Waking Up the Runner

I've discovered that we moved into a neighborhood where the residents like to be outside. This is  completely opposite from Goodyear, AZ, but let's face it...who wants to be outside when it is over 100 degrees? ;)  Even though the mosquitos LOVE me,

I take the kiddos out everyday which makes for a great nap in the afternoon.

This outdoor option also creates a window of opportunity for the runner in me to resurface. I've missed her.

Just finished running a local 10K in March

We have a path that goes around the perimeter of our area creating a 2.5 mile run. The path takes a break halfway through the run, but it is on a quiet street so not too bad. Let me just say now, this is NOT an easy just-get-back-into-running run. There is a serious hill not to mention a series of smaller hills! This morning I wiped the dust of my shoes

and tackled this run. When I say tackled, I mean I finished it...not that it was one of my best runs. ;) My legs were a bit stiff and my face was the color of my fushia shirt, but I finished. For anybody driving by, I'm sure I looked like I was struggling. LOL!

For those on Facebook, you may have seen that I'm on the hunt for a jogger stroller. Everyone who has given me advice has recommended the BOB.

Thankfully I'm only looking for a single because these strollers can get pricey. I was thinking of buying a less expensive one, but the reviews weren't really selling me so I guess I'm saving for the BOB. :) Dylan starts school on Sept. 11th so I have almost a month to rally some money together for my stroller! It's worth it! Once I master the hilly neighborhood run with Ava in a stoller, I will be buff! I don't think I will be running the entire path the first couple of times. :)

Even though I love going to the gym, it will be home workouts for me over the next three years. Between the stroller, my plethora of videos including P90X and all of the great trails in the area, I'm excited to get transformed! I want to go from a mom in decent shape after two kids to a kickass mom that doesn't look like she had two kids. Here we go!

And we continue to stay busy...

I can't believe it is already April!! March flew by so fast! It's not like I had a whole lot going on right? ;) Well, it has taken me almost 3 weeks to feel like I'm back to my crazy normal schedule after all of the birthdays.

I'm back in the gym on Tues., Wed., and Thurs. mornings. I even went both Saturday and Sunday last weekend because I'm trying to jolt my body back from the hiatus of bad food. Now I know, that after the holidays, the other time I have to look out for is March. Yikes! It's crazy how just a few weeks off the schedule can completely effect the mind. As I was running on the treadmill this weekend, I made myself complete 3 miles. My body wasn't dying from the run, it was my mind...I just didn't feel like running.

I read an article in Shape magazine about Alison Sweeney (Biggest Loser Host and "Sammy" on Days of our Lives). She said she schedules her workouts like appointments so that she does it without even thinking. For the most part, I guess that is what I do during the week, but I think I need to be better about sticking to it all week. Once I feel that "love of the sweat" while I'm doing it again, it won't be so challenging. Love the birthdays, but wow...did they do a number on me!

What has been nice on the kiddo front has been all of the fun playdates! Mondays and Fridays can be challenging since I've got both of them and Dylan gets bored very easily. You've got to stay three steps ahead of him or bothering Ava becomes his number one priority. Now, she isn't innocent either! She is only 12 months old and has already figured out what buttons to push to make Dylan lose it. It's actually kind of funny because she has a little grin while she does it. :)

So here are a bunch of photos of some of our fun outings over the past week or so.

While Dylan was at school the other week, Ava and I went to spend the morning with some friends. She LOVES Steven! This is their wrestle-hug kind of thing. :)

After school, we headed to spring training! Padres v. Dodgers with a Pads victory!



 My cool kids. LOL!

This is my attempt at getting a picture of them together. I wasn't fast enough!

He's dancing to the music.

I didn't even notice the sign! I was just happy he was having fun and occupied. :)

Long day, but fun! Then last Friday we went to Chuck-e-Cheese's. Now I wish I got more pictures, but honestly it is so challenging chasing the two around that place. Thankfully we had plenty of friends there to help out!!

You can't tell by her face, but she loved this ride. After a few more rides she actually looked happy. :)

The picture of the two of them in the monster truck won't upload. :( It was pretty cute too. Oh well.

Once the weekend arrived, we did some park time.

Can you tell how hot it was? Look at those cheeks!

Daddy's girl!

The wind kicked up on Sunday and it was time to try out the new kite!

Of course we had to bring baseball stuff. :)



This week has been just as fun and busy. We had friends over both Monday and Tuesday! I did facebook yesterday regarding Dylan waking up a bit upset, to put it mildly. After calming down, we did a little "side chalking" as Dylan calls it. :) Art is theraputic. :)

And the week continues; we'll see what it will bring. :) Now off to pick up the boy from school! Have a great day!

Trying to get back to the routine

As you can see, my blog had a facelift! I thought it was time to make it look a little more exciting. :)

So now that all the birthdays are over, it is time to get us back on our regular schedule. Now, don't think that means it will be time to relax because we are just as busy, just in a different way. Randy took the day off yesterday and we had plans to get out and do something as a family. Unfortunately, a migraine had other plans. So, Randy lied on the couch for a little while and it became a stay-at-home in the comfies day.

Dylan is 100% Daddy's Boy right now!

The weather wasn't too great anyway. That means that today really felt like the start of my week.

After all of the wonderful birthday food that I have been gorging on the last week,

the gym was a MUST! I was doing so well until the weeks of celebration began. I did great the first week, but then I think between being tired and having so much sugar around, I just gave in. Now I'm paying for it. ;)

Not only did I have to get back into the routine of the morning workout, but Ava did too. She wasn't so happy with being dropped off at child watch today. That is putting it mildly. I was actually surprised that one of the purple shirts didn't come and get me in the middle of my workout. Knowing that I have a few party lbs to take off, I hit the elliptical. Lately I've been cranking up the resistance so that I have a tough time chatting while working. :) A little morning sweat was a perfect way to start the day!

The morning continued smoothly as I started on all of the housework. There is quite a bit that needs to get done, which sometimes causes me to procrastinate, which just makes it worse. Today I decided to just start with laundry.

I have all week to get this place in order, no need to stress about everything right? :) I really had only two things I HAD to do today...pick up Dylan from school and buy Ava formula. Other than that, I/the kids get to decide what we're doing. ;)

Before picking up Dylan, the minivan rushed off to Costco for Ava's formula. Let me just tell you that Costco needs an express line!! I was behind a family that had a ton of stuff which can be an issue when in a hurry, but this family also didn't speak English very well. I watched every line move faster than the one I was in! Costco currently has a comment kiosk right out front which I plan to go back to. I was in a hurry because I had to pick up Dylan so they escaped my comment card, but not for long. :)

As the day wore on, the kiddos were falling into line. :) I watched a little DVR and folded laundry while they napped. Well, Dylan napped and Ava chatted away in her crib. I've got two kids with the gift of gab. Where do they get this from? :)

I would say that we started of the week in a positive way, which is hopefully a sign for the rest of the week. Laundry is done, which should really be a huge celebration. Hmmm...what will Wednesday bring? After the gym, we'll just have to wait and see.

A Very Busy Morning!

The race is over and I'm feeling pretty good! It is now 3pm and this is the first time I've been able to sit down and relax all day! It would have been wonderful to be able to lounge after the race, but between two busy kiddos and a birthday party, resting was going to have to wait.

Or maybe a birthday cupcake in my case. ;)

So how did the run go? Let me back it up for you...

I got a phone call this morning at 6:30am. My friend that was sick decided that she felt well enough to go for it. Yay! I have a buddy again!

It was FREEZING this morning! Some of the hardcore runners wore tanks and shorts. Me...not so much. I think it's funny to watch the macho guys take off like a rocket at the beginning. Then as the race proceeds, these guys crap out. I had a few of these types around me. Two got hurt by mile 2 and a third was walking at around 2 1/2 miles. The walker even decided to hurdle a cone right before walking. Don't they know that slow and steady wins the race. Ok...maybe not wins the race, but at least finishes the race right?! I already know that the guys that have about 5% body fat wearing only shorts, shoes and hat and position themselves at the front will be the actual race winners. ;)

Guys like this right?

The first mile was the hardest in my opinion. This was the warm-up mile where I have to find my stride. I did have to laugh when I saw one of the trainers from my gym on the sidewalk ringing a cowbell for encouragement right around the one mile marker. :) Overall, I believe I ran the first three miles at my regular pace. I stayed around a group of four men. As we all started to put a little more space between us, I think I chose the wrong runner to use as a pacer. I realized this when I passed the mile five marker, Taio came on (Dynomite song) and I took off. I dusted the guy for the remainder of the race. Taio, Enrique Iglesias and LMFAO brought me in for the finish.

When I hear "Party Rock" on my playlist I know I am almost there. I got a little ansy at the end. I was ready to be done. :)

I was pretty pleased for my first time. I ran a little slower than I have been around the neighborhood. I thought I was on pace, but I don't have a watch or anything to check up on me. Oh well. I still ran the race with a 10:30 minute mile. The event clock said 1:05 when I crossed, but I definitely was not at the front of the pack so we'll see what the results say once they're posted. :)

My friend came in after me and we enjoyed the post-race goodies.

This is something I definitely want to do again. My goal for next time is to run it under 1 hour. This should be no problem since I wasn't too far off this time.

So why did I have to wait until 3:00 to rest? We had a birthday party of course!  The fam headed to our friend, Ethan's, house for his 1st birthday party. I got Ava gussied up, Dylan went with the hockey/baseball theme and we all had a good time.

She was running towards the camera. :)

Now it is naptime so Team Krekeler is taking a break. Aaaahhhh!

Get On Those Running Shoes!

Tomorrow morning is big...it's my 10K! I picked up my #55 bib and t-shirt...I'm excited!

This is a big deal for me because I've never completed a run longer than a 5K and I really didn't think that I was this kind of runner. ;) I mentioned awhile back, a run in Sacramento where my dad and I will be a team for a half-marathon. Now this isn't until October, but there is some competition amongst family so I need to be ready. This is what got me fired up to be "a runner".

I've been training for this for about 6 weeks now. I'm feeling great and I know tomorrow is going to be a great morning. My buddy got sick :( so I will be doing this one solo. It takes all of 5 minutes to drive to the starting line so it shouldn't be a terribly early morning. You may ask why I don't just walk. Well, I don't want to do an early morning walk by myself AND since 6.1 miles is my max at the moment, no need to add another 4 miles round trip. ;)

I have my clothes laid out, my coffee prepped and my bib on the passenger seat of the car. next time I post, I will be sharing how it all unfolds.

This is how smooth I'm going to look. ;)

No Excuses!

So this morning I felt like I really showed my commitment to the healthier me. Frankly, I was pretty proud of myself!

Randy's car was leaking some kind of fluid so he needed to drop his car off to get serviced in the morning. This meant that I had to figure out how to fit in a workout in between dropping Dylan off at school, taking care of Randy's car needs and doing it before Ava's morning nap at 9:30am. A couple months ago I probably would have used the excuse that "it just didn't work this morning". Instead, I found a way to make it work! :)

I dropped Dylan off at school a little earlier then headed straight to the gym with Ava. I had 45 minutes for a workout before having to pick Randy up at the car place and drive him to a recruiting station to pick up a government car, which he would be driving to work. And all of this before 9:30am! I have to admit that I felt great after all the busyness because I didn't give up my workout morning. Yay me!

I had been planning on today being a running day; maybe 4.5 miles, however, I felt like I needed more out of my 45 minutes.

I also wasn't sure I could run 4.5 miles in 45 minutes. That is a little fast for me right now! So my new and improved workout started with a one mile warm-up run on the treadmill. Once I had my sweat on, I decided to lift focusing on my lower body. You know the rear, thigh, and hip area that peeks over the jeans? ;)

Not me!

So I headed over to the leg press that always does well in beginning a lifting session.

This is a 2-in-1 for me because after each leg press set, I do a set of calf raises on the same machine. Next I moved over to the barbells to add some weight to my lunges. Yes, the dreaded lunges followed by squats. My squats are more of a dancer plie while holding a 25lb weight.

Dancers have great fannies and this is why. :) Next up...a little focus on the hammies then inner and outer thighs ending with two sets of a one minute planks. Whew! Done and on time!

Unfortunately with all of this positive energy flowing, when I walked into Child Watch to pick up Ava...she was screaming. Poor girl is not feeling well at all! I thought we had conquered the worst of it yesterday, but that little bug just won't go away. So, Ava and I spent the rest of the morning playing around on the floor. No nap. :(

Even though I have a sick little one, we are having a great day! I conquered the gym, Ava is 11 months old today and Dylan has shown me his sweeter side. All is right in the world today. :)

Time to Run!

I think I'm getting the hang of this running thing! I do most of my running on the treadmill because I usually have at least one kid with me. :)  A jogger stroller sounds very appealing, but we already have 3 strollers!

The first one that holds the carrier so nicely.

The second one is an "umbrella stroller", which is easier to transport when the carrier is no longer needed.

And third, The Double!

I feel kind of silly getting another one especially when we will be moving this summer. Who knows how running-friendly my new neighborhood will be, so I feel like now it is the treadmill during the week and a nice outdoor run on the weekends. After Ava goes down for her morning nap, I take off to let Randy and Dylan have some QT. ;)

The route I take is relatively flat and just around the neighborhood. I had mapped out a 3 mile run, but keep extending my run to increase that distance. Today I ran 4.3 miles! This is my longest so far. Along with this nice distance, I have also increased my running pace. I ran a 10:15 minute mile overall, which is great improvement from my 12 minute mile I was doing just a couple of months ago. My dad, who is a fantastic runner, told me that every pound lost decreases your overall time by 2.5 minutes. Crazy huh?! Well, I've lost about 5.5 lbs so I guess there is some truth to that. :) One thing that sticks with me as I'm doing all of this running is that my 60 year old dad runs marathons! His first one was at 50! I'm starting slower...I'm training for a 10K on March 3rd.

I have been wanting to sign up for a race for the last month, but was looking for a buddy to run with me. About two weeks ago, my moms' group got together for a moms-night-in party with wine and goodies. I was chatting with a fellow mommy that had a baby 5 months ago. She had just begun running again. I told her to keep it up even if she feels like she is going to die. It gets better. :) About 4 days later, she called me to let me know that I inspired her! She set her treadmill faster than normal and ran 4 miles! She asked me to run the race on March 3rd with her. I love this! Not only do I now have a race buddy, but it makes me feel good that she got excited just by our conversation. :)

Now I have a goal...my race! I'm such a goal-oriented person that this is a huge motivator to keep going. I have now added just one more thing to my never-ending list, but you know...I wouldn't be me if I didn't have a thousand things to do. :)

First step to sanity...the gym

The gym saved my sanity today! Let me give you a little history.

First off, this is a PMS week. You ladies know what I mean. Second, late on Tuesday I got a call from our property manager in VA. This is never good. Our dishwasher leaked and basically flooded half the kitchen including damage to the flooring, cabinets and carpet on the other side of the bar area. Now I'm dealing with our insurance company and getting the issue fixed. To top it off, Dylan has been up to his antics since last night around dinner time. I was praying that a bottle of wine would show up at my door, but it didn't. :( As I walked my screaming child back to bed I mentioned to Ran that a margarita would taste really good right about now. When I came back, it was waiting for me on the counter.

Nice! I really wanted to go to the gym last night, but I was so exhausted physically and emotionally that I gave into the alcohol instead.

This brings me to today. The little man woke up at 7am in a great mood. I let my guard down thinking that we were going to have a great morning before school. Then the switch flipped! We didn't get to school until 8:30am (30 min. later than normal) because there were issues. I did everything in my power not to lose it and was successful. Needless to say I NEEDED the gym!

I hopped on the elliptical and went full speed ahead!

In the first 15 min. of my workout I found myself spinning at an average of 9.5 mph with an occasional 10.0 thrown in at a resistance level 3. The lady next to me even took a couple glances my way. Maybe I looked as crazy as I felt. :) After 35 minutes of pure therapy I had gone almost 5 miles. I wish I ran that fast! I did a little lifting on my chest and back before having to call it quits. I wasn't ready to leave. I probably could've worked out another hour, but Ava wouldn't last that long in child watch so it was time to go.

I did feel better, but a few tears while chatting with my mom also helped. :) Time to kick this day in the booty! I did chat with the contractor repairing the kitchen and we're looking good.

It looks scary I know, but at least we are on the mend. My Amex card is smoking, but everything is getting fixed. I ordered some makeup from Sephora.com and used my gift cards. Always fun! My order of new undies from Maidenform.com showed up today. Of course I got them on sale. That's fun too! Dylan came home on edge, but I turned him and he went down for nap as my sweet boy. :)

Lastly, tomorrow my moms group comes over for a playdate which is always fun! I've decided that it is hug day tomorrow. Everyone is getting one when they come into my house. Not only do I need one, but every mom out there could use a hug. So...if you are one of those moms and reading this, get excited. ;)

The gym was the initial therapy, but a little shopping and good conversation always helps too. Now I have to do a little cleaning for the friends tomorrow. :) Adios amigos!

P.S. The man woke up right before posting. He may need some assistance in finding his happy place. :)

For the Love of the Gym

Each time we've moved, one of the first places I seek out is a gym. I've always loved the gym! I joined my first gym when I was 14 years old...that was the age the gym began allowing "kids" to join.  Before joining as well as during the early years of my gym career, I danced for the studio, San Diego Dance Centre.  Now at 34, I realize it has been 10 years since I took a class, but it doesn't feel that long. I'm sure if I took a class now, I would look very rusty. :) I love the feeling after I work out. I love the sore muscles when I know that I challenged myself. How could I not also love the results? :)

Not quite me, but she has reddish hair. ;)

 In Hawaii, I met some workout friends while taking classes. Unfortunately for AZ, the class times don't quite work with Ava's morning nap schedule and let's face it, I'm exhausted at night. So, each time we move, Randy always hears the statement...I want to join a gym. In VA, we weren't married yet so I worked out the financials. In Hawaii, there wasn't one close by so I just went to the one on Pearl Harbor for free. It wasn't fancy, but did the job.

Here in AZ, Ran's work pays for our membership to the YMCA as long as we go 8 times a month.

We've been pretty lucky. So the question stands...where will my sweat fall in DC? I'm all ready to do home workouts, but let's face it, there is just something therapeutic about the gym. :)

Now that you understand my love of working out, my goals for a healthier me may make more sense. As I look at my baby pooch in the mirror, I remind myself that it will be gone soon. :)

This week has been a great week at making my workouts! My "weigh-in" day is Thursday. This is the day I can check my progress both on the scale and with the trusty measuring tape.

I chose Thursday because just in case I have a gorging type weekend, it doesn't ruin my check-in day. This gives me at least 3 workout days after the weekend just in case. ;) So how did I do?

I lost 1.5 lbs, almost an inch in the waist and 1/2 inch in the hips. I take more measurements than that, but you get the jist. In total, since I got serious about 3 weeks ago, I've lost 5 lbs, almost 2 inches in the waist, an inch in the hips and almost an inch in the booty. I'm getting there! Just wait, when I do get to DC, I should be at my fighting weight. ;)