Tag Archives: jess

Back to Life, Back to Reality

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I’ve been living in a cocoon for the past three and a half months. A cozy little world with me and Bug and sometimes Mister Jess, if we let him in (we usually do). All of that will be changing come Monday, however. I’ll be breaking out of my self-imposed swaddle* and getting back into the swing of things.

Namely, work. Real life. The grind, if you will.

I’ve had a lot of time to think about this day, but in those first few weeks, April 1st seemed like a lifetime away. I was knee-deep in onesies, pacifiers, and diapers, with a newborn barnacled to my boob. I wasn’t thinking about work or “real life.” I definitely wasn’t thinking about running or any kind of me time. I was thinking about surviving. I was thinking about that elusive thing called sleep. I was thinking, “this shit is hard!”

The past few weeks I’ve been mentally preparing myself to get back to it all, though. I’m thinking about how on Monday, I’ll have to give Bug to his caregiver and walk away from him. How I’ll have to go to work and start critically thinking again and conversing with adults. A novel concept, considering I’ve been either talking to my baby or talking about my baby since he was born in December. What are these multi-syllabic words? 

I’ve also been thinking about how easy it is to settle into a new routine, and how hard it is to break away from it, especially when that “routine” is a living, breathing human who is growing and getting more fascinating by the day. I’ve been struggling with how to feel about getting back to “real life,” because this part of my life, the little cocoon, has been very, very real.

But when I found myself staring wistfully at runners as they passed us by during a trip to Crissy Field this week, I realized that running is a part of that real life. And that all of it – working, running, being a person independent of my son – is something I need to get back to. Running clears my mind. It lets me focus on becoming stronger, better. That time is mine alone, and if you have kids, you know how important that time is. You savor it. I know that it will be even more important to me now than it was before. Like Brooke said in her last post, if mama’s happy, everybody’s happy.

Part of me is sad maternity leave is ending. Part of me is scared. And part of me is excited to get back to some of the other things that fulfill me and make me a healthy, well-rounded chick.

And so although I’ve willingly – gladly – given up a piece of myself to my son (and basically my entire heart. Sorry, Mister Jess), I’m looking forward to taking back a piece for me. It’s time to get back on the road.

Hit the road, Jess.

Hit the road, Jess.

Working parents, how do you find a balance between kid time and healthy-you time? Give me some tips in the comments! 

*All credit for this sentence goes to Meri, who came up with the brilliant phrase “breaking out of your swaddle.” Baby jokes, haha!

The Color Kinda-Run

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Here’s a confession: running is not always fun for me. In fact, a lot (okay, FINE, most) of the time I consider it work. Sure, I love that it makes me feel strong and healthy and accomplished. But it also makes me feel sweaty and wheezy and tired.

So why do I do it? Aside from the whole good-for-you thing, which is admittedly pretty important, I love that so many of my friends run, too.  It’s the reason I got into it in the first place, proving that, yes, I’d jump if everyone else did. Sorry, Mom.

And what’s so great about having so many runner friends, you ask? It means that we make plans to run awesome races together. It means traveling to other cities and states to run said awesome races together. But best of all, it means that they travel to MY city to run said awesome races with ME. I hate to fly, so this is understandably my favorite scenario, one that happened last July when Chicks Meri and Cam flew to the City by the Bay to run the happiest race on the planet.

Yes, that’s right. A happy race! And not just any happy race, The Color Run!  Doesn’t it just sound so fun? Because it was. So. Fun.

This is the gist: the 5K race douses runners with a splash of colored corn starch at every kilometer, so that by the time you cross the finish line you look like a super-colorful Rorschach. The race is untimed, so there’s no talk of personal records or “hey, I beat you by 0.05 seconds, suck it.” The point of The Color Run is simply to enjoy, get colored up, then party it up after you cross the finish line. This was our mission and we accepted.

Hey, if you tell me to take it easy and enjoy myself, I’m not going to argue with you. Plus, I was 18 weeks pregnant with my little Bug at the time, so I was more than okay being the tortoise for this one.

Meri flew in first and we palled around the city while we waited for Cam to join us.

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Welcome to San Francisco in July. Beautiful, isn’t it?

Once Cam was with us, it was basically about preparing for the 5K – outfit planning and packet pick-ups, which included t-shirts, a headband, and a packet of color to use after the race – and eating. Oh yes, there was eating.

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Cuteness with a crepe sundae.

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Stuffing my pregnant face like a lady.

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Getting pumped! Please note our t-shirts. Clear eyes, full hearts, free Tim!

With our bellies full  – really, really full – and our race day duds ready to go, we hit the hay. We needed to save our energy for all the happiness and color to come!

July 14th dawned bright and foggy and we woke early to get the party started. Fun fact: Cam is kick-ass at hair braiding, which means she is the Official Hair Braider™ at any and all races she attends with the Chicks.

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Mmhmm, that’s right.

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Meri is dreaming about freeing Tim Riggins here.

We made our way to Candlestick Park (go 49ers with your crappy old stadium!) and joined the bazillion other people who were braving the very chilly weather to run/walk/dance their asses to color nirvana.

Literally, there were a bazillion people there.

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We were pretty far back from the start line and with the race starting in waves, we had to wait for a while to get going. But they were pumping awesome music through the speakers and the people-watching was pretty excellent, so we busied ourselves with jumping up and down to stave off the cold, pointing out some great costumes, and dodging the rule-breakers who were throwing their packets of color up in the air (hello, that’s for after the race!).

Oh, and we took some pictures, too.

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We had the raddest socks there.

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We love each other!

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Showing off our impressive guns. And cuteness.

And then it was our turn! We began our trek around the stadium, starting off slow and steady with a brisk walk.

Well, there was some pretend-running.

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And then? Then it was time for the color. Let me paint this picture (get it? Paint? Because of the color): you’re skipping along with your friends and fellow runners and then all of a sudden right ahead is a cloud of bright color. Truly the coolest thing. And when you see color, what do you do?

Why, you RUN, my friends. You run to the color and roll around in it (seriously) and stand in front of the color-dousers and make them douse you extra-good. And you cover your mouth because hello, it’s a cloud of color, but it gets into your mouth anyway. You don’t care! This is so fun! Wee, color!

They call it mellow yellowwwww.

Color Run volunteers happy to pose for a photo op.

You high five people as they run by!

Slap me some skin!

You stop for water, because all that frolicking and high-fiving and color-getting works up a thirst.

99.9% parched.

Note to future Color Runners: don’t park your car next to a color station.

Sorry not sorry.

We got through all of the color stations at a nice clip considering we were walking, and then there it was. The finish line and the beginning of the par-tay! As you can see, people were in no rush to PR.

As you can see, people were in no rush to PR.

We were done!

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Cel-e-brate good times, come on!

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Blue Sunglasses wanted to be a part of our cute crew. Sorry, dude, only room for three.

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Livin’ la vida color.

We were also insanely thirsty. There were stations set up after the finish line with juice and coconut water and snacks, all of which had pretty extensive lines. But no water water. We just wanted water water! Hopefully they’ve remedied the water water situation since last July.

There was a Color Festival just past the finish line, which we moseyed over to.

Party time, excellent!

This is where the color packets came into play. Thousands of us gathered round a DJ set up at the front of the crowd, dancing and celebrating and taking pictures of our manginess. And then the DJ told us to open up our packets and we all counted down. 5-4-3-2-1…

The hills were alive with a color ‘splosion (ah ah ah ahhhhh). In the interest of protecting my phone, I didn’t take pictures as it was happening, but this was the aftermath.

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Meri got it on her teeth…

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Cam got a mustache…

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I got it everywhere!

After some more dancing and celebrating, we decided we were both parched and starving (surprised? Didn’t think so), so we packed it up and packed it in and took ourselves over the Golden Gate Bridge to a magical place called In N Out. Sure, it was 10:30 in the morning. Sure, we were completely covered in colored corn starch. But Meri had never had the pleasure of stuffing an In N Out burger into her mouth, so off we went! We definitely got some looks from the other early-risers at In N Out, and I got my hair petted by some high dude who must have thought I was one big acid trip, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

Meri especially.

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All in all, this was a pretty stellar race experience. And now that The Color Run is a total phenomenon, with similar races like Color Me Rad and Run or Dye,  there’s really no excuse not to do it again. Who knows, maybe it’ll be my first post-Bug race. There’s really no better – or more colorful – way to ease myself back into running.

What’s the most fun race experience you’ve had? We want to hear about it in the comments! 

Chick Chat: Hey, Sole Sister

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Shopping for shoes is one of my favorite ways to spend, well, any day. I love all kinds- flats, sandals, heels, higher heels, and boots. Shoes can make you feel taller, they can complete your outfit in the best way, and you know what? You’re always the same size in a pair of shoes. (Unlike jeans. AMIRITE?) Sneakers aren’t my favorite type of shoe, but they’re probably the most important. The wrong running shoe can make your knees hurt, your feet blister and basically, ruin your run.

Today, we’re sharing our sneakers with you. (I argued for talking about high heels too, but I guess you all care more about this running stuff. Okay.)

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Vic

I’m still searching for the perfect sneakers, but have recently fallen in love with the Adidas Supernova, which I was able to take on a test run before purchasing. They don’t feel clunky or heavy and don’t wear unevenly, which was so much of what I was looking for.

For years, I swore by Asics. I still like them, but my favorite style was discontinued a few years back and the newer models just don’t feel right to me. I’ve tried and tossed aside a few popular brands, but these Adidas Supernovas look AND feel great!


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I have shoe issues. I have extremely flat feet which means any shoe with arch support feels like I’m running on tennis balls.  This might sound awesome but I assure you, it is not. I’m constantly at odds with my shoes. I’ve talked to countless shoe experts, had my feet and gait evaluated twice, have tried inserts and many brands of shoes.  And I’ve yet to fall in love.

Right now, I’m running in Saucony and while they’ve been okay on my feet, for the first time ever, I’m having shin splints. Le sigh. I’m going to do what the experts say and let my body adjust but sometimes I wish I had a fairy godmother who would conjure up a running shoe that was the perfect fit. At least they’re cute!

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If I took a picture of every running shoe I have, this post would be ridiculous. Hey, I have to have shoes for every outfit possibility, right? At least, that’s what I tell myself (or Mr. Jess) when I see a new pair of kicks I. Must. Have.

That said, I most often reach for my trusty Nike LunarGlides. They fit like a glove, give great support, keep me light on my feet, and they’ve got some sweet neon accents. They’re functional AND cute, two of my favorite things.

photo-1Meri

There is a certain date that I remember distinctly when it comes to my running (and surprisingly, it’s not a race date!).  March 15, 2012, the date that I got fitted for my Mizuno Wave Inspire 8s.

Before that, to say I was floundering when it came to shoe choice would be an understatement.  It was a year long, expensive struggle trying to figure out what would work best for my feet. I don’t know why I was so hesitant to get fitted, other than a bit of new runner’s shyness on my part.

To quote Pretty Woman, “Big mistake!  Big. Huge.”

I don’t know if I got over my shyness or just wanted my feet to finally stop hurting, but I finally visited Haddonfield Running Company and got my first pair of Mizuno running shoes. Fitting was nothing to be nervous about; I spoke with the sales associate regarding my mileage. She looked at my arch, my gait, and my pronation. When I run, I tend to point my toes out slightly, which is known as overpronation. After trying three different shoes, I felt that the Mizunos were the best for me.

I haven’t regretted that decision and neither have my feet!

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Brooke and I have loads in common; hopeful romantics, lovers of feta cheese, SHOES. I love shoes. A lot. I have way too many and I’m always buying more. The cuter, the better. So, I  want to be able to post a picture of cute, adorable, PINK running shoes.

Alas, I can’t.

I wear Nike Dual Fusion ST running sneaks. Size 12. Men’s.

SIGH.

Finding running shoes that fit my size 13 Wide Women’s foot is a challenge. I hunted around for HOT PINK running shoes in my size and found that the only options were online. Zappos is great and will ship for free both ways, but I didn’t want to go through shipping a bunch of shoes back and forth. For running sneakers, it’s all about the feel.

So I got over myself and gave in to shopping in the Men’s department. I love my sneakers. They are the perfect combination of lightweight and supportive. They feel so good, I want to wear them everywhere, but I don’t because A) all my other (i.e. prettier) shoes would feel bad and B) I don’t want these to wear out too fast. Still, I love them.

And, as Brooke and I discussed the other day, socks are of equal importance when it comes to running. Turns out we have one more thing in common. We’re both fans of the Balega Hidden Comfort socks. You guys, these socks are so darn comfy. And I just found out, they come in colors!! INCLUDING PINK!

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I have narrow feet and a high arch, and I’ve been happily wearing Nike Pegasus sneakers for the past three years. They’re lightweight, supportive and they come in some great colors.

I was recently refitted at my local running store, Track Shack, to see if my foot had grown during my pregnancy and picked up these pretty (if a little plain, for my taste) gray kicks.

Every 400 miles or so, I change my shoes. I’m already eyeing the bright green on Nike’s website!

What type of shoes do you wear? Have you been fitted at a specialty store? Do you prefer neutral or bright colors? Let us know in the comments.

Breaking the Fast

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It’s the most important meal of the day. Some people eat it on the go; others eat it for dinner. Heck, some people even eat it at Tiffany’s (bucket list!). Whether you are in the ‘can’t start the day without a good one’ camp, or your on the ‘hit the drive through if you have time’ side, breakfast is something all of us at Scoot-A-Doot have been talking about (mostly on Twitter where we are like ‘Hey, I’m eating…AGAIN!’)

We thought we’d share with you what our breakfasts look like. And hopefully, you’ll all be awesome and share with us what your breakfasts look like. We’ll beg for recipes. We have zero shame.

Vic

I’ll be honest, I’m not the best about getting a solid breakfast in my belly before work each day. Most days I pour myself two large travel mugs of coffee (don’t judge me) and run out the door to make it to work on time. I guzzle one cup in the car and the second cup shortly after arriving at my desk. I then eat a banana, or greek yogurt, depending on what I have in my pantry.

On weekends, when I have more time, I tend to make oatmeal (usually with bananas) or cereal. Sometimes I eat scrambled eggs. And lately, I’ve been turned onto protein banana berry smoothies, so they may soon take over my breakfast and afternoon snack spot as well.

Brooke

You guys, I love all the breakfast foods. Omelets (with spinach and feta), french toast, waffles with fruit and whipped cream, pancakes with butter and maple syrup, and always lots and lots of bacon. I love the entire breakfast experience- sipping coffee and reading the paper (or facebook), while savoring these amazing foods that were (hopefully) prepared by someone else. Sadly, those kinds of meals don’t happen often. (And usually, it’s breakfast at dinnertime.)

My daily breakfast is almost always some form of oatmeal. My go-to is plain cooked oats with a sprinkle of cinnamon, some chopped almonds, a handful of fruit and a splash of milk. Meri introduced me to whipped oatmeal, which is so much better than my boring hot cereal, but takes more time than I have right now. More dishes to wash too!

Since the little dude arrived, I’ve been eating instant oatmeal (gasp). My favorite is Three Sisters Dark Chocolate, because it is sweet, filling and it’s ready in two minutes. I eat my cereal while I’m nursing the babe, and shove some fruit in my mouth while I’m driving the girls to school. Not the most enjoyable breakfast, but it works for now. See why I save the pancakes and bacon for dinner?

Cam

Smoothies!  I heart fruit smoothies for breakfast.  I’m not a morning eater.  If fact, I’ve spent the majority of my life skipping breakfast.  Unless it’s a pastry.  But pastries aren’t “everyday” foods, or so I’ve been told.  Instead I go all natural and get my sweets from a fruit smoothie. I have very limited time in the morning and blending up a smoothie takes less time than toasting a bagel or driving through one of those heart attack factories.  My recipe for deliciousness goes something like this:

Kefir yogurt drink.  Usually vanilla, sometimes strawberry if I’m feeling spunky.
Frozen mixed berries, either fresh that I’ve frozen or bagged.
A frozen banana. I put them in the freezer when they start to go brown.  I’m not a fan of ripe bananas.
One scoop of protein powder.  This can be tricky.  Finding a protein powder that you like can be a chore, but once you find a brand that floats your boat, you should stick with it.
Whole Flax seed, because I like the texture that it contributes.  Plus, it’s good for your bowels.

I usually just eyeball the proportions and toss in a blender.  If the mixture seems too thick, I add some water to loosen things up.  My kids love it and we can drink it in the car.  It’s my favorite breakfast on the go!

Meri

Jess and I were talking about BBQ food the other day and I said something to the effect of wanting it, just not at 8:49 in the morning (when we were emailing).  Because while BBQ is delicious, it just doesn’t lend itself well to being eaten in the morning.  However, breakfast?  You can eat that all day long.

And I would.

Smoothies, pancakes, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, omelets, scones, fruit, and BACON.  Yes, bacon.  I eat it occasionally.  And I love it.

Bring on the breakfast, brunch, brinner!

Jess

My idea of cooking is picking up the phone and dialing. I have zero skills in the kitchen, which is why I love breakfast so much. So many super delicious, ready-made options, and healthy ones at that. Look, Ma, I’m eating fruit!

My typical breakfast these days is a couple Nutri-Grain waffles (a little syrup in each square, thank you very much), a banana, and a tall glass of OJ. Get that all prepared – so easy, even a cooking-challenged lady like myself can do it – and then I shovel it all in my mouth before the baby wakes up from his nap. It’s simple, yummy and keeps my stomach full until second breakfast rolls around.

Bec

I am seriously a breakfast fiend. Most days it’s a healthy day smoothie (my absolute favorite is a Peach Pie Smoothie with chia seeds – frozen organic peaches, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, nonfat vanilla Greek yogurt, chia seeds, sprinkle of cinnamon, sprinkle of nutmeg, blend, YUM. I’m with Cam, I don’t measure, just throw in there what you think will make the amount you want). But I love a big Sunday brunch with eggs and bacon and potatoes and EVERYTHING. I just love breakfast.

Love.

In the winter, I’m big on oatmeal or a bowl of cooked grains (barley, quinoa) with almond milk and fruit. Now that the weather is turning warmer (I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER ABOUT THIS), I’ll be doing overnight refrigerator oats. If you haven’t tried these, I can not recommend them highly enough. Easy, make ahead, versatile, healthy and crazy good.

Also, I have recently redeveloped a love of Poached Eggs on toast. It’s so simple, full of protein and fiber, and tasty (even without the Canadian bacon and hollandaise).

Also, bacon. As often as I can get away with.

So, this is what we eat. If you want recipes for anything we mentioned, just let us know. We’re good sharers. And if you’re a good sharer and want to inundate us with recipes and ideas, we’ll be forever grateful.

Now, who wants to make me a cup o’ Joe?

Who are these crazy chicks and why should I read what they’ve got to say?

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Hey!  ‘Sup?  Thanks for visiting our little corner of the internet.  Maybe you found us through twitter, Facebook, or you’re related to us (hi Mom!).  Any which way, we’re glad that you’re here.

We’re all writers, in one sense of the word or another.  Fiction, news, emails, letters (yes, letter writers are among us!  They still exist!)… writing is a major form of communication for all of us.  Each of the six authors of Scoot a Doot are at different stages in their “healthy and happy lifestyle” – we believe that you’ll relate to at least one of us as you read.  Perhaps that person will change as we continue on our journeys; perhaps you will.  But we’re all good friends, cheering as we triumph and leaning on one another as we falter. We hope to create that sense of community with YOU, too; you’re as much a part of this as we are!

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(Have you located your crazypants?  That’s how we roll.)

Look around, check out the About section to meet each of us if you haven’t already.  We’ve started posting race recaps that we’ve written over the past years and plan to share more as time goes on.  None of us are professional athletes, we’re just doing what we love (and, if we’re being completely honest, sometimes loathe) and the best we can with what we’re given!  That’s what Scoot a Doot is all about – moving it, shaking it and never faking it.  We’re keeping it real; you’ll be hearing everything – the good, the bad and yes, even the ugly.

Let’s do this!  We can and we will!