Lilly's Running Momma

Another year has gone by and Lilly is the big 5 today! I knew this day would come but I didn’t know it would be so fast. I told Lilly the other day she’s not my baby anymore since shes so independent and her response? “Oh Mom!” Really, Mom!? How come I’m not Mommy anymore?! But I am called Momma when she’s needing a little Mommy love. I’ll take what I can get I guess. Happy Birthday to my little Bunny!!

Continuing with the tradition of last year, enjoy the many faces from Lilly from the past year.

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

Since the terrible tragedy that hit my hometown a week ago, like others, I’ve experienced every emotion possible. I didn’t know any of the victims but I did cry on my way to work the other day, saddened by the lives lost, the people injured, and the heroes who saved others. I said a little prayer and realized how grateful I should be for the life I have.

I really have no complaints and today again I realized, for me, my life is perfect. It may not seem perfect to anyone else, but for me, it works. Today I saw 2 coworkers go at each other, ready to knock each other out. Bringing out each others personal issues or problems. I sat in shock hoping someone would stop this, mainly my boss who was there as well. After feelings were hurt, it was mentioned that we all were going through some personal issue. Then it came back to me that no one knows if I’m dealing with something personal. That’s when I realized, no, I only have my dumb little first world problems. Like why doesn’t the grocery store carry the kind of cheese or ice cream I want? Or, my hair is being really stupid today.

I really need to be more grateful for what I have and my dad also reminded me of this a few days ago as well. Grateful for my parents for taking care of Lilly when I want to go to the gym or hang out with my friends. Grateful for my job that allows me to get anything I want or need for Lilly or myself. Grateful for the life I have and living it to the fullest. Doing something that scares me and succeeding. Maybe even liking it and wanting to do it again.

I’m lucky to have the most awesome kid ever. I’m lucky to have parents that put up with me. I’m lucky to have a close family even though I sometimes try to stay away. I’m lucky to be healthy to run for miles and miles. I’m lucky to have the bestest friends ever and meet new ones along the way. I’m lucky to be me.

It’s easy to take things for granted and sucks when something terrible happens to bring you back to reality. I’m going to try harder to appreciate what I have and forget about my troublesome hair for a minute and where is that dang peach ice cream, and just live in the moment.

I will always be an Aurora girl and my heart, thoughts, and prayers are with the victims, families, and Aurora Community.

Whenever I run more than 5 miles, random thoughts get the best of me. If I had a better memory, they would make great blogs posts as well. Which is probably why I havent posted in forever. But since I’ve put in quite a few more miles this week, more random thoughts have come to me. So here they are:

• I have found the most annoying sound at the gym. Through my obnoxiously loud music coming from my iPod, I still manage to hear the scraping of shoes on the belt of the treadmill. Please pick up your feet. I’d rather hear the pounding on the treadmill than scraping shoes. It’s like nails on a chalkboard annoying.
• People that don’t wipe down their machines after use. The nasties I see left on the treadmill is so gross. I always clean the treadmill before and after I use it. I know how much I sweat and I know how much I can stink. I do not trust other people, plus the gym has been sort of a shit show lately…
• Chafing in the nether regions is the most awkward, uncomfortable, and painful areas to chafe. I’m thinking about cutting the  underwear out of my running shorts just to alleviate the situation. This would also add better air circulation!
• I finally reached my very first 100 mile month! I’ve only done 73 miles twice, so hitting 100 was pretty sweet. Don’t pay attention to how inconsistent I have been.

• I have a stalker at the gym. He left a note on my car complimenting my gait. Runner pickup lines are NOT sexy. He left his phone number so we can run together sometime. Too bad for him, I prefer to run alone. Plus I’m kinda mean. I AM posting his note on my blog using my awesome editing skills. I might introduce myself as “?”.

• I ran my first 10 mile race 2 weekends ago and surprised the hell out of myself. I haven’t run 9 minute miles in a year, so busting out quicker miles makes me excited for half marathon training this summer. It’s all speed work this year. Lilly ran with me to the finish and loved it and I did too.

• I ran 20 miles on the treadmill a few weeks ago. I am stupid. Thank you Steve Jobs for creating the iPad.
• Running strictly on the treadmill during the winter has worked in my favor. I ran very long and very slow miles, then easily managed 9 minute miles during a 10 mile race. I’m not saying this will work for everyone, but it worked for me. I’m not a fan of running the cold and wearing extra layers. The less I wear, the better off I am. No weird chafing!!

So with that, I have one more week of training until I run my 3rd marathon, Colfax!! Then I’m taking the summer off and running for fun and working on getting fast. I also miss my Ballet Sculpt and Ballet Bootcamp classes. I’ve missed a few classes when my weekly mileage ramped up. I miss that “It hurts so good” feeling.

It’s getting warm again and you know what that means…

I’ll just say what everyone is thinking, “There she goes wearing those skanky shorts again.”

I love the booty shorts.

I knew I would have shit days at work but today was the shittiest fucking day I have ever had in my whole life and I hope I never have to go through what I went through today ever again. And no I didn’t get fired, I’m so far from ever getting fired from my job after what I went through today. My boss is actually proud of me.

On a high note, I bought a new car last week but wasn’t really excited about it since I knew I had to work the next day and deal with…stuff.

But alas, it’s almost the weekend and my marathon training will be put on the back burner while I try to see how much beer I can drink all St Patty’s Day while not puking or trying to start a fight through text message. Ahh, drunk texting…

Have a great weekend and be safe!!