Silly Treadmills.

I went out to my garage to find some pots for me to plant my garlic in, when I noticed that there was a big UPS truck in my driveway and that there was a UPS guy pushing with all his might to get a gigantic box out of the back. I opened the garage door and he helped me scoot the hulk of a box into the garage. It was my treadmill and this box weighed far too much for me to get into the house. It sat there until I couldn't wait any longer. So, about an hour. (I just checked Amazon and it's shipping weight was 135 lbs.)

I waited til Bee fell asleep in the swing and I told Bug that she could watch me get the big box in and she did. She loves big boxes because they are perfect for jumping and climbing on. That was enough to keep her interest. Once I got it over the 7" step into the house I had to turn it around and figure out how to get it down into the basement. It must have sounded scary because every step down, Bug would ask, "Mama, you ok? You ok?" And I would shout out, "Oh, Mama's fine! This box is very big! Big box!" When I came back upstairs, she said, "Yaaaaay, Mama!" and repeated about 5,204 times; it was our song for the afternoon.

Putting it together was a feat. I waited til O got home and put up the two supports that hold the console. My patients wore thin, so he did the rest. From what I could tell, the instructions were very easy to read. The only gripe I had (and I did so little with putting it together) is that the allan wrench that they provided was suuuuper long and had a very small length of metal after the bend. So, you hold a 2" piece of metal to turn some difficult screws. I ended up getting another tool of our own to do that bit of assembly.

So far I have ran on it twice. It is very basic, which is fine. Most importantly, it is quiet. Bee watched me run this morning and I could hear her coo. It has three manual incline options, speed increments of .5, goes up to 10 mph. Something about it felt "off" and I found treadmilling to be difficult and suckier than before. Maybe it's because I am at home, feet away from my laundry that needs folding? Maybe because with every step, my head got closer to the ceiling spikes the previous homeowner zealously threw on to hide imperfections? Regardless of cause, something wasn't working. Not feeling the strength I was used to, my motivation to run was waning while I ran. Forlorn, I decided to tell Erica that Thanksgiving racing is not on my schedule.

Later, we all were in the basement and O hopped on the treadmill. "Do you like running on this incline?" he asked. When I indicated that I had no clue what he was talking about he said, "You haven't moved this from the highest incline setting since I set it up."

So, lessons learned:

1. Listen to the guy who puts your treadmill together.

2. Don't freak out of a couple of runs go poorly.

3. I am BA for running two training runs on the highest incline and not even knowing it. Or just a little ditzy.

Thursday Book Review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

This book is amazing. If you have read Omnivore's Dilemma and you liked it, then you will probably appreciate this book as well. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, you follow the author and her family (husband, two daughters) as they move from Arizona to Appalachia and begin to eat only foods grown locally or grown themselves. The story is lovely and it also brings up good questions to consider about the foods I eat and feed my family.

Such as:

Is it really good to eat vegetables all year even if they aren't in season where you live?

Are you happy with eating fruits/vegetables from other places that had to travel hundreds of miles to get on your plate?

Are you okay with eating plants that have been bred to be resilient in travel and easy to pack (such as square tomatoes) that are, as a result, nutritionally inferior?

With corporations trademarking seeds, more and more heirloom varieties are becoming extinct. Thoughts on that?

Besides walking away from this book thinking about every morsel that I decide to put in my mouth, the book is very inspiring. The author and her family make their own bread and cheeses (neither are very difficult!) and include recipes. 30-Minute Mozzarella? Yes, please! They make it a point to make and enjoy dinner together every night, which is great because I feel like that doesn't really happen so much anymore.

She's also a big advocate for shopping at independent stores and restaurants, which is a given. Sitting here, of course I want to support as many family-owned places that I can. I can only think of a few. There's a handful of indy coffee shops around. There is a produce stand about 20 minutes away. I don't feel like this area is very hospitable to indy companies. For one, I feel like you need foot traffic and my city doesn't even have sidewalks to allow you to traverse from, let's just say, my house to the main consumer strip. Is this the norm? Or do most cities allow for you to choose to support indy shoppes?

Favorite and interesting quotes and excerpts:

On making cheese and other foods as a family: We're recalling our best memories infused with scents, parental love, and some kind of food magically coming together in the routines of childhood. We're hoping our kids with remember us somewhere other than in the driver's seat of the car.

On lactose intolerance: It isn't an allergy or even, technically, a disorder. Physical anthropologists tell us that age four, when lactose intolerance typically starts, is about when nature intended for our kind to be wholly weaned onto solid food: in other words, a gradual cessation of milk digestion is normal.

Kingsolver is not preachy. You get drawn in by a mesmerizing story, and in the end you realize you learned something. One thing I have walked away with is that learning to grow your own produce, eating with the seasons and supporting your local economy makes you less affected by inflated food prices due to fluctuating petroleum costs. Also, in the event of there being a natural or national disaster, it's a good idea to have two months of food for your family on hand--a tidbit passed on to the author from a friend in Washington.

But anyway, I was inspired to buy a few heirloom seeds from www.seedsavers.org and am contemplating purchasing a deep-freeze. Perhaps I am easily influenced, but it all sounds like a great idea.

Treadmills and other things.

First off, the treadmill did NOT come on Monday. Despite saying it was free two-day shipping, it will arrive sometime today. I understand two-day shipping on a treadmill would probably cost as much as I paid for the thing, so I'm not going to pout about it. So today is the day.

Today is also the first day since Monday that I can walk without wincing. Erica seriously kicked my butt at personal training. She had me doing 15 lb bicept curls and 40 lb dead lifts. And then a bunch of abs, squats and lunges.

Erica runs and she typically does a 10 min mile, which is about what I do. She and I plan on running a couple of races together coming up in the late winter and spring. I was looking at my training calendar (plan borrowed from my running bible: The Non-Runners Marathon Guide for Women) and the most magical thing happened: I discovered that the half marathon we talked about doing falls exactly on the DAY that the full marathon plan calls for a 13 miler. Besides that bit of magic, check out this next little tidbit.

Back to Erica. She ran a half on Sunday. Remember that 10 min mile pace? During this race (a hilly half), she maintained an 8:30 average pace (her fastest was about an 8:10!). Hellllooo!!! She just shaved off 1:30 off of her average PACE! I think that's so great.

So, I'm very excited to see how she does with these upcoming races!! Maybe she'll BQ!!

Treadmillpalooza.

I got totally sick of researching these things and finally settled on one. Seriously. I've been pouring over reviews and models and comparing different web sites and pricing and shipping and horsepower and belt size and oh my goodness for what seems like YEARS. Ok. It's probably been a little more than a week. My eyes dried out on numerous occasions. I'm on my 5th set of eyeballs.

So, the winner is: Merit Fitness 715T Plus Treadmill.

Specs (from Amazon):

• Home treadmill with top-quality 2.5 THP (1.5 CHP) drive motor
• Intuitive console controls with adjustable speed from 0 to 10 miles per hour
• 3-window LED display tracks your time, speed, distance, calories, and more
• Spacious 18-by-47-inch workout area with Aerosoft cushioning system
• Folding frame for easy storage; measures 29 x 52 x 61 inches (W x H x D)

It had average reviews--most negative reviews actually came from it being damaged during shipping, which seems to be more of an issue with the shipping company vs. the product, but whatever. Pluuuuus, I get free shipping from Amazon and it should be here on Monday. We'll see how it goes.

If I run a mile for each dollar spent, I'll call it even.

Thursday Book Review: To Timbuktu by Casey Scieszka and Steven Weinberg

To Timbuktu (click the book cover for their website!) was a quick, impulse pick from the New Releases shelf at the library. It has a bright yellow and orange cover--can you blame me? I didn't crack it open to look at it until I got home and was intrigued to find that it was full of illustrations. On just about every page. That's a rarity. I sent O a text saying, "I'm a nerrrrrrrd!!! I am reading a graphic novel!!" but it's really not a graphic novel and I'm still a nerd. Who else writes Thursday book reviews about random books? It had such a nice feel (seriously, a nice tactile feel--thick book, nice paper) I dove right in.

This is a true story about Casey and Steven who meet while studying abroad in Morocco and decide to teach English as a second language in China and then, as Casey is given a Fulbright scholarship to research Islam in the educational system abroad, they spend time in Africa (click the link to see their map!). It's about overcoming language barriers, cultural differences, and learning about yourself. Casey wrote the book and Steven did the illustrations.

I love travel books and food books and this is pretty much a BOTH! book so it won on several levels. During the first few sections, it triggered an intense wanderlust and a sense that I, too, should be doing something bigger with my life. And then I remembered that I'm not in my early 2os anymore, that raising two beautiful girls is probably the biggest thing one can do and that I can change the world when I'm 50--with the girls, if we feel so inclined. During the last quarter of the book, I'm no longer jealous of their word traveling because it seemed to genuinely be uncomfortable--especially when it's Ramadan and they are the only foreign, non-Muslims around and it's well over 100-degrees every single day.

I could relate to them throughout the story in that I remember the anxiety associated with not knowing what to do once I graduated from college. Or that I was wasting my time doing one thing and not the other. I think it happens to the best of us--being in a structured system that tells you what to do and then bla-DOW! you are on your own with the same idealism that they cultivate within the concrete walls. Slowly, you realize that idealism isn't always practical and that having a job that pays well is. I kind of picked up on that a bit.

If you love travel, learning about different foods and culture, and want to be a fly on the wall as Casey and Steven adjust to living with each other while living in nine different countries, this book is for you. I loved it.

Casey SMASH!!

Personal training today was awesome, thank you very much. Erica was relentless on my legs and upper body. Lunges, lunges. Squats, squat jumps. Leg press. Something with my ankle in a strap on the pulley machine. So much burning in the thighs.

This is my 7th week of working with her, and 10th week since starting this whole thing in August. I have lost 9 lbs since then and my BMI is down. So yay!

Goals for this week: somehow fit in three runs.

What are your goals?

Recent accomplishments?

Deer of the Corn. or Agrizoophobia.

I went on a run today at the arboretum. It's like running on a paved trail through the woods and just when you feel like you are so far away from any other human, you notice that every tree and plant has a name tag. So, it's a little bit isolated in parts but then in other areas you are running two feet from a pee-wee soccer game. Or six.

Today at the arboretum it was Soccer Fiesta Day (my name, not theirs). There were about six or seven soccer games going on so the park was packed. During my run, people would just appear out of nowhere and walk out of the brush, kind of like in Children of the Corn when the blonde kids would just appear out of the corn stalks. Or like in Signs. Field of Dreams. Which could only be scary if you have Phasmophobia. (Yeah, I totally looked it up. Go visit phobialist.com and search around. It is enlightening and makes you feel like the sanest person on the planet)

I was running and heard another set of people coming, and didn't think much of it since it had happened so much already this morning. Good golly, Miss Molly--was I surprised when I saw myself eye to eye with two deer--a mom and a nearly-adult fawn. Not to be overly dramatic, but all I could imagine at that moment was that viral YouTube video of the deer on it's hind legs flipping out and kicking that hillbilly's butt with its front hooves. So I slowly backed up and once I was a few feet back, the deer crossed the path and disappeared, white tails saluting and bidding me adieu. I snapped a photo with my phone.

It was a good run. I forgot my watch so that pressure was gone. I did a nice, relaxed pace and enjoyed the scenery. I went 2.3 miles. Still working on building up my base before I dive into Last Chance for Boston Half Marathon training in a couple of weeks. The race is in the end of February. Closer on my race list is the Thanksgiving Day Race. I haven't officially registered, but I think I might do it. I feel like I must be perpetually training or I won't be able to get in my runs.

Have you had any close encounters with nature recently while running/walking/etc.? How about any interesting encounters with humans?

Us and Them.

I went to the gym at 1030p last night after the girls went to sleep for the night. I was exhausted, but I went anyway. The gym is open til 11p so i didn't have much time. I had some grandiose plans of running and doing strength training after that but it didn't really happen.

First, I grabbed a treadmill in the "women's side" which would have been awesome except the only other person in that section was on the elliptical right next to me. Normally, I don't care but she was engrossed in the tv and my treadmill was obnoxious. I didn't want to drown out her show so I went to the cardio cinema.

Nothing feels more awkward than getting off the treadmill after 2.5 minutes. I wanted to say "I'm not finished! I know a 2-minute walk isn't a workout!"

The cardio cinema was dead, which means that I ran while watching the menu screen for the movie "Pride". I think they need at least two sets of eyeballs in there to justify making the meathead at the counter pry himself away from his underage entourage long enough to hit "play".

2 miles in 23 minutes, which was my plan.

This evening I got my hair trimmed. It has been about 10 months since my hair has seen anything resembling a pair of scissors. It was time. This visit was truly an enlightening experience.

First, I get there and--let's call her Pixie--tells me I look great. I slept hardly at all last night and I was wearing scrubs and my hair was pulled into the same style ponytail I have worn since I was 6p. So, obviously stylists are liars.

Pixie is a normal, single lady in her mid-twenties. She asked me about how I was doing and I could not think of anything to talk about other than my family. I realized then that these two weeks back to work really represent two weeks back in Adult Land and it's like I have been in a cultural isolation bubble for the previous 12 weeks. I have no idea what's going on in Not My Family Land.

So, we talked about my girls. I talked about Bee being 14 wks old and how Bug will be two. Yadda yadda. The same stuff I talk on and on about on here. A few minutes later, the stylist that I used to go to for 5 years before his schedule got insane asked how the baby was. I told him, "Great! She's 14 weeks old!" and he had Pixie repeat what I said over the hair dryer. "She said she's 14 weeks--wait. Did you say weeks or days?". I forgot that there was a time where I didn't really know the difference between what a 14 wk old and a 14 day old human could do.

Anyway, I know that people who don't have kids cannot always relate very well to those who have them because (depending on the level of isolation) it's all we talk about. I forget what it's like to not have kids, so I forget what it's like to not know anything about living with tiny people who are dependent on you for everything. I guess, in a way, it was refreshing to be in an adult-only environment and have to search for different topics to talk about.

Have you ever talked to a parent/non-parent like this and realized that you were on totally different pages? Or different books entirely?

Gar.

It is SO amazingly DIFFICULT to get out and RUN!! I cannot believe how hard it is. There is no time! None! I'm going to try out Plan G and go to the gym tonight after the girls go to sleep so I can get a run in.

I've been hunting around for treadmills and I have come to the conclusion that you have to drop a grand in order to get a good one. This might be wrong, but reading reviews certainly makes it look that way. I checked out craigslist and there are a ton--many are posted every day. However, when I read the reviews of those treadmills, I kind of get an idea of why they are listed on craigslist so soon since most have "hardly been used!" or "ran on twice!" somewhere in the description. So, I'm going to scrap that idea. I may give the Sears Outlet near home a walk-through and see if they have anything and THEN I'll scrap the treadmill idea.

In other non-whiny news, Bug found my finisher's medals today. I told her that mommy runs with people and when we finish running, we get a medal. The next minute, we are both wearing race medals and running around the coffee table. Then we started to run around the kitchen. I held Bee, who ALSO needed a medal. Wexley the Chihuahua followed us in the Running Parade. Later, when I was changing Bug's diaper, she put the medal back on and said, "Run!" and pumped her arms and asked like she was panting. It was pretty adorable.

Thursday Book Review: Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain.

I used to really not like this guy. I think I first saw his show No Reservations at about the same time that I saw Andrew Zimmern (who I also didn't like at first) bite into a pig head (cooked, thanks) and Man vs. Wild (who I still don't like). It seemed like it was all about the gross out. Poor Mr. Bourdain was wrongfully heaped into the same category as these two, perhaps because of his intense bad attitude.

A year of watching Andrew Zimmern (Bizarre Foods) and Anthony Bourdain on Thursdays via Netflix while I tried to get Bug to go down for her nap was enough for me to change my mind about these two and I think they both are great. During this maternity leave, I was fortunate to come across Mr. Bourdain's book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook.

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Mr. Bourdain. He had kind of a rough, cocaine-y time before he became clean and started this path in his life. He worked as a chef in a restaurant (during most of that time he was probably high as a kite), wrote Kitchen Confidential, made it big, and voila! he's filming his travels all over the world. Like or hate the guy, this sort of turnaround deserves respect.

So, the book! The book follows Mr. Bourdain, essentially, from immediately after Kitchen Confidential came out to now. During the quick rise to fame, you hear about restaurants you will probably never eat at and about famous chefs that you will never meet or hear about again, unless you run in those circles. I found it kind of hard to keep all of that straight, lacking a context.

Despite that, the descriptions of these meals he has eaten are so thoroughly written that you can't help but WANT to go to these high-end restaurants just to have a chance to experience a tasting menu that would cost more than most people spend on six months of groceries. You WANT to be able to sit and talk with this foul-mouthed man about his position on fois gras and ortolan because he's so gosh darn likable in spite of himself.

The writing is witty, the prose is intelligent, and although he is cynical, snarky, foul-mouthed and open about his life as a junkie and his dislike for Food Network and of many aspects in the food-as-entertainment industry, it's a surprisingly light-hearted book that will be enjoyable to anyone who has ever eaten anything.

What the heck, eBay?! What the heck, Labor Lady?

A finisher's medal for the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon is for sale on eBay. It's listed at 99 cents and has free shipping. Someone has bid on it.

Why sell a finisher's medal?

Why buy one?

More importantly, how did I end up finding this?

Also, my friend Jamie just shared this link with me: Marathon Runner Delivers Baby. The 39-weeks pregnant runner in the article ran the Chicago Marathon and then gave birth to her daughter 7 hours later. I can't even comprehend what this would even be like. My goodness.

Sleep-Deprivation Personal Training. Treadmill thoughts?

I didn't expect my personal training session to go amazingly well today for several reasons. The two biggies:

1. I didn't do anything that I was supposed to do because I had zero free minutes. Somehow, and not by way of Hermione Time Turner, I fit in a few runs. This is probably due to this odd little vapor that surrounds my home that generates time for running, walking, and staring at the kids, but subtracts at least 15 minutes from the day whenever I think the words "plank" or "laundry". As a result, I have trained myself to eradicate these words from my thoughts.

2. I slept from 1030p to 130a. Then 230a to 330a. And then 415a to 630a.

But it actually turned out okay. I'm feeling pretty strong though the endurance is "meh". Sneakily, she's combined dumbbells and cardio into a deceiving little cocktail of pain. At first, my muscles are all "hooray! this is so easy!" and then 20 reps later they are crying for their blankie. I act like I don't know them when we get a drink of water.

So, in running news, I'm actually considering buying a treadmill. It seems like the only way I will be able to run once it gets dark earlier.

Thoughts/recommendations?

Product Review! Merrell Barefoot Pace/Trail Glove. And a winner!!

This is an epic product review that spans the course of a couple of months. So, "bare" (get it? get it?) with me!

I bought a pair of the black Merrell Pace Gloves and was so super-giddy when the box arrived because it was so light! Like, "feels like an empty box!" light. But, there they were, beautiful and pristine! On my feet, they felt like a sock. Until I stood up. The size 11s? The largest size that they make in the Pace Glove for women? Too small. What can I say? I'm an Amazon. Back they go, but I have a size 10.5 of the men's Barefoot Trail Glove coming, so we'll see...

-----

I asked Merrell Customer Service if this was a good idea. I was impatient so I didn't wait for a response before ordering. I got this little gem in my inbox:

Casey,

Thank you for your interest in Merrell footwear. Truly worth a shot. We suggest you going down two sizes you should try a men's size 10. This usually works very well.

Sincerely,


Brenda Winglar
Merrell Consumer Relations
T 1.800.288.3124
www.merrell.com

My 11s were 28 cm long and I needed 28.5 cm which corresponds to a men's 10.5. I hope they fit!
---

Two hours later, my shoes came and they were--too big!! OMG. Back they go. Ms. Winglar knew what she was talking about. As of 15 seconds ago, I have a size 10 coming at me from Amazon (Heart and Sole, seller). I have to pack up and return two pairs of shoes (all from same seller so I hope there isn't any confusion).

I really dislike going to the post office. It's probably the most not kid-friendly place I frequent. The lines are unpredictable. The mail I am sending off is always gigantic and usually requires two hands, so I have to give one of my babies to a stranger to hold (just kidding). The staff obviously hates working there. Makes for a lot of tension.

*****

Anyway, the 10s arrived and they fit like a charm. Really. The only thing is that I have had to wear them around a bit to break them in. The heel on one side wears a little funny and is rubbing my heel, but it's slowly improving.

I was wearing them over at my parent's house and ran after Bug in the yard and my gait was totally different. Without thinking of it, I was running as though barefoot. Totally bizarre. I mean, it's awesome that this shoe is so light and low-pro that it lets you move naturally when you run.

Beyond that, I haven't ran much in them yet. I wore them on a walk with the girls last night and they were pretty comfortable. Right at the one mile mark, I changed into my Asics because the heel was really starting to rub. The difference in the shoes is huge. The Merrell's are comfortable because they are light and they don't alter your step. The Asics are comfortable because they are like a huge hug to your feet. Once in the Asics, a couple of old twinges resurfaced--a funny knee, a low back pang--all things I have learned to ignore over the course of 6 years running. The jogging I have done in them has been pretty comfortable, though I am still in the "breaking in" period--for my shoes and my legs.

I also love to wear them to work because they are so comfortable.

Overall: love the look, love the fit. Love, love, love. As a running shoe? Time will tell!

Have you tried these on before? Do you own them? What are YOUR thoughts?

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The winner of the "Your Opinion Matters" post is Facebook Trish! Congrats! Send me your address and we'll get this doodle out to you!!

Thanks for all who let your thoughts be known re: clogging traffic with races. :)

Thursday Book Review: The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry is a piece of non-fiction which came out this year by the author who also wrote The Men Who Stare at Goats.

Jon is a reporter (and author of this book) who was contacted to find out who sent mysterious packages containing unfinished books to random people in academia. Why were the packages sent? Why were certain people mailed these books and others were not? He finds that the sender had no reason. He just did it. There was no purpose. (This isn't a spoiler, by the way--this all occurs within the first twelve pages or so).

This is crazy! Is this man a psychopath?

This sets off a series of events and meetings as Jon tries to get to the bottom of what defines a psychopath. During this, he finds that there is a test--a list of 40 personality traits, actually--that psychiatrists use to determine who is and who is not a psychopath. Some gems are "callous, lack of empathy", "grandiose sense of self-worth", "impractical long-term goals". Apparently, psychopaths cannot read emotions of other people, either. The lack of empathy and grandiose sense of self-worth are essential for "making it to the top", which, as mentioned in the book, may be why many psychopaths are CEOs and the like. Another "attribute" is that they "get bored easily" which is why so many psychopaths migrate to the bigger cities.

He visits mental institutions, speaks with psychiatrists, speaks with those who ran studies on psychopathy and speaks with diagnosed psychopaths. He also speaks to a few Scientologists and attends a soiree at Ron L. Hubbard's mansion. One interviewee who appears throughout the book faked insanity (quoted movies and known psychopaths from history in order to make people think that he was crazy) to avoid a 5-year prison sentence for assault. However, he scored "high" (according to the test administrator) on the psychopath test and got admitted to a mental institution for more than twice what his prison sentence would have been.

Throughout his journey, I found myself wondering about psychiatry. It seems that if 50 different psychiatrists were asked to evaluate one person, there would be about 50 different diagnosed disorders. From a lay-person's point of view, it looks as though they are fueled, mostly, by the need to classify everyone into neat little groups and, oh yeah, by the drug companies to prescribe certain drugs for certain mental illnesses. If you boil anything down, despite any good intentions, ultimately it becomes a "business". Diagnosing mental illness appears to be a very tricky business, indeed. It's based off of interpretation, which is why the Psychopath Test of 40 attributes seems pretty sketchy, but it's been used so much to label so many people.

This was a very enjoyable read--not nearly as heavy as you would expect from something of this subject. I think it may be one of my favorite non-fiction pieces I've read this year that isn't about running, eating or travel.

Milk Run.

This has been my first week back to work after maternity leave and it is going very well. I feel like I never left. Most importantly, Bee made the transition to staying with both sets of grandparents all day like a champ. She has started taking bottles, which is amazing because she never would give a bottle any real notice before. She also (trumpets, please) likes a BINKY!! This is a biggie. I never thought she would take one. We were really spoiled with Bug because she took to the Nuk right away. Bee, no. She would just spit it out. It calms her down, helps her sleep, and I'm super happy about it because it is supposed to be safer for her to sleep WITH one. Also, Bug has been Best Big Sister Ever and has not been jealous of Bee (from what I can tell) and loves on her through the day. I love it. So far, this week could not have gone any better. Knock on wood.

As far as me, I feel like the pump has become an extension of myself. It's kind of annoying to have to go pump every few hours, but I'm thankful that I am able to. Nursing did not go so easy with Bug, and she was on formula at this point. So, no complaints there.

I packed my running clothes today because I wanted to take a walk/jog at lunch. Bee did not nurse very well this morning (she woke up and decided to fart all morning while we got ready, and she won't nurse when she's farting--she just kind of smiles and giggles instead), so I figured that she'd be eating at least one more bottle than she did yesterday. At noon, my MIL said she was about to finish bottle 2 of 4, and eating every two hours would mean that she'd be finished with all bottles at 4p. That was cutting it a little close. So I ran (literally) a bottle of milk over to my MIL's house over lunch. It sounds so dire "I had to LITERALLY RUN a bottle of milk to my daughter!!" but it wasn't like that. I was going on a walk and saw an opportunity to accomplish a task.

I felt kind of funny running with a sloshing bottle of breast milk. I felt like one of those endurance athletes that run with the water bottles strapped to their hands. But this was a 5 oz bottle of milk that would probably not be anything I would want to drink if I was on an endurance run. It was such a pretty day. It wasn't too warm. When I got to my MIL's, Bug was in the bath and Bee was watching, very interested. I stuck the milk in the refrigerator, grabbed a few peanut M&Ms and headed back. I had 15 minutes to get back to work and I trucked it. I got caught at a few lights, but the run went without any major hangups. Once back at the office, I did a quick wipe down with the soap/rag that I brought from home and changed back into my work attire and tried to will myself to stop sweating. It kinda worked. It was probably one of the sillier ideas that I've ever had. Walking on lunch is good. Jogging on lunch is good--as long as it isn't too far. Google maps didn't do me a solid today when it miscalculated the mileage.

2.6 miles in 30 minutes.

In other Mom news, I wrote a letter to Gerber. The toddler snacks I bought for Bug have high fructose corn syrup. I said that it was misleading to have "Start Healthy, Stay Healthy" as a slogan and be putting HFCS in foods for babies and that I would not buy their products anymore. I got a response today. It says:

We are sorry to learn of your disappointment with this product. We always encourage a critical eye when it comes to feeding infants and toddlers. Concerning our bars, we think they are a source of good nutrition for toddlers--they are made with whole grains and each bar provides a good source of 9 vitamins and minerals including calcium, zinc, iron, and vitamin E--nutrients many toddlers do not get enough of. We use high fructose corn syrup in this product to provide sweetness while helping keep the product soft and moist.

...(form letter things, blah blah). We have included SOME COUPONS we hope you will enjoy.

These are coupons for the products I complained about.

Okay, well look. I know I sound like a crazy Mom because HFCS is in everything. Bug and Bee will have candy. They will have kid things. But I think it's wrong to market a product as being healthy to people and sneak HFCS in them. In moderation, it's fine. But people don't really always follow that guide. I was really writing this letter on behalf of the people who will rely on the Gerber promise of things being super-healthy without reading labels.

So, Bug will still get these as a treat. I just wish that they were marketed as a "treat" instead of a toddler health food, which is what I feel that Gerber was trying to do.

If you ever wanted to write Gerber a letter about HFCS and just didn't have the address, here it is:

Start Healthy Stay Healthy Resource Center

445 State Street

Fremont, MI 49413

So, that's that! Oh! My previous post asked your opinion about traffic delays during races. Leave your opinion for a chance to win a doodle from Bug! Winner announced on Friday.

Your opinion counts! Win a doodle from Bug!

It's my IT band. I should have known, really. It is my recurring injury and every time it happens, I am surprised and have no idea what it could possibly be. A few pigeon stretches and I am golden. So, yay.

What's next, then? Perhaps that much-hyped 102nd Thanksgiving Day Race 10k? It's such work to do anything on Thanksgiving morning. It's such a crowded event. For some reason (perhaps because it is a century plus old) Cincinnati loves its TDR. The crowds and spectators mimic that of a big-deal half or full marathon. I am just so bored with 5ks. I think I am at the point where speed isn't my focus and to me, that's what a 5k is about. But anyway, not only is this race huge, the fee is high. It's $30 just to run it. If you want the shirt, it's an extra $20 AND there is no medal. I'm being an ass. But seriously, that's a lot of $$ to fight traffic (before and during a race) on a holiday, but I will probably do it because Erica is getting a group from the gym to run it together.

Which brings me to this: major roads will be closed due to this race so travelers will be SOL. When you are running races, do you feel guilty about blocking the way? How about when you run by the cars stopped at the intersection, knowing you are contributing to their lateness? On the other hand, how do you feel if you are stuck behind a race? Thoughts? Leave them in a comment--random winner gets a drawing from Bug mailed to them. If you share this post, you get an extra entry. Winner will be posted on Saturday.

Anyway, today I walked the girls to my parents' house for brunch with my Aunt Joy and Uncle Roger from out-of-town. It's always nice to catch up and brunch was awesome. Bug loves breakfast casserole, apparently.

1.92 mi in 25 min.