My Running Triangle

Last night I took our trusty old pup, Albus, for a run. It was one of those ideal summer nights - a little overcast without covering the tri-colored sunset, a gentle cool breeze, and both of the children were sound asleep so my husband could enjoy the quiet at home. I left the Garmin at home and we just went. We seemed to bound up the first hill (usually a killer), and fell into a comfortable pace immediately. I slowed to a walk a few times to make sure I wasn't over-exerting Albus (he is nearly 9 years old, after all), but each time he looked at me with a glimmer in his eye that said, "Come on, Mom. I may be old, but I've still got it. Let's GO!" It was summer running perfection for the both of us!

But after we got home I realized that while the run itself was great, I shouldn't get too excited about my running fitness just yet. My post-run stretch was a loud reminder from my body that while my strength and endurance are better than they've been in years, my flexibility is at a near all-time LOW.

Further reflection led me to a self-discovery: I've never been diligent about maintaining all THREE elements of my running (endurance, strength & flexibility) simultaneously. In my younger years I was a dancer - I had some endurance, but strength and flexibility outshined it. I discovered yoga shortly after running found me, thus giving me the great combo of endurance and flexibility. But when I integrated strength training into my workout mix last fall, the yoga slowly faded to make room for the weights. So, though my fitness triangle shifts regularly, I have yet to find the sweet spot where all the sides get equal attention!

Maybe this is a casualty of motherhood, or maybe it is because I've never had a formal plan to integrate all three elements effectively. Whatever it is, my plan is to work on it! I've been doing 3 days of weight training each week, but I think it is time to change the plan. I'll keep using the SaneFit strength training workouts, but I'll knock it down to 2 days of weights to welcome at least one day of yoga practice/week back into my life. The running can stay the same at 3-4 times/week. For now. I'm interested to see if increased flexibility will help me as I get rolling with my longer runs.

How about YOU? Do you find that you go through phases where one element of your workouts take over and you neglect other aspects? How do you keep things balanced in your fitness life?

Starting the last week of school with a Thankful Heart

The kids are down & out with the double whammy of environmental allergies & croup, but that doesn't mean there aren't things for which to be thankful! As this last week of school gets going (well, it will get going for us on Wednesday when he's not contagious anymore), I am thankful for:

1. The wonderful educational foundation my son has received in his two years of Montessori preschool. Wouldn't trade it for anything and I look forward to my daughter enjoying her years there when it is her turn.

2. The friends I've made through my son's school. At least two of them have joined me for runs, so you know they are amazing women (even the non-runners are great)! Yes, parents can make friends at school, too.

3. My 25:51 PR at the Duvall Days 5K on June 6th (and placing 14th out of 220 women)! Thanks to the combination of group runs, Sane Fitness strength training, and a little "kick in the pants" from my husband (more like a dare, really), I discovered that YES, this body can go a bit faster and actually enjoys the challenge. Think I can break 25:00 by the end of summer? Hmmm . . .

4. The promise of the lazy days of summer. Our family calendar is filling quickly with camping/hiking/music filled adventures. In fact, last weekend we managed to ride 2 ferries, visit 2 State Parks and I still got in my Saturday morning run. As my son says, "This summer I want to spend A LOT of time outside. Outside, outside, outside." Done!

5. The honor of being the author of a successful book. I'll write more about this later in the week, but in these days of struggle for the book publishing world, I'm thankful for the readers who spread the word about We Are Girls Who Love to Run and encourage others to make it part of their treasured book collection. For an independent publishing company with a minuscule budget, Balanced Steps is really having a positive impact on young readers and their families!

Wishing you health, sunshine and happy running!

And the winner is . . .

*Drum roll . . . . *

#9 . . . Girl on Top, a fellow runner.

Here are some photos of the drawing so you can see that it was fair! Each entry got a number, I put the numbers in my yellow running hat and my husband took a break from his Wii game to do the honors of an unbiased number pull.

Girl, send me an email with your address and I get the deck right to you (I do my final Week 6 workout on Sunday, just in time to send you the cards on Monday)!

Thanks to the 11 folks who left a comment to be considered for the Sane Fitness card deck. I know some of you are interested in getting a set of these for yourself, so click on over to the Sane Fit site and take advantage of their Mother's Day special! If you are a local and want to see the cards, let me know before Monday and we can meet up.

Hopefully I'll have something similar to review and giveaway soon. Stay tuned . . . and happy running (and strength training)!

Last Chance!

Get your comments in NOW for a chance to win the Sane Fitness cards I've been glowing about for 6 weeks. Tomorrow at 9PM EST I'll be drawing the name of the winner!! Please post your entry on the original post to be considered (though comments here are always welcome, too, they just won't help you win!). If you don't win them, there's still time to get free shipping for Mother's Day on the Sane Fitness website.

Today I'm keeping it simple with an easy update:

Running: 2 laps (roughly 5K) around Lake Tye in Monroe, pushing Little Sister (with a break to play at the playground with her!). Gearing up for the John Wilt Memorial 5K on May 9th.

Reading: Three Cups of Tea now . . . Artemis Fowl is next in line (Pavement Runner got me curious about Artemis Fowl).

Gardening: Bought 3 rose bushes to plant in the front yard along our new brick wall (photos to come when bushes are in the ground!)

Kids: Sound asleep after nearly 4 hours of outside time. I love spring!

Happy running, reading and playing!! Now go cast your entry for those cards!

Giveaway Reminder!

Next week is my 6th and final week of the Sane Fitness Quick Start Fitness Deck that I reviewed a few weeks ago. As promised, I'll be drawing a winner for the deck on April 30th - which isn't long from now!

So far, I'm sticking with my rave review. Since I started the program 5 weeks ago, here's what I've noticed:

1. My outer thighs are more toned now than they've been in years, which in addition to the vanity boost, also makes hill running easier. LOVE that! And now that I look back at the photos from the start of the program, I notice my arms are more sculpted now, too. Bring on summer!

2. My body fat percentage has dropped, which somehow manifests in a more slender face for me. This is only accentuated by my longer hair - but it is fun to see photos of me with short hair and fuller cheeks compared to me now with long, straight hair and a thinner face.

3. I returned to yoga this morning (thanks for watching the kids, Mom & Dad!!!) and found that although it has been a few months since my steady yoga practice, my body was still able to do a challenging Vinyasa session heavy with push-ups and core work. There's no way I would have come out feeling as good as I did without the strength training during my yoga hiatus!

4. I feel empowered by my increased stamina and strength and find myself facing new challenges. For example, I moved 75 landscaping bricks with my dad BOTH into and out of a van without batting an eye. This is a gift from the cardio work with running and the strength from lifting. I am sure I wouldn't have proposed the idea of building the brick wall (without my husband around) last year when strength training wasn't part of my workout routine. But this year more things seem possible. (Shhhhhh, don't tell my husband. The finished wall is a surprise when he returns home from a work trip tomorrow!)!

5. My kids like having a strong mama (well, I already knew that, but now it shows even more because they leave me alone without complaint so I can finish!).

Like the sound of those results? Click on over to my original post to be tossed into the running for the cards! Maybe YOU could be the lucky winner. As of today there are only 8 entries, so the chances of winning are quite good. Don't be shy!

And as always, happy running!

Starting with a Thankful Spring Heart

It took a few weeks, but I think Mother Nature finally caught on that this is April and the appropriate season is SPRING. In celebration of the wonderful stretch of days we've had over the past week, I'm posting my "Starting with a Thankful Heart" entry a few hours early.

As I get ready to face this new week, my heart is full of sunshine. I am thankful for:

1. The 11 mile training run my friend Kajsa did today. No, I didn't go with her, but her daughter played with my kids in the yard while she hit the trail and her husband weeded the front garden beds for her. Hooray for her!

2. The countless hours of gardening we enjoyed this week/weekend. There's nothing quite like wheeling around loads of soil, sifting it, collecting rocks, chasing kids in the yard, planting new trees, pulling weeds, raking, and breathing wonderful fresh air all the while. And, NO, I'm not usually a gardening gal, it was just that good.

3. Homemade worm farms (constructed enthusiastically by three children - ages 4, 3 and 2). Priceless.

4. The season's first sunburns that remind us that YES sunscreen is important. I have it out and ready to incorporate into our daily routines.

5. A full visit with my mother-in-law. We had a great time doing a little bit of everything and the kids have many great memories to hold them over until we're able to see her again.

6. The flexibility of casting aside a run to enjoy all of the above.

I did get in 3 runs during the week as part of my SaneFitness workouts (I start Week 5 of the program tomorrow - it IS great!), but no longer runs this weekend as I initially planned. But I realize that I am more balanced this evening because I chose the yard work over a run (my husband did offer me the chance to get away for a run, but I turned him down).

As for tomorrow? I run! But not as far as those Boston Marathoners. I wish them - AND YOU! - happy running.

Starting with a Thankful Heart (in the Sunshine!)

The last two days have been absolutely beautiful: blue skies, a lemon-drop of a sun radiating its warmth down to us, a gentle breeze that ruffles your hair but won't knock our trees down onto the neighbor's house. Good stuff.

With this new weather comes renewed energy and an increasingly positive outlook on things. Today I am thankful for much, especially:

1. My grandma and uncle are in town visiting. I love that we get to have 4 generations of family together for the week, especially this year when Little Sister is TRULY interacting with my grandma by singing her songs and telling her whatever is on her mind. After being around my two kiddos this afternoon, my grandma is amazed that once upon a time she chased after three small boys all day. "This is why young people have children!" she declared.

2. Yesterday we went on a family hike at Wallace Falls State Park (this gal got some great shots there!). Mr. Music hiked the entire 1.9 miles up to the lower falls and thanks to the distraction of the question "What superhero would YOU be?" he made it all the way back down to the car without a meltdown! It really is QUITE a hike. But knowing that he can do that one opens up all kinds of great hiking adventures for us this spring and summer. Just thinking about the possibilities makes me smile. And the cross-training of a hike was good for this runner's legs.

3. Little Sister is big enough to entertain herself (mostly) in the backyard while we do yard work. We spent all of yesterday afternoon and early evening puttering around the yard. We adults were moving the vegetable garden and getting the outdoor play toys cleaned up while the kiddos played in the grass and occasionally lent a hand. Last year I was on chaos-prevention detail chasing Little Sister around to keep her out of harm's way, which was fine. BUT this year I get to DO things in the yard, which is much better!

4. Since increasing my mileage and being a bit more hard core with my weight lifting workouts, I'm really noticing a difference in how my clothes fit and how strong I feel throughout the day. Be sure to read my review about the SaneFit card deck to see how you can win the card deck and see some great results in your fitness, too! Remember, you have until the 30th to post a response.

5. We've had 2 days in a row with morning-to-night blue skies and sunshine. Tomorrow promises to be the same. Bet you can guess where I'll be most of the day - OUTSIDE!!

Have a wonderful week, Dear Readers! I hope the sun reaches you this week, too.

It is in the Cards: Review of the Sane Fitness QuickStart Card Deck by Beverley Caen

You know me, I'm a girl who loves to run. I didn't write the date of my first run on a calendar, so I can't celebrate the exact date that running found me, but I do know it was March/April-ish of 2003. That means I've been running for 6 years now.

Even though I've read just about ever Runner's World printed since May 2003 and have read countless books about running training (I spy 5 on my bookshelf without even straining to read titles from across the room), it wasn't until Fall 2008 that I added a regular strength training element to my workouts. Yoga, yes, but weights, no. I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes.

I've been following a balance ball workout since last fall that I have really enjoyed (and have seen amazing results!). I'm sold. Strength training is now an essential part of my life. But now, nearly 5 months later, I realize I am confident with using hand weights and a balance ball and that I'm ready to venture forth and mix up my routine a bit. Sort of like with running, if you do the same route over and over . . . you lose your interest in doing it.

Let me introduce you to my new found routine (designed to be completed in under an hour!):

The sane fitness (tm) QuickStart program

In a nutshell (or in a cute little box, as it is) the program is:
A 36 card deck with three sets of routines: A, B, & C

Each routine includes: 6 full-body weightlifting exercises, 2 abdominal exercises & 3 stretches

Each routine should be done after 20 minutes of cardio (I did 25-35 minutes to keep with my running plan - see the treadmill in the background)

The tag line reads, "Full Body Workouts That Won't Drive You Crazy" but I think it should read, "Full Body Workouts That Remind You of Muscles You've Neglected For Far Too Long".

I've only had the cards for a little over a week, but I can tell you that in the 3 workouts I've done (A, B and A again) I have WORKED! I'm sure that my quads will be better equipped to help me handle hilly runs now that the "Dumbbell Split Squat" exercise is part of my routine. I could still feel the burn 2 days later (climbing stairs about killed me!), but I sure do feel that this workout is making me stronger and look forward to my muscles adjusting to and enjoying this new workload.

The kit comes with a cardholder that allows you to clip the day's routine to you. At first I thought this was a bit silly, but then I realized how helpful it was to have the cards on me. While I workout my kids have their TV or movie time so they don't get into too much trouble while I'm occupied. The TV is in our workout space, so I'm right there with them and we can chat while I exercise, too. This also means that my daughter can come over and "help" me. When I'm using a book, this involves her turning the pages "for me". No so helpful, really. But with the cards secured to me on the cardholder, I won't really lose my place - SMART! The clip on the cardholder also allows me to have only the cards I need on me, so I'm not carrying around anything extra.

This would be a good thing to have with you at the gym. You really only need a few "props", but I found that I don't have all of the equipment at home (I have a few dumbbells, a balance ball and yoga mat and strap, but no body bar or weight bench). The cards do have modifications included for those of us without all of the equipment, though! And, www.sanefit.com does offer a sizable discount on a Gym Source home gym that can get you started. Can't complain about that!

Because I like my readers so much and I am excited about this product, I'm offering my deck to one lucky reader. No, I'm not ditching the deck because I don't like it - I'm downloading the sane fitness (tm) Next Level set directly from www.sanefit.com to keep rolling with the program!

Sane fitness (tm) also offers a Sane FitKit(tm) Complete program and a Sane Preggers FitKit(tm). Worth checking out!

To be entered into the drawing for the sane fitness (tm) QuickStart, simply leave a comment below about how fitness keeps you sane! And be sure to let me know how I can contact you if you are chosen.

The winner will be chosen on April 30th. US residents only for this, please.

*Special thanks to my husband who documented my sane fitness (tm) workout while riding his trainer in the opposite corner of our workout space! And thanks to our daughter who "helped" while decked out in her "'oga" shorts (though she refused to put on a shirt).

Starting with a Thankful Heart (and strong muscles!)

Here we are - Monday!

First of all, if you didn't already know it, this week is the HUGE 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party. Check out the site for all the juicy details on how you can win prizes and visit other bloggers with GIVEAWAYS! It ends on the 27th, so be sure to see how you can take part in the festivities while the party is in full swing.

And now . . . the wonderful things that make my heart thankful as we get our week started:

1. My daughter is nearly potty-trained! We've ditched the diapers during the daytime (and even on outings!). Of course this new adventure for her also includes a regular post-potty report - and, yes, she describes size and amount for us. Ah, to be 2!

2. I was chosen to review the "sane fitness (tm) QuickStart Full Body Workout That Won't Drive You Crazy" workout card deck. I tested the first day of the program yesterday (and hubby even took pictures for documentation!). I DO feel empowered after just one day and look forward to the next few workouts so I can report back to you soon with my review.

3. Mr. Music's second ear infection of the winter is just about gone, which is appropriate since it is now spring! He still has fluid causing pressure and discomfort, but the infection is gone. Whew!

4. We attended an auction for Mr. Music's school on Saturday night and "won" some great prizes. We've been talking about attending some professional sports games in the Seattle area since we moved here 4 years ago - and have only managed to get to two professional hockey games. But now, thanks to our winning bid on the Sports Enthusiasts Package, this year will be fun-filled with a Mariner's game (baseball), a Storm game (basketball), and a Seahawks game (football). We'll also be taking a kayaking class!

5. We were sad when we had to cancel our trip to see my husband's family in February because everyone under our roof was sick, but my mother-in-law just got tickets to come see us over Easter. The kids won't know until JUST before we get her from the airport, but just the thought of a fun visit puts a smile on my face and I know my husband is looking forward to seeing his mom, too!

Have a great week, everyone. And get on over to that Blog Party!!!