obligatory family pic at Easter

When you have about 3.2 seconds to get a family picture between church and lunch, you take what you can get. ;)

Happy Easter!

running tips from a barely runner.

I hate running. Really I do. Except each day I force myself to go out and do it, I like it a little more. And when I'm running with my friends, I start to really like it. And I really do feel better after it's done (even if I'm saying I hate it just ten minutes before that).

I'm not good at it. I'm slow. I don't go far. And I always have to start the couch to 5k over after not running for awhile.

So I'm totally the last person that should be dishing out 'running tips.'

But.

If you're like me (you hate running and you consider it exercise just running up the stairs to fulfill that salted chocolate caramel craving), these tips might be a good starting point. (And my 'actual runner' friends can skip right over this post or maybe leave your own expert tips in the comments below. Just don't laugh at how pathetic I am.) :)



Here's what works for me:

1. Find two running buddies. Or ten. I find I'm a lot better at sticking to it if I have someone holding me accountable or someone counting on me. I read once you should have at least two running buddies. One that's better and faster than you, one that's not. All of mine are better/faster than me and that seems to work okay too. (If you need someone slower than you, I'm your girl!) Having a running buddy doesn't mean you don't ever run by yourself but it is handy to have someone with you for longer runs or  when you're doing a new run for the first time. ie. in week 5 of the couch to 5k, you go from doing short intervals of running to a 20 minute solid run. My friend Jen meets me for that one and doesn't let me look at the clock. My running buddies can talk to me for an entire run but don't ask me questions (I have breathing to focus on). I love it but not everyone does. Find what works for you.

2. Find the right shoe (and socks). You don't have to spend a lot of money on shoes to find good shoes. I went to Kyle's Bikes to find my shoes. They do a free gait analysis for you and pull out shoes for you to try on that are best for your foot. My sales guy got to know what I liked and didn't like and helped me find the perfect shoe for me (I'm a pain of a customer but he was awesome). I was expecting to spend over $100 and walked out just $60 (or so?) later. He didn't try to get me to spend more money and didn't give me any sale pitches. He was great. (He did talk to me about socks though and I walked out with these socks by Brooks. The tab and fabric are amazing. I hate running in anything else now!) Related: a good sports bra helps too. I found this especially important when I was breastfeeding or pregnant. This Underarmour one is my favorite. I only have one but it was worth the investment to me.

3. Start slow. Unless your name rhymes with usty icks, you probably shouldn't just go run a 5k without building up to it. That dude is always in shape and it doesn't phase him. If you're more like me and try that, you might die on the side of the road. There are some great apps for Couch to 5K programs that make it super easy to go out and run. They start by having you run 60 seconds, walking 90 seconds and you build up from there. If you struggle and want to redo a day or two, you can do that too. There's no pressure to start out running far or fast, just run.

4. Reward yourself. For me, I need an incentive to keep doing something I don't particularly love. When I started running, I truly hated it. I also hated that I didn't have any running clothes that I loved. I remedied both by treating myself to new running clothes each time I accomplished a goal. New running shoes, socks, shorts, tanks, etc were all treats along different week marks for me. You don't have to spend a lot of money on these things. Some of my favorite running clothes are from Old Navy (on sale, of course).

5. Get a race on the schedule. This totally motivates me to not give up. I need a date that I have to finish the couch to 5k by so I keep going every day. I make plans with friends to go to it as well so I know people are counting on me. It keeps me from quitting.

6. Do your research. There are all sorts of tips for making your run easier and making sure you're doing it right. Breathing/posture/etc play a huge part in your run; make sure you aren't wasting extra energy by doing it wrong. (It's seriously hard for me to keep my arms in the right position when I run so I need to remind myself of that rule often when I run.) Search for blogs/articles by real runners and you'll find all sorts of great tips.

7. Be okay with being disappointed. Last week sucked. It was windy and Monday and Wednesday were ROUGH days for me. I whined to my friend about it and she encouraged me by telling me her and her husband both had tough runs those days too. They are in way better shape than me and run way more. So knowing I wasn't the only one struggling on a bad weather day made me feel better. She's good at reminding me that everyone has tough running days and to work though it.

8. But don't stay disappointed. Go to your running buddies for encouragement (see #1 and #7). Find (or make) an inspiration board on pinterest. Just don't give up and keep moving forward.

You can totally do this!! 

i'm gonna miss this

Some days as I lay B down for nap, I can't imagine ever working outside of the home while he is little because of everything I would miss.

Like today (after we had the Bible app reading to us for background noise), he went looking for something. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "I no find Saul's donkey." (No find = can't find.)

Or this face in the mirror after saying "Nice to meet you" to the nice old man in the mirror before realizing it was just B. :) And the giggles that followed. (Who knew little boys giggled so much?)

Or when he was quizzing me on colors at the library today. When I got it right he said, "Yellow. RIGHT! Good job, mom."

And our pirate/captain hook sword fight in the kitchen today. (He let me win.)

And when he randomly belts out, "Bless the LOOOOOAAAAAD oh my SOOOOUUUL!" (Load = Lord.... we're working on that..) :)




I laid him down for nap and really couldn't imagine missing out on this stage.






Ten minutes later, I hear him yelling "Poop, mom. Poop!" into the monitor.

I go to change him and we have the 'we only go potty on the toilet, not in the diaper' talk to which he replies, (first sweetly) "Sorry" then (not so sweetly*) "NOT SORRY!!!"


These are the days.** :)







*By 'not so sweetly' I mean it sounded like a demon had taken over the little dude's body. A loud, creepy, mean demon. Yikes.

**I still totally love staying home with the little dude. It's seriously the best.***

***I support all moms. Stay at home moms. Work at home moms. Working moms. You all rock.

make it a good day.

We got a silhouette and I've been getting my monies worth by using it every. single. night. These are two of my latest ditties. Feel free to print them off if you need the reminder in your life too. ;)

except i hate running.

Once upon  a time, I went out for cross country. My cross country stint didn't last long. My friends and I were in it for the social aspect and we skipped most of our runs until the coach found out. Once she found out, she loaded us up and dropped us off out of town, forcing us to run back.

We hitch hiked.

Because I hate running.



The last few years, I've decided to start running again (literally- I have to start over every year after not running all winter) and last year I (finally) successfully ran multiple 5ks without walking. It made me feel like an actual runner. A super, incredibly slow and whiney runner. But a runner.

This year, as I started. My thought pattern was pretty much the same as it has been the last two years: 'I hate running. Why am I doing this? This is horrible. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die.'

Because I hate running.


(I should note... I ran a couple times indoors this winter and had zero of those thoughts. I actually felt great and surprised out how easy it was to start this year. I'm not an indoor runner though and when I restarted this 'spring' I started outside. It was cold. And windy. And I hate the cold and wind. More than I hate running.)


I realized I should probably stop doing something that I hate so much so I quit decided to fill in the blank:

I love running because......

Because nothing. I hate running.


(Seriously that was my first thought.)

(Okay, Heidi. You can come up with SOMETHING....)


Because... it forces me to do laundry. (I only have two pairs of running socks and three sports bras I love.)

That was all I could come up with that night. But it was a start.


After my Week 1, Day 3 run (it was a lot easier than the first two), I filled in the blank again. I actually came up with a few more this time and thought I should write them down to remind me the next time I'm complaining about how much I hate running.

I love (okay, love is a strong word... let's maybe go with tolerate) running because:

-It's (kind of) free and you can do it (almost) anywhere. (This week I ran laps around the playground while B played.)

-It's social. I love the uninterrupted time of chit chat with running buddies it affords me. And the 5ks are fun too. (Midnight Madness in Ames is one of our faves!)

-It makes me feel strong. (When I was consistently running every other day, my leg muscles were amazing.)

-I just like being able to say I can. (When I actually can just go out and run a 5k, it's a great feeling. Five years ago I don't think I ever would have thought I could do that. But now I know I can. I totally feel like it's an accomplishment.)

-Compared to other workouts, it doesn't require much planning out/thinking. You don't have to have a plan (though it helps) or think much about (in fact, I've found it's better if I DONT think about it and just do it). You just go do it. I hated sitting down to make a workout plan and thinking about arms days, legs days, etc. (I know I probably should still do that anyway but I hate it more than I hate running so I don't.)

-It's a great way to spend time outdoors.


Typically by the end of the summer, I'll be able to remember some other things about running. I just wanted this list to get me started.

Because for someone that hates running (me), starting is the hardest part.

Any newbie (or not) runners out there that want to start a 'remote running club' with me? I feel like it's hard to meet up with too many of my runner friends since we don't live super close but it'd be fun to have a (private of course) facebook group where we all checked in and held each other accountable, planned 5k outings together and even... meet up for runs. Let me know if you want to join me! And if you haven't ran for 10 years.. you can join too. In fact, you totally should join. Seriously. Go download the Couch to 5K app and get going!!! :)