6 months later and finally over the burnout

Last week the weather has been warming up....somewhat....meaning its not below zero anymore....the snow is on its way out....unless we get more....which is a real possibility....considering we had shovelable snow last year in May.....but with the weather warming up.....and the great thaw happening...I have been getting the itch to start running again....almost 6 months to the date that I ran my marathon.....

These past 6 months it has allowed me time to healing physically and mentally....training and running a marathon is not only a huge time commitment....but it drains you.....and towards the end of training I was getting burnt out.....I think that was mostly due to it was August when I was in my high mileage weeks and everyone else was enjoying late night bonfires and drinking....and I really couldn't participate....or if I had run a 18 miler....I was asleep on their couch by 8pm (true story it did happen).....and not only all that....but it was hot as hell out in August....I would rather run in the cold any date over 100 degree heat with high humidity.....

So by the time Oct 6th came around I was ready to get it done and over with....to cross that line....and take a break.....

But now that it has been some time...I can getting the itch again....so I ran 3 miles on the treadmill on saturday morning....and it wasn't awful....but its amazing that even though I have been doing other work outs I am no where near my endurance that I used to have.....but while running on the treadmill I didn't hate it....or dread it....and I am sure once I can get outside I will be back to where I was mentally last year.....I was quiet sore that day and Sunday....but adding in the extra T25 lower focus may have been a mistake.....

I am thinking about running another half this summer....probably the red white and boom again....and really wanting to PR if I do did....I am going to give myself another couple weeks of adding running into the mix and see what happens.....this summer will be hectic enough with all the other life things we have going on....I do not want to over commit myself to much else than that!

26.2 miles complete!!!

The TC Marathon has finally come and gone....26.2 miles complete....its really weird that its all over...as I was sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoon it just hit me that it was over....not the fact that I had just ran 26.2 miles a few hours earlier and was still physically not able to move normally....but just sitting there on the couch it hit me.....after a year of training and it was done!

The race itself had its highs and lows....and man those lows were hard....mostly mentally hard....trying to tell yourself you can do this when your body really just wants to be done....around mile 15/16 it got challenging for me....when you start thinking of the amount you have left it can be overwhelming to know that there is still 10-11 miles left....the way I handled the full marathon was to take it one water stop at a time...instead of thinking about 1 mile of 26 and so on.....also I was burning through my fuel a lot faster than I have planned.....running out of fuel or water is not something to play around with....once you let it go too far...its not something you can just play catch up on....thank god for the cliff shot area at mile 17....when I was at mile 21-23 they were rough too....you just hit "the wall" as its referred to.....you have run farther than you normally run in a training long run....and you just have to keep telling yourself there is only a few miles left and you've come this far....you can finish it now....

The highs were awesome....starting the race....the excitement and nervousness in the air....listening to the Star Spangled Banner right before the start is amazing....once you are start and seeing all the people there cheering anyone and everyone on is great!!!....I ran with a pace group....best thing decision ever....our pace leader was awesome....she instructed us that every water stop was a 30 sec walking break to make sure we got re-hydrated....there was also lots of funny stories that were told the entire time we were out there...she kept encouraging us the whole way....and especially towards the end when it got hard.....when we would come up to a larger cheer zone most everyone would shout...."here comes the 4:45 group...you're doing awesome".....also seeing people I knew out there on the course helped me immensely....not even knowing it they were at places along the course that I really needed it....seeing two neighbors at mile 16....helped me get out of my funk and push through those 5 miles....and then hearing my name at mile 22....seeing my kids, husband and another set of neighbors at mile 23 really turned it around for me....it gave me enough mentally to just run and get it over with....and finally seeing my parents about a half a mile from the finish.....and for all the people who followed me online and all the text and facebook messages that I received too....I can not say thank you enough for that....I am truly grateful for all your support!!!.....the finally high was crossing that finish line....knowing that I accomplished what I set out to do a year ago.....

My ultimate goal was the just finish this one....but I really wanted to be under 5 hrs....my official finish time was 4:42:10....I am so happy with my time....yes do I wish I was faster of course I do....but I was 18 minutes faster than 5 hrs....I finished it with only walking at the water stops.....overall it was a great experience!....I am happy I did it!

Pre-Race the kids saying good-bye

The starting line

The finish line....the Capital never looked so good

My finisher metal

I haven't fully decided if I am one and out....or if I will do another one in the future...I know I will not be doing one next year....I want a summer that I can enjoy a bit more than I did this past year....the husband has also expressed interest in possibly wanting to do the TC Marathon next year and both of us can not train for one at the same time until the kids are older....I know next year I want to do a couple halfs....halfs seem like a cake walk compared to a full.....so I honestly don't know yet if I will run another full....we will just have to see!

This shit is getting real

It's getting real now....I picked up my race packet and all my last minute things that I needed today....which wasn't much and all in the same place.....less than 2 days away.....I will be running my first full marathon....26.2 miles.....I am excited but also very nervous....I know I can do it....but it's still nerve racking.....I have one easy run left tomorrow morning....to get the jitters out....and then I will be planting my ass on the couch for the rest of the day.....

I have been planning for this day now for a year....and training for it since I was able to get back into working out after my surgery....and officially running again since April 2nd....its been a long journey....there were times I didn't know if I would make it to this point....bet after overcoming a injury in July and having some real shitty long runs in the hot humid month of August....I am as ready as I am going to be.....

I want to thank everyone who has supported me in this process....whether it was helping out with the kids, running with me, or coming to watch me on Sunday.....I especially want to thank my husband who has been by my side through this entire process....and has been my biggest supporter....and without his help with the kids every weekend I would have not been able to train for this....and I am truly grateful for his support for the better part of a year now!

Here's to 26.2 miles....because I am that (effing) crazy!

Basically sums it up!

This pretty much sums it up right now where I am mentally right now....with 9 days left....the jitters are starting to get to me when I have *time* to think about it....thankfully and not so thankfully I have not have a lot of time to think about it!

T-minus 3 weeks!

T-minus three weeks from yesterday and I will be running the TC Marathon....2 years ago I never once thought this was something that I wanted or felt the need to do....and trust me there are some days that I still question myself what the hell have I gotten myself into....but 2 years later here and after Saturdays run I am ready!

This past Saturday was my last huge long run....and what I labeled hell week....Saturday I ran 20 miles the longest I have ever gone and will go until October 6th....and I was able to run it with a group of people who are in the same boat as me.....and we were able to run the last 10 miles of the marathon on a out and back course....which was great to get another feel for "climb" on Summit Ave.....

Normally I run alone....for the most part except for the last couple long runs where I had company the last few miles which was greatly appreciated.....but since I normally run alone I am not a chatter....I just listen to my music and try to turn my brain off and not focus on the pain....but Saturday I ran with another lady who this is first marathon as well....and we hit it off and paced really well together....actually having someone to chat with made the 15 miles that we were together go much quicker....and it was rather funny by mile 16 we just stopped talking....it took to much effort to talk and we just ran in silence but we both knew we were in the same amount of misery as the other....

Now don't get me wrong I have no regrets of signing up for marathon.....no do I regret any runs or training....but there is a point after lets say 16-17 miles that it hurts....and you are just plain tired....and every 5 minutes you question yourself why the hell am I doing this.....but once you get to the finish line you forget those thoughts and look back at what you just did....see the accomplishment that you just completed.....so there are no regrets whatsoever

When I first signed up for this....I had lofty ideas that I wanted a certain time.....well since I was injured at the half and haven't really come back fully from that....I am going in with the my goal of just finishing it....yes I would love to be faster.....but I would also like to be able to walk afterwards....and I would rather cross the finish line with whatever time I get versus going to hard and not crossing at all!....I want my medal dammit!!!

So in less than three weeks....I will be running down John Ireland and seeing this site again.....and what a beautiful site it will be.....

Labor Day Weekend

I love love 4 day weekends....and I was fortunate to have one last week....my company gave us Friday off for free.....I was so damn happy!!!  I really needed an extended weekend!!

Friday was just the kids and I....we ran a couple errands and we meet my mom and grandma for lunch.....and then I ran a couple more errands by myself....and when I got home I was able to enjoy a few free hours to myself!!  It was awesome!....I didn't stay up late or anything since I had one of my longest runs to date to complete in the morning....so this lady went to bed prior to 10pm!

Saturday was a great but tiring day.....I ran a total of 17.46 miles and walked .5 or 1 mile home even after my mental breakdown at around mile 11....I was seriously contemplating calling Andrew and having him come get me....I had enough of it.....and really didn't want to go on....and it was hot on saturday and I was having chaffing issues on my arms.....something I really haven't had yet....that shit hurts...and thanks to my husband he used all of the glide stuff we had in the house.....I will say I called him a few obscene words.....but after I had my hissy fit....I pulled up my big girl panties and continued on.....the great thing is I live in an awesome neighborhood filled with runners and I had what we have dubbed the "running brigade" waiting for me to come back and run the last 3-5 miles with me....best advice I ever got for these extremely long runs.....just having them with me helps me get pull through those last miles.....only downside of running so far is I was tired and sore most of the day.....


That night we hung out with the neighbors and grilled up some wings.....thanks guys for making dinner easy and tasty for us!  I also decided there is no better way to alleviate pain than to drink it away....and thanks to everyone involved we did just that....I had a few (or numerous) beers....I lost count thanks to the drinking game prior to dinner.....all-in-all it was a great day!  We could not be happier with where we ended up living!

                                               


The last two days of the extended weekend were low key.....like most of the whole weekend was.....we just hung out inside and then went outside to play......

I am so thankful we had the four days for me.....three for the husband to have some down time.....life has been way too busy.....and the summer went by in a blink of an eye.....I am glad we were able to enjoy the time we had....since tuesday was going to bring us into the next phase of life......school.....routines....activities.....regular life!!!

Hardest thing I have done so far

Training for the TC Marathon this October is so far the hardest thing I have ever done.....right now its super hot and humid even at the ass crack of dawn its hotter than hell outside making it hard to breath let alone run.....

This past saturday was one of the longest runs yet (and there are two more coming besides the marathon itself).....I ran just over 14 miles and walked the last one home.....those last 3-4 miles were the hardest.....first because I ran it straight.....I did not stop.....and it was starting to get a lot warmer than when I started....I am so thankful for where we are living currently....I have a support system....a small group of runners who are willing to come out and run the last 3-5 miles with me.....and that is the best advice I have ever received.....even though I am not a talker when I run....having them with me helped me over come the extremely tired legs and the voice inside my head telling me to quit!

It's hard to explain to anyone why I am doing this....its is something I want to do....I want to prove to myself that I can do this....no I am not one of the fast runners and I never will be....I have no lofty ambitions of running a 2:30.....its about setting a goal and accomplishing it.....especially when my inner voice is telling I am f%*king crazy......and my legs are about to give out.....or the pain that does come afterwards.....its about overcoming all that and just finishing!

Goodbye Social Life....hello 5 am

After a great weekend of friends, laughs, beer.....hell even a couple tequila shots.....and staying up way too late.....its time to put that on hold for the next 47 days.....I am glad this past weekend happened when it did....and we partied like we were rock stars (yea right)....there were lots of memories made....but now as I look at my training calendar/schedule I need to buckle down......

I made the decision last week that I need to do most of my runs outside....the treadmill we have it just too hard on my knees....feet....overall just doesn't work that well....and buying a new one at this time....let's just say its not in the budget at this time.....so I will be waking myself up at the butt ass crack of dawn (and soon it won't even be dawn) to run during the week....so that the husband is home to sleep with the kids.....and then on saturdays my mileage will be increasing drastically over the next month.....what the hell did I get myself into?!

I ran just over 10 this past saturday and it felt good....I was able to run it straight without stopping...something I can't do on the treadmill we have....and if I would have a been a good girl and went to bed prior to midnight and not have gone to the MN Zoo the day before I could have ran the extra 2 miles I needed to....but alas my legs were giving out on me....and I figured I walked the other 2 miles at the zoo the day before....this coming weekend my goal is 15.....and then it goes up from there.....

So my late nights on the weekend will be coming to an end (even though it was only a weekend)....especially on friday nights....since staying up til midnight or later and trying to run 15-20 miles the next day does not work all that well together....

PS....anyone who is willing to run the last 4-5 miles with me on Aug 24th, 31st, or Sept 14th are more than welcome to shoot me an email or facebook message and I can discuss details with ya!....I do not expect anyone crazy enough to join me for the whole thing.....

Back on the staddle (so to speak)

I am currently 52 days out from the marathon.....yikes!  Last week was the make it or break it week.....everything I have read is that if you get injured you can make it back from a 3 week rest period....and that's the amount of time I ended up taking off....so far it is going well....

I started back in about 10 days ago....running last week at 50% of the weekly miles and this week I am at 75%.....I did a long run on saturday that was just under 8 miles....and it felt good....and shockingly the time was good as well....and it would have been faster if I wouldn't had to stop for a half marathon that was running the route I usually take for my long runs.....but it was awesome to see them in action.....and brought back why I want and love to run.....

Yesterday while running on the treadmill I now know why I like to be outdoors more often than indoors....it really sucks running inside.....and treadmill running is awful and plain damn boring.....I saw this quote online and it's so true....I watch the miles and minutes tick away on the damn thing even though I tell myself not too and just listen to my music....I CAN NOT help it.....and I can run faster and easier outside.....so today I will torture myself with another indoor run.....but tomorrow I will head outside for my run.....and starting next week I am once again be apart of the 5 am club.....I would rather get up early 3 days a week then struggle through a shitty run on a treadmill any day!

After getting back into my routine I am trying to concentrate on just logging miles....and not going for time....I am thankful right now that I can do this....and that is all I need....I am not a fast runner.....but at least I am doing it....and that is all that matters!

Here's to the next 52 days of training!
       
          

Why being a fitness junkie is important to me....

I am not gonna lie I am a fitness junkie....people probably get tired of seeing or hearing about it, but personally I don't care....this is who I am.....and its important to me.....

The reason its important to me....is I do not want my children to grow up with the same food issues I had when I was a teenager and early twenties....especially my daughter...I do not want her to do the dumb shit that I did....

It started when I was 17 or 16 years old....I was skinny.....I have never been a heavy kid....I was always lean or skinny.....but when you hit high school pressure to be skinnier hits you hard....I was in swimming mostly year around and I never had a huge amount of self confidence.....and prancing around in a swim suit most of the time made me want to be skinnier....and to top it off I was a life guard....so I lived in my damn swim suit except when I was at school.....and in my close group of friends there were others struggling with the same issues....we just never talked about it....but we knew.....back then my biggest problem was just not eating....aka anorexia.....I didn't become a "pro" at it until after I went to college and put on the freshman 15 thanks to the introduction of beer.....

My pro year is not something I am proud of......but it started in the summer of 1998 continued through the summer of 1999.....where I learned and taught myself that about not eat and if I did actually eat why not purge it....aka bulimia....it was not something I am proud of....when I look back on it....I was dumb as shit....really dumb.....I dropped to 100 pounds....which is for my height of 5'7" is underweight....and just nasty....I had people questioning me....I would go to the chiropractor and he would try to say something, but I would just shrug it off....my reality check came in when I went to visit my then boyfriend (now husband) in Maryland after not seeing him for 5 months....and he was pissed off at me when he saw me...and how small I had become.....I mean really pissed off....I remember him taking me to a fast food joint since he was hungry and he wanted me to eat a damn burger....he sat there with me until I ate it.... and that was a battle of will.....but I knew in my mind that I was dumb....and that I need to stop....or else it would consume me more than it already did.....

When I finally got myself back and went on living my life....life did catch up with me.....especially after I had a baby or two....its a part of life....as you get older your metabolism slows down (unless you are crazy lucky which I totally hate you) and you have to work to actually stay in shape and be healthy.....

After I had Syd I remember just getting out of breath going up the stairs to do laundry....and I wasn't that heavy.....I was at my heaviest but I could have been a whole lot worse.....and I was tired of feeling like that....I wanted to be that mom that could play games outside with her kids and not have to sit down because she couldn't breath....I wanted to go on bike rides with my kids and not have to give up after a quarter mile.....and I wanted to make sure my kids knew that being active is just a part of life.....

So almost 3 years ago I made the decision it was time to suck it up and change but I was not going to go down the treacherous path I did in my younger years.....I have not and will not count calories in anyway shape or form....I know enough from my younger years that is not healthy for me....if I wanted to control my food.....portion control was it....and nothing more....but I also needed to add exercise into my daily life....and man was that hard....I hated it at first....truly hated it....my body revolted against it.....but once I started to see the changes in my body...I was hooked....I was able to do more physical activity with my kids and not break into a sweat....I was able to get my stress out by sweating it out......

Fitness if apart of my life....it's my stress reliever....its part of my "me" time....I do not need to be the skinniest, but I want to be the healthiest that I can be.....to prove to myself that I can do and I have done it!

Sidelined and frustrated

So it was has been a rough 7 plus days in this house.....last week was pretty stressful from numerous issues that were happening all at once....but those have come and gone for the most part...and this week hopefully starts a new happier week....I am not holding my breath though.....

Currently I am sidelined in training....after a emotional meltdown on saturday after a very painful attempt at running on the treadmill.....I came upstairs to talk to Andrew about it....and looking online with the aid of our good friend google....I need to rest my left leg.....my shoes I was wearing prior to the half were on the verge of being done....mizuno wear down way too quickly in my personal opinion....and they have destroyed 5 of my toes....so I was running in more of a heel strike stride than on the balls of my feet....and I have been running like this prior to the half....and the last couple runs prior to the half, the half itself, and the 4 runs afterwards I feel like I never got in a rhythm or found my stride....so I was compensating for my toes which lead to me not running correctly and hurting my leg in the process.....and the way to fix all this currently is to just rest .......which I am hoping after 7 days will be enough.....and I can resume training for the marathon.....I have replaced my shoes and really hoping switching brands to brooks helps

I have to say right now this is not what I want to be dealing with.....and its extremely frustrating to be sidelined....I am just hoping that 7 days is enough to rest the ligaments and muscles so that they are ready to hop back into rigorous training ahead of them....and I have learned a valuable lesson....trust my gut when I thought my shoes were done 3 weeks ago and replace them earlier....so I am not in this position again!

13.1 complete baby!

I can't believe its actually over....but Thursday morning we completed our first half marathon....the only downside was getting up at 4am....but I am glad the race was early....and later in the day and it would have been too hot!!!

Shockingly I slept well the night before....and was ready to go at 4 am when the alarm went off....even though it was still dark!....Andrew was not as ready....

Here's us pre-race.....notice Andrew is still smiling!

The race was more mentally hard for me....my pace in the beginning was messed up....which is my own fault...I need to remind myself to take the first mile or so slower to get in my rhythm prior to trying to speed up....otherwise I am just playing catch up most of the way.....but once I got past mile 4.....I decided to break up the rest of the miles into 2-3 mile increments....after 4 I told myself just get to 7.....then when I got to 7 just get to 9.....and then once I got to 9 just get to 11.....and after that it was pretty much downhill from there....the only hard thing was the "mountain" as we have named it the hill right after mile 6....I had looked at the elevation map prior to the event....but I guess I did not look how short the hill was....so that was one steep SOB....and I am not going to lie I could not run, nor jog up it....it would have killed me!!!  I am just thankful that was the only real beast of the route.....

I have to say the crowds cheering you on along the way are awesome....they keep you going.....even though I know they are not specifically there for me....just having them say you're doing awesome....or ringing their cow bells is all you need to get your through some of the mentally hard parts when you just want to pull off and be done.....and the best sign I saw was "Beer Misses You...." and something about how you can have a few afterwards!

My overall goal for this event was to be a sub 10 which I was...and I wanted to come in under 2:15 which I did.....I wished I could have been faster than my 10 mile pace....which I could have possibly have done if I would have warmed up properly....but that's okay.....my official time was 2:09:48....which I am happy with.....

I am proud of my husband....who was not prepared for this race....he completed it and he did a great job with it....13.1 miles is hard...and he suffered through it!

Here's us post race....notice the smile in the beginning is gone 

Next up the TC Marathon for me in the beginning of October....this one I will be running alone...as Andrew said his bucket list is more than likely complete with the half marathon....

Less than 24 hrs!...its getting real

It's less than 24 hrs from now Andrew and I will be running our first half marathon.....well Andrew will be surviving it....

I am excited and nervous....more excited than nervous this time around....I feel better prepared for this one than last October's 10 mile.....my last long run went really well and it felt good....I have tapered down as much as I can without effecting my training for the marathon.....and I took yesterday and today off completely.....so I am ready....as ready as I can be!....

I am hoping that I can run it faster than my 10 mile pace....but overall I will be happy with a sub 10 minute mile.....that is my goal for tomorrow....

Now its time to get all my gear ready....fix up my playlist....and not do a whole lot today.....to be ready for tomorrow's 4 am wake up!....and the weather looks to be perfect for tomorrow morning at 6:30 am!

I honestly CAN.NOT wait for tomorrow....call me crazy.....but I am going to enjoy it as much as possible!!!

Taper Week

This week and next I have drastically dropped in mileage....the week before I was at 35ish for the week....and this week I will barely hit 20-22....and next week in the beginning of the week I will only have maybe a max of 10 miles before thursdays half marathon.....

I love taper weeks...they give you a break that your body needs....and I feel like I have tapped into energy that I have not had in a few weeks!....but all this rest is needed for next weeks half....and I have to remind myself that and not to over do it here at home....just because I feel rested!

I had my cardio test done on this past tuesday...I am very happy with the results....not only was I able to do another bracket....meaning I went another 2 minutes at a faster speed before I felt like I was going to vomit....but after looking at the results with Andrea the amount of oxygen I take in has improved greatly....my overall heart rate has dropped a bare minimum of 10 beats and at my base now 15 beats lower....which is awesome...and even at my max speed my heart rate was 184 versus 192 at a slower speed just 6 weeks ago!....and with all this said my base pace is up to a 9:20-9:40 minutes per mile.....which is a huge improvement over last time.....

Seeing the results of this weeks test is proving to me that all the time, effort and hard work is paying off....and I have tangible results!

Now to work on my playlist for next week!!! and let's hope the weather cooperates!

PS...and I am nervous for my new/continued training program I should be getting in email here shortly....my next slight taper week will probably be in 6 weeks....and I was told that she takes me higher than the standard 20 mile run!....

10 day countdown

I am on the 10 day countdown to my first half marathon....I did the TC 10 mile last year....but adding those 3.1 miles makes a difference...along with the heat and humidity.....I have to say I am not as nervous for this race as I was the 10 mile last October....I know I am more prepared physically and mentally then I was last year....and this race is going to help me prepare me mentally for the full marathon in October!

This past weekend with the weather....power outage....and life kinda got in the way of my overall training plans....my long run was supposed to be 12 miles....well I didn't make it that far on Saturday.....we went running too late in the day....the heat and humidity were killer.....and almost getting hit by a car can put a damper on anyone's run as well....

But the plans this week are to stay consistent with the training plans that my cardio trainer has given me....and retest tomorrow for my heart rate training....basically from what I have been told and read you want to stay in your fat burning zone for long distance running, and for training for a marathon....since fat is a more effective fuel than glycogen.....so my long runs, threshold and speed tempo runs are all geared specifically for me at specific heart rates and speeds from a cardio test I took in the middle of May.....but my body and heart are quickly adapting to the work load....I know my long runs are consistently around a 9:30-9:40 pace when originally it was showing a 11:30 pace.....and my threshold and speed runs I can't even get my heart rate close to where it needs to be......so I am retesting tomorrow.....and kinda nervous for the new speed workouts that I will be getting afterwards!!!

I am excited for my first half marathon.....and hopefully the weather cooperates and doesn't get too hot like it did last year and they had to cut it down to only 5 miles....but I guess we will see next week!

Mom Hits and Misses

This week (well the last three days) have been filled with many mommy moments....most of them were misses....with a couple mommy hits....

I am not let it role off your back type of person or mom....I can only handle so much....and especially when it comes to listening....our first day of summer vacation as I blogged about before was awful....pure and simple....the next day was better but in no way great.....we did have a mommy hit moment when I got them a kiddie pool that they were able to play in despite it being super cold water and only sunny for about 10 minutes....and syd's lips were the color of bluish purple....but they played in it for about 2 hrs

But that was a moment to help me get through all the bad moments from the day before.....

Yesterday was a day that I will never want to repeat again...I honestly didn't think it could get worse than Monday....but man was I mistaken...I am not sure why Breyden is wanting to push his limits here....but he pushed as much as I have ever seen him....and it did not work out to his advantage in many ways.....the only saving grace was a ice cold beer or 4 last night and sitting outside with our neighbors after the great snake relocation.....and then waking up to this

Since yesterday was all over the board...I was not able to go to the gym or get a run in....so I joined the 5am club again this morning....and ran just over 5 miles....and even with the lack of sleep being slightly hungover I ran my fastest pace to date....I have no regrets getting up this morning and doing that....it was beautiful.....and I saw a record number of deer....my count was at 13......after the kids woke up I got to watch them eat breakfast together......

These are the mommy hit moments that make this past week bearable.....without these I am not sure if we would have made it in tack.....

To the wonderful roller coaster called mommyhood!

National Running Day

I did not know there was such a thing!  But saw this yesterday on Facebook....and knew I would be running today anyway....well after last night well really this morning events with my son....I was thankful I was still able to get a run in this morning at the ass crack of dawn....and thankful I missed the rain/mist as well!

But get out an run today....even though I have been up since 2 am...I was able to work in a 4.42 mile run this morning at 5 am!

I run to feel alive!