SeaWheeze 2017 Half Marathon Recap

It's hard to believe that my first half marathon has already come and gone. When I registered for the race (which was the most nerve-racking thing to do ever!), I was still pregnant and I really had no idea how well prepared I would fell for running a half marathon 7 months after giving birth. But, SeaWheeze is one race I've always wanted to do, and I always wanted it to be the first half marathon I ever did. When Becky also showed interest in doing it (also her first half!), I knew we both had to try to get in. We've ran several races together and I knew that in order to complete this race, I was going to need her support during training and the run.

Anyway, the race was on Saturday, but we arrived in Vancouver on the Thursday. I was staying with my sister, and my plan was to leave Emmy with her for the morning and have them meet me at the finish line. Adding to the pre-race jitters, was my anxiety over leaving Emmy for roughly 5 hours. Even though she takes a bottle, there's always that fear that that one time she won't. The afternoon and evening before the race, we just hung out in my sister's apartment. I needed that time to pump a couple bottles for Emmy, and after a total pump fiasco, I didn't get to bed until midnight the night before the race.

Somehow, I managed to sleep well, waking at 5am to eat breakfast, get dressed and then feed Emmy in her sleep one last time. I had called a cab when I woke up to pick me up at 5:40am to take me to the Sea Bus and of course the cab was not there when I stepped out of the apartment. Instead, I was greeted by a skunk sauntering down the sidewalk! Thankfully he disappeared into a hedge, and after two phone calls to the cab company (they got the street wrong by one number), I made it to the sea bus just in time!

{mary//heather//lindsey//chad//me//becky}

I briefly met up with Ange, Lindsey, Chad, Mary and Becky, grabbed a group photo, used the porta potty and then Becky and I made our way into the corrals. We were warned by our friends not to start too far back regardless of our perceived pace because it could take up to an hour to cross the start line otherwise. We lined up with the 2:20 pace beavers (wishful thinking for sure!), and two feet in front of me, I spotted my friend Natalie from Edmonton! What were the odds of finding her in a sea of 10,000 people?!

{hi natalie!!}

I honestly wasn't really nervous at all waiting to get started. I went into this run with a very open mind. I knew my training was lacking, I knew I wasn't really physically ready to run a half marathon with a great time and I knew that since it was my first time, I truly didn't know what to expect. I chose to cling to all of the optimistic advice I had received leading up to the race that it was going to be fun no matter what (debatable), that is wasn't really a "race" (um, also debatable), and that there were going to be so many other people walking it (not really - I think I was honestly expecting to see droves of people walking!). Sometimes I will grasp at any ounce of hope to make myself believe I will be OK.

Knowing that my training was weak, I was prepared to run the race alone even though I originally had hoped to run it with Becky. We did decide to start off together though, agreeing that at anytime she could move on without me. I do regret not getting in more training runs. Becky and I run a very similar pace and it's definitely nice to run beside your friend. We talked about running 10 and 1 intervals so as not to burn out too soon. But our start felt strong and we ended up running the first 6km straight before taking our first walk break.

I chose not to carry any water with me, but I did have a granola bar in my pocket for fuel if needed. I was really impressed with the frequency of water tables, which also offered Nuun water and GU gels. Some stations even had half bananas. There were also porta potty's at every station, but the lineups were huge! Thankfully, my stomach didn't bother me at all during the race.

After we ran down the Kitsilano bridge and hit the turnaround, I decided to walk back over the bridge since it was a steady incline and I knew it would kill my hip flexors and quads if I ran it so early on in the race. This was around kilometre 10, and I was still feeling pretty good. Thankfully, I was able to catch back up with Becky for the next few kilometres.

When we came upon English Bay, this is when the pain started to really set in. Around this time, we saw the electronic sign where family and friends could post encouraging messages for us to see. Jim had already texted me to say he couldn't figure out how to send one, so I wasn't expecting to see anything for me, but then a message from Ange popped up and I almost cried! It was seriously just the pick me up I needed. Shortly after this, around kilometre 13, I could feel that my sports bra was causing some serious chaffing right below my breasts. I decided to stop at the medic station for some vaseline and a bandaid and then used the flush toilets that were on the beach. Becky went on ahead without me and that would be the last time I would see her until the finish line.

By this point, my hip flexors and legs were screaming mad. I wasn't sure how I was physically going to be able to finish. It was a tad frustrating because my lungs and cardio felt so good! But my legs just weren't conditioned enough. I feel like I still maintained a slow jog for the majority of the rest of the race, but there were definitely a lot of walk breaks too. It was actually easier to keep up a shuffle, rather than go into a complete walk. I basically did whatever I needed to do to just keep moving forward. Thankfully, there are a lot of fun cheer stations throughout the course to pass the time! I actually didn't put my earbuds in even once and ran the entire race music/podcast free. I just focused on the task ahead and the scenery around me.

Somewhere between kilometre 16 and 17, right before I was about to run under the Lion's Gate Bridge, I spotted Becky in the far distance, but I texted her saying I would never catch up to her. Knowing she was still pounding the pavement, and wanting so much to be able to see her at the end, I kept on moving. Looking back, I'm not even sure how I willed my legs to keep going. The pain was unlike any I have ever felt in them. When I neared the last few kilometres, the 2:50 pace beavers caught up to me and my goal was to stick with them. While I didn't have a finishing time goal, I knew I wanted to come in under 3 hours.

The last kilometre was the absolute worst (as I find it is for any race). That one kilometre always feels like ten, and with all the winding we did during the last one in this race felt endless. The tears started to build up at this point - tears for the pain, tears for actually accomplishing this, tears for not giving up. While shuffling to the finish line, someone in the sidelines yelled out that there was only 500m to go, so I pushed through the pain and ran as hard as I could (which wasn't that fast given my state), but it felt good to give that last bit of my first half marathon every ounce of being I had left.

It's never felt so good to receive a race medal! And despite being bummed that I hadn't been able to cross over the finish line with Becky, I was so happy to see her face. My official time was 2:59. When the 2:50 pace beavers caught up to me, I wasn't thinking about the fact that they would have crossed the start line after me, making them faster than I was. I was SO thankful that I pushed just slightly ahead of them near the end as I would have been so disappointed to have finished at 3:01 or longer!

I found the finish line overwhelming and chaotic. It's a narrow space and after getting your medal, grabbing water, sun glasses and a Vega protein bar, you're immediately corralled into the long line up to collect your free brunch. At this point, I was texting with my sister who was struggling to leave her place with Emmy to come meet me. I was exhausted and didn't want her to arrive only for me to be stuck somewhere in the brunch line, so I made the hard decision to ditch Becky and head back to the Sea Bus to get home to Emmy and my sister.

In hindsight, heading back to her place right away was the best decision to make. It' was so crowded, and by the time Becky and I finished the race, all of our friends had already left so there really wasn't much point in sticking around. Leaving when I did also ensured that I received my Saje finishers gift, which I wanted way more than the free brunch! I thought it was odd that the Saje gifts weren't handed out at the finish line though, and then I heard that some runners didn't get one because they ran out. Not cool, since I witnessed a few runners asking for an extra for "their friend who ran but was waiting over there".

{SeaWheeze race swag}

The walk back to the SeaBus was long and painful. Every step I took was felt in every inch of my body. I have to be honest and say I never felt that "runners high" that made me think I would want to do that again. I was damn proud of myself for finishing, but in that moment all I wanted to do was have a nap. But the race was over a week ago now and I often wonder would I do it again? Knowing what I know, it's tough to say! I feel like I can only improve on the next one, but I also don't know that I have it in me to fully dedicate myself to the training schedule unless I had a running buddy.  Your first half marathon is hard because you just don't know what to expect. But your second will also be hard because now you do know what to expect. I loved this race though and everything that went on along with it. The route is beautiful, running at sea level is great, and there is so much going on the day before and the afternoon/evening after the race. I do think if I was to do another half marathon, I would want to do this one again. Except next time I would fully embrace the entirety of it, something I didn't get to do this time around.

For now though, I'm just happy to be able to say I'm finally a part of the half marathon club!

{because I took off so quickly, we never got an post race photo taken together,
so we had Jim snap this one of us at the airport when we arrived home}

If you've run a half marathon, I'd love to hear what your first one was like! 

SeaWheeze 2017 Weekend Recap

Last Thursday, Emmy and I hopped on a plane and flew to Vancouver to see my sister and to run my very first half marathon, SeaWheeze 2017! When I first registered for this race 9 months ago, I was still pregnant, and I had no idea what this weekend would look like: would I go alone, would the whole family travel with me, would I bring Emmy along? When I booked my flight, I booked it as if I was bringing Emmy along just in case, but there was a time I was hoping I would be able to go out there solo. As the weekend drew nearer and nearer, I knew there was no way I could leave her at home. For one thing, I'd miss her too darn much! But she's also exclusively breastfed, and while she will take a bottle of expressed breastmilk, the idea of having to pump all of that milk beforehand, and then continue to pump while I was in Vancouver, just made no sense at all to me.

I'm glad she came with us though! We stayed with my sister in North Van and it was so great to catch up, hang out and have a mini girls weekend. Of course, some of that fun was interrupted by my race, but overall, I had such a fun weekend in one of my favourite cities to visit! My only real regret is that I barely took any photos during the whole weekend! I'm not even sure why, but I wish I had at least taken more of myself with my friends.

But let's back up...

On Thursday, my mom and Sully dropped Emmy and I off at the airport where we met up with Becky. She was on the same flight as us, which was super helpful when you are trying to get through security and into your seat on the plane! Emmy was a fantastic little traveller and slept the entire flight. When we arrived in Vancouver, Lindsey and Chad were waiting for us (they got in 30 minutes before us), and they helped me with my luggage as we navigated our way to the skytrain and into Yaletown where we stopped for beer and lunch.

Since my sister had to work that day and rush hour traffic is crazy, Emmy and I spent the day downtown with Becky. After lunch, we headed to Becky's hotel room where she had a nap. Then we met up with some other runners for dinner at Milestone's and once we got back to the hotel, my sister was there to pick us up.

On our way to her place, we stopped in at my aunt's for a quick visit and Emmy slept through the whole thing.

Friday we slept in a bit before making our way back downtown to pick up my race package. Since we arrived late, we met up with everyone for lunch outside. Of course, not one person thought to take a group photo! But it was so nice to catch up with Kaella and Tawnya at lunch since I don't get to see them in person very often. After a delicious lunch, I went and got my race package and then we quickly checked out the exclusive Lululemon store since there was no longer a line. It was pretty picked over, but I was not impressed with anything that was left. Our race packages were nice though! A drawstring backpack, a Lulu water bottle, nuun tablets (not pictured) and a coupon for a free coffee. I was disappointed to find out that we aren't given race bibs as I like to save those.

We headed home to just relax for the rest of the day since I knew I needed to pump some bottles for Emmy to have while I ran my race. When I pulled my pump out, I realized I had somehow forgotten the tube that connects the pump to the bottle. Oh boy. We quickly walked over to the Shoppers and then the London Drugs, but neither had the part so I ended up having to buy a manual pump. Of course, once we got back home I was too stressed to pump any milk and I actually thought I might not be able to do the run if I couldn't get a bottle pumped! Thankfully, we put on a movie and I tried to relax and eventually I was able to pump enough milk. Phew!! Talk about a stressful evening before a race.

Saturday I was up at 5am to get ready for the race, but I will recap that in another post!

After the race was over, I headed back to my sister's apartment where we napped, hung out, showered and got ready to have dinner over at my aunt's place. My cousin Lauren also joined us, and we had a fun evening of eating dinner outside, catching up, and drinking far too much prosecco! We made it home around midnight and I literally fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Sadly, Sunday I had to be at the airport for 11:30am, so we didn't get much time to hang out with my sister. In hindsight, had I just decided to bring Emmy at the beginning, I could have booked a later flight in the day, or even stayed an extra day or two. The visit was far too short and I was so sad to say goodbye to my sister again. Emmy was a rock star on the flight home and again slept the whole flight. The good thing is, knowing what a good little traveller is, we will be back to visit as soon as we can!


Tell me: What's your favourite city to visit? Any night before race mishaps you'd like to share?!

My 5-Minute Makeup Routine

I've never been one to wear or own a huge amount of makeup. This is because I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to putting it on, so shopping for makeup is completely out of my comfort zone. I also prefer to look like I'm not wearing a lot of makeup as I have this thing where I think everyone is staring at me if I AM wearing makeup. I know, I have issues!

That being said, I do like making my skin look more even toned, and making my eyes pop and not look so tired #momlife. Before I discovered Beautycounter, I hadn't bought new makeup in years. Actually, I can tell you exactly when I bought new make-up - it was a few months after Sully was born and I had a whole bunch of Shoppers Optimum points to redeem. I made my mom go with me, and I had a quick makeover done and then I went home with all new makeup. Some of it I barely used, but a few pieces became part of my daily routine. Anyway, clearly I've been due for new makeup!

As I started to become more and more aware of what I was putting onto my body, I knew I needed to make better choices when it came to my makeup. When you think about which products are sitting on your skin for the most amount of time, makeup is right up there at the top of the list. And unfortunately, most makeup out there isn't tested for heavy metals as it's not required. Enter Beautycounter: when I first ordered makeup from them, I started with the Tint Skin (foundation) and mascara. It wasn't long before I added in blush, bronzer, an eyebrow pencil, and lip gloss. Of course, most days I just wear the tint skin and mascara, and if I'm staying home, just a little bit of mascara. But I love that I know just have a handful of safe, high-performing makeup products for when I do need them.

Yesterday, Beautycounter revealed their 5-Minute Face, which will give you effortless beauty with just 6 products (for a stinkin' deal I must add!). I've never really timed how long it takes me to put my makeup on so yesterday I thought I would and I can say it takes even less, as long as no little humans are interrupting you.

Here's my before and after. I took the photo in the same light and didn't edit it at all. I know the difference isn't that drastic in the photos, I have a lot of freckles in the summer which I don't try to cover up, and to be honest, for a few months now, I have been having the best skin ever (no breakouts, not a lot of red patches, no dryness). But I love how I look just a little more even skin-toned, and how my eyes pop.

Here are the products used to create your 5-Minute Face:

1. Tint Skin Hydrating Foundation (I'm wearing porcelain)
2. Touchup Skin Concealer Pen
3. Eyebrow Pencil (I'm wearing light)
4. Mascara (I'm wearing volumizing)
5. Blush (I'm wearing Bloom/Tulip)
6. Lip Gloss (I'm wearing Bare Shimmer)

It's that easy! I adore Beautycounter's Tint Skin because it's moisturizing and it provides coverage without looking like I slathered foundation all over my face. It blends SO well. You can build additional coverage by layering if needed. The concealer pen is awesome for brightening up the area under your eyes and covering up any blemishes. (I didn't include one in the photos because I don't actually own one yet. Yet!).

Two new mascara's were also revealed yesterday: a reformulated lengthening mascara as well as a volumizing one (it's amazing!). I'm wearing the volumizing one in the after photo. I'm not a huge lip gloss wearer because I'm always kissing boo-boo's around here, but my favourite is Bare Shimmer which provides just a hint of colour and feels so nice when it's on.

And that's it. All you need is five minutes and you will feel refreshed and way more pulled together. It's pretty much impossible that my hair, outfit, and makeup are all done on the same day, and while just-washed hair always makes me feel the most pulled together, a little bit of makeup definitely makes me feel like I have my sh*t together. And 5 minutes to pull it off is so doable! Maybe you like rummaging through a makeup bag or drawer, but I prefer a more streamlined approach. Too many choices gives me anxiety and I then start to doubt my makeup application abilities.

So my friends, I say this with pure love for you and your skin, but there is no better time than now to breakup with your makeup. No one's perfect, but when we know better we do better. Even just making small changes gradually will make a difference! I'd love to chat safer beauty if you have any questions! :)


Tell me: what's your current makeup routine look like?



*affiliate links have not been used, but I am a consultant with Beautycounter, so should you purchase something under my account, I would receive a commission. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Emmeline: 6 Months

Oh Emmy....I should be writing up your 7 month update, but here I am, writing your 6th an entire month late! Just know, I did in fact take the photos on the day you turned 6 months! But finding time to sit down and write has been challenging lately. I just want to spend all my time with you and your brother! :)

So what's new in your sixth month? Well, you're still our little peanut - you had your immunizations on your 6th month birthday and weighed in at 12lbs 3oz. You're trucking along on your own curve and we aren't worried at all about how petite you are. Secretly (or not so secretly), I love that you are tiny as it lets me enjoy the baby phase for that much longer. It also makes it a lot easier to hold you when I'm trying to do things around the house, or wear you in the ring sling when we are shopping. You're still wearing a mix of 0-3 month and 3-6 month clothing, depending on brand and what it is (onesies seem to fit forever in 0-3 month). You're still also wearing size 1 diapers - I tried size 2, but they just seemed way too big, so we will wait on moving up for now.

Not much has changed in the sleep department. You still have a long nap 2-3x per day, depending on how on the go we are that given day. The car usually puts you right out, but you most often wake up as soon as we get to wherever it is we are going. I thought by now I'd be trying you in your crib at night, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it! You seem so little and I just love having you sleep beside me. Plus, it makes nighttime feeds so easy! You're also our last baby and I know these days of sleeping together are limited, and since you still are content to sleep in your Dockatot at night, I shall let you be.

We will be starting solids with you this month, and up until now, you're still exclusively breastfed. Thankfully, we did finally find a bottle that you love so that's been handy for when I need to be away for more than a few hours.

You've started rolling over all the time, but you get SO mad when you roll onto your tummy. It's kind of funny and sad at the same time. You are able to roll from tummy to back as well, but I think you get too upset to even try and fix the situation you got yourself into in the first place! We're working on sitting up though, which you enjoy since you can see more of what's going on around you. We've started putting you in the jolly jumper as well, but you just kind of hang out in it and haven't caught on to the jumping part of it. Your tolerance for being in it and the jumperoo are limited though!

I find myself thinking back to this time a year ago, when you were growing inside of me and it's hard to believe how fast time goes. I know that's the most cliche saying you will ever hear, but that's because it's the truth. A year ago, I had no idea who was inside of me, what little person would join our family and complete it, and now that you are here, I am thankful every day for you and the joy and love you bring all of us! Just the sight of you lights up my mood, and watching you and your brother interact more and more is the best thing in the world.

Happy Half Birthday, Emmy!

xoxo
Mommy


*affliate links have been used

Camping in the Kootenay Plains

{the view from our campsite}

The other weekend (Father's Day weekend), we ventured out on our first camping trip of the year! We really didn't have any plans to camp in June, but when my best friend Karen invited us to join her family and some others at a group site, we figured why not! Karen and her family camp a lot, but we've never been able to join them before. I knew it would be a blast for Sully to have other kids to play with during the day, and the beauty of camping with your friend who has a trailer is chances are good that if you forget something, they will have it!

We packed up Friday morning and made the 3.5 hour drive north west of us to the Calvacade Group campsite in the Kootenay Plains. For local folks, this is about 65km west of Nordegg. The drive for us was beautiful, as it took as through the mountains up towards and through the Banff and Lake Louise area. I've never camped in a group site before, so I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that the sites were unserviced (not an issue for us since we tent it anyway) and no running water, so pit toilets only. I called ahead to make sure that the walk from our site to the closest outhouse wasn't too far and was told that each site had it's own outhouse.

When we arrived, I was taken aback by how beautiful the area was. Nestled in amongst the mountains, you would never expect the area to be a campsite. There were 8 sites and only 3 were booked for the weekend. But each site was so large that even if you had neighbours, you would barely notice. Our site in particular, also had a large outdoor shelter, complete with a wood burning stove and picnic tables in case weather took a turn for the worse. Pretty cool! Firewood was also included in the cost of camping which was great as we didn't have to haul any along with us.

We arrived around 4pm, quickly set up camp and then spent the evening cooking, eating and drinking, while the kids and Karen's dog ran around and played. So much open space for the kids! A couple sets of friends weren't able to make it after all, so it was just us, Karen's family and Karen's husband's Aunt and Uncle. It was great spending the weekend with my best friend and watching our kids play so well together.

As for night time - I'm not going to lie. It was COLD. I wasn't really thinking about how early in the year it was, so I was not prepared to be so cold at night! I definitely regretted taking my leggings out of my duffel bag at the last minute! Emmy was a trooper though and napped and slept great! Karen leant us a travel sized playpen for using in the tent, and I brought along her Dockatot. At whatever time she would wake up to eat in the middle of the night, I would just bring her into bed where I kept her till morning.

I was worried about how Sully would take going to the washroom in a pit toilet, but he thought they were totally funny and awesome! He couldn't get over the fact that he was peeing into a big hole and that there was no handle to flush. Thank goodness he thought it was a novelty to use them! And I have to say, the outhouses at the campground were spotless and maintained daily, which made using them that much easier.

I already feel like the rest of the summer weekends are filling up quick, so I'm so glad we made it out once already to camp. We do plan to keep the rest of our camping trips this summer closer to home, but we definitely plan to return to this place again in the future!

{the coolest 6 year old I know}

Do you like to camp? Where's the best place you've every camped?

Tent or trailer? :) 

Emmeline: 5 Months

*This post is about 3 weeks late, but better late than never, amiright?! ;) 

Oh Miss Emmy!

How are you 5 months old already?! Sometimes I look at you in your beloved Mamaroo Swing and I can't get over how big you look in it compared to when you were first born. We didn't get you weighed this month, but you're starting to grow out of your 0-3 month clothes and some 3 month clothes as well, so I know you're growing!

You're still exclusively breastfed, and will take the odd bottle of expressed milk when needed. I'm looking forward to starting you on solids next month though! Your brother's first food was avocado on toast cut into strips and I think we will try the same on you to see your reaction to it. To this day, it's still his favourite food to eat!

You still aren't rolling over, but you are SO close. That darn, pesky arm just keeps getting in the way! The day before you turned 5 months old, you finally found your toes! This is one of my favourite milestones, watching babies grab their toes and rock back and forth. You are strong enough to sit up in the jumperoo without any padding, but you only tolerate for 15 minutes at the most. Guess it's time to dig out the jolly jumper! You're usually pretty happy to just lay on your activity mat and grab at the toys hanging above you, and when that no longer entertains you, then you like to be held facing out so you can see everything that is going on. You really resist being put in a sitting position, preferring to be held while standing. It's like you're reading to take to the ground running before even learning to sit or crawl! I imagine life will become much more exciting for you once you are able to sit on your own.

Emmy, you're still such a happy baby and such a good little sleeper. I still nap you in your swing, but at night, you sleep peacefully in your Dockatot in our bed. I realized that this is around the time I transitioned your brother to his crib so we will probably get on that soon. While I love having you right next to me, I can't help but wonder if you would sleep longer stretches without me being by your side. We shall see! Even though you nurse at night and go straight back to sleep, it would be nice to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep in a row!

It's such a joy watching you grow, Emmy. The love I have for both you and your brother is a love I never knew was possible! I'm so grateful I get to be a mom to both of you.

xoxo
Mommy


*affiliate links have been used