Need some motivation

Well, I'm still alive for those that have made some comments lately. I have to seriously get up some motivation to get back in running. I started working at the beginning of February but it was a late night shift. Working all night plus taking care of the family was really hard. I've ran a total of 4 miles since my last blog posting. I did finally quit my job 2 weeks ago because it was just physically too hard to work at night. I've really been wanting to get back into running but struggling to get myself out there. I have been sick for the last week (along with all the kiddos) and I'm just now feeling a tad better than death warmed over. I gained the 5lbs back while working that I had lost and I really want to get rid of it! If anyone has some extra motivation to help me get out there and pound the pavement, please send it my way.

Back in the game!

Last week was a bust. I got no exercise in unless walking all over DisneyLand on Saturday counts. It was just not a good week but the girls' weekend in LA was an awesome time. I'm trying to think of last week as more of recovering from my shins than being a complete slacker!

I got out for a 3.1 mile this evening. I'm so glad I went out and ran because I've been feeling like such a slug lately. Plus, I had a rough afternoon dealing with some serious homework battles with the 11-year-old. It was nice to get out there and run. I think it took me about 37-38 min but I'm not sure since I screwed up my watch timing again. I was struggling out there some and slower than usual. I guess that's from taking the week off. I didn't have any shin pain though so maybe the week off was actually good for me.

Plan for this week is:

Tues: Some class at Y
Wed: 3 mile run
Thurs: Some class at Y
Fri: 3 mile run (This is also the 1st day of me officially going back to work after being home for a year. I have orientation all day so I don't know how running will work with that.)
Sat: Class all day long
Sun: 6 mile run

I did get my ShoeLid in the mail today and hope to get out on the track sometime this week to calibrate my Nike+ thingy. I can't wait to try that thing out.

It's been a rough week here....

Exercise count for the week total = 0
Eating completely unhealthy = Yeah, pretty much everyday

This week has just been insane here. I knew it was going to be bad when the babies woke me up at 5am on Monday morning. Hubby was supposed to come home on Monday morning so I could run to an appt. He couldn't make it so I had to run around like a mad woman to get there, drag the kids in tow, and then their breakfast was late because of it. Day just went downhill from there.

Tuesday, I had another appointment to be at and hubby cancelled on me again. The neighbor bailed me out but I was a nervous wreck the whole time. The babies have never been at anyone else's house like that. They did do fine though which was a pleasant surprise. I had my background appointment for a potential job that day and it was so uncomfortable. Just to put your whole life out there including any not so great decisions was hard. I felt like every thing I may have ever done was being judged. I guess we'll see in a few months how that job prospect turns out.

Wednesday, the babies had their RSV shots and hubby was again stuck at work. I had to be there no later than 10am. I get to the hospital at 9 and drive around in circles looking for a parking spot for over an hour. I was a nervous wreck by the end of it. I finally parked in a carpool parking spot and decided that I had enough people in my car to qualify as carpooling. Then I got to endure shots for 3 babies all by myself. I just felt so bad for the babies because I couldn't comfort them afterwards since I had to hurry up and get the next kid done. I guess this will just help them to be tough.

This morning, Mason starts the day off with puking and finishes it with puking and explosive diapers. My poor little guy ate practically nothing all day because he puked it up. Luckily, the highchair tray caught almost all of the puke at dinner tonight. It was actually impressive that it didn't go everywhere. Seriously, you have no idea how many times 3 babies can poop in one day. I never thought I would spend so much time wiping butts in one day. I'm sure Kylie and Brody will be puking tomorrow. I also had a final exam tonight for my class that I was completely unprepared for due to my lack of studying. I had to skip 1 answer entirely because I didn't even know what they were talking about. I had to guess and pull way too many answers out of thin air for it. I don't even know if I passed the test. Kinda depressing but this week was just too much for studying.

Hubby's work has been CRAZY stressful for him this week. I've never seen him so beat down because of work. I feel awful for him and I'll admit the stress is effecting the whole house. He's been working a lot this week which means I've been going solo a lot. I'm trying to keep everything running smoothly and be upbeat for him but it's starting to wear on me.

I'm going to attempt to run tomorrow. I definitely need it. I feel like such a slacker right now. Maybe no one will be sick tomorrow and we can all run. It's been really nice out here the last 2 days and I haven't been out there yet to enjoy the sunshine.

Only 2 more days till mom's weekend in LA. I soooooooo need this break. I can't wait to see my friends and take a moment away from mommy mode.

Almost 5 miles

The hubby kicked me out the door today for a run. Good thing he did because I was feeling like a lazy, slacker and had no motivation. I set off for a 5-mile run but didn't map out the course beforehand. I ended up only running 4.82 miles in 58:26. This is my longest run yet! I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get that 5 mile mark but I guess it's close enough to round up.

My shins were bothering me some when I was running. It took me like the first 3 miles to get warmed up and into the run. At one point, I did venture over to the bike lane. WOW, what a difference that felt. It started to get dark so I headed back to the sidewalk. I think from now on I'm going to run in the bike lane if it's light outside. My shins, legs, and feet felt so much better running on the asphalt. I didn't realize how wide the bike lane was either. I didn't feel like the cars were right up on me. Overall, I think it's relatively safe in the daylight and way easier on the body.

I took the hubby's IPOD since he's been stealing my arm band and it was already on his IPOD. Let's just say that his music SUCKS! I also bought these new earphones yesterday and they were very uncomfortable for me. Maybe the hubby will like them but they hurt my ears pretty bad. I think they were just too big for my smaller, girly ears. What kind of earphones do you other women wear? I need to find something else.

This week's summary is:

10.9 miles of running for 2:08:36
Beginner Pilates class
Cardio kickboxing class

Next week's goals are:
Mon - 3 miles (we'll see how the legs feel in the morning)
Tues - Hi-Lo class (I don't even know what this is but I'm doing it)
Wed - 4 miles
Thurs - Some kinda class
Fri - 3 miles
Sat & Sun - off

I'm meeting some girlfriends in LA next weekend for a mom's weekend. I'm soooo excited about it. We've got free passes into Disneyland and CA Adventures. And dinner reservations to eat somewhere. I really can't wait to get to. I'm so excited to meet up with my friends and get some all girl time. It's going to be awesome.

Oh, and did I mention that the last 2 months of running have really paid off? I've lost a whole size in clothing. Wooohoo! And I bought the new Nike+ system yesterday for me and the hubby. I ordered one of those Switcheasy holders for our shoes since we don't have the fancy Nike shoes. I can't wait to try it out once we get our holders.

Totally bummed....

I was supposed to go on a 3-mile run today but didn't. My shins have been bothering me some and this just plain and simple sucks. I don't want shin problems!!! I've got new shoes that have like 50 miles or less on them. I don't know what is causing this but I want it to stop. My plan was to run 3 miles today and 5 miles on Sunday. Saturday was supposed to be my rest day but I took that day today. Plus, I did have a lot of stuff going on so that worked out better anyway. I've been doing the draw the alphabet with your toe thing but I don't know what else to try. I guess I'll reevaluate tomorrow to see if I should go run tomorrow night. I have school all day so I can't run earlier.

I did make it to the Y yesterday with the kiddos. I left them in the childcare and hit the cardio kick class. Which I've got to be the most uncoordinated person on the planet. I did work up a real good sweat but felt like a complete moron in there. And why do they have to have a big long mirror so I can see for myself how stupid I look? I don't know if I just need more practice doing it or what.

By the time I went back to pick up the babies, they had already loaded them up in the stroller and the boys were screaming with tears running down their faces. Guess the workers were ready for me to pick them up since they were already loaded up! They even told me to break the 2 parents sign out at a time rule to come and get them. I felt so bad for my babies. The workers said they did get down and play for a little bit. But then Brody started crying and the other 2 joined in. At least they stick together and are a team. I was hoping that they'd be playing when I went to pick them up. I really want to see how they interact with other kids around and if they stick together or split up and go their own way. They're always together and not around other kids so it'd be interesting to see what they decide to do. We're going to try again on Tuesday and hopefully they'll ease into it eventually.

Hole in the sky & spaceships

Well, I chickened out today and didn't run till hubby got home. I just couldn't muster up enough energy to take the crew with me. Just getting enough energy to get out there myself was an accomplishment. The babies have been getting up BEFORE the crack of dawn lately. For some reason, Brody feels the need to throw his beloved blanket out of the crib and then scream about it and wake the other 2 and the rest of the house up. I don't know what to do about keeping that blanket in his crib. I really need to come up with a solution. I thought about cutting a hole in it and tie-tieing (spelling?) it to the bed. I have a feeling that won't really help matters though.

I did force myself to go out for a 3.05 mile run which took me a long 37:03. Exactly 4 minutes longer than 2 days ago when I did the same route. But here comes the exciting part of the run. It was dark already so the sky was completely black. I look up and see this perfect oval, lighted shape in the sky. First thing that comes to mind is, "Holy shit, there's a hole in the sky." Then I think that's ridiculous. Of course, there's not a hole in the sky. It must be a spaceship! I'm looking at a real live UFO. Reality hits me at this point and I realize I'm being completely irrational. Turns out it was just the Good Year blimp. Kinda odd that it was out tonight. We live right near the Charger stadium and see it for the games, but I've never seen it at nighttime like that. I don't even know why my brain immediately thought it was a hole in the sky or a spaceship. It's not like I believe Elvis is still alive or read tabloids. My husband is now calling me Chicken Little. I don't even know why I bother to tell him stuff!

Tomorrow is supposed to be cardio kickboxing at the Y. My shins were hurting on the run so I might opt for something with less impact. I really want to avoid shin splints.

New PR & Pilates

I wanted to blog yesterday's run yesterday but just got too busy to get on here. I was sooooo excited because yesterday I ran 3.05 miles in 33:07. I know that's not fast compared to a lot of people but I was stoked! In early Dec, I ran a 5k in 36:14. I didn't mean to go out and run fast but I felt great out there so I just kept pushing myself. My 33mins even included 3 stops to cross intersections. And if I was still active duty, I would have almost passed my PFT. Old chicks like me (over 27) have 32 min to run 3 miles.

Now I do have to explain that in looking at my whole lifetime of running it's not a PR. When I was active duty I ran a lot faster than 33:07. BUT, I figure I'm going to scratch all my military times and just start off fresh with now. I figure after giving birth to 3 babies within 3 minutes of each other, I should deserve a clean slate!

I'm slowly trying to deprogram myself from all my military brainwashing. I've read over and over how running slower and longer makes you faster. I really didn't believe it though because it went against everything I learned in the military. It was always you need to run harder, faster, longer than you did before. If you're slow, you need to run more and just try harder. This whole concept that running slow and taking days of rest was really blowing my mind. But it's obviously working! I ran a 33:07 3-mile and it was a lot faster than when I first started back running a few months ago. I'm really proud of myself and glad to know that all my easy runs are making a difference. So now I have a new PR. I hope to break this new PR on Feb 11 when we run our next 5k.

Now on to today's Pilates class. I didn't realize it was a beginner's class before I went to the class. The class wasn't as challenging as I need. But I was really tight and sore from yesterday's "fast" run and the class really stretched me out. I felt great after I left. The instructor's voice was super calm and it was the most relaxing hour I've had in a long time. I think I need a more challenging class but it was so relaxing and the stretching felt so good I just might go back. Oh yeah, the hubby didn't have to go to work till late so I left the babies with him to take a nap. They desperately needed a nap since they all decided to start their day at 5:40am.

Tomorrow I hope to run 3 miles with the babies. They need to get out of the house anyway because they're terrible, cranky, teething kids right now. Thursday, I told my friend we'd do a cardio kick class at the Y. Now that I might really regret!