What a day. The kids had a snow day today, October 29th. All schools in the district closed and about 2 feet of snow on the ground at home. Craziness, but fun. I was super excited to have them home with me b/c I am supposed to fly out to San Antonio today. I have 100 mile race in Bandera on Halloween that I am extra excited about. It will be hard, but I am feeling ready for this. That has only happened for me at 1 other ultra- Hells Hills in June.
I finished packing my drop-bags today. All four of them. And I packed what I'd need for tonight and tomorrow after, 'cause the not running part isn't too important. All I am missing are a few UD bottles (couldn't pick up because the store closed w/ all the snow) and boiled eggs which I will take care of in SA.
At about 1:30 this afternoon I picked up my giant suitcases, pried the snow sealed trunk up with my frozen hands, and load the kidos into the car. (One thing you should know: We live in a cul-de-sac and snowplows don't go down our street.) We were parked in the drive way b/c I couldn't get the car back into the garage after taking Dan to work this morning- too steep of a snow covered incline. I started the car, backed up, and could go no farther. So I tried turning forward. No luck.
Out of the car and into the garage for snow shovels we went. I instructed the kids to dig around the tires. When they struck ice, I broke it up and moved the ice over. Back in the car. Too bad for me, we didn't get much farther. The Taurus just isn't meant for this!! Time for dig out the car round two. Ugh to getting the same results!
This time, when we were out digging, Everett went and rang a neighbors door. Our neighbor Roger came out to help, thank you GOD and Roger!!!! Before much longer, we were on our way, driving a blazing 15miles an hour through the snowy hood. Once we hit the real streets, driving was much easier because of the snowplows.
All told, I arrived at the airport in plenty of time to check in for my delayed flight. Only I'm on stand by and the flight is full!!! Currently waiting.....please, someone stay in Denver! :)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I'm not tiered...I should be in bed, but no point yet. So why not blog??
Today was an OK day. Went for a nice easy 16mile run after dropping the kidos of at school, having a little nap and an early lunch. I am so in need of a massage right now. (But NO MONEY. What can I say? Moving up here drained our bank account below zero. Sooo worth it.) Being I live on a big hill surrounded by more giant hills, the only why to get in an "easy" run is to force myself to slow down or hop in a treadmill. I opted (as usual) to go slow. Not fun, but with the mountains to look at it was still quite a nice 16 miles. Only my legs are trashed!!! All the hills (mountains, actually!) I've been running have me in need of getting my legs torched by a sports therapist. I'm always a bit envious of the guys who can afford to get massages regularly, buy new running shes every 400miles, run in only non-stinky and hole free running gear, travel the world to races, drive nice cars, have an i-phone or Blackberry...but then I remind myself of why those things aren't in my life......I have 3 beautiful children who I know personally. I get to make homemade meals and bake cookies from scratch. When my house is "messy", I can still have it cleaned top to bottom in less then 3 hours. I get to run 90miles a week and still spend hours with my husband, who makes enough money to support this family of five at his 80 hours every 2 weeks, over-time free, job. Sure I drive a 2004 Torus with 3 torn up booster seats across the backseat. And ya, half my running socks have holes in them. And I promise you, you don't want sit next to me after a run. But all told, I'd pick the life I have. Who needs an i-phone when they have a man who cleans toilets and does dishes at 4 in the morning? No. I think I don't want that massage as bad as I thought I did. I'd rather have the life I have.
Today was an OK day. Went for a nice easy 16mile run after dropping the kidos of at school, having a little nap and an early lunch. I am so in need of a massage right now. (But NO MONEY. What can I say? Moving up here drained our bank account below zero. Sooo worth it.) Being I live on a big hill surrounded by more giant hills, the only why to get in an "easy" run is to force myself to slow down or hop in a treadmill. I opted (as usual) to go slow. Not fun, but with the mountains to look at it was still quite a nice 16 miles. Only my legs are trashed!!! All the hills (mountains, actually!) I've been running have me in need of getting my legs torched by a sports therapist. I'm always a bit envious of the guys who can afford to get massages regularly, buy new running shes every 400miles, run in only non-stinky and hole free running gear, travel the world to races, drive nice cars, have an i-phone or Blackberry...but then I remind myself of why those things aren't in my life......I have 3 beautiful children who I know personally. I get to make homemade meals and bake cookies from scratch. When my house is "messy", I can still have it cleaned top to bottom in less then 3 hours. I get to run 90miles a week and still spend hours with my husband, who makes enough money to support this family of five at his 80 hours every 2 weeks, over-time free, job. Sure I drive a 2004 Torus with 3 torn up booster seats across the backseat. And ya, half my running socks have holes in them. And I promise you, you don't want sit next to me after a run. But all told, I'd pick the life I have. Who needs an i-phone when they have a man who cleans toilets and does dishes at 4 in the morning? No. I think I don't want that massage as bad as I thought I did. I'd rather have the life I have.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Caedmon and a couple memories
Yesterday afternoon I was cleaning the floors while Caedmon (my youngest at 5) was working on his "All About Me" poster for school. He was on a bubble that said "draw your family in here". As he drew, he talked to himself out loud. "First Daddy....I need the brown.....there....He has a penis, so I'll draw that..." At that point I walked over to the table to help Caed out. But He had moved on. "And he has shorts over..." Checking the picture, all I saw was brown Dad in shorts, so I patted Caed's head and went back to mopping. Next came Everett (6 year old brother). When he voiced that he was drawing Everett's privet part, I said, "Caed, you don't need to draw what is under the cloths. Just draw us all in cloths." But he assured me that wasn't right, and he insisted he would cover us all in cloths AFTER drawing us. (!!!!)
This reminded me of two other things Caedmon did years back along these lines. At the age of 2, he made a "boy" angel out of play dough in Bible class. Luckily his teacher was a good friend of mine and fellow mom who got a kick out of it.
Less then a year latter (he was already 3), the Bible story was Adam and Eve. For the craft, they had the 3 year olds glue dye-cut Adam and Eve on a piece of paper. Then the teacher let them draw on faces and handed the kids yarn saying, "Glue the hair on" Caedmon's Adam and Eve were unclothed and post pubescent. I about died!!!!!
This reminded me of two other things Caedmon did years back along these lines. At the age of 2, he made a "boy" angel out of play dough in Bible class. Luckily his teacher was a good friend of mine and fellow mom who got a kick out of it.
Less then a year latter (he was already 3), the Bible story was Adam and Eve. For the craft, they had the 3 year olds glue dye-cut Adam and Eve on a piece of paper. Then the teacher let them draw on faces and handed the kids yarn saying, "Glue the hair on" Caedmon's Adam and Eve were unclothed and post pubescent. I about died!!!!!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
8K Mountain Race
KILLED! But I tried....:)
Dan woke me up about 4:30am this morning for coffee and breakfast. I got dressed, headed down stairs, made an egg-cheese-english muffin sandwich, and ate. We loaded the 3 kids into the car and left for CO Springs a few minutes past 5am.
At about 6:35am I checked in at the start area and then ran my warm up. I was feeling completely hesitant about running this morning. It was raining and I was so not prepared for such a short race. As I stretched at the stating line, I was wishing I was volunteering instead of racing. But alas, we were off. I started out in the 2end row of runners, and started counting how many ladies were ahead of me when we formed a line for the first narrow up around .15 miles in. I was in 16th place. I figured that was a great place for me to be. I could try to hold this spot, and if I felt good after a mile or so, I could start passing. At about .5 miles in, we hit a water station and the hill. Well, I guess it was a "climb", being this was a mountain race, and we went up for about 1.25 miles. I tried to hold my 9ish minute a mile pace. My body wouldn't let me. After running up for almost 1 mile, feeling my legs tighten and my breathing pick up, I decided it was a great time for a walk break. One lady behind me passed at my offer, but the other said "No. This is a good time to walk." I told her I was ready for some down, and she assured me it was coming soon. We turned around at the top, and I let my legs turn over fast for the 1ish mile down before the 2end loop. My GPS had me at under 6's for that stretch both times I went down it. At the turn-around and go back up area, I smiled and cheered at one of the volunteers, who said I was looking too fresh. I told him the darn hill wouldn't let me run up it, so I still had a lot of energy. He laughed, but that is truly the feeling I had. I was trying to make my legs go, and I couldn't. After the race, I learned some of what was going on. But back to the race.
It wasn't too steep of a climb and not at all technical. I would describe it as a fast mountain running course. I wasn't fast, but the course was. My GPS had the total distance at 5.68miles- not the said 5. And the park maps have it at 5.5 or more. I finished in 47:21. 17th place out of like 35 ladies. My husband said he couldn't believe there were that many ladies at this race faster then me, but this race was nothing like what I am good at. It was my first time running in the mountains, my first race in elevation, shorter then my current tempo runs, and completely non-technical trails. All considering, I am feeling like I did well to run those 5.68 miles in under 48mins!!
After the race, I went for a run. I wanted to run to the top of the little mountain I was on, and I wanted to get in at least another 8 miles. (this weeks miles are LOW!!!!) I started up the mountain on the road, b/c I didn't know the trails around this place and I didn't like the idea of running with mountain lions by myself. After going up for about 2 miles, I debated going back down. But dang, that place was beautiful! I just kept my comfy slow pace going up and enjoyed the view. Around 3 miles, the road ended. But there was a wide trail that kept going up. Up I went. At 4.13miles, I was at the top! There were clouds below me and a beautiful valley showing through beneath the clouds. It was breath taking. Running down was crazy! I just ran comfortably, but it was steep...so I was flying! It had taken me about 44mins to get up, and less then 30 to go down. The bottoms of my feet were actually getting hot, which was a bit saddening. I may need to look for a "mountain" shoe to run in.
Speaking of shoes, my Brooks T5's did great for the 8K. In fact, they were just perfect today outside of heating up on the 11mile run after. They weren't slippery on the crushed granite and they held my foot well on the long ups/ downs which kept my toes happy. And being they don't have lugs, the rain didn't slow me down.
Earlier I mentioned that I started walking b/c my breathing was getting hard. After the race and my run, I went up to congratulate the Jr. Man's winner. While talking with him and his dad, I learned a few things about running in Mountains. They said I should let my breathing get hard. I need to force my lugs to take in more oxygen then I am use to. And being this was a short race with a large down, I wish I would have tried that. Too bad, b/c I don't plan on running another short race anytime soon!!!!
Dan woke me up about 4:30am this morning for coffee and breakfast. I got dressed, headed down stairs, made an egg-cheese-english muffin sandwich, and ate. We loaded the 3 kids into the car and left for CO Springs a few minutes past 5am.
At about 6:35am I checked in at the start area and then ran my warm up. I was feeling completely hesitant about running this morning. It was raining and I was so not prepared for such a short race. As I stretched at the stating line, I was wishing I was volunteering instead of racing. But alas, we were off. I started out in the 2end row of runners, and started counting how many ladies were ahead of me when we formed a line for the first narrow up around .15 miles in. I was in 16th place. I figured that was a great place for me to be. I could try to hold this spot, and if I felt good after a mile or so, I could start passing. At about .5 miles in, we hit a water station and the hill. Well, I guess it was a "climb", being this was a mountain race, and we went up for about 1.25 miles. I tried to hold my 9ish minute a mile pace. My body wouldn't let me. After running up for almost 1 mile, feeling my legs tighten and my breathing pick up, I decided it was a great time for a walk break. One lady behind me passed at my offer, but the other said "No. This is a good time to walk." I told her I was ready for some down, and she assured me it was coming soon. We turned around at the top, and I let my legs turn over fast for the 1ish mile down before the 2end loop. My GPS had me at under 6's for that stretch both times I went down it. At the turn-around and go back up area, I smiled and cheered at one of the volunteers, who said I was looking too fresh. I told him the darn hill wouldn't let me run up it, so I still had a lot of energy. He laughed, but that is truly the feeling I had. I was trying to make my legs go, and I couldn't. After the race, I learned some of what was going on. But back to the race.
It wasn't too steep of a climb and not at all technical. I would describe it as a fast mountain running course. I wasn't fast, but the course was. My GPS had the total distance at 5.68miles- not the said 5. And the park maps have it at 5.5 or more. I finished in 47:21. 17th place out of like 35 ladies. My husband said he couldn't believe there were that many ladies at this race faster then me, but this race was nothing like what I am good at. It was my first time running in the mountains, my first race in elevation, shorter then my current tempo runs, and completely non-technical trails. All considering, I am feeling like I did well to run those 5.68 miles in under 48mins!!
After the race, I went for a run. I wanted to run to the top of the little mountain I was on, and I wanted to get in at least another 8 miles. (this weeks miles are LOW!!!!) I started up the mountain on the road, b/c I didn't know the trails around this place and I didn't like the idea of running with mountain lions by myself. After going up for about 2 miles, I debated going back down. But dang, that place was beautiful! I just kept my comfy slow pace going up and enjoyed the view. Around 3 miles, the road ended. But there was a wide trail that kept going up. Up I went. At 4.13miles, I was at the top! There were clouds below me and a beautiful valley showing through beneath the clouds. It was breath taking. Running down was crazy! I just ran comfortably, but it was steep...so I was flying! It had taken me about 44mins to get up, and less then 30 to go down. The bottoms of my feet were actually getting hot, which was a bit saddening. I may need to look for a "mountain" shoe to run in.
Speaking of shoes, my Brooks T5's did great for the 8K. In fact, they were just perfect today outside of heating up on the 11mile run after. They weren't slippery on the crushed granite and they held my foot well on the long ups/ downs which kept my toes happy. And being they don't have lugs, the rain didn't slow me down.
Earlier I mentioned that I started walking b/c my breathing was getting hard. After the race and my run, I went up to congratulate the Jr. Man's winner. While talking with him and his dad, I learned a few things about running in Mountains. They said I should let my breathing get hard. I need to force my lugs to take in more oxygen then I am use to. And being this was a short race with a large down, I wish I would have tried that. Too bad, b/c I don't plan on running another short race anytime soon!!!!
Friday, July 24, 2009
I haven't posted in awhile. Mostly b/c I lost my Mac in the move. But now I have it back!!!! Long story, but Woo-hoo for a happy ending!!!
We have been in CO for over 6 weeks now. I truly love getting to live here. The mountains are breath taking and I am just in shock over how lovely this summer is. I am actually liking summer...something new to me. Running has been wonderful, too. It is cool in the mornings and evenings and warm for most of the day, so I can run any time I get the chance and enjoy it. This weekend I'm running a race. It is an 8k mountain race. Daniel signed me up for it. I have no clue how I will do. I have never run any sort of race like this. I could see doing awesome, but I haven't been training with this race in mind, and it is sorta a top notch race. Money prizes for the top5 finishers and the top 2 earn a spot on a racing team. While I realize I could place in the top 5, I truly don't expect to. I've been focusing on a 100miler in October. Lots of long runs- some easy, some tempo stuff, hills, and fartleks. Nothing under 7 miles. BUT I have put in some awesome fast 27mile trail run... Still, this hard 8k will be just a killer. VERY different from what I am use to. No loss, though. I have enjoyed the down time and mileage drop the last 2 weeks. And I will get to meet some of Colorado's top runners.
(WARNING: Personal info to follow)
Unfortunately this is a bad time for me to race. I always run like crap the week leading up to the start of my cycle. I know this is likely too much info for some, but monthly cycles are a large part of racing, being I have a 1 in 4 chance of a race landing on a "bad" week for me. I hate that I can't run close to the same speeds the week before my cycle. I have tried changing my diet, drinking more, sleeping more, but nothing seems to help. I just can't run as fast this week. But starting on day 1 and some times a day or two before, I am back to 100%. I am hoping Sunday is close enough to day 1 for me to do well. Too bad. Luck of the draw, I guess.
On another personal note, I was happy to see that I can take Effexor XR and train and race legally under USATF rules. I wish I didn't need that med., but it makes all the deference for me. It is funny to me how people so often assume that endurance athletes have it all together. But the truth is, forcing myself to find the strength and focus to train and race ultra events has helped me deal sanely with the rest of my life. Maybe getting to be extrema in one area tames the others. Or maybe getting to prove to myself through training and racing that I am capable of doing and handling so much more then I thought I could gives me the drive to live my everyday life. I don't know exactly why, but I do know that running helps me. My running has changed me and my life in ways I never would have imagined. Unfortunately, running isn't enough. This part is hard for me. I want to be strong enough. I want to be able to pull resources and tap into unseen strength from my Father and other beings, and that be more then enough. There is a song "All of You, is more then enough for, all of me..." That song makes me cry. Oh how I wish that were true. I long for that. But I am made weak...without Effexor, I am far from the athlete, mother, person I believe I was created to be. That is the simple truth. Getting out of bed can be hard, playing with my children imposable. It is something I just don't understand. But I am grateful that God made people smart enough to create this drug and gave my doctor the wisdom to get me to try it. I wish I didn't need it, but I am grateful that I have it.
It's time to go to the park. "What?," you say. "Go to the park at 12:20pm in July?"
Yeppers. I'll get my Diet Mountain Dew, drive my kids to a park, and read while they play. It will be awesome, because the humidity is low and it is likely under 90. :)
We have been in CO for over 6 weeks now. I truly love getting to live here. The mountains are breath taking and I am just in shock over how lovely this summer is. I am actually liking summer...something new to me. Running has been wonderful, too. It is cool in the mornings and evenings and warm for most of the day, so I can run any time I get the chance and enjoy it. This weekend I'm running a race. It is an 8k mountain race. Daniel signed me up for it. I have no clue how I will do. I have never run any sort of race like this. I could see doing awesome, but I haven't been training with this race in mind, and it is sorta a top notch race. Money prizes for the top5 finishers and the top 2 earn a spot on a racing team. While I realize I could place in the top 5, I truly don't expect to. I've been focusing on a 100miler in October. Lots of long runs- some easy, some tempo stuff, hills, and fartleks. Nothing under 7 miles. BUT I have put in some awesome fast 27mile trail run... Still, this hard 8k will be just a killer. VERY different from what I am use to. No loss, though. I have enjoyed the down time and mileage drop the last 2 weeks. And I will get to meet some of Colorado's top runners.
(WARNING: Personal info to follow)
Unfortunately this is a bad time for me to race. I always run like crap the week leading up to the start of my cycle. I know this is likely too much info for some, but monthly cycles are a large part of racing, being I have a 1 in 4 chance of a race landing on a "bad" week for me. I hate that I can't run close to the same speeds the week before my cycle. I have tried changing my diet, drinking more, sleeping more, but nothing seems to help. I just can't run as fast this week. But starting on day 1 and some times a day or two before, I am back to 100%. I am hoping Sunday is close enough to day 1 for me to do well. Too bad. Luck of the draw, I guess.
On another personal note, I was happy to see that I can take Effexor XR and train and race legally under USATF rules. I wish I didn't need that med., but it makes all the deference for me. It is funny to me how people so often assume that endurance athletes have it all together. But the truth is, forcing myself to find the strength and focus to train and race ultra events has helped me deal sanely with the rest of my life. Maybe getting to be extrema in one area tames the others. Or maybe getting to prove to myself through training and racing that I am capable of doing and handling so much more then I thought I could gives me the drive to live my everyday life. I don't know exactly why, but I do know that running helps me. My running has changed me and my life in ways I never would have imagined. Unfortunately, running isn't enough. This part is hard for me. I want to be strong enough. I want to be able to pull resources and tap into unseen strength from my Father and other beings, and that be more then enough. There is a song "All of You, is more then enough for, all of me..." That song makes me cry. Oh how I wish that were true. I long for that. But I am made weak...without Effexor, I am far from the athlete, mother, person I believe I was created to be. That is the simple truth. Getting out of bed can be hard, playing with my children imposable. It is something I just don't understand. But I am grateful that God made people smart enough to create this drug and gave my doctor the wisdom to get me to try it. I wish I didn't need it, but I am grateful that I have it.
It's time to go to the park. "What?," you say. "Go to the park at 12:20pm in July?"
Yeppers. I'll get my Diet Mountain Dew, drive my kids to a park, and read while they play. It will be awesome, because the humidity is low and it is likely under 90. :)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
EVERYONE: send hate mail toThe Green Movers..J/K...sorta
AH! I am a bit fed up with the Green Moving company. They are, I am afraid, the WORST moving company around! First they said they would show up Wednesday June 3erd b/w 10 and Noon to pack us. They showed up at 3:15pm. The foremen then did a walk through of our house and said the total price to move us would be about $6,000, maybe $6,400...not the same number they gave us on the phone, but we decided to leave stuff behind to try and stay under $6,000. The foreman spent about 90% of his time at my house on the phone, talking to someone in another language. The other 3 guys did most of the packing...only 2 of them had never packed a house before and were getting instructions as they went (read:slow and they broke stuff. Yes, they did. They broke pictures.). Also, at least 2 of the 4 guys took a smoke break every hour(Um...GREEN movers?). When Dan asked them not to smoke in the house (DUH!) they moved to the front yard, where they LEFT THEIR BUTTS IN MY YARD!!!! Finally, at 1am, they finished packing us. That is when we were told to sign a paper agreeing to a price of 8,600 dollars. What? No thanks. I asked them to please start taking boxes off the truck, but the foreman refused. Instead he said he was sure this situation would be handled to our satisfaction in the next day. He told us our things would likely arrive in Colorado on Tuesday the 9th, but he couldn't promise anything in less then 10 days. The movers left, with most of our stuff, but not everything in the walk through by a long shot, in their truck, for Dallas.
The next day, after lots of time on the phone, they had dropped the price to 8,450 dollars and expected us to be happy. Yah, right. When all was said and done we agreed to pay 7,900 dollars for their services...which weren't worth it, but what choice did we have? They had our things in Dallas!
Now here we are on Saturday, June 13th. Unless our stuff left this morning, it is still in Dallas, waiting for "the next truck" to leave for Colorado. This is not cool of them. I feel like they are a bunch of lier's and cheaters. Which totally sucks, b/c I normally like people. I WANT to like people. Maybe individually these people are great, but when they call themselves the "Green Movers", who plant trees to move you, they suck hard!
Oh. And they won't tell us the weight of the truck. I am soo sure they packed us poorly..but that is more of some of the same from above.
The next day, after lots of time on the phone, they had dropped the price to 8,450 dollars and expected us to be happy. Yah, right. When all was said and done we agreed to pay 7,900 dollars for their services...which weren't worth it, but what choice did we have? They had our things in Dallas!
Now here we are on Saturday, June 13th. Unless our stuff left this morning, it is still in Dallas, waiting for "the next truck" to leave for Colorado. This is not cool of them. I feel like they are a bunch of lier's and cheaters. Which totally sucks, b/c I normally like people. I WANT to like people. Maybe individually these people are great, but when they call themselves the "Green Movers", who plant trees to move you, they suck hard!
Oh. And they won't tell us the weight of the truck. I am soo sure they packed us poorly..but that is more of some of the same from above.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Colorado!!
We are here! And so far, I am loving it. I lost my computer, the moving guys haven't called giving us an ETA on the arrival of or stuff, but I don't think anything could steel the happiness I feel over getting to live here. When we got here last night, I was wishing for a thicker sweatshirt and jeans. I am just in awe over this. It is June and beautiful out! Thank you God for Colorado!
The kids are loving our house here. It is 2 story and has a walkout basement. they just ran circle through the house for a full thirty minutes last night. I couldn't believe how excited they were and are. I will try to post some pictures soon...but being I don't have a computer at home right now, it may be awhile. Thank you to all of you for the prayers and emails. And THANK YOU to Mike and Raena for helping us clean out the house Monday!!!! You two are such great friends. we will be missing you a lot.
The kids are loving our house here. It is 2 story and has a walkout basement. they just ran circle through the house for a full thirty minutes last night. I couldn't believe how excited they were and are. I will try to post some pictures soon...but being I don't have a computer at home right now, it may be awhile. Thank you to all of you for the prayers and emails. And THANK YOU to Mike and Raena for helping us clean out the house Monday!!!! You two are such great friends. we will be missing you a lot.
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