Santa Visit 2014

We had our second ever Santa visit yesterday.  I don't know if you read about last year's visit but go here to check it out.  Just to catch you up, the Local Union 226 brings in the most awesome Santa EVER to the union hall where the kids can take their time warming up to him.  Not only is he the best (not scary, not over dressed), he has cool stuff like a pocket watch and this year a cool book.  The kids are not rushed at all to see him and can play around him as long as they want.  This is such a huge advantage, especially for kids like Andrew, who don't really like sitting in stranger's laps.  I am happy to say that after about an hour of watching other kids sit on his lap (that were of course older), he finally ventured up and helped santa put an ornament on the tree and read a book with him (from a distance of course).

He walked in like he knew the drill.  I thought we were going to have success and cute pictures this year!

This was our first attempt.  He clung to me like a spider monkey.

We tried the pocket watch again and that wasn't cool enough this year either.

This was the extent of our progress BUT he went up on the stage by himself to help santa and read with him so I call this a success.

Afterwards we got to pick out a toy and eat a cookie.  That was a big hit of course.

They have a ramp for wheelchairs that is perfect for launching cars down and then running up and down.

We left with one exhausted and happy boy!  Maybe 2015 will be the year he finally gets brave enough to sit on his lap!

Meet Coach Jenny!

Good Morning!  I would like to share my blog today with my new coach, Coach Jenny!  Rather than me go on and on about here, (she is my best friend from high school's wife, how cool is that!!!) I sent her some questions to answer instead.  Enjoy reading about my new coach! I am so excited to be her client and so excited to start my next training cycle in January for FOUR half marathons!

Introduce yourself to us:

I’m Jenny Clayton, a clinical pharmacist by training, but currently a full-time stay-at-home mom to two incredible little boys, Jack (5) and Will (3).  I’m also an avid runner!

When and Why did you start running?

My first experience with running was on the 8^th grade track team.  I had always been pretty athletic, but never considered myself to be a fast runner.  By running with the track team, I learned that this is true-I’m not fast!  The next school year I joined the cross country team and found that I am much more comfortable (and competitive) at longer distances.  I took a long break from racing while in college and pharmacy school, then did my first true long distance road race (the Country Music half marathon here in Nashville) in 2011, simply to get back into shape after our first son was born.  I was pretty pleased with how I raced there.  After that day, I was hooked again. 

Tell us about your most memorable race?

That’s easy- the Boston Marathon!  I ran it for the first time this past April.  It was incredibly special not just because it was Boston, but also because of it being the 1 year anniversary of the bombings that occurred in 2013.  My training plan was far more difficult that anything I’d ever done, and performing well on race day became a bit of an obsession.  It was so important to me to do well there as a show of support for such a special city.  I arrived in Boston with a time goal of 3:20.  My official time was 3:20:01.  That one second didn’t bother me one tiny bit!  I was so thrilled to be part of one of the world’s greatest marathons.  I’d wondered for weeks of training what it would be like at the finish line.  Would I cry?  Laugh?  Kiss the ground?  As it turned out, all I was able to focus on was staying on my feet.  The course had wreaked havoc on my quads and I wasn’t sure how much longer they would hold me up.  After a half hour though, I had eaten some post-race food and found my husband, and it began to set in how exciting and incredible the whole experience was.  It’s 8 months later as I write this, and I still feel exhilarated!  I did have to walk backwards down the stairs for a full week as my quads healed.   

What is your favorite distance?

If I’m in a racing mindset, then without doubt, it’s the marathon.  Anything shorter than that just requires too much speed for me to be really competitive.  I did a 5K just last week on Thanksgiving and yes, they are short and sweet, but when a race requires such a fast pace I tend to not have as much fun.  I do really love the half marathon if I’m just out there for fun. 

What is your favorite piece of running gear?

You’ll hardly ever see me without a headband.  I have super curly hair, and it requires some “taming”.  Every now and then I’ll wear a hat or visor if rain or intense sunshine is in the forecast, but 99% of the time the hair is pulled back and the headband is in place.  Right now I’m loving the stretchy, glittery ones I found from a company called Sparkly Soul. 

What is your mantra when running, especially those hard runs?

I have a couple:

1.     Pain is temporary

2.     You won’t be able to look yourself in the eye if you give up!

3.  I like to play the “One More Mile Game”.  If I’m struggling through a hard race or workout, I’ll tell myself I can keep up the pace for just one more mile.  If I need to slow down at that point then I give myself permission.  Most of the time, that mile comes and goes, and I play the game again…

 

For the readers out there that are moms trying to run on top of being mom, how do you balance running with being a mom?

Training for my first half marathon felt so difficult because our son was only 14 months old at the time.  I got into the habit of running in the evenings when my husband came home from work.  I would spend a good part of the day worrying about being too tired and dreading the workout.  Things finally began to click when I forced myself to become a morning runner.  Nowadays, it’s rare for me to sleep past 4:15 am.  I know that sounds absolutely brutal, and some days it is, but I have never, ever, ever said “Sheesh, I wish I had NOT just gotten up early and gone for that run”.             

Love or hate the treadmill?

I can tolerate it because I know it’s a necessity.  I became intimately acquainted with it while training for Boston this year because we had an unusually icy winter.  The treadmill serves as a really good example, though, of how your perspective changes when you are immersed in a difficult training cycle.  I can remember a time when more than 3 miles indoors would bore me to tears.  While I trained for Boston, it was no biggie at all to grab the ipad with my Netflix app, head to the treadmill, and bang out a 10 mile tempo run on a random Wednesday morning.

When did you know you wanted to be a coach?

A very good running friend of mine was the one who told me that the RRCA certification course was coming to Nashville.  She was interested in taking it and wanted some company.  When I registered for the class, I didn’t have a clear picture of what my coaching future would look like.  I simply thought it would be a huge advantage to have all of that great knowledge, even if I never officially coached anyone but myself.  Since then, though, I’ve had friends request help with training plans, and I’ve discovered it’s something I really love.  I’m quite excited to be Michelle’s new coach, and I think she has a TON of untapped potential.                   

Do you have a website or a FB page readers can go to for more information about your coaching services?

I’m currently working on a website.  You can find me on Facebook as Jenny Peterson Clayton.  Also feel free to email me directly: jenclay78@gmail.com

Best piece of advice you ever got about running

“In terms of running ability and general fitness, you can’t peak year round.  That would be a plateau.”

I reached my first true plateau this year.  By that I mean that I was used to showing up for just about any old local race (5K, half marathon, or otherwise), and getting a PR.  When that stopped happening, I couldn’t understand what was wrong with my running.  Then a very smart person pointed out to me how I had been on a steady trajectory of improvement for about 2 years.  Everyone must plateau at some point in order to begin to improve again.  Once I realized that even the elites have seasons and plateaus in their training, I was a much happier runner.  I’m in a recovery and strength-building phase of my training currently as I begin to think about my next big build to Boston 2015.  I’m running fewer miles per week now than I have all year.  I feel great though, because I know I’ll be fresh and ready to conquer the next big goal.

I am super excited to work with Coach Jenny!  I will be blogging often about how things are going and what I am up to in my plan.  Coach Jenny is on the newer system of training for time versus miles so I am excited to try this method.   I am also super excited to cheer her on at Boston again this year, from the computer of course!  Maybe some day I can be there in person:)

Progress

I am excited that this week I get to almost run a full mile up to three miles (0.75 running with 0.25 walking)!  My legs feel great and the aches and pains have minimized due to me running in compression socks.  I am still working on my PT exercises and going to two sessions a week.  Some of the exercises are going to be for life and I am good with that. They are easy to sneak in to a work day when I have down time with my experiments.

We continue to get a couple of days here and there of nice weather.  It's mean to tease mother nature but I will take it.  We not only got the yard finally raked (after a couple of inches of snow fall mind you), but I got to run in shorts and a t shirt!  We also got a nice long play date in the park with Andrew's newest train crazy friend.  

I wish this weather would stay but I am a realist.  It won't.  I love running in snow so I am ready for it but I hate running on ice.  I still need to invest in boots for miss stella and possibly some better footwear for me for ice.  I have seen some good reviews on some new products other than just YakTracs, so looking into those as well.  I am trying to keep a pretty tight budget these days that will probably carry on into the new year for a few months while we get through some things.  I am glad that we are doing well with our meal planning and grocery budget as well as our target budget for all other items we need.  Budgeting is kind of fun for type As like me.  It's all about controlling all the things:)

I am working on a post about my new running coach so stayed tuned!  I am so excited to have her in my life and help her start her business.  Have a great week!

Thanksgiving day

What a day!  I am so blessed to have a fabulous cook in my family who prides himself on making the holidays a culinary treat!  I am also excited that andrew is showing major interest in cooking as well.  Last night he was trying to show me how he "cooks" oranges.  This year we decided to do something different.  Even though we had an extra person (who can put away some major food), we decided to stay on budget, to cook less and to try baked turkey vesus fried turkey.

 I am honest, I am not a turkey fan very much at all, especially baked so this was a hard decision to make for me.  Last year we bought a smoked turkey and it was okay, so I was interested to see what baking might mean.  Well, baking meant that my hubby had to cook most everything last night and finish today with very limited room in the oven meaning we had thanksgiving dinner around 2 pm.  As usual, it was perfect and yummy and even though I tried to eat smaller portions, I still over ate.  I am still pretty full (it's 7 pm as I type this), so maybe that will mean we won't be hungry for dinner.  Heck we didn't even eat our dessert today so maybe dessert for dinner?

Then this happened.  Everyone and I mean everyone including the dogs passed out and took a long nap.  I kind of enjoyed just laying around and binge watching Orange is the New Black on my phone with headphones on, of course:).

I was super glad I did my mileage early in the day before motivation was lost.  It was cold but beautiful and I savored every mile.  Still running/walking per my PT's instructions.  I am now up to running half a mile and walking half a mile, rinse and repeat for four miles.  I am looking forward to what next week might be.  Solid running sounds like a possibility.  I did go in and get work done on my leg wednesday.  I had pain during my run tuesday and it kind of scared me yet again. I don't know if I can buy into this whole, once you have had an injury you will always have pain bit. I have pain in the parts of my legs that are being used that haven't been used before but I am still having pains in old places.  I am still trying not to over think it but it still bothers me.  I have taken it easy for over 8 weeks now, yet i know with dogs, soft tissue injuries are a bear.  I have been utilizing biofreeze and compression socks like no one's business.  I am trying to just deal with each pain and not freak out but as my PT says, I am a control freak and type A to the max so any kink in the plan throws me off.  

This was our post turkey trot four mile picture attempt.  They were too excited to sit still for very long so all of the pics were blurry!

Now, I need to talk about what I am thankful for.  For sure, my PT for putting up with me and my freak outs.  My mom for buying andrew's santa stuff (she got a GREAT deal on a train table in TN) and driving all the way to KS to deliver it.  My BIL and hubby for cooking all night last night and today and my hubby for cooking and taking care of us EVERY DAY.  Also my hubby for putting up with me going to PT twice a week at night and still letting me run and listening to my whining when I can't:).  And of course again to my BIL for baby sitting so the hubs and I can go on some dates and enjoy time alone.  I am thankful for FB so I can keep up with all of the Gordons, the Days,  and the Colemans, since we are so far away from our families.  I also have to say thanks to my Savior and Lord who provides for us everyday.  Even though I tend to freak out about the pile of medical bills that keep coming, I am very thankful that he always provides for us no matter how bad it gets.  I need to remember to trust in him, he has always gotten us through everything else and this is nothing.  Of course I would be remiss to not say a HUGE thanks to my running and dog friends who are always there for me.  My BRF is always there to listen to me and give me some good therapy and I am really looking forward to some long runs in the near future with her so we can get it all out.  I am also super thankful that other than deuce's odd allergy issues that we are still baffled about, that my dogs are healthy and alive and making my life interesting every single day.  I am also very thankful for my sweet little crazy red headed two legger that makes every day an adventure, sometimes challenging, but always full of blessings and of course exhausting LOL.  

I leave you with this.  I call this snow geese, please don't poop on my head!  The video really doesn't do the sheer number of them justice.  I am kind of like the double rainbow guy when it comes to cool nature stuff.  I tried to keep my calm.  I did however skype my stepdad so he could see them and he was freaking out too at how many and the noise they were making.

Okay time for apple pie.  Hope you had a great turkey day and that your life is full of blessings.  Have fun black friday if that is your thing and talk to you later!

 

Pre-Thanksgiving update

I crave a long run.  It sounds so weird, but I do.  I crave that feeling of being out on the road for an hour or more with just me and my thoughts or me and BRF and our thoughts.  I am starting to get a little bit of a runner's high with each run/walk session and that makes me really, really happy.  I do miss my running routes and my scenery. Just the other day, the snow geese were landing in the fields just out of  reach for my goal run/walk distance for the day.  Part of me just wanted to say screw it and keep going and have my hubby come and pick me up, so I didn't have to turn around and go back.  Running is so ingrained in me now, such a part of who I am that I miss it and want it back, fully.  The good news is, my PT is progressing slowly but surely, and I am now allowed to run up to half a mile at a time with a total of 2 miles of half mile segments interspersed into a total of 4 miles of running and walking.  I will take it.  I have resigned myself to the fact that this process needs to be done right and the pace will be unknown. Technically, I don't have to be training again till January for my spring half series anyway so no need to panic.  I want to ease into this slowly and make sure this injury does not re occur.  I am still enjoying my pool sessions and looking forward to some biking this winter on the trainer as well.

 I did get four days of run/walking in last week, which made me happy but sore.  I am having to come to peace with the new soreness and what it means.  It doesn't mean re injury, it just means hey, you are using parts of your leg that haven't EVER properly been used, don't freak out.

The best part of my run/walks is that Mr. Deuce gets to come along.  It was a wee bit windy the other day and the pups were using each other for warmth and wind blockage.  It was kind of cute.  I guess If baby D is going to run with us this winter, we are going to have to find him a coat that he can run in and not get too hot in.  Stella has a nice thick winter undercoat but poor D is naked as a jaybird (what is a jaybird, always wondered but that is the saying so hmmm).  

I had to laugh at miss sulky face.  This was saturday after the race.  She would lay behind me or at my feet and just sigh the biggest sighs.  Sorry Miss Stella, you can't come to every race.  Such a drama queen.

Well, looking forward to some quality walk/runs this week. Hope you have the same and an awesome Thanksgiving!!!!

Race day

I guess I should really back up and talk about yesterday first.  It was my birthday.  Am i the only one that feels like the older you get, the less meaning this day really has?  I had needed a hydration vest before the 25 K trail race I did so that was my birthday present, back in the summer.  My hubby and i have been on a tight budget and have not been eating out so we chose to celebrate by eating a nice meal out.  Unfortunately, the fog was super dense and I really didn't want to drive all the way back to manhattan to eat so we decided to stay local and go to the local bar that also has a very yummy deli.  My cake was a beer or two (whoops, race the next day), but I had two very, very slowly and ate very slowly and just enjoyed being out of the house and not having to rush home (my mom is still here:)  The beer pictured is a nice 1554 from New Belgium in Colorado.  It was dark, full and perfect.

Then this happened today.  Mom and I ran our first 5 K together at the Bad to the Bone 5 K.

It was suppose to be warm and sunny but it turned out kind of cold and dreary and drizzly.  It was hard to dress for and both mom and I got a little warm by the end.  Mom did great.  She got a PR of over 4 minutes on her previous 5 K time.  The course was very nice, mostly flat with a few short hills and some nice long down hills.  We started out on the track and then headed out on a sidewalk that took us around a the nice park at Cico.  We did have one section on a road but that quickly dumped us back onto a side walk portion.  Mom did great, running when she could and power walking when she couldn't.  

She wore her grandma strong socks today and got tons of compliments.  She was a very strong lady today!

Love the free pictures.  She was awesome, only getting mad at me once for trying to get her to run:)  Love you mom!  Yes, I smiled pretty much the last straight away till the timing mat and on.  I could see the clock and knew she was getting a PR.

She won first place in her age group and won a turkey!  This is Marvin, the man, the legend. 

We had a hot chocolate social after the race and he gave a speech that brought many of us to tears.  Running is about community and the friends you make and keep.  My running friends are like my dog friends, we are all so close.  We celebrate triumphs and commiserate injuries and races that didn't go the way we plan.  He stressed the importance of our running friends and races and getting together to support causes, like the one today, to raise scholarships for kids to continue on to college.  It really was the perfect speech from someone who has been running and racing for many, many years.  

Afterwards, mom was craving carbs.  Even though I took it easy and stuck to my run/walk quarter mile segments, my tummy was not wanting to eat.  I managed to eat a little though.  Don't those nachos look yummy?  

Overall, I had a blast cheering for her,  motivating her and running with her.  I so need to be a pace leader some day.  I really, really enjoyed the whole experience of not racing, just helping others meet their goals.  I knew she could do it, I just had to find a way to get it out of her and I did.  I look forward to our next 5 K together for sure!!!!

A side note:  I noticed that in several of the race pictures, my legs and feet were totally out.  I am disappointed to see that as I felt like we were making huge progress.  I do feel like I was more focused on my mom and her experience and less on keeping my legs straight so there is that.  

Panic and Relief

Wow, between work, mom being here and crazy nights, I just haven't had time to write.  Taking a break here at work while I am dealing with an issue to write a minute.  I am just beginning to feel sort of back to normal.  True to what everyone was telling me, this virus did take almost two weeks to get over.  The coughing all night really took it out of me though and I still feel like I am behind in catching up on sleep.  I found a combo of vicks on my feet and nyquil (which i absolutely hate taking) was the only thing that helped me to not cough all night.  Of course around 4 am, the medicine/vicks would wear off and i would be back to coughing.  I also did something kind of stupid.  I let little red stay up a friday and saturday night and we slept in saturday and sunday mornings and now I can't get him back on a schedule.  The past few nights he has been up till 11 pm or later, not wanting to sleep.  I guess this is just the way it goes with a toddler some times so I am trying not to bemoan my loss of sleep, but instead learn how to do work in a gray fuzz.

Running is going well, well until Tuesday.  I had been slowing upping my quarter mile segments and for whatever reason, when I upped my walking to 3 miles and my quarter mile segments to 1.25 miles of segments, my leg started hurting.  Like really hurting.  Like panic mode hurt.  This was my biggest fear, to be back at square one, and I thought we were back there and then some.  I had felt fine during our walk/run, but I noticed my leg was tight during the running portion.  I was going slow in order to help mom keep a comfortable pace, but something during that run triggered pain. Afterwards it got more and more sore and of course I had had PT the night before, so I couldn't tell exactly where the soreness was due to the aches and pains that PT causes.  I knew I had some muscle soreness on the outside of my leg, but I felt that spot that had been bothering me was hurting and that the spot had actually gone from about the size of a dime to more like a half dollar size of pain.  I iced and prayed.

I had another PT visit last night and I just wanted to cry when I saw him.  I really thought I had some how screwed up everything, all the hard work we had done.  He took one look at me and took me back to the treatment room, where he used a tuning fork to determine that NO it was NOT a stress fracture at all.  Long story short, after some painful massage, my leg felt 1000 X better.  I was instructed to keep running and doing what I was doing at to just expect some pain along the way.  I felt SO much relief.   He actually put me on a treadmill last night and let me run some so he could watch, and he said my bio mechanics look so much better now.  My right foot still wants to turn out slightly but honestly, the left leg is the one I have been focusing much of my attention to.  My hips are getting tons stronger and I have moved up to the highest resistance on my resistance band work.  I am ready to run again tonight and see how it does.  Mom and I completed a 5 K with 1.25 miles total of running segments and we finished in around 48 minutes.  I am excited for race day so that we can push it and try to get her a PR!  Her PB is around 47 and with the stopping we had to do the other night due to ice and a dog chasing us, I think we can do it.

So did I tell you about what this race is about and why I want to do it no matter what?  This race is to benefit kids who are track stars but maybe not good enough to get a big fancy scholarship.  The funds raised will go to establishing scholarships for high school students wanting to go to college to run and learn.  It also is in honor of Marvin Hachmeister, a local running legend who is at EVERY local race and is in his 80s now!  He runs a lap for every year of his life on his birthday and this year ran 80 laps!  Here is an article about Marvin and his running career.  He truly is a running god in our area and we all love him dearly!  It is suppose to be a nice day (high in the low 60s) and the race starts later in the day so that should equate to some nice race conditions.  Mom and I ran again last night and she came in at 46:47!