Highlights to my day-

          There is NOTHING more exciting to my morning than having my own home-made tea. This one has mint leaves, blueberry leaves from my garden and slices of ginger. I let it sit for about 10 minutes and then drink the entire thing, which is about 2 cups worth.  

My first crop! 3 tomatoes, not ready yet though....can't wait to have them. I also have chives, beans, kale, lettuce, strawberries, blueberries, mint, cilantro, peppers and mint growing in my garden. 

Someone in my neighborhood got rid of some crib sides and guess who got them? I created a triangle with them over my strawberries, which keep being eaten by wildlife. I need to cover them now with some thin material so that bugs and birds don't get to them. I also used some recycled some wood Nora had me buy last year for a woodworking project she was going to work on but never did to hold up my many bean plants. I am not crazy about beans but with the shady gardens I have been dealt I am willing to grow what wants to grow, and it seems like beans want to grow here. 

I am 43....older and wiser baby!!

                I am 43 and a day and I feel the happiest I have ever felt. Now, don't confuse the word "happiest"with what most people consider trouble-free, or ecstatic living even. I am simply at peace, that is my definition of happy. For as long as I remember I've been trying to change things outside and inside of me and all of the sudden all of those concerns have melted away with time, with only one central focus in mind, peace. For as long as I remember I've been trying to change my body, change my style, change my hair, change the way I am friends with people.....all in the spirit of "I cannot possibly be doing it right all along". Yet, maybe it's the age, or maybe it's the lack of results that so much trying brings, but suddenly I don't want to go that route anymore. There is a certain fearlessness about being 43 that brings me so much more energy and strength. and those are reasons enough to stop trying.

              Another reason I am super happy is that my long term mysterious injury on my right foot seems to have disappeared, or at least lessened. When you love running as much as I do, it's so depressing not being able to run, to really move and feel your powerful legs beat beneath you. The way I have been preventing injury these days is running 90% of my run at a comfortable aerobic pace, and then sprinting the last 10%. That way I still get that high that one gets from pushing hard, but I do it on a body that's already warmed up and ready to go. As an aside, I would not say I am back 100% yet. I have not really taken my runs out on the road and even on the 'dread'mill I have not added an incline to my runs. For now, it's just running without all the other technical things I will need in a trail race, but, trying really hard to continue running and no re-injuring myself. 

             One advantage of being older (by society's standards that is...for I do not feel a day over 22) is the ability to see that sexy is an amorphous thing which the viewer and the entity being viewed can easily manipulate without the need to do much of anything but change ones mind. I have experienced women larger than me, even less fit than me strut their shit with so much confidence, so much pride that it literally changes my experience of them. When you strut sexy, people see sexy. It has NOTHING to do with body size, clothing, make-up, age....nothing. We all have the ability to pretty much control how others see us, no matter what size out body is. Young people sadly often lack this knowledge and try super hard to look as sexy as they want to feel. While this is an admirable goal, it leads us to such misery and self-loathing. I have tortured myself for years trying to look as sexy as I wanted to feel and all it brought me was a distorted sense of self and low self-esteem, plus it's exhausting. 

continuing on the theme of.....NEVER GIVE UP.....

           The funny thing about being a runner is that you don't feel like one unless you've run a respectable distance (whatever that is for you) within any given week. I could take 2-3 days off running and all of the sudden feel like the Slob of the Universe. Only running anything over 4 miles again can bring me back to feeling good about myself as a runner. 

           Running has been quite a struggle lately. It actually should be a lot easier seeing as I am a teacher on summer vacation, but, it's not. Being a stay-at-home-mom seems like a piece of cake until you do it. Kids are ALWAYS hungry, always fighting with each other, requiring some kind of maternal intervention; If one gets any rest, it's a COMPLETE miracle. 

         Great news! Today I went to the runner store in Rockville, MD, called RoadRunner, and bought tons of new running gear. I bought myself a killer Moving Comfort  Rebound Racer running bra, a black Nike tech T-shirt, a cool, strappy, RoadRunner blue tank and a pair of black 8" RoadRunner shorts. My bottoms are always an XL, and my tops are always L.....finding anything XL in the running store was not easy, but I tried not to lose my patience and kept on looking and telling myself that despite the fact that most items did not come in my size, I belonged there. After 45 minutes of trying thing on in the dressing room, I felt happy with all my purchases. I turn 42 in a month today.....and frankly, I deserve it!

            More great news....we are closing on a house July 15th and negotiations, which were grueling and stressful, ended yesterday, another reason why I am celebrating with some wine. The whole week I have been using my runs as stress relievers. Now, I can use my runs to purely daydream about my new running trails around the lake that's about 2 blocks from our new home, or how I can now get my kids bikes so they can use them to accompany me on my runs, around the lake....

           I am in week 3 of my marathon training for the fall. Needless to say, I am making sure no matter how much I skimp on my weekly runs, to not skimp on my long runs. I feel myself getting stronger as a runner and it's reassuring to feel myself meet each challenge with some struggle but not anything I can't handle. Marine Corps and NYC Marathon, here I come. 

Runner's Birthday Loot....am I not the luckiest birthday runner?

Pearl iZUMi Women's W EM Trail M 2 Running Shoe

I had to return these for they came a bit tight at the toes. I am normally get 8.5, so I returned them and am waiting for my 9 to come soon. 

Womens Yurbuds Inspire Sport Earphones

I tried these out last night while watching a movie and they do stay in place. I was a bit annoyed at how deep the stuff goes in, but I think I can get used to them. Will try them out on my run tomorrow. 

Under Armor Semi-Fitted lavender top....

I cannot have too many of these tops. Seriously. They are so comfy, so well fitted, they do not fade, they really do absorb sweat (not after 2 hours). I sometimes wear them as regular t-shirts just b/c the colors are so bright and the shirt so well done. 

Zone Bars for those long runs

These are for my long, long runs every 2 weeks. I tatsed it and it was super chicolatey, just how I like them. 

____    ____   ____  ____  ___

Things I bought myself for my birthday: 

A Nathan's Intensity Vest for women and a 24 pack of chocolate GU. 

Gripe about images of women in running magazines

               

    Come on....we're in 2013 and still we have waifs dominating the pages of magazines and catalogs!! Seriously, at my last half marathon most women running resembled my curvy body, than a size 4 body; but still we see women with bodies we hardly see in real-life depicted in these fitness magazines. I am a very fit person and I would like to see my body reflected in these magazines; not just for its political nature but for the mere fact that I find it hard to imagine what MY body would look in something I may want to buy. I was flipping through Athleta yesterday and as much as I love their clothes, there is NO way I am dishing out 60+ dollars on a piece of clothing that may or may not work on my body....why can't they find some stunning, fit curvy woman to model clothes and that way the people like me can actually see what they might look like in those clothes and buy with more confidence. I decided I will email my concerns to every company that pisses me off....one way to do it would be to do it publicly thorough maybe Twitter, so their 'followers' will be able to see these opinions being expressed and would allow others to re-tweet the message. Would love to hear what you all think?

Running Clothes....for curvy ladies and other favorite running stuff

              I have never been a thin girl, or a thin woman. But running has taught me to actually like my curves. I found that compression shorts work best for me with Under Armor tech shirt. Old Navy has these capri running pants that are so soft and I love them. My favorite running items are my lightweight Brooks jacket, my Sweaty Bands and my Rock and Roll Marathon cap signed by Mike Wardian. What are your favorite running gear?