A Labor of Love - Part I

Do you all remember that time of your life when it seemed like everyone was getting married? Well, that phase of my life is behind me as most of my close friends are married.

Now I am at the phase of my life where it seems like everyone is pregnant. No joke. I haven't sat down and counted, but I know of at least 8 people, possibly more, that are due within the next 3 months. I have 3 friends and a cousin who are all due within ONE WEEK of each other. Two of my closest friends are due ONE DAY APART in December.

As you can tell if you've read my blog for long, I adore kids so I am excited that so many of my friends are embarking on this new phase in their life!

I love working with yarn and think that handmade gifts are the best. My grandma makes baby blankets for all the great grandchildren and I think it's the coolest gift to receive so I decided to make baby blankets for my 2 close friends who are due in December.

Today I am sharing the blanket I crocheted for my friend that is expecting a little lady in early December. This is actually my first crochet project where I had to follow a pattern, aside from some potholder I tried last year (which were an epic fail, by the way). You would think that if a person struggled to crochet potholder, it would be a bit delusional to make an entire blanket, right?

What can I say? I guess I like a challenge! Here are some photos for the finished product!

Here it is on the floor my condo, right before I boxed it up to send to my friend in Arizona

Here is a close up of the edge/corner details.

Another close up of the edges/corners

My friend had her shower last Saturday - I wish I could have been there when she opened it up but a trip down to Phoenix just wasn't in the budget.

I am still in the process of knitting a blanket for the other friend. I sadly did not finish it in time for her shower 2 weeks ago. :( It's taking me a bit longer to finish it than I thought it would! I am loving how it is turning out so can't wait to share it with you!

Do you ever make gifts? Have you receive a hand made gift that you loved? My grandma made each grandchild an afghan when we graduated from high school and I still have mine. Another 'hand made' gift that I received and loved was a journal that my mom kept of my senior year.

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite decor item in your house?
The Paris prints above my bed that I bought off Etsy. Love them.

2. What is your favorite hair product?
I don't really have one... Any suggestions? Especially for a girl with naturally wavy hair that wants straight hair?

3. Are you a good dancer?
Good? Probably not. But I don't let that stop me! I do have a sense of rhythm thanks to all of those years of piano lessons, though.

4. You get some good news, who’s the first person you call?
Most likely my mom. Or one of my close friends. Depends on the nature of the good news. If it's work related, I call my mom. If it's in regards to meeting a new guy or something like that, I tell a close friend because I think telling my parents about a new guy too early jinxes the relationship.

5. Would you rather take pictures, or be in pictures?
Definitely take them.

6. What is your shoe style?
I love all kind of shoes, but my favorite are bold-colored, pointy toed, heels. Like this one pair of red shoes that I own (that really need some TLC from the cobbler). I am a pretty conservative dresser so I rely on my shoes to make my outfits interesting.

7. How often do you eat out?
I try not to eat out very often because it's expensive and you really don't know what you are eating (i.e. does it have gluten in it?) or how many calories you are consuming. Lately I have been eating out quite a bit, though, and need to get back to cooking more!

8. If someone has food in their teeth, do you tell them?
Yes. It's awkward, but I would hate to be the person walking around with food in their teeth. If I notice mid-meal, I will wait until the end as it might 'work itself out'. But if by the end of the meal they still have food in their teeth, I will say something.

9. Do you fold your underwear?
Heck yes I do. I like order. It drives me crazy when people don't fold their underwear... or their socks. It stressed me out to see a drawer of chaos.

10. Milk, dark, or white chocolate?
Dark, please!

Motivation Monday - Week 1

Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was quite full, but also very fun so I can not complain. I could use another day off, but couldn't we all?

Thank you for your kind, supportive comments last week regarding my post-marathon blues. I am already starting to feel better. I went to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday and the endorphin release from working out again really helped.

As I said in my marathon recap posts, I think my marathon days are behind me. Instead I want to focus on improving my 1/2 marathon time. My PR from last October is 2:04 and I would really like to run a sub-2 hour marathon. I know I can do it, I just need to train for it and add in some hills/speed work.

As much as I want to register for another race, I know that I need some time away from a training schedule. So my next half won't be until next May when I will run the Fargo 1/2 marathon.

So what will I do between now and late February when I will start training for that race?

Well, I took a body pump class last week, which is a class hosted by the Y that works all of your major muscle groups.

It was an eye opening experience.

By taking that class, I realize how weak my core and upper body muscles have become. I shouldn't be surprised as all I have done for the last 4.5 months is run. Taking that class showed me that while I am in shape, especially cardiovascularly, I have some areas to work on. One of the things on my 30 before 30 list is to be able to do 20 real push-ups. My birthday is just over 3 months away; I am hoping shifting towards a mix of cardio and strength training will help me achieve this goal.

Posting about my marathon training each week worked well for me. It kept me honest and was a great way to track my progress week by week. So from now until 1/2 marathon training starts, I'll be blogging each Monday about how this shift away from just running is going. I figure it will keep me motivated! I'm borrowing Becky's Hi/Low approach and will leave you each Monday with my exercising hi/low. I'd love it if you would also leave your hi/low in the comments - whether it's in regards to exercising or life in general!

Last week's high: Running for the first time since the marathon with no pain whatsoever.

Last week's low: Feeling pain in my knee cap when doing lunges during Body Pump. Clearly I have not completely recovered from the femoral patella issues I had last spring.

A case of the blahs

I think I am experiencing a bit of the marathon blues.

It's only natural, I think. I felt similar after my 2006 marathon. I remember feeling kind of 'blah'. I remember finishing that marathon and thinking, "Was it a big deal that I ran a marathon?"

Now I ask myself, "Is it a big deal that I ran a 4:22:10 marathon and beat my time goal of 4:30? Was 4:30 an ambitious goal? Is 26.2 mile really that far??

I realize that questions like these sound down right delusional.

But marathon training kind of messes with your mind, in my opinion. You lose perspective of what a 'long run' is. You toss around phrases like, "I only have to run 12 miles this weekend."

I think I need time away from marathon training to gain respect for what I accomplished.

But then I see things like the text of this ad from Nike, which I saw on (Long) Road to Paradise.

You pretended the snooze button didn’t exist. You dragged your butt out of bed while others slept. While others ate their pancakes you had a feast of protein, glucose and electrolytes. You double-knotted. You left the porch light on and locked the door behind you.

"You ran 5Ks, 10Ks, 26.2 miles. Some days more, some days less. You rewarded a long run with a short run. And a short run with a long run. Rain tried to slow you. Sun tried to microwave you. Snow made you feel like a warrior.

You cramped. You bonked. You paid no mind to comfort. On weekends. On holidays. You made excuses to keep going. Questioned yourself. Played mind games. Put your heart before your knees. Listened to your breathing. Sweat sunscreen into your eyes. Worked on your farmer’s tan.

You hit the wall. You went through it. You decided to be man about it. You decided to be woman about it. Finished what you started. Proved what you were made of. Just kept putting mile after mile on your internal odometer... You ran. And we ran with you. How much farther will we go? As far as you will."

I read this ad and I remember that running a marathon IS an admirable goal.

I remember that I made quite a few sacrifices while training.

I remember how hard I pushed myself.

I know I shouldn't need to read a silly ad to feel this way, but I do. I am confident that this is just a little phase that I am going through; before long, that feeling of pride will catch up with me.

Have you ever worked towards a goal and then after achieving it, felt a little blah like I do? Also, I should emphasize that I am not fishing for compliments; I am just being honest about how I feel, post-marathon.

Three Things Tueday

1. There is no Ten on Tuesday today because a) this is Chelsea's first week back from maternity leave so she's obviously got her mind on other things and b) she didn't have any questions to post. Send some her way if you like Ten on Tuesdays and have some burning questions you'd like to ask and/or answer!

2. My complexion is at an all time worst for some random reason. Is it the change of seasons? The stress of traveling and running the marathon? Has my body gotten used to the Tetracycline I have been taking for about a year now? Who knows. I am baffled. And so so so frustrated. It doesn't seem right/fair that my skin is worse now than it was when I went through puberty. My skin should not be at its worst at age 29 - well, I don't think it should be but my dermatologist said it's quite common for women to struggle with skin problems in their upper 20s/low 30s. I splurged and used some gift cards to purchase a Clarisonic at the recommendation of a friend and my esthetician. I am praying that it's effective. Otherwise I might start walking around with a paper bag over my head. :(

3. I've been a 5-day-a-week poster for the last year or so; that's going to change starting this week. My life is feeling quite full these days - with good things - and I just need to take a little step back and post a little less often. I hope you'll be patient with me as I learn how to juggle all the things I have going on in my life right now!

What are the top 3 things that are on your mind today?

Marathon Trip Recap

So I have talked quite a bit about the marathon, probably ad naseum for some of you, but I haven't even mentioned the road trip! This is probably because Amber did such an awesome job of blogging about our journey! Here are her posts:

Vancouver - Day 1
Vancouver - Day 2
Seattle
Snoqualmie Falls + Night Before the Marathon
Marathon Day

I barely took any photos on this trip... You see, Amber has an awesome SLR and I have a crappy point & shoot, circa 2004. SLR > my crappy camera, so I let her capture out trip in pictures! Here are a couple of my favorites!

Day 1 in Vancouver, crossing the bridge on our way to Granville Island.

Day 2 in Vancouver, standing in front of "Canada Place".

Enjoying Pumpkin Spice Lattes in front of the original Starbucks in Seattle! Yum!

Snoqualmie Falls. Pictures do not do this justice. It was STUNNING. It was definitely worth the detour on our way to Portland!

I'll close with some highlights from my trip, bullet-point style:

• Meeting Amber and Lauren and discovering that they are even MORE awesome in person... which wasn't a surprise since this has been the case for all of my blogger meet-ups.
• Discovering that I can actually navigate quite well - whether in the car or walking in a new city. I think traveling alone to France really pushed me out of my comfort zones and taught me how to really 'get my bearings' for a city.
• On Sunday night, after the marathon, Amber and I went out for dinner at Deshutes Brewery where they had a gluten free menu. Words can't describe my delight at finding that they had a hamburger that was served on a gluten free bun! I haven't eaten a burger on a bun since I went gluten free in February of 2009! I might have clapped with glee when my meal arrived...
• Receiving the congratulatory phone calls, bbms, text messages, and emails from SO many people. I was so touched and felt incredibly loved!

The trip really could not have gone better than it did. It's sort of surreal that it's all over and done with. Amber and I have been planning this trip for about a year now, so it's sort of sad that it's over and done with. However, I am confident that I will see Lauren and Amber in the future - possibly for a destination 1/2 marathon! :)

I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!

Marathon Recap: Part II

Hopefully you weren't too bored with part I of the race recap! Here is a post with more details!

When we left off last time, I mentioned that it started to pretty much pour when we were starting... While the rain did let up a bit at times, it consistently rained the entire race. I stepped in a puddle right away so my feet were sopping wet from the beginning. So wet that every step I took, water would shoot out of the mesh toe covering of my shoes. No joke.

Miraculously, I got no blisters.

I did not lose a toe nail.

And I did not chafe.

I do not know how this is possible. I did cover my feet with body glide on race morning and every time I saw Vaseline at an aid station, I grabbed a gob and rubbed it on my inner thighs and on my upper arms where they sort of 'swipe' my sports bra top.

I guess you can say that you lose all sense of modesty when you are running a marathon. I mean, when else in life is it acceptable to take a gob of Vaseline and rub down your inner thighs in public... right?

Oh and the whole fuel thing? It wasn't an issue at all. I think the adrenaline took over or something, so I actually drank the Ultima crap and did not puke. Score 1 for Lisa. I carried 32 oz of gatorade in my running belt but only drank maybe 4 ounces around mile 23 when I needed a 'treat' to get me through to the end. I tried to drink a 1/2 cup of ultima and a 1/2 cup of water at every aid station. Since it was raining and sort of cool, I didn't really 'feel' thirsty, but I knew I had to keep hydrating or I would definitely pay for it later in the race.

So now for the splits and a little commentary when necessary...

We started in a thick pack of runners so my pace was a bit slow to start, which was probably for the best as it gave me a chance to warm up.

Mile 1: 10:45
Mile 2: 10:34

Around this point, I split off from Amber. My legs were itching for speed. Amber stayed with the 4:30 pace group (sort of, they were behind us at this point), and I forged ahead.

Mile 3: 9:57

After mile 3, I decided to put my head phones on. I hadn't planned to run with my headphones on as you can't really connect with the spectators as well, but it was so mentally grueling for me to run in the rain, I needed the music to distract me!

Mile 4: 9:04 (now that is more like it!)
Mile 5: 9:17
Mile 6: 9:30
Mile 7: 9:22

I really started to hit my 'sweet spot' during these miles and had that "I could run forever feeling... or at least for 26.2 miles". At the same time, I kept asking myself, "Am I seriously running 26.2 miles today?" The race just came so quickly, I was still kind of in shock that it was race day!

Mile 8: 9:28
Mile 9: 9:59 (Bathroom break #1)
Mile 10: 9:13
Mile 11: 9:29
Mile 12: 9:53
Mile 13: 9:28
Mile 14: 9:45
Mile 15: 9:33
Mile 16: 9:54

I was starting to "feel" the miles at this point, but still felt strong. I knew that the mile to come was going to be one of the tougher ones as you have a huge hill that brings you to a bridge - sort of like a never ending on-ramp I guess you could say? I wanted to walk so many times during this mile, but I just focused on the person that this mile was dedicated to (one of my best friends that is pregnant) and would NOT let myself walk.

Mile 17: 10:29 - slow split but I just tackled a huge hill so I will not complain
Mile 18: 9:54
Mile 19: 10:01
Mile 20: 10:09

When I hit mile 20, I actually felt better than I did compared to how I felt when I finished my 20 mile training run. My hip flexors were not bothering me and I still felt like my legs had plenty of energy.

Mile 21: 11:10 - another bathroom break!
Mile 22: 10:03
Mile 23: 9:59

At this point, I was REALLY ready for the race to be done. I was exhausted. I could FEEL every. single. step. My knees were starting to ache a bit and my quads were so tight, but I kept pushing ahead. I kept telling myself - it's only another 5k! At this point, I knew I was going to come in under 4:30, which made it easier for me to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Mile 24: 10:35
Mile 25: 9:57
Mile 26: 9:56
The final .2 (or .48 according to my Garmin): 4:46

Total time - 4:22:10 - average pace of 6 mph

I pushed myself to run as hard as I could those last couple of miles and am proud of the fact that I had sub-10 minute miles, even if it was just barely below 10.

It felt great to cross the finish line. I raised my arms in the air in triumph! Hopefully the race photographer caught that.

Now that the marathon is behind me, it's sort of surreal to think about. Even though there were moments during the race where I struggled, in general, I really felt great. It was a completely different experience from my 2006 marathon when I walked most of the last 6 miles.

Since I hit my time goal, and kind of blew it out of the water, I feel like I can hang up my marathon shoes. I enjoyed the training process and it was awesome to share it with Amber, but it's also super time consuming.

I could eat my words, but I really think that was my 2nd and last marathon. I proved to myself that I could do it again and do it much faster.

Now, I'd like to focus on a more well-rounded work out schedule. I am not hanging up my racing shoes; instead, I will shift my focus to my 1/2 marathon and will work on training for a sub-2 hour half in 2011 hopefully.

Once again, thanks for following along with me and encouraging me along the way. I really appreciated every encouraging comment, email, black berry message, and facebook post! Having you all there, cheering us on from afar, meant the world to me!

And that concludes the marathon recap!! I will probably post some race photos once they are available!

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone! Any big plans? Tonight I am having dinner at a French restaurant that I have always wanted to try and then will go to a orchestra concert. I definitely plan on enjoying a glass of wine with dinner which is something I haven't done for the last 3 weeks (except on Sunday night when Amber and I toasted to our successful races!)