Here I Am

Huh. It has been a while since I've here. I'm a little over a month out from my half...and I guess I'm getting closer to being ready. I've got 8 miles to do tomorrow. I guess I can do it, right? (Hint: the answer is yes.)

We just got back from a neighborhood party where there may have been some adult beverages. I'm doing everything in my power to ensure that I still get my run in, though. I can't miss it! Perhaps I should check back in tomorrow to let you know how I did?

Catching Up

Wow, I've been gone a long time. I kept thinking I need to post and then...I didn't.

I didn't get up to do anything on Friday. But, I did go to spin on Saturday. I had a pretty bad headache and contemplated not doing it, but I perservered. I'm definitely glad I did. Later that day Meghan had softball practice, then Brett had his first house baseball game and then we went to dinner at some friends house. It was a great day! It was the first warm day we've had here in a while.

Sunday, we went to Sunday School and then came home. Dave and I did week 3, day 1 of C25K, which ended up being a mile. I had every intention of doing another 2 - at least - after that. But, after 1 mile I was dying. Seriously. It turns out that only eating edamame for breakfast wasn't enough to fuel me through a run. Who knew? So, after 1 mile at 11:33, I stopped and sat with Dave on the driveway and enjoyed the sunshine.

I was pretty annoyed with myself about not doing a longer run, even though I know 2 miles is better than nothing and I didn't eat enough. But, just to make sure I got something else in, I did 50 regular crunches and 25 on each side. Then, I did some  work on my triceps with the medicine ball.

Brett had a travel game in the afternoon and then we went to my parents house for dinner with the family. It was a great weekend and I really didn't want it to end.

I didn't get a workout in today. I slept really poorly last night and have literally not stopped since I left for work this morning. Actually, since before that since I had to run to the store so we had food for breakfast :-/ Guess what I did after work and taking Meghan to swim practice? Yep - I actually did some grocery shopping.

Did I mention that I've given up caffeine after noon every day to see if it helps me sleep better? Does anyone else do that? I'm a big black coffee drinker, so this is a big deal. I hope giving up my afternoon cup helps! Today I had a cup of decaf hot tea instead.

Let's hope for a workout tomorrow, shall we?

I Have Nothing

So, I promised someone that I would be "real" in this blog. I will promise all of you that, really. To that end, you should know...I didn't work out again. I want so badly to be the person who must work out every day, but I'm not. There are many times, like today, that I actually to want to go for a run...but it ends up being at a time that I can't - like when I'm at work. All day I planned to run before dinner, but when I got home I was freakin' exhausted. I couldn't bear to do anything!

Because I have no workout news, I'll tell you that I'm on Instagram now. Want to follow me? I'm missymichelejill. It would be cool if I could find some other adults to follow, since I'm currently following my daughters and their friends. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course.

In completely unrelated news, I made the kids a fun breakfast this morning. (Actually, I guess it is related, since I also posted this pic on Instagram.) The kids had state testing *again* today and they insisted this breakfast would help. Who am I to argue?

Toast with PB and chocolate chips

Here's to another day and another chance to run!

Nice and Easy

I didn't wake up for yoga yesterday. (That's becoming a common theme, isn't it?) I was so incredibly tired! I went to bed around 9:30 on Sunday and didn't get out of bed until almost 7. I guess I needed it.

Brett had house team practice yesterday (Dave's the coach and Amelia is the bench coach), so I took Meg to swim practice. When we got home, the couch looked really inviting. I snuggled with a blanket and both dogs and hoped Dave would forget about c25k. He didn't.

 He was on week 2 day 3, which is 90 seconds running with 2 minutes of brisk walking, 6 times. We apparently did an extra minute of running in there because he got a phone call and that somehow messed up the app for a bit. Overall, though, it was a nice and easy workout for me. (Dave struggled a bit more, but he'll get there. I remember when I first started - holy cow was it hard!) He asked if I was going to keep going for another mile or so like I normally do when we're done, but I decided that last night I was done. I came back in and spent some time with Brett, who had a headache and just needed some love.

Meg is the only one with something going on tonight. Maybe I can get another run in? We'll see. I'd really like to get to yoga in the morning, so I don't want to get to bed too late.

Do you stick to weekly workout plans? How did you do it?

Happy Tuesday :-)

That Time I Had a Non-Race PR

I was out way too late last night, having a great time with a friend. We worked on baby shower stuff, drank wine, ate dinner and laughed. Then, just as we thought the night was winding down, friends of hers got engaged and we ended up going out to meet them - at 11:15. I crawled into bed at 1:30! I was pretty tired today.

We made it to Sunday School and church. All I wanted to do when I got home was go to bed. It was cold here today, which made snuggling in for a nap sounded even more appealing. But, Brett had a baseball game (first travel game of the season!) and he needed to be there at 3:15. I didn't have time for a run and a nap. I groaned and moaned and finally got ready to go.

I convinced myself that I only had to do two miles. I figured even two would be a decent workout and was better than nothing. Somewhere around mile one I decided that I should just do a 5k. My first mile was 11:22, which surprised me. I felt pretty good, maybe a bit winded, and actually ended up 11:23 for the second mile. At that point, I was getting pretty tired. I walked a house at one point and then ended up walking a house again after a quarter mile. I figured my third mile was going to be pretty slow. Then, when my watch finally beeped, it said 11:19. 11:19! I ended up finishing the 5k at 35:14!!!! I actually ended up beating my 36 minute goal, which I was working to complete in June.

Brett ended up winning his game, too. I still haven't been to the grocery store, so we ate dinner at a local Chinese buffet to celebrate his win and my run. It was really a great day. But, it also meant that the dishes didn't get done and there's still laundry left. But, we had great times with family and friends and I am beyond thrilled with my run.

How was your weekend run? Anyone else wish we had just one more day?

A(nother) Break

Seriously, I'm starting to lose it with these unscheduled breaks I've been taking! I ran on Tuesday with Dave and then didn't do another thing. I had late meetings this week, which meant I couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning. The kids had lots of stuff going on at night, which meant it was too difficult to fit anything in before bedtime. I did walk with some mothers at swim practice the other night, but it was short and I can't imagine counted for much. Oh well - there's nothing I can do about it now.

I went to spin this morning. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong because I actually had fun! I wonder if I'm working hard enough? It was definitely a workout, though, so I guess that's all that matters. I'm really looking forward to a run tomorrow - hoping to do 4 miles. Hopefully the weather cooperates so I can do it outside. I'd also like to find someone to run with me out on the bike path. (I won't go out there alone.) If not, a neighborhood ride it is.

A friend of mine took me to opening night of a play last night, The Clean House. If any of you are in the Buffalo area, I highly recommend it! I laughed and cried...a lot. It stirred a lot of emotion and touched on some issues that many of us are all too familiar with. Go see it!

Today I'm hanging with a friend, shopping at Penzeys and picking up some cans/bottles that a friend is donating to my mission trip. It's shaping up to be a good day! Fingers crossed that the weather is good enough for Brett's first baseball game of the season tomorrow!

Happy Saturday!

A Nice Run

Dave and I ended up sleeping way too long to get a run in Tuesday morning. (It's inhumane that too late is 5:15am. But, whatever.) He said we'd go in the evening, which sounded like a great idea...at the time. It turns out, though, that getting up that early and not running meant that I would be essentially asleep all freakin' day. It was great!

Anyway, after work and dinner (crockpot sloppy joes! I took a picture, but it was awful. You'll have to take my word for it - they were delish!), we took Meghan to swim practice. We got home close to 8 and I literally ran up to my bed to snuggle in. Apparently Dave remembered that we needed to get a run in, though, and started getting ready. He said I didn't have to go, but I knew that meant I really did.

Once we got out there, I was glad we did it. I know a lot of people went on various runs for Boston and I was glad that, even though this wasn't a declared memorial run or anything, I had some time to reflect and make sure that I contributed to runners get back out there. After we finished the C25K portion, Dave cooled down and I got another mile in. It wasn't fast and it certainly wasn't long, but I did it.

There's a Solidarity Run on Sunday here in Buffalo at 9am. I really want to go, but have my daughter and I have a meeting about a mission trip we're going on next February to Belize. It's crazy that I: 1. have multiple places I could be that early on a weekend; and 2. am going to Belize! Amelia really wants to do this trip and she needs an adult to go with her. We've never done anything like it.

Between work and dinner yesterday, I made muffins. The kids are going through NYS testing this week (let's not even get started on that) and Meghan said they needed a hearty breakfast. They are typically frozen waffle eaters. However, yesterday I made them egg sandwiches and tomorrow I'm making them smoothies (with fruit, PB, chocolate soy milk and spinach). Today, they're eating muffins. I got the recipe here.

Horrible cell picture with glare from window

We each tried one last night and they're So. Good. Meghan liked them. Amelia said they were ok. Brett said he liked them, but he didn't like all of the oats on top. (I think I can chop them finer, though, so he'd like them more.) They're definitely hearty and I think will get the kids through testing and me through the morning at work. I also think they'd be great to munch on after a long run or something.

Keep running!