Spring Breakers at Work

Other than having a great weekend trip to Nebraska to see Chad's family, the boys and I have been having a stacation spring break at home.

I completed my 12 mile long run last week on Wednesday and then ran another 7 miles over the weekend while in Nebraska. After taking a 3 mile hike with the kids on Monday while our good friends the Ingram's were moving to town, I decided it was time to let a few injuries heal up this week.

This is hard for me to do, however I know if I don't they will just continue to nag at me until my race on the 28th.

But that doesn't mean the boys and I haven't been active so far this week! Yesterday and today we have been working hard in the yard clearing off flowerbeds and hauling away a massive amount of leaves.

The sad part is, that this giant load is only from the first three quarters of our front yard....ugh.

But the dreary cold and wet weather didn't get us down and we cleared most of the leaves in the front yard today. The boys have been a huge help and we will now move on to the backyard tomorrow. We are spring break backyard warriors

Running update

Today I completed my last long run before I begin to taper for my upcoming half marathon at the end of the month.

12 miles in full sun and 70 degrees was....interesting. It doesn't sound that warm until you factor in that all my other runs have been in temperatures 30 to 40 degrees cooler.

The last 4 miles were slow and a struggle to complete, but it is finished.

I am still struggling with how slow my pace is after taking so much time off around the holidays.

My goal will be to just run this next half with no walking and not get too down on myself about my slower time/pace. I keep reminding myself that just running 12 miles is true test of mental toughness and perseverance. 18 days until my 9th half marathon!

140 Miles

I ended February with a 3 mile run today. This brings my month'so running mileage to 74 miles.

And over 140 miles so far in 2015! I've still felt slow overall in my running. But today I finally ran a tempo run under a 9:30 minute mile pace.

One month until my 9th Half Marathon!

The boys and I got out in the weather winter and had an awesome time at the last KSU Men's home game and a great last second win by the Cats!

Front

I experienced one crazy run Wednesday this week!  With a friend from school (and running buddy,) We decided it would be a good option to try and complete a long run mid-week with the projected forecast/snow fall for the weekend.  I needed to run 11 miles and this looked to be the best day to attempt the run.

I learned once again that the best of plans can always be hampered by mother nature.  A cold front that was set to move through the area in the evening was in Manhattan  much sooner.  What we were hoping would be a pleasant run in 50 degrees turned into a bipolar weather meltdown. 

I accomplished only 6.5 of the 11 miles I needed to run.  But these 6 miles easily felt like 12.  We ran in 30 mph north winds.  In addition it rained, sleeted, iced and finally snowed on us.  Since there was no signs of precipitation before our run, I had no gloves or any kind of hat or ear protection on at all.  I was dripping wet, wind blown and freezing cold by the time I finally waved the white flag and headed inside. 

While I was frustrated that I did not finish my 11 mile run, Kim and I both felt proud that we toughed out those 6 (that felt like 12) miles in the craziest weather conditions I have ran in since my first trip to the OKC Half Marathon in 2011.

I also included pictures of our latest bowling outing when we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Bunger a few weeks. ago.  I realize they don't really fit with my post....but I don't like posting without pictures and they are too fun not to make the blog. :)

2 Halfs and Hardware

This week I bit the bullet and registered for the Wicked Half Marathon in Wamego, KS on March 28th.  That makes 2, count them 2 half marathons for the spring of 2015. 

I haven't taken on this task since 2011 and I wasn't looking two necessarily run to 13.1 mile races within this time frame again...I guess I have made this my goal for the year. :)  Originally, I had started training for this March race to just get back in shape and motivated to run again.  Then when they announced the Bill Snyder Half Marathon, I instantly knew I must be a part of this race as well.  However, that race isn't until late May and I was already well into training....so now I am running half marathon numbers 9 and 10 by the end of May.

And when you are as big of a KSU fan as I have always been, and I can sit through some tough KSU basketball games (like last week) and still be a fan.....of course I am not going to turn down the first Bill Snyder Half Marathon just because I am already running another race in March. 

And now on to hardware....this week Mitchell was fitted for his palate expansion device which also came with some top braces.  As always, he is one tough guy and didn't complain at all about this new addition.

So here is the shot with the device in (most of which is on the roof of his mouth so you can't see it).  I'll be sure to post a picture when this stage of orthodontist is complete.  And yes, I say this stage because we know there will be other stages of more orthodontic work to come.  .  So expensive.  But also we know it will very much be worth it for him in the end.

Moves

Last night was Mitchell's 4th Grade Music Program at school.  In this program they incorporated traditional dances from around the world.

They even did some square dancing which totally brought back  memories of my elementary music days as a student.  Who didn't love the square dancing unit when they were a kid?!  Maybe that is why I became a Jazzercise Instructor later on in life....

Mitchell and the whole class did so well! It was a great performance and at the end, even Collin and I were brought out on the dance floor for the last number. 

No dance moves for me today, but I did accomplish my 8 mile run with the help of my running buddies Kim and Kenna...thanks ladies!

68

I ran 68 miles in January!  This is almost 3 times as many miles as I ran in December and the most miles I have ran in one month since last spring.

It was a cold and dreary weekend so we started our Saturday at the KSU Union with some morning bowling.

We were the first bowlers of the day and had some family fun and goofy times together.  I love these weekends where we don't have to run to a practice/game/activity.  Just being a family and having fun together without other commitments or distractions is not only a good time for building memories, I think it is something every family needs.

We were also very proud of Mitchell who qualified and competed in his school spelling bee this week!

If possible, I am going to continue to try and complete all my long run's for each week on Friday after school.  Trying to set aside the time to get ready, run and recover from anything over 8 miles seems to dominate my Saturday and I don't want to miss moments like the ones above or below. :)

Speaking of 8 miles...that will be my next distance for a long run this week!  I still have not registered for the March 28th half marathon in Wamego.  Maybe after I complete this run, I will feel more confident in committing to this race.  Time will tell!