Toddler Track Meet

Today started out with a miserably humid 3 mile stroller run outside, but we had storms midday that brought in cool air for the rest of the day. After Faith enjoyed a nutritious Lunchable (it's like these things were designed for toddlers), she crashed for a long nap while I ran 4 more miles.

Berries not normally included

Tonight was the last track night event for my running club and since it was nice out, Faith and I went to go help time and record splits. They did a 5000 meter event (a 5K) which required lots of volunteers since counting 12.5 laps for 15+ people isn't as easy as it seems in theory. I normally have to deal with Faith acting like velcro at these events, so I tried bringing a ball with us to see if that helped. Apparently that was the key for her go wild.

LADYBUG BALL!!!

Mommy! Fetch my ball for me!

Fine, I'll go get it myself!

Look at that form!

These track events are exhausting!

Just when I thought the ladybug ball was enough excitement, then there was cowbell.

Run bitches, run!

In theory, I was supposed to ring the bell when the runners entered their last lap, but Faith decided it would be more festive to just ring it randomly. I was worried she would annoy the runners, but then she lost her cowbell focus and decided to concentrate on forward rolls instead.

Or maybe she's trying to moon the runners?

So my two takeaways from track night:

1. Ladybug balls should always be included.

2. Running a 5K on a track looks so incredibly boring.

Maybe it's not so bad if you're running it, but it sure looked boring from the sidelines. I'm not a track runner, so maybe I'm biased. There were other events after the 2 heats of 5000 meters, but we had to leave to get home for toddler bedtime.

Maybe next year I'll actually come to track night to run versus just helping time. I don't know, I really prefer the lovely privacy of trail running when no one can see your suffering until the finish line. On the track, everyone can see your pain face for the whole time. If I ever want to get faster I should probably try actually running on a track, so it could happen.

Would you prefer to run a 5K on a track (completely flat, no chance of getting off course) or on a trail? 

Monday is for ranting

Who is ready for more of my rants? Rhetorical question bitches, here we go.

My pet peeve of the week is people who delight in their willful ignorance of world geography. Normally this topic doesn't come up in day to day conversation (or Facebook or Twitter postings), but with the Olympics on, it's forced some people to acknowledge that this isn't really how Europe looks:

So that's where Socialists come from? I thought Obama was supposed to be Kenyan.

Here's the thing: we all have weaknesses. It doesn't matter if you have gaps in your knowledge, the thing that annoys me is the "Teehee!" attitude about it, like it's cute to admit that you don't know half of the countries marching in the Olympics opening ceremony. If I honestly didn't know a large chunk of the countries, I would at least have the decency to be too embarrassed to post about that on social media. For example, math is my Achilles heel and I got my only B in grad school in my statistics course. I don't think it's cute that I've forgotten more math than most people ever know, I actually find it pretty frustrating. At least I married an engineer who can do ridiculous math in his head and to my knowledge, has no Achilles heel.

This killed me.

But here's the thing about geography: it's not hard and it's a pretty finite topic. With only a moderate amount of effort, you can familiarize yourself with a large amount of information and guess what? That information won't become obsolete and it's not even complicated! It's mostly basic rote memorization that a child could do and even Faith already has a globe (sure, it's stuffed and she mostly uses it to throw at the dog, but it counts).

Here's my public service request: if you were watching the Olympics opening ceremony and you hadn't heard of 25% or more of the countries, please buy yourself this book for Christmas and read a page a day:

If you're a cheap bastard, it's also online for free

You can even find out fun things in that book like if people from Gabon are called Gabonians or Gabonites (hint: it's Gabonese).

Yes, I do realize that as someone with a master's in international relations that I'm biased on this topic, but I reserve my right to be a snobby bitch about willfully ignorant people who have access to a wealth of information and don't use it.

It's ok if you're thinking this

Phew, ready for Rant #2?

I don't understand people who think that a magical running fairy visited me and granted me some kind of special powers and abilities. I hate to break it to you if that's what you thought too, but there is really nothing special about me (or anyone else who runs on a consistent basis).

Do you think running is easy for me? Here's the answer:

The only thing about it that might be easier for me is that I'm used to putting in the work and it's part of my routine. A big part of running is learning to embrace suffering (especially if you do endurance events) and it's not a special ability, it's just a mindset.

I'll meet other people who don't run at all, or not consistently, and they'll say things like like "Wow, I could never do that!" or "You must be super human!" with a follow up of "I wish I could do that!". Here's the thing: you can. The only thing stopping you is you. I could think of 10 reasons on any given day why I shouldn't run (too hot, Faith is fussy, I didn't sleep well, I feel queasy, Jupiter is in retrograde, etc.) but my mindset is to find a way to fit in a run into my life, not a way to justify why it won't work today. That's not a really popular thing to say to people's faces, so I just bottle it up inside, so this is my outlet.

Whatever Mommy, you should be giving me full credit for being your personal trainer. 

Also, I don't have a job. I really credit a lot of my ability to run almost every day with being unemployed. Maybe that's my super power? That doesn't explain why the other stay at home moms at toddler story time at the library think I'm a freak, but that could be the smell I have since I normally finish my run right before story time starts. Some of them like telling me why they would run, if only...fill in the blank reason, so maybe they are jealous of my sweaty hair style, or maybe they are trying to hint that I should do more than take a whore's shower before sitting in a small room with them.


What are your opinions on these topics? Please keep this in mind:

Breaking up with Brooks

Another item for the "You know you're a runner when..." list: When your favorite running shoe gets discontinued, it's a red alert situation and inspires panic. I have been through many pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11s and when they discontinued them, I stockpiled what I could, but eventually I ran out (I'm on the tail end of my last pair). Multiple people told me that the new version of the shoe wasn't good, for reasons ranging from the laces not staying tied to the shoe tearing up their feet and ankles.

Since I knew I needed a new shoe, I wanted to actually go to a store and try on different shoes instead of blindly ordering one that "should work" online. We took a family trip up to Annapolis this morning so my husband could get a new suit, which luckily was right by running store so I could get get fitted. I almost felt bad for the kid helping me because he was like "Uh, you can walk on the treadmill to see if you like them" and I said "Ok, but I think I'd rather run" and he just looked shocked and said "Sure...if you can". I'm guessing not many pregnant chicks come in for new running shoes! He also asked "So, can you just run until you pop out the baby?" and that made me laugh. Yes, it just pops out one day as you run.

This is what I ended up choosing: Mizuno Wave Inspire 8:

So pretty

I'm really excited to run in them tomorrow. I realized that if we had a running store where I live that I'd be spending way more money on running gear. I wanted to buy one of everything in the store. I did score a free pair of Balega socks from my shoe purchase, so that took the sting out of the shoe price tag (a bit).

Faith had a fantastic time both suit shopping and shoe shopping. Taking a toddler into a store is an aerobic endeavor, so after we had lunch, I took Faith for frozen yogurt next to the suit shop while my husband got measured for tailoring. At least a squealing toddler blended in better in a frozen yogurt shop than a men's suit shop playing smooth jazz!

Once we got back from Annapolis, Faith took a short nap and then we went to a birthday party at a neighbor's house. At first, Faith was a grumpy mess:

Mommy, this is SO boring!

I might die of boredom. Don't you care??

My husband tried to help get her to loosen up:

Coors Light? Really Daddy? How do you drink this piss water?

The next thing we knew, this was happening:

I have the gun, I have the power!

Dance puppets, dance!

Faith didn't want to go home, but it was bed time so I had to dash in there to snag her. Of course, she aimed the sprinkler thingys right at me and my husband laughed and snapped this pic:

Mommy! I'm not done!

So now Faith is exhausted and Peanut is pissed at us. In Peanut's defense, she has to stay home alone...pretty much never. No wonder she's angry, but I'll make it up to her tomorrow (and probably every day after that).

Promises, promises.

The only other noteworthy event this weekend was that I ran early on Saturday morning and it was freaking hot. Phew, it's good that I have a blog so I can make note of my crazy adventures. I covered about 34 miles last week with two complete rest days, so it was a decent running week. This week marks the end of the second trimester, so I may start cutting back on mileage even more but it depends on how I feel day to day.

I've been spending a lot of time this weekend watching the Olympics. The opening ceremonies provided me with a lot of laughs, but this was the cherry on top for me:

What's your favorite Olympic sport to watch? I'm mainly trying to see the equestrian events and track and field, but once I park my ass on the couch, I'll pretty much watch anything that's on.

The dork runs deep

Today almost felt like the weekend because my husband took the morning off from work. I had my glucose test this morning, so he used some of his extra leave he earned from his recent travel so I wouldn't have to bring Faith (it's not a short appointment because you have to wait at least an hour to give blood).

It's amazing to me how excited I get to drive somewhere alone and actually listen to what I want on the radio. Then sitting in a waiting room and reading my Kindle instead of toddler wrangling? It was as relaxing as a spa trip. I downed my glucose drink in record time (apparently) because the lab tech commented that most women don't drink it with such gusto. I responded "They must not be runners because Gu is so much worse than this!" and she just looked at me funny.

My mommy is so strange and socially awkward

Everything is looking great baby-wise, I'm measuring on track and apparently it's already time for me to start going every 2 weeks. I keep thinking I have so much time left, but considering how much stuff I still need to do (um, everything since I've done nothing so far), I should probably get cracking. I was given a referral to go to PT for my back pain, but they weren't too optimistic it would help much since I was told that I have a "perfect storm" for fairly severe lower back/pelvis/tailbone pain based on the baby's position (nestled in the back due to the anterior placenta), my previously broken tailbone (it never really fully heals due to low blood flow), and the fact that I have a toddler who insists on being picked up all day. I'll give PT a shot, especially since I only have to go once or twice for them to show me some exercises, but I'm not really expecting to be comfortable again until after I have this baby.

On my way out I had to make more appointments and I was trying to explain to the receptionist that I hadn't seen one of the doctors yet in this pregnancy and I'd like an appointment with her since she could be the one delivering my baby. I thought it was pretty reasonable to ask for an appointment before 11:30 or after 4pm, but the receptionist just couldn't seem to understand why I couldn't come at 2pm. I told her it was my daughter's nap time and she said "Well, can't you just wake her up early?" and I shit you not, this is the image that flashed in my mind:

I don't know if this means I'm a huge dork or that I spend too much time online. Probably both.

Since I knew I'd be at the doctor's this morning and it was 99 degrees today (meaning too hot for a late morning dog walk), I dropped off Peanut at daycare this morning. No matter how many other dogs are there, she is always the most drooly one in the pictures.

She bypasses "drool" and achieves "foamy"

I took advantage of her being gone and took a nap instead of running. It sounds pathetic, but the dog's snoring interrupts my napping normally, even if I kick her off the bed. She won't leave the room and for a medium sized dog, she can really snore. I was hoping her diet would help, but she's down 5 pounds and still snoring like crazy. Why don't they make Breathe Right strips for dogs?

I overslept (I thought Faith would wake me up sooner), so I had to hurry to pick up Peanut before daycare closed for the day. I could tell she had a good day because she was too tired to even move when she got home.

Coonhound foot rest

This is why most dogs don't like toddlers

Tomorrow will be back to normal with my husband at work all day and me not being too lazy to exercise my own dog. At least it will be Friday, which doesn't mean as much to me as it does to people who actually go to work, but I still really enjoy my weekends when Faith insists on my husband reading to her and ignores me. Plus, we're going up to Annapolis this weekend so I can get new running shoes (and a new suit for my husband, that's the real reason for the trip). I think an almost-3rd trimester pregnancy chick asking to have her stride analyzed on the store treadmill is going to be priceless. I should probably video tape the reactions of the employees.

Do you ever think in terms of internet memes, or is that just me? 

There is a reason I don't normally do this

The other day Kari was talking about how much she hates "What I Ate Wednesday" (a weekly blog post trend of showing what you ate on one day) because it's always showing restrictive and/or disgusting looking food and it probably isn't an honest representation of how that person actually eats the majority of the time. Kari asked me to show a full day of my eats as a funny retort to the "What I Ate Wednesday" posts.

I don't normally discuss food on this blog because I'm not a chef who cooks pretty food and frankly, I find constant discussions of food to be mindbogglingly boring. However, I can see how it could be greatly amusing to people to see how I actually eat (hint: it's probably worse than you imagined). Let's not blame pregnancy for this either, because this really isn't that much different from how I normally eat.

Breakfast: 2 sandwiches with roast beef (microwaved to kill bacteria, but still tasty) and sharp cheddar. These are just the normal, original English muffins (gasp! White flour!).

This is seriously how I start my day. Screw oatmeal.

For my beverage, I cracked this open. This is 2 quarts and will last about 24 hours, if I supplement with water and juice. At this point in my pregnancy, I normally drink about 4 quarts of fluid a day (yes, this one I will blame on pregnancy).

Who needs coffee?

After I ate this, I took the stroller and the dog for a 2.2 mile run before hitting toddler story time at the library. By the time we got back, it was just time for Faith to throw some epic tantrums about the dog touching her special blanket and for me to make her some lunch. Normally I'll eat something when she does, but I waited until she went down for her nap because this was spicy and she insists on trying it and then crying about the spice.

Cold sesame noodles with red pepper oil

To cool off my mouth from the spice, I had some of this too:

Let's not pretend that I used a glass

Then I had a few Twizzlers to round it all out:

Tired of looking at my hands yet?

After I ate those, I hit the treadmill for 4.3 miles (to make an even 6.5 for the day). Once I was done, I was thirsty and hungry again, so I had second lunch.

Corn Pops!

Peanut M&Ms!

For dinner I made pasta (white flour again!) with spinach-feta chicken sausage, spinach, and tomato sauce. I try to cook healthier at night for my husband who has to actually work all day and doesn't have time to work out.

Plate one

Plate two

Then later tonight I have this waiting for me in the fridge:

It needs to be chilled for maximum enjoyment

I knew Mommy was doing stuff like this while I slept!

Then before bed I always have a glass of milk (I actually use a glass when my husband is home, I'm classy like that). That's just a pregnancy thing because otherwise I wake up in the middle of the night with the need to graze. Milk keeps me satiated until morning...well at least it should until I hit that point in the 3rd trimester when I'm up at 3am eating Fudgesicles and cereal.

So there you have it, an unedited and unaltered log of my food all day. I can see why people would change the way they eat if they plan on putting it all on the internet, but I resisted that urge. I was too lazy to make kale chips and write up my claims about how they taste just like potato chips. Besides, I don't think I've ever seen anyone else post a food log so devoid of fruits and vegetables, so I have that going for me.


So did my daily eats shock and appall you? Or do you agree with me that I'm living the dream?

Imaginary me is ambitious

I know the heat makes it hard for me to run outside, so I should go early but I had a hard time getting myself out the door this morning. I even procrastinated by pumping my stroller tires, which takes much longer when I'm pregnant and clumsy, so I didn't head out until almost 9am. Faith didn't mind the heat too much today, mostly because she's sitting under a canopy and she has sweet sunglasses.

So it seems in this case....

I trudged through the heat and humidity (91% at 9am??) and got 3 miles done. I had to go even slower than normal but as long as I'm running instead of walking, Faith is happy to sit quietly.

...we ALL scream for ice cream. YEAAAAAAAAH!

Peanut was less thrilled. This was pretty much what she did when she got back inside.

One of my favorite ways to pass the time as I waddle along in my pregnancy running is to daydream about what races I want to run once I've had the baby and get back into shape.

I thought it would be funny to share my ever-growing list of races I want/plan to do after the baby arrives. Please keep a couple things in mind: 1. I've done this whole childbirth thing before and I'm aware recovery isn't a linear thing and can take longer than anticipated (hello year long recovery from broken tail bone last time) and 2. None of these things are set in stone and some of them are hard to get into, so it makes sense to have lots of options. I'm due November 1st, but anticipating going late (since I did by so much last time) so that puts on the bench until almost the new year with a 6-8 week postpartum recovery period of NO running. Listen, I get that other bloggers and runners get back to it at 3 or 4 weeks (or even 2 weeks) but that won't be me. I might be crazy, but I'm not stupid.

Lower Potomac River Marathon (mid-March): This is a local race, put on by my running club, and ideally I'd like to run it. I won't have time to train enough to run a fast race, but I think if I aim for a conservative finish (4:30ish) I'll be fine.

Run for the Hospice 10K (mid-April): This will be my last chance to do this race in the 20-29 age group, so I'd really like to beat my PR of 49:58.

North Face Endurance Challenge (early June): I'd like to do the 50 mile option, but if my mileage base isn't there yet, I can do the 50K or marathon option. Honestly, I can't imagine doing the marathon instead of the 50K, it's just 5 freaking miles more so I might as well go for it.

Rosaryville 50K (mid-July): Small, local 50K that is cheap and well supported. How can I resist?

Bimblers Bluff 50K (late October): This race is located up in Connecticut and I will run it with Kari and Alyssa (yes, we do plan these thing this far in advance).

Hellgate 100K (early December): This race is pretty nuts because it starts at midnight in December and it's 67 miles covering significant elevation changes. I mean, it's called "Hellgate" for a reason and that really makes me want to run it. At this point, I have no night time trail running experience, so after I do this I won't be able to say that anymore. Sure, it sounds like a crazy idea, but you only live once right?

HAT 50K (mid-February): Everyone who runs this race loves it, and I'm a lemming who would follow the crowd off the cliff.

Umstead 100 (mid-April): Yeah that's right. 100 miles.

If I can't get into the Umstead 100, then I'd try to get into the Bull Run 50 (mid-April) just because it's local and people love it. (See lemming explanation above). Also if I don't get to the Umstead 100, I will look for another 100 mile race and attempt to gain entry (it's harder than you probably imagine).

So yes, Imaginary Future Kara is an ambitious bitch. I realize it won't be easy training with a double stroller (but I already have a double BOB, so I have that going for me), but I feel like if I want to make it work, then I'll find a way. Or maybe I'll have this baby and decide to take up scrap booking instead of running, who knows?

What is your dream race? I want to run Western States. I qualified with my JFK 50 time, but I want more experience, especially with mountain terrain, before I would even consider attempting it. I also want to do the Leadville 100.

Unrelated Facts

If there is a box on the ground, I can guarantee that this will happen:

Mommy, I want to go on a trip. Tape me up!

My hair is our vacuum cleaner's kryptonite. My hair manged to jam it up so much that it busted some belt thingy and we had to order a new part. I don't know if I'm embarrassed or proud.

All of this was pulled from the brush thingy...ewwww

There is nothing funnier than a pantless toddler trying to walk in huge shoes.

See, my feet ARE small!

Sure I've lost more games than I can count, but that doesn't take away from my pleasure of finally doing this:

Hahaha suck it!

That's right, I beat Kari at Words with Friends. Victory is so sweet.


Trying to drink hot coffee (not me, my husband) while watching TV with a toddler can result in this:

Rice fixes everything

I'm never brave enough to drink hot beverages around Faith, but she usually gives my husband some space when he has coffee on the weekends (other than her burning desire to blow on the coffee for him and telling him "HOT!" repeatedly). Don't worry, a day in the rice made the remote work again. I am a miracle worker.


I often think stroller running should be getting easier (acclimation and all), and I often blame pregnancy for how hard running with the stroller can feel. Here's a more reasonable explanation of why I remember stroller running being easier when I first got the BOB:

Holy growing child!

Since this was a post of randomness, here's a random question to finish it up:

Who would win in a fight, a caveman or astronaut? Neither side is armed. I have my money on the caveman because he would fight dirty.