Sunday, June 30, 2013

Weekend in Pictures

Woke up early Saturday morning to go for a bike ride,


so that I could be home in time for the Oceanside Independence Day Parade.



Then we went to the pool for a while


before heading to 7-11 for a Slurpee (we are having a HEAT and HUMIDITY wave) on our way to church.


We had some yummy pizza for dinner with friends after church at Urbn.


This morning we woke up early (but apparently not early enough to beat the heat) to run 9.5 miles together [Ryan's longest run TO DATE].



Then we showered and headed to the laundromat to wash our comforters.

Source

While waiting for them to wash and dry we took Walt for a long walk (about an hour and a half in total) around Oceanside.


Then we came home and watched the movie 42.

Source

Hopefully it will be early to bed (since you can tell from the weekend we have been on the go most of it) and then a SHORT WORK WEEK!!

Oreo Wonderfilled



The world is full of wonder. And we are Wonderfilled. It's the new OREO Wonderfilled Song featuring Owl City. Download it free athttp://www.oreo.com/wonderfilled.

Workout Recap - Week 26

Sunday, June 23rd – 8 miles with hubby (longest run EVER for him)Foam Rolled & Stretched



Monday, June 24th – Elliptical for 60 minutes, Foam Rolled & Stretched

Tuesday, June 25th – Rest Day & Stretched

Wednesday, June 26th – Stationary bike for 60 minutes (18.55 miles), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Thursday, June 27th –  Strength Training (abs, back, arms and legs), Foam Rolled & Stretched

Friday, June 28th – Rest day 

Saturday, June 29th – 19.6 mile bike ride, Foam Rolled & Stretched 


I threw in an extra rest day on Friday, when I normally would have run outside (Fridays tend to be my 'actual' run days). Starting Wednesday afternoon my left shin and ankle had been tight, so when it still wasn't 100% by Friday I decided to listen to my body and take it off (it didn't hurt that it was beautiful outside so I could spend the time at the pool, laying in the sun). 

I have a half marathon in a week, which I am pretty excited for. I am going into it expecting it to be a fun run. I am not going in trying to PR or anything, so I am excited to just relax and have a fun half. 

SPOILER ALERT --- I WILL BE PLAYING THE ROLE OF BATMAN IN THE COSTUME HALF!! 


Friday, June 28, 2013

Megatron #3

Megatron ranks third in Top 100



Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson has been voted by his peers as the No. 3 player in the NFL for the second straight year.

This time, he finished behind Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson and Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.

A year ago, he trailed Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees.

The countdown of the top 100 for 2013, based on voting by the players, was completed with Thursday night's announcement on the NFL Network.

Johnson is coming off a record-breaking year in which he set the NFL single-season mark with 1,964 receiving yards. He made 122 catches and scored five touchdowns.

Other Lions voted in the top 100 include defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (No. 40), linebacker Stephen Tulloch (63) and quarterback Matthew Stafford (76

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Beardless Brother


'Duck Dynasty' Adds a Cast Member — and He's Beardless!





A new face is coming to "Duck Dynasty" — and it's one without a beard!
Alan Robertson, the oldest of Phil and Kay's four sons, is finally joining the hit A&E reality series in Season 4 starting in August. And he's bringing a new look with him: Alan is clean-shaven and tends to wear suits instead of camo, unlike the other men in the family.
"The beards are so iconic," he told the New York Post, "All this time I've been flying under the radar; I can go to Starbucks and get Mama coffee."
"That is about to change," father Phil responded.
The 47-year-old minister avoided the spotlight as he preached full-time at a Louisiana church. But he changed his mind in order to share his faith with a larger audience.
"What I do for our church — you see, it's a pretty good-sized church — impacts a lot of people, but because of my association with the show, I'll get to minister to a lot more people," Alan said. "A lot more" is an understatement; the show's April finale was watched by 9.6 million viewers.
He is leaving his pulpit to work alongside his other family members at their thriving business, Duck Commander. Alan will be the "Beards and Beauty Wrangler" and manage publicity. He and his wife, Lisa, are already writing a book about their marriage. Their daughters, Anna and Alex, will be part of the show; Anna works at Duck Commander and Alex is opening a food truck in front of the store.
Joining the show wasn't an easy decision for Alan, who's seen his family thrust into the spotlight and face invasions of privacy.
"My children are grown, but all of my brothers' children are teenagers now, so how is this crazy world going to impact them?" Alan said. "We think about John Luke and Sadie, who are such a big part of the show, and they're teenagers, you know? They need to be just normal teenagers. We pray about that."

#15


The Smartest Cities In America



Stanford, Calif. was recently crowned the brainiest city in the U.S. by Lumosity, cognitive training site run by Lumos Labs.
Stanford beat 478 other cities for the title. Each city was ranked by the residents' average brain performance score across Lumosity's five cognitive training exercises: Speed, Attention, Flexibility, Memory, and Problem Solving.
Over 3 million people participated in this year's study, conducted by Dr. Daniel A. Sternberg, each between the ages of 15 and 85 years old. (You can read the full methodology here.)
Not surprisingly, college towns dominated the Lumosity rankings just like they did last year. Stanford was followed closely by Princeton, NJ, both home to two of the best universities in the country.

Here's the complete list:
  1. Stanford, CA
  2. Princeton, NJ
  3. Storrs Mansfield, CT
  4. Evanston, IL
  5. Cambridge, MA
  6. La Jolla, CA
  7. Amherst, MA
  8. West Lafayette, IN
  9. Ithaca, NY
  10. Davis, CA
  11. Urbana, IL
  12. College Park, MD
  13. Somerville, MA
  14. State College, PA
  15. Ann Arbor, MI
  16. Oxford, OH
  17. Blacksburg, VA
  18. Chapel Hill, NC
  19. Stony Brook, NY
  20. Provo, UT
  21. East Lansing, MI
  22. Lexington, MA
  23. Allendale, MI
  24. Madison, WI
  25. Iowa City, IA
  26. Brighton, MA
  27. Watertown, MA
  28. Ames, IA
  29. Bloomington, IN
  30. Berkeley, CA
  31. Lenexa, KS
  32. Lawrence, KS
  33. Charlottesville, VA
  34. College Station, TX
  35. Pullman, WA
  36. Burlington, VT
  37. Williamsburg, VA
  38. Ambler, PA
  39. Redmond, WA
  40. Hillsborough, NJ
  41. Webster, NY
  42. Waltham, MA
  43. Boulder, CO
  44. Flemington, NJ
  45. Vienna, VA
  46. Natick, MA
  47. Westminster, MD
  48. Bethpage, NY
  49. Menlo Park, CA
  50. Harrisonburg, VA

I Got You


Jack Johnson's 'I Got You' Video: Singer Enjoys Quite The Sunny Day (EXCLUSIVE)






Jack Johnson is really your man: Fresh off of saving Bonnaroo, he's surging forward with a charming new video for "I Got You," filmed with a buddy on a bright Hawaiian day.
Emmett Malloy directed the clip, which is debuting exclusively on HuffPost Entertainment. He's the man behind multiple Johnson projects, as well as videos and documentaries for Oasis, Blink 182, Metallica, Ben Harper and Lit. In the "I Got You" visuals, Johnson is seen working through his song on public transit, in fields and even while skateboarding (tiny vinyl board, natch).
"My friend Emmett Malloy directed this video with me," Johnson told HuffPost Entertainment. "We shot it on an old wind up 16mm camera, that we used to shoot our surf films on. We drove around Oahu and made it up as we went. It was a fun day and hopefully that translates in the video."
And so it does -- take a look above.
Johnson is set to embark on the "From Here to Now to You" Tour, the proceeds of which will be donated to over 75 hand-picked charities through the All at Once Campaign. This year's organizations will be chosen for their work on sustainable local food and plastic-free projects, and the tour itself is designed to minimize its environmental impact. Open secret: Johnson has donated his tour profits to charitysince 2008.
"From Here to You to Know" is set to debut Sept. 17. The "I Got You" video will see its VH1 Top 20 broadcast premiere on Saturday at 9 am. More info is available at Johnson's VH1 artist page.

Shoelace

Denard Robinson, Offensive Weapon



The Jacksonville Jaguars created a new position to accommodate the unusual skill set of the playmaker known simply as "Shoelace."

In a video posted on the club's website, the former Michigan star introduced himself as:

"Denard Robinson, Offensive Weapon, University of Michigan."

Robinson played mostly quarterback in college before suffering an arm injury his senior year. 

He moved to receiver for pre-draft workouts and the Jaguars initially designated him as a running back after selecting him in the fifth round, 135th overall, in the NFL Draft.

Now, the Jags have listed the 6-foot, 197-pound speedster as an "OW" on their official roster.

"That means I can play multiple positions," Robinson explained. "I am in the running back meeting room, so that's where I will continue to make plays and just be an offensive weapon. Be able to go to receiver or go to quarterback or go to running back and make plays happen. So, I want to be an offensive weapon."

Jaguars general manager David Caldwell has said they'd like to get Robinson on the field for 10-15 snaps a game and that he also could be used as a kick-return specialist.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Beach Blanket Beatdown


Two weekends ago Ryan and I participated in the Beach Blanket Beatdown.

Get your beach Cruiser out and leave your running shoes at home. This first annual triathlon features a 500M ocean swim, 3.5Mile low-tide bike ride and a 2.0 Mile soft sand run on beautiful Coronado City beach. we encourage the use of as little equipment as possible, but you can bring anything you feel necessary for this Sprint Triathlon.


I thought it would be fun to try another type of race – so why not TRY a TRI (especially since it seemed to be one more for ‘beginners’ – at least the beach cruisers made me think that).



A couple words of warning:

First, I thought this would be ‘easy’. With the distances referenced for each leg I figured it would be a walk-in-the-park. With that being said, I didn’t really adjust any of my training for it – meaning I did a 19.5-mile bike ride the afternoon before the race.

Next, I am NOT a swimmer. I don’t even really like the water (ESPECIALLY when I can’t see my feet). I had only done one ‘swim’ all year, and it was more a ‘recovery workout’ after a half marathon on January. I KNEW the swimming portion would be tough – but our goal was just to finish. I think if we were to ever do another triathlon in the future I would actually train for the swimming portion (even though I am POSITIVE that pool swimming would not have totally prepared me for open-ocean swimming).


All in all we had a great time. There were only about 40 participants, which was nice. It allowed us to spread out a little more, not feel like I was going to get clobbered in the swim, etc.



The swim portion was HARD. I mean, Ryan thought he probably could have beat everyone on that leg, but he was nice enough to stay back with me and be my cheerleader. Like I mentioned, I am NOT a swimmer, so I was in the last pack to get out of the water – but I was super proud of myself that I stuck with it and finished it. I did swallow a bit of water, but kept my head up the whole time. I was switching back and forth between free-style, backstroke, and maybe a little doggy paddle. At the end of the swim, when we were getting ready to run in, Ryan asked if he could help and ‘body surf’ me into the shore. I told him okay, so he pushed me in with a wave – but I went face first (and drank more of the water). I am sure it was rather humorous for the spectators on shore. I was rather proud when they told us we were around 17 minutes when getting out of the water. Again, I have NO idea if that was good (but seeing as I probably only beat like 5 people I assume it was NOT), but I was pumped I was able to do it.


Some of the competitors wore the same thing for all three legs (i.e. one guy wore a Speedo the whole time, while others wore the triathlon suits that are like wetsuit, spandex-y material). Ryan and I took a little breather, took off our wetsuits, tried to dry out a little, and then got on our ‘race gear’.


The bike portion was next. This part was nice and easy. The sand was packed since it was low tide. There was a slight issue on one portion of the bike ride – we had to carry our bikes through the deep sand because there was a large rock jetty that you couldn’t ride over. You had to carry your bike twice (out and back), but thankfully it wasn’t too long of a distance. The one bummer part was that neither Ryan nor I wore shoes (we thought they would just get filled with sand, so opted to go bare foot). My bike pedal was not as smooth as Ryan’s (has a bunch of grips for your shoes, so awfully bumpy), so I couldn’t push as hard as I normally could – but figured since it was just a ‘fun race’ that it wasn’t that big of a deal.


We dropped our bikes off and then made our way to the deep sand run. I know that I am a ‘runner’ – but man this part was difficult. I am not sure if it was because I had already expended a ton of energy in the swim, because I still had water dripping out of my nose from the face plant Ryan helped with, or if it was just difficult. It was all loose and on a slant. You couldn’t get a decent footing, so not only were you running, but also you were working overtime to try not to tip over and keep moving forward. I told Ryan that maybe I should train running on different surfaces. I do the majority of my training on hard, compact surfaces (sidewalks, streets, tracks, etc). Again, I don’t know if training on sand would have helped, since I was pretty spent from the swim, but maybe it would have been a little easier. We did the run portion using the ‘walk-run’ method – walking a bit and then running. I didn’t want to strain anything or push myself too hard.




As I stated, we were just doing this for fun – to try something new – but it still would have been nice to have the race organizers to take it as a ‘serious’ event. It seemed pretty ‘thrown together’ – things were running late, the course wasn’t laid out ahead of time, etc.  I would have also liked to have seen all the participants get a finisher medal (as long as they actually finished the entire race). We originally signed up because we wanted to try it out, but also because they were advertising this nice ‘beach blanket’ that you would get. Turns out the beach blanket was really just a beach towel that was screen printed on, meaning it is hard and you won’t be able to use it to dry off…

Some things that I hope they improve for the future:

First, if you don’t complete a portion of the race, you cannot move onto the next phase – you get disqualified or a “did not finish”. There were folks in the swim portion that asked the lifeguards to take them into the beach and they were still able to move to the bike. This means that although we swam the whole distance, there were people that did not swim the entire distance, were taken in by a lifeguard, and started the bike portion before us.

Next, there need to be someone making sure that everyone is taking the same course. There were two instances that stood out to me. One – on the ‘deep sand run’, Ryan and I ran passed a lady (since this was just a ‘fun’ run for us, we were making small chat with the folks we would see – either cheering them on, commenting about the course, etc). The run portion was an out and back. We had passed a certain person and then continued going on the course. When we turned around we noticed she was now on the ‘return’ side of the course and in front of us. This is especially a bummer if she was in my age group (and therefore took one of the ‘places’ before me). Two – the end of the ‘deep sand run’ you were supposed to “pick your adventure” through sand dunes. Since the run portion was out and back, we saw the first batch of people running back and going towards the finish line. The first group did NOT run through the sand dunes. I don’t know when they ‘switched’ the course (meaning putting the cones up on the sand dunes to direct people to run through them). The sand dunes were KILLER, so I am sure if I was in the front pack and saw the cones not going through the dunes I would have opted to go around them too – but if that was the case, they should have kept the course consistent (and fair) for EVERYONE – not just ‘correct’ it once they noticed it.

Lastly, the company that was putting on the event was Urt Clothing. They had a little table set up with some of their t-shirts and tank tops. While I was standing there I noticed that some of the people that were checking in were going to that table and getting a shirt for free. Ryan and I were in the first group of people to sign in (I was #4 and Ryan was #5) I went over to the table, thinking that maybe we missed it. I looked at the shirts and saw one that I really liked. I asked the girl at the table how much they were, expecting her to say something like ‘Oh, well if you are participating you can have one’, since that looked like what was happening to people that were signing in after us. She looked at me and said that they were anywhere from $25 to $35 depending on the design. At this point Ryan was taking Walt up to the car, so I stood around near the table while waiting for Ryan to come back down and I even overheard her talking to the people signing in participants saying that if she saw a number on them she would give them a shirt. So then after the event ended I thought I would go over to the table and even offer to buy the shirt (even though it sounded like everyone was getting them for free) and the one that I wanted was ‘sold out’. Oh well, guess I didn’t need it anyway.

If they put on this event again in the future, hopefully they think through things a little better (the course, volunteers that actually make sure people are completing each section, starting on time, etc). I think going into it as a ‘fun event’ helped our mindset – but I think if I were really competing I probably would have been bummed at the lack of organization.

I don’t know if I would do a triathlon again, but Ryan seemed like he really liked it and probably would sign up for another – especially the sprint distance. I am pretty sure that neither of us would sign up for this particular event again in the future though (I know, I know, it was the first year they were putting it on, give them a break, but I got the feeling that they were just ‘trying something out’). Maybe next time they could have a company that actually puts on races run everything and they could be one of the sponsors. Lesson learned – I probably won’t sign up for another inaugural event for a while – let them get the kinks worked out and get things running smoothly before I waste my time on it.


Sunday, June 23, 2013

Workout Recap - Week 25


Sunday, June 16th – 4 miles with hubby (recovery run - after our sprint triathlon the day before)Foam Rolled & Stretched




Monday, June 17th – Rest Day (needed time to run errands after having family in town for the last two weekends) & Stretched

Tuesday, June 18th – Strength Training (abs, back, arms and legs) & Stretched

Wednesday, June 19th – Elliptical for 60 minutes

Thursday, June 20th – Stationary bike for 60 minutes (18 miles), Ran hills with hubby for 30 minutes

Friday, June 21st – Easy pace eight miles, Foam Rolled & Stretched 




Saturday, June 22nd – Rest Day (sort of - still walked the dog for about 3 miles throughout the harbor, but nothing too strenuous), Foam Rolled & Stretched 


This week was nice. I felt 'okay' about taking an extra rest day (especially since I didn't take one last week). I didn't feel guilty about it or worry that I was losing speed or anything crazy (normally where my brain goes when I am not getting a workout in every day). 

Pumped that Ryan is getting out there with me more. Thursday we decided to run hills (well, I might have had to twist Ryan's arm to do them with me). We live on a hill, so we decided to just run up and down it for 30 minutes, since his training calendar had him doing 30 minutes that day. It was tough - but like I told Ryan, I would rather it be tough during training and easy during races!

Mann's Prize Pack

When Ryan and I went to the San Diego Rock N Roll Expo we stopped by the Mann Packing booth. They were giving out free sugar snap peas - yum! They also had a giant snap pea that you could take your picture with. OF COURSE I had to do it :). One of the guys that was handing out their product asked if we used social media - uh, DUH, who doesn't?! He said that if we uploaded the picture to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc that we could enter to win a month's worth of free veggies (and then he said that probably only like 3 or 4 people would do it - so we had a GREAT chance).


A couple weeks went by, so I figured I didn't win, but still decided to send them a quick message to see if they had made the announcement yet. The next day I saw that a response had been posted on my original picture...



WHOOOO HOOOO!!! As I am sure you know, Ryan and I are vegetarians. Also, veggies can be pricey - so FREE veggies are AMAZING!! They asked me to send them our address and they would send out the prize pack.

I guess I was expecting maybe like 4 coupons or something (1 per week for a month) in a standard envelope. What I received was MUCH, MUCH MORE than that!!


They sent 31 COUPONS (one for every DAY of the month), a wooden spoon, an apron, a reusable bag, magnetic clips, shopping list notepad, and a tumbler. IT IS AMAZING!!! Can't wait to start gobbling up our veggies!! (Ryan has already been planning some yummy stir-fries)

THANK YOU MANN PACKING!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Happy People

6 Things Really Happy People Do

Are you tired of settling for just being content? Here is how really happy people stay that way.

laughing man

How do they do it, these happy people? How do they let troubles bounce off them and make the best of every struggle? Do they choose to be this way? Many believe a constant state of happiness is in the category of mermaids and unicorns. But there are people in this world who, short of major unexpected trauma, have figured out how to be truly happy most of the time. These people have mastered a perspective worthy of imitation. Here are some common traits for you to emulate in your pursuit of happiness.


1. They clearly define happiness.


I have heard many people claim happiness comes from people or children or community or work, etc. Each one may be true for some and not true for others. Happiness is a personal objective only reached by knowing what it looks like for you. Happy people understand what makes them happy and are therefore able to make changes in their life to eliminate unhappiness. They don't hope for happiness, they decide to make it happen. Try keeping a journal listing the things that make you happy and those that don't. Then focus on making the happy list happen.


2. They find pleasure in the little things.


Many people are waiting for happiness to come from a major event like a promotion, wedding, or winning the lottery. Truly happy people find joy in simple things like accomplishing tasks, pleasant conversation, beautiful images, or nice weather. Those tiny bits of joy add up--like manufactured runs in baseball--to a winning disposition. Open your eyes and ears to seemingly inconsequential items and events around you. Be a curious observer and enjoy the wonder of small detail in this amazing world.


3. They believe in their own self-worth.


So much unhappiness comes from personal insecurity. Anxiety can be a good motivator for success, but too much will suck the joy out of accomplishment. Happy people choose to be confident so they can focus their time and energy on opportunity and relationships. Cultivate your self-confidence so you can enjoy the journey to success as much as the end result.


4. They take continuous action for self-improvement.


Happy people love to grow. They commit to constant learning and personal development. When they feel themselves becoming stagnant they actively pursue new opportunities to discover and challenge themselves. Set yourself a regimen for learning. Books, classes and clubs will not only make you smarter, but you'll meet like-minded learners to add to your personal circle and help you be a better person.


5. They graciously impact others.


Those who are happy have a positive effect on the people around them. Some generate a happy atmosphere just by their presence. But many constantly make an effort to brighten the days of other people. These people inspire others by engaging them in entertaining activity and conversation, but never in an overbearing way. Be an instigator and a leader. Create opportunities for others to share in your love of life. Give selflessly of your time and joy so others can draw from your happiness and energy.


6. They live in a constant state of gratitude.


Happy people consciously recognize the many blessings they receive. They are truly appreciative of the people and opportunities that come their way and they demonstrate their gratitude generously and unabashedly. Make a habit of outwardly showing your thankfulness every day. It may feel awkward at first, but many people around you will recognize your love for life and may discover they also have much for which to be grateful.

Of course I recognize that being truly happy is not easy. People will spend a fortune on therapy, pharmaceuticals, and self-help to get to a happy state of mind. But all efforts are worthwhile even when the path is slow. It took me a fair amount of trauma and several decades of struggle to make changes necessary for a happy life. But I can't imagine a single reason to revert to the alternative, so come join me on the happy side.