How Big is He?

There is no denying that Miles is a big boy. People always stop me when we are out shopping to see the baby and can't believe he is only 2 months old. His measurements at birth put him in the "above 95 percentile." He hasn't had an official measurement since he was 2 weeks old and he was already up to 10 pounds. I took a picture of Miles in the same swing at the same age as Maddie to compare the two. The first picture is of Maddie at 63 days. The second picture is of Miles at 60 days. The picture of Maddie is a little lower in the swing, but the scale is exactly the same. Aside from the fact that it's a terrible picture of Miles, you can see he is bigger than Maddie at the same age!

Miles goes back to the doctor for his 2 month check-up on Thursday. Any bets? What length and weight do you think Miles will be?

Maddie (2 years, 5 months) and Miles (2 months)

I CAN do this!

As anyone who is trying to get back into a routine, and more specifically get into a running routine knows, there will be times when you fall into a lull. I am experiencing such a lull. I have seen some small results. I have lost a few pounds, noticed that I am getting stronger, and am losing some inches (I even tried on my bridesmaid dress again and it fit much looser). But, the motivation from just starting out has certainly worn off. Today when Kevin got home I was very content to just stay in my warm, dry house and hang out with my kids and husband. The reality is I am still far from my goals and if I want to accomplish them, I need to get my butt out the door. So in the end I psyched myself up, got out of my comfy clothes, into my running gear and hit the road.

The run today wasn't easy. I still feel out of shape since I'm not as fast as I used to be (not that I am fast by any means). Towards the end of my run, I stepped off the side of the road to move away from a car and right into a puddle. But, I did it. I got out and ran even when I really didn't feel like it. My pace was even 20 seconds faster than I had been averaging (and I have dropped about 2 minutes from my pace since starting). Plus I feel great for getting out and running. 

If I get to a point when whatever I am doing seems too hard and not worth the effort, I always think about my relationship with Kevin. The first 2 years were the easy just starting out period. Then we went away to college. For the next 7 years, we lived at least an hour apart. For two of those years we were 7 hours apart. There were many times during those 7 years that I was completely miserable. I loved Kev and knew that he was who I was "meant to be with." So I did what I had to do to make it through. Now we have been married for close to 5 years and have 2 amazing kids. I couldn't be happier and I always try to remember this.

So for anyone out there, especially a new Mom, who is trying to lose weight and get back into running, you can do it! There will be times that it will be hard and you don't want to run or workout, but it will be worth it. If you need any motivation or someone to help psych you up, let me know how I can help!

On and off the wagon

This past weekend was the Curve Home Run 5k Race at the Blair County Ball Park and Lakemont Park. All the participants got a free ticket to the Curve game that evening and the overall winners got to throw out one of the first pitches. It sounded like a fun event for members of our running club to do. So after at least a year of all of us trying to get Kevin to run in any race, he finally decided to do one. It had been 4 years since he last ran in a race, so I was looking forward to the kids seeing Daddy doing something that had been such a huge part of his life, he loved doing, and was really good at. Even though he may not admit it, I know he was nervous since it had been 4 years since he ran a race. In spite of the fact that he doesn't have as much time to run as he once did, Kevin was able to go out and win the race.  Congrats to all who ran. Here are the results. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side, so the kids and I ended up staying home. Hopefully, he'll decide to do another race this summer and we can watch Daddy run in that one. I'm also trying to convince him to run the Great Race, so we'll see how that goes. No matter what, I am very proud of him and can't wait to actually see him race since I love to watch him run. Since Kevin won the 5k, he got to throw out a first pitch at the game. Below is a picture from that. It's a little blurry since I was trying to wrangle both kids and take the picture. The very tall guy behind him is the actor Quinton Aaron from The Blind Side.

We also got to take a family picture at the game. It was very cold and windy, which is easy to see by the look on Maddie's face.

So Kevin got back on the wagon this weekend and I sort of fell off. I think it was a combination of being busy, tired, and just wanting to be lazy yesterday, but I haven't run since Thursday. Plus with first Friday and going to the Curve game, we really didn't eat very healthy either. I must say I definitely feel the effects from not running and eating too much pizza...I feel like a slug (as Kevin often says when he hasn't run in a while). It's not a good feeling, so today I'm getting back on the wagon. I've already done my circuit training and will be going out for a run when Kevin gets home from work. I know that when I go back to work in a month it will be a lot harder to make sure I get ample exercise in. I really need to use the next few weeks to get into a good routine that I can keep up exercising either before or after work.

Checking up on myself

Each year, my company sponsors a health risk assessment (HRA). It entails getting your vital statistics checked (height, weight, body fat %, and BMI) as well as a blood draw to check your cholesterol, glucose, triglycerides, etc. There is also a questionnaire to be completed that asks about your lifestyle. Based on both parts, you receive a biometric score. If you fall into the "increase risk" or "high risk" group then you have to complete a health coaching program. For the most part it's a voluntary thing, but they do offer a pay incentive (a small lump sum to be paid in a future pay) if you complete everything (including the health coach part if you fall into that group). I know many people who don't want to do it because they say it's just another way for the insurance companies to have information against you to deny a claim. Even if that's true, wouldn't you want to know where you stand so you can become a healthy person and reduce your risks for many diseases?

Our occupational nurse called me prior to the two dates when the assessments would be offered to let me know that since I was on maternity leave, I didn't have to complete the first part and could just fill out the questionnaire to qualify for completing the HRA. Being only 7 weeks postpartum, my weight, body fat %, and BMI certainly aren't where they were prior to getting pregnant and are higher than I want. So do I take the easy way out or realizing that I am trying to improve my health partake anyway to get a good base to measure my improvement? I decided to do the latter and partake anyway.

On Wednesday, after fasting for 12 hours, I drove down to the Mill to get my measurements and blood drawn. While, I'm not going to say exactly what my measurements are, I will say my BMI is in the overweight range and my body fat % puts me in the obese range. It will be a few weeks until I get the blood results back. I realize that these numbers are higher than if I hadn't been pregnant (the nice nurse was going to write all over my charts that I had just had a baby on 3/15 to be sure that was taken into consideration at the insurance company). This information definitely gives me more motivation to eat healthy and continue to exercise so I get back to being in healthy ranges. My hope is that next year when it's time for the HRA again I will have exceptional numbers and show a huge improvement.

The 30 Day Project

In my last post, I mentioned a project I was thinking our family should do. In honor of the fact that Kevin and I are turning 30 this year, the project would be to try something for 30 days straight. Since Kevin has no idea who Morgan Spurlock is I figured I should explain that too. 

So, who is Morgan Spurlock? He filmed the documentary Super Size Me where he at at McDonald's three times a day for 30 days. He also had a TV Reality Series called 30 Days where he or other people completely immerse themselves  in a lifestyle. So Kevin, that is who Morgan Spurlock is and why I referenced him. If you want to know more about him, here is a link to his website.

When I Googled '30 day project' there were a lot of hits and ideas. Seems to be a pretty popular thing to attempt. So what are our ideas? Well, here are a few of them:

1) No TV

2) All home cooked meals (no take-out and as little processed food as we can manage)

3) Go green/reduce our carbon footprint

4) Spend no money (other than current bills and absolute grocery essentials)

We are looking for more ideas of things to try. Please leave any ideas in the comments for us. When we decide on a project and start, I'll post how it goes.

Go Pens!

And now for something completely different...

I decided that I need to have a post every once in a while that has nothing to do with working out or running. I have sat through many conversations that were all and only about running. Trust me, it can get very boring. 

Anyway, few weeks ago, Kevin got a phone call to complete a survey about our TV watching. He must have answered the questions correctly because based on that and our age range, we were asked to be a Nielsen Family. It doesn't seem too hard, for a week we have to record what everyone watches on each TV. To make it even more enticing they pay you $30 to do the survey. Kevin and I have debated what we should watch and if you can throw off the ratings. I think we may watch shows for an older demographic anyway. I won't go into what the commercials are, but let's just say I hope I don't have half those issues when I get older!

Yesterday we got the package in the mail with our survey booklets. They actually send you $30 in cash at the start and not after you send the booklets back. Makes me wonder how many people don't fill out the survey and just pocket the money. Our survey starts tomorrow, May 6th so for the next week we get to see how much TV we actually watch. That may be a scary and eye opening thing. Kevin and I have actually talked about doing some "projects" where we try something for 30 days a la Morgan Spurlock. One of the things we talked about was doing 30 days with no TV. Maybe once we see how much TV we actually watch that project will become a reality. Of course we will have to wait until after the Stanley Cup playoffs are over...we can't miss a game (even if the Pens somehow don't make it all the way)! We'll let you know how the TV watching/survey filling out goes.

Go Pens!

Congratulations to all who ran in Pittsburgh today!

Congratulations to all the runners who participated in the Pittsburgh Marathon, half marathon, or marathon relay today. You braved the terrible weather and a bomb scare (which is crazy) to finish your race. No matter the conditions, finishing the race is quite an accomplishment! Special congratulations go out to Pat and Ed. Pat finished his first marathon in 3:34:02 and Ed finished in 4:42:21. Great job! Congratulations to Ryan Sheehan, a friend and SFU teammate of Kevin, who won the half marathon in 1:05:13. Also, congratulations to Trent Briney, a former Hanson's teammate of Kevin, who finished fifth in the half in a time of 1:08:10. If there is anyone else we know that ran today let us know how you did! Hopefully next year I'll be able to participate in one of the races.

My running has been going well. Each time I go out I have been able to go a little further and run a little faster. So while I still feel out of shape, at least I can take away that with every run I am getting stronger. I also tend to go out and run too hard so I end up walking more than I would like. I am trying to keep my pace slower so I can maintain it longer and reduce the amount I need to walk. On my last few runs, that philosophy has worked and I have really reduced my pace and also reduced how much I walk. The warmer weather has been a good motivator too. It was so chilly and windy at the beginning of the week that in addition to feeling so out of shape, the weather was a big deterrent. I still got out on the road, so that's what counts.

After Kevin got home from work on Friday, I went out and ran my 3.1 mile loop into town. I didn't get in a run on Saturday as I planned. Both our kids let us get a good night sleep Friday night/sleep in Saturday morning so Kevin and I decided to take advantage of that instead of getting in an early morning run (Thank you Maddie and Miles!!). Friday night, Miles slept for 7 hours before waking up at 5:30 to eat. After that both he and Maddie slept in until 8:45. That's in complete contrast to last night when Miles was up every 3-4 hours. So as much as I wanted to get a run in, a good night sleep is a rarity so that won out.

Today, just before the Pens game there was a break in the weather and I was able to get out and run my 3 mile loop around Crestwood (my neighborhood). Since I went out a little slower and didn't walk as often, I was able to complete the run in 31:33. It was very humid, but overall I felt good during the run. My pace for the run was 10:29. With my first few runs closer to 11:30 - 12:00, I can really see my efforts paying off and it motivates me to keep working.

The first week back has been tough since I really want to be able to run the pace and distances like I used to. I know if I keep going out each day and putting the effort in, I will be able to get there. Nothing in life comes easy and what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, right?