Back in the game

Well, I survived the Heart Mini. It was a less than spectacular showing to say the least, but I wasn't too disappointed. I was just glad I finished, mainly because as more than one of the coaches have said "If you can finish the Heart Mini, you can finish the Pig." That makes me very hopeful.

So, last night for our short run, we were supposed to be doing a leisurely 5ish miles through Oakley (it is a little crazy that 5 miles is now our "short" run--the first time I ever ran 5 miles was mid-February and that was for a long run!). It was pretty warm, and my warm weather running gear is minimal, so I had to leave my Droid behind. I figured it wouldn't be a big deal, I could manually enter my workout into Cardio Trainer later, and I figured I could stay with someone who had a Garmin or a watch to do my intervals.

Well, we took off and I just . . .felt like running. So, run I did. I started at the back of the pack because that's where I end up anyway. I ended up being by myself for about half the run, but I could see people in front of me, so I knew what I was supposed to be doing and where I was supposed to be going. When we finished, I asked the girl who finished just in front of me what her time was. She told me 48 minutes. We ran about 4.8 miles. I was dumbfounded. It normally takes me around 56-57 minutes to run 4-4.5 miles. It's called progress. And it's just what I needed to get my head back in the training.

I've hit a wall

I'm hoping I can break through soon. It has to do with my running (or more often than not as of late, my lack thereof). I started the training group in January with my game face on, determined to kick ass. The first couple runs were nightmarish, but once I got in with the right group, things kept looking up, up, up. I was out there in zero degree temperatures, braving the ice and snow, doing my thing. Of course, back then we were running 3, 4, 5 miles at a time.

Now we're entering the big leagues of half marathon training and the weather is actually getting decent (mostly). I'm doing 9.3 (hilly, hellish) miles on Sunday. And I am dreading it. I've been missing my short runs, because something will happen on Tuesday nights, and then I won't want to go on Wednesdays. I'm not a fan of running with the Kentucky group--they're nice, but they are a very small group and fast and I'm always terrified I will get lost. Kind of like what happened when I had to do the Sunday option run this past Sunday. There were no other slow people so I was all by myself, which was fine at first. I had my iPod and my Droid. Then I got to Eden Park, which I've only ran through a couple of times, and never by myself. The route said to just "run through the park (minus the overlook) and exit onto Victory Parkway." Well I exited, but not onto Victory Parkway. In fact, I ended up having to walk up about 50 steps to get up onto Victory Parkway. By then my rhythm was gone. Thank God for my Droid or I'd probably still be wandering around Eden Park. I finished, but I ended up walking quite a bit. It was a crappy run.

I feel like all my longer runs have been crappy. The 10K went fine, but any distance after that has been a nightmare, and that scares me. I was SPENT after that race. I definitely wasn't like hey, let's go run 3 more miles. Then I start beating myself up. I think it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point. I'm starting to be all WTF was I thinking. I need to get out of this funk and get re-focused, but I just don't know how.

I'm hoping the Heart Mini isn't a complete freaking disaster, because I'm worried if it is I will be retiring my running shoes.

Walking through a winter germland

That's what it feels like. We had been so, so lucky with Logan. The child does did not get sick. He's never (ever! :::knock on wood:::) had an antibiotic. I used to be lucky, too. Logan and I were blessed with hulking immune systems--which have apparently went on strike. Or vacation. Because the two of us have had colds or remnants of a cold since Halloween. We're keeping the fine folks at Puffs in business, yo. I have been sick more in these past few months than I've been in the past five YEARS. I say that in all seriousness. Between the colds, the bonechilling temperatures, and all the ice and snow making driving and running hell, I am SO over winter. I would be eternally grateful to Mother Nature if she'd bring on the spring!

My cup runneth over

Bedtime has been mostly nightmarish as of late. Logan fights me every step of the way, and then stays up way too late. It's just no fun at all. Tonight though, my heart completely melted. My voice is gone due to some mysterious illness, so I told Logan he would have to read to me. So he did. He read me 4 books--a pop-up Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book, a couple of stories out of his Dora book, "Cat in the Hat", and "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb." I was quite impressed actually. He knew the Mickey, Dora, and HHFT books almost verbatim (it helps that we've read them about a million times each). He knew a few exact lines from Cat in the Hat, but the rest he ad-libbed and it was just so adorable. Next, he sang me "Jingle Bells", made me "look like a princess" (this is where he piles all of your hair on top of your head like a crown) and then I kissed him goodnight and put him in his bed.

I hope I never forget this evening, what a sweet moment with my amazing little boy.

Lessons Learned

So I finally went and got my teeth cleaned today. The last time was, oh, September 25, 2008 (our 4th wedding anniversary). Logan was 3 months old and snoozed in his infant seat the entire time. Today that did not happen. I should have went over the summer or Christmas break (or ahem, last year's summer break), but I didn't. I tried to find a day where I would have someone to watch Logan, but they had no openings. The receptionist assured me it would be fine to bring him. I thought, maybe it won't be so bad. It wasn't bad, it was worse than I could have imagined. My little psycho tried to grab the hygenist's tools, moved her lamp, turned on the water fountain, and ran away during my x-rays, among other things. Then to add insult to injury the dentist told me I had "a couple" cavities. By "a couple" she meant 6. AYFKM?? 6?? I got my first cavity when I was 22. A teeny, tiny one. Then in 2008 I had 2 more. Now, in just one measly visit I had 6? I was devastated. She informed me that 2 of the cavities weren't my fault, that they were in grooves where microscopic particles get in. The other 4 were due to my lack of flossing regularly. ::::hangs head in shame:::: I do floss, but I certainly can't call it regularly. Well, that ends today. I am officially becoming a flossing mo-fo. And I'm never taking Logan to one of my cleanings again. Trust me, I am taking my lessons learned today to heart.

Yup, That's My Kid

Logan loves to sing, and I love to hear him sing. But there's one song in particular that gives me the greatest joy to hear. He got a Little People disco CD for his birthday and his favorite song on there is Turn the Beat Around. He will ask to listen to "Turn it Upside Down" as he calls it, over and over and over. First of all he always yells "Mike" when the song starts and I have no idea why. I don't know who or what "Mike" is, and that makes it all the more hilarious. But the thing that makes his love of that song really special to me is that back in 8th grade I had the Gloria Estefan version stuck in my head. It was so much stuck in my head that I started singing it during reading class. Instead of giving me detention or sending me to the principal's office, my good-natured teacher just sent me to the music room for the duration of class. Which my 8th grade AW self LOVED. My friends STILL tease me about that day and that song, and clearly my affinity for the song must be in my DNA and Logan must have gotten that gene.
*sigh*
I love my little boy.

Reality Check

I was looking at pictures on Facebook last night. Mistake. Or not. I cannot believe how big I look in Logan's birthday pictures. I'm not totally delusional, I know I'm not thin, but WOW. Just WOW. At the same time, it's motivation. I don't EVER want to look that way again. I've lost about 15lbs since then, plus I just generally look more toned, as my gut isn't nearly as prominent now (thank you step class and resistance bands).

Still, it's time to up my game. Those pictures just brought home how much work I have to do. I've been eating OK, but I could definitely tighten it up a bit more. I need to be documenting my intake. I was doing it religiously, but I've been slacking. I go to step class every week. It's my "me" time. This week I tried Zumba and I liked it. I plan on doing that weekly as well. I still need to fit in 1-2 more workouts per week. I would LOVE to start running again, but given my current situation it's just not in the cards right now.

Seeing those pictures was TOUGH. It made me sick to my stomach. I just need to keep my eye on the prize.