Good morning and happy almost Friday!
So many little things have been making me happy lately so I wanted to take a minute to share a few. I’d love to hear about what you’re loving lately in the comments!
3M Half Marathon
I would have written a whole recap post about this, but I realized I took zero photos…whoops.
Last Sunday, I ran the 3M half marathon in Austin with my little brother.
I mentioned a while ago that I was training for it, but then didn’t mention it again. This was not a coincidence. My long runs went steadily down hill over the past few months. Every time I ran, I started having terrible stomach pains after about five miles.
While I was super excited to see my little brother, I was pretty much dreading the race. I honestly don’t think I would have done it if he wasn’t flying in from Chicago to run it with me.
Miraculously I felt so good and had SO much fun running Sunday morning! I had a big dorky smile on my face for much of the time and couldn’t believe how good I felt for most of the race. I believe it was my second slowest half marathon (after the very first one I ran TEN years ago), but I don’t even care.
There may have been some degree of luck involved, but I’m pretty sure now that I was having such bad stomach pains because I wasn’t planning and preparing for my long runs like I used to. In my pre-baby days, I would map out a whole training schedule and stick to it religiously. I would make sure to hydrate and eat high carb foods the day before a long run and always did my long run early in the day, as that’s when I feel the best running.
Yeah, that’s not how this training cycle went down. This time it was more like, “Oh! James is napping. I’m not doing anything else! Time for a ten-miler!” This may work for some people, but apparently, lots of coffee + little water + random food does not equal a good long run for me. Weird.
This is the other thing that I think may have helped me avoid stomach pain during the half marathon. I got these hard ginger candies for nausea when I was pregnant, but had a ton leftover so decided to try them while running. I used to use CLIF shot blocks (little gummied made for distance running), but knew those would bother my stomach these days.
It is probably not considered safe to eat hard candy while running, but the very slow release of sugar these give works really well for me.
Trader Joe’s Tart Cherry Oatmeal
Will I ever have a favorites post that doesn’t include something from Trader Joe’s? It seems doubtful….
I leave for work really early and our mornings are a little rushed. Oatmeal is my favorite breakfast and I’ve been loving these super quick oatmeal cups from Trader Joe’s.
Unlike most oatmeal packets, these have rolled oats instead of instant and the only added sugar is the sweetened dried cherries. I add a little honey (and nut butter!), but most oatmeal packets are way too sweet to me, so I love that I can control the amount.
Corvelia Cabernet Sauvignon (Trader Joe’s)
I am by NO means a wine expert, but I really like this cab-sauv that’s only $10. I generally buy wine in the $10-15 range and this one seems much better to me than others I’ve tried at the same price point. I also like that it has a distinctive bottle because I am the worst about remembering which wines I’ve tried and liked when I’m in the store.
I’ve tried hot turmeric / lemon tonics before, but just tried this cold one yesterday and it is SO good and refreshing! I really like that I can make a big batch and keep it in the fridge to drink throughout the week too. I used ground turmeric instead of fresh, and also added a little cayenne.
I love wearing leggings, but I’m only 5′ 4″ and I find that a lot of them are too long for me and bunch at the ankles which I HATE. I feel like leggings have to fit well not to look frumpy.
I have finally found a pair that is not see-through and is the perfect length. If you’re on the shorter side, I definitely recommend these!
I got this outdoor blanket for Christmas and have been loving it! I like to take it outside when James plays in the backyard to give us a home base. He seems to really like sitting on it (for about 5 seconds at a time) and the leaves and dirt don’t stick to it like my regular blankets. I wish I had had this when he was younger!
It’s larger than I thought it would be, which I love, and it easily folds up super small and I definitely plan on taking it to the park when the weather gets a little warmer.
I have a strong love of personality frameworks. My little brother told me about this one and we had way too much fun discussing / teasing each other about all of our results. If you share this nerdy love with me, take the test!
New Words
This guys only said “Dada” for months, but now it seems like he learns a new word almost every day! He’s currently saying Mama, Dada, baby, okay (“tay”), bye-bye, hi, play, car, uh-oh, and I’m sure a lot more that I’m not thinking of. It is SO much fun to hear all of the new things he’s saying 🙂
Share something that’s been making you smile lately!
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4 Comments
I’m glad you had a good run, it would be hard to stick to a training schedule while also accommodating a little guy schedule. I will have to look for that oatmeal, I love cherries and like that it is rolled oats instead of Instant.
It’s really good for a quick breakfast! I’ve started buying a couple every week 🙂
Yea for new words! Wait until he starts talking in sentences…it will blow your mind! Glad to hear you had fun at the race. To train for a 1/2 marathon at all with a baby/toddler is quite the achievement in my opinion! I’ve never had much luck with running, in the past I’ve always developed knee and/or foot issues with too much running, but I’ve just added in 1 run day per week to cross train a little and I’m enjoying it! I think running outside is really elevating my mood 🙂
I totally agree, running outside makes me so happy, especially if it’s sunny! I’ve had a long-term foot injury and was amazed that my foot barely bothered me at all this time! Fingers crossed that that will continue..injuries are so frustrating!