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Showing posts from April, 2011

Things I Love Thursday - Getting Ready to Race

Saturday is race day. My first half marathon since last August. The first of four between now and the end of this August. Do I want to PR? Yes. What does that mean? Beat my 1:59:08 time. Have I worked hard? Yes. Were there bumps in the training plan road? Yes, a week of biking three weeks ago because of a broken toe. Am I going to let that be an excuse? No. Am I going to leave everything I have out there on Saturday? That's the plan. Besides kicking some half marathon booty, why am I excited for this race? Because Farrah is running it too. Alicia will be at one of the aid stations. And when I finish, my family will be waiting for me and then my Princess is going to run her first official race, the Kids 1 Mile run. I was going to include a pic of my race day outfit because I'm a girl that way, but the weather keeps changing, so my planned attire does too. Since it was almost 70 degrees today and is supposed to snow tomorrow, I've given up making a final clothing choice u

Runnerd Pride

I know, I know. You were dying to see what I got in the mail on Monday, and then I made you wait an extra day to find out. So sorry. At least you could enter my giveaway in the meantime though. I'll quit making you wait and get right to it. Here's the first thing that made me smile from Monday's mail: I realize my car is ridiculously dirty, but it snowed and rained all morning while I was out running my girls around, so what you see is what you get. Believe it or not, I washed it two days before this pic. You are supposed to be noticing my awesome new RUNNERD sticker though, not how dirty my car is. I ordered this sticker from the RUNNERD shop . I had to get one to make sure it lives up to my runnerd standards. Obviously it does. In the same package, I got this: I really don't like pictures of myself in general, if you haven't noticed from how few actually appear on my blog. But I made an exception for this shirt even though I had to do a self portrait (although I

Exceed Indeed

It was a good mail day. For you and me. Tomorrow, I'll show you my spoils. But today, it's all about you . Last week I told you about my new Exceed earphones from Auria . This week, you have a chance to win your own!!! I have one pair of Glacier White Auria Exceed Earphones to give away to one IHR reader. Here's a little review of why you want these (from Auria.com): Exceed Experience an exciting new level of comfort from our XFit system. Run, hike, bike or walk with the confidence that your earphones will remain in place. Control volume with a mere finger touch to the stylized InLine control. Use the function button to control audio/video and answer/end calls. Take advantage of the integrated Microphone to make calls on iPhone 4/3GS/3G, Blackberry and Android phones. Upgrade to Exceed high-performance audio and listen to music with excellent clarity and detail. Hear sweet vocals, rousing guitar riffs and tight bass lines come to life. The super-soft, black mesh carrying

Things I Love Thursday: Abs

I'm not talking about my abs here. I'm talking more about what I want them to be, their true potential. It's time to make them a thing I love . So I'm setting a goal. I want my abs to look good enough that I would feel comfortable wearing just my sports bra (and something on bottom, of course) during one of my half marathons this summer. Just to clarify (for my Mom's sake) , I'm not saying I will wear just my sports bra. But I want it to be an option. My June 11 half is seven weeks away. With a little focus, I should be able to see a difference by then. And by the Timp Half on July 30, I will have identifiable abs. I am not expecting rockin' abs like EMZ or to be abalicious like Beth and Morgan . But I do want tighter, more defined abs. So I'm setting a goal and putting it in writing. Tonight's P90X AbRipperX was a good start. Throw in a little more discipline in what I eat, and I'm on the road to success. And if I end up with truly awesome

Ooh, la, la Auria

A few months ago, I bought a pair of Yurbuds. After my Bean thought the earbuds I have been using for the last few years looked like a fun toy and took one of the earpieces off and lost it, I just couldn't get them to work with the larger earpieces. So I consulted eBay and bought a pair of Ironman Yurbuds. With my history of unhappiness with earphones, fifty bucks was too much to justify spending, but I'd heard so many good things from other bloggers about them so I found a brand new pair on eBay for half the price. The hubs got my hand-me-downs with the larger earpieces, and I started using my Yurbuds. After the first try, I contacted Yurbuds and asked if they came in something smaller than a size 5. They don't. I have fairly small ears and have a hard time finding earphones that don't hurt. I figured since Yurbuds came in multiple sizes, I would be good to go. Not so much. The Yurbuds "worked." But I didn't love them. Then I was contacted by Auria and a

Things I Love Thursday - Underoos

Readers Note: I apologize for the use of the word "panties" throughout this post. I know some of my readers can't stomach that word, but it was hard to write about this topic without using it a few times. I could only get away with substitutes in some instances. When I did the ABCs of Me a few weeks ago, I had a few comments on my response to U: Underwear . My response: Usually . I thought there were far more of you out there going commando on your runs. Apparently I was mistaken. So I felt the topic is deserving of a post all its own. When I started running, I tried a few different types of undies. I knew enough to at least avoid cotton, and I knew I didn't want to deal with something inching its way up my crack while I run, so thongs were out. But after a few failed tries, I decided to try nothing. And it was great. First, I am a not a fan of visible panty lines (VPLs). Even the all-knowing Urban Dictionary says they are a no-no: "VPL is where the panties of

I Run

The toe is still cooperating. It isn't better, but it's surviving. All that really matters is that I can run comfortably. But step on my poor little piggy, and it takes all I have to stay in an upright position and keep the profanities in my head. Not being able to run for a week just about put me over the edge. Four miles on Millie on Monday did what three 10+ mile sessions on the bike couldn't do last week. There's just something about running. After my forced hiatus, I didn't need any motivation. Yet I realized something about motivation and me lately. When the scale goes up or my clothes aren't fitting as comfortably as I would like, I am not motivated to run. In fact, it's just the opposite. I don't want to do anything except feel sorry for myself, sit on the couch, and zone out to the TV. And eat hot tamales. Then the other day, I took my girls to the mall to Minnie's Masquerade, a little costume party they had at the Disney Store. People can&

Take That

Saturday night, I was sick. I sat in front of the television most of the night because it isn't too far from the bathroom. I'll just leave it at that. Needless to say, I was very jealous that while I was watching TV, my husband was watching this: He texted the picture with a single word beneath it: HEAVEN!!! Tonight he was at yet another game, but this time the texting went like this: Me: I would be more jealous of you being there tonight if I weren't on the treadmill for the first time in a week =) Him: RunNERD!! Me: You betcha!!! Then I texted him this picture, with a single word: HEAVEN!!! Four miles done. TAKE THAT, TOE!

The "F" Word

I literally cringed the other day when The Princess tried on her soccer shin guards for the first time and told me her legs look fat. I know she didn't mean it like most people mean it when they say something looks fat, but it still gave me a little shock. We don't use the "f" word at our house. I am very, very careful to never complain about looking or feeling fat in front of my girls. I am very aware of what they are exposed to and take a certain amount of pride in the fact that The Princess didn't acknowledge the differences in people based on their size until recently. Even now, at 5-years-old, it's just a simple acknowledgement, not a judgement. I never want my girls to dislike their bodies. It is nearly impossible to avoid being exposed to the public perception of what is attractive and acceptable as far as a woman's body goes, so the least I can do is set a good example in what I say and how I treat my body. As a mother, I have a responsibility to t

Things I Love Thursday - Not My Race Photos

My little Bean's room has slowly transitioned from an office to a little girl's room. After I was able to let myself sleep more than five feet away from her, we moved her crib into the office. Since Bean is a seriously light sleeper and The Princess can sleep through just about anything and talks in her sleep A LOT, the original plan to have them share a room didn't seem like the best idea. At least not if anyone in the house wanted a good night's sleep. So Bean's crib went in the office. After a year in there, it was time to make the room a little more girlie. So out went the desk and in went a dresser and cute white bookshelf. The walls however still suggested it was once an office until this week. There was the picture of The Prayer at Valley Forge above her bed until this morning. Now there is this: This canvas print was generously provided by Easy Canvas Prints . After I had The Princess's five year pics taken a few weeks ago, I knew one of those would be

Not a Food Blog

This is not a food blog. It's a running blog. But while I busted out 12 miles on the bike last night, there hasn't been running since last week, so I decided why not talk about food? More specifically, I decided to share the recipe for the the Pumpkin Cream Pasta I mentioned in THIS post. It isn't the healthiest thing you can eat, but it is pretty yummy. And I tell myself the pumpkin makes it a little healthier. Right?? (The quality of this picture, which was taken with my phone, is proof this is not a food blog!) Pumpkin Sage Cream Sauce 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 1/4 cup fresh-grated Parmesan 16 fresh sage leaves (sliced into thin strips) or 1/4 tsp rubbed sage 1/4 tsp fresh-ground pepper 1 tablespoon butter Combine cream, pumpkin puree, Parmesan , sage and pepper in medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until slightly thickened -- 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Toss with your favorite pasta. Top with additional Parmesan if des

Toeing the Line

There's nothing like having to change your monthly goals on the third day of the month. But that's what I had to do yesterday when I did this (the bruised toe, not the dirty ones or the freckle) : It didn't even happen while I was doing something fun or crazy. I was just walking from the livingroom to the kitchen and the leg of a chair jumped out in front of my toe. Based on how quickly it became a chubby little sausage and changed colors, I am highly suspicious it is broken. According to the trusty old Internet, I could be looking at six weeks before it is feeling completely back to normal if it is indeed broken. I guess only time will tell. But time I do not have. I have a half marathon in less than a month. So once the pain subsides a little, hopefully sooner than later, I will be slipping on my running shoes. Until then, I have a feeling I will be spending some time on the bike and doing modified P90X Core Synergistics. This won't be an excuse to be lazy. It's