A new pair of Saucony shoes!

So a few weeks back I looked at my sons shoes and they were falling apart after just 3 months of use.  I was less then thrilled because kid shoes here at my house just do not last long.  Not because the kids grow out of them but because the playground at the kids school is made from gravel.  That's what happens when you live in the gavel capital of the U.S.  Each and every day these kids play outside on the gravel and that does not bode well for any shoe.  Needless to say I try not to spend to much on the kids shoes and I am always looking for the sales.  Since it is winter and my son will be wearing boots outside on the play ground I decided to splurge and get him a real pair of running shoes.  He was so excited when he found out he was getting "real running shoes"  The other day they showed up in the mail.   8 year old Coopers first pair of Saucony running shoes!!  

Cooper prides himself on how fast of a runner he is.  In preschool he came home one day saying "mommy I am the fastest kid in my school"   Then in kindergarten the same thing "mommy I am the fastest kid in my class"  I would usually blow it off with a "oh that's great dear" or a "good for you buddy!"   Then we went to parent teacher conferences and his gym teacher made a point to tell me how fast he was.    Keep in mind that I was not a runner at this time, nor did I have any interest in running.  The fact that my son could run fast did not mean much to me.  Aside from the obvious joy he got from being the fastest in the class I could have cared less to be honest. 

At the end of each school year there is always a field day.  One of the contests is the 50 yard dash.  He has not lost yet.  ha ha 

Then there is the annual fund run at the school.  The goal of this is to have the kids find people who will pledge them money for every lap around the parking lot they run in 10 min.  They keep track by giving the kids a rubber band around their wrist every time they complete a lap. A great way to make the school money and yet provide the children with exercise.  Every year I take all the children I am watching that day and we head over and cheer on the runners.   We all get dressed up in whatever colors Coopers class is

supposed to be wearing for the run. (we of course do this for Owen as well now that he is in kindergarten)  We make  posters and bring our "outdoor" voices.  It is always a fun event.  Each year it is the same thing, Cooper starts off as fast as he can go and then fizzles out due to a cramp.  I guess at 8 it is hard to understand the importance of pacing yourself.  Owen on the other hand although not to fast ran the whole 10 min. without stopping.  Which I found quite impressive. (Owen is my 6 yr old child who refuses to play duck duck goose because he is not fast  ha ha) 

This particular photo to the left was in our local news paper.  It happens to be one of my fav. pics of all time.  Look how happy little Jackson is to be supporting his big brother and Cooper, well lets just say he was loving the attention that not just his little brother was giving him but all the kids I brought with us that day.  



On September 18th of this year I ran my first 5k and Cooper wanted to run too.  Mostly because he knew he was going to get a medal I'm sure but that did not matter to me. I was just so happy that he was taking part in the event with me.  To be honest when I got to the finish line and he was standing there with his medal on I was so proud of him, I could not wait to hear how he had done.  His words were "mom I was in first place the whole time... until I got the cramp"   ahhahaah  Yep, needs to work on pacing himself.  This is the picture of Coop and I after we got home and out of the thunderstorm that we ran in.                                 

Cooper came home from school the other day and could not wait to tell me about how fast he was in his new shoes during gym class.  He loves his shoes and I love how happy they make him.  The other day I was looking at different races and he saw a kid marathon that he wants to take part in.  How can you say no to that right?  I do not know if he will continue to like running but I do know that while it has his interest, I will be there to cheer him on.   I hope we can get Owen on board as well because I see a lot of potential for that little guy as well.



Cooper 2010 Fund Run









Owen 2010 Fund Run



Biggest Loser Challenge

I love a good challenge.  I am not sure if it is the competitiveness in me coming out or if I am just a glutton for punishment that makes me join them.  I take any competition I do seriously and therefore work hard at the challenge.  This month is no exception I have committed to doing 50 miles in the month of Dec.  I will work hard and do my best to make sure I run each and every mile of this competition.  I do have 10 miles in already and although I am happy with that I know I need to pick up the pace. 

Friday marked the end of a different challenge for me.  It was a Biggest Loser contest which lasted 3 months.  This sounded like the perfect challenge for me, I had weight that I wanted to lose, and half the money that was put into the contest would go to the Ronald McDonald house.  I was going to support a great charity and lose weight at the same time, not much can be better then that right?  It did not go as well as I had hopped for, but I did get a lot out of it and shed a few lbs too!
This challenge started in Sep. and I was on top of my game, running 3/4 times a week training for my first 5k.  I had it all together I was eating great, training well and I was even in the lead of the Biggest Loser contest.  I ran my 5k and afterwards my shins just were not the same.  I was in a lot of pain.  I slowed down my running but that did not help.  So I took some time off to rest my legs, about two weeks.  I started up again slowly and then got hit with a very strange stomach bug.  Whatever it was kept me down for another week and a half.  I was feeling very down for the whole month but I was able to modify my diet and still continue losing weight, just not as much as I would have liked. 
Feeling defeated already, a bomb was dropped that kinda had me wondering why I did this challenge at all.  I found out that one of the contestants decided that she would go on the hCG diet.  For those of you who do not know what that is... it is a diet where you eat only 500 calories and then receive injections of hCG.  Doing this is supposed to give you a weight loss of 1-3 lbs per week.   There is no way that I or anyone else in this challenge would be able to keep up with that.   I have read that 500 calories is not enough to support normal brain function but I am not a dr. so I will keep my mouth shut.
Anyways hearing this took the wind out of my sail.  I was in a place of, well shit if I had known that there was no way of winning just by using hard work and dedication I would have just written the Ronald McDonald house a check and called it a day.  I continued to lose weight and I was happy about it but I did not push myself as hard as I could have and my weight loss was minimal.  My negative attitude towards the whole thing was not helpful, and I remember one night eating a piece of cake thinking io myself well it is not as if I have any chance to win anyways.
I went into this challenge not with the thought that I might win the grand prize of just over a $100.00 but to support a good cause and lose weight in the process.  So why did I get hung up on the whole competition part of it all? 
My legs eventually started feeling better and I threw myself right back into running.  Mile upon mile I ran until those negative thoughts were gone.  Running is the best therapy I swear it is!  I became ok with the thought of not winning the challenge.  I tried to look at it like any other race or challenge I participated in this past fall.  When I run in a race I know I am not going to win, infact the thought of winning does not even occur to me.  There is a quote that I once saw on a friend's facebook page that I should have kept in mind the whole time I was feeling down about the outcome of the challenge... "It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit".- George Sheehan 

In the end I lost 15lbs and although I would have liked to have lost more I am happy about the amount I have lost.  I wish I could have been more positive throughout the challenge perhaps a more positive attitude would have helped lose a couple more pounds.  Who knows but the competition is over hCG girl won of course, and that is ok.  I know that I worked hard and my body is so much more physically fit then it was 3 months ago.  I am proud of myself!