I ran 9 miles last night, just to know that I could do it. I ran slow, 11:30/min. pace. I didn't want to injure myself and be hurt for the half marathon in 2 weeks! I honestly didn't feel good until mile 4. The sun went down and Sweet Home Alabama came pumping through my headphones!
Here is my playlist from last night (all radio edits, I might add):
Mirrors - Justin Timberlake
Jump - Van Halen
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Fight for your Right - Beastie Boys
I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry
Stronger - Kanye West
Living On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
Live Beside the Ocean - Everclear
More Than A Feelin' - Boston
My Love - Justin Timberlake
Only The Good Die Young - Billy Joel
Scream - Michael Jackson
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
You & Me - Dave Matthews Band
You May Be Right - Billy Joel
Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
Back in Black - AC/DC
I Believe in A Thing Called Love - The Darkness
In Your Honor - Foo Fighters (nothing gets me moving like Dave Grohl's scream)
Gold Digger - Kanye West
Money Maker - Ludacris
No Way Back - Foo Fighters
I did a bad thing. I didn't follow my training schedule. I completely forgot about a meeting for church last Wednesday night...I didn't put it in my calendar. Boo :( So when Matt got home from work, we went to Costco to pick up my antibiotics (yay for sinus headaches all day & night) and were planning on running my 5 miles as a family afterward. Then I got a text from my friend saying she was almost to the church and I went, "Oh no! I completely spaced!" Told them I'd be right there and hustled to the church. When I got home from my meeting, it was after dark and I was too scared to run alone...even with my pepper spray. That tells you something about Santa Cruz! The crazies come out at night.
So I ran my 5 miles the next day, which was supposed to be my rest day. Then I walked 1, ran 3, walked 1 the next day, Friday. Then I wore old tennis shoes camping that night. Bad, bad idea. I have extremely high arches. When I make a footprint on the ground, nothing connects my heel to the ball of my foot. My arch doesn't touch the ground at all! So I dug around for my old arch supports and couldn't find them but thought it wouldn't be a big deal. Wrong! My feet were so sore from wearing the old tennies while camping & painting the wharf the next day. Saturday was supposed to be my big 8 mile run, but I could only make it 3.3 miles before my right calf was giving me trouble. I knew better than to push through it and was running slow, stretching it out, everything I could think of. But I knew I had to stop and just let my feet & legs rest.
So I've been resting. I always rest on Sunday (wore my comfy heels to church too...does that make a difference for any of you ladies? Or is it just because of my high arches?). Monday I walked 2, ran 3, then came home. I was still sore but it was a huge improvement from Saturday's run. I took it easy and stretched often.
Today I ran a slow 4 and am sore. There were only tiny twinges here and there in my right calf where the pain was on Saturday. Mostly just soreness in my calves altogether. I've been trying to focus on running properly...keeping good form is really hard while pushing a stroller! Tomorrow is a rest day and I'm going to foam roll & stretch all day. While wearing my hot pink compression socks! Aww yeah :) Speaking of, keep checking back for something exciting...who doesn't love a giveaway?!
My cousin Rach & I had this crazy idea that we should run a Half Marathon. Why not? We did Ragnar SoCal last year and tried to get a family Ragnar together but it didn't work out, so we figured that the two of us should run a 1/2 together! I found the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon which fit the bill perfectly. 30 min. from our home, on a Saturday, and would have us home with our mommas for Mother's Day! My total distance for my 3 Ragnar legs was 14.5 miles, so I've never run 13.1 all at once! I'm nervous & excited. But more excited than anything :)
Whenever I've trained for an event, something has come up. With Ragnar it was a stress fracture on the top of my right foot. With this, it was my gallbladder. Since having it removed, training has been great! Just some minor irritation on one of the incisions that my waistband hits, but it's healing up nicely. I feel strong and sore :)
The training plan I'm doing is from Fitness Magazine and I LOVE it! It's something different every day, so it keeps you guessing and lets your body recover enough. I moved everything over one day so that Sunday and Thursday are my rest days, and my long runs are on Saturday.
I like that you walk miles, run a few, then walk. It gets you used to being outside for a long period of time and burns fat! Cross training is great, I've been doing yoga & P90X.
Last Saturday I ran 6.5 miles and I hit my halfway point and hit a wall. I immediately got a text from my husband saying, "Go West Cliff!!! You're making great time babe!" He was tracking my phone on the iPad and it was the BEST pick-me-up ever!! Gave me the second wind I needed to finish strong.
I have my longest run yet this Saturday, 8 miles! I'm running 4 and Matt is meeting me with the girls for the last 4. Training with a double stroller makes you feel SO FAST when you run without it! Today I was going into the wind for the first half of my run, and the sunshade acted like a huge parachute catching the wind and pushing against me! When I turned around and had that wind at my back, it was wonderful :)
The Half Marathon is only 3 weeks away...I can't believe it!
Lysol means CLEAN to me! As a child, my mom would have us clean our bathroom and change our sheets every Saturday. We would fill up the sink with hot water and Lysol and scrub the bathroom down. The smell of that all-purpose, lemon cleaner is a favorite of mine.
While my cleaning habits have changed a bit, Lysol is still by my side. I love Lysol wipes and use them for everything. Wiping down my kitchen table, the girls' toys, doorknobs, counters...basically any surface that needs cleaning!
Lysol has started a new campaign centered around the idea that we want to keep our families completely healthy, along with keeping our homes clean. They are calling this idea Healthing. I like it! Don't just clean your house, take steps to make sure that your family is healthy in all aspects of their lives.
Extra steps that I take to keep my family healthy: - washing hands after being around others, especially before eating - using hand sanitizer when washing isn't an option - getting outside with my daughters at least once a day - teaching my girls to cough and sneeze into their elbows - feeding my family well-rounded meals and snacks - using Lysol wipes to disinfect toys and items after germy hands have touched them (ie. we have a playdate with someone who has a runny nose, or my own girls have been sick) - wiping down the grocery cart before touching it, especially during cold & flu season!
Spring cleaning season is upon us, and one of my favorite tips is to take cleaning room-by-room. For me, there is no way that I could clean my entire house in one day without losing my sanity. If I break it up into one room a day, it becomes much more manageable an I am much more likely to actually complete the task! One of my other favorite cleaning tips is to start top to bottom. I love to vacuum, so I used to always start with that. Then, once I'd dusted and wiped surfaces off, I realized that I was putting more things onto the ground that needed to be vacuumed up! I was making more work for myself. So start from the top with dusting, work your way down to wiping off surfaces, then vacuum/sweep/mop. It makes a big difference for me! To spread the word about Healthing, Lysol and Giuliana Rancic have partnered up with YMCAs to demonstrate Healthing in action. At each chosen YMCA, Lysol will be demonstrating the steps to take to "healthify" their lives and will make it fun for children as well. One lucky family will even receive a one-year membership to the YMCA! To see how you can implement Healthing into your family's life, head to Lysol's website: http://www.lysol.com/healthing, their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/Lysol or their guidebook: http://www.lysol.com/healthing/what-is-healthing
I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for LYSOL®. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.
Well, ye olde gallbladder has been history for 9 days now. I am happy to say that I am almost back to normal! The bellybutton incision is bruised and hurts the worst. The rest are just a little sore, depending if Lola kicks me or elbows me on that day :)
The day after the surgery, I felt the worst. There was pain in my neck and shoulders from all of the air bubbles, and I needed help laying down in bed and getting up. I pretty much hung out on the couch that day while Matt juggled work calls and watching the girls. He is super man! He says that he doesn't know how I do everything, and I made sure to point out that I'm not on the phone trying to close deals as I parent two little girls every day!
Friday night, my mom got into town and I was so happy to see her! The next day, Matt helped me shower (I couldn't get the bandages wet) and I felt so much better. It's amazing what clean hair and fresh make-up can do for a girl. My mom and I went to the Gilroy Outlets while Matt watched the girls and it was awesome! Everyone was skeptical of me going shopping two days after surgery, but it was a total break without two kids and a stroller :) We took our time (my mom said she's not used to me walking so slow) and got a lot accomplished. We even stopped at Target on the way home and got stuff for the girls' Easter baskets! My only major disappointment was that I could not find a good sports bra. Is it so much to ask for ample coverage on a high impact sports bra?! I went to lululemon, Nike, Jockey, and Under Amour and they all had flimsy sports bras or pads that looked ridiculous. I guess I'll just have to order one online and hope for the best.
Sunday I went to church and was kind of a zombie...Ada was really clingy to me so I went to Sunbeams with her and sat with her in Sharing Time. I made dinner and took a nap. Then the girls had their egg hunt & were so cute! Ada knew the routine and Lola just carried one egg around forever.
Monday we went to Downtown Santa Cruz and shopped some more. We had a yummy meal at Cafe Campiseno, it's a cute little green building outside of New Leaf Market with some seriously good Mexican food! It closes at 6 PM though, so plan accordingly.
I've been living in maxi dresses since the surgery! And my friend told me about these great things called half-shirts, I ordered one from Shade and need to get more! It's perfect for under dresses and not wanting anything on your stomach.
My mom has been such an incredible help to me. Lifting Lola in and out of her carseat, in and out of high chairs, lifting the stroller in and out of the back of her car, and carrying the carseat to her car. I'm not supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 lbs. for 2 weeks (yeah, not gonna happen...I've already broken that rule multiple times with Lola).
She also got up with the girls and fixed them breakfast while letting me sleep in. And watched them when they woke up from naps so that I could nap too. I am convinced that I wouldn't be feeling as well now had she not come to help me when Matt went back to work. She is amazing!!
On Tuesday, we went to San Jose to go shopping some more! We went to the Stevens Creek Mall and had a blast. Ada doesn't like being in the stores for very long and can't wait to go back out into the mall! We ate at Cheesecake Factory and found a parking spot right in front of it. It was a good day :)
In Nordstrom, I was wiping Lola's hands off with a baby wipe while my mom was checking out. I stood up and saw that Ada had wandered off. I wasn't worried, because she knows to stay close. After calling her name and walking a bit with no sign of her, I immediately went to the escalators that she was fascinated with. She wasn't there (thank goodness). I saw a girl flag my mom down and walked over to see a sad, scared, little Ada grabbing onto my mom's leg. I bent down to hug her and she said, "Mommy I was really lost!" She cried a little bit and my eyes welled up with tears. I thanked the sweet girl who worked at Nordstrom for helping her. She said that Ada told her my full name and exactly what I was wearing! That made me proud and I told Ada that she did everything right. It turns out that she was trying to get back to the dressing room where the pedestal is to look at your clothing in the mirror. The girl had the phone in her hand to page me, we got there just in time. She was gone for about 2 or 3 minutes, and we talked about how important it is to stay close! After the ordeal the girl asked Ada if she wanted a balloon and she lit up and forgot about the whole thing.
On Wednesday, we went to Zachary's for a scrumptious brunch. We shared Mike's Mess and brought home a loaf of their incredible whole wheat bread. When the girls napped, I finished laundry and packed. We drove down to Santa Maria while the girls were awake, and oh how I wished that I had been packed and ready to go during their nap! I didn't think to bring the DVD player and the drive was spent breaking up squabbles and trying to shush screaming. It hurt my incisions to keep turning around and I was so glad to finally arrive in SLO and get some tri-tip! We met up with Lindsay & the girls were so happy to see her :) They got to bed sooooo late and were so hard to put down. Subsequent nights have been much better!
On Thursday, we went to Farmers Market in SLO and met up with my friend Linda and her cute girls. I miss this so much!
Sam & Ada were born two weeks apart. They are so cute together & the best of friends!
F. McLintock's BBQ, grilled artichokes, & lemonade! Mmm
Lola was happy with donut holes from SLO Donut Company & strawberries from Linda
And so tired from a fun day!
Yesterday, we went to Avila Beach's Farmers Market and the weather was PERFECT! Nice and warm, no wind, and clear blue skies. We met up with my sister-in-law, Kandie, and her kids, friends the Griffiths, Tiana & Linda and their girls. It was so fun! Fish tacos from Old Port Inn and lemonade, live music, friends & family...heaven!
Tomorrow is my birthday!!! So happy to be home, feeling better, and celebrating with my dear family :)
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