A little trip to the gym.......

After Will's preschool graduation (more on that another day) my mom, brother along with the kids and I headed to Pittsburgh for our annual trip. So much fun, when I get the pictures off of my camera I will share some very fun moments. While we were there I hoped to run, but where my grandmother lives you run 100% hills, and that is not little rolling hills. So- my brother wanted to go to the gym. I would rather have run, especially since the mornings were in the high 30's to low 40's, but the gym won. And this gym was no Lifetime Fitness either. It was a small gym in a run down strip mall with some old equipment. BUT.....after an amazing workout on the elliptical, some weight work, and doing the Jacobs Ladder, I have been completely rejuvenated. I am back into strength training. Luckily for me, Rich is on a similar kick and built us an amazing home gym. Since Meredith was born I have just not dedicated time on a weekly basis to strength training. Just could not get into it. I love to run, and that is just easier for me. Pick up the sitter, meet a friend- run, chat, have fun. I don't have any big races for a few months, so the timing is perfect to do more weights and other strength training. After three kids, abs are a must. I am not overdoing my legs, mainly concentrating on arms and core, along with other exercises I find in my running magazines. I am trying to work through all of my exercises to try to develop a routine so I do not duplicate and so that I hit everything I need to. Something I have been doing is causing my knee to be sore, so figuring that out is a priority right now.

Now for the Jacob's Ladder. I LOVED this thing! It is an awesome workout. It really got my heart rate up, and kept it up. No impact on your knees- an awesome cross training activity. I was surprised that this small gym had this- and I have not found any gym around here that has it. It is huge, so not something you throw into your basement- and it is around 4k, so another reason I don't have one at home!

It is not something you plug in- the faster you step the faster you go. It really is a workout- I am on a mission to find one of these around here but am not having much luck.

Running has been going well- running an evening 5k tomorrow night, mainly for the family aspect of the race (in a fun small town with free beer after). I am planning to run a 20K in August and then the Army 10 miler in September, the Breast Cancer 60 mile walk in October, Richmond Marathon in November, Goofy Challenge in January, and knowing me there will be more races thrown in there! I am looking forward right now to the Army 10 Miler, hoping to finish that with a 7:30 pace. So much to look forward too! And- if you have been paying attention you'd notice I did not mention Iron Girl. So, I was planning on getting my bike on a Monday. The Monday after Charlottesville. As I ran that race I realized I would much rather work towards an amazing finish at the Army 10 Miler and possibly a trip to Boston, so I am putting that on hold. I would definetly love to do Iron Girl in the next few years, but I feel that if I did it now my heart would not be in it. I don't want to end up disliking triathalons since I have enjoyed them so much!

Race Report!!! Pacers Running Festival

What a great race! Such a wonderful Mother's Day experience. I could not think of a better way to spend Mother's Day- running with my kids!

Since the race was on Mother's Day and the race had the option of running as a team, I had shirts made for the kids and I! I loved them- I had a great experience working with

The shirts were adorable, and kids were so proud of them! They have each kid's initial with white shoe prints going across, and around the outside of the circle they say 'Toussaint Family Running Team * Run Happy*
We had a little pre-race photo shoot!



The trip down to Arlington was easy- the kids woke up early with no complaints and jumped in the car willingly.



The race was on the smaller side- it was really nice to run some of the same roads I ran during the Army 10 Miler and the Marine Corps Marathon without 30,000 others breathing down my neck. We parked right at the start- Rich took all three kids to Silver Diner and then they hung out at a playground and drove to the finish (which was also the location of the kids' dash). The course was beautiful! We started downhill, and then ran a lot of uphills. The course was a welcome challenge. I really could not get a great visual of where exactly the course went from the PDF map that was online- so some of the hills were a surprise. I started out well, my first 3 miles averaged 7:28, the next 3 I ran at a 7:40 pace- by the time I hit the big hill at 9 I was around 7:50. I figured I could make up the time on the flat stretch back into Rosslyn. I could not have been more wrong- those last three miles were straight into a fierce wind! The course passed the Pentagon a few times- I could not stop thinking about the mothers that lost their lives there on 9/11, thinking especially of a good friend whose husband lost his sister there. Put a lot in perspective. I finished at an 8:08 pace. My Garmin hit 13.1 at 1:46. The total race course was 13.49 on my Garmin, so no official PR, but my fastest half-marathon pace to date (yes- to date, I fully intend to crush this time come fall!!)
End of the race:


Kids and I in our matching shirts:


The kids' dash- William was amazing! He took off and ran, he was so determined. I could not have been more proud, and the joy on his face before, during, and after the dash was incredible! He has been bugging me to let him join a running team, but I really don't know of any for 4 year old boys!
Julia was a bit scared of the mob scene at the beginning of the kids dash. Between the woman with the microphone, the police motorcycle revving and it's siren, and the kids running past her, Julia was not happy. She did finish the race though- which impressed me!




I don't have another half coming up until the fall, but I am hoping to find a couple. I am totally in love with the half marathon, perfect distance and I finish having had such a great time! At my next half I am aiming to finish around 1:40 -1:42. Can't wait to try!