My Christmas Slash Birthday List

Everyone who has a blog is doing a list of things that every runner needs. So that's been done. But no one is doing a list of things that *I* want, so here's my list to Santa slash Birthday fairies.

VS Pajamas. I got these in polka dot last year, and I basically live in them.  All day e'ery day. They're flannel! It's cold here! I'm sure Kyle would like to burn them so I have to wear something less dumpy.

Pug Sweater. Thanks to Jaseface and ASOS I now need this ridiculously overpriced sweater. I can totally see me in this, Kyle in his green and blue flannel and Ollie in her reindeer headband for our holiday pictures. WHY ARE YOU SO EXPENSIVE?!!? YOU'RE RUINING MY DREAMS!

A New Garmin. I almost pulled the trigger on this when my Garmin was on the fritz pre-Madison Marathon. This one is just so pretty! I'll likely wait until I start marathon training again this summer, since it seems to be fine on runs that are less than 3 hours.

The entire J. Crew catalog. Seriously. I just flipped through that and mentally tallied a gazillion dollars worth of stuff I want. Too bad I can only afford the J. Crew factory stuff, and only when THAT'S on sale.

Punchcard for Santosha Yoga. I used my birthday money on a ten punch card last year. I can't go when it's warm out so it lasted the year! I'm also on the hunt for a good hot yoga towel to use. I may have found a green one (obvs) on sale!

Boots. Kyle wants me to ice fish with him (has for the past few years) but says I need super warm boots. He must know that he won't be able to sit on my feet while we're on the ice. I would also like my feet to not freeze off while waiting ever so patiently for the pug to find the *perfect* pee and poo spot outside in 30 below. Can't wait for that. Something similar to these, but that Kyle has in stock at work so he can use his discount on them.

Kate Spade's entire Owl and library inspired collection. It's almost like they're designing with me specifically in mind.

**I'm not affiliated with any of these companies and don't get any money if you purchase these items, even if you do so by clicking the links.**

Four Eyes + Broken Heart

If you follow football at all, you know that my heart has a major sad.  Green Bay lost last night, and... I'm still tore up about it.  And likely will be until August when pre-season rolls around.  On the bright side, I will have an extra 3 1/2 hours of my life per week to study with.  Nope that doesn't help.

Moving on.

Because I was in a state of mourning today (and last night, and likely the rest of the week, month, again until August) I did some retail therapy to soothe my wounds.  I've been saying I'm going to get a new pair of eyeglasses for the last 3 years or so.  I don't have vision insurance at work, so I've been saving my pennies (dollars in my Health Savings Account), but every time I get a nice little stash of money saved up in there I have some sort of medical bill that eats it up.  Annoying.  Finally after checking my balance last week, coupled with a Groupon I bought that was $50 for $200 worth of lens+frames I could do it!

My current specs are from 2002 (the last pair my mother was willing to buy me when I was in high school, which is understandable) and they are more than a little beat up.  The last couple of months I haven't been able to wear them at all because my eyes are so messed up.  I thought I had an eye infection of sorts, but turns out my blind eyes are just blinder (or to be fair, my blind eye...ol' lefty... is even blinder).  You know those people that brag about being legally blind?  Well that's what my vision was BEFORE this eye change.  I'm so awesome.

Anywhosits, armed with 17 different forms of payment and coupon options I hit the store today.  Naturally this was after spending the entire morning scouring their online eyeglass selection and sending the links of the ones I liked to Kimi for her review.  Speaking of, have you met Kimi?  Because if you haven't, she's my twin.  I'd planned to get glasses similar to hers because she looks gorg in them, and obviously then I would too.  All plans were set in to motion until I arrived in the store and was met head on by their new Kate Spade section.

My bank account started to cry.

Trying on glasses is my favorite thing.  They're so fun.  And cute!  And now that I'm beyond the anxiety ridden four eyes complex of my youth I actually like them.  Before I knew it I had 12 different glasses that I liked and had to begin the narrowing process.  For a few seconds, I considered taking part in their buy one get one promo... in ADDITION to my groupon'd pair.  And then I quickly remembered that I'm not made of money.

When I asked for a quote on my lenses I almost died of a heart attack.  Remember me mentioning that I'm blind?  Well I have to get reduced lenses so they fit in frames, which isn't cheap.  Like... at all.  But then I reminded myself

And it was all good.  One hour later and my new glasses were ready to go.  Pretty happy I decided against a Kate Spade birthday bag.  I much prefer the four eyes instead.

And in running news, I knocked out week 1 of marathon training.  Only 17 more to go.  I had the worst long run of my life on Saturday.  Apparently eating a mountain worth of goat cheese the night before *cough when you're lactose intolerant cough* is a bad idea, who knew?  It wasn't pretty to say the least.

Speedy Two a Day + Weekly Wishlist

This week has been a struggle for me.  I just staretd my taper, but my mileage isn't really cut all that much, which I'm ok with since training has lasted approximately 6 seconds.  Unfortunately, almost all of my miles come this weekend, so I FEEL like I'm tapering like crazy.  Three miles on Monday, tempo run turned 4 mile pause to dry heave on the side of the bike trail.  And when I don't run I don't sleep.  GAH.

Finally Thursday night I set out to make up some of my missed miles from being sicky.  Since 6 of the missed miles were supposed to be at tempo, I decided to do a fast 3 for run #1.  Ok, technically I was going to do a one mile warm up and then 2 miles fast.  But I failed at a warm up mile.
8:19
7:41
7:43

Someone remind me of this workout when I'm whining about mile repeats at a slighter faster speed but with JOG BREAKS IN BETWEEN THEM.  Geez Louise, I'm a wussy sometimes.

I sat through class, letting my muscles get all sorts of cold and tight, and then when we were dismissed I hit the streets for another 3 miles.  It got me thinking.  What if you could go run every time you had a few minutes to spare.  How many miles could you get in during the day?  (assuming you could sit in your own sweat/stench throughout the day, obvs.)  I bet a lot.  I'm not going to try, that's for sure.

I did another 3 miles in 27:39 for a pace of 9:12.  A bit faster than my normal easy pace, but my legs were lovin' it.

This weekend I have a poop ton of miles to run, and then the taper really gets going next week.  Rumor has it, Jenn, Megan, and my Philly marathon race day shirts are in, and spoiler alert:  you won't be able to miss us on the course.  YAYZIES!

Buy it here.
I think beanies are just a little bit useless around these parts.  I mean, if I'm wearing something on my head, it will be covering my ears, my ginormo forehead, and 3/4 of my face, because sweet Jesus it's cold.  But if I lived somewhere it was "pretend" cold, I'd totally rock this.

Buy it here.
I sure hope someone was able to take advantage of the Kate Spade sale yesterday.  Because I sure didn't.  Love this yellow bag.  Pretty safe to assume that if I can stash away enough $$$ that a yellow Kate handbag will be mine this spring.

Buy it here.

If this delightly little 'arry Pottah mug showed up in my Christmas stocking (yes I have a Christmas stocking, quit judging my Holiday CHEER AND WONDERMENT!) I wouldn't be upset.

Weekly Wishlist + Scarves for PRs

Last night I knocked out some mile repeats for the first time in a long time.  I seriously can't remember the last time I did mile repeats, and I'm too lazy to check my running log for proof.  So just go with it.  I usually loathe mile repeats aka the devil's workout, which probably means that they're the best training run for me, because they suckkkkkkkkkkkk.

Anywho.  I had 3x1600m repeats at 7:41 pace and I was a little concerned as to how my legs would hold up.  I did a "test run"  (bahahahah punny) with the slower tempo run, but had yet to run FAST (for me) since the half.  I was pretty surprised/impressed! 

7:34
7:35
7:36

I did a mile warm up and half mile jogs in between the repeats, and a mile cool down.  It's always nice to "run" your workout instead of having it run you, ya know?  And I was so stoked about how well the run went and was bragging to KK about it, the enthusiasm must've wore off, because I think he agreed to accompany me on part of my run tonight.  Finger's crossed he wasn't just talking in his sleep.  :/  (likely, sadly).

And now on to the fun stuff.  The weekly wishlist:

I need this like I need to breathe.

Often?  Heavily?  I don't even know what that means, but yeah.

Buy it here.

I'm mildly (grave understatement) obsessed with Yoda. This is awesome.

Buy it here.

These are just too cute.  I love them stacked like this too.

Buy it here.

Buy it here.

This is a kid's scarf, but I don't imagine my neck is much bigger than it was at 14, so I think that's ok, right?  Polka dot love.

Buy it here.

This matches my bedroom.... I want it in a print.  So pretty.

Clearly I'm on a scarf kick.

Speaking of scarves, if you're new around these parts, I crochet super soft infinity scarves to help fund my running/racing addiction.  I started last fall, and it was a great way to supplement some crazy race fees and travel costs.  Plus I think the scarves are super pretty, and can't justify making myself one in every color, so this is the enxt best thing.  I don't have nearly as much time to devote to crocheting as I did last fall, but wanted to let you know that I am taking some orders, and it would be best to get your order in early as it's first come first served.

The scarves are $30, and the shipping and handling in the U.S. is $3.  There are a ton of colors to choose from, and each scarf is custom crocheted.  I'm also working on a super pretty cowl, so stay tuned for that unveiling.  Take a look here for some completed scarves and color options.  If you're interested, leave a note in the comments with an email to reach you a, or shoot me at email at jerbearshares [at] gmail [dot] com

10k Race Photos + Weekly Wishlist: Kate Spade Sample Sale Edition

After pouring through the 400 race photos that were posted from the Breast Cancer 10k, I was beyond bummed to not see one bright yellow sleeve in the bunch.  Imagine my surprise this morning when I get an email from Megan with race day photos attached!  In my bundle of raceday nerves, I forgot that we had even taken a pre-race photo, and her hubby ended up snatching some photos of me at the start and the finish.  YAYZIES!

Megan and I are Fargo road trip buddies this weekend. I love that she rocks a giant cheshire cat style smile as well! :)

At the start. One of my new favorite running pics. Go Meg's Hubby!

And nearing the finish line. It was weird as the 10k ended up catching up to the tail end 5k-ers. Weaving on tired legs is no fun at all.

Weekly Wishlist:  Kate Spade Sample Sale Edition

Kate Spade is currently having their sample sale, and everything is up to 75% off (ends tomorrow, 5/19!).  Sadly, my pocketbook said "no no no" Amy Winehouse singing-style, not Amy Winehouse to booze and drugs style, but that didn't stop me from some lusting.

I'm a sucker for stripes. I think they used to have it in navy and white which was super cute too. Buy it here.

I never do the wristlet style; if a book doesn't fit in my purse, it's not for me.  But this is super cute, and yellow is my new neutral. Buy it here.

So I may have succombed to the designer handbag cult in moderation, but I've yet to leap over to the darkside with matching wallet.  It's just hard to plop down the money that is in excess to most of the bags I own (I really only have one Coach bag, and one Kate bag.  And sold a Kate bag I didn't love to pay for the Coach bag that I *do* love.)  But I like the idea of non-matching.  Like black or white handbag and crazy bright wallet.

Buy it here.

Buy it here.

The color of this is the most beautiful thing ever.  However, I think the bag might be a little too "structured" for my style.  Still super duper pretty though.
Buy it here.

More yellow perfection. Buy it here.

Jeri, sucker, stripes. You get it by now, I'm sure.  Love that the lining is GREEN.
Buy it here.

Ok, so everyone go shop to your little heart's content and then let me know what you got so I can be a ridiculous girly girl and EEEEEEEEEEEEEE along with you. :)

Introducing: Madeline aka My Precious

A few months back I had pondered an e-reader purchase to keep me from blowing out my brains on the many many many treadmill runs I would encounter this winter.  A couple of you lovely faces mentioned that I should steer towards a Nook as they have the capabilities of downloading/checking out books from libraries.  Uh...sold!  I'd been holding off thus far (primarily because I get paid once a month so by the end of the month I'm surviving off of air), but when groupon had a Barnes and Noble deal I jumped right on it!  I spent all day on Friday freaking out at work over my new purchase.  Then I read the fine print and realized I couldn't use it until Friday night at midnight:  disappointment #1.

Last Saturday morning I jumped out of bed at 9:15 to head to my local Barnes and Noble to purchase my new nooky poo.  Armed with groupon + birthday present gift card (Thanks LC!) I was ready to go.  I brought it home, ready to download the 3rd book in the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood series, only to realize it was checked out:  disappointment #2.  From there I set about finding any book that I could read, and settled on Wicked.  After spending an hour or so trying to download the proper stuff for my computer and Nook, I was ready to throw both the Nook and my MacBook against the wall.  Seriously, I'm pretty technologically savvy but I was feeling dummmmmmmmb:  disappointment #3.

After 2 1/2 hours messing around, I finally hit the gym (so of course what little I had for breakfast was gone out of my stomach causing me to be starving and have a sucky mcsucksuck run, cutting it short 7 miles).  Luckily the Nook comes with a few free books downloaded to it, but unfortunately Little Women was not the sort of "mindless reading" I was looking forward to while logging a long run.

I didn't have another chance to mess around with the Nook until Sunday afternoon pre-Superbowl.  At which point I stated, "I am SERIOUSLY going to cry slash throw a tantrum" at least 12-18 times.  Another hour and a half passed with no success.

Monday morning I didn't have to be to work until 11am (yes I planned to go in late the day after the Superbowl because I'm smart like that....) so I decided to mess around with it again.  Because... you know... I hadn't lost my mind enough about it.  I finally found in a forum that while there are definitely issues getting the Nook authorized with this specific program, there appear to be even more issues with Macs.  Ah HA!  So I'm not a dumby dumby head.

Monday night after work i decided to give it one more go around and restored my Nook to it's original factory settings and tried again to get it to work (with bated breath and crossed fingers)..... by God it WORKED.  It's ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!  Total time spent:  6 1/2 hours.  For the record, I could've easily finished a book and a half in that time frame.

(P.S.  check out my sweet GOLD nail polish that I tracked down for the Superbowl.  GO PACK GO!)


I have decided on the name Madeline for her, after one of my favorite children's book characters, and am currently scouring the web for a super sweet sticker/cling that I can add to her backside.





Also, I received an email from Barnes and Noble on Friday advertising half off on their Kate Spade Nook covers.  I had originally wanted the pink one, but wasn't a huge fan of the orange on the inside, plus I didn't want to match Jenn.  :p  Jk, that wouldn't bother me at all.  But I loved this black and read one.  So chic.

I was hanging out with KK the other night (meaning he was playing Tiger Woods with his roomies...uh joy....) so I pulled out The Help from my purse in hardcover form (checked out from the library natch).  He just rolled his eyes at me for not using my new Nook that I spent all the monies on.  Traditionalist up in here.... don't hate. ;)

Edited to add:  Ok, since I original wrote this post I read and completed my first book via nook, Club Dead.  But in my defense, while being on my deathbed, I wasn't able to go to the library to renew my book stash.  And I kind of loved it.  So there.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of my lovely lovey loverfaces out there.  I love you all and hope you have a super sweet day. :D