Being a mom has sure learned me good!

Being a mother has taught me SO much!  When my kids were little, I learned to close the bathroom door. You never know what you'll find your little one into if you leave the bathroom door open.  I've learned that it's scary when kids are playing and it's too quiet.  I've learned that teaching my children is my responsibility. I've learned also that it's my job to mold and shape and let go.  As my children, have gotten older, I've learned some new things. I've learned how precious time is.  My oldest is now 16.  She's driving and dating and has a job.  There are times when she is so busy, I feel like it's days between seeing her.

I've learned to treasure the little things. It's Halloween time and we have a few traditions.  Every year since my kids were little, we've decorated sugar cookies with their cousins.  As my children and nieces and nephew have gotten older, it's become quite a challenge to find the time when every one is available. Toward the end of September this year, my kids started asking when we were going to decorate cookies.  It's amazing how something so simple can make me so happy.  Our efforts when they were little are paying off.

Last week was Back to the Future day.  The week before, our kids had fall break.  We started planning about six weeks before to have a Back to the Future marathon and watch all three movies in sequence.  We decided to do it early, during fall break.  I told my kids not to plan anything and they were honestly excited. The day of the marathon, my kids quickly got their chores done and helped get things ready.  Even my 16 year old told her friends they couldn't get together until we'd watched all the movies.  It may have been a waste of nearly six hours, but I treasured it because my whole family was together.  I know that the times we have left like this are numbered and will just get harder to do.

I can remember when my kids were little, people would come up to my in church when I was struggling with my kids and tell me to enjoy it.  That soon, I would turn around and my little ones would be teenagers.  I remember thinking they were CRAZY!  I had felt every single second of that day and the one before and the one before that.  I remember thinking that I was merely surviving.  And I was.  That wasn't living. The first five years were hard, the hardest and the longest. But with every day that passed, my kids got older.  Before I knew it, my oldest was ten and my baby was going to kindergarten.  The next five years passed more quickly.  Somehow it seemed, time had sped up.  As fast as the second five years went, the next five were even faster.  How is that even possible?  That was the year I had one kid in four different schools.  I don't recommend that, by the way.  It was crazy.  And now.  Earlier today, my husband was on Facebook and he told me what he'd posted a year ago today.  And I couldn't believe it.  It felt like that was only a few months ago yet it really was a year ago.

Now life is so crazy.  I feel like all I do is rush from one thing to the other, hoping along that the way that I don't forget anything.  Many times we have to divide and conquer.  It's in the midst of all of this craziness that I find I enjoy the little things.  And time.  Always time.  I appreciate that we made dinner together a priority when our kids were little.  It's paying rich dividends now.  My kids know that every night about 5:00 I expect them to be home so we can have dinner together.  Far too often, dinner is rushed because someone has somewhere they have to go but it still happens.  On good nights, they linger.  One Sunday afternoon, I had a brilliant thought.  At dinner I asked all the kids their favorite memory.  It was slow to start but before I knew it, the memories were flowing.  Things I never knew about were revealed.  Dinner that day lasted an hour and a half!  And the next Sunday brought them back for more.

I don't always do things right.  If I could do things over differently, I would change a lot of things.  But every once in a while, I get things right and the pay out is amazing.  This journey of life and motherhood has been an adventure.  There have been some really high highs and some devastating lows.  I have learned so much! Cherish the little things.  Enjoy the moment.  When you find that your older son has duct taped your younger son to the tree in the front yard, take a picture and have a laugh before you reprimand him.  (Yes, that actually happened.)  And love.  Love with your whole heart.  Yes, it will get broken.  A lot.  But sometimes it will swell so much you think it will burst and those times make everything worth it.

Thanks for stopping in again.  I hope everything is going well with you and your family and your goals.  Let me know what your goals are.  Share your successes.  And come back again soon.  Thanks again!

I tried something new and you should too

I think I've eaten every energy option out there.  I started with gels.  I had to literally give myself a pep talk to take it and then I'd gag it down. Literally.  My brother told me he liked to use PayDay bars to supplement his gels while out running so I tried it too.  It helped for a while but then I didn't eat any for a while and one of my kids shared a PayDay bar with me from their Halloween stash and I nearly lost it.  Again, literally. PayDay bars are now out.  I moved over to chews which went down quite well and there was a decent variety so I didn't get too bored.  Until it was time to train for the 50K.  There are still flavors I can no longer stomach.  Jelly Beans have been thrown in there intermittently with success.  Somewhere along the line I read the book Born to Run.  (By the way, it was a great read and I highly recommend it.)  Anyway, the book talks about pinole.  I had to look it up but then I had to try it.  For months, the night before a long run and even for a marathon, I'd make pinole and my husband and I would eat that.  It was really good and worked well.  Around this time I also discovered waffles.  It's something that European athletes have used for a while but Lance Armstrong is credited for bringing it to the United States.  He used it while racing in Europe but couldn't find it here. Anyway, I LOVE waffles.  Their calorie count is slightly higher than gels and chews but they are YUMMY! Within the last year or two, I've started adding Cheetos to really long runs.  Again, I have my brother to thank for this.  We'd go for a long run and he would bring along some nutrition but never enough.  He'd just bring cash and plan to stop at a convenient store.  His favorite snack was Cheetos and a Red Bull.  He'd always get the 2 1/2 serving package and then share with us.  It is amazing how great Cheetos taste on a long run.  Also, their high fat content means they stick with you a little longer and since my husband struggles with getting enough nutrition while running, this was a great (and tasty!) solution.  This year while at the expo for the St. George Marathon, we visited the Clif booth.  They had a new product they were sampling: pureed fruits and veggies.  Scott Jurek, the endurance runner, helped to develop this product as he used to make his own nutrition for his runs.  It's packaged in a little pouch with a screw on cap.  They have four flavors and they are really good.  My husband and I used them for our 12 miler last weekend and they worked great.  I really wish I'd had these years ago when I thought I'd die if I had to eat one more energy chew or gag down one more gel.  Clif has two savory flavors and two sweet flavors.  They are natural and having one more option makes me soooo happy!

I'm always looking for something new when it comes to nutrition.  I get tired of the same thing, especially when I'm training for something and consuming lots of sports nutrition.  If you come across something new, let me know.

I hope all is well with your goals and your health.  Thanks for checking in with me and come back again soon.  Let me know if you have any questions or comments.  Thanks again!

St. George Marathon 2015

Okay. So this year the marathon was awesome. My husband and I decided that this year we really wanted a great finish. I'd spent the last year re-building my base: running lots of miles, hill repeats, intervals. I wanted to be the strongest I've been. I knew that for a strong finish, we'd need strong training. We started adding intervals into our long runs. I've never done it before. I was amazed that even after LOTS of miles, my body responded to speed work. On our 21-mile training run I was beat. My body hurt and I hadn't taken any pain medication. We always ran our last mile home hard. When we hit 20 miles I knew it was time to go and I didn't want to but I started to push the pace. I left my husband and ended up having to wait for him. The human body is incredible!

On marathon morning, I knew we'd done everything we should have. I had been hesitant to say our goal finish out loud. I knew I had to be accountable to other people if I didn't get my goal finish. Reluctantly, I told the people who asked: 3 hours and 45 minutes. I knew we could do it. Anyway, we started farther back in the starting shoot than we should have and we spent about three miles weaving through runners trying to settle into our pace. We needed to maintain a 8:30 pace to come in on target. By about mile five, we were pacing about 90 seconds ahead of our goal. Veyo hill is at mile seven. We'd never talked strategy for that hill. We decided to go as long as we could until we knew we needed a break and then power walk until we recovered. I recovered a little quicker than my husband but we finished the hill still about 60 seconds ahead. The next four-ish miles are rolling hills but we powered up them and stayed stong. I'll admit that by the time we got to mile 12, I was ready for some flat sections and a few downhills. Fifteen miles in I was still feeling good and we were still just ahead of our goal. Seventeen my husband was starting to feel the mileage and we slowed just a bit. Around 18 1/2 miles in, there's a small hill. I powered up but my husband was starting to struggle. When he got up to me, he told me to just go and get my finish. We discussed our options and he told me to run my race. He'd stay as strong as he could but he knew I had a little more gas than he did. We stayed together until about mile 21. At that point we were about one minute behind our gosl finish  We came around a curve and my legs said go. My sweet, beautiful husband could feel me pulling away and yelled, "Go get it babe!"  I took off. I watched my Garmin closely. I was running mostly sub-8 minute miles in the last five miles of the marathon! I could feel my body breaking down. Literally. My quads started talking, first hinting that maybe I should slow down, then getting louder and louder. As they questioned my sanity, I kept getting closer to the finish. As I got closer, I realized I was making up time. 22. 23. 24, Diagonal street. Lots of people sending me their energy. My quads weren't talking anymore. They were starting to scream. I tuned them out. I had a mile and a half to go. 25. I can do this!  I only have to hold on. Tabernacle. Main street. Now I'm looking for my family. I know they are somewhere on this street. 300 South is just ahead and a boy shouts, "Mom!"  It's my 11-year old and he's finally seen me. I wave as I round the final corner. There it is: the finish line!  I'm there, almost. Now, it's only three and a half blocks from the last turn to the finish line. Easy, right? WRONG!!! I kick it up for the home stretch. My breathing is labored from the exertion. Seriously, those three and a half blocks are SO long!  Finally, finally!  The finish line. I looked down at my Garmin: 3 hours 42 seconds. Now, really truly, I was thrilled. But, my Boston qualifying time is 3:40. I was 2 minutes and 12 seconds over qualifying! I'd be lying if I said I haven't played the "if only" game. But it doesn't get me anywhere. It also doesn't take away my finish, that was three minutes faster than my goal. My amazing husband finished only four minutes behind me.  He did something he hasn't done before.  He ignored the discomfort and dug deep and held onto his pace to finish strong. I am so proud of him!

So this year I achieved my goal and we worked so hard to get there. I'm really pleased with our finishes. Hard work really does pay off. 

Thanks for checking in with me again. I hope you are setting goals and doing what you can to achieve them. Good luck with your goals and dreams and check back again soon.  

I'm a mom

Okay friends.  I know what you're thinking.  It has been a REALLY long time.  I know.  And a lot has happened.  And I have been SO busy.  Lousy excuses.  True.  Anyway, I have been thinking a lot lately about this blog.  Originally my plan was to have this be a resource for people who wanted or needed motivation or just information from someone trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  I have struggled to keep up with it because I'm so busy but also because I sometimes can't decide what to talk about.  If we were having a face-to-face conversation, I promise we'd have no "dead air".  The name of my blog is "The Mommy Athlete".  It's not just the athlete.  I'm a real mom with real mom struggles.  I use my activity to stay sane.  So I'm going to talk about that a little now too.

It has been a rough year.  I have four children, two sons and two daughters.  Both of my sons and my husband have special needs.  They all have ADHD.  Our youngest son was diagnosed two and a half years ago, our older son was diagnosed nearly two years ago.  My husband was diagnosed in between my sons.  As on adult.  That diagnosis helped to explain so many things for him and his struggles through childhood and into adulthood.

It's these diagnoses that have made the last year so rough.  Before school started last year, my husband and I went to meet our youngest son's fifth grade teacher.  We had just had a really rough summer, feeling like the medication our son was on was simply not working and his symptoms seemed to be getting worse.  We were working with our doctor but wanted our son's teacher to know our son's struggles and asked for his patience as we worked through finding something that worked.  I should have trusted my instincts from that first meeting.  I knew it was not a good fit but I deferred to my son's fourth grade teacher and the principal, both of whom I really respect and I know had my son's best interest at heart.  They both agreed that this teacher was our best bet.  I decided to take the wait and see approach.

After trying new medicine, our doctor said he no longer felt comfortable treating our son and recommended he see a child psychiatrist.  We went on a waiting list, knowing it would be about five months.  Our son continued to struggle with focus and compulsion and a myriad of other things.  I started getting regular phone calls from our son's teacher.  The problem was always my son.  The teacher was never the solution.  In fact, in many ways I feel like he made many things worse.  Twice last year I got a phone call from the school's counselor telling my she was afraid that my son might try to hurt himself.  I stopped working with our son's teacher and started working with the principal.  He started working toward getting an IEP (Individual Education Plan--special accommodations for our son run through the Special Education department).  He said we'd need it for the next year when our son went to the intermediate school.  I remember walking into the principal's office one day.  I told him I was there to talk with him because I couldn't talk with my son's teacher without losing my patience.  He was so patient.  He knew we were trying and that my son was trying.  Several times he offered to transfer our son into another teacher's class.  Each time I told him no because our son liked his teacher.  Our son wanted to stay in the class and I wanted to empower him to make that decision.

Finally, after almost seven months of waiting, and when I was to my breaking point, we got a phone call from the child psychiatrist's office.  They had an opening, thank heavens! I will never forget our first meeting.  The doctor emitted an overwhelming feeling that everything was going to be okay.  We tried new medicine.  He gave me some ideas on dealing with my son.  He also told me that I needed to be strong.  After going through lots of testing, we found our son is extremely intelligent.  He told us our son is likely bored in class and that contributes to behavioral issues.  I would have to be his advocate.  I would have to be willing to fight and get angry if necessary.  I needed to be willing to say "Nope.  Try again."  After a particularly rough day at school, we took our son to a scheduled appointment with the doctor.  After telling the doctor about the day, I asked if he felt it was too late in the year (only about six weeks left in the year) to change teachers or if it would have a negative effect on our son.  He told me it was having a far more negative effect keeping him in that class.  Once again, we asked our son what he wanted.  This time he wanted to change.  The principal moved him the next day.

The change that happened in those six weeks still amazes me.  The new teacher was incredible.  Our son loved her and she loved him back.  She didn't let him get away with things and she expected a lot from him, but because she was sincere, he responded.  I can never repay her for that.

I've had people tell me ADHD isn't real.  People have told me that ADHD medication is bad and that it's not good to put children on it.  ADHD is REAL!!! I live with it.  And medication helps.

I would not have survived this last year without running and Spinning and TRX and yoga and strength training.  It has been my sanity.  When I felt like I couldn't take one more thing, I knew I'd get to run in the morning or do yoga or whatever.  Being active has saved me and my family.  When everyone else hit their breaking point with our son, I held on.  I've held on to the inner peace from yoga, the mental strength from endurance running, and "I am strong" from everything else.  I've held on and you can too.

Thanks for checking back in with me.  I know this post is different than any of my other posts but it's real.  It's who I am and what I'm dealing with.  It's part of what connects people because we all have our struggles.  Come back again soon and good luck in your endeavors.