March is over already?

Part of my daily work is processing forms people send in with their work searches. Its been strange this week, seeing "week of March 29 to April 3." It doesn't seem like 2010 is already three months in!

March saw an increase in mileage, but along with that an added concern about keeping myself injury-free. While its disappointing that I have to wait even longer to achieve my goals, I'm confident I will achieve them and stay healthy in the process.

This month's stats: 32.6 miles run, in 7 hours, 35 minutes, 19 seconds. February was 25.8 miles and 5:41:54. I increased my miles, even with a full week off!

Year-to-date stats: 81.3 miles, 18:06:43.

So my focus shifts away from the half marathon for a month or two. Hopefully in that time I can get a consistent schedule and running base.

As I write this we're getting ready for our Easter trip to Carbondale. We haven't been there in almost a year and a half, but I doubt the place has changed much. It will be fun seeing the old stomping grounds, and showing them to Allie even if she won't remember it later.

Allie has had many firsts this month! Its so hard to believe she's already 5 months old. Time has gone so fast. I've been thinking lately about how tiny she was when she was born, and how hard those first days were. They were totally worth it.

Change in plans

I came to the decision last week that I won't run the Madison half marathon on May 30.

The decision surprised me, but I instantly felt better because its the right decision. Its been weighing on my mind for awhile, and I think my shin splints were only a part of the reason.

I really think I would have eventually decided against the half regardless of my injury status. I just don't have the time to get the training in. With nine weeks go, my longest run is only 6 miles. Granted, for training most plans only recommend a 10-mile long run, so calendar-wise I could have done it. But I can only run three times a week, and a lot of weeks I only get two runs in. My weekly mileage is a fraction of what it once was.

Last week I took the week off to get my shins rested. I ran short and slow last night and my shins are better. The week off did me good. And since I'm not running this half anymore, I'm not freaking out about the training time missed!

I can't let myself get injured again. I lost six months to injury, though lumping pregnancy into the time off, its more like almost a year and a half. I am hitting my stride again and with my plans I was setting myself up for another injury. The shin splints hit the same way my achilles tendonitis did two years ago... I was over enthusiastic in getting to outside running. Only this time I was also sort of scrambling to get the miles in too.

Instead of Madison on May 30, I've shifted my focus to the Crazylegs Classic 8K on April 24. That is a much more attainable race for me right now. I'll train for the 8K and get a better running base under me. Then I'll start training again for the other Madison half, which is on Aug. 29. That one was on my calendar anyway, it will just be my first instead of second. Hopefully I can also run the Fox Cities half on Sept. 19.

Road trip #1

Allie handled her first road trip very very well, considering mommy and daddy didn't orchestrate it in the best manner!

It was a quick jaunt up I-39 to the Wausau area, only two hours once we got on the road. Allie slept a bit in the car (we were in the carfrom 11:30 to 1:30) and that was all she slept that day! Poor baby, she stayed awake until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore around 8:30.

The problem was that it was such a quick trip and we were going going going the whole time. Road trip #2 should be better because we won't be on a schedule and won't be traveling back-t0-back days.

Allie did great during the wedding ceremony, though we could tell before then that she was getting really tired. After the ceremony we went back to our hotel room to feed her and then go back for the reception. We stayed at the hotel where the wedding was, which was very convenient. She was patient with all the people who wanted to hold her and really didn't fuss much, even when the band started playing.

Daddy took her back to the room for a diaper change about an hour before we retired for the night and brought her back in a sleeper. That was a great idea! She fell asleep on her great-grandma's lap and then it was time for us to go.

Allie slept well in the pack 'n play overnight and woke up with us at 7. It was Sunday that wasn't well orchestrated... would have been fine if it hadn't been for mommy's band concert! We had to leave early in order to get home before the concert and really should have left earlier and fed Allie on the road. But we got home, fed her quickly, and then back in the car seat to go to the concert. She liked the first half of the concert, but daddy had to walk her around for the second half. Upon getting back into the car yet again, poor baby fell right to sleep.

Then we finally got home and fed and played a little. Mommy went to the grocery store and by the time I got back our little trooper was more than ready to eat and go to bed. I'm not sure how long she slept this morning (she and daddy are on vacation as I work!) but it was much deserved! I'll post some pictures hopefully soon!

Now this week the object of the game is to recover from last weekend and prepare for next weekend's road trip.

Mobile miss

Allie sure gets around well for someone who doesn't crawl yet. But she may be crawling sooner than we think!

Cutie

Allie likes to put things in her mouth and to stick her tongue out. I love it!

Weekend countdown

So here at the Durso house, life is always pretty hectic, but its about to become even more hectic.

It all starts with a fun-filled weekend that includes Allie's first road trip and mommy's first band concert since Allie got here.

The goal for the next two days is to get Allie all packed up early to make sure we don't forget anything. Another goal is to see if mommy has anything suitable to wear, since we're going to my cousin's wedding. Daddy found something to wear, and we know Allie has many cute things to wear. In fact, I can't wait to get Allie all dressed up. But its a bit of a mystery whether mommy has anything.

We'll be heading north on Saturday morning two Wausau for the evening wedding, where Allie will be introduced to my side of the family. Then we'll be leaving from there early Sunday to get home in time for my band concert. We went to the band's concert at Christmas, but now Allie gets to listen to the band when mommy is a part of it.

Next week Daddy gets to take vacation and have lots of Allie-time because our daycare is going on vacation. I'm jealous because I can't take vacation until I've worked for six months. But I actually get a mini-vacation next weekend too because I'm taking off with Daddy and Allie from Thursday through Monday to go down to Carbondale for Easter weekend.

Needless to say, I'm really hoping this cold that currently has a hold on me (my third in two months!) goes away quickly.

Sorry there haven't been many pictures of Allie lately, but there will certainly be plenty coming after our trips! Maybe I'll even take some video on the camcorder and then actually post it!

A milestone of sorts

I wasn't sure I could do it today, but I did. My long run is now 6 miles! This is my longest run since I was initially injured in October 2008. In fact, I remember the date. It was Oct. 29. And how fitting that this 6-mile run was on the same route as that one, the arboretum loop (affectionately known as the "arb loop" for short). Thats my favorite route too.

I remember random dates, but I had to look back in my training log to confirm that this is my longest run in a year and a half. During the time I ran last year, my longest run was 5 miles. It was the Crazylegs Classic 8K on April 25.

Another milestone of note: With a week and a half left in March, I've passed my February mileage by 5 miles already! Its my longer mileage runs as well as keeping a more consistent schedule. I'm interested to see what mileage I end up with next week.

I'm realizing that I can put in the mileage, I just need to make myself do it. But I'm also realizing that part of the reason I can't always do it is because I'm afraid. My running is actually going very well right now, but I'm afraid of failing or hurting myself. I suppose with the injury history I have, this is a valid fear. But I won't accomplish anything if I let my fears take over.

So I know I can do this. I only need to increase my long run by a minimum of 4 more miles (to get a total of 10) to run the half. I'd prefer to get a 12-miler, but I think 10 is doable. Anyway, my goal now is lengthening my running intervals. My 6 miles today were slow. It took an hour and a half. I run the same speed I always have, I just need to get myself running longer.

I should know better

First, the awesome news of the day: I ran FIVE miles last night! Yes, it IS possible for me to have a longish run in the evening. I think I'm getting to the point where I can put in the miles, I just need to make myself do it!

However... in my enthusiasm of running outside last week, I think I'm mildly hurt. I've always had shin spints off and on, but during and after my run last night they really hurt. I'm pretty sure its because the run I did outside on Wednesday. It was around my neighborhood and I started out on the uphill part. It was dumb, and as my title states, I should know better! There are a lot of hills in my neighborhood, but if I had started in the opposite direction they would have been at the end or not at all. But it was right after work, the weather was nice, and I needed/wanted to get going quickly.

So I had a hard time starting my run last night, I didn't think I'd make it two miles even. But I warmed up and it felt better. Right after the run and since then, however, my shins are sore, especially to the touch but also in general.

But I want to keep my eye on the good stuff of all this... not only did I achieve 5 miles again, I achieved them in the evening and after dinner. I hadn't been paying much attention to my training plan over the last two weeks so when I looked at it last night and saw that my second run of the week was 5 miles, I thought I'd try and be happy with 4.

My long run this week is supposed to be 6 miles, which would be tomorrow. However, if my shins still feel like this tomorrow, I might be better off delaying that or at least shortening it. We've got a lot of stuff coming up so I'm not sure when I'd get that run in, not to mention anything else. I'll just have to see what happens! All in all, I'm very pleased.

Time!

I had some last night! All the chores we must (well, I must) complete each night were done by 7:30! It was pure bliss and I would have loved to just sit on the couch and watch basketball with Doug, but my to-do list kept me working. But it was worth it. I cleaned the kitchen and finished loading new music onto my ipod. Its impossible to keep the kitchen clean during the week and I hate cleaning it first thing Saturday morning.

On the ipod project however, I changed up my playlist and I'm not real happy with the results. I'll have to work on that more this weekend.

How did we accomplish such a feat? First I must muse... how funny it is that I consider getting my chores done by 7:30 a feat! Anyway, we made this potato corn chowder in the crockpot for dinner (which made us late in the morning but was worth it after work!), then took a family walk and afterward took Allie upstairs to feed her and get her ready for bed.

I always think I'm getting the routine down of being a working mom and coordinating the house and my working out and LIFE... so I'm sure something else will pop up here to make me realize I really have no idea what I'm doing.

But for now its Friday afternoon and I'm looking forward to listening to the Badgers play their first NCAA game this afternoon and going home to relax for the weekend before the craziness that will ensue over the next two weekends.

On a side note, I recently discovered how to put links in blog text, such as the chowder link up above. This is a fun tool!

Blog-iversary

Then: On March 19, 2009, Allie measured just at 1 centimeter. I was seven weeks pregnant and by the end of the month , she was going to double in size.

Now: I sure hope she doesn't double in size as quickly as she did before!! I like this picture a lot. This is the one I have on my desktop at work. Its fun because its like Allie is staring at me all day.

And another fun "now" picture. Allie is learning to play with her toys! We just need to get her a few now.

One year ago today I started this blog to announce my pregnancy. So its the Durso Pack's blog-iversary! See that original post here.

Obviously a lot has changed since the day we got Allie's first baby picture taken. At that time she was about a centimeter. Now she is 24 inches! Now she's becoming mobile and getting ready for her first long road trip and to start eating solid foods. She's a little person, with a big personality already. A lot has changed since then. I've said it before and I'll say it again, 2009 was a tough year, but Allie made it better. We're so glad we have you baby!

Words to live by

I think this pretty much sums it up, don't you?

Shamrock Shuffle 5K

I'm back! Well, sort of. I don't know if I can consider it racing with how slow I am. But I ran my first race in nearly a year on Sunday! Here's proof! I'm the one in white amidst the sea of green. The Shamrock Shuffle is a St. Patrick's Day race, after all.

The Shamrock Shuffle 5K was my first race when I started training two years ago too. It seems fitting to start this round of training with the same race. Last year I was just coming off my stress fracture and not in shape to race, so I volunteered. I really like this race, though its gotten really big. It was hard to avoid getting jostled around and to dodge other runners for most of the course.

It was a nice morning for a race, though with a cold wind. I'm not sure of the temperature, probably low 40s at least. The day started early with pancakes and getting Allie ready to go watch her first race. I was annoyed that the city of Madison made the parking ramp near the race start a "special event" rate, which meant it was $4 to be paid on entry and cash only. I don't know many runners who bring cash to races, myself included. Luckily we found a meter really close by, so we parked for free since meters aren't enforced on Sundays.

I was nervous going into the race because I didn't have a strategy. For the half marathon I'm training on run/walk intervals, 3 minutes running to 2 minutes walking right now, and hoping to increase my running time. I ultimately decided 5K is short enough that I could just plan on running with walk breaks as needed. It worked well and I only walked the three (yes three!) hills and the water stop.

This race felt different from the start. I used to always start races too fast, especially 5Ks. But in this one, even though my garmin said I was starting at an 11-minute pace (which is very fast for me right now), I felt really comfortable.

Anyway, as I was lining up I felt the emotion of coming back to an old friend or a familiar place. I felt this way when I ran crazylegs last year and when I went back to band. Its like even though my life is so different now, I am returning to the way it was.

So the race analysis... I ran about a half mile before I felt I needed a break, and that just happened to be the first hill. Observatory Hill on the UW campus is a somewhat infamous part of a few race routes. Its steep. I didn't mind walking it. After walking up the hill I started running and was able to continue for probably a full mile. They changed the course this year so the 5K separated and we ran a separate loop before rejoining the original course to run back. I liked this because the original course had four hills (Observatory Hill is actually two back-to-back hills).

Anyway... after the first hill I felt "comfortably uncomfortable," a term I first heard from an old spin instructor. Its a feeling like you're challenging yourself, but you could do it for awhile. I gained back some of the time I lost walking up the first hill. When I started feeling a little less comfortable I started looking for the water station with the goal of running until I got there. Most 5K water stops are around the halfway point, but this one wasn't until mile 2! That made it kind of rough but I persevered through it.

Immediately after the water station were the two remaining hills. So I wasn't quite as fast (relatively speaking, of course) as I had been. When I was on the third mile I had to decide how I wanted to finish... if I wanted to take another short walk break to finish fast or just keep running. I decided to keep running and felt great. I got a bit faster as I approached the finish line and sprinted even more once I rounded the last corner and saw Doug and Allie.

It was awesome to have Doug and Allie there cheering me on. I'd have to say that was the best part of this race.

Afterward we had to head home right away because Allie was hungry, and therefore fussy. I wanted to take a family picture at the finish, but it was not to be that day! So this will suffice:

My final time was 38:27, so I was a few seconds (seven, to be exact) faster than my slowest 5K! Thats quite an accomplishment for me considering my average time to run 3 miles is 40 minutes. I now feel I'm fully on my way to the half marathon May 30. I'm starting to feel really confident in my training and its been a long time since I felt like that.

A nice weekend

Isn't she cute? Allie got this outfit for Christmas. We LOVE the ears on the hood. Allie is the most adorable baby we've ever seen!

We had a nice family weekend here in the Durso house. Spring has sprung, at least this weekend, and all the snow is melted. Lately its been tough to have family and relaxation time in the midst of all the other stuff that has to get done, like grocery shopping and working out. But with the nice weather approaching, we've been trying a lot harder to make that a priority.

Saturday we made the grocery shopping into one of those family times. We all went together, me carrying Allie in the snugli carrier. We hadn't used it at all yet because it was so cold and its just easier to take Allie places in her carseat carrier. But the snugli will become more prominent as it gets warmer. Anyway, she loved it! It was a nice way to get a necessary task done but still spend that time together.

Sunday was my first race of the year, also my first since Allie was born! I ran the Shamrock Shuffle 5K and exceeded my expectations for the event. The best part was coming around the corner to the finish and seeing Allie and Doug! A race report will follow in the next day or two hopefully.

Allie was pretty tired through the weekend with all the activity! We all enjoyed a leisurely Sunday afternoon after the race. We got some cleaning done and watched the end of college basketball tournaments. I hope every weekend is as relaxing as this one.

I want her to stay small forever!

Too bad thats just not the case! Here's a picture from the other day. Allie's wearing the outfit she wore when she came home from the hospital.

Look how she's grown! In case you forgot:

Our baby is growing, and growing fast. Today Allie weighs 15 pounds, 4 ounces and is 24 and a quarter inches tall (long?). She's in the 75th percentile for her weight and 50th for her height. We're jokingly calling her our little chubster. Apparently after she hits six months and gets more active the chub goes away. But we think its cute!

Here's another then and now picture:


She's so much taller! Its fun getting the statistics to see how much she's grown. A funny thing about today is that they discovered Allie's growth was being charted on a blue chart, the one for boys! So the percentiles were not the same when plotted on the pink one. The percentile is really not a big deal though.

The not-so-fun part of Allie's 4-month check up was the shots. I don't know if I have a selective memory or if they just bothered us all a little more today than the last set did. There were many tears, not just Allie's! But she made it through just fine. The shots didn't bother her last time and didn't today. We just gave her a little baby tylenol and she was in bed at 7. She's usually in bed around 8:15 or so, so this was early for her.

Allie's getting more interesting every day. Its so neat to watch her grow and look around more and to play with her. Daddy's really good at it.

And daddy's also trying to start her on football early!

We're getting ready for some big firsts. Allie's first time seeing Mommy race is this weekend. And in a couple weeks Allie's going on her first trip. We're going to my cousin's wedding on the 27th and then the following weekend, Easter weekend, we're taking a trip down to Carbondale to see Grandma and Grandpa Durso. Can't wait to see you guys!

We're making all the preparations and trying to calculate if Allie and all her stuff can fit into the car. There's a lot of stuff to take. I think I may need to spend a week packing so we don't forget anything.

Breaking down the wall

People talk about "hitting the wall" in a marathon, that place around mile 20 to 22 where you just don't think you can go anymore. While I'm nowhere near a marathon, I've been dealing with that wall on a smaller scale. But I'm happy to report I broke that one down on my Monday night run!

For awhile now I've been trying to train and having a rough time. Its partly because my fitness isn't quite where I want it to be and I'm trying too hard and also because I have to get used to running in the evening. Its been nearly impossible for me to run more than 3 miles at a time. I've been trying to figure out the right way to eat at night and for awhile I thought that was the only problem.

But Monday I slowed down my speed so slightly, and it did the trick! I ran 4 miles without feeling sick or fatigued. Too bad I didn't get a chance to write about it until three days later. I'm really starting to believe that the half marathon on May 30 is most definitely possible. And I'm starting my racing season this weekend with a 5K, my first race in nearly a year.

I love feeling so positive about my running. Its a feeling I haven't had since my injury a year and a half ago.

In need of a food overhaul

Here in the Durso pack, we're in a bit of a food rut, for several reasons.

Doug had a doctor's appointment last week and it got us thinking about the state of our diet. On a weekly basis, I dread the grocery shopping. Not because of the actual shopping, but because of the menu planning and list writing that must be done before we enter the store.

I try to plan good meals for us, but its hard with our limited budget. Its hard to plan for meals during the week when we spend 11 hours working or en route. I try to find easy things to make and we end up eating the same things all the time, even though I try to vary it too. We want dinner to just be ready when we get home, which explains why we go out to eat more often than we should. Frozen pizza is a staple in our house and I'm about frozen pizza'd out. We had one on both Saturday and Sunday and there's still one more in our freezer for this week...

During the day I get SOOO hungry, especially a day after a run. I try to pack enough food to have adequate snacks and lunch, but it never seems to be enough. I find I could use a second breakfast aroun 9 a.m. and an afternoon snack (or two) is usually necessary too.

I think back to WAY back a year or two ago when I was really trying hard to get us to eat well. I really don't remember what we ate. Our lifestyles were way different then because I worked nights and Doug worked days. A stress fracture, a layoff, unemployment, pregnancy, baby and a new job later... I have no clue what we should be eating.

We need to lose weight again and eat better. I honestly don't know if my issues with weight are because I'm not fueling my body enough for the exercise I'm doing or if I just eat poorly. I've never been good with counting calories, especially now since I'm breastfeeding. I used to count carbs and that's not even relevant right now.

SOOOO dear readers (I do have a few readers, don't I?), I need your help. This seems like it should be so basic, but I'm clueless. So here are a few questions, in no particular order, and any input is appreciated. The questions are really broad, but hopefully I can get a focus with a little help.

1.) What can I eat during the day that will keep me full but not pack on a zillion calories?

2.) Any suggestions on planning good meals that are relatively quick and/or easy to make?

3.) Along with #3, ways to prepare ahead of time? I have considered the cooking and freezing method, but I'm clueless on that too.

4.) I've considered myself a decent multi-tasker, but in the case of our diet, I'm not. Any input, even anything not related to my questions, is appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

Five miles OUTSIDE!

I don't know which I'm more excited about, running five miles or getting to run them outside.

I've been having a hard time running more than three miles. I ran four two weeks ago but haven't been able to go long since. I now think that I just go too fast on the treadmill, so thats why I can't run long. Because I really didn't have a problem today. But my pace was 14:30 per mile, where its closer to 13:30 on the treadmill. So that explains a lot.

Though I'm not excited about my lack of speed right now, I am starting to believe that the half marathon May 30 is possible. I've been doubting my ability to train to the half marathon distance, but now I totally know I can do it. I just need to get outside because I slow myself down when I'm running on the pavement.

I've said all along I don't care about speed, but I think I'm lying. I do care, but I need to not care so much right now. My 5 miles took 1 hour 13 minutes, which was longer than 10Ks that I've run. I'm afraid of how long it will take me to run the 5K next week. But I've gotta start somewhere. Instead of getting faster, my goal is to lengthen the running portion of my intervals. Thats how I'll get faster. Right now I'm only runn three minutes and then walking two. If I can get that up to five minutes, I'd probably be back toward my old pace. My running speed is about a 12-minute mile, so I just need to run longer to improve my times.

Time to get outside and also to sleep

But not to sleep outside. Its not that warm yet. The temps have been going up for the last week or so and this weekend the highs are forecast to be 46 on Saturday and 45 on Sunday! Its funny how here in Wisconsin temps getting up to 32 feels warm so this will be a real treat.

It was nice last weekend and we didn't have time to get outside, so we are definitely getting outside this weekend. I'll get outside during lunch today and may try to run outside this weekend too! It might be nice to get outside before my 5K next weekend. The last time I ran outside was probably last summer since that was the last time I ran until after Allie was born. We're also hoping to get Allie outside too, maybe with a trip to the zoo.

I'm thinking a lot about being outside, but even more about being asleep. I'm really tired this morning and I was tired yesterday. It may or may not be because of the inner ear "cold" I have that is causing the dizziness I've had for the last two weeks. The technical term is labyrinthitis and its a virus. I went to the doctor about it last night because I'm afraid to carry Allie and I've been running into things and feeling like I'd fall out of chairs. The only remedy for me right now is motion sickness medicine, though I'm supposed to get a recheck if its not any better by Monday.

Its been a long week. I may skip overtime tomorrow and sleep in instead. Today will be extra long because its Friday, but at least its Friday! Have a great day everyone.

Spin class, how I've missed you

I got to take a spin class last night for the first time in about three months. It was fantastic. I know I've been needing to start cross training again, right now all I have time for is running. The problem is my time is so limited and it takes a lot of planning to get to the gym for a class or even a swim.

But this week I decided I'm going to make the effort to get that cross training in. And the result was worth it, I felt great. Getting a different workout will help strengthen other muscles and make me a stronger runner. I'm hoping this will help make my knees less sore.

I'd love to get to class twice a week, but once will be good too.

The best part is I've already gotten to the gym three times this week and its only Wednesday! I'll take tonight off and then get back to it at the end of the week and on the weekend.

I'm also excited to report that I'm signed up for my first race in nearly a year. The Shamrock Shuffle was my first race when I started training two years ago and will be my first race again this time around. I was hoping to enter the 10K, but since my longest run to date is only 4 miles, I'm entering the 5K. I'm still happy to be entering a race!

I'm feeling really optimistic right now. My half marathon in May might still be in reach.

Four months ago...

Looking through Allie's baby book last week, I ran across this picture:

I was huge!! Now that its been a few months, I can't believe how big I was! About a week and a half later, here are the beautiful results of that large belly:

I need to look back at these pictures every time I complain about my new body! Its a small price to pay for the joy Doug and I have every day.

Happy 4-month birthday baby!