A Feeling

Do you ever get the feeling... that craving for change? Over the last few days, I have this anxious, nagging feeling in the bottom of my stomach. I can't tell if it's the "something is coming" feeling, or the "I wish something would come" feeling.
A lot of people are scared of change. I'm not normally one of those people. I kind of like big changes like moving or getting a new job. I view them as a chance to start over. I don't know if any big changes are coming any time soon, but I've got a few little things brewing in my pot of change...
-I'm trying to improve my body (who's not?). I've learned some new things to do with weights and the ball and figured out a way to do a lot of it at home.
-I am trying to improve my overall health through healthy eating. For Christmas I received a subscription to the Cooking Light magazine, a knife block, and an apron with chickens on it. I have vowed to try one new healthy recipe each week.
-I am trying NAET www.naet.com to get rid of my restless leg syndrome. This is an eastern therapy that is supposed to reduce your sensitivity to chemicals, foods, hormones, etc. I am also being treated for a variety of emotions and my voo-doo witch doctor claims that it can help with morning sickness. I'll do a more in depth post about this at a later time.
-I'm starting a collection of essential oils. My friend Maria sent me some samples a couple of months ago. I've been studying the properties of many of the essential oils and am intrigued enough to try them out. I'll keep you posted on this as well.
Perhaps these are my little new year resolutions. Whatever they are, I hope these little changes help me to improve myself and my life.

The Mile High Half

I did it. I ran 13.1 miles on Sunday. It was awesome. Tara and I have been training for this for the last 13 weeks. It feels weird that it's over just like that...the thing I've been working for and training so hard for is finished. I accomplished my goal, but as life goes, I had a few last-minute issues to hold me up a little. I was totally psyched and felt prepared to run the race. I did my last long training run about a week before race day. The next morning, I woke up with a fever... "oh no," I thought. Over the weekend, it turned into a pretty bad case of bronchitis. Respiratory illness and running are not compatible. On Monday, I went to the Dr. and got on some antibiotics and an inhaler. I was not able to run until Friday and it was only 2.5 miles, and it hurt my lungs. I was feeling alright by bedtime on Saturday. I wanted to be sure to get enough rest, so I went to bed early. At 1 a.m., Jack (who has been sleeping through the night for months) decided that he didn't want to sleep. I fed him thinking that he would eat and go back down... no such luck. He was awake until 4 a.m. and so was I. Once we started running, I felt pretty good. I am happy with my accomplishment and I am proud of myself and my sister for finishing what we set out to do. The above picture is us at the finish line with our other sis, Carlie (who was an awesome help with Jack during the race).
Jack and I headed out to Denver last Saturday morning. We had a fun time with Tara, Rusty, Halle, Josh, Blake and Carlie. Michael had to stay home and work (someone had to foot the bill for our trip...). It was fun to hang out with my sisters doing a little shopping and lunching and movieing. Carlie went home on Monday morning and it's too bad because she missed out on the adventure to the pumpkin patch. The kids loved petting the animals and climbing around on the pumpkins.

Raw Wednesdays/ Half Marathon

It seems like everywhere I turn, there is some advertisement for "get thin quick" or "health in a pill." Although some of these programs might be effective, my question is are they healthy? Our country is obsessed with weight and health, but it seems that very few of us are actually taking the right steps to get there (I know there are times in my life when I fall into this category).

I don't believe in being extreme. I want to be healthy. I want to eat well and live an active lifestyle. I want to feel good. I've decided that for me, health is not a number. It's how I feel. It's having balance in my life.

I am turning over a new leaf. Today I begin my journey for better health. I'm starting with 2 steps.

Step 1 is Raw Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, I will only be consuming raw foods. This is my menu for the coming Wednesday:

Breakfast: Berry Salad
Lunch: Greens and Veggie Salad with raw Almonds
Dinner: Celery and Avocado soup
Dessert: Mango Sorbet
Snacks: Whatever I want as long as it's raw

I have been wanting to incorporate more raw foods into my diet for a long time, and I'm going to do raw Wednesdays until I feel like I've learned what I want to learn: planning, recipes I like, how to use a dehydrator, which raw foods I enjoy and which I would prefer to stay away from, what I can eat as a meal vs. snack, etc.

Step 2 is that today is the first day of a 12 week training schedule to run a half marathon. I will be training with my friend Nichole. I am feeling very excited and motivated to get back into shape (and it wouldn't hurt if I lost a few of the lingering baby pounds in the process, but like I said, health is not a number for me).

So, there you have it... my first two steps of my journey for better health... wish me luck. I'll keep you posted.

5 years ago...

5 years ago last Friday, I ran a marathon. Yes, me... 26.2 miles.

Last Friday, I ran 1.5 miles. It felt like a marathon.

I have about 8 lbs. to loose from the pregnancy. I have been making excuses (some of them legitimate) as to why I am unable to work out:

-I am too tired... I've been up all night with the baby
-My vericose veins are hurting
-I can't work it into my schedule
-Jack is not 3 months old so I can't take him to the daycare

All of these things are resolved (except my veins did hurt last night, but that was the first time in a while), so I am out of excuses.

Oh, and I'm addicted to sugar... do they have rehab for that?

I always say "If it's important, you'll make time for it." So it's time I take my own advice and get going on getting rid of these 8 lbs.

I just found this photo of myself and my two BFFs Melissa (on left) and Katie (on right) after finishing the marathon. They trained with me but were unable to run the race due to injuries.