Scenes from a long run

Picture post from my last long run.

 It was a gorgeous day to be out for a run.

 I had the BEST running companion ever. He lasted about halfway and then conked out.

Rockin' my Newtons. I am seriously in love with these shoes.

 Stopping at the turnaround for a re-fuel and a stretch.

Not a good picture but there's a great little wooden bridge that I cross. It's always picturesque.

The Tunnel.  This goes underneath a major four-lane road.

 I always love seeing the tunnel because it means I'm only a half mile away from being DONE!

 And of course, my reward for completing a good, tough run.

Getting ready for a run

One of the big differences for me between pre and post pregnancy has been just getting ready...for anything. I have to add on about 30 minutes to an hour of my estimated "get ready" time to get this little human ready to leave the house. There is so much to pack and do and it never fails that there is usually a last minute diaper change required before walking out the door (sometimes an outfit change depending on how big the blow-out was). Just to give you a better idea, here's a break-down of getting ready to go for a run pre-pregnancy and post-pregnancy:

Pre-Pregnancy  

• Decide to go for a run!
• Put on running clothes
• Head out the door
• Start Garmin
• Run

Post-Pregnancy (and I'm sure I'm leaving out a few steps)

• Decide, despite a considerable lack of sleep and zombie-mom status that I should go for a run to 1. get me out of the house, 2. get me out of my pajamas and 3. it's good for me.
• Is Baby Z in a good enough mood to last for 3 miles?
• Go pee
• Feed Baby Z
• Change Baby Z
• Make sure Baby Z has on appropriate clothing for outdoors
• Pump so "the girls" won't be screaming while I'm running
• Go pee again
• Put on SUPER heavy-duty, ultra-restraining, spandex that rivals the strength of the Man of Steel sports bra
• Put on running clothes
• Make sure jogging stroller tires are inflated properly 
• Put Baby Z in car carrier
• Put car carrier in jogging stroller.
• Triple check that carrier is latched in properly and safety straps are buckled
• Make sure Baby Z has enough blankets, toys, pacifiers to keep him happy
•  Go pee AGAIN
• Head out the door
• Start Garmin
• Run 

But I wouldn't change it for the world. When I look down at the stroller and see him smiling up at me it just motivates me to push a little more and go a little longer. I love my little running buddy and can't wait until he does his first kids fun run.

Today I am thankful for: flavored coffee creamers

Welcome 2012 & future goals

I do not like New Year's resolutions. That's just not me. I don't think resolving to do/change/quit something one day a year is effective or healthy. I like to continually re-evaluate my priorities and goals and adjust them according to life's curve balls. Life is never static, so why should my goals be?

But since the start of a new year is time to spill your guts, I'm putting my current goals down.

Most Importantly
First and foremost I want to spend as much time as I can with this precious angel!

After 3 years of trying and over 1 year of Assisted Reproductive Therapy, I thank God everyday that he finally made his way to us. He is such a blessing. He's almost 3 months old and he has changed SO much just in this short time. I don't want to miss a second of him. He no longer looks like a newborn. He greets me with a smile and a giggle every morning and melts my heart. He is now a little person with a hilarious personality. They are babies for such a short period and I can't get this time back. He has changed my priorities from an obsessive "me" focus to more of a "whole picture" focus.

Religion
I have a good relationship with God. I talk to him daily. I thank him daily. But I don't have a good relationship with church. I've been lazy. We haven't gone much. I plan to change this.

Health/Fitness
I used to obsess over running...."When's the next race? I gotta get at least 30 miles in this week!"...to the point that I let other fitness fall behind and that often left me with knee issues. Instead of hitting the gym like I should I often ran through the pain or had to take weeks off of running to heal.

I lost a lot of muscle definition during and after the pregnancy.  I want to focus more time on weight training and cross training as I slowly get back into running. I need better strength, flexibility and balance. I also don't want to obsess over running races this year. With Baby Z being so young, breastfeeding him, and not having family nearby to watch him, my race obsession will have to tame down a bit. I'm going to focus on a few local races (and one big marathon) and mainly my overall fitness. I'm not so obsessed with the bling right now. He's my bling.

I do want to get a better hold on my eating habits. While pregnant I pretty much ate whatever my body was craving at the moment. I want to get back to Kind Life ways and eating more of a Kind Diet.

 

I plan to focus my diet around fruits, veggies, nuts & healthy grains...oh and water....LOTS of water. I'm not ready to make the total vegetarian jump yet, but I can fit in more flexitarian days each week and make better, kinder food choices.

 Life/Work

I want to blog more. I used to blog regularly about pretty much everything. It was cathartic.  I miss it.  Even though this is a running blog I plan to just blog more about life in general: the good, the bad, the training, and the poopy diapers.

I also need to study for and take my second exam for my Certified Safety Professional designation.

This is the first of several designations I want. The better trained and certified I am, the better commodity I am. I plan on becoming a badass environmental scientist! 

Today I am thankful for: baby footed pajamas

Dealing with jealousy and runner envy

I had a wonderful lunch today with my two best running pals. They wanted to take me out for a birthday/pre-baby lunch. I loved seeing them and catching up with them. We talked about babies and books and life and running. They are training for and running the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS in January. It will be one's first marathon and the other's second.

As I sat there and listened to them talk about training plans and fitting long runs in and planning for the next long run, I started to get jealous and full of runner envy! Me, Miss Chatty-McChatty Pants, got all quiet and clammed up. Who was this green-eyed monster rearing it's ugly head? I was upset that I couldn't be out there training with them and sharing the miles and stories. I was upset that I wasn't going to be able to have this experience with them. I felt left out and frustrated. That then lead to feelings of embarrassment and shame. I should be 100% supportive of my friends not bratty because I can't run this race with them. I was dealing with resentment: towards them for running without me and towards this pregnancy for keeping me from something I love: running and training for big races. Ugly, ugly, ugly...

I came home, had a good cry, and meditated/prayed on it. I decided I needed to put on my big girl panties (I hate the word panties but love the saying) and GET OVER IT! No more whiny self-pity indulgences. My friends need my encouragement and support! I need my encouragement and support! So what if I can't be out there logging miles with them right now. What I CAN do is support them and be a part of their training in my own way. Some of the things that I came up with:

• Compile and text/email them motivational running quotes before their long runs
• Put together 20 miler care packages (ibuprofen packs, menthol foot cream, carb-loading cookies, etc.)
• Meet them for coffee after their long runs to be a sounding board about the grueling mileage
• Meet them at the end of the long runs to run in those last grueling miles with them.

I know I'll be back out there with them in 2012! Working on my 2012 race schedule helps me deal with my runner envy. Knowing I have some great races planned gets me excited and vamped up for postpartum recovery and training. It's my way of encouraging and supporting myself.

How do you deal with runner envy?