Stormy Weather Outside, Inside

No matter what kind of weather Mother Nature throws at me, I still go out there and run. Rain, snow, ice (yes, ice), sleet, wind, heat, humidity, hurricane (weather during MCM)....but I do draw the line when it comes to tornadoes and lightning storms. I do not have a treadmill at home, nor am I a member of a gym. As long as I dress for the weather, I'm good.

Today, however, it was HARD to get out there for a run. Damp, cold, drizzly morning. The kind that makes you want to just stay in bed under the warm blanket. I thought about skipping today's run - it's ONLY 3 miles - junk miles I can afford not to do...right? But before I could think about it again, I was lacing up an old pair of Kinvaras and ran out the door.

The drizzly rain wasn't so bad as long as you have a brimmed hat. I decided to run to my Wednesday Workout class again, so I did a warm-up jog, added a few so I got a mile and half jog, and then went to class.

Class was a lot of fun. I don't know why I stopped going during MCM training. We did some plyometrics, a lot of lunges, squats, jumping, lots of planks, pushups, dips, hand weights, and some circuit training. I was happy at the end and really felt like I got a good sweat off of the workout. I skipped the ab workout because I hate crunches with a passion (I prefer to do planks), so I set off for home and got another 1.5 miles in (easy, cool down jog) for the 3 miles I'm suppose to do today (btw, negative split, baby!)

My morning jog-workout-jog combo left me feeling very centered, relaxed, and ready to tackle the rest of the day. Or so I thought.....

Little Man woke up twice last night. Yes, twice. One at 5am, the next at 6am. Not sure if he ever went back to sleep after I walked him back to his room. Well, he was one cranky, whiny boy today. Something I didn't have much patience for. To make the day even more challenging, my two older boys decided to push Little Man's buttons - all afternoon! So lots of crying, yelling, and fighting. I normally would have a little bit more patience, but I didn't get much sleep last night, and The Hubs was working late.

I wanted to be rescued and I so wanted to run away. Sigh. Note to self: get more sleep for more patience! I put everybody, me included, on time-out, which means everyone goes off do their own thing, no talking. We needed a break from each other! So I went to the dining room, got productive, and put away the Christmas decor from that room. I know. I'm STILL not done! But another room down, 2 more rooms to go (living room and family room).

Dining Room Ornaments

I was so relieved when The Hubs came home earlier than expected. Hurray! I'm saved! As a team, The Hubs and I fed the boys and got them all in bed by 8:30am! It was awesome! Before collapsing on my bed, I managed to get enough energy to do the #plankaday and #wallsit challenges. The Hubs did the plank with me. 

NOW I'm ready to call it a day. Good night!

Janathon Day 16

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 49

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Running: My Refresh Button

It was one of those stay-at-home mom days when you feel utterly stretched out thin that you feel paralyzed. The Christmas decorations are still up, toys are scattered everywhere, dishes in the sink, clean clothes piled up as high as the dirty clothes..

So I decided to take a day off. While Little Man was in preschool, I just sat on the couch reading. I realized it was the longest time I've sat down in awhile where I'm not eating a meal. It gave me a much needed pause.

The two and a half hours went by fast, though, and next thing I knew, I was on my way to pick up Little Man. The day dragged for me and a lot of it was due to the dreary weather. It's a Friday, after all, and I was ready to call it a week! I couldn't shake off the cloud over me, especially when I had things to do (groceries, cleaning, oh what to have for dinner!), but I didn't want to do them!

 

As Little Man played, I got sucked back into the couch with my laptop. I stumbled into my Daily Mile 2012 year in review and was surprised at how many miles I ran last year! I nearly doubled last year's total mileage! At the same time, I couldn't believe how close I was to 1,000! So close! It gave me the determination to reach 1,000 this year.

A few clouds lifted as I got excited about 1,000 miles.

Then came this pleasant surprise in the mail! My running club's 2013 calendar!

It brought back so many wonderful memories from last year. We virtually trained together for marathons, ultramarathons, half marathons, and every distance in between. We met up for races, encouraged each other, cried, whined, sympathized, and celebrated each other. The calendar lifted more clouds. (Btw, check out the butterfly girl on the front cover! Ahem....yup, that's me!)

Once again, on my "No Running" Day, I get the doldrums and I am lifted up from it by thoughts of running. Yes, I'm THAT addicted to running, I guess. It's my drug. It makes me happy. When my life at home starts to feel overwhelming, I want to run, but not to run away from it all. I run until I hit that refresh button somewhere in my body so that I come home a refreshed mom, a stronger mom, who can't wait to tackle another week and be with her boys.

Tomorrow is my long run. And I can't wait!!!

 

P.S. I did squeeze in a little workout while I caught up with a friend on the phone (ITB Rehab Routine) and while my boys took showers (Myrtl Routine). Of course the night has to be capped by #plankaday and #wallsit challenges. Good night and thanks for following!

 

Janathon Day 11

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 29

Plank A Day: 2:17.2

Wall Sit: 2:25.1

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A Sandwich Type of Workout and A Wordy Wednesday Rant

A 3-mile run with a 30-minute workout in the middle was not enough to carry me through this day. I don't like to dwell too much on the not-so-great stuff here, so let's just say that this momma could use a long run to hit that refresh button. Patience. I need more patience with these 3 boys. If only long runs could come in a pill form so all I have to do is pop one in my mouth. Ok, end of rant.

 

Pre-frustrations, I had a GREAT run/workout today! My training schedule called for only 3 miles today. I was all set to just go and run after preschool drop-off when a friend asked if I was going to exercise class. This exercise class is a free class offered by a friend at her church.

 

Yes, you heard that right...FREE. No strings attached. A group of stay-at-home moms attend this class and we are allowed to bring our kids. So the only thing is that kids are free to roam, run, and crawl around the gym while the moms work out - plyometrics, ab workout, cardio, etc. It can be challenging sometimes to make sure you're not kicking a toddler in his/her face when you do kick-boxing, BUT it's a great class. The kids are great, there are toys for them to play with, and the gym is big enough that it never feels too crowded. My friend, who teaches it, is also a runner, so she knows what we need. I've been going for almost 3 years now, but had to stop once MCM training last year got really heavy.

 

Anyways, I decided to go since I only have 3 miles to do today, so I ran to class (0.6 miles), worked out for 30 minutes (lunges, squats, planks, cardio, plyometrics), left early so I can run the last 2.4 miles and got back home just in time to shower, dress, and pick up Little Man from preschool. It's crazy - I have just 2 hours - yup, 2 hours to run/exercise/shower while Little Man's in preschool. I can't complain, really...better than no "me time" at all, right?

 

So this run I did, I was really excited about because I got a negative split! I usually run by feel and never really look at pace or try to hit a specific pace range, but when I get back home to upload my run data, I'm happy when I see I got a negative split. I don't feel 100% back to my old self yet pre-sickness, but I ran it at a comfortably hard pace for me - 10 min/mile - which is a notch below my 5K race pace, but I was happy to get a good hard workout, a change of pace.

 

Daily Mile post with my splits HERE.

 

I'm sitting on the floor typing this and I have yet to do my timed plank. I did a whole set of planks in class, but I want a timed plank. Waiting for The Hubs and I'm growing tired. Thinking about running my 4 miles tomorrow easy or doing some fartleks along the way. Not sure.

 

Ok, time to plank.

 

 

Janathon Day 9

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 25

Plank A Day: 2:42.3

Wall Sit: 1:38.9

 

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No Run Days and Some Math Love

No Run Days. Rest days to me are just "no run days." Today was a "no run" day. I REALLY wanted to get on my bike, but then realized I hadn't set up my bike computer thingy that I got from Christmas that tells you distance, pace, time, etc. I had zero time to figure out how to set it up so I just opted to do Coach Jay Johnson's Myrtl Routine.

 

 

If you're not familiar with the Myrtle Routine, it's this strengthening exercise routine that works out your hip girdle area and gives you a wide range of motion in that area. The routine is great for those with tight hip flexors, like me, and recently, I heard it's great for those who suffer ITBS. Instead of doing 5 reps, I did 25-30, because this momma clearly has no time to do anything else and all I had on this crazy busy day was 30 minutes. I know, such is my life most days.

 

 

I did manage to squeeze in Plank A Day and Wall Sit Challenges, and a few yoga poses to stretch out some tight areas. I was hoping for more yoga today though, but will try another day. Planks on my hands/straight arms are not as easy as I thought. I couldn't hold it as long as the planks I do on my forearms.

 

Some Math Love. Ok, proud momma moment here. My preschooler, Little Man, has declared his love for math today. I'm not talking counting to 10. No. More like addition and subtraction problems - 3+3, 5-2. He totally gets it. Instead of doing his preschool homework of coloring these pages and practicing his scissor cutting skills, he would rather do addition and subtraction problems. The boy could not get enough of math problems. So I HAD to document this moment, so that when he decides to give me excuses for not wanting to do his math homework in high school, I can remind him about this moment of math love....

 

Janathon Day 8

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 22

Plank A Day: 2:05.8

Wall Sit: 1:29.7

 

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Clam-Shelling Fool

With the Play Offs on TV all day and today being my "rest day," I did my ITB Rehab Routine while watching the Redskins play a good first half. (Off-Topic Side Note: it's now the 4th quarter with 45 seconds left, and I'm no football expert, but the Redskins should've taken RGIII out of the game earlier with that knee injury. Oh and why they must replay a play that shows body parts bending in unnatural ways is beyond me. I'd hate to be RGIII's mom. Ok, end of long off-topic side note).

Clam-Shelling Fool. And yes, my Christmas tree is STILL up.

I clam-shelled during the first quarter of the game. This busy mom chose to sleep in this morning instead of doing my ITB Rehab Routine. So while my boys yelled at the TV, I clam-shelled,

Pistol Squatting Fool, I am!

 

.....I pistol squatted..........

 

 

Side-Step Shuffling Fool

 

......and I side-step shuffled my way across the family room. I am hoping to not have a repeat of what happened to me during training for Marine Corps Marathon last year - ITBS. I am very determined to be injury free for Shamrock Marathon. Now that my knees feel better from yesterday's long run, I am actually looking forward to my 7 miles tomorrow. This will also be the first time I will have 4 running days a week. Last year, I ran just 3 days/week and I'm not sure if that was enough. We'll see how the 4 days/week will go.

Day 6 of Janathon

Moon Joggers Mile Count To Date: 15

Plank A Day Challenge Day 6: 1:39.4

 

 

 

 

 

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