the mess in my head

Went up to the Oregon zoo today.  Got to see the new Giraffe Riley, he's here from Utah for 2 years while they remodel his exhibit.  He has a heart shaped spot on his butt, it's awesome!

Riley is an amazing giraffe, Carter thought he was pretty cool, he came over to the tree near us to eat and in order to reach the ground where his food is, he had to do the splits kinda...  take a look how funny it looks.

We also got to see the hippos actually doing something!!  It was ball time and the hippos were totally into it, then they lumbered out of the water and went to lay down under their cave area, as if they had done their work and were exhausted LOL

As great as our trip to the zoo was today I am exhausted.  I haven't walked so much since I injured my ankle and since I have been having such good progress with wearing the boot I didn't think it would be too much but boy was I wrong!  I shouldn't complain though, I am going to start training as soon as I am healed (or as soon as I am out of the boot at least). 

I look forward to next week when I will start walking while carter is at school.  I need to figure out how to track distance.  I'm wondering about the Nike/ipod thing...  anyone know about how it works?  My  Ipod touch is out of action right now, so I'm not sure if that would work...  I've tried pedometers before but haven't had much luck with accurate readings.  Of course there is the whole 20 city blocks = a mile thing, but I don't want to think that hard while walking LOL.  SO, I am open to suggestions on a good/accurate way to track my distance.

Half Marathon....

So.  I have made some decisions about this half marathon I want to do.  First off, my training will have to be about reaching the goal of completing the half marathon, not about weight loss.

 I don't want to focus on weight loss because I dont want it to discourage me when I may or may not lose weight, or when I might hit a plateu. I want to be encouraged by how far I am able to walk, or how I don't have asthma issues as my training progresses, or whatever else might encourage me that isn't weight loss related. 

Now that I have decided not to make this goal about weight loss I am really excited about it.  My ankle sprain/pulled ligament is on it's way to being better, I will be out of the walking boot in a week, and I can start training.

 I have researched the Portland Rock & Roll 1/2 marathon website and the list of goodies and perks is super awesome.  I think this is the perfect choice for my first half marathon.

I hopefully will be starting a new job very soon and I will have to funds to cover the $80 entry fee (that is if I register before 12/31/12).

To train or not to train.......

My friend J walked the "Rock & Roll" Half marathon today here in Portland.  This was not her first, nor will it be her last.. OH I should mention.. this woman is OLD  LOL, But seriously, like in her 70's!!  Anyway, back to this marathon...  Today after it was all over she was telling me I should do it with her next year.  and honestly I'm considering it.  I've done a 5k walk before, nothing serious, but it was awesome...So, I looked up a training guide cuz I am seriously in need of training if I am going to try to do a half marathon.  Here's the guide I found for a 12 week training schedule, I think I would change it to a 12 month schedule since I have a year till the next "Rock and Roll" marathon.

Month	Sunday (Rest)	Monday (Easy)	Tuesday (Cross Train)	Wednesday (Easy)	Thursday (Cross Train)	Friday (Rest)	Saturday (Long)
1	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles
2	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	5 Miles
3	Rest	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles
4	Rest	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles
5	Rest	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	30-40 Minutes	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles)	45-50 Minutes	Rest	4 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
6	Rest	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	30-40 Minutes	35-42 Minutes (4 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	8 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
7	Rest	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	30-40 Minutes	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	9 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
8	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	35-45 Minutes	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
9	Rest	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	35-45 Minutes	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	10 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
10	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	35-45 Minutes	45-50 Minutes (5 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	7 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
11	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	35-45 Minutes	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	45-50 Minutes	Rest	6 Miles (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2
12	Rest	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	30 Minutes	30-36 Minutes (3 Miles) (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2	Rest	Rest	13.1 Miles Race day! Run/Walk (A) 3/2 (B) 4/2

SEASIDE!!!

We are spending some time at the coast this week for a OHSA conference.  Some time for meetings, some time for fun.  Today at lunch C and I spent  time at the Seaside Aquarium feeding the seals and exploring the exhibits.



Feeding the Seals at the Aquarium





Look at the crabs, they are moving



C really liked the Octupus

After the aquaruim we headed to the beach. Let me set the scene...rain, wind, wet, cold, amazing! We got soaked but to see the joy in C's face walking in the sand and playing in the water... it was so great.

Running to the water, shoes in hand

We might be soaked, but we are still smiling!



Later, after another session of meetings for me, we went back to the beach on the hunt for fun stuff...  No luck on the hunt, well no luck at all as far as that goes, it was still windy, still rainy, still cold...  but the opportunity to take more beach pictures was not missed.

Hopefully will get some time tomorrow before we leave, ad some better weather, to hit the beach for some goodies...  one shell just won't cut it!