Well it's official folks. I'm running.

...Which... I mean duh. But I officially registered for the Rock and Roll Seattle half marathon in June. Ugh. I am so dang nervous and excited..  and feeling sooo much pressure! I mean.. I really have to do this now. I have to run 13.1 miles. In a row. In June. Stay Tuned.. :)

So I know this blog is about running..

BUT.. I did what you might call "hot power yoga". You see, this week Thursday is my cross training day. I thought yoga would be perfect because it releases stress, endorphines and stretches out all of my sore muscles from running. I went with Lisa, and we were both really scared. Neither of us has ever done any yoga of any sort. It was beautiful.
Okay, so the class got up to like 109 degrees and I really almost threw up twice.. but if I don't feel awesome now (two hours post class).. then I don't know what I do feel... or something.

Anyway, yes, it is challenging, no, I couldn't do all of the poses.. but I actually suprised myself. Lisa and I both kicked a little bit of ass! We kept up with everyone else for the most part. The key is to park it way in the back so no one sees how stupid you look, and so you can see how cool the rest of the people look thus attempting to mimick their movements.

I will continue to add hot yoga into my routine as much as I can. If you choose to do hot yoga yourself, I have one huge word of advice... DON'T EAT PRIOR TO IT. They recommend you don't eat for two hours before and seriously, don't. Especially don't eat frozen chicken and cheese taquitos.

If you want to know where I went and want to take andvantage of the amazing special they have right now (first 10 classes for 10 dollars) just give the link below a little click! :)

Tomorrow.. I run. I run 3 miles actually. Wish me all the luck!

http://www.hotyogainc.com/

Hot Yoga

So I decided for this week's cross training exercise, I will be going to Hot Yoga. I am terrified. I have never done yoga, I am not sexy while stretching in any way shape or form..and it is going to be 105 degrees with 40% humidity. This should make for a smashing post. :)

www.hotyogainc.com

Decisions, decisions...

 I basically have until Friday to decide if I want to join Team in Training.. a wonderful organization that trains together and does marathons to raise money for patients with blood cancers, Leukemia and Lymphoma. Seems like a no brainer, right? Of course any good person who is already running a half marathon SHOULD join a cause and raise money, right? Well okay. But you have to raise 2500! Dollars! I mean, so many people do it but what if I can't raise that much and end up putting my family in debt trying? I would love the training and group runs and obviously the cause.. but I dunno! I just really have to think about it.

I found a route I like tonight. It is two miles there and back but I can always go there and back again! I am still really struggling with my measley two miles..but when I run again on Friday and Saturday I know I will break that. I HAVE to run for 50 minutes saturday without stopping. Soooo if I am doing a 12 minute mile (embarrasing I know, but I just started!!) then that is like 5 miles! ugh. I am just going to do my very best.

So what do you guys think? Should I join Team in Training or wait until the next race they do? I kind of think maybe for my first half I shouldn't have cancer patients depending on me (well, so to speak..). On the other hand, that might just be the push I need to get to that thirteenth mile! Help!

http://www.teamintraining.org/wa/

Just so you all know..

I'm still running! I just haven't had time to post anything! Last night I actually went running outside alone at night because I am so tired of the stupid treadmill. It was kind of scary which I think helped my speed but I drove it afterwards and found that I only ran 1.6 miles. I really need to program my pedometer. I'll talk more later about Team in Training and such things... chasing children around! :)

You ever have one of those days...

... The kind of day when nothing seems to go right, the clock is ticking far too quickly and it seems like nothing is being accomplished? Yeah. Well that's me. Ugh. All I wanna do is go for a nice brisk run and my husband is gone at a poker tournament, my kids are being crazy lunatics and my house is a mess. Even the baby.. the baby who never cries... has been really mad about something all day long.

Tonight the girl friends and I are planning to go get appetizers at the Melting Pot and relax, which should be fun... but I have to get out there for a run first... if it is at all possible.

I am feeling very stretched in every single direction right now. It is so hard to balance having three small kids, a husband, an entire household to manage, bills to pay, training to be had, diets to follow, friends to see, grandmas in the hospital, etc etc etc. I am extremely talented in the multi-tasking arena...but sometimes I think I might be stretched a hair too thin.

Anyhoo, I went to the Team in Training website and requested some info. I think this is exactly what I need to kick things up a notch and hold me even more accountable. I love running, I really do. I love how it makes me feel, the alone time I get, the sense of accomplishment when I am done. I do NOT love having zero time to do it.
For the upcoming week, I am going to stick to my training schedule come hell or high water. That is my promise to you, imaginary people. I will not let you down. :)

Whatever happened to lazy Sundays? I haven't had one of those in like... 6 years. Maybe next week?

Things that are new... sort of

Aloha everyone.

I have decided I need to find a team. My friend, Lacey is part of what I think you call, Team In Training.. or something. They do races for Leukemia and Lymphoma. It seems to me, if I am going to be doing all of this running, I may as well raise some money for folks. I also got a flyer in the mail for the Psoriasis walk. I am not a huge walking enthusiast, but I myself suffer from the crap hole that is psoriasis.. so I am probably going to do that one.

More and more everyday I am realizing that I really can do this. The more I read, the more stories I hear, the more pictures I see get me so pumped up. Also, in my current book I have learned that you don't HAVE to run the entire time. You can say, run 5 miles and then walk for a minute, walk 5 miles, walk for a minute.. and so on. That makes it all seem much more doable. I didn't run last night, as Aunt Flo made an terribly painful and unexpected visit.. she is still here but I am going to some cross training this evening anyhoo.

For those more experienced runners (we will pretend for blog's sake an experienced runner is actually reading this), while running a marathon or a half marathon.. how often do you stop, slow down, and start back up again? I am curious.

I am going to recommend one more time, the book I am reading, The Non-Runner's Marathon Guide For Women by Dawn Dais. It is a wonder.

Until we meet again!

Dawn Dais on pacing yourself: "I've found a pace at which I can run eleven miles and not die. That's a good pace for me. There's one thing wrong with it, though. When you're running a pace similar to that of an eighty-year-old asthamatic woman with a wooden leg, pretty much everyone else who is running or walking or riding a bike will pass you. I'm okay with being passed. What I have difficulty with is the number of asses I see as I'm being passed."

I know I have been a boring blogger..

But good news! I feel inspired again! I got my book in the mail today, the book about training when you are nothing but a lazy ass. I also looked at a bunch of pics online of the Rock and Roll Marathon in Seattle. I'm doing the half in June. I have 18 weeks to train.. and this is exactly the kick in the ass I need. I am going to follow the plan in my new book to a tee and see how it works! You should all check it out, besides being hilarious, the author really feels like someone regular folks can relate to! :)




http://nonrunnersmarathontraining.com/

I think they call this cross training...

So today is an off running day and I have decided it would be best to follow most training schedules that  I see and cross train or walk on my off days. So I went on the eliptical in the gym here today. Elipticals suck btw. I lasted about 5 minutes on it and was so bored I could have cried. I got off the eliptical and went back on my old friend, the treadmill. It was actually hard to restrain myself from running but I did. I cranked the hill elevation up as high as it would go and walked at about 3mph. I was actually sweating REALLY HARD. I did about 12 minutes of that and figured that was enough. :)

So yesterday I started logging the food I eat on www.caloriecount.com . So far it has proven to be EXTREMELY helpful. It makes me think twice about the crap I am putting in my body.

I woke up this morning and decided to weigh myself (which is something I haven't done since I became lazy last week.) Some how I lost 3 more POUNDS! ...but who is counting, right?

I ran today..

I went to the local treadmill again. Good news and bad I suppose. I haven't done anything since last tuesday so it was hard to even get my butt up.. but I did. I consider that good news. I only ran 1.5 miles, but I did increase my speed .. I did a mile in a little over 12 minutes. That is something, right? I mean.. considering the last time I ran it took me almost exactly 15 minutes. lol


Today has been a stressful day, and I know that is no excuse but I'm just happy I got out there. I will again tomorrow. My grandma broke her hip today while babysitting my 5 year old and that is weighing heavily on my mind. She is expecting to go into surgery anytime, and according to my mom, she isn't a good candidate for surgery.

I will write more tomorrow, and surely have better news! Gooooooood night.

Good News and Bad News

Happy Valentine's day, folks!

The husband got me an mp3 player and arm band holder thing for my runs, as well as a really nice pedometer that will measure my distance and calories burned while running. I thought you all could appreciate that. I also appreciate the dozen long stemmed roses and the positive attitude. Hee Hee.

I haven't run since Tuesday. I have failed myself this week. It's been a rough one. I'm glad I had it though, because I have proved to myself that I have the drive. I still can't wait to get out there and run my ass off. It really all changes tomorrow. I'm changing my diet and everything. I am now allowing myself to drink only one night of the week. The wine throws me all off.

Tomorrow's blog will be much more action packed. I need to go cuddle with my muffin of love now... or play Jenga.. whatev.

Love Love Love!

The old Kristina was starting to peak her ugly little head...

.......but I smacked that fat head.

Let me explain. Since my Bradley Lake run the other day, the run that I thought was going to actually kill me.. I haven't run. That was Tuesday. Today is Friday. What the hell am I doing?!! I don't have to time waste like this! In all honesty, something has been wrong with my stomach. It has been really bloated and hurt really bad. I still should have run. I feel like a lazy heap of dirt-bag.

Anyway, let us not dwell on our faults. Tonight - we run. A lot. Back on the horse.

I still haven't lost anymore weight than the 10lbs I have lost thus far, sooooo I guess it's time to change the diet, again.

I am going to start (gasp!) couting calories. I read online yesterday, while you are nursing you need a minimum of 2200 calories to keep your milk supply up. So I am making that my daily goal... 2200 calories. I have been looking at all of these calorie counting websites and will probably set myself up with one. Probably the most user friendly one, I suppose.

The husband and I are going to Vegas in June. I am going to lose 50 lbs by June. Think it's impossible? Watch me.

I am going to be able to run the 3 3/4 mile St. Patrick's day race. It's on March 13th. Think I can't? Watch.

Alls I'm sayin'.

What is it with Bradley Lake Park?!

So I like to go up to South Hill's bradley lake park trail once in a while. It is really hilly, about a mile one time around and great scenery. For some reason, though, I can't run nearly as far there as anywhere else! It always feels way colder, my lungs always feel like they are going to collapse, and I don't understand. I mean, I would think it might be a little more difficult than running downtown Puyallup's mostly flat turane, or obviously the treadmill... but I can't conquer this place! I Barely even ran for a mile straight and my legs hurt so bad and I actually started coughing because my chest hurt so bad.

Any ideas or tips? Anyone?!

Whoa - what a day..

Today in a nutshell: Happy, Tired, Really Sad, Really Frustrated, Really Sad again, Ran REALLY hard, Scared, Tired, Happy.

Okay, that was a pretty big nutshell and probably confusing. To sum it up, this day was exhausting. I didn't want to run at all. I felt fat and lazy and like I wanted to crawl in my bed and cry myself to sleep. Then I remembered that I don't want to be on anti-depressant drugs. Running is my new Prozac.

Aside from a Jeffrey Dahmer look-a-like watching me in the gym, I had a splendid time. Again, I thought I was hardly going to make it to a mile, but got to two. Hopefully when I go again on Wednesday I can bump it up some. I honestly feel completely maxed out every time I hit that 2 mile mark.

My husband's brother's girlfriend is a personal trainer and knows her stuff. I asked her if she could throw together a little diet/meal plan type situation for me. I am not stupid. I know that eventually I will hit a wall with how far I can go because I am so large and in charge. Sure I have lost some, but when was the last time you saw an overweight person finish at a marathon? I need to step it up a notch.

On a sad note, my best pal, Denise has to withdrawl herself from all of the running and training and future races. She is just battling some wee health issues at the moment and needs to take it easy. I love her to death and pray she will be feeling better in no time. Much love, Palmade.

* Thank you to Alissa Tucci for all of your grammatical help this evening ;)

Live and Learn, right?

Bad Weekend. Very Bad. But it isn't all my fault! We had an unexpected house guest all weekend, we had the superbowl, and I was lacking running partners! And... I was eating massive amounts of terrible food. And  I was drinking more than the necessary amount of Wine.

Anyway, getting back on that horse and riding.. all the way to the Seattle Marathon, right?! Right.

I ordered a new book on Amazon.com. It's all about starting out running and becoming a marathoner. Should be good!

I realize this post is lame. I will write more after my run tonight. :)

I ran.

This is quite an amazing journey, to risk sounding like a corn ball. At 7 pm I decided I didn't need to run tonight. Then Lisa called and said she amazingly ran to her son's swimming lessons (and then some) tonight. It inspired me. I got my fat butt off of the couch and went over to the ol' treadmill. I was pretty sure I was going to stop at the first mile.. I was really full from my huge dinner salad and kind of tired. I kept telling myself that I ran a lot yesterday, and didn't need to over do it. However,  after I hit that mile mark , I had to keep going..eventually I switched to a fast walk at 2.1 miles. I ran 2 miles straight. Whoa. Honestly, I'm sure I have before, but the treadmill is really the only way to make sure I can run that far. Sooooo a little over a mile more and I will be able to run...a 5k.

To run... or not to run... that is the question..

Okay. It is 7:21pm. I ran yesterday.. I shouldn't really run tonight. I want to. I should rest my joints. Oh man.

Better than we expected!

Well Howdy doo dee. The girls and I took last night off due to schedule conflicts, and just because we should be taking SOME days off. Tonight we all felt a little crappy I think. I had Dominos for lunch (best sandwich ever btw) and drank a lot of coffee. Getting going in the beginning of the jog was a bit of a struggle but did we ever get our second wind?!  Yes ma'am. 2.2 miles of pure, wet, beautiful running. It was great. I was so amazed at our progress I couldn't help but sound like a cheerleader, chanting things like " Holy S***! Look how far we are going!! ".
 Okay, so we warmed up for probably 3 minutes, cooled down for probably 5... but that is necessary. We also had to stop for a train but jogged in place like a bunch of douche bags (pardon my francais) while we waited for it. I felt AMAZING tonight. We are progressing very quickly. Running almost 2 miles is one thing on a treadmill, but out on the streets...with hills and puddles and car dodging?! I am proud of us.

Things on the home front are not going as smoothly today so I am going to take a little down time this evening with a beer and some quiet time ( if the kids allow it).

I guess I will say it again. This, by far is the best decision I have ever made solely for myself. Period. Until next run!

Just another manic Monday

Oooooh ooooo wooooah.

We ran today. We got out there and we ran hard. Apparently the girls (Denise and Lisa) thought we were going to walk/run the 5k on March 14th. Ummmmm no. We can get up to 3 3/4 miles by then. No sweat. We don't even really know how far we are going now. It seems like a long time to me, I sweat pretty hard and I honestly go until I can't move my legs anymore. I bet we can go at least 2 miles without stopping now. Do people who run marathons really RUN the entire 26.2? That seems crazy, but hell.. so did the thought of me having a desire to run a marthon in the first place. ha ha. It is going to happen. Maybe even sooner than we think, who knows?

If you ever get discouraged, by the way, I recommend reading a book that honestly changed my entire way of thinking. Oprah recommended it to me!

A weekend in review

Ok... so Friday night I went running on the ol' treadmill. It did well, only ran about 1.5 miles because I felt like I might pass out. It was so hot in there and I wore way too many layers. I got off the treadmill and quickly realized my knee was THROBBING. This was the worst pain I have experienced so far, during my training. I got home, iced the hell out if it and it seemed okay, but I knew I would have to take the next day off. Saturday I took the day off. Went weddng dress shopping with Lisa, ate a little Thai food. It was a pretty good day. Today the girls and I went for a mini run and were graced with miss Patti-cake's presence. It was nice to have someone else with us. Little change. I think we barely jogged a mile, but we were all really tired I think so kudos to us for even getting out there, I think. Tonight I am exhausted, not feeling as motivated as I have lately.. and my husband has something new up his arse.

 I am sooo tired and hope the baby will sleep for me. We will see how it goes, but hopefully I will be able to run tomorrow! :) I know this is a pretty boring post, but I need to sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz