What Did I do?!?!

Today I officially destroyed any excuse that I had to not be able to go for a run any time that I want to. My treadmill is still not at my new house, but the 0.17 mile circle driveway is here, and today I ran around it 24 times for a 4.12 mile run. And yes, that means I ran up the big hill 24 times. It was rough, but it felt GOOD.

Yesterday, Finn officially began to ride his bike without training wheels. It was pretty incredible considering that we took the training wheels off about a month ago. He really wanted the training wheels off, but after a couple days of trying he still wasn't getting the hang of it. He wanted the training wheels back on, but Dad had already gotten rid of them. So, Finn had given up on the bike. Suddenly, yesterday morning he wanted to try again and he picked it up with no problem at all. For the last 2 days he has been riding the bike non-stop. He LOVES it. Actually, last night after his second big fall (lots of scrapes and cuts but still no tears!) I told him that maybe it was time to be done for the day. He said, "NO! I have to practice for the triathlon!"

This should make me oh so happy, right?! Yes, it should. But, the problem is that now that he has learned how to ride his bike, I think that I have lost my running buddy!

This morning when I was starting my run he wanted to run with me. I told him he could run with me as long as he wanted to, but that I was going to keep running for a long time after he finished. I was sure he'd run at least 4 times around with me. Nope. He didn't even make it up the big hill once before he started walking. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "This isn't fun. Riding my bike is way more fun." AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! What did I do?!?! I was sure that I had a fully trained runner on my hands, but I fear he has turned to the dark side. He is going to be a typical triathlete who only runs because they have to. I admit that riding my bike is REALLY fun, but where is the love for the run?!

Do what you love and love what you do. For now Finner is going to love the bike. I am going to continue to love to run and ride my bike, and try really hard to make my kids love BOTH of those things as well. Heck, I'm even doing a pretty good job lately of tricking them into thinking that I like to swim in open water that has fish and turtles and a few weeds in it! Hahahaha! If they only knew!

**** On a side note, Liam has never liked to run. He could not be happier that Finn is now riding his bike without training wheels. It may be the only thing that they currently do together without fighting. SO, that should be another reason I'm happy Finn is riding his bike! But selfishly, I want my running buddy back!

The Best Running Buddy

Yesterday I went for my first run in ten days. It was amazing! The cool weather and the fact that I wasn't bouncing between houses were a huge help. But, the best part of it all was that I had a running buddy for my first half mile.

As soon as I said that I was going for a run, Finn asked if he could come along. I said that I would run laps around the driveway with him for a little while and then I'd head out on my own. He was disappointed, but conceded anyways. So we got dressed in our running clothes, running shoes, and my trusty Garmin so I could see just how far a lap around the driveway was.

The new driveway is a circle drive with a big hill on one side. So no matter which way you go, you have to run up a giant hill. I let Finn pick the direction, and we were off. He is a great little runner. The whole way up the hill he huffed and puffed and said it was hard, but never even considered walking. Then, the whole way down the other side he laughed and laughed. We circled the drive three times, for a total of .48 miles! He was very proud of himself, but I think I was feeling even more pride them him. 

I told Finn to go tell his Daddy how far he'd run, and I set out on the dirt roads by myself. This was my first run around the new house. I had a pretty good feel for where I was, but not enough to know what the route would be like. The beginning of the run was beautiful and fully shaded with huge old trees lining both sides of the road. Then, I turned a corner to see a giant downhill immediately followed by a giant uphill. Running down was a wonderful feeling in the cool morning with the sun shining on my face. But the run up the other side was brutal. I kept wishing that Finn was with me so that I had someone else to encourage, and because I knew that if he was with me I wouldn't even think about taking a walk break. Eventually, I made it to the top and did have to walk for a few seconds to catch my breath. 

I finished my 4 mile run and felt pretty refreshed. Walking down my driveway, I could hear all 3 of my boys fishing in the pond, and I saw a deer run through the yard. I can't think of a better way to start a day. All of us were doing our favorite things and enjoying the blessings that God has given us. 

Then, last night before bed, Finn insisted on going for another run. So we did four more laps around the driveway, bringing his total for the day to more than 1 mile! Not too bad for a 4 year old.

 

Fat Tire

Last night I celebrated our first night in the new house by drinking a couple bottles of "Fat Tire" beer. As I drank my well-earned beer, I couldn't help but become a little sad about missing out on the normal routine of my life that hasn't existed since late June. At the end of June we went up north, two days later we were in Wyoming, and the day we returned we began the move to the new home. 

Don't get me wrong, all of the adventures of the last few weeks have been great, and I am blessed to have the opportunities that I do. However, my body misses its regular schedule of "early to bed, early to rise" and the much more frequent workouts that go along with that schedule. I know it's not true, but last night as I drank my Fat Tire, I started to have thoughts that it was quite fitting for me to be drinking a "fat tire." And that if I don't get myself back on track with my running, I am going to have my very own fat tire that is permanently attached. I even thought to myself that if someone asked me if I was a runner I'd have to say something like, "I used to be...". 

Yes, I realize that I was being a bit dramatic. It has only been 10 days since my last run, but I NEVER go 10 days without running unless I'm injured! I am completely out of sorts with my exercise and I am wondering how I'm ever going to get back on track. My treadmill is not at the new house yet, and that is my saving grace for summer workouts as a stay at home mom!!!

So, I have a choice to make. I can figure it out and make it a priority, or I can just keep pouting about it and nothing will change. This is much easier said than done, and I think this is where a lot of people fail in their fitness goals. Getting off track does not mean that you have failed. You can make the choice to start over again...and again...and again. I am 11 years into my running career and here I am, starting again.

 

Moving On...

Sometimes it takes a long time to really get to know yourself. Looking back over some of my blog posts, I'm noticing that I really don't like change. This simple fact about me is making this week quite difficult. Moving out of my first home that I ever owned as a married woman, and where I brought home two babies, is proving to be a test that I am not sure I'm passing with flying colors. 

And, as it would turn out, my eldest son is handling it about as well as his mother. He can't wait until his couch and the family TV are in the new house so that he can have his "spot" back. And he needs the table right next to his spot, just like it is now, so that he has a place for his water.

It's funny how we want all the new things, but we also want so many things to stay just the same. Unfortunately, most times you can't have it both ways. You want to go for an early run, but you also want to sleep in. You want to eat whatever you want, but you want to lose weight. You want to have a better yard, but you want to keep your same house. Sorry folks, it's not going to work out that way! (I am really talking to myself right now, but I figure it will benefit everyone. Ha!)

So to help me feel better about moving, I have compiled a list of reasons why everyone should move to a new house at some point during their adult years. Here ya go...

• You get to declutter and get rid of TONS of junk that you don't need!
• Everything gets organized and put away how it should be
• There is a new place for everything and everything has a place!
• You get to take a trip down memory lane as you look through old pictures and memorabilia from years ago
• You get to exercise WHILE you are working instead of taking time out of your day to do it 

And now, for those of you feeling less inclined to ever move, here is a list of reasons why no one should ever move!

• You HAVE to declutter and get rid of TONS of stuff
• Everything has to get organized and put away how it should be
• There is a NEW place for everything, and you have to find it
• You will spend way too much time taking trips down memory lane as you look through old pictures and memorabilia from years ago
• You HAVE to exercise while you work, and there will be no time for taking time out of your day to do it

In the end, I realize that I can't have my cake and eat it too. So I will continue packing, sorting, moving, unpacking, and sorting some more. If you don't change something, nothing will change.

 

 

Standing Still

I loved church today. It had been a while since we hadn't been out of town on a Sunday, so it felt good to be back this morning. I admit that there are many Sundays when I leave church and don't feel that the message really hit home for me, but today was not one of those days. And thank goodness for that because my day didn't start off as planned.

I set my alarm for 6:30 because I wanted to get a 7 mile run in before the rest of the house woke up. We are somewhat stuck on mountain time and haven't been rolling out of bed until 8:00 (eek!). That is NOT the norm for my kiddos. They like to "sleep in" until about 6:45 every day. Anyways, my alarm went off at 6:30. I hit snooze, and woke back up at 7:45. NOOOOOO!!!! That did not leave me enough time to run before church, so I cleaned up around the house instead and was pretty much moping and pouting the whole time, realizing that I had missed my chance for a run today. 

Before the sermon started, there was a guest speaker who gave a personal testimony. He was a man who suffered from epilepsy (now 62 years old) and had been somewhat shunned by his parents who never accepted his illness. I am currently reading a book called Women Who Run (thanks Rochelle!), and one of the chapters highlights a woman with epilepsy who runs ultra marathons, and running helps her to have less seizures. Now I'm sure that this was just a weird coincidence, but I immediately felt a connection to his message, having just read this woman's story 2 days ago. Turns out they both had the same surgery in which part of the frontal lobe is removed, and the number of seizures decreases significantly. Pretty amazing stuff.

Next, during the message, the Pastor spoke about his recent trip to Colorado. He told us how he is a runner, so he was pretty confident in his ability to hike up mountains, but due to the elevation he felt completely out of shape and unprepared for running and hiking out there. Sound familiar?!?! Yup, that was me last week! 

Finally, the main part of the message was to remind us that if we are not moving, we are standing still. And if we are standing still, we will never get anywhere. Ultimately, he was referring to our relationship with God the Father, but he also spoke about our physical health. If we are not doing any work to improve our current fitness, or at least maintain it, we are going to end up in a losing battle with our bodies. We need strength to be prepared for whatever is put in front of us! Sometimes we are just unlucky and a disease takes over us that we couldn't have controlled. However, often times people become sick because they do not work to remain healthy. Everyone wants to be healthy! We must be willing to put in the effort on a regular basis to make this happen.

Church was a breath of fresh air for me today. It reminded me of the things I need to be improving on in all aspects of my life, and I really felt that God was letting me know He's got his eye on me. (And thank goodness for that because things are a bit hectic right now!)

I missed my run today. Oh well. My alarm is set again for tomorrow morning. And I will do better to get up and get it done! My kids need me to be healthy, and my sanity depends on that run (especially since I don't have a church service to help me stop moping around tomorrow if I oversleep!).

 

Some Random Thoughts...

Today I'm feeling a little bit scattered. It's one of those days where you have SO much to do (mainly around the house), that when you walk into a room to put something away, you pick up something new in said room that needs to be taken care of, and then in the next room as well, and so on, until you can't even remember which room you were originally cleaning up. Some might call this ADD, and some might just think that I must have a really messy house. Either way, I'm feeling distracted, so I thought I'd share some random thoughts that don't add up to a story (well maybe they would if I was more focused!). But anyways, here ya go!

• Finn told me the other day that he didn't want to do yoga with me because he doesn't sweat when he does yoga, like I do, and he wants to sweat like me. (Score 1 for mom!)
• While beginning our 8 hour drive to the Denver Airport on Wednesday, we were discussing just how far the drive was going to be, and how long it was going to take. (Ya know, comparing it to watching 5 movies or 32 episodes of Sponge Bob...).  Liam then said, "You could just run there, Mom. And you'd have fun and you probably wouldn't even get tired!" (Thank goodness he didn't see me on my 7 mile run in the mountains a few days prior to that when I thought I might die from lack of oxygen!)
• Tonight while walking down the driveway, Finn grabbed my hand and said, "Let's run! It's so much more fun to run!" and we ran together hand in hand. I pray that his enthusiasm never fades!
• I get to test running shoes for Runner's World magazine, which means I get a brand new free pair of shoes every 3 months. Sa-weet!! However, I really want to buy a new pair of shoes! HA! Okay, that's more of a confession than a story, but I really want to go to the store and pick out the perfect pair instead of just getting the ones they give me to test. My husband doesn't think that's necessary. Neither does my closet...
• And another confession...or two...I haven't been back to yoga class yet because my vacation schedule has been so full. AND, I have forgotten what day it was about 15 times in the last 10 days. And I have no idea what today's date is.
• Which leads me to the next big problem, I haven't looked at my training schedule in a week! Maybe that's why I'm feeling so scattered! 

It looks like the moral of this story is that I am a little out of balance from having too much vacation. It's hard to get back on track after being out of town and out of a schedule and routine. It's time to get back on track.

 

And go for a run. When in doubt, always go for a run.

Freedom to Run

Did you know that women weren't allowed to run in the Boston Marathon until 1972? And the marathon was not added to the Olympics as an event for women until 1984? The first woman, Roberta Gibb, who ran the Boston Marathon was not granted permission to run, and she hid in the bushes wearing a hooded sweatshirt and joined in just after the start line. That was in 1966. The following year, another woman, Katherine Switzer, ran it and officials tried to physically remove her from the race, but were unsuccessful because the man she was running with blocked them and she got away.

This 4th of July I celebrated my freedom to run by completing a 10k in Cody, Wyoming. It was fabulous! Every summer I get to travel to Wyoming, and every summer I am reminded of just how difficult it is to run at an elevation of 6,000 ft instead of 650 ft. Wyoming is a beautiful state and there are mountains in every direction. I can't help but have the urge to run, hike, and explore while I am here. But then, I walk out my in-laws front door to do my out and back run, and remember that the whole "out" is up hill and into the wind, while the way back is downhill with the wind at your back. It is hard. Really hard. 

Thank goodness, I had a running buddy out here this year! My friend Becky was here and ran the 10k and two additional training runs with me this week. I can't explain to you how much that helped. Even though I have been having a really good attitude about my running lately and remembering that it is a gift and something I GET to do, sometimes that feeling disappears when you are sucking for air while trying to run uphill against a 30 mile and hour headwind! Our 10 mile run that we had planned, turned into a 7 mile run because it was just that challenging. We were laughing at ourselves as we did the survival shuffle up the unending hill and were almost knocked over by the gusts of wind. Not to mention the continual spitting and coughing as we gasped for air that didn't seem to be there. Those are the runs that make you wonder why you run. 

But then the run is complete and there is such a great feeling of accomplishment that it makes it all worth it. Plus, it's a good story to tell. It's not every day that I get the chance to go for a beautiful run in the mountains. There are women in many parts of the world that aren't allowed to run at all. It is not a privilege granted to everyone, and it is not a privilege that women in the USA have had for very long. I need to remember this on all of my challenging runs. There are many women who have that same urge to run that I often get, but they aren't allowed to satisfy that desire. 

Take advantage of the gifts that you were given and the opportunities that you have. Go for a run. Feel the burn in your lungs and the exhaustion of your body. Then, be proud.

"There will come a day when you can no longer run; today is not that day." -Unknown

Pep Talk

There are some days that we all need a little pep talk. A push in the right direction. Words of wisdom to get us off our bottom and doing something productive. Today is one of those days for me. And because no one else has given me these words of inspiration, I'm going to go ahead and practice some self talk. Here are some of the things that I try to remember when I'm having days (moments?) like this...

• I am healthy and capable of the things that I ask my body to do
• I have a healthy and wonderful family
• My friends are amazing and supportive, and pretty hilarious as well
• I have a job and can afford the things I need
• There is a treadmill in my basement if I need to "run it out"
• There is candy in my cupboard and wine on my counter 

What more could a girl ask for really?! But in all honesty, the quote that is most fitting for my mood right now is, "You're only one run away from a good mood." I don't know who to give credit to for saying that, but whoever it was, they are brilliant. There is nothing that makes me feel better than going for a run. It can cure any case of the glums, give insight and clarity to problems that seemed unsolvable, and lift up your spirits faster than almost anything. (It will also lift other things on your body, but you need to give it a little more time for that!)

I'm deciding to go for a run. It's the shortest distance between where I am right now and happiness!