Marathon Mom

The short and not so sweet...After being sick Thursday and Friday and not eating well at all I questioned what I'd be able to accomplish. Finally Saturday I was eating better but could tell I had calories and hydration to make up. Terrible timing before a race!  I was hoping for the best but knew plans might not go as we hoped. Friday dinner: Vegan and GF burgers! My brief picture filled recap... We had a fun weekend, dinner with friends, a little exploring Cincinnati, good food, relaxing! Saturday I hit the expo and quickly grabbed my gear and bought some Bondi Bands  (10% off through that link!) for O and I. We then headed for some lunch and time to relax before making dinner. Sunday was an early start, 6:30am! We headed over to the start bundled up and trying to stay warm. I got in my corral with minimal time to spare and the goal of not going out too fast. Success! First miles 8-8:10s, yay! I knew the hills would slow me but wasn't sure what I could manage. I...

2 days, yes 2 days until Flying Pig! Despite a little set back yesterday, O was so nice to share her germs with me and I had a little bought of GI illness, but think I am recovering. Ugh! How do I get ready for a marathon in the last couple days. I'd love to hear your pre-race prep  Relax For a busy mom, this is kind of funny! Fortunately I am flying to Cincinnati today, alone! I plan to spend the flight reading and listening to some music. Fingers crossed for a smooth, stress free flight and arrival. Along with relaxing try not to obsess about the race, the weather, the what ifs and factors beyond my control. Yes I am following the weather but I can't change what Sunday morning brings, to help me relax I am preparing for anything! Hydrate Currently race morning is looking cool! So dehydration won't be a huge concern. Flying tends to make me feel dehydrated so I will be traveling with my water and UCAN Hydrate. With the past days of GI illness this is even more imp...

As a busy mom and runner who works and feels like things are always moving in every direction it can be difficult to remember to drink enough water. I try to carry a bottle with me wherever I go but it can be tough finding a bottle that holds enough water but isn't too big. I was thrilled to see the Ion8 Bottle... What makes ion8 different? Ion8 Ultimate was awarded the reddot award for design with curved sides and a comfort band for easy grip, in fashionable colors. Comfort:  Concave sides and a soft band for a relaxed, slip free grip which also protects hands when carrying a hot beverage. Suitable for hot & cold drinks from 14°F to 204°F. Convenience:  Large enough neck for ice cubes! I love that the top locks into place preventing spills and has an easy spout for drinking. I brought in on my work trip last month including multiple flights and conference days and no leaking! Perfect size to throw in my bag and not be too heavy. My daughter h...

Sorry for my disappearance! 6 weeks of nothing, but lots has happened so here is a quick recap in pictures... Celebrated with my running girls! We changed out of running clothes and relaxed with food and drinks instead of miles for a change. O started skiing (and so did Matt and I!) We went to our first concert as a family...The Lumineers, so good! The boot making it's first appearance Celebrated my baby turning 7 while vacationing in Cancun! No pictures but I spent 2 weeks in a boot, out of running thanks to a stupid ankle injury from a slip on the ice while running. It coincided with Mexico so the only positive was no 19 mile long run on vacation! Things are all good now and it is back to running and regular mode... Back to regular running and life posting this week! More to come and even a race to report! What have you been up to lately?

Sorry I left things abrupt with my pre-race posting and then nothing... We arrived in Chicago early on Friday and despite the instructions to rest my legs we walked all over! By the end of the day nearly 30,000 steps and over 12 miles! All without any attempt at a workout, oops! We hit the expo, picked up a new pair of ProCompression socks (that I wore for the 5K), had lunch, walked around and tried to relax. Dinner out at Frontera for Matt's birthday and then an early night to sleep. We were staying just across the park from race start so I got up and ran an easy mile before lining up to race the 5K. The plan for race and see what was left for the half. It was hot even at 6:30 am. I made a point to line up a few rows back thinking this would prevent going out too fast. We were off and soon there were walkers! The first mile was on road then we turned on the Lakefront path before turning towards the finish... The finish was just around the corner, road was less than ideal fo...

2 weeks ago (sorry for the delay!) I ran my 4th Ragnar with an awesome group of running friends, most new to Ragnar! We headed down on Thursday evening, van packed and excited for our adventure. I was so happy that they added Thursday night pick up and safety training which allowed us extra sleep on Friday. We checked in on Thursday night to find the hotel room with 2 beds and a sofa sleeper really didn't exist! Instead offered 2 double beds or a king bed and couch, we opted for the first and had a pretty packed room with 6! Oh well it was more comfortable than any sleeping we'd find for the next 48 hours! Ready to go... Friday morning we were off with runner 1 at 7:00... Waiting for Runner 1! I was runner so plenty of time for coffee, food and the weather to get even hotter! I took off around noon and already the temperature was in low 90s with heat index near 100! Yuck, combine this with no shade after mile 2 and asphalt and it was rough. I took off in the shade...

Hi, it really is me writing and I am back…I can’t believe it has been 4 weeks, yikes! I have started but then had to change my focus before I could finish writing. So what’s been happening this month? Well summed up in a few words: Running, School- à Graduation and Work! So here is a short summary and many pictures of July... After being cleared to start continuous running I stuck with my plan for the half on July 4 th and did a run/walk. Started by running 20 minutes and my first 3 miles in 7:40s! Then finished with run/walk of whatever intervals and somehow managed to finish the same as in 2014 when I was still pretending I wasn’t injured…1:46:16!! After the half Matt and I picked my mom up from the hospital. Her surgery went great and she is 4 weeks out from surgery and able to start bending her knee today. O ran he 1 st and 2 nd races of the summer the next weekend. Saturday was the annual kids run for the city celebration and she ran 0.8 mile course in 7:40! Way to ...

Like I said on Monday I was gone on vacation last week in warm, sunny Mexico. One of my requirements for living in the frozen tundra is a week of warm vacation every winter. After my adventures in Costa Rica in 2013 I have been cautious of foreign resort travel and opted for a cruise last winter since I knew Royal Caribbean could easily accommodate gluten free. Anyone with celiac (or a food allergy) knows it can be really tough to travel. We pack a suitcase of food looking like we are traveling to a place without stores, kitchens or food of any kind! Last spring I began researching gluten free resorts and was thrilled to see the list is growing and reviews are good on most. We came across a resort I had never heard of and it seemed perfect… Sandos Caracol EcoResort in Playa Del Carmen . A resort striving to be eco friendly, living with animals on site, growing food on site and more. Add caption Before we left I was in contact with the resort and they quickly sent me all ...

Week 1 of marathon training was interesting on a few levels; mentally I’m having a tough time with the lower mileage but am convincing myself that I need it, I ran on vacation in weather that was 60 degrees warmer than I’m used to (sorry that’s why I was pretty scarce last week) and I managed to injure myself during my long run on dry ground! Run views Despite being on vacation I think I managed to get my workouts in and eat pretty healthy, just forget about those glasses of wine, mojitos and margaritas! I also had no GPS so all runs were by time which I have a tough time mentally with. Monday:  P90X Back/Chest/Abs and 1 hour hiking Tuesday:  Intervals: 10 min easy, 8x 1:30 hard run 0:45 easy 10 min easy and Yoga Wednesday:  P90X Shoulder/Arms/Abs and 1 hour hiking Thursday:  Tempo run: 10 min easy 25 min harder 10 min easy and P90X Plyometrics (just 30 min) Friday:  P90X Legs/Back/Abs and hiking Saturday:  Long Run: 1:30:00 complete ...

Week 4  was busy with work travel and sitting all day in conferences plus submitting my final thesis proposal. I managed to find time for my workouts (even more so some days than being home with family responsibilities). I am accepting that this training cycle is just one to enjoy that I am running, take it easy and accept whatever comes my way for race results. Monday:  Piyo Core, P90X3 Upper/Lower Tuesday:  Piyo Buns. Evening run 6 miles and PT exercises Wednesday:  Piyo Drench Thursday:  T25 Cardio and strength, Run 4 miles on beach! Friday:  Run 8 miles at sunrise, it was beautiful! Piyo upper/lower Saturday:  Piyo core & 21DF Cardio to start the day then 21DF Yoga and 2 mile walk before my flight Sunday:  Run 14.5 slow (2:14:01) and easy miles & 21 DF abs Happy to be home but realized my running was so much better in San Diego! I don’t think allergy season has ended here this year but I don’t want to...

Week 3 meant new challenges as always but within this I also participated in a 7 day clean eating challenge which helped my workouts greatly! I'm still keeping lower run miles but adding in lots of cross training, strength and flexibility and see a huge difference. I think I'm becoming a new kind of runner! Monday:  Piyo Sweat, strength with trainer Tuesday:  Piyo Core/Buns. Hill run 6 miles and PT exercises Wednesday:  Piyo Upper/Lower, Strength Thursday:  Run 8.5 miles. Piyo HardCore Friday:  Piyo Core, PT exercises Saturday:  Run 6.5 miles, 21 Day Fix 10 min Abs and P90X3 Upper (Wow! I think Tony Horton is trying to kill me!) Sunday:  Run 14 miles 10 miles of rough, tired running that I cut short! Lesson learned don’t expect a dinner of wine and cupcake and little sleep to get you through a run. Best to cut it short then push through and suffer later, yes I’m really learning to be a smart runner! 21 Day Fix Yoga, love it! ...

Vacation is over (so is vacation relaxation and eating mode)! I'm still in the midst of catching up from 11 days away from email, work, life, etc. but am on my way to "normal".  After 4 days of running (more on that later), little sleep and theme parks we spent a week relaxing on a cruise. Along with that went wine and lots of great food, thank you Royal Caribbean for making so many wonderful gluten free options! It was wonderful to travel for the first time in years and not worry abot the safety of the food! When I asked what was gluten free, I was given many options and told with advance notice they would adapt almost anything on the menu. I think I ate more bread last week than I have in years. I did manage a workout most days but nothing to make up for the eating. It was a great relaxing, refueling week after running Dopey! Now we are back, refrigerator is fully stocked with healthy food again and I am less than 3 months from Boston Marathon, so time to get seriou...