Anuncommongirl asked “Can you tell me a little about your schedule throughout the year and how that effects your training/running and your marriage?”
This is a little long so grab your butt donut and take a comfy seat…
I commercial fish during the summer in Alaska anywhere from 2-4 months depending on our fishing quota, the weather, how good the fishing is, etc. Last summer I was gone for about 2 months and the year before that, it was closer to 4. So the scheduling’s very unpredictable; there’s just too many variables to accurately say how long it will take.
The rest of the year I’m a stay-at-home trophy wife to Jaybob. He works from home so we hang out together all day long. This would drive a lot of people crazy, but after almost 3 years we’re used to it, and at the heart of the matter, we love to be around each other. We’re best friends… who fight and get on each others’ nerves. alot.
(Our two boats, The Taasinge and The Ms Sam)
I grew up in a fishing family so it was very normal for my dad to be gone. Jay had to get to used it, and it was hard when the first halibut season came and I suddenly was gone. BUT, I don’t think my job has affected our marriage negatively. For one, I wouldn’t let it. My marriage comes before anything and anyone on this earth, paychecks included.
Two, Jason is very independent; he’s lived on his own for about 85 years, and he’s fine with me being gone. I too am independent, not to the extent he is, but we’re just not clingy with each other. I travel a lot to see my parents or have girls’ weekends and he does the same. I think it’s healthy, at least for us.
Fishing can be mentally and emotionally exhausting, and there are times when I want Jason to say, I can’t be without you! Come home, I need you. Life just isn’t worth living! But he’s more like, Go girl! You’re doing great, keep it up. Keep it going! not exactly what I wanted to hear…
But Jaybobby has always been very supportive of my career choices; if I choose to fish or not, he is fine with either. If the season gets to be too much for me and I need a break, he’s the first to support me getting off the boat. And that is tremendously important to me because commercial fishing is a hard industry and you really need your spouse supporting you.
There are some great perks to the job, and then there’s also a lot of work and time apart.
As far as running, I don’t run at all in the summer. I don’t have time, space (I’m on a boat) or energy. I just don’t run. So when I get back home it’s like starting over from zero. When I got back this past September, I had to stop and take a break after 2 miles. 2 miles. That’s probably why I like to run as many races as I can while I’m in marathon shape and before I have to leave.
Laura asked about the fine American tradition of wedding cake face planting. “Why do you smear each others’ faces with wedding cake? Just curious and totally non judgmental.”
I have never really thought about why people do this, and I don’t really know. My aunt was shocked that I would shove cake in Jay’s face and told my mom she couldn’t believe I would do that at such a classy event.
For the record, Jaybob did not put any cake on my face; I would not let him. My make up artist was amazing, not to mention expensive, and I didn’t want my airbrushed makeup to get cake-brushed. Plus, my rule in life is that if I get near frosting I want to eat it, not wear it.
(Jackie and JFK cutting their cake)
I did a little reading and couldn’t find an exact answer WHY we do this, but here’s as close as I found:
Tradition generally requires that the first cut of the cake be performed by bride and groom together, often with a ceremonial knife, or even a sword. An older, archaic tradition had the bride serve all portions to the groom’s family, as a symbolic transfer of her household labor from her family to the groom’s family.
Tradition may also dictate that the bride and groom feed the first bites of this cake to each other.
Again, this may symbolize the new family unit formed and the replacement of the old parent-child union. It is also fairly popular for the bride and groom to shove the cake in each other’s faces, rather than eating it.
Other guests may then partake of the cake, portions may be taken home or shipped to people who missed the festivities. (An old tradition held that if a bridesmaid slept with a piece of wedding cake beneath her pillow she might dream of her future husband.)
Cel asked how treadmill running compares to outdoor running exertion-wise…
To me, it always feels like I am running faster on a treadmill when in reality I’m not. Treadmills are great for doing speed work or tempo runs where you want to keep to a specific pace, not that I’d know because I’ve never done those type of gross sounding things.
(The Sole F80 won best $1000-1500 treadmill from Treadmilldoctor.com)
I always run with a .5% incline because I think it mimics outdoor running more (wind resistance, uneven terrain, etc), but I’ve read that some runners do 2%. If you can stand to run on a treadmill, I think you’d still get a great workout and the differences would probably be minimal, just my opinion.
The problem is that no one wants to run on a boring treadmill for 3 hours. So your long runs might get cut short due to sheer boredom.
Anewmenu Asked what kind of shampoo and conditioner I use…
Ok if I didn’t care how much money I spent, this is what I would use all the time:
I think Kerastase is the Rolls Royce of hair products. Unfort, they’ve got Rolls Royce price tags. This Chroma Riche hair mask is $58. So I rarely buy their products unless I’m feeling incredibly rich which is a long worded way of saying never.
I saw a Dateline Investigation-type program once where they investigated the claims of expensive salon hair products vs cheap ones. The bottom line was to save money on the shampoo because all shampoos have similar cleaning agents.
But they said to splurge on the conditioner because not all conditioners are made equal: there’s a big difference between a cheap one and a salon one.
The shampoo I use is Tresemme Color Thrive for blondes. You can buy it for about $5-6 I think at any store.
I highlight my hair a lot, and it gets dry, brittle and pretty much dead so I try to use good conditioners on it in hopes that I can one day realize my dream of being Rapunzel.
I cycle between a couple: Pureology Anti-fade Complex Hydrate Conditioner. The cheapest I’ve found is about $52 for a 33.8 ounce bottle which is a big guy and should last you for awhile unless you have this hair:
I also use the Morroccan Oil hair mask; it’s a really thick, deep conditioner. It’s decent but not my favorite. You can get it online for about $23
Although it’s neither a shampoo or conditioner, I love Moroccan Oil. It’s a leave-in treatment that shines and glosses your hair while conditioning it at the same time. It smells delicious too, just like diamonds. You can buy it for about $30.
The last conditioner I use is Redken All Soft. I use this one more daily; it makes your hair super soft and is cheaper too. You can get it online for about $24 for a 33.8 ounce bottle which is a pretty good deal.
I normally try to buy my hair products by the liter (33.8 ounces) because they’re so much cheaper that way. And they are always the most expensive at salons; go to beauty supply stores or shop online.
Jenni asked what socks I wear to run in….
Drymax Running Lite-Mesh socks. In this post I reviewed them completely. They are thin, tight, don’t lose their shape, and keep your feet dry.
I got some UnderArmour socks for Christmas that I wear for short, recovery runs or cross training, but I don’t wear them for long runs or races. They are a little bigger and make my shoes feel snugger.
Marathonmaiden asked what’s so rad about Nike Tempo shorts…
#1 Radness reason: They’re really comfortable. Loose fitting but not too baggy, very lightweight but you don’t feel naked, no itching, scratching, rubbing.
#2 Radness reason: Jessica Simpson wears them.
Or maybe that makes them un-rad…
Speaking of shorts, Jamie asked what size I buy…
I buy MEDIUM but I think some styles are bigger than others. And I always roll mine; I just think they’re more comfortable that way.
I have this one pair of black shorts that I thought were Tempos but they are a lot shorter than other pairs:
You can see how much smaller they are than the ones I just bought.
If you’re on the fence about what size to buy, you could probably go with SMALL if you like things fitting well, tighter, snug. I myself prefer them a little looser… you know, in case I have IBS on the course.
Sarah and Ashlyn asked if I drink water or sports drinks during races…
Yes I do. During halfs, I grab a cup whenever I’m thirsty. In warmer weather, that’s at every aid station. And I pretty much ony drink water in halfs. I just don’t feel like I need the energy drink.
For fulls, I grab something at every aid station whether I’m thirsty or not. For the first half of the race I alternate between water and the energy drink of choice. Then inevitably towards the end I grab more energy drinks than water just because I feel like I’m dying and I’ll give anything a chance at that point.
For you running your half, I’d drink more if it was hot, but otherwise I’d grab a drink only according to your thirst. If you’re thirsty, grab a cup or two. But DON’T feel like you have to.
Also, a lot of runners say to only drink in a race what you train with to avoid upset stomachs. So if you use Gatorade in training, don’t drink Cytomax on the course. I’ve never listened to this and never had a problem, but some sensitive stomachs could. In that case, bring your own bottle if you want more than just water.
Ashlyn also asked what my treadmill speed is and what I do if I have to go to the bathroom during a race…
On the treadmill I run anywhere from 7.0-7.5 which is something in the 8 min mile range, I think. It really just depends on how I feel that day. I don’t follow any program, just my heart…. cue an Elton John song or something equally gay.
I’ve only had to stop and go to the bathroom once in a half marathon I ran in January. I hadn’t gone poo before the race and that was my downfall. But races normally have a lot of porta potties on the course so it’s not too big of a deal. You just keep going until you see one. Though I have seen a lot of runners veer off the course suddenly towards an alley, small bush or a hidden corner…
(If that doesn’t work for ya, you could always fashion yourself one of these)
Lucy and Diana ask the intimate question of what underwear to wear while running…
Way to go you pervs, asking the hard hitting questions. I wear boy shorts, whether running or not. Why put something else up there to pick?! I have enough nose picking to do that I’d be busy all day long…
These are the boy shorts I like to wear:
They are from Victoria’s Secret.
Also, the Tempo shorts have built-in undies so if you feel like free-styling it, you certainly can. My rule when running is whatever’s most comfortable… while still being legal. that means no naked running.
Remember that there aren’t any dumb or silly questions, just my dumb and silly answers. If it’s a subject I don’t want to talk about, I won’t. easy as that. Thanks for all the great questions, kiddos!
