Fit with Ruthie

UPDATE: no run today... painted my boys room, bought and put together a loft bed and new twin bed,......busy day. I am tired and OH MY i am sooooo sore! Did I mention I did walking lunges yesterday? UPHILL! .. ... tomorrow.. walking... not looking good. BUT I will get my 6 miler in tomorrow... will make me feel better! :) Looking forward to 6 miles later this evening.. I think I will dress up like a runner and get a few miles in on Halloween! :) Here is a song I LOVE... a great reminder of how I will NEVER go back to where I use to be!!!! when life seemed "just ok" and "easy" --although it wasn't easy--being out of shape and depressed is hard from easy AND the work to it takes to get out of that mess IS not easy! Interesting how to do NOTHING seemed easier for me when I was in it. It's work getting out of that pit. Thats why I like this song! Never going back there!

so... today I had co-op all day. I was tired ... all day. didnt sleep well. But this afternoon we had track practice at 530 and wouldnt you know it.. after running 3 miles I felt GREAT! I ran with my son Jo who.... 18 months ago couldnt run 50 yards. He has been running 3 miles the last few weeks and is getting stronger and stronger. I am so very proud of him! What a joy and what fun we had running tonight.. talking, laughing, complaining about a side stitch, laughing, talking... and so on... less thatn 30 mins later we were done! What a joy! (eventhough a front came through and the wind was blowing and it was in the upper 40s!.. we layered ourselves up and had lots of fun!... ME fun in the cold.. huh?) After our run we did lots of stretching and some other leg exercises.. felt great! funny how this running is all just a part of my life now. It use to be so very hard. But now.... now its like brushing my teeth.. ... its just what I do. dont know how long this "phase" will la...

UPDATE:5:42 pm::: My dad is doing great. Ended up he has nothing that is blocked over 60% so they did nothing to him. No stints, nothing. He has lots of hardening of the arteries and many areas that are 30 or 40 or 50% blocked but they said they would not do anything unless it was 75%. they will just give him medicine. He is coming home tonight. Thanks for our prayers! My Daddy is 74. He has had health issue after health issue over the past 2 years. Earlier this week the Drs found he had a blockage in the coronary artery. Today he will have Stints put in. I love my Daddy and would appreciate your prayers. In the past few years he has had a stroke, has had his heart go out of rhythm twice and had to have his heart stopped with medicines and then shocked back into beating! It seems like every 6 weeks he is having to go through something else. It makes me sad. ------------------- All this has led me (again) on a journey to research the cause of plaque in our arteries. You know God has m...

first of all I must say i LOVE my new hat from U Mother. The only issue I have is some people seem a bit shocked by the u mother company name and i get some "oh" looks when they read it. but the hat is very comfy and works great at keeping my head cool and sun out of me eyes :) this is just after I finished a 4.5 mile lunch run. DH came home for lunch and I headed out. I left with my white thermal shirt on over my black short sleeve, and my long black pants on and came home looking like this... with both tied around my waist :) I had numb feet for the first mile and half or so.. just the balls of my feet and a few toes were numb.. was it the cold? or just something weird going on with me.. I dont know... i am surprised at the muscle def i see in my legs in that photo... didnt know it was there. loved the run. weather was cool but the sun was out. now i can have fun at track practice and know my workout is behind me. I stretched and will do some abwork when I get back from tak...

just 2 miles. for fun. felt great.

and came back an ATHLETE! OH how bad did I needed THAT run? it was a month's worth of pent up stress and frustration laid out over the 6 miles! (stress and frustration in terms of my lack of housewife expertise and always feeling like my home isnt ever going to be clean or organized) I ran a new route too and LOVED it! stopping by a garage sale after the first mile :) stayed for about 10 mins and left :) this is WHY I need to run by the end of the first half mile I am already destressing I can literally feel it leaving my body! by the end of the first mile I am feeling more and more confident as my feet take each step by the end of the second mile I feel 10lbs lighter by the end of the third mile I am thinking I might can actually run 6 miles today. by the end of the fourth mile I am feeling stronger and more fit than I have in 4 weeks by the end of the fifth mile I am running taller and feeling relaxed by the end of the 6 mile I walk into my home an athlete not the drug down wor...

Decided I could get excited about another half marathon :) Decided I am excited cause I get to run long runs again on Saturdays :) I have decided not to let the specifics get in my way. It doesnt matter how fast or what time of day or how cold or hot it is or if I run inside or outside. All that matters is that I am doing it! someone over at Marathon Mommies told me about THIS and I put in all my information in and had it figure a plan for 11 weeks. 11 weeks from now will be 2010! So I will run 13.1 on 1.1.10 UPDATE: OK.. NOW i am all excited! Now that I have my long runs listed on the side bar it looks really fun~! not lots of hours out running.. just nice fun distance to enjoy! :) I will get up and by out by 8am tomorrow.. there is a garage sale (big) exactly a mile away from my house I will run to first... then finish out the last 5 miles with a fun different route through the neighborhood(s) .. (gotta go map it out so i know where I will be going ) woowhoo!

ok.. so here is the deal Could it be the honey moon is over? you know what I mean. I am just in a funk. Cant seem to get my back in my groove and be excited about my plan. I felt like such a runner, such an athelete the last month before and a few days after the marathon but now..... well... See my list over there to the right? 2 misses. Not good for a first week "back". Here are my thoughts right now: I miss my alone time runs. I miss it just being assumed that on (insert a day) I would be running for a few hours. time by myself. I miss the warm weather. I am telling you, you might as well tell me its 20below if its in the 50s! I wake up cold and know its just my brain getting in my way of getting out the door. I dont know if I really like my plan.... I want to have some long runs (like 10 miles) or so on my list do. Track is great but I need to figure out when I can get my own workout in! I know I know... I am just fussing.... If i would just have my stuff ready to go the ...

That's where it begins you know... and for most people where it ends. Being fit is a state of mind, literally. Its the ability to control your mind to a point where excuses and self doubt will not stop you from doing what needs to be done. this morning I woke up cold. I am not sure what to do about this maybe I SHOULD go to the dr and get on drugs for this stupid low blood pressure. It is days like today that make me want to do that. If it wasnt for whats between my two ears and the goals that I have set then I would still be laying in bed. Physically the cold makes me draw up and curl that blanket around me and want to just keep dozing off, but mentally the cold just brings me down. Today I was to get up and go for a 3 mile run outside about 630.. but it was still in the 50s and windy and dark. I ended up taking DH to work at 8am and then just sitting, debating on what to do... you see.. I DO have track practice at noon where I am sure I will jog atleast a mile or two with the kid...

I have had enough "rest" and I am so ready to get back into a routine of running and all that goes with it. I posted my plan for the week on the side bar.. the hardest part i KNOW will be getting our of bed and out the door. It will be in the 50s here :( ... I know I will enjoy it once i get out the door and get a mile under my feet :) now to find my ipod and decide if I am going to wear pants or running skirt. had a free day on eats last night and today... popcorn, ice cream, chinese food ... makes me really want to go shopping and get some sugar snap peas :) ha. more in the morning after my 3 miles :)

OK... so I have decided enough is enough. I feel my body is rested and ready to go again, ready to be pushed again,... and i have a plan.. :) So, next week i will begin training for a 5k to increase my 5k time. I have not timed my 5k pace so I am not sure where I am .. but figure its close to 8 something a mile. I would LOVE to eventually get to where I was running a 7 min mile pace, but that might take a while to get to and a few months of training to try and get faster. I will be using Hal Higdons plan ( click here to view ) and will post on the side bar my weekly schedule to help me keep track of what i am spose to do, and when. Getting my training in shouldn't be that big of an issue as we have track practice at noon on somedays and 530pm on some days... so I will be trying to get BACK in the habit of getting up and running first thing in the morning. The hard part is going to be getting myself over the fact that its fall and the cool weather its only going to get colder. The...

The above photo is one of the girls who trains with our team. She is 4 years old and ran against a group of over 100 7 and 8th grade girls at a Cross Country Track meet... and beat some of them I might add! I might ruffle a few feathers, and if I do, I am sorry. I know how passionate people can be when it comes to their children and sports. But I just want to share a few thoughts, my opinion, on why running is the best sport for kids. As you know, I am involved with a local kids running club. This club is led by an amazing man, a national champion, and someone who was and still is an amazing runner. We have children in the club as young as 4 years old and as old as Sr's in Highschool. I have looked a bit on the internet and found many running clubs geared towards the youth of this nation. I wanted to take time in my blog to encourage those of you with children to look into running clubs in your area. Here are my reasons why Running is the best sport for kids: Running is an individu...

ok..fast post before bed. Taught at co-op today .. it was great!.. made the day fly by. Track practice tonight.. dont know how far I ran . cause I run all over the place but figure atleast 2.5 miles. Part of that I did sprints.. running from the back of the kids pack to the front of the kids pack as they were running a mile. We had another new kids show up tonight and two more families sign thier kids on for "the long haul".. so thats fun! we had 38 kids there tonight! (and that doesnt count our homeschool group who meets at noon) Eats you ask? no so good today... vanilla wafers at coop, pizza tonight .... but will not let it get me down... got a lead on sugar snap peas :) will try and find them tomorrow :)... funny thing.. my NEW jeans I bought are now having to be belted all the time or they dont stay up. i am wondering if I am adjusting (finally) to all this running and my body realizes I eat more often now :) ok... I am off to bed. will lift tomorrow (upper body) .. still...

Woke up sore this morning :) feels great to be sore from lifting weights :) my eats yesterday were GREAT! stayed on track most of the day :) the only "slip" was a few m&ms (peanut) that I had right before bed with my fruit and water. ate 6 meals :) made sure I stayed with the correct portions and balance of carbs and protein. I drank water all day :) I didnt plan on it but ended up going all day yesterday with NO TEA ( ( was TEA FREE)) YIPEEE))):) so no caffeine for me yesterday! I started getting headache about 130pm and i drank a protein shake and it went away. Another headache started on the way to track.. but running made that one go away ! wowhoo! so last night.. I slept allll night! will i stay caffeine free? dont know.. will just see how things go today. more after I workout later today :)

got up, drank a glass of water did chest, Tris and Shoulders (12. 10. 8. 6 PLUS burnouts) felt GREAT to be lifting again! woowhoo! breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 slices Ezekial Bread, WATER need to buy more peas, some dried fruit to go with my almonds as a snack, some more zucchini :) Happy Housewives Posted my Wedding Dress Challenge.. click here Here is something I wrote on a forum... "It might seem impossible........... but it isn't impossible. you are stronger than you think you can be anything, and do anything you set your mind to... ......I have learned over the past year... through illness and injury.... Life might get in your way.... Everyone and Everything might tell you to give up... but even when things are falling apart and you dont think you can.... you can. i ran a marathon.. by myself... this past saturday. I ran it a YEAR after I had planned to run it. Life got in my way.. but didnt stop me.. Things happen in life to keep us off track... but if you j...

Ok.. so today is Day one of my eating clean :) I have done good so far. :) trying new things so far here are my eats: breakfast : oatmeal with protein powder, 4 peach slices, and 8 almonds :) made with milk and water mixed (i had never really like the powder in my oatmeal. tried it only once before... but this morning it was good) snack : Ezekial Bread (2 slices) water and tea Noon time run (2 miles with the older track kids) Lunch: 1 tortillia with fat free beans and half a slice of american cheese, a serving of sugar snap peas with taco seasoning sprinkled on them:) (sooooo yummy!) I am sooo happy... I really think I have found my substitute for chips! I try not to eat lots of chips but I know that the ones I do I probably over eat them cause they are sooo salty and good :) Sugar Snap Peas are my new favorite food :) Now if I can just find them on MY SIDE OF TOWN! ..I also wish I could find them in bulk instead of this small package (ready to eat) that is small and 4 bucks! I was t...

.... well.. if one thing I have learned through this whole marathon thing is that I am stronger than I thought I was and I can do more and be better than I thought I could be. I guess this is what they mean when they say running a marathon changes your life. You see... I set out to run this marathon on my "own" and "alone" because it took away all the excuses. no $ to pay, no one else to be accountable too,,... etc etc.. well.. you see.. now this mind set has translated itself into my eating and nutrition. If i relate my eating to running a marathon. I would say that my eating is on the level of a 5k but I want my eating on the level of a marathon. (do you get what I am saying here?) so... because of this desire, I have come to some decisions. regular bread is officially off my list .. from tonight onward if I eat bread it will be THIS. I will be striving to do the "Eat Clean Diet" lifestyle. I will lay out a plan (tricks) on how I will succeed to eat cle...

well.. a week post marathon and I am feeling low and lazy ... I have been struggling all week with low energy. Last night I got enough sleep but this afternoon still feel sluggish. I went to my moms this afternoon and took my blood pressure and it was 79 over 58....with a pulse of 44. Now mind you this was after eating a few salty chips and walking to my moms.. so there is no telling how low it was before I got up and got over there. All this to say.. this is why i will forever be a runner. Running just does something to my body to give me energy and without a run in the morning I am sluggish and just want to take a nap. I am so interesting in learning what and how running effects my blood pressure. Why do i feel so great when I run? What is the physical answer to what it does to my body. So I am researching, and wish I had a best friend who was a Dr or scientist who could answer my question. :) I HATE they way I feel without running, its like I am walking around in a daze.. hard to e...

well... THAT was fun (not). .. ok.. will it kinda was. But I must say the initial excitement that I could get it past my hips is gone. I WAS thrilled I got it past my hips.. but now after seeing it in the photos I am like.. ugh. Got some work to do. One thing I have figured out is that in order to keep myself moving forward is to have a goal that I am passionate about and one that seems impossible too (like a marathon). This Challenge is just that. I NEVER thought I would ever get in this dress again. I thought being old and having kids meant saying goodbye to that size dress my hope to ever get in it again. But I have changed my mind. I CAN be the woman my hubby married almost 20 years ago.... and I WILL BE! So.. here are just some snapshots from my wedding day which was almost 20 years ago in June. And here are my before photos from today. I figure it is really about 20lbs I need to loose in order to get back in it.. My tummy and chest are the two big issues. I look at this above pi...

(yes.. that is me.. in all my styling 1990 fashion:) Ruthie's Wedding Dress Challenge (remember you can use a different dress if you would like to, a prom dress? cocktail dress? or new dress you bought but can't get into) Here is how it works: Find your wedding dress! :) Gather up the courage to try and slip that dress on. Stand in front of a mirror and rate yourself on the Wedding Dress Challenge Scale below: (1) can get past my calves (2) can get up past my thighs (3) can get it to my waist AND arms fit in sleeves. (4) can do all the above but cannot zip it! (5) can zip it .. but it's TIGHT! Take a picture. YES. A picture of you wearing your wedding dress as it fits you today. You can choose front, back, or sideways but make sure you get at least one photo. If you think it just won't go on.. that's ok.. just hold it in front of you and snap a photo. Don't worry, you will be back in it soon enough! :) Post this picture on your blog or email it...