So I took Coach Jenny's advice, and today was my "practice race day" . I decided whatever happens... happens. And I'm glad it happened, because now  I know what I need to change before Sunday!

I got up at 6 a.m. (regular time) got dressed, put on my "race day" shirt and my Zumba yoga pants. (yeah.... still haven't bought a pair of running pants....) Put on a good pair of athletic socks, and laced up my ankle brace for my left ankle. Put the orthotics in the running shoes, pulled my hair back in an elastic hair band. Applied the triple action antipersperant/deodorant for the active person! (learned that one early one)

At 7 a.m.,I  drank my  slimfast "meal replacement" strawberries and cream protein shake. Grabbed my pedometer, a bottled water and then realized it was a school day! Where did I think I was going? Then  yelled "KIDS COME ONE, You're going to be late for school!!!!)

Yeah, hello, today was only Tuesday. Can't get a real good "simulated race" on a school day. SO......... piled everyone up in the car.... Drove the high schooler to school first, make a quick stop at the McDonalds drive thru since I hadn't made anyone breakfast. (yeah, I know.... bad mom, right? Too busy thinking about myself this a.m., kinda forgot I still needed to do my "mom duties"!

Got the first child dropped off at high school. Oops, the second one needs a school lunch. Quick stop back to the house. Made the lunch for the middle schooler. Fortunately, this was NOT my week to drive the carpool to the 2nd child's school, and I was just finishing putting pretzels in the lunch box when his ride showed up. WHEEWWW.

Ok, check the time. 8:30, time to get the 3rd child off to shool. OK, nice day outside, she wants to ride bikes to school. Yep, lets do it.! Get the third child at school and settled, and make my way back home. Put the bike in the gararage, check the time. 9 a.m.  RATS! I was supposed to eat something high carb two hours before race time at 10. Went to the internet, google searched high carb foods. Printed off the list. Checked to see what I had in the fridge. Checked the nutrition label on the bagel. 51 grams of carbs. WOW, no wonder I stopped eating bagels! Ok, I'll have one half of the bagel, with peanut butter on it. Double checked : do I have the pedometer? yep. Do I have the I-POD? yep. Sunglasses? yep. Shoes tied with double bows? Yep. OK, drink a little more water, one last visit to the bathroom, and drive to the South Loop trail, and stretch out and be ready to start at 10. So far so good, with the exception that I only had one hour not two to digest the "carbs".

Ok, parked the car. What do I do with this big wad of car keys? Can't leave the car unlocked, purse inside. HHmmm, ok, take  the door lock/unlock remote off the keychain and put it in a pocket. Oops, no pockets!!

Plan B? Hey, how about stringing it on to the pedometer? Unhook the safety clip from the pedometer, string the car remote on it, put the safety clip back on, and hook FIRMLY to my yoga pants. OK. Any other hurdles?

Oh, hey, what about a phone? No place to put it. Leave it in the car. Not going to run with it on Sunday anyway. Water bottle? Take one more sip, just a little one, and leave in the car for when I get back . Roll windows down in car so water isn't too hot.

Next? Ok what do I do with the i-pod? Again, "NO POCKETS!" HHmmm... Lets see, ear plugs go in the ears, L must be for left, R would then be for right. . Stick it in my waist band? Yeah, lets go with that.

Time to stretch. Bend, stretch, arm circles,  OOPS! There goes the ipod down my pants! OK, so waist band was NOT a good idea. Next thought? uh, yeah, lets try tucking it down my shirt, strategically placing it inside my sports bra. OK, little cold at first, but yes I can deal with this. Just shove all the cords in the bra too! Ok, almost 10 a.m. . Get a move on, get over to the starting line ( in this case.... a wooden pole that says "RED LOOP BEGINS HERE. Followed with another sign  " red loop 2.4 miles". Ok so, knowing the trail is marked every 1/2 mile, If I run the whole loop, and then continue on a second time around, going to the 1/2 mile marker and back, that would give me 3.4 miles total. Just short of the 3.7, but close enough for today.

OK, check the time again. 2 minutes til start time. Take a deep breath. I can do this . I CAN  do this. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!    And............ GO

Ok, I'm off! Right at 10 a.m.   Feeling good.  Tunes are playing, arms are swaying. yes, I'm doing it. THIS IS THE  "practice" REAL THING! ! GO KIM! Ok, encountering lady walking her dog. That dog better not sniff me. I hate when dogs sniff me. Ok, lady pulled dog off to side of trail. Thanks Lady!  Ok, man running really fast. Wow, he must be like a marathon guy. MORE POWER TO YOU MARATHON DUDE! Ouch, left ankle hurting a little bit. Ankle brace laced up too tight. Not going to stop to loosen and re-tie. Just deal with it. Try to ignore it. Maybe it will loosen on its own. Focus.

Ok, feeling pretty good. Weather is a little windy, getting blown around a little, but no too bad. Music is pumping, thinking I'm going to move up my pace from Fast Walk to Slow Jog. Here goes..... yep, slow jog, feeling good. Stepping in rythym with the songs my son put on the play list for me. Thanks PJ! You did a good job with the song choice! Black Eyed Peas are making me move!!! BOOM BOOM POW!  Uh, problem here.... yoga.... pants..... not....staying.... up !...... Pants... slipping.... down.... !!!   Down..... by.... my...... hips!!!!!!!....... Quick, pull them up, look around, make sure no body saw. Man smiling. Hi "Man". Hope you didn't see anything you weren't supposed to!!   Try again..... jog jog jog jog jog..... pants slipping down down down. Past the hips this time....... Slip the hand around the back side, try to figure out how much is hanging out...... OK, part of a "crack". Not good. OK, this is "race day" ..... Cant stop. Can't go back to the car. Can't go home and change. Press on, keep moving forward. You don't any of these people, hopefully no one has a camera.

How come all that is coming to mind is that song "Pants on the ground, Pants on the ground, Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground"? UH, thats because YEAH!!! I am looking really stupid  here, I'm approaching the 1/2 mile marker, and my pants are falling off!

Ok, now I shall digress. Part of me wants to be SO ECSTATIC that I've lost enough weight, that my clothes are literally slipping right off of me! Yet, the other part of me is thinking how am I going to finish this race while I'm holding my pants up? Especially since I am only at the 1/2 mile marker? Light bulb moment needed.... ok, you've got the pedometer, it has a clip. Fold 2 inches of the waist band over to one side, and clip it together with the pedometer. Nope, doesn't work. Too thick. Keep running while holding up your pants until you think of something. hhmmmmm. nothing else coming to me. Look way out in front. Anyone coming? No.

Turn around, anyone one behind you? Nope. Hey, how about this? There are actually TWO clips on the pedometer. One is the clip of the pedometer itself, then there is the leash attached to it, with its own safety clip.

Gather up the waist band.... put the safety clip on. Now stretch, stretch .....STRETCH!!  Clip the pedometer part  to the waist band as far away as possible, using the pedometer and the safety clasp as a belt!  This Just Might Work! Keep jogging. Big hill. Ok, walk. Flat path again, pick up the jogging. yes, made it to the 1 mile marker. Pants have drifted down a little bit, but not to the point where I am "mooning" anyone. Ok, keep going. Just keep going. Seeing the 1 and 1/2 mile marker.

OH, Hey! I'ts Marathon Man again! WOW, did he just do that whole loop? Very impressive. Starting to get tired. Ok, just focus. Try to keep jogging til you make it to that tree. Good. Now push on, try to make it to that bridge. Ok, keep breathing. Try to make it to grass land. ....... just can't go ..... any..... further!!!.... Tired. Need to walk. WALK. Its okay to walk. But walk faster. Brisk walk. OK, better. Experiencing "cotton mouth". No water. Left it in car. Would probably cramp up anyway. Breathing heavy through the mouth. Try to breath in through the nose. Not getting enough air. Back to "mouth breathing".

There is the two mile marker. That means just 4/10 ths of a mile to go to finish the  2.4 mile loop. Start jogging. Pretend its a finish line. Thats it. Pretend you see people cheering you on. Listen to the Black Eyed Peas singing.  OOO WHHOOO. TONIGHTS GONNA BE A GOOD NIGHT! Yes, cross the finish line!!! (ok, again, just a wooden pole that says Red Loop ends here) Now turn around, Start on the Blue loop, go out 1/2 mile, then come back. Do whatever you can. Walk a few steps..... start jogging...... yeah, try to keep going...... nope, going back to the brisk walk. Ok. Push it! Stop being a wimp. JOG! yes, JOG! OK. Started jogging. still jogging, still jogging. Seeing the .5 mile marker. Wow, that means actually 2.9. Keep going, turn around, now finish strong. Jog this whole last 1/2 mile. Jog. Thats it. I want to quit. NO! Look, theres your husband! There's your daughter! They are cheering for you (yes, this is just in my mind.... but they will be there on Sunday)  Look! There's a camera crew ! They are filming this for the evening news! Pull your pants up, keep breathing, keep moving foward. Don't worry that Marathon Man has just blown by you again. There is the finish! You can do it! Keep Going KIM!!!!!!!    YES!!!!!   YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three point four miles. 3.4 yep 3.4 Quick, check the pedometer. Time? 46 minutes! Wow? Is that good? Who knows. Who cares? Does the time really matter? Isn't what's important that I finished!!!!! YES I FINISHED!

My goal for this Sunday's Run for Water  is to finish the 3.7 in under 60 minutes, and based on my trial run today, I think I can do it! Just keep smiling, and thinking about that song Pants on the Ground. Mainly, just keep smiling!

The last few days I've gotten plenty of emails , letters in the mail, and notes home from the kids schools and coaches with the updates on their Spring sporting events and other activities. Letting me know about practice schedules and game days.

Madeline, my almost 15 year old, currently has track practice 5 days a week, and her first "meet" is this Thursday. She is also an avid equestrian, and takes riding lessons, and just registered for two horse shows coming up in June. Additionally, she  competes in a "tetrathalon" with her horse, which is a two day event, consisting of four separate phases: she swims, she runs, she shoots an air pistol (target shooting), and she then rides her horse over a combination of 12 or so jumps. Swimming and shooting practices will be starting up soon, too! She also participates in Polocrosse, which is "LaCrosse on horseback". Yeah, its crazy!

Patrick, my almost 14 year old, currently has baseball practice every Friday, and has his first game this weekend. Once school gets out, practices get bumped up to 2 or 3 times per week. He also takes guitar, and starting in June, will begin football practice five days a week  for the freshmen high school team. He got so busy, he had to give up tennis.

Eloise, my 5 year old, has ballet/tap dance every Monday, Bible school every Wednesday, and Girl Scouts on Thursdays. And she is starting soccer, with her first practice this weekend, and games starting in two weeks!

So as I look at my calendar, and update  the days of each child's practices, games, lessons, etc. it reminded me of why I wanted to be an "active.com" participant. I had written to Michelle that I was the chauffeur for my children, toting them  around to all their various activities, and also had the role of the " cheerleader"  on the side lines, yelling "You can do it!" "Good job!"  and "Way to go"!

My goal was to get active myself!  Not just sit on the side cheering, but "get in the game".

I feel now that the mission has been accomplished. I looked at the calendar and saw the entry for April 18th. It said "KIM" : Run for Water in Chicago.

It brought a smile to my face at the realization that "I'M" on the calander. Thats right, ME!  I HAVE AN EVENT TOO! And it will be great when my family will be at the finish line, this time, cheering for ME!

Thank you active .com for helping me reach my goal! I am getting off the sideline, and getting in the game!

  GO TEAM WALK IT OFF!

So I am still trying to play around with the whole "adding pictures and video" concept, so bear with my while I am still learning!

Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely afternoon with my in-laws, celebrating Easter. Church in the morning, followed by a huge Easter meal of ham and leg of lamb. My mother-in-law is hands down the best cook I know. The meal was complete with sweet potatoes, asparagus , au gratin potatoes, fresh fruit and whole grain rolls. And of course the hard boiled eggs!

Planning ahead, I brought a change of clothes along, and after the meal changed into a pair of sweat pants and sweat shirt. I suggested we all go for an after dinner walk, and everyone agreed! Photos below include my daughter, husband, and both in-laws. It was great to be back out in the fresh air, and a great way to walk off our calories. ( I did still watch what I ate, and made sure to have small portions) I do confess that I did have a couple of malted milk eggs and jelly beans, but not too many!

Hi Everyone!

I am Farel Hruska and I have been a coach in previous "Bye, Bye Baby Weight" Teams. I am thrilled to be a motivator for this 2010 team, as well. I get that making change is hard, if it was easy everyone would be doing it! However, commiting to this process could be the step you all need. Stay positive and focused. You will make amazing changes and break-throughs!

Peace,

Farel Hruska

Stroller Strides National Fitness Director & Mom of 3 girls