Finish a Half-Marathon: Check!

The more time that passes, the more there is to write about, the less motivated I am to write.

Call it some law of don't-wanna-blog or something.

Or maybe it's the fact that while writing those first two sentences my almost two-year old interrupted me twice to ask for a clothes change and a cup of milk. And all three of my children are running around the small apartment playing hide and seek and their screams are echoing in my head.

But when the few faithful readers, like my grandparents, remind me that they haven't seen an update in a while, I finally decide to click "new post" and attempt to write.

I've recently been avoiding all things political which means I've tried my hardest (and mostly failed) to not post things on facebook that are political, and tried to focus on my kids and life. I'm afraid of the small glimpses in myself of anger and frustration at this country and at the potential four years we have ahead of us with a man that would talk about women, like my three girls someday, the way he does...well, I'm going to stop myself there. I just can't.

So, instead...

My Half-Marathon! Never do I remember setting such a specific goal and completing it!

My first goal, of course, was to register for one and complete one in 2016. (I wrote about it way back on January 1st.). I'm not a long distance runner, and before this had never run more than 3-4 miles. So 13.1 sounded crazy to me!

As I'm a super literal person, I downloaded my training plan and set to work. Having a written plan really helps me, and I stuck to it! I don't think I missed a single run (maybe once?). A typical training plan involves running about 4 days a week, with some cross training that I mostly didn't do. I ran my long runs on Sundays, and for most of my training I ran the weekday runs early in the morning before Michael left for work. It was a commitment to wake up and run while it was still dark, but quickly 5 miles felt like a short run!

I couldn't have and wouldn't have done this race if my friend Lissa hadn't found the race and asked me to join her in training for it. Just knowing someone else was running and trying to balance life and kids and training was really helpful. I recommend finding someone to train alongside if you ever want to do a race.

Lissa and me at the starting line

Not only did I complete my first goal, which was to finish, but my second (and not as important) goal was to see if I could run it in under 2 hours. My final time was 1:58. I was beyond thrilled.

Race day was beautiful and the weather was cold but not freezing with no rain-perfect running weather. (Most of these pictures are from Lissa.) The race claims to be the most scenic marathon/half marathon in the US, and you can see why. It was beautiful. Yellow and orange leaves. A view of the Columbia River Gorge.

I'm proud of myself for finishing and working so hard. I have to admit I've only gone for one quick run since that day, over a month ago. I've needed a break and I've been doing some intense cardio/boxing videos. I'd like to do a half-marathon again, maybe in the Spring when the sun is out more and I don't have to train in the dark.

Lissa caught a picture of me as we passed each other near the halfway mark.

FINISHERS!

I'm now working on a different weight loss goal, as I learned soon into my training that you can't count on weight loss to happen when you are running such long distances. The body has to hang on to calories and it just didn't happen.

I'm proud of myself and was thankful that Michael was so supportive of me. He often encouraged me to get out the door on those mornings or afternoons when I didn't really feel up for a run. He and the girls cheered me on on race day, and it was fun to show the girls how setting a goal and completing it is possible and rewarding. We've been talking now at home about setting goals, and it's fun to have a good example of that. 

Fall

I've started writing this post several times, but it has taken weeks to find the time and/or energy to actually finish it.

Yes, we are busy, but it feels like that's not an anomaly. The America Dream, or something?

Ellie's has been playing soccer, with practices 1-2x per week, and a game every Saturday. And Michael is the coach.

Hazel is in a co-op preschool which means I volunteer 2x/month to be at her school from 9-12, helping in her class. It's a fun chance for me to watch Hazel interact with friends. I'm also the Secretary of the Board which means, at the least, monthly board meetings.

I'm attending two different MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups. I know how hard it is to find friends, and how important Mom friends are in this stage of my life, so I knew I wanted to find ways to connect and hopefully make some friends and be encouraged. One meets once per month, the other one meets twice a month.

I'm also training for a half-marathon. My race is this weekend. I'm looking forward to the race, and also to taking a break from training. I've stayed on a training schedule virtually for 12 weeks, up until last week where I haven't done much besides my long run of 11 miles. But, I feel ready to run 13.2 on Sunday. I really never thought I'd get there!

We have been attending a church in Portland and joined a Home Group that meets every Sunday night.

In the remaining free time that I have, usually 1-2 times per week, I am working as a substitute teacher, when jobs are available. Thankfully, in the last month, I've been able to work every single day that I've been available. We are really thankful my Mom is able to help with the girls when I work. Living near family has been a significant and welcome change for us.

We've had multiple fundraisers in the first month or so of school. We've collected Box Tops, Ellie had a Fun Run at her school, I sold pies for MOPS, Ellie sold First Aid kits for her soccer team, and now we are supposed to be selling wreaths and poinsettias for Hazel's preschool. This is a new world for us!

This all means we have a full calendar. There is so much nitty gritty going on. We celebrated Ellie's 6th birthday this week. Ruby moved into a big girl bed this week, and after a couple days of staying in her bed it's been a bit of a battle.

Birthday pancakes!

Visiting Ellie's class on her birthday.

Days are long but time is flying. We've been back in the States for more than three months. We still miss Guatemala and still wonder, in moments, if we did the right thing.

I went to Ellie's teacher conference this week. Her teacher told me that Ellie is probably the best Spanish speaker in the class. She does even better than the native speakers. How? Apparently she conjugates her verbs and has a wider vocabulary. So, this was a huge encouragement that we are in a good place. I share this because, of course, I'm a super proud Mama, but also, to remind myself that our time in Guatemala has been a building block to this stage in our lives. Ellie is thriving in her Kindergarten class. Hazel is thriving in her preschool. Ruby thrives wherever we go. At church or MOPS she walks right into her little class and doesn't look back. She plays at a friend's house on the mornings I work at Hazel's school, and she walks right in there, too. She loves to sit on my lap and read books for an hour at a time. She is thriving both at home with me and around other people.

Every time I start working in the kitchen this girl pushes her stool right over so she can help.

There is so much to be thankful for. I get to have quality time with all of my girls. We still have stress in our lives, but work and home stressors have changed since we moved back to the States. And we are enjoying time as a family. Also, we're glad to be back in Oregon, despite the rain.

Happy Fall!

Weeks

Life has been, well, full.

There's the busyness. Conferences, hosting people, planning meetings, another conference next week with our partners from all over Guatemala and El Salvador. Meetings over Skype. Meetings in person. Planning and emails and deadlines and finances and the usual work week, but amplified.

One of the most intense parts of our jobs is the responsibility we carry over our staff. We currently have 11 staff spread between Guatemala and El Salvador. They are all living in different contexts and facing unique challenges. We are responsible for "worker care," making sure they are being supported physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. It's a huge job, and this week has been extra tough. It's difficult to do these things in a context that is unpredictable, dangerous, and with limited resources. It's like somehow playing a parenting role (some more literally than others) for 11 people from several hours away, while also dealing with 3 girls age 5 and under at home. It's one of the most rewarding parts of the job, but also can be the most challenging.

Cumulatively, I'd venture to say it's been one of the most stressful months we've had here in Guatemala.

We decided we need to rest and have some family time during Holy Week in a couple weeks. We planned a trip and then the plans fell through. I was bummed. Super bummed. I realized I was over-stressed and extra disappointed when this happened and I took it out on my kids, yelling and screaming and super impatient. Don't worry, I made it up to them by buying them ice cream. Mom Guilt at its finest.

Then we realized we have some pending visa issues and we have to travel to either Belize or Mexico to renew a couple of our family visas. Another complication. Fortunately, we figured out new plans, and with a bit of travel we still get to rest for a bit and we will get our visas renewed. I'm counting down the hours.

During such a messy, full, tense month, obviously Ellie would come home from school yesterday with an excited glow. She was chosen to be "niña de la semana" (girl of the week) next week. This is a big deal for her. Like, she's been talking about when this week will happen since last year. Every week the girls come home with reports of whose week it is, what treats they brought to school, etc. This entails us making a large posterboard with pictures of Ellie. It means she gets to share her favorite book with her classmates this week. It means her parents are invited to bring a snack on Thursday (good thing we decided to cut our partner meeting short by a day next week!). It means we need to come up with a sorpresa, usually a fancy version of a birthday party gift bag. Last week one of the girls brought home a brand new water bottle filled with candy and bubbles, for example. Those over-achieving parents sure can ruin it for the rest of us.

Last year's posterboards:

Of course she would be the "niña de la semana" in one of our busiest weeks of the year. Michael and I could only laugh at the timing.

Oh, and then I found another little paper in her backpack that told me that this Tuesday she has a presentation on panthers, in English, Gracias a Dios. This includes another posterboard or visual aid. For her last presentation we just let her draw some pictures on paper to share, and I couldn't help but notice all the fancy books and posters that the other kids rolled into school with. Darn over-achievers.

I started the week off with a couple days of running. I even got a 4-mile run in one night. But by the end of the week I'm so fried I sat on the couch last night and couldn't move. I had the fleeting thought to exercise, but after a day sitting in front of the computer on video calls and answering emails, I was done. I couldn't even make dinner due to the whiny, fussy, sick baby who insisted on being held AT ALL TIMES. Gracias a Dios for Chinese delivery.

I will spend my weekend finding and printing pictures to help Ellie make her posterboard. And learning about panthers. This morning she was singing to herself, "I'm the chica de la semana." She's thrilled, and I want to let her be, and set aside the busy week ahead and let her feel special.

Since My Scale Broke

It's been 4 weeks since I had energy to do a workout, and I had to that night, despite feeling down and a cold coming on, because I really wanted to get my 12,000 steps for the day. Someone in my FitBit Workweek Challenge was right on my tail, and I HAD TO WIN. I did.

But since then I've been sick with chills and sweats and fevers that turned into a nasty sinus infection on one side of my face, and then the other. Every time I think I'm almost better, something else knocks me out. It's frustrating to get old and have your body not act how you want.

It's also frustrating to have specific fitness goals and to have to put them on hold for an entire month. Then throw in the previous month of December and holiday eating and being inactive, and it feels like I've probably gone backwards.

We bought a new scale yesterday because our scale broke in November. That's the last time I weighed myself.

I wasn't super excited to weigh myself after not doing much for several weeks. I assumed I probably gained weight, which would be frustrating after working so hard to get it off.

When I started with my FitBit in May, I had an original goal of losing 15-20 pounds, and once I completed that in September, I had a second goal, another 15 pounds. Since October (when I blogged about this) it seemed I had hit a plateau, and was within a few pounds of my next goal, but couldn't get there. Then our scale broke and I have had no way to monitor for a few months.

To my surprise, I lost another 4-5 pounds since November, which means I met my second goal!

Since June, I've lost 34 pounds.

I can honestly say I have less than 10 pounds to get to my ideal weight (it's a weird term, but people keep asking me if I'm "at my ideal weight") and it feels within reach. If I can get back into my running routine, keep eating better portions and not snacking late at night, I think I can get there this year.

I told my husband that it's not about a number anymore, it's about my goal of running a half-marathon and simply staying where I want to be. OK, so maybe it's still about that final number somehow, but I'm ready to work hard and make that final plunge, and focus on good habits to maintain a healthy me.

Also, I wanted to share an update. After my blog post in October, I had several people tell me they were inspired by my post, and many even got FitBits (I totally should get a commission). I'm now in about 3 different weekly competitions with FitBit friends (there's a limit of 10 people per group), and more friends keep joining. It's a fun way for me to connect and have accountability with friends and family from thousands of miles away.

What are YOUR fitness goals? The first step to achieving them is sharing them and writing them down!

January 2nd and already struggling...

It's the second day of January and I almost totally dropped the ball on my "resolutions."

Most mornings I put on my workout clothes in the hopes that I will fit in a workout at some point. (No, not yoga pants. Those are saved for evenings and relaxing. Not yoga. Or running). So I did that today, but then the day happened. 

I was going to run after breakfast, but then Michael and I decided a walk to the market to buy food was a priority. So I did that.

After walking to the market and coming home, I spent the next half hour to an hour disinfecting and washing all our fruits and veggies, which turned into making lunch, Ruby's nap, cleaning. 

After lunch I thought I might go for a quick run, or pop in an exercise video. And then I decided I needed to walk around the corner to the local office supply store to buy contact paper. I spent the afternoon covering the girls' schoolbooks with contact paper.

Then I read some of the John Grisham novel that I'm in the middle of. (One of my Resolutions: read more books!) I wasn't feeling like running. I had zero motivation and the day was waning. 

Then it was dinnertime and I thought, welp, I guess I won't run today.

And then when I was putting Ruby to bed I had this glimmer of a thought that I should go run and get my daily step goal. I was lacking about 4000 steps, which takes less than a half an hour to get jogging outside. Since my husband is such a trooper, he said he'd read books to the girls so I could take advantage of my few minutes of motivation and run.

It was raining. But I ran. I got pretty wet. But I ran and got my goal for the day. Today I just wanted to move and stretch since yesterday I ran over 5 miles and my shins are sore. 

I didn't think it would happen, but I motivated myself by promising myself a homemade hot chocolate in my yoga pants if I got my goal.

Bonus: I blogged (in my yoga pants). Time for hot chocolate and John Grisham.