1/2 Marathon Training

My husband says, " This is so ridiculous," as he drove me 9 miles out in the country and dropped me off.  I am trying to quickly build my endurance for a 1/2 marathon.  Quickly, meaning 3 weeks.  Stupid, late night decision to sign up for the Fergus Falls 1/2 Marathon.  Tracking my workouts and races is something I wish I would have done a long time ago.  So, I will start to track and hope to learn some more about racing.

On another note, I am obsessed with my Garmin Forerunner.  It has changed the way I run.  I am constantly checking my pace and trying to push myself harder, rather than just go how I feel.  When I used to run 10 years ago, I just left the house with my shoes.  Now, it is pretty high tech.  I have my ipod laced throughout my shirt, a Garmin on my wrist, my cell phone in my pocket...what will I be running with in another 10 years?

I realized today how glad I am that I am not training for a marathon.  Dodging dogs, the wind and the humidity has worn me out. 

Happy Monday!

Spring is attempting to arrive but is having a difficult time.  So, I decided to blog instead of enjoy the windy, wet outdoors. 

We enjoyed a fabulous Mother's Day yesterday.  I was able to spend the early morning hours with my two fav's. 

Out for brunch at Bello's with my parents was a treat.  I have the most amazing Mom and was so happy to spend some time with her.  She is usually tied up with giving kisses and hugs to Carsen that I have to squeeze in a few words while I can.  The love she shows my little boy is the best gift I can receive for Mother's Day.  I diagnose my parents with grandparents syndrome.  They are so in love with Carsen that they have a hard time seeing our struggles.  It is a complete Love like nothing I have ever witnessed before.  Pure Beauty!  I hope to catch some of it on my camera soon.

Matt decided to make supper for Mother's Day.  We had his parents and aunt and uncle over.  It was so much fun to entertain! Especially since I wasn't in charge of the meal.  My husband really is amazing.  He made a recipe from blonde.  Our favorite chicken alfredo fettucine, fresh bread, salad, and angel food cake with strawberries for dessert.

 

Something about Mother's Day where I want to enjoy every second with Carsen.  I don't care what needs to be done...It is our day and I just love it!



Carsen wants to go out and play.



Today we are enjoying a day off at home.  Pretty low key!  But, I am still finding these little sprinkles...after how many times I have swept and washed the floor...they still appear.  Next time, the cookie decorating playdate is somewhere else! :)

Happy Monday!

Commitment

When we said our wedding vows, we were confident that we had life figured out.  We were so in love and so excited to get to that honeymoon.  Well, hate to say it, but we don't have life figured out and we will never have life figured out.  I realize that.

Oh well!!

In between stressful days and our happy days, my husband Matt, shows unconditional commitment to Carsen and I.  What I mean is, I get stressed out because the ends of his jeans are hanging over the laundry basket and didn't make it all the way in the basket.  Yes, that bothers me badly and I have accepted that I am slightly OCD.  Matt gently reminds me to "RELAX" and I calm down. 

Things really don't stress him out.  I don't understand that either.  He is a confident smarty pants and I hate him for it somedays.

We have spent that past 3 months training for the Tinman triathlon.  Early morning workouts, late evening workouts, swim lessons to work on flip turns and stroke, long bike rides, sprint workouts, and Wednesday evening spin classes have brought us closer together.  We had the chance to work hard together, visit about a new hobby together, push and encourage eachother. 

Something about working out with Matt makes things so much easier!

I feel like when I had Carsen, it took a while for me to find myself again.  There are other mommy's I know that are able to bounce back like nothing changed and some who completely loose themselves.  I, on the other hand, am in between.  Finding balance between being a mom that meets my standards and being a supportive and respectful wife was hard for me.  Matt stood by my side...patiently!

(Matt is encouraging me in the background when I want to fall over)

I am so thankful for my husband who has shown me unconditional commitment when things are rough.  He makes me giggle at the end of every day and somehow is able to make me laugh no matter what.

Something about living life with Matt makes things so much easier!

I try to learn something new from every race I compete in.  When I complete a race, I feel stronger.  I feel as if I can get through challenges in life.  I love when I get home from a race, mark the race off from my list and plan another one.  This time it is even more fun.  I am not doing it alone.  Matt and I spent Sunday evening planning which races we want to do together.  I am inspired by my husband.  He completely taught himself how to swim competitively, bike like a mad man, and how to run with numb legs. Whether he is working during the week, training, playing with Carsen or spending time with me, he has proven commitment is one of his best qualities.  It has brought him far in life and it will be fun to continue to watch him inspire me!

5 Gorgeous Years

We celebrated our 5 Year anniversary this past weekend in Colorado! 

Words that come to mind- relax, short of breath, hugs, couples massage, 107 degrees, hot springs, road trips, ginger scallops, elevation, snow, cousins, friends, beer, wine, mud, laughs, candy, dark mocha frappe, shopping, breckenridge, reading, mountains...

Just wanted to share a little piece of our trip together! How nice it was to get away for 5 days.  Carsen was as happy as can be with his Grandma's!!

Endurance

 
After a long weekend of night shifts I am beyond fatigued.  I have felt so nauseated, tired, weak, shaky, sweaty and purely exhausted today that I thought forsure I was dying.  Do I have cancer?  Maybe my thyroid is shutting down?  My kidneys?  I do eat too much candy.  Why am I so diaphoretic while trying to sleep after my night shifts.  My lovely sister says on skype, "What is wrong with you?  I haven't seen you look this terrible since you had your C-section!!! Are you okay?"  (The love and honesty of sisters, gotta love it! )  I assure you, there is nothing really wrong with me.  I am having difficulty keeping up on my endurance high.  Short and simple, night shifts suck and I need my regular sleep.

I force on my favorite outdoor running outfit.  Every piece of clothing I put on has that swoosh.  The swoosh that gives me life.  I, of course, procrastinate my run for a few hours and eventually step onto the black trail.  This trail leads me to a million thoughts.  Endorphins are running through my bloodstream.  I can feel it and I am high!  My attitude turns from death to life.  My vision changes from black and white to bold and beautiful colors.  I am alive.  I am happy.  I am free.

I finally see the signs of Spring.  The neon green blades of grass peeping through the brown.  I feel the Spring wind blowing hard on my back, pushing my pace to 7:26.  I hear kids playing in backyards and birds happily chirping from tree to tree.  As I make my simple 5 mile route, my favorite route since highschool, I realize all the snow has melted off the path and it is finally clear.  I have waited for this path to clear for months!  Two miles into the run, I climb a small hill that leads me to 3 huge piles of snow that I have to run through.  Or, I could turn around.  God opens my eyes in ridiculous ways.  Here I am expecting this path to be clear of snow, of any obstacles.  Just a straight path.  God says,  "Oh no you don't.  How do you find me in life if the path is clear and free from obstacles?"  I smile at the snow bank that is past my knees and run through it.  I run through it slowly and carefully.  Careful that my fragile knee doesn't twist and turn the wrong way, protecting myself from re-injury.  I even have to stop and walk some.  Isn't that how life seems sometimes?  A straight path, blocked by annoyances, a tug on your heart that says stop, endurance that says "keep on going, you can make it through," and once you are through that annoyance, one is able to continue down the clear path, knowing that this is only for a short period until you are faced with another snow bank that you thought was melted.  The snow bank that I stopped at and starred in the face had big foot prints to guide me.  I started carefully using those foot prints to get through that bank, started to build confidence and made my own footprints.  This made it way more difficult to make it through, so I was led back into the footprints to get through.  Funny how God shows me how badly I need him.  Sometimes, I like to think I am in control and that I am able to do anything.  I guess I need those footprints, the guidance, the love and patience He has to offer.  I will take it, because lately I need Him more than ever.

I have been trained to be an endurance runner.  What a blessing it was to have running to teach me so much about life.  Endurance is engrained in my heart.  It is how I live.  It is how I make it through 12 hour shifts.  It is how I make it through therapy session after therapy session.  It is how I make it through doctor appt after doctor appt.  It is how I make it through hard days that don't seem worth it.  Endurance brings me through the tough, rough and ugly.  It runs through my blood like wild fire during a long run and makes me live again.

Life happens.  The love of my family and friends brings me to the next day.  The daily challenges I face raising my son with special needs is wearing on my soul.  There are days I have no hope left.  That is why I run.  It brings me back to life.  It brings me back to the perspective that life keeps going and Endurance will help pull me through.

Romans 5:3 We Rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

I chose to title my blog with a the powerful word Endurance because it is weaved in every aspect of my life.