No one said it'd only be point A to point B

In case anyone's worried

Wouldn't it be nice to have a "no-fail manual" for how to do almost everything in life?  Something absolutely clear cut; do this, get that as the result.  Cut & dry, black & white.  No deviations or other scenarios allowed...like 3 kids involved in various activities, a husband training for an Iron Man triathlon...oops, I digress...


Looks like another "must-
read" how-to manual to me

I signed up for a half marathon in April, and am trying to kinda sorta follow a training plan, but so far I think I've actually completed 3 (out of a lot) of the scheduled workouts.  If it were my first race, I'd probably be thinking I should drop out...but I know I'm capable of completing the distance whether or not I follow the plan to a T, so onward I (try to) go.  I'm not expecting a PR (personal record, or best), but knowing race day lies ahead keeps me motivated to try and squeeze a run in when I can.  So, tonight, I expect I'll be on a treadmill after the kids go to bed, but at least I'll have the satisfaction of mood boosting endorphins and knowing I won't let myself give up - doing something good for me and ultimately my family in the long run...for if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy....

Adios February. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Well, February has struck again and 2 out of 3 kids have been struggling to get rid of a nasty upper respiratory bug for 2+ weeks.  I am so very thankful March is here- while it's just something the calendar shows, mentally it's a big boost as I know spring is "officially" within reach.  Someday I'll have the means to relocate to a warmer climate during the entire month of February.  I hear Costa Rica is awesome.  

Anyway, I really can't complain about this winter in terms of temperature - I can't ever remember February temps only in the 40's - 50's; and sunshine to boot.  Starting training for the next race hasn't been too torturous - or boring stuck inside on a treadmill.  My spring race of choice (Rutgers Unite 1/2 Marathon) won't be my competitive race (for me) though - Mike is ramping up his training for the inagural NYC Ironman in August, so I'll have to get some runs in where ever I can fit one or two in...just to get my butt up off the couch.  I know that if I don't sign up for something or have a reason to fit exercise in, it's too easy to skip (like this week has been, unfortunately - but sleep takes precedence in my book). 

Yes, I've learned that it's all too easy to "put off today what you can do tomorrow", or really, truly what it means to "give a task to a busy mom and it will get done".  The more I have to fit in, the more gets done because I know I can't afford to procrastinate - whether it's exercise, meal planning, work, family stuff...and I know it's just going to be more jam-packed as the third kid enters the wide world of extracurricular activities (he's already got his eye on wrestling and rugby). 

Thus, that is why I'm finishing up this blog entry at 5:58 am on Friday morning (although I must fess up that I should have had this done yesterday), already gearing up for another full day, and even more jam-packed weekend.  But hey, it's March! 

Well, doesn't everyone get socks for Valentine's Day?

Well, it's been a week since Valentine's Day and I'm delinquent with keeping my blog up to date.  I was thinking a lot about what to write, but never got in front of the computer long enough to write it down...until now.  A week late.  Well, better late than never I suppose.

I have to give a shout-out to my mom.  Why?  Because of all the funky socks in my sock drawer...I think I have at least one pair for every holiday, thus I'm always ready to celebrate, whether you can see them or not.  I recall the days leading up to Halloween, my kids would check out my feet all the time to see which socks I put on that day - pumpkins, ghosts, black cats...I'm not sure who it was more fun for - them or me.  This past Valentines Day - I goofed and wore my red fleece the day prior - and since I don't own anything else red, I was in trouble on the 14th...until I remembered I had pink socks with red hearts AND black socks with red hearts...not one, but TWO pair to choose from!  Thank God for my mom. 

It may seem goofy - I don't put a lot into most holidays (Christmas & Easter aside), but it's fun to get into it a bit...and I have the perfect excuse with my fun socks! 

My mom has learned over the years that I'm not a person of extravagance, nor do I have a penchant for things that don't serve a functional purpose.  So, after many years of trying to buy me stuff, I think she's settled on socks (better than underwear, right?).  She can still exercise her right to buy for me (because she's my mom) and she knows I'll actually use them...and like them, too. 

So taking a bit from my brother in law's blog last week, now that I have kids of my own, I can see how trying to connect with them by providing something of importance (if even only in their own eyes) can mean so much - and everyone has their own way of trying to show they care...presents, favors, 30 second hugs...I'm trying to do a better job at recognizing when someone shows me they care - even in the smallest ways. 

Since having my own three children, I've become ever more grateful for the many nights I woke my mom up for any of the following:

a) a bad dream
b) illness (ranging from a few coughs to ear infections to...well, I won't go into it)
c) just to check in

...and received all the care and attention I needed to feel better...(THANKS, MOM - for being awesome AND all my cool socks!). 

I'm on the chemical diet.

So there I was, trying to breeze through the grocery store at 7 am Super Bowl Sunday, because as I've learned the hard way, it's crazy busy 4 times per year; Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July and the Superbowl.  Quite possibly the four most gluttinous days of the year...but I digress. 

As I got to the peanut butter aisle (because kid #2 would have nothing to eat for lunch otherwise), a yellow label caught my eye:  "Calorie Free".  Huh?  Calorie-free peanut butter?  Anyone knows that peanuts and other nuts are chock-full of calories...how on earth could a jar of peanut butter be no calories at all?  Upon closer inspection, I noted that the label also said "Whipped Peanut Spread"...not peanut butter.  That was the second clue that something was odd.  So, like any curious person, I picked up the jar and read the ingredients.  Yeah, no peanuts here, per se...just a lot of "fillers", "natural roasted peanut flavor" and "peanut extract".  Ew. 

What have we come to, that we would rather eat fillers and additives to avoid the all-evil calorie, or fat, or cholesterol (or insert any "bad food component" here) rather than eat real food in moderation, and think it's ok.  There's so much information out there that points to all our advances in food science (flavorings, colorings, refinement, etc.) as a major contributor to our obesity issues now...not to mention cancer, heart disease....the list goes on. 

Long story short, I hope the "Calorie Free Peanut Spread" tanks.  And the glamour of eating something that "tastes like real food!" is realized for being as ridiculous as it truly is.  If you want to eat chicken, eat chicken.  In the mood for something fruity?  Eat some fruit!  Want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?  Try some freshly ground peanuts - eat real food!

Rocket Turtle

I'm 11 weeks out from my first official 2012 event - the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon.  This will be my 8th half marathon...and while I feel pretty confident in what to expect,  I know I'll still have butterflies the day of.  I'll "officially" start training around 8 weeks out, so for now I'm just trying to get some regular mileage in, and keep my heart rate below 154bpm - which means I have to keep my pace slooooooow. 

It's all based in Phil Maffetone's findings that you can go faster for longer by training your body to stay in an aerobic state.  I did this a bit last winter and felt it helped a lot going into the spring.   I'm all for staying healthy - there's nothing worse than being injured or having significant aches and pains and having to sit things out for a while.  I'd also like to think I'm doing myself a favor in the long run - the less hard stress I'm putting on my muscles, ligaments, joints, etc. the better I'll be in regards to joint issues later in life.  I've known a few individuals who've had joint replacements - and while the "after" is much better than the "before" the recovery and events leading up to surgery seem to be pretty awful.  Here's to hoping, anyway.

I've got a few other events I'm eyeing for 2012...particularly my big "redemption" event...the NYC Marathon.  NYC 2000 was my first (and only for 11 years thereafter) marathon...and I did it in honor of an old HS friend through Team in Training.  Since I already wrote a bit about it already (here), I won't rehash the details...but suffice to say, I was never a fan of my time and always wanted to do better.  Enter Marine Corps Marathon 2011...I beat my time by about 40 minutes...but I still feel like I need to go back and redeem myself IN NYC...and I will now publicly state (yipes!) that my NYC 2012 Marathon finish time goal is UNDER FOUR HOURS.  Can I do it?  I guess only time will tell...I'm banking on staying healthy (c'mon Maffetone Method!) and finding the time to really put a lot into my training (all this with three very busy kids and a husband competing in Iron Man NYC in August!). 

Wish me luck!

Try a new perspective...

So there I was, heating something in the microwave and as I zoned out I saw the whole kitchen reflected in the door (bear with me on this).  I thought how different everything looked - not even really that familiar anymore - the bay window and kitchen table were on the left side now, with the oven, refrigerator and counters on the north side of the house...while everything was identical, it was also very different, chiral, if you will (an Organic Chem term, thankyouverymuch).  Then I got to thinking about how different perspectives can make things - no two people see the same exact thing at the same exact time, and each may have a vastly different interpretation of an event, or occurrence.  Much like when kid #1 explodes at kid #2 and there's a battle afoot...I know I'll have two different perspectives, or sides of the story.  Mostly, by their own claims, both kids are "100% innocent"; all words were said very sweetly - no sarcasm or mal intent meant - so it's completely the other kid's fault.  Sometimes I even think both kids truly believe their own sides of the story, hence the different perspective, but that doesn't really help matters, particularly when I didn't witness the whole incident.  That's what two separate rooms are for...separation works wonders for infighting. 

So where am I going with this? 

We all have our own sets of eyes & ears which are hard wired to our very own gray matter.  What we see, hear, feel, and experience as we grow up shapes us as adults, right?  Some of us can be very stubborn and "set in our ways", while others might be more open to experimentation and trying new things (or somewhere in the middle).  Take for example my Grandfather.  No man I've ever met was more stubborn or set in his ways than he.  There was no point to try to argue or enough money in the world that would change his mind about, well, most everything.  God love him, he was difficult to have any sort of two-sided conversation with - so we just listened to his side of the story (and he had some doozies!) and appreciated his 90+ years of wisdom, whether it mirrored my beliefs or not. 

On the other hand...I've surrounded myself with people who believe that the "sky's the limit" when it comes to health and wellness.  Always eager to learn about and try new things from food to sports...and since I've become part of the group, I guess I have a hard time with the somewhat common "I could never ____" limitation people put on themselves. 



"Bought in July '09/August '05; Never been refrigerated;
Never had any mold; Refuses to decay; Looks like the day
bought; Box and paper falling apart"

So here's my thought:  we as a whole are experiencing an emergency when it comes to our health and quality of life.  Why?  We eat terribly and live a mostly sedentary lifestyle.  I know you've heard it all before, yadda yadda yadda.  But it's 100% true - our food (and lack of exercise) is killing us.  Not only is the quality of our food crappy, but we eat too much...AND we mostly believe we can't live without it.  Or we try to eat a little bit better...but it's not enough...because we just couldn't bear to give up (insert food category here), or life just wouldn't be the same without (insert food category here).  Really?  Our quality of life would plummet because we couldn't eat something?  I hope that sounds absurd, because it is. 
Alright, enough with the negative diatribe...what I'm ultimately getting at here is that we can try new things.  We can reprogram our taste buds to like whole foods - really taste real food.  We can slow down just a little and be mindful of what we put in our mouths [In fact, there's a study out there showing people who chewed their food more times were healthier and weighed less than people who hardly chewed their food at all (link)].  We can prevent some of the very diseases that will likely take us from our loved ones too early. 

Why not try a new perspective on food?  Even if it's using "baby steps" (see my last post), we've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain (or the opposite, depending on your perspective!).

A Resolution for No Resolutions?

Well, the past few weeks have really gotten away from me...Christmas has come and gone, as has New Year's Eve and my "baby's" 5th birthday.  All I did was blink...where in the world did 2011 go?!

Anyway, as I move into a brand new year, I have decided to not make any "resolutions".  New Year's Resolutions have become a joke of sorts in my mind - I've noticed quite a few FB status updates and tweets here and there lamenting that there's no space in the gym or equipment availability because of all the newbies who've made it a resolution to get in shape...but then there's always the snide comment saying "don't worry, things will be back to normal in only a few weeks"...which for all intents and purposes is true.  Everyone knows they can/should "do better" in at least one aspect of life - fitness, food, money, etc.  We might "resolve" to make drastic changes, only to come up short when we feel like it's just too hard to maintain the change...we're so used to our routines and habits, it can seem insurmountable at times.  If we target a specific date...if we psych ourselves up enough...maybe, just maybe, we can leap the hurdle and be home free - a changed and happier person forever!  Not likely.

Don't get me wrong- there are people out there who've managed to cold turkey what ever bad habit they had, and kick it to the curb forever and ever.  But they are definitely few and far between...and who knows their motivation?  Staring death in the face, or some other unthinkable outcome lurking around the corner for sure...

So then, what about the rest of us?  Well, I'm not an expert by any means.  But I do know that drastic changes throw me into a tailspin...akin to torture.  Hence the "no resolutions" resolution.  (Oops - did I make a resolution?!)  It's babysteps for me.  Little, individual changes...slowly introduced one at a time.  Once I get used to something, then I'll bring another small change into the mix...my blood pressure stays relatively normal, I don't get stressed out, and POW!  A change for the better, in the right direction.  All that needs to be done is ignore or talk myself down from the "I want it NOW!" feelings that pop up when, say, my pants feel too tight.  Like right after New Year's Eve.  Let's just say that was my motivation to make a goal to eat a few extra fruits & veggies every day.

So, as I bid adieu and goodnight, enjoy the above clip from "What About Bob".  A true classic.

Happy 2012 to you all!