Great Mother's Day

Today was absolutely gorgeous all around. I woke up. Ate a quick bit and some coffee and headed out with Casey for a leisurely 4 miler. After than cooked up some cinnamon rolls. Then it was on to decide what we were going to do for mother's day. Maddie decided she wanted to ride in the bike trailer and do some bike riding. So we did what Maddie's little heart desired. I packed a picnic lunch and Kirk loaded up the gear and we were off. We did a nice 5 miler on the Sante Fe trail from Palmer Lake Recreation Area and then got back for Maddie to get in some swing set time. After that, it was picnic time. Once we let our food digest, Maddie got to play some more and then he headed back towards home. We hit up Home Depot and then the grocery store to decide what we were going to make for dinner. After seeing the prices of meat, we settled on hamburger and hotdogs on the grill with a grilled sweet potato. totally yummy. It was such a nice and leisure day. Back to work tomorrow.

Trying to get back on track

I had my eye on a half marathon mid May and getting sick has set me back, among other things. Mainly life gets in the way of training. So now that I'm finally over the crud that knocked me back over 2 weeks, I'm trying to get back on track to see if the half marathon is doable. I've got about 7 weeks so if my body holds up, it will be a iffy. So we'll see.

Tonight's run was an easy 2 miles to limber the joints and legs back up. I'm going to try and take it easy to ramp my mileage up to see where I can get myself up to by May.

Finally on the mend...

It's been 2 weeks since I first came down with this nasty bug. I'm still hacking and coughing, but mainly in the morning. So today I decided I would try and do a little run. Because I didn't want to get stuck on the side of the road if I began to lose a lung or something, I did a quick run on the treadmill. I was able to get a little over 2 miles in. Woo Hoo. It felt so good so run. I forgot how much I love it and NEED it. I did start hacking after about .5 miles, but it quickly subsided and I was able to get into a rhythm although I could really feel the yuckiness that is in my chest.

Today was a beautiful day in Colorado. After getting about 6-8 inches of snow on Friday and it being cold yesterday. Today was pure joy. High of about 64 and little to no wind. We grabbed some turkey wraps at Costco and a bag of chips and decided a picnic at Garden of the Gods was the answer. It was just beautiful. Afterward we hit Starbucks and got a little treat (for Maddie) and some coffee for us. I could totally get used to days like this.

Fighting the crud...

Maddie started with a fever a couple of weeks ago. Hovering around 102. Then she started getting congested and the start of the week resulted in pink eye. Her school called me around 3:30pm yesterday to let me know she was complaining her ear hurt. So hubby took her to the doctor and low and behold she has an ear infection on top of it all.

Combine that with the fact that I'm following in her footsteps and you've got one miserable household. I haven't gotten any workouts in since last Sunday and I feel like a mack-truck has run me over.

I hate hate hate getting sick. So I've got crud in my chest and sinuses and the ever dreaded pink eye. I hope it doesn't get stuck in my ear like poor Maddie.

Is there even an end in sight? Ugggg

When you don't expect it...

I was actually pretty piss poor this weekend and really had no intention on doing anything spectacular workout wise. So yesterday I did nothing and today thought I'd thought I'd try and get a run in, maybe 3-4 miles, but wasn't really committing to it mentally. So after a great day and Maddie in a great mood, I decided I would jump on the treadmill for a short run. It felt good and seemed effortless. So I cranked up the speed a bit and ended up getting in 5 miles. I haven't run that far on a treadmill in quite some time. But I feel so much more energized and refreshed.

Shortly before I got done with the run, Maddie had made her way downstairs so I told her I was almost done and asked her if she wanted to do some weights with me. So I gave her a couple of 2lb. weights and she and I did some bicep curls and tricep exercises. Seeing a 4 year old do weight exercises is too darn cute! She was so proud of herself. I wish I had taken some pics of her. Maybe next time...

Time to watch the Oscars!

Chilly and Refreshing

I took Casey out for a 4 mile run today. As always she did AWESOME!

The temp was 32 and a tad bit breezy. I think it was the first time I wore my wind breaker and didn't wish I hadn't worn it. I think the hardest think about running in the crisp air is just getting out there. I love it once I do though. There's something about the crisp cool/cold air that just makes you feel so alive.

I was hoping to get in 5-6 miles today, but it just wasn't in the cards. Tomorrow I'll do some weights and get on the rower for some cross training.

Maple leaf or a bush?

After I got Maddie down, I decided it was time to get in my workout. Nothing like working out at 9pm. So I turn on the Olympics to give me some motivation to keep going. Speed skating is the sport of the hour and let me say, whoever designed the Canadian speed skating skinsuit, needs a lesson in design. It totally looks like overgrown "bush" growing out between their backside. OMG....are you kidding me?

Any whoo....I got my 3 miles in on the treadmill and then did some arm weights.

Time for a little bite of chocolate before bed.

night...night!

Get it in when you can

Jumped on the treadmill for a quick 1.5 miles whil dinner was cooking. Gotta do what I can when the opportunity presents. After I get maddie down I'll have to get the rest of my workout in.


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Day at home

Day home with a sick kid. This calls for baking. Got Maddie involved in making baked soft pretzels. Yum!





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Breaks Suck!

I haven't run since last Saturday. My foot started throbbing so I decided to take a bit of a break and ease back into a nice slow and short distance run. It's supposed to be high of 20 tomorrow and snowing all day so it looks like a nice treadmill run will be in store. I'm going to try and get in some rowing and weights too. We'll see how it goes and if Maddie will behave herself long enough for me to get in a good workout. Fingers Crossed!

Peppy Run...

Did a quick 3 mile run today with Casey. She's such a great running partner. I rescued her about 8 months ago from a local dog mill rescue group. She's amazing. She doesn't pull or drag and doesn't give a rats ass about what we're running past. She just keeps trodding along.

I ended up going to a local running store to see if they could help with my foot issues. Got some good help and ended up buying a new pair of New Balance. It would appear I've been wearing running shoes about 1/2 size too small. My feet felt good on my run so hopefully the new shoes are the fix.

Tingly Toes?

Today Maddie was sick so I had to stay home. She's been coughing pretty good lately but this morning she woke up with a very low grade fever. Uggg. I think kids in preschool stay sick. I'm just thankful I have a job that's pretty forgiving about me having to call in because she's sick. I was going to take tomorrow off to spend a day with the hubby but that's now been scratched since I had to call in today and I really can't afford to take additional time off.

I had to do my run today on the treadmill. I don't know what to make of the treadmill lately. Back in the day.....I used to train 80% of the time on the treadmill, even doing my speed work on it. Now it seems to be the sword in my side. It seems whenever I run on it, about mile 2 my right foot starts cramping and now today my toes got all tingly, like ants were biting me or something. What the heck is up with that. Maybe it's time to hit the local running store and check out some new shoes. It's really strange though, my feet don't seem to bother me hardly any when I'm running outside, it's pretty limited to the treadmill. Good grief. I'll get this figured out one way or another.

Jello anyone?

Just got my run in. 7.6 miles. Woo Hoo. But boy do my legs feel like jello....and not the set up jello or the jiggler jello...more like the still semi liquid stage jello. Eating my post run snack of Oikos vanilla yogurt, with homemade granola, banana and blueberries. Yum! Coming back in from my run, I passed a guy, also running and....he saluted me. I'm not sure what to make of that. Usually when I pass people we exchange the typical lift your hand and kinda of wave signal thingy....but in return I got a salute. Kinda made me feel good..I must admit, especially since I was getting extremely tired! Time to get the kiddo down for her nap. Until next time...

Is there sleep in my house?

I don't think so! Maddie has always been a good sleeper, but an early riser. She finally got up on her own yesterday, went downstairs, got her milk and turned on the tv all by herself. Pretty impressive except for the fact that it was all before 5am. She then decided it was taking too long for me to get up so about 5:30 she came back upstairs to see what was taking me so long. Ummm...sleep is what is taking me too long. I went downstairs, scoped out her situation and was able to get back upstairs to sleep for about another 45 minutes. This morning consisted of healthy whole wheat oatmeal blueberry muffins (will freeze these for a quick grab and go breakfast during the week). After these were done, we made buttermilk oatmeal pancakes with poached eggs. Maddie of course ate like a champ having a muffin, a pancake and an egg. She's now jumping off the walls with energy. I'm just waiting for my breakfast to digest so I can get my long run in today. My aim today is at least 6 miles and would love it if I feel good enough to get about 7-8 miles. We'll see. It's still quite chilly outside so my run will have to wait a bit longer.

Beginning...

I’ve never been very athletic and I’ve always envied *those people* you see running on the sidewalk. I woke up one day in 2001 and finally decided it was my turn to be *one of those people*. This was one of the most liberating and life changing events of my life. I could barely run 1/4 of a mile when I first started running but built up my endurance over time and have run many races including a half marathon. While training for a marathon a developed a stress fracture. Following my recovery, I got pregnant and after having my daughter, I got out of the swing of things. Now....after a 4 year hiatus, I’m jumping back into the saddle and committing myself to the sport I love. I just hope that life doesn’t get in the way. We’ll see.