Michigan Winters!

Michigan Winters are not usually this bad, but alas I love it! SNOW, SNOW and more SNOW!!!! The snow is awesome for skiing which I do, but not for the running. Here is the problem: running in the snow is aggrivating my IT Band and right foot!!! I didn't have this problem last year because the deepest snow I ran in was 2 inches which was lovely for YakTrax. So, I have been relegated to the treadmill for the past month and while my feet and knees thank me my mind is about to explode! I have 9 miles this weekend and I just saw they plowed the bike path. Hopefully, my IT Band and foot will hold up on the pavement. Beacuse my mind really does need the break right now!

Thanks, Astavita!

Just wanted to shout out a quick thanks to the Astavita company and staff for sending out our new seeMOMMYrun team jerseys! They also sent out some additional goodies for us, as well. Can't wait to try out the antioxidant supplements -- they sent along a 90 day supply for us to get race-ready!

Here's a pic of the Astavita Team Jerseys--modeled kindly by my willing three year old! She also put on my running shoes and was ready to go--I think she thought she was a superhero--based on her pose! She proceeded after to run around the house "winning" races and politely requesting I hand over her trophy (And yes, she's still in her pj's--she told me today was a Pajama Day! Frankly, I didn't have the energy to argue about it!)!

How Many Snow Days Can a Mom Take?

It's already February--2008 seems to be whizzing by so far. The first race of our season (at least for part of the team) will be coming up here in a little over a month--seems hard to believe with all this snow! Yesterday I cross-trained by shoveling 8" of snow out of my driveway. It's funny how small the driveway can seem when kids are trying to rollerblade or bicycle around in circles in it, but how massive it seems when shoveling out 8" of wet, heavy snow.

Yesterday also marked the 4th "snow day" the kids had off of school in the past three weeks. This is by far the most days off for weather that I've seen since my kids started going to school--and my oldest is a 4th grader. I realized around 1pm yesterday that my limit sanity-wise is 3 snow days. ;) I love the kiddos, but hokey pete, these homebound days are driving me nuts!

Thankfully I have a treadmill so I can keep up on my training inside while the kids look for something to do. I can't imagine trying to drag all three of 'em out there with me. I love the snow--and I even consider running outside in 20 degree weather to be "perfect" running weather. Over the past few years I've learned a few tricks about how to dress bulk-free but to stay warm, and I can even say that I've run in sub-zero weather with only a chill on my cheekbones. So I admit this year I get a bit jealous of my friends w/ no treadmills at home but who have the ability to carve out some alone time outside. I've been making sure to get the outdoor runs in on the weekend--hopefully that will help shave a little time off of my annual March 5K time.

How is training going for the rest of you? Do you run to run, or run to train? We'd love feedback on these blogs to hear how it's going with other moms. I've been trying to keep up with the other Race Team Blogs--it's nice to read that other moms go through some of the same challenges that I do. Not that I wish "challenges" upon anyone else, but I think you all know what I mean.

Now hit the road, ladies!