Tuesday, May 31, 2011

5 am is the new 8:30

its been at least a week and a half since i sat down with my bible at breakfast.

i got up at 5:05 this morning with a goal in mind. coffee was brewed (thank you delay brew timer!) and ingredients for scones were already laid out on the counter. i prepped and baked a batch of whole wheat, sugar free, cinnamon oatmeal raisin scones and sat down with my coffee and God.

lamentations. i know these instructions were vital for keeping the israelites healthy, but reading about skin disease and the hair turning white or not turning white and open sores does not make me feel like im getting to know God any better. so i read a couple chapters then headed to isaiah. then flipped to the back of my bible to find all the devotionals marked under the subject of parenting. i read half of them (about ten).

i am feeling much more prepared for today.

Monday, May 30, 2011

i wore white spandex.

i ran this loop today in an attempt to mix it up a little. i chose a distance that seemed doable from memory but that i didnt actually know the mileage for so i could run for time and not for distance. there were a LOT of people on the greenbelt today. and i was wearing white spandex.

i must say, even if my weight hasnt changed in the last couple months, it appears that my filter has. my other running clothes were wet in the wash (i appreciate the laudry help, but because of it, i had to run in white spandex shorts.) so on with the shorts. they are under-armor shorts i bought a couple years ago to wear under dresses and skirts in the summer so my thighs wouldnt rub together and chafe. (too much detail? well, its part of being overweight.) they were never meant to see the light of day. it was a pretty hard mental workout to get over how i might look and just run. (on a busy road, and packed greenbelt on this national holiday when everyone and their dog (really.) were out to see me in my white spandex shorts.)

anyways, about the run. it was really a run/walk. i did about 3/4 running and 1/4 walking (most of the walking was the return trip on the greenbelt.) my time was 50 minutes. i felt good when i got home, just a little sunburned. and didnt know the distance until i mapped it just now. i was hoping for around 4 miles, because of my time, but 4.57 is what gmaps tells me. that is just under an 11 minute mile. and lots of walking. i like this new pace. maybe for a longer run later ill just take more of the greenbelt.

the point: i had a good run today. i enjoyed that run while wearing white spandex shorts in a very public place. these are both milestones.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

i need a mantra

three slow miles. 40 minutes.

i am getting in my own way. i am unmotivated. i am telling myself i am too tired, too busy, still recovering from being sick, its too far, too hot, too hard.

i enjoyed my three slow miles today.

i need a mantra to push through these times.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

patience

this week i put out a little more effort to get a run in. monday i put in another short run around the neighborhood pushing the kids with a flat front tire on the stroller again. (but i bought a pump yesterday so that doesnt have to happen anymore.)

last week i was so close to 150s, just 0.6 pounds away. but, it didnt happen this week. (i know i didnt put in the effort to make it happen.) this morning i weigh 161 pounds. if i keep making time, even if i have to take two squabbling kiddos in the stroller to do it, then my runs will get faster and longer and i will see a change. right now im learning patience.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

early (for me) morning

i got up at 645 this morning to run before church. first i had to pick up the mess emma made in the kitchen getting into things, then change her out of the pull up she pooped in... but i did eventually make it out the door. i ran three miles in 32.30. it was a slow run, but i havent gone more than just a couple miles in at least a month, so slow was good.

and let me tell you, 7am is a beautiful time of day to run.

Friday, May 20, 2011

fake running math

double jogging stroller + 30 pound toddler + 20 pound baby + strong head wind = running with a 70+ pound parachute (except i was pushing it instead of pulling it.)

i got out the stroller, fed and changed children, and we ran this morning. i told katie i would go 30 minutes 3 times this week to get back into it. i did just shy of 28 minutes which will have to be good enough for today. we went a little more than 2 miles. next time i will bring snacks for the kids to keep them more occupied. i am aiming for morning runs this summer with the kids. this will keep the sun out of their eyes, and make it a little cooler for all of us.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

leviticus

its been a while since i mentioned what im reading, and thought i should update you all on how its going. i made it through genesis and exodus and leared so much that i didnt know. i had no idea how short some of the classic bible stories i grew up with really are, and how long and drawn out others are. but now im in leviticus.

i usually read while im drinking my coffee or tea and eating breakfast. but leviticus- oy! i just cant read more than a chapter of "take hold of the animal at the entrance of the tabernacle and slaughter it. sprinkle its blood on the horns and seat, and pour the rest of its blood... burn all the fat, including the lobe of the liver..." and everything is repeated at least three times. once when God gives the instruction to moses, once when moses passes the instruction to aaron, and again when moses or aaron carries out the sacrifice.

i understand why its in there. why it happened, why God gave those instructions. we CANNOT do it on our own. we cannot atone for our own sins in a way that is satisfactory. we just dont cut it. and the israelites couldnt either. consider this: two of aarons sons who heard first hand the instructions didnt offer the proper sacrifice and the GLORY OF GOD BURNED THEM UP! the point of the old testament laws? to show us that we NEED A SAVIOR. and boy is that clear.

but does it make easy breakfast reading? oh no. not at all. so im having a hard time getting through leviticus. im in chapter ten now.

i thought about it, then completely forgot!

yesterday was wednesday! and what a wednesday it was. we have been sick (george with a double ear infection, emma with her first ear infection and pink eye, me with laryngitis and a regular old cold that turned into pink eye last night) and cranky. but dont those things usually go together? add in two more kind of cranky kiddos and what a house i had yesterday.

BUT- theres more! on tuesday night i was feeling well enough that i did a short 1.25 mile run around the neighborhood at a ten minute mile pace (that included LOT of walking for my poor sick lungs) and i am so glad i did. i NEED to get in more miles in order to add miles. im pretty much starting over again.

back to wednesday. yesterday morning i weighed 160.6 pounds. i lost one whole pound this week and am only 0.6 away from the 150s. this has taken FOREVER. but i have renewed faith that i can make it happen. and as i have said about a million times, i REALLY REALLY need to add some sort of muscle building activity in order to get my body to burn more calories just being alive. that is the key that i am missing in these last few months. i just dont know exactly what that looks like.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

the first step (after a break) is the hardest.

i ran last night. i went about 2 miles, back and forth and around the neighborhood. i didnt time it, instead i did some hills. its been two weeks i think since i last ran because we have been working on the old house and time is just so limited. the run felt good, i felt very capable but sluggish. i need to add miles in order to do a half later this summer, but i need to get in some consistency first.

this morning i weighed 161.6 pounds. that number felt pretty good. i lost 1.6 pounds and have been trying to pay closer attention to how much i am eating through out the day not just at meal times. im not giving up, i will get to 148. ill get there.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

a new plan

for the sake of record keeping, this morning i weigh 163.2 pounds. that is a gain of 2.6 pounds. i am not concerned about this. i wasnt careful about my meal choices and we even had dinner out a few times (three) this week. i know that the 12 pounds i have left to loose will be hard work, and right now (with the house to fix up and still keeping the boys (2-3 days per week) i do not have the time to dedicate to exercise and meal planning. i will watch, and maintain in the mean time.

i will get there, but stressing about the time frame isnt going to move me in that direction any quicker.

Monday, May 2, 2011

wednesday april 27

wow i am behind.

on wednesday (knowing that the rest of the week would be so hectic i wouldnt have time to even consider a run) i asked jesse to keep the kids for me when he came to pick his up.

4 miles, 42 minutes. my first two were 10s and my second two were 11s. and i felt great. now, we will just see how i feel after taking 5 days off and doing a whole lot of "cross training" dandelion pulling, floor scrubbing, painting.