Mother Racer

I went out for my trial run workout… 7 miles total with 2 at race pace. So the 1st 3 miles were a 7:34, 7:23 & 7:16. My 2 tempo miles were a 5:53 (way too fast) and a 5:59 (still fast). The 2nd mile felt better but I can go 11 seconds slower in my race. Now that I just wrote that down, I am now thinking… Crap I only get to go 11 seconds slower. 🙂 Oh good times. We shall see. The last 2 miles were a 6:31 and a 6:52 for a recovery. It was a good run. The rest of the day was hectic, busy… Ok normal. I had 3 extra kids (that I watch on Wednesdays) today that I dragged around with me. 🙂 They were good. I did have a couple of visitors today. Beth and Rachelle… You 2 are amazing and thanks for the treats!

The 2 older girls had piano lessons and the 2 younger girls and I went to CC practice. I had them do a light speed workout today. A 1 1/2 mile warmup… Then 60 sec fast, 30 sec recovery, 30 sec fast, 60 sec recovery. They did that for 18 minutes. After they finished off with a 2 1/2 mile cool down.

This weekend will be fun in California with them. They are all good kids! For our Christmas activity tonight, we decorated the tree…

It surprisingly went well! The girls did homework, cleaned up and went to bed early tonight. I was shocked but extremely happy. I was able to get everything packed, cleaned, and ready for this weekend. Now I’m here, lying in bed, writing in my “journal”. It feels good to lie down and relax. Corom just got home… He will now began his packing. 🙂 I’m going to bed.

Monday: I woke up and went out for a 20:24 minute run. It was tough! 😉 Today was a rest day (along with yesterday) but I get to antsy not going out 2 days in a row… So I went out for a little more than a couple of miles. It wasn’t much but it is amazing how much it helped me mentally! I had my monthly PTO meeting at the school today… My youngest had my phone…

She was bored… Or maybe not. 🙂 At CC practice today, the HS kids went on a moderate 6 mile run and finished off with 8 x 100 meter strides. Their Footlocker race is this weekend as well (in California).

Corom and our youngest went out on their date this afternoon…

And then our 3rd daughter and I went out on our date. This has been so fun for Corom and I and the girls… A little hectic tonight but it all worked out!

We had our neighbors over for dinner and Family night. Every night this month as a family we do a Christmas activity. We have a little craft Christmas tree that the girls will open up the door to the day we are on and see what activity we are doing. Our neighbors joined us for the 1st night… It was making the Christmas countdown candy rope…

The kids had a lot of fun… Amber (my neighbor) and I had a lot of work. 🙂 It was fun though.

Tuesday: My morning run consisted of a 7 mile recovery run. Recovery from what? Who knows… Maybe yesterday’s workout??? I ran the run in 51:43 (a 7:22 min pace). I felt ok… I just keep reminding myself that it is tapering week and that it is normal to feel “sluggish”… I hope. 🙂 Today consisted of babysitting and lots of laundry & cleaning. I was kind of stuck at home until our internet guy came… He said anywhere from 12-4. I left at 3:15 to pick up my kids and of course at 3:20 he called to see where I was at. It wasn’t a big deal but that seems to always happen that way. Anyway… I already started packing for my race (while the laundry was getting done)… I know crazy… I just wanted to make sure I had my “right” running attire, Gu’s, XOJO (the drink I use during my races), etc… The kids played (my oldest is funny to watch sometimes… She cut out a gorge and was playing catch with the seeds from inside)…

She was a mess! After dinner we found out what our next Christmas activity was… Letters To Santa!!! Oh yeah for Corom and I.

Corom went to his bishopric meeting tonight and the girls went to bed. I had a little free time to do this with yesterday and today’s events. 🙂 Hi Amber E! hope this is early enough… 😉

Friday: I ran 5.4 miles in 40:02 minutes. It was a nice recovery run! It’s runs like these though that make me a little nervous for my training. I know it is good for the body to have a day with low mileage (especially when tapering) but it really messes you up. When I was done, I felt like I needed to run more and that it wasn’t enough. I am hoping that this book that I got my tapering plan from is legit! 🙂 Right after I finished my run, I met up with the CC kids and sent them off on a Fartlek run.

There were about 8 that showed up but with it being Black Friday/Thanksgiving break… I didn’t expect much. 🙂 Anyway… The rest of the day was spent with family (on my husbands side). We did start the whole Christmas decorating thing at my house… But we don’t have a lot of decorations so it didn’t last too long. The kids played (and Corom) 😉 , the the adults hung out.

Later that evening… The older cousins watched the younger ones while we went to see the Hunger Games movie… Thanks Yolanda for the fun adventure of traveling to different movie theaters! Good times!

Saturday: I slept in until 6:40 and then met up with a few friends (Mac, Josie and Rachelle) for a 12.1 mile run. I ran a lot of it on my own but I would run out for awhile at my pace, then turn around and meet back up with them. The run went by fast. I finished with a time of 1:28.07. My last mile was at a 6:04 pace… Just to finish off strong. I felt good but I’m getting so nervous about next week. It will actually come and go… Sometimes I will think no big deal and then other times I think what in the crap was I thinking? A 2:42 marathon… We shall see!!! One week!!! We took the girls to see “Alexander and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”. It was a cute movie (and it was even better because it was at the discounted movie theatre). We then went to cut down our Christmas Tree…

It was supposed to be a fun time but the girls were horrible!!! They fought and cried the entire drive there (a little over an hour). We should have turned around but we didn’t. We did find a spot to park the car on the side of the road and then we had to hike up a little hill. Once we were out the girls were fine (a little whiny at times trying to get up the hill but we ignored them). We found a tree pretty quick and Corom cut it down…

We let the girls play for a little longer to get their energy out and then we headed home…

We got home right at dinner time… I ate and then the girls were all in bed by 6:30. The 2 younger ones fell asleep by 6:45 and the 2 older ones by 7:15. They were tired!!! Days like today make me tired! The girls drained Corom and I emotionally and physically!

Sunday: We went to church today. It was good! In the morning I told all the girls to get their shoes on and get in the car…

My youngest put on snow boots… I noticed it when we got to church. It works for me! We had meetings after church and then a few families came over for dinner. It was nice visiting!

I love the Thanksgiving runs! I started off my morning with a 5k race. I ran a 13 min warmup before the race started.

It was a beautiful but cold morning… The 5k started and right from the beginning, I knew I would be following another female competitor… She was out quick and stayed in the lead the entire way. I forgot how tough 5k’s are!!! My 1st mile was a 5:40. My 2nd mile I hit it at 11:26… A 5:46. My 3rd mile was 17:18… 5:52 and finishing the last .1 with a time of 17:52 (a 5:46 pace). That is a new PR for me (I’ve never broken 18 in a 5k… My best before was a 18:12). So I was happy with it… The girl in front was strong!!! She finished with a 17:38 I believe… I did win a turkey…

I finished with a 3.2 mile cool down in 24:52 (a 7:44 pace). I felt great for the race but before and after I felt un-smooth. I know that doesn’t make sense but it does to me. 🙂 I ran a total of 8 miles today. At home it was goofing off and getting Christmas lights organized…

We were killing time before the feast! We were in charge of the potatoes and jello. Once that was done, we headed up to Yolanda’s house (Corom’s sister). Well our car was dead so we had to jump that 1st…

We had a great time hanging out with the family. The food was delicious and there were too many pies to choose from!

We went home later and the girls, Corom and I watched a movie. It was a good day! So many things to be grateful for!!!

Oh I do love the marathon tapering… I slept in until 6:20 and then got up to run 4.36 miles in 32:22. It was very nice… My legs felt a little sore and heavy but I know that that is normal during tapering week. For the rest of our day (in a quick post)… I was at the school most of the day… Kindergarten feast…

In the morning our kindergartener was so excited to have a feast with the pilgrims (she is an Indian). Well Corom at breakfast went on to tell her the “real” story of the pilgrims and Indians… Something along the lines of the pilgrims took the Indians land and eventually killed them all. Umm probably not the best story to tell right before the feast… Yes I kept telling him to stop but if you know Corom, he didn’t. At the feast today all 65 kids were sitting down while the kindergarten teachers were explaining the history (there were also about 10 moms there helping and me). Well… My daughter shoots her hand up and proceeds to say, “my dad said the pilgrims took the Indians land and killed them all.” Her teacher tried to hold back her smile and went on to tell them the rest of the story. I was a little embarrassed! Anyway… I helped with the Thank-o-grams and then the assembly at the school (turkey call & strut)…

The girls had a fun day of Thanksgiving stuff and playing with friends.

I noticed the sunset was beautiful today!!!

Wednesday: Today is Corom’s 36th birthday!!! I went for a easy 6.69 mile run in 51:01. As I walked out this morning, this was sitting out on our walkway…

It was a giant t.v. With happy birthday written across it. Great!!! At home Corom left for work and the girls and I did a lot of cleaning! We brought Corom lunch and balloons to his work (well we were not aloud in so we just dropped it off)…

The girls were really excited to bring him balloons! They helped wrap his presents and then waited for him to come home…

We had his sister, Yolanda (and family) and his brother, Jashon (and his family) over for dinner, cake and presents. 🙂 More like chaos but fun for everyone!