YOU Help Keep Me Motivated!!

You do! Your words of encouragement help more than you know. Really.

I'm not an attention-getter type of girl. I like being bland, blending in, not being in the spotlight and not being memorable. So, when I'm running, I try to "zone out" and not really pay attention to what's going on around me. The less I look at the cars going by, the happier I am. I get a lot of comments from people like "I saw you out running!" Yeah, I bet you did. But I didn't see you. I try not to see anyone.

Lastnight, I think everyone I knew was out. SIL drove by and beeped the horn, several neighbors were on their way home from work when I was out, and another neighbor's son was litterally hanging out of the truck window when they drove by me - laying on the horn, yelling words of encouragement to me. I gotta admit, it made me smile. And, pick up my pace a little. Who wants to look like their dying when the neighbors drive by?!?

Which gets me back to all of you. Your comments here, via e-mail and on SCS make me smile. Your words mean so much to me and I'm thankful and grateful for you all.

Thank you for your kind words. They mean so much and they definitely keep me going.

Oh, and I am defintely going to post my card for Dawn's color challenge. I just can't seem to get it photographed. I'll get there - eventually.

Rate My Week! March 15-21 and Advice from the Wolfe Brothers

In an effort to improve my all-around health, at the beginning of each week I've decided to stop and take stock of how I've done the previous week. I'll use a scale of 1-10 to rate how healthy I think my week was.

It's Monday March 23, so I'm going to rate my week for March 15-21. I'll give last week a 7.5 (I couldn't go with an 8 - wouldn't leave me much room for improvement - and my week was better than a 7. How's that for reasoning? ;)

I did get in 4 good runs, I tried to increase my intake of veggies, and I had very little chocolate. I did consume too many Golden Oreos with Chocolate Cream Filling, but I did need to indulge somehow.

The scale slid just a bit - a good thing. Any decline is good for me.

Okay, so March 15-21 is a 7.5 on the Healthy Scale.

Now, some advice from my Brothers-in-law. Two very different conversations on two very diverse topics: running and religion.

First, the condensed version of my conversation with Brother Doug - who came up with a simplified view of mankind some 15 years ago during an evening of induldging in some spirits with friends. Doug's view revolves around being a "LCHB": Loving, Caring Human Being. Doug's views are that if everyone simply acted as a Loving, Caring Human Being, the world would be a better place in general. I agree. Enough said. (Sorry, I'm not going to go into how this came up during our conversation about organized religion. I don't want to debate religion, defend my views - or lack thereof - or attack anyone else's views on the subject).

On to Brother Steve's advice about running. First, a bit of background on Steve. He's a runner. Has been for many, many years. If it involves running, he's done it: Boston Marathon (more than once), Ultra Marathons, Ultra Relays, Triathalons, snowshoe racing, you get the idea.

Well, during a chat this weekend, it came up in conversation how much I'm running. Not how far, but for how long. Steve told me and Matt that if we're not running for at least 30 minutes (and that's the bottom of the barrel minimum), it's not worth our time to even go out. I agree, in theory, so long as it's not 15 degrees with snow, ice and wind. In good weather, I agree whole-heartedly.

So, I've taken Steve's advice as a personal challenge - no more 28 minute runs for me! Steve told me that 40-45 is good for me. I'll go with that. It'll be at least 40 minutes for me from now on. Thanks, Steve!

Okay, back to eating my baby carrots. Shooting for an "8" this week! ;)

Why We "Run"

I use the term "run" very loosely here. I'm not a real runner - although there are certain magical times when I'm out exercising that I do feel like a real runner - what I do can more accurately be described as panting, gasping for breath, sucking wind, or if you're being polite - jogging.

I was thinking about this today while I was out for a run. I ran over 4 miles today - finally back to my "normal" pre-winter distance (boy, I love Spring!). I was thinking about why I do this self-inflicted torture several times per week, and why I'm still doing it after nearly a year.

Matt and I talk about it sometimes. We don't look like runners. We're short. We have short legs. We have flabby stomachs. It's okay, I can say this about both of us and not be worried Matt will be angry. We are what we are, and supermodels we aren't.

So, why do we do it? Well, we do it so we don't gain tremendous amounts of weight and have trouble walking let alone running. We do it because if we stop and then try to start up again, we know it will hurt. A lot. Those first few weeks are so painful on the legs. We don't ever want to go back to Stage 1.

We do it because we actually enjoy it. Shocker! Well, not so much a shocker for Matt - he's been running faithfully for years. He did cross country in high school and has run for several years since then. Me, it's a total shocker. I've run off and on (mostly off) since before I had Alie. I was quite consistent before I got pregnant with her and the fell off the wagon - succumbed to morning sickness and "can't get my lazy arse out of bed" sickness as well.

After I had Alie, I came back to running - did a few 5K's (pushing Alie in the jogging stroller even). I left running for a few years when I had Colby and now I'm finally back at it. More consistent than ever before. Since I'm done having kids, I think I might actually stick with it this time. Running has been like a good, old friend to me. No matter how long you're out of touch, that friend always welcomes you back like it was just yesterday that you were together.

But, I'm no runner. As I said before, I'm short, overweight and I'm not athletic at all. But, I'm still plodding along - albeit at a snail's pace. I don't run for speed (do I really need confirmation of how truly slow I am? Really.). I don't run for distance (I don't clock every route to see how far I've gone - sometimes, but not usually). I run simply because I enjoy it.

Enjoyment. Now, that's somethin'.

I Need a Plan

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed these days. Although Alie's sports schedule has calmed down a bit now that basketball is over and my busiest time has passed at the office, I'm still feeling disorganized. The weather will get warmer (eventually), so we'll be outside more - running, kids' sports activities, yard work, etc. That means that the inside of my house will suffer more than it has already this winter. I can't keep up with everything that I need to - work, transporting kids to their activities, monitoring homework, exercising, cleaning, cooking, etc.. So, I've decided that I need a plan.

I love lists! I have checklists for nearly everything at the office. Even the most mundane tasks get put on a checklist - what a great feeling to make that check mark! So, I think I need to develop some checklists at home. Not too overly detailed because we'll all get bogged down in the minutia of it all if there's too much on it.

I think I need a daily/weekly checklist for at least myself and a chore and homework checklist for the kids. I hope this will help all of us get more accomplished in less time.

I've never had a formal "house keeping" plan (e.g. dust on Tuesdays, floors on Fridays, etc.) or an exercise plan, but I'm gonna start. I would like to have a formal exercise plan in place by the time spring arrives. Right now, it's hard to work around the weather, but in the Spring when Matt and I are back to running in the morning before work (i.e. 5:00 a.m.), I want to have a plan (e.g. Mondays will be intervals/speedwork, Wednesdays will be hills, etc.). In short, I need to exercise more. Running alone just isn't cutting it - I should be exercising every single day.

I would also like to get a better handle on the food we're consuming - adding more veggies, less junk food, etc. I don't feel like I've got this food thing under control (for any of us), so I would like to work on a plan for that, too.

My first charge will be to spend some real time cleaning this week. I haven't seen my dining room table completely free to "stuff" since Christmas. That's sad. I need to get the house in decent shape and then work on my checklists.

That's my goal for the weekend - cleaning, organizing and planning. Wish me luck . . .

So What if I Look Ridiculous, At Least I'm Doing Something!

WARNING - This post contains nothing of value. It's all mindless ramblings.

It was warm here today. 55 degrees! That's warm for the end of Feb. in New England. It was windy and rainy (oh, and dark) when I ran tonight, but it was still warm. I ran with a smile on my face the whole way. Not the usual grimace of pain from legs giving out on me or lungs not getting enough air. This was a real smile. A grin, even.

Oh, and since it's Friday, our little downtown was busy. Lots of people coming home from work, doing errands, stopping at the store, picking up take out, etc. Our downtown is small and quaint, but we have a few things here - during my runs I pass by three pizza places, one Chinese restaurant, a video store, a gas station, a Rite-Aid pharmacy and a small grocery store.

Near the end of my run, I went by the gas station and there was a woman getting gas. I ran to the end of the block and then walked back to cool down. I swear this woman kept looking at me. I didn't recognize her, but that doesn't mean much - I'm not so great at recognizing people from afar. This got me thinking - although I don't see a lot of people when I'm out running, I know a lot of people see me.

I'm pretty oblivious when I run. I'm concentrating on not having a heart attack, trying not to step in every puddle or slip on every ice patch. I'm just trying to make it through the run. I know a lot of people see me because friends and acquaintances tell me they see me. But, I like not seeing them. It's easier than trying to wave at cars that pass or acknowledge the folks that call out the car window as they drive by. Ignorance is Bliss.

I don't normally give much thought to what people are thinking about me when they see me. I don't much care. I have friends who won't run, ride a bike or even walk out in public because they're afraid of what people think. I so don't care. I'm out doing something, which is more than many other people are out doing. So what if I look Ridiculous. At least I'm doing something!

Super Party

We aren't really social. The kids are, but we aren't (especially Matt). So, as a tease, we told the kids we were having a Super Bowl party and all our friends would be there. We joked about it throughout the week - we wouldn't have room for all the cars to park, we needed to bring all the folding chairs upstairs for people to sit, etc. I think the kids might have believed us for a while, but they caught on. Finally, during one of our conversations, the kids told us they didn't believe us.

Alie said that "Dad doesn't like people and all of mom's friends are pretend except for Lauren and Amanda." Colby said that "Dad doesn't have any friends except for Ray." I have smart kids. Well, Ray came over - for a drink even - but alas, there was no Super Bowl Party.

The kids were spot on. We're lame.

I shouldn't be doing this . . .

I've wanted to start a blog for a while - wanted a place to ramble, post pix (mostly of the kids) and, in some way, document a bit of my life. Mostly for me, but for my children as well. I have little desire for people to visit, comment or read what I'm posting here. But, I figured I'd jump on the blogging bandwagon and do a little something for me. This is it, I guess.