Fitness Challenge: Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

And guess who is doing it? Mami is...of course!

Yep! Every year she signs up for some sort of fitness challenge. Big or small, it doesn't matter, but something she can work towards. Remember I used to run with her too!

Now that we are no longer living in a city we don't walk AT ALL, and we have to drive everywhere...our legs have been getting cramped because of lack of movement. Mami says the suburbs can "be toxic like that".

Last year at this time she was one of the very fortunate bloggers to join the Nestle Pure Life team along with fellow blogger Mirka from All Baby Advice to train and run the London Marathon.

She took the job very seriously and with the help of papi, who is a runner too, she made sure she was fully prepared to make it to the finish line in one piece.

We are all going to cheer mami and papi on!

And not only did she make it one piece, but in true social media fashion, mami vlogged, tweeted and even posted updates on Facebook along the way. Yep! You can catch mami and Mirka at a few spots along the way... mile 4, mile 22 and the finish.

So this year, she (and papi) have registered to run the Washington DC Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in March. She says thirteen miles is more realistic than training for a the full 26.2 miles...yeah, that's a looooong way to run.

So for the next two months you will see a few updates here and there on her training. You know how much she loves to talk about running. Let's hope she doesn't sprain an ankle or hurt her knees.

If you are in the area, there is still time to register. And if you do, let us know...mami would love to meet other running mamas.

Anyone else taking up a fitness challenge? Tell us what you are doing!

I'm a runner too!

You know that mami and papi like to run. 

Mami did the London Marathon in April and papi is training for the Marine Corps Marathon in October. 

Let's just say there are A LOT of sweaty clothes and smelly socks in our flat! Phewwwww!

But now I get to run too! Once a week we all get up early, I put on my super fast running trainers and mami, papi and I are out the door. 

For the first part of the run I am in my  running buggy. I am in charge of holding mami's water bottle and encourage her by saying "muy bien mami" as she runs next to me. She needs our support because she likes to complain that she is "tired" but we don't listen to her and papi never lets her walk. 

And of course, papi runs too, but he's pushing the buggy. 

We cross through my favourite park, then along the main road that takes us to the river, we go on a very windy road, up a few hills then we loop back through the park and then it's MY turn!

Yep! I get to run with mami and papi all the way home. I have been waiting for this day for so long!

We start near the gate and papi says "Ready, set go!" and we are off. Mami says not to start too fast because then you get tired too soon, but I don't listen.

Last week I fell on my face running down the hill and it hurt! So today I held papi's hand and we walked down. But as soon as we made it down, we started running again.

Running is lots of fun and I think I am pretty fast. This way we get to spend time together and get some exercise.

What sorts of fun things do you do to keep healthy?

P.S. Do you think I could run the marathon with papi?

Mami's turkey trot!

Not much to say about Thanksgiving. I've personally never experienced it, but I have heard mami and papi talk about it.

It involves eating lots of food including a turkey, some mashed potatoes, different types of pies, cranberries and the list goes on and on.

Come to think of it, those are some pretty interesting combinations of food! (we really should have Thanksgiving, I will have a word with papi to see if he can make something this weekend).

But the real reason I'm here is because, today, on turkey day, mami went for a run!

I called it "mami's turkey trot" in honour of the Thanksgiving 5K runs she use to do when she still lived in the US.

In fact, today is mami's 7 year running anniversary! On this very day for Thanksgiving 2003 mami did a 5K run for the first time ever. She says she "nearly fainted" but she did it!
So you can see why today was the perfect day to get back to it.

It may be cold outside, but she says it is "perfect running weather."

Out of commission

It started out as a very happy day. Mami was finally doing the Adidas Women's 5K Challenge for Arthritis Research UK and then we were going to my friend's birthday party.

Just another Sunday. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Until mami fell, sprained her ankle and scraped her leg at the 4k mark.

After that, the day just got worse for both of us.

Let me explain....although she continued running and finished in record time of 32 minutes (although without the fall she was set to come in under 30 minutes) she still had pain in her ankle.

Mummy to 5K!

Caroline from Family Vie, mami, Mirka from All Baby Advice and Nova from Cherised by Me

She walked it off, we took pictures with the other runners and my blogging friends and we came home.

She fell hard!

Still smiling - the worse was yet to come. For both of us!

To give mami a break, daddy and I went to the park. Then my bad day began.

I was just walking along, picking up sticks and rocks when I felt something on my cheek. I tried to get it off but it stayed there. It was also moving and then OUCH!!!!  I felt a sharp pain on my face and I cried out for daddy! OUCH OUCH OUCH!!!! Ohhhhh, it hurt!!!!

Daddy rushed over and then quickly picked me up and hugged me. My cheek was burning and the pain was still there. Daddy wiped away my tears and said it was gone now. I had been stung by something called a wasp. I had never had pain like that before. I cried and hugged daddy and he just held me close.

Then we came home to find mami crying because her ankle hurt. She looked at me and daddy and said "I can't walk. The pain is getting worse. I am going to have to go to the A&E".

Uh oh! I thought. I've been there and I know they make you wait for a very. long. time. Daddy didn't know what to do or who to leave me with. But mami called Auntie Lis and she came over to help mami to the doctor.

Ouch!

After my dinner, my bath and my bedtime, I heard mami come back home. I was already in bed, but I heard the door shut. She came home with a special wrap around ther ankle.

The doctor said she has a sprained ankle, cannot walk for 3 days, and chances are she may not be able to run the Royal Park Half Marathon in October. She knows she has to rest, but she is very upset about not doing the marathon. Poor mami! She has been training very hard for that race.

We both had a bad day and we just want the pain to go away. Daddy has been helping her around the house, and from what I saw, she won't be able to play with me. Or chase me. Or come after me when I play behind the TV. Hmm? This could get interesting!

I will keep you posted on her progress.

Right now she has her leg up on pillows and a bag of peas on it! Silly mami.

Mami's very VERY long run

The long run

Mami always manages to get herself into trouble, and last Sunday daddy and I thought she had gotten lost on her group run! He kept going up to look out the window and was very close to putting me in the buggy to go and find her.

Early that morning, she had filled her new Swiggies, or Swigglets as daddy called them (they are water bottles that go on your wrists, so cool!) and she was gone.

Picture: ARUK

In the meantime Daddy and I went to the park. We played, had a snack, I had a nap and even after all that, mami was still not back. She was gone for a very VERY long time! And that’s why daddy and I were worried.

Eventually she came home and her face was really red, her hair was wet and she didn't smell very good.  Daddy helped her over to the sofa and she just fell over.

“How was the run?” daddy asked a bit scared.

Mami looked at him, and said “I ran with the group for exactly 10 minutes! Their definition of slow is not the same as mine! And it was much more than 6 miles!"

But I was proud of mami. Remember she is running the Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge on behalf of Arthritis Research UK, so she can’t give up now. But daddy said this was the first time she was running more than 5 miles, so it was harder for her.

Her motivation for running: Arthritis Research UK


This week, mami and I learned about how juvenile idiopathic arthritis is diagnosed. Mami read that juvenile idiopathic arthritis is actually difficult to detect and there's no single test that can confirm the diagnosis.

Doctors base their diagnosis on what mamas and daddies tell them, what they find by examining little ones, and on tests they carry out to rule out other possible illnesses.

Usually they do blood test and even eye tests. Children with JIA have a higher chance of having inflammation to their eyes, and if a doctor doesn't help you, can lead to blindness. That means you can't see. We don't want that to happen to anyone.

So, mami had better keep running and raising funds.You can visit her Just Giving page to donate too!

Doing it all over again!

In other news, we are all going for a family run today. After mami’s long run by herself, she would rather go slow but in good company. Can’t wait because I love zooming down the hills!

Mami and I are going to do another post about the best running gear, including the Swiggies so come back for that!

Happy running!

Running Mamas

 
Calling all Running Mamas!

Running? Training for a big race? Just getting started? Need inspiration?

Then join in!

Here is what you have to do:

• Say to yourself "I will run"
• Then get out there!
• Get someone to take a picture of you running - This is a must!

Then email mami the picture, and tell us: 

• Why you are running? (it can be anything you want)
• What you like about running (you can think of one good thing to say!)
• Any other funny story about your running and fitness

I will feature two stories each week. First two entries need to be with me by Friday the 13th of August. 

Can't wait to see you!

bye bye, 

Mami runs. Part two

My mami is running. And not just after me!

Let me explain. First she is going to run a 5k (or 3.2 miles) in Hyde Park in September and then a half marathon (13 miles) in October.

If memory serves me right, I have seen her run before...but that was back in my baby days. I’m a big boy now!

The excuses

“Shouldn’t you be training for the Royal Parks Half Marathon?” daddy asked mami as she was a about to eat another chocolate reindeer she had in the fridge.

“Arrrrg, yes! I know, but I can’t run now, I’m tired!”

“Well, you have to start soon, otherwise it will be painful”

“Ok! OK! I’ll start this week, I’m just not motivated” and ate the chocolate.

The miracle

Then on Sunday, it happened. Mami went for a run. And not just her, but daddy and I too! I cheered her on from the buggy and held her water bottle. When she needed some I would hand it over to her.

The challenge

What pushed mami out the door? A very nice lady from Arthritis Research UK had contacted mami and me that week and said she had seen my blog. She asked if mami would run the Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge on their behalf to let other people know more about juvenile ar-thri-tis.

I really don’t know what that means, and it was really difficult to spell (I cut and paste it!). But after listening mami talk to daddy, I can tell you a little more about it.

Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis or JIA is a group of illnesses that share similar symptoms. Idiopathic arthritis is arthritis with no known cause and, just as in adult arthritis; it causes inflammation, pain and swelling in the joints. Ouch!

It is very sad because 1 in 1,000 children in the UK hurt from this and can begin at any age and is more common in girls. But the good news is that JIA doesn't turn into the adult kind of arthritis. There is more information, but I didn’t understand it all.

I will try to blog about her training each week and let you know more information on juvenile arthritis as I learn more along the way.

Mummy to 5K

Oh, and its not just mami running! She was able to get some of my blogging friends out and running too! They started the “Mummy to 5K” hash tag on twitter and Rachael @karamina made a pretty badge for everyone to put on their blogs. I put one up for mami. See it on the side?

Each day other mamas are joining in on the challenge. So far, I see that: @cafebebe @karamina @kahanka @climbingtikes @jennypaulin @ngowers and mami @verybusymama are all set to run! If you want to join in, just click on the Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge Link and register and leave your link below!

And daddy (who is a runner too) says don’t forget to get a good pair of trainers – otherwise it will hurt!

Happy running!

Bye bye!

Mummy's got the blues

For the past week and half, mami has not gone for her usual afternoon runs, long walks by the river with me, or even attended Chiswick Bootcamp on Saturday mornings (which she never misses).

I've heard her tell daddy that she "is tired" has "lots of work" and is "not feeling well". I'm sure that is all true, but I know that look - mami is sad! I've heard her cry when talking to Grandma D on the phone, then quickly wiping her tears when daddy walks by. I notice it happens every once in a while, but I suppose that is normal when she has so many things going on at the same time!

Frankly, I don't know how she does it, but she is very organised and that helps keep her sane (her words not mine!) She has said that all mummies get sad, but the key is to have a great group of friends you can talk to, get outside, exercise and most importantly, get help if you feel its too much.

These feelings of being sad run in the family and she wants to make sure it doesn't go any further. Its difficult for her to talk about - but after discussing it with daddy she felt much better. Today she woke up in a much better mood - she was even singing and helping daddy with breakfast. I heard her whisper that she is getting "back on track" and quickly kissed daddy in the kitchen.

I can't wait to see her when she comes back from her bootcamp session - she always ends up muddy and sweaty, but I can see the big smile on her face after a good workout. Right now she is looking for a running partner to train with for the Royal Parks Half Marathon in October.

I love mami the best when she is happy - so please get in touch!

P.S. See how beautiful mami looks when she smiles?