It happens . . .

It is that time of year, the time of sharing and giving. Too bad it is sick germs that are being shared. Yep, some sick bug made it's way into my home and has infested us. I've been fighting it for four days now, and my kids have also been battling it. It's nothing more than a head cold with a cough and running nose, but is sure has taken its tole on me and my family. For me, I feel like I need to let my body do it's thing and get rid of the bug so I choose to rest and not workout until I feel better. Maybe I'm wrong and I should keep with my workout plan, but really I already feel crapy and who wants to add to that.

So when you get sick, do you workout through the sickness or let your body rest and recover?

Convenience

It is really nice to have the convenience of a treadmill. I'm not one to go running out in the bitter cold first thing in the morning. I think about taking the two younger kids in the double jogging stroller while the older two are at school, but that makes it harder to push the 60+ pounds. So that leaves me to my treadmill, I like having my time and distance displayed right in front of me. I'm hoping to get a garmin forerunner training watch that will tell me my distance, speed, time, and even my heart rate as I run outside. Today I gave it a valiant 4 miles, it took me longer than I wanted but I got it done!

Pushing it

Do you ever feel like pushing yourself to see how hard you can work? Well, today was one of those workouts for me. I did a dvd that I have done lots before but I added more intensity and more weight. What a difference that made. I felt stronger as I powered through the moves and proud of myself for pushing through the hard parts when I wanted to quit. Plus it helps to have a workout buddy like I talked about below, this time it was my four year old son, he sure made sure I was doing it right!

Missed the weekend ...

So here it is Monday again and I have to report that I didn't do what I was supposed to -- I didn't post my activity! I don't know if it really matters to whoever reads this what I am doing for my workouts, but it really helps me to record it. In fact knowing that I'm doing this blog helps me make sure I get my workouts done! Friday was a P90x morning workout with my husband. It is a challenge for me to wake up early, really who wants to wake up early - let alone waking up early to exercise?! One thing that I have discovered is that I am enjoying this extra time with my husband, something that I had not planned on! We did arms and back, it's fun to tease back and forth and challenge each other to work harder. As we are getting stronger we need to buy new weights!

I was very excited to head outside for my run on Saturday, my plan was to go at least 4 miles. I even had the best running partner to go with me, my 9 year old son Kyler. He has been fun having him come with me the last couple of saturdays. We headed out with much excitement, it didn't take even 10 seconds before we turned around and went home to get hats and warm gear. It was cold and rainy, but we still went. I was feeling great with the energy I needed for a really good run, and I was so excited to run farther than before. Well, Kyler soon lost his excitment, after about 5 min he was cold and tired. On our past runs, Kyler was always ahead of me and motivating me to keep going and run faster, we even have mini races while we run (great for a 9 year old huh). This run was a different story, it was me who was helping him to finish what we started. He was cold and tired and didn't want to run anymore. It ended up being an okay outing, walking more than I wanted, and we went 3 miles. When we had our final race home, he had plenty of energy left to beat me, but only because he cut across the neighbors yard!

Do you have a workout buddy, or do you like going it alone?

I have found I love my morning workouts with Nick, and I like running with Kyler, but there are times I like it to be just myself.

Where I run!

I thought I would post a picture of the view when I run:




Notice my running schedule right where I need it and of course the t.v so I'm not so totally bored looking at the wall.
Great isn't it?! For now while the weather is cold and snowy this is my place to go. Luckily on saturdays I can get outside for my long run while my husband watches the kids (as long as the weather permits).

Does it get easier?

I am waiting for it to get easier, but does it ever really? I know that the harder I have to work the more it is changing my body. As I was running today I was thinking back to last year when I could run a mile without stopping and even run a 5k without stopping. I was struggling this morning to run 5-6 min at a time before I felt like I couldn't go anymore. What gets me is that I know I have done it before so why can't I do it now? The running schedule I follow increases the running time a minute longer than the previous week. I find that I am not even getting used to running a certain time and then to add another minute seems so daunting-- how am I ever going to get back to running a full 5k without stopping? If I can't do that than how can I expect myself to complete a 1/2 marathon? On days like this I need to remember to stick with it, what I am doing will change my body, it will take time and hard work but it can be accomplished. I tend to give up too soon because I don't see the results, I need to trust in the process.

Familiar Run

Today I ran a 5k (3 miles)! It felt really good to have run that familiar distance again. I have come to love running 5k's and have participated in many over the years. I almost forgot how much I enjoyed it! I'm hoping to get the running bug that I hear so much about so I can reach my goal of running that 1/2 marathon.

Back Again

I'm Back. I haven't been good at posting lately, probably because I feel like I am not doing anything exciting enough to post about. I still have been working out and following my training schedule and my running is getting better. I ran four miles last Saturday, the longest I've gone. I'm really hoping that I will be ready for the 1/2 marathon this summer. In fact I'm thinking about running two 1/2 marathons, one in June and the other in July, then I can say I ran a marathon -- it only took me a month ha ha. I need to find out if it will be okay for me to run them so close together.

I've been struggling with finding the perfect workout time. I don't like to get up early in the morning, I feel that it is my sleep time and I don't want to give that up. So I have been exercising at odd times during the day depending on what happens with the kids. I decided that it wasn't working like I hoped and am now back to getting up early and getting done before the kids get up. I've told myself that it is my time to do something for myself before I do something for everybody else all day, one day done and I already like it better.

I am also changing my training schedule just a bit, it's not a big change but it will be better.