A Year in T-Shirts

2015-2016 was the year of the road races.  Or, should I say, the first year of the road races.  I've decided to take you all on a tour of my races, using my race t-shirts as a road map of sorts. 

1. The Color Run

5k (3.2 mile) - September 12, 2015

00:31:17

The race that started it all!  

The idea of running actual races had never really occurred to me.  At this point, late summer of 2015, I had just started running with Mara in the jogging stroller out of necessity, rather than because I really loved to run.  Mara was about 9 months old at the time and was in an anti-nap phase, and sometimes the only way I could get her to take a nap (that she desperately needed) was to put her in a stroller and take her for a walk.  I was never guaranteed time to work out, so I thought to myself, if I can walk with her, why not run?  We had a jogging stroller so... off we went!  

Then one day a friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was going to be doing The Color Run 5K and asked if anyone was interested in running it with her.  I decided it sounded like fun and since I'd already been running, I was basically already training for it.  I ended up not running it with her as we couldn't find each other in the crowd at the beginning of the race, but it was fun and I was hooked!

2. Run Like Hell

10K (6.4 mile) - October 25, 2015

00:55:00 (ish?  I can't remember exactly)

Corky and I ran this one together.  It was the first race we ever did as a couple.  We wore those one-piece body suits that cover literally ALL of your body, even your face!  His was green and mine was black.  I remember on the way to the light rail station we were talking about our costumes.  He said ours weren't as interesting because "we aren't anything."  Meaning we were wearing body suits as opposed to being an actual character or something, like Spongebob or Raggedy Ann.  I responded, "Sure we are.  I'm a shadow and you're a booger!"  He wasn't convinced.  LOL!  Anyway, this was a 10K so just under six and a half miles.  I felt pretty good.  It was hard to run with something over my face so I ended up pulling the head part off halfway.  I remember being passed by all sorts of weird costumes, the worst of which were these 2 people dressed like bunches of grapes - one purple and one green.  They wore some kind of suit with latex balloons stuck to it.  The balloons kept dislodging and blowing back towards me.  You all know how I feel about balloons......... Let's just say I really wanted to get ahead of them, although I never did. 

3.  Holiday Half

13.1 mile - December 13, 2015

02:00:08

How well I remember this race!  This race began my struggle with gastrointestinal issues during races, although at the time I blamed it on the stomach flu that I was just recovering from.  Two miles in I found myself grateful for strategically placed port-a-potties.  I can remember hitting a wall right around mile 4 and then getting a second wind, and then hitting a wall again around mile 10 and I never did recover from that one.  I dragged across the finish line at two hours exactly and within minutes was shivering violently.  It was COLD that day.  Someone gave me a mylar space blanket which I immediately donned and huddled there near the finish line waiting for Corky.  I felt immensely proud of myself after this race. We went home, I put Mara down for her nap, took a shower and then fell asleep myself for almost two hours.  It was great!  Unfortunately, that would be the first and only time (thus far) that I'd be able to take a nap post-half marathon and actually enjoy it.

4.  Hop Hop Half

13.1 mile - March 26, 2016

01:55:50

This was by far my best half marathon.  Not only for time, but for how I felt.  I suffered very little gastrointestinal distress during this race.  I only felt the need to use the port-a-potty toward the end, which was a far cry from the previous half (two different times) and would be a far cry from the next half (which I'll get to in a while).  My knee hurt a little bit toward the end of this race but other than that I felt pretty good.  I remember a guy was running it dressed in an Easter Bunny outfit.  He must have been SO HOT.  This race was fun because the course was right along Marine Drive which runs next to Portland International Airport.  So I got some nice plane-spotting in while running the race.  It was also my best time for a half marathon, and still is my best time to this day.  The shirt is nice, but it is prone to static after coming out of the dryer if I don't remember to use a dryer sheet with it.

5. Cinco de Mayo

10K (6.4 mile) - May 1, 2016

00:51:00 (ish?)

This was the first race I ran with Mara in the jogging stroller.  Up to this point we had always had someone to watch her.  I can't remember why we didn't this day, but we didn't.  As often happens with toddlers, Corky and I were a bit behind schedule that morning.  Races always start so ungodly early, which didn't help matters.  Anyway, since the start of this race was at Pioneer Square in downtown Portland, we again took the MAX light rail down.  As we neared the square, we could see the starting arch and people already running through it.  The race was beginning just as the MAX pulled into the station!  We hopped off the MAX, ran across the street, through the arch and just started running.  Because we started late, we were near the back.  I have a decently fast pace, so I had to pass a lot of people.  Doing that is awkward in the first place, but it's even worse with a jogging stroller.  Some people seemed offended that I passed them, while others commented on how me running with a stroller like that encouraged them.  "No excuses," they'd say.  Still others just ignored me.  I ended up being the fastest stroller-pushing runner that day, which was nice.  Definitely would have been easier to run if I didn't have to sing Wheels On The Bus the whole way to keep Mara entertained!  Oh well.  The things we do for our kids.

6.  Hood to Hood River Relay

Relay  (56 miles total) - June 12, 2016

Time unknown

I actually wrote a whole blog post about this race, you can find it HERE.  But basically two other people (Joe and Teresa) and I formed a three-person relay team and faced down many other teams (all of whom had more people than we did) and came in 2nd in this test-run of a new course.  The course was so damn beautiful and very challenging.  I was completely exhausted by my last leg.  It was my first relay experience and I loved it.  I hope to do this race again one day!  Also, this is one of my very favorite t-shirts.  I wear it all the time.

7.  Foot Traffic Flat

13.1 mile - July 4, 2016

02:20:??

Ugh.  I've been dreading writing about this race for this entire post.  This race..... I have a bone to pick with this race.  I will be damned if I'll let this race get the best of me again.  This one was an all around disaster.  Almost from the moment I started running I could feel the familiar and dreaded cramping in my stomach.  All told I spent about half an hour in various port-a-potties along the route and actually walked a good portion of the race - something I almost never do.  I was sick for a week after this race.  I could barely get out of bed the rest of the day.  I have almost never been in so much pain in my life.  This race nearly put me off racing for good.  But I did finish.. as one of my Zumba ladies who also runs races said to me one day, "Better to be DFL than DNF."  Truer word were never spoken.

8.  The Color Run

5K (3.2 mile) - September 17, 2016

00:27:04

My 2nd year doing The Color Run.  This time it was pouring rain!  My shirt is actually stained faintly from the color powder mixing with the rain water, but that's kind of the point.  This race was actually kind of boring.  I run 5Ks on the treadmill almost every day.  But the vibe is fun and I do enjoy the excitement of race day.  Plus a friend of mine was there doing a Zumba demo so it was cool to see him.  All in all not a very eventful race but enjoyable nonetheless.  My boogers are crazy colored for days after this race.  It's hilarious!

9.  Spartan Sprint

4+ miles, 21 obstacles - October 22, 2016

Time unknown

Corky, Mara and I road-tripped to Seattle for me to the Spartan Sprint up there.  It was my first obstacle race and I loved it!  HERE is a blog post I wrote about that weekend.  It was very challenging, both physically and mentally.  This was the race that taught me just how hard 30 burpees are when you're already tired!  But it also taught me that I'm capable of way more than I thought I was.  Still one of my greatest accomplishments in the realm of races.  It wasn't fast or pretty, but I got it done and I'm proud of that!

I'm excited to see what 2017 has in store for me with fitness and racing.  Stay tuned for next years t-shirt tour! xoxox :)

Another New Year

I cannot believe that another year has passed.  I started this blog at the very end of 2012, and now it is the beginning of 2017!  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be where I am today.  Mostly recovered.  Married.  A mother.  A personal trainer.  Life is pretty damn good.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table.  It's 2:31pm on a Saturday.  I'm drinking Red Rose tea (with stevia and almond/coconut milk in it), listening to Mara  have milk and cookies and play in her playhouse in the next room, and watching the snow fall outside.  The dogs are in their kennel (Frank is not too happy about that) and all is relatively peaceful.  The only thing that would make it better is if Corky was home from work.

Speaking of Corky's work, we have some pretty exciting news about that.  Starting in February, he will no longer be working at the pet store where he's been for the past 14 years. He will be going into business with my dad, doing house buying, house-flipping, renting, property management and general contracting work.  It's pretty awesome!  It'll be a nice change for him.  And on top of that, he gets NORMAL work hours (9-5), NORMAL work days (M-F), NORMAL amounts of vacation time (more than 2 weeks per year!) and BETTER PAY.

We want to expand our family in 2017.  Hopefully that will be able to happen.  But with Corky working what was pretty much a dead-end job, that wasn't really in the cards.  Well, now it is.  So fingers crossed that it all pans out.

We're all doing fine.  Mara is now 2 years and 1 month old.  Talking in full sentences, mostly potty trained and doing well in preschool.   She is doing gymnastics once a week and loves to go swimming occasionally.  She think jumping off the side in her floaty vest is the most awesome thing ever.  

Corky is preparing to leave his job, as I mentioned, and plays pool in a Masters league on Sundays.  He is pretty good at it.  He's currently studying for his general contractors license, which I'm sure will be a snap for him.  In his spare time (what little of it he has) he likes to take extremely hot baths with eucalyptus and bath salts that make the whole house smell like menthol. Lol!

I'm working away.  Teaching Zumba, strength formats and bootcamp.  Working hard to get a personal training job soon.  Cross your fingers for me, I might have one lined up here in a few weeks.  We'll just have to see.  Other than that, my hobbies include talking to myself (since no on else listens), making food that nobody eats and cleaning up after everyone.

The dogs, Frank and Abby, are fine.  Frank went to a 3 week boot camp for dogs, came back MUCH BETTER, but still needs work.  He's recently regressed with the house-breaking thing.  So currently he's whining away at me from the kennel because I can't have him out running around when I'm not right on top of him.  Abby is a crotchety old bat.  LOL!  She's only 5 but she's such a scrooge.  She growls at Frank when he tries to play with her.  She still loves to run and fetch at the dog park though.  Funny how suddenly she CAN run when we're there, but when we're home and I say, "Abby, come!" she sloooooowly lopes over.  Crazy thing.

All is well.  Can't wait to see what this year will bring for our family!

Happy 2017!!!! Wishing you all the best!

Christmas Is Coming

As the holiday approaches at the speed of light, I find myself wondering where the time went.  Wasn't it just Christmas 2015, like, the other day?  For that matter, wasn't I just nursing my 1 month old to sleep on Christmas Eve 2014, like, last week???  How is it already Christmas 2016?? How do I already have a TWO YEAR OLD?!  

The big news around here is that Santa is coming.  Mara is finally old enough to have a basic concept of Santa Claus.  That is to say, she can recognize Santa either in live or cartoon/illustration form.  We went and met Santa at the mall on Wednesday.  She didn't cry but she didn't want to sit by him on her own, so I had to come be in the picture too.  But when the photos were done she didn't want to leave him!  She wanted to fist bump him, tell him about her doggies at home and examine his beard.  LOL!

After seeing Santa Claus, we went over to Claire's and Mara got her biggie girl earrings!  She had seen me putting my earrings in about a week before and had been obsessed with the idea of wearing her own earrings ever since.  I explained that she couldn't because her ears weren't pierced.  She ran to Corky saying, "Daddy! I need some pierced ears!"  Needless to say, Daddy gives her pretty much whatever she wants.  She did great.  Didn't even make a peep!  No problem once she was distracted by the candy cane Santa gave her.  She looks so cute and calls them her "Princess earrings".  So far no signs of infection and even though letting me clean them isn't her favorite thing, she tolerates it reasonably well.

The other big news around here is that Mara is finally weaned and, dare I say it, potty trained.  I definitely have a big girl on my hands now, and not a little baby.  Although occasionally I swoop her up cradle-style and she'll say, "I a baby girl."  Which is pretty cute, and I kiss her all over her cheeks and rock her and sing to her.  

Parenting right now is hard.  Mara is very stubborn and can be prone to tantrums.  She doesn't like to listen some of the time.  I often feel as though I'm just hitting my head on a wall when it comes to discipline.  One morning this week, I put her in time out 11 times before 7:30am!  It was one of those things that went like this (although I can't remember what the exact issue was.  I'll just use an example of an issue we often argue about):

Me:  Mara, come put on your underpants, it's time to get ready for school.

Mara: NO!

Me:  Please come here, you've got to wear underpants under your clothes.

Mara: NO UNDERPANTS!  I want wear tights!

Me:  You can wear tights but you need underpants on first.

Mara: (ignores me and continues playing with whatever she was holding)

Me:  Mara, I'm going to count to 3, please come put on your underpants by then or you're going to go into time out for not listening.

Mara: (ignores me)

Me: 1.......2.......3...... OK, into time out you go!

I place Mara in the corner where she proceeds to fling herself back onto the carpet and wail. 30 seconds pass.

Me:  OK, are you ready to listen now?

Mara:  Yes.

Me:  OK, come on out.  Let's put your underpants on.

Mara: NO UNDERPANTS!!!!

And so it repeats.... 

Eventually she'll get really mad and start hitting me, and then it's right back into time out.  And again. And again.

It usually ends with me needing a giant cup of coffee.

This size should do it!

So it's definitely a challenge.  However, there are some really sweet moments too.  Like when I come home from somewhere and Mara comes running up to me yelling, "MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY!!!!" And flings herself into my arms.  Or when she wakes up from a nightmare and cries for me and then snuggles up against me when I lay down with her.  Or, my new favorite, when she tries to tickle me by kissing my neck with her little arms wrapped around me.  

I do love her so.  As frustrating as being her mother can be, there's no other title I'd rather have.

Snowed In 2016

Well we had a miniature version of the ice/snowmageddon that we had in 2014.  Luckily this time I wasn't driving home from anywhere when the storm hit!

It started off innocently enough with lots and lots of wind and some snow flurries.

Nothing too terrible.  The snow was so dry at this point; it reminded me of South Dakota snow.  It blew across the pavement and collected against surfaces (like the pine needles in the above pic).

Soon, however, the ground started looking like this:

Knowing that a) I live way up on a hill, b) my little Mazda is not the best for snow driving and c) that this was just the beginning of the predicted snowstorm, I decided to go pick up Mara early from school.  This turned out to be a good decision because not long after we returned that THIS was the sight from the window:

We hunkered down at home for the afternoon (Corky was at work but he had chains for his car), and soon the snow turned to ice. 

To keep herself entertained during our time of being stuck in the house, Mara (who has an ear infection):

-watched Christmas movies by the light of the tree

-tried to teach Abby to read a clock

-played beauty salon with Abby (the most patient French bulldog that ever lived) and,

-pretended to take Mommy's body fat measurements (she saw corky and me doing this the night before lol)

That evening, corky and I ventured out to Safeway while Mara stayed home with corky's mom and brother. The place was a sheet of ice and we slid all over the place despite the chains.  It was very exciting.

Seattle Spartan - October 2016

Corky, Mara and I took a road trip to Seattle for me to run a Spartan race on October 22.  A Spartan, for those of you who don't know, is like a mud obstacle run.  They have varying lengths, this one was between 3 and 5 miles.  

It was chilly, difficult and MUDDY!  I have never, ever in my life seen so much mud. I was basically brown after the race.  I LOVED IT!  It was so much fun!

Basically, at each obstacle, you get one chance to complete it and if you fail, you have to do 30 burpees. Out of 20 obstacles, I only had to do burpees at 3. 30 burpees are exhausting!  Anyway, here are some pics from the weekend.

The venue:

Done! Exhausted! Muddy!! 

Love hotel mirrors.

Mara does love her Starbucks! 

Puffin! 

Disneyland - December 2016 Part 2

The second day, Mara and I had a breakfast date with a friend of mine who lives in the area. We walked to Downtown Disney and met her and her 2 kiddo's at the rainforest café, which I had no idea served breakfast. Pretty damn tasty breakfast too, I might add!  Anyway, Mara wasn't too sure about the gorillas and stuff in there but she sure had fun chasing my friend's son around while her newborn slept in her carrier like an angel.

Mara spots the diver cleaning the huge aquariums.

After breakfast, my parents and sister picked us up and we headed for Universal Studios. My sister is an avid Harry Potter lover so she was over the moon about the newly opened Harry Potter section there. We had butterbeer first thing - it's delicious!

Poor Mara just could not stay awake

I don't have any other pics from Universal because they're all on either my mom's or my sister's phones, but the remainder of the day included:

-dragging my mom on The Mummy ride

-the Universal Studios tour

-the Jurassic Park ride

-Panda Express

-Starbucks

-meeting Optimus Prime (or Octopus Prime as Mara calls him)

It was awesome and Mara was such a trooper despite a nasty cough, runny nose and low grade fever (which I didn't know she had til we were already there. Oops!)

The next day we packed up and flew home. It was a short but awesome trip!

Disneyland - December 2016

My parents, my sister, Mara and I went to Disneyland for a long weekend on December 1st.  It was great, despite Mara getting sick. I would love to go on vacation just once and not need Mara's Tylenol.  Anyway, here's some pics from the trip. I'm missing several so I might make an additional post later to add them. 

Mara's first time traveling old enough for her own airplane seat. Let's just say it didn't go so well.  Tantrum central. 

The next morning we got up, had breakfast:

And headed to the playground on the hotel grounds to play while we waited for my parents and sister, who aren't as early risers as we are. It was a bit windy! 

We finally made it to Disneyland around 11:30.  Mara was already starting to feel under the weather but, bless her heart, she was a trooper. Here are some assorted pics from Disneyland.

In line for Pirates of the Caribbean (which Mara was terrified of)

Fast passes for my sister's first time on Space Mountain.

In line for Small World (which Mara loooooved!)

I was freezing!