Two Steps Forward, ALOT OF GIANT STEPS BACK...

So you probably thought I was dead. Sigh. I've been gone SINCE EASTER!! That's craziness! 

My running has suffered ALOT. We had a busy month in May where my husband or I one were traveling. We saw each other a couple of days, I think. 

My husband was in Atlanta the first of the month. Then the little guy and I went to visit family in Dallas. A couple of days after I got home, my husband left for Colorado and the day after he returned our family left for Mammoth Lakes, CA. That's where we are now.

Talk about a busy travel schedule! I fell off the fitness wagon during this time. Sigh.

I've run a little bit here and there, but nothing consistent and nothing to speak of. I'll post my runs later this week as they're all stored on my watch. There won't be much to report, I'm afraid. 

The weekend between my getting home and my husband leaving, we did run a fun 5K together as a family. :D 

 Here are my two boys before the start.

 Check out the gal that was in front of me! Double stroller and a little white dog. Yeah. She beat me.

Here are the folks waiting to start..

Here's a picture of the little guy and I after we had finished. I think he kicked his little feet the entire way. He loved every minute of it. We ran it in under 33 minutes and it was the first time I'd ever really run with the stroller. We had such a fun morning. :)

We interrupt this blog to run....

Conversation between my husband and I as the pictures above downloaded.....

Husband: What are you doing?

Me: I'm finally posting something on my fitness blog.

Husband: What are you posting about? You haven't been doing anything.

Me: I'm writing about what a loser I am.

Husband: Oh. Wanna go out for a short run right now? I'll watch our little guy.

Me: Really? Do you mind? 

Husband: Nope.

Me: Okay! Thanks! 

So, out for a run I went. :) Mammoth Lakes is at almost 8,000 feet elevation and I felt every foot of it. Sigh. I'm back at the beginning where I'm walk/running. I jogged 20. Walked 5. Jogged 5. I'll put the times in with the next post. :) 

If the truth be told, I'm doing a really, really good job at only one of my top four priorities (Faith, Family, Fitness, Friends). 

Which one, you might ask...

Well, it's this one.

 My little man is growing so fast, I don't want to miss a second. We're up in a condo in Mammoth Lakes, CA. How do you like that make-shift toy box? :) He ignored all the familiar toys and went right for the cardboard box. Awesome. :)

It's June here and we got snowed on the last days in May. It was our little man's first time to see the snow. As a matter of fact, here on the 4th of June, there is a mix of rain and snow falling as I type this. Happy Summer.

My two little men napping. :) How cute is that?

Mammoth Lakes mornings go something like this. :) My little guy watches Baby Einstein on mommy's laptop while I have a cup of coffee and try to gear up for a busy day. :) 

My husband and a friend of ours are both up here to train at altitude. They're gearing up for the marathon olympic trials that will be taking place in Houston this coming January. My husband has had an incredible running career and I'm so proud of him. He's persevered through so many obstacles and injuries. This is his last big push as an athlete before we transition over to the coaching side of this sport. I'm up here taking care of our little man and cooking like a crazy woman. You try feeding two elite runners who are training like mad twice a day. These boys can eat! If you have easy, healthy and make-ahead meals in your kitchen arsenal, please do a girl a favor and share your recipes!! :D If I make 'em and the boys like 'em...I'll feature it here with your permission! :D 

Wrapping Up The First Month With A Belated Blog

So sorry to be so tardy. Sigh. 

I wrapped up my first month of running and made my goal for the week. 

THIS week, I've been a total LOSER. However, let's start with the good news. 

My husband finally came home from his trip and, boy, were we glad to see him! We miss him when he's gone. :) He kept our little guy for me while I went on a couple of longer runs. 

On Saturday I did a long run with my friend Angie. We went for a slow and easy run. The running I did with her plus my run home came to 7.5 miles. It began as quite the debacle. My watch that I thought was fully charged was totally dead. My music wouldn't load and I was running almost 15 minutes late by the time I finally met Angie at our rendezvous point. What started out as rough and frustrating ended up being a pretty enjoyable run though. 

On Sunday, I ran 4.15 in 40:11.19

Mile 1: 9:41

Mile 2: 10:03

Mile 3: 9:43

Mile 4: 9:25

Total for the week: 24 miles!

I would be way more excited and whooping it up if I had blogged about this in a timely manner. However, it is late Thursday night of the NEXT week and I have run once. Yes, that's right, one time. :(
I am so frustrated with myself. This is truth for ya, people. Sigh. I was doing so great and all of a sudden, I've stalled. I could give you a list of all the reasons I haven't made it out the door in tennis shoes, but who am I kidding? There will always be reasons, right?

I've gotta get back on the horse. I'm going to limp through the rest of this week and get a few more runs under my belt and then try to start again strong the next one. 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter From Our Family to Yours

Hope you have a wonderfully blessed day. 

He is Risen! 

 I'll report back later with this week's milage. I'm heading out for a run in just a minute. I'm still trying to reach my goal for this week.

An Hour & 15 Minutes...

Not an hour and 15 minutes of running...an hour and 15 minutes until my husband's plane is supposed to land and he'll be home. I can't wait! It was really just a short trip, but I missed him so much! We spend so much time together, it feels really weird when he's not around. I don't like it. Well...I don't like it MOST days. :) 

I didn't run today. :( I'm a whoose (how DO you spell that word????)*See Note*, I'll confess. I really just didn't want to run with the stroller. Sigh. Now I'm really behind in my milage, with only two more days to try to fit it in. You want to know the really bad news?? I don't even know how many miles I have left to reach my goal of 23 for the week. I'm going to have to go back and count it up after I post this blog. I'll probably be thrown into a little bit of a panic when I see how many miles I'm going to have to cram into two very short days. We'll see...

Yesterday (Thursday) morning, I went over to a girlfriend's house and ran on her treadmill while she kept my little guy. Thank goodness for wonderful friends. :) I only ran three miles, but that's three I don't have to worry about tomorrow. :) It felt really different to run on the treadmill. I started pushing myself in a different way trying to see what different speeds felt like, etc. I was tuckered out at the end of the third mile. :) I don't have the breakdown by miles. I just have the total distance and time spent...

3 miles in 28:56

Weird picture, I know, but the screen kept flashing back and forth between time and distance and this is the best I could do. :) 

Now to post this and then count up my milage, or the lack thereof, for the week thus far. I'm a little scared.

On a happier note, just 59 more minutes now til his plane lands!! :)

*NOTE* So I googled how to spell it and it's "WUSS." LOL. :D I wasn't even close! :D

Cobb Salad with Southwest Dressing

I'm just getting ready to head out the door to go and run on a girlfriend's treadmill. My goal for this week is 23 miles. With my husband out of town for much of the week, I've had to lean on friends to keep our little man while I run for 30 minutes or so. I'll have to fit a couple of long runs in when my husband gets home to make my goal. I'm avoiding running with the stroller for as long as possible. :) It just seems really H-A-R-D. :)

Just wanted to share a quick recipe for Cobb Salad and Southwest Dressing. This is a favorite with us and I make it pretty frequently. It's healthy too! 

If you're interested, you can get the recipe on my other blog here. :)

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Short and Sweet

It's late and I'm tired and tomorrow is a busy day. So...with no more ado, 

Wednesday: 3.01 in 29:12.83

Here are the splits...

Mile 1: 10:32

Mile 2: 9:40

Mile 3: 8:57

I never could understand why my husband and others did such crazy warm-up runs before a race. I always wondered if it didn't hurt their performance or cost them more than it earned them, so to speak. I'm starting to get it. 

The first couple of miles hurt and they're not your best. When the gun goes off, those who have warmed up a mile or two are ready to roll! 

My husband was unavailable to watch our little guy this evening and our wonderful neighbor came over to watch him so I could get a short run in. I LOVE her! :)

Goodnight. :)

Beginning the 4th Week with a Bang!

I took Tuesday off as a rest day, but on Monday evening Angie and I ran together again and it's the most I've run in years! She and I met at a park, ran 5 miles together and then each ran home. It was a mile and a half home, so I started my week with a 6 1/2 mile run!! 

WOOHOO! :D 

Check it out! 

Here is the milage breakdown. 

Monday: 6.51 miles in 1:01.12

Mile 1:  10:11.01

Mile 2:  9:34.72

Mile 3:  9:06.90

Mile 4:  9:07.37

Mile 5:  9:21.10

Mile 6:  9:11.20

.51 Mile: 4:40.05

According to the scales this morning, I've only lost 1/2 to 1 pound. Sigh. However, I'm hoping that means I'm gaining muscle and losing fat. I'm still hauling around the little spare tire out front. I'll be soooo excited when that starts shrinking. I'll try to do an update picture every month or so. I'll have a "Watch the Tire Shrink" photo series. Every woman's dream, I know. LOL :D