I have had a shin splint in one leg and am battling Plantar Faciitis in that foot, so I was also interested in trying out some compression socks to see if they could help. And I let them know that I love pink so they sent me pink ones!

I really wasn’t sure what to expect.  My husband has compression sleeves, but this was going to be our first experience with compression socks. I actually received them at the end of March, but I wanted to really test them out for my review.  I wanted to run a few times in them and wash them and see how they came through the wash. The Pro Compression website does recommend you wash in cold (which I do) and air dry (which I don’t) but it does say you can machine dry.  I am not a fan of air drying anything that comes out of the washing machine.  I don’t like the way it feels when it’s dry, but there was one time where I pulled them from the wash and threw them on.  They weren’t very wet (my washer is pretty good at not leaving the clothes sopping wet!), so I shook them out a bit, rolled them on and hit the pavement!

I knew compression socks were supposed to be tight, and these definitely were!  They take a little longer to get on than just normal socks, but they weren’t impossible to get on. Even after I put them through the washer and dryer, they still went on fairly easy and retained the tightness that makes them effective.

My first run with them was great! I could tell that they were helping my legs feel less fatigue.  And I left them on for awhile after my run to help my muscles, and that seemed to help also.  I’ve worn them for almost every run (yes, that means I am doing a LOT of laundry, lol) and I can tell the difference when I don’t wear them. My legs don’t seem as heavy when I have them on, and my muscles are less sore if I keep them on for awhile.

(Post run stretch on my hallway floor.)

I did notice that they are thinner than my normal socks, so I add another pair of socks over top and that seemed to help.

This is my favorite way to wear them! I have gotten a few funny looks, but I don’t like to cover my socks, especially when they rock as much as these do!

My daughter is jealous, so when I was getting mine on, she went and searched her drawer and was so proud to find some just like mine!

My husband said they were definitely better than the off brand ones we picked up as a spare pair.  He would love to have a drawer full of Pro Compression brand since they seem to retain their tightness better than the generic ones.

Now that the weather is getting warmer, I need to get some compression sleeves so I don’t get too warm!

If you haven’t yet, go on over to Pro Compression’s website and check them out.  Also make sure to follow them on Facebook and Twitter to get great discount codes and to see the great new colors that come out!

Do you run with compression socks?

I was sent 2 pairs of Pro Compression socks to try out and review for this blog.  I was provided with no other compensation.  The opinions expressed are truly my own and I would not promote a product I do not like and actually use myself.

The post Pro Compression Socks help me run! (Review) appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

I was reading the first part of my mom’s book that she wrote and is currently trying to get published.  And then I was thinking about how today, when my daughter was riding her bike, alone, down the street, I was thinking “she is growing up WAY TOO FAST!”

Just the other day, at the pool, she decided she was going down the big water slide!  Now, I used to be a big fan of water slides and rides that spin and go upside down.  But I’ve grown past that love, and now I like to remain on the ground.  But she’s not even 4, and she went down this huge water slide.  Several times! Something just clicked in her and she just did it. Luckily I had brought the waterproof camera with me!  I normally don’t bring that to the pool since we go so often, but it was Mother’s Day so I decided to take some pictures of her swimming.  On her first trip down, the camera wasn’t working!  I was so mad!  It was telling me to insert a new memory card when I knew the one in there was just fine! (Am I the only one who checks to see how many photos you can take on a card before leaving the house?) I opened the memory card slot and closed it again and then the camera worked.  Whew!  I was about to ask my husband for the combination on the lock so I could grab my Nikon and stand on the side of the pool to take pictures! Or my phone.  I was not letting this moment go without it being documented!

So back to today…she asked if she could rider her scooter to the mailbox and back (our mailbox is a community one that is a few houses down and this is her boundary when running/walking/riding).  The scooter didn’t last to the neighbors house, so she came back and asked to ride her bike.  Last year, she got a new bike and then decided she did not like riding it.  It was a lot bigger than her previous bike so I think it was a little scary for her to be up so much higher.  But, the Easter Bunny, who bought the bike, didn’t want to have to buy another one in a few months so he went with the bigger bike.  I tried several times last summer to get her to ride while I ran, and every time she would get sooooo tired and I would end up pushing the bike back while she ran ahead of me to beat me back to the car.  It was frustrating.  Mostly because she would say she wanted to ride and she was going to ride for miles!

So I got my wish, she wants to ride her bike.  But this also means she is growing.  Like a dandelion.  And she refuses to stop!  She loves to eat all her veggies at dinner and then stand up and say “Look how tall I am now that I ate all my food!”  It’s really quite cute (yes, I know, I’m biased, lol!)

My daughter is going to be 4 in less than a month!  I just can’t believe it’s been 4 years since she was born!  I mean, the first year was rough, and I think I felt like time was dragging since she cried. All. Day. Long. Everyday! But these last 3 years of staying home with her have flown!  We have had so many fun adventures and the time just continues to fly by!

i am glad I am a total mamarazzi because I can look back at photos and have that same feeling I did then. I can remember what we were doing and what I was thinking. I remember being in the hospital after having her and she was just screaming and screaming at night and I finally called and asked if they could take her to the nursery and see if they could calm her. I mean, I was exhausted already from giving birth and now she was just screaming! They told me she would just be left to scream there too because they had a record amount of babies born that day and didn’t have time to try to quiet her. So I said never mind. I got up out of that hospital bed, stripped down to my undies and walked around the room with her, touching skin to skin. I had remembered something I read that said babies like that. Well, shortly after that a nurse came in and was kind of shocked at the sight of us nearly naked walking around the room. Lol!  That’s pretty much how the first year of her life went. She wanted to be held and comforted 24/7.

it remember taking her to daycare for the first time and going to work. It was rough. And that first day back, I was presenting to the staff.  I was standing up there talking and someone raised their hand. When I called on them they let me know that my child was not, in fact, in my arms, and I could stop rocking. Lol!

I remember being in the hospital waiting room, waiting on my nephew who was stillborn, and my daughter was just wanting to nurse all the time. When she wasn’t nursing, she as brining smiles to our otherwise sad faces. At one point I was laying on the floor (there was no one else there but my family) and she crawled over and basically five bombed at my breast to get me to nurse her more.  And then moments later she stood up and took 12 steps across the room! Her first steps! At 8.5 months old!

I remember her first birthday party, when my mom flew in and then my sisters drove there to surprise my mom and join the party. We had so much fun! We took my daughter to her first hoe down that week!

My friend and I were talking about how we need to enjoy the sweet moments we have now, because pretty soon our girls will be telling us they hate us and slamming the door in our face. We certainly hope that won’t be the case, but I was a teenage girl at one point so I am fully expecting to get back what I gave to my mom…and more!

I remember her first day of preschool when I thought they were going to have to pry her off of me to make her stay. But she walked away from me like it was no big deal!

I have so many more memories, but I will save them for my next nostalgic day

Because my mom LOVES dandelions, I love to take pictures for her and tag her on Facebook.  She also loves seagulls too, but those are a little harder to get in a picture with my daughter- which my mom also LOVES! Lol!

Here are a few of the shots I took and sent to my mom:

Today my daughter and her friends were having a contest to see who could pick the most dandelions, so there aren’t that many left in my yard at the moment, but I am sure they will be back!

If you have kids, do you ever have those moments where you look at them and think “when did they grow up?”

The post My Daughter, The Dandelion appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

I’ve been a mom for almost 4 years now and I have to say there are things I do that I said I would NEVER do, and there are things I don’t do that I said I WOULD do.  But overall, I am  happy with how things are and I think my daughter is pretty happy with the mom I am.

A lot of things have shaped the mom I am now.  My mom is probably the biggest influence.  Of course our relationship now is much better than it was when I was a teenager, but there are a lot of times where I think “That’s something my mom would say!” She is a very loving and non-demanding person.  She’s good at letting her kids be who they want to be and accepting that.  It’s hard for her that I moved away, but she doesn’t make me feel guilty about it- she accepted it as part of life and enjoys the adventures she gets to come on to visit me!  And the times we get to visit her are even more special since we try to make the most of the time we have.

My mom was visiting for Mother’s Day when I was pregnant since my shower was that weekend.  We had a little fun decorating my baby bump!

This week I called my mom on Skype.  Usually my daughter wants to talk to her so I called her- but then my daughter went off somewhere to play and it was just me and my mom.  We were chatting a little, but then we both started playing Candy Crush, lol!  So here we are, sitting on Skype and playing Candy Crush together.  It’s almost like we ARE together, just through the computer screen.

My older sister is a great Mom and I love talking parenting challenges with her.  She has 3 boys and they are quite rambunctious! Although she says she wouldn’t trade them for my 1 girl, lol!  I don’t know how she does it, but she manages to work, take care of her family and house (which is always spotless!) and she works out!  I love this picture of us because we were genuinely laughing about our conversation and my brother in law caught us on camera! I had it printed out on a plaque and it’s hanging in my daughters playroom.  Someday I hope she has a sister just like mine to laugh with.

I am a very lucky person when it comes to my mother in law.  She is an amazing person and before my daughter was born, I used to chat with her on my way home from work almost every day!  I hear horror stories about in-laws and I know I am lucky!

One of my other parenting influences is my friends- seeing them as moms.  My best friend from St. Louis is such a wealth of information for me.  Her children are older than mine, so she always has a story just like mine and can share with me what she did.  She doesn’t tell me I HAVE to do what she is saying, she offers up what she did, or what she would do, and then we move on to another topic.  I do not like when people tell me WHAT I NEED to do in each situation.  I am not asking to be told what to do, I am asking or conversing about a current struggle as a parent.

Everyone has struggles as a parent!  You may think you have it all planned out with what will happen and what you will do, but once you are in the moment, it’s completely different. So surrounding yourself with mom’s that you can learn from is the best way to become the best mom.  When I moved to Wisconsin, I attended a mom’s group meeting 2 days later- I needed adult interaction!  The first person I really clicked with was a fellow breastfeeding mom.  She had a little girl around the same age as mine and she was planning on continuing the breastfeeding until her daughter was ready to wean, just like me!  We hung out a lot!  She moved away in the last year, but we do get to visit her and I chat with her online all the time.

My other friends I’ve met mostly at church.  I joined mom and non-mom groups and made some good mom friends that way.  I have two close girlfriends that I spend most of my time with.  We all have girls, and their names all start with A, lol!  They were all born in June and will be 4 this year!  So we have a lot in common, and we parent very similarly.  A lot of times I will pick up the phone to tell them a crazy story and they completely understand because their girl would do the same thing!  They are great mom’s and I am so lucky to have them in my life!

I try to be in-the-moment with my daughter all the time.  Doing what she wants to do, as long as it’s not anything too crazy!  I’ve been lucky that I have spent the last 3 years at home with her and we have done so many fun things.  She does not like to be at home every day, so we try to go out and do things that are fun. This picture was taken in the woods at our favorite park- I set the camera on timer and we just started spinning!  It’s one of my all time favorite photos and I have it on my fridge so I can see it all the time!

To get back to the title of this post, the Mom I want to be, is the Mom who:

• is compassionate and always there for my daughter
• is always ready to have fun
• is always taking pictures, but as part of the action and not as an outsider
• teaches my daughter to be herself and be happy with that
• is always learning how to  be a better mom
• has a daughter who grows to respect me and the choices I make

I was so proud of myself when my daughter’s teacher gave me this paper with her answers about me!  They are all so right! Well..except for the vacation thing, I’d want to go to the beach, lol!

Oh, and the “chilly finger” I’m guessing is a coffee drink of some sort, lol!  I always order mine with caramel

While I was writing this post, I went back and looked at photos from past Mother’s Day’s:

What are you doing for Mother’s Day? If you are a mom, what are your biggest influencers?

The post The Mom I Want To Be appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

(This is an affiliate link.)

I like that the headphones are waterproof too. I am pretty sure that the ones I have are pretty waterproof since they made it through the washing machine and still work, lol!

If you go to the beach a lot this might be a good idea too.  When I am on vacation, I tend to leave my phone behind, but when we go to the beach locally, I like to have my phone in case someone is joining us and I need to contact them.  It would be nice to know it’s protected in my beach bag for when my daughter goes rooting through looking for something to eat or play with.

You can get this today for $12.99 plus $3.99 shipping but this price is only good today.  Sometimes I see the same item cycle through on this page, but not right away.

How do you protect your phone/mp3 player when you are out running?

This post contains an affiliate link.  Please see my Disclosure Page for more information.

The post How do you protect your phone/mp3 player from water? appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

Let me back up for a minute though and tell you where I was headed and why I used 2 GPS units.  I won a ticket to a running retreat in Madison, which is about 2 hours north of me (no, I didn’t know this until my husband told me- no sense of direction, remember?).  And I had some credit on a daily deal site and found a hotel in Madison that I would get for the price of tax.  So I booked the hotel.  At this point, it wasn’t decided if my husband and daughter were coming or not- he wanted to see if he could find something fun to do in Madison with her while I was at the retreat.  Eventually he decided it probably wouldn’t work since my retreat goes until 4pm and he would have to check out of the hotel and keep her entertained for a long period of time, followed by a two hour drive. So the plan was for me to go alone, unless I could convince a friend to come too.  None of them were available- so instead, I have a peacefully quiet night alone.  In a hotel.  By myself.  Did I mention I like to watch Criminal Minds?

Well, the hotel is not a big name one but I figured the address on the daily deal certificate would get me here. So I typed it into my Google Maps App before leaving the house.  It recognized it as an address, so I figured I was good to go.  I then got in the car and tried to type it into my GPS unit and it didn’t recognize it.  So I tried searching by name.  Bingo!  There it was.

So I set off getting on the highway- totally bummed that it took me to a different entrance than the one with the Starbucks- and was following both units since they had me going the same way.  It said I would get to my destination in 1:45.  The first hour of my ride was just peaceful and quiet with some music.  Well, crappy music anyways.  My husbands car has satelite radio, and I drive his car so infrequently that I don’t have stations set for myself.  So I usually just go with the Pop category.  Only I didn’t know the songs.  And I wanted to sing.  So I scrolled through and stayed on Radio Disney for awhile and sang along to a few songs I know there.  Then I got bored with that and wanted to check out the Country, only it was all slow and not anything I knew.  Then I realized I could plug my phone in and listen to the music I have on there.  So I did.  Only somehow I deleted Taylor Swift off my phone!!!!  What the heck in the world? (As my daughter would say).  How did I do that?  I don’t know the rest of the music enough to sing along so that was a bummer.

As I got closer, I noticed that the GPS units were telling me different things.  I decided to go with my phone since the actual address was put in that unit.  But then I saw a sign on the highway with the logo for my hotel.  So I went that way.  Even though neither GPS was telling me to go that way.  There was also a McDonald’s that way and I had to pee so bad my eyes hurt.  Only when I got off that highway, I was actually still on a highway and there was no McDonald’s!  But my phone said I would be there in 4 minutes, so I thought I could stand to wait. Only, wait!  Is that the entrance to the hotel?  But the phone said to make a U-turn, not a turn!  Ok, well I’ll just go into the entrance up here. Only there was no entrance up there and my phone is now saying I have another 14 minutes to get back to that place!!!

So I gave up on my phone and thought maybe if I follow the GPS it will take me there another way.  It was a few weird turns, but eventually I ended up in front of a hotel with this name.  It looked pretty creepy.  Ok, very creepy.  So I went into the office that was very small and smelled like a few nasty things mixed together and this is what happened:

Me: I have a reservation

Woman: I only have 4 reservations tonight and they are all checked in

Me: I called and used this certificate

Woman: Oh this is the wrong hotel.  You need the other one

Me: There are two hotels with the same name in this city?

Woman: Yes, do you know where Walmart is?

Me: No, I don’t live in this town

Woman: Well…it’s that way (pointing)

Me: Ok, I’ll find it

So I left, not having relieved my bladder because I’m pretty sure there were none in there, lol.  I plugged my phone in because it was almost dead and reset it to the address I originally put in.  I figured I would find it this time because I knew my mistake.  It was just 14 minutes away.  I can make it, wait there’s a McDonald’s…only its on the other side of the highway. Crap!

I finally made it, to this hotel on a dead end road.  Creepy.  Then she hands me an actual key.  Like a house key.  Creepy.  Then she tells me my room is in the back of the hotel on the first floor.  Creepy.  Then I walk to my room and realize the beds are on actual frames.  Creepy.  So I did what any sane person would do.  I turned the flashlight on on my phone and checked under them.  I have no idea what I would do if I found a psycho under one, but I still checked, just like I check my daughters closet EVERY single night before I go to bed.  Then I checked the shower and then I put my stuff down and actually got to pee!

I figured my husband would want to know I was safe, so I called him.  Told him about the creepiness and he asked me if I checked the walls for holes where they could have cameras in to be watching me.  Then he told me to enjoy my quiet and my bed bugs.  I assured him I would bring some home for him.

For some reason, because I was creeped out, I decided I wasn’t going to drink the water from the bathroom faucet. So I walked down to the vending machine to get some water.  And I brought my keys too, just in case I  need to make a run for it from the psycho.  Once back to my room and all 3 locks engaged, I then checked the seal on the water bottle and checked over my candy bar for holes (you know, in case someone injected something in there). All seemed well, so I sat down to have my snack and tell my friends about my adventure so far.  After I checked under the beds again of course.  And the shower. I’m considering sleeping in my running shoes with my keys in my hand…just in case…

The post Go this way, no go that way! appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

My husband was laughing at me the other day and asking if I remembered telling him I would only ever run if I was being chased.  Of course I remember- that was when he started running races.  I remember his first half marathon.  He must have signed up awhile before he told me, and then all of a sudden he was like “oh, I’m running a half marathon this weekend” and I was like ok.  I didn’t think about going to watch him, until the morning of the race.  And I didn’t tell him I was coming, so by the time I navigated to downtown St. Louis, found parking and made my way to the finish line, he was home.  Total wife fail on that one!

So anyways, my husband predicts that in two years time I will have a triathalon bike like his- only pink- and it will be set up on the other side of our bed on an indoor trainer like his, lol! I don’t know, I don’t think I’d ride that far unless….lol…why dig myself that hole when it’s always a possibility, right?

And now that I will have longer runs, I am thinking I might want a Garmin like my husbands.  Nothing as big as his, I am not a fan of things on my wrist and do not wear watches normally. I want something that will track my run and my heart rate.  I found this cute one on Amazon so I might have to save up for it

(#ad) Garmin Forerunner 10 GPS Watch (Pink/White)

Of course it’s pink- isn’t it cute?  Lol!  I am thinking I will need one of these since my phone battery can’t last more than 5.25 miles (it promptly died after my 8K, right after I finished), so maybe if I just use music and not an app that tracks me, it might last longer.  I can’t run without either music, or with someone to talk to.  (You don’t know how many times I wanted to tap someone in the Shamrock Shuffle and ask if they wanted to chat while we ran   My sister tells me I’m crazy…)

I know I can run a half marathon, but I know it will take a lot of work!  I have my 18 week training plan all set in my calendar, and now I need to find something to do as strength training on my off days.  I recently bought a hula hoop and can spin it continuously for 3 minutes- that strengthens my abs right? Lol!

Do you have a good strength training workout?

This post contains an affiliate link.  Please see my Disclosure page for more information.

The post It’s official! I’m registered for my half marathon! appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to Crayola!

Happy Birthday to you!

Crayola is turning 110!  That’s amazing!  We are big Crayola fans in our house.  We have tried other crayons and they just don’t measure up.  Have you ever heard the phrase “you get what you pay for”? Well, that is totally true with Crayola! I have gotten crayons free using coupons, or cheap at a dollar-type store, but none of them are as good as Crayola.  I am all about being frugal and finding  a deal, but I am also all about good quality and spending money on things that last, instead of buying the same thing over and over again because it’s not a good quality product. I am ok with spending $2 versus$1 if I only have to buy the item once every few months. 

I was coloring with my daughter the other day, and it’s amazing the difference between different brands of crayons.  I noticed that Crayola colors so much smoother, and the color is much deeper than with the waxier crayons.  My daughter notices too, and prefers Crayola crayons because she doesn’t have to press really hard to get the color she wants.

Here is my daughter coloring with a Crayola Twistable.  She is a big fan   Both of her grandmothers are artists, and she is definitely taking after them with her skills.  I think she is pretty talented- yes, I know, I’m her mom and should think that…Lol! She likes every picture to have every color of the rainbow in it, and likes to tell me stories about her drawings.

The one on the left is a dolphin she drew on a Crayola dry erase board and the one on the right is a kitty.

A few weeks ago we went to a play date where we brought broken crayons to melt into new crayons and we noticed the difference there too.  The Crayola ones melted nicely and formed new crayons in the mold, where as the non-Crayola crayons didn’t melt as easily and made that “new” crayon really flaky.

So, what does a birthday for Crayola mean? Here is the information they sent me in an email today:

To celebrate their 110th birthday, the 8 original crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the new fun-omenal Crayola Experience, the world’s only interactive Crayola family attraction. Right now, they’re out on a colorful adventure to spread the news, and you’re invited to join the fun!

Visit the Crayola Facebook page and click “enter now” for your chance to be first in line when the Crayola Experience reopens.

The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child’s creativity to life! The winner will be among the first to experience the fun, along with a three- night, all-expenses paid stay. It’s an experience your kids will never forget – and neither will you!

Good luck! Make sure you follow them on Facebook so you can get the birthday celebration crayons when they are released in May!

This information was provided to me by Crayola.  They are sending me a pack of the new crayons in exchange for this post.  That being said, all opinions are my own and I do sincerely LOVE Crayola.

The post Happy Birthday to Crayola! appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

So, later today, this was our conversation:

Annabelle:  WHEN can we have a baby Mommy?

Me: Why do you want to have a baby?  I wouldn’t be able to sleep with you if we had a new baby

Annabelle: Who would snuggle with me?

Me: You would have to snuggle with your babies

Annabelle: I want to sleep with the new baby

Me: You can’t sleep with the baby, it would have to sleep in the crib

Annabelle: In my room?

Me: No, the other room

Annabelle: What room?

Me: The one with the computer

Annabelle: I will go in there when you are sleeping and get the baby and take it to my bed to snuggle with it, will you come check on the baby?

Me: You wouldn’t be able to, it would be safe

Annabelle: I would do it

My close friends and family know that we have been trying to have a baby.  For 28 months.  So, it’s not that we don’t want to give her a baby sister or brother, it’s that it just isn’t happening.  We did have a hard time getting pregnant with her.  We spent 2 years undergoing all kinds of tests and taking medications and just being let down every month.  So this time I am not doing the drugs.  Annabelle was not conceived on drugs.  We were off of drugs for the month and had an appointment for in-vitro fertilization.  The specialist was skipping a few other options because he said they wouldn’t work because of my “hostile” environment.

I attribute my daughter to the help I received from my chiropractor.  I was seeing her for 3 months when I ended up pregnant.  I’m pretty sure that is what it will take this time.  When I told my OBGYN that I didn’t want to take the medication, she was not nice to me.  So I found a new one and he was more understanding.  He still referred me to a specialist, but he understood my preferences not to take the medication.

My reason for not wanting the medication, is that I don’t like the way it made me feel And i am not big on filling my body with any kind of chemical. My last OBGYN then said to me “well how did you feel when you were pregnant?  Wasn’t it the same thing?” And my response to that was no, I was a happy pregnant woman.  My sister used to get mad at me and say “why are you so happy when you are pregnant???”  And I just was.  I felt good!

I have not seen the specialist yet.  First I have to enroll in an infertility program through my insurance that involves weekly hour long phone calls with a phone counselor. That would be hard for me to keep up with since my daughter is not too keen on me being on the phone, and she doesn’t nap.  And the specialists are all at least 30 minutes away by car.   So, I am just going to keep praying and try to remember that it will happen when it’s meant to happen. (Although I know this, it’s not something I like to hear from other people so thanks in advance for not commenting and telling me it will happen when it happens, and to relax- maybe I will write a post about what NOT to say to an infertile next week. ) My mom always tells me God was just taking his time finding the perfect child for me.  So he must be picking out another one for me- hopefully one that sleeps

I’m not sure how God will find a more perfect-for-me child than this energetic little girl, but I’m sure that He is up for the challenge.

I know this isn’t normally what I write about, and I won’t write about it often- but it is part of my life.  I just try to live in the moment and appreciate the child I already have and not focus on one that I don’t have.

Do your kids have fun conversations with you like this?

The post My baby wants a baby appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

Well, the other day when it was raining, I noticed her big yellow ball was no longer in the trampoline- it was in our neighbors yard, one gust of wind away from being gone forever!  Her Gramma Susie had just bought her that ball and it was way too early in the spring season to be loosing a toy!

So I called her over and told her that her mission was to run out and grab it.  She had on flip flops and no jacket, but it had been pretty nice out so she just ran out like that.  She got half way there and turned around and said she needed different shoes.  The grass in my neighbors yard is very sharp and there are “prickles” over there.  So she came in and had to go get socks and put on her rain boots.

Take two- she made it half way there and came running back for a jacket. Lol!  It had started to rain so she needed to stay dry.

Take three- success!

Mission accomplished!  She was very excited to wear her rain boots and to save the ball!

The post Mission: Save the yellow ball appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.

That is what went through my mind today, shortly after I finished a run.  I got my daughter ready early and arrived at the gym at 8am- which is the earliest I can drop her off in the kids area- and set out on an outdoor run.  My phone said the weather was not that warm, and I was wearing capris and just a tank top with a light jacket- but I was NOT getting on the treadmill.  When I thought about the treadmill today, I started saying “I can’t do it.  I just can’t do it mister” in my head, but of course I was using Jim Carey’s voice from Ace Ventura, lol!

I have a new playlist loaded onto my phone.  My husband has a playlist called “beats” that he uses for when he needs some good fast moving songs.  I had no idea what was on there, I let him load it on and never looked at it until today.  The music kept me going pretty fast!  I only skipped a few songs (I wish when I skipped them it would tell me that later so I could delete them!).

We’ve had a lot of rain lately so the path was full of worms!  But it was a beautiful day for a run!  The wind wasn’t too bad, and the only thing that was cold was my hands, and they warmed up pretty quickly.

The path I was on is 2.3 miles if you go around the lake, so instead of trying to calculate once I got all the way around, I turned around when my phone said 1.54 miles so I would end up with a little cool down walk in the end.  Of course I decided I was going to just continue running until I got back to the doors of the gym so I ended up running 3.11 miles- and I did it in 29:20!!!!  That is a huge difference for me!  I was booking it! Lol!

I probably would have kept on running if I didn’t have my daughters school conference at 9:20.  I only had one instance of pain in my foot and when it started to hurt I checked my form and I was not doing it right!  So I fixed it and the pain went away!  I am so happy about that- I can’t stand the foot pain from plantar faciitis.  This gives me hope that I am strengthening my foot correctly and will be pain free completely someday!

The reason I thought “I really AM a runner” was because when I was conversing with myself (you do that too right?  talk to yourself in your head when you are driving to keep yourself company? Lol!) I told myself, “I went for a nice easy 3 miles this morning”  Oh boy!  I described my run as “easy” and worded it as if it was a short run!  Half marathon here I come!  But first, I will conquer the 10K this weekend!

The post I really AM a runner! appeared first on Frugal Running Mama.