My little girls first race.

I am on my leash in the car waiting for hubby to finish a quick 6 mile run… wishing I could run the Salmon Creek trail with him. Since I am still on the injured list and not running this week, I will reminisce about my little girl’s first race.

Last month Avery, one of my 5 year old twin girls (four when she ran the race), wanted to run a 5K race with me. At first I brushed it off and said “no, mommy will run the 5k and be back in 24 minutes.” I said this because, to be honest, my legs were tired and I didn’t want to run hard. Heck, I didn’t want to run a race at all but we were there because the kids love doing the kids’ races. So I find myself signing up for races that have kids’ races that do not start five minutes after the adult race starts. These are harder to find than you might think.

Having brushed off her repeated requests, I went back to warming up and talking with a friend. Then I starting thinking about it. Why not let her try the 5K? My mom was with me, she was watching the kids anyway. My friend encouraged me, suggesting that it would be a great way to spend some “Mother
-Daughter Time” with her. Just her. Why not? I picture my little girl pouting in the car. She was so disheartened when I said that she couldn’t run it. Why crush her dream of running this race? She’s been asking for sometime now. I initially told her when she was 6 years old she could run a 5k with me. The great thing about being a mom is that I can change my mind. I headed straight to the car and told her “mommy thought about it and you can run the 5K with me,” but that she had to finish it. She was so happy. The problem was poor Ayden (the three year old) wanted to run it, too. Sorry honey I know I’d be carrying you the whole way. At least with Avery she would walk/run it in little bursts. So, with a beaming little girl in tow, I was off to the starting line.

This was a small 5K and perfect for her first race. At .15 miles into it she asked me to carry her. Ugh, I think, what have I gotten myself into? “Let’s just walk to that tree and then I’ll carry you if you are still tired,” I offered. We made it to the tree and she decided to run for a little bit longer. Then the great fiasco of walk/run/carry began. I would carry her (and run) for about three minutes then she would walk for two minutes and then run for two minutes. At the one mile mark she asked, “Are we done yet?”
“No honey, we are only 1/3 of the way there.”
At this point I talked to her about how proud I was that she had undertaken such a hard task. I explained when you start something you must see it through to completion. That is what builds character (something severely lacking in our culture today). The more I talked to her about how proud I was of her, the more she talked about how she was not going to give up.

I enjoyed watching her gain confidence that she could finish something she started. I work very hard not to push my kids into running. I want to encourage them to be active and complete whatever it is they start. That they can do just about anything, once they take the first step. I don’t want to me the mom pushing her kids to do what she never could, but I also want to be the mom who helps her children try new things. Whether it’s a bite of a new dish (which we call our “no thank you” bite), a new sport, writing a book, or trying a new art style; I want them to try new endeavors.

Therein lies the tricky part. How do I encourage them to try new things without pushing them too hard? Each one of my kids needs to be encouraged differently. Avery needs encouragement to finish something she starts, or even to just try something new. She doesn’t like to try new things unless she is sure she can do them. Alexis is competitive, and likes to compare herself to others. She has to be the fastest runner out of the kids. Getting her motivated to try new things is easy. Getting her to stick with them is hard. Ayden, well, you can’t trick or motivate that child to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Very stubborn, but also very motivated. His thing is one-on-one time with me. He walked/ran a mile during the last track practice I took him to. He just wanted to do whatever I was doing. Then there is Zander. He thinks he is just as big as his sisters and brother. He just wants to join in with us. If we are doing something, he wants to be right in the center of it.

I digress. I’m happy that my kids want to run like mom and dad. I am so happy that my husband runs, too. It’s wonderful to have a healthy hobby (some use the word “addiction“) for our children to want to emulate. I highly recommend getting your family involved in your running.

So get out there and run! Show your kids how to stick with something even when they don’t feel like it. It will transfer over to other areas in their lives and your own. Be the role model you want your kids to look up to instead of those cartoons or people on T.V. You are your kids’ biggest hero! Show them how it is done! Laugh and run on, my friends.

On a leash....

Tonight was track practice, which has to be my favorite type of running. I love 100's, 200's, 300's, and even 400's. Heck right now I'm dying to do 800's and 1200's. Warm up, dynamic drills, sprints, cool down. I love it. Or as my little Lexi says, "I fell in love with it." Since I am trying to be good (heavy emphasis on trying) I did not do the 200's tonight. I even dragged my poor Ayden to the track with me to keep me from running.

Ayden, who is 3 years old, loved being out with just mom. Add in some rain and running and I don't think he stopped smiling the whole time. I must thank the coach for letting me take the little guy tonight. He was loud with his hysterical laughing when I would pick him up and run with him in my arms. It reminded me of how I feel when I run down hills. Pure joy and laughter. I think I even throw my head back and giggle a little.

I know that I looked like a dog tied to the fence who would wag her tail every time my track mates would go by. Oh, I want off my leash so bad. I know it's a good thing for me right now, it's keeping me safe, but man is my energy level through the roof right now. Untie this dog and let her run.

This morning I got up early to spin on the bike for 30 mins, I managed to squeeze out an easy 11 miles. It felt nice, but not the same as a run. I then did my Pilates mat, still not the same as a good old fashioned run. I'll give myself another week on this leash, then baby I'm going to chew it off and run free.

Pool running

Today I worked out for an hour in the House of Pain. Then I did some pool running. It was wonderful and a great workout. I worked up a sweat in the pool. I did 45 mins or 1 hour, I don't know how long because it went so quickly. I am going to figure out how to do this more. I loved it. And after all that fun exercises I feel like a million bucks!! Thank you Christina!

I'm in a funk

Yep, I'm injured again or still. I know that I should take 2 weeks off from running, but I don't want to. To top it off we might have to move back into my house in La Center (which is 17 mins outside of Vancouver). I like living in town. Moving out there would mean that I would have to limit my driving and not be spoiled with running with my friends whenever I feel like it. It means more treadmill runs. Crap! OK, I've allowed my pity party. It's over.

Now, the optimist will take over. At least I still have the House of Pain on Monday and maybe I can work Wednesday's in. Maybe someone will rent my house again, or maybe if we drop the price a ridiculous amount we can sell it and be done with it. I will be starting my sales rep job in a month (hopefully) and that will help relieve some financial woes we are in. (The woes are due to my hubby's job. He's on a bonus and with the economy being what it is, we are living on almost half of his income. Ouch! And right now I think the rest of this year and most of next will be like that.) At least I have my treadmill and spin bike (thanks to craigslist) to work out with while living in the boonies. At least no one in our house is sick with the flu. At least I have 4 healthy happy children. At least I have a big clean beautiful house to move back into.

Having said all that I know we are just in a 'tight' spot right now. OK, we are in a freakin' boa constrictor right now. But we have always come out alright in the end. At least now I have an outlet to keep me going. I read my favorite blogs and keep going. I run and feel better.

http://www.runfastermommy.com/
http://www.youmotherrunner.com/
http://thenegativesplit.blogspot.com/
http://blog.oregonlive.com/runoregon/

Run happy and often my friends.

My running is well running my life!

Today I went to see my hair artist (because she is that good, trust me!) I have not had my hair done is sooooo long. Miss Clairol has treated me well, it just not the same. So off the see Paula, who is a runner herself. I wanted, above all else, to have a hair cut that is long enough to pull back in a pony tail and tuck under a hat for running. That was it, my only requirement for my hair gal. Most people go in and say " I want to have hair like XX actress or XX actress" right? Me, have fun just make sure I can still run. Color? I don't care. What style? I don't care just make sure I won't be annoyed running with it. I might need professional help soon. So good bye 2 feet of hair...Hello cutie pie hair.

Now to get a long run in tomorrow. This time with cute, no gray hair.

Brunhilda

I am back to doing PT (Physical Therapy). My hammy hurts like crazy, my hips are sore, and my knee is killing me. So I am trying this medieval torture technique that they now call "massage". Graston technique. Sounds nice enough. Right?

Here's what I pictured going into my 'massage' appointment. A dimly lit room, warm blankets, ocean sounds in the background, and a candle lit sending me a sweet waft of fresh baked apple pie. Maybe some water afterwards. You know get my money's worth.

Here is what I received instead. Brunhilda came out to take me back to the room. A room in the middle of PT people. At least it had a curtain. It was a little chilly, no blankets. Brunhilda has be warm up on this weird sitting, elliptical thing for 5 minutes. Brunhilda then notifies me that we are going to use metal instruments to 'work-out' the knotty muscles in my SI and Hamstring. This technique uses the metal....scratch that....COLD metal instruments to save her hands. Oh, well that's considerate. She then informs me that I will be bruised at the end of the session. Oh and that I will more than likely cry and maybe scream during the session. What? I'm sorry did I enter the wrong room? Are you sure you have the correct name? Angela? Yeah, that is me. Well, OK.

I'm pretty tough, but let me tell you. It hurt. No I didn't cry or scream. What do you take me for a wuss? I did indeed bruise. So today I endured my second treatment. I was 'less' knotty and gravelly in my muscles today. But bruised and having Brunhilda and her torture devices digging into my SI and hammy. She was nice enough to now include the knee area, too.

But I am questioning whether or not this will 'fix' my SI/Hip/Hammy/knee issue. There are no double blind studies on massage and PT on injuries. I agree in theory that if you strengthen your 'weak' area's then they will be less likely to become injured. I have had success in strengthen my ankle which has dislocated well into the double digits. I guess maybe it's a time issue rather than a massage issue. So do I continue going to the massages? Or save that money for other things? Is it really worth it? Sure I was able to run yesterday without intense pain, unlike Saturday's run which hurt 1/2 mile into my 8 mile run. Was it the week off from running and just time healing it? Was it the massage? Was it just me 'working' out the kinks by running? Who knows. All I know is $25 adds up real fast. So don't take offense if I twitch if you say the word massage. Now back to my gin and tonic.........

Women I actually like....

Running friends are the best. For one, they are not lazy. Two, they always seem to be encouraging or they tell you to pull your head out of your tushy. I like that my running friends are not shy and will tell me something I might not want to hear, but need to hear. It‘s refreshing. Maybe that’s why I don’t (or didn’t) have female friends. They all seem so lazy and boring. Did I say that out loud?

I was pace leading my group yesterday and one these fine ladies and I were talking about wanting to cultivate our friendship with the women in our running group. It was nice to know that I am not the only woman who feels that way. I was starting to think that I was the only woman who had the problem of finding other women I wanted to hang out with. But these women who run are amazing. They inspire me, which is saying something. There are a few running women's blogs I love to read, and the main recurring theme is how tenacious these women are. They are all beautiful; some large, some small, some fast and some slow, but they are all hard workers. I love it. It makes me want to support them and inspire them as much as they inspire me. I finally don't feel 'judged' by other women. I feel like I have found my 'equals'. Gosh just typing that makes me seem conceited. Let me attempt to explain.

These women don't make excuses, they find ways to make their goals happen. They don't blame their husbands or complain about them. That is very refreshing. They don't sit on the bench complaining about being overweight or tired. So yeah, I guess it is simply that they are not lazy and boring. I love them for that. How about you? Have you found new friendship while running?