Feburary Run

If you run please check out this link: http://www.shutupandrun.net/2012/01/virtual-run-for-sherry-arnold-february.html

My February "race" will be a virtual run in memory of a teacher that was murdered while on a morning run.  Shut Up And Run is one of my favorite running related blogs and I have been following the story of her Sister-in-Laws death...thinking about what her family must be going through. 

As a female who on occasion runs alone this has really made me stop and think.  I'm already really careful about what I'm doing when I'm running alone.  I don't run in the dark, I don't trail run in the woods, I only put one earphone on so I have a "free" ear to hear whats going on (plus I keep the music low), my head is on a constant swivel and I make sure the people around me know that I know they are there, I took a self defense class, I run with my cell phone, I tend not to run long distances while alone so that my legs are never too tired to sprint if I need to outrun a bad guy, and I run in popular running areas with lots of other runners around.   

I'm not sure what else I can do.     

I will be running 2/11 in the morning, probably around 8am.  I don't know where yet, depends on if I'm alone or not.  :)  If I can find others to run with I would like to do a trail run at Ft. St. or Titlow park, maybe 5 Mile Drive (another run I won't do alone).  But, if I'm alone I will be hitting Chambers Bay as it's close to home and there are generally a lot of other people around.   

I will print my bib, take pictures as requested and think of Sherry and her family while I run.  

Be safe out there!

New Toy Happiness!

I think it's safe to say she likes it.  This was a Christmas gift that I tucked away until I felt like she needed something new to play with.  Her and I have been home alone all day, and she has had a great day.  No fits, not much crying, tons of playing on the floor with her toys and wrestling around with Mommy. 

Until right after dinner.  She was in the middle of her usual toys just wining, constant, low grade wining.  Looking all around picking a toy up putting it down and wining.  So I broke out the new toy.  It has a basic baby setting that is just a little piano that plays the keys she hits, or songs for each shape she hits.  It will count as well.  As she gets older there is an educational wireless thing that works with our TV, so she can play with it and follow along with what the TV is telling her to do.

I have to say, considering I'm pretty much against any toy that requires batteries or makes electronic noise, I am super impressed with this thing.  I learned a lesson...there is a time and place for most types of toys.  While my go too toys for her will be wood blocks, books, and other things that require her to develop her imagination, I will concede that maybe her little brain gets tired and she wants to play with something that does a little of the work for her. 

So this particular toy will live behind the recliner and only be brought out for small amounts of time during the day.  I may appreciate the place it has in her life, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to it all day. 

BTW - if you enlarge the pic you can see her two little bottom teeth. 

Post Race Report

My race today went great!  The course was supper flat, very easy, and basically a paved run through the woods.  I will totally do this one again!  Michelle PR'd, even though it was not a chipped race there was a clock at the finish and we crossed at exactly 29:01  That is a PR for Michelle and a PR for the two of us running together...26'ish seconds faster than our last fastest race. 

Bob and the girls drove us and waited for us at the finish.  As we left to head to the start line I said we would see them in 28 and 1/2 minutes, so 29 was good.  This is the first race we have done that we passed a ton of people and none of them passed us back.  In the past we have had moments of speed in races, but nothing we could maintain for a whole race, but today we did started fast and finished strong, even had enough in our legs to sprint at the end.

While we were enjoying a nice easy, flat, pretty 5K, my sister and brother in law were taking on their first 30K trail run with 3470 feet of elevation gain, unstable bridges, supper narrow single track, mud, stairs, and lot's of roots to watch out for in the woods and they finished in 4:36!  They beat their time goal and I am so, so proud of them! 

Lot's of running fun all the way around today!

Tomorrow Is Race Day

...not just for me, but for my sister and her husband as well!  They are running their first 30K, it's called Steep Ravine...I'm guessing that means lot's of elevation gain.  I will be thinking of them while I run my little 5K on a flat, fast, pretty course. 

I hope we all have fun, run smart, run safe, and stay injury free!

Thankful Thursday

For nap time.  As much as I wish I could take a nap when Sky does I'm even more grateful that her naps mean I can get stuff done around the house!  The last few days I have been working on getting the scrapbooks caught up...I'm working on stuff from 07!  I'm a few years behind for sure.  I also wait for nap time to get dirty stuff done like cleaning the bathrooms, mopping the floors, taking out the garbage etc.  What used to take me all day I can now get done in 2 to 3 hours!  Thank goodness for sleepy time!

Running

My race that was supposed to happen last Saturday was rescheduled for this Saturday the 28th, due to snow and ice.  I'm thankful for that because I was not in the least prepared for it.  Having said that I went on my first training run last night since well before the holidays and ran 3.22 miles in 33 minutes.  I would have kept going because I felt great (and this was after morning stroller fitness) but Sky was not loving being in the stroller for a second time in one day.  She literally screamed the entire time, so I cut it short.
 
(I love how people look at me like I'm the WORST mom ever to be running with my baby, letting her scream.  She is fed, dry, warm, has toys...she just didn't want to be strapped in and confined.  I'm pretty sure there are worse things I could be doing to my child.)  

I think February will bring an end to a race a month.  I just can't afford to register for a race I'm not excited to do/really want to do.  There are a couple of races I could do, but I don't really want to do them.  I would rather save money and wait until there is a race I really want to do than spend money on a race just to make sure I get in a race a month.  Plus, my 1/2 training starts next month and I'm totally fine with focusing on putting all my energy into the training plan and making each mile count, figuring out how to fuel on a longer run/getting used to my new fuel belt etc.

Besides there is always the virtual SB run we did last year, and the potential for another virtual run in Feb...so I may still have options.

My goal this week is to put my all into the sprints the rest of the week in Stroller Fitness, I'm just not feeling like running in the rain and treadmills make me motion sick.  I also plan on printing the 1/2 marathon training schedule I'm going to follow and sitting down with my calender to figure out how I'm going to fit it in.  Training for that starts the week after the SB.

These pics are for you Dad...thank you for the running outfit! 

 This is a supper cute hooded Athleta top and Athleta compression running leggings.  (I have to use the nursery because Sky has full length mirrored closet doors.)  I took a flash pic to show off the strips of reflective material on the top.  I also have a flashing yellow light that clips onto the stroller or fuel belt, or whatever I can clip it onto, for running in the dark.  

Same pic without flash.  These leggings are by far my favorite running "pants" every!  They fit perfect, look great on, and provide the perfect amount of compression.  My legs felt like they could go and go and go, and that was after having done a morning workout.  

I was supper excited that it was sunny and somewhat warn yesterday so I could get out, pound some pavement and give some of my new running gear a test run.  :)

 

We Have An 8 Month Old!

I can't believe we have an 8 month old...I know every parent feels this way, but it's going by way too fast!  So thankful I get to be home with her every day!  We have so much fun! 

What she can do now:
-She does this really silly and funny crazy head bobble while she is sitting up.  She gets so in to it that she falls over every time. 
-She can get into a sitting position from laying flat on her back or her tummy. 
-She can get around the living room by rolling and pushing herself backwards.
-The girl can eat.  Current favorites are carrots and any meat we put in front of her.
-There are two cute little teeth on the bottom.
-She days DaDaDa while looking for or at Mark. 
-Sing along with American Idol and dance with Ellen.

What she can't do:
-Still can't crawl.  I'm sort of thankful for, but she is super frustrated about. 
-Say MaMaMa.
-Use my cell phone or computer which really makes her angry.
-Sleep through the night every night.  She is hit and miss...right when she gets on a good streak she gets sick, or teething, or we travel, or the power goes out and she sleeps in our room where the heat is.

 Love her smile!

 This is how she sits.  Her leg being bent like that is a great stabilizer!  BTW - I LOVE this outfit!  The sparkly purple leg warmers with the scull and crossbones onsie that says "So not a princess".  Love the contrast!  Oh, and the scull and crossbones are in purple.  Thank you Grandpa for the outfit!

 

 Great smile, and I think she looks so darn cute in her beanie hats!  Thank you Great Grandma for the warm beanie's! 

 This dress with her long sleeve black onsie and black leggings under (to stay warm) totally makes her look like Minnie Mouse.  She just needs the ears.  It's pretty adorable.  Thank you Grandma for the dress!

 She loves her books and is getting better about not trying to eat them.  

It is kind of hard to tell from this picture, but she is sleeping with her legs tucked up under her and her little butt stuck up in the air.  The only reason I took a picture of her sleeping like this is because that is how I used to sleep all the time.  Until I was well into the teenage years, and that is also why I went to the chiropractor weekly as a kid. 

No Power...No Problem

Mark and I enjoyed the snow and survived the power being out.  I'm thankful that Mark is a very prepared guy and that we have a ton of camping gear.  We set up camp in the living room, stayed warm, read a lot by propane lantern, and cooked on grill and propane stove.  The only thing I didn't love about it all was the sound of falling branches and ice.  It kind of felt like we were in the middle of a snow storm war against our house and yard.  But, no one was hurt and nothing was damaged so I'm thankful for that.

 Mark getting the steak and potatoes ready by propane lantern light.  We eat well even when the powers out.  

 We turned our chairs towards the fireplace and propane heater and snuggled in.  It was supper cozy being warm in our little circle of heat and seeing the snow outside the door.  

 Sky and I snuggled in, notice the wine, Sky's bottle and my e reader on the table next to me.  Gotta have the important things close at hand!

 We moved some of the important things from the refrigerator to the icy snow outside.  Apparently I was only concerned with keeping the champagne and cranberry juice cold.  (the milk, and meat was on the back deck in the ice.)

 

 This is the front yard between the house and the garage, looking up into the side yard. 

 Our cars...looking towards the main street.  

This tree has been leaning for a couple years now and every storm we wonder will it come down.  Well it came down.  We heard it come down, Mark had an orange cone and went out to help the best he could.  Thankfully it didn't take out the power lines, didn't land on any passing cars (not that there were many drivers out) and no one was hurt.  The first truck that drove up had a chain saw so they made quick work of clearing the road enough for people to get past. 

Sky and Daddy having fun in the snow.  She was watching Bishop run around and play. 

Flying baby.  

Mark made Sky her first mini me snowman.  I'm not sure what she thought of it.  That's her bib and hat on the snowman. 

It's nice to be back to normal.  I think the thing I missed the most was my workouts at the Y (I did stuff at home though) and music.  Sky and I listen to music all day long, all different sorts, and we take dance breaks all the time, and I really missed that.  Since we didn't have power Friday Mark had to go into work instead of work from home and it was sort of scary being home alone hearing all the ice crash down out of the trees.  Every time any would hit the windows or deck Sky would freeze and her eyes would get giant and she would look at me like what the heck!  I put some effort into being silly and singing to her to distract her from the commotion going on outside. 

I'm supper thankful I am not working outside the home...it made it supper easy to make the call not to try and drive anywhere and not have to get ready by candlelight. 

We Have Power

We lost power Wednesday night, got it back Friday afternoon, went out again and now have it again.  I have lot's of pics to share and catching up to do.  But for now we are busy cleaning up the debris left by the trees that waged war on our yard, and get stuff done that requires power!  

Cute Sky Pics

 Putting her hand in the snow for the first time.  She was not too sure about the cold white stuff.  

 Me and Sky.  

Daddy and Sky. 

This one has nothing to do with the snow, but it's cute, it's her first mohawk (which she rocked for 3 days)...she LOVES bath time!

Not At All Prepared

I am not prepared for this weekends race at all.  For one I thought it was weekend after next, but no, it's actually this Saturday.  With being gone for the Holidays, being sick, Sky being sick, and now snow I have not run since before Christmas.  Thankfully I have made it to two stroller fitness classes in the last 4 days and have two more before Saturday, so I'm at least getting my sprinting in. 

Thank goodness this is a flat, fast 5K.  I feel like I'm in good enough shape to be able to at least finish a 5K even with zero training runs under my belt.  I was thinking this would be a good race to PR on and start the year off right, but now I'm going to just go with finishing since this is my first run coming off of being sick.

I really don't like not feeling prepared, but it is what it is. 

Things Kids Say

I spent the night at the Beckham's last night so Bob and Michelle could celebrate their anniversary by going to a play in Seattle and spending the night up there. 

(Sky stayed home with Daddy for some Daddy baby time.)


I love watching the girls for them because one of them always says something that makes me laugh.  I mean the kind of laugh that makes me snort and almost pee my pants.  Now that Kiera is a chatter box there are twice the comments! 

As I was tucking the girls in last night Kiera looks at me and says, "Don't fart on mommies side of the bed."  Really, how about good night, or I love you, or sing me a song, or I need to go potty...no she felt the need to tell me not to fart.  And, what about Daddies side of the bed?  Is it fair game?  

I love 2 1/2 year olds, they say the darnedest things!

Livin the Sky Life

(Feeling much better today.  Made it through class a little winded with a dizzy spell, but still that's an improvement!)

Sky is still so much fun even if she doesn't feel 100%.  Her and Daddy had a lot of fun dancing, thankfully you can't hear what she was dancing to.  :)

 Love these pj's (thank you grandpa and grandma!)  Life is indeed very good!

 She LOVES dancing with her Daddy!

Love the smile on both their faces. 

Thankful Thursdays

I had a ah ha moment the other day watching the Ellen show.  Sky and I love her show.  She is fun, upbeat, makes her point without browbeating anyone and she believes in being kind and enjoying life.  Plus she dances, which means Sky and I dance.  

It got me to thinking that sometimes social media can be negative.  People complaining about this or that or talking about how unhappy, frustrated, upset etc they are.  I have done it myself, and I'm sure will do it again. 

However, the last 7 1/2 months have been the happiest months of my life and I'm amazed every day at how great my/our life is.

Which brings me to Thankful Thursdays...my one day a week dedicated to things I'm thankful for.  Sometimes it may be big important thankfulness and others it may be silly little thankfulness, but the point is I'm thankful every day for something and will share some of that every Thursday. 

Today I'm thankful for the moments when I'm doing dishes in the kitchen and Mark and Sky are in the living room playing, reading, watching football, or any time really that I can see them and they don't know I can see them and it's just the two of them.  I LOVE the look that Mark has on his face when Sky does something smart or funny or silly.  I am so thankful that he is such a good Dad and enjoys his little girl so much, and that I get sneak peaks at some of those Daddy/Daughter moments.   

To Use a Pacer or Not to Use a Pacer...

(still sick btw...better, but not 100%, will go to class today, but not running just doing the strength training).

So, the Tacoma City 1/2 has free pacers that anyone can use if they would like.  When you get ready to line up at the start you just pick the pacer that is holding your pace and they get you fuel at the aid stations and make sure you stay on pace and finish the race in the desired time.  It's free, you don't have to sign up, just walk up to them before the race and you have a pacer.  You can stick with them or speed up/drop back at any point during the race.  You can use them the entire time, or just for the portion of the race you think you will have the most trouble.   

I have never seen a pacer in a race before, never even heard of it until a few weeks ago, and don't know if it's a good idea for a first 1/2 or not.  Michelle and I are running together so we have each other.  My only concern about that is we don't do our training runs together anymore, (only because my schedule has changed since I'm not working and going to the Y in the am, I can't really do two a days and run in the evenings on days I go to class) so I don't know how close we are to being the same pace.  In the last few races we have not stuck together like we did when we first started running, but those were shorter races as well.  I know for the longer distance paces will be slower.

I want us to be able to run together and cross the finish line together, but I also know it is really hard to run at another persons pace and if one of us needs to speed up or slow down to make it then we need to be able to do it, maybe a pacer would help us not feel alone if we end up running at different paces. 

I don't know the answer, I think our training plan will help make it clear what the answer is...we will be running together for the majority of our training runs leading up to the race.  I'm glad it is a game time decision so we have time to think about it. 

Grrr...

I'm sick...I hate being sick!!!  Head colds suck!!

There are two thoughts at the back of my mind on a daily basis.  Don't get sick, and don't get hurt.  Given my workout and running schedule and the money spent on race fees I have those two nagging thoughts.  I don't want getting sick or getting hurt to interfere with my plans and with enjoying races.   

Lets hope this is it for being sick.  6 week challenge starts Monday...I have the weekend to try and feel better and be ready to go Monday morning.  Plus, I have races to train for!!!

I've Done It...

I'm registered for my first 1/2 marathon.  I'm equally excited and terrified at the same time.  I have 5 months to train and several really fun races between now and then, I just can't think about it too much or I will have a panic attack.  Oh, and the best part is (insert sarcastic typing here) a big chunk of the course includes the 5K course that I despise, yet continue to PR on. 

Holiday Fun

This year was more fun than most because it was Sky's first.  I am thankful she was old enough to know there is exciting stuff going on, and she was a pro at opening her own presents.  7 months seems to be a magic age.  Not only was she into her presents and everything going on around her, but she also cut two new teeth, started lifting her arms up to us when she wants picked up, made her first crawling move, and started begging for food if we are eating "real" food and she isn't. 

Since Mark was able to work from home, from my aunt and uncles house, so we were able to stay 12/24-1/2 and not only spend Christmas with my family, but ring in the new year as well.  Bonus = the Beckham's made the drive over for New Years Eve and welcomed in the new year with us! 

The entire week was filled with lots of family time, lots of love, and lots of wonderful memories.  Thank you to everyone who helped make her first Holiday Season the best ever!!! 

 Christmas Morning.  

 Uncle Paul and Aunt Candy watching football with Sky.  

 Grace and Kiera partied hard apparently.  Some day Grace is going to kick Mark's butt for taking these pics!  

 That is NOT orange juice!!! 

 Love the headband!

 This was funny, everyone was in the kitchen getting dinner ready and Dad gave Sky a present thinking she would play with it and distract her while waiting for dinner.  Next thing we know she has it opened and some key people missed her opening her first gift.  She is a present opening pro!

 She LOVED her ribs!!! 

 Apparently she likes this wine. 

In her Steelers hat and leggings that Nolan and Michelle got her, I adore the hat in particular.  It looks so cute on her!

There are a lot more pics on the photo site. 

Out With the Old, In With the New...

...new year that is.  I have said it before and I say it again, I don't do new year resolutions.  In my mind meaningful resolutions are just too important to wait to implement.  If there is something I need or want to change, accomplish, get better at,do etc...I'm going to just do it and not wait (more like procrastinate) until the first of the year.

So here is to a New Year of self evaluation and improvement accompanied by making changes and adjustments as needed. 

I'm really looking forward to the 6 week challenge that starts on Friday in Stroller Fitness.  My item to give up this time...beer.  It's going to be difficult given it's playoff/superbowl season, but I'm doing it. 

Some other things I'm looking forward to:
-My running adventures...I will have info about my first 1/2 soon!!!
-Sky crawling!  She is so darn close!!!
-Sky's teething...can we hurry and get all those teeth in already?  The first two have been oh so fun. 
-Sky's first birthday.
-Lot's of fun with family and friends.
-The Steelers going to the Superbowl (I hope!)
-Cooking class!!!  (Thank you babe!)
-Figuring out how to blog from my phone, it can be done, just having tech difficulties.  (Thanks for the idea Uncle Randy!)  I'm so making it the full month next time I do a blog streak!  Single word posts count right?  :)