8-Miler No Matter What

This past week was my first week of official training for the Go! St. Louis Marathon on April 11th. I ran 4 easy miles on Monday (treadmill, during Isaac's naptime), 5 miles on Tuesday (again, naptime treadmill) and then life got in the way on Thursday, so I had to skip the 3 mile tempo run. I got right back on track Friday for 4 easy miles (early morning treadmill run) and the snow and ice began to fall. You know that stuff shuts down there world around here! So today the streets were icy, so I sort of had to do my 8 mile longrun on the treadmill. That distance is really no problem with Teddy Tready. It felt grrrreeeeattttt! I maintained a 12:30 pace except for the one minute of walking at the top of each mile. I was done in no time!

Week 3 of P90X is now complete. I have not missed a single day and Chasen has only missed one. I am very, very proud of us! Week 4 is a sort of a recovery week, so we don't actually pump any iron or do any official ab work. However, it's also not a walk in the park. Do you know what we have to do TWICE? That darn P90X Yoga! Man oh man that is tough stuff. But I know it is making me a better, more flexible athlete (or at least that is what I am telling myself). Actually, I have wanted to try yoga for ages. I just never knew how tough it would be for me!

P90X Weeks 1 and 2

So what have I been up to for the past two weeks? Several things have been going on. Chasen and I have started the P90X extreme fitness program. We work out to dvd's each evening. Today is day 16 of 90! I am really, really enjoying it. Week one was tough, of course, (I believe in my last post I described day 1 as "killer") but now it is actually challenging AND fun. We are rocking and rolling! My hope is that it will make me a stronger person and runner. I see this happening. I feel firmer already.

Mr. Eleven Months Old!

So, we have a very, very big birthday coming up! As I type this, we have three weeks until my precious Isaac is one year old. Holy cow! So we have been party planning. What a fast year!

Mr. Memphis sports a mustache! Cute, huh?

Here we all are at our friend Haruto's first birthday party. Oh what fun!

The St. Louis Marathon is eleven weeks from today. By golly, I gotta get crackin'!!! I have been able to run fairly consistently since the first of the year, and I would again like to thank Isaac for now sleeping each day until about 9 AM or so to make that happen. I am a much, much better mother when I can get a run in before he wakes. I feel my cup is filled and I can just be happy for the rest of the day. But back to the marathon. After a second of self-doubt (on a bad day) as to whether or not I can pull it together in time, I am "over it" and in high gear. With no formal training plan in hand, I have created one myself. Here goes nothin'!!

Isaac's First Haircut

No more "baby mullet!" Isaac got his first haircut yesterday. Chasen noted this past week that his hair was over his collar, so that was the end of that.

Waiting to be "scalped." Nice zebra smock...

He was not frightened by the clippers, thankfully. He sat there like a pro!

Trimming the top.

Stealing a comb...

All done! It may not appear to be a huge change, but it is. Trust me.

As she was finishing up, I cried. Here I am post-tears. So proud of my little man!

Nifty certificate for the baby book.

As we began to drive home I cried A RIVER. My little boy is now a big boy. This week he'll be 11 months old. Wow - time flies.

I got home and ran five very, very cold miles. Back in the saddle! It felt great. A while after that I completed my first ever P90X workout. Man on man -- this is gonna be a killer. Long story short: I merely mentioned this program to Chasen, he did some research on it, and he bought it. Now we're going to be doing it for the next 90 days. Running by morning, getting ripped by evening. Lord help me! I have said for ages that I wanted to incorporate strength training into my life... I guess this is my chance.

Snow Day

It snowed! And I was due to run this AM. So I stayed safe on the treadmill and watched it come down. Yes, this amount of snow (as shown in the photo) is enough to cancel school around here.

I ran for 3.5 miles and was so very happy. The early morning is where it's at! I plan to keep up with the early morning sessions. It's so good for me... I get "me time" plus some, as I am usually done by 7 AM and Isaac gets up closer to 9 AM. Whoo hoo!

A Stand Up Guy

This is how I feel regarding the holiday season:

Enough is enough! Let's get back to normal.

On Monday 12/28 I had a dental surgery. Ouch! Just prior to it I took a 4.25 mile walk. The surgery netted me another week off (from running). That makes my total "rest time" post-marathon three weeks. Hopefully that did my legs and body some good.

We all need our rest.

Now I am back at it! As part of my ongoing list of goals, I have been determined to run in the early morning. I didn't make it yesterday due to Chasen having to be at work at about 6 AM, but I sure did it today! I was out there at 6 AM in 20 degree weather. I wore double layers of everything, and the only cold thing was my face. I can deal!!! It felt good to be out there and again feel like I was "cheating time." I can't even remember the last time I ran and showered all before 8 AM. Hooray!

My FREE finish line photo from the Rocket City Marathon arrived! Chip time 5:59:55.

The great thing about that photo is that Chasen and Isaac are in it, too! See them to my left?

Now I have some BIG NEWS. My little Isaac, who'll be one year old in less than six weeks. stood up on his own for a second today! Whoa baby! Or, should I say, whoa toddler!?!