I ran what?!?

So, I haven't posted -not because I haven't been running but because I am SO STINKIN' BUSY!!!
My hubs is a fireman and he works shifts. They are always the same, one day on two off and we have lived by this schedule for almost 7 years now. Because of his schedule he is able to take some side jobs from his mothers company. So he is in Chicago for a few days and his traveling makes my training a little trickier than usual. Since I knew that he was going to be out of town and evening running not possible, and since I convinced M to do the Disney 10K with me in 17 days, we decided to do an evening run before hubs left.
Usually M and I have a pretty solid morning schedule. We do Tuesday and Thursday mornings and we have been doing it consistently for 3 weeks. I have stated before that I like schedules and I don't like deviating from them but I knew if I was going to run 5 miles (farthest I have ever gone) then I would need to do it without pushing the dreaded jogging stroller. Hubs agreed to watch the kids and we decided to run about 7ish.
So, M shows up around 7:15 and we take off. Let me reiterate that I love M. We have a lot in common, our husbands are extremely alike (and great friends), we both have multiple (in her case 4) children, and I could go on but this post is about the run :)
We started and got through Mile 1. I don't know about anyone else but if I can get through Mile1 I honestly could probably conquer a marathon but Mile 1 is always my biggest obstacle. We made the turn and I felt pretty good. I was running at my normal pace and we were chatting and the next thing I knew a FROG jumped out at me.
( * I DO NOT LIKE FROGS*)
Well I screamed like, well a girl, and we kept running. When we got to 2.5 and turned around I still felt really good. WE talked about doing the half marathon at Disney (which is a whole other post in itself) and before I knew it we were back at the bridge where the same stupid frog jumped out at me again. (I KID YOU NOT- and I did scream again!)
We got to the light and made the turn towards home for the last mile. I just kept thinking that I couldn't believe that we were going to have run 5 miles. We turned down my street (now I live on a lake and there is a loop around it that is .5 miles) got closer to my house and we both we feeling pretty good still. She looked at me ( another reason why I love her) and said let's go around the lake. Which we did and at the end we ran 5.5 miles. Today I am still floating on that accomplishment and I am seriously considering the half in March.
It was a good run but I know that is mainly because I made the decision to enjoy it instead of dreading it and I had the confidence that we could do it and do it strong.

I also know that the 10K better be ready for us :)

Happy Running!

Better late than never

The topic at The Runner's Lounge "Take it and Run Thursday":You get to run the last six miles of your next marathon with 6 different people. They can be dead or alive; famous or not famous. Who are these people and why did you pick them? Furthermore, why did you pick them for the specific mile you did? Remember, you get an extra .2 miles with runner #6.
Here goes!

I have thought long and hard about who i would like to run with. I have chosen people then realised I had way too many people that I thought would be cool to run with and get to know. But my list goes a little bit like this...

Mile 20-21 I would run with Becky, my sis in law. She is a runner and is training for her first Marathon at Disney in January. Becky has been working so hard. She has lost 50 or some odd pounds (sorry I don't remember how much) and she is going back to school to get her Masters in Guidance Counseling. She is dedicated to doing her best and that is a trait that I admire greatly in her. I also think it would be fun to just enjoy running the beginning of the end with her.

Mile 21-22 I would want to run this mile with Bart Yasso. I have just finished his book My Life on the Run and it was such a great book. He is seriously one of the craziest people that I have read about to date but he always gave running his best and he ALWAYS continued loving it and getting others to love it too. He dedicated his life to running and it saved him, like it saved me. I would have him tell me a few of his rougher stories to get me through and knowing him, he would ran fast and make me run fast too.

Mile 22-23 I would have to run with my girls M and T. They are the best buds I could have ever asked for. I say- hey lets do a 4 mile race and they say ok. I say lets do a 10K in 3 weeks and they say ok. They say lets do a half marathon and I say ok and that is how our relationship works. We all have small children, husbands, and other interests but when we are on the road we are just women who like to run. We talk, make fun of others outfits, discuss major things in our lives but we also run and we enjoy doing it together.

Mile 23-24 I would love to do this mile with Hal Higdon. He is revered among runners and his training plans are used by just about everyone. He is also in his 80's and if I can't gain some knowledge from running with him then I have no chance :) He makes it so easy to believe that you can run a marathon no matter where you are at in your fitness and I think I would need that about now.

Mile 24-25 I would save this mile before my last to do with my Hubby and kids. I would enjoy running knowing that I was almost finished and that their support had gotten me there. You might be asking why I wouldn't run the last mile with them and that would be because I would want for them to be standing there behind the finish cheering me on.

Mile 25-26.2 I would run this last mile with Lance Armstrong. This one is personal to me because I look at him at the poster boy for cancer. I would want to finish this marathon but I would want to do that in support of a cause and the Armstrong Foundation is one that I believe in. It is a horrible disease and it isn't a guarantee who gets it and who doesn't but it is how you deal with it and HE BEAT IT DOWN HARD. I would want to run with him and it would be like running for all of the people who couldn't get out there and do it themselves.

Well that is it for my 6 runners. How about yours?

Happy Running!

4 Mile Recap

First let me say that I am so thankful for M- for being by buddy and running with me-she did awesome :)

So, I decided last week that I would sign up for the Fit2Run 4 mile race. What I didn't really consider was the fact that it was a cross country race in a golf course, which meant hills, bridges, things that I typically do not have to run over here in Florida.

Anywhoo- woke up the kids and got out of the house. Arrived at the University Park Golf Course and met up with Dave to hand off the kids. (here I made a HUGE mistake which I will talk about later) and met up with M too.

We walked over to the start where people were running BEFORE the race (not something I really was into but to each his own). We got our chips, visited the porta potties, and were ready to run at 7:30.

Did I mention that the starting line was up a hill? So we had to run up the hill to even start. I also have to say that I never have run in grass, mostly because of getting dirty. So, we took off and we stayed consistent. We started passing the crazy starters about mile 1.5. At that point I knew that we weren't going to be last (which was M's fear). Throughout the race I kept marveling at how nice out it was. We usually run between 9:30 and 10:30 so running at 7:30 with the sun barely up was wonderful. Plus we were running under trees and cart paths, it was so nice. Around Mile 3 we passed the 8 year old boy (another of M's goals-ha), he was doing great and I did feel a little bad passing him but we were running a consistent pace and we weren't going to slow down now. The last mile was on the road and I loved that seeing as that is what I usually run on. We turned the corner and there was the finish. Of course we had to kick it up for the finish. Afterward both M and I felt really good. It was a lot of fun AND I convinced her to sign up for the 10K with me in 3 weeks at Disney. It will be so much fun to do it with her and laugh at how far we have come :)

BUT.....that isn't all.

I said goodbye to M and went to get in my car to drive home. I asked Dave, "Where are my keys?" To which he responded -I don't know. Well, I figured I hardly ever remember to lock my doors so we should be ok. We pulled the door- LOCKED! Then I looked in the drivers seat and there where my keys. Still thinking there was no problem, I asked Dave for his keys with the spare. I don't have one was his response.

So... Dave had to drive home with the big kids and Lexi and I waited 40 minutes for them to get home, get the spare key, and drive back.

It actually wasn't that bad. It was such a nice morning, plus I had just run in a race (which i was so thankful for). I felt really stupid for locking the keys in the car but I chalked it up to excitement.

Next weekend we head to Disney for Expedition Everest. We were supposed to do that one last year but I was preggo with Lexi and couldn't participate. I am supper excited to do a race with Dave and spend some time with the family.

Happy Running :)

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A New Day

AS with every day, a new day will dawn in the morning. That is what I find comfort in every night before I go to bed, even if my day has gone well, there is always a new day waiting to dawn.
Let us start with the running shall we?
Today I ran with M and my kids (in the jogger). We did 4.08 miles or so in 37 '12". I guess that is a 9 minute pace which I am thrilled to death with. I definitely feel good about how far I have come in the last 2 months of running and I know that if I WANT to then I will continue to succeed.
We had cheer last night and tonight we have a private tumbling class. I just want my girl to be able to be the best that she can be and I if at some point she isn't having fun with this anymore then we will reevaluate- but for now she loves being a cheerleader.
Ry is feeling much better and so is Lexi Lu.
Dave came home and watched the kids last night, then got up this morning and I won't see him again until Thursday night when we pick him up from the airport.
Our new normal kinda stinks right now but you have to just keep on moving (at least when running) and I consider life a lot like running :)
Other new- The Biggest Loser begins tonight and I am soooooooo excited to have my weekly date with Bob, Gillian, Alison, and the Losers. I always get more motivated when I see HUGE (being honest here) people accomplishing weight loss by working hard. Well almost time to pick up Ashley.

Happy Running!

When your Hubs is away...

...not a lot gets DONE :)

Dave has been out of town (at trade shows, delivering Salvation Army trucks, etc.) since last Wednesday. He then comes home tonight (hopefully before cheerleading) and then is out of town until I meet him at my 4 mile race on Saturday morning to hand off the kids and what else- run the 4 miles :) It is a great opportunity that we have that he gets all of the side jobs BUT having him here more than one day a week would be nice too.
Ashley had her MANDATORY Saturday cheer practice and I think it went well, at least for her. She learned the routine and the counts and practiced the set number of times over the weekend. This week she is going to start a private tumbling instruction with her coach to help her with the backbends, cartwheels, and whatnot. Since I have NO experience with any of these things so I will leave all of the instruction up to her coaches (HA!!)
Ryan has had a cold for what seems like forever. We are taking a rest and medicine day today in hopes that he will wake up tomorrow a happy little boy. He is back to normal with his potty training and next we are going to work on not eating so many hot dogs (yuck!).
Lexi is 10 months old this week. She has slept through the night for the last 4 nights-hooray!!!!
She is "talking" and "walking" and doing all the things that she should and some that she shouldn't. She is just 2 months from the bog year mark and I honestly can't believe how fast this year has gone.

On the running front. I ran the longest I have EVER run which is 5 miles this weekend. My new mantra is DON'T COMPARE because so many of the blogs i read people are training for halfs and marathons. They also have been running much longer than I have so I just keep telling myself that for me I am doing GREAT.
I did the 5.11 miles in 44' 17" which of course is a PR for me since I have never done it before- YEAH ME!!!
I was very happy with just being able to do it and I am supposed to run 5 again tomorrow BUT i will be pushing the jogger so i know the time won't be the same.

I read Isaiah 7 today. There were many verses that spoke to me but the one I will meditate on today is Isaiah 7:9b "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

Happy Running!