Butt Crack of Dawn

I'm no morning person, AT ALL!  I don't even pretend to be a morning person.  I absolutely HATE getting up and out of bed, so most mornings I am usually rushed to get ready and drive to work, usually arriving at 8:07 a.m. every single morning, 8:07.  Why not get up 7 minutes earlier and arrive to work at 8:00?  That's what I ask myself all the time.  I don't know I guess I'm just programmed to get to my destination late.

I have done a lot of research into "How to wake up earlier each day" and found some tips, here.   Do not laugh, people have actually done studies on this and many blogs tell you how to become a morning person.  Ok, who am I kidding, I laughed reading them.  Really, can someone actually become a morning person?  Some people just have it in them, alarm goes off and they jump up out of bed ready to start the day.   Others, like me, have every intention of getting out of bed and doing something in the morning, but that's the night before, by morning, none of those things seem important and I tell myself, it can wait.

Today starts another trial of working out in the mornings.  How did it go?  Well the alarm went off at 5:30, without even opening my eyes I reach over and hit snooze.  (Exactly what everyone recommends not doing.) Here we go again, let's take baby steps into getting out of bed early.  After what seemed like an hour, I grabbed my glasses and put them on so I can see what time it is, knowing I'm late, but wait, guess what, it's only 5:36!  My alarm should be going off in 2 minutes, so I wait, because you don't think I want to get out of bed before my alarm, right?!  And I wait, and wait, 5:38....maybe I shut it off instead of hitting snooze, because how many of you have your snooze set for 8 minutes?  Not me!  I have it set for 9 minutes!  Boom the alarm sounds and I am up and out the door ready to start my run.  We ran 1.80 miles this morning and it felt great.  I feel great!  Let's see how tired I feel this afternoon.

Day 1 of getting out of bed early complete!  Bring on Day 2....

<3 Julie

Baseball Season is Over

Every year, when the boys are done with baseball I get this overwhelming feeling of sadness.  Why?  Because for 8 weeks baseball games consume my life, sometimes 7 days a week!  The longest stretch of baseball we had this season without a break was 12 days, count them, that's 12 days of sitting out in the heat (and sometimes rain) getting eaten alive by bugs.  12 days of running from town to town to sit in bleachers that hurt my butt so bad, I wish I would just break down and buy one of those stadium seats.  Am I too young for one of those?  But damn, it sure would be comfy to sit in for, sometimes, up to 5 hours watching baseball.  At times its so hot and sticky out, you're sitting in the bleachers, wishing you were floating in the pool, drinking a cold one, and then the wind picks up and a kid slides into home plate, only to be called out and now you're not only hot and sticky, but also covered in dust.

Dylan plays 2nd base & left field

Don't get me wrong, I love to watch the boys and their teams play ball, but by week 5, I'm so sick of concession food, driving all over Iowa, and paying $5 admission I could just scream.  But I wouldn't know what I would do without all the baseball.

Gage is a pitcher and plays short stop

I get that feeling of sadness because now what am I going to do with my evenings?  Now I'll actually have to MAKE dinner, now I'll actually have to do laundry on a consistent basis, clean my house, and maybe I'll even have time to get to the gym.

Good-bye baseball - hello summer!

<3 Julie

Running So Slow a Mosquito Bit Me

As the baseball season is winding down and coming to an end (blog post later), I have more time to actually run again! 

 I started running regularly about three and a half years ago when a friend of mine said, hey we should start running.  We both started, very slowly, and I mean VERY slowly, and I've stuck with it.  Running was something I wanted to do, but didn't know where to start.  Ok I knew where to start, I just didn't want people, or other runners to see me running, well walking at a pace a little quicker than a mall walk, and laugh or think, what the hell is she doing.  Now that I consider myself a runner, or part-time runner, I know that other runners would never look at a person and think that, they look at a person who wants to run and think, I remember being in their shoes.

The other night, I set out on my first run in a few days, ok, in over a week!  It's hot, it's humid and down right gross out, and I'm maybe a half mile in and I think, why do I keep doing this to myself?  Why do I build up a nice base and then stop for weeks on end?  I hate that side ache you get, the blisters on your toes, the pain in your legs the next day.  I hate the thought that I could run 5+ miles a day and now it's challenging just getting in 3 miles.  

I'm not one to follow the rules, even when it comes to running.  For crying out loud, my first mile was over 12 minutes!  As I climb to the top of the hill, I think, maybe I should have had more water today instead of those 3 glasses of tea and super nachos before I started out on this run.  Maybe I shouldn't breathe through my mouth, because now I have to choke up this bug that flew in and straight down my throat.  Maybe I should have worn a wick-a-way shirt, because this all cotton one is really hurting my arm pits right about now.  So I stop, because as I get to the top, these guys were looking at me like I was crazy.

But I LOVE running.  I love that running clears my head.  I love the feeling I have after a run, the feeling that I just went out there and kicked some ass!  (Even if it was only for 2 miles).  

Here's more of why I love to run: 

1. I run to leave my troubles behind.
2. I run to move forward.
3. I run to be alone.
4. I run to be with others.
5. I run to push myself to my limits.
6. I run to test myself.
7. I run to think about everything.
8. I run to think about nothing.
9. I run to listen to my heart.
10. I run to listen to my thoughts.
11. I run to take in the scenery.
12. I run to listen to the quiet.
13. I run to just get out and go.
14. I run to buy new shoes.
15. I run to breathe.
16. I run to relax.
17. I run to energize.
18. I run to get sweaty.
19. I run to become breathless.
20. I run to manage my weight.
21. I run to enjoy that dessert
22. I run to be fit.
23. I run to be healthy.
24. I run to have great lungs.
25. I run to escape.
26. I run to feel alive.
27. I run to post it on Facebook and annoy people.
28. I run to motivate others to get out there and move.
29. And most importantly I run because it's cheaper than therapy

When I got back from my run, I felt amazing!  I was in such a better mood, I didn't feel exhausted and more importantly I felt like I deserved that ice cream bar.  So like any runner would do, I sat down and enjoyed every minute of it.  

<3 Julie