Wordless Wednesday: Reminders & On This Day

 

 

 

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Snow Day Somewhat Sick Day

Going to see my doctor tomorrow, but I've been so tired lately. Like run over by a truck tired. I hope it's not the flu, but I don't have a fever. It's not fun feeling tired all day!

Little Man having a blast scooping snow

 

Today was a snow day, so the kids were home which meant no run for me, or so I thought. I discovered that 3 laps up and down and around my street is half a mile. So while watching the kids play, I did laps. I only got to 0.67 though, no thanks to the trash truck who left leaving tracks of black ice on the road. Ugh. So much for my 4 miler today! Nope, I do not have a treadmill and this is one of those days when I wish I had one.

 

The temps were in the teens. I couldn't last out there especially in running shoes, but the boys were loving it. "It's an after Christmas miracle, mom!" I do like it when it snows. We get to stay in after playing outside, have hot chocolate, and just be lazy and cozy in our warm house. Very grateful today.

Tank (8yo) making snow angels

 

Since I've been feeling so blah and low in energy, I did not try to make up for not running by getting on the bike trainer (which I thought about doing). I just decided to rest and hang out with my boys.

I forced myself to do my #plankaday and #wallsit challenges with The Hubs. Took a lot out of me. So I'm hoping this lack of energy is just from my meds and NOT the flu. I'm anxious to find out tomorrow. I cannot afford to get sick right now - not because of Shamrock Marathon training, but because I'm the captain of this ship and I've got boys depending on me.

Yes, ironic, but this is all I've got tonight.

 

Janathon Day 24

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 76.67

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Wordless Wednesday

 

 

Janathon Day 23

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 80

 

 

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Sunday Rest Day

Another short post.

A warm Sunday called for outside play. Scooter rides made me feel 6 again. I am liking spirals in my hair.

I find out why I felt so zapped yesterday. Low, too low BP.

Consoling my 10yo after a NE loss made me think of when he was just 2, crying after a fall. The Hubs is consoled as it falls into perspective.

I am zapped yet again, but I clam-shelled, leg lifted, #wallsit'd and planked with The Hubs. I crave more rest. The End.

 

Janathon Day 20
Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 68

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Long Run, Long Day

Short post. Early 15-miler.  Ran 7 miles with new mother runner friends.  Daisy balloon finish line at Mile 7.  Running IS a gift.  And so are mother runner friends.

 

Ran the last 8 solo.  Glycogen-depleted and zapped at Mile 13.  It's when your legs disappear and all that is left is your heart and you just want to get it done.  When stopping is not an option.  Yes, I am addicted. 

 

 

Came home beat, low in sugar.  If only food can jump in my tummy. Starved. Desperate for sleep. Couch potato for 2 hours.

Renewed after 2 hours and after coffee.  Legs felt great, YAY!  Laundry. Mom's night out, mother runners, wine, race tales, lots of laughter, and a Yankee Swap. 

Happy to see home and The Hubs. 

Midnight #plankaday and #wallsit.  Tired and ready for bed.  Good night.  The end.

 

 

Janathon Day 19
Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 68

 

"...and there is only your heart.."

A much needed date with The Hubs this morning for an early brunch, re-connecting, and falling in love all over again. Very grateful to know that no matter how crazy, stressful, and dizzy days could be, he is always there, my compass, my everything.

Janathon Day 18
Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 53

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Seeking Inner Peace

I chose wisely today. I was feeling worn out, uninspired to run on another dreary, cloudy, cold morning, but I got out there anyway before I had a chance to think about it again. I felt off-balance running, and the inside of my knee was aching. :( It is not fun to have your right leg shorter than your left. I honestly think that's the source of my injuries (note to self: do SI Joint exercises from PT). The other thing that's so wrong with me (LOL) is that my right foot is at an angle, to the right - even though my knee is pointing forward. It's no wonder I run like a duck. Another root cause of all my injuries? Probably.

This quote struck a chord with me: "I don't have a runner's body, but I have a runner's heart - and that is all you need." Jennifer Morris. I also may not run like a runner, but I do have a runner's heart, duck feet and all!

The longer I ran this morning, the less ache I was feeling, so I kept going and felt good about shaking my legs off a bit. I didn't know where to go, so I just followed the sidewalk again and ended up tracing them around my neighborhood.

My treadmill when I don't know where to go, where to run...

I ran by feel, as always, and today I did not want to run fast. I thought about how good and relaxing it felt to slow down. It reminded me about an article I read about running based on how your day/week went/is going - if you're having a stressful day or have had a stressful week, run easy. I've had a stressful week, so it's no wonder my body just wants to chill out on a run.
I didn't get a negative split on this run, but I did finish my 4 miler with that last mile being at a faster pace. I had that happy, satiated feeling at the end of my run. (Note to self: you will never ever regret going out for a run, so just go out and run. Don't think, just run.)

My kids were equally as stressful to me as yesterday. I'm sure being cooped up in the house due to the damp, dreary, cold weather is not helping, and neither is Little Man's interrupted sleep. He woke up again at 3am, then at 5am. I had a cooler head today, so I think the 4-Miler was long enough to give me a little bit more patience, haha! Yup, THIS is why I run, people! LOL.

So did I find my inner peace today? Not until this evening. I am learning and trying to cut myself some slack. I am learning to accept that I will never get everything done and it's ok. I am learning to simplify. I am learning to show love more and focus more on all my boys. I am learning to accept my duck feet.

I capped off the night with some foam roller love (gotta love that kind of hurt), and my #plankaday and #wallsit challenges with The Hubs.

I totally surprised myself by holding the plank up to 3 min. again. I almost died the last time I did 3 min. The Wall Sit challenge was HARD! Burning! Legs burning! I collapsed afterwards, and swore my head off. It's all done, the day is done, and I'm done. Good night, the end!

Janathon Day 17
Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 53

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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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How To Squeeze In A Workout On A Busy Day

So I think I've finally figured out how to squeeze in some workouts into a packed day like today. It does not involve getting up at the crack of dawn to do a 1 hour strength/core workout. Nope. It involves breaking down workouts into manageable chunks throughout the day.
That is what I did on this "No Running" Day, today..

I TRIED to get up at 5:50am today to work out downstairs, but it did not work. I snoozed and snoozed that annoying alarm, and when my body finally gave in, I only managed to get Greg McMillan's 15- Minute Core Workout for Runners, which, by the way, I HIGHLY recommend. It doesn't take up too much time, but it gives you a quality workout specifically designed for runners - check it out!

Once I dropped off Little Man at preschool and picked up some things at the store, I went home, cranked out 3 sets of 26 lunges and then moved on to putting away Christmas decorations. Yes. I STILL have Christmas stuff all over the house.

I have a lot of Christmas decorations.

After putting the container of wreaths away, I started the ITB Rehab Routine that I love so much, clam-shelling my way to ITBS-free runs (oh I wish!) and then went on to put away more Christmas decor.

Yes, it's multi-tasking at its best. I did this, alternated between working out and cleaning until I had to pick up Little Man from preschool. The multi-tasking went from 10:20am - 10:30pm! It's crazy, I know, but I was able to add the Myrtl Routine, a wall-sit challenge, a plank challenge, and this new foam roller workout I just found today called, Foam Roller Moves (which I can see would be a nice workout after a long run - a little TLC for sore running muscles!). Yes all that workout in between cooking, homework, cleaning, playing, baking banana bread, picking up & dropping kids off at bus stop, then after-school activities, and hanging out with the kids.

Foam Roller Moves with Foamie Jr.

I even got to help Little Man with some extra sight words to read. Yes, I'm excited that my preschooler is interested in reading already!

Reading With His Pet Shark

I was exhausted at the end of the day, but managed to pull a plank with The Hubs to end the day.

Good night....The End!

Janathon Day 15

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 46

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Where I run, the pretty parts...

Sometimes you have to run without music to actually see where you're running to and what's around you.

I did just that on my 7-Miler this morning. No music, just me, the sound of my breath and every step. I used to run without music back in 2011 because at the time, listening to music made me run TOO fast for my liking. I couldn't relax in the mile I was in. When I started training for MCM and the miles got longer, music became my companion on those lonely 3-4 hour long runs. Music did help the miles go by faster and less painful.

Running without music today, however, felt relaxing, calm. I didn't feel rushed, and with all the stress I've been feeling the past week, it was a nice change welcome change. My run was easy and slow, and I didn't care. My right leg was acting up again which bothered me, so I took it really easy, taking pics along the way, and to just get the miles in.

So I never knew how scenic it really is, even in the dead of winter, the itty bitty paved trail I run through, until I stopped to take it all in. I wish there are more miles and miles of it.

I hope the views don't ever go away. It just seems like they are building more and more houses here, obliterating views like these.

Hard to tell from the pic, but lots of geese poop on the trail today.

I do live in suburbia, where all the houses look the same, but there are places like the ones I took above that take me away from suburbia, even for just a mile.....I know..such a short stretch of WOW.

I do not like running on sidewalks, but they are a necessary evil running surface in my neighborhood especially on this road.

So there you have it, where I run, the pretty parts, anyways. On my next run, I will take pics and show how cookie-cutter my world really is.

In the meantime, my #plankaday and #wallsit challenges for the day. I honestly cannot imagine holding a plank longer than this, nor doing a plank for 3 minutes ever again. It hurt!

Janathon Day 14
Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 46

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Playoffs, Peanut Butter Protein Bites, & Working Out

Guess Who We're Rooting For...

 

Football playoffs all day and my boys whooping and hollering at the TV, means sneaking in my ITB Rehab Routine and Myrtl Routine between helping Little Man deal with tantrums, breaking up fights, in-between laundry loads, warming up the pizza, and getting the kids to eat dinner. My right leg feels good today, so, very hopeful, and it motivates me to get these routines done however, wherever, and whenever I can. I slept in today, so my routines were spread throughout the day.

I forgot to share this yesterday, this AMAZING, to-die-for, post-run treat that I savored and enjoyed yesterday after my 10-Miler....Peanut Butter Protein Bites.

Peanut Butter Protein Bites

 

It's this heavenly mix of oats, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter, chia seeds, and this one had cranberries instead of dates, and my friend didn't have shredded coconut, but I never noticed nor missed it. Check out the RECIPE and try it after a run. Totally YUM to the tenth power. Easy to make. It was hard NOT to have just one, but each Peanut Butter Protein Bite is 142 calories, so beware the urge to pop in more than 2. I am going to be making these little bites for my long runs.

What is your post-run treat to refuel? Do you have any equally yummy recipes to share? Please do!

Of course the day will not be complete without my #plankaday and #wallsit challenges. I am really digging these 2 challenges, not only because I know they do my marathon-training body good, but I LOVE sharing these pics on Instagram! Yes, I'm on Instagram! Please follow me there! I am @whysheruns on there!

 

Cheesy Fist Bump Elbow Side Planks With The Hubs

 

Janathon Day 13

Moon Joggers Mileage To Date: 39

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