Bradbury Scuffle 6 mile trail race

after fighting with my computer (wont save screenshots, wont edit anything in paint ((side note, paint? who uses paint?!)) i finally got things to kinda work (kinda)... and then all my pics loaded from last to first. hell if im going to waste any more of henrys nap time trying to fix that! so this blog will be written from the end to the start. cool.

bradbury scuffle

6 mile trail race

53rd out of 162

57:14

(totally my shirt and number. and car. not doctored at all from michelle. 

nope. look at the fancy frame!)

apparently i was again the 2nd crow member to finish (just like last years 9 mile race). i finished 9th female overall, 5th female age 30-39. not too shabby. who wants to join us for the 9 miler?

and when we got home we got to see daddy who finished his 2nd half marathon! yay!

 more post race selfie fun

again, were super serious about trail running

not a terrible elevation
(but a terrible crooked cut and paste, stupid computer)

post race with jim, leslie, and tom

the end. did you follow that? (i think it took me longer to write it this way than to just fix the original problem).

i was dripping in sweat and covered in bugs (barf) but overall everything felt awesome. i rolled my ankles a few times (normal, no pain) but i didnt fall and i think thats a huge plus. this race was a great intro to trail running and was nothing like the 9 miler! they had great volunteers and water, watermelon, and rice krispie treats at the finish (i didnt have any). jim had brought me a beer (miller 64... actually not too bad!) and we chatted for a bit before heading home.

coming in to the finish, blurry cuz im running super fast, obviously

the course was windy and had some good ups and downs, rocks and some mud and then some good flat gravel and grass towards the end (as well as two water stops with gatorade as well). i was able to speed up significantly towards the end and as we were coming around a turn i passed a woman... and she started racing me! i didnt mean for her to think i was trying to beat her right at the end (i honestly wasnt, i just thought there was more to the race and i was just going ahead of her), but as we rounded the last corner and i saw the finish line, i stepped it up and finished just ahead of her (by 4 seconds... dont worry, we arent in the same age group lady. i also really liked your outfit if that helps?)

at one point there were a few people in front of me and we were jumping over some tree branches and one of the people tripped and dove right into the ground. i stopped to make sure they were ok (they were) and headed on. i made sure that i kept my eyes on the ground for the rest of the run. there were parts that had some wooded bridges that scared me (going over a little bit of water, all i could think of was gators and snakes. ya know, cuz we live in maine. gators are everywhere obviously). but thats what it felt like. maybe that helped me run faster. and by faster i mean 11 minute miles. sweet.

i stayed with michelle and chatted for a bit, but it was hard to run side by side as the trail was not very wide and the start was a bit crowded. it thinned out within the first mile and then i felt alone for a long time. there were a few people ahead of me and every now and then i would pass a couple of them. i really wasnt trying to race but i felt good and thought i could at least get a good strong run in.

after some pre race thank yous and rules, we were off. we started the opposite side of the road from where the 9 miler went last year, which made me think this wasnt going to be quite as bad because the mountain was on that other side of the road (thank God, because who runs their 17 mile long run the day before a trail race... oh yeah, this girl. oops). people had said this 6 miler wasnt all that bad (and that the 9 miler was the really tough one) so i went in with a "lets just have fun" attitude. also needed to make sure i didnt roll my ankles or fall. or die.

....and then takes the spotlight (i was very concerned about tripping and falling)

michelle loves me so much she lets me be the star of the pre race selfie

(another quality pre race leslie pic- my massive calves? or my road running brooks launch sneakers that apparently double as trail running shoes, obviously)

 leslie was trying to take pics of my... tattoo? so she claims. i really think she was going to use this against me at some point... she has now nicknamed me "spiney" (wtf is up with my back?!) and note to self: a sports bra that is two sizes too small is not attractive. moving on...

i have clearly perfected the group selfie

 thumbs up for trail running!

shes not really that tall. but almost.

i know im short

or we took selfies. we take trail running very seriously.

michelle and i also convinced our friend jim to sign up for all three, and another friend leslie and her husband registered for the 6 mile race (they have other things to do on the other race days. whatever). i havent seen michelle or leslie in a million years so we spent lots of time pre race stretching and talking race strategy and obviously maintaining complete pre trail running focus.

bad ass = hoodie

last year shortly after having henry i ran the bradbury mountain breaker 9 mile race. i hadnt trained on hills or trails, (i basically hadnt really been running much at all) so why not sign up for a race in the woods on technical trails that runs up a mountain twice! smart life decisions. i actually had a lot of fun (see here) and was easily convinced to register for the trifecta of races for this year to become an official bradbury bad ass (i only did it for the hoodie. screw running).

year in review. in july.

you might think im gonna start blogging regularly again... two posts in two days! but dont hold your breath. im just on a roll and figured id continue playing catch up for a little while longer. however, getting part of the top of my pointer finger slashed off this morning by a piece of metal that flung out of the side of my window makes typing a fun challenge at the moment, and it will take even longer to write this due to the fact that ill be running upstairs every three and a half minutes to make sure my kid isnt internally bleeding during his nap after falling head first out of the living room chair (at least i think he fell head first out of the chair... he was watching the wild kratts and i went in the bathroom EIGHT FEET AWAY for TWO DAMN SECONDS trying to clean the ever loving bleeding gash in my finger and heard him fall... awesome mom of the year here folks).

hes tried to climb the chair three times since... boys never learn.

anyway... i didnt talk much about running in yesterdays post, and since thats mostly why this blog started to begin with, i figured i should maybe write about running. people who kinda know me think thats all i do, but in reality i really only run, on average, 6 miles a day. sure, thats a lot to many people. but lets say, on average, 6 miles takes me 53 minutes. thats not even 4% of one day. and looking at it on a broader scale... averaging 6 miles a day at 53 minutes, times 7 days in the week is still only 4% of the WHOLE WEEK. (i do math way better when im not running). sure, there are days i dont run at all (ah, sweet sweet sleep... oh wait, i dont really sleep either. thanks to henry who wakes up at 4:30am daily). and there are also days i run for 3 hours (and enjoy it!). but overall, i do not spend all my time running. i do, however, spend all my (our/tylers) money on running though. some people like purses (huh?), make up (my mascara is probably 3 years old), shoes (flip flops and sneakers fill the closets here), expensive clothes (all of my clothes are either from target, are old and too big, or its stuff i run in. so hot.)... but i love running. its my thing. so be it.

it is interesting to see those percentage numbers though because even i feel like im running all the time sometimes. but i love the feeling of a good run being done before the sun comes up, and the pain of being hungry for 2nd breakfast at 10am because first breakfast was at 7am, and being able to eat a whole box of mac and cheese (that is 1/4 cup of butter for anyone counting at home) and not worry about what some number on a machine in the bathroom says (which in reality is also followed by a bud light or a bowl of ice cream). i dont care if you hate me, running is something i love. and you wont be jealous of me when im 60 and needing knee replacements so just laugh now, ok? i also went to the doctor a few months ago because i couldnt stop losing weight after henry was born. tough problem to have right? well i was sick of people telling me i needed to eat. HELLO. whole boxes of mac and cheese has a 1/4 cup of butter. i freaking eat. no chia seeds though. but anyway, he checked everything out (i thought it might be my thyroid, he agreed... and it wasnt). we talked about diet and running and my low heart rate and low blood pressure and high metabolism... and he literally said to me "i dont get to tell many of my patients this, but you can have a bowl of ice cream after dinner. every night". you should always listen to my doctor, smart guy. but even with that my weight has plateaued. i didnt expect to (or want to) get back to my pre pregnancy weight after having henry, and im almost 10lbs below that. am i upset about it? no. i feel im still healthy. but the comments hurt sometimes because everyone thinks im too skinny and relates it to my running and that i run too much and that i dont eat so im obviously anorexic. you dont know that it pains me to see the numbers on the scale like it might for people with the opposite problem as me. i cant help this and i wont apologize to anyone for what i do. im sure i could add 8 more smoothies with kale and chia seeds into my diet instead of a 1/4 cup of butter but i enjoy nachos and cheese and avacados and bud light and sugar filled granola with greek yogurt and whole boxes of mac and cheese and all the coffee every single freaking day.

hrumph. ok this was supposed to be about running. apparently my fingers had other another agenda in mind. hi im back to blogging, heres many of the bitchy things i wanted to say over the past 6 months coming out at ya!! quite the welcome back party. (ill keep other bitchy things to myself. for now).

but ok, RUNNING! yay! 4% of my day, week, month, year. 4% of the year doesnt seem like much, now does it? i might reiterate this many many times. i used to do monthly recaps and i liked that at one point, so i think ill maybe start that back up again in hopes i can keep myself accountable to big goals for the fall and into next year. (totally copying format from my running twinsie... minus the fancy graphs, cuz how?! and no fitsnap pics cuz droid).

year in review
(well, mid year i guess i should say)

total miles: 1016.09
(seems like a lot, right? do the math, its still only 5.6 miles per day)

jan 165.52
feb 153.84
mar 214.9
apr 173.26
may 158.57
june 150

total runs: 123
(meaning i took 58 rest days! so much math)

total runs on the treadmill: 40. barf.
(longest treadmill run: 18 miles. double barf. but it was awesome)

highest weekly mileage: 56.1 (highest weekly mileage ever i think)

highest monthly mileage: march 214.9 miles (also highest month ever)

earliest my alarm was set for to run: 3:50. am.

# of shoes: 3, two pairs of brooks launch (same color since they wont make any cool ones like the other types they have), and ghost 6. ive run my races in the launch (lighter) and training in both. im starting to do my recovery runs in adrenalines that a friend sent me to see if it helps with some lower back stuff ive been dealing with, and ill probably order another pair of the launch for the fall (same color, since apparently new colors arent coming out until february. thats too late brooks! guess i shouldnt complain since they didnt discontinue them)

races:
frozen 5k - 21:56 new PR
mid winter classic 10 mile race - 1:16:15 new PR
westbrook winter west 5k - 22:07
great bay half marathon - 1:40:11 new PR
gorham lions club 10k - 44:47 new PR
maine coast marathon - 3:37:08 new PR
pineland farms 25k trail race - 2:16:32 new PR

party.

favorite race: maine coast marathon
so many ups and downs, i learned a lot about running and myself along those 26.2 miles, and i have a lot to take away from that day and the 18 weeks leading up to it. am i over the fact that i missed boston by such a small amount of time? no. but ill get there when i get there. stupid weather.

upcoming races:
bradbury scuffle 6 mile trail race
beach to beacon 10k
bradbury mountain breaker 9 mile trail race
bradbury bruiser 12 mile trail race
chicago marathon
mdi marathon relay

well there you have it. at least ill maybe have 6 more blogs to write. off to go eat some butter now!

i used to blog, i think?

hi. im back. maybe.

have you read this? 5 Minutes in a Mom's Head. this blog might be kinda like that. or exactly like that. its just precisely how i feel right now. actually right now i feel really tired. and need coffee. i drink a lot of coffee. i should have thought to have written something like that before she did. maybe if i wrote more on my blog i could be famous and have it go viral like her. but id have to write something witty. and funny. she is probably really funny (she is. im not). im funny looking though, that should count for something. 

so i havent blogged since the end may, which seems like it was a year ago. how is it now july?! a few weeks ago approximately 4 people texted/fb msgd me within 24 hours of each other (are you guys in some sort of group together or something?) all asking if i was ok (more like probably thinking my kid had grown up so fast and was holding me hostage or that i went for a run and never returned. both of those things could easily be true. not that i would get kidnapped on my run i hope. just like ran forever maybe. id need to bring a lot of snacks). but guys, im totally ok! theres just this thing called life, it kinda just keeps happening at this really ridiculously fast speed. and since they havent yet figured out how to make days last 30 hours (would somebody get on the please?!) i just dont really have time to sit down and write about stupid stuff ive been doing (mostly going to target, that about sums it up). 

ive also kinda gotten into this little grumpy space where i feel like i dont really care what random people on my instagram have for breakfast (sorry random people, im sure your protein shake with chia seeds is delish! ...no i honestly dont really think that sounds delicious. ill sit here and enjoy my chocolate donut). and dont get me started about twitter and facebook. i used to enjoy these things. i also used to enjoy getting drunk at bars and eating entire boxes of mac and cheese by myself. things change. ok one of those things i might still do more often than i should. and i do still care about the majority of random strangers (and friends of course!) on social media but i just feel like its all kinda a waste of my time right now and i roll my eyes more often than laugh and id rather think back to when hen was 1 years old and remember chasing him around and laughing when he only will say dada and not mama and points to his head when you ask "wheres your belly" and seeing his smile on the new swing grandma and grandpa got him... as opposed to what random strangers baby did way before hen or who took selfies or how many people qualified for boston on the most gorgeous day God has ever made (related: totally over my dumb race in may. obvs).

but i still took a few screen shots (much too lazy right now to crop them)

and hen is obviously still very cute

not impressed with his black eye

or that mommy is making him watch OITNB

but in these fast moving days hes learned to walk. and climb. and omg he has an attitude! (where did he get that from?!) i tried to put the poor thing in 9 month pajamas the other day (hes almost 14 months old). hes got 10 teeth (that he loves brushing!) i corralled him in a makeshift play area in the living room that my mom came up with one day and i turned around for three seconds to make coffee (how does one survive parenthood without it?!) and he was not only out of the play area (wtf?!) but he was standing on the chair watching tv. can he teleport? then he got splinters in his feet the other day after crawling around on the front porch (mom of the year). dr. google said that splinters from pressure treated wood can basically kill you so those needed to come out. ever tried getting splinters out of a one year old? good times. i did about three minutes of intense internet research and applied a baking soda/water paste to his feet and covered them with bandaids. this intense research called for leaving the paste there for 24 hours but i felt a two hour nap was good enough. come to find out they werent really splinters, and the paste caused a little rash on his feet. excellent.

and the kid is obsessed with two videos on you tube- 1) twinkle twinkle little star with this cute little owl that FIL introduced him to (yes ill admit, the video was cute... the first 3 times i saw it. after 4,568... ive changed the words to twinkle twinkle little chicken to make things interesting), and 2) some snowflake song the MIL introduced him to (this is not to be confused with any song from Frozen. i have yet to see that movie and those songs make me want to vomit a little bit). the snowflake song was also cute, and god bless the inlaws for finding these videos, but if he sees your phone out, hen will stop at nothing until those two videos are played. and he laughs and claps and waves. luckily theyre approximately 1 minute long, yet still manage to be stuck in your head all damn day. ive also changed the words to the snowflake song to reflect his bedtime lotion routine. parenting is fun. lotion lotion bedtime lotion, lotion lotion rubbing on my skin...

all such exciting things... arent we glad im blogging again? (dont get used to it... although i have a race next weekend that could prove to be slightly entertaining). ive been really trying to cut back on my trips to target (i must be not feeling well for sure). on days i dont shower before noon (most days) i dont leave the house unless im running or going to the park. this has surely saved us money by not going to target. but did you know target has wallpaper now? seriously, who wants to wallpaper? this is 2014, not 1975. but i do! its like those decal wall things (i think) and it looks amazing. just big strips of decal! and i want to wallpaper ALL THE ROOMS. and it comes with matching paint colors that i could use to repaint furniture and whatnot. ill do that with all the time i have, right? especially since i want to move. so lets spend all the money and time on this house for the next people. smart. this house is becoming too small for all of us... our dog has grown to the fit weight of 107lbs, and the number of toys henry is accumulating is astonishing (ps- thank you to everyone for his birthday presents! mom of the year forgot to send thank you cards. perhaps i should just post a blog of pictures of him playing with/wearing all of his new bday things!) for xmas henry would like the cardboard from paper towel rolls and old remote controls. out of the zillion toys and books, these are the things he plays with. i also want another cat. chips needs a friend. and my house obviously needs more living things. and fur.

marathon training is once again in full effect (no surprise. does it ever end?) one of the friends that texted to see if i was ok stated she hadnt seen me running lately, so of course i must be dead. but really i just run at 4am. and i might be (certifiably) crazy but i actually like it. i have a best friend who is just as awesome (crazy) as i am that joins me, and its not humid and we dont get sunburnt and we usually stop at dunkin donuts to pee and they give us ice water. win. do you remember how i got super screwed with my spring marathon weather.? chicago better be cold. summer is a terrible time to train for a marathon but fall is typically a good time to run a marathon. or two.

we got a new car and it seats 7! it kinda sounds like it and it kinda feels like it but its NOT a minivan (cough cough michelle). the husband was too tall for the sunroof, thanks for ruining that for me. sirius radio is kinda cool (i dont have to listen to the local stations for three months!!), but they play more iggy and "wiggle" than one should ever hear. i hadnt gotten my hair cut since christmas eve, so i thought that should probably happen (so it did). and since i was there i had her wax my eyebrows. nothing could be less fun. well i could probably think of a few things. speaking of not so fun things, my SIL thought guiness book of world records may call her for an interview... "woman is pregnant forever". that sounded cool to me, but apparently not to her. i also try to be helpful sometimes.

whatever it takes, right?

i doubt my info was helpful, but Isla was born the next day. and shes beautiful. beautiful and really gassy.

the cute makes up for the stinky

we went to two weddings in june and on our way to both of them i asked ty if he remembered what we ordered for food. no surprise, neither of us remembered. at both i dreamed a curtain would open and reveal a buffet of nachos items. wouldnt that be sweet? a nacho bar! someone please do this and invite me. if we could do our wedding over again id totally have a nacho bar. and ice cream. im hungry.

there. i think youre all caught up.