD NOT WAIT to try this!  They're not as big as in the show, but you still have to jump far to get to them.  I fell of the first ball.  So much fun!



~ The water obstacle where you have to kneel and crawl across this balance beam while these big balls rotate around above you trying to knock you off.  Luckily I only lost my footing once and only my left foot splashed in the water.




The run ended up being only about 2.6 miles.  Nicola wore her watch and it took us 39:45 to complete.  Not bad!

As for what goodies came in the packet--this tee and a sweatband.  There was also other tees and fun socks you could purchase.



I had an absolute blast.  Would I do it again?  Definitely--but on one condition--I would have to sign up for the first wave.  If I couldn't get the first wave, the line would be too long.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Giveaway Winner- Best Damn Race Prize Pack


Congratulations to


Mandy


for winning a Best Damn Race Prize Pack!


 Karen, email me at onceuponarun (at) hotmail (dot) com by Friday at 11 pm and I'll get you your info for your Prize Pack!!


Still need to register for the race?  You can use code AHOWELL for $5 off any race!


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Stitch Fix Boxes #3 and #4

I've been such a bad blogger lately.  I'm just so busy and haven't been good about posting.  And I completely forgot to post about my 3rd Stitch Fix box.

Stitch Fix #3

I had another stylist this time.  Unfortunately, I thought most of the pieces were kinda boring.  Not my fav box.


Skies are Blue Baylee Crochet Detail Tank-- $48


It was okay looking hanging up


And I paired it with Mavi Freida Regular Length Skinny Jean--$118


I don't like skinny jeans and had put this in my profile.


When I put it on, the tank was too big.  But the jeans.  Oh, I loved the jeans.


They actually looked good on me and they were comfy!  But I just couldn't justify the price tag.

Verdict:  Both pieces went back.

41Hawthorn Rosa Tab Sleeve V-Neck Blouse--$58


Gator Blue but a little plain looking hanging up.



Paired with Pixley Rita Teardrop Bib Necklace--$42


I liked it!

Don't mind the weird hair!

I really liked the necklace with the shirt.


But I knew I could find one cheaper.

Verdict: Shirt--kept, Necklace--returned.

41Hawthorn Sloane Colorblock A-Line Ponte Shift Dress


Absolutely adorable!!

I couldn't wait to put it on!

 Unfortunately, it was a little too tight right below the belted area and I felt like it hit at a weird spot at the knee--should have been a little shorter.  Sad because it was so cute!


The overall total was $344.  With my credits and the Buy all discount, it would have been $238.  I decided just to keep the blue shirt.  And I was honest that this stylist wasn't my favorite.  Maybe not too nice but as you'll see below, it worked!!

Stitch Fix #4

Today when I opened my box and looked at my pieces, I was so excited!  I think this was my favorite box just taking everything out!  This stylist nailed my style!!


I love that she paid attention to the fact that I loved orange & blue, and she looked at my Pinterest!

Mystree Quentin Colorblock Pleated Fit & Flare Dress-- $68


I so loved the look of this one!


Absolutely adorable!


But I feel like the top looked weird on me.  I think the waist hit at a weird spot.

It looked cute sideways


But I feel up close, the top just looked funky on me



Verdict: Sadly returning

Skies are Blue Sergio Cut-Out Overlay Crew Neck Top--$38


I loved the design on this.


And the color!


But unfortunately, it was too big and baggy.


Verdict: Returning

41Hawthorn Chevron Cross-Front Top--$48



Really cute in the picture


But then it looked a little weird hanging up.


However, I loved it on!  I loved the print and that it was a cross-front that I could wear (usually I can't because the gap open and this one didn't at all!)

Verdict: Keeping!

Collective Concepts Vicente Pleat Detail Henley Blouse--$48


Loved the color!


But it looked a little boxy hanging up


And it was--too big


Verdict: Returning

Pomelo Downing Striped Knit Shirt--$44


Again, loved the color!


Cute hanging up--but


it fit well and was cute but I'm just not sure it's worth the price.  I feel like I could find something similar at Old Navy or Target.

My overall total was $246.  With my Styling Fee Credit and Buy all Discount, my total would have been $169.50.  Not bad and I was totally prepared to keep all of them if I liked them all.  But I only decided on that one shirt.

But overall, I was really happy with the style and look of this box.  I hope I keep this stylist!

Did I make the right decision?  What do you think?

If you'd like your own Stitch Fix, you can sign up here

http://www.stitchfix.com/referral/3868441

(it's my referral code and I do get credit)

Have you used Stitch Fix?  If so, how did it work out for you?  Or are you planning on trying one?  If so, let me know how it goes.  I love seeing all the outfits!!