I Completed my first 20 Miler!

I ran my first 20 mile training run last weekend and it went really well! I didn't get nearly as sore as I thought I would. My biggest problem is that the run coincide with the start of school and all the germs that come along with that. Ally started at a new school and Will and I started back up with out classes so I've caught a bug and can't seem to shake it. Luckily, I don't feel bad I'm just really congested and the dripping is driving me nuts. I feel like I have a constant tickle in the back of my throat. Because of the long run and the cold I actually took a number of days off so that my body would be better able to fight off the cold - that's my hope anyway!

I've also been finding it very hard to keep up with all my computer duties. I know I'm falling behind on my Bible study and I really need to get my answers typed into our other blog. Julie - I haven't forgotten you I'm just finding it difficult to juggle all the new responsibilities. I've also started taking a night class (I need it for work) and it will become 2 nights a week very shortly.

The kids have started their soccer season. They both played their first games last Saturday and both had a really good time. Ally told me after her game that she felt very lost (they only had 1 practice before their first game) but had a great time! She is on an 8 and under team and they used officials, throw-ins and corner kicks but it was on a small field. These were all things that were not covered in their one and only practice so I wasn't surprised she had no idea what was going on. As long as she has fun though I don't care. I didn't get to see much of Will's game because I took Ally down to her field while he was still playing but he also said he had fun. I think we made a good decision signing them up with Kirkwood Soccer. Everyone we have met seems to be great with the kids and really seem to care about the kids learning about the game and having fun. They are not focused on whether they win or lose and that is what I want for my kids at this age.

Time to go get Ally from the bus. Keep on runnin'!

First Week of School and Other Stuff

Ally started 1st grade this week. She was really excited about going to a new school and riding on the bus. Honestly though, when it came to getting on the bus I wasn't sure how excited she would actually be. I found out really quickly that she was REALLY excited. She left me standing there on the corner with no kiss, hug or good-bye given. She left so quickly that all I was able to get was that blurry bus picture. Not that anyone would know it but Ally is actually waving from behind the second window.

She had a great time this week! By Thursday she was wiped out though. I was really glad that everyone was off on Friday because she was able to get a great night sleep and it made a world of difference!

Will had his first soccer practice on Wednesday and it went GREAT! I really like the coach - he was great with the kids and he realizes that much past 30 minutes and the kids are toast so he stops his practices at 30 minutes. We will be having practices for him on Fridays and then the games on Saturdays. We were also able to pick up Will's uniform and he wore it for 2 straight days. He actually put on the whole uniform and went out in the back yard to play soccer - it was really cute! We haven't heard anything from Ally's coach and I hope we do soon because she is chomping at the bit to get going.

I've had a really good week running too. We ran a nice paced 8 miler on Tuesday (9:24 m/m) and then today we ran an awesome 17 miler (10:15 m/m). We couldn't believe we did so well this morning, it really felt like we were flying considering we were running 17 miles! Tomorrow I'll be running the trails with Lori for a nice hard 7 miles. The trails have been an awesome addition to my training! The surroundings make the run very interesting (especially looking for deer out in the open fields) and the hills give us an awesome workout.

We had to put our van in the shop again for a window problem. This is the 5th time we've had it in for the same problem. They can't seem to figure out what the actually problem is. The last time it was "fixed" it worked for about a week and then stopped again. The "good" part (at least for the kids) is that they gave us a loner truck for the weekend. It is an F250 Super Duty and handles pretty well. The kids have already been crawling all around in it!

Well, I guess that's it for now. Have a great weekend and Keep on Runnin'!

Thursday 8/23/07

What a week I've had!

This past Saturday I ran 16.5 miles and then went down to a family reunion in Bozman, MD (just south of St. Michaels). We had an awesome time but it really wiped me out!! I didn't have any energy for 2-3 days so I didn't really do much exercising ( the 3 straight days of rain didn't help). I was able to jump back in yesterday with a 7 mile run and then another 4 this morning. I think the break did me some good!

Then the beginning of this week was taken up with getting Ally set at school. We had to fix her bus assignment and then I found out that she also needed some other paperwork filled out and then we had her open house last night. We got to meet her teacher and find her classroom. I'm hoping it will put her at ease about starting on Monday.

I will admit that I'm feeling really uninformed about her situation. I guess a lot of that stems from the fact that we have been working/attending the same school for the past couple of years now. I've always known what was coming up and what to expect and I don't have that with her now. I hope that once the school year starts that the communication will flow a bit better so that I can get a better handle on what is going on.

I've also signed the kids up to play soccer. Ally especially wants to play but I'm not so sure about Will. I'm hoping they both give it a legitimate shot and have fun!

Have a great day and keep on runnin'!

Monday 8/13/07

Boy are we going to have fun over the next couple of days! We are off for the next 2.5 days and are taking the kids to Sesame Place. We took the kids there once before but Will was an infant - he spent almost the entire day in his stroller asleep. We have also decided to stay over and go to the park on 2 days. We haven't told the kids yet but they are going to explode when we surprise them with that little tidbit!!

Workouts have been going well! Yesterday was a 7 mile run and I was able to run it in 1:06 which gives me a pace of 9:31m/m. My legs were a bit tight after Saturday's run but overall I have been quite pleased with the way my legs have responded the day after my long run. I'm definitely ready for some cross-training come Monday morning but they still continue to feel good. I need to do more stretching though - I can start to feel my calves and Achilles tendon area start to get tighter and tighter. I don't think it is serious but I do need to create a more well-rounded program.

Off to get the day started - keep on runnin'!

Saturday 8/11/07

I now have a new all-time high for my longest run! It was supposed to be 14 miles today, which would have been a new high for me. However, I made 1 wrong turn on the trails and we ended up doing 15 miles instead. I have a feeling our distance was actually even a little higher because we sometimes lose our satellite links while running on the trails.

I'm really pleased with how the day went. My ankles/Achilles tendon area is a bit sore but overall I'm feeling good about how the session went. I was running with one other person and I think we are a pretty good fit for personality, conditioning and ability. She may be considering running in a new marathon here in DE the weekend after the MCM. That would also put us on pretty much the same training plan. That would be the answer to a prayer because I was really at a loss as to what I was going to do on my long runs while the other were running their multiple marathons in Sept./Oct.

Time to sign-off for now. Keep runnin'!

Scary!

I found this on Meghan Timney's blog and she's right it is scary. I've actually seen things like this before but it never fails to make my jaw drop to the floor!

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/fit.nation/obesity.map/

She also had a funny cartoon that I'm stealing as well:

Friday 8/10/07

I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture but this is what I think about the Ford Motor Company right now! I'm writing this in red and bold because I'm so angry with them! I own a 2002 Ford Windstar and boy does it seem to have a lot of trouble. I bought the van new and in the past 5 years I have had to spend thousands of dollars to fix all sorts of different problems. Last night I took the car over to the dealership to have a part replaced (this was my 4th visit for this particular problem). I was told that the part replacement would take about an hour - over 3 hours later I left the dealership. Then to top it all off all the problems still aren't fixed!

This might make more sense if I told you what the problem was. I took it in because the driver side power window wouldn't go down. It took so many trips to the dealership because they first thought it was the motor and it wasn't and then they thought it was a module but it was actually a wiring problem. Last night when they were working on the driver's window they found out that the back window (the one that wings out) wasn't working either. I hadn't even noticed that one wasn't opening - it has been too hot to open the windows anyway! After the 3 hour wait I was told that everything was working great - well, guess what! The back one still doesn't open!! After spending so much money in the first place I don't think I'm taking it back but boy am I pissed!!! A vehicle that is only 5 years old (it only has 50,000 miles on it so I don't drive it into the ground) should not have all of these problems. We take care of our cars so it isn't from neglect either.

I'm writing a letter to the Ford company. I don't think is will really get me much but it's the only thing I can think of to at least vent some of the anger. My husband's Ford truck is 7 years old and hasn't had nearly as many problems. RRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Today is a rest day for exercise because tomorrow is my long run. I'm going 14 miles tomorrow and it is the farthest I have ever run. I know that I can do it but it is still a bit nerve racking because it is having me venture into uncharted territory. I'm just thankful that the weather seems to be breaking a bit and it isn't supposed to be as humid tomorrow.

Keep on runnin'!

My Studly Little Man

I'm not sure why he decided that he wanted a tie and dress shirt but I think it work for him. I'm not sure if you can tell but it is a camo tie which fits his personality perfectly!

Wednesday 8/8/07

I have no idea who this guy is but this is how I felt after my runs both yesterday and today. To top it off it was raining with a bit of thunder and lightning this morning. It was really hard to run this morning - I'm really glad I was running with Jim and Pat because I don't think I would have done the run if I hadn't been meeting up with them this morning. We went 7 miles in a little over 1:05 which gave us a pace of 9:40 m/m. considering how humid it was this was a great time. Pat was having a hard time this morning because of the humidity but I give him credit for sticking with it and completing the workout.

The change of focus in my workouts has been going well. I am experiencing some nice DOMS. In fact the start of my run this morning was a bit hard because my chest and triceps are pretty sore. I think shoulders are on tap for later today. I want to give myself some time in between my run and RT session since it was a hard run this morning. On the shorter runs I like to do my lifting right after the run and have the whole thing out of the way. If I wait too long I have a tendency to not get the second session completed.

Off to do some work around the house - keep on runnin'!

Monday 8/6/07

I decided something today - I've decided to go back to my POF lifting routine. With this routine, I will be lifting every day but the lifting sessions will probably last only 15-25 minutes. I made this decision because I'm not happy with the way my body is reacting to the heavily skewed aerobic component to my workouts. This goes hand in hand with my eating being less than stellar but I will stop the trend and try to shift my thinking.

I've also been having a bit of tightness/pain in my lower right leg. It isn't anything severe but I want to try and relieve it before it gets worse. The weird part is that the discomfort is more on the side of my leg instead of the front or back. I believe, that calf strains would be felt more in the back and something like shin splints will be felt more in the front but I'm not really feeling anything there. I'm hoping a bit of massage will help relieve it and I will be able to progress from there.

Today's workout was cross-training. I did 30 minutes on the bike (thought it might be better to give my leg a different type of motion) and 20 minutes of lifting. I worked chest and I'm expecting to be really sore tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to that though. It has been a really long time since I've lifted to the point of having DOMS.

Fundraising efforts have picked up and I'm a bit over $400 at this point. I'm pleased with it as a start but I'm really hoping to be able to kick it up a notch. When Father Bob gets back from vacation, I want to talk to him about approaching the congregation. I have a long way to go if I want to reach my $3000 goal.

That's all for now - Keep on runnin'!

Wednesday 8/1/07

Here is a recent picture of my 2 cuties! They are growing up so fast. The picture was taken at a Wilmington Blue Rocks game. The kids' Tball team went to the game and even got to run out onto the field with the starters for the National Anthem. It was a really fun evening!

Well, it has obviously been quite some time since I've written. I took a week off from most of my normal computer activities. The kids were spending some time with my parents and I took the opportunity to have some ME time and do things that I don't normally get to do. It was a great week! I'm so thankful that my parents are healthy enough and willing to spend time with the kids like they do. I know it makes all 4 of them so happy to spend time together. The kids always spend days talking about all the things they did with Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop! This past week included fishing, swimming and Bible camp just to name a few.

But I'm now back in the swing of things. I've gotten caught up on most of my computer activities but still have a few remaining - my Bible study being the most important one. I promise I will catch up shortly Julie!!!

I had a really tough long run on Saturday. We ran 13 miles and did it at a very manageable pace but boy did I get sore! The soreness started during the run and then continued through Sunday. I was able to get my Sunday run finished but it was a bit of a struggle. It didn't help that I decided to do it in the afternoon and it was really humid. On Monday, I did some crosstraining on my rollerblades and my butt was still a bit sore but everything else felt good. Then yesterday I got a neck spasm while playing with the kids at the pool. I was afraid that it would not allow me to get my 6 mile run in this morning. But, I got it under control pretty quickly and I think the run helped me to loosen up even more. It turned out to be a good run. We did the 6 miles in just under and hour (the pace was 9:38 m/m) and the route included some "nice" hills.

This week's long run is only 9 miles because it is a step-back week but I think the plan is to run the hilly trails this weekend. That will still keep the intensity of the workout pretty high. I always look forward to those trail runs - being on the trails make the miles go by faster as does running with other people. We have an awesome group that meets on the weekend and it has made this training much more fun!

Fundraising update: things are really starting to move forward. I have now raised enough to actually get an account opened. I'm hopeful that things will really start to pick up speed and that I'll have a nice check at the end to give to Tim.

Well that's all for now - Keep runnin'!

Saturday 7/21/07

I am so thankful this morning! First, I got my first response about my sponsor letters. I sent them out earlier this week and I've already gotten a response saying she will send a check - Thank you Cheryl! Then, this morning I went out for a 6 mile run. The weather was absolutely beautiful - nice and cool (bit of a breeze though) and the sunrise was spectacular. I did the run alone because Bill had to go into work today so I had to do a shorter run (my scheduled Sunday run) but I will be meeting up with "the group" tomorrow for a 12 miler.

This all made for an excellent start to the day!

I'm hoping now that the majority of the sponsor letters are out, I will be able to catch up on some of my other interests. I haven't looked at my Bible study book (It's Not About Me) in about a week and Julie has already posted the next chapters questions. I am really enjoying the book - it is easy to read but contains a lot of interesting points. I will also be receiving my copy of the next Harry Potter book - OK that's really weird, just as I finished writing the name Harry Potter, the UPS truck stopped at the house and delivered the book. We usually don't get our UPS deliveries until the afternoon! So, as I was saying, I'm really looking forward to getting into those 2 books. Then, of course, there is all that lovely housework that needs to be done - something I'm NOT looking forward too especially since I've let it go for a while. Finally, I also want to get a jump on planning for the upcoming school year. I at least want to get a month or 2 worth of gym classes planned so that it will be an easier transition into the start of the school year.

OK, I've waited a good 5 minutes - time to take a look at the new Harry Potter book. Later! Keep on runnin'!

It has been a while - 7/20/07

Things have been pretty busy around here. I've started my big fundraising push and have been spending a lot of time getting letters made up, envelopes stuffed and mailed. It actually took a lot more time than I originally thought it would. But the majority of the letters have gone out and I'm really hoping I will get a lot of positive responses!

My training has been going well. Although I have been feeling pretty tired this week which has resulted in some switching around of workouts. I think I will still end the week with the proper amount of total mileage though so I'm feeling good about it. Eating has not been as good as it should be so my weight loss has stalled a bit. I am making water consumption a priority because that has been lacking lately. I'm hoping that will also help curb the munching aspect of my nutrition plan.

Other than that the only other thing that has happened this week was my evaluation meeting with Saralee. It was very positive and I am happy that I will again be working with the three year olds and will be co-teaching with Jeanette. I'm looking forward to the upcoming year - both Jeanette and I will have a year under our belts plus Saralee wants all of us to sit down and come up with a plan for the year. This will help ensure that the kids are progressing at an appropriate level but I think it will also help Jeanette and I stay on the same page. Since we are both in and out of the classroom throughout the week it can be hard to keep up with each others plans and ideas.

Gotta go - keep runnin'

Thursday 7/12/07

I've had some really good runs this week! Tuesday and Wednesday were runs with Pat and Lori. I finally got a chance to meet Pat who was the person who directed me to this running group in the first place. It was great to finally meet him - he is a triathlete as well as a distance runner. He just ran in a 1/2 Ironman triathlon.

I ran on my own today (3 miles) so I decided to really try and push the pace today. I've really enjoyed running with the group but it has also been significantly slower than I was running before. Overall I think that is a good thing especially now that the miles are going to start to add up. However, I also want to make sure I get in 1 or 2 runs a week at a quicker pace. I still have my eye on doing well in my age group for the Delaware Distance Classic so I want to make sure I get in at least a bit of faster paced running.

OK, back to today's run. Like I said, I went into it with the goal of pushing the pace. I didn't have specific pace in mind but I was hoping for between 7:30 and 8 min/mile. It was also nice and cool, finally so off I went. I did the first mile in 7:24, the 2nd mile I did in 7:03 and I was still feeling pretty good so I kept on pushing and finished the 3rd mile in 6:17. The average pace ended up being 6:58 min/mile. Needless to say I was thrilled with the effort and the results - I also didn't have much left at the end which I also consider a good thing!

I still have a few more weeks where my shorter runs are 3 miles long and I will continue to do 1 or 2 fast paced runs. Once the runs get longer I may just run a portion of the distance faster.

Gotta go - Keep on Running!

Monday 6/9/07

No that's not me - LOL!

I finally got out for a great rollerblading workout this morning. I've wanted to get out the past 2 weeks but it just didn't work out. Today was hot, but because I was out really early and because there is a great wind as you skate down the road, but it really felt good. I went 5.5 miles in a little over 30 minutes. I finished up the workout with about 35 minutes of resistance training.

A bit later in the day I took the kids and Boomer to the trail that I've been running on. It is so hot out today that I decided to get the kids out in a place that I knew there would be lots of shade. I didn't want to take them to the pool in this awful heat so we'll do that tonight after dinner. We all had a great time - Will was a bit upset that we weren't going to see any water but was quite happy when we found a bird watching perch. The kids had a great time climbing up the ladder and then sitting up on the standing looking all around. I think Boomer and the kids are quite tired right now so I feel like I did my job - LOL!

I'm looking forward to some great runs this week. My mileage this week should be around 27 miles with a long run of 11. I'm gradually adding up those miles and it is awesome to have friends to run with. One of my new training partners is also planning on running the MCM so I'm hoping to be able to run it together!

Keep on runnin'!

Long Run 7/7/07

Went on a great group run this morning - it wasn't nearly as many people in the above picture - there were 3 of us. Doesn't really matter how many people there are though - I have just loved running with other people. We covered 9.6 miles in just under 1:40. I really think the slower pace is helping me a lot and just having other around is awesome!

I'm meeting Lori tomorrow morning to run the trails again. So, of course, I had to go out and get some trail shoes. They were expensive ($110) but luckily I had a gift certificate left for Women's Sports Specialties so I only ended up paying about $63. They are Asics and they felt really good so I'm hoping that they will feel good while I'm running and will help protect my feet from all the rocks and such.

Nutrition has been good so far today. I'm really making an effort to keep things reigned in because I had my splurge meal last night and I tend to make 1 splurge meal into a couple of splurge days. I've finally started to move my weight down and I want to keep that trend going.

Off to start a nice healthy dinner

FRUSTRATED!

I got a neck spasm today while at the pool. The "funny" part was that it kicked in when I sat down to relax in a chair. I'm sure catching Will jumping off the wall was the cause for the spasm but it didn't kick in until much later. I'm really hoping it doesn't mess up my long run tomorrow! It will usually hurt for a few days and then the pain is gone. I got a heat pack on it at soon as I could but it still really hurts.

One good thing is that I haven't let it frustrate me to the point of eating poorly. I did have my splurge meal tonight but that is where it will end! I am really trying to focus on not using food as a crutch - I want to use it for what it was meant for which is giving my body nourishment. Yes I will always enjoy the way food tastes but I don't want to be a slave to it anymore!

It's been a good week!

Boy has this week been busy. Bill has been off work since Wednesday so we've been able to spend a lot of family time at the pool. Bill has been able to go to some of the kid's swim lessons and then we've stayed to have lunch and play in the pool. They put on a really nice 4th of July party which we will have no problem going back to next year!

My workouts have been going really well. I ran with Lori and Jim on Tuesday and then by myself the rest of the week. I'll also be meeting Lori on Saturday. This week we will be road running so no trails this week - I hope we jump back into that soon. I had such a great time with that last weekend but I will need to get myself some trail shoes.

I had some up and down days nutritionally. Tuesday was really bad - I started binging on banana chips and could not stop luckily my weight wasn't drastically affected. Then Wednesday was better but still not great. But man did I rock the house yesterday - I had a great day and the scale finally moved downward. I dropped to 138.5 which is a 1.5# lose for the week so far. It really made me feel good to finally see some movement - it really fires you us to be rewarded for your work.

I am also really trying to make an effort to change my way of thinking. I started reading Taming the Feast Beast and it has brought up some interesting points. Then I read an interesting post on LL and it made me realize that I'm still really struggling with the "diet" mentality. I need to move past that thought process and begin to view it as a lifestyle. I don't think I have really made that transition - some of the parts of the puzzle are there (mostly with exercise) but many of the nutritional parts are still askew. That will be my main focus for a while.

What an Awesome run! - 6/30/07

I went on my first trail run this morning with Lori and Jim and it was great! We started at about 5:30 am and ran for 8 miles. Lori and Jim went on after I finished but I was scheduled for 8 miles so I kept to my plan. I finished in 1:27 which was a 10:52m/m pace. This is a slower pace than normal for me but I ran the whole distance instead of using the run/walk technique. I thought it was PERFECT! I'll be interested to see if my ankles or knees baulk from running on the uneven ground. Lori and Jim are a lot of fun to run with and I love getting out on the trails - I would run trails every day if I could! I now know why Julie B loves her trail run so much! I will be back next week for sure!!

My eating was great yesterday and my weight dropped to 140 which was my goal weight for the week. I still have some exercise minutes to make up if I want to make this week's leverage. Charlene from LL challenged me to eat according to my plan all weekend which is going to be difficult because I'm taking Ally to a birthday party today. I will really need to stay focused so that I don't find myself nibbling. I just need to keep my goals in mind and stay strong!

Off to do my weekend chores!

Friday 6/29/07

I've really had a couple of good days with my eat! I've dropped a pound which I'm happy about but I really thought I would have seen a bit more of a drop - I have been spot on and I honestly thought a bigger portion of the excess water weight would have dropped. However, it is just about that TOM so I'm hoping that is the reason for the water retention. It doesn't really matter though, the important part is that I'm getting back on my program and I'm starting to see results! Baby steps will get me to my goal!!

MY GOALS! - I posted earlier that I would list my goals so here they are:

1. Long Term Goal - I will weigh 130# for my marathon on October 28th.
2. Six Week (Team) Goal - I will weigh 134# by the end of my team challenge on August 9th.
3. Weekly Goal - I will perform 420 minutes of exercise (cardio & resistance training) and weight 140# (the actual weekly weight goal will change but the exercise minutes will stay the same).

I will also be setting up some daily goals for myself. Things like drinking enough water or having extra veggies on a given day etc. If there is one thing that I've learned from LL it's that goals are huge. Most people never sit down and actually make them. They might have some vague idea about what they might want....someday but they never actually define what they are, write them down and then make them public. It is a huge step!

The other thing I'm doing is setting up a leverage. This is also something I learned about at LL. Simply, and this comes right from The Leanness Lifestyle book, it is "self-applied pressure to reinforce your focus and maintain your commitment through the journey. It establishes a cost for failing." There are different types but I'll let you purchase the LL book to read more about it! If you've never used a system like this, it is amazing. My leverage is financial (it doesn't have to be but that is what I chose). I have a savings account that I've set aside so that some day I can become an Elite member at LL. I'm taking $200 out of that account and if I don't make my goal it will be sent to the KKK - a group I absolutely despise! I'm also going to fine myself $25 each week that I don't make my weekly goal. That money will also go into the end leverage.

Another weekly leverage I will set up is a massage. I have never had one before and have always wanted one. This is a reverse leverage - you purchase the session before hand and if you make your goal, you get to keep/attend the session. If you don't make your goal you don't get to go to the session and you are out the money you paid for it. I hope that all made sense because a good leverage is SO effective!

Well, today is a rest day for my exercising. I may go for a nice easy spin on the bike trainer just to keep my legs loose but other than that, I'm taking it off. Tomorrow is my long run and I'm thrilled to be meeting up with a group and then going for a run on the trails. It will be my second group run of the week but my first one on the trails. I will have to travel a bit to get there but I think it is going to be a blast! The only thing that concerns me is the possible lack of bathrooms - I'm sure some of them have had the problem before too so I'll just follow their lead, so to speak.

POSITIVE NOTE: I just found out this morning that Tim has started to drive again. That is such wonderful news! I'm going to email Donna soon and leave a message on Tim's CarePage. I'm so excited to hear he is making progress. I will be writing my sponsor letter this weekend and hope to get it out early next week. For those who may have missed my earlier posts, I'm raising money for a co-worker's son who had to have a hear transplant due to a genetic problem. He is a young man and this is going to hit him hard financially. He already has enough on his plate and I'm hoping to raise a minimum of $3000 to help him out.