Hello friends, Happy New Year! Here's a little recap for you of our holiday adventures; now that we're back in the regular routine, I finally have the time to do this.

This was Asher's second Christmas, but he was definitely more interested and excited this year. He loved our Christmas tree and every morning when we came down stairs he would say, in his very cute little voice, "ptee". He was always excited to see it and look at the lights. The tree also led to his first two-word sentence; when we took it down he said "ptee gone".

Asher also loved unwrapping presents this year. He was pretty much able to open most of them on his own, but he sometimes needed a little help. He got lots of clothes and fun toys, money for his RESP, and a registration to renew his participation in his Kindermusik class. Here's a few pictures of Christmas Day.

Me, I got a Garmin Running Watch. It's pretty much awesome. I can now track my pace and distance and monitor my heart rate. It just makes running that much more fun!

We also went on a quick trip to visit my family in Cape Breton. It's very cute to watch Asher and my dad play together; to this day Asher is still making the truck sound that my dad makes when they play together. Asher also loved their dog Rusty, although Rusty wasn't too fond of Asher. We did have one disastrous night that involved hours of screaming, and ended with a suppository for Asher. Poor guy.

Asher and I enjoyed lots of time with Greg at home, and lots of visits with family and friends. Asher ate Chinese food for the first time, and consumed more turkey than I could have imagined (I am of the opinion that this was related to needing to use the aforementioned suppository).

I hope everyone had a great holiday, and I'll post more about New Years and a fun birthday party we went to soon!

So I won't freeze my butt off!

An early Christmas present came my way this weekend. Check it out!

Greg bought me a second-hand treadmill off of friends of ours, and I'm thrilled! It's in excellent shape as it's only been used a handful of times. I ran 10K on it last night as I watched Ellen. It was such a treat to not have to bear the freezing cold, and to get to keep up with my half-marathon training schedule.

I wish I could run and read at the same time, but it just doesn't work out with all that bobbing up and down. Does anyone have any TV show recommendations for me that I could record? I have a feeling I may need more than my 2 shows if I'm going to be using this bad boy as much as I should!

the virgin 12

Yes, yes, on Sunday I ran the virgin 12 KM! It was my first time going that distance. It was a long, slow run with walk breaks, so we ran the 12 KM in 1hr 27mins. Here are a few observations from the event:

- 12KM was not as tough as the first time I did 10KM. Apparently once you get to the 10KM mark, everything else isn't as difficult. I'll let you know if this trend continues.

- Running hills during an actual run is not nearly as bad as hill training. I think I should quit hill training. Seriously, in what race will I ever need to run up and down 9 consecutive hills? Not one that I'll ever register for, I can tell you that! Erin, there's no hills in Disney, eah? :)

- Frozen snot sucks. Period.

- You know you're in for a good run when the instructor warns you at the start to periodically check each other's faces for white spots in case frost bite sets in. Nice.

- I need more than just ankle socks now. The little bit of skin that was exposed between my long johns and ankle socks, even though my pants were still covering it, was freezing!

- I really want these pants. They have a panel in the front to protect against wind and rain and snow and apparently they are super warm.

- I tried Mel's idea of using a bandana to cover my face to keep it warm, and it sort of worked. It got me over the first 10 minutes or so before I was fully warmed up, but what I did notice is the bandana froze where I had been breathing on it. So that kinda sucked having a frozen bandana to contend with. I guess this is why a technical fabric would probably work better for the face. And Mel, they do make these lovely neck warmers just for this purpose. A lot of running folks wear them, or the alternative balaclava.

- Note to self: the water in the water bottle you're wearing will freeze when it's freezing outside, unless of course you tuck it under your jacket against your body rather than wear it on the outside, or put vodka in it. I'm leaning towards trying the latter on my next run ;)

A bunch of running stuff that I don't want to forget so this post is mostly for me to remind myself...

- Hill training will always suck, even if I've done it before.
- That very first hill each and every week will especially suck.
- I will continue to sound like an 80-year old asthmatic once I reach the top of a hill no matter how many hills I've trained for, or how "in shape" I am.
- When running up hills, don't forget... pump those arms! (legs will naturally follow suit)
- A hill must be 400-600 meters long atleast. I don't remember the rule about incline. I should look that up.
- I need to eat something on those long, slow runs starting at the 45-minute mark. Something with quick, simple sugar that my body can use right away. Raisins have worked for me. I would like to try jelly beans and the gels and Gatorade at some point. I need to do this before I actually run the half-marathon.
- Always bring Kleenex!
- Although most experts agree that stretching before a run is not helpful - and may actually be harmful - a little warm up is a must. Try a few jumping jacks or running on the spot.
- Stretching after a run is a life need, and feels SOOOOO good.
- I must hold each stretch for 30 seconds for it to count.
- I LOVE the new stretch our clinic instructor Jodi taught me, cross the legs and bend down.
- Remember what that really smart Physiotherapist dude keeps saying... practice balance and glut exercises. It's important.
- Remember that Olympic coach who talked about drill training and that crazy night with walking lunges, and long jumps? All that stuff about fast twitch muscle fibers, slow twitch muscle fibers, anaerobic workouts, and lactic curves? It doesn't matter if I fully understand or not (seriously people, it is way more complicated than you could imagine), just do the drills and it will be really good for your runs. Really good. The dude is an Olympic coach; he knows what he's talking about!
- Must have the right shoes. It'll make or break you!
- Not running 10 and 1's (run 10 minutes, walk 1, which is how we've trained up until the half-marathon level) isn't actually that difficult.
- No matter how much I don't feel like going out for a run, I always feel good when I do it (and it's not worth the guilt I put on myself for having skipped!)
- The run always goes so much faster when I have someone to chat with.
- I always over-dress for running in colder weather (stop doing this Mandi!) Remember, I should be cold for the first 10 minutes, but once I'm warmed up, I'll be, well, warm!
- My feet, so far, have stayed warm. I hear smart wool socks are the way to go though.
- I need to get something to keep my face warm in the winter.
- Running in the rain? Not really that bad. Running in the cold? Not really that bad. Running on ice in a snow storm when you can't see the ice underneath you? CRAZY!
- Running on ice is actually better than walking on ice, and here's why: when you walk one foot is always on the ground and there is a point in each step when both feet are on the ground. When you run, both feet are never on the ground at the same time and there can be a point when neither foot is on the ground. SOOO if I start to slip when I'm running, both of my feet aren't on the ground, and I know my other foot is about to land somewhere different to help me regain my balance.
- Running UP hills when it's icy = not so bad. Running DOWN hills when it's icy = death trap.
- Choking on snowflakes can be real problem.

(Isn't it funny how many of these issues could be resolved with a simple treadmill? Hint, hint, nudge, nudge, Greg!)

In my inbox this week...

... came a few photos from some running friends that I wanted to share with you.

This first one is my running friends from the 10K clinic after our big 10K Legs for Literacy event. Our instructor finally sent us that group picture and I was so glad to receive it. We all look pretty tuckered out, but so proud I think!

Then one of my running friends, who was an Olympic Torch Runner, brought her torch to our clinic this week! I GOT TO HOLD IT! So cool! She ran with the torch the day of our clinic, so she also came decked out in her gear. I felt like I was running with a superstar when I ran beside her that night. Check these photos out!

10K and then some running update

I realized the other day that I have so much to share with you, oh Internet world, about where I'm at with running.

About 3 weeks ago now I completed my first 10K race; Legs for Literacy. I had been training for this event for the whole 10-weeks of my 10K training clinic at the Running Room. It was a great event! There were a lot of runners participating in either the marathon, half-marathon, 10K or 5K runs. I can't remember how many runners, but the number 1200 stands out in my mind, so I think it was somewhere around there. It's such a powerful experience to be running with that many people; I think I could have ran another 5K on the energy and momentum from the group alone!

There were torrential rains the morning of the event, but surprisingly the weather cleared up for the run. Because of this rain, though, Greg and Asher did not come to cheer me on. I met up with my running friends, and stayed with most or some of them for the whole 10K. I actually found the first 5K pretty easy, and I think I had a little high after seeing my lovely friend Melanie volunteering at the 5K mark handing out drinks. She did a little shout out to me, and that kept me going strong. There were tons of people cheering the whole way along the side lines for friends or family, and I must say, it's so encouraging to have someone who you know cheer you on. Friends, WHEN I do that marathon some day, be prepared to be strategically placed to do just this!

The last 1.5K of Legs was pretty tough, and I had to talk an extra walk break because it was almost all UP hill. Even though I had done weeks of hill training, having a mother of a hill at the end of a race was pretty tough. But the point is, I MADE IT! My time was 1 hour 9 minutes and 13 seconds. Not too bad for my first 10K event.

Here's some photo's of the experience...

Getting all my gear laid out for the event:

My running buddy Nicole and I before leaving for the event:

A professional photography group, Marathon Photo's, was on-site and I found this picture of me running at about the 8K mark:

My clinic trainer has yet to email us the "after" picture, but atleast I have this event certificate to prove that I did finish:

I consider it a big accomplishment for me to go from couch to 10K in just 6 months! But the story is not over yet friends because I have now joined the half-marathon training clinic. I am 3 weeks into training for a HALF-MARATHON! It still sounds crazy to me to even say that. I'm going to run a half-marathon?!?!?! Wild. I haven't been as diligent as I would have liked with keeping up with the training schedule, but I'm still managing OK. Actually, the training schedule doesn't seem to be that difficult, except, you know, for the running 21.1K part. I have 13 more weeks to get ready for that though. 13 weeks. That should be no problem, I'm sure (I say as I try to convince myself...). I LOVE to run though, so that should carry me through.

Time = 33:25

I completed my second 5K race this past weekend as my "graduation race" for the 5K clinic that I just completed. I regularly run more than 5K now that I'm training for a 10K, but for some reason, I found this run difficult. Maybe it's because it was in the morning, and I never run as well in the morning, or maybe it was because there was one mother of a hill on this trail, or maybe it was just a mental thing, knowing I was in a race. Despite that fact, I still kicked the butt out of my old time from my first ever 5K race, by shaving off over 4 minutes, and coming in at 33:25. That's a lot of time when you're running! I'm very proud at having gotten stronger over these past few months, and I hope to keep getting faster too.

Here's some pictures of the day that Greg took:

Running with some of my 5K buddies, coming into the home stretch.

Trying to give it my all for those last few hundred meters and, after seeing this picture, realizing my form isn't in top notch at this point.

Checking out my time of 33:25 as I crossed the finish line.

My ultimate running buddy and I after the race. Runs always go so much quicker when she's around for me to talk to!


And lastly, Asher apparently is aspiring to the day he'll cross the finish line on his 5K too!

the cult jacket

I finally got the Running Room jacket (aka: the cult jacket). Here I am trying to demonstrate how cool I look whilst running in it...

(Except I'm trying to demonstrate in my kitchen, and I can't really run there and take a picture at the same time. And I don't look very cool, but you get the picture.)

You've seen this jacket on runners right? It's pretty funny looking, but technically speaking, it's perfect for running. I decided to cave and buy it because I JUST JOINED THE 10K CLINIC!!!! I can't believe I'm training to run 10K. That's over an hour of running! I have a lot of hard training to do to be able to run 10K yet, but I'm excited to give it a shot.

And let's be honest here, I'm excited to wear my new jacket. How bad can that motivation be? (I totally sound like a shopaholic in the making but I swear I'm not running just so I could buy the jacket! I needed that jacket so I could run. It's true. Just watch. I'll finish that 10K clinic and prove it to you!) (Can you tell I've had this conversation in my house lately?) (And I like using brackets to indicate my random aside after thoughts.) (Whatever.) (Ha!)

Time = 37:44

I ran my first 5K race and I made it across the finish line alive and on my own 2 feet! It was one of the hardest things physically that I've ever done (besides pushing an entire person out of my body) and I am insanely proud of having accomplished it.

The whole race I ran 10 and 1's (run 10 minutes, walk 1), and it took me 3 and a half of those to finish with my time of 37:44. I will admit, there were some 8-year old's who beat my time, and one 10K runner who also beat my time (which means he ran more than twice as fast as me!) but atleast I wasn't the last one to cross in the 5K race (not even close, actually). And now I have a time to work towards beating for next time (because there will be a next time, and probably before the summer is over). It was fun to wear the number on my shirt, get a participant medal (which I wore for the whole day), and do the classic runner "grab-the-water-from-a-water-stop-and-throw-the-cup-on-the-ground-without-stopping" move. I think it's amazing what God made our bodies to do.

Here's a picture of me after the big run. It's funny that I don't look like how I felt in that moment, which was like I was about to throw up. Classy.

What am I thinking?!

This Saturday I am signed up to run a 5K race as my "graduation run" for the Learn to Run clinic I just finished. The only trouble is the longest I've ever ran in the clinic was 3.2K. I'm not sure why our "graduation run" is a 5K, but it is. Everyone says we'll be able to do it. I'm not feeling super confident about that, but I am going to try! I figure, even if I have to do some longer walking breaks, atleast I'll have a time to work towards beating next time. And there will be a next time because I just registered for the 5K clinic at the Running Room! It starts in 2 weeks.

Wish me luck!

Happenings

Hi friends, I'm still here! I know you haven't heard much from me lately, but I have good reason. Here's what's been going on in our lives:

~ I just finished taking care of another little one, Lulu (Baby L's nickname). We have known this family since September, and since Lulu's regular babysitter was away for the month, I offered to take on the challenge. I had Lulu part-time (usually 3-4 days a week, 6.5 hours a day) for the whole month. It was a little bit of a transition, but in no time I was hauling 2 babies all over the place and having a blast. It certainly was a lot of work, but I think it was good for both Lulu and Asher. I think I'll miss seeing Lulu so regularly now!

~ Asher now has 4 teeth, but probably not the 4 you'd think. He has 3 bottom ones and 1 top one. Teeth usually come in pairs, but not for Asher I guess. His smile is going to look awfully cute, I tell ya!

~ 100 times a day I hear the words "Papa" (that's what Asher calls Greg) and "baw" for ball. Asher loves saying those words! On occasion he can get "Mama", "hi", "boo" (for peek-a-boo), and "up".

~ Asher continues to be king of the bum scoot, and boy is he fast! Although he is not walking independently yet, I find he is taking more risks, and needing less support.

~ Swimming lessons with Asher continue to go well. He LOVES the pool. He splashes so much that people actually move away from us during the lesson. The Asher splash zone, as I like to call it, is about 3 feet in any direction around us. Asher is kicking his arms and legs a lot as we do "laps" at the pool (and by that I mean I tow Asher around), and the teacher says this is a great sign. I think Asher will swim before he walks.

~ Asher received his 3rd haircut last week and we went a bit shorter for the summer. I hope to not have to cut it again for a few months. He seriously looks like a different boy right now though, and I miss his crazy hair, but I know it will grow back. I also discovered that allowing Asher to watch the 10-minute sampler video we have of Baby Einstein (second time he's ever watched TV in his life) really works when he needs to stay still for a hair-cut.

~ Asher played in our little sandbox outside for the first time last week, and did what I imagine all baby boys do with sand: he ate it. (And yes I stopped to take a picture before I got the sand out of his mouth, BUT the camera was around my neck!) (Oh, and also, you can see his new hair-cut in these shots.)

~ Our whole family has been quite sick lately. Asher and Greg had some sort of infection thing going on 2 weeks ago, both with fevers and coughs. I managed to steer clear of that, but did get Strep Throat. It sucks, but we're all on the mend.

~ I am still running! Right now I can do almost 3.5K (about 20 minutes of running), and I'm so proud of how far I've come in just 10 weeks. My Learn to Run clinic will end this week and I think I will continue on and join the 5K clinic next. I really am enjoying it!

I think that's all the highlights. Now that we're on our way to feeling better again, I hope to post more regularly. I already have some juicy stuff brewing! :)

Observations: running edition

~ For me the term "running" should be used rather loosely since really my pace is probably as fast as a typical 3-year old can run.

~ According to Greg, my knee stopped hurting the second my new sneakers were in my hands. That's not quite true, but the new shoes have made a huge difference. And they're cute, too!

~ I must be catching the running addict bug since I actually went running last week, even though it was raining.

~ I learned that I run much better in the rain, because I just want to get the heck out of the rain as quickly as possible. It's the worms, people. I cannot handle the worms.

~ A bunch of people I know seem to be into running now as well. I'm not sure if this is because I'm just more aware or connected to this now since I've started running, or if motivation just seems to spread.

~ Learning to run is kind of like going through labour. It's hard for a bit, then it's easy for a bit (I'm still doing run/walk intervals), and you just have to have a little routine in your head to get you through the hard bit until your next little break.

~ It's funny to me that when the Learn to Run folks talk about short and long-term running goals, they always mention qualifying for the Boston Marathon as a long-term goal. Hello, am I supposed to know what you're talking about? Qualify for the Boston Marathon? I'm in the Learn to Run class here, folks. As in beginner. As in I still have no sweet clue what I'm doing here. Remember, the class you're teaching? We're all newbies. I don't know what you're talking about when you say the words "qualify for the Boston Marathon" since I've obviously never run a marathon. I don't even know what the Boston Marathon is!

~ I love how good I feel after a run. It is so energizing!

~ I still don't see how I am going to be able to run for 20 minutes in a matter of mere weeks. This should be interesting. Wish me luck!

A new adventure for me

I signed up for a Learn to Run Clinic through our local Running Room! I'm very excited! I start next week and apparently by the end of the 10-week clinic, I'm going to be able to run for 20 minutes. I'm not entirely sure how that is going to happen because right now I can probably only run for 2 minutes before I'd be ready to pass out, but I'm excited to work towards it.

I'm really nervous about doing this, but running is something I've always wanted to do and, I think, something I will enjoy. Wish me luck!