I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

Things are going well and my sweet baby is sleeping well through the night. He will wake up once or twice depending on how tired he is from the day's activities. If I've let him sleep all evening I usually am up around 1:30 or 2:00 and then again around 4:00 or 5:00. If he is a super sleeper then he only wakes up once around 3:30. I am VERY blessed to have such a wonderful baby!

He loves to take walks in the stroller and I wish it wasn't so windy lately - I'd take him out more, but I feel like sometimes he's going to simply blow away!! 

I am feeling good, and after a VERY short jump roping session with my 9 yr old yesterday I am convinced that my body is not ready to run quite yet :) I need a little more recovery time (and some support!). I honestly am just loving the down time and enjoying every precious little moment with my last baby!! These days go WAY too fast, and now once they're gone I'll never have them back again. It's now time for us to simply raise children and not have them anymore - strange how even after knowing that is the right decision it doesn't stop a bit of sadness on my part!

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July and GOOD LUCK to everyone and their races this weekend!! Push through to the finish in my honor :)

Ahhhh....the stars finally aligned and I got to get out and MOVE! :)

Went for a walk with the kiddos - 2 older ones on bikes and the 2 younger ones in the jogging stroller. I was out for a total of an hour, and at noon it's pretty hot - but when the sun went behind a cloud it felt great. I jogged/shuffled a couple of downhill/flat portions, so I'm giving myself a 1/2 mile for the effort :)

Feels good to get out, and I've honestly been doubting my ability to run lately, but today renewed my confidence in myself! I just need a bit more recovery time before I start pushing myself AND I need my baby to find a sleep schedule. He sleeps well, but it's kind of all over the place so I never know if he's going to be 'up' or not in the morning (whether or not he'll behave/sleep if I leave him with dad). I guess I really can't complain for him only being 2 weeks old!

A sweet picture a day keeps the frowns away :)

So, this morning my usually happy baby was feeling like this:

So I loaded him up in the stroller and took a good hour walk with my sweet daughter and the dog as well. We all came home feeling much better! Especially baby Fartlek, he looked a tad bit happier...more like this:

Had a WONDERFUL morning with all of the RHPC's and living vicariously through their running. Everyone looked SO good and strong - honestly I was a little jealous I wasn't out running and chatting with them the whole time :( Adam was a good boy while we were there and Twinkies wife and I had a wonderful 'mom' chat while we waited for all the runners to come in. My original plan was to walk a good hour while I waited, but since I was the official 'finish line greeter' I didn't know how many people were doing the 5k/10k/13.1 so I simply stayed and just hung out. I love you guys!! It was awesome!

I was tired from getting up and going so early in the AM, so I came home snuggled with the baby and took a little nap. Woke up, and then got ready for my daughter's swim party she was hosting (nothing big...just friends and sprinklers and treats), but by 7 or so I was done sitting around the house! I took my sweet baby in the stroller and went on a walk - leaving dad home with all the others. I was out for over an hour and since I just had flip flops on (I was prepared for a meander NOT a walk) my feet hurt like crazy when I got home. However, it was SO worth it for my mental well being! Adam LOVES to be outside and moving in a stroller, I love that it helps me get out and move to keep him happy - then we all sleep better at the end of the day. 

Holy Moly it is freakishly hot at noon! Now, I know that noon in the middle of July in Utah probably isn't the best time to get out for my first post-partum run, but I really only set out with intentions of  walking with maybe a bit of running interspersed. The run just took over and then I had to keep going. 

 I was slow...oh boy was I slow, but pushing a jogging stroller in the heat up hill and into the wind isn't as easy as I remember - oh, and neither is running 3 weeks after delivery :)

AP: 10:12 splits: 10:45, 9:26, 10:52, 9:43 (can you tell the uphill miles? :) )

I did an out and back and just turned around at 2 miles, it was hot and miserable. Honestly, the body felt fine: cardio, muscles, insides etc - it was just HOT and I was melting and done. I had a few stops to reposition the blanket over baby in the jogging stroller, but I stopped the garmin those times so I can't blame my slowness on that. If I get out tomorrow it will be early when it is not so hot! However, I'll probably just walk for the next day or two.

Baby update: one thing I LOVE about my sweet Adam is whenever he cries 95% of the time all I have to do is pick him up and kiss his sweet face and he stops crying. I love that kid! :)

Well, I could hardly believe that I was sore from my excursion yesterday, but I was. Quads were a little achy, but other than that I'm feeling good from yesterday; however, I don't think I'll run again until Fri or Sat - hopefully I got it out of my system!

Went on a walk this morning with baby and Lucy (our dog). I brought Adam in the walking stroller to ensure that I wouldn't run even just the downhills. I wore the garmin to simply see how many miles my walking route was - it was just shy of 4 miles, so I walked a bit extra to get a full 4 miles. I finished in an hour, and my pace was 15:01 for the walk - which for the hills I have to take in on this one I felt good about.

It was nice this morning - much cooler and it's so fun to be out with this little guy and watch him looking around and just enjoying the stroller time with mom. We got a five and a half hour stretch of sleep last night - gotta love it!!

Another walking morning. Took the walking stroller to keep me from thinking I need to run. It was a bit warmer out this morning, but nothing like noon :)

same 4 mile loop around the 'hood, but kept the pace up a bit. 14:46 AP and I tried to think about shorter strides and quicker turnover - if I can't run I might as well do something to keep my head in the game.

Started reading Bart Yasso's book yesterday - really liking it so far!

So life has been CRAZY these past few days. Friday was my son's 6th birthday, my oldest boy, and we simply had a wonderful day! Saturday was honestly the LAZIEST day I've had, but Friday night was a really, really, rough night with the baby - so hubby and I pretty much took turns sleeping all day :)

I was going to run Monday, baby woke up at the perfect time and I had him fed and back to sleep by 5:45 - let's get out and run! Well....then I took one look at my comfy bed and decided to go back to bed :) I really need to start getting up and running in the morning...

Today I hiked Timpanogus with my sister and all of our brood. It was a good time, and just enough cardio to get me moving for the day; however, I think that I'll be sore from the downhill tomorrow. It was a total of 3.5 miles round trip (we only did the cave obviously) and 1065 ft of elevation gain. I was honestly surprised at how good I felt going up. I never once felt tired like I needed to stop, but that could've been because I was stopping all the time for the kids :)

Afterward we had a picnic lunch and played in the river, I honestly am simply exhausted from carrying a baby, being on my feet and worrying about kids falling off a cliff or being swept away in a river all day! It really is hard to wrangle 4 kids by yourself, I'm SO glad my sister and her older kids were around to help me out - I wouldn't have undertaken such a thing by myself!!

I WILL get out and run tomorrow, I will, I will, I will! SGM and DN10K this Sat are looming like a big dark cloud right now....

Well, I got up and remembered what I'd written yesterday: I WILL get out...it was late and hot, maybe bag it for the evening? Later, right? Okay, fine - I'll do it. Loaded baby in the double jogger (other kids were still snoozing, we've been night owls lately!), and did a 1 mile loop down to the end of the street and back 3X to stay close to home, with a little extra at the end to finish a 5K.

9:00 is still too hot! Add the wind into the equation this morning and ugghh - The problem is pushing the jogging stroller into the wind! It makes a huge sail that I have to push along, I was dying and I looked at the watch 11 mm! YUCK! The worst part was the uphill was into the wind, so it was doubly hard, but I pushed through and managed to average a 9:56 for the run.

AP: 9:56 splits: 10:01, 9:38, 10:09, 9:46 (for the .1)

I was  around a 9:20 or less on the downhill, wind at my back sections so I guess I'm going to try to hold onto that. I can tell my legs have lost SO much in the 3-4 weeks I've been off *sigh* I'm glad I have a beautiful baby to cuddle and cry on his shoulder about it! :) Trying to remember that running will come back, but I'll never have another little baby - must keep priorities straight!

So...do we have a pair of running feet here? :)

Got up and out a bit earlier today...slowly but surely I'm getting back into early mornings. Did the same loop to the end of the street and back, a mile a loop. That way I can be home every few minutes for the older kids in case they need me and still not have to wake up before my hubby leaves for work :)

Without the wind things were much better today! I decided to try to bump up the daily miles bit by bit this week and see what I could do, so far so good. PLUS I was able to redeem myself a bit from yesterday's slow run. 

I did have a 'wonderful' runner moment this morning. There is a 4 way stop just .05 from my house that is notorious for being run (no one really stops), I had started through the intersection as a vehicle was approaching. She decided not to stop, and just barreled through the intersection. I came to a halt and she finally saw me (after I'd even pulled back a step or two) when her front tires were about three feet from the front of the stroller! Teenager on her cell phone. I got a mouthed "sorry" and she drove on by!! YIKES! Ideally, she would've come to a stop when I was about 1/2 way through the intersection, so I figured it wasn't a big deal to go on through. Good thing one of us was paying attention to what was going on. I sat and chastised her for the next mile loop (mile 3 I think).

Good run, still too hot!

AP: 9:34 splits: 9:42, 9:27, 9:31, 9:37

 Here is a picture to celebrate my sweet baby's one month birthday today!

I simply have the best running partner ever! Who else would help you wake up at 7AM to make sure you got your run in, even after getting up at 4:30? AND put an extra 20 pounds on you to make sure you had the motivation to get out and start running? Thanks Adam for all you do for me! :) 

Today was my first run in the past 10 months without him, and I felt naked when I started my run - no belly, no stroller, nothing in my arms. I wore my 'running for 2' shirt just to have a piece of him with me :) Thankfully, Cal was out this morning and I got to chat with him for a bit as I started my run and it gave me the boost needed to keep going (or at least not cry!). It did feel pretty good to be by myself again, and OH so much easier!!

I did my 6 mile loop and I didn't look at my watch, I just kept a nice easy pace that felt good. I tried to not let myself slide on the uphill, but to keep my feet moving. When I got home and looked at my splits I was pleasantly surprised!

AP: 9:05 splits: 9:21, 8:36, 8:42, 9:05, 9:38, 9:11, 8:57 (for the .2)

I could hardly believe I'd kept the pace that low, it felt more like the 9:50's or so I've been trudging along at! I can tell I've lost some cardio training, but I hope it comes back quickly. The best part is that the 9:38 was my hill of death mile! It didn't seem nearly as hard as it had pregnant and I thought I was going to hit a 10+ the way I was feeling. I was SO excited to see it was so close to 9:30 and less than what I thought my AP was going to end up at.

What a great first run sans baby! I came home and baby and dad were sleeping peacefully and no one any the wiser for me sneaking out for some mommy time. I'm glad the first one went so well - MIGHT just motivate me to get up early and run w/out the stroller next week :)

Here's a tribute to my favorite running partner! Can't wait to do DN with you tomorrow, and yes, I know, you'll beat me again :)

Well, my sweet running partner again got me up and out of bed in order to get to the race :) He actually woke up 2 minutes before the alarm would've gone off - he's simply in tune with my needs :) My sister had stayed the night so that she could run her FIRST 10K as well, so we headed on up to the start bright and early.

The bathroom lines were horrendous and getting there with only 15 minutes to spare put us in the back of the line as well. I contemplated just bagging the potty stop, but my body told me that I wouldn't be happy if I did, so I stayed.  This put us WAY behind the start, we had to practically cut off the sweeper vehicle to start. I've never started a race last before. Since it was her first I wanted to make sure she got to the start and got going, but then I took off.

I think being behind really lit a fire for me, and I sped off barely being able to steer the jogging stroller, Adam is just too light :) I finally caught up to the end pack and it honestly wasn't easy maneuvering the stroller through the crowd, but I tried to just stay on the outside where I could weave better. Around Rice Eccles stadium the traffic was backed up and there was a Cream-O-Weber semi inching along in traffic. My goal was to catch it! I kept inching up on it as I barred down the hill and then thanks to a trax train stopping traffic (but not us thankfully!) I passed him! Isn't it fun to race trucks? :)

The rest of the race was really uneventful, I felt great and just kept chugging along. only 2 people passed me, and one of them I used as my 'clearer' - She would get people to move then I'd follow right behind her. She finished maybe 10 seconds or so in front of me. It was a great time, I love the energy of this race as you run along the parade route. The last little bit 'up' to the finish was more difficult on the legs and arms, because of the stroller and that is evident in my pace!

When I looked at my watch as I finished, the race clock was still under an hour, I was a little bummed that I hadn't broken 50 minutes. However, how can I be upset about 50 minutes a month after giving birth?!?

AP: 8:10 splits: 7:37, 7:47, 8:24, 8:05, 8:05, 8:49, 8:55(for the .22 on the garmin) We'll see overall placement later...

I went back to run my sister in (finished about 1:08, a GREAT time for her!), saw Slick and Mark, chatted, fed baby, saw Smooth and Teena after their wild adventure, cheered in Allie (an AMAZING finish!!!) and other bloggers that ran the marathon, then my mom's patience was running thin (I had to take her home from finishing the 5K), chatted with and met some other bloggers (Riverton Paul, Markmc, Steve Ashbaker, Sasha), then on the shuttle bus back to the car ran into JeffL. SO many bloggers there!

I had a wonderful time jumping back into the running world and being able to chat with my friends and fellow runners. THIS is what running is all about for me...well, and being able to hopefully run off all this baby weight!

Wonderful and uneventful Monday morning run. It was good to get up and out, I did sleep in a little bit, because I was going to do 7 miles, but only had time for 4 before hubby left so I didn't have to take baby.

Cardio felt better today than it has been, but the legs are sore. I forget how much DN trashes your quads!

Did the stake 5K loop with an extra mile on the end, didn't catch my 5K time, but it would've been slow. I was please to see the only 9+ mile was the worst of the uphill AND it wasn't as terrible as I thought it was going to be.

AP: 8:45 splits: 8:38, 9:20, 8:45, 8:16

Back to school today - wow year round summers really do go quickly!!

I'm going to try to get to the gym this morning and do step aerobics too...but I'm not counting on baby cooperating so we'll see!

Adam was great at the gym and slept long enough for me to do step class and ab's class - man ab's is SO much harder than I remember!!

Alarm went off at 6 so I could get my 7 mile loop in this morning. I decided to snooze just another 4 minutes. Ooops! I must've turned it off, because next thing I remember is hubby getting up to get ready and leave for work. I guess I must've needed the sleep.

Got kids up, fed and out for the first day of school for my 1st grader and 2nd day for my 4th grader - then off to the gym. Hoping that baby will do well again in day care.

Did total body conditioning class and I sure am sore - especially the core from ab's yesterday! Then I checked on baby Fartlek and it was so sweet! The day care worker was holding him and just looking at him so lovingly sweet :) I was happy he was doing well and drifting off...so I decided to hit the TM.

3.5 miles in 30 minutes so about an AP of 8:35. I started at a 9:13 mm the first mile 8:57 the next mile and they both felt WONDERFUL! Easy and just plugging along, even caught a drink without stopping. Feels good to be able to run again and not feel so tired and heavy all the time. The last mile I just kept increasing the speed every tenth and ended the last .1 at 7:30 mm.

I think it was good to sleep in this morning, because yesterday I felt exhausted and grumpy all afternoon. I needed to do a little less and sleep a little more today, hopefully that will help my overall mood for the day!

My 3 year old went to bed with a fever last night, so I knew it was 'get up and run or get nothing' today (daycare at the gym tends to frown on sick kids coming). I was pleasantly rewarded with a BEAUTIFUL sunrise as I ran East this morning. There was a storm passing over the Wasatch and the sky was a deep pink/red and I'd occasionally catch a few lightning strikes on the peaks as well. One stretch as I was going North I could see the same sheen reflecting on the Oquirrhs to the West, it really was amazing. When I turned West I got to watch the long shadow of the Wasatch mtns slip down the Oquirrhs and eventually land on my shoulders. A wonderfully reflective morning getting to watch the sunrise - totally worth getting up and out!

The first three miles of this route is a nice easy downhill, then the next 3.5 are a steady climb back up to where I started and the last .5 a flat as I cut back into home. I commented yesterday how nice it was to not run feeling heavy and slow, but today I felt heavy and slow. Maybe it was that I actually was brave enough to step on the scale yesterday (still heavy!) or it could be my continued soreness from pushing all week so far and getting some x-training and resistance in as well. Either way, I am now VERY happy that I got out and moving no matter how slow! I need to start putting a good stretching cool down into my routine as well.

AP: 9:06 splits: 8:35, 8:21, 8:49, 9:20, 9:30, 9:49, 9:19 (you can really see the up and downs here!)

No gym today, which I think is a good thing the way I'm feeling, I'm going to try and do some stretching and rolling today to help some of the soreness move out. Other than that I get to sit around the house cuddle baby Fartlek and take care of  a sick 3 year old. Again, VERY grateful I got out this morning!!

Made a conscious decision to sleep this morning and run if baby would let me after yoga at the gym. My achilles started buggin' last night, so I iced, rolled and stretched and decided to take it nice and easy the next couple days in order to be able to do a long run Saturday. After yoga it felt SO much better!!

Hit the TM with Kelli for just a few miles to run out some residual soreness from workouts this week. Kept it at an easy 9:30 pace for the first 2, then started bumping it down and finished at 8:30mm. Then ran out the last couple minutes (total of 30 minutes) at that pace, so I ended up with the extra .15 miles.

Missed yoga like crazy and am now even more convinced I need to do more stretching and rolling at night as I build up my miles!

Adam had an abnormal night, so he was up at 6AM when I wanted to sneak out and run alone. I guess he just wanted to come too! So, since hubby had to get ready for work I loaded him in the jogger and tried a new 4 mile course.

It wasn't bad, gives me downhill at the beginning and end - the hills in the middle. A tad harder than expected, especially with the jogging stroller, but being able to use Kelli's single instead of my double is SO much nicer!!

AP: 9:23 splits: 8:57, 9:31, 10:10, 8:52 - you can definitely tell where the hills are :)

I'll head to the gym for full body sculpting, then tomorrow I'll try a long run - a new route I'm expecting to be around 11 or 12. Hopefully I don't die!

First 'long run' of the training cycle for St George Marathon. I know it's not long for most, but I had to start somewhere. I knew if I just waited for baby to wake me up then feed him and leave I would time things perfectly wit HIM - So I let him call the shots. He was up at 5 and I was out around 5:45.

Ipod broke a couple days ago (I was running and it just clicked and won't turn on now), and didn't have anyone to run with so I was alone with my thoughts. First time I've done a long silent run in a very LONG time. I don't think I should be left alone with my thoughts - I need to run FROM them not WITH them!

When I hit the lake I was really feeling good and the paths were crowded with bikers and runners, I honestly loved it! Very energizing to see lots of others out and about. It was longer to the lake than I'd expected and I decided it wouldn't be a good idea to bump mileage up too quickly, so I did 5.75 out then I could stop at 11 and walk a 1/2 mile home -which is uphill anyway :)

On the way home just after the lake I spotted Kelli and Wendy about .25 mile or so in front of me, I was hoping I could yell loud enough to make them wait for me :) Wishful thinking, but I did catch up when they took a short walk break and it made ALL the difference in the world to me to be able to run back with them. The route is all downhill, flat around the lake then the gradual uphill climb back for 5 miles to my home. Having the company (and chasing them) those last 4 - 5 miles really made such a difference. Pace slowed, but I would've walked to enjoy company at this point in the run!!

Talked to QP on the walk home and it gave me time to stretch and roll out the legs, baby was still sleeping soundly with dad. I feel really good now and am really excited to do it again next week, but make it all the way around the lake! Running really is my drug of choice and it always makes me feel SO much better!!

 AP: 9:18 splits: 9:01, 9:06, 9:15, 9:01, 8:52, 9:11, 8:58, 9:04, 9:34, 9:56, 10:16