Week 2 / Day 1

Pushup Challenge: Week 2 / Day 1

S1: 14
S2: 14
S3: 10
S4: 10
S5: 21

And now I look like this

Source

Calling All Crazies

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is able to relax and enjoy this day and give thanks to all who have and are serving our country.

I was hoping to bring Jack to the Vergenne's Memorial Day Parade today, but it started at 11:00, and he was up this morning at 5:00 so by 10:00 he was ready for a nap.

Quality Nap > Parade

We are heading over to Adam's parents this afternoon. His sister is visiting with her kids and they have a great big porch with comfy chairs and ice cold beer calling my name.

During my pre-half marathon high, I signed up for another half marathon on July 10.

It's the first running of this sure-to-be hilly race. There is a full marathon, half and relay. Any other crazies out there want to join me?!? I hope it's a good race- entry fee was a little steep and they are cleaning spending a ton of $ on their marketing campaign.

I've heard great things about Hal Higdon's plans and loosely followed his intermediate half training plan (mixed with a Runner's World plan). I've been reading some of his info regarding back-to-back marathons (had a hard time finding info on back-to-back half mary plans). He offers some great advice:

1. Plan your schedule early
2. Don't ignore rest
3. Try shorter events
4. Don't run all marathons hard
5. Take time to prepare

(Full article)

Although a half is much different than a full, I think these same rules will still apply, with the exception of less (hopefully) recovery time and only (hopefully) having one week taper.

Source

I'm using his "Six Weeks Between Marathons" plan, doctored a little bit (great graphic design skills, huh?). Many runners I know do not (and dislike) following training plans / schedules. I, on the other hand, LOVE training plans. I love having the schedule to follow and base my runs around. Of course there is always leeway, as with any plan, because things come up and runs need to be rescheduled, shifted and cancelled sometimes. One of the reasons I like using training plans is because they are based on knowledge. Hal Higdon has much more knowledge about running safely and successfully than I do, and I trust what he has to say.

On the other hand, I probably would not trust a training plan from Kara Goucher. I am a Kara lover, but as I'm currently reading her book, I'm finding some not-so-great advice. I think I'll do a book review when I'm finished it.

Okay, so back to back-to-back half marathons. Does anyone have any advice for running back to back half marathons?

Vermont City Marathon Race Recap

I was so excited and full of adrenaline this morning, and was so eager to get to Battery Park. Picked my mom and Tom up and headed down and met up with the rest of the family (at the usual meeting place- Beansie's Bus). Everyone headed to the start and Aunt Mary and I hung around since we were both running the second leg. We watched the start and then boarded the bus to Oakledge Park and waited for our teammates to come in. We got to see the first marathoners come through, which is always amazing to watch. It was great to spend some time with Aunt Mary and chat and catch up. It's rare to have time like this to hang with her with little ones usually running around!

The hand off point was a little crazy and chaotic but I was so pumped when I saw my mom come in! Her time was around 2:07. I headed off, and started very conservatively because of the heat and humidity. My plan was to run easy for the first six miles and then assess how I'm feeling. I felt great at the halfway point so I decided to just keep plugging at it. I stopped and walked at every water station because I wanted to make sure I was getting the fluids I would need. I alternated Gatorade and water and took Gu at miles five and nine.

Surprisingly, the miles flew by. According to my watch my time is 2:17. I'm feeling really good about this time, especially considering the conditions today. And it's 11 minutes off my half time from November!

One More Sleep

It's here! The half marathon is tomorrow and I am full of excitement and fear at the same time. Went back to the expo today with my mom to pick up our bibs. #6141. It's funny because my mom always seems to get the numbers 6 and 4 in her bib numbers. Last summer she ran three races in a row and each time her number included "64."

We got home and checked out the goodie bags.

Seventh Generation laundry detergent, udder cream, Lake Champlain Chocolates (which were promptly eaten) and a 13.1 sticker- which I think I will proudly display.

I'm working on my playlist now and have a fresh People magazine ready. I'd love to be asleep right now but my nerves still have some working out to do before that happens. Good luck to everyone running tomorrow!

Two More Sleeps

GMR and I went to the marathon expo today which made it real. (Thanks for listening to my gripes, haha.) We tried to go for a run after but the thunder and lightning stopped us after .85 miles. God's way of telling us to stop. Nerves / excitement / all of the above. Off to sleep I go!

Trust Your Training

Best advice before the race, again courtesy of Melissa. To everyone racing this weekend: Trust Your Training! You've put in the miles and the time, you can do this. Think of how great that ice cold (or warm- at mile 25 on the bikepath) beer (or lemonade) will taste at the finish.

I'm feeling very antsy and itching to run. We have been having thunderstorms all day in Vermont, so no run today. I'm glad GMR and I got our run in yesterday. I've run 14 miles so far this week. Last week at this time I was at 25. I feel like I've been off the wall all day! Does anyone else feel like this when they decrease their mileage during taper? I'd like to do a short, easy run tomorrow to loosen up my legs, yoga on Saturday, and then that's it!

Correction

Last week during "All Things Loved"  I declared Three Dots' silver sage lightweight sheer jersey shirt to be one of my favorite things.

 

Not anymore. After one wash, meticulously following the care instructions, it has become pill city. No longer looking like a chic easy pullover and more like an over-worn sweatshirt. I'm sending it back to the company and hopefully they'll take it back.

The Nerve

Not sure how I missed this yesterday, but as of May 25, Jack is 18 months old. I can't hardly believe it. He must have been secretly partying last night because he let me sleep until 8:00 this morning. Thank you!

The Weather Channel is forecasting a high of 82 and sunny on Sunday. This is making me a little nervous, but like Melissa and I talked about yesterday. trust your training. If I need to slow down to make sure I get enough fluids at each water station, I will. I can do this. It's about that time when nervousness takes over and I start to question everything. Any tips for overcoming nerves?

Four More Sleeps!

Hundred Pushup Challenge:
Day 3 / Week 1

S1: 11
S2: 15
S3: 9
S4: 9
S5: 17

I might be imagining things, but I feel like my arms are already looking more toned. I don't know, I might be crazy.

I had an awesome run today! Ran 4.5 miles / 46 minutes and change with GMR! I love running with her- the miles flew by and it's so great to catch up. Sometimes I am so caught up with life that I miss out on connecting with friends and having her as a friend and running buddy is great. Although I love running with Jack, I really want to run with her without the jogger.. to see what I've got. Haha.

She suggested I wear her Garmin to test it out because I'm thinking about buying one. It was really comfortable and then when we got back she showed me how easy it is to upload the run info and check out all the data. So cool.

We hung out for a little while and stretched at her condo after the run and Jack got to play with Sirius. At first Jack was a little unsure but then all he wanted to do was play / chase / throw the ball with him. Sirius is such a cute dog and it was really cute to see them together. I'm very impressed with his patience, too, letting J take over his territory. It made me really want a dog!

Happy Wednesday everyone.. Here's a little video, has nothing to do with the post, but I think it's pretty cute.

Bad Decisions

I am dragging today. Although fun, staying up until 1:00 a.m. watching Modern Family and having a beer with Adam probably wasn't a good idea. Especially with my 6:30 wake-up call. Not to get sidetracked, but a big pet peeve on mine is when people say "expecially." FYI that's not a word. Neither is excape. Modern Family is the funniest show I've seen in a long time.Maybe ever. I'm obsessed.

What is exciting about today? I have a running date with Miss (Mrs.) Melissa!

five more sleeps

Where should I start? Jack and I were at the grocery store yesterday and look what we saw:

Goldfish Sandwich Bread!

I knew if I bought this Adam would give me a ton of slack for it. He doesn't generally like me to go grocery shopping on my own because I come back with random items. But, right next to the goldfish sandwich bread was...

A coupon for Goldfish sandwich bread!

Yes, a whole 55 cents off. We had to buy them. We got home and Adam said it was "redneck bread" because it's crustless. No offense to any rednecks out there (he calls me a redneck all the time). I just couldn't wait to try them so I made a ham sandwich.

And it was delicious! I like the idea of using these for sandwiches because I think, for me at least, that sandwiches tend to have a ton of sneaky calories. The bread alone can add up to 250- these have 110. Plus meat, cheese and mayo... wow.

Last night my mom and I tried a new yoga class at a local studio and I'm sad to say it was a disappointment. It was described as Vinyasa I/II- Intermediate but it was was too slow for our liking. A great beginner vinyasa class but we were not looking for in depth explanations of the poses- and then long pauses between poses for discussion and description of the poses. I wanted to flow..

Easy four miles was on the books this evening and Jack joined me. I tested out the new running skirt- I think it's going to work. The compression shorts underneath rode up a little bit though. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be pulled down or up more like boyshorts. At the advice of others, I am going to buy some body glide to prevent the lovely chaffing I'm prone to.

Five more sleeps! I need to focus on getting good sleeps this week, expecially since I usually have trouble sleeping the night before a big race.

GMR- Crying at Biggest Loser right now.


Sorry for being all over the place in this post!

Weekend Update

I hope everyone out there in bloggy land had a fabulous weekend. Here's a little peek at our weekend:

Exciting, huh?

One week until the half marathon! I am getting super pumped. I bought a running skirt today and I'm going to do a test run with it this week to see if it will be okay for the race. It's always hard to tell because those pesky chaffing problems don't usually pop up until after mile ten.

Today's run was 6.5 miles at an easy pace, but it felt super hard. It was windy and muggy today and I was not properly hydrated. Dealt with some stomach problems for a couple hours after the run so that was a drag. Last week's 13 miler in the pouring rain felt like a walk in the park compared to today's run.

Today was also Day 2 / Week 1 of the 100 Pushup Challenge. For those of you who care, it looked like this:

S1: 10
S2: 12
S3: 8
S4: 8
S5: 17

Rest 90 seconds between sets

I've been thinking about my training for the race and I'm feeling good. I've set some goals for the week because I need a place to channel all this energy I have (and not direct it towards going through every possible race scenario in my head- I've done that).

Goals for the week:
HYDRATE: My hydration for the entire week affects my hydration on race day so it's important to pump that water

TAKE IT EASY: I've made the mistake before in training, when I get nervous the week before the race and go out and do some crazy speedwork or distances. Made that mistake before my first half. I had trained to 12 miles and then got nervous I wouldn't be able to do 13.1 so I went out and ran 14 five days before the race. What happened race day? I bonked.

YOGA: I want to get in some quality strength / stretch sessions. And make friends again with the foam roller.

FUEL SMART: Balanced meals of protein and carbs

I think that's it.. for now. AHHH! So excited!

Happy Medium

Mr. J is doing well today. He somehow acquired some sort of cold with a cough and runny nose, not sure how since we've barely left the house all week. I'm sure he's fine, but of course I am completely paranoid.

Teaching yoga was pretty awesome this morning. I was slightly selfish and practiced the entire class. After no practice for an entire week I needed it. It was an entirely new group. Not one of my regulars were there. I hope the sub last week didn't scare them away.

Since it was a new group, I didn't want to scare them away by putting my iPod on shuffle, so I used this playlist:

It's one of my favorites. There was a man in class who I have seen at other classes before and occasionally he takes mine and I love having him in class. He's petite- probably my height, so around 5'2'' and is pure muscle. The reason why I love having him in class is because he is game for anything. I often throw in challenging poses and arm balances but no one ever goes for it. Yoga can be fun! And I think trying hard poses is fun. It's called practice. You can see that he truly loves yoga.

J and I both were in need of some fresh air this afternoon (and he was in need of another nap) so we went for a four mile run. My love / hate relationship with the jogger was full on love today. It was warm out but I had a great run. Trying not to push myself too hard this week, because, in case I haven't mentioned it, I'm running my fifth half marathon next weekend!

I was texting with Melissa and she said she's nervous that it will be rainy and cold for the race. I'm nervous it will be sunny and hot. Weather is such a funny factor in a race because it's the one thing as runners we have no control over. It can make or break a race. So we're keeping our fingers crossed for a happy medium.

Pushups

Another day and Jack is still rocking it. He suddenly has a runny nose, and of course, the ever-nervous me is all over it, but I'm it is just what it seems.. a runny nose.

I'm a little behind the bandwagon, but I'm trying the Hundred Pushup Challenge. Anyone want to join me? Today was Day 1 / Week 1 and it looked a little something like this:

Set 1: 10
Set 2: 12
Set 3: 7
Set 4: 7
Set 5: 12

60 seconds rest between each set.

I'm back to teaching yoga tomorrow after a two week hiatus. I hope last week with the sub went okay- I always feel bad when there is a sub and I don't give the class any warning.

Now, for a playlist... I'm thinking I'm going to shuffle it tomorrow. That always makes for a fun class.

World's Best Banana Muffins

As most of you know, I am no aficionado of the kitchen. I lack the skills and the passion. Every once in a while I get the urge to whip something up- sometimes it's good, sometimes not so much. I often get frustrated when I try to make something because Adam will constantly give me tips and I think he's trying to take over (when he's actually just trying to help).

Banana Muffins: I don't remember where I initially found the recipe, but I have used it for a few years now and have tweaked it a little bit. It's the one thing Adam will beg me to make and when I do, he stays out of the kitchen.

We always put past-their-prime bananas in the freezer to save for a rainy day. That rainy day is today. The crumble topping makes these muffins. Amazing!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baing soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp butter

Makes 12 Muffins

Optionals:
vanilla
walnuts
chocolate chips
And anything else you can think of!

STEP 1:
Oven to 375 degrees
Grease baking tins

STEP 2:
Combine first four ingredients (flour, BS, BP and salt)

STEP 2:
In another bowl, combine next four ingredients (bananas, white sugar, egg and melted butter). Stir banana mixture into the flour mixture. Add optionals (i.e. vanilla, walnuts, chocolate chips- today I just added vanilla)

STEP 3:
Mix brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and cut into butter

STEP 4:
Pour batter into muffin tins, then add crumble mixture to the top. Bake 18-20 minutes.

The picture doesn't do them justice- trust me!

Here's the nutrition stats for these babies:

(With optional add-ins)

209 calories / 6 grams of fat

Enjoy!

12:00 / mile

I am happy to report that Jack is back to 100%. He was definitely his old wild and crazy self today. Per orders I am still giving him a couple doses of Tylenol to prevent fever but these should end soon. Thank you to everyone for the support we were given. I'm feeling the love!

Notice anything different? I changed the title of this little ol' blog to "Running for Jack." I will still always be Running Mama. I don't think I can put into words what the past 18 months, with this little miracle, has done to me, so I'm going to stop there. I run for him.

On a running note, my legs were not feeling the love today. Lead legs. I could barely get a mile without having to stop and walk. 6.5 miles in 1:18.. whoa. I'm glad I got it out of the way today and not next Sunday. Skip to the next paragraph because I'm about to share TMI... my monthly visitor came today and I think this played a big role in the crappy run. Anyone else feel this way?

 I'm still using LogYourRun, liking it for the most part because it seems to be an accurate distance calculator, but don't plan on depending it for pace. It still takes a while to "warm up" so the first mile is always skewed.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (today). Walk breaks much?





Caillou

Jack is doing much better today. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes, thoughts and prayers. I believe in the power of prayer and positive thinking. He woke up this morning around 5:30 with a fever and are continuing with alternating doses of Tylenol and ibuprofen to keep the heat down, and just went down for a nap at 7:30.

We brought him to the pediatrician's office yesterday afternoon and she said there are no sure signs as to what is causing the fever. She said his throat looked a little red but other than that, nothing. We never heard back about the bacterial test for a urine or kidney infection, and they told us no news is good news.

The doctor reiterated the importance of fever prevention and keeping it down. She said he likely will not have another seizure, but the risk is there and we need to be prepared.  I thought it was odd when she asked us if we sent him to daycare today. Um, no.

It's still kind of a mystery as to what happened while Jack was in the playspace. Adam's mom, who is a nurse, thinks that he had a mini-seizure and this is why he fell. I actually agree with this because his symptoms after are similar to the ones after the seizure at home. The confusion, moaning-like cry, tiredness and disorientation.

Thankfully, the pediatrician agrees with the ER doctor in that he appears to have no head injury. She reassured us that seizures often look much worse than they actually are.

For now, we are offering Jack whatever he needs / wants. If he wants to watch Caillou all day, I'm going to let him. My mom arrived yesterday morning with a train set and when Adam went out for groceries he came back with an addition for the train set. This boy is getting spoiled!

While Jack was taking a nap last night and Adam was cooking dinner, I went out for a run. I have a hard time sitting still and spent most his nap times yesterday sitting in his room, watching him sleep. I needed to just get out a work through some thoughts. I knew he was safe with Adam, carried my phone with me and never went more than a mile away from our house.

5 miles / 49 minutes

It felt like a really hard run, I think in part to the stress and lack of sleep, and my diet over the past 24 hours. No dinner on Monday night, two slices of pizza for breakfast, grapefruit with about seven teaspoons of brown sugar for lunch and pieces of salami and cheese from Adam's antipasto salad for a snack.

Thanks again to everyone.

LOVE

LOVE

LOVE

Gug Gug Woo Woo

"No one has ever measured, not even poets,

How much the heart can hold."

Zelda Fitzgerald

I've used this quote to get me through tough times before, and I'm using it again now. We've had a scary past 18 hours in our house. Jack is sleeping now, obviously tired and shaken after what he's gone through.

I picked Jack up at daycare at the gym last night and he was not himself. She said he'd been sleeping. What? He would never sleep in the daycare. Well, he fell, hit his head, cried, fell asleep, woke up and cried some more. I immediately went into panic mode, called the ped, she said not worry, but I knew he was not himself. This is not our Jack. We went home, and he felt really warm. I brought him upstairs to change his clothes. I got his pajama pants on, he stood up, gave me a hug, then collapsed. Seizure. I knew it right away.

I called to Adam, called 911. Ambulance arrived within five minutes. The longest five minutes of my life. His eyes were rolled to the back of his head, he was moaning and having convulsions. Adam was talking to him, and just kept saying, "Stay with me, Jack." The 911 operator told me to calm down.

We arrived at the ER and waited. Recovery took several hours, and they said sleepiness and confusion are common symptoms after a seizure.

We came home late last night and all piled into bed. He woke up this morning seeming to be feeling better. Still a little out of sorts, but he did pull out his trains and played a little "Gug gug, woo woo" (that's chug a chug a choo choo in Jack talk). For now, there are many unknowns. All we can do is offer snuggles and cuddles, and pray.



All Things Loved- Rainy Monday Edition

Seventh Generation cleaning products:
We've used the diapers for a long time and my mom and I used the cleaning products yesterday. I love having a clean house that doesn't smell like toxic chemicals.

Petit Bateau Rain Jacket:
This is Jack's, but I am in love with it. We purchased it at a beautiful store in Shelburne, Arabesque.

Just Plain Gu:
I had never tried it because I thought it would be gross, but as far as Gu goes, it's tasty. Just a tad sweet.

Three Dots Sheer Jersey Sweatshirt:
I'm in love. So cozy.

Nathan Trail Mix Hydration Belt:
I just bought this and used it for the first time on my long run yesterday. It is the best running related purchase I've made. It's amazing how much better a run feels when I drink water along the way. It can also hold my phone, Gu and anything else I might need, comfortably.

Penny Cluse!
If you are near Burlington, go here for breakfast. Banana gingerbread pancakes and Bucket O'Spuds. Amazing.

World's Worst Playlist

I hope everyone had a great weekend! It was a busy weekend in our house. Adam works weekends and now that summer is on the horizon, the restaurant is crazy busy. I had to work yesterday at Kids Day- a local fair-like kids festival- and today was long run day. Tom took Jack for the afternoon today and my mom helped me spring clean the house. Thank you, Mom!

I had a great run! 13 miles, done. I took the first half nice and slow and then tried to finish the last four-five at goal race-pace (10:25). I think I was successful.

*I ran into Aunt Peggy during mile 1 while running a 5K on my route

*Encountered scary dogs around miles 6-7. Slowed down significantly and contemplated turning around

*Ran into Tom between miles 7-8 and chatted

*Stopped running at 13.1 and walked the rest

I try not to adjust my time too much for the circumstances that arise when I'm out on my training runs, because I know during a race, the clock doesn't stop.

I'm feeling pretty confident about the upcoming race. Cautiously optimistic, because, as we runners all know, anything can happen race day. It could be 95 degrees and my whole plan will get tossed aside. The run today was a much hillier course than the upcoming race. The race has one huge hill in the first couple miles, and then that's it.

Although my run was great, I had the world's worst playlist. Genius, when you are good, you are so good. When you are bad, you are bad.

The playlist was based on "American Boy." I love that song. I didn't mind the Amy Winehouse, either. I kind of like to run to her music. But, seriously, look at all that Mariah Carey. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Mariah Carey, but not that much. And not that much while out for a run.

And because you're all dying to know, an update on my hurting toe: turns out I just needed to clip my toenails. Lovely. The blood blister on the bottom of my left pinkie toe? That's another story.



Creemee Season

I was very proud of my new header this afternoon (I'm technologically challenged) and I showed Adam. "Why isn't there a picture of me?" he asked. "I'm always left out!" I guess I need to change the pictures to include one of the husband. I think I'll swap out the one of me running it the rain- it's not looking so hot.

On my way to meet Melissa this afternoon, I saw this:

Please excuse my dusty dashboard

Whoa, 83 degrees. Granted, this was sitting in traffic in the sun. It wasn't that warm on the waterfront, probably 75 degrees.

Jack and I met Melissa and Sirius and set out. Sirius reminded me a lot of Jack. Like the way when he saw something along the way that intrigued him, he had to stop and check it out. It was really cute. If Jack wasn't buckled down he'd have to check out everything along the way.

I have to say, I was a little nervous to run with Melissa because she is speedy and I had the jogger. Once we got going I felt great. It was such a nice run and the time flew by having someone to chat with. We ended up running (together) 5.5 miles (she ran a total of 9) and our splits averaged 9:57 (9:57 looks better than 10:00). I can't wait for our next running date! She said she felt like a blind date meeting under the Eiffel Tower, haha. Maybe next time both of our nerves will have calmed down a little bit.

Happy Baby

I told Jack he could have a treat for being so good all afternoon so we walked up the hill to get creemees, but their power was out so we had to get hard ice cream. He loves creemees, but isn't sure about regular ice cream.

I say creemee. I don't like "soft serve!" What do you say? When we were on vacation in South Carolina, we went to an ice cream stand and I asked for a creemee, and they were like, "Huh?!?"

Happy Friday

I'm not sure what's going on, but a post from yesterday is suddenly gone. It wasn't anything world shattering... just about cleaning, simplifying, purging... blah, blah, blah. I also made some changes to the look of the blog, but those are suddenly gone, too. Well, I started over today and I made a new header. You like? I don't LOVE it, but it's a million times better than the boring one I had before.

I ran by myself last night. 4.5 miles / 45 minutes. My legs were feeling very heavy and was glad when it was done. A highlight was the woman I saw rollerblading- people still do that?!?

The entire town is doing gardening and landscaping so I've had no relief from my itchy eyes and running nose. It was a miracle I made it through yoga this morning with minimal sneezing and nose blowing. I really needed to stretch- down dog never felt so good.

Jack's taking a nap and I'm hydrating and resting up. Why??? I have a date with Green Mountain Runner! We are going to run along the waterfront. I hope she goes easy on me!

What you lookin' at?

Oh how I love Burlington. The weather today makes the months of cold, snow and ice worth the wait.

Melissa texted me this morning to see if I wanted to run Mt. Philo with her, but with the jogger I didn't think it would be a good idea. The going up part doesn't scare me as much as the coming down part. I brought a stroller up the access road once and coming down was hairy. Don't worry, Green Mountain Runner, I will tackle Mt. Philo with you. I don't think I'll kick it's butt quite like you did, but I'll try.

I suggested we run on the waterfront, but due to my miscommunication we left without her. I had intended to run about five miles, but ended up doing 7.3. It was just so perfect. I couldn't help myself.

The last couple miles were a little stop and go. Jack wanted a drink, then a snack, then I needed some water, then he threw his hat out of the jogger.

I love the Burlington bike path along the waterfront. It has a beautiful view and it is FLAT. We crossed paths with an older man on a bicycle (wearing a neon yellow vest) about two miles in and then saw him again around our mile seven. He said, "You're still going strong?!? You're awesome!" I was feeling really tired at this point but he gave me the boost to finish strong. Coming in on the waterfront on the boardwalk, a husband said to his wife, "she's really cooking." People really knew what to say to make my day. How did they know I love compliments?

For the most part, I think the Burlington bike path is a safe place to run. That being said, it was nice today because it was very crowded and I felt very safe. There are sections that are isolated and can be a little creepy if you're on your own.

I was at Barnes and Noble last week with Jack because he loves to play with the train in the kids' section. I like to grab a book to peruse while he plays and I picked up a Runners' World guide to running (I couldn't find Kara Goucher's book). The section that caught my attention was the guide to safety for women.

Some tips that stuck out for me:

1. Run in the morning. Crimes usually occur during the evening, so run in the early morning because the "bad guys" (yes, it said "bad guys") are still sleeping.

Um, seriously?

2. When approaching a male, act confident, shoulders high and make eye contact. If you look down, it shows that you are weak.

Well, I crossed paths twice today with a sketchy looking fellow. The second time, I made it a point to make eye contact with him and he said, "What are you staring at?" Not the response I was looking for.

3. Don't run in tight or revealing clothing. Wear long, loose and baggy clothing to deter men from offering lewd remarks. The "bad guys" can't see your body so they won't want to attack you, and if you wear form fitting clothing you are inviting such comments.

I seriously thought this section was completely ridiculous and outdated. I didn't check the date, but I think it was pretty recent because it addressed the use of iPods for women runners (a big no-no). What do you think about these rules?

Attempts at Being a Fashionista

Back before mommyhood, before running and yoga-ing around, I was into fashion. I put time and energy into my outfits and I truly cared what I looked like.

Today, comfort often trumps style and far too often I fall into that trap. Don't get me wrong, I still love a great pair of jeans, but usually now they're paired with clogs or flats. I'm now more interested in cute running and yoga clothes than "real life" clothes. Blow-drying my hair and straightening it suddenly isn't a priority anymore.

I always said that I would be that mom that looks so put together, but it's hard!

 

 

 

But still feel like I'm falling a little short. I just got into the skinny jean craze, and now flare and wide leg is back.

Has anyone else fallen into a fashion rut? How do you get out of it?

Paranoia

Ah, how I love running in the sunshine. Jack and I went for a five miler this morning before I had to go to work. It was very fun, counting the school buses along the way. He's really into school bused right now and got very excited every time he saw one.

I went to Bodypump last night and wore my heart rate monitor. Last week during the hour-long class I burned 350 calories, but last night I burned 250. Was I not working as hard? She used an older release last night so I'm wondering if that makes up for the difference. I took advantage of living a half mile from the gym and walked there last night (with J in the backpack).

I tend to be extremely clumsy, bumping into things and walking into walls several times a day. On Saturday I stubbed my toe and it had been hurting, but only when I pressed on the toenail. It didn't bother me while running, I think because of the big toe box on my sneakers. I have been mentally sabotaging myself, thinking the toe is broken. Thankfully it doesn't hurt at all today. This always happens close to a race for me: I become completely paranoid. Does this happen to anyone else?

April Recap

It's a little late, but here's a quick April recap:

117 miles

I was discouraged because it's not many more miles than March, but when I looked back at March I realized I made a mistake and included ten extra miles.

In April, I completed 10, 11 and 11 mile long runs. Four speed sessions, focusing on 9:00s (sometimes faster, sometimes slower) and alternated between mile repeats and tempo runs. All of the speedword was done on the treadmill.

I used the jogger a ton last month. It doesn't help with my speed, because when using it I slow down about a minute a mile, but helps with my strength and cardio endurance. Me, Jack and the jogger are going to be bffs all summer.

I managed to get in several cross-training workouts. Aside from teaching yoga, I took several yoga classes and have been consistently attending bodypump on Monday nights. All those lunges and squats really help with powering up hills.

Thank you to all my friends and family for the support and encouragement in my running. Thank you Liz and Melissa! I've met many new bloggy friends, too, and I have to say, it's been awesome. This running blogging community rocks.

I'm still working on my Middlebury Maple Run review/recap and should have it up today. I know you all are dying to read it!

Three Weeks!

2nd to last long run before the half marathon is done!

12.3 miles / 2:12:29

I did stop for water and gu around mile 7 and didn't stop my watch. I was all ready to rock out to my yoga playlist from yesterday but forgot to charge my ipod and it died about 30 minutes in.

My pacing was right on track with where I wanted to be for this long run. It felt really hard though, I think in part because I didn't get started until noon and the sun was shining and it was warm (around 60 degrees- warm is relative when you live in the tundra for half the year). My allergies were also in full bloom today and sneezing and nose running were serious issues.

Lesson learned today: sunscreen. Wear waterproof with more than SPF 15. And apply it to places other than your face. I'm burning up.

I had a great second Mothers' Day. Spent the day with family and had a great brunch and dinner. Not to get all sappy, but I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity to be a mother. Jack is such a sweet little boy and everyday is doing something new, and can't imagine what my life would be like without him here. I am so happy to be on this ride of parenthood. It's a little crazy sometimes, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

Happy Mothers' Day to all you mamas out there!

Achoo

I am obsessed with today's yoga playlist.

I used Genius and this is what it gave me. Obsessed.

I am also currently obsessed with side plank.

Form isn't looking so hot

I love side plank and all it's variations. It works so many different muscles all at the same time. Sometimes when I'm teaching I like to hold it for a minute or more.

What am I not loving? Allergies! Ugh itchy eyes, running nose and sneezing. I was fine all day today and then this afternoon it hit me. And once I start itching my eyes I just can't stop.

Jack and I spent the night in tonight, just hanging out. I realized just in time, though, that we were out of milk. The kid loves his milk. So I put him in the backpack and we walked to the corner store.

The new workout: baby on your back and gallon of milk in your arms. Walk 1/2 mile.

Top Rack

Update: My iPhone is okay! It obviously takes me several times making the same mistake before I learn. Maybe that's why I'm always learning? You cannot use an old USB cord to update a new iPhone, it just doesn't work. I've made this mistake probably a dozen times. And today tried to fix the phone three times before I remembered what the problem was. The good news is, the phone updated before the software tried to be installed so I didn't lose anything. Phew.

Jack and I went for a nice "easy" run today.

It was hard! We took the hilly route up by the golf course.

We only had to dodge a couple runaway golf balls.

I actually love running with the jogger, but hills are extra difficult. It's harder pushing an extra fifty pounds up, but it's even harder going downhill. I was holding onto that thing for dear life, praying it doesn't get away from me. I really have to slow down going downhill.

When I used to babysit, I would always unload the dishwasher. And when the mom would come home and see what I had done, she was always so grateful. She couldn't thank me enough and I didn't understand why.

Now I do.

This is almost a daily occurance in our house. And the family I babysat for had three kids! No wonder she loved it. It's a real pain in the arse matching up all those sippy cups with their tops. They all have these weird plastic inserts so each cup has at least five pieces to it.

If I was smart, I would have stuck with one type of sippy cup so the matching up would be a little easier.

P.S. Thanks, Designer Athlete for the glass baby bottles! Yes, he's 18 months and he still uses them.

Yoga-ing in the morning- can't wait!

Did anyone see the changes made to the Vermont City Marathon course this year? What do you think? All I can say is I'm glad I'm not running the first leg- an extra 100 feet on the beltline? No, thank you!

If I'm not back in an hour...

Jack was napping, and I was making a playlist for yoga tomorrow, things were all good. I connect my iPhone to my computer and I get a prompt: new iPhone software is available. Would you like to download now? Sure, why not.

Well things didn't go so well. My phone is now is recovery mode and I need to restore it in order to update it, but the darn thing won't restore. I keep getting a message that says restore cannot be completed because of unknown error.

Jack and I are going for a run and I'm going to pray it miraculously fixes itself and I didn't lose all my info.

Who Am I?

My mama came over to hang with Jack while I went for a run tonight. He could have come with me, but the rain wasn't letting up and I didn't feel like bundling him up for a quick run. In my younger days, I loved running in the rain. And today, I loved it again.

4 miles / 38:30

Who am I? It was a hard run, but not so hard that I felt wiped out. It was the comfortable sort of hard. I'm learning more and more that I need to step out of my comfort zone. It's okay to push myself and in the end I think it will make me a better runner.

The sun is supposed to come out tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a nice, easy run with Mr. Jack.

Trending

I'm wearing my glasses today.

I don't really like wearing my glasses because, 1. the prescription is not strong enough and 2. I don't like not being able to see above, below and to the sides without moving my entire head, neck and shoulders. Maybe I should find some bigger and/or wraparound glasses.

I'm four-eyes today because I went to the eye doctor this morning. And after 17 years of being told, year after year, that my eyes are getting worse, they have stabilized for the second year in a row. Woohoo! Commence laser eye surgery fund. Donations welcome.

They dilated my eyes, which made my already ultra-sensitive blue eyes extra sensitive to sunlight. Even though it's a cloudy day, it was too bright outside for me. So what do you do when you don't own prescriptiopn sunglasses?

Wear two pairs of glasses, of course! I think I'm starting a new trend.

1/2 Cup

I got to run with Melissa today, even if it was only through side-by-side treadmills. I arrived at the gym and saw her on the treadmill and wanted to get on the one next to her, but someone had already signed up for it. After consulting Melissa, I erased the initials on the sign-up sheet and wrote my own name in- in ink. Oops.

5 miles / 48:29 (1.0 incline)

Woohoo! Felt pretty good.

1 mile @ 6.0 mph
1 mile @ 6.1 mph
1 mile @ 6.2 mph
1 mile @ 6.3 mph
.5 mile @ 6.4 mph
.5 mile @ 6.5 mph

Maybe there is hope for these short legs.

Hopefully the rain will be gone tomorrow and I can run outside. I actually don't mind running in the rain, but when it's a monsoon it's just a little too much for me to handle.

Mindful snacking went well today. I had a small piece of chocolate from the Easter bunny but stopped at one piece (let's hope that's it for the evening) and had a bowl of cinnamon toast crunch cereal to satisfy my sweet tooth.

I've been thinking a lot about portion control. One serving of pasta is half a cup. I had linguine tonight and measured it- my serving was a full cup- 400 calories. I know sometimes when I have pasta it's at least three or four servings. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, because even though pasta is carb and calorie laden, I'm not going to stop eating it. Just something to think about I guess.

run of the mill

I had an interview scheduled for this morning that was canceled so I used the time to go for a run. The forecast called for rain all day so I headed to the gym to use the treadmill. Plus, I wanted to monitor my pace.

.5 mile @ 5.5 mph (10:55)
1 mile @ 6.0 mph (10:00)
1 mile @ 6.1 mph (9:50)
1 mile @ 6.2 mph (9:40)
1 mile @ 6.3 mph (9:31)
.25 mile @ 6.4 mph (9:23)
.25 mile @ 6.5 mph (9:14)
.5 mile @ 5.5 mph (10:55)

5.5 miles / 55 minutes

For me, this is a decent pace. It felt like a hard run but I also didn't feel completely wiped out.

Adam and I are going on a date tonight (rescheduled from last week's failed date). We're are going to Leunig's Bistro, which means wine and more wine. I can't wait!

Five Jars High

After a not so stellar day yesterday, I'm feeling better.

Jack and I went to musical storytime yesterday morning, but Jack wasn't feeling the music so we just read and played with puzzles.

Jack is big for his age, he's the size of most two and three-year-olds. Sometimes I think people expect more from him because they think he's older than he is. A little boy at the library, who was probably three or four, asked his mother, "Why can't he (Jack) talk?" The mother just said that she didn't know. I don't know why, this just upset me. Jack doesn't talk yet, I know many kids his age do and it's just so draining sometimes, the constant competition. No, he can't tell me what "T" stands for or what color a frog is. But he does understand most everything I say and can stack babyfood jars five high. I'm not quite sure where to go with this rant so I guess I'll just change the subject.

I went to bodypump last night and there was a woman there who I know from our birthing class and baby yoga. She had twins and they are "brilliant" and just generally gives me major 'tude every time I see her. Well, she was right behind me in class and I held a secret little competition with her. You can bet I loaded my bar up with more weight than her, made it through every track and  with much better form. I know this is immature and petty, but hey it made me feel a little better.

Still Learning

Am I disappointed in my race performance yesterday? Yes. Am I over it today? Yes. Did I learn something? Yes.

My leg in the relay ended up being 7 miles and I finished it in 1:13, a 10:25 pace. I paced myself way too slow. My goal pace was 9:30, but I held back for the first few miles because I was afraid of burning out too soon. By the time I hit mile 5 and pick up speed, I couldn't run fast enough to make up for my lackluster time.

Our team time was 2:15- we took 12 minutes off last year's time!

I finished with my tank full. I would have been in a great position to continue on and finish the half marathon, a thought that entered my head several times.

Positives?

-10:25 is a very comfortable pace, so hopefully at this rate I can PR at the half marathon at the end of the month.
-Training on hills makes hills on race day easy. I powered up all the hills when everyone around me had stopped to walk.
-I found a great mantra. "Run smart, run strong." I kept thinking this running up all the hills. Also, "Once you're over the hill, you begin to pick up speed." (Charles Schulz)

We only took one pic, pre-race

I'm planning on writing a full race review later. For now, Jack and I are off to musical storytime.

I hope everyone who raced this weekend had a great race, or if not, learned a little something.