Life Lately

Life lately has been good. . . . really good.

I have three jobs that I love (stay-at-home mom, running coach, and working at Skinny Raven Sports), running has been going really well, and the days are warming up.

Well, except for this snowfall we had yesterday, but thankfully it all melted today. This always happens this late in the season. . . .always!

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Running

Running has been going really well for me. I ran 65 miles last week including a 20 miler on Saturday. I was even able to pick up the pace during the last 5 miles and average 7:30 – 7:40 for those miles. I haven’t had any injuries, and I have really been feeling good on almost every run.

I didn’t know if a marathon 8 months postpartum would be feasible, but I’m feeling more and more confident as the weeks go by. (And to think I had even considered running Boston this year. I could have done it, but it wouldn’t have been too pretty.)

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This week is a cut-back week in terms of mileage and intensity, which works out great because I am running my first race of the season on Saturday. The Heart Run is a very competitive 5K here in Anchorage. I’ve been trying to work on my speed, so we’ll see how it goes.

I had my shirt for the race screen-printed by Hulin a local artist. He was very kind to screen-print my own shirt for me for a nominal fee. I took one of my own shirts to him, dropped it off at his house/work shop, and picked it up the next day.

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Cullen

I love staying at home with Cullen and do not miss the work place one bit! I’ve always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, and I’m so glad I love it as much as I thought I would.

How could I not love that drooly, toothy grin. Those two bottom teeth made their appearance at 3.5 months and now the top two are about to pop through at 6 months. (Officially 6 months on Friday!)

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I am so thankful Cullen is a very good, laid-back baby. He primarily only fusses when he is tired or hungry, which are usually pretty easy to fix as long as he doesn’t fight the nap. The hardest part is sleeping in long stretches at night. (Well, obviously this isn’t a problem for him but rather for me.) I try to get to bed as early as possible, but those wake-ups in the middle of the night are rough on my sleep cycle.

Open-mouth smiles are where it’s at!

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Food

I have been cooking a lot more, which is something I didn’t do much of when I was working full-time. I try to make dinner for us 3 – 4 times each week. Lately we have been eating a lot of vegetarian meals and a handful of vegan meals as well. Both Craig and I eat meat, but we are getting more picky about where it comes from. We’d much rather eat pork from my family’s farm or a local butcher.

One of my go-to breakfasts has been breakfast burritos with scrambled eggs, an assortment of veggies, light cheese, avocado, salsa, and tortilla. These tortillas are the uncooked ones that need to be heated and cooked prior to eating them. Yes, it takes longer to make, but they are phenomenal. I don’t know if I could ever go back to the regular shelf-stable tortillas.

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Questions

1. What is your next race?

2. How often do you cook dinner?

3. What’s the weather like where you live?

Hi, I'm Michelle

I love running around the lakes of Minnesota, running after my two boys, and racing anything from the 5K to the marathon. I have been blogging here since 2010 when I ran my first marathon. I finally secured my sub-3 hour marathon after trying for 8 years.

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8 Comments

  1. 4.22.15
    amanda said:

    Cullen is adorable! My son is 3 months and is a drooling monster. I had thought it was too early for teething, but my mama friends said it can happen at anytime! I just realized you are from Waseca. I am from the Morristown area! Woot woot!

    • 4.23.15
      Michelle said:

      Cullen started drooling when he was 2 months old! Our pediatrician said drooling is not a sign of teething though. (I don’t think they can scientifically prove it.) But whatever–he’s constantly wearing a bib.

  2. 4.22.15
    Sarah said:

    65 miles! i am so impressed. i’m running the country music marathon this weekend. my plan is to run the full but i’ve been having some knee pain (and therefore will have taken off running for 2 whole weeks before the race), so i may stop at the half depending on my knee. an injury isn’t worth a marathon finish. but this is a big week for me- we’re buying a house, i’m becoming an aunt for the first time, AND i’m turning 30 so i really want to add that marathon #5 finish in there! 🙂 cullen is adorable!

    • 4.23.15
      Michelle said:

      I hope you are able to do the full! I’ve had injuries (and some of my athletes have had injuries) leading up to the marathon and for some reason, they haven’t bothered me during the race. I hope that’s the case for you! And, wow, that’s quite the items crossed off the bucket list!

  3. 4.22.15

    Yummy! Now I am hungry and must go eat a second lunch, lol. Where do you get the uncooked tortillas? Must pick some up. Cullen is adorable. P.S. I love the tank, and I’m jealous of your mileage–I have no infant waking up multiple times a night to blame for my lack of comparable miles, sigh, sigh.

    • 4.23.15
      Michelle said:

      The uncooked tortillas are from Costco! (They sell smaller packages at Fred Meyer.)

  4. 4.22.15

    That breakfast burrito looks amazing.

    My next race is the Gold Nugget!

    • 4.23.15
      Michelle said:

      I need to do a triathlon!