All Beer, No Running

This weekend was AMAZING!   We went to a beer tasting on Friday night and Savor on Saturday night.  I'll write a post on each event later when I've recovered from too much food, a lot of beer, and not nearly enough sleep.

Here I am
all tarted up
dressed up for our evening out on Friday.  The boys insisted on being in the picture with me. 

When we got home Friday night, my parents had already arrived and both boys were sound asleep!  The boys had had three different babysitters that night, as we needed to leave before our usual babysitter got off work and then my parents beat us to our house.

After a day spent hanging out, doing yard work and a soccer game with Jones (he scored TWO goals!), Beer Geek and I got dressed up to head to Savor.  Thanks to Hilton points, we had a free night in a hotel, so we took the metro to the hotel, went out to dinner, and then went to the event.  

Savor was fabulous!  We've gone both years that it's been held and it's a wonderful opportunity to meet brewers and brewery owners, as well as sample many beers that are not available locally.  

This morning we got up early and caught a cab home.  Our cab ride was an experience I hope never to repeat.  We were driving down Constitution Avenue in DC and stopped at a red light.  A car blew past us on the right, ran the light, and kept going.  After running another red light (and doing quite a bit of weaving), he stopped between intersections.  All of the cars behind him stopped as well because no one was sure what he was going to do.  He then continued down Constitution Avenue, alternately running lights and randomly stopping.  Thankfully, it was about 8 am on a Sunday morning, so the traffic was really light and he was not hit by cross traffic and all of the traffic going his direction on Constitution was staying behind him.  At one point some pedestrians crossed and thankfully it was one of his random stops.  I'm pretty sure they had no idea how close to danger they came.  Finally, he came to a full stop, as did about 10 cars behind and around him.  He had passed out in the driver's seat!  A number of people had pulled over and were calling the cops on cell phones, so we didn't stick around, but it was pretty much a miracle that no one got injured, no cars got hit, and hopefully the driver will be fine.  I have no idea whether it was drugs, alcohol or some sort of medical situation like a seizure, but it was definitely one of the scariest car rides I've ever been on.  

Other than the cab ride, it was an amazing weekend, but I feel like I ran a marathon and a half marathon in the same weekend.  I think I may be getting too old for this. ;o)

Gettin' ready for the weekend

Beer Geek and I have two (yes TWO) beer events this weekend.  The first one is tonight at RFD in DC and features 5 awesome brewers and their beers.    We get to sit and drink awesome beers and hear about them from the brewers.  Even more entertaining is the fact that the brewers are "tasting" (aka drinking full size beers instead of the taster size the audience gets) and tend to get very, um, relaxed as the evening progresses.  It's quite a fun time if you like microbrews.  Last year, I ended up getting two free cases of Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron for buying tickets to Savor.  I doubt I'll end up with anything that cool tonight LOL (although a mild hangover is likely tomorrow).

Tomorrow night is Savor!  It's the awesomest beer and food event I've ever been to (and I've been to a fair number of beer festivals/beer dinners/beer tastings).  We had a great time last year and actually bought our tickets the minute they went on sale this year.  My parents are coming into town, so we are staying downtown.  Woot!  We won't talk about what kind of hangover I'll likely have on Sunday...

I've spent the day carbo loading (what, you didn't know you need a good carb base before drinking?) and hanging out with Shoo.  Right now, he's drinking his milk out of one of the bottles from my Fuel Belt.  What can I say?  My kids are weird.

Hopefully I'll get in a run of some sort this weekend with my dad, but it probably won't be very long or impressively fast.  Although, I do have a history of good hang over running.  My hamstring is feeling better after taking last night off and, as of June 1, I'm getting back in the running habit.  

Have a great weekend!  Hopefully I'll have some pictures for you all later.

The stars did not align

Jones' soccer practice was cancelled and Beer Geek got home late from work.  BUT!  I had put on my running clothes before that happened.  (I really didn't feel like running, so I used the old put the clothes on and then feel stupid if you don't run trick).  Beer Geek told me to go running while he ate dinner with the boys and to run for as long as I wanted.

I wanted to run for 6 miles.  I ran 3.5 unpleasant miles.  My legs are just not recovered yet.  They felt like lead the whole time and then towards the end, my hamstring started having issues.  I've never had hamstring issues, so I have no idea where that came from.  Then my tummy decided it wanted in on the action, so the last bit was a rather uncomfortable sprint towards home.  I feel like my body is suddenly falling apart.  I'll try an easy run tomorrow and then I'll have another couple of days off while I focus on my other love: beer.

Now I'm going to try and make my Garmin and my Mac play nice together.  Garmin says I have to delete some laps and I don't want to, so I'm going to try to actually download to the computer.  Wish me luck.

Where exactly did my running mojo go?

As promised, I gave my body a break for the last week.  I think I ran two three mile runs in the last 8 days.  And they were far from fast.

Today, I planned to get back on track.  Unfortunately, a rain storm and a problem with my contacts made outdoor running difficult, so I hit the treadmill.  Beyond the fact that I had to wear my glasses (which was highly annoying), it just didn't feel that good.  I did manage to run 3.5 miles in 32 minutes, which isn't horrid, but I was DONE at the end of my run.  I ran that fast for 13 miles not that long ago!

If the stars align, I'll be able to wear my contacts tomorrow and Jones will have soccer practice and I'll be able to knock out 6 miles while he's at practice.  If the stars don't align, well, I have a lot of drinking planned this weekend and I'll get back on the wagon next week LOL.

Motorcycles and baseball and beer, oh my!

This weekend was Rolling Thunder, when a ton of people with tattoos and Harleys come to the DC area.  I LOVE Rolling Thunder. It amuses me.  For years, there was a restaurant at the end of the road that runs next to our house that was THE place all the bikers went on Memorial Day weekend.  We'd sit on our porch and watch all the bikers ride by.  I think I was as disappointed as the bikers when it became a high end wine bar.

Today we went to a Nationals game.  Once a year, we spend a stupid amount of money for really good seats and a parking spot.  Today it was absolutely worth it.  The Nats won, they had a grand slam AND the boys made it all the way through the game.  Add the three Bass beers I drank during the game and it was the best game EVER (ok, at least since we had kids).  (Note to self: GW Parkway, Jeep (aka non-stick shift car), and leave about an hour and 15 minutes) before game)

I managed a short three mile run this morning before church.  It was humid and my legs felt like lead, but I got it done.  I also discovered that going for a run 15 minutes after I woke up was not a good idea.   I saw a TON of bikers and they were all so very "have a nice day".  Not what typical DC people are like :o)  I hope to do a 6 miler tomorrow, but we'll see how my legs feel.

Pictures from our tasting:

Now Shoo is asleep on the couch and Beer Geek and I are sharing a Brooklyn Brewery Local 1, so all is good.

(This post brought to you by 3 Bass ales)

Beer me!

How convenient that a "recovery" week and a busy week preparing for our little dinner party fell in the same week.  I've been crazy busy, but in a good way.  I'm probably about to bore most of my readers, but I need to write this someplace I won't lose it.  If we do this again next year,  I'll want notes.  ;o)  Glaven, please get a towel to wipe up your drool, ok?

Appetizer

Three cheeses (an Irish aged cheddar, a gruyere and a tallegio), red grapes, almonds, and cashews

Beer:  Black Sheep Ale poured in a British style pint glass

Salad

Mixed greens with mini mozzarella balls, toasted walnuts, vidalia onion, and prosciutto with a peach vinaigrette

Beer:  Dogfish Head Festina Peche poured in a pilsner glass

Dinner

German sausages cooked in beer and then grilled, spaetzle, green beans

Beer:  Schneider Aventinus poured in a wiezen glass

Dessert

Some sort of chocolate, possibly with cherries (I'm off to buy that in just a couple of minutes)

Beer:  Kriek poured in a champagne glass

Vertical tasting of Alaskan Smoked Porter - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006

And yes, I do have that many glasses.  The only ones I had to buy for the party were the champagne glasses LOL.

Thanks for all the compliments on my hair.  I'm loving how easy it is to deal with in the morning.  Glaven, yes, I really do go to Wisconsin to get my hair done.  Of course, the fact that my parents live there may have something to do with that....

Hopefully I'll get a run in tomorrow, but I'm pencilling a hangover in for the morning.  ;o)

Skipping TIART this week + pics of "mom" hair

I really enjoy writing specific topics for the Runners' Lounge TIART, but I'm going to be skipping it this week.  This week's topic is nutrition.  Lately, my runs have been fueled by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate chips, and beer.  While that combination seems to work for me, I'm not sure I'd recommend it for anyone else.

So, I excitedly headed to my hair appointment yesterday.  I had won a gift certificate at Jones' school auction for a hair treatment and cut by the owner of a posh local salon.  I walked in and told him he could pretty much do whatever he wanted, that short was fine, and that I'm in the process of going back to my natural color.

This is before:

This is after:
Yeah, not exactly cutting edge.  Don't get me wrong, it's a good cut and getting rid of the Florida damaged ends blended my roots in much better, but I was kind of hoping for something new.  I just didn't know what and every time I go to a new place, this is the cut I end up with.  Apparently it's the one they all think looks good with my face.  No worries though, I have an appointment with my usual stylist in Wisconsin in a month and she's willing to do short.  Oh, and when I told him I was trying to go back to my natural color, his response was "so, you're looking for the "salt and pepper" look?"  Ouch.  Must be more gray in there than I realized...

Crazy busy week continues.  I managed a slow three mile run last night.  My legs are still feeling a bit heavy, but it was a decent enough run.  I'd like to run today or tomorrow, but it just isn't happening.  I've got all the beers in the fridge, but I still need to make the salad dressing, wash all the glasses (since every beer needs a specific glass and yes, we do have that many beer glasses), pick up the dessert, and a few other random dinner related stuff.  I won't even mention all the things I have going on that are not related to the dinner...

Semi Wordless Wednesday: Weekends

The last two weekends:

This weekend (and this is just Friday night.  Saturday we're going to dinner at Gordon Biersch and Sunday we're going to a Washington Nationals game.)

I haven't run since the race on Sunday.  I might run today, I might not.  It's gorgeous out, so I'll probably do an  easy three.  If I don't, I don't have time to run again until Saturday.  My body may go into shock with not running for almost a whole week!  Next week looks more normal, so I should be able to get back to 4-5 days a week.

Now I'm off to get my first haircut since Christmas.  It may be just a reshaping of my mom-do, it might be more drastic.  I've been known to do things on a whim.  I took a before picture, just in case.  If I do make a major change, I'll be sure to post.  ;o)

Girls on the Run and MCHH Race Reports

So, all the stars aligned and I actually ran two races this past weekend.  Right up until we got in the car to drive to Fredericksburg, I was pretty sure I was going to wuss out.

Girls on the Run 5K

I ran this race as a "buddy runner" for a girl at Jones' school who does not have a family member to run with her.   I had the pleasure of running with the same girl I ran with in December.  She's a third grader, so I may get to run with her for the next couple of years.  The race was held about 20 miles from my house, so I got up at 5am to get out there by 6:20 am.  The race didn't start until 7:30, but with road closures and traffic, it can get difficult to get there.   I was excited because I'd recruited tfh to run as well and I was looking forward to seeing her again.

Everything went smoothly.  I got there in plenty of time, hit the potties, got my bib, etc. and spent a half hour or so hanging out with the moms and kids from our school and with tfh (who does have a real name LOL).  Finally, it was time to start!

This race is unique in that the start is alphabetical by school, so you spend a large part of the first mile slogging through the masses of slower runners.  We're middle of the pack, alphabetically, so it was difficult to get going.  The humidity seemed to really be bothering my runner, so we ended up going a lot slower than she planned and even walking a bit.  I know what she's capable of, so I tried hard to walk the line between letting her run her own race and pushing her a bit.  I did manage to convince her to sprint the last quarter mile and she nearly left me in the dust at that point.  We crossed the line together at about 34 minutes.    Since the race is so packed and it's a first race experience for many girls, times were pretty slow this year.  I still managed to finish in the top 25 in my age group.

Since my legs felt great during the run and it was minimal exertion (except the end sprint), I decided to go ahead and do to the Marine Corps Historic Half on Sunday.

Marine Corps Historic Half

We headed down to Fredericksburg for the night.  The race starts at 7am and there was no way I was getting up early enough to drive down the morning of the race.  We got to the hotel and took the boys swimming.  Then we headed out to Capital Ale House for dinner.  Since I was running the next morning, I got to be designated driver.  This did not, however, prevent me from drinking one beer.  I had a Blue Point Cherry Imperial Stout, which was absolutely fabulous, but had 9% alcohol.  Whoosh.  Beer Geek had three awesome beers, including a Belgian triple that is almost impossible to get on tap.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, where the boys pretty much refused to go to sleep.  We usually try to get a suite so that they can have separate beds, but the only hotel that was walking distance to the start line AND had an indoor pool did not have suites.  I finally managed to get to sleep sometime after 10:30.  

The alarm went off at 5 am and I spent the next two hours getting ready and obsessively checking the weather and looking out the window.  Rain was projected, but it was just grey and kind of misty at race start.  It was in the low 60s, but windy, so I had a hard time deciding on my attire.  Finally, I decided to run cold and dressed in a technical short sleeve shirt and my Lululemon shorts.

I got to the start line about 10 minutes before the start.  I lined up with the 2-2:30 corral.  In retrospect, I probably should have lined up with the 1:30-2, as I had a hard time getting anywhere near a 10 minute pace in the first mile and passed a ton of people.  While I was waiting, I chatted with a bunch of runners and met two guys who'd run the Marine Corps Marathon for something like 20 years.  They told me that after you run it five years, the marathon contacts you to get you to sign up.  Cool!  It was still misty, but I was surrounded by people and not too chilly.  Finally the race started and after about three minutes, I ran across the start line.

The first 5 miles were pretty uneventful.  Despite an overall elevation drop, there were a lot of rolling hills.  I managed to pretty consistently speed up with mile splits of 10:10, 9:30, 9:23, 9:10, 9:05.  I had gone into the race with no real goal other than finishing, but at mile 5, I decided to aim for a 9:15 pace (approximately 2:01:30).  Mile 6 was a little slower at 9:17, but that was due to taking a Gu.  I was feeling good and just cruising along.  I saw a sign at the halfway point that cracked me up - "You did a great job.  Now do it again."  And then it started to pour.  And I was freezing.  And my shoes were so wet it didn't matter if I stepped in puddles.  And my shorts were so wet they were falling down.  I finished mile 7 in 9:33.  I wanted to walk some, but I was too cold and just wanted to be done.

Then, for the first time EVER during a race, I started chatting with another runner.  The next two miles flew by, despite the rain.  He managed to keep me going and I did mile 8 in 9:12 and mile 9 in 9:06.  (If you'd ever told me that I could talk comfortably while running a nearly 9 minute mile while at mile 8 of a race, I would have said you were smokin' crack.  But I did!)  I hit mile 10 (9:22) at 1:32:30ish and decided I had a chance at a sub-2.  A huge shout out to runner 1966 for getting me through the rainy miles!

I was wrong.  The hill at mile 11 is living hell.  Seriously.  Then there was another in the middle of mile 12.  With a 10:11 mile and a 10:19 mile, I knew 2 wasn't happening and set my sites on finishing under 2:05:00.  I managed to sprint the end(including passing a woman less than a foot from the finish line) and finished in 2:04:3x.

Excuse me while I "chick" you and you and you, oh and you in the green shirt too.

I love this series of photos (sorry they are so small.  If you click on them, they get a bit bigger).   I'm in the white shirt and the photos were taken as I raced towards the finish.  I was totally all about passing as many people as I could at that point LOL.  I just missed finishing in the top third overall, but did finish in the top quarter for both gender and age.  All in all, I'm glad I did the race, but with the nasty hills at the end, I'll never PR at this particular race.

Now I'm REALLY going to take a step back from running.  All I'll be talking about the rest of the week is the awesome beer dinner I'm throwing on Friday.

Insane or hardcore: you make the call

Yesterday - nice easy 5K race in 33 ish minutes.  

Today - rainy hilly half marathon in 2:04:xx.

I'm exhausted, but VERY happy with my time, even if it wasn't a PR.  

Will try to  come back with more details tonight, but Shoo has a preschool event this afternoon, so it may be tomorrow.

I'm enjoying all the preliminary race reports I've seen from the Cleveland Marathon!

Definite maybe

I've spent the whole day flip flopping on whether or not I'm going to run the half on Sunday.  On the one hand, it would be pretty cool to do halfs two weekends in a row and see how my body handles it.  On the other hand, if my body does not handle it well, it could be a really sucky couple of hours.

Right now, everything hinges on tomorrow morning's 5K.  Last night, my legs felt really heavy and while I intentionally ran at around a 10 minute pace, I'm not sure I could have run much faster if I'd tried.  In addition to that, I've got a scratchy throat thing going on.  Not sure if it's a cold or from allergies.  So, tomorrow I'll run the GOTR race and make my final decision.  I have the stuff about half way packed and can finish up quickly after I get home.   The hotel room is held until mid-afternoon and I made sure the boys will be able to swim Sunday morning, so I'm just in wait and see mode at this point.

Apologies for not commenting much the last few days.  We have a crazy week coming up (after this crazy weekend) and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed.  Thankfully, several stressful things will be off my plate after next week, so then I can focus on other stuff.  I've been feeling a bit like today's edition of the comic "Baby Blues" (not sure if the link will work) and need to try to find some answers to that.

If I don't post tomorrow, that likely means we headed down to the half and I'll be back with two race reports....

Summer running, race pics, and to race or not

Today's theme over at the Runner's Lounge is "summer running".  I'm probably the worst person to give advice on running smart in the heat.  I'm like the Berenstain Bears Bike Lesson of running.  Do what I say, not what I do LOL.

My tips for the summer:

• Stay hydrated at all times - you never know when you might need to run when it's hot out and you don't want to start the run already dehydrated
• Plan ahead so that speed work and long runs are done on cooler days
• Slow down when it's super hot
• Run in shaded areas - even if this means running the same loop multiple times
• Hydrate during the run - in the winter I will run for up to an hour without water.  In the summer, I make sure I have my fuel belt or am near water sources for anything over a half hour run.
• Sunblock, Sunblock, Sunblock!  And a hat.

None of this is revolutionary, but if I don't remember, I'll end up with a run like one I did last year.

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Now for some pics from the half this past weekend:

Hey, this is a lot of fun

Not quite as much fun, but hanging on

OMG this sucks, but I want that PR

Thanks for the flower, I'll try not to puke on you

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And to race or not to race...

I wasn't able to transfer or defer my bib for the MC Half this weekend.   Beer Geek is cool with going down for the night on Saturday, so that I can run on Sunday (it's a 7am race that's a bit over an hour away).  He and the boys would hang out and maybe hit the pool.  I've made a hotel reservation, but I can still cancel up until Saturday.

Pros: 

• I've already paid for the race
• Beer Geek would get dinner and beer at a restaurant he likes
• The boys would get to swim at the hotel
• I've heard it's a well run race
• Another technical t-shirt and medal

Cons:

• The cost of the hotel
• My legs are still a bit sore and tired
• It's a "rolling hills" course with a hill at the end
• I'm running a 5K the day before - not sure if I'll be racing or going slowly (depends on who I get assigned as my "buddy runner")
• I'm not very good at just running for fun and will likely either push too hard or be disappointed in my time

I've got everything set up to run the race, but can cancel at a pretty late point.  I'm leaning towards doing it, but will likely not decide until Saturday.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: 14 years!

15 years ago,  Beer Geek and I went out on our first "date" (if you can all it a date since we went out drinking with our usual drinking companions LOL)

14 years ago, we had lovely wedding in Nebraska, followed by a huge reception in July in Virginia, and a wonderful honeymoon in August in Alaska.  I highly recommend an entire summer of "wedding". LOL   (Apologies for the poor picture quality.  Beer Geek has an awesome scanner, but I don't even know how to turn it on, so I took pictures of our pictures.)

Engagement picture - don't we look young?

The only professional picture from the wedding

The wedding in Nebraska

Here we are "today" (it's a year or so old, but it's the most current picture I could find of just the two of us).

Long day, no running, and more fun with Shoo

Today was my last day to co-op at Shoo's preschool.  Unfortunately, thanks to the race and a pretty leg intensive workout yesterday, my legs were really sore this morning.  When I got to the school, I was assigned to the nursery - not my favorite age.   I spent the subsequent 5.5 hours getting up and down off of the ground.  Exhausting!

As I left Shoo's preschool, Beer Geek called to tell me he'd be late getting home, so no running for me.  :o(  And Shoo took a nice long nap at preschool, so he's unlikely to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

So, I'm sitting on the front porch, watching him play in the yard, as the closest thing to "me" time I'm going to get today.  He went inside to get another ball and came back out carrying a lemonade box.  This conversation followed:

Me:  Shoo, where did you get that?

Shoo: From on top of the refrigerator

Me:  Huh?  HOW did you get it?

Shoo:  I climbed up.  I used a chair and a stool.

I went inside and sure enough, there's a dining room chair pushed up against the refrigerator and a stool on top of it.

I think I just felt a few more hairs go gray.

The day after

I'm feeling better today than I usually am after a long race.  My quads are sore and I'm a little awkward on the stairs, but other than that, I feel great.  Shoo and I took our usual mommy and me exercise class this morning.  Some of the moves were a little difficult and Shoo made sure I really worked my upper body by lying on top of me while I was doing pushups.  

The rest of yesterday was pretty mellow.  I took the boys out on a quick shopping trip (something I generally avoid like the plague!) while Beer Geek mowed the lawn.  Then we took a family walk up to the convenience store for slurpees (yeah, we really know how to celebrate mother's day around here).  Afterwards, Jones spent an hour or so researching caterpillars on the internet and taking notes in his bug journal and Shoo spent some time playing "dress up" in his bedroom, so I got a chance to straighten the house and get some other stuff done.  All in all, a nice relaxed day.

Saturday is the Girls on the Run 5K.  I'm looking forward to it.  I think it's an awesome program, plus I really enjoy running as a buddy runner.  I doubt it will be a PR, but some of the girls are really fast, so it may depend on who I'm with.  The rest of this week will just be some nice, relaxed 3-4 mile runs.  I'm also looking forward to getting back to doing some strengthening and toning stuff.  I really dropped the ball on that in April and I miss it.

Celebrating Mother's Day with an itty bitty PR

This morning was the Pacer's Running Festival Half Marathon.  This was it's first year as a half (the last two years it was a 10K).  This was supposed to be my big race of the spring season, but vacation and randomly deciding to run the 10 miler two weekends ago through my actual training plan out the window.  I went into the race knowing I could finish, planning for a sub-2, hoping for a PR, and secretly wishing for a sub 9 minute race.    I managed three out of the four.

Chip time: 1:59:11 - a 13 second PR.  I finished in the top half overall and for my gender/age group and in the top third for women overall, proving yet again that around here the 30-39 women group is a tough one!

I got up this morning and got ready.  We didn't have any bread in the house, so I had cereal instead of my usual PB&J that I eat before long runs.  I headed out of the house at about 7:35 as the race starts 1 mile from my house.  I decided not to take my fuel belt, so I walked to the race with one Gu in my pocket, one in my hand and a small water bottle in the other.  I got to the race in plenty of time, so decided to hit the potties.  The line was long and I would have missed the start, but the start was delayed by a few minutes and I was able to line up about a third of the way back from the front.

The first two miles of the race are a steep downhill.  I've run down this hill lots of times, so I've gotten pretty good at finding the balance between going out too fast and fully using gravity.  I felt great when I got to the bottom of the hill with two miles behind me (8:16, 8:05).  I settled into an easy pace, with a goal of staying around 9 minute miles.   I managed this through the start of mile 8, even with walking water stops and having a Gu at mile 5.   Midway through mile 8, we began a long slow climb up to the Air Force Memorial.  That mile came in a little over 9:30.  I pulled it together for the next mile and then lost some time during mile 10, when I needed another Gu.    My time at the 10 mile point was 1:30:10!  Only 10 seconds off of a 9 minute pace and I was feeling pretty good.  I picked up the pace a bit, planning to keep picking it up over the next three miles.  

Then I hit the wind.  The course was a series of out and backs, with two of them down a straight highway of rolling hills.  After the final turnaround at about 10.5 miles, the last 2.5 miles were on this wide open road.    The wind had me struggling to maintain a 9:30 pace.  Occasional gusts had me feeling like I was running backwards.  I ran through a tunnel, thinking I could pick up the pace because I'd be protected, but found that it just channeled the force of the wind.  I could tell I wasn't the only one affected by it, as I was steadily picking off other runners.  In fact, I gave up any real goals at that point and just focused on each runner ahead of me, slowly working to pass each one.  All this time, one woman and I were hopscotching each other.  As we approached the 13 mile sign, we were matched, stride for stride.  I picked it up a bit and pulled ahead, but as we rounded the corner for the last .05, she said "let's finish this" and took off.  I picked up my speed and felt like I was in a full sprint, but I just didn't have it in me to keep up with her, so she finished a few seconds ahead of me.  I have her to thank for the PR though LOL.

It was an awesome race and I'll definitely run it in the future.  It was really well organized and the volunteers were awesome.  It ended a couple of miles from home and I left everything I had on the course, so I had Beer Geek come pick me up in front of the apartment we lived in almost 14 years ago.   

And now, I'm taking a vacation from training.  I'll still be running, but I'm not planning to do any speed work or runs longer than 6-8 miles for the rest of May.  My body just needs a break.  The next race I want to PR at isn't until October, so I can take it easy for a while and I absolutely plan to.

Beer in a sippy cup

Or kid cup.  Same difference.

We went out for our usual Friday night dinner out.  (We've discussed not going out every Friday, but by Friday I'm so done with being a stay at home mom that we do it anyways).  Ah well, small pleasures).  Anyways, we went to Rock Bottom again.  Gotta love a place with good beer, good food, and hey, they gave us a $10 off coupon 'cause we're frequent, um, drinkers.  So, the boys were not on their best behavior.  Usually they are really good in restaurants as we've taken them out every week pretty much their entier lives.  Tonight, not so much.  By the time I was halfway through my second beer, it was apparent it was time to leave.  Since I'm not one to dork a beer, I didn't want to leave my beer behind.  But, it's a maibock and really hoppy for that style, so pounding it was not an option.  So, I did what any self respecting mom would do, I poured out Shoo's root beer, replaced it with my beer and walked out.  I'm finishing it right now.

Jess needs to hurry up and have that kid.  I'm too ld to take her place with drunken bloggin.  Just sayin'.

Taking a step back

Today I ran a slow three miles on the treadmill.  I ran there for two reasons: a threatening rain storm and because I really wanted to stay slow and I've been sucking at that lately.  It was a nice 30 minute run.  I worked up a good sweat because the basement was warm, but didn't get my heart rate too high or wear out my legs.

The half marathon is on Sunday.  I can't wait until it's over.  I'm having a bit of a crisis of confidence about running that distance at a decent speed.  I'm not sure why - I did just run a 10 mile race at the pace I want to run.  I keep telling myself that I can just run at a nice pace and enjoy myself, but I'm not sure I can accomplish that.  Guess we'll see.

As soon as the race is over, I'm taking a step back.  I've been pushing hard since January and running has become something I have to do, rather than something I want to do.  I'm going to back off on my mileage goals and just try to be active at least 5 days a week.  If that means taking the kids to the park and playing soccer or walking with friends or whatever, that's what I'm going to do.  I need to get back to the point of running for my mental health instead of running just to improve my speed or my stamina.  Nothing new here, I go through this periodically, usually when I've been pushing myself for a race.   This is my last "goal" race until October, so if I slack off a bit, it won't affect any new PRs.  ;o)

I've been succeeding at the drinking more water and eating healthier, but my more sleep goal has been totally undermined by my darling children.  I've gone to bed earlier, but they've woken up more often.  Not sure what's going on.  Shoo normally sleeps through the night, so I figure he's either coming down with something or about to hit a developmental milestone.  Jones has always been an awful sleeper, so his issues are nothing new, sigh.  He'll sleep when he's a teenager, right?  Even so, I haven't had afternoon caffeine in two days, woot.   I'm feeling a little bit better, not quite so completely on edge, but I still have a ways to go.

Now if we could just get a decent amount of sun around here...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: In honor of Mother's Day

This weekend I get to celebrate Mother's Day by running away from my children.  Not really, but I'm running a half marathon that morning, instead of hanging out with my kids.  Oh well, running makes me a better mom.  So, I'm celebrating Mother's Day a little early here by sharing some awesome pictures from previous Mays.

The journey begins: May 2001

Look!  We haven't baby proofed yet: May 2002
Good thing he was cute.  He still wasn't sleeping through the night: May 2003
Still cute.  Still not sleeping:  May 2004
Shoo's first vacation (in utero): May 2005
Elvis - the perfect 11th anniversary gift: May 2006
Brotherly love: May 2007
Sometimes we still like each other: May 2008

Caution: Whining ahead

May is off to a rough start so far.  Nothing major, just minor things, but somehow I find that harder to deal with than big things.  I just finished a week of the worst PMS I've had in a really long time.  Not only was it a week of alternating cranky, angry, and sad, it lasted an ENTIRE WEEK.  I could probably stop right there as an explanation of where my mental state is right now.  Unfortunately, Shoo and Jones decided to do everything they could to make the week even worse.  Shoo is 3 (do I really need to say more?) and thinks that defiance is hilarious.  Jones got in trouble this week and ended up staging his first protest - he said he was going to sit in the hallway until I gave him back his nintendo.  I would have been amused if I hadn't been so darned mad.  Oy.

Added to the mental crap is the fact that my body seems to need a break.  I think I've just been pushing myself too hard when I run.  Either that or I need to start sleeping more.  I've always done fine on 6 or so hours of sleep, but now the 7 I've been getting isn't cutting it.  My heel is still bothering me, although thankfully not while I'm running.

I've set myself some mini goals for the rest of the month to see if I can see some improvement. I have an annual physical on June 4th, so I'd like to see if I can feel better before the appointment.  If not, then hopefully we can come up with some ideas at the appointment.

Goals:

1.  Drink more water.  I used to drink a lot and now I find some days I only drink one glass at dinner.

2.  Pull back a bit on "training".  I need to run easier on my long slow runs and on my easy days.   Note to self: not every run needs sub 9 minute miles.

3.  Get more sleep.  I'm trying to give up my afternoon caffeine as I think I'm in a vicious circle of drinking caffeine because I'm tired and then not being able to go to bed on time.

4.  See more of my friends.  We have a pretty broad circle of friends, but lately we seem to only see the parents from Jones' school/soccer team.  I miss hanging out with the people who really know me well.

5.  Start eating better.  I eat a good breakfast and a good dinner with a ton of not so good stuff in between.

Today I ran my usual four mile loop in the opposite direction.  This meant it ended with a mile long uphill.  It seemed way harder in that direction.  I still managed to do it in 35:50 (see what I mean about needing to slow down - I have a race Sunday...)

Off to read a few blogs and then try to be to bed before 10.

Out of the mouths of babes

This morning at church, the pastor did a children's sermon on taking care of pets (a tie in with the Jesus as our shepherd sermon).  Both of my boys went up for it.  When he asked for different ways that we take care of our pets, Jones was happy to provide an answer.  He told the pastor about Pete throwing up (he's done this his whole life and his nickname is Pukin' Petey).  So, the pastor said "so, when he throws up, you help by cleaning up, right?"  Jones' response:  No, we couldn't find it.  Needless to say, there was quite a bit of laughter.  The pastor tried to move on and talked about bringing pets in from the cold and taking them out for walks.  Not to be topped by Jones, Shoo had to make sure the pastor knew Pete was an indoor cat.  Then another little boy interrupted to tell the pastor he didn't have a pet.  Somehow, I don't think he'll be using this particular theme for the children's sermon again. LOL

It's a chilly, rainy day here today.  I was planning a 5 mile run with three miles of varying length intervals.  I ended up doing it on the treadmill, which actually worked well.  I'm not sure I did it right LOL.  

Mile 1: warm up at 9:30 pace.

Mile 2: .5 mile at 7:30 pace, .25 at 9:40ish, .25 at 7:30

Mile 3: .25 at 7:30, .25 at 9:40ish, .25 at 7:30, .25 at 9:40ish

Mile 4: .13 at 7:30, .12 at 9:40ish, .13 at 7:30, .17 at 9:40ish, .10 at 7:30, .15 at 9:40ish, .1o at 7:30

For the last 1.1 miles, I slowly worked my way down from the 7:30 pace to a 10 minute pace.

Overall, 5 miles in 43:54. It felt pretty good, even when I was doing the 7:30 pace.  

My heel is bothering me right now.  Oddly, it's not a problem when running (maybe I'm actually doing a decent job with the forefoot strike).  I think it's from standing too much on our hardwood floors without shoes.  I'm really bummed as I hate wearing shoes inside, but I've found it necessary this weekend.  If it keeps up, I may actually have to get a pair of shoes that are my indoor shoes...

April in review

1) Run at least three half marathons, with the eventual goal of a sub-2 hour half.  Sub-2 is done.  I have the Pacer's Running Festival Half  this month, but it's supposed to be hot.  I think I'm going to just enjoy the race instead of trying to PR.  Not sure what my third half marathon will be.

2) Run races in at least three new states (but I'm aiming for 5).
Still looking good here. Delaware is DONE.  Florida is DONE.  Maine is in August.  I've signed up for the Wisconsin Lighthouse Run in June.  I also am likely to hit Pennsylvania this fall when I run with my friend. So 5 is definitely looking good at this point.

3) Workout five times a week.  Blew this one completely.  Other than my race PRs, this was not a good running month.  My mileage was WAY down for a lot of reasons.  I need to get back on track here.

4) Stop stressing about my weight and start lifting weights.  Hardly lifted weights at all this month.  My eating has sucked.  Blah, blah, blah.  Must get my act back together.

5) Run at least 8-10 races this year.
4 down, 4-6 to go.  

Current schedule

February 1 -12k (done)

March 15 - half marathon (done)

April 11 - 5k  done

April 26 - 10 miler  done

May 10 - half marathon

June 21 - 10 miler 

August 2 - 10k

September 20 - half marathon (tentative)

October 4 - 10 miler

November 26 - 5k

I ran three miles this morning before our crazy day started.  Speedwise, it was fine (27:27), but it didn't feel very good.  Not sure if it was because I didn't eat much beforehand or because I hadn't had my coffee or what.  I just felt like three miles was a really long way.  Tomorrow I plan to run some easy miles and some intervals, for a total of 5 miles.  Then I'll do 6 miles on Tuesday and slow short runs on Wednesday and Thursday.  Mini two day taper and then the half marathon on Sunday.  

I spent three hours planting our garden and weeding the front and then went out to dinner with a friend while the boys and Beer Geek had a "boys' night in".  Thankfully, that seems to have gotten me out of the funk I've been in for most of the week.