The end

Today is it.  I am sitting here writing this from my last class.  I have finished my M.A. now I just have to wait for the grade.  The thought of not having to spend hours researching and writing is great, but the problem is I really enjoy it.  It was just so hard to do it with 2 infants who turned into toddlers.  As I sit here I feel nostalgia, relief, a bit of sadness (some people have called me the forever student) and total excitement about being able to use my time to run or play the piano again.  I really do enjoy learning and the stimulation of talking with others about different viewpoints.

I actually felt so much excitement driving here I thought *hmm what if I ran a marathon this fall* Did I really just think that???? My goal was by the time I am 40 to run a marathon.  I will have to play this out and see how my first half marathon goes.

1/2 Marathon Monday

So today started week two of half marathon training. My shins and ankles have been off and I realized my shoes were probably needing to be changed out. I thought I had grabbed a pair of new shoes out of a box last week. Nope. They were old shoes! I am hoping to break these in before the big race, and running in them today felt so much better!  

I am actually pretty excited about a race. It was my first race ever last year (Liz Logelin Foundation) and it was a 5K. I just found out they are offering a 10K so I am going to do that this year. Who have I become that longer races excite me?! I think that is what has been missing all winter is a running goal. I haven't done any races all winter and running has felt blah until now. Now I have goals of the 1/2 marathon, Goldy's 10 mile, and the LLF 10K.

I think the only thing that held my running back from being great this morning was that Sara is teething (3 molars) and coughed for 3 hours last night.  She finally went to sleep and Danyal woke up, twice! Both times he wanted a story.  No buddy, sorry it's nigh-night time.

Now off to finish my final powerpoint! School is almost out!

Hills and week 1

Hills are going to make my legs fall off.  I did my hill run and, wow.  To top it off I have to say I am only a few days into my new offical training plan but I feel like it has made a huge difference.  Adding in speed work and hills so far I feel less bored and can feel a difference in my running already.

That paragraph is a few days old. I have finished my first week and it felt good.  I am loving running easy miles. I felt like accomplished a huge goal.  Not because of the miles, because of my heart rate. I have written about it before but my heart rate is high when I work out. Not just a little. A lot! I have even run a race with a heart rate of 206 BPM.  This week has taught me how to dial it back and start to listen more to my body and my heart rate. I mean my easy 3 mile run my HR never went above 174 and averaged 162, this is unheard of for me! I mean I was running really slow.  But it also felt good.

I think a part of this training is learning to train in other zones that my body normally doesn't get to hang out in. I know this next week had more miles, hills, and challenges but looking back on week 1 has given me insight already.

After my run today it was time to play...outside in the snow. What is more fun that chasing 2 - 2 years olds around who want to shovel, make snow angels, and say "it's a beautiful day mommy". I even got into the fun and made a snow angel.  It does take about 15-20 minutes to get them all bundled up. I am hoping it burned off some energy.  It makes me ready for spring, grass, playgrounds, kickball, and tee-ball.

Rise and shine

It's after midnight now, cause why would I sleep?? Sara has been up for over an hour again but a lower volume of screaming this time. (We are now at hour 4. Thank you Sara for the worst diaper of your life so far).

I have spent so much time awake during the nights over the last two and a Half years I wonder how much it would really add up to.

I have a run coming up but not until Wednesday this week is all over the board. My normal schedule is so off with a holiday, shuttling relatives around, and writing papers.

On a fun note the kids 2 1/2 pictures came back and I think they are the best to date.

For a fun here is the kids at 6 months and 2 1/2 years.

A good run and a long night

Well I managed to make it through my first training run.  It was odd and actually nice.  Part of my first run was doing an easy mile, in the last year I don't think I have ever done a truly "easy" mile.  Slowing down my pace really made that an enjoyable mile. It also gave me a feeling when I was done like "this is really happening" and made me feel like I could run a half marathon.

As for now I have no idea why Sara has been up for the last almost 3 hours.  I am thinking it's her molar that has been cutting and is just making her mouth swollen.  I was hoping to write a paper for class tomorrow but we will see what my state of mind is, I am glad I got my run out of the way today.

Parental Duty - the duty to sit or sleep in awkward and uncomfortable positions for hours on end in order to ensure your child's comfort.

It starts tomorrow

My half marathon training that is.  I have my first official week for my training ready to go. My friend Marathon Mom is an amazing runner, so I figured I would take up part of her new self-employment gig and use her knowledge.  She does training plans for people for any race distance and let's face it. Sometimes you need someone you push you outside of your comfort zone and what you normally do to challenge yourself and find the improvement (I) haven't been able to find.  I think my running is stuck in a rut at a specific pace and the dreadmill really isn't helping the cause.  I was out for a run on Wednesday and it was glorious, sun and all. However, it did make me realize I need a new pair of running sunglasses.  Snow is really bright even on a cloudy day.

It is funny. I have been running less than a year but this makes me nervous and excited. I will run a half marathon in about 2 months.  Lots of happy running dreams for me tonight!

Wordless Wednesday

Sick baby girl

4am and 104

It's odd how very different two kids can be. Not because they are twins, but because they come from the same DNA.

When Danyal has a fever of 103 the world is ending! No sleeping, constant crying, and just lethargic.  Sara on the other hand was cracking jokes at 4am.  Her high fevers are usually 106.  So 104 is high, but give her some advil and she is hilarious!

Somehow it all worked out. Today they had their 2 1/2 year pictures and we were able to keep her fever under control so she was just a total turkey! Mostly all winter the kids have had colds and ear infections. Not to many high fevers and viruses so for that I am thankful as they are awful! It makes me all the more ready for spring and daylight savings.  Less than one month until more daylight. Yea!

I did it.

As I just wrote that I have Dora the explorer singing in my head. Ugh. But, I signed up for my first half marathon. Now to get my training plan in place and get moving. I am really ready for spring and to get outside running. The "dreadmill" is killing me!

I am actually having my friend Marathon Mom help me put together a training plan for the half-marathon.  She is a wealth of knowledge (knows my crazy past injuries) and I am sure we can always catch up over sushi and coffee too!

I finally have put together my list of races for the year. I think after I get a feel for this half-marathon some of my 10K's might get moved up to half-marathons.  I have been doing virtual 10K's on the dreadmill. I can only imagine how much better they will be once the weather improves and I am back outside.

 I have informed some people that once a finish a few I am getting a tattoo again. My BFF and Marathon Mom can both come with if you want. Oddly, the tattoo I want is a white ink one. Wierd I know.  The BFF informed me of them and some are really great.

And now that it is snowing, I will go for a run once "quiet time" is over. I say this as we are on day 4 of no napping for Sara.  She has decided she is a big girl and doesn't nap anymore. WTH!!! Mommy needs nap time. Now, time to go to homework. I cannot wait to finish school.

Runners, I could use some new music ideas too please! What are your favorites?