Mommy running taking a hit this week

Howdy Running Moms out there all over. I'm going for a run today and Tuesday and then will be sidelined for a surgery that will make me no longer able to have children, (it's ok I have 4 great children and I'm 45). Aside from the usual surgery concerns I'm worried about getting back to running. I was running within days of each of the last 3 pregnancies/births and keep hearing that I'm going to have to really wait to run this time. I feel foolish to make a big deal of this at pre-op tomorrow, but I do not want to be down and out for long. Only running Mommies will truly understand my paradox. Pray for me if you think of it and I'll wistfully be thinking of you all running in the next weeks. Run Moms run!!

Mr. Motivation

Yesterday morning my son woke me up - dashed were my hopes of getting in a run before my daughter's ballet class. After class, picking my mom up at the airport, heading to Whole Foods and the craft store[have I mentioned I love *crafts*?] - I was exhausted. I kept telling myself that I would run on the treadmill as soon as my son went down for a nap. I didn't want to take Monday as a rest day - after all it is the first day of the week and what am I? A wimp? Nap time came and I choose to do art projects with Chloe. We had a grand old time making stuff out of this nifty little art kit she got for her birthday. I knew somehow I had misplaced my motivation and needed to find it.

I wrote my husband an email and asked if I could run outside once he got home from work. After a week straight of treadmill runs I figured my body could use a [real] run outdoors. Hubby came home and I still was not able to locate mr. motivation[yes my motivation is a man] Nicely my husband informed me that he didn't run the errands he had planned on running so I could run. OK. If I wasn't able to find my motivation I certainly found my guilt and got dressed quickly.

I had intended on running mile repeats at the track - so I did a nice warm up of 2 miles[I'm trying to be better about actually warming up].

mile 1 - 8:21
mile 2 - 8:21

"excuse me" yes "do you know the code to the track" ummm I do but I can't remember it "well you gotsa go" *me stunned* OK. So I left the track...normally something like this would irritate me, anger me, frustrate me - but I'm trying to roll with the punches these days. Instead of thinking arg - this lady - ruined my workout - I felt hmmm maybe I was supposed to do a tempo today. So I headed out for a 4 mile tempo

mile 3 - 7:20
mile 4 - 7:10
mile 5 - 7:11
mile 6 - 7:14

mental note to self - figure out what my tempo pace is supposed to be

mile 7 - 8:50

I run past the track on my way home and notice that the other doors were wide open. Seriously that woman kicked me out because she needed to lock the gate but left three other gates open?! People amaze me.

mile 8 - 8:27

8 miles good effort in the dark[yes I wore reflective - not to worry]. The Christmas lights were amazing. I found myself humming holiday tunes. Hooray for my new found roll with the punches attitude - I hope it lasts. Turned what normally would have been a frustrated run into a great one.

I was so excited about the new lights I saw, that I packed up the kids after dinner and drove all around town looking at them. Christmas music blaring - we were all dancing up a storm in the car. Life felt great.

Happy Holidays ~ Run Happy

SMR December Goodies

In case you missed the December seeMOMMYrun e-newsletter, you really should check it out! Free workouts, shopping discounts just for YOU, and more!

www.seeMOMMYrun.com/newsletter/dec_09.htm

Happy reading!

Fallen Trees

After a weekend of modest, but wet snowfall, there were 4 trees down on our run yesterday. So, how do you get a double stroller that weighs in around 100 pounds over a tree? Well, it depends...

Level 1 crossings: Less than ~12"
Just pop that front wheel up and over like a curb. Depending on your wheel diameter, you may need to use the bottom of the stroller frame like a see saw to get the front wheel down on the other side.

Level 2: ~12-18"
Turn around and pull the back wheels over first. (And, yes, I do work out.)

Level 3: ~18-30"
Take the kid(s) out. Get them to the other side and then lift the empty stroller over.

Level 4: Over 30"
Find a way to go around it or change the plan to an "out and back" run.

There are other complicating factors such as branches or multiple trunks. You, of course, need to use your own good judgment depending on your strength, experience, and the weight of your children.

Finally, if you keep lots of random stuff in the under carriage basket as I do, you'll want to check that you haven't lost anything after the big tipping. Good luck.

Running Before Racing

I use to run the day before a race. I sort of felt the need to *shake* out my legs. It might have helped me mentally but I realize now it probably wasn't the best idea if I wanted to perform at my peak.

I now understand the importance of having full glycogen stores on race day. It's crucial in a race of the marathon distance, but can also come into play in races of shorter distances. Even a short easy run of three or four miles the day before a race can deplete your glycogen stores.

I've now run four races since discontinuing running the day before, Marine Corps Marathon, GCF Half Marathon, Veterans Day 10K and the Ashburn Farm Thanksgiving Day 5K. All of these races were not only PR's for me, but huge PR's. I can't attribute my total success to the lack of running, but I do truly think it has helped. Getting those runs in the day before didn't improve my fitness at all so they were essentially junk miles.

It's important in any training program to cut out these junk miles. Focus on the purpose of the run at hand and on the quality. Quantity does have it's place, but it shouldn't be in run in place of quality in order to achieve a certain weekly mileage.

As runners we each know ourselves best[or think we do anyways]. When I first became a runner I felt that I needed to hit a certain weekly mileage. I knew compared to the other runners around me that I was not fast. I felt the only way to make up for my insecurities was to attempt to run as many miles as everyone else was. This way I could fit in and say oh I ran 40 miles this week too or 50 or whatever the number of the week was. I would often go out and run something as silly as 2 miles in an attempt to hit the number. Sometimes doing two a days when there was no reason for me to do so. These miles were junk miles. They had no purpose and were actually doing more harm then good. I was sluggish on the days that mattered - on the days where I really needed to put in a quality workout. For me this has meant quitting counting. I know how many miles I need to run each day but I don't sit down each day and calculate how many I have ran this week or need to run. In the future when I no longer feel competitive over my own personal mileage then I will probably return to counting again. But for right now I recognize that for myself that mileage counting is not a healthy addiction.

What are your addictions? Do they help you or hurt you?