Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Time Out...
...as my son would say. Yup that's right Mommy needed a time out. I was in a very angry, upset mood towards the end of last week and I needed a time out from running and blogging. I missed my Wed 3 miler as usual (My husband travels out of town on Wed and leaves at 5:30am and gets home at 7:30pm so it leaves me no chance to run that day-but that's perfectly OK). My Thursday day off was filled with business errands and an afternoon meeting with the bank again to finalize some last minute details before construction starts. I woke up extra early Friday AM, 5:00, to do the scheduled 4.5 miles only to discover that my husband was already out running! AAARgh!
I waited and waited hoping he would be returning soon but he didn't end up coming home until 6:45am .This left me fuming mad!! There were some choice words said that morning. It made for a miserable day but I am the type of person that separates personal from business very easily so rest assured my patients did not suffer.
I am calm now, having chilled out a bit, received a lot of hugs and apologies and sworn to that my running will be top priority. Aaah, much better.
Sunday's long run of 7miles = 1:17:20 ! I slowed my pace slightly but still managed to maintain an 11 min mile pace. Good for me. I still consider myself a beginner runner so I am happy that I am increasing mileage and keeping the pace. Someday I will become faster like the rest of y'all, until then I am biding my time.
What has been remarkable is the increasing tone in my legs. I am proud of the change- my Mom even noticed last month!
This post seems random and scatterbrained because it just is. Too many thoughts in my head right now going in several different directions. We officially closed on the lake property yesterday and the contractors are bringing fill to our new office location today. I might not be able to post as regularly as before but will try my best.
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I waited and waited hoping he would be returning soon but he didn't end up coming home until 6:45am .This left me fuming mad!! There were some choice words said that morning. It made for a miserable day but I am the type of person that separates personal from business very easily so rest assured my patients did not suffer.
I am calm now, having chilled out a bit, received a lot of hugs and apologies and sworn to that my running will be top priority. Aaah, much better.
Sunday's long run of 7miles = 1:17:20 ! I slowed my pace slightly but still managed to maintain an 11 min mile pace. Good for me. I still consider myself a beginner runner so I am happy that I am increasing mileage and keeping the pace. Someday I will become faster like the rest of y'all, until then I am biding my time.
What has been remarkable is the increasing tone in my legs. I am proud of the change- my Mom even noticed last month!
This post seems random and scatterbrained because it just is. Too many thoughts in my head right now going in several different directions. We officially closed on the lake property yesterday and the contractors are bringing fill to our new office location today. I might not be able to post as regularly as before but will try my best.
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
The blahs and the iPod
Sunday 6 mile = 1:04:45 = 10:45 min/mile !!!!!!!
Tuesday 4 miles = 44:52 = 11:21 min/mile
I hit a bit of a blah spell last week, both physically and mentally. My husband had decided, 2 weeks ago, that he wanted to run the Maine Marathon's 1/2 marathon too. That was fine and dandy except that now we have to figure out who is going to run each morning. It used to only be me so if I felt like sleeping in and shifting the training schedule it was no problem, but now it is a problem. One morning last week I had dressed to run and was heading out the door when my little one "N" woke up hollering "where Mama?" By the time I soothed him down I realized there was not enough time to run before the daily commotion of morning wakeup routine would begin. Well, who should stroll into the bedroom dripping wet with sweat? My husband. Having just run 4 miles. Outside. On my running day. Humph.
That's when I realized my freedom of random morning runs were over. I thought how funny it would have been to be out running and discover my husband heading towards me on the other side of the road :) Me panic stricken would be wondering who was with the kids.
Oh well -we'll figure it out.
Last week my last run was Thursday PM, Friday was rest day, on Saturdays I never have a chance to crosstrain so it becomes another rest day. This is too much down time for me - I end up shifting into lazy mode. Next weekend I will do a short run ~2 miles on Sat AM, then the long run Sun. We'll see if that helps.
I would love to have a bike and ride the mornings that I'm not running or even put the kids in one of those bike trailer things and ride in the evenings with them but bikes are expensive, especially since I like to buy middle range and not low end, and the end of the season is coming, then comes snow...brrr.
In other news I bought an iPod shuffle at Sam's Club yesterday! Why? because on my long run Sunday my FM radio gave out on me at the 4 mile mark....aargh! I hate the sound of my shoes on pavement or gravel so the last 2 miles were a killer for me. I tried singing songs in my head but the majority of my song library consists of preschools songs "the wheels on the bus..."
Since the half marathon has a radio headset ban I broke down and bought the iPod. Talk about feeling old school. I went to Circuit City to buy a shuffle armband and asked the kid how the whole MP3 thing worked. Well didn't he just look at me like I had 3 heads. Alright kid, listen here, 8 tracks were just being phased out when I was born in 1971. I own numerous vinyl, tapes and quite a few old CDs but since the kids were born (2002) it has been a preschool life.
I downloaded iTunes and uploaded some of my old CDs, the thought of paying $0.99 a song seems high when you can buy the whole CD for $10.
I am sooooooooooo feeling old right now.
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Tuesday 4 miles = 44:52 = 11:21 min/mile
I hit a bit of a blah spell last week, both physically and mentally. My husband had decided, 2 weeks ago, that he wanted to run the Maine Marathon's 1/2 marathon too. That was fine and dandy except that now we have to figure out who is going to run each morning. It used to only be me so if I felt like sleeping in and shifting the training schedule it was no problem, but now it is a problem. One morning last week I had dressed to run and was heading out the door when my little one "N" woke up hollering "where Mama?" By the time I soothed him down I realized there was not enough time to run before the daily commotion of morning wakeup routine would begin. Well, who should stroll into the bedroom dripping wet with sweat? My husband. Having just run 4 miles. Outside. On my running day. Humph.
That's when I realized my freedom of random morning runs were over. I thought how funny it would have been to be out running and discover my husband heading towards me on the other side of the road :) Me panic stricken would be wondering who was with the kids.
Oh well -we'll figure it out.
Last week my last run was Thursday PM, Friday was rest day, on Saturdays I never have a chance to crosstrain so it becomes another rest day. This is too much down time for me - I end up shifting into lazy mode. Next weekend I will do a short run ~2 miles on Sat AM, then the long run Sun. We'll see if that helps.
I would love to have a bike and ride the mornings that I'm not running or even put the kids in one of those bike trailer things and ride in the evenings with them but bikes are expensive, especially since I like to buy middle range and not low end, and the end of the season is coming, then comes snow...brrr.
In other news I bought an iPod shuffle at Sam's Club yesterday! Why? because on my long run Sunday my FM radio gave out on me at the 4 mile mark....aargh! I hate the sound of my shoes on pavement or gravel so the last 2 miles were a killer for me. I tried singing songs in my head but the majority of my song library consists of preschools songs "the wheels on the bus..."
Since the half marathon has a radio headset ban I broke down and bought the iPod. Talk about feeling old school. I went to Circuit City to buy a shuffle armband and asked the kid how the whole MP3 thing worked. Well didn't he just look at me like I had 3 heads. Alright kid, listen here, 8 tracks were just being phased out when I was born in 1971. I own numerous vinyl, tapes and quite a few old CDs but since the kids were born (2002) it has been a preschool life.
I downloaded iTunes and uploaded some of my old CDs, the thought of paying $0.99 a song seems high when you can buy the whole CD for $10.
I am sooooooooooo feeling old right now.
Friday, August 19, 2005
TGIF
Not much exciting in the world of exercise this week ...
Tuesday - 4 miles on treadmill @ 10:32 pace
Thursday - 4 miles on treadmill @ 10:32 pace
This week I was too lazy wake up in the AM so I did treadmill running in the evening instead. Am I the only one who thinks that an11:00 pace on a treadmill is faster than the 10:45 I run outdoors? It seems like I work a lot harder when running on the treadmill. Maybe those things aren't calibrated right.
Anyway, the lakehouse thing...The other 2 properties we looked at were not appropriate waterfront for someone with 2 preschoolers. It was deep waterfront, meaning they had boats docked next to land so even though the yard was huge the deep water was intimidating to me. The camp was nasty inside- no heat, not insulated, moldy and musty smelling-just awful. It is a complete teardown. But the lot is big so if someone has lots of money they could buy it, tear it down and rebuilt a spectacular home worthy of being called a lakehouse or summer home.
I could just imagine my kids jumping in to the deep water without life jackets when my back was turned. So we decided to continue bidding on the first one with a small sand beach and shallower water.
Just to clarify, when I say lakehouse that is glorifying it-Mainers call these kind of houses "camps" for good reason, they are old fishing and hunting camps located on land that at one time was owned by lumber companies. The current owners have jazzed it up with new vinyl siding, new cupboards, new windows, doors and a new deck but it is still a camp. The walls are insulated but the beautiful rustic beadboard ceiling is not. Remember it is only 20 x 24 in size = 480 sq ft!
This is the link to the one kid appropriate that we want -
http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1049381370?lnksrc=00045
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Tuesday - 4 miles on treadmill @ 10:32 pace
Thursday - 4 miles on treadmill @ 10:32 pace
This week I was too lazy wake up in the AM so I did treadmill running in the evening instead. Am I the only one who thinks that an11:00 pace on a treadmill is faster than the 10:45 I run outdoors? It seems like I work a lot harder when running on the treadmill. Maybe those things aren't calibrated right.
Anyway, the lakehouse thing...The other 2 properties we looked at were not appropriate waterfront for someone with 2 preschoolers. It was deep waterfront, meaning they had boats docked next to land so even though the yard was huge the deep water was intimidating to me. The camp was nasty inside- no heat, not insulated, moldy and musty smelling-just awful. It is a complete teardown. But the lot is big so if someone has lots of money they could buy it, tear it down and rebuilt a spectacular home worthy of being called a lakehouse or summer home.
I could just imagine my kids jumping in to the deep water without life jackets when my back was turned. So we decided to continue bidding on the first one with a small sand beach and shallower water.
Just to clarify, when I say lakehouse that is glorifying it-Mainers call these kind of houses "camps" for good reason, they are old fishing and hunting camps located on land that at one time was owned by lumber companies. The current owners have jazzed it up with new vinyl siding, new cupboards, new windows, doors and a new deck but it is still a camp. The walls are insulated but the beautiful rustic beadboard ceiling is not. Remember it is only 20 x 24 in size = 480 sq ft!
This is the link to the one kid appropriate that we want -
http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1049381370?lnksrc=00045
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Short post turned long
Since Friday I have felt like crap- I have an abcessed molar and it hurts to eat. So Sunday morning I woke up in quite a bit of pain and sleep deprived because of the tooth. Lifting my head from my bed at 6am and seeing mist outside, I said "screw it, no long run today, I'm going back to sleep". I woke up 2 hours late much more refreshed but feeling very guilty about missing the long run.
All day long I thought about when would be a good time to do the obligatory 6 miles. Nothing like feeling forced to run. You have to understand that my father-in-law (FIL) came to help us build stairs for our deck. So someone has to watch the kids while my husband helps him. I thought when the kids take their nap I'll run...well I ended up falling asleep too. Two hours later, and feeling even more guilty, I decided rain or shine I was going to run. Off I went.
End result 5.5 miles= 57:30 min. Not bad.
This morning I skipped the 4 mile run because my husband and I were up until 2am discussing the impending purchase of our lakehouse. I know there are worse things to worry about but the truth is we are stretching ourselves pretty thin. The house we bid on and had inspected revealed a flaw where the ground is causing one of the basement walkout walls to be pushed in due to erosion. It will require a backhoe to dug up around the whole cottage foundation (not concrete but post and beam with pressure treated lumber), put in a retaining wall, and back fill. A lot more expense than originally budgeted when we were told of the flaw by the homeowners.
So after I paid $400 last week to have the septic pumped and inspected (because it is in shoreland property) and paid another $400 to the building inspectpr yesterday, we find out another place just literally went up on the market a little bit further down the lake. So everyone, realtor and inspector included, head over to the new listing. It has 50 ft more waterfront (150ft vs 100ft), no sand beach, but a level lot that is twice the size. the cottage needs work to update it but the lot is huge. Unfortunately it was not open so we couldn't see the inside. So what the hell is the dilemma?
For right now the first one is better because it has 100 ft of sand beach 2 feet in width but...for later I can totally see us having more family/friends/kids friends over pitching tents in the summer and having parties. So to buy for now or for later that is the dilemma. Plus I would end up kissing the $800 so far goodbye, something I am pissed about.
Hmmm maybe I can get the realtor to cover the new septic and building inspection considering that property offers the regular 3% commission compared to the 1.5% of the first house. Knowing realtors they will try and push you to buy the higher priced one for more money in their pockets. No offense to any readers who have family that are realtors.
We are going to see the inside of it tonight after work. I'll keep you posted.
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All day long I thought about when would be a good time to do the obligatory 6 miles. Nothing like feeling forced to run. You have to understand that my father-in-law (FIL) came to help us build stairs for our deck. So someone has to watch the kids while my husband helps him. I thought when the kids take their nap I'll run...well I ended up falling asleep too. Two hours later, and feeling even more guilty, I decided rain or shine I was going to run. Off I went.
End result 5.5 miles= 57:30 min. Not bad.
This morning I skipped the 4 mile run because my husband and I were up until 2am discussing the impending purchase of our lakehouse. I know there are worse things to worry about but the truth is we are stretching ourselves pretty thin. The house we bid on and had inspected revealed a flaw where the ground is causing one of the basement walkout walls to be pushed in due to erosion. It will require a backhoe to dug up around the whole cottage foundation (not concrete but post and beam with pressure treated lumber), put in a retaining wall, and back fill. A lot more expense than originally budgeted when we were told of the flaw by the homeowners.
So after I paid $400 last week to have the septic pumped and inspected (because it is in shoreland property) and paid another $400 to the building inspectpr yesterday, we find out another place just literally went up on the market a little bit further down the lake. So everyone, realtor and inspector included, head over to the new listing. It has 50 ft more waterfront (150ft vs 100ft), no sand beach, but a level lot that is twice the size. the cottage needs work to update it but the lot is huge. Unfortunately it was not open so we couldn't see the inside. So what the hell is the dilemma?
For right now the first one is better because it has 100 ft of sand beach 2 feet in width but...for later I can totally see us having more family/friends/kids friends over pitching tents in the summer and having parties. So to buy for now or for later that is the dilemma. Plus I would end up kissing the $800 so far goodbye, something I am pissed about.
Hmmm maybe I can get the realtor to cover the new septic and building inspection considering that property offers the regular 3% commission compared to the 1.5% of the first house. Knowing realtors they will try and push you to buy the higher priced one for more money in their pockets. No offense to any readers who have family that are realtors.
We are going to see the inside of it tonight after work. I'll keep you posted.
Friday, August 12, 2005
Short post
Thursday (yesterday) AM 4 miles = 43:17 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not only am I running farther but a tad faster than before. I have been experimenting with a bit of GU (1/3 of tube) before each run. Maybe it's helping...maybe its psychological :)
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Not only am I running farther but a tad faster than before. I have been experimenting with a bit of GU (1/3 of tube) before each run. Maybe it's helping...maybe its psychological :)
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Boston run
My husband and I went to Boston this past weekend to buy medical equipment for the office we are constructing. Before leaving I told my husband that on Sunday AM I would be running 5miles on the esplanade along the Charles River (separating Boston and Cambridge). He said he would love to join me. Remember he has long legs-it's important later.
On Saturday we stopped by Marathon Sports to get a running map and buy new Asics Gel Kayanos (I always wear the same shoe). Back at the hotel, we found the 5.2 mile route on the map and decided to give it a try the next day. We had dinner in the North End, which is basically Little Italy, at Limoncello's which served Northern Italian dishes. I had Chilean sea bass and it was cooked to perfection!
On Sunday we woke up at 6:20am (rephrase-I woke up, he wanted to know why he couldn't sleep in) and headed down to the Esplanade (home of the Hatch Shell where the July 4th Pops conert is broadcast from on PBS). We started at the Harvard Bridge (across from the MIT dome) and planned to run to the Arsenal Bridge, across it to the Cambridge side and back. A couple of things about Boston- some things just don't have a logical reason for the way they are.
- Considering that the whole darn city runs on the Esplanade you would think they would mark the 10 bridges so you know where you are.
- The Harvard Bridge does not go to Harvard- it crosses to MIT.
- The Arsenal Bridge connects to Harvard and not to the Armory.
Instead of the Arsenal Bridge we ended up turning around at the Anderson Bridge thinking it was the Arsenal. The end result was that we did exactly 5 miles instead of the intended 5.2 miles in 55 minutes (that included 1 minute of jogging on spot waiting for light to change and not get run over by cars).
Overall I was very, very happy with this time.
OK now a note about long legs - ran the whole thing then came back to run with me-aawww...what a sweet husband (see post about 7min miler for 10 miles). At the end he was pumped I tell ya...
Him: Come on let's go farther, that was easy.
Me: Um...no thanks, I'm gonna stick to the schedule.
Him: Maybe we can run again tonight-that felt great.
Me: Maybe you should wait until tonight, you might just change your mind.
Him: OK then let's run tomorrow morning.
Me: uh, no tomorrow is rest day.
Him (2 blocks later): uh, the side of my knee is sore
Him (1 block later): ouch it hurts, stop I need to stretch
Me(giggling): I told you so, still wanna run tonight? Hee hee
This AM 4 miles = 44:28 minutes. It felt great! When I posted that 3.5 miles at 37 minutes being sloooow it was not because of the time, the run just felt bad. It felt like I was trying too hard to keep the pace. But I thank those that commented that it was not so slow.
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Slow as Molasses moving backwards in a snowstorm
Today : 3.5 miles = 37 minutes. Can you say slooooooooooooow.
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Setting up for the petting zoo in my parents backyard with anxious kids waiting patiently. My sons are the ones in the white shirts with orange dino on back. 
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Lots of people :)
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Yikes
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Happy Birthday to me- hey wait, hands off that's my cake
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Clean up time-kids all gone
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Don't my kids look cute in their Indian outfits?
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My son in Dash PJ's and Spidey underwear holding up finished knit socks for niece.
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Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Boo Hoo
I miss my little monkeys :( They won't be back until next week but the house is horribly empty without them. It seems that they are also my unconscious motivator. Let me explain.
Every morning I wake up and go running around 6:15ish, by the time I return back to the house, the kids are awake, sometimes dressed and having breakfast with Daddy. I stretch, do crunches and shower before my husband leaves for work at 7:45ish. This leaves 45 minutes to finish getting dressed, dress the kids (if not done yet), clean up breakfast mess, ready the kids bags for school, corral them in to the SUV(the environment-yeah,yeah) to drop off at preschool before 9am. This busy schedule must subconsciously get my adrenaline pumping first thing in the AM because this week without the kids I feel like a SLUG.
I woke up as usual to run this morning and when I hit the road I felt like I was forcing myself to run. Not a good feeling. I had flashbacks to tennis training and being forced to run with the coach behind us making sure we didn't slack off. I hate forced anything! So after suffering the worst right side shin splints for a mile I quit and walked back home. Disgusted with myself, I finished by doing some crunches before heading off to work. I had a remember to turn into my office driveway and not drive past it to the preschool like I usually do.
I am thinking of bailing on the training schedule for this week and pick up again for the long run on Sunday. I'll be in Boston (where I went to school) for the weekend and my husband has said he will run with me along the Esplanade, yeah :)
A warning- the following will make you sick with jealousy... my husband's body build is long and lean. 6' 2 1/2' and ~175lbs. He is built like a long distance runner. In May he decided to go for a long run out of the blue. He went for 10 miles at a 7:30 pace! Makes me sick. Extremely athletic he is-lucky!
BTW when I run the half-marathon in October, when am I supposed to eat GU gel and where am I supposed to use the Body Glide? Are there any guidelines for this? I couldn't find anything in this years back issues of Runner's World.
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Every morning I wake up and go running around 6:15ish, by the time I return back to the house, the kids are awake, sometimes dressed and having breakfast with Daddy. I stretch, do crunches and shower before my husband leaves for work at 7:45ish. This leaves 45 minutes to finish getting dressed, dress the kids (if not done yet), clean up breakfast mess, ready the kids bags for school, corral them in to the SUV(the environment-yeah,yeah) to drop off at preschool before 9am. This busy schedule must subconsciously get my adrenaline pumping first thing in the AM because this week without the kids I feel like a SLUG.
I woke up as usual to run this morning and when I hit the road I felt like I was forcing myself to run. Not a good feeling. I had flashbacks to tennis training and being forced to run with the coach behind us making sure we didn't slack off. I hate forced anything! So after suffering the worst right side shin splints for a mile I quit and walked back home. Disgusted with myself, I finished by doing some crunches before heading off to work. I had a remember to turn into my office driveway and not drive past it to the preschool like I usually do.
I am thinking of bailing on the training schedule for this week and pick up again for the long run on Sunday. I'll be in Boston (where I went to school) for the weekend and my husband has said he will run with me along the Esplanade, yeah :)
A warning- the following will make you sick with jealousy... my husband's body build is long and lean. 6' 2 1/2' and ~175lbs. He is built like a long distance runner. In May he decided to go for a long run out of the blue. He went for 10 miles at a 7:30 pace! Makes me sick. Extremely athletic he is-lucky!
BTW when I run the half-marathon in October, when am I supposed to eat GU gel and where am I supposed to use the Body Glide? Are there any guidelines for this? I couldn't find anything in this years back issues of Runner's World.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Weekend run
First things first:
Friday 3.5 miles = 35:22 min
Sunday 5 miles = 53:56 min
This past weekend was very, very busy. It involved another trip 3 hours North to Fredericton. Saturday was my nephew's 1st birthday party-there was a petting zoo in my parents backyard consisting of a giant pink pig, a llama, rabbits, rooster, chinese chicken, ducks and whatever else I have forgotten. The kids invited had a great time with the animals especially when the rabbit escaped. My 3 year old was running around the yard trying to help chase it down and was giddy with the thrill of the chase.
On Sunday my Mom hosted a "Garden Party" at our local Hindu temple for about 75 people for whom she did all the cooking herself! That too was a good time with great food (of course) and a chance to catch up with the kids of my parents friends whom I have not seen in a long time. Typical to the Indian population most of them are in med school or in engineering school.
The kids are with my in-laws :( for this week so hopefully I can get some yard work done around the house.
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Friday 3.5 miles = 35:22 min
Sunday 5 miles = 53:56 min
This past weekend was very, very busy. It involved another trip 3 hours North to Fredericton. Saturday was my nephew's 1st birthday party-there was a petting zoo in my parents backyard consisting of a giant pink pig, a llama, rabbits, rooster, chinese chicken, ducks and whatever else I have forgotten. The kids invited had a great time with the animals especially when the rabbit escaped. My 3 year old was running around the yard trying to help chase it down and was giddy with the thrill of the chase.
On Sunday my Mom hosted a "Garden Party" at our local Hindu temple for about 75 people for whom she did all the cooking herself! That too was a good time with great food (of course) and a chance to catch up with the kids of my parents friends whom I have not seen in a long time. Typical to the Indian population most of them are in med school or in engineering school.
The kids are with my in-laws :( for this week so hopefully I can get some yard work done around the house.
