a little sweetness goes a long way
Can I just say how grateful I am for the Another Mother Runner podcasts and making me aware of Nuun? It’s already heavy sweat time in Houston. Nuun beats even my trusty coconut water for rehydration and feeling refreshed. And not sick from sweetness. Yay. At least that’s one positive about the humid runs.
Not a sponsored post, I’m just really glad to not have post-run headaches!
So …
How’s it going, folks?
I’ve been thinking of reasons to re-invigorate this blog, what I would say, etc. I think I need it for the accountability in running and workouts, as well as just allowing for a creative outlet.
It’s just been so stinking busy lately!
I’ve been organizing my first virtual race – the Have a Gray Run race weekend this week! It’s not that complicated of an event, but it’s still time-consuming. I love it, and I love that we may be able to help our friends in some small way.
Then there’s the usual mom thing, the usual work thing, and the usual wife thing. Except none of those stay very usual for long, right? We’ve had an ER trip and overnight at the hospital for our daughter (nothing long-lasting, just a temporary illness gone bad), big changes at my job, and trying to keep my husband my number one priority in the middle of it all (and with his own growing business). So there’s that.
I’ve slacked off on running training because a) I don’t have a race and b) we’re already getting well into the “Houston running weather sucks” time of year. Ever since the time change to Daylight Savings Time, I’ve been exhausted and irritable. I can’t get back into a good routine, and I haven’t found the motivation to make it happen.
So all that in mind is why I’m trying to find little ways – like blogging – to get me back into routines.The jury is still out on what that will look like — Mommy Monday? Training Tuesday? Some other set of weekday themes to prompt me to write, build some posts that I can write when I feel creative and schedule to be out in the world more regularly?
As far as training, here you go: I want to do another half marathon or two. I want to run more for it and actually, really train. I decided to pull the Disneyland Half Marathon training plan into my calendars (work, phone, etc.) so I can use it as a guide. I’m not running that particular race, but it will help me prep without feeling too pressured.
The other training I want to do is a bit more specific, but it starts in October. I want to find a way to do the Disney Princess Half Marathon next year, but I want to do the Glass Slipper Challenge. Some friends from work are seriously talking about doing it, and I think we would have an absolute blast together.
That’s the plan. Check in with me to see how it goes in reality. đŸ˜‰
Google Photos has a new (to me) feature that will auto-enhance some of the pictures you upload if the software detects certain characteristics. One of the enhancements is animated GIFs … these are some of the ones that completely cracked me up!
At the pumpkin patch with Joodles.
Hello?
Christmas Eve pictures always go well, don’t they?
As do family pictures!
Uncle Caleb with all the cousins – I think we can use this for a “Marry my brother-in-law” picture!
Doctor Fairy Princess Mommy Nora
The girl’s personality clearly lends itself to animated GIFs!
It’s pretty obvious, if you spend any length of time around me in person or virtually, that I’m a Mom. Kids are important to me – my kids, the welfare of my friends’ children, the welfare of kids I don’t know. I feel like my community of moms has been one of the best supports I’ve ever had. We have wisdom, tears, laughter, shared frustration … everything you need to make it through the job and joy of shepherding the little creatures we love.
I feel the same about the running community. Just like with moms around the world, people can get all judgey about “not doing it right” (whatever), but for the most part runners look after each other. They mentor, they laugh, they train, they sweat, they go through hardship for each other and urge each other on to WIN — whatever WINNING means for that particular runner.
This is Gray.
Gray is not my son. His mom Courtney is a family friend, but we’ve never met in person. She’s a runner, and Gray is a fighter. In December, when Gray was three months old, he was diagnosed with Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome. You can read more about Gray’s story here, but I’ll sum up by saying that this is a life-threatening condition that won’t go away. The treatment for Gray is removal of the malfunctioning kidneys and eventual kidney transplant. This tiny boy had both kidneys removed in January, and is now growing stronger so he can have a kidney transplant when he’s around 22 pounds (probably when he’s 2).
His mom is a fighter too, and she’s a runner. She’s a mom of three boys, and she’s dedicated to keeping all of her family in a good, healthy place as they go on this journey together. And as I mentioned, moms and runners know how to support each other in the face of challenges, right?
So here’s what we’re doing: I’m organizing a virtual race weekend for Gray called Have a Gray Run. The weekend of May 16 – 18, we’re going to run, walk, bike, stroll, elliptical 5Ks and 10Ks across the world to show support for Gray. There will be prizes, there are t-shirts you can order, and there will be (I hope) a flood of pictures and Facebook posts to show Gray and his mom (and his whole family!) how much love and support they have.
Join us! Read about registration here, or let me know if you have a question!