The Great Pumpkin Run

Last year's 5Ks were small, local events, so it was a shock to my system to participate in a race with ~2000 people!

The Great Pumpkin Run was held about an hour away from my house in Thorntown on Dull's Tree Farm & Pumpkin Patch. Austin and I left the house around 7:30 Saturday morning. He was a great copilot so that I didn't have to look at my phone to know the next turn! Even with the waves going every 10 minutes starting at 9 the line of cars was long to get into the farm. I got checked in, added the race shirt as a layer, and gave Austin my jacket and keys. My water bottle, phone, and tablet were in the bag that I carried the whole time.

Participants stretched a little before the wave began, led by someone local (never caught her name or organization). Then it was time to go. The wind was ripping through the farm keeping it chilly. It was difficult for me to walk along the path they'd made with corn stalks or gravel throughout most of the course. The instability kept me slower than I wanted not wanting to risk my ankles giving out. I reached the halfway point in a little less than 30 minutes. There was a water station along the northern part of the route.

Lil lake on the way #Walktober #TheGreatPumpkinRun #BrandNewMe

A photo posted by Cassandra Schmigotzki (@longandwindingroadtowellness) on Oct 8, 2016 at 7:15am PDT

The lake was a nice bonus to see but I thought that it was weird that it was located on a stretch of land with a no trespassing sign along the way. The last section of the race was through part of the cornfield.

Children of the corn at the end #Walktober #BrandNewMe #TheGreatPumpkinRun #IfGirlsRanTheWorld

A photo posted by Cassandra Schmigotzki (@longandwindingroadtowellness) on Oct 8, 2016 at 9:09am PDT

They handed out water, a banana, and our finishing medals as we crossed the finish line. I'd told Austin that I'd call him once I was done but he'd found his way to the finish line and met me there. We walked to the other side and picked up a cup of cider and a small Pumpkin (I let Austin pick it out).

Race participants were allowed into the farm activities for free but we had to pay for our guests. We looked around briefly then went back to the cornfield to explore the maze. I would NOT have done the maze had Austin not been there as I'd have been completely lost! The pumpkin went into my bag while my tablet was in my hand as we walked through it.

Screenshot of the maze from Dull's website

We took a break and rode the wagon back to the barn instead of walking. We each got a cookie from completing the maze. Austin also got a chocolate waffle on a stick while I ate pulled pork nachos. We sat on the hill to watch the 1 pm Pumpkin launch. They have one powerful cannon shooting the van hourly!

We headed back home after that. Austin had fun and said that it was a good day. It was until a tire blew about 11 minutes from home. While waiting for the tow truck the car battery also died. I told the driver this so he could load the car properly. Benny showed up just as we were pulling away so he followed us to the tire shop. They charged $57 for the tire! Benny had to go find a bank because they were both cash only but he'd gotten lost and took forever to return. It took two vehicles hooked up to my car with jumper cables a while to finally get it started again.

If it wasn't for the car trouble Saturday would have been a perfect day with Austin.  I don't hear him having much fun anymore since Benny never seems to want to go anywhere.  Now that I found something new Austin enjoys I need to find more mazes for us to visit!

How do you get your teen boys outside when they're not into sports?

BOOK REVIEW: What Teens Want You to Know

We don't understand a lot of what goes through Austin's head. I'm not sure he does either.  So when I saw this book I signed up to review it.  I haven't had the opportunity to devote time to reading this book like I wanted to but there's a lot of information to absorb.  I received What Teens Want You to Know for free in exchange for my honest review.

What Teens Want You to Know (but won't tell you) is full of anecdotes from teens, parents, ministers, and educators, including actual dialogs.  To protect the doctor-patient confidentiality the names and other identifiable data have been modified.  There are practical suggestions, questions to reflect upon, prayers, and Bible verses pertaining to the topics of each chapter.

Oops, forgot YOU!

Some things I've learned from reading What Teens Want You to Know:

• No matter what they do or say your teen DOES want to have a relationship with you.
• If you invest the time to LISTEN to your teen you'll earn the right to be heard by him.
• Your teen's foundation for healthy self-love and respect starts with the way WE perceive them.
• There are four types of resistance - intellectual (i.e. different POV), emotional (from a previous experience of disappointment), physical (i.e. touching, creating, destroying), and spiritual (sin).
• Resistance occurs between you AND your teen, not your teen alone.
• Being right is a need of the ego.
• The questions your teen asks aren't always what they're wanting answered as there's often a deeper question they have.
• Teens are disillusioned on several levels - society, parents, peers, themselves, and God.  They are feeling the disenchantment not apathy, as we perceive.

Each person that reads this book will have different takeaways.  If you don't have a Christian background you may have difficulties reading this book with all the scriptural references.  If you're not Catholic (I was raised Southern Baptist) there are other parts that may go over your head.  Overall there's a lot of potential to learn about both yourself and your teen from reading What Teens Want You to Know.

To pick up your own copy to see if this book will help the relationship between you and your teen hop on over to Amazon.

What can we offer teens that they cannot Google?

Thanksgiving Aftermath

This frozen turkey weighed in last night with a 2 lb gain.  I didn't eat much on Thanksgiving....I think it was mostly Austin's birthday cake.  I had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans with onions.  Benny ate his red cabbage and asparagus instead of the green beans.

Austin's Birthday

Austin was so ready to open presents when he arrived Thursday.  We told him he had to wait until Friday to open anything other than the birthday card that came in the mail from a Great Aunt.  Shortly after midnight here he came ready to open everything! LOL

The cake itself was a fail because the icing kept melting so I couldn't get the sprinkles right on the red side.  Austin added only 12 candles - 6 pink and 6 white on opposing colors.  I said we needed a 13th one since that's how old he is.  So he added a blue one to the middle section.

Week of Workouts

Thursday was fitting with leg day for Thanksgiving, even though I don't eat the legs LOL.

Friday was supposed to be shoulders but I went with Build: Back/Bis instead.

Saturday I went ahead and worked my shoulders.

Sunday began week 3 with Chest/Tris.

Monday I had another double headache so I made it a rest day.  I've added my headaches to the list of things to talk to the doctor about when I see him next week for my annual physical.

Tuesday I got my Cardio & Abs in.

This morning was leg day again.

Colon Cleanse

 

I originally signed up for Benny to do the colon cleanse but he was having issues with the probiotic so I never had him take it.  I then figured I'd try it to combat Thanksgiving and Austin's cake.  I took the first dose with Saturday's brunch.  After Sunday's dose I had to go twice but felt weird all day.  Monday I forgot to bring the bottle with me to work so I didn't have any.  I took Tuesday's dose with lunch.  Today I took the dose with an Orgain shake.

I haven't gone since Sunday. My body likes to do things the opposite of the norm (i.e. cheese loosens me up) so perhaps this colon cleanse is having the opposite effect, contributing to the gain.  I will continue with the cleanse the rest of this week to see if anything changes.

If you've done a colon cleanse (pills or liquid) how long did it take for you to notice any change?

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Beast Mode, Turkeys, & Teens - Oh, My!

Last night I weighed in down 2.4 lbs!  That leaves 1.8 lbs until we evaluate whether or not I should change my goal weight of 130 lbs.  Whether we make any changes at that point or not I'm considering using whatever I weigh on January 6th as reaching goal.  Will see how I progress in Beast Mode before I make anything official since I won't be done with Body Beast until February.

Week of Workouts

Friday was Build: Legs again.

Saturday was Build: Back/Bis.  I have never been able to do a pull-up or chin-up.  This adds some complication to the workout.  My doorway is too big for a pull-up/chin-up bar.  There's also no door so I couldn't do a resistance band with a door attachment.  So I used my Slim in 6 resistance band and wrapped it around my feet.  I held my feet up against the side of the couch.  This kind of worked but would like to try something different this Saturday.  Any suggestions?

I played around with a few different poses to see if there are any changes from week to week.  This is what I came up with.  I asked Austin if there were other poses I should do.  He said how would he know and I replied that he's a boy! LOL  No response after that.  Should I add any others for week 2?

Sunday was back to Build: Chest/Tris.  I'm guessing it's because I did this the day after Back/Bis but this workout was more difficult this time around.

Monday I woke up with a double sinus and tension headache so I didn't complete a workout.  The sinus headache went away (and returns) but the tension one just doesn't want to let up.

Back to the grind on Tuesday with Cardio & Abs.

This morning was Build: Shoulders.

Thanksgiving & Austin's Birthday

I picked up the 13 lb or so turkey Monday night.  We'll have mashed potatoes and gravy.  Benny will have his asparagus and red cabbage (can't stand the smell of the stuff).  Not sure what veggies I'll do for myself.  I never plan, fix or buy a dessert but I kind of want one.  What's on your menu?

Austin will turn 13 Friday and I have everything to make our version of a Pokeball cake.  Keep an eye out on Instagram for pictures!

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