workout update

The weather here has been pretty crappy - crazy thunder storms ~4am and then rain most of the morning, so running hasn't really been happening. Neither has sleeping. I would have to say that I am sort of in a recovery funk.

Friday, March 25th - I did the short neighborhood loop.
3.06miles in 25:34
Mile 1 - 8:32
Mile 2 - 8:16
Mile 3 - 8:16
Finished it off with a recovery walk with Molly - 0.53miles in 10:10.

Saturday, March 26th - off day.
I did go and watch Charby's soccer game (Charby is short for Charlotte. Love it!), her awesome coach aka Mom/awesome SIL, and possible her brother's game (they were rained out). I did watch ~30min of Charby's game before the rain hit! I did get to see her score a goal! Love that girl.
Sunday, March 27th - Didn't do the long run. Late night and early morning thunderstorms and raining all day, made it hard to get motivated to run.
We did take Molly for a 3mile walk.

Monday, March 28th - More morning rain....so I did the Pilates core video - working those abs!
Later in the afternoon, I took Molly on our regular long walk. 1.89miles in 36:12.

Tuesday, March 29th - no rain!!! I did the short neighborhood loop.
3.08 miles in 25:11 - faster than Friday!
Splits:
Mile 1 - 8:10
Mile 2 - 8:12
Mile 3 - 8:11
and again finish with a recovery walk with Molly - 0.52miles in 10:27.
It was a good run, but I still feel a little tired.
I am going to do a ~5mile run later this week. I have a 10mile race on Sunday. Should be fun!

Enjoy!
-ELH

Painting

We have been talking about painting the house for a little while and on Sunday we went to the Home Depot and started looking at paint!!

The office is a dingy looking yellow. We really were not sure what to do it here, so we are sticking with yellow, just a little bit brighter, but not looking like a baby's room.
We got a sample of Warm Cocoon and it is a winner! (The only winner from this trip:( )

Side note - this room is where the cats litter, scratching chair, and food lives. Molly likes to eat the litter....reason for the baby gate.

Our bedroom is a brown color with a chair rail painted white and the bottom half of the room white. Again, we just need to refresh this room and maybe go a shade darker.

I pretty much like all of the these chips. The boards with 4 colors are labeled 260 and 280, we are going to get board 270 and then decide. What is your favorite?


The living/dining room, hallway, and TV room are the same color. We are not sure if we should repeat that or not. We do think the 3 panel board is looking a little flesh toned, but we do like the single rectangle - Cappuccino. The TV room does not have a chair rail, so we probably need a lighter color and might go a tone darker in the living/dining room and hallway.


And then the guest bedroom....We both thought that the room was blue, until we bought a blue paint sample and realized the room is a soft sea green. We really liked this sample at the store, but on the wall it is a little too blue, perfect for a baby boy. Not perfect for our guest room!

We want to get a blue that has a little more gray in it, sort of like the lighter striped blue in the bedspread, but not too matchy-matchy.
So it is back to the Home Depot for us!

On another note, while playing with the paint in the guest room, we noticed that the mattress was moldy! The mattress is now out of the house and we bought a new one on Overstock.com for $1 shipping. This should make our resident pet sitter happy!

What home improvements are you working on?
-ELH

Happy Birthday Gussy!

Just woken up from a nap!
Her ribbon says "cool cat!"

Napping with Arti

Gussy is 10 years old!! I remember when she was a kitten and would fit into my sweatshirt pocket.
She has been through many moves with me traveling in cars, in a moving van, on planes for Christmas vacation, and under the plane as baggage. She brings a smile to my face everyday.
Love you Gussy!!

Today is also Germy's b-day! (Germy is short for Germanium, yes from the periodic table!)Germy and Gussy have a love-hate relationship! We affectionately call them boyfriend and girlfriend. I think Germy likes Gussy more.

This is an old picture - Germy used to be a much smaller cat!

Happy Kitty Birthdays!!
xoxox
ELH

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Hope you have an amazing day.
xoxox
ELH

Workout update

Monday, March 21st - Off day! Well deserved day off. I slept in, took a nap, went to lunch with my MIL. It was great!!

Tuesday, March 22nd - Cross Training day. Burpees/push-up (on my knees) combo starting at 20 and working down to 1.
Followed by the compact chain workout with 10lb weights. I did 10 -> 5 reps and then repeated 10.
Finished the workout with some abs and stretching.

Wednesday, March 23rd - Easy run day. I did the 3 mile loop and I definitely felt sore.
Splits
8:40
8:27
8:36
total time 25:45

Thursday, March 24th - Pilates Core challenge video. Lots of abs and stretching. It felt great.
Followed by a faster paced walk with Molly. 1.75miles in 28:35.

Tomorrow is going to be another easy run.
Saturday will be a rest day and Sunday will be the 5mile loop with the steep hill!
Enjoy!
-ELH

Happy Birthday GAH!

Today is GAH's birthday!

It is sort of a milestone birthday.
I hope you have an amazing day!!

Love ya!
ELH

1/2 marathon!!

1:49.53!!!
That is a best time by ~6min.
According to the web results, I was:
1405th out of 10898 runners
368th out of 6150 female runners
72nd out of 1063 female runners in my age group
10k split was 53:24
My 8 mile time was 1:06.55
My average pace was 8:24

I was training for 1:47 and had a goal of under 1:50.
I did see a few friends on the course cheering for me and GAH was there at the finish line!
The weather was ~60 and over cast. A great day for a run.

My splits (from my watch, the mile markers on the course didn't match my GPS watch) :
Mile 1 - 8:28 (trying not to go out too fast, but the crowd was pretty thick, so this was slower than I wanted)
Mile 2 - 8:24 (still thick crowds)
Mile 3 - 8:30
Mile 4 - 8:23
Mile 5 - 8:02
Mile 6 - 8:07
Mile 7 - 8:21 (walked through the water station)
Mile 8 - 8:06
Mile 9 - 8:10
Mile 10 - 8:25 (From Piedmont park to the finish, the course was gradually up hill....tired legs)
Mile 11 - 8:31
Mile 12 - 8:41 (this not good! My legs were killing me at this point)
Mile 13 - 8:17 (the last mile is flat(er)!)

I am extremely happy with my performance. I am taking today off (I did take Molly for a walk) and according to my training book, I should run easy twice this week and cross train. Next week, make the long run, half of my usually distance and run easy. The second week after the race, resume regular training. I have a 10mile race on April 3rd, so I will be taking it easy the next two weeks, but not too easy.

-ELH

Weekly workout update...

Sunday, March 13th - off! I did walk (2.71miles) with some friends to the start line of their St. Patty's 5k.

Monday, March 14th - Boot camp!
40 push-ups in 2min
5min plank
7:48 min mile - took it easy since the half in on Friday
The rest of the class was with 10lb weight.

Tuesday, March 15th - run day
My schedule said "3mile" easy...
The run did not feel easy at all and you can see how awful my splits were.
Never could get going.
Splits -
9:25
10:13
9:39
total - 3.03miles in 29:34
Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad!!

Wednesday, March 16th - Boot camp... this was crappy. Got some weird/difficult news before class and the bad run from the day before was playing with my head. I definitely didn't give 100% effort. I guess you just have some bad days.

Thursday, March 17th - Track run
1mile easy (2:20/400 = 1 lap around the track)
6 x 400 with a 200 easy walk.
Splits -
1:45.8
1:42.6
1:44.4
1:43.5
1:42.2
1:42.1
400 cool down.
Total distance was 3.5miles
This felt really good. In a much better mental state!!

Friday and Saturday - off, rest days
Sunday - 1/2 marathon!!!

Enjoy!
ELH

New kitchen toys!

My latest tool - red of course!

I do love the color red/cranberry. My favorite crayon as a child was Magenta!
(On a side note, did you know that they make a crayon called Asparagus?? I have that crayon!)

Our kitchen has black appliances, so I wanted to accent it with red.
We have fancy red Peugeot salt and pepper mills, red KitchenAid blender, hand mixer, food processor, tea pot, and now an immersion blender!
I already had a White 350W stand mixer, so GAH wouldn't let me register for a red Artisan stand mixer. Maybe if we get a bigger kitchen ;) or open a bakery....

I used the immersion blender whisk attachment to mix the waffle mix for breakfast. It was fun to use, and yes a little over kill!
I am going to make soup soon and puree it with the immersion blender. It should be fun!

What are some of your favorite kitchen toys?
-ELH

Making your own butter

Today must be Butter Wednesday.
Two of the blogs I read had articles about homemade butter from crème fraîche
and from raw milk.

Since the wedding, I have been trying to use all my kitchen tools to make new things....
Next weekend we are having a family birthday party and my SIL is bringing bread....
I might have to bust out the red KitchenAid food processor and make some homemade creme fraiche butter!

Enjoy!
-ELH

Pig in a Blanket

I am excited to announce that we have 2 Pigs in Blankets to send!!

GAH's cousin is expecting in September and our friends are expecting in July.

I love gift giving and this is one of my favorite gifts to give.

Congratulations to the future parents!

-ELH

Airport run

Saturday, March 12 - Last long run before my 1/2 marathon next Sunday.
I did the airport loop and felt good. I did have to push myself mentally - sleeping 10hr the night before made me feel a little tired.
The loop was 10.57 miles and I did it in 1:28:43
Splits -
1 - 8:20
2 - 8:31
3 - 8:21
4 - 8:15
5 - 8:28
6 - 8:23
7 - 8:27
8 - 8:16
9 - 8:22
10 - 8:28
4:46 (0.57)

Pretty happy with this.
-ELH

workout update

Monday, March 7th - Boot camp with Stephanie - March is weight, so I did lots of stuff with 10lb weight.
2min push-ups - 38
5min plank
We finished the class with buns of steel - it hurts in a good way!

Tuesday, March 8th - 4.28 mile run. I wanted to push myself since I hadn't run in a few days.
Splits -
7:57
8:04
7:56
7:59
total time 34:09!!

Wednesday, March 9th - More boot camp. This time we did our 1 mile run for time. I was 6:57 (close to my best time.) It probably would have been faster if my shoe hadn't come undone or a car hadn't been in the cross walk. Oh well. Very happy with it!
2min push-up - 42
6:15min plank - a guy in the class want to challenge me on the plank. My record of holding a plank is 20minutes!! I beat him :)

Thursday, March 10th - rainy day, so I made it my rest day.

Friday, March 11th - feeling very tired. Took a 2 hrs nap and then went to bed a 9am and slept for 10 hrs. Pretty lame, but I guess my body needed it!

-Enjoy
ELH

Art project

Bamboo Forest

While we were in Maui, I was on the hunt for art pieces for the house to remember the trip. We did find some very cool sea turtle things! but I wanted a print.
On our Road to Hana adventure, we stopped for a ~4mile nature hike on Haleakala to see waterfalls. During the hike, there was this amazing passage through a bamboo forest. We found an artist who had captured this forest and now the print is at the end of our main hallway. It reminds me of Maui every time I walk down the hall. Very cool!!


At one of the many coffee shops we visited, a local artist had created custom light switch face plates using old magazine, wrapping paper, and post cards. They were really cool. I thought I could do that. So I found a cool post card showing the main islands. Did you know that there are over 130 islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands??
I bought a cheap face plate from the hardware store. After figuring out where I wanted the cut outs and making the cuts, I soaked the post card in water for ~30sec to soften it up. I glued the post card on to the face plate with crazy glue. I let it dry overnight and then coated front and back with clear spray paint. Finished product -

I installed it in our hall bathroom that has brown tones. I think it came out pretty good. Now I just need to paint the screws a darker color to match the post card better.

What crafty things have you been up to??
-ELH

Girl Power

Sunday, March 6th was Girl Power day at work.
It was an outreach event for local middle and high school girls and their families focusing on STEM careers. STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
I am involved with the Society of Women Engineers group at work and we were asked to participate with hands on activities for Girl Power. We had 5 different tables - making polymers (silly putty) out of glue and borax, electrical snap circuits, structures - make a free standing structure out of drinking straws and tape, physics of roller coaster using foam conduit and marbles, and puff mobiles - my station!
The girls had to make a car out of a quarter sheet of paper, 2 paper clips, 3 drinking straws, and 4 lifesavers. The cars moved by the girls blowing on them. Thanks to my mother-in-law who donated the lifesavers!! We did realize that the fruity ones get sticky, so the minty ones would have been better. It was fun to see what different designs the girls came up with.
It was a fun event and I enjoyed my afternoon!





-ELH

Hockey Night in

Canada...I mean in the Southeast!

I love Hockey. I am a die hard Detroit Red Wings fan!! My family is from Detroit, so naturally I love all things Detroit. Red Wings, Tigers, Lions, Pistons, and the of course the might University of Michigan Wolverines!
I wanted desperately to go to Michigan for college and was accepted for both undergrad and grad school, but wiser voices prevailed. Michigan cost lots of money and the two schools I went to were free! 3 degrees, zero student loans!! I digress....

This past Saturday, we went with some friends to the hockey game.

Warm-ups

No game is complete without a fight!!

The home team was winning 3-1, but then it was tied up 3-3 and went into overtime. The home team ended up scoring ~30sec into the game!! It was a fun and excited night.

-ELH

Long Run

Friday, March 4th was my long run.
This week, I have been feeling very lazy and just tired. I know I haven't been sleeping well and I have been having a lot of jaw and inner ear pain. It doesn't bother me during the day, but starts to really hurt at night. It has been difficult to eat dinner. Add to have the dull pain in my left foot, I am just not at the top of my game. That being said, I am happy with my run today.
12.1 miles in 1:44.01. Last week I did 12.08miles in 1:44.18.
Have to be pleased with myself!!
Splits
Mile 1 - 8:44
Mile 2 - 8:31
Mile 3 - 8:49
Mile 4 - 8:29
Mile 5 - 8:23
Mile 6 - 8:27
Mile 7 - 8:33
Mile 8 - 8:36
Mile 9 - 8:43
Mile 10 - 8:41
Mile 11 - 8:39
Mile 12 - 8:30
50sec for 0.1miles (8:22 pace)

And as a reward - Epsom salt bubble bath!
Enjoy!
ELH

workout update

Sunday, Feb 27th - Sort of an off day. We took Molly to the dog park and walked around 2.15miles. Molly didn't like the dog park. She just stood by our side the whole time. When we take her for a walk, she always pulls and extends the leash to the end. I think she was afraid we would leave her at the park! Silly dog.

Monday, Feb 28th - I was going to do my own version of boot camp, but was tired and not motivated, so I did a pilates core challenge video and took Molly on a fast paced walk. 2miles in 34min.

Tuesday, March 1st - Run day!! I felt very tired - maybe from the ~25miles I did in 3 days last week...
Splits
8:42
8:36
8:55 - the first half mile is very hilly and my pace drops
8:40
8:41
total 5:01 in 43:39
Happy with this, but decide to give my legs a rest and skip the track workout this week.

Wednesday, March 2nd - Weights!
Burpee/Push-up routine starting at 20.
Compact chain with 10lb weights - 10->5 and then repeat 10 again.
Ab work
Walked Molly with GH - 1.7 miles in 34:26

Thursday, March 3rd - pilates core challenge video again - tired legs.

Friday is the long run...
Enjoy!
ELH

February mileage

Name that famous Boston hockey player....

My mileage for February is 72.27 miles!

Mileage for the year is 138.07 miles.
Awesome!
ELH