ABC's of Me

A) Age: 29 (for another few months, the big 3-0 in May!)
B) Bed Size: Queen
C) Chore I hate: Anything in the kitchen. Dishes especially.
D) Dogs: No, sometimes I think I want one-but too much work
E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Coffee! and food immediately after, I wake up starving
F) Favorite Color: Blue and Purple. It really depends on my mood
G) Gold or Silver: White Gold or Platinum. Yellow gold looks terrible on my skin.
H) Height: 5'10"
I) Instruments you play: Piano, clarinet, violin, trumpet. I wanted to be a music major once upon a time
J) Job title: Mom, Wife, Dance Teacher
K) Kids: 3 ages 7, 5, 3 1/2 (boy, girl, girl) Never a dull moment in this house!
L) Live: Klamath Falls, Oregon
M) Mom's Name: Jeri Lee
N) Nicknames: Kase, Space-Kase, Spacey-Kasey (seeing a theme here?), and of course MOM!
O) Overnight Hospital Stays: a night or two for each kid, 2 weeks in ICU after baby #3 with major complications. Not fun!
P) Pet Peeve: People who drive 5 under the speed limit, and general stupidity
Q) Quote from a Movie: ooh, tough pick. We talk in movie quotes around here. "I'm getting the pig!!!" (from the movie Red-highly recommend if you like action movies)
R) Right or Left Handed: Right mostly. I can use either for most things
S) Siblings: Older sister, older brother, two younger half-siblings
T) Time you wake up: right now, around 7am.
U) Underwear: Hipsters
V) Vegetable you Dislike: Mushrooms, Lima Beans
W) What makes you run late: My kids, and my husband. I hate being late! The rest of my family has no sense of urgency
X) X-rays You've had: shin, knees, ankle, elbow, wrist, head and spine-okay what haven't I?
Y) Yummy food you make: I am an awesome baker-cakes, cookies, you name it. Real food cooking, I make a great homemade mac and cheese.
Z) Zoo Favorite Animal: Big cats are my favorites, Leopards, Lions, etc

There you have it!

New Running Buddy!

On Sunday afternoon, I got to meet up with my new running buddy, Amber. She knows the area a lot better than I do, so she gave me directions on how to get to a sports complex in town that has trails around it. Fun!

Winter has really hit early here, which I guess isn't all that uncommon. She had thought that the trail would be packed down by cross country skiers, but it was still close to a foot of loose snow. Time for plan B!

The parking lot had been plowed, so we did loops around the roads to the different parking areas. It worked out surprisingly well, one loop was 1.4 miles. It is so great getting to run with someone new, and hear about their running journey. Everyone starts for different reasons, and I love hearing about races! Running with a local was awesome because she was able to give me insight into all the races that are in the area, including one in that same park in just a few weeks. There is a race almost once a month, most are around the 5k distance. Not my favorite, but it is a good opportunity to get better! After an hour of great conversation, we finished with just over 7 miles.

Hills, oh my. The HILLS! This area is HILLY added to the fact I am not used to the altitude. Moving from 1000ft to 4500ft didn't seem like a big deal, but I feel it on those hills. The good news, hills make you a stronger runner, and I have no excuse to avoid them!

The kids are adjusting to the area, although they are already lamenting that it is going to snow everyday FOREVER! They have seen more snow in the last 3 weeks than probably the last 3 years combined.

I am working on getting more comfortable on the treadmill. Covering the display with a shirt helps me not stare at it, but it is still hard to get into a rhythm. If winter continues this way, I will be using the treadmill quite a bit!

Turkey Trot

I was thrilled to find a local running club. I have been struggling through my afternoon runs, and am missing training for something. Mostly I am missing having contact with people other than my children! Cold+Snow+Wind for a week=wild children that are literally climbing the walls!

Today there was a Guess your Time Turkey Trot 5k. I know I am not in fast 5k shape, since I can't remember the last time I did speed work of any kind. Not to mention, I am still getting used to this whole altitude thing. I thought I would go with a conservative 28:00. Then I thought, taking the weather into account, I'd better make that 30:00. This morning, we woke up to 4 new inches of snow, and it was still coming down HARD. Okay, I'll reevaluate the time goal when we get there.

My husband decided to run the race too, which was great! I did ask if he wanted me to pace him and stay with him, or run my own race. He knows me well, and told me to do my own thing. :)

We arrived on time to register, and there were very few people. Everyone was laughing and joking about the conditions. So thankful to have found a fun group to run with! It was still snowing hard, and my feet were already cold.

A snowplow had plowed the road we were to run on, but it had scrapped it down to ice. It was going to be interesting! The original course plan was to go up a trail, but it was too snowy and slick. Instead, we did three laps around the park on the road. Up a big hill, around, down a big hill, around to the beginning. The road was solid ice with a thin layer of snow on it. I decided to make my time guess even slower, not sure what pace I could keep on the slick road. I finally decided on 34:00

It was very relaxed-there were only 9 of us who braved the weather. The race director shouted "go", and we were off. And sliding. Whoa! Sticking to the edge of the road wasn't too bad, but uneven. Coming down the hill I kept slipping and sliding. I was afraid I would fall and hurt myself!

We slipped and slid our way around the course, but it was a blast. The snow was still falling which made the park just beautiful. I realized I was on the last part of my last lap before I knew it. I wasn't ready to stop! Into the finish line, the few that finished ahead all cheering. Finish time, 30:11. Oops. I guess I should have gone back to my original guess. Oh well! Hubby finished in 35:00 or so, which was great! He only had to walk a few times, and did very well.

Afterwards they offered hot chocolate and cider, or water. Very relaxed and fun group. Great to know that they have races about once a month! I didn't feel nearly done running, (I clearly hadn't raced hard enough), so I told my husband to go ahead, and I ran to the house where our kids were staying during the race. It added almost 2 miles I think. There is something so peaceful about running in the snow, even though it is hard work!

How do you Survive the Treadmill?

It is -14 this morning. This is ridiculous! I am thinking this winter could equal a lot of quality time on the treadmill. I went to the YMCA yesterday and got a family membership so we all have somewhere to get our wiggles out, (as my kids put it), when it is cold out. They even have a Zumba class for kids starting at age 4. Funny!

So yesterday was my first treadmill run in a long while. The YMCA is the economical choice, and their facilities are functional without a lot of extras. I have the hardest time getting into a rhythm on a treadmill. I don't know what it is about it, a pace that should be easy makes me tired. There is only one TV in the room, and it is directly above the treadmills. In other words, if you want to watch it, be prepared to look straight up and hope you don't fall off the 'mill in the process. There is a window, but a parking lot is not the most distracting thing to watch. I have my music, but for some reason that isn't enough.

Next issue; It is too cold to run outside, (obviously), but does the gym have to be so HOT? I mean 70++*!!! 10 minutes into my run I felt like I was dying for lack of air. There was one fan in the room, and of course it is in front of the ellipticals (who also have a great view of the TV). Why do I get the feeling they are used more than the treadmills? Hmmm. Do you get used to the lack of air? As nice as it feels to wear shorts and a tank, I would still like to feel like I can breathe!

Ideas? Suggestions? If this week is any indication, it could be a long winter!
What do you do to make it on the treadmill?

I'm Alive!

Hello, long lost blog. It has been a very long time. I somewhat doubt I still have any followers after my long hiatus, but time to start my rambling once again.

So, here's a quick recap. We MOVED! Whoa, crazy. I am now an Oregonian, and am finding that to be very weird. What do you mean, I can't pump my own gas? Okay, now that it's winter, that isn't such a hardship I admit.

Moving was a whirlwind of crazy. We literally had two weeks to get our stuff packed and out of our house. Which meant, we had to find a rental sight unseen on the computer. To add to the crazy, my Grandpa passed away the night before we were packing the truck. Whoa. Okay, I can deal with this. My hubby drove the Uhaul down November 1st, and the kids and I waited a few extra days to attend the memorial.

We moved in to a nice house in a neighborhood we like, (here comes a giant...)BUT, the house smells like DOG PEE!! ugh. Apparently my husband has no sense of smell whatsoever, since the smell about knocked me over coming in the door. The rental agency has treated the carpets twice, and it still reeks. Gross! I am hesitating to really make this "home" until that is sorted out.

Okay, moving on to running. What's that? Oh yes, RUNNING! That thing I like to do. Okay, right now, I don't like it so much. It is cold, and I am having to run in the afternoons now which is not my preference. Hubby's new job has a great schedule, starting work at 6am, and getting done at 3:30. So great to have him home in the afternoons! But it does mean running in the mornings isn't a workable option unless I leave at 4:30am. Um, yeah. So afternoons it is. How do you afternoon runners do it? I am tired by that time of the day, and my motivation is nonexistant.

Things I have learned running here:

• there are no street lights. If I am gone past 4:30pm, be prepared to trip over everything in the dark. the sidewalks are not great
• cars do not move over for you AT ALL
• there are not street signs on all the intersections, so don't assume you can find your way home reading the signs
• there is a paved trail through town Wohoo! downside, it is completely straight, with nothing to look at
• running the trail, be prepared to stop at every intersection it crosses

So, I have been running 3-5 miles, 3-4x a week. Not great, but I am working on it. I am thinking it might be a treadmill kind of winter by evidence of all the snow on the ground, and more importantly, the high for tomorrow is 14 degrees. I guess it's time to embrace the gym!

The good news, there is a local running group! They are doing a Turkey Trot on Saturday. Totally stoked for that. It sounds like they do a short race about once a month. Hoping to meet some fellow runners, and hopefully a running buddy or two for long runs!

A Comedy of Errors

As much as I wanted to run the You Go Girl with the rest of the bloggy buddies, it just wasn't possible this time around. Instead I chose to run the Indian Summer Half Marathon in Richland. You can't beat a $15 entrance fee!

I knew it wasn't going to be the best race since I haven't done a single speed workout, and my only tempo run (if you could even call it that), was three miles. My longest run was only 12 miles, and I have still had twinges of something in my shin. The good news is, I was planning on going into this race relaxed, and ready to just enjoy it and see what happened. I hoped for 10 min miles, but didn't know if I could even hold that pace!

And then, everything went wrong.

The morning of the race, I got up and packed everything up to get in the car. I drove to the ATM for cash. The ATM wasn't working. No big deal, I drove to another one. -5 minutes. I was just about to get on the freeway, doing a mental checklist, (good thing too!) and I realized I FORGOT MY SHOES!!!! Argh! Quick turn around back to my house, and there they were sitting on my porch. Duh, seriously. Preparing for a race with PMS brain was not going well. -10 minutes at least. My extra window of time to get to the race was narrowing.

Finally on the freeway cruising along until everyone slowed down to 45mph for fog. Really? I was going to be cutting it close! At this point, I was hoping to get there 15 minutes before race time.

I get to Richland and pull off on Exit 5A, following the directions I had printed off. I drove, and kept driving. Hmmm, this doesn't look right? I call my husband. No answer. 10 minutes to race time, starting to panic! I go back and try again. Maybe I went the wrong direction in the roundabout? It wasn't there last year. Try to call my husband again. Voicemail. Driving in circles, clearly in the wrong place, but having no idea where else to go! Husband finally calls back and I tell him where I am. He very helpfully tells me I'm lost. Thanks. I get back on the freeway, and finally figure out I needed exit 5B! I pull in and get lucky with a parking spot, the race has already started. To go home, or race anyways?

I go to the table and sign in, the 5k starts. I ask if I can start the half even if I'm late? She said sure, go for it. I quickly pull my hair back; the rubber band breaks. I dig around the car for another one. Hair up, Garmin searching, tie my shoes and I'm off a good 20 minutes late, 5 minutes behind the 5k racers.

I start overtaking a lot of the 5k walkers and joggers pretty quickly. I knew I was going out too fast, but had a hard time slowing to a comfortable pace. At the 5k turnaround, I was the only one to keep going. After another mile, I start catching up to other half marathoners. Whew! Feeling like I'm actually part of the race now. It was warmer than I expected, and I knew the adrenalin was helping me go out too fast. Oh well. Banked time for later?

Between miles 5 and 6, I see my running partner and cheer her on since she is on her way back. I start chatting with people around me, really trying to enjoy the race but keep going at a good pace. I feel like I have settled in at this point.

Last year, when I ran this race, it was going to be my PR course. It is relatively flat, and small and I was in shape to crush my PR of 2:02. I psyched myself so totally out, and had a horrible running day. I had asthma problems from anxiety and felt completely defeated before the turnaround. I finished in something like 2:17.

This year, I reached the turnaround feeling good. Around this point I realized I did not remember body glide. Yeah, uh oh. I was wearing compression shorts, so my legs were okay. I was starting to chafe under my arms. Ouch! I didn't expect it to be so hot. What can you do mid-race? Nothing, keep going knowing I would pay for it later!

I start thinking through the remaining miles, feeling my legs burning out from my fast start. I talk to anyone I pass, trying to occupy my mind. I try embracing the burning in my legs, which works for a time. By mile 10, I was tired. I walked through the water stop after 10, but set a point to run again. I was going to run it in, even if I was tired!

Miles 11 and 12 always feel so long! I was still passing people, but no one felt like talking, myself included. The sun was warm, and I was getting a headache. Did I not drink enough? No, I think I just had a headache. Not a good feeling on the run.

Mile 13 has a cruel twist. You can see the finish line, but you know it can't be that close, right? Run around a corner and realize you follow the river away from the finish and back again. Up the hill to the finish (why is that always the case?). I was thrilled to see lots of people cheering at the finish line. Sometimes in smaller races, not very many stay to cheer. I laugh when i see the clock at 2:30 something, thankful that was not my time. Finish! Garmin time, 2:10:31

Splits:
Mile 1: 9:00 (way too fast)
Mile 2: 9:32 (still too fast)
Mile 3: 9:37
Mile 4: 9:48 (better, where I want to be)
Mile 5: 9:53
Mile 6: 9:55
Mile 7: 9:49
Mile 8: 10:03 (getting a little tired, water stop)
Mile 9: 9:48
Mile 10: 10:16 (tired legs)
Mile 11: 10:48 (water stop)
Mile12: 11:07 (out of steam, slowed to chat with girl who pulled a muscle)
Mile 13: 9:56 (want to be done!)
Mile .1: 9:20 pace

2:10, 9:58 average pace. Way better than I expected! Not a great time, but one I'm proud of considering!
1231 ascent, 1221 descent (lots of rolling hills)

Long Food Confession

Food and I have had an odd relationship for a long time. I grew up a horribly picky eater, (and am so getting payback with two picky eaters of my own-one who won't eat anything but plain pasta) and still am somewhat picky. I was a vegetarian for 10 years until I was pregnant with my first and was anemic. Now I eat only chicken, and only if it is cleverly disguised to not taste like chicken.

When I was around 12, I filled out-not my chest, just my body. It seemed to me I got big overnight. My best friend was as tall as I was, but a string bean. I compared myself to her, and felt big and awkward. Having a brother that teased me about my size did not help my confidence.

By high school, I started worrying over my weight. I would eat 300 calories in a day, then eat 3000 the next. My relationship with food was not healthy, especially for the athlete that I was. In my mind, food=fat. I had no concept of healthy, balanced meals.

I grew up watching my mom do fad diets and ordering infomercial exercise equipment that was used only for hanging laundry. She worked swing shift, so I was left on my own for grocery shopping and meals. One night I would have a lean cuisine, the next a whole frozen pizza with a side of cookie dough, then I would feel horrible with guilt. I briefly tried purging, but for the life of me could not bring myself in puke on purpose.

My senior year I still worried over my size, not understanding that you can't change your frame size. I compared myself to everyone else without a sense of practicality or reason. By summer, I stopped eating as much as I could-and I liked the results.

See, this is the trap with anorexia. It does work as weight loss. At times I would give in to sweets, and I would punish myself by running. I would not have called myself anorexic, and still hesitate to use that title-but the signs were there.

I moved to Montana excited to start out on my own. I was poor, and it is hard to eat at all let alone well when you are poor. When I did eat, it was ramen or something equally cheap and processed. I worked at a restaurant, and for a while that was my only meal of the day. I started dating, and started eating more. Eating can be such a social thing. I still ate like a bird, but I ate without guilt. It was a good thing. I gained a little weight back, but not enough to worry me.

I look back at how I felt then, 125-130lbs at 5'10" and I still felt fat. I still tried to suck in my gut, and worried over arm flab. I look back at pictures from that time and think, I looked bad, all bone! Why didn't anyone tell me I looked bad?

Fast forward, I got engaged, got married. I am eating more and running less, and put on a few pounds. I was embarrassed, but okay with it. I was on the pill which didn't help. I sprained my wrist and my husband had to help me button my jeans. He commented that they were tight. I stopped eating unless I was with him and had to. I knew what I was doing wasn't healthy. I reached out to a few friends, but stopped short of actually asking for help. In my mind, that equaled saying I wanted to get fat.

The second year we were married, I discovered I was pregnant. Wait, what? Birth control failed us, but it wasn't a bad thing-just unexpected. I tried to eat well knowing it wasn't just for me. I didn't gain any weight and was eating a ton. It was great! The doctor complained about me being underweight, but I was thankful to not get fat. That didn't last. Of course I got fat. Have you ever seeing a pregnant woman NOT get fat? Hello! It was hard watching my body change, knowing it would never be the same. After he was born, I was depressed. Montana winter, being cooped up with a newborn when all my friends were in college or playing, and I was fat (in my mind). I had stretch marks. But the depression did work in my favor in one thing-I stopped micromanaging what I was putting in my mouth. I just ate.

Three babies later, I was overweight. And I didn't think I was that bad, although I cried having to buy size 16 pants that were tight. I ate dessert daily, and enough carbs for a whole family. I fed the kids fruits and veggies, but ate few myself. I was over 210lbs and knew I needed to make a change, but before I did-I needed a plan to do it right.

I worked out, still somewhat obsessively-I can't help that. I dieted, but I counted points using old weight watchers tools of my moms to make sure that I ate what I should, not just cutting out food. The weight slowly started to come off. I was relieved to see progress, and it felt good not to be starving. I lost 45lbs.

I started running. The remaining 25lbs came off steadily, and I was finally where I wanted to be. I kept running because it felt great and burned of my stress, but I still needed a goal. Met a friend who turned into a training partner who got me to race. Something to focus on! I am a person who needs goals, and needs a plan. Not to mention a competitive drive in everything. Training to race suited my needs perfectly. Now I was eating to fuel my training, and splurging some without guilt.

Being injured has taught me a lot. #1 you can't eat like when you are running when you aren't. duh, but still true. So I gained weight back. Not the end of the world, but I would like to get back where I was. #2 I don't only run so I can eat like I want and still keep my weight where I want, it is so much more a part of who I am now-I like that about me #3 I do miss eating whatever I want on long run days

#4 I am coming to understand that how my mom dealt with being overweight affected me. I don't want that for my kids, my girls especially. I don't want them hearing and repeating "I'm fat". I want them to have a healthy relationship with food, and the best I can give them is my example. (this topic may need it's own post later since this is way long)

I am easing myself back into running. today I did 5.6 with one mile at "tempo" 8:30 pace. That hurt, but it felt great to push it. I remember when I started running and how HARD it was. It felt that way the first few days, and now it feels like I can go forever again. I'm sure I can't, but it seems like it at mile 3.