Last Race of 2006!

Today was my last race of 2006 - the Happy Zoo Year's 5K Run-Walk!!

With receiving over 8 inches of snow yesterday, I knew that this race wasn't going to be a PR and went into it thinking I would do some running with my walking.

The temperature was about 22 degrees but in the shade it was cooler and the wind chill was about 7 degrees. The path was all within the zoo and made two loops. I don't really care for loops in races, but this one was georgous! The path was cleared as best as they could have, and covered in dirt/sand, but it still has some slick spots and I took my time. I went out too fast and wasn't warmed up at all. I had to do some walking long before I was mentally ready, but I took the time to enjoy the scenery and the animals around me. Overall, I did more running then I set out to do, and it was truly a beautiful sight out there!!

Happy New Year's Everyone! See you next year!

Winter Wonderland!

Ask and you shall receive, right? Well, it wasn't too long ago that I was "complaining" about having a Christmas without snow, and I woke up to this today! This pic was taking early this morning and it hasn't stopped snowing since! It will make for an interesting New Year's Day run tomorrow! We are expected to get 6-9 inches of snow between today and tomorrow!

Isn't it georgous!?!?!

Weird Weather

RR: First, on a running note, I hit up the gym again for a slow, very slow 3 miles. Yuck. My lower left shin is bothering me and I might have to take the next couple days off before the race. I also lifted arms today. Might be a little sore tomorrow!

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Now, as related to the title of this post, our weather has been soo weird here in the capital city. Let's just say that it's been so warm that I haven't warn a coat all week. Got home from the gym this morning and it was already 37 degrees with no chilly winds. We are supposed to reach a high of 40 degrees. AND, there is absolutely NO snow on the ground and we didn't have any for Christmas either.

I don't know how many of you pay attention to the weather crossing the plains, but Denver is preparing for their second Blizzard, up to 18 inches of snow. Some of that is supposed to hit North Dakota, but I am hoping it is just enough snow to cover the ground nicely without causing too much caos!

Keep on keeping on....

Another Meme

If I understand this Meme right you bold the items on the list that apply to you. The ones that apply to me are in yellow! The ones I would like to do in my lifetime are in blue!


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Rio Grande River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a radio show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
32. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Short run

RR: 2.25 miles, 295 calories, and 35 degree weather. Good temp, not so great run. Little stiff in the lower front part of the shin. I felt like a horse trodding through a field. It will be interesting to see how my last 5K of the year will go this coming Sunday. On a good note, I have officially passed my 300 mile marker today...before the end of the year! YEAH!

Post Holiday

RR:

• 6.5 mile run last thursday.
• 3 mile run today (1 mile warmup, 1/2 mile sprint, 1/2 mile at a 3.5 incline, 1 mile cool down
• 2.7 mile bike today

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Well, Christmas has officially come and gone. I have one week left of break before heading back into my classroom and I know it too will fly right by me. So much to do and so little time. I finally got a chance to go for a run since last thursday. There has been limited time and not the warmest weather around here. Tomorrow I plan to run outdoors due to the weather reaching above freezing for a while!

I have been doing some more thinking about my goals for 2007. I plan to keep them the same, but making things interesting by having monthly goals. Kind of like short term goals. Here they are:

1. I will be slowly weening myself off of soda. I don't drink it that often, but when I do, I usually feel icky an hour later.
2. Drink 64 oz of water a day. (I get pretty close to this already, so it shouldn't be too hard)
3. Each of the 4-5 workouts a week will be atleast 1 hour long.

Shouldn't be too hard to accomplish. We'll see how it goes!

Keep on keeping on!

2007 Races & Goals

RR: 3.25 miles, 406 calories.

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Over the past few weeks now, I have been thinking about races and goals for 2007. My 5K Zoo Race(Happy ZOO Year) will be my last race of 2006 on December 31st. From there, I only wish I knew what was next on my race schedule. As much as I would like, there are no scheduled half marathons in my future. Come January, I will be finishing my last semester of Graduate School (on top of finishing the school year with teaching), finding a job for the 2007-2008 school year, hopefully moving, and helping with my sister's wedding. I don't think I will have time to travel for a half marathon, and there certainly won't be much to offer up in the blustering cold of ND. So, as much as I would like to provide a race schedule, I can't. I won't be able to. There are races in late Spring that I might participate in, but I am not deciding for sure just yet. It only depends on how much training I will have time for and how much time I will ahve available at that point in the semester. Here they are:

• St. Patrick's Day 5K - March
• I Made the Hill 10K - May
• Fargo Half Marathon (or Relay Race) - May 19th
• Prairie Rose State Games 10K - July
  

Depending on where I get settled in for the next school year I might choose to train for one of the following races:

• Finest Half Marathon, San Diego - August 20
• Rock and Roll Half Marathon, Virginia Beach, Virginia - September 3
• Chicago Half Marathon - September 24
• Twins City Half Marathon - October
• Nike Women's Marathon - October
  

Now, for the goals. Ahhh, the wonderful goals. It's really hard to make goals when I don't know how much time I will have and how capable I am. It only makes sense to make attainable goals, but I don't want to be too easy on myself. But, since I don't have any specific races in mind, I hope to work on becoming a better and faster runner, along with increasing the mileage on my long runs. Here's what I have so far:

1. Each week will consist of:
   
• 1 long run,
  
• 1 set of intervals,
  
• 1 easy run,
  
• and then another run of choice if time is available and I am not too sore (i.e. Negative splits, hills, .
  
2. Accomplish a 30 minute 5K
3. Log 600 miles
4. Cross Train 2x per week
5. Weight Train 2x per week
6. Ditch the Soda :) .. .. . . entirely

....more may be added later....

Happy Runnings, y'all!

Christmas Meme

Joe tagged me. Here you go:

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate? I would have to prefer hot chocolate. But, I rarely drink it. It's too sweet I think. I would rather have a nice warm Tom and Jerry. If you don't know what it is, you are missing out (feel free to ask me about it!)
   
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I do, but I don't usually have the patience to make it look all fancy with ribbons and bows. That is usually my mom's job to tell me to add more.
   
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? It depends. Our tree growing up was mostly colored and I loved it! But I do like the elegance and beauty of the while lights on trees and houses.
   
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Hmmm. Didn't really have much at my apartment, but did get them out last week. Due to lack of time mostly! Next year I will go all out! When I was living at home, the family would usually put up the decorations the weekend of Thanksgiving.
   
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Homemade mashed potatoes and rice, with a little homemade gravy on top of both. (And Grandma's homemade buns on the side).. .. ..mmmm....
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? I don't know if I necessarily had a FAVORITE memory, but there were lots.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I can't remember. I am sure some rotten kid at school told me, since I am the oldest.
   
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Yes, that was the way we always have done it. We would open most of them on Christmas Eve and then "Santa's" gift in the morning.
   
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? I don't have one at this moment.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love it as long as it is nice enough to play in!
    
12. Can you ice skate? Yes, but since it seems as if I do it only once every few years, I can be quite sore and bruised up the next day.
    
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? No. I will admit, I think I might have been spoiled as a child. (I still am.)
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Being with family and friends...enjoying each others presence....laughing and sharing memories.
    
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? How do I choose ONE?
    
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Driving around for hours looking at Christmas lights while listening to Manheim Steamroller!
    
17. What tops your tree? N/A.
    
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? Giving for sure! But receiving a little gift here and there doesn't hurt!
    
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
    
20. Candy canes? Mmm. The traditional Peppermint and the Cherry flavored ones as well.
21. Favorite Christmas movie? 1) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, 2) Elf, and 3) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the one with Jim Carrey).
22. What do you leave for Santa? Nada! If I left out cookies, I would eat them before he would get there!
    

Congrats Sis!

RR: 5x400 Intervals, total of 3 miles, 417 calories.


It's been a busy weekend! Congrats to my Sis for graduating on Friday with her well-earned degree in Accounting! She worked her butt off and EY should be honored to have her as part of their team! I should have gotten her a pocket protector and calculator for graduation...nerd! :) Good luck studying for your CPA!


On an exercising note... As noted above, I did intervals today. The same intervals that were schedule for thursday which didn't happen. The same ones I thought I was going to do Friday morning, but was too tired! Oh well. It went well today though. Hopefully I will plan to get to the gym tomorrow for an easy 3/4 miles. I have been noticing over the past couple weeks how much muscle I DON'T have in my arms and really need to get those back before Sis' wedding in June. 6 months. Eeks. Time to get back into the weights!

Big change...

I have switched to Blogger Beta. There was about 6 hours of down time and this girl was quite worried she had lost her whole blog.

*moment of silence*


But, alas, here it is ... still. For all your enjoyment! hehehe

Perfect Winter Weather

RR: 3.1 miles, 35:12 minutes, 350 calories

We couldn't have asked for better weather today. Perfect weather for outdoor running. How do I know? Well, when you can walk from your car to the gym with nothing but a sweatshirt and sweatpants on, no gloves and the tips of my fingers didn't freeze.. .. ...that is how I knew it was perfect winter weather for outdoor running. I believe that the temperature got all the way up to 37 degrees today. But, when you factor in that there was NO wind or breeze, that is pretty good for around her in December. I wanted to run outdoors so bad, but knew I would have only gotten 1 mile in before the sun had set at 4:30-something. Crazy.

Tomorrow... rest day. My right calf is a little stiff today.

2/3 Done!

RR: 5.1 miles, 60:13 minutes, and one feelin' good chica!

I wanted to take it nice and slow. Wes once told me that long runs should be done nice and slow. So that is what I did. But, I was consistant and did very minimal walking. It felt wonderful. It can be frustrating when you have a hard time being consistent, and then when you have a long run planned, it is hard to think that it will be 100% successful. This time, it was successful. What a great way to start the week... on top of handing in my last 3 projects today! I am 2/3 DONE with school! One more semester, folks! Now I get to start thinking about where I want to apply for jobs! The east coast keeps calling my name, but where do I want to apply?!? Hmmm.

Live life and make the most of it!

BIG 26!!

The end of the semester couldn't have come at a better time! Last week was extremely crazy with assignments and presentations. I didn't get many workouts in, due to lack of time. Just wednesday and then Sis and I ran a mile around the gym track and then I biked for 9 miles saturday. But, like I said, the semester couldn't have come at a better time.

Friday night....
.. a bunch of friends and I celebrated Chrisgiving. We have done this for a few years now. It's called Chrisgiving because it is a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas. So much food and so much fun!

Sis and her fiance...and the little one, Deja

The boys, manning the turkey in the deep fryer

Saturday...
...I slept in! And it felt sooo damn good! What could have been a better way to start my first day as a 26 year-old?!?! Happy birthday to me! I opened my gift from my family and was so excited! I got a nice Bose speaker for my nano! And it sounds soooo good! I am kind of jealous of myself! Thanks cdoc for the socks and christmas ornament! You are too good to me! :)

We went out for dinner with a bunch of friends and I got my free meal! After that, Sis and I went to the Sioux hockey game. It was a good game, but we still struggled and lost. Those badgers are good! After that, a bunch of us went out for a night on the town and it was wonderful!

Mid-week run

RR: This run wasn't necessarily planned. But, as I was leaving school today, I figured that I had a couple hours between school and class so I figured I would use them wisely.

3.1 miles.

367 calories.

One tired chica.

__________________________________

I am so mentally drained right now, I should have used those 2 hours for a nap. I probably won't run again now until saturday. Darnit.

One of class left people.. .. ... oh how I am counting the hours! 20 hours....

Go Big...or Go Home!

I am sooo sick of homework and everything related to my classes right now. After spending the last 4+ hours working on my research paper, I couldn't help but think about what I would rather be doing. And then it dawned on me....

THIS is what I would rather being doing....

....MT. SUMMIT!












I mean, really...where else can you go and see something this beautiful at 7,000 feet? From this point, one can see the mountains in Canada and Idaho, including Glacier National Park. I was just so fortunate to see everything so clearly the day I made it up there.. I guess it's a rare ocassion to have clear skies up in "neck of those woods".














Oh, how I would love to be there.... away from everything related to being an adult! Just doing the runs and enjoying everything around me!














So beautiful ... and so much fun...I do it again in a heartbeat... alone even!
















... GO BIG .... OR GO HOME!

Congrats Mom & Dad

First of all, Congratulations to my Mom and Dad for completing, yet, another half marathon! Wahoo! Way to go! I hope Memphis was wonderful!

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RR: 5x400 intervals. Sucked. I think I was tired and went out too fast on the intervals, causing the last interval to be done at an extremely slower pace. Boo. Completed 3.3 miles. 406 calories.


Be Strong...Live Life....

Long(er) Run

RR: 5.25 miles, 576 calories. In my running experience (what is minimal), this would be considered a long run in MY books. But, not to most. I still consider it a LONG run, which is longer than my usual 3 or 4 miles. I hope to increase my mileage over the next few months to a point where 5 miles won't be long runs to me anymore!

NOVEMBER Mileage: 43.11 miles

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Well, I am looking forward to the weekend. I have quite a bit of paperwork to do this weekend, on top of working most of Saturday, so I know I will be very busy. But, I am thrilled because there is only 1 week of classes left! 1 WEEK PEOPLE!

Another thing I am going to do this weekend is work on planning my sister's bachelorette party. We're hoping to rent a cabin in February and do some relaxing, cross-country skiing, snow-mobiling, etc. It will be wonderful! So, my first task is to nail down a cabin before it gets to late. Then I will leave planning the details until Christmas Break when I have time to do it and make it exciting!

I can tell the week is coming to an end. I am tired. I am ready for friday. And my upper body aches from carrying my backpack, purse, lunch bag, and duffel bag across a parking lot covered by ice. Just a little tense. On that note, I am going to do something different tonight and crawl into bed now and finish watching the Detroit/Miami game...rooting all the way for THE HEAT!

Be Strong...Live Life....

Rest Day...again

RR: Rest day. Wasn't planned. That is for sure.

_________________________________________

It's been a while since I haven't run on a wednesday. It just works so perfectly to get to the gym after school at about 430 and workout until 6ish. Just enough time to shower, grab a sub, and get to class by 7.

NOT today. Let's just say this one was NOT my fault! Here's why:

• I parked in the garage last night.
• After the day had been filled with snow, that somewhat melted, leaving some sort of junk we like to call heavy slush.
• Temperature dropped from 35 degrees to 1 degree overnight.
  
• Garage door was stuck this morning.
• Had to catch a ride from a co-worker.
  
• Got home at 430...attempted to de-ice it.
• Got sis' help to pry it open.
• It worked. Thank goodness.
  

By then it was almost 5 and I had lost all ambition to drive all the way to the gym, run, shower, and eat...all before a three hour class. I think it was a sign from the paper-work god. Instead of running, I got an IEP updated and ready to be mailed out to the parents! Wahoo!

I guess everything happens for a reason... even if it is a pain-in-the-butt!


Be Strong...Live Life....

Training plans...

I don't know exactly where I am at right now with my running. All I know is that I want to keep doing it, and get better. For the past month or so, I have been thinking about goals and races for 2007 and I don't know exactly what I want to do.

Do I want to increase my speed...or increase my mileage per run?

I know I am not ready to start training for a full-marathon...not right now. I would like to do it, someday. But, I don't feel as if I am ready. Yet.

I DO want to do many 5K's and 10K's within driving distance.

I DO want to do some half marathons along the way. I just don't know when or where.

Even though I don't have a particular race in mind right now, except for the possibility of the 5K zoo run New Year's Eve, I have been looking at many different kinds of training plans. I am one who likes to have a training plan. It helps me keep motivated. But, how does one choose?

Do I follow a training plan for a 10K...increasing my mileage? Or do I follow a training plan for a 5K, working on increasing speed?

You're all probably thinking... "it depends on what I want to accomplish."

I know. That is what I need to decide.

Any words of wisdom would be appreciated!


Be Strong... Live Life...

34 Flat...Take that!

RR: 3.25 miles, 405 calories.

______________________________________

Well, after a little comment made on my race report, I was a little miffed and decided to take it out on the thrillmill tonight. I went out and pushed myself and prove to myself I could pull a sub-12 on a 5K. I was able to run 3.1 miles in 34 minutes ...FLAT!

Correct me if I am wrong, but that is a sub-12 minute mile?!?!

Yeah, that is what I thought!

Take that anonymous blogger! Poof!



Happy running's, yall!

Saturday jog

RR: Sis and I did 1.73 miles..only. Our calves were still tight from thursday, and our thighs were frozen!
9:45 am
12 degrees
no wind, just brisk cool air

I will have to dip into the hot tub this evening. Aaahhh..

5K Turkey Trot

November 23, 2006
9:00 am
30 degrees
brisk weather with slight breeze

My sisters, Dad, and I headed to the race around 8am. It was busy. Turned out they had over 650 runners compared to last years 450. It was wonderful to see this Turkey Trot turn into a family event. For such a small event, they figured they had raised over $20,000 for Cystic Fybrosis. Absolutely fabulous. I had about 5 aunts and uncles, 1 cousin, and my Grandma walk or run it with us. Next year, we hope to get more!

We started a little after 9:oo and the starting line congested, even though they made the walkers start 2 minutes later. I will blame the walkers standing in my way for about 5 extra seconds on my race time.

Once we started I was so excited. My adrenaline was pumping and I knew I had started too fast. I was surrounded by fast feet and found it hard to pace myself. I need to remember to listen to my breathing and pay attention to my feet. So, it was great until the half way point and I already had to walk a few feet. I started running again and a darn side stitch gave me the worst pain ever causing me to walk very slowly around mile 2. Ick. But, then there were a couple ladies behind me that I felt coming up on me and I wasn't going to let them pass me...so I ran with them. The rest of the way. They had a great pace. Towards the end I wanted to gun it but my my legs just felt like lead. It's wierd how some days you can feel as if you are running on clouds and some days it feels as if you had gained 30 pounds.

Results: 3.1 miles in 37:14 (a new PR)

Next year...I plan to run the 10K!

Keep on keeping on!

Post-run cravings

RR: I went out for a slow and easy run tonight. I wanted to take it slow, only becuase I didn't want to push myself too hard before the race thursday. So I logged 4.05 miles and 516 calories. Average heart rate was 164, maxing out at 179...I was glad to keep it below 180. Like I said, it was nice and slow and it felt wonderful!

_________________________________________

Okay, so can anyone tell me why I have the cravings I do after a run? I usually crave salty food and cheese. Sometimes milk. What is the reason behind this? I don't necessarily have a problem with it, just curious as to why I want to eat those things... I am sure someone out there has the answers!

Next time you hear from me...it will be a post-turkey trot report. Yippee! I am pumped!

Keep on keeping on...

Another form of Procrastination #132

Before I get into my, yet, another form of procrastination, I want to inform all you readers out there that I was able to complete not 1, but 2 large assignments this weekend before doing the following. I spent most of this afternoon at Perkins, with a classmate, working on a huge unit plan on social skills and was able to finish! For some reason, I think I got a slight pinch in my back somehow and decided not to run after spending all afternoon studying. So what did I do with my evening?? Check out the following...

Procrastination #132: Baking

Sis, cutting out the cookies! Mmm...it's my favorite cut-out cookie recipe and oh so easy!

While Sis was working on cutting out cookies, I was working on my "homemade" peanut butter cups... yummy.

Sis and her wonderful work!

By the time the cookies were ready to be frosted, Desperate Housewives was on so we decided to decorate around the livingroom coffee table... it worked out just fine!

AND....when we chose to do some dishes during a commercial break...Deja (the dog) decided to give them a little taste tester... I think she liked them...considering she licked not only one, but two cookies!

So..that was my evening. Tomorrow, I hope to get to the gym...and do a nice run before my Turkey Trot this thursday!

Keep on keeping on...

Finally Friday

RR: No running today. REST DAY! Ahhh...it feels good!

_____________________________________

Oh how I am so thankful that it is finally friday. Today just flew by at school. We had a very long meeting this morning and I spent a lot of the rest of day doing paperwork. But, I am not complaining becuase I started my day off with a Medium Mocha from Caribou Coffee...mmmm. That is my friday treat to myself and since we haven't had school on a friday for a few weeks, it was extra special today!

Tonight I will be doing some homework and paperwork for school. This weekend is one of the few of my last weekends to get homework done. As much as I am sooo excited for this semester to be over, I am sooo not ready for it to be over. I have a few projects left to do and don't know how long it will take me. So I hope to get AS MUCH done AS I can this weekend!

Soon it will be TURKEY DAY! Next weekend I will be back at home in the big Bis with a bunch of family, participating in the 17th Annual Cystic Fybrosis 5K Turkey Trot! My parents, one of my sisters and I will be running while my other sister will be walking with some other family, including Grandma. I am sooo pumped. I participated last year and it was my first race EVER so I hope to do better this time around!

After the race we will be heading to my parents house for a good homecooked Turkey dinner; turkey mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberry sauce, grandma's homemade buns (my favorite), rice(my favorite #2), asparagus, cold veggies, and the desserts.... mmm...pie...cookies..chocolate covered pretzels..buffalo chips ... .. no wonder why it is so hard to NOT gain wait between October and January. Maybe I should be doing the 10K instead of the 5K Turkey Trot!

To follow dinner will be football watching for most the boys and gossiping for the women. The kids will hopefully be doing some crafty projects. Mom usually spends the couple days before baking the pieces to 5-7 homemade gingerbread houses which I usually assemble the night before and we let the kids decorate after dinner. We don't know what we are doing this year since the gingerbread houses are SOOO much work. So I need to come up with another crafty project to possibly take the place of the houses that they will enjoy. We usually spend the evening doing some decorating, including putting up the Christmas tree and if we aren't too tired the five of us head out to check out the Christmas lights around town for a couple hours.... Family traditions are so fun. I can't wait for next weekend!

Keep on keeping on....

Eating Habits

RR: Today I hit up the gym for an easy run. I was hoping to do 4 miles, but was only able to do a few. My shin started to bother me a bit halfway through the run and so I wanted to be easy on it. I think this starts to happen when I push myself too hard. Overall, it felt great. I clocked 3.1 miles and 386 calories.

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I am so thankful it is almost friday. I need the weekend to get here...and fast!

After my run tonight I came home, showered quickly and went to dinner with Sis, her fiance and one of his roommates. It was nice to get out of the apartment, be surrounded by "kids" my age....and just laugh. But, now my tummy hurts from a few drinks and one too many fries. This girl really needs to start changing her diet if she wants to train for any kind of race down the road. Don't get me wrong, I do not have completely awful eating habits, but a few.

Don't we all?

It's easy to make excuses as to why some of us "choose" to eat what we eat, but sometimes it's just so "convenient"...right? It's those darn microwaveable dinners. I don't like many of them...actually only one in particular...the pizza by lean cuisine. But my life doesn't allow me to make a good meal every night to have lunch for the next morning. Not with classes three nights a week.

I need to find some quick fixes that are healthy and suited for "runners" for me to prepare to take to school for lunch. Any ideas out there? I would love to hear what all you other bloggers do for your lunches... I am sure I am not the only one on a time crunch during the week!!!

Keep on keeping on.....

One in a Million

RR: Before my evening class I went to the gym to do some running. I decided I needed to do something different, so attempted to do some so-called-wonderful-intervals?!?! I began with an easy pace run for a mile, and then decided to sprint for 1/4 of a mile and then walk briskly for .15 of a mile; preceding to do this 5 times and then cooling down for a 1/4 of a mile. Over all I clocked 3.1 miles and 388 calories.

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Today was a rough day. Last night my friend who has been sick passed away. She just couldn't fight it anymore. At the age of 23, she married in August, became violently ill a few weeks after returning from her honeymoon, and passed away a couple months later. She had been awake enough to look at her wedding pictures last week, but her and her husband hadn't finished opening their wedding gifts....

Instead of heading to the school I am working at this year, I took the day and spent it at the school I worked at last year. My para from last year called me last night and the principal wanted me to be with them today.

Everyone was wearing pink... that was her favorite color.

The day began with discussing how to speak with students about death. I spent most of the morning roaming the halls and doing some projects. We put up a huge piece of paper on the wall with the words: "Mrs. H, You Touched Our Hearts". Throughout the day, the piece of paper filled up with little pink hearts with notes to her family and her as well from all the students and teachers. Some of them made us cry....and some made us laugh.

In the 2+ years I have been working in the school system, this has probably been one of the hardest days. It's so hard to see some of those kids. Some of them became so connected to her. Some of her students didn't know how to handle it. It's truly amazing...the impact this young lady had on so many people. She was always smiling...she was full of positive energy...

.... she was one in a million.... and will be missed by so many.



Keep on keeping on....

Feelin' Good!!

RN (running notes): I got up and went for a run this morning....before heading to school! It was wonderful! Well, the run wasn't wonderful but being able to get up before school to run was great! I forgot my waterbottle, which wasn't a really big deal, but just the having that thought of "wanting" it near me probably set off my run a little bit. Since this is the first time I have ran before heading to school I didn't know how to manage my time. I could have gone another 15 minutes, but I know that now...for next time. (3 miles...351 calories)



It's a new week, and this girl is feelin' good! I am kickin' this cold outta here!

Sunday night, I hit the sack at 9pm. Monday morning, I woke up at and felt soooo rested!!

I spent the hours after school working on an assessment report. 5 hours to be exact. I wouldn't have left it for the night before it was due, but I was to use the computer lab in the Education Building and it was not open thursday night when I went (even though it was supposed to be) and it wasn't open on friday due to holiday. It's never open on the weekends. Let's just say I was a little miffed.

I will admit, I am really struggling with keeping motivated...not with running..but with classwork. It's REDICULOUS! I have NO motivation WHAT-SO-EVER to do ANYTHING related to school! I have only 4 weeks of class left and you have NO IDEA how thrilled I am. I only have a few projects left for the semester but still have a hard time doing ANYTHING. I JUST WANNA BE DONE WITH THIS SEMESTER! I have to finish my Assessment project. I have to finish reading Beautiful Child and looking for cognitive, behavioral, social, and ecological interventions. And...I have to finish my research project. THAT ... research project... is a BIG one. Not only because it is a research project, but becuase it WILL be my final project to present as my Independent Project for Graduation in May. So, I really need to do my BEST with it!

Ahh...I WANNA be done! All I want to do is run! 179 days people....179 days and I am DONE!


Keep on Keeping on!

Looking ahead at 2007

RN (running notes):

Today, still feeling a little bit under the weather with some congestion...I chose to hit up the gym anyway. I was shooting for 2 miles, just to get my heart pumping and do a little sweating. Well, I reached 3 miles and called it quits. I didn't over exert myself....letting my heart rate only max at 170, which is lower than it's usual max of 186. I just took it slow and steady. (3.03 miles....386 calories.)

2007 Running and Other Stuff:

It won't be long before 2007 approaches us and I am looking forward to all it will bring. It will be a busy one with job hunting in the spring, my graduation in May, Sis' wedding in June, hopeful travel to England/Europe in July/August, and a half marathon & full marathon somewhere in there.

I would really like to do the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville this spring, but don't think it will happen with school and all. It's just hard for me to imagine flying across the country in the middle of the semester and possible missing a day of school. So I am looking for races in the summer/fall. Here's where all you other bloggers out there come into play! If any of you know of any good ones, please let me know! I would like to know what all of you might be training for in 2007! I was thinking of doing the Nike Women's Marathon in Cali next fall, but don't know if that is a do-able just yet....with things being so crazy busy. Maybe.

Happy runnings, y'all!

3 miles!

There was no school today. Veteran's Day observed. So, I went to bed at a good hour last night and hit the gym at 8am with Sis. Still coughing, I hopped on the thrillmill and went at it. And, I was able to get in three miles! They weren't the greatest miles and I did a lot of walking due to some coughing, but it felt great to move...and sweat!

As for the rest of the day I will be studying until my parents arrive later this afternoon! Tomorrow? FOOTBALL!!! Go UND!

On the road to recovery ... . . I'm back!


Happy Runnings, y'all!

The gentlemen...dressed in blue..

As my eyes graze across the gym floor, trying to hold back tears, I find that I am not the only one. My eyes become fixed on that first row of gentlemen...dressed in blue. I hear the words of the first graders reciting a poem in which each of them had their own line to memorize. Some hard to hear. Some loud, but full of life.

My eyes keep wondering. Trying not to really think about what this presentation is about; knowing if I do, I am might just shed a tear.

The second graders presented next... each of them had to read a portion of a story. A story of a little girl asking her grandfather questions. Questions about America. Questions about war and what it is. My eyes are drawn back to the row of gentlemen in the front. My eyes are caught by one pulling his glasses away from his face and wiping tears... from both eyes.

The music.

The words from the music. The words from the mouths of the young children.

The meaning behind it all.

The gentlemen....dressed in blue...

And then there were the sixth graders... they recited an ever-so-powerful poem. A poem about making choices...choices that would lead to sacrifices. The tears were there. I just didn't let them go.

The music.

The words..

The gentlemen....dressed in blue...

Then there was the raising of the flag on the grounds of our school. The wind blowing it hard against the post. The kids shivering, standing close to their classmates. The high school girls chior singing the national anthem....and the group of gentlemen standing in front.... at attention.

It was our Veteran's Day program...put on for the community. The program to honor all those who have served and are serving for our country.

It was an emotional program.

It's so amazing to see it through the eyes of children. Most of them are too young to truely know the effect they had on most of those seated in that gymnasium. But they did.

There were tears shed.

Memories brought about.

And many many words of thanks.

Thanks to all of those who
have served
or are serving
this country of ours...

Blah, blah, blah...

... that is the way I feel.

Yuck.

I just want to curl up and sleep. For ever! (Well...maybe for just the next two days!)

And... it's killing me that I haven't ran since sunday. Yes, you are correct. That means that I did not get up this morning to get in an early 3 miler. Nope. I woke up at five and and said "hell no" ... in the midst of coughing up my right lung and giving my neighbors the impression that I own a 65 pound dog....

Ow. It hurts to cough. I am not coughing up anything...just coughing. Damn "tickle". It won't go away.

My head hurts.

My belly hurts.

I am tired. I have barely slept in the past 2 nights.

Grr.

I am going to go read my book in bed...and hopefully fall asleep at a decent hour. Hopefully I won't have to get up in a few hours to slam down some whiskey....but hey.... it might help!

Enjoy your runs, y'all!

....I will be dreaming of running...and sugarplums.....

One more thing....I am so not going to blog everyday this month...I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E.... It was a good idea though!

Another.... who knew Emmitt Smith could dance?!?! Or can he?!?!

Monday Madness

I just got home not too long ago...8:30ish. I hadn't been home since 7 this morning. We had parent-teacher conferences tonight and it went pretty well. I only met with a few teachers and spent the rest of the time working on progress reports. Ohhh...the lovely paperwork!

But..... to make a long day better.....

<-------I came home to this!!!

It finally arrived! My shirt! Remember the race I did almost 2 months ago? Well, this is the shirt from it and it finally arrived.... only a short time after the expected two week wait! But, it's wonderful. A little big. But wonderful. I am hoping our nice weather holds out through friday so I can wear it out running friday morning! I don't see much daylight anymore to run outside!

Now, I plan to get things ready for the morning and plan to do a few miles in the AM! We'll see how I feel when the alarm goes off at 5am...but I am going to try.... again.

Happy running, y'all!

Sunday...a day of rest....

....or not so much. Today I was able to sneak in TWO workouts, not just one! Go me! I ran and then following my run I did my Turbo Sculpt video. With the knowledge of how it left me feeling when I did it monday night, I figured I would do it today after my run .... already planning on using tomorrow as a REST/STRETCH day. I have parent teacher conferences that go until 730 tomorrow night, making it quite a long day. So, I will do nothing .... tomorrow... but recover from the sculpting!

Last night I did some babysitting. Yeah, I told my sister I was too old to babysit, mainly becuase I didn't want to watch the 4 kids I was going to be watching....and the fact that I didn't want to babysit on a saturday night. Babysitting these kids is like throwing me to a pack of wolves. But, I regret what I said, becuase they spent most the time reading and one of them was "writing" her own book. A teacher's dream. It was so great to see kids so enthusiastic about reading! I loved it! Then, once they went to bed, I did a little reading of my own...except it wasn't pleasure reading...it was class related. But, I got some homework done.

The rest of today...I will watch a little Vikings while I do some homework .... and .... do some relaxing...since it is a day of rest...right?

Week in Review Workouts:

Monday - Turbo Sculpt 40 min.
Tuesday - REST (sore)
Wednesday - Run 3
Thursday - Run 2.63
Friday - REST (feeling like crap)
Saturday - Run 2.27 (still feeling like crap)
Sunday - Run 2.5 & Turbo Sculpt 40 min.


Happy runnings, y'all!

Afternoon of studying

I woke up this morning still feeling like crap. But, I had to get to the gym and do something. So, I went and ran a little over 2 miles. That's all I could handle. My ear was killing me and I felt dizzy/nausous. So I called it quits early.

Now, I will be heading to the wonderful library for the afternoon. Yeah. But, I know I will get tons done without the distraction of the tv and internet...

Wish me luck!

Happy runnings, y'all!

...running on empty...

I am attempting to follow in a.maria's footsteps (and many other bloggers) and post everyday during the month of November. We'll see how that goes...I might miss a few days! So, don't hold it against me!

Today we didn't have school. It was a comp day for Parent/Teacher Conferences. Wonderful! So, I woke up this morning, with the intentions of getting up at a decent time, doing some paperwork, running some errands, and then working out in the afternoon. Let's just say that didn't happen.

I got up around 8ish, and felt sick. I woke myself before my alarm due to a nasty tickle, and realized that my nose was stuffy. GREAT. Just what I needed. I was partially thankful that it started over a long weekend, hoping to get most of it out of my system before monday comes. But, it has not helped me in accomplishing much today.

I spent most of my morning checking up on emails and doing a little bit of organizing my paperwork. Then I ran a couple errands and took a nice drive to the school I worked at last year. I promised them that when I had a day off, I would come and visit. I really enjoyed it. I miss them all SOOOO much! A couple of my former students almost crapped their pants when they saw me...giving me the biggest hug ever. Boy, do I miss it there. After that I went home, took a short nap and then went out to eat with sis, her fiance and a few friends. That was nice. Except for my long-island tea didn't have much flavor...must have been the cold.

I came home hoping to get some homework done, but got in the cleaning mood. I cleaned out our entryway closet...finding atleast 20 pairs of shoes. Vaccuumed that out....there were so many dust bunnies and dirt and gravel. Gross. Then I just organized stuff around the apartment including my pile of papers that needed to be filed...papers/bills dating back to august...oops. Talk about procrastination!

Now after all that little cleaning, I feel worse. I feel tight in the chest and can't breath through my nose. The air just feels very dry and coarse on my through and nasal passage... I am running on empty...So, now...I think I am going to crawl up on the couch and just watch some basketball... Tomorrow, I hope to get up and workout and do something a little more productive.

Ramblings....

Sometimes, when I sit down to make a post in my blog, I have so many things I want to write about. And still, I sit here staring at my computer screen with a loss of words. Nothing. So today, what will my post be about? I don't know. I am just going with the flow.
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First of all, I ran yesterday....AND...today. 3 miles yesterday and 2.63 miles today. I was shooting for 3 today, but I wanted to get home in time to watch Grey's Anatomy. And now, I am not even completely focussing on Grey's Anatomy, I am consumed by emails, blogging and watching the Spurs/Mavericks game. It is the opening week for NBA basketball, people. And just a side note...what in the world are they doing to basketball with the new rule of "no emotions"? Anyway....
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Ahh, it's been an emotional past couple of weeks. My job is emotionally draining, classes can be emotionally draining...and my life outside of school and class has been somewhat emotionally draining. That is why I am trying to hard to make time to exercise, relax, and reflect on everything. One might wonder why I spend so much time blogging when I have all these things to do...but for me...it is just another part of my own "therapy". This is my form of reflecting on what is going on in my life...at school...with class....and.. .... ..everywhere in between.

A friend of mine has become quite ill. She has been ill for a little over 2 months. Fighting. Fighting for her life. And it is hard to sit back and wait, just wait. Pray. Pray everyday...every time I think of her. I reflect on all the good times last school year. You see, we worked together. We were both first year teachers, we confided in each other, we had the same worries, some of the same struggles....we were in the same boat and knew what each other was going through. To top it off, she is the nicest person I have EVER met in my life. She is one that would never say anything bad about anyone. She is a big bowl of sunshine...always smiling...always cheerful. And I, I have been worrying about her for the past two months. She has been through SO much. I just would like to see her come out of this and have a healthy recovery. She is our own little angel on earth.

Thinking about all my friend has gone through...really makes me think about life. How we take it for granted. How we say "oh, I will do that tomorrow." or "I will call them later." So often we find ourselves putting things off. For what reason? I don't know. We get so caught up in everything around us we start to forget about the simple things in life. We forget to stop and smell the roses. Make the best of what we have instead of complaining. If I have learned anything from this friend, I have learned that there is something good in everything...and nothing positive comes out of anything negative.

I will leave you with this quote...remembering it to the best of my knowledge, you will get the point:

"Make the best of today.
Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow may never come."

Flexibility

If there is anything I have learned in my last 6 months of running it was that you have to be flexible. But sometimes that is hard for one to overcome. I can be flexible. I don't usually have a problem with it. My job requires me to be flexible. It was probably one of the first things I learned as an undergraduate working towards my degree in elementary education. You have to be flexible.

Now, with running.... one needs to be flexible as well.

One might ask, "what is her point of this rambling post?"

My point is that today was yet another day that reminded me how I need to be flexible with my schedule. Especially with the chaos that I am engulfed in.

Last night I chose to do this darn 40 minute sculpting video (which felt so good) that worked almost every muscle in the body. That's fine. Today I chose to wear high healed boots instead of my flat shoes. That's fine. Today it was slipperier than hell on campus(due to the heavy snow fall). Fine. But, when you put all three together.... let's just say it was the cause for a little extra soreness!

Darnit!

I was hoping to get in a nice 3 mile run tonight, and then Spin tomorrow, but I could barely walk without feeling the soreness! And, I want to be able to workout tomorrow between school and class. So.. .. .. I took a free pass .. .... a REST day.

Yes folks, this girl took a REST day and I am okay with that. I think... ..

Now that changes things up a bit, so I hope to get in a few miles tomorrow afternoon, a few on thursday and then another REST/STRETCH day on friday.... we'll see.

Ahh...the flexibility... ... . . . isn't it wonderful?!

Wedding, dresses, snow, and jello thighs

This past weekend I went home for one of my cousin's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding and we all had so much fun! It was the first time all of us cousins were in the same place at the same time .... ever! So, we were bound and determined to get a photo! Now that was fun! There were 28 of us ranging from the ages of 4 to 32! How crazy is that! And, now there are three great grandchildren, all born within a 3 month period!!

During our short period of time at home, my sisters and I were able to hit up three bridal shops and finally find the bridesmaid dress for my sis' wedding! I am so pumped! It is beautiful...and the color my sister was looking for! I am so excited and ready to dance the night away!

Today, Mother Nature was bound and determined to shake things up a bit around the state of ND. Yesterday, in Bismarck, it was close to 70 degrees, and I am assuming it was similar in the GF, but this morning it was below 35 degrees and by mid afternoon it looked like a full-fledged blizzard outside our classroom window! I couldn't believe it! We were expected to get up to 5 inches of snow with wind gusts up to 45 mph. With that in mind, our Superintendent decided to postpone parent-teacher conferences (thank you Mother Nature)! I was so pumped to just be able to get home! It took us nearly an hour to drive a 35 minute drive! Craziness! We'll see what the weather is like in the AM, we might be starting later than usual!

Now that I have taken a few days off after my wonderful 5 miles of hills (which by the way did leave my ankles feeling a bit achy, Neese, and wore me out, Jess), I am attempting to get back into things! Tonight I just did my Sculpting video that worked almost every muscle in the body...leaving my thunder thighs feeling like jello! Tomorrow I hope to get in 2-3 miles on the track, and then 45 minutes of SPIN on Wednesday. That is as far ahead as I am planning...for now!

Today's Workout:
40 min. Turbo Sculpt
278 calories

Happy Runnings, y'all!

Randomness

Tuesday night I went out for dinner with my sister, her fiance, my two cousins and one of their boyfriends. It was soooo much fun. We went to a local family Japanese restaurant and we had our own little private room. My cousin had ordered a pot of Sake and I was hesitant to try it. It was like a warm rice wine. Who likes their acohol warm? But, I must add it was wonderful!

I was hoping to do a late night workout afterwards, but I caved for peer pressure and went out for ONE drink with a bunch of friends for a 21st birthday. Yeah, such a dare devil! On a school night even!

Yesterday I hit up the gym before my 7 o'clock class. My intentions were to jog/walk a mile or so and then Spin for 45 minutes. Well, let's just say my heart rate monitor watch was not correct on its time and I was late for grabbing a bike. Darnit! I was so disappointed! You know, you get in a mind-set of what you are going to do and then when it doesn't workout, it is hard to change your frame of mind and do something else. Or at least it is for me. But, I was already sweating and I had an hour to kill before having to shower, so I got back on the thrillmill and did some hills. Yikes! By the time I was done, I had covered 5 miles! 5 miles! I was so worried that I was going to be sore today, but not too bad. I am hoping to get to the gym in the AM for a couple miles and some upper arm lifting, but we will have to see. I have been struggling with getting up and doing that, even when I do have my bag packed and everything ready to go the night before. I just CAN'T get my lazy ars out of bed! Maybe I will just get up and do one of my workout videos! Hmmm....

Happy Runnings, y'all!

Wednesdsay's Workout:
5 miles thrillmill - hills
723 calories

Running partner

The best thing next to running is having a running partner. Sis and I went for a nice run today! No breaks! Straight through! It was a great run! This was probably the best run I have had ... ever... especially since my sore leg!

Today's workout:
3.25 miles
473 calories
38:55 minutes

Happy Runnings,. y'all!

Workout summaries....

Wednesday's Workout:
Spin - 45 minutes
11.3 miles
623 calories

Spin on Wednesday night was wonderful. I was able to put on 2.3 more miles than the first night! Talk about progress! What an awesome workout! My glutes and inner thighs were a little tender the next day!


Friday's Workout:
Run 1 mile
Stairstepper 21 minutes
485 calories

Didn't have too much time for a workout today, but was able to do a quick 1 mile warmup with my sister and then chose to do the stairstepper for a while. I didn't want to make my leg hurt, so I kept it to 1 mile!

Molding our future

In conversation, people sometimes ask me what I do for a living. Last year I worked as a full-time Learning Disabilities (LD) teacher. This year I am working in the resource room with a variety of disabilities...earning my Special Education Strategist. The second the title of my job comes off my tongue, I get a reaction. A lot of the time people comment on how that is great that I can teach becuase they could never do it; or how I could work with children becuase they would never have the patience to do so. Most of the time I take this as a compliment, sometimes I take it as an insult. My job is so much more than a job. It is so much more than a career. This is my passion. This is me doing my part to make a difference in this crazy world of ours. This is the most rewarding thing I could ever do... teach. Some of my most rewarding moments this school year thus far are as followed:

• watching a child say "I get it Ms. S!" during his/her third, fourth, or fifth attempt at adding fractions, dividing with remainders, or searching for the direct objects in a sentence.
  
• Trying to teach a child to read when he/she doesn't even know all the sounds to the letters of the alphabet, and then watching a him/her read a three letter word for the first time...accompanied by the biggest grin ever. (and me choking back tears of excitement!)
  
• Watching a child with Autism struggle with taking turns while being "forced" to work cooperatively with another student...and then watching that same child tell the other student that they will take turns and work together to solve the math problems.
  
• Watching a student struggle with anxiety while working on his/her math assignment to the point of uncontrollable tears and gasping for air; taking the time to try to calm him/her down, and then thirty minutes later as he/she has finally gotten ahold of himself/herself.... he/she takes the time to be polite and say "thank you Ms. S....thank you for helping me with my math" when all I was worried about was trying to figure out how to keep these anxiety attacks from happening again.
• Working with a child who has difficulties expressing himself/herself, most of the time choosing to not make eye contact or say anything, and watching him smile for the first time followed by reading his/her answer instead of just pointing or shrugging his/her shoulders.
• Watching a child with limited English talk the most he/she has ever talked in the past two years, with his/her last words coming out of his/her mouth "I don't want to move." This just makes your heart break. This makes you wonder how much he/she would learn if he/she were to get a good, consistent education in one setting...not two.
• Watching a child with Autism make his/her first real friend, and be able to keep it, knowing that students with Autism are usually considered to be loners due to lack of social skills.

I can truely say that each and every day, I look forward to going to work. I might not always look forward to the icky moments that consist of behavior issues or working with students who are having a lack of motivation, or the early mornings full of IEP meetings with parents who don't care or sometimes don't even show up, or the mounds of paper work, but I can honestly say that I love what I do. I love working with children. I love being given the opportunity to mold a small number of creatures to become the best that they can become, those creatures who will be the future of this great big world we live on.

The whole 26.2 miles

Kind of like the whole 9 yards. ... . but not really. I was thinking today, thinking about how I haven't ran since saturday and I have been itching to get out there and do 3 or 4 miles.... thinking about what it would be like to complete a marathon. Any marathon.

Many other runners out there, especially in the midwest, are in taper mode right now. Tapering for the Chicago marathon. Oh, I wonder what it would be like to be in that position. So many hoping to be able to finish it, avoiding a DNF.... many hoping to break their PR.. ... and then those elite runners, hoping to meet the requirements to qualify for Boston. Now, I do not know exactly what the time requirement for BQ is, I am guessing somewhere around 3 hours; all I know is that it is way too hard for me to imagine even completing right now.

I look down my sidebar of this blog, and realize how much I thought I would have accomplished by now. I began my running journey in May hoping to run the Detroit Lakes HM in September. I can make many excuses, and I don't want to think of them as excuses but as parts of life. I struggled with "becoming" a runner, finding time, and battling minor injuries and hurdles through the process. Now, looking back, I didn't complete that HM, and I wasn't even able to do the 10K Medora race that same weekend. So, as of right now, the only races I have done are 5K. But, I have done them, and have been reminded multiple times how becoming a runner is a slow process, and becoming a better runner is just as slow.

I look at my sidebar and all I see is the 200+ miles I have put on my legs in running, sub 50 miles on the bike, few laps in the pool, and the few 5K I have accomplished. Even though, I am frustrated with the lack of races I have accomplished, I realize that I have accomplished so much. I have learned so much.. ... I have learned about different types of runs; tempos, long, fartlek, etc... I have been learning about shoes, cross-training, resting, healing minor injuries, healthy meals before runs and after, proper stretches, proper intake of liquids, etc.

The purpose of the entry? Who knows! Just some random thoughts on my running and others. But, I do hope, that some day... I will attempt the 8K, 10K, Half Marathon, and then maybe, just maybe....the whole 26.2 miles.

Good luck to those of you who are running the Chicago Marathon, and others who are running any upcoming marathons in your neck of the woods! You will all do awesome...you all have been quite the inspiration for me and many other runners out there!

Happy runnings, y'all!

Spin Baby, Spin

Sis and I hit the gym this afternoon for Spin. Oh, it was soooo much fun! I can hardly attempt to explain how much fun it was. But, I will tell you there were flashing lights, black lights, disco bulbs and awesome music to go along with our workout! Soooo much fun! We were able to take in 9 miles of hills and speedwork on the bike and it felt wonderful! Afterwards, sis made a wonderful dinner of chicken and pasta...mmm....

Tomorrow.... a REST day. My leg is feeling okay, but I want to take it easy. I must admit, I am itching to get into those new beautiful shoes!

Happy runnings, y'all!

Thanks, Runners

Thanks from all you who gave me advice on the ever-annoying leg pain! I really appreciate it. I thought I would let you all know that I not only appreciate it, but I am using it wisely! I have stretched my calves twice today, once when I woke up this morning, then once after purchasing a stretch band after work this evening. I went to my usual place to look for shoes and got some wonderful help from a handsome gentleman! He wasn't too keen on the idea of me buying the same shoes, and made me try on a $170 pair of shoes! Yeah, right. Plus, they were a half size too big (sure made it a whole lot easier to pass on). I then tried the same one's I have right now and really noticed how much my current shoes were worn! WOW! I just had so much success with these shoes that I just HAD to get them... again!

(sorry about the pic...with NO makeup...eeks. EDITED PHOTO: THANKS TO NEESE!)

Now, I plan to take 3-4 days off from running. I am thinking that I might hit the thrillmill wednesday evening to give the new shoes a test spin. In the meantime, I hope to get on the bike and do some spin tomorrow night (thinking that it won't affect my shins too much, and I will be able to get in a great cardio workout), stretch a couple times a day, and hopefully find a yoga class that I can get into this week. We don't have school on thursday and friday, and I don't have my night class on tuesday or wednesday, so I will have some extra time on my hands!

Thanks for all the advice and support! Happy running, y'all!