Summer Tunes + Travels
Concrete notwithstanding, one of my fave places to run. Insert me–and plenty of RLAM’ers–here.
I’m headed out on Tuesday for the Midwest portion of the RLAM tour: after dropping my kids at my mom’s house outside of Minneapolis (thanks, Muti! love you! don’t call me; I’ll call you!), I’m hitting four spots in Minnesota (Duluth, Wayzata, Edina and Minneapolis), then heading to Milwaukee, and finishing up in Chicago. Can’t wait to run around Lake Calhoun, and on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and Chicago. Running + near water + me = Bliss. And really can’t wait to meet all you Midwestern folk out there: come, come! (And meanwhile, SBS will be painting Annapolis RLAM, so join her if you can.)
I’ve been a little manic this weekend, trying to finish two major deadlines; do piles of laundry and pack three of us and not forget Pull-ups or cover-ups; pick out reading + running outfits (having the kind of day where everything feels frumpy. ugh.); squeeze in some family time; tend to Jessie, the dog with the now-fixed ACL who needs her back half to be slinged and transported everywhere she goes. I could go on, but you get the drift.
So I’ve got nothing big to offer in this blog, but it’s a long weekend Monday, so hopefully you’re not parked in front of the computer, as I am. If you are, check out round two of the Mix-Master-Mommas Playlist. Good way to get your summer motivation on. (My first download in over two months was tonight: Glee’s version of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. I’m slowly inching into 2010, right?)
Hope your weekends were filled with good runs, great races and smiles all around. (Give us some run/race reports below, if you’re so inclined…sometimes you need a little more than music for inspiration, you know?)
Tricks of the Solo Running Mom
Doing what you gotta do to get it done.
Can’t-live-without tools used to get in runs: jogging strollers; day care at the gym; gym nannys (love that one: one runner bought a gym membership for a friend who couldn’t afford it, so the friend watches her two boys while the mom works out, then the friend gets to use the gym); in-laws; treadmills in the basement; babysitting swaps; the inner circle of the track, where your kids play and you run; bikes for kids…and on and on. So far, 137 very helpful, smart comments, so if you need some suggestions on how to fit in a run if you’re single, divorced, or have a military husband or is always on the road, be sure to check them out.
Cool that Amanda was our random winner of a very cute, functional BornFit Run Mommy Run outfit, because she represents the resourcefulness of this crowd, who knows that taking time to take care of yourself, no matter how challenging it can be to squeeze in a run, trumps maternal guilt any day. Despite her husband being away, she’s got an ambitious race calender that includes Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half and the Portland Marathon.
Amanda writes:
I’m a military wife, so singledom is the norm. I used to feel guilty for leaving my son at preschool/daycare a little longer so I could get a run in either before or after work. Now I know I have to take care of me in order to be able to care for him and maintain my own sanity during the long months of deployments. I usually take my son to preschool dressed in my running clothes and that way I am certain to get my run in! I also leave weekend runs for races only so I don’t over-use my awesome friend who watches my son during races. I have to get my long runs in on Mondays or Fridays which can be a challenge. And if all else fails I can always take him to the childcare at the YMCA and hit up the treadmill and weight room. But more than anything I rely on my friends. I have one friend in particular who can tell when I am at my wits end and she will come and hang out with my son so I can run! When you are thousands of miles away from any blood-relatives you have to learn to make friends quick. I am so thankful I found the ones I did or I would not be able to run. Period. I can’t afford to pay a sitter for four hours so I can run, so friends are the closest things to grandparents around here.
Glorious long weekend ahead–happy summer!–so there’s 72 hours out there to get in a run. How are you going to make it work?
Pockets and Other Pet Peeves
A quilted sports bra: more supportive than some out there today?
Numero uno gear beef? Bras. Built-in bras that assume we’re uniform from shoulder-to-chest-to-belly. Bras for larger chests that only come in black and white. Bras that chafe. Bras that don’t support. Bras that don’t, as one comment says, “lift, separate, and keep the ladies in place.”
As a 6’3.75” woman, I think I had some karma coming to me. What I got in height, I lack in chestage. Not always a plus, but a definite bonus when it comes to running. What? You don’t think chestage is a word? I’m taking a cue from a DD-runner who writes, “No matter what manufacturers claim, there does not exist a sports bra that will keep DD’s from moving. So. I have to wear two bras to run. In the heat. In Florida. Suckage.” Suckage? Definitely. Got it, Webster?
Ear buds that bop out of your ears also rose to the top of the charts, as did pockets (too small, not enough of ‘em). Tops that aren’t long enough gets an honorable mention; makes me wonder if the long shirt styles, engineered to hide the TMI that low-cut jeans show, has crept into our fashion subconscious. That’s not a bad thing: nobody’s upper crack, no matter how fit, taut, toned the body surrounding it is, is fit for public consumption. And shorts that ride up—and skirts whose hidden shorts don’t stay put—also were common complaints.
Other notable things that popped up and made me smile:
“My number one issue is all the freaking pink. I hate it. And I won’t buy it. I’m a woman, not a 7-year-old princess.”
Editor’s note: I used to be a huge light pink fan, until my daughter’s closet has been overrun with pink (who knew there were so many variations in shades?). Now I’ve seen/folded/bought enough pink to be officially pinked out.
“It’s the never-to-be-washed-away stink that some of my favorite running clothes seem to hold that bothers me. And when I say STINK, I mean so totally offensive you want to blame the baby’s diaper….”
Editor’s note: I hear you. The way I’m sure Jessie, our blind lab, knows to hang a left to get into our bedroom? The stench emanating from my workout clothes drawer. SBS penned a fake commercial for Win in RLAM, which works apparently. I believe her, but ordering detergent off the Internet is about number 435 on my to-do list.
Another commented on getting a snag in a new tank with super thin fabric that she’s only worn twice.
Editor’s note: It’s probably front and center, right? Although I know I’d never get around to doing it myself, I’d recommend returning it, if possible. I think manufacturers need to know when their product doesn’t stand up to what it’s made for.
Another rant: “GPS gadgets that never click in. I have just stopped using mine, but still get annoyed sometimes when I run with my friend and she spends the first 10 minutes trying to get her Garmin to work and fretting when it doesn’t because she won’t get the entire run recorded.”
Editor’s note: Guilty as charged both ways: being the annoying friend, and being annoyed.
The random winner is Big Dog Mom, who might be a mother with big feet (me too!) or a mother of Huskies: not sure. Her first entry was the one random.org picked, but then, as I was scrolling through, I realized she has quite a bit of useful information to share.
Some snippets from her multiple comments:
I am a 36D and cannot find a bra I like… scratch that…I did find one that I loved that was made by underArmour but they have discontinued it! I loved that it had padding on the straps over my shoulders. Nice that it did not rub my shoulder raw. It had no hooks or zipper, which require a VAT of Glide to fix. It was padded so that no one knew when the ‘lights were on’! It did not give uniboob; there separate compartments for each of the girls.
The one I still have is so worn and nasty that my husband offered to buy me more. He said I looked like I was going to get a black eye soon from all the bouncing (it was really worn out of shape!), but now it is gone. They no longer make it and an internet search mission turned up empty. Well, none in my size.
She also recommends these as no-slip headphones; even though her husband couldn’t replace her fave bra, she bought him a pair so he wouldn’t steal hers.
Finally, she writes, “I wish companies would ask for feedback from the ‘real people’ that purchaseand use their products. I wish companies would let folks know when they are going to discontinue items so that ‘real people’ can buy all that there is left! Perhaps companies could have reps at races/expos and ask runners they see in their clothing and shoes what they like and don’t like about the products. Just a thought…..
Big Dog Mom, rest easy: I’ve actually sent the links to this blog and the facebook question about it (fyi: you have to post here to win, but feel free to comment on FB as well) to a bunch of peeps in the manufacturing world I know.
Here’s hoping for a built-in sports bra that fits all, doesn’t ride up, has lots of pockets, keeps your buds in your ears, your shorts down and your feet happy. A girl can dream, right?
Two Secret Recipes
Burpees: damn tough. Even in Converse high-tops.
Recipe Number 1: For Strength and Speed
What better way to start a Monday than with a running and strength circuit? We thought so.
This workout, in Run Like A Mother, is from a personal trainer and mother of 4, Kerrie. She trained Kat for her only injury-free training cycle and race. “The lifting seems like it would be easy, but then you throw in sprints and, all of a sudden, 24 body-weight squats are rather fatiguing,” explains Kat. Adds trainer Kerrie, “The circuits, combined with fast running mimics the demands of a marathon, when you have to keep running despite increasing weariness.”
Warm-up with a 2-mile jog on a treadmill
Run 400 meters at 5K pace
12 burpees (from a standing position, jump feet back to push-up position, jump feet forward, repeat)
6 assisted chin-ups
30 crunches
12 push-ups
24 bodyweight squats (hold a medicine ball if you want)
Run 400 meters at 5k pace
10 squats with shoulder press
8 push-ups with feet, shins, or knees on stability ball
12 triceps dips
30 back extensions
30 lunges with biceps curls
—Repeat once, then cool down with, as Kat says, “whatever energy you have left.”
SBS and I have heard from a couple readers that they’ve done this workout, and it kicked their booties. Have you tried it? If so, let us know what your quads and lungs thought. If not–and you want a little justification to partake in the next secret recipe–get going.
Recipe Number Two: Ashley’s Yummy Cupcakes
Ashley won the Hump Day giveaway, and she happily traded this (super easy) recipe for her Asics gift certificate. Your muscles may hate me after the above workout, I’m pretty sure you’ll be thanking me for this.
Sour Cream Brownie Cupcakes
1 box brownie mix (“Don’t be afraid of box mixes,” she says, “Trying to be Martha is exhausting.” I agree.)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chocolate chips
1 can frosting, your choice
Prepare brownie mix as directed. Fold in sour cream and chocolate chips. Bake at 350 in either a greased muffin pan or in cupcake liners. This recipe makes 12 regular sized cupcakes of 24 mini cupcakes. For regular cupcakes bake for at least 30 minutes checking center with toothpick for doneness. Mini cupcakes take only 12-15 minutes. Let cool completely. Fill a pastry bag with your choice of frosting (I use either plain old chocolate or tinted cream cheese) and pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.