Early Riser Class Not Good For Babies Who Sleep In

So the 8am early risers class wasn't a great idea. It's week 3 (of 6)
and we were late the 1st 2 classes. It's 756 and this is a picture of
my video monitor ... Brooke is still passed out.

Be A Rebel, Don't Check Your Halloween Candy!

I remember my mom checking all of our candy when we were younger. Wrappers that looked suspicious (along with the candy inside) were tossed. Anything in a twisted wrapper was removed, because it would be too easy for an evil-doer to unwrap it, poison it, and put the wrapper right back on. (Goodbye dumdums! You aren't that great anyway!)

I was thinking about the "dangers of Halloween" recently, now that I am a parent myself. Brooke is still too little to trick-or-treat, but next year she will be out there cruising for candy. Then I got an email from one of the parenting sites that I am a member of, that essentially destroys all of Halloween perceptions I had. Most notably?

The number of children poisoned from doctored Halloween candy given by a stranger?

Zero

Yeah, its all an Urban Legend. I think it was just an excuse for our parents to eat our candy. "Oh, that Butterfinger wrapper looks like its been tampered with. Give that to Mommy".

Surfing around I did find some interesing information about parents who tried to make kids deaths look like the result of doctored candy, assuming that it was a widespread occurance and that they could easily just throw another case into the mix. Check out the snopes.com investigation into Halloween candy for a fun read ;)

After reading this post my mom reminded me that one year we took our candy to the local hospital to have it x-rayed for razor blades. And that, my friends, is evidence of the power of the Urban Legend.

"Good Luck With That"

This weekend is the kickoff meeting for Winter Warriors. No running involved (thankfully), just an informational, meet the coaches, get to know you, inspirational kind of thing. I also assume since we are meeting at the local running store, that they are going to try to get us to buy some cold-weather gear :)

I've been thinking a lot about this training program. Not the cold weather I will encounter, or the long runs I will face ... but the weekday runs that are part of any training program. So far I have been lucky enough to be able to do a 10K or two on only one run a week, but I'm doubting I can go past 6 miles or so without regular training. And thats where the problem lies.

I talk / type / complain all the time on here about the challenges I face in finding time to run. By the time my husband comes home from work its dinner time for Brooke, then she goes to bed, then we eat. Its hard finding the time to get out of here and run, and most importantly ... I have trouble running later in the day. There are two simple reasons for this

1) Brooke really wears me out
2) I eat a lot of junk during the day that provides no energy and makes my tummy hurt when I run.

So after a few sleepless nights I let my husband know that I will need to run in the morning. Plain. And. Simple.

And he laughs.

Why? Because he leaves the house by 6AM for work, and I need to be back before he leaves. While Brooke is a very intelligent and independent little girl ... at the age of one we cannot quite yet leave her to fend for herself.

I explain to him that its no big deal. I will get up at 5 and be home by 6. And I'll only have to do it once or twice a week.

He continues to laugh.

"Good luck with that"

Well, its my intention to get up early and put in a run or two a week before my day with Brooke even begins. Yes, I likely need a bit of luck. But most of all I think I just need determination. Right now I think I at least have that. We'll see. I'm planning on starting my early-am-run-in-the-dark-routine next week.

What IS A Winter Warrior?

A couple of you wanted to know the deal with this winter training program, so I thought I would give some more details :)

Essentially, its a 1/2 Marathon training program that takes place Nov - Jan. The goal is to go and do the Key West 1/2 on Jan 31st, but doing that 1/2 is optional. The Key West 1/2 Marathon sounds like a really small race (which may be fun) but I'm not so sure I'm into it. For now I'm actually just doing this winter program for "fun".

Anyway, this "Winter Warriors" program is run by Chicago Endurance Sports. Although I have never done anything with CES, several of my friends have used them for marathon training, and many of them have gone back year-after-year. I have heard a lot of good things about them!

Here are some of the things the program comes with:

• A warm place to start and stop (a local running store) that also has a RESTROOM
• A personalized daily running schedule
• Professional coaches
• Coached training 2X a week (Wed and Sat)
• Pace leaders
• "Fun team social activities"

So some of the stuff (like "fun team social activities") I can take or leave. What I'm really just looking forward to is having long runs on my calendar. I know that I will do the long runs, and that I'll have to run in between Saturdays in order to make it through those long runs :)

Running in the city in the winter is tricky. Not only is it usually icy and freezing, but the lakefront path closes all of the water fountains and restrooms. That means if you want to run a long run (I did a 20-miler in December a few years ago) you have no way of going to the restroom or getting something to drink. Its nice to run with an organization that is going to help us out with that stuff. In addition, since I'm only training for a 1/2 I wont be doing a 20-miler any time soon. Yay!

I Am A Winter Warrior

And probably also an idiot.

I just registered for a 12-week WINTER training program ... in Chicago. I knew I needed a way to get myself running, now I'm committed. First run is Nov 7, so I still have a few weeks to sit on the couch.

Train Offers Marathon Runners Time To Rest

Every once-in-a-while we get some funny running news. Today is one of those days. Since I'm trying to cram 100 hours of dissertation work into 4 today, I havent done any internet surfing (straight to blogging, I swear). But I did check my email and got something great from my hubby, who has a habit of sending me random online news clips.

Imagine running a marathon, and finally having that finish line in sight. Thank goodness! After miles and miles you see it! You are almost there! But then, a train comes and blocks you from reaching that finish line. Thats what happened at the Des Moines Marathon. Seriously. The leader (by 10 seconds) had to wait a minute until the train passed, and the finish ended up as a 400 meter sprint.

Guess thats what you get for running in Iowa.

I Have Had Some Crummy Days

It all started over the weekend actually. I had to grade a bunch of exams for the Professor I work for this term. Not that big of a deal usually, but this was quite the ordeal. To begin with, I get a call around 2 on Friday that the exams have all been copied, that I'm to pick them up and grade questions 4 & 6. Well, I have a baby napping and cant come right away, and then when she wakes up it will be rush hour. I dont want to spend 2 hours in the car with her ... so I tell them to leave them in my mailbox. Thinking all is fine, I drive down to campus at 9 at night ... after dinner and Brooke is put to bed. I get there, look in my box, and no exams. Sweet.

After I blew my top, made some phone calls, angrily drove home, and had a restless night of sleep due to my irritation, the next afternoon I head back to campus. Turns out my counterpart left them in the Professors office since she couldnt fit them into my mailbox. Thats awesome since it was the weekend, and only the Professor has a key to her office. I head down Sat afternoon to pick them up from the Professor (who also had to drive to meet me). I spent about 5 hours on Sunday grading the exams, and went back down to campus on Monday(while my sitter was with Brooke) to drop them off.

Then it turns out that the scores were so low (REALLY LOW) for the exam and one of my questions, that I need to regrade them and just throw points at these dumb kids. Not that big of a deal, except I left the exams in the Professors office. Now its Tuesday night, and the exams need to be regraded by Wed. I drive back to campus on Wed (with Brooke again) to get the exams. Spend 3+ hours regrading the exams yesterday while also trying to entertain a 1-year-old who is walking all over the place. Since I cannot make it back to campus, I need to type up grade analysis sheets for 55 students, update test scores and submit it all via email. Its 4:30 PM by the time I'm done.

Last night I was so exhausted from the past few days I just sat in a chair and did nothing. Literally nothing. I know in general I am poor at managing my time. And Brooke can be a (delighful) handful. But I still dont understand how women can "do it all". How can I work, and be a mother, and a wife, and a friend? Let alone adding those things like reading, running, and watching my new favorite show Glee? Am I ever going to figure out the secret to success?

I know we dont get to see everything in her life - but Michelle Obama seems to be a great mom who spends lots of time with her kids and family. She is the wife of a President, definitely reads (she pretty much has to keep up to date with a lot of things, so maybe she doesnt get a whole lot of pleasure reading in) and if you have seen her arms ... you know she works out. Maybe she is a bit crazy though, doing 20 hour days with little sleep (I've read she works out at 4:30 AM ... no way am I doing that). Though I would like to have "it all", to me that also includes sleep.

Anyway, this woman needs to write a book for other women on how to be an awesome woman. Seriously. She is awesome. I'd buy the book if she promised to help me be more like her. I bet Michelle Obama doesnt have any crummy days (she hires people to experience those days for her and just sits around in her awesomeness).

Chicago Marathon In 3 Minutes

Courtesy of Runners World

Class 1 - Pooptastic

Class this morning began at 8, which was a small problem considering
Brooke has recently decided to sleep in every morning. Luckily, the
(stupid) dog woke her up around 7:25 when she had to bark at another
dig she spied peeing in HER tree. I thought it was all gonna work
out ... But Brooke had other plans.

She must have known we had somewhere to be, because my little food
inhaler decided to be a picky eater and take her time. We finally
rushed out the door, and as I was parking I heard some grunting and
groaning from the back. So we grabbed all of our stuff, walked into
class late, and head right to the restroom to change her diaper.
Brooke had a total fit while I was changing her, which she always does
when I try to change her in a public restroom (hey, I hate going in
them too ... Who doesn't?). All that for the tiniest poop ever, and
then into class.

Brooke did great crawling all over and even played with some bigger
boys in the train set. About 1/2 way through she crawled over to me
to say hello and I could SMELL her approaching. Back to the restroom
for another diaper change, and another fit. We then came back to
class for some ab work, at which point Brooke got kicked in the head
by one of the other mommies.

Despite the fact this sounds like a horrible outing, it actually
turned out pretty good. Brooke got to play (and poop) and I got to
workout. It's pretty obvious I haven't done strength training /
conditioning in a while, because everything was so HARD. In fact,
class ended an hour ago and I'm already sore.

Glad we signed up, and I can't wait until next weeks adventure ;)

I Have Class

Besides my weekly runs (yes, if you dont stop by here often, I run like once a week ... if I am lucky) I have been doing little else. Its sad and frustrating, because I used to do so much. In fact, there was a time where I would spend two hours per day at the gym. Granted, I was unemployed and unmarried ... but still. Now I spend each evening wondering where the day went, and why the heck am I so wiped out. I enjoy running (though I complain about it) and simply just do not enjoy the stress of trying to find the time to do it.

Anyway, I digress. This isnt really about running, but still about exercise in general. Over the summer I tried out a new outdoor mommy & me exercise class after my previous one had ended (and my instructor moved to the burbs). At that time I was exercising a lot and I found the class to be too easy (it would be a different story had I gone to try it out today). The other moms there all had really little babies and looked like they had just started to exercise again. In addition, Brooke was getting to the point where she would not just sit there and hang out in her stroller (she is still at that point, many months later). I knew the girl teaching the course through a local moms group I am a member of, and we have talked here and there since. She has a new lineup of classes in the fall and they are more appropriate for Brooke (and thus, for me). I signed up today for a 6-week class that starts on Friday (yup, in like 2 days). The class is actually at a local coffee shop (do you believe in FATE? I do) that has an indoor playplace for kids, called Common Grounds. I have taken Brooke there quite a few times and she thinks its the best place on earth.

So now at least I have a once-a-week strengthening class. Now I just have to formulate my running plan. I am working on it, I swear. Expect to hear something soon ;)

Does Everyone Go To Starbucks On Columbus Day???

I'm at Starbucks, hoping to get some work done. The place is PACKED.
I was stunned when I walked in. A line at the register! Not an empty
seat in the place! I couldn't figure out what was up ... It was like
the Twilight Zone or something.

It took me a minute till I realized it was Columbus Day. So every
person who had off today must have come to my Starbucks. I dont like
it. Not one bit!

(sighs) At least my Batista recognized me and made my drink right away
so I didn't have to wait. Ah, the privelages of being a "regular" ;)

Chicago Marathon Recap: The Eye Of A Volunteer

What a crazy day! Left the house at 5AM and it was FREEZING. Literally, it was 32 degrees. We went down to our station at mile 10.5 of the course to check in and get to work. Despite being cold, and pitch black, things began well. Got a sweet jacket, picked a Gatorade table and started setting up. Together with my friend, Patti, we took over the the third station from the end of Aid Station 7. Turns out resources were a bit limited - not enough mixing jugs for the Gatorade (which comes in a concentrate that we had to actually make). We had to share with the table next to us, and thats where it all started to go down hill.

The guy next to us declares that he is a "mixologist" (which means he bartends somewhere) and that he is the best one to make the Gatorade. The genius ended up making it wrong - too much concentrate and not enough water. After we had pretty much completed for stacked layers of filled Gatorade cups, we had to tear it all down. We took each cup, poured it back into the mixing containers, then added more water. We then had to re-do our table and the one next to us. The most irritating thing about this whole thing was that we had tried to tell them they were doing it wrong (in a nice way, of course). They snickered at us and told us we were making it "too diluted" and that "strong Gatorade was better then diluted Gatorade". We later heard them telling people that Gatorade is "way better on the more diluted side" and that of course, they would rather "have it be more watery than too concentrated". So Patti and I were pretty ticked and the morning was a rough one, but when the race started we were so excited it was pretty hard not to forget about the early AM drama (that doesnt mean it wasnt all we talked about AFTER the race).

It was cold all day and never warmed up. It was a pretty horrible situation for a volunteer, who had to stand there from 5:30 until 11:30 and freeze his/her tush off. I cant imagine the runners were too happy about it either. The male elite winner did break a course record, running the fastest time on US soil, but supposedly the conditions werent ripe for a new World Record. The woman's winner admitted it was too cold for the marathon ... and she is from Russia. Yes, it was that cold ;)

Anyway, after I thawed out I reflected on a great experience. Seeing the wheelchair and elite's was amazing and inspiring. Being a volunteer did get me excited about running again. Not that I'm gonna jump back on the marathon bandwagon, but I do hope to continue running and racing ... and promise to keep optimistic about the future ;)

I did take quite a few photos today and thought they might be worth sharing...

Congrats to my friends, Becca and Christina, on their awesome finishes today. You ladies rock!

Female Elites

Elites going...

Elites!

Wheelcair Done

Us Volunteers Have It Rough

Maybe I should just run it on Sunday, looks like being a volunteer is going to be difficult :) This is the email I recently received with some volunteer tips. The list is pretty long:

• Make sure that you eat a hearty meal and have enough fluids before your volunteer shift, and that you stay well hydrated during your shift. You are going to need high energy levels at the Expo and on race day!
• Wear your event issued Volunteer uniform, which includes a Nike hat and jacket, at all times. The Volunteer gear must be visible and worn on the outside of your clothing. Please layer underneath your Nike jacket.
• Wear appropriate footwear. If you are working at an Aid Station, your feet may get wet. As a result, wear thick socks and bring a dry pair of socks; wear waterproof shoes if you have them or wear boots if you have them
• Wear gloves - all volunteers in contact with runners and body fluids are strongly advised to wear gloves. Volunteers who work at food or water distribution stations (in Grant Park or at the Aid Stations) must wear plastic gloves over their gloves.
• Layer up: the temperatures are expected to be chilly on race morning. Wear long underwear, turtlenecks - anything to help protect you from the elements.
• Wear sunscreen to protect your skin. Although temperatures are expected to be chilly, the sun will still be strong.
• Make sure you know who your Group Leader/Aid Station Captain is, and that you fully understand your role and responsibilities before your volunteer shift begins.
Familiarize yourself with the Event Alert System (EAS) and the American Red Cross Patient Connection Program (see below for details).
• Pack warm and dry clothes to change into after the race.
• Utilize warming areas on race day if you feel your body getting too cold.

And I didnt paste all the stuff at the bottom about H1N1. I didnt even think about the possibility of one of the runners (or other volunteers) passing me the swine flu. Oh joy.

Luckily, volunteers receive a sweet Nike jacket. Its so cool, it might actually be worth getting the swine flu for it ;)

More Good News ... & Bad News

They got all my data from my laptop and I can pick it up today. The
bad news is that I now have a dead laptop and an external hard drive
with all my data that I can't access. I had not planned on shopping
for a new laptop, but now that looks exactly like what I'll have to do!

On another note, the marathon is this weekend. It's supposed to be
pretty cool ... Colder than ideal for running. I got a pretty lengthy
info/tip list for volunteers ... I'll see if I can post it later ;)

Good News & Bad News

I got a really fast turnaround on my laptop diagnostic. That's the
good news. Bad news is that the quote to repair is about equal to the
current value of said laptop. I'm now waiting on a qoute for "data
recovery" only. This is quite painful :(

The Day The Laptop Died

I was sitting on my laptop last night when it just randomly powered
off ... And failed to power back on. I thought it was just a fluke,
but multiple attempts to start it up were unsuccessful. I have my
dissertation stuff on there, but considering what little I have done
on it, the loss is not that great. The issue is photos ...
Specifically, Brooke pictures. My laptop holds all the pictures of
Brooke over the past year, and if course, I never backed it up.

So now my family history and memories lie in the hands of the sleepy
and irritable tech guy I dropped my laptop off with a few moments
ago. I'm not feeling too good about it.

Bucktown 5K

It was shockingly cold this morning - about 50 degrees. Although we werent at the race that early, we practically froze walking to the start line and then waiting in line for the start. There were about 4,000 runners and the street seemed narrow and congested as we waited. The race was crowded with for the entire 3 or so miles, more so than expected. There were also quite a few spectators. Since I expected there to be no spectators at all, there were way more than I was expecting ;)

The finish was one of the best finishes I have had in a while. Why? Because you turned a corner not knowing how much farther you still had to go (because you couldnt see around the corner) and found the finish line right in front of you. WHOOOHOOO!

The stuff after the race was not too exciting - a meager amount of bananas and water that we couldnt find until later. They were giving out muscle milk (nasty). It was an unmanned tent and people were taking whole cases full. You would think if they were trying to promote their product they would at least stand there for a few minutes and pitch it. Looks instead like they dumped off a bunch of muscle milk and made a run for it.

They were also giving out greek yogurt. That made me happy, and from the smile on my sisters face ... it made her happy too.

Race Results
Time:31:32   Distance:5K   Pace:10:09

This time RunKeeper was a bit closer in the distance - 3.01 :) I know there is some error because it stops and starts when I press a button ... which also impacts my time. According to RunKeeper, I ran a 30:50 - 42 seconds off my chip time. I like the faster time, so lets just go with that ;)

The splits are a little more easy to rely on: mile 1 - 10:50, mile 2 - 10:30 and mile 3 - 9:24. It was actually a very crowded race and it was difficult to run in the beginning due to the crowd. In fact, it was crowded during the whole race ... even crossing the finish line ;) At the end I had to do some weaving and turning to pick up the pace, but felt good ... and ended up with a pretty quick finishing mile!

MIA

Been a little busy lately and not posting. BUT, I am running a 5K tomorrow with a bit of a last minute decision (I just registered mid-week). It a pretty popular race that I have never done before, and its in a different area/neighborhood than many of the races I run. I am pretty excited about getting to run a new course and think it should be a fun event. Another cool thing? I'm running with my sister who is in town for a few days ... our first race together!