Run Jac Run 🏃🏻‍♀️

Week 15 (of 2023)

Wow! Week 15!! I might have forgotten to mention that my social media hiatus ended over the weekend. I scrolled a little but at most spent only 10 minutes on my phone. But as the week went on, I found myself gradually getting on more and more – and I kind of hate that.

Monday (4.12.23) – no workouts but I got a good amount of painting done at night!

Tuesday (4.11.23)– 4 miles run, .44 miles cooldown, total mileage today is 4.44 mi and I HOOOOPE I get good sleep tonight!!

I thought I would get good sleep last night because of my run. I was ready to conk out on my way home from work, but a second wind took me. I didn’t paint after the kids went to bed. I decided a movie and hang out would be nice. I laid down around 9:30-10ish but it was nearly impossible to sleep. Now I’m wondering if it’s just lack of magnesium and less social media. More like no social media since I have barely scrolled. The things that used to interest me are gone. But I don’t want to delete because I have so many online friends – real friends that I’m nervous if I delete I would not have them “IRL” some would… Some do… But others wouldn’t. I have maybe 3 peoples contacts from my online running community that I’ve spoken to, only 1 person I’ve been able to meet up with, she was in Mississippi. And the other 2 are too far up north.

Wednesday (4.12.23)- GOAL– get me so tired and out of energy I sleep like a newborn baby that’s just had its fill of mama milk.

Plan- run 5 miles (10 min/mi) + strength
Actual: 4 mi steady at 6.0 and then .5mi at 3.8. total of 4.5 miles. No strength because TIME LIMITS but I did stretch.

Thursday (4.13.23) morning check in – I slept like a baby full of mama milk! It was raining all night long, so that helped a ton lulling me. We (Hendrix and I) have been on a Harry Potter marathon the last few weeks watching all the movies. But I had never read or seen the Deathly Hallows, and as the series has progressed it has gotten a lot more intense. So, we decided parents needed to watch Deathly Hallows first to make sure it wouldn’t induce nightmares lol. Saw Part 1 last night! I think he can watch it, but gotta wait to see Part 2… because you gotta be able to see both parts! Also, while watching the movie we enjoyed 50% off easter chocolates! Lol

I am excited to resume painting. I took a couple nights off, but I really want to get back to it! 🙂

Thursday (4.13.23) – rest day… Which was needed because my arm has been hurting as if I’ve been lifting weights (but only one arm lol) and then the rest of my body deteriorated as the day went on. My head started hurting.. all that. I did take the dog for a walk after Hendrix finished tutoring and hazel was napping her last nap. I really didn’t want to walk because I was just hurting but once we got outside it actually felt really nice. It was a quick 15 minute walk and then we got to making dinner. But it was nice, and the weather was crisp and not muggy! I don’t know if I’m excited for summer or not, it can be so unbearable at times…

Today, I wore something I never thought I would wear…. DENIM ON DENIM LOL THE CANADIAN TUXEDO!

He needs a bath so badly, hopefully this weekend if the weather is nice we can get it done!

I love our neighborhood walks and how the sun hits the tree tops when it’s lowering. Over those trees about 3/4 of a mile is the Mobile Bay. Which currently looks like chocolate milk because of the storm but lol it’s fun that it’s so close

The night before we had a storm and on the walk I found this tree split. Looks like someone already came to cut it up a bit.

We made it an early night, and I am happy to report I fell asleep QUICKLY and stayed asleep 😁 hopefully I am back to normal

Friday (4.14.23) – I realized something major the other week… I love starting my mornings unbothered. I love my kids, but first thing in the morning I want to sit and look out the windows and drink my coffee in silence. And this morning, I really relished in that act of solitude. 🙂

4.5 mi running but my left ankle at the end started hurting on the inside so then I did a .5mi cool down making a total of 5 miles!

This shirt was washed! Haha I just happened to grab it out of the dryer this morning despite wearing it Wednesday

Saturday (4.15.23) – this morning was absolutely gorgeous!! The sun was out shining and the temperature was perfect! We went on a few walks, talked to neighbors and pulled weeds. Once the baby took her nap I popped out to do some painting! And when they all went to bed for the night I did another hour of painting! Just a little longer and I will be done!

Sunday (4.16.23)- morning enjoying coffee, we all slept in till 8am after an early morning wake up because of a thunderstorm. We went to the playroom so Jesse could sleep a little longer and the kids could be loud! It’s in a completely detached space from Main house so it’s nice to not worry about noise.

While I really wanted to go on a run in the morning and outside, it didn’t really work out that way. But I was able to get in my 6 miles in the evening! Way too scared to watch The Watcher lol so I went for Emily In Paris and Grace and Frankie instead. Much more chill and not scary vibes!

Total mileage for week: 19.94! Woo hooooooo we back baby

Also, I mentioned we had a little storm roll through, it knocked down a few trees!! Here’s one near us.

Did you do anything big last week? How was your weather? This Saturday is the Crawfish festival/5k! And there is a music festival which I am very excited to see the kids jam out to haha!

Week 14 (of 2023)

Monday (4.3.23)- walks around the block but no intentional movement.

Do you like jello? I never really used to, the consistency of it was always so weird to me! But I had a hankering for some jello and surprisingly I enjoyed it as well as everyone else in the family! So I got some more packets (the premade stuff) and we made more. I got peach flavor! New favorite amongst the family lol

Tuesday (4.4.23)- last night i had so much trouble sleeping, my hips hurt… My legs hurt – almost as if I had worked out but I think they started aching from lack of use! So tonight I did that run speed where you feel like you could for 50 hours. That comfortable trot where you could say a speech and not get winded, you could cheer on your friends and not take any extra breaths … That kind of speed My body was aching from not doing any workouts lately. Idk what’s up, but I’ve prioritized everything else above intentional movement. Not tonight, I got the kids down and laced up my shoes. 5 min on the tread, a round of weights (squat to press up, renegade rows, squat something or other) and then back on the mill for another 5 minutes and repeat x 4. So I did a little over 20 minutes and I got a great sweat in!! 1.75 miles total. And then I slept like a baby who sleeps through the night! And woke up a little stiff, but nothing a stretch couldn’t handle. I don’t know why I stop working out, well I do…. I don’t have a real race to train for and I am trying to venture into so much more than just physical activity. But I have to remember that I NEED that physical activity as well as the other stuff.

What do you do for hobbies? I have always loved art, and did art classes from 7 years old through high school. However, I am an absolute perfectionist and it has gotten way worse over the years to where if my drawings dont look like how I see them in my mind, I immediately get discouraged and let down. But, I want to start experimenting more, I want to dip paint brushes in paint and let out more of my creative side. Hendrix loves to draw, and will watch tutorials on how to draw things and they come out great! But he, like me, is a perfectionist when it comes to art and doesn’t like to draw from scratch and likes to be told how to draw it so it comes out near perfect. Hazel just started learning how to make lines with chalk and I introduced crayons but she tried eating them 😂.

Tuesday 35 minutes and 3.1 miles while watching The Watcher which during one scene almost made me fall off the treadmill because it frightened me so much! It’s funny when I stop going to the gym for a bit the major anxiety kicks in when I go there. But I am entitled to a lunch, I gotta remember that! In the evening me and the youngest went on a walk. She is able to go further and further each week! While I carried for half the walk back home (only a .5 mi) she was excited to see the neighbors house she recognized and went up to their Easter decorations. I can’t believe it’s Easter!!

😂 yes! She’s still wearing the same shirt, but it got changed that night haha

Wednesday (4.5.23) – 40 minutes on the treadmill but no picture taken!

Friday (4.7.23)- had a really terrible sore neck and couldn’t move, a run would have made it worse! So instead I enjoyed a car picnic and let the sun warm me up. Jesse got to go fishing and caught some yummy fish for us! But we haven’t eaten it just yet – I think fresh fish is the best, but any fish is good lol

Saturday (4.8.23)- I started painting the lighthouse! It was so fun! I listened to music and painted and it was great.

Sunday (4.9.23) – Easter egg hunts! And it was so cold that we meandered inside and outside throughout the day, ran around a little but mostly stuck to inside play. While the babe was sleeping i got some more painting in. It is A LOT of fun! I didn’t realize how much I missed that creative outlet. I do wish I got in a run, but there’s only so much time in the day!

Week 13 (of 2023)

Monday – (3.27.23) 1.5mi walk – there was a dog loose and although he seemed very friendly I didn’t want to wrestle River away since he also loves other dogs. So we turned around a little less than half way around. Which is just fine because it is HUMID

After our walk, we swung on the bench swing and then went to the playroom for a bit. My main goal in the afternoons is to tire this little girl out!! Then she will go to sleep early and I get the night to do whatever I want.

Dinner – reluctantly got pizza for the kids! You can never go wrong with 🍕

Tuesday (3.28.23)- 40 minute run/walk with increasing the running speed each time. 3.26 mi plus AMRAP weights for 10 minutes alternating between squat pulses, lunges, press ups, rows, suitcases pick ups, and 4 minutes of intense abs! It’s amazing what some intentional movement can do. Or maybe it’s the mirrors in the gym, they make me feel like I look really really fit. Must be some funny mirrors

Jesse went fishing last night and this was his big catch: 22-in white speckled trout! Yummy yummy. It was a slow fishing night for most of the night but then around 8:30pm it turned on and he was having a ball! Hazel slept from 7:30-9pm and then we ran around and played till he got home (around 10:30!!) It is nice not always sticking to the schedule and not getting my “feathers ruffled” when things don’t go to plan. She is hilarious!

Also, as a millenial, I was introduced to social media at the ripe age of 13, when MySpace came about. And then it all spiraled to Facebook -> Instagram -> Twitter -> Tiktok. Needless to say, I do a lot of scrolling on my phone…. And it was GETTING ME DOWN. I felt like I was tied to my phone always, and I hate that feeling. So, last Monday, March 20th at 7:30pm I decided NO MORE. I haven’t been on any social media. And it was a little difficult, I was bored and didn’t know what to do during the day while I was slow at work. Now, I am finding more things to do at work and get more done. I wasn’t depressed, but I was feeling off always scrolling – does that make sense? Anyway… I feel so much lighter, so much better… just good. Some people know that I am off, so they don’t worry about me. But, other than that… I haven’t missed much. I have been trying to take more pictures just for “me” and not for social media and it’s been fun! Gathering little imperfect moments just for us, not for viewers. Maybe, for you guys! But that’s all.

Have you guys seen The Watcher?? Um… it’s freaky! I started while I was on the treadmill at the gym in the MIDDLE OF THE DAY and continued watching it *shhhh* during work while I was entering reports- I will definitely not be watching this on the treadmill at home at night, at night alone, at night with anyone. lol. Omg how freaky! I had a hard time sleeping too!

I think the worst / best part of this series is that when you move to a new place, a place where you don’t know anyone, or maybe you do… how well do you really know your neighbors? Ding Ding! Three years ago we moved across the country… we COULD HAVE VERY WELL gotten into a situation like this! Luckily, we have some great neighbors! But, it could’ve gone way worse!

Wednesday (3.29.23)- Woke up to a COLD morning! It’s been 70 and humid all week in the morning, so we could go out in shorts and tanks first thing. This morning was not the case! Jacket needed today! lol

Thursday 3.30.23 – 2 mi walk

Friday 3.31.23 – ran around all over the neighborhood trying to catch River. Strength completed after lol

Saturday 4.1.23 – 17k steps worth of walking and running after hazel

Sunday 4.2.23 – 16k steps worth of walks ( 2 – 2 mi walks completed ) and again running after River who has become an escape artist.

Next week I really need to make sure to get in more runs! My 5k is coming up quickly!D

Also, spent the week listening to this book which is amazing and also so sad

Week 12 (of 2023)

Welcome spring!

Monday – walk around the shopping center and playing at a park while the oldest goes to tutoring. Also did A LOT of pushups and pulse squats!

Walking around in the evening waiting for big brother

Tuesday – walks in the evening!

Wednesday – back on the gym ish! 2.5 miles and then upper body!

What a horrendous night of sleep! Apparently I was kicking a lot and just being an absolute monster. I was sleeping on my back over blankets and apparently Jesse. I woke up and my back almost seized up. Gaw, I hate getting older. Sleeping wrong = a terrible amount of pain!

Thursday – 2 mi walk with River and Hazel, it sure is warming up!! 78° this afternoon

Friday – walk around the block a few times then watched as a tornado demolished most of Mississippi – did you see that?? It was HUGE! absolutely devastating

Saturday – foggy, lots of moisture and around 70° and growing more humid and hot as the clock ticked on. We set out for 8 miles, I settled with 6.5mi, around mile 5 hazel woke up and I stopped for us to have water and snacks. I decided to make myself a peanut butter, banana and honey sandwich – omg so good! But because I ate the majority of it in one sitting it felt super heavy! So it was difficult to keep running. I did have a couple bites before throughout the run. It was a little difficult to eat but wasn’t heavy on the stomach when it was just 1 bite at a time. It sure was delicious though!

We were going to do two loops around the old Towne but 1.5 was all that was done. We parked at a park that has a BUNCH of pickleball courts.

So, the man you can barely see behind me… we call him the Colonel because he reminds us of an old Colonel “stuck” in his habits of WW2. Every Saturday morning I see him hunched over shuffling along. I never knew how far he went! As he would pass by our house when I would see him on the two mile loop. But it looks like he puts in well over 8 miles! When I came back home I told Jesse about how I saw the Colonel shuffling along the Old Towne streets!

A really nice park that is now closed because they are restoring it! I wanted to stop here to use the bathroom but I couldn’t.. almost peed my pants!

I love these houses! So many pretty houses on this route

little check with the baby, I forgot to bring a fan for her so I was checking in on her. By the end of the run she was sweaty as if she had run herself! Also, the netting around her stroller is a HUGE SAVER! It keeps mosquitoes from getting her

spanish moss! so awesome, it just hangs off the old oak trees

Sunday – quick HIIT workout with complex moves targeting full body while the baby is napping and a short and quick speed walk on the tread while the storm passes

Still figuring out how to get all the workouts in, but I am loosening the 5k workout because I will be running with the stroller and 1. It sometimes wobbles (despite making it 14 mi on long runs) 2. We will be starting out in the back and I don’t want to get my hopes up on trying to race race 3. I just want to have fun 4. I expect its going be extra hot and humid the morning of the race!

You know those dinner/lunches where you throw together everything you have so you dont have to go to the store or get fast food? Voilá!

Smoked sausage, fried rice, and stir fry! Delicious and filling!

Goal next week is to make it to the gym Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to strength train and run! Monday hopefully is a mobility day and Thursday maybe a walk with the dog and babes. Outside activities Dependent on weather as it appears to be storming all week 🤷🏻‍♀️

Week 11 (of 2023)

Restructuring exercise and considering options and priorities.

Sounds weird? Well, we are about to begin tutoring three times a week which results in not being able to take long lunches to exercise, but I might have the possibility of working out while he is tutoring. If I can make magic happen!

Monday and Tuesday no workout

Wednesday – walk and HIIT work out

Thursday – strength at home

Pictures from the week

Saturday – it rained most of the day and so we chilled inside, had fish nuggets and watched movies.

Sunday 60 minute incline run/walk. Feet climbed: 1154ft!! 3.45mi

We played games, had lunch, nerf gun wars, running around, jumping as far as we can and as high as we can.

Then we took the oldest to tutoring and went thrift shopping, made guacamole and burgers for dinner!

As you can tell I only really worked out ONCE this week. My body needed it, my mind was very stressed. Adulting can really suck some times. Basically, we are in a tight situation… our son is not doing well in readin (I might have mentioned this before) so we have put our savings together and asked for some help from family but we started him in a quite expensive tutoring program. And hopefully in a few months I can say that it was the best use of savings we have ever had to do! Best purchase – lol. As parents, we will do anything for our kids… and this means not doing our summer trips we were planning but instead focusing on his education. And thats ok! There will be other summers, but if we don’t get him caught up, he will be always be behind and struggling. Can’t have that!!

So, anyway, for a while I thought I was going to have to quit the gym since tutoring means also leaving early from work to get him there! But I have been able to figure out my hours to allow me time to still get to the gym for a 45 minute workout! (for the time being)

So, next week will have a little more information on workouts 🙂 It was nice to take some time off, I have been utterly exhausted lately. And we got to sleep in over the weekend!

I even slept in till 7am and got over 30 minutes to myself with coffee. That was amazing! Hope you had a great week!

Week 10 (2023)

Week Two of 5k training

Monday – (3.6.23) Plan: 3 mi @ 5.7
Actual: felt really good today, like surprisingly really strong even after cooking in the sun all afternoon! I did 3 miles at 6.0 and felt really strong. Then I did 12 minutes of strength work focusing mostly on abs and I also stretched out!

Tuesday morning – we woke up early and we got in a short 15 minute walk with the pup! Loved it ☺️ it was HUUUUMID. Feels like summer already ha!!

Tuesday – (3.7.23) Plan: Speed (1 mi WU, 8 x 200m repeats), 10 min CD
Actual: first off, gotta remind myself to not compare myself to others… And I say this because there as a girl in front of me doing sprints and I could perfectly see her speed. She goes to 8.0 and looks like she’s jogging. She goes to 9.0 and still looking like jogging. Then this girl goes to 11.5!!! I can finally tell she’s running. She is short in stature like myself. So I feel like it should’ve looked like she was like taking lots of steps. She just made it look so effortless!!!

Anyway, so my treadmill mileage vs watch was OFF during sprints. I really wanted to try to keep the Garmin running and had logged in the workout. But it was all wonky and off 😒 treadmill showed 3.5 miles roughly and watch shows 3.25. watch also says I didn’t run faster than 9:25 min/mi and I was doing 8.5mph! Ugh! I focused and wasted energy on the wrong things. Won’t make that mistake again!

I did all the intervals, so there’s a win! I forgot to do my strength though, so I hope to get that done this evening! Also .. I am scouting out a new way home because I’m sick of getting stuck in an hours worth of traffic! I hate it.

Wednesday – (3.8.23) Plan: Strength + Mobility
Actual: I was so incredibly busy at work I didn’t go to the gym but I did do stretching and lower body strength at night one the kids feel asleep! Win win 👍🏽

Thursday – (3.9.23) Plan: 35 min tempo
Actual: 2.8 – 3 miles? Not sure! lol

Friday – (3.10.23) Plan: 4 mi @ 9min/mi
Actual: late start to work due to DMV and meeting!

Saturday – (3.11.23) Plan: REST
Actual: 3.0 mile jog with baby and pup followed by a LONG day of birthday party running around a park lol. Lots of invites lately.

Sunday – (3.12.23) Plan: 65 min LR
Actual: ~45 min run completed (4ish mi)

How did you guys do with the time change? Made things weird but loved that it got dark at 7pm! Hendrix and I snuck out on Sunday night for a mom and son date to get froyo and that was much needed!

Week 9 (of 2023)

I have to say the past weekend felt like a WHOLE ENTIRE SUMMER break! We packed in so much! But I think I am ready for training to begin 🙂

Week 1 of 5k training

Monday – (2.27.23) Plan: 3mi EZ
Actual: A very enjoyable 3 miles at 5.7mph while watching Grace and Frankie! (looove this show) I haven’t been wearing my Garmin while running inside and so I am lacking “some” info but also I don’t know how accurate it all is when inside. Oh well! I also did a quick lower body weight workout that I know I will feel tomorrow!

Tuesday – (2.28.23) Plan: Speed (1mi WU, 400m repeats x 5, 5 min CD)
Actual: this morning was not a good one – frazzled, messy and upset led me to forgetting my water bottle and towel at home! Would have been easy to just get them after dropping off Hendrix at school but we are in a phase of life where baby dumpling is in absolute tears when I leave in the morning and if I were to come back to just leave again it would be a whole thing! She’s learning and has some real big emotions, so I decided to just skip the gym because I couldn’t fathom getting sweaty and then just putting clothes back on without rinsing off.

Wednesday – (3.1.23) Plan: Strength + Mobility
Actual: I brought the towel and water today! I made it to the gym and completed my 400m repeat without from yesterday! I managed to stick to around 8.0mph for each 400m interval. It felt comfortably hard and a good starting point for the training cycle. I want to get up to 8.5-8.8mph 400m. Completed 4 miles today!

First time back in the crafts since the race!

Thursday – (3.2.23) Plan: 30 min tempo
Actual: done!! 3.01 miles, I have to get used to the uncomfortable feeling. I could’ve stayed in the tempo longer but I allowed myself to rest for 1 min half way in and then again another couple minutes into the second half! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Friday – (3.3.23) Plan: REST
Actual: Rest

Saturday – (3.4.23) Plan: 4 mi fast
Actual: Unfortunately did not get the miles in, but we did have an eventful day with lots of walking. I will definitely be rearranging my fast miles for Friday so that I don’t keep missing them.

Sunday – (3.5.23) Plan: 60 min LR
Actual: 5.45 mi in 60 minutes followed by donuts!

While I was planning on doing 6-8 miles, we started later than normal because I needed to get the laundry sorted. Imagine 6 loads laying on the guest bed for a whole week 😳😳. Once we got to the run I was hungry! So of course my mind was on the promised donuts I made to Hendrix and we cut it at exactly 60 minutes and got donuts and croissants!

In the afternoon, after grocery shopping we went to Gulf Shores to Little Lagoon and the boys fished off the kayak while me and Haze played in the water, watched the dogs and ate lots of snacks. We found a bike path too so next time we can bring the stroller and run the path!

The boys caught a flounder (released because one inch too small), red fish (the day before) and speckled trout!

Weekly mileage – 15.46 miles (not too bad!)

Week 8 (of 2023)

Before we moved we never celebrated Mardi Gras, but here…. everyone celebrates. King Cakes, LOADS OF PARADES, parties, get togethers, lots of beads and moon pies! Businesses even close for Fat Tuesday! lol. The kids get THE WHOLE WEEK OFF. It is bizarre to me, but I am not complaining.

Book I read this week: owner of a lonely heart

Monday (2.20.23) – Plan: 5-4-3-2-1 run
Actual: While I didn’t want to go on the run, I did! I am watching season three of You. I did ~24 minutes of the run + an incline walk and then finished off on a jog to get to 40 minutes. 3.16 mi total

I hate how I have managed to get so many stains on my shirt! lol I don’t know what they even are. But it’s annoying!

Tuesday (2.21.23) – Plan: run with the bebe since we have the day off!
Actual: I planned to run but there was so much pollen in the air I had the WORST allergies ever. It wiped me out and no amount of blowing my nose, allergy medicine or anything could help me!

Wednesday (2.22.23) – Plan: Mobility + Strength + 5 mi run
Actual: Unfortunately work took precedence and I decided to just take a short lunch break in my car and get some sun on me. It felt nice though!

Thursday (2.23.23) – Plan: 3 mi EZ
Actual: I have never tried doing like a “rolling hills” workout on the treadmill, you know where it just decides for you when to go up and down? I didn’t know what to expect, and I stayed on LEVEL ONE, so it was probably only going up like .5-1 at a time. Definitely didn’t feel like much, but it did feel “harder” than just flat / zero incline. I did 4 mi of that at around 6.0 mph and then realized I forgot a towel and couldn’t shower off the ick. oh well! I also did a very short strength with 10 lb dumbbells – dead lifts, suitcase squat ? thing, and curtsy lunges.

Friday (2.24.23) – Plan: Strength + cycle
Actual: 1 mi rolling hills till my foot started hurting. The top of it – which might be because I tied my shoes too tight? Either the top of my foot or my heel has hurt this week. UGH! So, after the pain wouldn’t subside after a few minutes I immediately stopped. I did 5 min of ARC trainer (.5 mi) so boring!!! and then happily did strength workout with a 20lb kettlebell!

The weekend was PACKED with so much! And no runs lol.

Saturday we started off the morning with the 2 mile walk with the baby dumpling and doggo (by the way the baby can now bark like a dog and almost say dog) then we gardened for a bit and played. After gardening we got ready for the day and went to Bass Pro Shops and saw the aquarium of fishes!

Went to the bowling alley for arcades games (late but much needed birthday celebration for Hendrix) and thennnnnnn we went to Cracker Barrel for late lunch/ early dinner. It was jam packed but so much fun! This weekend was filled with a bunch of firsts for the youngest. First time at Bass Pro shops, arcade and cracker barrel! LOL She got scared of the fish when dad let go of her hand.

Sunday (2.26.23) – Plan: 6 mi
Actual- J took Hendrix fishing which left me and Haze to “hang out” but she was pretty cranky the whole morning due to a 5am wake up call! (ughhh) But we made the most of it and spent the whole day outside minus 2 hours for a nap she reluctantly took. We went to the park for a bit where she explored and had a TON of fun. It was hot out and when the boys came back from fishing and had lunch we turned on the sprinklers. (another first for her) and they ran through the water.

Despite not running, we had a super fun weekend! And it left us all exhausted and in bed by 8pm and sound asleep by 8:15! lol Next week begins 5k training which I will focus on speed but will be running with the stroller so won’t be able to go “all out” but that’s ok!

Week 7 (2023) – Return back to Running

I feel ready to get back to running and lifting. Last night we had an absolutely delicious pot roast with steamed vegetables and potatoes! During our grocery run (that was ridiculously expensive) we stocked up on a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. I am so excited to start eating more conscientiously – maybe it’s getting older – but I feel like I really need to start putting better into my body.

I have also OFFICIALLY signed up for my 5k in April! While I probably wont be able to race it – which is a total bummer. But the race officials are making an exception to allow me to have her in the stroller and be in the running portion. So, that means we have to start at the very back. Does anyone have any experience with this? Like if I feel good enough to race with the stroller, do you think I could manage it? Who knows though, she might NOT even want to be in there. But I think I’ll train like I want a PR and just see what happens!

Monday – 3.5 mi EZ + strides
You know when you first get back to running / you just start running and your legs get itchy?? Because your blood vessels are opening up again and blood is running through them? Yeah… that happened to me – haha! But it was really nice. I do wish I could have run outside, but I also needed to shower pretty badly ha!! So I did 3.5 miles and kept it easy, I decided against doing strides and kept it easy as I am still a little congested and I am just trying to get it all OUT! I do feel like I sweated more than normal for going really easy and only running 3.5 miles. Granted the fans were NOT on so it was a little stagnant in there. But maybe my body was just sweating out some bad stuff? I was so sleepy by 5pm though, luckily Hazel fell asleep just after 8pm and I laid down at 9 and was passed out so HARD!

Why is shipping things so expensive!? I am planning to ship baby clothes to a friend who needs them but UMMMM $90 to ship them through FedEx, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! It makes me want to cry, I want to help and send her things, but also I don’t have that in budget. So might need to thin out the package and just send a little less. I feel bad, but like DANG lol.

Tuesday – 3mi “progressive easy run” meaning I did 5 min at 5.6, 5 min at 5.8 and 5 min at 6.0 x2! Then I did a cool down incline walk to 40 minutes total and logged in 3.38mi in total. Again, the fans were barely moving or pushing any wind – ugh!! But, today it felt a lot better.. more natural and I only stopped at 3 mi because I was getting anxious about being gone from work for “so long.” But anyway, it felt great running again and like I was dusting off the cobwebs. I even tried the “viral” Chipotle hack ordering a kids quesadilla with chicken + rice + beans + chips AND a drink… it was only $5.40!!! And it was quite filling. Not too bad if I do say so myself. But if it were a harder workout I would’ve needed a full bowl lol. But I liked not spending $14 like normal. Plus, I got a drink with a little caffeine to get me through to the evening since we have to decorate for our eldest’s birthday tomorrow!

Hendrix shared a chocolate bar with me he got from Valentines Day! It was so good haha

Wednesday – Strength + Mobility – If anything went right today it was the fact I made it to the gym. But the universe conspired against me from the very beginning! It all started last night.
A story in pictures – Hazel’s foot.. but you can’t see the absolute GRIME on it. She was definitely walking around outside – as she should be!- and having a dang good time. She didn’t sleep well during the day and was woken up by our neighbor knocking on the door so she took a 45 minute nap around 6pm which ruined the night haha.

We had to decorate for Hendrix’s birthday (15th – Wednesday) and so originally we were going to wait till she went to sleep to decorate, but SHE WOULDN’T GO TO SLEEP. So, Jesse took over and hung up the decorations

We never were able to really decorate for birthdays, money was too tight or we had literal no time and we were always moving so keeping these kinds of things and moving around was not ideal. Now though!? We can decorate and something special for the kids for their day!

In the morning, I usually get about 30-45 minutes to myself to get ready and make lunch… but not this morning! Hazel woke up crying and screaming for me and woke the whole house. So, it wasn’t the best start. Hendrix still was able to open a few presents and we got out the door early!

Then once work started I got caught in traffic on my way to the gym and then couldn’t find the shirt I packed, my stomach hurt, I didn’t have water! UGHHH lol – I was upset. BUT I made it. I did mobility work + CORE + some Lower Body weights. It felt really good!

A coworker’s wife owns a bakery and they had leftover Valentines cupcakes and chocolate covered strawberries! So, of course I brought them home to celebrate Hendrix’s birthday! lol They were so yummy!

My core feels sore (a good sore) from core work!

Thursday – Rest

Friday -2 mi ez

Saturday- “rest day” filled with gardening, nerf gun wars, walks around the block, playing fetch, park play, frozen yogurt AND my oldest for a haircut … I was obviously very very tired after all of this lol. It was in the low 30s in the morning too!! So of course, we bundled up the littlest so she didn’t get sick again. She only fell asleep for about 20 minutes on our walk haha. The beanie made the perfect sun blocker.

Sunday – It was considerably warmer on Sunday than Saturday! Jesse drove out to Navarre to go fishing and Hendrix stayed with my aunt while me and the dumpling went on a 6 mi run. At first I didn’t feel ready – I was already breathing heavy like 3 minutes in to the run and was questioning everything haha! But, I got in the groove of things and just relaxed my body and quieted my mind. 6 miles went by extremely quickly and the dumpling was OF COURSE an absolute joy and loved the run.

After our run we played with bubbles outside, played with doggo and had lunch. Then we made a trip to Target and got a bubble machine + MORE bubbles haha..

This is the bubble machine she picked out:

Total mileage: 14.5 (not bad for the return back to running after a couple weeks off.

Week 6 (of 2023)

How are we in week 6 of 2023??? AND MY 200TH POST!!!!!

Ugh, making my blog posts like this is helpful and also like a rude awakening that the year is just zooming.

Everyone is feeling awful, we all have colds and super snotty noses. We are all exhausted and trying to push through – which might be for the best. Rest is definitely needed.

I also have to be clear – as much as I want to be outside, Alabama has recently released close to 400 prisoners ranging from Marijuana charges to rape and murder. So, I am a little hesitant – more so being in the big city. My area? not so much. But I know I need some fresh air.

Monday – Friday – Plan: get moving and don’t spend money!

Tuesday – I had to stay home because everyone is sick. The youngest went to the doctor but luckily she doesn’t have any viral infections, and should be getting better soon. I was able to get over 10K steps with all our walks and even did some weights in our workout room! She took up a little 2.5 pounder as I watched her so diligently (didn’t want her to drop it on her foot!!) She copied me on some movements too. I do have a pretty dry cough and not doing the greatest, but a little movement and fresh air felt so good!!

Wednesday – Thursday – contemplated all things life and realized how crappy I’ve been eating and the aging process! I really want to try to limit processed foods – especially when I was in higher mileage I was grabbing whatever I could, need to rethink that one! Also I looked down at my hands and was like WHOA OMG THEY ARE OLD LOOKING. lol. They say the hands can age you more than your face. So now I am on a mission to hydrate and de-agify my skin from top to bottom lol!

I am going to begin mileage again next week. 15-20 miles. I THINK I am ready to begin running again. Just hoping I start feeling better than 50%! This cold/cough has really done a number on me. I have been been going to sleep extra early (9pm) every night and waking up too often during the night.

Weekend included cleaning up and getting better. We are still pretty sniffly but starting to do better. What an OFF week! lol