Day In The Life (& Winners)

Life really is made up of the ordinary moments. A cup of hot coffee. A satisfying dump. A syrupy kiss from your kid as they head out the door. Changing the sheets. Putting dinner in the crockpot. Adding finishing touches to a report. Lighting a pumpkin sugar Yankee candle and letting it burn all day, filling the house with sweet aroma and covering up the odor of the satisfying dump.

This is precisely why I like to do my “day in the life” posts. Not because my life is so exciting. It is not. But, because these posts represent the every day wonderfulness of a life full of the small, exquisite details. All of them imperfect and perfect at the same time, if you know what I mean.

My day started at 1:30 a.m. when, for no apparent reason (except maybe the two glasses of wine from the night before), I could not sleep. I finally gave up and went downstairs to read this book for a bit:

I crawled back into bed by 3:30 a.m. and heard Ken’s reassuring question, “Are you okay?” No matter what time of night or early morning I get up for lack of sleep, Ken always checks in with me that way. I love him just a bit.

Back to sleep and startled by the alarm at 5:45 a.m. Time to get Sam off to basketball practice. I shower, dress, put the coffee on and wake up child #2, who suffers very, very much in the morning. I rub her back, coaxing her out of her warm covers. She scowls, but asks me to stay with her a bit longer.

I head out for a work appointment, enjoying my car ride. Yes, I drew those lines on my forehead with a Sharpie before I left home:

And some construction, which makes me cuss.

Afterwards, I head into Boulder, but not before taking in one of the best views around:

You all really should move here. Really.

I stopped at Whole Foods for some over-priced healthy crap. I made a pit stop and was reminded of how PC Whole Foods and Boulder really are. Or maybe they just don’t want women whipping out tits by the salad bar.

I did not turn left because I am not at the moment lactating. I was tempted, however, to visit with the women who were lactating and reminisce about when my boobs were big and leaked all the time and were a food source for another human being.

But instead I grabbed one of these and a breakfast blend coffee:

The almond croissant. You have not lived until you have had the almond croissant. When I lived in Paris (yeah, I am so worldly) I would go to the corner Patisserie every morning for a warm croissant au amande. I’m pretty sure they are filled with liquid meth or crack. There is actually a recipe to make your own but I’m not stupid enough to try. I’ll leave that up to a real cook like Eat, Live, Run.

Home again to work, write, get kids and start dinner (home made pizza with a a little help from Whole Foods – their pizza dough is really good and cheap).

But, something is missing! No running, no workout at all today. I am tapering for the Denver Half on Sunday. Which is funny, because I’m not sure how you taper from training that never existed in the first place, but I’m doing it.

I’d love to read about your day in the life. Consider yourself TAGGED. Everyone who does it is entered to win a Shut Up + Run tech shirt (only small or medium available) or a Shut Up + Run visor. I’ll pick a winner based on creativity! The only rules are that you must include a few pictures and it has to be little, everyday stuff. So if you work as a heart transplant doctor or you do “Last Chance Workouts” at the Ranch, no need to enter.

Let me know with a comment if you’re playing along. Posts need to be up by Tuesday, October 11.

What was your favorite small detail of your day?

Ever hang out in a lactation room?

SUAR

The winners of the Marathon Bar prize packs are:

#8: Josiah from the Incredibly Shrinking Man
#44: Marlene from Mission to Another Marathon
#113: Becky C. from Becky’s Blog
#118: Melissa from Double Jogger Diaries
#303: PJ from PJ Runs

Email me at beth@shutupandrun.net with your mailing address!

Team Marathon With A Sweet Giveaway x 5!

On Sunday I will run the Denver Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon as an honorary member of Team Marathon. This means I get to run while eating bars non-stop while wearing one of these shirts:

Option #1

Option #2

Of course I’m kidding about eating bars not-stop while running. That would lead to crappy, smelly results that no one around me would want to witness.

Denver will either be 90 degrees and I’ll do option #1, or snowing and 30 degrees in which case I’ll choose option #2. There is a saying around here that annoys the hell out of me, but it is true, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes.” Around here we can drop 40 degrees in no time, so it gets a bit nipply. 

One saying I DO like is the motto of Team Marathon:

“Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.”

You may be wondering what Team Marathon is all about and how you can get involved. Team Marathon has 200 ambassadors nationwide. These individuals all “have passion and enthusiasm for living a healthy, well-rounded life and are involved in activities ranging from running, to cycling, to triathlon and other endurance sports.” Just like you and me, right?

Later this week, look for an interview I did with Richard Kalasky, a Team Marathon member, who went from overweight couch potato (325 lbs!) to a 185 lb stud who does triathlons and marathons. Hugely inspirational!

Aside from all of that healthy, balanced living, the team members have something else in common: they love Marathon Bars. I mean, who wouldn’t? If you haven’t had a MB, you might want to try one. They are a tasty treat, packed full of protein and vitamins. I know this because Team Marathon sent me a couple to try. And, yes, I ate them all in one sitting:

My favorite is the Protein Bar. This sucker is BIG and carries a whopping 21 grams of protein. I am so delicate I usually just eat half at a time, but it is a satisfying snack after a long workout.

There are also a couple of other varieties, equally as yummy:

The Energy Bar:

And the new Smart Stuff bar for you healthier types who want whole grains, fewer calories and some fiber (fart).

The giveaway!

Want to try some? Marathon Bar is giving away prize packs of three boxes (assorted) to each of five winners!

To enter:

• “Like” Marathon Bars on Facebook + 1 entry
• Blog, twat, FB about this giveaway + 1 entry
• Tell me your favorite pre or post training snack and why + 1 entry
• Follow my blog if you don’t already + 1 entry

Five winners will be chosen by random.org on October 7.

Simple as PIE!! Mmmmm…pie.

SUAR

Fine print: Per FTC guidelines, Marathon Bar provided me with my bar samples and shirts. They also provided the prizes for this giveaway.