13.1 Reasons To Run

13. 1 REASONS WHY I RUN

To thank God for giving me the ability and strength to run. 

To prove that age is just a number!

To be an example for my family, friends, and students.

To inspire others to go after a goal.

To prove that if it is important to you, you WILL find a way.

To prove to myself that I am getting stronger every day.

To realize that yes, I am a runner.

To feel alive.

To lose myself in the run.

To enjoy every step, moment, which brings me closer to my goal.

To stay a fit mama!

To fit into my skinny jeans! :)

To SMASH my PR!
And finally the .1 reason is plain and simple: To feel happy & healthy!

My current goal is to run my best half marathon race on October 20, 2013! I'm going after it and working hard. This time of the year gets really tricky for me as a teacher and mom. I'm right in the thick of getting my classroom ready and preparing for the back to school routine. Training can get really difficult to fit in with many commitments pulling me in many different directions. I can only hope for the best. So today before I drop off my son at basketball camp, run over to my school, clean up the house for company visiting tomorrow, and get in a training run and kickboxing, I thought I would share with you some of my personal reasons why I run. 

Any runners out there who can relate to any of my reasons why I run? Leave a comment about why you run. Do you have any goals that you are working for? I would love to hear from you.

Gotta run!

Em

Happy National Running Day

If someone would have told me "Happy National Running Day" a couple of years ago, I would have given them my slightly annoyed smile and thought nothing of it. Today, I'm excited to wish my fellow runner friends, "Happy National Running Day!" If you are not familiar with it you can click http://www.runningday.org/. You can create your own badge to proudly display on your social media websites. Simply click on the link and create it!

So it got me thinking about why I run. There are many reasons that I could think of: my family, to be an inspiration to others, to prove that I can, for health benefits, so I can enjoy wine, for alone time with myself, and truly for my sanity. I guess that may sound dramatic, but running truly does give me that feeling of peace, clarity and joy. 

I always thought that was crazy when "runners" would talk about their love for running. I would silently comment in my mind whenever I heard someone speaking such words. I can now say that I'm one of those runner people. Even though I'm not a professional or an elite runner or a crazy fast runner, I consider myself a runner because I lace up my shoes to log miles of sanity a couple times a week. So for all those out there in cyber land, I hope that you will join me in a late night run and celebrate running. It's been a crazy couple of days as I am wrapping up my school year (1 1/2 days left, but who's counting...) and my sweet baby girl graduates from Kindergarten tonight! But I promise you, I WILL get in a nice run tonight in honor of National Running Day! So tell me why you run. I love your comments. 

People always ask me why I am smiling when I race. 

It's simple: I'm happy. 

Happy Running  - 

Em

Excederin - The Drug NOT To Take Before Race Day!

It has been months since I've had a really bad migraine headache. Wouldn't you know that I got one on Friday morning while teaching my class. The day before my first half marathon of the season and the event that my class has been training for since January. The Kid's Martian Marathon was going to happen despite my fragile head conditions! My students were more than gracious when they had to lower the noise level and I dimmed the lights because they knew that I was in some serious pain. Usually if I catch the migraine early enough, I can deal with the dull ache. So I proceeded with my usual migraine cocktail : three Advil and drinking some caffeine. Well the Advil kicked in and at least allowed me to function throughout the morning.

A co-worker found out that I was still suffering and offered me a "magic little white pill" aka - Excederin. I took it because I was desperate to get rid of the headache. Wowzers, do they work! I was feeling better within an hour but my fragile stomach wasn't feeling so happy. One of the side effects of the "magic little white pill" is that it may cause an upset stomach. (Awesome!)

My migraine finally broke without me throwing up or poking my eyes out, and I scooted over to the race expo. Usually I love going to the race expo to find great products and get excited about the upcoming event. This day I was feeling queasy and praying for short lines. I ran into a dad picking up his race bib for his first 10K (Yahoo!) and his daughter, my student.

Here's a picture of us:

Getting on my soapbox and putting on my teacher hat.

Get out there and have fun!
Check out that pure running form!

As a parent and a teacher, I find that there are often two different kinds of kids. Some kids are on the move  from the time they wake up to the time their precious head hits the pillow. On the other end of the spectrum are children that have way too much "down" time just chilling out often with electronic babysitters. Of course there are numerous "in between" kids too. Each extreme is unhealthy. I'm a firm believer in creating a good balance for children to thrive. Unfortunately too many children are "chillaxin" too much! Even in my own family, I find myself being critical of too much "down" time. So many children are dangerously obese and this has become something that I have become passionate about. Even my five year old loves to hold plank form while watching TV. She gladly will move to table top position and exclaim, "I did it"! I just want children to realize that they can make small changes that will start them on the path to a healthier lifestyle while having FUN. I will always try my best to champion and encourage a healthy, active lifestyle. So I try to do everything possible to teach my own children and my students to find ways to be active every day. I often will transition from one lesson to another using a "brain break" that involves getting out of our seats and MOVING around and DANCING! 

Check out Koo Koo Kangaroo 

We've been known to have wall sit competitions while doing multiplication facts, plank offs and yoga to refocus. I will try to fit it these in our day to stimulate both sides of the brain. So when our new 2013 resolutions were being made, I challenged the class to make a conscious effort to be more active.

The kids know that I'm a runner and love talking about it with them. Passion is contagious. My students feed on my excitement and I love that running  provides many life lessons that I share with my class. In January I brought up an opportunity for them to participate in a kid's marathon. Within 5 minutes I had everyone fired up and ready to commit. I got the parents to sign up the kids and decided to become a team captain. I am extremely proud of my entire third grade class for dedicating their time to train for their first ever kid's marathon. Team "Out Of This World" will be hitting the road next Saturday to run their last 1.2 miles of the full marathon distance! Props for kids on the move! I love that my class took this challenge on together. Each child has been training and logging 25 miles on their own. Such dedication and drive is certainly worthy of praise. Check out Running Fit's event. http://www.martianmarathon.com/events/kid-s-marathon.html for more information.

So it is because of them that I will run the half marathon distance next Saturday before they run their final 1.2.  Truth be told, I'm not ready to run this distance right now, but I will do it for them. They deserve that from me. I am the first to cheer on kids getting active. I will always be the enthusiastic cheerleader in the classroom and out. (After all I was a cheerleader for 10 years. It's in my blood!) I will put one foot in front of the other and think of them as I get through 13.1. I hope that everyone reading this will find a way to encourage a child to get active. I tell my kids that they have it within them to 1. DREAM BIG. 2. SET A GOAL. 3. MAKE A PLAN. 4. FOLLOW THROUGH ON THAT PLAN. 5. NEVER GIVE UP! It's a good message for adults too! You're never too old to start dreaming BIG! 

Cheering them on! (in my loudest cheerleader/teacher voice) 

:) Emily

Try something new with your kids.

This is my mermaid after hours in the ocean.

Inherited? or Learned?

Ok, time to think back to science class. I am teaching about traits in science class this week. It always amazes me when I look into the eyes of my children and see myself looking back at me. Inherited traits are those things that you are born with obviously. Learned traits are a totally different ballgame. Many people say that I have two little versions of me running around. My daughters are exactly 6 years and 2 days apart. When I look at their baby pictures, it is hard to tell them apart. They share many of my physical traits for sure, but today's lesson got me thinking about what learned traits that I've actually passed on to my children.

Of course my hope is that I would only pass along my positive traits, however I know that they have "learned" some of my not so desirable traits too. One lesson that I have stressed to my children is to never give up on a task that is difficult or new. Try it out and then make your decision. I think that it has caught on with my oldest daughter. She entered her first triathlon when she was 9. She is naturally athletic (inherited) but also possess a crazy "let's do this" kind of spirit. (learned? or inherited?) Hmmm I'd like to think both. My point is that as an parent and teacher, I'm given the responsibility of passing along some pretty powerful learned behaviors. 

I 

I love this picture from her triathlon. The look of determination is one that is familiar to me too. It's that never give up face that I hope I possess when running. I love that she never gave up during her race. She was first out of the open water swim, then fell behind in the biking, then kicked it in during the run. I love that her drive to finish strong was evident to all. It was a proud moment for me. Not because she got first, but because she did not give up. What made me extremely proud was that she congratulated the girl who she passed on a great race. (inherited or learned?) Your children are a reflection of you. At times it is hard to admit that and then there are those moments when you realize that you aren't doing such a bad job after all.

What are you passing along?

Em

That's where the magic happens.

You know that feeling when you are so spent from giving your all during a run or workout that you can barely move? Remember that feeling? Oh yeah, it feels great! After you catch your breath, your adrenaline kicks in and your body naturally sends out more happy hormones that make you feel like you can conquer the world. Runner's refer to this as the "runner's high". That's the goal of anyone striving to get in shape -to achieve that moment of complete bliss and satisfaction. It means that you didn't hold back and that you definitely earned your shower tonight. I love those workouts. Tonight Lizzie, my Kickboxing guru, put together one killer workout. I could only get to the gym in time for a quick warm up run so I hit the treadmill for 2 miles before class. I was happy with my 17:18 warm up. Kickboxing has sculpted my body in such a different way than running has. It makes me feel strong despite my size and powerful. I finally have "guns" and definition. Highlights from tonight: 100 round house kicks, squats and my personal favorite pyramid push up drills. Those left me dripping with sweat. Basically you do 10 punches above your head and then drop to the floor for 10 push ups. Then you continue on 9, 8, 7, etc. Be brave and try something totally outside of your comfort zone. That's where the magic happens.

So after my "one heck of an ab crunchin' workout", I rushed home to my kids to take care of the final night time routines and now I'm going to seriously enjoy my shower. I may even allow myself a glass of my favorite wine, Francis Coppola's Claret. It was well earned. Have a blessed night.
 - Em