Semi-Wordless Wednesday: I think he's ready for the mosh pit

At the festival this weekend, Jones and Shoo went in this really cool climbing thing. Jones was all about getting to the highest level. Shoo, on the other hand, was all about the music.

A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do

Despite running 10 miles on Saturday, I still had 2 miles to run for the week on Sunday. I don't like to run twice on the weekend as I like to spend time with my family and if I do have "me" time, I want to do something besides run (not to mention I had sore quads from the hills of the race). So, if I didn't have the 20 mile goal, I totally would not have run on Sunday.

Sunday was warm and humid, so I dressed in my running clothes right after church, figuring I'd find some point to go for a short run. Shoo and I decided it was time to de-"mom my ride". I drive a civic, so one would think it wouldn't take much, but OMG! Under all the trash and dirt, we found baby toys and Shoo turns 4 in a month LOL.

As a reward for helping me, I took the boys and their bikes and scooters to a local playground that has a nice paved path. Both boys had a good time riding and it occurred to me - why not join them. Luckily, I had garmin on, so I started running the path while Jones rode his scooter. If you ever want to truly fartlek, try that on a hilly path, running next to a scooter. The path was about .1 mile and we'd go about a 10 minute pace uphill and then fly down the downhill. I managed to get in a mile and a half chasing the kids and it was a HARD workout.

We ended up heading home just as it was starting to rain. I dropped the kids with Beer Geek and ran a really quick half mile loop. It wasn't quite pouring, so it actually felt pretty good.

Score! Another 20 mile week in the bag!

10K race/10 mile run

Today was the first annual Clarendon Day 10K run. This race used to be known as the Battle of the Boulevard and it started in Clarendon, went down the huge hill into Rosslyn, turned, and then came back up the hill. Now, the race goes down the big hill, goes farther down the highway at the bottom, and ends just a small ways up the hill in Rosslyn. I expected to have a huge PR since I wasn't going to have to go back up the hill.

I wanted to get in 10 miles today, so I planned to run a mile warm up, race, and then run back to my house from the end of the race. Pretty much the mother of all tempo runs.

I woke up late, but managed to head out of my house about 18 minutes before the start of the race. I did a comfortable 1.3 mile warm up, hit the portapotty, and lined up. I'm always conservative about where I start and this was definitely a race where I was too conservative. I usually hit the first two miles on this route around an 8:00 minute pace. Today my first mile was 8:27 and the second was 8:31. My legs were feeling weird, plus there were a ton of slow people running three and four across. Since they started the 5K and the 10K at the same time, I had figured there would be a lot of fast 5Kers near the front. Instead, it appeared that there were a lot of newer runners slowing things down.

The remaining four miles were hilly and windy, but I maintained a comfortable, even pace for the most part (8:47, 8:55, 8:58, 9:03). The last .2 of the race is uphill. I tried to pick up my pace, but only barely managed it (garmin says I averaged 8:50 for that part). I turned the final corner and was 20 yards from the finish. I wanted to sprint. Oh, how I wanted to sprint. Instead, it was all I could do to maintain my pace and not puke before the line. I can't wait for the finish line pictures. I'm betting this may be my worst ever LOL. I finish in 54:48, which is exactly my previous PR! Next year I WILL run the downhill faster and get under 54 minutes!

After the race, I ran/walked another 2.5 miles home. I had to go back up the hill we came down, so my miles were REALLY REALLY slow. I was starving that whole time. There was water at the end of the race, but as far as I could tell, the food was back up at the start line. I think they had shuttle buses back to the start, but I needed to run the mile and a half and by the time I got up there, I was only a mile from home and just went home. I ate a banana, dropped a nuun tablet into my water bottle, and took a quick shower.

Then we headed back out to Clarendon for the festival. So, I ran a total of 10 miles and walked another 2 today. I think I need to head to bed.

Race report and pulling myself together

RunningLaur once again hosted a virtual race and, in my usual jump on the bandwagon fashion, I decided to participate. Lately, after I sign up for a race, I have more than a few moments of buyer's remorse. This race was no different. I've had so much going on lately, that I just haven't felt like running. My stress level has been at an extremely high level.

But, like a "real" race, once I've committed, I always manage to get out there and do it. So, Tuesday after I dropped Shoo at preschool, I hit the road. I didn't want to do it, but I didn't want to let you all down. The first three miles were great - 9:28, 8:41, 8:50. And then, well, I needed the bathroom. Badly. I was running in our neighborhood, so I could have stopped at home, but with my motivation as low as it has been lately, I was pretty sure my five miler would become a 5K if I stopped. So, I stuck it out and ended up finishing in 46:26. Certainly not my best time ever, but acceptable.

Thanks RunningLaur for giving me the motivation to actually get out there and run. Do I get an award for "Least in the mood, but did it anyways?"

In other news, life has continued to pound on me a bit. I feel like I'm meeting myself coming and going with all that I have going on. I ran a horrid 3 mile run yesterday that I thought was a lack of food (I had two cheese sticks for breakfast and didn't run until 10:30) and sleep (Jones has a cold and he yells in his sleep when he's sick). Turns out I was coming down with the cold.

Today I met with Jones' teacher and a number of the specialists at his school. There's something about verbalizing all of your worries about your child that just rips your heart wide open. I was teary eyed for much of the meeting and then came home and cried to my mommy on the phone. Thankfully, we were able to come up with a concrete plan, some of which can be put in place immediately. And I was happy to find out that academically, he's doing just fine, so we can really just focus on helping him with his anxiety and sensitivity. We have an amazing school and for the third year in a row, he's got an amazing teacher who really wants to help make sure he succeeds.

Between the cold and the exhaustion from the meeting, I skipped my run this evening. I just needed a break. Somehow though, I feel like a weight has been lifted and my stress level has dropped considerably. Hopefully, this and the 10K race on Saturday will be just what I need to find my way back to running as something I do because I want to, rather than just one more thing to cross off the "To Do" list.

Overbooked

I am currently sitting at the computer with Jones' official school calendar, Shoo's school calendar, the soccer schedule, and about 5,000 pieces of paper with dates on them. I have email open (because there are some dates in there), google calendar open, and my personal (paper) calendar sitting next to me. For the remainder of September, there are only two days with nothing written on them and most days have more than one thing. October isn't looking much better.

Sadly, two things seem to be getting lost in the shuffle: running and blogging. I'm still running, but I've given up any pretense of "training". I'm in running survival mode. You know, the mode where you go "ooh, I have 30 minutes, I'm going to go for a quick run". And you repeat that each day until you manage 20 miles for the week. I'm actually considering signing up for a 10k on Saturday morning as it will guarantee that I run at least 8 miles (it's a mile or so each way from my house). We had to cancel our plans for the Dogfish Head Dash when Jones' soccer game got scheduled for 4pm. :o( Maybe next year.

As far as blogging (and commenting), free time isn't happening until almost 10pm every night. While I'm a night owl, I'm also exhausted by that time, so trying to come up with something even vaguely interesting to say is a challenge. I can also guarantee typos and grammatical errors at this time of night. I am reading blogs as much as I can, but commenting has fallen a bit behind.

I'm still trying to figure out how I can be busier with both boys in school for at least part of the week than I was when they were both home every day...

I seem to have lost my blogging mojo too

Things are pretty crazy here right now. Jones is doing better at school, but we are at the beginning of the process of figuring out what is going on and how to fix it. This means I've been meeting with people at his school, as well as with his pediatrician. Shoo started preschool this week, which should free up time, but it was an abbreviated week with shorter days, so actual free time was minimal.

I did manage to run 10 miles yesterday and 4 miles today. I've misplaced the hand part of my handheld bottle (it's questionable whether I've misplaced it, Shoo hid it, or the maids put it some place), so I didn't have that to run with yesterday. I just wasn't in a fuel belt mood, so I put a bottle of nuun outside my front door. I ran 4.5 miles, stopped by the house for a drink, ran 3 more miles, stopped for a drink, ran two more miles, stopped and got Shoo's stroller and finished with a half mile run to his school. I hit 10 miles in the school parking lot, just in time to pick him up LOL (took me 1:39:20 to run the 10 miles, including water stops and stop lights). Today's run was interesting. My legs felt fine, but I felt like I was working harder than the 9:50 pace I ended up averaging. I've only run the day after a long run a few times, so I'm still not sure what to expect from those runs.

I did manage to pick out the beer for my giveaway winner, now I just need to pack it up (hopefully tomorrow!). I also spent too much on some Dragon's Milk beer, but it's one of my top five beers and hard to find around here (and it was cheaper than a beer out at a restaurant), so I'll justify it that way LOL.

This weekend is our 21st annual end of the summer party. Does that make it "legal" now? LOL I'm looking forward to it, but we currently have 60+ adults and 40+ kids planning to come. Oy! I think I'll be a little busy for the next few days.

I promise I'll be back to actively blogging and commenting soon (and if not soon, definitely in early November!)

Artwork

Jones participated in a camp at a local art center this summer. The center hosts local artists and frequently exhibits local and new artists. This year they did an exhibit of artwork from the summer classes and Jones decided to enter one of his creations. Since it was one of only two 3-D submissions, his was displayed on a pedestal in the middle of the room! It's hard to see, but he created a tree, a person and some sort of creature out of clay.

"Jones' Cabin"

Today I asked Shoo to take a 12 pack of toilet paper upstairs to the bathroom. When I finished putting away the rest of the groceries, this is what I found:

Guess that's what happens when you ask a three year old to help.

On the running front, I had a nice 6 mile run on Saturday where I averaged a 9:23 pace. I felt like I was running at a really easy pace and could have definitely gone longer, but I ran out of time. Sunday I ran 4.5 miles with various speed intervals: 1 mile in 8:18, 1 half mile in 4:03 and a quarter mile in 1:58. My overall pace was just over 9 minutes. Today I ran 3 horribly slow, lead legged miles, but at least I got them done.

Shoo starts preschool tomorrow and I'm running around like crazy getting ready for our party next weekend. I have 10 miles planned during Shoo's 2.5 hour session on Wednesday, which will be tight with drop off, running, cleaning up, and getting there for pick up. Worst case, I guess I'll pick him up before I shower.

I hope to get packages out to Jess and Amanda soon and will likely post pictures.

And we have a winner!

I finally got around to organizing all the entrants (now I get why others insist on one entry per comment LOL) and got Jones and Shoo to pick the winner and the backup winner and, well, backups to the backup winner, just in case LOL. And I'm sad to say that Glaven was not even a backup to the backup to the backup winner. (Too bad 'cause I would have enjoyed trying to find a beer that would have amazed him).

So, without further ado, the winner is...

Amanda from Adventures in our funny farm.

The backup winner (and recipient of whichever stuff Amanda doesn't choose) is

Jess from 21 Days

Email me at mom2shoo at gmail.com and I will get the items out sometime this next week.

Thanks for playing everyone and stay tuned for future giveaways!

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On the running front, I haven't run since Wednesday. I'm about to head out for a run, but I'm not even aiming for 10 miles. I just don't have it in me today. So, I'll aim for about 6 and then finish the rest tomorrow. Hopefully next week will go a bit more smoothly and I can find my mojo before the Army 10 miler in October.

Rough week

Jones is still having a hard time with the start of school and both boys have decided to respond to the stress by not sleeping. I have issues with insomnia on a good night, so being woken up several times a night and not being able to fall back to sleep is leading to one tired mommy. So, I'm physically exhausted from not sleeping and emotionally and mentally exhausted from trying to help ease Jones' transition.

So, no TIART today. No giveaway winner today. Heck, not even any running today. I just wasn't feeling the love, plus I've tweaked a muscle in my shoulder/back and it hurts to breathe too deeply/lift my arm/sleep. I'm stretching and icing and it's improving, but I decided that with everything else going on, I need to just give myself a break.

Oh, and the runner who pushed me into traffic? I'm sure it wasn't intentional, but she had her ipod on and was walking on the left. Just as I decided to pass her on the right, she decided to not only start running, but to move right as she started. I had to jump off the curb. I'm pretty sure I scared her though, as I yelled "Excuse me" and she jumped about three feet. If you're gonna listen to an ipod in a heavy traffic, heavy pedestrian area, at least turn down the volume.

Ok, enough of the Debbie Downer post. We have a nice weekend planned. Jones' artwork is being displayed at the local Arts Center as part of their summer class exhibition, we are going to a brewpub to pick out the beer for our big annual party, we are hitting a local corn maze, and the neighborhood block party is this weekend. Now I just need to figure out where to squeeze in the run I missed today (and the already planned 10 miler).

Not so wordless Wednesday: Jones

Two years ago, Jones started playing soccer. I bought his uniform HUGE, assuming he'd wear it for a few years and pass it down to Shoo. Even though he spent most of his first season running way behind the pack, he's become quite the soccer player and the uniform has seen a lot of use.

Here he is in the first season (notice the length of the shirt and shorts, as well

as the fact that his shin guards cover his entire shins)

Here he is last spring (notice the uniform fits him...)

Today, I sent him to the first practice of the season in shorts that would have made a Dallas cheerleader proud, shin guards that only came halfway up his calves, and shoes that made his feet hurt. (No, he wouldn't let me take a picture). Guess I have some shopping to do before the first game LOL.

While he was at practice, I did a nice 5.5 mile run. I ran a few fast intervals, nearly got run over by a car, got pushed into traffic by another runner, and nearly ran over a rather large lady. Quite the eventful run! That's almost 10 miles for the week and I'll run tomorrow, which makes me likely to wimp out on my 10 mile run that I have scheduled for Saturday. Thank goodness Shoo starts preschool soon. I find it much easier, mentally, to run for a long time when no one is waiting for me at home.

Just a couple hours left in the giveaway...

Back to School

Jones started back to school today. Despite a LOT of anxiety on his part, the day actually went pretty well. If you ask him, though, it was a horrible day. Why? Because apparently the principal "yelled" at the classes during his lunch because they were all too wild. He's such a sensitive guy that he's convinced he's in trouble even though he wasn't talking and his class wasn't the class that was being wild.

To celebrate the first day of school, we made cupcakes after Jones got home from school. I bought the Arrowhead Mills organic mix and was not impressed, but apparently if you put a ton of frosting on, they taste great to kids. The boys "helped" me bake, which is always an experience. Thankfully I'd just gotten back from running, so my patience was about as good as it gets. (The run was a nice 4 miler at an average pace of 8:57, so I was happy.)

Now I've got to start the process of getting back into a routine. We've been "making do" in so many areas all summer, now it's time to start planning meals, watching the budget, and getting back to keeping up with all the chores around the house. When Shoo starts preschool next week, it'll be the first time in 4 years that I'll have regularly scheduled time for myself and to start catching up with all the stuff that hasn't been touched in way too long. I have a feeling I'll be overwhelmed by all the possible things I could work on LOL.

Don't forget the giveaway! You have until midnight Wednesday night to comment to be entered!

If you can't run fast,, go far...

Of course, "far" is subjective.

I woke up Saturday morning knowing that I needed to run. My body, however, wasn't enamored of the idea. I had plenty of excuses: my knee had been bothering me since my hard run on Monday (in old shoes), the boys had each woken up, so I hadn't slept well, I hadn't eaten enough carbs on Friday night,... I got up about an hour later than I'd planned, ate a PB&J, and drank some coffee. I prepared my fuel belt and decided to just run as far as I could. I'd give myself a D if I made it four miles (my normal minimum run), a C for 6 miles (my minimum long run), a B for 7.75 miles (what I needed to hit 20 for the week, and an A for 9 miles (the next step in preparing for the 10 miler in October.) An A+ would happen if I could average under a 10 minute pace...

I tend to be a bit of an annoying overachiever, but I just couldn't pull off the A+. I did finish the 9 miles and I did manage to force myself to run hard the last half mile, but my final average was 10:10. Oh well, at least I got the miles in.

The rest of the weekend has involved too much food and too much red wine and not enough beer. My body is not happy with me right now. It's begging me to put down the wine bottle and the sweets and get back to eating veggies. Thank goodness we have no plans for tomorrow and then we head back into the normal fall schedule. My body will thank me.

My first giveaway!!

A couple of weeks ago, we went for dinner at one of our favorite brewpubs. We are members of their "frequent drinker club", er, I mean "Mug Club", so they track how often we've been and how many beers we've had. Turns out it was visit #25 for me!!!

So, what exactly does this have to do with YOU? Well, I received a couple of free glasses and since we already have some, I thought I'd share the love (wish I could give away running stuff, but no one seems to want to give me any free...)

What I'm giving away:

Two pint glasses

AND either

two as yet to be determined bottles to fill said glasses

OR (for the non-drinkers/non-US citizens)

Berres Brothers Coffee, nuun, and assorted gels

How to enter:

• Leave a comment
• For a second entry, be (or become) a follower
• For a third entry, mention the giveaway on your blog and let me know that you did.

No need for separate comments for the above. I'll be placing slips of paper in a hat and Jones will choose the winner. Shoo will choose the back up winner. ;o) Winner chooses what goes in the glasses.

Giveaway ends 09-09-09 (isn't that a cool number LOL)

TIART: Where's my mojo?

This week on the Runner's Lounge Take It and Run Thursday, Lindsay from Chasing the Kenyans asked "What do you do to get yourself motivated to run when it feels like it's the last thing you want to do?"

Lately, my motivation has been lacking. I have the motivation to get out there, but I haven't had any motivation to run fast or run far. I'm going to have to find my mojo or just do the runs anyways if I really want to finish the Army 10 miler in under 1.5 hours. Since I haven't run long much this summer, I have my work cut out for me this month.

Here's how I get myself out the door :

• Put on my running clothes - I know, duh. But really, it makes a huge difference for me. If I have my running clothes on when Beer Geek walks in the door, he assumes I'm going out for a run. I can't let him down, can I? Or if I have them on when I drop the kids off at school, then I might as well run before I shower.
• Have a goal - I've currently run 20 or more miles a week for 13 weeks in a row. I REALLY want to see how long I can keep that up, so I'm much more likely to get in that last run of the week and make it long enough to hit 20.
• Stay at home (ie, no outings) with the kids - by the time Beer Geek gets home, I'll do anything for a break LOL.
• If all else fails, go visit my parents. My dad has enough running motivation for both of us and he makes me run hard. No being lazy when running with him.

Not sure that these are helpful to anyone but myself, but they seem to be enough for me to keep me running.

My first giveaway starts tomorrow (maybe tonight if I manage to take pics of the stuff) and ends on 09-09-09 (just call me a geek LOL At least I didn't say at 9:09 pm). Hint: It's beer related and customizable.

Ack! September 1st already?!?

I love the fall. It's a beautiful time of year in Virginia. The weather is cool enough to run comfortably, but doesn't yet require gloves and running tights.

Fall is also the most insane time of year for us. In the next 8 weeks we have the following:

• Trip to a fair to watch Motocross (what can I say, I have two boys)
• Start of 2nd grade for Jones
• Start of preschool for Shoo
  
• 21st annual end of the summer party at our house
• Dogfish Head Dash
• Army 10 miler
• Jones' birthday
• A good friend's 40th B-day party
• Boo at the Zoo
• Halloween
• Shoo's birthday
  

Add in there two visits from my parents, two work trips for Beer Geek, soccer games and practices, Back to School night, and probably some other school events. I'm pretty sure I won't have time to breathe until November. At least I'm not training for a marathon this fall LOL.

Dad and I had only 45 minutes to run yesterday, so we ran a quick 5 miles in 44:07. The middle two miles were around 8:30, but we did the same circle two times, so we hit a killer hill once each mile. It totally trashed my legs, so miles 4 and 5 were a bit painful. Thankfully, I had a massage this morning, so I'm feeling much better.

Almost time to head home to VA. It's hard to believe the summer is almost over.

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