I'm Still Standing

I am not a fast runner.  Nor do I run particularly far.  I like to run 3 miles during my workouts but sometimes I run 4 and sometimes I run 2, since starting working and with my knee injury sometimes I just walk 2 miles.  One morning I just walked the 1/2 mile loop around the block and came home because I didn't have a lot of time but I wanted to get my blood pumping before I started the day.

Over the past year or 2 you have read on this blog the workout adventures of Iceman, Goose and I.  Goose was a busy over achiever placing high on triathlon ratings and running 10 mile races in impressive times.  Iceman was distracted with babies but in her heyday regularly ran 5 miles and finished a 10K several minutes in front of me a few years ago.  They both train hard and deserve the accolades of success that go with their hard work.

BUT,

I am still standing.  Still running.  Still moving my body.  I may go through ups and downs.  More or less training, occasional weeks of neglect.  BUT, I keep getting up, keep starting over, keep moving forward.

BECAUSE,

I know I have won the race simply by walking out my front door and not by how much I accomplish once I leave. 

And now I find myself making the guilt call to Iceman in the morning to make sure she is returning to her workouts post baby number 5 and wondering if Goose's friend H, or Viper as we like to call her, is still taunting her with workout success.

I am sure eventually they will both pull themselves together and blow past me once again but you have to admit there is something to this slow and steady thing.

That's all I have to say about that.

The 10K that almost was

It wasn't mean to be.  My 10K run.  It wasn't meant to be.  I enthusiastically started training in January and was even still looking pretty good through Febrary.  Then something went wrong, I forget what now, probably the weather, and I just sort of lost my enthusiasm for the task.  However, up to 3 weeks before the planned run I still intended to do it.  Then 2 weeks before the run I started to waiver but I was feeling a little guilty.  After all I stated my goal an made Iceman put the counter on this blog and all. 

Mom and Dad to the rescue!  I was flown out at the last minute to Florida where my parents winter to drive my mom home because my dad hurt his back and couldn't make the drive.  So while hundreds of other winter weary runners in Minnesota braved what I am sure was horrible weather for the sake of the first spring run, I was on a lonely road somewhere in Illinois speeding toward home with my mom and daughter in tow.

I did have one wonderful run in paradise and then me knee hurt so bad I abandoned running the rest of the trip.  Knee pain frustration can be a future post. 

Just thought I would share.
Maverick Out.

That was a little unsettling

This weekend I had an opportunity to help our boy scout troop raise money for camp scholarships by working at shift at the "brat wagon".  We sold burgers, brats and dogs from a cart outside a local grocery store. I had the early shift this morning starting at 10am and ending just as the lunch rush started.  It was nice to help out the troop.  I ended up manning the grill warming up the pre-cooked meat.  I found the experience a little unsettling.

Who is buying a brat at 10am?  Well, fat people.  Until a little before noon when normal lunch time begins we did not have a single normal weight person purchase food.  A few bought 2 meals, a burger and a brat which comes with 2 bags of chips and 2 cans of pop.  One guy rolled up in the grocery stores automatic cart because he could barely walk and said he needed to finish his cigarette before he could order!  I kept wondering if any of these people had ever seen the "Biggest Looser".  I felt like I was watching a scene from one of the contestants "life before" videos.

This past week I read something in Family Circle Magazine where they guy asks what a couple eating chili cheese fries, a couple eating deep friend calamari and a mom eating an extra large deep dish pizza have in common?  They all told the doctor, "I can't control what my kids eat."  Funny, sad, true.  I can't help but ask myself some days if I am not the reason my daughter won't eat anything.  I mean I do eat lots of veggies and I love healthy food but I would be lying if I claimed I didn't introduce more than my share of unhealthy food into her diet and enjoy those foods myself.  It was definitely a little unsettling.

Since I was feeling so unsettled after the brat wagon I went into the grocery store and bought lots of veggies, went home and made a salad (of course I heated up chicken nuggets for Isabelle.  Try not to judge me.)  Then I went to the gym to work out.  Turns out the other thing unsettling is my food when I work out in the afternoon.  I guess I should go back to pre-meal work outs.

Just thought I would share.

Learning to train

I have been working away here training for my 10K.  And then again, not so much.  But I  haven't given up!  The 8 week training plan I am going to follow just started this week so although I haven't pulled it out yet I am hardly behind at this point.  I have learned a couple things in the past couple weeks about my personal fitness.

Number One:

It turns out the longer I walk before I start running the longer I can run before my knee hurts.  So doing a 2 minute power walk and then cranking up the speed on the treadmill means I cannot run for 30 minutes but walking for 5 minutes or more before cranking up the speed means I am just starting to feel a little soreness 3 miles later.  In other words I need to park really far from the starting line and get in a good walking warm up.

Could be a life lesson in this.  Don't rush in to things too quickly.  There is some saying about walking before you run.  I always thought it had to do with kids learning to walk but who knows.  Maybe the real lesson is simply to know your body.

Number Two:

I could run at 5.5 miles per hour on the treadmill ALL DAY LONG.  I don't even have to engage my brain in the task.  I could just go and go and go forever.  Yet somehow I feel compelled to run at 6 miles an hour because I think that is where I am supposed to run.  I mean I can run quite a while at 6.0 but I have to concentrate so much harder.

After discussing it with my husband we decided that 5.5 is my optimum zone 3 fat burn speed.  It is the perfect place where I am not going so fast I am only burning sugar but not so slow I am doing nothing.  My perfect all day long mid point.  For the longer runs this is where you want to train your body to hang out.  Not sure that 6.2 miles is considered a long run by most people but it is long to me.
So I have no idea what that means for my training but I thought I would share.  I would love it if 6.0 was my optimal fat burn zone but apparently you don't get there by only running at 6.0 or higher which is what I had been doing all of last year.  I think I need to mix it up a little more.

I think I am going for the ultra simple 10K training plan which is really below my skill level but he next up is going to require more work of me than I really have the time to give it.  The point of doing a 10K at the beginning of the good weather season was to motivate me to get back into shape early and be able to really enjoy my running all summer long instead of spending the summer getting my running up to par only to have school and cold weather hit when I am at the top of my game.  And I think the simple plan will accomplish that just fine.  Well maybe it will be a hybrid training plan between the two since I am already half way through the novice training plan.  Either way, I am getting there.

Hello, Old Friend

Well, the time has come, again, to dust off the old workout paraphernalia. The baby is starting to sleep through the night, I'm not feeling so newly postpartum, and my gym membership is needing some attention.

So this morning was the morning. Ipod charged, shoes located, workout bras - oh, they still need replaced - but use-able. Gloria woke me up about 5:30am and after I fed her and got her back to sleep, I made a beeline for those workout clothes and ultimately, the gym.

Here's a few things that occurred to me during my inaugural 5th child workout.

1. I love to workout. Let me rephrase that, I love to workout to my tunes. Boy, get a little Janet Jackson running through my veins or plug me into some New World Son and I feel like I have lightning bolts shooting out of my fingertips. Seriously. You know in the movie Flashdance where she's starts running in place as the music starts blaring? That's ME! (You know, not as graceful or perfect-of-body) Especially this morning, when I haven't listened to my play list in almost a year. It's audible caffeine.

2. I think "moderation in all things" is such a wise way to live life. But when it comes to working-out, it's just not me. I walked into that gym this morning reminding myself that I had already accomplished my goal of just getting there. And that an easy 20 min. on an elliptical would be more than enough. Just to find myself, 35 min. later, talking myself off that thing.

3. I miss my expensive gym membership. Can I say that? I won't be going back. It was a wise fiscal decision. And this new "discount" gym is completely adequate. Actually more than adequate. It's even closer and I get to park closer than the fancy place. But this morning I missed the sleek locker rooms, the smell of chlorine in the air, the pulse of the aerobic class music that I was, one day, going to try out... My new gym will do just fine.

The best of all was feeling so accomplished and ready for my day so that when I see this sight, I'm ready for my day.

Outdoor Running

This weather really makes me aware that running season is almost upon us. I am getting ready!


It is almost 50 today in MN. That is pretty crazy for February but we aren't complaining. The cold will return. It is only February.


I ran my neighborhood today. It was great in so many ways but hard in others. My knee hurt more than usual from all the hills and uneven pavement. That frustrates me. My mind felt alive.

As I ran I started making a few lists:


Here is what I love about being able to run outside in my neighborhood:

1. It is right out my front door.  No driving. 
2. If I go on a 30 minute run I will be home in 30 minutes not 45 or 60.
3. I love getting to know my neighborhood.  I know the cracks in the road, what houses are for sale, who is remodeling.  I watch the changes happen.  When I drive through my neighborhood I am not just passing through but I am on roads I feel like I really know and have a connection to.
4. Sometimes I run into friends.

Here is what I do not like about running in my neighborhood:

1. It is hilly.
2. Traffic.
3. The sidewalks are crooked so I am running at an angle half the time.
4. Knowing that I cannot decide to quit 2 miles from home, I must keep going. I like to have an out.

Here is what I like about treadmill running:

1. It is flat, unless I don't want it to be.
2. Climate control.
3. Childcare
4. constant speed.
5. instant statistics
6. control.

Here is what I hate about treadmill running at the Gym:

1. It is boring.
2. constant speed.
3. instant statistics
4. The feeling that I am a rat in a cage.
5. Going nowhere.
6. All the distractions.  My mind can never settle on a thought.

I am wondering if this is the year I need to start driving to some better outdoor running locations. There are a couple lovely 2 mile loops just a mile or two from our home. Both do have a couple hills but also have some nice flat even stretches as well. One is actually so close I have run to it, around it and back. Or do I venture even further to one of the nice flat beautiful former railroad bed bike paths where I could run for miles and miles with little incline. I have often wanted to jump off my bike and go for a run on them, maybe this year I will.

Forgetfulness and Frozen Parfaits

I am 36 years old and I had something happen to me that has never happened before.

I forgot to eat.

What's that, you say! Forgot to eat?! I do that all the time!

Well I don't. Oh, there have been times in my life where I have chosen not to eat. There's been times where I push it off. But I don't forget. I've always been keenly aware of my hunger. I can tell when it comes in waves, ebbing and flowing. I am acutely aware of it getting stronger and more demanding. It has always been a conscious choice and effort to skip breakfast, or wait till I got home to eat even though I would be "starving".

But the other day my 5 children and I had homeschool co-op. It's always crazy getting out the door and I hadn't had time to eat. But I made myself a Greek Yogurt Parfait that I thought I would eat in the car. Well in the car I decided that I would wait to eat until I got there because, lets face it, eating a parfait while driving is a little tricky and I didn't have that far to go.

So we get to co-op and I get immersed in handing out Valentines, stopping children from crying during devotions, nursing babies and finally giving up and taking everyone to the nursery. Then the nursery starts to fill up with Moms and babies and I'm chatting away... Then my friend Mary walks in about a half hour before lunch, munching on a sandwich and this wave a realization hits me! One - I have a, now probably frozen, parfait in the car, and two - I am REALLY hungry.

So I guess there are new experiences to be had, even at the ripe old age of 36.

Oh, and the parfait was only partially frozen and was quite yummy.

Iceman Out