Holy Tootie~~~ I did it!!!!! 6 miles!

You want me to do what? 6 miles!!!

Today on my training was 6 miles. I will let that sink in for a moment.......6...miles! It was too windy outside today, for my wimpy self. Especially since I would be running alone. I decided to get back on the treadmill. I had bought some new fuel, so that I can start experimenting. Especially since I never know what my stomach will take exception to. I bought Gatorade G2 perform to help keep me from losing too many electrolytes, and a Razz Clif shot.

I mixed the G2 powder into 2 bottles of water. I don't always drink a lot of water, but I was going to try to stay hydrated this time. I also tried to drink lots of water throughout the day.  I ended up drinking about 1 and 1/2 bottles. It was pretty good, didn't have quite the flavor of gatorade that I dislike. It was just fruity. Little bit of an aftertaste. My fingers swelled up during the run. I had to take off my rings. Not sure if I was drinking too much or too little. Maybe some of you experienced runners can help me out?

After about mile 4 I took half of the Clif shot. Rasberryish. yumm. Tasted pretty good, but you have got to have something to wash it down with! If I hadn't been able to get a drink, I think my mouth would have tasted like a desert. Good news? My stomach had no problems with either the Gatorade or the Clif shot. I shouldn't have any bathroom emergencies using these.

At mile 5 I took what was left of the Gel shot. I was pretty impressed with myself at this point. I hit 5 miles slower than with the group run, but faster than the last time I did 4.5 with Eric. I was texting my friend Billie Jo. She was so encouraging, and I don't think she realized how much her encouragement helped!

6 miles in 84:50!! 

The pic is blurry because I was trying to walk and take the pic at the same time. I didn't want to just stop, so I was trying to cool down. I did intervals the entire time. Walk 1 minute, and run 2 minutes. The whole time. It didn't get really difficult until after the 75 minute mark. I wanted to just walk the rest of the way, but I wanted to surpass my goal of finishing in under 1 hour and 30 minutes. I did it! I finished it in 84:50!! I now feel more like a runner, because you don't call someone who does that a walker. I am no longer going to feel guilty about calling myself a runner.

I also have to say that I am one of the luckiest women on the planet. I have some wonderful children. I gave Kylah and Ashleigh a few instructions, and they made dinner. Shepherds pie, and it was awesome. They helped take care of the babies while I was gone too. Eric was supervising, but the girls did the dinner on their own. They only had to call me once. I am so thankful to have such a supportive and helpful family! I would never be able to meet my goal if they weren't here supporting me the whole way!

My wonderful children! In the purple is Kylah (the oldest), holding Erika (the baby) is Elisabethe (middle teen), Holding Amos ( only boy) is Ashleigh ( youngest teen)

Resolution post.....Finally

I know it is already the 14th. A few days from my 34th birthday. I haven't even made a cursory list for the resolutions of this year. Granted I will always have the "lose weight" resolution that I have had since the birth of my 14 year old.  Not once have I seen my prepregnancy weight. I would love to see that magical number on the scale, just once before I die. Ok, so here is my list now:

1. Lose weight. Obviously. What is the magic number? 120 is like a dream, but I would be satisfied with 135. 
2. Become more organized. Something I have been working on with the help of Pintrest. Again, not the most original resolution.
3. Finish the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon. How is that for specific? I am excited about this one. 
4. Potty train Amos before he turns 4. I'm trying to be realistic here, since he screams when I ask him to sit on the potty. He will be 3 in May and I don't foresee a lot of improvement between now and then. 
5. To do a really good job of being an activity day leader at my church. I'd really like to teach those girls lots of good stuff!
6. Become a Zumba Instructor. I am going to do this, but I am hoping to be successful enough at it to continue past the 6 month point. Eric says that if I'm not breaking even, I shouldn't continue after that point. 

So, That is my list. I am planning on going back at the end of the year, and seeing how many I have successfully completed. Ok, maybe sometime in January next year, because let's face it, I'm always late!

Now onto running. That's what you are here for right? I did run to day, but not with my running group. I did 3 miles on the treadmill at my dad's house. I finished in 41:16. I'm pretty pleased with that. I am doing 6 miles tomorrow. Planning on running around town. I plan to think of Sherry, the runner that was murdered near Montana. The life she lived was cut short, by men that have no right to still be breathing. There are no words that could describe this scum that took away a mother, wife, sister, cousin, daughter, and teacher from her family. It has made me more aware. Our situations are similar. She was in a small town, where she knew lots of people, she ran regularly and had a few different routes she liked to take. I have come to realize, that it doesn't matter that I live in a small town and know most of the people here. Bad things can and do happen. I plan on getting some mace, and definitely being much more aware of my surroundings. I will no longer tune out  with both headphones in. I will pay more attention. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, and I beg all my running friends to please, be safe.

Overcoming Laziness

Must remember this one!

I'm lazy. I try really hard not to be. Nothing sounds better to me most of the time than clean sheets and a nap where nobody is bothering me. Yesterday, I defied my inner sloth, and went to my dad's house to run on the treadmill. I had decided I would do 1 hour and see how far I could go. If you have read my other posts, you will notice that last Sunday, I ran 4.5 miles in 1 hour and 10 min. Well.........I finished my 4 miles last night in 56 min and 20 seconds. I think I could have completed 5 miles before the 1 hour 10 min mark. But I said 1 hour and I didn't want to keel over from a heart attack. I needed to walk a little to cool down.

For some reason, my shins were hurting around mile 1 this time. I kept going though. I'm nothing if not determined! I started feeling like I was getting blisters on the balls of my feet. Still, kept going. I even tried to speed up more than normal. I think I actually run slower on the treadmill, than outside. It was cold though, and I'm a wuss. I know all my northern friends would scoff that I think the 20's is cold. Hey, I'm in Oklahoma! The winter storms catch us by surprise every year! We cancel school for a few inches because the plows can't keep up. And if you think you are going to stock up last minute on anything when a storm is coming at walmart, you better be prepared to throw some elbows.


When I was finished I sat down and talked to Dad for just a bit. Then I stretched, and talked some more. Where do you think I get my talkativeness from? We can talk to a fence post and get someone to talk back! I am planning to get 3 miles maybe 4 again in tomorrow. Some in today if I can fit it in. And Dum Dum Dum, 6 on Sunday!! Eek. I can't run with my fellow Half Fast people in the Runner's World Tulsa group. I think I need them! :) If you ever have a chance to train with these people, do it. They are awesome, and encouraging. Especially if you have no idea what you are doing. They have all the info!! I may post twice today, we shall see!!!

me and my dad

Hope everyone has a wonderful Friday the 13th!

Forrest Gump, I am not.

I want to be a runner, that does not mean that I am good at it. It also doesn't mean that I enjoy it so much all the time. It is more the idea I have that one day I will be good at it, and enjoy it. I do enjoy getting away from the kids sometimes (That is said with the utmost amount of love). Really though, sometimes you have to get away before you go crazy.

I missed my group run yesterday with Runner's World Tulsa. My wonderful Husband said that he would run with me, but didn't see the point in driving that far to run. So yesterday slipped by rather quickly and we didn't get out and run. So I told him today that I have to run today whether he went with me or not. He said he would go with me. After last time we ran together, I was worried. He ran me into the ground. So, I anticipated having to keep up with him. Today was his turn to have a bad run though. He had a tough time. I am so thankful that he went with me though. He did 2.25 miles with me outside.

You are jealous, I know. I couldn't get a normal pic of him. Only the Elvis lip silly pic. 

So, I really wanted to stop when he did. We went by my dad's house. He was done. I went and used the treadmill. I ended up running a total of 4.5 miles in 1:10. Not as good as usual, but I felt good.

From the dreadmill portion of my run.

I told Eric, the entire time I am running, I am doing little checks. "Can I breathe, Is my heart racing too fast, am I hurting anywhere, etc.? " I actually felt pretty good. No major pains, and I could breathe fine. I was just tired. I decided not to go the full 5 miles. I should have. Honestly though, I'm ecstatic that I didn't stop at 2.25, because I really wanted to.

I'll be missing the group run next Saturday, and will have to do another Sunday run. Hopefully, I can come up with a good route - one that doesn't go too close to home!

On a different note, I have to post this pic of my husband and son. Amos loves to be thrown high into the air. This pic, I think is a great demonstration of movement. Amos is always on the move. I am thankful that I have my husband here to play with him. He is such a great dad!

Ignore the lack of pants on Amos' part, he's going through a pantsless phase!

Two bad runs- tomorrow better be good!

Well, Monday I ran on the treadmill. I only did 2 miles. It is all I had time for. Today the babies had been cranky all day. I didn't want to run this evening, but my wonderful husband said he would go with me. So we started out. I could tell from the beginning it would be a terrible run. I was out of breath, my shins hurt and I was irritated. All in all horrible run, but I was out there. I can be proud of that. On Monday I ran 2 miles in 30 minutes, and today we finished 2.4 miles in 32:20, with an average pace of 13:29 min/mile. We will see what tomorrow brings.