Kid fun - Making Playdough

My kids have taken a real liking to play doh and I really hate the smell of it. Plus I don't need to buy more play doh containers so I decided to reuse the containers I already have (which are many) and make our own. It's so easy and non-toxic and I bet you've got everything you need around your house right now!

The kids really love to help and feel pride in making their own stuff. They put everything in the pot, I cook it, it cools, they kneed and put the food coloring of their choice in. Viola! Fun making it and more fun creating with it.

 Here's all it takes.

Basic ingredient ratios:
2 cups flour
2 cups warm water
1 cup salt
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar (optional for improved elasticity)

food coloring (liquid or powder)


Mix all of the ingredients together, and stir over low heat. The dough will begin to thicken until it resembles mashed potatoes.

When the dough pulls away from the sides and clumps in the center, as shown below, remove the pan from heat and allow the dough to cool enough to handle. (if it feels sticky just keep cooking it until it no longer feels sticky.)

 Turn the dough out onto a clean counter or silicone mat, and knead vigorously until it becomes silky-smooth. Divide the dough into balls for coloring.

Make a divot in the center of the ball, and drop some food coloring¹ in. Fold the dough over, working the food color through the body of the playdough, trying to keep the raw dye away from your hands and the counter. You could use gloves or plastic wrap at this stage to keep your hands clean- only the concentrated dye will color your skin, so as soon as it's worked in bare hands are fine.

Work the dye through, adding more as necessary to achieve your chosen color.

They were proud of themselves. Lily had enough attention span left to actually play with it. Jason was pretty tapped out by the time we were done (though it was pretty quick) and they are both outside running now. Off to make dinner.

This really does take up much more of my day than Triathlon! ha I promise there is a post coming on my up coming race and the training that is ramping up.

Scott (a co-worker at New Milford Sports Club) and I had a good meeting today with some potential athletes for our tri program and I'm hopeful that we'll get at least 10 people on board so we can run the program. I can't wait to see them cross the finish line and experience the joy of accomplishing such a huge goal!

Balance

As you can see by my latest posts I haven't been focusing on triathlon or running too much ... I was 'recovering' from my marathon. I have still been exercising and running a bit here and there, but my mental energy has been other places. I've enjoyed the hiatus.

It's reminded me that I STILL need to work on balance. This blog is called WIFE.MOTHER.ATHLETE! Not just ATHLETE! I got all swept up and carried away in the Trakkers thing. Which is still totally awesome and I still can't believe that I'm a part of it all, but I need to also attend to, talk and write about the other two aspects of my life and therefore this blog. So in the posts to come you can expect to see more stuff about my other roles... along w/ my athletic endeavors.

Just sayin'.

Off to continue with some recovery SLEEPING!

Connections and Inspiration from an amazing woman - Susanne Navas

 I have been working away on both cleaning my house out in preparation for what I hope to be very exciting things AND working on recruiting volunteers for Rev3 Quassy.

Through the latter commitment I have been meeting people left and right, but only one in person. Susanne Navas lives in a neighboring town and I just had to talk about her here. I was tipped off to her presence by LJ from Rev3. Someone else within the Rev3 organization had met some representatives from the ACHIEVE kids tri program and suggested that we look into it here because there was an ACHIEVE chapter in the Waterbury area. I sent an email to a generic email address off their site and was directed to Susanne.

We exchanged an email and it seemed we had some things in common. She's a triathlete, mom and ambassador for a healthy lifestyle. I just knew I had to meet her. Who can't use a great training partner and friend?

This woman gets STUFF DONE! And she does it with grace!

Susanne is the head coach of the Waterbury Acheive kids tri program through the Waterbury YMCA (which I might add she spearheaded getting started in her community because she believes in it so much), she runs her own life, career and tri coaching business called Reboot through which she does and Active Women's Group, a Girls Program, group coaching and individual coaching. She is a driving force in her community to get people moving!

Susanne and I got together to talk about her involvement with Rev3 and because I am always looking to make great connections with other active women in my community.. or, er, surrounding communities. I had a very easy time of this in other communities I've been in, but it hasn't come as easy here. Don't get me wrong I have a great training partner that I love dearly, but I'm looking for a community of women to get together and inspire each other. Okay ... this is hard with the mommy gig I know!

I had no idea what to expect when meeting Susanne, but I was very excited. I've met a lot of women in the triathlon world... and most are fairly type A and it shows itself quickly. Susanne came in and she was very unassuming and while she was wearing an "I tri like a girl" shirt (which I believe she sells HERE. She does a little bit of everything doesn't she?) she had more of the yogini chill zen aura about her then the hard core triathlete kick ass and take names aura. I didn't instantly feel intimidated by her! (This is all good.) She listened to what I had to say and shared a lot of things about her life, but not in a boastful manner... just in a 'this is my life' manner.

I walked away from our little meeting so inspired by the fact that she sees something that she thinks is cool and worthwhile and she goes home and DOES IT. MAKES it happen in her community. This is how she got started with Acheive. She saw it in the back of a magazine on her way back from Ironman Cozumel (yea she's an ironman too) and when she got home she made it happen. She jumped any and all hurdles (to include getting USAT certified) to bring that program to her community. This just kicks ass if you ask me. I would have though oh what a great program. Looked to see if there was a chapter locally that I could volunteer with and when I discovered that there wasn't I would have been bummed and moved on. I would never have dreamed that little ol' me could get that kind of thing going. Not Susanne man she picked up that phone and made it happen. I'm so in awe of that. And in awe of her nature. I mean if you just met her you never would guess all that is behind her! She's unassuming! Not all "look at me I'm a total bad ass that gets so much stuff done". She's a pillar in her community without being boastful about it.

Her latest thing (which she again discovered in a magazine) is to do a Walking Bus ... basically she's going to be meeting kids (with the help of other adult chaperons) at the local Starbucks to walk to school instead of riding the bus. A subtle way to bring activity to the community and accentuate the need for more sidewalks to facilitate a more active life style.

On top of this she emailed me to see if Rev3 would be interested in donating some t-shirts for the kids to wear during these walks - which will go on the entire month of April. Always thinking about helping her community. WoW!

When I asked her how she mobilize people in such an amazing way her response again was very humble. "I never really thought about it.  I guess I just live my life, & always try to have fun & be thankful."

She's a starter and a doer this one. And a keeper. I can't wait to spend more time with Susanne. I hope to be involved in what she's got going on... because I'm mostly a doer not so much a starter.

Check her out and be inspired to be the best YOU can be and to start doing things in your own community.

Are you a starter or a doer? Do you know a 'Susanne' in your community? What can you do to instill a more active and healthful lifestyle in your own community? It starts with us people!

Minimalism and Simplicity - The Kid's Rooms

I'm skipping right along to Chapter 3: Environment of Simplicity Parenting because it jives with what's up here at the Mount household. Clean it out and simplify!

Our kids have too much stuff. And by 'our' I don't mean mine I mean 'our' in the collective sense. Most of the kids in America have a pluthera of toys they rarely if ever play with. They are scattered here and there, tucked in places, found on the kitchen floor and in the living room. It's rare to go to a friends house (I'm including my house here folks) that has kids without tripping on at least ONE toy.

Have you ever sat back and watched the kids go through the process of play with so many toys. They are like bulls in a china shop pulling everything out and running around like maniacs dropping toys in their wake. They are crazy eyed and lack focus. Then it's time to clean up and they whine and complain that there is TOO MUCH for them to do it all. (Okay parents this is clue numero uno.. if there are too many toys for your kid to clean up there are likely just too many toys in general.) And every time we are out they are begging and pestering us for more toys when the ones at home barely get played with. They really just get dumped on the floor and then put away.

Here's the deal (according to the book) imagine you collected all of these toys... from all areas of the house wherever they have landed. Now imagine that huge pile in your family room. This pile needs to be halved, then halved again and perhaps again. Discard what's no longer even working, donate others that are never played with, store some to be reintroduced later (I did not do this) and the rest are your keepers.

There is lengthy discussion about the types of toys that should be kept. Basically all the ones with batteries.. yea, they can go. (good luck w/ that.) That toy that promised that it would get your kid into Harvard.. guess what, it probably won't. Kids learn the best when they are sort of left to their own devices to use some creativity. Ever seen a kid pick up a stick and use it as any number of things? (We are currently on sword battles. Yeah!)

Here is the 10 point check list for toys that NEED TO GO!
1. Broken
2. Developmentally inappropriate (you know the ones you are holding onto from their younger years or the ones you got from someone, but your kid isn't really ready for just yet.)
3. Conceptually 'fixed' toys - leave nothing to the imagination - think 'character toys'.
4. Toys that 'do too much' and 'break too easily' - most of those battery operated monstrosities.
5. Very high stimulation toys - think flashing lights, mechanical voices, speed and sound effects.
6. Annoying or offensive toys - awful noises, project an offensive attitude or are generally ugly
7. Toys that claim to give your child a developmental edge
8. Toys you are pressured to buy
9. Toys that inspire corrosive play - not only guns and weapons, but anything that inspires play that isn't joyful and fun
10. Toy multiples

The book even moves into the realm of your child's book collection. I have had some direct experience with this one. At bed time your kid goes to pick his/her bedtime stories and has so many choices that it takes them an eternity to choose. The book suggests only 6 or so books per kid. Store the others to rotate in as you see fit. My kids didn't notice that I took most of their books away and now choosing stories at night doesn't become a battle. I put the rest in a bin up in my room in the attic where I can rotate them in and we go to the library to change it up a bit.

There is a long section about what to keep. Think basic multipurpose toys. Toys that aren't locked into one thing usage. You want your kids to be able to use their imaginations for part of the equation.

 Now that you have gone through and gotten rid of a large chunk of toys what do you do with what remains? You put the favorite toys where the kid can see them and you take the rest and put them in 1 to 2 bins that are covered so as not to distract them from play. They can still play with them obviously as they want, but they aren't bombarded by their presence and distracted by them.

All of these ideas apply to your child's wardrobe as well. We have also cleaned out their clothes (okay mostly it's my daughter that needed this.) and it's helped tremendously. Lily is quite particular about what she wears and she had a lot of clothes that did not fit the bill, but I liked them and was hopeful that she would wear them. Okay really? She won't wear them. They would just end up on the floor so she could get to the ones she wanted so my only interaction with these outfits was to pick them up off the floor to put them back where they go. So out the went. Now she has only her favorites to choose from and it is a manageable amount of clothing that she can take care of it herself (to include putting it in the drawers after I wash it for her).

Your goal with your child's space is to offer them an uncluttered space that is inviting and restful to the senses so they can go in there and productively be themselves. Imagining and creating and LEARNING!

Again I have no before pictures, but here are the after pictures of my kid's rooms. I'm loving it! They are now able to pick up after themselves with out complaining that there is too much stuff. And guess what, they haven't even NOTICED that most of their stuff is gone. Yes there has been the occasional 'where is xyz?" and I just say, "I don't know did you look in your bin?" and they usually trot off and then forget about it.

As an aside I had an epiphany the other day about this subject. Our bedroom is nearly empty aside from a bed, two end tables and two chairs. It's a big space - bigger than any bedroom we've ever had and we never purchased any more furniture. The kids LOVE to play up there and I never really got it because there is nothing up there. They would usually bring a few animals with them and just go to town up there... for hours. After reading this book I get it. It's like they've been trying to communicate all of this to me and I just wasn't hearing them.

The light blue/dark blue paint was already there. We added the circles because his sister had circles and he wanted some too.

 That's it. Those are all the toys! (I do have some games stashed for us to all play together.)

 I've since moved Lily's bed to open up the room and allow for more play area.

And the night stand holds all her clothes except her dresses.

 She loves to draw/color.

 The rest of her clothes and her toys.

This process is ongoing and I've really enjoyed the results. If you aren't ready to go whole hog and get rid of stuff I suggest that you get yourself some bins/boxes and just try it for one month. See if your kids notice and how they react and see how you feel as the parent now that you don't have to constantly trip on your kid's stuff and nag them to put it away!

This book is worth the read I'm serious! Pick up a copy at the library or a used copy from Amazon then pass it along to a friend or sell it on Amazon ... that's the simple way to do it! 

Minimalism and Simplicity - Parenting

I am a woman obsessed. This is pretty normal for me. Find something ... latch onto it... assume it will fix all the world's problems... consume myself... make changes... move on to next life altering greatness.

My current WORLD's PROBLEM solver is simplicity. I'm not sure that it is the solution to the world's problems, but I know it's helping me a TON!

The book Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne, M.Ed was recommended to me by a dear friend. She's one of the women/mom's that just gets me (my BFF from the Austin Marathon trip - Mama Marie) and has a similar parenting style to mine so I just knew this book would be a good one! And it certainly didn't hurt that it is in line w/ my current love of simplifying.

This book continues to rock my parenting world.

Here is a blurb from their site that I thought was spot on in describing the book (ironic huh? On their very own site!)

Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne offers a simple, orderly, and effective pathway to simplify four realms at home, which reduces stress on children and their parents, and allows room for connection, creativity, and relaxation.

Environment: De-cluttering too much stuff at home.
Rhythm: Increasing predictability by introducing rhythmic moments for connection and calm.
Scheduling: Soothing violent schedules brings moments for Being into all the Doing.
Unplugging: Reducing the influence of adult concerns, media and consumerism on children and families to increase resilience, social and emotional intelligence.
Parents who take steps along this pathway to simplify their homes and their schedules, to introduce more predictable rhythms and to filter out concerns which children are not yet able to cope with, find that their children:


• Are calmer and happier
• Do better socially and emotionally
• Are more focused at school
• Find it easier to comply with family rules
• Become less picky eaters

These parents also find that they themselves:
• To have a clearer picture of what they value as parents
• Are more united with each other in their parenting
• Have more time and energy for connection, relaxation, and fun


I will continue to do posts around the books suggestions - what I'm doing and how it's going.

In the meantime check your local library, cruise around the website and try some of this in your own home and see how much easier it can make things for everyone!

How's the clutter in your kid's life? How do you think it effects them?

Minimalism and Simplicity - The Kitchen

Perhaps because people are cracking up over my drawer photos (well, just the guys.. ha) I thought I should add that I was inspired by Kath at KERF to do this post. She shared (much better) photos of her kitchen and it gave me the kick in the rear to finish mine up!

I finally feel like I've dwindled the kitchen down to a comfortable level. I thought I would share my "after" photos. Unfortunately I don't have the "before" photos of my cupboards and pantry stuffed full of unused items. My wine glasses and martini glasses used to be kept in a separate room because there were too many to fit in my already cluttered kitchen. That was my last 'let go'.. how many wine and martini glasses do I really need? We don't ever entertain.. and probably won't start any time soon. And if we do I can ask someone to please bring some glasses for me to borrow for the evening. Right? :)

So here are some photos. No, it's not always this neat, but I have been trying to leave it looking like this at the end of the day so I wake up to a fresh start each morning. All you other stay at home moms know just how much time we can end up spending in this space any given day.

Nice clear counters. Not the case in the 'before' photos. (Making some chicken broth.)

Ah, my favorite spot in the kitchen. The beloved coffee bar. The white bins on the bottom hold 'office' items like envelopes, our check book, stamps, note cards, stapler etc. The basket on the left is a place I can put random toys found on the breakfast bar until they can be placed in kid's rooms later. The basket on the right holds all my teas.

 Where I keep track of what's up at Che Mount. The family calendar and the filing system. All "to be filed" (upstairs) items go here along w/ kids homework, currently the kindergarten registration paperwork and a drawing to frame. 

 This pantry used to be a nightmare catch all for things I couldn't find a place for. It's since been pared down to 'essentials'.. though Tom and I just had a discussion about some of the attachments for the stand mixer that are rarely - if ever - used that will likely go. I am following his lead on this as they are really his things.

 There are more glass food storage containers that fill in some of the bare spots, but they are all currently in use in the fridge.

 I keep the most used pans (small sauce pan and omelet pan) in the cupboard above the microwave along w/ our hot pads.

I could probably stand to downsize my spices, but I'm not one to throw things out. 

I've got to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for completing this task. I usually find all kinds of excuses to keep things and I've been pretty aggressive in the kitchen and feel so much lighter now. I'm not constantly moving things to find the things that I need to use quickly. I'm able to keep the counters clean because they aren't covered in stuff. I try really hard to use the same coffee and water cup all day. I'm pretty good with that.. I also have a favorite spoon (weird I know) and paticular bowls that I like so I will wash them after each use and reuse them... downsizing my dishwasher load.

On a separate but similar (to dishwasher duty) point. I just changed up my laundry routine and it has cut it at least in half. I now have the kids bring their laundry baskets downstairs (they are 4.5 years old now) and I wash all the laundry. I fold mine and Tom's and I just dump Jason and Lily's into their laundry baskets and then will either have them carry them upstairs or will place them in their rooms and have them put their clothes away. I was wasting my life folding tiny little clothes that only ended up in balls on the floor or in the drawer as they chose what to wear. So why bother right? Jason loves the responsibility of it... it's a bit of a struggle with Lily, but I have let it go. It's just not a battle worth fighting... 

As I get through the rest of the house I'll take some pictures here and there. Another load building in the back of my car to be dropped this upcoming week!

Minimalism and Simplicity

For those of you that check in here only to read about my triathlon lifestyle you can skip this post... all the rest of you... hey, WHAT'S UP!? Let's talk about another dimension of life... because contrary to popular belief I do have a life beyond, triathlon and the gym. :)

I've been working to clean out our house. Okay this has been a YEARS long process, but since moving to CT I've really started hitting it hard. I'm not sure what finally stoked this fire. Maybe I'm actually awake enough to notice the mess, maybe it's the fact that we spend a lot more time at home here than we did in Madison, maybe it's the looming hours of training and wanting to free up as much time as I can to be able to train then concentrate on my family and that's it, maybe it's the size of this house and the volume of stuff. I don't know exactly what the tipping point was, but it's time!

I've made more trips to the Goodwill in the last year than I can count on both my hands. I just did our taxes for 2010 and itemized... all told in 2010 we donated over $1000 worth of stuff... and most of the big donations (furniture, wedding dress - yes I dropped that thing at Goodwill bc it was easy, etc) were made after the New Year. In all honesty I couldn't really tell you what was in the $1000+ of things we donated. I don't miss it one bit, but it feels good to have some more space in the house.. space for thoughts and play and creativity. It's wonderful.

I'm really overwhelmed by both the size of our space here and the volume of CRAP we have. Crap that I am constantly tripping over and moving to clean (cause we all know I clean all the time - I DON'T. Just ask my mom.) Toys that the kids don't play with, but throw on the floor to get to the few that they do. Clothes they don't wear that also end up on the floor to get to the few things they like. And it's not just the kids stuff. Tom and I have plenty (or had) of stuff that we weren't using. I even got Tom to clean out all the clothes he hasn't worn pretty much since I've known him. HUGE accomplishment.

Right now I'm obsessed with finding a smaller space to live in. I know this part will take time (perhaps a long time), but it's what I want. We had 1600 sq ft in Wisconsin and it was perfect. We used every ounce of that space.

Along with all the stuff we're downsizing I'm trying to dumb down other areas of my life... meals, training, our daily schedules. Meals have become really simplified. Breakfast is usually oatmeal and/or eggs or toast, fruit and yogurt (for all of us), lunch is kinda like a picnic every day. Finger foods.. protein, carbs, fats.. easy peasy. Mine is usually dumped in a bowl in the form of a salad. Dinners are dumbed way down too.. veggies, protein, carbs (rice, potatoes, grains). You want a snack you say. Well you know where the fruit is or you can have a yogurt or nuts. All accessible to the kids and all only had w/ permission. No more "I'll prepare you a snack"... less time in the kitchen is good. Got a chicken in the crock pot for dinner... all I had to do was season it and put in that bad boy. Have sweet potatoes made and will steam or stir fry some veggies. I recently read an amazingly good 'parenting book' (I hesitate to call it that bc those words cause me to recoil and run for the hills as most parenting books do nothing more than make me feel inadequate and offer only complicated solutions that I know we won't follow through on) called The Blessing of the Skinned Knee (I need to write a whole blog post about this book.. it was that good). It's based on Jewish teachings (we are not Jewish), but is useful for non-Jewish families. One of the things they talk about is their weekly meal - I forget what it's called - and that they all pitch in to plan and execute the meal. We started this last week and it's great. We all do something to decide what we have (kids pick out our weekly dessert) and we all pitch in to prepare the meal and the table. This is when we can get more elaborate in our meals. We do this on Saturday so it can be nice and leisurely. And since I'm not tearing around trying to clean up all our crap I can help with everything and be calm.

I've been trying to figure out exactly what my strength routine is going to look like and I've decided that I'm dumbing it way down for now. Gotta start somewhere. Basically I'm going to do 2 to 3 rounds of the following to failure: push-ups, pull-ups (assisted when I need to which will be after approximately two pull ups), lunges, squats, plyometric jumps, plank and side plank. I'm sure I'll play around with other stuff here and there just bc I like to lift, but nothing crazy, nothing formatted and only for fun. And of course I'll follow whatever training plan coach comes up with once I get back to training. One more week... I'm ready for some structure!

All this said I was thinking today (while driving to Goodwill) about how getting rid of things sometimes makes me panic a bit. Why? Why do I panic a bit about getting rid of these things that suck me of energy, stress me out and generally just get in the way? And it popped into my head. FEAR! What? FEAR you heard me...

1. Fear that I won't have anything to fill the void with. That I'm just that boring and uninspired.
2. Fear that I WILL have time to spend with my kids. YES! I said it. What oh what would I do if I didn't have all my little 'jobs' to do? Will I fail at just hanging w/ my kids?
3. Fear that the promise that the space will open up in my mind as well letting great things come out. What if NOTHING comes out. What if I have nothing to give to the world? Could my life just be about the mundane bullshit I do to acquire and maintain all this crap?

I know all these things are just silly and unfounded... but it's what I was feeling at the moment.

Here are some great sites I've been checking out for inspiration and motivation:
Zen Habits
Three New Leaves - I'm reading his free eBook right now and it's got some good stuff in it!
Rowdy Kittens

So my future contains way less stuff and hopefully way more memories and good times! :) What about you? Do you think you could stand to give up some things and open up some space in your world for great things to happen?

Race Report - Austin Marathon Part II

Up and at em at 5am to get some nutrition in and take care of 'business'. I had laid everything out the night before so it was quick and easy. First things first we had gotten some Starbucks Via to get our coffee in the a.m. then I made some oatmeal w/ chia seeds in the little coffee maker thing w/ the plan to put my banana and Justin's Almond butter (those little packets are awesome for when you are traveling) in it, but when I tried to eat the oatmeal it just seemed too heavy. I decided to eat just the banana and almond butter and a few bites of oatmeal. As I've mentioned before I have trouble in the bathroom department and didn't want to bog myself down even more with a big cup of oatmeal. I felt fine about this decision and just rolled with it.

I still wasn't real sure what to expect from this race, but I do know myself well enough to know that I easily get caught up in the moment and I didn't want to blow myself up in the first 5 miles so I busted out my trusty sharpie so I would be reminded EVERY TIME I checked my pace on my Garmin that I have BIGGER GOALS this year.

Another little trick I played on myself (that worked beautifully)... I changed my pace reading from Current Pace to AVERAGE pace. I have a tendency to freak out if I'm going 'TOO SLOW" (whatever that is) and then push myself too hard to get back to whatever I deem as a 'good' pace at that moment. Having it set on average saved me.

Ready to head down to the start.

We are both from colder climates and everyone had been saying how cold it would be waiting to start. When we walked out of the hotel we both braced ourselves to be hit in the face with a blanket of COLD. It was maybe 60. Not cold for us! Yea. Our hotel was really close to the start so we just strolled down. 

This is the least anxious I have ever been before a race. I'm not sure what it is... normally no matter how much I tell myself I 'don't care' about the outcome I'm a wreck. This isn't my first time at the rodeo and I had limited expectations so I'm sure that played into my lack of nerves.

Getting ready to go line up.

I wasn't sure where to start... I was hoping for a sub 4 hour race, but wasn't sure how the day would play out so I started with the 4:15 folks. Turns out with a race of 20,000 (okay any race really) it really didn't matter where I started. :) I think some of the walkers started at the gate.

It took us a solid 15 minutes just to get to the start.. no worries. I just ran comfortably. My race report is pretty much summed up in that one sentence. Well, comfortable is certainly not how I felt for most of the race.

I started out just running comfortably and was easily passing a lot of people. My average time stayed at 9:08-9:15 the entire race. It moved from the 9:10 to 9:15 range during the last 7 - 10 miles so I definitely slowed down toward the end.

At around mile 7 I started to feel some dull pain in my hammie/glute area (my 'injury') and was thinking.. uhoh.. it's EARLY for that, but just kept it nice and easy. I thought I would use this race to really contemplate some things in my life. Every time I tried to let my mind wander I would kind of fall apart so for the four hours I ran (w/ no music I might add) I just thought "nice and easy, nice and light" .... over and over. By the end of the race I was saying it under my breath out loud.

Since I started with triathlon I don't really race anything with my music. I considered using it this time because I anticipated a bit of a mental struggle at the end as I limped through the last miles, but decided that I didn't need it. On the first long slow incline (maybe mile 2) I started trying to kind of talk to and encourage people and NO ONE could hear me. They all had headphones on. I was bummed about that. How are we to support each other if we're all dead to each other by way of music in our ears? Then I wondered what marathons used to be like before hand held music devices. Was there more talking and encouragement amongst the racers. Okay so maybe there was SOME space for thoughts.

I took one flask of First Endurance Vanilla Liquid Shot with me. Man that stuff is delicious. I carried it in my free spy belt that I got from the expo.. kind of like an endurance athlete fanny pack. It served it's purpose.. I didn't have to carry the flask until it got to the bottom when I carried it upside down in my hand to have the gel ready to roll when I needed it. I ran out at mile 18 and was thinking the last 4 miles might be rough if I didn't find something else between now and the finish. (Remember my breakfast of a banana and almond butter?) I did meet one man that chatted with me a bit right around this time and he offered me a shot block which I greatfully inhaled. About a mile later I saw them like an Oasis in the sky the Honey Stinger Guys. I grabbed two gels from them and carried on. When the time came I took one... OMG they were SO strong in honey flavor I almost gagged. The FE had gone down so nice and smooth that this was a shock. And I kid you not... my belly started doing flips about 10 minutes later. I was thankful that it was late in the game and I would certainly be able to get to the end without incident... what's that about not doing anything new on race day? :D

At this point I was pretty certain that despite my obvious limp I would make it to the finish. My feet and ankles were killing me. They always hurt some at this point, but they were really hurting. And everytime I hit a hill (which seemed very often) my hammie/glute acted up. I think my foot and ankle pain could be attributed to two things 1. We walked a TON the day before and 2. my shoes were essentially brand new! I was wearing the Avia Rhythms that I bought and had run approximately 10 miles in. I ALMOST brought the Avia Quest Lites that I recieved the day before I left and only ran in about 20 mins because they are so beautiful, but decided that the Rhythms had been tested longer and caused zero problems while I could tell the Quest Lites needed some more breaking in.

I used some TriSlide on my feet because my shoes were so new and I was worried that I might get some blisters. It worked like a charm and I had not one hot spot during the race. Another bonus to the Rhythms... I still have ALL of my toe nails. Last year I lost 5 toe nails. I'm pretty darn excited about this!

The last part of the race was down hill. And while I expected this to be a much needed relief from the UP hills that seemed to take up most of the race (long slow uphills) it was actually quite challenging.

One turn left and I'M HOME!

Final time was 4:04 and I'm happy about that. I'm glad that I got it through my thick head that this year was not the year for a BQ! If I had tried to hold 8:34 for any given time I'm certain (as coach said) I would have BLOWN UP by mile 10. I feel like I accomplished my two main goals 1. Don't injure the leg any further and quite possibly my hardest goal 2. FOLLOW COACHES directions!

Thank you to all my friends and family and TEAM TRAKKERS for all your support. I'm off this week then easing back into it all over the next couple of weeks. Triathlon season is upon us! T-2 months to my first race! (er, second race)

Anyone wanna hit Austin Marathon/Half Marathon in 2012? I loved this city that much. I would go back again next year!

How do you feel about music during a race? Do you use it!? I have to say the only people that cut me off during the race had ear buds in. I honestly don't care if people use them... but I likely won't.

Pretty sure I could live on taco stand tacos - Austin Marathon 2/20/2011 Part I

First of all... I LOVE AUSTIN! This was the second time I had ever been there, but in all fairness I don't really remember the first time. It was a long time ago and I think it was only a quick overnight and there was a lot of drinking involved. Different kind of trip.

This vacation was EXACTLY what I needed THREE days with Mama Marie my BFF from Madison. It was like a little piece of home. We tooled around and were on the same page the whole trip. We wanted to see and do the same things... like rock the local co-op for big salad, sushi and kombucha.

 Yummy Co-Op salad.

 Locally brewed Kombucha... and it was the best I've had! Love it.

She just gets me. We both wanted to walk everywhere, use public transportation, visit the same little grocer/coffee shop EVERY SINGLE DAY and eat tacos and drink margaritas. Nothing says BFF like not even needing to compromise once. We walked all over Austin on Saturday, did the race on Sunday then walked all over again on Sunday just chatting away about life.

Some Austin sites...

 This happens to be a Crepe stand, but there were TACO stands everywhere. 

I forgot to take a pic of the stand where we got the BEST TACO in Austin.

 A cute little dog park right by the river.

 We had to stop by Mellow Johnny's Bike shop.

 I was told that this path was 10 miles. HEAVEN! Where do I sign my lease in this awesome town?

 A super cute hotel right on Congress in the heart of a really cool shopping area. 

Ironically called San Jose Hotel.

Check out this cool pedestrian bridge built a bit lower than the driving bridge.

Austin is so accessible. There are wonderful walking paths and side walks everywhere. The public transportation is stellar... $1 to get almost anywhere and the bus drivers were crazy nice and patient with our 'not from hereness'.

I think that when you sign a lease or buy a house in Austin they give you a card from the local tattoo parlor and tell you you have 30 days to get your first tattoo. And you all know I'm down with that! :)

The expo was huge and they did a pretty good job of hitting their 'green' goal. Our packets weren't stuffed full of GARBAGE that I end up just throwing away immediately.

After the expo we tooled around some more then met my parents, aunt and two cousins for some dinner and headed back to the hotel to get our stuff together and get to bed early.... Thanks to Trakkers, Avia, SBR TriSlide and First Endurance for your support of my race.... more to come on all of that tomorrow!

USAT Youth Development Camp in the PNW!

Do you know any Youth Athletes that would be interested in going to a Junior Skills Development Camp put on by the USAT and coached by Heather and Trevor Wurtele? This is an amazing opportunity and there are scholarships available. You don't have to be in the PNW, but PNW kids will get preference for the scholarships!

Check out THIS LINK for all the details and please pass this info on to anyone you may know that would be interested. It's indeed going to be epic.

My teammie Alex Endo is on the board of USAT for the Pacific Northwest Region so if you have any questions shoot them my way and I'll get you the 411!

The great shoe experiment

Shoes... running shoes. I spend a lot of coin on running shoes. And lately I've been crazy nutso over the whole deal! (seriously over the top. I have purchased and returned THREE pair now.) My current shoes were purchased in APRIL of 2010. To say they need replaced is a vast understatement and I've known they needed replaced, by my cheap ass self has been waiting to get my Avias ..... and I backed myself into a corner.

Okay to be fair I did go out and buy a pair of shoes a while ago, but when I did my test run in them they were awful! AWFUL. So here is the shoe saga (my life is extremely exciting you see) with my little 'experiment' at the end.

I lose toenails when I run. I get that this is fairly normal, but after my last marathon (Miami 1/31/2010) I lost more than half of them and two were BAD. So I wanted to have my shoes checked out. I had been running in Asics for years... like my whole running career. I had tried some other shoes here and there, but would always return them in favor of the Asics.. I think they were 2010s when I started this journey, but I can't remember. So I waited until we went to Seattle in April because I knew there were some good running stores out there. I explained my situation and the guy put me in Nikes. I was VERY skeptical. I had tried Nikes before with little to no success. And I was a runner... weren't Nikes for like basketball players and gym rats (I can say this bc I am also a gym rat)?

Anyway off I trotted and it took me a while, but I began to like them. Particularly when I had no toe pain and managed to keep all my nails even after longer runs.

Fast forward to the last couple of months. I am again marathon training and now I'm sponsored by Trakkers. I wanted to wait so badly for my new Avias. Time was getting tight so I purchased a pair of Asics (why Asics and not the Nikes I had grown to love? They were cheaper and I knew I would be replacing them w/ Avias. Basically I'm cheap.) I ran in them once and they were like BRICKS. I had become accustomed to the less structure of the Nikes. So the Asics went back and I continued to run in my Nikes. I ordered some Avia Quests from Zappos - too big. They were returned. Back to the Nikes.

Finally I broke down and ordered yet another pair of Avias. This time the Rhythms because it was said that they were more of a neutral shoe than the Quests I had previously ordered.

I did a quick run in these and panicked because they just weren't going to work. They felt like bricks too! (stay with me here) I really wanted to represent our sponsors, but I hadn't received my team shoes yet anyway and I am running a marathon in just over a week. NOT a good time to break in a pair of shoes - YES, I realize this should have been done AT LEAST A month ago. (Do you see the neurosis setting in?)

So off I went to purchase the Nikes. I took my old ones with me this time. OMG!! Any pair of shoes would feel like a brick in comparison to my old blown out Nikes. I didn't realize just how bad it was until I had one OLD shoe and one NEW shoe on. I purchased the Nikes and decided I was going to do a little experiment the next day.

I had a ten mile run on tap and decided I would run the first 5 miles in one pair of shoes then switch for the second 5 miles then choose a winner. Well I screwed myself (Mommy mistake, rolled up to the gym and only had one hour of child watch left. I hadn't originally planned to take a kid, but ...well anyway. It is what it is.)... so I ran for 20 mins in one shoe and 20 mins in the other. Or that was the plan.

I started out in the Avias and all was fine. I mean I felt like I was running in my Danskos, but it was bc I was so accustomed to the NOTHING feel of the Nikes (ya gotta wonder if my aches and pains could be associated w/ the old shoes, eh?). Then I changed into the Nikes. AWFUL. The bottom of my foot immediately lit up with friction and my toes were totally cramped in there. Either my old shoes are SERIOUSLY blow out and even the upper is totally stretched or they changed the design of the shoe. I ran in these about 10 mins before putting the Avias back on.

So there you have it folks. My HIGHLY SCIENTIFIC test. Yes I realize this is very very late in the game and my shoes absolutely will not be broken in for the race..... but I'm doing what I can and I'm super glad that the Avias won out. I love to support the sponsors.

I will give you a full report on the shoe post race. I ordered YET A DIFFERENT pair through the team. The Quest Lite!!! I'll also give you the run down on that pair after I get a chance to test em out.

So two questions for you:
1. can I help break the shoes in by wearing them around. I know walking is different than running and it's not recommended to wear your running shoes around, but wouldn't this help a little in this case?

2. Music or no music? Do you rock the iPod during the marathon???

Austin Marathon is a comin' whether I'm ready or not.

The Marathon is ONE WEEK away!!!!

I got up a little early this a.m. to type up this blog post because life has just been crazy busy and well... here comes Austin. I was going to tell you all that even though my training has been basically crap and that I haven't even run a solid 20 miler I was still going to shoot for Boston.

As with all things I checked my email before I got started because that's what all good addicts do.

And what did I find, but an email from coach from Spain. He was giving me my 'pre-race' pep talk. And in that pep talk there were a lot of really good points:

- "your longest run isn't long enough to kill a Marathon" uh, TRUE!
- "get in a good training day and don't do anything that puts the rest of your season in doubt" - Good advice! (this after he gives me the details of how my marathon should go down - below)
- "You have bigger goals this year, and this is a stepping stone." - Again, TRUE!
-  "Don't try to make up for it during the taper." - okay, FINE! Is he some sort of mind reader?

So this is one reason why I hired a coach. To remind me of these types of things. It's not a good idea for me to take my subpar training and go all out in a race that I KNOW I'm not prepared for.. in FEBRUARY when I have the BIGGEST season of my life ahead of me! This is base building! BASE BUILDING! That's it. I need to go to Austin, see two women I haven't seen in ages, soak up some love and sun, and recharge my batteries to come back to this hell hole.. I mean frozen tundra... I mean to come home to my family with the pep back in my step and the focus back in my training.

Thanks Coach! This will be the first race I enter where my go to reminders are to slow down and stay steady not kill it! :) Good prep for an ironman, no?

So thanks to coach I've changed my tune and am going for the FUN factor (didn't I already decide that this is what it's all about anyway?). Here's the plan:

Take the first 13 miles easy. (zone 2) Then miles 13-20 slow, but they will still feel hard. That sounds good .. no checking my watch obsessively to make sure I'm "on pace" ... no stress... just run. Doesn't that sound glorious?

And one last quote from coach: "go dumb easy for most of it or you will come unglued badly after 20." (this was a good reminder and pretty much sealed the deal.)

I do have to say that I did a little experiment (more to come on that tomorrow) and my hammie/glute started aching by 1.5 miles... ugh. Don't want to make that any worse either.

So there you have it folks. My race just became a training session. I'm down with that. (Well you and I both know there is that tiny little voice in that back of my mind berating me right now for waving the white flag before I even got there, but don't worry the sensible side of me is giving her the finger and one big eye roll right now.)