Morning Motivation (or lack thereof)

Morning Motivation (or lack thereof)

Its never easy getting out of bed during the 5 o'clock hour, but I've managed to do it many times, most of the time since I've been running. But this morning I did not want to get out of bed. All I could think about was sleep and coffee. I know training for a half marathon during the winter will not be the easiest time to do so. But training for a half marathon is not easy, regardless of the time of year. Being from the deep-deep south, the gulf coast, I do not know how to handle the cold. Can I run if it's snowing? What about ice? (that's a death trap, right?) And its dark for most hours during the winter! I was looking at a picture I took during a summer run...it was a sunset... and it was taken around 8 pm. I need sunshine. Of course, my minor cold does not help with my energy. I'll blame not getting up this morning on that. And I'll try to wake up early again tomorrow. For now, I'll drink my coffee, cook some nice warm eggs, and keep my slippers on.

And what about rain? Some mornings I wake up and it's raining. Ugh. It may be raining the day of the half marathon and I will run! But when you haven't paid to run and it's super early and you have no more bananas to eat, pre-run... it's just hard. Oh well, I can always run tonight.

When I do manage to wake up early and run I love it. And when I'm struggling a little I remind myself:

1. I always feel better after a run
2. I will have to rest of the day to do whatever I need to do
3. I can be lazy tonight (after I put the kids to bed, clean up...)

 Do wake up early to exercise? How do you stay motivated?

Half Marathon, Here I Come!

I was thinking that 2016 would be the year I would run a half marathon. I thought I would train for a 10k first. But when a friend approached me about doing a half marathon, I threw caution to the wind and said yes! I have been running consistently since March 2015, so I know my body can handle it (with some aches and pains, I'm sure). And I am totally ok with walking! Just because you sign up to run a half marathon, doesn't mean you have to actually run the whole time. In 2009 I walked a marathon distance with Avon 2-day walk for Breast Cancer. I did not walk the second day due to soreness and emotions. So I know if I can walk a marathon distance I can complete a half marathon!

We're following the Hal Higdon half marathon novice schedule (training schedule). There's cross training and some strength training days, as well as long run days. So far, the furthest we've run is 4.5 miles. If you're trying to get 10,000 steps a day... you'll almost complete that with this distance. I'm looking forward to being in great shape and hope to lose a little bit more weight.

 I will be running with some friends and we're running the Flying Pig half marathon in Cincinatti, OH. I'm excited for this journey and the challenge. I enjoy running and I can't wait to really push myself. Stay tuned for the excitement and complaining that is to follow : )

Return to Blogging/ Resolutions

I'm making a return to blogging! I have really missed writing, regardless of how many people are reading my blog. Since it is the beginning of a new year, I will list my resolutions for a few different areas of my life. First, my three main goals for the year: run more, read more, write more. Also, have some specific motherhood goals.

Motherhood:

1. Try to be more patient
2. Play with my kids more/ carve out specific time to be available to them
3. Do more individually with each kid.

Other 2016 goals (I prefer goals to the word “resolution”):

1. Watch less TV

• I have always been a TV junkie, however I do not want my kids to be this way. I know the only way they are going to think to pick up a book instead of watch TV is if that's what they see. Lead by example, right? We try to have music on during the day, and not always a TV show. But at night, when they go to bed and I've done my “chores,” its my go to activity. I'm hoping to take one night off of TV a week.

2. Eat less sugar

• I know sugar is not the best thing for you... and I am addict. I love sweets! And white rice and regular pasta. Carbs, sugar, carbs, sugar, mmmm. But I know to run more, my body needs better nutrients. I need to try brown rice. I'm writing this as I'm having a yummy biscuit, mmm.

3. Blog more!

• I have missed writing. After my first child was born I started a blog, and then I got pregnant, we moved, we moved again, and I had a second child. With a toddler and a baby, it was hard to do anything for myself. Now that I have a 3 year old and a toddler (still crazy busy), I'm starting to get a control on things (for now).

Moving with a Toddler

Only three days before Christmas Eve... we decided to move. Not only did we move, but we had to take care of a toddler. And I should mention that I'm pregnant. How did we get through it? Luckily we were only doing an in-town move. What we have done each time we moved was hire someone to move the furniture and we move the boxes. We did the same thing this time, however, someone had to watch the kid.

I decided my best plan was to expect toddler difficulties and tantrums... especially since our son usually gets 3 to 4 hours worth of naps. If I anticipate the bad times, at least I can mentally plan for it. Boy, was I wrong.

It took two days to fully move. And I think by the end of the two days my son and I had at least two meltdowns each. Even though I tried not to melt down and prepare myself, it was inevitable. But, after the toddler and I both had our fits I did the only thing I could... get over it. At least it was only 2 days!

We hope we never have to move again. Or if we do, maybe the kids will be old enough to help and not need naps.

Months 8-12

I am abandoning my remaining monthly lessons.  I have gotten bored with them and I sure others have too.  But here's a wrap up of major changes.

Nothing special happened in month 8.  In month 9 he started crawling... oh, how life was about to change!  The biggest thing in month 10 was finding out Cooper was allergic to penicillin (read more about that here and here).  In month 11 we work on switching to sippy cups, which took some time.  We had to find a cup he liked and get him use to it.  Right before he turned 1, started taking a few steps but not full walking yet.

Motherhood has been a wonderful journey.  I never understood the saying "they grow up so fast" like I do now.  Hopefully I can look back on these lessons when we have another child.  I know things will not be easy with the next child, but I am sure we will feel more confident as parents.

Month 7/ Lesson 7

I have been gone for too long.  We decided to sell our house and were busy working on getting it ready.  But back to my lessons!

In Cooper's seventh month of life, I went back to work... or internship.  And since my job was an internship this meant I was both a teacher and a student.  In this month I learned how to be a working mom and wife.

After spending 6 wonderful months at home with my baby boy I had to leave... and I had no idea how absent I would be.  My first day felt like the longest day ever.  I think I did some major speeding on the way to daycare to pick him up.  I definitely thought about Cooper all day, but at the same time I was ready to dive back into something other than being a mom.  And with this feeling came the inevitable guilt.

I had to learn to let the laundry go and the dishes go, even more than when I was taking care of a baby (first 2 months excluded).  I had to lean on my partner in crime, my wonderful husband more.  And on days where it was tough... really tough, I had to remind myself that I was finishing this degree so I could give the best to my son.

Also during this month, Cooper experience his first snow! (Which bought me a few extra hours with him because of school delays)

Cooper's first snow!

Month 6/ Lesson 6

On December 25, 2012 it was Christmas day... and Cooper's half birthday!  So in month 6 I learned how to handle Christmas with a baby.  While I had already tackled the first major holiday, Thanksgiving, I am usually just a visitor enjoying the food on that day.  During Christmas I am much more involved.

I usually cook a big lunch for about 5 people.  While I do cook during the week, this is no ordinary meal.  Plus, and most importantly, I now had another person to care for and feed.  And to feed this new person I had to sit in one place and that was all I could do.  So this Christmas dinner took much more planning and a lot more time.  Here's my blog about my Christmas meals.

Other than cooking on Christmas day, there were presents to buy and Christmas Eve to survive.  I planned ahead for exactly what gift I wanted to buy the many people on the family Christmas list.  If you count mine and my husbands family there were 20 people we planned to give gifts to, which doesn't include my husband, Cooper, or me.  When I knew what I wanted to get each person I planned where to go and what time... trying to work around Cooper's nap schedule.

Christmas Eve went pretty smoothly.  At the time, I was worried again about his naps.  He got a little nap and still went right to bed as soon as we got home.  Which aloud me to prep for the next day's meals.

Little babies, or maybe just Cooper, can be a lot more flexible with their sleep schedules than I thought. I was slowly learning this and taking more chances when heading out with him.