Fit with Ruthie

The cost of being sick is the fact that I am not in the best of shape to run 14 long miles this weekend. I was scheduled for a 14miler today but I have decided that the best thing to do is to be patient and let my body recover and get back to normal. I am still feeling a bit tired and yesterday I actually could eat and feel normal. so I have switched this weekends run and next ... 6 miles this weekend (today) and 14 next. I have also have a choice i am pondering... with the kids having track at 7am three days a week I need to switch my run times to the early predawn hours of the morning OR to the late evening. I think its going to work best .. if i am going to be realistic here to go for those runs in the evening. Trying to squeeze, housework, schooling the kids, part time working (teaching), their track and my running is going to be a big challenge. (as always) .. but i know that someday it will just be me and the dh here at the house and this season of my life will be over before i ...

I finally registered for the race :) and bought an extra ticket to the concert that night ... cant believe i am really really doing this.. prices increase tomorrow if you wanna join me .. :)

I know this is not my homeschooling site.. but i just had to post this little video happy playtime :)

ok.. so this is what i did last night instead of running a 5k with Jessica in China :) We got tickets to a big event in town... so .. i am running my 5k with Jessica .. this morning.. more after i run :) UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!! ok.. just finished chatting with Jessica she did GREAT... 8.3 mins per mile! wow thats FAST I made a race # :) see: and had to run on the treadmill cause i couldnt go outside... plan was to get up and out by 615 am but woke up with my tummy hurting :( .... so i waited until after track. not too good.. 30.28 .... which is 9.7 per mile which is not my typical pace but i had literally NO energy... actually got off the mill and grabbed a granola bar and got back on eating and walking really fast at the same time... there was no way i could make it without a bit of something... my energy has been shot... 2 days of liquid.... a "real lunch yesterday" and a sparse supper last night... ugh I am ready... SOOOOO ready for my tummy to be "normal" again heres ...

Lunch never tasted so great! well its been about 4 days since i have had any kind of real appetite ... so this morning when i drove home from a meeting i was surprised to say i was HUNGRY> wow.. yes.. i think i am finally well.. i have been on basically a liquid diet since Monday... and when i did drink ... it didnt make me feel better.. but worse... so its nice to say that i just ate lunch and feel GREAT! ok..so now what to do about running.. today i plan on getting in a 5k (which i am running with my friend Jessica in China and another one of her friends) tomorrow i plan on trying to get an hour run in ... rest on Saturday and 14 miler Sunday morning before worship :) I think i have lost 5lbs over the last 4 days (atleast) .. but i am not to happy about it.. i want to keep the muscle i have and i am afraid some of that was muscle.. but i know that with my hunger back and my body on its way to normal that i will be able to eat and have the energy i need to get those long runs in.. ...

well it wasnt purty. my yesterday .. that is. i felt pretty good until about 1pm.. then it hit me.. chills, fever, and too many reminders of what the flu was like this past Christmas. my fever went up to 102.. i laid around all afternoon and finally went to bed for the night at 830. my sweet DH gave me some more tylenol when he came to bed around 11ish and i slept the rest of the night. this morning i feel better... much much better.. so hopefully i am past the worst of it... I had only liquids all day yesterday so today will be the slow process of eating real food again :) I "plan" not to workout today but to rest .. I hope to run a 5k "race" with my friend Jessica who is in China.. on Thursday.. she will run it at 9ish am on her Friday which will be 8pmish on my Thursday... so.. we will be running a 5k at the same time but on different sides of the world:) should be fun! ok i I am off to see if this apple juice will be allowed in my tummy this morning ..... yall...

i was asking myself this very question on my much shortened morning run.. why plan.. plans give me something to look forward too.. like a nice relaxing hour long run while the sun is rising and the air is cool... but plans have a way of being tested and sometimes shattered. i had planned to be up and out of the house this morning by 630 i woke up at 550 sick to my stomach i had tummy issues (to put it nicely) around midnight last night and this morning i felt like i was going to throw up i stayed up anyway and got dressed to go run.. all the time feeling a bit sick but knowing that i felt a bit sick on sunday and my run made me feel better.. all this "waiting around to see if i was going to toss some cookies" was just a waste of time... i decided that "if this was the morning of the marathon i would be heading to the starting line" so.. i got my shoes on and vowed that if i was going to throw up it would be around the beautiful scripture inscribed walking-running ...

ok.. today was a rest day for me after the long run yesterday I have posted on the side bar my plan for the week.. and i am a bit nervous about the 14 miles coming up this sunday... wow.. thats a long way. i am a tad sore but am happy to report my IT band is not hurting today.. i think all the stopping and stretching i did really helped. I also added in some of those exercises :) I am so looking forward to an hour run tomorrow morning. i found this blog entry by Ryan Hall.. thought you might find it interesting.. click here

So that was the worst run in my life! and the best run in my life! 12 miles the hardest i have ever run mile 1 and 2 were awful almost threw up on mile 2. but kept going mile 4 wasnt pretty. mile 5 i hit my runners high.. mile 5 is always great mile 6 and 7 were not good at all.. took my gel pack (that i never tasted before) and ate it... almost threw it up... it was nasty.. like karo syrup. uhk. THICK>> didnt like it.. but i kept going mile 9 was great. my 2nd runners high mile 10.. not good.. wanted to quit... i ran out of water... had to come home.... finished up the last on the treadmill as soon as i finished my water and bit of OJ. 12 in 2hours 32 mins 11.6 mins per mile not my normal 10 mins per mile but I walked, stretched, ran walked stretched and ran.... This run was my "no matter how bad i feel i will finish" run... consider it practice for the race..... I was sooooo excited to get my necklace i from sauchagirl and i LOVE it.. (I couldnt get a very good p...

i will have a dozen tomorrow morning.. not doughnuts miles. more after the dozen is done :) UPDATE>>>>>>>730am well.. heres LIFE again. .. wont go run this morning as i had planned. littlest son woke up last night throwing up :( so i will try and catch up on some sleep and get the dozen done tonight. pray no one else gets it.

Didn't run yesterday... took the day off. Walked with the ladies at track practice this morning and ran a few hills. I havent decided when to do my long run... I would like to do it tomorrow morning but I have an all day back to school thing i will be at for our homeschool group.. so i think it will be best to wait until Sunday ...... I got some much needed sleep last night and feel much better today. I have increased my salt intake and i think that is making me feel much much better. I am ready for life to settle down a bit.. this is the busiest time of year for DHs work, my sister is moving here (yipppeee!.. she finally has electricity!) and my mother in law had sugery yesterday. Plus getting things ready for the homeschool co-op school year and our Homeschool chapters back to school event ... busy busy busy busy... and i chose to train for a marathon.. like i thought i would have time! Hoping not to drop something... and if i do.. it lands softly! i am so looking foreward to a n...

so i managed to NOT get to bed at a decent hour (dadgum olympics) and then i managed to NOT get a good nights sleep.. (slept awful) but i DID manage to wake up at 6am and I am fixing to head out the door for a morning of sprints . UGH. The only thing that got me out of bed was saying "i can just take a nap this afternoon if i need it" I MUST get in the habit of getting up no later than 6am or this marathon will be hard to do.. just because i have so many other responsibilities in my life! more after my run. OK>. got my run done.. 2 miles but sprints .. ran a warm up... walk and sprint walk and sprint tired but good. glad i went OH forgot to mention.. i think my ipod is broken. :( went to turn it on this morning and it would not come one.. dead as a doornail :( .. bummer. so this sprint run this morning was with NO sunglasses (cause mine broke) and NO ipod.. i seriously felt a bit n@ked. r

I found this on line yesterday.. click here to visit their website All i am saying is that I think sugar does a WHOLE lot more damage to our bodies than we ever even realize. this was a WOW read for me.. just thought share! SUGAR: YOU JUST LOVE YOUR CHILDREN TO DEATH Gregory Grosbard of Miami, Florida received a U.S. patent on a process to improve the strength of plastic by using sugar. Each time plastic goes through a heat cycle, it loses strength because oxygen in the atmosphere goes into the material and creates oxygen "holes." Mr. Grosbard found that, by mixing a small amount of sugar into the plastic material during the heat cycle, the sugar grabbed the oxygen first, preventing the oxygen holes and making the plastic stronger. Research has shown that: Processed sugar blocks the absorption of calcium. Processed sugar produces a low oxygen environment. ...

got my workout in this morning I did weights ... felt great. also focused on stretching and ex for my IT band. off to make lunch, and clean :) more later :)

The alarm on my watch is just fine... which is good news.... but the bad news is that i just pushed it this morning and went right back to sleep. Its been overcast and rainy here the past two mornings and its giving me a great idea of how hard it will be to wake up this fall-winter which, as many of you know is my worst time of year :) I am so frustrated with myself. I MUST go to bed earlier... there is no way i will want to get up and run if i dont go to be until 11pm! So... its now 1005am and i just got off the treadmill and finished stretching. I hated running this morning... I didnt want to do it.. i didnt want to!!!! . I dont know why... but i got out there anyway. I walked a LOT more than i was planning on .. but somedays WALKING just has to be ok. It just does. :) 3.37 miles so.. now that i am done i feel a bit better.. but i do feel like my blood pressure is too low, so i have some nice eggs with salt on them in hopes that it will make me feel much better:) Needless to say i am...

OK.. so my watch is no working right . didnt go off the morning at 6 am like it was spose too so i was up at 7 getting ready trying to get out the door.. didnt leave until 721.. which was too late i knew i wouldnt have time to get all 6 miles in.. cause i had to come home to get ready for Church. so... 4miles was all i could manage. it will have to do.... the fun part is that i ran it in the rain! it was awesome! .. i didnt get some crazy looks from people as thery drove by.. but i just waved :) silly me. it was just me ... and ONE other older guy out there today... we smiled at each other and waved .. and i know he was probably thinking the same thing i was "a true diehard runner right there" and "overone else has no idea how fantastic it is to run in the rain!" more later on my latest favorites in eats and some other random thoughts :) but now. i must go get the sweet potatoes out of the oven and stir them :) "come on with the rain.. i have a smile on my face...

nothing like watching olympic atheletes to get you inspired :) i am .. at this moment watching the womens olympic marathon! all i can say is WOW. arent they amazing! so many ladies running so fast for sooooooo long! I cant wait to see who wins! I have really missed my run today. I have had a long Saturday run for so long that its just weird to not have run today. I will be lifting weights in a few minutes.. but its so interesting to me how here i am again longing to go for a long run. Desire is back :) and i can tell you already that waiting up tomorrow morning will NOT be a problem. The ebs and flows of training is interesting to me ...

its so interesting to me how just getting out there and getting workout done can be like a climb to Mount Everest! Seriously why do we do this to ourselves? it seems the life goes in cycles, our workouts are not different.. the longer i stay focused on getting fit the more time between what i call "days of i dont wanna"..... .. well this must be my week cause all week it has been a struggle to get these runs in.. to stay focused and positive and to really feel like i CAN do this. but.. i know its just a phase. and in a few days i will be back to feeling grand and not having to force runs but wake up ready to go.. until then i will come here.. and do some blog therapy .. get inspired by all of you.. and get a run in anyway. i am off to get 45 mins in on the treadmill. i will report back when i am done.. I am sure i will feel much much better ! UPDATE OK.. i just got off the treadmill.......... 3.35 miles.. in 45 mins not too good BUT i warmed up for 5 mins and i cooled down ...

"Sometimes in the winds of change we find out new direction" "Courage does not always roar, sometimes it's a quiet voice at the end of the day saying...... "I will try again tomorrow" M. Radmacher Its Choice,... not chance.... that determines you Destiny" Nidecht Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there" Will Rogers thought those were GREAT .. i got them from a movie a friend sent me.. click here to watch it.. ------- On the running front.. i woke up late this morning (7am) but too late to go for a 45 min run like i was spose to today. I took the kids to track but just visited instead of running.. My IT band has been bothering me so its probably good to take a day off.. tomorrow is to be cross training but i will probably run instead. I have been having problems with being hungry all the time.. since my long run on Saturday i have been hungry! .. well. not every moment.. but yesterday i ate every hour and a ...

more details after track :) hehehe ok.. here is the story. woke up this morning at 5am.. finally got out of bed at 545 and dressed. this is where i messed up. I wore a running skirt that a friend gave me and it ended up with rubbing in all the wrong places. :) I also forgot to put on my "no rub" lotion (if you know what i mean).. so.. after 2 miles of tugging and adjusting and rubbing, and tuggin some more.. i came home. I changed my skirt to my Nike skirt that i have had for ever and knew how it would wear :) and headed back out the door and up to campus for 2 more miles. so.. 4 miles total first 2 miles .. 18:32 (with all the tugging and pulling) second 2 miles .. 17:29 (with NO rubbing or tugging or pulling:) it was a beautiful morning! and i learned my lesson.. it does matter what you wear! and now i understand why all those distance runners (professionals) run in outfits that look like bathing suites) :) NO Adjustments required. blessings

I told you a few weeks ago that I was working out some details on how to run my marathon as a fundraiser. I have finally gotten things in order and have created a blog to help get the word out about my goals. you can view the "letter"-first post on the "Ruthie Runs a Marathon" blog by clicking here I will be posting weekly training updates, keep a running list of thanks to those who donate and see if i can get my "ticker" to the last little piggy bank :) To be honest this makes me a bit nervous.. .. makes running the marathon a bit more "real" now. :) 26.2 here i come

this morning i am up and ready to go to track with the kids.. and before waking them i checked my email and looked at a few blogs :) I also checked foxnews and found this article . which states that a study found that people in the "normal" weight catagory had issues with high blood pressure.. etc.. anyway.. its a good article.. but it .. AGAIN reminds me that this health thing is more than about how much i weigh (I stopped weighing a while back)... i have known people who are model thin.... look GREAT in their clothes and eat such awful amounts of sugar, junk food and fast food that its shocking.. I also have known the flip side of that.. people who are overweight and cant get off the floor or bend over to pick something they dropped... but the seem to eat healthy.. there are consequences to being unhealthy... take your pick in life i guess.. overweight or skinny.. either one can be unhealthy. so there .. i have figured out in this wonderful brain of mine.. could it be a mat...

I tried to do my running at the track this morning with the kids but it just didnt work out.. I ran a mile and then had to stop to "encourage" my son .... i then started running again and had to stop again... .. and that is the story of this mornings run. It's all fine cause my IT band is still a bit sore so walking running and jogging was fine to do today.. all in all i guess it was around 40 mins... starting school today with the kids.. so i am off to get things in order... would have been much better if i would have just gotten up at 6 when i woke up and gone running.. but i couldnt drag myself out of bed. and it was rainy out. overcast... dunno why .. just couldnt get up and out this morning. there is always tomorrow.... right?

finished my long run.. but no time to post have to get stretch get breakfast and get ready for work. longer post tonight.. 10 miles 1 hour 42 mins glad i am done UPDATE ok.. so its Saturday night and i have time for a post before i get to go to bed :) the run this morning was good. I had a time getting out of bed this morning.. staying up too late (again).. i know better! but the family was up watching the olympics and there was no way i could get to sleep.. so chatting with J (my friend in China) was my only option :) I didnt leave the house until 645... 30 mins later than i was planning. so it wasnt too bad :) first mile was a stinker .. its like it take a mile for my body to go "OH you are wanting to run today" 4 mile was tough.. but i stopped and ate part of my energy bar.. and got water.. still loving mile 5.. its always been the best stopped again for a few seconds on mile 8 to eat a few more bites of my bar.. mile 9 was "i wanna walk" territory. Mile 10 was ...

Ok.. its official.. i feel completely back to normal! YIPEEE. I decided to do a video post again today.. I feel a bit silly and when i watch this i think "do i really look and talk like THAT?" ugh.. funny. but.. its fun to do :) I have a long run tomorrow.. 10 miles.. i hope to do it with a 10 min mile average :) .. will see. OK.. so here the silly video.. I did not lift weights. but DID get grocery shopping! :) does that count LOL I am off to get things in order for my run and then my part time job tomorrow.. working 10 to 4 teaching art to anyone who walks in the door.. :) we are painting .. should be fun.. but i expect to be tired and hungry most of the day after the long run.. so eating every hour and half or so will be tricky :) and finally .. an amazing story.. and amazing inspiration! hope your weekend is GREAT! blessings r

THE SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON .. THE MOVIE IS SHOWING IN SAN ANTONIO!!! and get this the SAME weekend as the Marathon! San Antonio, TX: November 14th at 7:30 Pm and November 15th at 1:00 PM, Rialto Theater, Tickets can be purchased on-line and at the theater box office, www.santikos.com SWEEEEEEEEET.

About one yesterday afternoon i started feeling better. I could tell i got my energy back :) so i was excited to get up this morning and go for a great run.. early. well. i didnt sleep well last night and when my alarm with off this morning .. UGH>. i didnt want to get out of bed. but then.. a song popped in my head as i was trying to go back to sleep .. it was this one. I am a believer that it matters what music we listen too.. just another tool to help us toward our goals.. so i am gone.. out the door. :)for a great run. UPDATE wow what a run this morning I started out not feeling too hot but made myself get going then at the 2.5 mile mark i wanted to quit. I wanted to walk.. but my goal was to do 4 miles .. so i mustered up the guts and the music got me going again and i finished the 4 miles in 40:12... it was just a tad above my goal of 10 min mile.. so i felt good about that. I had a moment today when i was a bit overwelmed during my run. started crying and everything..(have yo...

so.. why do you blog? for me.. some days its just for fun other days (like today) I come here looking.. to gather inspiration, and muster my determination to get up and get going. after feeling bad for three days now i was hoping by today i would be back to normal.. but i am not. I am still congested.. a slight annoying ringing in my ear.. and feelings of "will i ever run again and feel good" are floating across my mind. The world is filled with self doubt and i try so hard to shield myself from negativity. But after a while it just gets you down.. esp if your runs are experiences that bring you centered, clear your mind, relax your soul. thats what running does for me and when i cant get out there and feel the breeze and smell the fresh air.. its disappointing. so.. i come here.. dressed in my running gear (minus my shoes) .. feeling flabby in my belly and heavy in my sinus's :) LOL. .. but.. as it has done many times.. blogging getting me motivated. reading others post...

ok.. well i was feeling better yesterday morning.. the water in my ear had finally gone away and i was still not 100% but much better.. but when i washed my hair yesterday I accidently got water in that ear AGAIN! .. it is still stopped up this morning.. last night i felt bad when i went to bed but happy i feel some better this morning. I am taking the kids to track today and I will walk and jog a bit while they run but will take it easy... I am hoping this is the only time i am sick during my training .. could that be wishful thinking? hum I also wanted to add that on my 9 mile run thursday i used Aquafor instead of Vasilene.. and it works SOOO much better.. not near as gooy and didnt seem to wear off after a few miles! i will post later after my mini-workout UPDATE: did a 2 and half mile walk this morning. still not feeling good at all.. taking meds to see if it will help.. trying to be patient. UPDATE 2 I decided to try out my new computer and do a video :) .. i uploaded it on the ...

not feeling well. achy , ear stopped up, ear starting to ring :( exhausted. feel like fever but havent taken it. makes me wish i hadnt have jumped into the deep end like a school girl ! although.. it WAS fun. will not run tomorrow going to bed. so much for a nice relaxing vacation :) .. seems i ALWAYS come home sick and tired. bummer.

well.. i decided not to run this morning.. woke up too late.. been sleeping horrible.. so i over slept.. I DID go swimming and did lots of laps in the pool.. THATs tiring! . but i was so happy that i have improved since i was here last year.. i could go so much farther! yippee we didnt go look at the course either.. i kinda decided i would rather not see actually how far it really truly is.. it will make it more exciting when i run it too i think :) if you click here and look on the right hand side of the screen there is a short video of the marathon .. pretty cool. ok... i am off to bed.. hope i can sleep with the water plugged up ear i have from swimming. i have tried everything to get it unstopped but nothing has worked. frustrating to be deaf in one ear. .. ugh. back home tomorrow... looking forward to home sweet home.. but it was fun to be here and visit :) and work on my tan :) LOL blessings r