Just wanted to post a workout I found from Pinterest. It’s a challenging one, at least it was for me. Come to find out I was suppose to have an incline of 2. I think I should complete the whole run first.

Happy Running!

In 2007 my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She is still battling with it today. Earlier this year my grandmother was diagnosed with pancerias cancer. She passed away in September. Both of these women mean so much to me. And cancer has changed them. It has changed me.

Anyone can develop cancer. In the US, men have slightly less than a 1 in 2 lifetime risk of developing cancer; for women, the risk is a little more than 1 in 3. About 1,596,670 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2011. In 2011, about 571,950 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day. A day.

I can’t cure cancer. Not that smart. But I can do my part. Will you help me? I have signed up to run in the 2012 Rock & Roll half Marathon. Running a half is on my bucket list so I thought why not complete this and help the American Cancer Society at the same time. They’re funding and conducting research to find cures, and they’re rallying communities to join them in fighting back.

If you make a donation of $150 or more, I will wear a ribbon in memory or honor of someone of your choosing. The ribbon will be yours after the run. Any donation will help.

We can’t bring back those we have lost. We can do something in their honor. We can help those who are still with us, fighting cancer every day. We can give them more birthdays. My Grandmother should have had another birthday. Many more birthdays.

All cancers suck. I will run for those who can’t. Cheer for me, support me, support the more than 1 million new cancer victims. Run Mom Run.

Distance: 2 miles
Duration: 22:44
Avg Speed: 11:22
Miles to Date: 41.27
Playlist: MotionTraxx: High Voltage v3

It was an easy run yesterday. I was starting my ActivTrax workout and I didn’t want to use all my energy right off the bat. ActivTrax was new to me and I’ll talk about that later as I want to tell you about my new motivation. BTW: I am really sore today after that workout.

According to my workout plan I was to warm up with cardio for at least 20 minutes. Of course I chose the treadmill, but as mentioned, I didn’t know what to expect for my weight lifting portion so I took it easy. I ran 10 min at 5.0, 10 min at 5.5, then ran at 6.0 to get me to 2 miles. I had to stop on an even number.

While on the treadmill I was flipping through my new issue of Runner’s World Magazine. I’m not one of those talented people who can read and run. I just read the big print & skim for what I want to read later.  I was looking for a specific article that was mentioned on the front of the magazine. “52 ways . . . get motivated . . . ” (did you know that it has been proven that if you have a title or a subject line that includes numbers more people will read it? Yep. It worked on me too.)

So as I am running and browsing I found the article. Be More Consistent. Yes please! How do I do that?

“Start with a reasonable goal. Develop a plan. Then record your workout and progress. If that doesn’t work find a buddy, announce it to the world.”

Ok, so I got this blog in which I log and talk about every time I run. I can see how little I run/blog. Is that motivating me? Kinda, but not enough. Do I have a goal in mind? Well, I’d like to be at pre-Hayden weight, to run a 5k every month and a half marathon. What’s the plan? Run more. Dur. Ok, Runner’s World. What else do you got for me?

“If all else fails, for every mile you run reward yourself with $1 toward a trip or something you desire.”

Hmmmm. Not a bad idea. Money. I love money. I love gifts for me even more. But getting anything one dollar at a time is gonna take awhile. So will reaching my goals. The hardest step for a runner is always the first one out the door. Ok, lets try this little money motivation and see if it works. What do I have to lose? Weight.

I got home and found a mason jar (so I could see all the dollars inside), made a motivation tag, tied it on with a pretty red ribbon and put in on my desk, next to my monitor so I could see it every day.  A dollar is still a dollar, a mile is still a mile, and they all add up the same. If I want them to add up quicker, then I run more. Sounds easy, right?

So, is a reasonable goal 100 miles (I really mean $100)? I have a heart rate monitor on my wish list. Lets see how quick I can get it. Stick around – see if I can do it. Who’s going to join me?

Maybe I should just ask Santa.

“Whether is is a 14 minute mile or a 7 minute mile IT IS STILL A MILE!” Run Mom Run.

Distance: 3.1 miles
Duration: 32:15
Avg Speed: 10:24
Miles to Date: 39.27
Playlist: MotionTraxx: Big Time v2

Gobble Gobble.

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. I have spent the past 23 days posting on Facebook what I am thankful for. Thinking about it each day has really opened my eyes. I have so much to be thankful for.

Family and friends are so important to me and I have been blessed with amazing healthy girls, a wonderful husband and family who never gives up on me. I have been blessed with the opportunity to work from home to raise my girls. Some days I question that blessing. I have a wonderful business partner who wants to succeed as much as I do. I could go on and on and tell you everything I am thankful for, but when I really think about it, I am most thankful for all my past blunders. I can’t call them mistakes, because given the chance I would do them all again, exactly the same – as every move I have every made as led me to where I am today. I love where I am today.

I want to go back and thank all of those people who got me here. Even the mean ones. The art teacher who introduced me to my first Mac; the friends who got me through high school, the boy who I followed to college; the job I had at college that made me more outgoing; the roommate who slept with my boyfriend; the friend who joined the Navy whom I followed to San Diego; the boy who cheated on me with a girl who was dressed in the same Halloween costume as me (not a good excuse); the girl I moved to Waterloo with; the bar-tending job I got there; the boy I met there and went to Florida with; my grandmother for bringing me home from that crazy train; the aunt & uncle who let me live with them while working at the Y; the boss I had at the Y who thought I should go into Graphic Design; the friends I met at the Y who introduced me to the man I would marry.

Looking back on all of that I remember sitting in my room when I was a teenager praying for something different. When my heart got broken, when friends betrayed me, when I was lost – all i wanted was something different. I thought  was getting the short end of the stick. It was so not fair.

But it was. There is always sunshine after the rain. Be willing to put up with the storms and the tides for the beauty after can’t be explained. But be ware, the tides never end, storms will still come. Just remember to hang in there and remain thankful. I love where I am today. Run Mom Run.

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 31:00
Avg Speed: 10:20
Miles to Date: 22.17
Playlist: MotionTraxx: Globe-Trotting

Wow. I really pushed myself today. It felt great. I like watching my time on the treadmill. I can see how long I have been running and how far I have gone. Therefore I can push myself. I was even on a treadmill that had a tv but I still watched that number. I can’t stop till I hit 3 miles.

I want to be able to run a 5k in under 30 minutes. However I just looked at the race results for the last run I did, Run for the Roses, and the fastest women time was 17:01. Wow. She is fast. However she is only 20. Of course she is fast. If I ran at 20, I would have been fast too. Well faster than I am now. then as I look even further a 40 year old completed it in 20:58 and got 4th place.

So, I need to change my goal to be even faster, but not yet. Let me reach this goal first. One step at a time right? I have many running goals, but the first one is a 5k in under 30. And to have it happen more than just once. Run Mom Run.

Do you have any running goals?

Distance: 3 miles
Duration: 33:24
Avg Speed: 11:08
Miles to Date: 26.17
Playlist: MotionTraxx: Latin-ocity Vol3

. . . Go To The Gym

I like running on the treadmill. Yes, I know this is odd, but I do. I feel like I am pushing myself more. I can see how fast I am running and up the speed. I could see that I finished my last quarter mile at a 6.5 speed. I like that. I feel fast.

There is also a lot I don’t like about the gym. It was crazy busy tonight. I should know better, I worked at the Y for three years. I had to wait for a treadmill to open. I could have went to a bike, but I needed to run. I wanted to run. There were kids playing on the equipment, not using it right and parents not watching. A pet peeve of mine – a downfall of me working there.

But I did it. I ran. I pushed myself. I enjoyed it. Now that winter is close and the time change has made it get darker earlier (and messed with my girls sleeping patterns). I will be going to the gym a lot more. While I enjoy running, I am a fair weather runner. But this is the time I get to work on my entire body. And it needs it.

So I will be looking for exercises to enhance my running, to make me stronger and more fit all over. I will also be looking for motivation when it gets snowy and cold. It may be a hard winter. Or I may just come out running. Run Mom Run.

Distance: 2.57 miles
Duration: 30.04
Avg Speed: 11:42
Miles to Date: 23.17
Playlist: Running2

. . . I have a two year old.

I love my girls. I would do anything for them. Anything. Yet sometimes they drive me nuts. Therefore I run.

Within the past 24 hours I have:

• Swept and vacuumed up a broken wine glass (luckily it was empty – I’d hate to cry over spilled wine)
• cleaned up a container of powdered formula that was thrown all over the kitchen and the dog.
• Washed the dog & daughter
• Scrubbed kitchen floor
• Laundry
• Vacuumed up popcorn kernels
• Vacuumed up leftover powdered formula
• Scrubbed the carpet to get out lotion
• Dishes, dishes, dishes

Why? Because I am the mom of a two year old. Almost three. I hear the three’s are worse than the two’s. That scares me. Therefore I run.

How can one thirty pound little girl make such a big mess? How does she have that much energy to go from one mess to another? I need more energy. Therefore I run.

I put Hayden back to bed at midnight, feed Penny at 1:30 then up for good at six. Hayden was up at 6:45 and wouldn’t eat. At 9 when Will got up I was stressed. I knew I needed to run. It was cold out and windy, I was exhausted. Running was the last thing I really wanted to do. But I did it anyway.

Thankfully.

Because I have a two year old. Run Mom Run.

Distance: 3.09 miles
Duration: 40:01
Avg Speed: 12:58
Playlist: Running to Country

Do I always listen to my husband? No, but since it has been nearly two and a half weeks since my last run. I needed to run. How do I know? My husband told me so. I hate it when he is right. I snapped at Hayden this morning and then gave Will the death stare, which is a huge sign that mom needs to go run some stress out.

Ever since grandma died, I cried for her last week, I have fallen behind in work, school, house work and doing things for me – running. I knew I needed to run, but who has the time? Penny has an ear infection, I have homework to do, that takes me forever to figure out, I need to clean the house, cook supper for the family, take Hayden to preschool, volunteer at preschool, take Penny to the doctor, update a website, design a label, take a quiz . . . My to do list never gets shorter. Therefore since my list is so long, a run can wait. Or can it?

So I went out and ran today. And I was slow. I had to walk. Maybe I needed more energy, maybe I didn’t have enough carbs in me. I’m pretty sure it was that I hadn’t ran in 16 days.

I walked some of the run today which was ok as it gave me a chance to enjoy the weather. It is a beautiful fall day. It is suppose to get colder starting tomorrow which means I run less outside. Gotta get a gym membership. So I took in the fresh air, the beautiful fall colors, the sun shining down on me. I felt lucky to be alive, I smiled. I hate it when he is right.

The weather is changing, the leaves are changing, our lives are changing. A grandmother passes, a cousin is born, a daughter goes trick or treating for the first time, another daughter is getting ready to crawl. Our lives are moving. Slow down please.

I do need to slow down, don’t try to be super mom. Step 1. Take time for me (go running). Step 2. Take care of the family (play with the kids). Step 3. Get school work done (since we are paying for it). Step 4. Work, work, work (get some extra spending cash). Repeat. Did I mention I hate it when he is right? Run Mom Run.