I Have Run

I've never done a #WIAW (what I ate Wednesday) on Instagram because I'm pretty sure no one cares what I ate today. In fact, it might frighten some people, and I like to steer clear of things that scare people away. However, I will tell you: What I Read: On the plane trip to Boston, I read The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry . The fact that I read it cover to cover instead of even attempting to sleep after getting only about three hours of sleep is a pretty good indication that it was a page turner. What I Listened To: For some reason, this song made me really start to cry while I was running Boston. So of course I kept playing it over and over. I didn't, however, keep crying. Just the first time. What I Was Told: Ellie came in while I was putting my running clothes on the other morning. I didn't have a shirt on yet, just my shorts and sports bra. She came over and poked my fat roll and said, "I can see your chubbies." Nothing like having someone

My abs hurt. Not because I'm doing some fabulous new workout that is sculpting them into the six pack I've always wanted. Pretty much the opposite in fact. Since Monday, I have only worked out once. It consisted of a three mile walk on the treadmill and one round of 8-minute abs on Thursday. Hardly enough to make it hurt when I gingerly touch my rib cage. The sore abs are the result of constant coughing. I started to feel sick on Tuesday. I blame my post-marathon weakened immune system combined with being confined in an airplane with all sorts of germs for 5+ hours immediately after running said marathon. My congestion and achy body soon turned into a full-blown cold. It decided to settle into my chest the last few days, and I have been coughing like its my job the past 24 hours. On the bright side, if I'm going to be sick, I'm glad it's on a recovery week and that it happened after the marathon. Since I'm recovering and sick, there was no run for

Writing a race report is always hard. Trying to remember everything. Knowing how to start and what to include. Writing a race report about the Boston Marathon is even more difficult. It's hard to do justice to so many things about it and so much is hard to put into words. So much of what makes it so incredible is the emotion. And emotion is hard to translate into words. But I'll do my best to share some of my experience with you. This year was different from last year in so many ways: I didn't go with Scott this year. I flew out by myself on Friday (a whole experience and story in itself and the reason I justifiably loath United Airlines now) and stayed with some amazing girls, including one of the few people I'd willingly share a bed with. I was able to attend a cozy little Q&A with Desi Linden and Amy Cragg . I ran a slow easy 3.5 miles with my friends two days before the race. I usually take the two days before the race off completely, but

Since I'm a procrastinator, I still have a lot to do before I leave for Boston. Here are a few of the things I am doing to get ready: Updating my playlist. There's a good chance I'll just put this song on repeat all 26.2 miles (the video is just an awesome little bonus for you): Getting notes from my girls. Ellie wrote one of hers over a week ago and held off until Tuesday to give it to me. There have been others written since, and I'm guessing there will be more. I get instructions with each note whether or not it is supposed to go with me to Boston. Randomly putting things I need to pack in a pile on my desk. Going to lunch with the two girls who help keep my head on right. Of course Megan brought a "good luck" surprise. I'll be painting my nails this color ASAP. It has kind of become a tradition/good luck charm to paint my nails with the new polish she gives me before my races. And because the picture doesn't do it justice:

I'm tired. Spring break + extra kiddos = a very messed up sleep schedule. It's taking its toll on all of us. I made Ellie take a nap one of the mornings because she was so tired she had a meltdown because her pancakes wouldn't stay on her fork. It took less than a minute after she crawled into my bed at 10 am for her to fall asleep. Deep breathing kind of asleep. With a marathon one week from today, my focus for the next week will most definitely be on getting lots of sleep. On Friday, I'll be on a plane to Boston. Once there, I will do my best to get enough sleep, especially since I always have a hard time sleeping the night before a race. When I'm worried about or interested in something, I read everything I can to find out and learn more about that thing. A few races ago, I wanted to find out how my sleep was affecting my running. This http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/running-on-no-sleep/ is one great article that helped calm my fe

We did all things Easter over the weekend. There was coloring eggs and an Easter egg hunt. And the Easter bunny came.  Their book sets were the highlight for them. The Party Cake Peeps and Bubblegum Peeps came in a close second. For the record, the Bubblegum Peeps are the bomb. Then we watched some General Conference. With the obligatory Conference Bingo cards. Two for each of my girls to increase their odds of getting a bingo. It is a highly effective listening tool, for the record. And totally worth the prizes they earned (thank you Target $1 Spot). My favorite thing from the Easter bunny. I traded my Cadbury Creme Eggs (yuck) for Ellie's Cadbury Caramel Eggs (yum). And Scott professed his love for me when he gave me his. My runs this week have been shorter because I am in full taper mode. We have two extra kiddos this week while their parents are out of town. It is spring break, so yesterday the kids came along on scooter and bikes wh

I guess technically I'm tapering. I ran 22 miles on Saturday and this week's long run was 14 miles. So that also means the taper crazies are on the horizon. I thought I might be getting an early jump on things when my calves and shins both hurt after my Monday run. Then I decided to check the miles on my shoes. I can't remember the exact number, but I know it was in the 470s. Most of my Kinvaras have been retired around 450 miles. And most of the time their retirement coincides with some sore calves and shins after a few runs. So I think it's time. The worst is when the shoes still look pretty good, which this pair does. And they are a little sentimental because the hubs bought them after I first qualified for Boston because they are blue and yellow (BAA colors) and I wore them to run Boston last year. They might be a pair that gets a permanent spot in my closet because I can't bear to part with them. When I began wearing Kinvaras several years ago, I di