First Run in 2015

We ran as a family today, the first day of 2015, for a quick 3 miles. It was cold and a reward was play time at a local park. The kids enjoyed the run and it was a great way to start off the new year. 

Healthier Veggie Pizza

Raising four kids means that time is very precious. Between work and all the activities the children have going on, there are definitely nights where I do not feel like cooking. It's just easier to order out. Yes, fast food happens in this house, just not too often.  A popular quick dinner - pizza. 

Even though ordering out is convenient and quick, it can get pricey and comes with a heavy amount of guilt. Therefore, I have tried to tackle two obstacles with one meal: quick dinner AND let the boys actually do the cooking!  Winning, for me!  

Below is a quick and easy recipe for a healthier veggie pizza. Keep in mind it would be better to make your dough and hummus from scratch, but the main point for this meal is ease for me and less guilt for us all. 👍 

INGREDIENTS: 

1 can of Pillsbury crescent dough *

1 container of your favorite hummus (we used original) 

1/3 cup of 3-5 of your favorite vegetables diced small (we used cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, red pepper and celery.  We had enough left over to make a veggie garlic pasta the next night. Another quick meal)* *

DIRECTIONS: 

1. Open the can of Pillsbury crescent Doug and spread it out on a cookie sheet. Make sure to lightly spray the cookie sheet to prevent sticking. Use your fingers to pinch the dough together where it naturally separates to create a one flat rectangular piece

2.  Bake according to package directions

3. Once cool, spread hummus across the baked dough, leaving a slight edge for the crust

4. Sprinkle your vegetables over the top. I personally like to create rows of each type of vegetable. My boys like to combine it all. Either way is good.  

5. Enjoy!   

* one can can make approximately 6 pizza squares. You can use as many cans to create the size pizza you need. 

** dicing is great for little ones to eat, but go ahead and slice, julienne, whatever you like.  

#runDisney 5k - a take on the race from the kids

This is us ready to head out the door to Race! 

GABRIEL (age 11):

Overall, I thought the Avengers 5k was well thought out. The course was fun and there were cool picture spots before, during and after the race. However, we only got to take a picture with Black Widow. The lines were very long. I didn't care how fast we finished, but the lines were just too long to wait in. I want to run the Avengers 5k again next year. The medal was pretty cool and I hope I can take more pictures when I do it again. 

Excited to see the Avengers logo on the course

JACOB (Age 8):

The Avengers race was fun. I wish I could run every Avengers race - 5k, 10k (if they had one) and the half marathon. I need to run more to be ready for longer races. I hope next year I can run a Disney 10k.  

looking good at Mile 2!

The best part of the race was being able to take pictures with Marvel characters, but the lines were so long we only got a picture with Black Widow. I really wanted to take a picture with Hawkeye.  Maybe next year. 

Black Widow photo opp took FOREVER! 

Sleeping Beauty Castle Selfie! 

#Disney2LV Weekend Recap

I’m a runner. Today more than ever do I truly, honestly believe that statement. Close your eyes and think about what makes you the happiest: spending time with your significant other; eating a juicy steak; longs walks on the beach. For me, it’s running. Outside, short or long distances, in whatever weather Mother Nature wants to give to me.

This past weekend, I and few other ‘crazies’ participated in what was dubbed as #Disney2LV: two half marathons, in the same day, in two different States. It’s not that unusual to run a half marathon; it’s become the fastest growing running race distance in recent years. What is unusual is running two in the same day. In different States.

After registering for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas ½ Marathon and later finding out that the Disneyland Inaugural Avengers Half Marathon was set for that morning, I immediately questioned whether running both in the same day was possible for me. I heard of this type of craziness before and thought to give it a go.

Pre Race Dinner with Friends: @CarleeMcDot, @pointonemiles, @pavementrunner, @QwietSt0rm, @a2thej44, @ivieanne, @ruggedwoodsman

Truth is, a lot of folks were going to be doing this so why not join in on the fun? I was excited to toe the line and had the shakeout run the day before to calm the legs. My two oldest sons and I ran the Disneyland Avengers 5k the day before and had a blast.

It's Black Widow. This line was 20 minutes long. 

Hulk. Who else?

Elias with the Iron Man Hand Repulser Pose. He has it down!

Asher admiring his race bling.

Being a Disneyland Half Marathon and heavily themed with Marvel references, it was only fitting to get dressed up as a Marvel character. I guess I’ve been on a dressing up for races kick lately. I purchased a Hulk shirt and Hulk hands to wear while running. Paula had to buy very little and two bullet bracelets was all that she needed for a Black Widow costume. We ran and battled against some fierce Santa Ana winds for the majority of the course but seeing all the different costumes people thought up was a fun part of the 13.1 miles. I especially liked the Ant Man and Wasp couple I saw.

Immediately after finishing we were interviewed by the media team at runDisney. We made the recap video!

Speaking of the course, it was new for runDisney and Disneyland races and I appreciated the change of scenery. I would’ve enjoyed the course a lot more if I wasn’t shielding my eyes from flying debris and garbage. I hate to think that this race will be consistently windy because of the landscape and the time of year it’s held.

We ran the half at a good pace and chose not to take pictures with characters. I know, boo! But since I ran the 5k with the boys earlier, I figured we covered that already. We made good time and had fun running together. We finished and were immediately interviewed by the runDisney media crew and our soundbite made it into the official runDisney recap video. It was a fun well organized race from the expo to the finish and I wouldn’t hesitate on recommending it my fellow running friends especially if you’re a Disney and Marvel fan.

2LV

After getting cleaned up we headed to the nearby Santa Ana airport to catch the flight to Las Vegas. I met up with a few other ‘crazies’, talked running shop and took off. It’s nice to be in similar company with other like minded individuals who share the same passion for running as you do.

It's Andrea Barber. She's a 'crazie' too. 

@pavementrunner workin' the ProCompression booth at the Avengers Half Expo

I must admit that I hate travelling alone because the entire family shares this same passion for running. It’s just nearly impossible for all of us to travel all of the time. I got settled in to the hotel, grabbed a bite to eat and put my feet up for a couple of hours before getting changed for the second Half Marathon of the day.

It was really cold and I wasn’t prepared at all for the temperature outside. Thankfully and luckily I saved the mylar blanket that was given out at the morning Disney race. I used it to keep warm (and during the first mile of the race). I now know that this is the Kentucky Derby of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Series. There were over 40 corrals and tens of thousands of runners!

Packet pickup was made super easy by organized booths for same day pickup. The pre race festival was jam packed and the energy in the air was ultra high. This energy continued on throughout the race. The majority of the race was held on the famous Las Vegas Strip hence the hashtag #StripAtNight. The city is amazing lit up at night and we had the Strip all to ourselves. It’s an honor to run this race and I enjoyed every minute of it. I ran into some friends who were also on their way to completing the same #Disney2LV challenge. Running with friends makes 13.1 miles in cold desert weather somewhat bearable. All I could think about was getting chapstick for my cracked lips and a fat ass cheeseburger as a post race reward dinner.

Cold, tired and hungry. Disney2LV adventure complete!

Upon finishing, I took the obligatory selfie and picked up my post race food and of course my Rock Star Heavy Medal. That’s finishing 5 Rock ‘n’ Roll races in the same calendar year. Shout out to those who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and then some! I was proud of my accomplishment but was kind of sad to celebrate it sans the family. It wouldn’t be too long before I saw them and showed the boys my racebling.

Rock 'n' Roll Heavy Medal no. 5 Rock Star

I slowly made my way back to the hotel, got cleaned up and headed out for that post race reward. 

The weekend now seems like a blur and writing this is bringing back all of those special moments. I ran with the ones I love the most, met new friends and ran with them and accomplished something I wouldn’t think of doing in a thousand years. Yeah, i think I’d consider myself a runner.

RunDisney Wine and Dine in pictures

Packet pick up was a breeze. Hardly any crowds and all the runDisney cast members were extra nice, but I wouldn't expect anything less. Yet, oddly it still took a chunk of time to get our stuff and head back to our hotel. Maybe we got caught up walking the expo for so long. 

Race ready!  It was actually starting to get chilly with the impeding rain. I was glad I packed my lululemon capris; they certainly saved the night. 

Despite the rain, runDisney knows how to host a great race. Music, dancing and plenty of photo opportunities pre-race. 

Just one of many picture stops. Again, despite the rain, there were still plenty of characters out to snap a pic with which made running soaking wet worth it in my mind.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights!

By far the best part of the race besides running with my sister, Marie. 

Soaking wet and cold, but still smiling. Unofficial PR for my sister and I couldn't be prouder! 

The weekend was my Coast to Coast weekend also.  After running the Disneyland Half Marathon in September and Wine and Dine Half Marathon, I received a third medal - Coast to Coast!  

It was a great weekend. My first weekend away from my children. Challenging in that respect but I enjoyed myself and actually am thinking about doing it next year too!  

Getting Personal

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that we are a family of 6, four of which are children.  Our drive and passion to be active and healthy is mostly driven by these four children.  As parents we want to be a good example of health, balance and fun.  And heck, not to toot our own horn, but I think we are doing fairly well.  

Has it been easy, is it easy?  Definitely no!  With four kids, there is always the struggle of time management, spending quality time together, listen to each other's interests and goals, and of course babysitting.  Thankfully, we have an extremely supportive extended family that encourages us and are there to help us when they can.  

However, an even bigger struggle for us as parents and as a family as a whole has been our littlest little guy who is now a one year old.  Asher, is his name and he is a pure delight.  Almost always happy, smiling, but Asher has his challenges.  He spent most of his first year struggling to be "healthy" in many different ways.  He spent time in the hospital, was subjected to many tests, pokes and prods, and shots.  We were on the search for answers as to why our youngest wasn't growing both physically and developmentally.  All that took its toll on our family unit.  We had to rethink what healthy and active meant to us; and we still are rethinking.  It is a process that seems to always be changing.  Our identity as a family was "we all run", "we are all active together", "we are healthy". Asher was not following along those "mottos" we created for ourselves, especially when it came it active events we always participate in as a family.

We try to do as many things together as possible, to spend time as a family.  We try, there are some instances it is not possible, but the effort is there.  When it comes to runDisney events that is where we put the most effort to register all six of us for running events.  The older boys enjoy running the runDisney 5ks and look forward to graduating to the 10ks possibly next year, the four year old loves the kids races and has expressed interest in doing the 5ks (we will see next year) and we participate in the half marathon distances.  Asher is no different and we register him for races too. Yet, we registered him for kids races before we knew his full health/development profile.  When we went to his kids race in August it was difficult and I admit I fought back tears.  It was hard to see babies months younger than him crawl or walk across the finish line.  I had to bounce him across the floor.  Who cares, you might ask?  It is not about caring or comparing.  It is difficult to explain.  It is just the wish for him to be able to have the ability.  As we head into runDisney Avengers race weekend next weekend, I know it will be hard again.  We will once again move him across the finish line.  Will it still be a happy and fun memory?  Of course, but it is just one example of how we are rethinking health and fitness when it comes to Asher.  it is just another instance where we are learning how to be fitfam6.

A huge part of changing has to do with me, as his mom.  I'm going to be honest, I deal with a lot of guilt when I go out for those runs, when I ask for 20 minutes to do yoga, or time to do any training.  At Asher's young age, he is very dependent on me, beyond the typical mommy attachment most children have at his age.  Due to his health issues, and there are plenty, I have become a little thinking machine when it comes to him.  If he has a sniffle in the morning I can already predict what breathing issues he will have by noon, 5pm and 8pm.  I have the amount of food he is suppose to eat each day down to ounces and times  I have multiple techniques to get him to eat the same food he might have refused five times in row, just to get those calories in him daily.  Our refrigerator and two bathrooms are stocked with medicines just for him, some of which he takes almost daily.  I schedule all his therapy appointments and it's not easy since I work full time out of the home.  It is a science and I feel completely tied to him beyond the role as mom.

Therefore, it goes to follow that working out for myself has completely changed.  Figuring out how to workout or run has always been a challenge with children, we include them with our workouts a tremendous amount of time.  Asher has added a new factor and I would be lying if I didn't share that it has changed the amount of time we have as parents to train and workout.  Many nights when myself or both of us are supposed to run or strength train, we skip.  Yes, I said skip, because Asher is having trouble breathing.  When that happens, we sometimes do not workout for 2-3 days because of lack of sleep and it takes that long to get him back to healthy. So again, rethinking, readjusting, evolving our fitfam6.

So, this weekend I am traveling solo to Orlando, Florida to participate in rundisney's Wine and Dine.  I almost backed out multiple times.  I didn't care that I dropped a ton of money to do this race.  I didn't care that it was my Coast to Coast race.  I was in panic mode about everything and anything that had to do with Asher.  How was he going to sleep at night?  Would he refuses to eat?  Would he lose weight?  We CANNOT have him lose weight.  My husband, bless him, encouraged me to go and enjoy myself.  So I got on the plane this morning and spent most of my air time looking at pictures of him and writing this little piece to share a small glimpse into a more personal side of our family.  I am going to have faith that everything will be okay.  I know my husband and extended family are more than capable, but when you have a child who has medical and developmental delays the world feels like it is on your shoulders  and that feeling is very heavy on the mind, body and heart.  

During the "worst" of it all, Asher was and is still happy. 

Asher and his brothers.  They love each other beyond words.  Best friends for life!

Asher Micah today. He has gained weight and nearly 17lbs at 16 months old. He is still learning how to sit up, but doing well and making lots of progress. 

2014 Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Race Recap

A friend one told me that not every "race" is a race. I believe this to be true, especially at this weekend's 2014 Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Halloween Half Marathon. I had no expectations of running this race for a super fast time, just for fun. It has Halloween in the name so what do you expect? The race capped off a Halloween themed weekend in Southern California that began with a trick-or-treat party at Disneyland. 

With this race being a Halloween themed, I decided I had to dress up in costume to run it. I've seen previous years photos online and it looked like so much fun. So about two weeks before the race, I decided on an easy Charlie Brown costume. I only had to buy a shirt since I had a baseball glove and red hat already. My wife thought I was silly for running a half marathon with a baseball glove (which is not easy by the way). Again, not overly concerned with time but more about keeping up with the theme. 

Flat Runner ready for tomorrow.

The expo at the L.A. Convention center was, as always, easy to navigate. The bib and t-shirt pickup were seamless and quick. It's always a good idea to not spend all day at these expos because it does wear you down being on your feet for so long. After a quick stroll visiting the vendors, we made our way to the hotel to unpack and get settled in. The Downtown L.A. area is nice and we strolled around a bit to find coffee and ended up seeing the Start and Finish areas of the race near the Staples Center. The night before a race, after the kids are asleep, I always get my race gear ready for the morning. I take this time to re-read the Final Race Instructions and look at the race course map one last time. 

Race morning, ready to Rock! 

I used the mile to the start line as a warm up jog and saw a few zombies and a ninja turtle making their way to the start area. I knew this was going to be a good time. If you can't already tell, I really enjoy seeing people dressed up in costume. I made my way to my starting corral and saw a few friends. A quick shout out to the #SA2LV crew. These guys and gals know how to get things going. They were dressed up, snapping pics, catching up and having a good time at 6:30 in the morning. Who else but runners would act like this? A couple of friends even ran the both the 5k and Half Marathon! Big ups to @pointonemiles and @pavementrunner and @vegasrunnerguy (and others) who took on this amazing feat! 

So we were off and running down the streets of L.A. The weather was perfect with some cloud cover and cool temps. We ended up running around the L.A. Memorial Coliseum which was really large. What was nice about this race is you get to run opposite of other runners so you are seeing all different kinds of costumes as you proceed along the course. I even hi-fived a couple of other "Charlie Browns" along the way. Very cool and a big boost of encouragement. 

I planned to meet my wife and two youngest kids on a corner around the mile 12 marker and it took a bit longer for me to get there due to some slight calf cramping just before the incline of the mile 9 bridge over the Los Angeles River. Ouch. I should've stopped here at the first sign of trouble (more on this later). I slowed it down a bit and met up with the family and stopped for some hugs and kisses before moving on. I'm very blessed to have such a great support team and it's nice to see beautiful faces at this point in any race. 

Lots of hugs and loves at mile 12.

Since I was at mile 12 at this point, I looked at my watch and I thought i was doing pretty good for not having a time goal. I didn't want to go all out sprinting because i knew my calf was not in a mood to cooperate. Well, it decided to stiffen up at about the 12.6 mile mark and I had to stop and stretch it out. For a loooong time. Sad, yes, but it didn't matter that much at the time because in my mind I knew i wasn't running this for a time goal or trying to beat a PB. Any other day I would've rushed it, cursed, and probably injured myself in the process. Having this care free mindset pre-race made all the difference. I actually smiled and enjoyed runners sprinting towards the finish in their Skeleton, Superhero and Where's Waldo costumes while I was stretching out my calf. I finally felt okay enough to jog through the finish with a smile on my face and the feeling of accomplishment. 

Running with a Baseball glove is tough! It really messes with your gait.

Race Bling!

Another Rock 'n' Roll Race in the books and an awesome way to end a fun Halloween themed weekend! It's crazy, to wake up at the butt crack of dawn, get dressed up in costumes to run 13.1 miles (some even more) and have fun doing it. We're proud to be a part of this running community and it's a very special group of people. 

Recent Accomplishments

We've been a bit busy recently with a couple of races on back to back weekends. First up was the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon Weekend. As with all Rock 'n' Roll events, this one was organized and set up perfectly. I signed up to run the Remix Challenge which only a few select Rock 'n' roll cities get to be a part of. The Challenge is running a 5k on Saturday and running the Half Marathon on Sunday. 

Found a friend and paced him to his goal 5k!

I met a friend at the 5k start and helped pace him to his goal of finishing in under 24 minutes. While i didn't expect to run quickly at this race, it felt good to move my legs fast as a shakeout run for Sunday. 

We attended the expo which was as always, a stress-free bib pickup experience. We didn't spend too much time on our feet since a goal of mine was to help Paula achieve a Personal Best in this half marathon distance. 

This course is fast and flat. A great course to get a PR, if that's what's your after. We felt good going out of the start and the middle miles ended up being our fastest. We are always amazed at what our bodies can do. We train hard, eat right and this helped us meet our goals this day. We've raced more than a handful of times and understand that there are days where you just don't have it. This wasn't one of those days. It feels good to cross that finish line knowing that you helped someone crush their own personal best!

OktoBREWfest 5k

This past weekend we raced again, this time more of a less stressful type of race. The A Change of Pace OktoBREWfest 5k was held on Saturday night and we ran this with our two oldest boys. The event is themed, well organized and best of all, had a start time of 6pm! The medals for this race have been bottle openers the past two years and the designs are very cool. Last year, i ran the 5k with our oldest, Gabriel and he placed third in his age group and this year he repeated his podium finish and placed second! I ran with Jacob and he ended up placing fourth in his age group! You can only imagine how proud we were when the race was over.

We waited around for the awards to become final and while it's a bit weird to receive a pint glass as a reward for an 11 year old, he did receive a sports water bottle also. The pint glass will make a nice addition to my collection.

Bottle opener finisher's medal and award winner pint glass

We stress to the boys how important it is to live an active lifestyle. For them to say they want to race with us makes it all worthwhile. Hey, winning cool prizes and earning fun medals doesn't hurt either.

We love racing together

Two-a-Days→

Mario Fraioli:

The split long run isn’t a full-on replacement for all of your long runs—it’s an effective alternative to doing one huge long run of 2-plus hours every week, where injury risk increases as form breaks down and fueling tends to suffer. QT2 athletes, for example, rarely run longer than 2 1/2 hours in a single session, but might total three hours of running in a single day using the split long run.

Sometimes life forces you to split up long runs. This is very likely in our house. We will try to purposefully incorporate these into our training regimen more often. There are benefits and we hope to see those as our marathon training progresses. 

KaBOOM! Play Together Tour— powered by Disney Parks

This past Wednesday our family participated in the KaBoom! Play Together Tour - powered by Disney Parks event held in Sacramento, CA. It was a fun and well organized event that had us all laughing, playing and having a great time. 

We started by making our very own Family Flag. 

Animal hopscotch is where it's at!

This bigger than life beach ball is much harder to control than it looks.

The Villadelgado boys posing after the fun activities were over.

Keep on Movin' in the Summer Heat

Summer time is great with longer days and warm nights, but also heat.  When you live in sunny California, sometimes the heat can be unbearable. And oh how nice it is to sit inside with air conditioning and perhaps a lemonade or a frozen treat.  The idea of getting out and being active is tiring in itself.  

Yet, there are ways to "beat the heat". There is the obvious ways such as the pool, beach or heck traveling to a cooler destination, but those are not always possible. With 4 kids, packing me up for any of those things may require a nap afterwards.  It's a lot!  Therefore, here are a couple of things that I do with the kids to help keep our bodies moving in the summer, avoid having to many "lazy" days and becoming a zombie in front of television screen.  

"ROLL A POSE" YOGA:  with a square cube, I printed, laminated and velcroed different kid friendly yoga poses to a cube.  The children use their own homemade mats made from towels (that have seen better days) and left over fabric from a past birthday party.  Each child was able to roll the cube to show which yoga pose we would do.  The pose pictures are able to be interchanged, the children are allowed to add their own poses too.  It's a great way to get them involved, motivated and moving!  

Yoga in the shade and baby feet photo bombing the shot. 

Having laughs while keeping cool

It's all about effort, not perfection. 

I think they nailed this one!   Asher needs to work on it though, he forgot to roll over. Lol

WATER BALLOONS: ok this one is self-explanatory. We don't have a pool, but the children love getting wet in the summer. Next best thing that is extremely affordable is water balloons. We bought 2 bags of 100 water balloons each.  Filled up buckets with the balloons and had fun chasing each other, catching balloons, throwing at targets. Moving but also keeping cool. 

Smiles and laughs!  

The boys ready to get wet.  

Run!  Two against one...

The fast Gabe seemed to avoid getting too wet until...

It's so easy to rest in the comfort of air conditioning during the hot days of summer. Yet there is so much fun to be had in the heat and ways to keep cool too!  Happy Summer!

#RWRunStreak is over!

This past Friday was the Fourth of July and the end of the Runner's World Run Streak. The goal was to run at least a mile every day for 40 days. We are proud to say that we accomplished that goal and had a great time doing it. 

Even with work, school and a Disneyland vacation sprinkled into that short time frame, we all were able to hit that goal. It was challenging but a good lesson in commitment and discipline for the boys. We are looking forward to next year's #RWRunstreak and might even create some of our own in between!

Sacramento Buffalo Chips 4th of July 5 -miler

At 4 years old he participated. He even ran his first 5k!

Jacob, 8yo, Gabriel, 11yo. 

Jacob's MINECRAFTMILE

Fitness can be fun

He says that he got his inspiration from my birthday dash last year when we did something similar with a neighborhood run, homemade bibs and even virgin mimosas! Since Minecraft is all the rage with the kids these days, he wanted to incorporate that theme with his love for running at his Birthday party. Here's the best part. Jacob asked that the invitees bring $5 for a charity that donates shoes to needy local student athletes. 

So, the crafty juices began to flow and out came life-sized Minecraft creepers and pigs. A balloon arch was brought in for the run and homemade bibs were created along with the best part - participant tees! 

It was hot that day but since the run was only a mile and earlier in the day, the kids were able to power through it. Oh i forgot to mention that there was even a water station at the half way point on the course! Overall, the party was a success, the kids enjoyed the run, the theme and had a fun time. 

#RWRunStreak

Every year Runner's World hosts a running streak which challenges you to run at least one mile a day from Memorial Day through Independence Day. This year we accepted that challenge as a family. With a minor adjustment for the four year old. However, he surprised us last Saturday by running his first 5k!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day from our Fit Fam to yours! 

"My kids won't eat vegetables..."

      Who hasn't heard this or said this before - "My kids don't like vegetables!"  Usually that statement is followed by the many ways parents have tried to entice, even trick their child to eat vegetable.  There are the "Condiment Coaxers" such as ranch, peanut butter or the ever popular cheese.  (Heck, I love cheese and what doesn't taste better covered in melted cheese?)  Then there is the "Great Cover Up" where the veggies are secretly put into a child's favorite meal or snack.  Even better, is the "Sweets Swap"; that last resort battle move of "if you eat ______, then I'll give you a (cupcake, ice cream, candy, etc).  Oh, the things us parents will do to get our kids to eat something healthy AND actually like it.  

     Now, I am by no means an expert.  My children can be stubborn and there are vegetables that they turn their nose up at, but overall my children LOVE vegetables.  They love them without the cover ups or treats, they love them raw or cooked.  What's the secret?  There really isn't any secret.  I simply believed three things.  The first is presentation.  It is all about how you offer the vegetables to your children.  If you have any doubt, any hesitation that they will not like it, the children will know.  They have an innate ability to sense when we are not confident and boy do they seize that moment.  I always put vegetables on the table as if it was just like any other food on the table.  I always had them put it on their plate, told them they had to try it, but never forced them to eat a lot of it if they didn't like.  

     The second thing is offering the vegetable as is, maybe steamed or roasted, but I didn't offer any vegetable with a dip or cheese.  I personally may like to dip my vegetables in something, add a little butter, put a little salt, etc, but that is my taste palate after decades.  My children's palate is brand new to the vegetable.  I want them to taste it and learn to love it for it's taste not the condiment along side.  To this day, my children are not dippers.  They do not ask for cheese on their broccoli, ranch for their carrots or peanut butter for their celery.  For the most part, they think it's weird that people do that.  This certainly puts a smile on my face.

     The third sort of loops back to the first.  It is all about offering, I offer a vegetable multiple times.  Here's a case in point.  Currently, my four year old did not like asparagus.  The first time I offered it to him, he said no way, but house rules, he took a bite.  He still said no way.  four more times later, we BBQ'd the asparagus.  Again, he had to take a bite, but this time he said "yum" and wanted more.  Success!  I am not fooled into thinking that he loves asparagus or that it might become his favorite vegetable, but he now will eat it, likes it.  

     It is true that it takes at least 10 times of being introduced to a new food, for someone to form a real opinion about liking it or not.  So don't give up.  Offer vegetables, keep offering vegetables.  Encourage them to try it, but don't necessarily push it.  Even have them pick a vegetable when you are grocery shopping.  Sometimes by them choosing, they feel more willing to try tasting.  Trust me, there will be one, two, maybe three vegetables they will learn to like, possibly love.  

For Boston

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We ran on 4/15/14 as a way to remember last year's Boston Marathon. 

The event at last year's Boston Marathon affected runners everywhere, even us here at home. We teach our kids to not be afraid and to keep on running. We enjoy it as a family and will continue to run because it brings us together. Much like how the running community came together to "Stand As One" for Boston. 

The Importance of Logging Your Runs

If you're like me, and you love to make lists or just like seeing things in neat order, then what you'll read here is for you. I began writing down, or typing rather, the information about my runs early on after reading somewhere that it may be helpful in making you a better runner. At first, i didn't know what this information can do to to make you better but as i ran more and more miles, i began to see the benefits of logging my runs. 

What you should log

I only write down key pieces of information about each run: distance, time, pace, lap (mile) pace, and observations. I feel this amount of information is sufficient enough to give me a picture of how the run went. The numbers are helpful especially when following a race training plan where recording information is necessary to track progress. Not only do you see the progression from each run, you also see what improvements need to be made. Logging is a great way to commit to making changes since you're writing them down. I forgot to mention that a decent running GPS watch is an important piece of equipment in order to accurately log your running information. Even the most basic GPS watch will give you the information you need. 

A GPS running watch is an invaluable tool.

Where to log your runs

I love recording this running information into Field Notes Notebooks because they are very durable and extremely portable. There is even a set of notebooks that are made of tear proof paper, much like the material that most race bibs are made of. If pen and paper aren't your thing, you can still record your running information digitally. I started our by typing my running log into a note taking application into my smartphone. This a perfectly acceptable method of logging but i like to flip through my notebooks at times to see how much i've progressed and what types of workouts i was doing at certain times of the year. Some people use phone apps, electronic spreadsheets, calendars or notebooks but the main takeaway is to get in the habit of recording your running info to use it as a tool. 

Take your time to reflect when making notes. 

The observation notes at the bottom of each running log entry are the most important pieces of data in your log. I usually state here how i'm feeling, how hot or cold it was outside, what type of gear i wore, the route i took, etc. Sure the distance and pace are valuable but you also want to know that NOT eating a proper breakfast before a 15 mile training run was a big mistake. Or how you went out too fast and bonked at the local 10k race this past Sunday. Soon you will notice that having this information comes in handy. It makes you accountable, keeps you on track if you're following a training plan and helps your mind stay focused on that next run. 

Coffee and Running→

Runner's World:

Caffeine (in coffee or otherwise) improves performance... Hundreds of studies have shown that consuming caffeine before a physical challenge likely helps subjects go farther and faster than when they go without it. This effect holds true in studies of both endurance athletes and sprinters.

I knew it. Oh how i love my coffee. 

Keeping the Candy Monster Away

I know that Valentines Day was a little over a week ago, but we have been battling colds in our household and I am just now able to get to this post: holiday treats.  Let's be honest, who doesn't like a little candy everyone now and then?  Life is about balance and those sweet, sweet moments of indulgence.  Yet, too much of a sweet thing is certainly not a good thing.  And with children, it can be hard to teach them such a notion keeping them on track to moderation and healthy living.   

In our house we have used something called the "Treat Fairy" for the past 10+ years, starting with our oldest.  During those candy giving holidays - Valentines, Easter, even Halloween our children select about 5-8 pieces of candy to keep and the rest goes in a big pile with a note to be given to the Treat Fairy aka mommy's and daddy's work (sorry co-workers).  In return for their treats, they are given a variety of things from books to gift cards to a toy; and in the moments the Treat Fairy forgot to go to the store (guilty!), money.  Our children look forward to the Treat Fairy and most of the time their 5-8 pieces of candy never get finished and end up in the trash.  It is an easy way to give the children a little sweet indulgence but not overload them with treats.  

The best thing is when the four year old is eating his m&ms (his favorite) and can't even finish a snack pack.  He let's us know he is done and is ok with throwing the rest away.  It is a great moment because we know he is learning moderation.  The key being not to deprive the children of candy and sweets but to set them up for a healthy foundation of healthy eating and balance.   

I am sure that there are other such techniques out there.  I am certain we are not the creators of the "Treat Fairy", but it is something that has worked for us.  Give it a try, I am sure your children would love the idea too!