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| (Stealing Mommy's pre-race fuel) |
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Freedom
Getting out for a run has been hard lately. I work during the day (and leave the house before 7:00 am which means there will be NO morning runs). Jason works at night (not returning until after dark). YOU try and find an exercise solution that fits with that schedule and a toddler!
I tried to convince Stacey that we just needed to suck it up and do the dreadmill thing so I could put Drew in the daycare at the gym. But we hate the treadmill. So I said we'd take classes- aerobics, spin, pilates, etc. But then we realized.... we kinda like running. (Shhhhh...)
Hence...
Freedom!
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| Drew was already ready to go for a run the first day! |
A lightweight jogging stroller (with a break on the handlebar and a tether strap... cuz we run that fast, y'know!).
Not only that, but we also invested in a GPS watch.
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| This is not my actual wrist, but it IS about that size on me |
The two combined have given us complete freedom to run when and where we feel like it (well, God does still control the weather. We don't have control over that.). We no longer have to plan routes ahead of time if we want to hit a certain mileage. No more trying to find the proper "start" and "stop" signs along trails to determine how far we ran. And Drew gets to join us!
And he thinks we're super funny when we run. He never stops grinning at whoever is running beside the stroller. But if you saw us, you'd probably laugh, too.
Monday, July 11, 2011
On the edge
Unfortunately we're not talking Lady Gaga's kind of "on the edge".... we're talking on the edge of going crazy... or having a complete and utter meltdown kind of edge. One or the other.
These last two weeks have been a lot of fun, but they have been so totally and completely exhausting that I'm not even sure what to do with myself.
Let's see... Tuesday (like two weeks ago Tuesday) I was cleaning the house because family was coming to town, Wednesday was Drew's birthday, Thursday was his one-year photo shoot (have you seen Cassie's gorgeous photos?) and packing to head to the lakehouse, Friday I was preparing for Drew's bigger-than-I-had-kinda-planned-on bash, Saturday was the big party, Sunday we packed up and headed home from the lakehouse, Monday Stacey and I ran the Peachtree Road Race 10K, Tuesday I was packing for Chicago, Wednesday we flew to Chicago, Thursday we drove to Wisconsin and back, Friday we spent the day in the ER (poor Drew caught a nasty stomach bug!), Saturday we spent the day with a recovering baby, Sunday me, Jason, my mom, and dad all got sick with that bug, then today, Monday, I flew home (alone!) with Drew (Jason had already flown home on Saturday).
It would be nice if I had a day or two to recover from all of that, but I will be up bright and early to head back to work tomorrow, and work will be a mad house. Maybe you think I'm just being all "woe is me" right now? I got a call from work today asking me if I could stay late tomorrow because it was CRAZY today. Our office has been closed the last two weeks so there are hordes of impatient, irritated people waiting to register their students for the upcoming school year (which starts the second week of August!).
And I won't even be able to help them out tomorrow because I have CF appointment after work (which will take even longer than if I had stayed late; I've already griped about how long these appointments are). Between sheer exhaustion and the stomach bug I'm not sure that lung function or weight will be where they need to be.
And then, as if that wasn't enough to drive a woman off a cliff, Drew has been battling me every. single. meal. He hardly eats. He hardly drinks. I'm worried sick about him getting proper nutrition and hydration, especially after that horrible bug. I would like to think he's just recovering and his stomach isn't quite back to normal, but this has really been going on for a couple of weeks. It's just gotten worse. I presume part of it IS the recovering from the bug, and another part is the picky toddler years, but.... I just don't know what to do. It's brought me to tears the past 3 nights. I've totally given up on the vegetable battle for now, I'm just trying to get him to eat and drink. Period.
Sigh........ I apologize for the gripe fest, but sometimes a girl has just gotta let it out. Like I said above, the past two weeks have been fun (minus the stomach bug part), they've just been exhausting.
I can at least say I am thankful for two things, 1) we left the house in decent condition before we left (I hate returning to a mess) and 2) we also did every single piece of laundry before we left. On top of that I returned with a suitcase full of clean clothes (thanks to that wonderful bug). Two less things to worry about!
Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of our wonderful adventures, but don't expect too much from me anytime soon!
These last two weeks have been a lot of fun, but they have been so totally and completely exhausting that I'm not even sure what to do with myself.
Let's see... Tuesday (like two weeks ago Tuesday) I was cleaning the house because family was coming to town, Wednesday was Drew's birthday, Thursday was his one-year photo shoot (have you seen Cassie's gorgeous photos?) and packing to head to the lakehouse, Friday I was preparing for Drew's bigger-than-I-had-kinda-planned-on bash, Saturday was the big party, Sunday we packed up and headed home from the lakehouse, Monday Stacey and I ran the Peachtree Road Race 10K, Tuesday I was packing for Chicago, Wednesday we flew to Chicago, Thursday we drove to Wisconsin and back, Friday we spent the day in the ER (poor Drew caught a nasty stomach bug!), Saturday we spent the day with a recovering baby, Sunday me, Jason, my mom, and dad all got sick with that bug, then today, Monday, I flew home (alone!) with Drew (Jason had already flown home on Saturday).
It would be nice if I had a day or two to recover from all of that, but I will be up bright and early to head back to work tomorrow, and work will be a mad house. Maybe you think I'm just being all "woe is me" right now? I got a call from work today asking me if I could stay late tomorrow because it was CRAZY today. Our office has been closed the last two weeks so there are hordes of impatient, irritated people waiting to register their students for the upcoming school year (which starts the second week of August!).
And I won't even be able to help them out tomorrow because I have CF appointment after work (which will take even longer than if I had stayed late; I've already griped about how long these appointments are). Between sheer exhaustion and the stomach bug I'm not sure that lung function or weight will be where they need to be.
And then, as if that wasn't enough to drive a woman off a cliff, Drew has been battling me every. single. meal. He hardly eats. He hardly drinks. I'm worried sick about him getting proper nutrition and hydration, especially after that horrible bug. I would like to think he's just recovering and his stomach isn't quite back to normal, but this has really been going on for a couple of weeks. It's just gotten worse. I presume part of it IS the recovering from the bug, and another part is the picky toddler years, but.... I just don't know what to do. It's brought me to tears the past 3 nights. I've totally given up on the vegetable battle for now, I'm just trying to get him to eat and drink. Period.
Sigh........ I apologize for the gripe fest, but sometimes a girl has just gotta let it out. Like I said above, the past two weeks have been fun (minus the stomach bug part), they've just been exhausting.
I can at least say I am thankful for two things, 1) we left the house in decent condition before we left (I hate returning to a mess) and 2) we also did every single piece of laundry before we left. On top of that I returned with a suitcase full of clean clothes (thanks to that wonderful bug). Two less things to worry about!
Hopefully I will be posting some pictures of our wonderful adventures, but don't expect too much from me anytime soon!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Finally a Runner
What a busy and wonderful weekend! It started with our pre-race dinner and celebration on Friday night...
Then the expo on Saturday to pick up our race packets.
Then finally the big day!
There was a lot of nervous energy throughout all of it (try coordinating the schedules of 3 adults and 1 baby!), especially as we headed to the start line, but that nervous energy quickly converted to excited energy as the race got underway. Between being surrounded by 17,000 other eager runners and being cheered on by spectators throughout the entire run, Stacey and I found that the 13.1 miles just flew by. Not only did we not feel the need to stop to take a break or stretch as we often did during practice runs, we also managed to run an average of a little over 11 minutes a mile, which means we shaved 13 minutes or so off of our predicted finish time! An 11 minute mile may still be slow, but it got us to the finish line in under 2 1/2 hours and we're pretty proud of that (you can see the official race results here)
I have many people to thank, of course, for helping us get to that finish line. (You'll just have to sit tight for a moment while I give my "coveted award acceptance speech"?) Thank you to my wonderful husband, of course, who often didn't get the much needed break after watching Drew all day and who believed I could do it. Dan, who happily watched Drew those days that Jason had to work (and taught Drew to wave!). My mom, who inspired me and gave me tons of awesome tips and encouragement along the way. My amazing donors whose love and generosity kept me going during that last mile when the excitement was wearing off and the exhaustion was setting in. And, most importantly, God, for giving me this amazing body and for giving the strength and willpower to finish!
Through all of this Stacey and I have joked about how much we still hate running, but after we crossed that finish line, hand in hand, I think I can say I finally felt like a runner. It's a pretty awesome feeling. You should give it a try! I know if I can do it, anybody can!!
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| Yeah, not so good at the self-portrait thing |
Then the expo on Saturday to pick up our race packets.
Then finally the big day!
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| Waiting on the elevator to arrive at the 55th floor! |
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| The 65 Roses tent before the race |
There was a lot of nervous energy throughout all of it (try coordinating the schedules of 3 adults and 1 baby!), especially as we headed to the start line, but that nervous energy quickly converted to excited energy as the race got underway. Between being surrounded by 17,000 other eager runners and being cheered on by spectators throughout the entire run, Stacey and I found that the 13.1 miles just flew by. Not only did we not feel the need to stop to take a break or stretch as we often did during practice runs, we also managed to run an average of a little over 11 minutes a mile, which means we shaved 13 minutes or so off of our predicted finish time! An 11 minute mile may still be slow, but it got us to the finish line in under 2 1/2 hours and we're pretty proud of that (you can see the official race results here)
I have many people to thank, of course, for helping us get to that finish line. (You'll just have to sit tight for a moment while I give my "coveted award acceptance speech"?) Thank you to my wonderful husband, of course, who often didn't get the much needed break after watching Drew all day and who believed I could do it. Dan, who happily watched Drew those days that Jason had to work (and taught Drew to wave!). My mom, who inspired me and gave me tons of awesome tips and encouragement along the way. My amazing donors whose love and generosity kept me going during that last mile when the excitement was wearing off and the exhaustion was setting in. And, most importantly, God, for giving me this amazing body and for giving the strength and willpower to finish!
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| Post-race with two of my biggest inspirations! |
Through all of this Stacey and I have joked about how much we still hate running, but after we crossed that finish line, hand in hand, I think I can say I finally felt like a runner. It's a pretty awesome feeling. You should give it a try! I know if I can do it, anybody can!!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
A plea
When I was born the life-expectancy for someone with CF was in the late teens or early 20s. Now that I have a child of my own, I can only imagine how my parents felt hearing that news.
But here I am. At age 26 I am healthy and strong. I carried and gave birth to a beautiful 8.5 lb baby. I live, I work, I do all the things any normal 26 year-old might do.
In fact, on top of doing what a "normal 26 year-old might do" I am training to run a half-marathon; the more I run, the healthier and stronger I get and the more I prove just how far CF research has come. I am running for me. I'm running for my son. I'm running to kick CF in the arse.
I chose to run this particular half-marathon because I can run with "Team 65 Roses," a team that raises money for CF research. I knew it would mean a lot to run with a team of people all devoted to bettering lives for those with CF.
I write all this because I am asking you for your help and support. You can help me out in many ways!
1) You can donate to my half-marathon fundraising page here.
2) You can donate to my Great Strides team page here. (This is the fundraising walk I do every year- we raised a whopping $10,081 last year! That's right, we broke $10,000! You all are AMAZING!)
3) You can purchase flowers to beautify your garden and help me raise even more money here.
4) You can pray for me in both my training and fundraising efforts. (This might seem silly to some of you, but I know I can't do this without help and support!)
Please do what you can! It really means a lot to me. Your donations not only help show your support, but go towards the amazing research that has gotten me where I am today. You will not only be helping us get closer to a cure, but you will be helping to better the everyday lives of those of us with CF. You may not realize just how much time, money, and energy goes into daily care (even for someone as healthy as me!) and your money goes towards developing new, better, and faster treatments.
If you choose to donate, whichever page you choose doesn't matter. I love seeing our Great Strides numbers go up every year, but I also would love (and need) some support in my new endeavor! I will "count" both totals towards our Great Strides team total this year.
And maybe this cute little face will help encourage you...
Think he's ready to go for a run with mom?
But here I am. At age 26 I am healthy and strong. I carried and gave birth to a beautiful 8.5 lb baby. I live, I work, I do all the things any normal 26 year-old might do.
In fact, on top of doing what a "normal 26 year-old might do" I am training to run a half-marathon; the more I run, the healthier and stronger I get and the more I prove just how far CF research has come. I am running for me. I'm running for my son. I'm running to kick CF in the arse.
I chose to run this particular half-marathon because I can run with "Team 65 Roses," a team that raises money for CF research. I knew it would mean a lot to run with a team of people all devoted to bettering lives for those with CF.
I write all this because I am asking you for your help and support. You can help me out in many ways!
1) You can donate to my half-marathon fundraising page here.
2) You can donate to my Great Strides team page here. (This is the fundraising walk I do every year- we raised a whopping $10,081 last year! That's right, we broke $10,000! You all are AMAZING!)
3) You can purchase flowers to beautify your garden and help me raise even more money here.
4) You can pray for me in both my training and fundraising efforts. (This might seem silly to some of you, but I know I can't do this without help and support!)
Please do what you can! It really means a lot to me. Your donations not only help show your support, but go towards the amazing research that has gotten me where I am today. You will not only be helping us get closer to a cure, but you will be helping to better the everyday lives of those of us with CF. You may not realize just how much time, money, and energy goes into daily care (even for someone as healthy as me!) and your money goes towards developing new, better, and faster treatments.
If you choose to donate, whichever page you choose doesn't matter. I love seeing our Great Strides numbers go up every year, but I also would love (and need) some support in my new endeavor! I will "count" both totals towards our Great Strides team total this year.
And maybe this cute little face will help encourage you...
Think he's ready to go for a run with mom?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
11 Things in 2011
I'm already accomplishing things in 2011! Check us out!
Stacey and I ran the Atlanta Track Club's "Resolution Run 10K" yesterday!
I am soooo proud of us for a number of reasons. First, we ran the whole thing! We didn't train as much as we had intended to (holidays got in the way!) so we told ourselves it would be okay if we had to walk, but we didn't! Second, we ran in the pouring rain! It didn't let up for even a minute the entire hour + that we ran. We haven't trained in the rain, so that was a new experience and I'm so proud we didn't let the rain stop us from running. Third, we kept going! There was a 5K and a 10K. The 10K was just 2 loops of the same route so we could have just called it quits after one lap (we were wet, cold, tired....), but we didn't even blink as we ran past the finish line for our second round. (Ok, we did stop and stretch and take our 5 lb. drenched jackets to the car, but we didn't consider stopping). Oh, and did I mention we are both recovering from colds/sinus infections and that we nearly died on our way there??
Having accomplished this got me thinking... Since I had such a nice "10 things I did in 2010" list, and since I'm not currently very excited about 2011 (having to return to work and leave my baby at home), I thought I'd make myself an "11 things to do in 2011" list to help brighten the prospects of what this year may bring. These are not resolutions but more of a "bucket list" of things I'd like to do or accomplish within the year.
I had fun making my list! I encourage you to think of a few things you'd like to do this year. They don't have to be big accomplishments, but just things that you know you'll be happy to say you did when you reflect on 2011. Write them down, share them if you want to, and then do it!
P.S. I finally uploaded my photos from the holiday onto Facebook. You can check them out here, even if you're not on Facebook!
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| I somehow don't look nearly as wet as I was! |
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| That's the finish line way off in the wet distance |
Stacey and I ran the Atlanta Track Club's "Resolution Run 10K" yesterday!
I am soooo proud of us for a number of reasons. First, we ran the whole thing! We didn't train as much as we had intended to (holidays got in the way!) so we told ourselves it would be okay if we had to walk, but we didn't! Second, we ran in the pouring rain! It didn't let up for even a minute the entire hour + that we ran. We haven't trained in the rain, so that was a new experience and I'm so proud we didn't let the rain stop us from running. Third, we kept going! There was a 5K and a 10K. The 10K was just 2 loops of the same route so we could have just called it quits after one lap (we were wet, cold, tired....), but we didn't even blink as we ran past the finish line for our second round. (Ok, we did stop and stretch and take our 5 lb. drenched jackets to the car, but we didn't consider stopping). Oh, and did I mention we are both recovering from colds/sinus infections and that we nearly died on our way there??
Having accomplished this got me thinking... Since I had such a nice "10 things I did in 2010" list, and since I'm not currently very excited about 2011 (having to return to work and leave my baby at home), I thought I'd make myself an "11 things to do in 2011" list to help brighten the prospects of what this year may bring. These are not resolutions but more of a "bucket list" of things I'd like to do or accomplish within the year.
- Run at least one more 10K (maybe a half marathon...?)
- Go salsa dancing with Stacey
- Take Drew to the beach
- Get a new camera and/or take a photography class
- Go on a weekend trip with just Jason (I'd love to go the Charleston, but anywhere will do)
- Take a class with Drew
- Complete my honeymoon scrapbook (maybe a project for summer vacation?)
- Get a massage
- Play in the rain with someone (most likely Drew)
- Volunteer somewhere
- Plant more flowers in my garden
I had fun making my list! I encourage you to think of a few things you'd like to do this year. They don't have to be big accomplishments, but just things that you know you'll be happy to say you did when you reflect on 2011. Write them down, share them if you want to, and then do it!
P.S. I finally uploaded my photos from the holiday onto Facebook. You can check them out here, even if you're not on Facebook!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!
I rose bright and early this morning, not to put a turkey in the oven or to bake tasty goodies, but to run! My mom, Stacey, and I ran in the Atlanta Track Club Thanksgiving Day 5K. 5K is only three miles, but it's three miles more than I have run in a long while (except the last month that I've been "training"). Before October it had been at least a year since I had run AT ALL, seeing as I found out I was pregnant in October last year and that was a good enough excuse for me to avoid it (I pretty much avoided running at all costs even before I was pregnant).
But I got this idea in my head that I wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race (10K) here in Atlanta on July 4th, so I started running. I found out about this 5K and decided it would be a good, easy goal to work towards. And we did it! So now we have already signed up for a 10K before the Peachtree- the Resolution Run on January 1st. Perhaps we'll actually make it to a half marathon in March?
In any case, check us out. Jason came out to see me run, even though it was much earlier than he would have liked to be up on Thanksgiving Day. If you came to our wedding you might recognize that building... it's the hotel we got married in!
That's me in the white shirt on the left of the picture, my mom in the middle, and Stacey on the right. We all got matching headbands... check mine out...
It says "Will run for margaritas". My mom's said, "You don't have to go fast, you just have to go" and Stacey's said, "Running is cheaper than therapy".
And Drew is awfully happy about me finishing the race! (I don't know my finish time yet, we should be able to find out later today when they post them online).
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving today!! We are obviously thankful to have a larger family this year. What are you thankful for?
But I got this idea in my head that I wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race (10K) here in Atlanta on July 4th, so I started running. I found out about this 5K and decided it would be a good, easy goal to work towards. And we did it! So now we have already signed up for a 10K before the Peachtree- the Resolution Run on January 1st. Perhaps we'll actually make it to a half marathon in March?
In any case, check us out. Jason came out to see me run, even though it was much earlier than he would have liked to be up on Thanksgiving Day. If you came to our wedding you might recognize that building... it's the hotel we got married in!
That's me in the white shirt on the left of the picture, my mom in the middle, and Stacey on the right. We all got matching headbands... check mine out...
It says "Will run for margaritas". My mom's said, "You don't have to go fast, you just have to go" and Stacey's said, "Running is cheaper than therapy".
And Drew is awfully happy about me finishing the race! (I don't know my finish time yet, we should be able to find out later today when they post them online).
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving today!! We are obviously thankful to have a larger family this year. What are you thankful for?
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