morning runs ...

I'm not really a morning person. I like to lay in bed under the warm blankets every morning with my kids (and J). It's not like I sleep in (we're usually up by 7), but the thought of getting up and moving any early scares me. Because of this, most of my runs take place on the treadmill during nap time or at night, after the girls are in bed. I wish I was motivated enough to be up at 6 and done with my run by the time everyone else in my house is waking. I force myself to do this on the weekends to get my long run in, but no matter how hard I try, I haven't been able to carry this over to my weekday runs.

However, yesterday morning, G and I were able to sneak in a quick four miles before J went off to work (this only happened because of Spring Break). G met me at my place (since she's sans kids this week). I walked outside to find that we had unknowingly matched our outfits. Here, look ...

I guess that's what happens when you share a brain. The run was easy, since it is taper week after all. But when we finished, I immediately said, "I wish I could do this all the time." So, my question to all of you is, "How do you do it? How do you get yourself up and running at those early hours?"

Oh, and for Meg, who sent me those super cute socks. Here is the entire outfit from yesterday. I know, I rocked it.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway HERE ... entries will be accepted until Midnight tonight!

ask and you shall receive ...

The taper is off to a good start (except for all the candy I've been eating). The girls are on Spring Break, which means I am without my twice weekly, four hour long reprieve (a.k.a. preschool) this week. It also means that I am not scheduled down to the minute, since all of their afternoon activities were cancelled too. Yesterday, we spent the morning at the playground. Then had lunch with J, followed by an afternoon of 25 meter repeats on the front lawn (Dizzle and Doodle, not me). Basically, I'm trying to do my best to keep them occupied while not losing my mind. (Remember, a stress-reducing long run isn't in the cards this week.)

But there I go again, getting sidetracked. That little recap was not the point of this post. What I meant to do was to fulfill a request that several of you asked about on my RunningSkirt post. Apparently, you all want a glimpse into my sock collection (obsession, whatever you want to call it). So, here you go. My signature socks in all their glory ...

I love them. I hope you do to. And if you ever felt the need to add to my collection, I am open to accepting donations. I wear a size 10 shoe and if you want to know if I have a skirt to match ... well, you know where to look.


Oh, and speaking of sock donations, the ever-so-sweet Meg from Meg Runs! sent me these ADORABLE ones yesterday. (They arrived like two hours after the group shot, which I wasn't setting up again) ...


So cute, right? I can't wait to rock them! Thanks Meg!

it's taper week ...

The Cherry Blossom 10 miler is in six days, which means I am officially in taper mode. I hate taper. I hate looking around and seeing other people running. I hate that I won't be racking up my standard mileage toward my yearly goal. I hate going to bed at night with my treadmill staring at me from across the room. I get runner's guilt. It's like I should be running a ton, but I just can't. And for me, taper is just as hard as injury. With injury you can't run. It's physically painful. With taper, the pain is mental.


But I will do it. Because I want to run with strong legs and a strong mind on race day. I taper because I want to PR. Because I want to give myself the best opportunity to push myself further than I thought.
I head into Sunday's race with a goal time of 1:25 in my head. I've never run a 10 mile race before, so regardless, I will be setting a PR. But I know, if I race like I train (something I have really been working on). I can hit that time. And if everything goes perfectly, I can run even faster. And I have the proof ...


On Friday night, I did a race pace test run. I wanted my legs to feel what 8:30's feel like. And I needed to know I could hold it. So, I jumped on the treadmill for an eight miler. The plan was two miles easy, followed by four miles at race pace, finished with a two mile cool down. But, that's not really what happened. Instead, I did my two mile warm up at a 9:22 pace (kind of my run all day pace). Then I kicked it up to an 8:20 pace (note that this is actually faster than my goal pace). And like I said, I planned on holding that for four. But, after four I felt too good. So, I tried for five. SUCCESS. So, I kicked it up again and finished the last mile in 8:06. It was awesome. My overall pace was 8:34. Just four seconds over my goal pace. Talk about a confidence boost. Yes, I was tired. Yes, I had worked. But, it didn't kill me. And when I woke up the next day, I wanted to lace up and do it all over again (Don't worry. I didn't).


Instead, I took Saturday off and geared up for Sunday's long run. G has finally been released from by the doctor and offered to join me (plus her hubby and kids were out of town, so she had no reason not to). And our buddy, K, joined us at the last minute for what ended up being a series of loops around my neighborhood.


The run was pretty much perfect. We held an easy pace filled with easy conversation. We ended up running just shy of eight miles in 1:16:22 (9:45 overall). Pretty good considering the amount of pictures we took and that we've not yet adjusted to this warmer weather. And speaking of pictures, here are some good ones ...


Huh, don't I look like a giant next to them? Anyway, I love these runs. We catch up on each other's lives. Retell crazy stories. And just enjoy being out. Basically, it was the perfect way to head into a dreaded taper ...

now, it's getting personal ...

Back on my 300th post, I asked you to comment with any question you wanted me to answer. The response was huge. Way too much for one entry. So, I have decided to categorize the questions and reply in a series of posts over the next few weeks. Most recently, I discussed my life as a mother-runner. Today, I'll answer those questions that touch upon my relationship with J and the non-running part of my life ...

Katye asked: "I want to know about your wedding! When/where/how? How old were you? what was your dress and wedding like? And pictures would be fabulous ..."

Oh, my wedding. The prettiest day of my life. Here's how it happened ...

J and I started dating in June of 2002. I knew I wanted to marry him about two weeks later. He, being the practical one, waited 10 months to ask me. We got married 14 months later on June 25, 2004. I was 22 and J was 24.

I knew from the start that I wanted a small wedding, especially since we were going to be paying for most of it (and I was still in college, with basically zero income). But a small wedding was easier said than done. Both of us come from large families. My mom is one of eight and his dad is one of six. Add all of those people to our group of friends and people who would get an invitation out of obligation and we were looking at a guest list of over 250. So, we changed our plans. We decided to have a destination wedding in the Bahamas instead of a traditional wedding back home.

I thought by planning a wedding abroad that we would minimize our costs (which is true - at least in our situation). I figured we'd have 20 people there. Max. Obviously, if people had to travel to a foreign country to get there, fewer would come. Right? Wrong. Instead, 80 of our closest friends and family made the trip. We had our ceremony on the beach. The day was absolutely beautiful. It was perfect and looking back on it now, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our wedding ...

Earth Momma Mer asked: "When are you and J going on your next vacation alone and where will you go?"

J and I are going on our first vacation (without the kids) since our honeymoon in June. We are traveling to Key West for five days. It is J's birthday trip, but happens to fall on our sixth anniversary.

Sarah asked: "Besides running, what is your next favorite thing to do that is something just for yourself?"

I'll be honest. Other than running, I don't take very much time for myself. Now that I am no longer nursing and the girls are getting older, I am getting better about getting out of the house for a weekend here and there. But, every time I leave, it's usually for a race (I'm traveling to races a lot this year). So, again, that brings be back to running. OK, wait. Something I really love to do is to get a massage. So relaxing. But, it's cheaper to run. You know what, I'm not picky. If I get to go grocery shopping without my kids, it has been a good day for me.

Barefoot AngieB asked: "If you had a day all to yourself and you felt confident that all your family was well taken care of, what would you do?"

OK, if we are living in a fantasy world where my kids are taken care of and money is no object then I would spend the day with a personal stylist. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but I have NO STYLE. I am either wearing running clothes or race tees. It would be so great to go shopping without any interruptions. And it would be even better if someone would tell me what looks good on me. And it would be the absolute best if someone else picked up the tab.

And finally, Momma Twitch asked: "What is one thing you REALLY love about yourself and one thing that you can't stand?"

I really love that I have self confidence (that is in no way tied to my body image). I have learned to be proud of my strengths and accept my weaknesses as an opportunity to improve. I'm self motivated and unstoppable.

With that said, I really can't stand that I have a tendency hold back my thoughts because I am afraid of how others will react (you probably don't get that from this blog though). I don't like tension, so I will avoid situations where it arises. I really wish I could just man up and face those situations head on.

you might say I'm addicted ...

Hi. My name is Tonia and I am addicted to running skirts. Well, that's not true. I am only addicted to the skirts from RunningSkirts.com. No other skirt will do. I own 16 of them. Don't believe me? Just look ...

It's OK. You can stop drooling now. I know they are a beautiful thing. But please, try to control yourself.

I'm not quite sure how I became the single largest owner of RunningSkirts in the continental U.S. (outside of RunningSkirts owners, Cindy and Christy), but it happened. Oh, wait. Now, I recall how it all started. It was with a single skirt, navy/white. I had been running for five months and was about to run my first marathon (yes, I ran my first marathon with less than a year of running experience). I needed the perfect outfit, because if I wasn't going to run fast then I was at least going to look good. And look good, I did (I know you wish that was your quad).

That was the beginning of the end. I would never look back. In the two years since my first marathon, I have never run a race without wearing a RunningSkirt. And I would estimate that they are my outfit of choice in 98% of my training runs. Basically, I am a walking billboard. And I am OK with that. When you find something you love, you have to stick with it. My skirts have never failed me and for that I am forever loyal. And hey, one day, when I am consistently winning races, I'm sure RunningSkirts will sponsor me. Or maybe, when my kids are all in school, I will work for them. You never know ...

And while we are talking about my addiction, I did get a few questions about my RunningSkirts after my 300th post. Laura asked: "Does your husband ever give you a hard time about the amount of running gear/clothes you have and if so how to you handle it?"

No, he NEVER gives me a hard time. J is very supportive of my running and my RunningSkirt addiction for the following three reasons.

1. He knows that I have a monstrous amount of running clothes, but he also knows that I do not purchase any non-running clothing. Seriously. My entire non-running wardrobe consists of a few pairs of jeans, a couple polo shirts (which I never wear) and race tees. I couldn't dress up if I tried. Well, maybe if I wore the old bridesmaid dress that is hanging in my closet.

2. J is a big guy (6'7) and can't buy a suit off of a rack. Unfortunately, he has to wear a suit everyday to work. Getting one custom-made, or even altered, is WAY MORE EXPENSIVE than any running gear I could buy.

3. Um, have you seen my outfits? I look hot. And what husband doesn't want a hot wife? Just saying.

Cynthia O'H asked: "If you could buy any RunningSkirt.com skirt, what would it be? Does your husband know how much they cost or do you keep that a well-hidden secret?"

Right now, if I could buy any one of their skirts it would be the pink and white dots. I just bought that one for a friend (see, I can give too) and it was beyond cute. It was so adorable that Dizzle was actually upset with me for giving it away. So, if anyone is feeling generous and wants to send me a gift, I wear a size 2 skirt and I'm sure by now the RunningSkirt twins have my address memorized.

As for the cost, J is fully aware of the price tag. And yes, I realize that 16 skirts at $48-58 dollars each can really add up. But in my own defense, I haven't actually spent that much on them (at least not personally). You see, I won two of my skirts. Four of them were gifts. Seven were purchased at half price from the website's sale page and the Stroller Strides National Conference and one was 15% off. Only two (my first skirt and my maternity skirt) were full price. But in the last two years, I have paid a heck of a lot in shipping.

Five for Friday ...

Who else is totally excited that it is finally Friday? It's been a long week around here. Not helped by the fact that I am smack in the middle of some single parenting, which means that tonight's eight miler (with four miles at my 10 Mile goal pace) will once again be on the treadmill. God, how I love that thing. I swear, when my treadmill dies on me, I will cry. And then I will immediately be dropping two grand to replace it. But really, that's not where I was going with this post. So, here we go with some complete randomness (I guess that's where I am at this morning ...)

1. The Cherry Blossom 10 Miler is in nine days. I'm super excited. I've never raced a 10 miler before, so obviously, it's an instant PR. And I am doing everything in my power to make that PR as close to 1:25 as possible. That race is also the first of two races I get to run with the lovely Katye (Long Legs on the Loose). I will be trekking up to Baltimore in May to run the MAC Half Marathon with her, where we are both going to knock out sub-two hour halfs.

2. I am super speedy. But you knew that, didn't you? Of course, you did. Anyway, I used my super speedy legs to win the 5K division of Tall Mom's Virtual Race for the Cure (24:09). I take great pride in this for two reasons. First, I am just a proud person. I don't mind bragging. So, that's what I am going to do. And second, I am probably NEVER going to win another race, so I need to enjoy it while I can.

3. Yesterday, I asked my girls which Disney princess they would like to be. Dizzle responded like this, "I don't want to be any of the Disney princesses, because they all have evil mothers." Funny, right? So, I guess she is saying that I am the lesser of two evils? I'll take it.

4. I got an email yesterday from an adult running camp in Vermont called, We Run 2 Win, where one of my fellow Penn Track Alums is working. It really got my attention and if I had the extra cash or time to attend I would. But instead, I am passing the information along to all of you. Here's a little rundown about the camp:

"Our camp is unique because it is for adult runners of all levels. It is for those who love to run and are as serious about their running as they are every other aspect of their lives! We know that too many runners train without coaching and risk disappointment at best and injury at worst. As a camper at our camp you will receive FOUR MONTHS of elite coaching and one week of amazing camp experience. Our campers fill out a training questionnaire before camp that our staff will read. They will then make a personalized training schedule for them for the two months before camp. After camp there will be an evaluation and the staff will once again make a two month personalized training schedule. We guarantee that after these four months you will report a PR in the race of your choice."

Sounds pretty cool, right? Plus, the camp is a non profit with a large portion of the proceeds funding their college scholarship fund. Those scholarships will then be awarded to high school senior xc/track runners who plan on running in college. So, if you are interested in learning more, click HERE.

5. Don't forget to enter my Moving Comfort Bra Giveaway. Entries will be accepted until Wednesday, April 6th. And the winner will be selected at random and announced the following day.

Happy Friday!

March Rewind ...

It happened again. I blinked and suddenly another month has passed. Three months into the year and I am well on my way to FINALLY hitting 1000 miles. This is Dilly and I after yesterday run (miles 301.5-305.85). I'm rocking my new RunningSkirts headband and Dilly wasn't quite ready for the camera.

When you extrapolate it out, I am actually on target to hit 1200, which would be almost 300 miles further than I have ever run in one year. That would be SWEET. Speaking of mileage, I realized this morning that during the 305 miles I have run in 2010, I have burned over 35000 calories. That's over 10 pounds. Wow! I should be 10 lbs lighter than on January 1. But I am not. Instead, I weigh exactly the same. So that also means I ate 35000 calories that I probably didn't need ...

Anyway, here's my recap of March 2010 ...

Miles Planned/Ran: 103.1/103.31 (just shy of a mile more than last month)

Rest Days Planned/Taken: 13/12

Highest Mileage Week: 3/15-3/21: 24.46 miles

Long Runs Planned/Run: 4/5

Donuts Earned: 69.11 (good, considering that I ate four HUGE cupcakes last week ...)

Current Book: OK. I know you are going to be shocked but, I actually read a book this month. I know. Pick your jaw up off the floor. It was Run Like A Mother. And whether you are a mother or not, you need to read this book. And so does your significant other.

Current Shame-Inducing Guilty Pleasure: Did you see my mention of the HUGE and absolutely delicious cupcakes? How about the part where I said I ate FOUR last week alone? Enough said.

Current Colors: Lime green. I'm rocking lime green socks and tanks and headbands. The color makes me happy!

Current Obsessions: Running skirts. I got two new ones this week. Someone needs to block that website on my computer.

Current Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper. There is a TON left over from J's surprise party.

Current Song: The Script - Breakeven

Current Need: Some self-restraint. It's been a rough few weeks.

Current Triumph: My speed. I set new PRs in the 5K (24:09), 10K (50:36) and half marathon (2:01:36) this month.

Current Bane of My Existence: My lack of self-restraint.

Current Goal: My next race is a 10 miler. My first race of that distance. I want to, no wait, I am going to run it in 1:25.

Current Indulgence: What haven't I indulged on this month? Seriously, are you not getting the lack of self-restraint thing?

Current Blessing: That after 16 years, I finally have even legs. No more limping for me.