1/2 Marathon Training - Week 1

Well, it's that time again.  As you know I blogged my training last time I trained for the 1/2 marathon & I plan to do it again this time.  It really helps keep me accountable.

When I finished the Columbus 1/2 Marathon in Oct, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do another one.  It was long & hard & I was tired of walking.  I didn't know if I wanted to train again.  After some time & some discussions with family & friends, I decided to try one more 1/2 at the Capital City 1/2 Marathon on May 4.

I decided to take 2 months off & just exercise.  I started taking a bunch of group fitness classes at my gym & I fell in love!  I love everything about the classes: the people, the variety, the huge calorie burn, etc.  As Jan got here I really didn't want to give that up to go back to walking all the time.  I found a shorter training plan, one I didn't have to start until Feb & decided to do that so I could get one more month of classes.

Then on Jan 6 I got an email from my Flylady subscription with the subject "Walkers & Runners - Free Training Plans."  It was from "Award-Winning Fitness Expert, 12-time Ironman Triathlon Finisher (9:50 is his best time) and 16-time Boston Marathon Finisher (3:12 is his best time) Jonathan Roche."  The plan basically has you exercise 5 days/week, rest one day, then do a long run/walk.  It is 16 weeks & it just so happened that if I started on Mon 1/7, I would finish on Sat 5/4.  I'm in!! 

I am a little nervous about not walking a lot during the week, but if I start to feel fatigued on my long walks, I'll just start adding a few days of walking during the week.  I also have multiple races coming up so that will be extra walking above my training plan.  I'm also not planning a rest day because life happens & I always wind up getting an unexpected rest day (although last week I didn't & I'm OK with that too).  I'm SO excited about my new training plan!

Week 1 was great!  I did classes 5 days last week, did a quick workout at home on Sat & walked on Sun.  I also joined a local walking club to help get through the long walks on this journey.  I'll walk with them Sun mornings.

Mon, 1/7 - 60 minute Total Body Conditioning class
Tues, 1/8 - 20 minutes on bike, 35 minutes of Zumba class
Weds, 1/9 - 60 minutes of Zumba class
Thurs, 1/10 - 35 minutes of Zumba class, 60 minutes of hell kickboxing class
Fri, 1/11 - 60 minutes of Zumba class
Sat, 1/12 - Countdown Workout
Sun, 1/13 - 3 mile walk (only 1 on the plan, but that didn't seem worth the effort in the rain so I did 3)

Daniel's Christmas

Just like AJ, Daniel had a fantastic Christmas!  He was on Santa's nice list & got the Imaginext Eagle Talon Castle he was asking for.  He also got the Batcave and tons of accessories for both things.

Daniel & his castle

In my opinion, the coolest part about this castle is that it interacts with the accessories for it.  For example, their grandmother bought the boys the dragon that goes with this.  Every time it gets near it, the castle starts screaming "DRAGON!" or "Don't be dinner!" or "Stay away from his mouth!"  It cracks me and the boys up.  Their favorite saying is when you open the draw bridge it says "Who is it?"

Our Imaginext corner - that bag is full of guys, cars, costumes, etc

I also have to give credit where credit is due...Daniel continues to be a great big brother & may be responsible for the great sleep we've all been enjoying the past few days.  About a week ago at bed time, we were all upstairs together.  Daniel found Zak's Donald Duck stuffed animal & gave it to him to go to bed with.  After I weighed the pros & cons of an animal in the crib, I let it go (I was really tired!)  Well since then, Zak has been sleeping through the night.  Maybe he just needed a "guy" to sleep with.  Thanks Daniel!!

I love this picture of me & Daniel

Thankful Thursday - Hand Me Downs!

This may look like 6 bags of trash to you but it is 6 bags full of hand me downs!  We have been very blessed to get a ton of clothes, toys, equipment, etc for our kids from our loving & generous friends.  I'm so thankful for all of it!  But recently, it has kind of slowed down.  Not because our friends changed, but because have you ever seen clothes after a 5/6/7 year old boy wears them for a while?  Yeah, not pretty.  ;)

I was thrilled when a few weeks ago one of my friends at the gym asked me if I needed boys clothes.  She has twin boys & was starting to clear out her old things.  At first I said no, thinking she had stuff for Zak.  Then I asked what she had.  When she said mostly size 5/6/7 boys stuff I almost left class right then to get it.

I didn't expect to get so much.  There are all kinds of clothes (still haven't sorted thru them, that's the project for this weekend), a few games & toys (one of which a map of the world puzzle that AJ will LOVE) and some boots & shoes.  We just realized we had no boots for our boys & they were on my shopping list for this week but not anymore.

I'm SO thankful for all of this stuff & can't wait to get through it this weekend & start using it!  Thank you so much Lisa for our "new" stuff!

Zachary - 11 months!

Zachary has had an up and down month.  During the day he continues to be an amazing, happy, fun loving kid.  At night he continues to be the same...the problem is he wants to be happy & fun from like 2-4am.  Not cool, dude, not cool. 

But I think we have finally figured out the culprit...he is getting 4 of his top teeth!  I'm sure that is making him pretty uncomfortable.  We've been giving him Tylenol the past 2 nights & he has only been up to eat once both nights.  Hoping this will continue!  Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my little dude, but this Momma needs some sleep!

Other than all the new teeth, Zak has been continuing to grow & learn every day.  He has mastered climbing up our stairs & will do it every chance he gets.  He is also walking some now.  He will stand up on his own, take a few steps, loose his balance, then crawl to his destination.  The other 4 of us are always cheering him on so I think he'll be a full fledged walker soon.

This month was also Zak's first Christmas!  He didn't really get all the hype.  :)  He wasn't interested at all in his presents.  I have to say I'm thankful I went shopping for him in our basement this year, it didn't matter to him.  Now that we have put away all the decorations & reorganized all the toys he LOVES all his new toys.  He constantly plays with them!  He also loves all of his big brothers' new toys, especially the Imaginext stuff.

I can't believe next month he'll be a year old.  Crazy!!

Happy boy...playing with Two Face's Safe & the Bat Cave  :)

Thankful Thursday - 4 Day Weekends!

We have been lucky enough to have two 4 day weekends the past 2 weeks.  Adrian's company closed on both Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve giving him 4 days off in a row.  Then we were even luckier to get a snow day on 12/26 so Adrian only worked 1/2 day.

It was great to have Adrian home for all that time.  We were both able to deal with the fact that Zak isn't sleeping well right now while also catching up on sleep.  We were able to get a ton done around the house while still spending a ton of time playing with the boys.  And we were both able to get in a few good workouts during the crazy week.

I'm always thankful for the fact that Adrian works for the state & that we get a ton of benefits from this job, even if he could probably earn more somewhere else.  These long weekends were just one of many perks we enjoy.

It will be hard to get back into our routine next week when Adrian has to work 5 whole days!  Not to mention everyone else is back to school, gymnastics, soccer, Awana, gym classes & 1/2 marathon training.  Luckily we have another 3 day weekend coming up soon for Martin Luther King Day!

AJ's Christmas

AJ had a fantastic Christmas this year!  He was on Santa's nice list & got what he has been asking for for two and a half years...a Nintendo 3DS!  We had it on the bottom of the pile of gifts so it was one of the last things he opened Christmas morning.  At first he was bummed because he thought he didn't get it, then when he opened it, he was SO excited.

Yay!!

 

In addition to the gaming system, AJ & Daniel also got 5 new games...Super Mario Brothers 2 (which I already beat, woot!), Dora & Team Umizoomi Adventures, Toy Story 3, Lego Batman 2 & Epic Mickey.  They have been using all of their video game time (which may be extended this week since there is no school) to play the new games.

Today I also let AJ take his DS to the gym.  Lots of other kids do this so I didn't think it was a big deal.  When we got there, AJ was like the King of Childcare.  All of the boys were gathered around him, comparing DSes & games.  I loved seeing AJ interact with the other boys.  One of the boys helped him beat a level on Toy Story 3 that he was stuck on & he helped someone beat a level on Super Mario Bros.

This was by far AJ's favorite gift this year.  He also is really enjoying the Imaginext Bat Cave, Prison & accessories that they got.  We are playing a ton with those toys!  And AJ got a few new board games as well, his favorite being Super Mario Memory, which both he & Daniel kill me at. 

First on the First Race Recap

So as you know, one of my goals for this year is to do 13 races in 2013.  The quest started today with the "First on the First" 5K in Westerville.

I wanted to do this race, and my walking buddy from MIT last season did as well.  We were super excited to walk together again, it's the first time since the 1/2 marathon.   However my excitement was slightly dampened when we got a few inches of snow yesterday.  I don't mind the snow, however I was a little concerned about walking in it.  My training for my next half is starting within the next month & I DO NOT want to be injured for that.

But I knew Tammy would be waiting for me, so I got up this morning & bundled up to go walk.  It.  Was.  Awesome!  The race was a 5K loop near the Westerville Rec Center.  The trails & sidewalks were completely cleared of ice & snow.  There were a few places that had a little slush & mud, but each place had a volunteer to warn us about it.  It wasn't even that cold once we started moving, I took off both my hat & my gloves while walking & if we had kept going I would have had to take off my jacket.

It was a very fun race & I felt like I did really well.  My official time was 50:32 & I finished 783 out of 868 people.  Tammy & I passed quite a few people & felt great while we were walking.  It was so fun to catch up with her.  We committed to doing more walks together over the coming months & a few more races as well.  I definitely want to do this race again next year & see how I improve.

Hope you all had a great New Year!!  1 of my 13 done.  Next on the schedule is the virtual Sandy Hook Elementary Memorial.

Me & Tammy with our medals after the race