Hanging on and letting go

2007-12-26T13:23:00.000-05:00

Sunday was our Cantada at Church. Interesting morning to say the least. The electricity went off around 3 a.m. (My fan in the bedroom went off or I never would have realized it until morning.) I got up and husband was frantically looking for the lantern. This was about 6:30 or so and still no electricity. He was having a meltdown of some sort...here we go again it's getting close to Christmas better have a fight or something.

Anyway, I managed to get ready for the service in by lantern & I needed to be there about 1 1/2 hours early. Everything on schedule. I leave in plenty of time (I procrastinate frequently, especially if I have extra time to start with & then I get distracted and end up late) But not today. It had been very windy all night and lots of small branches down. I'm headed toward church down winding country roads & I see a tree down ahead. I initially thought it was in someone's yard, so I crept forward and of course it was in the road. Sigh...I have to turn around (I briefly thought, for a fraction of a second, I should drive in the field...but sanity prevailed). I went back about 4 miles to the nearest crossroad, I ended up 5 minutes late for "practice" which is really their way of making sure everyone is there in plenty of time.

We run through the program quickly. I have to say, it amazes me that such a crew of unprofessional (and in my case, completely untalented), disorganized, unmotivated individuals can come together to sound so beautiful and complete. I don't know if it's the Christmas season or what, but we were brilliant. It was moving & eerie & deep.

2007-12-16T16:45:00.000-05:00

Feeling much less melancholy today. We had Cantata Practice after church today and that's always good for a laugh. It's progressing quite well, but seeing how the performance is in two weeks it's still in the rough stages.

Ignoring cookies today. I will mail some to Scott and Sarah tomorrow, hopefully as I am waiting for Scott's Veggie Tale Ornament which should arrive sometime before 6 p.m.

2007-12-15T23:51:00.000-05:00

A couple of random thoughts.

I have reached into the depths of my soul looking for something. The problem is, I have no idea what.

Crescent moon in the evening sky. Sun setting. Breathtaking.

Why do I care so much about stupid things? I pride myself on being detached & aloof. That is possibly contrary to my general persona, but mostly I don't really care much about most things..why this. I guess I do care what certain people think about me. I need to get over that quickly.

On an up note, scale is being kind lately. Cheri and I baked cookies ALL DAY today and I only ate one. I also had a very small glass of wine. A Cranberry from Round Barn. It was very good.

Snowing, blowing, cold and dark. The soltice is just around the corner. I hope to turn a corner then myself.

2007-11-17T21:55:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten how to get into this blog, but I am back now & I suppose I will post here again. I've been posting quite a bit on my yahoo blog, but I think I will post here too. I seem to have alot of pent up energy lately & I have been trying to run it off. I have been sick for a couple of weeks & next Thursday (Thanksgiving) I am going to run a 5k....no promises on how it will go...just going to do it.

Life is a cabaret...or perhaps a cabernet.

2006-08-04T11:09:00.000-04:00

Hello to all. I am going to run a test of my race report here before posting it elsewhere. I was always taught if you can't say somethingnice, don't say anything...so this will be shorter that usual.
( Idon't ALWAYS follow this advice however)
Steve's Run July 29, 2006.

My 2nd 10k ever.

I decided to do this race on a whim, so I wouldn't say I was trainingfor it. I am however training for Chicago...We all know I am notspeedy & I can live with that. It was hot hot hot...triple digits bymidday. 100% humidity...we all know, the whole U.S. has been gripped
in this heatwave.The race started at 9 a.m. I guess the reasoning behind this is thatmany schools from another time zone participate. Personally, I don't think this is a good reason. It should have started at 8 a.m.My friend Cheri and I arrived at 8 a.m. picked up our race numbers and headed for the port a pottie. Cheri was very tentative about running this race. She doesnt do the heat well anyway & I had strong armed her into this. There were 4 races. a 5k racewalk, a 5k a 10k and a 1 mile fun run.They all started at 9:00. Cheri & went to the back of the crowd andstood by the 11 minute pace sign. The only people behind us wererunning the fun run. They looked to be in about 1st grade with theirparents.We started out slow. I was fairly hot and decided just to take iteasy. at the one mile mark 12 min. 2 mile mark 24...I stayed right on 12 min. until about 4 1/2 miles. At that point I started taking walk breaks. Unknown to me Cheri decided to just run the 5k. Alotof people did this or just plain dropped out during the race. I didn't know where she was & I'm sure the look on my face was priceless when I came around the last bend and saw her standing there.Believe it or not, I passed lots of people who looked worse off than I did. Also, the ambulance came and took someone away right aroundthe 5k mark. I never heard what it was all about.My finishing time was 1 hour 20 min. and some seconds. I didnt carry a watch and only found my time online today as I forgot to look at the finish line. My other 10k was 1:05:47...a year ago at Sunburst.We stuck around afterwards for awhile. A friend from school won the 5k racewalk with a time of 26 something.I think I need to do something different with training. I just don'tknow what it might be.

2006-07-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

Looks like I am behind here and everywhere! It's all good though. Work..check...Husband...check....family, children..check check....Vacation...wonderful! check. running...errr...check. I am behind, sort of anyway. I was trying to keep up with the intermediate Hal Higdon marathon program, but am doing the beginners by default. I'm not going to worry about it right now though. Tomorrow I am planning on running 9 miles along the river with my very favorite Cheri! We need to get an early start if possible. Right now it is storming & I just heard the scariest thunder clap! I do hope we get some decent rain out of it. So far the flooding has went south of us, but we really haven't gotten much rain. About 8/10ths I think. We are still in a drought. The garden is coming along quite nicely though only due to hubby diligently watering and tending to it. So far pea pods, zuccini squash and green beans. Yummy. I love the garden I love the summer too.

Yesterday Gail and I went to Wabash, IN and she judged goats at the county fair. I rode down with her as she needed to leave at 5 a.m. and was afraid of falling asleep on the road. An added benefit of my summer schedule of work is that I can do things like that. It was pretty much in the middle of nowhere & dang was it teensy. The Ludington fair is even bigger than this one. I ran 5 miles last night when we got back. It was so hot and humid!

More later.

2006-06-22T15:21:00.000-04:00

Oh hooray, I posted another picture of me from Sunburst. Much thanks to Marty for sending these to me!

I'm hoping that this will get me motivated to train better for Chicago!

2006-06-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

A couple of things:(ok...maybe a ton of things)

Running, not going that well. I've already missed a training day and it's just begun. Sigh. One would think with the children being gone that I would have a ton of time to do, whatever...not so. and don't think I waste my time on cooking or cleaning either. I have no idea where it all goes.

Job, I got an answer to the "when do I work" question that was driving me crazy. My schedule is what it has always been, which means about 6 weeks of shortened hours. That's good & the mood around here has moderated for the moment.

Husband, doing well...we are only driving each other the normal amount of insane lately. (subject to change I'm sure) That's good. I can't take much stress here & I can find no humor in it most of the time lately.

Scott & Sarah, working in the mountains at a christian/camp/mission until end of September. They are planning on moving, but so far haven't decided where. Tennessee is a possibility. At least that's closer. They are young and have a good deal of wanderlust.

Clarissa, a couple of interviews. No real job offers yet. She is also working with camp for the summer.

and the big news: I think I might be in love! Truly madly deeply. Cool, Gorgeous and as sexy as hell. One look was all it took. Damn...what am I going to do about this? I have no self control. Husband will certainly have a stroke if I follow through.....Oh, I am talking about the most beautiful dress in the world btw. It is so nice and soooooooo flattering & I could probably buy the Garmin I want plus a couple of pair of shoes for the same price. Sigh. Why do I always have to be sensible? Why why why? More later. I will let you know what I decide.

In the meantime, someone make me run!!

2006-06-16T10:03:00.000-04:00

Today is Friday. I am kind of in limbo at work. I have no idea or guidance as to when my last regular day will be. I also have no idea when, how often or even if I will have a summer schedule. It is extremely depressing. Between that and some other things going on I have been in a bit of a funk. Yesterday I think I could have cried if someone looked at me sideways. I think I could find it fairly easy to get some summer work with a temp service, but one actually has to know their schedule to do that. In the meantime I will just wait.

Since Sunburst I have ran 3 times. The first two times were very slow and I was very tired. Yesterday I ran 4 miles. I had not ran in about 5 days & I decided I just needed to do it and get it over with now. Bottom line. 48 min and 48 sec. I felt good when I was finished, so that was good. I did see something strange out there though. I ran close to the house around the "medium" circle. When I was about 2 miles around I saw someone walking at a fairly good clip coming towards me. It was a woman that I know who is (or was, not sure) a neighbor of ours. They have kids the same age as ours. I thought they were divorced and that she had moved, I hadn't seen her in about 4 years. She was barefoot and carrying her flippies and a purse. She was not dressed for exercise & her face was red and blotchy. She said hello and I said hello...it was just strange. I wonder a little bit if I should have tried to find out if she was ok. I felt like it was none of my business & she surely did not encourage me to ask. I just feel a bit guilty.

Tonight I am going to try and run 4 or 5 miles. Tomorrow I think I am going to run 6 miles. I am also babysitting for Caelyn (my friends granddaughter) and may do something with my sisters. Sunday is my turn to cook at my parents. Ugh...since it is Father's Day alot more people than normal will be there. Probably 25 or so. I better start thinking of something!

That's all for now.

2006-06-07T07:11:00.000-04:00

Sunburst ½ Marathon 2006-Part 2 Kathy

Clarissa and I continued together as we embarked on what we believed to be mile 3 and 4. Our pace felt about the same but we never saw any mile markers. I had left my map in the car, so it was no help.

About this time a lady in pink spandex Capri’s and a sun visor came out of the port a potty and said, “Hey…look at that guy over there. I think he’s peeing in the bushes.” So I just repeated what she said (hee hee) maybe quite a bit louder though. Oops…:P We ran with her for a bit & she was wearing a Garmin type thing & said it had recorded 5.1 miles. I looked at my watch, 62 minutes. Okay..not bad, but I am itching to speed up a bit. Now we see a sign up ahead. 5 miles. Hmmmmm…we’re a bit behind what we thought. Then I realize that we still have to run into a subdivision which is at least another mile until we get back to the sign. So we ask some volunteers and others around us. Everyone but Pink Spandex lady says the sign is for the ½ marathon. I don’t think so & Clarissa says, “If we have only gone 5 miles that is depressing” Pink lady says…my running computer says 6 ½ miles and it has never been wrong. We talk with her for awhile. She follows Jeff Galloway training. She ran Chicago…blah blah blah…

I see a little yellow sunburst on the ground & a red one as well. At that time it sort of clicks for me that our mileage marks are on the ground…not on the white signs. I am also trying to do the math..(If we only ran 5 miles so far and our first 2 miles were at 12:03 and 24:10…that means that 3, 4 and 5 were 17 min each???) I voice this out loud, but I also know that my math skills are probably a little shakey. I feel more confident, but there is still this niggling doubt. I put my watch away and quit looking at it anymore.

Clarissa is starting to lag a bit & I pull away from her gradually. We had discussed this ahead of time & I only looked back once and saw her wave. I waved back and continued on ahead.

Pink lady and I ran together…taking a few walking breaks (mostly at water stops). I saw some geese and was noticing what a beautiful day it was. Lots of sprinklers (I avoided them for the most part…I only jumped into one of them). Around mile 11 Pink lady’s dad jumped in with us to run her in. She said he was bringing us up to about a 9:40 pace. She was telling him it was too fast & I dropped back from them a few steps. I kept them in my sights until the very end, but I never caught them.

A girl at the next water stop told me I only had about another mile to go. There was a time clock there that said 2:35:00. I thought…that’s not too bad, I can still beat 2:45 if I try hard enough (I was delirious).. Up ahead I see a few people I might be able to catch. One of them is wearing shorts that I think say South Bend Police Dept. on the back. When I catch up, they actually say United States Air Force (Delirious and blind). I pass her, she passes me…we both pass another lady and two men…then another man. This is good. She stays ahead of me and starts to really kick it in. I have no kick. Just keep going.

It still didn’t occur to me that there were MARATHONERS out here running too…until they started whizzing by…3, 4, 5 of them. They re going FAST. I think they started at 6:15. A lady behind me (almost since the beginning…I clearly remember her being there the last 8 miles) spoke up and said, “Honey, if you slow down I’m going to pass you.” I laughed and said, “If you pass me, that would be great!” She looked to me to be in her late 60’s or early 70’s. She said, “Great for me, but not for you!” I just laughed. I did pick up the pace a bit & the next thing I knew we were running through the tunnel and “Welcome to Notre Dame” She did pass me & I saw the ½ marathon clock& I stood still for a millisecond & it said 2:33 something & I realized that was my time. I jumped on the chip mat, pulled out my watch and stopped it (2:33:40 was what it said)

Cheri met me and hugged me & I had enough energy to jump one more time. (The medical guy asked me if I was ok & I just nodded)

My chip time was 2:33:10

2006-06-05T16:54:00.000-04:00

Sunburst ½ Marathon 2006>> I really didn't know what to expect from this race. I can't say that> I was exactly nervous about it, but I was a bit on edge. Since I> really don't have that much racing behind me my first goal was to> have fun. My second goal was to beat my ½ time from the Chicago> Marathon, which was 2:45 and something.>> Friday, my knee was driving me crazy & I spent the day RICE-ing it.> I have never had any knee ailments that I can recall & it was> extremely annoying and disconcerting. I waited around after work for> my friend Cheri & we drove over to pick up our packets. We also ate> the spaghetti dinner at the College Football Hall of Fame. We walked> around a little & also struck up a conversation with a man who was> running his first race. He was talking about how addictive it was,> etc.. and his wife was standing there rolling her eyes. You could> tell that she was tolerating it because he was so excited about it.> We left rather excited. On my way home one of my sisters called my> cell phone & said our mom wasn't doing well. My mom had a stress> test & was home, so my sister and I made plans to meet over there> after I got back into town. Long story short, I didn't leave my> parents house until about 11 p.m. She seemed a lot better & we were> satisfied that dad could handle her. I did sleep with both the home> phone and my cell on my nightstand just in case. My parents only> live about 3 miles from me, so I could have gotten there quickly if I> had to do so.>> Unfortunately, I never made it home between work and bedtime…so I> still had to get ready for the race. By the time I got into bed it> was well after midnight. I set an alarm as an afterthought. I> always wake up by 5 o'clock..so I set the alarm for 5:10 & a back up> alarm for 5:20. I actually slept until 5:10. I was surprised.>> I got up. My knee seemed fine, like nothing was ever the matter with> it. I ate ½ of a banana…barely & tried to drink a cup of coffee.> This did not look promising. My stomach was very queasy I grabbed a> water and hit the door. I picked up Cheri & we headed to South> Bend. My daughter, Clarissa was meeting us there as she had already> started a job out of town for the summer. I might add that she was> not extremely happy when she found out the race time was changed to> 6:45 & she had about an hour and ten minute drive to get there.>> Just after we parked we decided maybe to try to use the porta-> potties. As soon as we got near them I lost any urge I had to go to> the bathroom.>> When we arrived at the starting point we saw someone we knew from> town & they told us all the races had been delayed by 15 minutes, but> they didn't know why. Then I saw the Marky and Kathy. (Mrs. Mikel> is an extremely pretty and nice woman. Marky is very lucky.) Note> to Ricky: No butt squeeze. I am scared of Marky you know. :P>> Cheri walked with Clarissa and I over to the starting line. We> screamed a couple of dozen more times while Clarissa rolled her eyes.> Then Cheri left (she was running the 10k).>> You couldn't ask for a more perfect day. It was cool and breezy to> start with & most of our race was in the shade.>> We lined up near the back of the pack & started out very slow. We> let EVERYONE who would pass us. I think there were about 15 people> behind us. I told Clarissa that after the first 2 miles we should> kick it up a bit. She replied, "I am not kicking anything anywhere> mom. This is my pace." Okey dokey. We talked about stuff that had> happened to her since she left home on Thursday morning. She already> had a couple of entertaining camp stories (she's working at Girl> Scout Camp

I will finish this tomorrow!!

2006-06-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ok...another quick post here. I know I promised a better update, but no time right now. My half is tomorrow. eeeeek!!! Someone pick me off the ceiling. Please!!!!!!! Cheri and I are going to the expo this afternoon as soon as we get off work & then we are going to go somewhere to eat. We may go to the "Pasta Feed" not sure yet. She has not even registered for the race...sigh...I will be picking up packets for Clarissa an I. I just can't wait!

I swear I will write up a report and post it here and elsewhere as soon as I can.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEk! (I'm excited) I just can't hide it!

2006-05-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

Okay...just a quick little check in here. I will post training etc. sometime next week...but....I lost 3 lbs!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs.. I am excited! I know I have eating and weight issues. I know I need to be careful. I have been eating sensibly (no starving or bingeing((how the heck do you spell that?)) ) I have been exercising (running!!). This is the first time I've had any luck with a diet in a long time. This round I have lost 17 1/2 lbs. That is since the beginning of March. 3 months. Too bad I started out at an all time high. I am going to hang in there though! My goal is to be down 20 more lbs by October 1st. I believe this is doable for me. 5lbs a month for 4 months. I can do it. (I can!!)

2006-05-23T07:47:00.000-04:00

My long run on Saturday seemed to go well. I am starting to slow down again, just like during my Chicago training. Not sure what to do about that, but there really isn't time to develop much speed before Sunburst.

Friday: Rest. Went to my mom and dad's and walked around the woods. Took Ken Chinese for lunch at 8:00.

Saturday: 9 mile long run @ 13:40 ave. pace. My splits were a little more even, but I still start out fast and gradually get slower until the end.

Sunday: I had planned on just hanging out after Church and dinner with family, but I ended up riding about 15 miles on the bike while Clarissa ran her long run. I was slow and made lots of stops, but still somewhat tired by the end.

Monday: 5 mile run with Cheri. 12:32 average pace. Fairly even splits. This run felt good & I really think I am starting to put things together. This was supposed to be an easy run & it did indeed feel easy.

Tuesday: Rest. Sister Julie is going to do that "special conditioning" treatment on my hair tonight (wink wink). I threatened to jump out of a window if I didn't get an appointment this week (the basement window, of course). I am in serious need of a trim as well.

The weather is warming up & the rain seems to be holding off for awhile as well. I hope Sunburst is on the cool side, but I am not holding my breath. Anything can happen in 10 days!

2006-05-19T15:07:00.000-04:00

Thursday: 5 mile easy run @ 13:22 average pace. I feel like I'm starting to develop more endurance lately. I still felt good when it was over. I realize I did not really push myself, but I did run 3 days in a row.

Friday: Today will be a rest day. I may do some cross training, but I'm not really planning on it. Possibly I will walk in the woods at my parents house before the mosquitoes move in for the season.

Saturday is my scheduled long run & my plan is to run 9 miles. Not sure when/how/where or with whom...but I will get it done.

Sunday: Planned rest day as well. Church/family/etc.

I feel better today than I have in awhile. I think I made a concious effort not to be depressed (not sure if that is possible, but that's what it feels like to me).

Things are going alot better at home. Husband has come around a bit. Hopefully they just continue to get better.

2006-05-18T13:35:00.000-04:00

Quick update here:

Last night, Wednesday May 17th 2006 (aka my 26th wedding anniversary) I did 1/2 mile intervals with 1/4 mile recoveries

1. 5:01
2. 5:05
3. 5:08
4. 5:12
5. 5:12

The first two were done in the pouring rain. I am too stubborn to quit however, but it took it's toll on my last 2 I believe. Overall I am pleased though as speedwork is a relatively new addition to my training.

One more day until FRIDAY!!!

2006-05-16T14:59:00.000-04:00

Yikes! I'm behind again

Thursday: Ran 3 miles on treadmill. 1 mile on Elliptical. 10 minutes on bike
Friday: Planned Rest.
Saturday: 8 mile run 13:22 ave. pace. Was sort of all over the place on splits, but some of my mile marks may have been off a bit. Felt like a good run
Sunday: Mother's Day & I was appropriately spoiled :) Nice kids and nice husband today...so therefore nice Me :)
Monday: Rest. Cold and rainy = Kathy whiny.
Tuesday: Tonight I am going to try to run 5 1/2. Still cold and rainy.

Boss is in a better mood. I am steering clear though whenever possible and not letting down my guard.

2006-05-11T14:19:00.000-04:00

Tues: Rest. No run today. Too much to do & too tired. Sound like an excuse? I don't care. That is the mood for the day.

Wednesday: Thunderstorms at 4:30 so I held off speed work until about 7:00. I ended up doing them on the road instead of the track. Anyway, I ran 4 800's with 400 recoveries. They were as follows 1. 5:01 2. 5:20 3. 5:04 4. 5:01.

Thursday: Not sure what I will accomplish today. It is pouring outside and looks like no end in sight. I might try to run in the gym (ugh) I need to run five miles. We shall see.

Want to know a funny story? Once upon a time a persons boss was having a bad day. While boss was "reading" in his office with the door shut a lovely teacher brought in a chair and put it in the middle of the outer office. The person did not know what the chair was for, so the person ignored the chair. Dragon boss awakens from slumber, er...reading & sees said chair. Dragon takes chair and throws it at the door. Then Dragon leaves. Person just watches in horror. Glad dragon is gone. Dragon is a L.F. The End.

2006-05-09T13:16:00.000-04:00

So far this week:

Friday 5/5: Walked 2 1/2 miles with Cheri. She got to listen to me vent about a number of subjects and I felt much better.

Saturday 5/6 I ran 7 miles with my sister Janice on the bike. That was very nice and it made the time just fly by! She did this alot with me while I was training for Chicago last year. I hope she will again this summer as well. Then we went to Dairy Queen and had ice cream. Yummy :)

Sunday 5/7 Planned rest. Church and then family dinner at my parents house. My Aunt was here from Belleville/Los Angeles & that was nice. I took a nice walk around the woods at my mom and dads. It is just beautiful there. It is a lovely sanctuary. I have always loved that spot since I was a kid. I am so glad they built their new home there. I got to talk with Kelley on the phone and find out how her race went. I was happy to hear that she PR'ed and had a great race!

Monday 5/8 Cheri and I ran an out and back course. I ran 5 in 105:26 for a 13:05 average pace. I tried to stay at an even pace and not start out faster like I usually do. My splits were 13:06, 12:54, 13:36, 13:54, & 12:06.

Today I am planning on running 800's on the track if all goes as planned. I may do it tomorrow instead.

2006-05-05T08:01:00.000-04:00

I seem to be saying this alot lately, but I am in control of how I react to things & I am in control of my feelings. It's a good thing I have running, I don't know how I would cope otherwise. Boss has moderated at bit, so now it is time for husband to start up again. I honestly don't know what his problem is this time, but it doesn't look very promising. I am also extremely worried about him & I don't know if there is anything I can do or not. Ok....back to running.

Tues. I ran 800's w/ 400 recovery. 4:53/5:03/5:25. I was going to run 5 total but kind of pooped out after 3. I will do better next time. Clarissa and I ran of the track & it felt fairly hot and humid today.

Wed. 5 miles @ 13:40 pace. Fairly even splits, 1st and last mile were a bit faster than middle 3. Cheri, Clarissa and I ran Chamberlain road. They ended up with 4 1/2 miles.

Thursday - I put off running until 7:30 or 8:00. I ended up running 4 1/2 miles at a 13:01 pace. I think my mile marks may have been off a little bit as I had one 14 min mile and two around 12. I didn't notice myself speeding up or slowing down.

Friday - Planned Rest. I may walk with Cheri tonight.

Saturday is my scheduled long run of 8 miles. I feel ready for it!

2006-05-02T07:09:00.000-04:00

I need an attitude adjustment today. I have to understand that I cannot control what others do, but I can control how I react. I'm a touch worried about myself as I have never gotten this far with my anger before. I am far beyond sitting in the corner screaming the "f" word. I feel quiet calm & I am afraid I am internalizing too much anger. On the other hand, perhaps I am letting it go in a healthy manner. I am just so angry at my boss.

Saturday I took Scott and Sarah to the bus station at South Bend airport. I did a drop and run so that they wouldn't see me crying. They are so happy & I think things will turn out fine for them in the end.

Sunday I did indeed skip church & Clarissa, Cheri, Cheri's friend Kim and Kim's friend Easter & I went to Notre Dame and ran the "Biolojog...1st annual race"

There were less than 100 people there & a good deal of them didn't finish. It was a fund raiser for the Humane Society & probably 15 or so people ran with dogs. I only saw one of them finish.

It was extremely disorganized, started 45 minutes late & had alot of students helping who would have rather been in bed. It was a ton of fun though. I now see that I have alot of work cut out for me before Sunburst.

I settled in between two groups of girls & the ones behind me (wearing Notre Dame God Country sweats) were literally on my heels the entire 1st mile or so. I slowed down so that they had to go around & then they played this game where they would walk until i caught up to them and then sprint. At about the last 1/2 mile one of them made the mistake of letting me pass her before she started running again & she was quite ticked off when I ended up beating her. It gave me alot of incentive to speed up and the look on her face at the end was priceless. My time was 32:18, I think...they didnt tell me an official time and it isn't posted. My time at Thanksgiving was 31:54 and I was hoping to beat it, but I don't feel too bad because I ran out of my way on this course at least once due to insufficient directions.

2006-04-27T15:58:00.000-04:00

Just a quick check in here. Scott and Sarah surprised us by hopping a bus home (25 hours, but they are young). I am very excited! I would have taken a personal day had I known this. My joy has been mitigated however, by the fact that I am having a horrible time at work. This too shall pass. Breathe in breathe out. Get that focal point. I love my kids :)

New plan of action: Run 4 1/2 on Friday after the kids leave, no run Saturday...skip church on Sunday and race around the lakes at Notre Dame (5k) with Cheri and Clarissa.

Life is good.

2006-04-24T08:37:00.000-04:00

Friday - No run. Took Ken Chinese for lunch. I made some chicken stir fry in my Wok & it turned out pretty good. Sort of an experiment. I have found that I am only able to eat maybe 1/4 cup of brown rice due to it's density. I think that's a good thing. Still ignoring AC (scale). Clothes fitting better anyway.

Saturday - Guys went golfing so my sister Jan and I went shopping for Sunday dinner & etc. I wanted to buy Clarissa a pair of running pants as she is always ripping off my favorite ones. We sort of did a trade, I bought her a pair for Easter and they were mismarked in size which means they fit ME. I promised to buy her another pair, but so far no luck (they were on clearance for $4 or $5)

Anyway, I ended up buying something to wear for Sunburst (also on clearance and dirt cheap!!) I refuse to wear those short shorts. I ain't doin' it. I don't care how stupid I look. Clarissa says she will not be seen in public with me if I wear what I bought. (She also said that about my Notre Dame Hockey T-shirt) She also rolled her eyes into the back of her head when I showed her what I was wearing. I don't care :)

Oh, and the point of all that was that I skipped my long run & put it off to Sunday. Now I really had plenty of rest since my last.
We ran 6 miles as follows:

1 - 11:30 (need to slow down a little)
2 - 13:30 (that's better..)
3 - 14:30 (this feels too slow...pick it up)
4 - 12:45 (perfect)
5 - 12:45 (keeping up a conversation with Clarissa)
6 - 11:30 ( still felt so good, had to pick it up)

Total time 1 hr. 16 min & 30 sec. averarge pace 12:45. A little faster than I should have been doing, but still plenty slow!

Cheri was with us and took a wrong turn. She ended up with 5 miles & going up a fairly brutal hill because of it. There is really nowhere decent to run around here without any hills.

Tonight I am going to run 2 easy miles and maybe walk a couple more. I have 2 different races that I am eyeing up for next weekend. Hopefully that works out.

2006-04-21T12:25:00.000-04:00

Wednesday night Cheri and I set out to run 4 miles at a comfortable pace. I started out ok, but it was extremely hot and I started to lose steam after the 1st mile or so. I think I ran about 3 - 3 1/2 miles, but it was slow. I also was having trouble with naseua & dizziness. We cut the whole thing short and I just chalked it up to the hot weather & possibly food I ate for lunch.

Thursday I had Confirmation class at church. One class left for this year (yippee). We took the kids out for recess & played frozen tag, or freeze tag & I was "it" I haven't had that much fun for quite awhile. I was laughing so hard, they were all trying to avoid me by climbing the big toy...little did they know that I am queen of the monkeys. lol. What a hoot.

2006-04-19T07:06:00.000-04:00

I had to post this today, before I forget. Last night I ran the track. I did four 1/2 miles & my times were as follows. (I am freakishly slow, so just live with it). 5:10, 5:06, 5:04 & 4:53. I did 1/4 mile recoveries at an extremely slow pace. I am excited though as I figured I would be running them at around 5:30 or so!

2006-04-18T09:29:00.000-04:00

4/12 through 4/17

Wed - Clarissa, Cheri and I ran 2 miles. 12:00 pace.
Thurs. Maundy Thursday church service.
Friday - Good Friday. Took Ken Chinese @ lunch & we ate outside. Nice.
Saturday - Cheri and I ran 6 miles @ the Niles River Walk. 13:50 pace. Clarissa ran in town by herself & someone ran her off the road & she fell. Not nice.
Sunday - Easter. Church & family activities. Scott called. I miss him immensely.
Monday - Clarissa, Cheri & I ran to Broceus and back. 4 miles. 14:20 pace.
Not a great day at work yesterday...at least the end..but turned out ok. Ran off anger.

Life is good.

2006-04-12T14:02:00.000-04:00

2006-04-12T07:42:00.000-04:00

Last night Clarissa and I ran 4 miles at an easy pace. I was fairly tired. I think the stupid time change is finally catching up with me! Met Ken for lunch & then sat in the hot tub @ Megan's. Had a glass of wine from Lemon Creek. I can't remember what it was, Joe told me...but I forgot. It certainly was good! Went to bed 11ish & did not feel like getting up at 5:30 this morning. Ack!!!!! Oh and Megan gave me this cool lawn mower that doesn't have a motor. It just has blades & uses only "human fuel" I'm thinking maybe that will give me a good workout this summer. Oh & BTW...we are playing a game at work. Everyone put in $5 (14 people) and the person who loses the biggest % of weight by May 1st wins the whole pot. Well, there is this person who is cheating & that just torques me off in the biggest way. I am going to find a way to make sure this person doesn't win. I HATE cheating! I still have not weighed in again. I should weigh myself at least once before May, but I don't know...I am afraid I won't have lost anything & that could depress me enough to trigger some sort of eating disorder. I never promised I was normal!!

Life is Good!

2006-04-11T07:44:00.000-04:00

Last night Cheri and I ran close to 4 miles at a relatively slow pace. Cleaned the Communion ware silver @ church w/Jan & Carol. That was alot of fun. Watched 24 with Clarissa and Ryan. I kept calorie count around 1200 and plan to do so for the rest of the week. Last week it stayed between 1600-1800, which is ok. Time to kick it up a notch here and lose some weight. I suppose it may help if I actually weighed myself :P Yeah, right. I did weigh in the Friday before break, but am once again ignoring AC.

Life is good!

2006-04-10T15:35:00.000-04:00

Wow....whew. Back to work kickin' and screamin' after 9 glorious and wonderful days of NO WORK! I really don't mind my job, but I needed a break!!

Spring break in a nutshell:

Saturday: 4/01/ 06 Slept in & dinked around. Had altar guild at church w/Carol and Jan. Ran 5 miles by myself. Went out to dinner w/Ken.

Sunday: Church. Hosted coffee hour w/family. Walked w/Jan from Weko to Warren Dunes and back. Guys golfed. Clarissa and Ryan left to go to Iowa and Colorado.

Monday: Jan and I went to Chicago on the South Shore Railroad. Train was packed. We later saw on the news that they were hauling 1,000 passengers on a 600 passenger train. Had a great day. Did alot of walking. Went to a presentation at Church...people who had visited the Holy Land last November.

Tuesday: Went to Merriville with Gail. Ignored fact that I am fat and bought clothes anyway. Did no running today. :((

Wednesday: Got my hair cut 'n stuff. I like it. Had a Chiro appt and a massage. Wonderful. Ran 1/2 mile intervals at a slightly faster pace (ha!)

Thursday: Took dad to Notre Dame and the Basillica and walked around one of the lakes, at least 3 miles. Cheri & I ran 3 1/2 easy miles on the Niles Riverwalk & went to Starbucks.

Friday: Went shopping by myself for bedding. Accidentally bought some clothes as well. Cheri and I ran on the track at the high school.

Saturday: Ran by myself around the big circle. Beautiful Day. 5 miles & then went to dinner w/Ken

Sunday: Church. Went to local wineries with Carol, Jan, Megan & Gavin ;) Bought some wine. Had a great day. Went to bed early. Clarissa came home from her trip to Colorado sometime during the night.

Life is good.

2006-03-30T07:48:00.000-05:00

No running last night. We had Lenten services at church. I also stopped by the funeral home for the wake of Harriet S. & that was interesting to say the least. The funeral is at church today at 10:30. We were going to do a stretchy band tape, but I was tired & watched CSI New York instead. This morning is crazy in a way that only spring break can bring on. Every day this week the jack ass factor has been lowered one bar. I really need some time off & I'm not sure one week is enough. I am going to search high and wide to see if I can find a race next weekend. Once again I was starving to death by bedtime. I am still ignoring the AC. I may weigh myself on Friday, otherwise I won't do it until after Sunburst. Calorie count, 1567. which includes 2 french fries that made it into my mouth at lunchtime before I could stop them. Life is good.

2006-03-29T07:48:00.000-05:00

Wednesday March 29, 2006

Today is the first day of the rest of my blog :P

Ran 3 1/2 miles with Cheri last night. Pretty slow and I felt sort of tight afterward. Went to visit Megan & sit in the hot tub, but got sidetracked playing with the monsters. Felt like I was starving to death by bedtime.
Life is good