Three Things Thursday

  1. I missed a self care Saturday post. I guess this means I’m no good at this routine blogging thing. Oops. In case you’re  wondering what l I did to take care of myself last week I took a lot of walks.  Some solo and some with my dog Flapjack. I even walked to the library to return some books.
2. I’m not feeling confident that I will run a sub 4 hour Chicago Marathon. My runs have not been coached prescribed like they were last year.  I’m not even close to accomplishing what I did this time last year.  Running fast is just not happening. And I’m sure that I’m not even putting in the proper work that is required for such a lofty goal.

3. I started lifting again. I got side tracked when I got the flu back in April and haven’t lifted since. Two weeks ago I started following the 5×5 strong lifts program. My husband and friend both had this program work for them. I’m hoping the squats and deadlifts will create legs of steel that will come in handy for the last 6-10 miles of my upcoming marathon.

Self Care Saturday (3)

Okay, so it’s not Saturday, but I’ve been a bit distracted this week.  Lots of driving my girls here and there for their different summer activities.  Tennis, swimming, theater oh my.  Let’s take a look at what I was able to do this past week to take care of myself.  Check out my original post from last week to find out why I’m a huge advocate for self care.

I took a night off and met my friend at the movies to see Jurassic World and eat some movie popcorn.  It was entertaining, the popcorn was delicious and Chris Pratt was nice to look at, but the plot line was a little lacking.   So why build a theme park with killer dinosaurs again?  I guess I lack the imagination for a movie like this.

While my girls were at a tennis lesson this week used the time to fit in one of my runs.  Now this was a nice way to use the hour, but man was it hot and humid at 8:30 in the morning.  I may just have to keep getting up ungodly early to beat the heat.  Sometimes it’s necessary to sleep in though.  It’s a toss up.

This one isn’t so much self care as it is just a straight up treat.  I got myself a new Fitbit Charge HR.  I have been wanting a device that records heart rate for some time now.  I didn’t want to shell out $150 for a new Fitbit now and them more money later when I get the second generation Apple Watch (because that is going to happen).  My original plan was to keep my Fitbit Flex until it dies and hope it lasts another year.  But I got lucky and my mom gave me 2 Kohls gift cards that she and my dad got as some incentive from some senior health home visit they agreed to. When I got to Kohls and saw the Fitbits on display I knew exactly how I wanted to spend my free money.  I’ve had the Fitbit Charge HR for 2 days now, so I’ll let you know how it stacks up to the Flex once I’ve worn it for a while.

How did you take care of yourself this past week?

WINNER: Christmas in July Races 2015 Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who commented and/or “liked” my Facebook page.  I have a winner.   Congratulations Ellen!  You win a free entry to the 5K/10K or $75 off one of the ultra events.  Please respond to my email and I’ll get you hooked up with the winner’s code.

For those of you who didn’t win and still want to run in the Christmas in July Races please use my coupon code  ANNEPROMO10 for any of the race distances and get 10% off registration.

I hope to see many of you out on the race course July 17th and/or 18th!

Self Care Saturday (2)

Let’s take a look at what I did this past week to take care of myself. I thought I’d try to make this a regular weekly post since you know, therapist prescribed. Check out my original post from last week to find out why I’m a huge advocate for self care.

My computer and I made a stop at Starbucks for a venti, sugar free hazelnut, cafee misto with coconut milk. Oh my god, how much do I hate ordering at Starbucks? My list of wants is so long and I never know what ingredient to say in what order. And when all was said and done I forgot to say that I wanted it iced. Oh well, the caffeine is most important and that goes without saying, thank god. My youngest was at the in-laws and I was able to use the hour that my oldest was at her theater class to sit down drink my coffee and quickly write a race recap.

I’m taking advantage of my husband’s work schedule being a bit lighter in June.  He doesn’t start teaching his summer school class until July.   We all slept in and  he took the kids to tennis.  I went for a run later in the morning while while the girls were at their lesson.  I “treated” myself to some 400 repeats.  I wanted to see how this workout compared to last year’s and the results were not too shabby.  I’ve been doubting my ability to get back into the shape I was in this time last year.  Today’s speed work gave me a little bit of hope that I am capable.  Sub 4 hour marathon here I come.

On Wednesday and Friday I slept in again. Since these classes were not at my usual times  I was lucky to experience two different teachers.  The first was my favorite kind of yoga teacher.  She offered assists and at the end of class used essential oils and gave a light neck/shoulder massage (I’m surprised I didn’t gross her out with my sweatiness).  She also waved a cold breeze my way while I was laying in savasana.   The second teacher was also excellent. The poses she called  were different than I am used to and her sequences were new to me as well. These classes were a great way to spend some time with myself and at the same time get a good workout.

What have you done for yourself this week?

 

 

My manic wall color mistake

Before

When I had one of my manic (for lack of a better word) episodes a few months ago I became set on redecorating my bedroom.  I really wanted (still do) my kitchen completely gutted, but because that will never happen, due to the million dollars it will cost, I concentrated all my efforts on making my bedroom a nice place to be.

I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and shopping online to try and find the perfect bedding, rug, curtains, wall color etc.  I also went out shopping one evening with every intention of buying EVERYTHING I needed to transform my room.  I ended up buying a lot of things that I ended up returning after getting them home and realizing  they didn’t look right in the room.  It took me a few shopping trips to get exactly what I wanted.

My Dad painting the room

Eventually, I bought the paint and arranged for my dad to paint the room.  I chose an aqua color.  Previously my room was a taupe/brown color and I wanted all the brown out of my room.  I thought the blue color would brighten things up a bit.

My husband’s opinion

Once the room was painted (it took 2 coats and 2 days) it was apparent that I had made the wrong choice.  I was trying to make myself like it, but my husband did not hold his opinion back.  He hated it and was very open about hating it.  He thought it looked like we were under the sea.  He even made these decorations to go with the theme.  Then later my daughter checked out the book Aqualicious from the library and the inside cover of the book matched our bedroom wall color perfectly.  The jokes kept coming.

After

Now I’m in the process of figuring out what color to repaint the room.  I’m thinking a neutral shade of grey will be best.  However, I will be painting it myself because how can I possibly ask my 70 year old dad to do it again?

Have you ever made a wall color mistake?  How long did you have to deal with it before repainting it?

 

Upcoming Races

Last year was my year of PRs.  I PR-ed in every distance (5K, 10K, 10 mile, 13.1 & 26.2) I ran.  This year I’m not so sure I can keep up.  I have already told myself I will not sign up for as many races as I did last year.  That would mean I have to keep it under 8 races.  I want to take a more relaxed approach and maybe save some money on race entries this year.

In 2015 I have two races behind me and three on the horizon (maybe I’m not doing so good on the run less races thing).  You can read my recaps from the Big Sur Marathon here and the Esprit de She Naperville Triathlon here.  The following races are still to come.

1.  Strike Out ALS 5K on Tuesday July 14 at 6:30pm.  I won an entry to this race from Maggie at Mag Mile Runner.  I rarely win anything and definitely nothing as cool as a race entry, so I’m thrilled.

2. Christmas in July 5K or 10K  on July 17 & 18 in the evening.  I have a giveaway up until June 22nd if you want to take your chances and win a free entry (5K or 10K) or $75 off one of the ultra events.  I still have yet to decide which distance I’ll run.  I will probably wait until the last minute to make my decision.  I had a great experience at this race last year coming in at 3rd place woman overall and securing a new 5K PR for myself.  Check out my giveaway for this race.

3.  Chicago Marathon on October 11th I will be aiming to run my first sub 4 hour marathon.  I am running again this year for the Les Turner ALS Foundation.  I have to raise $1000 and I am a bit worried that I will not raise my goal amount.  This is the 3rd year in a row I have run for an ALS charity (NYC Marathon 2013 and Chicago Marathon 2014).   I feel that I may have tapped out my donors by now.

If all goes well I will have run 5 races in 2015.  Two of those races were complimentary so they don’t count in my run less races/spend less money pact I have with myself.

How may races do you usually run in a year?  Have you run for charity and if so how do you raise the money to meet your goal?

Esprit de She Naperville Triathlon Race Recap

 The forecast predicted rain for the entire day on Saturday.  Usually I freak out about racing in the rain and it never ends up happening, so this time I wasn’t at all anxious about it.  I think I truly believed that it wasn’t going to rain.

My friend Pam and I headed to the race early.  I wanted to get there around 5:00 am so that I wouldn’t have trouble finding close parking.  Last year it was a little tough finding parking and I didn’t want that tourble again this year.  It turned out there was no problem finding close parking because no one was there yet.  It started to drizzle when we arrived just before 5.  The radar did not look good.  We headed to transition to set up and find our friends.  The rain just kept falling and falling with bouts of heavier rain happening.

 I set up my  transition area in plastic bags.  I had one bag for the  bike and one for the run.  I also put my helmet and bike seat in a plastic bag.  I’m so glad I packed those plastic grocery bags at the last minute.  I also grabbed a large black garbage bag, which I wore until the moment before I walked in the water to start the swim.  The race time was delayed 15 minutes so we had the pleasure of standing around in the rain for that much longer.

 I was thrilled to be with such a large group of my friends (there were 7 of us, not all are pictured) because it made standing around in the rain bearable and at times actually fun.  We had to wait about and hour after transition closed for our wave to start the swim.

When I got in the water I was relaxed, but still somehow seemed to get out of breath quickly. I couldn’t get a good freestyle going so I succumbed to the breaststroke for the entire half mile.  It was a little embarrassing swimming this way, but I got it done.  I ran as fast as I could to my transition area.  It took me forever to unpack everything from the plastic bags. I grabbed my huma gel and bike shoes.   I carried the shoes with me to the bike out area and put them on there.  I did not want to slip on the wet pavement.  It took me over 6 minutes before I started the bike.  FOREVER.

The bike was 2 loops.  It went pretty well.  The rain had stopped sometime during the swim so I was glad that I wasn’t riding in the rain.  My bike worked very well even though it had been water logged pre race.  I found that I was able to pass a lot of people without being passed too much myself.  When I finished and dismounted the bike I immediately took my bike shoes off and ran with my bike to get ready for the run.

 Again I had to unpack everything from a plastic bag.  It took me too long to get dry socks on over my wet feet. I quickly opened  another huma gel, grabbed my water bottle and headed to the run out.  At this point I could never catch my breath.  My body was not tired, but my breathing was labored.  It’s so weird feeling like I was running so much slower than I actually was.  I just kept telling myself it’s only 3 miles.  I chatted with another runner and the time flew by.  Right before the finishers shoot I saw my family and stopped to get some hugs. And dare I say that this is when the sun started shining. I was wet and muddy, but thrilled to have finished my second triathlon.

I loved this race.  It felt very accessible to a newbie like me.  Not only because the distance was doable, but  everyone I dealt with from race officials to participants were very supportive and non judgmental.  The race shirts are awesome (I’ve worn mine from last year out.) and the expo and post race swag were super cool. I went home with lip balm, tomatoes, essential oils and a plant.  Top that!

I  am SO not qualified to swim and my bike is too nice for someone who knows nothing about biking, but I challenged myself and got it done.  Despite the terrible weather I finished 6 minutes faster than last year.  I went home, ate and then crashed.  I took a nice afternoon nap to recover.  Getting up at 4am was the hardest part.  Not sure when I’ll tri again, but this definitely won’t be my last.

Self care Saturday

  Let me start by saying that I’m a huge advocate for self care. Having to deal with anxiety/depression for some time now I’ve learned the hard way that at some point you need to take a break from your usual stressors. 

At first I found it hard to let go of my responsibilities (family and home) and take some time for myself. I always wanted to be in charge of everything. I never wanted to relinquish responsibility to anyone else. I couldn’t accept help for fear that no one could do anything as well as I could. Let me break it to you here. It will all be there when you get back and yes someone else can take over while you’re away. I promise things will it fall apart.

  When I was in therapy while struggling with postpartum depression a few years back my therapist suggested I practice self care. Somehow a therapist prescribing it gave me legitimate permission to try it out. That it must be ok. I started slowly by going out shopping alone, even if it was just to run a necessary errand. I’d get some time alone to listen to a podcast or wander aimlessly through Target while kidless. 

Practice makes perfect. Now I’m a master. I take time every day to workout by either getting up early or waiting until the kids are in bed to fit it into my day.  Occasionallly I go out on dates with my husband, meet a friend for dinner/movie or get a pedicure. The possibilities are endless.  You must not feel guilty about needing a break so you can be the best “you” possible.

Now that it’s summer and I do not have to go to work I’m much more laid back. I’ve got plenty of time to fit in my selfcare. I’ve strategically set up my girls’ summer activities so I can use that time to for “me” time. When they have swim lessons I swim laps in the other pool at the gym. While they’re at tennis I go for a run or sit at a picnic table and write a blog post. And as a seasonal bonus (my in laws are snow birds) on Saturday mornings my in-laws take the girls for a few hours. I use that time to go to yoga and run quick errands.

I know I’ve got it good with a supportive husband and generous grand parents on both sides. I’ve also got an awesome neighbor/best friend who trades babysitting with me so we can each have time to get things done. Not sure what I would do without my amazing support system.

Do you take time for selfcare? How often? How do you spend your “me” time?

Don’t for get about my Christmas in July Races giveaway and discount code. The odds are looking amazing right now with just one official entry.

Christmas in July Races 2015 Giveaway!!

This year I will be running the Christmas in July Races at Lisle Community Park in Lisle, Illinois. I’m not sure if I’m going to run the 5K and defend my 3rd place (woman overall) award or if I will do the 10K.  If you’re not into the shorter distances and you want to challenge yourself in one of the ultras you can choose from a  6hour, 12hour or 24 hour race. This is a 2 day event from July 17-18.  Check out the Christmas in July website for more information about this event.

Do you want to join me? You can register for any of the races now and get 10% off by using the code ANNEPROMO10 or you can enter the giveaway for a FREE entry for the 5K/10K or $75 off of one of the timed events (6 hour, 12 hour, 24 hour). To enter the giveaway please leave a comment mentioning which race distance you’d like to do and why. You can get a bonus entry if you also “like” my Facebook page and leave a note in the comments that you did so.

Fun details about the event:

• Fun run (kids races) are FREE and all participants will receive an AWESOME medal, a t-shirt, a bib. 2 runs – Friday night and Saturday night 30 minutes before 5K/10K.
• Evening races on both Friday and Saturday nights: 5K – Friday at 8:00, 10K – Saturday at 7:30 PM.
• Ultra timed events, All start on Friday night kicking off with 24 Hour from 10 PM – 10 PM Saturday; 12 Hour 11:00 PM – 11:00 AM, and 6 hour 12 AM – 6 AM.
• Ultras – no DNF – run as much or as little as you like! All participants get an award.
• Fully stocked aid station with meals served for ultras. Water, electrolyte drink, and snacks at the 5k/10k aid stations.

I will leave the giveaway open until Monday June 22, 2015. Shortly after I will randomly pick a winner and announce it on the blog.  I can’t wait to find out who will be joining me at this event.

A few things

1.  Ugh, I gained about 4 extra pounds during the few months I was struggling with depression and anxiety.  It was a combination of not really caring about what and how much I put into my body.  I enjoyed way too many treats, which was maybe a way to try and make myself feel better.  The good news is that I spent the last four weeks getting back to my consistent morning workout routine.  Previously I was unable to get myself out of bed each morning until it was absolutely necessary.  I still worked out, but crammed it into my already busy afternoons and evenings, which definitely added to my stress level.  Not only am I back to my morning workouts, but I have also been keeping track of my calories and being mindful about eating as clean and healthy as possible.  As a result I have lost 3 of the 4 pounds I gained.  I hoping within the next couple of weeks I can reach and maintain my ideal weight.  I wanted to start out this marathon training season without those extra four pounds.  I’m so proud to be back on the right track.

Esprit de She 2014

2.  This weekend I will be doing my second outdoor triathlon, The Naperville Esprit de She.  I’m excited to join several of my friends as they tackle this one as their first.  It’s nice to be on the other side this year knowing what to expect.  My anxiety level was a 10 plus/10 last year and this year I’m more like a 5/10.  Last Saturday was the first time I had been on my bike (I was mostly on the stationary bike at the gym) since last year and I was super nervous about getting in and out of the pedals.  I was fearful of falling.   After riding with friends for 18 miles last Saturday I realized I just needed to get out and do it.  It was not as bad as my mind had made it out to be.

3.  I am running the Chicago Marathon again this year for charity.  I will be joining the Les Turner ALS Foundation team in hopes to raise money for a cause near to my heart.  I did not get into the marathon via the lottery this year.  I was thrilled to find out that Run For ALS was willing to welcome me back. My goal again this year is to sub 4.  I missed my goal by under 2 minutes last year and struggled with those results.  I’m honestly a little nervous to start working hard towards that goal, but I know I have it in me.

Are you running any races for charity?