setbacks and milestones....

well its been a busy past few weeks full of adventure, milestones and setbacks.
*EDIT*
I became a great-aunt last night!!!!
this is my first great nephew, and his name is Hans Lucas Christian Beck (my father's name is HansDieter Christian)
I also have two great-nieces who are tickled pink about this little baby!
: )
*******
ok, now first the milestones:
All the kids started school this fall.....



 First day of Kindergarten and 4th grade!!!





First time waiting for and riding the school bus

 First day of middle school!



First day of pre school!





First time sitting at his own desk and play area


I tell you, as a parent, it never gets easier on the first day of kindergarten or preschool, no matter how many children you have. It was hard watching my 3rd born child,my baby girl climb on that big school bus with her sister. I was a nervous wreck all day but THANKFULLY she has the best teacher ever and I received text messages from her throughout the day to let me know how m was doing in class!!
she ended up having the best day, but did have a melt down at the end of the week due to being tired. her school starts at 7am instead of 9 am like the preschool she went too.
shes getting used to the routine now so its better.
AND wow, my baby boy started preschool!!!! another milestone moment. I held it together as I left the school and I KNOW I will be a complete basket case when he starts kindergarten,lol!
Don't get me started on my oldest baby. he started middle school. middle school!!!!
I think one of the hardest parts about being a parent is not being able to protect your kids from everything yet knowing that life experiences help develop who they are. I was bullied quite a bit throughout my school years and I know that middle school and high school can be rough. Having to adjust to a new school, new schedules, lockers, cool kids vs uncool kids, cliques, and hormones can all be pretty crazy. I have made it a point to speak to my kids about bullies and being bullied, to teach them what they can do if they ever face it. (lets just say that if they ever get in fight at school they will NOT get in trouble at home as long as it wasn't them who started the fight). I just hope that all of my children have the guts to stand up for themselves and also stand up for those who aren't able to do so for themselves......

AND now I am faced with another first-
for the first time in 5 years I have been child free for four hours during the day..
what am I going to do with all this "free" time?
well I was planning getting back in the gym, declutter the house and get back in the groove of running again. still planning on that but not immediately.
 Almost 2 weeks ago I developed an infection after a fairly non evasive out patient procedure. what was supposed to take 24-48 hours to recuperate ended up taking almost 2 weeks. after 10 days of some heavy duty antibiotics, I am finally feeling somewhat human again today and will try to start back running again tomorrow.
setbacks:
I am already a week behind in half marathon training!!!!!
I have a lofty goal of seeing 1:35 but truth be told, I will be happy with anything in the 1:30 range. 1:39:59 would even be great!
: )
Heres hoping I bounce back quick and regain some speed!
I have a few 5ks planned for September as well as a 10k.
cooler temps are coming and I want to see some faster times this fall/winter!!!


Happy Monday!

wednesday track

I haven't ran shorter distances for a workout in a long time.
24x200's  faster than race pace were on the agenda, but they were broken up into 3 sets of 8.
30 seconds rest after each 200 with 3 minutes rest after each set.
the run down of the sets
set 1
47,48,48,47,50,46,50,48
set 2
49,47,48,45,47,45,47,46
set 3
46,43,47,45,48,47,46,44


I averaged around a 1:30-1:35 per 400  and give or take a few seconds, my mile splits ended up being
6:34, 6:24 and 6:16- (times I haven't seen in while!)


while I enjoyed the shorter distances as it seemed easier to mentally process, I found the workout looked easier on paper.


I think the short rest between 200's really sucked, but I know it helps me practice running when I am already fatigued. I know this type of training will be beneficial when fall gets here.


the other good part about Wednesday track is that there were a couple of new runners to show up. I am actually starting to make some friends in the running community which is always awesome. I cant believe it took me this long to find a group,but am so glad I stepped out of my comfort zoned and found them
: )
: )

Luagh out Loud Tuesday

Chris Farley was awesome.
This clip below had my husband and I cracking up last night, it was a much needed laugh!


click HERE to watch


or watch below

This is how I feel during prep when my kids want my sweet potatos!,lol!!!!!
What made you laugh today?
Please share!!!!!

In Loving Memory.....

On August 7,2015 our sweet 14yr old beagle/terrier mix, Kenosha passed away.
We knew she had been slowing down faster than what we were with comfortable with, and yesterday we had to make the call to end her suffering.
It was a sad day....
But Kenosha lived a long,full good life, better than most.
She was born in the foot hills of TN, she ran the mountains of NC, she hunted in the country sides of TN, she survived the cold and plains of IN, enjoyed the city life in VA and spent her last full year as a Carolina east coast pup,close to the coast and loved to chase lizards and ducks.




She was my husbands and I first baby before we had human babies, and once the children started coming along Kenosha knew they were part of her pack and would give her life to protect her clan. She was fiercely protective of our family,and made sure to let her presence be known. Even though she was a small dog, she thought she big and bad.




Her second favorite place in the house was under the high chair,where she learned to enjoy any and every table scrap that dropped from above. (Vegetables and meatsticks were her among her favs).
Her all time favorite place to be though, aside from outdoors hunting for whatever she could catch, was curled up close to her humans.

 Yes, she had a good life, and she will be greatly missed. The loss has been hard on our family, especially the children, as she was truly a family member. But what is reassuring is that we know she isn't suffering anymore and we will see her on the other side one day. After all, All Dogs Go To Heaven....

Beer Pressure

So I never heard this term until my friend amy (http://thetinyterror.com/ ) mentioned it. No worries I didn't sign up for an ultra, full marathon or Iron Man (just yet!). But I totally get how runners get sucked  into signing up for more races
: )
After Wednesday track night most of us went to a local pub for some "recovery drinks". While I am not a drinker, I did have a nice fruity bahama mamma which was totally deserved after the wonderfully craptastic rough week I've had. Add in a grilled cheese and I started to feel a touch better. Thank you Amy for the drink recommendation btw!

Now into the track workout:
8x400 at 5k pace with 200 jogs in between. While the jogs were supposed to be about a minute over 5k pace, I totally jogged really slow in between ( like 9-11 min mile pace)
But the 400's weren't bad given the heat and humidity
1:45,1:40,1:42,1:41,
The second half I lost my steam
1:44,1:46, 1:47,1:46
Not the greatest but I felt better than I did during last weeks workout. It was a doozy but really good to help build a sense a pacing.
Let's just say I pretty much sucked at doing the workout how it was intended, but at least I was practicing turnover.
The workout was basically 5x 1200 with the first 400 at 5k pace and then going into the 800 at 10k pace....
I ended up running the 800 at about the same pace as the 400.

1:43/3:36
1:42/3:37
1:47/3:42
Then the last 2 I felt like it was a death march
1:55/3:47
1:59/3:55
 But I survived and am actually looking forward to doing this workout again next month. I want to see how much I can improve
: )

Now onto other news,
The stars aren't lining up to compete on the pro stage in September. I won't be on stage again until I feel certain my physique will be in the best conditioning ever. SO maybe a November show or april of next year to compete again. Even though my mind is ready,It wont happen until my body is more than ready. I want to step on stage and look like I belong there! ( and oh yeah to WIN!)
 In the mean time I will be working on this conditioning.
 1/2 Marathon training starts up next month. I told myself I wouldn't sign up for another one unless I could be competitive.
Here's to a better upcoming week and to a happy, health training season on all fronts!