A Case of the Runs

I randomly received the infographic below via e-mail. I have blogged about being active while working before, though I no longer work here and things are too crazy at my current job to follow my stretch reminders  that I used to set at my other old workplace. Nowadays, I am a little less sedentary at my desk than I used to be, mostly because I'm running off to pump (hopefully not for that much longer, though!), go to the gym, get water, etc.  I used to have days (pre-baby) when I would literally not move (or thereabouts) at my desk from 8-4 straight.  I figured, I got my morning workout in... so I'm good! But am I?? Sure, this is a promotion for a standing desk company , but I'm sure there's a lot of truth to this.  Now, if standing at my desk for half of the workday could get me even close to this 11-marathon per year figure, I could get in better shape. I have a co-worker who kind of made her desk a makeshift standing office by putting...

What a year it has been! A year ago, I had the most dazed and pukey day of my life, but hearing "The Ukrainian" tell me that we had a son and meeting the little guy for the first time are still very clear in my mind. I will admit, most of the year has been a blur.  There was a lot of nursing/pumping, playing on the floor with the baby, waking up at night, anxiety, and washing... I'm pretty sure the lack of sleep messed with my sense of time. Can/will single-handedly drink this whole thing. I made sure, though, to commit everything I could to memory -- the feeling of his tiny grabby hand, his babbles, and even the many times I spent checking his hair curl for cradle cap.  All of the changes he has gone through this year have been nothing short of amazing.  He understands some things, throws balls when asked, reacts with great joy or discontent based on which book I've chosen for his bedtime story, stacks blocks, and says some words.  It's hardly believa...

Although I never filled out the week-by-week pregnancy surveys that I've seen on (many) blogs, I thought it would be fun to do one now. ------ How far along?  50 weeks (close to 1 year) postpartum... is that too long to be considered "postpartum"??? Total weight gain/loss:  +8 lbs (from average pre-pregnancy) -- yes, I'm actually going to post pics even though the only other points of comparison was when I got temporarily pretty fit after a disciplined round or two of Insanity . Basically, I now have an extra layer of padding everywhere, especially in the middle.  Just being matter-of-factly here.  I didn't have much "body confidence" before having a baby because I wasn't at my goal, either.  Now, though, I can step back and just state things with fewer feelings involved (although keep reading below). Maternity clothes?  No, back in my old clothes, mostly, though some cause more muffin top than I'd like, and sometimes it looks lik...

I've been a little bit MIA lately, partly because I haven't been feeling particularly athletic lately and partly because my hands are pretty full right now.  A combination of exhaustion and physical pains from carrying a 21+lb baby around has sidelined me from running and other high-impact workouts for the past couple of weeks.  I feel like I got carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists and one of my ankles, plus I've had a temperamental knee so running isn't very fun right now.  Overall, I've just been feeling pretty beat-up. Instead, I've been doing more barre-type workouts, walking, and Pilates, mostly from DVDs or YouTube videos.  I even started doing occasional group exercise classes, which I have not really done before.  As the weather is (finally!!!!) cooling down a bit, though, I hope that will motivate me to try to run more... and maybe I'll feel like I have something to write about in this running blog again. As a result of not feeling up to...