an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.
Bread no. 13 : whole wheat banana bread.
Adjustments : no walnuts & added a bit of cinnamon.
Notes : I didn’t measure my bananas … used 2 large ones. Not sure if that is more or less than the 2 cups the recipe called for. They also were not super ripe (had spots but were not all brown yet) but I’m on a deadline here so I used them anyway.
Review : so good. Slap some peanut butter on a piece of this and you’ve got breakfast, lunch and dinner.
I'm not a doctor, or an expert, or even that good at this yet. But I would like to share a few tips and thoughts from my experience. You can read more about my "relationship" with running here, but long story short, I went from hating running to being a causual runner to enjoying running to becoming a half-marathoner. Hope this helps you break into the "sport" – I think everyone can become a runner if they want to.
Read Born to Run
Start hydrating. Are you getting 80 oz of water a day? If not, start. Once you begin running more, water is even more necessary and drinking it doesn't get easier. Establish the habit early. Before the race, I was focusing on getting 100 oz a day. It's also important to make sure you have enough salt in your diet to keep your electrolytes up.
Focus on your form. I was lucky to have Paul as a "running coach" when I first switched to forefoot running. But you can check out youtube videos that talk about the same idea. I have been "forefoot running" since January 2011. The switch was hard on my calves, but I am now able to run easier and with less pain. There are minimalist shoes that are designed for forefoot running that will help you as well. I have been running in Nike Frees but am going to try New Balance Minimus now that the half is over. (I'll let you know what I think of them after a few good runs.) Keep in mind that it takes time to transition from standard running shoes to minimalist shoes. You may need to slow your pace and strengthen your foot and calf muscles before you can use the shoes safely.
Learn the difference between "real pain" and "being uncomfortable." Usually, over the course of a long run, a variety of different uncomfortable feelings pop up. Sometimes in my heel, sometimes in my knee, sometimes my back – whatever. I have found that refocusing on my form, adjusting my pace or stopping to stretch works them out. When you first start running, these minor aches and pains can make you feel like running is too difficult. You have to be willing to push through them. Obviously you may also encounter real injuries. Pain that doesn't stop, continues after you're done running or increases could be something more serious. Cut back and possibly check with your doctor for these!
Set goals. This could be signing up for a 5K or deciding to run 40 miles a month. Be sure your goal is measurable and work towards it.
Stretch at the beginning and end of every run.
Work weight training into your schedule. This is something I failed at when I first started running more seriously. I am now adding Bar Method to my routine to increase strength and muscle mass. Cardio shouldn't be your only form of exercise, especially if you are going for weight loss as you will end up burning off muscle in addition to fat.
Find a training plan. I loosly followed this one. I was running outdoors 3-4 days a week the two months leading up to the race and for me that turned out to be enough. If I do it again, I will focus on getting a few more long runs (8+ miles) in.
Tell people you're running a race. Your family, your friends, your facebook feed. Tell someone. Honestly, I don't know that I would have gone through with the half if I hadn't had made such a big deal about it here on the blog. I was that scared the days leading up to it. People knowing makes you more accountable.
Hold auditions for your race clothes. I have a few pairs of running shorts and a bunch of sports bras and running tees. All of them are different. When I was training, I paid attention to which shorts didn't irritate me, which shirt didn't ride up, which bra felt most supportive and even which pair of underwear were most comfortable for running. Then on race day I wore all "the best" stuff which kept me from fidgeting with my attire during the race. For the record, I wore these shorts, this tee, this bra (which I really like especially for the price), and this underwear.
Wear a sweatshirt or long sleeve shirt that you're willing to give away. It was chilly the morning of the race so most people were in long sleeves. As we got closer to the start time, people started pulling off their jackets and hanging them over the barricades lining the sides of the start. I was so confused – thinking maybe the jackets would be brought to the end of the race for pick up – but nope, all the jackets were given to the homeless. Very cool. Unfortunately, I had worn a relatively expensive pullover that I wasn't prepared to part with. I ended up wearing it around my waist from mile one on – super annoying and could have been avoided if I'd worn a different pullover (there is actually one in my Goodwill pile right now).
Drink at every water station. I made sure to down at least a cupful every time it was offered. Keep in mind the first few tables of water at each station are always jammed. Stay to the outside of the tables at first and cut across just before they end. You'll avoid the traffic jam.
Be prepared for porta-potties. I'm lucky that I never have to go the bathroom on runs. By the smell of the porta-potties, I am the only person who doesn't. Bathrooms are limited (some people waited in 20 minute lines) and get gross quick. If you can go before the race, GO.
Your Nike+ app might fail. I am just getting into using Nike+ and was very disappointed with how it worked on this race. It congratulated me on finishing 13.1 miles before I had even hit mile 12. Considering how rough the last three miles were, this was a blow to my motivation. I think I would listen to music again next time, but NOT have the false "mile updates" told to me.
Remember that YOU are your own motivator. I thought about this a lot on my run. I was pretty much alone with my thoughts for two hours and 15 minutes (plus the hour waiting to start) and all of that was spent focusing on the task at hand. The cheering section is nice. The signs are sweet. But every single step is taken by you alone. No one can motivate you to keep going the way you will need to motivate yourself. This goes for training too. Make peace with the person in your head; you'll spend a lot of time with them.
Remember that it is going to end. And at the end? You'll feel good. Sore, for sure, but good. And, yesterday? 24 hours post race? I felt AMAZING.
Hope that helps! As always, this is just my experience and what worked for me and my training. Likely everyone you talk to will have a different tale and your path will be unique as well. Good luck! And also, thank you so much for your encouragement these past few months and for the congrats yesterday. As mentioned above, this blog was a big part of why I was actually able to finish a half marathon.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Yesterday, I ran the San Diego Run Rock Roll half marathon (my rad friend veronica did too). I spent Friday and Saturday making myself sick with nerves but Sunday morning was pretty calm. We walked from my apartment to the start line at 5:30am and then took off around 7am.
I went through highs and lows throughout the whole 13.1 miles. Miles 1-5 were amazing… "I could do this forever" amazing. 6-7 were "ehhh". 8 (the first time I have ever hit eight miles) felt great. 9 was okay and then 10-13 were just rough. Unbelievably rough. I wasn't sure how I was going to keep running but I knew the only thing worse than continuing on was stopping.
I got a burst of energy from somewhere deep inside on mile 13 and sprinted that last tenth of a mile. That felt pretty fantastic. (And then I spent the next few minutes post race trying to get my bearings on what had just happened.)
But I never walked (though I stopped three times for about 30 seconds to stretch). And I did it solo. Veronica and I "trained" together via twitter and email and were in it together, but we ran at different paces so we ran alone. And we are both pretty excited about the whole thing. (She's excited enough to consider a full. I'm excited enough to try another half.)
My offical chip time was 2:15:19. Considering my goal was just to stay upright, I'm thrilled. And I ran FIVE MILES futher than I have ever ran before.
I'm going to put together a quick "tips and tricks" post on running in general and prepping for a half to post tomorrow.
Moving along with this album…
I reformatted my "hello june" graphic from Wednesday into a 4×6 image and printed it out on plain white paper.
I backed it with the orange patterned paper from the album (it was further back and I just pulled it up) and part of a photobooth strip taken at the Waterfront in May.
TIP : To get those letter stamps to somewhat line up properly, I stamped them first on scratch paper and cut them out to see how things would fit. The stamps are by an unknown manufacturer. I picked them up at Michael's last summer. The ink used is yellow StazOn
Into the little green envelope went Thursday's blog post about The Waterfont. (I took these photos before I decided to add the photobooth strip.)
I added a photo (cut to 3 x 4.75) to the back of the envelope.
And of course a video. If you want to hear more about using your envelope and my process, please watch. It's shorter! I'm working on being concise! Heads up : more than likely if you have a question about this minibook update or the others, your answer can be found in the videos. Sometimes it's easier for me to explain things by talking than typing. I recommend watching (or just listening while you check your email) to the videos if you're confused. If you still have questions post video, holler at me in the comments.
using envelopes in minibooks from elise blaha on Vimeo.
Still need a summer book? Get one here.
Want to see more of this album? Go here.
NEXT! Here's May. Still love this project.
I don't think I have ever shared a close up of the month intro text, so here you go (click to enlarge) :
I always keep this part very casual – sort of like a diary entry for the month. I mentioned this when I started the project, but this book is really mine. Not mine and Paul's, not our family's, mine. In January, I thought this album would be a one time thing – something to document my last year before we start trying to become parents and something to have for me while Paul was deployed. Now, almost halfway through, I really hope this becomes a yearly tradition that I keep even when do have a bigger family and our lives are more chaotic. I love this album so much. I'm already so glad to have these photos printed and my thoughts saved all together.
See January, February, March & April.
small sidenote : I added another pair of shoes and still have the hobo clutch available @ my spring cleaning sale.
This is the Waterfront. If you follow me on twitter and see a "happy hour." tweet around 5pm PST on a random day, now you know where I am.
We stumbled on to this self-proclaimed dive bar our first night in our new apartment. I think Yelp said it had good beer. And, for us, that's all it took. We've been faithful patrons for the past year and of all the things I'll miss about San Diego, this bar/restaurant is up at the top.
Seriously.
Reasons : The beer selection is great. And the happy hour prices are good (at least for downtown SD). The bartenders are friendly and the service is quick. There is free popcorn & appetizers during happy hour and Taco Tuesday (one fantastic taco for $2) is amazing. Plus, the atmosphere is super relaxed. We are usually there on pretty non-peak hours (except for Saturday College Football days) which is perfect for us. We wander in wearing flip-flops and t-shirts and feel at home. (We have been there during crazy nights too, and it's just as awesome.)
But probably most importantly is just how nice it is to walk down the street and be there. I've mentioned this a lot on the blog (or maybe I have just thought it a lot) but when we lived in Maryland we were in a pretty suburban area. We couldn't step out the front door and walk anywhere and that really limited our activities. Places like Waterfront have made San Diego feel walkable. I have to pinch myself every time I realize how close we are to cute little restaurants and shops. It feels ridiculously good to say, "hey babe, I forgot ___, can you walk over to the market and pick some up?" without getting laughed at.
We have talked and laughed and fought and joked and talked and debated and talked at Waterfront over the past year. With Paul's intern schedule we don't always have a lot of free time, but we have made good with what we do have. Getting out of the apartment once or twice a week and sitting across a table, eating free popcorn and drinking good beer before coming home to cook dinner has been a highlight of our first year of marriage.
And yes, this is the bar with the (now working) photobooth. Which really, is just the cherry on top.
June! You made it! Good to see you.
May was… a running month. I got 65 miles in. Which is short of my goal of 75 – but not by much. And I can't complain about sixty-five-freaking-miles. So I won't. The big test of whether or not it was all worth it is THIS SUNDAY when I try to stay upright for 13.1 miles. Failure is not an option. Get it done.
May was… a bit of a fail on the personal project front. But my living room is decorated, so that's a win. Business wise? Great month. I spent a lot of time on some custom invitations and introduced the summer books. Thank you for your purchases and sweet words about the videos so far. I'll keep making them.
June is… the last month that both Paul and I will be in San Diego. After this month he starts training, then deploys, then we move to Ventura! So while I will be here until February, this is it for us here together. To celebrate, I am going to be sharing more posts about our favorite San Diego spots. Look for those.
June is… more Bar Method. Much more Bar Method.
June is… the last month of the first half of the year. Which means I should be about halfway done with all of my year-long goals. Which means I should stop typing and just get to work.
GOALS : RELAX when Paul is home and PUT YOUR HEAD DOWN AND WORK while he's at the hospital.
I first ran this workshop in April 2011. It was a big adventure and overall very successful. I am excited to be offering it again this summer!
“Designing my own blog was an idea I’d flirted with in the past but html and coding had always intimidated me. When I heard about Elise’s class I knew it was time to take the leap and challenge myself to learn something new. Her class was well-organized and easy to understand but also gave me the feeling of having extremely valuable skills under my belt! She made herself available to everyone who needed further instruction or feedback on their blog designs which was just as valuable to me as the information in the class. Her use of video tutorials as well as written lessons worked really well with my learning style and helped me navigate a new blog hosting site without feeling lost. Overall the class exceeded my expectations and I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a little guidance in designing their own blog!” – Rachel Denbow of Smile & Wave.
“My boyfriend gave me Elise’s Blog Workshop class as a birthday gift. As a longtime blogger (and as someone with a degree in Web Design) I was a little unsure of whether or not I would actually learn anything. But by the end of the course, I was stunned by how much information and design tips Elise fit into a two weeks! During the course of this workshop, my blog went from blah and boring to something so great that I started getting immediate offers for sponsorships and advertisers! I’m also being headhunted by technology firms as a social media consultant – all thanks to the strength of my blog! Thanks, Elise!” – Cris Stone of Kiss My Tulle
“This was the class I’ve been waiting for. It saved me hours and hours of Googling and fiddling with trial and error. Elise taught us how to do things right the first time; and if she didn’t know, she would diligently seek out the answer to more complex questions we had. Elise saved me hours of frustration, which in my book is worth every dollar and more.” – the tiny twig
“My brother is a computer programmer who builds websites and writes computer software. He was astounded by what I was able to learn and put together in just a few short weeks. I went from knowing absolutely nothing about blogging (other than reading a lot of them) to setting up and customizing my own blog complete with coding! This workshop felt like having a patient friend guide you by the hand and tell you step-by-step just what to do. For what I got out of this workshop (one-on-one help, a Typepad discount, lessons in blogging AND coding AND design), I would have easily paid double. Very enjoyable and very much worth it!” – Linda of The Written Picture
Why only Typepad? Typepad is the platform I have used for five years and am most comfortable explaining and teaching.
Will you be teaching a similar class for other blogging platforms? No.
Why limited seats? I am offering a limited number of seats so I am able to give 1-on-1 attention when needed. I haven’t decided exactly how big this class will be, but I am guessing aroun 40 (which is the same size the first round ended up).
Do I have to visit the private blog everyday? No, you certainly do not have to read class updates everyday. HOWEVER, I did find that students who followed along daily seemed to “get it” with a bit less confusion. If you are unable to check the site daily during the instruction days (July 11-22) that’s okay! But I would recommend reading just one or two lectures a day when you do have time. This will help everything sink in and allow you to build on ideas from one lecture to another. Basically, if you take you time to work through the material as opposed to cramming it all in, it will make more sense and ease frustration.
Are you going to be releasing PDFs of this workshop? Not anytime in the near future. I hope to run this class in full a few more times if there is interest and I can’t figure out a good price for the PDF that is fair for me and fair for you. So for now, there is no PDF release date.
This is an interesting & challenging class to teach. I enjoyed the lesson development and am excited to help you make your blog more YOU. Please keep in mind that this class will involve a lot work on your part as well. This is detailed stuff and I am going to make it fun, but I can’t do it for you. Please email me (elise.blaha AT gmail.com) if you have any questions about what the class will cover or what my capabilities are. I don’t want you to sign up for something that isn’t what you are looking for or really need.
WORKSHOP IS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU!!
Hooray! More progress! I talk about this a bit at the beginning of the video, but I want to mention it again : I am putting no emphasis on “daily updates” to this album. Whatever says “SUMMER” (in all caps) gets in. And whatever doesn’t say “SUMMER” stays out. This is keeping the pressure off and this project fun. Keep in mind, there are a million ways to collect a season in a book, this one just works for me.
I ended up building the last couple pages shown above on video to walk you through the process. Spoiler alert : I made (and make) a few errors during production and show you how I work around them.
real time book update from elise blaha on Vimeo.
Hoping to do some fun stuff and get another video update together by the end of the week.
LINKS :
New to this project? Check out this page for alllll the summer book information you never knew you wanted.
And some things were just too nice and meaningful to just give away.
So I have a few (emphasis on a few) items listed here. All prices include US shipping. Please email me (elise.blaha AT gmail.com) if you are interested or have questions!
thanks so much. elise
enJOY it 