Marathon Mom

I am just amazed that a little idea I had last fall has turned into such a huge thing and has inspired over 700 others to complete 13 races this year. Thanks to Jill for helping me make this happen. But this is about more than just us, all of the others running too have their reasons and motivation. Here's why some of you are taking on 13 in 2013... Melanie @ Marathon Mel “ I am excited to take on this challenge. I know I can run 13 races of varying distance next year (I am pretty sure I did more than that in 2012), but I love taking on new challenges...13 half-marathons in a year is a challenge that I am totally looking forward to accomplishing! Thanks for creating this challenge! ” Katie “ I have taken on the 13in2013 challenge to maintain my fitness throughout this, my first, pregnancy, and to encourage healthy habits in my new family! :) ” Jenny “ I have taken on the 13in2013 challenge to help keep me motivated throughout the year with my fitness goals. Plus...

Have you even made a huge decision that is going to change your life? One that is scary but exciting all at the same time? Well this is exactly what we just did... I have just made a huge change in my life and will embark on something I have never done in years, starting today I am no longer employed! This was a huge decision that happened after Matt and I talked and realized how unhappy I was with my current situation and how this was causing issues in all aspects of my life. I know I have mentioned this is a vague way over the past few months but never came right out to say how much I hated what I was doing. It is amazing how something like a job can negatively effect all aspects of your life. I was realizing that my stress and attitude along with all the hours working at home were straining my role as a mom and wife. There were 3 choice: 1) keep the same and continue on an unhappy road, 2) look for something new and wait or 3) walk away now and hope for the best. I chose #3 whi...

Menu planning this week will be a little different as I am focusing on using up things we have at home, it is amazing what gets lost in the back of the pantry and fridge! Linking up with  Jill  and  Laura . We are on the final week of a gluten free trial for O before adding it back in get a true picture. I know this isn't the greatest if it is an issue but is the way I can tell gluten is my problem. I didn't see a huge improvement at first but as soon as I add it back into my diet, yikes! Since we are only seeing minimal (if any) change in her I think this will give us more answers. Sunday:   4 bean quinoa chili  & corn muffins Monday:  Fajitas Tuesday:  Run Night- Sandwich and fruit Wednesday:   Veggie Pizza Thursday:   B lack Bean Butternut Squash Friday:  Blueberry Pancakes & roasted potatoes Saturday:  Dinner Out This week I had to give in to a cute toddler requesting to bake muffins and let her d...

Yesterday I had a great opportunity to talk about running as a mom and it made me think a lot about how I manage this and barriers for other women. For me being a mom and a runner was just a natural progression from runner to pregnant runner to mom runner. Why would I give up this part of who I was? I was back running within a couple weeks after giving birth and ran my first post-partum race ; 13.1 miles in honor of a 13 week old little girl. Maybe my ease in becoming a mom runner was due to the fact that I have never been one of those women who wants to cuddle with every baby alive, I don't ooh and ah when I see a baby and as a mom I had no desire to 24 hours every day holding her. I still deserved my own time, this may make me in the minority (at least for publicly stating this). Yes, I put my child in child care at the gym for 1-2 hours a few days a week. She enjoys it and I get in a workout. She gets to socialize and play with other kids and it is good for us both. Yes, m...

I love the concept of kicking off the new year with a race and was thrilled with the opportunity to coach a group of runners with this goal in mind, but this lacks some appeal when you add in the fact that we live in the frozen tundra and race morning brought us sub zero temperatures and windchills. Combine this with my lingering (and quite awful) cough that scares many and I chose the inside option pushing O in the BOB. This meant 8 laps around the stadium along with the other parent child teams. It was warm, the music was playing and we had fun, best part my lungs were not frozen! Honestly the 8 laps went pretty quick. After I finished my run O got out of the stroller and we ran a victory lap together just in time for daddy and grandpa to come upstairs from their run and give high 5s as she neared the finish line. I am also using this race as my 5 by the 5th Race for Laura's series It was a fun way to start 2013 although could have been a little warmer. I am getting a li...

Like I mentioned in yesterday's post my attitude about 2012 is not the best and as I rethink how it all went down and look at my goals I become even more disappointed in many aspects of myself but also see my strength and changes in others. A friend summed it up pretty well: "I had a plan and it changed now I can't figure out a plan that makes me happy." 2012 Results sub 3:30 marathon (would love sub 3:20) PRs at other distances: No PRs in 2012 Add in yoga or pilates 1-2x week: I did manage yoga once and pilates a little more Do an tri again, meaning I need to start swimming: Another fail here, no tri but I did swim a few times Strength training 2-3x week and XT 2x week: My only success! Regular 3x week strength training and 2x week spin class Run a 50K: Nope, sat it out due to injury Graduate!! and pass boards: No, after issues with clinical placement I decided to take an incomplete and finish this spring instead Decide on the plan for my project (eith...

Here I sit on the final morning of 2012 and look back at my goals from the past year realizing I am about to write the same goals for the upcoming year and I am slightly disappointed to realize I am sitting in the exact same spot (or even further back) than I was 1 year ago in many aspects. But enough on that as I will reveal these goals and plans tomorrow after my credit card gets a workout taking advantage of all the final day race registration specials. I decided that my attitude is lacking right now after spending my last week sick and evaluating the past year might not be the best today. Instead I will focus my energy on the last day of 13 in 2013 registration and some more exciting news with our latest partner... This past July I did something very different for me and ran a fun race with friends with no intention of racing and it was wonderful! I mean what could be more fun than running covered in color?! Check out my full report from last Summer of The Color Run . W...