Random Thoughts on a Frosty Morning Long Run

I skipped the weekend long runs for a while due to travel, illness, weather, and hanging out with family.  Now I'm back into my marathon training and I'm being reminded of all the random crap that goes through one's head when she runs alone for over two hours in the cold.  Here are some snippets:

"Ooh, deer!  I need a picture!  Hmm, I'm only on mile 2, maybe they'll be there when I come back..."

"Note to self--don't sing aloud to Tenacious D.  That old lady didn't look like she enjoyed hearing me say the word chode."

"I hope the kids aren't being insane right now."

"Do I smell a cigarette?  At 8am?  On a trail??  I think I may hurl..."

"That dude totally didn't wave back.  Remember his face, he's getting the stink-eye on my next lap!"

"Lap one done.  No one would ever know if I left now and went to Starbucks....."

"Dammit, I should've gone to Starbucks."

"Man, I really think the kids are being insane right now.  Lucky me!"

"Am I chaffing?  It's hard to tell.  My shower may suck later."

"Ooh, the deer are back!  Now my fingers can't bend.  Deer are stupid anyway."

"I'm getting tired.  Omg, that chick is wearing a cotton tank and Vibrams, and she's avoiding the mud.  Got. To. Pass. Her."

 "I seriously think I may be chaffing."

"Poor husband, those kids must be driving him batty.  Maybe I should run farther."

 "Stop looking at my Garmin, stop looking at my Garmin, stop looking at my Garmin..."

"I'm so glad I'm reforming these calluses before sandal season!"

"That squirrel totally just tried to attack me.  Where are the damn deer now!?"

"I love seeing all these walkers out!  They're so much friendlier than the runners."

"Seriously, my hand is dead now.  Can't. Bend. Fingers."

"I'm so glad that I didn't go to Starbucks, that run was awesome!!  I hope the family wants to keep sitting around when I get home!"



Any you'd like to add??  Enjoy your Monday!  This is what we're up to today:

Floor picnicking and relaxing!

I'm Certified!

No, not certifiable.  Though some would disagree.  I'm actually certified--as of yesterday, I'm an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer!  This has been my dream for a while, and I'm over the moon that it's finally coming to fruition!

Last year as I prepared to send my oldest to kindergarten, I started to wonder what I was going to do with myself once they were in school.  I never finished my degree in music because I realized pretty late in the game that it was just wrong for me.  For a few years I worked in retail, and I was really good at it.  But I didn't really LOVE it.  As a part-time extra job, I worked mornings at a local all-women's gym.  It. Was. Awesome!  I loved everything about it--the healthfulness, the camaraderie, the ability to help women feel wonderful about themselves.  I quit my higher paying retail management job and started working at the gym full-time.  I had daydreams of becoming a trainer one day.....and then we moved to Germany.  Everything was put on hold for a while, and my fitness fell in the gutter as two kids came along.  Which was fine.  I still walked for groceries more than most people walk for fitness.  But upon our move back, I knew I needed more.  After getting in the best shape of my life last year, I started to think about it all again.  And becoming a personal trainer just made sense.  I could work part-time if I wanted to, possibly in the evenings without having to use childcare, I could maybe work at a gym WITH childcare, I could work from home, there were so many options!  So I ordered my training materials and got started.

I didn't tell anyone other than my husband about my test yesterday.  I was scared of failure.  I've been studying, but it hasn't come as easily as it used to.  It's been quite a while since college, and I just wasn't in the groove anymore.  It was hard!  But I registered for my test and knew I needed to be ready by that date.  Having a date for something is always a key for my success, I'm too lazy otherwise.  I've been a mess for the past week, and during the test I almost vomited from nerves.  Turns out, I aced it!! 

So now, on to my next step--a job!  I'm still unsure of where to start.  My ultimate goal is to run a small training facility for women.  Even if it's just out of my home.  But I want to work with pre-/post-natal, and even post-post-natal women who would benefit from not only fitness but a healthier lifestyle with much higher self-esteem for themselves and their families.  I would love to be a beacon of healthy change for so many women who are scared of being the best SHE she can be!

So where do I start?  Presently, I have a little thing lined up (as of a few days ago) to organize group running at the local YWCA.  It's not a paying job, just something to get the program off the ground and hopefully turn into something permanent and paying.  Which is fine with me.  I'll be getting childcare for the boy while I'm there, I'll be getting mileage in with other people (always more fun!), I'll be helping others meet new goals, and I'll be getting my foot in the door at an awesome pro-women's establishment.  I know I can't wait around there forever for a PT job to turn up, but I will try to make my mark.  I will also push the PiYo Strength idea since I don't see it on their class schedule, muahaha!

So yeah, that's what I've got right now.  I know what I want, I'm getting started, and I just have to make a path to get there.  But I'm on my way!  And I have even MORE reason to work out in the meantime, woohoo!!

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday!

I've gotten to run three days in a row this week, and I feel gooooooooood!  I have the "runner's high" that I was missing during that terrible stint of illnesses.  I ate fairly well for most of our Christmas trip (aka didn't go to restaurants but still had fudge at my family's house), and now I'm back on my game.  Next stop--two or maybe three Spring marathons!  I also have my Spartan Sprint in March, which wouldn't be as huge of a deal if it weren't paired with the Hurricane Heat.  Which means that I need a good bit of strength training put in with all that running.  Since I need to stay quite strict with my training right now I'll share with you my schedule, minus exact mileage, at present:

Monday--PiYo Strength home workout
Tuesday--Short run, HIIT
Wednesday--Mid-length run
Thursday--Short run, yoga class
Friday--2-miler (when I need the added mileage), weights
Saturday--absolutely jack squat!
Sunday--Long run


I have it all on paper and printed out, and that means it's real and happening and I can't get out of it now.  It feels fantastic!  If you have a fitness goal and you haven't done this already--PUT IT ON PAPER.  Post it to your fridge, hang it up at work, put the workouts into your phone, and tell people about it.  The more accountable you make yourself, the more likely it will happen!  Because if you don't do it, you'll feel like an ass.  And that's a great motivator at least for me.

This Sunday will be my 11-miler, and I'm already stoked.  It's been a while since I've hit the greenway, and my body is already anticipating the pavement-pounding.  What do you all have going on in your fitness training right now?  Weekend plans?  Happy Friday!

Three Things Thursday--Lots of Catching Up!

First off, I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays!!!  We had an absolute blast!  I'm going to attempt to tell you how it all went down, how we got a new family member, and what my plans for 2013 are.  (Wow, that sentence sounded like a high school English essay example.  Nerd alert.)

1.  We started our Christmas break here at our house, as the calm before the storm.  We spent a few days out and about at times, but mostly finishing last-minute gifts and just enjoying each other.  We attempted to eat healthy, but it's hard when you know you're going away for a week.  But we stuck with fixing things we could take with us.  On Christmas, the kids went nutty getting all of their awesome new stuff!  Then on the 26th we set out with a car full of clothes, presents, and leftover homemade pizza (our Christmas Eve tradition--made with homemade honey wheat crust and super good homemade sauce!) and headed to my mother's house.  After a few awesome days with my family, we went to my husband's family (1.5 hours south of there) and spent the last few days.  Then we ended the chaos on the 1st and headed back to our comfy condo.  Now we're just trying to readjust to the kids not being spoiled and the adults not being able to sleep in!  Oh, and there's another major (super adorable) adjustment we've had to make too.....

Snuggling with his new friend since the cats hate him

2.  We got a puppy!!!!!  We have been wanting a dog for a while, but we've not gotten one because of our impending move.  We knew it would be easier to move with one less wild body, and it would be less stress on this already messy condo.  But sweet little Murray had different plans.  We were driving to a cave in the middle of the country with my mother, when the little guy ran right in front of her car.  She stopped in the road, and from our car behind her, we could see him going under and just playing with her tires, begging for attention.  We picked him up and fell in love instantly.  Of course, we knew there was a chance that someone was missing the little guy, so we asked all the neighborhood people.  It's a very rural (ahem, redneck) community, and they all seemed to know each other.  But no one had any puppies.  So we figured he was dumped there, probably a Christmas puppy that didn't instantly learn potty training and got ditched.  He was cold and scared, his fur was in awful condition, and his swollen belly looked like he had worms, so we snatched him up and rescued him.  There were no promises to the kids that we'd keep him, we wanted to wait to check on microchipping and his health.  But considering we'd already named him (we found him on Murrayville Road on the way to Murrayville Cave, so Murray was perfect!), we figured he was becoming family already.  He took a full day to start acting energetic, and he was thrown into so many different homes over the few days, but he's been incredibly sweet and loving through it all.  He's been checked out, given medicine, and now he's already grown into his harness, has soft lovely fur, and is happy as a lark.  He's presently sleeping on our couch getting snuggled by my daughter.  We're over the moon about having him in our family!  The cats still aren't sure though.

3.  On a completely different note (this is where I'd get docked points on my English essay for lack of flow), I'd like to mention my resolutions for the year.  Last year, I didn't set many specific goals and I didn't pressure myself too much on any of them.  I think I'll stick with the same this year, as it kept me from feeling disappointed at year's end.  Here's what I plan on doing in 2013:

Drink less of everything except water
Eat healthier
Spend more time teaching the boy preschool stuff
Run 100 miles/month (Yes, this is specific.  But I won't beat myself up if life happens)
Finish my Spartan Trifecta
Get my personal training certification
Have more sex
Yell less
Make more friends
Get the entire family exercising together more

If I can accomplish half of those, I'll feel pretty dang good!  Some will be easy, some will be fun, and some will be very difficult.  But they're all going to be totally worth it!

So, tell me what you've had going on in life!  Any awesome holiday happenings?  Great gifts you got?  Resolutions you're looking forward to (or dreading)?  I wanna know!