Summer it here!!!

 

So, Summer is finally here in Minnesota.  It does feel lovely! We do not have AC in our house, so it has been a bit warm inside, but that makes us all want to be outside a bit more! Since my last post, I have been doing great with my exercising! This past week was the hardest, because we were camping with the kids and it is challenging to get alone time. The place we camped at Kamp Dels had a gym there-which is SO rare for a campground-that I thought I loved that idea, but to the amazement of my hubby I did not go once while we were there! The weather was perfect everyday and the bike trail was only a mile away. One day I took the kids for a 30 minute run/30 minute walk and an 80 minute bike ride in the afternoon (since they would not nap! Thankfully they did in the bike trailer) and we swam in the pool for about an hour and a half! So that was enough exercise for one day for this momma! The next day I took them both for a 75 minute run and 20 minute walk in the morning since O woke up early she napped for much of the ride! Additionally, I bike alone that afternoon for an hour and fifteen minutes! The bike trail was great and I felt like I was going quite fast. I do not have an odometer thing on my bike, but based on our mileage I would think that it was about 20 miles round trip. So that was good for me! We also went swimming again for an hour to an hour and a half and I did some lunges, squats and a few other random exercises in the pool while playing with the kids! The following day, yesterday, I ran 30/walked 30 with the kids, then walked with them yesterday afternoon for an hour when we got home (again, because they did not want to take naps when we got home! But, again, thankfully they both fell asleep almost immediately in the stroller!) Last night my MIL and I biked on a new bike path in Zumbrota, which was about 12 miles. It was a lovely evening for a bike ride, except that I thought I was constantly eating bugs! But, it could have been because I do not stop talking. I am SO used to exercising all by myself and not talking to anyone that I love it when I have someone to talk to! Today, I ran for 45 minutes with O this morning, then finished my hour at the gym…it was getting too hot this AM and we needed to run a few errands before naptime! I also did the E for an hour…but, I am starting to enjoy being outside much more than at the gym. I cannot remember the last time I ran at the gym. It does seem so much more boring to me since I have been running outdoors all summer! But, come the first 35 degree day and I will be all over the treadmill again! I also did two bodyrock workouts today…they are SO awesome! I can see a difference. I wish I would eat better so that I could really see the changes, but I can just feel my abs much more now than ever before and I am starting to see a tighter, more defined midsection! The one from yesterday was Cardio Legs and Core-it was good and I was dripping sweat everywhere at the end of that 24 minutes! I also did the summer abs workout, which was from the previous day. I did one last week that TOTALLY wiped me out! I will have to search back to see which one it was, but by the end my body was so exhausted…but felt so amazing!

I have decided that I will for sure do the Whistlestop marathon in Ashland, WI again this year. I was not certain that I would run it again, but why not? I do not ever use a training plan of any sort…I just kind of keep doing the same thing that I always do with a few longer runs programmed in when I can. I think I might try to schedule a few more longer runs than last year. I dread the thought of running on a saturday morning or thursday morning for 17 miles…I would much prefer to spend one hour running, one hour biking and 30 minutes on the elliptical. But…once I am out the door and on my run I am fine! And I always love it, and love the feeling when I come home. My problem lately has been needing to go to the bathroom. I get so many stomachaches. In August I finally will be able to see a dietician about it and see why? Hopefully when I get some answers that will help my problems!

Well, I need to vacuum quick before I head to bed to read the rest of my latest romance novel!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

~Katie

PR x2!

What an AMAZING weekend! WOW!

This past Saturday, I ran our Zumbrota 5k in the morning. It was a hot, humid morning. Not what I would consider great running conditions (at least not for me). I had diarrhea terribly and went 4-5 times before the run and a couple after the run. Also, it was at 8am. Not the time of day I prefer to run. I like to eat breakfast, wake myself up, get all nice and loose prior to running! And, I just prefer the afternoon better! but....The gun went off and so did I! At first I thought I was running really slow. My legs just did not feel that loose. But, I did notice that the few people that were in front on me were now behind me and that there were only four or five people in front of me...so I figured I had to be going fairly fast. I do not have a Garmin, so it is hard to know by looking at my time if I am running fast or not...so I had to wait until we got to the 1 mile marker to find that out! but, in the mean time, i ran by our house and saw H and Scott waving away to me...so that cheered me right up! Then I made it my goal to pass this little kid in front of me...he was darn fast...for how small he was! At around ~.75 miles I did pass him! Then there were only three people in front of me! Two of them were females...so my goal at this point it to at least try to catch up to them...even though neither looked like they had kids or were over the age of about 20! so....at mile 1-my time was about 6:17 I think...then mile 1.5 there was a wter stop...thank goodness, i was SO dehydrated from all my other issues...i was so happy for a drink! then mile 2 was about 12:45 so i was happy with that pace, but the girls were still ahead...so i really tried during mile three to catch up, but was unsuccessful! they ended up beating me...but my finish time was 20:30 and the girls in front of me came in around exactly 20:00-20:10, so I was proud of my time, my goal was under 21:00! So, I beat that, and I do think that a sub-20 is doable! Then i went home and took the kids for a walk for an hour and in the afternoon went to the gym and did the elliptical for 50 minutes and a little ab work. Should NOT have done any of that. That night my legs were SO tired and SORE! They are not used to running that fast. And on Sunday I had my triathlon...

So, I felt better that morning, but still had an upset stomach, so instead of my regular two slices of toast with an inch of pb and honey it was just a few honey nut chex. I was hungry during a lot of this race, but thankfully it was short! Swimming...I dread swimming...or not necessarily dread, but I dread swimming in a lake with 50 other people all at the same time kicking and paddling all around me. I asked myself last year, and this year about 100 times before I started why on earth did I think this was a good idea....who knows??? I was so happy though because my little monkeys were there watching and cheering with my parents and my brother, his wife and their two kids too! So it was a lot of fun knowing I actually had some people there cheering for me! The swim for me began around 8:45. WOW I cannot stand swimming...I got kicked by so many people so much. it was terrible. I had to stop and doggie paddle for a few seconds one time because the same lady kicked me like ten times in a thirty second period. I prayed every fifteen seconds (HONESTLY)... out loud...because I wondered what ever possessed me to sign up for this torture! But, finally I could see the end coming! AMEN! The answer to my prayer! It was only a quarter of a mile, but for someone who had not swam since last years triathlon...I was happy to be done! I think on my way out of the water I half-yelled "thank the lord I survived"!!!! But, my time ended up being 8:37 (last year 8:50)! So I was ecstatic about that! I guess my 'swim-game' improved in the off season with all that rest! Then I ran to my bike, put my shirt on...and my number came off, so i had to reattach it to my shirt with those stupid pins...I was frustrated. So, my T1 time was almost 4 minutes, YUCK! Oh well, made it out and hopped on my bike for ten miles. The biking portion was much better than all of last years hills. Still a few hills, but just overall much better course. My time was 34:15 (or close to that). My speed was about 17.5mph. Impressive, considering I do not have a fancy bike. I have a step up from a mt. bike, but not a tri/speed bike. So, I was VERY happy with that time. I knew my run would be slow, because of the 5k the day before as my legs were still exhausted from that when i woke up sunday morning. but, I did run hard...probably not as hard as I could have, but it was what it was...22:46 (or 7:20 pace) not at all what I would have liked, but had I not done my 5k on saturday it would have been around 21-22 minutes, so not too terrible! overall time: 1:10:22 (last years time 1:10:58). So, I did improve! Despite the pin issue and a minute and a half slower 5k. Overall, I was VERY HAPPY!

I placed 67th/235 overall.
5th in my age group (out of 23).
17th/108 for woman.
My swim in my age group was 7/23
Bike 6/23
Run 2/23

Not a bad weekend.

After the tri yesterday i had to write a paper for school and then relax the rest of the day!

Today I was going to go to the gym, but decided just to do live exercise and rest another day before doing much of anything!

I think my body needed a good day off!

I was impressed with everyone else's stories from the past weekends races!

Great Job everyone!

Maybe someday i will be like www.runningsane.blogspot.com and run that fast at a marathon!

~katie

Running Rambles…

Well, my life has been a bit bizarre lately.  I worked last weekend and came home to the news that Scott’s Grandpa had passed away on Monday morning, so no camping, and instead a funeral and wake.  Not the happy, fun week we were hoping for.  So my exercising has gotten a bit off…but that is okay! Today I finally got in a GREAT workout.  It included a 2 hour and two minute run and 50 minutes on the elliptical.  Then, I am going to do a quick ab workout before heading to bed shortly.  Other workouts this week just included the regular running, walking, elliptical, biking.  I did get in one great bike ride this week of about an hour and ten minutes.  I was happy with that.  Next weekend I will be running a 5k on Saturday for the Zumbrota covered bridge fest, and am hoping for sub-21 minutes, and then on Sunday completing a sprint triathlon for RochesterFest, it will be the second year that I have done it.  I am just hoping this week it warms up a bit, because today it was cool…perfect for a two hour run (50 degrees) but cool to be jumping in a fresh water lake! I am still debating running a fall marathon…I just do not know, today when I was running I thought, “why not?!?!?” I would like to get a sub 3:30 and I totally know that I can do it, it is just a matter of pushing myself and running enough long runs prior to the race.  I am just not a huge fan of long training runs, I much prefer to do my regular exercise schedule.  I have not ever had an injury that has really set me back significantly, and I think it is because I know that I need diversity (from only running).  I typically run 7.5-9 miles every other day, in addition to walking, biking, elliptical, and other exercises for a total of 2 hours of exercise each day.  When I do try to run more than that I just do not feel like I am giving 100% on each run.  I used to.  Even after H was born I ran everyday, but after O I decided I just had to focus on staying healthy and active and not on running everyday so that I need a knee replacement at the age of forty.  I read other peoples posts about their detailed plans, and I cannot believe the amount of miles they run all of the time.  That is just not me.  I love running, but making myself run super fast for long periods of time is just not THAT fun! Maybe in the future when the kids are in school?!?! Well, I better get going to bed because I work tomorrow from 11am-11pm and I want to get up at 5am to get my workout in so I can clean house and play with the kids before work for a while! (hence the reason I switched into this shift instead of the 7a-7p shift) But, I cannot stand waking at 5am anymore! I cannot believe that I used to enjoy getting up that early!

Good Luck to everyone that is racing this weekend, and thanks for stopping by and reading my blog!

~Katie

Peek of Miss J!

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Body Rock and other new moves…

Sorry I have not posted again in a while, but things just get busy with two kids and I really do not have any NEW news to share! I just keep doing pretty much the same things over and over again! I am trying to increase my weight lifting time and/or plyometrics and ab exercises.  I know I do a lot of cardio, and that is really good and all, but I also know that I need to do a bit more for my abs if I want to look like I did not have two kids! I would really love to have nice, flat abs, but as anyone who has had kids knows, it is nearly impossible to get rid of the extra skin that is there after all that growing! Anyways….that is what I am aiming for! So lately I have been doing exercises from bodyrock, which…whew! Yesterday at the gym I did two sets of exercises from there and surprisingly today I am not that sore, but I am supposed to run today and since I was lazy and did not get up early this AM I have to run with two kids today, and I am just not quite feeling like it! I think part of that is because I am a bit exhausted from the workout yesterday! This upcoming week is my “bad” week at work, but it still is not too bad…I work M/T/F/Sun nights, so really not terrible! But I am going to aim for 40 miles this week of running since I am not planning on running any big races too soon, and I will also do my regular elliptical workout, plyometrics 3 or 4 times this week and try to do a bit more biking! I really love biking, but it is hard to find the time between rainy, cold/chilly, and windy days! So we will see how this week goes.

Med City marathon, half and relay is happening in rochester today, I would have liked to ran a part of that race.  but I just hate the time commitment for half of my day and the amount of money it costs to get into all these events.  The only things that I am really planning as of right now are a 5 or 10k for our zumbrota covered bridge fest on june 18 and then on the 19th doing the sprint triathlon in rochester. Then, not anything until august when I do ragnar.  I am still debating a fall marathon??! I would like to do one, but I am not sure when/where.  I will keep looking.  Some that I am thinking of: Twin Cities, Whistlestop, Chicago or ????

Well I need to change my clothes and look at the weather to see if going for a run is going to happen or if we will get soaked!  I really do not want to run up and down our street during naptime, that is way too boring!

Oh yeah, and last night we went to the Twins game! Great game! The kids were okay, scott got a bit annoyed with them, but they were okay and ended up winning! Great game to go to.  The pitcher was brought up from triple A and he threw a no-hitter until the 7th inning I believe it was! He was fantastic!

 

Lastly, My hubby is also now exercising! I LOVE IT! And I cannot wait for him to start seeing results!

Have a Happy Memorial Day! ~katie

Tired and lazy…

Good Afternoon,

Well I am just now “waking” up after working 12 hour night shifts all weekend.  Last week was a great week for me from an exercise standpoint, but over the weekend when I work from 7p-7a and sleep from 815-3 or 4pm it is so challenging to get motivated to wake up and immediately exercise, knowing that I am choosing exercise over playing with the kids or seeing my hubby.  So, friday was a good workout day- I honestly am not sure what I did but I know it was a good workout and that I lifted weights-a lot- as my butt is still sore! which is a good thing-in my book! Saturday I did not exercise at all as I slept until almost 5pm and had just enough time to get up, shower, eat and head back to work.  But, sleep is so important for me physically and mentally! Sunday I slept terribly, and when I finally got out of bed at 230 I knew the babysitter could only stay until 3pm, so I tossed on my running clothes and got in a half hour run.  Then I came home and did a little bit of plyometrics, but the kids both woke up within about 15 minutes of that so instead I just did a little ab work and then took the kids for a 45 minute walk.  Even that seemed draining to me.  I could tell I had slept poorly! then it was back to work for another night and home this am, just in time so my hubby could go to work and I could stay home with the kids They were good little monkeys for the most part this AM.  Henry watched two cartoons and then turned the TV off and the two of them just did puzzles, a couple games and some coloring.  They also dumped out a quarter of the box of cinnamon chex all over the living room carpet…again, oh well…the vacuum took care of that! I finally got motivated to wake up for good around 1200.  Made some lunch and cleaned up the house! whew! I feel much better now, oh and I lit a candle and opened windows! so now I am hoping to do tae bo and maybe my abs and butt video and then later take the kids for a walk again, hopefully a bit faster than yesterday and for a full hour so I can get my two hours of exercise in today at least! It is planting time here, so scott plans to come home from work and head right out to the field so no run for me today, which does bum me out.  I love a nice peaceful run. 

I sold our double jogging stroller last summer I believe, it was a unique design that I had ordered, because the kids were so close that it had one seat in front and one in back-not side by side- and I loved it, but H was just getting too big for it, but now I am wondering if that was the right decision.  The only double stroller I have is a sit and stand, and it is a bus to push, I just cannot stand it.  So, last night I looked all over the internet for cheap or used double joggers and really did not have luck finding one on craigslist or anything, everyone wants 100-300 for a used one…NO thanks! So, our single jogger is a baby trend expedition, so I ordered a double one from walmart, surprisingly it was only 149 and the reviews were great.  I LOVE my single jogger.  The only thing I do not like Is that it does not have a swivel wheel in front, but for running I absolutely do not want a swivel wheel.  But, I cannot wait to get it! Then I can at least walk at my normal fast pace on a walk and/or jog with the kids!

well, I better get moving if I hope to get a workout in while the kids are napping!

Hope you are enjoying your Monday ~ Katie 

Tired Legs

This past week has been beautiful here in MN! Finally! I have not taken a day off in over a week, because it is just so nice outside! I have also not ran on the treadmill in eons, which is really good for me! I run faster outside and push myself a bit harder outside-I do wish I had a Garmin though-then I would be able to prove that I am in fact faster outside. Here is a recap of my workouts, or at least what I can remember at 3AM!

Wednesday- Ran 1 hour outside, Exercise video (I think) and maybe gym?!?!
Thursday - Ran outdoors pushing Olivia on our gravel/paved path for 80 minutes (Usually do not run two days in a row, so i was impressed with myself!), Ex./strength video 40 minutes, gym 60 on elliptical
Friday - Ran 3.2 miles in 22 minutes, Biked 60 minutes, Ran 3.2 miles in 24 minutes (my legs were exhausted), Biked 5 minutes to gym, Elliptical for 40 minutes, biked back home..whew! (And I felt fat this day-why?!? Must have been the water retention!) -Oh and I slept terrible this night-how? After such a great workout?!?!
Saturday - Elliptical 60, biked 30, craft show with kids, grocery shopping, gardening-lots!, prom, BUSY day-I was exhausted!
Sunday - Mother's Day! Workout video for 57 minutes- whew- it was a killer! was hoping to run, but my legs were way too exhausted from my strength video to run! so...elliptical for 60 - interval training- and biked 15 or 30 minutes???
Monday - Strength video again - 35 minutes - was about 44 minutes long, but my legs were pooped and I NEEDED to run so I had to cut it short! Then, after napping for an hour and a half I hit snooze on my alarm clock and tried to go back to sleep and reset my alarm for 430-I really did not want to get up and go for a run...but then, i noticed it was beautiful outside! So, up I got, the babysitter arrived..and I headed out for an hour run-but it was WINDY! whew! but, ran for an hour-lots of hills-lots of wind! then finished with a 25 minute walk. I also had a terrible celiac stomachache - ugh- i hate them! But, I made great oatmeal bars yesterday - so it was kind of worth it! But, YUCK!

Now I am at work tonight, then sleep all day and I am hoping for a bike ride this afternoon for 30 minutes and an hour on the elliptical, and an ab workout! Then back to work again tonight!

I am still debating doing the med-city marathon at the end of may-just not sure I really feel like it...we will see! .....

Have a great day ~Katie

finally...the warm up!

Well, it is finally warming up a little outside. I was hoping to go for a long run on Sunday, but it was way too cold and windy for me! So it was off the the gym again! I am getting a little bit sick of going there. I have noticed myself braving the cooler temps in the past month or two and just going outside for a run because I am so bored with the treadmill. We also have a new bike path in Zumbrota, which is fantastic! It is in a lovely wooded area, so even if it is windy you cannot tell quite as much as you can if you are running on a road. I love it!

Since the marathon I have been debating doing another marathon in May or do i wait and just do one in the fall? I dont know?!?!? It was an awesome experience in Boston and i would love to repeat that! but, I think it was so fun because of all the people there! I do worry about the one at the end of May being too warm and too few people that it might be a little boring compared to boston! I am for sure doing my triathlon again in June (just the sprint length). Only for the reason that it is something different to do, and it totally freaks me out-so why not! Maybe I can beat my time from last year and place in the top three of my age group-that is my goal anyways! Other than that race I really do not have much planned, I might do the 5K in our town and see if I can get in under 21 minutes, but who knows! I am not a big fan of 5K's - IMO they are a waste of money because you pay $25 and get a tshirt that I never wear and run for 20 minutes, when i could totally do that on my own for free! But, it is good for my speed training, as i do very little speed work. I am hoping to save up some money and buy a garmin in the next few weeks/month, because I think that is the only way that I will really start improving my time. Otherwise I just go out for an hour run and guesstimate how far I ran! Not real accurate, but I do enjoy just running and not worrying about my time. And I am happy with my times at my previous races! Then in August I might do the Ragnar Relay with my brother and his wife and a few other people they know, but I have not heard any more on that, so who knows! This fall I am hoping to find a marathon to do somewhere within driving distance from here that could be a little weekend vacation for us!

So onto my workout since my last post...

Mostly gym, because it has been cold, rainy and windy, and even a little snowy here!

But, last Thursday i ran in shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt when it was like 37 degrees-brrr...but it felt good to be outdoors! (got in an hour long run, I had a babysitter for exactly one hour-so she walked in-I said, "the kids are sleeping, see you in an hour" and left! when i rtned they were still asleep!)
Friday-Gym and exercise video which was SO hard, my legs seriously were still sore on Monday when i did it again! SO good!
Saturday-nothing-I worked friday night so I slept all day saturday then we went for a drive with the kids to go get cheese curds in WI and went and ate at the Pickle Factory in Pepin WI-it was delicious and the kids loved not eating, but watching the trains go by as we ate!
Sunday-gym-way too cold! Did run 4.5 miles in 30 minutes, so i was happy with this! but then I was too tired for any more! Had a great ab workout.
Monday afternoon I did get in an 80 minutes run-which was beautiful! and also did my plyometrics video which was 45 minutes. Was sore! Worked Mon Night
Tuesday-Slept! and then went for an hour bike ride-it was windy, but good and beautiful! then gym for a 10 minute run and elliptical for 30 minutes before getting ready for work again!

Today I will go home and sleep and prob do my video again, maybe get a run in for an hour? clean house and that is about it! play with the kids!

On Thursday, My Henry turns 4!!! FOUR!
OMG!!! i cannot believe it!

He is so excited! We are going to go out to eat for supper that night I think to Chuck-E-Cheese and maybe the Circus or a movie!

Have a great night or day!

~Katie

Recovery Post-Boston!

Since returning home from Boston, I have felt great! My legs, feet, knees have not bothered me at all.  After my marathon last fall I had a sore knee for a week or two, so I am very happy that I do not have this problem now!

So last week I actually ran 1 mile on Tuesday (the day after the marathon) and did the elliptical for 45 minutes.

Wednesday-Ran 30 minutes (b/n 7.5mph-8.5mph!) Again, I was happy with this.  Also biked for 30 or 45 minutes, and did the elliptical again.  Tried to do my normal weight routine, but figured out really quickly that my legs could not handle squats or lunges yet!

 

Thursday-Ran 60 minutes pushing Olivia in the stroller, tae-bo, ab video and elliptical at gym

Friday-walk, elliptical, bike-worked a night shift

Saturday-Ran 10 minutes (was too tired after working all night and sleeping all day to get up and get moving too quickly!)  and elliptical for 90 minutes, and biked for 20 minutes  and then went to work for 12 hours overnight again!

Sunday- Ran 45 minutes, walked 10 minutes spent a few hours with the kids for Easter! then, back to work again for another 12 hour night shift! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Monday-Came home to sleep and actually had a babysitter, since the HS was off for spring break yet! So, I was going to sleep until 1pm since she wanted to leave around 130, but I woke up a 440pm instead! OMG…I could not believe I slept that long! I came out of our bedroom and our lovely babysitter was still here, the kids were napping! But, she was so sweet and said she just could not leave while I was sleeping!

Needless to say, Monday was no workout since I slept all day and then I finally had a chance to see the kids for a few minutes!

Tuesday-Today-had a class for work-YUCK! I hate working day shifts-so class started at 7am, and yes, I just left work yesterday at 7am! whatever…but during our hour lunch break I brought clothes with so I could get a run in, and even though it was raining I still ventured out for a run and got soaked, but it really was bizarrely beautiful! I really enjoyed just the quiet time.  So, I ended up getting a 50 minutes run in, even though everyone that I was in class with could not believe that I actually went running in the pouring rain! Then after class, since I had not had a great workout in a couple of day I decided I better head to the gym and finish my hour run and do the elliptical for an hour!

Tomorrow the agenda is for another hour long run-on the treadmill as it is supposed to be cold, rainy and possibly snowy it sounds like.  And the elliptical for 45-60, bike 15-30 and weights and abs! And clean up my house! whew.  I cannot stand a mess, but at the same time after working three night shifts in a row and then a day immediately after I just do not have the energy to do too much.  Thankfully, my hubby did all the laundry and the dishes today! I am so grateful!

Hope you are all having a great week!

~Katie

Boston Marathon Recap

 

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

I was SO nervous about the entire day, what was going to happen, how I was going to do, would I qualify again for next year, would the wind be against us, would I really finish and would I have negative mindtalk the entire run????  In my qualifying run last fall I asked myself about 50 times why on earth I was running a marathon. 

Not the case with the BOSTON MARATHON, it was so unbelieveable.  At one point, I think around mile 7 or 8 I could feel myself wanting to speed it up a bit and I probably could have, but I had to remind myself that I was there to enjoy myself, enjoy the crowd and take it all in. 

So on Monday morning I woke up and it was sunny and looked lovely outside. Then I looked at the temps and it was in the low 40s I would prefer it a bit warmer.  And it was very windy, thankfully pushing me towards Boston! I had debated shorts or knee pants the entire time, and decided I would wear my knee pants and then bring shorts with and if I felt like it I could change into them in Athlete’s Village.  I was cold almost all morning, up until about race time, then I finally started to warm up.  I decided  I better leave my knee pants on as well as my long sleeve t-shirt otherwise I would  be too cold. The buses left Boston at 7am for the start line and so I chatted with a lady from Cambridge, MA on the ride out there!  Once I arrived in the waiting area time flew by.  I met up with a Tricia from Mazeppa and we talked for a while, but then I did not see her again during the entire race!

At 10:00 theif race started, but my wave and corral did not leave until around 1020 or so.  Immediately I felt like I had to pee, and I was hungry-NOT the way I wanted to start the race.  I had seriously went to the bathroom like 7 times that morning-once right before lining up! I was also quite warm.  I managed to keep my long sleeve tshirt on until about mile 7 then I finally took it off and for the rest of the race wore it around my waist.  Not the greatest idea, but it worked-and I really did not want to throw it off to the side too badly.  Needless to say, if I run it again, I will wear a shirt I can throw off and will not mind never getting back again! My knee pants were also a bit warm, I definetely could have worn shorts and been okay.  After a few miles of starving there were people already handing out food, THANKFULLY! So, at almost every opportunity possible I took orange segments or banana chunks to eat.  If people would not have been there to help me eat I am not sure how I would have finished.  I was so hungry! I got to the first 5K marker so quickly, my time was not that great, but it felt like the time was flying by! The crowd was so incredible! So many people there to see the race, it was just amazing.  Well, for my marathon last fall I did a mile by mile recap-so here it is for Boston-WAY different than Whistlestop!

1-WOW- I was really wondering if I would be running with this many people the entire time.  My first mile was like 8:02, not what I wanted.  I prefer to start off faster and slow down throughout the race, but there was just no way to get around everyone and get going any faster. 

2-okay, there were still a lot of people-everywhere-runners, spectators, everyone was getting hot and throwing off their clothes, so I had to watch my step!

3-5K already?!?!?! Amen, this is fabulous so far!

4-5 somewhere in here there was a little hill I remember and I was thinking oh these hills are not too bad. 

6- Well I made it to the 10K so now everyone that is following me is getting an update, I better really try to push it to get over this mat in a certain time so they do not think I am too slow as they are getting their text alerts!

7- smooth sailing for a while-thinking okay, not quite the 8 mph I prefer to run, but still not too bad if I can just keep this pace up for another 19 miles-what?!?!? 19 miles?!?! I had to excite my mind by thinking okay, I already made it almost to the 1/3 mark (in my head, anything after 20 is easy, and I know I will finish!)

8-I remember people handing out fig newtons here and I can’t remember if we were in the town of newton or not, but I so wanted something to eat but I did not want a stomachache, I had one earlier this AM. 

9-okay, almost to the 10 mile mark, then just another 25 minutes to the halfway mark and I can see scott!

10-yes, I made it to the ten mile mark!!!!

11-we are really close to being halfway done!  Fantastic!

12-okay, seriously, I have one more mile until the halfway mark-where is the sign?!?!? Then, we went around a corner and down a hill in Wellesly College (an all female college-I believe) and from a quarter mile away you could hear all these girls cheering!

13-Awesome to turn a corner and see SO many people cheering! It was an amazing spot in the race.  there was a T stop here, so there were thousands of fans here making so much noise! I also knew scott was going to be here, so I was excited.  But, I was looking everywhere and never saw him-and he never saw me And I had to stop for a potty break here, I just could not hold on one minute longer.  I ate an orange or a banana or something a few minute before and it immediately gave me an upset stomach.  Thankfully, that was the only stop I had to make during the race!

14-Over the halfway mark, my miles left are finally less than the miles I have already accomplished! Fantastic!

15-oh yeah, we have hills coming up…YUCK! hmm…we will see how that goes!

16-Oh yeah, I see the kills coming.  I better take a gel-YUCK! Plain flavored-YUCK! thankfully I had a new piece of gum and some water. 

17-oh seriously hills-already….oh my god this is a huge flipping hill.  Maybe this is heartbreak hill that everyone talks about, because this one is huge!

18-Oh maybe this one is bigger??? And I am not sure what is better, running down a slight decline or going up an incline?? Thankfully, I do pretty well with hills and I don’t think they slowed me down too much.  There were a quite a few walkers in this area!

19-oh yeah, it is flat, maybe that is the end of the hills---oh no, nevermind, up ahead there is another big one! The crowds from this point on were incredible, LOUD and VERY encouraging!

20- WOW…my legs are wiped out, but now it is my time to rock! I usually do okay in the last six miles-especially the last three miles, because I know that it will only last a short while!

21-Yes-only 5 more miles to go and I will be all done…how is that possible!??!? How have almost three hours went by already? and if I can get these last miles in at the same pace I am running at now I will qualify again for next year!

22-wow…I am going to finish, and I think qualify!

23-only three more miles! only 22 minutes left and I will be done!

24-wow these crowds are loud.  I really picked up my pace here and started to pass a lot of people!

25-LOVE this mile, because I pass so many people.  I just keep picking out people in front of me to beat!

26-I made it!  Awesome! What an amazing feeling and accomplishment!

26.2-I did it! I am amazed at what my body can do! So incredible! And I qualified again for next year…should I want to do it again! We shall see….

Beautiful Snow...Again!

Tonight I pulled the kids in their sleds outside for an hour and it was so beautiful outside. The weather was nice, it was not too windy, the temp did not seem too bad (but i was in snowpants, winter jacket, hat, mittens, scarf!) and the kids seemed to enjoy it too! It ended up being a great workout, when I got home I was just drenched with sweat! Pulling two kids in sleds up and down hills, whew! And henry thinks it is really fun to have me run and pull them, but wow I can only do that for a minute or two!

In addition to that I did go to the gym and ran for 35 minutes-4.7 miles, walked at 15% incline/5mph for 25 minutes, elliptical for an hour and biked/read for 30 minutes. So, big day of exercise. It felt good, but I was hoping to get in a long run, but I just did not have it in me today and it was snowing outside so I was not comfortable running for too long outside on slippery streets!

Yesterday I did get up early in the morning before Olivias appt and did the elliptical for an hour and walked 30 minutes. Then I took Olivia to her appt, which was good, but the better part was going to Target afterwards. A large toy selection had been clearanced to 75% off!!!! I got so many presents for the upcoming year, it was fabulous! Having 7 nieces/nephews is lovely, but expensive to buy them all birthday gifts and then christmas presents, so I did get a large selection of toys for the upcoming year! I will have to add a photo sometime soon! here is a short list of the things i got:

Little Tikes Tool Bench (79.99-19.98)
Barbie Doll House Collection (59.99-14.98)
Barbie Yacht (39.99-9.98)
Dora Dollhouse (79.99-19.98)
MegaBlocks (29.99-7.48)
Thomas Trains (10-2.50)
Scooters-Tinkerbell (29.99-14.98)
Puzzles
Car Race Track (59.99-14.98)
Jewelry Armoire (59.99-29.99)
Doll (24.99-6.24)
VTech Toy (24.99-6.24)
2 Leapster Games (24.99-6.24)
Guitar (10-2.50)

Overall, I ended up spending about 230.00 but retail would have been 840.00

Awesome shopping trip!

Tomorrow I have a baby shower in Minneapolis and my mom and I are planning to go to Ikea first and then to test drive a van or two! We shall see....

Hope you have a great weekend,

Katie

Vans, Trucks, Tired, Random thoughts

I just have to share that as I am typing now the kids are crawling on the floor weaving around all of our chairs and are just laughing like it is the funniest thing they have ever done! It is so fun to watch kids actually play together and have fun...because i know in a moment they will be fighting (like right now when i have to tell them to stop taking each others straws!).

In my last post I was describing what i hoped to accomplish on monday afternoon. Since I worked Monday night it is a challenge because I really like to take a nap in the afternoon so I am a bit more awake all night long. But, since I was lazy and could not get up early in the morning (an ongoing problem for me!) I had to have a babysitter come in the afternoon so I could go to the gym. I ended up doing tae bo for 50 minutes before the gym, ten ran for 50 minutes..not too fast...more just to get a run in. But, then did have a good workout on the elliptical for an hour and ten minutes on the bike.

Yesterday I got home from work in the morning and slept until 420 when Henry came to wake me up. I typically try to go to the gym at 3, but i was just too tired from not taking a nap the day before...kind a lose-lose situation. So, no gym. I did end up doing my 15 minute ab video and 15 minute buns video. And surprisingly my buns and abs are both a a bit sore today. So for not doing too much I still feel like it was not a complete day off.

This morning I got home from work at 8, ate my gluten free toast with pb and honey and went to bed. I only slept until 12. I was going to try to wake up at 11 and go to the gym, but understandably I was just not able to wake up after 2 1/2 hours of sleep. Once I got up and moving Scott wanted to go ice fishing so I let him go so he could get back home this evening and I could spend just a little bit of time with him before I pass out tonight. After the kids laid down I did tae bo (a different video than monday) for 45 minutes. Then, again a babysitter came after school. Off i went to the gym for an hour run (slower only between 7-7.5 mph, but 1-3% incline) It was a nice run, but just slower than i like-but what do i expect on 2 1/2 hours of sleep??? i also did the elliptical for 45 minutes. Overall, good day for exercise. Hopefully tomorrow or friday I will get in a good run. It is looking like it will be friday though, as tomorrow olivia has her 2 year old check up at 745 am and then i have a few other errands to run in rochester (like go to the new TRADER JOES!!!-i know shocking that i have not been there, because they apparently have a great selection of gluten free items!). Hopefully I will be able to get up early tomorrow and get a workout in before olivias appt. (WOW! that sounds early!)

Onto cars, so my lease on my 2008 Camry-which i love-is coming to an end in February and we need to decide what to buy after the lease. We have been thinking about it for a while. I want us to get a van and Scott wants a truck. We already have an AWD SUV. We could use a truck for pulling our camper as it certainly would have more power than a van or SUV, but our SUV works. Also, he will be done with school in a year and I think that would be a great time to buy himself a treat (aka truck). As much as i would like one, i just do not think it has a lot of practical uses currently. The other issue is that my budget for a vehicle is between about 15-20K. I do not want huge car payments every month. Used trucks in that price range are 2005-2006 trucks with 70-100K miles. That just seems like too many miles to pay 20K for... A van does not have a ton of uses either, but it would give us the ability to take another child with us, it would have automatic doors and rear tailgate-which i would LOVE! We are currently thinking of a Kia sedona, between 2009-2011. There are not many out there and they are the safest vans on the market. We have a few people we know that drive them and love them, so we will see....any opinions???

Laziness...

Good Morning,

Well saturday morning started with a trip to the gym for 60 minutes on the elliptical, 15 of walking at 5mph and 15%incline, and biking for 15 minutes then a quick ab workout.

Then we headed up to my brothers house near alexandria, mn...so a 3 hour drive away for nephews 6th bday party. it was a great day. we did not do too much, but in the afternoon we did get outside for a little 'sledding' -we just pulled kids in the sleds out on the lake. by the time we got out there i was sweating away!

Yesterday was a day full of homework for me (i had to do some discussion responses, a 3-5 page paper, a plan of study, and another assignment). I really spent a large part of the day doing that and then cleaning house. i was really going to try to squeeze in the gym or a workout, but there just was not a great time to do it and that is the way it goes sometimes! so the kids and i did do a fwe jumping jacks and push ups...if they count for anything! I am really hoping to get in a nice run this afternoon, get on the elliptical (after my babysitter comes over after school) and maybe a tae bo video to make up for yesterdays lack of anything (before the babysitter arrives!).

Tonight it is off to work for the night and tomorrow night again.

I am currently debating applying for a job that would be FT days...just not sure that is what I want. Maybe later today I will apply for it, I can always go to an interview and not get it or not accept the job offer. My biggest question is the pay, would it be enough to cover daycare costs for FT daycare.

It is already snowing here and it sounds like it is going to snow through today and tomorrow. Hopefully we do not get too much snow.

~Katie

Long run, finally!

Good Evening,

sorry for the couple days off, but with working two nights this week (tues. and wednesday) and then needing to stay awake with the kids on thursday when scott was at work....wow! I was wiped out and needed a lot of sleep to catch up!

Wednesday consisted of sleeping most of the day after working until 730am! When I woke up it was off to the gym for a quick hour and a half workout before heading to work again! If I remember correctly I did an hour on the elliptical and 30 minutes on the bike. Very boring, not too much of a challenge, but it does wake me up really well before another night shift!

Thursday was a day off, I had enough of a challenge staying awake with a one and three year old, I was hoping to get to the gym when my hubby got home from work, but after he got home I just had no energy, do it was just a day off!

Today I got in a great run, unfortunately it was all on a treadmill at the gym because it was 10 degrees outside and very windy. I have no problem running up to about 10 miles on the treadmill, much longer and it does get a bit boring! But, I ran 16 miles in 2 hours, I was happy with that. My legs felt a little sore when i was done, so I was happy!

Tomorrow we have my nephews birthday party up by alexandria, mn...so we will see if i can get my buns out of bed at 530 so i can go to the gym and get in a workout before we leave at 8!

Hope you have a great weekend!

~Katie

Fabulous Run!

Good morning,

I am just getting caught up at work now so I thought I would type up a quick post!

Yesterday I only had about an hour and a half to workout between the babysitter getting there after school and me needing to get ready for work, take the kids to gma and gpas and drive to work! But, it was a great workout! I really was trying to 7 miles in 45 minutes, but without my ipod I have a tough time getting right into a run, so I alternated running 8.0-8.5mph every 30 seconds with running 9.0-10.5 mph every 30 seconds for 45 minutes straight, great workout, but still only got in 6.65 miles...oh well, still an awesome run! then it was off the the elliptical again for 45 minutes at level 9 and then a 5 minute cool down on the bike! rather boring, but I got to watch TCL and Ellen!

I do wish our little bitty gym had more machines to offer me, but we have only four treadmills, four ellipticals-2 with moving arms and two without, one recumbent bike, a rowing machine and free and machine weights....it does get a little old, and i am starting to wish for a bit warmer weather so that I can get out of the gym and house and exercise on the road and do a few long runs on the road. And, go for a real bike ride...a rec. bike is SO not for me, but it works in the off season!

Hope you have a great day and a great workout, I will be sleeping away most of my day and then back to work again tonight!

~Katie

Celiacs...oh how i hate thee...

So, I have Celiacs. I cannot stand having it. Yesterday I made waffles (gf) for myself and then some regular ones for my hubby and kids...well at one point totally not thinking I used my knife to put butter on their waffles and then used it to add butter to mine. So, all day I have had an ongoing stomachache. It is so awful.

Yesterday was a day off from the gym for me. I just did my Ultimate Tae-Bo video and another little video for a total of 1 hour of exercise. Lots of cleaning/organizing at home.

Today, since I did not feel real well I was not sure if I would go to the gym or not. But, I could not find a babysitter for after school, so I just figured that was Gods way of saying no gym today. I did a differend tae bo video this afternoon for 35 minutes, a 15 minute ab video and a 15 minute butt video. But...then hubby came home from work and I just figured I could go run a slow hour on the treadmill at the gym and watch te news and wheel of fortune, it would not be that bad! I ended up having an awesome 8.15 mile run at 1-2% incline and a thirty minute elliptical workout. Now I feel much better, still have a bad stomachache, but it is amazing how much better a run, some socialization and alone time makes me feel.

Hope your week is going well! ~Katie

What a great two days!

Good evening,

Well yesterday I was scheduled to work from 3-11pm, but at 7pm I was able to come home due to the limited number of patients we had at work. That was lovely! Then, today I was scheduled to work from 7pm-7am, but at 9 or so they asked if I wanted to go home again, as no one else wanted too! Heck yeah! Of course I want to go home! ha...what a funny question to ask! Now here I am sitting at home in my PJs reading blogs, watching titanic-my all time FAVORITE movie ever!!!! while my hubby and H and O sleep! Glorious!

Now, my workout yesterday was an 8.25 mile run with speeds from 7.0mph-12.0 mph in 59:45 and then walked a couple minutes just to calm my heart down as I really wanted to get the .25 miles in (I have no idea why, just one of those crazy ideas i had in my head...as I hate ending a run without it being to the quarter mile :)) then, onto the elliptical for 45 minutes, rowing for 10 minutes, biked for 10 minutes, lunges, deadlifts and short ab workout.

Today, I walked at 5.0mph-5.4mph (increasing minutes from 0-4 and then repeating the increase over the course of 60 minutes) all at an incline of 15%. I can tell my body is getting used to the incline, it was not that challenging today, think i may have to try walking/running outside when it warms up just a bit.. .I cannot run when it is 10 degrees outside-at least not run and enjoy it! Then i did the elliptical for 30 minutes with intervals from level 6-10 and biked for 30 minutes at level 3...not hard, but for some reason still feels like a good workout! finished it with a good ab workout!

Before work I also headed to Target...I absolutely LOVE target! The Christmas clearance section was fabulous! sI got lots of little stuff from the dollar section for a quarter-they had cute little dry erase boards, boards books, tin buckets, pens and pencils. Perfect for my kids to give their little friends for either their own bday parties (in the little goody bags) or to give to a friend with another gift for their bday or to one of their cousins! I also got some super cute little Disney princess chapstick kits and nail polish kits for 1.24 i think! and lots of gift boxes for .25-.50 for 2-4 packs! I seem to never have enough boxes as they always get ruined when little kids open them! I also got some christmas marshmallows (for.29 per bag) christmas frosting (.40 per jar) and one box of funfetti cake(for .42) and some sprinkles and white little edible pearls to put on cookies. And on top of all the X-mas crap I bought I needed to get groceries and using coupons today I ended up saving baout 70.00!!!! The lady at the checkout was bizarre-she was telling me that her hubby would never let her "cut coupons". I was not sure how to respond. As my hubby and I both drive nice vehicles, live in a fine house-not new, but that is okay with me at the age of 25!, have two great kids, I get to work parttime, and we have money in the bank....so i told her that I do not do it because we cannot afford groceries, but instead that by using coupons I am able to save enough money to get new cabinets in my kitchen this year or go on our vacation to Boston this spring, or go on our camping trips over the summer and so that to me it is really worth it. She responded to me by saying, "well i just dont think i could ever do it" with like a snotty tone like she was too good to coupon; however, she is the one working at Target for 8.00/hr ???!?! hmmmm.....maybe you should!

Well, I am so happy I get to be home tonight and tomorrow! We are working on potty training Olivia, and I really do not want to buy more diapers. I bought four small packs today and I really do not want to purchase any more! But, she just keeps on peeing in her undies...we will see how tomorrow goes!

Hope you all are having a great weekend and a wonderful 2011~Katie