Marathon Mom

What a year: some good, some bad. Overall ran 3 marathons including a PR and a total of 2341 miles Great vacations to Mexico, Boston, Wine Country and a girls' weekend in college friends Running stronger and injury free Loving my fun and spunky almost 2 year old, what a joy in my life Made an important decision on school, what a stress lifted Finally figured out my GI issues and wow I feel great most days! Took a new postion as run coordinator at a local gym meaning my membership is now free A nasty fall on the ice resulting in a broken arm, luckily this was my only running injury A rough fall filled with illness and the deaths of my grandmother and Matt's aunt within 24 hours, the beginning of December was rough 2011 Goals - Continue to run injury free Yes, all except the fall last winter resulting in a broken arm - Keep up with the strength training 2-3x week and XT 2x week, maybe even add in some yoga Working with trainer and doing strength 2-3x week, XT has been...

Here we go again, yesterday marked the beginning of Boston Marathon training, so 16 weeks and 100s (maybe 1000s) of miles until the big day. This year I decided to try something new and actually train with a coach again. About a month ago I started a new part-time job as running coordinator for a local gym which enabled me to get connected with a coach and group to train with. He has an extensive running history and impressive resume and best of all I love his training philosophy of flexibility and quality over quantity. The first training run was hills, my favorite, ugh! I don't know why I back away from hills lately since I feel so much stronger afterwards. Suck it up and think of the results! What better motivation to get out there then record high temps of 52F and sun yesterday for the run. I can honestly say that this is the first time I have ever run in less then a winter running jacket and tights in December. I am loving this weather, thank you mother nature. This warmth a...

What a difference a year makes! As an adult you kind of lose the excitement of Christmas but with a toddler in the house that has returned. Actually had a tree (with lights) and watched some Christmas shows on TV this year, I can't wait to see how the exictement continues to grow. We started the day with a 5K in atypical December weather. Snowfree ground and temperatures in the mid 30s. I finished in 23:20 (3rd woman overall). Attempting to be festive with the Santa hats and our little reindeer. Gusty wind makes running in a Santa hat difficult. My parents forgot my mittens, luckily grandma had an extra pair. Only this girl chooses a banana over the table of cookies.

I've always said that as much as I enjoy my days home I could never be a stay at home mom and last week I was ready to find a full-time job since my typically happy child was fussing and crying for no reason. One minute she'd be happy and playing and like a switch filled she'd start crying and nothing would fix it until the switch was flipped again and she was once again happy. This has continued now multiple times a day for up to 1 hour at a time. Early this week she was complaining of tummy pain during these fits but had no other symptoms. The turning point came yesterday when she refused to jump on the trampoline at gymnastics. This meant a call to the clinic which was completely pointless. One of my biggest pet peeves is talking to clinic nurses who are clueless. Her answer to everything was juice for constipation which was not in any way a problem! This after she reassured me that it was not appendicitis, thanks I've seen enough of ...

What a great day! A high of 60 degrees and sun, perfect weather for running. Started the day with a 5K at the local Turkey Trot. Still managed a decent time despite crowds, walkers, dogs, strollers and plenty of people starting much too further up then they should. Mile 1: 7:00 Mile 2: 6:20 Mile 3: 6:40 Finish 20:40, Nice! And I managed to run this comfortably with a presumed broken toe. Spent the afternoon eating pumpkin pie and then just had to get in another run with the dog to top off the day. Another 4 miles in perfect weather before coming home to grill for dinner. I've got to say even when I did eat meat I was never a fan of Thanksgiving dinner, the only part I've ever liked was the pumpkin pie and sometimes the stuffing if it wasn't too salty and mushy. My family often goes away from the traditional and opts for whatever dish we choose for most holidays. This year we were at the in-laws who stick with the traditional, well if you count canned vegetab...

November has not been a great month, can I have a do over? Please! It all started with some of the worst illness I've had in years, so much that I gave in and hit urgent care and got the dreaded words "just a virus". But was still offered antibiotics "if I wanted". What? No thanks! Especially not after all the GI issues I've encountered since the last antibiotics. The worst part of this illness...we're still not better. Every time I start feeling better it only comes back. And right now Ophelia and I are in the midst of wonderful upper respiratory fun. This needs to end soon. Then we decided it was time to give away the pacifiers and my big girl left them out for the baby bunnies. At first she was all excited about it, but has wanted to find the baby bunnies many times since. Luckily she was a toddler who only used pacifiers at nap and bedtime. Unfortunately after almost 3 weeks nap time sis still not fun much of the time and bedtime only slightly bett...

I love pumpkin so Fall is the perfect time of year. Last weekend I spent hours, roasting and pureeing pumpkins and now freezer is full and ready for my baking adventures. First up was pumpkin bread, it was a hit and Ophelia is requesting more, too bad it only last a couple days. Good thing it is healthy! I've been working on this recipe I've been adapting over the past month and keep forgetting the changes I make. The last batch turned out best so I figured I better write it down, so my main reason for the post is to remember. While posting I figured I'd also share on  Wellness Weekend Pumpkin Spice Bread 2 c whole wheat flour 1/4 c oats 1/2 c dates, packed (soak for a few mins in warm water if dry) 1/2 c non-dairy milk 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp ginger 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 3/4 c pumpkin puree 1/2 c unsweetened applesauce 1/2 c raisins or chopped dates (nuts, seeds, etc) Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Mix dry in...

The other day I was getting ready for work and having a conversation with my chatty daughter... O: Daddy? Me: Daddy's at work. O: Baby work. (she calls herself baby) Me: What do you want to be when you are bigger? O: Mommy. Me: You want to be a mommy? O: Yep! Me: How many babies will you have? O: 3 (holding up 3 fingers) Me: Do you want to be anything else too? O: No, mommy. Looks like at 21 months we have our first life goal and answer to the ever changing question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" Looks I I can forget about the college fund and instead start a wedding or rich husband search fund!

I'm a banana, ready to go trick or treat! The pumpkins she helped daddy carve!

Our CSA box has been overwhelming us with squash all season, every kind imaginable! It has taken some creativity to make use of it all and plenty of freezer bags full for future use. We have moved on to Winter squash and thanks to endless web searches and some ingredient changes we've had some great meals lately. It started with   Chipotle Butternut Squash 1 butternut squash cubed 1 onion diced 2 cloves garlic minced 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce diced (from can) 1 tbsp adobo sauce 1/2 cup tomato sauce 1 can black beans rinsed and drained Saute onion and garlic until tender, add squash, pepper and sauces and cook 25-30 min until soft. Add black beans and heat through, about 5 min. Serve topped with cheese, avocado, etc. Next came  Red curry delicata squash  with a few changes. 1) I'm lazy and used store bought red curry paste 2) Cauliflower sounded better then broccoli 3) I added in about 1/2- 1 cup of light c...

I kind of disappeared for awhile but with work, completing clinical hours for grad school and attempting to figure out a project that will be a approved I hardly have time to sleep. Things are just crazy around here, today was my one and only day home between last Thursday and this Friday (really Sunday since I will be gone all weekend). But this will be a much needed break with some college friends for a girls' weekend complete with wine tasting. This semester I am doing clinical hours in peds and OB and honestly if I have to do one more pelvic exam I think I will scream! Really, kind of boring, I can't understand why people work OB/Gyn. Peds on the other hand is slightly interesting, although some days I want to rip my hair out over the lack of parenting skills out there. It just amazes me how some people are so oblivious to their children's bad behavior. Some of these kids make mine look like an angel even on her worst days! Now the grad project is an even worse situ...

 Finally a picture of me running!  Last weekend I ran a race despite being sick for the two days prior. I had gone into it hoping to PR and possibly place higher then last year. All this changed when I started coming down with a respiratory virus. The same thing happened last Spring around Boston time and a coworker suggested Super Lysine, I was willing to try anything. So once again I took massive doses for two days and was actually feeling better by Sunday morning.  The race wasn't great, but it wasn't awful. I just didn't do as well as I'd hoped and don't have much to say about it. I wasn't going to write a race report, but figured I always like to compare and look back so here it is short and sweet. I started out great with a sub 7 pace for a few miles but quickly slowed as my breathing got tougher. By Mile 7 I knew I couldn't push much any more so I just ran comfortable and still had hopes of passing the group of three women in front of me. This...

Today I was told by three people that I didn't look like I had a baby. It's been nearly 20 months, what should I look like? I almost asked if they wanted to see my ab muscle separation that is still there, then would I look like a woman who had given birth. Maybe that is my only outward sign, well except the 20lb ball of energy running crazy around me! What does someone who has given birth look like? Are women expected to retain all the weight gained during pregnancy and have a belly for the rest of their life after giving birth? Trying hard to stay off my soap box here, but I think this is part of the issue with our society. Women/mothers are given the given the okay to give up on healthy habits once they have a child. I don't know how many times I have heard "I was small until I had a baby" and said baby is no longer a baby. Some days it is difficult to fit in a workout or eat healthy when dealing with the chaos of parenthood (grad school...

When I'm stressed I run, cook and eat. All of which happened this weekend in anticipation of the busiest semester of grad school yet that starts Tuesday. The next semesters will be packed with hundreds of clinical hours, completing and preparing a doctorate project for publication and preparing to take another board exam. All of this along with working and being a mom/wife and hopefully keeping my sanity. Once again my work schedule is getting in the way of running so I had to start my taper a week early and decided since I had 4 weeks instead of 3 I'd go for 22 miles on Saturday. This combined with overripe bananas, a refrigerator full of squash and Ophelia asking for "noodles" for dinner resulted in an afternoon of cooking. Banana Blueberry Bread (Sugar Free/Dairy Free) Adapted from this recipe at Fat Free Vegan 3 large over-ripe bananas 1 cup pitted dates (about 8) 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/3 cup apple sauce 1/2 cup agave nectar 1 3/4 cups whole whe...

After running this race 2 year sin a row I think I can say this is my favorite course, maybe it has something to do with both years being good races for me, who knows but I guess it means I keep running it. After a Summer of heat and humidity I was thrilled to be racing in perfect weather: 60F at the start, a little overcast and just a slight breeze. The race starts at the same spot as the 4th of July half but follows a much different course, one with smaller hills and much more shade. I decided this would be the day I raced smart and lined up by the 1:35 pacer telling myself I wouldn't go out too fast. I also decided to take a different fueling strategy and carry 1 gel (Honey Stingers my new favorite) and take a small amount every water stop, I didn't realize there were water stops every mile though. A little overkill so I skipped the first and last but kept with the plan at the rest. By Mile 2 I was ahead of the 1:35 pacer and decided to stick with it just running what fe...

After dealing with almost 2 years of fatigue, abdominal pain, GI symptoms and multiple other issues I have answers! It seems so ironic and irritating that mainstream medicine missed the simplicity of this and insisted on doing expensive and invasive tests (which my insurance gladly paid for). After seeing many specialists I was told by my primary provider that I wasn't getting any further without out a colonoscopy I decided to leave my biased opinion of mainstream medicine behind and see a naturopathic doctor (which my insurance refuses to pay for). The first visit lasted almost 2 hours where we discussed every issue I've had and possible testing options, the associated costs and next steps. This is one area mainstream medicine is lacking, The focus turned to me as a whole person and not just my GI system and I was given control over my care. The next visit I had answers! And they seemed so obvious. I've always had some sort ...

Front of the pack I don't normally run 5Ks but decided that this year I'd run a few to see what I could do. When I saw this race it was perfect, a 5K, a toddler run, and kids activities during the race. This was a small race with just over 100 finishers in the timed 5K and probably another 100 or so in the untimed stroller 5K. As we were lining up the lead cyclist came up and asked me how fast I would be running so she knew what pace she'd have to keep, what? I'm never the lead in these things! A few minutes later the RD approached Matt and I to tell us that the course was marked and to just follow the "girl on the bike". Once again, what?! We started out running together with a few other men, I was trying to keep a 6:45 pace and was doing fine until the hills came. I had no idea what this course was and I quickly learned that the only flat part was the first 1/2 mile, ugh! The next 2 1/2 miles continued to be hill after hill. I continued to push as best I...

My little girl is growing up, I think this last month was packed full of new accomplishments and changes. Her language is growing daily, between verbal and signs she can pretty easily communicate what she wants. Over the past few weeks she started saying some unusual words: turtle, towel, bubble along with some more common words: ball, hat, banana. She also started gymnastics last month and loves it, the perfect place for my monkey to safely climb and jump. We will be continuing this in the Fall, what a great way to tire out the girl with endless energy! I think I'm going to have a girl with two personalities: the tomboy and the girly girl who loves to dress up. She loves getting dirty and playing outside with the neighbor boys but will always pick a dress out to wear! She loves kicking the ball (I hope she doesn't want to play soccer!) and playing in the sand. We had her 18 month appointment on Friday and still tall and thin: 20lb 1oz (5th percentile) and 32.5" (75th p...

The three words that pretty much sum up my last weekend. For the third year I made the annual trip to Sonoma County to coach a team for the Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon, the biggest difference this year was that I wasn't pregnant or with infant in tow. Ophelia spent her vacation with grandma and grandpa while Matt and I enjoyed 5 days in wine country. At Paradise Ridge Winery We arrived Thursday and hit my favorite chain restaurant, Fresh Choice, which is not available at home and then heading out for a little wine tasting before dinner and more wine. We lucked out with a balcony room making for a nice place to enjoy the evening wine. Things soon got interesting when I realized that I was missing pieces for my breast pump and it had been 16 hours since I nursed Ophelia before our flight. I had originally planned to wean her before the trip but it just didn't happen so I was stuck traveling with the pump yet again. Deciding that neither of us were fit to drive Matt of...

Last year we started what is becoming a new tradition of starting the 4th of July off with a half marathon. It has now been almost a week and I have yet to write a race report, it wasn't a bad race, but it wasn't a wonderful race. Maybe that's why, nothing too exciting and nothing to truly complain about. So here it is short and sweet... Much better weather then last year, well besides the heat but at least no down pours, and I managed to be out of the bathroom line and at the start with time to spare. The gun went off and I off course started too fast at a pace of 7-7:15/ mile. This kept up for the first few miles, but I knew I needed to bank some time with the hills that were coming. I slowed slightly and kept under a 7:20 pace for the first 6 miles and then there was mile 7! The entire mile was uphill, broken into three hills with short flats in between. Somehow managed a 8:15. Nice, now to get back on pace. The next few miles I was running 7:30s and slowly slipping of...

I finally have a day off work so I am determined to get in a decent run, but of course just in time the heat comes. Today I decided to go early to beat the heat, I was wrong! We left the house a little after 8am and about 1/3 mile in passed the bank that read a temperature of 92F, yikes. This with the humidity was crazy hot! Of course I kept going, more worried about Ophelia then myself. I figured she was fine, slathered in sunscreen and sipping her water as we went. This is the one thing she gets from me, constantly carrying a water bottle. We made are normal stop at the play area, which was pretty empty for a change. I think I got warmer just standing in the sun then I was while running. We soon headed home realizing I hadn't seen any other crazy runners yet, a few bikers but no runners. With a couple miles left I finally saw two other runners although no one else crazy enough to be pushing 40+ pounds of stroller, toddler and supplies while doing these miles. I'm happ...

I'm ready to ride! The last time I did a multisport race was 2 Summers ago at this exact race when I was pregnant. Since that race I’ve probably been on my bike (off the trainer) twice, this could be interesting! My goal is to beat my times from the race 2 years ago. Saturday morning I was getting packed for the race and realized I forgot how to plan for biking and anything other then running. This is so much more difficult then just running! Luckily the race is close to home so I had extra time to get everything together. I’m now starting to realize that due to the later race start and my 5:30am breakfast I’m going to be starving before the race starts, I grab a Lara Bar for the car ride and we’re off. We get there with over 1 hour to spare, grab race packets and get bikes in transition with nearly 1 hour until race time. New this year was a Wave start with men starting 3 minutes before women, I make it my goal to catch as many men as I can, including Matt, during the run. Tim...

I am registered for a duathlon on Saturday and the last time I wrote my bike outside was probably this same duathlon 2 years ago. I have a tendency to fall so as my belly grew during my pregnancy I stuck with the safety of the trainer and then last Summer running with an infant was much easier so biking too low priority. This past Winter I finally got consistent on the trainer, but the cold Spring made getting outside easy to push off since I am not a cold weather biker.  Not so sure of this thing on my head!  Ready to go! Since early May my goal has been to bike to work on the weekends, but rain has kept that from happening. Then the past few weeks I've been telling Matt we needed to get out and once again there was rain. Finally last night I put on my bike pants, yes pants in June, and decided I'd brave the winds and temps of 50. After 3 days in a row on the trainer it would be nice to get outside, but I was still nervous. I really only needed this ride to remind my...

Yep, we've hit this developmental stage, yuck! In a way we've lucked out because my mom is the primary babysitter so that transition was easy but no one else has watched Ophelia for extended periods of time which we are now paying for. This all started last week at the gym, we got to the childcare center and as I tried to leave I had a toddler attached to my legs repeating "mama". I managed to get out and she did fine until the last few minutes when all the babies started crying so she joined the chorus just in time for me to return. Yesterday we had a repeat performance of the drop off scenario at the gym and when I returned I found her sitting on a staff woman's lap with tears. This doesn't make for a nice workout knowing your child is cursing you out in her toddler way when you leave. Today I meet with my trainer so hoping for a better drop off. Earlier this week I made the mistake of coming home during a work day to grab a change of clothes and head out ...

So far this year I've been wondering if we were ever getting Spring or Summer, with snow and many 40 degree days in May I wasn't so sure. Of course our first 90 degree day came on Friday just in time to run a marathon. As I posted yesterday I was really wondering if I was running a marathon since it just didn't feel like it. This feeling continued race morning. I went into this race without any expectations, 2 small glasses of wine Saturday night an upset stomach and even more GI issues on Sunday morning all made me wonder why I was even attempting. I lined up near the 3:30 pacer and started with a comfortable pace trying not to pay attention to my watch. From the start I just wasn't feeling it and even considered cutting off at the half marathon turn around. Some how I was managing to run a pretty even pace around 7:30 miles and by Mile 7 was with the 3:20 pacer who was running 7:20s despite his sign saying 7:38/mile. Oh well take advantage of the cooler start and ...

I was just asking myself that question earlier today. The answer is yes, but I honestly don't feel like I am. It's not that I don't feel prepared, I just am lacking that pre-marathon feeling that any runner knows. Originally I had this as my goal race since so many things went wrong prior to Boston, but now after a PR at Boston I wonder if I am fully ready to push for a PR tomorrow. Most days my body feels recovered, but others I wonder what I was thinking registering for this race. This weekend is just busy so I don't have the time to sit around and focus on the race and tonight I even have plans to go a good friend's wine party fundraiser where I can't help but have a glass of wine (or two). I think it also isn't helping that it is almost 4pm and I have yet to pick up my race packet. I tried this morning after running an easy 5 miles with my team but was unsuccessful. I drove around for 20 minutes and couldn't find parking unless I paid $10. Not a pr...

May just seemed to fly by, of course my month off from school had to be the fastest month, I could have used a little more time before I had to get back to study mode. Along with June came the nicer weather too, now I really lack the motivation to sit inside and study. May brought strange weather, one day outside in jackets and snow and the next shorts and nearly 90, then the weekends full of tornado warnings, hail and rain. We just need some nice sun and warmth. May did bring another taper and once again my inability to taper well.    May Highlights -Half marathon PR -Running 213 miles (29hours 44min) -Biking 2.5 hours (not too good especially when I have a duathlon coming up) -Weights 2x week -Back out running with the BOB -Better at stretching after a run,maybe 75-80% of the time now   May Lows -Chose sleep over morning workouts, I think I only managed 1 this month -Still feeling the fatigue and abdominal pain of whatever is going on. Had more testing ...