FINALLY.
Not going to lie, this exercise started to get a bit old for me! These detailed recaps take a bit more time than my typical blog posts, and I miss writing about things more random (and perhaps deeper? sometimes?) than what I had for lunch. Plus, I do feel like sharing some of these details can feel a bit vulnerable. Thank you for being kind!!!
BUT, I’m glad today was in the mix because it was a bit of a departure from the rest of the week in terms of intentionality and productivity! Here we go . . .
4:10 Up. Yes, this is painfully early. But I have one of my last remaining monster speed workouts before the marathon today, and in order to get it done early enough to help with the kids + avoid the heat, I need to start early. Read, journal, plan, hope that the humidity doesn’t feel too bad. Grahams / coffee / collagen / water / vitamins.
5:00 RUN!! Survive but feel very hot, like I just can’t get the heat in my body to dissipate. Some rain actually ends up helping midway through. VERY much hope my race isn’t this humid. My goal = 7:55/mi for 5 x 2 mi; I do achieve that on average but with more effort than I really wanted it to take — had to walk and catch my breath in the recovery intervals!
Took 3 gels during this effort, one every 30 min.
7:00 Home. A greets me with applause (I told her to the night before!). Drink Core Power, shower, take Josh up on his offer to drive the kids (I wasn’t expecting that but was thrilled, he usually drives Thursday, not Tuesday). Help kids with breakfast / lunches / getting out the door.
8:00 Breakfast (cereal / granola / milk / banana – did not want anything hot), read some blogs.
8:30 Write DITL post
9:30 Do complete run through presentation for tech company’s Families Month. Then, spin my wheels a bit. Influenced by HRG, impulsively order possible race day outfit for preemptive reward.
10:30 Text nervously. Get dressed (professional from the waist up, presentation is virtual!) and do some makeup.
10:50 Log onto Teams . . .here we go!
12:00 DONE!! Things were good – people asked GREAT questions, better and more than usual. I think I am getting better at speaking as I go. This was an exciting opportunity (a big recognizable name) so I am happy it was good.
12:02 Do the onboarding process so I can get paid for said talk. Also, realize I am entirely spent.
12:45 Lunch, read blogs
1:30 I have a call with a friend/colleague but she does not answer. I wonder if maybe there is a time zone mixup.
1:50 Decide to take a nap (and text her) and promptly pass out
3:30 Awake and scroll. Ahhhh she wrote back that she mixed up the time zones! (We will reschedule!). That said, I am very glad I got a nap and am not sure I would have been all that useful on a call. My time log says “mindless scroll.” There may have been some browsing of Reddit. Ahh well.
4:30 Kids home. I hang out with them and MM and shop for plane tickets to Seattle. I pull the trigger though am sad to have to fly Delta instead of American (where I am “gold” and have a credit card so there are perks). Debate paying for seats NOT in the back of the plane; consult Josh and decide against. Row 33-34 it is!! At least it’s direct and out of FLL!
Eat dinner (pasta with steak and veg, PrepDish recipe that was put together by MM on Monday)
5:45 Drive girls to gymnastics. Have grand plans to do weekly email cleanout and other work since I didn’t do much all day. However . . .
6:05 G runs out of class, she has a hive attack (this is new and highly frustrating). I had not given her any cetirizine (Zyrtec) because it makes her sleepy and I hate the idea of giving it every day. I offer to run to the CVS and get some. She agrees.
6:25 Back from CVS. She takes the med but comes out 3 minutes later saying she is too itchy (her arms are covered in hives) and wants to go home. MM is home (C had lacrosse but it was cancelled due to weather) so I figure I can just drop her there. Drive home and then back to the gym.
7:05 Back at gymnastics. Now there are only 20 minutes left so . . . I’m not going to get much done. So, scrolling it is.
7:25 Drive A home from gymnastics
7:40 Home. Josh is reading to G. I prep coffee, eat 2 large spoonfuls of coffee ice cream (it was calling my name), then go lie with G for a while. I apologize to her for not preemptively given her meds.
8:20 Hang with A, talk to Josh, prep tomorrow’s coffee, obsess over weather 3.5 weeks from now in Traverse City, text Coco, change screen backgrounds for May
9:20 Read The Five Star Weekend.
9:45 (ish?) Sleep
35 Comments
“At least it’s direct and out of FLL!”
Am I the only one who read this like Taylor and Florence – “FLORIDAAAAA” ?
Hahaha I do enjoy that song!
FLL is Fort Lauderdale Airport though not specifically a Florida abbreviation.
(No reason anyone other than a local would know that!)
Yay Seattle! If you want to check out our stationary shops: I just found out about a new one I’m going to check out this weekend, but there’s a great Japanese store attached to the supermarket in the International district. It’s a bookstore but has a ton of stationary items.
https://usa.kinokuniya.com/
This is the one I’m checking this weekend so no idea if it’s good.
https://shop.mochithings.com/
100% will be going to both!!!!! And I’ve ordered from mochithings before, never knew they had a physical store in Seattle . Super cool!!
Just spent a very enjoyable 30 minutes at Mochithings. Definitely recommend!
oooh I can’t wait!!
Thanks for posting all of the DITL! I found it interesting even if it might have seemed repetitive to you. Are you going to do any totals/analysis of the data? I wonder in your case if there won’t really be many surprises since you are pretty time aware most of the time.
Might be really fast to do with ChatGPT , get it to do sums and generalize
Haha probably not. I do not think there are surprises, either. But it was fun to do and the act of doing it always increases awareness a bit which is valuable.
I just have to say thank you for these DITL posts! Totally understandable that they were a lot of work, but I appreciate you putting in the time; I’m a newly-ish married woman, no kids yet but hoping for some eventually, and not planning to be a stay-at-home mom (at least not at this point; who knows what life will bring!). However, I was raised by a sah mom, as were most of my friends growing up, and I’ve recently started reading your blog – and listening to BLP and BOBW 🙂 – to simply try to get an idea of what it looks like to work + parent at the same time. Long and wordy way to say, this week of posts was invaluable! I’ll let you get back to a normal posting rhythm but enjoyed this week’s theme. 🙂
thank you so much Emily!!
Sorry to hear about G and the hives! Random non-solicited thought – I have a patient who has an exercise induced allergy. He can generally eat shrimp no prob. BUT – if he eats shrimp and goes for a run, poof! Full blown urticaria. I wonder about something similar for G given this rxn started a bit into class (presumably as she was getting warmed up) and right after dinner? I will try to see if I can find any other advice/tips from my guy’s allergist. Feel free to email me if you want, or ignore! For anyone reading this comment – pls don’t take as medical advice!
She seems to get them constantly now! I actually think it might be dairy related but interesting that maybe dairy plus exertion!!!
THank you for taking the time to do DITL posts Sarah! They are my favorite… not sure why, I guess it is always fun to see how someone else spends their time. Couple thoughts- kudos on the talk! Your lunch looks delicious, and way to get through a humid run. That is what they call a mental training day – working on pushing through despite the humid/heat. I can’t wait to see how you do!!
I have been really enjoying these posts too. Thank you for making the time. I am always impressed how much energy you have.
I almost never pay for a seat, one time all our family sit in different places. As long as there’s entertainment for the kids, it’s okay and actually nice to be flying “solo” for a change and not have to police the kids’ fighting.
sorry about the hives… I’m dealing with eczema… still flaring up every few weeks…. sigh tired of having to keep putting creams on lizzy. I thought these things go away when they grow up!!!
I hate it when they run out of overhead storage – I have angst about that in particular! And I’ve been spoiled with my American status that allows for early-ish (group 4) boarding. bUt we will live. the American Airlines times didn’t work – I wanted to avoid a redeye. You have done SO much more “advanced” travel (long haul international flights) with your kids than i have!!
+1 to say I really liked the DITL posts! So fascinating to see how people spend their time, and amazed at all you pack into your days!
It is amazing how much you can fit in a day with the proper planning and intention. I would have loved to see your planner (what you filled in in the morning to see the degree of specificity you add, and see the comparison to the actual time log.
My 8 year old went through a year long stretch of chronic hives from age 6-7. Zyrtec made him sleepy and cranky but he tolerated Claritin much better so we stuck with that. We never did figure out the cause but they’re gone now!! Hopefully G’s resolve quickly!
Zyrtec made my son a zombie, but Claritin seems to have no side effects!
I will try that! I saw they have chewables too. The allergist who works near me also told me to try Allegra. So I guess I can get a potpourri of antihistamines to try . . .
3.5 weeks!!!!!!! It’s getting close! I know what you mean by wishing it felt easier. That’s the heat starting back up. Crossing fingers and toes for good weather in Traverse City!
Love the potential race outfit. I’m a huge fan of the legging/bike type shorts with the deep pockets on the side. I feel like they keep everything in place (both in terms of my body and my gels, lol) and cause a lot less chafing than the looser styles that I wear for easier runs.
I hope they come so I can try them out on Saturday’s 20! Yes the humidity and heat just starting. I actually think the perfect timing to race a marathon for a Floridian is early to mid April, so like Boston or even Eugene. That way you’re tapering before it heats up!!
Love these posts and am so impressed with your ability to keep moving all day long and not pass out at 7PM. Please do a blog post about how you manage your energy all day long to get all this done. And remain in a sunny mood. I would be cooked after a 2-hour run, but you do that before you even START your work day and get kids off to school. The sitting and waiting for kids to finish up after-school activities and drive home is really when I start to fade. You are so inspiring Sarah!
I am pretty sure when I tell the kids I am done parenting at 9 pm I am not in the world’s sunniest of moods. Ha!! The day I did the 2 hr run I was so cooked I took a nap! However, my shorter runs (even like 90 min or so) think I’ve just gotten entirely used to. This was a gradual ramp up sort of thing, definitely would have felt much more taxing before I was trained in this way.
Also I often have my husband do the latest drive if he can! Anything after 7pm is TOUGH. So I am definitely NOT superhuman. At all!!
Well, I’m sad your DITL series is over, but I can see how you’re ready to get back to your usual posts. Everyone seemed to enjoy it though!
Nice job on that run- yes, it’s been HUMID here. I can’t imagine it will be this warm and muggy in Traverse City, but you never know. Crazy how much of our race success hangs on the weather! But I think all the Florida runs you’ve been doing will set you up well.
I went through a weird phase when I was 19 or 20 when I got terrible hives- I pretty much had to take a non-drowsy med every 24 hours (can’t remember what it was- it was a long time ago.) I never figured out what was causing it, and it eventually just went away and has never come back. So weird.
that is weird! I would love them to mysteriously disappear. HOPING.
Traverse City will *probably* have good weather, except sometimes it doesn’t. Ha! However, I do feel that compared to the locals I will at least have some degree of acclimation .I think of that every time it’s hotter than I want it to be – good practice for race day if it ends up being a warm one!
I love the DITL posts! I hope you considering sprinkling one in on occasion 🙂
of course!!! Just ready to give the series a rest. I’m sure it will feel fun again in another season or two!
This is my first time actually coming to your blog, but I’ve been listening to BOBW for awhile now. Also a fellow “HA”er :). I got so excited when I heard you mention the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for your marathon. I lived there from when I was 2 years old to 18 (went to college in Illinois). Just a heads up from a yooper (someone from the UP), Traverse City is not in the Upper Peninsula. But nonetheless, I loved the shout out! Or perhaps I just heard wrong and maybe you said upper Michigan. Either way, best of luck and I hope you love Michigan!
OMG! I totally thought it was. I feel dumb but I will definitely have to correct myself in the future!!! SO excited to go. I guess I should just say “Northern Michigan” or just Traverse City!!!
Oh no worries, I’m pretty sure most people have no idea! Heck, there’s maps that don’t even include the UP so even the shout out was exciting! Ha.
Also, completely off topic and maybe this isn’t the best place to bring this up, but I’m not sure where else. Would it be possible to try to find someone to interview that has more of an average paying career (without much of an upward move possible)? I love hearing about you and Laura and how you manage everything, but also know that your families seem to be very well off financially. Neither my husband nor I make a ton of money. I mean we are doing fine because we are pretty frugal, but don’t have the extra money for outsourcing/extra babysitters/etc. Both of our careers at the moment are not able to be hybrid/remote either so getting household things done takes up evenings and weekends. I will say once we only have 1 in daycare I’m hoping there’s a bit more money, but then the older kids will be in more activities so maybe not. I understand part of this is decisions we made-4 kids, nicer/bigger home, etc. Or if you already have an episode that you feel like covers something similar let me know, I may have just missed it!
Hi!! We have definitely had some! I don’t have specific “#”s but the following raised their hands to contribute with this in mind:
Megan – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/best-of-both/lateral-moves-and-life-OlFB7Tu95Ub/
Chelsea – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/best-of-both/work-life-running-more-with-6mNoKuQtgBX/
Rachana – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/best-of-both/fitting-in-adventures-with-2xe9VyfGbj5/
But a good reminder to continue to pursue episodes like these!
Great, I’ll take a look. Thanks!