the beach

It’s amazing that what started out as a long holiday weekend is already over.  It went by entirely too fast.  We had guests staying with us for most of it.  On Sunday we went to not one but two parties.  Then yesterday I made the trip out to Long Island to visit my Aunt.  It turned out to be a gorgeous day.

I am absolutely in love with her town.  She lives right on the beach, from her dining room you can look out the windows and enjoy an amazing view of the ocean.  We put her balcony to good use before I left…soaking up the sun’s rays, relaxing and chatting about everything.  I rarely get to spend time with her alone, so it was a really nice opportunity.

It was hard getting myself up off that lounge chair and back into my car for the ride home.  Eventually, I managed it and I lucked-out…not one stitch of traffic between Long Island and Pennsylvania.  On Memorial Day no less?!  Doesn’t get much better than that!

Tags: beach, gwb, new york, ocean, summer

the blair witch house

I’ve been running the same tired routes for years now.  I either stick close to home for hills or if I’m looking for an easy/flat route I drive about 10 minutes into the heart of our town.  At this point, it’s become a bit old.  There’s one street in particular that I am so sick of running on that I get irritated just looking at it…even when I’m driving.

Recently, I’ve been chatting a bit with two guys from our neighborhood.  They’re part of the seven person relay team I’ll be on in August.  They are far more experienced runners than I am and I was eager to hear their advice regarding running routes.  They both (separately) recommended one route in particular.  Basically, I would drive there, park at the earliest turn-off and run the length of it.  It’s a long enough road that I could really rack-up some miles.  The word “peaceful” was used by both…several times.

Right. So. This is where we learn a fundamental difference between men and women.  To them this route was “peaceful”, to me….it was desolate.  I had a baaaad feeling about it right away.  After arriving on the road, I turned into a cleared out area of the woods.  Parked off to the side was a guy. Alone in his car, door open, smoking a cigarette.  At 9:15 on a Thursday morning.  Shifty.  I hooked a U-ey and got the hell outta there.  I found an empty turn-off and parked.  For a brief moment I considered going back to civilization, but I thought that would turn out to be an overreaction, so I locked up the car and started my run.

Don’t get me wrong. The route was fantastic.  Gorgeous scenery, the fragrance of wildflowers everywhere, a variety of birds, butterflies and the sound of the Delaware River off in the distance. As for the run itself, challenging but not overly so.  Nice rolling hills the whole way.

There were also random pick-up trucks and vans parked off on the side of the road.  With a guy or three in them.  They looked a bit like hunters, which means there were probably weapons of some sort nearby.  Not a whole lotta’ cars passing by.  Just me.  Running past strange men, possibly armed. In the middle of nowhere.

Oh, and then I discovered the Blair Witch House.

Call me paranoid, but the whole thing had the feel of an After School Special.  I’m sure for a guy this was a great route, but as a female (running alone) I feel as though I can’t just consider the challenge of the route when I head out.  I need to know that it’s safe.  That there’s a steady stream of people nearby.  That there are stores, gas stations or homes surrounding me.

I really did enjoy this route and I can totally see why they both recommended it to me, BUT I will never run it alone again.  It didn’t feel smart.  It felt creepy.  And the last thing I need at the end of an 8-mile run when I’m completely tapped is to have to deal with whether or not the smoking guy in the middle of the woods is harmless or not.

Tags: exercise, fitness, routes, running, safety

another mother runner: the books

Recently, I discovered Another Mother Runner and I quickly became obsessed.  I started out with their podcasts.  I’d never given podcasts a try before, but my ‘long run’ had just crossed the 7 mile mark and I was starting to find my playlist rather uninspiring.  I can’t stand listening to audio books, so I was extremely surprised when I discovered that I LOVE listening to these podcasts!

I’ve never had a ‘running buddy’ before.  In fact, aside from races, I always run alone.  Listening to Sarah and Dimity chat about a topic that I am so currently in to right now was fantastic.  The 30(ish) minute episodes were going by entirely too fast.

So, after listening to several shows, I decided to check out their books.

In a careless, sleep-deprived moment I accidentally bought Train Like A Mother (TLAM) first (the second of the series).  Obviously, I wish that I had read Run Like A Mother (RLAM) first, but ultimately it doesn’t really matter.  I enjoyed both of them immensely.

RLAM is geared a little more towards the newbie and of course TLAM offers up lots of advice on planning and training schedules for a variety of races.  In my opinion it’s the real life experiences they share, the anecdotes, the frustrations and running related girlfriend-like chit-chat that really made these fun to read.

With so many sources out there for all things running Another Mother Runner offers up a unique and real-life perspective for women who are trying to raise children, balance all of the responsibilities that come along with it AND find the drive, motivation and dedication to fit running into their lives.  It’s a great place to find support when you need a reminder that we deserve a few hours a week to exercise our bodies and as a result return from a run refreshed and ready to do it all over again.

“When you’re commanding a ship of people who rely on you to sometimes obnoxious degrees, finding the time, energy, and inspiration to jump overboard and get out the front door alone can be as challenging as the run itself.” ~ RLAM

Tags: another mother runner, exercise, fitness, quotes, reading, running

new gear

I mentioned last week that I had a Road Runner Sports gift card just waiting to be spent.  I wasted no time and blew the whole thing in one online shopping frenzy.  My package arrived in record time!!  So, when I headed out this morning for a run (just over 4 miles…unfortunately, plenty of hills) I was loaded up with my new gear.

I’ll start with my iPhone earbuds.  I have no idea what changed, but just within the last month they have been driving me INSANE.  They continuously pop out of my ears.  I was spending most of my runs jamming them back in and fiddling with wrapping the wires through the straps of my sports bra in an attempt to keep them in place.  At one point, less than a mile from home I was ready to rip them off and chuck them into the woods.  So, when I saw BudFits for only $9 bucks I figured I’d give them a try.  They attach to your current earbuds and supposedly offer a more secure fit.

And I’m pleased to say that is exactly what they do!  Best $9 investment ever.  They didn’t budge at all!

The next item on my list…a Nathan 10 oz QuickShot.  I don’t run with water.  Ever.  But with summer temps around the corner and the fact that I am very close to breaking the 9 mile mark, I figure it’s about time I start.  I saw this and thought it would be perfect.  Compact and with the handgrip easy to carry.  So, I was surprised during the first mile when I was completely ready to trash it.  As I was running liquid was shooting out of the spout…repeatedly.  The bottle, my hand and tank top were drenched.  It was ridiculous.  I was about to give up on it entirely, but by the time I got about halfway through the bottle…it stopped.  Before heading out, I was careful to not overfill it, but I’m guessing I should leave even more space next time.  Which means my 10 oz QuickShot is more like a 5 or 6 oz’er.

Inside of that QuickShot wasn’t just water, I also tossed in a nuun tablet.  It’s impossible to follow running blogs and NOT see something about nuun.  When I saw on their website that it’s gluten free, I decided to go for it.  I ordered their variety pack, this morning I opted for the Strawberry Lemonade flavor…

It tasted okay, but I was taken a bit off guard by the slightly carbonated nature of it (think: plop, plop, fizz, fizz).  It’s a little strange to feel like you’re drinking seltzer while running.  Once I got used to that it was good.  Tasted fine and as I found out (due to the leaking QuickShot) it’s not in the least bit sticky!

The rest of the gift card I spent on a pair of shorts, mainly because I’m having such a hard time finding summer running clothes that I like.  There’s the ‘ole saying ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all’.  I’m okay with not every purchase being a win…and I guess I’ll leave it at that!

Tags: earbuds, exercise, fitness, iphone, nuun, running, workout

the running mama

Recently, a friend of mine was kind enough to give me a SeatPak as a ‘welcome baby‘ gift.  The idea is that you attach this to the infant car seat and it functions as a mini-diaper bag.

The first thing I noticed was that it was way more roomy than I initially thought.  I tossed a bunch of stuff in there and I still had room to spare.

It’s such a great idea and it’s the perfect/compact size.  I knew I was going to use it, but honestly I wasn’t entirely sure when.  Most times I’m on the run with both girls.  I don’t even take the car seat out of the car, I just put baby girl into the Bjorn and I wear my current diaper bag across my chest…messenger style.

Obviously, I can just carry the SeatPak in, but usually we’re away from the car for a couple of hours and in that case I want eeeeverything that I could possibly need.  My diaper bag not only holds stuff for the baby, but also for me AND my oldest.

Then the other morning we were getting ready to walk over to the bus stop.  I was grabbing only the essentials, since we would be quick and close to home.  I started tossing stuff in the tiny storage area under the seat when I had a EUREKA! moment.  The SeatPak…

I can toss our stuff in, attach it to the handle bar and I don’t even have to stop running in order to reach everything.  Holy PERFECTION!

Tags: exercise, jogger, running, seatpak, stroller

mother’s day

So, it wasn’t exactly the Mother’s Day Weekend that I was envisioning…

My husband decided to order a new work wardrobe last week and as it turned out everything arrived on our doorstep Friday.  Which meant that I had double the amount of laundry and ironing to do.  *super* 

We were expecting company on Saturday, but they ended up cancelling their visit. This was was totally okay with me, but by the time I got in touch with my neighbor he had already finished his run. *damn*  No biggie though, I’ve never had a ‘running buddy’ before, so I was prepared to go for a run on my own that afternoon. 

Then my engine light came on.   And of course it did.  Why wouldn’t it come on?  I had just crossed the 200,000 mile mark last week.

In a few days, I’m about to embark upon a six hour round trip Girl Scout outing with my daughter.  So, after freaking out about it for a while, I jumped in the car and headed to the service station. They were about to close and wouldn’t look at it.  Great.

I headed home, swapped yet another load of laundry and headed out for a quick 4 mile run.  It was actually pretty fantastic.

We spent some time out on the deck afterwards.

Came across this little guy…

And enjoyed fajitas for dinner.  A sure sign that summer is approaching.  I found gluten-free tortillas at the food store and this was my first time trying them.

Taste-wise they were pretty good, but as for texture they didn’t come close.  That seems to be the issue for most g-free foods.  Particularly bread items.  There’s something about gluten that gives things that yummy, doughy, signature texture that is apparently difficult to recreate without it.  Regardless, I was excited that I found them and they were good enough that I would certainly buy them again.

On Sunday I went out for an early morning 8 mile run.  Got home, rushed around, grabbed my daughter’s soccer gear and headed out to practice.

Well.  Apparently they decided that no one (other than me) would show-up on Mother’s Day, so practice was cancelled.  I discovered this as I pulled up to the empty soccer field. *sigh*

But I was able to get in some family time, some running time, my daughter had a Mother’s Day treasure hunt for me (I was instructed to run around the house and find all of the pictures she made for me) and I got a $100 gift card to Road Runner Sports…sweet!!!  That gift card…totally spent already!

Tags: running, soccer

broccoflower

Today didn’t go exactly as planned, but overall it wasn’t a total loss.  I was able to register my daughter for her summer activities, she got to dance class on time and I even managed to squeeze-in a 4 mile run.  The weather was entirely too gorgeous for me to not take advantage of it.

Our menu for tonight was ridiculously healthy. Salmon and an interesting veggie item called broccoflower.  This was my first time trying it out.  It pretty much tasted like cauliflower, but with a cool green color…

Afterwards, I was apparently feeling so healthy that I decided to register for my very first half marathon. Oh. My. October 2012…13.1 miles!!! Maybe I should go hit the treadmill for a while…

Tags: broccoflower, cooking, dinner, healthy, marathon, running, salmon, vegetables