GHETTO

G-H-E-T-T-O.

GHETTO.

How exactly do you explain (logically)to someone what ghetto is? How do you explain this to a child who has grown up hearing the term and using the term but then seriously asks you one day? "What does ghetto mean?"

When I was first asked this question I opened my mouth to answer and quickly I was speechless. Being that I was driving at the time, passing by low income housing, I could've easily pointed and said that is ghetto. Or I could have mentioned a few "famous" people and said that they are ghetto. I really wanted to give my child a serious answer though. I couldn't think of a way to seriously give a definition of what ghetto is. I thought to myself, what is wrong with this? How could I seriously not explain what ghetto is in a serious manner?

So I looked up the merriam-webster definition of "ghetto" in the meantime:
1 ghet·to noun \ˈge-(ˌ)tō\ plural ghettos also ghettoes

Definition of GHETTO

1: a quarter of a city in which Jews were formerly required to live
2: a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure
3 a: an isolated group
b: a situation that resembles a ghetto especially in conferring inferior status or limiting opportunity
Examples of GHETTO
He grew up in the ghetto.
Origin of GHETTO
Italian, from Venetian dialect ghèto island where Jews were forced to live, literally, foundry (located on the island), from ghetàr to cast, from Latin jactare to throw — more at jet

First Known Use: 1611

2 ghetto transitive verb
Definition of GHETTO
: ghettoize
First Known Use of GHETTO
1936 ghetto noun (Concise Encyclopedia)
Formerly, a street or quarter of a city set apart as a legally enforced residential area for Jews. Forced segregation of Jews spread throughout Europe in the 14th–15th centuries. Ghettos were customarily enclosed with walls and gates and kept locked at night and during Christian festivals. Since outward expansion was usually impossible, most ghettos grew upward; congestion, fire hazards, and unsanitary conditions often resulted. Ghettos were abolished in western Europe in the 19th century; those revived by the Nazi Party (see Warsaw Ghetto Uprising) were overcrowded holding places preliminary to extermination. More recently, the term ghetto has been applied to impoverished urban areas exclusively settled by a minority group or groups and perpetuated by economic and social pressures rather than legal and physical measures.

So with some events that happened since my child asked me what ghetto meant I had a conversation with another adult and "ghetto" was referenced very loosely. This is what actually made me want to write on this. The term "ghetto" has become such an everyday word in lots of different cultures, cities, ethnicities, etc that to say something is "ghetto" does not necessarily mean that it is "slumming". In discussing an altercation that happened at a middle school, this friend of mine referred to the school as ghetto. So I listened and heard her out. After naming and comparing numerous local middle schools (Junior High for those that call it that) it came to discussing how the public school district boundries made no sense. What it all boiled down to was how certain types of children didn't belong at the original school in question. I will leave race out of this because that was not brought up in the converation. So basically, a couple of children were mentioned and said that they didn't belong at the school they attend because it is ghetto for them and they don't belong. Instead they belong at one of the newer middle schools in a "richer" part of town. My thoughts were to reply with "so they should be going to school with the snotty rick kids" but I kept it contained to my thoughts as I was hearing her out. Now let me explain that the school in question is a very mixed school. It's district boundries include a wide range of the spectrum. From low income to high income. Being that it has such a diverse population of students there are bound to be problems. In looking at the school districts, there is not one middle school that could NOT be defined as "ghetto" with the exception of the "snotty little rich kid" school. Now the city in which I live is not the slums by any means but I just feel that it is so diverse that there are no definite areas where you can say it is ghetto or it is not.

So back to my response that these children belonged at the other school than which they attend. I did open my mouth and have a light moment of word vomit. Basically I responded with "so what then? So they can attend these "higher income" high schools with drug problems?" No, I'm not proud of my moments of word vomit but I mean what I say. It is true, the "higher income" high schools do have drug problems that have made the news. One of which is known to have heroin problems. Very sad situation actually. The other one has it's problems of drugs and alcohol but it is not as clear as the heroin problem at the other school. Now I'm not saying this to point fingers, but to reiterate what we have seen on the local news, in the local obituaries, etc. Sure, all schools have their problems but that is my point actually. No matter where you go, you will have problems. It is just the type of problems that makes the difference. Fights, drugs, alcoholism in teens, bullying, etc. It is everywhere!

So just because a particular school has fights all the time, does that classify it as ghetto? No, it doesn't.

(By the way, this friend of mine is the one that actually got my child to thinking to ask me what ghetto is.)

Now let me end by asking you again, how would you define "GHETTO"?

4 Month Anniversary....a few days ago

So I have gotten really lazy about blogging and running and....well I'll just leave it at that. So there is something that caught my interest and got my mind running so I thought I would come and blog. Low and behold, I log in and realize that I missed my 4 month anniversary since I became a quitter.



I have no idea how I just completely forgot on the first that it was another month since I've been smoke free. Especially since this past week I've said A LOT that I am about to be driven to start smoking again. Stress levels have been super high, mostly this past week. I seriously must've said at least 5 times per day that I was about to start smoking again. Of course I haven't, I'm actually ok without it believe it or not. Even when I have a drink every now and again I am ok with not smoking. I'm sure the cold weather has something to do with that now too. HA!

So I'm going to keep this one short because I have another topic that I would like to write on before I lost it from my mind. I just would like to mention how when I was searching from the picture above there were tons of pregnancy pictures and infant pictures of "4 months". I am not pregnant but I'm sure I've gained as much weight since I quit smoking to now as a 4 month pregnant woman. DISGUSTING! Granted I just had an annual "wellness check" at work. My triglycerides are lower, my HDL is good, my LDL is above normal (gotta get that in check stat) and we just won't discuss my bmi or any of that.

Thank you to those that still support me in staying smoke-free! I may not mean that I'm going to start again when I say it but they are still the first ones to tell me I better not start again. It truly does mean a lot.

Despicable Me...

Ok so here's the thing, I haven't ran since the Chocolate Run. I know, so despicable! I'm not even going to try to justify it to anyone because I'm not truly sure that anyone cares about it besides me and I've already accepted the fact that I haven't run and that I've gained weight (in my opinion). I will attribute the weight gain to my body being swollen from travelling.

After the Chocolate Run I decided that I deserved a break. I took that next week off. I didn't even really go on the wellness walks at work (maybe 1 day) because I was super slammed at work and with the upcoming business trip I knew I couldn't just take my time at doing things. Yes, believe it or not, I actually concentrated on my work. In the famous words of my coworker: Awwwww you still care! So then came the weekend and I had too much going on between the kids activities and preparing for this trip. Believe me though, I wasn't feeling too sad about not running at all. Did I go to the hotel fitness center during my trip you ask? Of course not silly willy! Why would I do such a thing? My workout consisted of the once (if not more) a day I took the stairs instead of the elevator while going between my room and the hotel bar in the evenings. That is a whole other blog that I'm not going to get into right now.

Will I run tomorrow to get back into my routine at work?

*shakes magic 8 ball vigorously*

Social Networking and the ties that bind

I've been waiting for the day that I ran that 5k so I could just blog about whatever. Don't look at me like that, I didn't want to mix my thoughts. Anyone that knows me, knows that I am easily confused. So just to bring you up to speed, I had a long week and while preparing for this business trip had to actually turn on my computer to download a couple movies to watch on the plane. Since I was on I wanted to listen to some music. I logged into ustream and automatically went to the Red Room (Krupt Mob Radio) thinking Bumpy Knuckles would be supplying us with music but that channel was offline. In the meantime, I check my email and see that the Dugout (Delasouls Dugout)was broadcasting. It had been a long time since I'd been in the Dugout but I thought what the heck. In logging in I was immediately saddened to see the passing of Nikki (Nikki410). I must say that this is one of the best tribute mixes, ok best mixes I've heard in some time now. Any DJ that can and will mix any genre altogether and blend it well is an awesome DJ to me. Anyway, in wanting to check resources (as is almost always necessary with anything on the internet these days) I saw that I was a couple days late in hearing this saddening news. I read a blog by the always beautiful Reko Suave regarding the passing of her dear friend Nicole. So this brings me to my topic at hand.

Sure I've blogged about social networking before, but that was more along the lines of our (as a society) addiction to it. This is slightly different. While I still feel that we are addicted to social networking in some form or another I am going to speak on the ties that bind aka friendships formed on social networking. I don't care who you are, you will always form at least one friendship through social networking with someone that is on the other side of the city or the other side of the world from you. It's happened to us all. Unless of course maybe you are that extra cautious facebook only user that is only friends with those relatives or friends known for years already. I can honestly say that 99% of you that are reading this have never met or seen me in person much less heard my voice, yet a good 65% of you have come to know me through our interaction on social networking. Sure, this is a risk that many of us take in social networking interactions but it is a risk that I'm almost always glad I took. And who's to say that taking a risk on social networking is greater than taking a risk in person with meeting someone new? Oh look at me, going on a tanget already. Let me get back to what I really wanted to say before I stray to another branch of this topic.

My point of this blog is actually to discuss the actual friendships made through social networking. Don't even think of trying to tell me that you can't have an actual friendship with someone you've never met in person. We can go back and forth until you are blue in the face about this but I will never dispute the fact that I've made some wonderful friendships with people I've never met in person and I'm not sure that I will ever have the pleasure of doing so. There are a select few that I would love to meet in person and make that bond stronger. I'm not saying I don't want to meet others because I'd love to but there is a certain bond that I've been able to form with this select few. How is it possible for people to have such a strong connection with someone they've never met/seen/heard in person? Why are we sometimes so trusting with people we've never met in person and probably never will yet we are withdrawn from our real life friends?

To read a blog about a friendship formed over the internet and see how these two were able to have such a beautiful friendship warms my heart. To read how they considered each other "best friends" yet have never met in person may make someone question their sanity but it gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling that you only get from a true bond. It's unfortunate that it was written due to half of that bond rising above to Rest in Paradise. While I would love to write about how I've been able to form some friendships with Ms Parker and Sweetbacck this isn't what this one is about. Another time ladies. Sure, I have other other friendships with more than these two but I would be listing names for days.

I am getting the feeling that I'm about to just start rambling so let me just throw a ball at you all to reach out to those that you have made those bonds with. Strengthen those ties that bind. Let them know while they are still here that thanks to social networking you consider them a friend. Don't wait until it's too late. I personally have a habit of waiting until it's too late with those I see/know in person. There is no reason I shouldn't be able to reach out on social networking (even if I deactivated my facebook and don't see myself reactivating it anytime in the near future) to let someone know that I care.

Now I know that I'm going to miss someone and said someone's feelings will be hurt but please know it's not intentional. I'm just listing those that come to mind right away while I'm focused. (in no particular order) Delasouls Dugout/KMR/Breakfast Club/NKOTB/ShrugLife
Jillzworth
Exclusivejdm (Kaz)
Orgnl
Sweetbacck

Ms Parker
HotMixPrinceJay
Rustym2k
MrKinetik
devlsadvoct
barineau
KalJ
Saleem_1305 (Stillmatic)
Trackfiends
Trinidread
Catf1sh
JordansGirl81 (Pants <-I don't care!)
HeidiJo98
GmgDiva...Windy...
Gabboucla
Coriluvnthedon
Jazzy_Jasmine
Alauderdale
and 50 million of the GMG Divas that I actually keep in contact with every now and again.

(The first ones listed are the first ones that I followed on Twitter aside from NKOTB "friends". Back to the dugout days)

Now if you weren't mentioned don't get your panties in a ruffle.

sidenote: There are a couple I no longer interact with on social networking but I deemed it necessary to mention them.

Shout out to Eddie B Swift for that wonderful set in tribute to Nikki410. You got me through this blog. Yes folks, it took me this long to write just this little bit.

3 Month Anniversary

So I still can't believe that today marked 3 months since I quit being a "Butt Head" and quit smoking cigarettes. Some days I don't even think about it and then every once in a great while I think about "what if I had one?" It has become so natural for me but I know that I'm not in the clear just yet. I was smoke-free for over a year before and out of spite I started smoking again. Such an easy habit to pick back up. I believe that the only reason it has been so easy for me is the fact that I felt really sick the day I quit and I had the upcoming 5k's to look foward to. Now that those have passed I am really thinking that I am going to hit some bumps in the road.

Not much has changed in the last month except my weight. Even with me running 2 miles 2-3 days a week and walking 1.5 miles 2-3 days a week I have still managed to gain about a total of 15-20 lbs now. That is altogether not just in the last month. I still don't feel that I've changed my eating habit but there are those days I catch myself just snacking all day. With this weight gain it has brought my spirits down. When this happens I am unbearable to be around because I just don't care what comes out of my mouth and I tend to be very hurtful and mean. I even had to take a break from all social networking, basically twitter since I deactivated my facebook and who really goes to myspace anymore? I figure that if I don't have anything nice to say then I just need to keep to myself because I have been known to seriously hurt some feelings.

Aside from being mean, I didn't notice any serious moodswings in the last month. This is a good thing right? I don't believe that I am so quick to snap anymore. Either that or it has become such a normal thing for me that I don't notice it as being odd. Perhaps I need to ask some of those that are around me often...or not, because I don't really want to bear that guilt.

All in all I do feel great. I just see my weight as a minor but huge downfall and I will have to find a way to one day work harder at fixing it. Like I mentioned before, my son finally noticed that I quit smoking. Shows me how much my children really do pay attention to me. I think it is funny how when some people find out I quit smoking, they tell me they didn't even know I did smoke. I'm not sure if that really is a good thing or not but I'll take it as one. At least I know I wasn't a stinky smoker all the time.

I will end on that note... Keep praying for me because I know this is something I will have to deal with the rest of my life. Never know when I will really want to start again...hopefully never, but you just never know.

Thank you to those that put up with me on the regular and to everyone that is supporting me in this. Even just a "way to go" means a lot to me.

America's Sweetest Race - Hot Chocolate 15k/5k

Before I begin I'd like to note that there is so much I wanted to blog about this past week but when I had any downtime to actually sit down and write, I was fast asleep. Actually having to take time off work to play taxi for my children is a full time job in itself when they are this busy. Working, playing chauffer, coaching cheer and playing mom = one exhausted woman! Needless to say I only ran on Monday this week and walked Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday I worked instead of participating in any outdoor activities. So I'm just going to let it all slide and continue foward because I did it! I crossed the finish line on two feet, running! As opposed to my previous thoughts of me crawling across on all fours.

Thursday night (inbetween dropping my son off for mma classes and dropping off my daughter for cheer practice) I went to pick up my packet for the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. I was so excited and after picking up the packets for the Color Run (both which benefit Ronald McDonald House Charites - New Mexico) I knew I should pick up my own since they have merchandise for sale. Packet pick-up was yet again so easy it seemed like a dream. You could literally be in and out within 5 minutes (if you are only picking up your packet of course). After buying the hoodie I wanted since seeing it on Facebook, and those that know me know how much I love hoodies, we were on our way out. Now of course I bought my daughter a shirt since she was pissed that she couldn't run because it interferred with her cheer and myself a shirt. In the parking lot was the "RV" with chocolate samples from the HC Tour Crew and I must say that it was some of the best chocolate I have tasted in a while.



Friday night I went back to packet pick up with my "goodest" friend aka Running Regina (HA! I finally found a name for her) so she could find a shirt to wear for the run. While we looked at the merchandise again the kids fully indulged themselves in samples of chocolate. Remember the shirt that I bought the previous night? Well even though I really wanted the pink one that I bought it fit me much like wet spandex - no exaggeration. So I bought me the orange one in the next size up and it's truly amazing what a difference one size will make. I also bought me a "running" shirt to wear for the race. Running Regina also bought herself a cute top to wear for run day. Now let me add that since she had someone else pick up her packet for her she had no idea that there was merchandise for sale. After getting everything together and deciding what to wear for the race I decided that I was not near as ready as I had hoped I would've have been after trying to prepare for the past 3 months. My son had decided that he didn't want to run with me but that he wanted to volunteer. Good for him! So off to bed I go because I need all the rest I can get in order to make sure I can give this run every effort I got.



D-Day - Saturday September 29. 2012

Alarm goes off at 5:05am. I hit the snooze a couple of times before I actually rolled myself out of bed to jump in the shower. I get myself dressed, brush my hair into a tight ponytail and lace up my shoes. I wake my son so he can get ready to go volunteer. I had every intention of being downtown no later than 630am. Unfortunately, that is when I was leaving my house. I arrive downtown around 15 minutes later and meet up with my "goodest" friend Running Regina. After dropping my son off with the other volunteers, we head to gear check and the porta-potty. We then meet up with our other friend from work Jogging Joanne. With about 5 mintues to spare, go time for the 5k is 715am, we head to corral B.



The National Anthem is played and then off we go. First off is corral A. Now mind you I had set and started my nifty phone application and had to reset it. Oops! A couple of minutes later it was "On your marks, get set, GO!" for corral B. Ok so really it was more like a cap gun to signal it but none the less it was the begin of my first "timed" 5k. This is what I had been preparing for for the past 3 months.

Off we go and as I had expected, Running Regina was off and lost in the crowd within 1 minute of the race beginning. I was with Jogging Joanne for a good couple of minutes, making our way through the crowd, then it happened... I looked down and you'll never believe this, but my darn shoe was untied. Now if you've ever attempted to run/walk/jog with me in real life you would know that my shoe is always untied. So anyway, I make my way to the side to be able to tie my shoe without being run over by the other runners. As I was up and ready to get back to running I realized that I had lost my groove. This was the absolute worst because I was doing so good and keeping a steady pace. When I started my first portion of walking to recover I swear about 200 people passed me, no exaggeration. And here I thought we began at the back, where did all these people come from? When I reached my first mile the counter said 13 minutes and about 30 something seconds. This was a downer because I haven't had that long of a mile in a very long time so I knew I needed to put some immediate pep in my step! My second mile was clocked at 26 minutes 33 seconds (according to the counter at the second mile mark). What made me laugh before I hit the 2nd mile though was a line of cars stuck at an intersection. I couldn't help but laugh and think how much it sucked to be them stuck there having to wait for the runners to clear. They had to have beent here already about 10-15 minutes and who knows how much longer. I would have been pissed if that was me stuck having to wait for a bunch of runners. Anyway, I was getting hot at this point and decided to take off my jacket and tie it around my waist. I also had to pocket my sunglasses as they were staying fogged up. The outside temperature was definitely rising. At this point I was in a groove with a few other runners, not that they were aware of this. They would jog past me while I was walking. Then I would jog to catch up to them and pass them while they walked or slowed down. When I would walk they would catch up to me, then pass me. This went on for about the last 3/4 mile of the 5k. It worked though because this is what got me to the end of the race without giving up and walking the rest of the way. So thank you to those anonymous runners/walkers that got me through this. When I saw the third mile marker and counter I saw it said 39 minutes and 30 seconds. What is it with me and 30 seconds? So anyway, I thought to myself that I can't run a tenth of a mile in less than 30 seconds even if I sprinted as fast as I could. So I just kept my steady pace and when I actually passed the third mile the counter was over 40 minutes.

I DID IT! I crossed the finish line, on two feet and still jogging. Straight from the finish line to the "Chocolate" line. I immediately found Jogging Joanne in line so I jumped in with her as we attempted to look for Running Regina. A few minutes later Running Regina called to let me know she was picking up her finishers mug and would meet me on the other side. While waiting in line I calculated my running application and figured I finished slightly over 40 minutes. My phone application stopped on my a couple minutes in and I had to restart it.



Can you believe she had the nerve to stand there in front of us and indulge in her chocolate while we drooled? She went through my son's line so I jumped lines to go through his. Shortly after getting our "Finisher's Mugs" Jogging Joanne went to go find her husband.



In the meantime, Running Regina and I indulged in our chocolate for Dipcision 2013. In our "Finishers Mug" we received apple slices, rice krispy treat, banana, pretzels and a marshmallow for dipping into the chocolate fondue as well as a cup of hot chocolate. Talk about a chocolate party! My favorite was the apple slices dipped in chocolate. Bananas and chocolate are great too but I was pleasantly surprised with the apple slices and chocolate.

We hung around for a while longer to see the 15k runners cross the finish line. While doing so we went to gear check to pick up my bag. When we stood up we almost fell over laughing because we left butt sweat marks on the concrete bench we were sitting on. Now I'm sure you are all thinking that this is TMI but it was so funny that I had to share it. The only thing funnier was when I took my jacket off (I got cold after cooling down and put it back on) and had a boob sweat mark on my shirt. Don't judge me, I just ran/walked 3.1 miles (5k) and I sweat....SUE ME! In waiting around for my son to finish his volunteering we heard the top 3 of both 5k and 15k winners announced. The first place winner for the 5k finished in 19 minutes and 31 seconds. He was 13 years old! Using my calculations I did .22 miles in 2:41 then reset and did 2.95 miles in 35:56. When adding that in my head after finishing I came up with over 40 minutes. My personal goal was to finish in under 40 minutes. In my mind I wanted to finish in 36 minutes which would meet my 12 minute per mile goal that I registered with. So my mind was obviously not thinking clearly so I don't want to hear anything about my awesome math skills. When the results were finally posted online I couldn't find mine. I knew I finished in the 40 minute range but couldn't find myself. The counter at the 3rd mile told me so. Eventually I found my name and I was in shock. My final time was 38:18. Yes folks, 38 minutes and 18 seconds and I was so excited and pleased with myself. While I didn't meet my personal goal of the 12 minute pace per mile I did meet my personal goal of finishing in under 40 minutes. This was my personal best for running a 5k! Running Regina finished in 26:32 and Jogging Joanne finished in 35:49. In looking at the results I saw a few other people I know, including a cousin, that also ran. I had no idea. Another one of our friends that used to work with us finished in 26:29 and that was hilarious because Running Regina was quite upset that she was beat by her. They basically crossed at the same time.

Overall I had a great time and while the Post Party wasn't as fun as The Color Run the chocolate definitely made up for it. Perhaps I should send a suggestion email that they need to have a DJ or something so there is more of an audience when the winners are announced. It was kind of like: Ok I crossed the finish line, I received my chocolate, now what? May as well go home. Then again, what do I know? This was my first 5k race. I definitely look foward to next year. In the meantime I will have to decide on which one I will attempt to complete next. Now only if my dear friend across the country would let me know which 5k we are going to take part in together life would be grand. Special note to her: If I can do it then so can you now hurry your tush up!

Thank you to everyone who came along and stayed for any part of this Journey to 5k with me. Stay tuned for tomorrow's celebration (it marks 3 months).

Journey to 5k - 2 Mile Mornings - Weekly Update

Man, this past week has definitely been an eventful one. I'm just going to start by saying that I am very thankful that we are allowed to have this "wellness walk" time at work otherwise I'd never be able to find the time to get any sort of cardio activity in. I did have an interesting conversation that was one of those "duh" moments after the face, but we will get to that later.

I've been averaging 3 "2 mile mornings" and 2 "wellness walk" mornings per week. Last week I really had it in my head that I was going to be able to complete 5 "2 mile mornings" this past week but naturally that didn't happen. It is amazing how exhausting it can be to get paid to run 2 miles (or walk 1.5 miles) and live a normal (or not so normal) every day life. You don't want to really hear about how busy my life is with my son playing soccer and taking mma classes, my daughter being on 3 all-star cheer teams and a school cheer team, and me working full time while coaching the school cheer team (last year I coached two) so I won't bore you with all those details. So instead let's recap this last week.

Monday - 2 mile morning Tuesday - 2 mile morning Wednesday - wellness walk (1.5 miles) Thursday - wellness walk (1.2 miles - see below) Friday - wellness walk (1.5 miles)

Ok so I lied. I just looked at my handy dandy notebook....I mean phone application to double check. Ok so I'm sure none of you laughed at my Blue's Clue's reference but whatever. HA! So anyway I remembered incorrectly, that's how mush my brain is lately. Perhaps this is a great way to lead into my conversation this week with my "goodest" friend. I sure do talk about her a lot don't I? Anyway, one day early in the week we were talking after changing to run how dry she was. Her mouth was dry basically. I kind of laughed at her because we live in the desert. Everything is dry out here. Anyway, the next day I noticed that my mouth was extra dry. It is a strange feeling because no matter how much water you drink it doesn't help the problem. Nevemind the fact that I didn't think about the fact that my lips have been dry lately. I feel like I'm putting chapstick on 50 times a day. So we get to talking on Thursday morning before the "wellness walk" about this. She mentioned how her cousin told her to drink some gatorade because she could be drinking too much water and flushing out all of her electrolytes. During our conversation we went over how much water each of us should be drinking and I, for the most part, drink more than enough each day. Of course there are those days where I don't drink nearly enough water. Granted, I don't drink much soda (Coke for all those that I have the Coke vs Soda vs Pop conversations with). So anyway, we decided that we were going to try to drink some gatorade each day to try to replenish ourselves with electrolytes to see if we notice a difference. Now mind you, we had also talked about how "old" we both feel from achy bones and throbbing muscles all of a sudden. Sure we went through all that when we both first started running in preparation for our upcoming events but we shouldn't really be feeling it all over again right? Anyway, I convinced her on Thursday to walk a different route (she wants to begin running this route eventually) so I could stop by the gas station so I could get some gatorade. Funny thing was I had bought some the night before but forgot to grab it before work. She had stopped before work and got her some. This is why our walk was shorter than usual this day. Anyway, Friday neither of us felt as dry and as exhausted but we still didn't run that morning. Of course over the weekend I haven't had any gatorade but I really haven't done any sort of cardio activity. Now let me add something to this. I was talking about this with my mom and she mentioned to me about making a concoction of kool-aid and orange juice. Apparently this is what the doctor prescribed when I was younger and sick. This is supposed to be more full of electrolytes. I had completely forgotten about this until she mentioned it but the memory came flooding back after she said it. I remember it being pretty good when I was little. We'll soon find out because I will be making this at some point in the week. That reminds me, I forgot to tell my "goodest" friend this.

That is all I have for you today and I'm exhausted all over again. Until next time... **edit** I almost forgot to mention that my son finally noticed that I quit smoking. It's been almost 3 months and he just now noticed. Show's how much they pay attention to me. I guess my daughter noticing a month late isn't that bad after all.

2 mile mornings - Weekly update

So by now I'm sure you all think this when I post the link to my blog updates:



But in any case, I thank you for taking the time to read my updates. Eventually I will even get back to a normal blog of my thoughts versus just my running/workout (or lack there of) updates. There are times that I want to blog then I think to myself and remember how I'm just doing my "Journey to 5k" udpates right now. After the Hot Chocolate Run I will update in any way that I please. Talk about a roller coaster yet to come.

So let's get to the last week. I could've sworn that I had updated more last week than I did. So since my last update I walked on Wednesday, then Thursday I had my best day yet when it comes to 2 mile mornings. Along with my best overall time for completing the 2 miles I also had my best time for the mile! I was completely stoked for the rest of this day. I couldn't be any more proud of myself. *pats self on back* I just need to work at shaving off another minute (30 seconds per mile) from my total time to be at my goal for the Hot Chocolate Run in less than 2 weeks. In discussing this with my "goodest" friend we decided that perhaps the weather was a big factor in this. With last week feeling like the beginning of winter instead of fall it didn't feel like we were running through the Sahara. I really enjoyed the cooler weather for running, although, I'm not sure I'd enjoy it to be much cooler. Friday I didn't log anything using my handy dandy phone app but if I remember correctly we did walk and it wasn't such a great time but we still walked (1.5 miles) none the less. Can I just stop here and gloat some more on my awesomeness from last Thursday? No? Ok, moving on...



So we remember the saying from above right? Well that is my motto for today (Monday). Basically, in comparing time from last Thursday I added 3 1/2 minutes to my overall time. I'm not even going to waste your time or my time with some lame excuses, but intsead tell you what happened. I was set and ready to go, walking to the end of the parking lot to warm up before I started the dreaded uphill run. Then my phone rang. I didn't recognize the phone number but I answered it anyway. It happened to be a Parent calling me regarding Cheer. Have I mentioned to you that I also coach cheer? Well this will be my 3rd year coaching and with that I often receive phone calls with numbers I don't recognize. Anyway, y'all almost let me go into a tangent. So I had a parent on my phone asking me questions and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't be rude and cut the phone call short. So I continued walking at a decent pace (in my mind) while answering the questions. By the time my phone call was finished I was already a quarter mile into my route. At this point I decided that I was just going to walk the first mile and try to make up some of the time on the 2nd mile which is all downhill. It's amazing how a small distraction could throw someone off so much. In the end I had a pretty good time for the 2nd mile but the first mile we just won't even discuss. Could I have done better regardless of the phone call? Yes! Should I have done better on that first mile regardless of the phone call? Yes. However, I did neither but I still went and that is all that matters right? Oh, have I mentioned the afternoon walks I try to go on at 3 times a week? (my non-cheer practice days) I did run my handy dandy phone app last week and found out that it is .64 miles around the parking lot which is the route that we talk for the afternoon walks. So some days I'm doing more than 2.5 miles altogether.

So this is all I have for you today. Until my next update...

2 mile mornings - 9/11

I saw that one day and loved it! It's always nice to have a reminder for motivation. What I love about it is that it can be motivational for anything, not just running/working out/etc.

Today was another 2 mile morning. I went yesterday by myself and decided to change it up a bit. It is so easy to fall into habit when you take the same route day after day. While I did take one of our 2 routes for 2 mile mornings, I changed it up by going the opposite way. I was thinking that I would have more of a downhill run and hoping that I would have a better time. Boy was I wrong! I believe that I actually ended up doing more of the same just more uphill in the beginning versus the middle of the route. Although, I did enjoy having more shade in the last half of the run/walk. Today I had company and was pretty stoked about it. While one of my coworkers said he would go slow with me at my pace, I knew better. So there were four of us that were going to "run" today. While I started out slowest because I wanted to walk to warm up until I reached the end of the parking lot I soon was on my own. Oh, excuse me, another coworker went last minute so her buddy stayed with her at her pace. What a great friend. The other two were way ahead of me outpacing each other it seemed. In the end I felt that I ran more than I had been doing. I even had the best time yet for a 2 mile morning. I was pretty excited about that, well as excited as one can be when struggling to breathe. I beat my previous times by at least 30 seconds and in my eyes that is a huge deal. GO ME!



Now today is 9/11 and being American it is a special depressing day. A day where everyone flocks to social networking to say where they were on that fateful day 9/11/01. I will spare you all my story as it's not very exciting. Anyway, I got to thinking. Yes, scary thought I know. So before I start going on a tangent let me share my thoughts. My dear friend once told me (and wrote it in her blog if I remember correctly) that if she has to run more than 2 miles for anything it's not worth it. Basically if someone is trying to rob her and they chase her that far then they can just have it. Well being that today is 9/11 I was remembering a video on a tv show I watched the other night where it showed candid video when the Towers were collapsing and the people running to get away from it. So I thought to myself "Self, sure you would never be able to escape it completely but by being able to run at least 2 miles without stopping or walking you would have a better headstart than most". Then I saw something that said "Don't bother running, you'll only die tired". I'd at least like to think that I attempted to get away. Just a little food for thought.

Ok now I'm tired and will start rambling if I don't end this right here.

OH WAIT...

Today was funny. I was in the bathroom at work and a coworker walked in. Now mind you it was stinking in there so I had to make it clear that it was not from me. Yes, I work with some stinky females that have no shame. But that's neither here nor there. We got to talking when I made it known that it wasn't me and after laughing she brought up how I quit smoking. She congraulated me and I think I stood a little taller. This is coming from someone that I've seen try to quit and hasn't been able to yet. *pats self on back* Only about 2 1/2 more weeks until I hit 3 months of being smoke-free.

Ok now I'm done.

2 mile mornings - week 3 with 3 to go

Ok so I suck....I haven't blogged in a week. I wish I had a really great excuse but I just don't. So moving foward...

Just because I haven't blogged does NOT mean that I haven't been doing any cardio activity. As a matter of fact, I went every day of the work week last week. Ok so I walked Tuesday and Thursday but I did my 2 mile morning on Wednesday and Friday. Friday I even went by myself since my running buddy (who likes to leave me behind)was on vacation in Vegas and the other one that joined us on Wednesday was only going to walk. I have been averaging the same time (seconds difference) every 2 mile morning and it's good but at the same time frustrating because I need to shave a minute per mile off my time before the Hot Chocolate Run which is 3 weeks from today. Oh, Monday I didn't run or walk because it was Labor Day and I was busy all day enjoying my day off.

I will attempt to blog more this week but trying to get used to the "school is in session" schedule is still in progres.

Happy 2 Month Anniversary!

That's right folks, Today September 1st marks 2 months that I have been smoke-free! I really can't believe that I've actually stuck with it. I was the first one to say "I'm no quitter" in regards to quitting smoking cigarettes. I used to get so pissy when people would ask me when I was going to quit or tell me how bad it was for me. As though I didn't really know. And here I am 2 months smoke-free after not even wanting to quit. Who would've ever thought?

I've had 2 dreams about smoking in the 2 months since I quit which isn't bad. The most recent (if you read a few posts ago)dream I had absolutely no remorse for smoking that cigarette. In real life I would feel so guilty about it and beat myself up over having to start over again. Perhaps that dream was a hint for me to finally rid myself of all the cigarettes I still have around me daily. I still have a pack in my car, 1 cigarette in my desk at work and the rest of the carton still sitting on top of my fridge. Oh well, never know when one of my smoker friends will be out and I will be there to save the day for them. I'm just that awesome friend of course.

Let's discuss the changes I've felt/noticed since I quit smoking. Not much has changed really in the 2nd month except my weight. But in any case, here we go:

Teeth feel cleaner

Mouth feels clearner

I no longer feel like my breath stinks all the time

I've gained around 10lbs

I still can't run longer, matter of fact, I feel like I could run longer when I smoked vs being a quitter

I don't notice a difference in smell or taste (except a small handful of things taste gross to me now)

I still don't feel as though I substitute with food for the "hand to mouth" habit smokers usually have

I have run...ok mostly walked...a 5k

I get really super grumpy for about a week each month and No, it's NOT pms (or could it be? I've never noticed it before)

Oh, my moodswings seem to be more controlled but I still have them every now and again

I'm back to being a PITA to wake up in the mornings

my lips aren't brown anymore (I'll explain later)

I do notice the smell on smokers more now than I did before (I guess that contradicts what I mentioned earlier about smell)

I don't take as many breaks at work (the breaks I do take, aside from lunch, are to walk/run)

I think that is all. Well, that is all that I can think of right now and it is late so my mind is half way shut down. Let me elaborate and fill you in on the lip color thing. We used to laugh on our smoke breaks at work because once someone mentioned how they could always tell a smoker because their lips were brown (not pink). So we started looking at peoples lips and it was usually true. Ok so not so much brown like doo doo brown but they were slightly discolored. Well one day when I was in the bathroom at work, washing my hands, I looked in the mirror and laughed because I looked at my lip color. No, I wasn't wearing lipstain of any kind or lip gloss. FYI - I go to work without make-up because I'm too lazy to put it on every day. So the next time you look at someone who you know is a smoker check out their lip color.

Well this will conclude my 2 month celebration (so to speak). I will be celebrating my 3 month anniversary 2 days early with the Hot Chocolate run aka a big chocolate party. And if you guys were wondering if I lost count, I didn't. I am actually on day 63.

In terms of my running today...

I did not run today as I hadn't taken a day off since Sunday. My legs were so stiff this morning that I could barely walk when I got out of bed. I spent about half of the day walking funny before my muscles finally relaxed. I'm sure dehyrdation played a small part in it though. The heat this past week hasn't helped since I didn't accomodate my water intake for it. Tomorrow will be another busy day and I don't forsee me waking up at 6am to run before I paint my bedroom then head to tailgate before the Isotopes game (baseball).

Hope everyone is having a fun but safe Labor Day weekend.

2 Mile Mornings

Now that The Color Run is behind us we are working towards the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k that will take place in 30 days. I really need to get my butt in gear for this one as this is not just a fun run. This one is an acutal timed race. While I'm not particularly excited about that part, I am excited about the Chocolate Party after. Being that I'm no longer on Facebook my friends do make sure that I'm up to date on everything. I was sent a picture of what will be awaiting the participants at the finish line. This will be my motivation to keep working towards my goal.



Let's discuss my latest, greatest idea. Feeling great about finishing The Color Run I decided that I wanted to work harder. Now we remember that I got myself in this predicament in the first place by getting a sudden motivation and registering for two 5k runs. Again I ask myself "What was I thinking?" and with school back in session I will be busier since I also coach cheer. So back to Monday (today is Thursday). Wait, I stand corrected. It was Tuesday because Monday we had a big company meeting and didn't get to take our morning Wellness Walk. So Tuesday I decided that I wanted to run. You can see where this is going right? My goodest friend held me to it. We dressed out (changed our clothes) and headed outside. The walkers left without us but that is ok. There were 3 of us going (the 4th ran ahead of us because they thought I was kidding). Yes, you read that correctly. My friends know me all too well and didn't take me serious until I crossed the street instead of turning the corner. So off we went for our first 2 mile morning. Mind you our wellness walks are usually 1.5 miles. Little did I know that majority of this route was going to be uphill. So I jog/walk/jog/walk/walk/walk..... I tell my goodest friend to stay in front of me since she knows where to turn. Boy was I in for a big shock when we were like the energizer bunny and kept going and going... Needless to say I hung in there the best I could and we actually caught up to the walkers. I was quite proud of myself. After the first 2 mile morning my goodest friend tweeted me this:



So then the next day, hold on. I may have confused all my days now. Either way, the next day we did another 2 mile morning. This time we took a different route. It literally was 1 mile uphill (on a steady incline) then 1 mile back downhill. Of course this is on a major road so of course you don't want to look like a clown attempting to run. My times were slightly slower but it was definitely interesting to see the difference in each mile (uphill vs downhill). The following day we walked because everyone was just not feeling good. I was ready to go again but we just walked the 1.5 route instead. I figure if I still have the motivation I may as well take advantage.

Then comes today. Oh boy has it been a day from hell! I was Super Oscar the Grouch this morning by the time I got to work. I really felt like I needed to run to get rid of some aggrivation. Noone else was going to run today so I decided I was going to do this on my own. They aren't going to be next to me all the way to the finish line (they will leave me in the dust and I am ok with that) so only I can make myself do this. So I dressed out and off I went. The walkers had left about 4 minutes ahead of me. I decided to take the first route we went on so I could try to catch the walkers on the last half mile. I felt I ran more than the first day when I didn't know the route but my timing said otherwise. It was already getting hot outside also. It really does heat up once 10:30am hits. As I was nearing my mile and a half I still didn't see the walkers. By the time I got back onto the main road they were already turning back into the parking lot. I knew I could never catch them so I continued at my own pace. My time was the same as the other 2 mile mornings and I am ok with that. I am just hoping that I can stay motivated and continue doing this every morning. Oh, and in case you're wondering, my mood did get better for a couple hours after my run/jog/walk.

Color Run...more

So when I originally blogged on The Color Run it was late and forgot a few things. Did I mention how much fun we had that morning? I'm not particularly a fan of waking up early as you all have hopefully read in my previous blog posts, however, that was one of the few things that I will enjoy waking early for. So before I forget or go off on a tangent let me get to what I forgot in my previous post.



1. Even though the color powder is made of dyed corn starch it WILL stain you. Especially the blue and the pink. Now mind you after the color party in the Plaza we went to eat lunch. As you can see above I had more than just a speck of color on my face when we left the Plaza. I tried to wash off the color from my face at the restaurant but it wasn't enough. When I got home I had to wash my hair 3 times and the rest of me the same. It was the longest, craziest shower ever. That was the theme of the day I guess. Anyway, after all that washing and scrubbing I still looked like I had rosacea. My cheek (yes, only one) was dyed pink for 2 days. I ended up washing my face about 5 times throughout that day. Then the next day when I went to take a shower I took my hair down (it was in a pony tail) and noticed a big blue spot on my scalp. I have no idea how I missed it before but thankfully it came off then. Absolutely crazy!

2. Fanny packs don't necessarily stay on the fanny. Now before you laugh too much or question if we are in fact in the year 2012, hear me out. I have a friend that shall remain nameless that has gone on and on about wanting a fanny pack for the past 62 days. So when I saw them at packet pick up I knew I had to get her one. In the meantime I picked one up for myself because I did need something to carry my keys, phone, etc and I was not wanting to carry a backpack. So since I was already going to get one for my friend, I figure why not pick one up for myself? (you can see me wearing it in my previous post) So I did. It was the perfect size to hold my phone, my camera, my keys, my color packet and a couple other things. Note to my friend: the zipper worked great too! So when the actual run began I decided I will start out by running then walk as necessary since I'm still not able to run as far as I'd like to. And by run, I really mean slow jog. So when we started I decided I would turn the fanny pack around so it was literally on my fanny. This didn't last long. With each step it bounced itself all the way around back to the front. So naturally I would slide it back around to my backside and again with each step it would bounce itself around. Within the first 5 minutes I had moved this fanny pack 3 times to the back and 3 times it bounced itself around to the front. I had to laugh! I eventually gave up because in the end it was more convenient to have it in the front. With as much as I was opening and closing this fanny pack to get my phone or my camera it became a lost cause to continue to fight with it. So with that being said I feel that the name Fanny Pack is not a valid name. I am open to suggestions as I don't have any wit this evening.

Next up is the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. Remember, I have not lost my mind (or any weight) so I will only be participating in the 5k part of this event. Until then, I will update as usual.

The Color Run!!!!!!!

Beginning my day at 4am is really for the birds. Ok now that I have that out of the way I will tell you about it all. After staying up until around 11pm preparing I was quick to awaken at 4am, then again at 4:30am. Quick shower (yes even though I knew I'd need another one before noon), get the kids up and get us all ready. I wanted to be out of the house no later than 5:45am so I could be downtown (assuming I didn't hit any traffic) by 6am. Naturally, if you know me then you already know this didn't happen. We finally made it downtown around 6:20am and headed to the parking garage to meet up with my "goodest" friend and her family.





After waiting around in the Civic Plaza for about 30 minutes they announced for everyone to start heading to the street to line up for the run to begin. Some of our group was already up there so we made our way towards them. Trying to round up a group of 15 to one place when there are 6,000 people registered is about as easy as winning the Powerball. So eventually we found them and we were only missing 4 people out of the group because they were late arrivals. We were towards the beginning of the hoard of people. Literally the start line was about 20 feet from us.





So after standing around for about 5 minutes I realized that I had to use the restroom. Naturally I'd have expected this out of my children, but not myself. All I could think about was how long this 5k was going to be because I was going to hold it. I didn't want to leave our spot and risk not being let back in since we already had to convince the volunteer girls to let us past the tape (marking the waves) since the rest of our group was up there. Then after texting, I was told that part of our group was stuck in wave 2. So I went to to meet up with her to give her the group socks and cape. Since I was way back there already I decided to go use the restroom. Porta-potty's are the most disgusting things, but I was thankful for them at the moment. In deciding to do that I found the last 2 of our group. Then we all went back and made our way back to the rest of the group.



Then it began. Off we went. I began by jogging with everyone, not thinking about those in our group that needed to walk. How rude of me. It didn't take long at all for our entire group to get split up. Even my son ditched me. My daughter stayed by my side. We jogged for a good few minutes then I decided with this many people and it not being timed, we just needed to have fun with it. No need to over-exert ourselves. So we walked for about a block then jogged again as we came up on our first color station. Wait, let me back up for a minute. I told my daughter that we were going to walk on the right and then go to the left at the color stations. Her response was "why? Because of the trajectory of the winds it goes that way?". I just laughed and told her "No, that is where you are supposed to get more color". That really cracked me up because we don't generally talk like that. So we go through the first color station and found out very quickly that this stuff is no joke. Keep your mouth closed, don't inhale and run through with your arms up. Sure, it is only colored corn starch but it is enough to choke you out. Before we knew it we had gone another kilometer and reached our 2nd color station.



As we kept going I noticed more and more people walking. It seemed that really the only onces trying to seriously run this were those going for their personal best. At one point my daughter and I were walking again and I suddenly hear someone behind us telling me (using my name) to push hard and to get going. I looked to my left and saw my friend and her husband run by us waving. So my daughter and I decided to catch up to them and run with them for about 30 seconds. That was more than enough for me at this point because it was really starting to warm up outside. After my camera battery died I eventually had to stop on the sidewalk to look in my bag for my second battery. By the time I found it and got it put in my camera I realized that I would start seeing some people I knew coming against us. So I figure how fun would it be to get them in action? So between the 2nd and 3rd kilometer that is exactly what I did.







Shortly thereafter we hit the 3rd color station. This is what it is like to go through it. (look close and you might actually see me in there)



We hit one more color station before we hit the finish line. My daughter and I decided that we were going to jog the last 2 blocks until we crossed the finish line. It was overall an awesome experience because throughout the 5k you had other runners/walkers cheering each other on, high-fiving you (because some genius measured the route incorrectly so they basically had to double it so we went one day, turned around and went back the way we came). Towards the end there were spectators cheering for you as you were nearing and crossing the finish line. And not that I told them, so hopefully they will read this, but a couple friends were at the finish line smiling while my daughter and I were coming. That made me feel special and you can't tell me they weren't there for us because in my mind they were. So thank you both! After the finish line we waited around for a little bit then decided I better go look for my son before it really became impossible to find him. It didn't take long, thankfully he was smart enough to stay put where he could see me if I walked past.







Now you may be thinking a couple things here. 1) You don't look very "colorful" considering you just finished "happiest 5k on the planet" aka The Color Run. Or 2) I saw you post pictures on Instagram/Twitter that showed you with tons more color than that. Well, let me explain. I was slightly disappointed in that myself. Especially considering we were getting doused in powered at the color stations. It must've been the trajectory of the winds that my daughter mentioned earlier. Oh, for those that care, yes I did use my fancy phone application and we finised in 45 minutes. Not my best but we had fun! Anyway, next comes the "Color Party" in the plaza. This is where they have the "Color Explosions" about every 30 minutes.



This is what it is like to be in a color explosion.

It was so cute, a couple even got engaged! It was all over the news that evening also. She was so shocked. Good job to the soon-to-be-groom in planning that one.





Overall this was such a great experience and I'm glad that I chose this to be the first 5k to participate in. It will definitely be one that we will do again next year. But until then, I need to start training more seriously to get ready for the more competitive, timed Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. And let's not get crazy, I am only doing the 5k and definitely looking foward to the chocolate party that will follow after I cross that finish line.






Now on a side note I will share with you all that my "goodest" friend has lost her everlasting mind! I woke up to the following text message: "Decided that in 2014 I'll do the half in Disney!! It'll keep me training plus it's sold out for 2013 already!! Start training lady!:) lol" Basically I wished her luck and asked if she was going to do the 15k for the Hot Chocolate Run. That was also an effort to distract her from that crazy thinking of hers. She then had the nerve to tell me "You shoudl train with me and we can do it together we have a year and a half!! You can totally do it!!" By the time our conversation ended I told her (twice) to let me get through the chocolate run first then ask me again. I can't even run 1 mile straight without walking and here she is thinking about me attempting to train for 13.1 miles?! We will revisit this at the end of next month I'm sure because I already know she is not going to let me say now.

Now I don't want to hear it from a certain someone *coughmspcough* pointing at me and saying "that's what you get". Just hurry up and pick your 5k so I can use that to prepare for.

I had a dream....

So last night I had a crazy dream. After going to bed completely exhausted last night I fell asleep almost immediately. I don't remember turning the television off, I didn't even plug my phone in to charge overnight. Next thing I knew, I was waking up at 4:30am confused as ever. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Well, that is after I closed the cover on my iPad and pushed it down towards the foot of my bed because I was suddenly concerned that I may roll on top of it and break it. *blank stare*

Again I wake up before I intended to after the exhausting day before. This time it was 7:45am and I had the craziest dream ever! Well, since I quit smoking anyway. I was driving somewhere. Without even thinking about it I reached my hand into my compartment and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. I finished smoking before I got to my destination. I have no idea where I was going or who was there but when I arrived I was talking with people I'm familiar with (friends) but I don't know exactly who it was because I never saw faces. It was as though the faces were blurred out. WEIRD! Anyway, I was telling them that I was almost at 2 months and I just washed that slate clean because I just smoked. I didn't even have any sort of remorse about it. Just like well, there went that.

I was very concerned when I woke up. Rethinking my dream and wondering what on earth I would do should that have ever happened. I'm beginning to think that all this trying to run nonsense is taking a toll on me. HA! Well, anyway I just wanted to share my crazy dream.

Journey to 5k - D-Day!!!!!!

Today I participated in the "happiest 5k on the planet" aka



It is 10pm, I woke up at 4am after going to bed at 11pm (who knows when I finally fell asleep), participated in the 5k, stayed in sun for 2 more hours, ate, post office, home. No nap and I'm so exhausted so I will write all about it hopefully tomorrow but I can't make any promises! However, I DID IT!

I will leave you with this picture because I can't stop laughing at it. Apparently she was in the way of us taking a picture and well.....

Journey to 5k - 2 sleeps and a wake up

Boy has time flown by! I can't believe that in 2 more sleeps and a wake up I will be participating in my first 5k. So the Color Run is more of a "fun run" and will consist of lots of walking but I'm still planning on trying to run just so I can. Then after Saturday I really need to get my crap together and seriously train so I can not be last for the Chocolate Run since that one is a timed run.

I was going to post a picture of my "bib" but I'm being lazy and I don't feel like taking it out of the bag again, taking a picture, emailing it, posting it. Yes, that is a lot of work right now. Shoot...I'm having a hard enough time staying focused enough to write this at the moment. Now where was I? Yes, I already got distracted again and lost my train of though. CRAP!

So let's just get down to business. I've still been going on the "Wellness Walks" at work daily even though I don't write about it. I figure it's the same 1.5 miles I go every day with the same route and well, in my opinion, that is not worth writing home about. However, on days like yesterday and today it is a different story. Let me tell you how I changed it up.

It began yesterday when I decided I wanted to try to run for some of the "wellness walk". So I changed out and only ran for a few small parts of it until the end. While I'm still working at walking my consistent 15 minute mile I'm not achieving it very regular, I decided to try to run. I was very proud of the last part I ran. Ok not the homestretch in the parking lot but down the main road. I actually was able to run a good stretch. No, it's not that far but for me it is. Then there was today. Today I actually took my "running shoes" instead of my "walking shoes" and my clothes to change out again. I told my goodest friend that I wanted to run again. She didn't want to change (only she would run in jeans). Then as we were beginning our initial walk out of the parking lot her running partner walked out. Guess what...yes, then she had the look on her face like she wanted to go back inside and change so she could run. Now mind you when I saw her I asked her if she was going to change and she said no. Imagine how that made me feel. And we all remember how my moodswings are. I was fine though, but don't think I didn't let her off the hook that easy. Anyway, I was ready to go running. As we were exiting the parking lot we saw her "running buddy" go for the 2 mile route. Can you see where this is going? Yes, you guessed it (and if you didn't then that sucks to be you), I decided I wanted to go the 2 mile route as well. So off we went. I guess they thought I was kidding because the other 2 tried to turn down the street for the 1 mile/1.5 mile route and I was just crossing the street. So they continued with me, thank goodness because without them I would've gotten myself lost I'm sure. Anyway, jogging...walking...jogging...walking. I wanted my goodest friend to lead because I wasn't sure which street to turn down. Little did I know we weren't turning down a street for over a mile. Did I happen to mention that this was a continuous incline? Yes, right before we hit a mile I questioned out loud what I was thinking. Boy was I ready to stick both feet in my mouth for that one. So I got to a point where I was just trying to speed walk because that incline was brutal for me. Now mind you it was already hot, I was sweating like a pig at a luau, and I still had over a mile to go. When the other 2 jogged past me I joined them for as far as I could. I eventually caught up when we finally turn down the street. It was pretty much downhill from there. At this point my goodest friend couldn't stand it anymore and kept running ahead of us. I'm cool with that since I knew my way from there. I did jog for several more stretches for the 2nd mile. I did a lot better than I thought I would even though I was slightly disappointed. Yes that was a serious contratiction but it's true. Anyway, in the end I went 2.02 miles in 27.13 minutes.

Now after that, we went at lunch to pick up our packets (I was picking up 13 out of 15 packets) for The Color Run. I'm so freaking excited for it even if I have to get up before the Roosters to be downtown with my children at 6am. Wish me luck.

And in case your wondering, yes I do plan on taking that 2 mile route again tomorrow morning. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Journey to 5k - T minus 7 days

So 1 week from now I will have participated in The Color Run. I have already had a crazy dream about it, dreaded it and now I'm looking foward to it. So today I woke up, got dressed, pulled my hair back and went to go for a walk/jog.

I debated being adventurous and going for a jog/walk around the neighborhoods but I decided that I would stick around the park until after the color run. I was going good for the first couple laps then on that 3rd lap I could definitely feel an increase in temperature. After all it was around 10:15am at this point. Have I mentioned how much I dislike sweating? Not to mention there were several other joggers and 1 other walker at the park. Why do people insist on going against normal traffic? And don't even suggest that I'm the one going the wrong way. I definitely go the correct way and this is not up for debate. Anyway, I went for a few more laps and then called it quits. It really was quite warm outside and I was sweating like crazy. And let's not discuss the massive wedgie I had. I really do need to find a fix for that. Perhaps I should just start trying to run commando. Why do running shorts come with built in underwear? Those give the worst wedgies EVER!

Anyway, I have a full day ahead of me so this is a short entry. I ended up doing just slightly over 2 miles today and I was ok with that. My calves were already starting to tighten up and I'm not trying to get injured with less than a week to go.

Until next time...

Journey to 5k- T-minus 10 days

So I should be really excited about this countdown, when instead I'm actually dreading it. Well, remember back in the beginning days...perhaps even before I quit smoking? I did say that I would lose motivation. I stuck with it longer than I thought I actually would but this whole running thing became something I "had" to do instead of something I "wanted" to do. And with me being me, I decided that I didn't want to do it anymore since it felt like a chore.

So here I am with 10 days until I participate in The Color Run with my friends and children and I'm ashamed of myself because not only have I not been "running" as often but when I do my times have gotten horrible. So naturally that is a huge downer. Of course I still do go on the daily wellness walks at work which is a 1.5 mile walk. I figure at least I'm doing something. Something is still better than nothing right?

I did run on Monday (today is Wednesday) but I was lazy and didn't blog about it. I ran 1.6 miles and my time was absolutely awful (in my opinion). My son went with me but went home before I finished. He was funny though as we were going. I told him to stay home and eat dinner and he responded with "No Mom, I need to go. I have soccer starting, we have that marathon to do, and this competition coming up." Ok now if you're anything like me the only thing you caught from that was "marathon". What in the sam heezy is he thinking? Then again, this 5k is going to feel like a marathon for me.

Now the one thing that I have stuck with throughout...what day is this again? Anyway, I still am 100% smoke free, unless you count second hand smoke. I did have a dream about smoking last night but I can't remember all of it. Now what happens when you brag early on? Exactly... I was going on and on about how I'm not substituting food for cigarettes (which I'm still not) but guess what? Yes, you guessed it. I have gained around a total of 10lbs since I quit a month and a half ago. I do believe that this is part of my loss of motivation. Weight gain, slower times. Doesn't sound like a winning combination to me. One plus is that I haven't really had those crazy mood swings since that one awful week, however, I did kind of snap today. Let me tell you that story.

At the beginning of the wellness walk this morning I was telling the girls about my weight gain. My "goodest" friend tells me that I should keep running then. Now giving her the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure she was trying to motivate me. I didn't like that so I responded with something really not nice to the effect of F*** Running! I know that is shocking to believe but that is how I felt at that moment. Then I continued with adding walking and working out. I even went as far as saying that I was thinking of starting smoking again just to lose the weight. They didn't like that idea so I decided that I would just get lipo instead. My "goodest" friend...bless her heart...says "yeah, I need lipo too. I need to get rid of these love handles." And this is when I snapped. Every other word was a cuss word so I will not repeat it here but I did end with "I hate skinny chicks that say that crap!" I was very serious too. Now my other friend that was with us happened to be walking in the middle and decided she was going to jog ahead because she didn't want to be in the middle but she did agree with me. I later had to apologize because I know it was wrong of me to snap on my friends like that but I'm very grateful that I have understanding friends. She told me that it's better that I rant than smoke again.

Tonight I had a Parent Meeting for soccer and then picked up dinner on the way home. Naturally, being down on myself about the weight gain, I wanted to eat instead of go running around the park. So with that I will end with this picture that is just so fitting at the moment.

Journey to 5k and the Great American Smokeout

So I'm sitting here trying to figure out what I'm going to write and I'm really not focused. That tends to happen a lot lately but at least I can usually stay focused enough to at least blog.

So quick recap of yesterday. No, I didn't run. I had the day off work and I had every intention of waking early so I could go before it was time to register the kids for school. However, remember how I told you I'm not a morning person? Yep, I'm a very hard sleeper also so waking me up is a task and a half. So needless to say I hit the snooze and then didn't wake up for another hour and a half. So no run for me. Went to the school to get the kids registered and ran into a friend of mine that I've known since elementary school. I haven't seen her in quite some time. SO after registration and the parent orientation type meeting we go outside to the car so she can smoke. Even before that I could smell the smoke on her. I never noticed it before. Made me wonder if I always smelled like that but when I ask people who "didn't know" I smoked, they always say they didn't know. So either they are lying or I really didn't. Anyway, we go outside and the car smelled like a smokers car. I used to hate when my old car would stink like smoke, yet I still smoked in it. I would always try to air it out but I guess you can't ever really do that. Main reason I decided to not smoke in the new car. So while she was smoking I made sure my window was down and I'm sure I smelled like an ashtray by the time we got back to the school because she smokes a lot. Perhaps this is my sense of smell coming back. I really felt like we were cheech & chong without the funny stuff.



Today I went on the wellness walk and we were basically cruising along at a decent pace. Wasn't a great time but wasn't horrible either. After the charlie horse I had from Monday night and half of the day yesterday I didn't want to push it.

Tonight was a run night after all. The cheer calendar didn't state it was so I didn't prepare my "gym bag" ahead of time. So I had to come home after work, change, then head back past my office to the track. I had decided I was going to attempt 5k today whether I liked it or not. The way my moods have been today (yes this again) I knew I wasn't going to like it. So I stretched, and went for it. Did I mention I was wearing the sweatband I got for my birthday? Yes! Everyone got a kick out of it but in the end this sweatband was the best thing ever during my run! It stayed on my head, prevented the sweat from falling in my eyes and making them burn, and was the newest fashion statement at the track. My time wasn't great, my 2nd mile was the fastest but I managed to complete 3.24 miles. I'm really not sure why my time keeps getting slower instead of faster. Especially with me being a quitter and no longer smoking. I guess I just need to learn how to breath properly still. And watching this 1500 for the olympics isn't making me feel any better. Tonight was the last night of "conditioning" by running with cheer so now it's up to me to stay on top of it. Wish me luck because I feel that I'm seriously going to need it. As you can see below, attempting 5k really takes a toll on me.