Running and Plank Challenge

One of my great friends and gym partner went to New Zealand for a month. I'm so jealous in some respects. But I'm also sad that my buddy that motivates me is gone for the month of December and I have to find some other motivation to get up silly early to go to the gym. I thought I would do this insanity workout that my neighbor gave me...and maybe I still will but before Thanksgiving I saw a challenge from Runner's World to run at least a mile every day between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I signed up...Certainly I can do that...it won't be bad... Then a few days later I was reading how good planking is for you so I thought I would do the 30 plank challenge to go with the running challenge. Well now a mere 8 days into it...I can tell you How. Hard. It. Is.

Silly me...on the plank it only started at 20 seconds and then your done. Well when I plank I hold it for a minute anyway so no way am I starting at 20 seconds. I'll start at a minute. Then Lou gave me a great idea, I could put weight on my back to make it harder. All great ideas until you get to day number 6 and add 40 seconds to the time the sheet says. That really sucks, then actually planking for that long sucks more. I'm glad I haven't made the effort to dig the weights out of the basement yet. So far so good. I'm only complaining now so you see how rough it has been for me.

For Thanksgiving we went to Arizona. I'm pretty sure that no one told me how fabulous it is to run there. The elevation is only like 1,250 feet so you can actually breathe and it is flat. Like really flat. Some guys that worked for the hotel took me out on the first day and showed me some routes. I was super happy about that. And it was fun to hear from locals on different vegetation and things to do in town. My times we so good, I couldn't believe it. Day number 2, I head out on my own...of course I made a turn that I didn't know where I would end up so I went longer than I had planned. Which only means that the heat got to me a little but nothing I couldn't handle. Day 3 was good also. It was number 4 when I had to have the first come to Jesus meeting with myself. We drove home that day and after sitting in a car for 12-13 hours the last things I wanted to do was go run. I kept telling myself how it was only a mile, no big deal. So I went...9:30 at night and jumping and every sound because I haven't run at night in forever. Did I mention Brooke had a timer on me and said she was going to come looking for me if the timer went off? Oops. Lesson learned, never let your 10 year old dictate how long you can be gone. Day 5 (an unexpected 8 miles with the club) and 6 were ok...but then came the cold and the snow and more meetings with myself. You have come this far. It is 5 degrees outside and snowing and yes people don't shovel their sidewalks and probably there is ice underneath but you have come this far. And running the in cold isn't that bad. So out I went with 4 layers of shirts and 2 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of gloves. And honestly aside from the ice that hung from my eye lashes and the frozen facial skin, and the snow balls that ended up by my toes I had an amazing run, all alone in the cold.

This running challenge has forced me to do things I usually wouldn't, it has made me accountable, and I'm grateful that I found it. And changing up my routine from the gym can only help me and make me stronger. I have been a bit tired from running every day so the gym has been skipped but I'm positive that I will be ready to go back next week or perhaps even try the insanity workouts in the morning.

I must admit that with work things, with Christmas things, with kids activities and Dance activities finding time to run has been another part of that challenge. Again, it comes down to when you want something bad enough you just figure it out. You don't care about all of the excuses, because believe me, I have had plenty. You just figure out how to get it all done. My kids and Lou think I'm crazy but it's ok...I'm used it.

Halloween 2013

It is November 1st ish and the holidays are looming and I'm wondering where the year has gone. Just last night Lou told me that he found some pictures and it reminded him of some things we had done that he forgot all about. It got me wondering, maybe we just get too busy and too wrapped up in everyday life and there we are forgetting all these fabulous memories. Thank God for pictures right? So here is Halloween at our house!

Last weekend we had our (what has turned into) annual Halloween Party with our little 'group' of friends from school. I'll admit that this part has turned into being a little more about the parents than the kids, but I still think the kids have fun. I'm sure that soon enough they will ditch us! Last year the parents started dressing up and I vowed after that costume that I would start finding much more comfortable costumes. It was better this year although the glasses and ear rings didn't last all night. Clip on ear rings...who would have thought those things could hurt so much?

Trick or Treating was fun this year, despite the wind. We had a rather large group of the kids' friends and they lasted 2 1/2 hours. They have so much candy that they will never do anything with. Thank goodness dad takes it to work...

 

The pumpkins. This is the first year that the kids did their own and except for cleaning out the inside they did it on their own and then made fun of me for picking an easy design. I like easy, especially when our 'free' time is so limited.

 



 

 

still learning...

Long intervals between posts can mean I'm either extremely busy and have forgotten that my original goal of having a journal of sorts is not going to write itself, or I'm going through some days/weeks/months of a struggle that will soon come out. Right now it is a combination of both. As a mom of young children I'm constantly busy. I know this and I'm choosing to be the best mom I can right now because soon enough I won't have this opportunity. I know that I have committed to certain things and if it kills me I will fulfill those commitments. Although, this has not been without constant self encouragement. I often wonder how people with more than 2 kids figure this out. I wonder how I will spend all my time when I don't have these opportunities.

I have a giant complaint though. I have second grader who is a fairly smart kid, but he has been killed with homework. My complaint is they have my kid for 6 hours a day. Why, why why can't they get enough work in during the day that they have to send home an hour of work home per night? And kids that don't have the home support that my kids do...what are they doing? I'm positive that when I was in second grade homework was no where near this amount and I would like to say that I'm a somewhat successful person. I haven't really mentioned this frustration to Tyler yet and I doubt I will, doesn't seem very supportive if he knows that I think the teacher isn't doing the best job.

Some things I have learned it the last few weeks.

• There are moments when you can see the kids having an amazing amount of fun and they 'get it' or the 'light bulb comes on.' These moments make it 'all' worth it. All the money, all the effort, all the lack of sleep. A few weeks ago I watched Brooke take a dance lesson with just her and the teacher and she was so happy. He would say all of these long dance terms and she understood, made the changes and was amazing. Not a week later Tyler had a rough day and I had a conversation with him that if he really wanted to be a great soccer player then he needed to step up and be that guy (nothing like telling a 7 year old to step up) but he did. He was aggressive and playing his position and encouraging other players. I couldn't have been more proud of him. These moments when you watch your kids 'get it' could not be more amazing.

• I don't always have to be every one's "upper." I have watched people that come into work 'just to say hi' but really they feel better after they have been around. I realized that people sometimes just need to have someone say something to them because they need something to feel better. And although I like being a person that helps others, I don't always have to be that guy. Sometimes I can be the one that needs it.

• There is not a person I have been in contact with that has the intention of doing something that will have a negative affect. It happens, I agree but not with the initial intention. If all of us in this giant world would understand that I think many many disagreements would be avoided.

• On that same note, if everyone would spend more time worrying about themselves and less time worrying about what everyone else is doing life would be a whole lot better.

• Finally, I had to be reminded just today that this world does not revolve around me...therefor when people change things I can't take it personal but learn to roll with the punches.

• Also...while being reminded that everything does not revolve around me I was also reminded that everything happens for a reason and so obviously there is something I learned and it is time for me to move on to the next chapter.

My thoughts and others...

Being that I live such a busy scheduled lifestyle I rarely have time to watch tv. And when the television is on in our house 9 times out of 10 it is turned on to a Rockies game that my son ‘has’ to watch. I kind of like my ‘living under a rock lifestyle’ however, I guess I did miss out on the VMA’s. I honestly don’t really care about missing that, however, I can’t fully join in a conversation about the happenings on the VMA’s. Having said the giant disclaimer I’ve read enough headlines to know that Miley Cyrus made a spectacle of herself and sadly I can’t say I’m surprised. Disappointed, yes but not surprised. I’m sad that every girl out there who watched and loved Hannah Montana now can enjoy this spectacle of happenings. I’m sadder to say that I have a daughter that falls into that category.

I keep telling myself that I have spent her short 10 years shielding her from the big bad world of women selling themselves short and in just one summer that can all be dashed away. Brooke hasn’t mentioned the whole thing and I honestly hope that she is still too young and innocent to care about it, however, when we went to Vegas over the summer and she did see far too much she did say something and her something was far from approval. I guess I should be proud of that

None the less one mom did go on a small rant on her own blog and I feel the need to share her thoughts also.

Dear daughter, let Miley Cyrus be a lesson to you.

Yes, this is what happens when you constantly hear everything you do is awesome. This is what happens when people fawn over your every Tweet and Instagram photo. This is what happens when no responsible adult has ever said the word “no,” made you change your clothes before leaving the house, or never spanked your butt for deliberate defiance.

If you ever even consider doing something like that, I promise you that I will run up and twerk so you will see how ridiculous twerking looks. I will duct tape your mouth shut so your tongue doesn’t hangout like an overheated hound dog. I will smack any male whom you decide to smash against his pelvis – after I first knock you on your butt for forgetting how a lady acts in public.

Why would I do that? Because I love you and I want you to respect yourself. Miley Cyrus is not edgy or cool or sexy. She’s a desperate girl screaming for attention: Notice me. Tell me I’m pretty. See how hot I am. I know all the guys want me. All the girls want to be me.

You probably know girls who will emulate this behavior at the next school dance. Don’t do it with them. You are far too valuable to sell yourself so cheaply. Walk away. Let the boys gawk and know in your heart that they see only a body that can be used for their pleasure and then forgotten.

I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt sad because I haven’t gushed over everything you’ve done. My role is to praise when praise is due, but also to offer constructive criticism and correction when it is needed as well. I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt demoralized because your Instagram following isn’t in the thousands, and I’m sorry those “selfies” can never capture how amazingly beautiful you truly are. I’m sorry if you’ve ever wished you had a friend instead of a mom, and I promise you that I will probably get worse when you hit high school.

Dear daughter, I am going to fight or die trying to keep you from becoming like the Miley Cyruses of the world.

You can thank me later.

It’s perfectly okay to disagree with me. Prove your point with facts, and I’ll consider your argument. I conceded to those who raised good points I may not have initially agreed with, and I appreciate you gave me something to think about. That’s what conversation and debate is all about. Open-mindedness. Respectful interaction.

Dear Haters
Here’s what’s not okay: wishing ill on a child. The desire that my daughter gets knocked up by age 15? Brilliant. Ideas about her sexual activities with a football team? Thought-provoking. You get the full wrath of every Mama Bear on the planet for this one. The whole idea of my post is that our girls are beautiful and valuable, and they shouldn’t cheapen themselves. Is there really a problem with this message?

Here’s another thing that’s not okay: F-bombs. Vulgarity is no excuse for a lack of a thesaurus. Yeah, I get that you’re passionate about allowing pre-teen girls to express their sexuality, but pick another adjective. Coincidentally, f is also the first letter of “facetious.” It means “not serious” or “in jest.” As in, I was being facetious when talking about duct taping my child’s head. Give me some credit. I unconditionally love my kids and would never hurt them. I would go total ninja on anyone who did. Besides, they’ve used all the duct tape to make wallets and purses.

Why Do We Do This to Our Girls?
My daughter and I have talked about this topic many times before Miley made sports fans afraid to bring Number One props to football games. She gets it, but it doesn’t hurt to remind her (and thousands like her) that she is an amazing and valuable person whose worth is not dictated by her body or willingness to titillate. The VMAs brought a rush of maternal emotion to the surface. Was it harsh to single Miley out? Yes, but my daughter doesn’t have the same connection to the other performers. As a mom, my heart breaks for Miley and the countless girls who feel like they need to do these shocking things to be relevant or important or loved. I want to hug Miley and tell her she is too precious to allow handlers to mold her into this caricature of womanhood. I would love to have a time machine to take her 20 years into the future so she can see with the benefit of hindsight.

Those of you who do not have daughters will never truly understand what it’s like to see that beautiful baby grow up and be constantly demoralized by a society that picks her apart. Oh my goodness, they are perfect! Ask a group of junior high girls what they think of themselves and you’ll hear, “I’m too fat,” “I’m not pretty,” “Everyone else has a boyfriend,” “I’m the only virgin,” or “Why doesn’t anybody like me?” Why do they feel this way? Because we as adults support a freakin’ culture that tells them that thin is sexy, that ugly girls are worthless, that there is something wrong with you if you don’t have a partner, virginity is a disease, and we don’t love you enough to spend time with you. No wonder these girls do whatever it takes to get someone – anyone- to notice them.

Girls, based on my blog, you have more than 2.5 million people who have noticed you and want to lift you up so you can live a great life. Learn from us old ladies who made mistakes. Here’s what we’ve learned:

1.       It’s okay to be a lady. Really.

2.      You will experience a broken heart. Most guys will be distraught about losing you, but a select few will be complete jackasses who don’t give a damn. Listen to your friends. If they say the guy is trouble, stay away.

3.      Men are not your enemy, nor are they your toys. Yes, each boy or man you meet has feelings, hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes and more. Treat him with respect.

4.      Love and respect yourself. Look at yourself. What’s not to love? You are a beautiful and unique creature, and there is no one like you anywhere else in the world. I know there are times when it seems like there is no one out there for you, but be patient. Friends and boyfriends arrive when the time is right. There are people out there who NEED to know you, people whose lives would be better if they spent just five minutes with you. Know that about yourself. You are infinitely lovable. You are infinitely valuable. Never sell yourself short.

5.       You will never make everybody happy, and some people are going to dislike because you may think differently or you just happen to breathe air. That’s the lesson this old lady had to re-learn this week.

Summer 2013

I want everyone to know that I have stopped licking my wounds from my sad performance at Palisade. Ok, well I stopped licking them before I even did the write up about how bad it was, but I've picked myself up and got a new plan. We will see how this works because I'm a little nervous...I did a 10 mile run in Avon / Vail area and it was hard but so good...really worked at giving me my confidence back. I had a great 8 mile run followed by the 13 miler. The 13 was hard because it was hot and I never put out enough aide stations but I still finished in good time. My legs recovered well enough sooo...the new plan....

I'm going to race a 5K on Sunday, I've run this race the last two years and been able to improve every year so I'm excited to see what happens. Then Saturday I'm signed up for the Slacker 1/2. This is a fast course but it is at altitude so we will see. I ran part of this course last year and it tore my legs up but it is a fun course and the after party is good and I got a free entry from a friend so it worked out. I'm hoping to be a little under 2 hours. If that happens I will just race short races for the rest of the year. If not, there really isn't a plan C so I will still race short races the rest of the year.

To prepare myself for the heat I did a 3 mile run in over 95 degree weather and then a track workout in the wind and over 95 degree weather. Both times it felt like I was running in mud. My time for the 3 miles was respectable and I didn't want to see disappointment so I didn't bother to time myself...telling myself that it was good enough that I was out there trying.

Well those previous paragraphs were written when I still had time on my hands...I didn't have time to update so here you go...I ran the Father's Day 5k finishing 2nd in my division for the 3rd year in a row but again improved the time so that is good. The Slacker was a tough race, that running downhill is rough, but oh so beautiful and fun. I really enjoyed the race, the friends, everything. My time a 1.53:55...Yes currently my PR. So I'm happy with that. I have had a total carefree attitude when it comes to running now...If I don't want to run 10 miles I don't (but many times I still do). Every week since I have gone to track telling myself I will only do part of the workout, every week I finish the whole thing. Maybe all I needed in the first place was a new attitude, not an end goal.

Our summer...In June we were to packed full between track for Tyler, me training and Brooke dancing. We went to Vegas for a week for dance. The kids had an enlightening experience, but they made so many fabulous memories. And Brooke danced well. I'm so proud of her...she has an amazing amount of confidence to get up on stage in front of judges and thousands of people and she dances her heart out. I know I couldn't/wouldn't do it. After we landed from that trip we were informed that my Grandma passed away, which is a very sad situation but I'm choosing to be positive. We were home for 2 days and left again to go to Iowa. The trip was fantastic for my kids and if I'm being honest then I would admit that it was a great trip for me too. Since coming back it seems like all four of us have been just trying to figure out how to live day to day and go back to our crazy days.

Palisade Race Report

So I have avoided it, cried about it and finally made my peace with it...Palisade was rough. No, let me rephrase...Palisade the trip was great, just what I needed to fix me. (Not that I was broken too badly). The race itself was rough. I have now waited over a week to give my race report because I again had to process it all...

I drove over to Palisade on Friday, following some friends. I was making efforts to stay hydrated but I'm not positive now that I was hydrated. Anyway, we checked into the hotel and then decided to find a winery to hang out at. We found a really nice one with a patio and good wine. It was really nice and relaxing and nice to be with friends.

We went to dinner and all the timing was working out great. Got up early for the race and I had a stomach ache, I thought it was nerves so I ignored it all and went on with my usual activities. The beginning of the race was low key as this race is really small...really small. I started out feeling great and I was running a great pace about 8.34 min miles for the first 3 miles. Then there is a giant hill and my time was 10 min. I was actually happy with that because it is a tough hill. Mile 5, 6 and 7 were good, back to 9 min miles and then the turn around...I got dizzy, a stomach ache, dry heaves...I tried to run through it but it kept getting worse so I had to walk. I walked for 30 min, through 2 aide stations and couldn't handle being on the course anymore. I started running again with 3 miles left and I was able to run the first mile but had to walk up all the hills. Needless to say I was beyond disappointed. I cried and thought I was ok and cried some more. I have yet to look up the official time, and I really don't care what it says. While I was walking I was texting Lou and he said it best..."you need to get over yourself and forget about the clock and just run, you are stronger than this." It might be right in that I need to forget about the time, but clearly I wasn't stronger than this. Along the way a girl from the club had injured her knee...I walked with her for awhile but ended up leaving her when I started running again. We ended up going back to help her, piggy back her and carry her but she finally crossed the finish line and go her medal. This just goes to show that we leave no runner behind.

 

 

In all of my thoughts since the race (and trust me I had plenty of time to think since I had a 3 1/2 hour drive home), I still don't know about the stomach issue but I have come to realize that even the best athletes have crappy days. The day after the race I was going to quit running, the next day I figured I needed to stop licking my wounds and figure out what I was going to do. Right now the plan is recovery last week, a long run this week, short run next week one more long run and then taper and try to run the Slacker 1/2 marathon. And I know I'm not out trying to set any records I just can't slow down my racing on such a terrible outing. I've also learned through all of this that the time really doesn't matter...all that matters is that I was out there making an effort and that every day I make an effort to better myself. I seem to be the only one that cares what kind of time I do and where I place.

 

 

Long run accomplished!

"Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about." -- Patti Sue Plumer

In the last 2 weeks my running has gone from "I hate this training all the time and having to run such long mileage" with tons of frustrations of running on the treadmill because the weather has been snowy and wet. I even told some people that I may or may not be on strike from signing up for more races and just being able to run when I am able and however far I want, that I am going to spend my summer hiking instead of having to train all the time. But after the weekend I have a little more confidence back and things are looking up in my world. Ok, I'm still not signing up for more races but I'm not mad that I did anymore. That is progress. Over the weekend I finished my last long run for the training session and I think I might be all down hill from here meaning that runs will hopefully be easier and little more fun filled.  

Saturday morning it was a brutal long run associated with many self to self meetings reminding me that this is all possible and at the end all worth it. Lets just say when I thought I could just run straight home instead of the 1/2 mile out of the way loop I had to ask myself how I would feel 15 minutes after I was done. Happy that I accomplished such feats or bummed because I shorted myself a measly 1/2 mile? Running 1/2 mile comes down to 5 minutes really and I had to be reminded that I would only feel guilty all day long for not taking the extra 5 minutes after I had already taken the time to run 12.5. And yes, I was painfully sore all day Saturday, but not sore enough to lay in bed the next morning and miss out on running with the club. So there would be the confidence level. If I can do back to back runs like that I should be fine for this 1/2 marathon coming up. Don't get me wrong, there is discouragement in the fact that I haven't been able to run the track in a month and I haven't done many tempo runs so I'm not setting any records, but I'll be able to finish with a smile on my face. Sometimes, that has to be the goal.