I, like every other runner in the free world, was glued to my computer yesterday watching the Boston Marathon. I screamed at the screen trying to encourage the race. I cried when Meb won. (I totally ignored the baby as he wanted attention. #motheroftheyear)
And of course, I was totally inspired. I love Boston. It is, by far, my favorite marathon. It suits me. I calls me. It loves me. After I set my PR there way back in 2009 I knew it was time to hang up the marathon flats. I have only done two marathons in the five years since then. I moved on. I tried triathlon. I've rocked the shorter distances. I have embraced the half marathon as "my distance."
Truth is, though, I love the marathon. It's a great race for me as it takes me a long time to warm up to my race pace, I can zone out like nobody's business, I like the long training, I like the accomplishment of the marathon.
Last night I started the discussion with coach about trying the marathon again. *sigh* Do I really want to run another one? Can I be the runner I once was? Do I even have a shot at qualifying for Boston again? I told her we'd sleep on it and revisit it once the glow of Boston has dissipated.
Except, I didn't sleep. I just kept thinking of wanting to run another marathon. I just kept coming back to two words: Be Willing.
Be willing to literally run the extra mile.
Be willing to eat better.
Be willing to count calories and lose those extra baby weight pounds.
Be willing to go to bed earlier.
Be willing to get up and do the work while everyone else is asleep.
Be willing to take ice baths.
Be willing to use the foam roller.
Be willing to drink more water.
Be willing to do the extras like weigh lifting, riding my bike, and stretching.
Be willing to commit to the process.
I haven't really opened myself up to the training, to the process. I've
just gone through the motions knowing that yes I can run any race and
I'm okay with being mediocre. Shoot, I had a baby. I can use that
excuse forever. But that's not what I want. Why would I be paying
money to a coach to just be mediocre? I want to be that badass
marathoner again. I want it. I am willing to Be Willing.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Attack of the Angry Geese
I got up early Sunday to get in my long run before church. But, I slept in a little longer than the alarm went off, so I allowed myself only enough time to run without stopping and taking a 5 minute shower before heading off to church. The run started well, uphill into the wind, but I warmed up well in the first 30 minutes. Then I had a series of 8 minute stretches at race pace. The first one cruised my at a sub-8:00. I had just finished a small section out of the industrial part of town and was now on the bike path nearly a quarter mile from my house as the crow flies, or in this case, the geese fly. There was a dead goose on the trail that I ran around and then I noticed two geese out in the field who were looking none too happy with me. They started squawking very loudly at me, took flight, and came right at me with their mouths open, their feet fully engaged, and their wings flapping.
Let me back up. I hate birds. Always have. When I was a kid, a very small kid mind you, I was chased by a very large pelican. Then when I was in the Young Scientist program at the local science center (yes I've always been a nerd) I had an owl hound me during a session. And finally in high school I had a very large owl come to my window every night and wrap it's talons around the screen. FREAK! ME! OUT!
So when these geese came out me I totally flipped out. I was screaming NONONONONONO!!! I ran as fast as I could out into the street (thank God for no cars on a Sunday morning) and got to the median where they left me alone. If I had been wearing a heart rate monitor all kinds of bells and whistles and alarms would have been going off. Out loud I actually said, "Fine. You win. Run is over." And I headed home.
I didn't finish the run Sunday and I have yet to set off in the direction of those geese again. The dead one is still there and every time I drive past it I look for the angry geese out in the field.
Have you ever been attacked by birds or other animals on your runs?
Let me back up. I hate birds. Always have. When I was a kid, a very small kid mind you, I was chased by a very large pelican. Then when I was in the Young Scientist program at the local science center (yes I've always been a nerd) I had an owl hound me during a session. And finally in high school I had a very large owl come to my window every night and wrap it's talons around the screen. FREAK! ME! OUT!
So when these geese came out me I totally flipped out. I was screaming NONONONONONO!!! I ran as fast as I could out into the street (thank God for no cars on a Sunday morning) and got to the median where they left me alone. If I had been wearing a heart rate monitor all kinds of bells and whistles and alarms would have been going off. Out loud I actually said, "Fine. You win. Run is over." And I headed home.
I didn't finish the run Sunday and I have yet to set off in the direction of those geese again. The dead one is still there and every time I drive past it I look for the angry geese out in the field.
Have you ever been attacked by birds or other animals on your runs?
Friday, April 18, 2014
Foto Friday
I finally found an official race photo from last weekend's half marathon. Surprisingly, I didn't look completely like death, even if I did feel like it. There was also a video of the finish where again, I didn't look like death. Guess the sunglasses hide everything.
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Meredith Kessler and I are practically best friends!!
I grew up in "small town America." My town had one stop light, one restaurant, one gas station. The entire high school had 200 students and everyone knew everyone. My town was just like my favorite quote from the movie "Doc Hollywood" - You can't poop in this town without everyone knowing what color it is.
In small town American you get to participate. In high school I was involved in everything - tennis, basketball, weight lifting, track, student council, band, choir, drama, etc. In small town America high school sports you compete against other equally small and usually awful (as we were too) schools. We traveled to exotic places like Baltimore, Amanda, and Heath, Ohio to compete against the same teams over and over again. One school we competed against frequently was a super-close, private school: The Columbus Academy. They were equally as small but usually competitive and because they were a 15 minute bus ride from our school, our track team probably competed against them 3-5 times per season.
My best event in track was the 400. Yep, I was one of those crazies who ran and liked the 400. Let me mention, I am 5'1". Most people who run the 400 are much taller. They are usually good at it and don't have to take as many steps. Generally, I could hold my own against these giants. But there was one athlete at Academy that would beat me solidly every time.
Let's fast forward several years.
I am a fan of triathlon. I may not enjoy doing it, but I like to read about it, follow it on twitter, watch it when it's on TV, go to races, etc. I like a few pros, namely, Mirinda Carfrae, Linsey Corbin, and Meredith Kessler. Now, I knew Meredith Kessler was from Columbus, Ohio but it wasn't until I saw a tweet from her last spring that I started putting two and two together. Her tweet said something to the affect of looking forward to being the commencement speaker at her alma mater Columbus Academy.
*record scratch*
I started Googling. What was her maiden name? What year did she graduate? Did she play sports? And all of a sudden it made sense. She used to totally kick my ass at track meets! Meredith Kessler, the super star professional triathlete, is a local girl I ran against in high school! How cool is that?!
We're practically best friends.
In small town American you get to participate. In high school I was involved in everything - tennis, basketball, weight lifting, track, student council, band, choir, drama, etc. In small town America high school sports you compete against other equally small and usually awful (as we were too) schools. We traveled to exotic places like Baltimore, Amanda, and Heath, Ohio to compete against the same teams over and over again. One school we competed against frequently was a super-close, private school: The Columbus Academy. They were equally as small but usually competitive and because they were a 15 minute bus ride from our school, our track team probably competed against them 3-5 times per season.
My best event in track was the 400. Yep, I was one of those crazies who ran and liked the 400. Let me mention, I am 5'1". Most people who run the 400 are much taller. They are usually good at it and don't have to take as many steps. Generally, I could hold my own against these giants. But there was one athlete at Academy that would beat me solidly every time.
Let's fast forward several years.
I am a fan of triathlon. I may not enjoy doing it, but I like to read about it, follow it on twitter, watch it when it's on TV, go to races, etc. I like a few pros, namely, Mirinda Carfrae, Linsey Corbin, and Meredith Kessler. Now, I knew Meredith Kessler was from Columbus, Ohio but it wasn't until I saw a tweet from her last spring that I started putting two and two together. Her tweet said something to the affect of looking forward to being the commencement speaker at her alma mater Columbus Academy.
*record scratch*
I started Googling. What was her maiden name? What year did she graduate? Did she play sports? And all of a sudden it made sense. She used to totally kick my ass at track meets! Meredith Kessler, the super star professional triathlete, is a local girl I ran against in high school! How cool is that?!
We're practically best friends.
Monday, April 14, 2014
Union Hospital Run for Home Half Marathon
Oh Mother Nature. You're such a bitch!
In all honesty, I've had a rough couple of months of training. I go to work before people should be at work all so my husband can go in at a normal time - we work at the same company and have found a way to make it work so we do not have to put the baby in child care. I spend the rest of my day at home with the boy. By the time Dave gets home I'm just exhausted and have little energy or patience to start a workout. There have been weeks where I have good intentions and before I know it, it is the weekend and I haven't done a single workout. Consistency has not been my friend. I've missed two important long runs and really felt like I needed to do one before my "A" race in May. (Let's be real. I will not be going for a new PR but this "A" race is the one I've been training for.) A week ago we were in Kansas and I looked all over for a half marathon to incorporate as my long run. I couldn't find one. So Coach let me run one this past weekend. I had initially planned on running the Athens Half Marathon but all the hotels were booked. Dave found a different one, in New Philadelphia. The race started at 1:00pm so I wouldn't have to find a hotel room.
One o'clock should be a great start time for a race in April as the weather can be a little cool in the morning. But wouldn't you know it was hotter than BALLS! on Sunday? The low was about 70 degrees and the high was going to make it into the 80s. I've spent all winter in the freezing cold or on the treadmill. I was not prepared for 80 degrees. Nevertheless, I pre-hydrated, pre-salted (yes it's a word), and was ready to go.
The plan was to treat this as a training run - couple miles of warmup, couple miles of building, most miles at race pace, and one mile all out. I started close to the 1:50 pace group to keep myself accountable to slowly building into the pace.
Those first couple of miles, though, were a little faster than I had planned. I was settling into a comfortable barely sub-8:00 pace. By mile 3 I was super hot and already feeling dehydrated, I knew this race was not going to go as well as I had hoped. I walked my first water stop between miles 3 and 4. I was still running in the low 8:00s and doing alright but miserably hot. I walked up a small hill at mile 5ish. We went passed a timing mat at mile 6 and according to the tracking I was still averaging 8:18s. By this point I was toast and really, really, really wanted to drop out. In my head I said, "nope. Do this for Anderson. Run for the medal. Small steps. You're fine." I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I drank at every aid station, I poured water over my head, I used the kids' sponges they had, I let people with water gun squirt me. Around mile 8 there was a relay exchange near the stadium. I *thought* this was the stadium we finished at. I was mad that Dave was not there, but it was probably a good thing because I definitely would have dropped out then. (I found out after the race that it was not the stadium we finished at and it's a good thing I didn't drop out because I would have not known where I was.)
I struggled those last couple of miles. I walked and jogged. I was heartbroken when the 1:50 and 1:55 pace leaders passed me. Note, there was nobody with either of those pace leaders. I kept chugging along though and soon enough I was finished.
I was hot and yucky and sat down on the pavement to get my hot calf sleeves off. Dave found me and told me he thought I was the 10th female finisher. What??? No way. I ran a 1:55. He told me the first woman finished in 1:30 and the next didn't finish until 1:40. This was a big race, y'all! We went to the pavilion to look up the results. Would you believe it? I finished 2nd in my age group and 9th female overall. I got the coolest trophy too.
This was a great race. It was super organized, the price was decent, there were tons of volunteers, the awards were amazing, and the park that the race started and finished in was super cool. I would definitely do it again, but next time I hope the weather is at least 20 degrees cooler.
In all honesty, I've had a rough couple of months of training. I go to work before people should be at work all so my husband can go in at a normal time - we work at the same company and have found a way to make it work so we do not have to put the baby in child care. I spend the rest of my day at home with the boy. By the time Dave gets home I'm just exhausted and have little energy or patience to start a workout. There have been weeks where I have good intentions and before I know it, it is the weekend and I haven't done a single workout. Consistency has not been my friend. I've missed two important long runs and really felt like I needed to do one before my "A" race in May. (Let's be real. I will not be going for a new PR but this "A" race is the one I've been training for.) A week ago we were in Kansas and I looked all over for a half marathon to incorporate as my long run. I couldn't find one. So Coach let me run one this past weekend. I had initially planned on running the Athens Half Marathon but all the hotels were booked. Dave found a different one, in New Philadelphia. The race started at 1:00pm so I wouldn't have to find a hotel room.
One o'clock should be a great start time for a race in April as the weather can be a little cool in the morning. But wouldn't you know it was hotter than BALLS! on Sunday? The low was about 70 degrees and the high was going to make it into the 80s. I've spent all winter in the freezing cold or on the treadmill. I was not prepared for 80 degrees. Nevertheless, I pre-hydrated, pre-salted (yes it's a word), and was ready to go.
The plan was to treat this as a training run - couple miles of warmup, couple miles of building, most miles at race pace, and one mile all out. I started close to the 1:50 pace group to keep myself accountable to slowly building into the pace.
Those first couple of miles, though, were a little faster than I had planned. I was settling into a comfortable barely sub-8:00 pace. By mile 3 I was super hot and already feeling dehydrated, I knew this race was not going to go as well as I had hoped. I walked my first water stop between miles 3 and 4. I was still running in the low 8:00s and doing alright but miserably hot. I walked up a small hill at mile 5ish. We went passed a timing mat at mile 6 and according to the tracking I was still averaging 8:18s. By this point I was toast and really, really, really wanted to drop out. In my head I said, "nope. Do this for Anderson. Run for the medal. Small steps. You're fine." I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I drank at every aid station, I poured water over my head, I used the kids' sponges they had, I let people with water gun squirt me. Around mile 8 there was a relay exchange near the stadium. I *thought* this was the stadium we finished at. I was mad that Dave was not there, but it was probably a good thing because I definitely would have dropped out then. (I found out after the race that it was not the stadium we finished at and it's a good thing I didn't drop out because I would have not known where I was.)
I struggled those last couple of miles. I walked and jogged. I was heartbroken when the 1:50 and 1:55 pace leaders passed me. Note, there was nobody with either of those pace leaders. I kept chugging along though and soon enough I was finished.
I was hot and yucky and sat down on the pavement to get my hot calf sleeves off. Dave found me and told me he thought I was the 10th female finisher. What??? No way. I ran a 1:55. He told me the first woman finished in 1:30 and the next didn't finish until 1:40. This was a big race, y'all! We went to the pavilion to look up the results. Would you believe it? I finished 2nd in my age group and 9th female overall. I got the coolest trophy too.
This was a great race. It was super organized, the price was decent, there were tons of volunteers, the awards were amazing, and the park that the race started and finished in was super cool. I would definitely do it again, but next time I hope the weather is at least 20 degrees cooler.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Things I Love...Amy!!!
I'm starting a new segment on the blog called "Things I Love". I have done some product reviews in the past, but I wanted to expand upon that and just tell you about all the things I love. It could be running related, it could be baby related, it could be whatever.
Today I am going to talk about my favorite blogger, Amy.
I used to read a lot of blogs. I had the time. I had the patience. I don't have time or patience anymore. Also, I get really tired of the "super-popular" blog that is philosophical, supposedly a resource of all things running/triathlon, and gets free stuff all the time to review or giveaway. I like to read about real runners, with real jobs and real lives.
I have been reading Amy's blog, 26point2ers, since it was Amy and April. I loved reading about their race adventures from 5Ks to ultras. Soon the blog became just Amy's and the snark was awesome. What I love about Amy is that she isn't afraid to hide behind her blog. She says what's on her mind and it usually involves a four letter word and an amazing animated gif. Amy's also real with her running. She has gone from being a participant to being a runner to be reckoned with. Amy has tried and tried and tried to qualify for Boston and has come so close. I root for her from afar and my heart breaks for her when she falls short. I tell her all the time, she's gonna get it. And she will and I'll be cheering loudly.
Amy and I got to meet a few years ago when we both did the Bourbon Chase. After 24 hours of running and a little bit of awe on both sides of the meeting we had a short awkward chat. I'm convinced, though, if we ever lived remotely close to each other we'd be total BFFs. :)
I nominated Amy for Salty Running's Greatest Women's Running Blog. She's up against a heavy hitter, one of those blogs. Please go out and support Amy. Read her blog, cheer her on, and vote vote vote!
Love you Amy!!!
Today I am going to talk about my favorite blogger, Amy.
I used to read a lot of blogs. I had the time. I had the patience. I don't have time or patience anymore. Also, I get really tired of the "super-popular" blog that is philosophical, supposedly a resource of all things running/triathlon, and gets free stuff all the time to review or giveaway. I like to read about real runners, with real jobs and real lives.
I have been reading Amy's blog, 26point2ers, since it was Amy and April. I loved reading about their race adventures from 5Ks to ultras. Soon the blog became just Amy's and the snark was awesome. What I love about Amy is that she isn't afraid to hide behind her blog. She says what's on her mind and it usually involves a four letter word and an amazing animated gif. Amy's also real with her running. She has gone from being a participant to being a runner to be reckoned with. Amy has tried and tried and tried to qualify for Boston and has come so close. I root for her from afar and my heart breaks for her when she falls short. I tell her all the time, she's gonna get it. And she will and I'll be cheering loudly.
Amy and I got to meet a few years ago when we both did the Bourbon Chase. After 24 hours of running and a little bit of awe on both sides of the meeting we had a short awkward chat. I'm convinced, though, if we ever lived remotely close to each other we'd be total BFFs. :)
I nominated Amy for Salty Running's Greatest Women's Running Blog. She's up against a heavy hitter, one of those blogs. Please go out and support Amy. Read her blog, cheer her on, and vote vote vote!
Love you Amy!!!
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Motherhood is Hard
This weeks marks a year since we welcomed our little boy into our lives. It has been a great year and I love love love the little boy Anderson has become. But I'm not going to lie, motherhood is hard.
This has been the longest winter of my life, which I'm sure most of you can attest to. It has been cold and snowy since November and even today we got another dusting of snow. Good grief. My days consistent of going to work until 8:30am and then spending the rest of the day stuck inside. While it is warm inside, I am tearing my hair out with boredom. What do you do with a baby while stuck inside all day?? I can only watch so many episodes of Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, and Bubble Guppies. We have played with every toy he owns and we do it every day. And there is lots of snuggling. While we have fun, I'm tired of the monotony. I want to play outside. I want to take Anderson to the park. I want to take family walks. And I want to take Anderson out in the bike trailer and running in the BOB.
Let's talk about running and motherhood. It's difficult. I start work at 6:00am, which means I do not have the luxury of running in the morning while everyone is still asleep. If I want to run by myself I have to wait until after the husband gets home from work at 6:00pm. By that point in the day I am exhausted. I have gotten up early, I have worked, and I have endured the very physical job of motherhood. Which leaves me the only option of the treadmill. I love the treadmill, but you can only take so much. Sometimes I wish I could quit my job and be a stay at home....
...And on the subject of working, ugh! I work part-time: 2-1/2 hours in the office and an hour and a half at home. I actually really like going into the office and having some adult interaction, but as I said earlier, I start at 6:00am. That's just WAY earlier. No matter what time I go to bed, 5:00am is just painful. I cannot get used to it and I don't like it. Working from home is so crazy hard too. It wasn't so bad when Anderson was a BABY and could sit in the swing and be content. Now he's mobile and needs entertained. I usually have to work in little segments while Anderson watches Bubble Guppies or runs around in his walker or hangs out in his bouncy seat. Almost every week I have to work on the weekend to make up time and frankly, I don't remember the last time I actually got in all my hours. I am an hourly worker; no work, no pay. The husband works full time for the same company as me (hence why I work early early hours - so we don't have to put the baby in daycare) and also consults for another company a few hours a week. He makes good money. Why do I have to work? Sometimes I find myself mad or jealous of Dave because he gets to go to work all day. Does this make me a bad mom?
Don't get me wrong, I love my little bug and I love being a mom. I waited a LONG time to have a baby and knew what I was getting myself into. Some days are bad and rough, but most days are absolutely awesome.
Mothers out there, how do you manage motherhood?
Do you work outside the home?
Does it get easier as the child gets older? (hahahahaha!)
Whatever possessed you to have more than one child? (hahahahaha!)
This has been the longest winter of my life, which I'm sure most of you can attest to. It has been cold and snowy since November and even today we got another dusting of snow. Good grief. My days consistent of going to work until 8:30am and then spending the rest of the day stuck inside. While it is warm inside, I am tearing my hair out with boredom. What do you do with a baby while stuck inside all day?? I can only watch so many episodes of Sesame Street, Daniel Tiger, and Bubble Guppies. We have played with every toy he owns and we do it every day. And there is lots of snuggling. While we have fun, I'm tired of the monotony. I want to play outside. I want to take Anderson to the park. I want to take family walks. And I want to take Anderson out in the bike trailer and running in the BOB.
Let's talk about running and motherhood. It's difficult. I start work at 6:00am, which means I do not have the luxury of running in the morning while everyone is still asleep. If I want to run by myself I have to wait until after the husband gets home from work at 6:00pm. By that point in the day I am exhausted. I have gotten up early, I have worked, and I have endured the very physical job of motherhood. Which leaves me the only option of the treadmill. I love the treadmill, but you can only take so much. Sometimes I wish I could quit my job and be a stay at home....
...And on the subject of working, ugh! I work part-time: 2-1/2 hours in the office and an hour and a half at home. I actually really like going into the office and having some adult interaction, but as I said earlier, I start at 6:00am. That's just WAY earlier. No matter what time I go to bed, 5:00am is just painful. I cannot get used to it and I don't like it. Working from home is so crazy hard too. It wasn't so bad when Anderson was a BABY and could sit in the swing and be content. Now he's mobile and needs entertained. I usually have to work in little segments while Anderson watches Bubble Guppies or runs around in his walker or hangs out in his bouncy seat. Almost every week I have to work on the weekend to make up time and frankly, I don't remember the last time I actually got in all my hours. I am an hourly worker; no work, no pay. The husband works full time for the same company as me (hence why I work early early hours - so we don't have to put the baby in daycare) and also consults for another company a few hours a week. He makes good money. Why do I have to work? Sometimes I find myself mad or jealous of Dave because he gets to go to work all day. Does this make me a bad mom?
Don't get me wrong, I love my little bug and I love being a mom. I waited a LONG time to have a baby and knew what I was getting myself into. Some days are bad and rough, but most days are absolutely awesome.
Mothers out there, how do you manage motherhood?
Do you work outside the home?
Does it get easier as the child gets older? (hahahahaha!)
Whatever possessed you to have more than one child? (hahahahaha!)
Thursday, March 13, 2014
#tbt
Exactly one year ago I was 37 weeks pregnant and big as a COW!!!! I was uncomfortable and OVER being pregnant. Now, I only have two weeks until my baby turns one. I've actually struggled quite a bit knowing he's turning one. I've shed quite a few tears. I cannot believe how quickly this year has gone. It's been a great year, though. It's been fun to see this little baby, who was like a little alien, develop a personality, learn to play, "talk" a lot, and just all around become a cool little dude. Being that big cow above was sure worth it.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Beautiful Sunset Run
Some people like to run at sunrise; I like to sleep in. :)
After grumbling and stomping my feet all day yesterday about not wanting to do my run, I finally got my buns out the door around 5:45pm...for an hour and 40 minute run. Even with the time change, I was probably going to run out of daylight.
Dave and Anderson joined me for the first 4.3 miles of the run. We've experienced a heat wave around here, mid-40s wooo hooo!!!, so Dave put together the bike trailer. We bundled up Anderson really good and they came along for moral support. Unfortunately, it was too cold for Dave (Anderson was just fine) so that's why they didn't join me for the whole run.
After grumbling and stomping my feet all day yesterday about not wanting to do my run, I finally got my buns out the door around 5:45pm...for an hour and 40 minute run. Even with the time change, I was probably going to run out of daylight.
Dave and Anderson joined me for the first 4.3 miles of the run. We've experienced a heat wave around here, mid-40s wooo hooo!!!, so Dave put together the bike trailer. We bundled up Anderson really good and they came along for moral support. Unfortunately, it was too cold for Dave (Anderson was just fine) so that's why they didn't join me for the whole run.
I started out the run pretty conservatively, 9:45s. My only instructions for the day were to run easy so that's what I intended to do. But with each mile I kept picking up the pace. And I felt terrific!!! Mile 9 was an 8:05; mile 10 - 8:03. I ended the run with 11 miles in 1:34:04 before I ran out of daylight. But not before I got to see this:
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
DNS
Last week was just cray cray!
The new owners closed on our house. We closed on our new house. We packed up our belongings and moved Friday and Saturday. We had until 5:00pm to get out of our house. We left the driveway at 4:56. Holy wow!
Each day I tried to fit in a workout but by Saturday I still hadn't done any running, cross training, or strength workouts. And Sunday morning I was supposed to do a 5K race. After two days of moving I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I was sore, irritable, and super tired. Needless to say, I didn't do the race. I didn't even go and pick up my packet. I slept in and then started to unpack.
I did not do a single workout last week. I felt awful about it but there was nothing I could do. There's always next week.
The new owners closed on our house. We closed on our new house. We packed up our belongings and moved Friday and Saturday. We had until 5:00pm to get out of our house. We left the driveway at 4:56. Holy wow!
Each day I tried to fit in a workout but by Saturday I still hadn't done any running, cross training, or strength workouts. And Sunday morning I was supposed to do a 5K race. After two days of moving I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I was sore, irritable, and super tired. Needless to say, I didn't do the race. I didn't even go and pick up my packet. I slept in and then started to unpack.
I did not do a single workout last week. I felt awful about it but there was nothing I could do. There's always next week.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Columbus Winter Run 2014
My schedule this past week had a one hour hilly run. Wouldn't you know there happened to be a race nearby on a hilly course that was 7.5 miles and would take me about an hour? I consulted with coach and she let me sign up for it. There were instructions, however. First two miles ease into it, next three miles steady, rest of it let 'er rip.
Truth is, I haven't done a whole lot of running outside this winter. I have just become a pussy about the cold weather and snow. I have tons and tons of miles on my treadmill but very, very few outside. Yesterday, of course, was a super cold day. It was snowing and windy and bitterly cold. I had no idea what to wear. I chose tights, a base layer top, a short sleeve shirt, and a light jacket, hat and gloves. When I got to the race site I was freezing. I had worn a puffer vest for before and after the race; I was so cold I actually contemplated wearing the vest for the race.
The race starting downhill, into the wind, on a slippery, snow covered road. I was freezing, but the running felt very comfortable. This is a hilly course (see below) but I was following the plan. I hit my first mile at 8:17, second mile at 8:05, and third mile at 8:10.
{Yes I know, I owe a graphic here. Maybe later today when I get internet at home and can get on my computer.}
Mile 4 had an out and back. This portion was directly into the cold wind. I was working! But I was catching people and cruising right along, building speed. I was able to count that I was in the top 10 women although I had no idea who was running the 15 miler and who was running the 7.5 miler.
Mile 4 - 8:05
Mile 5 was now with our backs to the wind down a flat country road. I felt like I was flying at this point. I caught two or three more women during this point and a couple dudes too.
Mile 5 - 7:39
Mile 6 had a short, steep uphill. I remembered this hill from the last time I ran in this race as a 15 miler. It sucked but this time it didn't seem so bad. Coach has had me doing a lot of hill workouts and they seem to be working.
Mile 6 - 7:54
Finally the last mile and a half and I was mustering all the strength and speed that I could on the long rolling uphill to the finish line. I had my eyes fixated on the two gentleman ahead of me, trying to pull them in.
Mile 7 - 7:55
The last half mile was the long driveway back to the school where the race started. I was right on the heels of a guy at this point and he DID NOT want to be chicked. Yeah I got him anyway, pushing my way to a 7:22 pace for the last half mile.
We stuck around for the awards. I thought maybe I might place in my age group but wasn't sure as it was 10 year age groups and unbeknownst to me, they were only giving out first place in age group. But, first place overall was only 4-1/2 minutes faster than me and the girl who finished ahead of me was in the 19 and under age group. So, I did win my age group and walked away with a $10 gift card to Road Runner Sports.
This is the first race since before I was pregnant that I felt great and felt like I was really racing. I'm not quite to the pace I want to be or was, but I'm getting there and I'm feeling fierce!
The race starting downhill, into the wind, on a slippery, snow covered road. I was freezing, but the running felt very comfortable. This is a hilly course (see below) but I was following the plan. I hit my first mile at 8:17, second mile at 8:05, and third mile at 8:10.
{Yes I know, I owe a graphic here. Maybe later today when I get internet at home and can get on my computer.}
Mile 4 had an out and back. This portion was directly into the cold wind. I was working! But I was catching people and cruising right along, building speed. I was able to count that I was in the top 10 women although I had no idea who was running the 15 miler and who was running the 7.5 miler.
Mile 4 - 8:05
Mile 5 was now with our backs to the wind down a flat country road. I felt like I was flying at this point. I caught two or three more women during this point and a couple dudes too.
Mile 5 - 7:39
Mile 6 had a short, steep uphill. I remembered this hill from the last time I ran in this race as a 15 miler. It sucked but this time it didn't seem so bad. Coach has had me doing a lot of hill workouts and they seem to be working.
Mile 6 - 7:54
Finally the last mile and a half and I was mustering all the strength and speed that I could on the long rolling uphill to the finish line. I had my eyes fixated on the two gentleman ahead of me, trying to pull them in.
Mile 7 - 7:55
The last half mile was the long driveway back to the school where the race started. I was right on the heels of a guy at this point and he DID NOT want to be chicked. Yeah I got him anyway, pushing my way to a 7:22 pace for the last half mile.
We stuck around for the awards. I thought maybe I might place in my age group but wasn't sure as it was 10 year age groups and unbeknownst to me, they were only giving out first place in age group. But, first place overall was only 4-1/2 minutes faster than me and the girl who finished ahead of me was in the 19 and under age group. So, I did win my age group and walked away with a $10 gift card to Road Runner Sports.
This is the first race since before I was pregnant that I felt great and felt like I was really racing. I'm not quite to the pace I want to be or was, but I'm getting there and I'm feeling fierce!
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Power to the People!
One of our local TV stations has the worst newscast. I try not to watch it. I don't think their on-air personality is very professional and they constantly have typos and misspellings. Drives me insane! But I happened to catch the start of the news yesterday and a little surprised to see the reporter standing in my neighborhood.
She was reporting on snow plowing in Columbus, or lack thereof, and some of the neighborhoods that had not yet been done after the nearly foot of snow we received A WEEK AGO!!! I know the reporter; she lives in the same town. She mentioned a friend of hers who lives in our neighborhood had called her, she called the city, and the city had come out that day to plow our neighborhood.
What a bunch of crap! Here was this reporter, standing in the middle of our very snow covered street, saying our streets had been plowed? What kind of reporting was this?! Yes, the city had come out that day with a truck (more like a pickup truck) but it did not have its plow down nor was it spreading any salt or anything.
The reporter also claimed that our homeowner's association was having private snow removal services done. That was absolutely not true.
I was livid.
I immediately sent a message to the local news station. I also went onto Facebook and complained about the state of our neighborhood street, making sure to tag our homeowner's association.
The next day our HOA put out a post on Facebook that there had been another complaint about the snow plowing in our neighborhood (I'm claiming that as my complaint). They had called the city and filed a formal complaint about snow removal. That afternoon the city snow plow was out and it was doing its job. I saw them make at least three passes on the major streets: using both the plow and spreading salt. Unfortunately, after a week of cars on top of the snow it didn't really make a huge difference as it was just tamped down, but at least they did something.
And I feel like my voice was heard. Power to the people!
She was reporting on snow plowing in Columbus, or lack thereof, and some of the neighborhoods that had not yet been done after the nearly foot of snow we received A WEEK AGO!!! I know the reporter; she lives in the same town. She mentioned a friend of hers who lives in our neighborhood had called her, she called the city, and the city had come out that day to plow our neighborhood.
What a bunch of crap! Here was this reporter, standing in the middle of our very snow covered street, saying our streets had been plowed? What kind of reporting was this?! Yes, the city had come out that day with a truck (more like a pickup truck) but it did not have its plow down nor was it spreading any salt or anything.
The reporter also claimed that our homeowner's association was having private snow removal services done. That was absolutely not true.
I was livid.
I immediately sent a message to the local news station. I also went onto Facebook and complained about the state of our neighborhood street, making sure to tag our homeowner's association.
The next day our HOA put out a post on Facebook that there had been another complaint about the snow plowing in our neighborhood (I'm claiming that as my complaint). They had called the city and filed a formal complaint about snow removal. That afternoon the city snow plow was out and it was doing its job. I saw them make at least three passes on the major streets: using both the plow and spreading salt. Unfortunately, after a week of cars on top of the snow it didn't really make a huge difference as it was just tamped down, but at least they did something.
And I feel like my voice was heard. Power to the people!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Home/Moving Update
Back in November I mentioned we accidentally bought a new house. Purchasing this house was contingent upon selling our current house and the people gave us 45 days to get it done. Now, houses in our neighborhood do sell very quickly but it's winter. And we're having an awful winter. Who'd want to go out in this winter and buy a new house.
Our house went on the market at the beginning of December and we had an offer within four days. The offer was a lowball offer; we countered quite high; and the buyer walked away. We continued to high traffic through the house the whole month of December but people didn't like it for this, that, or the other. Generally it was things like the layout of the house, the small backyard, didn't like where the kitchen was located in the house...all things we could not fix.
We were starting to feel the time crunch and didn't want to miss out on our potential dream house. We dropped the price by $5K and had a full price offer just three days later. Then the fun began. We had inspectors come out to our house four times. They supposedly found a bunch of things wrong with our house but the buyers just wanted money. We countered with a little bit of a lower number and they accepted. The closing time was short: just over 30 days.
Things got moving on our end. We started gathering all our documentation we would need for buying the other house. We found a lender. Closing dates were set, which is next Thursday by the way. And we started packing. Packing packing packing. The basement is full of boxes and there is still so much left to pack and do.
We have utilities to switch over. We have addresses we have to change. We have to schedule a carpet cleaning before we can move as the previous owner had cats and Dave is allergic. We have to hire a specialty mover for our piano and treadmill. We have to rent a truck (thank goodness we're only moving four miles). And we still need to beg friends and family to help us. All of this is going on while we're still trying to maintain normal life while working and having a 10 month old.
In just over a week we will start anew in a house that could be our dream house. The thought of moving scares us both but that house is exactly what we've been looking for: in the right part of town, near the bike trails, close to work, a big yard for the baby and the dog, and the privacy we've been looking for. I can't wait!
Our house went on the market at the beginning of December and we had an offer within four days. The offer was a lowball offer; we countered quite high; and the buyer walked away. We continued to high traffic through the house the whole month of December but people didn't like it for this, that, or the other. Generally it was things like the layout of the house, the small backyard, didn't like where the kitchen was located in the house...all things we could not fix.
We were starting to feel the time crunch and didn't want to miss out on our potential dream house. We dropped the price by $5K and had a full price offer just three days later. Then the fun began. We had inspectors come out to our house four times. They supposedly found a bunch of things wrong with our house but the buyers just wanted money. We countered with a little bit of a lower number and they accepted. The closing time was short: just over 30 days.
Things got moving on our end. We started gathering all our documentation we would need for buying the other house. We found a lender. Closing dates were set, which is next Thursday by the way. And we started packing. Packing packing packing. The basement is full of boxes and there is still so much left to pack and do.
We have utilities to switch over. We have addresses we have to change. We have to schedule a carpet cleaning before we can move as the previous owner had cats and Dave is allergic. We have to hire a specialty mover for our piano and treadmill. We have to rent a truck (thank goodness we're only moving four miles). And we still need to beg friends and family to help us. All of this is going on while we're still trying to maintain normal life while working and having a 10 month old.
In just over a week we will start anew in a house that could be our dream house. The thought of moving scares us both but that house is exactly what we've been looking for: in the right part of town, near the bike trails, close to work, a big yard for the baby and the dog, and the privacy we've been looking for. I can't wait!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Monday's Menu: Worst Edition
With following a new "diet", Dave and I have tried out a lot of new recipes. We have bought some cookbooks, Googled things, and even tried out recipes from Pinterest. We have loved the plantain recipes we have tried and have made some good meat dishes in the crock pot. But the other day we tried a recipe that was just disgusting.
We were having chicken for dinner and I wanted some barbeque sauce for it. If you haven't noticed, all BBQ sauces have sugar and/or honey in them. Big no-nos on the Whole30 diet. So, we found a recipe that seemed simple enough and thought we would try it out. Without giving away the website, here is the recipe:
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
10 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
I followed the instructions as they were given. I tasted it and it tasted like tomato sauce that someone had spilled orange juice in. So I added some cayenne pepper. Still all I could taste was the orange juice. I threw in some red pepper. Still orange juice. I tried some seasoned salt. I had Dave tried it. He said, "Ew! Tastes like orange juice!"
We threw it away and just ate the chicken without any topping. And it tasted just fine.
We were having chicken for dinner and I wanted some barbeque sauce for it. If you haven't noticed, all BBQ sauces have sugar and/or honey in them. Big no-nos on the Whole30 diet. So, we found a recipe that seemed simple enough and thought we would try it out. Without giving away the website, here is the recipe:
3/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
10 tablespoons tomato paste
4 tablespoons shallots, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
I followed the instructions as they were given. I tasted it and it tasted like tomato sauce that someone had spilled orange juice in. So I added some cayenne pepper. Still all I could taste was the orange juice. I threw in some red pepper. Still orange juice. I tried some seasoned salt. I had Dave tried it. He said, "Ew! Tastes like orange juice!"
We threw it away and just ate the chicken without any topping. And it tasted just fine.
Sunday, February 09, 2014
Week in Review
Man, I feel like I worked out a ton last week and yet I still missed three workouts and "only" got in about 26 miles of running.
Monday -
Planned: Rest Day
Actual: Made up my long run from the previous day. One hour 15 minutes with 6 x 1 minute at 10K pace. Treadmill, treadmill, treadmill for 8.15 miles.
Tuesday -
Planned: 45 minute run, strength
Actual: 30 minute run on treadmill before Anderson's swim lessons
Wednesday -
Planned: 45 minute run with strides (not allowed to do on treadmill), strength
Actual: 30 minutes on bike trainer (~5.5 miles...Garmin died 3 minutes into workout), 30 minutes of strength
Thursday -
Planned: 30-60 minutes cross training
Actual: Rest day
Friday -
Planned: Treadmill hill workout
Actual: Another rest day
Saturday -
Planned: 25 minute easy run, strength
Actual: Treadmill hill workout from previous day (6.5 miles) and 15 minutes of strength
Sunday -
Planned: Long run
Actual: Long run on treadmill. Yep, didn't do a single run outside this week. Damn winter! There were intervals and hills and whatnot. 8.73 miles.
Totals:
Bike - 5.5 miles
Run - 26.53 miles
Strength - 0.75 hours
Monday -
Planned: Rest Day
Actual: Made up my long run from the previous day. One hour 15 minutes with 6 x 1 minute at 10K pace. Treadmill, treadmill, treadmill for 8.15 miles.
Tuesday -
Planned: 45 minute run, strength
Actual: 30 minute run on treadmill before Anderson's swim lessons
Wednesday -
Planned: 45 minute run with strides (not allowed to do on treadmill), strength
Actual: 30 minutes on bike trainer (~5.5 miles...Garmin died 3 minutes into workout), 30 minutes of strength
Thursday -
Planned: 30-60 minutes cross training
Actual: Rest day
Friday -
Planned: Treadmill hill workout
Actual: Another rest day
Saturday -
Planned: 25 minute easy run, strength
Actual: Treadmill hill workout from previous day (6.5 miles) and 15 minutes of strength
Sunday -
Planned: Long run
Actual: Long run on treadmill. Yep, didn't do a single run outside this week. Damn winter! There were intervals and hills and whatnot. 8.73 miles.
Totals:
Bike - 5.5 miles
Run - 26.53 miles
Strength - 0.75 hours
Saturday, February 08, 2014
Bittersweet
The husband and I have owned a photo booth business since 2008. When we started the business we were only the second photo booth business in town and we quickly built up business. We quickly had two photo booths four other employees and work every single weekend. We were flying high. We made enough money to redesign our booth (designed and built by yours truly) and upgraded to the best equipment. We had and still have the best booth and pictures in the business. We truly stand by that promise. We even encourage couples at bridal shows to go and test out all the booths and we really think they'll come back to us. Most of them do.
Soon everyone owned a photo booth. They were easy to buy over the internet. (And looked like giant tents. Would you want that sitting at your wedding?) Everyone wanted a piece of business and prices dropped. We were not making much money, as evidenced by the fact Dave and I both kept jobs, and we wondered how these other businesses were actually in business. But what we had found out in the wedding industry is that everyone wants a bargain. I was probably asked by 80% of people if I could offer a discount. People wanted cheaper and were willing to sacrifice quality. We decided to go down to just one photo booth and stop having employees besides just the two of us.
For a while, this was great, but we quickly grew tired of working on the weekends in addition to all week long. I began hating the weekends. I, literally, would throw temper tantrums as time grew later on a Saturday and I had to go work yet another wedding. Don't get me wrong, I usually enjoyed myself at the wedding, but I longed to sit at home in my pajamas by 8:00pm.
Late in our pregnancy, I knew I didn't want to do it anymore. We still had lots of events planned for 2013 so obviously the business was going to have to continue after Anderson was born. Our first event was 5 weeks after he was born and it was actually great to get out of the house. But it was tough to work until midnight or later and know that we were going to be woken up two or three times during the night. Plus anything that we scheduled had to be run by my parents for their availability to see if they could watch the baby.
Finally, in October of 2013, I said enough. I started turning down requests and contacted my accountant telling her we would be done as of January 1st, 2014. Yes, we have closed our business officially.
It was a great five years. We have attended 100s of weddings, met cool and powerful people, we have worked with charitable organizations, and we even got to have the MLS cup and championship Columbus Crew team in our booth. We would have loved for this business to go on forever. The reality is, though, that our life was changed when our son came along. We want to spend our weekends with him. We want to be able to say, "hey I want to do a 5K this weekend" and not worry that we will be up until 2:00am working the night before. As I've gotten older I've lost a little bit of competitive spark from my younger years and I just don't want to compete with the other photo booth companies. I just don't think it is worth it.
This decision was bittersweet but I also feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Dave and I can now be normal people, with normal Monday through Friday jobs, and spend our weekends with our family. Thank you thank you thank you for your years of support. We have loved being part of your lives.
Soon everyone owned a photo booth. They were easy to buy over the internet. (And looked like giant tents. Would you want that sitting at your wedding?) Everyone wanted a piece of business and prices dropped. We were not making much money, as evidenced by the fact Dave and I both kept jobs, and we wondered how these other businesses were actually in business. But what we had found out in the wedding industry is that everyone wants a bargain. I was probably asked by 80% of people if I could offer a discount. People wanted cheaper and were willing to sacrifice quality. We decided to go down to just one photo booth and stop having employees besides just the two of us.
For a while, this was great, but we quickly grew tired of working on the weekends in addition to all week long. I began hating the weekends. I, literally, would throw temper tantrums as time grew later on a Saturday and I had to go work yet another wedding. Don't get me wrong, I usually enjoyed myself at the wedding, but I longed to sit at home in my pajamas by 8:00pm.
Late in our pregnancy, I knew I didn't want to do it anymore. We still had lots of events planned for 2013 so obviously the business was going to have to continue after Anderson was born. Our first event was 5 weeks after he was born and it was actually great to get out of the house. But it was tough to work until midnight or later and know that we were going to be woken up two or three times during the night. Plus anything that we scheduled had to be run by my parents for their availability to see if they could watch the baby.
Finally, in October of 2013, I said enough. I started turning down requests and contacted my accountant telling her we would be done as of January 1st, 2014. Yes, we have closed our business officially.
It was a great five years. We have attended 100s of weddings, met cool and powerful people, we have worked with charitable organizations, and we even got to have the MLS cup and championship Columbus Crew team in our booth. We would have loved for this business to go on forever. The reality is, though, that our life was changed when our son came along. We want to spend our weekends with him. We want to be able to say, "hey I want to do a 5K this weekend" and not worry that we will be up until 2:00am working the night before. As I've gotten older I've lost a little bit of competitive spark from my younger years and I just don't want to compete with the other photo booth companies. I just don't think it is worth it.
This decision was bittersweet but I also feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Dave and I can now be normal people, with normal Monday through Friday jobs, and spend our weekends with our family. Thank you thank you thank you for your years of support. We have loved being part of your lives.
Friday, February 07, 2014
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Operation: BAMF!
One of my biggest worries before I got pregnant was totally selfish...would I be able to lose the weight and get back to the size and shape that I was? I was happy that I didn't gain that much weight during pregnancy (30-35) pounds and did not get any stretch marks. I was ecstatic that I was able to fit in my pre-pregnancy clothes just a few weeks after having Anderson. But I've had a hard taken off the last 10ish pounds and my body is not the same. I've got love handles and my thighs are bigger now and rub together when I run. I didn't get to breast feed which magically drops weight and makes people faster and seriously, I love food. Bad food.
In the last few weeks, though, I've gotten my act together. I was inspired by Sonja on her first Whole30 quest. I started doing some reading, found recipes, and tried it myself. I quickly failed, though. And then failed again and again. A goal of 30 days without alcohol, sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, etc. is just too big of a goal for me (us) while we were traveling and moving (more on that in another post). So Dave and I have started basically following the Whole30 idea for about two meals a day and then relaxing the rules yet eating something nutritious for the third meal. It's working too. In the last two weeks I've dropped three pounds and I noticed my abs again.
I'm also trying to be better about sticking to my training plans and doing ALL workouts. Each workout I feel stronger and faster. Hopefully by the spring/summer everything will come together and I'll be back to one badass chick!
In the last few weeks, though, I've gotten my act together. I was inspired by Sonja on her first Whole30 quest. I started doing some reading, found recipes, and tried it myself. I quickly failed, though. And then failed again and again. A goal of 30 days without alcohol, sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, etc. is just too big of a goal for me (us) while we were traveling and moving (more on that in another post). So Dave and I have started basically following the Whole30 idea for about two meals a day and then relaxing the rules yet eating something nutritious for the third meal. It's working too. In the last two weeks I've dropped three pounds and I noticed my abs again.
I'm also trying to be better about sticking to my training plans and doing ALL workouts. Each workout I feel stronger and faster. Hopefully by the spring/summer everything will come together and I'll be back to one badass chick!
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