Mom on the Run--Woman of Steele

I had such an awesome time running the Santa Hustle 5K in Milwaukee on December 6, 2014.  I love that we have made this family event the past 2 years!  Last year the kids were not able to see me run as Maddie got sick in the middle of the night.  This year was different.   We drove up Friday night to our hotel and bought some snacks in their nicely stocked pantry.  We relaxed and watched TV in the room.  We stayed up late and snuggled in the very comfy queen-sized beds. I actually was very creative this year, which is so unlike me, and brought goodies for St. Nick and our Elf on the Shelf with us.  I was up before everyone else the next morning, so I was able to plant the elves and place the goodies in the kids' shoes.  They were so excited to see what St. Nick brought for them and the looks on their faces when they saw Ellie and her buds was absolutely priceless!  So worth the trouble of packing them.  Finding Ellie and her crew!! Digging in their shoes

This week I wanted to run 32 miles for my 32nd birthday which just happened to fall on Thanksgiving this year!! Being that I only had 2 days of school this week, it wasn't too hard to get in the extra miles! I started Sunday (11-23-14) with a solid 6 mile run outside followed by 2 more miles on the treadmill that night.  It was raining pretty good on Sunday, but my thought was, "If I want to run a full marathon next year, I am going to have to train in all types of weather situations. Suck it up and get out there!" I'm sure the drivers I passed thought I was crazy but it was so cleansing to run in the rain. I really felt like I needed this to cleanse my spirit of negativity and make it a more positive and productive week!  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I ran inside on the treadmill. I got in double runs all of these days! I love being off and able to push myself farther!!! I got in a total of 8 miles these days. Thursday was my birthday and Thanksgiving so I wanted to

On Saturday November 15, 2014 I ran in the 2nd annual Frosty Rock Challenge 12K in Fort Atkinson where my husband and I lived when we were first married.  It's about 25 minutes from where we live now in Milton.  I really like this race.  It's a combination of road and trail route.  I usually do not run trails because I am so afraid of tripping or falling or seriously hurting myself.  I stepped outside the box and ran it last year and really enjoyed it, so I wanted to do it again this year.   The day started off kinda rocky as I went to pick up my packet and they didn't have my number!!!  Very frustrating but I kept my cool.  I was just grateful that I had got the family out the door early so I could pick up my packet.  We actually arrived with about 40 minutes until race time.  After some checking around, I was told that I would have to fill out another registration form and that I would just have to check my number after the finish to see my official time.  Luckily as I

This week was much colder running with my 6th graders during first hour!! They were super whiny on Wednesday so we only made it around the block. We ended up running about 1.2 miles, so not bad. Here's my "It's freezing but I'm excited to run" face!!!  Thursday's run was much better!! The kids were more prepared and we ended up running a few blocks longer than we had the whole time! The sun was out and there were flurries in the air! So cool!! This was the best run with these kids!! My pics look all the same this week since I am wearing my cold weather running sweatshirt! It keeps me nice and warm!! Friday's run was shorter as I made hot cocoa for the kids after! They loved it!!! They actually wanted to run farther today like yesterday!! That was so refreshing to see! This was a really great group of kids!! I really had a great time running with them! I hope I get to do it again come March!!  I have some crazy hair in this last picture! I was fighting a si

This week I had the awesome opportunity to run Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning with a group of 18 6th graders during 1st hour! It was awesome!  Wednesday we ran outside after I met some of them for the first time. I was so giddy this morning!! We ran around out school block which is almost a mile around, then we ran the football field and headed inside for drinks. Thursday it was rainy so we opted for the gym. We ran some Laps, did some speed drills and played a game of Sharks and Minnows, which is a tag-like game! It was so much fun hanging out with these kids who have a love and appreciation for running like I do!!  Friday was colder than the other days so hats and gloves were needed! We had a great run outside today! We ran the block, the school's mile course and around the football field again. We even played a short game of Sharks and Minnows again! This just gets me jazzed and pumped for the rest of the day! I love it!! I can't wait to do it again next week!!! One

An other virtual race that I had signed up for early in the year was the Batten Disease Virtual Half Marathon.  According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, "Batten disease is a fatal, inherited disorder of the nervous system that typically begins in childhood. Early symptoms of this disorder usually appear between the ages of 5 and 10 years, when parents or physicians may notice a previously normal child has begun to develop vision problems or seizures. In some cases the early signs are subtle, taking the form of personality and behavior changes, slow learning, clumsiness, or stumbling. Over time, affected children suffer mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Eventually, children with Batten disease become blind, bedridden, and demented. Batten disease is often fatal by the late teens or twenties." I have seen pictures of several kids on Facebook who have this disease and how they are taken so so

So in September I ran another 13.1 hoping for redemption from my awful Madison Mini 13.1.  I also ended up injured and completely burnt out by the end of the month.  Here's the story! Discover Whitewater Half Marathon September 21, 2014 This was my redemption from the Madison Mini!  I made sure to do everything different from the Madison Mini!  I made sure to eat well the whole week before, but especially the day and night before the race.  I tried to make sure I was well hydrated all week and kept my running to a minimum.  I picked up my packet the night before and made sure to drink my Shakeology in the morning early enough so I wouldn't be too full for running.  We arrived early enough so that I could use the port-a-potty and I was ready to go.  I even added new songs to my running playlist, but set my Runkeeper app to the wrong playlist.  Oh well!  The playlist I had playing still worked just fine!  I got very emotional during the national anthem due to the signi

We all know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  It's everywhere!! Football players were pink, we had pink dress-up days at school!  I always like to do some kind of run for Breast Cancer during this month.  Last year I ran a 10K, this year I chose 13.1!  It was a virtual race for Breast Cancer Awareness and I had every intention when I signed up for this race to run a full 1/2 marathon on a Saturday or Sunday.  That did not happen, however, due to my hip injury last month.  After that injury, I could hardly run a 1/2 mile!!  It was frustrating, but I had also lost my running mojo!  When I think about it, I had been training for half marathons since April without really taking any breaks!  That's a lot of training!!  I think I just completely wore myself out with running.  I think I also gained some weight while training, because I was not fueling my body properly.  I always think that I can eat whatever I want because I ran today.  Well that is not really the case

August was eventful!  My daughter turned 6!!!  We celebrated her Golden Birthday with family and friends; and I ran in 2 fun 5Ks and the Madison Mini Half Marathon. Blacklight Run 5K August 9, 2014 Fun run! This was a first for me with this race.  It was like the Color Me Rad where you are splashed with color only at night and you ended up glowing in the dark under the black lights.  It was a lot of fun!  I managed to run it in approximately 29-30 minutes as I didn't wear my watch for fear that the paint would ruin it.  I have already gone through one Nike + watch and returned it to Nike, so I really didn't want to do that again.  It was a fun run!  I do enjoy the fun runs, I just think I really need to focus more on my half marathons if I am going to get better at them and eventually run a full marathon and qualify for Boston!  My kids did enjoy the run as well!!!  Before the race!!!  After the race!! I'm covered in paint and daddy bought the kids gl

July is a slow racing month for me.  I like it that way though, as it can get quite hot in Wisco!! Milton Optimist Fourth of July 10K July 4, 2014 I have not run this race before and this year I felt silly knowing that I would be running that day anyway through Milton, so I signed up.  It was a warm morning, but I wore my hydration belt with electrolyte tabs in it again.  I knew that even though the race began at 8 that it would get hot.  Plus we were running on country roads without much shade.  This race starts and ends at our local high school and winds its way a block from my house! Beautiful neighborhood if I do say so myself!  I wasn't sure if I would PR for this race as it was a Friday and I had trained hills the night before.  But I went in with an open mind using this race as a training run for my next half marathon.  I met some fun people along the course and paced with them for a bit.  I took it easy and still managed a PR of 1:04:40!!  I was pretty stoked wi