Maybe, Should, Hopefully, Ought to be......

Ugh ugh ugh ugh....

Maybe 2014 will be different. It should be. Hopefully it will be. It ought to be! 

Why can't it be?

Why wouldn't it be?

The only thing standing in my way, in the way of 2014 being different, is ME. 2014 has potential to be very, very different.  I have pretty much taken 2013 off.  It is crazy to say it out loud, I took 2013 off...like I took a long weekend from work or something. I did do a handful of races. I came back and killed the Raven Rock 5 mile trail race (although the 10 mile still kicked my backside in 2012, and I just realized I never gave you a race report on the 5 miler...whoops.). I showed up and did well in the Army DC 10 Miler. I did a color run with LB. It was supposed to be a 5k but it was barely over a mile. I completed a grueling marathon relay with a friend and co-worker, running 8 laps of 1.63 miles, alternating laps with my partner. Can you say OUCH! I was so sore for days! And I barely survived the local Army 10 miler in the heat and humidity of June in the south. So that was 5 races in 12 months. Pathetic. 

So what got into me? Why did I take the year off? 

In doing some self-relfection and self-honesty, all I can say is I was tired. Mentally, physically, emotionally tired.... I was beat up, beat down, just plain beat.  Running didn't do it for me anymore. It didn't clear my head or make life better. It didn't give me peace, it only gave me heartache and longing.  I continue to struggle with lame routes and running partners who are not compatible. No one can match up to my trusty running partners of yesteryear (you know who you are RED, Tall Mom and even at the time ANtheRB). It seems like a lifetime ago I had all the streets in the world at my doorstep with running friends who kept me going. But I know, deep down inside, I have only myself to keep me accountable. I cannot keep placing blame outside of myself. I have to find the dedication, determination, motivation to keep going. 

I felt a bit of the "....tions"(you know, dedication, determination, motivation) this weekend as I happened upon an advertisement for a local trail race, a half marathon and a full marathon. Why not? And my sister-in-law texted to ask me about training plans for a spring half! My heart fluttered a bit as I felt the familiar feeling of someone asking me for running info! It's been a long time! As I thought about a plan for her I started thinking I could do it too! Why not? Why shouldn't I? I should!  Why wouldn't I? I ought to!  

Of course my days are busy, like everyone else's. I've got work schedules and half-time with LB right now....and well a new puppy, but otherwise I've got time. I've got no one to tend to or occupy my time when LB is with his dad. So what exactly is my excuse? 

So here's to motivation, dedication, determination....and a strong will for 2014! Maybe, hopefully I will, I should, I ought to just go ahead and sign up for that trail marathon....and start training too. 

What's on your calendar for 2014? Are you taking the year off? Or will it be your biggest year yet?

And because no post is complete without a picture, here is the newest member of the 5 Mile Family, Ace!!!

What's Under My Tree!?

Wow, here it is, one week to Christmas.  Have you completed your Christmas shopping yet? Or do you feel like this:

Well, never fear....Here are a few things under our tree this year, or coming down the chimney:

1) WiiU Fit and Fitness Meter--Christmas did come early with this one, but Christmas nonetheless....

"Take your fitness routine wherever you go with the Wii U Fit Meter! The Fit Meter is a convenient portable accessory for use with the Wii Fit U, designed to measure the number of steps you take an the mount of calories you burn in a day!"

Now I am seriously technologically impaired but this was easy to set up. I did it all, on my own, with a little help from LB. And to top it off he is able to navigate and control it too!

This is not just a video game system, it is a fitness game that actually keeps track of your fitness and calories burned!

I'm not sure if this is good or bad, but LB's Wii Fit Age is 25 (his real life age is 8). It measured his balance and strength and showed where he could use improvement. He then is able to play games that help improve his balance and strength!

Please excuse the underoos....is that bad? They might as well be shorts, really....I promise, I DO NOT play in my underoos, although I could if I wanted! It's all part of the benefits of working out at home!

Now we have never been a gaming family. Mater of fact I HATE video games. I have seen firsthand the damage they do to families and kids. Many of my clients have serious issues with video game use in their families. Spouses come home and zone out, totally ignoring the family for hours and hours. Kids zone out, playing nothing but games all evening, even sneaking up to play in the night time. Grades fall and relationships suffer.  So needless to say I don't usually advocate for video games and game systems. But as you can see, with this and #2 on my list, I am slowly integrating games into the family. But I assure you, if the play gets out of hand, grades drop and responsibilities wane the games go bye bye. The Wii Fit U is somewhat different, however. The games are interactive and require movement and motion. They are not VIOLENT games and they actually make LB tired so he does put it down and walk away.  Eventually.

*I will give a further, more detailed review of this game system soon. 

2) 5th generation iPod Touch. 

With LB going between two households it has become more and more important for him to be able to communicate with both parents at his own convenience, whenever he wants. While the iPod touch is not a phone, when connected to the internet he can use FaceTime, text, and he has his own email. We can control all this by controlling his contact list and email list. He can surf the internet, which we can also put parental controls on, watch youtube, which does scare me a little bit, and play Minecaft, My Singing Monsters, and other stupid games. He can take his own pictures (I'm scared to see some of them) without clogging up my own camera roll. And it can also be taken away if he needs to be motivated to study his spelling words a bit more.

3) Can you say Legos!? Specifically Ninjago! 

While my feet disagree, you can never have too many Legos!

4) PUPPY PUPPY PUPPY!!

This is the newest addition to the 5 Mile Family! Meet Ace!! We got to meet him over Thanksgiving and he has been in Doggy Training since October. He will be heading from OK to NC with us and we are super excited! Lazy Dog has no idea what is about to happen!

While I am super excited for Ace to come home, I have to say that pets are not simply Christmas presents. They are a serious commitment. They require time and attention and 100% commitment for a lifetime. I know so many people take on the responsibility of a pet and when the chewing and potty training become too much these guys end up at the pound. I encourage and recommend taking the time, effort and money to have your new pet trained, this will ensure he is ready to join your family and the whole family will be happy. If you are looking for a German Shepherd check out my friend at Red Rock K9,  and his Facebook page HERE.  He breeds and trains German Shepherds and does an AMAZING job!

So there you have it, our short but very BIG Christmas list.  What's under your tree this year??

Coming clean...

I have a shameful confession....

My feet are soft. 

I know! How could this be?

I know exactly how it could be. In the last year I have logged no more than 10 miles per week, and that is pushing it, up until about a month ago. I decided I was sick and tired of not being able to run when I want, hindered by work schedules and mom responsibilities. I can't leave LB home alone at 6 AM, gotta get him ready for school and the bus. I can't leave him home alone at 8:30 at night....what if I get hit by a car or fall in a hole (that's totally realistic, it's happened before)? I just can't do that but those are the times that the urge strikes. My legs get antsy and I feel like doing something. So I decided to search Craigslist for a treadmill. Within seconds of pulling it up I found one, the first one on the list actually. I looked at it, it was nice, brand new, and the price was right. I called the number and within the hour I had a brand new treadmill sitting in my garage!

Since that day I have made it my routine to get on the treadmill at 9 o'clock PM nearly every single day. I don't run really though. I have a little bit but mostly I set the incline to no less than 4 but usually on 7, and walk at 3.9 mph for 60-90 min while watching any and everything I can on my iPad.

So here are my newest guilty TV pleasures found on Amazon, Netflix, and ABC.com (I don't have cable TV):

• Grey's Anatomy
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Extreme Weight Loss (I wish I could marry Chris Powell.)
• The Colony

So I just walk, on an incline, and sweat and watch shows. It is great!  Except my feet are soft. I have blisters on my second toes and the inside of my heels.....All my hard work and training over the years created nice, strong calluses that protected my feet...but now with so much time off and such little mileage they are gone. And my feet hurt.

Either way I'll keep going...and next weekend I'll put my incline walking to the test when I head out for the Raven Rock Rumble 5 Miler. I tried this one last year (the 10 mile option), one week after nearly dying with the flu. Needless to say I took a wrong turn, on purpose, that sent me through the finish line 7.5 miles early. I quit. So Raven Rock and I have history....I'm not gonna quit this year.  

DC Army 10 Miler....

I did it.

I wasn't sure how it would turn out, or even if I would get out of bed come race morning. Sarah and I both were on the fence about the actual race....going to DC, a weekend out of town....no brainer, that was happening.  Getting up and running 10 miles? Questionable.

We packed only the essentials and headed to DC Friday after work.

We hung out Saturday, hit up the expo, and tried to make it to some hot yoga. Somehow we ended up at the wrong yoga studio...go figure. No hot yoga for us. Our train malfunctioned and we were stranded underground for a while, with a stench of burning oil and grossness. We made the best of it and Sarah kept looking at the positive side, we were on an underground tour of DC. Score!

We met up with the Crazies, our local running group, at the first Organic restaurant in the country, Nora's. The food was good, at lease mine was, but the service was awful. After two hours and a headache Sarah had to split our bill, between 8 of us, and figure in the taxes because the restaurant couldn't do it.  After dinner Sarah and I wandered the streets for a while, looking for something/someplace we could find some breakfast food. We found nothing....

We gave up and headed to our hotel. We discussed the game plan, prepared our race piles, and went to sleep with a 50/50 chance that we would actually get up and make it to the starting line.

I slept well without the pressure of a PR on my mind. I didn't even have concerns of a PW....I knew if I ran it would be a PW. I haven't run 10 miles since June. I haven't run more than 4 miles since June. I have been slacking. I knew it would not be pretty. In fact I knew it would be painful and ugly.

My alarm went off at 6:15. Sarah's did too. I woke and checked my phone to find a middle-of-the-night "Have a great run!" text which helped too. "People" were expecting me to run....We looked at each other and both said, "So? You wanna run?" We both nodded and rolled out of bed. Why not? We came all this way, went through so much trouble to register....I brought a cute running outfit...priorities people!  We headed out the door towards the race at 7:15 for the 8 AM race start. My wave was to go at 8:15 but I wanted to stay with Sarah and the 8:30 wave. We were in this together.

As we approached the start it was a cluster of humans! We all were herding together trying to fit through a tiny security check point. I appreciate the security but it was kind of a joke. When we finally got up to the check we just put our arms up and walked on through. The man who checked me pointed at my Spibelt and looked in the total opposite direction and wasn't even looking at the other 30 people who waddled by with their arms in the air. Security? Nope. They may have noticed if I tried to come through with a bazooka but short of that I have no idea what they were looking for. 

We made it to our corral and huddled together. It was cold! We finally heard our cannon to get us on our way. It was really crowded, Rock'n Roll crowded. Sarah and I ran along with a nice pace and just enjoyed the atmosphere. About a mile in my legs were feeling really good and I wanted to see how long they would last. My run/walk plan wasn't feeling so good, my legs wanted to go. So Sarah gave me her blessing and I slowly lost her in the crowd. 

I had no music. I wanted to just run and not bother with it. I'm so glad I did. The crowd was great! It really reminded me of my first marathon, OKC Memorial Marathon, where everyone there had been affected by the Oklahoma City bombing in one way or another. This was the Army 10 Miler, there were t-shirts memorializing loved ones, in honor of, KIA,  mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends.... so many people were running for something, someone. So many lives who have been affected by war. It was overwhelming. So many people. As I looked around me I wondered about every single person. What was their story? What are they running for? WHO are they running for? What is my story? Why was I here? 

My story began to play out in my head. Mine is one that is not unique to me. So many have experienced what I have. And so many have had more and different experiences. So many struggle with not only the visible wounds but also the invisible wounds of war. So many people! So many struggle day to day....and here I was, I almost didn't get out of bed to run this race. I almost rolled over and went back to sleep. I almost missed this opportunity....

Sarah and I both had similar thoughts and feelings about this race and we both were so happy we decided to get up and run. Being surrounded by so many people who seemed to have a commonality beyond a love for running was a really cool experience, one I am grateful for. 

This was certainly not a PR race, nor was it intended to be. I had zero expectations other than to finish. But once I was out there on the course old habits took over. My legs started moving and my mind started wandering. The miles rolled by and before I knew it I was at mile 9. This is where I was overwhelmed with so many emotions, so many I can't even begin to put them all down. I had a lump in my throat and my heart was exploding. My eyes were blurring and I wished my dad could have been there....

Me and Sarah after the race!

I picked up some new Zensah calf sleeves at the expo. They were awesome! I love my compression socks but they sometimes make my feet hot...problem solved with these compression sleeves!

Our finishers coin was really cool....but I do prefer medals...I can't hang a coin on my medal rack....

Bye Bye Summer...

....noooooo!

It's no secret I love summer. It's my favorite season. I mean cutoff shorts, sunshine, the beach, the smell of coconut, water and sand! What's not to love? While I say that summer is my favorite this past summer may have to go down as my lamest summer yet. Sure, I had some fun times, did some cool things, went to the beach....but it left me longing for more. More what? So let's just get on with it already....head into Fall, then Winter, then Spring....and that will bring us back to Summer!

Yesterday was the first day of Fall.  Insert sarcastic tone of voice here: Yay. I brought in Fall by going to the local county fair.  Highlights of the fair include:

A ginormous  human floatie:

I ridiculous trampoline contraption:

 And a helicopter ride!

Other than that is was your usual, normal county fair. I didn't eat a fried snickers...too bad. But I did gnaw on a turkey leg and after handing it to LB for a bite I had a weird visual of me and LB as cave people. I thought about how much better shape I'd be in if I had a carnivorous, or slightly omnivourous diet, truly Paleo, and how much simpler life would be as a cave person...then I remembered the Croods....Daaaan dann daaaaaaaaaan!

Saturday I had hoped to check out a brand new State Park that has opened up just minutes from my house but those plans fell through. I did do a drive-by on my way to yoga and the park looks really nice. Hopefully I'll get out there sometime this week to make my way around the .75 of a mile trail a time or two. Or three. With the Army 10 Miler in DC quickly approaching I need to hit the road more than I have been. I also got a message from a friend about the horrible 10 mile trail race I did attempted last November, the one I  DNF'd with a friend after having the flu. I'm not sure if I'm up for a rematch of the 10 mile option but I may go for the 5 miler.  On the other hand I'm just not sure if I care...Ugh.

So what are you most excited about with Fall here? And don't say the Spiced Pumpkin Latte....that is the easy answer.

The Dreaded Workout Weight Gain....

...you know, just like the Marathon Training Weight Gain, or the 70.3 Weight Gain. What's up with that? Seriously! Ok, ok...I know what's up with it, but still, it's punch-me-in-the-face annoying. Unlike when I was in full marathon training mode, in my current weights/yoga/fitness mode I'm not starving to death. I'm not finding myself constantly hungry and fueling for the long runs. I'm eating right with only a little bit of occasional splurging. Yet my scale is inching up....and my pants are inching down! So it's that number on the scale, the one that always creeps in and says "Not good enough!" "That's too high!" 

Well that number ruled my life for far too long. It feels good to look at it and know it's just a number. It doesn't really mean anything if I'm healthy, exercising and eating right (and my clothes are starting to fall off). So why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to keep that number down? Sure, I guess it's a good starting point but really what matters to me is fitness, the way I feel, the way my body feels (ie not squishy). Speaking of squishy, I was looking through a a book I got after I had LB. It is titled The Body Sculpting Bible and explains free-weight exercises and gives a 4 week workout routine (that I did and repeated a number of times). In the back of the book was a sticky note where I had done the math to calculate my BMI. WHOA! Can you say "Yikes!" Since having LB I have lost 26 pounds and about 19% body fat. Holy Moly! Yeah, sure that was 8 years ago but still...thinking back to that time and how I felt about myself was pretty rough. On the other hand I felt good looking at how far I had come and how I had came back, reclaimed myself, my body. And didn't just allow myself to stay there. I'm not done yet though. After all fitness is not a done and done deal, its a lifelong effort...

So a few exciting things happened over the weekend! I have been honing my soccer skills! I'm not good at soccer really, ok to be fair I never tried it, ever. But LB, his dad and I hit the soccer complex to practice some individual skills. I discovered I have some talent after all, or more like I have coordination, therefor I can connect my foot to the ball. Either way it was fun! And a good workout.

No, I didn't play in my bare feet...although that would have been fun. This was on the way to the car...



It is now Fall Soccer Season. This is LB's 5th season with the Stars and he is actually starting to catch on!

I also discovered that I am getting way, WAY stronger. In my Hot Yoga class I was able to do the side planks with less wobble! I even did the side plank with my top leg lifted and out in front and grabbed it! WHAT? Yeah, like below...that obviously is not me BTW.

My new membership at the NEW, close-by YMCA is working out great! My side of town has been lacking in any and all things convenient for the past 10 years (I haven't lived her the entire time but it didn't change much while I was out in the PNW). Recently things have begun to change! We now have a Starbucks! Hallelujah! A frozen yogurt store will be opening soon! A Pet Smart opened! A Japanese Sushi and Steakhouse will be opening soon! And the most amazing new thing is the YMCA! I joined as soon as I could and I have been going about 3-4 times a week! It is so nice to be able to hit up the gym without going 20-30 minutes out of my way! Convenience is worth 57 Million dollars. For real.

So with summer coming to a close my depression is in full swing. The summer was plagued with loads and inches and inches of rain. It wasn't the best summer weather-wise. But the beautiful fall weather has hit and I am embracing the change of the season. I'm ready.....I think.

FWOS...

First Week Of School.

Ugh and Yippee at the same time! I'm so confused! I remember hating and loving the return of school as a kid. Summer is amazing and fun and sunny and warm and awesome. School is...well, school. As a parent my feelings have not changed. As a parent who likes to run and exercise I LOVE back to school! It frees up morning time to get my sweat on. With the bus coming at 6:51 AM though I have no choice but to get up and get around. This gives me time to work out before heading to work 4 days out of the week! But then there is the whole getting up in time to get LB to the bus by 6:51, which is stupid early I think.

The first week of school is always kind of a mess. Schedules are wonky and things are weird. But I plan to hit the new YMCA close to my house at least 3 or 4 days out of the school week. I'm ready to get into a routine but I am not ready to give up summer! I mean how can you not love this:

Flying LB!

Ah yes...the benefit of having a swimmer for a kid...I get to kick back and enjoy the show.

I think this weekend I will have one last beach trip for the summer. This makes me really sad but alas, it is coming time for fall, which isn't so bad either. 

Slickity Slacker....

Yup. That's me. A huge working out slacking slack ball....

Actually, truth be told, I'm kinda ok with my slackiness lately. I've been eating healthy (minus Wednesday when I ate my weight in chocolate, I have NO idea what was up with that, but it was delicious and I am NOT sorry) and staying active, just not my normal 5 Mile Style active of running and biking and swimming and yoga and kettle bells and jumping rope. I've been doing more sporadic runs, spontaneous yoga, random swims, and lots of trampoline jumping and acrobatics, lots of tug of war with doggies, races around the yard with LB, walks in the neighborhood, and kayaking. This kind of active is nice. It's not traditional workouts but it is exercise and my body is responding quite well to it. For so long I kept my body in a state of starvation mode, I think, where every thing I ate was stored to be kept as energy later on. So I remained on a plateau about 10 pounds heavier than I am now. And for me it's not about weight anyway though. It's more about health and living an active lifestyle, which is what I feel I am doing. And when you do that the benefits follow....

I have found myself missing my long runs lately though. The farthest I've ran in months is 5 miles. The heat and humidity pretty much murder you as soon as you walk out the door. It's hard to breath and it feels like your lungs are filling up with cotton. It's gross and horrible and awful....Any outside activity that does not involve water sounds pretty much like the stupidest idea in the world to me right now. But, back to missing the long runs....I have been missing them. I'm ready to build my endurance and base back up and get out for some long runs in the fall.

I've decided to finally join the YMCA now that they have opened a branch near my house. I'm excited to get back into a routine of going to the gym but I also want to make sure I keep it mixed up and don't find myself back on that stupid plateau where y body adjusts to the same ole, same ole. I want to keep my balance of running, lifting, exercise and just being active and healthy. I don't want my life to be ruled by training plans and routines. I lived that way for a long time and it served it's purpose at the time. Now I prefer spontaneity when it comes to working out....

Kayaking and swimming....

Swimming and Diving Board Fun.....

Running around with these two beasts.....

BEACH!!!!

So my philosophy this summer has been simple: Get outside and play. Who wants to sit around the house when there is so much fun to be had??? Even if it is hot and humid..... Here are some ideas of fun things to do if you are in need of ideas:

Play in the sprinkler...with friends preferably. 

Jump on the trampoline....

Play Lazer Tag with 10 eight year old boys....or maybe not, that was kinda tough.....

Shoot a bow and arrow and hunt rabbits that get in your garden.....

Get out and enjoy what is left of summer...soon it will be cold and dark and gross....

What have you been doing to stay active? Give me some more ideas for these Dog Days of Summer!