Wednesday night I had the pleasure to attend an Another Mother Runner event that was held in Portland. As you read yesterday I was nervous about attending and had my struggles when I first arrived but in the end I had a really good time. The event was pretty big with over 100 people in attendance.
Like I said in yesterdays post I did a little retail therapy and bought these two shirts:
After my retail therapy and finally finding another mother to talk with it was time for Sarah to do a reading from Train Like A Mother. Let me tell you she is so warm and hilarious. To top it all off just listening to her talk about running was infectious and of course I ended up signing up for a September 10k while I was there. I really wanted to sign for the half marathon but with such a crazy summer I know I couldn’t commit to training so I decided on a shorter distance.
Another Mother Runner is having similar events across the country and you can sign up to attend one as well! Locations include:
New Canaan, CT: April 10
Montclair, NJ: April 11
Sacramento, CA: April 24
Bay Area, CA: April 25
Capital Region (Albany), NY: May 30
Chicago, IL: August 8
Columbus, OH: August 29
Washington D.C. Suburbs: October 3
Philadelphia, PA: October 17
St. Louis, MO: October 24
Oh and did I mention that the swag bags are pretty awesome? Also I did win a raffle item but they had some pretty awesome ones which included a Garmin, race entries, and more.
Have you read Run Like A Mother or Train Like A Mother? Are you planning to attend one of the events?
Lately I have been really stepping out of my comfort zones, pushing myself a little bit, whether it is to talk with other parents at OMSI, attend MeetUp groups or pushing myself to run harder or faster.
The other night for example I went out for the first time alone in Portland. I went to an event by myself, no friends, no husband no baby. I was shaking in my boots as I walked through the door but I was determined to spend my few ours sans bebe having a good time because I mean really would it have been worth it if I hadn’t?
I checked in to the event, received my drink tickets and headed to the bar to get some liquid courage aka a beer. I attempted to strike up a conversation with another lady who seemed to be at the event by herself as well but in the end she just wasn’t interested in talking and quickly got her drink and found her friends. I honestly felt like I went to the bar alone and was trying to pick up, but in this case I was just trying to make friendly with other women at the event.
I moved on and decided to go over to the merch table where I ended up buying myself two tops, retail therapy much? Again I tried talking with some of the women at the table but everyone seemed to be more interested in their friends who they came with. At this point I was feeling pretty rejected but was determined not to give up (yet).
I walked over to a new are and saw a group of women sitting on an L-shaped couch near where the presentation would be happening. There was one seat open on the end so I asked if anyone was sitting there and sat down hoping to strike up a conversation with them but again they were very into their small group discussion already. At this point I looked around the room and everyone was grouped off and it was at the point where the rejection had set in and I really had no desire to try and interject myself into someone elses conversation (again). I decided to just sip my beer and wait for the presentation to start.
Then it happened. Someone who also was attending the event alone sat on the stairs next to me. I had never been happier to see another (lonely) person, after how the night had been going. We got to talking and had a great conversation while we waited for the presentation. We talked about running, races, a little about family and moving. It was so nice to connect with another mom about something other than breastfeeding and baby bowel movements. I can’t say that I walked away with a long lasting friendship, honestly I can’t remember her name (mommy brain much?), but I did have a great conversation.
A few things that I took away from this experience:
If an event is at a bar with (free) drinks flowing it doesn’t make people more open to talking.
If an event is at a bar next time I will find a friend or at least a MeetUp mom to go with.
Large events often make it harder (for me) to meet people, especially when I am new to a city.
I like small more intimate events.
I can go out without the baby and survive.
Trying something outside of my comfort zone is empowering.
Have you ever gone to event alone? I mean not knowing anyone AT ALL who is going to be there (and knowing people only via social media or blogging doesn’t count). How do you approach a situation like this?
There is nothing more warming or comforting than a big bowl of soup. As the days get colder you can find me in my kitchen cooking up big pots of soup to enjoy with a slice (or three) of crusty bread. This hearty recipe is low in fat and calories while still being warming, comforting and of course filling!
Ingredients:
1 large onion, diced
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
2 large red bliss potatoes, washed and diced
2 cups dried split peas, rinsed
5 cups vegetable or vegetarian “chicken” broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Directions:
Heat the 4-quart stock pot over medium-high heat; add 1/4 cup of water, carrots and onion. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, stir to coat the veggies. Add the split peas and broth. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 30-35 or split peas are tender.
Sunday was my run day and honestly I just wasn’t feeling it. I was dragging my feet all day trying to come up with excuses as to why I didn’t need to/couldn’t run but honestly none of them were legit. Finally Neil got me out the door and with Edith in the BOB we went for a family run.
I started out pushing Edith for the first mile and then Neil took over. We covered 3.25 miles in 50 minutes including a 5 minute walking warm up and 5 minute walking cool down. It was tough. Running with Neil encouraged me to push myself a little harder and it felt good but boy was it tough. I am gearing up for my first postpartum 5k (I will be pushing E in the BOB too) in a few weeks and I think these weekend family runs might need to becoming a weekly thing.
Do you like to run with others? Do you push yourself (in a good way) to go harder or longer when you do?
We kept things pretty tame over here this weekend and didn’t do anything too crazy or busy. Friday late afternoon we headed to the Eastside and walked around Hawthorne St. for a bit stopping for coffee, window shopping and enjoying dinner out at TarBoush. Saturday we slept in and then headed to the Portland Farmers Market and then out to The Container Store and Native Foods. Sunday was pretty laid back with just a little early morning shopping at Target and Trader Joes. In the afternoon we walked around and then went for a family run.
What I’ve Been Watching…
I have been overwhelmed with a sick, teething baby and have been using this drama as my outlet.
Neil and I have watched a few good movies together over the past week including Sleep Walk With Me and The Giant Mechanical Man. I have watched 17 Girls (a movie about girls wanting to grow up too fast) and First Position (a movie about amazingly talented kids who have grown up too fast).
I absolutely love brown rice. I could eat it for every meal and I often will cook up a big batch at the beginning of the week to enjoy with a variety of meals throughout the week. One of my favorite ways to use my pre-cooked rice is stir-fried up with a variety of veggies. The combination of the veggies, sweet and salty flavors and the hearty rice makes the perfect one pot meal.
Ingredients:
8oz tempeh, diced
1/2 bunch of kale, shredded
6 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper (any color), diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons shoyu, divided
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon ume vinegar
Directions:
Heat the 5 tablespoons of water over medium-high heat in the saute pan over medium heat for 30 seconds.
Add the onions and tempeh to the pan and cook until onions are soft and water has evaporated.
Stir in the mirin, 1 tablespoon of the shoyu, and garlic.
Add the carrots, bell pepper, mushooms and kale; cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until kale is wilted.
Stir in the remaining shoyu, sesame oil, ume vinegar and rice; stir until evenly combined. Reduce to medium and cook for 7-10 minutes
We are just about two weeks into our month long yoga challenge and I wanted to take some time to share what our participants are saying.
“For the past 10 years or so I have pretty consistently had lower back pain, that I attributed to my being very inflexible, especially my hips and hamstrings. For this challenge, I signed up for gaiamtv and have been trying out some of the different beginner videos. The change has been amazing so far! I am already feeling more flexible, but most importantly, I haven’t been waking up in the morning with a stiff back or ending the day with an achy back. Can’t wait to see how I feel after another 2 weeks!”- Elisabeth
“I am LOVING March Yoga – I cashed in an Amazon Local deal I bought a while ago for a bikram studio in my neighborhood. It is absolutely killing me – in the best way. I’ve done 4 classes so far and while I get discouraged and cranky, it’s been great to tell my mind to get lost and just connect with my body. I already notice the strength coming back in my legs and oooo, I love it.”- Catie
“I have benefited immensely from it already!”- Monika
