Step Two...

I found the Marathon I'm going to Run.

Saturday OCTOBER 11TH 2008 I'll be running the HARTFORD CONNECTICUT MARATHON

I am calling to book the appointment for a physical assessment.
This is important for several reasons...

I need to know the physical condition I'm starting in. I need to be aware of all muscle imbalances and weakness' so I can focus on strengthening and correcting them. Biking,Yoga,and my chiropractor will become cruicial in the coming months.

I am also going to start writing down my food and beverage intake for a week. That way I can show a nutritionist what my normal diet is. This makes it easier for her to figure out if I am getting all the nutrients and calories I need and to tweak my diet.

Step One...

Christmas is gone and I'm a happy happy camper.

I am serious about my goal to run a Marathon in 2008, and have complete support from my husband. That is so important as this will take time and dedication...and most likely him kicking my butt out of bed for a 5am run.

I have the first step....

A subscription to Runner's World magazine :)

Now I have a few more things to do...

-Get a Physical and Nutritional Assessment,
-Pick the Month to Run
-Pick the Race
-Pick a Charity I am going to Run for
-Purchase YMCA Family membership
-Sort out Training Plan
-Strap on the Shoes and get my butt out the door.

I'll be back with details on one or the other above.

Happy Eating

I'm enjoying the holidays. I've finaly learned how to bake. I've made truffles, cookies and pies.

I am serious about training for a marathon in Jan. I'm at least going to start running again. I've kind of taken over a month off and I can feel it.

So...I will return in the New Year with my chosen plan.

Till then....happy eating and Merry Making

REMEMBERING ALYSON

My friend Cathy has just given birth to her SIXTH child. She is on a Journey to find herself again. This is reflected in her new blog Titled just that....Finding Cathy.

This has been a long fall. My husband has been away training and I've been taking care of my three kids and a farm (which is all new to me). I'm loving life and I'm getting through BUT I've come to the realization that I've also lost myself.

Part is the fact that I just turned 30 and yes I'll admit that I'm not taking it very well.
The other part is that I have not gone for a run for over a month. That is huge as that is one thing that makes me...me.
I've just been caught up in surviving these last few months and I've HAD to deny myself on so many levels just to cope.
This is reflected not only in my lack of coffee dates but unfortunately my lack of showering and make up lately. hmmm.

I know that something is amiss when I pick up my running room magazine and start to cry when I read the titles "my first marathon" and "living my dream"...I seriously cried on the toilet.

So...why was I crying?

I think a part of me felt that sense of longing. The feeling that all runners get that we just NEED to get out and run. Also, I felt a sense of disappointment that I won't accomplish my life goal of running a marathon. I felt it in the pit of my stomach.

The ONLY thing I want to stop that is if I become pregnant again. Right now that goal just seems SO UNATTAINABLE...and IMPOSSIBLE.

So what am I going to do?

Sulk?
complain?
Cry?
be angry and resentful?

NOPE.

I AM GOING TO setup a PLAN AND DO IT. I am going to find the marathon, set a plan in place. Because I'm worth it.

I am still alive and I am still a person with goals and dreams and desires...and I will do this.....I will do this for myself, and in turn for my family.

January will be the start. Adam will be finished all of his training and we will settle into somewhat more 'normalcy' around here...if that is ever possible :)

Easy,Fast,Nutritious Meals part two

Here is another example of my lack of love for recipes, but love of good for me food.

I'm eating a toasted chicken sandwich.
The bread is homemade (bread maker)...feel free to use whole wheat from the store.
chicken is from a whole chicken I roasted a week ago. (Just pull off the bits and put in freezer bags. Then, put in fridge for sandwich meat when needed)
The mayonnaise is Hellman's Olive oil mayo. really creamy...don't need much.
The cheese is a good cheddar.

The veggies are cherry tomatoes, pre cut carrots, prewashed spinach, red pepper in strips and avocado. I sprinkle a bit of flax seed oil over them. It gives it a nutty flavor. oh, and we had apples for some sweetness.

This seriously took me 4 minutes to do start to finish.


The kids are eating a grilled cheese with good cheddar and organic butter. They are eating the same veggies with the flax seed oil and an itty itty bit of mayo on them for creamy-ness.
They had organic yogurt for desert.
I think they are drinking watered down apple juice. That or raw milk..or soy milk. Whatever...oh wait I just looked at the picture. Here they are drinking water from our well.
Sometimes I just cut up all the veggies and put in a big bowl. Every meal I can bring out the bowl and they pick away. Less prep time.



Easy Peezy......fast never has to involve processed cheese slices and preservatives.

Dressed up Cereal

I try to eat well and feed my family great food.
However I can't stand to cook, I'm impatient and I can't follow a recipe properly to save my life.
Also, and this is a big one...we are on a very limited budget and I have to spend as little as I can without comprimising our health.

So...my grocery list contains foods that I can throw together or add to something to make it great. AND foods that won't spoil too fast if I forget to eat it.

Tonight's supper was a great example of fast, cheap, nutritious and yummy.

Shreddies with Raw milk, frozen rasberries,cut up banana, and a sprinkle of protein powder.

The protein powder is expensive...BUT it lasts for a thousand (give or take a couple hundred ) meals...so really...it is not expensive in the long run.

Kinda like cloth diapers.


See?


This is how we ate it. With a side of OJ to ward off a cold, nice napkins and the ever present dinner candle.

Peyton is having sweet potatoes this evening :)

No running fro me

I've come to a conclusion.

I don't need to go for a run right now.

I have a 5yr,3yr, and 6 month old.

I have a foot of snow to shovel in a huge yard, ice that took me 30 mins to scrape off, AND huge logs to lug into the outdoor furnace...did I mention that I need to haul the huge logs into a wheelbarrow and maneuvre the wheelbarrow in the foot of snow 70 feet ???

Yup...I don't need to go for a run right now.

black ice 101

Running in cold weather 101

slow down
get your feet under you
look ahead

and wear charmins extra soft toilet paper on your bum for when you fall :)

Telling a rock to jump

I've been bad...bad....bad.

No running for me in two weeks...and now the cold weather has set in.

I'm going to HAVE to make an EFFORT to get out with the kids and run in the snow. It is easier when I'm in a routing. Then I just bundle up more for the cold. But now that I'm in a rutt, getting out the door will be like getting a rock to jump.

Hmmmmmm.....not good not good.

On that note however, the Evening Primrose supplements I have been taking have been seriously improving my moods. Well that and the fact that I have the best husband on the planet. but whatever.