Things

Things I Hate About Running:

1. Getting up early
2. Running alone
3. Seeing wild animals
4. Hills
5. Running

Things I Love About Running:

1. Getting up early
2. Running alone
3. Seeing wild animals
4. Hills
5. Running

Not for the easily offended

Dear God,

I was just wondering what's up with all this humidity at 6 am. Wait, wait, wait, just hear me out before You go getting all righteous and stuff. It hard enough to make myself get out of bed at 5 am when my children are sleeping until almost 8 but then I go outside and I can't breathe because the air is so thick. If it's going to be that humid shouldn't it be, I don't know - RAINING?? Have You tired running 5 miles in this mess? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know about the whole cross thing and You had to carry it and then You died and came back to life and all that. But did You carry it 5 miles in the humidity at 6 freaking am?? And why do You always bring up the cross thing every single time I have a gripe? Seriously?? Is that all you have on me? Not that I yell at my children or roll my eyes behind my husband's back or gossip about my friends? Whatever. I'm just saying - quit with the humidity, please.

-Me

PS - One more thing - Forgive me for being such a sucky blogger. You know I am more of a verbal story teller.

No, the running did not kill me

But I think my children may. My son's last day of school was last Wednesday and all he and his little sister have done is fight and argue. Would it kill them to just get along for ONE DAY?!?! I am beginning to think year-round school is not such a bad idea. Between the kids and the drama (oh, the drama, it is good and I will get it to later) I haven't had much time to sit down and write.

The running - The running is going well. Week 2 was okay and week 3 was great. Something happened in week 3 and suddenly I had endurance that lasted past mile 3. I ran 6.2 miles on Sunday in 63 minutes! I have to constantly remind myself that I am on a 20 week program and if I run 12 minute miles in week 2 or 3 it will be okay. I'm not new to running. I have run off and on most of my adult life but I was always doing it for the wrong reasons. I read somewhere recently that it was important to think about your motivation for running and if your only reason was to lose weight you would stop running. That is exactly why I have run "off and on". I would do it to lose weight and when I reached my goal weight I would slack off and eventually stop. This time is different. I'm not doing it to lose weight this time. Not that I am thrilled with my current weight but I know that will continued running coupled with eating well the weight will come off. I have come to realize that running is a lifestyle. It takes work to do it and do it well.

The drama - Oh man, this could almost be a post in and of itself. Where do I start?
Okay, when my son started school two years ago I met a group of moms that had a standing play date every Friday. I got to know a couple of them and they invited me to join them for playgroup. We went a lot last year but this year it just hasn't happened for a variety of reasons the main one being the play had just become too rough and there is, in my opinion, a general lack of supervision on the part of three of the moms. About two weeks ago one of the moms (Mom A) sent out an email asking who wanted to still get together over the summer. (Last year this same mom just about had a nervous breakdown {seriously, she did} because we didn't get together enough for her and she just couldn't understand how we could all be stay-at-home moms and not have time to see each other. Um, it's called summer vacation. People have things to do and want to spend time with their children that are in school the rest of the year.) Three of us declined and said we felt the play had gotten too rough and that we just didn't want to continue coming to playgroup. I never mentioned that I thought they weren't watching their children because I was trying to be honest but not bitchy. As it turns out I should have just chosen bitchy. The reaction from Mom A and Mom B was just crazy. Mom A once again decided to have a nervous breakdown, crying to anyone who would listen, saying she felt lied to because we just stopped showing up and she had no idea that we felt this way and Mom B sends an email out to the whole group - not just the three of us - insinuating we were lying about the reasons we weren't coming back and how it was offensive that we would call their children rough. She went on to say how they hardly ever told the boys to put down the sticks or keep their hands to themselves. HELLO?!? THAT'S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!! You aren't paying attention and your children are playing too rough!! Don't you get it?? And Mom C, well I don't really know her take on the situation but her kids are the worst of the lot. The whole thing turned into something bigger than it ever should have. I let Mom B get the last word in with that email. It was hard to do but I did because when all is said and done my son really didn't like to play with their children and I prefer the company of the other moms more. So I win. HA.

Week one wrap up

I was really pleased with my first week of training. On Saturday I ran 5.2 miles - without stopping to walk (YAY ME!!). It took me about 55 minutes and I know that is slow but I also know that it was 72 degrees and the humidity was about 90%. I started out a bit slow because I knew I had to pace myself to make it to the end. I didn't want to walk. (For some reason I have this "thing" against walking. I just feel like a loser if I have to stop and walk.) That is typical for me. I tend to start slow and finish strong. I logged a total of 13 miles last week. My eating went fairly well. I had a few slip-ups but all-in-all I stuck to my nutrition plan. I am really looking forward to seeing this through and running the race in October.

A day late...

I wanted to write yesterday but it just didn't happen. I ran four miles in the morning. The humidity just about killed me. I felt like I couldn't breathe and that to me is worse than running in heat. The first half of the run I felt slow and my legs felt heavy but the second half was better. I have eaten well this week. (I didn't want to but I did.) My next run will be Saturday morning when I do five miles. Two days off - whoo hooo!!

On another note - My son came in the kitchen as I was cooking dinner last night and said "What's that smell?" which means one of two things: A. It smells awful and I am not eating it or B. It smells good and I will try it. (I generally assume answer A.) I told him I was making Sloppy Joes. He started wafting the steam from the pan to his face and said "That is the best smell ever! Do they make an air freshener that smells like that?" Yes, son, it hangs on the shelf right between Mac & Cheese and Hot dog.

Plain Jane

We recently purchased Disney Princess sheets for my 4 year old daughter's bed and as I was putting her to bed last night I pointed out to her that she looked like the picture of Cinderella on her pillowcase.

Me: You have blonde hair and blue eyes and pink lips - just like Cinderella!

Her: No, my lips are not pink.

Me: Uh, yes they are...

Her: No, they are not.

Me: Well, what color are they.

Her: Plain.

Me: What about my lips? Look at them. They are pink just like yours.

Her: No Mom. Your lips are plain.

Me: What about your skin? What color is it? White, peach, ivory?

Her: No, I am plain.


Yeah, good luck finding the bubble for "Plain" when you start filling out college applications. (I wonder anyone offers scholarships for being "Plain"? I need to check into that.)

In the beginning...

there was a mom. She wanted to run a half-marathon. Why? Because she has lost her mind.


So, this is my blog... (I know, I know, I'm about 4 years too late to jump on the blog bandwagon but I need a place to hold my self accountable for what I am eating and how much I am running. So shut-up or go away.) I have 20 weeks until the half-marathon. My goal is to run it in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. I think that is doable. I have a great training program and a nutritional plan in place also. I just have to stick to it. Today I got up at 4:30 am and did speed training. I ran 4 - 800's. (That's 2 miles in theory. Because I don't have a track to run on I just take my mile time and divide it in half and run as hard as I can for that amount of time.) I've eaten great today but it's still early.

Over the next couple of days I will be updating and adding links to the blogs I read. I may even add pictures. Who knows?

One more thing - don't be all surprised and stuff if I write about my children. Even though they are fairly annoying they can also be quite funny at times. I may even write about my friends for the same reason.