running – Page 5 – Movin' it with Michelle

I lost my smile…

One of the many reasons I have been struggling with the absence of my husband, is that he makes me smile, daily. The very presence of him, calms me, motivates me, inspires me, etc. When I say, he is my person…he really IS. I don’t have a female “Bestie” or “BFF” like most women do. Sure, I have girl friends but they’ve all got their lives and their friends that they are much closer with so without my husband, I get pretty lonely to say the least.

I was having lunch with my sister on Friday and we were talking about how when my husband talks to his soldiers, the room instantly lights up and you can FEEL how they respond to him. The inspiration in the air is tangible. He is a TRUE leader. He is where he is meant to be in life. And then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. He does all that for our family too. For the last 5 weeks, you can feel the void left in the house so strongly that sometimes I dread going home after work.

And that sucks.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because I am tired of these sad, Debbie downer sad posts, I am going to make a list of things that make me smile. Because I need to find my smile again. My kids need me to find it, too.

SnapChat. I made an account a while back, but didn’t understand the purpose of this app. I mean, are you supposed to take selfies of yourself over and over and send them to people? I don’t like pictures of myself, so there’s that, too. So after last week’s YUCK fest I invited my teen to join me for my youngest daughter’s dance class. We had a little fun with SnapChat and by the end of the 1 1/2 hours we were laughing so hard tears were pouring down our faces.

4.10.1 — Like my facial expression? ROFL!!!

My sister. Last week I wanted to literally hole myself up and just forget the world. But she won’t let me, and for that I am forever grateful. She lets me be me, with all my faults and is there for me always. She had my kids spend the weekend with her because 1. I am working all weekend again and that sucks for the kids, and 2. They sure could use a break from reality for a couple days. #sistering

Seeing my husband’s face. I’ve asked him to try and send pictures when he can. Yesterday while I was working, I got this picture to brighten my day.

Support. Between my Mom and my sister checking on me several times each week, to one of the Army wives who texts me every day, along with my friend Andrea who also texts me every night (for the last 5 weeks nearly!!!) “NNT” which has always been our thing (Night Night Termite) when we talk, I feel so very blessed. AND, I came home last Tuesday from work to find my neighbor had mowed my lawn! How awesome is that?While I may not have a female “BFF” I do have a lot of people who make the time to show they care.

4.10.5 — That’s love right there, LOL!!! ❤

Running! Of course! I ran twice last week, and am hoping to get a few miles in tomorrow since it’s my day off! I have concluded that I don’t like the Brooks Launch 3’s as much as the 2’s. The toe box is just a little different, and they don’t have that same airy feel.

Doesn't everyone lounge around the house in their old marathon running shoes? — Doesn’t everyone lounge around the house in their old marathon running shoes?

With that, I bid you all a happy weekend! Tell me something that makes YOU smile?! Ready, GO!

Cheers! ❤

Michelle

Tuesday Firsts, Uncategorized

Marathons and Deployments and how I tackle both with a similar strategy!

March 22, 2016March 23, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

I had posted to my FB just last night that I was excited that tomorrow (today) marked week 2 of 52. I have found that counting down by DAYS is far too mentally challenging in regards to my husband’s homecoming. I mean, really, seeing 300+ days on my countdown app is quite disheartening to say the least. A friend of mine, and fellow blogger Hanna over at The Millennial next door pointed out that 52/2 is 26. And we all know that 26 (.2) miles is the marathon distance. And suddenly the light bulb went on. Light bulb!!!

I have always prided myself in regards to distance running. I am by far NOT a fast runner. BUT…I can sure run far. My mental strength has always gotten me through, in all aspects of life, really… Last year’s full marathon was a mental feat of strength in and of itself, and I will forever boast about how proud I am of my sister for not quitting. We were out on that road, in the cold, in the rain, in the drizzly fog that felt like little ice pellets poking us in the eyes by the 6^th hour. But. We finished. We are some pretty tough chickadees.

So what does all this have to do with my husband’s deployment? Well, I am going to break up the time into chunks, just like I do the distances of my long runs/races. I count back as well as celebrate the time already completed. For example, if I have to run 12 miles, I break it down to running 6 miles, twice….but once I get to the half way point of 6 miles, I then count down…5 miles to go, 7 miles in the books, and so on and so forth. It sounds like a lot of math and we all know runners brain isn’t the sharpest, but it keeps me focused and it keeps me feeling strong. It has worked for me, nearly every single race. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to a bad training run or race. We’re only human right!

So my friends, every Tuesday we will have our deployment marathon countdown, filled with at least ONE first that occurred during that week. I encourage you to post a “first” each week to the comments as well! Challenge yourself to try new things, listen to new music, read a new book, cook a new recipe! The options are limitless!

This week, we mailed our first care package to my husband (yesterday) and today I mailed him his first 5 lb. back of Atomic fireball candy, LOL. I also challenged myself by taking the first steps in obtaining my professional license in Florida. One can never be too prepared, right?

10401263_10153892735540781_7675556968745240390_n — First package, MAILED!

We have survived 2 weeks of him being gone, 24 weeks until our halfway mark with 48 weeks to go. I will admit, that nearly every single day so far has been a roller coaster. I sometimes start off rough, and even out as the day goes along. My routine is fairly set, but sometimes little things that normally wouldn’t push my buttons nearly send me through the roof. So tonight when I was contacted by Cascia from Healthy Mom’s magazine that I was listed in the top 100 running blogs, it was just the boost I needed to get out the door running tonight. You can find the list HERE, please go check out these amazing blogs for more inspiration!!!

12095046_1121301677912956_6017511235057450050_o — Tonight’s run-ingested several bugs, had to stop and cough up lung cookies several times, and my legs felt like bricks the first 3 miles. BUT. I ran. Did you?

SO who’s with me in regards to a new “First” every week? How do you tackle long distance challenges-both in life and in running?

Thanks everyone, you’ve all been amazing through this difficult time!!!

❤

Michelle

Deployment thoughts, weekly wrap up

Weekly wrap up 1/31/2016

January 31, 2016January 31, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

I thought about not linking up this week for my weekly wrap up with Holly and Tricia, but it’s been such a good way to keep me accountable, AND keep me writing vs. bottling up all my emotions, so here goes…

My week started out pretty darn good.

Monday I did a brisk walk on my dreadmill while dinner was cooking, just 3 miles, but felt good to stretch the legs. I also did the Tracy Anderson strength training video (30 minutes)

I met up with my friends for Tuesday night run club, and knocked out 6.5 miles at an average pace of 9:24. Not bad for this average runner.

My new jacket is SUPER reflective, I love it!

Wednesday-Pilates and core for 20 minutes

Thursday-rest and this is the day things took a downward dive.

Friday I was supposed to do my long run for the second week of marathon raining, see my Runfessions post, but ditched it since I wasn’t feeling well. Managed a few miles on the ‘mill. Nothing even pic-worthy LOL

All in all, my week was mediocre at best. The news that my husband leaves next week just has left me in an emotional tailspin, and the addition of the ever dreaded weekend duty this weekend has left my positive attitude falling a bit short. I have, though, delved into the Army wife network group that we’ve built on FB, and have been distracting myself by looking for yellow ribbons to pass out at the farewell ceremony. Sometimes when you are feeling low, it’s nice to help someone else…it not only makes THEM feel good, but you get good feels in return.

Saturday/Sunday I worked, and when I have weekend duty, sadly I have very little left in the tank for workouts. This afternoon when I arrived home, my youngest greeted me with warm hugs and a bright smile so I passed on the nap I was so looking forward to, lol. I did have a slight moment of panic, when our heater wasn’t turning on and the temps were dropping quickly in the house. I went down to the basement, realizing that I wasn’t sure which big box looking thing was the heater. How was I going to fix this? And then it hit me…I better figure it out, and quick. Thankfully the hubby was home, and I felt terrible waking him from HIS nap, as he just came off 21 days of duty and leaves again Wednesday. But he grinned tiredly, and fixed it. YAY. We have heat. CRAP. I couldn’t do it myself.

mom14 — Yup, this sums up how I felt, LOL…all I can do is laugh, right?

How was your week? How do you handle set backs in regards to your training? For my women readers, are you handy around the house?

Cheers!

❤ Michelle

Deployment thoughts, marathon training, Uncategorized

Pre-deployment thoughts

January 20, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

A lot of people have asked me how things are going in regards to my husband’s upcoming deployment. At work, I keep on my game face most days, and I have really learned to hold it together for the most part. At home, I can’t always say the same.

The truth is, the pre-deployment phase is almost worse than the deployment itself. A million thoughts go through my head as I watch my husband mentally exit more and more every day. I see the worried look on his face as he stares off in to space, and I see the tiredness compounding in his furrowed brow and blood shot eyes. We’ve got just shy of 6 weeks to go, and just yesterday it seemed like I was saying he was leaving in 4 months. Will the time go by just as quickly when he’s gone? Probably not, but I sure can hope.

I question whether or not my teenage daughter and I will get through this year, to be honest. For the last few weeks, things have actually been pretty great…and in honor of her privacy, I’ll just say last night we had one of our infamous blowouts. You know, the kind that leave you feeling like you’ve been punched in the throat? Yup…one of those. But my husband was there, as always, to mediate. He’s always been so great at being our middle man, our “let’s hash this SH&%!” guy…what will we do when he’s not here, and hormones are flying? Lord help us, truly.

Despite the fact that I know I am strong, and I know I will get through this, I honestly don’t want to hear that sentence from ONE MORE person. I really don’t. I’m sorry if that sounds mean and I appreciate the fact people think I am strong, but instead let’s sit down and talk about how bad this freaking sucks, or as my husband admits, “I’m sorry for the hell I’m putting you through.” Let’s share a glass of wine, and talk about how we’ve got each other’s backs as friends/family and a reminder of “I’m here for you” would be wonderful. Because isn’t that what friends and family are for? To get through the hard SH&%# together? I sure think so…

What am I going to do about the fact that this truly sucks? I’m going to take care of ME, so I can better take care of my kids. I’ve started taking more time on my physical appearance, actually taking time on my make up in the morning, picking out nice outfits to wear for work, etc. I started doing this a few weeks ago, and it’s amazing how much of a difference it makes I’ve found. Even my coworkers noticed, asking me why I am dressing up more…I smiled and said, “If I look pretty on the outside, maybe it’ll cheer me up on the inside,” and I think it’s working, a little…

So this weekend I will (I hope) get out on the roads/trails and get my first official long run in of 6 miles. To keep mentally sane through all of this, I’ve been working out a lot at home (Tracy Anderson Transformation videos) , planking, and treadmilling when needed. I can happily report that between stress-haha, a healthy diet, and consistent working out, I have lost nearly all of my marathon weight from last year. My goal this year is to NOT gain weight during training, if I do decide to stick with the full.

12605434_1086246881418436_6509335534326877025_o Third work out this week!!!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words during this difficult time. I am so glad I decided to keep the blog going while my hubby is gone, and appreciate the support and prayers. And guess what? My teen just came up to me and gave me a hug, saying she was sorry for yesterday. I hugged her tight, and told her I was sorry too…#allthefeels

❤ Michelle

Deployment thoughts, Recipes, Uncategorized

Tasty roasted broccoli quinoa and training plans

January 19, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

So today I did it…I bit the bullet and printed out my faithful Hal Higdon full marathon training plan. I am still on the fence about running a full with my husband deploying, but after night’s like tonight with my teen, I think I may have some mama drama that will need to be left on the trails this next year. I asked my husband if he could pack up one of us to deploy with him, but that doesn’t seem to be an option. Lord help us this next year, LOL…

I already have a good base with 6-7 miles done easy, so I have some time to decide. We shall see…

Tomorrow we are having a “healthy food” potluck at work, so I decided to make my roasted broccoli and quinoa salad. This salad is SO easy that I made it WHILE cooking dinner tonight.

Ingredients:

2 bags of your favorite quinoa, I use a brown rice/quinoa mix-cook according to package directions

2 cups of roasted broccoli-season with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder and roast at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the edges are nice and golden brown

2-3 green onions chopped at a diagonal

The zest of one lemon

1/4 cup of gruyere cheese (I prefer mild), cut in small cubes

1 teaspoon of organic apple cider vinegar

1 cup of toasted pecans

Mix all ingredients well, and finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt.

My healthy dish is ready!

What’s your favorite healthy dish to pass for potlucks at work or with family? What’s your best release for teenage girl drama?

Cheers!

Michelle

Deployment thoughts

My 2015 review

December 28, 2015December 30, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

I’ve thought a lot about this last year. I’ve truly changed, and for the better (in my opinion, and that is what counts, right?) if I may say so myself. I went through and purged my blog of negative posts in the beginning of the year, realizing what a drag I was for SUCH a long time.

So I thought what fun would it be to highlight my POSITIVE posts for my year in review?

This post is where I beam with pride for my husband taking his first command position in the Army. Now, as he prepares to deploy for a year I NEED to focus on this pride and not sadness.

And then there is this post, where I talk about my once hated birthday, and how I finally started to celebrate life and all the wonderful blessings I’ve been given.

As we hit the second month of the year, I found myself feeling sorry for myself as I caught my aging reflection in the mirror, and I spoke about the truth. And how important it is to BE TRUE to yourself and others always.

My world was barreled over and changed in the blink of an eye when on St. Patrick’s Day, my oldest daughter was in a life threatening car accident. This post was (and still is) my most viewed post since the beginning of my blog. (Thank goodness, she’s is A-OK and you’d never know the accident happened minus a couple scars).

What would a runner be, without thoughts about running the Boston Marathon? I share my thoughts, here.

Here, on the eve of my Grandma’s Marathon 20 mile (SOLO) training run, I found myself on the crazy train, and I tell you what, it nearly derailed, ROFL!!! note: I not only survived, but I ROCKED my last training run!

My current half marathon PR race can be found here, all full of tears and fun balled up in to a great big sweaty mess ROFL!!!! Throw in a recipe for short ribs, and you’ve got a winning post, right?! LOL

This pic, truly says it all. Thanks to Dave Sheble from the Fox Valley Marathon for capturing it!

My year in review wouldn’t be complete with out the recap of the race I trained nearly half the year for: The Grandma’s Marathon, in Duluth Minnesota. I ran/walked this race with my sister, and I can honestly say it was one of the toughest races I’ve ever ran. Guess what? It was also a life changing, relationship building and character testing event that I’ll never, ever, forget.

We headed to the beach in July, and I finally found where I believe home will be once the kids get a bit older. We started out in Marco Island, but got rained out! So my hubby saved the day, and the last 2 days we road tripped to Miami and I was instantly in love. You can see our adventures in my picture post recap, HERE.

One of my favorite Friday Five posts can be found here. I love it when you have an “Ah HA!” moment.

I ran my last official race in October, the Prairie State half marathon. Check it out here! It was all about fun, friends, and food that day and I had such a blast!

And then, the news came that my husband was deploying. Overseas. To an icky place. For a year. And some days, even now that I’ve had a couple months to digest the news, I find it very hard to even breathe. #sigh

So we made the most of our anniversary, knowing we’d be apart for our next. And just writing that sentence brings more tears to my eyes.

Lastly, one of my favorite weekends of the year, every year, is our annual Christmas Staycation in Chicago. This year we went all out, and it was AH. MA. ZING.

Us just before going in to the Lion King

As I said, I learned so very much about myself this last year. I hope and pray I have the continued strength to get through this next year on my own without my husband. My girls need me. My husband needs me to be strong for them. I need to be strong for ME.

How was your year? Did you meet all the goals you set for yourself?

Cheers to a great 2016!! Thanks to you all for following along and supporting my journey!

❤ Michelle

Deployment thoughts

Tuesday Truths.

December 15, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Not a lot makes sense lately. So while grasping for straws trying to hold on to some semblance of normalcy I give you the last two days of truth in pics.

My baby girl isn’t a baby anymore. We’ve been practicing her driving in hopes she’ll get her license before my hubby leaves.

My amazing friend Jitka who invited me out for a run tonight.

Because running at night is fun with friends.

Seven minute plank-whaaaaaa? Yeah. My goal for 2016 is to keep. Getting. Stronger.

And that my friends. Is a wrap. With my husband’s deployment getting moved up constantly, hanging on to little truths is all I can do!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

❤ Michelle

Deployment thoughts

Reasons to smile

November 16, 2015November 16, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Last week was difficult to get through, to say the least. I think the week compounded by some crazy work drama that I was NOT expecting. You know the old saying, “When it rains, it pours!” right? Well, someone forgot her umbrella last week so I was drenched by the end of the week.

I was completely over myself, so Friday night we had “family movie night” and watched “Raiders of the Lost Arc.” I then proceeded to have an extra couple glasses of wine, LOL, which led to an uninterrupted night’s sleep. Something I haven’t had in weeks. I woke up with a purpose, and that was to SMILE as much as possible over the weekend.

Here are my reasons to smile over the weekend, via photos.

untitled2 — We found a new dress for our Chicago staycation weekend next month. We’re going to see “The Lion King” and S wanted a new dress! 12 bucks at Once Upon a Child! Score!

Because wearing deodorant for the first time warrants a pic, at least according to her, LOL!!

Back at it with my planking after a few days off.

And this:

My new wrap bracelet, and daily reminder.

Thanks to my friend Teri for getting me up and out the door on Sunday morning. We ran at a nice easy pace and both got a lot off our chest. Having felt pretty alone the last few weeks this is JUST what I needed. 6 miles later, and we were both smiling.

How was your weekend? What do you do to make yourself smile during tough times?

Have a great week, y’all!

Michelle

running

My place of peace

November 5, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

Thanks to everyone for your amazing love and support during this tough time. I’ve truly turned a new leaf and although am still overcome with sadness, I finally feel like I can maybe. Just maybe…get through this next year and a half. Although my husband hasn’t left yet, his spare time is spent preparing, and sadly worrying. We’ve both had our fair share of sleepless nights. So last night I revisited one of my favorite trails where I run, and it was there I found a little peace.

And as I rounded this corner at mile 2 of my 4 mile run, I forgot for a moment that I was running. I forgot all my worries. And I was smiling from ear to ear.

The sun was setting, I was chasing daylight, and I was smiling. It’s days like these I realize I must hang on tight to during the next year and a half.

Where’s your place of peace? How do you find the good in a bad situation?

Have a great night!!

~Michelle

Races

Prairie State 2015 half marathon race recap!

October 12, 2015October 12, 2015 Movin' it with Michelle

I went into this race with NO expectations other than to finish, and most importantly HAVE FUN. Those that have been reading for a while, know I took a good 6 week break from distance running after the Grandma’s Marathon in June. This break wasn’t due to injury, but for personal reasons and a few weeks ago I decided it was time to get back at it. I’ve done this race in the past back in 2013 so I decided as long as I beat my time of 2:14 (you can read the recap-HERE), I’d be happy.

A couple of my friends were also doing this race, which was an added bonus! They invited me to join them for the 1 hour commute north to Libertyville, IL. YAY! We met up at Jitka’s house at 6 a.m. and headed north. The trip was uneventful other than the cold front came through causing some pretty serious fog. The sunrise was AMAZING tho…

The racing Gods must’ve been smiling upon us because everything worked out perfectly. We had to park in a parking lot about 15 minutes from the start line and get bussed to the race.

We got to the race with about 30 minutes to spare, and thank goodness because the porta pottie line was LONG.

We made it just in time to pee, hug, and get into our respective areas in the shoot. Jitka was going for a PR so they made their way to the 7 mm area, and I headed back to the 9:30 pace group where I normally feel the most comfortable.

We started promptly on time (yet I wonder how many people were late as the bus situation proved to be quite a hassle for those that arrived later than we did…) and I felt great. It was around 45 degrees with a slight breeze and I was thankful I had on my arm sleeves and a throw away sweatshirt. After about a mile and a half, I tossed my sweat shirt and took off. And took off I did-WAY TOO FAST having my miles be in the low 9’s. This is FAST for me mind you, and by mile 5 or so I started to get a side stitch…no matter what I did, it was there, but I kept trucking along. I saw my sister right before the turn around point which truly lifted my spirits and distracted me from the pain in my ride side.

By mile 10, I decided I need to walk it off, so I walked for a good 3-4 minutes. Thank goodness, because mile 11-12 were all slightly at an uphill incline which totally kicked me in the tail. The last mile I kicked it up, and it felt great knowing I was almost finished. My buddy Mark ran me in, and this was AFTER pacing Jitka to a PR of 1:37, AND second place in her age group…AMAZING!!!

All in all, it was a great race with a few tough miles. I finished in 2:08:06, and keep in mind Dickson Chumba won the Chicago Marathon yesterday with a time of 2:09:25, ROFL…Sure puts it all into perspective, doesn’t it? LOL!!!

We finished the day with my favorite post race drink-a Bloody Mary! We also enjoyed a yummy lunch, and then headed home.

I come out of this experience reminded of my true passion and love for running, as well as an appreciation for my friends that love me, well, even when I am not the easiest person to love. A cool little fact, is that I met Jitka at this race 2 years ago, and we’ve been friends ever since! ❤

How were your races this weekend? Did you do anything fun with friends or family? What’s your favorite post race meal?

Have a great week!!

❤ Michelle

Tag: running

Oops, I did it again…

Marathons and Deployments and how I tackle both with a similar strategy!

Weekly wrap up 1/31/2016

Pre-deployment thoughts

Tasty roasted broccoli quinoa and training plans

My 2015 review

Tuesday Truths.

Reasons to smile

My place of peace

Prairie State 2015 half marathon race recap!

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