Wednesday thoughts on art, running, life, while attempting to stay out of the kitchen.......

No time to write a blog post but alas...here I am writing a blog post while my 9 and 12 year olds whip up dinner:) I believe shrimp lo mein is on the menu for tonight. Perhaps ambitious for these 2 but we'll see how it turns out! It's taking great restraint to stay out of the kitchen but I love having kids who can help out ....and love having a husband who will make sure it gets all cleaned up:)

Random news:

Reese's team won the district tournament this past weekend! Both her team AND Ryan's team have earned the #1 seed in their respective regional tournaments to be held in just 10 days. The winners, to STATE! Gosh, these kids have worked SO hard. Any parent of a competitive athlete knows how much WORK goes into a season. ANY competitive athlete themselves know how much work goes into a season or training cycle. It's not always easy doing all running around with these kids with their games and practices but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm so thankful for the life lessons my kids have learned through sports. For the way they've learned to deal with success and defeat, encouragement and criticism. For the healthy lifestyles they've adapted. For the bonds they've made with their teammates and coaches. Ahh-just really happy and thankful here today!!



I got pulled over again for like the 35th time this week. No lie.....I was driving to work and got pulled over for speeding....I got a written warning for a hotel validation parking slip covering the vin# on my dash (seriously??), my GPS obstructing my view by being mounted to the windshield near my rearview mirror. Of COURSE, I forgot my purse on the kitchen counter so I had no ID, and then couldn't find my proof of insurance in my pile of CRAP so written warnings for this too.... I'm thankful I didn't get a ticket!

I was able to meet a new friend this past weekend:) A very compatible running friend as she spanked out my 15 mile long run with me!! I'm so looking forward to training for the Twin Cities Marathon this year which I just registered for this week!!! Such an amazing race! First things first though as an October marathon is a long time away...I'm thankful for new friends, thankful I can run marathons!!!

I've not run for 3 days. My Achilles on my left leg has been bothering me and after Sunday's long run, it was more aggravated. I don't know why. I really don't know why. I almost never have problems on my left side. I'm wondering if maybe the treadmill aggravated it. I am not running high miles right now. Say like roughly 50 for an average but about 80-90% of those have been on the treadmill. (-42 Fahrenheit with the windchill this morning which explains why) Anyway, I haven't messed around with the incline or changed pace all that much in my long stretch of easy running here. I've been running at a 1-1.5 incline almost always....I do this to help compensate for wind resistance and make it more comparable to outside but now I'm wondering if even the very tiny little constant "up" grade is what's bothered me.... Hmmm-I don't know as it could be many things but I do know that this is a bit of a thorn here and I'm going to baby for a bit. Sore leg or not, I'm thankful I've had the opportunity to run on the treadmill this winter!

I recently received the most AWESOME piece of art in the mail EVER!!! I had commissioned the AMAZING Cher Odum to create a piece of ART for me to hang in my family room. A painting true to her unique and signature style!! I've been searching for something SPECIAL to hang on the wall! Not just a great big family photo that would date itself in a sense but a family portrait that I would hang right there ALWAYS and FOREVER! (Or if I moved to say somewhere warmer and more scenic, I would hang it THERE always and forever-ha ha!) Anyway, something that would constantly remind me of my family and the life we've LIVED and shared together. A conversation piece, a burst of color, a beautiful masterpiece it IS, and I couldn't be happier with it!!!!

I have yet to frame it as I JUST got it, so this is just a quick peek. My family in the center and the border filled with scenes of important things that represent our life!



You can read more about Cher's work at www.chertheart.com or find Chertheart on Facebook. There is great meaning behind her style. She does do commission work, is amazingly awesome to work with, surely an gifted gifted artist! I'm THANKFUL for the smile on my face every time I walk by and see this painting:)

So, just a few words before I go eat the masterpiece created for me for dinner! Thankful for food!!

Life, running, weather, perspective, gratitude.

Well, it's been awhile! A LONG while but I'm coming to the realization that this is just how I roll through the seasons of life....I write when I feel like writing and I don't when it becomes "work". Not that my blog is "work" but forcing words into an obligatory post is really not the direction I wanted to go with it...I've gone through many seasons with this blog. From deciding to eliminate it altogether at one point to feeling so VERY thankful to have had a place to just vent my thoughts on running, life!! This past week I've been doing a lot of thinking...about a lot of things.....because I think a lot....about things...a lot of things:) Ha! Anyway, I recently had the discussion about blogging with a new running friend who does not YET have a blog:):) She read mine which prompted me to read back through the archives myself. Wow, I really had a lot of fun with this. All this rambling about life in hickville, bragging about my kids, sometimes talking about my training, writing race reports, connecting with people with similar interests!! Making lifelong friends. It's been like a "not too personal" journal of events that I have documented!! This is actually pretty special! Although I don't have the time I once did right now, I sure have been blessed GREATLY through this blog and great for me to remember that! SO, tonight I feel like writing:) Or I feel like listing random bullets which developed as my style somewhere in 2011....

Life:

I'm working full time, MANY hours... I haven't exactly gotten a perfect system down here as far as balancing but I do feel like I've done a super job considering! I have 3 kids playing a traveling schedule of a combined 140 or more hockey games this winter. We have about 12 practices per week to haul kids to and from, we travel EVERY weekend, often in different directions and often at least a 10 hour round trip by car, usually more! Add in Confirmation, youth group, Junior volunteers, fundraising to name a few and I'm BUSY!! I still run, I manage to make some time (not as much as I would like) for those important to me and my kids sometimes eat something other than eggs and toast for supper! SUCCESS. I've been keeping my marriage TOP on my list of priorities and carving out quality uninterrupted time there. TODAY, even though I can't run anything with a 6 in front of it for fear of collapsing my lung and leaving my children motherless I feel very accomplished!

This past week, my sweet sister gave birth to a baby boy! My other sister and her husband legally became the parents of a little girl who is still in the Congo but now legally bears their last name!! Red tape red tape but SOON! And to top it off my baby sister just announced number three is on the way. I am the oldest of 6 girls and I absolutely LOVE coming from a big family. Constant excitement around here!

My kids start district playoffs this weekend!! Lots of nervous energy coming here in the next couple of weeks with my kiddos. Not putting the cart in front of the horse but both of my daughters teams have a very very good shot of making it to both the regional and then the state tournaments in their respective divisions if they play to their potential.....this means I am going to have to make choices as they are held the same weekend but in different venues. I don't want to think about missing these big moments in either of their lives! Ughh.

Running:

Since most people are more interested in running than whether or not I will get to wear a foam finger and drink concession stand coffee at Ryan's game?? or at Reese's game?? I'll move on:)

I've been running. Until last week I've been running all easy. No speed, no tempo, a little longer on the weekend but all just easy but CONSISTENT. Northern Minnesota has blessed us with some especially fun temps this winter as we've seen windchills of nearly -60 on some days and it has been BITTER much of this winter. Because it's no longer 2010 and I've gotten old and lost my BADass, I'm no longer willing to venture out into this:) The hours I have available to run are the COLDEST hours in the day and dark and icy. Finding myself blind because my eyelashes have literally frozen together solid or wearing my scary robber mask and duct tape on my shoes is just losing it's appeal....(I know, there are some of you playing air violin right now as you read this) ANYWAY, I've found myself on the treadmill A LOT. More than I like.

I've seen my pace improve since starting up after my break. I've not been wearing my Garmin much outside, (actually only 1 run on Garmin Connect in the last month!) but most of my TM runs have been averaging 7:40's now. Some slower, not many faster. I'm starting to see that my faster days are on the gym treadmills and my slower ones are on my home treadmill. Hmmm....

I'm realizing that I'm actually in pretty good shape even though I keep discrediting myself and telling myself I'm NOT. I'm not in "speed" shape yet because DUHH, I haven't run any speed, but I AM in good shape. I'm in a good good place! Last week I brought in both a little speed and tempo and will now be incorporating it regularly.

This afternoon we were blessed with 30 degree temps, a very light wind and a clear road surface which just seems so rare. Honestly, I don't remember the last time I ran with my feet touching pavement and not on ice. We don't have that nice firm packed snow that you can grip here either. No running paths in this rural country so the side of the road is either compacted ice or unpacked snow which is a problem as well (keep playing that violin:) Anyway, I started work before 5 am this morning so I would be able to run before dark and enjoy the beautiful day! I had run a double yesterday with some treadmill 1K's at the gym last night (I started but pulled the plug on a morning workout due to road surface and then a make-up workout-total miles only 9.1) so 6 miles easy on the schedule for today. I wore my Garmin, NO jacket and headed out into the sunshine!!


*I LOVE this new little weather feature on GarminConnect! COOL!*

OK-I think my home treadmill might be slow. I was running what felt comfortable and I wasn't pushing until the last 600 meters or so and my pace felt so much easier outside than it does on the treadmill. This was a great run for me. A really really great confidence builder to feel this good and look down when it was over to see these splits. I'm not comparing with the past, I'm looking at the present and this is AWESOME Jenn for how you felt! From here on out my running will change as I'm moving to a little more higher intensity, slower recovery instead of all this same pace stuff.

I've been fighting and am fighting a slight Achilles aggravation on my left leg (all my injuries before this niggle have been on my right side). It's not affecting me too much in running right now but my eye is on it and I'm thinking it's a good thing I will be moving into some warmer weather and getting off the treadmill!

Random-I think my perspective on life affects me GREATLY with running. So happy and appreciative this week. Very thankful for the special people in my life. People who support and love me no matter what. Thankful for ME. Thankful for what I have to offer. Excited to meet a new friend on Friday:) Looking forward to the next crazy month and racing season approaching!!!

Thank you for reading. Whoever is left out there. I started my blog with 4 followers for quite awhile:) Jill, you were one of them and I'm off to comment on your blog:)

Cold...and not quite as slow....

Two blogs in one week! Almost unheard of for me these days but I woke up this morning in such a good mood that I felt like writing:)

I had an unexpected weekend at home this weekend while my husband took off for Duluth with my girls. My son's home games that were postponed due to the nasty blizzard last weekend, were rescheduled at the last minute for this afternoon.....the windchill or realfeel is -57 degrees today which is of course MUCH safer for the teams traveling here than the blizzard.....I went outside this morning to grab a shovel quickly and my wet hair froze into instant icicles. I sounded like a set of windchimes when I ran back in the house. My son thought this was cool and because I'm such a good mother I proceeded to do it 2 more times. Fortunately I don't have neighbors to see me running up and down my sidewalk in Ugg boots and a robe freezing my hair into windchimes to make my son smile...

Now, I've run in nasty temps and I actually love winter running but when the windchill dips to numbers that are actually Minnesota swimwuit temps if you drop the minus sign, it is just not worth it for me to be outside. I have no desire to be that tough. Proves nothing to me. SO, as much as I don't love the treadmill, I am married to the thing until I see a lovely 0 or higher for a temp:)

Yesterday I took to the treadmill for my longest run since my marathon last October. 14 miles which was to be simply an easy run as ALL of my runs are right now and a step up from last weekend's 12. I've come off a week of fighting a bug of sorts. It didn't hit me as hard as it hit my husband but I was overly fatigued and very low on energy most of the week. Found myself sleeping EARLY and still feeling rough during the day. I really struggled on a couple of my runs but I didn't feel like I was "sick" enough to want to skip them altogether right now. I did have to cut a couple short. Times like this are when I would really just like to just be "garminless" outside and run by feel......The hard part about running on a treadmill is you HAVE to set a pace to start. This leads to an annoyance when the pace you set feels tougher than you want it to which messes with the ability to enjoy any part of the run......

ANYWAY, I set out to run my 14 miles yesterday feeling MUCH better physically. I situated my water boy in front of the TV (again because I'm a good mother) and started running. I ended up starting at an 8:27 pace which is where my legs seemed to want to go in mile one. I really just wanted to get the 14 done, whatever the pace. Treadmills are SO monotonous and I have a most impossible time running a steady pace for anything longer than .4 miles......14 miles were not sounding overly enjoyable. I managed to run along gradually picking up the pace a little bit in the first 6 miles. (48:56 at 6 mile) I was beginning to feel really good which sometimes happens when you run slow-ha! I decided at this point that I would maybe try 2X10 minutes a little faster....like 7:30 pace to break things up. I started right at the 6 mile mark at 7:30/8.0 and was surprised at how good I felt here. Just kept going and told myself I would do 2X15 minutes instead and then changed it to 2X20 minutes and when it was all said and done, I ended up running 8 miles straight across at 7:30 for 14/1:48:49/7:46 pace:) Now, this is surely no amazing run but it did not feel hard and it did a great deal for my confidence yesterday to know that #1-I can run 14 miles and #2-I'm not that slow:) I won't add #3-there was no wind and I was on a treadmill at simply 1%.

7 more this morning at 7:53.

Now, all this treadmill running has allowed me to get some running clothes that generally stay buried, some use! I save my "going out" running clothes for the gym and my "mom" shorts for my home treadmill-ha! I never match at home and I wear whatever I can find. I sometimes look at something in the "stay home" pile and think, "these are cute, why don't I wear those to the gym". Then I run in them at home and remember why....

Not exactly the sweat pattern I want going on at the gym....

So-just a random Sunday update. Feeling really optimistic about the weeks to come! Excited to watch my boy play hockey this afternoon!!! Peace:)

Slow

What's new

*I'm in week 3 of building back my base. This is humbling I tell you. Like 95 days ago or something like that I ran a marathon at 7:22 avg. pace per Garmin. Tonight I ran only one of my miles at 7:24 to see what MP felt like and my heart literally almost stopped. Yay me!! To my defense, I've run NO miles faster than 7:45 in forever. My speed has definitely taken a hit. Right now my workouts consist of a slow day, followed by a moderately slow day followed by a slow recovery day, intervals of slow, and one slow long run. To compliment my slow days, I've been spending some time in the gym making sure that if I'm going to run slow I at least look HOT doing it-ha! I'm aiming for 3 days per week here and I've stuck to it thus far!! I like to joke but I'm actually feeling stronger and better and I'm seeing improvement:) A 7:15 MP by October won't be easy but I'm quite certain I can do it:) I'm absolutely positive I will gain back more than I lost and I'm going to do it RIGHT! (**Not sure the blue corn chips or the glass of wine I'm drinking constitutes "right"..... they are natural blue corn chips though which we all know means healthy and is a free pass to eat the whole bag)

*My kids are having AWESOME hockey seasons!!!! Both girls teams are near the top of the state rankings. They both just won the Fargo International Tournament and we're off to a big tourney in Duluth this weekend and then down to Minneapolis the weekend after! A very busy month but so much fun!! I'm having such a wonderful year with the hockey moms. LOVE my crew this year! I feel so much more involved than I have in the past. Allowing myself the training break really opened me up in some ways. Good ways.

My Lucky #9!

*Completely random but laughing at a conversation in the background. My oldest daughter Ryan just booked tickets for a trip to Mexico with my sister and is chatting with her brother...

Ryan: What do you want me to bring you back?
Max: I want some shells, rocks, a shark tooth and a Mexican waiter.
Ryan: A Mexican waiter??
Max: Well, I need someone to bring me my drinks and my snacks..."

*Note to the ladies *put my son in his place-ha!

*Booked my ticket to Boston! I'm getting SO excited about this! After tracking this girl's amazing marathon PR this weekend, I am even more pumped to cheer her on along with some other dear friends! Can't wait to spend some time with some very special people in my life while I'm there!!

*I also found out I got San Diego Rock N' Roll entry with Brooks! Thank you Brooks!!!! My husband mentioned running it as well which sounded like a perfect trip! A fun race together and then a weekend away:) Yes, I think so!

Just some quick midweek tidbits:) Life is good. Life is very very good. Not going to take any of that for granted this year:)

Where I am today:)

I could write a blog on a million things.....I considered writing one of those 2012 reflective posts or possibly a 2013 goals post today but then decided that I’ve thought enough about writing it to lose interest in ACTUALLY writing it-ha! Instead, a few random things that are on the tip of my tongue today...

Things I am LOVING today!

•The Vikings beat the Packers!!!! My 4 exclamation points may be a little much as I really have no idea what’s going on in the NFL this year... We got together with some of our good Wisconsin friends today to watch the game and my competitive spirit with ALL things has now caused me to claim this team and this win as a total personal success!! I am Helga herself and these are my little perfect Viking children. So proud. So so proud-ha! Woot woot!

•Brooks Pure Cadence. I’ve given these shoes a shot the last week and I love them so far. “So far” is based on my long run of 5 miles and my mileage of 14 miles last week-ha ha!!! I have been a pretty faithful “Launch” runner but always looking for something to change things up and just never felt right in the PureFlow. The Cadence feel good and I’m excited to give them a better test outside! Hot looking shoe too:)

•Being out of shape. Unlikely thing to LOVE perhaps but I’m embracing the excitement I feel to get back INTO shape right now and this only comes from being OUT of shape-ha!!! I’m not overweight…I’ve actually lost weight lately. I’m just out of shape…..Like soft…..and squishy in a few places....the kind of soft and squishy that makes me want to break my husbands fingers off when he pinches me…. ha! Anyway, made my first trip back to the gym in forever this morning and just felt PUMPED about working out with some of my gym buddies again. Inspired, motivated!

•Starting to train with a purpose again today! I’ve taken 1/4 of a YEAR off from training by choice!!! I haven’t run with my Garmin in over a month. I haven’t run more than 3 days in a row in forever. I haven’t done any speedwork! My long runs have turned into 5 milers. I’m incredibly thankful for the PEACE I found in taking this break. So happy for the nights I spent with my family after work! Everything about this was RIGHT for me and it may become a yearly thing! I’m also incredibly thankful for how I feel TODAY, this morning, right NOW about things! My husband has asked me to please start training again so he can at least listen to training talk instead of work talk-ha! I have no plans for a race before April but I am back on a self-written schedule of sorts which I thoroughly enjoyed working on. I’ve missed this. Exactly what I knew would happen if I cut myself some slack:)


•My children and laughing at them. I laughed my daughter right to the chiropractor yesterday after this little backwards tumble while we were sledding in the forest. No lie, there was not ONE single hole on the whole hill except the one she fell into. A magnet! This made me laugh SO hard after the fact. Even when she punched me and told me I was a cruel heartless mother, I still had to turn my head and laugh some more....what a glorious blessing my kids are to me!



•Laughing.....laughing is so incredibly powerful. I love to laugh and I almost feel like I’ve lost a little of that this year. I look back and see how much I used to love to write thoughtless nothing posts on this blog and just laugh to myself. My own little laughing party! Lots of laughs all around today!

•Boot cuffs!

•People so willing to help when asked! I realize that I hate to ask for help..for so many reasons...I also realize that I LOVE the feeling I get when I can help someone else....so perhaps I’m stealing that feeling from someone by not asking:) This is my new logic anyway-ha! I could not make it through this hockey winter without people there to help me and I’m so very grateful. Thankful for a good friend stepping up this morning to help me next weekend!

•Watching Ryan play this morning. I love watching all my kids but her level of play is just so fun. They call her “the freight train” which I’m not sure is the most flattering name for a female but it’s so true. The littlest person on the ice in stature but yet she will plow through you and you can’t take her out. Tough as nails and such a competitor.

•Positive encouraging people. Infectious!! Thankful for a couple of positive encouraging training references who have been oh so helpful this week:)


Things I LOVE…..NOT so much....today

•The pace on my easy run this morning. Ishh….My HRM must be broken…..:( I can only go up from here-ha!

•THIS which is now hanging on my wall…

This little beauty is the compromise for telling my husband our kids are too expensive now to pay $700 to hang a running clothes accessory hanger stuffed deer head on our wall..... As a result, I came home to a large animal skull boiling in a big pot on my kitchen stove instead of having it taken care of at a taxidermist. Backfire....The upside, I now have 2 treadmill running partners and twice as many antlers in which to hang my crap on.

•The thought of taking down my Christmas stuff…..Sweet mama robin’s have used my Christmas wreath on my front door to make nests in..... We live in Minnesota....hmmm...

•The fact that I paid $64 for Christmas cards that are still sitting on my counter not mailed....

More "LOVES" than "Love-not so much's" today! Good day:)

Babble Bullets and Brooks!

I have presents to wrap, Christmas cards to finish, a house to paint, a party to decorate for, homework to do, paperwork to do, laundry to do, lunches to make, bills to pay, emails to return, probably a few miles to run, but somehow writing my bi-yearly blog post and sipping on a glass of wine has made it's way up to the top of my to-do list tonight:) Perhaps running the few miles would have been better BEFORE the wine...

Completely random bullets, not flowing, not in order and however they should come out.....

*I started a new job a few months ago. I LOVE it but it's certainly been keeping me busy and I've been putting a LOT of time into it with the holiday season. My son is jealous because he has to be in school all day while I play with blocks-aka pop:)

*I'm totally absorbed in hockey season!!! All 3 of my kids play and our schedule is CRAZY. I have 16 nights booked in hotels for the month of January! AHHH! Thankful I've found a roommate with kids the same age for the season to split hotel costs with!! Lots of travel but the kids are active and happy and we LOVE watching them!

*Running is a little on the backburner. I decided to release myself from training for anything specifically this winter. I wasn't sure exactly how I would handle this but it's going AWESOME so far. I LOVE to run and I will ALWAYS run but just no big ticket races on my calendar for awhile-until April actually!! I have been running anywhere from 20 to a max 40 miles per week, no speed and no schedule, just whatever I feel like doing. I have absolutely NO doubts that when I decide to start training I will be gung-ho, balls to the wall!!. I'm gung-ho about nearly EVERYTHING I put my mind to and those who know me, know this! Right now, I'm a gung-ho hockey mom and I'm thankful for the peace I'm finding in this.

*I don't think I've ever been more excited for Christmas! Such a special time of year for me. All of my sisters are home and we lounge around in PJ's and play board games and watch movies. We haul our kids to Malung to go sledding and skate on the outdoor rink and and just enjoy our time together so much! My busy life has interfered with my ability to spend as much time with my family as I would like and I'm CRAVING it! We're a CLOSE group and I'm so looking forward to some downtime next week to just love up on them!!!

*I used to love to entertain. I loved to get out the fancy dishes and do things up right every now and again. We are not a fancy family but sometimes it just feels good to put on a dress and enjoy an evening a little more on the classy side, and a little less on the redneck....Joe and I used to throw a cocktail party nearly every Christmas. It was a lot of fun but like many things it became a lot of work when life got busy (mostly because I'm a perfectionist:) and we kind of let it go. Last Monday, a good friend mentioned how much she had looked forward to that part of Christmas every year... a highlight, and it made me feel so appreciated....Joe and I ended up talking and decided to go for it and do it again next Friday! Now, as if getting my house ready and ordering in food etc.(because we live at the end of the earth) isn't enough, I decided I needed to paint the entire main floor of my house.....I have absolutely no time for this.....

*2012 has been an interesting year for me. A pretty successful year in terms of running. I'm pretty happy that I could pull out PR's in every distance that I raced this last year. I truly believe I can do the same in 2013. I will do the same:)

*Extremely honored to have been chosen again for the 4th year to represent Brooks through the Brooks ID program . Such a wonderful opportunity for such a great company!!

*2012 has also been a pretty special year for me in terms of relationships. I definitely think that this has been the BEST year of my marriage. 15 years next week:) Absolutely married to my perfect match! We laugh hard and we debate hard and we -- ---(fill in the blanks:) and we support each other no matter what. Very blessed here. I'm thankful for the blossoming friendships with some hockey moms this year. A definite camaraderie there...... I'm thankful for an ever growing relationship with my sisters.... I'm thankful for some very special friends I've met through this blog! Specifically, a trail running, fashion trendsetting superstar over there in Oregon who probably thinks I fell down an icefishing hole the last couple of weeks; a badass in Massachusetts who is actually one of the most supportive, encouraging badasses I've ever met and someone who really gets a side of me that many don't, and another free spirit absolute "GIFT" in my life that I've emotionally adopted as a sister:) I've been so thankful for opportunities to travel to Boston this past summer to spend real hands on time with a couple of these girls and then to get a chance to spend some time connecting in Minnesota last weekend with Amanda. Very VERY special to me.

Well, that was random and my wineglass is empty:) 2012 probably in the books for me but perhaps a new blogging leaf in 2013:) Peace

And I guess another month has gone by!

Random bullets from a blogging NON-superstar the last month!

*Ran a PR marathon less than a month ago but at times it seems like 2 years ago!!! Finished my marathon training cycle which was about 10 loosely structured, but strong weeks (on a solid base). Less miles than I've run in the past but feeling great and healthy!! PR's in the 800, the mile, 5K, HM and marathon in a period of about 3 months. Lots to smile about.

*I recovered from this race PROPERLY. I felt amazingly good after the fact but kept my runs short and easy for a couple of weeks and no speed. For the first time EVER, I felt complete peace in doing this. I enjoyed every run I was able to get in but did NOT feel the stress of losing my precious gains or having to maintain my fitness level..... If injury has taught me one thing, it's that my body can come back, even stronger, from a loss of fitness. It responds WELL to rest and recovery and I need this so much. A spring chicken, I no longer am!!!

*Recovery was made easier based on the fact that I have been working A LOT the last month. A LOT of very physical work. Many many hours, but by choice, and extremely satisfying for me:) I find busy-ness (always uncertain on how to spell that and much to lazy to google) often reduces my stress level. When I'm busy or preoccupied with specific intentional thought, I have less time to let my wind wander and obsess about silly things....Working full-time has honestly been a stress reliever for me. Financially, things are more relaxed with hockey season looming and I just feel a sense of purpose in certain areas... I'm really so very satisfied in many aspects of my life right now actually.... A wonderful place to be. I feel at peace and I've let go of some things that I've somehow allowed to cause issue in my life the past year. Just really really HAPPY!

*As I mentioned I've been keeping my runs fairly short. 30-40 minutes a day and then a little longer on the weekends. Reduced mileage, no stress of pace, no specific speedwork, and some other unidentified contributing factors have led to a faster overall pace especially this past week....I am NOT "training" so I have little concern about the "right" way or fast/slow or HR or anything right now for that matter! My concern is letting off a little steam and grabbing an endorphin snack for a half an hour in whatever way feels right:) Ran 4 miles in a 6:50 average the other day and a 7:19 average for 31 miles so far this week. Runs seem very different to me right now. I look at 4-6 miles as such an easy thing to accomplish in a day and I'm enjoying the way I'm viewing running in my life for this "in limbo" period.

*My initial plan was to move into training for 5k even yet this fall. I have never specifically trained for anything but a marathon and quite frankly I've always hated the 5K. I mentally struggle with this distance. It's OK if I'm using it for a marathon as a training tool because the pressure is lower but otherwise I mostly avoid it! I've really never pushed the envelope with speed though and I think I actually have more potential here than I've let myself believe. Interesting talks with a knowledgeable friend who has ran WITH me and always believed this in me led me to exploring this....That being said and regressing back to where I was initially going with this paragraph, I've decided to hold off on it for another month. The Thanksgiving season VERY busy for me with work, my kids have 12-15 hockey practices a week with games and tournaments and I think I will just hold on for one more month of doing what I'm doing before I jump back on the training wagon since I'm enjoying it!! I don't have a specific goal race in mind until a HM next spring so lots of time in there to work on and race 5K should I choose!

*For every marathon I promise myself a reward. I don't consider a PR a good enough reward... The reward has to be material-ha! When my husband gets a deer (his hobby) he gets a $700 hideous mount to hang on the wall so therefore I too deserve a reward for my hobby and the effort I put into it-ha! Kidding....kind of:):) This year I wanted a weekend away with my husband (no kids) which I got and thoroughly enjoyed last weekend and then also I splurged and bought myself a new Lululemon jacket and tights which literally cost more than my grocery budget for 3 weeks....and I have athletic HUNGRY kids....

COMPLETELY random sidenotes.

*My sister Keri is adopting a beautiful baby girl from Congo. She was in the process of adopting from Ethiopia when a child found abandoned in the capital city of Congo was just placed in her virtual arms and she felt compelled to bring her into her family. This has been an emotional and very exciting time. My family is CLOSE. I am VERY close with my 4/5 sisters.....So much going on trying to bring this baby home!! Once the paperwork is done and your WAITING child has a name and a face....it becomes impossibly difficult to play the waiting game....Keri is truly a remarkable person. A wonderful person, a wonderful writer who expresses her feelings so very well.

*My sister Christy is due the beginning of February! I'm pumped for babies!!!

*My kids are AWESOME! Loving their ages and especially loving high school humor. So blessed!

*Buying a ticket to Boston in April! Very excited to spectate and cheer on some great running friends and to actually SEE the super elites!!! Moreso however, I'm just excited for a weekend away by myself and a chance to spend some time with people who are important to me!

*Really looking forward to the hockey season! My kids are on SUPER teams this year with SUPER coaches and SUPER teammates and SUPER parents. I'm really excited to travel with my friends and cheer on my kids! Really really excited!!!

*Go VOTE!

*And next week, back to picture of my kids swinging next to animals on the swingset. The life of a redneck wife and mother in small town America during hunting season......