Updates

Oh dear, I know it's been a while!  I'm worried that life won't slow down til I die.  Hmmmm....

Many updates to fill you in on.  First and foremost- I ran my half marathon!!!  Well, to say I ran might be an overstatement.  I finished it.  My final time was 2:38.  Yes, that's hours!  I'm not at all ashamed of that time.  I was just striving for completion.  To be honest, my actual goal was to do it in under three hours.

The best part of the whole thing is that Hubby stayed with me throughout the marathon!  Well, at mile 10, he couldn't take my slow pace any longer.  He ran ahead and I lost sight of him for a while.  When I rounded the corner onto the final street, I saw him up ahead on the side of the road, jumping in place and waiting for me.  What a prince!  With his long legs and athletic form, he could have easily finished in under two hours.  But it was more important for him to cross the finish line with me!  The emotion of it actually overcame me and I began sobbing for the last block.  I could see the end in sight and we were about to enter a stadium full of cheering people.  Have you ever tried to cry while totally exhausted?  It's not easy.  It comes out as more of a gasp, like a dying patient taking their last breath.  I got myself under control and was smiling in my final photos (which they watermark with a moving logo so you can't share it at all).  My legs were complete and total jelly when I finished and it was very difficult to stand still.  (You should have seen me trying to use the porta potty...I kept crashing into the disgusting side walls like an intoxicated person!)

The worst part of the story is that I got sick almost immediately after.  I had a sore throat the entire day before.  Then I guess because I wore myself down, I became victim to the attack of all sickie bugs.  I got a horrible cold and a UTI.  I'm just now starting to get some relief from that.

BUT- I have my silver medal and my 13.1 shirt.  I'm one very proud mama.  And if you're wondering....no, I'll never do it again.  It's a bucket list thing and I'm very proud to cross it off.

My second greatest accomplishment since you've last heard from me is that I lost 15 lbs!  I'm so much happier with my current state and feel like I look pretty darn good.  No, I'm nowhere close to looking like those models in the magazines, but for a 37-year old mama of 4....I think I look quite good (not in a haughty, bragging way, of course).  I'll share more later about how I did that.

Baby Girl celebrated her 5th birthday, which blows my mind.  She's not a baby any more and I'm going to have to stop referring to her as one.  We celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese at a joint party with her twin cousin.  They had a great time and I've yet to send out thank you notes.  Ugh!  She always says she's a monkey and requested a monkey cake.  I was relived because it was much easier to design than other things she's asked for in the past!

The kids are back in school and are doing great.  Our district has a new online progress system that is extremely easy to use.  Son #2, who is so very smart with no self-motivation, is doing better than ever.  We check his grades and assignments every day and then Hubby or myself helps him study for any tests.  He currently has one B and the rest are all As and A minuses.  When I know what my kids are capable of, I can't help but demand it.

Hubby has made a big change at work.  Instead of working the inhumane hours he's been accustomed to (leaving before 5 AM and getting home between 6 & 7, or even later during peak season), he's sold his route and truck to the guy who helped him get hired almost 20 years ago.  This guy has been almost like a father to him.  Hubby works directly for him now and does half the work he did before.  He is still leaving early, but after 5 AM.  He gets home most days around 1 PM.  You guys don't understand the difference in his life.  He now has time to do small projects around the house and to be a father and husband to the kids and me.  Yes, his pay went down, but the quality of life he now has is beyond explanation.  He is trying to supplement his lost income by mowing apartment buildings (which he was doing anyhow in his "spare" time).  Come winter time, he might try to get into plowing.  He is also getting a lot more tile cleaning jobs (his other side business) and my photo booth is taking off.  We're going to be OK.  We won't be moving into a mansion anytime soon, but we're OK with that.

Other than those major things, it's just the same old, same old, and some new.
- I'm still doing my teenage girls club at church.
- Son #1 auditioned for, and again was accepted into, the philharmonic orchestra in our area.
- My running buddy got engaged to my "fake" cousin and asked me to be a bridesmaid.  :)
- Some very, very close friends of ours separated due to infidelity and addiction.  It was heartbreaking.  :(
- I still have a messy house most of the time and I'm still saving money couponing.  (Last week, I got all these groceries for $35!  It was my best haul yet!!!)
- My cousin was ordained as pastor of our church over the weekend and my uncle is now the bishop.  It was an exciting weekend and I was able to see a lot of great friends from time past.
- I went to New York City, which was amazing!  (I'll save that for another post.)
- I finished the kids' rooms and realize I still haven't posted Before/After photos.
- I'm still struggling with a mouthy teenager and trying hard to be a firm, consistent mother.
- Son #2 entered the youth group at church, which means he's growing up too.  He seems a lot younger than his brother and I still struggle allowing him to go on outings without me.
- My friend, the designer, finally came over and spruced up my house a bit.  The changes she made make me so happy about how my house looks.  I need her to come over one more time and fancy up one more room.  It's amazing what she can do with very little!
- I'm still taking portraits and even had my first still life photo shoot.  I've never worked with non-humans before and I was out of my element.  My client was very happy with my work, which will be displayed on the website of her brand new business.
- I redid my photo booth website, which is amazing, I must say.  Exercising my design skills has made me improve so much.  I'm really digging graphic design now.

OK, there's lots more, but that's quite enough for now.  That's what happens when a blogger neglects her blog for so long.  I can't make promises that I'll do better.  It's just tough to find the time.  I know all you busy ladies know exactly what I mean.  If you've stuck around- thanks.  I still appreciate you and feel bad I've dropped the ball.  All I can say is I'll blog when I can!  Such is life!  Hope you're all having a very good one!

About Me

Yeah, I know that's a pretty self-centered post title, but isn't that kind of the point of a blog anyway?  It's always about me, baby!  Ha!

I heard from my doctor about the blood work that was done at my last visit.  Turns out, I'm anemic.  She asked me a bazillion times if I was tired all the time.  For a person with 4 kids, I don't think I'm all that tired.  Sure, the nap demons hit me every day at 2:30, but isn't that normal for everyone?  She said taking iron supplements should help pep me up a bit.  I'm sure not going to complain about gaining pep!  I've noticed that, when I run, I'm tiring out way earlier than I should.  I'm training pretty hard right now and I shouldn't feel like dying after a mile.  Maybe this will help.  Until then, I've let my family know that I will be totally working this anemic thing.  I haven't been getting attention for being tired, because I didn't know I was.  I will be making up for that now.

Also, I have hyperthyroidism (again? still?)  My thyroid level is .05, which I'm told is "quite low."  I had problems with my thyroid when I had Baby Girl.  I wasn't producing enough milk to nurse her, so I sought help from a lactation nurse.  She ordered blood work,which revealed the thyroid problems.  At the same time, I was having abdominal pain, which turned out to be appendicitis.  (It was a fun couple of months.)  When I went to have my thyroid scan, they routinely asked if I had had any contrast within the past XX days.  I replied yes.  Surprised, she asked why.  I told her I had a CAT Scan for abdominal pain.  They couldn't find the problem.  So, instead of having a thyroid scan that day, I ended up staying overnight (leaving my 3 week old baby at home) and having my appendix removed.  Talk about a weepy new mom!  The very small amount of milk I produced had to be pumped and dumped.

Look how thin!

Back then, I had obvious symptoms.  My hands were very shaky and I couldn't do anything that required fine motor skills.  Mixing a bottle of formula was a great chore.  I was also very nervous.  Like, if anything out of the ordinary came my way, I flipped out...possibly crying, yelling, or losing control.  I was also very thin, especially for just having a baby.  I have none of those symptoms now.  That's why I was so surprised.  I never got my thyroid checked again.  By the time I recovered from the surgery and past the newborn stage, my symptoms had diminished.  I always assumed it was pregnancy related hyperthyroidism.  Now I'm not sure if it's back or if it never went away.  But the #1 question on my mind is- If I have an overactive thyroid, why am I not thinner than this????

The doctor who gave me these results told me to follow up with my family doctor.  My family doctor is going through a divorce and is pretty much in the middle of a nervous breakdown.  He's losing it.  I really don't want to go to him because I no longer trust his judgement.  He calls his office manager on a regular basis, crying and wanting to talk for hours.  I never respected him highly as a doctor anyway.  His location is awesome and the office manager is a friend who is extremely efficient.  My old family doctor, who is awesome, is further away and his office staff is made up of a bunch of jerks.  So, I just sit here in limbo, not sure what to do.

On a good note, my running is improving, even though it's oh-so-very-hard.  My buddy and I have been trying to run 3 times a week!  I looked at my Nike app and realized I ran 22.7 miles in the month of July!  That's definitely a record for me!  On Tuesday, I ran a 5K in 34:45.  I believe that was my best time ever for that distance.  Tonight, I think we're supposed to run 3 or 3.5 (my buddy keeps track of our schedule) and then 5 on Saturday.  It really helps me to have a schedule to follow.  If I set a goal to run 3 miles, I can stop short.  I'm only disappointing myself.  If the schedule says I have to run 3 miles, I must.  I can't go against the schedule.  I don't know...it works for me.

A weird thing though, my right foot has been falling asleep when I hit 2.5 - 3 miles.  It starts out tingling, then it goes dead asleep.  I've never experienced that before.  I've tried hydrating more and using sports drinks.  If I stop and walk briskly, it eases up but still tingles.  When I stop completely, the feeling comes back right away.  Anyone ever heard of that?  I have never felt like I was in danger of falling.  I don't feel like it affects my run.  It just feels super weird.  I'm wondering if it's related to one of the problems above?

Even though I'm still only running short distances, I'm much better off than I was the past three years at this time.  I am doing more of a run/walk combo, but I can keep my speed up if I do that.  My friend runs consistently without walking.  I walk 3 or 4 times briefly during a run and end up finishing with or before her.  I'm still not sure about this 13.1 miles...we'll see!

I Did It! (Well, Sorta)

I survived the longest run of my life!  Here's how it went:

All week, rain and chilly temperatures were forecasted so I was pretty nervous.  Turns out, we had absolutely perfect running weather!  It was in the high 50s to start and got up somewhere in the mid-high 60s.  The sun even peeked its head through a bit.

I slept better this year than last year.  The last time I remember looking at the clock, it was almost 1:00 AM.  Last year, I think I went down to the couch around 3.

We woke up bright and early, tried to force down some breakfast, and met friends at 5:45.  We fought the traffic together and found parking spots within walking distance.  (Irritating:  they advertised free parking throughout the entire downtown area.  Two of our running buddies were charged $5 to park!  One had to leave because he had no wallet with him and the other said she only had $3.  They accepted it and let her park.  I think that's ridiculous!)

We found our first leg partner, who got there before we did.  We also ran into several other friends who were running the half (one who was fatter than me- ha ha).

It took a total of nine minutes for everyone to even begin.  Isn't that wild?  There were so many people, so much cheering, so many cow bells, and even people beating on pots and pans.

Next, Hubby and I walked to our relay point because we were both running the same leg.  Then we waited.  And waited.  We got to see the lead runners, who were keeping a 5-minute pace!  One was local, one was from Kenya.  I had to pee several times from all the hydration.  Don't ya just love porta pots?

Hubby's teammate arrived.  He took off and I knew I still had more waiting.  Finally, it was my turn.  I didn't see my partner, I just heard a moan and the word, "She!"  She crashed to the ground due to a blown out knee.  I grabbed my snap bracelet and took off.  I didn't feel ready, even after all the waiting.  I had only half-heartedly stretched.

Almost immediately, I had a huge downhill.  I know you're supposed to pace yourself but I briefly felt like a little kid again.  I ran down the hill as fast as my legs would go without tripping and falling foward.  Looking back on it, I'm actually shocked that I didn't fall flat on my face!

Let's skip ahead...mile 5 for me.  Yowzers, this is harder than I thought!  I hadn't stopped to walk yet, even through water stations.  Finally, I had to slow my pace.  I was beginning to feel sickish and didn't want to pass out.  Unfortunately, once I crashed, I never got my second wind.  The next few miles were sheer torture.  I missed the carb gel handoff and wished I had made a way to get some.  I ran, I jogged, I walked.  I prayed and asked God to get me through this.

Finally, my iPod (with Nike+) said I had one km to go!  I could do this!  I picked back up my pace and talked myself into running the rest of the way.  It counted down, "500 meters.  400 meters.  200 meters."  I was almost done!  Then finally, my iPod said, "Congratulations!  You have reached your 10K destination!"  What the heck?  If I've reached my destination, where in the world is my handoff partner?  I kept running until I saw The Hill.  Dear glory, there was no way I was making it up that thing running.  So I walked.  Again.  This was the fourth time.

I know my story is long so I'll get to the end.  I eventually reached the relay point, feeling closer to death than ever before in my life.  I handed off and sunk into the arms of my waiting husband.  My eyes actually filled up with tears as I embraced the intense exhaustion that consumed me.  I walked slowly, grabbed a bottle of water, then immediately boarded a bus.  Of course, every seat was taken so I had to stand for the 20 minute drive to the finish line.

So I did it.  I finished.  I wasn't able to run the entire leg but I made it through.  According to my iPod (whom I am quite ticked at) I ran 11.51 km in 1 hour, 12 minutes, and kept a pace of 10 min., 6 sec. per mile.  Not true.  I actually ran 10 km in 1 hour, 12 minutes.  If my math skills serve me well, that's almost 11 1/2 minutes per mile.  Weak, I know.  But it was all about finishing for me.  And I finished.

So next year, do I take on the longest relay leg or am I just kidding myself?  :)  Thanks for reading my long story.  I know it's probably boring for you but I am really glad to have it documented here.  Run on!

I Got Nike

Thank you to all my loyal supporters out there!  I got the Nike + for my iPod over the weekend!  I didn't even have to do much begging and whining!  :)  The family was shopping at Target for a birthday gift and a few other school supplies when we passed the electronics department.  My husband and sons are always drawn in to that area at any store.  I think the computers and video equipment send out magnetic rays that pull in all men. 

The little orange Nike box was hanging from the shelf right by where the boys were standing, looking at iPods.  "I want that," I simply said to Hubby.  "What is it?" he asked.  I gave him a brief description of what it would do for my running program.  I hadn't even whipped out my petition yet when he picked it up and tossed it into the cart.  Guilt was beginning to creep up because of The Plan I had so secretly hashed.  So I said that he didn't need to buy it for me...I still had birthday money left.  He insisted.

Back at the car, I tossed him a twenty, which covered roughly two-thirds of the cost.  He said he'd take the money but would add it to my new camera fund.  So it was definitely a win/win weekend for me!

I was able to get out once so far with my new gadget.  It worked perfectly, even though I still have a few things to adjust.  I only got in two miles before the feeling of dying set in.  My running buddy is out of town and I really need her to come back.  I need her odd way of encouraging me....she calls me things like Fatty McButter Pants.  I'm getting sentimental just thinking about the degrading slander that motivates me so. 

So, thanks again for your support.  Hopefully I'll be running miles and miles soon.  If not, I have nothing else to blame it on. 

I Need Nike

I want this.  It's a dandy little chip that attaches to your shoe.  Somehow, it links to the iPod Nano I already have and calculates the distance I run.  No, I don't want this.  I need this. 

It seems like I spend all my running time trying to figure out how far I've run.  One of the trails I frequent has markers every quarter mile.  That's fabulous.  But I've outgrown that trail.  My running buddy suggested a new trail that's perfect for the distance we're running right now.  She already has Nike Plus for her iPhone PLUS the special shoes that hold the dandy little chip.  When we run together, she shouts out the distances.  At the end, she says how far we ran, how long it took, how many minutes per mile we ran, and how many calories we burned.  But when we're not together, I fret.  I wonder how much farther I have to go to meet my goal.

Last night, I convinced Hubby to come out running with me for the first time since the last marathon.  He is so much faster than me but I should have way more endurance built up.  The first mile or so down the trail (I can't be sure, I don't have Nike+ yet), I kept up with the 6'2" sprinter.  That wore me out so quickly!  About the last quarter mile, I gave up and slowed down to a more comfortable pace.  I was so thrilled that he made it two miles for his first run!  (I tracked it on mapquest when we got home.)  So that makes about 8 1/2 miles for me in a week.  Not bad, eh?

Would you like to sign the petition that says I need Nike Plus for my running needs?

Run, Forrest, Run!



These shoes have traveled many miles!



Just a quick update to let all my running buddies know that the training is going well!  Race day is only 40 days off so I've got my work cut out for me.  Thursday, I hit 3 miles for the first time ever!  I couldn't have been more proud of myself!  I remembered back to a little over a year ago when I got totally winded at less than a quarter mile.  I wondered what I had gotten myself into and didn't think I'd ever even run a mile.  I walked several times throughout my 3.5 mile marathon leg but completed it in about 40 minutes. 

This year, my leg is almost double so I have a lot more work to do.  Tonight, I ran 3.25 miles in 30 minutes!  If I can increase my run by a quarter mile twice a week, I'll be golden!  That's a hefty goal though.

So, toot toot!  That was my horn and I'm tooting it!

I did it!

I successfully completed my leg in the marathon today! I feel such a sense of accomplishment and plan on doing it again next year! 3.5 miles in 40 minutes...not bad for a first try!

Run, Forrest, Run!

Tomorrow is the big day...My Marathon Day. (Please insert Chariots of Fire theme song here.) I am nervous and excited. I have been so busy these last few weeks that my training didn't progress as far as I had hoped. I never ran the full length of my leg. Hopefully I'll be OK...if I have to walk intermittently, the world will not end. So send me happy thoughts tomorrow morning....never mind, you will probably still be in your comfy bed snoozing happily. I have the first leg, which starts at the butt-crack of dawn. Well, pleasant dreams to all of you.

Perfect Saturday

I started off the day by running 2.8 miles through a beautifully wooded path. (I must admit, there was about 1/2 mile of walking.) I was able to see the flowery meadows of summer and the beginning leaf changes of fall. Next, I relaxed on a hammock while the sun warmed my face. I then had lunch with my father and brother, an extremely rare occasion. After that I visited with Grandma, a bittersweet few moments. Her mind gets worse each day. Finally, I proudly got a good portion of my house clean. It was past due. Tonight, I will enjoy Pastitsio and Loukoumades at a Greek Festival with my handsomely Greek hubby. My wish today is that you were able to enjoy a Saturday as perfect as mine.

Still Running...

I hit a milestone last night....a 2 mile run without stopping! I am so proud of myself that I must toot my own horn! If you knew me personally, you'd understand. First of all, I hate to run. Secondly, I haven't run in 15 years. And lastly, I struggled to run a quarter mile a month or so ago. So, to see this much progress is so exciting to me! I think I'll make my marathon leg after all! I think it's all due to the darling new kicks I got over the weekend! Pink makes all things better!

Running Update

Well, I felt like I was going to die but I finally ran 1.25 miles last night! AND it was over 80 degrees outside! The first time I ran, I only made it .25 mile before stopping. The second time out, I made it .75 mile. Tonight was my third official run, not counting using the elliptical. So I am very proud of my increase!

OK, enough bragging for now...! 8 weeks to go!

My List #78

#78 on My List of 100 is about the marathon leg I am running. I am happy to admit that I have finally started training! I am very disappointed, however, with how far I can run before getting totally out of breath. I think high school was the last time I really ran. I have a long way to go!

I have been running in the evenings in a local parking lot, which has been very difficult with the 90+ degree weather we've been having. But I enjoy running laps while my kids ride their bikes.

I also went on a 10-mile bike ride in the 90 degree heat. It was so lovely that it didn't feel like training at all. We drove up to the Great Lakes and found a beautiful island that had miles of bike trails and beaches. Which leads me to #62 on my list - I love sitting on the beach and reading a book. Where we were was so gorgeous that you couldn't tell you weren't sitting by the ocean. Who knew the Great Lakes were so lovely?