Running Liv's Life

Workout: 3 miles on treadmill I'm not huge into resolutions.  Mostly because I am TERRIBLE at keeping myself accountable to anything except running.  But, it is a new year, new beginnings, so I am going to try to do the following: 1.  Cut back on the pop.  Weekend ONLY for 2012!! Coke, oh, coke, why are you soooo bad for me?!! 2.  Eat fruit.  I don't know if this is a realistic goal, but I am at least going to try. Orlando tried cantaloupe for the first time tonight....he wasn't a fan :( 3.  Run more miles than I did in 2011.  I only ran 381 miles for the year, so unless I get pregnant this   shouldn't be too hard of a goal to accomplish. Finish of the Soldier Field 10 Mile.  For obvious reasons I won't be running this race next year. A very happy new year to all my readers!!  And if you have any resolutions...good luck! :)

Workout:  None I had every intention of doing loads of Christmas crafts with Lyla this year.  I'm not sure why, but I had no motivation once December got here to do any crafts with her at all.  So here is the one and only craft I pulled together: This was the easiest thing I could come up with.  Santa and his elf only required construction paper and cotton balls.  So next year it hopefully won't be too hard to one up this!

Workout:  HIIT/15 minute swim I just realized I totally forgot to write a review for the Turkey Trot I ran on Thanksgiving morning.  And since part of this blog is about running I feel obligated to write a post on the race.  So here is the quick version: *Went to the race solo since it was 40 minutes away and started at 7:30. *GPS took me to wrong location - FREAKED out!! *Made it to race with 22 minutes until start. *Bib pick up was horribly unorganized and made me mad. *Went to get my shirt and they had run out!!!  Really upset now.  I paid for that thing, darn it!! *Port-a-pottie line was forever long so I had to go behind a building ;) *The race started 10 minutes late and all I kept thinking was, "Come on, people, I have some Thanksgiving side dishes to make!!" *My butt hurt about 10 seconds into the race.  Soooo sore and I could not figure out why. *Totally dead by mile 2 so I turned on some magic - Gotta love  Flo Rida!!! *Was able to run the 5K  in 24:13/

Workout: HIIT download/2mile run Okay moms, I hate being bombarded in every parent's magazine and internet article about all these super star moms.  You know, the moms  that feed their kids organic food, only let their children play educational games, and make their two year old do service projects. You can judge and put your nose up in the air about me, but that is totally okay, because I judge you, too!!!   Seriously, I want to throw my greasy hamburger in their face and tell them to shove it.  My kids are awesome, healthy, happy, and enjoy life.  And I enjoy the things I do being their mom.  It is totally okay to: 1.   let my kids eat McDonald's french fries.  2.   let my children watch cartoons....right smack dab in front of the t.v.  3.  Allow them to drink  a late night polar pop!!  I believe this is Dr. Pepper. 4.  iPad games instead of story time at bed!! I don't care that these things will never be featured in any magazine under "things to do on

Workout: lower body strength/abs/1 mile run A few days ago on our daily walk I decided to incorporate some learning activities on our stroll to make it more fun.  With there being so much plant life every few feet I started talking about  the plants and how God made them all.  I tried to sound excited, and I wanted Lyla to get really into it.  To make it even more fun I decided to take pictures so we could print them and make a collage of all the neat plants God made. Here was our first stop....the mini palm tree.  I had to force her over to the tree.  Then, she wouldn't look at me for a picture, and she threw a little tantrum.  The "lesson" portion of our walk very quickly got thrown out the window. The next day as we set out Lyla started doing her normal jumping around and picking at every rock, stick, and blade of grass that lay on the sidewalk.  Then, she looks at me and says, "Hey mom, why don't we look at all the things God made?"  She noticed the

Workout: Upper Body Strength Training/2 mile run Most days I stay at home.  To go anywhere you have to pack the following: 1.  3-4 snacks per child.  The snacks are actually to control the whining!!  When they eat they don't whine which = one happy momma! 2.  Sippy cups.  And depending on time of day a bottle, as well, for Orlando. 3.  Diapers, wipes, and hand sanitizer. 4.  Extra clothes for the little one. 6.  A couple toys or books to keep children entertained in car seat and/or stroller. 5.  Make sure stroller is in trunk. 6.  Make sure you have your purse. Doing all of this takes FOREVER, and I only have 2 kids!!  By the time everything is loaded and the kids are in the car I am usually a sweaty mess!  Most days I grumble, "I'm not going anywhere tomorrow!!"  Soooooooooo, I woke up with this brilliant idea to take my children to the Naples Zoo.  I knew it was going to be gorgeous, and we had a free admission ticket that was going to expire soon.  Yes,

Workout:  Toning DVD/Hips, Buns, and Thighs Within 2 minutes of finishing the 8K that I totally tanked I knew I had to find another race to sign up for to redeem myself.  And I also knew it had to be a 5K because 5 miles was just a little too much for my knee.  Since this is FL, and it is still low to mid 80s everyday, it is extremely easy to find races!!  I just so happened to find a race that was supporting a local middle school.  Part of the entry fee went to buying books for the school.  Being a former teacher I quickly signed up.  This is about 20 minutes before start time.  It was about 55 degrees...the coldest it has been since moving here.  I had to watch the family eat McDonalds.  Hey, whatever keeps the kids happy :)  The race was at a gorgeous park!!  The course was awesome!!  Flat, scenic, and viewer friendly.  I got to see the fam 3 times!  Coming in to finish.  I'm waving at Lyla and Orlando.  If you look closely you can tell. Post race chillin' with Orlando

Workout: None The scorching heat is gone and fall has pretty much just begun here in FL.  Here are a few highlights from the past week or so. Lyla and I crafted up some Halloween treats!  They were fairly easy to make and tasted delicious!!  Lyla was really proud of the ones she got to decorate :) Lyla and Grace both dressed up as pirates.  We didn't bother getting Orlando a costume since he isn't even walking yet.  He just enjoyed eating his sister's M&Ms while daddy pushed him in the stroller.  It was an awesome evening...about 75 degrees :) And last Saturday, we went to our first fall festival!  Lyla got her face painted, made 3 crafts, and rode the slide about 15 times!!  Thankfully her older cousin rocks; Grace gave up time with her friends to ride the slide with Lyla since she wasn't tall enough to go by herself. And this is just because poor Orlando didn't make it into one of the "fall fun" photos.  He just sits in the stroller, and th

Workout: None - Super Sore :( So here's the latest trend - run a race with absolutely no running training.  This is the third race I've run in the past 6 months that I had to quit training because of my knee.  I did some swimming but I very quickly learned that swimming really does nothing for running a race! The race was run in a gated community called  Verandah .  This is just before the start of the race.  I was sooo excited to have Lyla there to cheer me on.  This was her first time watching mommy.  It seems that Lyla won't become a good luck charm because I did NOT run to impress.  This could very well be one of the worst races I've ever run!!  The humidity was 93%, my iPod died, my Garmin died, I had 2 burning blisters by mile 2, my entire body was tight, I got stuck running next to some old man that grunted every third breath, and I had ZERO motivation!!!  Even though I felt like major crap I refused to walk.  It can be so easy to just quit and take walking b

Workout:  Lower body strength training I hate to share!  Even if I'm not that hungry I won't split a meal.  I want my own.  I even hate it when Matt takes sips of my drink.  Ugh, if you were thirsty, why didn't you get your own!!!  I hate sharing so much that I don't even like to share with my sweet precious kiddos.  Orlando is always eating my cereal in the morning, and Lyla pretty much wants bites of anything I eat.  Lately, for my afternoon snack I have been eating a Chex Mix 100 calorie snack pack.  With a big glass of Pink Lemonade Crystal Light; it is the perfect snack.  No matter what I give the kids for their snack they always want some of mine.  Okay, listen children, I HATE to share!!  And when I only get 100 measly calories to begin with I want EVERY LAST CRUMB!! Here is Orlando throwing a fit because I won't give him any Chex Mix!  I hate to share, and he hates it when I won't share.  I finally ended up giving him 2 pieces, but tomorrow, I'm

Workout: Swim 15 min/Ab video I broke our mini vacation to Orlando into two sections so you weren't bombarded with one HUGE set of pictures!  Here are some highlights from the rest of our trip. Downtown Disney.  Look how happy she is!! Aren't we just the cutest mommy/daughter set :) Back at our hotel checking out the snakes! And the cutest daddy/son pair :) Key West Lagoon at our hotel! Only a two day vacation but sooo much fun!  We can't wait to go back and experience more of Orlando

Workout:  Swim 15 min. Last week Matt had Thursday and Friday off for Rosh Hashanah (which I just swagged to find out that it is the Jewish New Year).  Teachers down here in FL get mad discounts on loads of places so we decided this would be a good time to take advantage of one of those discounts and have a mini vacation. We got to stay here, at the Gaylord Palms, in Orlando.  They have an amazing teacher discount that we will definitely be taking advantage of again!!  The kids and I are above the O, but obviously, you can't tell. Enjoying snack time on the balcony! These interactive maps were everywhere.  Matt loved them! On our way to the pool.  This is in the atrium.  Those are alligators behind us!! Fun paths throughout the hotel with fish, turtles, gators, etc. to explore all around! We spent the majority of the first day staying at the hotel.  Exploring, swimming, and relaxing.  I will post a few more pics of our fun getaway soon!

Workout: Athletic Stretch Video/Swim 15 min. My knee pain is back.  Full force serious pain.  I am really REALLY upset about this.  So upset that I took my anger out on poor little Orlando and yelled at him pretty bad.  I made him cry which in turn made me feel like I deserved Worst Mother of the Year Award.  I decided then and there that rather than pout about not being able to run that I would do something about it.  First up - cross train.  Luckily it is still blazing hot down here, and I have easy access to a pool. It sorta looks like I'm drowning, but rest assured, I totally know how to swim.  Since this was my first time swimming in about 10 years I kept it pretty easy.  I did 2 min swim, rest 30 seconds, 2 min swim, rest 30, etc. for 15 minutes. Second, on my road to recovery, is wearing compression tights. Compression gear is the latest in elite athletic apparel.  There is this amazing science behind the compression apparel (which I won't try to explain but you can

Workout: 3 mile run Heard of  Pinterest ?  I'm sure most of you have, but for the few of you that haven't, WARNING:  it is addictive!  I don't have much up yet on my boards, but before I got carried away and went crazy pinning I decided to actually make  something I found. I absolutely loved the way it turned out!!  I just used an old blanket for the backdrop which makes it easy to fold up and put away, and we painted some rocks for the throwing pieces.   Mine isn't quite as fancy as the one I found, and I later realized that 1 and 2 are vertical, 3 and 4 horizontal, etc.  However, my 3 year old has no clue, could care less, and LOVES to play!!

Workout: 4 miles/35:01 This run was suppose to be special.  I had waited all week to go running down one of the most gorgeous roads in FL.  I was excited, yes EXCITED, to head out and just run for about and hour while looking at views of the ocean, gorgeous palm trees, and magnificent houses. I was looking the complete opposite of  Frumpy Runner ; sporting my brand new running outfit that I basically got for free at the Addidas outlet.  My trusty Garmin was charged, I looked good, and it wasn't too hot yet.  This was going to be awesome!! My journey began here.   Those of you that are friends with me on FB may recognize this picture.  I had just got to Bonita Springs Beach.  At this point I am having a runner's high, and I haven't even started running yet.  Little did I know this high would only last about 3/4 a mile.  I set out for my jog along the beach thinking it would be fun listening to the water, but my legs didn't think this was so much fun.  After a measly