My first client

Last night, in an effort to tire our wild beast out before bedtime, we turned her loose on the little park next to our house.  First, she happily played with her bucket, organizing woodchips.  

It was a beautiful night.  Not too cold, and it smelled lovely.  I adore Fall!  

Eventually, she decided that she wanted to "wun".  :)

Then she made Tyler run with her:

Looks like I may have my first client!  Maybe I can coach this wee runner into the first truly fast Nelso/en.  ;)

My little sidekick "helped" me run some errands yesterday, too.  At one point, she was mad at me for not letting her change her shoes while driving (two-year-olds!).  I tried to distract her by taking her picture, but this was as good as it got:

A trip to the "cookie store" (Fred Meyer) cheered her up, and I caught some sweet pics of her while we got gas, or "rahr nums" (car food -- her word for car is the sound she thinks cars make).

And while hanging outside with a lot of our neighbors last night (it turned into a really fun chance to get to know each other and joke around!), I caught this fantastic photo of my Maddie.  She is such a gorgeous girl!  

Today, Tyler took a mental health day and is staying home from work.  I am so grateful!  Although, it made me even more convinced that I am supremely boring...my first thought, when he said he was staying home, was, "Oh, good!  Now I can get some chores done without worrying about Tess!"  I think I need to work on livening things up around here...  :)  

Thanks for reading!  Have a wonderful day!  

Powering Through

I did NOT want to wake up this morning.  My alarm interrupted a wonderfully deep sleep and a really good dream (that I don't remember, dangit!).  I lay there for a few minutes, trying to come up with the perfect reason for why I couldn't go running.  Why staying in bed was actually the right thing for me to do.  I muttered a few curse words.  But I knew that I would be far happier if I went running.  And I love beginning my day with a major accomplishment.  For me, that results in more good choices (usually) and a healthy feeling of pride.  It becomes a powerful weapon in my fight against my propensity to doubt my self-worth and think negatively about myself.    

About to head out the door, and still not very happy about running.  Doesn't it look like there's a goose egg on the top of my head?  Like I'm a cartoon character that just got hit.  :)  

After a quick one-minute walking "warm-up" (it was pretty cold outside!), I started running.  Within 30 seconds I was so, so, so happy that I decided to run.  It was spectacularly gorgeous outside and I felt happy and light.  The stars were bright and crisp, and I ran under The Big Dipper and Orion (and other constellations that I can't name).  My iPod decided that it would immediately play my very favorite songs and I felt like I could run forever.  Running felt easy and natural, which isn't usually the case.  By the time I came home (4.5 miles later), I felt like this:

After stretching and talking for a bit with Tyler and Maia, I decided to do some planks.  They make me feel like this:

After my first 100-second plank (with toe taps).  

Mid-plank.  You can't tell, but Maia was really making me laugh, which was fun, but made planking much harder.  So, I both curse her and thank her.  :)

My sweet plank-timer.  Maia has to get up at 6 to be ready to catch the bus at 6:55.  She is a true morning person, though, and usually moves through her morning with a smile.  Lucky me since she's my first teenager!  Maddie is another story when it comes to waking up...lots of growling.  :)  

Enjoy your day!  Choose to do something that will bring you real, lasting happiness.  You won't regret it!  

Lately...

On Friday, I went to Body Pump at the gym, and then I ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill.  A couple of minutes into my run, I went to adjust my ponytail and my hair tie broke!  Argh!  I cannot stand the feeling of exercising with my hair down.  Luckily, my headband saved me from a complete descent into fury, and I finished my run.  Curses on my super-thick, hair tie-destoying hair!  

At this point, you're probably thinking, "Whoa.  What did Jess do in her previous life to deserve these kinds of trials?!?!  I cannot fathom how she survives this kind of pain!"  Don't worry, though.  I'm tough.  And I will not be bested by a hair tie!  ;)

On Saturday, we were able to go to Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, about an hour's drive southeast of here.  Our friends, the Carrigans, were visiting from Portland, and they joined us.  It was actually Tyler's company's summer picnic, so we weren't able to spend a lot of time with the Carrigans, but it was a fantastic adventure, and fun was had by all.  Phew!  

The drive there was gorgeous and I caught this quick pic of Clear Lake with Mt. Rainier in the distance:

After a quick stop at the potties, we were in!

Sweet Nick and Tess, anxious to see animals!

They have an epic playground there, and Tess was especially thrilled to be able to walk barefoot in the "wada".  

Tess in a beaver dam-ish replica.

Tess learned how to use a water pump...

...and climb a cargo net ladder inside a massive tree.  

Tess and Maddie inside a cargo net tunnel.

Wading in the stream...

After playing at the playground for awhile, and eating a yummy catered lunch, we hopped on a guided tram tour where we saw LOTS of animals.  Some of them were literally inches from us, right outside the tram.  It was pretty amazing.  

The view from where you boarded the tram.  So tranquil and beautiful!  In the distance, on the shore of the lake, is a herd of bison.

Tess sees a bighorn sheep!

Bison (left) and ducks.

Maia helping Tess to get a better look at a critter.

Tess loved seeing a family of "moot"!  :)

My favorite animals that we saw were the bison.  The little calves were so cute!

Snuggling with "Mana".  She spent most of the tram ride going from one big sister to the other.  

And a few scenes from my life lately:

Tess loves to "help" Mama in the kitchen.  

Playing cars with Tess.  She LOVES cars and is amassing quite the collection.  

Today's workout was on my stationary bike up in my bedroom.  Thank goodness for a pretty view out my window, and good shows to watch on the iPad.  

Thanks for reading!  

First Step...

For a few years now, I've thought about becoming a personal trainer/running coach.  It seemed like a perfect career choice for me: I'm passionate about running and exercise, I would get to set my own hours (perfect for a stay-at-home mom), it would help me to stick to my own athletic goals, and I love the idea of helping people set and reach their own athletic goals.  Plus, I'm bossy and controlling, and I'd get paid to tell people what to do.  Sweet.  ;)  

But...I always convinced myself that I wasn't "right" for the job.  I needed to be skinnier, stronger, faster, cooler (haha), etc.  No one would want someone as imperfect as me to be their trainer.  

My therapist, Lillie, had this to say about that: if she were to ever get into running, she would rather have a more average, "normal" person (like me) as her coach, rather than a specimen of physical perfection.  She said she'd find that much less intimidating.  And I think most people, especially beginners, would feel the same way.  I think it would be easier for people to believe that I could relate to their struggles with their insecurities.  Now, obviously, specimens of physical perfection can still be excellent, relatable trainers/coaches, but what I was perceiving as a weakness in myself could actually be a strength in my coaching, rather than a detriment.  My insecurities were not legitimate reasons to not pursue coaching.     

Another thing Lillie recently said had a powerful impact on me.  As I told her how I was feeling about my life lately, she said that while I certainly still battle depression and anxiety, it sounds like my life isn't very fulfilling for me, independent of my illnesses.  And she's right.  I am very blessed, but I do not find very much fulfillment in staying home and raising babies.  I'm just not that kind of woman.  And that's okay.  I'm done feeling guilty about that aspect of my personality!  Lillie suggested that I start dreaming.  What could I pursue that was for me?  What could I do that would help me to feel fulfilled, and as a result, be a happier, better mom?  I'm still working on what a fulfilled life, for me, would look like, but the first thing I thought of was becoming a trainer/coach.  

First, I reached out to a friend of mine that is a personal trainer.  She told me about her experience, and then graciously put me in touch with a friend of hers that has been a running coach for many years.  That lovely lady gave me lots of good information and then informed me that the Road Runners Club of America had just added another coaching certification course to their end-of-the-year schedule, and it was in Seattle!  It felt like a sign!  Those courses fill up quickly, and I'd already missed my one chance for the year, I thought.  But a few clicks (and a big chunk of moolah) later, and I was in!  So, on October 8th and 9th, I will be spending all day with other running nerds, learning about how to coach runners of all abilities.  I'm extremely nervous, but also really excited!  The first thing I needed to do was to become CPR/First Aid certified.  A couple of weeks ago, I completed the necessary course, and got this card as proof:

As silly as it might sound, even just taking the CPR/First Aid course was intimidating to me, so I'm proud of myself for stepping outside of my comfort zone.  It kinda' feels like I'm taking a bit of myself back from the mental illnesses.  This is all stuff the old Jess would've done, and for the most part, I really liked her.  

If anyone's in the market for a newbie running coach, hit me up in about a month, and I'm all yours!  I need some guinea pigs to experiment on as I build up my resume.  :)  

Thanks for reading!

Seasons

It's that time of year again...when all my early-morning runs happen in the dark.  Yuck.  For this morning's four-miler, I wore my reflective vest with a red light attached to the back, and carried my handy-dandy mace, so I felt pretty safe, at least.  I just find running in the dark depressing.  It's so much harder to get up in the dark, too.  Knowing how much better I'll feel if I go running, versus skipping it, is usually the only thing that gets me out the door.  But I did it, so gold star for me!  

Today is the first day of school for Maia and Maddie.  Finally!  This was a rough summer for all of us, I think.  I really, really struggled with my mental illnesses, and my poor girls had to deal with a lot of grumpiness from their mama.  Parenting fail.  Luckily, they love school, so I think this transition will do us all a lot of good.  

Maddie is a fifth-grader!

One more year of middle school for Maia!

Expressing how she really feels about school starting.  :)  

I love these sweet kiddos of mine.  Heavenly Father knew that I wouldn't be capable of handling children that weren't patient, loving, and all-around wonderful, so he sent me the very best.  

On Labor Day, we explored Priest Point Park.  It's a beautiful park in Olympia that we'd never been to.  We'll definitely be going back!  I forgot to take a picture of the playground, but as soon as Tess saw it, she took off running as fast as she could to get to it.  'Twas darling.  

A fun swing...both the above pic and below:

They loved pretending that they were thrilled to ride in the "safe" swing...

Goofy girlies.

Tess is a fan of slides.

Priest Point Park is right on the beach, so we explored the mud flats a bit...

Can you see the Capitol building in the background?

Tess wasn't very interested in taking pictures.  :)

Off to play with Tess!

Thanks for reading!