Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2013

A forgotten bunny

Monday was Polar Express day at school for my Bean. That meant she got to wear her jammies to school and take a stuffed animal to snuggle while they watched the movie. As we pulled into the drop-off line, she informed me in a voice of panic mixed with sadness that she forgot her stuffed bunny. Like everyone else in the world, I had a crazy busy week. Going home to get her bunny would add an extra 40 minutes to my morning. But I couldn't bring myself to tell her I wouldn't go get it. As I walked into the school 40+ frustrating minutes later, I ran into my aunt. She's the director (like the principal) at my girls' school. When I explained why I was there, green bunny in tow, she pointed out how kids with working moms wouldn't be so lucky. And we agreed that it made our hearts a little sad to think about. That few minutes with my aunt turned my day around. It reminded me how lucky I am to be able to do things like retrieve a forgotten bunny. And to pick

Dashing through the snow and a winner

Before we get to the winner (finally) of the Spartan race entry giveaway, here's a little throwback to The Runner's Jingle Bells - Half Marathon Edition, which I wrote and posted on the blog two years ago: Dashing through the snow, On a thirteen (.1) mile run. O'er the hills we go, Racing is so fun. As my iPod plays, Helping miles pass, Oh what fun it is to run, I hope I'm not in last. Running fast, running far, Running all the way. I can see the finish line, Just half a mile away. And the winner of the Spartan Race Giveaway: kishcrafts Please email candice@runnerd.com for information on how to register for the free race of your choice.  

Let the Christmas Countdown Begin

After five fun-filled family days, I am a little behind on things. One of the things that was overlooked during all the fun was a reminder that the end of the Spartan Race Entry Giveaway was nearing. And is now upon us. Instead of announcing the winner, I am extending the deadline until the end of this week (Friday, Dec. 6)!! So enter now. And don't forget to watch the World Championship Spartan Race on NBC Sports this Saturday. I hope you all had perfect Thanksgiving holidays. Mine was amazing. I ran the Thankful 13 half marathon and really just ran completely for fun. I even stopped to get some love from my family. Nothing beats seeing their faces unexpectedly during the race and getting hugs at the finish. Dinner at the restaurant was yummy, even if it wasn't exactly a traditional Thanksgiving meal. And the rest of the weekend was full of family, games, goodies and a little shopping. One of the weekend's highlights was putting up and decorating our tree. The r

Thankful for sugar cookies and restaurants

This morning I got up early, took a shower and got completely ready. In normal, grown-up clothes. Not running clothes. It is the first time I have done that in a long time. This is especially worth documenting because I even wore something other than jeans, which is rare. I love jeans. Almost as much as I love running clothes. Not sure if I've ever mentioned that. I had a doctor's appointment, which I felt was a good enough reason to get dressed for the day. So my run has been scheduled for later in the day. Last night I had date night with Janae . After devouring my sugar cookie, we talked about our Thanksgiving plans. It's funny because every time I tell someone my plans, I expect the complete opposite reaction of what I inevitably get. The I Have Run family is going to a restaurant with a big group of my aunts, uncles, grandpa and cousins. Other people seem to think eating Thanksgiving at a restaurant sounds like a great idea. I'm getting used to the idea

Do Spartans run virtual races?

Hello everyone. I have been keeping busy. Seems like every time I think things are slowing down, my calendar starts filling up again. I have a work project due right after Thanksgiving and two cake projects in the next two weeks. No matter how busy I get though, I know I have to make time to run. It just makes everything else go more smoothly. This is true even when everything leading up to the run seems to be working against me, which happened to be the case on Friday. On Wednesday, I couldn't find my headphones (which are also a wireless MP3 player) when I got back to my car after my run. I had taken them out of my ears when I finished running and put them in my pocket while I walked the last little bit to my car. When I realized they were missing, I retraced my steps and found them about 100 feet from my car. Friday when I went to use them, I noticed they were a little banged up. Looking closer, I realized they had actually been run over. And they didn't work anymore.

A Healthier Me...with a cherry on top

Yesterday I ran eight great miles. Actually, six of them were great. The first two kind of sucked. I had a bad attitude all morning, and I took it with me on my run. After two miles spent focusing on all the things I want to change about my body, I started to think about the things I like about it and how it lets me run mile after mile. The funny thing is the nicer I am to my body, the nicer it is to me. And the more I focus on what I like about it, the more I like it. Being nice to it has a lot to do with how and what I eat and drink. A few weeks ago I received some Cheribundi cherry juice to try. I decided to try the Cheribundi 7-Day Challenge since some of the benefits include: reduced post-exercise muscle and joint pain carbohydrates that provide energy and nutrients promotes deeper, more restful sleep post-workout because it contains significant levels of melatonin After too many recent restless nights, which mean less energy, the possibility of better

Bins of Christmas Cheer

I'm not usually a TGIF kind of girl. Don't get me wrong. I love the weekends. But I try to make the most of every day. Yes even Monday. But this week I'm kind of happy it's finally Friday. It has been a busy week, as you can see from my lack of posts. But it has been a good kind of busy. I've been working on a freelance editing project. I also had a cupcake/cake order from my cousin for her son's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. And I have to point out that the eagle in the bottom of the picture is made of fondant. And that I, of no natural artistic abilities, free handed that eagle and am a little bit proud of it. It will go on top of the cake just before it is displayed. I've been trying to get my house decorated for Christmas (which is a multiple day project even when I don't have anything else to do). Yes, those bins are stacked three high. And they are full of Christmas cheer! And I have also been running. There's always running because,

Candy Crush is evil

I have been meaning to post the past few days but keep getting sidetracked by Candy Crush. That's one of the problems with blogging on my iPad. The game apps are there to distract me. I'm not telling you this so you will send me an invite to play Candy Crush. I don't exactly understand the purpose of those invitations anyway. So don't send me one. I'll just delete it. The point is, I obviously failed miserably at Candy Crush because here I am posting anyway. Don't you just hate it when you have to wait almost 20 minutes for another life?!? In addition to playing Candy Crush, I have been doing a little running lately. With two unplanned rest days last week (life happens and you have to learn to roll with it), I was happy to still end the week with 40 miles. My focus the entire week was to just enjoy each run. I didn't worry about speed or distance. I ran completely based on how I felt. And I ended up with some great runs. I've learned that some

Found something I don't like in oatmeal

Yesterday I wore a pair of my old running tights that I bought back when my main priority when it came to running clothes was the price. As in a low price. I did make sure they had flat seams and wicking material, but the price was always the make-or-break point. These particular tights are not particularly tight. So they are also not particularly flattering. They are loose in all the places you want them to be tight. And they are just loose enough that they move in the opposite direction of your legs when you are running, which tends to make one hyper-aware of one's body and what seems to be the jiggling of it. Not nice. Today I wore a pair of running tights I got for my birthday last month. And they were amazing. Tight in all the right places. Just the right thickness. And very important - not too tight anywhere that they caused rolls or bulges. Pretty much perfect. I know you can't tell much of a difference in this picture, but trust me. There is a night and day differ

Show Your Runnerdness - A Contest (with prizes!!)

The runnerd photo-a-day contest starts tomorrow! Anyone who posts at least 15 days in November will receive an oval runnerd sticker.  Please tag @teamrunnerd on all your posts!  Everyone who posts every day will be entered into a drawing for the item of your choice (up to $25 value) from the Runnerd Shop. There will be two winners selected by random.org. These winners will each receive a runnerd keychain.  There will be three category winners, one for each of the following: 1- most creative 2 - funniest 3 - most runnerd The nominees will be selected by @teamrunnerd and then voted on by you!  Remember to try to make your posts as runnerdy as possible.  You can send any questions to candice@runnerd.com or  leavea comment on this post. I'm excited to see your posts! 

Bottling up happiness

If I could bottle up the conversation and happiness that comes with spending time with these two and take it on every run, I'd be sure to get out of this funk. Me, Janae & Heather Yep, I'm in a funk. I'm sure it doesn't help that I haven't been sleeping very well lately (Is there such a thing as adult onset insomnia? Or is that just called insomnia? Whatever it is, I think I might have it.) and eating way too much crap. Or that eating everything in sight has made me feel not so great about my body lately.  Whatever IT is, IT is carrying over into my runs. Every run seems a little harder and seems to drag on a little more than it should. The only redeeming things are that the second half is always (mildly) better than the first half and that I always get my runner's high. So this morning I was glad I got out there instead of heading back to bed after I dropped my girls off at school. Anyhow, here is the recipe for the coconut almond granol

Giant Nutella and Pumpkin Pie

Yesterday I ran seven miles. I wasn't sure I was going to make it when the first two miles were not only uphill but also into the wind. But once I got to the trail, I had a crosswind, which seemed entirely bearable after a headwind! After some T25 ab intervals, I picked up my Bean and we went to Costco so we could spoil our lunch. Bean really wanted to take home some Nutella. The $40 price tag (and the four jars of Nutella in my pantry) kept me in check. Don't worry though. I did buy a pumpkin pie. Today's run was an easy five. It wasn't, however, as easy as I would have liked. My legs felt heavy the first two miles. I'm not sure if it was because they felt like they never really warmed up - probably because of the rain - or because they were just tired from yesterday's windy effort. Just after my turnaround point, it started to hail. Which is actually a first for me while running. Then it was a downpour until it finally let up the last mile.

Climbing, cookies and carving...a Saturday

I kicked off the weekend with 14 miles on Saturday morning. Since I slept in, my little family dropped me off, and I ran the 14 miles home. Less than a mile in, I had to climb this fence, which was blocking a trail. Not a road. And for absolutely no apparent reason.  For some reason, the miles seemed to go by so slowly. The highlight was seeing my fam at mile 10. They brought me some water to wash down an energy gel, which I thought might help get me through the last few miles. It was my first time trying Salted Caramel GU, and it was awesome. Seriously. Maybe it was partly because it was almost noon and all I'd eaten so far was a banana, but no matter the reason, I liked it enough that I stopped by the running store today and bought a handful more. After I GUed, the hubs performed his job as official I Have Run photographer; then the fam headed home so I could finish my run.  Saturday night we frosted cookies and carved pumpkins with cousins. The adults attempt

Owning My Runnerdness

What do you do between loads of laundry? Today I did a T25 workout. And it kicked my booty. It was one I haven't done before - Core Cardio. I certainly got the cardio part out of it, but I didn't really feel it in my core like I hoped. So I followed it up with some ab exercises. Then I did some arm strength since I was a slacker after my track workout yesterday and got straight in the shower when I got home. Tomorrow is long run day. The plan is to make it a family outing. These are my favorite runs because I get surprised by my favorite little faces throughout my run. Since my long(ish) run is tomorrow, today is a rest day from running. However I made sure to own my runnerdness, thanks to some of my amazing friends who gave me the cutest runnerd necklace for my birthday.  Do you have a long run this weekend? Or other fun plans? 

Things I Love Thursday - Three Random Things

It's Thursday. Not sure how. But here it is. And I am definitely loving some things today! 1. The track. Not any track though. The outdoor track at BYU is my new favorite place for speedwork. If you would have told me I would be in love with that blue oval when I was a student there, I would have been sure you'd recently escaped from the state mental hospital. Which, as a side note, used to host a haunted house every Halloween. Creepy much? 2.  My current hydration tool. I'm sort of obsessed with cups. And the ones with built in insulation are my favorites. Add a seasonal touch...new favorite. 3. This kid in her Halloween costume. Her life is all things horses, so of course she wanted to be a horse rider for Halloween. Her costume came in the mail yesterday and has been her outfit of choice ever since. She even wanted to wear it to bed.

Getting My Groove Back

I loaded the blogger app on my phone in hopes that it will help me be a better and more regular blogger. I guess we'll see if it works. After recovering mentally and physically from back-to-back marathons and battling some hip joint issues the past month, I feel like I'm starting to find my running groove again. I'm focusing on letting my body dictate how hard and how far I run. I'm making cross training a solid part of my weekly workouts. And I'm educating myself (with a bunch of books the hubs surprised me with) so next year can be even better than this year in my little running world. And that, my friends, is a post. Maybe if I keep them short and sweet like this, posts really might happen more often. Maybe...

More proof that running is mental (another "sort of" race report)

If you follow me on Instagram, you know I started a new training plan yesterday. I needed something to get me out the door. Something to work on and toward.  Last week began with physical therapy and my doctor telling me to take a few days off. My SI joints had decided they like locking up a few weeks before and weren't cooperating after running my second marathon in three weeks. So I took a few days off and ran again on Wednesday. My runs on Wednesday and Thursday were good but not great. And Friday I ran with the cross country team, but my heart just wasn't in it. Saturday I was supposed to run 10 miles, but I slept in and didn't get started until almost noon. The only thing I had eaten is a banana, which works great if I am running first thing in the morning. Three miles in I knew it was going to be cut short. I stopped and called it at four miles. All this came the week after the St. George marathon, which itself was a challenge. I'm looking at it as a learning expe

Big Cottonwood Marathon - A recap of sorts

Running 26.2 miles, no matter what the course is like or how well you have trained, is hard. I still don't love the distance, but there is nothing like crossing the finish line of a marathon. Nothing. On September 14, I completed Big Cottonwood Marathon. Here are a few things I never want to forget, things I always want to remember and things that worked for me. Things I Never Want to Forget This moment.... When I got home, I went upstairs to shower, with a little detour to register for Boston.   I saw my family for the first time at mile 17. It was really the first time you could see spectators, and I tried to take in the sight as much as I could! I have only cried happy tears a handful of times in my life. This day was one of them. Especially when I texted the person who has believed in me and cheered me on through it all more than anyone, other than my family. I did get to have a mostly incoherent phone call with her a few minutes later. Both are moments I will a