Health

Look Ma No Hands!

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It is possible that this only happens to me:

Scene: park/ballgame/day camp/pool/beach/hiking trail/race/friends house/front yard/kitchen….you know only a few times has this happened…..one of my children….all of whom I love and I am sure have asked this equally, has a very nice cold sweaty water bottle, and they very nicely ask “momma can you hole this?”…me (=sucker): sure.  Guess who ends up holding 4 water bottles like Alice the camel…she now has 4 humps.

OR

Scene: 2 minutes before we HAVE to leave for a ballgame/birthday party/day camp/play date/appointment….one of my children….all of whom I love….is digging in the drawer that could be named plastic pit of despair for a water bottle AND matching top and looks up and says “Momma can you help me make a water bottle?”  Me: Sure.  Of course it is important to stay hydrated, that is why we have 26 water bottles and 24 tops….its like the hydration jigsaw puzzle…takes patience and time.

We have as many water bottles that we have gotten from fundraisers and races and camps as we have reusable shopping bags.  Both we have been politely refusing for awhile now, we just do not need anymore and I can’t be alone in wondering how helpful these are to the earth in the reducing part of the 3 R’s when they are being mass produced for so many events.

Back to my point.

I have a water bottle, it is a Klean Kanteen, I LOVE it, and it has a sling, I can wear it….no hands!

So this year for each child and the hubby I ordered a Klean Kanteen water bottle and sling, it is now the ONLY water bottle they have….big responsibility, however as I write this, no one has lots any parts at all, and the pit of plastic despair is packed up to be donated.

These were their end of school/welcome to summer gifts and they were all really excited to have a bottle like mine…Yeah!

I had to tie Avalons’ straps up a little, but her and hubby both modeled them:

Water BottleWater Bottle

I bought all of the kids the 27 ounce size, and Jon and I have the 40 oz. size.

Long ago, I bought a handful of peel and stick patches from Old Navy for 97 cents a piece, I just LOVE when I find things at this price point, does any one else find these great deals? I have found less of these deals lately.

Anyway, they fit perfectly onto the canteen “sling”!!  I wasn’t sure about the pink skull/poison looking patch, but maybe no one will want to take it?!?

Ebay 2014 25931 copy

Patches from Old Navy

Viola! reusable, wearable, carryable, hands free and cute, I still need a patch for Solomon, I think he will find one on our road trip this summer.!!  And  for Jon and I, should have a patch too tight ?!? Maybe I should put a camel on mine..no wait I am no longer the water bottle camel!

Custom patched water bottle slings.

This post was not sponsored.

Mankato Marathon 2013

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Done!!

It has been one week since I ran the Mankato marathon and I am now able to go up and down steps without my legs reminding me of the work they did one Sunday…I am sure it looked funny for a few days, but it was worth it.

I am super pumped to have completed my 5th full marathon, you can read about last years Mankato race here , I am actually ready to run the same race next year, I really do enjoy this course and the support along the way.

My day:

5:15 AM alarm goes off, hit snooze

5:25 AM stagger out of bed…take a nice warm shower, put on my running gear, complete with a nice layer of glide to prevent chaffing…wish me luck.

5:45 AM waiver on outfit, its is freezing outside, it has not been so cold yet this year, I do not want to spend the next 4+ hours cold, and wet.

5:55 AM wolf down egg, toast, banana and bring coffee and vitamin C charged water with me.

6:04 AM all 6 of us in the car on the road….getting a little nervous

6:45 AM I am dry heaving out the window of the only car on highway 14….might be the vitamin and ibuprofen I gulped down or my nerves, this has never happened before!!!

7:28 AM get to Mankato and head straight into the CVS for black garbage bags, rain on the forecast and maybe even snow!?!?! Gotta love Minnesota weather!

7:45 AM biffy business done….ready to run

7:56 AM Photo op with my favorite fans!  Another mom in the parking lot with kids crowded around her for warmth offered to take our picture, thank you!  (notice my socks, it is the only was you will recognize me in the end…brrrrrrrrr!)

Mankato Marathon

8:00 The gun goes off, like cattle we head through the start gate and listen to the beeping of our time chips activating and Garmin watches starting…here we go.  Mind  you I am wearing a huge Sherpa lined hoodie sweatshirt, have a garbage bag with head and neck holes wrapped around my hydration belt, 32 ounces of water in bottles and gu chomps…not feeling all the light, but ready to run.

~8:45 AM right around mile 5 I am warm enough to take off my hoodie and throw it in the ditch, just as the 4:15 pace group comes up behind me, I run with them for quite a few miles. I am feeling confident and ready to rock this race, (yes it took almost an hour to warm up and get my head in the race!)

~11:17 AM (all this and still not lunch time?…I know!!) about 20 miles in I am starting to hurt, I take the ibuprofen I brought with me, at this point it is like having a baby without an epidural…you either can or you cannot…you won’t remember all that you went through in the end but there will be a baby medal in your arms and an irreplaceable sense of accomplishment.

~12:32 PM (how as your lunch?) I cross the finish just seconds after seeing my family in the crowd cheering for me, I caught my hubby’s eye glimmering with pride.  I take off my hydration belt and my chest tightens I can hardly breathe, man pride is a crazy thing.  I walk and have a medal put around my neck.  (yes it is me…those socks won’t lie)

Mankato Marathon

Then I ask in a super small watery voice for one more, to give to Ana the Brave who I ran in honor of.  She has fought a battle with brain cancer that no one can train for..she needs some bling too!

Mankto Marathon

~1:15 PM Noodles for lunch, my favorite, it takes awhile and does not sit well but I need that calories.

~1:45 PM back on the road heading home to a hot shower and my bed.  Already planning on training better for next year! 🙂

Official chip time for 2013: 4:31:34, honestly my slowest, but I put the least amount of training into this race and felt great to accomplish it, so I am happy with that time.

Better

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I took Friday and Saturday of from running, which cancelled a total of 16 miles from my training plan.

Sunday I rode 20 miles on a stationary bike at teh club.

This coming Saturday is my Duathalon…Dualathon…whichever…2 sports one race 😉

I am felling better so today I ran a slow 4 miles on the treadmill, still to rainy to go outside.

I made it no pain, my back still hurts just a little bit in certain positions, I am very thankful that I did no severely injure myself, I think I just tweaked something doing a sloppy kettlebell workout…I  might just need a little more sleep.

I fell so much better. I could feel myself getting crabby and not coping with life as well.

Truth is running is my reset button, somehow it has become part of me, like breathing or sunshine, I thrive with it in my life.

Crazy to understand if it is not your gig, plain truth if you are a runner.

 

Pinterest February Challenge

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Saw this on Pinterest and I am committing to this! Not sure who to give props to for this, but thanks!

As a runner after 4 kids I know that my core can always use some toning and this seems like a very do-able build up to some serious core work. this is something I can do before bed or right when I get up the morning, it won’t take a lot of time but I am hoping to see some improvement in strength!

Who wants to join me??

Training Tweak

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Sometimes I think the hardest part of training for a marathon is the mental aspect. It is so easy to talk myself out of running or put it off for later in the day with all the other “tasks” that I need to accomplish.

I am not the type who can go off for a long run, 5 miles or more, without a course in mind or plotted out on mapmyrun.com. This is for two reasons, one I want my husband to have an idea of my route so he can bring me water or gels, if it is a rural route, and if he worries he can check on me. Two, I need to have an idea in my head of where I start, the path and where the end will be. This route keeps me focused and gives me purpose beyond running.

Since I have 2 full marathons ahead of me this year I have been thinking about my training regime for these and I think I am going to tweak it a bit from last year. Typically my training is run Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, off Thursday or X-train run Friday with my long run on Saturday, Sunday is literally my day of rest…or laundry, cooking, and kid playing anything I may have put off on Saturday.

I found however, that this gets to be a lot of running and so I am brainstorming a possible coup on the typical regime with a new plan that my go something like this…run Monday and Tuesday, weights Wednesday, a spinning or bike ride on Thursday, Friday run and the long run still on Saturday, still Sunday being rest or even a yoga class.

First I think I will be less likely to tire of running especially since we are somewhat rural, the same paths do not offer much excitement, and I am really going to be in training mode through the second marathon in October. Second, I think that with a bit more cross training I may be stronger in other areas and maybe run faster?!?!

So here would be a typical 5 run Here is what I am planning

training schedule for week one I will still hit my long run each

of marathon training: week but add more X-training:

Monday: 3 Miles Monday: 3 Miles

Tuesday: 4 Miles Tuesday: 4 Miles

Wednesday: 4 Miles Wednesday:Strength/Weights

Thursday:Off Thursday:Spinning/Bike

Friday: 3 Miles Friday: 3 Miles

Saturday: 6 Miles Saturday: 6 Miles

Sunday: Off Sunday: Off/Yoga

So even though it looks like I may be working out more, I will have a diverse training schedule, which will keep me interested and also reduce my risk of injury. I think this will also give me more schedule flexibility regarding weather and class availability, hitting those long runs on Saturday will still be most essential.

What does your training schedule look like? How about a favorite or essential cross training workout

New Year’s Day Race

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What is the best way to start a new year? With a 5K of course. That is exactly what I did. It was a balmy -32 and probably about 20 less than that with the wind chill. The wind was fairly mild but present. I was a little late getting to the check in, the race started at 11 AM, giving the earth a few hours to warm up in the sun and some runners to shake of the ringing in of said new year before braving the tundra for 3.11.

One thing about running that I am still learning is how to be properly dressed for the weather. This is something I struggle with whether running or not, comfort V. performance V. fashion, I almost never get the trifecta correct. This morning was no exception, I had a base layer T-shirt s mid weight hooded north face layer and a wind/water resistant hooded Columbia jacket, one knit hat, a pair of yoga pants, which should be plenty because running really warms up your legs, and a knit pair of fingerless gloves. The gloves were a last minute decision because I needed to be able to start/stop my Garmin.

As I am pining on my number, there is a lady giving a speech in the back of the Running room, about not allowing bare skin to be exposed to these elements for more than 30 minutes!!! I look around and notice there are many runners wearing something similar to this. Doubt about my material preparation sets in.

The race starts, already I think my nose is frozen. I can barely feel my fingers, so I tuck them up inside my gloves, hoping my fingers huddled together will keep each other warm. Not happening. Doubt again about whether or not I am going to make it in this cold. I keep running watching the persons feet in front of me, if they can do it so can I!

See no fingers…they are huddled.

At the halfway turn around I am feeling good, it usually take me about the first mile to get into my rhythm be it a training run or a race. I finish the race and head into the Running room for post race snacks, feeling great and smiling at all the other racers who are also smiling, we have our noses and our fingers and conquered the tundra! We already know it is going to be a great year.

Happy New Year!