Snow

Well, how many calories does shoveling snow burn? How exhausting. Yet the pedometer read only 809 steps after all that work. It cannot be accurate I tell you!

I'm pooped, too, because I ran 2.25 miles. Crazy. Too much exercise?

Consistancy

But isn't the problem consistancy? That is mine. Despite best intentions to run yesterday I didn't. I had suprise and very welcome company in way of a dear friend. The boys were thrilled too. It was a good visit, but I didn't run.

Today I was back to it. Felt great. I'm doing 2 miles under 20 minutes, much uphill. My challenge is that I don't really have much time to run, so I'm just running hard. It works well I think. Is that the same as running long?

Back to it!

I simply cannot allow myself the excuse of work to keep me off the road. I finally ran today and I had forgotten how great it feels! I only put in three miles but they were good miles and, hey, I was not sitting on my couch!

Although...

Although I've been running, lifting, etc. I haven't been posting. Sorry! Today I had quite the work out. A good two mile run and then a dance party with my 2 year old. WOW! The dancing did me in practically. In between songs he pretended we were at a picnic and did push ups to eat off the floor! This was Carter's invention. It is good for pretend and a work out, but if he ever invites you on a picnic with real food be prepared to work for it!

It's Alive!!!!

Yes, I am alive! I am still here! I have been such a poor blogger and I am sorry. I have been so busy with work things that this (and, sadly, health in general) has just gone by the wayside.

Back to it, friends! What is more important then our health? Nothing!

Fish or Cut Bait

Here is the deal: Could I just get sick or healthy? This in between crap is driving me crazy! One day my throat is sore and I'm coughing and achy. The next I'm fine. How does health even work? I try to take it easy when I'm feeling even slightly bad because I don't get to go to bed when I'm ready (kids) and I live with others that I take care of. So I have learned to take it easy. But this is terrible! It just lingers. Just do one thing or the other for goodness sake.

Needless to say I didn't run today. BUT, even if I felt well I would not have as I (shamefully) had 3 fillings today! YIKES! The novacane (I know that is spelled wrong which I will heretofor signify with 'sp' sans question mark) took 6 hours to wear off. Thankfully it was 75 in Iowa today (which on the other side of the coin I understand we're going to hell in a handbasket), but I was glad so that the oldest could be outside and I could just stand with the baby. It was a fair deal in the end.

JD - Miss you. Where are you!

Not into it

Just ran a very brief mile. At least it was 10 minutes. My heart just wasn't in it, but then I ran really early today. Maybe I'll have it in me later to run more. Some days I just can't muster the mind strength to do it. Why is that?

The Yolks on You

So JD, what did you do with the yolks?

Struck Down

Well illness has descended on our family. I am fighting it too so no running today.

2 10 minute miles

Folks, the news is: I'm alive. I know you're relieved and, fankly, so am I. Afterall we have started potty training! This is the most intense training I've ever undergone and I already know how, where, and when to go. Sorry but you'll have to endure comments on the successes.

I ran 2.5 today. Great pace. The bursitis (I think) is really slowing me down. I'm practicing some yoga stretching and breathing after running. Everyday actually, but it feels like it is getting worse. One good thing about being a complainer (or as I like to say: honest about how I feel) is that I can recognize patterns. I've also been sore on a regular basis in my hands and fingers. So Jules, talk arthritis to me baby. It runs in our family obviously. I feel like this pain is chronic, worse on some days than others.

Finally, I must say I resent the refusal to discuss my haircut and take it as a direct insult to my ability to cut my own hair...gee am I paranoid about it or what! Just say you like it and let me sleep at night!

Lame

I am Lame with a capital "L"! Does house cleaning count as exercise? Cuz that is all I got!

Turkey Noodle Soup for Supper

This place is still here! Thought you might like an invitation to supper. Turkey and broth from a bird we cooked on the grill in July. Adding onions, carrots, celery, peas, noodles and 2 bay leaves. It smells soooo good! Mom will love it when she gets home.

I was off today and mowed the lawn and both sets of trees for the last time. Drained the mowers and put them to bed for the winter. Got the garden tilled up yesterday so that's done now, too.

Dad

For pity sake

Well I just cannot get on track. I'm just put off by running by one thing or another. Mostly me, not my kids. I've had some breast infections (nursing mother remember) and they have just laid me out! YIKES! Now I'm feeling better but still getting it together. Oh who knows!

Quick Run

Just a quick four mile run tonight. I could have/should have put in a couple more miles but I have a lot of studying to do before my test tomorrow.

That said, enough of this blogging business!

Here I am

Hello friends. Yes, I exist! Sorry for my absence (Julie).

I, too, have been slacking on the running situation. But I'm back on track now running about 2.5-3 miles every other day.

Let me ask you this, what do you know about bursitis? Other than it is apparently a chronic pain in a joint (in my case my right hip), is there any treatment. This is my self diagnosis for this pain I've had over the last 3 weeks. The pain is also the reason I've switched to running every other day. I need a rest. On the 'other' days I've been focusing on weight training, etc. I just do not have enough time to do both cardio and weight training in one day. Alas, earwax. But since I've lost a TON of weight in such a short amount of time I really need to tone up. So it all works out!

Treadmill Running vs Road Running

Amy runs on a treadmill and I run on the street. Let us compare and contrast in order to determine which is superior.

..................................... Treadmill...................Street
Skunks.............................N.................................Y
Scary men.......................N.................................Y
Pit Bulls..........................N.................................Y
Trip on cracks................N.................................Y
Hooligans in training
waiting for the bus.......N..................................Y
Get hit by a car.............N..................................Y

As you can see, the treadmill has a lot on its side. But the final thing that makes the treadmill far surpass street running is that when you are on the street and decide "maybe three miles is enough today" you are still a mile from home.

Lazy!

Man, have I been lazy! It has been difficult for me to get back into the swing of things and school taking up the majority of my day has not helped. But I did get up this morning and hit the road. I put in four miles. It felt good and it was a solid run from beginning to end.

I left around 6 am and it was still very dark. I almost bailed twice - tripping over uneven spots in the side walk. Also, I almost ran over a skunk! Yep! I could not believe it and I was terrified! I saw a little something waddling around ahead of me and it took a couple of seconds to register that it was a skunk. It was so dark out all I could see was a vague shape - and a very white stripe! Needless to say, I crossed the street!

Slowness Alert Level: Turtle

I did not bring my watch but I can tell you my exact pace: SLOW! This was my first run in about two weeks, and boy was that apparent. As most of you know, I have been gone a-visitin for a bit. Upon return I had some congestion (not to lay blame, but I think it was the people sneezing all over me on the plane) topped with the typical sinus issues caused by the Santa Ana winds.

It is neat how I can justify anything - especially laziness. A gift, some may say.

It was good to hit the road, though, as I spent 8 hours sitting in class today. Oh, eating. Today consisted of:

cereal with soy milk
1 kiwi
dahl (thanks Bart!)
WW pita
2 cheese sticks (different times)
chocolate soy milk

Finally, for dinner, Bart is grilling marinated chicken and serving it with rice and corn. Tell me that doesn't sound fantastic!

So, back to it friends! It may have been an incredibly slow run but it was still a run!

Slacker

Yep, I am a slacker. In my defense, I have developed a horrible cold. I do not see myself running for a few days. But I am going to hit the healthy eating circuit in a hard core fashion. Fruit, vegetables, and tons of water. I believe I will make chicken noodle soup tonight. That will beat any illness!

Disaster?

Well, this is intersting. I've lost enough weight that I think it is screwing with my pedometer! Good problem!?!

Here is the deal. My pants that I can wear, don't really fit so the pedometer moves around and sometimes slips off so my count is totally off. Even when I ran, which is typically around 2500 steps, it only read 1700. So I'm off the pedometer until I'm fitting in to a new size officially. Things that fit...what a concept.

Last night I had two fittings for the bridesmaids dresses for the two weddings I'm in. They went really well. I feel an acutal physical release of stress and pressure. How stupid is that!?! I just had a baby 8 weeks ago and I've lost 34 pounds. This has been a major stressor in my life, even though I think I'm being silly about it. Now I know this is where I am and will be at the weddings. I'm not giving up; I'm relaxed. It feels good but I feel silly for how hyped up I've been about my weight. PLUS, I'm an advocate of the fact that there is a difference between weight and fitness. So why can't I take my own advice? I'm my own worst enemy. Enough said.

Like we did not know.....

By the way, this counts because I am exercising my right to free speech.

Proof that stretching is a conspiracy

I now have proof for my theory.

Bodies are weird things. My left hamstring is always sore/tight. Some days less then others, but this is a general life rule upon which I can rely. Last night, around mile 3, my lefty really tightened up. It did not really hamper my run but I did decide that I would only run 4ish miles as opposed to six. No point in running if I am only doing it to injure myself!

Last night I came up with the big idea that I would stretch out my hamstring muscles. I did about 30 minutes of stretching. Then today, around mile 2, my left groin and hip-flexor muscles became so tender I just could not believe it. Yep, I stretched to help one muscle and it screwed up TWO other muscles!!

I ran 4.3 miles again this morning. My time was 10 minutes and 52 seconds per mile (total time: 45m/26s). Even with the added time and sore muscles, I was really happy with my run. My cardio strength felt really solid today. All in all, a great run.

I looked for proof all over the internet that George W Bush stretches before he runs, I figured that would solidify my conspiracy theory. Alas, no luck. Apparently he only stretches the truth.

Mission Accomplished!

I met my "Straight and Narrow" goal today. I ate a bowl of cereal with yogurt, a fruit smoothie, a cheese stick, and a gigantic salad.

The fruit smoothie consisted of:
1/4 c oatmeal
1/2 c vanilla soy milk
2 kiwi
1/4 c (ish) blueberries
1/2 c (ish) mango

The salad was a lovely affair with red and romaine lettuce, sweet peas, red pepper, carrot, and Bart's homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Really good.

I ran 4.3 miles tonight at a pace of 10 minutes and 34 seconds per mile. I am getting there! Someday I will be back up to a 10 minute per mile pace.

No one tried to run me down or kill me tonight. Yeah, I know. Go figure.

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Later in the night! Still crazy here. Must go quickly to nurse.

Julie, when are you coming to mom and dad's!?!

Please Note

My steps are counted as of 4:30 today! Hooray for me! I'm doing well with my steps these days. Pace with a baby and you've got it made!

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Today, I looked in the mirror and thought...hey - I'm losing weight. Tonight was hideous, but today was much better. Except for my children! Wow what a day! Kids are a weight loss regimine. You can't eat when you're walking, nursing, playing, etc.

So this is the question - what is the snack I should be having? I need something to have that is protein laden, medium fat, low cholesterol. What can it be? Bought or made. MUST be easy! Suggestions needed now!

Straight and Narrow!

Man oh man, do I need to get back on the straight and narrow! Amy, you were featured in my dream last night. I was eating doughnuts but I did not want you to know. Every time you would turn around I would cram one in my mouth! I don't even like doughnuts!

So, today (and the rest of the week) I will be eating super healthy and running. Back at it!

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First, happy birthday to Megan!

About this stuff, what about losing weight? I'm working so hard, eating well. I am just stagnant with the weight. I think I'll give up.

9/11/2001

The day of September 11th, 2001 began like any other day for me. I woke up and drove to work. I watched no TV that morning and I listened to a CD on the way to work - no radio. I walked into the office and Vanessa, who worked the front desk, was crying. Obviously, I asked her what was wrong. She told me that a plane had hit one of the WTC buildings. I do not recall if both had been hit at that point. It does seem to me that she said it was hit by terrorists so I would think that they both had been hit - but it also seems like I was actually at work when the second building was hit. Memory is an amazing (and fragile) thing. Work that day was, of course, a joke. We watched TV all day long. I did try to work and I remember Alan giving me shit about the fact. But when I think back on it I realize I just had to try and do something that was normal.

When I was in sixth grade I remember sitting in the lunch room to watch the space shuttle Challanger take off. At 32, I now recall feeling shock and horror. At 11 I remember feeling deepy confused. I remember going home and seeing Mom, standing at the sink and washing dishes, crying.

3462

Sad amount of steps today, but I did a lot.

Today we held an impromptu birthday party for a little girl we know. She was born around 9:20 a.m. central time on 9/11/2001. It was such a pleasure to celebrate today. Am I corny? To me, today is a holiday? Honorary. Like Memroial Day...only this day I lived through and this day I "get." It was such a different thing to play and laugh and have joy. I feel silly with how I feel about today, sentimental. But today was a big day in my life. I remember. I know our parents and grandparents have days like today in their memories. I remember where I was when I first heard, who I was with, how we prayed. Anyway...

Not many steps. Who cares.

4616 :)

How, you may ask, could I be happy with a mere 4616 steps in the day!?! Well, it was jsut a great day. Paul was nearly killed for not getting me up until 8:30, but it was a good thing for me once I thought about it!

No running for me today. I did eat breakfast, but Paul is out now getting me some dinner. We had our party today! If you have ever been a host you know that you work without eating. Althogth, tell me men, is this only a woman thing? Paul said he ate all day, but I personally did not. In fact, I had only 1 beer and no food! I was visiting, or as our mother might say, fellowshipping! (Verbing of America.)

We had a wonderful party and a miracle happened: we had the right amount of food! (If anyone outside of our family reads this: we were raised to cook food for an army because, well, what if people showed? What if folks were especially hungry? I consider the right amount of food to be: a half platter of food left when the part officially ends, but nothing or barely nothing left when people actually leave. And no, I cannot make that into a formula for recipies.)

We had a lovely time. I felt that I moved like a maniac all day long! We ran errands, cleaned, and cooked all prior to the party at 2. But still, a small amount of steps. You know what? IT was worth it! We had a wonderful time and so did the bride and groom. That is all that counts frankly.

Perhaps I'll run tomorrow. Paul, I doubt for running. He has just started up again and he has pulled something today in the midst of being too polite to complain - playing with someone else's kid. Typical Paul!

Hi again

Well, I guess I have this figured out but don't see any new notes here today. Mom and I had a GREAT day. We went to Sam's Club and Cub to shop because we have company coming next weekend and we want to be ready. And we will be ready! We are anxious to see you all.

Dad

Ok, so here I am. Now, what?

13025

Well today was nuts for me. Somehow I loved it. I did something for just me! My friend Emily kind of put me up to it. I left this morning with the boys at 11 and dropped them both off by 12. Then I just spent the afternoon on my own. It was fantastic!

Spam Comments

Friends,

Our brand new, happy blog received its very first spam comments today. I have activated the word verification option in an attempt to combat future spam. Next time you intend to comment you will be asked to view some text and re-type said text. Blogger explains how this stops spam comments much better then I possibly could:

What this does is to prevent automated systems from adding comments to your blog, since it takes a human being to read the word and pass this step. If you've ever received a comment that looked like an advertisement or a random link to an unrelated site, then you've encountered comment spam. A lot of this is done automatically by software which can't pass the word verification, so enabling this option is a good way to prevent many such unwanted comments.

http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=1203

Yes, an extra step without a doubt. However, from what I witnessed today, well worth the effort!

Um, by the way, if you want to buy a used car, give me a ring. I now have a great source!

Mom feigns ignorance

So I asked mom what the deal is with her lack of absence on this site and she claims to have no knowledge of it! I was sure to tell her what a clever name it has. I do like that and realize I neglected to tell you. Very creative!

Can I invite anyone to visit this site? I think my friend Krista may be interested. Kit too actually. Or is it just for the 4 of us?

Anyway, I told mom all about it. I bet Dad deleted the email invite understanding neither the term 'blogger' or the initials 'JD!' Ahhh the information age!

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I'll just be posting my # of steps each day as my title, fyi. I really think you need a pedometer! I didn't even run today. Life here is just out of control. I had an apt. today but ended up canceling after an accident involving me, Carter, and Anders getting hit in the head with the screen door. Two of us cried. The two year old was oblivious to the problem.

I ate well today though, but no exercise!

On a different note, I'm preparing for this engagement party on Saturday. 17 confirmed, with possibly 23. I need more than 27 cream puffs right? I made truffles too...of course. But still. I can't just have one cream puff for everyone. How do you plan for a snacky open house?

Are hills eligible for the death penalty when they kill?

All I can say is ouch! Honestly, my workout this morning was one of the most challenging I have had in a month. I realized that I was developing an obsessive focus on distance and, due to this, dropped my speed workouts. So, I decided that I would hit the hills once a week starting this morning.

It took me 17m 40s to reach my hill (appropriate time for the distance). I ran my hill (yep, I now own it) for 30 minutes. I did not keep count of how many times I ascended, but a safe guess is somewhere between 15 and 20. Probably closer to 15 because I really slowed down during the final ten minutes. Then I ran home and it took me 21m 15s to do the same distance I did earlier. That ought to tell you how worn I was!

Whether I workout again tonight is certainly up for debate. I am just going to see how my body feels. Of course, I like to meet my goals and maintain my plans but living a healthy life is not just about getting in miles. It is also about knowing when to give your body a break - and drink a beer!

You know, on second thought, maybe that hill now owns me.

Evening Run

Miles Run: 4
Minutes/Mile: 11.09
Total Time: 44.39*
Times I Almost Got Hit by a Car: 2
Homeless People I Saw: 2**
Car Accidents I Witnessed: 1

* For those of us who went to public school.
** I saw crazy dancing guy twice! I though he worked for the Red Cross at first because he was wearing a lifeguard sweatshirt.

I did get home before dark, which has become very important in my neighborhood.

12225 steps as of 7 p.m.! Yhea for me. JD you must get a pedometer so we can compare. Although you ought to remove it when you run so I'm not completely ashamed. I wear mine when I run, but it is merely a 29 minute run on average.

Second, what the HELL did you eat today? What is that? We had homemade thai chicken pizza with whole wheat crust (homemade). It is fun to cook. Carter was into it today! The dough was "squishy" and "squashy" he told me when he kneaded it!

A

A Great Start

Today I had such a gigantic lunch, all I want to do is take a nap!


Seriously, that is a lot of lunch. Now I have no option but to go for a run!

Check out the restaurant review!

http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/279098/