Seattle Mom Blogs

So marathon #1 of 2010 is in the books.  Finished in 4 hours and 13 minutes.  Same as my personal best at Portland last fall.  Can’t seem to push past that time.  I think I actually would have been a lot closer to 4 hours except for a brutal hill at mile 22 that went on for a mile and a half.  And was steep.  And did I mention it went on for a mile and a half?  It killed me.  I did manage an 8 minute mile on the downhill side so my legs were still functioning after the hill but, as soon as it flattened out and went back to rolling terrain, my legs were shot. 

The marathon course was absolutely gorgeous.  We ran along the Yakima River, through a canyon for about 95% of the run.  It was the most low-key marathon I’ve run yet.  They had a record turnout yesterday… of almost 600 runners.  I know!  But you know what?  It was perfect.  The start line was literally a line chalked on the road- no chip timers, no start waves, no pacers.  We shared the road along the river with traffic but the traffic was fairly sparse. 

It was about 34 degrees at the start but warmed up to almost 60 at the finish.  Sunshine the entire way.  I actually have a little sunburn.

The course was rolling terrain that was downhill overall.  There were 3 major hills; the first two we managed to keep a decent pace for the entire hike up.  The third hill, well I already talked about that beast.

I do have to say that my legs are stronger.  Thank you Sven for your awesome workouts!  I think my stamina has gotten better as well.  I can’t wait to meet Sven on Thursday and talk about his take on the changes I noticed from the last run to this run.  I know Sven has been working to increase my maximum lactate threshold so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say on whether he thinks that was a factor in this run or not.

Next marathon is the Rock N Roll Seattle in June.  Goal is to hit the 4 hour mark or go just below it.  Not sure if that’s possible but I’m setting the goal anyway.  Wish me luck!

Just as I was typing out the title for this here little rant of mine, I realized how truly ironic it is that “fundraiser” contains the word “fun,” because really, there is nothing “fun” about using kids to peddle your goods, no matter how you look at it.

And peddling is what it is.

How many times a year do your school-aged, publicly instructed children come home with big, over-sized, glossy catalogs full of over-priced, tacky and generally useless items to sell to their friends and family? I’ve got three kids – thankfully the oldest is in middle school, where they don’t participate in so much blatant use of cute kids to sell crap, probably because the kids are old enough to catch on to the marketing ploys of the “fundraiser” companies. But between my 2 younger children, we get bombarded with full-color catalogs and requests to buy “at least 3 items” so that my children can participate in a “special” assembly at school where they will see “dazzling” tricks performed by a BMX superstar twice a year. If the puppy dog eyes from my kindergartner aren’t enough to kill a person (please, please spend at least $50 so that I can get a razzle dazzle super bouncy ball) than my son’s requests to earn enough “points” to win an XBOX 360 are sure to do you in.

Don’t even get me started on the magazine sales pitches.

It’s not that I’m not all for raising additional funds for our schools, because I am. My kids attend the same elementary school that I did as a child and many of the same teachers I had are in our school district. I have emotional ties to our school district in more ways than one and I want to see our schools get the best possible equipment and programs as they can congruent with offering our kids the best education they can. Doesn’t everyone want basically the same thing? But what I have a real problem with is the way in which fundraising is done. Obviously. These companies have got their thumb on our fundraising dollars like nobody’s business. They are big corporations with big ideas and marketing people who know what it takes to sell, mainly…kids. They know that no loving grandparent is going to pass up the opportunity to purchase a dozen caramel-filled chocolate bunnies from their 6 year old grandson for the low, low price of $19.99. They know this.

My question is, why do we let them use our kids?

The return on the fundraisers done by the big, national companies is not much. I can’t remember the exact numbers but when I sat in on my first PTA meeting a million years ago when my 13 year old was a kindergartner, I was shocked. Why are we allowing these companies into our schools? I asked. The response was that it was the only way to generate additional money for the school.

My reaction was to just write a check to the PTA and call it good.

I just don’t understand why we can’t shift our focus from these huge companies who are getting most of the profits from our kids’ hardwork and adorable faces to a more local, more direct means of generating funds for our schools. We have pizza nights sponsored by a local pizza place in which $2 from each pizza ordered is given directly to our school. In this case, the local businessman benefits and so do our kids – and there are no wasteful glossy catalogs to put in the landfill. We also have an Education Foundation set up to do just that, provide funds for education. The problem is, with all the requests and demands put upon parents from these outside sources, they feel like there is nothing else to give to these worthwhile, LOCAL means of creating extras for our school kids.

And so, we find ourselves stuck under the thumbs of big business once again, in a way we never ever intended. While our local PTAs try to grow money on trees and work endless hours giving to our schools, it is the schools, the kids and the community who are left holding the empty basket in the end. With nothing but a fancy schmancy assembly and a razzle dazzle super bouncy ball to show for it.

Carrie Blankenship is the author of the blog Stop Screaming I’m Driving, where she attempts to tell her story of motherhood. She likes long walks in the park, dancing in the rain, and can be bribed to do just about anyting with a vanilla latte, extra foam. Contact her with column suggestions or just say “hi” at carrieb[at]seattlemomblogs.com. Or, .

So it is no secret that I’ve been struggling with my weight the past few years.  Well, actually my entire life but you’ve only been around the past couple of years.  I finally sucked it up and went to a nutritionist recommended by Trainer #1.  So, after tweaking my diet so that I eat extremely clean, on the 40% carb, 35% protein and 25% fat breakdown every day and removing alcohol from my diet, I watched my weight go up and down within a 2 pound range for over 2 months.  I hit a breaking point about 6 weeks ago: I AM doing everything in my power to change this.  I workout 7 days a week and I workout HARD.  I eat as clean as humanly possible and as directed by my nutritionist.  Why won’t my body let go of the damn weight?

Well, the first part of it we decided to address with an elimination diet.  I took EVERYTHING out of my diet: soy, wheat, gluten,corn, citrus fruits, dairy, eggs, corn, peanuts, you name it.  All I had left was some proteins, vegetables except corn (which is in everything by the way) and fruit except for citrus fruits.  Yep- and after 2 weeks, I had lost a grand total of 1.25 pounds.   I’m in week 6 now and have found out that I cannot have milk and may have an issue with soy.  This week I am going to try adding egg whites and then yolks to see how that goes.

The second part of this is something that has taken me a long time to come around to believing.  For all my life, despite all the information to the contrary, I have operated on less calories is better.  I have gotten to the point where most days I don’t even eat 1,000 calories.  Every week, the nutrionist would implore me to eat more, choose some lean proteins instead of always choosing the extra lean proteins.  She started on a goal calorie intake of 1,500 calories a day.  (Remember, I burn between 800-4,000 calories a day working out, depending on the workout.)  She modified the goal as it became more and more clear that I just could not break through the mental barrier to eat more than 1,100 calories a day.  Then one week, I finally realized- this is NOT working.  Maybe it’s time to just believe I can eat 1,200 calories and not gain weight.  So, for the next week, I tried.  My daily average was still closer to 1,100 calories but I had more days closer or just over 1,200 than not.  And I lost several pounds.  Same with the next week.  My trainer (Sven the best trainer in the whole world in my unbiased opinion) even mentioned that I looked leaner.  I think I’ve lost just about 10 pounds and I think all of those pounds must be pure fat.  So, progress is finally being made.

During my exasperation with this process, I also called my doctor and went in and talked about my frustrations.  She and I went over my food intake and calorie burn.  Other than being scolded for not eating enough, she agreed that there must be something else going on.  So a referral to an endocrinologist was made.  I had that appointment 2 days ago.  The endocrinologist went over my history and current issues.  She then looked me in the eye and said that she knew something was amiss and that not only would she find it, she would fix it.  I almost broke down.  Really?  Maybe the fact that I’m not thin is not 100% my fault after all. 

And just so it doesn’t come across as if I’m looking for an excuse (and I fear that it does), I am doing everything in my power to make my body thin and strong.  OK- the increased calories have been hard for me but I’m trying and getting there.  But the workouts, clean eating, modifying my entire diet, etc.  I am already doing all of that.  If the solution was purely to take in less calories and burn more calories, then I should be 100 pounds and a size 0.  Damn it.  I HAVE been working the eat less, move more model for years and it hasn’t worked for me.

Whew- clearly I have some resentment around this.  In reality, I’m just feeling a bit of relief in knowing that medical professionals know that something is amiss and are confident it can be fixed.  Please.  I just need a little boost.