Saturday, December 22, 2012

Winter Training

I LOVE LOVE running in the winter. That's why I always enjoy running the Cleveland Marathon, because I get to train in the cold. I feel that it is easy to keep warm in the cold weather, than it is to stay cool in the hot weather. The one downfall about the cold is that I can 't run with my girls in the stroller. But I can always run with my original running partner. Rain or shine. Snow or sleet. She's always up for a run:





















Thanks for the 3 miler the other day Buffy!


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Run.Train.Blog

It's official! I have been accepted to blog for the Cleveland Marathon. I'm so excited about this experience! Why follow me on twitter? Why read my blog?

To give you a little insight I began running long distances in 2006. My first race was the Cleveland 1/2 Marathon with the time of 2:08. Later that year I ran my 1st Full Marathon in Chicago with the time of 4:49. I've ran about ten 1/2 marathons and three Full marathons. My PR's are 1:53 for a 1/2 & 4:11 for a Full. With all this running you'd think I'd be condition to run a 1/2 tomorrow - which is far from the case.

I just had a baby in August and am feel as though I'm starting running from scratch again. I get winded running a mile and wonder "How the heck did I ever ran 26.2 or 13.1 miles?" I'm really excited to get back into training to lose my last 20 pounds of pregnancy weight.

So if you are running to lose weight, are a busy parent, just began the crazy hobby of long-distance running, or are ever bored at work just read my blog. Relate to me. Laugh with me. Empathize with me. Train with me. And Run with me at the 2013 Rite Aid Cleveland Half Marathon.

Happy training! :0)

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

looking up to

I have a sister who is three years older than me and I always looked up to her. And still do at the age of 32. She's super mom that does it all and never complains. So when does it start?

At three months of age. That's when siblings become in awe of their older sibling. Natalie's eyes light up when she sees her big sister. She follows her around with her eyes all around the room. She gives her sissy more smiles and laughs than she does me - and I'm mama! But I guess I'm not as cool as her big 2 yr. old sister. :D

I pray the two of them have the greatest friendship! I pray that they call each other weekly. I pray that they never feel jealousy or envy of each other but to be truly happy for one another. I pray that they never feel anger or hatred towards another - only true delight.


I also pray that they find good hobbies as they grow older. Hobbies that can keep them closer together. Like scrapbooking keeps my sister and me close. I hope that scrapbooking, some type of book club, or better yet - running - keep them close together!

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Did I bite off more than I can chew?

I think I might have. And it took me today to realize it when I cried over a Business Finance problem that I couldn't solve in the past two days. My two-year-old Katie came up to me and said "It's okay Mama! Don't be sad." Then it dawned on me that I might have bit off more than I can chew.

Then again, I did start working again this week so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I can't stay up past midnight working on my homework anymore since I need to wake up at 5:45 a.m. With school, work, the kids, the holidays, and finals coming up I feel that I've outdone myself.

Something has to give and unfortunately it has been my house and working out. I feel from looking on the outside my house looks beautiful. But I have this dirty little secret of chaos inside. Dust piled to the ceiling, food caked onto the kitchen floor, spoiled food in the refrigerator, toys covering our family room floor.

Then there's me; I jumped on the scale and saw that I still didn't break the 150s. Why am I stuck here? Why is it so much harder to get a run in with 2 children? I don't remember it being this hard losing the pregnancy weight with Katie. What's going on here? I hate the fact that I wear yoga pants most days of the week. I'm getting depressed. I need to start focusing on me.

And I can finally say I hate school! I hate the fact that I never went to school when I was in my early twenties. I hate that I do homework when I feel that I should be doing a fun art project with Katie. I can't wait for this semester to be over with so I can live my life. I can't wait to get my diploma in August. I can't wait to start feeling good about myself!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Going From 26.2 to Zero to 13.1

Just a little over a year ago I was conditioned to run 26.2 miles in 4 hours and 11 mins. Today it's hard for me to even run 3 miles non-stop. I need to get back into shape; I need to get back into running - I miss it! I see joggers all the time running and I want to join them. Running is therapeutic to me. With classes coming to an end I can concentrate more on running and get into training for the Cleveland 1/2 marathon. My goal? Under 2 hours like I did back in 2011. If I didn't plan on running the Cleveland 1/2 marathon then I probably wouldn't get back into running. Which would mean that I wouldn't be getting back into shape - so here's to the 20 lbs I need to lose.

You See Babies?

Last night we picked Katie (our two-year-old) and Natalie (our 3m old) up from my mother-in-law's house from going out to dinner with my best friend from San Francisco and her husband. While we were putting her jacket on she was watching the t.v. And a St. Jude's Research Hospital came on with Jennifer Aniston and two oncology patients that were probably near 7 years old. Katie was watching it and said "You see the babies?"

I began to cry. My husband also choked up replied with "You're right Katie! Those are somebody's babies."

The innocence of children! I pray for those "babies" on t.v. and all the other "babies" going through chemo. Never again will I look at an oncology patient the same regardless of their age. I will look at them through the eyes of a two-year-old and a father's wonderful reply of them being someone's baby.