Cellcom Marathon

Jon ran his marathon today and finished with a time of 5:01:44. I am very proud of this accomplishment.  He has been hampered by a knee injury, and for a while, wasn't sure if he could run at all.  He said he was good up through mile 16.  At mile 18 his knee was very sore and at a mile 20 he couldn't run anymore.  So he walked the final 6 with a little jog as he ran past us cheering in Lambeau.  

Yesterday we snapped the photo above as we left Lambeau Field after we picked up Jon's bibs and registration info. It was pretty awesome to mill around the Lambeau Field Atrium.

 

I still think he is crazy, and I have no desire whatever to run a marathon.

Or another half for that matter... I think I will stick to 5 and 10Ks, or relays. 

Half Marathon

A couple of months ago Jon suffered an overuse injury that has been really slow to heal.  Unfortunately he was already signed up for the Green Bay Cellcom Marathon that runs next week.  So back then, I committed to take over his run for him if he couldn't run it, but I was only prepared to run the half.  The rules say that it would disqualify the time, and you would get the finisher medal for the race you signed up for (since that is what they were planning on you running) but otherwise it wasn't a big deal.  If the half hadn't been full, we could have switched his registration to a half, but it was already full.  So anyway, it was a big commitment for me.  I had formed and signed up a team for the relay in September, but running any sort of marathon was not in my mind's eye at the time.  

Since then, however, Jon has worked up to walk/running, and was able to complete a 20 training activity last weekend in around 5 hours.  So, he is confident that he can use this strategy to run his own race.  Therefore, I am not needed to run, but I did all the training for it... So I decided to run my own half today.  

My phone died at mile 12, which besides being tired and low on energy, I was sort of bored too.  So my last mile sort of sucked.  There was also a crazy head wind on the way back from Kaukauna that slowed me down quite a bit.  I never thought that all the cheering people and the hubbub of spectators who don't know me actually did anything for my running, but I am convinced now that they play a pretty big role in helping you get to the finish.  I think they might have helped me hit my goal of 3 hours and 30 minutes too.  

So in the end, I ran all the way to Kaukauna and back! Which is incredible.  The trail I took goes right past the school I went to for 6th-8th grade... (although now its an elementary school...) I remember them making us run the mile in gym.  I hated those days.  So many sprained ankles and windless hours... If I finished the mile, it was like 30-45 minutes...  It is so crazy to me that I can do it in 15 now... and that I literally ran from where I live now in Appleton, all the way to that school in Kaukauna, and back!  I'm proud, and sore, and probably not much of a long distance runner... I mean, Jon did this in an hour and 39 minutes...  

I'm glad I did it, I would do it for him again, but I don't think I will be signing up for more halfs (or fulls...). 

Faces

This is an illustration depicting why asking children to "smile" for the camera is a bad idea... 

And this is an illustration of why we ask our children to smile for the camera! 

Today Jon did a training run that took about 5 hours and spanned 20 miles... During which time, I baked two loaves of homemade whole wheat bread, washed, dried and folded four loads of laundry, and created and kneaded dough for 30 tortillas. 

Now I'm drinking Merlot and letting someone else cook dinner. Cheers to productivity! 

(Oh, I also put Wes on the pot every hour and changed three barely damp undies, and broke up so many sibling quifs that I lost count...) 

Productivity

Since we had been so busy yesterday, we were all somewhat exhausted when we finally got home.  We ate a pretty quick and processed food type meal, read our chapter in the book, and sent the kids off to bed. Jon and I surprisingly, did stay up long enough to watch another episode of Breaking Bad... We are inching along in our goal of catching up in that series. Still, we hit the sheets at about 9.  So I had a good length of sleep for a change. I still woke up tired, just a state of life these days I guess.

After I got Wes off to school, I stopped to pick up another tray of Jiffy pellets for my indoor plants. My Basil that I planted last week has all germinated. I have several plants that are two inches tall and sprouting tiny basil leaves! Today I planted Dill, Thyme, Rosemary, and Parsley. I am planning to keep the herbs mostly indoors this year. Then I ran 4 miles while watching "Riding in Cars with Boys". Made lunch for the kids and played a little Mario Galaxy with Livi. I had the girls pack for their overnight at Grandma's, made a bank deposit, and voted. I thought it was  a very productive day.

Tomorrow, I am looking forward to a few hours to myself since the girls are hanging out with Grandma and the boys will be at Connections.  Sounds like a good time to pick up fertilizer and hit GoodWill...

Long run

I ran 8 miles today.  Its been my longest run so far, but not my longest time!  I know my pace has been improving, but it feels good to sort of "see" it like this.  I also know that my time would have been better if not for continued impasses around the neighborhood due to ice and melting snow drifts and my new shoes.  I was super excited to go to the running store for new shoes yesterday, and I knew that an 8 mile run probably wasn't the best way to break in new shoes, but that is what was up on my training calendar. So I expected a little bit of both to slow me down a bit. My other issue is hydration.  I know that when I run on race days, they have water stations around, but what I don't have figured out is what to do when I am on my training runs. 

My body itself, with the exception of my right foot which went numb after the first mile (shoe related), felt really good.  So I will take that for what it is worth!

Before and After

November 2012

March 2014  

In May of 2012, I finished my very first clinical in my nursing program.  The first clinical experience was only about 9 days long, and every day I felt like crap physically after the day was done.  I knew that nursing was a physical job, but I didn't realize just how far gone I had let my body go.  I never claimed to be healthy or in shape, but I was happy with me.  I always told myself that if I wasn't happy with me at any point, that I would do something about it.  Thus became the motivation for me to make changes in my life.

2013 Turkey Trot

I started by walking on the treadmill and keeping track of my diet on an app called My Fitness Pal.  I remember begging Jon to support me.  I really just wanted him to help me by being accommodating and positive about my changes.  We both knew that there was room for improvement for all of us, but my motivation was about me, so I wasn't concerned about everyone else.  Eventually I started asking him to do some activities with me, and encouraging him to start getting more fit as well.  After several months of this, Jon got on the treadmill, and just like that a month later he was flying past me.  His starting walking speed was almost twice my "running" speed.  I convinced him to run with me at the Thanksgiving Day fun run known as the Turkey Trot.  Soon after that, his weight was melting off.  Mine was dropping a little here, and a little there, but nothing like his.  At first it didn't bother me very much, it was sort of like a challenge, but that didn't last long.

August 2010

I am immensely proud of Jon's accomplishments with regard to his physical health and weight loss.  I am also sincerely jealous, mostly because I do work just as hard.  I am just as committed to my workouts and my plans as he is, but my results are so dramatically different.  I don't really think it is my place to put on display or brag about his success, however proud I am...    Yet many have asked for before and after images, so with his blessing, I have assembled some here.

June 2012

February 2013

November 3013

Half Marathon September 2013

While my loss is not as dramatic as Jon's, it is important for me to remember that my lifestyle changes have made a physical difference.  So here are some of my before and afters to date:

April 2012

November 2012

January 2013

May 2013

5K September 2013

October 2013

Pi

All the geeks out there know that Friday was Pi day.  Jon made this amazing, rich, chocolate pie in celebration.  It was delicious, but very rich.  

Today we did a lot of clean up for the week ahead.  I made Sweet Potato Waffles from a recipe Jon found on Pinterest... very good!  Even the kids ate them well... although I didn't see the point in sharing that they were eating sweet potatoes either.  

I ran 7 miles on my training plan, agreed to run a half in place of Jon if he can't run the Cellcom in May... WHAT!?!  I can't believe I did that either.  Its been rolling around in my mind for a week or so, I know how frustrated he is.  I also know there isn't much I can do to help him, so if it eases his mind at all... there it is.  I will run a 1/2 Marathon in his place (yes, he is signed up for the full, but I am not going to be ready for a full in 9 weeks...) if Jon can't get there.  If he can, he can run his own half or full... but we will see... 

I made two loaves of bread, well Jon finished them while I was running... I finished his bunny shaped homemade graham crackers, finished the laundry (Jon folded and put away) and well I think that was it. It was enough for one day, I think... 

So Happy Pi Day... And 

CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa, my sister in law who finished her first Half Marathon today!  Well done!

Dog days

If only she could breathe for a few nights straight, she might not be so exhausted every day. :(

Yesterday Ava slipped in the bath tub and jarred her wrist.  While she hasn't really complained about it, I noticed that she isn't using that hand much, and pusing in the seat belt was difficult.  Add this to the endless upper respiratory congestion (which invariably leads to lower respiratory infection) and I have one super tired young lade everyday.  She fell asleep in the ten minute ride to pick up Wes from 4K and again in the ten minute period we waited for Jon to meet us at my work. She is not only fatigued, but extremely irritable.  Sometimes I think I need to lock her and Jon and in a room and let them have each other for a bit. (Jon has been put out by a strain injuy and hasn't been able to run in weeks.  Although his mood has been improving, it was pretty touch and go for a while back when it first happened.)

Wes also has some major nasal congestion and I could tell didn't sleep that well last night, but so far he has been pretty normal mentality wise. Might have Ava stay home tomorrow to recoup... will have to see.  I am sort of looking forward to running in some warm weather again... if it actually does warm up that is. High of 43 in the forcast...  so strange coming off highs in he teens yesterday!

I WANT SPRING... NOW! ::Pout::

Headache



Another accidental "palm" shot.  I probably could not have taken this photo so well if I had meant to.

I managed to get my hinder out of bed extra early today so that I could do a double strength training workout.  Ugh... yeah, I sound much more motivated than I actually am.  I woke up a couple days ago with one of those awful cricks in my neck.  My run on Monday was even more challenging since everytime I had a balance check (from the ice under foot) I also felt like my head was litterally going to roll off my neck.  I think in the long run it actually helped work the kink out as I feel a lot better this morning, but ugh, so sore.  I can tell that I have been working those muscles though all week, mostly because my left side was really weak during my weight training today.  I can usually pump out 6 shoulder presses at 25 each fairly easily, but today 6 was a huge struggle on my right, and almost not happening at all on my left.  So 8 reps were not happening... My chest presses were also a lot sloppier than usual.  The planks and push ups, on the other hand, went fairly well... still tough, but not like the first day :) 

Maybe tonight I will actually be able to get some sleep too. I think it is so funny how we do things using muscles that we are not even aware we are using until it hurts like hell to lay on a pillow, or sit up from laying, or just keep your head up. I blame all this stress, hoping it starts to disappate soon.

Candid

Can't get anymore candid with a photo than when you are taking them without even knowing it... yet, I sort of like it...  one or two would have been enough though, unlike the 40 of these that are now clogging up the memory on my phone. 

I spent most of the day consumed in an old past time of mine... building a jigsaw puzzle.  I have been really excited about this one too.  I found it on super duper clearnance at Hobby Lobby while Christmas shopping back in October... it is a puzzle of the Gettysburg Times on the day that President Kennedy was Assassinated.  I find it extremely interesting the stories that were printed on the same page.  There is one about the Catholics allowing the sacraments to be recited in multiple languages, and an obituary for a nun.  I topped off this party by listening to an audible book about the conspiracy that actaully focuses more on RFK, but since they all facinate me it works.

I had a run planned today, but I decided to take the day off. Yesterday's outdoor run/skate was enough for today too :)

Heat wave!

Went on my first outdoor run of the year today! Despite snow banks that are still above my head, today was a balmy 50 degrees! There were lots of deep puddles of ice cold water, some with deceiving patches of ice just below the surface too. There a few areas of the walk covered in thick sheets of ice as well. I lost a lot of speed attempting to skirt around puddles and over the ice at nearly every intersection :( 

After I picked up the kids from school, I widdled away at our own impressive ice mass at the bottom of our driveway. I would say I reduced it by half, although there is still a solid mass of four inch thick ice that is two feet wide running the length of it. 

I also stopped at the post office where I found these!

Harry potter Forever stamps! Obviously I'm not the only one who was sick of bells!

Good day!

Camera Shy

Westli is not at all camera shy.  In fact, he LOVES taking photos of himself.  Unfortunately he is so wiggly that usually our pix end up blurry.  Still, its a great smile, isn't it? 

Yesterday I ran 6 miles.  It went pretty well.  I thought I would run at a solid 4.0 (15 min mile), but after about 20 minutes, I was warmed up and ready to go a little faster.  After that I didn't go slower than 4.3 (about 13:50 pace).  At the end, when I am tired, I always want to go faster to get it over.  So, I slowly worked up to 4.8 (13:20 pace) which is the fastest pace I have ever sustained.  So I was very pleased.  87 minutes with an average pace of 14.28 is really very good for me.  

I also tried a new bread recipe, and it worked beautifully! I am so pleased! 

Ready, Steady, GO!

After loosing my wagon a bit last fall, I am proudly back on track to start out this new year. No, I wouldn't call it a resolution, just recalibrating my focus back to what I wanted to accomplish. Today I ran the longest distance since September, and I did it at least 1.4MPH faster than then. I have also added a strength training routine. Its something I started last summer, but quickly put aside as the semester heated up. My basic goal is to achieve some sort of vigorous physical activity for at least 30 minutes every day. Shoveling snow, housework, and gardening don't count, those calories are bonus burns! I am desperate for the snow to stop falling and start melting. I want to be running outside as the treadmill is so boring! I used to be able to run on the treadmill while enjoying some TV show or movie, but recently that hasn't been cutting it. I am not sure if its that I have exhausted my interest in TV/movies, or if I just need that much more to focus on in order not to focus on the displeasure of pushing myself. Probably both. Either way, I just really look forward to getting back on the pavement.

5K

My usual pace 48 min, my goal 45 min, my official time 43:10!

Feeing awesome today! (And tired!)

Zoo

We enjoyed a busy day today. We met up with my mom at the N.E.W. Zoo in Suamaco.  The kids complained a little, but did seem to enjoy themselves also.  The baby monkey was popular, as was the giant turtle that wanted so badly to come right over that its shell squealed as it ran along the wooden barriers... The kids were not fans of "feeding" the giraffe... (and $1 for a branch of leaves... really?!)

Jon and I had our last appointment with our personal trainer. It was a very good experience, better for Jon I think than me... Our trainer Matt was very personable, easy to like... easy to hate in the burn of the moment... really made me sweat!

We ended the evening with a 3 mile jog with strides.  Since I jog at the pace that Jon walks... sort of... he walks with me whenever it works out.  Then he races me on the strides.  He runs normally at my fastest stride, so its not so much a "race".  Still, it motivates me some, and Jon at least finds it humorous.