Family 5K

For being our first ever family run, Saturday's 5K went pretty well. Other than a dropped pink glove and some brief panic (on the part of the Princess) when Bean spit her Sixlets all over her blanket, the girls did awesome. I think it was fun for them to see all the other runners and to look for the other kids in strollers. The hubs did great too and really pushed himself the last mile. I am very proud of my little running family.

And since I'm on the subject of pride, I was actually kind of proud of myself when I pulled out my resume last week and was reminded what I have accomplished as a professional writer and editor. While I still do some freelance work, my life has transitioned to more "mommy" and less "writer." I forgot how many magazines, newspapers, web sites and even a few books have included my name as a contributor.

It made me stop and think about how things have changed. And how I wouldn't change a thing.

Food, Glorious Food

One of my favorite pictures of my sister and me (circa: a loooong time ago)

I have one sister and two brothers. My sister is trying to lose some weight and emailed me this question the other day:

I know I have asked you this before, but when you lost your "freshman 15" did you totally change how you eat? I see you now you are able to enjoy cookies and snacks (in moderation). I know working out is the key, but did you completely eliminate junk food while you were trying to lose the weight and, if so, when did you add them back in?

Instead of just emailing her back, I decided to put my answer on here. First, my freshman 15 was more like 25. In fact, I weighed as much then as I did at my heaviest pregnancy weight.

To lose weight, I did change how I ate. And those changes are still in effect today. I was eating too much. And eating just to eat, not because I was hungry. I ate too much fast food. And when I made something like brownies, I ate all the brownies.

Now I eat when I am hungry. I don't eat a lot of fast food. I try to make healthy choices. And now I only eat one brownie instead of the whole pan. It took a lot of discipline and time to make those changes. I never stopped letting myself eat anything specific though. I knew better. Still do. If I tell myself I am not going to eat something, it is all I can think about. Instead, I eat what I want but in moderation -- as my sister pointed out.

Some of the keys to changing the way I eat were:

• Dishing up my food and then putting the rest away. Sometimes I am so quick to put leftovers in the fridge that my husband has to go without seconds too.
• Getting out of the kitchen.
• Not heading out to do errands on an empty stomach.
• Keeping healthy snacks in my purse or in the car.
• Looking at the entire day, not just focusing on one meal at a time. If I eat a big breakfast, I eat a smaller lunch and dinner.
• I am not a big snacker. This doesn't work for everyone, but I do better with just three meals a day.
• If I drink calories, I be sure to count them as part of my daily intake.

No matter how many changes I would have made to my eating habits, that extra weight wasn't just going to disappear. A HUGE part of my weight loss was exercise. My sister is right. Working out is a must. I started doing workout videos at home three to five days a week. At first, my knees hurt so much I could hardly stand up in the morning. I don't remember when they stopped hurting. But I do remember when I started thinking my legs looked pretty dang good. And when I could fit into my high school shorts again.

I eventually became certified as a group fitness and yoga instructor. I taught classes for several years and spent time on the elliptical or bike (never the treadmill though because I HATED running) on some of the days I didn't teach. Since that time, I have always worked out.

I am not perfect. I did eat a bag of Caramel Bugles for lunch the other day. And I eat way too many Hot Tamales if I eat them out of the box/bag instead of just taking a handful and putting the bag back. The important thing for me is not giving up because I overindulged on something. I used to let it be an excuse to pig out the rest of the day. Now I just move on and put it behind me.

Food is a part of life. But there is certainly more to life than food. I know I say it all the time, but it is all about balance.

Firsts

I started the day with five miles on the 'mill. Five great miles while my little Bean camped out on the bed reading her new Minnie Mouse book and occasionally catching a minute or two of Meet the Robinsons (love it).

I didn't get a run in yesterday. But I did do this:

(Don't you love how so many bowling pictures are of people's backsides?!?)

My girls love, love, love bowling. Almost as much as their daddy.

There was also some cake involved yesterday since the bowling outing was part of the hubs' birthday celebration.

And speaking of the husband. He is signed up to run his first race this Saturday. With me. And speaking of firsts, this will be the first race I run pushing my girls in the jogger. Which means it will also be my first race without music.

Since we're on the subject of firsts, it is also my first race of the year and my first race in a long time without any goals except to have fun. And the race is the first of three. We signed up for a 3-race series: a 5K, a 10K and a 15K.

I am excited for our first family run. And who knows ... there just might be another runnerd in the making. By the way, RUNNERD stickers are in the works. Be sure to join the Facebook page and spread the word. I am working on a giveaway for the first batch of stickers.

Honesty

I love to run. I love my blog. And I love my readers. All those things came together last week when I found out I was included on Broken Hearted Runner Jake Rosen's list of the Best Running Blogs - 2011. Seriously Jake, thank you! I am honored. And to those who have made their way to my blog for the first time, courtesy of Jake's blog, welcome!

Jake's description of my blog: Talks about her running and family, both in an honest way.

The thing that really struck me about this was "in an honest way." I really do try to be honest in my blog. It was one of my main goals when starting a running blog.

I thought a lot about this after I read Jake's description. At times I have struggled with what to include and what not to include and even more with how much to include. Unfortunately, there have been times I have held back. When I sit down to write, I can't help but think of who will read my words. Sometimes I wish I could write for just my fellow runners, people who don't know me personally or who only know me as a runner. There are things I would probably share if people who have known me my whole life or since before I became a runner didn't read my blog. Yet I am also glad I am able to share this part of my life with those same people.

So it has all become about balance. I will continue to be honest. And hopefully not hold too much back. Because I have never known a more supportive and amazing group of people than those I have "met" through my blog.

Eleven

The Christmas decorations are nestled snug in the attic, and I have officially moved on to 2011. To celebrate, here are 11 things I am loving this year:

1. My running girls. The Princess had a conversation with her daddy about why grown-ups run. He explained that not just grown-ups can run, so she asked if she could run on the treadmill. With his help, she logged 1/4 mile. Then she asked a few days later to take it for another spin. This time, her little legs took her 1/3 mile.


2. Despicable Me. One of my girls got this movie for Christmas, and it is the new favorite at our house. If you haven't seen it, you should.


3. Getting organized. I have reorganized (and dejunked) almost every cupboard and drawer in the house in the past two weeks.


4. My knitting needles. I have always wanted to learn how to knit. There's no time like the present.


5. Hot tamales. I know. I covered this in my last post. But did you know you can buy them in 32 oz bags?


6. Two-year-olds. I am not sure how the 2s got such a bad rap, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this age. We renamed it "The Terrific Twos" at our house. My little Bean is hilarious lately. You can't help but smile when she is around.


7. My new Nano. At least I think I love it. The poor thing has been sitting next to my computer since Christmas. Once I get it all set up and start using it, I'm sure the love will grow.


8. Cutting myself some slack. 'Nuf said.


9. Watching 4-year-olds ski.


10. Lists. Can you tell?


11. Running. Taking some time off over the holidays (mostly because of illness, but time off nonetheless) helped renew my love affair with running.

Caramel Bugles, Hot Tamales and Bread Pudding

I decided maybe "Trots" shouldn't be the first thing you see when you get to my blog anymore. So after more than a month (an awesome month of Christmas fun and family), I am back for a quick check-in and update.

You may not be surprised to find out that after a New Year's evaluation of my life and everything in it, the blog moved down on the priority list. Running is still pretty close to the top though. So my goal is to take the time to post when I feel like I actually have something to say, not just because I feel like I should post something. We'll see how that goes.

To sum up the past month of running and otherwise, I am stealing the Redhead Morgan's monthly recap topics. I decided to leave out my stats since tending to my sick family half the month and losing five days of Arizona running because I was seriously sick myself didn't help rack up the December miles.

Current Book: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. Just picked it up and have only read two pages. I only read 16 books last year. I would really like to double that in 2011.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Caramel Bugles. I literally ate an entire bag for lunch on Saturday. I am trying to resist the urge to buy more.

Current Colors: Pink. With three girls in our house, it's a good thing I love it so much.

Current Obsessions: Hot Tamales. We have a candle that makes me crave cinnamon.

Current Drink: Water, water, water. I have to admit to loving some Dr. Pepper too though.

Current Song: Got the new Ke$ha CD for Christmas. It's growing on me.

Current Wish-List: Abs that look as good as they did after five days of sickness-induced near-starvation.

Current Need: I NEED to get my Christmas decorations put away ASAP!

Current Triumph: Watching my Princess rock her first skiing lesson =)

Current Bane of my Existence: My Christmas decorations

Current Goal: A half marathon in either March or April with the hubs

Current Indulgence: Besides the Caramel Bugles and Hot Tamales? Bread pudding. Yum!!

Current Blessings: My girls, the hubs and my health

Current Excitement: Skiing lesson #2 for my Princess on Wednesday.


Happy New Year! Once I get those darn Christmas decorations put away, I can't wait to catch up on what you all have planned for your upcoming year of running!