Hanging with the Big Cheese

I can’t believe the little baby that made me a mama is 5 years old. For some reason I’ve been emotional about this milestone. I’ve learned so much in the past 5 years about patience, humility, love and selflessness.  In many ways I’m a completely different person. I’m thankful for all parenthood has taught me, but I can’t help but look back with regret over my many short comings. I can’t get these past 5 years back. I know I tried hard, but it’s easy for me to wonder if I could have, should have, tried harder.

I know I need to put the negative thoughts to rest and focus on the future, and how I can continue to grow as a person and parent, but sometimes it is hard for me to not beat myself up. Just look at this cute little guy!

 

  His birthday just happened to fall on the last day of school. His class went on a field trip to a local pizza place and then had a police officer come and visit them. Basically 5 year old heaven.

 Dinner at the Brick Oven. They gave him a man sized portion of pasta and he was happy about it!

 Lollipop sundaes all the way around! Who knew that a sucker makes the perfect utensil for eating a sundae?!

  

He requested a visit to Chuck E Cheese's, so we ended a darn near perfect day with the Big Cheese himself.

 

Today's Workout:

Lower body weights - 3x15

Leg press machine- normal squats, sissy, sumo and calf raises

One leg hops using the suspension straps

Frog jumps using the suspension straps (these were so hard!)

Hamstring leg curls with ball

Leg lifts- outer and inner thighs

Bicycle crunches

V-ups

3 mile run

It was a beautiful morning to be out running around.

What was your most memorable birthday as a kid?

Homemade cupcakes or store bought?

Name one thing you did today that made you feel happy?

My PT is a magician

I got to the gym this morning extra determined to get a great workout in, even if I couldn't run.  I focused on my abs and pushed myself on the spin bike. I was able to leave sweaty and tired. Thanks to an amazing friend watching my boys last minute, I was able to see my Physical Therapist this morning. I left the appointment with new hope that I'll be able to run all of the races I have planned over the next 7 weeks.

Check out this sexy tape job I got at PT. Could they at least use pink tape or something? I'm going to request that tomorrow when I go back. :)

 I have the most supportive kids. They make sure I'm not sloughing on my stretches and core work.

 And apparently I'm celebrating my birthday all week long, because the yummy food just keeps coming. My sweet mother-in-law made me brownies with frosting and Cadbury Mini Eggs on top. She knows me well.

 Dinner tonight was Terryiaki chicken meatball lettuce wraps. Costco was sampling the meatballs on Saturday, and the sweet old sample lady totally convinced me that I HAD to buy a package. Luckily I liked them just as much tonight as I did on Saturday.

 

Do you feel obligated to buy the products you sample?

Brownies or cake?

What was for dinner tonight?

I choose happy.

Yesterday was my birthday and I have had quite the amazing weekend! Date with my hubby, horse ride, all my favorite treats and possibly the best birthday presents I've ever received! Here's my day in pictures:

I was able to start my day off with an 11.11 mile run with the lovely Jocelyn. (More on this later)

My friend Jenna made me this medal and bib holder. Isn't it just perfect!!

 This is the current status of my medals, so I NEEDED this. :)

 When I got out of my ice bath, I was greeted by Kevin, the boys and these delicious cinnamon rolls from Shirley's Bakery.

 Cory picks out my card every year. This is my second favorite one ever. (Last year's CARD still holds a special place in my heart.)

 Our friend Bryce the Cowboy let us ride this little rescue mare named Cherry. She didn't have a straight leg on her, but she was such a little sweetie.

 My sweet sister-in-law brought me my favorites: cookies, PowerCrunch bars Nuun and Sports Beans. I also bought myself a new pair of Pro Compression socks. Runner's heaven right there my friends.

 Jocelyn delivered this amazing Magelby's chocolate cake. (I told you I was feeling the love from everyone!)

 Date night with my main man was so fun. After dinner we drove up the canyon and to a few of my favorite spots.

 The perfect ending to any birthday... Kazookie from The Chocolate.

Yesterdays run was suppose to be 14 miles, as part of a drop back week. 1 mile in I started having knee pain. I contemplated sitting down and crying my eyes out, but dug deep and decided that for my birthday I wanted to run at least 6 miles even if they hurt. The pain turned from sharp to dull so I went for 11.11 miles, hoping for some good luck. The knee still hurts today and I'm slowly accepting that I'm injured. It hurts to even type those words. I'm going to the physical therapist as soon as I can get in. I'm being a good girl and RICEing the heck out of it. I could be all down and depressed about it, but I have too many good things going on in my life to whine about this. My plan is to rest it for a couple of days, try to run on Wednesday or Thursday and decide if I can swing pacing the Alpine Half on Saturday or not.