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...

I almost forgot about my blog being around for nine years.  Luckily, a reminder popped up on my calendar somehow.  I must have put it in years ago. It's no secret that this year has been challenging to say the least, and probably not very productive on the fitness front.  I've still got around 10 pounds of extra weight to carry and never did get to that 30th half-marathon I had anticipated doing . I think this upcoming year will be about finding more balance and enjoying "the ride" more.

It has been a while since my last post, probably because not much has been happening since then.  Everything moves very quickly from day-to-day, and I admit I have not been as attentive to those details as I should be in my constant half-alert state. In recent times, I've been in a workout slump.  I have been pretty good about keeping up frequency (4-5 times a week), though they are pretty short bouts.  I was going at a pretty high intensity for a while, but I ramped it down a little due to burnout.  So there has been a lot of elliptical-ing in front of The Chew , and when I do get that run to Insanity workout in, I feel it the next day. I've taken up daily tea/coffee.  It started out as a terrible (light) frappuccino ritual to reward myself for fighting traffic in my sleepy stupor, but in an effort to take better care of myself, it is now plain lattes or green smoothies.  I've also been doing a slightly better job at sticking to salads or homem...

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 reg...