Feeling blah until....

I started looking at Facebook timeline and then I got encouraged! See what I found.....


This will be my new required reading when I am frustrated, tired, discouraged, tired, hungry, tired, feeling blah.... :) Have a great weekend!


~Kari

1/2 Marathon Training- Week 3

Oops! This is a little late. I've been busy, but wanted to do an official Week 3 post before I finished Week 4. Week 3 consisted of 3 mid-week runs (3-4-3) + lifting Tuesday night + 6 miles on Saturday + Cross training on Sunday (lifting, followed by a 20 minute swim. A few highlights of my week....
~ Had an amazing (for me!) 10 min pace on Saturday.
~ Loved moving my 2nd lifting day from Thursday to Sunday! It felt so much better- physically and mentally!
~ I found a new favorite series of hills to run on Thursdays. It's nice to end the mid-week drag with a challenging run.
~ The highlight of my week was my daughter's addition to my running chart. I kept chanting "Try your best" to myself over and over again on my Saturday run. It really helped get me through. I added Dawn's words of wisdom to my chart. What do you say to yourself to keep up the motivation? I'd love to add your ideas!!!!

Now, as promised last week, some pictures from my long run on Saturday.....

I ended strong!

Try Your Best

I have some empty spots on my running chart. This morning my daughter asked me what the white space was for. I told her that it was where I was going to put things that motivate or encourage me. I'm struggling to find motivation. She asked to write something. Here's what she wrote:

Try your best! See, that's it. I need to try my best. Running, recording, weight loss, maintenance- it's all hard, but I still need to try my best. Tomorrow morning I am going to go run 6 miles. I have to be honest with you that I am not felling well tonight, but tomorrow morning I am going to try my best.

~Kari

1/2 Marathon Training- Week 2

Another week on the 1/2 marathon books! Monday brought a wonderful day of rest. Tues-Wed-Thurs morning all started at 5:45 AM with 3 mile runs. It was hard getting up so early, but I am getting use to it. On Tues and Thur, I went to the gym after work to lift. Friday was another rest day.

The Tues/Thur lifting is a problem. I am SO tired after running 3 days in a row, that the Thursday night lifting is a nightmare. I've decided to change course a bit and move my second lifting day to Sunday with my cross training. As my runs get longer, I may need to drop my lifting for a bit, but am hoping to keep it up as long as possible. There is already some loss of definition in my arms after going from lifting 3 days a week to only 2. The good news is that once this 1/2 marathon is over, then I can get right back into lifting and have all summer to make great gains!

Saturday was my long run. It was just 5 miles! 5 miles! The best part was that I went running on a local paved course called the "5 Mile Drive". I kept telling myself that I was crazy for running what they had designed as a really nice drive. It runs through a beautiful forested area and overlooks some great scenic views. Next weekend I am going to run it again (6 miles....) and hope to take some pictures along the way. 5 miles was hard, but was doable. I've pretty much convinced myself that 6 is just really 5 miles, plus half a mile past my car and then back. It's not too bad when I put it that way, huh? :)

Sunday cross training was another bust this week. I was suppose to swim, but the pool at my gym was/is closed for maintenance. Don't they know that I'm in training and don't have time for maintenance???? I ended up doing 30 minutes on the machines (stair, treadmill walk, bike) and then lifted for 40 minutes. I like lifting today and hope that Sunday lifting will fit better with the rest of my schedule.

Oooohhh, I almost forgot about my pacing. By then end of my 3rd day in a row of running, my pace was getting close to a 12 minute mile for 3 miles. On Saturday, my pace was 10:58 for 5 miles! I am excited by my progress and proud of the work that I've already put in. Week 3 will look pretty similar to this week, except that I was do 4 miles on Wed instead of 3 and 6 miles instead of 5 on Saturday. I've started reading "Run Like A Mother" and am loving it! Some things I am wondering about this week....
~ How do I eat to fuel my body after a long run?
~ Do I need a fanny pack with tiny water bottles like all the other cool runners I saw on Saturday?
~ Can I really, really, run 6 miles???
~Kari

Easter Candy Fail

I am eating too much Easter candy.  There, I said it. Now I can move on. 


I've been thinking a lot about food lately and it's role in how my body performs. If my nutrition is not lined up with my healthy living goals (running, maintaining weight, being able to button my jeans, etc), then this battle will remain continuous. I do fine with day to day eating and I'm coming to realize that that is because it's a very controlled environment. On a *typical* afternoon you will open my fridge and find: cheese sticks, yogurt, eggs, and veggies. My pantry is filled with fiber one bars, popcorn, and whole wheat pasta. I can't eat what I don't buy and long gone are the days of stopping by the grocery store just to get a candy bar or going through Jack in the Box for a "snack" before dinner.


My mind totally sees the connection between what I eat, how I feel, and how my body performs. Even after nearly 3 years of counting calories and watching my weight, the urge to grab another handful of jelly beans has not disappeared. Is it just a habit? Am I trying to fill a hole? What drives me to continue to snack on foods that I know don't propel me towards my goals?


Food is hard. It's everywhere. I need it to survive. The answer seems so simple- just don't buy Easter candy. Don't take this as an excuse, but I really wonder how my children will ever learn self control if I banish all "desserts" from the home. Will they grow up hiding candy under the beds because mommy has banned all candy? I talk with them a lot about having a small piece and then no more until (random time frame). We talk about having a healthy snack if they are still hungry. Should my lack of self control when it comes to sweets dictate how they are given treats? Not a lot of answers tonight.....


~Kari

1/2 Marathon Training- Week 1

Well, I did it! I completed Week 1 of my 1/2 marathon training.

I did a smiley face each time I completed my run and a second smiley face when I also lifted! I even put a smiley face on my "rest" days cause those were hard for me. It's hard for me to let go of neeeeeding to workout six days a week. Highlights from this week include running 3 days in a row (which I've never done before) and finally setting a sub 11 minute pace on my Saturday long run (10:59/mile pace). I tried doing some timed run/walks on Saturday and felt pretty successful. I'd run for 4 minutes and walk for 1.

For cross training, I plan on swimming on Sundays. Today is Easter and there was no way I could fit in a swim. I decided to do some interval training. I did each exercise for one-minute, followed by a 30 second rest. The exercises I did were: jumping jacks, ski moguls, side kicks, squats, jump rope, burpees, mountain climbers, and football runs. Whew! That was tough. I did each round of exercises 3 times. It felt great. I love it when I am able to torture myself in such a grand way. :)

Week 1 wasn't too bad, but that's because I was on Spring Break. I am a little worried about fitting in my runs during a "regular" work week. 

~Kari 

A letter to my legs

Dearest legs,
I know, I KNOW, that you are not use to running 2 days in a row. Thank you for getting me through my second run. I have some good news and some bad news. The good news? We did 3 miles yesterday and we did 3 miles today! The bad? We have to do 3 miles again tomorrow AND after our run we need to go lift weights. I know you're tired. I'm tired and we are just starting our 12 week 1/2 marathon training.

Dear legs, we can do this! It will get easier (Julia promised that it would!). Some people only run for exercise. Sometimes 5 or 6 days in a row. If When we finish our 3 miles+ lifting tomorrow, then we will get a rest day. Do you hear that? A whole day of rest. Then we need to run 4 miles on Saturday, but we will talk about that at a different time.

You are strong! You can do this! One leg in front of another and we'll get it done.

~Kari

My new chart

Jen gave me a great idea! She wrote a few months back about having her exercise schedule blown up into a large poster to help keep her on track. I went down to Kinko's today and made this! It's my 12-week training program for my 1st 1/2 marathon. I technically started yesterday, but Monday's are rest day. Today was my first run. :) 3 miles in the rain and it felt great. I am hoping to continue lifting on Tuesday's and Thursday. This will mean a morning and afternoon workout twice a week. I gave myself 2 smiley faces for today since I did both my run and my NROL workout. There is a lot of empty space on my chart so I've decided to make it my very own vision board for my race. I will fill the white space on my board with things that inspire me to work towards my goal of finishing a half marathon on June 23rd. Coincidentally, that is also the day after the last day of school, so it's also my countdown to summer! I'm not sure how long I will be able to stick with the 2X a day workouts on Tues/Thur, but hope to keep liftiing as long as possible. I love how strong I feel when I lift.

Thank you everyone for your kind messages after my last post. The new bolt is in for the car, the creak in my neck is almost gone (I have the most amazing chiropractor in the world!), and my sweet, sweet daughter wore a necklace that her grandmother had made her to church on Sunday. I love that she has something that she can remember her grandmother by. My plan is to report once a week on my chart and mileage. This week *should* be uneventful as my long run is only 4 miles and that's what I've been doing on the weekends for a few weeks. I'll keep ya posted!

~Kari

No-good, Very Bad Days

The past few days have been a serious of what Alexander would call, "Horrible, Terrible, No-good, Very Bad" days. Some really good stuff has been overshadowed by the sorrow, the frustrations, the pain.

On Thursday my cousins and their families came over for a visit. (Good stuff!) One of my cousins is visiting from Texas and it was so wonderful to see her and her kiddos. There were 16 people in my tiny house and 8 of them were young kids. I felt amazingly blessed to have so much love in my life. We had pizza and salad. It was delish and I only had one piece. Thursday night, we learned that the alternator of my husbands car was going out. My brother and him ended up staying up until 12:30 to put in the alternator. I was there for moral support. When we were sooo close to being done someone dropped the final bolt and the project was on hold.

Thursday during the day I had a really stiff neck, but it was manageable. After a short nights sleep, I woke up Friday morning with tremendous pain in my neck and shoulder blade. It was extremely painful to turn my head from one side to another. I drove myself to work with an ice pack on my neck. Work was hard Friday morning because I was in so much pain. I probably should have gone to the chiropractor, but had just been on Monday and didn't want to go again so soon. After lunch on Friday, I received a call from my husband that his mother had suddenly passed away. She was such a kind mother-in-law. I would often hear people complain about their in-laws and have always been thankful for the kindness that she has shown to me. I joke with people that I am pretty sure she liked me more than my husband. :)  I rushed home so that he could go and be with his dad.

By Friday evening, I was in intense neck and shoulder pain, but it was after business hours and too late to do anything. Hubby's car was still out of commission and I was stuck. Friday night didn't bring much sleep because I was up and down all night with pain in my neck and shoulder. Saturday morning brought no relief. I called the massage therapist and they had an opening at 10:30. My massage appointment was...interesting. She does this thing called "cupping". Have you heard of cupping? I'll post more about this process in a few days. (Yep, I took pictures so you could see!) The massage helped, but I was still in pain.

Saturday afternoon, we went with the same group from Thursday night to Chuck E Cheese. I was tired, sore, and mourning. Chuck E Cheese really isn't the place to be when you are all those things, but I loved being with family and getting to see my kiddos with their cousins. The pain is so intense that I haven't been able to work out since Wednesday!

It's Sunday now. I am still in pain, but it's getting better and I was even able to get a nap and a walk in this afternoon. I picked up some Icy Hot at the store tonight and that seems to be helping. We are still missing a bolt, but the dealer said that it will be in on Tuesday. My mother-in-law's passing is, of course, hitting everyone hard. I mourn for her and it has really brought up a lot of feelings that I had about my dad's death that I had pushed pretty deep down. Tomorrow (Monday), I will give my chiro a call if the pain is not better. We are planning on taking the kids to the zoo and I need to be able to actually look at the animals.

What's the good? 

I am healthy! I am strong (inside and out)! I am deeply loved! I faced the pressures of the past few days with a confidence that I've never had before. I didn't run to a McD's drive through cause I was sad. I didn't have a coke because I was suffering loss. I didn't buy a Cadbury egg (or 6) because we lost a bolt. I couldn't do intense exercise today, but I could walk, so I walked. It's exciting to know that the changes that I have made aren't a diet or a phase, but have really become who I am. Call, e-mail, text, write a letter to someone tonight and tell them you love them. You truly do not know if this will be the last chance you have to talk with them.

~Kari