Month: January 2019

2019 Last Week Running (2)

/ Amy / 2 Comments

I’m tired.

Yes, I have two young kids, so I’ve been tired for years now, but today I am more tired than the baseline level of tired I normally operate at. This is a result of more than usual wake ups from Miss baby for the last few nights and earlier than normal wake up times for both kiddos for the last few days. I hope things will get back to normal soon or I’m going to have to do something drastic…like move up my bedtime!

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For now, I’m drinking coffee and trying to get it together. But I am really not feeling sharp today. Hopefully, I’ll perk up a bit as the day goes on. Aside from needing to make some progress on a project at work, I have studying to do, and big plans to run tonight (I have a particular square picked out on the bingo board).

I haven’t quite finished all the “give me” squares, but am having to get a little creative in order to check off some of the boxes.  I still have yet to get a line (I am dying for some starbucks!), but I think I can make it happen this week…stay tuned!

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Last week, I said I was going to run with a 3:30 to 1 ratio one more time, but on Tuesday (“Run on a Weekday”) I felt good and went with 4 to 1; which ended up feeling great.  I was a tad worried that I wouldn’t feel as good on Thursday, but I kept with the 4:1 and felt great again!

For Thursday’s run, I played with the incline, something I haven’t done in ages, but used to do all the time. It’s one of my go to strategies for breaking up the monotony of the treadmill. I progressively increased the incline for one of my 4 minute intervals and then progressively decreased the incline for the next 4 minute interval. It was a nice challenge, and made the time pass a little quicker.

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I also listened to the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on Thursday in prep for listening to the first episode of the Unspoiled: Harry Potter podcast. The idea behind the podcast is that one host has never read the series before and they talk through the books chapter by chapter. I started listening to that on Saturday when I “ran during nap time”.  Honestly, it was the only good thing about that run. I wasn’t really feeling it, but had planned to run during nap time, so I sucked it up and did it. It felt hard and I didn’t really enjoy myself. At least both kids slept long enough for me to relax for a bit after running and showering…this is most often not the case.

I’m really happy with how attempt #2 at treadmill bingo is going, and am enjoying my comeback (aside from Saturday…haha).

I feel really hopeful about getting that full card and earning some new running shoes.

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Triumphs and Fails

/ Amy / 4 Comments

One of my current favorite podcasts is a parenting podcast called “Mom and Dad are fighting” which you can find on slate.

At the beginning of each episode they do a segment called “parenting triumphs and fails”, and it’s one of my favorite parts of the show. It’s nice to hear about the triumphs; they can give me some good ideas. But what I really like are the fails. It’s extremely comforting. And often hilarious.

So I thought it might be fun to do a little triumph and fails series on the blog (potentially more than just one post). Initially I thought I”d post a single triumph or fail, but I can’t think of one that I can write more than a sentence about, so I’ll do a list of each for the month of December.

Triumphs:

  • Did not need to rush out last minute to buy any gifts. (I did need to get paid shipping on a couple of items, but nothing was “Rush” or “Expedited”)
  • Started Running again….somewhat consistently, and I don’t hate it!

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  • Started reading and listening to books
  • “Tricked” Mr. Toddler into thinking frozen peas are a fun snack!

Fails:

  • Totally flopped at treadmill Bingo
  • Could not keep up with my blogging
  • Spent far too much time getting settled into a desk at work every morning (I don’t have a specific desk; I need to book one, and thus cannot leave personal belongings there.)
  • Did not get back into studying like I had planned.
  • Ordered Miss baby’s birth announcements, which is a fail because it is SO LATE.

Flashback Friday:

Check out this post from Jan 11, 2017 – Good Idea/Bad Idea 

Alright, let’s play a game called “Good idea or Bad idea”!

Here’s how it works: I’ll tell you about my life, then ask you a question about whether I should run a half marathon, and you tell me if it’s a good idea or a bad idea. (Spoiler alert! It’s a bad idea, but I want to do it anyways, so tell me it’s a good idea. wink wink!)…

2019 Last Week Running (1) – Treadmilling

/ Amy / 6 Comments

My second start to treadmill bingo seems to be going well! I printed the board, and this has been immensely helpful in tracking the runs I’ve done. So far, I’ve been knocking out the easy ones, but I’m going to have to start putting more effort into choosing particular runs if I ever want to get a bingo! And I do, because I love and miss my starbucks!

I’m less confident that it’s possible, but I also really want a full card in order to earn me some new running shoes. My current pair are on their way out and are getting a tad uncomfortable. Not to a point that would cause an injury, though so I’m holding firm that I must get a full card bingo in order to get new gear.

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My first run for this round of bingo was on 1/1/2019…starting the year off right! So I took advantage of the fact that it was New Year’s day and marked off “Run on a holiday”. I did a 3:1 run/walk ratio, and it felt good enough that I decided to up it to 3:30/1 ratio for my next run two days later.

I always struggle a bit more when running at night (“Run after the kiddos are in bed”) than during the day; that combined with upping my run interval made this run feel hard. In a good way. I kept the same interval when I ran again on Saturday “Run/Walk”, and it felt good.  I’m planning to keep the same ratio for at least one more run before upping it to 4:1. Baby steps on my way to PR the 5k.

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Shh…babies are sleeping!

2019 Resolutions

/ Amy / 2 Comments

There are about a million things I’d like to accomplish in 2019. To keep things somewhat realistic, I’ve whittled the list down to 8.  Who knows, if things are going well, I can always accomplish more. Even now, I keep thinking of more I want to add, while simultaneously starting to feel overwhelmed with the 8 I have. So even though it is killing me not to list every single thing I want to accomplish and/or make into a habit, I am calling it! Eight is enough.

Without further ado:

  1. Finish Knitting Miss Baby’s baby blanket: easy, I just need to do it.
  2. Play ALL of our board games: I want to list them, rate them, and get rid of ones we don’t like.
  3. Pass LTAM exam: this exam has been a thorn in my side, and it’s VERY important that I pass it this Spring. VERY very important.
  4. Read/Listen to 35 books: I’m not sure if this number is low/high or realistic, I basically assumed I could read 1 book and listen to 1 book every 3 weeks (the length of a library loan). I might adjust this as the year goes on.
  5. PR the 5k: I want/need a running goal. It can’t be terribly time consuming, but I do want it to be difficult. We’ll see how it goes.
  6. Organize my clothes/our closets: Pretty self-explanatory, the twist is that our bedroom closet currently has no shelving or rods to hang things from, so requires some work. That is part of this resolution.
  7. Lose 25 to 30 lbs: I was 10lbs heavier than I wanted to be before I had Mr. Toddler, then I held on to 10lbs from him, and have another 10lbs from Miss Baby. Alone, 10lbs doesn’t sound like a lot. But then you multiply that by 3 and 30lbs kind of does.
  8. Meditate: I am a broken record on this goal. I have the headspace app. I love it. I just need to freaking DO IT.

So there you have it…the great eight! And now that I’ve written them down, I’m totally jazzed about doing them. Here’s to a productive and fun 2019!

P.S. In 2014, I had 8 running specific resolutions, oh how times have changed.