Post-Vacation Randomness

October 4, 2011 by 5 Comments
  • Thanks to everyone who offered advice about whether to run during my vacation or give my irritable ITB a rest. The overwhelming response was to rest – which I did, as much as walking around Disney with two energetic boys can be called rest! 
  • This was our family’s first trip to Disney and we had an absolute blast! Just watching my boys’ faces as they took it all in is something I’ll never forget!
  • And yes…as a couple of you predicted, now I do want to do a Disney race at some point 🙂
  • Just gotta say I found it really disheartening the number of overweight children I saw at the parks – made me just want to shake the parents and ask “Do you see what you’re doing to your children?!?” (OK I’m climbing down off my soapbox)
  • Took my first run in a week this morning – nice and easy 3…my left leg felt ok so we’ll how this week goes. I’ve got the Tufts 10k on Monday and at this point I have no expectations, except to go and have fun!
  • It was really great to be so unplugged for these last few days….I’ve got a lot of blogs to catch up on…so I’m off to do some reading….and mounds of laundry!
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Filed Under: Disney, general musings, Tufts 10k

Friday Five

September 23, 2011 by 5 Comments

  1.  I’m wondering what happened to the lovely fall-like temps we had here in New England just a week ago. Oppressive humidity has returned and it is sucking the life out of my “speedwork.”
  2. I’m in the final days of trying to get ready for the family’s first trip to Disney World – my head is spinning from the daily emails from the lovely Disney folks reminding us of all the activities/shows/etc. we have to choose from, advice from friends on the “must dos,” and thinking of all that needs to get done before we get on the plane!
  3. My last two long runs have been 10-milers and I’ve got 11 on tap for Sunday. I’ve really been enjoying my long runs and lovin’ how I’m feeling when I’m done. A turning point? 
  4. I’ve started using my Kinvaras for more than just track work and am amazed at how different the foot feel is vs. the Mirages. I think this slow and steady transition to a minimalist shoe has been the best approach for me – eventually I’d like to be running in the Kinvaras for long runs as well, but I think I’m going to wait until after Philly’s done.
  5. Looking forward to a fairly quiet weekend – just the usual kids sports and family running around. After another crazy busy week, I’m craving some down time.
 Have a Great Weekend!
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    Filed Under: Disney, general musings, Kinvara, Minimalism, Saucony

    Are you listening?

    September 1, 2011 by 6 Comments

    Some days your body is trying to tell you something…the question is…are you listening?

    Do you ever have those mornings where body parts are in revolt before you ever roll out of bed and touch one foot to floor? But you shake it off and think…wow I’m stiff this morning – (or, as was the case for me this morning….getting old sucks!)

    Then as you move around going through whatever your routine is before heading out the door, those same body parts continue to voice their displeasure with what you’ve got planned – but you wave it off and think I’ll be fine once I get moving.

    Now you’re out the door and moving…it’s not pretty at first, but at least your moving. By a mile in, you’ve found a rhythm and you feel like you’ve shown those body parts who’s the boss. But as you start mile 4, the revolt has returned in earnest and you can’t ignore the message that you might have gotten a little carried away with yesterday’s strength training, and that if you don’t want to be walking funny the rest of the day that it’s best to back off the pace…right now!

    So you wrap-up your run, much slower than you want, but the rebels are for the moment pacified, content that they got their point across.

    Yeah…well that’s pretty much how my run went this morning. Clearly my legs were still feeling the effects of yesterday’s workout and continuing to push today just might not have ended well, and I didn’t want to do anything to risk missing this weekend’s long run.

    But it’s always an interesting question for runners – when do you push through and when do you back off?

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    Filed Under: general musings, listening to your body, to push or not to push

    Heat-induced Randomness

    July 20, 2011 by 8 Comments

    I think this heat & humidity is turning my brain to mush. I can’t put a coherent thought together…but then, this is why then invented bullet points (isn’t it?)

    • I blew my streak of early morning runs today – slept through my alarm and then it was too late to get out before the heat and getting the kids off to camp. So it looks like I’m moving my tempo run to Sunday.

     

    • This is what the forecast looks like for the next few days. Friday’s 11-miler should be interesting…I may be looking to set a new PR for how early I can get out on the road. Tell me again why I registered for a half marathon in August?! 
    • I’ve been trying to plan a family vacation for the fall — the kids have a couple of long weekends so we thought we’d try to take advantage of the airline fares being lower then. Also wondering if I can loop in a race into these plans if the timing/location works. 
    • I’m still all over the place on fall races – the only one I’ve registered for is the Tufts 10k for Women. I ran this race last year with my friend Kathy and had a great time. As soon as it was over I knew I wanted to run it again!

      Have you figured out your fall race plans yet or will you just wing it?

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        Filed Under: general musings, Half marathon, Tufts 10k, weather

        A little Friday randomness

        May 13, 2011 by 5 Comments

        Thanks to Blogger’s little meltdown yesterday, my Thursday post vanished into cyberspace and by last night I was googling how to transfer from Blogger to WordPress!

        This was one of those weeks that flew by in a blink – there were lots of meetings, school events and sports for the boys, along with all the usual stuff that makes up life. I did manage to hold to my training plan too, though I could have done with more yoga and yamuna body rolling – my hamstrings and calves are ridiculously tight!

        And speaking of calves, I have discovered relief in the form of Zensah compression sleeves. After using them post-run a few times, I’m wondering what took me so long to buy a pair!

        Another first today – first 11 mile run. I’d be lying if I said it was a pretty run. I haven’t been sleeping great this week and it definitely caught up with me in today’s run. But I got the distance and that’s what counts. Every run teaches you something, and this one taught me most that I can push through when I really feel the tank’s on E.

        I have only one more long run before my half. One more “test” run to figure out fueling, clothes options, socks and play list. I’m close on the play list, but if you have any suggestions, especially for those last few miles, please pass them along. I think on the fueling front, I’m going to stick with a couple of Chomps around mile 5 and then depending on how I feel, a couple more around 9. Still working on my chewing and running at the same time 🙂

        “It costs nothing to dream…And everything not to.” — this was in my inbox this morning and I love it and just had to share.

        Have a Great Weekend!
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        Filed Under: fave things, firsts, general musings, Quotes, tough runs, training, Yamuna Body Rolling

        Run like a kid

        May 1, 2011 by 7 Comments

        Today was the annual Fun Run at my son’s school. I volunteer every year and once again I got THE best job – handing out the medals to the kids at the finish line. I just love watching those kids from the 4 yrs olds to the 5th graders running their hearts out, running for the sheer fun of it! We adults should remember to run with that kind of joy!

        I had a pretty joyful run myself this morning – it was a perfect cool spring morning, the streets were quiet except for one other runner. I ignored my watch and just ran. It was one of those runs that felt smooth and easy – even my chatter brain slept in. It was a great way to start a Sunday.

        While it was good to get a little extra rest on this step back week, I’m now looking forward to gearing up for the final push to my half. Just 4 weeks to go!

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        Filed Under: general musings, Half marathon, kids, watchless run

        Friday Fun with the ABCs

        March 4, 2011 by 3 Comments

        I’ve really been enjoying the ABCs of Me posts that have been going around lately …and since this has been a quiet running week for me, I thought I’d join in. So here are my ABCs:

        A:  Age — 44
        B:  Bed Size  — Queen. I would love a King but there’s just not enough space for it!
        C:  Chore Your Hate — Dusting!!
        D:  Dogs — a beautiful German Shepherd who’ll be 2 next month
        E:  Essential Start Your Day Item — coffee without a doubt, though a toothbrush is a close second
        F:  Favorite Color — This one’s tough – I own a lot of Black clothing, but I love the color Red! Though lately I have a thing for Granny Smith Apple Green
        G:  Gold or Silver — Silver
        H:  Height — 5′ 3″
        I:  Instruments You Play — none
        J:  Job Title — there are many but the best one is Mom
        K:  Kids — 2 great boys!
        L:  Live — Massachusetts
        M:  Mother’s Name — my boys call her Nana
        N:  Nicknames — Mother Goose or Mother G, used only by a select few from my college days
        O:  Overnight Hospital Stays — 3
        P:  Pet Peeve –chronic lateness…everybody gets hung up once in a while, but then there are those who can just never seem to be on time
        Q:  Quote from a Movie — two faves: “I’m just a stomach flu away from my goal weight.”  and  “You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.” (Can you name the movies?)
        R:  Right or Left-Handed — Right
        S:  Siblings — 1 younger brother
        T:  Time You Wake Up — 6ish
        U:  Underwear — ummm, yeah…kinda don’t see it as optional
        V:  Vegetable You Dislike — peas…and “dislike” is not nearly a strong enough word!
        W:  What Makes You Late —  usually my hubs, but most of the time I’m punctual, if not early (see P above)
        X:   X-rays You’ve Had Done — does a CT scan count? otherwise just dental
        Y:  Yummy Food You Make — I love to cook so hopefully it’s all yummy. Big holiday spreads are a specialty and I’m told I make a mean Jambalaya 🙂

        Z:  Zoo Animal Favorite — I love the big cats

        Have a Great Weekend!
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        Filed Under: general musings

        Giddy!

        February 18, 2011 by 4 Comments
        It’s 60 degrees today! 

        60 degrees! It’s been a l-o-n-g time since I’ve run in 60 degree weather. In fact I overdressed…definitely had too much on this morning. But, I didn’t care because I was running outside….and did I mention it was 60 degrees!

        Yes I was giddy for my run…so much so that I saw a rare sight – the words “slow down” on my garmin cause I was running faster than my pre-set pace range. A rare sight indeed but I was feeling good and enjoying the run and the feeling that Spring is on the way. Thank you Mother Nature…now behave yourself!

        Happy Friday!

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        Filed Under: general musings, weather

        Just Stylin’

        February 12, 2011 by 5 Comments

        The lovely Kittee over at Running Half Crazy was sweet enough to bestow this lovely award on me. Now many of you have seen this so you know the rules:

        • Make a post and link back to the person who tagged you. – If you have not checked out Kittee’s blog, please stop by and say hi!
        • Share 7 things about yourself
        • Pass the award along to 7 other bloggers
        Hmm…ok…so 7 things about me….
        1. I’m mom to two little boys who are really quite the characters and keep me on my toes. It’s funny I always knew that I would be mom to boys. And, I’m accepting the fact that my house will never be quiet!
        2.  I love food! I love to cook and I love to eat. Sharing a great meal with family and friends and lots of wine is a perfect evening!
        3.  I use to own a artisan olive oil company. I love running my own business and given that I’ve lost my “self-edit” button it’s probably better that I work for myself. I’m looking for my next biz idea.
        4. I’m a huge football fan – my hubs actually gave me tickets to see my favorite football team as an anniversary gift (at the time the 49ers in Candlestick) – still one of the best gifts ever 🙂
        5. I’m an avid reader – though at the moment I’m way behind on my reading wish list.
        6. I love to decorate – a wall of paint samples can seriously make me giddy!
        7. And, yes Emz, I did play rubgy. I played in college first as a hooker (my parents are so proud!) and then I quickly wised up and got out of the scrum to play fly-half. You gotta love a sport where you beat the tar out of each other and then share a beer or two (or twelve!)

        Now to pass this on…since many of you have already received this award and because I have too many favorites I’m breaking the rules and I’m not going to pick.  But if you haven’t played yet and want to, consider yourself tagged!

        Have a Great Weekend!!
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        Filed Under: awards, food, football, general musings, kids

        Today I learned….

        January 30, 2011 by 6 Comments


        …. how much staying up with a sick little one can take a toll on the next day’s run

        …. it is important not to short-change hydration just because it’s the dead of winter
         
        …. I should not pick the treadmill closest to the wall at my gym because there’s no air circulation

        The Bourne Supremacy (Widescreen Edition)…. how much I miss Patriots football

         …. watching Matt Damon (ala Bourne Supremacy) certainly helps to pass the time

        ….  some days running is as easy as putting one foot in front of the other

        …. and sometimes it’s as hard as putting one foot in front of the other

         …. I would be in big trouble without ice, compression socks and a foam roller 🙂

         What did you learn today?

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        Filed Under: foam roller, general musings, Matt Damon, tough runs, treadmill run