Rough Start, Good Finish

It's been a rough few days. Some days are just harder than others. When Andy suggested a run yesterday, I really didn't want to go. I was tired. I was emotional. I was feeling lazy. But, remembering my manta "Because I Can", I went. It was a perfect evening for a run, and I didn't have any good reasons to skip it.

The beginning was rough. My shins and calves burned. I thought of a million reasons to stop. I did stop for a little while. I allowed myself to walk to the paved section. Then I ran the rest. I was using the couch to 5k app and ran a little extra at the end to make up for walking. I ran for 25 minutes without stopping. Slow, but I did it. Once I got past my negative thinking the run went pretty well, and I felt good when it was over. I need to run more consistently. It makes me happy.

Source

On Saturday the whole family is participating in a 5k fun run/walk/bike. The girl and I are running together, and we've made a plan. We're going to do intervals for the whole thing. I'm excited. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm glad I get to share it with my girl. We 're going to be sporting some very bright ReRunning Podcast shirts.

I love them!

The whole family will be podcasting about our first family race, and it will be available at the ReRunning Podcast Relaunch - June 21st!

Little Runner

I have created a running monster. The Artist may become Little Runner. The boy is completely hooked. On Saturday, we braved the pouring rain and ran the Glow Run 5k.

I have a new reason to work on my running. The boy is fast. He took off, and there was no way I was catching him. My shins were on fire, and my legs were stiff from my morning run. Normally, I wouldn't mind him ditching me, but it was dark, pouring rain, and the course wasn't closed. He ran the first mile without stopping, but then he waited for me. We ran most of the course. It had been steadily raining the whole time, and it picked up when we were almost done. We ran about 2.7 miles.

It was a blast. We were cold and soaked, but we had a lot of fun. The Artist was ecstatic. He kept saying it was the best race ever. He wanted to do more running. He started talking about training for the Milk Run (a 10k in June). I am so thrilled that he loves running. Now, I've got to get in better shape, so we can run it together.

He started his training this morning. He asked me to get him up early, and he hopped on the treadmill. He did 15 minutes before getting ready for school. He was so proud. I am, too.

The Glow Run kind of wrecked me. My PF is back. I'm working on making it better, but it's still pretty painful. Sunday was an active rest day. I was on my feet for most of the day (ouch), but I didn't get in a workout.

On Monday, the kids and husband had a day off from school. It was a relaxing day. We were not very active for most of it, so we decided to do a family workout. Everyone got to pick 3 exercises, and we all got to go twice. It was fun and ended up being a pretty good workout.

Today, I broke my workout up into a few shorter workouts.

Tuesday's workouts:

20 min. speed intervals on the treadmill - my feet hurt after. I did some stretching, which helped a little.

Lift - lower body
squats 135#  5 reps x2
calf raises  135#  10 reps x2
Won Ho x2

plie squats 135# 6 reps x2
one leg lunges 8 reps/side x2

Won Hyo x2


Yoga x2
15 minutes - post treadmill workout
10 minutes - post lifting

Meditation
10 minutes

It all adds up. Every little bit counts.

Epic Hike

Yesterday the Artist and I had another "epic adventure." He wanted to hike Jay Peak, and I was up for it. The weather was perfect, and we had a good hike. He set a good pace, and I was working to keep up.

This is what life is about.

My legs were feeling it this morning. My poor calves are destroyed. I took the Moon Dog for a walk, which helped a little. Luckily, today was back and shoulders day.

I focused on Barbell Rows and Dumbbell Shoulder Presses. I started with the bar. I wanted to go easy to start. Rows are not my strongest move. I kept the presses low weight / high rep.

Friday's Workout

Barbell Rows  //  Dumbbell Shoulder Presses
45# 12 reps          #10 15 reps
55# 12 reps          #10 15 reps
65# 10 reps          #10 15 reps
75# 8 reps            #10 15 reps
85# 4 reps            #10 15 reps

Not the hardest workout I've done this week, but I am feel great. I love how strong I feel when I lift. It's been a good week. Looking forward to the weekend and another week of getting strong.

Awesome Hike / Fabulous Run / Shaky Muscle Stage

It's been a long time since I posted. I've been keeping busy and eating better. I've been trying to exercise more regularly.

The Artist and I went on an awesome hike up Elmore Mountain and went swimming after. It was so much fun.

Our hike was following a very difficult TKD class. The kids had a tough class too. Lots of pushups and conditioning. The adult class had circuit training, too. One of my favorites. We were super sore for the hike, but it was awesome.

Yesterday, I went for a run. It was the first one in a while, and it was fantastic. I didn't try to go fast, but I wanted to run the whole time. The road was recently paved, which made for a wonderfully smooth run. The hills didn't seem too bad, and it was a beautiful day. It felt great.

I asked Andy to pick me up after about 45 minutes. It ended up being a little longer, but I ran the whole way and felt good. I covered almost 4 miles. Not bad.

This morning I did an upper body workout. I love lifting. I know I've said it before, but every time I lift I feel happier. I got to the shaky muscle stage today, which is the best feeling.

Not quite done for today. The Artist and I are going for a run. He wants to do the Leaf Peeper 5k again this fall, so we're "in training." Love running with my boy!

Hiking 2016 - Burnt

One of my goals for 2016 is to hike more. This is a personal goal as well as a family goal, and so far, it's going well. We went for a hike yesterday. The kids had never been up Burnt Mt., which is one of my favorite hikes. It's kind of long, but it is beautiful and very remote.

It was an absolutely perfect day for hiking. We took our time and took lots of water and snack breaks. Everyone had a good time. We met a few people on the trail, but we had the top to ourselves. We spent a lot of time up there, taking in the view and enjoying a nice, cool breeze.

In total we hiked 5.5 miles. It's the longest the kids have hiked, and they were very proud of their effort. We had a nice conversation about perseverance and indomitable spirit (thank you TKD). These are the best family moments. There were also moments of grumpy attitudes, but I expect that when they're challenging themselves. By the end, we had all fallen at least once and were hurting, tired, and hungry. Everyone tried their best to stay positive, and we had a great day on the mountain.

Healthy Habits / Starting Again

This weekend my parents came up, and we went on a family snowshoeing excursion. It was a blast. The day was perfect, and we spent two hours exploring the trails at Hazen's Notch. It was a great day.

Today's my hubby's birthday. We celebrated this weekend, and we made some healthy goals. I'm going to do a couch to 5k program with him while doing my half training. We're planning on running a 5k together in May. I'm excited to have a training buddy.

We also decided to go back to one of the first healthy changes we made. Years ago, when we first decided to get healthy, we started by doing yoga almost every night. It was great. Last night, we started it up again. We did a half hour of yoga before bed. The kids joined us, and we had fun. Everyone was relaxed and ready for bed when we finished. Even the Artist, who would stay up all night if we let him, went immediately to sleep.

I woke up feeling refreshed and ready for this week. It's a nice change after a few not so great weeks. I even went for a run this morning. 3.15 miles on slippery sidewalks. I had to walk more than I wanted, but it was sketchy in some spots. Still, I'm glad I went.

After work, I practiced Do-San. It's getting better. Slowly. Tournaments don't start until March, so I've got a little time. I'm psyched for TKD tonight!

I Quit

Confession: I'm a quitter. Surprisingly, I'm okay with this. I almost never quit. I've spent my whole life meeting goals. I hate giving up.

I'm trying to do things differently. I've been feeling stressed and buried under commitments. I decided to cut back on responsibilities. I want to enjoy my life and focus on just a few projects. I need less stress.

For the last week or so, I have been feeling pretty stressed about the half. I've lost my mojo. My long runs haven't gone well. I keep trying to not care about how slow I am, but it's nagging at me. I've been dreading the run. I just don't feel ready for it, and I'm not having fun.

The whole point of signing up was to start running again. I wanted to find a way to enjoy it again. I was there for a while. I wanted to run. I looked forward to it. I loved it again. Then I got closer to race time, and I started to worry. I ran less. I wasn't as excited to run.

I want to enjoy it. Running is so great. It makes me feel good and helps me stay positive. I don't want to lose the enjoyment of it. I want it to be fun.

You know what sounds fun? Dropping down to the 5k and running it with the Artist. It will be his first race, and he is so excited. This is why I am okay with being a quitter. This is the right choice. I'm not in a competitive head space. I'm not looking for anything serious. Some fun mother/son time is absolutely perfect.

I'm still planning on some races in 2016. I'm sure I'll get back to a place where I feel ready to run distance again, but right now I just need to enjoy it. I love that the Artist has become my new running buddy. He's a great motivator. I'm so excited for Sunday now.

For now my fitness goals are going to be based in consistency. I want to lift 3x/week and run 2-3x/week (whatever distance I choose). I also want to work more on Taekwondo. Tournament season is coming, and I want to do my best.

I have to accept that I am not where I used to be, and it is going to take time to get back there. I can't expect it to all change at once. Slow and steady all fall and winter is my goal. Build a base. It will make training easier in the spring/summer. It's time for hiking and (soon) snowshoeing. Two of my favorite workouts that pair perfectly with my slow and steady goal.

Of course now that I am motivated again, I am sick. I've been a mess for a couple days. I'm hoping to feel good enough to do a strength workout tomorrow. It will be fairly light/easy. I'm not rushing into anything. One day at a time. Slow and steady.

Perfection.

Yesterday was perfection.

Our summer was more work than play, and we really needed a good family day. We surprisingly had an empty schedule yesterday, and we decided it was a family fun day.

I had a run planned, so I went out before anyone else was awake and did 7.5 miles. It wasn't as long as I should have gone, but I knew I couldn't be completely spent for our family day. I also had a few technical difficulties while running that reminded me that I need to buy some more Glide. Ouch.

Once everyone was awake and showered, we went out for breakfast at the Dairy Center. Good food. Good prices. Great staff. It was a perfect start to our adventures. We needed the fuel.

Next we packed up and went to Mt. Pisgah. It is a beautiful hike, and we stopped a lot to climb big rocks and play in the streams and little waterfalls. The end of the hike is super steep, and we all struggled with it. But, no one complained. We tried to keep it fun. The view was total worth it. We had a picnic and stared at Lake Willoughby. It's one of the most beautiful places in Vermont.

After we got back to our car it was time for the next phase of our trip - swimming. But, I surprised the kids by stopping for ice cream at a nearby store. We sat outside and looked at the lake while we ate. Then we finally went and got in the water that we'd been staring at all day.

It was such a great day and very much needed. Everyone was in good spirits, and we just enjoyed being together. The kids were completely exhausted and went to sleep without a complaint. Perfect.

Everyone was sore this morning. My legs are really, really sore. And, I have TKD tonight. Should be an interesting class. But, no matter how difficult it is tonight, it was totally worth it. And as the Artist said this morning, "even if it's hard it will make you 100 times better."

Happy hikers

Struggling and Bonding

After having an awesome running week last week, this one is not going so well. Sunday, I was supposed to do 10 miles, but it didn't happen. It was hot. My legs were heavy and sore from the 6 miles I did with the Artist on Saturday. I managed 6.65 miles instead.

I took Monday off. My legs and hips were so sore. I knew I needed to give them a day off. I did an upper body workout instead. I didn't do anything heavy, but I definitely felt it the next day. Tuesday, I got up to run. My legs were still really sore, but I forced myself out the door and went for a run. It didn't go well. My shins were burning immediately. My legs would not loosen up. I did around 2 miles, but there was definitely some walking.

Today I'm lifting. Dead lifts and push ups. After school, we have decided that after homework the kids and I will read for 20 minutes and then they have 20 minutes to practice music, do art, read, write, or exercise. The Artist has decided he loves exercising. Yesterday he ran for 10 minutes on the treadmill and did 10 minutes of ab exercises. Today he wants to lift with me. I have to say I love his new interest in fitness. It's great bonding time.

Our schedule has changed this year, and we're going to be home at a reasonable time most evenings. I'm so excited. It's so great that the kids will have more time for fun. I feel like we're starting to find some balance in life.

Just Good

Today was so good.

I got up early to run. It was lightly drizzling and the perfect temperature. It was dark, so I decided to stay on the sidewalks. I ran an random, zig-zagging route around town. I got in almost 3 miles. It felt great and loosened up my legs.

I did a second run later in the morning with my favorite running buddy. The Artist requested a run, and I let him lead me around town. We covered 1.3 miles and ran almost all of it. He is getting fast. Once he develops his stamina, I am going to have to work to catch up. I love that he enjoys running. It's some great bonding time, and he's so proud when we're done. It's so amazing.

It was such a good day.

What's Next?

I am currently in a horrible state of transition. The musical was a great experience, but it was exhausting. I ate terribly. I didn't exercise. I skipped my training plan runs. I barely slept. The stress was high. Now, I'm done with it, and I have a Monday night free. What do I do with myself? I'm a goal-oriented person. I always need to be working toward something.

New goals. I've got my exercise goal. The half is exactly what I need to get back on track. Now I need a creative/writing goal. My super-talented friend and I have been talking about writing a musical together. I think now is the perfect time.

Tonight I just enjoyed having a night off. I made a healthy dinner with veggies that the Artist and I picked up at the farm stand. The Bean is at camp all day, so we get to hang out. The farm stand was today's adventure. He had a good time picking out veggies and promised to try corn on the cob even though he doesn't like corn. It makes a big difference when he is involved in the planning/execution of a meal. He's much more open-minded.

We also went for a run. He's been showing interest in running, and I am thrilled. He is an awesome running buddy. We don't run very far, but we run fast and take walking breaks. We ran over half a mile today, and it was the most fun I have ever had running. We ran uphill first, and he did great on the hills. Then on the way down, he took off, and I watched his joy as he sprinted down the hill. I realized I was holding back and going slow, and I decided to run more like the Artist. I ran faster, swung my arms, and just enjoyed it.

This is what I need. I've been trying to rediscover the love of running that I had before. I just haven't felt it lately. He wants to run, and I am not going to say no to that. I get to spend time with my favorite little guy, and I'm learning to love running again.