Two for Two!

Well, we are two days into the new week, and I have run both days (at the buttcrack of dawn, no less!) so far--yay me! Not only that, but I was able to run for a full half hour without walk breaks. Now granted, I am probably running slower than most walk, but hey, I'm running! When I think about how much of me is out there running, I feel better about it...I mean, I probably comprise about 2 skinny friends worth...so if you think about a skinny runner running with another runner like strapped on their shoulders, well, that's the effort I'm putting forth...so I can feel good about that! (Hopefully that wont' be the case for too long...I am starting to see the scale move ever so slowly in the right direction!) And hey...at this point in my life, I figure, if I have to wear a sports bra and cushy shoes to do it, by golly, I can call it RUNNING! True...after 2 kids in 3 years, I should probably be wearing a sports bra and cushy shoes for most activities, but well...lets just say I am running...and I'm excited about it!

Oh..and I forgot to mention previously, that not only am I signed up for the triathlon in April, but yes, I have lost my mind yet again...and I signed up for the Surfside Beach Half Marathon in February....I figured I could walk a half now if I had to, so whatever I can run, so much the better. And it keeps me motivated to run, so thats exciting. Not only that, but its on a Saturday, which means I don't have to miss church for it, and I don't have to travel since its oh...10 minutes away! It's a also a relatively cheap event to enter, so that works too! Money is a huge stressor right now...or should I say, lack therof. We have been struggling so much for quite awhile, and every few months or so, we just have one of those seriously tight months where I have to pay stuff late and wonder if I can even pay stuff at all....we always get past them and the Lord always provides somehow, some way, but it still really stinks in the middle of it--this happens to be one of those months. Love that! Christmas! And taxes in January...ugh! There is a light at the end of the tunnel, as most of our major debt should be gone in about 3-1/2 years, but ugh....it just gets draining after a while. Time flies....except when you are trying to get rid of debt, it seems! I am so thankful for what we have though.....healthy, happy kiddos being right up at the top of the list. I can remember one of those incredibly tight months a couple of years ago when all I could do was stress over money...and then Silas broke his leg. More money stress yes, but oh my gosh...how badly he was hurting with that when it happened just put everything into perspective. There is a little boy who I get updates on who deals with multiple seizures per day and they don't know what causes them. My heart just goes out to that family....I hurt for them...and I am so grateful that despite all the junk it seems I have going on, that we truly have so much to be thankful for...and I am thankful!

Better get showered up and ready for work this evening at the lab....I'm not crazy about having to work this evening, but I AM so glad I EARNED my shower!!!! Woohoo!

Time to fess-up-date

Well, its been a rough last week and I must confess, I haven't run in right at a week. I will say I am missing it though! Last week I got this nasty awful cold-type something and it threw me off big time. I went to bed one night at like 9:30, which is unheard of for me..like, ever! I don't think I had the flu, because I think I would've taken longer to get over it, but my body ached and I felt in general like crud. I know I had fever too, because I went to bed that one night with my coat on, flannel jammies, and a pile of covers, and was still freezing my patootie off (and lemme tellya....that's a lot of freezing, because I have quite an ample patootie!). Anyhow, the next day I felt slightly better, but not by much, and then the rest of the week I felt better each day, but still haven't quite felt 100% since. So, I missed a whole week of exercise....no running, no swimming, no nada. I feel like a big slug, but I really don't think there's much I could've done about it...I just hope it doesn't take me too long to get back with it, because I had been doing so well up to that point. I actually felt good enough to run yesterday, and was hoping too, but I am trying now to finish my class up that was started back at the beginning of summer, that I got an extension on courtesy of Ike. It's all due this Friday, so it's crunch time now. I took my final the other day, and think I did pretty well on it. I wrote my final paper last night...all 10 pages of it, and I need to go back and make sure the stuff I wrote at 4 am actually makes sense. I was getting pretty droopy by that time! Now, I just have one more paper to finish up, and can't do that until I go to Houston Thursday night for a Young Lives club I will be writing about. I have half the paper written with the background info, now I just have to fill in the other stuff with my specific observations Thursday. Wow...I just looked back, and this is a seriuosly boring note! I usually think I'm a decently entertaining writer, but crapola....I'm just sorta droning on tonight! Maybe once I get my run on and get those endorphins on the move I can be witty and fun again! But for now.....I'm settin the alarm, I have my clothes and my shoes out for in the morning, and I'm about to head to sleep...hopefully I will (in a fun way) post soon about another awesome run!

I feel good!

Wowza! Okay, I know this is no biggie...and today's run used to be like, my normal everyday thing, like back in the day...but for a fat girl getting back into running, today was a great day! It has been a gorgeos day in Lake Jackson today...sunny, breezy, blue skies, and I'd say our high was probably in the 50s, maybe low 60s...yep, pretty much perfect weather! Well, I did some house cleaning and hanging out having fun with my kids--painting the boxes our new car seats came in (the ones that are being replaced since the wreck) out on the driveway to look like racecars, that sort of thing...and really just enjoyed the day. It took me awhile to have the chance to get out there and run, but I was so glad I did!Back when I ran before, I had, what I had measued at the time, to be a little 4-mile route I'd do regularly. It's been literally years since I've run this route, but I used to do it nearly daily. Here lately, I've only been getting in between 2 and 3 miles in the mornings, due to time constraints, so this was a nice little "long run" for me at this stage in the game. So, a few minutes after 5, I finally set out and I start out thinking this might be sorta tough. I run a little after I warm up, and then I have to walk pretty soon. Then I run a little more, and walk a little more. Then, I'm out about a half mile, and there are these 2 kids up ahead of me walking...Do you know what I'm talking about? They are just far enough ahead of me that I won't catch up to them walking, probably, but might catch up to them running, and I didn't want to pass them, only to have to start walking right away after that...so, I was like "do I walk or run?" and then, I determined it was not going to be up to 2 junior high kids if I got my running in or not, so I decided to start running. It also didn't hurt that "Friends in Low Places " came on the ipod...how can you walk through that song? So, I think to myself, if I can run to up to the next street and down it to the next (about a mile or mile-and-a-half or so), yay for me....well, halfway down that street, I so wanted to walk. Well, I had a little self-attitude check, and it was like ...Okay, I'm not hurting anywhere and I'm breathing okay, so I'll keep going. And I did make to to the next street, which was about 2.2 miles from home, a little over a mile from where I started running. Not too bad. So, I walk down it for I think 1 song, then Bryan Adams comes on, and I start to run again......so I'm running and I think, If I can run to the next street, which brings me back to my neighborhood, I'm good...I can do that, surely. Well, here's where it gets fun. Some Chris Rice song came on, and I'm keepin' on, and I get to the street I was aiming for. Still feeling good, I decide to keep going. My Sacrifice by Creed comes on...okay, there is NO STINKIN WAY to NOT run to pretty much any song by Creed, so I think, maybe I can make it to the next cross street...and I do, and then THE HAPPY SONG comes on!!! Like ANYONE can even stinking THINK of not running to that! So I kept going, thinking can I make t to the next cross street? Can I ? Well, I did, and then wouldn't ya know...the EAGLES come on...don't remember which song, but heck..it's the Eagles! So, I run and promise myself I will start to walk at the next landmark near to home. And I do...and I am feeling sooooo good! I walked around the corner into our neighborhood, and as per my usual, I sprint the last block to my house...don't know why, but I feel the need to go as fast as my short, fat legs will take me that last little bit..which is..oh, about 8 minute/mile pace--I think that's a leisurely stroll for some of my friends but for me, it's really truckin! So, I get home and my ipod (calibrated ipod, that is!) tells me I ran 4.55 miles at an average of pace of 14:38/mile, which included my walking and stretch breaks and stuff...not too bad! Not too bad at all! I have always said too...someday when I lose this weight, when people want my advice, I will tell them to GET AN IPOD! That music really kept me going tonight!I know its probably not a big deal, but I feel like I can say "I run" again! I have a long way to go, but to be able to keep going as long as I did tonight is a huge accomplishment for me! I am so grateful! The weather was awesome too...so...wooohoooo....yay me!!!Guess I beter get to working on confirmation lessons again...I think I will sleep good tonight--and not probably be ready to get up when I need to! And.....I EARNED my shower tonight...I just love that!

On rain, swimming, discouragement, and what good a workout can do!

Well...I guess since I mentioned every possible topic in the title to this post, I should make sure I cover all the bases! Rain! It's been raining a lot lately...mostly in the morning...at oh, like 5:00 am, when I am supposed to be up running. I say a lot...like, the past 2 days really, I guess. Now I don't mind a little rain, mind you, but I just don't think I'm hardcore enough to be out in an out-and-out downpour yet! I can remember running in some pretty decent rain back in the day, but I just didn't want to be out in such a huge downpour as these have been....so, when I hear the rain falling, I"ve been turning off the alarm and just sleeping in a little while and enjoying the sound of the rain, which is so nice! I do want to get back to the running...I really do....but, I will say I have enjoyed the little break (and will be praying for more rain tomorrow, probably!) It does sorta make me feel like a weenie though, when it gets to be like 10 am and its bright sunny outside! "Really, it was raining at 5...I promise!"
And I guess that brings me to the next thing....swimming! I have really been enjoying my pool time! One day I did 17 laps, I think 15 another day, and tonight I did 16. Those are like back-and-forth being one lap...so, like 32 lengths, if you were to count it that way...I will say...If I could use a kickboard in the triathlon, I think I'd so have it made! I will usually do a few laps with the kickboard to warm up and cool down and man, I can boogie on that thing! I could go for stinkin' ever with the kickboard! But alas, I think I probably have to be all on my own power for the tri! So, I've been swimming....breaststroke, backstroke, and crawl and alternating between them all. I'd like to work up to doing more crawl, but man oh man...that one wears me out! I'm getting a little stronger at it, but its still tough! I really am enjoying the swimming though, for something different. It feels really good, and I do feel like I've really done something when I get back.
The discouragement, is thankfully abating a little bit, but I had a few dumpy days there, which have weighed me down a bit. I had a meeting that, in my opinion, was a little rough the other night and that was discouraging.....things at home seem to have been discouraging for awhile--the ridiculous mess and housework that piles up being only a part of the problem--a significant part, no doubt, but yea...I don't blog about that. I'm not done with my class yet, which is hanging over my head, the bank account is overdrawn til I get my paycheck tomorrow, and geesh! I was just feeling a little hammered on there for a few days. I know the Lord won't give me more than I can handle, but crap...why does he have to think I'm so stinkin' strong! He is faithful, and I know and hang on to that. And I am thankful He has given me a body...albeit a short, fat, very unattractive body (and that's not His fault...he gave me a good gift, I just happened to have screwed the gift up over the years!)...that can, despite its weaknesses...still run, still swim, and still be challenged! What a gift it is to be able to go to Him in prayer, but also to know its a gift from Him as well, to be able to sweat out frustrations as well....I was feeling much more encouraged after all that.

Here's to hoping we all continue to feel encouraged!!!!

So far, so good...and yes, as a matter of fact, I HAVE lost my mind!

So, the running is going well. I went Monday morning early and this morning early. Tuesday I couldn't go because I worked until 6 am Tuesday morning and Craig had to leave as soon as I got home, so no run for me that day...I was pretty much comatose most of the day anyway, from the night shift. The election really made for a crappy end of the day too...so yea...yay for Tuesday being over! Anyhow, I feel like I am getting stronger on the running now. I mean, I will probably never be fast or anything, but just to be able to keep on going is such a wonderful feeling. My Nike ipod thingy tells me I am averaging around 13 minutes/mile, which isn't too bad, wtih the walking averaged in, I guess. Yes, I am a turtle, but I'm totally fine with that! That ipod is really helpful too...and I have such a crazy mix of stuff on it! Jars of Clay and Relient K are some of my better get going selections, and anything by Bowling for Soup gets me to kick into high gear too. Bryan Adams old stuff and Bon Jovi isn't too bad either! Throw in a little Rich Mullins, Patsy Cline, Larry Gatlin, and Point of Grace (yes, I am cheesy!) and you've got yourself a cooldown! Sometimes, I do this "run a song, walk a song" thing to time out my breaks, and let me just say....the Lynard Skynard extended dance mix of Freebird makes for a pretty long run for this outta shape momma! That one isn't for the faint of heart! So, the losing my mind part....yes, its fun! Okay, the story goes, I have done a marathon before when I ran, and would love to do one again sometime, though I'm not anywhere close yet. Something else, a little goal (well, not such a little one!) or dream is maybe a better word for it, that I'd like to do and have always wanted to do is a triathlon. I have crazy fiend athlete friends that do them, and wow! I am in awe. Not long ago, I ran across a dear old friend from high school and college that is not only a dentist, but also a professional triathlete now as well...like, big time! Anyhow....the last opportunity I had to think about it, I weenied out. I know I could do the running and the biking part--yes, slowly, I admit, and probably not terribly gracefully--but given enough time, I COULD get myself from point a to point b on foot or on a bike. But the swimming...that scares the crud out of me! I swim, yes...but not like THAT! Well, this weekend, I hear about this triathlon at Moody Gardens in April, so I googled it and found it. They have the longer ones on Sunday, but Saturday is the Sprint one, which is the short course....swim 0.3 miles (I think), bike 12-something, and run a 5K (3.1 miles). It would be quite a challenge, but I like the idea of it because:--It IS a challenge...and I thrive with a concrete goal to work toward.--It would push me to work really hard..and I love that!--I think the distance is doable...--It's in April..so I have like 5 months to train.--It's in Galveston, so I wouldn't have to travel, which would make it cheaper and easier.--It's on a Saturday, so I wouldn't miss church for it.So.....I SIGNED UP!!!! Paid my money, I'm committed, baby! So.....I went and swam tonight....and man, do I stink at it!! When I was a kid, I swam like a fish..not so much now! WEll, maybe a dying fish, or one with a hook in its mouth or something! Yea....that's gonna take A LOT of work! But I'm committed, so there's no turning back now. And crappy swimmer or not, I feel really really good right now! I'm loving this! Brain or no brain, I'm in!!

Yes, I'd be a slug

Well, the past 2 days I've been a slug, and felt the need to fess up about it--for myself, even if no one else reads this! Yesterday, Craig had to get his grades in at school by like 8 am and hadn't done it yet, so he left the house early, early to go to school, which would have put me leaving home to run at like 4 am. That was waaaayyyyy too early...5 I can do, but getting up in the 4's is just sort of ridiculous! So, I was going to go later on in the day...first while the kids were in preschool, if I got enough work done at the office. Well, we had a staff meeting that ran a little longer than we thought it might, so I didn't get as much done by 1pm as I had hoped, and so I kept working til it was time to pick up the kids at 2. So then, I was going to go after I took them for a little special date at Chick-Fil-A last night, but it didn't happen because the childcare at the gym closes at 8pm, and it was like 10 after 7 by the time we finished eating...and of course, at Chick-Fil-A, you can't leave until you've got to climb around all over the playground thingy and sit in the little airplane up there for-e-ver! Then, when I got home, I cleaned house for a bit, just mostly doing clutter control, and then I needed to work some more getting ready for Sunday. It is our pastor's annual trip to Colorado, which means I get to preach. I absolutely LOVE getting to do it. Pretty much whenever he goes away, I get to fill in, although he doesn't go away very much. It is really something I love to do, but it requires a commodity that is in short supply in my life right now to get ready---nice, quiet, uninterrupted time! So, last night after kids were in bed, after I got the house de-cluttered enough that I didn't want to strangle someone (I'm showin the love, huh), I worked on my sermon. Tomorrow we have a big fun deal at church for the kids, and then my 5th-8th graders are having a little party-type get together, so there won't be a lot of time on Friday. And Saturday, I will have to leave to work at the hospital about the time everyone is laying down for their naps, after lunchtime. I work til 10:30 Saturday night, which isn't late, but it does limit the time I have to work on all this Saturday....so, I am trying to be pretty much ready to go by the time I go to bed tonight....which, may mean not getting out early in the morning (which may very well translate to no exercise that day). I am hoping not, but I do need to make sure I am ready for Sunday. If I don't make it out, I WILL be out there come Monday morning, for sure, and back at the consistency. I really am missing the early runs right now, and that's a good thing....I'm not really enjoying the sleeping in til 7-something--which surprises me in a wonderful way! I am just trying to get my 6 or 7 hours of sleep in, which is another commitment I am making for the sake of my health--these 2 to 4-hour nights of sleep I've done for years have been part of my undoing for weight, I'm sure. So, all things work together for good.....

Okay, there! I fessed up! And yes, it feels better to get it out of my head and somewhere I can look at it and see it makes sense to do what I am doing. There is a lot of empty space up in my head for all these thoughts to rattle around in....its nice to have them nailed down on a blog! Later, taters....love, the the Slug....aka, Stacy!

Forward Motion

Well, I didn't know if I would make it out the door today or not, but I did it, and I am so glad. I had to work the evening shift at the lab last night, which meant I was supposed to get off at 10:30. I was working blood bank and microbiology last night, which was amazingly quiet. I think I crossmatched blood on only a couple of folks, did a cord blood, and only set up a handful of cultures....which means I should have been able to get home on time, possibly even early. I was hoping for the early thing, because I was sleeeeeepy after having been up since early! On MWF I work at my office at church in the mornings too, while the kids are in school, so it wasn't really just a leisurely morning either--suffice it to say, I was ready for sleeping! Well, there is this little (or actually not so little) training deal we all have to do in the lab that I should've gotten done a while ago, but because I am not there all the time and because when I am there, I am often by myself (working nights), I hadn't completed it yet. It's one of those computer thingys with a powerpoint type training session and it tests you and you have to pass and all that stuff....and can I just say, all of those type things put me to sleep like crazy! I mean, I would so rather stick icepicks under my toenails than have to sit through one of those things! So, I am making my way thorugh this awful thing (it was on packing dangerous goods, and transporting them, and "class A, UN number 2833 under IATA code 3423.32.38 and use packing instruction 402" type stuff for---oh, like every dangerous good known to man--and how to pack it for an airplane and----aaaaarrrrggghhhh!!!! Seriously, can I poke a finger through my eye now????--all ELEVEN CHAPTERS of it!!! So, I am close to finishing it and it's time to go home--but I am not quite finished. As tired as I was, I KNEW good and well I DID NOT want to sit down and finish this stupid thing later (or do it ever again!) so, I stayed to finish it up and it took me until 11:30! So much for going to bed early! And of course, once I get home, I can't go straight to bed--gotta have a little wind down time--usually on facebook, reading the paper online, etc. (I really needed to clean the dirty kitchen that was left for me, but that's another story I won't get into! Needless to say...I need to do some housework today!)Anyhow....I'm in bed at around 1 am, thinking there is no way I will be getting up at 4:45 to run, and I probably should allow myself some grace because of having to endure that stupid SAFTPAK training for so long. Well, my alarm went off at 4:45, and the snooze alarm and I had a little fight---and though the fight went for a couple of rounds, I WON, I WON! Yep, I was out of bed at 5:05 or so, and after stumbling around on my sore feet and trying to find my socks, I was out the door at 5:30...woohoo! It seemed sort of appropriate that the first song to come up on my ipod was "Forward Motion" by Relient K--and how I have trouble with forward motion! Some Linda Rondstat (when will I be loved), Chris Tomlin, Jars of Clay, Garth Brooks, and Bowling for Soup later, I had gone about 2-1/2 miles, according to my newly-again-functional Nike+ipod thingymadoo. I had to get a new sensor for it (I got it for my birthday last year) and I havne't calibrated it yet, but out of the box, it is pretty close to being accurate for most people, statistically. I was able to run the whole way around my neighborhood's "big block" without a walk break, which is about a mile, for the first time since I've been back at it....a mile isn't terribly far, but for me right now, that was quite a milestone! I think the cold weather is helping a lot too....I have always LOVED to run when its cold! With the walk breaks, I averaged about 12-1/2 minutes per mile, which for me, is pretty darn good right now! (I was never fast....even 3 kids, 100 pounds, and 8 years ago!) If I can move one foot in front of the other faster than I walk, that's a run for me, baby---no matter what the speed! So...after the shower that felt soooo good--because I was cold from the weather, hot from the run, and because I EARNED it--I was updating my prayer list, reading, and enjoying the quiet of the morning, just me and Jesus, hangin out. I love those times--while they last, that is! Barrett and Silas were bounding down the stairs pretty soon...yes, like, buttcrack of dawn soon! Anyhow, I took the opportunity to snuggle up with them on the couch while they watched their "mornin shows" as they call them, and the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes, and it was daylight, and we were all the way to Tigger and Pooh on Playhouse Disney! So much for staying up with no naps...but but its worth it! After all, I felt great from my run, and Barrett and Silas will only be 4 for a little while...speaking of which, Miss Gabriella, who will only be 2 for a little while is up now, so I better go give her some equal opportunity! She who is at 0.97 percentile on the weight scale....she didn't inherit that from me!!!! Maybe I need to get her to teach me a thing or two--she never stops moving! I think that's why she's so tiny!Thanks soooooooo much for the encouragement too!!! It helps a lot--because I know I don't want to post a status update that says "Stacy is a lazy slug who didn't get out of bed to run!" Yep, accountability works!