Any closer to my goals?

Just before the new year, I listed the goals that I had for 2011. We are two full months in so how am I doing? Let's see....

Keep Up Running - I must say I am doing very well with this. January and February were tough since I wasn't yet training for anything. Plus the lack of daylight and cold/snowy weather also put up road blocks. I still managed to get in about 60 miles each month. So far in March I am doing really well. I have started my training plan for the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. In fact, in the past week I ran 30 miles. Not too shabby. Plus it means I can enjoy an extra scoop of Cow Tracks from Vale Wood Farms...yummy!

Make sure to spend some alone time with my husband - We have managed to sneak in some Julie and Kevin time. We get Date Night once a month. We went away without the kids in February. Plus have started up darts and cards night to spend quality time (as I talked about in a previous post).

More family time - I think we are doing well with this. We are trying to make sure that we spend a lot of time with the kiddos on the weekends. The kids are so much fun and they really enjoy each other too!

Read more books -  Normally I am happy to read 2-3 books a year. I am already on my third this year and it's only the beginning of March! I finished up the Run Like a Mother book (totally recommend for all you running mothers out there). I read Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and can't wait to read the other too. Currently, I am reading The Help (I know Mom, it's about time).

Clean House - I'm working on it. We just got a new bookcase for all our books. That was my first step in getting the Utility Room cleared out and organized. I'm trying to figure out how to store all the kiddos toys so they don't completely take over the house. The garage is in serious need of help, but that is a warmer weather project. This is definitely a work in progress. 

Enjoy Life - I certainly am! There are so many moments when I feel like I need to pinch myself because life is just amazing.  

I conquered one of the three terrors of the fire swamp

Whoa, two posts in one day? I can barely manage two in a month and here I go with two in a day? But I digress...

For two of the half marathons I have run, I used Hal Higdon's Intermediate training plan. For the Pittsburgh Half in May I decided it was time to move to the Advanced training plan. I am by no means an advanced runner, but I wanted something that would challenge me more and push me to train harder than I have before. Today was one of the first steps in this challenge.

In the past, I have taken a rest day after my long run day. Yesterday was my long run and it was the furthest I have run in over two months. In the past, I would get to relax and rest my weary bones and muscles today. After running 9.6 miles yesterday, I needed to get in 3 miles. I felt pretty good, so I thought how hard could this be. Oh how naive of me. Those first few steps were painful. And that first mile I felt like I was running through lightning sand in the fire swamp (hoping to never encounter the flame spurts or R.O.U.S's...especially on the trail once it's passable again). Anyway, I continued on my way and finished those 3 (well I ended up at 3.2) miles. Even though I wanted to turn back before I was even at the end of my road (we're talking a whole 0.03 miles here), I kept going. No doubt this will make me a stronger runner.

Double Bullseye...Winner!

Early on in our marriage, after we bought our house, but before the kids, one night a week (at least) would be darts night. We would hang out in our utility room, drink some beer, have snacks, listen to music and throw darts. It wasn't so much about the games or the beer (usually), but about the time together. We would talk about our day, ideas for the house, and plans for the future. It wasn't just vegging out on the couch, mindlessly watching TV.

Somewhere along the lines, after the kids, we lost that night. It's not hard to see why. As with most people, our lives are crazy. We spend most of the day at stressful jobs. After we come home, we cram so much into a few hours. We run, make dinner, spend time with the kids, get the kids to bed and it's all done in a 3 hour time frame.

After that's all said and done, we just want to shut down. So inevitably we sit on the couch and watch something from the DVR and just veg. There is something lost when that's all you do. It's really important to have the simple talks and connect every day. Last week we brought back darts night. I didn't win the dart games (ok I won the first game of 301 and kicked Kevin's butt at cards later). But we got to spend time together in a way we haven't done in a while...and that's what matters.

Simple Things

Every day there are so many simple things in life to enjoy and be thankful for. Today was no exception. After school today, Maddie ran up to me asked for a nose (what she calls an Eskimo kiss), gave me a big hug and kiss, and said "I love you Mommy." That's the sort of thing that makes any day a hundred times better. Always treasure those simple little things in life.

Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing. ~ Oscar Wilde

May all your troubles last as long as your New Year's resolutions!

So I'm usually not really into the whole resolution thing. As I think about the past year and look forward to another, there are a few goals that I have for myself. In no particular order...more just as I think of them, here are my goals for the upcoming year.

Keep up running. Ever since I decided to train for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon, I have been running a lot. The benefits have been amazing. Not only did I lose all the baby weight I gained when pregnant with Miles, I lost an additional 15 pounds. In addition to that, I feel good about myself and am a happier person. There are two passages that sum up my love for running from a book I am currently reading (Run Like a Mother: How to Get Moving--and Not Lose Your Family, Job, or Sanity)...

• We’re running to process a bad day and, in doing so, make it better. We’re running to set a good example for our children. We’re running to feel lean, strong, empowered, and graceful. Although we’re not running the country (yet), we’re definitely getting in shape to do so.

• For an overstressed, overtired, overextended mother, there are few other sensations that rival a delicious run. Once the sweat starts running down my temples, I daydream, analyze, smile, wonder, channel something cosmic. I feel alive and, perhaps most importantly, like myself again.

Make sure to spend some alone time with my husband. This marriage won't really work if Kevin and I don't work. An important part of that is just spending time together...going out to dinner with just us, playing a game, talking, anything. It doesn't have to be special, it just needs to be us. We are planning a second honeymoon to celebrate our 6th Anniversary in the fall so that should be great relaxing along time for us!

More family time. Of course this means more time with the four of us. It's amazing that even in the past two weeks how much both Maddie and Miles have grown and changed. In addition, we definitely want to be sure to spend time with our extended families as well.

Read more books. I have such a huge list of books I want to read, but just haven't made the time yet. Usually it seems that I only read books at the beach. I would really like to read a book each month. I really would like to read a few before the movies come out (The Help and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)...of course not that I'll see the movies when they are released, but I need a goal date. 

Clean House. It became very evident as we were cleaning for our appraisal that we have too much stuff. I'm sure there are people out there who need a lot of it way more than we do. I want to go through each room, sort out what we need, and give away the rest. Very Lean/5S so I guess it works for me. 

Enjoy Life. I think this is pretty self explanatory.

2010 was a wonderful year. I am looking forward to all the the new year has to offer. I hope that 2011 brings everyone what they are looking for.

Enjoy~

What a year!

2010 has truly been an amazing year for the Doyle's. There were many milestones, events, and accomplishments in 2010. 

Of course the biggest event was Miles J finally making his way into the world on March 15th. He took his good old time and that has been his attitude ever since. He is the most laid back, happy boy we have ever met. He definitely brings a new dynamic to our lives and we are very happy to have him.

Kevin and I both turned 30 this year. Kevin in March and me in July. We had a joint party with family and friends to celebrate the milestone. Nothing too spectacular or crazy, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

In November, Kevin and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. It doesn't seem possible that it has been 5 years since the snowy November day that we finally got married and then had a blast celebrating with family and friends. We commemorated the event by enjoying a nice dinner out, staying at the same bed and breakfast as our wedding night, and going to a Pens game where we sat in amazing seats at center ice. 

Madeline turned 3 in December and continues to enrich our lives. It's amazing to see how much she has grow and changed over the years. She brings a unique perspective to our lives and it's fun to see what she thinks of and says next. For the most part she is enjoying her little brother and is very protective of him. Now that he is crawling and exploring more he's starting to bug her a little more. It will be fun to watch the two interact even more.

Both Kevin and I are running lots. We both ran well at the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon; Kevin won and I ran a PR by 7 minutes. I decided that the half was a fun distance (apparently turning 30 makes you crazy) and ran the Nittany Valley Half Marathon in December and have already signed up for the Pittsburgh Half in May. I can say that running A LOT really helps lose the baby weight and get back into good shape. Now we are doing are best to get out the door during the crazy Ebensburg winter. I think after the new year a dreadmill may be on the horizon.

It's been over a year and the kitchen is almost complete. Just a few trim pieces here and there and it's done! It's a huge improvement and even though it was a ridiculous amount of work, we are really happy with the results.

In what spare time we have between work, kids, running, the house, we also fit in time with family and friends.

It's been a heck of a year, but we wouldn't have it any other way. We hope that 2010 has been everything that you hoped and wish you nothing but the best in the upcoming year!

Love, The Doyle's - Kevin, Julie, Madeline, and Miles

The results are in....

When I started this blog, I hoped to use it to follow my journey of getting back into shape after Miles was born. It sort of evolved to following our lives with M&M and less on the running/exercise. That's ok by me, since there is only so much running talk I can take! Saturday October 16th was my goal race, the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. 

Since I hadn't run a step from August 2009 to April 2010, I decided to start my training routine for the half in July, 15 weeks out. At first the mileage was low and my pace was slow, but I stuck with it. There were certainly many times I didn't feel like running for one reason or another. But I stuck with it and got my butt out the door. It really helped to have a buddy for the long runs. Sarah, I doubt I could have made it through this without you!

At the end of each month, I saw improvement. My miles were increasing and my pace was decreasing. At the beginning, I couldn't have imagined being able to run an 8:40 pace during a race. By the end, I was easily running that pace for my easy runs for the week. 

Month	Distance	Avg Pace
	(miles)	(min/mile)
May	32.3	10:11
June	36.45	9:50
July	71.8	9:26
August	86.5	9:08
September	109.1	8:55
October	62.8	8:37

So after 15 weeks and 311 miles of training, how did it go?

I PRed by close to 7 minutes and finished in a time of 1:45:26. That equates to a pace of 8:03/mile. I am very happy with my time. It certainly wasn't easy. There were 2 times where I really questioned what the heck I was doing, but in the end I am really glad I went out and ran my best. On a side note, Kevin won the race in a time of 1:09:54.9. We are all so proud of him too! 

Kevin finishing the race - Top finisher!

Almost at the finish line - 4th/45 in my age group and 149/514 finishers overall

The family after the race - Kevin, Maddie, Me, Miles

My mom asked me if I have changed my mind about running a full marathon after I was done. I am still pretty firmly going to go with "no" on that one. I really have no desire to run anything longer than 13.1.  I will be taking the next couple days off to recoup. Then it will back at it to train for the Nittany Valley Half in December. This one is going to be a lot tougher; big hills to deal with and most likely really cold temperatures. This is the the type of half where you look to get out and run with other motivated people and finish. I am also looking to next Spring and what other races I want to enter to keep me getting out the door every day. I'm really thinking about doing the half marathon in Pittsburgh next May.

Getting out and training for this really got me into running again. It has also helped me lose the baby weight and then some. Hopefully I will find ways  to keep it up during the winter when it's dark, snowy, and cold. I'm thinking the Doyle's need to break down and get a treadmill. Happy Running!