Surfers For Autism at Tybee Island

Thomas got to participate in a SFA event at Tybee Island on Saturday- it was AMAZING! Surfers for Autism is an awesome group who's mission is "to unlock the potential of people with developmental disabilities, support advocacy for autism issues and scientific research. Our focus is to eliminate stigma through public awareness and education and to unite communities through volunteerism" 

Their events are open to kids with all different (dis)abilities, so Thomas and his extra 21st chromosome were in! I cannot tell you how wonderful this group and their volunteers were. From their webpage: At a SFA event, our surfers are provided a safe environment where two to four highly skilled and trained surf instructors carefully guide them into waves. Our surfers and their families are treated like rock stars and enjoy a day filled with a range of activities

They first worked with him on the sand to teach him what to do in the water

Then he paddled out beyond the break to wait for his wave

which he got! He had NO interest in standing, but loved it nonetheless

This smile never left his face the whole time on his board

He'd pull his helpers back in again and again!

Even a couple big wipeouts didn't phase him

Michelle (and the other 2 working with him) were beyond FABULOUS!

Tired but super happy after his group finished

A break for some yummy shaved ice

...and some yogurt ;)

Then it was time to go back in (showing LK how it's done)

Turning some pretty young heads

SURF'S UP DUDES! (with his second group of volunteers)

Finished the day with a tour of Tybee's firetruck 


I missed a scheduled 3 mile run to go to this, but it was worth it x1,000,000! Plus I ran around at the beach after my 2 youngest, that counts for SOMETHING, right? Did 3.5 miles this am. Have been back at it for 3 weeks, seems like it should be getting a little easier... it's not. Anyhow, I will leave you with a 3min. video of the day at Tybee.   



Next event in in St. Augustine in August, then Jacksonville Beach in Sept.... may think about making the drives (Tybee is less than 15 min. from my house, so this one was easy :) )

Darn you Roy Halladay!

For those of you who aren't total baseball nerds like me, Roy Halladay is the reining 2010 National League Cy Young winner (best pitcher), All-Star pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. A HORSE. A STUD. Generally know to be the best conditioned guy in the game of baseball. Cyborg like. (awesome.)


Well, he pitched Monday night in Chicago. It was super hot. And humid. And the invincible indeed WAS vincible. He left the game in the 5th inning with heat exhaustion. HEAT EXHAUSTION.



So if this elite athlete, pitching in the evening, up north in Chicago, could succomb, then what about ME? A 41 year old, overweight housewife and mother in coastal Georgia? What chance do I have? At least this is what went through my mind today as I attempted my run. It was 89 with about 80% humidity. Hot, but I usually like hot. But today, I kept reviewing those darned symptoms- did I feel a little dizzy? So instead of trying to run at least a mile before stopping like I normally do, I took walk breaks. I'd run 1/4 mile, walk a 1/10th. I DID do a little over 3.5 miles (2 miles running was on my training schedule today) and I did feel like a pushed with the heat, however, without Halladay's performance running though my head, I am sure I'd have pushed it more. Damn you Halladay and your sudden mortality, damn you!

I suppose I could have run on the treadmill, but a: not a fan and b: am hoping MAYBE running in this will get me in better condition... I did go in the gym after my run and did some stretching/situps/planks/pushups in the a/c. Oh and picked up my kids from childwatch, ha ha, almost walked out without them. Was in my post workout coma- do y'all get that sometimes? A preview for future my dementia I am sure...

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Extra quotes from Halladay, so you non fans can apprieciate his hard-coreness:

From Sports Illustrated April, 2010:

Halladay controls as much as he can, including his own body. He takes the ball knowing that he has run not one less mile, done not one less repetition of a leg press or worked out for not one day less than what he planned to do. Halladay takes off only two weeks out of the year, in October. When he works out he never allows his heart rate to drop. Instead of resting between sets he jumps on a treadmill or mixes in another exercise. One reason he likes to train before anyone else arrives is that he never has to wait for a piece of equipment.
"Everybody always talks about the workouts," he says, "but I really don't do anything different. I just try to be more consistent and pay more attention to detail. I do it every day. And if it's 15 reps, I do 15. Not 12 or 13." 

 Former Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca:

“He is—by far and nobody comes close—the toughest, toughest individual mentally and the most driven I’ve ever been associated with.”

and finally, from Philly Sports satire site Philly Gameday.com, this, which though in jest, is based on his phenomenal work ethic:

“With the core training, plyometric work, cardio and throwing sessions, it’s really hard to sneak in the additional core training, plyometric work, cardio and throwing that I need,” Roy Halladay said during a quick break to gets some squats in. “But working out all the time is no excuse to skip your workout.”

Oh and the night he came out for the heat, I saw a tweet on Twitter that said: "Watching Roy Halladay tire is like seeing your father cry for the first time"

Truth!

Week 3 of RnR Savannah 1/2 marathon training

...began this morning. Boy running is just hard right now. Like look at my Garmin every 10th of a mile hard, lol. But I am keeping with the training schedule, adding a bit extra mileage, but walking a bit in there.  Gah, I am worried about getting to 13 miles... BUT, I know I can walk that far for sure, so I guess I will just have to see. Today was supposed to be 2 miles, I did 3 total, but only 1.8  running. And I still looked like this:

I was literally dripping sweat

This plan has 4 runs a week, which is new for me, I've never done more than 3. I  think I actually like an extra run in there. Trying to figure out how to get a spin class in as well, but the classes I like are on the same days as my runs and I am not that flexible, ha ha. Right now I am thrilled to be adding some miles and feeling not injured. I was afraid with my almost 3 months of various injuries that I might never get back.

and in other news...


On Friday Leah Kate had her first ballet performance, so cute, ha ha! She did a week long ballet camp (also her first camp ever, week of milestones!) and they put on a little show at the end.

She LOVES her big brother (who has grown like 4 inches this summer!!)

And for posterity, a little movie of the dancing :)




After ballet we met some friends at Bouncing Angels, an indoor inflatable play place- was a great day for it as it torrentially rained all afternoon. The kids all love it and it's good exercise too!

Thomas getting a push down the slide, wheeee!


Happy Monday everyone!! Oh, one other thing I forgot! I've been Diet Coke free for 3 days now! And this morning I did my coffee without sweetener (just a little skim milk). Diet soda/splenda is my crack, so this is a pretty big deal :D

I follow Sarah Stanley on Twitter, she's so inspiring, she gave me the idea to give it up.

Running in Silence

Ran without music this morning. Hadn't ever done that before, wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Was kind of nice listening to the world waking up (was a 6:15 run). Finished week 2 of my RnR 1/2 marathon training with my "long run" I did 3 miles total, ran 1.5.  I am having a LOT of trouble it is SO HARD to run... But I will keep on plugging away. 10.8 miles this week (4 days).

It's Friday, Friday, Friday

Embarrassed to say I've had the Glee version of Rebecca Black's horrid song "Friday" stuck in my head.

I am actually considering it for my ipod. Doubly embarrassed to say I actually already have a few Glee covers on there.  Their version of Amy Winehouse's Valerie is surprisingly pretty awesome...

Anyhow, today was the 3rd run of my first week of training for the Savannah RnR 1/2. Still rocking the 1 mile, ha ha, but as I am in bad shape, it's a challenge. Did 2 miles total (walk .25, run 1, walk .75). Tomorrow is my "long" run of 2 miles.  Also doing pushups/planks/situps daily.

After my run, stretch, etc. made myself a breakfast of plain greek yogurt with berries and a drizzle of honey. I LOVE summer fruit! So do my kids so I always make a huge bowl for sharing.

Going to meet some friends at the beach in a bit- it's pretty overcast, but I must be getting old because I am actually happy about that, as long as it doesn't rain. Just hoping the riptides aren't too bad, yesterday they had 16 rescues at Tybee.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Like a muddy buddy...

But alone and with smoke and bugs instead of fire and mud...

Today's run, again just one mile of running, but was able to run it without stopping.  I am hoping to look back on this in a few months and think "Oh I remember when a mile was hard"...

There are wildfires in southern GA that are making it smoky here. Yesterday it looked like a cloudy day but it was just smoke. Made it a little harder to breathe. Humidity and gnats/greenheads bad too, but feels GREAT to get out there and be able to finally RUN again 

Did 2 miles total, .3 warmup, 1 mile run (around 11min) and .7 walk/cool down. Followed by lots of stretching, pushups/planks/situps.

Going now to Thomas' photo shoot for our DS group's yearly calendar. He's in mood, God bless the photographer, haha!!

Celebrating MY independence!

...from injury, yay!

 (Also, of course the REAL 4th of July, Happy Birthday to the USA!!)



Started my 18 week training program for the Savannah Rock and Roll Half Marathon . It starts off super slow, which is great because the last time I really ran was at least 2 months and 10 pounds ago. It said to run one mile.

ha ha, felt like it was like this ;)

I am sure most of you could run a mile before your real workout, but for me to run a mile without stopping right now was pretty huge. I also walked a 1/2 mile before and after the mile run for a total of 2 miles in 26 min. (my running part was about 11 min).


Stretched a TON afterward, plus foam rolled. Also did 20 pushups, 50 situps and 2 x 45 sec. plank.  Hey, it's a start, ha ha.

Zinnias from my garden. Have nothing to do with this post, but aren't they pretty?

This program has 4 runs a week- MWF and a long run on Sat. This week's "long run" is 2 miles :D

Note to self

 

Must always keep this in mind. Keep eye on the goal, but do the work to get there.There are so many "how to run a *fill in the blank* in x amount of weeks" articles out there, I know I sometimes forget the actual miles that need to be run to get you there. Training officially begins in 6 days!! Been walking and spinning a lot getting me ready though!

(poster from http://www.etsy.com/listing/76359673/vintage-ted-key-positive-attitude-poster)

Can't for the life of me figure out how to put this on my actual blog page

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Maybe that is a sign I should NOT be twittering... Anyhow, I am attempting it.  Mostly so I can practice before really getting into it with the Down syndrome group (I maintain the FB page for us, and want to start twitter, but need to work out some kinks I think...)




Here is the Lowcountry Down Syndrome Society (LDSS)'s Twitter page though, you can help me maybe, lol?


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Getting the mojo back- TWO exciting things today!!

So I've been in a huge slump lately... minimal workouts, eating horribly, the whole deal. Feeling sorry for myself, etc. etc. BUT in the past couple weeks, I've been feeling more and more like the old me. Eating a bit better (need to do a LOT better, but eh...), back to the gym, etc.  Still not really running though. Some huge mental block going on... until today (no I didn't actually run, ha ha).

 

Got an email this afternoon telling me it was time to start training for the R and R half... Wait, WHAT? I am not behind?? You mean the beginner program actually doesn't start until July 3rd (18 weeks)?? SIGN. ME. UP.!! Bought their training program. 4 days a week, starts super easy, PERFECT.

Then a few hours later I got an e-mail from the Lowcountry Down syndrome Society (our local group) -- we are going to be an OFFICIAL CHARITY FOR THE MARATHON!!!

What better motivation do I need than to run for my own SON!!!

More details to follow for my local friends who might want to run with us! YAAAAY!!

Spin class in the am :D

I am still alive

But it was touch and go for a while. Hurt my back right after coming back from hurting my pirformis, and just had to take a break. I am *this* close to being back to my blogging, working out self.  Took spin yesterday, finally. Will have more in the coming week I promise...

Ah the age old spin question

Soooo thirsty and dry, but will I throw up if I drink my water?

Man, I am so glad to be back spinning. Didn't realize how much I missed it!! Took a class Monday and today.  Class today was perfect- just when I would get to the point of can't go another second/dizzy/want to throw up, she'd pull it back for 10 seconds or so, then POW, back at full force. Over and over again. AWESOME!!


Running is still going, just isn't fun right now...

Wordless Wednesday: What we did last week at Grammy's House (south Florida)

(plus a LOT more, including a few runs for me :) )