New Sneakers!

It was a hard week. I wasn't able to run much this week. Between late night visits to friends and my feet going numb, I didn't get much running done. BUT! I got new sneakers today. Saucony running sneakers. I'm pumped. I'm hoping these will help my foot/shin/calf problems. They have a 90 day return policy, so I'll try them out for a week or so and see what happens. If they don't help, I'll just return them and try a different brand. Apparently, I need arch support. I forgot to get the inserts today after I got the sneakers, so I'll have to go out and get them tomorrow.

Here's to a successful week! Enjoy yours! :)

I Want A Treadmill...

Yes, I want a treadmill. We're in DC this week and I used the treadmill in the fitness center tonight. No shin pain, no calf pain and my foot didn't fall asleep. It was so pleasurable to run tonight, I wanted to keep going. But I knew if I did, I'd never go to sleep tonight. :)

I've been keeping up with my running. I'm now up to 15 minutes of running. I'm continuing to start out with five minutes of walking, then 15 minutes of running, another five minutes of walking, another 15 of running, five of walking, five to ten of running and then I cool down with ten to twelve minutes of walking.

I'm totally in love with running. I can completely see why people love to do it. You burn a ton of calories, you feel great when you're doing it, you feel even better when you're done and it's just awesome. I also feel good about giving Ben and Madi a healthier influence.

As I said above, I've been having problems with my shins and my foot. When we get home, I'm going to go to a sports store and get a pair of running shoes. I'm hoping it'll help with the foot issue. I'm not sure what to do about my shins. I've done some research and I'm hoping it's not shin splints. Running on the treadmill was awesome. I didn't have any trouble with anything tonight.

So, tonight's workout was my best yet. 65 minutes total, 418.2 calories burned, 3.99 miles. I think I'll be in good shape for that 10k next spring!!

:)

Life Change

No, not "change of life", "Life Change". I'm 32, and decided I need to do something to make me happy. I'm overweight, out of shape and not a very healthy influence on my children. So on Monday I got up at 5:00am and started my Life Change. I took to the street in my neighborhood and walked/ran for 38 minutes 4 seconds. On Tuesday I got up at 5:00am again and did a workout on the Wii using EA Sports Active. Wednesday I walked/ran for 39 minutes 52 seconds. Thursday & Friday I did the Wii workout. Today - I completely kicked butt! I've been up since 4:00am (both kids have wicked colds). After I finally got them put back to bed (approx 2 hours later), I went out for my walk/run. I pushed myself to 5-minute run spurts and did an extra lap for a total workout time of 50 minutes 14 seconds!! Of course, now I'm ready to collapse and go back to bed! But, all in all, not a bad first week.

I've also been watching my caloric intake and trying to stick to 1500 calories on my walk/run days and 1200 on the rest of the days. I've decided that Sundays are my off days, at least from exercising. I don't want to burn myself out. I'm pretty excited. I think this is going to be great and I'm looking forward to the positive results from all my hard work.

And the absolute quiet in the morning is wonderful. Everyone is still asleep and it's nice "me" time. I plan to check back weekly with an update on my week's work. My ultimate goal is to lose 40 pounds and try for a 5k run next spring/summer. :)

See you next week!

In case you're interested, here's how I did my run/walks:

8/31/09:

Walk: 5:00, Run: 2:15, W: 5:00, R: 3:15, W: 5:00, R: 3:34, W: 14:00

9/2/09:

W: 5:00, R: 3:50, W: 5:00, R: 4:00, W: 5:00, R: 4:02, W: 12:00

9/5/09:

W: 5:00, R: 5:01, W: 4:26, R: 4:51, W: 4:26, R: 5:01, W: 4:26, R: 4:58, W: 12:05

Good-Bye Summer

Wow.  I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've been here.  Time sure does fly when you're busy!

Well, let's catch up...Last week we found out that the Tiny News is a GIRL!  Her name will be Madeleine Grace.  She's still due on 2/2/09, but I have a feeling she'll be arriving sometime in January.  We're now almost 21 weeks along and I feel her kicking and moving all the time now.  She's quite active!  

Benjamin has started his Montessori preschool.  He loves it.  The first few days were a little nerve-wracking, since he was not ok with being left at school.  He's in the groove now and just loves going.  I love it because it gives me three mornings a week where I have some "me" time and I can pick up the house in peace!  Plus, I love that it's structured more towards academics, than play - and I think he likes that too.

David & I are leaving on Tuesday for Cancun, Mexico.  We are going for 8 days and I can't wait.  We both need a break and some "us" time, especially before our new arrival arrives.

Summer is heading out the door and Fall has pretty much arrived.  Summer wasn't here for long this year.  It was late in arriving and early in leaving.  We had tons of rain this year too.  Our poor boat was not put to work as much as we had hoped.  What with oil prices so high, it's too bad Summer took early leave too!  We, or should I say - David, got the deck stained this past weekend so it's protected from all the snow we're bound to get.  The cats are back home as of today and seem to be thrilled.  Charlie just jumped out of the van and laid right down in the driveway.  Right at home!  Edd & Maiser took their time sniffing around first.  They're so skeptical.

I guess that's about all that going on lately.  I'm sure as I get more pregnant and end up being cooped up because of the weather - I'll be on more and have "lots" to say, err...rant.  LOL!

Hope you all had great summers!  Here's to a fun Fall!

Tiny News

So, yes, writing has been an issue lately.  First, my hubby reinstalled the OS on my computer.  I lost all of my bookmarks (still not sure how that happened) and so I "lost" my blog for a little while.  But it's back and now I'm actually sitting down and making an effort!

We went away on our "first" family vacation.  We went to the Outer Banks, a place called Corolla, NC.  We rented a beach house with some friends and had a blast.  Benjamin was especially excited about the sand, beach and pool.  He learned how to swim (with floaties) and had an absolute ball jumping into the pool with his floaties on.  

This house was on the beach and you had to drive on the beach to get there.  It took some getting used to - vehicles driving on the beach between you and the water...or even driving behind you.  It wasn't exactly "relaxing" since I had to be constantly on the lookout for where Benjamin was at any given moment.  

Toward the end of the vacation, we got some startling, but very welcome news.  The blue plus sign on the home pregnancy test (2 weeks of PMS symptoms will make anyone want to pee on the stick!).  Of course, I still had a week to go before getting home and being able to have the blood work done to confirm.  But after getting home, and having the blood test done, it was still positive.  WOOT!

Today, we had our first ultrasound and proof positive, without a doubt, there is a baby in there.  .41 cm long with the tiniest heart frantically beating away.  Benjamin is going to be a big brother!  I am approx. 6 weeks and 2 days along with a due date of February 2, 2009.  

Birthday Blah

So the big 3-1 is coming up fast...in a few days. I was totally cool with turning 30, but this year, I'm having a hard time swallowing 31. It's not that I feel old, or that time is flying by too fast (even though it is)...I just feel out of sorts and not in the birthday mood.

My girlfriends and I are going to Boston for an overnite this weekend...no husbands, children, phones. Just peace, quiet, drinking, good food, good friends. I have been and am looking forward to this weekend like a dehydrated man in the desert. I'm not ashamed to admit that I need a break and I am going to relax and recoup and enjoy.

Anyway - I'm kind of rambling, but suffice to say this birthday is not being met with my usual enthusiasm. I have no idea why - just not. And I find that a little disturbing. I love birthdays. Maybe it's leftover angst from being too okay with turning 30? Who knows...but whatever the reason, I hope it goes away before Friday arrives!

Snow White

Snow, snow, and more snow. I'm so sick of the snow. We've gotten another 8 inches over the past two days, and Spring is nowhere in sight. I went out today to find a sled or tube - no such luck. Who doesn't sell sleds/tubes this late in the season in Maine? My son woke up this morning, ready and raring to play the video game system - his new favorite game is motorcycle racing. I decided then and there that Spring needs to arrive so I can get this child outside. Hence the desperate search for a sled/tube. I'd love to take him outside to play in the snow, but of course we've got so darn much of it, that he can't maneuver in it and so it's no fun for him. Or me, because he wants me to carry him around in it. I will be so glad when Spring arrives and all this snow melts away. Oh and Wal-Mart - yeah they are carrying summer toys already. In our search this morning for snow toys, we saw swings, sand toys, inflatable swimming pools. There is 3 feet of snow out there and they are selling inflatable swimming pools?!?