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Trots

Wow do I feel out of touch with the running/blogging world! Between Thanksgiving and round three of the Bean's stomach virus (which was a fun-filled four days of puke and the trots), I have spent very little time on the computer in the past week. There were even days I spent NO time on the computer. I can't tell you the last time that happened. There hasn't been much running lately either, except for one little 5K that is worth a mention. On Thanksgiving, I ran a Turkey Trot (a completely different kind of trot) with the hopes of a PR, which meant better than 27:49. My goal was under 27:00. I was a little nervous the morning of the race since the temps were in the single digits. It was a toasty 12 degrees (F) when the race began. Fortunately my sponsors (aka the hubby and my girls) drove me to the race, so I stayed in the warm vehicle until I saw people lining up at the start. Armed with my double layers of socks, gloves and hats and my new tights, I was good to go from

A Runner in Need

When I last posted, my little Bean was sick. A week before that, the hubs and I got a call from the babysitter while we were out to dinner letting us know The Princess had thrown up. Then last night, a week after Bean recovered from her 48-hour bug, she puked three times. Needless to say, we have been doing lots of laundry, steam cleaning carpets, and disinfecting things the past few weeks. However, with our latest round of puke, we have an added adventure. The washing machine isn't working. So there is a mound of vomit-covered laundry waiting for the repairman to come work his magic this afternoon. Bean's bumper pad and my comforter, however, are too big for the washer and need a visit to the laundromat. I'm hoping the repairman is speedy because there is a blizzard warning for this afternoon. Life is never dull! Now on to non-puke related things. Because we are part of one of the most amazing groups of people in the world, I need your help. One of our fellow runner(d)s n

Trump

I'm tired. I haven't run since Saturday. I haven't read one blog since last week. My kitchen floor desperately needs mopped. My to-do list is ridiculously long. That's what happens when your baby gets sick. Throwing up nine times yesterday sick. Sleeping with Mommy and Daddy sick. Not eating sick. Falling asleep in Mommy's arms at ten in the morning sick. Currently working on an unheard-of second nap of the day sick. Yet snuggling my baby when she is sick is one of the few things that can come between me and a run without any accompanying feelings of guilt. Mommy trumps runner every time.

Runner Bean

I like to run while The Princess is at preschool so I can run outside but only have to push the single jogger. My Bean loves our runs because she gets to hang out with Mom, eat snacks, watch movies on my iPod (and sometimes sleep). She never asks to get out; she just enjoys the ride. (Wednesday's run. Calm, 40 degrees, snow flurries. Perfect.) When I go running with both my girls, The Princess always wants to get out and run at some point. My little Bean will get out and run a few steps, but she usually sticks pretty close to me. For her, it isn't about the running. She just wants to get out because her sister is out. And she half-heartedly runs because her sister is running. Then the other day, she randomly brought me her "running shoes" and put them to good use. (Don't mind the rest of her outfit. She got some big girl panties - sorry EMZ - that day and didn't want to wear anything over them. Luckily she was okay wearing her diaper under them.) She might j

Thankful

This morning I found out a friend from high school was put on hospice. Breast cancer. My age. Three small children. She has been strong. She has had faith. She has stayed happy. She's losing the fight. Then my girl came home from preschool and told me she needs to take money to school. Not to buy a sucker. Because two little girls in her school are sick. And need medicine. That will make their hair fall out. So I ran four miles. I kept turning up the music. Kept speeding up the treadmill . Trying not to think anymore. This song came on. And I couldn't help but think. Today I am thankful. Not because it's November. Just because. So thankful. For everything. Good and bad.

Too much of a good thing

Because I've been spending so much time with this: I am grateful I get to spend time with these: What are you grateful for today?

I Like It

When we didn't find any grasshoppers on Monday's run, we tried again yesterday without any luck. However yesterday's run was not without entertainment. I let the girls "run" the last .5 mile (I say "run" because that portion took as long as the previous 2.6 miles had taken ). While the girls were running, we started to cross a street as a car approached. The Princess was helping push the stroller, so we were moving pretty slow. As the car passed, I noticed the look on the driver's face and said, "I think that lady was annoyed at us." The Princess' reply: "She can't be annoyed at me. She isn't my mom. Only moms can be annoyed at children." Okay then. While there are many more mommy/daughter runs ahead, I think that might have been our last grasshopper run. This morning when we came downstairs, we found a new little friend sleeping soundly in a jar on the counter. Apparently the hubby found this furry little gal (of cou

Fear the Beard

I had a request today to run with my girls. The Princess wants to look for grasshoppers. Last week, we saw dozens of grasshoppers during a run, and then The Princess found one in the backyard the other day and asked me to catch it in a jar. So I did. My girls were fascinated and entertained by the grasshopper for hours. The Princess named it Avrie Hallie Emma Sophie Gracie Candice after her favorite friends at school (and me!); her dad suggested we call it Hopper for short. After Hopper spent the night with us, I suggested we let Hopper go (after seeing how much poop – at least that’s what I think it was – a grasshopper could produce in one night) . After some initial resistance, I told the girls Hopper’s family was probably worried about him/her, and they decided to set it free. So today we will venture out to find another grasshopper or two that would like to spend the night at our house (and experience some mild torture as the girls press their faces against the glass and constantly

Runner Envy

I do some of my best thinking while running. If I don't solve world peace while running, then it will happen while I am in the shower or lying in bed, trying (and failing) to fall asleep. Yesterday's brilliance happened when I should have been sleeping. As I was staring at the dark ceiling, I realized I have a problem with one of the Ten Commandments. You know that one that says not to covet. Me = guilty. Unfortunately we live in a culture of me, me, me and more, more, more. Raising kids in that culture is hard enough. But just because I am aware of the pressure and influences they face and will do everything I can to teach them gratitude and self worth, my awareness doesn't mean I am immune. I thought about how blessed I am in so many ways (especially the ways that really count, such as my health, beautiful and healthy children, an amazing spouse, a roof over our head, food on our table) and knew my covetousness is not healthy. Probably normal, but still not good. Then c

Come Together

I got the total miles in that my training plan called for last week, in spite of cutting my run short again on Saturday. The sky was pretty dark when I headed out the door, and less than a mile in I stopped to put the rain cover on the jogger. By the time I called it quits, I was soaked. I normally love to run in the rain, but it was pretty cold and I wasn't prepared for the combination of cold and wet. If I had remembered a hat and gloves, I probably would have kept going. That's the thing about us runners. The weather doesn't often stop us. My feelings about cold weather completely changed when I started running. This was one of the things I thought about after Iron Mike suggested a Runnerds Facebook page. If there was going to be a page, there needed to be a definition. And now both are HERE . There isn't much on the page yet, but this isn't my FB page; it's OURS. So spread the word and add your thoughts. Join the discussion. And if you decide to write you

Runnerds

I had seven miles on the schedule for today. The weather was perfect - upper 50s and overcast - and my Bean was happily singing along to Glee tunes (iPod Touch with built-in speaker = genius) . The only thing not cooperating? My legs. I'm pretty sure they were on strike. A little over a mile in, Bean started repeating "Home?" I decided she might be right, and decided to head back. I did an out and back, so of course as I started mile three my legs decided to come back to work and Bean fell asleep. I made it back to the car at 3.2 miles and will put in seven on the mill during naps tomorrow. As I loaded the stroller, I saw this: My husband gave me that sticker for Christmas last year and was the one who stuck it to the back of our vehicle. On our way to St. George for the marathon, we saw quite a few other vehicles with running stickers on them. Most were a simple 26.2 or Runner Girl or were marathon specific. But then we saw a car with three stickers on the back driver&#

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

Have you read EMZ's post today? If not, you should. It isn't at all confusing and is completely convincing. So much so, that I took her words to heart. My girls finished eating lunch at 1:10, already 10 minutes past nap time. As they finished, The Princess asked for the tenth or so time today if we could go lay on a blanket and look at the shapes in the clouds. She has been asking for months to do this exact thing, there just aren't ever the right kind of clouds in the sky when she asks. Today's clouds were pretty good though. And while I almost automatically said "no" when she asked because it was time for naps, I thought about what EMZ wrote and hesitated. Then I told The Princess to go spread a blanket in the backyard and out we went. Our cloud-watching only lasted about 10 minutes because 1 pm actually isn't the best time to be staring straight up into the sky on a sunny day. But those 10 minutes were worth every second. RUN: At almost any given time

You Smell Like a Monkey

Another great birthday. Another year older. A new running age group in most races. I'm trying to embrace my age. I am doing an awesome job if embrace is a synonym for denial. In honor of my birthday week, some of you asked birthday-related questions as part of my Sweaty Bands giveaway. Here are the answers my sleep-deprived mind put together: (The question I chose as the most creative and which earned an extra entry in the Sweaty Bands giveaway was this one:) Emz said... What's your favorite birthday smell. I know. Weird. But as a kid on my birthday I always woke up to the smell of carrot cake. So my Hubby being the baker he is bought me a carrot cake candle he lights every birthday morning. ;) I love this! How sweet is your hubby? My favorite birthday smell is my mom's homemade German Chocolate Cake. And now for the rest of them... Karen said... If you could have anyone from all of history jump out of your birthday cake, who would it be and what would they be wearing? An

Sweaty Bands Winner

The winner of the Sweaty Bands giveaway (chosen by Random.org) is: MEREDITH @ Therapeutic Runnings of a Mom Congrats!! Please send your mailing info to ihaverun@hotmail.com , and I will get your band on its way.

The Princess

The Princess, in all her 4-year-old wisdom, has shared some profound thoughts lately. After the St. George Marathon, The Princess told me I won. Yep, I won the St. George Marathon. Go me! She is smart enough to have noticed that everyone else that ran also had a medal, but she somehow worked that out in her mind. According to her, I won, even though the other runners got medals too. However, she clarified that I won because I am THE runner. Apparently, I have abs like Ariel and Jasmine when I am lying on my back. If only. She noted that she too has Ariel-abs when lying down, and then wondered why her belly sticks out (umm, only because she was pushing her ridiculously flat, tone stomach out on purpose) when she sits up. I mentally thanked her for not pointing out that my belly does the same thing when I sit up, yet without trying to push it out. Last but not least, The Princess told me a few weeks ago that she wants to be a farmer, a doctor, a teacher, a nurse, a worker girl and a ha

A new mantra (and a giveaway)

We are all about birthdays around here, so much that we acknowledge the entire "birthday week." Well it just so happens that my birthday week has begun, and to celebrate I am having a giveaway. When I was on the search for the perfect headband, Sweaty Bands sent me two headbands to try, and I am sharing one of those with one of you (don't worry, I only tried out the one I am keeping). The one you can get is a 1 1/2 inch wide band, white with multi-color dots. I borrowed this picture of the headband from the Sweaty Bands web site (no that isn't me) : If you want to win this headband, here's what you should do: Follow I Have Run . Leave a comment to let me know you are a follower. Visit the Sweaty Bands web site and tell me what else you like in another comment. Post a link to this giveaway on your blog or on Facebook. Leave a comment to let me know. In yet another comment, ask me a birthday-related question. Be creative. Don't just ask how old I am going t

One of the Cool Kids

Did you know 1 km is 0.62137119 OR 15625/25146 miles? As a miles girl myself, I actually had to look that up during my last training cycle because one of my runs called for 1 km repeats. I needed to know it again when I committed to running Barefoot Neil Z's 2010 *10-10* Virtual Race. Since I just signed up yesterday and only had one day to get my race on, I opted for the lowest possible commitment. Pretty pathetic that I wouldn't even commit to 1 mile, but I figured with 1 km I had a better chance of getting my little running buddies to tag along on foot rather than in the jogger for a change. We ran – or rather Bean with her short, tiny legs ran – and The Princess and I pretended to run to keep pace with her. We ran to the church around the corner and then we ran back; I'm pretty sure it's just short of 1/4 mile each way, so we ran (chased each other) around the yard for good measure. So there you have it. My 1 km run.

SMILE - St. George Marathon in Pictures

All smiles (and double waves??) for the cameras. The happiest moment of the marathon - seeing my family! Running with my girl. Finished. As I neared the finish, the crowd was going crazy. As soon as Spiderman went by, I knew why. Can you imagine running in the heat in that ?? Crazy! A smooch for my other little running partner. My AWESOME aunt, uncle and cousin (the one who ran with me near the finish). So happy to be done! My amazing little family. I haven't really had a good place to keep my medals; I found this surprise waiting for me at home. The Medal

2010 St. George Marathon

I basically had my race report written (in my head) before the St. George Marathon even started. I was that prepared mentally for the race. After the race, I also knew my legs had been prepared to go the distance. Unfortunately though, that wasn't enough. So instead of the race report I thought I would be writing, you get this. The Good I finished. With a smile on my face. The smile was a result of seeing my husband, girls, aunt, uncle and cousin just before I rounded the corner to the finish. There is nothing like having support to get you through something tough. I thought I would cry when I saw them, but instead I was just overwhelmingly happy. My cousin ran part of the last 1/2 mile with me. Having a little conversation to distract me was exactly what I needed. During the race, I actually thought several times about how nice it would be to run with someone else just for that little push or distraction when you need it. I have spent the last few days focusing on what I can l

Don't Stop Believin'

I have... a cold that has hung around for two weeks and came with a cough that sounds (and feels) like repeated attempts to hack up my lungs. a headache almost every single day from a new medication I am taking. a forecast that is warmer than I would like. a few excuses to not push myself and reach my goals on Saturday. I also have... two awesome little girls and an amazing, supportive husband who will cheer me across the finish line. a cousin who is making the trip to St. George to show her support. a brother and sister-in-law who are holding down the fort at home (aka taking care of our Rowdy boy) so I don't have to worry about anything once I head south. an aunt and uncle who are graciously inviting us into their home, which will make the entire weekend easier and more enjoyable. the experience of one marathon behind me. another year of running under my belt since that marathon. the knowledge of what my body can do and push through, after a year of dealing with IT band issues

My Talking Head

With the countdown clock ticking away, it's time to talk about one of the most important parts of marathon preparation - what to wear. I did a test run of my planned marathon apparel yesterday. I actually bought a new running skirt about a month ago to wear on race day. This is my fourth Running Skirt , but it fits differently than the other three. That would be fine, except the difference makes it ride up in the back. I get this little bunch of fabric above my booty and it makes the already short skirt reveal a little too much on the back end. Have any of you Running Skirts fans had this problem? I love my other running skirts and have run most of my races in them, but I'm not thinking my newest one will be featured in any race pictures. I'm sure it would provide some entertainment for the few runners that would be behind me, but I just can't spend 26.2 miles tugging my skirt down and wondering how many people got a look at my butt cheeks. So I decided to go with these

Ready or Not

I can't believe it has been so long since my last post. I haven't spent the past two weeks in a tropical paradise or on my near-death bed. I've just been hangin' with my girls, getting stuff done, living life. Blogging kind of got pushed to the bottom of my to-do list and is just now making its way back up. Someday I hope to be one of those bloggers who posts every day (even every other day would be an accomplishment for me), but for now I just do what I do. Anyhow, now that I finished Mockingjay and as long as I can withstand the temptation of all the returning fall TV shows, I plan to get back to blogging on (my version of) a regular basis. I have several posts floating around in my head, so that helps too! Maybe I should take a few weeks off more often. And since this is a running blog, I should mention I have been running lately. I still don't feel ready to run a marathon one week from tomorrow, but ready or not, I am running. I am looking forward to getting

You Can't Always Get What You Want

I know I've said it before, but I'm saying it again. I. LOVE. SPEEDWORK. I never feel stronger (or faster) than when I am doing speedwork. Tonight's run was a fartlek workout on the treadmill. Somehow The Princess has trained her body to poop at bedtime. Could a kid come up with a better excuse to get out of bed EVERY night? I mean how can you tell your child to go back to bed when she really needs to go and manages to get something out every single time . And tonight, every single time happened THREE times. So with that delay and a second round of rocking my baby (I know she's two but she's still my baby) to sleep, I didn't get on the treadmill until 8pm. I did a short warm-up and then did four x 5-minute intervals @ 10K pace (8:49) with 2-minute recovery jogs. My plan called for four or five intervals; I went with four because I was hungry and was pretty sure my husband wanted to eat dinner sooner than later since he waited to eat with me instead of eating wi

Pride

Your comments on my last post prove that we are part of a community of accepting, compassionate and passionate runners. Thanks for reminding me that those women are a tiny minority in a big group of amazing runners. Thanks also for your many headband comments. I am not sold on Bondi Bands, just because they are so wide. I'm still debating whether or not to give them a try. I will let you know what ends up being the Holy Grail of headbands (at least for me) when I find it. In spite of continuing headbands woes, I have been running. I am LOVING the fall weather and took advantage of the cooler evenings and ran with my girls a few times to get a break from my other treadmill runs during the week. My long run was planned for Friday because Sunday was my little Bean's birthday so Saturday was going to be prep day. I headed out around 6:30 with my Bean while The Princess and the hubs hung out at home. The plan was an out and back so I could put Bean to bed and then head back out.

Disappointed

Runners come in all shapes, sizes and speeds. We are one of the most unique groups of people I have ever been able to call myself a part of, and that is one of the things I love about us. The community of runners I have found in the blog world is a group of accepting, caring, encouraging people who have a shared passion for this crazy thing we all do. For the most part, I have experienced the same thing when I line up for a race. I am surrounded by people skinnier, fatter, shorter, taller, older, younger. Yet here we all are, united by running. And although I am often a little intimidated, the feeling has always been created within myself and never as a result of the people around me. I realize we are all human and have different personalities and insecurities, but I was still disappointed when I heard the conversation going on between two women in front of me in the port-a-potty line at my last race. They were taking turns making fun of a woman in the line next to us. Fortunately they

Three Things Thursday - Photo Edition

1. The Princess started preschool on Monday. She literally couldn't have been more excited. Some of the excitement had to do with her new clothes. While the Princess was at school, I took advantage of the cooler temps and the chance to push the single jogger and took my little Bean on a run. While running, she looked up at me from the jogger at least a dozen times and asked, "Sissy?" 2. I told you my pictures from the Hobble Creek Half would probably show exactly how I felt. Here's the proof: This was the best smile I could manage when I saw the photographer. 3. I've had some great runs since my Hobble Creek learning experience. I ran an easy three on Monday and another slightly faster three yesterday, both with the single jogger. On Tuesday, I got in some cross training on the bike and some HARD core. While she does miss her sister, I think my Bean enjoys her single jogger runs. This was how she kicked back in her jammies and made the most of it last night. And y

Fun = FAIL

You know how they say the memory of the pain of childbirth fades quickly, otherwise women would never have more than one child? I never really understood that. I loved giving birth to my girls. It wasn't easy and it hurt like a son-of-a-gun, but I loved every minute of it. I am wondering, however, if that same idea might apply in the case of races. If so, maybe I will run the Hobble Creek Half again. Otherwise, I probably won't. I'm sure you can guess that accomplishing my one goal to have fun was a big fat FAIL. All that stuff we read and people say about how much running is a mental sport is TRUE. I had a lousy attitude from the time we sat on the bus seven miles from the start for more than 30 minutes and it became obvious the race would start late again (it began about an hour late last year) . Then I listened to a conversation in the port-a-potty line that added to my grumpiness (more on that in a later post) . Once the race finally started, I spent way too much time b

Getting Ready to Run

What did I do today? First I finished charging my Garmin. Then I uploaded a few new songs on iTunes. Next I'll plug in my cute little pink iPod Shuffle, load the new songs and get it charged. Also on my to-do list: pick and set out my clothes, eat my usual dinner, try to get to bed early, and of course pick up my bib. Tomorrow is race day. 13.1 miles. The Hobble Creek Half Marathon. With no time goal and no pressure, I have hardly thought about this race at all. It is sort of a weird feeling. I have thought about it so little, in fact, that I literally forgot about picking up my race packet until I started writing this. With my marathon six weeks from tomorrow, I am running this race strictly as a training run. My only goal is to have fun.

Clocks, crushes and cremation

A few weeks ago, I received The Versatile Blogger award from Deanna at Miles to Run . As part of the award, I am supposed to share seven things about myself, so here goes... My shirts are hung up and organized by color. My spices are alphabetized. I want to be cremated. I have strong feelings about this, and I've had several lengthy conversations with friends and relatives about this. I collect clocks. This is a picture of my favorite clock. It was also one of the first in my collection. I 've had a crush on Bruce Willis ever since I saw him in a play at a theater in Sun Valley, Idaho. I love to snow ski and water ski but I haven't done either since having kids. I don't have a middle name. My daughters don't have middle names either. I tried to talk my husband into taking my last name. He didn't, so I considered keeping my maiden name. Now I'm glad I took his last name. I am also supposed to pass the award on to seven other bloggers. The lucky winners are:

A Run With My Girls

First she took pictures while I ran... Then she ran... Then her sister wanted to run but was a little hesitant... But she couldn't resist... And she was very proud of herself when she was finished! RUN: I told The Princess this could be our last double jogger run because they are getting too big and it's getting harder to push them. She told me: "I won't tell my kids it is the last time because I am a good mom to my babies and I am stronger than you." Well okay then.