GO BETH!!

I just recieved this email from Beth Haider:

Guess what!!! I wanted you to be the first to know-- it took me 45 minutes, but I went 3 miles on the treadmill! I followed your "Moe pain Moe gain" (like that?? Perhaps a new shirt idea?) advice and walked 5 minutes, ran 2.I've never done endurance before. It's one thing to hammer out a quick mile but THIS is totally new to me!!Happy weekend!! :)

WAY TO GO, BETH!

I like that saying!!

MOE PAIN, MOE GAIN!!! Perfect for the back of our T Shirts!!

Reactions to My Email To The World

Tricia Cummings: I can't believe people would say that to you! But I agree it just makes you want to prove to them that you can even more! I wish I could be part of Team Maurine!

Dava Harbertson: Go girl!!!!! This is exactly the motivation I need right now to getmoving!!!! Since the race is on a Sunday, I will not run it with you, but Iwill do the best I can to train anyway. I am the most out of shape I haveEVER been in my life! I like the run:walk idea and then flipping it around.About how fast do you try to make your jog and how fast is your walking paceon the treadmill?

Danielle Kettles:Wow! Good for you Maurine! Liz told me yesterday you guys were doing it, but she said marathon, not half-marathon...you guys are awesome! I'm working on getting up to a 10K currently (am at 5K), but if I get a sudden surge of energy or motivation, I'll join you;-) That's a great goal, and january around here is perfect for running! Degan was going to do the PF Chang's last year, but it falls on a Sunday. Oops, gotta go, being beckoned by my slave master

Cathy Visconti: Don't listen to those naysayers. I don't think you are crazy at all. My MOMS Club has had some members join Chances for Children's team for the past two years run in the PF Chang's Marathon and our members helped the moms with fundraising. Some of the moms who participated have run marathons, some never did any running at all and each one finished the race! I'm proud of you for doing this, and I believe you will finish the race! Good luck and keep training!!

Beth Haider: I am so so proud of you!!!! I will proudly wear and dress my fam in Team Miss Maurine shirts!! :)And I am not committing to anything BUT I'm going to try the jog/walk deal & we'll just see how it goes! :)... Ooh perhaps tomorrow?!Either way, we'll be cheering you right on!Proud of you!

Mellissa Lewis: lol :D I can't believe those people said some of those things... A lot I might say teasingly, tho, to a close friend. I probably better learn to watch it. I'm glad you are someone who is using their inconsiderateness and turning it into energy :D. Congratulations and have fun! We like to do the run in Moab in March, if you can possibly make that one I recommend it, freaking beautiful run!!! The problem with the Half is it doesn't start until 11a and it's really quite miserable, I mean it's only March but we're talking MOAB. So my friend and I are doing the 5 mile run that they conduct in conjunction with the Half. I was originally going for the Half, with some doubters as I'm pushing in about a week, give or take. :) But my friend ran it last year and enlightened me. I'd only run the 5 when I'd gone.ANYWAY, I've heard about the PFChangs one, my fave restaurant, not to be found for five hours around here :P. Good luck and I'll totally be stalking your blog!I'm so glad you have the fire in you to turn that criticism into something positive!

Brooke Cook: You are so awesome for doing this marathon!I have a very dear friend (in Utah) that wasn't a runner at all, but started running marathons, and now is in super great shape!! She loves her new fit life and all the friends she has made in the process. She is an amazing inspiration to me, and now so are you!I wish I was that motivated. Right now I am very huge pregnant and incredably uncomfortable, so the idea of running (or walking for that matter) sounds aweful. Maybe 6 months down the road I will start thinking about joining you in your great goal!Until then, I will be thinking of you and rooting you on from my couch. ;)Love ya! You will do awesome, because I know of what a great and determined hard worker you are! You are amazing!!!

Kim Sanders: Congratulations and good luck!!! I have all the faith in the world that you will do this and do this with gusto!
Go Team Maurine!

Caroline Heward: You are so cool for wanting to do that!! Go you!! Good Luck!! You are a Supper Mom !!

Debbie Stewart: You are so cool! I told you I hate running, but for you I just might consider it.

Heather Houston: I think running a marathon is a great idea!! I have run a couple of 5K's and 10K's and it I liked it. Having a goal is motivating too, you can do it.

Brittany Haretuku: WAY TO GO! YOU ARE SO DETERMINED AND STRONG, YOU WILL DO IT! I AM PROUD OF YOU!

Adrienne Courtney:
Wow, Maurine! I'm so proud of you and can see what a good attitude you have about your goal. I can't believe you have received anything but good support. That is crazy! So, beyond them, I'm amazed by you and hope that I have that drive some day:)

Crystal Byington: WOW! I AM SOOO FLIPPIN PROUD OF YOU LADY!!! I WILL MOST LIKELY CHEER YOU ON CAUSE I DONT HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE TO DO A MARATHON!!! ME BEING HONEST!!! LOL HOWEVER I HAVE BEEN DOING THE ELLIPTICAL FOR ALMOST A MONTH AND TODAY WAS MY FIRST TIME DOING 40 MINS NON STOP ON THE ELLIPTICAL!!!! I HAVE BEEN WATCHING WHAT I EAT AND DRINKING NOTHING BUT WATER!!! I DONT WEIGH MY SELF AT ALL! I DONT HAVE A SCALE! THREW IT OUT!!! I GO BY MY CLOTHES GETTING LOSE AND THEY ARE STARTING TO GET THERE PLUS MY FACE IS THINNING OUT!!! YEA!!!
I AM SO PROUD OF YOU AGAIN LADY I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT!!! I HOPE TO BUMP INTO YOU SOMETIME SOON AND MAYBE WE CAN HANG OUT OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!! YOU ARE A GREAT FRIEND AND I AM THANKFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN MINE AND MY FAMILIES LIVES!!! LOTS OF LOVE *BIG HUGS* CRYSTAL

Alison Fry: That's great! I'm proud of you and believe you can do it. I'll look forward to following your progress.

Alison Stoltman: Yay, Go Team Maurine!!!!I am even more excited now.

Kara Stowell: Good for you Maurine! That is great!

Week Two

Monday I was excited to get back to the gym and try doing a little bit more. I began the day by walking a mile around my neighborhood with Liz! Then I went to the gym, and started by walking at 3.0 for 1 min. Then I broke into a faster jog at 4.5! And I did that for 4 min! So I walked for 1, jogged for 4 until I reached a mile! That only took me 14.3 min to complete! I felt really good! Of course I stretched before and after just to help with the recovery.

Tuesday was my off day, but I stil walked a mile with Liz. Then I went to the gym and stretched really good and did abs.

Wednesday I decided that I needed to warm up better, so after stretching, I got on the bike and did that for 10 minutes at varying levels. Then, I went straight to the treadmill and walked 1 min at 3.5, then tried to jog 5 min at 4.5, but I couldnt. I got to about 4.5 min instead. Plus I felt my shins killing!! Shin splints, I suppose. But I continued and finished out the mile. I did major stretching afterwards> went to the jaqcuzzi, and then iced my shins that night.

Thursday I planned on taking easy, but ended up doing more. I started that morning walking a mile with my friends Liz, Kathy, and Michelle. Then I met my friend Alison at the gym and we ran half a mile together, worked out our arms, and then our abs. It was fun, but my shins were killing me!

Friday I went to the Fitness Support group, which was really nice! Then I went to the gym where I was given some good core excercises to do by my friend Kim who is a personal trainer there. So, thats what I did. They were hard and effective. She also gave me some tips on strengthenin up my shins. she said to walk around on my heels! Im going to do those everyday!

Saturday I met my Fitness Support group at the Mountain Point track to walk a couple of miles together. Since my husband was workng I had to bring all the kids with me. That wouldve been fine because I had the double stroller and the girls had their scooters, but after walking a couple laps, the heat waso bad that it was getting to the kids. They were crying and refusing to walk anymore and asking to go home. I think I was only able to walk/jog about 3 laps before i had to just take them home. Unfortunately, we had plans the rest of the day, and I couldnt get to the gym to do anymore.

This week wasn't as produtive as I'd hoped it would be, but I'd still count it as successul!

My Email To The World

This is the email I sent out to pretty much everyone I know:

For those of you who dont already know, I've made a goal to run a halfmarathon in January!Some of the reactions I have recieved from this statement are as follows:
"Oh, you dont want to do that! You'll never make it!"
"If (so & so) couldn't do it, what makes you think you can?"
"Sure, I'd be proud of you.... If you finish"
"You haven't got the commitment for something like that!"
"But look at you! Marathons aren't for people like you!"
"You sure have your work cut out for you dont you!".... This oneI just heard today.

While these comments have not been very supportive, I must thank eachand every person for saying them, because they've only pushed me towant this more than ever!I've been training for about 2 weeks now, and everytime I'm running onthat treadmill and I feel like I just can't continue on, I imaginethose people standing on the sideline of the race track, and I runharder to push past them. As the Waterboy would say, "I use them asmy tacklin fuel!"

During these past few weeks I've really come to realize who my goodfriends are. They are those who learned about my story, and feltcompelled to join me in my fight to prove them wrong! Friends who arenow training to run this half marathon with me, who otherwise wouldn'tbe! Some of them, I haven't even met yet! They have even said theywant to get T-shirts made that say, "TEAM MAURINE" on them! LOLKnowing the support I have from you few has given me more strength andcommittment than ever, and I hope you know how much your actions meanto me.

Seeing how this Team Maurine fever has grown, I decided I would shareit with everyone I know in hopes you might join with us in this fightto prove those who said we werent' cut out for something like thiswrong! Let's prove the theory of "Strength in Numbers"! If you wantto join with me and the rest of Team Maurine in running a halfmarathon, or even in cheering us on along the sideline, here is theinfo to do so! Come support me in making this fantasy a REALITY!
This is the name of the marathon/half marathon: P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona
This is the name of the group Team Maurine is registered under:GET FIT Challenge
This is when it will be:January 17, 2010
This is the website with all the info:http://arizona.competitor.com
I found this coupon:Register by Aug. 31 and save $10 on the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ RollArizona 1/2 Marathon. Double the distance to 26.2 and receive $10 offentry into the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon, plus get a$10 gift card from P.F. Chang’s so you can do some carbo loadingbefore the race.Enter online code: AZDOUBLE
Attached is the step by step process to register. Your teamregistration code is: GFCMAURINEAnd then at the end you can enter the online code AZDOUBLE for the discount.
As a GFC Team, we are invited to several workshops held the 3rdTuesday of each month. You will receive regular emails from meregarding each upcoming seminar that outline the location, topic andguest speakers. For a full list of these seminars visit our websiteat: http://arizona.competitor.com/getfitchallenge. These are free andopen to you and all your team members! The Seminars are extremelyinformative and cater to beginners therefore any friends on the fencethat hesitate to register should attend!

Also, I went online and get a few tips to start out with training:
your first goal should be to work on interval training on a “jog:walk”basis until you can run 2-3 miles. Here’s how: Alternate between a1-minute jog and 5-minute walk for 3 miles, three times per week. Eachweek, cut 30 seconds from the walk and add it to the jog until you'vereversed the “work:rest” or “jog:walk” interval (i.e. you're jogging 5minutes and walking for one minute).

I started a blogspot to track my progress and post any advice I learnalong the way. Check it out and become a follower!www.marathonmoe.blogspot.com
There you go! I hope you join us in this crazy adventure! Let me knowwhat you think!Maurine

Week One

Monday I officially began training! I decided that, to start off, I needed to know exactly where I was at: my baseline. So I got on the treadmill and began by walking at 3.0 for 1 min to get warmed up. Then I jogged at 4.0 for 3 min, and then back down to 3.0 for 1 min. I continued doing this till I reached 1 mile!! It took me 16 min, but I completed a mile!!

Tuesday I decided was my off day to stretch really good and work on my core. So I did as much stretches as I could think of (still not sure if I'm doing those right), and I did sit ups. I did 25 the regular way, 25 on each side and 25 while lifting my legs up. This was the first time since the C-section that I did abs, so I really couldn't do much more than that.

Wednesday I wanted to see if I could repeat what I did on Monday. So I started off by walking 1 min at 3.0, then I jogged for 3 min at 4.0. But then I had to pee really bad.. (LOL) ... so I stopped to go to the bathroom. This is when the question arised: what if I have to pee while I'm running a marathon?!!! My kegals are not strong enough to hold it in while gravity presses down with each stride... I remember somebody telling me that some hard core marathoners just pee while they're running! That's Nasty! I'm sorry, but if I have to pee, even if there's no bathroom around, I will stop, drop draweres, and pee right on the side of the trail before I let pee run down my legs like that! LOL Anyways... When i came back I started running for 3 min, and walking for 1 min until I got to 16 min. I did it again!!!

Thursday was supposed to be my off day, but I really felt like at least walking. So I called up my neighbor, Kathy, and invited her to come with me walking a mile. We used to do that all the time when the weather was cooler. So, after I dropped the girls off at the bus stop, we walked around the block until we reached a mile. It was nice. Then, I went to the gym and stretched really good and did abs. I still feel like I need to learn more about stretching and core workouts.

Friday was my Fitness Support and Stretch group. Paige Ladd, my good friend of many years, came up with the best idea to start this group that meets weekly at our church where she gives a mini lesson having to do with fitness. And then we talk about our goals, and what we've done and how we can do better next week. We write our goals down, and then we all go stretch together. It's really nice!

Anyways, yesterday was the second meeting, and Paige talked about what's appropriate to wear when youre working out. Then we got the chance to share what we did. I told my story about what it took to get to this point: pretty much everything that's been written in this blog so far. After telling my story, one of the ladies there, my friend Liz, said she was so pumped up that she wanted to run the marathon with me too! She said, "If Maurine can do it, so can I!" It felt good to know I could inspire her!

I told them that, for me, it wasn't about achieving the destination so much as continuing on the journey. For example, what happens if, because of my bad knee (knee surgery) and bad leg (broken in 2007, repaired with a rod and screws) should keep me from running? Or what happens if I still cant afford to pay the entrance fee when January comes? It doesnt matter to me, because the hardest part is training. That's when Paige said, "I want to sponsor you to run this race, so that money wont be an issue." I couldnt believe my ears! She was serious too! I, of course declined. I would hate for something to come up to keep me from running, and she would lose her money... but she insisted that she wanted to do this. I'm still flabergasted at that.

Anyways, after the meeting and stretching, I went to the gym and did the same thing i did on Monday again!

Saturday, today, I woke up early and got the kids ready, loaded Joey and Mikey into the double stroller, which with everything loaded in it probably weighed about 150 lbs, and had the girls bring their scooters, and we went walking! We walked from home, down Knox Rd to 44th, down 44th to Ray, down Ray to 48th, and back down 48th to our apartment! I measured it afterwards, and it ended up being 2.2 miles. But if felt like 4~! LOL

I feel really good about this week. I do need to look for more professional guidance in training so I can reach the endurance level I need. But, I definetly would count this week as a success, because I'm on my way!

TEAM MAURINE!

When I told my friend Alison about the unencouraging reactions I got when I told loved ones about my goal to run a marathon, she decided she was going to train with me!!
YAY!!!

Later that night, she said she was talking to her friend Amy about my story, and Amy decided she wanted to train with me too! She even suggested we make up T-shirts that say "TEAM MAURINE" LOL

I said that would be awesome! As long as they're pink! LOL

I'm Going to Run a Marathon!

So, there I was at my weekly Fitness Support Group, listening to the ladies talk, when one of them mentioned that my friend Eileen was training for a marathon. This stuck with me throughout the day. The next time I saw her, I HAD to ask. She said she was just like me; overweight, so NOT fit, and not active at all when she decided to run a marathon. She trained with a friend and 3 months later completed a half marathon. Then she trained some more and ran 22 miles of a full marathon!! AND....wait for the drum roll... she was about to train for another one!!! Without thinking, the words plopped out of my mouth, "Can I train with you?" Before I could take it back, she said "Of course!" and started to tell me what schedule I needed to stick to in order to do it! It actually sounded do-able! By the end of our conversation, I was so pumped up that I knew there was NO going back! I AM GOING TO RUN A MARATHON!!

Who Am I?

Having 4 kids all under the age of 7 has been a fun and challenging experience. But when the fourth came and we decided we were done, I was left wondering, "What next?" I realized that among the hustle and bustle of having kids, I forgot about me. "I dont know who I am anymore," I said to myself. I remember what the old Maurine was like and what she did, but I had changed since then and my likes weren't the same. Who am I now? When asked what my favorite color was, my first thought went to what my kids liked. When asked what my favorite food was, my mind automatically went to the choices from the McDonalds menu, since that's the only place I go to eat out... you know... cuz that's where the kids can play and be kids. I began to search for my own answers to these questions. I discovered my favorite color really is pink, despite the fact that my girls like pink too. I'm still not sure what my favorite food is since I dont go out to eat anywhere. But among my search I discovered something that I had never realized before. I discovered that I really want to be a runner. WHAT?!!! ME?!!! Yes! I want to be a runner, biker, swimmer, hiker, etc! This is SO far from what the old Maurine wanted, it's almost unbelievable...but it's true. Once I realized what I wanted to become, I had no idea how to get there from here. Little did I know that guidance was on its way...