Pumpkin Bread

Yesterday was a typical March weekend here, we had a nice snow storm. It snowed a couple of inches and the wind was blowing an average of 20 mph. I kept looking out the window for a little break in the wind and since it wasn't letting up I decided to make pumpkin bread. It was so yummy I kept taking little slices off of it and by dinner I had eaten about a half a loaf. After putting the kids in bed at 7 the wind finally quit so I decided to go for a run. I was feeling very full and bloated which is part of the reason I wanted to get moving(and I was afraid I would keep stuffing my face!). I ended up doing 3 miles, the first mile was really rough on the stomach. I just kept going though and was very happy when I was done. Now I just need to put the rest of the pumpkin bread in the freezer!

Week Recap

We had fun at my sister's, we just hung out. The first night we took my kids to the park. It was cold, 40 degrees and windy! They didn't care though, the next day it snowed a couple of inches and the high was 22 so we stayed inside as much as possible. We did make a McDonalds run, gotta love the playground it saved the day! Yesterday we took them to the children's museum. Gavin really loved making pizzas and being a doctor.

While the kids napped on Thursday I went for a run. It was slushy, wet and at spots I was running through snow drifts. I kept thinking I needed 4 miles and was struggling through the slush. Then I hit the bike path and the turn around point. I don't know what happened but as soon as I turned around I picked up the pace and it felt great. I decided to run a little more and ended up with 5 in 45:17. Then I started thinking about last summer when I did a 5 mile race. My goal was to finish in 45 minutes and I think my time was 45:24 or :44? When I finished that time it was all I could do, this week I felt like I was just hitting my stride and could have ran a few more. My last 2 miles were 8:30 or under. Don't we all have to remind ourselves how far we have come? It is so easy to become discouraged when our runs don't turn out the way we want but I am sure if you look back you can see how much you have improved.

Today I have a 6 miler planned. It is suppose to be cold which is ok as long as the wind doesn't start! Have a good weekend!

Spring Break

My little man is on spring break this week. We are doing all the fun things we aren't able to do normally, like staying up late, swimming, play dates. It is fun but I am getting tired! Running has been going well. I ran 3.5 on Sunday, did yoga Monday, ran 4 yesterday and lifted for 50 minutes(while watching Biggest Loser). Monday I was exhausted and sore so it felt good to rest and stretch.

Today we are going to see my sister and her family. I'm hoping it is warm and we can take my kids to the park. Hope everyone is having a great week.

Painting

That is what I am spending my weekend doing. Painting kitchen cabinets takes a long time, especially with 2 little ones who demand attention. I started painting at 7 yesterday morning and actually got quite a bit done since I took my kids outside for an hour, went grocery shopping, and just the various interruptions during the day like feeding my family.

I put my kiddos to bed last night and it was so nice outside I went for a run. The sun was setting and it was beautiful. The snow on the mountains looked blue, I've never seen that before. The run itself was hard, I was just tired. I have to finish painting today and hopefully will be able to sneak out for a run sometime today. There is suppose to be a snow storm coming today so I'll have to see what the weather is like. Happy running everyone!

More Food?

I have heard that you should nap after your long runs, because you are tired and to recover faster. I have never been able to do this. Right after my long run I am usually tired but as soon as I eat I feel great. I have more energy then usual and am not really hungry for the rest of the day. The problem is the following day when I feel sluggish and just want to sleep and eat. I try to eat normally the day of a long run with a little extra afterwards but I wonder if I am not eating enough. Or is this normal? Is everyone a little tired the day after?

Long Run

Today was a good day, the weather was beautiful. My mom took my kids last night so I slept in today which I needed. I have been staying up late painting. I went to bible study then rushed to my mom's to run a couple miles before meeting my friend for a long run. She wanted to run 5-6 miles and I planned on 8 so I did 2.5 miles and then we took off. We ended up doing a little over 7 and it was great. The time went fast, I really enjoyed running with someone. Hopefully we'll be able to fit in some more runs together. When it is a little nicer and the snow melts we are planning on running at the track. Then we can take the kids and they can play while we run. I am just really happy to have someone to run with.

Mud!

The weather has been wonderful lately, the snow is melting! I am loving it and I even feel like I am able to add trail running to my week. I live on a dirt road and with it has been a mess. I went out for 3 miles on Saturday and Sunday and felt like I ran 10. I encountered ice, slush, mud, mud puddles, and a lot of ruts! My legs were so sore on Monday so I decided to rest them. I did a Cathe video off of Fitv, the pyramid upper body and core max. Ouch! I am still sore! I went to the gym with a friend yesterday and we ran 1.5 miles and elliptical for 30 minutes. Then we took our kids swimming which is always a workout in itself! JR had the day off so later when the kids were sleeping I couldn't resist going for another 3 miles. It was in the 40s here! I went to town to run so I didn't have to deal with the mud and I ended up doing 3 in 26:15, yay! I am hoping to do my long run with a friend today or tomorrow, just depends on if we can find someone to watch our kids. I am excited, I've never had anyone to run long runs with.

Dogs!

I just got back from a 3 mile run. I felt sorry for my dog because he has been cooped up so much so I took him with me. He does fine on the leash, usually runs ahead of me staying in a straight line. The problem is the dogs we pick up on our runs. There is one dog I know will come run with us, and he has gotten better the last few months. Today there was a new dog that joined us. So I spent most of my time pulling on the leash and dodging dogs since this new dog wanted to play with mine the whole time. At one point I dropped the leash and let them go because I was so annoyed. When I stopped to pick up the leash I forgot to restart my garmin so the last half I ran without it. I think I am going to start running on my own and taking my dog out for a walk with the kids. My runs are my stress reliever and this run just caused more stress!

Ok enough with that. The weather is beautiful today! It is suppose to be in the high 30s today which feels like summer! Ok not that warm but you can run around without a coat. Hopefully we'll have time to get out and enjoy it. Hope everyone is having a great Saturday.

Hurry!

My sister made it over, so our life is all about the baby right now! My kids are loving her so much, Gavin insists on sitting next to her and protecting her whenever she is awake. They sing and read books to her, it is so cute.
My sister is starting a plan that will ease her into running. She never has been a runner so it starts out slow, with lots of walks and then yesterday 5 minute walk and 30 second run for 30 minutes. I told her I would go with her after my run. I planned on 6-7 miles, the longest I've ran since January. My sis stayed at my mom's Wed night so after bible study I went over there. I packed everything we could need except for my running shoes! So I came home to get those, I live 10-15 minutes away from my mom. I change at home and am ready to go when I get back to my mom's. I turn my garmin on and set it on my mom's bumper to locate satelites and run into the house for a minute. My mom takes off to town at this time, I think she is in a different truck so I don't think about it. When I come back outside both my mom's and Steve's truck are gone! I panicked, called Steve and thank the Lord my Garmin was still on my mom's bumper! After I got my watch back I set off. It was getting late by then and I still had to walk/run with Brandi so I ended up running faster then planned. I guess I need to be rushed everyday!
6.51 miles
58:16 minutes
8:57 pace

No More Snow

My sister and my sweet little niece are coming today(if the roads cooperate). I can't wait, I haven't seen Marlee in 3 weeks! I'll bet she's so big! There was a snow storm yesterday so Brandi couldn't make it over the pass(chain law in effect). There is a chance of snow today so hopefully Brandi can make it over.

I am planning on running a few easy miles today. My plan is to keep the miles slow and gradually up my mileage. I have to say I really miss speed work, I never thought I would say that! Last summer I never did speed work. Oh I had great ideas of doing it, but when I would start it would hurt too much and I would back off. I finally started this winter and I loved it, crazy! I am thinking though that my miles need to be more right now and I don't want to add both and injure myself so I'm taking it easy. Yesterday I did a Crunch bootcamp video, it was a good workout. My arms are sore today which is always good. Hope everyone has a good day!

Mellow Day

Last night the kiddos stayed at their aunt and uncle's house so JR and I went to a friend's house for dinner. It was fun, I had not been out since January so it was good to relax and know the kids were having fun. I think we went to bed at 1 and of course I was awake at 6 which is now 7 with the time change. I vegged in front of the tv for awhile then decided to go for a run before I had to pick up the kids. My legs and hips were sore and tight, I even did yoga yesterday! I haven't been doing the foam roller the last few days and I need to. I have been stretching more but it's not enough. I managed 4.75 miles in 9:30 pace. I actually thought I was running slower so I am happy with that. It was cold, 15 degrees with slight wind so I had to pull out my balaclava(is that how you spell it?). I picked up the kids and played with them for awhile then went to take a nap. Now I'm up and everyone is sleeping so I am off to get my house in order.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

House, Horse, or Race Car?

Yesterday I decided to workout to Cathe on Fitv. These worlouts are challenging, especially when I have not done them in awhile. I think I did the muscle endurance one. My kids like to exercise with me, I give them my box step which breaks down to 2 pieces so they each have one and they play with bands. They do jumping jacks, jump rope, and occasionally like to follow along to the video. Brooklyn did lunges one day and it was the cutest thing ever. Gavin did his first real pushup yesterday, I was impressed! While they are good about letting me work out they are bored towards the end. That's when they like to run circles around me and things like that. While doing the leg press(stepping up on the box) Gavin decided I needed extra weight and grabbed on to my leg. I am not that strong! When it was time to do pushups I became a horse for Gavin and a house for Brooklyn. During chest flys I was a pirate ship and a race car. I guess as long as I keep working this will all help me get stronger, right?

No Pain!

During nap time I ran on the treadmill. I started off thinking I would maybe make 2 miles because of my leg but about 1.5 miles into it my pain went away! I don't know if it what was the motrin I took an hour before or the fact that I wrapped my leg or what. I just kept going and made it 4.3 miles, yay! I ran slow, I did find that when I tried to go faster I would feel a little pain. Now today I feel great, I am hoping to run a few more miles today and lift weights. I am trying not to become to excited and do too much, but that is hard!

Spring Fever

The weather has been so nice the last couple of days, we are entering mud season! The kids and I went played outside all morning yesterday. I thought of a million things I want to do, although it is still to early to start. I did chip away all the ice on the deck and some of it from the front yard though, that was a good workout!

Today I am going to run a few easy miles and lots of cleaning. I did the shred video yesterday, level 2. It was hard at the end, my arms were shaking! I need to start doing pushups again, I slacked off the hundred pushup challenge. I don't know if I'll finish it but I do need to start adding more pushups in.

I'm off to drop off my son at preschool, then on to cleaning!

Busy Days

Saturday we went to Walmart to stock up(2 hours away), and when we got home we took the kid swimming. By the time we came home and had dinner we had been going all day. The kids passed out by 7 and I thought about jumping on the treadmill or at least doing a strength workout but instead I decided to crawl into bed and watch a movie. I fell asleep before 9, I guess I needed sleep! So I didn't make my mileage goal for last week.

Sunday we went to church, came home and cleaned, then went for an easy 6 mile run. The weather was great and I really enjoyed being outside in it. My leg was hurting a little, I was feeling really good this week and then on Friday I slipped a little on some ice and tweaked it again. I am so over being hurt! It's not as bad as at first I just don't want to start training and have it flare up again. I am going back to cross training a lot this week and hopefully that will be enough time to finish healing. The weather is suppose to be warm this week so maybe the ice will melt and then I won't have to worry about slipping!