Goals/Running Post

We are settling in back home again. It feels great to be back with the kids in our home! After five days away I was ready to be back! We had a flight delay which had us home a bit later then we hoped but we took it as a "Gift of Time" and just enjoyed San Diego a few hours longer..:) Otherwise our flight went great and Dave and I had five hours side by side to talk about our goals and we compared notes and workbooks... Great time! Thanks Hon for insisting that I join you on this trip. It was well worth it!

Today is sunny yet cold. We are in a deep freeze which has the pond lights on for skating. We have not skated yet but maybe if we stay frozen like this we will get the chance yet.

I'm enjoying a more slow pace week after a crazy start to our winter! It seemed like it just wasn't going to slow down!  I came home from "Goals" with a determination to slow down and enjoy life and the kids a bit more. So far I have..:) I might even let the cleaning this week since Rachel Ann is down with the flu...:) Hope you get well soon Rachel Ann!! It might be really really dirty by the time you get back!..;)

My parents did a great job looking after the house and the kids! Mom did meals and packed lunches along with laundry and all that goes with this busy place. I think it took a bit of a mind set change for mom though, about what the kids will or will not get away with here at our house. They run and get rowdy. They just do. ~sigh~ Grandma's are not really used to this anymore and since mom had all girls (until Allan came along way later) we really had no desire to run in the house unless of course something was chasing us. So mom was never used to the type of rowdiness that I put up with here!...:)  Once they settled in everything went great! I guess mom got used to it or else found a corner of this big place to get her sanity back...;) (sometimes what I do!) Thanks Mom and Dad!! And Allen!! The kids so enjoyed you to!!

Mom kept my birds "very happy" (she LOVES birds!) my back porch is a flurry of activity today!! I have so many beautiful birds and a few times I just had to stand and watch the bluebirds as they gobbled down mom's homemade suet. God's perfect entertainment for me on cold winter days! Love it!!

Goals...

Goals for 2015 include... More intense devotion with my Bible. Listening with my heart more. More one on one time with the kids. More okay when the housework does not all get complete in one day!  More running. More stretching to better my running. Healthier eating. Healthier cooking.  More productive with my time. A new vehicle! More time being intentionally interested in Dave's active lifestyle and all that he has going on. Sometimes I feel so clueless! Sometimes when he talks to me he might as well be speaking in another language, since I'm so out of his educational loop...;) I really do want to "really listen" and then actually "get it"...:) I'm doing better here...:)

The few days at "Goals" reminded me of how passionate I am about health and fitness. Finding alternatives for the "yummy" bad foods. I wanted to do it for Jordan but now I want to do it for all of us and even let it spill out to others that also want to chose healthy alternatives to!

I do a post on "Running" about once a winter since it has changed my life so much. And is a huge part of my life and stress outlet..:)! So I'm making this a running post today.

We run a lot. We run on vacation! We never skipped a morning run at "Goals" and we never skip mornings out for a run at the cabin either. When we are on vacation we still get out early to run. We know we will be glad we got that run since we sit so much more on vacation days or classroom setting days like "Goals" was.

I have a love/hate relationship with running. It makes my legs jumpy when I'm trying to rest. It makes life harder yet easier at the same time, It likes to test my self discipline ability DAILY. It's hard getting out on the roads in all of the four seasons. Sometimes it's hot and sometimes it's cold! The seasons that are "just right" and popular for running are great because then we have more runner friends and this is also an active time for races in our area. We tried the gym for a winter and I also have a treadmill but I absolutely despise both! I think it's the fresh air that has me hooked.

Running all year long is also great because we don't have to start all over every time that popular running seasons rolls around. (I hate to waste what I worked so hard for!) It's so good for our lungs! Dave has had many many years of lung issues during the winter months! He has weak lungs and has had since he was a kid. He would get about three or four nasty colds every winter that usually settled into his lungs for weeks at a time! This had him hacking and making awful noises often! Since running a few years ago he don't get this anymore! I love it!

Running has us on a healthier food journey. I mean if you are gonna go do a hard run then you most certainly are not in the mood for cookies or junk for breakfast or anytime after running. You just become more conscious about what goes into your mouth.

 It has me more aware of what will help my body perform the best runs. If we eat Chick-fil-a for supper I can surely figure that the next mornings run will be "oh so hard" and I will be kicking myself! But we do do it from time to time because it's just that worth it..:) (usually on the way to the cabin)

Running has me craving greens! Particularly spinach and avocado! I like it with everything!!

Some days I wonder what my life would really be like had I not chosen to be a runner. (or exercise at all). I loved junk food and the path I was on would have turned out way different, I do dare to believe. I don't know how it is for you all but no exercise or fresh air for days on end has me grumpy, unmotivated, craving sugar and junk food, a foggy brain and a host of other things I won't mention...:) My family will tell you... "this Mom NEEDS her runs!"...;)

I meet Dave a few mornings a week to run from the shop. I pull him from his office, but it's okay. He has come to like it... I think...:) I have come to be more okay with running with him. I still like to do longer runs on my own since running with him has me starting out to fast and all "unroutined" paces!..:) He likes short hard runs I like long runs with slow starts and fast finishes...:) The longer I run (unless I'm flying) the better I feel. After mile five it feels like I could just go and go..;) The feeling of my muscles just carrying me is indescribable. It is rare these days but it does happen from time to time on the "Good Runs".

Some runs are fast, some are slow, some are cold, some are hot, some are long, some are short, some are beautiful and some not so much. Sometimes it's foggy and the mist freezes on my hair making it feel like I really loaded on the hair gel!... Sometimes water drips off of my eye lashes. Some runs take so much effort to get out the door because it's so "cold and dreary looking" but these can end up being the best runs!

I don't consider myself a fast runner,but I have my moments when I feel fast...:)  We ran with a few of Dave's friends over the week-end and I was at a pretty good pace. One was a marine and he said the "Zook's" almost killed him! He said he will be making a note to get in better shape before running with the Zook's again..:)

 If you are a runner you know that no two runs are the same. Just like the snow flake they are all different. If I'd judge my runs by the first mile they would all be miserable!..:)

Here are a few pictures I picked out of my running file...

 
I love being a runner! If you are thinking about trying or are getting back into it after a break let me give you advice... Stick to it! Stick it out even when you are screaming to quit! Stay with it until you can say "I think I like this". Make other small changes until it becomes Disciplined Routine Habit!!
It will be worth it since running brings with it a host of healthy life style changes that are sure to serve you, your body, your family well in the long haul!

I don't like to make to many posts running posts,I have better things to post but it has changed my life for the better and I want to encourage you all to try it for a month and see if it don't get easier...:) Everybody can do it! It takes no skill what so ever. It's cheap and affordable. Go for a RUN today..:)

I love quotes!! Here are a few of my favorites from "Goals"

...#1 "We first make our habits, then our habits make us."

...#2 "The only thing that stands between man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible."

...#3 "To achieve something that you have never achieved before, you must become someone that you have never been before."

...#4 "You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses."

...#5 "Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people. "

...#6 "Action without planning is the cause of every failure"

...#7 "Alas for those that never sing but die with all their music within them"

Have a BLESSED winter day