Running, running…

October 4 2009  

Weather: cloudy (actually pea soup fog)    Feeling: awesome!

2.23 mi @ 13:25/mi

This was my first 20 minute run without stopping to walk. Riverton hill. I made it through but it was a little scary. Panic poked at me but I managed to keep my breathing steady. Nearly puked right at the end (sorry for the image!). But once I hit my cool down that went away.

Tiger Woods must have been with me on my run because he told me I beat my personal best for the mile. :) haha! Actually that’s a feature built into my Nike+ sensor. That was fun.

October 5 2009

Weather: sunny   Feeling: awesome! (but sleepy)

2.07 mi @ 13:18/mi

This really is a mental game! I'm constantly fighting my fear when I'm running. This morning I read Gabby's homework and the definition of conquer struck me: when you conquer something, such as a problem or a fear, you win against it and over come it.

October 6 2009

Weather: sunny     Feeling: awesome! (still sleepy, I’ve GOT to get used to getting up in the morning!)

2.3 mi @ 13:16/mi (Look, I’m getting faster!! And this was big hill day!)

I hate the Riverton hill! But, I have to remember the great feeling of accomplishment when I do finally finish running up it. It's great training for those hilly races like the one coming up. I'd like to NOT finish last and that's why I do it.

I took Katherine to Children’s Hospital

Well, that got your attention. Don’t worry, no emergencies. She has had a little white bulb under her tongue since birth and in the past year it had gotten pretty large. It was really obvious whenever she opened her mouth to eat, talk, cry or whatever.  We worried about it growing and also simply by the fact that it had not gone away since she was born. So her pediatrician told us to go to CHOP to see about having it removed. We had to make the appointment two months in advance!! That appointment was finally this morning.

Wellll… after a crazy morning of getting everyone out the door – which we were about 15 minutes later than I’d wanted (that’s just a crazy yet typical story in itself but thank goodness I’d planned to leave early) and then going to the wrong area of the hospital – due to my being in a rush I didn’t read a posted sign very well, we finally made it in to see the doctor.

The nurse came in first, peered into her mouth and lo and behold there was nothing there! The thing had disappeared!! Gone, completely, not there. Nothing for the doctor to see. Go figure!

Well, it turns out it had been a mucus seal. The salivary gland under her tongue had been clogged and a cyst had developed under her tongue. There was just a little inflamation left where it had been but that was it.

She recently acquired a mechanical toothbrush and had been carrying it around playing with it. I think maybe that might have encouraged it to clear out.

Well thank goodness that’s gone and we’ll watch to see if it comes back. And thank goodness she didn’t have to go through any painful or uncomfortable procedure to have it cleared out.

I think that was just to funny. “No, really, I’m not lying to you. It really was there and it was pretty big to boot!” :D

Go West Young Woman!

Lately our minds have been on the possibility of moving. I’m not saying that we are moving or even have prospects, there’s no announcement here.  But it could very possibly be something we would do within a year or two. We are always looking for better things anyway.

Last night we talked a little bit about what we want in a place that we would live in: good schools, good support system – family and friends, cheaper cost of living (New Jersey just isn’t cutting it for us!), a closer temple, other members of the church nearby, lots of places to explore with the kids…

I was thinking more about it this afternoon and found a fun little quiz online which I took. Here are the results:

YOUR RESULT: Go West, Young (Wo)man!

Clean mountain air and vistas are what you choose for that momentous "Where should I live" decision. Perhaps you love nature, an active lifestyle or the beautiful countryside a mountainous region affords. Whether you live in a city close to the mountains or nestled in a small mountain village, you have some great opportunities at your fingertips. National Geographic's recommendations ("Best Places to Live and Play: Mountain Towns") are: Montpelier, Vermont; Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania; Boone, North Carolina; Hood River, Oregon; Wenatchee, Washington; Hanover, New Hampshire; Missoula, Montana; and Gunnison, Colorado.

I thought this was really interesting because lately I have been feeling like I want to move west. I want to take our family out where we can explore, hike, camp and see much of the West’s history. Plus both of us have extended family out west that I really would love to be closer to and get to know and have our kids get to know.

Right now my two top choices would be Utah or Colorado. Utah first because so much family lives there. Colorado because I lived there as a child and have many fond memories. I would love to go back. Unfortunately, I’m not sure there is work in either place for Alan. But maybe we’re not looking in the right places. (Anyone in Utah have any great ideas?)

I feel there is change in the air but who knows what that will be yet. I guess we’ll wait and see what happens. Until then we continue to enjoy our time here on the East coast with our family and friends we have here. :)

Running progress

I comment about my individual runs on the Nike website so I can mark my progress. I want to share those comments here too so I can come back and see them when I need a boost and see how far I’ve come.

September 5: (already 3 weeks into my couch to 5k program)

Feeling: so-so Weather: sunny   2.25 mi   15:31/mile

Hilly route. Went up Riverton Rd. halfway to the church house. Sun was already getting pretty hot and in my eyes for part of the time. But I did complete the C25K W3D3 workout and am happy about that!

September 8:

Feeling: so-so Weather: cloudy   2.63 mi    14:31/mi

Evening run from the church house. Felt so-so because my left leg was already sore to start with and had a pulled hamstring a little bit. Shins tired. But got through it and felt really good afterwards!

September 15:

Feeling: so-so Weather: sunny   2.22 mi     14:08/mi

this was hard both because it was a morning run and I'm still getting used to mornings and also because of the two five minute intervals. But I felt good afterwards and am happy I got up to run!

September 17:

Feeling: so-so  Weather: sunny  2.15 mi    13:56/mi

I can't wait to feel Awesome when I run! But so far it's only been so-so. But I know I'll get there. I do feel Awesome afterwards! :) Today my legs felt heavy and shins were achy. I hope it's not my shoes because I just got them!

September 19:

Feeling: Awesome!  Weather: sunny   2.21 mi   13:35/mi

Compared to how I'd been feeling before I went running I felt much better because I was running! That's awesome! Plus I beat my personal best for the mile too! Cool!

September 22:

Feeling: Awesome!   Weather: cloudy    2.39 mi   13:49/mi

I felt pretty good even though I was still sleepy from not being up for long. Was able to run my 5 minute runs all 3 of them! But it's becoming psychologically difficult. Have to move past the fear when my heart is pounding & my legs & lungs are burning.

September 29:

Feeling: awesome!   weather: sunny   2.25 mi   13:39/mi

Nice brisk morning for a run. Was to bed late last night but still got up thanks to Alan who told me it was a nice morning for a run. Did two 8 minute runs with a 5 minute walk in between. The 2nd 8 minute run was hard! 20 minute run next time.

And that was my September. I love that starting out I generally felt so-so but then changed to feeling awesome when I run. Not that it doesn’t hurt or doesn’t still scare me but I feel really great and that cancels out the fear and soreness. I also see that my first run this month is the same distance as my last one but my pace is nearly 2 minutes quicker! Of course that has a lot to do with the intervals changing but it also means I am running more than I am walking.

Bring it on October!

Joseph’s Blessing Day

Today Joseph received his name and blessing. We were all so excited!

He is named Joseph Aaron Taber (as is known but now that is officially how he will be known on the records of the church).

Some things from his blessing:

He will be able to love others and be loved by others. I saw a glimpse of that already when his Uncle John held him today. He was very peaceful and happy to be with his uncle.

He will be a great missionary. Mommy has sensed that since shortly after he was born. Following in his daddy’s footsteps.

He needs to be patient and learn how to use his body as he grows and in the meantime he is very frustrated to be squished into such a little body. The experience of Alan and his uncle John during his blessing is that there was a lot of energy coming from this little guy!

Something that was impressed on Alan but he didn’t say is he’s going to be a climber! Look out trees!! (Okay, that frightens me, I better get in shape so I can retrieve him! LOL! …hmmm, maybe we have a tree-house in our future?)

Here are some pictures back at home for our celebratory gathering and dinner:

I realized that I really enjoy having my living room full of good friends and family having a good time and visiting. All the chatter and good will and of course the celebrating give me joy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another realization is that babies seem to be really calm on their blessing day. At least mine have been.

 

Except for when they’ve had too much visiting and they’re HUNGRY!!

(Dad – this picture is great!!! haha!! Can’t believe I caught that!)

 

Pass the baby!

 

The blessing outfit: (he was having it by then!)

Potty Training!

Well, we have entered the land of potty training again! Katherine has been showing signs of being ready for a while but I wanted to wait until we were more adjusted to Joseph’s schedule. Plus I really hate potty training! So much work and mess and tears! Does anyone out there potty train professionally? Can I hire you?!?

Okay, back to reality. Yesterday was day one. I got out the little cotton training pants and stocked up on some m&ms, donned Katherine in potty pants and a t-shirt for the day and sat her on the potty.

She took to it pretty well. She’s not afraid of the toilet. That is a first for us and really wonderful! Plus she has wiping down which was a surprise to me but then again she’s followed her sisters to the bathroom enough to know how to do it!  In fact she really had fun with that part. “More toilet paper mommy!” wipe, toss it in the toilet, and again “More!” I had to learn to hide the t.p. and distract her.

So, no toilet fear and wiping already learned I’m thinking my job is not going to be too difficult this time.

Well…haha! Getting her thinking turned around may be. She doesn’t understand “Before”. As in tell me you have to go potty “BEFORE” you wet your pants. She did not use the toilet once yesterday (was I really expecting her to?). In fact she proved to have “AFTER” down pat. …Sigh, well it was only the first day after all! So we have many wet and soiled pants still in our future. Oh well.

At least this time I have a couple willing and eager helpers! As a reward to Katherine for at least sitting on the potty (I’m not punishing soiled pants – yet) she gets a few m&ms. If her sisters help her, take her to the potty with them, show her the ropes etc. they also get m&ms. Gabby and Samantha are really excited at this chance to earn m&ms and so they have been taking her often! I’m hoping these repeated trips to the potty will make it click and she decides to just do it on her own! (is that wishful thinking?)

Well, wish us luck! May this pass quickly!! (No pun intended…or was it? o.O)

Running Again!

Last year Alan and I trained for and ran our first race in June 2008. We really enjoyed it and it was a lot of fun to do together. But then we dropped running for the most part after that race. I think not having a new goal did us in.

Lately I have been itching for some good exercise and decided to set a new running goal. There is a 5k in Moorestown toward the end of October and so Alan and I decided we would run it.

I was nervous about how much progress I’d lost since that race having not run more than a handful of times since then and the last time being months ago. But I remember being told about this program online called “Couch to 5k” which will have a couch potato running a 5k in about 9 weeks. So I looked it up. The timing is really perfect and the program looks great.

The “C25K” program is based on running/walking intervals that become more challenging as the weeks go on until you are able to run at least 30 minutes at a time and can run a 5k at the end of 9 weeks. There are also a number of pod-casts that you can put on your mp3 player that will play music timed to the different intervals and have a transition in place so you know when to run and when to walk. I really love this because I didn’t know how I was going to handle looking at the watch constantly instead of the road.

So this past week I gave it a go. I set up my mp3 player and laced up my running shoes and went out the door. This was hard for me. For some reason I was afraid to even get started. In fact we’d set the goal to run this race before I’d remembered the c25k program. It took me a while to emotionally prepare for running again and it wasn’t until I’d sat down to find a running program online before I was finally motivated enough to start.

My first run, months and a baby after my last run, I was really excited to find that I hadn’t lost everything – I could still run some, at least for 60 seconds at a time (probably a little more even but I’m doing the program outright and didn’t test myself). This time was much better than where I’d been January of 2008 when running was so foreign to me and I could barely trot to the block. Yay, I’m not completely starting over!

I’ve completed week 1 and look forward to week 2 and really am looking forward to the race. We WILL set goals to run other races after this one and keep going.

I do like to call myself a runner. It’s fun to think that way! I have goals to step up my running and complete 8k, 10k, 1/2 marathon. And yes, someday I think I might even run a marathon.

And while I’m thinking big, hey why not, I even think that someday I might like to do a triathalon. Could I be a triathlete? I think I have it in me.

But, lets get the running down first!