How To Become A Morning Person

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Coco

Sometime between my college days and today, I became a morning person. I used to be like my daughter, hanging around the house until it was time to go out with friends at 10 or 11 p.m. I used to sleep until noon on the weekends and not think I was being particularly lazy. But that’s not my life anymore. So, how did I become a morning person?

The birth of my daughter brought the first major change in my sleep schedule. No matter how late we stayed up, she always was up early the next morning. A 6:00 am wake-up call from the baby-monitor was a blessing. If it got to be 7:00 am, I’d bolt out of bed in a panic, and rush into her room to make sure she was still breathing. Back then, though, I never chose to be a morning person.

I started getting up earlier than my kids and/or work schedule required about 10 years ago, when I made exercise a part of my daily routine. I preferred to keep my evenings free for family time, and knew that my workout was much more likely to happen if I did it first thing, before anything else could interfere. At first I set my alarm reluctantly, but eventually I started to look forward to my early morning “me” time.

Still, there are times when I would like to laze in bed, especially when my husband is in a snuggly mood. There is something decadent about relaxing in bed and getting up at a leisurely pace.Daydreaming about my ideal morning made me realize that I would enjoy a “Groundhog Day” of just mornings.

  • On one morning, I could get up early and go out for a glorious sunrise run.
  • On another morning, I could stay in bed until the sun made it too bright to doze any longer.
  • On another morning, I could go for a walk with my husband, come back for coffee, and then go out for brunch with friends.
  • On another morning, I could sit on my patio in my PJs, sipping coffee and listening to the songbirds.

I think I am longing for these mornings because my morning routine is about to be interrupted. Between my son’s weekend lacrosse tournaments and a few business trips, I am not going to have much say in how I spend my mornings for a while, and I’m missing “my” time already.

Are you a morning person?

What is your favorite way to spend a morning?

Posted in Fitness, Life | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

ZippEarz Headphones (Product Review & Giveaway)

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Coco

When I lost my iPod nano after the GW Parkway Classic, I also lost my favorite set of headphones. Luckily, ZippEarz was promoting its ear buds on Twitter, and offered to send me a set.

I checked out their website, and their product looked pretty cool. They highlight these features:

High end  10mm speakers
Ergonomic design for ear comfort
Zippearz “zip up” wire for less tangling
Patent Pending adjustable ear loop for high activity listening

I was excited to get my set to try out.

It came with a storage pouch, instructions for using the detachable ear loops, and different sized  “ear cones” to customize the fit.

I didn’t want to wait for a run to try them out, so I selected one of the smaller sized ear cones and plugged it into my (old) iPod Nano. I immediately noticed a difference in sound quality. The sound was much richer than usual–very nice.

When I took them on a test run, it was a humid morning, so I put their stay-put-ability to the test. Other earbuds often fall out, but these stayed put. And, even though they fit snugly, I was still able to hear ambient sounds–very important when running outside!

A few days later I tried them on a treadmill run. I tried to use the ear loops, but didn’t really like them.  I wear glasses, and it was just too much going on around my ears! Since the ear buds stay in place on their own, I don’t need them anyway.

I’ve been using the ZippEarz ear buds ever since I got them, and really have no complaints. The sound quality remains high through my sweaty runs, and they don’t fall out! They were the only piece of gear that I didn’t have to fumble with during the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon.

I haven’t seen them in stores, but you can order from their website ($24.95), or you might get lucky and win this ***GIVEAWAY***

This giveaway has ended!

That’s right, the generous people at ZippEarz have offered to give one set of ZippEars to one lucky person resident in the continental United States (with a non-P.O. box address) whom I shall select at random from the entries* received by midnight eastern time on Friday, July 1, 2011. This giveaway is void where prohibited and if not redeemed by Friday, July 8, 2011.

Entry is simple:

  • Leave a comment on this post telling me a song that always puts you in a good mood.
  • Follow ZippEarz on Facebook and leave a comment here that you did. 
  • Follow @ZippEarZ on Twiter and Tweet about this giveaway:
    Check out the @ZippEarz giveaway by @Got2Run4Me at http://wp.me/p131gw-tY 
    and leave a comment here that you did.

*one comment = one entry, maximum three entries per person.

Now, I just need a new iPod Nano . . . .

**FTC Notice: ZippEarz sent me the product that I reviewed with no obligation to tweet, blog or make a YouTube video about the product. The review provided here is my honest opinion of the product. Since I liked the product so much, I reached out to ZippEarz about a giveaway.

Posted in Fitness, Product Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | 49 Comments

Lending a Hand To The Body Of Christ

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Coco

This week in church we celebrated Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon the disciples like a mighty wind with tongues of fire, filling the disciples and preparing them for their mission in the world.

(source)

Pentecost also is celebrated as the church’s birthday, when the work of the Gospel moved from Jesus to his disciples out into the rest of the world.

A few months ago I wrote about “Being Immanuel,” and I want to revisit this concept again, focusing on what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ.

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
~ 1 Corinthians 12:27

I had heard this passage many times, but it took on new meaning for me when I couldn’t be where I wanted to be.

A friend was competing in her first figure competition, and I was disappointed that I couldn’t be there to cheer her on. A mutual friend was going to be there, and I had to rely on her to pass on my support. When I was texting, “Give T a hug for me!” it struck me how I was counting on her to really be “me” for my friend.

And then it hit me. That’s what it means to be the body of Christ. God counts on us to do His work in the world, to be the hands that help, the ears that listen, the shoulders that share burdens.

 

We can act as the body of Christ by loving our neighbor and helping those who can’t help themselves. Although Jesus commissioned his disciples to walk in His footsteps and forgive sins, it doesn’t take miraculous powers to spread God’s love–a friendly smile, a simple act of kindness, or a few encouraging words can make God real for others, just like my friend could make my support real when I couldn’t be there.

Posted in My Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Tuesday Tunes: Annotated Lawyers Have Heart Playlist

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Coco

I really liked the playlist I made for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon. and timing new songs to tough parts of the course really helped me push through. Since the Lawyers Have Heart 10K is always seems harder than it should be, I decided to make a new playlist to get me out and back accross the Whitehurst Freeway. I started with my Zooma playlist, kept most of the new songs, and added enough others to have an hour-long playlist. This is what I came up with:

My (Annotated) Lawyers Have Heart Playlist

Lininig up at the start, getting through the crowd
Can’t Run But–Paul Simon 

First mile accross Whitehurst Freeway
Good Thing–Fine Young Cannnibals
Best Friend–The Beat/The English Beat
Girlfriend–Avril Lavigne 

Sunny stretch past Georgetown University
Too Bad About Your Girl–The Donnas
I Can Do Better–Avril Lavigne 
E.T.–Katy Perry 

Partial shade to the turn-around
Pain–Three Days Grace 
Feel Good Inc–Gorillaz 
Rain–Mika 

Turn-around after mile 3
Brown Eyed Girl–Boyz Nite Out 
I Ran (So Far Away)–Bowling For Soup 
Gone Daddy Gone/I Just Want To Make Love To You–Gnarls Barkley 

Back in the sun to the freeway
Higher–Taio Cruz 
Boom Boom Pow–Black Eyed Peas

Last mile accross Whitehurst freeway 
Price Tag–Jessie J 
Runaway Baby–Bruno Mars 
Walking On Sunshine–Aly & AJ 
Move Ya Baby–Various Artists Funky Step

It would have been great–if the course had been a 10K! Because of the heat and humidity, they cut it down to a 5K! “Pain” wasn’t the best song for the second pass across the Freeway, but it amused me. “Feel Good Inc.” was a good song for the push to the end.

I have a (planned!) 5K on June 24–maybe I will make one more playlist, although this 5K is so informal (part of a conference) I don’t even know if there is a course map.

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Shifting Gears For Summer

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Coco

My work is pretty much non-stop year round. Sometimes it lightens up in August and late December when many of my clients go on vacation, but often they cross off their to-do lists by sending the work my way. Still, I manage to switch gears in the summer in at least a few small ways.

  • With my son out of school, I am no longer tied to his morning schedule. Although he has been driving himself to school, I like to be around to see him in the morning, even if he doesn’t really appreciate my cheerful greetings. Now that he is sleeping in, I am free to leave the house as early as I want to, although I haven’t really taken advantage of that yet.
  • Since my son is out of school, he no longer has sports practice until 7:00 pm (or later). His school sports schedule fits pretty well with my work schedule, because I can leave the office at 6:30 (after the worst of traffic is over), be home before 7:00, and have dinner on the table by the time he’s showered. Now that he’s home, he likes to eat dinner earlier.

Ideally, I would put these two changes together and get in to work early and leave early, but it’s never that simple. I often need the last hour of my day to tie up loose ends, and traffic is so much worse before 6:30. Unless I can leave by 5:00 the added frustration is barely worth it.

  • Summer weekends mean lacrosse tournaments. This is my son’s big year for college recruiting, so he is doing tournaments (which are basically showcases for college recruiters) almost every weekend. Literally. I think we have one weekend “off” in late July, but there is still one more tournament team he is trying out for . . . .
  • Summer lacrosse tournaments means lots of down time (between games) away from home. That means less Facebook/Twitter/blogging time and more reading time. I’m probably going to go through withdrawal, but my iPhone battery just doesn’t last through a full day of Tweetdeck use. Plus, I have all those new running books to read.
  • I hate running in hot weather, so I usually run less in the summer and/or do shorter runs on the treadmill. With my son’s lacrosse schedule, I think I will switch my routine from running Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday to running Monday/Wednesday/Friday. That pretty much means giving up my long runs, but my body needs a bit of a break anyway.

How does your schedule change in the summer?

Do you spend more time outside, or do you try to beat the heat in the air-conditioning?

Posted in Fitness, Life, Work | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments