a little fine print...

So, it turns out the new, fab job is not so good for my training.  I go to work at 7am each morning, so in order for me to get a 30 minute run in, I have to get up and out by 5:15am.  Longer runs are completely out of the question.  Ugh...it's early!  And dark.  And sometimes a bit scary.

Yesterday while I was running, I suddenly heard a rustling in the woods that sounded like something was coming right towards me.  I leaped three feet in the air and yelped....at my own cat, Millie (lion kitty, as the neighborhood has so affectionately named her). She is named that, not because she is scary, but rather that she is a long-haired orange and white cat that we have groomed into a lion cut. She was a foster cat that we eventually adopted and really likes to be outside, but her adventures often leave her with horrible burrs and tangles in her fur.  She always feels a little silly after we shave her, but I know deep down she really feels better.  Plus, the neighbors all love her. She has become a neighborhood icon, of sorts. Go, lion kitty!

This morning I nearly jumped out of my skin at a dog that started barking as I ran by.  He was in a fenced yard, and had it been daytime I wouldn't have been bothered at all. But this "dark" thing...I don't know.  I'm unsteady.

Do you run when it is daylight or when it is dark?

All things considered, though...I still love my fab job. This is a small price to pay. And, did I mention they have a workout room?  Problem solved.

one last run with the boys

This weekend was the Susan Komen 5k race. It is a race that I have always run with my boys in the jogging stroller. The course is fast and flat, and they love the energy, music, and all of the people. Sadly, this was probably the last year that we could do it.  The stroller (I may have mentioned once or twice) is now 100 pounds....goodness knows how heavy it will be next year! 

I am also still training for Nike, so wanted to get in a good run in addition to the 5k race, so my fellow Nike goer, Rachel and I logged 11 miles before the run (please note that I did not bring my boys on this run).

Here we are coming into the finish line!  Do we look great or what?  I am proud to tell you that we ran that 5k, 100 pound stroller and all, in 24 minutes and change.  Can you believe that?  Of course, my buddy Rachel took a couple of turns pushing the stroller while we ran, which pretty much solidified our friendship right there.  I think she wildly underestimated how difficult it is to run with the stroller...what a lesson for a 24 year old! 

This weekend I meet some running club buddies that I haven't seen for a long time for a nice 7.5 mile run. I'm thinking about starting earlier and getting another 5 or so in...one last week of mileage before marathon mania.

a running update

I have been so busy lately with work that I have neglected to blog about all of my running!  I am having a difficult time typing this...but Nike is only three weeks away.  Yikes!  And, although my goal and focus has shifted quite a bit since taking on such a heavy workload, I am still me and I still want to finish strong.  Last weekend I went out and ran 17.5 miles all by myself. It is the farthest I have ever run without buddies, and it wasn't horrible.  Since I wasn't running with anyone, I decided to stick to town (another first for me), and ran a 7.5 mile loop a couple of times, with the 7.5 mark right at my house. That allowed me to put a water bottle on my step and hydrate with each loop, so that was good.  After the second loop (15 miles), my boys wanted to run with me, so I decided I would push them in the stroller for the last couple of miles.

Big mistake. 

A 100 pound jogging stroller is a lot to handle on the best of days...after knocking out 15...it's nearly impossible to navigate. I had to turn left at one point and we nearly crashed into a car that was parked in front of us.  Needless to say, the boys were not impressed by my sloth-like pace while we were running together. 

Tomorrow I run 20. It will be my last long run before the race, and I am ready to be done!  Sunday is the Komen Race for the Cure 5k, and I will be running with the boys in that one.  It will most likely be our last race all together in the jogging stroller. I can't imagine how heavy they will be next year.

Have great weekends!!

opportunity knocked

Well, I'm going to work for "the man".  It's official. I'm the new Project Manager/Marketing Specialist for Masaba Manufacturing.  I couldn't be more thrilled.

The great thing about this is that I actually like "the man" at Masaba.  I like the company philosophy. These guys are amazing, hungry, and eager for ideas and ingenuity.  True entrepreneurs, I feel, and you know how I love entrepreneurs!

I have quite a few projects on my plate to start with, and I'm loving every one of them.  I'm just digging right in.

This week is a busy one for me...but I am feeling fantastic about things!  I hope your week is as fabulous as mine.

new PR for evie

This last weekend was the Sioux Falls Half Marathon race, and I have been planning to run this race as a great prelude to Nike. Plus, this was my first half marathon I have ever run (only last year...can you believe that?), so I will most likely run this one every year.

I have not been feeling my best lately, so wasn't sure if I should even run on Saturday night. There is a stomach bug running rampant through my community, so on Saturday when I started feeling queasy, I was worried about how it was going to go. I'm sure we can all agree that it's not a good thing to be in the middle of a run and have stomach issues in the best of times, nevermind having a gastric illness. I went to bed early, set my alarm, and the next morning decided to go ahead and run.

One thing that helped me make the decision was that I was running the race with my buddy, Rachel, who is also going to Nike with me.  We have only run together once since summer hit, so it was an awesome chance to spend some time together, and also see how fast she has gotten. I picked her up at 5:45am, and we headed over to the stadium where the race was starting.

The place was packed. There is always an amazing turnout for this event, and this year was not exception. We decided to line up fairly close to the front of the pack, since we didn't want to take the chance of getting stuck behind a bunch of people. This happened to me last year, and it really affected my time. We sang the anthem, lined up, and pretty soon we were off!

Our first few miles we were running pretty fast, like 7 minute miles. We both knew we couldn't sustain it for the whole race, but it was feeling good, so we kept going for it.  At mile 5 my stomach started getting funky, so I decided to slow down a bit and let Rachel go ahead of me. We were well on our way to getting PR's, so I certainly didn't want my tummy troubles to be the reason she missed it.

Turns out, it was no problem at all. I managed to get a PR at 1:44! That makes my split times less than 8 minutes. I think that is pretty awesome considering it is a half marathon. My buddy Rachel rocked hers out at 1:41, placing third in her division.
Go girl!

Today I am horribly achy, so I do think I still have a bit of a bug. I plan to take the next few days easy and then get one last long run in before Nike.  After this time, I'm pumped!

and the Mom of the Year Award goes to....

Definitely not me.  I am both ashamed and embarassed to admit this, but I forgot my son at preschool today. I wasn't just five minutes late...I was 25 minutes late, and only remembered after the teacher called and asked if I was going to pick him up.  Wow. Yikes. No good.

Have you ever had so much going on that you cannot possibly take on one more thing? I am most definitely in that boat right now. My workload is insane, my training is getting intense, and my family is always...well, they're my family. They need me.  Up to this point I have been handling it all, but I think preschool is the proverbial straw for me.  I literally cannot possibly handle picking him up.  My brain won't allow me to retain the fact that I have to pick him up in the mornings. It is terrible. So today I am calling the bus, and my little guy can ride the bus with his buddies from his preschool to daycare, and I will be a hero to him.  I will still feel horrible and guilty, but that's part of being a mom.

Half marathon race this weekend. I am not looking forward to it at all. In fact, I am trying to figure out how I can possibly find the time to run in it. I can't even seem to figure out how to pick my packet up.  Grr.  I will get it worked out.

Hopefully next week I will find time to sit down and recap the race.