Moved!

I moved my blog.  Now I'm over here, still @thecraftyruner.com just using Wordpress instead of Blogger now.

Gretchen Got A Cat Or We Got A Cat

You have a kid she really wants a pet.  What do you do?  Dogs are really out for us since I don't think we are home enough and fish are no fun so I caved and let her have a cat.

I was extremely resistant on the get a cat front mostly because you know what they say about women and cats.   I don't want to become  a crazy cat lady.  At first it's just one cat then next thing you know there is too many to count.  Suddenly all your t-shirts have pictures of cats on them, your pants are covered in cat hair and you spend your nights pinning funny cat memes while eating ice cream out of a carton.  I'm really hoping that's not how it all goes down.

Gretchen named her Sparkle Glitter Fab.  We have had her about two months now and it all seems to be going well.

Gretchen made the cat a jacket.

Nike Training & Nike Run Club

Last month I was invited to go to a Nike training event with a Nike master trainer.  It was like the Nike training app in person.  

With Nike master trainer Flor who took us through a workout full of high impact squats, lunges and pushups.  

This Saturday Nike is throwing a training workout with Nike master trainer Flor Beckmann at the Kauffman center @ 10:00 am.  It is free and based on the two events I went to will be super fun.  This is assuming your idea of fun is a hard workout.  There will be healthy snacks and a Nike fashion show afterwards.  I would go but apparently my employer expects me to work Saturdays, so you should go and tell me about it.  You can sign up here.

Monday evening at Nike Run Club was the Kansas City kick off to find your fastest mile.  It was held at liberty memorial in Kansas City right across the street from Harvey's in Union Station where I wait tables.  I wanted to go to the event and in usual Gretchen style she was super pumped to go but then her enthusiasm quickly dropped once we arrived.  She did enjoy a blue Gatorade and then hung out in the shade of the tent playing on my phone during the event.  

One of the pacers giving a little talk about finding your personal best mile.  We started with a warm up jog then a series of warm up and running form drills.  Then it was time for the mile run.  It was a 1/3 mile course so three loops down hill then up hill in front of liberty memorial.  I think it was a cool 90˚ out.  You got with your pace goal group and went for it.  

I'm certain I can do better.  So if anyone wants to meet up for a liberty memorial fast hilly mile let me know.

Selfie with Gretchen, she enjoyed the oranges and Kind bar snacks.

The Beer Mile

The beer mile it's an actual thing.  You down a 12oz beer, you run 1/4 mile, you down a 12oz beer, you run 1/4 mile, you down a 12oz beer, you run 1/4 mile, you down a 12oz beer, you run 1/4 mile.  You do this as fast as possible and hope not to puke.  I realize this all sounds like a terrible idea but like I said it's a thing.  KC Running Company put this race on in Martian City.  It was an out and back 1/4 mile so you ran out and back twice stopping for your beer each 1/4 mile before crossing the finish line.

Before the race with some superstar beer milers.  My stomach actual hurt a little before the race but was fine after.

Nick Symmonds is pretty good at running the beer mile.  My performance was pretty much the same.

           

Or not so much.  It took me 15:03, chugging beer is hard.  The beer was made by Martian City Brewery.  It was good except not exactly what I would have picked for running.  I think a warm bud light would have gone down a little easier.  I didn't puke.  Lots of burping as I ran which was completely necessary.

Got a cool t-shirt and felt well enough after to sit and enjoy a beer so all good.  

Running the Mile You Are In

It was my birthday it was also a Monday so I didn't ask off work.  I like to save my ask offs for Saturdays and I might be too old to be asking off work for my birthday.  The only thing I was really wanting to do on my birthday was run and since my feet might not love double digit miles I figured I'd have time for both.  I managed to get out of work early enough for some outside run time before child pick up time.  It might have been a cool 97˚ out.  Their might have been an excessive heat warning, whatever.*  I'm fairly certain I like heat more than the average person.  Even if it's muggy heat, I still like it.  

I went for 4 miles on the Little blue.  4 hot slow sweaty miles.  Birthday present to self: getting full sweat on.  I stopped and dipped my head in the Little Blue River.  Might be gross but felt good.

Afterwards still sweating it out in the Sonic drive thru line.  2nd birthday present to self: route 44 diet cherry limeade.  I don't drink soda otherwise but these are so cold and refreshing  with their tiny ice cubes and limy goodness.

*Excessive heat warnings really shouldn't be taken lightly and could be dangerous. I'm kinda experienced and do well in heat.  I ran slow and carried Nuun enhanced water.  Be smart.

Freedom Fest 5k with the Kid

Gretchen really seemed to enjoy that mile race she did back in January so I was wanting to try another race with her.  Since there isnt much around shorter than a 5k I figured we'd give it a go.  We were out at my parents the day before so just stayed over for the Freedom Fest 5k in Warrensburg, MO.  It is small event, just the kind I like, no crowds or parking issues.

Someone woke up in a grumpy mood clearly needing more sleep so my expectations were pretty low.  She started out good of course but once most of the participates were ahead she started losing intrest quick.  My dad stayed with us on the course so we chit chatted then at about the mile mark I offered to let her ride on my back then on my dad's back then back to my back.  We were able to make up a bit of time this way.  She walk/ran some then once we topped the last hill she was all about running it in to the finish.  

Got her medal and we can only improve from here I think.

My sister pointed out the race results to me.  Can't have this time tarnishing my race times. HaHa.

Enjoying some much deserved freedom cookies at Old Drum after the race.

Looking like the badass kid she is walking off after.

Run The Mile You Are In

Since I was running all the time I wanted to get a running related tattoo.  Who doesn't right? I'm also obsessed with quotes, especially anything running or exercise related.  I just had to pick the right one to be tatted on me for the rest of my life.  I have a bunch of favorites but wanted something more positive than dark.  Running related but that would mean something for the all of my non running life as well.

Run the mile you are in(from David Willey, editor in chief of Runner's World) was one of my favs and also short enough to make a nice tattoo.  Be present with the mile you are running because you're done with the ones behind you and the miles in front of you won't happen till this one right here does.  It's important to enjoy where you are at in life  even if at the time it seems really hard to see anything good about it.  Enjoy the pain because that's what is going to make you a better, stronger  runner and person.  Besides sometimes pain is fun and owning where you are at in running and life makes everything easier to deal with.

As for where to put the tattoo.  I had a rose tat on my left shoulder from when I was 20 and did lots of  idiotic things.  Just walked into a tattoo parlor and said that looks cool.  It did not look cool. Point being I wanted it covered up.  Now I know some people (hi mom) might not think the way to deal with a small ugly but faded tattoo would be to cover it up with a much larger fresh new tattoo but I think it was the perfect solution.

I did my research as in I took a poll from all my FB friends on tattoo artists.  Looked at all the suggestions and settled on Luke Whitmire at Glory Bound Tattoos in Blue Springs.  Picked because I thought his work I saw online reflected the kind of all round look I wanted even though I wasn't really sure what that was at the time.  Also he did not have a six month wait. Waiting is not my favorite.

I made a pintrest board of lettering styles I liked along with the quote I wanted.  Took it to him and mentioned I liked trails and trees.  What you see above is basically what he came up with other than I thought the original trees he drew looked more like west coast trees than Missouri trees.  I told him I would like the trees to look more Midwest and he nailed it.  I don't really know what the going rates are for tattoos but thought the cost was totally reasonable, I would have paid more.  I'm really happy with how it turned out and you can't see the old tattoo underneath it at all. 

Anyone else have a running or exercise related tattoo?  If not what kind of tattoo would you get if you had to?

  

Sisters Trip to Eureka Springs Arkansas

With us all turning into grownups and stuff my sisters and I decided we should take a trip together and it basically came down to us only being able to agree on these past 3 days at the end of June here to make it happen this summer.  So Courtney flew in early Friday morning.  Gretchen and I picked her up from MCI then made our way to Warrensburg for Beth.  Since she has the nicer car we let her take over the driving duties for the 3ish hour trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  We stayed at Matterhorn Towers.  Gretchen said it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen but she is 4. 

Eureka Springs is a super cute, super hilly town with quirky streets lots of art and shopping.  Fun place for just hanging out and doing some people watching.  With Gretchen in tow we didn't do a lot of shopping which was fine with me.   I mostly wanted to avoid the shops with lots of breakables.

Gretchen and Courtney enjoying the spread that Joyce put out for breakfast.  A continental complementary breakfast  had a nice assortment of fresh fruit some pastries, cheese and salami.  The only downfall was no half and half only powdered creamer.  I need real cream with my coffee.

After a stop at Mcdonnalds for coffee we headed over to Withrow Springs State Park for some hiking.  We covered the War Eagle Trail and Dogwood Trail for about a 3 mile hike.  Gretchen held up pretty well, only a short stint of on my back style travel towards the end of the hike.  The War Eagle Trial was listed as difficult, not something I would think most people would be comfortable taking a 4 year old on.  I thought she did well on it and the only other hikers we saw had kids Gretchen's age or younger so if you're the outdoorsy type you'd probably be fine with the kids.

The bat cave was closed, good thing cause it looked a little scary.

Top of a cliff.

Pitstop at Sonic for diet cherry lime aids.  I must do for Courtney every time she makes it back to the mid west.

On the way back to town we made a stop at Quigley's Castle,  the billboards along the route made it seem like a must see!  It was not so much castle as a rock house and grotto type garden but interesting nonetheless.

I tried to convince the group that we should get matching tats.  Gretchen was the only one on board with the idea.  Guess I know what we are doing for her 18th birthday.

Ya Let's Stab My Feet With Needles, That Sounds Fun

The needles were not that big and there wasn't blood squirting out.  This is just a picture of what it felt like.

Apparently I'm willing to do just about anything to get rid of the pain in my feet and back to running again.  Last week I decided to give dry needling a try.  I mean if it's supposed to work even better than just the foot rubbing thing why am I not doing it?  Well, it hurts and the thought of it really grosses me out.  He stabs 2 needles into each foot then swishes my muscles around with them, or something like that.  It does seem to be improving things even more than before though.  Overall my feet feel better especially at work where I'm on my feet all day.  I ran 4 days in the past week.  A 2 miler, 3miler, 4.5 miler and 2 miler.   The 4.5 was outside the rest was on the treadmill.  All the runs felt great while in them but after the 4.5er I had to go straight to work and it wasn't a good day for my feet.  They did feel better the next day so much so that I ran a 2 miler and felt fine after.  This is kinda the same pattern for the past 3 weeks.  The 2-3milers don't bother my feet but the longer distances do.  All of the 2-3 milers have been on the treadmill and the longer ones were outside.  It's easier to limit myself on the treadmill than outside.

Things seem to be improving overall but so so slowly that it is so so frustrating.  A month ago it hurt to even start running and my feet bothered me at work everyday so this is better. 11.5 miles of running in a week is better than 0 but it's so far from where I want to be.  I have another appointment today to have needles stabbed into my feet and I'm mostly dreading it.  Ugh. 

Running Again

Gretchen and I drew a picture of how happy we are running.  Everything is flowers and butterflies.

I think I know why you're having foot pain Kristen, your running form looks terrible.

I went 7 weeks of basically no running, when I did run after I'd be "nope shouldn't have done that."  Four weeks in  I saw a doctor.  She gave me  prescription strength ibuprofen and said ya don't run.  Clearly not acceptable.  So on week 7 I went and saw a chiropractor that another runner recommended.  Then like magic my feet started feeling better.  Like f***ing magic!  My first visit was a week ago.  Over the next few days my foot pain while not gone was greatly reduced while on my feet all day waiting tables and I ran 3 days spacing them out.  The pain and tightness I felt after running was way more tolerable.  My 2nd visit was 2 days ago.  Then yesterday I ran 5 miles then after zero pain in my right foot, ZERO.  Still felt it in my left foot but not horrible.  

I put off seeing a chiropractor since my insurance doesn't cover it and despite several people telling me to see one I didn't think it would help.  I saw Dr. Cotter at Active Health Solutions: Chiropractic and Rehab.  I picked him because he was recommended by another runner and a bit cheaper than another guy that was recommended to me.  He dropped the fee for the initial consultation for being a Tail Nerd so that was cool.  Now paying per visit which is totally worth it since it seems to be working.    He basically just rubs this piece of hard plastic into my foot so hard I want to cry then a few adjustment things at my ankle joints, hips and lower back. Magic!

  

No Running but Crafty

Making use of running journal with zero running included.

Tomorrow I will hit 5 weeks of no real running.  My feet definitely feel improved but I can tell the problem is still there.  Went and saw a doctor, she was as helpful as I expected her to be.  Went back into Garry Gribbles Running Store to buy something new to try, and see if there was any employees there who had any good ideas.  After talking with the guy there I bought new inserts and going to try never putting any pressure on my feet without supportive shoes on until my feet heel up.    This means putting my shoes on before I get out of bed and only taking them off if I'm not on my feet.  There has been a few days where I got up at a ridiculously early hour to get to the gym.  On those days I would have my outfit sitting right by my bed so I did put my shoes on before I got up.  I didn't have any morning foot pain on those days so I'm thinking this might work.

I'm sorry but what?

Gretchen got this shirt for doing her mile run in Texas.  Obviously I want her to wear it all the time but she doesn't care to wear anything that is not a dress.  If it's not a dress it must be pink, purple or from the movie frozen otherwise forget it.   I made a few adjustments to the shirt to get her to wear it.    Now it's a dress with a purple skirt and fits Gretchen's wardrobe standards.

Swimming Is Hard and Running Was So Darn Convient

Swimming is hard and also extremely inconvenient.  Since I'm off running for the moment thanks to my stupid feet I've been trying to fill the void in my life and not get fat.  Trying to give swimming a go.  

I know what you're thinking "Kristen looks so cute in a swim cap."  Swim caps are a fantastic way to save yourself a good 30 minutes of combing knots out of your hair.

I made a list.

My Stick figure of what I think I look like swimming.

Did buy this pool, its pretty fun.

A month ago I was trying to switch gyms since I thought it was more expensive than other gyms and I didn't really use their crummy cardio equipment.  A month ago I was running and only using the gym twice a week for weights.  Well, it's been 3 weeks since my last run.  3 weeks ago I didn't need a pool or child care and I thought I could live without a squat rack.  I am now lifting 6 days a week, using the pool and crappy elliptical machines. No other gyms in a reasonable distance offers child care, a squat rack and a pool.  Now that I'm not running leg day is my favorite.  

No running = more time for gym selfies.  I'm smiling on the inside.

Rockin Warrior Dash

Sippin on a little choclate lean protien milk pre race.

This past weekend thanks to Rockin' Refuel I took my team of six to the Kansas City Warrior Dash.  While technically I'm off running at the moment(it's been 2 weeks now) we were all signed up and this had to happen.  The Warrior Dash is only 3 miles and you're basically running on squishy mud so I reasnoned it was ok and wouldn't make my injury any worse.  It didn't but also didn't make it better.   

It was not quite an hour drive out to the race site.  Since we only signed up 2 weeks beforehand we had to go for one of the later start times.  I thought this might be alright since it would be warmer in the afternoon.  It was about 60˚ out but no sun and the 2nd obstacle involved jumping into a swimming across a pond of sorts.  After that you are completly wet and covered in mud the rest of the race.  Once you are wet it is cold, I really dislike being cold.  I feel like these type of races would be more fun if the temps were in the 90˚'s but it wasn't.  I did really like that while there was a ton of people there really wasn't any waiting to go through each obstacle.   

Coming out of sewer runoff pond.  It was a little smelly but part of the fun right.

Scariest thing about this obstacle is worring about being stabbed with a lost safty pin.

Soaked in mud and so cold post race.  After knocking back our Rockin' Refuel to help recover from the race we rinsed off in cold hose water showers, threw on dry clothes, grabbed our free beers and were out.  I think there was a tempature drop during the race, so much colder after but we are warriors after all.

Anyone tried Rockin' Refuel or other protien milk drink?  Thoughts?  

Enjoy Warrior Dashes or other obstacle course races?

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