Pages

Thursday, July 28, 2011

3 down, 1 to go...

I finished my 3 3-milers for the week!  Now just have my 7-7.5 mile run this weekend left to do.  I usually really enjoy my time to run, and I am still looking forward to getting out there for some "me" time, but it is tough with the summer heat/humidity just the same.  I went out at just after 7 this morning with the whole team - both boys and both dogs.  The air was thick, it was very hot, very humid, and I took it slow and settled into a nice pace.  I didn't have the Garm with me today since it was charging, and I also didn't want to think too much about pace since I knew I needed to just go slow and listen to what my body needed to do to finish the miles today.  One more run closer to my half marathon and marathon goals!!

Thank goodness for day 2 eye makeup today...totally did not have (or take) the time to beautify.  I came home, iced the shins (still feeling just a little lame for icing after only 3 miles, but hey, it keeps me going and that's what matters, right?), drank down 2 tall glasses of ice water, then had to hop in the shower, try to stop sweating through use of some major mind-over-matter, get W ready, and pack both boys up to take W to his first day of "school."  He officially starts preschool in September, but we decided to help him ease into it by doing a little morning program at a daycare up the street on Tuesday and Thursday for the month of August.  

Yeah, this is going to be a LOT harder for me than him I think - and harder for me than I even anticipated!  I slipped out once he started exploring his classroom since I didn't want to make it a big deal and have him get all worked up again, but I have some HUGE guilt for not kissing him goodbye and I've been compulsively checking the time, waiting for 11:45 when I'll leave to go get him!  I can't wait to hear how it went and give him a big hug :)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ice, Ice Baby

Is it completely ridiculous to ice after a 3 mile run?  'Cause that's just what I did today - and it made a HUGE difference after today's run. I was SOOOO sore and stiff after finishing my short run today and after ice, an ice bath (yep, did both), and a warm shower, I was pretty much feeling back to normal.  Sweet!

W tended to me while I borrowed his Elmo boo-boo buddies to ice down after a hot 3-miler late this morning.  Tonight he brought me all the ice packs from the freezer, too.  He's such a sweet little dude.
Mama had a fun night out with the girls for margaritas tonight and now I gotta set the coffee pot for the morning and cart myself off to bed.
 
Another 3-miler tomorrow morning, then REST on Friday!  I'm taking the dogs with me tomorrow - just need to drag out of the house early enough to beat the heat for an easy run!!
 
We're headed to see Sublime and 311 tomorrow night - takes me back to high school and I. Can't. Wait. :)  That reminds me - I have to charge the battery in my "little" camera so I can capture the fun times in the 757 tomorrow night!!

Can I get a yee-ha?

Demolition

We are super excited today to have had our old, rotting, ugly deck TORN DOWN :)  We will be enjoying our new deck this weekend and I am beyond thrilled!!  No more exposed nails, rotting wood, soft spots that give when you step on them, or wonky stairs.  AND, we are having a fence put in to create a little dog run on the side of the house to contain the poo (we hope).  Yee-ha!! (yes, we've been watching a lot of Toy Story and W has a little crush on Jessie, so we are saying a lot of yee-ha in our house)

We had some good supervision today as they worked on the demo...
Both boys were curious all day about what was going on out there...
Can you believe how big Bear is getting??  He's pushing his walking toys all over the place like a pro now, it's not going to be long before he's walking ON HIS OWN.  In the words of W, holy moly cow.

Running with Dogs

I came across this (kinda old) NYT article recently and absolutely agree with it - dogs are such good motivation to get out and run!  My two are infinitely better behaved when they are tired out and they love, love, love to go running! There are definitely some days where the only thing that gets me off my butt is the desire to have well-behaved Weims!  Poor dogs are getting left behind a little more often with the heat and humidity we're having right now, but I still take them whenever the weather cooperates.  They even know when I've put on running gear and start dancing around the house with excitement :)
Tired and happy, a win for everyone :)



I have a plan!

Howdy y'all!  I must say, I am feeling SO much better today after spending a little time revisiting and revising my training plan for the rest of the summer and into the fall.  I am such a list-maker...I make lists of lists, and have to make new lists when they start to feel disorganized.  And all this must be on paper, I do not do this electronically...yet.  Maybe one day I will enter the technology age with some new-fangled gadgets like a smart phone or iPad :)  Maybe I'll get crazy and start tweeting, too!

Anyway, I found that I am in a good place to start midway into a Hal Higdon novice marathon training plan and I mapped it to a calendar and (cue the hallelujia chorus) it all worked out *just right* on the dates for both the half marathon on 9/4 AND the full marathon on 11/12.

This week, I need to do 3 miles each on Tues, Weds, Thurs, rest, and then 7 miles this weekend.  I like that there are 3 shorter runs during the week and rest on Monday, Friday, and sometimes Sunday (or cross training, which I'm thinking will be something fun with the family!).  I'm feeling good and very optimistic about this plan and my way ahead towards my first marathon now!  

Monday, July 25, 2011

Sunday recap

Since the heat is still keeping me from running outside, I decided to hit the gym for my long run yesterday on the treadmill.  I haven't run on a treadmill in over a year!  I got there, set up on the 'mill and started off at a pretty decent pace.  Amazing how it's easier in the A/C without all the outside factors! About 10 minutes into my 7-8 miler, I heard "Attention members.  The gym will be closing in 15 minutes."  Shoot. Apparently I didn't remember (or pay attention to) our gym's Sunday hours.  I thought I had at least an hour and a half to do my run.  Oops.

So, since I wasn't going to get my long run in, I quickly upped my pace for a tempo run as consolation.  Dudes, I ran my fastest mile...maybe EVER.  Sub-8 minute!  I was in a good zone, and it felt challenging but it wasn't killing me or anything.  
THEN, since I took all of 25 minutes total at the gym, I was able to do my grocery shopping for the week on the way home - bonus!  I grabbed everything we needed for our week's menu and headed home.  
Of course I look like this when I grocery shop!
Ahhh, relaxed with the family (SILs came over to hang, too), enjoyed a Sunday margarita, made some dinner, and fell happily into bed last night.  Gonna do my long run today - probably on the treadmill since it felt too good to get out of bed early this morning.  W finally got me up by going to help himself in the kitchen...never know what he is going to get himself into if left to his own devices for too long :)  See exhibit A from several months ago...

Gotta get the day started now...work, a meeting at lunchtime, run, trip for dog food...busy Monday ahead.  :)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Just Kidding!

Well, it was a nice thought...

Heat index of 90 as the sun came up, the air thick with humidity and wildfire smoke from NC...I'm gonna have to either rest or find some time to get to the gym for a treadmill run today (and try both little ones out at the gym's daycare??).  If I'm not even going to take the boys outside to ride in a stroller in this weather, it's probably not smart for me to run in this weather.  Just thinkin out loud here...

Wish me luck with all that...stay cool.

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Heat Goes On...

Y'all, it is HOT!!!

I ran yesterday morning first thing before we headed off for a day at the waterpark with the boys.  I knew I'd be feeling super anxious about my training if I didn't get a run in yesterday, but I was definitely lacking motivation to get out in that humidity.  I was oh-so-proud of myself for sucking it up and doing it, though!

Slowed my pace a bit and took a couple walk breaks in an effort to be smart about it and all.  Next time I'm definitely bringing my water, even if I'm just doing a shorter run.  Poor hounds are going to have to stay home more with the heat - they just get too hot and dehydrated and I feel guilty for bringing them, even though they make such a fuss if I consider lacing up the running shoes and leaving them behind.  Whiners.

We had an awesome time at the waterpark, it was a perfect day for it!!  Bear and I were actually on the news - Suri Crow saw him in a little baby swing splashing around in the water and having a ball and fell in love with him (I mean, really, how can you NOT) and wanted to put him on TV.  
So we were on the 6:00 news last night in a story about the heatwave - we're all famous and stuff!

 My goal for the next couple of days (yay, weekend!!) is a short run tomorrow morning and then my long run Sunday at the crack of dawn.  I think tomorrow I'll probably take the double BOB and the faithful running dogs with me so hubby can sleep in a little.  He's out hootin' and hollerin' tonight :)  

I need to work on being better at hauling myself out of bed early enough to beat the heat (at least a little) and get my run in first thing.  Lately I kind of stink at that.  I need to get tough and let Bear work it out for himself and get back to sleep in the middle of the night, but I guess I'm so used to stumbling into his room, feeding him, and rocking him back to sleep that I'm there before I even realize!  That and I'm a super softie... 

Well, speaking of sleep, since I can, I'm going to take myself to bed now so I can get up for my run :)  Maybe if you sweet talk me you'll luck out tomorrow and get another sweaty post-run pic!!

Sporty Girl Jewelry!

I spotted this giveaway on one of my favorite blogs and had to share!!  

"@blondeponytail is hosting a Sporty Girl Jewelry giveaway"

I love reading Jess' posts and she inspires me to keep getting out there and covering my miles :)  

Check out her blog and her giveaway!!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It's Ice Cream Time

Sorry for being all MIA, y'all.   Been busy here trying to get in my runs and work and tend to my wonderful family of boys :)  
(yes, I have in fact done all of those things...well, except sew, I haven't had to sew this week...yet)

Fear not, dear friends, I am back with a healthy dose of kid pics :) I figure you can only see SO many pics of me pre- or post-run around the neighborhood.  When I run somewhere cool I will post more running pictures, 'kay?

Funniest thing this morning - W came in while I was putting Bear down for a nap and told me it was "ice cream time."  Sure enough, I peeked out of Bear's room and there he was, scooping up cups of ice cream for both of us.  I wished I could take a picture right then, but I settled for taking a picture after I got Bear down to show how proud W was of himself.  He got out the cups (one for each of us), his little toddler spoon, scooped ice cream into both cups, and then went and got me a big spoon.  Of course, he ate both cups of it while I was busy taking his picture over and over :)  But seriously, what a sweetie my little guy is!!

My half marathon training is picking up now for reals.  I ran 16.5 miles last week, with a long run of 6.5 miles on Saturday.  It was hot, but I figure Labor Day weekend in Va Beach is likely to be hot, too, so training in some heat will be for the best.  I took the dogs and we were all grateful for some strategic walk breaks when we hit some nice shady spots.  Mr. Garmin's GPS was acting all cray-cray, so I just ended up using him for total time.
hey, can you fix my garmin??

This week, I rested Monday, did an easy 3 today, and then am going to try and get in several more shorter runs early in the day with an 8-miler this weekend.  Keep me accountable, puh-leeze?  Seriously hard to be motivated to get out and run when it's so hot and humid with all these heat advisories, boo!  
Monster Trucks

My poor Bear is teething really badly and is running a fever and is such a sad little dude :(  I hope he's better soon.  Right now he just wants to be held and comforted.  Of course I'm happy to snuggle with him as much as I can!

For now it's back to work ...

...and it really IS ice cream time for me - hubby got me a Frosty! Yay!

Monday, July 11, 2011

What I learned today

  1. My dogs cannot handle a midday run in the summertime (I only walked because of Beamer, honest)
  2. A kiddie pool with an inflatable slide provides hours of fun for a 2 1/2 year old and is a completely shrewd investment to entertain and wear out a toddler
  3. Sometimes it IS possible to have 2 kids in bed at 6:30pm 
  4. How to add an RSS Feed option to the blog so people can follow it in their reader (thanks, Jenn!)
  5. I must actually save pictures I find from the web to my computer rather than being lazy and doing a quick copy-paste :)  Oops, sorry if images haven't been showing up guys!!
  6. Even though he's only 2 and his tastes fluctuate by the minute, it still kinda hurts my feelings when W spits out the dinner I cooked and says "it's gross."
  7. I need a new computer that can handle photo editing and uploading :) (sorry for the lack of visual stimulation today, I'm having a turd-ton of trouble uploading pics from my camera, and darn if I don't have some uber cute ones of the boys to share!!  Soon, promise.)
  8. Will and Kate have left the country...

    Thursday, July 7, 2011

    Oh. My. Goodness. (Literally, goodness)

    I had seen on another blog I follow something that I've been wanting to try - Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter.  I mean, seriously, how can that not be incredible??  So, at the grocery store yesterday I saw it and grabbed a jar.  I had some today on a frozen waffle and topped it with sliced bananas...seriously incredible!  Mega goodness.  I ate it all before I took a picture, so you'll have to wait till next time for some foodie pics with the Dark Chocolate Dreams :)
    A new friend in our house.

    New Police-Mom Forced to take Leave without Pay

    I saw this article today and had to share and comment...

    In Washington, DC, there is a new mom that is having to take LWOP in order to continue breastfeeding her 2nd child.  I am a huge proponent of breastfeeding and feel very blessed that I've been so successful in nursing both my kids.  I can hardly believe that she is facing this issue as a result of a newer policy in the department apparently meant to keep officers from taking advantage of "illnesses" or "injuries."

    The issue is that she cannot wear her bulletproof vest since it does not fit her nursing figure and could cause clogged ducts, pain, and even decreased supply from the compression.  She'd served in a desk job capacity right after returning from leave, but then was expected to go back on patrol.  Even after an examination by a department doctor and his/her recommendation that she be returned to a desk job, the request was denied and since she just came back from leave and has no vacation time, leave without pay is her only option as long as she plans to continue breastfeeding.  That's a long time to go without an income since the AAP recommends breastfeeding for a child's first year (exclusively for the first 6 months).  Not to mention it does not do much for recruiting or retention for the department...sheesh.

    Anyway, here's the link to the article:  http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/07/breast-feeding-dc-cop-forced-take-leave-without-pay 

    Wednesday, July 6, 2011

    Celeb Kids

    So, I saw a picture today of Kingston Rossdale's blue mohawk!  Now, I know he's had his hair bleached for quite a while.  But I was honestly surprised to see it since he's only 5.  I mean he's clearly adorable, but I would never think to bleach or dye my kids' hair that young.  There was a big stink in celeb gossip world last week or the week before that Courteney Cox's daughter had gotten blue-purple highlights and she's 7 or so I think.  But it seems like a little bit of a double standard that there's (apparently) no worry over dyeing a little boy's hair blue...? 

    I also just saw that Natalie Portman named her baby boy Aleph.  At first, I thought, "huh??" but then I read the meaning of the name and think it's kinda cool.  Not a name for us, but I do like names that have meaning and can appreciate that!!

    I feel like my little W is still wayyy too young for something like hair bleaching or dyeing - he's still my little baby (arguably, he probably always will be).  What do you guys think???