I Am A Runner

Yes, we can laugh at ourselves, and yes, we know you feel this way about us : )

Haile Gebrselassie on "Pushing"

I think that running long distances (and perhaps any endurance sport) is a lot like having children in a certain way. That is, people can try to explain it, describe it, tell you what its like. It may seem pretty simple and basic from the outside. You have a child, teach it, raise it up right, and send it on its way. Parents, however, know that it is extremely complicated. There truly is no way to fully explain it to someone who does not have children. It is an amazing journey, emotional, has perhaps and equal number of highs and lows and yet the highs will always far out weigh the lows....I could go on and on....but unless you have kids....its just words.

Running. Simple enough. One foot in front of the other, right? You get dressed, you go outside, or to the gym, or to the treadmill in the garage, and you run. Seems simple and basic from the outside, right? Runners, however, know that is is extremely complicated. The longer the run, the more complicated it can become. We each have our own reasons, our own thoughts and memories we pull on and use as either something that pushes us to keep going, or that we choose to keep pushing for. Regardless of my finish times, the last 4-6 miles of every marathon I have run are about" pushing". Again, sounds pretty basic, and if it were only about physically pushing to keep your body moving, it would be basic, but it's not. It is an amazing journey, emotional, has perhaps an equal number of highs and lows and yet the highs will always far out weigh the lows...I could go on and on...but unless you run...far...its just words.

I came across this video earlier this week. At the end of Haile's video, he says, 'There is one push waiting inside you". Have you found yours? Get going, and keep on going. It is worth it.

Tuesday's Run

Emma and I had such a great run on Monday that on Tuesday Sophie wanted in on the action. We headed out around one, just as the rain started. No worries, I had warned them both if they went it was going to be cold and wet. They each sported one of our Fresno marathon hats, and were good to go. We went to the reservoir again as Brian was home again. Although I would have loved to get a quicker run in as it was pretty wet, I knew it would be slower than yesterday with some shorter legs running with us today, and that was ok, too. I love that my girls want to run with me, and I know soon enough they will be leaving me in their dust, so I am enjoying these runs together while they last!
That cute, tiny red snake??? I got a stick to move it off the pathway and it stood up like a cobra! The girls squealed and were positive it was poisonous and going to bite me. I wasn't' so sure it wouldn't bite me as it was super feisty, but I got him off the path none the less. I will now convince them I am a mighty cobra fighter, and they will tell their friends. : )












It is always a treat to see the white pelicans. Years ago when they started showing up at the res, there were always only 1 pair. Today we counted 9 pelicans!

Monday's Run

The hubby has been home so far this week. He has an ongoing problem w/his tonsils and they are infected and swollen and gross right now. So, what that means for me is that I have running options that I don't normally have : ) Meaning, I can leave the youngest home and not have to push the jogger stroller....which meant I should probably do a run that I don't do when I have to push the jogger stroller....which meant I was heading to the Lafayette Reservoir! Emma wanted to come with me, which was a treat. She is such a trooper, this kid. I love that her pace is my comfortable, "I haven't been running as much as normal, and the res is going to kick my booty" pace. She gets around it in 32 minutes, which is decent for most adults. Brian and my fastest lap was 24 minutes, in our best shape....which I am not in....so we were comfortably running at the same pace is what I am trying to get at.

Anyways, when we left the house I was thinking we may get a bit of rain, but by the time we were at the res it was beautiful! Sunny, blue sky, steam coming up off of everything...I love how vivid the colors are this time of year. The greens are so bright!

It was one of those great runs. Everything seemed perfect. We both had super fresh legs and were surprised that we ran up all the hills with little burn. When we finished, we took our time on the top of the dam. We agreed that neither of us wanted to go home yet. Papa's sick. Sophie and Bubba are too loud. It' s probably foggy at home still. Let's stay and count pelicans for a while.

Ginormica's Rave Run

I saw this picture as I was downloading pictures into the comp tonight and it cracked me up! When the kids paint I tear out pages from mags to use as a base layer, so this was random and I didn't notice it until now....looks like Ginormica got dressed up and headed out for a trail run! Hope she's careful in those shoes!

A Walk Through Decembers Past......

Below, December 2002

Below, December 2003

Above, Brian and Em at the park in 2003, and below Brian and the kids at the same park, 2010
7 years later, 2 additional kids gained, 110 lbs lighter

Below, Dec 2004

below, (cheating as there are no pics from Dec 2005), so instead we have September 2005

Below, December 2006

Below, December 2007

Below, December 2008
(our first trail run)

Below, December 2009

Below, December 2010

Older, weathered, sporting some hard earned saggy skin..... and happier than ever!!!

Just because he's SO cute!
Picture taken this morning, he's eating a chunk of
Gingerbread house.

Well, we finally had a good running week! We had just enough breaks in the weather at just the right times and we were able to take advantage of it! I have to say that I am so glad Brian's office is in town and that he likes to run on his lunch break! It is nice to head out on the trail together as a family!
So you already heard about Soph's spill on Monday, Tuesday she wasn't really wanting to ride. I bribed her with a promise to take the course that leads to Chevron, and that changed her mind!
Wednesday we heated up some yummy leftovers and took them to Brian on his lunch break, then we took the kids to the park to play for a bit. It's a nice break for Brian to get out of the office and also spend time with the kids, although it was a bit colder than we thought it would be....
Thursday we did our Winter Break tradition of building a Gingerbread house. I got a different kit this year and it was much easier to assemble. Brian got off early, so we were able to get an 8 miler done before the sun set. Then we took the kids for dinner at Jamba Juice. Weird, I know, but have you had their flat breads? The highest cal one is 390, we got 2 and split them between the 5 of us, didn't have drinks. Not bad. Then we went next door and had yogurt...also not bad if you are going to have a treat. Then home for family study, and the kids had a sleep over on the sleeper sofa, popped popcorn and watched a movie.
Brian has elder school today and tomorrow, so the kids and I dropped him off and hit the craft store. We got about 4 projects to work on over the weekend and next week. Should be fun!

As far as the move is going, it is going! Everything we don't use daily is packed. Some things are in boxes but not taped shut, like the kids books and favorite toys. Wednesday I moved the sofas and vacuumed underneath, also cleaned ashes out of the fireplace and vacuumed it out (this brought back some childhood memories of a vacuum burning up and made me smile). Also got into some nooks and crannies that usually have furniture in them and cleaned up all the dust and spiderwebs. I like to know everything is totally clean and that our help isn't going to move something and find a pile of fingernails, or moldy apple cores, or fruit snack wrappers in Bubba's favorite hiding place....not that I found any of those things, just saying.
I bought Spackle today, and also more Magic Erasers....getting down to the nitty gritty cleaning stage. We are just excited to get moved over to the new house and settle in. We have a vacay the first week of Feb, and will be getting a mini shcnauzer after our trip, so lots of good things to look forward too!
There are tons more pictures from our adventures this week on the dropshots site.
Hope you all have a great weekend!

A Run With a View

Hee, Hee, Hee....(maybe not the view you were thinking of : )

We headed out at noon yesterday with all 3 kids (Winter Break). It has rained for the past week, so we have not been running as much as we would like, but yesterday and today we have had about a 2 hour window around noon, so we are finally getting it done!!
Again I have to say how much I love having both girls on their bikes finally! Partly because I am just proud of Sophie for finally getting the training wheels off, and partly because having her on the trail makes for some good Fartlek action. I am never sure if she'll stop at the street crossings, or make it up the hills w/o a helping hand pushing her....so there are times I have to pick it up to catch up to her.
Yesterday she took her first bad spill, with in feet of the end of the run she lost it and took her feet off the brakes and ended up laying in the bushes in front of Brian's office. She took a bolt on a manhole cover thing in the knee, so she is sporting a green knee today, but we are getting her back out there today to "get back on the horse".
When she crawled out of the bush yesterday her first words were "I don't want to ride my bike again" and I instantly heard in my head "Never let your horse see you cry", and "when you fall off, get right back on"......I said neither to her but instead said "don't ever take your feet off the pedals or you have no way to brake"......yeah, I doubt that will stick with her when she's 33, but if I used a horse analogy she would have no idea what I was talking about! Such different childhoods, my kids and I, yet the same in many ways.
Anyhoo, here are a few pics from yesterday's run....
Love you, honey!

Pioneer Dinner, 2010

On Sunday evening we had the yearly Pioneer Dinner. We had Mexican food from a local restaurant, wonderful association, and some pretty wonderful drinks, too!!
Kevin and Linda were very hospitable to host the dinner at their home and welcome a load of rambunctious kids inside!

This was heading home.
We had a great time!

Special Assembly Day, Dec 18th, 2010

A few pictures from our Special Assembly Day.....

Feeling a Shift........

yeah, something has changed.....I made it through the whole season of Biggest Loser without shedding a tear. I cried several times while watching the Ford Ironman today.....even after I watched it live October 9th on my computer and knew the outcomes and major stories already.

I think the abbreviated explanation is that while eating and weight loss will always be part of 'my story', I'm identifying less and less with the 280 lb size 30 person I was and the lifestyle and eating habits that supported that. As the time goes by, I am identifying more with living an active lifestyle and the desire to push limits over and over again to see what I can do. I understand the drive, and I know the pain of not living up to personal expectations. I know the obsession of training. I know the feeling of logging hundreds of miles and hours and sometimes still not hitting a personal goal....and sometimes achieving more than I thought I could, and sometimes having to be content with a finish in any form I can get it. I get it.

The old me, and the emotional attachment to that journey is slowly beginning to fade. I wondered how long it would take, Brian and I have talked about this over the past 3 years. When will the whole weight loss journey we took not feel as raw and emotional, or will it always?? While we will always have to stay on top of what and how we eat (I am still afraid everyday of gaining the weight back...that hasn't faded yet!)....the emotions of the journey we took are fading.....and that is a good feeling.

Sit me in a room to watch amazing athletes and their journey to finish an Ironman, and I am a mess!! Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes : )

A Few December Pictures.....

Here are a few pics from our month so far.....one of my fav workout moves, Brian and I heading out for a run, Bubba in his new jacket (thank you Auntie Kate), and some beautiful leaves we saw in service last Saturday. While I wish there were more running pictures, I will say that workouts have been going great, and running is fitting in when we have time and its not raining.....so yeah, not much to report on the running front. 15 miles a week is a good week right now! The majority of the packing is done though, and the kids are out of school for the next 2 weeks, so hopefully we will get some good runs in soon!