A Running Funk & a Helvetia Half Giveaway!

1)  I'm in a running funk.  I'm not sure why.  

The weather has been bad (except for this week when it was AMAZING and I ran around telling every person in the WORLD that IT'S GOING TO BE 81 DEGREES ON THURSDAY!!!!!), but I don't think the weather is all it.  I've run through worse.  

I don't think it helps that my choices seem to be either running on the treadmill (unacceptable) or running with the stroller (not my favorite thing).  Running with the stroller is just so hard, that it kind of takes the fun out of running.  I love walking with Baby J though, and I find my "runs" becoming "run/walks" or even just plain "walks" more often than I'd like. 

But this isn't the case on the weekends, so that's not all it either.  

We've been so crazy busy, there's a lot of stuff going on right now, both at work and at home, and that certainly doesn't help.  For some reason I just have no motivation to get out there.  I'd rather hang out with JMan and Baby J than go running.  

Speaking of Baby J - we're finally getting teeth!

So anyway, I suck at running right now, which is a big problem (see #2 and #3). 

2)  There are races coming up!  It's almost summer!  There's a triathlon (the 5 Mile Lake Women's Triathlon - use RICOLERUNS to receive 10% off!) a mere 6 weeks away, and I haven't swam or biked ONE TIME since...????  Ragnar ULTRA style isn't much farther than that, so running 3 miles a week is kind of a problem if I want to run 30 miles in a WEEKEND.

 

3)  Did I tell you I got into CHICAGO?!  Did I even tell you I entered the lottery?  I kind of don't think so.  We've never been there before and it seems like a great fun little trip with a marathon on the side.  But um, that means I have to TRAIN for and actually RUN a freaking MARATHON.  At this point you might as well ask me to travel to the moon.  

 

4)  Speaking of races coming up, I've got the Hippie Chick Half Marathon next weekend and then another Better Series race, the Helvetia Half Marathon on June 7.  This is a race I've heard great things about for years and have always wanted to do but it never worked out, so I'm really excited to be running this race as part of my Nuun Ambassadorship.  Go to my previous post to read more about the awesome Better Series.  

 

 

And guess what?  One of YOU, my dear sparse lucky readers, will ALSO get to run the Helvetia Half with me!  That's right - I have a RACE ENTRY to give away!  Here's what you do to enter: You MUST: a) comment below with why you want to run Helvetia, and for bonus entries you CAN: b) follow Better Series on twitter (leave a comment saying you did so), c) like Better Series on facebook (leave a comment saying you did so).

 

I'll pick a winner on Wednesday, May 7, at 8:00pm.  Good luck!   

So who has ideas about how can I get out of this running funk???? 

Veronica Mars for President

Oh hello!  How are you?  Whatcha been up to?  Here's the short version of what's been going on around here lately:

1.  Veronica Mars.
I had barely heard of this show and I can't even remember what made me finally watch an episode. After one episode, I wasn't a fan and I was ready to stop. But after two episodes, I was intrigued, and after 3, I was hooked. And now, after the first season, I'm about ready to proclaim it one of the best seasons of TV ever (except for season 3 of Lost, of course).

Speaking of Lost, weren't we surprised to come across this in season 2 of Veronica Mars!

Notice anything?!?!

So far season 2 isn't rockin' it as much for me, but I'll still keep at it until the end.

2.  Frozen.
Speaking of Kristen Bell, Lindsay, Robyn, and I recently unleashed our inner 9 year-olds and went to see Frozen. I know the whole world (and I think both L and R) loves that movie, but I thought it was just okay. Kristen Bell did rock it though and I'll definitely be downloading a few songs.

Honestly, I think I was most bothered by the incredibly tiny waists of the two main characters, princess Anna and princess Elsa (Veronica Mars and Elphaba, respectively). Brave seemed like we were on the right track to producing more realistic, self-reliant role models for our kids. And the story line gets it right, which is great.  

But the teeny tiny waists and the huge eyes and the dainty arms - they're just plain ridiculous.  Or, maybe I'm just jealous?

3.  Snow!
We got some snow! After complaining that Portland stole all our snow it ended up perfectly - we got a lovely little snow day Sunday morning without being trapped at home or missing school (though a 2 hour delay would've been grand!  But no thank you to more make-up days).

I was able to get in a perfectly lovely peaceful pristine 5 mile run in the morning - it's wonderful when the only footprints are your own! But man is running in the snow hard.

 
Baby J wasn't too impressed with sledding, sadly, but he seemed to think the snowman was okay.

 
4.   Fitbit!  Or... not.
I got a fitbit! But, then, I returned it a week later.

Since Christmas I've been kind of ogling over them and I finally got one last weekend. It was cool knowing how many steps I take especially while working (it's a big range, from 2,500 one day to 7,500 another day!) and tracking my sleep at night. But, like I thought might be the case, in the end I think it's just an overpriced gadget that I don't need.

If it tracked my heart rate also I think that would be amazing and I would totally have kept it though. So fitbit, you should do that.

5. Baby J turned 7 months! 
He is not even remotely close to crawling or pulling himself up like some other baby prodigies I know, which worries me, but I'm sure he'll get there in his own time. Hopefully?

 Check out those baby leg rolls!

What have YOU been up to lately??

2014: The Year of the Half Ironman?

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you had a lovely holiday.  Now that I've recapped 2013 let's talk goals for 2014.  

1)  Get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. My goal for 2013 was to end the year the same weight I started it at but we all know that didn't happen...  Not sure if this is possible prior to being done breastfeeding but I could certainly try harder than I have been!  It's just hard because I'm hungry ALL THE FREAKING TIME, plus we all know I'm not getting a ton of sleep (and we all know the correlation between weight gain and lack of sleep), but things have been pretty off the rails with the holidays.  Less sugar, more veggies. 
 
2)  Complete a Half ironman???  I've only done one triathlon, and it was just a sprint, so I don't know why I think I can tackle a half ironman, but that's definitely on my bucket list - and why not this summer?  I originally hoped to complete this last summer, but that obviously didn't happen.  I think if I can capitalize on summer off from work to train then (I don't think I could balance it otherwise) - so if I could find one that was in August or September I think I could *maybe* swing this?  I'm definitely most worried about the biking...

3)  Complete a Marathon??  Wow, two question marked goals in a row.  I would LOVE to do a marathon this year but if I have to choose (which I'm guessing I might have to) I'd choose the Half Ironman.  Again, if I do one, it's going to be in the fall with the majority of training done during the summer.  Also, I need to be done breastfeeding before I tackle a marathon.  I really do want to do one this year because I'm on the every other year plan - I've completed 3 marathons in 2008, 2010, and 2012, so I MUST do one in 2014!  I won't lie, Chicago has been calling to me...

2008, 2010, 2012

4)  Submit at LEAST one paper for publication.  While finishing my dissertation was AWESOME, it pretty much means nothing if I never do anything with it!  If I want to make myself marketable job-wise (even though that's the furthest thing from my mind right now) I need to beef up the CV.  To make this more accountable, let's say I need one paper submitted by March and another submitted by October. 

5)  Be present. When I'm with Baby J, BE with him. When I'm at work, WORK. There's no sense feeling guilt over something that can't be changed. You work AND are a mom so try your best to be good at both, even though you'll probably never be able to be great at both.  Spend more quality time with JMan.  We still haven't been on a date since Baby J was born!  We need to find a babysitter. 
 
6)  Breastfeed through the first year. My goal was 6 months, let's see if we can make it 6 more.  I don't have much control over this, but I sure can try.  I AM super tired of pumping, evidence being that I didn't pump at ALL over break even though I wanted to to add to my freezer stash, but I will do what I can to try and maintain my supply if it dips again (I had a problem a while back but went on a "pumping vacation" one weekend - which is NOT a vacation AT ALL, and also made some lactation cookies).  

Clearly breastfeeding is working so far.

7)  A PR of some sort would be nice... but I won't hold my breath. I'd rather finish a Half Ironman than train for a PR.  It IS pretty sad how old my PR's are though.  If I wait too long I'll be too old to get any new PR's!  So maybe a more appropriate goal is to "get faster" this year, to put myself in position to legitimately PR in 2015.  If I can consistently train throughout the year (which means not getting injured AND not being lazy) I think this can happen.  So perhaps "consistently train throughout the year" is the real goal here. 

8)  Read one book for fun and one professional book or magazine each month.  I was SHOCKED to discover I read 28 books in 2013, but 9 of those were baby-related, so 19 sounds a lot more right.  My favorite "for fun" books of 2013 were Me Before You and Where'd You Go Bernadette, and my definite favorite professional book of 2013 was Focus.  

 

9)  Continue the streak???  As of today I've run for 36 days in a row.  Can I keep it up?  Go for 50?  Or more??  We'll see!

10)  Have a GREAT year!  I hope you all have great years too!  What are you going to do this year to make it great???

2013: The Year of Baby J

2010 was the year of running and PR's (yes, that's how old my PR's are - sad), 2011 was the year of Singapore, 2012 was the year of the dissertation, and 2013 was the year of Baby J.  And that about sums it up.

But let's recap, shall we?  So many great things happened in 2013 - from holidays with family to out-of-state visitors to ginormous smores to the Puyallup Fair to volunteering at races to beach trips to roommate reunions.  It was impossible to narrow it down to just 10 events - but here they are - the top 10 events of 2013?

10) I was pregnant.  I started out the year about 10 weeks pregnant and stayed pregnant for the full first half of the year.  I'm sure you recall, since 95% of my posts talked about it.  I was sick, I got fat, running hurt.  But I did grow a human inside of me, so that was pretty cool.

Whoa.  January to June.

I did not end the year weighing the same as I started the year, which was my goal.  Oh well - what are you gonna do? 

9) I went running!  This is a running blog after all.  I ran until about 33 weeks pregnant, though there were weeks when "running" meant 2 miles... for the WEEK.  I ran 482 miles total (unless I go run 18 miles on New Years Eve so I can hit 500), which pales in comparison to previous years when I've hit the 1,000 mark.  Oh well.

May, June, and July don't look so hot.  Especially considering I ran a 10k in May - making up HALF of the mileage for the whole MONTH.

8) I celebrated the big 3-1 in - where else?  LEAVENWORTH!  While wine walks may not be as much fun without the wine, I still had a BLAST celebrating with some of my bestest friends - eating up the town's brats and pretzels and getting kicked out of pools.  It was the perfect last hurrah before Baby J arrived.

7)  I ran some races while pregnant.  First, I ran the Seahawks 12k.  Real Seahawks gave me water!  I was 27 weeks pregnant and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.

Then I ran the Keizer Iris 10k.  I was 31 weeks pregnant and again, it wasn't bad at all, proving that all running should be done during races, since I felt terrible for all other pregnant runs.  Which, I guess, is why this race was HALF of my May mileage.

6) I made my triumphant return to running!  I ran the Leavenworth Half Marathon 3 months post-partum and it-was-AWESOME.  Seriously.  I felt amazing and blew my time goals out of the water.  Plus Leavenworth is, as always, a BLAST.  I think I already mentioned that.

 I can't believe how little Baby J used to be.  And that was after he got big.

I also ran the Salty Half Marathon and the Seattle Half Marathon, but neither were anywhere near as triumphant running-wise.

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5) RAGNAR VEGAS!  While it was so hard to leave Baby J, and pumping in the van wasn't the most fun thing ever, my vanmates were AMAZING and I had a BLAST.  I'm so lucky Nuun and Pro Compression gave me that opportunity!  I've already got two relays lined up for next summer and I can't WAIT.  Plus, I'll be done breastfeeding by then.  Yippee!

4) My baby shower.  While I admit I totally dreaded this (I hate being the center of attention) - and during the present opening part it WAS pretty bad and I got pretty anxious and sweaty, but having everyone come together to celebrate Baby J's arrival was pretty freaking awesome.  I was just plain blown away by everyone's generosity.  Plus my years of experience of eating candy makes me dominate at smelling candy bars melted into diapers. 

All pregnant women should always touch each other's bellies.  But NO ONE ELSE SHOULD.

3) We went to Europe!  London and Paris were a blast, even though a freak cold front made walking around pretty unbearable and obviously, it'd be a lot more fun to enjoy Paris if you could eat wine and soft cheeses.  Boo.  Just an excuse to go back for Wimbledon someday!

I want to go back.

2) I graduated!  After 4 years of undergrad, 2 years of Master's, and 5+ of PhD work, I FINALLY graduated and vowed to never-ever-ever-ever go back to school again.  Probably.  

That outfit sure wasn't slimming!

1) Duh - I had Baby J!  He finally arrived, and although the actual labor is an experience I will never (but would love to!) forget, his arrival has changed our lives forever (for the better, obviously!).

 

It's so hard to believe that this scrawny little nugget who never smiled despite my begging:

Is now this huge laughing 6 month old:

He's changed so much in the past 6 months - it's hard to imagine what he'll be like a year from now!

And that's a wrap!  I have so much to be thankful for.  But another year is gone just like that.  Time really does make fools of us all.