Happy Patriot's Day!

This morning I did a 9.22 mile run which took me about 1 hour and 42 minutes, and dedicated my efforts to those who courageously ran the Boston Marathon today in record breaking heat!  My running and life mentor ran it today with his daughter and afterwards he texted me that the heat was horrible to contend with during the race.  But they finished.  Sometimes the races and runs with the most obstacles can have the best afterglow effect on us.  As much fun as it is to run in "perfect" conditions, the feeling you have after accomplishing something that seems insurmountable, well, there's nothing like it.  So here's to all those runners who finished Boston today!

We did the double spin, then drove off into the mountains!

Well, we did it, and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had anticipated!  Yesterday morning Chris and I got up early, made a big breakfast of french toast and sausage for him and the kids, (I had my usual steel-cut oats with blueberries).  Then we went to the gym and had a double dose of spinning class.  It was pretty fun, though we had two instructors that we haven't had before and we both felt they were a little less intense than our favorite, not to mention their music selection wasn't quite on par.  I mean, I felt like I was in an 80's power hour or something.  The good thing about spinning is that you get out of it what you put in, so you can make it as hard or as easy as you want.  We like to make it hard, 'cause we REALLY like to sweat...a lot.  Ha.  I wore my heart rate monitor for the two hours worth of spinning, and according to that, I burned a whopping 1400+ calories!  That's a lot for someone my size, so I must have been putting in the work.

As we were driving home, it was sunny and 60 degrees - just a beautiful day.  I said to Chris, "Let's just pack up and go to Jackson Hole for a night."  You see, we live a short 2-3 hours from Jackson, WY and Grand Teton National Park, and in the almost 8 years that we've lived here, it has become one of our most favorite places to visit.  I really think it's one of the most gorgeous places on earth.  I would love to live there in a nice, big rustic log home with oodles of windows to see and enjoy all the wildlife and the beautiful landscape.  Unfortunately, it costs an arm and a leg to live there, so as of right now it remains a pipe dream.  At least we can go there and enjoy it a day or two at a time.

While we were there, Chris started receiving calls from work that he was needed for an investigation into an officer-involved shooting that happened last night, so as much as we would've liked to stay longer, we had to get back after basically just a 24-hour respite.  Besides, the kids have school tomorrow anyway.  Gosh.  What's with life, schedules and responsibilities?  I think I'm getting a bit antsy for summer vacation...

My three boys, with the Snake River in the background.

Me standing at a scenic overlook, the Tetons looming in the distance.

Willows in the spring.

A momma moose and her yearling eating willows on Moose-Wilson Rd.

I thought this was a cool picture of my Sam watching the moose pictured above from the car. :)

On our way home, we stopped to play and skip some rocks in the river.

Mount Moran.

Casserole Friday, remember?

I got up a tad early this morning to get in a mini-workout before heading out for cub scout meetings.  I did Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown DVD, and that's really all I had time to do.  Later in the afternoon, though, my husband and I were able to take the kids and go to the gym, where I was able to workout a little more while Chris swam with the kids.  I started out on a treadmill where I did 30 minutes and 3 miles.  After that, I got on a StairMaster machine and did another 30 minutes.  I wore my heart rate monitor, and my average heart rate for that hour was 145, so it was a decent workout.  I wasn't feeling that great, though.  I have been in a bit of a slump mentally the past few days, and try as I might to get my mood swinging back in the right direction, it hasn't quite happened yet.  At least, not for more than short little bursts of time.

Tomorrow would normally be a running day.  My husband has the day off from work and we had wanted to run together.  Unfortunately, Chris is still nursing a bum knee/IT band and in an effort to keep it on the healing path and not worsen it, with only 5 weeks to go before the marathon, we've decided not to run tomorrow.  Instead we're going to go to the gym in the morning and do a double-header spinning class.  Saturday morning is the only time they offer back to back spinning classes, and most people do one or the other.  We're going to do both.  I'm kind of excited, but a bit nervous at the same time.  I always feel totally wiped out after 1 hour of spinning, I can't imagine how I'll feel after 2!  I'm sure we'll make it through, and it should give us an excellent cardiovascular workout to substitute for a run.  Next week will be our biggest training week before starting the taper period before the marathon.  I can't wait!!

Gym day, and just in time.

Wow, what a change from yesterday.  It poured rain all night, and has been overcast, windy and cold all day.  I have really been timing my runs just right lately.  For the past several weeks, Chris' work schedule has been such that he has been able to come with me to Tues/Thurs spin classes.  Unfortunately today he had to go in to work and I had to head to the gym alone.  It's too bad, because he missed out on an awesome class.  Our favorite instructor was there in full force - she is such a great spin teacher.  Today's class had so much more energy and momentum than Tuesday's class.  I loved it and felt purged afterwards.  Then I did about 30 minutes of weight lifting.  I couldn't do all of my usual things without Chris there to help me, but I did most of them.

After my time at the gym, I stopped at TJMaxx before going grocery shopping.  I was in search of some new workout (under) clothes, and hoped to maybe find a cute tank or pair of shorts, now that we've been having some warmer days.  Recently I've been dealing with body image issues, so it was probably not the best time to go clothes shopping.  I don't know why, but no matter how much I work out and no matter how well tuned I keep my diet, I still have such huge fluctuations in how I feel about how my body looks.  Some days I feel strong and light on my feet, other days I feel floppy, jiggly and lumpy - in all the wrong places.  I honestly think there may be some things that happened to my body during the process of carrying 4 children that are permanent, unless I want to consider a surgical "mommy makeover."

Our (fairly recent) regular attendance at the gym has really not helped me with these issues I have.  Sure, there are some women at the gym that are more average and less than perfect, like me, but there are also lots of women who appear so rock solid and have just the right amount of muscle definition and lack of body fat.  Ugh.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?  I mean, in the scheme of things it's really not that important what we look like anyway, but one of the reasons why I work out as hard as I do is to feel good about myself.  Seems kind of futile, if my goals are set unrealistically.  It's just so frustrating.  For example, today at the grocery store, the lady in the checkout next to me looked like she was in her mid-thirties, and stick skinny.  I mean, legs like thin, little poles, skinny.  Oddly enough, she was purchasing (and I'm not exaggerating) 2 boxes of Twinkies, 2 boxes of Hostess Cupcakes, Monster energy drinks, bags of chips and a bunch of other junk.  What the heck?  Okay, judgement aside, but what the heck?!  Alright, I'm done with my rant/pity party for the day.  Isn't this supposed to be an inspirational blog...?

Anyway, I did find one pair of bermuda-length running shorts, but they're nothing too exciting.  Plain black, as usual, but at least they're shorts and hopefully I'll stay a little cooler on warm runs.

Question for all of you: "What brands, styles, types and shapes of workout wear are your favorites and why?"

There's a chocolate moose, on the loose...12 miles.

This morning I was scheduled to run with my friend Holly, but when she had to cancel last minute due to a sick child, I decided to do the same route we had planned anyway.  Chris drove me up to the top of Buckskin Rd. and I ran the first 12 miles of the Pocatello Marathon route.  This is my happy place, especially on a day like today.  It was absolutely gorgeous running out there.  I wish I could bottle the images, sounds and smells and share them with all of you.  The air was warm and breezy, it smelled like wild grass and pine, and there were a hundred different kinds of birds making all kinds of sounds.  Gorgeous.  On the drive up to the top of the hill, we spotted a moose lying in the trees...

And some deer on a hill...

I had a fabulous time, running without any music playing today, just listening to the peace and quiet of country.

And not a bad pace, either.  I did my 4:1 run/walk/run ratio and finished 12.05 miles in 2:09, an average pace of 10:44 min./mile.

This is why I run. :)

Bare bones.

This morning my husband and I went to a spinning class.  Today's instructor was the one who is recently back after being on maternity leave.  Normally she's pretty tough, but today we kind of got off to a slow start.  She commented she was feeling especially tired and I'm guessing a late night with a new baby could be the cause. ;)  Once we got going, about 30 minutes into the class, I really started to get my sweat on, but I have to admit I was feeling a little less than enthusiastic about working out today, too.  Some days I just feel kind of blah, mentally and physically.  Today's been one of those kinds of days.  After spin, we went into the weight room and my husband helped me through my usual rotation, which took me about an hour.

After doing some work in the yard, starting to get the ground ready where we'll be planting our garden soon, I decided to "hike" up the hill in our backyard, just for fun.

We live in town, but our house is at the bottom of a huge, rocky hill of a little over 12 acres, which is all part of our property.  We're right on the edge of the town limit, so our property butts up against BLM land.

(Going up.)

(Looking down.)

(That's our house, down there with the red vehicle parked in front.)

We have lots of wildlife frequenting our hill throughout the year, like this little guy.  My husband calls them "rock-chucks", but I actually think they are Yellow-bellied Marmots - for real. :)

I was hoping I might find some deer antlers, but all I found were several animal carcasses.  Kind of macabre, I know, but I brought back some of the bones for the kids to look at.  Kids think that kind of stuff is cool.

After my fun up on the hill, out in the warm air and sun, I feel a little less "blah."

9.2 miles.

I was happy to see the clear skies this morning when I took the kids to school, so I came home, got my running gear on and headed out by myself to do the 9 mile loop.  I used a 4:1 run/walk/run ratio for today's run, even though it was only 9.2 miles.  I felt mostly good, but oddly enough, my legs started to hurt a little bit around mile 5.  I was surprised because I had a rest day yesterday and had been feeling really good with no soreness at all. My average pace for today's run was 11:12 min./mile and I'm content with that.

Today ended the kids' spring break, so with just my youngest at home I've been getting some (much needed) house work done.  As I was getting ready to vacuum our bedroom and saw this:

I realized we may have a problem! ;)  Anyone who knows me well, knows that I can't stand clutter and (typically) keep my home pretty dang neat and tidy.  So how has it come to this?  Between my husband and I, both of us with a rotation of running shoes and a closet that is teeny-tiny, I have no where to keep the shoes where we can conveniently grab them and go...except here, apparently.  I need to figure something else out.  I'd love to hear any of your storage solutions!

Which brings me to today's question:

"How many pairs of running shoes do you currently have?"

I have a total of  7.  Two pairs that have well over 1000 miles on them and should probably be thrown away, but I just can't bring myself to do it.  Another pair that I bought on clearance last year, wore them for a few training runs and 1 marathon, but they're not my favorite, so I got new ones to replace them.  1 pair of trail running shoes, which are actually 1/2 size too small to wear on runs longer than 5 or 6 miles, so I mostly use them for hiking and camping.  And finally, my three favorite pairs, my ASICS.  My old pair of Nimbus 13's that also have over 1000 miles on them and holes in the top where my toes push up when I run (which I now use for just everyday wear).  Then I have my new ones which are the exact same shoes, and a pair of ASICS Gel-Kinsei's that I bought used on eBay to rotate with my new Nimbus 13's.  Phew.  Please tell me I'm not the only one with a running shoe fetish?!

Easter sunshine. :)

Happy Easter, everyone!  We started out our day with the kids enjoying their modest baskets of candy and a couple other small items, then we were off to church to celebrate the true meaning of Easter.  As we came out of the church services at 2pm, it was so beautiful, warm and sunny.  We came home, ate a quick lunch then went into Pocatello to go for a nice family walk at a nature preserve.

Gosh, if it's like this tomorrow, I am definitely going for a run!

Saturday spin.

Since I did my long run earlier this week, I was free to do a spin class this morning.  As usual, a top-notch cardio workout.  After the class, I got on one of the Arc trainer/elliptical things and did another hour.  I tried to keep my heart rate up, and for the two hours of working out, my average HR was 149, although during the "anaerobic" portion of the spin class, I topped out at 180 bpm several times.

My husband came with me to spin class, then left the gym after that equipped to run all the way back home (13.4 miles) to get in his long run for the week.  Unfortunately, as I was leaving the gym, he called me and had me pick him up on my way home, so he only made it about 8.5 miles.  The wind was crazy, as usual, and he said he wasn't feeling very good.  At least we know now that if we were to feel the urge one day, we could run to the gym, workout and then run back home and the running part would equal a marathon! ;)

Question of the day: What products do any of you use for your skin?  I have been finding that, particularly after spin class, the excessive amount of sweating I do is wreaking havoc on my skin.  Any suggestions?

Friday, as usual, like a casserole.

Maybe I'll start calling it, "Casserole Friday" just for fun. :)  It seems like most Friday workouts end up being a bunch of different things, all thrown together with some cheese on top.
First of all, when I woke up and looked out the window and saw this:

I knew I wouldn't be doing anything outside.  So, I started out doing two Jillian Michaels DVD workouts: 30 Day Shred, followed by Yoga Meltdown.  Then I took a break to help the kids color some Easter eggs.

After lunch, I got on the treadmill and walked for 2 miles and then rode the recumbent bike for 9 miles, all while catching up on the performance episode of Dancing with the Stars.  I'm still feeling pretty dang good today.  I'm choosing not to focus on my toenails. ;)