Some randomness - Versatile Blogger Award

Yup, that's me - the Versatile Blogger.  The kick ass XLMIC tagged me for this about a month ago.  If you haven't checked out her site you should - she truly is versatile and real and hilarious.  We bonded over running Hood to Coast - well I don't know if she thinks we bonded, but that's what I like to tell myself to feel like one of the cool kids - and I've been following her ever since. 

Anyway, the rules are to list 7 random things about yourself and then pass the award along to 15 other bloggers to do the same- so here goes...

1) I've mentioned this before on here, but I'm one of 4 sisters.

We were all named "Joseph" until we came out sans penis and then got the girl name my parents had chosen.

2)  We moved into a turn of the century "fixer upper" farm house when I was 5 years old where my parents still live.  By "fixer" I mean only wood heat, no insulation and a hallway for the kitchen.  Oh, and there was no foundation either.  My parents bought it without ever walking through it - they simply looked through the windows and made up their minds to go for it.

 It's been a labor of love, and is still in a continual state of remodel - but it was the site of an awesome childhood and I love it.

3)  When I was in first grade I was the Virgin Mary in our elementary school Christmas play.  Apparently the seperation of church and state didn't apply in small town Oregon.  This was back when we were allowed to have Christmas plays instead of "winter celebrations".  We also had free hot lunches provided by the ladies from the church down the road.   Oh the times,  they have changed...

4)  I'm super creative.  As a kid when I'd get a doll I would name it whatever it said on the box. Therefore, my two most beloved dolls from childhood were named  "Tender Love" and "Baby Alive". 

When I was 9, I had surgery and my friend bought me this doll as a gift.
It wet the bed and the nurses blamed me.  I was mortified.

Yes, the creativity is astounding.  No wonder I follow training plans to a T and am a book-keeper by trade.

5)  I graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in History.  I really loved college and I have great memories from my time in Tucson.

Going to the UA is also the only thing I will ever have in common with EMZ, because I definitely don't have her abs or speed!

6)  I'm pretty sure I know every line (and every song) from these movies:

and

I still can't believe they remade Footloose....nothing is sacred...

7)  In the 90's my sister was a fairly successful high fashion/runway model.


My sis Debbie - isn't she purdy?

Anyway, she did a shoot at my parent's house for the German version of Marie Claire magazine.  My sister Diane and I were there and they put us in the shoot as well.  We were supposed to be the country bumpkin sisters in awe of our big supermodel sister (that was the "story" for the shoot).  What I mostly remember is that they were so annoyed at us for laughing so much and I HATED the way they did my hair.  Anyway the magazine came out sometime in 1995...the pix were so ridiculous, like this one...


Just chillin in a tree in our dresses...

So yeah, in Germany, in the mid 90's, I was totally like a supermodel....now THAT's random, right?

ok so now to tag others - these are people whose blogs I've just found and I'd love to know more about you all! So, here we go:
1) Courtney at  A So-Called Runner
2) Beth at Yes Folks, I Run Like a Girl
3) Jill at Fitness Health and Happiness
4) Lisa at Because I Can
5) Tink at The Running Paintbrush
6)  Meredith at Therapeutic Runnings of a Mom
7) Aimee at Chronicles of a Dime
8) Carrie at Family Fitness Food
9) Hiker Mom at Livin the Fit Life
10) Kat at All of a Sudden Life is Amazing
11) Nancy at Living the Dream
12) Christy at My Dirt Road Anthem
13) Jessica at Pace of Me
14) Jessica at Running to Be Skinny
15) Marissa at Lets Move it Momma's

Leave me a note in the comments if you're going to play along and list your 7 random things - thanks!

Winter Wonderland of Lights Run/Walk

Tonight we ran the Winter Wonderland of Lights Run/Walk as a family.  We had such a fun time!


The run had three distance options - 2, 4 or 6 miles around the racetrack which was decorated with christmas lights the entire way.


The gods smiled upon us and we had PERFECT weather - no rain and clear skies.  It was a little cold, but not too bad at all.


We got to the racetrack about an hour before the race was to start because we still had to pick up our packets and I didn't know how crowded it would be.  We had no issues getting our stuff and everything was really easy.  We did hear some people complaining that their kids weren't showing up as registered - but I did everything online a few weeks ago, and all our registrations were there.

We did a little stretching:

And a little walking around waiting for it to get dark (race started at 5pm).

And finally, it was race time!  The race was one loop on the track if you were doing 2 miles.  Brian was running with our son, and I was going to "run" with our daughter.  She's only 4, so I figured it would be a very leisurely run/walk with lots of stops for pictures.  I was right!

My pictures of the lights themselves turned out pretty crappy - I had my camera on the wrong setting and was trying to change it holding hands with my daughter and jogging, so I got a lot of pics like this:

ooooh, psychadelic!

And a few that kind of show the lights, but are still totally blurry:

I did get some cuties of my little runner girl:

And Brian snapped this photo of us heading towards the finish line at the end:

And here we are after we met up at the finish:

My daughter's eyes look white!  Must have been all the lights.

We had a great time at this run.  Some people looked like they were there to actually RACE it, and I'm sure for them it was kind of a nightmare because they allowed kids/strollers/scooters/dogs/etc on the track, and there was no organization at the start as to whether you were running or walking - so I'm sure the whole first lap was spent weaving if you were trying to go fast at all.  But for what we were looking for, a family fun run, it was great.  My son did awesome - he ran the 2 miles in 23 minutes!   He very quickly told me that 1) he beat his dad, 2) he had a great time and, 3) he wanted to run it again next year.  I think we have found a new tradition to kick off the Christmas season! 

Thankful

I'm sitting here in a quiet house, the busy-ness of the day is done and I'm reflecting on another Thanksgiving come and gone.

A few things I'm thankful for today: 

Thankful that this morning I got up and ran a Turkey Trot and it wasn't raining!  It dumped down rain later in the day, so really happy to get the run in before it came.

Turkey Trot

Thankful that these awesome ladies went with me AND were willing to forego straight up running to run/walk with me and my gimpy foot.

Chris, Michelle and I - turkey trottin'!

 Thankful that I was able to go 5 miles!  Furthest distance in a month!

Thankful that I have such an amazing family to spend this holiday with.

Thankful that my children entertained themselves relatively well on the two hour (each way) trip to Thanksgiving dinner.

Thankful for my awesome niece who entertained my children the entire time we were at dinner, so the adults could relax and visit.

Thankful that she wears hats like this - cuz I think it's awesome.

Thankful for yummy food (confession: I ate both pumpkin pie with whipped cream AND pear crisp with ice cream...holiday calories don't count, right?).

Thankful for this blogging community that I'm now a part of.  This new connection with so many amazing people is a constant source of inspiration - thank you!

I hope you all had a wonderful day!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday inspiration

I've been following Ben, from Ben Does Life,  for a while, but every so often I re-watch this video that led me to his blog.


Makes me cry every time.  Happy Monday!  Do Life!

Five for Friday

1)  Yay it's FRIDAY!  This week hasn't been the best, so I'm excited to put it behind me.   I'm looking forward to the weekend for many reasons, but mostly to see these gals:

These are my sisters (my parents kept trying for a boy and gave up after 4 girls!) and on Sunday we are having "sister day" where it is mandated that no boys and no kids are allowed to join.  My sisters are so awesome and I love love love spending time with them.  With busy lives our time together is getting fewer and farther between, so I'm excited to be able to hang with them for an afternoon.

2) We are in full on hazmat mode in our house due to a lice outbreak at my daughter's preschool.  YUCK.  ICK.



source



So far we are all clear, but every time I think about it my whole head starts itching!

3)  After my "run" on Monday I took my Garmin off and this happened:

The wristband just broke right off!  It won't snap back on either, the plastic tab actually broke where it connects.  So annoying.  I can buy a new band, but I read online that once this happens it tends to repeat itself.  I'm getting the new one soon and crossing my fingers it will last a while.  I feel naked when I run without my watch!

4)  Thanksgiving is here and yum, I'm excited for good food!  I'm going to be making this for our extended  family dinner on the big day:

We will also be making a dinner at home with just us.  I'm looking for some good recipes for kid friendly side dishes.  My son is a notoriously picky eater (seriously won't even try mashed potatoes and gravy!), and I'm hoping this year he will eat more than just rolls!   So if anyone out there has any tried and true recipes, I'm open to suggestions!

5)  I'm a winner!!!!  I won a Road ID gift card from the awesome Jill at Fitness, Health and Happiness!

I've been wanting to get a Road ID bracelet for a long time, so this will get my booty in gear to actually do it!  Thank you Jill!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Head on over to Jill's site to join the blog hop and meet other bloggers!

Small Running Success!!!

It's really insane how much not running affects my life. I find all healthy habits more difficult to follow through on. I'm snacking more (damn Halloween candy!) and not caring as much about what I eat. I'm having to force myself to cross train - my motivation has just gone down the drain.  Seriously, if I don't get this under control I'm going to have to apply for the Biggest Loser...wait, maybe then I can meet Dolvett...hmmm, I might be on to something here...


Anywhooooo...on to my small running success story. On Sunday I attempted a "run" with my 7 year old son (he stops to "stretch A LOT...I think we could consider it a run/walk). We went one mile - my foot didn't feel great - I was pissed. Just so frustrated and feeling like it's NEVER going to get better.  Monday morning I decided to skip the pool and just walk for an hour.   So I got all bundled up and walked for a mile. Then I decided to try to run - guess what? NO PAIN!!! Yippee! I ran a mile and it felt good! After that I walked another 1/2 mile and then ran another full mile!! Total workout was only three and a half miles, but I was smiling from head to toe that I did it without pain.


It's pretty clear for me that the issue I'm dealing with now is keeping my foot stretched out because when my foot is warmed up it feels pretty good.  At PT today, my therapist gave me stretches that I am to do every hour on the hour. It's REALLY hard to remember to do this every hour especially when chasing 2 kids around...but after getting this small taste of running success I will pretty much do anything to get back up and running!


Hopefully this pain free running will continue and I'll slowly progress if I don't push it too fast. I am cautiously optimistic about this for the first time in a while! Fingers crossed!


Do you maintain all your healthy habits when you can't run?
What do you do to keep up your motivation when you're injured?

Five for Friday

Big shout out to all the men and women who have served in the military. THANK YOU for your service and Happy Veterans day!

Now on to the Friday five:



1)  There are two local radio stations already playing Christmas music 24-7!  I'm just one of those "no Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving" people.  I love Christmas, but give the Turkey some love y'all!

2)  As most of you know, in celebration of it being 11/11/11 the Rock and Roll Marathon series is offering a $20 registration discount from 11am to 11pm PST.  I've never run a Rock n Roll event, but there is a new RNR half coming to Portland this spring (May 20th) for interested peeps.

3)  Got my leg taped up all cool at PT yesterday, my kids think I'm like Spiderman...

The tape isn't as restrictive as the tape I normally use on my foot, so it moves a little more freely.  It's there to provide support for my plantar fascia - looks cool, right?

4)  When the weather turns colder I go into full on comfort food mode.  Last night I made spaghetti with homemade meatballs and spaghetti sauce (both recipes from Cooking Light).  So yummy and hit the spot on a cold evening!

5)  Two days after Thanksgiving (when it is acceptable to celebrate Christmas) we are doing this as a family:

The website says:
Participants can enjoy the most spectacular light show in the region, viewing over 250 colorful light set pieces and many fully animated scenes as they run or walk through the Winter Wonderland of Lights.
We are going to do the 2 miler with both the kids.  I'm excited as we've never done a run together with the whole family.  I'm sure there will be lots of walking with my 4 year old, but I think they will love it.

Happy Friday!  Head over to the blog hop to meet other like minded bloggers for Fitness Friday!

woops...

I went to PT yesterday and told my therapist that I had run (which he had given me the green light to do) and that afterwards my foot hurt and was still hurting…

Him: “how far did you run?”

Me: “three miles.” - no reaction from him, so I continue on - “It was feeling pretty good before the run, but since then I have been stretching and stretching and just can’t get it to release, so I don’t know if I ran too far or…”

HIM (interrupting me): “Ya think?”

Apparently my interpretation of "go for a short run" and my PT's interpretation are different.  Who knew?  He wants me to run one mile and then I can walk a mile.  Baby steps, I guess.

I held off on telling him I signed up for a half mary in January...

You get what you get...

This stupid Plantar Fasciitis.  I am SOOO tired of being injured.  I miss the long runs of marathon training.  I miss pushing myself through speedwork sessions.  I miss my running buddy who I haven't been able to run with lately.  I miss it all.   BUT, as we often say in this house:  "you get what you get, and you don't throw a fit".  So I'm trying to practice what I preach - fighting off the negative thoughts and working on maintaining a somewhat positive attitude.

My doctor booked me for 3 more weeks of PT sessions.  I expect that we should start seeing some good results soon.  I REALLY hope that it doesn't include any more ASTYM which left my leg bruised and sore.  Last time they just did my foot, and it wasn't nearly as bad as doing my whole leg...so hopefully we are transitioning out of that particular type of torture therapy.

I am going to attempt a little more road running in my schedule again (with my PT's blessing).  Just short and slow runs  on Saturday morning to get back out on the road.  Of course I'll  keep up the pool running during the week as well.  I'm also getting back into the strength training that I kind of abandoned as of late.   I figure even though I'm not running I shouldn't completely let all my fitness go to waste!  So hello to my good friend Jillian again...

She's back to torture me!  I love this workout - all strength and only uses your own body weight and 3/5 lb hand weights.  Very effective.
 
On another note - congrats to all the New York Marathon (and all other races) finishers!  It was so exciting to watch the race on tv.  Just boggles the mind how fast the elites are!  Of course it made me want to run run run!  But in time..in time...until then, I'm just keeping the faith...

Five for Friday

1) I went to the pool this morning and "ran". It's such a mind game. When you're doing a workout on the road, it's easy to push yourself because you have a pace, a number, that you are trying to hit. In the pool you have to go by feel, and generally I think I let myself off too easy. Today I did 5 minute intervals with one minute rest between. The 5 minutes are supposed to be "hard", but my mind wanders (maybe because it's mind-numbingly boring to run in a pool...) and my intensity wanes...so today I challenged myself to stay focused on the workout - if I wasn't feeling fatigue in my legs and butt I needed to pick it up. Despite a few lapses, I was happy with my concentration and I definitely got a better workout!

2) I went ahead and signed up for both these half marathons in 2012.

This one sold out in 3 days!

 And this one:

The Hippie Chick is in May, so I'm not so concerned about getting ready for that one.  The Vancouver Lake is in January, and while I'm sure I won't be in top form, I hope that I'll be able to run it without PF issues.


3) I'm living on the clock these days. I'm on a specific stretching regimine, and have to stretch my foot every two hours. I'm also wearing this sexy beast to bed every night to keep my foot stretched:

Picture from here...this is not my bedspread.

Yes, my husband is a lucky man.

4)  I'm making this Lentil Soup for dinner this Sunday.  I love soup and I'm hoping my Indiana born meat and potatoes husband won't notice that there isn't any meat in it! 

5)  Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!  I kept meaning to post pics of my kiddos, but this week just seemed super busy and I was a bad blogger.  So here is my Mummy and Princess Kitty - we had a great time trick-or-treating in the neighborhood with a gazillion other kiddos - and now I have WAYYYYYY too much candy in my house!


My son will NOT take a normal picture....

Like our yoda pumpkin on the left?  Awesome, right?





Happy Friday!