Attitude adjusted.

I was not at all happy about running this morning, for many reasons.

I have a list:

• Legs have been sluggish and heavy since the marathon three weeks ago. And, I tire easily. It's like I have nothing in reserve.
• Since taking the short runs up to 7 miles, and the medium/long routes to 12-20 miles during marathon training, it now takes me 2-3 miles just to get warmed up and into a good rhythm. I only had time for a 3 mile run today, which is frustrating.
• It's peak pollen season around here. Runny nose. Itchy eyes. Scratchy throat.
• I've been playing with kids & gardening during spring break, so it's been over a week since my last real cardio workout.

So of course, when I headed out the door this morning, my attitude was less than cheerful. Stayed that way, until I came upon this:

A full block of running past a wall formed by big clusters of wisteria... Problem, solved.

The family that runs together... is a pretty cranky bunch by 10 am

First off:

Look. At. This. Photo.

My eyes are open. I'm not obviously huffing and puffing... in fact, I'm almost smiling. No double chin mysteriously appeared, or odd flashes of stretchmarks from a shirt/safety pin/belt conflict. Better still, it looks like I'm running, not race-walking. (Granted, my legs look AWESOME in the other photo with the horrifying items mentioned above, but I'm going to look at this photo as almost as big of a WIN as running the 13.1 miles.)

Halloween was quite fun this year. Wet, cold and tiring too, but fun.

The Silver Comet Half Marathon & Fun Run were on October 31, and we all went. I ran the Half; kids ran in the 2 mile Fun Run - in just a little over 20 mins - and Dad supplied children with hot cocoa and crackers while they waited in the rain for me to finish.

Everyone was up and eating breakfast shortly after 5 am, and we made it out to Mableton with plenty of time to get a parking space at the race start this year. (Last year, we were half way along the shuttle route between start and finish, and had to walk a mile... and figure out which neighborhood side street we'd been directed down hours before, when it was too dark to see street signs.)

Other than the race starting 15-20 minutes after 7:30, I think it went so much better than last year. Number and chip pickup was speedy and well organized. The lines for the last minute pitstop were moving quickly - though that could just be my choice of the line that had to be short, since it was in the parking traffic pattern.

There were volunteers spread out with pace times, which helped the initial crush tremendously. Instructions for the fun run participants were called out with the HM race info from the "witches' station", which made getting family to the shuttle buses much less confusing than in 2008.

The rain started just about the same time as the race. Not droplets, drizzle or heavy mist. 20 minutes of actual rain. And it kept raining off-and-on, as the temperatures dropped.

Managed to maintain a pretty solid 10:00 pace, which I was pretty happy about. My watch time was 2:12. Chip time - 2:17:59. The 5-1/2 min difference was due to the line for the potty after the turnaround. (I didn't actually spend that much time in line, but saying it was a long line is better than talking about the struggle to pull up a wringing wet spandex running skort in the small space of a portalet... without bumping into anything too horrifying.)

Met my long suffering family members at the finish, lined up for food... and the rain started back up. At this point, we decided to stop at Starbucks on the way home, and headed for the shuttle bus.

By 11:00, we were all warm, dry, and very, VERY irritable. Fortunately, the kids were too tired to do any bickering, so we curled up with blankets on the sofas for television viewing and naps. By 6:30, they were fully recharged for an evening of trick-or-treating in the drizzle... a little over two hours of walking. Amazing, what kids will do for candy. (And what parents will do for their kids.)

My toes have (mostly) recovered from 13 miles in wet socks and squishy shoes, so this Sunday will be the Zooma Atlanta Women's Half Marathon & 5k. Just the half marathon though, and just me. I figure everyone else deserves to sleep in this weekend.

Seriously though... for as awesome as my legs look in this 2nd photo, the rest of me looks like there's some combination of seizure, violent death, asthma attack, and imminent explosion about to happen all at once.

95% Complete

All moved in to new house. Tiny little bits of order are popping up around house.
They're random, and not in the final state, but it's quite nice to see in the warehouse.

Window seat - perfect for kid's reading time and for Peter T. Dog's important duties of neighborhood watch.

Have been able to walk kids to & from school most days. Two miles for them, four for me. Keeps us all getting a bare minimum of exercise. And makes for very little time in the truck each week. LOVE IT!

Everything seems to be here... except internet service.
Cable company working to install new line to house.

Didn't miss it much the first few days, but trying to handle all the normal email, online bill pay and news / blog reading on the iPhone has gotten quite tedious.

Half marathon tomorrow morning. 7am. In Kennesaw.
Ugh. 5am seems a whole lot earlier tonight than it did when I signed up last month.
Especially when I haven't trained, and plan to lazy my way through the course.

That's enough of the screen tap typing for one evening. I'm off to bed.

Enjoy the beautiful beginnings of crisp Autumn breezes!

Good Idea, Bad Idea

Waaaaay back when my teen was a tot, he and I would spend a little time on Saturday mornings watching Animaniacs. We both loved it, though for different reasons. General zaniness appealed to a four year old, and the clever songs and writing roped me in. How could you not relish the opportunity to sing along with Wakko during the 50 States & Capitols, Cheese Roll Call, Parts of the Brain, or Schnitzelbank?

There are a couple of things from the show which seeped into the family traditions:

• Before DD was born, B1 & B2 were known affectionately as Yakko & Wakko, so it was only natural for a baby girl to become Dot.
• For the last decade, any action taken which leads to a Doh! moment is greeted with the words Good Idea, Bad Idea

Today's Good Idea, Bad Idea moment for Joy?

Good Idea:
Taking photos of pretty flowers to send loved ones from a long run route.
Bad Idea:
Taking photos of bloody kneecap to send loved ones from a long run route.

As I learned today, that second type of photo tends to cause a panic. I tripped in spot where a missing chunk of sidewalk was masked by a few leaves. Narrowly averted face plant. Scraped up both hands, both knees, and jammed two fingers by bending them the wrong direction while trying to roll to one side... and scraped right shoulder & elbow when I got there.

No head trauma or bones protruding from skin, so my old tomboy mindset kicked in. The soon-to-be-swollen-purple fingers, road rash, scraps of skin dangling from kneecap, and all the blood... well, it's kind of cool. Helluva way to kick off the official fall half marathon training schedule, eh?

Just call me Grace.

Best laid (race) plans

That autumn schedule of races I'd carefully put together? Two or three events each month for September, October and November.

It's gone. Out the window. Kaput.

Most have been dropped due to B1's cross country schedule, which every Saturday but one filled through the first half of November. Two have been dropped because of new house and move plans. Both are extremely good reasons, so I can't complain. Wait. Yes, I can complain, but I won't. Except for a brief whine about one.

I'm not exactly thrilled about dropping the Midnight Flight 5k/10k off my calendar. (With all the last minute documents to find for the loan paperwork, the home inspection and contingency back-and-forth, it's just not a great idea to head out early on Friday for that first race on the schedule.) It's a fun night race, just far enough out of town that I have to spend the night and take Saturday morning to sleep in, soak in the tub, and take myself to a lazy brunch before the drive back to Atlanta. I'd planned to run the two races back-to-back, using the 5k as a warm up for the 10k. (The first mile or two of any run are always the blah miles, so I figured I'd be fully coordinated by the 11pm start time of the 10k.)

Depending on how the birthday parties, end-of-summer pool parties and requested sleep overs shake out over the next few days, I may still fit in a race this Labor Day weekend. The 10k Classic is on Labor Day, just a few miles from here, and is supposed to be a challenging, hilly course.

And, until something else pops up, here's the scaled back schedule. There may be a couple of 5k races added with the kidlets, during the off-week for cross country, or on Saturdays when B1's events are in the afternoon.

9/7 - 10k Classic (Maybe)
10/4 - Locomotive Half & 5k, Kennesaw
10/31 - Silver Comet Half Marathon
11/26 - Atlanta Half Marathon

A few hours over the next week will go into making a training plan with the October 31 and Thanksgiving Day half marathons as the main focus. The Locomotive HM on October 4th is going to be a practice run (in place of long run for the week) for the other two HMs. Treated Run the Reagan that way back in February, and it turned out to be a great race.

On a what the heck am I thinking? note, I took advantage of the discount for super-early registration for the ING on March 21, 2010. I signed up for the full marathon this time around. After all, I have 199 days, 22 hours and 14 minutes to prepare. What could possibly go wrong?

Since a tweet changed my outlook last week, should I say I had a good tweek? (a.k.a. Big Darn Week, part two)

It was a no good, terrible, horrible, very bad day or two to start the week last week. Super busy. Trying to put together offer on house. Spacey children who kept leaving lunches at home in the morning, and homework at school in the afternoon. A puppy in a combination of growth spurt & teething phase, leading to regressive behavior.

My heart wasn't really into any exercise that wasn't two-wheeled, and even that was only because of the escape into audiobooks & podcasts I enjoy on rides. My running continued to stink, as it has since getting back to hot & humid Atlanta from vacation, in June.

I was following my normal early morning routine (lunch packing / breakfast rush, stretching, coffee, blog reading, weather checking), when I thought I don't really want to do any of this stuff today. Then I saw an early morning (for her, since she's in TX) tweet from MizFitOnline. It was something about taking on the day with open arms.

It struck a chord with me. What the heck did I really have to complain about? Nothing on my list of grievances was beyond the level of minor annoyance. So, I scrapped all the plans which weren't possible to work out, opened up, and took on the day.

Strapped leashes to my pups for the morning upper body workout - I mean walk. Laughed my butt off at the ability of my lovable little idiot to tangle everybody up in the leash, and at the look on the face my sweetheart of a Peter T. Dog. I would swear he rolls his eyes at Clifford, and that the head tilt & lolling tongue is his own brand of laughter.

Dropped off the forgotten lunch at the elementary school, and took my lunch down to Riverside Park for a ride. Realized my helmet was hanging from the roadster back at the house, so went to a less heavily traveled road, with bicycle lanes for my ride. 10 miles or so, listening to the Adam Smith episode of The Thomas Jefferson Hour (fantastic episode, btw - almost enough to make me start a 3rd attempt to make it through The Wealth of Nations)

Hopped off the bike, changed shoes, and headed down the trail by the Chattahoochee River. Before I'd lost sight of the parking lot, the heavens opened, and I was completely drenched. Ugh. So much for that.

But, wait. That's the kind of thinking that put me into a funk in the first place. Mopped off my face, and started into the woods. Everything was lush and green, and the rain quickly dropped the temperature and cleared away the general pea soup humidity we'd been having for days.

It was the best time I've had running in months. Jumping over rocks and roots. Ducking under branches. Splashing through the runoff streams the trails had turned into. It. Was. So. Much. FUN!


While leaping over a particularly deep & mucky puddle, I was reminded of MizFit's recent posts about being your own superhero... and I definitely felt like one. Pulled out the iPhone, risking water logging, snapped a few pix and moved Mighty Little Man to the top of the playlist.

I'm not sure what my superpowers are yet, but do know that kid chaos and weather are not going to be my downfall. (The photo is of my super soaked feet, as light blue speed silk singlet & white sports bra are better suited for dry, sunny day superhero activities.)

That one tweet was just the nudge I needed. With the improvement in attitude came a big improvement in my workouts. Running is fun again.

Pushing limits this Autumn

Looking to push myself a bit harder this fall. If only a little from the physical, then definitely a lot from the scheduling standpoint. I'm not sure if the prospect of regaining my mid-day exercise time has made me lose my senses, but I'm thinking about filling many weekends this autumn with events. Considering a few new events, in addition to the races I enjoyed last year. Not just races for myself, but a few for the whole family. (Or whichever portion of the family in town that week.)

August:
8 - Dog Days Run, 5k
At least one family member will be gone this week, but B2 and DD should be up for doing this one. After all, it's a technical shirt with a dog on it. They have race shirts with tigers, pigs and possums, but no dogs.

September:
4 - Midnight Flight (Anderson, SC)
Think this year I'll push myself a bit, and run the 5k and 10k, back-to-back. Not sure that I'll take the whole weekend like last year, but I will definitely sleep in at the hotel Saturday morning and drive home by the slowest route possible, with stop(s) for delicious food & reading.
26 - Big Peach Sizzler 10k
Enjoyed run/walking the Big Peach 5k with B2 this spring. He won't be able to make the longer distance, but chances are I can get the 15yo B1 to run it with me. (He'll probably beat me, too.)

October:
3 - Ted's Montana Grill Stampede 5k
This is a maybe. The race is downtown, and post race food includes sliders, so I'm all for making a day of it with the kids, and adding a trip to the Georgia Aquarium after the race. We'll see though, because the next day is...
4 - 1st Annual Locomotive Half Marathon & 5k
The idea is for kids & dad to run the 5k while I'm running the half. If we do the 5k on the 3rd, it may end up being just me. Or B1 doing the 5k, since he's old enough to hang out while I finish the HM.
17 - Big Peach Fall 5 Miler
This one would be just me, and largely depends on whether or not I sign up for...
24 - Carolina's Challenge Metric Century (Spartanburg, SC)
The ride is a fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project, which is a cause I'd be glad to support. It would be my first "official" ride, and is in the town where I graduated HS. Rolling past all the things that have changed in the last 20+ years could be fun.
31 - Silver Comet Half Marathon
Definitely running this. Might even wear some sort of costume - or at least orange - since it is Halloween. Chances are good B1 would be running this as his first HM, if he'll do the work and get out of bed for training runs in Sept/Oct. (Yes, he'd probably finish this faster than me, too.)

November:
Not sure what, if anything, I'll schedule us for in November, but the one event I'm planning on is the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day. It worked out so well last year, I'm hoping to convince my family (and any relatives who wish to visit) that having our big family dinner on Friday is a perfectly good tradition to build. After all, even without all the money we'll be spending on race fees, there is no way I'd be participating in Black Friday shopping madness.

Now, to get everyone signed up for any August and September races, then figure out what comes next. And by next, I mean October through December of this year. I'm not quite ready to talk about where I'm thinking about setting the bar for 2010.

Dog blogging

Dragged the teen out of bed this morning for breakfast/cartoon duty with the younger two, so I could get in a run with the dog. The teen's going to be crabby all day, but... too bad.

It's been a few weeks, so it was just short run. A couple of miles (1.95 miles, 9:15 pace) with Peter T. Dog, sunshine and the sounds of birds and not-too-distant rush hour traffic. Yea!

It was a tiny bit of good exercise for the both of us, and a much needed bit of peace and quiet, away from noisy children and teething puppy.

That's right, I said "puppy." Clifford, intended to be Peter's packmate. Pete's been mopey since coming home from his two weeks in the country with dogs, cats and horse. A younger dog is supposed to give him a bit of zip to keep active and happy in his old age. It's worked well for my mother's dogs over the years, and the vet suggested it last year. The final straw was last week, when I was reading Radley Balko's blog. The kids were passing by the computer while I was on his normal Sunday dog blogging. It was a puppy blogging post. In looking at the cute photos, my little girl read the story about the puppy being a pal for his older dog. The lobbying began.

The intention when we visited the Atlanta Humane Society (no kill shelter) was a 6-12 month medium dog, preferably female. Found the perfect dog, 6 month old Annie, a beagle/terrier mix. Went back again the next day with kids & Pete, to make sure the two dogs got along as well as the first day, and to bring her home. That's when we met Clifford.

At 2 months old, he's bigger than the almost-grown Annie. He's a Collie/Shepherd mix, so has quite a ways to grow from his current 20 pounds. In fact, the general consesus was to purchase a crate for a future 70 lb dog, but not to be surprised if we have to go larger by the time he turns one. He's teething. He's so young that housebreaking isn't going to take until he has bladder control. He likes to flip over water dishes and play in the puddle. He's not good on a leash yet, as the older puppy was. He's on antibiotics for an upper respiratory thing, and for the minor infection at his sutures (post-neuter). And, did I mention he's teething?

He's an absolute sweetheart. Playful, but not in a crazy way. Sleeps through the night, as long as his crate is by my bed. Pays attention when Peter backs him down with a sneer for too much ear/tail nipping, so there's been no growling or big dog bites. Only a couple of messes in the house over the last week, mostly due to children not quite knowing the signs of when a puppy goes from general sniffing to sniffing for a spot.

As for perking up Peter T. Dog, it seems to be working. He's now happily herding Clifford in loops around the house and yard a few times each day, instead of just napping in a sunny spot. (I make sure he still gets some time for peace and quiet in his nap spot, sans puppy.)

Gotta run!

Today is National Running Day. I'd have known it sooner if I'd taken the time to read Runner's World when it came in the mail two weeks ago, instead of at the pool yesterday.

There's pages of tips on how to participate (get out and run), find running groups, and how to get started. There's probably not time to get to one of the official runs today, but I will be hitting the pavement for an Easy 3* later this morning, right after I get back from the dentist.

*Easy 3 describes my distance and pace in this case. It's actually one of my previously tough hill runs, which I never used on an easy day. The hill training I've been doing for the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile may not get me through the race course in the mountains all that quickly, but it sure has made running through my neighborhood easier.

Running as a family

Ran the very laid back and close to home Save Our Skin 5k last week with most of the family. (DD was at a sleepover.) We broke into two groups - Run and Walk/Run. B2 and dad were the walk/run group. B1 ran with me. He made his usual smart alec remarks of encouragement - professing his love and appreciation for his short, old mom who runs like a girl... a really old one. Somebody proposed a wager of $5, which the old short lady accepted. (Wait - it wasn't a bet. I'd never contribute to the delinquency of a minor by agreeing on amateur sporting events. No matter how annoying the snarky little brat was being. The $5 in question was a performance bonus.)

The course wasn't quite as flat as I'd thought, but we were making pretty good time.
Mile 1 @ 9:25. Mile 2 @ 18:30, Mile 3 @... where'd he go?

B1 and his long legs had kicked into the next gear just before the Mile 3 marker, and he zoomed past me for the last tenth of a mile. His finish time was 27:01, close to a minute ahead of me. All those weeks of short runs to build mileage for the ING Challenge at school have turned my video gaming string bean into a runner! I finished at 27:45. Not as fast as I hoped, but about 4 to 4-1/2 minutes ahead of last year, if I'm remembering correctly.

We grabbed water and food and settled in to watch for the other two. Before B1 finished his blueberry muffin, Dad and B2 were coming along the last stretch. The completed the course at 46 minutes. That was a little slower than B2's 44:41 at the Big Peach 5k, but quite a bit faster than his first 5k of the year (53:00-Run the Reagan 5k) , back in February.

I'm so very proud of both boys. And, I've never been so pleased to lose $5.

I don't want to run

Patty and The Duchess are calling to me from across the front room, tucked into the official bicycle parking behind the piano. Pleading to be taken out for a spin in the spring morning. I have to ignore them.

It's now only one month until the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile up in Manitou Springs, Colorado. It was my idea to sign up for a vacation race in a beautiful destination for my birthday. It's a stop on our cross-country trek this June. It will be gorgeous, but if there's going to be a hope of surviving hill after hill at higher elevations (6,210' up to 6,530'), it's got to be all about the hills here in humid ol' Atlanta for the next few weeks.

Sigh.


Will be keeping photos like this in mind while lacing up the shoes, even though the course elevation map (see below) will be right there with it.

Milestones for my budding cyclist

This photo is from April 18th, which marked the first road ride for DD. She & I took it pretty easy, starting with the straight shot down Columns Drive, a 2.5 mile road which ends at a section of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area. Columns has clearly marked bike lanes, and often has more bike and foot traffic than cars, which makes it the perfect place to start.
Went over all the rules in advance. Don't panic, was my first one. I knew she'd be nervous and trying to turn around to look at cars she could hear behind us. Cars go around us; we go around pedestrians. Always a helmet, no headphones, and the signal for a left hand turn, which was the one we'd be making at the top end of the street.
Full length of Columns, one complete loop of 5k sand/gravel path at Cochran Shoals, followed by a second, smaller loop of 2 miles, then back down Columns to the parking area. Total trip, 10.25 miles, five of which were road.

And, this past weekend, the newly minted 8-year-old gained serious bragging rights over her older brothers with a 20.23 mile ride on the Silver Comet Trail. Only complaining was about not being able to snack on her pack of Soda Shop Jelly Belly Beans except when we stopped for breaks. We also talked about getting her a kids pair of cycling shorts, since she wants to do more 2-3 hour rides with me in the future. (And, she wants a cupcake jersey.) Next year, she'll need to be on her own bike, or we'll need to purchase an actual tandem cycle. That trail-a-bike is awfully heavy, especially once you add 60 lbs of girl.

Next weekend, B2 and I will be running in the Big Peach 5k while the rest of the family is out of town. He's not a fan of the 1-mile fun runs at many of the 5/10k races, but we found out the day of the Run the Reagan Half Marathon, 10k & 5k that he enjoys the 5k distance. Both of us are looking forward to Saturday.

Which reminds me, I need to hop onto Active.com and get him signed up. (I signed up several weeks ago, before travel plans for the spring birthday trip were complete.)

Half #4

Sunday was the ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon. I ran in the Half, but will get to that in a few minutes. Let's start with my not-so-little kid:

B1 participated in the ING Run for Something Better Half Marathon through his middle school. The kids had several weeks to build up miles, then were able to run the final mile of their half marathon on the official course. They received wristbands at four, eight and twelve miles, a t-shirt to wear for Sunday, and a medal upon finishing the final mile.

Sunday night, B1 and I added up his miles for the time of the challenge, and he was at a total of about 23.25, once we added in the mile on the course. I looked at the total and remarked how proud I was of him... not only did he finish, he was almost at a marathon distance. He's asked me about which races are coming up over the next few months, so I think I'll have a running buddy for at least a couple of them.

----

Now, my race. The course was beautiful. The hydration stations were perfectly spaced. The volunteers were amazing. The neighborhood cheering areas were great. (Favorite was the costumes, punny signs and pep band at Poncey Highlands.) But, it was not my best race.

Chip time - 2:23:48; 10:58/mile
Watch time - 2:17:35; 10:30/mile

My official time was 2:23:48, far slower than what I'd hoped. There are several lessons learned from those numbers though, that I plan to carry forward for next year.

• Unless it's an emergency, don't stop at the portaloos before the Half and Full courses split. The lines are too long, and chances are the conditions are disgusting. Almost 10 minutes waiting at last stop before the split. Of the four, only two units were usable. Had I waited two miles more, there'd have been no line, and much less time lost.
• Plan for constant hills. I knew it would be rolling hills, just really hadn't occured to me how very many there were.
• Ignore the weather report. Dress warmer than I need to, and toss items in gear bag, last minute. The sun never came out, the wind picked up, and the temps dropped, instead of climbing into the low-mid 50s. (Next couple things stem from this.)
• Wrap my knee. If it's warmer than 50, I probably won't need it. But on a long run, on the chance that it stays cold, it's going to hurt a lot more if I don't wear it on all those downhills.
• Take body glide along, or wear capris. Goosebumps chafe more than regular old skin.

Good news:

• The practice at pacing paid off. Starting off with a warmup pace of 10:45-11 for the first few miles meant keeping a 27/3 for run/walk intervals was perfect. The transition to a pace around 9:30 went smoothly. Just couldn't make up the time lost in line for the "nature break".
• Recovery is getting easier. I was wiped out Sunday afternoon, but didn't feel the overall stiffness Monday, other than in left knee. Was able to do an easy three on Tuesday at a 9:15 pace.
• Even at 2:23, I beat my time from the comparably cold and hilly TWC Atlanta Thanksgiving Half of 2:24.
  
• Since the average finishing time for women in my age group (30-39) was 2:24:09, I am slightly better than average; which I'll combine with all the learning experience for an overall win.

Calm before the storm

Though considering today's weather, it's more like the storm before the maelstrom. I was hoping to go for an easy 3-4 mile run in my gear for tomorrow's half, just to make sure nothing is uncomfortable and everything I need to carry will fit into all the little skirt and singlet pockets. There's rumbles of thunder out there, and it doesn't look like there'll be a break in the rain at all today.

Normally, I don't mind getting my feet wet. Splashing through puddles is rather therapeutic. But not today, unless I break out the old shoes. Come to think of it, with the three kids cooped up for the day, I might need to splash through a few puddles, just to stay sane. :)

Saw what might be my next running skirt at the Expo. Jiggy Skirts. I didn't get a chance to do more than check out the fabric and cut, since they were too crowded during the demo of a "feature" I place no faith in - something about a little metallic patch in the waistband that's supposed to improve your balance. I think that sounds silly, but what isn't silly is the three pockets, and the way the waistband is built. Two pockets up front, and a larger one in back. Not tiny key pockets either. Pockets which will hold real items. Cute matching tops, too. Prices are pretty good. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the sizing info from their order page, but I sent an email. Fingers crossed on hearing back from them soon.

Still to do today, in prep for tomorrow:

• Set up new playlist for iPhone, starting with 3-5 songs that are lower BPMs. I'll need the help with pacing, lest I forget to do those first two miles as a warm up.
• Make sure there's enough muffins or waffles for breakfast tomorrow. They'd prefer waffles, but muffins can travel in the car, if the kids are slow to get moving.
• Should probably have them set out clothes and shoes tonight, along with sweatshirts and such.
• Prep gear bag for checking. Decided to use DD's old pink backpack. Should be easy to spot among all the black bags Publix handed out. Don't know quite what to pack yet. Should be dry tomorrow, but the expected temperature ranges from 40 at start to the low 50's by the time B1 is running his race, around noon.
• Relace shoes with pretty orange laces, to show support for all the middle schoolers (especially mine) in the Run for Something Better.
• Relace B1's shoes with pretty - I mean manly - orange laces.
• Work out travel & kid juggling details with Dad. He's due back later today, so I have time to get the MARTA cards and map put together before we talk. I don't envy his day. Dropping me off at 5:15 am at MARTA, then getting kids fed & ready, to drop B1 off with school group for their bus ride downtown, then on to the train with kids of questionable morning temperments. And that just covers the schedule up to about 9 am.

Time to get started, since I plan to knock off early tonight, in hopes of getting more than four hours of sleep.

Allergy Woes

Spring allergies are here. We were okay for the first couple weeks, but the sneezing has escalated over the last several days. The yellow coat of dust on cars became noticeable over the weekend. There's a box of tissues in every room, sometimes two. I line the children up for Alavert before breakfast.

Everyone's tired, and easily winded. We have matching purple circles under our eyes. B1 had to break out the inhaler for his asthma. Story time is limited to 10-15 minutes, regardless of where we are in the chapter, due to scratchy throat.

Best news of the week is the weather. There may be some heavy storms, which is not great, but the rain is so very welcome. I selfishly don't even care about the benefit of four consecutive days of rainy weather on the long-term regional drought. Four days of rain means four days of pollen being washed away. Four days closer to the end of extremely high pollen counts.

Four days of rain also means B1 and I have a chance to catch our breath before the ING Half Marathon on Sunday. I'll be running the half - though running might be more walk/run after the week of upper respiratory ick. B1 will be finishing his half. His middle school participated in ING Run for Something Better, and the kids get to finish up their batch of shorter runs with the final 1.1 mile on the half/marathon course. I'm quite proud of B1. He got rather excited about the running, and I'm pretty sure he's over 20 miles for the last several weeks. Hopefully, this excitement will continue into the future.

Since there's not a lot of running for a couple of days, what with the not being able to breathe and all, I'm playing indoors. Trying out a bit of upper body work with the yoga and core. Using a 15 lb kettlebell. So far, I like it. It's rather fun to swing it around, especially if picturing the cartoon "strongman" in my head while doing so. Only thing I'm not so happy about is when the weight slams into or rests on my wrists during a few of the exercises. My hands may be large, almost to the point of being man hands, but I have itty-bitty wrists that are like toothpicks in comparison.

R.O.Y. G.... mud

Sunday's long run was beautiful. Just under nine miles. Picked a great route, which I'm trying to figure out how screenshot & post now. (I shaved about 1/3 mile off the map, just the part takes me to & from home.) Temps climbed from 48 to 54 during my excursion. A couple rolling hills, a few level stretches, easy proximity to Starbucks and other sources of water bottles and restrooms. I ended up stopping at Home Depot, but that's just because I knew the temptation to sit down with a scone and a venti coffee would have been too much for me.


There's a little game I play with the kids whenever we're hiking or at the botanical gardens. It's a competition to find all the colors of the rainbow in the course of the day. We've been doing this since B1 was an only child. Camera phones have made it so much easier than trying to juggle the clunky kodak camera of 10 years ago, so it's now something we'll message to each other from the road, or split into teams during a day trip. (Winning team gets to pick where we eat lunch/dinner, or what type of ice cream we pick up on the way home, if we're not eating out.)

As I passed the first of many butterfly bushes seen on the 8.9 miles, it occured to me that DD would enjoy the flower photos. Her older brothers wouldn't really care, as they're only interested in the game when food is at stake.

First up, the blooms of the REDbud tree:


Freshly planted ORANGE marigolds:


Happy YELLOW flowers on a butterfly bush...

This got me about 1/2 way through the run. I'd been scouting for violets, periwinkle, pansies and the greenest green of lawns on the way out, and figured I'd snap photos of the best on the way back.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO pansies or periwinkle, VIOLET - well, violets. That was the plan.

Somewhere around 5-1/2 miles, on the way to the greenest lawn, I hit a lovely zen state. All I could hear was the sound of feet hitting the pavement. The air was perfect, the sun on my face was warm.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO.... VIOLET... GREEN grass...

...TRIP...

Close up view of green grass, and a deep tire track in the soft dirt, not quite mud.

Totally missed the transition from sidewalk to grassy shoulder. Wasn't hurt, but muddied up elbow, hand, knees, and nose. A very nice lady pulled over in her minivan to make sure I was okay. I thanked her, and let her know it was just dirt. She paused for a moment more, while I brushed off and started running again.

The remaining three miles were uneventful. I held off on snapping photos, and paid attention to the ground 4-6 feet in front of my feet the rest of the way home, to make sure it stayed that way.

The boys enjoyed a laugh at Danger Mom. (I'm known for being rather clumsy.) DD was more supportive, and let me know it would be okay if we found the rest of the colors in our own yard. Which we did.

Rest Day & Bike Maintenance

Ran a long-ish 9.5 miles on Tuesday, and another 4 miles Wednesday. Today should be a rest day.

Except, it's a really beautiful day, 73 and sunny. Perfect for a short ride to Trader Joes. Which I can't do.

Patty (commuter/hybrid) needs a new pair of shoes. I noticed a little bit of cracking around the tread on the back tire last time I hooked up the foot pump. I took a closer look today, while getting ready to clean chain & gears, and there's cracking in the rubber of both tires, in the tread and fine cracks most of the way around the rim.

I'm not sure how long tires are supposed to last, but 2-1/2 years of riding (somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 miles) is how long these tires made it. Don't know how much is regular wear & tear, and how much is exposure to the elements during storage. The bike isn't completely protected on the carport. No rain, but it does get greater swings of temperature and humidity than it would in a garage.

I'll try the replacement over the weekend, while finishing Patty's spring cleaning. Stuck one of the wheels into the truck, and will pick up new tires tomorrow at the Silver Comet Depot. Should pack the road bike, too. It'd be a shame if I didn't go for a quick 20 mile spin while I'm out there.

If getting the new tires popped into the rim, or reattaching the brakes after putting the wheels back on proves to be beyond me, I'll drop her off at the bike shop early next week... and take the opportunity for another SCT ride.

And for dealing with the frustration of a rest day? The dog needs a run. About three miles ought to do it.

Half Training, 3/9-3/15

Monday, 3/9: Yoga/Core, 30 min

Tuesday, 3/10: Easy Bike, 15.75 miles (16.2 mph)

Wednesday, 3/11: Easy Run, 4.6 miles (9:59/mi)

Thursday, 3/12: Easy Run, 3.1 miles (8:54/mi)

Friday, 3/13: Rest

Saturday, 3/14: Silver Comet 10k Race (8:51/mi)

Sunday, 3/15: Rest*

*If mopping up the wet leaves and muddy footprint (twice), couple hours of pushing the cart around the crowded farmers market, three loads of laundry, two to three hours of cooking, and 90 minutes of ironing counts as rest.

Ending on a high note

My Asics 2130s ran their last race today, the Silver Comet 10k. It was cold. It was breezy. It was drizzling.

It was also my fastest 10k to date - 54:59

35-39 Age Group: 29 out of 95
Gender: 136 out of 432
Overall: 539 out of 1,024

They're still going to be the first shoes I reach for when I roll out of bed for an easy three or four miles, and for riverside runs on the crushed gravel trail. But for anything over five miles on concrete/asphalt, the 2130s are out of rotation. It wasn't just the cold wet socks causing aches in the feet this morning.

The ING Half Marathon is March 29th, so I'll be tinkering with my run schedule. Last long run will likely be this coming Tuesday, and then I'll spend the rest of the two weeks running 3-5 miles, every other day, with a bit of time on the bicycle or in yoga.

Yuck.

SATURDAY...FOG AND RAIN 90% LIKELY BREEZY AND CHILLY HIGH 48-54 LOW 44-49

It's been an absolutely gorgeous week. And yet this is what I have to look forward to tomorrow morning, when I have to be outside. Before sunrise. What happened to Spring?

Plus, the weather's rather icky today, so I'm craving comfort food. Will be tough to resist the temptation to order a frosty beer and big plate of red meat and potatoes (or really anything on the menu - it's all very good) during race packet pickup this evening... at 5 Seasons Brewing Company.