Running and Rowing and Run This Year - 800miles

My running funk is still going strong, but I've been trying to fight it.  I signed up for the Dulles Runway 10K, figuring it would give me some incentive to up my running.  Not so much.... Hadn't run in over a month, when I set out to run the race.  I thought to myself, how bad can it be, it's on the runway, it's flat, how bad can it be.... Well, pretty bad! :o(   I walked WAY MORE than I hoped to, but I did finish it, to be honest I don't even remember my time. Something like 1:12.  I just don't know what my problem is... even a year ago I was doing great and now, its just like torture!  I did hit my 800 mile mark for Run This Year.

Most of the miles lately have been rowing and erging miles, but I guess there's nothing wrong with that.  Rowing is a great workout as well.  I also found the Hogwarts Running Club on line.  It's a virtual running club. They host all these virtual races with Harry Potter themes, you pay to register and you get a really cool medal for doing the race and part of the registration fee goes to various charities.  They also use this app called Charity Miles.  You use it when you run, walk, bike or in my case row... and for every mile you complete they contribute money to a charity of your choice.  It's pretty darn cool.  For instance, this month all my miles are going to the World Wildlife Federation.  Each month I'm going to pick a different charity and run/row for them.  You also compete for the "House Cup" after you get "sorted" into a house, I'm Hufflepuff, then all your miles go toward that was well.  I talked Brenna into joining with me, she's going to run on the same day that I do for the virtual 5K's.  We'll be running the Patronus 5K on Oct 3rd.  Anything I can do to get motivated.  

On the rowing front... things are hot and cold.  I still feel like I'm doing all I can to just keep up with these ladies.  They all seem so much stronger, fitter and like better rowers than me.  I still find them pretty intimidating, on the water anyway,  they are very nice and mostly fun off the water.  I'm sure a lot of that is just my low self confidence.  I just keep trying as hard as I can to improve what Coach Jeanette points out.   Just when I was feeling pretty low... I did have one glorious moment.  Last practice we were getting ready to put the boat away and Coach Jeanette called me back down to the dock and made me get in the boat and demonstrate my stroke.  Apparently, my body angle and sequence was "perfect" and I was opening my back up at just the right moment!!  So everyone had to gather round and watch me... SAY WHAT???!!!   Not only did I get a warm fuzzy, but she I got it in front of everyone!   I was pretty high on life for quite awhile... until the next sucky practice anyway. :o)  We have a regatta tomorrow.  Head of the Potomac... I'm really sort of dreading it.  We haven't practiced in our lineup, we haven't practiced at race pace except for today and that was for 4 minutes.  Since I don't think we can row 5000meters in 4 minutes, I'm not sure how helpful that was.  I have no idea what that bodes for tomorrow, except that I know I'm dreading it.  Not only that, but we've been told we're racing two races!!  I guess we'll see what happens, but I feel woefully unprepared!  One good thing... the second race is a mixed boat with the men and Zack will be my coxswain!  That will be fun!

Running, Rowing - why is it all so hard??

I'm back trying to get myself running, erging and rowing.  It's not been easy, it seems like since I took May off, I just can't get my groove back on. Although I certainly have my eating groove going on!  The erging is fine - it's a class and I feel guilt if I don't go and work hard when I do, but the rest... it's a struggle.

I'm finding the rowing to be particularly challenging.  I feel like, I just don't feel like, I am, a novice rower trying to hang with the competitive women.  It's challenging to put it mildly.  Everyday I finish practice and I think, "I'm going down to Intermediate, I gotta go down to Intermediate."  There's so much I need to work on that I can't keep it all in my head.  As soon as I focus on one thing, everything else goes to hell.  I practically panic when they bump the stroke rate up and then I tense up and it all gets worse.  I'm a mess.  If I'm being completely honest, I don't think I'm that much worse than everyone else, but it sure feels like it.  If we could just spend all our time rowing at about a 20 and doing drills I'd be perfectly happy.  Doesn't sound much like a competitive woman to me. :o(

And the running....  Geez, it's like I've never run before.   I can't even run a mile without having to stop and walk.  I might as well be doing a Couch to 5K program, run a minute, walk a minute.  Geez it's ridiculous.  I feel like my legs weigh 800lbs and I'm huffing along like a gimpy elephant.   It's just not fair.  2 years of running and I take one freaking month off and it's like I've never run before.    It doesn't help that I'm about 6lbs heavier than I'd like to be, which is like I'm carrying a bag of sugar with me on every run.  Today I ran 2 miles on the trail and then did 3 -one mile repeats on the Boathouse hill.  God, that hill sucks!  I was pretty happy with my performance.  My new goal will be to run that freaking hill without having to stop, by the end of summer.

Summer is exhausting

This picture cracks me up!  We took our first walk of the summer today.  Zoey and I are both on a slim down program for the summer.  On our walk today we did a little running, just a tiny bit, and I think I might have killed Zoey! :o)  She hung in there like a champ, but I think we'll need to take it even easier as we build up our endurance! 

It's official... NEVER F**King Again....NEVER....

It's over, it's done.. Thank the Sweet Baby Jesus.  Today, I finished my 2nd and LAST Half Marathon!  It was absolutely miserable!!  I had that fabulous 10mile run, but then every single run after that was just crap, so my confidence was not at it's highest.  But, I still felt like I could do it.  My goal was to keep my time under 11:00min mile.  Goal - 2:23.   Jullie and I met up and headed to the Metro at 5:00am.  It was freezing cold and raining, but we weren't going to let that stop us.    Lots of people, but I was able to get to the port potties with very little drama and that's always my biggest stressor.  Got to pee right before we start.  But, I didn't need to worry, there were so many people, we actually crossed the start line about 30 minutes after the initial start gun.  In the cold, freezing rain... did I mention it was cold and rainy!

 We were still pretty happy and optimistic... the race hadn't started yet....  Jullie and I ran together, she was going to run with another friend, but her friend backed out at the last minute.  I don't usually like running with anyone, too much pressure.  Am I going too slow and holding them back?  Are they going to be faster than me?  But, we actually ran really well together.  Once or twice either she or I would need to stop, but then we always caught up to each other.  Honestly the first 10 miles were pretty good, despite the non-stop rain. Kept to the less than 11min mile, even with walking 2 water stations and 1 potty break for me.  There was also an HELLACIOUS hill at mile 6.5.  I made it about 3/4 of the way up the hill, but then I had to walk.  I was still okay with that.  The shit got real at mile 10!!!  My back started to really hurt and Jullie's hamstrings and calves were like knotted ropes.  We ended up walk/running the next 1.5 miles, but that was it.  Neither of us could run any more and we ended up walking about the last 1.2 miles.  It was a little discouraging, but honestly, my back hurt so bad I really didn't care.  We just wanted to finish it.  We ran the last .2 miles and crossed the finish so we could at least attempt to look strong. :o)  Finished in 2:35, which is not great, but still better than the first Half I ran, even with all the walking.  Which just tells me, if I was ever able to actually run the whole thing I might do okay, but that's not going to happen.EVER.  The after race sucked even worse.  The snacks were lame... bananas, baked chip samples and some sort of new mint chocolate power bar.  YUCK.  Since I never feel like eating afterwards, it wasn't the end of the world.  But at the AF Half, they had bagels and pizza.  I'm just saying.  Then, we had to wait for 40 MINUTES outside the Metro, in the...you got it... FREEZING WIND AND RAIN...before we could even get down into the Metro to go home.  I was so cold and tired and my back was still hurting.  I began to get really nauseous!  It truly was horrible.

We look happy here, but its a LIE!  We were finally on the metro, but still so cold we could hardly stay in our seat.  I was more sore from all the shaking and shivering than from the running!

 The napping was really good when I got home, that's the best part of racing!!

Plus the "after eating" was pretty good as well or actually the "after eating" plan was good, I didn't really feel much like eating until almost dinnertime.  Basically I didn't finish the race strong and I didn't finish my eating plan strong either!  

I'm glad I did it... sorta... it just confirmed in my mind that I am not a long distance runner!  10 miles is my max. If I had stopped at 10 miles, I would have been perfectly satisfied with my race.  When I look at the calendar and have a 4, 5 or 6 mile run planned... I'm okay with that.  Not a big deal.  But if I look at the calendar and it's 8, 9 or 10 - all of a sudden I "hate" running and I begin to dread the whole thing! So, WHY do it???!!  I'm going to happily stick with my 5K's, 10K's and occasionally a 10 miler when I want a challenge.  Done, Done and Done!

Bad Ass

37 degrees, pouring rain, 4.5 miles.  Training to be BadAss!

Not a Chance

It's 10 freaking degrees outside (not counting the wind)
I'm on Day 3 of my juice fast - it hasn't been bad, but I do get pretty hungry and I'm feeling a little draggy, can't tell if it's the fast, allergies or the winter crud everyone has
and
another 2 hour delay for school today!

Gold's Gym - you didn't stand a chance in hell today!  I'll make up the miles somewhere else.
But, I promise I'll try and keep our date tomorrow!

Treadmill Success

     I did it!  I ran on the treadmill and there were no YouTube Videos made, nothing embarrassing at all.  I ran and it was good!  I was hoping to do 3 miles, but it went so well I went ahead and did 4 miles! I set it to run at a 10min pace and I actually felt strong and like I could keep going forever.  The last little bit I increased the pace a little bit. I didn't use any incline, I figured it was better to fun flat while I was still figuring it out.   Treadmills now are like frigging space ships.  There are 2 control panels with eleventy-billion buttons.  You can control the treadmill in numerous manners and you have your own personal TV that you can control as well.   Although I still sort of feel like if you are watching TV you really aren't exercising.  The only problem with not watching the TV is that then the monitor serves as a reflective surface and it forces me to watch my reflection run.  Since the monitor is mainly at boob level, I'm able to evaluate the appropriateness of my sports bra, which seems to be doing it's job.

Let's evaluate the Treadmill...
PROS:
1.  No hills, unless I choose them.
2.  No wind
3.  No dodging dog poop piles
4.  Warm
5.  Light

CONS:
1.  Boring... not as boring as running on a track, so that's a good thing, but still I think it's going to be boring eventually.
2.  It's inside, which is really only a CON when the weather is good, in which case I won't be running on the treadmill anyway.

So, it looks like the PROS win.  I thought people watching would be a definite entertainment factor, but unfortunately at 530am in the morning there really aren't that many people in the gym and those that are there are pretty serious.  I think most of the entertaining posers must come out after work.

So all in all, a win!  I'll continue with my Mon/Fri 530am Erging and Tues/Thurs 530am run.   I still haven't discovered the "Runner's High" that everyone talks about, when I'm running it still pretty much sucks and I hate it.  But the "high" comes at 645am when I'm driving to work and I know that my workout is done for the day!  That part is freaking AWESOME!  I know I'm done and anything else I do the rest of the day, walk the dogs, run at practice, sticks of sorrow with the boys, is all icing on the cake!  That is the high that will keep me getting up at 430am... I hope!!

New Year, New Blog, New Resolutions 2015

I have been really remiss in keeping up with my blog.  I'm going to try and go back and fill in eventually, but for now, I'm just going to start fresh.  We had a very quiet New Year's Eve.

 Brenna jetted off off to Brazil to spend 9 days with Melanie and some family friends.  John, Zack and I destroyed some crab legs, watched a movie and went to bed hoping the new year would arrive without us actually ringing it in!

It did!

I ran my first race of the year - The Resolution 5K.  Which led me to think about my Resolutions for 2015.  I found a website called Run this Year.  You can either run 2015 miles or 2015 kilometers.  I'm going to go for the kilometers instead of miles, it will be easier.  Either way it's going to be insanely hard to accomplish, it's 3-4 miles everyday, but it will give me something to aim for.  I'm also going to include all the meters I'm erging as well.  Since I'm erging 3 days a week, that will hopefully help me get there.  I won't worry about races every single month, but will still try and do some as I feel like it.

The 2nd part of my Resolution - is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT to accomplish.  I've decided that I need/should attempt to GIVE UP FRUIT SNACKS!  Oh how I love fruit snacks!  I blame it all on little Evey Price who first introduced me to them about 2 years ago.  It's not like I eat an inordinate amount of them, but I do eat more than I probably need to, maybe 3-4 little snack packs a day.  Which isn't that bad until you consider each bag has 90 calories, which again isn't the end of the world 4 bags = 360 calories, until you realize that a 3 mile run is about 300 calories.  In essence, if I eat 3-4 little packs a day, then I have totally negated my 3 mile run - I might as well have not even run!  Say What??!!  

The other part that will make this difficult is that the entire Crew Team is addicted to fruit snacks as well.  We call them Fruit Crack.  I will have to continue to be the Crew Team Fruit Crack supplier, but refrain from partaking myself.  The True Test!

Here's to 2015 - resolutions, health, happiness and success in whatever guise it takes.

First Trail Run - Race #3

Race #3 in the bag.  My first Trail Run 5K.  I liked it and I didn't.  It certainly wasn't boring, there were half a dozen times I almost fell on my face, including once almost directly in front of a photographer, but I managed to stay on my feet.

I liked the trail run because it was not boring... I had to stay on my game the whole time.  But at the same time, it was challenging.  My time was 39:40.  I guess that's okay.  I do like mixing it up and doing different races and different distances.  Next month I'm going to try a 10K!

Coolest gift ever!

John has always been a pretty good gift giver. IF you overlook the belly shirt that said BEER WENCH on it and the other t-shirt that said Funkin Ronuts, which he thought would be appropriate for me to wear to Crew functions.  If you ignore those two heinous outliers, then he's pretty darn good.  He got me the best present ever TiVo - when they were still new and no one really even knew what they were.  It was the best and the worst gift, because it allowed me to easily record and watch whatever shows I wanted, which in turn caused me to watch WAY more TV than I should. See best and worst.  Before that I use have to make sure I had the VCR's programmed right and the VHS tapes in the right machines, and hope they didn't tape over anything and you couldn't tape when you were watching…blah, blah, blah.  But I digress….  Coolest gift ever… or at least recently…. For our anniversary, he found this thing/company/service called Stridebox.  It's like a gift box of the month for RUNNERS!!!  I got my first one yesterday.  This one had… protein bars, and fuel chews, and lip balm and a water supplement and a really cool blinking light for night running.  It was fun to go through it and see stuff that #1 - I'd never really heard of and #2 - I'd never buy for myself.  What a cool little treat!  Sometimes he just SCORES!

I very well might need an Intervention

I don't seem to be able to stop myself… I guess there could be a lot worse things to be addicted to….

These are whole baskets of awesome!  And apparently they are highly reflective so if I run in the dark, cars will be able to see my feet flashing by!  They were my birthday present to myself.  Asics Gel Nimbus 15 - Light Shows!!  I just know I'm going to run like the wind in these.  Now I just need the snow, sleet and ice to go away so I can get out there and try them out!

November Recap!

It's been a crazy busy November!  I can't believe it's almost done and December is right around the corner.  Virtually every night I look at my To Do list and there is BLOG right at the top… and still I don't sit down and write.  So, maybe a few highlights with some pics to recap!

#1 - On Nov 2nd, I ran 10miles… 10 freaking miles all at one time.  I wanted to do it, just to see if I could and I did.  It wasn't pretty and it wasn't fast, but I flipping did it!!

#2 - Zack and I ran my 11th 5K race on Nov 10th.   It was the Robinson Crew's 5K fundraiser.  I actually ran a PR - 28:59.  I was pretty happy with my performance and it was really nice running with Zack.

#3 - Zacky ran his first 10K on Nov 17th!  It was sort of an accident.  I was volunteering to help at the Lake Ridge Runners Turkey Trot since I'd already run my Nov 5K.  Coach Cox was running it and wanted me to see if we could get some of the Crew kids to run it.  When I went to sign them up I thought it was a 5K run, but it was a 5K walk and a 10K run…. Coach Cox and Stephanie ( the race director) insisted that "those Crew Boys" had to do the 10K!  So, then I had to text Zack and the rest of them and say…"oops, I guess you guys are actually running a 10K!"  But, you know what I love most about those kids… every single one of them, just shrugged their shoulders and said "Okay."  Like it was no big deal!  Me… I would have been whiney like a little girl baby!  We got about 6-7 kids out to run with Coach Cox and I think they all had a good time.  They didn't run to kill themselves, they all stuck together and ran as a group.  I just love those kids!!  

#4 - Zack took his test to get his driver's permit… say it ain't so… it ain't… he failed it!  You could only miss 6 and he missed 7!  I couldn't freaking believe it.  My smartypants baby boy, failed his first permit test.  Probably because he was just a little too arrogant and over confident.  Then when I told him he should probably study the driver's manual… he acted like I was crazy!  I think his exact words were… "you want me to read THE WHOLE book???"  What does he frigging think… he's just magically going to know how to drive a car.  Now he has to wait 15 days before he can try again.  Hmmm… I wonder if he'll try reading "the whole book" this time?

#5 - Job is going great.  I still love it.  Not sure what that says about me, but I love the copy center.  Zack rides to school with me every morning, he stops by to see me during the day (mainly for the candy) and hangs out in the morning to finish homework etc… it's great.  Everyone seems to love me and they say the copy center has never run so efficiently.  It sure doesn't seem like it's that complicated, so I'm not sure what the guy before me was doing?  Especially since he worked full time in there??!!!

#6 - Crew is up and running.  Winter Conditioning has started and we're going full bore.  Lots of changes going on, which means lots of drama.  But, that's okay.  I love Coach Cox and the vision he has for the team, so I don't mind dealing with all the hoopla!  Our fearless leader, David Tatum, is being deployed to Korea for a year, so guess who gets to step up and be "Interim President" while he's gone.  It's fine.  He'll still be available via email, text and possible Skype!  I really don't mind, I love this team, the parents (mostly) and the kids.  It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to be helping the team.  Zack is doing amazing and really seems to enjoy it.  I think he has a really good chance of being in a Varsity boat this season if he keeps up the hard work.  I'm working out with team during winter conditioning and I'm loving it.  Getting some Erg lessons and learning all sorts of stuff.

#7 - Back to running at least 3 times a week when at all possible, more if I can, but I haven't quite gotten my routine in order with the new job.  It's a juggle to work, walk the dogs, run and do whatever errands need to be taken care of.  Winter conditioning helps, but I still don't have it quite down yet.  My foot is 95% healed!  The plantar facsitis is virtually gone, so I'm trying not to overdo it too much with the running and build back up to running everyday.  I'm also thinking of getting a bike for Christmas and giving that a try just as a different way to work out.

All in all, November has been crazy busy, but good!  Bring it December!!

Running full circle!

We ran the Run for You Lives 5K this past weekend.  It's the 5K that started it all.  Way back over a year ago, I said... "If I'm ever going to run a 5K it would be running from zombies!"  We signed up and I decided if I was really going to do it, I better be able to run!  And a year later here I am, 20lbs lighter,  running everyday, 10 5K's this  year and pretty much addicted to it!  Who Knew!!

We arrived about 2 hours early and when we first walked in, we saw zombies on the course just wandering around and people, walking and we thought, "This is looks kinda lame, why is everyone walking?  This is going to be easy?" Aaahhh... little did we know!  It was on a Motor Cross Track, so there were hills, and woods, mud pits, houses and all sorts of stuff, not to mention the zombies, zombies, zombies!  When we first started there was about .3-.4 mile that was solid zombies, so we were running full tilt, bobbing and weaving and trying to avoid them.  I lost 2 of my flags (out of 4) right away.  It was crazy.  I thought I was going to pass out.  John and Zack definitely had an advantage having played flag football.  They had the dodging and spinning and avoiding down pat.  Brenna did a little better, and I just totally sucked!

The running part wasn't hard, it was the avoiding the zombies while navigating the treacherous footing and obstacles!  It was certainly fun, but I think I prefer my 5K's without the chasing.  Give me a straight up run or obstacle course and I'm happier.

Bottom line,  Brenna and I died, but John and Zack ended up surviving!  John actually made it through with 2 flags, Zack had one.  They were pretty proud of themselves.

The zombies were pretty creepy, but they didn't freak me out as much as I thought they would.  I think I would have been just as freaked if they'd been regular people, it was the chasing that freaked me out - not so much the makeup.

Survivor

Look good for 2 dead girls

Carrying off their dead

One hot dead girl

Practicing their moves

Number 10 is in the bag!

Run Julie Run

I ran today!  Hallelujah!!!  Finally... It felt good, if running ever really feels good.  I did a lot better than I expected.  I did 3 miles, average 10:09, which is pretty darn good even when I was running every day.  My goal, before the last 2 weeks was to try to be below 10 min as often as I can.  So, 10:09 after 2 weeks off makes me pretty happy.

My foot is still not healed.  It definitely feels better, but that's not surprising since I haven't run in two weeks.  I'm sure as soon as I start back up, we'll be back where we started.  John went online with Dr Google and found some treatment plans, so I bought a boot to wear at night to help with the pain when I get up.  I also found a compression sleeve made for Plantar Facisitis and I'm supposed to take Alleve morning and night.  So I'm going to try those things and see if that helps.  I'm also still toying with the idea of getting a bike.  I'm going to borrow one again, a better one, and if it works out I'm going to buy my own, because I think I'll like biking.

I'm very happy to be running again.  Which is so totally weird...  Gotta get running this week, because it's Zombie weekend!  Saturday is the big Zombie 5K!  Very nervous....

Day One....

Today is the first day of my 2 week break from running.  John talked to a PT for me at his clinic and pretty much the only way to get this blasted foot to heal ( Dr Google and I have diagnosed it as plantar fascitis) is to take some time off. 10 days to 2 weeks.  ARGGGGHHHHH!!!  I don't want to, but I'm also really tired of the pain.  I can hardly walk in the mornings, I limp all day long - it's not fun at all.

So... it looks like our Erg and I are going to become Besties!!!  Although I find it hard to believe that erging will offer me the same kind of calorie burn and workout as running.  Zack thinks it will be even better... I guess we'll see.  He's going to come down and check my form and give me some pointers.

I'm also going to give Zack's bike a try.  My neighbor Jennie just finished biking across Iowa or some such craziness, so I'll hop on the bike and give it a try.  Since I haven't ridden a bike since I was about 10, I'm not sure how successful I'm going to be, but I'll keep an open mind.  I'm sort of fantasizing that I'll discover I love biking and will be able to do it well enough that next year I might try one of those Spring Triathalons.  They are roughly 750m swim, 20mile bike and 5K run.  The only thing that might be tough is the swimming, but I could do it if I tried and trained... I think... Anyway, first step is riding the bike and then we'll see.  Actually first step is surviving not running for 2 weeks.  Who in their right mind would EVER imagine that I would be whining and crying about NOT being able to run!!  I really have become someone else!  Heal, damn foot, Heal!!

8 down only 4 more to go!

Finished 5K #8!  Brenna and I drove up to Leesburg to run in their town 5K.  It was actually the only 5K I could find even remotely close by.
We had a GREAT run!  I actually PR'ed my 5K!  It was my best time ever!! But even more importantly... I DID NOT STOP AND WALK AT ALL!!  I didn't stop even one time!  I felt good, I felt strong and it was a great race!  I'm so excited!  My time was 29:15!  I think I was like #9 in my age group!
Brenna did really great as well.  She didn't stop and walk either and was number #14 in her age group.  We were both pretty pumped up at the end.  Then we stayed a little while and watched the 20K runners finish.  My gosh, those people are amazing!  The winner ran the 20K in 1:07 or something crazy like that.  Wow!
Pretty happy that my resolution is still intact.  Next month, 20 of us are doing The Color Run in Richmond and then October is the big one... the Run for Your Lives Zombie 5K!  Neither of those are timed runs, so I'm glad I squeaked this one in.

Finishing strong!

#8

We did it and we rocked it!

Let's do another!

Staycation - The beginning

John, Brenna and Zack left for Alaska today.  I actually found myself sadder than I thought I would be.  It was hard to say goodbye, but I know they are going to have a great time and so am I.

First thing on my Staycation adventure.. a stop at VA Runner where I picked up a new pair of running shoes that I had ordered and while I was in there... I couldn't help myself..

How could I resist these!  I plan on using them to distract and blind any other runners so that I can surge to the front of the race!! :o)  I am not putting up a picture of my new shoes, because I am starting to be embarrassed about my "weakness."  I did give Brenna one of my other pairs of running shoes, so technically I only have 2 pairs - that's not excessive.  Right?

I did go to Circuit Saturdays with the Crew team tonight.  We ran 3 miles of hills, up and down, up and down, up and down.  It was a good workout, the heat is still stifling and oppressive, but we did it.  I missed having Zack and Brenna with me though.  I am beginning to believe that this love of hills that Coach Cox has, may in fact be a serious character flaw! :o)

Finished up the evening with 2 episodes of Project Runaway!  

Tomorrow I'll be cooking most of the day in preparation for the Crew Board meeting I am hosting here on Monday.  But I plan on fitting in a run, walk, trip to the pool and nap as well.  All guilt free - because it's my staycation and I can do WHATEVER I want!!

Summer Week One

I don't know why I even pretend to try and blog in a timely manner.  Time just keeps slip, slip, slipping away.  We've completed out first week of summer, but frankly I've been busier than ever.  It seems like something every night and during the day.

1.  I've been running like crazy, almost every day, especially with school being out.  I've found my rhythm.  I still get up at 6am, have my tea, do my computer and then get out and run by 7am.  Beat the heat and for some reason it starts my day off right.  Then I come home and walk the dogs.  I have it all done by 930am and I have the whole rest of the day ahead of me. It actually makes me feel a little smug. :o)   I've run 20 out of 28 days and erged 2 of the other days.  Yeah for me.  I still can't seem to get any faster, but I figure as long as I'm running, my heart is beating and the sweat is pouring - then I'm doing okay.

2.  Coach Cox has started Crew Group Fun Runs every Weds night at 7pm.  It's been awesome - they are open to everyone and I think it's a great idea, a great way for the team to stay in touch and to encourage the kids to stay in shape.  The first week we had 9 people, 2nd week we had 28 and last week we had 34.  Our goal for next week is 50!  It's really awesome.  We have parents come and join us, we encourage the kids to bring friends. We all run at our own pace, but it's good competition for the kids.  Mostly freshman are turning out, but that bodes well for the team next year.  A little disappointing that more Varsity kids are showing up, but what are you gonna do.  We are having so much fun... seriously we are... that we're going to add another night.  We'll start meeting on Sat nights at 6pm and we'll do circuits, intervals and other stuff.  I'm really excited about all the ideas and the enthusiasm that Coach Cox has.  It's going to be a great season.

3.  As of today I have officially given up all my Viking Athletic Booster Club responsibilities!!  After doing Spiritwear and everything else for the last 5 years, I guess it's time for me to move on.  It's a little difficult to give up the Spiritwear store, I really think of it as my baby.  I will continue to work in there on Fridays, but I won't be in charge of anything.  I've just decided that if I'm going to spend so much of my time doing something, I would like to be at least a little bit appreciated and that is definitely not the case with VABC.  Crew takes up so much of my time that I certainly won't be bored.  And, I love Crew, I love the kids, I love the team, I love the sport and I love the parents.  So, if I'm going to be crazy busy, I'd rather be busy doing something I really enjoy with people who appreciate me and are fun to be around.

4.  Brenna is doing great this summer.  She's in and out.  Doing lots of Bat research, small mammal trapping (Smammaling) and even getting paid for it.  She's been running with me, which is nice because she and I run at about the same pace.

5.  The other exciting thing is Zack.  He's also working out this summer, running and erging.  He's also started eating better.  He's actually eaten dinner with us a couple of times.  He's been making eggs, discovered he loves salmon burgers and actually ate some chicken the other night!  He's also been chowing down on bananas, protein bars and fruti.  I'm just thrilled when he'll eat anything besides Eggo Waffles or Fruit Loops.  He's doing a sculling camp for the next 3 weeks and then a rowing camp all of August.

6.  Been to the pool once and gotten my first official burn of the summer.  Doesn't seem like it's summer until I get my initial burn on.

All in all, it's been a successful first week of summer.  Here's hoping that things slow down a little bit and I can get a start on my To Do list.  Of course, it's the same To Do list from last year because I got absolutely NOTHING done last summer.

Another one bites the dust - #6 goes down in an enormous mud pit!

Before - so innocent

5K - #6 is in the bag.  The kids and I did Quantico's Run Amuck.  It was an untimed Obstacle Course Mud Run!!  I was quite nervous at first, especially about the obstacles like rappeling and monkey bars!  But it turned out most of the obstacles were pretty tame.  I guess you have to remember for these "easier" ones they have to make the obstacles at least semi-accessible for most people.  The hardest obstacle was the very first one - it was an inflatable playground thingy and you had to get over a sort of plastic wall.  It was hard because it was so darn slippery from all the rain we'd gotten the day before.  As we stood and watch probably 50% or more of the people couldn't get over it!  I am very proud to say that all 3 of us made it over.  I guess the next worst were the hills, mainly because they were so darn slippery.  There was no way to run, you were lucky if you could walk up the hills and the last one I literally did on my hands and knees.  I was a ton of fun!  It was also a nice break, because the only uninterrupted run portion was half a mile at the beginning, the rest was run a little, stop and do an obstacle, run a little, stop.

B's knees

At one point in the race I found myself ahead of both the kids and shouted out my success to those running around me... well, I guess Brenna did not take kindly to my announcement so she sprinted and caught me in the mud pit and tackled me from behind!  We both went down face first into the mud!  It was crazy, both got scrapped up knees, but her's were much worse than mine....can you say kharma??

Zack led most of the way,  I just can't keep up with that kid when we run.  I keep reminding myself that he's 15 and I'm 46, if I could keep up with him that would be really bad for him!  Brenna and I run at a much more similar pace, which means I can usually at least see her ahead of me when we run! :o)
Anyway, it was a ton of fun.  I am thinking of doing another one in November... Brrr... Still keeping up with the 5K resolution and all is good in the running world.

We've lost our innocence!

Dirty girls on the way home!

Does THIS make me a runner?

Apparently ONE pair of running shoes is not enough for me, because I took Zack to Va Runner to buy some real running shoes and I came home with a new pair as well!

They were the new release of the shoes I already have and love...plus they were an AWESOME purple!  Really, how could I resist??  But, before you think that these are pretty wild and crazy...here's my other pair!

So now not only am I the crazy cat lady of running shoes, but I also seem to choose the wildest, loudest pairs I can find!  Let me tell you when I looked down today and saw those purple shoes running down the road, it made me smile!  And trust me, normally when I am running down the road there's not a lot of smiling going on!

I just don't know when I turned into the "multiple pairs of running shoes" girl?   I hardly know myself anymore! :o)