Climber…

My little climber…

I felt so relieved to make it to yoga last night. I hadn’t made it a class in over a week, and I find my body just craves it. Of course I am super sore today, part of that may be from tripping over a log (long story) and going down hard. Falls are just not easy as the body ages. Yikes.

I’ve been starting to get excited about going to Colorado next month! Memorial Day weekend was a bit of a bust with having to work, so I am really, really looking forward to vacation. I also keep wondering if I am running enough hills since I will be racing at 9500 feet…..that will be a new record for me. And speaking of racing, next week is the kick off of fall marathon training!!! I am so excited after a pretty long break. I’m glad it’s summer, I’m looking forward to all the things summer brings: vacation, lots of swimming, grilling out, and frozen treats.

That’s all I’ve got. I’ll post more later on my marathon training plan. Up next: more adventures in vegan pie making and running hills, hills and hills!

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The week in review…

Pancake managing to take up an entire king sized bed

Jasper and I are coming to the end of 7 days of just us. It was a mixed bag: he was pretty good, but didn’t take a single nap on my dime. We covered exactly 50 miles, 100% together. Today we did 13 miles together, 8 in the stroller and 5 on the treadmill. I pretty proud of my 50 mile week with a 3 year old in tow for each and every mile. We did the bounce house twice, the splash pad twice, and I worked my usual four days. Work totally blew this week, so a little down time would have been nice, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. I ate a bazillion salads and lots of peanut butter. Jasper was super good on an emergency trip to buy new sunglasses when I left mine at the park and when I went back they were gone. They were Oakleys and I loved them. I splurged and replaced them with an exact duplicate. Today I had a massage scheduled and he went with me and was super, super good. I needed the massage…it hurt like h-e- double hockey sticks, but that’s how I can keep up doing mostly stroller runs. They totally tighten up your upper body. I watched tons of Big Love on HBO to go every night and I did yoga core most nights after Jasp went to bed. In other words, I think I managed pretty well.

My house didn’t get much attention and Pancake didn’t get as many walks as I would have liked. But something has always gotta give.

The treadmill, peanut butter, and the iPad were all my saving graces. Now if you’ll excuse me, a glass of wine and Chipolte await.

Coming up: hot yoga and a hill run without a stroller!!!!!

Foodie Friday…

Clearly I am not a food stylist. I think most runners at at least a little interested in nutrition. Here’s a little update on my nutrition/ eats:

A few months ago Mike and I did a huge diet revamp to cut cholesterol. We do a lot of vegan cooking, a lot of grilled fish, sushi, and grilled chicken breasts. We do occasionally do veggie pizza and enjoy the cheese, and I eat gobs of nonfat Greek yogurt, so we are not dairy free or anything Iike that. We just don’t keep cheese around to snack on and omit it from most recipes. We quit half and half in coffee and do non-dairy or coconut creamer, and we limit eggs to one time a week. For treats, we do gobs of popcorn with nutritional yeast, vegan cookies, and an occasional vegan cheesecake pie. I do a little bit of ice cream or a cupcake with Jaspy about once a week. The changes worked. Mike cut his cholesterol in half and lost weight. Of course I didn’t lose weight but I became much more mindful of what I was eating, which I’d been trying to do for a long time. I cut my portions and if I am still hungry after dinner, I do popcorn or a banana.

I eat a lot more salads, and I don’t limit my carbs per se, but I really watch them and don’t keep white bread around ( I love good French bread!). I don’t ever not do any foods, just limit treat type foods to special occasions only. Like I said, I didn’t lose weight, but I feel like I finally set the foundation for good habits. I’ve always battled weekend binges on big eating out meals, and I feel like I’ve mostly kicked that habit. The cholesterol lowering and turning 40 were huge motivators. I really want to avoid the whole gaining 5 pounds a year thing. What really worked for me to change my habits was lots of substitutions. I love snacking at night and popcorn is a much better choice than nightly Ben and Jerry’s. I still love my coffee, but love coconut creamer in it now. I guess the point behind this post is that if I can do it anyone can. I really lived by the “I run, I can eat whatever I want” motto for a long time. And while no one is going to mistake me for a lean, pro athlete anytime soon, it feels good to have a little more control.

I do have vegan peanut butter cheesecake pie the fridge right now though…I never said I was perfect. 🙂

Rested…

A small miracle happened last night. Jasper slept through the night. He is 3 and 3 months. He has slept through the night about two other times since he was born. I’ve drank a lot of coffee in the last 3 years, and there were times it was really rough. I don’t know if last night was a hint of things to come or a fluke, but either way I will take it. I got up early and did a lovely run on the treadmill sans audience, unless you count Pancake. Bliss.

I realized this week that single parenting is much easier in the summer. It’s much easier to get home from work and still have it be light, and send Jasper to the backyard to play while I make dinner. It’s much easier to drag him on a dog walk when it’s not 40 degrees out. It’s nice that when he does get up at 430 in the morning, I can put him in the stroller to run with no worries that he’ll be too cold, and know that it will be getting a little bit light at the end of the run. It’s actually no big deal at all to do many things all because it is warm out. See, summer in Texas is not all bad.

Ok, time to fuel up and tackle the day. Even though drinking coffee on the couch with my iPad is a little bit of heaven, after a full night’s sleep!!!

Making it work…

Ahh, Sunday night, the weekend always goes so fast. Jasp and I are flying solo right now and had quite a full day. Groceries, bounce house, splash pad, sandbox and this is all after a morning run. That’s how we roll, FULL DAYS!

Yesterday was a fantastic run. I did 6 miles with Jasp, then we met Mike and Pancake and all did 3 miles. Then I dropped the whole crew off at home and did 7 more on my own of hills hitting paces I was quite pleased with to finish out a 16 mile morning. I love a guilt free run!

This is the first time that Mike has been out of town since Jasper was born that I feel pretty confident my runs will happen. It’s warm out, so stroller runs are no issue and I have the treadmill. Seriously, why didn’t I get one sooner? They really are a runner’s best friend. I’ve been really good lately about doing my 15-20 minute yoga DVDs a few times a week. Gasp! Could I finally be putting it all together? I know there’s that whole “workout while your kid sleeps” thing, but when your kid sleeps only from 9pm to 5 am, it’s tricky, but I am finally making it work!

No meal planning this week. When Mike is out of town I find it so challenging to get real meals. I end up just making lots of veggies with peanut butter toast, or egg whites, or cereal. Healthy, but a little pitiful, but it’s the best I can do. I never tire of any of these foods though. I could seriously live off peanut butter toast.

We stopped by Baskins Robbins today after the sandbox. Jasp got their birthday cake flavor. OMG!! Seriously good. Boy knows what’s up when it comes to ice cream. Wish I could say the same about him and naps.

Ok…got some dishes to do and a little boy whose been up for 13 hours straight and who’s covered in sand to bathe. Onward!

Insert Toto reference here…

Last post I mentioned my friend Stephanie moving. Stephanie is my original running partner. Before I met her, I only ran alone and had never had a regular running buddy. Our friendship goes back many years, but unfortunately we struggled to hang out as much after having kids. Stephanie is super woman and maintains a very demanding career, with two kids, and manages to run marathons. Yes, I am not worthy. Anyhow, I know we would have liked to hang out more in the last couple years, but life is just so demanding when your kids are young. One of the highlights of the last couple years was last year’s Tulsa Route 66 marathon trip. One thing this trip did was highlight for us how much these travels marathons mean to us. It’s not so much about the race but the memories made with friends.

It didn’t take long for a couple of us in my little running circle to start planning to visit Stephanie for her new home town marathon, Kansas City! The race is in October which is just perfect since I like to do a race then anyways. Plus the chance to race in another state, and visit a friend……a no brainer. So if all goes as planned, we will be having a nice little reunion at the race this fall…and I am excited!

I checked out the race website and how cool is it that they have a full training plan with daily runs starting up in June? I was impressed, and excited to start up the training. June is just around the corner. 🙂

So while I was sad to see Stephanie move, I am happy we may be starting a tradition. I know some of you thinking about going read this, so who’s in?

Mommy’s iPad…

Happy Mother’s Day! I can’t really say I had a relaxing weekend, but I don’t think that is possible until Jasper is old enough to not want anything to do with me. It was a good weekend though. First off, I got an iPad! I am blogging from it right now. Mike has and iPad and Jasper has an iPad, but I’ve never had one. Before you judge too harshly for having 3 iPads in our household, please remember that I have a husband who has worked for Apple for over 12 years. Jasper’s iPad was a first generation one that was a freebie. Now I have an iPad too, which I heavily stressed, this is mommy’s iPad! Jasper has his own iPad! Jasper’s iPad is also coated in various sticky substances and while it’s ability to still functions under multiple layers of yogurt, apple sauce and chocolate milk is a testament to a durable product, I hope to spare my iPad a similar fate.

Otherwise it was a packed weekend. I did a fantastic run just shy of 15 miles run Saturday with the first half with him in the stroller and the second half on my hill route. I did a 7 miler with friends this morning and said “this isn’t good bye but see you later” to my friend Stephanie who is moving, but more on that later this week. My brother was in town this weekend for a wedding so we got to see him some and we had a birthday party today for Jasper’s best little friend from daycare. No time for the meal planning link up this week, because I’ve planned zero meals, and am wondering what in the heck I will put together to feed us all week, but I do have a shiny new iPad. :). Yay for new shiny things.

Hills and mint chip…

Mike climbing up a trail in the Rocky Mts, our fave vacation spot.

Somehow I keep forgetting I signed up for a half marathon when we go on vacation in Colorado in a little less than 8 weeks.  There was pretty limited information about the race on the website, as it looks very low key.  A few things did leap out at me though, “challenging”, and “all above 9000 feet”.  I figured I better get my hill running on for this one.

I live in a great area for running, but it’s very flat.  This is nice since I do about 50% of my runs with the stroller.  I live near a highway that must run along some kind of fault line, because my side of the highway= pancake flat, the other side= some of the biggest hills in Austin.  Lucky for me there is a pedestrian crosswalk less than a mile from my house.  I’ve been venturing over the highway a couple times a week now trying desperately to morph into a mountain runner.   This neighborhood is not only hillier, but it also must be a different tax bracket, because it’s full of beautiful homes and views.  There are wonderful views of the Balcones canyons, where I wonder if I am even in Austin anymore.  And yes, there are absolutely lung busting hills.

I did do a marathon in Colorado once that was up to 8000 feet and learned that my heat and humidity I run in was a great equalizer when it came to altitude.  Don’t get me wrong it was still quite challenging, but it was by far the most beautiful course I have ever been on, and I loved every minute.  I like challenging races, but I don’t like to feel under prepared, so hopefully my jaunts across the highway will do some good.

Another reason to do hills:  while we have made huge strides in healthy-ing up our eating, and have really changed our habits, there are occasional treats.  Last night we had a BLAST going to Baskin Robbins with Jasp.  It’s crazy to think how long that place has been around.    We agreed it will definitely be a regular evening outing this summer.  And, I also just discovered that one my favorite running stores is not too far from us, and next door to a fro-yo place.  On Sunday, Jasper and I did the splash pad, got yogurt, and then I got GU and Balega socks.   That’s what I call a good outing 🙂

What’s your favorite old school Baskin Robbins flavor?  I’m always partial to mint chip.  I also like cookies and cream.

 

I don’t have the energy of a 3 year old…

Happy Weekend.  It’s been a heck of a week for me.  I’ve been ready for the weekend, since about Monday, so I’m glad it’s here!

I’ve been working on a post in my head a bit after reading Train Like a Mother.  First off, all my mom friends should order this book if you don’t already have it, or at least check out the website regularly.  Anyhow, there was a little segment about doing less.  I am the first to admit I love big run days.  I love 20 milers on a Saturday.  I love a hard 7-8 mile run in the morning, and a hard yoga class in the evening.  I miss the days I could do a run in the morning, then go mountain biking after work (seriously, can you imagine doing that now?).    But when is it too much?

Just being honest here, but I sometimes read the schedules of my bloggy friends and gasp.  How can some of you not be tired with 2 or even 3 workouts most days?  Doesn’t mean I don’t love y’all by saying this, but I just don’t know if that’s sustainable.  I look back at my ultra running days, and doubt I could have sustained what I was doing.  3 tough yoga classes a week.  30 milers on weekends.  7 hour runs.  Seriously, who does that?  Well, ultrarunners, that’s who, and a lot more in many cases.  Maybe it’s doable when you don’t have young children, but (and once again, just being honest), I really don’t know how people with young children do over 3 hours of working out a day.

My point is not to criticize.   I am still trying to find my happy balancing point of family, work, and being a decent runner.  I don’t think I have the time to put in to be a good runner, so I will settle for decent.  And, to me decent also means taking care of some non-running stuff:  the core work, the stretching, the endless yoga lunges.  But I often try to remind myself that life is not fun if you are tired all the time.  My friend Laura, just did a great post about how several moms fit it all in, and she does say you can’t fit it all in…you must let go of what is left undone.  I think we all struggle with this!

I also really have started to come at my running with a masters runner perspective.  I need to run smarter than I used to if I want to be running for the long haul.  I truly do think that at this point in my life, I don’t need more miles, but rather more of the “other stuff”:  core work, stretching, some biking, yoga.  This is the part I really am trying to improve, but realistically for me these things mostly happen in short 15-20 minute segments, and I’m learning to be ok with that.  Not everything in life has to happen in one hour segments.

So be nice to yourself.   Find some inspiration from those who don’t do mega miles, but are still successful.  Running Times has some great masters’ profiles featuring some runners who run pretty sensibly.

And on that note, I will be sensible and curl up in bed now with a new magazine and attempt some rest!

I hate it when life says “slow down!” in not so nice ways…

I was up all night with what I am assuming is food poisoning.  I can’t rehash the details because just thinking about it, makes me queasy and I am desperately trying to keep down some Nuun (you know you’re a runner when you sick day drink of choice is Nuun).  Anyhow, life does sometimes throw you these little “slow down” reminders.  Although I would have preferred a gentler presentation than what I’ve been given this week.  Jasper had two appts today I had to cancel, there’s  a 3rd appt this afternoon dependent on the Nuun staying down, my other Wednesday chores aren’t going to happen, and obviously my planned 8 mile hill run did not happen.  I made down the hallway, and realized there was no way in hell I could even walk around the block, let alone run.  I surrendered.  Sick day it is.  Jasper is getting a lot of tv watching today.  You also know you’re sick, when as an obsessive runner you don’t care that you are missing a run, you feel that crappy.  That’s where I am.

Well, I’m going back to being horizontal on the bed.  Hopefully I will work my way to a smoothie by this evening.  Until then, I’m trying to revel in the bad tv, ignore the dirty house, and enjoy being in bed.  If all goes well, tomorrow will be back to full steam ahead.

Stay down, Nuun!