CTWW – Body Soap Review

Here is the current challenge from Reduce Footprints:

This week review the body soap you are currently using. Please include such information as how the product performs, how it was packaged and the ingredients. Perhaps do a little research on the ingredients to determine if they are all environmentally and personally safe. You may include the name of the soap or not ... your choice. You may also post your review on any platform, including a comment here. The idea is for us to take an honest look at the soap we're using and share information so that we all learn

I’ll admit that I’m currently not using anything fancy or super organic for my body wash. You know why? Pure laziness.  Yup.  That’s it.  With my PPD issues and adjusting to life as a new Mom I’ve found that some things have slipped through the cracks. Taking care of my body (aside from the workouts) in terms of eating and what products I use has taken 100 steps in the wrong direction.

My current body wash/soap is Ivory with Aloe, because I think it’s a decent brand and it’s easy to buy at the store when I go for R’s formula.

Here are the current ingredients in my body wash:
Water/Eau, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Fragrance/Parfum, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer.

Now that I look at it, several of those products are on the harmful list.  Such as the Sodium Laureth/Lauryl Sulfates.   I understand those are both for lather and I have also read we don’t need lather, we just think we do. I fall for that myself.  

I will admit that I was using bar soap but it was hard to shave with it and that’s when I switched back to body wash.   I think what I need to do is just look at the other “natural” products available where I shop and find something that is convenient for me to purchase but doesn’t contact harmful products.
I admit I do like the body wash, I think it gets me clean.  This is super important due to the running, nobody wants to smell me after that’s done! haha!  It doesn’t, however, get all the chlorine smell off my body after a pool workout.  However I think that’s the case with most body washes. 

Castlewood Cup 2013 – Race Recap

The first big hill..just to show the conditions

February 24th was the day of the Castlewood Cup 15k trail run.  Leading up to Sunday the weather was forecasted to be in the 50’s.  This was even after the snow storm we had the Thursday before.

The day arrived and it was only in the 30’s.  At first I had on capri’s, a short sleeved shirt, and a jacket.  I walked outside and walked right back inside to change into shorts, compression socks, short sleeves, and arm warmers.  This ended up being the perfect outfit.
 
Leading up to this race I was not happy about it.  My heart was not in it.  I love this race and I love to race. I didn’t want to do this one.  There are a lot of reasons why, but I won’t get in to them.  My heart just wasn’t in it this year.  Once it snowed on Thursday I was much more interested in running it, but still not excited.  I admit that I hate cold weather and snow, but I love to run in it. Go figure.  The day arrived and I had race excitement and nerves, which was a good thing.

The group I met at the beginning

Leading up to this race I was still having issues with feeling like throwing up when I exert myself, etc.  In hopes that it was just not getting in enough food and with this being a late race time (10 am) I was able to eat two breakfasts and a snack before the race start. I think this did a lot for me. I had a ton of energy at the start of the race and through the entire race without having to refuel.

I was in wave 3, out of 6.  You are put in waves based on your projected finish time. I should have jumped into an earlier wave but didn't think I needed to.  As it was, when my wave started I was quickly the first person and I soon caught up to people from wave 2.  Within the first half mile we start on a huge hill and I continued to pass people on that hill, which always feels good when it happens.  Then it happened. I got stuck behind a runner who refused to let me pass.   It’s hard to race on trails because they are narrow and when you get behind somebody you have to wait for a spot to pass.  So I waited till there was an opening, said on your left, and surged, only to have him surge.  He did this every time. I was sooo pissed.  I had to wait until we got to an area where the trail really widened and I had more room.  Which, he still tried to speed up but I had enough room to pass him.  He got CHICKED. And it felt GOOD.

The rest of the race I would focus on catching the person/group in front of me.  Once I did that I would catch my breath, wait for a chance to pass, pass and keep up that speed until I caught the next group. Repeat.

Normally I am slower on trails because I tend to trip and fall. A LOT.  However with the snow, and with it being packed down by the other runners, I felt more comfortable and It showed. I went faster on these trails than I ever have before.  I felt good!  I never once felt tired.  Sure, going up the hills you feel exhausted but as soon as I crested them I felt fine.  My legs were never fatigued. I finished and felt like I could have kept running.  This is a great feeling, but also a disappointing feeling.  This was a race. I should not have felt like that.  However, I know that it’s just the nature of trail races to be stuck behind people.  I know I could have gone faster if I had not been stuck behind people a lot.  This is where I think next year I’ll be sure to start in wave one. If I had started in wave one I think I could have placed higher and had a better time.  However, with that being said, I did excellent at this race.  I am very happy with how I placed and how I did.  I finished this race and felt fantastic. I had a runner’s high.  I did so much better than I expected, especially since I went in to the race with my heart not in it.

I finished out the race by going out for some drinks and food with some new running friends.  This made my day. I have struggled with finding runners who want to run with me and who “get” me.  I am hoping I finally found it.  It was fun to hang out and laugh and talk and just be with like minding individuals.  Without them at the beginning of the race and the end, this race would not have been as awesome as it was. I owe them a lot.

My final results:
finish time: 1:24:16
Overall place: 69 out of 471
Female place: 10 out of 190
Division place: 4 out of 27

Here’s a breakdown on pace:
Mile 1: 9:35, big hill
Mile 2 : 9:40, stuck behind the ahole
Mile 3: 9:15, I did stop to fix my yaktrax and drink water
Mile 4: 10:05, big hill and stuck behind a lot of people going slow on this one
MIle 5: 8:26, mostly downhill and rolling
Mile 6:10:03, majority of it is uphill, worst in the park if you ask me
Mile 7: 8:55, rolling hills
Mile 8: 8:10, downhill and flat
Mile 9: 7:58, flat and a creek crossing
.3 miles to the finish: 7:32, as fast as I could sprint in the snow

CCTW - Six Ingredient Challenge

Here is this week's challenge, or last week's challenge, I'm always a week behind it seems.


I've read a lot recently about a Six Ingredient Challenge. This clever idea was designed to encourage people to eat more whole foods. The thought is that if there are no more than 6 ingredients on the label, the food is pretty close to being as nature intended it. Why are whole foods better for the environment? Because processing creates large amounts of carbon dioxide. Since we just used up everything in our pantries and are probably ready to restock, I thought it would be a perfect challenge for this week. Here you go ...

This week, buy only foods with 6 or fewer ingredients. Here's a tip ... shop the perimeter of the store rather than the center isles ... you'll find more options. Want to kick this challenge up even further? Be sure that high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils aren't in the food you choose ... they are really "bad for you" substances. And if you have access to the information, choose non-GMO foods.

I'm really bad about this.  I attempt to and then don't.  Attempt to read the labels that is. I think because it's so hard and confusing.  I tend to not buy very much processed foods, so that's good.  We make a lot of dinners from scratch and I bake from scratch.  We did set out to buy graham crackers for R over the weekend, that was interesting. I was going to get the store brand and it had high fructose corn syrup in it, but one of the name brands didn't, so I paid more for the name brand. My guess is that it was hidden in there just with a different title though. ha!   I also wouldn't have thought to give R graham crackers but the daycare lady has tried it and R likes it. She appears to be a picky eater so we're going to go with it.  Unfortunately, she takes after me in the eating department it seems.

Oh..and I will also mention that so far we have made all of R's food. Except the yogurt and the baby oatmeal she started out on.  I've made sure that stuff is all organic though.   I like making her food because I know EXACTLY what it is in. It's veggies, fruits, and water. That's it. 

CTWW – Half Term Challenge

It’s time for Change the World Wednesday hosted by Reduce Footprints.

This Week's Challenge:
In June of 2012 we joined Mrs. Green in her "Use It Up" challenge. It's one of those activities which bears repeating from time to time because food has a sneaky way of accumulating in our homes. More importantly, food waste is at an all time high ... it's bad for our finances and bad for the environment. So, Mrs. Green is doing a Half Term Challenge and we're invited to join her. Here you go ...

1. Take a look through your fruit, vegetables and fresh items in the fridge to see what needs using up. Write it all down – it’s easier to keep track that way.
2. Plan some of your favorite meals around the foods that need using up.
3. If you need inspiration, write your food list on Mrs. Green's post (you'll find it HERE) and her community will help or ... check out the recipes section at Love Food Hate Waste.
4. Enjoy some great meals, knowing you are saving money and protecting resources.

Are you ready to tackle this one? I know that you are!
Until next time ...
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!

*******************************************************

What will I do for this challenge you ask?  Well, I’ll tell you. Not too much. haha!   We are in the habit of only buying as many veggies as we need for meals and fruit that we’ll eat in a week.  Therefore barely any of it goes to waste anyway. So if I was to do this challenge I wouldn’t find any veggies or fruit.  I think it’s a great idea, just not one I can partake in.  How about you thought?

JCC Sprint Triathlon - Race Recap

Last Saturday I had my first triathlon where I wasn’t pregnant.  This means it was my first triathlon where I could really compete and not just strive to complete it.  I was freaked out but also confident I could do it because the distances were all short, shorter than I normally do in a regular workout.
This was an indoor sprint triathlon, so the swim was in a pool, the biking was on spin bikes, and the running was on treadmills. Totally flat miles.

Ultimately I had 5 goals going in to this race.  1)Swim under 10 min  2)Bike in 19 min 3)Run a 7 min mile (17:30 min) 4)place in the top 3 in my age group and 5) place in the top 10 women over-all.

Swim: 400 meters

My time was 8:49.  This is the one I felt I probably wouldn’t hit and I nailed it!  I did so much better than I thought I would do.  I did 50m as a warm-up.  Then I stayed in the water, moving around a bit, for probably 10 min.  When the heat started I was relaxed and I went out at a decent pace. I didn’t want to go too slow but I wanted to stay at an easy pace where I wouldn’t tire out and be gasping for breath.  I tried to keep track of how many laps I did because my plan had been to take the first 200m easy, then push it the next 150, then sprint the final 50.  I lost track early on. I am horrible at counting laps. So I kept a pace that I felt was good and wouldn’t leave me gasping.  Then when I was notified I was on my final lap I kicked it in to gear and gave it all I had left.  I ended up being first out of the water for my heat, which felt awesome.

Bike: 8 miles

My goal had been 19 or under. I finished it at 19:24.  Sure, not too far off my goal, but still off.  Trying to go as fast as I could for 8 miles on a spin bike is a bit weird.  You want enough resistance on the bike so you don’t lose control, but not too much that you make it harder than it needs to be.  Throughout the 8 miles I would mess with it and make it less resistance, then more if it was feeling weird, etc. 

Run: 2.5 miles

My goal had been 7 min miles.  I finished in 19:58, 8 min miles.  Here’s the thing. I’m still having some health issues. Nothing to be worried about, but stuff that I am working with professionals on.  So while I don’t know if that was what caused me to have issues or something else, I did have some issues.  I got off the bike and I was dizzy.  I got to the treadmill and just felt like crap. I fought the urge to throw up the whole time.  I started out slow and increased the speed slowly till I was doing 7:30 min/miles.  I stayed like that but was feeling more and more like throwing up, so I knew I had to slow it down. I slowed way down until I started to feel a tad better.  Then slowly started to increase pace again.  I finished out close to a 7 min mile, but it wasn’t enough to hit my goal.   It might seem like a 7 min mile is a high goal, it’s way faster than normal for me.  However, at such a short distance it was possible. I had practiced running on the treadmill at the gym at a 7 min pace for a mile after spin class to see if it was possible.

As far as how I did in placing.  Well, I was 4th in my age group (out of 8). I wasn’t even close to the third place person.   I tied for 18th for over-all female (out of 43).  Not even close to 10.
The results for this race were very hard for me to take. I was very upset about it the day off and I’m still not happy with it.  This is by far the easiest race I have this year.  So for me to not do as well as I had hoped on my easiest race, well, it freaks me out for what’s to come this year. 

I know that my training on the bike hadn’t been what I needed it to be, that’s what happens with life.  Due to the weather I have to train at the gym on stationary bikes.  With the flue going around we didn’t want R in the gym daycare.  That meant I couldn’t go after work.  Swimming is by far my weakest of the three sports, so on Saturdays I would go to the gym to swim before coming home and watching R so Husband could get to the gym for spin class.  I’m not upset about this, but it did mean I didn’t get in as much time on a bike as I had wanted/needed.

While I am still disappointed in how I did, I’ve come to terms with it. I know that I did the best I could and I can only get better from here.  As one of my friends said, a good friend who is helping me with my training. this gives us a starting point.  It’s true!  Now I know what I can do, what my body is capable of. I now have a way to compare my times in training and to measure improvement.

I also have to remind myself that while this was NOT my first sprint tri, it was the first sprint tri where I didn’t have to watch my HR and slow myself down. That does make a huge difference.

So for now, I’ll keep moving forward.  I’m happy to have this done. I’m looking forward to what’s in store for me this year and seeing what I can accomplish.

Breastfeeding – The Middle and The End

Once I was able to breastfeed without the physical pain, for the most part things went smoothly.  I didn’t have any other physical issues, none that you hear other women having.  I had some mental issues with it but I’m going to get to those in a different blog post.

I liked the convenience that if we had somewhere to go, we didn’t have to worry about bringing formula as long as I was there. I was the formula.  At first I did not want to feed her in public, covered up of course.  However after I did it a couple times I realized I didn’t really care.  I made sure it was discrete.  I made sure not to drink beer at the same time.

At first I was able to provide 100% of R’s nutrition.  I was producing enough.  Soon I tried to start pumping as well, in order to build up a supply for daycare, and that’s when I realized things weren’t as peachy as I had hoped. I did not produce enough to feed her and pump.  I went in to breastfeeding with the plan to 1)breastfeed for 1 year and 2)not supplement with formula.

In order to be able to provide milk for daycare, we made the decision to start supplementing with formula.   In fact it was my decision.  Husband was great through this whole process. He knew that I wanted to breastfeed.  He felt it was the best option but since it was my body he left the decision to me.  So when I talked to him about supplementing with formula once a day so I could pump, he didn’t argue. He felt it was a good idea. 

I couldn't help it, this one makes me laugh

For several months this went great. I would feed her during the day and then pump at her bedtime feeding, when Husband would give her a bottle.  Then I started back to work.  The way her feedings landed, I wasn’t nursing at all during the week, only pumping.  Soon my production started to drop.  One of the hardest days for me was when I fed her on the weekend, she was super fussy 30 min later.  We couldn’t figure out what was going on, so we gave her a bottle. She drank 8 oz.  She doesn’t drink 8oz at once. That was the first time I realized I could not provide for her and it was hard, very hard.  It got to where we went from providing all her bottles as breastmilk for daycare to only one bottle a day.  That was all I could produce.  I had to stop nursing her 100%, because I couldn’t produce enough for even one day.  So I was pumping 100% even on weekends.  Then I had the flu (or food poisoning) in December and production dropped to only 3-4oz per day.  After dealing with that for a couple of weeks I called her Dr. to see if there was even a benefit to giving her one bottle every other day.   I made the decision to stop.  I made it 1 week shy of 8 months. 

I am happy with my decisions.  It’s hard, I have some guilt, but I’m happy with my decisions.  I feel that I provided R with a very good foundation.  She had almost 8 months of breast milk.  She had 8 months to get the health benefits that are found in breast milk and can’t be duplicated in formula.  For that, I am happy. 

CTWW - Fracking

This week's Change the World Wednesday is about fracking.  Not sure what fracking is? Neither was I. Luckily Reduce Footprints includes a link to more information.


This Week's Challenge:

One of my GOALS for 2013 is to increase the impact of our challenges by applying a bit of political pressure. This challenge is about FRACKING, a dangerous method of extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock. 

Please note: I believe that signing petitions and/or contacting our public officials is a private matter so, for any political pressure challenges we take on, I won't be doing a commentary the following week. I am happy to include any posts you write in our re-cap as well as any comments, tweets, etc. but I won't be expressing my thoughts about them ... I'll simply list them for others to read. Sound good? Here you go ...

This week, sign NRDC's letter to President Obama asking him to protect us from dangerous fracking. You'll find it HERE. This letter is appropriate for everyone and can be signed by people worldwide. However, if fracking takes place in your country and you'd rather contact your officials, the following information may help:

Fracking by Country
Fracking in the UK
Fracking in Canada
Fracking in Denmark
Fracking in Ireland

Or ...

If you'd rather not sign an online letter/petition, please contact your local officials about fracking and let them know how you feel. If fracking isn't an issue in your area, consider contacting your officials regarding an issue which concerns you about the environment.

 

 

AS for me, well, I need to read more about it before I sign anything. I think things like this are important but I rarely feel educated enough to actually do something about it.  I mostly wanted to post this to get back in the game with CTWW and to share with my readers so that some of you who know more than me might take action, if you see fit.