The Presents Keep Coming

As I said earlier Mother's Day was full of our normal. Kids and parents going every which way. We did have a good time going out to dinner. They told me what my presents were, a book for my race bibs and tickets to Cirque de Sole.

So fun! It holds like a bazillion bibs, so there is no danger of running out of space! Now if I just had time to fill it. Work is going to be cray cray for the next two weeks. I just have to put one foot in front of the other, a smile on my face and get through it. So don't get too worried if you don't hear from me.

Eating Right or Trying To

I have been slowly experimenting with introducing new foods to my diet. Recently I have been playing at making smoothies. I pulled out the blender we had been given for our wedding *cough* a few years ago.

I don't have any idea what I am doing, so I put in some ice, strawberries and a spoonful of yogurt. They have been turning out pretty well. I figure as long as it tastes good, its all good.

I have to admit every time I am a little scared my blender is going to give up the ghost. But the results sure are good.

Do you make smoothies? Any good recipes and what blender do you use?

Another thing we do? lots of fruit. My kids plow through it like you wouldn't believe and I am so happy to see fruit back, and clearly so are the kids. Now if only I could get them to throw away their trash!

Mother's Day Fun

We started Mothers day bright and early. The rain had cleared thankfully and we were ready to race. We headed out to Reston and after parking and walking quite a distance arrived just in time to slip into the Mothers Run This Town picture.

She doesn't look too sure here, but raced like a champ!

Courtesy of Suzanna O'shea

I then headed off to the bathrooms and got in place to race about 3 minutes before the start. Talk about perfect timing! I gave my husband and daughter a quick race and we were off. I don't typically spend too much time looking at race routes ahead of time. It doesn't seem to help me to know what is coming ahead, I just try to take the course as it unrolls ahead of me. I knew we were in for some hills, but hoped that for every uphill we would get a downhill. 

We hit hill number 1 right out of the gate. I felt like I was running really slowly, but talked myself into early racing stiffness and knew it would work itself out. 

Meanwhile the super cute racers were lining up. 

I was feeling good as we made our way around the loop that formed the course. I was keeping a pretty steady pace and was loving having so much room to run. The race had spaced us out nicely and I had fallen in with a few parent/child pairs and some other running. They didn't mark the mileage until Mile 2, which was ok with me. I knew were were past a mile and was feeling looser. Not fast, but I felt like I was keeping a nice easy pace. There was a water stop just past mile 2 and I decided to run through it. I started to think I had a chance to run the whole race. 

Meanwhile.....more cuteness. 

She decided to wear a tutu, because she like it when runners wear them. The 1 mile race wasn't timed, but my husband thinks she ran it in about 10 minutes. Way faster then Mom!

We were still doing some nice steady up and down hills. They were rolling hills. (haha) I just kept going, Slowing down when I needed to, but not stopping to a walk. We came over the last hill and I could see the turn back into the park. Yea! I was going to do it. 

I thought I might have PR'd, but the fact is I run slower then I walk. *sigh* 4 miles in 49:33. Not too shabby.  

In line for balloon animals with our support team

Happy Runners

All in all, it was a great local race. Potomac River Running does a nice race and the shirts were super cute. I was so happy to have my daughter out there running and experiencing a little bit of what mommy does. She isn't too sure about doing it again, but I will keep working on her. I know my son loves to run with me and he is a great coach. Maybe he can get me to run faster! 

Girls Night

Friday night my husband and son took off for a Boy Scout camping trip. As soon as they left at 6:30, my girl and I headed for the stores. our mission? To replace her sandals. Her current pair, while super cute and in good shape were just too small. We hit up famous footwear, Kohls and even Walmat (which I haven't been in for at least 5 years). We came up with nothing. Ugh the junk that is out there.

The best part of the night?

Hanging out and enjoying some frozen yogurt!

The rain clouds rolled in and the weather was pretty dicey. Turns out, that was the same at camp, but all ended up well, the girls were just considerably dryer.

Saturday was the most inefficient day I have had in a long time. We were up and out of the house in good time and headed to the mall. We hit up Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Children's Place and Stride Rite. Ugh, I hate shopping, have I mentioned that? My daughter hates to leave a store without something. Not a great combination. We finally hit upon success at Children's Place. Sandals we could agree on for $12?! I was so happy, I bought two!

Then despite the rain, we headed home and got ready for soccer. H loves to play, so she had a great time. It was hot and steamy, but didn't rain on us, thankfully. Back in the car to head out to Reston to pick up our bibs for the Mother's Day races. I was so excited for her. I am not sure she knew exactly what I had gotten her into, but she was game.

Whew, we still hit up the library for books and then finally headed home to relax before hubby came home for dinner. It was a good, but busy day.

After a good dinner, we laid out our race outfits. So cute!

I am so excited to tell you about our Sunday. Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

Looking Forward to Mothers Day

This weekend is going to be interesting. My son and husband leave Friday night for a Boy Scout campout, so the girl and I will be hanging together. Must think of some fun things for us to do, as that is a lot of hours! She has a soccer game and I am sure we will go to the library. Any good ideas - let me know! Saturday, we can go pick up our bibs!

Sunday we will both be running for Mother's Day. I am running a local 4 mile race and she is running the 1 mile companion race. Daddy is coming back so we can race, then he will head back out to pick up the campers. I am excited, some because it is a shorter race and because I know she is going to have such a great time. I am sad because the 1 miler starts 15 minutes after the 4 miler starts. No way this turtle will be seeing that show. Hopefully Daddy will take lots of pictures.

Today I slept in a little later as there is no bootcamp. I knew I needed to move today, but rain continued. Bummer, as I was planning to run during my daughter's gymnastics classes. She had two hours scheduled today. I ended up coming home and almost got sidetracked by a work call. I did get in the 45 minutes I promised myself and was rewarded with a sweaty 3.5 miles. Two more days to keep moving before I can take a rest day.

I also had 3 pieces of candy today. Not in the plan. Small steps.

Keeping at It

Nothing very earth shattering to report today.

Rain today, bagged on bootcamp. I had an early presentation to give to the Leadership Team and I didn't sleep well at all last night, so it may have been for the best.

After a successful presentation and a long day at work, I was/am tired. Like putting off working out tired. I helped the teacher pack up her room and them came home to help with homework. I had a short workout window, but decided I wanted a whole hour on the treadmill. It was a risky proposition, because after dinner  is well, after dinner.

Runkeeper sent me an email saying it tracks other activities besides running. Guess after 7 days, it gave up on me. :(

I did it. Took advantage of a boy scout meeting and got it done. I used to work out at night all the time, but it has gotten harder! I didn't give myself a ton of time after dinner and didn't feel so great when I was done.

Here are a few other fun picture from the weekend.

Smores in the chiminea

So beautiful

The first time the lavendar has bloomed! Was an impulse Costco purchase a few years ago.

The Little Victories and Start From Where You Are

I decided last week that I needed to get back in the swing of things. May was my month to get it together and make that last push towards bikini season. The first of May came and went and I hadn't moved any closer to well, moving. Saturday night was a fun night of visiting with neighbors and lots of wine and even some s'mores. Fun, for sure, but not the direction I wanted to take my renewed healthy journey. I felt like I hadn't convinced myself of where I needed to go. All the weight I have lost came back and showed up on the scale this morning. Ugh. I know it isn't here for good and I just need to buckle down.

So Sunday, I focused on eating. I did a 20 minute you tube video to get my body moving. I did a timed plank to make sure I could still stay up for longer then a minute. :)

Monday I went to bootcamp and packed a sensible breakfast and lunch for work. (I left it on the counter when I went to work, but that is another story!)

So I count those two days as victories. It doesn't have to be the first of the month, or tomorrow. You can start in whatever day you are in, with the next decision you make.

Whenever you start, make it count.

April Goal Review

I feel like I fell off the wagon a little bit this past month. Bootcamp moved outside and it messed with my mojo a little bit. I did ok the first week, but then the weather turned a little wetter and work spun up to a frenzy. I wasn't going to bed on time and generally felt run down. Even though I knew that working out would make me feel better, I could hardly get myself motivated. This isn't an excuse at all, I recognize how difficult this is to keep consistency and I certainly fell into all the traps this month. That being said I did workout at least 1-2 times per week and finished a half marathon. Not too shabby. 

March Goals

1 minute plank - done

62.5 miles - done ( I ran the last day of the month to push me over by 1 mile)

our shower - done

Weekend trip - still not planned. I think the window has passed with plans already in place for the summer. I may see what early June looks like as the Girl Scout campout that I was hoping would materialize hasn't. 

April Goals

Nike Half - Done

62.5 miles - didn't get there this month. If I run shorter distances consistently throughout the week (which for me is 3 days a week) I should be able to get there. So this was disappointing with a 55.9 total for April. Just highlights my need to get out there. 

Siding/Gutter - Much like my other improvements, it has taken longer to meet with contractors, so I have two estimates done and my husband is on board. Progress, but not complete yet. 

This next month is going to be very busy at work and there is a ton of sporting/school stuff scheduled for the kids, so I need to figure out how to fit in time for me. And eat better. That slide must stop. Bikini season will be here before I know it! 

Racing for the Bling

The crowd moved towards the start line much faster then I expected considering the number of racers. I crossed the startline about 11 minutes after the start. The 15,000 women and 500 men headed towards the capital before we made a right turn to head towards the water.

We did an out and back across the Arlington Bridge and I was still with the 2:50 pacer. The group slowed considerably as we made our way onto the ramp down to through a tunnel and towards the Kennedy Center. There were great bands on the course and it was so fun to see the sights from up close.  I was starting to lose the pacer more often, and spent quite a bit of time wondering how much her arm hurt holding that sign. I would catch up at water stops and then start to fall further behind. I was ok with that, since I wasn't seeing any indication of the 3 hour pacer.

After the Kennedy Center we headed towards Haines point. We crossed over a bridge around 5.5 and there were groups of spectators there. I wondered if I would see the family, but it was too early based on what we had talked about. It should be close to mile 6.5 or 7. I was still feeling ok, having had some honey stinger chews around mile 5 and catching Nuun water or water at most of the water stations. The lines for the bathrooms were long, easily could have added 5 minutes to time, so I was happy I was feeling good and hoping it would continue.

We moved onto Haines point and it seemed a lot more deserted then I remembered it from the Navy 5 miler last year. There is a golf course on the penisula, so there is a lot of fenced off area. There were some cheer stations and a lot more signs posted from the race organizers along the path. They were appreciated as I didn't find my family and it was getting LONG. We entered in Mile 6 and headed out on Mile 10.

I finally found my family around after the 15k mark headed towards the mile 10 marker. I was so happy!

I am in orange in a sea of purple

so happy to see and be seen

I gave everyone a kiss and whispered to my husband "This is so hard." He said "I know, but keep going." So I did.

We went back through the tunnel and it smelled bad to me. I don't know why, but I wanted to get out of there more then anything. We were headed uphill to get back to Pennsylvania.

Nike official picture - isn't DC beautiful?!

The last 2 miles were the worst. We turned onto Pennsylvania and headed towards the capital again. In other races I have run downtown they add all sorts of jogs into the courses, so I was scared. I had no idea what was still ahead of me and I was starting to not feel good at all. I didn't want to stop this close to the finish and my stomach felt too sugar sweet to take in any more fuel. I was stuck just the way I was and had to take it one step at a time. The best part of this endless walk (yes I was walking) was the tourists who where taking pictures of the themselves in front of the race.

About a half mile from the end of the race one of my new mom buddies came up from behind me. She had been moving all weekend, but even so I was shocked to see her. Then we began to hear the 3 hour pacer behind us. I had kind of forgotten about the pacers since it had been so long since I had seen one. He was loud and working on motivating the purple runners in his group.

What I did was kick it into gear. No damn way was I going to go over three hours if I didn't need to. Of course I didn't have much left, so it was a short burst, but I keep moving forward. Any way I could to stay in front of him.

I did it! Finish was 2:59:21. That still seems a little off based on my start time and the time on the clock, but whatever I did it.

Love how you can see my orange shirt from anywhere

We were met at the finish by a great announcer and Howard University ROTC students. Not the Marines I was hoping for, but let's face it, cute is cute.

The necklace and fantastic finishers shirt was mine. I walked through the various stations and was met by my family a short distance into the crowd. I am so used to being at races by myself, I almost forgot to look for them. I turned off runkeeper and it read 13.9 miles. Gives you some idea of the bobbing and weaving that was had on the course.

We found my bagcheck - super easy drop off and pick up by the way and meandered towards the car. The kids wanted food, but we couldn't think of where to go, so we decided to get something when we got back to Fairfax.

We headed to Coyote Grill after picking up my car. Goodness was had all around.

Happy to have another race in the bag. I am going to be looking for some smaller races for awhile.

I need to leave you with this classic picture. I look like I am sleep walking through this race!!

Race Day - Nike Women's Marathon

Race day started EARLY. What is it about these folks and early races? It wasn't as early as Disney, but I was at the metro at 5 AM. I had arranged to meet several ladies from the Moms Run This Town facebook page so I wouldn't have to go into the city alone.

 I don't look ready to go...really. 

I was feeling good and it was so nice to have company. We took a tour of the area and took in the sights.

There is nothing better then a race in DC. The monuments are so beautiful and the routes downtown are great. We had a meeting place set up for our group picture. This group loves pictures. :)

Aren't they beautiful, tough women? Ready to race

Everyone was in the corrals ahead of me, and we thought I could sneak in. I ended up deciding that I wanted to start in my assigned corral. It worked out for the best as their corral was apparently very crowded. I didn't have any trouble finding a place in my corral - maybe it pays to be slow sometimes.

There were lots of Team in Training runners there, all in their purple. There was a pacer with a sign right next to me for a 12:59 pace. I decided to try and keep up with her as well as I could. I was feeling good and ready to race. Fair warning, I didn't take any pictures because I wanted to focus on my race.

We had a moment of silence for Boston and then we were off.