Missing: Mojo

If you find it, please call.

This morning, I ran a 3 miler with Norah in the Bob and it was tough. Mostly because it was hot (the "feels like" temp was about 90), but also I seem to just be in a running rut. On the one hand, I feel like I should be running more and putting in higher mileage (mostly because I have this make-believe 13.1 that I planned for myself in May -- but, I'll be honest, I'm starting to doubt my ability to follow through on that plan). On the other hand, I feel...well...hot. And the heat is melting my willpower. So anything more than 4-5 miles seems like just too much effort.

Anyhoo...that's my complaint right now. On a lighter note, I find this picture of Norah hilarious: She's chewing on a puff, but doesn't she look a bit like this guy?

FunDay Friday

Thanks for all the birthday wishes yesterday! I received a lot of comments here on the blog and on Facebook; plus, calls and emails from family and friends -- all of it made me feel super loved! It was a good b-day, and I got some good loot, and best of all, I saw Norah pull herself up to standing for the first time!

Speaking of the munchkin... Today, she had her 8 month doctor check up, and here are her stats:

Height: 27 1/2 inches (60th %)
Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz (50th%)

She grew quite a bit in her past two months -- must be because we keep feeding her :) Anyhoo, everything else checked up great; she's in perfect health and is meeting all her developmental milestones right on target. And best of all, the two things the doctor was skeptical about clearing up on their own (her goopy eye and dry skin), cleared up -- magically -- in the past two months. So, all in all, a good check up for the little ankle-biter.
So, for the rest of today, Jerry and I have a rare opportunity: Jerry is off work today and I don't work on Fridays, so we're gonna take Norah to daycare at 11:30 and then we're gonna go out to lunch and...to a movie...in a theater! Woot! It's an afternoon date! And we're both stoked. I don't even remember what it's like being in a movie theater; will I be able to sit still for an entire 2 hours? Might be weird. But good weird, right? Hope so.

Happy Birthday to...

...me!

Today, I turn 32 years old. So, in honor of my new age, I thought I'd list "32 random things about Jess' 32 years" -- there'll be a test tomorrow, so be sure to take good notes:

1. I was born in Ft. Collins, CO
2. The first movie I saw in the theater was "Bambi," but because I wouldn't stop crying after Bambi's mother was killed (in the first 5 minutes), my mom took me out and I didn't get to finish my first movie.
3. The first movie I remember seeing in the theater was "Gremlins" -- scared the bejesus out of me.
4. For grades 1-3, I attended school in a one room schoolhouse. It was just me and another kid (his name was Lucas and I will always think of him as "Mucas Lucas") in the same grade.
5. In 1st grade, I fell off the monkey bars and bit through my tongue.
6. When I was 7, I got a hamster and named him Marvin. When I was 9, I entered him in a hamster racing competition hosted by the local pet store. In a miraculous upset, Marvin won first place! He won himself a kickass HabitTrail, and I got my picture in the paper.
7. In 4th grade, I was placed in the "gifted and talented" program at school. I hated it.
8. I took 3 years of piano lessons. Also hated them. Especially hated practicing.
9. I was a Brownie. Also hated that. Only lasted one year in that and I lasted that long because my mom forced me to go because "the uniform cost a fortune" so she was gonna make sure I got my use of it.
10. I was in karate for 3 years. And loved that! I guess kicking and punching things was more a part of my personality than piano and cookie-selling.
11. I played soccer from when I was in 3rd grade until I was a senior in high school. I wasn't great at it, but I loved it too!
12. In grades, 4, 5, and 6, I had perfect attendance. That's right: 3 years and not a single missed day.
13. In 5th grade, I was on the Battle of the Books team (an academic event that would require more explanation that what I'm aiming to compose here -- essentially, a competitive "knowledge bowl" type thing based on books). We lost in the first round of competition.
14. The first day of middle school, I accidentally got on the high school bus. That was a disaster.
15. In 6th grade, I got de-pantsed by Adam Jack in front of my entire grade while we were at lunch. Most embarrassing incident of my life.
16. In 7th grade, I got detention for flicking a penny at someone during class.
17. I had braces.
18. I was in 9th grade when Kurt Cobain killed himself. It was a monumental moment.
19. When I was a teenager, we had a pet goose -- named Silly Goose.
20. I shut my finger in my locker in 10th grade and had to go to the emergency room. Got 10 stitches and that finger is weird to this day.
21. Before I got my driver's license, I had already put my mom's car in the ditch 3 times.
22. Two months after I got my driver's license, I committed a "hit and run" -- the police found me; that was bad.
23. I graduated high school a semester early. But waited until the fall to start college.
24. I have a tattoo, but it's such a cliche, so I hesitate to tell you what it is or where it is. Oh, okay: Chinese character, lower back. Go ahead and laugh.
25. I rolled my Honda Civic in college and I wasn't wearing my seatbelt -- I was thrown from the car, but miraculously, the only injuries I suffered were two chipped teeth.
26. Graduated college Magna Cum Laude, which makes me laugh cuz it sounds dirty.
27. I have an M.A. in English, which means I can write and talk real good.
28. I met Jerry when I was 24. We met in a bar. It's a good story.
29. We got married, in 2005 (when I was 27), on a boat that never left its dock. The boat was named "The Anticipation." I appreciate irony.
30. Even before we got married, we had decided that if we ever had a girl, we'd name her Norah.
31. I have never broken a single bone, had never had blood drawn before I was pregnant, had never spent the night in a hospital until I had Norah, and haven't been to the doctor (except for check ups) since I was a junior in college.
32. I currently weigh 3 lbs less than I did pre-pregnancy.

Humid Hump Day

First of all, I won TWO games of raquetball last night! It was pretty swawesome.

Second of all, this morning, I ran a 3 miler with Norah in the Bob and I have one word for that run: HUMID.

I got spoiled by our unseasonably cold winter and cool spring, so now that April's typical heat and humidty are starting to creep back to normal FL levels, I feel like it's a complete blow to the system. This morning, it wasn't too hot (about 70 degrees at 7:30 when we headed out), but the humidity was at 90%. So, I was completely drenched in sweat when we got done, and I was so hot, that I honestly felt a little sick afterward. Thankfully, Norah had fallen asleep on the run, so I had time to sit in front of a fan for a few moments while I sipped my water, and that helped cool me off and make me feel better.

I'm gonna have to buck up and get used to this humidty because this is just the start of it, and really, it wasn't all that bad compared to what it will be once summer gets in full swing -- afterall, the dew point this morning was "only" 67 degrees (in July, it'll be about 73 or 74 degrees on a regular basis).

Tuesday Tidbits

On Sunday morning, I had originally intended to do a long run of 10 miles, but when I got out there, it started to rain on me, so I only ran 4 miles. I figured I'd get the other 6 in later in the day, but no dice: It rained all day.

The rain continued into yesterday morning, so I never got a Norah + Bob run in either. And, last night, Jerry's brother was visiting from out of town, so again, no run.

It's kind of frustrating missing runs or cutting runs short; however, I'm ony training for my own 13.1, so there's no real demand to get all the runs in (but, I'm trying to make it feel like there is so that I'm motivated to actually do what I have planned for myself). So, that's why it was nice to get my planned 3 miler in this morning -- a return to the schedule!

The run was warm (definitely getting to be summer here in FL), but otherwise, uneventful. Which feels good; I like my runs to be rather routine.

As for tonight, I am playing raquetball, and I again hope that this will be the week that I finally win a game. We'll see. Don't hold your breath in expectation.

2 days until my birthday...I have surprisingly few packages waiting for me from you guys. Don't worry, there's still time to get rush shipping :)

Norah's Nap

After a busy day -- story time at Barnes and Noble, a trip to the baby store, and lunch out -- we thought we'd have no trouble getting Norah to take a nap this afternoon. We thought wrong. Twice, I tried laying her down for a nap, but each time I'd go in and check on her, she was just playing in her crib:

(Her eyes are all squinty because of the camera's flash -- I swear I didn't give her a doobie before nap time.) So, after nap attempt #2, I decided to strap her into the Bob and take her for a run. In mile 1, she was still wide awake and playing with her toys, but by the end of mile 2...

...voila! She was down for the count. And, once we got home, she continued snoozin' -- bonus! Plus, the run was an un-planned 3 miler for me, so it added a few extra miles to my week -- double bonus!!

Early Birthday Loot

My birthday isn't until the 22nd (go ahead, mark your calendars), but some gifts have been trickling in from friends and family over the past few days, and I'll be frank: I have no self-control. Gifts must be opened. So, yesterday, I opened up the following from my brother:

Genereous brother, isn't he? Wonder what I got him for his birthday, hmmm...can't remember.

Anyhoo, this morning, I was excited to add the first shirt pictured and the new socks to today's running attire, and they worked out great. I like these new tech tees that look and feel like cotton -- very comfy!

Gotta love the b-day loot!

The Mordor Half Marathon

***The following is a work of fiction. This “race report” is being manufactured for Jamoosh’s Virtual Halfathon.***

I had initially been hesitant to register for the Mordor Half Marathon but only because the race would require travel to Middle Earth, and that’s race travel that stretches the budget. However, after reviewing the course map, surveying the potential field of participants, and speaking personally to the RD (Gandolf responds very promptly to email), I decided that this was a “can’t miss” opportunity.

Turns out, Middle Earth is actually in New Zealand, an island I’ve always wanted to visit anyway (who wouldn’t want to visit an island where sheep outnumber humans?!), so I caught the red eye flight from Ft Lauderdale to the Shire on Friday and was in Middle Earth by Saturday morning. I was a bit jet-lagged, but a day’s worth of rest was all I needed for Sunday’s race.

Sunday morning, I woke, well-rested and ready to run 13.1 miles. The course was a destination course that began in the Shire and ended at Mt. Doom, so the start line was set up right in the heart of the Shire – right outside the former residence of Bilbo Baggins. Upon arrival, I quickly hit up the port-a-potties and then got in my designated corral. I assume that because I am so short, I was corralled with the hobbits and dwarves and other short-legged beings, so I was pretty far back from the start line (elves were, predictably, up there with the elite runners). Despite the fact that I was far back, I was still able to enjoy Gandolf’s fireworks that were timed to coordinate with the race’s start, and which were impressive enough to rival any Disney display.

So, without further ado, Gandolf waved his wand, and we were off!

In miles 1-5, I struggled a bit to find my own rhythm. I don’t normally run through the countryside, so it was hard for me to establish my footing, but after the initial few miles through fields and woods, I was able to get the hang of “trail” running and I fell in step just behind most of the other humans (hobbits, at this point, were WAY back seeing as they had to stop for second breakfast). My time wasn’t as fast as it would be if this had been a road race, but I was comfortable with the pace I was running, so I felt happy with that.

Miles 6-10 were those perfect “cruise control” miles that sometimes happen in the middle of a long run – the kind of miles where I can just zone out and let the legs do their work; I love it when this kind of auto-pilot kicks on! Plus, I really needed that feeling because while the early miles had possessed some beautiful scenery, towards the end of this leg, as the course wound closer to Mordor itself, the landscape got tougher to navigate, and the running got down right HARD.

In the valleys leading into Mordor, there were lots of low shrubs and bushes that were prickly, dense and difficult to run through. It didn’t help that there were also an abundance of flies and gnats in this region, so I was swatting at the air as I ran, and this slowed me down considerably. I had remembered sunscreen, but not insect repellent, so I was suffering from a few bites on my face, legs and arms. Thankfully, by mile 11, we had passed that kind of harsh vegetation and bothersome fauna; however, that doesn’t mean the course got any easier at this point. To the contrary, as we passed through the Black Gate of Mordor, we were running into the last part of the race, but the last 2.1 miles were the hardest of the entire race for two reasons: the steep incline and the rocky (gravel, really) terrain.

Plus, it was hot as hell.

Being from FL means I’m pretty well acclimated to heat, but nothing compares to the heat emanating from a nearby, active volcano, so I was sweating buckets at this point and I had drunk all the water I was carrying with me. Big mistake since I had read in the race description that in the final miles, the race would not be providing any water stations. I knew I just had to suck it up and finish the remaining miles parched as I was, but it was hard to ignore the rough, sand-paper feel of my mouth and my lips were so dry and cracked at this point, they felt like the desert-landscape itself. My one consolation at this point was in comparing myself to my fellow runners and seeing them troubled by thirst in much the same way, so I knew I wasn’t alone in this challenging endeavor.

Finally, the finish at Mt. Doom’s base was in site, and the noise of the crowd reached out to me and motivated me to give this tough race the strong finish it deserved, so I gritted my teeth and kicked for all I could. The finish’s spectators were amazing, and I felt their energy push me in those final moments of the race, and when I crossed the finish line, I didn’t care what my time was, I was just glad to be done!

I walked through the finsher’s chute, picked up my medal:

And then gratefully collapsed with my precious and a bottle of water.

In the end, this was, by far, the toughest 13.1 miles I have ever run, and I can see how it’s billed as a “once in a lifetime” event since I think few people in their right mind would run it more than once; however, with that being said, it certainly is the race of a lifetime – I don’t think any future race will be able to compare to this experience!

Putting the "Work" in Workout

This morning's 3 miler with Norah felt like a toughie. Nothing in particular was bothersome; it just felt hard. Could be several reasons for this:

1. Today was the 5th day in a row that I've run. Altogether, the miles don't add up to much, but without a break, the leggies get tired.
2. It was windy and few things are harder than pushing a jogging stroller into the wind.
3. Norah decided this morning that 5:30 am was a perfectly normal time for a baby to get up, so by the time we went for a run at 8 am, my coffee had already worn off.
4. My allergies have been bothersome for the last week, and while anithistamines help control the snot faucet that is my nose this time of year, they also make me a bit groggy and lethargic (even when they say "non-drowsy").

Could be just one of those, or a combo of all four, either way, it wasn't easy but I still got it done, and now I get to enjoy a rest day tomorrow!

Garmin Forerunner 110

Thanks for all the input you guys provided about your experiences and observations regarding various GPS devices, particularly your various uses of Garmin's Forerunner series. Particular thanks for informing me of Garmin's latest upcoming device: The 110. I had no clue this was forthcoming, and after doing some reading and researching about it online (particularly a few product reviews), this seems like exactly the kind of Garmin I'd like! It's essentially a simplified version, so it primarily just provides time, distance and pace, but it can be upgraded with other features as well. But truthfully, what I truly care about and use is the basic features: time, distance, pace. In fact, I'm embarassed to admit that I hardly used all of my 205's features, so even though this new model is being advertised as a "beginning runner's gadget," it sounds right up my alley!

Cost? Relatively affordable. For the basic model, it retails for less than $200, and the basic model is all I need (I don't use an HR monitor). A quick call to my local running store later, and I found out that they'll have models in as soon as the first week of May.

And, with my b-day next week, I'm sure to get some b-day money from my parents, grandparents, etc, so I think I'll just stash that b-day cash away and wait for this new Garmin to come out in a few weeks! Until then, I'll just run without, which is kinda nice in its own way -- even though my left wrist feels lonely.

Almost Rained Out

It rained all morning today, so Norah and I missed our usual morning run. But it cleared up this evening, so after Norah went to bed, I laced up and went out for a quick 3 miler. Of course, I have no clue how quick or non-quick it was since I didn't have the Garmin, but it felt good.

I'm kinda undecided about how to proceed from here regarding the Garmin's death. Send it in to Garmin for refurbishment? Buy a new 205? Upgrade, shell out the moola, and go for the 405? What are your opinions/thoughts?

And, remember that dead possum I noted last week? It is now just some black goo and a skeleton. Decomposition sure is fast here in FL!

Green Turtle Gallop 10K Race Report

This report really begins yesterday when my Garmin died.

I was headed out for a short run yesterday morning, and when I turned on the Garmin, and all I got was the "black screen of death." I tried a few tricks I know that have worked to resurrect it in the past, but none of them worked: It seems to be the death of the display screen, not the device itself, and I think there's no coming back from that. The Garmin is about 3 and 1/2 years old, and I think that's longer than the average lifespan for the device, but still...I mourn the loss.

So, that meant that for today's race, I had to pace myself by "feel" -- something I haven't done for a race in close to 4 years. What didn't help was that the race's mile markers were not accompanied by time clocks, so with the exception of a guy standing at the 1, 5 and 6 mile markers shouting out the time, I had no clue what my pace was as I ran.

At mile marker 1, I was at 9:14 -- which was about where I wanted to be; and at mile marker 5, I was at 47:30 -- a little slower than I wanted, but again, about where I wanted to be; but then at mile marker 6 I was at 57:20 -- NOT where I wanted to be (I had been hoping for an overall time of about that). Of course, I knew I had slowed some in the last mile because the 6th mile was pretty much all hill and then the last portion of the race was a winding path that went up and down small hills through the park where the finish was located, but I hadn't figured I'd slowed to a 9:50 min pace, but I guess I did (I only have their word for it).Therefore, I finished in 59:18 -- gun time (chip time was identical and was meaningless because there were no mats down at the start: when are RDs gonna realize that without mats at the start, all the timing chips are completely useless?!) -- which is a new PR and still fell within my "pie-in-the-sky" race goal!

So, even though I feel like I could have had it in me to run a faster race, I'm still pleased with this time and, let's be honest: It's always nice to fall just a smidgen short of expectation so that I have endless goals to pursue.

8 Months and Race Goals

Today, Norah is 8 months old, and while the past month has been full of fun developments, the most significant milestone has been her attempts at crawling, most recently, she's learned to get her knees up under her and get her tummy off the floor. She's most motivated to go after cans and water bottles like we've bribed her in the following video:

It's exciting to watch her learn this new skill, but it also means that soon she's gonna be a hand full! Still, though, so fun!

Anyhoo...aside from Norah cakes, tomorrow is the Turtle Trot 10K so I thought I'd outline a few preliminary goals for myself:

Pie in the Sky Goal: Beat the 60 minute time frame. McMillan tells me that I'm capable of finishing in 57:27 (based on my most recent HM finish time). I would be thrilled with such a finish.

Secondary Pie in the Sky Goal: Beat my previous 10K PR, which is 1:01:25.

Realistic Goal: Beat my time of 1:05:20 that I ran last Nov (3 months after Norah was born).

Base Goal: Have fun, save the turtles!

It's for the Turtles

For awhile now, I have been hemming and hawing about running the Gumbo Limbo Green Turtle Gallop 10K. The pros for running it were simple: 10K opportunities are rare in this neck of the swamp, and especially rare this time of year, so I felt as though I should do it (the next 10K on the South Florida race calendar doesn't come around again until November). However, the cons were also pretty straight forward: I didn't really want to drive to Boca early on a Sunday morning. So, yes, laziness was the primary reason I hadn't yet registered.

But, last weekend, I mentioned it to Jerry and he said, "Go for it! You wanted a race to run now anyway." "You're right," I said...and then preceded to allow the early registration to pass me by on Monday. But, then, this afternoon on Facebook, some friends were discussing running it, so I butted in and invited myself to join them. So, there ya go: An hour later, I was all registered. All the proceeds go to the Gumbo Limbo Sea Tutle Rehab Center (which is where strung out sea turtles go after a bender, I guess), so it's for a good cause. Plus, I have the opportunity to best the Key Biscayne 10K I ran back in November; I ran that in 1:05:20 -- I think I can beat that now. And, that's a good cause too, right?

Of Dead Possums and Other Wednesday Observations

First of all, I sadly did not win at racquetball last night. I came close in one game by tying the score 14-14, but then I lost. It kinda sucks to always lose, but to be honest, it doesn't bother me that much; I still like playing.

Secondly, I went for another 3 miler with Norah this morning, and I have two observations to share about that:

For one, passing people with the BOB is awkward. Our sidewalks here in South Florida are only wide enough for two people abreast. But, one person pushing a jogging stroller is the equivalent to a person and a half, so in passing fellow pedestrians, I feel like I'm just barely shaving by them if they remain on the sidewalk. Also, while I do give people verbal warning when I approach them from behind, I still seem to sneak up and surprise a lot of people, so not only am I taking up a lot of room on the sidewalk, but my ninja skillz are also scaring the bejesus out of some.

While passing people is awkward, passing by dead animals is even worse. At least I don't have to yell "On your left!" for that, though.

Yes, that was my clumsy transition into my second observation about today's run: a dead possum. Possum are frequently the victims of roadkill in South Florida, so it's not uncommon to see a smooshed one by the side of the road, but this particular dead possum appears to have just dropped dead in the middle of the sidewalk. I noticed it last Saturday on our run, and this morning, its decaying corpse was still there. But now, of course, it is getting more and more disgusting and the putrefaction while passing it is awful.

I, at least, know that it's coming and can breathe out of my mouth as we pass it, but Norah doesn't understand me when I say, "Oh gross! Norah, plug your nose!" so she has to breathe in that disgusting whiff of rotting animal carcass. I hope this doesn't ingrain itself in some deep-seated part of her baby-brain so that in therapy, 20 years from now, she'll have to un-earth the devastation of having her mom push her past a dead possum.

Two Things Tuesdays

One: Ran 3 miles with Norah this morning. She was a bit of a fuss-bucket, but on the whole, she was quiet. I wish I could magically make her fall asleep each time, but it seems to be a game of chance: Sometimes she sleeps, sometimes she doesn't. Short of drugging her beforehand, I guess I just have to continue to gamble with each run.

Two: Tonight, I play raquetball. I've been playing every other week now since early February, yet I have not managed to win a single game. No, I didn't say a "match"; I said a "game" (3 games in a match). So, I haven't magaed to win a single GAME in two months of playing. I gotta step it up a few notches! Perhaps, I should make sure I put on the "ass kickin" shoes instead of the "just got my ass kicked" shoes. Silly me, I must've been putting on the wrong shoes for the past 8 weeks.

"Running" Errands

This morning, I had two things I wanted to accomplish: One, go to the store to return a movie and pick up a few grocery items; and two, go for my planned 3 miler. So, I decided to kill two birds with one stone by combining the two tasks.

There's a Publix on my standard 3 mile route, so I strapped Norah into the running stroller and brought my wallet and the movie along (this is where the stroller actually comes in handy -- mesh pockets and the under-carriage basket worked out perfectly for this task). It's about a mile to the store, so we ran there -- ran right up to the door -- dropped off our movie and picked up a few necessities, checked out, and then we were on our way again so as soon as we walked out the electric doors, we were running again!

Ran the remaining 2 miles of the loop and we were back home: Run done, check! Errands done, check!

And even though Norah didn't snooze during the running, she did crash for a 40 minute nap once we got home -- double check!

Easter Eight Miler

Well, technically, today is not Easter, but it's Easter weekend, and I like using alliterative titles, so there ya go.

This morning, as the title suggests, I wanted to do my "long run" of 8 miles. So, at 7:30 am, Norah was acting a bit sleepy (when you get up at 6 am, 7:30 feels like the morning is getting on, I guess), but Jerry and Scooter weren't even out of bed yet and I was itchin' to get my miles in. So, I figured I'd toss Norah in the stroller for a few miles, come back and leave her in Jerry's care and then go finish my run up.

So, I strapped her into the stroller and we went for a 3 mile loop. Despite her apparent sleepiness during breakfast, she didn't succumb to the land of nod for the run; however, she was quiet the entire time, and that's really all I ask for.

We got back to the house a little before 8, and Jerry and Scooter were up by then (sleepy heads!), so I literally handed the stroller with Norah in it off to Jerry and then turned around and headed back out for my remaining 5 miles. Interestingly, those 5 miles were slower than my initial 3 pushing the stroller, and, in general, the run was a touch slower than I would've liked, but I still finished it in 1:19:10, which is a 9:54/mile pace and as long as I keep the pace at sub-10 min/mile, I'm usually pretty pleased.

Now, since it is Easter weekend, I'll leave you with an Easter pic of Norah and wish all of you a happy holiday! Toodles!

Friday Four

This afternoon, I ran 4 miles under clear, sunny skies and 80 degree temps. Perfect weather for sitting on the porch with a beer.

But for running? A bit too hot and I'm glad I remembered sunscreen beforehand. It was 30 SPF but I still had some tan lines afterward. Pretty certain the sun will be my ultimate demise.

Finished in 37:48.

That's all I have to say about that.

Moody Jess

*I apologize in advance to the male readers: This post discusses girly bits...and probably not in the way you wish it would.*

About 6 weeks ago, we decided to begin transitioning Norah from breatfeeding to formula. There were several reasons for this, but at the heart of it, I was sick of pumping. Lugging the pump back and forth to work, getting up at 4 am to pump, pumping before bed, keeping track of the frozen breastmilk, well, it just all started to feel like a chore. Norah was more than 6 months old at that point, and I knew it would take awhile to fully transition to formula, so while I did have reservations about fully switching from breastmilk to formula, I also felt completely fine with the choice (discussing this could take up a full post on its own, but I want to try and remain as concise as possible).

So, slowly, I started cutting out one feeding at a time, starting with that 4 am pumping session. And, gradually, we used up the frozen breastmilk and began using formula (which Norah took to just fine); and, bit-by-bit, I cut down on the actual breastfeeding until finally, about two weeks ago, she had her last boob-feeding and made her full transition to formula. The gradual approach worked well -- it took a long time, but I didn't have to suffer through any painfully engorged boobs or wacko hormones.

But...I still experienced a huge hormone shift. (Yeeeahhh, kinda explains my whole "wanting to pull the plug on the whole blog business" doesn't it?) It was like a serious case of PMS. It didn't help that this coincided with the post-spring break-blues and the post-slew-of-races-blues. And anxiety about Jerry-being-out-of-town-blues. So, it would be understatement to say that for the past few weeks, I have been feeling a bit outta sorts.

Then, earlier this week, my lower back began aching, my stomach felt kinda crampy, and I felt -- in general -- gassy, bloated, and lethargic. Yup, you guessed it. True PMS. So, for the first time since November 2008, I have my "Aunt Flow" visiting. (Hey, guys, if you're still reading -- I warned you!)

In many ways, this hasn't been nearly as bad as some friends had warned me it would be, but in other ways, both my brain, my emotions, and my body are like, "WTF?! We were enjoying the smooth ride of those breastfeeding hormones!"

And, while this does kinda suck right now (and I do miss the intimacy of breastfeeding), on the other hand, I can go home tonight and drink 3 beers if I wanted to. And, if I wanted to, I could sleep on my stomach. And, if I wanted to, I could wake up and drink 5 cups of coffee tomorrow morning. So, while I do miss nursing, and having the 'ole period back isn't the funnest thing in the world, it is also nice to have my body back. I kinda missed it being entirely mine.

3 Miles with a Crab Apple

This morning, I again did my run with Norah in the stroller, and again, she wasn't that happy about it. I don't know what the deal has been the past two days, but she just gets cranky about halfway through -- I think she gets tired of being confined to the stroller (which, if that's the case, we have a loooooong road trip ahead of us this summer when we drive to MN). But again, because of the timing of her crankitude, I had no choice but to "just keep running" and get home, so I had to listen to some baby-whining for a few minutes.

Thankfully, tomorrow is a running rest day, so perhaps with a day off, she'll re-adjust her attitude about riding along in the stroller. I hope so. And, if not, well...I guess it's good that she's happy the rest of the time!

Tuesday's Ten

This morning, I ran 4 miles with Norah. It didn't go that great. Well, the run went fine...for me...but Norah, apparently, wasn't too happy to be along and for about a half a mile, she bawled and nothing could comfort her. Since she rejected all my efforts to make her happier (pacifier? toys?), I had no choice but to run her home as fast as I could. Thankfully, she eventually stopped crying and while she didn't sleep, she was at least content.

Then, this evening, I decided to put part of my new training schedule into action: some strength training. So, I pushed aside Norah's toys: And broke out this DVD:

10 minutes is about all I can handle for strength training. Any more than that and my attention starts to wander. I chose to do the upper body workout because my arms are currently like water pistols and I'd like them to be full-fledged guns. At the end, the workout ends with a few sets of push ups, and Scooter, sensing that I was on floor, came out to join me:

Afterward, my arms felt like limp noodles and I felt that the only kind of arm workout that I wanted to do for the rest of the evening was a 12 oz curl. Hmmmmm...choices, choices:

Decided to go with the Amstel, and lordy, my little string bean arm is havin' a tough time lifting this -- thankfully there's a reward at the end of this burn!

I might regret these 10 minutes of strength training come tomorrow morning when I can't lift Norah out of her crib!

Can't Think of a Title

Thanks for all the enthusiasm regarding "My Own 13.1"! Many of you asked to join me virtually, and I think that's a wonderful idea; however, I'm not hosting a virtual race. It just seems like a lot of work. But, as I said, I'd love it if others wanted to mark their calendars and run their own "race" that day!

That being said, I ran my first training run yesterday evening. I haven't run in the evening in a long time, but with the time change, after Norah was in bed and after we'd had dinner, it was still light out (granted, it was only 7:15 then, but still, the day does feel longer with that extra daylight). So, I don't know if it was running in the evening, running with the iPod, or running without the jogging stroller, but some unknown factor made me a bit faster, and I finished 3 miles in 27:40.

Ze Plan

After the Disney Princess Half on March 7th, I was ready for a training break. I ran 3 HMs in 3 months, and I was looking forward to a bit of down time in a training cycle. But after about a week, I began feeling dissolute without another immediate race on the forefront of my schedule, so for the past 3 weeks, I have been running, but as I mentioned earlier this week, it has felt less meaningful.

I have been scrutinizing the race calendar for South Florida for awhile and, as I said before, there's really nothing out there but 5Ks until October (and travel for race purposes is not within our budget this year). Granted, I could focus on the short distance races and perhaps work on a new PR, but truth be told, I don't feel much motivation to run a 5K, even for a PR try, and I feel even less motivated to pay $30 to run a 5K.

So, I was again feeling "meh" about the running schedule, but then the clouds parted, rays of sunshine beamed down upon me, and my mind was flooded with brilliance: Why not train for my own 13.1?

That's right. Set a date, select a route, create a training plan for it, and then, come "race day" go run my own 13.1!

I was immediately excited about the idea, so I set to outlining the specifics for myself: I decided on a date, I created a training plan, and while I haven't confirmed a route, I have a few good ideas and I am definitely keeping it close to home so there's no "race day" driving, parking, etc. I think I may even try to create my own shirt for it and I asked Jerry if it would be possible for him to either machine or laser cut a medal for me, and he said, "maybe," which I took for a "hells yeah!"

So, I proudly present to you Jess' 1st Annual:

My Own 13.1
When: Sunday, May 23rd
Start Time: 6 am
Location: Tamarac, FL
Entry Fee: $0
Registration: Open
Expo: Nope

Already, I feel more excited to run! Training starts tomorrow.

Food Revolution

So, I was gonna ask yesterday, but got distracted, did any of you see Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution on Friday night?

Normally, I don't like much reality television, but this was really good.

Oliver, as most of you probably already know, is a world-renowned chef (he has several shows on the Food Network), and in this show, he goes into this West Virginia town, which is supposedly the "unhealthiest" city in America -- the obesity rate among adults there is 50% -- and he attempts to influence how they cook and eat, and he focuses specifically on concerns centering around the town's children. I thought the parts dealing with his attempt to reform school lunches was particularly poignant. If you missed the show, you can watch the full episode on ABC's site here.

Friday night is kind of a bad TV night for a show (except for people like Jerry and I who certainly are home on a Friday night!), so I doubt it got the audience it should have, but if you think you might be interested, it airs on Friday night, on ABC, for the next 5 weeks.

More Snoozin

On our run this morning, Norah fussed a little about halfway through, but I think she was just fighting sleep because it was one or two irritated whines and then she was out. And, again, I am continuing to enjoy her stroller slumber: What's funny, though, is that after I got out of the shower, I discovered that Norah wasn't the only one takin a snooze:

Apparently, my run wore Jerry out as well!

Snoozin

Norah has never been much of a napper -- her sleeping philosophy seems to be a sort of "all or nothing" approach -- but she will fall asleep while in motion. Thus, the beauty of our near-daily 3 miler: If I'm lucky, like I was this morning, she continues to snooze while I shower and get ready. It doesn't happen every day (in fact, this kind of long-term-snoozin' is really the exception, not the rule), but when it does happen, man, it's glorious!

Rest Day

No running for me today. Why? No clean sports bras.

Do I see this as a problem indicating that I should do laundry more frequently? No.

I see it as a problem that indicates that I should buy more sports bras!

Single Parenting: Part Deux

Jerry is in Orlando for a conference for the next few days, so it's just me and the niblet until Friday......And I think she may already be ready to strangle me ;)

Thankfully, I again have the help of my trusty friends Erin and Ryan, who will be picking Norah up from daycare and watching her both Wed and Thurs evenings while I'm in class. If it weren't for them, Norah would be attending night class and learning about poetry! Actually, as a baby, she might enjoy the sound of poetry more than some of my students do!

Anyhoo...in Norah + running business, I have been keeping up with the runs as of late, but I've been keeping them short and have been primarily been running with Norah in the jogging stroller. Sometimes she falls asleep, but sometimes she stays awake the entire time but doesn't make a peep. Yesterday, it rained a bit on us during our run, and her barefeet got a little wet, but she didn't complain -- what a trooper!

But while I have been running, I feel like it's lost some of its purpose since I don't have a schedule right now and no certain race plans. I know that April-October are typically maintenance months for me here in FL, but I think I will still find a few 5Ks and try to put together some kind of schedule for the next few months that just helps me feel like the running has some significance to it. Most of you guys experience this cycle in the opposite time of year as I do; any suggestions for the off season?

Okay, Norah's in bed now, so I'm gonna catch up with some DVR'd shows that I missed last night (I was getting my ass handed to me in racquetball -- have yet to win a game of that), so toodles!

I Just Can't Quit You!

After doing some blog-contemplation over the weekend, I came to the following conclusion: I'm not gonna quit, nor am I gonna take a posting-vacation. Yes, I know...go ahead and take a moment to do your happy dance.

There, done? Okay, then you're ready for the second part: What will have to give is the amount of reading and commenting I do. I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "Jess, I have barely enjoyed your cute profile pic and witty banter on my blog as of late anyway!"

And I feel guilty about this; seriously, I do. But to keep up with everyone who I'd like to keep up with is just impossible for me right now. I know this means that I might lose some of you as readers, and that's perfectly understandable (a lot about blogging is the reciprocal give-and-take commenting aspect), but it's what I gots to do. Yo.

So, I will try my best to pop in and visit everyone as I get time, but don't be offended if I no longer appear with regularity on your blogs. Hopefully, this summer I will have a little more time for blogging, but for now, I hope you keep reading here.

Blog-cation?

So, you may have noted my absence on the blogospehere the last couple of days, and there's a reason for that: Frankly, I have been mulling over my blog and considering taking time away from it.

Honestly, the thought of quitting altogether has crossed my mind more than once in the past few months, and my reasons for this are simple: I don't have the time for it. Between my family, work, running, and all the various other aspects of life, I often find limited time to devote to this blog, and especially, limited time to devote to reading and commenting on your blogs. And, at the end of the day, when I find that I have an hour or so to myself, sometimes blogging is the last thing I want to do.

But, I am reluctant to quit altogether since I have invested a lot of time and effort into blogging (this blog is nearing 5 years old), and at its heart, I enjoy writing my blog and reading your blogs, and I know that if I just go and "retire," I might come to regret permanently leaving.

So...I'm contemplating a break: A vacation from blogging. However, I don't know how long this vacation would last or if I even really want to take a sabbatical in the first place; it's just a thought that keeps repeating in the forefront of my mind, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

I tried taking some cute pics of Norah in her shamrock tee for St. Paddy's, but every shot I got made her look like a drunk Leprechaun. But, then, I figured, maybe that's just as appropriate!

I think I've had this exact same expression the day after St. Paddy's in the past:

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone! Go light on the green beer!

Hair Cut

This afternoon, I got my hair cut. All of them, actually:Then I went and messed up the stylist's hard work by pulling it back in a pony for my run. Here's the gross, sweaty version:

As the sytlist was cutting my hair, she noted that some of my hair that I lost post-baby was now growing back in those short, whispy wings. I told her it was pretty terrifying to see so much hair fall out (about 4-5 months after Norah was born, my hair was shedding like crazy -- seriously, it was a bit worrisome), and she told me that she'd seen some women who had lost whole chunks of hair post-baby! Ack!

Anyway, this conversation led to her asking about Norah and what kind of hair Norah has, which just made me laugh because...well...you've seen Norah; she doesn't have much hair:

She told me not to worry, that Norah's hair will grow in eventually. I again had to laugh at this because it's never worried me. When I was a baby, I too had just fine, barely-there-hair and it wasn't until I was well into toddlerhood that it started to really grow, and even then, according to my mom it "came in all weird." Example, here I am at about 20 months old: Barely any hair up there! And, I have to agree with my mom: It looks a little weird.

Thankfully, by the time I entered kindergarten, my hair was perfectly normal.

So, I'm sure Norah's hair will eventually grow in. And, then -- if she wears it long -- I hope she pulls in back in a pony for running :)

Weekend Edition: Break's Over

Today, sadly, is my last day of spring break: Back to school tomorrow. Sighhhhh. Oh well, it was great to have the week off and we had a nice weekend to top off the break.

And today, we spent most of the day outside. We went to the park for a picnic and to the playground with some friends; here are some pics:

I did some running too over the weekend, but just kept the runs short and easy. I don't have a training plan right now and no races on the horizon -- this is the time of year when the race schedule begins to dry up in Florida -- so, for now, I'm just enjoying running "free" for the time being.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend and adjusted to the time change just dandy. Don't you think the "spring forward" should happen during the work week so we have one less hour during the week instead of on the weekend? It just doesn't seem fair.

Victory is Mine!

Thanks to those of you who had inventive ways of getting my race pic that I was too cheap to purchase: Your ways of circumventing copyright laws were appreciated, but only Kelsa actually went and DID it for me and then emailed me the pic! I love it when you guys offer suggestions for help, but love it even more when you do the work for me!

So, if you look at my profile pic, you'll see that it has been updated with this pic. Yes, the watermark is visible, but I don't care. I'm just so happy to have that pic in my possession -- and for free! Thanks again, Kelsa!

Race Pics

So, normally, I don't buy official race pics because I always look terrible in them. But, I was browsing pics from the A1A Half from 2 weeks ago and was surprised to discover that I liked one. You can view it here.

But, when I went to buy it, I was shocked (shocked!) to see how much it cost. I was thinking I'd pay, like, a few cents, maybe a dollar for it. Nooooooo. If you went to the above link, you saw the prices. Absurd, I tell you, absurd! So, of course, I tried the illegal copy/pasting route, but the damn thing is copyright protected (damn you, federal laws!), so unless I want to fork over $15 (minimally), I don't get this pic.

Kinda pisses me off.

Have you guys ever actually purchased a race pic? Did you sell your plasma to buy it?

Seven Months

What better way is there to celebrate a 7 month b-day in the spring time in Florida? Playing outside in gorgeous weather, of course!Mom and Scooter dog also enjoyed the morning outdoors:Norah was a cool chick in her sunglasses and hat...and requisite drool:Too bad she really didn't want to tolerate the hat......and, she'd prefer to drool on the sunglasses rather than wear them. A very fun morning outside in the sunshine! Can't believe she's already 7 months old; time is gonna slow down at some point, right? Right?! Oh well, at least I get to have days and weeks like this to appreciate that fleeting time with her.

On My List

My list of things to get done during break continued today with the following: Note that I save the best for last :)

After all my chores, I rewarded myself with a 4 mile recovery run, and despite a little stiffness in the first mile, my legs loosened up fine and I finished the run in 39:22. So, now, I can add a little "check" next to that one! Ahhh, how satisfying is it check things off a "to do" list?

Now, I have about an hour before Jerry and Norah will be home so I think I'm gonn a go do the one thing that's not on my list: Relax!

Spring (Break) Cleaning

On my list of things to do this week was clean out my closet, and as it turns out, that meant sorting through quite a bit of running gear. For one thing, I had six pairs of running shoes, so I weeded out the four oldest ones and plan to donate those.Then, I discovered that I had five of these kinds of bags:

And, I certainly don't need all five, so I kept one, and put the others in the "donate" pile.

Lastly, there is, of course, the entire drawer full of race shirts. In years past, I have simply donated my excess race shirts -- many of them don't fit well, or are poorly desgined anyway -- but I haven't sorted through this drawer in about 2 years, so I discovered I had about 20 shirts. Here's a random assortment:

Some are good shirts: The Miami shirts and A1A shirt from this year are good for regular short sleeved tech tees; my Disney Marathon shirt is a good long sleeved tech shirt (very necessary since I only have three long sleeved techs all together); and my Colorado Colfax HM tee is one of my favorite "hanging around the house" shirts.

But, with those few exceptions, I don't ever wear these shirts, and most are too big for me. So, what to do with them? I don't really want to donate some of these since many of them are from memorable races. One idea is that I could have them made into a shirt quilt (but I would need to have someone do this for me since I don't have a crafty bone in my body). But aside from that idea, I have no clue how I could better appreciate and utilize these tees. Any suggestions?

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Report

At the expo, on Saturday, I picked up this little beauty from Lift Your Sole's booth:Love it! And, of course, I got my t-shirt, goody bag and bib:

I had no expectations or real goals going into this race. After two disappointing times, first at Miami and then at A1A, I figured I would just go into this half for the fun of it. No goals. Nothing. I especially felt this way after I woke up Saturday morning with a sore throat; I knew I was coming down with what Norah had, and this morning, when I got up at 3 am, my throat felt ragged and my nose was a bit drippy. I popped two Advil and figured I'd do my best.

Pre-race:
Can pretty much be summed up with: Cold as hell!

It was only about 38 degrees at 4:15 when we arrived at the start. I had decided to go with capris, a shell top and a long-sleeved tech over it. And it wasn't enough. I was wishing for a throw away sweatshirt topped with a parka.

I spent most of my hour and forty-five minute wait standing in line for the porta potties, which actually timed things pretty well: I peed with about 10 minutes to spare before the start, which meant that I had a completely empty bladder at the start of the race -- seems like a small thing, but after the past 2 HMs, it was a blessing. Also, I was assigned Corral A, which was the first one, bonus!

Race:
The race got underway with a typical Disney fireworks display, and because I was in the first corral, it only took about 2 minutes for me to cross the start. My toes were freezing from being out in the cold for so long, and running actually kinda hurt at first, but I was eager to run at that point so I could warm up!

The first mile was crowded (13,000+ runners), but it thinned out after that and was comfortable the entire way.

The highlight of the course was, of course, running through Cinderella's castle: The scenery was perfect, such a good fit for the princess theme, and the crowd there was amazing. Otherwise, I was disappointed that Disney's course for this race took us through virtually no parks; it was almost all highway. So, not too scenic (like the other races of theirs that I've done), but the wide asphalt was good for thinning out the crowd and it was, for the most part, flat.

After the first mile, I warmed up pretty well, but I never felt hot and I didn't shed my top shirt until mile 11, but despite the chill of waiting in such cold temps, to run in such temps was perfection, and the miles just went so easily for me. The Advil did their trick and my throat felt fine for the duration of the race, and my drippy nose wasn't unmanageable (besides, I was wearing sleeves for wiping!).

So, aside from the first mile's crowd, I set my pace and was amazingly consistent:

1: 10:19
2: 9:36
3: 9:29
4: 9:31
5: 9:32
6: 9:53
7: 9:36
8: 9:39
9: 9:30
10: 9:45

At this point, I knew I was headed for a PR; I just had to maintain my pace, and it would be in the bag. Of course, the last few miles were the toughest: Highway overpasses and then lots of twists and turns as we wound our way through the backside of Epcot, but I did well maintaining my pace:

11: 9:49
12: 9:35
13: 9:19
.27: 2:12 (yeah, lots of weaving early in the race added about .17 to my distance)

For the grand total PR of: 2:07:52!

So, I crossed the finish feeling great and got my medal:
Post-race:
This was the first HM in a long time where I finished and felt like I could keep going. In fact, I finished and barely felt fatigued. I think that's partially the cool, crisp air, but I also think that the past few months of training and racing have really just put me back into my former shape, and I felt great!

After the race, I caught a shuttle back to my hotel, showered and was on the highway home by 9:15 am. Which meant that I got home in the early afternoon and was able to spend the rest of the day with my family (who I really missed in the 24 hours I was gone). My sore throat this morning has now blossomed into a full-fledged cold, but I am at least thankful that my symptoms this morning remained minor so that they didn't interfer with my race.

So, all in all, a great race for me personally, but a good race overall. Gotta love Disney; they make those expensive race fees feel well worth it!

A new PR!

2:07:52!!

Princess Plans

Tomorrow, I kick off my spring break by heading up to Orlando for Sunday's Princess Half Marathon at Disney. I'm excited for this half since I'll be joined by a few friends, and because, simply, Disney knows how to do a good race.

But...

One dilemma and one drawback:

First, the dilemma:

It's gonna be damn cold at the start. Well, cold by Florida standards, and thus, cold by my standards. It's predicted to be about 4o degrees at the 6 am start (I know, I know, for some of you that sounds like a heat wave, but for me, that's gonna feel chilly); now, granted, it'll warm up some and, really, those temps are perfect for running: cool, dry air is way better than the hot, humid air that I've run every other Disney event in, but standing around at the start at 4 am in 40 degree weather is gonna be cold.

So, what to wear? Clearly, the ideal would be some kind of throw-away layer with a short sleeved tech underneath, but I really don't have any throw away sweatshirts or long sleeved tees. I do have one really old sweatshirt that I could probably part with via this means, but I'm a bit reluctant to do that. So, I think I may go to either Target or Walmart this morning and see if they carry any cheap, disposable shirts that may work well for this purpose.

That, or...wear a long sleeved tech over a short sleeved, and take it off and tie it around my waist once I get warm. This is a less wasteful option, but a more cumbersome one.

Or, there is always the garbage bag option; I'm just not that found of that one.

Any further suggestions or help? I'm open to other thoughts.

Finally, then, my one drawback about this race:

Jerry and Norah are staying home, so it will be my first night away from Norah. I'll only be gone about 24 hours, but still, I'm gonna miss her! But, maybe that will motivate me to run the race faster so I can get home to her :)