Here we are…. spring(or something)…. back from sunny FL and now in a winter mess in MN…. I came dangerously close to pulling out my patio furniture this weekend… thank God I got too busy otherwise I would be brushing snow off of it… snow… in April…. really?!

Anyways…. things have been interesting around here…. first I have my first anniversary of my 29th birthday at the end of March… yep thats right… I am no longer in my 20′s…. to be honest I didn’t think it would bug me but it did ever so slightly…. does that make me vain… maybe… but I am just being honest. 

Next- while training for my first marathon I developed an injury- piriformis syndrome and strained my gluteus medius (she also informed me I have a lazy gluteus maximus….a lazy ass? Lady- have you met me?) …. and as my husband can attest I do not do well on the DL…. so it has been a long couple weeks… I hadn’t been able to run and that makes me crazy…. no I am serious…. CRAZY! I have been biking but lets be honest… every runner doesn’t like biking…. and I am sure bikers don’t like running…. but I have been gritting my teeth through it. I was finally given the a-ok to run again last Friday and it has been a slow return but a return no less…. feeling pretty good- most of the injury healed with a good chiropractic adjustment which straightened out my hips and allowed my muscles to move back into their rightful places… oh and some good anti-inflammatories. Here’s hoping it doesn’t come back and I can continue getting ready for this marathon…. that I just might be running in the snow…. in June…..

Here we are… on the eve of a new year… 2013… and just like everyone else I think that the end of each year is a time to reflect, thank, question, and hope…. so let’s do it…

Reflect:

2012 was a great year for my family and I. Glen had an exciting and injury free year. Addie started “real school”- Kindergarten and is growing in God everyday. Lyla also started at a “real school” this year and is trying so hard to do everything her older sister can.. and sometimes can do it better. As for me… I started to take running more serious but also realized how fun it can be… I dropped time in almost every race… I ran races for amazing people and awesome causes, and I also started yoga and barre which have not only changed my body but also my life. Thanks to my crazy passion for running we started Fifteens 5k this year and it was an amazing success and raised over $18,000 for Cystic Fibrosis… we will be back in 2013 with some exciting new announcements (as if we can do any better than Mauer showing up last year ) stay tuned…… Jan.7 is the BIG announcement!

Thanks:

First and foremost I am thankful to a God that loves, forgives, encourages, supports, provides, challenges, and is sovereign. Second- I am thankful for this amazing family that God has blessed me with. My awesome husband, darling and healthy girls, amazing parents and brothers, and sweet “girlfriend in law” , and my kind in-laws. Third- my friends… I am not a person who needs a lot of friends and I take who I let close to me very seriously so I am thankful to those who stick with me and my craziness… and there are those few (and you know who you are) that are more than friends- they are like sisters and I love you to pieces. Fourth- I am thankful for health- Glen’s- as it pertains to baseball, mine with running, and the girls in general. We have been really blessed. And lastly for now- I am thankful for running- it has created an outlet for me and helped me to look inward as well in a way that nothing else has.

Questions:

So many things I wonder in the new year…

1. how long does it take to get used to these irritating contacts?

2. when do you know if you are done having kids? what does that feeling feel like?

3. should we get the kids a puppy?

4. has checking facebook and twitter just become a reflex? do I even care?

5. do the people that I love always know it?
 

And the list could go on and on….. hopefully I find some answers in 2013

Lastly… my Hope for 2013…

I hope to be able to run at least a mile everyday! watch me do it on twitter...

I hope to run a FULL marathon

I hope to let go of the worry

I hope to not care as much about what others think

I hope to spend more time with God

I hope that Glen has a banner year

I hope that my kids continue their walk in faith and grow as Gods children

I hope that Fifteens 5k is even more successful

I hope to encourage others to better their lives through running and other fitness.

I hope you all have a magical 2013~!

Distance: Didn’t run today- its my last day off for a year! I did however drag my mom and some friends to barre this morning

Song: I am obsessed with “scream and shout” by Will.i.am & Brittany

Quote: “We met for a reason- you are either a blessing or a lesson”

Glen and I were watching “Modern Family” the other night and Phil (who honestly reminds me of Glen) said about Claire (who is truthfully so much like me it is frightening!) that she need to run everyday or she goes crazy… she is his border collie…. And I had to laugh because I realized it was yet another way in which her and I are alike. I have come to realize that even on the days that I do not want to run I really should do it because otherwise I get stir crazy… I know it sounds nuts but I seriously feel on edge all day if I don’t…. weirdly enough it calms me…. which I sometimes cant even wrap my head around…. when did it go from a hated experience to a calming one?

I get asked a lot how to run… how do you start… how do you get past hating it…. and to be honest I wish I could give you a clear answer… or at least one that you would like to hear but I think honestly you just start anywhere… a half mile, mile, 2 miles, and slowly add on- add a quarter mile a week…. and do it even when you hate it- you never regret it after. And as far as getting from the point of hating it to the point where it is calming…. truly I think the runners high sets in after you cross mile 4-4.5… I feel like after that your mind goes numb and you body follows… it is hard to explain if you have not experiencd it but once you do it is hard to go back to running anything under 4 miles… you are constantly chasing that high…. and somewhere along the way I guess it calmed me and like Claire I could use a little calming everyday- I am wound pretty tight…. You just have to trust me on this… just maybe running can calm you too… lexapro be damned

Last weekend I ran the Monster Dash with my college roommate Annie- we had a blast- just visited the whole time- and even thought the picture says we did it in 1:24… our chip time was actually 1:22- so not too bad for 10 miles of visiting! Now my races have come to an end for 2012- next up is the commitment day 5k with my brother, then 13.1 Miami in March, followed by a half in Tennesse in April. I am not crazy enough to do many races in the winter in MN-so you can find me on my treadmill for the next couple months probably watching Gossip girl, Revenge, or Nashville

Distance: Hoping to do 10-11 miles this afternoon- I have some shows to catch up on

Song: I am loving “Some nights by Fun.”

Quote: “Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have”

Well…. here we are… a month later… talk about time flying by….I feel like we stepped onto a bullet train around here… summer was suddenly over and here we are entering into week 4 of school. Addie (above right) is now in Kindergarten which still makes me wince every time I think about it and Lyla (above left) is in what will probably be her last year of preschool…. again… wince…. So momma has been getting up everyday at 6:30am making Gluten Free lunches and homemade GF waffles…. yes my kiddos are spoiled!

That leads me to my next topic…. going Gluten Free…. aside from the whirlwind that is school we have also been dealing with some new information at out house. We are having the whole family food sensitivity tested after I have had so much success going dairy, wheat, and sugar free… along with getting rid of the yeast in my body. Glen is still in the testing phase but the girls results came back and both are highly intolerant to Gluten…. it is not celiacs yet (we are still waiting to see if Glen has the Celiac gene) but this means no more Gluten at our house. To be honest it is not as hard as it would seem if you eat at home… plenty of supermarkets have lots of gluten free items especially if you shop at a co-op which we do. The hardest transition for us has been me adjusting to cooking all the time. We definitely liked to go out to eat and were used to it… so this is an adjustment for me but one that I am liking despite all the new stress and work it involves. To be honest I am taking a lot of pride in it and helping my kiddos feel better which is the best feeling as a mom! Any tips or advice on going GF ( and mainly dairy free too) are greatly appreciated.

Lastly- running is going good… I have started running with a few friends now that the kiddos are back in school and it really was just what I needed to just start my ambition again. I recently ran the Women Rock Half Marathon…. It was not one of my best races but was still good to get out there… to be honest- I usually love Team Ortho races but this one was kind of stressful and disorganized and you felt like you already ran a mile just to get to the starting line… so with that being said I don’t think it is one that I will be doing again but was an experience. Next up is the Twin Cities 10 mile which I have never done before and I think I am going to stick around and watch the Twin Cities Marathon after… I have never watched one before so I am kind of excited! Yes- I am well aware that I am a dork…. and on that note I am off to watch the season premiere of Glee…

Distance: 5.5. miles yesterday with both kids in the stroller…. 53 minutes

Song: Shark in the Water- V.V. Brown

Quote: “If you think the grass is greener on the other side it is because it is fertilized with bullsh*t”