Strength and HIIT Group Fitness Class

I instruct a Strength and HIIT (high intensity interval training) group fitness class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 5:30 a.m. at my local gym. I have been doing this for a few years now. I am so impressed with the regular ladies that attend this class every morning. We only have a small group of four or five on most days, but it is well worth teaching. You could say that I definitely don't instruct this class for the money but for the love of it. Like my crazy running friends, these ladies are inspirational because they also have families of their own, work full-time jobs to support their family, and yet are still dedicated to improving their fitness. No matter what the weather is like or how tired they are, they are always ready for a challenge and to workout. What amazes me the most is that this isn't your typical strength or HITT class, and these ladies still continue to show up. They are quite intense! We do all those exercises that people like to avoid: weighted step ups, bear crawls, burpees, crab walks, sprints, pushups, wall-sits and the list could go on and on with different variations of each depending on our current fitness level. We use our body weight, resistance bands, dumbbells and a medicine ball during these workouts. The idea of this class is to build strength and improve endurance with short bursts of HIIT to get that heart rate in the anaerobic zone to push our body to its limit. I can say that there are days that I dread driving in the morning to this class because I know what I am getting myself into.

"Yep; I said it, ladies!" 

This is a class that I plan to continue to teach for the regular ladies. They are physically and mentally strong women that I look up to. They give me motivation and strength to work harder. I don't think they realize how amazing that they are! Ladies that can do wall pushups with resistance bands around their ankles, burpee after burpee with a heavy medicine ball, bear crawls, frog jumps and more are SUPERWOMEN! A true funny story: one of the regular ladies invited her 35+ year old son to join and within 10 minutes of the class, he was on the ground ready to be done. That was a year ago and he hasn't been back.

"I look up to you, ladies, and enjoy our workouts together!"

Giving Thanks

I love this time of the year because it is the season of giving thanks to others. I'd be the first to admit that my running hobby can be very time consuming. I'm very thankful for my supportive family and friends. My dad, mom, in-laws, sister and brother in-laws, nieces, nephews and siblings have been to many races to help out with kids, cheer me on or meet me at the finish line. Most importantly, my husband has been to almost all of my races with kids regardless of the time wait and weather. He's flexible with his schedule when I'm training for a race; that's if it doesn't interfere with planting, harvesting or hunting. He will hang out with kids while I'm out for a long training run. Sometimes I'll even come home to a fresh pot of coffee and breakfast (coffee cake, pancakes, potatoes or egg omelet).

I have a few crazing running friends that encourage me to set running goals, run races or meet me at a distance in a race to talk me through the last miles. I won't forget running my first half marathon and appreciate my girlfriend who motivated me to do this. We couldn't stop yelling "labor pains" at the end of the race because we were in so much pain after running that race. Three other friends of mine ran Boston and encouraged me to do so as well. These friends are inspirational because they continue to follow their faith, stay in great running shape, never give up when life gets tough, are married with multiple kids, and work full-time jobs to support their families. It amazes me how much they continue to do no matter how busy life gets. They never make excuses. We've trained at sometime or another and continue to meet up for a run every now and then. I enjoy our social running because this is our time to visit, share family stories, get in a good laugh and chat about our training. These friends just understand me in a different crazy running way and I totally appreciate it. I couldn't be where I am at today if it wasn't for ALL of my support group. Thanks for having faith in me and believing that I can do anything that I set my mind to do.

5K Turkey Trot Training: Done ✅

I officially signed up my Mileage Club top students, parent volunteers and myself for the 5K Turkey Trot race next Saturday. I've been training for this event the past 5 weeks. This is my second time actually training for a 5K. I've raced a few but didn't take the time to train for them. The last time I trained for one, I set a personal record. So, it will be interesting to see what I can do at this race. This will be my second race since Baby Teague was born (19 weeks postpartum). I continue to remind myself that I recently had a baby because I have such high expectations for myself. Sometimes too high. Some people would consider me to be quite intense and I'd agree to that.

This training has been super intense! I've lost numerous toenails during and after marathon training but never during anything shorter than that. My left foot, big toenail is wobbly and tender these days. I didn't even think that could be possible. But, with as much speedwork I've done lately I can understand why it's barely hanging. Less miles with lots of intervals and strides are rough on the toes and also kill your legs! My hamstrings and quads are so tight after these short faster runs. Foam rolling and stretching is a must or else I'm limping the next day.

Today, was my last hard training run. I wasn't able to stick with what I had planned but I decided it would be smart to listen to my sore body. I feel like I'm falling apart. I'm pretty sure it's myself questioning what I'm capable of as race day gets closer. This is typical for me. I'm trying hard to stay positive and to continue to have faith that I can do this. This week, I plan to mentally prepare myself for this upcoming tough run. The huffing and puffing for 3.1 miles can seem like a marathon at times but I'll have to push through it. I need to remember that while I'm gasping for air, my students will be as well.

Kieren finishing with me
at the Turkey Trot last year. 

Good Morning, Sweetie Pie!

"Good Morning, Sweetie Pie!" I say to Viv as she runs down the stairs to the basement. "How did you sleep?" She usually responds with "I slept well." As she sits next to Baby Teague on our 70's shaggy red velvet carpet and gives him a kiss. She does an awesome job entertaining the little man while her mommy continues to finish her early morning workout.

Anytime between 3:45-4:10 a.m. Teague wakes me with a happy coo or whine for a bottle feeding. This is the start to my everyday morning routine. I slowly pick him up and immediately walk into the kitchen to turn on my coffee pot. By 4:45, Teague's chugged his bottle and I've drank my first cup of coffee. Now, we are ready to head downstairs to our home gym/kid play room. Teague hangs out in his baby bouncy while I run on my treadmill. Depending on my training schedule this usually lasts for an hour or so. Then, some days we get ready to head to the local gym in town or I do my strength workout for the day at home. Teague is so good during his mommy's morning time and has been trained to do this since he was 2-3 weeks old. He is happy and ready to be up. Viv is the first to join us in the morning on the days we stay home. Most days she wakes up around 5:30-6 a.m. to come and play.  Kieren will come greet us sometimes but usually sleeps in until 7. By then I am hopefully in the shower.

Shower, make-up on, hair dried and done in 20 if I'm good with time. Teague is now hanging out in the bathroom going on his second bottle feeding for the morning and soon ready to take a nap. Viv and Kieren are working on finding a good pair of clean clothes for the day. Next, kids feed the dog, brush their teeth and I put Viv’s hair in a ponytail. I remind them to make sure backpack, shoes and coats are ready to go by the front door. We meet up in the kitchen to eat breakfast. I quickly chow down my oatmeal, peas and yogurt breakfast that I made the night before and work on drinking my second cup of coffee as I prepare their breakfast. If we have time, I make them a heaping bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter and yogurt. On rushed days, they eat dry cereal on the go in a Ziploc bag. After eating, I make sure I’ve put my lunch in my school bag, have all breastfeeding supplies in my breast pump bag and double check that Teague’s diaper bag has diapers, clothes and formula for the day. Seamus is working on getting Teague dressed then puts him in his car seat. When Teague is ready to go, I run out the door with three bags and a baby in a car seat hoping that my two other kids are waiting for me in the van.

We are on our way to the sitter's house to drop off Teague and Viv. Viv says, "Mom, turn up the radio." I look in the rear view mirror at Kieren and Viv who are making up words to the song as they sing with the biggest smile on their faces and dancing in their seat. They are excited to start their day and appreciate every moment that they have. As I listen to the the lyrics to the song playing, I've been to church, I've read the book, I know He's there, but I don't look near as often as I should, His fingerprints are everywhere, I just look down and stop and stare, open my eye and then I swear, I Saw God Today." Tears of happiness drop from my eyes, I see God everyday in the eyes of my children. Even though I may get upset, raise my voice or annoyed with them at sometime or another, I love them more than anything in the world and am so thankful for these unforgettable moments that we share.

Ready, Set, Go!

We have completed the first week of Mileage Club and are off to a great start. What I enjoy the most about the Mileage Club is seeing the elementary students in excitement as they reach the end of the playground route to complete a lap. Students of different fitness levels are committed to reaching their personal goals. The incentive of choosing hard working, dedicated students to the Mileage Club to attend a 5K Turkey Trot race on November 18th has really motivated some to try to achieve that goal. I have shared with students that dedication isn't about earning the most laps but about trying your best to improve your current fitness. Last year, I chose a few students that showed perseverance as they walked every recess, everyday even though they weren't the top students in the school. These students worked as hard as they could to their fitness potential and never gave up. I took 20 students with the help of elementary staff to this race. All staff reported that they had a great time visiting with students and their families. We cheered on one another as we passed through that finish line. My husband and kids also met me at the race to support this event. I am looking forward to attending the Turkey Trot 5K with students and staff once again.

Sweet Corn for Sale!

This was the first summer that Seamus grew sweet corn on our family Farm. It was a small corner of a field but it was something. Seamus has been talking about growing and selling sweet corn for years so it was exciting to actually try his idea out. Our plan is to eventually have our kids take charge of selling the sweet corn to learn responsibility, money earning, handling and budgeting. All the profit went to them. I was so impressed with Kieren's hard work when we picked the corn. I won't forget how he ran from the field to the truck with hands full of corn as he dripped sweat off his forehead in 90 degree weather. That kid was so dedicated to earning some money for school supplies and clothes. Unlike my son, Vivian did a great job complaining about how hot and tired she was. 

Overall, I would say that we had a successful year. Kids and myself tried selling corn by the dozen downtown and only sold a couple. I don't think I'll agree to do that again. That was quite an experience. We didn't sell much for the amount of time we spent hanging out and advertising our fresh corn sign. It was a good learning experience and the kids were so well behaved for not having much to do. However, we did sell quite a few dozen to our school district employees, some friends and family businesses. A brother in law that lives in Spokane took orders from his work employees and we were able to sell over 40 dozen. Even though, it took hours to pick the corn we were happy to get some business.  Our family made a trip out of it and delivered the corn to Spokane. We also donated 20 dozen of corn to our school district. Seamus is on the local school board and wanted to help support the welcome back to school BBQ. We are looking forward to growing sweet corn next year. We will be taking orders once again in August 2018 and unlike this year, I will be organizing a sweet corn 5k fun run next September at our local town Community Days celebration. I hope this event can be a start of a Community Days tradition.

Room for Improvement

I've improved my racing strategies, training and racing times over the past years.
5K- 23:00__18:33

12K- 53:41__50:54
Half Marathon- 01:42:31__01:25:22
Marathon- 03:40:19__03:23:55

I create my own training plans according to what I've experienced and learned. I would definitely consider myself to be a running nerd and am convinced that I have been able to see progress with my running because of it. I take notes and keep a running journal that includes all of my past training plans. This is how I keep track of my progress. I also use MapMyRun as a training log.

There is always room for improvement. No matter how great you are at a sport or how much progress you've made, there's always something more to work on. I strive to improve my running performance. Don't get me wrong, I do appreciate where I currently stand with my running fitness and that I have progressed with the sport but I also know that I can continue to improve. This can drive my husband crazy at times because as I reach a goal, I continue to set another. Or if I fail, I'm determined to keep trying. 

Running is an individual sport that allows me to compete with myself. I do get excited if I win or place at a race but what matters the most is that I continue to see self-improvement. It doesn't make sense to compare your running fitness to others because there are so many factors that play into why you or another runner is faster/slower or can run more/less miles. I hate being asked questions about my mileage per week or running paces to be judged or compared to. I appreciate the runners that are supportive and encouraging such as my group of crazy running friends that I've been able to learn from.

I try to stay positive as I continue to set new goals. This month, I didn't necessarily reach my goal at the Spokane Half Marathon but I did learn that I have some room for improvement. So, I would definitely consider that race to be a good self-assessment. I'm almost 4 months postpartum and am slowly working back into where I was at before and hope that I can only improve my fitness with time.

Upcoming Races:

Turkey Trot 5k, Nov. 18th

Wenatchee Marathon, April 21st

Spokane Bloomsday 12k, May 8th

Spring Fest 5k, May 26th

Back to School

Summer break has come to an end. I have to admit that, as a school teacher, my summer break is my favorite time of the year because I get to enjoy being a full-time mom. My kids and I love not having a daily schedule to commit to. We can plan for a lazy day at home, help dad out on the farm, a trip to run errands, visit with our friends and family or meet up with dad for lunch. And of course, enjoy our daily afternoon nap!

On the other hand, some working "non educational profession" parents are looking forward to school being back in session: less time and money for a sitter and not having to worry about keeping kids busy. Let's not forget the stay at home parents: more freedom for them.

The planning time that teachers and school staff members put into the upcoming school year is priceless and quite ridiculous. Some teachers begin planning a year in advance and some are spending a numerous amount of hours in their classroom or at home working on school preparation projects during their summer break. I have to admit that I was that teacher my first years of teaching. I remember working in my classroom one summer night til after 11 p.m. Not to mention, principals and other administration get very little time off during the summer, too. They work almost all year around. The teaching profession is definitely not an 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. occupation.

If you work in a school or have in the past, you have seen chaos in action during the first days of school. Talk about craziness! Teachers are working hard with classroom transitioning, working on management and setting routines into place. Administration continues to search for that perfect schedule by making changes to the current schedule so that the rest of the school year runs smoothly for all. There is no such thing as being on time during these days, either. Getting to PE, music, library, computer lab, lunch or recess is extended at least 5 minutes for everyone. Student behavior is great for the first day or so but as students get comfortable their true colors begin to show. They get chattier by the day and test their teachers' discipline plan and consistency.

As stressful or insane the first days back to school can be, educators continue to enjoy the students and their profession. We strive to make a difference and for student success by building relationships with our students, encouraging them to set and reach their goals, motivating them to never give up and by being a positive role model for them to look up to. We, educators, have a passion or love for the life of Teaching.

I am a RUNNER!

I am a farmer's wife, mommy of 3, full-time PE teacher and a runner. Running is a hobby of mine that keeps me sane and that I have grown to love over the past years. I didn't run cross country or track in HS. In fact, I absolutely hated running and any type of sport or exercise. 

1st 5K in Tri-Cities, WA
Sept. 2012

I ran my first 5K three months postpartum in 2012 and unexpectedly placed 2nd female overall. This was the event that got me hooked on running. I had no expectations then and just enjoyed a good run. In 2014, I got the urge to set long distance running goals. I ran my first marathon in October 2014 and missed the Boston qualification by 5 minutes. Then, ran my 2nd marathon in April 2015 and qualified for the 2016 Boston Marathon. In 2015, I also cut off some minutes on the half marathon distance (01:42 down to a 01:25). 

As I continued to make progress and improve my running and fitness, I began to research the sport. In the past 2 years, I've read a number of books, magazines, articles, websites and other blogs about running. I would consider myself to be my own personal coach, with the help of my supportive, encouraging husband and crazy running friends. 

I recently gave birth to my 3rd child. During that pregnancy, I was able to maintain my running fitness and had a quick postpartum recovery (running 2 weeks after delivery). I have set some challenging running goals for 2018. I look forward to my upcoming training and sharing my Running Journey on this blog.