Fit Family

Seven Minutes

2012-01-16T09:06:00.000-08:00

This morning I tried out Dr Oz's Seven Minute workout and it was great! Sometimes I can only manage to sit on the couch and drink coffee and stare at the news, but I honestly think I might start trying to squeeze this in every morning - or at least a few mornings a week. Its all the great yoga moves I love, but concise and to the point. I can really see how this would benefit a daily morning routine. Check it out!

Dr Oz's Smart Move of the Week Get A Daily Dose Of Vigorous Exercise | Parade.com

Our Second Very Veggie Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe we have now been vegetarian for over 1.5 years. We have been exploring some great new recipes and our veggie fare has really expanded. The Thanksgiving menu was as follows:

Stuffing (recipe modified from Giada)
Mashed Potatoes with Vegan Gravy (recipe from www.vegkitchen.com )
Zucchini al Forno (recipe from Giada)
Rosemary Bread
Steamed Green Beans with REAL butter
Stuffed Celery (I am not sure if my family created this; I seem to be the only one who likes it!)
Cranberry sauce
Corn (from a can, requested by Gina)
Cassada Cake (lovingly prepared by Jerry)

As you can see, we pretty much had standard Thanksgiving food sans the turkey. I never miss the turkey. Yes, it smells great, but it always made me sleepy and did strange things to my stomach. We are just fine without it. After we ate, we took the dog and went for a wonderful walk around Hudson Springs Park.

My blog has been quiet. I have not had much to say. The fall was not the happiest time around here. It sort of sounded like a country music song: my neighbor died, the car broke down, the days got short, the money ran out, etc etc. And on top of it all I did something strange to my knee/leg back in September and am just now starting to feel comfortable running again. I saw an ortho guy who looked at me like I was crazy. We could not reproduce the pain in his office so apparently I was just imagining the whole thing. Whatever. I will slowly come back and thoroughly appreciate every step I take while doing so.

Abby had an amazing cross country season for her freshman year of high school. She earned her Varsity Letter and PR'd at 22.18. The season was super muddy.

Gina offering support after the Woodridge Race at CVNP

Gina modeling new boots in the middle of the course

Muddy but relieved to have THAT over!

Gina has decided to not swim for the high school this year. It was a difficult decision for her. She really did not enjoy last year at all. She made a pro/con list and it became pretty obvious what she should do. Now she has embarked on a new path and is happier than ever. She is volunteering at the Humane Society and tutoring younger kids after school.

Jerry will run a 50K in January. After that we will make our plans for spring and summer. So far we have college visits, a trip to Florida to see the Harry Potter stuff at Universal, and a return to the Adirondacks to look forward to in 2012!

Summer Projects

2011-08-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

We started the summer with a long list of projects! First and foremost was building a proper wooden fence in the backyard for Mia and any future dog we may get. We documented the fun-filled weekend process and you can watch the resulting video here on Jerry's blog.

We also promised Abby a re-do of her bedroom. She chose a beautiful color called Sunporch and did most of the painting herself. New bedding and drapes were also involved, as was a major clean up of all the little nooks and crannies of her room!

We celebrated Gina's 16th birthday in July. That was a big celebration and involved planning a small, yet special, party for her and about 10 friends. Lots of candy and sparklers! We have spent a fair amount of time teaching her to drive. I will not include a photo of that - I am sure you can imagine the white knuckles and terrified faces all on your own.

Abby has been practicing with the high school cross country team since the middle of June. This has been somewhat time consuming since the scheduled runs are all in parks at least 20 minutes away. Our efforts to carpool were not so successful, but that just meant that I had to get up and go run also. It worked out great! We would pull in the parking lot. She would get out and join her team. I would sneak out of the car and run in the opposite direction so as not to embarrass her! I got in a ton of great running that way and in some of our most beautiful parks and trails. I am so looking forward to the high school season and seeing how the team does this year. Friday night football games, Saturday morning cross country meets. It's gonna be awesome!

I made a rather large project out of planning a very small vacation. We did a quick trip through PA and NY. The highlights being a stop in Letchworth Park to view some awesome waterfalls and gorges. We spent the night at the Glen Iris Inn (in two separate rooms!) and enjoyed a great vegan dinner in the restaurant.

From there we went on to Ithaca for more waterfalls and an amazing dinner at the Moosewood Restaurant - well known for their cookbooks and vegetarian fare. It did not disappoint and was well worth the drive to say we have been there!

Our last and very spontaneous stop was at Farm Sanctuary. The picture says it all! It was the perfect ending to our mini-vacation to spend some time with farm animals at an organization which promotes their well-being and rescue from abuse. The more I learn about the meat industry the more commited I am to this vegetarian lifestyle. I have to thank my daughters for asking me where our food comes from and what has been done to it before it hits our table.

And here we are this past weekend volunteering at the Burning River 100-mile Endurance Run. Jerry has completed this race twice. He has run it as a pacer. We have been his crew and have spectated as much as possible. Now we can add that we have manned an aid station together! We worked at mile 28 from 7 am until 2:30 pm and really enjoyed giving back to the sport in this way. Awesome fellow volunteers and the runners are always so inspiring. It still boggles my mind that someone can run that far!

Caveman Crawl Trail 5K

2011-06-17T12:00:00.000-07:00

I kind of thought things would slow down a bit with Gina in Italy for three weeks, but that has not been the case. Abby and I have been buzzing around getting in some fabulous runs in preparation for the official start of unofficial high school practices for her team. We ran the Buckeye Trail a lot through South Chagrin and Bedford. We saw a huge snapping turtle laying eggs! We got lost a couple of times without Jerry leading the way, but we always managed to eventually find our way along the blue blazes.

Practice has now started for her and I will definitely miss our time on the trails together. I have a feeling she will eventually get tired of waking up early to run with the cool kids and will opt for an evening run with her slowpoke parents. At least I hope so.....I find it hard to explain what a joy it is to watch her bound down the trail in front of me. Plus I think she scares all the snakes away.

The above photo was taken last Sunday, June 12th. Jerry had traveled to Pennsylvania sans support and successfully completed the Laurel Highlands 77-mile Ultra. You can read his report here. We are super proud of him and promise to go next year IF he does it again! Abby and I ran the Caveman Crawl Trail 5K at the West Woods in Geauga County. It was a blast! Abby ran a 25.40 and I was about a minute behind her. It was hilly and I was on high alert the whole time - I think my brain was working harder than my body: roots, mud, people, uphill, downhill, where is Abby, how much longer!? Somehow, Jerry managed to beat us home and it was a nice moment to grab a photo of him with his wooden trail marker replica awarded to all finishers and Abby with her second place medal around her neck. The stories flew around all day. The only thing missing was Gina, but she is apparently full of stories for us upon her return Sunday.

The Opposite of Peace

2011-06-01T05:37:00.000-07:00


Andiamo!

Gina left for her 3-week adventure in Italy on Monday. I knew that the sermon at church on Sunday would hold something special for me. It seems that always happens - before a big event it feels like our pastor is speaking directly to me. So when he announced a few weeks ago that the new sermon series would cover the Fruit of the Spirit, I quickly counted on my fingers to the last Sunday in May: love, joy, peace. Awesome - a sermon on peace right before my baby girl leaves on her first big trip across the pond.

Pastor Coffey did not disappoint me. He never does. It takes ALOT to hold my attention for half an hour. So when he started off by saying that the opposite of peace is worry, I was hooked. I am a B.I.G. worrier, especially when it comes to my family. I won't try to paraphrase the sermon but if you are a worrier, click on the link to our church and you can listen to it at your leisure. The basic points for me were 1). I am not driving the car (which translates into I am not in control) and 2). This story ends well (which translates into God cares for me and worrying serves no purpose and never changes an outcome).

So off Gina went covered in love, joy and peace! I made a promise to myself not to worry over her. The first text message early Tuesday morning indicated a safe arrival. It was punctuated with exclamation points and smiley faces. Half a day later, the next text said the words every mother fears: my tummy is not 100%. No exclamation point, no smiley face. I started to worry - but only for a minute. There was nothing I could do to help her. She would have to deal with this on her own. I have mentioned previously the exorcist-like sounds she makes when she throws up. I prayed for the family she is with and hoped for the best. Maybe it was just nerves and her stomach would settle down. This morning she texted this: What a night! I threw up 6 times but L was really helpful and I feel better now. Kept the food simple just finished pasta biana and cherries for lunch. Now A feels sick so shes sleeping but we talked italian during lunch very fun having a great time! Will call tonight!

So see, I didn't need to worry. She made it through with God "driving the car." The story ended well and it even had lots of exclamation points! I am sure the rest of her trip is going to be incredible.

Earth Day Marathon!

2011-04-26T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Earth Day Marathon was April 17 in BEAUTIFUL Gambier, Ohio. Despite torrential rain on Saturday, the forecast was pretty good for Sunday. Temps in the high 30s, low 40s but winds predicted up to 30 mph. They nailed the forecast and it was good to be mentally prepared for the bashing that strong in-your-face winds can provide. I managed to figure out from the course map that there would be a headwind for miles 4-8 and then again from miles 19-26.    I had no major goals but to enjoy the day, be friendly, and stay positive. Mission accomplished with a 4:21 finish which was almost but not quite a personal worst. The course was absolutely beautiful! Cows on a grassy green hillside lit up by peaks of sunshine and blue sky - I was in farm girl heaven!

This race had to have the most friendly runners on earth. I can probably count on one hand the people who did not speak to me as we crossed paths. The double out and back course was great.   There were 260 folks running the half and 117 running the full marathon. Being able to see people in both directions was a very very nice distraction. Even the lead runners had a nice little something to say to me when we passed!

When things got a little rough in the last 7 miles I starting thinking of our church and decided that I could just go ahead and have a little church of my own. Pastor Brandon would say, " I was gettin' my church on!" I sang a little Newsboys (out loud - no one was around), I said good morning to the cows, and then I gave myself a little sermon: Just keep going, don't get negative, this will eventually end. I closed with Amazing Grace. This past Sunday was Easter and Amazing Grace (David Crowder style) sounded so much better with a worship band and 400 people belting it out!

I actually passed a few people in that last stretch. I ended up being the 8th female of 37 AND I WON MY AGE GROUP!   As I approached the finish, I saw Jerry with the dog paw sign. I saw the girls run towards the track which I hoped meant they were going to do the final 0.2 miles around the track with me. I was so happy to see them and have them join me for the finish.

What a happy day! Here are some pictures Gina and Abby took throughout the day.

Here we are at the start! I am empowered by the fact that Gina let me borrow her sweatpants! It already feels like a great day.

About mile 4 and already happy that I wore shorts and not tights.

Babs and Beans on the train!

Of course, Jerry could not refuse playing on the train either!

Approaching mile 13. I'll just carry this drink with me!

Mile 20ish. Jerry FINALLY remembers my chapstick! Notice the lack of a crowded course?

A curb approaching mile 26??!! Then a small, steep downhill??!! Ouch.......

Best. Feeling. Ever.

The haul: Finishers Medal, Finishers Mug, Pine Seedling, Socks, and a Hat. Not to mention the tech tee and sunscreen from packet pick-up. Not bad for a $50 registration fee and four months of running in crappy weather! I'd do it again......

Breakin' 25

2011-04-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the 39th Cleveland Spring Classic in Strongsville. Last year all four of us participated and came home with t-shirts and trophies. This year Abby was the only one to represent and she did us proud!

I had put off registering since April is to be a crazy month, but early in the week Abby asked when the race was and indicated that she would really like to go again this year.   I signed her up that night.

I even made the drive to Strongsville on Friday to pick up her packet to ensure that she would get a small t-shirt. In the past we have had notoriously bad luck with races running out of small size shirts. She is tiny and an adult medium would never make it. She said to me later in the day, "Where do people who don't run get their t-shirts?" We decided the answer to that is vacations and bat miztvahs.

Saturday morning we saw Jerry off on a rather long training run and then we headed west. It was a nice cool morning with a very fine drizzle in the air. Gina even dragged herself out of bed to watch Abby run. This race has free registration for kids under 14 so there were about 4 or 5 buses from Cleveland schools. There were 27 girls in Abby's 1-14 age group but she held them off and crossed the line in 24.36 and was handed a nice 1st place trophy for her shelf. Her goal going in was to break 25 minutes for the first time so this is her new PR.

From there it was on to Starbucks for mocha and a well-deserved blueberry scone. It was a great day for her - no puking, gagging or other stomach malfunctions. We hope to do lots of racing this summer and she has definitely inspired me to try and go a little faster now! She will have to drop a full 2 minutes to reach my 5K PR, but I am pretty confident that will eventually happen. Sniff....

Today Gina participated in the Swim for Diabetes. She was not feeling well but somehow managed to swim 200 laps (5000 yards)!   Another great week of family fitness!

Milestones and Goals

2011-04-04T04:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 5 miles with Jerry
Monday: 4 miles
Tuesday: 14 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles treadmill
Friday: 10 miles
Saturday: 4 miles

Total: 41 miles

Sunday: 20 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles with local momma-speedster Jackie
Wednesday: 8 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 13 miles

Total: My First FIFTY MILE week!

WooHoo! I did not plan to run a 50 mile week but while doing the math in my head during the last mile of saturday's long run, I realized that I would have 49 miles for the week. It did not matter that it would be a high mileage record for me, I needed to do one more mile and make it 50. I know that a 50-mile week is poppycock to lots of runners out there, but for me it is a new milestone. So the last 3 weeks of training went really well at 45, 41, and 50 miles per week. It's taper time. My goal for the marathon: Enjoy and Finish.

The twenty mile run stunk though. We had spent the morning down in the Valley cheering on many friends during the Fools Run 50K, especially my pal V who came from Maryland to run her first trail run. It was super cold and windy although the sunshine was awesome. Here we are after the finish. She makes everything look so easy! A pot of coffee at our house later, and we once again said good-bye to each other. Then I changed and headed out for the dreaded 20-miler. Jerry joined me for the first 10 miles. That was nice. The second 10 miles were torture! I was beat down by the wind and solitude. I hate it when that happens.

Abby will have her first track meet this week. She did a pretty nice job keeping up with her running over spring break. A 6:40 mile on the treadmill kept her motivation up. She has some nice goals set for track this year. I think her 1600 PR is 6:32 so she is fairly certain she will crack that.

Gina has been having a good old time during her break from swimming. She set a goal that she would walk or run at least one mile every day during the season of Lent. She has not missed a day and has covered some nice ground. She is also doing push-ups everyday and whatever else she can come up with - exercise ball, uphill lunges, etc etc. She is a pretty funny girl and listening to her find new muscles has been quite humorous. I know that swimming is a GREAT sport, but it is not weight-bearing exercise and some of those muscles could use some strengthening. So we are hitting the bike path as much as possible. Our walk on Saturday evening was great - we had seen Jane Eyre at the theater which set the girls off on perfecting their British accents. I spent the entire walk smiling and giggling to myself as they carried on their rather silly conversation: As do I sister, Quite Right, Oh you vex me, and so on and so forth........

We also passed our one-year anniversary of being vegetarian! That feels really great!

The other milestone is that Gina now officially can drive! What a strange feeling to sit in the passenger seat as your teenager takes the wheel. I think I was sweatier after that event than when I did the 20-miler! She actually did a great job, but we have a lot of work to do before hitting the roads for real. For now we are sticking to parking lots and the roads that connect the schools and anywhere else with limited traffic. But if you live locally - consider yourself warned!

Hello Spring!

2011-03-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 3.2 miles treadmill
Tuesday: 8 miles
Wednesday: 5.5 miles
Thursday: 4 miles
Friday: 12 miles
Saturday: 20 minutes yoga

Total: 32.7 miles

Sunday: 4 miles treadmill
Monday: 5 miles 15 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 10 miles
Wednesday: 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 8 miles treadmill
Friday: 10 miles treadmill
Total: 37 miles

Sunday: 5.5 miles
Monday: 4 miles with Abby!
Tuesday: 10 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 18 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Total: 45.5 miles

Spring is definitely in the air. My purple crocus flowers are blooming in the front yard and this morning I heard the spring peepers along the bike trail. As I write this I have the office window open and the sun is shining. Oh, if it would only last!

Things have been a bit chaotic this month. I like to keep it positive around here so I am just going to list the big things swirling around our house:

Our cute, adorable cat Gilbert has decided to pee in the basement - not in either of the two litter boxes but in random spots of the carpet in the newly finished basement. Argh! Please stop little buddy - we love you and think you're are the best cat ever! Is something bothering you?

I have started a class through the University of Minnesota on Prenatal Development and it's Influence on Childhood. I need CECs for my postpartum doula certification and this information is perfect, however, it seems as though it will be a bit more time consuming than I thought. It's been a long time since I had homework deadlines and doing the reading and writing online is new stuff for an old school girl.

This morning I sent an email to register Gina for Drivers' Education classes in April. I just can't believe we are in that phase. Good Lord, please help us! I let her get behind the wheel in our big old church parking lot before the Saturday night service. We went round and round, forward and back, stopped and started, and had a good laugh at two geese who decided to go after each other as Gina approached them at 5 mph. They apparently are as dumb as they look.

Speaking of dumb animals (and I do love all God's creatures but some of them are lacking in common sense, yes?) I killed a mole in the backyard on Wednesday. I am so sorry little mole, but you wrecked havoc in our backyard all winter. When the snow melted it looked like a minefield back there with big tunnels and clumps of dirt everywhere. When I saw you out in broad daylight I knew I had to take action. I'm Italian, I have a shovel, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Track has started for Abby and for the first time ever she had sore muscles. She will again run the 1600 and the 800. She was also inducted into the 8th grade Honor Corps Wednesday night. What a LONG ceremony that was. Finally they read the excerpt from Abby's essay and she walked across the stage. She looked so beautiful, gimping along in her dress with sore calf muscles! I was super proud! Yea to the Babs!

Gina also had an awards ceremony that night so we had to split up. Jerry attended with her and was there to see her capture her second Varsity swimming letter. Yea to the Bean! She can now focus on getting herself ready for the big trip to Italy this summer with her friend. Andiamo!

My marathon is one month away. I am feeling a bit ill-prepared but mentally okay for the challenge. If I could maintain the pace I kept yesterday for 18 miles I would be looking at a 4:10 or so finish. That would be okay. It's still a marathon no matter how you slice it.

Lastly, about a year ago we contemplated a minor update of the bathroom that the girls use. At that time we decided to hold off, but now it is officially time to get that project rolling. Pretty much everything you would need to re-do a bathroom is now stacked in the office: sink, faucet, floor tiles, paint, towel bar, vanity top, and shower curtain.. All we need is time. A word to the wise though: think long and hard before you buy a granite vanity top online! I know it was not a smart thing to do, but after 6 long weeks of emails and phone calls our counter top finally arrived and I must say that it is absolutely beautiful! But next time I will just go to Home Depot.

And I will leave you with this little article on Bananas because I am still seeing those rotten old banana peels everywhere I go!

High Water & Bananas

2011-03-02T10:08:00.000-08:00

Tuesday: 4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Wedensday: 16 miles
Thursday: 4 miles, 20 minutes yoga
Saturday: 8 miles

Total: 32 miles

Just as the ice was almost gone, the rains came down and now my standard running route is completely submerged under water! We have all had to be a bit creative the past few weeks - yesterday I was finally able to venture to one of my favorite places which has been impossible to get to because of the thick and crunchy snow. It was great to see that trail again, but everywhere I looked there seemed to be a rotten old banana peel! It kept my mind busy - ice, snow, mud, bananas, and yellow crime scene tape blocking off the trail because of flooding. I was naughty and went underneath just to take a peek and yes, it was definitely not passable unless you happened to have a kayak with you.

I know that spring is right around the corner - the signs are everywhere! Technically less than three weeks till the vernal equinox. Soon we will change the clocks forward and we will be engulfed in daylight. The flowers will bloom, the Gurneys Seed catalog will arrive, and Jerry will fire up the lawn mower.

Spring is coming - Hallelujah!

Icy Obstacles

2011-02-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

Monday: 4 miles treadmill
Tuesday: 5 miles treadmill
Wednesday: 10 miles treadmill
Friday: 7 miles treadmill

Total: 26 miles treadmill

The ice really stayed thick last week and forced me to stay inside and use the treadmill. Besides the ice, it was just a tremendously busy week with family things: Abby performed in the 8th grade play and Gina had High School swimming sectionals on Saturday. My parents visited which was great! There was much to do and no time to navigate the treacherous ice or crunchy snow.

This week's training schedule called for a 15 mile run so I was elated to see the weather forecast for 50s and 60s later in the week, but I HAD to do my long run on Wednesday to work around Jerry's training schedule, my work days and another busy weekend. I was a little disappointed that the morning temp on Wednesday was still a windchill of 18 but much of the ice had melted away. I trudged through three laps of a 5-mile out and back from our house. I was just happy to be outside regardless of the ridiculously slow pace caused by three large residual icy patches.

One of the highlights from my run was the thumbs up from the mail man as I finished up the last lap. That made me smile! I also enjoyed the fact that there was little or no wind. The real highlight though was the little green sprout of hyacinth that I noticed in our landscaping as I returned home. Woo Hoo! Nothing says spring is around the corner like the first sign of greenery popping up through the ground.

Gina had a great 100 backstroke swim in the University of Akron pool where sectionals were held. She was super nervous. I was very sorry that I could not go but Jerry went and I attended the third performance of the 8th grade play. Anyways, Gina hoped to go under 1:12 and did that and more by posting a new PR of 1:10.83. She was much relieved.

On Sunday, Abby joined me for her first official run outdoors since the Turkey Trot in November! We did 4-miles on the bike path at a nice and easy pace. Oh youth - how nice it would be to not run for 3 months and then just easily cruise through 4 straight miles! Track will start next month so I am hoping for a few more nice runs with her before she starts leaving me in the dust!

Today we are venturing over to Baldwin-Wallace college to see Rent. It will be great to see a live performance of this great show. Last time I watched the DVD was while running 8 miles or so on the treadmill. This will be much better!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

2011-02-09T10:22:00.000-08:00

Monday: 4 mile run, 20 minutes yoga
Tuesdsay: 8 mile treadmill
Wednesday: 4.7 mile treadmill
Friday: 13 miles treadmill
Saturday: 2 miles treadmill

Total Miles: 31.7

Yes that was me running a half marathon on the treadmill in the basement last Friday. It actually was not that bad - Gina was home convalescing from a terrible food day and I didn't mind being in the basement in case she needed something. The two hours actually passed by fairly quickly. What did I do? Well, I listened to my ipod and broke up the run into sections. Seven miles, bathroom break, three more miles, boredom break, and then a final three miles.   By the time I was finished I was devoid of deep thoughts and that, my friends, was lovely.

There is not much more to report on the fitness front.   I failed miserably at yoga last week when I attempted a different instructional you tube video. I shall not name names, but my back did not appreciate the morning stretch that this instructor beckoned me to do. I hobbled to the cabinet and took a naproxen and hoped for the best. It has now been a week and things feel normal again. Whew.

Anyways, I wanted to share this great vegetarian chili recipe I found in the Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. It was wonderful and easy!

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili   (vegan and serves 6)

2 medium-large sweet potatoes
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
One 32-ounce can black beans (drained and rinsed)
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
One 4-ounce can chopped mild green chiles
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
salt

1. Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until just firm. When cool, peel and cut into 1/2 inch dice. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in large soup pot. Add the onion and garlic and saute over medium heat until golden. Add the red pepper, beans, tomatoes, chiles, cumin, and oregano. Bring to simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and continue to simmer until vegetables are tender.

3. Season lightly with salt. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

For more on Nava check out the website:   www.vegkitchen.com

Well, done.

2011-01-31T07:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 4 mile run
Monday: 50 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Saturday: 7 mile run

Sunday: 4 mile run
Monday: 4 mile run, 30 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 6.4 mile run
Wednesday: 15 minutes yoga
Thursday: 25 minutes yoga
Friday: 12 mile run
Saturday: 4 mile run

Two week total: 51.4 miles (All outside!!)

I am super happy to have been able to run outside for the past two weeks. YES the temps were near zero. YES it was cold. NO it did not bother me. I grew up in Western New York. My lungs probably turned to iron by the time I was in second grade. It seriously does not bother me to breathe in the cold air.   I just slow down my pace a bit and pay very close attention to my footing. Most of my runs lately can be divided into two categories: Well done and Well, done.

Friday's 12 miler was well done and I was happy to not have to do that one on the treadmill. I just finished up today's 4 miles and entered the house and mumbled to the dog, "Well, that's done."   A different day, a different run. Sometimes they feel good, sometimes they don't. That's just the way life is.

But back to that cold weather! This time of year really makes me thankful for my snowy childhood south of Buffalo. Our days were filled frolicking in the snow during extra long winters. We had snowmobiles, snowshoes, skis and sleds. I can not remember ever being told that it was too cold to go out and play or that I had to come in before some body part froze off.

I rarely let temperature alone stop me from running outside. Icy and/or windy conditions are the things that will make me head to the basement and get on the treadmill. Unfortunately, both of those lovely weather items are in the forecast for the week. I am supposed to run 13 miles this weekend! I hope there will be a small opportunity for me to get out. Otherwise, I may have to rearrange the training schedule a little bit!

Earth Day Challenge!

2011-01-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

I've had this race on my radar for a couple of years and I am finally going to go for it! The date is April 17 in Gambier, Ohio. It's a small race: 120 in the marathon and twice that in the half marathon. The start and finish are at the Kenyon College Athletic complex and before you say anything - this is NOT a college visit! This is going to be a chance for me to have a nice long run in central Ohio on hopefully a beautiful spring day. No pressure, no big goals, just breathing in some fresh air and stretching out these middle aged momma legs. With any luck, I will come home with a nice shirt, a hand-crafted mug or medal, and a pine seedling!

Sunday: 4 miles
Monday: 4.3 miles treadmill, 20 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 30 minutes yoga
Wednesday 4.8 miles treadmill
Friday: 9 miles treadmill
Saturday: 2.5 miles treadmill

Is it me or is January flying by? I am grabbing at any chance I can to get outside and run on the bike path. Friday's 9 miles on the treadmill left me feeling a bit like a hamster on a wheel. I broke it into two 45-minute sessions and passed the time watching way too much TLC. Next time I am stuck on the treadmill for over an hour I will put in a movie! "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" just has no purpose being a TV show. I mean, really? You didn't know? Come on.........

One Eleven Eleven

2011-01-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Our day started with the realization that today's date is one of those fun ones. That always gets things off to a good start.

Speaking of numbers and getting off to a good start, I managed to get some nice running in last week to start the new year.

Sunday: 6 miles
Monday: 5 miles
Tuesday: 30 minutes yoga
Wednesday: 10 mile run
Thursday: 3 miles treadmill, 20 minutes yoga
Friday: 6 miles treadmill

I also finally tallied up the numbers from 2010. I ran a total of 1, 253 miles. That was 80 miles less than 2009 but still satisfying. I think I ran one 5K, one 10K, two half marathons and one full marathon. Since I don't consider myself a "racer", those numbers are okay with me. My t-shirt drawer is stuffed full of race shirts and a 5K can pretty much kill a Saturday morning, so I tend to stay home unless it's a race I want Gina and/or Abby to run for the experience.

Since I usually run about 9 minutes/mile, that would mean I ran for about eight full days in 2010!

I also added up my documented time doing yoga. Unfortunately I only came up with about 30 hours. I was hoping for more! I was very inconsistent and went months at a time without so much as one sun salutation or downward dog. I will try to do better this year. The older I get, the more I really NEED the things that yoga provides.

My yoga practice has consisted solely of the free weekly class on Yoga Today . Sometimes I think the one hour class is just too much for me to commit to so I end up talking myself out of it. However, recently I discovered many yoga today videos on You Tube that are much shorter and easier to tackle. Abby and I did three of them last night! We finished up with the video below and felt great. She commented about being able to breathe so much easier and I felt totally relaxed. Try it out!

Six Mile Swim

2011-01-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Gina, now officially 15.5 years old, swam a 10K at her high school swim practice on Tuesday morning. This is apparently a winter break tradition: the 100x100s workout. That's 6.2 miles. In a pool. Before lunch. I won't tell you what I was doing when I was 15, but I was certainly not swimming a 10K. Heck I didn't even run one until I was 35 or so. Another pretty awesome achievement for her to be proud of. In addition, she lettered in 100 Free and 100 Back at the meets last week!

Our holidays were awesome. The girls were off school for 14 days and Jerry was off from work for 12 days. I was also able to take a break from my client and did minimal cooking and other household tasks. We planned some good family dates and ended up in lots of fun places and restaurants. The list includes Fine Points Knit Shop in Cleveland followed by a late lunch at Tommy's in Coventry. A few days later we went to Don Drumm Studios in Akron followed by lunch at The Vegiterranean Restaurant. To top it all off we saw The King's Speech at the Cedar Lee theater and then had dinner at Lemongrass. Great vegetarain food at all of the above places. Oh yeah, we celebrated the end of the first school semester at Organic Energy in Solon! In between those activities we traveled to Dayton and western NY to celebrate Christmas and New Years with our families.

With the New Year comes planning out events for 2011. We've had some good discussions going and Jerry's registration for the Laurel Highlands 77-mile ultra is on its way to PA. It's undetermined if this will be a family event or if he will fly solo. I had a good 10-mile run yesterday and feel fairly confident I can pull off training for a spring marathon. Details coming soon!

Happy New Year to all! I hope this is a year of good health and fitness for everyone!

Ruby Slippers

2010-12-21T04:02:00.000-08:00

Gina tore through the door on Friday after swim team practice and ripped open her backpack. She then presented us with - and I quote - "her greatest academic achievement so far!" She had the Ruby Slippers sticker from her 10th grade Honors Language Arts teacher. Apparently, very few students hold this distinction. It was awarded to her for her final research essay on Huckleberry Finn. I did not read the essay before she turned it in. I have now, and I have to say that it was really, really good. She is super proud, and so am I. That was a lot of hard work.

Abby has been going nuts with her knitting! I have been doing a lot of reading on gifted kids, and I now understand the importance of her down time. Academically school is easy for her, but socially it is draining. This photo is how she has been chilling lately, and I just love it! We have plans to visit a fancy schmancy knitting shop in Cleveland this week for yarn and cool project ideas. I'm starting to think this could be an expensive habit, but lately we are getting blessed up one side and down the other so yarn shop here we come!

Book Quote

2010-12-15T16:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 2.2 miles treadmill intervals, 30 minutes strength stuff
Monday: 45 minutes yoga, 4.6 miles treadmill intervals
Tuesday: 2.2 miles treadmill intervals
Wednesday: 2.2 miles treadmill intervals
Friday: 6.5 miles treadmill
Saturday: 4 miles outside

....And the snow just keeps piling up! I am so thankful for my treadmill and my nice finished basement (thank you, Jerry!) I know it will get old fast, but it sure beats slipping and sliding on the icy paths and climbing through snow drifts.

A couple of months ago I left a comment on the MamaSweat blog. If you have never visited this blog you should check it out. The particular blog post was regarding pelvic floor issues. I know that might sound like a yucky topic for a blog post, but it seemed to light a fire in many a reader, including myself. I like to think of myself as an incredibly healthy 44-year-old woman, but there are some things that all the healthy living in the world just can't seem to undo: like what happened to my bladder after two pregnancies. As each pregnancy drew to an end, my bladder felt like it had the capacity of a raisin. We have been brainwashed as women to believe that kegel excercises would help. That was what the blog post was about that I commented on - an anti-kegel sort of thing.

Then I received an email asking if my rather embarrassing comment could be used as a quote in an upcoming book called "Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom." I think I laughed until I cried - that would be my luck to finally get something in print, and it is about something so embarrassing I never even told my husband about it. The book will be out in the spring. You will have to buy it if you want to know the details, but I am not sure I want you to unless you are a marathon running mommy who might understand what it's like to run for a couple of hours with a somewhat compromised system.

Men just have it so easy!

White as Snow

2010-12-08T06:45:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 6 mile run with Jerry
Tuesday: 4.4 mile treadmill intervals
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Friday: 4.4 mile treadmill intervals

Jesus paid it all; all to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow....

During a snowy week like we have been having, I have a hard time not thinking of a song we sing a lot at our awesome church. A snippet of the lyrics are above. The snow has really been piling up and making the world look fresh and clean. Not good for outdoor running, but a beautiful reminder that with God's help we can wipe the slate clean and get a fresh start on life.

So it was time to turn to the treadmill. I actually really like the interval training I can now focus on. I have iFit workouts from Jillian Michaels that seriously make me huff and puff. The mileage doesn't look so great on paper but walking along at 5 miles an hour on an 8% incline really gets things going. I will get outside when I can, but until then I will make the most of the treadmill in the basement.

That's thinking positive, right? And if you like that sort of thing, check out this list of 75 Ways to Stay Unhappy Forever. I think I'm going to print it out and hang it in the kitchen.

Still Learning

2010-12-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Monday: 45 minutes yoga, 15 minutes stability ball
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Friday: 5 mile with Jerry
Saturday: 30 minutes treadmill intervals

Thanksgiving weekend was awesome. Our menu proved to be fantastic despite noticing at the last minute that it lacked something green. All the vegetarian dishes were truly yummy and no one complained about not having turkey. The statistic I heard was that 92% of the population would eat turkey on Thanksgiving. I'm fine being in the 8% that did not. I'm sure I could find some horrific PETA video to post that would make my point but I will pass.

Gilbert says I want a hat too!

My first scarf - halfway done?

     I am very happy to report that my middle-aged brain can still learn new things! For the past few weeks Abby has slowly and patiently taught me how to knit! She took three lessons this summer and then bought a book and watched YouTube videos to perfect her skills. I am convinced that she is very much an autodidact like her father. I, on the other hand, often need much instruction to learn something new. My practice piece was a disaster! Now I am working on a scarf. She has recently finished her first hat and is now working on fingerless gloves for Gina. Here are some photos!     Now we have something to do together when she is not in the mood to run with me. It's not easy for me to sit still, but I'm learning that too.

Tonight is the first swim meet for Gina and her high school team. The 4:45 am alarm is killing us. You know its bad when a 5:30 alarm means you get to sleep in. She is working hard and has adopted a healthy "I don't care" attitude this year. That might sound bad, but actually it's a good thing. As I have stated before, these kids put SO much pressure on themselves to perform to other people's expectations. As a sophomore, she is putting 110% or more into her academics. Swimming can be for fitness, social fun, and something to write in one of those 12 lines on the college application. We are not going to the meet tonight. I am learning to let go.

On Sunday we had a good old-fashioned walk-n-talk. Just me, the girls and the dog. We went to Liberty Park and did the loop. Somehow we got talking about what we think about when we run or swim. It was a great conversation. I loved hearing them both describe the mental side of their sport. I wanted to add my two cents but I wanted more to hear what they had to say. I'm learning to listen.

I've been reading Traveling Mercies (Some Thoughts on Faith) by Anne Lamott. She has been on my list of authors to check out for a very long time. I am so glad I have finally read one of her books. Here is a quote from the section I read last night before bed:   Courage is fear that has said its prayers. I really liked that. I guess I'm still learning a lot about faith, too.

Thanksgiving sans Turkey

2010-11-22T06:07:00.000-08:00

Monday: 45 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run, 45 minutes yoga
Friday: 8 mile run
Saturday: 5 mile run, long walk with Abby and Mia

This will be our first Thanksgiving without a turkey on the table. To be honest, I am kind of disappointed because roasting a turkey slathered in olive oil and smothered in herbs was one of my favorite cooking activities. Jerry will miss the smell of the turkey roasting in the oven all morning for sure, but we are looking forward to the many other delicious dishes on our menu. Here is the official menu:

Sweet Potato Casserole with Gingersnap Streusel
Killer Cranberry Sauce
Warm Wheat Berry Salad with Dried Fruit
Aunt Raffy's Stuffing (from Giada's Everyday Italian) minus the sausage
Mashed Potatoes
Deviled Eggs
Rolls
Italian Cream Cake

In the evening I am planning to make Hot and Sour Thai Tofu Soup to change it up a bit!

Thanksgiving has become a traditional day of rest for us. There will be parade watching, followed by the dog show and maybe a movie or two. If my memory serves me correctly there will most likely be a run for Jerry and I and/or a long walk with the girls. At some point we will work in a good, long conversation about being thankful which is something I have been feeling a lot of lately.

Fresh Air

2010-11-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

Monday: 8 mile run
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Thursday: 4 mile run with Abby
Friday: 30 minutes yoga
Sunday: 5 mile run
Monday: 20 minutes stability ball
Tuesday: 4 mile run with Abby
Wednesday: hike with Jerry, 30 minutes stability ball
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: 4 mile run
Saturday: 5 mile run

I've been trying to maintain some basic level of running while not letting too much fitness slip away. Weekly totals for the past two weeks were 17 and 23. Abby also got back to running and it was great to share a couple of runs with her. We ventured over to the Buckeye Trail and were surprised to see some residual snow mixed in with some very sloppy mud. The sun was shining that day, and all the yellow leaves on the trail lit up by the sun with Abby running out ahead of me made for a really spectacular memory.

Saturday brought the annual Twinsburg 5-mile Turkey Trot. Abby and I did this race last year and she whooped me by a mere 30 seconds or so. This year several of her cross country friends decided to run and I graciously opted out of the fun. Some one has to cheer, right?! It was a beautiful day and they all did really well! Abby finished in 40.03 and was most happy about passing a few of the high school girls along the way. Here she is (in purple) with her peeps at the finish line.

Gina has officially started the high school swim season. It is the typical grueling schedule but not too many 5:30 am workouts this year. In lieu, the coach has added a few Saturday mornings and, of course, the 4-hour workouts through the holiday break. There have already been some teary discussions about how to manage it all and whether or not it will be a good year. Academics first. Always.

Jerry was able to take Wednesday off work and we enjoyed a great day together - a sort of late celebration of our 19th anniversary in August. Over the years we have perfected the ultimate cheap date and I would not have it any other way. We packed a healthy mostly whole food picnic and a thermos of coffee and then headed to the Valley for a few hours of outdoor fun. We hiked from Kendall Lake to Ledges and then drove over to beautiful Pine Hollow for our picnic. It was really nice to spend some time together discussing the past, present and future. Crazy years ahead of us, but we have made it this far, and I have no doubt we are going to go the distance!

One more photo to share of Gina and Abby as they left for school the other morning. I really thought it was a great everyday shot of them looking happy and ready for a day of school. I can't believe how fast the years fly by. The three of us took a really nice walk yesterday with Mia while Jerry finished up his run and some things around the house. We seem to have some of our best talks when we are out in the fresh air and moving along the earth. Ever since they were tiny babies I have tried for at least a few minutes of fresh air every single day to clear out the lungs and brain. I really think it makes a difference.

Something Beautiful

2010-11-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

I am loving this song lately and have finally figured out how to share videos! Enjoy!

Content

2010-11-03T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 26.2 mile run
Friday: 5 mile walk/limp/run
Monday: 1 hour yoga, 5 mile run
Wednesday: 20 min exercise ball, 5 mile run
Friday: 1 hour yoga, 4 mile run

Recovery from Columbus Marathon has gone pretty well. I have the usual twingy right ankle and sore toes. There is still one questionable toe nail but it seems to be healing. I also have some tightness in my left IT band that I am not so happy about. I really just want that to go away. I'm going to have to work on that in order to avoid a serious issue brewing in the future. Physically things are pretty normal.

Emotionally I am very content. No beating myself up because I did not go under 4 hours or get a BQ time. It's really just fine. I am probably more psyched about running now than I have been in a long time. Running just for the sake of running. I've had to break out the cold weather running clothes. This morning it was very cold with a heavy frost, BUT the sun was shining and I knew it would be a great run. Thoughts were swirling in my brain; they bubbled up one by one and I just kept dealing with each thought the same way: it's okay, God is in control, I am content right now right where I am with what I have.

I've spent some time browsing at spring marathon choices. There are some interesting options. We'll see what winter brings.

In general, the family fitness seems to be in a little bit of a funk. We eeked out a nice walk/hike locally on Sunday. Some of us were a little grumpy so it was not the best, but as always the fresh air was helpful and I think everyone felt a little better when we returned home. Any remaining grumpies were banished by the amazing time we had working together in the kitchen to make Chile Rellenos. Gina had found the recipe in one of our vegetarian magazines. Wow was that ever a project but so worth it! Muy delicioso!

I don't think I mentioned in my blog that Abby was able to break 14 minutes in the middle school cross country 2-mile race. It was sheer awesomeness. The girls team went on to win the NOC division for the first time ever. Amazing group of runners this year and so fun to watch. Here is a tiny clip I took during one of their meets. It's not great but I love the sound of people cheering for these kids. Something about it makes the joy pour right out of my eyes. Abby is the sixth runner in blue and white!

Goodbye, Columbus

2010-10-19T04:33:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, Columbus is the title of a great short story by Philip Roth. I read it at some point during college and then again a few years ago. I really loved the feel of the story - young love that grows and fades. I think it popped into my mind again this weekend because everything about Columbus Marathon seemed a bit different to me. I was not nearly as enthused as I have been in the past and my training was certainly not up to par. Although I originally set out saying that I would like to do 10 consecutive Columbus marathons I am now thinking that it might be time to say Goodbye. Fifteen thousand runners : 10 in the half and 5 in the full.

The BAD: Crazy traffic getting into the expo, nothing spectacular (and no chocolate milk!) at the expo, poor sleep at the hotel, more crazy traffic getting to the start, and a humongous CROWD at the start. We usually have had time to enjoy the band and hang out for awhile but this year I did not even use a port-a-pot. Just jammed my way into the corral with about 15 minutes to spare.

The GOOD: Fireworks at the start, fabulous entertainment and spectators as always, superb weather, I did not walk and I did not cry.

Here are the splits:
10K @ 56.02
13.1 miles @ 1:58.54
20 miles @ 3:03.33
Finish Line @ 4:01.59

The old dog paw sign from San Diego! Makes spotting my peeps real easy!

My finishing time was exactly where I expected it to be. I have never been so worked up about a race before. I know how hard I have worked for my 3 sub-four hour finishes and I knew that mentally I was not up for the beating this year. I also put a lot of thought into the message I am sending to my daughters. They really struggle with putting undue pressure on themselves to perform in school and sports. I swear I do not know where they got that from! Jerry? I realized before the race that I was talking nonstop about whether I could go under 4 hours. I was being negative and incredibly hard on myself. This is not the pattern I want to set up for my girls. They both sort of gave it to me on Saturday with a verbal scolding. I took their words to heart and incredibly felt the four-hour monkey melt away during the race. With every mile I became more determined to have a great day and stay positive. I knew from the splits that I was a couple of minutes off pace and made a cognizant decision to not give a rat's behind (as my momma would say!) and just stay the course. Instead I focused on not walking and not crying. I don't care how many marathons a person does - it hurts like HECK and there is NOTHING easy about it. I may never get to Boston but I am okay with that too. Truth be told if I did qualify I would have to make the difficult decision of whether or not it would be worth the money to sign up and take the family there. I can think of a lot of other places we would like to go. Not to mention that this morning there are a lot of sad runner faces who got shut out of Boston registration. Not me though, I'm still smiling!

The results summary is really great this year. It indicates that during the last six miles I passed a total of 255 people and only 10 people passed me! I really really love that!

Quick bottle exchange at mile 20!


Just after mile 26. Happy moms make happy kids!

Marathon #10 complete! They still love me!

I am really looking forward to choosing my next race. Maybe I can stop obsessing over colleges for Gina and start researching race venues. Or maybe I can combine a race with a college visit! Hey kids now that would be fun!

Ten Days Till Columbus

2010-10-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

My tenth marathon is now ten days away! This afternoon I headed out for a nice 4 miler down the bike path. Apparently I was not the only one in need of some fresh air and sunshine. I saw at least six snakes, a big old toad and a tiny turtle. The past few days of cool, rainy weather seemed a cruel hint of what is to come. It's hard to believe that winter could be just around the corner.

But first I have to make sure that marathon #10 goes down in the books. To be honest, I don't really have any huge expectations for the day. There are a few things I am really looking forward to: the awesome excitement at the start of this marathon, the great entertainment during the first half of the course, the Ohio National Guard band on High Street, the super friendly faces (especially my 3 peeps) all along the course, and definitely the downhill to the FINISH LINE! I am trying not to think about the things I am not looking forward to: being super cold at the start, the constant mental battle of what lies ahead, the lonely feeling of the second half when more than half the crowd turns to finish the half marathon, my legs turning to mush, my feet feeling like they were run over by a truck, the lump in my stomach and throat for last 5K, the sound of the pace group coming up behind me, not being able to pee for four hours!

You would think by now I know the drill, but the element of the unknown can be overwhelming. I know that I will get to the start with the plan to just let the day unfold. I don't know what else I could possibly do. I will take with me my mental arsenal of positive thoughts and inspiring images of family and friends. I will think of Jerry and how amazing it is that he can run a 100 mile race. I will think of Abby and how she plows and pukes her way through middle school cross country. I will remember Gina and the thousands of miles she has put into swimming and how good it makes her feel. I will think of my mom and my dad for reasons too numerous to count. My sister and her victory over breast cancer. My sister-in-law who was supposed to be running with me but was injured. My friend Veronica who kicked Boston in the butt this year as her mom was fighting in a hospital for every breath. My friends JP and Maria who will be running the half marathon and hopefully loving every minute of it. And many many more faces will pop into my head throughout the day and I will cherish the thought of each one. Who knows, with any luck I just might make some new friends along the way.

Taper Time!

2010-09-28T04:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 5 miles
Monday: 20 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Friday: 8 miles
Saturday: 4 miles
Monday: 10 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Friday: 20 miles

Two Week Total: 76 miles

The second 20-miler was another Tour de Twinsburg on a very warm day. I was out for 3:17 which is well over marathon pace but I am not going to freak out. Did you hear that? Not. Freaking. Out. It was super warm and I struggled with a very negative internal voice. Thus, the run became more of a mental training session despite fried legs and sore feet. No matter how you slice a marathon there will always be a rough patch. Typically this will fall in the last 6 miles but I fell apart once at mile 11 (Charlottesville Marathon) and once at mile 15 (San Diego). You better know how to silence your brain if you have to gut out 2 or 3 hours of agony in the second half of a marathon!

So now it's taper time. I am not working much so it should be a productive couple of weeks. At least, that's what I'm telling myself. Time to bring back the yoga that has been sadly missing in my life. I also want to revisit my 5-lb weights and get some strength back.

Abby has improved her 2-mile cross country time to 14:17! This weekend is the big Woodridge Meet at Pine Hollow (also known locally as the Sound of Music hill). It will not be a fast time but that place is truly magical and I hope she has a great day.

Gina is swim, swim, swimming and realizing that high school swim season is just around the corner. We are not looking forward to the oh-dark-thirty alarm for the 5:30am swim practice.

Fall seems to have safely arrived after all that scorching heat of September. I wish it would last until April!

Twenty Mile Tour de Twinsburg

2010-09-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Monday: 5 miles
Wednesday: 5 miles
Friday: 13 miles
Sunday: 3.5 miles with Abby
Monday: 8 miles
Wednesday: 4 miles
Thursday: 5 miles
Saturday: 8 miles

From the above record it does not appear that I am doing much training for the upcoming Columbus Marathon, but it is slowly filling in little by little. The week before last was insane with lots of work, two school open houses, our 19th wedding anniversary and Abby's 13th birthday. Oh yeah, we also went to NY and visited my family over Labor Day.

The Friday night 13 miler was ridiculous and we can leave it at that. This morning I did my first 20-miler and I am fairly pleased with how it went. It's never easy. That's why it's called a training run. Today I toured my lovely little community for a bit over three hours. Down the bike path, past the schools, uphill to the garden and then up, up, up the Old Hickory Trail until my turn around point at 5 miles where I turn around and head for home. I don't mind stopping at home once but that's about the limit. It gives me a chance to fill up bottles and use the bathroom before heading out for another 10-mile loop. The weather was perfect this morning and I am so grateful for that. Now I can check that off the training schedule. I will do another 12 or 13 miler next weekend and then another 20 after that. Then it's taper time! WooHoo! I am vacillating between wanting to do really well at Columbus (sub-4 hours) and just running to celebrate my 10th marathon.

Abby is doing really well with middle school cross country. The first two dual meets were on days where the temperature was over 90 degrees. She really struggled but who wouldn't. Here is a photo of her at the meet in Cuyahoga Falls. That day she finished at about 16 minutes. The tears were flowing in between her gagging episodes. However, this Saturday she ran in Brecksville with much cooler temps and cruised her way to a 14.23 finish. That's a PR for her so she was super happy. Most of the other girls are soccer players and have lots of running and endurance under their belts. Next year they will all most likely go back to soccer which is good for Abby but not for the team. In typical Denise fashion, I guess I really don't get the big deal about soccer. I was never good at ball games, so its no surprise that I have a swimmer and a runner! I can't imagine anything worse than playing a game where I have to chase after a ball. The other thing is that I always try to promote life long fitness. I may be guilty of somehow persuading the girls to try sports that they could continue as adults. I see lots of adults running and swimming. I don't see too many playing soccer - usually just sitting on the sidelines screaming at their kids. But I digress....................

Jerry is in China. My mommy is coming to hang with me this week. I'm really looking forward to some down time! I think I can turn her into a vegetarian yet!

Morning People

2010-08-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 5 mile run
Monday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 8 mile run
Saturday: 18 mile run

Total: 35 miles!

I have not been blogging much because I have been working more than usual, getting the girls adjusted to being back at school, dealing with a sick dog, and trying to keep up the training for Columbus Marathon. Whew! The running has been really erratic. In lieu of the usual morning run, I have had to squeeze in running in the late afternoon or evening. My body does not like that. I feel sluggish and it is soooooooo hot then. The biggest reason I don't like running in the afternoon/evening is that people are crabby. Really crabby. No eye contact, no friendly smiles, no cheerful banter. Just crabby, crabby, crabby.

Today was wonderful though! I was able to get out and running by 8 am. It was so nice and cool. I even had some goosebumps going! I did two 9-mile loops from our house. All my old morning peeps were out on the path and it was like old homeday. Gosh, I missed those smiling morning faces. One of the morning regular walkers noticed I had my fuel-belt on and gave a cheer as I passed him for the second time. I saw another couple that I have seen regularly since I started running marathons and we exchanged hellos and where-have-you-been's. I chatted with a man who had his 6-month old golden retriever off leash on the trail section. It was such fun that I hated to see the 18 miles pass by so quickly. Truth be told I was terrified that I would not make it through today's run, but it was pure joy. I was smiling all day.

In terms of family fitness it is pretty much status quo. Abby is in cross country mode and has her first meet on Tuesday. Go Tigers! It is looking like a nice strong girls team this year and that is exciting. She has a goal time of under 14 minutes for the 2 mile race. I think she will reach that with no problem if it ever cools down. Gina is on break from swim team and anxious to start up again. Her exercise is mainly coming from marching band lately - sweating away in the mid-day sun for an hour or so every afternoon. I think that's work. Jerry is running a few times a week. Nothing major. His recovery from BR100 has gone well and he is also anxious to start up again although no races have been set.

Vegetarian diet status is also being maintained and quite well at that. I recently read that only 3% of Americans claim to be vegetarians. Wow! We watched Food, Inc a couple of weeks ago and that just solidified the decision to not eat meat. The girls pack their lunches everyday for school and we are learning a few more ways to expand our food plans. The only downside I have discovered is not being able to fry eggs in bacon grease! I really miss that.......

Burning River 100 Support Report

2010-08-11T14:31:00.000-07:00

Jerry had a great day and surpassed his main goal of running 100 miles in less than 24 hours. His race report and several photos can be found here!

I wanted to take a few moments and write how the race went down from the perspective of his race crew which consisted of myself, Gina and Abby. Together we are typically a hormonal mess of peri-menopause and teenage angst and I don't know how Jerry puts up with us most of the time; however, we held it together for race day and did our very best to support him.

The first thing we did was decide on Thursday to not actually go to the starting line with him on Saturday morning at 3 am. This was a very rude thing to do, but he managed to secure a seat on the shuttle bus. We made the decision so that we could be at our very best during the night when he would need us to be in good form. The change in plan allowed us to sleep till 6am and then we loaded up the Subaru and headed towards South Chagrin Metropark.

We bought a few supplies at Walgreen and then landed at a little parking area we are familiar with on the road heading down into Sulphur Springs. This is a Williamson Family favorite where we have spent a tremendous amount of time. It was great to hang out in the cool morning air and watch the runners go by. Gina and Abby did some balance work on the fence rail! Jerry went by and asked us to bring him a bandana and "the Stick" from home. The girls were really a great help. One of their main jobs was to help me remember things like that. They also recorded his times in and out of aid stations, controlled the ipod in the car, texted and checked voicemails from my phone when I could not, and most importantly they helped me navigate and stay focused. They are really wonderful girls and I love being around them!

From there we meandered our way to Shadow Lake and then on to a surprise stop at Bridal Veil Falls. Jerry did not know we would be there but this is also a favorite family spot. It was not an official aid station so we just wanted to pop in and say hi. We stayed in the car a bit so Gina could read another chapter of The Scarlet Letter and Abby worked on a bracelet. When we made our way down to the waterfall we were completely shocked to see Jerry immediately come down the trail! Whew - that was close....we almost missed him! He was really trucking along and I was so glad we had reworked the pace chart to include the faster pace times.

It was now nearing lunch and I had been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to get from Bridal Veil Falls to Station Road via the Pulp Smoothie shop in Macedonia! It is a traditional pit stop for the girls and I and it just wouldn't be BR100 without it. We figured it out and it was awesome vegetarian goodness. On to Station Road where we set up a chair and a blanket and hauled the shoe boxes full of Jerry's supplies into the open sunny space. The place was pretty packed and we had a good chat with some of JPs crew. We were barely finished with lunch when Jerry came running in. He was right on a 21-hr pace and it was sort of freaking us all out. It seemed way too fast and I was hoping he would not crash and burn. As a family we have all been trying to step it up a bit this year - try running a bit faster, harder, push a bit more, go outside the comfort zone. Jerry had clearly stated his goals but a 21 or 22 hour finish was NOT part of this plan! Regardless, we fueled him up, changed his shoes and sent him over the train tracks to be on his way. His attitude was completely different this year - I kept looking at the girls and saying, "Dad's got his game face on today, I don't know what's happening." He was soooooooo serious. We went home after Station Road for a quick refresh.

The car had become a mess so I spent a few moments reorganizing the shoe boxes of supplies for each aid station. We made plans to pick up the first pacer, Andy, at 2:20pm at Pine Hollow so that left very little time to actually be at home. Our golden retriever was acting sick and it took a fair amount of time to get her out to do her thing. Before we knew it, it was time to get back in the car and head out again.

We picked up Andy and headed to Boston Store. It was wall-to-wall with people and cars and I could only hope for a decent parking place. We ended up along Stanford Rd which was great. By now it was about 3:00 pm and the sun was out. The heat in combination with the large amount of people was wearing me down quickly. Jerry finally had slowed down a bit and did not arrive till about 3:40. He made a quick pass through the aid station and set off for the loop. We moved everything over by the car and continued waiting. I was ready to order pizza and leave Boston Store!

I had planned ahead and brought the number for Winking Lizard. All we had to do was find a parking place in Peninsula on a Saturday evening at 6pm. That didn't take terribly long and we made our way to Happy Days. Happy Days parking lot was jam-packed. The theme of finding a place to park was starting to become a familiar one. A spot opened up and that was all I needed to start a big sermon about how God cares for us and will help us through anything! The girls are used to this sort of digression so they politely listened, prayed with me and then we ate our pizza in the quiet of the evening.

Jerry and Andy came cruising through the aid station and we met them with the shoe box of stuff. Again, Jerry was in and out and still very serious. We packed up our things and set off for BP where we needed some more water and ice to get us through the night. I also picked up a much needed cup of coffee.

From there it was on to Pine Hollow - really one of the greatest places in Northeast Ohio. We had plans to meet our neighbors there and also the second pacer, Mike and his family. We were a big crew by then with lots of cute little kids, glow sticks, and marshmallows. It was super fun. It really helped break up the anxiety and exhaustion that was setting in. One of the things I love the most is the thought of how natural this sort of thing is to our family. Since Gina and Abby have grown up going to these sorts of race venues and long days, they really can kick it in and make a great day when other kids might be grumbling about being away from the computer, TV or their friends. We always find some fun activity to do. Nothing will ever beat the pinecone and stick baseball game at Mohican but pony rides may be a new close second.

After Jerry passed through and changed his shoes and refilled his bottles, it was time to say good-bye to Andy and our friends and head off into the dark of night for Covered Bridge. My navigation skills were spiraling downward and it was quite an adventure getting there! We did, however, arrive only to find another parking lot completely full. Argh! It was nearing 11pm and I really wanted to snooze, but not while parked along Everett Rd in complete darkness. Eventually a spot opened and we wheeled the Subaru in, reclined the seats, set an alarm for 1 hour and enjoyed the absolute stillness of the night.

Soon enough the alarm sounded and we gathered our chair and boxes and headed for the bridge. It's quite a sight and I was excited for the girls to finally see it. Abby first had to face her demons though: she has had a rough time at Covered Bridge! A bizarre rash last summer after we hiked there, a puke-fest during Jim Klett 10K, the memory of my accidental step into dog poop during the Run with Scissors last fall. We barely made it past the port-a-pot and I heard her gagging. Poor girl. She said the smell of runners, port-a-pot, and all those memories was getting to her.

Jerry and Mike had slowed but they were doing just fine and set off for the Perkins Trail loop very quickly. This was starting to bum me out a bit! We were waiting and waiting all day and night and then whoosh....he would run in and leave so quickly! But I kept telling myself, the faster he gets in and out of these aid stations, the faster we are headed to the finish line. Upon returning from the loop, he announced he really had to use the bathroom. The girls and I rolled our eyes. The clock was ticking now and I made my infamous statement upon his return that he was eight minutes off the 24 hour pace time.

Getting to Merriman aid station was another navigational failure. Thanks to G & A for getting me out of that mess too! Same thing here: we pulled in, reclined the seats, set the alarm for about 1 hour and proceeded to snooze. By this point I barely wanted to leave the car, but I pried open my eyes to watch for Jerry and Mike. I heard them before I saw them and jumped out of the car. I ran with them to the aid station and once again, Jerry had one thing on his mind: get in and out as fast as possible. I returned to the car where Gina and Abby remained sleeping! I felt bad waking them up but it was time to go to the finish line and they had to buckle up for safety!

We arrived in the parking garage about 3:30 and I set the alarm for 4:15. It was not restful at all, but we could hear the announcer calling people in as they finished down below. We gathered our things and set up chairs. According to the current pace he was keeping he would finish very close to 5 am but something told me I better get down there "just in case." Good thing we did because at 4:30 we caught our first glimpse and soon enough he came through the finish - still looking serious, game face on but with a hint of a smile!

We are all so very proud of him and happy to have been part of the whole thing. The life lessons that can be learned by spending a weekend as part of an ultrarunning event are too numerous to count. I wish I had time to speak to every runner and find out their story. It's an amazing community.

Monastra 5K

2010-07-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

I've stated many times how much I love the annual Monastra 5K Refuse to Lose race in Hudson, OH. Saturday marked the 9th installment of that race. I have run all nine. Each year I love it more and more. I love how the family gets up and tells the story of their Dad who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 1992 and died 4 weeks later. I love that 80% of the proceeds go directly to a lab at Johns Hopkins that is focused on finding out more about this disease. The lead researcher actually speaks briefly at the race. I think that's really great. The course is nice and this year they even had crates of fresh fruit at the finish line.

With temps nearing 90 degrees by the 9am start, this was not to be a day for racing hard. Not that I do much hardcore racing, but under the right conditions I am not afraid to give it my all. Today I would focus on staying with Abby for as long as possible. I was worried about her and the heat.

We always enjoy watching the 1-mile kids race that is before the 5K. We stood along the side and cheered for all the little kiddoes as they neared the finish. By far the sweetest thing we saw was a little girl about 4 years old running with her mom. The little girl was clutching her stuffed cow under her arm and it just brought back so many memories of Gina and Abby and their love of stuffed animals. Anyone who has known me for a long time knows that I also have a thing for stuffed animals and carted my beloved Norman with me for years. Norman accompanied me on any trip I ever went on for a very, very long time! I've never run a marathon with him tucked under my arm though, but seeing that little girl actually caused the tears to roll down my face.

Anyways, the race was great. Abby and I stuck together. First mile at 9:30. Second mile at 9:19. I then gave her all control and told her if she wanted to go for it that now was the time. We rolled on out and started passing people. Up ahead we saw a girl that was presumably the same age as Abby. Without saying a word we closed the gap and ran by single file. I did my train whistle thingy in my head and just kept encouraging Abby. We made the last corner and she pulled away and I let her go. She finished about 8 seconds ahead of me and by the time I got there she was doubled over and dry heaving. The last mile for me was 8:05 so we really negative split nicely. According to Abby, it was the frying sausage from the Hudson Farmer's Market that did her in.

We sat for a long time in the grass with Jerry and Gina. A long time passed and then there was an enormous eruption of cheering and applause as the last participant crossed the line. We had seen him before the race and let's just say he was quite elderly. He was dressed in old school running gear complete with khaki shorts and a belt. The back of his t-shirt said 2700 road races and I have no doubt that he actually completed them all. The crowd gave him the equivalent of a standing ovation. Another teary moment for me as I tried to grasp the beauty of the running community - from the little girl clutching her stuffed animal in the 1-mile race to the elderly man finishing the 5K at 52 minutes. I love being part of that camaraderie. As Linus would say, "That's what fitness is all about, Charlie Brown."

Abby ended up first in her age group and I was third in mine. Not bad for a Saturday morning.

Sunday rolled around and I managed my 14 mile run before church. Jerry joined me for the first lap and it was great to run together and chat about Burning River 100 next weekend. I even tried his chia seed gel and I must say it is quite good. The second lap was lonely and I went completely and totally inside my head. So much that at one point I could not remember if I had run the loop correctly. But then I remembered that I had dropped my fuel belt by the highschool while trying to loop my visor through it. I had definitely covered my course but I must have been really in the zone.

Now the big week leading up to the racing highlight of the summer. The girls and I have a pretty good plan for the day and Jerry is working through all the what ifs in his head. If all goes well he will have a finish time of less than 24 hours. We can't wait to get this thing going!

Too Darn Hot

2010-07-18T16:36:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 10 mile run
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Friday: 4 mile run
Saturday: 12 mile run

Total: 35 miles

Too Darn Hot! Love that song from Kiss Me Kate and it really sums up the weather we have been having. The only way to conquer the heat is to get up and run as early in the day as possible, but honestly lately it is hot and humid then too. Take Friday morning: dragged myself out before 6 am and was out the door within 15 minutes, the air felt hot and spongy. First mile took over 10 minutes and to add insult to injury it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pour. Then I saw lightning. By the time I returned home I was soaked but somehow still in a sleepy stupor!

I am totally looking forward to the Joseph Monastra Refuse to Lose 5K this saturday in Hudson. Abby and I have discussed our plan. We probably will not run together for this race. I think it will be a good pacing experience for her. My mother's guilt may creep into the day. I still feel bad about the Jim Klett 10K. I kind of want to "keep an eye on her" in case her stomach talks back again, but I would be making the assumption that I could somehow keep her in sight. It will be an interesting day for sure!

I worked everyday this week so I had to really think through the meals. Sunday was our picnic at Blossom. We used a gift card from Giant Eagle and loaded up last minute on cheese, bread, fruit, pie, hummus, etc. Monday we did a quick and easy pasta salad. Tuesday was meatless chicken patty sandwiches and baked veggies. Wednesday we had another quick and easy dinner of mexican casserole. Thursday was potato skins and an after dinner trip to DQ! Friday I redeemd myself with the labor-intensive Indonesian Pilaf. Saturday we returned to Blossom but made our own food: ciabatta rolls with avocado, sprouts, cheese, tomato and russian dressing; strawberries, chips, asian coleslaw and brownies for dessert. Another awesome night under the stars with the Cleveland Orchestra! My favorite summer activity in Cleveland!

Hi Ho Hi Ho.....

2010-07-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

My client had her baby so now it's back to work I go! I really enjoyed having June to regroup, although it was extremely stressful being on call 24/7. After returning home on Sunday, I did my 11-mile run sans cell phone. That in and of itself was wonderful. The extreme heat and sunshine also felt really good for some reason. Maybe something to do with the birth of a new baby and the awesomeness of that beautiful event. From there we headed to Blossom Music Center for a night outside listening to the Cleveland Orchestra. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

So now my schedule returns to being hectic for a few weeks. Squeezing in runs will be tricky but I'm not afraid. I have officially signed up for my 5th Columbus Marathon which will be held on October 17. WooHoo! Last week's long run of 11 miles will gradually build over the next couple of months. I will try to follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate program which will include 5 days of running each week.

In the short-term, Abby and I are registered for the 9th Annual Refuse to Lose 5K race held in Hudson. I have done the race every year since it's inception. I absolutely love it. Anyone interested in walking or running in this great event can find out more at www.hermescleveland.com .

Jerry is in full taper mode for Burning River 100. It's time to start all of our logistic conversations and planning. The girls and I are really looking forward to helping him have a great day!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: 3.5 "speed workout" with Abby
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: 1 hr yoga, 6 mile run with Abby and Jerry (who had already run 25 miles in the morning!)

Total Running Miles: 23.5

Seems like every year I arrive at the 4th of July in desperate need of a nap! All day I have been thinking that I should go lie down, but I know that it will not happen. Coffee is brewing as we speak and it is destined to be another late night with fireworks and good times.

My one hour of yoga this week was heavenly and left me super sore. The class was called "Peaceful Living Through Breathing" from Yoga Today and it was just perfect. I have neglected my yoga but for good reason. My church had a schedule for reading through the New Testament in May and June and I decided that I would once again attempt this challenge. The only way for me to add something that is going to take a good half hour a day is to get rid of something else. I took a break from yoga so I could start my day with some reading time. If I could have done both at the same time I certainly would have, but I could not. It was a good decision.

The meal plan was somewhat interesting this week. Sunday we were so excited to try some new vegetarian hot dogs and sausage that Abby and I located while shopping at the Mustard Seed. We had high hopes but we were somewhat disappointed in the result. While the hot dogs were somewhat edible, the sausage which was made from eggplant and other vegetables really did not go down so well. Poor Jerry once again ended up with way too many lunches from this failed attempt. Tuesday we picked it back up with a great pasta served with lots of fresh herbs and parmesan cheese. Wednesday we made wraps with avocados, cream cheese and sundried tomatoes served with zucchini fries. That meal was deeeelish! Thursday was simply huevos rancheros (eggs with rice and hot sauce). Friday we went to Blossom Music Center with a big bag of take out from Panera Bread and fresh cherries, Santa Cruz Lemonade and chianti. Saturday we returned to the grill with soy burgers served with potato wedges and bean salad. Much better! Much much better!

Anyone going to be in Columbus on July 10? I can't but I wish I could. There will be an event called Run Fest at Frog Bear in the Arena District. Its free and family-friendly. Food, drinks, music, giveaways and the unveiling of the new Columbus Marathon logo. I wish I could be there - I really love Columbus Marathon! To see their facebook page go to: http://bit.ly/9FwUUO.

Speed Workout with Sheila

2010-06-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Abby and I had a great little run planned for this afternoon. She was somewhat sluggish from a sleepover last night and I only had a 3 or 4 mile run on the schedule. We decided to head to Liberty Park and run a loop through the woods.

Upon starting our run, we noticed five or six older folks positioned at various locations along the outer loop of the park. They had binoculars and were staring intently up at the very lovely blue sky. This sort of thing makes me nervous though......what are they watching for? Is a meteor about to tumble from the sky and bonk me on the head? Abby thought maybe she remembered Jerry saying there is a bald eagle nest in the park. I had no recollection of that, but I tend to believe whatever she says. Her brain is 30 years younger and much sharper than mine.

As we passed one of the women standing watch at her position, I asked what she was looking for? She lowered her binoculars and flatly said, "hawks." OK. Fine. I'm cool with hawks. Red-winged blackbirds not so much, but hawks are okay.

A little further ahead was yet another man standing at the entrance to the trail we wanted to run on. This guy was serious about his hawk watching. He even had a megaphone thingy that apparently was equipped to squawk like a hawk (cute, huh?) by pressing a button or something. As Abby and I approached, he starting making it squawk like crazy and then he started walking really fast down the trail and holding the megaphone thingy towards the ground. Abby and I stopped and tried to figure out what was going on. Hawks are usually in the sky. He was looking in the wrong place.

Then we saw that he was chasing a 5 or 6 ft black rat snake down the trail. His friends all started running towards us. Abby started formulating alternate routes knowing that I really really really do not like snakes, especially big black ones like that! That thing was huge!

Then Abby said, "Hey I think that's Shelia!" We remembered that the city naturalist who helped in her 5th and 6th grade classroom often spoke very highly about his snake friend, Sheila. He even brought Sheila's shed skin into the classroom and stapled it onto the wall. Sheila was not just a snake, she was his friend and would often visit his little office in the Old Stone House located at the other end of the park.

At this point, the hawk observers asked if we would like to see the snake also. I replied that I would prefer to NOT see the snake but we would head down the trail anyways. Hence the title of this blog - I don't think I have ever run that fast! We were laughing and squealing all the way down the trail just thinking about Sheila chasing us! I charged up those hills, through the stream and over the roots and rocks like never before.

So now I'm wondering if I can somehow turn this into a new type of workout. Buy my new workout program for $19.95 and we'll include a real rubber snake at no extra charge. That's right a REAL rubber snake. You just need someone to hide in the trees and toss it out at you as you run by!

And by the way, if my husband or daughters try this I will make their lives miserable for a long, long time! I would not appreciate that at all.....

Week in Review 6/20/10 - 6/26/10

2010-06-28T06:09:00.000-07:00

Monday: 6 mile run
Tuesday: 30 minutes yoga, 4 mile run with fartleks
Wednesday: 5 mile run
Friday: 9 mile run (soooooo hot)
Saturday: 2 mile time trial with Abby

Total Running Miles: 26

Abby and I recovered from our 10K race and on Sunday I drove Gina and her friend to a swim camp at Kenyon College. I drove back on Thursday to pick them up. They learned a ton and made some great friends and connections. As a nonswimmer, it is really interesting to listen to the terms and comments. Gina talked a lot about the suggestions that were made to her to improve her strokes. To be honest I hardly understood a word she said, but I could sincerely tell that the camp made an impact on her life. She also really enjoyed the Kenyon campus so if anyone would like to contribute to her college education please send your checks my way!

Training for Columbus Marathon officially commenced this week. I will try to follow Hal Higdon's Intermediate Training Schedule with 5 days of running per week. My plan is to make each run count! I WILL try to incorporate some speed work, I promise! On Saturday, Abby and I did a run we like to call the Army 2-miler with the goal being to push the pace as fast as possible. The local army reserve post uses our local bike trail for their 2-mile run and we often have the pleasure of running in their company. Unfortunately, I am usually going the opposite direction of them and experience the unusual sight of a a group of soldiers in army fatigues running full out towards me! It is somewhat alarming to say the least. They were not out on Saturday so Abby and I had the trail pretty much to ourselves. She pulled ahead early and I could not catch her. I was close though and she definitely heard me creeping up behind her! So she finished under 16 minutes and I was just over. Not horrible and we will take it from there. So I had a long slower run on Friday in super hot conditions followed by a nice short lung burning two miler on Saturday. It felt good.

Things went pretty well in the kitchen this week! Monday we had a nice pasta salad. Tuesday was a tofu and noodle stirfry. I think we just did leftovers on Wednesday. Thursday I prepped stuffed shells before driving to get Gina and baked them when we got home in the afternoon. Friday we tried a new recipe: Indonesian Pilaf which was absolutely wonderfully delicious and I will share the recipe here later! Saturday we had broccoli rice soup which was met with much dissatisfaction: Soup on such a hot day, are you crazy Mom, i am not eating that, etc etc. We ate it and it was good! No one died of heat exhaustion......

It feels good to be in summer mode. I am waiting on a client to give birth and then will work several hours a day for several weeks. Burning River is now one month away so Jerry will needs lots of love and support as he winds down his training and begins to taper. He is sooooooo much fun to be around during taper! We will just keep him busy - there is a post it note on the kitchen cabinet with his list of things to do when not running! That race is going to be here before we know it......

Jim Klett 10K Race Report

2010-06-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

Abby post race!

I ran this local race about 8 years ago as my first ever 10K. I really liked the course and at that time had never seen the covered bridge on Everett Rd before. I finished that race in 50 minutes and ended up with a nice red plastic cup as a trophy. I still love drinking out of that cup (even if it IS plastic).

I somehow managed to coerce Abby into running this race with me this year. It would be her first 10K - that's 6.2 miles for the non-runners who happen upon my blog. We have done quite a few one hour runs this summer and I felt really confident that she could cover the distance. We discussed at length our plan for the day. I didn't want to hold her back but she didn't really want to run on her own either. We decided to start together and stay together for two miles, at which point we would re-evaluate. If she felt the pace was too slow, she or we could pick it up. She could leave me but I would not leave her. I was not out to PR or anything. I really just wanted to run the course again and introduce Abby to the 10K distance.

Well Saturday was an extremely hot and humid day. We left the house at 7:30 and arrived at Howe Meadow around 8:10. It is quite a trek to the registration table inside Old Trail School and we were sweating already! Much to our disappointment, there were no more small t-shirts. What an unbelievable disappointment that was. We were just smiled at and sent on our way with two mediums.

We began the process of pinning our bib numbers on. Abby was wearing a minimal amount of clothing and had to strategically pin her number to her shorts. I had many more options! Out of the corner of my eye I noticed a table way in the back with more t-shirts. I strolled over and inquired. They were leftovers from the kid's race held earlier and there were lots of youth larges and two adult smalls! Yeah! We made an exchange and felt much better. I doubt Abby will ever wear an adult medium.

Then a trek to the port-a-potties and all the way back to the car to deposit our goodie bags and t-shirts. Whew! So darn hot. Then more walking and a warm-up run to the starting area. I felt bad for Abby - there were way too many older men with no shirts on. It was stifling hot and we tried very hard to not bump into anyone.

Finally we were under way. We ran the first mile in 8.57. I thought that was just perfect and Abby said it was fine. Mile 2 was steady at 9.00. We took some water from the first water stop and slowed to a walk to get it down. We discussed the pace and Abby said it still felt fine. Mile 3 at 9.22 which was fine considering the water stop. I was starting to regret not carrying my fuel belt! We turned onto Bolanz Rd and the sun was beating down. Abby was quiet and I tried to talk just enough to keep her going. Mile 4 was a 9.40.

Jerry was running with Andy and Mike and we had planned to look for each other along Everett Rd around the covered bridge. Well we made the turn onto Everett, climbed up a rather small but steep hill and I heard Abby gag a couple of times. Uh oh.......

It is common knowledge that she gagged at the end of every cross country race last fall. It was sort of the indicator of effort. She knew that if she started gagging at the end of a race it meant that she had run hard. No gagging meant she could have gone harder.

A few more steps and she said, "I'm gonna puke." We switched from running to walking. She puked while walking. The funny thing was that at that very moment I saw Jerry and his friends happily running down the trail beside the road. Abby said, "Oh this is great..." We kept walking and shouted a few things back and forth with the guys. I tried to just say enough to indicate that we were not doing so well.

We actually only walked about one minute and then we started running again. There was water at the covered bridge. Mile 5 was a big fat 11.45. There was another round of puking and many little hills to manage. We had 12 minutes to get in under one hour and I sincerely was hoping we could do that.

About one-third of a mile from the end there was a policeman. I thought I was going to get in trouble for abusing Abby this way. We somehow managed to shuffle by. Soon enough the entrance to the finish line appeared. It was a nice finish. Lots of cheering and kind words. The clock read 1:01.40 and that was just fine for the day.

What can you say about a 12-year-old girl who would endure that?! I say she is stronger than she thinks! She never said "I can't do this" or "Can we just stop." She just kept moving forward and if you ask me that is what life is really all about.

ADK Adventure Part 2

2010-06-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

We have been home from our vacation for a week now and I just about feel like I am caught up! We had an amazing week, but we returned home very tired and very sore from our adventures. Starting off with a 9.4 mile hike was probably not the best idea, but as stated before it just seemed to be the right thing to do. To summarize the week it went down like this:

Wednesday: 9.4 mile hike of Algonquin and Wright Peaks

Thursday: Rainy rest day

Friday: 6.2 mile hike of Cascade and Porter Mountains and kayaking on the Ausable

Saturday: Rainy rest day walking around Lake Placid

Sunday: 8 mile run of Whiteface Mountain for Jerry, Pseudo Rainy rest day for the rest of us

Monday: 7.5 mile hike of Whiteface Landing

Tuesday: Drive to my parents via Niagara Falls

ADK Adventures Part 1

2010-06-07T06:49:00.000-07:00

We are having a fantastic time during our 9th visit to the Adirondack region of NY state. We have continued our quest to hike all 46 peaks that are greater than 4000 ft by climbing Algonquin and Wright Peak our first day here. It was our longest family hike yet - 9.4 miles of very rugged rocky steep terrain. It has taken the entire vacation to work out the sore muscles! We have also returned to Cascade Mountain which we hiked five years ago as our first 46er climb. This time we included the side trail to include Porter. I am thinking each hike might get a full blog report once we get home- considering the resulting aches and pains were definitely comparable to running a marathon.

Speaking of running, Jerry has been the only one to don his running shoes. Yesterday he participated in the 33rd annual Footrace up Whiteface Mountain. It was 45 degrees and torrential rain for his 8 mile climb at 8 percent grade. I was guilt ridden to say the least, but he conquered and survived while the girls and I sat in the car at the top of the mountain until the runners started to finish. Not one looked happy. Just standing out in the weather was brutal, but that's what we do!

The top photo is from the peak of Algonquin - NY's second highest peak at 5,115 ft. The second photo is during the climb up. This was one of a few places we needed a little help from Jerry to get up and over. The third photo is from the top of Wright Peak which we climbed on the way down from Algonquin. It was VERY windy!

Today we have planned an easier hike - we probably should have done our hikes in reverse order but we had to adjust for weather and get the big one out of the way early on. We do not do well with things hanging over our heads. After the hike we will take one final trip into Lake Placid and have dinner at the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery which has quickly climbed to the top of our list for good food. They have several veggie options and great atmosphere, but most importantly we have become extremely fond of their "buffalo wing french fries!" Fries covered in hot sauce and blue cheese - need I say more!

ADK or Bust!

2010-05-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

Our vacation has finally arrived! All we need to do is figure out how the humongous pile of stuff on the floor is going to fit into the back of the Subaru or in the pod on top!

The weather is looking so-so and there are forest fires in Quebec causing some smoke in the area. Hmmmm.....could be an interesting week. If the weather permits we will climb Algonquin Mountain and several lesser peaks/trails. We hope to kayak a couple of times and at least wade knee-deep in Mirror Lake. We will do the obligatory walk about town going in and out of all the cute little shops and scarf up some coffee and pastries. There is the footrace up Whiteface Mountain for Jerry on Sunday. If the weather fails us we have a brand new puzzle, some games (LCR and Pass the Pig), and lots and lots of books to pass the time. Regardless of the weather, we will most certainly revel in our time up north and it will pass much too quickly.

Here is a photo of the cabin we are renting again this year: Chickadee Lodge.

They're Trying to Kill Me

2010-05-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I went for a trail run with Jerry and Abby. This shouldn't be much of a big deal since this whole blog is about family fitness and doing things together, but I swear they are trying to kill me!

Actually I have said that about Jerry for a very long time, but now I seriously think Abby is in on it too! When it comes to Jerry I have fond memories of floating in Lake Erie while trying to overturn a capsized Hobie. I remember the extremely narrow trail carved into the side of a mountain we hiked in Glacier National Park on our "honeymoon." I remember being on the back of the tandem with loaded panniers careening downhill into Fort Ticonderoga at about 50 mph. Oh, I know he loves me but seriously, come on........

So even though it was over 80 degrees I agreed to go with them last night to Liberty Park. Within 30 seconds of the run I already had a stomach cramp and my legs felt super heavy. Ugh! The two of them hung together running effortlessly while I choked and groaned behind them. I could occasionally see them look over their shoulders to see just how far back I was. I hung on though and it turned out to be a great run! They moved through the mud and downhills much faster than I dared, but I am thinking if I can hang with them this summer maybe I will really be greatly improved by the fall marathon.

Later in the evening, Abby was getting things ready for her trip to Cedar Point today. I heard her to say to no one in particular, "That run felt really good."

In an effort to avenge myself, I did a little research and discovered that the annual footrace up Whiteface Mountain is going to be held while we are there next month. I knew Jerry could not say no. Unfortunately, they do not provide a ride back down so I guess I will just have to drive up instead of run along with him. Maybe next year we could run it together since Gina will most likely have her license to drive!!?? Just kidding - I am not sure what would be scarier: the thought of her driving up a mountain or the two of us running 8 miles uphill together. I'm scared just thinking about both of those options!

Week in Review 5/16/10 - 5/22/10

2010-05-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 13.1 mile run
Monday: 1 hour yoga
Thursday: 6 mile run
Friday: 4.2 mile run

I felt really happy all week about how things turned out in Cleveland on Sunday. I thought I was ready to run on Thursday but I ended up feeling pretty tired halfway through. I did see a turkey on the trail though! Oh well, I knew the weekend would not be conducive to running so I headed back out on Friday. This time I saw the owl! By Saturday I was feeling pretty crappy - not sure if I ended up fighting off some bug but I feel a whole bunch better today.

So now we are looking down the barrel of the last week of school, followed by our much anticipated week in the Adirondacks. To put it simply - I CAN"T WAIT!

We celebrated the half marathon finish with some chinese takeout - all veggie dishes, of course. Monday I made falafel wraps and baked sweet potato slices. Tuesday was a new pea pesto which got mixed reviews. It was the first time I ever used tarragon in anything. Wednesday was simple baked potatoes and roasted asparagus. Thursday I boiled rosetto ravioli - we have not had that in years and it was nice to revisit that simple meal - no complaints. Friday we did the tofu stirfry with bagged coleslaw mix and noodles. Saturday we grabbed some more falafel/hummus rolled pitas from Aladdins on our way home from teaching Sunday school. All in all it was a good nutritious week - at least I thought so.

Jerry and Abby did some nice trail running together this week. I'm a little jealous but I had lots and lots to do. Gina is hanging onto swimming to release some of the end of the school year stress. We are just so looking forward to getting up to the mountains and taking some long, deep breaths of that delicious air!

Cleveland Half Marathon - A Little BIt Faster!

2010-05-17T04:45:00.000-07:00

Last month I was really happy with the way things turned out at the Spring Classic. My half marathon time was a little bit faster than the previous half I ran in 2008. That was good. I was not really sure how to approach Cleveland. It's always nice to go a little bit faster with each and every race, but we all know that is not always possible. I knew the crowd would factor in - there were 15,000 runners registered for Cleveland as opposed to the couple hundred at Spring Classic. You add in the weather, the course, and all the other variables that are out of your control and the truth is you just never know how things will work out. For that reason, I just didn't come up with a set of goals this time.

The weather was perfect! Low 50s at the start so I was fairly comfortable waiting around in shorts and an extra long-sleeve T-shirt that I pitched before entering the starting area.

One of the best parts of the day was that we brought one of Gina's friends who is a great HS cross-country runner. She seems to have the desire to continue running and we wanted to share with her what the marathon venue feels like. It's always great to see how someone reacts to the day. That is the great part of running in general - all ages, all sizes - you either get it or you don't. She gets it!

My brain is so used to 4-hr marathon splits that I had an extremely difficult time trying to calculate what sort of final time I might end up with. I was clicking off lots of 8.30s and that was feeling really good. My usual marathon goal pace is right around 9-minute miles so 8.30s are a good deal faster. I hadn't studied the course very much since I assumed it was the same as last year, but it felt very different. The distraction was kind of good, I guess. I thought when I got to mile 9 or 10 I would pick it up if possible but I forgot how that section is a gradual climb with headwinds off the lake. Not so nice and it did cause me to slow down over miles 11 and 12.

Jerry and the three girls were on the shoreway just before mile 12. Apparently they REALLY liked the idea that they could walk on the highway. I was super happy to see them at the end of all that gradual climbing. It wasn't until I got to mile 12 that I could calculate an approximate finish time. My watch read 1:43 which left me a good 11 minutes to beat the time from Spring Classic. I realized I was also close to beating the time from my very first half marathon in 2003. The group of runners I had been around seemed to be collectively picking up the pace so I just went along with it. I finished at 1:51.13! Super happy but with lots of sore toes and feeling a bit beat up from all that concrete city street running. The fact that I improved a time from 7 years ago tells me that I have been doing some things right and I hope to continue and make a good run at Columbus in October.

We then headed out to the 25th mile to await the finishers. It was really great to watch the bell curve play out as the first finishers trickled in and then a few more until it was constant runners around that 3:45/4 hour mark. Lots of amazing effort out there on the course - you just can't explain it unless you've been there. We did our best to cheer and not say the things I know we runners don't like to hear: You're Looking Good, You're ALMOST there. The truth is you are NOT looking good and you are NOT almost there until you are within crawling distance of the timing mat! We found that most runners just stared ahead as we cheered but if we said, "No more turns now, the finish is straight ahead!" that almost always got a head turn and a smile.

Now it's time to focus on getting ready for vacation! School is over in 9 days. I am working on getting Abby to agree to a 10K in June and Gina will focus on swimming and getting ready for swim camp. Jerry is in full Burning River mode and planning a 50-mile training run at night during Memorial Day weekend. Good times ahead without a doubt!

I Love Lentils!

2010-05-13T06:46:00.000-07:00

My Grandma used to make the best lentil soup! I always loved the earthy, comforting taste of it. I could open a can of Progresso Lentil soup and eat the whole thing -warm or cold, doesn't matter. I came across this recipe a few months ago in a vegetarian cook book and it has become one of our favorite dishes. It's super easy comfort food at its finest.

Lentil and Rice Casserole
1 cup uncooked rice (brown or white - I mix it up)
1 cup dried lentils
1 cup chopped onion
32 oz vegetable/chicken broth
1 tbsp dried italian seasoning
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 8-oz pkg shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat casserole dish with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients, mix well. Pour into dish and bake, covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.

In the last post I wrote about our new hiking supplies. Everything got tested out on Mother's Day during a short hike of Wetmore Trail leading to the goat farm that Jerry has been telling us about for years. It was a wonderful way to spend the day - splashing through several stream crossings to make sure the waterproof Gortex boots kept the girls feet dry (they did!). Gina spoke to the goats and we all enjoyed being close to farm animals again. Jerry and the girls then treated me to an awesome homemade Thai stir-fry with so many veggies it was unbelievable! It was so nice to watch someone else do all the washing and chopping and cooking and cleaning up! Of course the Pièce de résistance had to be the chocolate lava cakes that ended the meal. Heavenly, warm, gooey, delicious chocolate..........Thank you one and all for a great day! Oh and the handmade cards with lots of writing inside were just what I wanted and that LUSH sandstone soap - you know it makes me happy!

So now we are looking forward to Sunday when I will run the half marathon in Cleveland. I hate to say it's no biggie, but honestly I am just viewing it as a chance to run in a crowd and enjoy the day that God brings on.

I Ain't Goin' Nowhere!

2010-05-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

We got busy last week and started gathering supplies for our vacation to the Adirondacks next month. We decided it was time to change the way we hydrate on our hikes and purchased two new hydration packs for Gina and Abby. We have been sharing two Camelbaks for a long time - one is a waistpack and the other is a backpack. We noticed last year that it was getting kind of gross slurping water out of the same mouthpieces. When the girls were little it seemed fine and dandy, but there was something strange about it last year. I found some last week at REI-outlet and ordered two. Stylish, built for a woman's frame - everyone will be much happier being boss of their own water from now on! No more stopping on the trail to ask for a drink of water from somebody else's pack.

We then moved onto the task of buying new hiking boots for both girls. I inherited the pair we bought in Lake Placid for Gina a couple years ago. She has been wanting more ankle support and now her feet should be done growing so we are pretty comfortable spending the money on "good" boots. I expect Abby to keep growing so she still had to shop on a budget! We spent a fair amount of time looking online and then took a trip to Gander Mountain for sizing. Abby found a pair of North Face there that we bought. We ended up ordering a pair of Merrell boots for Gina and another pair of North Face shoes for Abby just to be sure. They arrived and the fashion show soon followed.

Adirondack hiking trails can pretty much be described in one word: ROCKS! Little rocks, big rocks, mammoth giant scare-the-beejeezus out of me rocks. If I think about it too much I get terrified because one small slip on a big giant hard rock could be devastating. So when we shop for hiking shoes I am constantly flipping them over to look at the treads. I want the "grippiest" shoes I can find! Apparently the girls have caught on to this because as soon as Gina took her boots out of the box, she flipped them over and said "I ain't goin' nowhere in these!" That's right, Gina, nowhere but up Algonquin Mountain - supposedly one of the hardest hikes in NY state. Hopefully there will be no slipping and sliding (except on our butts when we are too scared to stand up going down some of the huge rocky sections!).

Abby made her selection for the shoes we ordered (the blue ones) so I will just need to return the other ones to Gander Mountain. It's going to be a great vacation! We're on the countdown - bring on the mountains!

Week in Review 4/25/10 - 5-1/10

2010-05-03T04:11:00.000-07:00

Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: 30 minutes yoga, 4 mile run with Jerry
Wednesday: 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 10 mile run
Friday: 4 mile run
Saturday: 4 mile run with Abby

Total Running Miles: 27 miles

People always ask me what I think about while I run since I normally run by myself and I do not use an ipod unless I am on the treadmill. Well, my good friend, Veronica, lost her mom this week and that thought swirled around my head through most of my runs. Thursday's ten miles were spent remembering the Charlottesville Marathon which Veronica and I both ran in 2006. It was my third marathon and her first. It was incredibly hot, hilly and humbling. I always think back to that as the toughest race I've ever done - I mean I hit the wall at mile 11 and never recovered. It was a LONG day! But the highlight of the day was watching Veronica finish her first marathon. Her Mom and Dad had made the trip from Cleveland to support her and they had a great time witnessing what transpires during a marathon - especially a tough one like C'ville. At the finish line, Veronica looked strong and her Mom was waiting to join her in crossing the finish line. It was a moment we all really treasured and now even more so with her passing.

The funeral was Saturday morning and Jerry and I returned home around 2 in the afternoon. I went immediately to Abby's room and asked her if she wanted to run with me. She said yes! We discussed where to go and decided on the Buckeye Trail in Bedford. We changed and got into the car. It was one of those cathartic runs that took me from feeling sad to feeling near bliss. Abby pulled away as soon as we got on the trail but I had her in sight and just locked in on how awesome she is. It was a quiet run. We stopped by the overlook to enjoy a quick view of Tinkers Creek and the valley extending out before us. Twenty minutes out, twenty minutes back. Forty minutes of the best therapy out there and we both needed it badly.

I'm still learning vegetarian ways and still struggling with meal timing. Track meets, swim practice, evening runs - it is making life so hectic (just like everyone else), but I am getting through day by day and still getting lots of compliments from the crew on our meals. We returned home from NY last Sunday and whipped up Huevos Rancheros (eggs, rice and hot sauce). That is always a crowd pleaser, especially on a tired Sunday night. Monday I tried a new way to make tofu - I drained it and pressed it and cut it into triangles then marinated it in teriyaki sauce. When I returned home from work I took the triangles and put them in a ziploc baggie with panko bread crumbs and shook it gently. Then I baked it for half an hour or so. It was SOOOOOOO good! As a matter of fact, by the time Abby and I returned from track there was barely enough to go around. I will repeat that at the end of this week with two packs of tofu! We also had very simple french bread pizzas and roasted asparagus; tuna noodle casserole; stuffed shells and salad, and quickie quesadillas on Saturday night. I think very soon Jerry will sneak out on his lunch hour and gorge himself on meat. Yesterday after his 20 mile run I thought he was going to eat the kitchen chairs. I need to address that issue next I guess - how to feed someone training for a 100-mile race without resorting to meat for protein.

Week in Review 4/18/10 - 4/24/10

2010-04-26T04:42:00.000-07:00

Tuesday: 7.4 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run, 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 10.5 mile run
Saturday: 4 mile run

Total Running Miles: 25.9

It was one of those weeks where I worked a lot and spent more time taking care of other people and their issues. We also traveled up to NY this weekend to visit my family. Two weekends in a row of being away was not so good for running, but we really enjoyed our time away and that was the most important thing. To compensate I tried to run a bit longer on Tuesday and Thursday when I had ample time.

Abby had track meets on Monday and Thursday. She has her mile time down to 6:50 now. Whoosh!

We had some great meals last week! After Jerry's 50K last Sunday we came home and ordered pizza. Monday we had soy/chicken patty sandwiches and hash brown potato casserole. On Tuesday we tried a new recipe for Broccoli Soup. It was really great - I'll post the recipe below! Next came a pasta salad from Emeril, and then falafel wraps and sweet potatoes. Friday we made twice bakes potatoes and bean salad. Saturday my mom served us some delicious mac-n-cheese and apple salad.

Broccoli Rice Soup (from www.elliemay.com)
Ingredients
8 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup arborio rice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 cups broccoli, chopped (about 1 large or 2 small heads)
salt and pepper
grated parmesan cheese
Cooking Instructions
Bring the stock to a boil over high heat in a large pot. Once it has reached a boil, add the arborio rice. Give the soup a quick stir to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, start the red pepper and garlic saute. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a shallow frying pan. Add the red bell pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the crushed red pepper and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes longer until the garlic is a nice golden color but not burned. Remove from heat and add to the soup along with the broccoli.
Let the soup simmer for about 10 minutes longer or until the broccoli is tender and the rice is fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls topped with plenty of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Congratulations to everyone who ran Boston Marathon last week! You guys did great and I was only slightly envious of your achievements! Ryan Hall managed an awesome 4th place finish with Meb behind him in 5th. Ryan's time was the fastest ever for an American at Boston - so there you go. Running will never capture the media or public attention like football, basketball, or baseball but there is some amazing talent out there and it really deserves to be recognized. First place in the Boston Marathon will give you $100,000 in prize money - both male and female. For his 4th place finish Ryan took home $18,000. Not bad, but a drop in the bucket compared to what some of these other professional athletes earn.

Earth Day

2010-04-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last year we tried to incorporate a few changes that should help the earth. They were simple and inexpensive. Here are the four that we have conquered:

1. Cloth grocery bags instead of plastic. We collected a bunch of these at races and expos and decided to actually put them to use. We still use some plastic bags for backyard doggie clean up and walks but our use of plastic bags has been greatly reduced. Plus we get a discount at the local grocery store every time we use cloth bags!

2. We stopped buying plastic water bottles and switched to stainless steel reusable bottles that we fill from the tap. Two reasons for this change: Regardless of what the FDA says, I don't think BPA is safe and I don't want to contribute all those water bottles to the local landfill.

3. We replaced a lot of our plastic food storage containers with pyrex for the same reasons as above. I have had a thing about tupperware for a long time and so much of it went out a few months ago.

4. We started recycling all of our junk paper (newspapers, magazines, coupons, junk mail). We just keep a box in the garage and when it gets full we take it all to one of those green paper recycling dumpsters that we seem to have on every corner now. We have been really surprised by how much paper we accumulate.

We hope to make more changes this year! I always think it is easier to tackle one change at a time.

Week in Review 4/11/10 - 4/17/10

2010-04-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Family Hike in South Chagrin
Monday: 15 min yoga
Tuesday: 45 minutes treadmill intervals (5 miles)
Wednesday: 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday: 9 mile run

Total Running Miles: 19

Since I actually pushed myself and ran hard in the half marathon, I took a few days to properly recover. We then traveled over the weekend and focused on Jerry and his 50K (31 mile) run at Mohican. His race report will be found eventually on his blog. I can only say here that Gina, Abby and I had a really great time and enjoyed a much needed getaway!

The girls have literally grown up going to these types of events since 1999. The transition of hauling around little girls with strollers, snacks, crayons, books, and stuffed animals has really been amazing. This weekend I only had to worry about snacks and that was pretty easy. I was worried they would grow tired of attending these races and behave like teenagers - ipod in ears, phone in hand, eyes rolling, clueless to their surroundings, but that was not the case at all. As evident in the photos we found plenty of ways to stay entertained and the 6 hours passed fairly quickly. There was the obligatory trip to the playground, piggyback rides, and a spontaneous game of pinecone baseball. It's always fun competing in an event, but spectating has its own set of special joys.

Time to be a Spectator

2010-04-16T04:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend it is my turn to spectate and encourage Jerry as he participates in the Forget the PR 50K ultramarathon in Mohican State Park. He did this race last year but the girls and I did not go. This year it seemed like a fun way to spend a weekend so we have a reservation at the Lodge (with a greatly reduced rate thanks to their Stays for A's program where they will discount the rate $10 for every A on your child's report card). On the way there we want to drive through Kenyon College where Gina will be attending a swim camp in June. We've done some preliminary research on where to have dinner to accommodate our vegetarian needs and we are thinking we will dine at Malabar Inn. The weather looks good and the pet sitter is arranged to look after the dog and two cats.

Abby had her first track meet yesterday! She clocked a 6:53 in the 1600 (that's one mile) and a 3:12 in the 800. The uniform choice is ridiculous. She's the one in blue. I love watching her run and admire her tenacity. I think she is mastering the art of a well-paced race. The whole middle school team is very talented for a bunch of 7th and 8th graders. Our fastest boy went a 5:10 in the 1600! The fastest girl went 6:15. OF course I really only pay attention to the distance events but the sprinters did a great job too - I'm just not so familiar with their times!

Meals this week have so far included barley chili, eggplant parmigiana, veggie loaf from the freezer, and avocado/rice salad served with cheese and tomato on English Muffins! Everyone was wrinkling their faces at the English Muffin idea but it was quick and pretty darn tasty. Dinners are tricky now because Gina needs to eat early so her stomach can settle before 6:30 swim team practice. Abby prefers to eat a little later since she has track practice or a meet in the afternoon. So in addition to trying to plan healthy, not-too-expensive meals I also need to keep in mind that it might be served over a 2-hour span. Tonight I'll cook up some pasta with veggies for Jerry to feast on AND I think we can all sit at the table and enjoy a meal together! Yea!

I'm excited for all the runners going to Boston this weekend for Monday's Boston Marathon! I REALLY hope to be there one day. I will be getting text message updates for two of my running friends and then anxiously awaiting results on the others. I am cheering for Ryan Hall to win the men's race. Meb winning NYC Marathon in November was wonderful, but Ryan crossing first in a major marathon would just make my day! I love that he is forthright about his beliefs and that he uses running to glorify God. Go Ryan!

Week in Review 4/4/10 - 4/10/10

2010-04-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday: Family Hike in South Chagrin!
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 4 mile run with Jerry, 2.5 mile run with Gina
Thursday: 4 mile run, 2 mile run with Gina
Friday: 30 minutes yoga
Saturday: 13.1 mile run

Total Running Miles: 29.6

We had an absolutely great day at the Spring Classic Half Marathon and 5K. Abby won the girls 10-12 yr old age group in the 5K. Gina scored second in the girls 13-14 yr old group in the 5K and by some miracle Jerry also came in 2nd for his age group in the 5K! The three of them were holding their trophies proudly as I passed by the finish area on my first lap of the half marathon. I was so happy to see them all smiling. It really gave me a boost that I needed desperately.

As previously stated I didn't have huge goals for the day. I always feel better having several small goals and then letting the day unfold. It was going along pretty well for the first 6-mile loop. I followed behind a runner I named Bob in my head. He kept a nice pace going and I wanted to keep him in sight just for reference. I was running most of the miles between 8:30 and 9 minute pace. Towards the end of the first lap a woman seemingly in my age group passed me and we continued to flip-flop the rest of the day. We made very limited small talk and it made me a bit more tense than I like. I kept telling myself I was not racing her, but the more I heard those little footsteps behind me the more I wanted to get away from them. At mile 11 I was feeling pretty good and passed some geese standing along side the road. I said "honk honk" as I went by and then I guess I got a little loopy because "honk honk" turned into train sounds and I started going "Whoo Whoo" in my head and picturing myself like a train rolling along passing all the people up ahead. Whatever - it worked. Mile 12 clocked in at an 8:17. I passed Bob, but I knew the other woman was still close behind because I could still hear those feet. As we approached the final half mile I recalled something our pastor said once about his wife who is a teacher. She would look out at a classroom full of unruly students and say, "One of us is going home happy today and I'm thinking it's gonna be me!" Up ahead I saw three more female runners and I decided to try and pick them off one by one. I actually did it! I went home happy having finished in 1:54 and collecting a second place trophy for my effort.

Goals for Tomorrow

2010-04-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will all get up and head to Strongsville for the Spring Classic Half Marathon and 5K. I will run the half marathon while Jerry, Gina and Abby run in the 5K. It looks to be a great day in the weather department and for the most part we are ready!

I have only run three previous half marathons. In 2003 I ran my first half at the Buckeye Half Marathon in Peninsula. I finished in 1:52. It was the first time I ever received a medal for any type of athletic event! I was 37 years old and smiled like a little kid with that medal around my neck. Two months later I ran the Fall Classic Half Marathon with Jerry. He dragged me through the course and we finished in 1:48. In my log book I only wrote one word - OUCH! In the last mile I had visions of serving him with divorce papers. The third half marathon was the Buckeye Half again in 2008. Jerry and I went together but had no plans to take a single step of the race in tandem. I finished that one in 1:56.

Tomorrow I will shoot for something between 1:55 and 2:00. No major goals, definitely never a PR. I will view it as a chance to practice pacing strategy and positive thinking.

I am really excited for Abby! Her running is coming along beautifully. Her previous 5K from last summer was a 26-something. I think she can crush that one without a doubt!

Gina's been struggling with her running. Her exercise-induced asthma is exacerbated by the pollen and there has been lots of wheezing, groaning, cramping, and complaining during the runs we've taken together. I know it's hard and I'm super proud of her for trying to get ready for this race. Jerry will run with her in case her lungs do something nasty and together they will make their way to the finish line. I'm kind of bummed I won't see their race but I hope to hear the nitty gritty details all the way home.

To Ham or Not to Ham

2010-04-06T05:21:00.000-07:00

Monday: 1 hour yoga (1/2 with Gina)
Tuesday: 4 mile run, 2.5 mile run with Gina
Wednesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: 2.5 mile run with Gina, 3 mile walk with Abby, Jerry and Mia
Friday: 5 mile run, 5 mile run with Abby
Saturday: 3.6 mile run, 2.5 mile run with Gina

Total Running Miles: 28.6

Abby got in lots of running at track practice so I tried to get Gina out a few times to get ready for the 5K coming up soon. Jerry seems to be always running and getting ready for his 50K. I've been finding myself somewhat bewildered as to how to get it all done and ever so thankful that I am not trying to prepare for a full marathon.

The 10-mile run on Friday was one of the toughest training runs I can remember. It was HOT outside and I was just not acclimated to this freakishly warm Ohio spring weather. Since I was going to do two laps of a 5-mile loop (Old Hickory) I decided against carrying water which proved to be a mistake. My brain was sort of thick after several insomnolent nights. Within one mile from home I was dying for water. I finished the loop and returned home to pick up Abby. She was ready to roll and I was scared! I downed some water but I was really feeling shot after only half my run. We started out and I told her she could go on ahead and wait for me at the school. It is just so frustrating to watch her little legs cruise away from me while I plod on at my old-lady pace. Long story short - she went out too fast so we struggled in silence until Mitkarian parkway when we happily ran into Jerry. He was about 18 miles into his 22 mile run. I swear I have never been so happy to see him in my life! He had WATER! Abby and I proceeded to drain his water bottle and then the 3 of us ran up through the woods until Jerry split off for the rest of his trail run. Abby and I made it home and ran straight to the freezer for Edy's frozen fruit bars! Lesson learned: when it's hot you must carry water......duh.

We pondered the Easter menu ad nauseum. We could not decide whether or not to include ham in the menu. In the end we did buy a small Honeybaked Ham which went uneaten by all except Jerry. Another lesson learned: when your family is transitioning to a vegetarian diet best not to waste money on Honeybaked Ham!

The Easter Menu ended up to include above-mentioned ham, 3-cheese macaroni and cheese; green beans tossed with buffalo mozzarella, chives, olive oil; rolls, coleslaw, and deviled eggs. We had an amazing time at church teaching saturday night and then returning for early service on Sunday. We spent easter afternoon strolling through South Chagrin up and down the hills. It was really a great day!

Week in Review 3/21/10 - 3/27/10

2010-03-30T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sunday: 4 mile run, 3 mile walk with Abby
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 12 mile run
Thursday: 20 minutes yoga
Friday: 6 mile run
Saturday: 4 mile run

Total Running Miles: 30

The 12-miler was really nice and I feel good about doing a half marathon on April 10. It has been really nice to not have to try to work in long runs for a spring marathon. The past week was full of events that left my head swirling. Suffice it to say that the running was great therapy.

Life in the kitchen was also busy. Last week was super simple, but this week I somehow made a list of time-consuming meals. There was lots of shopping and prep work, but we had some mighty tasty dinners. The only meat product came in the form of beef broth for the french onion soup Jerry made for us on Sunday. That was followed by pasta with veggies with garlic breadsticks; Soy (fake chicken) sandwiches and potato salad; wraps with hummus and falafel (a first for me to make) and sweet potato wedges; bruschetta and breaded zucchini sticks; and my all-time favorite veggie loaf made with lentils and veggies and cheesy goodness.

It seems that as a family we are definitely headed in a more meatless way of life. About a week ago Jerry and I went out for a walk with the dog. When we returned we were met by Abby in the kitchen looking distraught. She told us that while we were gone Gina had watched a video about meat production in the US. Apparently it was quite graphic and disturbing. Abby tried to comfort Gina as best she could and now the two them really are taking the vegetarian thing to the next level. They have asked me to pack their lunches as the school offers little in the way of meat-free options. I thought my lunch-packing days were over but it seems I have a few years left! I have always said that eating healthy is hard work, but in my opinion it is so worth the effort.

Two Hours on the Towpath

2010-03-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

With no work scheduled for today, I decided to make the spring pilgrimage to the Towpath for a nice, long run. I love the towpath for several reasons: it's soft to run on, the scenery is lovely, it's quiet. I dislike the towpath because it can get really boring and I usually feel somewhat afraid being there alone. I spend the first mile or so in hyper-vigilant mode with ears on and eyes wide open. You never know what or who could be lurking in the shadows. Today I was even more unnerved because of the extremely dense fog. I took a before and after picture standing at station road looking out at the Rt 82 bridge. Check this out!

It took about an hour for the fog to lift. My plan was to run for one hour and then turn around. I always run slow on the towpath so I figured that would give me at least 12 miles. The run was pretty uneventful save for the red-winged black birds who waited for me on the boardwalk. For several summers I was literally assaulted by a red-winged black bird who built his/her nest near the path where I run pretty much everyday. They are evil. Pure evil. During that time they would swoop down at me, fly into my shoulders, peck at my head, all the time they would be making that chuck, chuck, chucking sound. I was severely traumatized! It was the furthest thing from my mind today. I had just turned around to head back to station road when I saw and heard them all at the same moment. I started shouting "No, no, nonononononono, Oh God, Oh !@#$%!" My shadow was in front of me. Why was I moving SO SLOW? I made it to the end of the board walk and felt like a complete idiot. No one was around, thank the Lord! It got me thinking about fear and how it sneaks up on you like that. I try to live a "No Fear" kind of life but all it took was those stupid little birds to remind me today that I am not fearless. I hate them. I really do.

Week in Review 3/14/10 - 3/20/10

2010-03-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

Monday: 4 mile run, 30 minutes treadmill walk
Tuesday: 1 hour yoga, 10.1 mile run
Wednesday: 4 mile run
Thursday: 30 minutes yoga, 2.5 mile walk/run with Gina
Friday: 4 mile run
Saturday: 6 mile run

Total Running Miles: 30.5

Great week for running. Tuesday's 10 miler was unplanned. I headed out for 6 shortly around noon and it was so nice out I quickly changed the route to make it 7 miles. I started thinking that the weekend was going to be busy and it would be great to get a long run out of the way, so I made the decision to stay out in the sunshine and complete a 10-mile route. It felt pretty good even though my feet were not prepared and I did not have any water on me. Maybe the Vitamin D is kicking in!

Abby started track and clocked a 7:22 for her first 1-mile time trial. I'm so impressed with her ability and her desire to do well.

Gina also got back to running this week and is gearing up for the 5K on April 10. She was a little bummed at how bad it felt to hit the pavement again. I tried to explain that swimming is a non-impact sport and it will take some time for those muscles and joints to get used to weight-bearing exercise. She ran 3 times and I think it got a little better for her each time. Here's a photo of Abby and Gina as we headed to the bike path on Saturday morning. The bike path is full of the sights and sounds of spring - lots of spring peepers and other frogs, turtles, birds and deer. I walked leisurely with Mia while the two of them ran the length of the path and back. I had already done my 6 miles earlier and Jerry was in CVNP doing a 25 mile training run. It was a great feeling to head back to the house knowing we had all been out and about for the morning - even the dog!

Last night we taught the little people at church so we played hookie this morning and did not go back for service. Instead we went out to Burton for the annual pancake breakfast. There are 4 different venues to choose from. This year we decided to do the rustic setting of Century Village. Apparently so did everyone else in NE Ohio! We waited about an hour in line to get our pancakes, sausage, applesauce, juice/milk and coffee. All I can say is it is well worth the wait for REAL maple syrup and REAL butter. It is just one of those things that you can do once a year and be satisfied by the sheer goodness of it until the next March rolls around. Here is a photo of part of the line! We then visited some of the horses that were "out back." I love anytime we can be around animals and that much nature. It is such a nice break from our everyday routine and chaos.

I liked the meals we had this week. Things were pretty simple but no one complained. We had mac-n-cheese and apple salad; veggie enchiladas; baked potatoes with broccoli cheese sauce; english muffin pizzas; california rolls and egg rolls, and for St Patricks Day we made sandwiches with pastrami, cole slaw, russian dressing and swiss cheese and served them up with baked sweet potato fries! Last night we went to Panera after church and caught up with some friends. That was a great way to end the week!

Coffee, Tea, Vitamin D?

2010-03-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I had my yearly exam with my gynecologist. She is the 4th ob/gyn I've had over my life and I really like her. I never feel like she's rushing me out the door and she seems to hear what I say concerning my health and history. I only see her once a year but I think it's really important to feel comfortable at that very important appointment. My previous doc could have been dubbed "Ugliest Doctor in Cleveland" which is kind of good when he's your gyno but it was so bad it actually distracted me as I tried to figure him out!

As I was driving to her office it dawned on me that I had been rushing around and not even really paying attention to if there was anything I needed to talk to her about. I spend most of my mental energy on other people and their issues. I made a quick little list in my head - um I don't seem to have the energy that I used to, I'm kinda achy, I seem to gain a pound or two a year, etc etc. I'm sure she hears the same thing patient after patient, day after day.

The appointment went pretty much as I expected but I was surprised to have her tell me that I should start taking vitamin D. I have heard some of the buzz lately and have glanced at a few news articles but I haven't done any hardcore research on the topic. I'm not a big fan of supplements or pills so I tend to avoid anything that says "take this and you will be healed and live to be 100." She rattled off a long list of things that vitamin D is supposed to be helpful for. Achiness, depression, lack of energy, it is good for breast cancer prevention, high blood pressure, asthma, oh the list went on and on. I almost stopped on the way home to buy some so I could start immediately; however, I wanted to do a little google research on my own.

I discovered a lot of interesting websites and information. I particularly like this one at Medical News Today. I got in the car and drove to Walgreens where I found the last two bottles on the shelf (it was BOGO so I had to get two). Apparently lots of other people are considering supplementing with vitamin D. I seriously wanted to pop one in the car but I waited till I got home. So we'll see if I feel any different in a few weeks! Most importantly I don't think it is going to hurt anything or cause any side effects. I'd like to think I could get all the vitamin D I need from the sun but just in case I will continue to take it in pill form.

The only other supplements I use are a probiotic and flax oil. I have been taking flax oil for about five years. I use a blend from Barleans called Essential Woman. I mix it into yogurt every morning, add some fruit and kashi grains and call it breakfast. It seems to keep me a bit more emotionally balanced throughout the monthly cycle. If you think I am crazy, please ask my family what happens when I stop taking it! I can't buy it locally anymore so I have to order it online but it is well worth it. I swear Jerry and the girls would drive to Canada to buy it for me if they had to!

Week in Review 3/7/10 - 3/13/10

2010-03-15T08:06:00.000-07:00

Monday: 4 mile run, 30 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 6 mile run
Thursday: 6 mile run
Friday: 6 mile run

Total Miles: 22

Spring has sprung! Spring, sprang, sprung! I don't even know if those are correct words but it is so nice to have some new weather vocabulary instead of winter, snow, grey, and gloom. I had to modify my schedule and could only run 4 days but I didn't mind. I had some nice trips to the bike path with Abby and Gina and even resumed walking Mia around the block. I wasn't crazy about the free yoga class on YogaToday last week so I opted out. As soon as I heard her say "Arm Balancing" I knew I was in trouble. I have a hard enough time balancing on my legs so I just didn't even go there.

So Saturday and Sunday were the Lake Erie USA swimming Gold champs at Cleveland State. There are about 120 swimming events from Friday - Sunday for kids ages 10 to whatever. In the open age category I saw entries from people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Gina swam on Saturday and Sunday. She swam in 4 relays and 3 individual events.

Here is how it went down. Up at 5:30 am, left the house at 6:30am. Arrived at Cleveland State around 7:05. Pre-meet and warm-ups lasted until 8:50am. During this time there is nothing for a parent to do but sit, talk, read. The pool area is super bright, super loud with 100s of kids swimming warm-ups, music is blasting, the announcer is announcing meetings and information, coaches are yelling and blowing whistles. I am usually mentally exhausted by the time the meet starts! Once things get going it is fun to watch all the kids we have known swim their events - but it still seems to take forever! Gina swam 2 relays and her 50 Free on Saturday. We left at 2 pm and got home at 2:30. She wore the new FastSkin suit and did alright. She was disappointed. Sunday was basically a repeat but it was SO dark when we left the house. We listened to Juanes (her favorite Spanish singer) in the car. I almost fell asleep at a red light! She swam 2 relays and 2 individuals. Did not get the time she hoped for but we talked it out and all is well. I had to be a timer on Sunday afternoon which squeezed the last bit of activity from my nervous system. I don't really like being that close to the pool, surrounded by excited kids screaming in my ear; starting and stopping the stopwatch and the timing mat plunger, writing down the time before they start the next heat. It was nutty (for lack of a better word!) I ache from sitting on those concrete bleachers and standing on the pool deck for so many hours on end. When we got home at 3:30 on Sunday we both became giant lumps on the furniture covered by blankets.

For Gina one of the highlights was making a new friend who is on her team but practices at another pool. She is blind and relies on our head coach, Charlie, to call to her in the water or tap her on the head with a big long pole thing when she approaches the wall. Every time she swam the entire place erupted in applause. How cool is that.

Abby is not sure if track starts today or Friday so we sent her with running clothes and fingers crossed. She really needs some good running with friends to offset some of the crud that goes on in middle school. Friday we met 3 of her friends at the bike path so they could run together. We are hoping to do lots of that this summer.

God Bless Jerry for getting in his long run on Friday night and then holding down the house while I was at the swim meet all weekend. You cannot live this kind of a lifestyle without lots of teamwork.

I think we did some pretty nice eating this week! On Sunday we made burgers - I did actually buy real beef burgers and then made soy burgers as well. I'll be darned if no one wanted the beef burger. Poor Jerry had to take them for his lunch several days in a row. I know now that I can stop offering that option. After that it was tofu stir-fry with lots of veggies and noodles; pasta bake with zucchini and eggplant; pierogies and broccoli salad; pasta salad and one night of leftovers. I like throwing in a "leftover night" every now and then just to make people appreciate a good, warm fresh meal. It works every time!

March 10, 1989

2010-03-10T04:49:00.000-08:00

Twenty-one years ago today Jerry and I went on our first date! It's so hard to believe that I have now known and loved him for 21 of my 43 years. Bizarre....really bizarre.

Every year Gina and Abby ask us what our first date was so here goes (at least this is what I remember!) The weather was wonderful! This is what happens when you take two country kids and put them together - the first thing we report is the weather for the day! I remember it because it was almost 80 degrees and really unusually warm. I drove home from working at Cleveland Clinic in my "Little Blue" Acura Integra with the window down and had to exit 90East because of an accident. I made the drive to my apartment in Euclid along Lake Shore Blvd full of anticipation for the big date with Jerry that night.

He picked me up and I was relieved to see he had a normal, nice working SUV! It was a Chevy though and I was from a Ford family but I had already broken the rule with my Acura so it shouldn't matter too much. We went to Shooters on the west bank of the Flats in Cleveland and had a really nice dinner. He even paid for the whole thing which was remarkable considering my last few boyfriends were not really all that generous. From there we strolled to Club Coconuts where we proceeded to dance the night away. This is the part where Gina and Abby drop their jaws to the ground and stare in disbelief. Yes, we danced and no one kicked us out or anything for our bad dancing. We laughed and had a great time.

Upon arriving at my apartment door, #1413 of the Americana, the world's smallest apartment ever, he leaned over and gave me a kiss and said goodnight. It was pretty much the perfect date and I went inside my apartment realizing that this one was different - in a very very good way!

The next morning we met up for a walk through Euclid Creek Reservation and it has pretty much been continual adventure from there! We've had our ups and downs, both figuratively and literally, but I Would Not Change A Thing.

Week in Review 2/28/10 - 3/6/10

2010-03-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 2.5 miles outside with Abby, 2.5 miles on treadmill
Tuesday: 5 miles, 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 10 miles
Friday: 4 miles
Saturday: 6 miiles

Total Running Miles: 30

Hellooooooooooo March! There is something really sweet about the arrival of March. We have been blessed with several days of sunshine. I can see my daffodil and hyacinth bulbs poking up through the ground, and how about that grass! It feels like the bulk of winter is behind us even though we all know there is more snow in the future.

I was really pleased to get in 30 miles this week. I am not far behind a marathon training schedule. Last year at this time I had a 15 miler under my belt. This week's 10 miler felt just right though. There is something so magical about springtime long runs. I am now looking forward to the half marathon scheduled for one month from now.

Gina was supposed to swim this weekend but we canceled since her stomach was not its usual hungry self. She was feeling nauseated and did not feel like eating. She especially did not feel like trying to squeeze her body into that new swimsuit. I started her on some pepcid and she took it easy yesterday. I think the stress of the school year caught up with her and that is her body's way of sounding the alarm. I've always tried to teach them to listen to their bodies. She seems much better today and has Gold Champs at CSU on the schedule for next weekend. Break out that Fast Skin swimsuit!

Abby got in some nice outdoor running this weekend. She ran while Gina and I walked the bike path both yesterday and today. I also took her out shopping yesterday for new running clothes. She needed some technical shirts and some tights for the first cold days of track. She is so tiny though! It makes buying good running clothes a bit of a challenge. We found a few things at Target: pants, knee-length tights, and a long-sleeve pullover. Then we went to Dicks where she found 2 awesome, fun, short-sleeve shirts, a long-sleeve LiveStrong shirt and a pair of wind pants! It cost me an arm and a leg but she was grinning from ear to ear!

Jerry was out early Saturday morning and managed to get in a nice 18 miles. It will be this way till August: Saturday morning is usually reserved for his long run. The girls and I get really used to him being out of the house. It's always a transition when we have him hanging around on Saturdays!

Food was tricky this week. We managed stuffed acorn squash; ham and pea pasta; yucky disgusting fish that no one but Jerry could stomach with rice and broccoli; a mexican lasagne with soy crumble and avocado mixed in the layers; and delicious Tuscan vegetable soup with french bread to round out the weekend.

I'm hoping for lots of sunshine and fresh air this week! Goodbye snow!?

Poor Porky

2010-03-04T04:19:00.000-08:00

Porky is one of the many names we have created for our golden retriever. Her AKC registered name is Bella Mia, but over the years we have resorted to calling her many other things, some of them not so nice. She was plain old Mia for a long time and then Jerry lovingly bestowed the name "Dorkus" on her. Dorkus turned into to Dorky, which rhymes with Porky and now she just wags when we say anything in a high squeaky voice.

A few weeks ago I wrote about her adventure chasing the coyote through the backyard. Her paw was bleeding a bit at the nail bed when she came in after that, but it stopped and it didn't seem to really bother her. I noticed though that she licked it all the time. I finally got a good look at it the other day and decided she needed to go to the vet.

The vet visit was a big long stressful event. She dislikes going to the vet even on the very best day. I knew this visit would involve bloodwork for her medication renewal and lots of poking around at her paw. Abby agreed to come with me for moral support. The vet decided to sedate her and remove the nail saying it was too long to cut, etc etc. It was also infected. She apparently did well during the sedation and we picked her up a half hour later. Here is how she looks with her bandaged paw and elizabethan collar. Not a happy camper.

As always, Dr Gilbert is tending to the wounded. He is such a curious cat. It is going to be a little bit crazy until Saturday keeping the bandage dry considering the enormous amount of snow and wetness in our backyard. Press-n-Seal wrapped around the bandage is doing a great job so far.

So even though yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny, almost-spring day, I could not manage even the smallest of runs or exercise. The day was packed with work and the vet appointment, then dinner, filling out the class ring form, and helping Gina study for a spanish quiz. Some days are like that but it still made me irritated. Sensing my growing bad mood, Jerry skipped his planned evening run and cleared an area in the backyard for Mia. I'm hoping for a good long run today and a much needed trip to the grocery store. If I manage those two things I will be satisfied with my day.

Week in Review 2/21/10 - 2/27/10

2010-03-01T04:27:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 8.0 miles outside with Jerry
Monday: 1 hour yoga
Tuesday: 4.5 miles treadmill
Wednesday: 4.0 miles treadmill, 30 minutes Just Dance (Wii) with Abby!
Thursday: 4.8 miles treadmill intervals
Saturday: 8.0 miles treadmill

Total Running Miles: 29.3

I was happy to get two 8-mile runs in this week. Both took the exact amount of time (71 minutes) but one was outdoors in the sunshine with Jerry, and the other one was indoors in the basement on my treadmill with a TV remote in one hand trying everything possible to just pass away the time. Gina eventually came down and did some yoga so at least I had someone to talk to. During the week I discovered that it could be quite fun to watch hockey while running on the treadmill! U-S-A, U-S-A!!

I officially signed all of us up for the April 10th Spring Classic races in Strongsville. I will do the half marathon and Jerry will supervise the 5K run with Gina and Abby. I love the idea of us all piling in the car and driving over there to run. It's not my favorite half marathon - I did the fall version with Jerry probably back in 2002 or so. He was "pacing" me and we ended up going 1:48. I seriously wanted to kill him by the last couple of miles! I swore I would never return to that race but here we are..............I'll shoot for something around 2 hours and then plan my goals for Cleveland Half in May. That 1:48 will surely stand as my PR forever. My last attempt on a half resulted in a 1:56 and I was shot.

Abby ran outside with me yesterday! It was a bit windier than we expected so her little lungs were doing overtime. She, of course, pulled away from me in the first half mile but then we reconvened at the school and walked a couple of minutes before resuming our run back to the car. Track tryouts are supposedly in two weeks. I know she is more than ready for a one-mile event but it is a totally different beast than her 2-mile cross-country event. Yes, she can cover one mile easily.....but just how fast can she cover it is the question to answer. She really rocks when it comes to running - such beautiful form and strength. I couldn't stop smiling yesterday as I followed her down the bike path!

I tried to feed them well this week. School seems super stressful for all so I really feel the need to limit junk and increase good stuff. We started the week with a french toast casserole for Sunday nights dinner. Monday was a pasta tossed with fresh herbs and breadsticks. We had Cuban sandwiches (turkey and ham, dill pickles, mustard) and Veggie Burgers (non soy) later in the week. Tortellini Soup and grainy bread for Friday night's dinner and good old pizza on the weekend.

Jerry is entertaining us with his early case of Burning River nightmares! It seems so far away but we are all really looking ahead to that fun fun day! We are also counting the months till our Adirondack vacation which now seems so simple - all we have to say is March, April, May and we will be there!

The Ten Commandments

2010-02-24T15:33:00.000-08:00

I've seen this list a few times and I always enjoy reading it again, so I thought I'd share it on the blog.

Ten Commandments for Swimming Parents
I.     Thou shalt not impose thy ambitions on thy child.
II.    Thou shalt be supportive no matter what.
III.   Thou shalt not coach thy child.
IV.    Thou shalt only have positive things to say at a swimming meet.
V.     Thou shalt acknowledge thy child's fears.
VI.    Thou shalt not criticize the officials.
VII. Honor thy child's coach.
VIII. Thou shalt be supportive of thy team.
IX.    Thy child shalt have goals besides winning.
X.      Thou shalt not expect thy child to become an Olympian.

Now I didn't see anything on there about spending $150 on a technical swimming suit but I guess I could probably rationalize it with commandment #2. That counts as being supportive, right? Gina got her first Speedo Fastskin swimsuit a couple of years ago and she really loved the way it felt and she did get some really nice times while wearing it. But it has gotten stretched and now that particular suit is not officially allowed in USA-sanctioned swim meets. In order to wear it at high school champs she had to pick all the little dots off the front. It broke my heart to see her picking all those dots off the suit I used hard earned money to purchase!

After witnessing her renewed enthusiasm upon returning to USC after a not so great high school season, I decided to surprise her with the new Speedo Fastskin II suit. I think she was actually shocked that we got her a new one. Here's a photo of the tiny little suit. She won't even try it on because she wants it as tight as possible for champs! It may take two of us to get it on her but here's hoping for some great swims over the next few weeks!

Week in Review 2/14/10 - 2/20/10

2010-02-21T16:32:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 6 miles on treadmill
Monday: 1 hour yoga
Tuesday: 6 miles on treadmill
Wednesday: 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 5 miles outside (WooHoo!)
Friday: 4 miles outside
Saturday: 4 miles outside

Total Running Miles: 25

After blogging about my toe on Thursday I looked out the window and realized it was too nice of a day to run on the treadmill. I did my old standby winter trick of driving the 0.3 miles to the bike path parking lot to avoid the piled up snow and ice on the sidewalk. This sort of thing makes Jerry cringe but I just had to do it. It felt so good to be outside! The sky was blue, the birds were chirping, but the best part was seeing lots of my old bike path buddies. There are a hardy few that walk the path year-round and I have grown so accustomed to seeing them. I've missed the feeling this year of being out there in the worst of the weather and then looking ahead to see another crazy person coming at me. It was nice to make eye contact, smile, wave and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature this time of year. I am hoping that from now on there will be more outdoor runs than treadmill runs. The treadmill served its purpose though - I feel pretty strong and the toe only bothered me a bit.

I practically got on my knees and begged Abby to join me outdoors but she did not agree. I'm pretty sure she does not want to be seen in public running with me anymore. That sort of bums me out but I understand. Instead Jerry and I ran together for 8 miles and then we all took a great walk at South Chagrin with Mia. That was wonderful and we even saw a Berner pup about 5 months old. There has been much discussion lately about when we will get another Berner. It's such a huge commitment. I think it will be between 2 to 5 years, but you just never know.

We are still enjoying the Olympics alot. I swear the best part is that I get to hear the words "Lake Placid" several times every night! This afternoon we all sat and watched a great show covering the 1980 USA vs Russia hockey game. I can't believe it has been 30 years since that all played out. I remember sitting in our living room and watching that game! On all of our 9 trips to Lake Placid we enter the skating arena and sit in the stands where that game was played. I swear there is something magical in that place that makes the hair on your neck stand up straight.

On Sunday, Valentine's Day, we did a total splurge and went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner! I suppose it doesn't matter that we had salad too. The rest of the week was pretty healthy: Jerry grilled a turkey tenderloin that we served with potato wedges; then it was lentil casserole and grilled veggie sandwiches; baked potato soup with rolls; tuna on english muffins and pasta salad; and my favorite barley veggie chili with cornbread. I also went wild at Heinens one afternoon that just felt too dark and gray - I came home with bags and bags of fruit and challenged the girls to start eating fruit every single day after school. So far they have done really well and something about the extra fruit sitting around makes it seem more summer-ish around here!

Ouch! My Toe!

2010-02-18T05:24:00.000-08:00

I have a finicky toe that occasionally gives me a bit of trouble. I'm guessing it's some type of neuroma. It's kinda sorta always there but yesterday was the most it has ever bothered me. I ran on the treadmill Monday and Tuesday while watching The Bucket List. Maybe I was not paying attention to my form (ha ha I know - do I actually have a running form?!) but by Tuesday night it was tingling and by Wednesday morning it really hurt to walk. I gimped around during work and then eventually took an aleve. I soaked it in a big bucket of epsom salts and warm water and stayed off it as much as possible. I am a BIG believer in nipping injuries in the bud. The minute I feel something going haywire, I try to fix it ASAP. So today I am happy to report that Mr 4th toe on the right foot is feeling much better. In a little bit I will treadmill in a pair of New Balance shoes that have a super wide toe box. So wide that it bothers me and I don't like the way it feels, but today they will be the ticket. I hope!

I have to give a big shout out to my sister-in-law, Linda, who ran ten miles on the treadmill yesterday! Her longest run ever. I swear that girl is going to be chasing me down at Columbus this year! She plans on doing the half marathon. She has made the trip from Dayton to Columbus for a couple of my marathons there and two years ago she jokingly said that maybe she'd do the half someday. She has really stuck to her goal and is well on her way to achieving it. I say - you go girl! I won't forget last summer when she ran her first 5K with us in Hudson. I felt like such a proud momma with Gina, Abby, Aunt Linda and Uncle Frank all out there on the course. Jerry ran too but he was way ahead of us! That particular race benefits research for Pancreatic Cancer and it is my favorite local 5K. Last year Gina and Abby's first grade teacher passed away from PC and Frank and Linda had lost a really great friend to it as well. It was a great day for all of us. It's funny how a 3-mile race can be so packed with emotions.

I've spent the morning trying to clean out my email inbox which had passed 2000 some time ago. I am also trying to organize the kitchen items that are now misplaced due to our new refrigerator being taller than we thought hence necessitating the removal of the two cabinets above it! I've also tried to eliminate counter clutter and have removed a dozen or so coffee cups from our inventory. I don't know how we end up with soooooo muuuucccchhhhh stttuuuuuffffffff!

How about the Olympics? I've really enjoyed the nightly coverage - the blood, the vomit, the spectacular crashes. Every event leaves me speechless - how do they do that?! Half the time I have to close my eyes because I can hardly stand how incredibly intense it is! I will definitely be sticking to marathon running.

Week in Review 2/7/10 - 2/13/10

2010-02-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 4.8 miles on treadmill (intervals)
Tuesday: 6.5 miles treadmill and 30 minutes yoga
Wednesday: 30 minutes yoga
Thursday: 2.2 miles treadmill
Friday: 4.8 miles on treadmill
Saturday: 4.0 miles outside

Total Running Miles: 22.3

It was a really hectic and chaotic week and I am glad that it is over! Abby was sick again with some type of stomach issue on Monday and into Tuesday. Gina was beside herself with energy and the stress of swimming sectionals. Her day on Saturday did not go as she had hoped but she had a great time on Friday cheering for the boys on our team. She really wanted to break the 1 minute mark for her 100 Free but came up short at 1:01.33. Her 200 IM time was a 2:37:something which was one second faster than the time she swam for the duration of the season. She will head back to USC this week and is looking forward to seeing her former coach. The photo is of how she looked coming home from the boys meet on Friday. She did not look so happy on Saturday!

Abby recovered from her stomach ailment and hit the treadmill again. She hasn't really run at all since November but today she got on and cruised through 3 miles with ease. She definitely has some natural talent. I am considering doing the Cleveland Spring Classic half marathon on April 10th. There is a 5K as well and Abby wants to do that. We were talking about it and Gina piped in that she might like to do it too. How fun!

This evening both girls joined me for a nice one hour yoga session from Yoga Today. This week's free class is titled "Unwind the Mind." There was a LOT of twisting - accompanied by much laughter. It reminded me of when I was a teenager and my mom used to take my sister and I along to her "Foxy Lady" aerobics classes. We used to laugh and giggle through the entire class but no one ever said a word. I love the company and the laughter just makes it pass by quickly. I was really surprised when Gina looked over and commented on how flexible I was. I guess the consistent yoga really has helped.

Mia, our golden retriever, gave me quite a scare on Wednesday morning when she ran side-by-side with a coyote through our backyard. It all happened so quickly. I was praying she would stop at the fence and she did, but then she refused to come in. In the process she bent one of her toe nails up and was bleeding. She has been tending to it and it seems to be healing. Of course, Gilbert thinks he knows just what to do and is still in the habit of hanging off her back legs and pouncing on her head whenever she decides to relax. Here is a photo of them hanging out together which is something we really like to see.

Last Sunday was the Super Bowl and since we are not big football fans it was all about the food. Jerry made his flank steak tacos (Abby and I left out the steak and used extra veggies). Monday I made some stoup with ground chicken for the meatballs, Tuesday we did a tofu stir-fry with green beans, peppers and carrots and threw in some whole wheat noodles and then tossed it all in garlic black bean sauce from Heinens. Turkey wraps with avocado on Wednesday. Thursday we had traditional tacos with soy crumble instead of ground beef. Friday it was eggplant parmigiana and salad. On Saturday we ordered cheese pizza from Marcos!

The new snow is actually pretty and I always like how it cleans everything up. There is nothing worse than old brown yucky snow in my opinion!

You know it's yucky out when......

2010-02-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

Your golden retriever barks to come back inside the house! Normally, Mia would enjoy just laying or sitting in the backyard while it snows, but this afternoon she did her business and then before I knew it she was actually looking in the patio door and barking for me to open it! She has never done that before. Ever.

To go along with the bad weather, Abby had another round of stomach "flu." We are thinking that this batch may have come from a burger she ate at school. It was nasty for her. I didn't laugh or anything. She and I are quickly on our way to becoming vegetarians in full force. Right now I would label us as "pseudo-vegetarian." For the most part we can easily live without meat but there are certain things (ham and havarti sandwiches or turkey wraps with avocado and russian dressing) that we would have a hard time saying good-bye to forever. We are not going to do the vegetarian thing for Lent like we did last year. We are trying to come up with something else though! Meanwhile, the girl has a very tiny appetite and is not interested in food again. I really hope she is back to normal soon.

Gina is tapering for sectionals for Saturday. She has ALOT of energy and Jerry keeps saying, "Oh now you know how I feel before a race." It's kind of scary actually how alike the two of them are at times. All the girls from swim team dyed a section of their hair purple. It looks really nice on Gina!

Looking forward to the Olympics! There should be some good motivating commercials!

Week in Review 1/31/10 - 2/6/10

2010-02-07T16:28:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 6.0 miles outside
Monday: 45 minute intervals on treadmill
Tuesday: 45 minute intervals on treadmill
Wednesday: 1 hour yoga
Thursday: 60 minutes treadmill
Saturday: 80 minutes treadmilll

Total Running Miles: 27.8

Well that's the most miles I've had in a week since Columbus Marathon in October! I am really still enjoying the treadmill interval workouts. Call me crazy but I just feel like I am getting a better workout than if I were to go run super cautiously over the ice and snow. On Saturday I wanted to go at least 7 miles but I was having a hard time getting motivated by myself in the basement. The classic rock station was helping a bit but I really wanted another person in the room with me so I texted Abby, "I'm lonely." She replied with an "ok" and soon came down to keep me company. She fired up Wii Fit Plus and went to town. Gina soon came down to add to the fun and then towards the end of the workout Jerry returned from his outdoor slog through the fresh snow. The time passes pretty quickly that way and I have now officially had my fill of classic rock. I was singing (well shouting is more like it because I can't carry a tune in a bucket according to my family) to Free Ride when Gina came down. She gave me the "wtf" look and then said in her teenagery way, "What is this?"

Other highlights of the week were my massage on Thursday. I haven't had one in almost five years. It was heavenly just like I was hoping. I think alot of pent up toxins were released because I actually felt foggy for the rest of the day. Strange. Gina was able to participate in two scuba diving classes through her high school gym class. She is super comfortable in the water (unlike her mother) so I only worried about her a little. I would have enjoyed watching her but had to suffice to listen to the description at dinner.

Abby had some nice treadmill time this week. I think she and I are both waiting anxiously for that first spring-like day when we can head to the path together and soak up some sunshine.

We hopefully have secured a pacer for Jerry for Burning River. A super nice friend of ours from church is interested and would be a great addition to our "team"! I would kind of like to pace him for a short section. We'll see. I certainly wouldn't want to hold him back. I don't like things that go bump in the night so I'd probably be a bit of a liability in the woods at night!

Yummy meals this week! Vegetable soup, Fish and couscous, mac-n-cheese and bean salad, eggplant pizza, penne pasta with veggies, chicken salad on foccacia rolls, and on saturday after church we grabbed wonton soup, hot sour soup and lots of california rolls on the way home. Deeeelish!

In Sickness and in Health

2010-02-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

I remember saying those words as part of our wedding vows in August of 1991! I am pretty sure that I was probably more concerned with one of us getting sick and pictured hospital beds and wheelchairs in my head. Jerry and I have so far been really blessed with good health. We never take that for granted though and we have always done whatever we can to support each other in a healthy lifestyle. We actually met in an exercise class so it was sort of destined to be this way! Early on we enjoyed lots of biking and hiking together. Then came endurance sports which really took that "in health" vow to new levels.

Jerry is all signed up to do the Burning River 100 endurance run again this summer. A lot of conversation goes into these decisions and I really appreciate that he takes the entire family into consideration before signing up for anything. Is this a good year? What else is going on? Can we handle it? Can we afford it? It's a pretty long list of issues when you think of the commitment and what it takes to train for something like that. I swear we had decided against it and then a few days later we swung 180 degrees and the check was in the mail. That's usually how we do things. Over over over analyze..............We are the opposite of spontaneous; an engineer and a woman with a science degree. We consider every last variable to the nnnnnnnth degree. It's kind of embarrassing.

On Tuesday I passed by Station Road which is a major aid station stop for Burning River. I started thinking of all the ways the girls and I will need to support Jerry during this race. We need to be there with lots of food options, drinks, first aid, extra clothes, socks, shoes, cameras, chairs, etc. The back of our car turns into a big ugly mess. The night time is when it really gets fun though! The girls are already looking forward to being out all night and watching the sunrise. We are trying to figure out if any or all of us girls will pace him at any point. I'm not so good in the woods, especially at night!

In general we delight in the fact that Jerry has so much energy. I noticed last night as we all sat down for some TV time that we utilize his energy in strange ways. Within 60 seconds of sitting down, the requests started. "Dad can you get me some water?" "Dad can you get me some pretzels?" "Can somebody give me a blanket?" I started to feel bad but after 22 years of knowing him I realize that he just cannot sit still. Movement is his nature. He truly does not mind all the requests and I sincerely think he enjoys doting over us three ladies. It's sort of like payback - we support him during the training for Burning River and on race day; and in return he supports us whenever he's not out running!

I hop, you hop, we all hop for IHOP!

2010-01-31T17:36:00.000-08:00

Week in Review 1/24/10 - 1/30/10
Sunday: 45 minutes intervals on treadmill
Monday: 30 minutes yoga
Tuesday: 30 minutes yoga, 45 minutes intervals on treadmill
Wednesday: 30 minutes treadmill
Thursday: 60 minutes treadmill
Saturday: 60 minutes treadmill

Total Running: 24.7 miles

The week was unpredictable because of the flu germs that took down Gina and Abby. I was sure I would end up with it myself so I was extremely careful about what I ate all week long. By Friday I was ravenous and ended the night with a glass or two of California Merlot and an unknown amount of potato chips. Saturday I had a huge headache and was convinced the flu was coming but all is still well. I think I am out of the woods. I was also exposed to huge amounts of respiratory flu germs. I took a fair amount of Zicam zinc products and the usual probiotic. I can only hope to remain healthy! I've probably just jinxed myself though!

A few weeks ago someone got it in their head that we need to find an IHOP. Those commercials can be soooooooo convincing and we do love breakfast food around here. So today after a great church service we headed to the closest IHOP and had a great feast of waffles, pancakes, eggs, great coffee, hot cocoa and I even saw some bacon across the table. I'm totally okay with an occasional splurge; it's all about balance. It sort of felt like we were on vacation and soon enough we were planning what mountains we should hike this summer in the adirondacks. We discussed what new equipment we will need now that we are venturing into some more challenging mountains. We are pretty sure we will attempt Algonquin Mt this year which is the 2nd highest peak in NY. Eventually we hope to climb all of the 46 peaks in NY that are over 4000 ft elevation and earn the right to call ourselves 46ers! We have two down and 44 to go.......

Jerry and I ran outside this afternoon for a really nice 6 miles. It was cold but sunny and it felt great to be outside. We even saw two bluebirds! While we were gone Abby climbed aboard the treadmill for 3 miles and officially started getting ready for track. She is interested in the 4-mile Run for Life in May again! We had a great time last year running together. Gina was a bit wound up this afternoon so we fired up www.yogatoday.com for her and let her have at it. She was surprised how quickly she broke a sweat.

My dinner plan was much better for the week. We had acorn squash stuffed with couscous, craisins and walnuts; spaghetti casserole with soy crumble; cheese quesadillas and guacamole; scrambled eggs, waffles and soy sausage; chicken (soy) patty sandwiches with veggies; and talapia with couscous. It was a lot of soy and usually I try to limit how much I eat because of my family history of breast cancer; however, I have read recently that it is actually good for teenage girls and there is evidence that it could help reduce BC risk later in life. So I ate it in the casserole and the patty sandwich but passed on the sausage.

Morning swim practices are over so we can now resume sleeping until 5:30am instead of waking up at 4:50! We are all happy about that one!

Seventeen Days

2010-01-27T10:55:00.000-08:00

According to the news this morning, that's how many sunny days there have been in Cleveland since November 1. The other 71 days have been cloudy. I still wonder how I ended up here living in such gloomy conditions! I'm generally a pretty positive person; I wonder what I would be like if I lived where it was sunny 71 days and cloudy 17. I might be one of those really annoying happy-all-the-time people.......

Abby struggled with her flu symptoms for almost a week. Poor girl. She just kept saying that nothing sounded good to eat. I'm not even sure she was eating chocolate which would indicate a serious decline in her health. On Monday Gina called me at 2pm to say she had not felt well all day so she was not going to swim practice. About an hour passed before I was able to get home from work and she was in bed by then looking greenish gray. I knew she was politely waiting for me. I asked her if I could just please put on sweat pants and check my email. That took about 10 more minutes. We then proceeded together to the bathroom where all heck broke loose. In our traditional throw-up protocol, I always apologize in advance for laughing and today was no exception. I know I am a good good mom, but when it comes to puking I lose my mommy badge. Gina has a puking style like no one I have ever seen or heard and it just downright makes me laugh every single time. I won't go into anymore detail. She pukes; I laugh. It's just one of those things. With Abby I am dead serious, and I usually only know that she is sick when I hear the toilet flush in the middle of the night.

So with Gina in bed I couldn't really feel comfortable doing the treadmill in the basement. What if she needed my comforting laughter again. I decided to use www.yogatoday.com and do my yoga workout in the office, right next to her bedroom. That was nice. I only had to pause it once while she got sick and then I just resumed whatever pose I had stopped at. This weeks free workout is great - its aimed at surfers and snowboarders - I am neither but I thoroughly enjoyed the shoulder and core focus. Who doesn't need more of that?

Jerry and I are hoping to bypass this round of the flu. So far so good but a few more days are needed till we are completely out of the woods.

Week in Review 1/17/10 - 1/23/10

2010-01-24T10:21:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 4 mile run outside
Monday: 45-minute treadmill intervals
Tuesday: 45-minute treadmill intervals & 1 hour yoga
Wednesday: 45-minute treadmill intervals
Thursday: 4-mile run outside
Friday: 1 hour yoga
Saturday: 6 mile run outside

Total running: 27.5 miles

It felt soooooo good to get some fresh air in my lungs this week! I thoroughly enjoyed the outside miles, especially saturday since Jerry and I ran together for about 3 miles before he split off for trails and I returned home. It had the exact feel of a first long training run and I wished for a little bit that I had signed up for the full marathon at Cleveland instead of the half. But then I remembered the feeling of long runs in the sleet, snow, ice, wind and I quickly felt confident in my decision to only do the half marathon in May. I'm thinking about maybe doing the Spring Classic half marathon in April as well. We'll see. Truthfully I felt as if I could have run a full 13 miles yesterday so I am not terribly concerned about pulling up a training plan quite yet. I've got to let a few more weeks unfold.

Abby survived the spelling bee on Thursday night but not without battling a stomach flu before, during and after. She is still not herself - no appetite and no energy. No exercise for her this week. It was a very tough week for her. She will be ready to start training for track as soon as she is up and feeling better. I had to smile at the spelling bee when her first word to spell was "muscular." How appropriate!

Gina had lots and lots of swimming as usual. Her appetite is definitely not suffering. That girl is eating me out of house and home. Thank God for Amy's Meals! I swear I don't know where she is putting it. We discovered that we weigh exactly the same now, and then had a most hilarious chuckle at the difference in our body shapes and appearances! As I like to say, I am dimpled with humanity..............Oh, but back to Gina - we realized that on top of two swim practices a day, she is also putting in a tough 1.5 hours of daily gym class.

The kitchen was sort of a mess this week. I couldn't get organized enough to think past one day at a time. The result was a less than optimal menu: tuna on english muffins and sweet potato fries, turkey sandwiches with avocado, sprouts, tomato and cheese served with homemade breaded zucchini sticks, tomato soup from scratch which takes forever but taste great with grilled cheese. I honestly don't remember the rest of what we ate. I am already prepared for the upcoming week with lots of shopping behind me this weekend. It always feels great to start the week with a plan and a full pantry.

Stress

2010-01-21T04:43:00.000-08:00

It's the one part of our health routine we struggle with the most: STRESS! It's an inevitable part of life for sure, but this family really struggles with how to handle it. We pray, we try to exercise it out, we try to limit things that are known to raise one's heart rate on stressful days (which is why I have only had ONE cup of coffee so far today)!

But my heart seems to be racing already! It's a big day here - the middle school spelling bee is tonight and abby is participating. We are still baffled why the child who loathes attention and being in the spotlight tried out for the bee in the first place! Maybe its because she is an excellent speller and does have a bit of a competitive edge. As a mother, I not only carry around my own anxieties but I load the anxieties of my children onto my shoulders as well. Heck, I even throw Jerry's on there too.

Today I will yoga breathe as much as humanely possible. I might even do the little thing where you close off one nostril, breathe in, switch to closing the other nostril and breathe out! I find that really soothing but I look like a bit of a weirdo. Mindful breathing seems to be really helpful as I notice my heart rate dropping and a peaceful feeling takes over.

The other thing I will absolutely do on a stressful day like today is do a workout whatever it takes. I should have just enough time to squeeze in a run outside after work but before the afternoon activities start up (cello lesson, dinner and then off to the bee).

The third thing I will do is visualize Abby having a great experience! She will hopefully not notice me sitting quietly in the audience breathing through alternating nostrils!

Week in Review 1/10/10 - 1/16/10

2010-01-17T15:26:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill
Monday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill and 1/2 hr yoga
Tuesday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill
Wednesday: 1 hour yoga
Friday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill
Saturday 30 minute walk with Jerry and the dog

Not a tremendous week for working out with about 18 miles of indoor running. Some weeks are like that. I really did enjoy the treadmill workouts though as they are getting really tough. I am using the iFit memory cards that came with my NordicTrack treadmill. They control the speed and incline and have the voice of Jillian Michaels from The Biggest Loser to guide one through the workout. I prefer listening to music but so far I am okay with waiting on her cues to motivate me.

I was pretty busy in the kitchen this week, too! It was not a vegetarian week but still pretty healthy. Chicken Tagine on Sunday was amazing, followed by a vegetarian Shepherds Pie, Lentils & Rice with some grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches, Tofu stir-fry on Friday, and cheese pizza on swim meet night when we had to get out the door quick.

Today was the first day I ran outside since December 14 and it felt really nice. Jerry had left the house while I did some shopping. I called him when I got home and he was fairly close to home so we made plans to meet at the bike path. Just as I turned onto the path I saw him coming so we ran together for 4 miles. That made a nice 12 mile run for him and it was pretty nice to spend some time together that way.

Cabin Fever Busters

2010-01-13T05:09:00.000-08:00

It's no big surprise that cabin fever has been setting in around our house. People get tired, grumpy, and generally lack motivation. We just happened to land on a great PBS show on Hummingbirds the other night. You can see by the photo that we humans were not the only ones who enjoyed the sounds of summer! There was something truly magical happening just by hearing the birds, seeing the colorful flowers and enjoying scenes of nature in the summer season. Gilbert wanted a front row seat and even the laughter he brought about helped to diminish the cabin fever around us.

The other thing I did to lessen the gloom of winter was to book our "real cabin" in the Adirondacks for June. They call them cabins but it is really a beautiful 3-bedroom, 2-bath house with all the amenities one could hope for - including a beautiful view of Whiteface Mountain. It is there I did my first real yoga on www.yogatoday.com! Every time I do triangle pose I still hope that I will open my eyes to see that gorgeous scene from the cabin's front window. Now I can start counting the weeks until we are northbound again. Going in June has its pros and cons. The cons are obviously there can still be some cool weather and we are guaranteed to have some black flies on our hikes. The lake will be too cold to swim in, but we can still enjoy sticking our feet in for awhile. The pros are that we will only have to share the hiking trails with a handful of others and there should be plenty of baby animals for us to catch glimpses of. It will be quiet and peaceful - isn't that how a vacation should be??!!

My legs are tired this week from all of the treadmill workouts. I was complaining the other night as my workout just began. Abby was cranking away on Wii Fit and Gina was on the couch doing spanish homework. Again THAT is what I love - when we can all be together during a workout! Anyways, my complaining was pitiful and I know better. Gina looked up from her spanish and actually scolded me: "When I feel that way before swimming I just tell myself it's gonna be a good workout. I'll be happy I did it. It always makes me feel better. Now stop complaining Mom and repeat after me.........." She went on to offer up her favorite mantras which I repeated like a dutiful mom. Then I put my head down and started the workout in earnest. Occasionally I looked up to watch her working hard on homework after a morning swim, school all day and then a 2.5 hour afternoon swim practice. Abby was sweating away. I sometimes wonder if anything I say sinks in - but after an evening like that I am pretty sure they are learning to love how it feels to be healthy and strong.

Jan 3-9, 2010 Review

2010-01-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

Sunday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill and family sledding
Monday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill
Tuesday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill
Wednesday: 45 minute interval training on treadmill (killer!), 15 minutes yoga
Thursday: 30 minutes yoga, 30 minutes Wii Fit
Friday: 45 minutes interval training on treadmill, 15 minutes yoga with Gina

The week resulted in about 20 miles of indoor running. I just feel better getting a tough interval workout on the treadmill than I do about trying to run outside on slippery ice and snow covered paths. I also like that I can be on the treadmill while Abby does Wii Fit or something like that. Gina had her usual huge amount of swimming this week, including one tri-meet and our conference championships. She again was entered in the 200 IM and the 100 Fly. She is officially tired of those events and I cannot say that I blame her. It looks grueling. I spent 7 hours this week sitting at swim meets. Sort of the anti-workout but one of those necessary things in life. If we are to encourage fitness then we have to be present in mind and body when we are called on to spectate and encourage. I really enjoyed doing 15 minutes of yoga with her on Friday. It was mostly breathing and downward dog. She commented several times during the day how great that felt and that she would have kept going. I hope to incorporate this sort of thing more and more into all of our lives. I never realized how much I would really enjoy yoga and I wish I would have started practicing a long time ago.

We started the new year with a mostly vegetarian menu plan. Pierogies, Soy patty sandwiches, spaghetti, couscous, with lots and lots of side vegetable salads like sweet potatoes and black beans, and zucchini smothered in fontina cheese. More and more we are eliminating meat from our diet. We had fish one night and that was it for the meat category. Of course the girls eat meat when it is part of the school lunch, but at home it is mostly grains, dairy, veggies and fruit.

Can I just say how nice it is to see the sun today!

Thoughts on 2010

2010-01-06T05:16:00.000-08:00

To quote my husband, who quoted my neighbor: If 2009 was the year of change, let's make 2010 the year of positive change. 2009 was simply crazy and unpredictable. We refrained from making many plans due to the unstable nature of the economy, jobs and life in general. Year 2010 is already showing some promise! Jerry has registered for the Burning River 100 race at the very end of July. Yesterday I registered for the Cleveland Half Marathon in May. We will both enjoy training for our events - even if there is a difference of 87 miles between them! I will then go on to focus on training for Columbus Marathon in October. Even though I have completed 9 full marathons, I have only run 2 half marathons. More on those some other day!

Gina is in full swing of her first high school swim season. It has been a good experience for her to be on a school team rather than her large USA swim team. She can be an integral member and contribute to earning points towards a team win rather than just improve her individual times. Her times are holding steady. Last week she completed a 5-mile swim practice to finish off the year. Five miles in the time it would take me to run a marathon!

Abby is awaiting the start of track. Any day now she will be climbing aboard the treadmill and getting herself ready for her first middle school track season. We loved watching her run for cross country! She has not run since the Turkey Trot race in November where she properly left me in the dust. I could barely make out her little pink shorts up ahead but I could not have caught her if I had tried. I am hoping to get a half marathon out of her in September but I will need to tread lightly and get to summer first. With no relay option for us at Lake Placid this year, I just feel like a half marathon is the next logical step for her!

It feels good to have some goals in place. It definitely makes working out more meaningful.

Last Day of Winter Break

2010-01-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Another 45 minute treadmill interval workout while the girls played around on Wii Fit Plus. Some of those new games really work up a sweat. The problem was that I was watching the Wii game and trying to participate while running on the treadmill. Add a cute little kitten who has been known to jump on the belt during my workouts and I was pretty much a nervous wreck. I did make it through and it is always a good feeling to be able to cross "workout" off my list of things to do. We were able to get some more fresh air today playing outside with our neighbors and shoveling out the driveway. Jerry used to get his exercise by pulling the girls through the snow on a sled around and around the house - now the girls are pulling the neighbors around. Time flies too quickly.

Today's Workout

2010-01-03T17:27:00.000-08:00

Jerry was the only one brave enough to run outside. My workout today was a 45 minute treadmill program followed by 45 minutes of excruciatingly fun sledding with the family at Shadow Lake. It was REALLY cold and windy but the snow was perfect. Much better than the attempt a few days ago at Kendall Hill. We all enjoyed the fresh air and the feeling of getting some good outdoor exercise in the middle of winter.

The highlight was an incredible incident/accident when my two well-behaved girly girls of 14 and 12-years old crashed into an unsuspecting younger boy who had stopped at the bottom of the hill. The parents all watched in horror as they sped directly towards him. The crash was spectacular and included one black flying boot soaring through the air for about 25 feet. I hoped the boot was not attached to a foot. I also hoped the boot was one of ours. It was not. The poor boy hopped through the snow to find his boot as the parents continued watching in silence. I half expected to be confronted by the boys father. The boy came up the hill slowly, followed by my two very giggly daughters. We all apologized, declared it an accident and went back to sledding.

My Brand New Blog

2010-01-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hello! I've been wanting to start a blog for some time and with the New Year just beginning it seems like a perfect time. Please join me as I try to chronicle the many adventures of our family as we try to stay healthy and promote family fitness.