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Showing posts from May, 2012

What Makes a Runner...?

That has pretty much been my philosophy lately. With everything else going on - work, softball practice for the Princess, graduations (preschool and kindergarten), last days of school, field day, piano recitals, a long weekend full of family fun time - running or working out is the one thing I have made a priority. Getting my sweat on helps everything else go more smoothly and helps me be patient when I need a little extra help in that department. Facebook, the blog, blog reading, Twitter and even my email have been neglected lately. I finally sat down last night to make sure there were no emails that needed immediate attention. As we transition from the school year to summer, I anticipate there will be a lot of shuffling things around as I try to figure out how to make sure we all have a fun summer while I still manage to get my work done every day. The pressure of this has been another reason I've needed my daily runs or P90X or whatever it happens to be for that day. Eve

Post-Run Urine Color Swatch Table

This is just a friendly reminder since the weather is getting warmer and lots of us are racing and running in the heat... In case you can't read the descriptions, here are a few a little closer up. (You might need to open them on your computer for an even better look.)

Breakfast in a Bag (and other things that rock)

I got breakfast in a bag from the Bean. And the Princess gave me a personalized pen holder, which she was so excited to give me and told my neighbor/friend about several times because she had to tell someone! It was a very happy Mother's Day. On Sunday I got to sleep in, didn't have to cook or prepare one meal, took a loooong nap and got extra love and attention from the little people in my life. The hubs also scored some serious points with an iTunes gift card (new running tunes!!) and an appointment for a massage. Being a mom on Mother's Day ROCKS! It's pretty awesome the rest of the time too though. Here are a few of the things I love about being a mom: Hearing my girls singing songs from The Happiest Millionaire ("What's wrong with that" and "Bayump-pum-pum" are probably my favorites) while they are getting their hair done, when they are outside swinging, from the back seat of the car, while cleaning their room, etc. Getting a littl

My Frenemies Hills and Wind

When I headed out for my 10-mile run yesterday, there was a perfect breeze blowing. By the time I hit the monster hill a few miles into my mapped out route, the breeze had turned into wind. And when I hit the hilly turn around point at five miles, I was running into (what I later found out were 29 mph) serious gusts of wind. The kind of wind that makes you look at your watch to make sure you are indeed still moving. While I ran back down the monster hill with the wind trying to blow me over from the side, I started thinking about the things I love and hate  don't love about hills and wind: Love: When an uphill is followed by a downhill. Don't Love: That not all uphills are followed by a downhill. Love: That hills make me a stronger runner. Don't Love: That I feel so ridiculously weak while being made stronger. Love: A tailwind that pushes me forward. Don't Love: A tailwind that makes my hair blow into my face. My hair touching my face is one of the most a

Bad Day Made Good

When I was picking up dinner Friday night (Cafe Rio to go!), I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while. She told me she follows my blog and is inspired by me. It was the highlight of my day. And it made me think, because standing in line to get our food, I didn't feel very inspiring. On Friday, I skipped my run to vacuum and dust my house. I didn't really feel like running so just about any excuse would have worked for me. I ate pumpkin chocolate chips cookies for breakfast. And lunch. And I washed them down with Dr. Pepper. Before walking out the door to get dinner, I survived one of the Bean's almost daily temper tantrum meltdowns, the kind that used to suck the life out of me for the rest of whatever was left of the day but now just leave me slightly numb because they are such a common occurrence. (If you have a 3-year-old or remember what having one is like, you know what I'm talking about. Forget the terrible twos. We loved the twos around here.) (L

Take a Hike

Last Saturday, we hiked to the Y on the mountain not too far from where we live. It was the first hike to the Y for the girls, and an adventure for all of us. We stopped several times on the way up to let the girls rest their little legs. The hike is just over 1 mile each way. About halfway up, I told Bean she was doing such a great job. She looked at me and replied, "I never want to do this again." Both girls enjoyed sitting on the Y and eating snacks though. And they agreed on the way home that it was a lot more fun hiking down than hiking up. They have even both agreed to hike it again in the dark; the idea of getting to use flashlights is exciting enought that the Bean is willing to give it a try. I saw several runners going up and coming down, some over and over again. As we all recently learned, I am not a trail runner. But it looked sort of fun and like a definite challenge. I might have to give it a try one of these days and just hope I don&