Fit with Ruthie

I am soooo ready to be back in the groove again. I took the kids to track this morning but i didnt do any running. I decided to wait until this evening and will try and get at least 4 miles in so i could go by myself :) I am holding off on running over 4 until i get my new shoes (which i hope to be this wednesday!) I guess the best thing about not being able to run like i want too is that this whole process is giving me a strong strong desire to train, and FINISH the marathon. I miss my long runs! Now I understand so much more how the marathon has become such a unachievable goal for so many people. Just getting to the starting line half way in shape will be more of a challenge than getting from there to the finish line. Now.. as it will be then... its all about determination and desire and putting one foot in front of the other. more after i run tonight. RUN REPORT: So I decided to cook supper for the family and let them eat without me :) I headed out the door for a 4 mile run. Good ...

One of these has my name on it and its sitting in a warehouse in SA somewhere RIGHT NOW! so cool makes me wanna go for a run. I think i will. :)

i didnt have time to post this morning but i got a 2 mile run in 18.19 (aver 9.09 pace)*not bad for being a bit OFF and my back hurting :) (still) . I was hoping for 6 but it didnt happen.. not enough time... I am hoping tomorrow night.. maybe. i can get atleast 4 in.... will see. My kids had a cc track meet this morning-afternoon and i am soooo very proud of all three of them! Each hit a new PR (personal record). All three ran against 7th graders. Cat .. who is in 6th ran a pr of 8:22 in the mile, Jo who is in the 4th grade ran a new PR of 11:02 in the mile and Nate.. who is in the 2nd grade ran a new PR of 8:05! I was just AWESOME to watch all three of them! Giving thier all .. giving their best.. It just.. well.. IT ROCKED! so i spent the first part of the morning running my 2 miles, then the second part of the morning running up and down the cross country meet (atleast 2 more miles) and then we had a homeschooling family picnic AND then we went to the hot air baloon fest and listen...

ok.. so ... trying to figure out a new title for my blog. ... I need to revamp as i am now 40 dont think my previous title fits any longer. Any Ideas? my back is still bothering me.. I am taking some advil and calling it a night.. i am going to charge my ipod and hope to get in a walk jog tomorrow morning. I will be soooo frustrated if it keeps me from going tomorrow morning. I feel like all these "things" are happening to force me to quit. I dont want to quit. I refuse. I will do what i can with what i have. I will crawl across the finish line if i have to but i amdoing this --frustrated but determined (stupid back)

ok.. Loved getting that run in yesterday morning. It felt great! .. well.. all but the part where I adjusted my ipod headphone cord and ended up doing something to my BACK. yeah my back By the time i got to coop to teach i was having constant muscle spasms. URGH> what am i getting old or something!!!!!!!!! I made it through the day thanks to some advil. (thanks G) but it still hurt all day and sleeping last night was difficult. I have already put the heating pad on it this morning, but i am so wishing i had a massage therapist to fix this for me! (we can dream right?) .. you know.. like that olympic swimmer .. Dana who has a TEAM of people who massage and stretch her 40plus body! yeah. THATs what i need. so.. i am still planning on running in the morning.. but will of course wait and see how the back is doing. seems... when it rains it pours.

so all that partying with my birthday made it HARD to get up this morning. Alllll that coke i drank yesterday and last night for supper kept me up late AND kept me from sleeping. OH but it tasted good! I forced myself and out the door this morning before the sun was up and as soon as i stepped outside i was more relaxed and like "AH the is GREAT" 2 miles running most but walking when i had to get on the concrete sidewalk. you can see evidence of the wet fresh cut grass on my shoes :) glad i went. felt like a runner again this morning. MAN i have missed this. Please pray i can keep running.. and that injuries dont keep stalling me out. I am off to get ready to teach art all day :) more later ! PS.. thanks for all your wonderful comments on my birthday post! yall are the best! keeps me going.. keeps me motivated .. keeps me inspired. thank you. r

i have updated my running schedule and adjusted to see in i can get at least 20 miles in before the big race. Walk Run or Crawl. I am finishing. I "begin again" tomorrow morning. see you after the run! r

Jan 9th 2006: The act of making something different "Modification: The act of making something different, or in my case, "someone" different. (ME) I have created this blog site to motivate myself, yes.. this is mostly selfish of me ( I figure if a few friends and family see my before pictures and are aware of my journey I will be more motivated to stick with it..I have my reasons for this which I will get into on a later post). But I do hope in some way I can help inspire others to change as well. I will post my before, "in progress" and after pics here as well. I will share with you my goals for weight loss/management, increasing my stregth and energy levels. My goal is to be open and honest about the challenges of becoming fit and healthy. My Body Modification Blog is going to be more than just about changing my body. It will be about changing my life in more ways than one. I hope you will jump on your own Bod Mod journey with me ... If I can change, anyo...

I ran two miles this morning with no walking breaks! I took the first mile slow... and picked up the pace a bit for the last one. I averaged 9.5 min per mile. The good news is my foot felt great the whole time. I am a bit concerned though as I am sitting here i feel a few twinges of something on the foot but not like two weeks ago. So. my plan is to just keep taking it easy.. and i wont run longer that a mile or two for a while.. but will be pushing myself hard in the pool. I posted a "help" post on marathon mommies and this is one response "If you have been following a training schedule, I would try for at least one more long run- two if possible...but I would not do much long run training at least 3-4 weeks prior to the marathon. My best marathons were when I cross- trained anyway. If it is hard to get the long run in, try for just one 3 hour run and don't worry about miles. I think you need at least a good 3 hour run or about 15-18 miles and you will still be able...

just home from a 2.5 mile walk- jog around campus with the family. It was a beautiful morning! I am still hesitant to push it and want to give my foot a few more days before i run over a mile. I need to get out my "marathoning for mortals" book and figure out my plan for the next few weeks until the marathon. ITS ONLY 8 WEEKS AWAY! yikes.

Ran a mile this morning at the track and my foot was fine... hopefully it will stay that way :) My plan is to take it easy the next few weeks and slowly build back up my mileage. It felt so great to be running again. I have really really missed it. OH.. and we went swimming again last night:) I did laps and then "ran" in the water :)

yes.. i had a bit of a run today. and a lot of a walk :) I am happy to report that my foot felt fine after a bit of a jog.. I will try a bit more jogging tonight on the treadmill and see how it goes. I am just so happy its getting better and not worse.

ok.. so i am fixing to go for a hour or so swim and will try and jog a bit tonight or tomorrow morning... my foot has been feeling better... so we will see.. I will post after while and share how many lengths of the pool i did. until i am back here is this link with GREAT info on feet and exercises to strengthen them UPDATE Ok I am just back from swimming and it was great! i did an hour and i dont know how many laps but a LOT huffin and puffin felt GREAT! it was so nice to get a workout after over a week from being off. at the end of the swimming i did some running in the water with a kick board.... Great workout! loved it now i am off to watch some smallville on DVD :)

ok .. so .. i must admit.. i have been a bit bummed. Having a bit of a pitty party over here... I have been trying to get my head around the fact that rest is in order and that it must be a slow comeback which might take a while. I have NOT gone to the dr to get xrays. But the good news is.. today i walked a mile while the kids ran track and it didnt hurt. Weird thing was last night i had a huge muscle cramp in my foot and had to rub it out... so part of me thinks it really IS a ligement muscle issue. I will try a mile walk on the treadmill tomorrow morning and gets some weights in after that... I must get ok with walking a full or half marathon. It has to be ok for me .. in my head to do that. I so miss running... its been an experience that is a stress relief, a mediation zone, a pray avenue, and a refreshing of my mind as much as my body. and I just really really miss it. but.. yet again.. this is something that i must gather the nerve up to muster through without baling out into a...

ok .. its almost been a week since my last run.. I was on my feet for about 12 hours on thursday working and it wasnt good for my foot.. its been hurting pretty consistently since thursday .. even when i am just sitting. needless to say i am very bummed, upset, frustrated and trying hard to not let it get me down. I guess it just yet another thing to wait out and work through and figure out how to stay active while i heal. Good news is i can swim 5 days a week at our local Univ. pool! they expanded the hours :) .. so.. we will see if i can actually make myself go. AND hopefully swimming wont hurt my foot. I figure .. worse case scenario i will walk the half marathon in Nov. (hope this is all making sense.. i was up until 2 last night watching Ike come ashore.. Josha.. bet your glad your not in Houston anymore :) blessings r

Ok.. so i am trying hard not to get down, frustrated and otherwise upset about my foot issue i am having. I tried to run tonight on the treadmill and it still felt bruised when i ran/walked.. so . I only did like half a mile and then hit the weights .. squats, lunges, bis, and ab work... (including hipups) .. I know i just need to rest it and see what happens.. if i push it now then i know i could injury further causing me to not be able to complete the marathon at all... i MUST rest until its better. so my plan is to bike and swim (I can swim of Friday and Sat at the local university for free) and i have my bike ready to go in the garage.. .. will also focus on what i CAN do .. so i will do weights when i can as well.. hopefully this wont last long but i am prepared to work around it.. praying its not a stress fracture. as my pain is NOT severe at any means.

ok.. two surprises ONE was how hungry I was on Sunday AND yesterday! (eating full plates of food is NOT a normal thing for me but I was starving!) and TWO I had a "bit of an issue" with my foot:( I was totally fine on Sunday and thankful by the way i didnt wear my 3 inch CUTE shoes to Church after that 14 mile run! But Monday morning I started having a bit of a pain on the outside of my left foot. I began to wonder (and stress a bit) that it might be a stress fracture. But the more i read the more I have come to the conclusion that its just a tendon issue. It doesnt hurt with pressure on it and it doesnt hurt all the time.. Also.. my left shin muscle was sore from my knee all the way down to my pinky toe...AND that is the same area of pain i have been having so I decided to rest today and yesterday and see how it goes and so far so good. so hopefully i will have a nice easy run on the treadmill tomorrow with no worries :) I have decided to alter my distance running for this ...

14 miles. 2 hours 26 mins 10.42 per mile Sunrise was amazing!!!!!!! its just nuts to think I ran most and walked some for 14 miles. just nuts i feel great now.. hungry.... and my thighs are sore. but feel great that i made it.

wont post before i leave cause it will be early :) wont post (probably) after i get back cause i will be getting ready for worship. so i will post after worship... I am a bit anxious about the 14 miles. But my goal is to have a personal record time for the run on my 13.1 miler i did on the 4th of july i made it in an average of 10.49 pace. I will try and not get all worked up about making a PR time but i will give it my best shot. ok.. its 905pm and i MUST get to bed before 930 so i will be able to get up :) more tomorrow

"Relax and Run.. This is 'spose to be FUN!" is what i kept repeating tonight on my 6 mile run. Proving that running is more mental than physical. Through the 6 miles I walked only 12 steps! I wanted to walk.. sure... but i just kept repeating "Relax and Run.. This is spose to be FUN!" in my head. I focused on relaxing and actually enjoying running instead of thinking "oh this is so much work!" or "uhg.. i am tired and i am ONLY half way!" I kept coming back to this "Relax and Run.. This is spose to be FUN!" and counting the blessings i have in the fact i CAN run. I saw so many people out walking, some very very very slow, some with older adults, some with dogs, some with kids so many people who werent or couldnt run. I remembered not so long ago that running 2 miles was a rediculous thought in my head.. I remember not to long how impossible just walking 2 miles was. I rejoyced tonight in my new found fitness and ability to do so muc...

Ok.. so i am thrilled to be a marathon mommy! click here :) such a cool blog! when i have some alone, vacationing down time (like when i am what.. FIFTY) .. i will spend that time just reading every marathon mommy's posts and blogs :) -------so heres an update--- no more running today.. OH.. except for the game of tag i played with my Kindergarten and First graders! (i was it!) .. our day at coop was great.. but i came home so tired. I didnt sleep well at all last night.. i dont know if it was those two pieces of dark chocolate i ate yesterday OR Sarah Palins awesome speach, OR the increase in blood pressure i developed from lifting weights so late in the day... in any case.. i am tired :) so Its off to bed for me (after i read to the kids) and looking forward to a nice long run tomorrow morning ... OH>>(do you ever go to crawl into bed and go "OH SHOOT>> no running shorts clean!" .. i do.. so i will have to gather my running things AFTER i read and before i...

wow when i started this blog it seemed like FOREVER until i turned 40. and here i am almost there.. its just a bit strange.... :) time flies fast! ok.. this has to be short as i am getting ready to go our homeschool coop and teach art :) the kids are excited and i am too! the only "bad" thing is although i got up in plenty of time to get at least a 4 mile run in it didnt happen... but i did , however manage a 1.04 mile run on the treadmill (which is such a low amount to me now it makes me grin when i type it) ... and then i stretched :) I will probably try and get another longer run in tonight .. the weather is amazing! and it just makes you wanna be outside :) more later this evening :) happy thursday! r

ok.. just finished a weight workout. squats, leg extensions, bis, stretching, new exercise for my IT band.. ab work.. (was thrilled i was able to do 24 hip ups! .. havent done those in forever and remember only being able to do 2! about a year ago!) heres a shot right after i finished. ok.. so i loved the undies post .. heres a version of my own the dark blue are my old size workout shorts which use to be tight on my waist, hips and thighs.. there was a time there i couldnt even fit into them! .. .. ok.. so i still wear and have to roll up three times to keep them up and which.. by the way are the ones i am wearing in the photo above :) ) on top are my gray and current size workout shorts. i had a good day today.. i have been trying hard to up my calories ... and have been feeling lots better. I am planning on a morning run first thing tomorrow as we will be busy with our homeschool coop all day and i cant leave it until tomorrow night :) PLUS a cold front came through and its spose ...

I thought i would share the post Jessica wrote on her "Life in China" blog.. here's the link check out the view she as from the treadmill she runs on .. so cool!

throughout this whole 2 year journey i have had ups and downs for sure. I realized quite a while ago to expect things to get difficult and that the hardest part of staying fit is mustering through when life is yelling at you to quit. I am still struggling and its really frustrating to have my digestive system rule my runs. I am so ready to be back to normal. !! I am so ready for my runs to be easy again. so today was a lesson in "how to deal with wishing i had a porta potty around the corner and had to run 4 miles to get to one" :) some other lessons i learned today: No matter how cute the dog looks try to stay far far away from grammy and her pooch. (I had a dog jump up at me and almost bit me! seriously!... the grammy yelled "so so sooorrry" .. and i was like "yeah grammy... take control of your pooch!" ... I was trying hard to get around and give the dog a wide birth but she had him on a LONG leash (which i didnt realize) .. I had to jump back with my...