Another week!

What a weekend! I'm glad it's OVER!!! Cade kept throwing up Friday night into Saturday morning. Thankfully by the afternoon, he was able to keep Pedialyte down and slowly returned to normal.
Then it was my daughter's Candace turn, followed by my husband. Thankfully, I didn't get as sick as I expected, because I don't know what we would have done.

I hope my husband gets better soon because he is the WORST patient ever!!!

Didn't get anything done Sat or Sunday, besides loads of laundry and cleaning after the sick people.

But went to the gym today, and got my 45 min in!! yay for me. it was hard, amazing how missing out on a couple of days makes such a great difference. I think the total distances was about 2.3 miles. Not bad, I can see improvement. Chatted with Amy K, and she is so excited that I'm doing this. She said I will not believe the adrenaline rush the day of the marathon. I can't wait.

Now I'm trying to catch up with everyone's blogs, but I think I'm going to leave it for tomorrow and get ready for bed. Morning will be here before long and I need to get to the office and tackle the mountain of reports sitting on my desk.

Life happens when you least expect it

One of the boys, Cade, is sick. Had to take him to the after hr clinic last night, he started throwing up around 5:30 PM and kept on vomiting until we got him to the dr. It's a virus, not sure if it's the rotavirus though. The infamous rotavirus has been going around daycare, but both boys had the vaccine for it. So it is possible he has a very mild case of it. He doesn't have diarrhea but until 5 AM this morning, couldn't keep anything down.

He is much better now, can keep Pedialyte down, and seems to be in good spirits. He is such a good baby, hasn't cried at all. I can tell he feels bad because he is sleeping a lot. But when he is awake, he plays and talks like usual.

So that's why I wasn't there this morning. I actually think I may be getting the virus myself because I haven't been feeling well either. So if I feel better in the morning, I'll do my 2 miles then and XT at night.

Did anyone save me some cinnamon swirl bread? LOL

Mental Health day

I didn't get to exercise at all yesterday. I had a headache when I got home and was mentally and physically exhausted. So I got in the bed early. Still exhausted this morning so I decided to take the day off.

All 3 of the kids are home with me too, so I'm not totally "off" but at least I managed to take a 2 hr nap this morning while the boys napped. That was nice.

I'm taking them to the park this afternoon and wearing my running shoes. If I'm going to push that stroller around, I might as well doing in comfortable shoes.

My motivation for tomorrow's walk is the cinnamon swirl bread. yummy. Although I'm not sure I'll get to stay for the walk because my daughter has a soccer game at 10:45 tomorrow.

Just keep training, just keep training...

Has anyone seen the movie "finding Nemo"? Dori's motto is "just keep swimming", mine is going to be "just keep training". LOL

Went to the gym last night to make up for Tuesday night. It was almost 8 PM before I made it, had to wait on my husband who got called back to work (he is a maintenance supervisor for the schools). I was very tempted not to go, but I knew I'll do better Sat. if I get all my training during the week. So I drove to the gym. It was empty, so I watched Deal or no Deal while I walked. I got 25 min on the treadmill, another 5 on the elliptical. I like going backwards on the elliptical (instead of walking backwards); so far it has worked in getting all my muscles properly stretched.

One of the boys slept all night, the other woke up around 3 AM, and went right back to sleep when I tucked him back in. Patience. We'll get there.

Trying to do better with my eating but I really need to take a trip to the grocery store and buy good stuff. I haven't been grocery shopping in ages. I like granola, and have a recipe for homemade granola, so I may just have to make my own.

I have a few business trips coming up in the next few months. I'll be in Orlando for the first week of March, then Cincinnati the first week in April. Bringing my running shoes in my carry on bag (in case my lugagge gets misplaced) and I made sure the hotels have an exercise room I can use to train. Funny how your priorities change so quickly, this training is definitely a life changing experience. So much so, that I'm thinking of going to Panama this summer with all 3 of the kids, by myself.
Yes, my husband thought I was crazy when I told him of my plans but heck, I'm training for a marathon, I can travel to Panama with the kids, right?

Wednesday!!!

Hump day. Ended up going to bed early, aside from being physically tired, I am also in a bit of a "funk" (for a lack of a better word). I think it has to do with my grandfather's death and not being able to be there.

As luck would have it, my boys decided to keep me up from 3 AM to 4:30 AM this morning. I finally gave up with Braden, and gave him a bottle. He would go back to sleep, and just as I was drifting back into sleep, he would wake up again. This went on for over 1 hr. Needless to say, I'm a bit of a zombie today.

Oh, and Chuck, sorry, no maroon for our kids. We are die hard Rebels! (I got both of my degrees from Ole Miss). However, some of my closest friends "bleed" maroon, and most of my inlaws are also Bulldog fans. So it's all good.

Life moves on

Life seems to be moving at a very fast pace these days. I just got in from being in Meridian all day. Amazing how tired my legs feel after walking around all day in steel toe boots. I think I'm going to XT today and walk tomorrow.

Yesterday, I walked for 40 min around the neighborhood. Definitely need to get an iPod so I can have some music and also, so I'll stop looking at my watch! Bad habit.

My twins "graduated" to the next class today at daycare. They are now with all the other babies who are mobile. Whatever happen to the tiny preemies I brought home 9.5 months ago? These kids aren't them for sure! I have 2 crawlers, climbers, and soon to be walkers in my hands. Now we just need to get those teeths, so they can eat real food.

Speaking of foods, if there is one food I cannot give up, it is jasmine rice. I love rice, grew up eating rice all the time, and I just love it. Specially jasmine rice. I've tried brown rice but it's not the same. So I figured that'll be my one "forbidden" food, since I don't eat it every day. I did good today, had carrots and green beans for lunch (instead of my usual hashbrown casserole) at Cracker Barrell.

After talking to Mark and Robin on Saturday about getting my twins to sleep thru the night, I put in practice their advice. I finally got the "night owl" Braden to sleep thru the night. But as things go with twins, his brother Cade decided that he wanted to wake up instead. Thankfully, it was just once, and we got it taken care of fairly quickly.
Consistency is the key to training for this marathon, and it's also the key to train my kids to sleep all night. It is hard (who wants to hear a child scream at 2 AM) but after a few minutes, they both realize that maybe it's not time to get up yet, and settle back down to sleep. I'll have to get earplugs for my husband though, because he cannot stand to hear the kids cry and wants to go and get them. I had to stop him a few times, and remind him this is for their own benefit.

Monday at home

Saturday was a very inspirational day for me. I realized I eat fairly well, but still, there is lots of room for improvement. I need to make some changes and I should be in good shape. Eating breakfast is one of those changes I really need to implement. I'm just not hungry in the mornings. I'll have coffeee and that's all I need to get going. I try to keep granola bars at my desk to eat midmorning, but I feel I need something of "substance" to start off the days.

The walk was hard, at least for me. I guess because I got started late (was the last one), but the first 10 min were difficult. I wanted to quit, in all honesty . Thankfully I wasn't out there alone, and watching everyone else coming back, and smiling helped me keep going. By the time I finished, I was enjoying the day.

Yesterday, I did Pilates for my XT. I want to start doing weights but Sundays are crazy at my house. I spent the day cooking, and doing laundry, and finally got to XT when everyone was in bed.

In sickness and in health

As I was leaving work yesterday, my husband called that he wasn't feeling well. He thought he may have the flu. Not good. I picked up everyone and headed home, and found him in bed. He was running a fever, but nothing too drastic. He stayed in bed, and I tended to the children. Needless to say, I didn't make it to the gym. I didn't think it was the flu, but he was convinced he was going to get it

He is doing better. Turns out it wasn't the flu as he suspected; but rather a cold bug. He is up and about, which is great news because otherwise, I would have had to banish him to his shop (can't afford to have the flu around my house). LOL

Not a good week for my training but sometimes life gets in the way. We can't change it, just move on. so I'm moving on. Looking forward to tomorrow morning.
TGIF

Brrrr!

I cannot believe how cold it is! This is the south, it shouldn't be this cold! I'm sure I'll be craving this weather come August, but right now, I want at least temperatures in the 50s.

I broke my date with the elliptical machine. But I did XT. I did Pilates instead. I'm sore all over this morning, but it was really good to stretch.
I'll probably go to the gym and get on the treadmill tonight because it is just too cold to be outside. Yes, I know, it's not the same. BUT the thought of walking in the cold does not appeal to me right now. So I'm taking the easier route today.

My daughter has a soccer game Saturday. Trying to figure out how we are going to do this. Usually one of us takes her, the other stays home with the boys. With my family all gone to the funeral, we are short on babysitters. I may bring her with me (since the game is at 11:30), but I'm not sure what to do with her while we are out walking. Maybe I can convince her to hop on the stroller, but I'm thinking her legs may be too long for a stroller.
We'll figure it out before Saturday.

Stay warm everyone!!

Hump Day

well, I got my "flat tire" (as Mark put it) yesterday. Not entirely my fault. My husband's grandmother was in town (she lives in Anguila) so I took the kids to see her on our way home. We visited with her, and by the time I got home, bathed the kids, fed them, and put everyone in bed it was time for me to get in the bed.
Tonight is XT, so I have a date with the elliptical machine. Hopefully I can make it for 30 min. I'm guessing I won't be walking outside tomorrow morning, it is so COLD!! Where is the snow? If it's going to be this cold, there should be snow on the ground!

The boys did better last night. Woke up once, around 11 PM. I'll take it. Hopefully they'll do better tonight. One day at the time, right? I've been chanting that phrase from the moment the twins were born. When things get overwhelming, I remind myself that tomorrow is another day, and things will get better. so far, it has worked.

I need to go buy more layers because I'm planning on being bundled up Saturday. I saw some runners today, when I went out for lunch and they were wearing SHORTS!!!! how on earth???

I need to get some more gloves, and a hoodie or something. how about a ski mask? hat, jacket, thermal undies. LOL If I'm going to be outside, I want to be prepared. I hope it's not this cold in Chicago in October. But I guess with the excitement and adrenaline flowing, not to mention all the people there, it's probably hard to notice.

Another day full of blessings

It's amazing how many blessings we receive on a daily basis and we just don't have time to notice. I do my best to thank God every morning for his blessings, but many times I just don't pay attention. so today, I'm going to say thanks for this new day, for my family, my friends, for having the ability of training for this marathon.

I went to the gym last night. 35 min. on the treadmill, 5 minutes on the elliptical (doing the backwards thing). I attempted to run, but was not very successful. first of all, I'm scared I'm going to fall off the treadmill, and I also need to go find one of those handy-dandy sports bras. So that's next on my list.

My twins have decided they don't want me training in the morning. They were up last night one too many times. Are they ever going to sleep thru the night? They have done it a few times, so I know they are capable of doing it. But they refuse to continue. One has an excuse, his teeth; the other has no excuse. LOL I was up 4 times last night, last time was 4:30. I managed to (literally) roll myself out of bed at 6 and get everyone ready for school/daycare.
Mark/Robin, will they ever sleep thru the night at the same time? I need tips/help/anything you got! We tried cereal in the bottle, cereal with a spoon, cereal with a bottle and with the spoon. Nothing. They may sleep one night, then won't sleep thru the night again for a week or so. The circles under my eyes are beginning to rival those of a racoon. LOL

I need to get one of those iPod thingies, because I think it will help me go longer. 40 min is way too long when you are watching Bill O'Reilly on TV at the gym. LOL plus, I rather train outside, and I'll need the music to get me going.

a day of mourning

Today was my grandfather's funeral. Really sad about not being able to go, but I also know that he would have told me to stay here and take care of my kids.

I went to Mass at lunch. I walked there, I love being downtown because I can go to St. Peter's Cathedral without having to drive. But I think from now on, I'm bringing my running shoes with me. The walk isn't that far (I'm across from the fed. bldg; the cathedral on West and Amite) but the boots I had on (with heels) are not made for walking (isn't that a country song?).

Still, it was gorgeous outside. I have to get out and do my 40 min this afternoon. I hope the rain waits until after I get it done. I really, really want to do more of my walking on the road rather than the treadmill. I can feel more when I do it outside and for some reason, my feet don't hurt when I walk on the road. umm, strange.

Of teething and other tales

One of the boys is teething. He has been whining, and just upset all weekend. The other one is not far behind, I'm sure, at the moment he is providing moral support to his brother. LOL So that basically means one is awake crying, and the other wakes up because, well, why not. I'm not sure how long we slept last night, but I can assure you it wasn't enough.

I didn't get my XT yesterday. For some reason, Sundays are very hard for me. I went to church, and spent most of the day trying to get some laundry done, and dealing with all 3 of the kids. That was it. I wanted a nap, but that was just wishful thinking on my part.

Thanks everyone for the prayers. The funeral is today, and I am not going to make it. I've decided not to go right now. Instead, I may plan a trip for my daughter and I after the school year ends. I know Abuelo would have understood, so I'm ok with my decision.

I was planning on getting up early today and get my walking in before work, but since I hardly slept last night, it'll have to wait until this afternoon. Hopefully I can do it before the rain arrives.

2 weeks already

It's been 2 weeks since we started. Wow. I felt really good during this morning's walk. My legs felt really strong, and I felt great afterwards. I hadn't walked since Wed. I have a cold and took Thurs off to rest and try to make it go away. It's still lingering, but it felt good to get outside this morning.

I found someone from Crystal Springs (Nancy, hi) so hopefully we can get together sometimes. My mother in law lives there and it's just 10 min drive for me.

Thanks everyone for your prayers for our family. My grandfather (Abuelo, as we called him) passed away this morning. The dr. had prepared us for this, he had extensively talked to our family about what had happened and how things were looking.

He lived 94 yrs, and always said he had lived his life with no regrets. He helped anyone he could, had a very generous heart, and he taught us the importance of family. He was a proud man, a hard worker, and a man of his word. He leaves all of us with a legacy of love. He leaves behind his wife of almost 65 yrs (their anniversary was 2/18), 3 daughters, one son, and many, many grandkids, and great grandkids. He was preceded by all his siblings, one son, and one grandson.

He was a great man, and we will miss him very much. But he will go on forever in the hearts of all of us who were blessed to know him.

My daughter Candace had the chance to meet him a few years back. Even though she wasn't around him as often as we would like, she knew him from the stories we told her of this man. She is at a friend's house today, and my friend was telling me she overheard Candace telling her daughter about her Abuelo being sick and in the hospital.

That's how great this man was, that even his 5 yr old great grandaughter, thousand miles away, was praying for him and talking about him.

I'm now left to decide if I am going to go or not. With work, and the twins, it's very hard for me to just pick up and go. So I'm just praying right now that God will help me make this decision. Abuelo knew I loved him so I'm at peace knowing he knew.

Wednesday

Thanks everyone for your prayers for my grandfather. I really appreciate it. Right now, I'm planning on leaving next week, so I'll be at the meeting
Saturday. I'll have to get my schedule for the next two weeks, as I'm planning on training while there. I'm going to need tips on training in the heat. This is the hot season down in Panama and it's going to HOT.

Instead of XT today, I walked (since I missed yesterday). Got 40 min on the treadmill, and that was less than 2 miles. I'm trying to ignore the distance during the week and focus on the amount of time I'm exercising but I can't help but wonder, am I going to make it 26.2 miles?

The owner of the gym (Amy Keywood) assured me I will make it. She said MM (Mark, Robin and Matt) are the best when it comes to helping people to achieve this goal. That's awesome to hear.
So tomorrow I'll walk again, and take Friday off. I'm looking forward to Sat's walk.

Steel toe boots

I had to go to Poplarville yesterday for work. Part of my lovely work attire includes steel toe boots. These boots weigh about 5 lbs each. not comfortable. I spent most of the day outside, with a headache because my sinus are acting up. By the time I got home, I had only energy left to bathe/feed the kids and ended up crashing early.
So no exercise for me yesterday. The boots hurt my feet too. I wonder if the pain is something I can "walk off". I'm planning on walking today instead of XT.

Nothing new on my grandfather's health. My mother left today, along with my oldest sister. As hard as it is for us to lose him, I just pray that God will give us the strength to let him go, if that's His will. He has lived 94 yrs, and had a good life.

Monday- week 2

Thank you Cathy, Vickie, and everyone else for your prayers. I spent quite a bit of time today finding out how much airfare is, and trying to find the best deal. I managed to do some cleaning, and more importantly, I got out there and walked!
I walked for 30 min, my neighborhood has a lot of hills (like Belhaven). It was gorgeous outside, so I ventured out. Ran into a few dogs (why do people let their dogs chase people? that's just plain mean!) but overall I had a great walk. I did a lot of thinking and enjoyed listening to the birds.
My grandfather is very much an outdoor person. He loves being outside, walking, taking care of his animals, or just sitting and enjoying the fresh air. I think his love for nature and the fact he has been active all his life contributed to his long life. He turned 94 last July, and until now, has been in good health, and his mind is intact! He has been a blessing to our family.

XT day

Unless carrying around 2- 18lb babies counts as crosstraining, I didn't get any yesterday.
Something I ate didn't sit well with me, and to top things off, my sinuses were acting up. So the most exercise I got was from chasing my 2 crawling children all over the house, making sure they didn't get in trouble.

I'm off from work today, so I'm going to clean up some and then go out for a walk.

Please keep our family in your prayers. My grandfather had a stroke last night and he is in a comma. He lives in Panama, so we are getting ready to go down there and be with the rest of our family. I will take my schedule with me so I can get my training done. It is beautiful where my grandparents live, so walking outside will be good for the soul too. Plus, my grandfather wouldn't want me to quit.

A week already???

Hard to believe it's been a week since the first meeting. wow. I managed to keep up with the training all week, which is great considering I need about 26 hrs in the day to get it all done.
I could not believe how many people were there this morning. wow. just amazing. Happy to get a door prize for having 2 kids under 1 yr old, who knew that having twins would get me a nice sports watch?
I have to say I couldn't do this without the support of my husband. Having 3 kids and working full time is quite demanding on both of us. Now he is doing more than his share to allow me time to train for this marathon. Thank God for him!
The walk this morning was more challenging than I expected. I really need to do my walking outside instead of a treadmill. I wasn't quite ready for the hills. So my goal for next week is to do all my walking outside.
I have to get more "technical" clothing for sure, but for now I think what I have will work.
The next few weeks are going to be crazy busy, so I'm going to do my walking in the morning, very early. I hope the twins sleep to the night so it won't be so hard to get up at 5 AM.

TGIF

I'm so glad it's Friday. It seems like this week flew by, maybe because I was way too busy. I don't know.
I walked for 40 min yesterday, on the treadmill. I walked at a faster pace than last time, and on a bit of an incline. The first 10 min were hard, I was sore from the elliptical machine and my legs just didn't want to go. After the first 10 min it got easier, and when I got to 40 min I was feeling really good! But it was time to go home and tend to my husband and kids, so I stopped.
I'm ready for the weather to warm up so I can get out on the road. The gym is ok but it's not the same as being outside. I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow, this is going to be fun!

Anyone near me?

It would be awesome to have a training partner for the daily runs. So if anyone lives close by (Crystal Springs, Wesson, Hazlehurst) and you want a training partner, I'm your gal!

I got shoes!!!

I'm now the proud owner of my first pair of running shoes! The most expensive pair of shoes I own too. I guess that speaks to my commitment to this marathon, believe me, I'm quite frugal. The shoes feels so good, I wanted to wear them back to the office, except they don't really go well with a suit. I still have a few more things I saw that I want to buy, so I'll be going back some other time.
I've been telling everyone about doing the marathon, I guess the more people that know, the more people there are to hold me accountable, right? I still get the "are you crazy?" look. kind of the same look I got when I told people I was a chemical engineer.

Thursday

I think I may need to reconsider my choice of exercise for X training day. I got on the elliptical, and I am sore all over! I guess that's a good sign (that I'm getting good exercise) but I'm moving on slow motion today.
I need to get my shoes today because my old shoes are, well, old and I think their expiration date is long past due.
I've been reading along the blogs, and wondering if I should be attempting to run. I see that some people are running, where you runners already? I don't want to overdo it because my goal is to make it to Chicago, so I'm wondering if I missed something. I'd like to walk/jog the marathon but right now, I'm just walking.
I'm also wondering if you are allowed to have iPods during the marathon. I don't want to get used to running with one and then not be able to use it for the actual run.