Fit with Ruthie

Well.. I am not surprised that the initial results are that I could be pre-diabetic . .. This is just from the fasting blood glucose reading that was taken before the actual 2 hour test began and reading I have done on the internet so its nothing official. I do know that I felt pretty lousy during the test so it will be very interesting to see what the results are. I will have full results in a few days. As I waiting for almost 3 hours in the lab, I got to do some reading :) A friend loaned me I am LOVING this book. What's better than going for a run? Reading about running. Of course THIS kind of running its just NUTS... I have really enjoyed Dean's website and the videos he as there. If you want a bit of running inspiration.here is a video called E50 Trailer its a short story about Dean and another woman who runs Ultra's .. No running today though... just reading about it :)

The Zone. That's what I call it. The Zone is a special place where for a few moments time seems to stand still. I have found my Zone many times in my life. Most experiences I have had with 'walking' through the Zone has been in my Artwork. You see.. when I paint or draw.. time just stands still. I find myself painting for hours before realizing it.. looking at the clock thinking its been 20 mins and its been an hour and a half or two hours. Once I was painting a mural.. and I worked 6 hours straight without a break... finally i thought .. "hum. i am hungry" .. thinking it was lunch time... and when I looked at the clock I found it was almost dinner time! Well, Friday.. as I ran... I found myself in the Zone. This hadn't happened before on any of my runs.. but Friday was different. The almost 2.5 hours it took to complete the 13.1 seemed surreal. It is hard to explain... a feeling that really cant be described. When I was finished I couldnt believe I had been o...

Yes.. I know I ran a long way yesterday.. and I know some think I should have rested, slept in, taken it easy, and eaten a few donuts this morning.. but I realized yesterday that the reason I felt so much stronger at the end of the run yesterday HAD to be because I have been lifting weights. Last year after the run I was literally exhausted.. "i will NEVER do that again" and I couldnt wait to sit down... .. but yesterday.. yeah I was tired... but I was planning on walking a mile and a quarter home after I finished the 13... so i had energy left :) So.. I am dedicated to lifting weights, because what it does for me :) Dont worry.. I still rested my lower body :) I did upper body.. Shawn Phillips style :) .. well.. except I messed it up LOL.. I was to do chest, shoulders triceps.. and I did chest shoulder biceps instead.... and didnt realize it was wrong until my hubby pointed it out to me :) ... My arms are jello .... and thats a good thing :) Since my half is over. I am think...

Yikes I stayed up WAY too late last night... 11pm! .. so.. this morning.. it felt REAL early! I should have been running by now! Su was ready to go! When I left it was dark! I did 4 miles with Su .. and was surprised to find a few other walkers out that early. I got on the road about 540 ish . I brought Su back after 4... and headed back out. Miles 5 and 7 was ok .. nothing to holler about :) ... but I am telling you.. MILE TEN brought me to tears. I knew I would finish... I knew I would finish! I saw my mom at mile 11. She was walking with a friend. Told her I was on mile 11 and she said "WHAT!"... "BE CAREFUL! ... get a drink!" ( dont you love moms!) Mile 11 wasnt too good... It made me want to quit... I wanted to stop. But I kept going... I wanted to run mile 12 and 13 .... but had to walk just a few times. But I was almost done.... so I kept going. I did it! 13.1 miles in 2.27... just a few minutes beyond my last years time... the iro...

538... heading out the door. .. su is with me for the first 4 miles. thinking the sunrise will be beautiful today!

I just posted this below.. but now have decided to do my blood glucose test tomorrow morning instead so I can have it done before going to Colorado. i will run Sat or Sunday ... I have to be there at 730am and it will take a good 3 hours.. cant eat after midnight tonight... ugh.. sounds worse than a marathon to me for sure. -------------------------- OK.. this is really funny... got a call from the Dr office... NOT doing the testing tomorow.. they dont do them on Fridays. ... so.. I WILL run tomorrow and get tested on Monday :) Oh the ups and downs of Dr stuff huh? .......... so.. back to my post below.. :) I will be running-walking my half marathon tomorrow morning :) .. Because of that today I walked a few laps around track :) trying to just rest for tomorrows big day. I have been thinking about my reasons and motivation to complete the half marathon. I LOVED Josha post on this topic a day or so ago.. and thought I would share mine as well :) My goals: To finish and be ok with it bei...

Well.. My heart is "a beautiful muscle".. good news! My valves are "pristine"... good news! she asked a few questions and decided to do a blood sugar test .. the test said 88. which is good.. right? then I told her I had a coke not long before coming to the office cause I was feeling "low energy" and she said it should be higher.. suspects hypoglycemia and possibly Diabetes wanted me to do a 2 hour fasting test... we talked about how if I had either.. the solution was to eat correctly... .. Its just more evidence of this: Eat good.(frequent meals, right balance, right amount).. feel good Eat bad (not often enough.. not the right balance.. not the right amount)... feel bad.. Its just the way things are going to be.. ....

woke up tired this morning.. I MUST get to bed earlier. I tried to get up at 530am and it just didnt feel right.. so I went back to sleep.. OR TRIED. .... precious little birds out the window kept churping at me... (GET UP GET UP GET UP) ha. .... I finally got up at 630... of course thinking the whole time... I should be running right now... but left the house at 7. I did 2 fast miles around campus.. no walking.. it was my fast pace. but I didnt actually feel in the grove and good until the last 2 laps around the track to complete my 3 miles. I then walked a lap and stretched to cool down. Motivation I Its been really good for me to think back about things that have really motivated me over the years. As I ran this morning I listened to a song .... THIS song: this song is the theme song that Josha used to create her transformation video. This song reminds me of Josha. When I listen I see the images of her transformation flash in my head. I see her smile and I see her children. I see al...

just a fast update: Dr office finally called.. all tests came back GREAT... nothing wrong. I meet tomorrow with the Dr to discuss the low blood pressure and hopefully get some answers about nutritional things i might be missing. ... will be interesting for sure. It felt GREAT to sleep late this morning :) didn't get out of bed until 750 :) woowhoo.. I am starting to see those muscles again! woooooowhoooooooo It was already warm in our garage-gym this morning so my upper body workout was a nice sweaty kinda workout :) chest, shoulders, back, tris and bis all done with burnouts :) Arms are jello :) And who says you cant get that heart pumping while sitting down? I was so excited to do 20lbs in each hand on tri extensions and 25 on curls (instead of 6 at the end I did 8... which means I am close to going up to 30lbers in each hand on bicurls! woowhooo!) Motivation I will never forget the night I laid in bed. I had been up late trying to have a bit of ME time. The kids were small an...

What a great morning! its HOT.. just the way I like it you know LOL... this weekend we worked on relaying our floor and its so nice to wake up this morning to a nice new floor (again) ......all that to say I didnt get my upper body workout done.. this morning I walked a mile and ran two for a total of 3 miles for today... its my taper week so I am not going to do over 3 or 4 miles on my weekday runs. Saturday is my half marathon.. and I am a bit nervous about it ....I dont feel as ready as I did last year but I will give it my best and be happy to just finish :) This week is my first article on the Happy Housewives Club.. click here to read the article on Motivation. This week I will be sharing the things that have motivated me to keep going.. to start over. I will post those at the end of my daily postings :) You know we just love Su the super dog around here.. she is just smart as a whip and can do all kinds of tricks.. last week we worked on "puppy pushups".... its great...

Here is an interesting video ........would love to hear your thoughts on this. I think is that no matter what... even if there were a pill to keep me "healthy"... what about the benefits of exercise that go beyond physical? what about stress relief? what about mental toughness and feeling you can do anything? self confidence? .......hum......dont think they can put that in a pill.

busy day walked jogged 2 miles with my oldest son Jo (he's 10) then I ran a fast paced mile after for a total of 3 miles this morning planned on lifting weights when I got home but grocery store and breakfast interupted... then we RELAYED our kitchen floor today ... had to take up the Den and Hallway to relay the kitchen.. it is done and i am glad will lift weights tomorrow also.. coming up Puppy bench press and push ups as well as my "saying no" food story :) (not as exciting as its sounds) more tomorrow after I go to worship and lift weights :) :)R

I KNEW today was special. I could feel it. I had NO idea why. then I remembered. THREE YEARS AGO today I gave it one more shot. If you would have told me on that day that I would not only finish 12 weeks but complete a half marathon and now seriously considering sitting for my personal trainer certification, I would have said "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA" I CANNOT tell you how important this blog has been in my journey. For the friends I have made (some of whom I have never even met in person) who have encouraged me and held me together when I had every reason and excuse to give up. Three years of starting over. Three years of small and long term goal setting. Three years of hoping it was possible but wondering if I would actually make any changes. Three years of fighting with the food demons and health issues. Three years. wow. It goes by so very fast. I have learned that the journey to being fit and healthy can truly change who you are. It changes how you parent, what kind of friend and...

yeah, I know. how in the world did I slam my fingers in the car? I mean,,, HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN? ran 2 miles at 6 am.... with su beautiful out... felt great. left to go wake up the boys about 635 drove us all back to track. trying to carry my water bottle and keys.. and the car was parked real close to me so i was squeezin through.. and BOOM I will never forget the image of my fingers stuck in the car door.. scream try to open the door ITS LOCKED! find keys put keys in key hole and unlock scream again "mom you ok?" boys ask UHHU,,, NO,, but yeah,,, scream yeah that was my morning... i iced it wrapped... had a sweet nurse whose kids are at track look at it and she wiggled it a and that made me want to pass out ... so i had to sit down,,, felt better went to walmart --- got splints arent they lovely well, I shouldnt be surprised i hurt myself......i mean,.........its been what like 6 weeks since something was sick, hurt or injured on my body LOL ,,,,,,I should be use to it, s...

this is me today.. thanks to those walking lunges :) YIKES those make me sore! I know.. stop staring at me... I look funny when I walk and I groan when I get up or sit down... stop it... its not funny.... ITS PROGRESS! I walked a few laps around the track this morning to try and get that soreness out.... then I came home made breakfast for the fam, ironed and cleaned up a bit (in the garage-gym) .. and then lifted weights. Today was upper body. I did 12. 10. 8. 6 and burnouts on all lifts :) chest, shoulders, tris, bis and back... I was pooped when I was done and it felt GREAT! now... what am i going to do tomorrow morning when my arms are as sore as my legs today? I will be a cowpoke who can't draw his six shooter. .. yikes! :) for a bit more of an image of how I feel right now.. checkout this video below.... its pretty close to my swagger :)...

I wish I had my camera this morning for the amazing sun rise I saw :) Why in the world would I choose to sleep through such an amazing sight! wow. I was up at 530am this morning and running by 605. I did two miles at my fast pace around campus and then came back to track and walked a lap and stretched. Then I walked another lap and decided it was time to go make sure the boys were up for their practice at 7am. I drove home to find the boys up and getting ready :) they woke up all on their own eventhough their daddy was here :) Back to the track for the boys practice ... they went around campus so I followed along in the back of the pack with a sweet little girl from the team (shes 8) and I also took Su the super dog along with me :) Su was soooooooo happy :) so thats 2 miles before 630 and then 2 miles between 7 and 730 :) ... 4 miles again! woo whoo.. then I did 5 sets of walking lunges since i missed a leg workout yesterday .... my legs are definately jello :) What a great way to s...

Does THIS count as a workout? YIKES! We started painting the inside of my kitchen cabinets yesterday... ... the kids helped out a lot... but I really really wanted to get finished so I decided to stay up late and work on it... I didnt get into bed until almost midnight! (yes this is after waking up yesterday at 530am!).... I was up at 7am going to walmart to caulk for the kitchen. I worked all day and I am still not done. I still have drawers and two small cabinets to finish... heres one shot before and two after.. I am so tired and ready to be finished.. but that will have to wait until tomorrow. Here's something interesting... today is the first day in a long time that I have had NO green smoothies, today is also the first day in a long time that I ate HORRIBLE the WHOLE day .. well.. with the exception of breakfast. (eggs, toast)........I was off on timing of my meals... waiting longer that 3 hours to eat, and eating things like cheetoes, a potato chicken burrito, a hamburger,...

first run in the new shoes :) wow. I am tired. Cat woke me up at 530 asking to go to the 6am track practice. I wanted to go run then but my DH needed the car, so I just dropped her off. I came home folded 2 loads of laundry, started another, and got ready to run. DH came back from work and took us to the track. I decided I REALLY wanted to do 4 miles today. Its seemed impossible the last few weeks to break that 3 mile mark. I would have NO energy, issues breathing, or .. .. something else. (all from the low blood pressure I suppose). So this morning I was determined. Walk run or crawl I was doing 4 miles on a week day! I ran 4 laps around the track. Told the kids I was leaving and headed to run a lap around campus. (2mile loop). After the 2 miler I came back to the track and did 4 more laps. the last mile wasnt easy. I stopped, then walked, then talked myself back into running. Its such a mental game .... it really really is. "Good grief... why are you walking?" "because...

Just wanted to share what I have in my kitchen :) ... click on the product photos to get more information. Blog entry from Jan 2008: "I have been wanting to post about this for about a week or so but I went to buy protein powder a few weeks ago.. (last week maybe) and I discovered they had gone WAY up on price! a large tub use to cost about 30 bucks and now its 50 something bucks! I am so frustrated because I love this protein.. I just don't know if I want to pay that much for it! .. UGH>" I am so happy! My husband went to the health food store and bought some Vanilla Protein and it has gone back down in price.! I guess the economy has something to do with it huh? anyway... what WAS 56.00 is now back down to 30.00 and I am so happy! I use the Vanilla as a "base" for my shakes and I have really missed it :) On the sugar front... yes I still have an ongoing battle with the white stuff. I know I dont eat ice cream and cakes and cookies and doughnuts like I use t...

Remember how my DH and I decided to do our OWN biggest loser thing and went and weighed a few weeks ago.. I was so upset to find I was at 150lbs! which meant I had gained 20plus pounds since last August. I was bummed. I have been working out and running and loving it again. I look forward to my workouts for the stress relief and time away:) ... I am also making progress. I am getting stronger, I am able to run farther for the most part, and my pants are getting looser. So today we decided to go weigh. First weigh in goes to the wonderful husband who lost 1lb. I .. on the other hand. still 150 lbs! URGH> you see THIS is exactly why I hate the scale. Because it screams at me that I made ZERO progress. Back in the day I would have said "well.. shoot... forget it... alllll that work and NOTHING to show for it" .. but not anymore. I know there are other reasons and areas I HAVE made progress. I also know that eventually all this muscle I have built over the last month is my fat...

Well I have decided to do something I NEVER thought I would do. No, I didn't go skydiving, or eat fried bugs, or actually get my closet cleaned out ( LOL ).. No.. This week I decided to share my blog with the world in my own way. As most of you know this blog started out as a "last resort" my "wondering if THIS will work for me" kinda thing. I knew journaling and health and fitness should all go together. I knew that making a permanent change meant working out my feelings and not just my muscles. I knew I needed to journal but I am not one to sit down with paper and pen.. so .. Here we are. I never planned to share this with more than 3 or 4 people. I mean.. good grief ! my before pictures are on here! YIKES!... I have felt the call to reach out to more and more people. Because you see, I remember what I use to be like. It is etched in my brain forever. I also remember finding women such as Pam Brown : Who inspired me-gave me HOPE. Many times I think ...

I was to do lower body this morning. legs tired from yesterday did leg curls walking lunges and ab work called it enough need to rest them might do more tomorrow depending how they feel :) of to a internal track meet with the kids should be fun :)R

Lookie Lookie what came tonight in the mail! YIPEEEEE! There's almost nothing better to a runner than to get new runnin shoes.... wooooowhoooo.. :) I soooo happy! So I get up, get dressed, and go out for a nice BEAUTIFUL run this morning. I get a few miles into the run and as I am watching the sunrise I hear this alarm. YES> an alarm. All of a sudden I wake up and realize I wasn't running at all. I was still in bed! I had slept through my alarm and DHs was waking me up an hour after I was spose to wake up. I have never had a dream I was running before.. well.... besides running away from tornados or aliens LOL,.. so I was pretty disappointed when I woke up. I knew it was going to be getting hot fast today... which is what I love.. but I love running my long runs at about 545am-8am before it gets up into the mid 80s. So I knew i was going to have to adjust my plans. .. But BOY didnt know what I was in for this morning. Never a dull moment around here.. and of course.. its all...

I know I shouldnt be surprised... I mean.. how many times have I started over.. how many times have I "lost" my muscle mass and rebuilt it again? .. but .. it's always exciting to see the beginnings of a a bump :) I am so excited to see the muscle returning again! I am still feeling stronger everyday and know its just taking it one day at a time and doing what I can that day that will make a difference :) see the little bi bump? :) yipee. Thanks to Chrissy (below) I did a new Bicep curl workout today and it felt great! Evolution of a green smoothie :) ice-water-banana-spinach added strawberries-blueberries and blend until a happy color pink! Now, what man woman or child would not look at that and say YUMMY, never realizing there was spinach in it! so cool! So happy I learned about greensmoothiegirl.com... (thanks JRo) .... ok. now for my workout update I took 2 of the kids to track practice this morning and then came home to lift weights with my hubby :) ... I returned f...

Well.. I think i am finally getting on schedule and use to being up early in the morning :) I woke up at 6 this morning.. which was great.. had some time to do laundry and wake up before getting the kids out of bed ..It sure made me want to get out the door before 7am.. its sooo beautiful here when the sun is just waking up :) I plan on Friday when I run my 10 miler to leave about 615.. so i can enjoy it and be finished before it gets to hot. I wanted to run for 60 mins today but ended up going for only about45. I managed a bit over 3 miles but for some unknown reason I just pooped out .. ZERO energy to keep running. So I am happy with what I could do :) and not worrying about it.. I dont want to push myself until i know whats going on with me... OH Yeah.. and look at the new shoes that DH ordered for me yesterday! I am soooooo excited! :) They are just like the ones i have now.. only RED :) Now I am on the hunt for a winter running outfit... my goal is to actually run outside a lot mo...

Ok yeah so I am hooked up to all these wires... the stickies are drivin me crazy and I would rather just yank them off .. thank you very much.. I thought I would get use to them but nope.. they are still annoying me.. But whats a girl to do? I decided I can't sit around feeling "monitored" all day.... so of course I just had to go with the flow and get up this morning and workout :) I did Upper Body: chest press, chest flies shoulder press and front shoulder raises bi curls and hammer curls tricep extensions and tri pull downs happy that I am going up in weight and getting stronger with every workout :) I was soooooooo excited when i went up to 25lbs again on bi curls and did 20s on shoulder press... I also did front shoulder raises with light weight as i hadnt done those in about a year! ...(since i hurt my shoulder)... I felt NO pain or twinge at all in my shoulders.. and that is sooooo cool cause i really really think i am back to normal now... :) so whats a girl to do...

The Heart sonogram went fine... no results for a few days... prob not til next week.. you how these things go... hurry up and wait. I loved being able to see my heart beating away inside me.. sort of a weird feeling as i looked at the screen... the technician was great and explained what i was seeing although i could see the valves and chambers really well.. after that was a holter monitor they put on me..... I feel a bit like someone is watching my every move LOL .. it is a bit annoying to say the least.. all those stickies all over.. but hopefully i will get use to them in a few hours and not even notice them. The lady said I could run in it on Wednesday.. so i guess I will.... but eeeeeoooo it will make it all sweaty.... .. but i am wondering why running makes me feel so much better so i think running in it would be a good idea :) ok .. enough on all that.. now some inspirational video :) click here

I ran a bit over 3 miles this morning but left the workout feeling frustrated... I could never manage to get into a rhythm .. and majority of the time felt short of breath... I am very very very sore from those walking lunges! Those things are killer! I am sore in spots I didnt know i had :) ... gotta love em :) I got this afternoon for my heart sonogram and to get the heart monitor i will have to ear for 48 hours.. i hope i get some answers.. and that its not anything to bad :) .. will post later today after i get all hooked up still feeling strong despite short of breath :)

LOVE this song.. just thought i would share :) I am happily sore from yesterdays workout :) the 5.5 hour car ride home today didnt help too much but i am just so thankful to be sore :) means progress :)

Happy I got that Lower body workout in this morning :) here's what I did Squats: 12. 10. 8. 6 lunges ( not alternating) 12, 10, 8, walking lunges with no weight (deep walking lunges with back knee going to the ground) 2 sets of 10 and rest.. then 2 sets of 8 deadlifts 12. 10 8 (my legs are shot!) makes me feel much better after eating that doughnut for breakfast:) feeling stronger everyday! I am so thankful for every workout. Remembering how it feels to be sick or injured and all i went through this past winter makes me soooooooo thankful for the blessing of a body that is healed and getting stronger everyday! God is good! :)

“ Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing. ” "There will be days you don't think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have." -Unknown " You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've give myself athousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. - Steve Prefontaine Long distance running is 90% mental and the other half is physical. - Rich Davis "Running is real. It's all joy and woe, hard as diamond. It makes you weary beyond comprehension, but it also makes you free." I am stronger than i think. I am tougher than i feel. I can do anything I put my mind to.