Earthmovers and Sandcastles

Darn it, I hate having to think about weather. They’ve moved the “isolated thunderstorms” that were supposed to be today or so over to Saturday. Don’t mind doing a short run or a speed workout with rain falling on me, but keep it away from my long runs! Ugh! I still need to plot out around an 8.5-mile course that ends at the start of where the local running club is beginning its run on Saturday morning; I’m scheduled to do 14, all told. On long runs, I really prefer to do a large loop rather than meander up and down small streets; the latter makes me check my watch more, for some reason, and just feels like it takes longer. On the other hand, I found a nice park near home on today’s run, and I’m itching to go back and explore it some more. Well, I have tomorrow’s three miles for that. Also found a new track I could potentially use, so as to avoid the whole issue of climbing over gates.

Olympics tomorrow! Track doesn’t really start until the 15th, but the finals got me super-excited. Go, Lagat! I’m sort of disappointed that Gabe Jennings didn’t make it; however you may feel about him personally, he sure does bring the entertainment.

No Comments »

Just so you know. (Recipe here. Our oatmeal was cooked with raisins, so those are in there, too.)

No Comments »

After all the go-go-go we’ve been having, today seems like a perfect day to just kick back and take it easy. (So I started with a nine-mile run. Hey, we all have our definitions of “easy.”) Yesterday, I bought a mini-crockpot, and Eric started some steel-cut oatmeal in it last night so that we’d have breakfast ready when we woke/got back in from running. So good. I did have a little moment of “What the heck?!” when I woke up and had completely forgotten about the oatmeal, so I was mystified about what the grainy scent wafting up the stairs could be. Yum!

Eric took the car to work, thus enforcing the “take it easy” mindset for the rest of us. I spent the first part of the day putting the leftover oatmeal (quite a bit; lesson learned for next time) into three loaves of porridge bread, in their final rise as I type. Sam goofed around on the computer, and now he’s designing…something. He’d like to enter this, though I’m not placing any bets on him actually finishing any project. We’ll see. Whatever is in his head, it involves pulleys. Gabe is building with blocks and styrofoam packing material and making weird missile noises. He lives in his own little world and needs no help coming up with fresh ideas.

I may even grab a nap when Gabe takes his this afternoon. I feel like I could use one; all this “early to bed, early to rise” business is technically getting me the appropriate amount of sleep, but I sure do feel like I’m operating at a deficit.

2 Comments »

Really, I do. At this time of year, though, I’m beginning to finally see the real humor in those back-to-school commercials where the parents dance and frolic in shopping carts with folders and loose-leaf paper, while the kids glower and sulk in the corner. As a new mom, I joined the laughless wall of solemn disapproval that many of the women I know had formed, clucking over the message behind these ads and shaking our heads at how those parents don’t appreciate being with their children enough. Who could possibly rejoice at being separated from their kids? Monsters!

Yeah. I think that often an indication of how new one is to one’s job can be found in how overly seriously one takes it. I like to think I’m a darn good mom, and part of that is because I’ve learned how to throw up my hands and laugh once in a while - both at events in the present and (more often) at how I performed in the past. Hey, it’s better to laugh than to cringe, right? I do a little of both when I look back sometimes.

My point here is that while I’m not performing The Firebird in the aisles of Staples, I will admit to muttering, “Three more weeks…three more weeks…” when, as on mornings such as this one, it isn’t even 8:30 yet and I’ve already been on the receiving end of shrieks of “I’m mad at you! You have to do what I say, or I’m not going to be your friend anymore!” (Who taught the baby to talk, anyway?) or whi-iiiiiiiiines of “Why can’t I have ice cream for breakfast? I wish I was the boss of myself! No fair!”

Three more…I can make it for three more…

And when I hear some of my teacher friends sighing that the summer’s ending and that, too soon, they’ll be back in the classroom, part of me wants to hug them and murmur, “Thank you! Thank you!” in their ears. I know that come the first day, I’ll have the same pangs of missing my boys that I always do; heck, it’s Gabe’s first year of preschool, though he’s spent enough time in the gym childcare room that I don’t really think there’ll be much of a transition for either of us. I also know, though, that we’ve found an excellent balance for all our needs and interests with the kids’ schooling, and that watching Sam, and now Gabe, flourish under those wonderful teachers and amongst their peers fascinates me. We’re very fortunate to have the opportunity to use his school, and he thrives there.

So if I’m grinning a bit at those “School Supply Sale!” signs? Yep, it’s in joy at my kids’ education, of course. Nothing whatsoever to do with “Sa-aaaaaaaaaam! Stop bein’ an airplane!” “I’m not landing on you, I’m not landing on you!” That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

4 Comments »

After writing yesterday about how I was going to try to be more positive about all my runs, I woke up this morning grumpy. I didn’t want to do speed work today! Speed work makes me feel inadequate, since (barring sparsely attended 5Ks) I’m not “fast.” And it was early, since Eric needed to get to work early, and my throat hurt, and I was just feeling really reluctant to get out and do what I wasn’t in the mood to do on a good day.

Two 880-yard repeats in, the sky over head was pitch black. It was dark anyway, but this was horror movie dark; I expected to see the sky split and start raining fire on the earth or something. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and, perversely, I started to feel more interested in the run. Should I turn back? I was aimed right at the path of the cloud. Wasn’t likely that I’d be able to outrun it anyway…keep going!

Another 880, and it was sprinkling. A fourth, and it was pouring. The few distant lightning strikes that had barely registered in my peripheral vision earlier had begun to demand attention, cracking nearer and nearer. But I was no longer grouchy or reluctant at all. There’s something about running in the rain - something indescribably primal. I’m not talking about the light sprinkles that are enjoyable on a practical level, cooling you off and washing away sweat. That’s easy to understand. This, the downpour that soaks you to the bone, isn’t practical at all. It’s just fun! I leapt over puddles, cackling; my feet squelched in my shoes from blasting through the puddles that were too wide to be jumpable.

The lightning finally put a halt to my fun, as it got too close for me to feel safe. I cut a mile off my planned distance, and I’ll make up for it later. I don’t feel disappointed, though, which is something unusual by itself. But how could I feel disappointed when I had such a good time? That storm was the best thing that could have happened today. I’m still grinning.

3 Comments »

I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m a Christian. And it’s certainly no secret that I’m a runner! Sometimes, the two fit together eerily well.

Today at church, running kept popping into my head. Not unusual, but it was so fitting! At one point, our pastor delivered a quote, for which my notes unfortunately lack an attribution: “Today may not be pleasant, easy, or even pain-free. But it is the only day you have.” The idea, of course, is that the past is gone and the future is uncertain, but we should rejoice in the present. For me, I found myself musing on how it related to running. Today, I did a quick three miles, which I didn’t much enjoy but which I did as part of a program to lead me to greater distance. But the truth is that I have no guarantee of ever running again. It’s possible that the worst could happen tonight, and those three miles could be the last I ever run. Conversely, once they’re gone, they, like the ten I did yesterday, are unchangeable and unable to be improved or redone. Instead of “getting through” them, I could have been focusing on every step and prizing them as much as I do my long runs, relishing them for what they are.

Later in the sermon, the paster quoted Reverend Gene Appel:

We sing, make a joyful noise unto the Lord, while our faces reflect the sadness of one who has just buried a rich aunt who left everything to her pregnant hamster.

I laughed and recalled how Bob Schwartz joked about how people are driven away from running by the grimaced expressions of agony on the faces of runners who profess to be loving what they’re doing. Dean Karnazes wrote that an old coach of his told him that if it (running) felt good, he was doing it wrong, because it was supposed to hurt. Of course, pushing ever harder is part of the challenge, but I think both Dean and Gene understand that struggling doesn’t equate with misery.

As the sermon ended, the pastor remarked that joy can come from “abiding with God.” Eric whispered that we use that phrase a lot in the church, but the details of “how” are often left unspoken. I whispered back, “Well, how’s this? I’ve been translating everything through running - ” (he rolled his eyes and nodded) ” - but if you took out ‘running’ and put in ‘God,’ I bet that would work.” And you know what? I bet it would.

I need to get some rest tonight; my throat has been aching since last night, and I don’t want this to turn into something long and drawn-out. If I’m feeling well enough to run tomorrow, and I hope I will, you can bet I’ll be thinking of it in a different light.

No Comments »

Ran with a local running club today for the first time! They had mapped a running route of a little over six miles, and since I had ten miles scheduled for today, I did the first few miles on my own before that. Running with a group was interesting; while I was with them, I felt like I was moving faster, though when I checked my mile times afterwards I found that it was all in my head. Odd, that. But much of the running, I did on my own, paced in the middle of the pack. It was still a very nice feeling; even when there was nobody next to me, I still felt part of a larger group, motivated and encouraged by them.

And it was such a gorgeous day for running, too. Beyond our group, there were a ton of runners out, and dog walkers, fitness walkers, and bicyclers as well. It was fun to see the expressions on the walkers’ faces, seeing so many men and women running past them. I heard at least one ask what was going on, and whether there was a race happening.

Anyway, thumbs up. I think this will especially help in the winter, when I’m more reluctant to run outside. I haven’t yet decided how to handle training as I finish up my summer races and (perhaps? Not sure anymore) move into “maintenance mode.”

You?

2 Comments »

Yesterday morning, the boys and I went to Lake Michigan with friends. It was a perfect day for it: not too hot, not too windy, nice and sunny. Of course, Gabe wouldn’t venture into the water any further than his ankles, but he had fun digging in the sand. Sam had a great time, of course, playing with his buddy and splashing in the lake.

Then, later in the afternoon, there was ice cream consumed. And we went downtown for the monthly evening event that the city stages, where the stores are all open later and everybody hangs out, listening to live music and enjoying Main Street. Sam finally got the Indiana Jones hat he’s been dying to have for some time; they didn’t have one in Gabe’s size, but he didn’t care a fig that the bucket-style hat I found for him wasn’t exactly true (or even close) to the movie hat. He’s Doctor Jones in his mind, and that’s what counts!

This morning, after I got back from running, we went to Kenosha to the Pike River Rendezvous. Sam was initially very reluctant, wanting to go to a neighborhood park instead, but - trading posts! Candy! Cannons! Pirates! He got swept into it and had a grand time. And it was also on the lake shore, so we spent more time wading in the water and playing in the sand there. Then home, where Gabe went to bed almost immediately, however early, and Sam went out to play with friends. Eric had to go in to work, and I’m sitting in peace and quiet and wishing it wasn’t so close to my own bedtime that I’m unwilling to risk a cup of coffee.

Fun times! A few more pictures are up at Flickr, too.

1 Comment »

I’d never heard of this guy. Have I been under a rock or something? (Wouldn’t be the first time.)

So, I was talking to Mom today on the phone, and I mentioned that every day lately, without fail, I get dog tired an hour after running. I go from energized and happy to “I need a nap now” in the space of minutes. What’s up with that? She suggested I was crashing from the endorphins fading. I agreed and said that it might be happening now because I’m running every day and have gotten myself thoroughly addicted to that endorphin rush. An interesting addiction to develop; withdrawal is no fun, but it’s easy enough to get another “hit.” (’Spose I should find some other way to ease the crash, though; constantly running wherever I go doesn’t sound like the most healthy solution. Also, consuming a whole bunch of extra sugar, mindfully or otherwise, is another bad strategy. A chain of crashes is even less fun than one initial one.)

Erm…and then I sat here, nodding blandly at the screen for an embarrassing length of time, nothing else coming to mind, but without any motivation to move. Perhaps a nap really, truly is in order…if not on the slate of happy things that could possibly be arranged at present. Bah.

2 Comments »

Summer, that is; it seems to have found our corner of Wisconsin. Now, I realize that we have very little room to complain; all things considered, there just aren’t that many days here per year that could be considered uncomfortably hot. Maryland was much warmer, and I recall suffering through far worse summers in West Virginia. It’s nearly August, and I don’t believe we’ve actually had any, or at most no more than a few, days where the temps have broken through the nineties.

But it’s my party blog, so I’ll whine if I want to. This weekend is supposed to embrace those ninety-degree temperatures, er, warmly. It hasn’t been what I’d call cool over the past few days, either; yesterday and today, we were supposed to see some cooling storms, but we’ve been denied them in the end. When I was running this morning, I ran back and forth under a sprinkler, trying desperately to lower my body temperature. One of Eric’s coworkers emailed him, saying that she saw me run by her place this morning; I told him to tell her that next time, a cup of water wouldn’t go amiss.

Anyway. I have a little problem, and I think I’ll arbitrarily blame it on Jodi, though it’s not entirely her fault. Over the past few weeks, I’ve felt an increasing urge to lay hands on a recording device and a portable microphone. I mean, she just makes it sound so easy and fun! Why couldn’t I be a running podcaster, too?

Well, because effective gadgetry costs money, that’s why. Sure, I could apparently go the cheap route and wind up with very noisy, crappy-quality recordings that drain my iPod’s battery within half an hour of pushing “record.” The inexpensive options also look sort of large, and I have trouble running with a small flask on my back, let alone anything to which I’d have to pay attention - while talking. So I push the idea to the back of my mind again, until the next time I, say, listen to Nigel and catch myself nodding and saying, “Me, too?”

Maybe it’ll be one of those things where if I’m still feeling the compulsion three to six months from now, I’ll bite the bullet and figure out how to do it. Many of my urges pass if I give them enough time in the deliberation zone; it’s forcing myself to do that that gives me the most trouble.

Until then, I’ll stick to my other compulsive habits. (Anybody know how to turn housecleaning into one of those?)

1 Comment »