Listen to Yourself and Speak Up

I had a very productive day at work today. Got lots done and even stayed late despite a 2 hour early release we were granted. I feel so much better now that my desk is partially cleared off!

Started out the day with a circuit workout at bootcamp. I was not good about sticking with the exercises, I was in wimp mode I guess. Today was the first day I started to use my modifications.

I have a confession; I have not been my best advocate. I am adamant that parents are the ones that have to advocate for their kids medically. (well in all areas, but my experience is with the medical establishment.) We are the ones that know when something really isn't right, even if it is within normal for other kids. You get the idea.

Well way back in December I started getting this awful jaw pain. I mean at times I was having trouble chewing because my jaw hurt so much. I waited until my next dentist appointment. (I go every 6 months without fail, so it wasn't too much of a wait) and talked to the Dr about it.



He was convinced I must be grinding my teeth at night. I have never had issues with that or any other jaw/mouth issues. At the last minute I said I had joined a bootcamp, could that have anything to do with it. Yes, he said.

I have a bad history with core work in that I tend to use my neck rather then engaging my core. I have taken pilates and struggled with many of the exercises for this reason. I had kind of forgotten about it, but clearly I was still struggling with targeting parts of my body during a move. (confession within a confession; I never get how to engage my abs when we are working on some other part of the body. May as well pat my tummy while circling my head) Anyways, I didn't do anything. I didn't talk to my instructor, I didn't change the way I did things. Eventually it went away most of the time. I suspect because I starting going to bootcamp only twice a week as I ramped up my mileage for Disney.

Not me. :)

After my knee issue, and I took the week off last week, I decided I wasn't being smart. I talked to my instructor and interestingly enough she said she isn't a fan of crunches. She doesn't feel like they do as much as plank work and push ups. Ok then! So I am going to work on relaxing my neck and if I need to rest my upper body while I do reverse crunches, that is ok. 

That is one thing I like about this bootcamp is that we can all modify as we need to. I am happy I spoke up and now have a partner in helping me work towards health without injury that is informed about what my body is saying. 

Happy spring break, Passover and Easter to all who are celebrating one or all! 

Back in the Saddle

Excitement for today - I made my first smoothie ever, bootcamp was great and I got a massage! All is good.





















I had some left over goodies from when my aunt was here and I decided to throw them in the blender and see how it turned out. I am a total smoothie novice. Apparently my daughter is a smoothie expert from making them at Montessori school - who knew? She declared it a success, but my son was not so much of a fan. I want to try a few recipes and see how I like them and if they fill me up at all for breakfast.

I went back to the chiropractor for my last check in on my knee. I was early for my appointment - not sure how that happened, but they were great about it and did an adjustment. I tried out a new machine, (this place is full of them) a roller table.

Sort of like this

The one I was on had two rollers, one for the upper back and one for the lower. I spent some time on that and then had my massage. It was a little funny going in to this small room in the back of an office for a massage. This wasn't any Red Door Spa, she made it hurt so good. An hour well spent. I don't have any more appointments scheduled, so we will see how it goes.

Signs All Around

So I think I need to open my eyes more. I know I told you all how bummed out about my run yesterday. And to be fair, I haven't had a good run in 2 weeks. Remember, I consider a good run one where I can string 2 miles or so together adding in breaks for a 4-6 mile run. I want to feel strong and be able to keep my turtle speed steady. Remember how I raised the speed on that last good run? I was up to 4.9. Getting so close to 5. (I know this is where many people start - including on the Biggest Loser - but I mostly embrace how slow I am, most days anyways)

The world doesn't seem to be agreeing with my attitude. And it let me know in several ways.

Sign #1

So I turned to my friends. The funny/comforting thing was not one of them said I was being silly, of course I was a runner. They all granted that it was hard, but I needed to keep at it.

Sign #2

In a little less then 3 months I have hit 25% of my goal for the year. Sounds just about perfect doesn't it? *sigh* Not failing, but rather hitting my goals. Hrumph. How about that.

Sign #3

EXCITING!! I am published. Well not my, but my quotes. I had communicated with Dorothy Beal, who writes at www.mile-posts.com, a few months ago on Twitter to help her with this article and a tight deadline. She was writing an article about running with moms and dads. Well, my dad is a big runner and I was so excited to share.

The latest Run Washington magazine came out and there we were! I am so excited to send my dad a copy of the article. Check it out on page 68! I haven't told anyone, so you are the first to hear my big news!!

Guess I can't give up now. Plus I have a race to run in April, the Nike Women's Half Marathon. It is the first time it is being run in DC and I was able to get a spot in the lottery. More about this race soon, I promise.

Many Steps Towards a Big Goal

So tonight I was going to write about my goals. It is almost the end of March (but not quite as the weekend must count double - right?) but I was super excited that I got to cross several things off my list.

You may remember at the beginning of the month, I had some items from past months that weren't complete yet. I powered through and got the contractor I was trying to work with to pull it together. Well, maybe I didn't do much but nag, but it worked!

I was able to cross off the shower fixes and kitchen fixes after a couple of days work (on their part). Shower is currently drying, so I won't know until later this week if it leaks or not. That being said once they took the old door off, they knew right away what had been done incorrectly. *sigh* At least it is done. I really try to stick to my promise to not let things go because we will fix them all anyways if we were ever going to sell the house, so might as well keep up and enjoy things working correctly in the process. Next items are big ticket ones, so I have to go back to my research from a few years ago and get on it. Can't stop progress now!

So while I was having a victory dance while I was crossing things off my year long to do list, I was also stalling. I wanted to go to bootcamp today after taking a whole week off last week, but when I got up, not only was it snowing, but there was an email that our instructor was sick. Back to bed I went - just happy I hadn't gotten dressed before I looked at my phone.

The kids were scheduled to go to camp this morning, but I couldn't pass up a chance for them to play in the snow. We really haven't had snow to speak of - despite all the talk.

The snow play lasted hardly anytime at all interestingly enough, so they were off to camp by mid morning. I had work and a run ahead of me. When I telecommute, I typically get my run in during the late afternoon so I can be done by the time the family gets home at 6. I stalled, and I stalled some more, watching Love it or List it. Which was decidedly stupid as I have a TV in front of the treadmill and didn't have to miss a thing.

At any rate, I decided to do 4 miles or whatever I could accomplish in an hour. Rotten. That is all I can say. I ran the first 3/4 of a mile and was just a mess after that. Not really walking or running, stopping for no good reason. My knee was fine, although my shins were nagging a little. Overall I did about 2.5 and wasn't happy at all.

Not even this could motivate me

I really have come to a place where I doubt my ability to become a consistent runner. And by that I mean someone who can go out, run 3-4 miles without walking and be done. It seems to be a struggle every single time. I am holding myself back and I can't figure out why. What else I can't figure out is why I keep signing up for half marathons. If it weren't for Nike coming up next month, I would be going back to 5k races for sure. Just work on conquering that distance before moving on. As it is, I need to run 11 again this weekend (please get warm already!). Overall just not feeling it. I felt like I needed the break last week, but it messed up what momentum I had and I feel like I am starting all over again. How's that for Debbie Downer on a Monday evening?

17.75 Race Recap

I will tell you I wasn't feeling very confident about this race. As you can imagine prepping for a race by going to a chiropractor is definitely a first for me. The forecast for the DC area was NOT springlike.

Indeed, Even last year when I was running a race a month, I didn't have a race this cold. Well, maybe the George Washington 10k, but we waited for the race inside!

The Marine 17.75 is in honor of the year the Marines were founded. We ran (or walked in my case) 17.75 km or 11.03 miles.

I woke up about 6:00 and got ready. I ended up wearing my capris with my yoga pants over them. I am so glad I did. The forecast was for the day to get to 50 degrees, but I could very well be done by the time it warmed up. Most of the run was in the Prince William Forest, which was very beautiful and peaceful.

First thing I did when I got to the race start was to meet up with some ladies from Moms Run This Town for a photo. So nice that it was light out!



After a short wait, we were off.

We started the race by going up a road with a nice continuous incline. The theme of this race seemed to be be what goes down, must come up. It was very hilly! Anyways, we began and I was moving quickly, but having trouble getting into running form. There were many walkers and the crowd spread out quickly. The race had published a quick video about the logistics a week or so ago and the woman's voice saying "grueling course and rolling finish" just kept repeating in my head. Rolling anything in VA is just another word for hilly.

Check out those hills. The last one is even after the finish to get to the race festival!.

Pretty early I got into a groove with a group of folks. I always make friends with the people around me. I don't usually talk to them too much, but I make up back stories about them and why they are running. Let's face it when you are our speed, there has to be a story! Does anyone else do this? Today I was with a father and daughter that looked like maybe they were running for a husband or brother based on his shirt. Another woman in teal was simply amazing, she kept running no matter what. I would run and get ahead and then slow to a walk and she would catch me. (I am not a slow walker, so this was a little surprising) She never made a move to talk to anyone, just was focused on the road ahead. There was also a guy that was stopping to take a ton of picture. At first I thought he was running with someone, but that didn't seem to be the case.

One thing I will say for the Marines, they are truthful! 

The race was not full of signs or even personnel. We were in the park after the first 2.5 miles and then ran down a huge hill of gravel trail. About the 5 mile mark we flattened out and were on a nice paved road. Then about mile 8.5 or 9 or so, the "rolling" hills began. It was tough, no joke. I was walking almost the whole time. I felt like I should run the downhills, but they were pretty steep and even that was difficult.

Then all of a sudden I ran into a treat!

Don't they look like the friendliest water crew you have ever seen? The moms from the Moms Run This Town facebook page gave me such a boost.

One of the hills. (this was a small one!)

At the end of the road, we returned to gravel trail for the last mile to the finish line. We finished on an uphill. How wrong is that?!

They even put up an 11 mile marker, even though the finish line was .03 past it! I pretty much ran through the post race area. Picked up my "Access Granted" card, which gives me the ability to register for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. More on that later.

They had these fun guys, a tent where folks were getting massages, a foam roller station, a beer truck and a HUGE line for the buses back to the commuter lot. I believe I was in line for about an hour to get on a bus back. It was all very courteous, but I was cold and tired. That would be my only complai nt about the race. I ended up having to text my husband to let him know I wasn't going to make it home before he left for baseball practice, so he had to take my daughter.

Can't see the end of the line or the buses! 

In the end I wasn't happy with how little I ran, but I managed to finish in 1:34:54, which is a 13:17 mile average. Not bad at all, and back to where I was before Disney. A little more run in my step and it would have been a perfect day!

A Long Drive - will it be worth it?

I slept in again today. No boot camp. I am taking the advice of the chiro seriously to not do anything but ice and rest. Well not really. I am kind of taking a break. I was so tired at the beginning of the week and it just sort of happened, but I am feeling more refreshed having not done anything at all this week except for walking on Tuesday.

Last night I slept with a little blanket between my knees. It seems silly, but it was so comfy. I iced tonight and will use the biofreeze again. The biggest shock is that I actually wore my sneakers to work today. My knee seems to be feeling better, but I am not going to test it until I need to.

Work was jam packed and in between we celebrated my team mate's upcoming baby. Lunch with the team and Cake! yea!

After a late afternoon conference call, I headed down to Dale City. It is down I-95, which is traffic central about 24 hours a day. I found the running store and bonus - no line!

I wrote to see what the pace requirement is and the answer was 18 minute miles. I can totally do that walking, so worst case, I can get a good workout in! We are still in a cold snap, so hopefully I won't be freezing! 

Marines - Here I come! 

Getting a Little Help

During my shirt run/walk yesterday I became greatly concerned about my knee. I struggled to run, even doing intervals. I have a race on Saturday - What?! I know, snuck up on me too! - and I needed to figure out what to do. So I called on my local running group - Mother Run This Town. We have a facebook page where folks post runs, look for advice, show of their shopping spoils and share their race/run stories. Generally gab around the virtual kitchen table.

So I put the call out and the verdict was generally IT Band. I was leaning more towards overuse/runner's knee or tendinitis. (Is that the same thing?) Let's face facts here, I have never been injured, and had no idea what I was talking about. I took a recommendation of one of the ladies to see a chiropractic practice, figuring it would at least eliminate what might be the cause.

I have never been to a chiropractor before and the office was welcoming and casual. I met with the Dr and answered lots of questions about my health. I started to feel a little funny because every time he asked me about pain I said no! I really feel pain only on the inside of my knee in a very specific place. I can probe my knee with my fingers and find what seems like a bump.

He did some modality tests and then hooked me up to a Electronic Stimulator.

Electrical Stimulation: machine transmitting electrical impulses that exercise small and large muscle groups and to stimulate nerve endings.

It felt a little funny, but soon I didn't even notice it. There were 4 pads, two on each side of my knee. At the same time I had an ice pack strapped onto my knee. 

After that he did some adjustments talked to me about stretches I should do, directions for icing and directed me not to run until Saturday. I had already decided if I wasn't feeling it, then I would scratch rather then putting myself on the injured list. This isn't a goal race for me and I am not running it with anyone. So no real high stakes and if I were to DNS (Did Not Start) a race this year, this would be the one. 

The Marine 17.75 already poses a quandary for me due to the automatic spot in the Marine Corps Marathon. This is a huge race in the area and a big goal race for many. 

My plan now is to go pick up my packet tomorrow and go back to the Dr on Friday for another treatment. The crazy thing is that my treated knee feels much better, but my other one seems to be acting up. I think it is just because I am so focused on these joints right now, at least I hope so. 

The evening was spent watching my girl in her 1st grade play and catching up with a friend from college. All good things, but I am just now getting to the icing. I am such a bad patient. 

Hoping spring has come where you are, because it sure hasn't gotten the message here! 

Must Shake this Funk

I slept in again today. Well, by that I mean I skipped bootcamp. I had another tough day at work and slipped out in the afternoon to go shopping for a shower gift for a team mate. He and his wife are having a boy in a month and the team is going out on Thursday to celebrate. So exciting. I seriously can't believe how much baby stuff has changed in just 5 years! I was able to put together a nice basket and I am excited to celebrate.

Despite yesterday being such a yucky today. Today started rainy, but the afternoon was bright and warmed up. I was itching to get out and see what my knee could handle. I was very disappointed. I ended up walking to school to pick up my daughter and walk home with her. It was about 3 miles total, but I couldn't jog more then a few yards without pain.

I reached out the local mothers run this town group and they recommended a chiroprator. I have only 3 days until my race, and I would love to be able to run. I have never not run or finished a race, but I do know it happens frequently and to strong runners. I still consider myself a new runner, so I have no experience with pains and trying to determine what is normal and what is not.

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. Off to do some internet research!

Blah

It snowed this morning and was so pretty. But then it changed over to cold rain.

That pretty much tells you how I feel about the day. It was a tough one. I am still feeling pretty down about it and know I can be in control of this. However, I am just tired. I am settled in for the night with a snack sized popcorn and the Biggest Loser Finale. Maybe a good night's sleep will help.

Hope you all had a better day. :)

Happy Weekend

Well I have a fire roaring in the fireplace and my feet up as we head into a new week. This is the week before Spring Break for us, so it has somewhat of a frantic tone at work, trying to get answers before folks head out of town. For the kids it is sort of a long slide into the holiday. We packed quite a bit into this weekend, but first a look back at last week.

Monday - Bootcamp (done)
Tuesday - Bootcamp (done)
Wednesday - Run (swtiched to Thursday)
Thursday - Rest (done Wed)
Friday - Bootcamp (yuppers)
Saturday or Sunday - Run -  this became a walk. Not really happy about that!

Friday evening I met my buddies for drinks and dinner at a local place. We mostly talked about our kids and running/working out, but it was so nice to get together with some ladies again. My other dinner groups have kind of fallen off, so this was a nice treat!

Horrible lighting. But great friends!

So Saturday here was forecast to be rainy and chilly. Not happy weather for all of those planning to run the Rock N Roll marathon downtown. I was feeling happy for them when I woke up and it was dry! Even better, the day just kept getting warmer and warmer. I was low on sleep, since an implementation that had been kicked off Friday evening at 11 got off to a rocky start, putting me to bed later then usual and I had to get up at 6 to "meet" the testers online. I went back to bed once we finished work about 8:30 to try and catch some more sleep. My husband did the same after he dropped our son off for his first Boy Scout camping trip. Plus we were joined by my daughter. 3 bugs in a bed. On these days I feel lazy, but I so needed the sleep. Plus I had 3 glasses of wine on Friday evening, so wasn't feel in tip top shape.

After toting my daughter to event #1 and having lunch I realized I would have an opportunity when she went to Daisy Scouts to get some exercise in. My knee started to bug me during bootcamp on Friday, so I wasn't sure how things were going to go. I had about 2 hours to burn, so could conceivably get 7-8 miles in.

I walked from Downtown to George Mason University. There is a nice loop around the campus that I was somewhat familiar with. After the first 5 minutes or so, I knew I was in for just walking. I kept my pace up and eventually finished 6 miles before I knew it was time to give my body/knee a rest.

The campus was full of activities, a cheer competition, runners, a saxophone player next to the lake, that it kept my attention. Plus the warm weather was such a wonderful change, I loved being outside. Your body just craves the warmth after a long winter, you know?

My guest arrived in town and we went out to a nice Thai dinner. This morning the scale was right back up to my high weight. Somehow I have to figure out how to manage the weekends better. I just lose and gain the same 2-3 pounds week after week.

Could wine be my problem? Usually I stick to 1 glass if I am at home, but I found this post by Caitlin at Healthy Tipping Point to be very interesting.

Hope you were able to get out an enjoy the weekend.

Am I Taller?

So getting dressed this morning was somewhat of a challenge. First, it got cold again - boo. Second, my pants are too big. Yea! I certainly am not seeing great progress on the scale I am seeing progress in my body.

Not actually me. 

The funny thing is that I keep hearing people refer to my height. Tall drink of water or Tall and lean. I am about 5'10" and have always been tall, but no one has commented on it like they have lately. I know this means my body is changing for the better. It is hard sometimes when you go day in and day out to notice the small changes. That is why I recommend you measure yourself or have a pair of pants that gauge your progress.

Today was a big day for the kids so no work out, but I did get to boot camp Monday and Tuesday. Day light savings time kicked my butt on Tuesday. I was super close to chugging a soda just to make it through the day! I didn't, but that was more accessibility then willpower! I have family coming into town this weekend, so I need to be a little creative to get my long run in. I am ramping back up because I am running the Marine Corps 17.75 next weekend. How did it come up so fast?! I need to start paying more attention.

Wishing luck to everyone running Rock N Roll DC and the Shamrock Marathon events this weekend. Hopefully the weather will hold. :)

Just a Few More

Laura finally downloaded her pictures from her phone so I found the picture I took with Dimity and SBS!

If you haven't hooked up with them and their great tribe of Mother Runners, I can't recommend it enough. I remember reading their first book, Run Like a Mother, as I was preparing for my 12 in 2012 goal. I think I got it as a free download or close to free on the Kindle. It has enough humor and contributions from other mothers to give a balanced approach. The best part is the community of runners that frequent their facebook page and now the forums they have on the website. Each week they release a new podcast full of news about their kids and running topics. Just like your running buddy would give you on a run.

One last princess picture before we start turning our focus on the Marine Corps.

I hit up bootcamp this morning and ran 3.1 miles this evening. I bumped up the speed the last mile and felt good. I still have to take breathers on the treadmill, but I am still working towards consistency.

My goal for the week is to get my workouts in and watch my eating. I know the weight will come off if I can just keep the early evening snacking to a low roar. Tonight was just too full of snacks while I waited to get dinner ready. I have a guest coming this weekend, so not sure about my weekend run yet.

Monday - Bootcamp (done)
Tuesday - Bootcamp
Wednesday - Run
Thursday - Rest
Friday - Bootcamp
Saturday or Sunday - Run

Decisions, Decisions

I spent the second half of last week discussing my thoughts on the Spring/Summer with my husband.

First major decision was the Green Bay Marathon. I had thought very seriously about doing it and knew my run up to Disney was a good foundation to begin training for the May race. It is a flat course, hometown for my husband and has a very generous race time.



While I know the challenges at Disney were mostly out of my hands, the 16 minute per mile average threw me. Between that and all the transitions my son is currently going through, I knew this wasn't the time for me to take on the hours of training. So, we haven't told my mother in law yet, but I know she will understand.

The next decision I/we had to make was Disneyland. The race was selling out so fast in February, I impulsively signed up for it.  I knew there was a chance that vacation plans and travel wouldn't work out and I would have to forfeit the money. That wasn't a happy thought, but it is the Sunday before school starts for the kids, over the Labor Day weekend and what the family needs does come first.



Long story, short, I seem to have worked it out with everyone. We are going on our family vacation in early August and I will take the kids to my parents in CA the week before the race. I still need to decide if we are going to take a red eye back or come back on Monday. Looks like I will earn my coast to coast medal after all. Laura and Sandie are running too, so we will be back together again. :)

All in all I happy that we are getting closer to have a finished plan for the summer. I am looking forward to the races I am registered for, the Marine Corps 17.75 and the Nike Women's Half. After that I need to come up with a plan to keep up my momentum!

Redemption Run

Last week didn't turn out quite the way I had planned. I failed at many of my workouts and didn't replace them with anything. Not sure what my problem was, but I was definitely low energy and high eating. In the end the damage wasn't too terribly bad, but I needed something to kick me back in gear. 

This weekend was incredibly busy schedule wise, so I was struggling with when I was going to find 2 hours to get a run in. In the end I decided that Saturday afternoon made the most sense. We got through TKD and swim practice, I had lunch and then set off. I had in my head I wanted to do 8 miles. I had done 7 last weekend and have the 17.75 (km) race coming up in two weeks. I can't slack off on my mileage now! 

Lonely left over snow rock. 

Due to our non-snow/but still precipitation event I wasn't sure how muddy the trails would be. Being as I was game to run with as few hills as possible, I decided to set out that way. It has been quite awhile since I have run outside, but the weather was treating us to a springlike day and I didn't want to miss out! 

I started the path and felt good. I haven't been having such great runs since the Princess, so I was a little nervous. I felt strong, maybe missing those workouts was a good rest! 

I had purchased new earphones at Target this morning as my old ones had gone through the wash. I had tried them out and they seemed to be shorting. My original pair, that I love go over my ears and I picked them up in the checkout line at TJ Maxx. You know where they stuff all the candy/food from who knows when and other odd assortments. Yup. Just sitting there. Any rate, due to this, I know I will never find them again. The new ones from Target seem way to big. I didn't have time to fiddle with them, so I plugged in the old ones hoping they would at least be on for most of the run. Of course, they worked perfectly the whole time! Why didn't I try them before I ripped open the other package?? 

Anyways, I set off on the trail. I was pretty sure I had a 7 mile loop I had run in preparation for Woodrow Wilson, but wasn't exactly sure. I decided to wing it. My extended neighborhood has enough loops that you can pretty much do as little or long as you want. I followed the trail from our park to another park, which is about 2.5 miles. Felt good and I had hit upon the 5k to 10k podcast from kissmyblackass.org. She was running me 12 minutes with 1 minute walks. Feeling strong I headed onto the sidewalk, which is where the hills begin to come into play. I walked up the first big one and then started another 12 minute cycle, still going well. Jogged into a few cul de sacs to add to my distance and then finally headed towards the school my kids go to. Got up a big hill by the school (running!) and then took streets to get from the front of the school to the back. Headed down the street a little further and I found an entry to the trail I hadn't taken before. 

So headed back and then I was at about 7 miles. I had taken a few walk breaks, but the sun and the perfect air temp were pushing me on. I ran past the playground my kids and I have spent many an hour at and grinned at how many people were there. Love when folks take advantage of good weather. Looped through my neighborhood proper and headed home. 

In the end I finished my 8 miles about 1 hour 40 mins. SO much better! That is a pace of about 12:45, which is where I have been for the most part. Redemption for the 16:10 pace at Disney! 

The day was beautiful and I am so glad I was able to clear the decks of responsibility for my run. I am also happy because I used to allow myself 15 minutes per mile when scheduling my runs. While it isn't a big difference finishing 8 miles under 1:45 seems like a big win to me! 

Friday night we celebrated my son bridging over to Boy Scouts, I am so proud of him! 

One out of Two Isn't Bad

Well, all I can say is the snow was a big bust. It started out promising. School was cancelled, Governments closed, snow coming down from the sky. However, the weather goddesses weren't cooperating and the temperatures just couldn't come down far enough to keep the snow from being a big slushfest. The kids made it work by sledding and generally run around in the rain/sleet/snow.

Even though my office was technically closed, I had calls scheduled with a vendor, so the show must go on.

I did get a 3 mile run in and bumped up the speed just a notch the last .25 mile. This is my pattern before I move up to a new speed for my weekday runs. Its a slow progress, but I seem to be able to make it work for me so far. Afterwards I took time to stretch. This is so important, but I don't always do it. (see all the entries where I am running up to the minute before I need to go someplace)

After that I decided all was not lost on the arm workout and I went to clear our sidewalks of the remaining slush. It was heavy, but with a corner lot, we get a lot of traffic. I wanted to make sure it was clear so tomorrow it will just be wet rather then iced over.

I now have the kids in bed, a fire in the fireplace and a glass of wine in hand. Relaxation is on deck for me and then some heavenly sleep. 2 more days of this hectic week to get through!

Who Cares About Running....Its Going to Snow!!

I live outside of DC and we haven't had a good snow storm for 2 years. It is going to snow starting in a few hours and I am EXCITED. 

Courtesy of  Capital Weather Gang/Washington Post

Isn't it beautiful? 

I am sorry to say that I slept through boot camp this morning. Silly alarm mistake, but an honest one. When the cleaner comes through our rooms and dusts she always manages to turn the volume way down. She hasn't done it in awhile, but my alarm was screaming with no voice this morning. 

When I woke up I was a little upset. I had planned to be at boot camp 3 times this week, and this was going to throw a wrench in things. Tonight was my son's first Boy Scout meeting and they were having a parent meeting as well. I wanted to go and meet the other parents, so today became a rest day. I think it will be ok, as tomorrow is shaping up to be a big upper body workout. (see above!)

All seems right with the world right now, so we are going with that. 

Planning for Success

I am sitting here watching the Biggest Loser contestants get their make overs. It seems like this gets set up as a big goal for them and something to work for. Just another example of why setting goals and milestones is so important.

You may have noticed that I split up my year long goals into smaller chunks. The overall goal of 750 miles for the year is represented as 62 miles each month. I know if I have a lower month it won't mean I am not going to hit my goal, but it will serve as a good reminder to get back on the treadmill.

For my plank goal I set 1 minute, 1.5 minutes, etc working towards my goal of 3 minutes. I have gained strength faster then I expected, having started at only being able to hold one for 30 seconds.

What was my non-scale victory today? I stacked my feet during push ups at boot camp. It wasn't as hard as I thought at all. Gave myself a little pat on the back for that!

I have also been seeing some progress on the scale side. Double bonus.

Workout schedule
Monday - boot camp
Tuesday - Boot camp/short run
Wednesday - snow expected! 30 day shred or run
Thursday - rest
Friday - boot camp
Saturday - 30 day shred
Sunday - Long run

What have been your non scale or scale related victories lately?

2013 Goal Check In

The days march on and I thought it would be good to do a check in on my goals.

January

Run 62.5 miles (1/12th of my goal of 750 for the year) - Done (69 actually, but who is counting? Hrm, me I guess!)
Kid's Shower fix and garbage disposal (see how I grouped those plumbing issues - genius I tell you) - Done
Summer Vacation Planned - Not yet, but we know what we are doing, I just have to get the house. I have been doing legwork on this, so its only a matter of another week or two before we are set.

February

Disney Half - Done

62.5 Miles - Done (68 this month, not bad for 28 days)

Kitchen Fixes - got an estimate, but the contractor is kind of sketching out on me. May have to start from square one with this. Also paired with a goal for March.

Taxes - Done, but not filed. For some reason I like to let them sit awhile. I am not sure why because I never change anything and don't have the smarts to actually find anything wrong on the forms themselves.

Summer Camps - Done. Whew, that was a tough one. 2 kids that need full time camp. Everyone has camp at the local TKD studio several weeks, but then there are specialty weeks too, scout camp etc.

March

1 minute plank - Done, My full year goal is 3 minutes, so I broke it up. I have been using the great tracking sheets runwithjess.com puts out. Been slacking on planks the last few days, so need to get back to that and not lose my progress.

62.5 - Time will tell. I did 7 today, it was way ugly, but done. Still trying to decide about marathon training, but I think 2013 isn't the year. Princess was not the magical race I wanted it to be as far as pumping up my can do attitude for a marathon.

Shower fixes - notice a trend? In 2010 we redid our kitchen and I was totally turned off of calling any contractor for 2 years after that effort. I am finally getting back to the house fixes we need to get done. Then maybe I can do another "fun" project.

Weekend Trip - the last several years the family has taken weekend trips to cover a gap in the private school schedule. My daughter isn't in Montessori anymore, but I don't want to give up that time exploring the nearby areas. Haven't figured out what yet, but I still have the month of March to figure it out.

So there you have it. I feel like I am moving along with the things I wanted to get accomplished so far. I need to pick up speed on the house items because they only get more involved as the year goes on. I am happy with my workout schedule and feel like my running base is really starting to develop. Yea!

We are hitting some big transitions at home however. My son is moving from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts starting this week and he earned his Black belt, which changed his class schedule from one that was perfect for me to get midweek runs in to one that isn't so accommodating. Soon it will be all up for grabs as baseball season is starting. That means my husband and son will be on the ball field for hours a week and I will have my daughter more. This isn't an issue when the weather is bad and I don't mind being on the treadmill, but when the weather is nice its tough to be stuck inside.

On another note, I didn't make this a written down goal, but I would like to lose 6 lbs again this year. This was more to keep me in the mindset of not letting my weight rise 1 or 2 pounds at a time. So far - I am holding even, but not losing anything.

How are you doing on your goals?

And We Are Off.....

The race started and it was packed. I was able to get moving at a pretty good pace. I knew I needed to take it slow as it was plenty warm and humid. I had my water bottle, skittles and phone on me.

It was dark!

The first thing I saw in the distance was a pirate ship and Jack Sparrow! I knew I wanted to stop and take pictures, but I also wanted to be smart about it. I have been running a 13:30 minute mile in training, but Disney is serious about the 16 minute mile limit. I didn't completely understand this when I headed out.

After the race there was all sorts of comments on the Run Disney page about walkers starting in earlier corrals to give them a buffer from the sweep bus. I was in Corral F, so I did have some buffer. Apparently the sweeper bus picked up many runners at mile 8, but I was unaware and apparently not close to that action - thankfully!

We then passed the princes. I didn't run with Laura, but she stopped at many places I didn't so I am going to  intermix our pictures so you get a good idea. Plus hers are so much clearer then mine!

Each mile marker was a cute little storybook page. At the 5k mile marker I was running a 13:31 minute mile. So right on pace. I had a lot of walkers in my corral, so it was hard to get around and through people. We were out on the road, so we had good space, but there are only so many ways around friends all walking together. I am by no means fast, so I am fully supportive of walkers. It does add on to the mileage though.

We ran past the speedway and I saw this sign. I wasn't considering it at this point, but I thought knowing where the exit was would be a good thing. I missed a picture of Lightening McQueen just outside the Speedway.

The first several miles there were DJs and these photo ops, but I only did drive by pictures. I wasn't ready to stop yet and didn't know what was ahead of me.
We headed toward the magic Kingdom. I made sure to watch my footing as we headed over the speed bumps entering the parking lot. I had heard about them at the expo and falling was not on my docket for the day.

We hit main street and everyone was clearly excited. I was still running nicely and had stopped at every water stop, alternating water and poweraide.

Yikes! Hot, Humid and excited to be here? 

This is more like it! 

We ran up Main Street, through Tomorrowland, around Fantesyland and then through the castle.

I had to stop for Tiana, even though this was the same one I had pictures with on Friday night.

Wish I had stopped for Mickey and Minnie

At the 10k mark my time was 1:30:02, 14:29 minute miles. Not sure what caused the slowdown as I was feeling good still. The course did narrow quite a bit, so that could explain some of it. 

They had a vote for the song of the race before and at the halfway mark it was playing. So fun and got me moving.

Things were still going well at mile 8. I was tired and hot, but still moving forward. I was walking some, but not too worried about my time or stamina. At mile 9 they had a gu station, but I haven't had one yet and I didn't think that I wanted to experiment. Maybe I should have grabbed one for later to try it. My time at the 15k was 2:18:21 a 14:51 minute mile pace. Still within a decent range, but a little slow for me.
And then I hit Mile 10, or thereabouts. I can't be sure as the memories are fuzzy. I decided that I needed to stop and go to the bathroom. Kicking myself for not doing so in the park, but we were through it on our way back to Epcot by this point. So I stopped as the line wasn't very long. Soon after stopping I started to feel a little woozy. I stopped and sat down on a guardrail. A nice runner stopped and asked if I needed something to eat. I declined as I had a good breakfast and had been drinking and eating my skittles. I know it sounds low tech, but I wasn't going to change things up in the middle of a race. I decided to keep going. Soon I decided I needed to look for some help. I wasn't sure what was ahead, so I stopped at a security SUV.

I stopped and took a breather hanging over the hood of the SUV. I eventually sat down and caught a cool breeze from the side of the route. I am not sure how long I sat there, maybe 10 minutes, but eventually I decided I should try to keep going. I didn't really think about much there, just trying to listen to my body. After my stop, I slowly started gaining my energy back again.

I don't look like I almost passed out, do I? 

We had to go through a clover leaf pattern so we could see the folks on the overpass above us. Then it was a nice hill to get up there ourselves. Some folks were talking about sweepers, but I wasn't worried. There were so many people behind us that I didn't think it was possible to get into trouble.

I hit mile 12 and knew I could finish the race. I just pushing forward at that point and not paying too much attention to others. It was still crowded and in many places there were runners darting through the crowd. I can't figure out how they got behind me if they were so fast, but I can only assume they have great character pictures!
Coming into Epcot I saw a woman walking that clearly was going to pass out. She kept talking about how she had missed her time goal and how she had to finish. We were still at least 3/4 of a mile away from the finish line. I ended up moving on to alert the medics.

Finally we saw Epcot. The race takes you in the park a little ways and then you turn around and head right out into the parking lot. As we exited through the employee gate there was a gospel choir. So cool!

Finally the finish line was in sight! I didn't get my camera out until too late, but this is what it looked like to me.

Mickey and Minnie were there, and so were the medals!

The Volunteers were awesome! 

I finished in 3:31:51. Not anywhere close to my half in October, but I wasn't going for time, so it was all ok with me. A tough, but super fun race.