12:21.

It's 1a.m.   I can't sleep because I have adrenaline coursing through my veins. 

Tonight I went out for a "run".  I went with no expectations.  No plans.  Just my husband kicking my ass out the door because I mentioned that I might try to run and he wasn't going to let me make excuses. 

I felt like it was going to be ugly.  No, worse than ugly.  I mean, I haven't moved faster than what's absolutely necessary to keep up with my children in almost 9 months.  And I'm getting over a cold.  And I now weigh just 2 pounds less than when I was full term preggo with the Brothers.  And while all of those things should be reasons to get out there, they've so far been reasons to stay on the couch. 

So as I wandered very reluctantly out the door, I fired up Runkeeper and picked a workout.  A nice, easy 20 minute workout.  I can do anything for 20 minutes.  I think.

I walked for a few minutes, slowly picking up my pace until the Runkeeper lady told me to start running.  So I ran.  I just kept a nice steady pace.  Nothing that stress my lungs, but brisk enough to work up a really good sweat. 

It wasn't actually too hard to keep going.  Brian waited for me at the corner near our house, not saying much as I ran by, just showing me that he's there for me.    He is, and always will be, my biggest supporter. 

The last few minutes were tough.  I looked at my phone at one point, saw that I only had 0.17 miles to go and laughed at myself.  So close!  Just.Keep.Moving.

When Runkeeper lady told me to walk, I started crying.  I just ran a mile.  Without stopping.  Here I am - hella overweight asthmatic girl with a cold who hasn't run in 9 months.  And I ran a mile.  Self-doubt = shattered. 

I walked home at a pretty brisk pace so that I could share my excitement with Bri.  When I pulled up my splits, I couldn't believe my eyes when it said that I did my mile in 12:21. 

TWELVE MINUTES AND TWENTY ONE SECONDS.  Yes.  I'm yelling.  That needs to be yelled.

That, my friends, is fast for me.  And while it's literally half the speed at which my husband runs, he was so damn proud of me too.  Because I got out there and got out of my own head and didn't let myself talk me out of if.  9 months of no running, 30+ pounds heavier, and I just ran a whole mile.  

I still feel like I'm on cloud 9.  I can't wait to run again tomorrow.  No really.  I'm totally serious. This, my friends, is the start of something very cool.  I can feel it.  

13.1.

Well, I did it.  I didn't get picked up by the slow people bus.

I ran/walked for 13.1 straight miles through the parks of Disney with 11,599 other mental patients like myself and finished before 1783 poor souls.  We started at the ESPN Wide World of Sports, curved through Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and ended at Epcot.  All in the dark of night.  The Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon is truly unlike any other race I've ever experienced.  And I haven't run many other races, but I sure as hell have watched a lot.  I'm here to tell you, though, that running one is very different than watching one.

Post-race at Epcot

I've been told by some people that running a marathon (full or half) is like childbirth - it's long, hard, and painful, but incredibly worth it in the end.

Whoever said this must have been a man.

Twin Weight Tuesday {10.30.12}.

So ... how bout a last minute Twin Weight Tuesday post?

It's definitely been awhile since I felt like writing one.  Not because I fell off the wagon or anything, I just didn't feel like I had anything new and interesting to write about.  Until this weekend...

I ran 11.7 miles.  Well, ran and walked.  I ran for an hour, walked for 10 minutes, ran for another hour, walked for another 10 minutes, and then ran for another 27 minutes.  And you know what?  It felt pretty good.  My legs really started to cramp up at the end, so I stopped 3 minutes early.  But I have to say, I'm insanely proud of myself.

And?  My hubby was pretty damn amazing as well that day.  There I was, 20 minutes into my second hour of running and dying for a drink of water, when I saw this SUV drive by and slow down as it passed me.  After a double take, I realized it was Brian and the boys, bringing me water and cheering me on.  They met me after another 20 minutes to give me some more water and give me another pep talk, then headed home and met me as I turned into our neighborhood for my last 30 minutes.  It's amazing how great that man can be.  Love him to pieces.

So I'm in the home stretch.  Less than 2 weeks til my big race.  eek.  NERVOUS.

Running in the rain.

I had another one of "those days" today.  And I have to admit that I didn't fare so well.  When Brian walked in the door at 6:30, I wanted to run for the nearest coffee shop with my laptop and a big huge nonfat pumpkin spice latte.

But I had an hour and a half run that needed to be attended to and Brian looked at me and said "Baby, you have to do this" so I just went.

I wasn't very happy about it.  It was raining, getting dark, and I was just plain not in the mood to run.  But halfway into that first mile, a switch flipped in my brain.  The rain felt good on my skin and smelled amazing.  I love the rain.  It's calming.  Relaxing.  Serene.

Life with 1 year old twins and an almost-3-year-old ... otherwise known as my attempt at organized chaos and staying sane.

My dear friend Lorryn recently wrote a "Day in the Life" post about the changes to their family routine now that she has started to work full time.  Their little family is thriving after this change and it's delightful to hear the excitement in her voice when she talks about their life.

Her post got me thinking that I haven't done a "Day in the Life" post in a loooooong time.  Last November, I described the complete shit-storm (literally and figuratively) that we called our life when the twins were 9 weeks old.  And in March, I wrote another post about the semi-organized days of life when the twins were 6 months old.  I could have sworn that I wrote another post this summer, but looking back I probably decided not to because it would have looked the exact same as the March post, minus the nursing and pumping.

Now that we have survived the first year of life with multiples, life has become easier and more enjoyable.  It's still not easy, it's just a different kind of chaos.  Somewhat more manageable. So here's what life looks like in our house these days....

Twin Weight Tuesday {8.14.12}.

Wow, is this blog getting boring, or what?

I have about a million post ideas sitting in my queue and life is just a little too chaotic to sit down and work on any of them at the moment.  Some day I'll get an hour to sit and write and you'll get a crapstorm of thoughts from my head.  I'm sure everyone is jumping up and down in anticipation, amiright??

What life hasn't gotten too chaotic for is health and fitness.  I'm really proud of myself for making it a priority.  I haven't been able to get any really good runs in because I'm still a bit sick and my asthma is making it difficult.  But I'll get back on track as soon as I can breathe well.

But I have some pretty good news.  I'm pretty stoked that I've HIT GOAL NUMBER 1!!!!  Woo hoo!!

I can't remember if I've written about my goals yet, so here's a quick rundown.

44:27.5 {Twin Weight Tuesday}.

On Sunday we woke up at the butt-crack of dawn (which I suppose is really no different than most days).  We got dressed in workout gear and loaded the boys in the car and headed to the park near our house for the Strawberry Festival 5K.  This is a pretty common occurance in our family as it's no secret that Brian is an psycho avid runner.

But this time was different.  This time I was the race participant and Brian stood on the sidelines to cheer me on.  It was odd to have this role reversal.  I've become an expert at scouring course maps to find strategically placed cheering spots.  I know his pre-race ritual like clockwork and am always available to hold shedded layers of clothing.  I know his paces for various race lengths and how much time I have to move between cheering spots.  

Twin Weight Tuesdays.

I didn't do a Twin Weight post last week because I was feeling {blegh} about weight loss in general.

But I'm back this week with good news.  I've lost a few more pounds and have reached my first of several small goals on the road to my overall goal.  It feels good to have accomplished something and that leaves me thirsting for more success.

Twin Weight Tuesdays.

I need some accountability.  Because when I'm home by myself all day juggling 2 infants, a toddler, and 3 dogs, I have NONE.  Random things fly into my mouth without a second (or even first) thought because I rarely have time to sit down and eat, let alone fix something.  So it's crackers, cookies ... junk.  And every day my weight creeps up just a tiny bit.  It's baaaaaad.  So every Tuesday I'm going to update that the 3 people that read my blog can see what I'm doing (or not doing) and that might make me feel like I need to have some accountability.  We'll see.

Good news is that I finally finished the Christmas 100 miles.  So now I'm on to the Birthday 250.  Just over 2 months left ... oh my!

OLTW

Operation Lose the Twin Weight, or more easily written as OLTW, is still in full effect. Well, that still should really be a back. I gained a few pounds while back in Michigan, but come on, we ate ham and cheesy potatoes for like a week straight. But those few pounds are gone again, simply by returning home and eating like normal again. Brian and I are both using a Calorie Counter app on our phones to track our food for the day, which helps tremendously. We can scan the barcode on the packaging of what we're eating or do a quick search for it, and even save it as a favorite meal. This comes in handy as I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal (with raisins or half of a banana mixed in!) for breakfast and a sandwich or wrap for lunch. It's nice to be doing it together too. Makes you think twice before dipping into Brennan's "nums" (M&Ms) because you know you'll have to record it.

I'm also getting back on the treadmill. I came down with a cold about a week and a half before Christmas, so Brian's present was put on hold. And I didn't even take workout gear to MI because I'm a realist and I decided not to waste the precious suitcase space. The most exercise I got during those 10 days was playing Just Dance on the Wii. (Which is insanely fun, especially because it's one of the few games that I can kick my husband's arse in). Then I came home and just haven't gotten back into the routine of doing it. Complete and total laziness. But I'm working on it. I think I have just a few more to go to hit 100 miles. Then it's on to his birthday gift ... 250 miles by April 4. Yikes. If I don't get moving I'm gonna be running 15 miles per day in late March. To help with this 250 miles goal, I told Brian to pick a 5K for me to run in a few months. And long term, I'd like to shoot for running the Disney Wine and Dine half marathon next October. I said "shoot for" people, don't get too excited.

Looking at pictures is also good motivation. Take for example this lovely photo of myself and Kiernan, falling asleep after nursing:

Awwww, look at the cute sleeping baby ... HOLY CHINS!! That my friends, is not twin belly ... that is just plain fat. And unhealthy. And it's going bye-bye!!