11 Miles!

I remember in high school gym class they made us do a mile run around the track. I remember running half the track and walking the next 3 1/2 laps. I thought running was stupid and who would ever want to do that.
Fast forward to present day. Sunday I got together with a few friends for an early morning run on the Great Western Trail. I have never actually run that trail before. I hate running alone and a friend wanted to run it so sure. I was thinking I would attempt 9 miles again at a nice 10:30 pace. R told me she wanted 11 miles. I said well lets do the 9 out and back and if I'm still up for more we can circle the final 2. Something in my body told me to do more. I felt great. I ended up pushing R to finish her 11 running instead of walking. I had a runners high when I finished and for the rest of the day. That was what I needed. I needed to not struggle on a run. And I needed to not be in complete pain when done on a long run.
So what do you do after you run 11miles? I go get coffee and a snack with friends of course. You need to sit for a few and just take in the accomplishment of running. I love our local Arcedium coffee shop. Great coffee and tasty snacks for sure.
I came home and did my normal Sunday routine of laundry and cleaning up the house. I also threw in a little yard work. Monday morning I did my cross training at the gym. I was shocked I made it through the whole workout without being super sore. Tuesday I decided was rest day. I know I should run 3 days a week but sometimes it's hard. I'm trying to cross train to prevent injury. I'm hoping I'm playing the game a little smarter.

Recap on the past week

 Where to start. I feel like some weeks just get away from you. I did my normal gym workouts Monday and Wednesday. Friday I did my pilates, which is great core work. Tuesday I did an early run with my friend. 5:30 is early for me but I enjoy the time. This run was great. I let her tell me what pace she wanted and I didn't try to push any faster. I needed a nice shake out run after the 9 mile soreness the weekend before. We did just over 3 miles. I am hoping to add this into my weekly schedule whenever the husband is home.

 

See there we are after the run. All smiles is the best way to end. We also got to enjoy the sunrise.

Saturday I met the 7:00 am Dick Pond runners and went out for 6 miles with another friend. I always say I want to stick right around a 10:30 pace to not over do it.

So yeah we went a little fast. It felt good though. I know I couldn't do this pace for more that 6 miles though. I forgot to take a picture of us after this run. We were wearing t-shirts and capris/shorts. A bit different for the apparel worn on Tuesdays run.

I had to skip the normal coffee after our run Saturday so I could go to the first soccer game of the season. After the hour I was burnt. I forget you need sunscreen in April. When we got home we worked on our landscaping ripping out plants. Then starting at 9am Sunday morning I went back outside and worked on my landscaping all day. I went to bed at 8:30 last night. My body was a little burnt and totally exhausted. I feel accomplished for sure.

There's a picture of part of the landscaping I'm weeding and ripping plants out of.

Typical day of this mom.

  I have always wanted to be a mom. I remember talking about having kids when I was in high school. I don't think anyone thinks about what involves having kids. I am lucky enough to stay home with my children. I also never realized how much work being a stay at home mom is.

 My day usually starts between 6:30 and 7 if I'm lucky or don't do an early run. I get ready. I give the baby a bottle and help get s the 2 older boys ready. We are downstairs by 7:30 at the latest. We eat and feed the dogs and the boys are playing by 8:00. I try to start laundry or vacuum or both before we leave the house by 8:30. I hit the gym and shower. Then we stop by a store for groceries and by home for lunch by 12:00. Kids go down for nap between 12:30-1:00. During nap I eat and try to get a few more things done around the house. I also sit and decompress for a few minutes. When the kids get up I feed the baby and we hang out for a bit before school pickup for the oldest. Between school pickup and bed time is always a little crazy. We have a number of things the kids are in; cub scouts, soccer, religious ed, german school, baseball. So we do homework and eat dinner and run to whatever is on the schedule. Bedtime is around 7 for the boys. Once they are in bed I try to sit on the couch and do nothing until about 9 when I go to bed. Yes I said 9. Some nights I'll make it until 10. Having kids is tiring but I love it. 

 Nobody every told me this job was easy. Actually nobody really told me anything about being a mom. I saw other moms around me. Once I became one myself I had a whole new respect for the word mother. The faces make it worth it every day.

Beer Run #1

So for over a year I have been talking about how it would be nice to have some fun runs or "beer runs" in the area. A little over a month ago my friend tells me we should plan one. So that was where it started. We threw around several locations. The first place I contacted emailed me back once and then I never heard from them again. Luckily the second place (Tap House Grille) got right back to me. We set up a Facebook event and worked on telling people in our local running group. S created the route while I worked out details with Tap House. Less than a week before the event we had a mix up on their specials. Luckily that all worked out. Day of the event it was about 40 degrees and raining. I started getting nervous that no one would show. I worked hard to plan this and was hoping for a decent turn out so we could plan more.
 Well people showed and ran in he rain! Yay! I of course was sore from my 9 mile run Saturday and was in no state to run. I gave out maps and stayed behind with keys. S lead the group on the run. They came back and we all ordered beers and food. Tap House was so kind and gracious. They even supplied our table with chips and salsa, quesadillas, and cheese curds. I would host another run here anytime.

 So everything actually turned out great despite the weather and a few hiccups along the way. I figure that's normal for me. I am not in the works of planning beer run #2 with the help of S.

Long Run with friends

The only reason to get up early on a Saturday morning besides kids is to run with friends. My training plan told me I needed 8 miles today. The farthest I've ever run is 7. 8 is a big deal for me. Of course I have an awesome running buddy that was all up for running early since she needed 9. I wanted to keep a nice 10:30 pace. We started out on the run (3 of us) with a temp of 24 with wind. We kept a good 10ish pace for a while.
 Side note: What I have learned is one fast runner with a slow runner is fine. You throw another fast runner in the mix and they make you speed up.
Anyway, we get to the 4 mile mark and decide why not do another 1/2 mile to get to the 9. Turn around and start running back on the trail. I should say there was 2 wood bridges we walked since they were covered in snow. I prefer not to kill myself while running. Surprisingly everything felt good until the last 1.5 miles. I got tight. Somehow my legs started feeling like I was carrying an extra 200 pounds. I struggled but made it. 9 miles! I'm still in disbelief a little that I did it. I now feel like I can run a 1/2 marathon and survive.
 My body now is tired and weird stiffness so I will be stretching an foam rolling the rest of the day. But I ran 9 miles!

Things I have learned

I feel like I recite the serenity prayer daily in my head. I have learned to accept how things are sometimes.
 This week my body has been sore and felt run down so I have not run. I need to run 8 miles for my long run this weekend. I did just get word I can run with friends. I am not a solo runner. I go to fast and my body pays for it later. I love to have company while running. So 8 miles early Saturday morning will go a lot faster. Yay!
 I have been co-planning a beer run for our run group for over a month. I love planning things. I think everything is coming together. We had a miscommunication hiccup with the manager of the bar. It worked about. So now all we have is the weather. Here comes the serenity prayer again. Sunday is the run and it's predicted cold and rain. I'm sure we will have fun either way. I am just hoping we still get a decent turn out. I would love to keep planning running events in the area.
 I will make sure to get some fun pictures to post after Sunday.

A little about me

 I am a runner of just over 4 years. I am also a mother to 3 boys and 2 dogs. I have a great friend that convinced me I could start running. I finally gave in when living in California. Who wouldn't run in the beautiful weather out there. I started running 1 mile a day. I got frustrated quickly. I wanted to go farther but my body said no. So I started over with a walk to 5k program. I then signed up for a race. I ended up coming first in my age group. I should tell you that it was a very small race but I'm still proud of myself. I then decided I could do a 10k so again did a couch to 10k program. While training for a race I hurt my achilles. I was off running for 10 weeks 6 of which were in a boot. My oldest ran the kids race while I held back tears standing on the sideline in the boot. I slowly got back to running and managed to train and run a 10k.
 Since then we have moved to Illinois where the weather isn't as forgiving. I did run through the winter while pregnant with our third son. Maybe the extra weight kept me warm. I of course took a few weeks off after having him.
 I am now back at it again. I had IT issues over the past winter and sickness. I am finally healthy and back to training for my first half marathon.
 Training while having 3 kids and a husband that travels is a challenge for sure. I am lucky to belong to a gym that has child care. I try to use the gym for cross training. I love running outside and try to stay away from the treadmill.
 My oldest has picked up the running bug. Last year he ran a kids marathon and did all the training runs. He's only 6 so I make sure he's having fun with it.