Updates

I’ve been finding my joy in running all week this week. I feel good and look forward to every run….this doesn’t happen on my monster weeks…but my kick back weeks are so very very pleasant.



This morning I got up before anyone in the house and snuck in 4 snowy miles before heading up to Milwaukee for Dragonboat practice. And tomorrow I have big plans to run 7 miles with Lori…..and I can’t wait.


So here’s my jumbled thoughts on a Saturday night.


Marathon Training- It’s going extremely well. I feel good with the distances that I’ve achieved already and I am feeling no burn out. I’m looking forward to March which starts my third month of training and brings back the speedwork and repeats. I need to look at my plan again and see if I need to do some more tweeking. My big runs for March are a 22 plus miler this Thursday and a 26.2 mile two weeks from this Thursday. I think I would be comfortable if that 26.2 ended up being a 24…but we’ll have to see. This is my first but hopefully not my only run of race distance. I have another right before I start my taper. My taper should be interesting. My kick back weeks are indeed pleasant but I find myself a little crazy on Thursday s when I don’t have hours and hours that I need to run.


Family- They’re holding their own through this training cycle. I’ve stated many times how I strive to keep the impact of MY training on THEM minimal. I figured it out and I take roughly 2.5 hours away from them per week. All the rest of my training is done on my time either before they wake up…or while they’re at school and work. I am extremely proud of this because it was one of my BIG worries before I started training….wondering if I could juggle it all and not ruin their lives over something I had to do.


Me- I’m holding my own as well. I started taking the Synthroid two days ago and feel fine. I felt fine before though. The medicine insert states that it may be a couple weeks before I start feeling better…I wonder what will happen if I never felt bad??? HA! I have also really been trying to clean out my diet. Lean protein and more veggies and fruits then humanly possible. I just finished roasting a huge pan of sweet potatoes, red and green peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, and onions to eat through the week. I am also kicking some Popeye ass in spinach consumption. Taking care of me and giving proper fueling a go.


Skip- Always holds his own. They requested him to do a 3 month detail in D.C. I didn’t say much about that but I did ask him if he’d be able to be home for my marathon. I don’t say it…but his support is a big part of me being able to do what I do…and him being at my races is HUGE to me. I could do it without him there…but it means the world to me that he IS there. Anyways…so he tells me that he would be at my marathon if he had to RUN home from D.C. to be there. And he told me how he appreciated all I did to not impact the family with training but that in spite of that…races are a FAMILY event and that they love to see me run. Isn’t that incredible?


Kids- Are good. I’m keeping my yap shut about V running spring track but I’m hoping with all my heart that he does. Lil T is rocking kindergarten and loving her friend Daja. Dom is not doing well in school. Skip and I lowered the boom on his ass this week and told him that if he doesn’t have his shit pulled together by the next report card that we would be looking into pulling him out of his Magnet school and sticking his ass where there is a little more structure. I HATE the thought of doing that but my child that has been a straight A student his entire life is now getting C’s and D’s in his big classes. The school he goes to gives them a lot of responsibility and he’s not handling it with the grace I thought he would. Tons of that stems from him being a social butterfly…but sorry Charlie…studies first..butterflying second.


Barefooting- I am amazed how much I’ve been able to do through this winter. On Thursday this week at the end of my long run I was able to do another half mile. I am pain free when I do this and am SO happy. I am about 10 miles away from having run 100 barefoot miles…how cool is that?


Anyways…I’m off to snuggle that rotten little girl of mine…hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend….and that you are ALL finding your joy in something this week.

3 Years Post Gastric Bypass, New Drugs and Another Race

So I decided to incorporate a mid week semi long run on my step back weeks…since I have the time on Tuesdays and it won’t take any additional time away from my family. I did 8 miles on Tuesday…and 8 for my long run again today. My pace is picking up…I don’t want to jinx it so that’s all I have to say about that.



In other news…I had my 3 year post gastric bypass appointment with my surgeon today. The long and short of it is I am up 3 pounds from last year…don’t care..I’m in marathon training…I hear this happens. And my thyroid is finally wacked out enough that they want to treat me for hypothyroidism. I’ve always run on the high end of normal…now I’m just high...or low..depending on how you look at it. So he gave me a script for a months worth of Synthroid and told me to have my labs retested in 3.5 weeks and see where we’re at.


I tried to talk him out of it…gave him my whole thing about always being a little high…and he responded with “then don’t you think it’s about time we fix that?”. So I’ll take it and see what happens..I mean..what’s one more damn pill in the big scheme of things? I already take mutli vitamins, calcium, b12, sleeping pills....what’s one more? The funny thing is…I don’t feel bad…I read about all the crazy thyroid bullshit and I’m just not there..unless the hairloss is from that..which I suppose it could be. But I’m not sluggish, tired…my weight is up but not much…blah…whatever.

I also signed up for my next race….The South Shore Half Marathon. It’s a month before my full and I’m using it as a training run to gauge my fitness…not to mention that my long run for that week is 14 miles…how’s that for perfect? I’m also hoping to run at least part of it with Katie!!!!! My virtual training partner for both of our first half marathons last year. I am so completely excited about this I could bust. We’ve never met in person and I can’t WAIT to finally meet her!!!!


That’s it…all I’ve got on a quiet Thursday night. All my children are off school tomorrow so all the cleaning I did today will be shot down the tubes shortly. Have a great week!!

Sub 9's and Cleaning House

This day goes down in my history as the first time I clocked sub 9’s on a 5 mile run. I have NEVER done that. The best I have ever done is a sub 9 once..on a mile..last summer. Holy crap it feels good.



Today also marks the day that I clean up both my facebook list…and my blog list. You know those people you keep on because they’re like a train wreck that you just can’t look away from? I’m getting rid of those today. Like the blogger that lost a boatload of weight…..that actually had weight loss surgery, that pretends she didn’t and claims she did it all on her own…she’s outta here…. And the people on my facebook page that make me cringe every time they post something…the ones that I want to reach through the screen and choke…those are gone too……my birthday present to one of them…HA! I’m getting rid of the dead blogs that aren’t used anymore…the blogs that are only used for personal gain….and ass kissing..all sorts of things. I am cleaning HOUSE and it also feels good.


I started asking myself after I got back from doing a run that I thought I’d never do…why I kept all the poison around that just made me feel gross. And off I went on a happy deleting binge. Perfect thing to do on a rainy ugly day and I already feel better. Out of sight out of mind right? I want the positive around me…or in front of me…especially when I have the choice of what I see or read.


Happy Sunday!

Build It and it WILL Come

I texted Lori last night and asked her when the hell 20 miles wasn’t going to suck so bad..unfortunately…she didn’t really have an answer….just a little commiserating…yeah it sucks kinda thing. Oh well. I keep thinking its going to get easier and I know it will…and I’m half sorry I didn’t top off with the 20 one time like so many plans and be done with it…because then I’d have never really known till race day how much harder that last 6 was going to be!



This run was not awesome for a number of reasons. For starters…I wasn’t planning on doing the whole 20 when I left…actually it was supposed to be 22…but that’s not really the point anymore. You see…the kids ended up not having school yesterday due to the grownup temper tantrum that the Unified employees are having….so I was going to cut the run down to 15 miles so I could get back to them. And since the run was only going to be the 15 miles…I started and continued to run faster then I would have if I had planned on the whole 20. The decision to tack another 5 on the end came around mile 12 when I was near my friend Dawns and I knew I could get more food and a bathroom break. This run was also not awesome because it ended on the path near my house…and due to the fact that we had a HUGE melting session this week…a big ass section was underwater…and there was no getting around it…there was only going through in my brand new shoes…duh. And again…much like last time…the only part of me that felt bad was below the knees. And as I sat in an ice bath afterword…..nursing my protein coffee and wondering aloud how the hell I was ever going to run 26.2 when the 20 was kicking my ass……my almost 15 year old put it all in perspective by saying ‘you just have to get used to it Mama’. Leave it to my child to remind me to have patience…endure...struggle though. Build it and it will come. And it reminded me…of how bad 13 used to feel while training for my half…and how now…13 is a sweet spot…a regular walk in the park. The thought of 13 miles doesn’t scare me…or hurt me to do…it doesn’t even bother me anymore. So I just have to focus…keep my eye on the prize…and keep doing that 20 till it doesn’t scare me..or hurt me to do....or even bother me anymore. If I can make that happen with other miles…I can do that with 20. I just hope I can do it in enough time to make that 20 into 22 or 24 before having to knock out that 26.2 on race day.


And next week…ahhh next week…is a stepback week…with my long run only 8 miles. Today I had a cross training date with Billy Blanks that I was able to do before the kids got home. An easy..or as easy as any of his workouts are…45 minute session with a 10 minute stretch on the end…felt incredible. I’m still sore today but not horribly so. Tomorrow is 3 to 5 easy followed by 6 or so on Sunday. Depending on how I feel I may flip flop those.


So that’s my week in a nutshell. Skip and Dom are at Skips bowling league…yeah..I’m married to that dude. V is over at his friends house to be picked by grandma in the morning because I gave him away for slave labor for the weekend. And me? I have no real plans outside of running..which sounds just about perfect.

Bare Foot Changes

So my Mizunos had pushing 450 miles on them and were starting to bother me…..and knowing I had 22 on tap for Thursday kinda pushed me along to get some new ones…that and the fact that I got a 15 dollar coupon for Dicks that expired yesterday. I wasn’t going to screw with something that was working so I decided to buy the Wave Rider 13’s again. These shoes were fantastic as far as shoes go and since the 14’s came out last weekend I figured that the 13’s would go on sale…they did…score. So after work yesterday…I cruised over to the Dicks next to the hospital…ran in…asked for the Wave Rider 13’s in an Womans 8.5…paid for them and jetted. I get them home….lace them how I want them…try them on..and guess what….they didn’t fit. Same shoe, same store, same size that I bought a few months ago…but now too small. For a minute I sat on my bed looking at these ugly things…and for the life of me couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on…and then it dawned on me….my barefoot running. It’s changed my foot strike but apparently it’s also changed my feet. And speaking of my barefoot running…with the beautiful weather we’ve been having…I’ve actually been able to do some. It’s felt fantastic. At the end of my 6 miler with Lori and Brian on Sunday I ditched the kicks and ran the last .75 miles barefoot. Good stuff..I can’t wait till this marathon is over and I can get back to it on a more regular basis.



So here’s the news around our watering hole.


Skip is in D.C. again for the week. He also dropped me a text today telling me that they want him to do a 30 day detail some time soon if he can get away from Milwaukee. I don’t mind him being gone…but that’s getting to be a bit long.


Dom spent the day in Chicago yesterday with his school. He had an amazing time…my little city boy.


V had a bomb threat at this school on Monday. There was another one at a different school in our city the next day. WTF is this world coming to?


There are tons of protests going on in Wisconsin right now. My facebook page is bleeding…bleeding heart liberals that is..HA! I feel no sympathy for what’s going on and who is being affected…sorry. The only thing I’d like to see different is to include all unions…level the playing field..it’s only fair.


That’s it…my Wednesday night ramblings. I haven’t run since Sunday so I am totally ready to take a bite out of that 22 miler tomorrow. Bring it…

Making 20 my new 16

My second 20 mile run took place this morning. It was supposed to happen on Thursday but for the first time like ever..I bailed due to bad weather. I took lil T to the bus stop that morning…and after about 8 minutes outside was so frozen I said screw it to the 20 I had planned. Instead I subjected myself to a 1.5 hour long weighted Tae Bo session….the 20 would have been easier.



So this morning promised to be in the mid 20’s heading up towards 30 by the time I was to be done. I geared up and headed out the earliest I’ve been out in a long while. Something happens to me when I long run that just doesn’t when I’m just going out for 5 or 6 miles…it’s a different mindset. I have time to take in my surroundings…pay attentions to sights and smells like the Kerry Seasoning plant I smelled for miles and miles today..smelled just like pickles. Anything to keep your mind off the fact that you’re doing something that humans really weren’t designed to do. I fueled perfectly for a change…Hammer Espresso gels on the 5’s and Margarita shot bloks on the 2.5’s. And honestly the only thing that felt bad was my lower legs the last 4 miles or so. I wasn’t tired…my legs were just sore. But I remember how 16 miles used to sound so flippin huge to me…and I couldn’t get my head around it..well that number is now 20 miles….and hitting 16 isn’t that big a deal any more. What I am hopping will happen is that eventually…20 won’t be that big a deal…and after that…22 won’t be a big deal…and so on and so forth. You see…I just don’t like to leave much to chance. I want to know that 26.2 well before race day…because honestly..right this second..I could never have made it another 6.2 miles…no freakin way. Two miles I could let myself get away with….because I can do anything for 2 miles….but 6.2….no…I don’t think so.


So I’m supposed to do 22 miles this coming Thursday but am thinking about bumping that to next weekend to give myself a full week between long runs. After that my last long run of February is a mere 8 miles..I so look forward to those step back weeks.


That brings us to March…can you believe it? March is my first month that I do full race distance. I have two step back weeks this month..one the week before my 26.2…and one the week after. This is also the month that I reintroduce speedwork into my plan. I will probably do this on the weekends because I don’t want to do it too close to my long runs. April will follow pretty much the same routine that March has with another full race distance and speedwork….and I start my taper the last week of April. That brings us to May….and my marathon which falls on the first Saturday of May. I am actually looking forward to March and April because it means less crazy long runs and switching to speedwork..which oddly enough I have missed.


Anyways..I think I need a nap. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Winter Funk and Wedded Bliss

Ok enough already with the white stuff big guy…it’s time to cut this gal a break.



I’m getting my mileage in…but it’s hurting to do so. I am in such a winter funk it’s not even funny. But on the flipside….how can you marvel at spring if you haven’t been out in the drudges of winter?


That’s the kind of bullshit I kept telling myself this week…and every other week this winter for that matter. Thursday we were finally dug all the way out from our little blizzard and I loaded up for my long run although with it being below 10 degrees and the snow being so high I wasn’t sure if I’d have to bump it to the weekend. I didn’t. I ground out 17 miles over on the path…even ended up with sunburn on my nose…how funny is THAT the first week of February in Wisconsin? I don’t know if this is badass, stubborn, or stupid but there it is.

Lil T and Skip

Brian attempting to bust through the snow.

So Skip and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary this coming Friday. We’re driving up to Madison and leaving all the kids with my ex-husband and we will just run around town and see what kind of trouble we can get into. Eight years….wow…where does the time go?

And since it’s been almost eight years I’ll post 8 reasons I still love this man.


1. Because he’s man enough to be there for me without smothering me.


2. Because he loves my boys..you would never know he didn’t spawn them himself.


3. Because when I say I can’t…he knows I can.


4. Because he sometimes puts gas in my car and always snowblows.


5. Because after 8 years I still think he looks hot in jeans..or nothing.


6. Because he doesn’t blink at 100 dollar running shoes.


7. Because he doesn’t blink at my barefoot running.


8. Because he is the first man I have ever known from my father on down that hasn’t wanted to change me….has loved me for me and not expected anything in return.


I’m lucky you see….in many many ways. And as much as I complain about the weather….I’d be anywhere as long as it was with him.