Ahhh the Running!

Well a month has already flown by and I did reach my goal of running 45 miles in 4 weeks! I put in the remaining 2 I needed this morning and ran 2 more just for good measure.

My goals for April will be split. My "official" training for the Madison Half Marathon begins in the middle of the month, but I also have my Physical Training Test for the military towards the end of the month.

A tricky training situation. I need to be increasing distance to prepare for the Marathon, but also do speed training to run 2 miles as quickly as possible. Fun huh?

Thinking about doing some Pilates in there also to tighten up my Mama Belly....that can only help for both things.

Things I look forward to this month:
1) Feeling stronger
2) Losing a few more pounds hopefully
3) Running outside!!! Taking Finn with me in the jogger.
4) Passing my PT test

Happy Monday!

One Spring Day

Now I apologize to those still frozen in this ridiculous cold wintery hell, but by the grace of GOD, we had ONE GLORIOUS DAY of spring this week. And I want to blog about it!

It was fleeting but we grabbed that day and RAN outside. How foreign it was, to take deep, gulping breaths of semi -warm air. (I think it was like 45 out) not warm by any means but warmer. It was the weather that reminded me of being on campus at UW.....the minute it broke 45 the flip flops and tube tops came out.

We are lucky to have a great little park right next door to our condo. I remember thinnking when Nick and I were look at condo's in Hyde Park.....

"Oooh, how nice! How great it will be when I have a little baby, we can just come right here to the park."

The last two years or so have gone by.....I would walk the dog past and see all of the families playing with their kids. And now it's our turn! I look forward to spending lots of time with Finn and all the neighborhood kids playing this spring and summer.

Here are some pictures of Finnegan LOVING the swing. He just loved it. Squeals and giggles!

Easter's Finest

Hope all who read this had a wonderful Easter weekend!

We had a nice time with family and friends and enjoyed a lot of great food.

I ate a LOT......

Oh goodness. I have really been working hard on watching what I eat, as I diligently focus on shedding some poundage for all these races coming up. However, it's a holiday right?! You have to allow yourself SOME treats on a HOLIDAY!

Well I milked that excuse all weekend. Last night I ate my weight in what was probably the BEST ham I've ever tasted, and then Nick's aunt Moe made these DELICIOUS vanilla ice cream balls, rolled in amaretto liquor soaked amaretto cookies.....topped with fudge AND whipped cream. Phew. Needless to say I felt like GARBAGE on the treadmill this morning. My fault, can't even complain.

Finn had a great first Easter. Here a few pictures of him in his Easter duds.

The "SO BIG" trick came to fruition in a major way, just in time to impress all of Finn's great aunts and uncles and cousins. It was nice to spend some time with the Keaty's also. Finn was a little more stand-offish....a little worried about ALL the noise a group that big makes but he was keeping a close eye on all of the kids as they ran around, playing, whooping and hollering and looking for Easter eggs.

We were also so glad to see Nick's Papa, who had recently been in the hospital with a bout of pnemonia....here is a great Four Generations of Keaty's picture.

Have a great week! Will post more later.

Happy Happy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy 10 Month Birthday Finnegan!
Well I must say that I am certainly feeling the "Luck o' The Irish" today. Just as you feel Thankful on Thanksgiving, I feel lucky today to have all the things I have in my life. My family, friends, my career, my health, just everything!
Here is a 10 month update!

Finnegan Eats:

More real food now! He is enjoying more solid foods in just about every category, we are working on adding something new as often as possible. New on the menu this week, pasta and cheese! Two of MY favorite foods to be sure. It fun to watch him use his two little teeth to mash everything up. Still no new teeth on the scene from that terrible week or two we had.

Finnegan Speaks:

Just this morning my little motor mouth was certainly telling me all about the ways of the world, hard to completely understand WHAT ways, um, exactly he was speaking of, but all in all his collection of sounds has grown a lot. He is now making ga, ca, cl, ba sounds. Still lots of da da's. Still NO MAMA! We are still reading to him like MAD, and hoping he continues to enjoy books as much as we both do.

Finnegan Sleeps:

Still very well! This morning when I came home from the gym at 7:30 he was still fast asleep, on his tummy! That was a first. I think he must have stirred awake a little earlier and rolled on to his belly and then just fell asleep that way. He is enjoying rolling around his crib and sleeping the night away.

Finnegan Moves:

Is he crawling yet? A common question asked of us these days, and the answer is still NO....the poor kid just has the darndest time. He is doing much better, pulling up to all fours, but the minute he tries to push forward, he pushes BACKwards on the hard slippery floors. My friends have assured me he'll figure it out, but I think it may be a quick transition into walking. When holding him these days he will do the "back arch of death" where he throws his body weight nearly out of your arms if you're not paying attention. So the interest in "not being in your arms" anymore is high....he just needs to learn how to GO! He has got the leg power!

Finnegan Looks:
Still like his Daddy. This update may be futile as he seems to just continue to look so much like Nick. The Toyota guy that changed our oil this month said to Nick, "Well you certainly can't question whether this one is yours!" Finn looks older to me! He has all this hair, his hands are bigger, his feet are bigger...he's longer. He's starting to feel "not so much like a BABY!" It kind of wigs me out. I don't know if it's his 1 year birthday so fast approaching...but it's hard to believe how much he's grown.

Run Run Run

You may have noticed that there is a new side bar featuring My Running Goals. And you may have also noticed that I have not been reaching my goals. :-( Booooo....

Well if you know me at all, you know that I am a person that sets her mind something, and then does it, especially when there is a GOAL involved. But with the passing of my grandfather, a killer cold, a teething baby, AND THE WINTER FROM HELL...life just gets in the way. But, I am bound and determined to make my goal this month.

I have loved running for a long time. Beginning my junior year of high school as a way to get in shape for Army basic training, it is something I have always done from that point on. It's nice to stop and think about all of the different places I have run.
Running in Viroqua, on the cross country team, through the town and making a second loop through to get the miles in.
Running in Madison, on the small running path behind our first apartment, the dreaded PT course by the armory, through the arboretum, on the smelly and terrible treadmill at the Nat.
Running now in Chicago, by the lake, through Hyde Park.

Taking a break from running while I was pregnant was weird, and I missed it. The long road to feeling "back in shape" after Finn being born has felt, LONG. But I'm feeling stronger, every run. Doing up to 5 miles at a time now at a pretty decent clip! I still have the feeling that my "butt is chasing me", but hey, that's how it goes. :-)

It has always been a goal of mine to run a full marathon, I'm turning 30 this year and I figured, THIS IS THE YEAR, so I have signed up for the Chicago Marathon this October 12th, 2008!

I have also signed up to run the Madison Half Marathon as well, to seal my fate in training for the full 26.2!

So look for updates on my training and how things are going, and hopefully pictures from me running these races! Feel free to leave comments of support or if you see me lagging behind, motivation! Get your !~@$*&% moving Keaty, also works!

And I couldn't do it alone, I am lucky enough to have lots of close, wonderful friends that are not only great, but athletic also! Here are those special ladies that I will be fortunate to run along side with for some or all of my training for these two races.

Proud of My Husband

Well the man that I share my life with is now and Illinois State Record Breaker!

Nick had a competition this weekend, and not only did he WIN, but he broke the IL State Record, for his weight division (300 lbs) for doing the Barbell Clean & Press at 245 lbs. for 8 reps.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him breaking this record because I wasn't there :-(
But here are some pictures of the happy 1st place Strongman, COMPLETE with his newest "Trophy"/weapon.

All I can say is if someone breaks into our house, they are in serious trouble,
They would first have to get by the sweet but intimidating Wallace, then by Nick, then by Me! The trained warrior who now has access to two swords and this amazing throwing star thingy....