A Run in the Mud

This past Saturday I participated in my first ever 5K! My sister invited me to be on her team for the Pretty Muddy Mud Run. I've been wanting to do a 5K for awhile now, but haven't had the opportunity and haven't exactly been training hard.
When I first heard about Pretty Muddy, I was excited. I've looked at Tough Mudder before and the idea of doing a mud run sounded fun, but I knew I'm nowhere close to being ready for something as challenging as Tough Mudder. Pretty Muddy is a women only mud run with obstacles like foam bubbles, beach balls, ropes, walls and of course, Mud! What could be more fun? The fact that it's a full 5K, but not timed, with a costume contest! And I love the idea that it's purpose is to have fun, not worry about time or how athletic you are.
We had a team of six and we had the best time ever. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time! My favorite obstacle was definitely the big slide, but I'll admit, I loved getting down and dirty in the mud. The tall rope and walls to climb over were the hardest for me, not because it was too hard physically, but because I'm scared of heights. Everyone on our team completed every obstacle.
After the run, we all received t-shirts with "The comfort zone is a made up place" on the back. I love that because it really sums up the run. Getting out of that comfort zone, trying something you've never done before and having a blast with friends is the whole point. I loved the run and am so glad I was able to join in the fun. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Catching up...

It's been awhile since I've taken the time to write anything so here's my attempt to catch up. I'm still on my journey to a healthier me. Since my initial weigh-in at the gym, I've lost 16 pounds and 4.1% body fat. More importantly, I've gone down two pant sizes and I know I'm getting healthy. Do I feel any different? Yes and no. I can tell my stamina, endurance and strength have increased. When I first started I could barely pedal backwards on the elliptical. Now I can easily do 15 minutes. As far as increased energy and feeling rested, nada. Supposedly exercise helps give you energy and not so run-down and exhausted feeling. Well, that hasn't happened here. I still sleep fine, but wake up exhausted. While I would love to not feel exhausted all the time, I'm not disappointed enough to give up. I know I'm healthier than I was 4 months ago, even if I can't feel it.


I'm still running. Crazy, I know. The 5K I had planned on running was unfortunately canceled. It's ok, I'll find another one. I'm still running 3 miles at a time, at a pace of about 13-15 minutes per mile. Just today I took the kids to a nearby paved trail and we ran/jogged/biked 3 miles together. Even with two kids on bikes, one running with me and pushing one in a stroller - and don't forget everyone's water bottle - we managed 3 miles in about 45 minutes. Not bad for a run in the hot Florida sun. I really enjoyed taking the kids and while I think it was a challenge for them, there was no complaining and everyone stayed together. They all seemed to enjoy it also. One of the best things about making these lifestyle changes is that my kids have noticed. I feel much better about the example I am setting for them by showing that healthy eating and exercising are both important. I want them to know that working out is not just something you do to lose weight, but something you do to stay healthy. 

Jacob's print fossil

In other news, homeschooling is going well. Most recently the boys are learning about fossils and rocks. Jacob was able to make a print fossil using clay and a seashell, which he then used to make a cast fossil. Joshua grew salt crystals and examined them with the magnifying glass and microscope.

In history we've reached the Age of the Crusades and the Diaspora. We still love The Story of the World and the activities that go along with it. Next, we'll be heading back to Asia for the invasion from Mongolia. I'm looking forward to making Chinese hanging lanterns and building a ger. That would be a Mongol home, similar to a teepee, that the nomads would pick up and take with them. 

Eating with chopsticks after reading about Asia

Next time I get a chance to blog, I'll share the excitement of our new hobby, geocaching. But for now, it's my bedtime.

A Morning Run

courtesy of morguefile.com

I went for a run this morning. And when I say morning, I mean morning, as in 7am morning. If you know anything about me, you should know two things. My morning is somewhere between 8am and 9am and is defined by a warm breakfast followed by a hot tea. Not being outside 10 minutes after I've woken up. The other is that I don't run. "I hate running" has always been my motto. If you ever saw me running, you'd know something or someone must be chasing me. So why in the world would I purposely wake up early to go running before starting my day??

The answer is part of my new found love of exercising. See, I've never liked to sweat either. In fact, I hate sweating most of the time. If I'm at the beach, outside for a walk, or exercising, sweating is tolerable. But it's still not my favorite. So for me to love exercising, well this is just a brand new world. But part of the "new me" for 2012 is adopting a healthier lifestyle and we all know healthy and exercise go hand in hand. So I joined a gym and quickly became addicted, er, obsessed...um, dedicated to cardio. The first week or so felt like death, but now I can easily do an hour on the elliptical. So where does the running fit in? Well, part of being healthier is the mental and spiritual side of it, not just physical. I decided that I wanted to challenge myself. To do what I've always thought I couldn't do. And running fits right in. My sister has been asking me to run a 5K with her for years now and I've always shrugged her off as being crazy. You run for fun, just because you want to? Crazy, I say! But now that I feel the need to challenge myself, a 5K sounds doable. We are going to sign up to do the Tampa May Classic 5K on May 5th. That gives us almost 2 months to train and be completely ready. I've looked at some of the Couch25K and know that interval training is the way for me to go. So I'm taking the idea of the C25K, but modifying it to best fit my strength and endurance levels. I'm ready to spend the next 7 weeks training myself to be able to run 3.1 miles without dying. 

So back to this morning's run. I knew I wouldn't make it to the gym today, but I still wanted to get a workout in. Especially considering how many calories I have and will be consuming this weekend. So I set out a few minutes after 7am and ran 2.37 miles in 35 minutes. About a 14 minute mile. Now that may seem slow to some, but let me tell you, it's a huge improvement over the 0 miles I was running a few months ago.

I started writing this yesterday, but didn't get to finish and didn't want to publish it without clarifying that this morning run was on Saturday. I ran again this morning. I still hate it.