Just.Keep.Going.

School needs to start.

Not because I want my sweet little man to go to school 3 mornings a week...but because I am so ready to operate on a schedule.  Summer is great....for those of us that don't freak out on their husbands when we had planned to make some serious progress on our giant to do list but we all end up taking a much needed nap instead.............................somehow it was his fault that I fell asleep and he paid for that shit the rest of the day.  God I love him. My family warned him....he didn't listen.

That being said...I have SUCKED at keeping up with my posts but after next week life should quiet down again and I will be back to posting at least every Monday...if I can fit another one in it will be like Christmas. Right?? Crickets? Ahh...whatevs.

Here's a quick update on what I've been doing to get ready for my 1/2 Marathon on the 21st...WOMEN ROCK CHICAGO!!

This is what happens when I've had a HORRIBLE day. Hey I'm a work in progress people.....

Then I see this little nugget and drink some water.

Max is a HUGE reason I started running because his busy little body had a hard time calming down at night so we would go for a run...This day was pretty much the same.  He wouldn't calm down so we went for a 4 mile run....

By the time we got home..........................................................................

Everyone in our house was sleeping...............................

Ugh...I die.  Such an angle. No I didn't want to run this day......I wanted to snuggle up with my hubby and kids and relax.  I was EXHAUSTED from late nights, early mornings, and Tyler is still not sleeping all night so the sleep I do get is interrupted.  But I ran...and the next morning for some reason I got on the scale and guess what...

That's 30 POUNDS DOWN BITCHES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I've said forever that the scale is just a number......But to back up this number I also;

1. Feel amazing.

2. Fit into my clothes so so well and have even retired a few pairs of jeans.

3. Am on the LAST hole in my belt that 5 months ago I could barely use the first hole.

4. Did I mention I feel amazing.

Left: March 2013~ 209 Pounds..................Right August 2013 ~179 Pounds

Just.Keep.Going.

Women Rock Chicago...Coming like a freight TRAIN!

I am running a 1/2 Marathon in 32 days.

Now stop.

Read the first line again.

And again.

And one more time.

I am RUNNING a  HALF MARATHON  in 32 DAYS!!

Never...I repeat NEVER did I think I would use any of those words to form a sentence about something I am doing. Never.

But here I am running 4 1/2/ mile "short runs" aka a distance I can handle without collapsing in our front yard when I get back.  These running days have become manageable.  I run Emerald Glen...also known as the hill of DEATH...then finish the last 3 miles on a fairly flat loop around our little town.  Good. Great. I have these days down to a science.  I know when I'm going. I know when I'm eating. I know it takes me about 45 minutes...It's good. It's easy.

So why venture out of my comfort zone? Because that's where greatness happens bitches!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday me and my skinny hooker runner friend that is running this half marathon with me ...(Please read "with me" as dragging me across the finish line) met me for our long run... Remember...4 months ago...a long run for me was a mile. Sunday our long run was 7 miles.

I spend a good deal of Saturday night making a bomb ass play list to listen to along the way.  Some SERIOUSLY legit music...You know...like a few songs from the Pitch Perfect sound track, M.C. Hammer, Thrift Shop, Brittney Spears, Nsync....The good stuff...

We went to bed around 11 and I knew I was going to get about 7 hours of sleep before my alarm would go off in the morning.  But apparently Tyler had another plan....because at 2:30 I FINALLY got to sleep...........................................................

Next thing I knew it was light out, my phone had fallen under the bed, and there was a skinny hooker waiting in my driveway.

I threw it together...pumped the baby a bottle for when he woke up...got the toddler some cheerios and right about then is when I realized my phone.didn't.charge.last.night.

ARE YOU FEAKING KIDDING ME.

I'm trying to run my longest continuous run to date, train for something that I thought would take me YEARS to get physically fit enough to accompish, and I made a bomb ass playlist that I now can't use!??!?! If that's not grounds for giving up and cashing a pot of coffee and half a dozen glazed donuts with sprinkles I don't know what is.

But I grabbed my hubby's Ipod with his horrible hubby like music and out the door I went because that skinny hooker runner had been waiting for 40 minutes.  The last thing I was going to do at that point is say.."Hey...um yea...thanks for getting up at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday...and waiting in my driveway for 40 minutes...I've had a shit morning so I"m going to go back to bed and eat donuts...Have a good run!"

We ran Emerald Glen first then out on my usual loop but added some jig jags to it.

Now don't get to excited...skinny hooker was waaayyyy ahead of me..but I could almost always see her...and she only ran back to make sure I hadn't died twice.

We paused at one point for a drink and I asked her how far we'd gone and when she said 4.4 miles I almost died.  I thought we were closer to 3.  4.4 miles!?!? And I felt amazing.  I wasn't tired...wasn't drained...I was totally fine.

As we kept running I thought about how far I'd come.  I always come back to my first mile post baby 6 months ago...15 minutes and 30 seconds of hell...Then I think about the first time I ran Emerald Glen and seriously thought I was going to puke in the neighbors yard.  I remembered the first time I ran the 2.5 mile loop in town pushing Max and I cried when I got home because I couldn't believe I actually did it...That was the first time I felt like a runner...

And now here I am....running 7  miles.  We were getting closer to my house and I still felt good...like I could go farther...and I see skinny hooker runner coming back towards me.....and she says "we're at 6.9 miles!! Keep going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

HOLY SHIT BALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just ran 7 miles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I didn't want to die.  I didn't puke in any yards.  I didn't stop.  I didn't let any of the mornings events stop me. I friggin did it.

On only 4 hours of sleep.

Without my awesome music.

Listening to my hubby's horrible techno tunes.

First time EVER running more than 5 miles.

Talk about out of my comfort zone.

But like I said...that's where greatness happens...That's where the runner's high starts...that's where you grow.  That's where I finially realized I can RUN this 1/2 Marathon.  Not just finish but finish running...with pride...and confidence.

32 days and counting!!!!!!!!!
                                                 

Left 8 Month Preggers December 2012~Right 6 months post baby August 2013

Monday Motivation on Thursday

I know...I know...I missed Monday Motivation...SORRY. I was on "vacation" with all 3 of our kids. Without my hubby. All sleeping in the same room. This is the perfect example of the true definition of FML. I love our crazies but 10 hours of sleep in 3 days is NOT GOOD for anyone.  I know I'm ready to tap out when my sweet little 4 year olds voice announces at 5:45 in the morning... LOOK MOM...THE SUN IS UP!! IT'S TIME TO GET UP....and my first thought is punching him in the throat.  Don't fret.  I got up...got him breakfast....and called my hubby who always can talk me off my cliff.  By Wednesday I'm pretty sure Tyler was drinking straight coffee.........................................

But now that I'm slightly more rested and enjoying some quiet time with my little babe let's catch up!!

Last weekend was the 6th annual Run Manchester.  This race was important to me for MANY reasons.

1. The first Run Manchester was held the first summer I lived here.  It was a sad day for me....I saw this awesome group of young families getting together to put on something so awesome for our community and I had just moved here and didn't know a single person.  It was like solitary confinement................ So that year I did the 1 mile fun run like a lame ass and went home and ate cookies.

2. Every year after that I helped with the run by standing on a corner directing the runners... a slight improvement because I was getting involved with these awesome people but still....lame ass.  Though I was either pregnant or just had a baby 2 years in there so.........not as lame ass...

3....the biggest reason this race was important to me...I wanted to run it under 30 minutes.....AND I FRIGGIN DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNEW I could run it in 31/32 minutes but I wasn't sure if I could do it under 30.  I battled myself the ENTIRE way...horrible, horrible, horrible mind games with myself...HORRIBLE.  For example: "Just stop running...you're over 35 minutes for SURE" , "This is the longest run EVERRRR", "There's no way I'm making it to the finish line in time....I might as well walk.",  "Just walk..." , "walking would be good right now..." An interweb friend (a person I know through social media and KNOW would be a good friend in real life) told  me that I need to "run with my feet, not with my mind." I think I said that to myself 100 times during this race. NEVER have I battled myself so much but guess what...I came down the last hill and when I saw the clock it said 29:20...I crossed at 29:31. I did it.....The girl that almost puked on her living room floor after jiggle jogging ONE mile in 15 minutes and 30 seconds a mere 4 months ago just ROCKED a 5k in UNDER 30 minutes.  Hells yes.

 My second favorite thing about this run...It's the first run that I've done with my seestor.  We are defying genetics one mile at a time!!

BUT.............the most amazing thing about last weekend......................I heard the magic words I've been waiting to hear for years...YEARS.............................

I was standing in my hubby's office and one of his patients said to me...."Sarah, I can't believe you have 3 kids...you look AMAZING."

I.look.amazing. Me. The girl that was pushing 240 pounds 6 months ago...The girl that was ADDICTED to twizzlers 3 months ago...The girl that could barely jiggle jog a mile without passing out...The girl that has had 3 kids in 3 1/2 years....The girl that wore sweat pants and t-shirts not because she wanted to but because nothing else in her closet fit...THIS GIRL.. ME...I.look.amazing.

Shit yes I do.

Monday Motivation...Left is 4 weeks before Ty Guy was born (December 2012)...Right was post race last weekend (August 2013)