A Case of the Runs

EVENT: YMCA Stair Climb DATE: Friday, September 25, 2015 LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA RACE BEGAN: 3:30 pm FINISH TIME: 18:15 I did this event two years ago and was super bummed last year when I had to sit it out due to being eight months pregnant.  Then, I switched employers earlier this year, so I thought I was pretty much done climbing stairs forever. Later, I learned that my new company not only participates, but it also provides a large donation and needed someone to manage all that stuff... someone in Human Resources (gah!)... and it somehow landed in my lap.  Soon, I had budgets to manage and 52 children to guide through the team formation, registration, and packet pick-up process.  Let me tell you, it is WAY more fun to be a participant than a coordinator. ;) Given that I am in no way as fit as I was two years ago when I did this (*ahem, pregnancy, surgical birth, and being chained to my baby*), I started incorporating stair-climbing into my weekly regimen.  Once a week

If there is ever a time in my life when I finally get to sleep like a normal person, let me look back on this time and draw strength from it. Must stop obsessing over numbers -- total hours slept, consecutive hours slept, number of wake-ups, days/months/year (and a half, counting pregnancy) without the eight-hour standard... I'm pretty sure life is pretty sunny and bright when you're not in a constant mental fog, driving sleepy, recurring headache, and summer-like temperatures all day, every day. So the next time I'm on Mile 22, or Mile 12.1 or when it's a little to warm for my liking to run, I must look back.   There is worse. I'd like to race again.  I'd like to donate blood again.  I'd like to not feel like I'm about to collapse by the time I get home from work everyday.  While I'm at it, the great plight of being a working mom is that just when you need a break/vacation the most, you don't have the hours, since maternity leave pretty

I had to laugh after I was asked to review these bars, as unlike many of the bars I've reviewed on here, these are more marketed toward diabetics.  I'm guessing this happened because I wrote a post on diabetes last month. However, I love trying bars of all kinds, so down the hatch they went.  I mean, if non-diabetics find these palatable, that's the true tastiness test right there.  As a plus, these claim to be gluten-free. E xtend Nutrition sent me samples of their Anytime Bar.  Since I had a couple of each flavor, I decided to give some to my diabetic co-worker who normally supplies me with cookies to try.  I had to laugh again when we started chatting about bars, sugar-free things, and intestinal upset.  Thankfully, these did not cause that (your mileage may vary, though)! Here is a brief review of some of the bars: Cookies N Crème: Not bad, reminiscent of the flavor as other brands.  Caramel: My co-worked really liked this one. Yogurt Berry (pictured bel

So forget what I said about being excited about September ... For one thing, it is still SO HOT around here.  I think I complain about the heat every year until November, so I should be used to this by now.  Yesterday, it stayed a warm 92 in the house until the AC cycled back on at 8 PM.  I'm not sure how saving some electricity is worth me sweating to death, but oh well.  I remember swimming at my parents' house over the weekend thinking that this could be *it* for swimming this year, but maybe summer just isn't over yet. Also, while I'm not a fan of the whole pumpkin spice latte thing (Gingerbread is more of my taste), I did indulge on the first day it became available after a particularly fragmented night's sleep.  And... it was not good.  Pumpkin spice muffin the next day... not good.  I'm pretty sure I'm over my pumpkin obsession?? I've hit a slump and am not excited about working out these days, maybe because of fatigue.  I keep eyeing a half

How is it September already???! August is usually sllllooooow for me because of the endless heat, lack of days off/holidays, and I'm usually not traveling anywhere.  Some people get seasonal affective disorder (SAD) during the winter, but mine usually hits in the summer. Still, when you've got this little guy crawling around everywhere, I can see how the days would go by so quickly.  I recently decided to get him a little self-feeder (this one is KidsMe ) because he's taken interest in eating stuff that I eat, and he hasn't figured out the hand-to-mouth thing.  It buys me some extra minutes to wash bottles, clean, and prepare food. As non-anonymous as I'm letting him be for now... Speaking of preparing food, I can't WAIT until this heat dies down.  Especially because we're part of the air conditioning cycling program that shuts off the AC riiiiight when the heat is the worst.  I am pretty sure this counts as a sauna visit. I really want to tu