On The Move

We're moving. We officially live in a new town... TOMORROW.

I'm bummed that this is our last night in the cute little house but am excited for a new chapter in life to begin. Internet won't be happening until October 1st, so this will be my last post for a short while. After that, I will have to share pictures of the new place we're calling home!

On that note, here are some random pictures and a running recap:

Breakfast food with an attitude!

A marathoning mom's best friend - the jogger + weather shield.
And the baby of course :)

Running Recap

M - Naptime Circuit Training Workout 5.

T - 5 mile run with jogging stroller; 4 miles at marathon pace.

W - 7 mile normal run with jogging stroller.

H - 30-Day Shred L1 and major house moving!

F - 7-miler scheduled.

Sat or Sun - The final 20-miler scheduled before race day!

Total Mileage - TBD.

Homemade Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

I made this dessert for Leo last week; it was a hit and very easy to make! For future batches I would like to switch the recipe up by using peanut butter cookies or, who knows, maybe a different ice cream flavor. Sure, this is a dessert and not exactly "health food", but it is much more budget-friendly to make desserts at home, rather than ordering at a restaurant, and healthier in the aspect that you know what's in your dessert!

Homemade cookie ice cream sandwiches have become one of my favorite treats. I may have to make these for one of Eli's birthdays in the future!

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar OR sub 1/2 a banana instead, if there's no brown sugar in the house! :)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• Optional: 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, if you want to get a little crazy!
• Vanilla ice cream for sandwich filling

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease cookie sheet. Mix butter, sugars, and vanilla together until creamy. Add water and mix. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add to sugar mixture.

Place on cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Serve with a scoop of ice cream in between two cookies!

What other variations of this recipe do you recommend?
Different kinds of cookies or maybe a different kind of ice cream?

Running Recap

To make this post complete, I had to
share a picture of my little monkey!

To offset yet another dessert recipe on my blog, here's the running recap from this week! This week consisted of a lot of 7-milers; we'll just say I'm experimenting with marathon training and straying from the original plan :)

M - Six-Pack Abs Workout Level 1.

T - 7 normal mile jogging stroller run with Eli.

W - 7 mile jogging stroller run with 4 miles at marathon pace.

H - 30-Day Shred Level 3.

F - 7 normal mile jogging stroller run.

S - 16 mile long run split up into two chunks. 10 miles in the morning without the jogger, not feeling very well, and 6 miles with the jogging stroller in the afternoon.

Total Mileage - 37 miles.

One Month to Blue Ox - Training Update

There's only one month left 'til the Blue Ox Marathon! This weekend's long run is a 16-miler, followed by 20 again next weekend, and then begins the taper. Ah, yes, I'm looking forward to the taper...

Back in the "college days"

Old Stompin' Grounds

I may not have mentioned this in earlier posts, but one of reasons I'm excited to run this marathon is that it's in my old college town! I've been out of college for almost 4 years now and, way back then, I played college tennis and thought running 3 miles was long enough. Sprinting and drills were my forms of exercise; things sure do change in 4 years! Another plus is that they have a Caribou Coffee AND Erbert's and Gerbert's in town. The perfect post-race lunch: a sandwich, soup, and a latte. YUM!

What is your favorite post-race or post-exercise treat?

Goal Time

As far as a goal time, I'm not sure what to expect! Training postpartum hasn't been bad; my body actually feels rather normal 6 months later. The hardest part of training as a new mom, for me at least, is the lack of sleep. Eli is 6 months now, but I can't say we are sleeping wonderfully at night yet. Lack of sleep isn't a huge deal for general life tasks, but my body is taking longer to recover from training runs and I have much less spunk and motivation to get up at 5 a.m. to run without the jogger.

But, with less than a month left, I've survived training this far! Might as well give it all I've got and run my last marathon (for a while) the hardest I can. As for a goal time, I'll just say I would like to run somewhere between a 3:30 to 4:00 marathon :) Really, goal times can drive a person nuts. In a marathon (and life), there are so many factors out of our control. My true goals are to not compare this race to my pre-baby marathon times and to just enjoy the simple act of running. And, of course, I'll write a race report!

My Race Crew

My mom, dad, and Eli are all coming to the race; talk about a great race crew! Leo probably won't be able to make it due to harvest, but I'm sure he'll want updates from my mom and dad.

Staying Injury-Free

Cross-training is something I don't always fit in like I should, but it is so important to keeping injury free. Here's a strength training circuit to fit into your day:

How do you fit in cross-training?

Linking up at:

Living to the Hilt

Life's busy-ness can easily get out of hand, if we let it. To God, we must look like a bunch of ants scurrying around during the day always in a hurry to be somewhere. There are endless activities to do, pressure to "get involved", and an ever-growing "to-do" list. You're supposed to go, go, go! If you're in a hurry, that means you're important in this world.

Taking a reading break outside with Eli (and his pen).

I've found that as a new stay-at-home mom, I need to work at taking a break to just chill for a time during the day. At my corporate job, I had two breaks and a 30-minute lunch each day. Now that I'm a full-time mom and homemaker, I've forgotten the importance of taking those breaks! Working and being productive is good, but too much of a good thing can turn bad. It's important to take time to hang out with family and friends and sometimes to just enjoy a quiet moment to yourself because who knows if there will be a tomorrow?

Earlier this week, I was reading in James 4 and it offers some great perspective on enjoying the present time:

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

James says, "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes." Who says you have so many years to spend with your family, with your children, doing this, or doing that? Who says you have so much time to accept God's grace and live for Him?! I hope we all have many happy years ahead of us, but I just have to pose the question. These verses really get me thinking. Am I living each day to the full or am I living in the future?

Livin' for the Weekend

We can get wrapped up in weekend plans or next year plans or the next season of life. But, remember, we aren't promised tomorrow! You have this very second of life. That is a hard concept to grasp (especially for young people). A common thought is: Why, I'm only a 20-something, I've got all the time in the world! But, realistically, that's an assumption, not the truth. What if you keep putting off that time with your family? What if you don't tell someone how much you appreciate them until it's too late? or What if you put off living for Jesus Christ and knowing Him as your Lord and Savior until it's too late? That's the very difference between eternity in heaven or eternity in hell.

Talk about humbling! Guilty as charged; I definitely take life for granted. I've definitely wasted time that God has blessed me with worrying about the future and dwelling on the past. Sometimes, I fall for Satan's lie and life feels "too busy" to enjoy the present moment. This quote by Jim Elliot is what I aim to do:

"Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." Jim Elliot, Christian missionary.

Being All There

I love that. Wherever you are, be ALL THERE. When Jesus speaks to us in John 10:10, He isn't telling us to just "get through" our days here, but live to the full! Or as Jim Elliot says, "live to the hilt!"

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

I love spending time with these guys!

Sure, there is always work to be done and being present doesn't mean you shouldn't be productive during the day. Being present means finding joy in even your work - seriously, I've even found joy in shoveling horse manure at times! It means taking a second to breath during the day, spending these precious days with my son, cuddling with my husband, hanging with friends, and meeting new people! Being present means finding joy in daily tasks; having quiet time, reading the Bible, a good cup of coffee, running, writing, and especially time with my two guys! My to-do list will always be there and so will the laundry, dishes, and dirt.

Today, remember God's Truth and that quote by Jim Elliot. We're not promised tomorrow, so be all there, wherever you may be. Once each moment has passed, you can never have it back and you never know which will be your last.

What does "being present" look like to you?

Here's a couple recent pictures I had to share!

Moto Boy! Uncle Ryan wants Eli to race motocross... mom does not :)

It's harvest time, so Leo is spending most of his time in the "office".
He took this picture, by the way. I was so proud!

Running Recap

M - 6 mile jogging stroller run.

T - Circuit Training Workout 4 + 5.5 mile easy jogging stroller run with a running group friend.

W - Six-Pack Abs Workout Level 1.

H - 6 mile run with jogging stroller; 4 miles at marathon pace. Not feeling very well; very tired and not sleeping much due to a sick little boy :(

F - Sick. Walked errands around town with Eli, due to both of the "car seat friendly" vehicles being unavailable.

Sun - 14 mile long run, not feeling very well :( 2:04 at 8:51/mile average pace.

Total Mileage - 31.5 miles

Homemade White Cake Cupcakes + Buttercream Frosting

I will be the first to admit that I am "domestically challenged" but I am very thankful for very talented friends who are patient and willing to train me in! Learning to cook and bake, meal plan, sew, and cloth diaper are all new skills I've been working on... definitely work in progress, but I enjoy learning!

One of my girlfriends came over last week and helped me to bake that beaut in the picture below - a homemade white cake cupcake with homemade buttercream frosting. Leo LOVES white cake, so this was a surprise for him (that I got to enjoy, too)!

White Cake Cupcake

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease pan. Cream sugar and butter. Beat eggs in one at a time and mix well. Combine flour and baking powder; mix well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and stir in milk. Stir until smooth and pour into pan.

Bake 30-40 minutes in cake pan or 20-25 minutes for cupcakes and allow to cool.

Buttercream Frosting

• 1 bag powdered sugar (~8 cups)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk

Cream butter and vanilla in mixer. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Gradually add milk into mixture. Frost cupcakes once they have cooled.

These are NOT good for me to have in the fridge because I love sweets and they taste especially awesome with a hot cup of coffee or a cool glass of milk!

What is your favorite dessert recipe?

And now that I've shared my new cupcake addiction with you, here's a strength training routine to try this week:

First 20-Miler Down and Dealing with Burn Out

This weekend I completed my first 20-mile training run and I'm feeling a bit more confident about the marathon in October. Long runs are supposed to be mentally and physically challenging, but right now my body is fighting me more than usual!

Burn Out

Between the lack of sleep, breastfeeding, and not handling running in heat and humidity very well, I'm just losing my zeal for marathon training. I'm burnt out, but that's completely okay. To battle this burn out, I'm reminding myself of why I run (for fun and to enjoy the outdoors!), letting go of any training and race day expectations, and using the long weekend runs as "mommy brain reboot" time. I don't need to set any PR's; I just keep telling myself "relentless forward motion". Long runs are not supposed to be for speed, but mainly to put a few hours on your legs to prep for race day. Heck, I could even do the Cupid Shuffle or run backwards for 20 miles! Just do what you've got to do to get it done, within reason of course, no roids or illegal activity. I shouldn't even have to say that, but I figured a disclaimer may be needed :)

Marathons are awesome because I love to push myself and I love to race. Training runs are great quiet time; especially when I forget my iPod, it's just God, the road, and me. But, despite my love for full marathons, I want to take a temporary break from the full 26.2. Running is a lifetime sport and I don't want to completely burn out after running for only four years! If God blesses me with the health, I would love to be that crazy old lady still running at 80 years old.

How do you avoid burning out? Whether it's exercise, faith, work, parenting, marriage, etc. It's possible to burn out on anything!

Half the Distance, Not Half the Fun

I'm going to get a little crazy and try something new - I signed up for my first half marathon, the Fargo Half Marathon, coming up spring 2014! I've ran quite a few 13+ training runs but never an official race. Who doesn't love to run 13 miles! Just kidding, don't answer that question... hehe. Running shorter races will be an opportunity to 1.) Enjoy sleeping in with Leo & Eli a bit more on the weekend, 2.) Focus more on speed, and 3.) Run my first half!

And, if God blesses us with Baby #2 someday, 4.) A half marathon would be okay to preggo-jog ;)

What is your favorite distance to run/race?

Eli's first family camping trip this weekend

Running Recap

M - 6.5 mile run.

T - Off.

W - 7 mile jogging stroller run with 4 miles at marathon pace. "Marathon pace" was a bit altered due to running with the stroller, but Eli and I still kept an 8:10 average pace per mile! Maybe he should run the marathon with me; he's great company :)

H - 30-Day Shred Level 2, adventuring with Eli and the stroller, carrot-harvesting in the garden.

F - 7.25 mile run WITHOUT the jogging stroller! Leo had the day off of work due to wet fields.

S - 20 mile long run in 2:58 at 8:56/mile average pace. I started out at 7:30 a.m. and the morning heated up FAST! Ran out of water in my camelbak, ran on mostly country gravel roads, had to make a gravel road "pit stop" due to GI issues... but, all in all, the run was successful. Getting through that first 20-miler is always a mental barrier and I feel a bit more confident about my first post-baby marathon coming up!

Total Mileage - 40.75 miles