Me, Myself & Running

Today I ran outside for the first time solo.

I was kind of paranoid on the trails alone with it being so scarce with people around and with a ton of trees and tall grass but I got in my 4 mile run nonetheless! And it was good not to be running it on the treadmill. I'm loving this spring weather! :)

This running is no joke either!

I like it though and thus, I continue through the pain...through the strange looks...through the internal thought of "I'm not sure I can go another 1/2 mile!" 

And it feels so good to be outdoors and surrounded by nature. 

I love it!

If nothing else, these past few months have proven to me that I can do anything I set my mind and body to doing no matter how hard the task. No matter the support I do or do not get. 

How I wish I had started doing this 10 years ago. I was very hesitant and scared at first. I hadn't been in shape since high school and I was afraid my body wouldn't be very forgiving. But it was, come to find out. It's been hard making this change but I'm very grateful I'm doing it today! It has helped me shed any and all baby weight I had left to lose as well as a few more pounds to help me towards my goal of getting fit and looking and feeling the way I've wanted. And I'm still working hard to get to my ultimate goal and stay there.

While I was pregnant or in between having each of my children, I exercised here and there. Not as active or consistent as I should have been but I didn't find it was as important as I do today. I didn't carve out the time and excuses were miles long! Now that I'm done having children, I find exercise extremely necessary! I find that I need it and crave it to be emotionally, physically and mentally healthy (and sane)! I should have thought this same way when I was still bearing children but I guess I didn't feel it's importance as I wasn't really thinking of my body being my own. I usually lost all my baby weight before having another one but with nursing or focusing on their care...I only thought of my body as helping my children.

I am not one to gloat or put myself on a pedestal. Walking and running 15-20 miles a week plus weight training has been anything but easy. Especially with my ankle still sore here and there while running. Being a mother of 4 children proves it's own challenges too. It's not easy to find my own time to work on my health. But I have to find that time and schedule it in or it just doesn't happen and everyone pays the price. :) Mornings before they wake are usually best! Without my husband's support too, I wouldn't be able to go on my walks in the evenings 4 nights a week.

I brought my phone with me when I was alone on my run today - in case I needed it in an emergency.

So I took a few photos so you could see the pretty trails I get to run on!  

Just shy of 6 weeks until I run the Frankfurt 10K.
Getting nervous and excited!

Four miles down (at a 9:30 pace)!

Two more to go!

Family Night At The Park

...and a continuation of celebrating Father's Day. The backyard project has taken a lot of weekend work away from the family and Father's Day was no exception. Especially since we have one more week to get the gravel and sand piles out of the parking lot before a potential violation from the HOA. Not really potential...it WILL happen if we don't move fast and get it done! So needless to say, John didn't get to spend much time with the kids on Father's Day. :(

So a thought came to me that we should surprise him tonight and go to the park with a picnic dinner for Family Night. I had John meet us after he got off the train and we drove to Alum Spring. Come to find out, this park has a lot of interesting facts - one of which is that George Washington surveyed the land here for his brother-in-law, Fielding Lewis of Kenmore. In the past few months, I've heard of this local park unbeknownst to us so I thought it would be fun to check it out. Besides the pesky mosquitos and all of us melting in humidity, we had an awesome evening! The humidity is unfortunately something we're starting to get used to. Otherwise, we'd never be happy outside of our home. Luckily though, summer time seems to be the only season we have to majorly adjust to. The park had a lot of picnic area, shade, a bridge over the springs and a huge playground. It ended up getting late and approaching the park's closing time when the kids were done eating and playing, so we skipped the hiking trail but hope to go back there soon to check it out. Such a fun evening and a great way to spend the first day of SUMMER as a family!

Family Picnic

As part of our Memorial Day weekend, we packed up a picnic lunch and drove to a local fishing spot called Motts Reservoir. While it was still pretty hot and muggy, we lucked out and got a picnic table in the shade - and with the trees surrounding us, we enjoyed a light breeze as well. It's a nice place! We've heard about it for some time now and I'm so glad we had the opportunity to finally go. Our family loves nature - and spots like these really remind me of HOME!

Besides a toddler having a potty accident, a toddler wanting to kill any bug she saw (even after explaining that the outside is the BUG'S environment!), a younger toddler trying any chance he could to get up and close to the water and a preteen not enjoying the quiet outdoors and playing in the dirt with sticks...our picnic went without a hitch! :) I'm so glad my kids had a good time though.