There's Beauty in Every Day

Sometimes it's just hard to see it. Most of us are overworked, over stressed, and over tired. Some of us are dealing with extremely stressful situations; the loss of a family member, chronic pain, mental illness, financial insecurity... the list goes on. But regardless of how craptastic our lives sometimes get, there really is something beautiful to be seen every day.

Every day on my way to work I drive about an hour. Most days I can appreciate how beautiful the sky is and ignore all the factories and businesses lining the highway. Even at work, I sit here and see the bridge going over the river and the water rippling under it. Or just glancing up at night on my drive home (second shift) and seeing the stars and moon.

But I am very thankful that I have some really beautiful trails I can walk as well. Here's a couple recent pictures :).

 These first two are from the Fox River Trail. It's just an easy trail to run because it's so wide. Taking the large jogging stroller and the dog is easy when passing people.





And this one is from the East River Trail. I even got to see some people Kayaking along the river on this day. It was absolutely beautiful out. I ran four miles on the first trail, and three miles on this one. Just perfect days this past week!





I know sometimes it's difficult to find anything good in a day. Sometimes the world seems dark and horrible and sad. And sometimes it doesn't always seem worth getting out of bed in the morning, but I promise it is. Six months ago it was really really hard for me to see anything good in any day yet every day I actively tried to find something happy and beautiful. Well, I see my awesome kids and they're beautiful but something outside my own life. And looking outside our own lives to find something that shines a little bit to you really helps keep this whole thing we're doing in perspective.

Post Op 13 Weeks!

The usual weekly update...

Brief history, microdiscectomy on L5-S1 for a 1.5 cm herniation and bulging disc on Jan 5 of this year.

The tempo swims are going awesome. I'm getting the half lap back done in 20 seconds or less typically. I really hope for an awesome under 30 minute mile when I do my next mile swim for time. I would need to shave about 7 seconds per lap to do that and I think that will be very close to do-able :).

The weights are going well. The SHELCS are killing my hamstrings and my balance still isn't great coming back down from those but I'll get there. The hip weakness on the right makes the balance a bit off. It's really close, close enough on the step ups and doing pretty much everything else, but trying to lower my booty back to the ground when doing those requires pretty good control with both hips equally. That is not yet the case.

Continuing with the 40 lb assist on the pullup/dips but soon I'll be upping from three sets of six to three sets of eight.

And kettlebells, day one I had a couple kettlebell kisses but it'd been months since I did snatches. Since the first day no more bruised wrists!

I'm running two miles now, it's difficult definitely but last nights two mile run was much easier than the mile and a half last week. I might also be better hydrated, really trying to keep up on that particularly when running after work.

Other random things I'm down a full 14 lbs since my surgery. To go to what I've always considered my "normal" is now only 5-7 lbs away (varied day to day by those couple pounds). Very exciting! I'll be trying on the clothes I have stored very soon! My wonderful sister will be telling me what to keep and what to toss. She's awesome!

I've still had a little bit of lower back pain, still I think lingering from the shoveling the other day. But much MUCH improved and now not so bad in the mornings, only after I start doing things. I thought maybe it was the running, but last night running made absolutely no difference so shoveling it must have been. I could really go for an awesome massage though! Really miss those.

12 Weeks Post Op

And the general update, mild low back pain this past couple days but thinking it's because of the bathroom project and doing a lot of leaning forward while cutting and laying the floor to fit.

I did some research as well as met with a Sports Medicine Chiropractor about the weight lifting. He said at the 12 week point he's ok with me upping the weights about 10% when I increase them. The research I was doing says generally that when the scar on the outside of the body turns white then the scars on the inside on the annulus will be as healed as they're going to be, too. Online recommendations say to stay with no more than 50 lbs with weight lifting until that point. So I'm going to play it safe and even though the sports med guy said it's safe now. I'm going to stick with more single leg lifts like the split squats on this current routine so I can lift that weight for longer and still build strength. 

This week I'm allowed to run a mile and a half. I broke it up last night into three half mile's taking a minute or two between. Tomorrow night I'll do a full mile and then Saturday a full mile and a half. I figure the middle run each week I'll do at the prior week's distance. As I increase distance I'll have to adjust for a short run mid week anyway. 

Awesome news, I got my swim suits in the mail today! I can put the faded one in the bottom of the bin and the stretched out one in the garbage. Hoping these two hold up well and if they do, I'll be buying from the same company online again. They fit great. Final test will be how well the straps hold up in the water. And I can't wait for the two bikini's I ordered to arrive for my vacation :). Here they are!

11 Weeks Today

And 11 weeks means I'm allowed to run a mile now! So after midnight last night I did a mile.

My time, for my first post surgical mile and first mile I've done since September of 2015, was 13:04. Hard to see, since I was at home and it was late and I have very poor lighting in my living room. I used to run a mile in about 9 minutes pushing a stroller before the pain got too bad. I'm really hoping to be able to cut my mile time down to about 8 minutes or better. If my running is anything like the swimming, I'll be killing my previous records soon enough. 

My next run will be the Bellin 10k. I'll be allowed to run 6 miles at once just before that since I'm increasing my runs by half a mile per week as advised by my doctor. It was hard waiting this long to run a full mile but I know my long term health is more important. 

General how I feel update. At 11 weeks I'd barely know I had surgery. I feel great. My hips are nearly even in strength with the step ups to the point that the difference is barely noticeable. My flexibility is improving slowly. Before stretching would do the opposite, it would irritate nerves and make me tighter. I'm working on getting the right as flexible as my left but still both need a lot of work to be where I used to be. My hamstrings are still pretty tight generally. Weight lifting is going well, still at 20 lb dumb bells this week. Once I can go up to the 25 lbs next week my legs might be able to feel it a bit better. Just doing the high reps with the low weights till I get there. There is still some mild pulling with stretching at the incision site. After the initial pulling I can do the yoga as they're meant to be done. The incision sometimes itches. The other muscle imbalance I had was the paraspinal muscles along the right side. Though with some of the exercises I do they become sore, they are no more sore than the muscles along the left side. So, I'd have to say they have evened out in strength! I couldn't be happier about having done my surgery. There is no lingering leg issues. The hip pain is gone. There is occasional mild low back pain more often depending on sitting too long and leaning forward at my desk than any of the activities I've been doing. No regrets!

9 Weeks Yesterday!

It was a super busy night at work but I really wanted to post on the week marks. Yesterday was week nine since my microdiscectomy at level L5-S1. It's been 5 weeks since I've been back to work and 3 weeks back in the gym.

How are things going? Work, well I'm already sick of being back! I love my job though, truly. I have an amazing job and work with great people. Really can't ask for more. Except maybe for everyone to NOT get sick at the same time. Space it out people!

And in the gym, things are going fantastic! I'm swimming a mile a couple days a week and the water aerobics on Wednesday. On Wednesday I do a ton of leg stuff in the water to help balance my hip strength. My right hip was significantly weaker when I first started out in the gym. Today, I have no more pain in my gluteus while working out or after and the muscle fatigue sets in about 80% of the way through the workout in the right hip and thigh rather than at the beginning of my workout. My right is still weaker, however it's probably close to 80% strength of my left hip and thigh now.

The weight lifting, I'm lifting my 15 lb dumbells (total of 30 lbs) yet this week. Doing lots of step ups as well after my weight lifting routine below, copied from my earlier post when I returned to blogging :)

For this first 6 weeks, Super set 1: wide squats, narrow squats, and deadlifts. 

Super set 2: Bench press and chest fly's. 

Super set 3: Split squat, shoulder press, and overhead tricep extension (with just one dumb bell for that last one). All at 15 reps of two sets. 

Then of course the pull up/dip station (changed to a 55 lb assist from 70)

 After that over to the stepper and doing boring boring step ups forward, backward, lateral. 

Those are also all 2 sets of 15 reps. 

My routine as above is going for this week and an additional two weeks after that. Week 12 I'll probably steal a routine from New Rules of Lifting (the men's version). Next week I'm very excited about something. I GET TO RUN AGAIN!!!! So my plan is to add in a half mile of running on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I start an hour later at work those days so it'll be easier to run with the extra time. 

I really can't wait to start running again and registration just opened for my first half that I'm doing in September. I need to register for that as well as for my 10k in June. It really is awesome to have my body back. I had it taken away for so long with the pain and now, just the absolute joy I feel waking up in the morning, it's pretty great. 

On The Way Home From 2013 Mudder

I've blogged about our awesome team before. 

But this is me, driving home from last years Tough Mudder in the back of the van. 

Completely untouched image here, no editing at all. Can you see the exhaustion? I can :).

And I cant wait to do it all over again!!

Tomorrow AM, we're driving down and kicking some butt :). 

Here we come 2014 Mudder!!! 

Wimpy Arms Part Two

Beginning of August I had some wimpy arms and my goal was to not have such wimpy arms. 

I'm keeping my arm goal for yet another month doing the 30/30, 20/20, 10/10 push-ups/tricep dips on the counter top here at work. 

Here it is after a month:

August Goals

1- Run 10 miles every weekend

Generally met this one. I ended up doing closer to 8-10 miles and this past weekend only four miles but another few with Grandpa Muddy walking. Hip pain got the best of me but we'll keep it up for this month too. 

2- Pictures and posting three trails

I made this :). Sunset, Thousand Islands Upper Woods, and a random third which was the trestle trail all made it into my blog in August. As well as yet again the East River trail. 

3-Pull ups and Amazing Arms

Check! My pull up bar will likely be returning upstairs soon but it was well used this month in the hallway downstairs. Kind of an eyesore though right off the kitchen like that. 

4-nutritional goal was a complete loss. 

5- Carpet

My hallway carpet is down. I need to get the transition strips in but otherwise, it's all set and I can finally stop getting irritated every time I walk through my hallway. It was more of a pain than I expected but it's so much nicer to have it out of the way. 

6- Family Time

I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd like with my daughter since she spent  a lot of time camping and out and about this month. And Mr Muddy and I didn't even get a night out :(. But we did some running and biking together which is just as good to me :). 

So for September:

1- Tough Mudder the first weekend and continue to run as close to 10 miles per weekend as I can. Adding in a 2 mile run every Wednesday or Thursday after my call night.

2- Three more trails. Heesacker Park and Doty Park in Menasha/Neenah on the same day since apparently they are quite close to each other. Memorial Park in Appleton. And a third to be determined close to home. I'm thinking Pamprin Park might be a good one or possibly Humbolt.

3- Continuing the Arm plan from last month while I'm at work as well as the 30 Day Ab Challenge I'm doing with some friends on facebook. 

4- Really got to get a bit better on the whole nutrition aspect and damn it... I'll do it. This month, writing down everything I eat and drinking at least 3 glasses of water a day. 

5- A full top to bottom house cleaning is in order.

6- More family time driving with my teen and a night out watching the sunset with Mr Muddy would be very nice. 

Sunset Park

Sunset is a park in Kimberly with a boat dock and also a swimming beach. I used to do a lot of swimming there as a kid. The beach was closed and water drained when I was there this past weekend, so no pics of that. 

I walked with Baby Muddy and Grandpa Muddy. We ran into an old friend as well! 

Trails, very stroller friendly. It's a nice scenic area, maybe 2 or 3 miles of trail altogether, but not certain on that.  

There are a few smaller trails that go into the wooded area more that are not stroller friendly but still appear to be generally baby carrier friendly. There are a couple hills that can be a little hard to push a stroller up, but Grandpa gave a helping hand there. 

There are two play areas, the one in the photo is the smaller one. The other is at the top of the other hill and near a pavilion and bathrooms. This smaller one is a bit away from bathrooms, but near enough to see the pavilion from this spot. 

The day was a little hotter than anticipated but it was absolutely beautiful out. This is also a good park for professional family photos. Lots of bridges and a nice build up stone area. 

Overall, very stroller friendly for walking, also dog friendly on the pathways, and great for the bigger kids too so they can get a break to play as well. 

Most Scenic Trail in GB

Okay, technically it's Allouez, and if ya'll know me by now, you know I mean the East River Trail.

I have followed this path now till it's almost end (I could see the end, but my feet could not walk another step). The path does get better after going under Hoffman Ave to wider and less bumpy. And even has "traffic lanes" for those of us who wander from one side of the path to the other.

The trail has a loop at it's end in Ledgeview Park. Ledgeview has multiple play areas (think I saw three but not sure if one of those was a separate small adjacent park). It also has a nice pavilion near the larger play area as well as a gazebo down the way a bit. Going backwards from the end, you'll go through Wiese Park which I think is mostly for playing soccer. I see soccer nets and two gazebos and nothing else here. No play area, but just a short way from there is Kiwanis Park with a play area, pavilion, and a baseball diamond and soccer/football areas. The next park after that is Parkway Riverview Park. From the trail you don't really see this park well, but I believe it's mostly baseball diamonds. No play area here, but just a few short tenths of a mile down is Green Isle Park with a play area, pavilion, baseball diamonds, and tennis courts.

I like to start at Green Isle because the area surrounding this park is so pretty and as it turns out, this is about the midway point. From Green Isle to Ledgeview it's about 4 miles. The total length of the path is about 8 miles according to mapmywalk.com.

Crossing this bridge brings you to the main play area and pavilion of Ledgeview Park as well as following to the end of the East River Trail. 

If you look closely, you can see the ripples on the water from the rain droplets. Didn't quite make it back in time! Beautiful scenery along this path. 

 I still have not taken the path to it's end going north from Green Isle, that will be my goal for next month. I think you have all heard enough of this trail for the time being this month.

Here are the two earlier posts about this trail, each post containing a couple pictures!
East River Trail and Another Trail!

Fox River State Recreational Trail

The Fox River State Recreational Trail stretches about 25 miles from the City Deck in Green Bay to Greenleaf. I have so far only explored the Green Bay and DePere portions of this trail.

This trail is wide enough for two strollers side by side going either direction once you get about a mile from the City Deck. The City Deck area has a brick pathway that is wide enough for one stroller and another person next to the stroller but a little tight for two.

After Voyager Park in DePere the trail does get slightly narrower but still ample room for two strollers side by side. It is kept up very well. No potholes to twist an ankle in (that's a different trail). Following this trail there is also a Fitness Mile that has stations for certain exercises. I plan to head back to do that very soon and make it part of my weekly routine. The past few times I've ran this route, I've skipped the fitness  mile and focused more on my running time. At some point the trail switches to crushed stone rather than asphalt but I have yet to explore that area.

This run I did Monday and ran it alone! It was very nice to not have to push the jogging stroller but there was also no where to put a bottle of water :(. There are, thankfully, two spots along the way with water. One is near the fitness mile about two miles past the start point and another is the boat launch about a mile before Voyager Park.

This, by far, is the most stroller friendly trail I have come across and this is where I typically do my runs that are longer than 4 miles. Extra above and beyond bonus, this trail has markers every tenth of a mile from the 1.2 mile mark to Voyager Park (and possibly beyond the park, but as I said, haven't gotten that far yet :) ).

The landscaping of the houses along this path is also quite amazing. Another house along the way the garage lines up with the path and often the older gentleman who lives there is out in his garage with his band practicing. Gives a nice lift to my run for a little bit anyway. This trail is also dog friendly so MudPuppy gets to join me often on this one :). Some of the others are too narrow to really do well with him and the stroller when passing others.

August Goals

There are 5 weekends in August.

For my Fitness it is my goal to do a 10 mile run each of those weekends. The first weekend I also have BabyMuddy's 1st birthday party but Sunday, I'm out there :). Hopefully my back will co-operate with that plan!

As well as the 10 mile runs it's my goal to walk and take pictures at 3 new trails in the area. Sunset Park in Kimberly, The Upper Woods of 1000 Islands in Kaukauna, and a yet to be determined location for the third.

Next goal, these wimpy arms need some work... before pic...

So this month my goal is to move my pull-up bar to the mudroom/laundry room and do a pull up every time I walk past without a baby in my arms. Which is actually ridiculously often. As well as doing the "Amazing Arms" routine. It's 30 pushups (I use a counter at work) followed by 30 tricep dips, then 20 of each, then 10 of each.

Nutrition goal is 811 raw vegan M-F for just this month for the full weeks (this Friday doesn't count and the next four weeks are full weeks).

My house goal, I'd like to get the last part of the carpet done this month. I keep putting it off. It would take a whole day basically and I'm burned out from doing 2 bedrooms and the family room. Just need to get this hallway done!

As for family, the most important part of my life, is to spend time driving with my teen and spending a night out with Mr. Muddy.

UWGB Trail

Google made this picture prettier than my phone did, but it is a good representation of how pretty this trail is! This is about a four mile loop on mostly gravel. It's a walking stroller friendly path. Fairly level and doesn't bind up the stroller wheels. It's also wide enough to walk with two people and the stroller, probably not for two strollers side by side though. It's mostly forest and fields but there is a nice area along the lake as well. 

This area along the water has a nice place to park and set up a picnic and maybe do a body weight exercise or yoga routine. I'm hoping to take Teen Muddy this weekend with the baby. She's awesome with picnics :). If anyone wants to join me, let me know now!!! We'll pack extra food. 

This trail also has a nice patch of clovers growing! I'll save that pic for another post about the wonderful joys of edible flowers/weeds. I have never actually eaten a clover. Baby Muddy ate his first clover this past weekend at the park. He's played with them before and put them in his mouth. This weekend though, he just popped off the flower part and ate it. 

So, this trail is in Wisconsin of course and I haven't ventured far out of Green Bay yet. There are just so many trails and path's near me. This area is just opposite the main entrance to the UWGB campus. 

Another Trail!

I walked this path first with my Amazing Sister :). Then with a new friend. When I first went with my sis, we went with the kids in the jogging strollers and her older daughter riding bike along with us. I had never been down this way before and was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. The other end of the trail is much more narrow and that's the part I've explored before. This is the East River trail and it runs along side a small slow flowing river. In this picture you can see the river and the bridge going over it to get back to the park. This is, I think, the prettiest part of any trail in Green Bay. This photo and the one below. 

And here is through the marshy area, also what I would consider just beautiful. Going over the bridge and down the path this way is a nice little trek of maybe a mile before you get to a major road and then the path goes along the road instead. Until then, it's just beautiful and relaxing. It's not as wide as some of the other trails I go on but the beauty makes up for it. I hadn't known this end was so nice until a couple weeks ago and since I've been there three times. Now that Teen Muddy has finished the classroom portion of drivers ed, this will likely be my main trail for when I'm walking. It's a bit tough to run with the stroller over the wooden path but well worth walking :). 

Baby Loving the Flowers on Our Walk

Little guy had lots of clovers during this run/walk. We walked 0.6 miles to our path. The path is 1.2 miles long. We ran the first mile in 12:09!!! Awesome record for me with the jogging stroller! Then we walked the 0.2 and did a mile back. Then repeated the process. The last mile I timed it again and we got it done in 12:23! I was amazed! I thought my fourth mile would have been slower than that especially with a slight upgrade going back and with the first mile heading out having a slight downgrade. With the walking and jogging we had a total of 6 miles. Pretty good morning!

Clovers are entirely edible. Though Baby Muddy hasn't actually eaten any, I don't want him poisoned if he does put one in his mouth. 

And Catsear, though they look like dandelions and are edible as well, they grow quite tall. These are about 4 feet high and have multiple flowers. There weren't any dandelions along this trail that were suitable for picking for little guy since the path had just been mowed. These looked pretty trying to sneak through the fence but we left them where they were. He had to stick with the clover :). 

7 Miles Today!

I've had a few personal struggles this weekend. It has been pretty crappy here but that's a post for a week or two down the line if ever. 

Despite the rough weekend, I got out there with my sister and our jogging strollers. With the stroller I can only run 2-3 minutes at a time with a 2 min walk. The first 45-60 minutes is almost all 3 min runs followed by two minutes walking. I didn't do really great today and it took us a bit over an hour and a half to do the full seven miles. 

We ran the East River Trail. It was very pretty! The trail is much more narrow then the one I usually run on. It runs along a very slow moving river and there were some wooden trails over the marshy area of it. The larger trail runs along a residential area and faster river; this one runs through woods and along parks as well as the slow river on the other side. The woods we did have to battle the mosquitoes and I did not survive unscathed. 

Overall, I'm glad I even just made the seven miles tonight. I'm probably a little dehydrated and definitely over stressed. With two runs to prepare for, I really couldn't afford to miss the run today. The Tough Mudder is coming up in 76 days! Just over 2 months to prepare. And the half marathon is about three months away. 

Not only did I need the run, I needed the company. It was nice to have some distraction for a part of today. And the nice nap afterwards with Baby Muddy was quite nice. He curled up on my lap and fell right asleep after my sis and her kids headed home. He was quite tired out too!

Running with the Dog, and The Stroller...

MudMom and MudPuppy (aka: The Terror)

My wonderful MudPuppy (aka Carter), was doing so well walking with the stroller on the trails. So today I decided to skip going to the trails and just leave from my driveway.

IT WAS HELL.

The whole run, Carter pulled and PULLED on his leash. I had to stop multiple times to attempt to calm him down. By the end of the run I was so angry and frustrated because he would just not stay at my side. I don't understand how he can do so well on the trails and be a complete terror when we just walk out the door.

I wanted to turn back at a quarter mile already (with a quarter mile walking warm up) but knew if I turned back I wouldn't actually go for my run. I want to enjoy my run and not have to trip over a stroller as I get bullied by my dog! I tie him around my waist so at least I have my hands free and that limits how much force he can get since it's only a 5 ft lead and my waist isn't tiny.

So, enough with the venting about MudPuppy. He's evil at times, but I love him. And hopefully, since all weekday runs will be out the door and not at trails, he will maybe learn to behave himself.

I don't like ab exercises.

Long ago a friend and I were comparing workout routines. It’s basically the elliptical or the treadmill followed by ab work for her. She’s not looking any more buff than she did 6 months before asking me about my routine and she does this regularly. She does LOTS of cardio. Still does for that matter and still looks the same as she did about two years ago when we were discussing this. I was pretty damn buff back then. I'm still in good shape, but back then... damn... I had muscles. So anyway, she asked me about my routine and asked for me to show it to her.

There were two huge differences in our routines. Make that three. First, I don’t do steady state cardio unless I'm running and I’m unlucky if I end up having to do more than four or five minutes of cardio during a workout session. Even running, I try to do intervals. My “cardio” consists of tabata or intervals running up and down steps. Second, I lift real weights. I don’t use machines (except the cable/pulley). I lift actual dumb bells (which is anything over fifteen pounds in my book). Third is those ab exercises. I have only one exercise per workout for abdominal. Why? Because if you’re lifting heavy stuff off the floor, you’re going to work your abs anyway stabilizing your back and core to lift the damn thing without ending up in the hospital. So, no need for ten minutes or a half hour a day dedicated to working on crunches.

I tell people not to waste their time on those and they get mad at me. Maybe it’s my tone… I’ll try to say it nicely next time ;).

Pretty much everything we do works our abs. Even running works them, particularly from my experience my weak obliques (no, they’re not really weak, but they hurt like hell after my first few runs of the season which was finally today by the way). Lifting yourself up onto something works them to stabilize your core so you don’t have to fight your floppy self while lifting yourself up. Lifting dead weight (like a potato sack) is much more difficult than lifting a child that will grab onto you to lift. Same thing with your body. If it’s as limp as a potato sack, it’s going to be harder to lift. If your abs are doing their job, it’ll be easier to lift yourself. And your abs will be doing their job, they just can’t help it most of the time.

If you REALLY want to work your abs for a long time, do one ab exercise and then mix one in with another exercise. If you must, do walking lunges with a twist or a lean. Or, skip the ab exercise and just do the lunges with the lean or twist. Course, you should know your limits so don’t do anything that would cause yourself harm.

So two things I don't like in the fitness world- cardio machines and ab exercises.

I’m not a trainer or anything so my advice is pretty useless :D, but hey, it’s my blog and I’ll write whatever useless stuff I want. So there :P.

Go get your six pack! (or a six pack of beer, whatever works).

SNOW!

So, the week the weather was supposed to stay nice, it didn't :(.

I might as well just give up and buy a treadmill.

Nightly routine is still going well. My car hates me and I helped a friend today so still no workout this week. I know, I'm making excuses. And I hate that I'm making excuses. Really I could have watched one less episode of House (now on Netflix!!!!) and done a workout instead. OR I could have done my kettlebell workout while watching an episode of House.

Overall, the morning routine is still my nemesis. I have no trouble with the Baby Muddy part of the routine. It's more when it comes to me. I know what my problem is, if there's an excuse to use, I'll find it.

And tomorrow I need to take my car to the shop because my tire is doing something crazy. It feels wobbly but my tie rods and lug nuts and something else were replaced last June. So hopefully if it's one of those it'll still be under warranty.

Also, there is snow on the ground. SNOW! In April... This really really sucks. I want to get outside and run. I got in a nice walk the past weekend with the stroller and our dog. Don't worry the baby, not the dog, was in the stroller.

Teen Muddy trained both Saturday and Sunday for her upcoming run. So proud of her!

Hope everyone gets out there.

Bellin Run

The Bellin Run is a huge event around where I live.

It's also the first of only two runs I have planned for this year so far. It's a relatively inexpensive run. Some runs can cost a huge amount of money. This one is a whole $20. Seriously. For a 10K!!!

I'm going to run it with my sister's running partner. She's way way awesome :). She was part of our Tough Team last year. And she's the leader of our Tough Team this year. I'm not sure if she knows that... but she was the first to sign up for the Mudder so by default I say she's leader.

My daughter, aka Teen Muddy, is also running the Bellin this year. She's going to run with a friend of hers. They don't want to run with this here old lady :'(. Sad sad. Running is an awesome habit to get into. It keeps you young, literally! Seriously, there have been studies that runners age slower than non runners. All the more reason to run.

The run is on June 13th. Teen Muddy is starting her training this week. The weather outside is finally above freezing consistently so I can get Baby Muddy out in his stroller so I know I need to stop with just the weights and add on the running too. I'll still lift the weights and swing the kettlebell, too.

During the weekdays I know I need to get out for at least a mile on the days I start work later. That would be on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I wish I had a second shift friend who lived near me to keep me on track to run. Maybe someday...

Everyone out there, find what you love and go do it!

Last Years Tough Team

I was doing pretty good not missing workouts for training for this years Mudder, and I have to stay in good shape because, well, look at that team! We're all pretty fit. I'm the one in the center of the back row. And my sis (second from the right standing) and her running partner (kneeling on right) are already doing 7 miles plus quite often!

Then my back last week Wednesday got bad. I did my workout that morning but haven't since. Moving hurts :(. Not moving hurts :(. Hoping that this will pass quickly so I can get back on track. And I'm hoping the winter will be short lived. I really need to get outside and start running! Those two are going to kick my butt otherwise!

Last year I had an excuse to not train, being pregnant and all. Did that Mudder 7 weeks after having my lil guy. He laughs when he watches me lifting weights. I get all dramatic about it :). I have my own home gym so I can make all sorts of weird noises to entertain Baby Muddy.

My sis has an extra running stroller and Baby Muddy is sitting fairly well and can sit good in a stroller. I really should just get over to her place and pick it up and get it ready to roll. One day I will wake up and the streets will not be covered in brown icky snow. Yes, snow is brown here... see this post...

I cant wait to run it again this year! And be in better shape than I was last year :).