Monthly Archives: February 2023
Bucket List Item #29: Run 13.1 Miles (Half-Marathon)
Who would have thought, one month ago today when I still had TEN items on my list, that we would be here at the penultimate post on my birthday eve-eve?!? I didn’t know how much of a procrastinator I was until I gave myself 365 days to complete 30 things…..and I saved 33% of them for the last 30 days. It has been a VERY busy month. The cleanliness of my house has taken the toll. I have a deep-cleaning day scheduled for myself next week 😅
Running the distance of a half-marathon (13.1 miles) would have been just a normal Sunday for me, back in the day. I spent the better part of a decade in running shoes. I truly LOVE running (long distance. No sprinting here haha). After all, this blog began when I was a NCAA Division 1 athlete for Northern Arizona University’s Cross Country, Indoor Track and Outdoor Track team. (Anyone been here since race recaps…? ☺️) That was the time in my life that I look back and am most proud of. I’m so thankful to have had that experience!
Though I never saw myself continuing to run competitively after college, I do see myself as a lifelong recreational runner. And I know that it’s totally natural to have peaks and valleys in everything so I will openly admit that I’ve been in quite the valley when it comes to running lately. Particularly since becoming pregnant and now having a baby for the past 11 months. I run here and there but not as consistently or structured as my past, which is a goal of mine going into spring.
This was another item I prolonged til the deadline, and Idaho isn’t particularly known for its “ideal outdoor running weather” in February. Looking at the forecast, I decided this afternoon was my best shot this week. It would be sunny and upper 40’s, though windy. At this point, I have to take what I can get!
I was able to start my run around 2:30pm. Zeb was home until 4:00pm and could watch Brynnley while I ran outside for the first chunk. At 4:00pm, he had to get to work and I would have to come inside and use the treadmill while Brynnley snoozed for her afternoon nap. There was a good chance she would wake up during this portion and we could log the remainder of my miles outside again with her in the stroller. I had a plan!
After attending my MOPs meeting in the morning, I came home and meal-prepped for Zeb to take something healthy on his work trip. I made a Greek salad with tomato, cucumber, lettuce, green onion, feta, a creamy dressing and delicious pan-fried pork patties on top with a little cup of hummus for each container. I fed Brynnley her lunch, wrote a blog post for my regular job and then changed into a weather-appropriate running outfit.
The key to getting into the long-distance zone for me is MUSIC! I could not imagine running to a podcast or an audiobook. I HAVE to be listening to really good music with a beat that fires me up. I have my go-to playlists on Spotify, which include 1990s punk, 2000s hip-hop, current country, lots of Daughtry, some Avril Lavigne, a random Linkin Park song. 😅
I ran 5.5 miles straight without stopping at an 8-minute mile average. To be perfectly honest, that’s the longest I’ve run since fourth of July! I took a short walking break to blow my nose because the wind was really getting to me. I took this picture of a random house just to show the wind in the flag:
When I started again at the 6-mile mark, I thought “uh oh. I should not have stopped.” My legs immediately felt SO HEAVY after stopping. From mile 6-12, I ran as much as I could but stopped to walk when I needed to. I never went more than a mile without running. My butt, thighs, shins and calves let me know that I would regret not training more for this haha. Here is another random snap from my run of a dead frog that really freaked me out…
At the 9-mile mark, Zeb needed to leave for work. So I returned home. Brynnley was still asleep, so I grabbed the baby monitor and hopped on the treadmill. It is so much better to run outside than on a treadmill!
She woke up 20 minutes later. I’d gotten in 2 miles, so my grand total was 11 miles.
I needed 2 more, so I got her cozy in her stroller and went back out into the neighborhood.
We made it through the remaining distance, but I did end up walking the last mile because my legs were practically THROBBING. I just know that I will not be able to walk tomorrow. I’m really surprised that my lungs weren’t more of an issue though because I expected my breathing to be more out of shape than my leg muscles. I also didn’t sweat very much at all even though I hydrated quite a bit for this, and I’m assuming the wind just helped to dry it all off pretty efficiently.
The main takeaway from this task is: I don’t know why I don’t run more. I truly enjoy it. I have proved to myself that I can fit it in with Brynnley. Especially now that the weather will start getting nicer soon, I no longer have any excuse to stay in this “valley” of my running performance. I am here to publicly commit to making long-distance running a more regular part of my lifestyle again. It makes me happy :)
Bucket List Item #28: Sing Karaoke at a Bar
Honestly, I put this one off as long as I could! Every time I looked at my bucket list on our fridge, this one haunted me…..haha. But I already used my mulligan! Since I waited until the last minute, I needed to figure out what bars had karaoke on Wednesdays and how we could swing a mid-week night out with Brynnley’s bedtime schedule.
Brynnley is a good sleeper but she doesn’t like to be put down by anyone new, and I wouldn’t have any fun out if I knew Brynnley was upset and tired at home. So we decided to just do her full bedtime ourselves at 8pm and have a babysitter come over afterwards. It felt very strange to get her to sleep and then go curl my hair and put on make-up. Its usually when I knock out a couple chores or go curl up on the couch!
We found a spot that had Wednesday Night karaoke called Whiskey River, and Zeb invited a couple other friends who had been before and love karaoke. It wasn’t too crowded when we showed up at 8:30 but by the time we were leaving at 11pm it was starting to fill up.
When my husband Zeb went up to the bar to order a beer for him and a white claw for me, I snuck a song entry in for him to sing Like A Virgin by Madonna. He did not appreciate it. His buddy Jared helped him be a good sport and power through, while the rest of us died laughing back at the table.
Our friend Ashlie sang Strawberry Wine, Sarah sang You & I by Lady Gaga, and then it was finally my turn.
The only other time I’ve sang karaoke was in 2018 at a dive bar and I picked Shania Twain’s Any Many of Mine. I didn’t want to repeat myself but I stuck with the Shania theme and sang Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under. I’m not a singer outside of my car, and I am too embarrassed to even look at the video that Zeb took of me singing.
Before the night ended though, I went up one more time to duet with Sarah Heads Carolina, Tails California & it’s a lot less scary when you have someone else’s voice mixed with yours! I was also feeling my White Claws by this point, which also helps 😉
I am just relieved that this bucket list item is crossed off and I won’t spend another sleepless night thinking about it!
Bucket List Item #27: Volunteer at an Event
This event ended up being a family affair!
This morning, Zeb, Brynnley and I woke up and headed over to the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa, Idaho. We’ve been here several times, and my husband grew up volunteering here in his teens. We attend their annual Warbird Round-Up Air Show and it’s at the same airport as one of our favorite restaurants – The Tower Grill.
Once per month, the museum puts on an event called Kilroy Coffee Klatch. It’s a free gathering for veterans to enjoy coffee, pastries and a guest speaker or presentation.
This month, the presentation was of a short documentary that my husband put together about a local WW2 hero named Ernie Ferguson. There would be some introductory speakers that know Ernie’s story personally. Ernie, a 97 year old Marine veteran, was in attendance along with his family.
I reached out to one of the museum staff members and asked if I could volunteer in some capacity at the veterans’ coffee klatch. She said they are always happy to have volunteers so I arrived early with Zeb and Brynnley a little after 9am to see how I could help set up or serve any of their coffee or breakfast goodies.
Fortunately for them, they had an abundance of volunteers and had the majority of their needs already covered. Brynnley and I hung out until the event began at 10am chatting with some of the veterans. She made everyone she came in contact with smile!
The turnout was greater than I expected, and there were easily over 200 veterans in attendance. We began with the pledge of allegiance, general museum announcements, and then my husband’s friend Mike Reed kicked off the presentation with the history behind Ernie Ferguson’s service in the 1940s in the Pacific Island of Palau, and the background of their trip back to the island with him 75 years later in 2020. Ernie fought in the 1944 Battle of Peleliu, which resulted in the highest casualty rate in American history but protected the island from Japanese occupancy.
My husband was with them on the trip to Palau, capturing many of the moments with his camera and drone. He also sat down with Ernie to interview him on his military experience and put it all together in a short documentary that you can watch on YouTube. I highly recommend taking 17 minutes to watch!
It’s an incredible story! Though I’ve seen the video many times, it’s always fun to be around others watching it for the first time. And this audience had a very special appreciation for the content. Brynnley did great during the event, even though we stretched beyond her normal naptime.
This was a very respectable event to be a part of and contribute to for our local community and it was a patriotic family outing on this Tuesday morning!
I guess having too many volunteers is a good problem for an organization to have, so while I didn’t end up making much of an impact it was still a privilege to be a part of it. :)
