Tag Archives: blogging101July2015

The Streaking Has Begun

Meep thought he’d try streaking with me… THAT certainly didn’t last long, especially after I turned the treadmill on.

I feel so much has been accomplished already in 2016, how can I possibly do more?! Okay, kidding… that’s just my humor trickling through.

I’ll only mention one goal which James and I are aiming for this year… run streaking… or running streak… or whatever you want to call it. We plan on running at least 1 mile every single day of 2016. And, so, the streaking has begun. If you want to read more about James’s goals for the year, I encourage you to visit 50 in 50 Marathon Quest… he has a great summary written.

On January 1, before we went out for our first run of the year, we did manage to check out and sign up for a couple of cool running and tracking apps such as Map My Run and Smash Run (I already play with Nike+ and Strava). We enjoy the charts and graphs and the kudos and badges, and a lot of them have different challenges that you can sign up for. Hey, why not… I’m running anyway, may as well see what it’s going to get me! If you happen to have any of these apps, I would love to have you as a friend/running buddy!

Streaking

Day 1: 2.1 miles on the treadmill… (or at least until my watch said 2.1 miles… I have all my apps connected to my watch, so whatever the watch says, goes).

Day 2: 2.1 miles. I braved the outdoors and 20-degree weather just so I could get some outside time. At least the sun was shining. I took the GoPro out and tried recording video. So not only did it take video, I guess I also had it on burst mode, or something, because I had a whole slew of pictures to sort through as well. AJ got a kick out of watching the video because you could hear my feet (clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop) and my heavy breathing. The child thought it was hilarious to turn it up full sound. Time to research video-editing software.

Day 3: This was actually supposed to be a long run for me. The ground was frozen, the roads were icy, and after 30 minutes it started snowing. Snowing!! James and I met up at a sports park (he was a good little runner and put in 12 miles) and I ran circles around the soccer fields as there wasn’t much ice there, at least until it started snowing. Then I had to call it a day. That got me all of 2.3 miles. This training cycle has been such a huge disappointment in the ways of distance for me, but I’ll not dwell on that. I am getting really good at running 2 miles though!

Upcoming races: I was looking at James’s sidebar on his blog, and he has a whole slew of races lined up for us this year. Maui Oceanfront in January (14 days!), Lake Sammamish in March, Salt Lake City in April, RNR Seattle in June, Missoula in July, FitOne Boise in September, and Onward Shay Boise in October. We’re officially registered for the first 4, and when we get back from Maui, we’ll register for Missoula. They’re all full-out halfs and fulls except for Lake Sammamish… it’s only offered as a half. Okay, I think I need a nap now.

Side Note: The ‘Hawks kind of rocked the house tonight! I may be an Arizona native, but I’m a 12th Man through and through. Go ‘Hawks!

We had fun with the selfie stick

Time to get this party started! Bring us your best, 2016! We’re ready for ya!

And how are your New Year’s ~~resolutions~~ goals holding up so far?

One Word Photo Challenge: Summer

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Summer to me is all about the beach, the swimming, being carefree.

One Word Photo Challenge: Summer, by Jennifer Nichole Wells.

Hill Torture

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See the tops of the trees? Oooo….

According to my training plan, today I’m supposed to tackle this hill… running up and down it multiple times. I’m praying for rain so all I have to do is intervals on the flat treadmill… 😉

You Tube: It’s what “tweens” watch!

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Tween. What a weird word. But apparently my child is now a “tween.” Scary.

Regardless… we are a cable-free house, I’m proud to say. Thanks to the power of the Roku and the ability to stream, we said goodbye to our massive cable bill and the 500+ channels that had absolutely nothing on them to watch. The only problem was that our son had to say goodbye to his favorite TV shows that he watched on Disney and Nick.

I don’t know how he did it, nor do I remember when, but he soon discovered You Tube, and he replaced Disney and Nickelodeon with those oh-so-famous You Tubers you occasionally hear about. If I didn’t have a child, I still wouldn’t know what a “You Tuber” was, or what they do, or even why ($$$). However, to stay involved in his life, I have sat through many mind-numbing videos of these famous You Tubers who make way more money than they should, doing stuff I just don’t get nor understand, albeit I have laughed at quite a few of them.

Following are a few of my favorite You Tubers. When AJ and his friends get together, they often times will just hang out and watch You Tube. They ALL know who the good ones are, and if your child has access to You Tube, guaranteed they’re finding a way to watch them too. You Tube even has its own “unofficial” Wiki site called “Wikitubia.” (Where was this stuff when I was that age?!)

Dan TDM or The Diamond Minecart: This guy is 23 years old, creates Minecraft videos and various series, and is probably one of my favorites. No bad language at all. He’s really quite entertaining. If you have a tween, then they are more than likely very involved with the Minecraft game play and might even know about Dan. He makes around $1.4 million per year and has over 8 million subscribers.

Ryan Higa: He’s just silly. He has some older videos from when he first started that are a bit… green. He’s matured into a skilled film maker with better editing and material. AJ still gets a kick out of his older videos though and sometimes prefers to watch them over the newer ones, perhaps because Ryan looks closer in age to him than he does nowadays, who knows. Ryan is 25, has over 15 million subscribers and makes about $2.3 million a year.

Jack Septic Eye: This guy makes me laugh. He plays all kinds of video games and records himself playing these games. Of course, we all love it when he messes up because he goes into an absolute rage. Jack can get a little … explicit … with his language, but perhaps that’s some of his Irish charm. Another 25-year-old, over 7 million viewers, and makes around $2 million per year.

Ryen Lung created Life After College. All he does is vlog about his life and his sweet little corgi dog. AJ loves watching this series. Because of it, he now wants a corgi when he grows up. I don’t know the stats on this one, but it can be quite entertaining. No bad language.

There are two other You Tubers that I find extremely funny, Comedy Shorts Gamer and KSI, from the UK. They’re actually brothers, each have their own channels, but they are extremely R-rated. A bit vulgar at times, but can be hilarious. I have no idea how much these two make, but I’m sure it’s a boat-load.

Have you heard of PewDiePie? He’s the number one You Tuber, 26 years old, over 40 million subscribers and makes $12 million a year. Playing games. On You Tube. And this isn’t even one of AJ’s favorites!!

So what are the morals of this blog?

Actively share in your child’s interests to stay involved in their life no matter how mind-numbing you think the activity is, especially when they hit the scary years… it’s not about you, it’s about them.
I’m in the wrong freaking business.

Hello Chicago!

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Four days before the Chicago Marathon and Jamesy and I have arrived! It has been a dreadfully long day, but we’re here now and actually adjusting nicely to the 2-hour time difference!

This is going to be short and sweet, and mostly pictures tonight. My day started stupid early, and the following is what we dealt with when we were heading to the airport this morning:

Got traffic?

It took us an hour and a half to drive 60 miles. Seattle traffic is the worst.

The flight was fine, albeit I felt like I was roughing it with no wi-fi and no movies and no plug-ins for chargers. It was an older plane on Southwest… need I say more. But we arrived safe and sound which is all that really matters!

The Chicago skyline is mesmerizing, so fabulous. We’re on the 30th floor in the downtown area, not too far from the “Magnificent Mile.” So we’re in the heart of the city. I can’t wait until I can actually run through this town too, so I can see it from ground level!

View from the hotel room, right next to the Chicago River.

Trump Tower!

Once we dropped off our suitcases, James and I were in search of some place to have happy hour! All the buildings were lit up at the top in pink.

Wandering in downtown Chicago at sundown.

We found a great place to have happy hour and eat dinner, Howell’s and Hood, on Michigan Ave.

We had a fabulous waitress, Courtney! She’s a runner herself and we had a great time chatting with her! She’s hoping to run her first half-marathon in the spring, but you know me, I had to try and convince her to do next year’s Chicago half for the bling! The size of the prize would get her hooked for sure!! 🙂

Courtney and me

The food here was to die for. James had a burger and I had a grilled cheese sandwich… this is unlike any grilled cheese sandwich I’d ever had before. They added “braised pork belly” on the sandwich, but to me it was great big huge cuts of bacon… bacon on a grilled cheese! Magnifico! How have I never discovered this combination before??!! (Okay, I’m on holiday… I don’t count calories when I’m on holiday!)

Yes, this is a grilled cheese sandwich…

Thankfully, Courtney helped me talk James into some dessert as well… donuts with dipping sauce. Oh my word…

Overall, we have had one fabulous day!! Chicago is amazing, and the food is even more so. Granted, we won’t be eating like this for the rest of the holiday, but it sure was nice to splurge just for today. The rest of the weekend will be low fat, high carb, so James can kick some Chicago Marathon ass!! Three more days…

Encouraging Thunder Award!

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I’d like to thank An Inviting Piece of the Pie for nominating me for the Encouraging Thunder Award!

I was new to blogging this past July, and I was just barely finding my way around Word Press and discovering all that the Word Press “Reader” does for a blogger. As I’m a “runner,” I entered the tag “running,” and Tyrone’s article “A Beautiful Body Doesn’t Get Any Respect” popped up. I believe this is the first article of his that I read. I could relate. Completely. He also referred to a song and album, which is something I’m all about, so I could definitely relate.

Then he wrote another article, “Transgender? I Just Don’t Know…” After this, I was absolutely sold on his writing style and blog. He’s bold, he has an opinion, and he’s not afraid to share it. And if you’re not afraid to branch out and open your mind, then please go visit his blog, An Inviting Piece of the Pie, an interesting take on the taste of life. He’s a fabulous writer. By the way, did I mention he’s a runner? In London? Read his story… he’s come a long, long way… super impressive…

I started this whole writing thing because I wanted to blog my journey of running, beginning and beyond, because I wanted other “slower” runners to see that they weren’t alone. I never realized how much other bloggers would actually encourage me and make me realize that I’m the one who is not alone (although I’ve yet to find someone who runs as slow as me, haha). I’m thankful for this community and I’m thankful for all the encouragement I’ve received, from runners and non-runners (Shafali, :D). On those days I really don’t want to run, I do, because of everyone’s encouragement. Thank you all.

So, on to my nominations for this award… So many of you encourage me, either through your writing or through your words, I don’t even know where to begin…

Losing Anonymously — She just ran her first 5K. She’s amazing!!

Slipper Strides — I’ve been running for over a year now and no one ever told me about “belly breathing.” I ran 3 miles after I read her blog, and OMG. It was a fabulous run with belly breathing! That was like the last piece of the puzzle for me. How did I never know about belly breathing?! I had to concentrate and focus, but no more being winded!! Thank you!!

liveloverunlikeaprincess — A runner who is Disney bound (on my bucket list)!! She’s trying to balance it all in the midst of a recent tragedy! So inspiring!

A Little Healthy — A wife, a mom, a runner training for a half-marathon!

50 in 50 Marathon Quest — I can’t leave The Motivator out!! The one who has inspired me the most overall… without his ~~nagging~~ motivation, I could never be on the journey I’m on right now. We have some great life adventures planned ahead with some great running! Love you honey!! I owe all my aches and pains to you (and my fabulous health, and my fabulous fitness, and my awesome eating habits, and lest we forget my great bling!!). Couldn’t have come this far without your guidance or inspiration!!

What you can do with this award:
•Post it on your blog
•Grant other bloggers the award

What you can’t do with this award:
•Abuse or misuse the logo
•Claim that it is your logo

What should I do after receiving the award?
•Enjoy it!
•Give thanks via comments and likes and mention the person nominating you
•Mention your purpose in blogging or joining the social media

Liebster Award

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I am honored and thankful to have been nominated for the Liebster Award by two wonderful bloggers. First was Lydia of aidyl93, a brilliant story teller happily living her life, and the other was Niki of 11months26miles, a fellow runner from the UK who is training for the Edinburgh Marathon 2016, more than 13 years after completing her last marathon. I really enjoy following these ladies and reading what they have to say! Please go check out their blogs!!

First, I’ll post the rules, then answer the questions given to me (I combined the questions), then post the bloggers I’m nominating, and then my questions I’d like for them to answer! I think this is a super way to get to know other bloggers!

Rules for the Liebster Award:

Once you are nominated,

Make a post thanking and linking the person who nominated you.
Include the Liebster Award sticker in the post too.
Nominate 5 -10 other bloggers who you feel are worthy of this award. Let them know they have been nominated by commenting on one of their posts. You can also nominate the person who nominated you.
Ensure all of these bloggers have less than 200 followers.
Answer the eleven questions asked to you by the person who nominated you, and make eleven questions of your own for your nominees or you may use the same questions.
Lastly, COPY these rules in the post.

How, why, and when did you start blogging? When running, I tend to have all kinds of things go through my mind. Blogging is basically a way of releasing those things and moving on. As well, I wanted other slow/beginning runners to know that they weren’t alone, that there are others out there just like them, and vice-versa, although I have yet to find someone who runs as slow as I.
Have you ever had a truly life-changing experience? No, not in a shocking sense. But I do feel that every life experience I’ve had has helped shaped me into who I am today.
Why do you run? It’s all about the bling… and maybe it has a little bit to do with the sense of accomplishment too (there is no greater feeling).
What is one thing on your bucket list you absolutely have to do? Run a Disney marathon. For the Bling. And the course. I’ll bet they’re the best courses ever.
Describe a beautiful place that you’ve been. I actually live in the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. There are trees, mountains, trails, lakes, beaches, green everywhere, and 4 seasons. The bees are small and there are no poisonous snakes. I was born and raised in Arizona, and the Pacific Northwest is polar opposite from what I knew for the first 40 years of my life.
What makes you happy? Being with my family. And naps after a long run. And nachos. Definitely nachos. 🙂
What irritates you? That Common Core rubbish they teach in school these days. My blood pressure rises every time I think about it. And every time my child brings home homework. And every time that stupid assessment is taken at the end of the year so that the stupid school can have a stupid state rating, because after all, they teach to the test, NOT the kids. OMG. This might have to be a future blog post.
Which song will always cheer you up? Anything sung by Michael Buble.
Can you play any musical instruments? Violin and Piano (in the past).
Did you enjoy science at school? Why/why not? Ummm, I could take it or leave it. I can’t really remember anything that stands out in my memory about science other than dissecting a worm and a frog and learning about dinosaurs. I did enjoy the dinosaurs.
How many languages do you speak? One; uno; un; einer; odin; en; et… 1.

As for the nominees… I hope you all have a chance to answer the questions. I really enjoy getting to know you!

Operation Fat Removal

Travel, Running and a LIttle Bit of Style

liveloverunlikeaprincess

Here are the questions for the bloggers I nominated:

How, why, and when did you start blogging?
Have you ever had a truly life-changing experience?
If you could meet one famous person alive today, who would it be?
What is one thing on your bucket list you absolutely have to do?
Describe a beautiful place that you’ve been.
What makes you happy?
What irritates you?
Which song will always cheer you up?
Can you play any musical instruments?
What does your ideal day consist of?
What is one thing you really like about yourself?

Looking forward to reading your responses!

Week 7 done… 5 weeks to go! Lovely Jubbly!

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Got milk? My standard post-run recovery drink!

It’s not been too bad of a week for running, just coming off a race and all. I only ran twice mid-week because, let’s face it, the hills from last Sunday… well, we’ll just say I needed a bit of recovery in there (ouchie!). And then my most favorite of runs today, the dreaded LSR… today… 9 miles… today… ugh.

Actually, the run didn’t start off so bad. I’ve gotten some great inspiration from other bloggers, so I was pumped and ready to tackle it head on. I even chose the dreaded hill route for my first 5 miles because, dang it, I want to get strong for my upcoming half. I’m happy to say I nailed that beast! I also switched my run/walk interval times as a way to improve my overall time (run more, walk less), and I nailed that as well! And I also took the “mind over matter” approach… I completely ignored any type of typical running pain I felt and just ran through it. Even that worked for me!

But then I hit mile 7. It was as if my body said, “Oh screw you… if you’re not going to pay attention to how I feel, I’m going to stop cooperating.” At which point I promptly felt every ache down to the core of my bones. All of a sudden, I felt how bad my feet hurt, how bad every bone in my body hurt, the pain my joints, the fatigue in my legs. My toenails even hurt! My ponytail was all of a sudden too tight! And I couldn’t freaking catch my breath.

This is not a sunrise or sunset picture. The orange haze is from the fires that are burning up our state. Makes air quality very poor.

Now, to give you a little insight, Washington state is in the midst of a whole bunch of wildfire crises. About 165 miles NE of where I live, the little town of Twisp has all but burnt to the ground. Three firefighters lost their lives fighting this fire last Wednesday. And the air quality is horrendous, all the way down to Seattle. The air kept getting thicker and thicker the longer I ran. As I wasn’t mentally prepared for this, my subconscious fought me really hard and actually broke me. I couldn’t breathe properly, and once I “felt” I couldn’t breathe properly, the rest of me shut down. I fought it for a long time, about a mile and a half, but it won in the end. I ended up only doing 8.5 miles and was terribly sore afterwards.

I didn’t realize how much of a mental struggle that actually was until The Motivator and I analyzed it, because I was so strong in my run for so long. But my mind found one little thing to focus on, my breathing, and took that opportunity to shut me down. It’s kind of amazing how that works, isn’t it. The mind is a powerful thing, don’t underestimate it. When they say “running long distances is a mental game,” it truly is. I gave in this time, but I won’t be fooled again.

Another clue as to how this was all mental on my part… James ran 17 miles today no problem, breathing in the thick smoky air way more than me, and he lived to tell about it. He’s got the mental thing down pat… I still have a bit to learn. I’ll get there.

I leave you with one last thought… when running long distances, please don’t forget the Body Glide or Vaseline! But if you do, make sure no one is in the house to hear you scream when you take your shower!

Have a great week! Next up… 10 miles!! (Will she live to talk about it?!)

Hmmm, according to Garmin Connect, I actually did do 9.4 miles. I’ll take it!

Bridge of the Gods Run Video

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At the beginning of the race, there was a little drone high up in the sky to which we all waved. Following is the video that the drone made. If you want to see the beginning of the race and what it was like to cross that bridge, have a look. The video is about 4 minutes long. If Bridge of the Gods is something you will want to do in the future, or if you need a little inspiration to get pumped for your next race, this will help. There’s something about watching a crowd of people leave the start line that gets my blood moving. The drone narrows in on some people walking across the bridge… I can guarantee you I was not one of them.

My Treasure Chest of Life

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Artwork by Shafali at shafali.wordpress.com

For some reason, I woke up this morning with this question on my mind… “What is the meaning of life?” That kind of thinking must have derived from the allergy medicine I had to take last night because, believe me, I don’t consider myself a deep, philosophical person. Besides, I discovered the answer to this question a few years ago.

However, when I was in my 20s, that question was constantly nagging me. “Why are we all here?” “What is the point of the daily grind of getting up and working most of the time, only to die in the end?” Pretty grim, right? Yep, those were my 20s, pretty grim.

Still, in my early 30s, I struggled with “No, really, what is the point of it all?” Then I met a wonderful man I fell in love with, someone I could actually picture myself growing old with and having a child with. I consider my husband to be one of the greatest treasures I have.

Four-and-a-half years later came the next of my greatest treasures… my son. That’s when I understood…. “Ohhhh, I get it! The happiness, the love, the being needed and wanted… this is what it’s all about! I actually feel like a complete person!” Life itself is a treasure. And every experience I share in life with my husband, with my son, us as a family, gets stored away as a little treasure in my treasure chest of life.

While this may not be the meaning of life for some people, it is to me. My family, my husband, my son, the love we share, the good times; these are all treasures that make my life complete. One day, when I’m old and gray and sitting in a nursing home, rocking in my chair, wondering where my X-Box controller is, I will sift through the contents of my overflowing treasure chest that contains so many beautiful memories in which I’ll be able to say, “Yeah, I get it, and it was great.”

(In response to Shafali’s Caricatures, Portraits, and Cartoons Creativity Carnival.)

Never A Dull Bling

The trials and tribulations of a 40-something novice runner

Tag Archives: blogging101July2015

The Streaking Has Begun

One Word Photo Challenge: Summer

Hill Torture

You Tube: It’s what “tweens” watch!

Hello Chicago!

Encouraging Thunder Award!

Liebster Award

Week 7 done… 5 weeks to go! Lovely Jubbly!

Bridge of the Gods Run Video

My Treasure Chest of Life

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