Shaking Things Up

I've had a model week! Even though my Monday run was less than spectacular, I got it done. On Wednesday I ran from my church, which I haven't done in a while, and it was really, really good. That night I went out with a girlfriend to, as she put it, teach her how to run. We did almost two miles by walking for about three minutes and then running for about one minute. She did great! She said that previously running had always felt too difficult. Well, start slow. Next thing you know, I'll have her running a 5k!

Today I was to walk. I used my treadmill and quickly put in four miles. After that I had to really book it because... I had to go to Isaac's Christmas party at Mother's Day Out! Even Chasen was able to break free from work for a bit and enjoy it.

The artiste paints some ornaments with a tiny bit of help from Daddy.

The finished, wet product, which is is proudly on our tree.

"Yay! Daddy came to my classroom!"

"Mommy wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Three happy faces after a potluck lunch, toddler style.

Now Isaac will be home with me, without school, for 2.5 weeks. How will I get my running done, you ask? Well, since I "only" run for 30 minutes at this time, he can come along in his stroller. Or I can run during his naptime. Heck, I could run at night, as well. Oh the options! The longruns, as always, will be spend doing "boy things" with Chasen - same old same old.

Happy Holidays!

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

After a hectic time of torrential downpours followed by snow, I didn't do my second easy run of last week. I did, however, get back on track the next day with a 4-mile walk. I just love walking, especially with my ipod. This time, however, I accidentally left it at home. Doh! It turned out to be a blessing, as I had over an hour to sort out lots of stuff. That is priceless.

What is also priceless, is enjoying Isaac's favorite meal with him: anything that involves chips.

Making cookies with my boy is also pretty special. :-)

Isaac received a card from Santa -- all the way from the North Pole!

He sure did have fun helping me make cheese biscuits - a Greenville, Mississippi thang.

Looks like he's having fun to me! He is a big time helper.

According to Chasen, we could rent him out to rake leaves!

A very, very big "helper" in my running life is my friend Terry. He has been my coach since 2006! After lamenting about losing my running mojo, he made a very zen-like suggestion to me: leave my Garmin at home for my longrun. Whaaaaaa? No details? Well, guess what -- it was fabulous. I did way more running than walking! I never really "lost steam." I picked a known out-and-back course and six miles came and went.

What have I learned? Sometimes you've got to shake things up. I plan to do my upcoming 7-mile run sans Garmin, also. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

A Better Run

Yesterday I had a really, really good treadmill run. It was raining shoes and laces ALL DAY, so I had no choice but to use Teddy Tready. He is on the fritz, a bit, but we got the job done. I did thirty minutes (per Galloway). I kept a 2% incline the whole time because Teddy is less fritzy that way. I felt very strong, which was good for my psyche. I even finished at a 10-min pace! Granted, I only did that for about a minute, but you know what they say: if you want to be a faster runner, you just have to run faster. Sage advice!

What To Do?

At last I typed, I planned to be "zen" for a while. Well, I have only kinda-sorta stuck with that. As soon as I got my new orthotics for my Brooks, I decided to honor my Type-A personality and pick a race. The winner is: The Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. It's on my bucket list, so why not go ahead and mark it off?

The zen part of this is that I am going to try to, once again, Galloway my way to the starting line. For a run-walk program, it's no easy task. The training period is about three days shy of FOREVER. I hope I can stick it out. The weekday runs are timed runs that will max out at 45 minutes, and they do include speed and hills. A walk day is also included. That all sounds zen, right?

Firefighter Isaac says "Chill out, mommy, your running mojo will return eventually."

The issue is... I seem to have lost my mojo. I have been back running, post-hiatus, for FOUR MONTHS now, and I just can't seem to feel good about a single run. I feel heavy, sluggish, and demoralized. How on earth am I going to make it 26.2 miles for the seventh time? I thought the run-walk would help tremendously, but so far it has not.

Give it time, woman!

I have two extremely awesome cheerleaders on my team. Love them!

Any and all suggestions as to how to "perk up and look alive out there" would be appreciated.

A Dream Come True

I have been blogging for about 5.5 years already -- whoa baby! One of the very first friends I made through blogging was the fabulous Petra of Lincolnshire in the UK. Our friendship has only been enhanced with time. Even though we are half a world apart, we talk several times per week via email, audio message, Facebook, Twitter, and even Skype from time to time. For people who have never actually met face to face, we are very tight!

Back in August around the time of Chasen's birthday, he asked me what I wanted for my upcoming birthday (in November). In typical fashion I said "nothing," which is never quite good enough for him. Ha! He really surprised me when he said "Why don't you use some of my frequent flier miles and go somewhere?" Um... yes, please! After a bit of contemplation over the options, the unanimous winner was: the English countryside! I was going to get to actually hang out with Petra face to face!

So I flew out of Memphis on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and my *gulp* 37th birthday. I even got to fly first class all the way to Amsterdam! After one more hour in a smaller plane I was within thirty minutes of Petra's home. I saw her in the airport and it was as if I had just seen her the week prior. Just awesome!

Without going into my full itinerary, let me just say that it really was like a dream come true in many, many ways. First, the obvious: I got to spend nearly four days with my sweet friend! Second, I had never been away from Isaac for more than two nights. This trip was six (one night flying, four nights with Petra, another night on a layover in Detroit). That was a long, yet awesome length of time to be away from home. Third, I got to experience something new and gain perspective. That was priceless.

I drank tea every day (how British!) and sampled a few of the M&M's I brought from the USA.

See - I really was there - Lincolnshire!

There I am about to go do 3 miles with one of my running heroes!

This is sampling of our running path. We also did a five miler. Dream come true!

I even taught Petra how to make my signature chocolate cheesecake.

It was so nice to finally be able to talk in person. Trust me, we left no stone unturned! It was fabulous. So what's next? Well, she'll just have to come visit me. :) Or, better yet, I can go back to visit her. That kinda makes turning 38 next year, or 39 the year after, not seem so bad...