Sunday Mornings

Sunday is family time for us.

If #1 son serves mass, then he & I get up early so we can make it there before 8am.

If he's NOT serving mass, then I sleep. 

I love Sunday morning sleep. 

I will usually sleep until 9:30 or so.  Then I will sip coffee and get ready to go to mass at 10:30.  Or 12:15.  Depends.  Sometimes I am even so lazy that I wait to go to the 6PM mass.

I love being Catholic.  What other tribe gives you so many scheduling options?

THIS morning I had other plans.

EXCITING plans.

I was gonna go out to the Island and do a Mimosa Run.  (For those of you not from South Texas -- HI NICKI! -- North Padre Island is part of the Corpus Christi city limits.  We have to cross a bridge to get there.  Vic has a new facility there)

V-Fit put on a Mimosa Fun Run this morning. 

I love fun runs!  They are so fun!

This time we had a choice of running 5 miles or 10 miles. (MILES?  WTF?  What happened to 5Ks?).  The run started at 7:15.  AM.  On a Sunday.

I had every intention of participating.  After all, I ran over 6 miles just 2 short weeks ago.

I planned to get up at 6am, on a Sunday, head to the Island, run 5 miles, be done by 10am, go home, take a shower and get to mass by 12:15.  Fun!

That was the plan.

Unfortunately. . .

I didn't get up at 6.  I didn't get up at 6:30.  I wasn't awake by 7.  I didn't get up until almost 10am. 

I hope there are enough Mimosas at that fun run to make Vic & Gabe forget that I wasn't there. 

The Ten

I guess it's time to talk about the 10K I did on Saturday.

It actually wasn't a 10 K, it was half of a half marathon.

A half marathon is 13.1094 miles.  I ran half of that:  6.5547 miles.

A 10K is only 6.2 miles.

I ran an extra 0.3547 miles.  That's way more.

When I ran my first 5K, this really hot guy named Tim helped me run the last quarter mile.  Tim looks like a much fitter, much taller, and much better looking Seth Green. 

Tim was there to cheer me on during my first 10K.  Thank you, Tim!

I remember that my first 5K I was huffing and puffing.  My legs were sore.  I was bright red. 

The 10K is pretty much the same, except I wasn't huffing and puffing.  My heart and lungs are strong now -- "running" for 2 hours doesn't kill me.  I can talk and joke with people along the way. 

My legs, on the other hand. . .er. .foot, are a different story.  I am still 100 lbs overweight and my knees don't like it.  Screw you, knees, I'm still doing this.

When I did the 5K, I was amazed at how incredibly affirming and supportive people are.  When I finished the 10K, my friends made an archway for me to run through. 

You guys are the best.

I did this for you, "Eva" -- I miss you sister!

In The Can

RUN 1 5K EVERY MONTH FOR A YEAR

Done 12/3/11

I cried a little bit on my way home.

I love you guys. 

Thanksgiving 2011

Before I talk about Thanksgiving, I want to let everyone know that there is a Giftoffat page on Facebook!  I am supposed to be able to put a button on my page to link you to it, but I can't figger it out.  So "Like" me. OK?

Back to Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving was YUM.

I got up early and went downtown to run in the turkey trot.  You could choose to walk 2 miles or run 4 miles.

I chose to run 4 miles.

They do the 2 mile/4 mile thing so that the walkers and the runners can be done about the same time.

Except this runner.

I came in last.  Everybody was waiting for me.

Sorry to all of you off-duty officers who came to work the race, hoping you would get home in time to watch the game before the family started to show up.

But it wasn't about winning or losing.  It was about finishing.

Finishing and guilt free Thanksgiving dinner.

SO YUM.

Turkey, asparagus, salad, a bit of corn, a dab of mashed potatoes, a touch of cornbread stuffing.  More salad, another helping of asparagus.  Then a big piece of pumpkin pie.  A BIG one.

The crust was gross, so I just ate the pumpkin.  And the fresh whipped cream.

And it was AWESOME!

How was yours?

Thanks Luisa for shooting this pic!

Like a Virgin

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that I work out at V-Fit Studio.  You know that Gabe "The Silent Assassin" is my primary trainer and the studio is owned by Victor.

Handsome Victor.  Dreamy Victor. Victor the Giver. 

Vic the Basterd. 

Last week, Gabe wasn't feeling well, so I did my workout with Vic.  Vic, true to form, came up with a deceptively simple workout, then made me do 10 sets.  With suicides in between.  TEN sets.

Gabe only makes me do 5.

What the hell, it was only for a day.  Besides, Victor is funny, and he flirts, and he laughs at all my jokes.  It didn't hurt that bad. 

Then on Tuesday, Gabe is still not in, so Victor helps me again.  He gives me 10 lb weights and tells me what to do. 

I say "Actually, Gabe has me use 12 lbs on this one".

Victor smiles and says "trust me".

Uh oh.

Victor has an interesting new regimen. 

Low weight, high reps, no rest, many many many sets.

Many many MANY sets.

And no rest in between.

Whimper.

My arms are sore.  Not the pang of muscles pushed hard for a long time.  Not the sore that I get after Gabe puts me through my paces. 

My arms are sore as in I-have-never-worked-out-my-whole-life-and-I-think-I-overdid-it-my-first-time sore.  My muscles burned so much you could have lit a cigar with my shoulder. 

Haven't I been working out for OVER A YEAR?

Haven't I been doing things I could NEVER do before?  Like push ups from my toes, dips, walkouts and don't forget the Around-the-Fucking-Worlds.  Haven't I participated in TWELVE 5Ks?  Didn't I just WIN the CHALLENGE??????????????

Apparently, all that is behind me.

It would be OK if it was just for a day or two, while Gabe is out.

Apparently, Gabe is going to open the new facility on the Island.

Gabe got promoted.

Dammit. 

I mean, good for Gabe!  He deserves it!

So I get Victor.  Dreamy, Handsome, Sadistic Victor.

And I'm starting all over again.

Vic. And Gabe.  I know they are good looking, but DAMMIT!

Need a New Bucket

I have 3 more 5Ks to run before I finish my goal of 1 5K every month for the year.

Yeay.

I like 5Ks.  They are fun.  They are hard for me.  I feel like I've accomplished something when I finish one.

I don't LOVE 5Ks. 

I haven't gotten much faster since I started.  Hell -- I haven't gotten any faster. 

In 2012, I am not going to run a 5K every month.

I AM going to run Beach to Bay, because B2B is the ultimate.  I will run anything that my guys at V-Fit put on.

But 1 a month?  Nah.

Which begs the question:  what is my fitness goal next year?

Don't tell me to do a 10K, 1/2 Marathon or Marathon.  No thanks.

I do need to accomplish something though.

Something hard for me. 

Something that I have to work on all year long.

Something I can blog about.

Ideas??????

The real reason why I love Victor. . ..

I've written about Vic before.

He owns V-Fit -- the fitness studio where I work out.  The place where I was first able to do triceps curls and "real" push ups.  The place where I have been able to drop my blood pressure, blood sugar, and bra size.  The place where I have met wonderful friends who encourage me to try, fail and try again.

That's not why I love Vic.

Vic assigned me to work out with Gabe.  Gentle, kind Gabe who doesn't shout, doesn't sneer and doesn't take excuses.  We call Gabe the "Silent Assassin" because he very quietly kills you with his workouts.  I call him "Silent but Deadly".  Seriously -- he worked my back & shoulders two days ago.  I am still sore.  Did you know your armpits could hurt?  Despite the pain, Gabe has been a wonderful coach, mentor and friend.

That's not why I love Vic.

Vic is slightly hot looking.  If you like guys with perfectly tone bodies, chiseled bone structure, shiny black hair and the deepest, dreamiest brown eyes since Greg Afuso.  And he's mostly straight!  (Just kidding. He's all the way straight.)  (He is pretty Metro though.  I love Metro guys!)  On more than one occasion, friends of mine have seen Victor and come to me drooling.  "HE is your trainer!  OMG I want to work out with you!"  Of course they never show up, the cowards.

That's not why I love Vic.

It was yesterday that I realized exactly why I love him. 

Yesterday was the 5K I ran for June.  As you may know, I have run one 5K every month since October 2010.  Yesterday I finished my 9th.  Wow.  Nine.  That's a lot. 

That's not why I love Vic.

It was one of the most enjoyable 5K's I've run.  It was at sunrise on the beach.  Sounds romantic, right?  Sunrise in June is the only time you can run without getting heat stroke.  But it was still pretty frigging hot.

I haven't done a lot of running on the beach.  It's more challenging that running on the road.  For one thing, you have to scoot around to find sand that's not too soft.  We were kinda zig-zagging all over the place.  I am pretty sure we covered more than 3.1 miles.  Felt like 10. 

I was proud of myself becasue I ran the whole first half no problem.  At the turn around, I was running pretty close to the water.  By then my feet were sore and hot, but I still had more than a mile to go.  A wave came in and soaked my feet. 

I wasn't happy to have my expensive shoes all wet, but lemme tell ya -- that water felt GOOD!

I kept running in & out of the water, until my shoes got so waterlogged it was like running with 15 lb weights on my feet.  Gabe makes me run with 15 lbs weights on my feet, so I know what I am talking about.

It was the beach.  The water felt good.  My shoes were heavy.  I was going slow.

I figured "Fuggit -- I'm taking my shoes off".  So I did.

Running in bare feet in the soft South Texas surf felt WONDERFUL.

That's not why I love Vic.

I love him because he put on this 5K to help the victims of the Mississippi Floods.

He raised $800.

I realized yesterday that Vic is always doing that.  He set up a scholarship for students to attend Del Mar College. He raised money for Tsunami victims.  He participated in Toys for Tots. He hosted a run for Metro Ministries.  He finds ways to raise money for those in need.

I love Vic because Vic is a giver.

He's not rich yet.  He's still building his business.  But he's not waiting until he has "extra" money to give.  He gives now.    I met Vic when he donated his services for the Mayor's Fitness Challenge last summer. The retail cost of that challenge was over $2000, just for me. We had 13 people in that challenge. Vic -- who was just opening his business -- essentially gave us $26,000.00.

So not only did Vic give me a safe and comfortable place to become my best physical self, he gave me and my community thousands of dollars. 


Vic's business is growing.  He and Gabe are expanding into another location, they are increasing their clientele, and they are bringing new and exciting services to our community.  That's not an accident.  The great sales and self-actualization guru Zig Ziglar said "You can have everything you want in life as long as you help other people get what they want in life."  Vic is helping me get what I want in life.  I hope he earns MILLIONS.  Billions. 

In fact -- if you live in South Texas, check out V-Fit.  Take a couple of classes.

You will love Vic too.

My very first day working out with Vic

Just one of many successes since I started working out with V-Fit





Looks like I Survived

Not only did the world not end, but I also finished Beach 2 Bay.  And lived.

Wow. 

The Beach 2 Bay was an incredible "Bucket List" type of experience.  I've run 5Ks before -- that alone is a challenge for me, but the Beach 2 Bay is a big deal.  There 2575 teams.  Multiply that by 6 people, and you have -- wait, lemme find my calculator -- 15,450 people running in Corpus Christi. 

My trainer Gabe was faster than 15,438 of them.  His team came in second over all.  He is awesome!  It took them just 2 hours, 21 minutes and 59 seconds to finish the race.

My friend Reena's team was faster than all but one of the women's teams.  She also is awesome.  Their team came in at 2 hours, 58 minutes and 23.6 seconds.

That means that two of my friends were done before I even got on the shuttle bus back to my car. 

My team, Victor's Grasshoppers, came in 697 out of 981 in our category.  That's in the top 71%!  Whoot!

The most difficult part of the event was not the running -- although I did walk more than I wanted to.  The most difficult part was the logistics.  I had to catch the shuttle between 5 & 6 am.  That's the middle of the night as far as I am concerned.  The race started at 7, I was finished at 8, and then had to wait another 2 hours to get a shuttle back to the car.  Then the shuttle was stuck in traffic for another hour and a half.  I didn't get home until 12:30pm. 

The waiting wouldn't have been so bad if we had access to shade and water.  We didn't.

Would I run it again?  Yes. 

Next year?  I'm gonna place in the top 690!

Scared Grasshopper

Remember when I started working out with Vic and I got kinda cocky and I'm all "I am going to run a 5K every month for a year!" ?

And I have *cough* "run" one 5 K a month since October 2010.

It's been great!  I've had lots of fun, got lots of T-Shirts and have beat my best more than once. 

This month is different.

This month is the 36th Annual Beach to Bay relay marathon.

I heard you gasp.   Don't worry -- It's a RELAY marathon.  I am not going to run it by myself. 

And that's what scares me to DEATH. 

I am running with five other people.  Five awesome people.  Our team is called Victor's Grasshoppers.  Isn't that a stooopid name?  I couldn't think of any other names.  I just kinda think of Victor as Master Po -- only not blind.  And we are like David Carradine. . .without the auto-erotic asphyxiation.  We're going to wear vivid green shirts.  And pink skorts.  Well, I am wearing a pink skort.  Don't know about the other guys.

I'm running the shortest. . .I mean first leg. 

Fear #1: Five other, awesome people are going to have to make up time for me.

It is the largest relay marathon in the US.  NO OTHER PLACE in our country has a marathon relay this big. 

Fear #2: What if I am SO SLOW that my relay partner gives up and goes home?

It's so big, we have to take a shuttle to the race.

Fear #3: What if I am so slow I miss the shuttle back home?

I am "running" the beach leg. 

Fear #4:  What if I am so slow that the Sexy Seniors running club kicks sand in my face as they pass me?

The beach leg is short, but it's on sand.  So it's challenging.

Fear #5: What if I am SO SLOW that the race is over by the time I pass the baton?

This Saturday, if you see a sweaty, sandy, slow, scared runner wearing a green T-Shirt and a pink skort -- that will be me.

Personal Best part II

There is a reason why I rarely post on weekends.

It's because of my miracle baby.

He really is a miracle. The doctor told me that I was too old and too fat to have any more kids.  He didn't say it just like that, but that's what he meant.

When we found out about baby #ooops, my husband said "get a new OB".  I did, and I love her.

She didn't say I was too old and too fat, she said that my age carried certain risks.  And she tested me for everything.

At 13 weeks, I thought I lost him.

He's my third kid.  I've been through this before.  I won't tell you exactly what my symptoms were because they are very personal.  And also really, really gory.  But I was certain that my oooops was gone.

Of course, I had an ultrasound to make sure.

And he was ALIVE!  And he was perfect!  And he stayed perfect! 

And now he's a very normal, healthy almost 3 years old.

And he is the reason I can't get ANYTHING done on the weekends.

He wants to sit on my lap whether I am watching TV, reading, on the computer or in the john.  That's right.  He wants to sit on my lap when anyone else would have to hold their breath just to walk into the room.  Sometimes -- not often -- Greg will let me lock the bedroom door.  Then I get to go potty and read.  Pure luxury. 

Anyway, before Mr. Miracle kept leaning on the keyboard, I was TRYING to tell you about my 5K.

I jogged the whole way (except for about 100 yards when I had something in my shoe).  Three laps.    Three. 

It took a loooooooooooong time. 

As I was starting lap #3, Victor told me that the 5K was actually a 5+K.  A 5K is 3.1 miles.  Apparently 3 laps around our campus is 4.2 miles.  Wow.

My personal best was really a personal best!

And of course, at the finish line, people were cheering me on.  I think they may have been thinking "For God's sake when is she going to get here?  We can't sit here all day."  If they were thinking that, they didn't let on.  They were super awesome. 

The best part was that Gabe won!  (remember him? the meanest ever?) He won the whole thing!  He ran 4.2 miles in like 20 minutes.  I can't even drive that fast.  He rocks.

After the race, I came home to my family.  I sat on the couch.  I tried to get up. I screamed in pain.

Apparently, running 4.2 miles makes you really really sore.

And it chafes a little. 

So I spent the rest of the weekend holding my miracle baby.

Personal Best

I ran my (technically) 4th 5K yesterday. 

I actually jogged it.

I jogged the WHOLE way.  (except for 100 yards when I had to shake something out of my shoe).

I ran with my friend Kathy, the one who has been training with the Couch to 5K program.  I started jogging, she started walking, within 5 minutes she was faaaarr ahead of me.  See you in about an hour, friend!

Actually, I have lots to tell you, but right now the almost 3 year old and the 5 year old are hanging off on me like Spanish moss. 

So I have to tell you later. 

Dammit!