DC…
Remember that time that I went to DC and ran my 10th half marathon?
Yeah.. life got a hold of me, and I forgot to blog about it.
Friday morning found me traveling to Baltimore, by plane. I then, took the bus to the train station, where I took the train into Union Station. I had the creepiest experience in the train station with an employee, were he was begging me for advice because he had cheated on his “old lady”. Maybe you should stop referring to her as your old lady… and asking random girls for advice… or maybe just keep it in your pants.
I thought traveling by train would be so “Serena Van Der Woodsen”. Turns out, it wasn’t.
But, Molly picked me up from there and we headed to the Expo…we did all the normal Nike Women’s stuff… like found our name on the wall.
Upon arrival to Molly’s house, I found that Becca had sent me some Sherrie’s Berrie’s. She used to do this for every race, but then I ran a bunch in a row and they were local, so.. can’t blame a gal for stopping! Anyway, obviously my friends are total rockstars and you should be jealous.
Saturday, we went to Cooper’s baseball game and Lindsey came up and we went to lunch with Kelly while Molly and Company when to Veggie Tales.
Lindsey stayed around while we did cake and sang to Cooper.
Sunday was the race, and lots of dancing and champs and naps.
Monday morning B drove me to Baltimore (THANKS B!!!) and I had to battle these….
Unpacking made me a little sad that it was over…
But this face waiting on me at the airport made it all better!!
My Style Monday–Weekend Casual.
Sunday brought me warmer weather and a couple of outdoor photography sessions, therefore it was time to break out some shorts and tanks.
Tank–H&M. Shorts–H&M. Flip Flops–Old Navy.
Side Note: I can’t thank you enough for the kind words on my juggling act post.. it means a lot to me that so many of you left sweet comments!!
Juggling Act.
I feel like it’s been a while since I have been REAL. You know, really real? Something has been stuck in my head for a while now. Meghan made the comment to me several weeks ago telling me what a rockstar I am for all that I do– running, blogging, working full time, raising a family, etc etc.. and I’ll be honest. I don’t feel like a rockstar at all. Most days, I go to bed thinking of all the tasks I didn’t complete and how I didn’t make the most of my time. How I let my ADD (yes. I have that if you haven’t caught on.) get the best of me and become distracted from the task at hand.
I am currently drowning in blog posts that I need to write, and I sit down and have no desire to do them. My house stays in a constant state of disaster. The laundry is never ending. Those things stress me out to no end. Clutter makes me feel claustrophobic. Claustrophobia will send me in a straight up panic attack. I feel guilty for not putting enough time in my training. But then I feel guilty for not spending enough time with the girls when I train.
Monday night, I skipped my workout to cook dinner because John asked me to. It took me an hour and a half to cook. Then, the girls wouldn’t eat half of what I fixed. To top it off, I tripped over a groceries that have been sitting in my kitchen floor for TWO WEEKS. I completely lost all coping mechanisms and just flipped out on everyone. It took me 45 minutes to clean up the kitchen by myself, because let’s be real, NO ONE wants to be trapped in a small area with someone who is currently going bat shit crazy and throwing pots and pans around.
I know I have to trim the fat on my life, but what or where? It’s hard to cut out those things that once brought you joy.
For Mother’s Day, I received a manicure and pedicure already set up with an appointment for my day off this week with my best friend. (Yes, our husbands coordinated it. It’s okay to be a little jealous.) She asked me if I wanted to go to lunch after. Of course I do. That’s something we NEVER do. But I hesitate because I have so much shit to do at home. None of it is pressing, but I am so tired of it needing to get done.
Basically, I feel like I am just treading water to keep my head above water. My brain is fried on all things. I feel like I am currently half ass doing everything that needs to get done and not putting 100% towards any one thing.
So, if you have suggestions for how I can make better use of my time or perhaps you are on the up and up on that cloning technology, I am all ears.
What do you struggle with?
Trendy Tot Tuesday
I’m linking up with Kelly again this week! I just love her. I had a semi love affair with Matilda Jane this Spring and bought the girls several outfits… much to my wallets protest.
This skirt SCREAMED Claire…
See how cute I am, Mama?
Give me a pose, baby. (She’s got that down, right?!)
Of course, the skirt caught my eye for it’s “twirl factor”. That’s very important to 4 year olds nowadays.
Sass. All Sass. Just know, this is the child that asked me the smell her armpit Sunday night.
Lots and lots of twirls.
I am generally not so good with the Matilda Jane stuff.. it’s all meant to go with each other, and I seemed to pick the things that clashed the most and tried to make them go together. I have never felt so fashion stupid in my life. But, I just love their stuff!!
(Disclaimer: all of these photos are straight out of the camera.. no editing. I was tired. Sue me.)
My Style Monday
Look at our awesome new button!!!! Thanks to Jenn at In Munchkinland Designs!
Saturday night, we went out for John’s Moms Mother’s Day dinner… I worked all day and my new top from Shop Hope’s had come in, so I had to wear it. I debate on telling the Internets on my new found love of this boutique, but their clothes are entirely TOO CUTE and AFFORDABLE to not. So.. you are welcome!
Also.. This is what happens when you have an hour wait at Olive Garden… you have your husband take outfit pictures.. you CERTAINLY don’t get any weird looks that way… NOT.
How cute is the back of this shirt?!
White Skinnies– Target. Top– Shop Hopes. Wedges– TOMS.
Trendy Tot Tuesday
I decided to link up with Mrs. In Training today for Trendy Tot Tuesday.. simply because, I love this outfit for Claire and she is taking her first field trip today. I also love that my 4 year old chose the pieces for this outfit herself… She’s such a mini fashionista.
Give me a pose, Claire bear!
Of course Big Sis has to attempt to ruin everything for little sis…it must be so exhausting being a Big Sister.
“Claire, I’ve been on like, 4 field trips and I am going on one Friday AND another one next week… to Fairy Tale Land!!” What a little turd. 
Outfit Deets:
Denim skirt– Old Navy. (similar.) | Shirt is from Belk | Boots– Old Navy | Tights and hair bow– If The Shoe Fits
Mother’s Day Ideas? Minted Giveaway
Do you ever just browse certain websites and dream of the possibilities? No? Just me? Well, Minted.com is one of those websites for me. I am a sucker for custom greeting cards, and if I can add a photo, consider me sold! But Minted.com offers more than just Christmas cards or invitations.
They have some beautiful Mother’s Day gifts as well. Continue reading
My Style Monday– Mint and Black.
I am super excited to announce that I will be starting to host My Style Monday with the fabulous Lindsey at Let the Light Shine. She rocks my face off.
On my trek to DC last week, I broke out the mint skinnies with black… Looking at this outfit now makes me realize how badly I need that tan I am never going to get… oh well. This leather pocket tee is super comfy and this is probably my favorite pair of skinnies… they don’t gap in the waist!
Skinny Jeans from Target (here), leather pocket tee from F21 (here), The shoes are from Old Navy last year, but here are some similar (here).
YMX Gear Review
A couple of weeks ago, I was sent an amazing long sleeve shirt from YMX by Yellowman for review.
I love the color and pattern– all of YMX clothing is made based off of original tattoo art– How cool is that?!
It is made with an extremely lightweight, athletic MadKool fabric that must come from the clouds of Heaven. This shirt feels like a DREAM, y’all.
I have worn it on several runs and I cycled 20 miles in it. I was amazed at how it keeps you warm when you need it, but will somehow cool you off, when needed. I don’t know if Harry Potter himself could have made a better shirt for cycling.
The price tag was a little on the steep side, but I’ll be honest… I think this shirt is worth every penny. I cannot get over how lightweight it is. The fabric just has this yummy, silky texture to it. Not to mention, they way it is cut is extremely flattering.
*I was sent this shirt to review, and was in no other way compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.
Nike Women’s DC
Before telling you about my trip to DC, I think I will post my race recap!
FIrst off, the Expo, was sort of lame. You really couldn’t buy anything and it was just nuts. But, the packet pick up was separate and was a breeze, so kudos for that one. With all of the walking up and down hills, my calves were tight and I knew I wouldn’t be running on fresh legs.
I laid out all of my gear the night before….
The gorgeous sunrise heading into the city…
Molly’s husband drove us into the city, instead of taking the metro. He dropped us off about 3 blocks from the start line. It was awesome. I hope it was awesome for him too.
We entered into the 9:00-9:59 coral.. which, honestly, was completely pointless seeing as how they didn’t do a coral start.
We all just started out at once.. and we were behind the 2:10 pacer. I was NOT HAPPY about weaving around so many women in tight spaces. There were 15,000 runners, and a lot of them first timers, (I hate to stereotype..BUT) they probably didn’t know there are rules to racing. We spent the first two miles LITERALLY weaving in and out of people. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t get pasted the 2:10 pacer. It cleared a little after mile 2 when we were crossing the bridge to Arlington Cemetery.
We finally caught sight of the 2:00 pacer on the loop by the Kennedy Center.. I knew then it was going to be tough to catch up. Around mile 6, my IT band started making its presence known and I got a side stitch.. I knew I was pushing it too hard. I decided right then and there that I wouldn’t injure myself over a sub 2:00 half. I would run what I could and give it everything I had and I would be happy. At this point, Molly was pushing me and I felt bad that I had nothing to give her except facial grimaces. It didn’t help that around this point, it was completely boring as we were running around the golf course. I tried to find funny signs to help me out. I never realized how hard it was to try to catch a pacer… the mental stress that just adds to the run. That part was misery.
As hard as I was running, this was a very cleansing run for me. I let go of everything else going on in my life, and completely concentrated on the race and the steps in front of me. It was just very… freeing. I had nothing to do but run like it was my job. We saw Molly’s fam around mile 10 and it was a nice change of pace. B got some pictures of us and I realized how bad I hunch my shoulders when I run.. no wonder my shoulder blades go numb!
Anyway, it wasn’t long after that, Molly lost me as I couldn’t continue to beast up the hill. I knew then that I wouldn’t break 2 hours, but I might could possibly PR. Heading back into the tunnel was awful and not near as exciting as it was at the beginning of the race. As we rounded the loop and I could see runners running towards the finish line, I got really pissed off because I HATE when courses do that. We made the worlds longest loop and heading back, I could see the finish line. So, I attempted to push it and completely ran out of gas because I misjudged how far the actual finish line was. At mile 12.5 I was really pissed off. But I got my phone out because I knew I would want pictures at the finish line, and saw all of the Tweets, FB messages and texts that lined my screen. I couldn’t believe it.
I crossed the finish line with my hands held high and a smile on my face and guess what? There won’t be any pictures because Nike didn’t have photographers!! WTF NIKE?!?!
Anyway, as I stood in line to get my Tiffany, I told the girl behind me (yes, I told her.) “Hey, I’ll take your picture with him if you’ll take mine.” She looked at me like a crazy person, but also a genius.
I found Molly and we had our “WE DID IT!!!” picture.
Posing with our blue boxes..
Washington Monument? Yes, please!!!
What?! It’s the White House, y’all!!
So, it wasn’t a sub 2. It wasn’t even a PR. But you know what it was? It was my 10th half marathon. And that is nothing to shake a stick at. I ran my 10th half in a time that I never thought possible. That’s 131 miles in half marathons alone. Not to mention training cycles and 5K’s and 10K’s. I celebrated on Sunday. Everything that I have been able to do because of running. It has changed me in so many ways. I cannot thank you enough for the support and encouragement that you have given me on the Internet. From those who wished me good luck, to those who actually tracked my race online, I cannot thank you enough. It’s amazing to have that kind of support.
Now for the bling…
Awesome, right?
Now, would I run this race again? This race was amazing. The course was beautiful. I did not care for the lack of coral starts. Or the fact that the 2 hour pacer can’t hold up her sign very well. The runner tracking was a complete joke. I want something that posts to Twitter, not Facebook!! The fact that there weren’t any finish line photos royally ticks me off. I also don’t like the lack of information out there from Nike. But, I feel like I got my money’s worth and everything was well organized. I heard there weren’t a lot of port-o-potty’s, but that didn’t affect me, so I am not sure.
I can tell you one thing… I’ve been wearing Tiffany since Sunday!
