Vacation Part 3

At Grandma's house you can always find misc. fun stuff. Here is a pair of glasses that she has for Mikayla to play with. Lily kept putting them on and calling them her goggles.



We spent two nights at Joe's brother's house, Chris. We took over their master bedroom and one morning Lily woke up and was playing happily in her "nest" on the floor. I was shocked because she has never done this. I looked over at Mikayla and she was laughing quietly to herself because Lily was being so funny. What a wonderful way to start the day. A little bit later the girls started playing together on the couch in the bedroom.


Chris and Suzanne have a long living room and they have turned one section in the kids play room. Everyone had fun playing with all of the toys.

Beach - Vacation Part 2

On Tuesday we all headed to the beach. Originally this was suppose to be a beach vacation in Cape Cod but that did not work out but we still had to go to the beach. It was also too hot to stay at home anyway.

The beach was wonderful. I have only really swam in the ocean on our honeymoon in Hawaii. This was the first time I swam on the Jersey shore. Normally it has been too rough for me. This time the high tide was coming in but it did not seem that rough so I kept heading in. The water felt so good.

Here we are, Grandpa, Grandma, Lily and me enjoying the day.

Suzanne and Alexa. The babies were not very happy at the beach. I remember last year when we went and Lily was the age they are now. It was not a fun day for me that year either.

Please ignore the farmer's tan. In Gunnison I don't wear my swim suit much.

Lily

Lily is 2 and 1/2. She is a very cute kid and is saying all sorts of things. Lately we have been trying to get her to ask to be excused after dinner.

I noticed one day when she threw a fit about saying excuse me she kept looking at her feet. I put her in time out and when she came back she walked up to Teo (our old, chocolate lab sits by her feet at the dinner table and normally she has to walk around him to get down and leave the table.) and said excuse me. Teo at this night was sitting in a different part of the kitchen. I finally figured it out. She was not asking to leave the table she was asking Teo to move so she could get around him!

We have made it a point to all ask to be excused many times so she could see what we are doing but she still asks Teo, "excuse me."

July 4th - Day in the Pool - Vacation - Part 1

Last Saturday we flew to New Jersey to spend a week with Joe's family. I learned one thing about Lily that day. She does not like flying. On the first flight the man sitting by the window was nice enough to give her the window seat. At first she was sitting happy, until the plane started to take off and then she started to shake and cry. I had to get her out of her seat and hold her tight to make her stop crying. She kept saying down, down. Eventually I settled her down enough to watch Pooh on the computer. If we kept her window screen down she was ok, but when it was time to land she was back in my lap. On the next flight she slept. Eventually on the way home she was use to it, a little bit.

Sunday was the 4th of July. Nothing was planned just a day sitting around house. It was super hot in New Jersey (100 plus). We pulled out the pools and sat around outside in their backyard, playing in the water and staying in the shade. By the end of the day the smallest pool was filled with hot water - that is how hot it was outside.

Joe's brother Chris joined us at their parents house. Chris is married and they have 18 month old twins, one boy and one girl.

Here is Joe, Lily, Alexa, Kyle and Mikayla playing in the pool.

Later that night we sat outside on their front porch to watch fireworks. I ended up trying to put Lily to bed right before they started. As I was reading to her they started so we went downstairs to watch but she kept saying bed so that night she fell asleep the fireworks.

Mikayla being silly.

Later that night we sat outside on their front porch to watch fireworks. I ended up trying to put Lily to bed right before they started. As I was reading to her they started so we went downstairs to watch but she kept saying bed so that night she fell asleep the fireworks.

Relaxing Evening

Tonight I did not clean after work and therefore I got home earlier than normal. Also, the house was still cleaned and picked up from yesterday (meaning after I left for work the girls did not destroy it), I decided to make lunches in the morning. So this is what I did:

• Made homemade yogurt
• Watched the girls go on a nature walk
• Sat outside and talked with my hubby
• Played with my girls

Mikayla wanted to make mud pies in her sandbox.

Lily wanted to swing on her tire swing.

• And I even had a few minutes to write this blog.
• But now I release that it is almost 7 and the girls need a bath because they are messy from making mud pies in the sandbox.

So, what did you do this evening?

1000 Mile Club

Tall Mom on the Run on the run opened her 1000 mile club this week. If you have at least 333 miles this year and sign up before the end of the week you can sign up to. When I saw this I was so excited. I don't think I will get 1000 miles this year but I am going to try my hardest.

We are off to New Jersey this week. I am actually sitting in the Colorado Springs airport right now waiting for our flight. When we get back next week I am going to re-focus on running and get in shape for a full marathon in mid September right here in Gunnison.

Have a Happy 4th of July!!

Another Yummy Healthy Receipe

Please check out my food blog here for another yummy and healthy recipe.

Lock of Love

I am been waiting to donate my hair to Lock of Love for a while now but I have not really wanted to cut my hair in order to do this.

Well, last week I decided that it was time. My hair was long enough, I needed a hair cut and I decided to just go for it.

Here is my before pictures:




12 inches later here are my after pictures:

The hair cut ended up being shorter than I planned on but I am glad to have cut it off and it is going to a good cause.

Workout in the Grass = Bug Bites

I went home at lunch time to do a strength training workout outside. We have a big beautiful and private backyard. I was not thinking about the fact that I was wearing a sport's bra and doing crunches in the grass. Now I have at least 3 new bug bites, I am ichy all over and I think I am getting another one on my rear end!

Too cute

A friend of mine, Sherri, has a 2 year old boy named Sam. Sam and my daughter Lily, who is 2.5, have been friends since the day he was born. They had to become friends with how much time Sherri and I spend together and now they two kids also go to the same daycare. Sherri is a teacher so Lily does not see Sam everyday at daycare anymore.

Last night I was watching her kids and mine for a little while. Sherri dropped her kids off and we were playing outside. Joe got home about 10 minutes later with our kids. Lily came running around the corner saying, my Sam, my Sam, my Sam. It was took cute. A little bit later they started running around the house, yelling, ahhhhh and then they would stop and laugh together and then head outside and do the same thing. They are too cute! You gotta love 2 year olds!

No Time For Running Right Now

I am really slacked off on running and I am not planning on picking it up in the next few weeks. I really slowed down due to a couple of minor injuries. I am not running right now to try and re-hab them. I had to go home for a funeral. My beloved Aunt Jo died last week. She never married nor had any kids and therefore all of her nieces and nephews had a very special place in her heart. We all had very fun and loving memories of her. She always had a smile on, even when she was very sick. I was told that she finally stopped smiling about a week before she died. But now Aunt Jo is no longer in pain, she is in heaven smiling.

I have also slacked off on my Run 175 miles in 7 weeks. I was so ready to give that challenge a try but it did not happen. I am sure Kristen is still going strong. I know that I am not going to hit 1000 miles this year, I am too far behind but it will be interesting to see how close I get to that number.

Since I am not running the next couple of weeks I will have to take some pictures of the girls and post them.

Oreck Platinum Pilot Vacuum

Head over to Musings of a Housewife and enter her giveaway to win The Oreck Platinum Pilot Vacuum retails at $599.

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

I just finished Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. As he decribes it, it was a book about "a Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen." Chris goes into Mexico and finds the Tarahumara Indians. They are runners who will run 60 miles at the drop of a hat, run a deer to exhaustion, and have foot races between tribes. In reading this book I learned a lot about running. I took the principals of the Tarahumara Indians to heart and the next day ran 10 miles. That 10 mile run was one of the best runs I have done in a long time. I was strong, fast and very happy the whole run.

Chris also goes onto talk about shoe technology and how modern day racing shoes are the cause of our injuries. 8 out of every 10 runners will suffer an injury and the "better," more expensive your shoes are the more likely you are to suffer an injury. That hit home because ever since I started running I have been dealing with some small injury here and there and the only cure has been to stop. But I love running too much to stop.

In another chapter Chris talks about how as a human race we are meant to run. We are not built to be sprinters but to be marathoners.

This book is a must read for every runner out there. It is well written, keeps you thinking, keeps you on your toes and you will not want to put it down until you are done.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 5

At this point I should have run a total of 125 miles, but I have not. I was sick with a cold one week and therefore only ran 1.3 miles that week. Then last week I got super busy at work and therefore I only ran one day. As of Sunday I have run a total of 73.55 so I am short by over 50 miles! I am going to finish this challenge but I don't think I will get in 175 miles in 7 weeks.

On another note I forgot to post by year to dates miles at the end of May. I have run a total of 342.37. I am not on track to run 1000 miles this year but wow - as of today I have run over 350 miles! How cool it that!

Lunch Time Fun

I normally use every single minute of my lunch hour to run or workout. Sometimes I will clean to make some extra money, or clean my own house but those days are rare. I have been hit with a cold this week and it is wearing me down so I have not been running at all. Today I was going to go and start a cleaning job but it was too nice outside. After a long, cold winter, and a long cold spring I am ready for summer. I went to a local park, laid down in the grass and read my book in the warm sunshine. It was sooo nice I really did not want to come back to work.

Beginner Wednesday - Week 3

Since no one has left a comment regarding by Beginner Wednesday's I can only assume no one is reading this and no one is taking this challenge on. But I am still hoping that soon someone will come across this and take action, so I am going to keep blogging and hoping I am helping to change someone's live.

How did last week go? Were you able to increase your time comfortably? Did it hurt, was it hard or was it easy? If last week was easy push yourself harder this week. If it was too hard last week, back off a little bit this week. This is your run, this is your training plan so modify it to fit you, but don't make it too easy.

For your workouts this week I want you to do the same 3 - 20 minute workouts but choose to do one of the two workouts below. Warm-up and cool down are both the same. 5 minutes at the beginning at 5 minutes at the end.

For those who want to make this week a little bit harder I want you to do the following:

1 - Run for 60 seconds, walk for 30 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes

For those who want to make this week a little bit easier I want you to do the following:

2 - Run for 45 seconds and walk for 30 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes.

Let me know how you are doing. Next week we are going to add in some strenght training.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 3

This is week 3 of the challenge. I am not getting in 25 miles per week but I am getting in more than I was before I started this challenge.

Here are my totals so far:

Week 1 - 26.2 miles
Week 2 - 19.75 miles
Week 3 - 22.10 Miles

Total Miles = 68.05 miles and I am short by 6.95 miles.

Total Miles Left In Challenge - 106.95

I was able to take a 2 hour lunch on Friday and I did a 10 mile trail run. I did something to me knee and it really started hurting the last 1.5 miles of the run on Friday. On Saturday I got up and my knee seemed ok. I was volunteering with the Girls on the Run and I decided to run to the start of the race, about 2.6 miles. I felt my knee about a mile into the run but it wasn't too bad so I kept going. I helped get everyone registered for the run and then realized that I could run it too, so I did. Not a good idea. I finished and I ran the whole thing with a great pace but afterwords I was hurting. So instead of getting out on Sunday for the last 3 miles to hit 25 I took it easy and I am not running today either. I am going to run tomorrow and see how my knee holds out.

Take a minute to check in on Kristen's progress.

10 Mile Trail Run

Today I took my 2 hour lunch instead of on Wednesday. It was perfect! I cannot tell you just how wonderful it was. The weather was perfect, sunny, not too hot, the trail was great. I cannot image a better way to spend two hours.

I did 10 miles in 1 hour and 57 minutes with a pace of 11:42. The first 5 miles were mostly uphill which really slowed me down but I was able to cruise and have a blast on the downhill.

10 Miles turned into 3

I have a little bit of comp time at work set aside so I asked to take a 2 hour lunch today. My plan was to run 10 miles in that 2 hours - maybe a little bit more it I was really on my game. Will shortly after I started my run it started raining, then sleeting, then hailing or little tiny snowballs as I call them. I stopped and waited a little bit in a covered area and then decided to try it again. I finally gave up and turned around to head back. Since I turned around I was running right into it and I could not even see. My face and contacts were covered in water. Then it stopped raining so I tried again. I eventually gave up because I was going to be gone for 2 hours, the coat I brought was not a rain coat was soaked so I dropped it on the trail and I was heading for a ridgeline. I could see myself in another hour stuck in another rain storm, no coat and on a ridgeline. I am did 3 miles and headed back to work. I will try to get the 10 miles in another time.

Beginner Runner Wednesday

Now that you have completed your first week of running we need to bump it up a little bit. Yes, each week will get a little bit harder but soon you will say, remember when I could only run 30 seconds at a time?

Like I said last week, I believe just about everyone can run. My sister (sorry Sara) is not use to working out. She has always been one of those skinny girls that does not need to work out to be skinny and she can eat a bag a chips. Yes it was hard growing up in the same house as her! Well I challenged her to run a 5K recently. This is the same girl who I don't think she had ever ran a mile in her life. She did a couch to 5K program starting in January and finished her first 5K in mid-April. She did great and is ready to sign up for another one.

Now, onto your workout for this week. This week I want you to do the same 3 - 20 minute workouts but choose to do one of the two workouts below.

Warm-up and cool down are both the same. 5 minutes at the beginning at 5 minutes at the end.

1 - Run for 45 seconds, walk for 1 minute. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes

2 - Run for 30 seconds and walk for 45 seconds. Repeat this for a total of 10 minutes.

So as you can see you can either run longer or run shorter but walk less. The choice is up to you. Let me know how you do!

Don't Forget - Learn How to Cook Real Food

Don't forget to sign up for classes on how to cook real food. Click HERE to sign up for the e-cooking course or

Click HERE to read more about it.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Week 2

This week I did not get as many miles in as last week. I did 19.75. Here are my totals so far:

Week 1 - 26.2 miles
Week 2 - 19.75 miles

Total Miles Left In Challenge - 129.05

Total Miles = 45.95 miles and I am short by 4.05 miles but I will make that up. I am trying to take a long lunch one day this week and get in a 10 mile run which will help a lot but we will see!

Take a minute to check in on Kristen's progress.

This should make you feel better about yourself....

Kathie Lee and Hoda showed up on the Today Show with no make up. You can watch the segment here. I have to admit that seeing them with no make up made me feel better. Sorry Kathie Lee and Hoda! Lately, I have been noticing the signs of aging all over my face - and I am only 31! You see all of these people on TV, many who are older than me who look GREAT. I know they have make up on and can afford all of skin treatments they want but to see what they really look like was a boost. Now if I could just first find time to put make up, figure out how to do it and then be able to afford all they put on I would look just as good as they do!

Nourished Kitchen

I have a great opportunity to bring everyone. My friend Jen is the author of the Nourished Kitchen website Take a minute to check out her website. Jen's website is about getting back to the basics of food, no preservatives, no junk, no fillers, just real natural food. She is an amazing cook. I have enjoyed every single meal she has ever cooked for me (except for the liver but come on it was liver!)

Jen has received quite a bit of press regarding her website as well. Check out her list here. She was even featured in the Washington Post.

Jen and her husband Kevin are also responsible creating the Crested Butte Farmer's Market. They have seen it grown each year. I know because I don't get to see her as much during the summer because the Farmer's Market keeps them super busy.

Nourished Kitchen features great information, recipes, how-to's and so much more. Jen also has recipe cards you can subscribe to. The recipe cards are very nice, sturdy and with the pictures of food on them pieces of art. I would highly recommend these cards.

Jen has now added another feature to her website, an online cooking class. She is offering 12 cooking classes for $120.00. Here is a list of what she will cover:

Lesson #1: What is Real Food & Where to Find It
Lesson #2: Eat Whole Grain
Lesson #3: Homemade Sourdough Bread
Lesson #4: Homemade Salad Dressings
Lesson #5: Prepare Seasonal Vegetables
Lesson #6: Make Real Pickles
Lesson #7: Roasted & Slow-cooked Meats
Lesson #8: Stocks, Broths & Soups
Lesson #9: Easy Homemade Yogurt & Cheese
Lesson #10: Soda & Soft Drink Alternatives
Lesson #11: Naturally Sweet Desserts
Lesson #12: Menus & Meal Planning

To find out more information about her cooking classes please follow this link.

Jen has taught me a lot about cooking and there is so much more she can teach you.

Spring in Colorado

Warm, sunny, shorts, windy

Cold, cloudy, pants, hat, gloves, windy

Warm, cold, sunny, cloudy, windy

Rain, snow, sun, windy

(Yes it is snowing right now in Gunnison and yesterday I was running in shorts and a tank top at lunch.)

Beginner Runner Wednesday

I love running. I really do. It is my escape, my way to connect with myself, me time, and it burns a lot of calories quickly. Because of my love for running I want to turn everyone I meet into a runner, especially if you say you cannot run because I will quickly tell you that almost everyone can run.

I was not always a runner. My mom says as a kid I was the couch potato with my head in a book eating a bag of chips. No wonder I was a chubby kid!! I started running when I went to college. The gym was 100 yards from my dorm room and I had an enclosed walkway so no excuses. I started running slowly on the treadmill and eventually I was able to run one mile without stopping. So if I can do it you can to!

For all of you non-runners that are thinking about starting here are a couple of benefits of running:

1 - Walking or running you burn about 100 calories per mile. Now do you want to get that mile done in 20 minutes or 10 minutes?
2 - Cardio. Walking is good for you, but if you want to get a good heart pumping working out you need to bump that walk into a run. They have proven that for good heart health you need 30 minutes of heart pumping cardio 5 times a week.
3 - Lose some weight. With all this running you are bound to lose weight.
4 - ME TIME! Many moms and dads have trouble finding time for themselves. Set aside 20 minutes, 3 times a week for you and only you. Or you and your best friend - no kids.

Now if I have convinced you to start running you are now thinking how. We will start nice and slow.

Your goal for the next week is to run/walk three times for a total of 20 minutes. Start by walking for 5 minutes to warm up. No slow pokes, get those legs moving. At 5 minutes I want you to run slowly - no sprinting just get use to running - for 30 seconds and then walk for 1 minute and repeat. Do this for 10 minutes. Then walk the last 5 for your cool down and you are done. Now was that so hard.

Check back next Wednesday for your next running workout.

175 Mile Challenge - Week 1

This was the first week of the 175 Miles in 7 week challenge. I did great. I did 26.2 miles - my 17 mile mother's day run really helped me out a lot but I also planned for that long run this week as I did not run as many miles during the week so I could save some energey for the 17 mile run. I am still tired today from it but it was worth it.

I am not exactly sure how I am going to get all of the miles in this week but I will. Kristen, did 28 miles! Go Kristen!

Tigerlily is in the process of moving across the country. She is leaving today so I will check in with her next week to see how she is doing.

Happy Mother's Day and 17 Mile Run

I told Joe that the only thing I wanted for Mother's Day was to go for a super long run. So around 8:30 in the morning I headed out for 17 miles. It was great and the weather was perfect. I headed for the hill behind Western (as I call it since it does not have a name) to try out a new trail I found the other day. Behind Western State College is a peak called Signal Peak. It is about 14ish miles round trip from my house. Well, this new trail took me towards Signal Peak and I knew that mileage wise I could do it and still be at or under 17 miles. The closer I got to the peak I saw how the trail got to Signal Peak. Instead of the nice mellow up I was doing it turned into a straight up! I saw that and said, nope I can find another way to get the miles in. It was a super steep hill and I still had over 8 miles left to run. So I headed back down and around and eventually home. The last two miles were hard and I struggled to get them done but I did it. 17 miles in 3 hours and 23 minutes, pace 11:59.


The rest of my Mother's Day was great. I came home from my run to a quiet, clean and happy house. We went out to lunch and then took Mikayla climbing at the rec center. She has to be 5 to rock climb at the rec center, and she just turned 5 on Friday. My baby is now 5 - how on earth did that happen! After rock climbing and playing at the park we headed home where I was able to take a short nap and spend the rest of the day relaxing with my family. It was a perfect Mother's Day. The only other Mother's Day that I have had so far that beat this one was the one 5 years ago when I brought Mikayla home from the hospital.

April Miles

Since Tall Mom started her 1000 mile challenge I have been trying and failing to get in the 83.5 miles of running each month. This month I did it!! 85.58 miles!!! I really did not want to run on Friday because it was cold and windy oustide but I only had to do a mile or so to hit 83.5. My year todate total is 273.02 and I am short by 60.13 miles.

I am hosting a challenge that starts Monday morning that challenges you to run 175 miles in 7 weeks or 25 miles per week. Hopefully this challenge will help get my weekly miles and also acculmate some so I can reach the goal of 1000 miles for 2010. I need to get as many miles in this summer and early fall so when it gets super cold outside I can sit back and relax some.

Click here to check out the challenge and sign up!

I was not ready for this, this morning

Today is May 2nd and this is what I woke up to this morning.

I know that this can happen in the springtime in the Rocky Mountains but I still don't like it!

It is still snowing but it is warm outside so hopefully I will be able to post another picture this afternoon with all of the snow gone. It is still snowing but it is warm outside so hopefully I will be able to post another picture this afternoon with all of the snow gone.

Biggest Loser Gunkie

I have to admit I am a Biggest Loser Gunkie. Every Tuesday night I have to take time out to watch this show. I get annoyed when my daughters talk, or hubby or whatever. All I want to do is sit down and watch the show. I do wish it started at 8pm instead of 7pm because I am still making lunches, doing dinner dishes, picking up the house, doing laundry etc at 7pm. So I normally from 7 to 8pm I get up every commercial to get my chores done and then at 8pm I finally sit down to really enjoy the show. Yes I know that I need that new TiVo thing but that is not in the budget.

I loved last night's show because inspiring others to lose weight and get in shape is what I want to do. I did not start exercising until college, I do not know what it is like to be obese but I do know what it is like to be chubby and fat. I do know how much better I feel after a great workout. I do know how good it feels to push your body to go harder than it did last weekend.

But if I want to inspire others how do I go about it? I do have a friend who is VERY overweight - now how I can get her out and exercising too?

15 Things You Wouldn't Want to See While Running

Runner's World brings me some funny articles that I have to share with you. Check this article out.

175 Miles in 7 Weeks - Can you do it? **Edited**

**Edited** Since I have posted this I have only had one brave person willing to go for this challenge, Kristen at Green Style Mom. So if you want to do this challenge but are scared leave me a comment or email me and let's see if we can do a reduce number of miles but it still needs to be a challenge.

Tall Mom on the Run started a club at the beginning of the year that I was too scared to join. Run 1000 + miles with Tall Mom Club. You are suppose to run 1000 miles during 2010. I thought there was no way possible that I could do that but in the back of my mind I am trying but getting more and more behind every month. The cold weather this past winter has not helped either. So I am going to host my own contest to help me get back on track.

I want to run 175 miles by June 20^th. Here are the details.

1. Contest Starts Monday, May 3, 2001.

2. In order to participate you need to follow this blog and also leave me a comment before May 1^st that you want to do this.

3. Everyone who runs 175 miles by June 20, 2010 will be entered into a contest to win a $20 gift card to Amazon.

4. The first person to reach 175 miles will win a $20 gift card to Amazon.

5. You must email me your weekly totals each Monday.

175 miles in seven weeks sounds like a lot but let’s break it down.

* 25 miles per week

* 3.6 miles per day

* 5 – 5 mile runs per week

* 1 – 10 mile run, plus 3 – 3.75 mile runs per week

No matter how you look at it you can do it!

Leave a comment with your email address and let me know if you are interested! Blog about this and let’s get the word around so we can have as many participants as possible!!!

I wish I could giveaway more money to the winners and participants but this is my own money.

Trip to Kansas

Last Thursday we loaded up the car and headed to Kansas. We left Gunnison about 2:30 in the afternoon and arrived in Olathe, Kansas at 4:30 in the morning. Mikayla was excellent in the car and Lily was great as well. Lily gave us about 30 minutes of per terror but then she fell asleep. When we arrived in KC I was hoping the girls would go back to sleep but they quickly said no. So Joe got a couple of hours of sleep while I hung out with the girls and my mom. I eventually got a nap with Lily late in the day.

On Saturday I ran my half marathon and you can read about it here:

Saturday evening I had some friends over from highschool. We have re-connected through facebook and we have not seen each other in 12 plus years. It was great to sit and chat with these girls and catch up on what has been going on with their lives.

Lily decided to wear her bike helmet and refused to take it off.

Here are the girls and me. Bottom Row - Kelli, Me, Laura (the short ones) and back row, Stephanie, Kelly and Jenny (the tall ones)!

Mikayla had a blast playing with all of the kids.

On Sunday we went to the mall to get pictures of all of the cousins. This was my sister's idea and her kids were not into it. The 2 year old was not feeling good and the baby needed to eat. But we did get some family pictures.








On Sunday afternoon we headed to a local petting zoo that I use to go to as a kid. It has expanded big time! We had a blast playing on the playing ground and playing with all of the animals.

It was a very hot day - especially for us.

Because it was so nice in Kansas the girls had a blast playing outside. I could hardly keep them inside the house! The were outside riding their bikes every chance they had.

On Monday we headed to a place called Monkey Business that had slides, tunnels, a bouncy house, toys, art and crafts and anything else you could image for the kids to play on and tire themselves out on. Since it was a Monday morning they place was not busy at all and and the kids and adults had fun playing with everything. We headed home late Monday morning and were glad to be home. We had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Olathe Half Marathon - The Story

I am sorry for not updating everyone on my Olathe Half Marathon sooner. We are getting ready to list our house so my evenings have been full of unpackings, de-cluttering and of course normal evening chores.

I ran the half marathon last Saturday. My time was 2 hours and 22 minutes with an overall pace of 10:44. It was great and easy. This was also the biggest race I have ever been apart of. All of the races I have done until this one have been only a couple hundred of people. Sometimes I have even placed in my age group, because I was one of the few in my age group. That is going to happen less often since I turned 30 and there are plenty of women 30-40 year old runners. Back to how many people there were I first started in a group faster than I should have been so everyone quickly passed me but I fell into a comfortable pace that I knew I could handle.

One thing about Kansas is that it is humid. I wore capri running pants. I wanted to wear shorts but since Gunnison is cold I have not done a long run in shorts or my running skirt so I went with what I knew would work. At one point I was sweating a lot. I sweat a little bit in Gunnison, but I was sweating more than I ever do in Gunnison.

Around mile 4ish I had to pee and there was a aid station coming up but the line for the porta potty was 4 people deep and I did not want to wait, so I headed into some trees. It saved me some time.

At mile 7 I was getting hungry. Due to driving late at night and go, go, go the next day with family I was really tired the night before and the race started at 7am. I got up at 5am - good thing for moms because when the alarm clock went off at 5am I turned it off so it would not wake Joe up and fell back asleep. The point of my story is that I did wake up super early and I really did not want to eat my normal ceral and peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I had the cereal but no sandwich. At mile 9 they had run out of gatorade but I also saw a women I worked with at McDonald's back in highschool!

I was able to fuel up at the next aid station. Around mile 10 I was getting sore in my hips and I even walked a little bit and stretched some. Finally at mile 11 I told myself that I only had 2 miles left so let's do it. I picked up the pace as much as possible and crossed the finish line strong.

One thing that I do love about finishing is that Mikayla comes out from the crowd and we run across the finish line hand in hand.

Lily and my nephew, Jake, waiting for me to finish.

My sister, Sara, and her husband, Josh looking for me.

Here is my sister, Sara, and me and the girls. My sister ran her first 5K. She ran it at a pace of 10:55, and finished around 34 minutes. She did great.


Instead of me eating the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lily did.

I had a great time, I saw parts of Olathe that I never saw as a kid. I would do this race again.

Olathe Half Marathon

I ran the half marathon in Olathe, KS and it was MUCH easier than running the Salida Half Marathon and just easy in general I finished in 2 hours and 22 minutes, 12 minutes faster than the Salida Half marathon. My average pace was 10:44! 15 seconds than my goal pace of 11 minutes per mile.

We are leaving Kansas to go home tomorrow and I will post more info and pictures later this week.

15 Miles

I did it! I ran 15 miles yesterday. I am slowly getting to my marathon goal and I will get there but it takes time. So far 15 miles is the farthest I have ever run and I ran it strong! I felt great for the first 8 miles. Each mile just sailed by and I was still ready to keep going. The last 3 miles were tough though. I had wind the whole time I was running but I kept changing my route up so that I was never going straight into the wind for more than a mile at a time or I had houses around me to help block it. But the last 3 miles I had to run straight into it to get home. Those last three miles were slow, hard and tough. Without the wind I think I would have finished stronger and much faster. It took me 2 hours and 51 minutes with an average pace 11:24.

I might do a couple of small 2 miles runs this week (super slow and easy) and on Saturday I have my half marathon back in Kansas. I am hoping for an average pace of 11 minutes per mile. So we will see. Wish me luck with the race and the drive. I am not looking forward to driving 13 hours with Lily - but hopefully since part of it will be at night she will sleep!

March Miles

I ran a total of 78.94 miles during the month of March for a grand total of 187.44 miles for 2010. I thought that was pretty good until I did the math and if I want to hit 1000 miles 12/31/2010 I am short 60 miles. I got some work to do in the next few months to catch up.

I want to do a 15 mile run this weekend because next weekend I am doing the Olathe Half Marathon. So after this weekend no more running, except maybe a mile here or there.

Then during May there is a local 25K and 50K trail run. I want to do the 25K (about 15 miles). after that I will focus on a local marathon the happens in September or October - plenty of time to get ready!

Healthy Chili Recipe

I just posted a easy and super healthy chili recipe on my food blog here.

Enjoy and happy eating!

Running Rules of Thumb

I get emails from Runner's World Magazine. I came across this article and laughed because it really is true. I really like number 10 the best. I am a runner.

Running Rules of Thumb

1. If you see a porta potty with no line, use it. Even if you don't need to.

2. If you have to ask yourself, Does this driver see me? The answer is no.

3. If you have to ask yourself, Are these shorts too short? The answer is yes.

4. 1 glazed doughnut = 2 miles

5. You rarely regret the runs you do; you almost always regret the runs you skip.

6. Not everyone who looks fast really is, and not everyone who looks slow really is.

7. Nobody has ever watched Chariots of Fire from beginning to end. Not even the people who made it.

8. You can never have too many safety pins on your gym bag.

9. Running any given route in the rain makes you feel 50 percent more hard-core than covering the same route on a sunny day.

10. If you care even a little about being called a jogger versus a runner, you're a runner.

Slow, Easy, Great Run

Yesterday on my lunch hour I was able to get in a trail run! Yea!! I was so excited and it was so warm (30 degrees and climbing). I only ran into a few spots of mud. Another thing I did was turn off of the Ipod and let myself get carried away in daydreams as I ran. I use to do this a lot more but lately my runs have been all about, miles, pace, speed intervals, hill, etc.... I haven't just run in a long time and it was so perfect and wonderful. My pace was very slow but still it was great.

Baking Cooking Baking

This weekend I spent many hours in my kitchen and loving it. I made heathly foods for my family.

I made:

Turkey Chilli
Applesauce
Yogurt
Banana Pudding (ok this one is not heathly)
Whole Wheat Corn Bread with ground flax seed
Chicken and Veggie Soup
Whole Wheat Banana Bread with ground flax seed
Whole Wheat Bread
Whole Wheat Sour Dough Bread Bowls

If you want the recipes, leave me a comment and I will post them on my food blog.

Run When You Can

In order to make ends meat I have three jobs. I work a full time job as a paralegal, I am a bookkeeper for a property management company and I also clean for the same property management company. The nice thing about doing the books and the cleaning is that I can do it on my own time. Sometimes I use my lunch hour to do the books or a part of a cleaning job.

That is what happened on Tuesday this week. I really wanted to get some running in so I did it in three different segements. Durning my lunch hour I managed to run a 1/2 mile on my way from work to a cleaning job, did most of the cleaning job, then managed to run another 1 mile or so and finally made it back to work on time. Then after work I did another 2.5 miles and was able to finish the day with a total of 4.1 miles. I don't breaking my runs up but sometimes as a busy working momyou just have to adjust your schedule to get some running time in. I did remember how much I use to love running after work, but with kid that is next to impossible for me. Luckily on most days I can run a full hour on my lunch break.

Today I do plan on running to a house, spraying the oven down, finishing my run and then after the kids are in bed heading back to that house to finish cleaning it. Now if only all of this cleaning would help me lose a pound or two I would be set!

Trails - Not Quite Yet

I run because I love hiking.

Ever since I was a little kid I have loved going for a hike. I was always up for a nature walk, a walk around a lake or park or whatever. If it is was in the woods, on a trail, I was there. As I started working out more and more I started running because running is a good way to burn a lot of calories quickly. I eventually started trail running and that was when I fell in love with the sport. I only run to trail run. I HATE running on the roads. Give me a trail and I am as happy as as can be.

Where I work it is a short run to a recreational area with trails everywhere. They are slowly melting and slowly drying out - but not quite enough for a great run. I headed there for my lunch run yesterday and it started off great. I had a huge smile on because it was so fun. Initially the mud was fun too. But the mud and then the snow got old so I headed out to a dirt road and eventually back to work. It was slow going and I only ran a little over 4 miles at lunch today but it was FUN!

Why Why Why

Please take a minute to read this article on msnbc.com

Now that you have read it - why, why, why on earth would someone strive to be the fattest women on earth????? What is wrong with her? What is going on inside that sick little mind? Also, great example she is for her daughter.

I also loved the part where, even through she cannot walk around like you and I because of how fat she is, she claims to be healthy. If you cannot walk due to your weight, you are NOT healthy.

I just don't get it.

HGTV 2010 Dream Home

Does anyone recognize this picture? If so, it is probably because you entered the HGTV 2010 Dream Home Giveaway. I was entering every single day and I was determined that I was going to win. I was going to change my blog to New Mexico Mama and unlike every other dream home winner we were going to live there. I love the idea of New Mexico, especially after dealing with the cold, cold winters of Gunnison.

Well, since my blog's name is still Colorado Mama it was not meant to be and someone else one. I was hoping until the last minute that they would show up in our driveway or at work to tell us we won.

Still, how cool would it have been to live in this house. Wide, open beautiful views of the mountain, mild winters, the parents and in-laws have their own space, 6 miles of trails around the neighborhood, and a big city less than an hour away. Perfect! Maybe we will have to move to the area anyway!

Half Marathon - Check

Today I went over to Salida and ran the Run Through Time Half Marathon. At the starting area I was upset because my Ipod was not working. I am thinking someone (Mikayla) hit too many buttons on the computer last night and deleted the songs of it.

I started the race with a friend of mine. She was just going to do the 2 mile fun run, but it was nice to have her the first first mile. Then the real work began. The entire 6.5 miles were uphill. We climb about 2000 feet in elevation. This was no easy run and many of us were walking it. I thought to myself quite a few times, this is suppose to be a running race not a walking race. Around mile 4 I found a new wind and the hills were not as big and I was able to run quite a bit more. My average pace to the turnaround was a whopping 13 minutes per mile!

Once I hit the turnaround the fun started because it was all downhill. What I tell myself many times is that what goes up, must come down. For the first 3 or 4 miles I was averaging 9 to 9:30 minutes per mile. Around mile 10 I was starting to feel the miles and the pounding. My legs were hurting, I was feeling some blisters (I am still breaking in my new shoes) and at this point I really wanted my Ipod. I needed some good heart pounding songs to get me through the pain. But instead I had the beautiful scenery to look at. I was in pine trees, looking over Salida and these huge 14ers' were towering above them with snow on top. (Sorry no picture since everyone forgot the camera).

I finished in 2 hours and 34 minutes. My average pace on the uphill was 13 minutes per mile and on the downhill was 10:30 minutes per mile. Overall was 11:38 pace. I am hoping for my next half marathon in Olathe, KS to have a pace of 11 minutes per mile or faster. It is in Kansas so no hills or very minor hills for this one.

Half Marathon

Tomorrow bright and early I am headed over to Salida, Colorado (about 1.5 hours away) for their Run Through Time. This was a last minute decision and my friend, Sherri, is coming with me to do the 2 mile race. It will be fun, WARM, and on fire roads that I have never run before. I can't wait - wish me luck!

I'm Ready for Some Trail Running

I am getting sick and tired of running the good ol' streets of Gunnison. Gunnison is not a very big town so I have probably run every street in town at least once, if not 10 times this past winter. The trails are calling me but yet they are not ready to be run on. I tried today. I got to the closet trail to work and I had three different ways to go, I choose to go straight up this HUGE hill because the was the only way that was snow free. Big mistake because the hill was so big I ended up walking most of it and then I had more snow on top, so much that I could not run I walked it. I finally wound my way down and then I found a short 0.20 trail with NO snow! It was so much fun and I LOVED it. Well then I was done and had to do some more boring miles on the road and in the wind.

Winter I am OVER you and snow - I want you MELTED NOW!!

Unfortunately I have at least one month, maybe 2 more to go because all of the trails are ready to really be run on.

Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2 - Update

Well, I figured out how to wear the shoes without pain. I re-did the laces and skipped an inner lacing and that seems to have solved the problem. I can wear them with no pain. I have not taken them on a run yet because I just figured this out on Monday. I will give the "new" shoes a trial run tomorrow to see how the new lacing works.

13.1 Miles

Yep I did it. I finally ran a half marathon and it was tough. The run started out hard and I really wanted to quit but I kept at it. I had a good mile, a bad mile, a good mile, a forced mile and I am sure you get the point. Once I finally hit 10 miles I knew I could do another 3.1 miles. My total time gone from home was 2 hours and 45 minutes and my total running time as 2 hours and 32 minutes. My average overall pace was 13.38 per mile. Super slow, but in a race I know I will do much better. I also learned that I am not ready for the marathon in April. I will be one day but not right now.

One thing to note is that I never have pain after a long run. I might be a little sore but really nothing to talk about. When I woke up on Monday whenever I would be walking and making a right turn at the same time my knee really hurt. Then at lunch I set out to do an easy slow run on my lunch hour and I could barely make it 10 feet running without feeling this hurting - cannot run through the pain feeling. So I walked back to the office I went do work on some cleaning jobs.

Today I have not felt any pain at all and I am planning on running tomorrow to see how the ol' knee feels. It is also my right knee that I have no issue with so it makes me wonder. It also makes me realize that I am not in my 20's any more. Getting old sucks and I hate it with a passion. If you have found the fountain of youth please let me know because I could sure use some!

I swallowed a rock

Yesterday Mikayla, my 4 1/2 year old, walked up to me with her eyes full of tears and said, "I swallowed a rock and it was purple." I first asked her if she could feel it in her throat and she said no and she could swallow and drink just fine. I said, oh well you will just pooped it out.

Then Dad got involved. Instead of just brushing it off and ignoring the situation (the let's see what happens and what she thinks of on her own approach) he told her that her stomache might hurt and she may feel uncomfortable and then he brought it up through out the day.

Last night we had dinner and Mikayla was very tired and moody. She ate very little at dinner and then she laid down on the couch for a little bit. Shortly there after she started crying and gaging like she was going to throw up so I decided that we should take her to the hospital to get her checked out. I was worried that she would throw up and the rock would come up and choke her.

At the hospital they took an X-ray and there was the rock, sitting in her tummy. They said it was in her small intestines and at this point will just pass right through. So now we are on poop watch and if we don't see it we are going to take her to the hospital late this afternoon for another X-ray to see if it is still there or not.

You know when you need to pay more attention to the kiddos....

Tonight as Joe was getting ready to give the girls a bath he took off Lily's shirt and found this:

Joe said earlier in the day he removed marker from her hands, face, head and hair and I remember washing her hands but we never caught the marker on her tummy!

Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2

With my 2009 tax refund I decided to spend a little bit of that money on new running shoes. These shoes are at least 2 months overdue but due to no money I have not bought a new pair yet. I went to our local store, Treds N Threads. This is an outdoor clothing store. I really wish we had a specialty running shop in town but we don’t and I would have to travel to Denver or Colorado Springs to find one.

I spent about 30 minutes one day and another 20 minutes another day trying to find the perfect shoe. I narrowed it down to two pairs and I decided to buy the Asics Gel Trail Sensor 2. The woman told me there were the Cadillac of Asics and they were on sale for $88.00. I really liked how cushioned they were and I could see a nice easy, soft long run in my future so I bought them.

Now, three runs into it I am not so sure. My first run was about 3 miles and I noticed pain on the top of my foot and I just figured they were tied to tight so I stopped to loosen the laces and then I loosened them too much. Once I took those shoes off I immediately noticed pain on top of my foot. Now after 3 runs I am dealing with pain the day after a run. I have been running every other day to avoid pain during my run.

I did an online search and everyone else loves them, while I am starting to hate them. I can pin point the part of the shoe where the pain is coming from and it is a spot where the laces are different than normal shoes. I wish I had noticed this before I bought them.

I am hoping I just need to break these in some more because I really cannot afford to go and get a new pair. I am starting to hate running shoes!

Kid Air Controller

I am sure many of you read the article or saw this on the Today show this morning:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/35704222#35704222

It is the story about the air controller who bought his son and daughter to work and allowed them to talk to the planes. I am shocked at the outrage over this. All the dad did was allow his kids to tell the planes exacatly what he would tell them. The dad was in controll the entire time. On the link above one of the speakers stated that it was the equivelent of the dad writing an email and letting his kid hit send.

I think as Americas we need to spend our days worrying about things that matter instead of small things like this.

Warm and Sunny Days

Today is beautiful and the sun is out in full force. I miss the sun. Normally in Colorado it is always sunny that I crave a cloudy day once in a while but lately the sun has been missing.

Today I ran my fastest 5K yet! I did it 20 seconds faster than my last fastest 5k. My time was 27 minutes and 43 seconds and my overall pace was 8:57!! Yea me! I am getting faster and stronger the more I run. I use to run just to run but training for something has given me the encouragement to run faster and longer and get stronger overall.

Two Grain and Bean Salad

Here is another yummy and super healthy recipe I posted on by food blog.

Two Grain and White Bean Salad.

Healthy Version of PB&J

Check out this link to my food blog to read about how to make a healthier version of the typcial peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for your kids lunches.

Hills and What Not

Even though I live in the Colorado mountains I live in a valley and finding good hills to run are hard. I use to live in Crested Butte where every run you had to do some hill work wether you wanted to or not.

Here in the Gunnison valley I have a few short steep hills and two long hills to choose from when I want to do hill training. Also, most of my running is done during my lunch hour so if I want to do some hill work in the winter I have two choices. One is a steep hill but it only takes at the very most 3 minutes to get to the top and the other is a longer hill with a gradual climb. It is about 1 mile to the top.

Today I decided to do the long, easy hill during my 6 mile lunch run . The hill is also about 1.5 miles from the office and total I was able to do of 1.5 miles of uphill. I also told myself to keep my time no slower than 11 minutes per mile on the uphill. Well I had a GREAT run and I was able to keep my uphill time at 10:30 or faster. Also my overall average pace was 9:57! I just did my fasted 6 miles ever. I may not be a fast runner but I am getting faster.

I do need to get running more because I really slacked off during the month of February. My miles to date as of 2/28/10 were 108.50 so if I want to hit 1000 miles before the end of the year I really have to get my butt in gear.