Habit #2 of 10: Be Selfish

Habit #2: Be Selfish

This is what Mark says about this: "When we are nourished and sustained today, we have more to offer to those around us and to our futures." (Link here.)

When it comes to my running, this is an area I'm selfish. Thankfully, I have Bill who understands and supports my selfishness, two little girls that accept "Mommy running" as my alone time, and job that is somewhat flexible to my running schedule. I do try to work around my family, I do not expect Bill to pick up the slack when I run during the week, I either run at 5:00a before my girls wake up at 6:30a, at 7:10a when the girls leave for school, or at 4p an hour before the nanny leaves the house. Long runs I do on Saturday or Sunday and this is my most selfish time of the week, the weekends we have the kids Bill is left alone at home alone with 4 children and often the between 1 to 3 of the neighbor children, and he never tells me to hurry or when to go. (Don't tell Bill, but he's an okay guy...)

So tonights 7.29 mile loop was soooo terribly hot, so 4pm was not an ideal time to go run it turned out... 

At one point, I stop at the drinking fountain, where another dying runner was getting some water and he said "wow, not a good time to run", I respond "no kidding", he then says "it's supposed to be hotter tomorrow", then I respond "better listen to my alarm in the morning". For real, need to run in the morning... 

Habit #1 of 10: Take Responsibility

Been doing a little reading on another blog that I follow, Marks Daily Apple, and you are about to hear a lot more about it. One of the things I'm going to be focusing on this week is his writing about 10 Habits of Highly Successful Hunters-Gathers. I know you are thinking, "wtf, hunters-gathers??" but his entire teaching is about living a more Primal life, ranging from our behaviors, our eating, and our exercise habits. But rather than write a huge essay on what he's teaching, I'm breaking it down into the things I find the most interesting or have the most impact in my life right now. Some of it relates to Marathon Running, some of it doesn't... :)

Habit #1: Take Responsibility

This is what Mark says about this: "When you stop distracting yourself with what belongs to other people, you can focus on your own life. When you own where you’re at in said life, you’re empowered to move forward in it. When you place power in your life elsewhere, however, you’ve chosen to relinquish that power. You’ve given it away. (Link here.)

When it comes to many areas of my life I could easily place blame... And I have. When is comes to running it goes a little like this: "My race times aren't as good as they should be because... I don't have time to train all the time or I'm a busy mom if two little girls or My job demands a lot from me..." You name it. But the reality is this, I make time to Facebook, I watch TV at night, heck I make time to do this... So the reality is, I could run more, I could be faster, but only I can make it a priority in my life... No more excuses. The responsibility is mine. 

This morning was a four mile tempo run. Slept in too late for yoga which my back didn't appreciate... Tonight the girlies had a softball scrimmage.

My Running Bucket List

So while I am sure you would love to hear again about y morning routine and my four mile run this morning before work, I will spare you...Instead, whether you like it or not, I am going to give you the list of races that I would love to run given no money barriers and plenty of training time availability.

1. CDA Marathon
CDA was the first Marathon that I had ever heard about. I remember thinking '26.2 miles??? Are they crazy?' and now, in 5 short weeks (too short) I will be running that race. And I am super stoked about it.

2. Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas
When I met Bill, this is the race that I was training for... My smitteness over our relationship totally derailed my training... But the awesome experience of running the strip at night is still something that I want to do...

3. Disney Marathon
In Florida!!! What the heck! (I would be willing to run the half, in California as a compromise on this one...)

4. Honolulu Marathon

I would totally love to run a marathon on an island, and my own fears about going international makes Hawaii the best idea. :)

5. An Ironman
Yes, I know that my swimming stinks, and I know that I have never done a Triathlon of any kind, but one day, when I have more free time to train (11 years til both the girls are 18, ha), I would really like to train first for a sprint or olympic distance triathlon and then an Ironman. I think it is almost super human to finish one of these races, and I would absolutely love to complete one.

My brother is a hero.

(My sissy telling my brother good-bye as he heads back to the Army)

My brother, Alex, has been home for a week. And a week is no where near long enough. Alex is in the army, Alex is an E.O.D. specialist, which means he detects and disarms explosive devices. My brother will be deployed this year. We've all known this would happen. None of us were ready for this news. My brother is making the most self-less decision and person can, my brother is willing to place his life at risk for everyone else in America. My life, your life, strangers lives, your children, my children. My brother is a hero. My brother is brave. 

(My brother holding his youngest niece, Lily, with my sissy) 

(My dad holding his youngest granddaughter for the first time)

Ethiopian Food!!!!

So yesterday I experienced Ethipoian Food for the first time. And seriously, it was delicious. Below is Mandy giving me instructions on how to eat without silverware. 

I opted for the vegetarian dishes, a sampling of Yatakilt Alicha, Yemeshir Kik W'et, Shiro, and Yaterkik Alicha, no lamb or steak for me. The bread is like a brown colored sour dough pancake. 

If you haven't tried it, do. 

No such thing as too much coffee...

My schedule was all messed up today. Everyone that reads this thing knows my schedule is so routine, I may as well be 90 years old. But today my schedule went a little something like this...

5am, alarm goes off, I do not hit snooze, instead I shut the alarm off. And GO BACK TO SLEEP. So, instead I wake up at 6:30... Shoot. So I rush the girls around and out for the bus. Thankfully there was enough time for my morning housework and yoga. Thank goodness for yoga, as my back and I are finally back on speaking terms. 

Then this happened...

All 12 cups of it... Yup a full pot. This is seriously some delicious coffee. Then off to work. Which was another crazy busy day. And Haili had a school play. My sister, her baby, my brother, my dad and my mom all came. It was great. On the way, my sister picked me up a coffee. Ha!!!!

Wrapped up the day at work. At 4 headed home and decided, since I was still having a huge caffeine situation, to run sprints. Felt really good. At 5:30 the girls had softball practice until 6:30. Thankfully during my morning housework I prepped a crock pot dinner, so it was ready when we got home otherwise we would've ended up eating something less healthy. Recipe to come. 

And now, snuggled down with this sweet wine. 

Kimbo is Getting Faster!

Great little 4 mile run with my favorite furry running partner this morning before work. Thankfully the path I run in the morning is pretty quite in the morning and I was able to unleash her for most of the run. She's getting faster!!! Finally! But when we get home she totally crashes. I ❤️ this dog. 

I noticed this morning that doing the yoga back bends in the morning are finally helping stretch my back out. But unfortunately by night it's aching again... 

Easter Sunday in Pictures & Captions

(Easter baskets!)

(Easter dresses!)

(Great Grandpa & Lily)

(Adorable)

(My brother Alex, home from the military)

(Graci & Lily)

(Haili & Lily)

(Love this baby girl)

(Aunt Brandi & Uncle Bill)

(Lily Dawn)

(Easter egg hunting)

Twilight 5k Race Recap with my Girlies

Sheesh... Missed a few days. Had a crazy week last week. Tuesday I prepared to be gone from work on Wednesday and away from my baby girls for two nights. I could not be more thankful for the nanny that comes after school to be with my girls, and stayed the two nights we were gone. She is so trustworthy and amazing and the girls adore her. Headed up to Spokane to Quest Resort & Casino Tuesday after work. Our room was a gorgeous suite. It was soo nice. 

Wednesday I decided I would do my long run for the week since I had a full free day. After an oatmeal breakfast with Bill, I headed down to the resort's gym. I am not usually opposed to running on a treadmill, even for long runs, but it was mentally a difficult run to complete. 16 miles on a treadmill gets a little old. The upside, I just dial in for 8 minute miles and just run. No guess work, just go. A little over thirty minutes into it I started a movie on my iPad and that totally helped. Afterward, I stretched for a long time with their foam roller. Felt good. Then after a quick shower headed to Q Nails for a mani/pedi with a leg massage and pressure point release. Aaa-mmmaazzziiiin-ggg. Seriously. Felt so good. Stopped off at Starbucks on my way back to relax at the suite. Perfect long run. 

Thursday I had to leave the resort at 6am to head back to make in time for our morning Management Team Meeting. Work was utter chaos. Seriously. Chaos. Could not wait to get home to my girls. 

Friday was the girls' very first 5k. I love the little races that the college puts on in this valley. And it makes me so proud when the girls do these sorts of things. :) they did wonderful. LCSC does this race in the evening which is where the name, Twilight 5k comes from. They do a great job keeping everything organized, it's time chipped, they always have plenty to drink and eat afterward, and it's a super supportive group. No matter when you cross that finish line you get tons of cheers and applause which was perfect for my girls' first 5k experience. 

A gal I work with is just starting to get into running, this was also her first 5k, and she placed 2nd in her age group!! Two other cool things about this chick, one, she is running CDA half, two, her Mizuno Syonaras! 

This morning the facility was having an Easter Egg Hunt. It went amazingly. The gal at the facility that does these events is incredible. The kids love it but even cooler is how much the people that live or are rehabbing in the facility love it. Cool deal. 

Tonight we colored eggs to prepare for tomorrow. Going to be a busy morning with my family here for Easter. Looking forward to it!!

10 Things You Need to Know About Running

1. Eat. Seems simple enough. Right? Wrong. My eating, (and ahem, drinking) drastically effect my running efforts. I ate for my long run Sunday, by starting Saturday, and skipping the wine, banging out 14 miles felt damn good. Kept on the healthy clean eating train and again skipped my night cap glass of wine and today adding another 5 miles still felt incredible. Am I always this on track? No. But these last six weeks before the marathon I need this kind of focus.

2. Plan. Yeah, I know I can be totally OCD with my planning. From my day schedule plan (yes stored in the notepad in my phone) to my food plan (yes my Sunday routine is an absolute must for me) to my training plan (I use trainingpeaks.com and LOVE them). Do you need to be crazy OCD? No. But the better the planning, the easier the training.

3. Stretch. I am the worst about this. I don't stretch before. I don't stretch after. And I ache because of it. But I do try to do 30 minutes of yoga every morning, and before we got this damn dog and she ate TWO foam rollers, I foam rolled all the time.

4. Rest Days. I rest two days a week (and sometimes 3 if I feel like I need it). And no, I don't mean I lie around like a giant lazy ass, I usually get out and walk or go for an easy bike ride or spin or do Pilates and still try to get yoga in.

5. Sleep. I don't follow this rule well. I get roughly 6 hours of sleep each night. The more I run, the deeper I sleep, and as my miles increase so do the hours my body requires of sleep.

6. Stay Positive. This is hard for me. I get so wrapped up in my own self doubt, my own worries, and second guessing that I often get in my own way. I need to constantly remind myself that I am doing this for me, cause it's what I enjoy and just doing it is all I can expect from myself. PR or barely crawl over the finish, doesn't matter, what matters is finishing. 

7. Motivation. Find something that motivates you and focus on it. Find a reason to run and let that carry you through the rough runs. Focus on that. Fill yourself up with the reason to keep going. And do. 

8. Support. Everyone needs different levels of support. I need someone to tell me to go run. And give me the time alone that running require. Someone to tell me they think running us important for me and even if that person isn't into running or fitness or clean eating, that they support me 100%. That's a lot to ask. But that's what I need. Someone to support me in my selfishness. Ha. 

9. Gear. Running seems like it should be cheap. Running shoes and boom, you run. Not quite the case. First, good running shoes cost a bundle. Then you add on socks, shorts/pants/capris depending on the weather, tanks/tees/sweatshirts/jackets, then hats, gloves... And that's just to get outside. Now add on a GPS device, some sort of music, good ear buds. Then a cool OGIO bag, I mean any bag, to pack all your crap. And we still haven't mentioned fueling options, water bottles/fuel belts, race entry fees, hotel stays, travel... The list goes on... 

10. Don't over think it. Go run. Enjoy yourself. Find your happiness. My happy is at 26.2 miles. Yours may be at 3.1 or at 50. Find what you feel good doing. And do it! Don't compare yourself to everyone else. Don't focus on your flaws. Find great peace in what you are good at. Find peace period. 

6 Weeks Til CDA & Long Run Sunday!

Well, six weeks until the CDA Marathon, May 25th. Starting to really focus on my long runs, as they are the guide for how things will go at the Marathon. The number one rule about Marathon running is never to change things up for the Marathon. What you eat, what you wear and how you fuel should be exactly as they are on long run days as they will be on race day. 

So this morning was 2 cups of coffee with 1/4c Homemade Almond Milk in each. And my fav oatmeal before running, 1/2c quick oats, 1c water, and 1T almond butter. And some water with lemon. I give my tummy about 3 minutes to digest before heading out.

My gear is my Mizuno Syanaras, my iPod with Bill's Bose Earbuds, my Nathan Handheld Water Bottle, my Garmin Forerunner 110, and my Nuun tablets. I was also wearing my long sleeve pink UA tee that Bill's mom, June, got me for my birthday, my Adidas hat, my running capris, and my fav Drymax Hyper Thin Socks.

I pre-planned my 14 mile loop with the plan to refuel at 7 miles. Isn't this path gorgeous?

The refuel was a second Nuun tablet, a PowerBar Gel, and FRS chew. Worked like a champ.

Worked so well that my second half was a few minutes faster than my first!

Returned home for my favorite recover drink, 1 scoop protein, 1 dash of glutamine, 1T cocoa, over ice and filled with coffee. This is totally my fav recovery drink. 

Then planned the Bill & the kids' meals for the week, made my grocery list, and went to get groceries.

Dinner for me tonight was a BBQ chicken chopped salad. YUM.

Then prepped Oven Fajitas for lunches this week. 

And Overnight Oats for breakfasts.

Makes for one solid little Sunday.

US Road Running Ambassadorship!!!

Today I was notified that I was selected to be a US Road Running Ambassador!! I am the only one in a Washington state and there isn't one in Idaho either, so my races extend across the river! 

Being an Ambassador is similar to a sponsorship, but with some stipulations to your agreement. Such as with this Ambassadorship. Yes, they will cover your race entries, but you have to post/blog/talk about the races you run, attempt to partner the race with US Road Running, and generally talk to people at races about their website. Deal. 

Rest day for me today, just some yoga this morning. Felt good to stretch out, but lame to not run. 

Breakfast was a green smoothie. I switched out my regular banana for some fresh strawberries. Yum. 

Lunch was a black bean patty on a sandwich thin with 1T BBQ sauce and 1oz almonds. No afternoon snack since I wasn't running. And dinner was BBQ chicken, a whole grilled onion, and a small head of grilled romaine lettuce. Mmmmmm.... Good. 

Have I mentioned how much I adore these little ladies? 

I pre-made my dinner for tomorrow night (the girlies have softball practice), prepped my breakfast and made some Almond Milk. Boom.