I Will Run For Food

May 07

[video]

May 06

Little Mister and I met up with Melinda for a run today. It was a day of firsts: my first run outdoors since November. My first time running with a partner since October. The first time running with the jogging stroller. I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t easy.

The stroller weighs 25lbs. The infant car seat weighs about 8lbs and the baby weighs 13lbs. So pushing 46lbs while carrying an extra 50 on my frame was a little more challenging than anticipated. I’ll get used to it, but its going to take a little practice.

Good company made the time pass quickly. We ran/walked 3.7 miles in 51:51 at Lake Nokomis.

I spent the rest of the day working on the yard. We planted 3 boxwood shrubs and one Juniper tree. We are making progress slowly but surely.

May 05

Tonight’s dinner brought to you by random crap in my fridge.

Red cabbage, beets, shredded carrot, edamame and sunflower seeds with a side of black beans.

Yum!

May 04

Meanbook

I have been crying on and off all morning (at work!) over a comment that somebody made on Facebook.

I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, but it really hit me where it hurts.

I guess this is a good reminder that your “friends” over there aren’t really friends. It’s a collection of people you haven’t talked to since high school. Weird relatives, co-workers, exes and people who picked on you as a kid. Not the most supportive group to rely on.

So I am once again reminded that I really am mostly alone, other than my immediate family. If I want someone to talk to they are the ones who will care (and of course my tumblr family).

Apr 30

Tumblr Crushes

I had a rough day yesterday. These folks went out of their way to say wonderful encouraging things. They are some of my favorite people. You’re probably already following all of them, but if you’re not, please fix that now :)

lostweightgainedlove replied to your post: Ever have one of those days where you can’t think…

let me say one, you are an incredible person, I am a good judge of character.

victoriafindslife replied to your post: Ever have one of those days where you can’t think…

[video]

Apr 29

Ever have one of those days where you can’t think of anything nice to say to yourself?

Having one currently.

Apr 28

10 yard waste bags on the curb, 8 more in the garage. All from the front yard.

We raked, dug, sifted, planted, watered, chopped and power washed. I would guess we’re about 1/4 complete with the things we want to do out front.

In all, we spent about 15 hours working outside this weekend. This will definitely be a summer long project.

Tomorrow is my last day of maternity leave. I go back to work at 5 am on Tuesday morning. I am having so many feels about this. To be perfectly honest, I have no desire to go back. I don’t think I could ever be a full time stay at home mom, but I don’t enjoy my job, so it’s difficult to go back to.

Apr 27

We bought our house in November. It snowed 2 days after we moved in, so we weren’t able to clean up the fallen leaves etc. from the fall.

We purchased the house from a flipper who did massive renovations on the inside of the house, but did nothing with the front or backyard.

We formulated a yard improvement plan shortly after we moved in. Today we dug in (literally) to the front yard. We grossly underestimated the state of neglect it was truly in. It’s obvious that no one has worked on the yard in years. We spent almost six hours raking, cleaning up the ugly lava rocks that are randomly scattered about. Cut down the make shift flag pole. Filled in the huge holes and divets in the lawn. Filled and seeded the trench that was dug before we moved in to repair the sewer line.

We got a lot done but still have several more days of work ahead of us. I can’t even begin to explain how tired I am right now. According to Myfitnesspal, I easily burned off 1200+ calories. So after we cleaned up, we had the first bonfire at our house (Little Misters’ first ever) and made some s’mores. I’m not even sorry. They were delicious.

Round two starts tomorrow!

Apr 26

C25K Week 5 Day 3

5 min warm-up

20 min run

5 min cool-down

2.59 miles in 30:03. Average pace 11:38

I was a little concerned when I realized I had to run for 20 minutes straight today. It turns out I didn’t need to be worried. It went fine. I felt relaxed. My breathing was even. I didn’t start to feel tired until the last 2 minutes. So yeah for that!

When the hubby got home we took the baby to Lake Calhoun for a walk. It was ridiculously busy because we had temps in the 70’s today.

We walked 3.08 miles in 56:45. Not too bad considering how many people we had to pass.

Half the Lake is still covered in ice. Even in Minnesota, that’s very unusual for the end of April.

We saw at least 20 Loons swimming and diving in the open water near shore. Fun fact: the Loon is Minnesota’s state bird.

The hubby expressed that he would like to lose some weight. He has a specific weight goal in mind. So we are doing a 10 in 10 bet between the two of us.10% of our total body weight in 10 weeks. That should be more than enough time to get him to his goal. The prize is winner’s choice.

So far with the tumblr dietbet, I am down 7.2 pounds! So continuing on with the hubby when that ends will be great. Just between you and me, he doesn’t have a chance. I am so winning this competition.

Apr 25

[video]

Apr 24

[video]

Apr 23

If You Run Slow, Who Cares? -

Being a “slow” runner is merely a state of mind. Don’t let that affect your running.

Many runners, both new and experienced, hesitate to join local running groups or participate in online communities. When asked why, most respond that they are embarrassed by how slow they are.

I’m here to tell you that you’re not slow and that this negative, self-deprecating thinking is only holding you back from your true potential!

I think a lot of us struggle with this. We assume that we won’t be welcome in a running group, because we think we will be the weakest link. In most cases, this is totally untrue. Why let self doubt keep us from making some really amazing connections in the running community?

I decided to do some interval training on the treadmill today. I used the intermediate work out that Sarina posted earlier today.

Surprisingly, this workout actually felt pretty easy. It appears that I am progressing more than I originally thought. It felt really good to run at 7.0 for a minute. Right now I can’t sustain that pace for long, but I had a short glimpse of what used to be in my wheelhouse. And it felt good.

2.17 miles in 30:00. Average pace 13:50.

Apr 22

C25K Week 5 Day 1

5 min warm-up

5 min run/ 3 min walk

5 min run/ 3 min walk

5 min run

5 min cool-down

2.35 miles in 31:00. Average Pace 13:13.

I got my dailymile weekly training report today. I ran 11.67 miles last week. I had a split second where I felt bad for myself. I thought about when I used to top the leader board with 30+ miles every week. Now I don’t even make the top 5. But then I got over it.

What’s past is past. I can’t get a do over. I made poor choices during my pregnancy. I gained more weight than I needed to and I lost more fitness than I planned to. Big deal. I have my big girl panties on and they only know how to make progress.

I have the opportunity to start over from ground zero. To redefine what kind of athlete I want to be. To do the strength workouts I skipped the first go around. To hold the planks and run the intervals even when I don’t want to. To let go of preconceived notions of how fast I can run and how hard I can push.

Square one isn’t always a bad place to be. This time I’m going to keep my eyes open. I will take notice of each small milestone rather than letting them slide quickly past.

My feet will face forever forward. I will not look back.