sleep

Fitting In Running

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

The theme for this week’s running post “Fitting it in.”

Some weeks, running is harder than others to fit in. Work has been really busy these days, and I’ve been up late working nearly every night. So, waking up at 5 a.m. to run before work has been harder and harder.  I was also on a work trip this week, which meant not only working late and not being home, but getting up even earlier if I wanted to run (disclaimer- I did one morning, I didn’t the next). And if I do run, I often only have 30-40 minutes, so I’m not getting in the mileage I’d like.

So, it’s getting harder and harder to find time to run. And instead of getting down on myself, I’m going to look at the positive:

  • I still ran 5 days this week.
  • I ran outside 4 of those 5 days

Am I making excuses? Yes, somewhat. Was this week the worst week I’ve had in running in history? Hardly. But the lack of sleep  is taking its toll, and I need to do something to get more sleep so that I feel not only good to run in the AM, but also whole during the day!

Some questions for you:

  • What does a “good” running week look like to you?
  • How early do you wake up to run?

Double the linkup today! I’m linking up with the weekly wraps and linking up with My No-Guilt Life, Marcia’s Healthy Slice, and MCM Mama Runs. 

TOL: Random Running Thoughts

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 7 Comments

It’s Thursday – woo woo! What a week. My brain = mush. Which is why I’m grateful today for the Thinking Out Loud linkup, where I can just share a few semi-random thoughts with you today.

Today’s edition? RUNNING.

SHOES.

First, shoes. What kind of shoes do you wear? I tend to wear a neutral shoe with orthotics and I am LOVING my new Saucony’s. They are so cushiony! And I think they’re cute 🙂

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SOCKS.

I have a new brightly colored running sock obsession. It just happened within the past month. I went from owning all white running socks to a bunch of fun colors. And I love it!

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LEGGINGS.

I am so so so excited for my new running leggings!!! I ordered these Cleveland Marathon leggings before the holidays and they finally came.  I ordered the 3/4 length, because that’s what I typically wear, but now I’m wondering if I should’ve gotten the full.

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RUNNING IN GROUPS.

I miss running with people. My two morning running buddies no longer live near me and with the bebe it’s been hard (aka I’m lazy) to schedule runs with them on weekends, etc. This past weekend, I participated in the Cleveland Marathon kickoff run and it was SO great to run with a group of people again! I forgot how much I love it. (and check out our leggings :))

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SLEEP.

Ok this isn’t REALLY about running, but it’s related. I think I need more sleep. Scratch that. I know I do. This whole being a working mom thing with a 6-month-old baby plus trying to wake up at 5 a.m. to run thing is TIRING. I need some help in figuring out how to make it all work and how to get more sleep … or figure out how to run on significantly less than usual. Any tips? Hints?

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AND A GIVEAWAY!!!

Anyway, speaking of running, I have a giveaway going on for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon – you can win race entry to the 5k, 8k, 10k, half OR FULL! Enter here.

Thanks for Running with Spoons for hosting this great linkup and helping me get some of this out there! Some questions for you:

  • Any tips for running on little sleep?
  • Are you a fan of colorful socks or white ones?

 

3:30 a.m.

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 1 Comment

[[inspired by this blog post from my dear IRL mommy blogger friend Reanna]]

It’s 3:30 a.m. and I’m up again. Up again feeding the little guy. FW still doesn’t sleep through the night (who are all these parents who say their kids slept through the night starting at 2 months?!) and I’m in his room again for a feeding.

It’s 3:32 a.m. and I’m half asleep. I’m still holding onto FW so tight as he eats, afraid that if I hold him too loosely he may just disappear into the darkness and I may wake up and this whole motherhood thing will have all been a crazy, amazing dream.

It’s 3:35 a.m. and I’m tired. So tired that I’m not sure how I’m going to survive the week ahead. I’m not sure how I’ll be able to turn on “work Melissa” and off “mom Melissa.”  I worry that if this keeps up, I’ll fail at both. Part of me worries that I already am.

It’s 3:39 a.m. and my eyes are bleary. It’s often at this time of night (or is it morning?) that I find myself tearing up, partially from exhaustion, but mostly because of how much I find myself loving FW. I wonder if it’s normal to love a 13 pound human so so so much?

It’s 3:42 a.m. and FW is asleep on my lap. His breathing is heavy and his eyes are closed, yet I haven’t gotten up to put him down. I know I should go to sleep (for another 1.25 hours until my alarm goes off for my workout … or another hour until he wants to eat again – whichever comes first) but can’t bring myself to carry him back to his crib. As much as these feedings tire me out, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want them to end. I’m savoring the moment, his breathing and his smell, knowing that in a few weeks months years, this will all be a memory.

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Social Media For New Year’s Resolutions – Part Two: Using Social Media to Get More Sleep

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 2 Comments

*Note* This entry is part two of my blog posts in the 2010 series, Social Media For New Year’s Resolutions, as explained in this post.

Another popular New Year’s Resolution is to get more sleep.* It may seem counter-intuitive that social media can help you get more sleep; after all, doesn’t staying up and playing on the Internet actually prevent you from going to bed and getting that sleep you need? (Especially you – estivator – who commented on my resolution introductory blog post past midnight!) In reality, it may not. A recent study, as highlighted in this University of New Hampshire news release shows that social media use does not affect students’ sleeping habits — so why should it affect yours?

Not only does social media NOT hurt your sleeping habits, but it can actually HELP you get more sleep. Here’s how:

1.  Social media can provide the education you need to get more sleep: If you look carefully, there are plenty of sources of information about what exactly a good night’s sleep is, how to get it, etc. A good resource that I like is The Insomnia Blog, by Dr. Michael Breus, who also has a Twitter Account. Another informative sleep account to check out on Twitter is the Sleep Foundation.

2.  Social media holds you accountable! If you make it a goal for yourself to get more sleep and share this goal with others – wouldn’t you feel like you’re letting them (and not just yourself) down when you reported a failure? Take, for example, what Arianna Huffington from the Huffington Post and Cindi Leive from Glamour are doing – they’re taking their New Year’s Resolution to get more sleep to the next level by blogging about it and calling it the Sleep Challenge 2010.

Arianna introduces her challenge on her latest blog post (an excerpt of which I’ve included below):

As women, we make a lot of New Year’s resolutions — “lose 10 pounds” and “finally write that novel” and “lose 10 pounds — seriously.” But this year, the two of us (that’s HuffPost‘s Arianna Huffington and Glamour‘s Cindi Leive) are suggesting you make a New Year’s resolution that could improve the status of all women in this country, starting with you … If you ask us, the next feminist issue is sleep. And in order for women to get ahead in this country, we’re all going to have to lie down and take a nap …

We’re saying no to the zombie side of things and, as of January 4, resolving to get a full night’s sleep every night for a month … Inspired? Then join our one-month sleep challenge. We’ll be blogging on glamour.com and the Huffington Post every Monday and Thursday about how our quest for more sleep is going. You’ll get tips from health experts like Dr. Michael Breus and answers to some of your own personal questions about how to work more sleep into your life.

3.  Social media provides the tools you need to make sure you’re getting a better night’s sleep. I haven’t been able to look too deeply into any of these, but would love to check out:

  • Yawnlog: This site tracks the number of hours you sleep each night and charts your progress for you so you can look at patterns over time (and relate it to how you feel each day/week/etc.). It also lets you log and tag dreams. If you want, you can also use the site to see how many hours your friends are sleeping and what they’re dreaming about too.
  • iPhone Apps: There are so many cool apps for your iPhone (and hopefully soon, Droid!) to help you sleep better. The Sleep Cycle App (via LifeHacker) supposedly can tell how deep of a sleep you’re in so that you’re only awoken from a light slumber, therefore feeling more rested. A Good Night’s Sleep iPhone App (via iPhone Application List) provides a series of sounds and music for you to fall asleep to and also has a feature to “gently awaken users,” to ensure a “gradual, peaceful start to each day.”
  • Another new add-on for your iPhone: Check out the iHome+Sleep: This “social music alarm clock” was just announced at the recent CES. It’s an iPhone app that works with a whole new line of home music players. It has some really cool features, including “Sleep Cards,” which let you set different alarm templates with their own settings, such as certain settings for weekends, etc. Another cool feature for us social media geeks – you can wake up to your favorite RSS feed, or a list of what your Facebook and Twitter friends were doing during the night (thus allowing you to sleep soundly knowing you’re not missing anything!). Another way the iHome+Sleep helps you sleep better? According to Macworld.com, think of the product as “the Nike + iPod Sport Kit, except, you know, for sleeping.” Its unique feature, Sleep Stats, lets the user “view a running record of the times you sleep, naps you record, and average hours of bedtime and per-night sleeping. If you’re find yourself dragging and exhausted every now and then, this might be a great way to help track down a possible reason.”

If you find any other cool ways to use social media to help you get a better night’s sleep, let me know.

*Disclaimer: I work for a client in the sleep industry. While they’re not related to any of the services mentioned above, they still lead me to know of and want to stress the importance of a good night’s sleep!