I can't keep up...

There are times in life when it is HARD to maintain the pace... Right now my Big Girl job is all encompassing, leaving little time for much else. When I get home all I want to do is be with my family, nowhere near the computer and I have no desire run..

I was able to fit in a run this week with Kerrie @ Mom vs. Marathon, she had a tempo run and I thought that 8:13 pace would be fine.. I have been feeling off, very low energy. While traveling last week I hopped from time zone to time zone putting in full days in car, planes, etc... It was exhausting and I did not run...

Me before the run, full of promise. We ran quickly up a big hill then were hit in the face with wind, I realized that I could not breath and I was ZAPPED.. At 2.8 miles I had to walk, check my ego and tell Kerrie to go on without me.

I CAN'T KEEP UP

Kerrie was sweet and altered her workout to run slower with me. I had a horrible side ache and felt light headed. I struggled to maintain a pace in the 9's and was HAPPY when Kerrie and I parted so I could walk.

Maybe I am coming down with something?

Maybe it is exhaustion?

Maybe I am totally out of shape after 1 week?

Whatever it is...

I CAN'T KEEP UP

So I am going to give myself a BREAK. I am not going to stress about running, training for a fast 5K, blogging, or anything else that does not fit in... I want to reconnect with my family and get the rest I need to find my ENERGY.. Hopefully the break will be short, I really want to get the Tall Mom 1,000+++ Club Going...

For now Run a few miles for me and I will be in touch SOON...

Credit HERE

Welcome to my new Home

Welcome to my New Home!!!

Special thanks to Angie at Strosgirldesigns.com for helping me make my Blog all me. There are a few things I am still working on, but overall I LOVE the new look..

FEATURES:

-Header with Scrolling Photos from my favorite trails, a Daisy for my mom and new Tall Mom Logo.

-Background picture is one I took from my trail..

-Menu with links to past Blog (under construction)


Thanks for following Tall Mom!! I truly appreciate you stopping by!!

Back HOME

My Travels are done, for now, and I am HOME!!! The trip took a lot out of me, leaving little energy for running or working out. I got home at 10:15PM Sunday and took Monday off to be with the family..

It was a SUNNY DAY!!! So we set out for a little RUN.. there was a major Ice Storm last week leaving Trees down all over the city. The sidewalk to LS#1's school is blocked in several places, so running to pick him up was out.. We went to the local trail hopeful that we could get in a good run...
I LOVE LOVE Muscle Man's shirt!! HEHE
I am sure it was a nice change for MM to push one kiddo.. he looked so CUTE in his shades.. We made it nearly a mile and the trail was fully blocked by 2 trees which made an X. BUMMER!! All in all was a good 2 mile run, to get back to it.

• I am SWAMPED with little time for Blogging, Running, ETC...
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• The new Tall Mom Blog will be revealed this week!!! I hope you like it..
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• What's new with you??
  

Run Happy With Brooks

It is no secret that I am a HUGE Brooks Running fan!! Most of my Running T-Shirts are Brooks EZ-T's HERE. I was looking through Some old photos and I wanted to take you through my Brooks Run Happy Journey...

10K at Alki, I was a bit too hot.. I also converted Muscle Man to a Brooks Fan
Brooks Diva Jacket Picking up my Boston race packet.
And Again with my Run Happy Hat on a soggy run with buddies
I even sport the old school Brooks for Her Jacket at the Zoo
Last year the the Rock N Roll Expo I bought a Mens shirt and I LOVE IT!!
Wore my "Run" EZ-T 2010 when I qualified for Boston at Eugene Marathon
And the same shirt on several runs with my friends
This RUN shirt has seen a lot of action!! Here at the Mercer Island Half Marathon
And on a COLD day
I love my bright Run Happy Shirts for work lunch runs..
This Orange shirt was my go-to shirt in 2009 for most of my races.. 5K
And another 5K
And a Family 5 miler..
Wowzers!! So why am I telling you this? Brooks is based in Washington, LOVE LOVE and Brooks Makes high quality Running Apparel, Accessories and Shoes.. So go get your Shop on HERE and like them on Facebook HERE. This post does not touch on my Brooks Shoes obsession, more about that soon..

**I have been sent free gear from Brooks to review on my blog I am not compensated for my opinion and all thoughts are my own.

Where is the World is Tall Mom?

Answer is PANAMA....

I am not jazzed about Panama City. I respect the culture and all they are doing to improve, but the traffic, construction noise and brown water from the canal dredging are a bit off-putting.. Once we got out of the city to the wide blue ocean and green jungle I was mesmerized by the beauty.

My only workout to speak of was climbing the 100++ steps of this tower to see the view above the jungle..
I found Heaven on Earth!!! So beautiful the pictures do not capture the epic beauty..
I should have asked the man who "owned" the island how much for these shells?
I love the old and new in the same photo...

I am on to a new destination tomorrow early AM, I HOPE to get in a few miles there and most likely will not have time to blog again until I get home...

I am in HOT HOT Land while Muscle Man, the Little Studs and all RUNNING in the Pacific Northwest are covered in a blanket of snow :)

Wow do I miss this little face... and my house full of boys...

• Have you ever run in a country other than your own? Leave a comment and tell us all about the experience.

See you Soon!!

I had visions of posts for the 1,000+++ Club, Goals, etc... BUT...

I HAVE A BIG GIRL JOB

and

that Big Girl Job requires my

FULL ATTENTION and TRAVEL

Can't tell you the details but I will be not be Blogging for a while..

You can find me on Facebook HERE and DailyMile HERE assuming I get any running in...


Aspire to Inspire,

Tall Mom

Thinking about FOOD

On my 2012 Goals Post HERE I talked about creating a CHALLENGE for myself every month. Why each month and not the whole year?? Because I would like to try things out and see how my body responds.

I cant speak for all Moms but my body has changed drastically since having kids. In my younger, kid-free, days I could eat whatever, whenever with no consequence and I never had use for Tums.. These days I don't know what is going to cause me to bloat or keel over to the fetal position in PAIN.. This year I want to take an active approach to testing new ways of eating to see how I feel.
My Key areas of focus:

1. Energy Level. If food is fuel, which fuel will give me the most SPARK??

2. Cost and availability. It is a known fact that is costs more to eat well (unless you forrage in the forest or something) but as a one-income family I cannot afford to break the bank in the grocery department. I also don't want poor Muscle man to drive all over the place to specialty stores for me.

3. Taste. Life is short. I love to eat. I refuse to eat something that tastes like tree-bark to get in the required fiber for the day.

Below are my ideas so far:

FEBRUARY= No Chocolate and no sweets at work. This will be a CHALLENGE with Feb being Valentines month, the work food table is sure to be full of tasty sweet treats. I may change it to be no sweets at all, but I will decide that on Feb 1st :)

MARCH= GO Gluten Free. My Mom is already following this lifestyle so I can go to her for advice and tips. I may have to take a CHEAT day on March 17th when I set a new 5K PR and celebrate with a post-race adult beverage!

• I posted on Facebook HERE to get some ideas about good Monthly Challenges. Below are some great ideas MONTHLY challenges from commenters.

Lesley- Snack= fruit, vegetable or yogurt.

Kendyl- Vegetarian

Sybil- Raw foods or vegan

Amanda and Jessica- No processed foods!! Only foods made with fresh ingredients.

Catey and Nancy- Sugar Elimination

Marlene- No restaurants/fast food.

Becca- No meat Mondays

Thanks Ladies!!!

I have to be smart about this, the weeks leading up to the Monthly CHALLENGE will be spent researching what foods I can and should eat. I also don't want to plan a CHALLENGE for a month when I will be traveling or in heavy training..

I plan to look at my calendar and plan out the year. CHALLENGES will include my Tall Family as well. Muscle Man and the Little Studs will be along for the ride here and there this year.

• Do you know of any GREAT cook books or healthy eating books that would help me out this year? Please leave a comment.
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• Do you have any ideas for a Monthly challenge I should try? Leave a comment.
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• What healthy eating strategies have you tried? What did you like and what did you not like??