Author Archives: hellyontherun

I Dare You

Posted by hellyontherun in hellyontherun and tagged with , ,

I have to say that I am a really lucky gal. I’m one of those annoying people who raves about her husband non-stop and absolutely loves being married. My husband is simply a great guy.

One of the many things I love about him is that he is constantly challenging me. I was heading out for my gym time a couple of nights ago planning on running 5 miles. Like he always does, he wished me luck but then, somewhat as an afterthought, he added, “You should run 7.”

I looked at him incredulously. “I haven’t run 7 since I gave birth to our son and even months before that.”

“So?”

That was all the motivation I needed.

I did my usually stretches before hopping on the treadmill and got going. I was at mile 4 and feeling pretty good. Mile 5 came and went and I was proud at having at least met my first goal. But no way was I stopping there. I was approaching mile 7 and starting to feel the effects of having run for over an hour. I planned on stopping and going home to show him I had run his 7 miles but then a thought came to me. Why not take his 7 and raise him 1 more? So there I was, a little over 2 months after giving birth to my second child, running 8 miles at a 9:30 pace.

When I was done, the runner’s high was seeping through me. My blood was racing and my body felt that it was still going even though it had been minutes since I’d stopped. I couldn’t believe that I had done it. I knew that eventually I’d run 8 miles in the course of my training, but because I’m a pretty conservative trainer (sometimes too conservative), I hadn’t planned on it happening so soon. I knew it was my husband’s push that had done it for me.

Plus, I can never resist a challenge : )

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Oxymoron: An Unhealthy Runner

Posted by hellyontherun in Running and tagged with , , , ,

I’m not your typical runner.

I’m obsessed with soda, in particular Coca-cola, and drink about 4-6 cans a day. I also love love love fast food. My diet is single-handedly why I’m not a faster runner. I don’t know what it is about fast food that I just can’t get enough of. I know it’s unhealthy, I know it could cause damage to my body in the long run, I know it only brings me temporary pleasure but still everyday I visit some drive thru and asked for a number whatever and super size it. Most people who hear that I’m a runner think I must have a healthy lifestyle…. until they get to really know me.

In addition to gross food, I can be a total girly-girl. If I’m not wearing running shoes, I’m wearing a shoe with some type of elevation. I feel confident in heels and can probably run a 5k in a good wedge. I enjoy putting make-up on and spend money on the good kind. I’ve worked in high-end retail stores and am familiar with quite a few designers. When asked what I would save if my house was burning down, I not so jokingly said my closet. I’ve put a lot of time and money into my wardrobe and when I walk in to my closet, I always smile. Shoes and clothes make me happy.

a glimpse into my closet

a glimpse into my closet

But at the same time, I love sweating. One of the appeals of running to me is that I can feel the workout. I can feel the sweat dripping down and I like it. When it comes to running I actually don’t care about my appearance, I care about my performance.

I also enjoy watching all sports but I am a crazy person when it comes to basketball. I can watch basketball on T.V. 24 hours a day. I have a pretty mean jump shot. I can tell you who’s won the NBA Championship the past 10 years and who the MVP was. I could tell you the name of every team in the league and their mascot. I have Michael Jordan’s last game (before his second retirement) memorized. Along with running, I can talk about basketball all day.

I like to think my husband he has the best of both worlds: a girly girl who doesn’t mind watching ESPN all day J

time to run

Posted by hellyontherun in Uncategorized and tagged with , , , ,

I’m a new stay at home mom (SAHM). When my husband and I found out we were expecting #2, we knew that I’d be taking a leave of absence from my job as an English teacher. There was no way I could work and go home to my kids having stacks upon stacks of essays to grade.

I wasn’t sure what to expect about this SAHM business. I knew that I was a little (a lot) apprehensive about the whole thing because I’ve never not worked. I’ve worked for as long as I can remember, sometimes 2 and even 3 jobs at a time. I get bored; I need to be kept busy. But, I knew what the real reason was for my apprehension. My fears came from knowing this was going to be the toughest job of all.

So far it hasn’t disappointed. Staying home with 2 under 2 is. hard. work. There are days that I would rather go back to 100+ teenagers and stacks of essays than stay home with a 1 ½ year old and a 2 month old that doesn’t’ yet sleep through the night. It is non-stop running around making sure that they stay in one piece and that I stay in one piece. There are a lot of tears and a lot of crying. There are feelings of inadequacy, of frustration, of sadness. Don’t get me wrong, I adore my children and I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to stay home with them, but, there are days that I’d like to put make-up on and look like a normal person. Sometimes I miss talking to an adult. I’d like to go out in public without fear of public scrutiny because of my kids’ shrieking.

My outlet is running. With a husband that works 12 hours days—he leaves me at 6 and comes home at 6—it doesn’t leave me much time to run. My daughter, the oldest, goes to bed at 8 so we have to squeeze dinner, bath time, and bedtime routines in those two hours. Some days, most days, I have a mental countdown to the time when I leave to go to my gym. All I think about is that time-to-go number on the clock.

Yes, after my long day of tantrums, screams, and food fights, I go running.

My friends think I’m crazy. How the heck do you have the energy to go work out?! I’d go straight to bed! But in all honesty, running makes me feel better. Running gives me the energy to wake up the next day and do it all over again… rejuvenated. It’s like I sweat away the negative energy I built up from the long day and I wake up with a positive attitude ready to tackle what comes. My whole day is spent trying to entertain and keep my kids happy. Gym time is my happy time and I can’t think of a better way to end the day.