Three Things Thursday

1. I went for a cautious run last Saturday to see how my arches would react and they felt great. Phew! It was a slow, hard 3.1 miles, but it felt good to be back out there. My plan is to slowly build my base miles and to get up to a total of 8 miles by mid August so I can start my training schedule.
2. I signed up for the Hot Chocolate 15k in Atlanta the other day. I am very excited to run this distance and I’ll be running it with a friend! It is right smack in the middle of my two half marathons and I’m supposed to run 10 miles that day anyway. I can easily run it and tack on .7 to make it an even 10.
3. I am on an every-other-day schedule right now. I ran yesterday and then worked out my legs (hammys and glutes). Today is abs and arms. Tomorrow I run and do my legs again. I am sore, but this schedule is starting to feel good. I am hoping that this will help make me a stronger runner.

Wordless Wednesday

Thank you Runner's World for this inspiring and true picture!

food is NOT the enemy

After reading Run Like A Mother How To Get Moving-and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, I realized that I have the wrong perspective on food. These past few months, I have been viewing food as the enemy and that is WRONG! No wonder why I can’t run farther than 5k without feeling depleted. Food is NOT the enemy. Food is fuel. I am trying to reprogram my mind into viewing food as the fuel that keeps me going. As I have mentioned on here before, I have lost over 75 pounds since I became a mom. I admit that I look at food as the enemy sometimes; it is what made me fat before. I know that is not true, I know that my sedentary lifestyle combined with poor eating habits AND having babies is what led to my weight gain, but I choose to blame food instead. I am afraid to get rid of my “fat clothes” which are sitting in a box in my closet. If I do, I feel that I will immediately gain all of that weight back. Also not true, but it is a fear.

When I was training for my half last fall, I looked at food as fuel. I weighed myself once a week just to make sure I wasn’t fluctuating too much. I wouldn’t drink any alcohol the day before a long run in fear that it might make it hard. While I was abstaining from alcohol, I was sure to eat plenty of carbs. I saw my training as my new full time job and I was going to succeed, come hell or high water. Now that I have crossed that finish line, I am looser with my diet and I don’t have any problem having a drink the night before a long run. I’m also looking at food differently. I’m afraid that if I eat too much, I’ll get fat- completely wrong. Food is fuel. If I eat bad food and not exercise then yes, I will get fat. I don’t see that happening. I need to appreciate my body for what it is and accept that the good food that I eat is fuel to get me moving. It is a daily struggle that some day, I hope to win.

Happy Running Y’all!!!

Oh those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer

June has been a rough running month for me. Adjusting to a new schedule with the boys home, I realize just how rough hubby’s work schedule is. I feel like I did five years ago with a toddler and a preschooler at home all.the.time.

Hubby took a week off from the 11^th – 15^th for Cub Scout Day Camp. The theme was Pirates of the CUBribbean. It was a BLAST! Don’t get me wrong, it was exhausting beyond belief, but it was a blast. I was a Bear den leader to seven 8-year old little boys. Hubby was a Tiger Adult with N. Every day I came home smelly and sweaty. I can’t wait for next year’s space theme.

Baby brother was here from June 1^st – June 16^th. I was able to run with him and he pushed me to faster speeds. He may be my baby brother, but he towers over me and can run circles around me! We also had a close family friend visiting from London, she and baby brother did all sorts of sightseeing while we were at day camp. She left on June 20^th. I discovered while having houseguests that my mommy guilt  extends into houseguest guilt. I really need to work on that.

I just finished reading Run Like A Mother How To Get Moving- and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity as well as Train Like A Mother How To Get Across Any Finish Line- and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity both written by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea. I love these books! I am inspired to use their Half Marathon:Own It training plan for my two upcoming halfs!

Yes, you heard me right. I will be running two half marathons! I have already signed up for the Publix GA ½ on March 17, 2013 and will be signing up for the Atlanta ½  on Thanksgiving Day next month. The ATL Half is my debut half you can read my race report here. Part of me wonders if I can successfully complete this training program, only because any time I pull away from the Galloway run/walk method, I get injured. Only time will tell.

Talk about being injured, I was doing box steps last week on the back porch. I had my two-pound weights in my hands and I managed to bruise both of my arches. OUCH! I was cross training due to the fact that it’s summer, hubby is at work and I’m home with the boys. I really wish I had a treadmill. That being said, I’ve had to stop running (adding to the worst mileage month of the year!), ice and advil. Thankfully, I’ve been taking Ibuprofen 800 due to some ruptured cysts, so not all is wasted- I wouldn’t be running right now even if my arches were not bruised. How is that for multi-tasking? We’re supposed to hit 100 degrees here in the ATL, all.weekend.long. I’m hiding out in this bear cave hoping to get back to my core exercises if I’m not too sore. I will put my lunges on the back burner until my arches heal.

Hoping you all are getting out there and getting some miles in for me, since I’m laid up. Savor every step and be glad that today, like every day, is a great day for running!

Happy Running Y’all!!!

Wordless Wednesday

My boys running up Stone Mountain.

Speedy Gonzales

National Running Day was spent running with my baby brother (yes, he is much BIGGER than me). He literally ran circles around me. It was a junk 1 mile run in the heat of the day, post Arby's roast beef sandwich and a hot dog with 86 degrees. He pushed me to a 6:39 pace (something I did not think I was capable of, ever)! The whole mile was 8:22 and that included a walk break at .5 miles to catch my breath and turn around.

Yesterday's run got me thinking maybe I could actually get faster, I mean really faster. Maybe I can up my pace to 8:30's on a regular basis. Only time will tell, but I know that I am capable. As Master Yoda would say, "Do or do not, there is no try". Thank you Master Yoda, thank you!

Me and baby brother (aka Speedy Gonzales) post run, I'm ready to puke.

Wordless Wednesday

Me and my baby brother before our National Running Day run.

Happy National Running Day!!!

It's a great day for a run!