#stephaniebecomesstrong

[katehikerun]

stephaniebecomesstrong replied to your photoset “Today was crazy. Won $1000 at the 420 Games in SFO…the course was...”

The what?! I hope you do a post on what the 420 games were :)

You got it!

So I heard about The 420 Games through another cannabis/health blog I follow. They had an article about the Power Plant Gym in SF where cannabis is incorporated into the workouts and the 420 Games was mentioned. They had a 4.20 mile fun run, some kind of agility test, and yoga beforehand.  

You still had to register for the run, but it included a medal, shirt, concert, beer tent, and lots of vendors. Later on I got an email about the event that said there’d be PRIZE MONIES for first place male and female and other prizes for second and third. That got me really excited because if most people were going into it as a fun run or not being competitive...my good four mile time is fast enough to get me an age group award a lot of times. So I was in it to win it, especially after scoping it out getting my shirt and bib in the morning!

The whole event was about breaking the stereotype of the lazy couchlock stoner and how you can be responsible and use it for athletic endeavors. It was not a smoke in, although by the smell, some people did it in the park! 

Due to *laws* there wasn’t anything with THC for sale, but I did get some samples of CBD spray and a drink infuser. CBD is one of the beneficial chemicals in cannabis that has numerous benefits and can help with seizures, nausea, pain, anxiety and is not psychoactive whatsoever.  

I did a little bit of networking and talked to the folks at Cannathlete, CBD Luxe, and Eaze UP as well as this other tent that I can’t remember, but they had my vaporizer I have and gave me helpful tips on using it. EazeMD was there doing medical recommendations over people’s phones. :D

When they called up the winners it was cool standing next to *sponsored* ultra runner Avery Collins! I’ve never won a big check before, let alone TWO ($500 and $500 worth of EazeUp credits!!) so I wasn’t sure how to hold them!

I didn’t hang around for the concert or go into the beer garden (don’t drink beer) so I couldn’t tell you how those went, but overall the experience was cool. Everyone was super chill. The organization could definitely do a better on social media and on race day. Their twitter wasn’t updated regularly and the lines for bib pick up and t-shirts were a little disorganized!

[karladoesmotherhood]

Life and times

I was a sensitive kid.

I was shy and quiet and often observed.  Especially girls. I’m not sure why. Perhaps all that watching taught me that dudes are straightforward, and it’s women-folks that are the complicated ones. And so manipulative, especially in middle and high school.

During those formative years, I realized I wasn’t the most anything. I wasn’t the tallest, even though I was a tall girl (5′10.5″). I wasn’t the funniest or prettiest or smartest or best at my instrument (flute.) I didn’t have a “best” to hang my hat on. So I found other things. I was a bit, uh, melodramatic. I was sensitive. I was a good listener and could ask leading questions even when I was in my early teens. I watched and understood how people communicated. And then in high school I got funny. It was mean funny, but it worked as both a way to make friends and to defend myself from all the insecurities the teen years would throw at me. 

In college I got less mean. Slowly. I learned to value people’s feelings more. But I wasn’t one of these cute co-eds you see when you go to college campuses. I actually just went with my husband and Steph and her husband, Nick, to Central Washington University, my alma mater. And I was struck with how different I am now, as 35 year old Karla, than I was as 19-22 year old Karla. College Karla was awkward and roly-poly and not attractive yet. That Karla was so much more insecure, today’s Karla was thinking “this would be a great place to run through!”

Anyway, I digress. All this to say, my natural dispositions and life experiences have made me a good reader of people. I know how to understand dynamics between others and myself, I can discern emotions easily, I can sense how people are responding to others. It sounds super egotistical, but I’m really quite adept.

Consequently, I know how to work a room. So it always strikes me as bizarre when someone just can’t stand me. Especially shortly after I’ve met them. I simply rub them the wrong way for whatever reason. Because when I’m on my best behavior, and my humor is killing, I’m awfully easy to like. (Once again, I know how this sounds. Sorry not sorry.) 

Yet. I’m an adult. Well, everyone in that room is an adult. And it’s a well-established fact that simply because your age is that of an adult, you don’t have to act like one. At any rate, if someone dislikes me strongly, then fine. It honestly probably has more to do with their insecurities than anything else: they feel threatened by me. I couldn’t begin to guess why, but I also don’t know this person at all. 

In years past it would’ve have bothered me more, this near-stranger disliking me for no apparent reason. And I’d be lying if I said I was fine with it now. But as a fully functioning, self-admitting adult, it’s also NOT MY PROBLEM. I don’t know why this gal dislikes me, and it really doesn’t matter. Yes, it’s weird. She knows virtually nothing about me. If she did, then at least I would understand she had legitimate issues with, you know, whatever. But no, we’re acquaintances at best. It’s weird. And now that I’ve gotten it out, I don’t have to care any longer. Behold, the purging power of a blog.

[karladoesmotherhood]

Today I...

Ran a brisk five miles Ate a delicious donut called "Sex in the City" (chocolate donut, caramel glaze, salted, yes) Managed to be a graceful hostess to two waves of my five year old daughters birthday party Didn't eat my stress Saw my Stephanie Am going to bed at 6:30pm.

[karladoesmotherhood]

Pi(e) Day 5k and other random updates

-Did the Pi Day 5k in Seattle with Stephanie and my fake sister Sarah. Ate pie. Running the rain isn’t the most fun you can have. But running with friends makes it better. And I got totally covered on my calf by mud from someone splashing me as they sped by. Legit points x1,000.

-Then we went to the Green Bean coffee shop and I ran into Sarah! It was weird because I saw her kids first and was like “Uhhhhh, why do I know these kids?” Then it clicked, (THE INTERNETS, THE TUMBLS!)  and even though I am Captain Introvert I had to introduce myself. I mean, what were the odds that I’d run into another Tumblr friend in real life accidentally? She and her hubs were kind and not weirded out by me at all, and her kids are just as cute in person. Possibly more.

-Then I went to my husband’s drumline event. I love what he does, and I’m so proud of him, but after two hours of drumming, that $hit all sounds the same to me. The kids and I peaced-out early.

-Ran 3 today before the 5k. Easy cut-back week for marathon training. 6 total for today. Next week is 10. 

-I joined Weight Watchers again. I’ve had a great deal of success with them in the past, and I just needed support again. I feel confident I’m going to be a big fat loser very soon. It’s helpful that Steph is doing WW, and I’m trying to get my fake mom to go with me too. 

-My fake dad needed me to take him into Urgent Care on Thursday. As it worked out, I didn’t have the kids so I wasn’t super stressed, and he has something called a “frozen shoulder” (yes, that’s a thing) and he’ll be okay. Three hours together waiting for “urgent” care was bonding, and I’m glad I was there to take care of him.

[karladoesmotherhood]

The end of an era

In August of 2005, I got married, started Weight Watchers with new co-workers, and enrolled in my husband's mom-n-pop gym. 

Today, nine years later, I severed that membership.

It was time. We moved from that small town to another one just 15 minutes away, but a 30 minute round trip in the morning was too much, and I haven't used my membership in several months, preferring to work out around the neighborhood. I knew it was time to stop sending my $20 dues into the ether and get them back into our budget.

It was more emotional than I thought it would be. At that gym I trained in part for my first 5k, then half marathon, and eventually full marathon. I lost weight, gained it back, lost it again, and gained it back. I learned to lift using their free-weights and "New Rules of Lifting for Women" that Steph was doing simultaneously. I made friends with the three middle aged dudes that were always in the weights section at 5am in the morning with me. I learned the names of Carl, Dave, and Tyler. They were astonished over seeing my pregnant self at 42 weeks still exercising. The only extended times I was away were after the births of my children. 

I grew so much there. I learned to value exercise. I challenged myself and also phoned in work outs. There were very few bimbos or meat-heads. It didn't have Zumba or yoga classes, but it did have a non-judgmental vibe. Which is hard to come by, I'm told. It's the only gym I've ever really been a part of, so I couldn't say. 

In the summer of 2015, my new little town will open its very own YMCA. It will be awesome. My kids will learn to swim there, they will go to summer camps there, they will spend time in the gym while mom works out. They will hopefully learn to respect physical fitness there. And even better, it's a mere half mile from my house. Dues will be much more than my last pittance of a membership, but will be entirely worth it. I just need to wait another seven or eight months. I feel certain it will be amazing. A gym experience unlike any other.

However, that tiny Podunk gym in my old town will always hold a special place in my heart. And on my blog.