Zero to hero

It's amazing how fast one can go from zero to hero.  Monday I ran with Tara and Katie and I sucked.....wind.  I was an utter failure.  Tuesday, Tara and I ran a shorter distance and it was OK.  Today I ran with Tara again and, BAM, went farther than I intended and wasn't scaring small children with my heavy breathing.  It's great to feel confident before my long run this weekend.  Thanks, Tara!!

On to total randomness.  For supper Tuesday night I ate a handful of fries, 2 bites of a cheeseburger, 3 bites of a grilled cheese and a bowl of cereal.  Tonight I ate 2 scrambled eggs, toast, 3 hershey kisses, and am now munching on dry fruit loops.   

Have I mentioned I have a student teacher this semester for 2 of my classes?  I should be loving it....  sitting around watching someone else do the work.  It's torture. She's doing a good job, but I'm so worried about scores and content and if she's better than me what they might be missing.  She is probably super tired of me looking over her shoulder all the time, so today I subbed for another teacher and got out of the room.  Not going to lie, though, I did stand outside the door and lurk out of sight several times.  Aside from the teaching aspect...I really miss those students:(  And, I might have a slight major control issue.

One last thing....Often during a run or workout, I feel as if I might die.  I've found a very simple solution to forging on.  SMILE.  Do you know how hard it is to feel miserable when you are smiling?  I'm sure I look like a complete idiot, but I'm fine with that.  Try it and let me know how it works for you.

How dare he??

Tonight I invited the girls to run with me after school.  We took off like a streak of lightening a bit faster than normal (for me) and I even attempted to join in the conversation.  Yep, that's right, I was feeling like a rock star....until mile 1.5 where the cramping started and that evil lil bitch witch in my head started messing with me.  I put on the brakes and nearly abandoned the girls and headed back for an easy 3, BUT I kept going...cramps and all.  Reminder to self: DO NOT eat a marathon bar and drink 24 ounces of energy drink an hour before running.  Lesson learned.

Needless to say, at the end of the run I wasn't really feeling that high I normally get.  Katie even told me I looked sad:(  My husband comes home and I'm soaking in a HOT tub as I always get the chills after a run because I sweat like a pig.  Really.  Of course, he asks why I'm in the tub at 5:30 and I snap that I SUCK  at running.  He wisely walks away.

It pisses me off that my husband,  a FORMER runner (as in high school) can still to this day run like it's second nature...beer belly and all.  He can hike sandhills while hunting and never breathe hard.  I used to think his friends were lying (because they drink twice the Budweiser he does).  I even bragged before deer hunting this year that I'd have no problem keeping up with him when in reality he was standing at the top of the FIRST hill smiling down at the rest of us trudging up behind him.  

Being the bigger person, I put my pride away and ask him, seriously, how I can build up some wind.  My body has no problem with running, it's my lungs.  I told him I feel like a smoker.  He responds, quite seriously, "Well, dear, you ARE a drinker.  Perhaps it's the beer?"  How dare he??  A serious runner NEEDS those (low) carbs!

Do any of you have a more practical approach (other than giving up Ultra, or wine) to solving my breathing issues???  

 

Grrrrr.......

With my new addiction fascination, Pinterest, I've felt inspired to try some new recipes.  My family, however, is not on board.  This morning I made biscuit cinnamon rolls.  

I thought they were amazing.  Shane said they were good.  Grady ate half.  Payton had a bite and declared her dislike and settled for a bag of dry fruit loops.

A couple weeks ago I made a spaghetti casserole to which my family asked, "What's wrong with regular spaghetti??"  Tonight I branched out again and made a casserole from a friend featuring hamburger, potatoes, green beans and a cheese sauce.  What kids don't love anything smothered in cheese?  Mine!  I liked it.  Shane liked it.  Both kids opted for cold cereal.  In my frustration, I had a minor bitch fit meltdown and declared that I was done cooking and they could all eat cold cereal and PB&J every damn night.  Apparently, I'm the only one in this house tired of eating the same 'ol stuff week after week. 

Can anyone help me??  How do you get your family...especially your kids....to try new foods????

Looking the part

I’ve decided that all my “hobbies” lead to a very expensive wardrobe.  Call me vain, but I think that whatever activity I’m involved in is so much more fun when I look the part.

Example A

Hunting.  This year was my first year hunting deer so I invested in some 'She' camo.  I even paid extra shipping to get it here in time for opening weekend.  Turns out it was a great investment as I wore it again a couple weekends ago in my first coyote calling contest.  I mean, really, I have jeans I've only worn once.  I firmly believe that camo made me a more confident hunter:)

 Example B

Sledding.  At my husbands urging, I finally agreed to accompany him on a snowmobiling trip last winter.  I bought some cheap ass snow pants, wore his old helmet that was 2 sizes too small, borrowed gloves from my sister and rummaged whatever else I needed from Shane's closet.  My cheap snow pants left me with a wet ass and the helmet was painfully uncomfortable.....thus distracting me from having as much fun as I otherwise would have.  Since I really did enjoy the trip, I've now invested in a new coat, snow pants,  gloves, socks, helmet, goggles, and even a snowmobile.  I know.  I have problems.

  Example C

Rodeo.  Although a lifelong hobby, it still requires new boots for me, new boots for my horse, new ropes, and other various gear updates.

 

 Example D

Running and other sports.  Yes, it is probably silly that my 5 mile max should propel me to buy running tights, socks, shirts, headbands, shoes, etc, etc, etc.  Oh, can't forget my beloved Garmin.  But, c'mon, it's for my health.  We can't put a price tag on that and besides, I did wear my camo jacket to run my first 5k (in the snow).

In retrospect, I should be adding up how much money I'd be saving if I (we) didn't have so many "hobbies".  BUT, I'm not.  Know why?  We are having fun.....as a couple and as a family.  I've spent more time with my husband in the past year than since before the kids.  We take our kids with us hunting and to rodeos.  We are planning a family snowmobile trip.  My daughter was SO excited to "get" to run the mile in PE.  Maybe the old saying of  "the family that plays together stays together" is true.  (That is a saying, right?)  Anyhow, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Sledding Fun

This weekend we went on our first sledding trip to WY.  We were a little worried we wouldn't be able to find snow....especially from the looks of the highway parking lot.

View from the parking lot

Thanks to the veteran sledders we tagged along with,  we found ample snow to get stuck repeatedly for great adventures.  

First minor wreck

Tara and I were very fortunate that our "guides" had the patience of saints as this trip was quite different from those we went on last year.  We had to really ride, not just coast along.  We both have new to us sleds and it took us about half a day (and many near disasters involving trees) to find our groove.

 I'm proud to say I only got stuck once the second day after attempting a stupid daring climb with jumps and Tara narrowly avoided death by her husband after crashing his sled by tree.

Tara and I

My shoulders and back are crazy sore so I've been super lazy today.  Sadly, I ate like a horse and drank like a fish so I really need to get in a workout today.   I'm off to do some yoga in an attempt to loosen my muscles up a bit.  I was in a running funk last week and really need to get back at it this week. 

Total Randomness

Prepare yourself for total randomness, folks.

Last week I increased my miles in an attempt to get a stronger base.  I'm not worrying about my pace right now because I really need to focus on my distance.  I'm feeling good with the running; HOWEVER, I thought one of the perks of all this running would be seeing the scale go down.  Not so much and I always seem to be starving...especially at night before bed.  I've never had this problem.   Someone please tell me this is normal?

In other news...I'd like to share the mantra of my yoga lady.  It goes something like, "I have a nice ass.  I have a nice ass."  Yes, she really says that on the DVD.   Well, she is a liar.  All I have is a sore ass.  Really.  I felt every step of my run today.   I don't know if it was the yoga last night or the coyote hunting on Saturday but moving my legs was a challenge today.

Speaking of butts...check out this Nike butt ad.

On the work front:  I love being a teacher, but you know what I don't love?  Concession stands.  Sponsoring the concession stand is close to torture.  Apparently I was in denial and totally missed that I'm on concessions for this Friday.  Yes, it's Tuesday and I had nothing planned.  No worries.  I've got people.  It's a good thing because I'm supposed to be on my way to the mountain with some peeps for a great sledding adventure.  Momma got a new sled and is scared anxious to try it out:

 

UPDATE:  My most awesome mailman left a small pistol for me to try out today.  It is bad a**.  I'm going to stalk some police message boards now looking for the perfect something to carry it in while running.  

 

To Share or not to Share??

I'll admit.  I used to think that "those" people that shared their every run or workout via Facebook, Twitter, etc. were extremely annoying.  Like I'd look at their update and tell them through the computer "who the f*** cares?" 

Today I ROCKED my first 5 mile run....and I "shared" it via social networking.  I know some of you probably rolled your eyes and contemplated blocking my updates or even defriending me out of utter annoyance.  I know...I used to occasionally have those thoughts myself.

Well, now I get it.  Although I've always been very active and consider myself "fit", I seriously couldn't run a mile without collapsing, and I'd laugh and make sarcastic jokes about running in general.  TODAY I RAN 5 FREAKIN MILES!!   This is huge, people.  It's newsworthy in my world, especially considering the fact that I turned down free beer last night so I wouldn't feel crappy during the run today.  It's like I don't even know myself:)

I really am not bragging about my milestones nor am I obsessed, but am I proud?  You're damn right!!  TODAY I RAN 5 FREAKIN MILES!!   

You can expect me to continue "sharing" an occasional milestone workout.  Trust me....if I can EVER arrange my body like the instructor on my Yoga DVD, I'll be giving the same fist pump I gave after my first mile. So, please be patient and bare with me until the newness of my latest journey wears off. 

Sound off:  Do you "share" your workouts or do you find it extremely annoying??