I Run For My Life

Doing My Best

2012-01-29T18:37:00.002-06:00

This past week was only my second "perfect" running week of the new year. That's the glass half empty view. The glass half full view is "I've had two perfect running weeks this month!" By that, I mean that I completed all scheduled runs. When I did miss, by the way, it was a mid-week run, not the long run.

My long runs are ramping up, so I am "back on the Garmin." But... only for the distance aspect of it. You see, I have been setting up interval workouts so that I may accomplish my Galloway style 'run this long, walk this long' training. Yesterday, for example, I did 13.60 miles that way. It was GLORIOUS from a cardiovascular standpoint. I never "gave out." I had other aches and pains, but I never hit the wall. Victory! What was even better, though, was receiving proud phonecalls twice from a certain toddler that he had gone poo poo in the potty. Now that is victory, people!

I have now officially registered for The Flying Pig Marathon, secured my free hotel stay and free-ish flight to Cincinnati (thank you, frequent flier miles and hotel points). I am now 14 weeks out! Because I am doing this Galloway plan my way, here are my remaining long runs:

5 miles

15 miles

4 miles of speedwork

17 miles

6 miles of speedwork

6 miles

20 miles

8 miles of speedwork (while Chasen is back in China - boo!)

7 miles

23 miles

10 miles of speedwork

6 miles

I can do that! Yes I can! I serendipitously left a free week for when "life happens," because let's face it -- life does happen. And just so you know, if I was following G-man to the letter, I would go all the way up to 29 miles prior to race day. No thanks, sir. If all goes well, this race will serve as a training run for yet another marathon about five weeks later. But more on that another day.

My only concern at this point is warding off a potential overuse injury of the metatarsals in my right foot. I will be treading lightly for the next few days.

So Long, 2011... Hello, 2012!

2012-01-02T17:04:00.008-06:00

Well Happy New Year! Goodness, 2011 sure did fly by, as did the holiday season. As I type this Isaac has been on "winter break" from Mother's Day Out (preschool) for nineteen straight days. He goes back tomorrow. So what have we been doing to occupy ourselves, you ask?

We went for our FREE photo with Santa at the Bass Pro Shop in Memphis.

I took Isaac and his BFF to see the Peabody Ducks in Memphis. Here, the boys wait.

There come the ducks! They were really a sight to see.

The boys were fascinated by those smart little quackers.

We went caroling with a few friends from my mommy group.

The biggest thing we have done over the nineteen day break is work on potty training. Phew - that's a job. I'm amazed, though, at how waiting until the child is ready makes it soooooo much easier than trying to force the issue (which I tried to do a year ago and then six months ago with no success at all). Isaac is doing well (most of the time...) but still doesn't particularly care for -- I'm just going to say it -- going poo poo on the potty. I am trying my hardest to be patient. God bless his preschool teachers!

Having him home for nineteen days has, I admit, impeded my running a bit, especially since he also had something along the lines of pre-pneumonia last week. I have not skipped a longrun, though! I am still going out sans-Garmin and LOVING it. I have run 6, 7 and 9 miles that way.

Also, I have secured my flight and hotel room for the Flying Pig Marathon on May 6, 2012! Thanks to the points/miles earned by my constantly-traveling husband, we have only spent $7.50 so far! I will actually register for the race in about two weeks (just prior to the price increase, he he). I just love it when a plan comes together!

Now I am just hanging in there, more or less. Getting back to normal or, better stated, a better normal. I am making positive changes in most areas of my life, which indicates to me that 2012 is going to rock. Cincinnati, here I come!

Shaking Things Up

2011-12-16T01:17:00.007-06:00

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

2011-12-12T20:08:00.008-06:00

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

2011-12-06T10:14:00.003-06:00

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?

2011-12-04T01:26:00.005-06:00

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

2011-12-04T01:06:00.007-06:00

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...

Good Feet

2011-10-27T11:31:00.003-05:00

Life rarely goes just the way I thought it would. Let me paint you a picture with regards to Isaac. He attends two different Mother's Day Out programs, both at churches. One had a "Fall Carnival" (with no costumes allowed) and the other had a "Fall Festival," but the kids could ONLY come dressed as nursery rhyme characters. Well, Isaac chose to be a fire fighter for Halloween this year, so I didn't exactly have a nursery rhyme character costume lying around. And I didn't want to buy one for just one little party. They could be found online (costly, mind you) but not here in local stores.

So, I did what any good mom would do: I made one. By hand. No sewing machine (because I lent mine out ages ago and am, frankly, intimidated by it anyway). I thought "How hard could it be? I'm going to do it simply." Famous last words. I sat in my dining room and hand sewed Humpty Dumpty for THREE HOURS earlier this week.

In goes Humpty to get his trick-or-treat on! Notice the rick rack break line in his shell.

Next I made a beeline for Memphis to go purchase my new orthotics! I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't be "custom," but I arrived at The Good Feet Store and learned that they had 115 varieties, based on the measurements of my feet. I walked across an upside down ink tray that produced impressions of my feet on white paper. The kind fellow said that I had great arches, thanks to my six-year-old orthotics. He said it in a kind of way that indicated "You really shouldn't have such great arches, considering how much you run." Ha!

He brought out two types of inserts, based on my foot length, width and arch position. Detailed, I know. Who needs custom for $200 more? We decided on the lesser of the two (lesser in terms of what they do and how much they cost). He thought the lesser would do a great job for me. He also thought they just might make me less of a heel striker. Now we're talkin'! If that's true, my shoes should last a bit longer.

These will take some getting used to, as did my old ones. Six years ago, I didn't respect the transition time enough and ended up with an overuse injury in my left foot. That resulted in time off and sadness. Here comes the unexpected revelation: I am going to very, very slowly get back to running and NOT be hard-headed and let my feet do what they need to do. I will run "for fun," which is a major change for this "I only train" girl. I might even get out there Garmin-free! I will target a spring marathon and confidently train for it closer to the end of the year. The Mississippi Blues Marathon is not going anywhere. Maybe 2013 will be my year to tackle the hills of Jackson.

Yay for me and my new zen-like running attitude. Quite a change!

Wait And See

2011-10-25T13:54:00.002-05:00

I am a happy woman. My foot pain, which was constant, lasted for five solid days (Monday - Friday). Saturday came and it was gone. It has stayed away ever since, but I went to see the orthopaedic doctor anyway... just in case. I felt silly going in there with not a pain in the world, but I thought it best to tell him what exactly happened and how I felt, etc.

X-rays showed "a perfect foot." Well lah-te-dah! Then, the hilarious Dr. C walked in and our matching senses of humor took over. Mind you, others would probably find his manner today offensive, but I did not. I laughed so loud a nurse popped her head in to check on us.

Him: What do you have going on?

Me: I was out running, and... (interruption)

Him: How far?

Me: Eight miles.

Him: That's a long way.

Me: Not really. But after that my foot started hurting (I motioned where). It felt like someone was pinching it in there for five straight days, but not since then. I haven't run since then (eight days ago).

Him: So what does that tell you?

Me: Well, I know it was running related.

Him: Come on, Einstein, it hurt and then you stopped running. Hmm...

Me: I know - it's obvious.

Him: When do you want to go running next?

Me: If you say it's OK, I'll go fifteen minutes from now.

Him: What do you want to happen?

Me: I want you to tell me what caused this, and maybe how I can prevent it from happening again.

Him: People in hell want ice water. (insert huge, belly laugh) You irritated it somehow, and it may or may not come back. I'll give you a prescription for a stronger anti-inflammatory.

Me: But I don't want a 'band-aid', I want a cure.

Him: Well, that's not really an option. Take it for thirty days.

He left to go write it up, and I realized that I forgot to show him my six-year-old orthotics. I stepped out with one in my hand and a nurse said "WHAT IS THAT???" I told her. She asked if it worked, in disbelief. Um... yes. He popped out and said "Where did you get that, the Smithsonian?" Ha! He kills me! He recommended a local store, as opposed to a podiatrist, for custom orthotics. He said he'd rather I give my money to him. Ha!

Again, this totally worked for me. We are well matched. My hubby, however, found it offensive, as might you. Oh well - my foot, my doctor.

So now I will get back on the road and see what happens. I am still unsure about January 7th, but at least I am pain free for the time being and have the promise of being able to do what I love -- all with a funny story to go along with it.

Pondering Change

2011-10-22T13:06:00.002-05:00

First, the good news: Chasen made it home safely from his fourth business trip to China! Isaac and I were both over the moon.

Now on to the running. My Hanson-inspired training plan that I personally created has proven to be too much for me, at least at this time. Each run seemed to be more demoralizing that the last. I was feeling "overtrained" a bit, to say the least. Monday was pretty much the final straw. After three days off, thanks to a funky stomach bug of sorts, I went to a friend's house and parked for a 9-mile run. She lives "way out" and had new scenery to offer. I did alright for the first four miles, but then hit my current 4-mile wall and it was all I could do to muster up the energy (and desire) to walk back to my car. Ugh!

I realized that change was in order. I immediately (after venting to excellent friends, of course) consulted my favorite running book that I've had since the very beginning, and I decided to switch to the plan that I used to train for the 2011 Cowtown Marathon. Bing, bang, boom - problem solved. Or so I hoped.

Within an hour or so, my right foot began to hurt. There goes my running! Long story short, it feels like someone is pinching something in there very tightly. It pretty much hurt 24/7 for 5 days straight. Only now am I getting a bit of relief. Coach Terry thinks, based on his own, personal experience, I may have a bit of tendonitis. I have an appointment set up for Tuesday morning. We shall see!

The strange thing is that I am extremely calm about it, and the idea of not being able to run for a while does NOT freak me out. I know, I know - did someone switch brains with me in the middle of the night?

If I can't run on January 7th, well - that race isn't going anywhere. With 44 more states to run in, I'll have no shortage of marathons to choose from. Time (or Dr. C...) will tell.

It's Never Too Early

2011-10-14T20:22:00.008-05:00

The awesome folks over at Shutterfly have done it again! They are offering fifty free holiday cards to a few lucky people. I am very grateful to be among that list. I have already been browsing through this year's selection and have come up with a few favorites. It's never too early to get into the holiday spirit!

Chasen is adamant that the words "Merry Christmas" be on the card, so obviously that narrowed my field a bit since Shutterfly has sooooooo many varieties of holiday cheer. Wait a sec - he may have done me a favor!

If you would like to be one of the lucky ones to receive fifty free cards, please leave a comment with a way for me to contact you. The first THREE people will be given free promo codes. Happy Holidays!

Woe Is Me

2011-10-13T19:58:00.004-05:00

The past two weeks of running have been TOUGH. All I can seem to do is "get through it." I have come up with a few excuses (103 day running sabbatical over the summer, weight gain, poor sleeping - to name a few), but hey... it is what it is.

In other news, Chasen has left for yet another work trip to China. This is trip #4 since this time last year. Prior to him flying the coop, we tried to make sure that Isaac got plenty of "daddy time."

Last week I skipped TWO runs because I was just plain worn out. They weren't long runs, but still. I don't like to skip runs. This week I ran eight miles on Monday evening prior to Chasen's departure. Eight miles! As opposed to my opening statement, it went decently. Every run since then has been in the toilet. The Hanson Brothers are kicking my rear. By Wednesday's long run I am just dragging.

That said, I am just happy to be getting the runs done considering that Chasen is gone and I only have the time Isaac is at Mother's Day Out to run. People keep telling me "completing the distance is good enough." While I somewhat agree, I am desperate for a good run. Let's hope one appears soon!

Let's Get (A) Physical!

2011-10-05T13:17:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I had my first physical exam since probably before I left for college. Two things prompted me to go in for it. 1) Our insurance likes for us to do so. 2) I was concerned about my cholesterol. Even though I run a zillion miles and try to watch what I eat, only once in the past years can I remember having an overall level under 200 (which is considered normal/healthy).

I donated blood at a church blood drive right after my running sabbatical ended (103 days without running and very little other exercise, other than keeping up with Isaac) and my cholesterol level was -gasp!- 229. That hurt. It really got me worried.

I have also been extremely thirsty lately, which I know is sometimes a warning sign of diabetes. I thought "well, surely I'm not diabetic or have a malfunctioning thyroid," but the doc thought we ought to check for those things while we were at it. Better safe than sorry.

I just got a phone call that really turned my frown upside down. A nurse called with my bloodwork results. Here's the scoop:

My overall cholesterol is now 215. Mind you, under 200 is better, but at least it has come down 14 points since I am back on the road. The nurse actually referred to it as "good."

The HDL cholesterol (the good kind) was 100! It is supposed to be over 60, and nurse said he had never seen one so high. Thank you, Jesus!

The LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) was 96, and it should be under 100. So I'm close, but "good enough." I'll take it... and I'll also work on it.

My triglycerides were 95, and they should be less than 150.

My fasting glucose was 83, and it should be 65-100. No signs of diabetes, he said. Or thyroid issues, for that matter. Looks like I'm just a thirsty gal. :)

This is such a huge relief to me. I really want to set a good, positive example for my son, as well as be around for him for a very long time. Now back to the salad!

Survival Of The Un-Fittest

2011-10-04T19:15:00.003-05:00

Well, I have done it. I made it through a very, very rough week -- both on the running front and on the life front. Last week was epic in terms of having "a full plate." In seven days I hosted two events at my home (which required LOTS of cleaning), went out to mandatory events five nights, attended a continuing education class and volunteered about six hours away from home, all while keeping the home fires burning while Chasen had a quick work trip to Missouri. Whew!

I was determined to accomplish all of my runs, since it was to be my last "easy" week of only four runs. The three five milers went.... um, err... well, they went. Sometimes just getting out of the house to cover the mileage is an accomplishment in itself.

Now it's a new week! After the previous humdinger of a week, I was staring down a 6-miler on very little rest. Determined to at least attempt it, I was quite pleased with my progress on the out-and-back hilly course. It's amazing how sometimes we can pull decent splits while feeling like death warmed over, yet other times we struggle after a full night's sleep. Such is life.

My 6-miler actually gave me a bit of hope about my upcoming marathon. I still have a long way to go, but that success did help my psyche a bit. We all need a little boost now and then. Let's do this thing!

Savoring the Easy Life

2011-09-25T16:46:00.003-05:00

This past week was a big one for me, in terms of running. Actually, one might say it was small. You see, it was the next-to-last week with only four scheduled runs, and it was the last time to only have one 5-miler. I was to run 3,4,5,3. It was interesting, to say the least.

The weather heated back up, so night running was my best option early in the week. On Monday I headed to my old neighborhood. Long story short, I had a bit of 'runner dementia' and kinda-sorta forgot where I parked... so my planned three mile run turned into four. "No problem, " I thought. "Now tomorrow I can 'just' do three miles." And so it was.

When it came time for my first 5-miler (in over four months, mind you) the plan was not executed verbatim. Our day began with Chasen having a dead battery, so some car swapping was in order, as well as a trip to the auto parts store, so my residential course to begin at 9 AM turned into the main drag at 10 AM. It was near drudgery, I tell ya! It was hot, sunny, slow... ick. I didn't expect miracles, so in a way I was right on par.

But then came Saturday morning. I was 'only' supposed to do three speedy miles, so I headed to the old 'hood and kicked it into high gear. Even though I am still doing a walk-run combo, I really gave it all I had. Most of my running stints were done at sub-11 (which is very fast for me these days) and my final burst was at --get this!-- a 9:33 pace. Wowee zowee! That's what 62 degrees with a breeze will do for ya!

Now I am entering what I call the final truly 'easy' week of training, yet also the first 'hard' week of training. You see, I have three five mile runs on the schedule this week, as well as four miles of speedwork on Saturday. That's still just four runs total (that's the easy part) but each are more than my usual 3-4 miles (that's the hard part). And the week after that I break into my full-blown training, i.e. five days per week. Wish me luck. I've got fifteen weeks to get it all together!

Firsts

2011-09-17T18:39:00.012-05:00

Ah, another week of "firsts" for us. Isaac begin his other new school on Monday, first and foremost. I am over the moon to report that it went so, so well! We were lucky enough to discover that the son of an acquaintance was going to be in his class, so I arranged for them to have a playdate at the park the day before school started. I wanted Isaac to have a familiar face around him. Apparently, it worked, because dropoff went smooth as silk. The other little boy, well... not so much. But that poor fella had never been to any sort of Mother's Day Out, nursery, etc. (to my knowledge).

Here is Isaac before the second day at the new place. I was too nervous for cameras on day one.

I was supposed to run on Monday, but I was just wiped out. This mothering stuff can really take a lot out of a gal! Since I am still, technically, in the "base building" stage of my training, I so no need to fret over shifting my schedule by one day this week. I had bigger fish to fry.

On Tuesday Chasen left for a business trip to Philadelphia. That meant I HAD to get my run done while Isaac was at school. I opted for the treadmill because I had tons to accomplish during the short time Isaac would be at Mother's Day Out. I was supposed to go four miles, but I only made it three. Oh well. What's one mile when you're feeling so worn out?

Wednesday, when I was a 'single parent' Isaac chose to wake up at 4:55 AM. Good gravy! That just meant that I could get started much, much earlier than anticipated on a cheesecake 'first' - a wedding cake style cheesecake! A friend asked me to create a chocolate cheesecake for a couples bridal shower she was hosting. And so I did:

Three layers of chocolate cheesecake, plus chocolate covered strawberries.

Bride and groom toppers, complete with a tulle veil for the bride.

Birds eye view. I was proud of my creation. Not a morsel was left at the end of the shower, she said.

That day, in addition to being woken before the roosters, I felt a sore throat coming on. Just what I needed, right? I opted for rest instead of a run. Then it was time to get Isaac, and a few short hours after that it was time for Wednesday night church. No rest for the weary.

On Thursday I was ecstatic to discover that the temps had dropped dramatically. So I dropped Isaac at MDO and ran from there. I did four amazing miles on the "real road" and felt great. Whoo hoo - it's about time. And that night -- hallelujah! -- Chasen returned.

Friday is my only weekday without MDO, so it is automatically a rest day from running. Some friends invited us to go to a local "bounce warehouse" type place. We got a group rate, and Isaac had the time of his life at the indoor bounce for almost 2.5 hours! Check out his feet as he gets to the bottom of this big slide. So cute!

Friday night outing to eat pizza. My boys LOVES some pizza. "Nummy pizza," he says.

Helping me "paint" some oil on the top of some homemade bread dough. He's my best helper.

Today I headed to my old neighborhood for four miles. They were pretty awesome! The best part, though, was being able to knock on a running friend's door for an "emergency running potty break." Gotta love runner friends - they always accommodate because they know how it is.

Here is my fearless little monkey at the park with Chasen, giving me an hour or so of "peace."

This has been one of those weeks where I feel like I have done it all. I guess most are that way for a stay-at-home-mom, but some are more monumental than others. The coming week is projected to be a lot calmer. Famous last words...

Will It Ever Get Easier?

2011-09-10T20:42:00.018-05:00

After a month with no Mother's Day Out, it was finally time to send my sweet boy back to school. He was ready... I was certainly ready... and my running schedule was primed and ready. After a bit of a brouhaha with his fabulous school from last year, we decided to try a new place. Prior to this I would have told you that you could drop off Isaac off with the devil himself and, so long as he had some toys, Isaac would be happy as a clam. So the first day of school came and I had no worries!

Isaac, age 2 1/2, shows off his backpack and monkey nap mat before we left for the new school.

Let's go already, Mommy! I've got to go and hang out with my peers.

We arrived without incident. The new place is literally less than a mile from our home. Yippee!

All smiles with a helicopter before silly me made a big mistake.

We met his two teachers and then I skeedaddled out of there. But I forgot something and had to go back into the classroom. That was the undoing! My 'cool as a cucumber' boy lost it. I felt an inch tall. It was awful. That is the worst feeling -- like you're leaving your child somewhere they desperately don't want to be. It is HARD on a mother. I didn't cry, but I felt awful.

Alas, I had to get home. I was running a big Labor Day cheesecake sale and I had to get started baking. That week I baked NINETEEN cheesecakes. Oh my aching feet!

Here he is before his second day of school. Still all smiles at home...

On Isaac's second day of school, I wised up and dropped his stuff and hightailed it out of there. But not before he got an unfeeling look on his face. Ugh! Again, I felt bad. But when I picked him up his teacher said that it only lasted about two seconds past my departure. That was great to hear! And he received high praise, so all was not lost for week #1 of school.

However, the cheesecake biz got a harsh self-review at week's end. After all of the painful hours on my feet, I didn't have the profits one would think I should have. I decided I could do one of two things: quit this little venture OR raise my prices considerably. I opted for the latter (which may cause the first... LOL). We'll see what happens. As it stood, though, that hard week was NOT worth it, financially.

But then came Saturday. A good friend asked if I wanted to take Isaac to the Delta Fair in Memphis. I was nervous as a cat about putting Isaac on his first kiddie ride. It did not look as secure as I would have liked. Off he went with me worrying up a storm.

He smiled the whole way around the race car track!

Here is Isaac and his BFF, Phoenix, doing exactly what they shouldn't be doing.

Here is my brave boy getting harnessed up for a big, big jumping time!

Look at him go! Not a care in the world!

Look at that smile! I love those twenty cute teeth!

He is way up there. Not a single worry is evident (not even from me).

This is the new background on my desktop. Love that fella!

There they are in the monster truck enjoying every rough riding second.

Isaac honked his horn nearly the entire time he was on this ride.

This experience taught me a couple of things. 1) My boy is growing up quickly and certainly not a baby anymore. 2) This is why I stand on my feet for hours on end baking cheesecakes -- so I can spend a bundle in the heat letting Isaac have the time of his life. Worth every cent!

Most of the time, though, it doesn't cost a dime to have a great day. Labor Day was no exception. We decided to go to a local park and we were approached by two men from the local newspaper (well, the local edition for our neck of the woods for the Memphis paper). I chatted it up with the reporter while the photographer snapped away. The very next day Chasen and Isaac made the FRONT PAGE!

Here are the new local celebrities working the backhoe in nearby Hernando, Mississippi.

After that we went to see Isaac's most favorite things: tractors.

At the end of the three-day weekend it was time to go back to school. Uh oh. But day three went better than one and two. And by day four, they said he was really coming out of his shell. Oh happy day!

My little monkey just adores his monkey nap mat.

He also likes getting filthy dirty outside on a nice afternoon.

Obviously Isaac going back to school and the cheesecake biz took up a lot of my time, energy and thoughts over the past two weeks. But I am happy to report that I only missed one base training run. At this point I have completed fifteen runs, and the last several were actually done outdoors because the weather miraculously cooled off this week. I have to say, though, that the treadmill treated me much nicer than the open road. It has just been tough, even with better temps. You'd think after fifteen runs I'd feel like my old self, but I don't. Apparently it is going to take a while longer. Three mile runs were OK, but 4-milers were killer. Just four miles! Ugh. I still have two semi-easy weeks ahead of me before I start doing 5-milers at the drop of a hat. By then I'll have 23 runs (give or take) under my belt and hopefully I will be ready to get down to business.

This week Isaac's other new school begins, so we have another "new school" experience to look forward to. Oh yay. I'll have my game face on this time, though. Between the two new schools, I'll have four mornings to myself. That should help my running mojo return, I think. I have designed my running schedule around his Mother's Day Out schedule, so I will soon be running Monday through Thursday, with another run on Saturday. I hope I can pull it off -- the Mississippi Blues Marathon is a mere seventeen weeks away!

Highs and Lows

2011-08-28T20:12:00.005-05:00

I remember back in the day, pre-Isaac, when I actually blogged after EVERY run. Man oh man - I can't believe that I ever had time to do that. But I'm glad I did, as it is nice to be able to look back and see where I've been. I fully blame social media (aka Facebook and Twitter, both of which I love) for the demise of blogging as a whole. For me, though, the excuse is social media plus motherhood. It would be really, really easy to just abandon this blog... but I refuse to do so. I have five years of content with many more to come! It may not be as well written as it once was (considering I have to do posts in ten minutes or less now) but I value it none the less. Viva la blog!

OK, off my soap box. This week has been filled with a variety of experiences, both running and otherwise. After being home for sixty straight days, my semi-frequently travelling husband hit the road for a 2.5 day trip. But before he went, he tended to our yard. And one of Isaac's most favorite things to do is catch a short ride on the lawnmower, so everybody wins.

My two best guys having some father-son fun on a hot summer day.

After riding the lawnmower, one likes to get a shower and try on daddy's glasses. Cute!

Sometimes one even has to take a nap on one's new monkey nap mat for Mother's Day Out.

This week my running was anything but boring. No two runs were the same. Here's why:

On Monday I did a 9 PM treadmill session, and it was super duper hot and humid. It was just hard to move. I slowly knocked out the three miles. On Wednesday Chasen was gone, and I honestly do not remember doing that 3-miler in the evening, but according to my running log I did it. Hmm... I don't think I did it while Isaac was napping (on the treadmill, of course). It's a mystery! On Thursday, with Chasen still gone, I felt like Superwoman. I baked multiple cheesecakes, did lots of other tasks, had a head cold, and still managed to hit the treadmill once Isaac went to sleep. I couldn't start it until nearly 10 PM, and I was surprised to find that I did very, very well. I even ran in two-minute increments that time. Nice!

On Friday Chasen returned, and it was a good thing because it was his 36th birthday! He arrived about 1:30 PM, and we were ready for him.

RC Cola, Moon Pies, a Kindle and a homemade key lime cheesecake. Score one for me!!!

We were definitely ready to have him home. Isaac even said "Happy Daddy!" (minus 'birthday')

The best part of Chasen's birthday was watching "Despicable Me" with Isaac. At the very end he started to dance! You have GOT to love the lack of inhibition on the part of children. It was priceless!

Saturday brought my first outdoor run since the spring. Man oh man - I struggled through those four miles like nobody's business. It was warm and the sun was beating down on me. I ended up walking a great portion of it. Oh well - I've got to start somewhere.

All in all, it was a roller coaster of a week that ended with thirteen miles total. At the end of the day, I'm proud. Now bring on the autumn running!

Back In The Brooks

2011-08-21T21:31:00.002-05:00

This past week marked my official return to running. I did three 3-mile walk-runs on Teddy Tready, all after Isaac went to sleep. That is not my preferred timeslot, but with no Mother's Day Out just yet, I don't have much of a choice (other than naptime, which didn't work out well this week).

I did the first one at 1:2 (one minute running, two minutes walking). I averaged 15:14 per mile. Fine by me! I have no access to cable TV in our detached garage, and I don't really like watching DVD's, so I just listened to running podcasts. It was great to feel "connected" again.

Attempt number two was 1:1 at 14:31. I felt like I had a lot left in the tank after only running for one minute, but after taking 103 days off, I didn't dare push too hard. No need! I mean, I have *gulp* twenty weeks until marathon #7.

Attempt number three was a combination of sorts, but a lot of it was done by running 1:30 and walking 1:00. I averaged 13:49 that time. Pretty darn good! I actually felt a wee bit of muscle fatigue after that one, though (which was actually kind of nice).

I am proud of my nine mile week. I have to admit, though, that I do wonder if I can pull it all together in twenty weeks. I know the whole "muscle memory" thing is huge, but at this point I feel nervous about it. The good news is that my homegrown, Hanson-inspired training schedule has received the seal of approval (after some tweaking) from my trusted sources (who have yet to fail me). Here goes nothin'!!!

Waterslide Fun

2011-08-13T19:28:00.005-05:00

Today we attended the birthday party of Isaac's "BFF," Phoenix. He turned three years old, yet he is MUCH smaller than my 2 1/2 year old boy. They are different sizes and they really couldn't be more different otherwise... but they are great friends.

Isaac enjoys the bounce part of the bounce house/waterslide combo. Phoenix is behind him.

Phoenix's older cousin was great with helping the little ones warm up to the slide.

Isaac had the time of his life today. Thanks, Cousin K!

Joy, joy, joy. I am definitely the mother of a little fish.

Here are several videos of all the fun Isaac had today. He loved every second of it.

Just What I Needed

2011-08-12T21:17:00.047-05:00

After nearly eleven weeks without an update, I am back. This summer went in many different directions. I had intended to lay off running in favor of doing P90X hard core, but the universe had other plans for me. I did a good three or four weeks of it, but it just didn't hold my interest. As it turns out, I'm a runner after all. :)

This post could easily be titled "my summer in photos," and I think it will serve as a visual chronology of what led me to believe even more than previously just how important running is to me. So here goes.

There's nothing much better than having fun outdoors daily with your 2-year-old!

Unless if his BFF's mom goes into early labor and all of a sudden you have TWO boys on your hands...

Then, of course, your husband jets off to China, Malaysia and Singapore for ten days.

And he has to miss Father's Day in the process. :(

When the Wheel Mobile comes to town, you think only a handful of people will show up... wrong!

And this is as close to Pat Sajak as your clever self will ever get.

You pacify the daddy-missing boy with trips out in daddy's truck and cups of water.

And, even though he'll hate you later, you capture first moments on the potty!

But he gets revenge one way or another!

He puts on your running shoes, since obviously you have no time to wear them.

Getting a free car wash does distract a lonely boy for a while.

At last, you're not a single parent any more!

Just in time for splash lessons at the local YMCA. Watch that little fish go!

A bathing beauty if I ever saw one. Look out, pool ladies.

First time in a booster seat. Next up: college. Sniff, sniff.

Clean plate award! A first for this boy!

Watching the fireworks in style -- on the fifth floor of daddy's work.

Matron of Honor in Chicago. Congratulations to Thi and Ryan!

Of course, no trip to Chicago is complete with some Giordano's pizza and old friends.

I did NOT want to come home to THIS... but I did. That is not chocolate, unfortunately.

I thought I'd donate blood, but I was practically begged to donate platelets. So I did.

Isaac was rewarded with a cupcake for once doing a certain something on the potty!

Helping daddy get the yard spruced up for a big church dinner at our place.

Sixty of our closest friends dropped by...

For dessert I served some of my famous cheesecakes, my new casual business venture.

The best sellers are little 4" diameter ones, perfect for two people to share.

Mmm! Heath cheesecake! One of the 5+ flavors I make.

Isaac LOVES cheesecake, but he also loves sushi. So much, in fact, that he'll shove an entire piece in his mouth.

Bowling for the first time - if that's not a good looking team, I'll grease your lane!

Stttrrriiiiiikkkkeeeeeee!

Hmm... I think this coffee table's engine needs a tune up, mommy.

This gives new meaning to the term "liquid lunch." Yes, that's salsa.

A water-feature bounce house is always a hit with my little fish.

Making funny glasses at Chick-fil-A, our while-school-is-out Tuesday morning hangout.

A good man is hard to find - except here are two!

Bath time is the best time.

"Look, Mommy, I can wear Daddy's grilling glove. Bring on the burgers and dogs!"

So there's my summer, thus far. What have I learned? Several thing:

1) Life with a 2-year-old boy is NEVER dull. Not even when he sleeps.

2) I am my best self when I am running.

3) Without running for 103 days, I am one step away from both the looney bin and the fat farm.

4) Life goes by just as quickly without running, so people really can't say they have no time to run.

Yep - a sabbatical of 103 days was accomplished. I hope my legs and feet appreciate the sacrifice I made. My mind and my waistline have not appreciated it, that's for darn sure. But I find that lesson to be just what I needed. This time off has given me a deeper appreciation for my sport of choice. Without it, I'm just not the Susan I want to be.

So what's next? Marathon #7, of course, 21 weeks from now. I will be base training for a few weeks. I started today by walking two miles. It felt... like walking two miles. No fireworks, just got the job done. I'll save the fireworks for my favorite thing: running.

My Space

2011-05-30T16:46:00.004-05:00

Hello stranger! That's probably what you're saying to me, as it has been a while since my last post. Needless to say, I made the most of my time off from running. Busy, busy, busy. It reminds me of when people ask how on earth I find time to go running and I say "Well, I make it a priority. And when I am not running, life is just as busy and goes by just as quickly." So true!

I have a 5k this Friday night. I am not excited about it, because it means I had to end my running sabbatical earlier than I had wanted to. But, I took 25 straight days off from running, and there's something to be said for that. It was long enough for being a "lazy glutton," which is how I describe my non-running self. I have accomplished two short runs (like, 2 miles...) and a short walk, all with Isaac. I'll do one more prior to the 5k, which I am only doing because I promised a friend from church. Then, back to the sabbatical!

How will I keep myself from being a lazy glutton, you ask? I have decided to give P90X another dance! I am extremely excited about it. The last time I attempted it, I made it only about 5 weeks because I was trying to do it in combination with marathon training. That was waaaaay too much to put on myself. I feel that I will succeed this time because I am devoting myself to it. Solely. Yay!

As much as I would like to do it in my nice, air-conditioned home, generally two workout dvd's per week require me to attempt to do some pull-ups (pray for me!) and I have to do those in "the dungeon," which is the extra room in our garage. It has always housed my dear Teddy Tready (who has collected much dust since the winter came and went) and a whole bunch of other "junk." It has also been home to dust, dirt, bugs, etc. Ick!

Today, "the dungeon" got a makeover. Chasen and I took most of the stuff out (except for heavy Teddy Tready and the pull-up apparatus) and swept/blew it out. Then we laid down an old rug (which was headed for the dumpster, so we gave it a "new life") to put under my cushioned mats. After that, we just arranged it all in a much more efficient manner. Take a look:

Looking west: "P90X corner" complete with rug and cushioned mats. And pull-up apparatus.

Bird's eye view of the "P90X corner." Our handmade tricep dip apparatus is at the end.

Looking east: TV/dvd that swivels, neglected bicycle, camping gear.

Pull-up apparatus with ice chest beneath so I can "cheat" for now.

I am quite proud of the makeover. And I feel quite fortunate to have this space, in general. Since our garage is extra long, Chasen can actually fit his truck in it (a first for us!) which frees up this little room for workout equipment/storage. If only it was air conditioned! Hey - a girl can dream. If I turn into the next Jillian Michaels, maybe we'll invest in a little window unit. Until then, I'll do as much as I can inside my home.

For a bit more of an explanation as to why I am taking a sabbatical from running, it goes like this. It's not that I want to, exactly, but here are the facts. I started training for the Chicago Marathon last May, ran it in October, took three weeks off, started training for Cowtown, ran it in February, took three weeks off, started training for Frisco, and ran it on April 30th. That means that I trained for marathons for a year solid, minus six weeks off. I feel fine, but I just want to give my "running muscles" a bit of a break. I am truly thankful to have done all I did without injury. Now it's time to challenge myself in a new way, in a new, clean space while giving the local roads a rest. 'Nuff said!

Marathon... Binge?

2011-05-08T20:44:00.002-05:00

We've all heard of the marathon blues, which I have managed to pretty much avoid since becoming a mother because I am too busy for that nonsense, but this time I had a marathon binge. More to the point, a post-marathon binge. Man oh man... I have eaten ALL of the bad stuff this week: cake, donuts, potato chips, ice cream, diet cola, fries, more ice cream... oh my. I guess it was good to get it all out of my system; I really, really craved it all.

Moving forward! What's next, you ask? I intend to do a 5k on June 3rd with the same friend from church whom I accompanied on her first 5k back on March 25th. But I do intend to get some rest from running. I have not run a step since the Frisco Railroad Run Marathon. I plan to take 26 days off from running. That is, from the marathon until one week prior to the 5k. Sound good? An odd number, I know, but I think my body deserves it. As much as I would like to get right back out there (and believe me, I want to) I think it is probably best to give my body some time off from the sport I love. In retrospect, I ran three marathons within six months. And I only took off about seven weeks total. Yikes!

I do not have a maintenance plan for the summer just yet, but I will likely begin training for marathon #7 (either C or S, time and funds will tell...) in late July, which will give me about 16 weeks to prepare. That gives me 7-8 weeks in the summer months to base train, cross train or who-knows-what. Oh the possibilities! For now I am going to enjoy the so-called downtime. Here goes nothin'.

A Surprise Gift

2011-05-04T19:14:00.003-05:00

I got really, really lucky back in 2006 when I was pointed in the direction of Terry Higgins for training advice for my first marathon. Since then he has trained me numerous times for numerous races. More importantly, though, I feel as if I have made a true friend.

Today Coach Terry sent this to me, a Cowtown Marathon collage:

Am I lucky or what? This really touched me when I received it earlier this afternoon.

Thank you!

Frisco Railroad Run Marathon

2011-05-01T20:40:00.034-05:00

You may want to pour yourself a drink, because I have a feeling this is going to be a long one.

So... why did I pick this very small, very rural marathon in Willard, Missouri? Because of the awesome medal (which you will see at the end). You see, before I was "promoted to motherhood," I was an Architect (OK, I still am, just in an extremely tiny capacity these days). I have a passion for historic preservation. Well, about nine years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to help restore an actual Frisco caboose! Here is the finished product.

This is located at the Mammoth Spring State Park in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas.

Once I discovered this race online and decided that I could swing the timeline (it was nine weeks after my previous marathon) I knew that it was mine all mine! It just had my name written all over it. Plus, I was keen to do a smaller race. They can't all be Chicago! And smaller races, in my opinion, are more family friendly.

So off we went on Friday morning. But not before discovering that Isaac was likely teething because he had a huge fever. Ugh! Not good. We decided to forge ahead as a party of three with meds and the thermometer in tow.

I was soooooo glad that I borrowed a portable dvd player for the car. That thing was worth its weight in gold in terms of keeping Isaac occupied and happy. However, the windy roads of North Arkansas did not sit well with him. He threw up just before we got to the Missouri state line. Yep. Not zesty... He can now say that he has been stripped and changed on the side of the road.

When we finally arrived at our hotel in Springfield, Missouri we were oh so happy! Isaac could be "free," i.e. no longer strapped into his car seat, and I could head to the teeny-tiny packet pickup over at the Willard Middle School (start and finish of the race). It took about sixty seconds to get my tech shirt and race bib, and then I was out of there headed back to nearby Springfield. But not before receiving a call from Chasen to pick up more meds because now Isaac had diarrhea. Oh good grief! Thankfully it was short-lived and we were able to head to dinner soon.

My silly boy and I at Schlotzsky's. We were aiming for a good pic, but this is all we could get.

That night was ROUGH. Isaac woke up about once per every hour or two, and I only ended up with about three hours of sleep. Aaaaackkk! I laid there in the wee hours thinking "I can't do this. But I have to. I've come all the way and I just HAVE to get that medal."

5:30 AM came mighty early. The boys dropped me back off at the middle school and, fortunately, they had one of the medals laid out for all to see. That's when I decided that my exhaustion was just going to have to take a backseat to my desire to do this thing. Mind you, I had already established that this marathon (#6!!!) was all about just getting through the course and getting medal, as well as the family road trip. All I had to do was carry myself over 26.2 miles.

This was the only signage... at the side door of the middle school.

All it takes to put on a race in rural Missouri is a truck and some traffic cones!

This was not only a marathon, but also a 10-mile race, a 50k and a 50-miler. There were just over 200 participants, total. I was definitely at the back of the pack, which was fine. Right before the race director said "Go!" I turned on Phedippidations episode 270. The mantra, which I knew would come in handy later, was "When There's Nothing Left To Burn, You Have To Set Yourself On Fire." How very true, especially on three hours of sleep.

This was an out-and-back course. I have never ran a marathon that way, but I do enjoy training that way. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment at the turnaround point, as if I am "done" already. This was no exception.

The course was run 100% along the historic Frisco Highline Trail. The first three miles or so are "out in the open" on asphalt. The next 10.1 miles were all on hard-packed gravel. Most, but not all, were shaded. The weather was a bit windy, but it was definitely NOT too hot. That was the blessing of the day!

For the first five or six miles I was running solid miles, but then I began thinking about it and decided that I would switch to a Galloway run-walk method, given that I had a long way to go and, let's face it, very little reserve. Gee thanks, Isaac.

But perhaps I should thank him. You see, as soon as I switched to my Galloway 4:1, I immediately began to feel better, both mentally and physically. My whole mindset changed. It was as if I had discovered the golden ticket: just enjoy this race and get your medal. And that I did!

I finally caught up to the woman I had in my sights for miles -- Linda the first-time marathoner from St. Louis. We jockeyed for a while, but I ultimately stayed ahead. She was a joy to have around, especially since we were "out in the middle of nowhere" basically all alone for miles at a time. When she and I hit the halfway turnaround, I congratulated her big time. She was on her way!

At the first post-half water stop (mile 16.2) Chasen and Isaac were waiting on me.

Isaac and his BFF "Stinky Dog" are all ready to watch me run by.

Here I come! This is how most of the trail looked (shaded and beautiful).

It was not always shaded, but it was always lush and scenic.

Being that we were "way out there," I encountered several things while running that I have never encountered before: s snake, cattle guards, a wild hog (which farmboy Chasen confirmed once I gave him a detailed description), bunnies and an armadillo.

Isn't that gorgeous? Chasen took this while parked and waiting on me to run by.

He actually missed me. Oh well - better late than never!

Typical mile marker along the trail (not corresponding with the race, mind you).

Isaac blows a dandelion while checking out the trail. Oh the rocks I got in my shoes!

I was pleasantly surprised to once find my guys on the trail to cheer me on!

And there I go... walk-running my heart out.

In the upper teens I switched to running 1 minute and walking 30 seconds. That worked well for quite a while. When we got to mile 21 (right past the wild hog...) Linda, in an exasperated way, said "Five miles to go." I, like Little Miss Sunshine, said "ONLY five miles to go, Linda. ONLY five!" You see, I really had discovered the golden ticket. It had left me so happy and optimistic. It was rather incredible. My outer thighs were on fire, but I had the mental spirit to keep going. That's all I had to do! Easy as pie!

I could see another girl waaaaay up ahead, just walking. I knew she must be feeling like death. At this point I was just running from chosen landmark to chosen landmark (i.e. overhanging limb to darker green bush, etc.) Somehow I made my way up to her. As it turned out, she was a 16 year old cross country runner trying her hand at 26.2 miles. I could tell that she was not having a good time of it. I took a risk and put on my "motherly hat" and said to her "Look, I am 36 years old... 20 years older than you... don't let an 'old lady' beat you to the finish line." She took off and began running a bit more, mixed in with some walking.

By the time I hit the final three miles, all on asphalt, I was toast. But I was walking quickly and again listening to the "When There's Nothing Left To Burn, You Have To Set Yourself On Fire" episode of Fdip. I knew I was almost done and I was soooo happy. This is amazingly different from all of my previous marathons, where I just wanted to lay down and die foe the final 6.2 miles. I am telling you... if I could bottle this new attitude of mine I would be a billionaire!

Here I come into the middle school parking lot. I had arranged something special with Chasen.

I told him that, if it wasn't raining, I wanted to cross the finish line with my sweet boy. Mother Nature cooperated.

Here I come, the happiest girl in the USA. You can't fake enthusiasm like that!

Look at Isaac go! What a good sport he is, even with a minor fever and aching teeth.

I was sooooo happy! Not just happy to be done, like normal, but simply on top of the world. Now I know the secret: just run and enjoy it! I couldn't care less that it was my second-slowest marathon.

Here I am with much-deserved pizza, cookies and a banana. Yum yum yum!

Official race shirt: waaaaay to small. Oh well, I'll make a t-shirt quilt one day.

Awesome logo. Love love love this race and course (minus the tiny dang rocks).

There it is, the reason for traveling over 600 miles round trip with a teething boy.

I congratulated the cross country girl and told her just how incredible she was for doing a marathon at age 16. Then I saw Linda finish. All in all, a great day!

After we got cleaned up (and I got a much needed ice bath) we headed to the Bass Pro Shop.

Isaac was in awe of all of the life-like animals they had in there. Better than the zoo!

We had a celebratory meal at Lambert's Cafe in nearby Ozark, Missouri. Isaac continued his hunger strike, unfortunately (the next day Chasen told him if he didn't start eating soon he'd be down to nothing more than dirty fingernails and socks - ha!) But he did like to see hot, fresh rolls being tossed out to people! He slept better than night, but we were still up several times. Aye aye aye.

The drive home had to be rerouted because of flooding, so it took a bit longer. And we had a flat tire. You'll never believe what was removed from my left front tire: a bone. Yep - we had indeed been to the boonies!

I am still on cloud nine about the race. I learned so many good lessons (run for fun, take salt when offered, wear gaiters next time, invest in a travel dvd player) and truly, thoroughly enjoyed myself. Now the sky's the limit!

For The Record...

2011-04-26T12:54:00.002-05:00

I am nervous about the Frisco Railroad Run Marathon. I admit it. It's more than the usual pre-marathon jitters. This is a whole new world for me. This is the first time I have ever tried to piggyback one race with another. The Cowtown Marathon was just nine weeks ago! I took about three weeks to just "knock around" only running small amounts, and then I had five weeks of "hard training" prior to this week's semi-taper. With my Hanson-inspired training plan, I made it up to 15 miles for a longrun. One can see how I may be feeling a bit anxious.

It's a very small race. As of this moment I am one of 48 marathoners. There are 99 10-mile race entrants, 26 50-milers, 20 50k'ers and a few 50-mile relay teams. The course is a rural out-and-back. My great hope is to buddy up with a 50-mile person on the way out and then find another a 50k'er on the way back in. My goal is simply to just run 26.2 miles and walk away with the AWESOME medal (photo coming soon)!

In a nutshell, I feel a bit unprepared. This is the first time that I have not spent 3-4 months training for a marathon. I am a firm believer that it's better to be undertrained than overtrained, and I am thanking my lucky stars to not be injured. But, still, I am worried. Here goes nothin'!!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T16:21:00.022-05:00

Oh what a big week! I tell ya... once you have a child, a one-day holiday morphs its way into an entire week. Isaac had THREE Easter egg hunts this week, plus the one we did at our home today. Yeesh! Specifically he had one at each of his Mother's Day Out programs, plus a full-blown Easter party through my "mommy group." That's a LOT of plastic eggs and empty calories. No wonder this country is obese.

Here Isaac eats "cheesy poofs" at the Easter party. He's never had those before.

Table full of toddlers. Oh the cameras were snapping!

Isaac only wanted to do a small bit of coloring. That's how he rolls.

It had stormed, so the kids hunted eggs in this church's sanctuary. Here, they wait to go in.

Some DUMMY brought confetti eggs. Heaven help us all...

Isaac had a great time. Here he naps on the way home with his BFF "stinky dog."

I gave Isaac about 2-3 pieces of candy per egg hunt, and that's it. And silly me gave up sweets for Lent. Man oh man - it has been a challenge. So very little sugar was consumed around here until midnight. And then... it was ON! I practically tackled Chasen on my way to the stash of the "good stuff" Isaac collected all week. Mmm mmm mmm! That's a tasty way to officially ring in Easter!

Here is Isaac, all ready for church. I actually had to iron that shirt. Ugh!

Here Isaac pretends to be a Rockette. Ha! I must say, he's a pretty cute one.

Mr. Serious is thinking "Stop with the pictures and let's go to church! I have people to see!"

Isaac and Daddy at the Easter Brunch. Two sharp dressed men!

Isaac and Mommy -- true love, what can I say?

Here we are right before the amazing service began. We LOVE our church.

After lunch we had an empty egg hunt. Isaac is now a hunting eggspert. :)

I am so proud of that head of hair - I admit.

Isaac would rather pick up sticks than eggs, though. We had a storm recently.

And he's proud of it, too. The boy loves to be out in the yard.

Yard man for hire! He'll work for milk and goldfish crackers!

Our Easter will wrap up with a good meal (ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls) and more fun with Isaac. A great day all around!

Home Sweet Home

2011-04-17T21:02:00.007-05:00

First the running, then the good stuff. I had two 10 mile runs this week (and that's it... bad) one was horrible and the other was fabulous - at marathon pace! Then, after twelve long days, we made our way to the airport to pick up Chasen! Hooray!

He took this photo of us waiting for him at the end of the corridor.

Oh what a warm welcome it was! And Isaac has not left Chasen's side since he returned. Twelve days is a LONG time for a 2-year-old, as you can imagine. Those boys have made up for lost time! Once the dust settled a bit, Chasen and I booked out trip for marathon #6. One of the perks of having a husband that travels semi-frequently is hotel points (and airline points, but we have yet to use those). As of this point there are 35 entrants for the marathon. There is also a 10-mile race, 50-mile and 50k. BIG stuff in a small setting - and I just can't wait. What's more? There is a Lambert's Cafe just a few miles down the road. We will definitely be eating there after the race. Yum-o! I just hope my 3-4 runs per week will be sufficient for the race. Time will tell. 13 days to go!

Here are my boys today on our newest purchase (a necessity for a 1.5 acre lot).

Tomorrow I am going to be virtually cheering on my DEAR friend Petra as she runs her Boston Marathon. I couldn't be more excited. She has worked so, so hard to get where she is and she inspires me greatly. Go Petra go!

Stay tuned for more glimpses into my busy, crazy life.

Glass Half Full

2011-04-09T19:39:00.005-05:00

Could someone please press 'pause' on my life - just for a little while? :) After the 5k I did a few weeks ago, for the following days I just couldn't seem to get out the door to go running. Between rain, cold, lazyness and Isaac... well, you get the picture.

On a rainy day we met our lovely friend Ashlyn at the Pink Palace Museum.

My little explorer tried to figure out how the awesome circus display was created.

After that I decided to get back on the horse. Otherwise, marathon #6 just might not happen. So, according to my Hanson-inspired training schedule, I headed out for an 8-miler that Thursday after dropping Isaac off at his Thursday Mother's Day Out (which is not his 'normal' MDO, where I usually start my runs from... this one is just for this spring). I had never ran from there, but figured it would be alright. Well... it just wasn't my day. It was super-duper hilly, and I just had nothing to give. Fortunately, I was doing an out-and-back. I did cover the 8 miles, but a lot of it was spent walking. Ugh.

I really contemplated throwing in the towel after that. Seriously. Just pack it in and not run for months! You'll be happy to know that by that evening I had come to my senses. The next day I did 10 miles and was super successful. I even noted it as 'excellent' on my Buckeye Outdoors training log.

Saturday recovery runs have not been happening for me. Sorry, Hansons! The next day was my 6th wedding anniversary and I had too much going on, both anniversary-ish and not. And guess what happened that Monday: Chasen headed to China for work! Again. For 12 days. Ack!

So now I am in "I must run while Isaac is at MDO or I don't run" mode. I have been pretty successful, at least this first week of single motherhood.

On Tuesday I ran 10 miles. It was tough because I had a headache for most of it, but I managed to average 13:29 per mile. Not terrible. On Wednesday, sans MDO, Isaac and I headed to the park. I was supposed to do 6 miles, but I didn't figure that would happen. As it turned out, it was so windy that I only lasted 1.95 miles. Ick. On the upside, Isaac got to enjoy the playground! On Thursday I ran 6 miles at 12:41 per mile average. I ran through some new areas, so it was successful by many degrees. Then on Friday came the mother of all Hanson-inspired training runs: the 16 miler. It was h-o-t and humid. 16 turned into 15 and it was all I could do to average 13:52. You know me - I picked a very hilly course. I walked quite a bit toward the end.

This week, with a bit of extra walking added to the training runs, I logged 33.50 miles. For a 'single mama' I think that is incredible (and I don't usually toot my own horn). They weren't all pretty, but I did it and I am proud. I have a bit of a head cold now, but I think I can forge ahead this next week. If I do... I believe I'll be making a trip to Willard, Missouri for marathon #6 at the end of this month!

As for Chasen, his stay in China is as busy as the last, if not worst. But the sweet guy did go to the market in Shanghai yesterday to purchase these for me: (photo via Skype)

THREE Chitalian purses! (Chasen's word for Chinese knock-offs of high-dollar Italian purses)

As I type this I have completed day 6 of 12 of single motherhood. I am trying to keep the "glass half full" attitude and not the "13.1 miles of 26.2 done" mindset. Here goes nothin'!!!

Help for Hope House 5k

2011-03-27T20:15:00.010-05:00

This week, amidst some on-again, off-again knee aches, I decided to just by golly make myself a training plan for proposed marathon #6. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm just going to take it day by day and run by run. No pressure! After being intrigued by the Hanson Brothers training method, plus a bit of googling, I came up with a plan. The reason I was intrigued is because I heard that they don't go past 16 miles (the theory being to run that 16 on 'tired legs' to similate the last half of the marathon, more or less). With our packed spring schedule, shorter longruns would be much appreciated. Another issue is very busy weekends, one of which will be sans-Chasen who will soon be in China. So Chasen suggested that I do longruns on Fridays while Isaac is at Mother's Day Out (for five hours, anyway). That was a GREAT idea! Another thing is that a 20-miler, for example, requires some "course support," both moral and physical. Sixteen, on the other hand, well... I think I can get by.

I modified the Hanson "Beginner" marathon plan (because, let's face it... I just can't do 50+ mile weeks, which the "Advanced" schedule mandates) to fit my life a bit. First, I reduced it from six days per week to five. Second, as I mentioned, I moved the longruns to Fridays. As time goes on I may interject a rest day mid-week instead of two days in a row. We shall see. I am calling it my "Hanson Inspired Plan For A Busy Mom."

So Friday I dropped Isaac off and headed out for a 12 mile run. It ended up being 11 due to my chosen course, but oh well. It went OK - much, much better than the 10 I did five days prior. An ice bath was necessary, both because I want to be as safe as possible (musn't wear doen this old body!) AND because that night I was slated to help a friend run her first 5k. Yep! As I was finishing up my longrun I kept thinking "Oh, tonight is going to be UGLY." But thanks to the magic of the ice bath, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. Tracie is a friend from church. She works out quite a bit and runs a bit as well. I kind of thought she had a love/hate relationship with running, but SHE initiated the 5k talk. So we planned it and did it!

Here we are before the race. Isaac was also there, as you can see. He stayed with Chasen.

We ran the Help for Hope House 5k in Memphis. Specifically, we ran in Harbor Town, a very nice area of downtown near Mud Island. Tracie's husband, Jerry, navigated the course with Chasen and Isaac to take lots of photos of us.

Here, Jerry leans down as Tracie and I (red, yellow and maroon) run towards the famous "Pyramid."

Tracie did sooooo well! She had me moving! We never walked except at a water stop.

Of course, she said that I kept her moving. What a team we were!

Here we come! I asked Jerry why he wasn't ringing his cowbell right then.

We ran the first mile sub-12 and the next two miles sub-11. Whoa baby! According to my Garmin, we finished in 35:29. I think that is pretty incredible for me considering my legs already had 11 miles on them.

Here are the happy finishers. All smiles and ready for some grub!

The absolute best part of the 5k was what Tracie said about it when we finished. Given that she had a love/hate relationship with running, I figured that her opinion would be "OK, I've done it. That's it." But nooooo. She said "That was fun. Let's do another one." Wowee! Music to my ears! And now we have a connection, other than just being friends from church. Cool beans!

Happy training, everyone.

Easing Into It

2011-03-20T21:04:00.006-05:00

This past week was spring break where we live, which meant no Mother's Day Out for Isaac. Back during the holiday season, I was worried about not having MDO with regards to both marathon training and simply just "getting a break" for 5 hours at a time. This past week proved to be different. We were just fine! We scheduled trips to the playground with friends and even visited a local family farm / petting zoo. Here are some pics:

Farmboy Chasen gave us a lesson on ALL of the equipment there.

Isaac got to play in corn. That's a first!

He got to "milk" a wooden cow. Also a first!

With Chasen's cautious help, Isaac got to sit on a pony.

Isaac just LOVES sitting on tractors! Which works well for me, because I love taking pictures...

HAY Mommy and Daddy! Are we having fun or what?

Spring break was my week to ease back into running, given that I would like to attempt marathon #6 a mere six weeks from now. Am I nuts? Maybe. Time will tell.

Isaac and I did three runs this week. The first was excellent! It was cold (a bit too cold, really) and completed rapidly in our old neighborhood. The next two were s-l-o-w in our new, hilly neighborhood. Ick.

I am excited for spring break to be over so that I can run alone, i.e. wherever I want. Being that this past week was some short-term base training, it all worked out for me to have no choice but to have Isaac with me during each run. He, in combination with the hills, probably kept me from trying to do too much too soon.

The week ended with a 10 mile longrun this morning. I thought "No problem - it's just ten miles." WRONG! It was tough. It was laborious. But I got it done. It really made me think hard about deciding to "go it again" so soon. At this point I am taking this philosophy: one day at a time, one run at a time. We'll see what happens.

Be safe out there!

Being A Stroller Mom

2011-03-15T19:42:00.009-05:00

Today Isaac and I did some stroller multi-tasking. Before I even began, though, I began to think about how important my stroller is to me. Really, it started in the beginning.

Here I am with three day old Isaac (looking huge, still) introducing him to the neighborhood.

Within the first few weeks of his life, we were walking the neighborhood nearly daily.

Here he is about 4-5 months old after a very, very hot run. The poor guy conked out.

Preparing for my first post-baby marathon (which I did when he was 9 months, 27 days old).

I remember being at my baby shower and people giving me very warm clothes for Isaac. Their rationale was that they just KNEW he'd be out in the stroller all the time. Ha! His stroller is probably the most used "baby item" I own (well, just after his diaper bag... which has now been replaced with a cool backpack).

We trained together the most, however, for the 2010 Chicago Marathon. I did many, many of my Galloway-style runs with him. He is such a good stroller rider! The max he has ever been with me is probably 4 miles, I'd say. I don't want to ruin a good thing!

20 month old Isaac after our final Chicago training run (plus The Cat in the Hat).

I didn't do very much training for the Cowtown Marathon with Isaac, as I trained during the colder months. I tried to utilize the time that he was away at Mother's Day Out to hit the roads. As for the other mid-week run, I'd reserve that one for the treadmill while he was napping. So from about November to March, the stroller sat dormant. Chasen even asked if we could get rid of it. Um... NOOOOOOOO!

So that brings me to now. Today I am in base training for marathon #6. Isaac and I headed to our old neighborhood (because it is large, fairly flat and has very little traffic). We ran three very stroller-fast miles (I may be sore tomorrow...) and then tended to a friend's dog. We even strolled across the road to Target to buy diapers and wipes! Planning that tri-purpose trip is what made me realize just how integral the stroller is to my life.

Non-runners ask me all the time "How do you find time to run with a 2-year-old?" My answer: the stroller and good planning/sacrifice. When runners ask me the same question, the answer is pretty much the same. Somehow people have a hard time understanding that I am just NOT willing to give up something I love to do just because I have a child.

Where there's a will, there's a way... so long as there's a stroller and decent weather!

Recovery/Daffodil Dash

2011-03-13T21:48:00.008-05:00

Seriously, who has time for the marathon blues? Not running does not mean that my life ever gets any more free time. There is always something to do!

My level headed boy always keeps me in check. Tee hee hee!

The first week post-Cowtown I did one run of two miles. I did it at the park right before a big playdate with Isaac's friends. Then I took the weekend off (trust me - a true luxury as opposed to banging out a long run week after week) and did a walk with Isaac on Monday. On Friday while doing Chasen a favor (getting his oil changed as he took a mancation to Las Vegas) we walked another 2 miles near the oil change place.

Knowing Chasen would be gone over the weekend (a really tough time to be a 'single mom') I signed up for a local race. I don't usually like to do 5k's, etc. but we needed a distraction from cabin fever. And Isaac and I had not done a race together since he was 3 1/2 months old. So we headed into Memphis for the Daffodil Dash 3 Miler at the Memphis Botanic Garden. We arrived a bit too early, so we toured the garden via stroller for a while until I let Isaac go and play in the amazing kiddie area.

Here is my boy looking a bit bored pre-race.

We lined up at the back of the pack with the other strollers.

Look at the cute older couple! I want to be like them one day!

Isaac is a very, very good stroller rider. So we just cruised along for the 3-mile race like nobody's business. The course had some gentle inclines, but nothing to write home about. We even overtook several people (who probably did NOT like getting passed by a stroller, I'd bet).

We came in at 36 minutes and change. That is definitely a stroller PR for me!

Here we are just past the anti-climactic finish line. Isaac just wouldn't smile!

The race had a nice food area PLUS a live band. We would have enjoyed both longer but someone needed a diaper change ASAP. Guess who?

Now I am thinking about the spring. I know I have squawked for ages about wanting to do a sprint triathlon, but at this point in time I am just not "feeling it," as they say. So I have decided to piggyback Cowtown with another marathon seven weeks from now (nine weeks post-Cowtown). More details to come! I just figure I ought to focus on biking and swimming (maybe, maybe not...) when it's disgustingly hot this summer and spend this beautiful springtime enjoying the roads. Sounds smart, right?

Isaac's springtime photo from Mother's Day Out. He is getting so big!

Chasen will be traveling to China again in the coming weeks, so I have to get all of my ducks in a row for the next few months. Lord help me!

I. Can. Do. This.

Cowtown Marathon

2011-02-28T18:41:00.023-06:00

I've done it! Marathon #5 is in the bag! It dawned on me Saturday (pre-race day) that I have done more marathons since Isaac was born than before he was born. Whoa! Moreover, I have done three in the first 24.5 months of his life. That, in itself, makes me very proud. And I am a humble gal... but I feel that is quite an accomplishment considering I am no Kara Goucher.

With a little encouragement from Chasen, Isaac thought of a way to go with me to Texas. NOT!

My travel to DFW was uneventful. My guys dropped me off at the airport after I made us a homemade buttermilk pancake breakfast (something I normally like to do pre-church on Sundays, when we can). The flight was smooth and before I knew it I was in the Lone Star State. Now, I have to admit something here. I am NOT a fan of Texas. There's no good reason other than the fact that I am from Arkansas - aka God's Country. I even got upset after finding out that Chasen the Oklahoman was BORN in Texas, which he chose to wait and disclose after I was head over heels. Oh well! Being that I want to run a marathon in all 50 states, I had to get there eventually. Might as well be now!

I got my rental car and headed to the expo. I am not a huge fan of expo's, either. You've seen one, you've seen them all. I was in and out in less than 10 minutes. After a bit of a wait at my hotel, I got to check in. Within a half hour or so I headed out to run three pre-race easy miles. The desk clerk directed me to a local park. There was a safe, concrete trail about a mile long. Three loops sans water (doh! no water bottle!) and I was heading back to the hotel.

A little background info: I chose this race because A) my frequent flier miles would cooperate, and B) a friend from high school lives in the DFW area. So on Saturday night I was going to be able to see my friend Sonya for the first time in 8 years. We last met up at our 10-year reunion (in case you're trying to do the math, I am 36 and she is nearly 36). She came to my hotel and we went to the IHOP around the corner for pancakes and about two hours of catching up and laughing our heads off. GOOD TIMES!

I got back to my room with the chance to get 8 hours of sleep. Holy Cowtown! Because I couldn't get right to sleep (go figure) it ended up being right at 7 hours. Wonderful! The front desk called to wake me at 4:45 AM (a cool 5 minutes before I asked them to). I ate my oatmeal and got showered and ready to go. I left about 15 minutes before I intended to, which turned out to be a great thing because traffic was heavy and I just HAD to find a restroom.

Read to run! To the restroom! Move it, thousands of people! I gotta go! (cool freebie green reflector)

It was about 65 degrees when I arrived "on the scene." The humidity was *gasp* 89%. Ouch. The heat would rise to 75 degrees by the time I finished. The announcer was cautioning everyone to be conservative out there and warning everyone that it was "probably not the day to PR." I didn't like the sound of that, but I knew it was true.

Fortunately there was a breeze. It turned out to be both a help and a hindrance.

I was in corral 5, waaaaaay near the back. I was cool as a cucumber, mentally, because I KNEW that I was going to do well. Training had gone fantastically, and I knew this was my day. Well, minus the hills, heat, humidity and wind...

Here I am, ready and waiting. Get in the Zone!!! (Chasen's St. Jude Half jersey - way cool)

Corral 5 had to wait ages to cross the mat. Here is a pic of the scenery.

Finally I got to run! It was ON! Look out, Texas! People were just flying already, but I kept it conservative. I knew I had many hills ahead of me. Not to mention heat, wind and humidity.

The course was gorgeous. It mostly consisted of residential streets and parks. You couldn't ask for much more beauty (but they could have flattened it all before I arrived if they had any manners). And the historic stockyard area was my favorite part. Just awesome!

The entire first half, minus some challenging hills, was pretty successful. The splits were like this.

Mile 1) 12:07

Mile 2) 12:38

Mile 3) 12:37

Mile 4) 12:25

Mile 5) 12:53

Mile 6) 12:30

Mile 7) 12:16

Mile 8) 12:26

Mile 9) 13:05

Mile 10) 13:33

Mile 11) 13:45

Mile 12) 13:28

Mile 13) 13:10

When Chasen called me at mile 13.66 I proclaimed to him "I am going to set a post-baby PR!!!" I had run the first half in about 2:49, and I thought for sure that I could break my 5:59:58 post-baby PR.

At this point I was focused on getting to mile 20. I can't say that I was feeling fabulous, physically, but I was doing very well mentally (a first for me at this point of a race). I was psyched! The water stops, located about each mile and a half, seemed to appear quickly. I was walking a bit more than before, but the heat was rising and so were the hills.

Mile 14) 12:57

Mile 15) 13:53

Mile 16) 14:16

Mile 17) 14:49

Mile 18) 14:29

Mile 19) 14:53

Mile 20) 14:47

Happy day! I was there! Just 6.2 to go and I still had not technically hit the wall. Party time! Due to the heat, hills, humidity and wind (that was ALWAYS blowing in my face, mind you) I began a Galloway-style method of walking .05 and running .20 and there for a while I was on top of the world. You see, I had done a bit of a calculation in my head and determined that if I could maintain 15 minute miles I could set a post-baby PR for sure. Surely I could do 15 minutes, right?

Miles 21 and 22 were great. I was so happy (yes, that late in a race - a true first for me).

Mile 21) 13:41

Mile 22) 14:05

I was doing it. Whoo hoo! Mile 23 was mentally tough, but physically I guess I still had what it took, barely.

Mile 23) 14:51

By mile 24 I just wanted to sit down and throw in the towel. That was not going to happen, but that's how I felt. I could barely move.

Mile 24) 17:15

I did another calculation in my head and realized that unless I could pull sub-12 miles, a true impossibility at that point, the post-baby PR was going to have to stay at Rocket City. That was a tough pill to swallow, but given the hills, heat, humidity and wind (gee, I'm a broken record!) I considered it a victory to have done what I had done so far. So I forged ahead. Up more hills. With dead legs.

Mile 25) 15:46

Mile 26) 15:15

The finish line was one that you can hear for a long time but takes forever to see. After what felt like a million turns I made the "final ascent" UP the long, spectator filled chute. The announcer called my name and told everyone that I had come "all the way from Mississippi." Ha! I joyously crossed the mat in 6:05:33. People in camo fatigues had been manning the course, and there was a fellow about 10 feet ahead of me waiting to give me my gorgeous medal. I said "I'll get there tomorrow" because my legs were sooooo tired. He chuckled. I finally got to him, and he also handed me a bottle of water with the cap already removed. Smart thinking!

Happy, windblown, marathon #5 mama!

Because of the very efficient runner tracking system, Chasen received a text message and knew I had finished and called me mere steps past the finish like. That was lovely!

Being that the start and finish took place at the historic Will Rogers Convention Center area, the post-race food was located in a cattle barn. Ha!

Get your bananas, ice cream and manure here, folks! (just kidding, there was no manure)

I was then directed by a tiny, hand-written sign to go to the poultry barn for my finisher's shirt, which I had completely forgotten about. There were no chickens. :)

Here's where the true misery began. I had to figure out how to get back to my rental car. I had no "oomph" in my legs and had no idea where I had parked, as I was out of my element, exhausted, and I had arrived when it was still dark. Luckily, some nice fellow runners offered to drive me to it. They said "We'll find it." That was the first in my life that I have ever hitch-hiked. But the nice Fort Worth folks had me there in mere minutes. Runners are always nice. Thank heavens!

Lucky for me, sweet Sonya said I could come to her house and take my ice bath. Once I got on the expressway, I called Chasen and gave him the full race story. I stopped to get a bag of ice and Whataburger (which Chasen loves) to fill my empty belly.

By the time I got to the tub, I hardly felt like I needed ice at all. But I used it anyway.

After I took the ice bath and then got all cleaned up, Sonya and I were able to visit for about another hour and a half. That was a pleasure! She is so funny, smart and friendly. Birds of a feather, you know. HA!

Here is my loot. Much love to Fort Worth!

I love the printing on the ribbon. Too cool!

Beautiful medal that did not pose a problem to airport security, thank heavens.

The total package: pink finisher's shirt, white entrant's shirt, medal and race bib.

Here is the back of the finisher's shirt. I love it!

The trip back home was indeed eventful. Yuck. I was exhausted, as I had gotten up at 4:45 AM and ran 26.2 miles, and we had to deplane and go all the way to a different terminal because of an aircraft problem. So I didn't get home until past 11 PM. *yawn*

And now, the day after, I have only a bit of soreness, yet a lot of tiredness. But this boy keeps me hopping, so there is no time for the marathon blues:

Silly Isaac put on Chasen's big ole boots!

I feel so, so fortunate to have had some many people tracking me and sending me positive, supportive Facebook, Twitter and text messages. I am a very lucky girl! Cowtown may have been a bit slower than I had originally planned, but it was my most successful race yet. To have a positive attitude into the 20's and not hit the wall until mile 24 is a huge, huge victory for me. Mooooooo!

It's Here!

2011-02-25T13:27:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow morning I leave for Texas! The good news is that training has gone amazingly well. The bad news is that the temperature on Sunday is supposed to reach 79 degrees. Ick! And it is supposed to be rainy. But -- this is marathon #5 and I am going to give it my all. If you'd like to track my progress either via text or email, click here. I am bib #887. I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Sub-Par Running Week, Super-Sized Park Week

2011-02-19T18:30:00.007-06:00

This week I had one decent run and three not-so-fabulous runs. More importantly, though, with Isaac turning two years old on Tuesday 2/15, we have had a doozy of a week playing at playgrounds!

On Valentine's Day, with Chasen's visiting mother in tow, we headed to the Olive Branch City Park. Isaac had a fabulous time! His two friends Eli and Jude (adorable brothers) came, also.

Isaac pretends to use the big boy swing as his grandmother looks on.

My two fun-loving boys show off their pretty smiles.

Chasen and I prove that it is indeed Valentine's Day. Goofballs!

On his birthday Isaac received a very cool tool set. He has been in fix-it mode ever since.

Prior to putting "Gran" on a plane back to Oklahoma, I went out for what was supposed to be an 8-mile pace workout. I didn't have a lot of time, so I opted to shorten it to 6. I did a good job, but as I got back to my starting point I realized that I was only at 5.75 miles. Doh! I had to call it quits, though, for the sake of the airport.

On Wednesday I was to do 4 easy miles. It was so gorgeous outside that I thought I'd break out the stroller for the first time in probably three months. Isaac and I headed to our old neighborhood. I just wasn't "feeling it," as they say. We lasted 2.5 slow miles.

Same old story for Thursday... except this time it was to be treadmill speedwork. Three miles is not six miles... but better than zero miles.

This brings me to today. My final pre-Cowtown longrun! 10 easy miles! The wind blew at me the first five miles. Seriously! Needless to say, heading back toward home was a lot easier. I got through it, which is about all I can say. This week, as a whole, was sub-par on the running front.

I have thought about it, and since I am in taper mode, slogs are acceptable in my book. Now I need to focus on rest. Lots of it. My TWO-YEAR-OLD is wearing me out! Seriously - he has started to wake up 1 - 1.5 hours earlier than he used to. Yuck. *yawn*

In order to try to wear him down a bit, after my longrun today we went to THREE parks. The first was super crowded with bigger kids. The second was tiny and uncrowded, but there was a pond with ducks and geese, and Isaac was more interested in them than the playground. We finally ended up at our old standby which was just right. It was a Goldilocks situation!

My boy is getting more and more brave. Aye aye aye!

This time next week I will be in Fort Worth (alone) preparing for marathon #5. Holy cow! Time flies when you're super busy!

My Own 10k

2011-02-13T20:25:00.003-06:00

After coming down with a head/sinus cold last weekend, I decided that some time off was in order. Believe it or not, I took eight straight days off from running. Yikes! I am feeling MUCH better, so it was high time to get back on schedule. I was to do a 10k race this weekend, but the only available one was yesterday morning when Isaac's party was to be. What to do?

I weighed my options. I even tried to get a friend to run with me. She's faster than me, so trying to keep up with her would be like a race. Ha! She wasn't available, so I just decided to go it on my own. After a post-church nap on all our behalf's, I got ready and headed out. I was going to run from our home to our church, which is nearly a perfect 10k distance. Chasen and his mother (who is visiting for Isaac's birthday weekend) loaded up Isaac and proceeded to track me along the way.

Isaac loves to watch Mommy run! Awww - that boy sure is sweet.

I did pretty well out there. The weather was just under 60 degrees (gasp! we had 4+ inches of snow just 5 days ago...) so this was my first outdoor run in ages that required nothing more than shorts and a short-sleeve shirt. My goal was to stay sub-12. Overall, I did it!

Mile 1 - 11:14 (no walking break)
Mile 2 - 11:33 (.05 mile walking break)
Mile 3 - 11:16 (.05 mile walking break)
Mile 4 - 12:23 (.05 mile walking break, plus lots of hills)
Mile 5 - 11:42 (.05 mile walking break - nearly done!)
Mile 6 - 11:31 (.05 mile walking break - the church is in sight!)
Mile 6.2 - 2:21 (yes, .05 mile walking break then a speedy finish)
Total - 1:12:03
Average - 11:37 per mile (nearly a minute faster than dream goal marathon pace)

This time two weeks from now I will be on a plane heading home from the Cowtown Marathon. Wow - it's nearly here and I do feel ready. Piece of Cat In The Hat cupcake!

Isaac's Second Birthday Celebration

2011-02-12T14:44:00.010-06:00

Today we had Isaac's birthday party! I can't believe that in a few short days he will be two years old. Time flies. Here is the invitation I crafted for him. The Cat In The Hat is his main man!

I am quite proud of my clever wording. I had a bit of help, I have to admit.

I made Cat In The Hat cupcakes. I got the idea from a blog. Can you imagine life without Google?

Here is a closeup of the super easy cupcakes. The hats were made partially of marshmallows.

Every party needs a signature drink. Here are some cat-tini's (Cherry Sprite with a cherry). My idea!

We had, including Isaac, TWENTY little ones at our house this morning. Would you believe that there was not one drop of red icing or juice box or cat-tini found on the carpet? Not a drop!

In the following photo, the unimaginable happened. I got out a blanket and said "OK kids, everyone come get on the red blanket." And they actually did it! It was my ploy to get a group photo. It worked! Now, I didn't say there were all still and posing... we're talking about 2-year-olds here, people!

It's like herding cats... but the blanket also served as a place to eat. No spills on the carpet!

Isaac chose to eat at the table. Fine by me!

His friend Isabel sang happy birthday to him all by herself. How sweet!

Gettin' after it!

After the cupcakes and juice boxes, we all put our coats on and headed out to our big back yard. The kids ran off some of that sugar, and the parents probably appreciated that. Slowly everyone started to pack up and go home. It is amazing, though, how tired a parent can become after putting on a mere, simple two-hour party. Yikes! But it was wonderful and I am excited for his actual birthday on Tuesday. I have more [simple] baking to do! :)

Up, Down, Repeat.

2011-02-06T02:53:00.008-06:00

It's getting close, folks. Yep - Cowtown is just three weeks away. All of my arrangements have been made, including my post-marathon ice bath location (my high school friend's house, so as to avoid having to pay for two nights in a hotel for the mere sake of soaking in ice and then cleaning up).

Get ready Texas, my least favorite state, here I come!

One could say that the marathon course has some hills. Thank heaven it has been revised a bit since 2010 (see below). The black line looks a lot more friendly!

Since I totally bonked on my first attempt at a 20-miler a few weeks ago, I knew I had to make attempt #2 a success no matter what. In other words, I at least had to finish the thing! On the heels of last week's successful, yet hilly, 15-miler, I mapped out a 20 mile course. It would be no less hilly... but just HOW hilly it would be surprised even me. But first let me paint you a picture of my day.

Chasen and I committed to helping out at our church both on Friday night and Saturday morning, and I knew I'd be wiped out after all that, so in essence I needed to complete the run during the five hours that Isaac would be at Mother's Day Out on Friday. Yes, quite a switch for this Saturday runner, especially for such a big run which would usually require some support. So I arranged for a friend of ours to be "on call" during those hours. As it turned out, Chasen began to come down with a cold, so he called in sick to work. There was my support staff! Plus, I managed to collapse into bed early on Thursday night and get a much needed TEN hours of sleep. I have been exhausted, people.

I dropped Isaac off and headed out. My course both began and ended at his school. It was supposed to both rain and snow while I was out there (but never did, thankfully). Ick. So I wore 2 jackets and 2 pairs of pants! Mile 1 was very speedy, but I overheated rather quickly. I can now say that I have taken off pants and tied them around my waist while out running (remember, I had others on beneath the outer layer). I can say the same thing for my jacket!

Man oh man - what a course I chose. It was one hill after another. See below.

By mile 12 I called Chasen and I was ready to pack it in. I felt spent. But I knew I needed to build up my endurance and quitting was not an option. When Chasen met me at mile 14, he said "You have to make it to 20, even if you have to walk." Gee, thanks.

My strategy was to make it to at least 16, since I ran 15 last week. But I also kept thinking "Surely I can go 6 more miles. Plus, I no longer have to worry about being done exactly at 2 PM to pick up Isaac." So I got cookin' and was at mile 16 before I knew it. I have to say... while I was indeed tired, I actually felt OK out there. Like, strangely, unprecedented, OK. Wow.

Mile 17 was through a baseball complex, and I have never been fond of running through that area, even though it is pretty flat, safe and gorgeous. So getting through that was just a "grin and bear it" type situation. Then at mile 18 I was back on the "main drag" and could see the steeple of Isaac's Mother's Day Out church (yes, 2 miles away... it is a HUGE place).

I ran into the parking lot at 1:54 PM with 19.31 miles on the Garmin. Chasen also drove in. I motioned for him to go on in and pick him up so I could finish up. No sense subjecting everyone to my sweat! Next thing I knew, he and Isaac were following me around the huge back parking lot as I finished up that last mile. Then we all drove home together! Yay - best 20 miler ever! My average pace through all those hills was 13:09 per mile.

When we got home I was not hobbling like usual, which shocked me. I took an ice bath while Chasen and Isaac went to the library. Then we headed to our church shortly thereafter. I got about 5 hours of sleep that night and arrived back at church at 4:50 AM on Saturday. Yikes! I could not catch a nap on Saturday afternoon due to some home plumbing issues (grrr!) so the next thing I knew it was 1 AM on Sunday and I woke up with the start of a nasty head cold. Figures - I guess all this living has caught up with me. So for now I will take it easy and try to get better. After all, I have a mere three weeks til the big day!

Getting In Gear

2011-01-30T19:46:00.003-06:00

Well, I am ashamed. Yes - ashamed! I have not posted anything new in *gasp* three weeks. The problem is that I always aim to do it after my longrun on Saturdays, then I get busy, then I claim I'll do it Saturday night... and the next thing I know it's Sunday and I'm sort of "over it." Oh well - onward and upward! But first let's do a quick review...

Week 1: I went on strike from running (yes, I did) because it was just too dang cold. I logged 2.77 miles for the week pre-longrun. Then came a cold, yet speedy 12 miler. I averaged 12:32 per mile (that's right on target for my current "dream" marathon pace). Funny... two weeks later I don't recall it being that stellar. This is why doing a "review" is sometimes a good thing.

Week 2: I had a nice recovery run and then did an 8 mile pace workout... and then apparently I went back on strike. Yeesh - not good. In hindsight, Isaac and other things had me completely stressed out. And we've been battling snow showers about once per week nearly all of January and just let me say that we are soooooo over it. Come on, spring! That Saturday I trekked to Shelby Farms (a first for me) to attempt a 20 miler (the first one this season for me). Um... err... I failed. I logged 8.05 miles and threw in the towel. I won't even bore you with my list of excuses.

Week 3: Redemption time! Oh what a week I had! It started off with a bang as I had a very speedy recovery run (hey - it just happened, people). Next I had a decent pace workout on the treadmill (it was raining) as Isaac was back at Mother's Day Out for the first time in SEVEN WEEKS. Aye aye aye! Then I had an awesome easy run during his naptime (again, treadmill + baby monitor). And then - I burned up the streets with a spectacular 8 mile speed session! I really did. And then came my longrun... you're on the edge of your seat, aren't you? I plotted a NEW course so as to avoid the typical out-and-back on the main drag. I did that to avoid boredom AND to attemt to avoid having fifty people at church on Sunday say "Hey, I saw you out running!" Well, I failed in that department. But then I thought about it a bit and realized that if I am so visible out there, it's a good thing. I am setting a good example, I hope! So - back to the longrun. Man oh man - it was H-I-L-L-Y. The first five miles (of the 15) were in the 13's, which is FINE, especially considering the hills. The second five miles were in the mid-to-high 12's. Whaaaaa? And the final five miles got a tiny bit faster. Holy moly! And that was with hills! I was shocked. My average pace was 12:54, which is ideal for training, especially with hills. Go me! I logged 37.89 miles last week. :)

The Cowtown Marathon is four weeks form today and I am ready to show Texas how this transplanted Arkansan does things!

Oh Poop!

2011-01-09T20:07:00.006-06:00

The highlight of my week was... um... err... gross. Even though our schedule has not changed one bit, Isaac has been off his napping schedule ever since Christmas. He naps super late now, which throws off my typical running routine (which is about to change, anyway, since Mother's Day Out starts back up this week, thank God). Some days I am not sure he naps at all. He just thrashes about in his crib. Well... on Thursday I was running on the treadmill with the baby monitor right beside me. Isaac never went to sleep, exactly, but he was playing upstairs in his crib. With 3/4 of a mile to go, he started to really fuss, so I cut it short and came inside. Grrr! The next thing I knew he was fast asleep. Figures! But silence at last! So I sat down to have so lunch (albeit late).

Within ten minutes the smell of a dirty diaper permeated the ceiling and was all around me. "Well great," I thought, "I'm going to have to wake him and change him. As I walked up the stairs the smell got worse and worse and I heard him. He was awake. I walked in to see a horrific sight. That little devil had taken OFF his diaper and had rubbed it everywhere. Ugghhhhh! I was horrified. It was all over his hands and he had mild poop breath (he had at least wiped it on his nose, anyway). I immediately called Chasen, in a mild state of panic, and demanded that he come home. I called the pediatrician and left an awkward message "My son may have eaten poop... please call me back." And we both went straight to the shower.

As we were getting out and getting dressed, Chasen arrived, claiming that Isaac is now the hit of his workplace. Ha! He went upstairs and cleaned it ALL up (God bless him). And the nurse who called me back said that as long as it was HIS poop, we'd be OK. Odd, but good to hear.

Well guess what happened the very next day on my rest day from running? Yep, round two. I didn't insist that Chasen come home when I called him as, sadly, this is now old news. But I did call. And the coworkers again got a laugh. But this time his bed was MUCH worse. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Thank heaven for Clorox wipes!

I got to thinking about it, and I decided that Isaac needed an obstacle between him and his diaper. Here is my so-far-so-good solution: big boy undies.

This is also good to get him prepared for potty training sometime this year.

So, I had a "crappy" week. You can thank me later for sparing you from the photos of the poop mess. But another good discovery was made, in addition to the big boy undies (which are darn cute). My right ankle is much more fond of running on the road than the treadmill, come to find out. Since Isaac's Mother's Day Out is starting back up this week, I will have more of an opportunity to hit the asphalt.

Now onto the crappy longrun. I was to do 18 miles, which is no walk in the park, especially for someone who has not slept well all week (except the one night I had a margarita). I didn't start at 6 AM like I had anticipated on Saturday. When I woke at 5 AM, I thought "Why am I up so early? There's no need to be." And I went back to sleep. I got started just before 9 AM. I was definitely not as speedy as I have been for the past two longruns, but I knew I had a long out-and-back ahead of me. Chasen and Isaac visited me at mile 9. I was, apparently, looking "good, happy and strong." Well, that's not how I felt. But I knew I just had to get back home. I could do that, right?

At mile 12 I exchanged water bottles (they had planted one for me at our church). By mile 15 I sat down (always a mistake). It was super sunny, super windy and, thus, super cold. I was exhausted and frozen. My quads were toast. I tried to call Chasen for a rescue, but he did not answer. I figured he was putting Isaac down for his nap. Grrr! So I went on to mile 16 and kept trying to call. I was solely walking by this point and desperately wanting someone I knew to drive by. Where were all of the people who always tell me "I saw you out running on Saturday!" I didn't see a single soul I knew. I even called two different friends who also did not pick up. Ugh. I finally got Chasen and Isaac was indeed asleep. Yuck.

I walked all the way home. So, 15 miles slogged and 3 miles walked (quickly, to my surprise, as in under 18 minutes per mile each). Actually, it turned out to be 18.45 miles. The average pace was 13:53 and I hurt from the waist down. The roller ball and ice bath were beyond necessary! Today I am 100%. Gotta love the ice bath!

The Cowtown Marathon is seven weeks from today. My remaining longruns look something like this: 12, 20-22, 15, 20, 10k race, 10. Lots of miles ahead of me!

Now for a look at life after Cowtown. I aim to try my first sprint triathlon at the end of May (a local one). Then in June I plan to do the Mojo St Loco relay race in St. Louis, Missouri. In July I am going to be the MATRON OF HONOR in a wedding in Chicago! Here is a red version of my pale yellow dress modeled by a younger, slimmer gal:

Gorgeous, huh? I must work out tons between now and then!!!

There ya have it. Gotta get going! Life waits for no one, not even a poop cleaning marathoner mom.

New Year's Day 2011

2011-01-01T20:07:00.003-06:00

Neither my New Year's Eve nor my New Year's Day turned out how I predicted. Nor my 2010. All, in the grand scheme of things, turned out better!

2010 was the year that my sweet little baby transformed into a very, very active toddler. Oh well - whatcha gonna do? Ha. It was also the year that Chasen started the best job of his life (in my opinion, at least) that afforded us much, much more time together as a family and a more stable future. And he got to literally circle the globe in October! And speaking of better futures, two words come to mind: Dave Ramsey. I am immensely thankful that his "Financial Peace University" program was offered at our church this year. It has changed our present lives, our immediate futures AND our long-term futures, I think. And I mustn't forget our new house and the saga involved with selling the old one. Aaaaah - we are super relived that it is all done and we are so happy in our new house. I never would have been able to predict all of the change that came our way, but I'm surely glad it did.

On the running front, unless I am forgetting something, I believe I only ran ONE official race this year: the Chicago Marathon. It was a hard year for running in the sense that I chose the hottest time of year to train for a marathon (summer). I won't be doing that again! As as for non-official races, I had the time of my life going to Florida to do the Mojo Loco relay. I am already planning to participate in the Mojo St Loco in St. Louis, Missouri six months from now. Viva el Mojo!

As for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, as I said before, both surprised me. Our new neighbors invited us to their house last night. Chasen was glued to the bowl games, plus someone needed to be home with Isaac, obviously, so I went alone. I had THE BEST TIME! We played a very, very fun team card game called Sequence and I probably laughed more than the previous six months combined! And I met some new, fun people. Considering that I planned to just sit at home, I'd call that a red letter night.

I did NOT get up at the crack of dawn to do my 12 miler today. And any time I have to postpone a run, it never seems to go so well (read: early or bust!) I made it out at about 3 PM figuring I could finish up right at dusk. Since last week's 16 miler went so surprisingly well, I thought today's run would be far less spectacular (because that's how it usually works for me). Well... get this... I did GREAT! Seriously, folks, I am managing to get faster. Check out these cold weather splits:

12:04, 12:02, 12:09, 12:07, 12:10, 12:12, 11:48, 11:55, 12:07, 12:14, 12:08, 11:41
Average: 12:04

Man oh man! My goal marathon pace (which I am bravely going to just "put out there") is *gulp* 12:30, so I aim to do longruns at 13:30-14:30. But when I get out to run, I just coast along after walking the first .05 of each mile and these splits turn up. Holy moly! My mid week speedwork and pacework sessions must be doing the trick. They ought to do something, since they are 6-8 miles each.

As long as my body holds up, I think the Cowtown Marathon is going to be a good one for me. I put it that was because recently my right ankle/foot has been bugging me a little. Yes, that ankle/foot of 2008 torn tendon fame. So I am trying to be as cautious as I possibly can be. Ice, ice baths, you name it. And I massage my soreness-prone hips with a roller ball thing after each run now. They are improving!

So there ya have it. Bring on 2011!

A Very Merry 16 Miler

2010-12-26T20:07:00.010-06:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! We've had a good one. Chasen got to leave work early on the 23rd, so we decided to venture into Memphis and track down some of the supposed well lit, well decorated homes. As it turned out, we were thoroughly disappointed. The most exciting thing we found was a decorated port-o-potty:

This was found in front of a large, undecorated home that was being renovated. Ha!

On Christmas Eve we went to a candlelight service at our church. When we got home and got Isaac to bed we finally got down to business! We opted to not put up a tree - at all - until then because we just knew that Mr. Inquisitive would not be able to stay away from it.

We also wisely kept our cherished Christmas cards up out of his reach.

Here is the finished product: undecorated pre-lit tree. Not too shabby!

On Christmas morning I just couldn't wait for Isaac to wake up! He is likely going through a growth spurt now because he sleeps A LOT. So some waiting was required. But he finally got with the program and woke up for our first Christmas in our new house. Here is Chasen (who says he sounds like a drunk) bringing him downstairs on Christmas morning:

Oh I really, really hope this is "The Cat In The Hat" movie!

YAY! My buddy The Cat! Thank you, Santa!

The "architectural block set" was also a big hit. This architect mommy thanks Santa!

It couldn't have been much better. We are so fortunate to have each other!

I was supposed to do a 16 mile run on Christmas Day, but obviously that wasn't happening. Better fish to fry! So I got to bed early that night to make it happen on Sunday the 26th.

I woke up at 3:30 AM. I needed to be back home by 8 AM to make it to Sunday School on time. I headed out the door just past 4 AM. I walked down my road and hit 'start' at the main drag. I originally wanted to do an out-and-back, but I felt I would not be able to carry enough Perpetuem sports drink with me to make that happen. So I opted for two shorter out-and-backs so I could refuel.

It was 31 degrees out and - get this! - snowing! Yes, in Mississippi. Just flurries, mind you, but enough for me to finally be able to say that I ran in the snow. My goal was to run 13:30 miles. I think I was dressed perfectly, except my legs could have been a tad bit warmer (I should have worn my tights instead of loose pants).

I am extremely happy and proud to report that this was my best longrun of 2010. Seriously. I felt strong and fast. Seriously. I made it to the first 4 mile spot (my old neighborhood) in the blink of an eye. Next thing I knew I was at the intersection of my road and the main drag switching sports bottles. As it turns out, I probably could have done one out-and-back since I forgot how much less I drink when it is super cold. Oh well!

I made it back to the old neighborhood for 12 miles and then started the "final descent" towards home. The first 14 miles were practically effortless. Seriously. Mile 15 required a bit of walking here and there and mile 16 required a lot of walking. Oh well! Check out my splits:

12:38, 13:12, 12:58, 13:20, 13:19, 12:44, 13:15, 12:37, 12:24, 12:43, 12:34, 12:21, 13:01, 12:48, 13:50, 14:36

Total - 3:28:29

Average - 13:02 per mile

That is seriously speedy for me, and it includes walking the first 0.05 of each mile. Whoo hoo! I attribute these results to both cooler weather and my mid-week speed sessions (I guess). The Cowtown Marathon is 9 weeks away and I just can't wait!

Chasen's MBA Graduation

2010-12-18T20:02:00.007-06:00

Big news! Even though Chasen finished classes for his MBA close to 18 months ago (long story...) he finally got to go and physically graduate! We've had the actual diploma for a while now, but nothing tops off years of hard work like spending 8 hours in the car with a teething toddler to cross state lines to go to a graduation ceremony!

Isaac finally got to face forward in his seat the day before we left. Chasen finally gave in!

Here Isaac watches the humorous elderly lady that sat behind us during the graduation.

It was a small December ceremony in the school's gym.

Someone is VERY proud of his Daddy!

My two best guys - current graduate and future graduate (sniff, sniff).

I was so proud of Chasen. Nothing says accomplishment like a cap and gown! He started this MBA when we lived in Arkansas and he worked about 60 hours per week (seriously) and could barely get away from work to attend classes. It was NOT easy. Then we moved 4 hours from the school and he both telecommuted and drove there some in the beginning. Again, NOT easy! So I am a super-duper proud wife. Congratulations, Chasen!

Where Have I Been?

2010-12-16T20:03:00.002-06:00

I have been all over the place AND my laptop bit the dust. Thus, no blogging. I am composing this post from Chasen's laptop sans pictures, which makes for a boring post. But bear with me!

Last weekend I went to Daytona Beach, Florida for the AMAZING Mojo Loco relay race. It was incredible to meet so many of my fellow runners from across the country! The team consisted of:
Maddy (Florida)
Adam "Zen Runner" (Florida)
Norman (Florida)
Matt "Crazy Runner" (Florida)
Marathon Chris (Florida)
Steve Runner (Massachusetts)
Chris Russell (Massachusetts)
Nik (Massachusetts)
Dan (Massachusetts)
Samantha (Georgia)
Eddie Marathon (Michigan)
Steve Chopper (England - yes, just for the weekend!)
me (Mississippi)

Oh what fun we had! We all met in Daytona and carpooled to St. Augustine. From there we ran in teams of 3-4 for four miles each leg. We made it about 50 miles that way back to Daytona. We each got to run 3+ times. It was wonderful to get to run with so many different people! And every move we made (literally) was recorded either by audio or video, so the upcoming podcasts of the afore mentioned people ought to be interesting! We celebrated with a big, group dinner that evening. Oh what fun! I am soooooo in for next year!

My training for the Cowtown Marathon is going decently. I was derailed a bit by some sore ears and an incredibly painful throat (drainage issues - eeeeew!) but am on the mend. I also saw an orthopedist for my hip pain. He said I had the hip bones of a 25 year old! (I'm 36.) So I chose not to have an MRI and opted to try some yoga to help my muscles. Fingers crossed.

And my laptop. Ah, I feel a bit lost without it, but it got sent off to Sony today (thank heavens I bought an extended warranty). Here's hoping it returns to me soon! I have to blog, after all!

Almost In The Spirit

2010-11-29T19:26:00.005-06:00

I have to be honest... I am not yet in the Christmas spirit. I have not yet located my Elvis Christmas CD, for one thing (a sure fire way to make me jolly!) For another thing, we did not put up our tree and decorations yet because we had a humdinger of a weekend. And because we are "scaling back," somewhat, to be make for a brighter 2011, I made the executive decision weeks ago to not send out any Christmas cards this year, simply because they can be so costly (if you get the nice ones, which I like to do). That's a bummer, because I love sending AND receiving Christmas cards. Well... it looks like I may have found a way! A friend alerted me to the fact that Shutterfly is offering a wonderful deal! In exchange for a blog post (which you are now reading) Shutterfly will give out 50 free Christmas cards! How wonderful! I know they will be very high-quality cards, because we used them last year when our card also served as a birth announcement for Isaac.

So here are my contenders:

This one is called "Retro Kaleidoscope."

This one is called "Vintage Noel." I think Chasen would pick this one.

This one is called "Scrapbook Style Blue."

I am super excited about this opportunity from Shutterfly! If you'd like to try for 50 free cards, click here. Good luck! Ho ho ho!

Birthday Review

2010-11-28T19:11:00.003-06:00

I shared my 36th birthday with Thanksgiving this year. Older. Than. Dirt. *sigh*

I have been thinking about recent birthdays and the running-related gifts I have received from Chasen. When I turned 30, we were engaged, and he got me an awesome mp3 player. I was a gym rat at the time, and it came in soooo handy. By the time I was 32 I was training for my first marathon. He got me my beloved ipod. Oh the miles we've shared! Then at 34 when I was pregnant, he got me possibly the best gift ever: Teddy Tready! We have also shared many miles. We shared 8 just today! When I was 35 I received some awesome running sunglasses. Now, at 36, I received registration for the Cowtown Marathon and the "blessing" to head to Texas alone as Chasen keeps the home fires burning. YAY!

This was a pretty good week for running. On Tuesday I did 4 miles of pacework on Teddy Tready. On Wednesday I again used Teddy for an easy 3-miler. On Thursday I used Teddy for 4 miles of speedwork (different from pacework!) and thus ended my on-schedule week. Friday was a rest day, which was easy enough to accomplish. But Friday night brought a splitting headache which led to a bit of insomnia (when it rains, it pours) so I did not get up early on Saturday for my 8-miler. Then the day got away from me (and throw in a little bit of car trouble) and the next thing I knew I had a pain in my chest (right side) which Chasen diagnosed as gas. Huh? And Isaac was sick, also. So I went to bed not knowing if I'd even get to the 8-miler. I did, I did... Sunday afternoon. On Teddy, too. I think Teddy and I need some time apart in the coming week...

Ever since this past summer, my hips have given me fits. I described the pains to Chasen and he thought it was my hip flexor muscles. So he found me a workout online to strengthen them. Between those and the Hard CORE Club workouts, I am spending lots of time on the floor!

Six days from now Chasen will run the St. Jude Half Marathon. I am very, very excited to be his traveling cheerleader! I will have to plot my cheering spots soon so I can be properly placed around the streets of Memphis to cheer him on! This is quite a role reversal for us, but I think I am up to the challenge. :)

Back At It!

2010-11-23T13:11:00.003-06:00

Once I made the decision to train for the Cowtown Marathon, of course I pondered how I'd train for it. With careful consideration I decided to use a plan from one of my favorite running books, as I have previously mentioned, but I altered it a bit to fit my lifestyle. It looks something like this:

Monday: rest
Tuesday: 6-8 mile pace workout (read: SPEED) either at the track or on the treadmill while Isaac is at Mother's Day Out (i.e. get it done early in the day)
Wednesday: 3-4 easy miles (probably with Isaac in our hilly neighborhood)
Thursday: 6-8 mile stride workout (read: SPEED) on the treadmill as Isaac naps OR on the treadmill after Isaac goes to bed
Friday: rest
Saturday: longrun
Sunday: 3 mile recovery run

I am liking this plan so far (of course I have only been doing it for a week). I have also decided to participate in the Hard CORE Club challenge. It's always something! It's always something with our house, also. So last night I finally figured out how I would display all of Isaac's artwork from Mother's Day Out:

Our kitchen is Isaac's very first art gallery! I used very small wire and mini-clothespins.

And here is Isaac's very first "school picture" from Mother's Day Out (taken one month ago).

I think rather than purchasing a bigger cork board to display my growing number of race bibs, I'll do my own "art gallery" in my home office. It's certainly the economic way to go!

Scared. To. Death.

2010-11-19T14:43:00.008-06:00

Last night Isaac was eating some snacks in his high chair as I was prepping dinner right before we went to pick up Chasen from the airport. The next thing I knew, my rambunctious little boy had pushed himself backward and fell to the floor while strapped into the chair. Aaaaack! My first emotion, for a split second, was anger. He is always doing something! But then, of course, I got really scared. He was screaming and crying as I picked him up, unstrapped him, and checked him out. No blood!

After about a minute of calming him down, he quieted. And then he spent about the unhappiest 10 minutes of his whole 21 month old life. His head must have been hurting him soooo badly. Next thing I knew, he threw up. Uh oh! At that point I was focused on the mess. Yuck. We had to go to the airport and now I had to give him a bath. A few minutes later he was cleaned up and in PJ's. Off we went.

I do have some sense, so I made a call to the pediatrician's office (after hours, of course). The on-call nurse said he better go get checked out as throwing up after a head injury could mean a concussion. OMG! I did not know that. I was told where to go (an after-hours type place). I decided to call some pediatrician friends from church at home. The suspicion was backed up, yet I was told to go to a specific ER. Uh oh.

We picked up Chasen and off we went.

Here is Isaac trying to tear up the waiting room in his pajamas from Japan.

It didn't take them long to call us back at all. Yay! I just knew he was OK, but obviously it's better to be safe than sorry. Especially when the doc said he had seen several kids who seemed OK and then turned out to have concussions. Yikes!

First hospital bracelet since he was born. :(

The doc said he would indeed need a CT scan. I quickly asked if he would be sedated, because there was NO WAY my guy would lie still. He said no. Well, this ought to be interesting...

Chasen, Isaac in a peach hospital gown, and the good ole Cat in the Hat.

Getting his pulse/ox checked like a champ. By far the easiest part of the night!

Holding Isaac down for the CT scan was like something out of a horror movie. He squirmed so much that the first traumatic session wasn't good enough. So we had to go back for round two. Aye aye aye! That time the nurse tried to sort of tape his head down. No dice. We just had to put a death grip on him (face, hands, chest, legs). A nightmare. But better safe than sorry. The results were A-OK. Thank God!

Daddy, it's way past my bedtime and these people won't let me eat. Let's sneak out...

We got home at 10:45 PM. That is close to 4 hours past Isaac's bedtime. He slept well, and I was up early hawking over him just listening to him breathe. As the title of this post says, I was scared to death of what could have been. I definitely don't want to go to another ER for a long time!

Going To A Town Of Cows? Moo!

2010-11-16T12:03:00.004-06:00

Better late than never, I'm back! Man oh man - getting the house all set up and settling into our new life in Southaven, MS did not happen overnight... but now we're all good. We are moving-box free now, including the garage. I personally went and recycled, over time, 91 moving boxes. Chasen took a bunch from the garage (and forgot to get me an exact count, that little devil!) and now we're good.

I battled a head cold / chest cold / sinus crap for over a week. Yuck. It happens. No running. Until one day last week, a month past Chicago, Isaac and I did a 3.25 mile walk around our new, very hilly neighborhood. And I do mean hilly!

To recap, I have the Mojo Loco Relay Race coming up in less than a month.

I am so excited to get to finally meet so many of my online running friends! Past this relay, I planned to work on strength training until I take the plunge this spring and attempt my first sprint triathlon! More on that to come...

So Friday night Chasen says to me "Why don't you go ahead and do another marathon?" Umm... because I hadn't planned on it due to the afore-mentioned timeline. With a bit of encouraging, I got really excited about doing another so quickly. We looked online and began targeting races within my timeline (about 3 months from now). I have one frequent flier free ticket still waiting on me, so I presumed that I could go anywhere I wanted. WRONG! I got all excited about going to Arizona and possibly getting to see Rio until I realized that the timing was not good for my miles. Ick. So I took about a half day to feel sorry for myself. :(

Then I dusted myself off and tried to pick a race solely based on where I could actually get to FOR FREE. Texas seemed to be an option. I narrowed three races down to one:

Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind?

Looks like I'll be heading to the Lone Star State for marathon number five! And now that I am back in training (as of this morning) I feel GREAT! I have picked a plan from a book I own (not Galloway - I only have 15 weeks to train, people!) and have modified it slightly (just the day of the longrun) to fit my lifestyle better. Away we go!

As we head into the Thanksgiving holiday, I'd just like to say that I am very thankful for this blog and all of the friends I have gained through blogging. I know people are blogging less and less these days thanks to social networking, but I do not intend to stop!

Is that Isaac in a dress? No, silly, it's ME! Chasen finally admitted that Isaac looks like me.

Happy running, everyone. Let's do this thing!

Thank Heaven For November

2010-11-01T20:54:00.011-05:00

I am sitting here with a nice glass of malbec wondering where to even begin. In true Type A fashion, I'll just start from the beginning. I will try to recap my post-marathon October (a doozy of a three weeks).

As most of you know from my Facebook page, Chasen indeed made it home from Asia in one piece! Isaac and I went to the airport in plenty of time to be front and center for him to come out of the secured area.

In spite of the fact that I seem only interested in my juice, I can't wait to see my Daddy!

Reunited and it feels so good!

Oh it was sooooo nice to have Chasen home! While I feel that I did a bang-up job of holding the fort down while he was gone (and selling our house!), I would NOT want to do it full time.

Isaac models his new pajamas from Shanghai, China.

As I said, he sure was happy to see his Daddy!

The next two days we were super busy with a church project. We (Chasen and I) were to power wash an elderly lady's front deck and apply a sealer to it. Yours truly was doubled over in pain. A trip to the doc revealed that I had both a bladder infection and a calcium deficiency (thus too much painful stomach acid). Some meds fixed me right up!

Within a week's time, jet lagged Chasen and I were moving. No joke. Packing up, heading out. It took seven people four hours to move all of our "big stuff." Chasen and I had moved tons of boxes the day before. When it was all said and done, Chasen was so ill (cold/sinus/allergy type stuff) that we skipped church and went to the emergency clinic where he was given FOUR prescriptions. Ouch.

Next: Halloween week! Isaac and I attended two get-togethers in addition to the traditional trick-or-treating.

Mommy group Halloween party. These are my besties!

At another soiree, all Spidey wanted to do was play with sharp metal objects. Aye aye aye!

Oh yes, did I mention that we got to tour a fire station? Life is good. (and busy...)

Halloween night: Spidey and I painted the old neighborhood red!

Yes, I like candy... you got a problem with that?

As I type this we have been in the new house for 10 days. It would be in tip top shape IF we didn't have to lay some new flooring in the dining room and entryway. That project has totally consumed us, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Beautiful Brazilian Koa engineered hardwoods.

We have to put down quarter round trim (which I was just out painting) and install thresholds, and then we can move in the furniture. DIY projects and toddlers do NOT mix... so we have been primarily working when Isaac goes to bed at night. We are oh so tired! And SORE. I am here to tell you... this has taken A LOT out of me. Much more than running a marathon. But I didn't train for this for months on end!

Needless to say, I am soooooo glad October is done. November will be a much, much calmer month. I haven't run a step since Chicago, but that is about to change. After all, I have the Mojo Loco in less than 6 weeks!

Thank you, dear friends, for keeping up with me! I am back in the saddle now.

Videos From The Chicago Marathon

2010-10-13T22:49:00.002-05:00

In addition to photographing her entire experience at the Chicago Marathon, Katie also took a few videos of interesting sightings.

Mr. Bear - I wonder how hot HE was!

This one was taken up in Wrigleyville. Go figure.

And these are some very fast people (LONG before we got there...)

Interesting Characters at the Chicago Marathon

2010-10-13T21:59:00.014-05:00

My friend Katie sure does know how to document an event! Not only did she capture Maddy and I every time we ran by, but she also captured every "character" she saw. How fun!

Super heroes - I wonder how they fared in the heat?

Man in a blue dress. Ha ha ha!

Clown #1. Some people dislike clowns. I have no problem with them.

Clown #2 (at least I think so, anyway)

Girls in tutu's and funny socks. Get in the spirit!

Joggler (he was just ahead of Maddy and I)

Uh oh - he dropped his balls (tee he he)

Soldier boy in his gear (um, Katie, where's the fireman I saw?)

Red boa girls - la tee dah!

Another fancy tutu - I bet I could be easily spotted in something like this!

Not quite sure about this guy...

Mr. Southwest Airlines, apparently...

You gotta love a big banana. 'Nuff said!

Chicago Marathon

2010-10-12T20:42:00.023-05:00

My hostess Katie and I woke at 4:30 AM because we intended to leave between 5:30 and 5:45 for downtown Chicago. After my breakfast and shower, I proceeded to tape my blister-prone toes.

I use gorilla tape. It is simple and it works, no matter how much I sweat.

I really, really have to give props to my friend Katie. She was my hostess, chauffeur, pit crew AND photographer!

She wore this awesome shirt in my honor.

Katie ended up having to drop me off because the parking was already filling up. She had to go and park at Soldier Field while I headed to the Congress Hotel to finally meet Maddy. Lots of people apparently planned to meet in the lobby, so I ended up having to call her. Minutes later I finally met my awesome running partner!

Maddy and I have been blog friends for about 4 years now.

Next we walked a bit and finally got to meet up with Kevin! It was awesome to make all of the connections.

Is this a terrific trio or what?

Next Maddy and I headed to the starting area. 45,000 people signed up for the race, and even factoring out the no-shows left an extreme number of runners ahead of us. We couldn't even physically see the starting line until well after the gun (which we couldn't hear) went off.

It took us exactly 30 minutes to reach the starting mat.

The event alert level was green/low (good conditions - enjoy the event/be alert) when we started. I am sure it was about 60 degrees. From the first few minutes of running, I felt quite labored. But we had a marathon to run!

Katie's first spot to see us was at mile 2. There we are under the "V" of Verizon.

I think Katie took this photo because I now live in Mississippi. Ha!

A few miles later, the event level had switched to yellow/moderate (less than ideal conditions - slow down/be prepared for worsening conditions). Oh great.

I didn't detect Katie until we had passed. I think this is a funny shot.

I was really struggling. Maddy and I were trying to run using my 2:1 method and I just had NO speed behind me. It was tough. Early on I urged her to run ahead, but she would not.

Katie said that without Maddy's attire, she would have never found me out there.

The next thing I knew - probably before or around the halfway point - the event level changed to red/high (potentially dangerous conditions - slow down/observe course changes/follow event official instruction/consider stopping). Believe me - the latter crossed my mind, but I felt like I had moved heaven and earth to even train for this event, on top of making arrangements to get there considering Chasen has been in China... so I had to just forge ahead.

Believe me, it wasn't easy. It was hot and I was spent.

As we headed south and passed Chinatown, I knew we were coming up on IIT. No matter how bad I felt, I was happy to be running past my alma mater.

This is where I spent my college years.

Here we are dragging by the architecture building, S.R. Crown Hall.

As we ran past a nearby high school, the digital marquis read 94 degrees. Holy moly. It was brutal. We were well over an hour past where we initially thought we'd be, timewise. Oh well - one foot in front of the other.

Oh happy day! I knew, thanks to Maddy, I was going to make it.

At about a quarter mile to go we had to go up a bridge. Jeez oh man! We tried to sprint, but I had to conserve a bit of energy. When we made the final turn, I mustered up my last bit of energy and we stormed down to the finish line passing several people. Our official chip time was 6:52:23. Ouch. But, as I said, given the conditions I feel fortunate to have finished at all. Every medical tent we passed was full and I even saw people laid out on the grass along the course receiving IV's. Holy cow.

Big, huge thank you to Maddy! My medal is half her's!

It was so late in the day that I cancelled my post-marathon dinner out with college friends. It took Katie and I forever to talk back to her car considering my soreness and having to navigate the road blocks. But we finally made it. On the way back to her condo she stopped and bought me a huge bag of ice for my much-desired ice bath.

22 pounds - and I loved every bit of it.

After an ice bath and regular shower, I felt nearly good as new. Katie was fairly amazed. I said "It's the ice bath!" We went to a nearby restaurant to save time. I chose one that Chasen and I visited when we were there last November. I knew he'd be jealous. Ha!

Italian Beef and fries - how Chicago!

Katie dropped me off at the airport and I COULD NOT wait to get home to my sweet Isaac. He was asleep, of course, but I looked in on him and then gleefully got back into my own bed.

Here is my hard-earned medal and largest race number I've ever had.

And here is the shot that made it ALL worthwhile. What more could I ask for?

So, it was an awful race for me, but I am proud to have completed marathon #4. Now for some rest!

The Day Before The Chicago Marathon

2010-10-11T21:58:00.012-05:00

I arrived in Chicago and was met at the airport by my wonderful friend from college, Thi. As we drove toward my alma mater, there were hints of the marathon all along the way.

There was also lots of traffic. Go figure!

My alma mater: Illinois Institute of Technology (this bridge was bright red back in the day).

Here is Thi. I will be her bridesmaid in July 2011.

Here is the architecture building. I spent about a zillion hours here.

At IIT we met up with my hostess Katie (also a college friend). After a quick walk down memory lane, we went to lunch in Greektown.

Mmm Giordano's! Man oh man - I miss this stuff.

After that Katie and I said goodbye to Thi and headed to the marathon expo. It was HUGE! I figured as much, but wow. After we got my race bib and stuff, we strolled upon none other than the Ultra-Marthon man himself!

Yes, that is Dean Karnazes. That makes two stars I have met within a month's time!

A fellow in front of us was wearing this shirt while listening to Dean.

We plopped down to investigate the goody bag.

I am always ready for exit 26.2 - trust me!

"10-10-10" was all over the place.

The coolest thing in the whole expo was a huge wall that had all participants' names in tiny lettering on it. It took forever to find my name, but I did!

The letters were only about a quarter inch tall... 45,000 names...

Now this is interesting. Even though the projected temps were in the 80's, the event status was "low." I highly disagreed with that, but I was not running the show!

After the expo we headed back to Katie's condo in suburban Oak Lawn. I unpacked and we proceeded to laugh and catch up. We talk via e-mail nearly daily, but we only see each other every few years. Then we headed out for a pre-race dinner. I had fettuccine with marinara and sausage. I was in bed by 9 PM for my 4:30 AM alarm.

Stay tuned for the big day!

TGIF (Thank Galloway It's Finished)

2010-10-08T20:40:00.012-05:00

Oh happy day - tomorrow I leave for Chicago! I had yet another busy, hectic day, but I just tried to keep positive and focus on the fact that my very long journey (23 weeks, to be exact, 366 miles covered) to the Chicago Marathon was nearly complete.

All of this marathon talk is really wearing me out.

Isaac has Mother's Day Out today. Thank goodness, because the home inspection for our current home was at noon (when he'd usually be asleep here). So I headed out and handled some errands. We just hung out this afternoon and waited for 5 o'clock to get here so I could turn off my crock pot and then head out for my FINAL bit of training (an "easy walk").

It's roasting hot out here, but at least I have The Cat In The Hat with me.

Next was dinner. My guy just LOVES lasagna! I have a really good crock pot recipe that will feed an army of hungry toddlers.

Of course, the entire world still gets dirty after a plate of lasagna meets Isaac.

I got to very briefly Skype with Chasen today. He is now in Yantai, China. Tomorrow he will drive to Qingdao, and while I am flying home to Memphis he will be flying to Wenzhou. The next time we will be able to Skype will be Monday at best. :(

I am all packed up and ready to go. The weather is supposed to be rather warm. Yuck. Oh well - I've put in the time... now I just gotta do the crime!

Almost Ready

2010-10-07T23:06:00.005-05:00

Phew - the fun and games are over. Today was very hectic. It started off well enough with Isaac and I going out for my final pre-Chicago longrun (30 minutes worth). When it was done I calculated my training totals: 363.30 miles. I have one "easy walk" to go tomorrow. Yay!

After that I needed to clean our filthy shower. I strapped Isaac in his rocker-seat and turned on Sesame Street. The next thing I knew, he was fast asleep because it took much longer than I thought it would. The good news is that I discovered our shower is actually white, not almond. Ha! The bad news is that he got off his lunch and nap schedule, thus I once again did not get to rest. Ick. Oh and guess what else - the buyers of our house want to do the home inspection tomorrow, which was to be my only chance for a leisurely nap while Isaac is at Mother's Day Out. Oh well - we gotta sell this house! I'll just have to do my Chicago packing and then get out for a few hours so they can have it inspected.

Chasen arrived in Shaghai, China without incident, although he did say that the 6-hour flight was awful. We got to Skype and he showed me his Chinese Coca Cola.

He was able to print, sign, scan and email the house papers from India before he left. Gotta love modern technology!

So this afternoon Isaac and I ran errands and tried to stay busy at home. It didn't quite work as, like I said, we had our most hectic/worst day yet. I blame the fact that I let him go to sleep way too early thus not allowing myself to have a break. Oh well - you live and you learn.

We did finally try on his Spiderman costume for Halloween. It is perfect!

He'll have nothing of the cap and "eyes" band. Oh well - this is cute enough.

My sweet boy - I just love those 16 teeth.

Late afternoon I started to prepare Shepherd's Pie for his dinner and weekend leftovers (tomorrow I will make crock pot lasagna for our dinner and his weekend leftovers). His amazing babysitter Natasha arrived and I headed off to 80's themed bunco. This mommy definitely needed a night out!

Like my 80's look? I purchased it all at the Goodwill for less than $20.

Oh I had fun! And now I have 24 more hours or thereabouts to get all ready and packed for Chicago, as well as get Isaac and our home ready for Natasha the sitter and me being away. Busy fun!

You Ate What?

2010-10-06T21:13:00.004-05:00

Another great day! Isaac and I hit the day head on and didn't waste time. We met a friend at Starbucks at 8:30 AM. Then we came home to play for a bit before heading to the city park to meet with the mommy group.

Isaac participates in a meeting of the minds.

He really is fearless up there... unfortunately.

This looks like toddler jail. But it's not!

We flew home from the park to be able to Skype with Chasen before nap time. That didn't happen because Chasen was being wined and dined in a glitzy mall in Delhi. I am proud to announce that he tried all Indian foods and exotic fruits! My husband is one who generally thinks fruit is only meant for pies. Ha! However, for lunch he was taken to McDonald's! He had a Big Maharaja, fries and Coke. Go figure. We finally got to Skype a few hours later. And Isaac and I filled our afternoon with errands as today is a rest day from running.

We got the offer on our house all counter-offered and settled today. My signed documents have been emailed to Chasen for his signature. We just Skyped this evening and he was going to try to get them scanned and returned before he flies to Shanghai, China in a few hours. Man oh man - what a life!

No Idle Time

2010-10-05T20:38:00.004-05:00

Chasen arrived in Delhi, India without incident. Hooray! His work provided him with a Blackberry that is basically good for international texts and e-mail only, so he was able to text me when he finally arrived to Brussels last night and then Delhi this morning. Thanks to the wonder that is Skype, I got a virtual tour of his first hotel room. Neat!

Isaac and I have been keeping busy. He had Mother's Day Out today, so I was able to get several errands done (including tracking Chasen down on the other side of the world). As I was out I heard from my realtor that the other people's agent said... drum roll please... they were going to make an offer on OUR HOUSE tonight. Whoo hoo! So I spent the day wondering how that was going to go. Thank you, friends, for all of your prayers and good vibes.

After I picked Isaac up, I let him play in the back patio. He is always fascinated with water hoses.

In order to avoid boredom, I planned my 30-minute "taper run" for late this afternoon. It was about 70 degrees, which is what the high will be on marathon day (ick... but better than 90).

Isaac thought he better bring The Cat In The Hat along.

We ran fairly slowly through the neighborhood. We even ran into my realtor out there (a fellow runner, a half marathoner). We "talked shop" as she tried to get in a 5-miler. She asked if I was "pumped" for Chicago. I explained that I had too much on my plate to be thinking about it all that much at this time. I even chatted today through instant messenger with my hostess in Chicago. She was quite surprised that I had not yet e-mailed a list of items for her to have, scheduled activities, etc. My answer: I'll get to it... I'm too occupied otherwise.

In other news, I am happy to report that my big boy has finally abandoned baby food. He just won't have anything to do with it! So we are going to donate the final stash to a friend with a 1-year-old tomorrow. Tonight he feasted on crockpot chicken cacciatore. Yum!

He is slowly getting better with a fork. Here, he has taken over MINE, too.

Just after bath time I received the offer on the house. Just as soon as it is morning time in India, I will discuss it with Chasen over Skype. Gotta love modern technology!

All The Single Ladies!

2010-10-04T21:33:00.005-05:00

[enter Beyonce] So now I am a not quite a "single lady" so much as a "single mother." There is quite a difference, I assure you. None the less, we got Chasen to the airport this morning without much fuss.

If I had slipped Isaac into that big suitcase, I could have been a single lady after all!

My boys inspect the suitcase and the carry-on.

As I type this Chasen is en route to Brussels, Belgium. He flew from Memphis to New York City already. He will arrive in Brussels after I am asleep and before I wake he will be on another plane to Delhi, India. He'll be flying 18 of 25 hours. Yikes!

Isaac and I have been keeping busy. One way to do so was making the house spotless because the people interested in purchasing it wanted to come back yet again, but this time with their tape measures. It's down to us and another, smaller house. However, the smaller house has a finished attic space. We do not. But we have a bigger downstairs! We shall see. I should hopefully know something tomorrow. Please say a prayer that we "win." Being down to one mortgage again would be amazing. I could actually breathe!

My goal is to try to post several times this week. I want to keep everyone updated on Chasen's travels, this house, AND my preparation for Chicago. It's getting very, very close!

One Week To Go!

2010-10-03T21:07:00.005-05:00

Oh man oh man - the clock is ticking away! This time next week I'll be flying home from Chicago with marathon #4 in the books. WOW!

Even though I am in taper mode, I have been too busy to hardly notice. One of my favorite ways to keep busy is with my mommy friends. On Monday we all went to the zoo. I am a member, so it is always free. :)

Isaac and his friend Callum check out the elephants.

I have been so worried about Chasen's upcoming 10-day voyage overseas and our house still being on the market that even running hasn't helped much. Ick - not good.

Mommy, if you don't stop stressing, I am going to beat you with my stick. Ha!

I am going to dirty up this floor so you have to mop it every other day, Ms. House Shower.

Fast forward to this weekend. This morning I got to "sleep in" to 5:15 AM! Yesssss! I had only 7 miles on the docket for my final pre-marathon longrun. AND it was 47 degrees outside. There IS a God...

One tenth of a mile into my run I became outraged. You see, a nearby house that has only been on the market for a maximum of 14-21 days had a "sold" sign out front. Grrrrr! I wanted to choke somebody! Ours has been on the market for 77 days. But I had hope because we had yet another open house planned for this afternoon (plus, a couple randomly stopped by yesterday and liked our home).

Back to the run. I actually ran MUCH slower than I thought I would, considering the drop in temps. But in hindsight I think it was a good thing. I have been known to "blow through" a final longrun and use up too much of my precious energy. So I probably did just the right thing. I was so worked up about that other house selling so quickly, though!

After church we made the house immaculate once again and headed to the zoo as a family.

Isaac and Chasen check out the penguins.

We came home to some promising news: one couple was quite taken with our home and supposedly have narrowed down their search to our home and one other. Fingers crossed!

Now the true countdown begins. Chasen leaves first thing tomorrow for India and then China. He'll be travelling for ten days. Yikes! Hopefully I'll get some good news about the house tomorrow to share with him (thank heavens for modern technology). And then on Saturday I leave for Chicago!

I have big shoes to fill while Daddy is away.

Big, big stuff happening, peeps. Wish me luck! I will try to keep you posted this week pre-marathon. I have a very good feeling about running side by side with Maddy.

If you'd like to track me while I am running, my bib number is 46369. Click here to sign up! Thanks for all of your support!

The Countdown Begins

2010-09-26T21:39:00.009-05:00

As always, a lot has happened! Mostly good, but one little bad thing. But I'll get to that. So you know I have been extremely busy for a while now and have been quite stressed. Chasen has said over and over "You need a vacation." The problem is that as much as I like the idea of getting away from it all, the wife and mama in me doesn't like the idea of going to experience something new, exciting or beautiful without my boys. (I know... I'm surprised, too.) But then the perfect opportunity arose: Team Mojo Loco! I will be flying to Florida in December for this awesome relay race experience with so many awesome runners: Maddy, Steve Runner, Zen Runner, Marathon Chris, Ed Marathon, Samantha UF, Crazy Runner, Chris Russell, Nik & Dan and Jus' Norman.

I am pumped! This will be 9 weeks after I run the Chicago Marathon.

Speaking of Chicago... guess what. I am going to have a running partner! It is... drumroll please... MADDY! We knew we were both running and we were very excited to finally get to meet in person at the expo. I figured that'd be it as Maddy is quite a bit faster than me. But a few weeks ago she asked my goal pace, etc. and then asked if I'd like a running partner. Well, of course! With her at my side, I believe I will be pushed a bit (much needed) and I believe I can run MUCH faster than I have in training. That, plus at this point the projected high for the day is 55 degrees. Yessssss! I am very, very excited.

On Thursday night I only managed to get about 3 hours of sleep. Ouch. That really stank considering I had a continuing education class all day Friday. I managed to hold it together and stay awake. On the way home as I was stopped at a stop light, a woman decided to try to drive in front of me from beside me. Here's what happened:

Ruh-roh! My first accident in 11 years!

I am 100% fine and Isaac was not with me. Still, though, now I have to deal with insurance and a body shop. Ick.

Since I had so little sleep, I decided to postpone my FINAL pre-marathon longish run from Saturday until Sunday. I can run on little sleep if need be, but there's just no need to do so 2 nights in a row. So I caught up on some sleep on Friday night. On Saturday night I got all ready for Sunday morning.

Oh happy day - one more time to wake in the wee hours.

I set my alarm for 2:30 AM. [Shut it... it's just necessary as I needed to be home no later than 8 AM.] I was to do 14 mile repeats (yes, 14, thanks Galloway) and walk 5 minutes in between. As I walked out my back door I just thought "This is getting really, really old. Thank heavens this is the last time." I still use the 2:1 method, which means I have to really hustle when I am running the 2-minute portions. They looked like this: 12:04, 12:05, 12:04, 12:07, 12:10, 11:59 (downhill!), 12:07, 13:06, 12:28, 12:22, 13:13, fatigue. I walked the rest of the way. Oh well - it has been a difficult 21 weeks of Galloway.

As is my usual routine, an ice bath followed. Pure heaven! After church, a very long nap ensued. Also heaven!

Here my my two best guys after naptime. Aren't they cute?

Look at that happy 19-month-old!

So Chasen is training for the St. Jude Half, right? Well tonight he abandoned Teddy Tready and hit the neighborhood and ran - get this! - 8 miles! I am so proud of him. That is something he has not done in about 10 years. Go Chasen go! I will be the best cheering section Memphis has ever seen come December 4th. Par-tay!

I Met Jeff Galloway!

2010-09-19T20:55:00.002-05:00

So there I was on Friday afternoon, about to head to pick up Isaac from Mother's Day Out when I decided to see what was going on in the world of Facebook. Out of the clear blue, with only one notification, it seemed that Jeff Galloway would be at my favorite running store in Memphis. OMG! I called Chasen and then Isaac and I made a beeline for the store. Oh how excited I was!

I arrived early, not knowing how traffic would be. I was in line at the register when in walked Mr. Galloway himself. Aaaaaaa! He spoke to the girl waiting to greet him and the proceeded to talk to everyone there like they were all old friends. Chasen soon arrived and so did my turn to talk with him. He was super nice, very friendly and personable. We talked about my training, the Extra Mile Podcast Experiment, Kevin... and he even asked if I had any questions for him. What a guy!

Jeff, Isaac, Susan... old friends! I made sure to get a photo for Kevin to see.

So this weekend, as a followup to last week's 24-miler, I was to do a mere 6 miles. What a vacation! I slept until 5:40 AM and was back home before 8 AM. Easy as pie! Next weekend I have 14 mile repeats with 5 minutes of walking in between. Yikes! Two weeks after that... it's game time.

Mother's Day Out

2010-09-15T10:39:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Isaac's first day at Mother's Day Out. I had been looking forward to this day for over 26 weeks per my Baby Blues post written in March. Time alone is a much, much desired thing these days!

When we arrived (with swarms of others kiddos and moms) we went straight to his classroom where his sweet teacher was waiting, and he immediately went to the play kitchen area. He was already occupied!

Hey, tall girl, let me show you how to cook. I watch my mommy do it ALL THE TIME.

He would hardly pause his investigation of the new toys long enough to come take a picture with me, but I got one (minus his cute smile).

Hmm... I wonder if Mommy will start crying when she leaves here in a minute.

Next he went on to be his typical self and start getting into stuff. I told his teacher "He is a handful!"

Bad, bad iRoy Brown, baddest toddler in the whole dang town... (I crack myself up.)

I tried to "sneak out" but he caught me and we made eye contact just as I was closing the door. I skeedaddled out of there as quickly as I could without breaking into a run. I just hoped he wasn't throwing a fit.

I really should have gone home and went for a run, but I had some necessary errands to run. Then I proceeded to spend nearly every minute of my "time off" in front of the computer getting stuff done. I would have rather been relaxing, but this stuff had to be done. At least I could do it in peace!

In some ways, the 5 hours I spent away from Isaac went by rather slowly (a good thing) but on the other hand, it was approaching 2 PM before I knew it. I headed back to MDO and the parking lot was again packed. I sort of invented my own parking spot... I just HAD to get in there and scoop up my little guy! He saw me and came right to me. Awwww!

His teacher said that he did GREAT. She said he did not fuss one bit when I left and he acted like he had been coming there for ages. And she said he was no more of a handful than any of the other kids. Yay! He had a bit of trouble going down for his nap, but I anticipated that. And he had one accident in the play area, but hey - not a day goes by that I am not kissing boo-boo's!

He colored for the first time. Here is his masterpiece (which will stay on my fridge until our house has another showing):

My sweet baby boy, who is 19 months old today, did this. I love it!

So, Mother's Day Out is so far a big success. I hope Friday will be just as easy on him. It probably will be. And no, I did not cry. I was too giddy and proud. All I could do was smile.

Going For Broke

2010-09-12T18:54:00.010-05:00

This has been a week of gearing up for big things and/or big changes to be made. A whopper of a change for Isaac is the impending start of Mother's Day Out (2 days per week, 5 hours each). On Thursday evening we went to the open house and saw his classroom and met his sweet teacher, Ms. Jennifer. I am very excited about this! I think he will learn so much and really enjoy his time at "school." They do actually teach the kiddos... it's not just babysitting. There is indeed a curriculum. And I will enjoy some much-desired "me time." Whoo hoo!

We also made the change to letting Isaac bathe in the "big boy tub," i.e. regular bathtub. He has been ready for this for months, but I just didn't want to see him leave behind the inflatable ducky tub.

I "doctored" a photo of him taken back in January. Here is the ducky I have so loved.

Here is my boy giving the look I often give while he enjoys the big boy tub.

Oh the fun he had splashing around! Check out all those teeth!

The next day things went south. Isaac started having fever with a vengeance, which I thought was teething-related. Now he has full-on congestion and it not eating hardly at all and is sleeping very sporadically. Thus, we are not getting good sleep around here. Aargh!

Never the less, I had a final pre-Chicago longrun to accomplish, and it HAD to be Saturday as I was booked on Sunday. I aimed to go at least 20 miles but preferably more. I really had to "go for broke" out there. Given the heat (which has returned in full force, lucky me) I really, really needed to have as much of the 20+ miler done by 8 AM as possible. Crazy, I know, but necessary. So I set my alarm for - brace yourselves - 1 AM. Yep - 1 AM. Given that I had not been getting good sleep, it is no surprise that I turned it off and overslept. I woke at 2:40 (late!!!) and sprang to action. I was at my church parking lot and hitting the start button at 3:31 AM. I parked there because it is basically my eastern-most safe-running out-and-back starting point. Our new house holds that honor on the west side of my course.

Given that my left big toe has always been very, very prone to massive blisters during 20+ milers, and my new toe cap had slid off due to sweat during a mid-week run, I opted to - brace yourselves again! - wrap it with gorilla tape. I have to say that worked wonderfully. Except... the seam I created on the inside of the big toe caused some rubbing and eventually some broken skin. So I think I will place the seam on top of my toe. I think that would be the lesser of all evils.

I used the Galloway 30:30 method that he recommends for running in the heat (walk 30 seconds, run 30 seconds). I simply just wanted to accomplish the miles and build up my endurance. It was not about speed! Here's how it went.

1) 14:13
2) 14:07

3) 14:19

4) 14:51

5) 14:42

6) 14:39

7) 15:23

8) 15:33

9) 15:44

10) 15:26

11) 15:33

12) 15:59

13) 15:43

14) 15:25

15) 15:56

16) 16:12

17) 16:52

18) 16:04

19) 16:14

20) 16:58

At this point I was back over by our new (still empty) house and thought "This is plenty. I've had it." I called Chasen and Isaac had woken with a fever yet again, so he was back asleep. Uh oh. I wasn't about to have him wake up my sick baby, so I said I'd just start walking. Every mile helps my endurance, by golly!

21) 20:01

22) 20:10

At this point I was sooooo tired and sore and my feet felt like they could burst info flames. I was 2 miles from home (forget the car parked at the church!) and was just dying for someone I know to drive by so I could wave them down to pick me up. No luck. And Isaac was still asleep. I contemplated calling a friend who lived near there to come get me, but I decided against it (because I am insane, apparently). The most I have EVER done in a training run is 22 miles, and that was 3 years ago.

23) 20:37

24) 20:46

By now I was in my neighborhood and was making literally the final turn before home and there came Chasen. "NOW?" I mouthed as he drove up. Jeez - you saved me all of a tenth of a mile, man! Ha.

Total - 6:32:00 for 24.02 miles

Average - 16:19 per mile

Man oh man - 24 miles. That is a long way. Mind you, my training plan actually called for 29. Eek! I was sooooo ready for an ice bath. I was hurting from the ears down (even my neck was sore). It's not every day that one runs 24 miles on less than 4 hours of sleep. Having to wake at 5 or 6 AM on marathon day will really seem like a vacation. Ha!

That night the most odd thing happened. I am usually hungry after such epic runs, as you can imagine, but this time it wasn't so much hunger as a craving. I craved salt for the first time ever. Past 9 PM I sent Chasen to the store. He brought back Rotel, pickles and olives. (No, I am NOT preggers.) I ate it like it was going out of style. Even today, the day after, I needed extra sodium (pickles) with my lunch.

The good news is that, thanks to the lovely ice bath, I was 100% recovered in less than 24 hours. No joke!

Now it's a downhill slide into Chicago. I still have a 14-mile speedwork session to accomplish 2 weeks from now (yes, 14, that is not a typo) but I feel I am as ready as I will be.

In other news, I have made the executive decision, based on several factors, to put off moving to our new house until a) after Chicago and b) after Chasen returns from his 10-day business trip overseas and "recovers" (whatever that may involve). Some "normal" would probably be best for Isaac and I as we face 10 days alone, 2 of which involve Isaac being "all alone" with a sitter as I travel to Chicago. So long as we have the "luxury" of owning our current home, we might as well make use of it!

What a journey... thanks for taking it with me.

Laboring on Labor Day

2010-09-06T21:39:00.005-05:00

Man oh man - I am tired. You can expect to hear that repeated over and over until we get moved into our new house (possibly 20 days from now), I run the Chicago Marathon (33 days from now), and Chasen returns from his 10-day trip to India and China (37 days from now). Yikes - could I be any busier?

It's fairly impossible to get anything accomplished at the new house with Isaac in tow. He doesn't like being stuck in the pack-n-play, and I don't blame him. However, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, and this long weekend was no exception. We were there doing work Friday night (pulling up carpet and tack strips) and, due to Isaac's bedtime, we got in about 1.5 hours before we had to come home.

I'd much rather be playing in the water than watching Mommy and Daddy work.

On Saturday we decided to divide and conquer. I went over in the morning and removed some hardwood flooring and made a noble attempt at removing a wallpaper border in Isaac's soon-to-be new room. It was so difficult! Eventually I just gave up (which I do not usually do) so Chasen finished up that day. Thank heavens!

Isaac vs. pasta... the floor lost that battle.

On Sunday morning at 2:38 AM my little teething monster decided to wake up and not go back to sleep until 4 AM. Holy cow! Needless to say I missed my 5 AM wakeup call for speedwork. *sigh* That's life with a toddler. Chasen went to work on the house that day after church. He started to tackle the wallpaper border in the spare room. I have cursed those people and their wallpaper borders!

My little gentleman helps hand groceries to the cashier. Awww!

I finally got to my speedwork this morning before 6 AM. It was - brace yourselves - 60 degrees outside!!! I was able to run so much faster! Still using the 2:1 method, i.e. walking one third of the time, I pulled 11:57, 11:48, 11:44 and 11:34. After that I was spent and could not do two more. Oh well - it's not like I haven't been busy or anything...

By 9:10 AM the three of us were at the new house. No rest for the weary! With Isaac unhappily in the pack-n-play we tacked the remaining border as a team. After a while I went to spackle some nail holes, and then it was naptime, so Isaac and I headed home. Chasen only came home for about an hour. When Isaac woke we went to Lowe's and bought some chair rail for Isaac's new room, plus a new saw. Aye aye aye! With unhappy Isaac looking on we installed chair rail like nobody's business. Dare say, Chasen and I are EXPERT chair rail installers. Once that was done Isaac and I high-tailed it home. He was cranky, tired and hungry. Poor little guy - he was a major trooper today. Chasen stayed for about two more hours.

There is still a bit of work to do (just a bit!) before the painters can come, but we're basically in good shape. And I found someone to come clean our carpet for a very, very good price once the painters are done. We're making progress! Running, needless to say, is my only means of sanity at this time. Thank goodness for that!

An Exciting Six Weeks

2010-08-29T17:11:00.002-05:00

This week we celebrated Chasen's 35th birthday. While he was at work, Isaac and I decided to celebrate on his behalf at the neighborhood pool with friends. Aren't I nice?

He got a hold of the water hose used to top off the pool. Uh oh!

My boy loves water hoses. No doubt about it. Maybe he will be a fireman.

On Friday we closed on our new house. Whoo hoo! Hopefully in about a month or so we'll be moved in. In the meantime, our current home needs to SELL and we need to put some sweat equity into the new one. Fun times!

Today I set my clock for 3:00 AM because I needed to accomplish 12 mile repeats before 8 AM. I drove to our new house so as to make a nice out-and-back course. I hit start at 3:58 AM. Per the Galloway plan, I have to walk 5 minutes between each mile repeat, so the whole ordeal took quite a while. I did pretty well until the last 2 repeats. Oh well - personally I think 12 repeats is quite a lot! And to think in a few weeks I have to do 14!

So Chicago is 6 weeks away. Yikes! My training has certainly suffered due to the heat. HOWEVER, as of this week things have cooled down a bit. Hooray! This morning during my run the temps were between the low to mid 70's the whole time. A real cold snap! I never once thought "it's so hot out here." I forgot what that was like! So now I have to make sure that within the next few weeks I do another 20+ miler. My last 20 miler was *gasp* 8 weeks ago.

Tomorrow Isaac and I are driving Chasen to the airport for a business trip to California. But guess where he's going in October when I will be in Chicago? CHINA and INDIA. Seriously. For 10 days. So I had to arrange for a weekend sitter for Isaac (cha-ching!) while I go to the windy city. At first I was upset that Chasen's big trip will be during marathon time, but now I think it's probably for the best because it will break up the time he's gone into 3 parts: 5 days without him to pack and prepare for Chicago, getting away to Chicago for just under 2 days, 3 days to recover and get ready for Chasen to come home. We can do this!

New Data, New Photos AND A New Distance Runner

2010-08-24T20:23:00.006-05:00

Life just keeps spinning on... and I am trying not to fall off! This past weekend was super busy with prepping for our open house (to sell our current home, as we are moving 4 miles from here), a church pool party, family portraits, grocery shopping, etc. So, I had to put off my 6 miles of speedwork until Monday because I was just exhausted. Chasen actually got on to me about that! But sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. I reminded him that this is my fourth marathon training season and I know what I am doing. Hmph! Granted, the heat has kept me from super long runs for weeks now... but we have actually had a tiny break in the heat and I just KNOW I can get in another long one before d-day.

Hats are back, in case you didn't know.

Chasen says "That boy sure does love him mama!"

Here is my little troublemaking angel. I love this guy!!!

My family, all sweaty at the Memphis Botanic Garden.

During our open house, which netted only one couple, we ran several errands. To kill a final bit of time, we went to the McDonald's playland - for the first and last time. Eeeeew!

This may be "safe," but it was NOT the cleanest place I have ever been.

Isaac had some help coming down the icky slide.

I did my 6 miles of speedwork, once again, at 9 PM. I just ought to change my name to Night Runner or something. Ha! I really tried to push it. I still used the 2:1 method and I was quite pleased with my efforts. I was sore afterwards, so I guess I did it right. LOL

My "antique" Garmin decided that its memory was full while I was out there, so I now have to delete the history and start fresh. It looks like it has saved 488 hours worth of runs, though! Wow!

It's no longer just a rumor; my husband Chasen has officially signed up to run the St. Jude Half Marathon on December 4th! He is even going to be a St. Jude Hero, like I was in 2007. Please click here to view his page. Thanks for your support!

Just Right

2010-08-19T22:36:00.002-05:00

Real estate can be very interesting. Several days ago a couple who were supposed to be very interested in our home made an appointment to see it. We pulled out all the stops to prepare (I even baked cookies for them). They knew that we had a zero-lot-line patio home. Now, as this type home goes in my neighborhood, we have the largest back yard possible. It even has a mature tree perfect for a child's swing, and it provides some shade to our home, where as most other homes in this fairly new neighborhood have zero trees. Well, these empty-nesters decided not to show up because they determined that the yard would just be too small. Give me a break! Two days later someone else wanted to view our home. This lady supposedly fell in love with it until she opened the back door and saw the "huge" back yard. Holy moly! We seem to have a Goldilocks situation here... too small, too big... maybe the next one will think it is "just right."

Isaac went for his 18-month check-up this morning. Previously we were told that his height put him in the 97th percentile. He's no giant, but we took that as the gospel. Come to find out, I think they measured him incorrectly last time... either that or he has shrunk 3/4 of an inch since then. LOL - no wonder his height seemed so huge! I double checked when we got home and I completely agree with his current height of 33" which puts him in the 75th percentile. Previously his weight was 40th or 50th (I don't really recall). Today he was in the 60th percentile. I'd say that's also "just right." No complaints!

Mr. "Just Right" took his three immunizations like a man!

Isaac and I went out in the stroller early-ish on Tuesday and even though the temp was about 80 degrees (practically a cold front) I really, really struggled. Tonight I went out at dark in 85 degree weather and sailed! Just right!

I have an announcement of sorts. Someone in my household who has never birthed a baby and who is over 33" tall has decided to train for the St. Jude Half Marathon in December. Oh my! That same someone is on the treadmill right now following the Jeff Galloway method. I will keep you updated with the progress!

30:30, 10.94, 115, 18

2010-08-15T17:11:00.007-05:00

Why all the numbers? You'll see. This post is all about the statistics, I suppose. First and foremost, my baby boy is 18 months old today. Time sure flies! Last year, when he was 6 months, we celebrated in our neighborhood pool. Here are some pics:

My sweet, round-faced 6-month-old bundle of joy. No teeth yet!

Floating with Mommy in the water. He wasn't too sure about that wet stuff.

Today, at 18 months, Isaac finally has an interest in books (other than just trying to eat them). To continue the tradition, we "celebrated" at the pool (since, hopefully, our days in this neighborhood are numbered).

My boy is big! And Mr. Water Splasher!

I admit; I give this look ALL the time. That's "the Susan."

Water fun with Daddy. Isaac is Daddy's favorite toy, and the feeling is mutual.

18 months old with 14 teeth! I can't begin to explain how much I love that smile.

On to the running and the rest of the numbers. Since I "petered out" on my 23-miler a few weeks ago, I didn't figure I should zoom ahead and do 26 this week (per the schedule). In all honesty, I aimed to hit 20 and call it a night. 23 would be a bonus, and 26 would qualify as a miracle. It was to be stinkin' hot all weekend, so Friday night was as good a time as any. Guess what the heat index was at 9 PM? 115 degrees! Yep - but like I said, it was not going to get any better all weekend, so I had to at least try to run.

It started off wonderfully. I used the 30:30 method (walk 30 seconds, run 30 seconds). I was cruising along like nobody's business. My Garmin beeped every 30 seconds and it was no problem.

At approximately 9 miles in, I began to realize that everything I was wearing was SOAKED. I mean 100% saturated with sweat. Down to my socks. And underthings. And compression shorts. And shoes. Yep - chafing and blisters were on their way (I could feel it brewing). Jeez - if it ain't one thing, it's ten! I decided to head home and call it a night. Even changing shorts and socks wouldn't be good enough because my shoes were soaked. I logged 10.94 miles in 90 degree weather with the heat index at 115, which Chasen called "epic." I was more of the mindset of "failure" and "disappointing," but whatever.

Am I EVER going to get a break from this heat? Seriously. This is what my car said today as we went grocery shopping:

Needless to say, I am worried about Chicago. Granted, I logged a 20-miler about 6 weeks ago, but that would be 14 weeks pre-race. Yikes! Some people say this "heat training" counts for extra, but I just don't know what I believe. I'll just do the best I can.

From Yellow to Neutral

2010-08-09T21:49:00.003-05:00

My running mojo is still in good standing. But man oh man - I have been busy on all fronts. Thankfully, some storms have been sporadically cooling the weather. I have now been officially brainwashed, because I get excited when it is "only" 80 degrees out there. That's what happened Friday morning, so Isaac and I actually got to make good use of the stroller and walk 4 miles. Yay!

Saturday, on 5 hours of sleep and on the advice of our realtor, I repainted our living room. Chasen had a stomach bug, so I did 99.9% of it myself. From the minute I removed the first picture from the wall and started moving furniture to the minute I officially put down the paintbrush, 10.5 hours had elapsed. Painting is hard work! Up, down, up, down. I don't want to see another ladder for a while.

Bye bye personal yellow that went great with out furniture and floors.

Hello "cafe au lait" that will hopefully appeal to the home buying masses.

I knew getting up at 5:15 on Sunday morning would be difficult, but I also knew that it would be the coolest available time slot. Believe me, I tried to hit snooze, but my body would not let me. So off I went for six miles of speedwork.

After a warmup, the first mile was solidly run (i.e. no walk-run method) because I had to get to a restroom ASAP! Ha. That mile was done in 11:30. Whoo hoo! That's a full minute faster than my current dream race pace. The next mile took a nosedive. It was mostly uphill, and the solid running just doesn't work well for me in this darn heat and humidity. It was 12:50. Not zesty! At that point I remembered talking to Kevin about doing the 30:30 method for longruns. This was no longrun, but I thought it might be wise to apply that same logic somehow to my speedwork. I decided to run 1 minute and walk 30 seconds. Bingo! 11:57 and 12:03! Then, I left the somewhat shady neighborhood I was in and the sun was in full force. Yuck - so bright and hot. It really, really made a difference. After a stop in the local McDonald's for some ice cold water, I got back to it. But not until I did something I have NEVER done before -- I dumped ice cold water over my head. Yowsa! Now that was frigidly refreshing. I happily accepted the remaining 13:06 and 13:30 (where I walked tons more).

This weekend, technically, I am supposed to do 26 miles. Since I never made it to 23 miles several weeks ago, I think 23 or less would be a more appropriate goal. We shall see. It'll be in the 80's no matter when I run, so I have to factor that in. Come on, winter!