Running Liv's Life

Workout:  None - And I ate pizza, about 6 cookies, and had a giant Coke!! One thing I love about December is baking cookies.  It makes the kitchen warm, the entire house smells good, and you get to have dessert for the next few nights.  Everything is wonderful and grand!  Then, to make things even merrier the kids come to help.  You are making cozy memories, teaching them valuable math skills, and allowing them to get a little messy.  We laugh and giggle together and take turns licking the spoon - AH!, so wonderful! Hahahaha!!!!  That is what I thought baking with my children would be like....before I had any, and the idea of motherhood was like living in a land of bliss.  But, the reality is baking with your kids is AWFUL!!!  It just sucks!  You give them a cup of flour and half of it doesn't even go in the bowl.  They whine and complain because you won't let them crack the eggs or measure out the wet ingredients.  They spill the sugar and now you are stepping on sugar

 Workout: 3 miles easy Well, I don't really love pilates.  I LOVE running.  But, girls, I have found the best at-home videos for you!!!!  Your muscles will burn, you will be sweating, and most likely you will be sore the next day.  Who doesn't love that?!!!! My knee has been hurting pretty bad so I decided to take a week off from running.  I needed to do something because nothing is never an option.  I knew I needed something that would be very low impact so my knee could completely rest.  The thought of doing yoga made me cringe and so I was pretty much left with pilates. (We don't have a gym membership so I had to come up with something I could do in my home.) I decided to check youtube and came across the most amazing, hardcore, and intense pilates workouts.  See ya later Jillian Michaels DVD!!  I'm hooked on POP Pilates  with instructor Cassey Ho!!   This is Uh-Oh Obliques.  Killer!! Why I love her: -She actually works out the entire time with you!  

Workout:  POP: Pilates Total Body Workout and POP: Pilates Butt Blaster I love racing!  Love, love, love it!!  And I love it even more when you expect 40 degree running weather but get 65!  Woohoo!!  Last Saturday I ran in the Run 101 5K at ICC to support student scholarships. This was pre-race.  I love having my whole family at races to support me, and Lyla is the BEST cheerleader.  Sometimes I just want to run over and kiss her in the middle of the race!  And can I just say how freaking huge my forerunner looks in this picture!!!  It might be time to use my virtual stay at home mom salary to buy  this beauty!! This is right at mile 1 - 7:37.  I felt really good here.  I mean, I am smiling at this point.  But as soon as I started mile 2 things got sluggish and it took me a long time to figure out why.  Mile 2 was 85% uphill. One of those long gradual climbs.  REALLY struggled to pull off a 7:57.  The last mile was flat, but windy, windy, windy.  I think this mile was 7:41.

Workout:  None - horrible, awful, terrible knee pain!! :(( On Wednesday, October 31, I lost a dear friend and fellow runner.  Matt's cousin, Natalie, died tragically at the young age of 19. Natalie was like my blog "groupie"!  I know she read my posts regularly, and in fact, she told me that she looks forward to my posts!  I figured it would only be fitting to dedicate this post to her. Natalie and I loved to talk about running.  Whenever we would come down to visit Matt's family we would try to get together for a run.  Thanksgiving 2010 we ran the Old National Turkey Day 5K together.  This was her first 5K, and she kicked my butt....although, let me say that I had just had a baby 4 months earlier so had the circumstances been different, um,  she still would have kicked my butt!:) A few weeks later our family was back to visit for Christmas.  While talking about running she somehow slipped in the word yoga.   And before I knew it I had agreed to take some y

Workout:  Speed Work - 1 mile warm up, 8 x .25 mile repeats, 1 mile cool down My little girl is getting so big!  She is finally old enough to participate in organized team sports.  For her birthday in May we bought her a soccer ball and goal for the backyard.  She played all summer long with Matt, and then starting in September she got to play the real deal!! She loved every part of being on a team.  She even loved the warm up lap!! Score!!!  First game and she scored two goals.  She totally takes after her mother as far as being athletic goes:) On her way to score again!  This was her second game and I think she scored twice.  Such a soccer star! Even just sitting on the bench she looked so stinkin' cute!  I know she is sad the season is over, but thankfully it hasn't been too cold and we have been able to play in the backyard some.  Not the same, but still a lot of fun!

Workout: None Yesterday morning I had the most fabulous birthday run!  Well, aesthetically fabulous.  Physically I felt like crap.  My foot hurt, then my calf started hurting, and I was super tired and sluggish....anyway, the fabulousness: It was the most beautiful morning ever!!!  The temperature was perfect, the colors in the trees were amazing, and the sun was just rising making the sky a mix of oranges, blues, and purple. Pretty, pretty, pretty!  I remember last year in FL I missed fall soooooo much!  Come October everything was green, green, more green, HOT, humid, and green.  Although come January I wasn't missing much about the midwest.  Okay, back to the birthday run.  Even though I was having little aches and pains the fall beauty made up for it and made this run awesome!  Then, when I walked in the door I found this: A plate of Ding Dongs with the candles all lit, and the kids started singing Happy Birthday.  It was super sweet!!  And a super fabulous way

Workout: None After running the Bridge to Bridge last week I realized I need to incorporate a good hill into my workout rotation.  It is good for speed, strength, and will help shape my rear!:)  On my way home from dropping off a friend after MOPS I spotted the PERFECT hill.  Unfortunately, it was out in the middle of nowhere on kind of a creepy overgrown country road.  Fortunately, I have the world's BEST husband who bundled up the kids and came out there with me!! Down, up, down, up, down, up = .52 miles.  I decided 4 plus 1 bonus would be a good workout.  To mentally get myself through speed workouts I tell myself only 4 repeats.  The fifth is just a bonus.  Matt thinks it's weird, but it works for me and helps me push through #3 which is usually the hardest. We brought the wagon out for the kids to have some good old fashion free  fun.  I took them for a little joy ride as my cool down.  They loved it!!! Best part - this was a dead end road with no houses ar

Workout:  None - too sore!! Yesterday I ran the Bridge to Bridge 4 mile run in Peoria.  And unlike the past dozen races I have run over the year I actually trained for this one!! BEWARE!  I went picture crazy at this event....I was in a good mood:) I lined up at the 8 minute pacing sign, and there were hardly any people around.  I just kinda stood there looking around like an idiot.  This was a smaller race, yes, but come on, where were all the fast people?? I should've known Matt would take a picture like this.  He is having too much fun with the new panoramic setting on the iphone!! Here is how the race went down: Mile 1 - We started off doing one little loop around the block - which was nice because I got to see Matt!!  We then headed off to run over the first bridge. Slight hill here.  Not too bad, but I could feel it.  Had to work just a tad to kept a steady pace up over this bridge. This was the view from the top of the bridge.  It was beautiful!!  I

Workout: 3 miles easy - no watch I am running a race next weekend, and believe it or not I am actually training!  Training consists of: -speed work:  usually repeat 400s, 800s, or mile repeats -tempo run:  3 miles at 20-25 seconds slower than race pace -progressive run: 3-4 miles with each mile faster than the last -easy run: I don't run with a watch so I'm not focused on pace or time I do each of these once a week.  The first 3 type of workouts are always challenging, but if I don't push myself my speed will not improve.  Last week I did mile repeats, and I pushed myself so hard I got sick!  And it was totally worth it!!:)  My goal next week - 8 minute miles....I can't believe that used to be easy.  Hope to get back to that place again someday!

Workout:  None I had a really great motto this summer for staying fit and healthy.  It was called, Screw It!  I really don't know where the laziness came from because that really isn't like me, but I just had zero motivation to do anything.  I have my alarm set for 5:15, but most mornings went something like this: The Total Screw:  Screw It!! I'm sleeping.  I never get sleep, and right now I would rather sleep than drag my feet around this town! The Partial Screw:  Screw It!!   I don't feel like running 4 miles.  I will run 2 and consider it a success. The Compromise Screw:  Screw It!!  I reeeeeeally don't want to run so I will just go for a nice bike ride instead.  I mean some exercise is better than nothing. The huge negative effect to this awesome attitude is that the scale has creeped up 3 pounds since June.  OUCH!!!  The number staring at my face last weekend  was enough to help change my attitude.  My new goal is to run 4 days a week and strength tra

Workout:  None The hardest and most frustrating part of parenting is...... Hands down this wins!!!  And my kids trained pretty well.  And even though they were "good" potty trainers it was still the most mentally and physically exhausting process EVER!!!  We are only on day 12 with Orlando, but I would say he is pretty much trained.  The hardest part with him is over.  Now I am trying to tackle the running errands part with him.  Yesterday he had to go potty but would not go on the "big" toilet at Wal-mart!!!  We don't do pull-ups in our house so I was forced to rush through the store so he wouldn't have an accident....ugh!!!  Thankfully, I threw the potty in the back of the van before we left so he went once we got to the car.   Maybe when my kids are teenagers I will look back at these moments and remember how easy life was.    But for where I am at right now I can't imagine anything being harder!

Workout:  2 miles easy.  Normally don't run on Sundays, but it was too gorgeous not to!! Back in April my little sister called and asked me to do the Champaign Mini Triathlon with her.  At first I wasn't completely on board, but then she told me each distance and I knew I could handle it.  It was only a 400 M swim, 6 mile bike, and 2 mile run.  I looked at it as a good way to stay in shape for the summer. The funny thing about staying in shape means you have to actually work out.  Which I haven't done, like, hardly at all.  I wish I had a good excuse, but basically I have been LAZY!!  The Olympics didn't even motivate me to get off my butt!:(  So the morning of the tri was the first time I had swam since January, the first time I mounted a bike in over a year, and the first time I ran over 1 mile in 4 days. Lucky for me the first 200 M of the swim was in a lazy river.  Everyone just dolphin dives this portion.....I had never even heard of a dolphin dive until 3 m

Workout: 2 mile tempo run Before we moved to FL we sold EVERYTHING we owned.  So that means when we moved back we had NOTHING.  The fun part about having nothing means we got to buy everything.  In our 7 years of marriage we had never bought one piece of brand new furniture so this was really exciting for me!! This was the easiest decision.  As soon as I saw this table I loved it, and then when I saw the price I new it would be ours! This was our riskiest decision.  Our room is tiny, and bedroom furniture is huge!!  When you haven't seen your bedroom in almost a year it can be hard to determine what will fit just right....and thankfully this did. This was our looooooongest decision.  After visiting the furniture store 18 times we went with this set that I love, love, love!! This was our most fun decision.  We new we wanted bunk beds for the kids but didn't know how fancy they make them these days!  Orlando is still in a crib, but eventually he will get to s

Workout:  4 miles easy I have almost completed my 6 week therapy program for my knee.  Each session I have the same beginning conversation with my therapist. Therapist:  How does your knee feel?  Any pain? Me: Not much.  Very minimal. Therapist:  Oh good! My inner thoughts:  Yes, that is good, but I'm not doing anything, so of course it doesn't hurt!! I'm only running 1 mile every other day, and then last week they cut out all lower body strength training as well.  So, it has been bothering me lately that I don't really know if my knee is improving.  Am I down to minimal pain because I'm not running anymore, or is it because I am actually starting to heal?  How do I know which it is?  Well, in my mind there is only one way to find out.  Do a little test drive!!  This morning I headed out for my first 4 mile run since mid-May.  And this is how I felt afterwards: Yes, that is a Lightning McQueen boo-boo buddy pack on my knee:)  It served its purpose great

Workout: 1 mile run, 10 lb Slim down Total Body Workout DVD Seven years ago today I got to marry this hottie: Woohoooooo!!!!!!!!!! And to celebrate seven great years we were able to get a few days to ourselves to relax.  After dropping the kids off at grandma and grandpa's house we drove down to Mammoth Cave National Park to camp, hike, and explore. (We were near Bowling Green, KY.)   If only I could relax like this on a regular basis! And if only Mattie Boy would cook dinner for me on a regular basis!!  Or, if only I could cook dinner sitting down would suffice in this case. And if you haven't been to Mammoth Cave before I HIGHLY recommend it.  It is only about 6 hours from central IL, and it is the perfect national park to visit on a hot summer day.  The cave is a chilly 54 degrees, and it felt wonderful!   The only way to explore the world's largest cave system is through a tour.  We took a 2 hour historic tour and loved it! I was ex

Workout: 1 mile run (pathetic, I know, but the therapist has me basically not running), Jillian Michaels' video It has been 18 months that my knee has been bothering me.  Last year I went and visited  this jerk .  I did exactly what he told me, and the problem never got better.  So when we got back from FL I decided to visit a new doctor.  He had a completely different diagnosis than Dr. Jerkface.  The new doc told me my knee problem is due to weak glutes and my running stride.  The glute thing was surprising to me but can obviously be fixed easily.  The running stride/form thing left me feeling defeated.  How am I suppose to change the way I run after 22 years of running!?!!!  Big. Sigh. So no I am back in therapy learning different exercises and stretches to get a strong butt. Matt tells me it looks like I am not doing anything.  Though it may appear that I am just being lazy, in reality I am squeezing my glutes!  This is the best way to get a stronger butt; laying down d

Workout:  None.  Okay, I was going to do a Jillian Michaels' video this morning, but my husband told me to skip.  So I said okay....without hesitating. My babies are babies until they are 2.  I don't know why I have it in my head that this is the official toddler age, but I just do.  I don't know if I read it somewhere or I just made it up.  Probably the latter.  Anyway, on July 2 Orlando officially became a toddler.  I have no more babies!!!  (Notice there is no frowny face.)  As some of you saw on facebook it really wasn't much of a birthday.  Poor little thing looked like this most of the day: He looks so sad and pathetic.  But I would too if I had thrown up as much as he did.  I will mention I did NOT like him sitting on that NEW WHITE chair, but he had held his food down for quite some time at this point.  And, he was being sooo good. Here he is looking a little more perky!  He didn't get out of his night shirt all day.  This does not happen in my house

Workout:  None Last Saturday I woke up at 4:50 to head over to Peoria for a race.  This is not just any race....it is the world's fastest 4 mile course.  The world record is broken time after time here and all your top elite athletes run in this race.  And the best part is it is just a good old fashion everyone start at the same time no corals type of race!  It is such a fun thought knowing that those Kenyans are not too far from me, well, at the start, at least.  Within 10 seconds they are out of sight!:) I didn't really have any expectations for this race.  With my knee, moving 1300 miles across the country, and Matt starting his new job running hasn't been a huge priority.  I was hoping to pull off an 8 minute pace, but I really didn't know if that was possible. Within the first .25 miles I felt fatigued.  Even if you're not a runner you should know that isn't a good sign!  I decided then that my goal would be to run at a comfortable "uncomfortable

Workout:  Jillian Michaels video/3 mile run 1 - number of marathons I have run. 2 - number of races I have run with my mom. 3 - number of state medals I have from Track & Field. 4 - number of miles I will be running in my race this Saturday. 5 - farthest distance (in miles) I have run in over a year :( 6 - how many more races I would like to run this year. 7 - average minute per mile for a 5K in 2007. 8 - average minute per mile for a 5K in 2012 :(( 9 - number of races I have run since being a mom. 10 - the age I started running!!!!! Blast to the past!!  Well, not that far past...2007.  My mom and I (Lil' sis is there, too) before the start of the Fox River Trail Half Marathon.  The one and only half I have ever done!  The other race my mom and I ran together was the Chicago Marathon back in '99.  Now that is a blast to the past!!!