Do you hear that?   That is the sound of silence.  My feet are not hitting the pavement. 

I have shin splints. 

I haven't been running as often as I would have liked the past two weeks so my half-marathon training has come to a screeching halt.  Which is a shame really because I felt like I was finally getting into a groove and  I was finally hitting my stride.   I did complete weeks one and two and I rocked my goal for the summer but I'm still discouraged that I may not be able to jump back into weeks 3 and 4 and will instead have to start over.  

I haven't gone for a run in two days and I'm itching to let my feet hit the pavement for a few miles tonight.  And I'm sure that the people who run past my house on a daily basis will be happy to see that I am not watching them from my window giving them the evil eye!

I told Chris at the beginning of the summer that instead of driving to our friend's house for dinner that I was going to run.  I also told him that I wanted to complete this goal before I got pregnant (again).  I did get pregnant but God had his own plan and he gave me second chance at my goal.  I took full advantage of that second chance last night.

I decided sometime between the office and our house that I was going to complete this run and I quickly told Chris before I chickened out.  He looked at me like I was nuts but said, 'Okay, be careful, we'll leave here 25 minutes behind you.'

I rocked it. 

I completed my one and only summer goal: Running to dinner. 

The distance wasn't an issue, I can easily run 3.1 miles.  The route was killer and complete with hills that a skier would be envious of, there was no shoulder and the road was busy.  I paced myself with 10 minute miles, I'm not a fast runner, especially uphill!

The busy road, lack of a shoulder, and hills... none of it mattered. 

I loved every single step.

Here's the recap for week two of my half marathon training plan.  I'm not following the plan exactly, I like to base my workouts on how I am feeling that day.  I also ran a lot more last week thanks to our current living situation (two more days people, two more days!)  Currently, I'm battling shin splints so I may have to pull back on the running for a little while and focus more on strength.

Monday - Bob Harper's Cardio Conditioning Video
Tuesday- 2 miles
Wednesday- 3 miles
Thursday- 3 miles
Friday-  Rest day!
Saturday- 4 miles on treadmill
Sunday- Rest day!


What I learned this week:

1.  I need to focus more on strength.  The Bob Harper video kicked my butt.  It's amazing how you can feel so strong while running and so weak when doing lunges and kettlebells for an hour!

2.  I need to pay attention to my body and listen when it tells me that it is tired or hurting! 

3.  Treadmill runs are so much easier.  I felt as if I could have run for several more miles at a 10 min or less pace but I stopped only because we had errands to run that day.  However, my knees hold up much better outside than on the treadmill which stikes me as odd!

Need to catch up?  Here's week 1.

Before I forget, Coffeemate Peppermint Mocha + hazelnut coffee = Christmas in a cup. Just sayin'.



This week can best be described as "Gone Running."  I stared a training plan for a half marathon (which I probably will not run!) and my legs are tired.  I like to run and would do it here and there for fun, but now I find myself looking forward to my run every night, making goals for each split, and then trying to beat the split before.  Last night, I realized that I am an idiot, I went too fast out of the box and was forced to slow down on mile two, I even walked the hills!  Argh.  I let my head get in the way, thinking that I could pace myself for 4 miles the same that I would for 2 miles, and I ended up pushing myself through 4 pitiful miles.  Lesson learned!

Here's the re-cap for week 1 of my training plan:

Monday - 3 miles
Tuesday- 2 miles + strength
Wednesday- 3 miles (my second split was 8:56!)
Thursday- I opted for wine, pizza and cake for my Dirty Thirty.
Friday-  2 miles
Saturday- Swimming + strength
Sunday- 4 miles

Today I am planning on a light workout of yoga or pilates to stretch my super tired muscles  (I'm sure that those who know me well are gasping because me doing yoga is like asking a toddler to sit and be quiet!) and will hopefully be prepared for a short and sweet 3 miles tomorrow.

I'm going to do this.  I will complete this program.  The extra push when I am tired, or feel like my lungs will burst will pay off in the end!

I don't have a New Year's resolution - I don't really believe in them.  Mainly because I think that if you have a "resolution" and then you conquer it, what do you have left to work towards?  I have little goals that I shape throughout the year. That way if I conquer one, great, if not, move on!

The first order of business?  Organize, trash, organize, trash, organize... I feel as if our family room resembles Toys R Us (we aren't lucky enough to have a designated play room) and I just need to do something with all of the stuff.  Everywhere.  I bought a few clear storage containers for some of Cameryn's toys and they have helped, but I still have toys in each and every corner of our house, so I need to come up with some kind of organization technique, and fast!  We also have waaaaaaay too many stuffed animals, including several giant stuffed pandas in Cameryn's closet, that I would like to get rid of.   I'm thinking about taking the stuffed animals to the children's home, they would appreciate them much more than Cameryn would right now!  Clearing the stuffed zoo out of Cameryn's closet would provide us with more storage space in her room for her toys, therefore reducing the clutter in the family room.

The second place that we need to get organized is the office aka junk room.  I am dreading this room.  Mainly because the closet in this room has been our storage closet since we moved in almost six years ago.  Currently, the closet holds all of our wrapping paper and a giant bin of some of Cameryn's baby clothes along with all of the empty boxes that my husband refuses to throw away.  This room is also where Chris spends most of his time so it's a cluttered mess in one corner.  We will have to do something with this room if we are planning on having another child.  (And yes, for those of you who keep asking me, it's in the "plans" to start trying this year!) 

And finally, the black hole.  The garage.  We sure as heck don't park our cars in here!  Well, that's not 100% true, Cameryn parks her pink Mini Cooper and the red push car in here... Anyway, my husband, bless his heart, is much like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor, from the tv show Home Improvement.  You know, lots of tools (thank you, Lowe's!), not really sure what to do with them?  And lots of tools take up lots of space.   There is also a lot of unused furniture in the garage.  And boxes.  And junk.  Just junk.

Bottom line?  We have too much stuff for our little house and we just need to get rid of it! 
Should be fun.