what sprints have taught me

My friend Leann is a runner.  Like a true runner.  A hard-core train for marathons kind of runner.  The kind that runs 10 miles on a Saturday "just for fun" even when she's not training for anything.  Me?  I like to run, but I'm what I like to call a lazy runner.  I enjoy it and like it, but on my own, I run 3-5 miles 2-3 times a week when the weather is nice.  Just enough to stay in decent running shape and be competitive should I happen to sign up for a 5k.

Leann is also my neighbor.  Like 6 houses away neighbor.  So we run together sometimes.  And naturally, when Leann decided to start training for a marathon, I started doing training runs with her (or I should say part of the long runs).  Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.  Those are run days.  And Tuesday was sprint day.  Sprints are an important part of training to build up strength and speed, but not necessarily something that a runner looks forward to, or is "fun and easy."

So every Monday night Leann would text me and ask if I'm up for sprints the next day, and even though I kind of dreaded sprint day and hoped it would end up raining so we could cancel, I would always say yes.  And each time Leann told me the sprints we had to run I would think "No, I can't do that!  That sounds terrible!"  And every time we got out there and ran sprints and it was hard, I asked myself "why did I say yes to this?!"  Then it was over and sprints were done and I felt great, and strong and so glad I did it.  And that's why I said yes week after week, even though it wasn't fun and it was hard.  I knew I could do it.  I knew I would be glad I did it and the challenge was good for me.  I could see myself getting stronger, the sprints getting easier.  Even though I wanted to say no, I'm so glad I said yes.

That's the benefit of saying yes to hard things.  In this case, sprints, but there are so many other lessons I learn from running that can be applied to life and doing hard things.  Lessons about endurance.  Mindset.  Pushing yourself harder than you think you can.  Doing something you think you can't do.  Getting out of your comfort zone.  Being stronger and more confident because of what you've accomplished and knowing you can do it again.

And now that our training is over and the marathon is ran, I kind of miss sprint day and long runs and know that I'll do it again, if I can, because I will crave the challenge and want to push myself again.  I did end up running the Monumental mini marathon, since I had been training, and was able to run it even faster than I thought I could.  A 1:31 - my best time ever and it was fun.  I felt great and that's because I put in the time to do the hard work, even when I didn't want to (and thankfully I had a friend to push me the whole time!).  So here's a reminder to myself: the next time I want to say no to something hard, do it anyway.  You'll be glad you did.

summer break

Summer break.  Oh summer break.  You had so much potential.  So many opportunities to be fun.  And now you're almost over and I'm not sure what happened.  I wasn't ready for you; I didn't know how much I needed a good plan.

Creighton was supposed to learn to write his name and tie his shoes.
We were supposed to go to the park and library and children's museum and do fun lunch dates.
We were supposed to get into a good summer routine with chores and allowance.
We were going to bake cookies and play in the kitchen.
Beckham was going to get better at basketball and being active everyday.
I was going to have nice morning devotions with the boys and memorize bible verses.
Beckham was going to regularly read to himself.
We were going to eat healthy snacks.

BUT...
We did do Boston and Wisconsin and grandma's house.  Golf lessons and VBS.
Creigh did get a little better at writing his name.
The boys got better at emptying the dishwasher and folding the towels.
We hit up the neighborhood pool and had water balloon fights.
We went to the library a couple times and once to the zoo.
Creighton learned to ride his bike.
We ate popsicles and ice-cream cones from McDonalds.
I read to the boys.
We sometimes did a morning devotion, but had lots of teaching moments to discuss.
There were summer evenings of walks and bike rides and golfing in the yard.

Summer, I wasn't ready for you; you took me by surprise.  You started with me being gone in Hawaii and coming home to house full of boys.  B & C's bickering, stubbornness, and competitive spirits; where did these come from?  It wasn't like this before.  The lack of school schedule, the wide-open and boring days, the complaining about doing a chore.  The asking for snacks, and shows, and friends to come over and play.  Why oh why is it so hard to just have a nice, normal day?  Summer, I wasn't ready for you, and granted, there were moments of fun.  But next year, oh next year, when school gets out, I'm going to be ready with a schedule and goals and activities to do in the sun.

So bring on the lunch boxes, homework and early morning routine.  School schedule is sounding quite nice.  Quiet days with just Ollie will suit me quite well; farewell to you, summer break.

milk supply

One of my goals with Oliver was to work harder at breast feeding and keeping up my milk supply.  I had ok supply with Beckham (nursed until 7 mo but had to supplement some formula and no frozen milk saved up), but things didn't go so well with Creighton.  I resorted to only pumping/bottles with Creighton around two months because I was frustrated with how breastfeeding was going... it seemed like I didn't have enough milk to satisfy him.  Once I started doing that, what little supply I had kind of dwindled off and by four months I had pretty much no milk left.

So this time around I was much more intentional about my milk and I nursed Ollie through 9 months, not because of supply, but just because I was ready to be done and had enough frozen milk to last at least another couple months (which was a big deal for me!).

I know there are many sources for increasing your milk supply on the internet, just thought I would add my input too :)  here's what I did this time around:

+ taking a lactation supplement.  this one from Honest is the one I used and liked it.  I think it was the biggest key to keeping up my supply.
+ drinking lots of water/fluids.  this is a no-brainer, but it really is something you have to consciously think about.  It can get annoying, but I took water with me wherever I went and always had a water bottle with me at home (yes, I had to pee like every hour!).  If I ever actually felt thirsty, I would chug a bunch of water.
+ keeping up my calories.  even if I didn't feel that hungry, I usually ate a small snack in the morning and afternoon.  I also tried to eat plenty of good fats - avocado, nut butters, avocado mayo, coconut milk.
+ not going crazy with exercise.  I don't remember how quickly I started working out after Creighton or what I did, but I'm sure it was more intense than what I did with Ollie.  I started with running about once/week and added a couple other light workouts during the week, but the more I work out, the more I have to work on drinking extra water and it seems to negatively affect my supply.
+ when Ollie ate once at night, he would feed on one side and I would pump the other side... and for a couple months after he slept through the night, I would get up around 3-4a and pump
+ eating lactation bites and overnight oats (and adding flax + brewers yeast to baked goods and homemade pizza crust).  I made this recipe of lactation bites and sometimes added chia or coconut.  They have a slightly bitter taste from the brewer's yeast, but the honey and nut butter hide the brewer's yeast really well.  I like NOW brand of brewer's yeast, which is debittered, so that probably helps.  this is the overnight oat recipe I liked:

1/2 c. oats
1/2 c. coconut or almond milk
1/2 c. frozen berries
1 T. chia seeds
drizzle of maple syrup (or a tsp of lemon curd, which was really yummy)
sprinkle of cinnamon
splash of vanilla (if I felt like it)
put all ingredients in a jar or bowl and refrigerate overnight.  I usually added a little extra milk in the morning to thin out.  these are good for several days in the fridge if you want to make 2 or 3 at a time.

Nursing can be stressful, especially if you are feeling low on milk supply, so I hope this is helpful info!  what have you done to help with your milk supply?