Wordless Wednesday....some added motivation...and a prayer...

Can't wait for this to arrive!! I decided to splurge. I'm a numbers "gal" and I have a need to know!

Looking forward to this as well...

And I got a couple of these too.....

And on a much more serious note....my thoughts and prayers are with the students and families of CHS.

Supplements - finding what works.

I am not a pill taker.  Yes - I take Advil (now that I've started running more than I ever have) and your occasional Tylenol - but there is something about a multivitamin that just doesn't work for me.

I general believe that if eat a healthy diet - you get the vitamins you need each day.  I also fully understand that most days - I don't eat as healthy as I should and therefore I am sure I am lacking in areas.

I do a lot of research on supplements and how good they are for your body.  I buy them  - and in my cabinet and or refrigerator they sit.  At least - until they expire and I throw them out. 

I'll be 43 in a couple of months and my body is definately starting to remind me of that on a regular basis.  My muscles don't hurt me after a long run nearly as much as my joints do! 

There's a ton of stuff out there on the internet telling me what I should take - and in the end - it amounts to a LOT of pills each day.  I have no valid reason for why I can't / don't take these.  I have a "pill box", I know they aren't bad for me and yet....swallowing those suckers just doesn't appeal to me.  The thought of it shuts me right down.

I'm going to get better.  I'm going to experiment with this and try and keep it as simple as possible.

Here's my plan....

1.  Multivitamin  (problem is most multis are 2 a day.  I never get 2 a day in!)
2.  Fish oil (I've actually found an orange flavored liquid supplement.  If it isn't expired - I'm gonna start taking this)
3.  Calcium - I'm going to try and drink one full glass of milk a day.  I don't generally do this - I usually have it in my coffee and that's it.  I know one glass won't fulfull my daily requirement but it's a start.
4.  Glucosamine.  Here's where it goes down hill.  The bottle I have is expired so I need to buy more.  These pills are ginormous and I'm trying to avoid a situation where I buy them and end up throwing them out again.  Because my joints ache - I'm thinking this will help.  Are there alternatives?  Suggestions anyone?

Do you take vitamins or supplements of any kind?  How do you stick with it?  How do you figure out what works and what doesn't?

My work from home plan - are these jeans too tight?

Working from home two days a week is a perk of my job that I - quite frankly - am not sure I could live without.

It affords me the opportunity to save on gas, time, spend more time with my kids and run outside 2 extra days.  So...I am in no way complaining about this gift bestowed upon me by my employer.

It does - however, personally challenge me some days.  I have instant access to my refridgerator  and I am in either my running clothes, PJs or some other amazingly comfortable apparel.  Not an easy recipe for self control. 

Today I got "snowed in". Yup  - 4 inches of snow has snowed me in!  Apparently a major road on my commute is closed due to a ton of accidents so I am stuck working from home. 

Friday is "weigh in" day for me and my girlfriend.  It's the home stretch and home - with my fridge - is the last place I want to be.  I'd rather be in my office sitting in meetings all day.

My survival strategy?  I'm putting on those jeans that haven't "fit" me in years.  I certainly can't wear them in public, and I'm not certain how comfortable I'll be sitting down - but they will serve as a constant reminder as to why I can't indulge those cravings!!   It's a head game and I'm in it to win it!  

What do you do to get past your cravings?

Smaller Goals....Bigger Gains....

I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a brazen assumption that most of "us" runners - are fairly type A.  Goal oriented, nothing's too challenging....won't be defeated...controlling....high strung.....(I'm also an Aries so you can imagine how the sign of the Ram factors in here). 

I've learned to be proud of my A mentality - but sometimes it defeats me before I even get started.  My to do lists are twice as long as my husbands on a weekend.  My "plan" for the week is mapped out down to every minute.  My exercise and dieting goals are set for the week.  The problem with this - especially when you are running a household - is that it doesn't allow "life" to get in the way.  Well - let me rephrase - life happens, my plan falls to sh*t and I have to start over. 

Very demotivating some days, weeks, months....

I can't change my whole personality - so I'm going to try and focus in on my running and my weight goals.   I think my controlling, big picture mentality is hurting me.  I need to break it down.  I'm so caught up in the fact that I'm training for a half marathon AND trying to lose 20 lbs - that I am not taking the time to think about what I need each day or week.  It's overwhelms me.  It drains me.  It causes me to head to the couch or the fridge! 

My girlfriend and I have decided to drop our long term goals and focus on weekly ones instead.  Losing a pound a week is a lot easier to think about than 20!  Running with my daily mileage goal is a lot less stressful than thinking about needing to run 13.1 at a time.  NOT TO MENTION - that - dare I say it - I COULD stop and walk if I had to.  There...I said it.  It's okay to walk if I need to. 

It's week one for me living with  this new thought process - and I'm not gonna lie - there's a battle going on in my head - but I believe -that in the end - I will prevail.  I will be ready to run my half when the time comes - and even at a pound a week - I'll be in a better place down the road.  Baby steps....

How do you approach your goals? 

Running....a source of stress or stress reliever?

I've hit a wall these past couple of weeks and I'm unsure what to do about it.  Please allow me to ramble on about this....(the beauty of the internet ...no one can stop me...you can just move along and I'll never know)....

The bigger picture of my life:

I've got a full time job that has me traveling approximately once a month (for multiple days).  When I travel - it isn't standard business travel where I finish my days and spend my nights alone in a hotel room.  I'm an event manager - so when I am on the road- I work from the early morning hours until late into the evening. (sort of the first one up and last one to bed scenario)  I don't do this alone - I have a team - but never the less - my travel schedule doesn't really allow me to take my workout on the road.

When I'm not traveling - I work from home two days a week (thank you God!) and on the other three days - I commute 1.5 hours each way to the office.  My husband's hours are longer - so I am still the one responsible for picking up my kids, getting them home, getting dinner ready, walking the dogs....and then there's the whole homework / bathing things that kids require. 

My hudsband is an incredible help - but our nights typically don't settle down until around 8:30 - 9:00,  when he heads to the gym and I put our youngest to bed.  (there's some irony here because when my oldest was her age - he was in bed by 7:30pm but that is just not possible these days!)

My days start at 5:15am.  That's the time I get up to get ready for work.  That does not factor in any time to get up and workout first.  Then I'd need to get up at 4:00am and I honestly can't do that. 

I realize I'm really all over the page at this time - so THANK YOU if you are still trying to follow along.

I generally rely on running to relieve my stress.  To help me clear my head and give me some much needed release.  If I weren't training for a half marathon it probably still would. 

My son got sick this week.  Between doctors appointments and taking care of him - I was tied up for essentially 3 days this week.  To add to it - my husband - who NEVER travels - was out of town for the week.  THEN I got sick.  Rarely do I get so sick that I need to stay home from work (I hate to waste a sick day being sick :-).  I was home on my couch for 2 days.  That's essentially a whole week to illness.

During all of this - I've been stressing over the fact that I'm not running.  I'm losing ground....I should be doing my long run...(which truth be told I've missed the past two weeks) and I'm STRESSED!

The bigger problem is - I don't miss it!! Not right now.  I'm fried, burnt out.  I want to go back to that couch I've been laying on for days and stay there!  This doesn't make me feel good about myself.  I pride myself in accomplishing things.  I'm not a slacker.  I'm type A all the way. 

Running is supposed to bring me joy - NOT cause me guilt or stress. 

What do I do now?  I need to think about it.  Or - I need to STOP thinking about it.

Hopefully this funk will pass quickly and I will be able to make up the ground I'm losing. 

I hope.....

Nike (and Pandora) you're on my list! A Valentine Breakup....

I've seen so many posts about shoes and how to select the best ones, how much they can change your run, how having the right one for your running type can make an impact.....and how much time is spent trying to find THE shoe.

I've been sucked into the vortex.  Some of you know that my brother works for Nike so I try to be Nike loyal.  Yes - I get a discount but I also do try and support the brand that gives my brother his paycheck. 

Since I've been running I've been using the Lunarglide 2s.  Since I was/am a new runner - I had / have no real way to gauge a good vs bad running shoe.  I've been perfectly happy in my LG2s but maybe I could be better, faster, less achy with something else.

Turns out I am an underpronator, supinator....whatever you want to call it.  LG2s are not the best shoe for my running type.  So - after consulting my little bro and doing some research I ordered the Vomero 6s. 

I had such high hopes.  I was away for a few days this week so I was very excited when I got home yesterday morning and discovered the Vomeros had a arrived.  Tired as I was (I left my hotel for the airport at 3:30 EST) - I put on my running gear and hit the road.

I WANTED to get my 7 in.  I didn't want to have to run today because I'm always more tired 2 days post travel.  (see the tired theme here? - I thought running was supposed to give you energy?!) Anyways - I knew half a mile into it the shoes weren't for me.  The cushioning was all off, my toes were numb, I was generally unhappy.  I ended up running just over 3 and calling it a day. 

My legs (and feet) actually hurt me the rest of the day.  So NOT happy with Nike.  Research doesn't point towards them for premier running shoes - and I'm sorry to say - I'm going to have to jump ship and find someone else. Looks like Nike and I are parting ways...let's hope they keep making cool soccer shoes so I can continue to give them a good percentage of my paycheck for my son's sport.

By they way - can I return shoes that I ran 3 miles in?  I'm gonna try because truth be told - these shoes aren't even comfortable enough (for me) to walk in. 

Now - let's talk Pandora.  I use Pandora when I run alone because I want to have my phone with me for safety purposes.  (I am switching to an IPhone in March but for now I have a Blackberry)

I hate relying on it for my music.  Yesterday - even though there wasn't a cloud in the sky - I only had music for about half my run.  That had me focusing even more on my aching feet and offered me one more excuse to call it a day.  I generally don't need motivation to run - but I do need a push on my long run days.  I REALLY need a running partner.  

Do you use Pandora for your runs?  Any under pronators out there with shoe suggestions? 

A need for speed....

I signed up last minute for a 5 mile race on Sunday with my local running club.  It was FREE (love that!) to all members so I really had nothing to lose.

I will start off by saying - I did not want to run yesterday.  I did NOT want to run.  I drug my butt out to the race.  I'm not certain why I was so "under"motivated.  Maybe it's because the race didn't start until 10am and by then I was all nice and comfy in my house not wanting to leave.  There's something to be said for getting up and out early.

Anyways....

Let's be real - even though the race was free - the only runners signing up for a run on February 5th are RUNNERS!  As in - seriously - way faster than me - runners. 

As you know - I'm training for a half marathon.  One of my problems with races is that I really am tired after I run them.  I'm honestly not certain why - I think its the mental strain as much as the physical strain because (as noted by my finishing time) I don't really "race" much faster than I train.

I told myself as I was running that I was counting this as my weekly long run and nothing more.  (at the end of the race I ran for another mile to give myself 6 for the long run - which was my target)  I didn't want to push myself because I wanted to make sure I could continue to train according to my schedule for the week. 

I realize at this point a lot of this endless rambling is just nonsense to you so I'll try and make my point.  I ran my 5 mile race in 53:10.  That's almost 2 minutes more than my PR on it - and even though I know I didn't push myself as hard as I could have - I'm disappointed in the time.  It was a really easy course.  NOT TO MENTION there were only about 10 people behind me - out of 120ppl.  WHY am I so slow? 

I know I should train on speed - but I also need to train on endurance.  It doesn't matter how fast I can run a mile if I can't run 13 of them in April.  I know it's a combination and I am doing some speed training - but it seems when I race - my body sets its pace and I -  apparently - haven't found yet the mental strength to push past it. 

PLUS - I'm tired today.  Wiped out- don't want to run and won't so that I can get in a long run on Wednesday before I head out of town on a business trip. 

Not feeling it today .....or feeling too much of it depending on how you look at it....

How do you pick yourself up out of a slump?

A Wordless Wednesday





 My "running" view

AKA - The Road Ahead



What my son wore to school today - it's 62 Degrees outside!! 






What my daughter wanted to wear to school today!  YUP - that's a PJ top and shorts over top of her striped leggings.....she's got style...and she knows how to use it....







Since I took her picture - she wanted to take mine.  Not too shabby for a 5 (soon to be 6) year old!

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!