lately...

running is getting better, and thankfully i haven't noticed any pain in my left leg.

this week:
monday - 3 somehow managed to squeeze in 3 miles before taking kids to their activities.
tuesday - 4
thursday - 5 in the rain. when i left it was sunny, and i had no idea it was supposed to rain. felt good though.
friday - 3
sunday - 8 - had to stop twice at stop lights. felt good overall. this run gave me hope that i can finish the 1/2 without dying in a few weeks. i'm no where near where i'd want to be, but it will be a fun training run.

today after i was done running, i sat on the grass in the sun and just sat there for awhile. i turned my music off, and was just still for awhile. it made me realize how rarely i do that. there are so many distractions in this world, and i need to sit and be still before the Lord more often. it was so refreshing.

looks like it's finally going to warm up this week. i'm looking forward to getting in a longer run at some point this week. i'd like to run a 10 miler before the 1/2.

coming back (slowly)

sunday - walked 6 miles with a friend. it was a great day!
monday - ran 6 miles on the treadmill at the gym. tired of the treadmill, but running next to fit 20 year-olds is always a good motivator.
wednesday - 3 miles and a blister. i ran too fast. i need to pace myself better, so i'm not huffing and puffing so much. i passed a friend that was pushing her daughter in a stroller, and she probably thought i was dying.
friday - 3 miles on a beautiful day. i noticed lots of flowering trees, including my favorite magnolia tree. 

4ish

yesterday it was 75 here. it was great! it's been so cold here.
i enjoyed it and ran outside. i'm slowly getting back to it, but it's not fun to start from scratch again. the good news is my leg hasn't given me any trouble so far.

i seem to have forgotten how to pace myself. yesterday i took off and ran my first two miles under 9 min., huffing and puffing the whole way. i had a hard time running up the hill by my house. that hill is always a good indicator for how i'm doing. it's a long and steep one.
the last two miles were slower, and i stopped twice at stop lights. i was thankful for that because i was so out of breath.

looking forward to getting back to longer/easier runs.

march random...

hello friends.

• hard to believe another month has passed since i last posted, yet this seems like the winter that is never ending. we still have lots of snow on the ground and temps in the low 30's, but i'm trying really hard to not be a complainer. complaining about the weather is a relatively small issue, but i think it can become a part of who someone is - always discontent. so, i'm looking for the positives, and today the sun is out and the snow is melting. 
• i signed up for a 1/2 in june. it's the same one i've done every year for quite awhile (lost count). i'm not sure how my leg will be, but i'll walk some if i have to.
• last week was spring break. it was a nice break from the norm and less mom-taxing.
• the girls are learning to play "10,000 Reasons" on the piano, so they can share it at church. so awesome!

• we're in the process of getting rid of the carpet in our house. did you know that carpet is one of the worst things for allergy sufferers? i had no idea there were so many wood options, types of wood, and colors. thankful that we can do our research online to narrow down our options.
• can't wait to run outside later this week! woo hoo!

februrary random...

• i had my hair dyed a couple months ago. it ended up being quite a bit darker than i wanted (i.e. almost black), but it's kind of growing on me now. i like change. it's been nice not to see so many grays for awhile too.
• wow, getting gray hair happened too fast. how am i closer to 40 than 30?! 
• bears have the right idea - hibernate all winter
• February is the longest shortest month ever.
• today i looked at real estate in hawaii online. yep, i officially have cabin fever.
• the good news is, the sun is out today.
• i miss running. pretty much every winter i lose everything i trained and worked so hard for. i just can't get myself to get out the door when it's 30 or below. i've been on the treadmill some, but my limit is a few miles. so boring.
• we're trying to figure out where to go on vacation this year. we thought about yellowstone/yosemite, but the kids said they've seen enough mountains. they want to go to a beach. i don't blame them. the national park vacation would be a lot of time in the car, and they had so much fun at the beach last summer. it doesn't really matter to me where we go, i'm just thankful we have the option of going somewhere. i know this isn't the case for every family and it may not always be the case for us. 
• i think i've decided on a spring half and a fall marathon (more on that to come soon), as long as my leg allows me to run.

still here.

still here. not much running, but i've gone a few times and my leg seems to be better.
the plan right now is to continue alternating running and walking until march and then i will start training for a 1/2 in june.
of course, that all depends on how much leg is doing.
if that goes well, i'd like to run another marathon in the fall.

hope to be back soon with regular updates.

and there was rejoicing in the land!

i ran 2 (mostly) pain-free miles today! usually two miles isn't very note-worthy, but i haven't run that far without a lot of pain since october.

i dusted off my garmin (it probably literally needed it!), and set out in 35 degree weather. the cold burned my lungs, but it felt good. my first mile was way too fast, which was not the goal. i wanted to take it really easy on my leg, but i ended up running the first mile in 8:45. i was just too excited to be running, i guess.
after that, i stopped to stretch out my leg. to my surprise, i was able to continue on for another mile. the sun was going down, and i decided i better not try to push it anyway.

YAY! i'm hopeful that i will be running more consistently soon!
thanks so much for all of you that have checked in here and thought of me!

hopefully i will be posting more now.