My Race Report- FINALLY!

I attempted to sit down and post this several times...to no avail!  I have had the last several days off of work so there should have been plenty of time, right? WRONG!!  Hubby left to go on a hunting trip and left the 3 boys and I to do everything but blog! The fact that I have even been able to get in a run today is borderline auh-mazing!! That being said, here is my race report.

Winter Misery One Miler- Race Report

First of all thank you to RunningLaur for hosting such a wonderful virtual event! 
I thought this would be a great race to run with the boys, so Christmas Eve morning we got up early and bundled up.   The temp was 50 degrees with wind gust up to 40 mph.  We pinned on our racing bibs and headed out after snapping a few pics.

Sebastian's game face!

Ready, set, go!!

Off we went to do a little warm up around the block.  After about 4 mins of running into the wind(which was brutal) the boys decided it might be best if they went back and got their bikes.

This was fine with me, I thought it would give me a chance to really push it and maybe even PR my mile.

I felt pretty good and was on course for a 7min 30 sec mile. Then, Sebastian fell off of his bike. I didn't want to stop (he wasn't hurt) so I slowed down to a jog, grabbed him and his bike, threw him back on it and continued to run. That and a combination of the 40 mph wind gusts set me at a 8min and 10sec mile.  Not a PR, but I'm happy with it.

We all had fun and maybe next year the boys will finish. They should be seasoned runners by then;)!

I didn't have a chance to do a Christmas post, so here are a few pics from our Christmas:

After Santa came to visit

That is a look of excitement!! He finally got a camera!

 

I ♥ Sarah Palin

totally hubby's idea!

Again....thanks to hubby!

 

Maddox was so exhausted from all the festivities he fell asleep half standing!!!

○○○○○○○○○○○○○

I have really been praying and meditating on this past year and the new year to come. Hopefully I will have the time this week to post about it!

Random note:
Hubby's Uncle has been very sick and they don't expect him to make it much longer.  The family has asked me to come to Nashville sometime this week to pray with him and the family before he dies.  I am so humbled and honored that they would ask me.

Giveaways:

RUN FASTER MOMMY  is raising money for a great cause by hosting a raffle for an amazing prize! If you have the chance, go check it out!

 Hopefully I will post my New Year post tomorrow, if not, I pray you all have a wonderful and safe New Year with many blessings to come!!

Grace and peace,

Under Construction

This blog will be under construction for the next few weeks.  When I started this blog I just kind of threw it together. I'm kind of computer illiterate. I'm still surprised I even figured out how to get a background! I am amazed at some of the blogs the I have seen! I will be trying to design something that reflects my character a little better than this froofy one. :)

On another note, today is my last day of work before Christmas break!! I probably won't post for a few days while I dive head first into family functions and festivities!

I may not be blogging the next few days, but I will be running.  The boys and I will be running our Winter Misery One Miler!  early tomorrow morning before the Christmas Eve torrential rain begins.  We have several runs planned in the next few days, hopefully I will get some time to get in a few long runs while I'm off.  I don't return to work until the New Year and I am ready, ready, ready for 2010!!

Next week I will post my New Year, New Me- goals and reflections!  A lot of change!!  Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas full of love and blessings!

Grace and peace,

 p.s. (you see the signature? Cute huh? That took me an hour!LOL!)

Whirl wind Week

Actually I should say "Weeks".  December is by far my favorite month of the year, however, it always seems to go by in a blur. Christmas parties, Birthday parties, Christmas programs, shopping, baking, we cram so much "fun" into the month as we possibly can. Every year I make a point to say "next year we won't do so much".  Yet, here we are again squeezing every drop of Christmas fun out of the holiday season. We are definitely enjoying ourselves and so are the kids!

This Christmas season has been different in a way that I didn't imagine it would be last year.  My boys Tyler and Sebastian have run 2 races in the last few weeks.  When I start to lace up my shoes at home both of them are at the door ready to go run with me.  I am usually not a credit hog, but I am taking all the credit for this one! I am so proud to see that competitive spirit growing in them.  We ran in the Rudolph Run 5k and 1 mile fun run this past Saturday.  Both boys wanted to improve on their past time and they both did! PR's all around!

Before the Run

Not only the fact that they are beginning to foster the same love of running that I do, but they are becoming more aware of their bodies and nutrition in a way that I didn't until I was in my late 20's!  I'm so proud of my little men! Now if I could just get hubby to lace up his shoes!;)

 Giveaway Alert!!

○By the way, there is a fantastic holiday giveaway over on  Tall Mom on the Run's blog! It is GU-liscious!!   Check it out!
○Also A Merry Christmas Giveaway at One Run At A Time! Check it out for a chance to win the much coveted 2010 Runner's World Calendar!!

Got it! Got it! Got it!!! I finally got it!!

GARMIN

I didn't even know I wanted one until I started reading all these running blogs. To be honest it really didn't take that much convincing either.  I have been amazed at how easily everyone seemed to be keeping up with their mileage and pace. I thought I was doing an okay job at it with my little stop watch, pen, and paper. However, sometimes I would forget to write it down, or forget to start or stop my watch, and on the days I do long runs I really wasn't sure exactly how far I was running. I would just write down a guesstimate.

So, I told hubby that I wanted the Garmin Forerunner 305 for Christmas, how much it was, and where he could buy it. He's not the greatest at buying Christmas presents, so I have to give him ALL the details.

Fast forward two weeks later to this past Thursday, we were headed to Nashville for our family holiday weekend. Hubby takes what I thought was a wrong exit but quickly realized he was headed towards Best Buy....I knew what was about to happen.... I was getting a GARMIN!!! He had been calling all of the Best Buys with in 150 miles of us and this was the only store that had one left in stock! What a sweetie!!

Of course, this is my Christmas present so he told me it's not to be used until I open it on Christmas morning. Yeah Right! I had that sucker strapped to my wrist the next morning! Oh glorious Garmin! Are you kidding! I should have gotten you a year ago! I have a new lease on running!

The only problem that I can think of is I struggle a little with OCD and I can NOT stop checking my pace!!! Seriously I am constantly looking at it and would probably stare at it the whole run if I wouldn't look like a crazy lady running down the road with my arm up in the air!!

 I run everyday on my lunch break across the street at the park.  The sign says one lap is 1.5 miles. Normally, I run 3 laps. 4.5 miles right? WRONG!! According to GARMIN(who I still have to name) it is 4.97 miles.. I almost called Parks and Recreation yesterday to let them know how wrong they are! How many people have been running this park with misinformation?!? A tragedy!

Ok so not that big of a deal...today I ran a little further to make it a complete 5 miles!Yeah me!

Did you know that this thing tracks how many calories you have burned too!!! 619 calories burned today!! Woohoo!! I don't feel so bad now about the chocolate covered pretzels I noshed on last night.

The sweet man who got me a Garmin. :)

○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○

Holiday

We had an amazing family holiday in Nashville. We saw "ICE" at Opryland which was amazing! The Christmas lights at Opryland are out of this world!  I have never seen anything like it!

The kiddos at ICE...

Maddox was so bundled up that he couldn't bend...like Randy from "A Christmas Story"

I am grateful for little getaways like this that create a deeper family unity.

We also visited with hubby's Aunt and Uncle.  His Uncle suffered a stroke and is in the hospital in Nashville. We were able to pray with them and spend some good time with them.  Uncle just loved to see the kids. Wish we lived a little closer so we could spend more time with them. I am thankful that God is doing a great work in their lives. God is so good and faithful!

Random

 This is what Maddox does when he sees a camera...

CHEESE!!! Hopefully one day he will smile normal again...but for now..this is it!!LOL!!

Upcoming Races:

This Saturday, Dec 19th- Rudolph 5k Run in Huntsville, AL. Boys are running the 1 mile fun run.

January 17th- P.F. Changs Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix, AZ

My how they grow!

The Kids Grow:
Ok, so I realize that I tend to baby my boys, but I love, love, love babies!!! So accepting the fact that we are in fact DONE having babies has been a little difficult. Maybe I'm projecting on to my kids the oldest of which is only 8yrs old. Example: Every year at Christmas time I buy the boys matching Christmas pajamas.  I just love the way it looks with all the holiday colors. However, it gets a little more difficult every year the older they get.

So here is a picture of this year's pj's:

And immediately I thought of this:

Noooooooo I don't baby them a bit! I have to admit, I laughed so hard when my son walked out and I saw the look on my hubby's face, that I actually peed on myself!(hey I've had 3 kids what do you expect!)

So now, my hubby refers to Tyler as "Ralphie".  Next year, I think I'll go with something else.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I have a 16yr old step-daughter named Jayden. I have been with her since she was 3yrs old. I am amazed at the growth I have seen in her. Let me start by saying the cliche, I love her like my own, and I do.  I grew up with 4 brothers and have always been a tomboy type. As a little girl I knew I always wanted to have baby boys. Thank you Lord for my 3 boys!! Then, Jason(hubby) and Jayden came into my life.  I, for the life of me, could not figure out this little girl!  She was girlie, prissy and screamed when she saw frogs. And I fell in love with her. However, there was a period of time between the ages of 11-15 that she turned into an unrecognizable creature. I think this is probably true of most teen girls. She cried ALL the time, perfected the eye roll, could scare the doo-doo out of her brother's with just one hiss, and thought we were sent from above to torture her. Every bit of the Jayden we once knew and loved was gone.

Finally, about a year ago, I picked her up from school and she was smiling.....could this be...was she back? It was true, she started talking, laughing and sharing about her day!!

It was as if she went into a cocoon for about 4 years and emerged this beautiful well spoken butterfly!!

I just got off the phone with her.  We are headed  to Nashville for a family holiday weekend and she called me to find out what she should wear and how she should pack....I love that she calls me for everything. We are at a new stage in our relationship and I'm excited about it!

Jason(hubby) and Jayden

•••••••••••••

On a totally different note: I did not run today, I'm hoping to squeeze in a few miles on the dreaded treadmill tonight after the kids go to bed and I get done packing.  I have every intention of utilizing the gym at the condo we will be staying at.....every "intention"....

Have a great weekend everyone!!! We will!!

I lost my keys...not my mind!!

    Sunday, I lost my keys.  The only set of car keys I have (because I lost the other two sets).  I was leaving church and had the boys loaded up in the van all ready to go and no keys. We turned the church and my purse upside down looking for my keys, unsuccessfully. After saying a prayer that the angels would put them in a safe place, a faithful friend gave the boys and I a ride home.
Not the end of the world.  Since I work at the church hubby would just give me a ride to work in the morning and have another key made. No big deal, really.  Hubby wasn't even upset, at this point he was pretty amused.

As I walked into the house hubby handed me a bowl of "puppy chow".  A delicious treat I make every holiday season to pig out on for the kids.  As he handed the bowl to me he said "here this will make you feel better."  WHAT??!! I don't know why I was so shocked that the man I have lived with and loved for 13yrs knows that I'm an emotional eater but it shocked me nonetheless!
So here it is:
I am an emotional eater...I come from a big Italian family and a long line of "feeders".  I eat when I'm happy, I eat when I'm sad, and I REALLY eat when I'm mad!  This is most likely the reason that I have maintained the exact same weight for almost a year even though my activity level has increased about 100%.  I guess you could say I run so I can eat! Maintaining is good, but not when I still have about 15lbs to go. 
So I'm trying to come up with a way to curb this emotional eating. What kind of goal do I set? Write down everything I eat? Been there done that.  Take away temptations? With 3 small children in the house that is nearly impossible. So I'm open to ideas....
Oh and I found my keys...they were in between the seats where I was sitting in church.  Thank you angels!

Running Buddies

I can't help it. I make people race with me! ;) When I enjoy something I want everyone else to enjoy it too! So this past Saturday I strongly encouraged my new running buddies Elaine and Tami to join me for the Frosty Freeze 5k. A great local race and a wonderful first time race for the newbies.  Elaine started running with me about one month ago and Tami started about two weeks ago.  It snowed about one inch early Saturday morning, I am pretty sure the boys and I were the only ones who were happy about that!  Love running in the cold!

At the last 5k, I set a PR of 26:05, my goal for this race was to beat that. When the horn sounded I took off. What I like about running in the cold is that my legs just feel numb and I can move faster. It also seems easier to control my breathing. By the time I got to the one mile mark my time was 7:23..WHAT!! I was flying! Way faster than I intended to (another reason I am getting a Garmin)!  So I slowed down and by the 2nd mile was at a pretty steady 8 min mile pace.  The 3rd mile I slowed down more than I would have liked to.  I finished in 25:58 which is a new PR, however, I am still a little disappointed that I didn't push it a little harder. I will be racing again in 2 weeks in the Rudolph Run 5k in Huntsville, AL.  My goal is to finish under 25mins.

Elaine and Tami finished in great times and I am so proud of them! They are excited to set new PR's in the next race! I am pretty sure they have been bitten by the running bug!!

My sweet boys, Ty and Sebastian ran the Jingle Bell 1 mile. They had a great time and were more excited about the hot cider and cookies after the race! Sebastian won a first place medal for his age group 5 and under ( he was the only one in that category..but shhhhhhhh he doesn't know that!) Mommy is so proud of both her running boys! They are truly fit for the King!!

 

Sebastian's favorite part of the race....Food!!

                

Team Fit for the King!

A little bit of this and that...

I contemplated not running today....my legs and butt are sore (from a fantastic pilates session yesterday), baby was up all night, and work has been slammed. Thankfully the thought of NOT running makes me feel even worse!  The Frosty Freeze 5k is this Saturday, only 2 days away and I can not believe I would even think about slacking now! The weatherman is saying it is a possibility of snow Saturday morning and I am praying he is right! Call me crazy, but I love, love, love running in the cold and snow!! Yes, I live in the south, but do not confuse me with a southern girl....I am Chicago through and through!  My older boys Tyler-8yrs and Sebastian-5yrs are going to run the 1 mile fun run.  It makes me so happy to see the same competitive spirit in them that I have! Hubby Jason will cheer us on with Maddox all snuggled up in the stroller. 
So I skipped my lunch run at the park and opted to do a road run this evening. I'm thinking about 6 miles today and tomorrow will be a rest day before the race. I use the word "rest" very loosely!!

Wishlist
After researching the Garmin to death, I have finally decided to add it to my wishlist this Christmas.  I am extremely "tech-challenged".  I don't even run with my ipod because it takes me too long to get the song I want to play!   After reading Mel-Tall Mom on the Run's review of the Garmin Forerunner 305, I made up my mind.  My ice age way of keeping up with miles run, tracking runs, and keeping pace are sooooo 2009!! I am going to bring the New Year in with a Garmin!!

Personal Records

Last year I entered my first 5k (Living Waters 5k) as an incentive to get moving and lose some weight after the birth of my 3rd boy. I had no idea it would be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with running. My goal for that first race was to not finish last! I finished in 30:29 and was so proud of myself. I couldn't wait to try and beat that time! I started entering every race I possibly could. I looked at them as small goals to keep myself motivated! I set a personal record last Saturday, November 28th. Ironically, it was in the same race where I first found my love for running, The Living Waters 5k. I finished first in my age group 30-34 with a time of 26:05! I love pushing myself! I never imagined I would enjoy it this much. The sweat, the sore muscles, the nauseating feeling I get when I push my body to the limit and then keep going. Most of all, the peace that I have when I can spend that time meditating on the Lord and how good He is. That is the time that I talk to Him, share with Him, and listen to Him.
I am thankful for my friend Gina. When she comes to visit from Chicago she runs with me as a gesture of support. What a loyal, and loving friend she is!