Color Run - Colorado Springs

Two weeks ago, I drove out to Colorado Springs to do "The Happiest 5k" The Color Run.

It's about a 7 hour drive from here to Colorado Springs, so it took some coordinating to get to this race. I decided to leave the kids home with Daddy, along with some help from Grandma. This would be my first time to be away from my baby for more than 2 hours in her 3 months of life.

Most of my family lives in Colorado, so that is how doing this race in Colorado Springs came about. A bunch of us cousins decided it was something we wanted to do as a group and I'm so glad we did. It was the perfect event for all age and fitness levels.


Before the colorful mess!

After!
(We tried to make "Roy G. Biv" with our shorts but didn't quite succeed.)

Our team name: "Dyed on the Run"!

Cousins!



Workouts and Maternity Leave

Workout
(Wednesday)
3 mile walk - 1 hour

(Thursday)
3.59 mile run - 42 minutes

(Friday)
1.75 mile walk - 34 minutes

On Wednesday, I had planned on taking the kids to the park again to push Ella in the stroller while Ethan played. The night was full of thunder, driving Ethan into our bed for the first time in years, and in the morning the weather was still threatening.

I decided to pack up the kids and drive to our local Community Building which is open for walkers during the morning. It was very hot and stuffy in there, but it provided us shelter from the storm clouds.

I pushed Ella around the court in her Bob Revolution jogging stroller. We walked in circles for an hour...hot and very boring. (The stroller was a big splurge for us, but I LOVE it! Worth every penny.)

While Ella and I walked, Ethan entertained himself playing basketball with his soccer ball - eh, whatever works.

Thursday early morning, I had a great run. I ran 3.5 miles without stopping. The first two miles, my legs felt heavy. The last 1.5 miles, I felt great. I only wish that I had more time to go further but I needed to get home so that Jim could get to work.

During my run, I ran into a huge swarm of bugs. I got them in my eyes and mouth and they left me spitting out bugs. So gross! I guess I got some extra protein in my diet?? The worst was that when I got into the bathroom to take a shower, I looked in the mirror and saw that I had bugs stuck all over my sweaty skin. I felt like I had bugs stuck on me all day. Ew!

We took to the park again on Friday. Ethan rode his bike around the sidewalks while Ella and I did loops around the perimeter totaling up to 1 mile. I listed to an audio book while pushing the stroller. I'm listening to Divergent right now. The book was recommended to me but I'm not loving it. It's entertaining enough but I'm not really invested in the storyline or characters. I'm not anxious to find out what happens next or looking forward to the next time I can listen.

Tara-iffic Randomness

I'm nearing the end of my Maternity Leave. We did our first trial run on Thursday with trying to figure out timing for getting everyone ready and out the door for when I return to work on August 15th.

We've hired my mother as our "nanny" and had her come over in the morning. I ran at 5:30 AM, got ready for "work", Ella up and fed, and Ethan ready for "school" since he'll be starting Kindergarten this year.

I figure I need to be ready for work by 6:50 AM and then I can breastfeed Ella until 7:20 AM when I need to leave for my commute to work.

Jim will then take over until my mom arrives around 7:30 AM. He'll take Ethan to school on his way to work at about 7:45 AM and my mom will stay with Ella at our house during the day.

It made for a hectic morning but it was good to trial out the schedule and timing. I can't believe how quickly July went and that we're now in August and the end of my Maternity Leave is so quickly approaching.

It's going to be hard to go back to work full time and get back into the swing of things. Good thing I really enjoy my job!!

xo Tara

Stroller Stroll and Oversleeping

Workout
(Monday)
2.26 miles walk pushing stroller - 42 minutes

(Tuesday)
1.98 mile run - 22 minutes

On Monday, I took the kids to the park right after breakfast to try and squeeze some outdoor time in before the heat of the day. I pushed my baby girl, Ella, in her stroller and we did laps around the perimeter while Ethan, my 5 year old son, rode his bike on the sidewalks and played on the playground equipment within the fenced area.

Our park adventure made for a fun workout and activity for all of us.

Tuesday, I had a 5 mile jog on the schedule. I planned on my usual early wake up time of 5:00 am. At 6:00 am, I woke up and realized that I had overslept! crap! I either forgot to set my alarm clock or had turned it off in my sleep.

I couldn't just put on my running clothes and rush out the door, I had to relieve my engorged boobs first and do a pumping session. There was no way that I could run with my rock hard chest throbbing before I even started.

I hooked myself up to the breast pump and debated what I should do about my run. My time was quickly slipping away and I couldn't decide if I should get in a quick, shorter run or wait until evening and knock it out on the treadmill.

The treadmill wasn't sounding very appealing, so I impatiently waited to finish pumping and then rushed out the door. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to get my mind into gear that this was a shorter run and should be done at a faster pace. My pace was dragging!

I didn't get back from my run until about 7:15 am. I was sure Ella would have woken up her Daddy and he would be feeding her the freshly pumped milk I'd left. However, when I walked in the door, everyone was still sound asleep. Of course she sleeps in when Daddy is in charge! Don't try and tell me she isn't a Daddy's girl. ;)

I finished my workout with some sit ups and stretching. I love stretching now that my big, pregnant belly is no longer in the way.

xo Tara

Weekend Miles

Workout
(Saturday)
Early Morning Run
2.49 miles - 25:10 minutes

(Sunday)
Treadmill Stroll
2.6 miles - 45 minutes

Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00 am with an unusual amount of energy. I put the extra energy to good use and decided to do intervals during my run. I warmed up for 1/2 mile and then did 1.5 miles of intervals before a 1/2 mile cool down jog.

My shirt says "Eugene 2012" for the Track & Field Olympic Trials. I got it on super sale and decided it would be a good memento to remember the 100 m tie in the women's finals that my brother was so actively involved in. (He's the head photo finish judge.) I had a lot of fun following that tale unfold since my brother was in the middle of it.

Sunday I did a 45 minute walk on the treadmill while reading magazines in our basement.

My super shiny face wanted to say hello!

Baby is crying...gotta run!

xo Tara

Sweat Pink

Workout
(Rewind to Thursday)
Hot Trot!
2.49 miles - 28:00 minutes

I had planned on getting up at 5:00 am in order to do an early morning run. Unfortunately, Ella had other plans for her mommy. She woke up at 4:00 am and wasn't interested in going back to bed any time soon.

I finally got her back to bed and did a mental tug-of-war with myself on whether I should push through the fatigue and go on my planned run or crawl back into bed and try to catch up on the lost hour of sleep. Sleep won the battle and I crashed until 6:30 am.

Due to my missed morning run, I faced either a very hot outdoor run or hitting the treadmill later in the day. I was not in the mood for the treadmill, so I decided to go running when my husband got home from work to take over childcare duties.

It was hot! It was still over 100 degrees, but there were a few clouds, so it wasn't completely miserable.

I laced up my new shoes (love the bright, pink color #sweatpink) and tried to look at the positive that my pasty white skin would finally be seeing some sun.

I like the Asics Gel Nimbus 14 but need a bigger size. I purchased them online from RunnersWarehouse.com, so I'll be testing their return policy and exchanging for a larger size. My big toe on my right side needs some more wiggle room.

The run was hot and slow but I'm proud that I completed the planned run and didn't just blow it off when things didn't go originally as scheduled. I've been known to look for any excuse to skip a workout.

xo Tara

Pre-Dawn Run

Workout
(Saturday)
Outside 5:30 am
2.16 miles - 24 minutes

I woke up at 5:00 am and prepped for my run by first pumping my boobs. Running with milk engorged breasts would not be comfortable. I only pumped for 10 minutes, just enough to make everything more comfortable and to have some milk available for Jim to feed Ella in case she woke up while I was out running.

While I was pumping I drank a cup of coffee and ate a piece of toast with sugar free jelly.

I headed outside for my run while it was still dark outside.

I want to start running early in the mornings for two reasons: To get it done before it's over 100+ degrees outside and to complete my run before Ella wakes up.

It was a little difficult to get my legs woken up, but, as they say, the hardest part of a run is often putting on your running shoes and the first steps out the door.

The beginning of my run was super slow, averaging around 11:20 per mile. The last 1/2 mile, I cranked it up and ran under 9:00 minute per mile pace. I need to get my legs use to a quicker turn over.

I finished my run super sweaty but feeling great!

Tara-iffic Randomness

We headed out to Kearney, NE on Saturday morning. We live in a very small town, so we head out of town about once a month to do our large grocery shopping trip. It takes us over an hour to reach a Wal-Mart.

I didn't think we needed that many groceries, but we ended up spending over $400 on groceries and Ethan's school supply list for Kindergarten. How did that happen? We usually hit around $250 during our Wal-Mart monthly hauls and this time we went well beyond that. I can't even blame it on diapers or any new baby expenses. (We supplement with weekly grocery shopping at our local store for fresh produce, weekly ad specials and essentials that we run out of.)

I think part of the problem was that Ella started crying almost immediately. I was stressed from her crying and not doing my best at comparing prices and thinking through purchases. I was throwing things into the cart left and right and just trying to hurry. (even with hurrying, we were still there for almost 2 hours...ugh!)

Looks like I need to work a lot harder at planning, budgeting, and sticking to my grocery list. At least the freezer and cupboards are full.

xo Tara

Protein Powders

Workout

Treadmill

2.25 miles - 26.27 minutes

1 mile walk - 17 minutes

I had originally planned on getting up at 5:00 am to get outside to run but Ella had other plans for me. After being up from 2:30 - 4:00 am tending to the baby, I turned my 5:00 am alarm clock off. (I also want to get use to waking up early to exercise so it comes easier when it's time for me to return to work following my maternity leave next month.)

When my husband, Jim, got home from work, the temperature was 107 degrees. Running outside was not a healthy option, so I had to make the mental switch and hit the hamster wheel for my workout yesterday. I knocked out Day 2, Week 5 Couch to 5k workout and then walked a mile while reading an issue of Runner's World.

Tara-iffic Randomness

The UPS man made a delivery to our house this afternoon. Two new protein powders for me to test out. I had a $18 credit at drugstore.com, so I decided to put it towards some protein supplements.

I don't need them now, with my short and slow runs, but as I ramp up my mileage to prepare for the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, I want to have something to add to my recovery Green Monster smoothies.

I've never used protein powder before, so this is a new experiment for me. I looked for good taste reviews and lower calorie counts while deciding which products to try.

Click Espresso Protein Drink was my first choice. I heard about it on another blog many months ago. It scored high in taste reviews and I like the idea of getting some caffeine in my recovery smoothies following an early morning run.

 

My husband uses traditional Muscle Milk, so I turned to this brand for my second choice. I don't need the extra calories that he does, so I opted for the Muscle Milk Light version. There were seven flavors available and Cake Batter had the highest taste reviews of the bunch. Cake Batter sounds pretty yummy to me, so I added it to my order.

I'll report back on how they work out!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Tinker Bell Half Marathon

Four weeks after having a baby, I registered for my first ever half marathon. The hormones are making me do crazy things!

I was reading an issue of Runner's World and saw the advertisement for this race. I was immediately intrigued. Something just grabbed me about this race - it looks fun, un-intimidating, memorable, and something for everyone in our family.

We had been talking about taking our son, Ethan, to Disney for the past couple of years. We had decided that 6 was the perfect age and he'll be turning 6 this October. Combining our trip to Disney with a half marathon seems like a perfect combo to me!

I haven't ran in almost a year, due to fertility treatments and pregnancy, but I'm itching to get back into the routine. Committing to this long distance race, and paying the steep registration, will hopefully motivate me to get back into running and stick with a training program.

Am I completely crazy for signing up for my first half marathon and training while exhausted with a newborn? Probably!

The race is the week of my 30th birthday. I am in love with the idea of completely this daunting goal right after entering my thirties!

I "Tink" I Can!!