Familyvance goes Camping

We are soon to be camping-bound. Ah, the glories of Cub Scouts. We promised Elijah that we'd go to the spring campout last April, but we were lame parents and broke our promise. We then promised we'd go for sure to the fall camp out. So this is the fall camp out, and we can't go back on our word now. I mean, we could go back on our word...

We are going to be The Family that has no knowledge or experience camping. I think David has put the tent up once for the boys to play in and pretend camp in the backyard. We aren't planning on taking food that has to be cooked. We are going to share two sleeping bags and take sheets and a blanket or two. I'm not even sure if we are taking a lantern even though it is something that should be taken.

All in all, we'll be "camping" for less than 24 hours due to Joshie's soccer game in a bit and t-ball pictures and game Sunday around noonish. It will be enough camping for me, and hopefully Elijah and Joshua will get enough of a taste to decide if they like it.

Oh, you want to know where we are camping? Guadalupe River State Park. The few pics I could find show a pleasant river and surrounding area. The park map shows some trails that we'll surely meander down. I don't know what group activities the Pack has planned. I am hoping for at least 4 hours of sleep. It's not the outdoors that will keep me awake, but rather two furnaces that kick and flail and twitch in their sleep.

On to running. Wednesday was Fartlek. I felt well enough for class but didn't want to push it, so I did a shorter warm up (not even a mile), and I took it easy on the fartleks. Sarah and I ran to the 1 mile marker and back for our fartlek, and because we went slower on the easy minutes (probably slower on the hards, too), we ended up doing more reps than normal.

This morning Gayatri and I ran 7 miles, give or take. We ran from Runtex to O'Henry on the basis that it was 3.5 there. We thought it was more like 3 there so we added a mile at the end. I saw an old friend and had to stop to chat for a minute, so I lost Gayatri with about 2 miles to go in our run. I ran fairly hard to try to catch up to her, but I never did. I think I was talking for a good 5 minutes, so unless she stopped and waited, I doubtfully would catch her. It was a really pleasant run, and I thought the morning was quite fine. It was just a touch of cool - enough to wet your whistle for Fall weather. Hard to believe we'll be wearing sleeves and pants soon for warm ups and even some workouts.

Oh yes! We joined Fitness Life. David went over on Tuesday or Wednesday or whenever, and I'm so excited. I can't wait to swim laps regardless of the weather. Hey, I can't wait to swim laps and have somewhere safe and trustworthy for my boys to go that they like. The kids' areas is fabulous there. I know the boys will love it, and I have to figure out a way in our already tight schedule to go after school twice/week. I also want to go once/weekend. I know that doesn't sound like much, but trust me when I say Familyvance already has a tight schedule.

On to soccer and camping. Poetry coming soon.

Just a bit of Sharing

My preschool class is over-run with illness. Croup is going from child to child and even leaping into other classrooms. I actually think it started in another classroom. Three-year-olds don't share much, but they do share germs in abundance. So I've been feeling sickly since last week, especially Friday.

On to some running tidbits...

Last Wednesday, we did 400s at AHS. I did the first 4 at a very easy pace with Sarah. The 5th I ran fast as I chased a 4th grader trying to time him (yes, he beat me). I ran another 4 at my comfy pace again, but my heart rate was up from the fast one and just the reps. Erin was there, and as she started late, she talked me into running 2 more with her. That put me at running 11 400s, which is the most I've ever done in class. Gilbert wasn't writing down times, and I know if he had been, I would not have done 11. I would have run faster and maybe done 8. I actually enjoyed doing more even though I probably should have run a few of them faster. For me though, Gazelle class is a social activity. I get to talk to adults who are my friends (remember, I work with 3-year-olds). I think I'd probably always choose to run slower with a friend so I could chat.

Saturday I skipped the long run and slept in some. It was actually nice to get so much done in the morning when I'd normally be running and stretching (and I felt pretty horrible, too). Saturday was a full day with soccer, birthday party, and the UT/Rice game.

Sunday I ran with Yvette. The plan was 7, but I barely made 4 miles. I think I perhaps shouldn't have run, but that is what we do. We run when we are sick or injured for fear of losing it - losing that mileage or speed or spark.

So that brings us to today (Monday). I skipped hills b/c I still don't feel well. I have tons of homework due tomorrow and a test. It's also my darling husband's birthday tomorrow, and the poor lad will be spending it at work and at a Cub Scouts pack meeting. Everyone wish him a happy day if you think about it.

Goals this week: Get well, Survive Cub Scout camp-out this Saturday night

I do eat the cookies

To do or not to do...that is the question. As I'm busy all the time, I end up asking myself this question a lot. To clean the house or not? To do my homework or not? To go to Elijah's Cub Scout meeting or not? To run much-needed errands or not? Actually most of the time, the real question is "What thing do I do right now and what thing can I do later?"

So, last week I was out every evening. Monday I was at Gazelle class. Tuesday I have my college class. Wednesday I skipped Gazelles to go see my niece cheer in her first middle school football game. Thursday I had a team meeting for work. Friday I rocked out to The Killers with David. A true sign that I'm old is that I was exhausted Saturday morning from ACL. I didn't drink one drop of alcohol, nor did I get up at 5:30am to do my long run. In fact, I slept till 8am and was still tired all day.

Any of you with busy families can relate to juggling everyone's activities, needs, and wants. I am fairly good at taking care of everything and everyone, most of the time. The person that generally suffers is me (and housework). That is why I didn't run Tues-Sat despite having the best intentions.

Sunday morning I met Yvette at 8am for our long run. We did 7 miles on the trail - around to Longhorn Dam and back. We didn't have as many stops or slow downs as last week, and yet I thought our overall time should have been faster. I know we started out too fast, so maybe I was shuffling at the end.

Next week, we are going to try David's plan of starting super-slow and increasing speed so that by the end we are pushing hard. Our current plan is another 7-miler with the first 2 at a super-slow pace, the next 2 at our regular long-run pace, the next 2 at a comfortable pace that is faster than long-run pace, and the last mile at as close to Tempo pace as possible. I'm curious to see how we do.

My demons this week were mental. I just couldn't stop thinking about the distance as a whole rather than focusing on where I am at that moment. I can say that I prefer running Saturday mornings. It's nice to get it out of the way for the weekend, especially since we are such a busy family.

David came home Saturday from his run in severe pain with a shin splint. He blames tapping his foot/leg for an hour at The Killers show. He hasn't run since, so I know he's in pain. Think good thoughts for him, if you are so inclined. It's not like him to miss his Sunday recover run *and* the Monday morning Firecracker run.

So I come back to "What do I do first, and what can I put off for later?" Each day for about 3 weeks, I've been going back and forth on the course I'm taking through ACC. One day I am going to withdraw. The next day, I'm staying in the class. Lately, I've been changing my mind every few minutes. When I was in college and grad. school, I was single and childless. What a different world going to school with a family can be, and I give credit to those parents who are able to handle it all successfully. As of now, I'm still in the class. Ask me again later, and you might get a different answer. :o)

Speaking of...I need to do my homework, get Elijah to do him homework, go to running class, and then back home for all the regular family stuff and probably more homework/work for the preschool. All with the hopes if being asleep by 10pm. LOL!!!

Hoping to run more this week...and eat fewer cookies.

Long-winded Blogger Here

In the words of Natasha, I write "the really long blogs." Ah, yes, that's me. I try not to be so wordy. Really, I do. I did notice that the Gazelle blogs all have a distinct personality. We have me, the Long-winded Blogger. Then there's "Just the facts, Ma'am" and "Esoteric Philosopher" and "All About Me." Of course there are others. I do think if one read a Blogazelle post out-of-context, it would not be that hard to know which blogger it is writing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can find the Blogazelles here.

Saturday, I ran about 7.5 with Yvette and Gayatri. It was hot since we didn't start till almost 9:30am. It wasn't the easiest long run, but it wasn't my worst. We ran well and finished off with a lovely soak in Barton Springs. While we were running, David had the boys at the Dog-Area just outside the pool, and he cut his foot somehow. He was fairly worried that it would affect his running. So far, it hasn't, but he tends to not mention pain in a whiny-complaining way like I do. ;o)

Monday's workout was Circuit, which is always one of my favorites. Natasha came to our class, and I got to meet her. Hi, Natasha! We did tons of medicine ball drills, but no plank. I'd do tons of medicine ball drills any day if it meant no plank. Plank doesn't really hurt my abs. I hurt everywhere else, especially my arms and back. Yes, I know. I'm weak in the "cohr."

That's all I've got for you. I'm purposely leaving out tons of details, so I won't be the Long-winded Blogger this time around. Never fear though; the blah-blahing will return soon enough. I can't control myself and just type and type, blah, blah, blah.

OMG

My 7-year-old just got a phone call from a girl! Do I laugh or cry?!

Going Solo

Does anyone read the poetry? Just curious.

Today on my tempo run I remembered something sweet that Joshua said/did on our vacation. He can read when he wants to (he's soon to be 6 years old), but most of the time he just can't be bothered with reading. Going to the beach one day in California, Elijah saw a sign advertising surf lessons. Elijah said, "Oh! I'm not going to tell Joshua what that sign says." Joshua's interest is peaked. He then read the sign, and said, "Surf! It says surf! Can we surf here? I want to surf!" I found it adorably hilarious and replied, "So the boy can read when he wants to."

So today I did tempo a bit differently. I ran during Elijah's piano lesson (3:15 - 4:15pm), so I was by my lonesome. The trail is pretty sparse at that time of day - or at least today it was. I didn't want to run an out-and-back warm-up, so I decided to run to the mile 1 for warm-up and then do from mile 1-3 as my tempo. I'd then have a mile to cool down. It sounded perfected and not boring.

The warm-up was fine. My legs are sore from circuit. I am always sore after doing lunges, especially when it's been a while. I started my tempo, and things were going fine until the 1.75 mile marker. It's hot and shadeless from there to the bridge. I was tired b/c I'd gone out too fast (drat it!), and the heat, vertigo, and allergies were little devils on my shoulder whispering, "Just stop...no one will know. Just slow down; it's entirely too hot to be running."

I made it to the bridge and saw I'd run a 9.32 first mile. The new terrain was tough, and I don't want to run that again at that time of day. I give props to the T/Th afternooners who run the 4-mile tempo and have that hot, sunny stretch to run twice.

I actually walked for a minute on the bridge. The mental devils won that round. I started up again, and the north side of the trail is so much shadier. I was running at a comfortably hard pace and tried to focus on breathing and running. I finished hard and my overall time was 20.19...not bad for a brief walk in the middle. I really think that if I hadn't walked, my time might have been the exact same due to me slowing down later in the run.

I did a walk/jog cool down staying on the north side of the trail. I just love that blue water fountain with the mosiac.

Overall, I guess I did fine. Tempo is supposed to hard, but I wish it was pleasant. I do not like that route I did though. I missed the 1.5 mile marker so I didn't get 1/2 mile splits. I think our tempo out-and-back is boring and predictable at times, but I know when to go and when to slow. It's all really just mental b/c it's the same distance, and the terrain is really comparable.

I'm enjoying a quiet house with just me and the cats home. Elijah is with a friend. David took Joshua to soccer practice. This is exactly why I ran early today rather than go back downtown at 5:30pm (btw, I'd be running right now if I had gone back). For a rare bit, I get to sit and do nothing. Of course, that is coming to a quick end as I need to make dinner for the family, blah, blah, blah, etc.

Rainy Day Fun

I saw my mom explode at dinner last night.
She ate one too many brownies, I'm told.
It was gruesome and gave me quite a fright.
Now my mom will never, ever grow old.

Poem by Joshua and his Exploded Mom


"Men want hot women, study confirms"

That is a headline of Popular news on cnn.com. I had to LOL. Is that something that really needs to be studied? As if we didn't already know that. Here's the story, if you are interested in reading something that I could have told you without doing a study. I particularly like this story highlight: Men are much less choosy than women. Uh...yeah.

So, yesterday was rainy, soggy circuit with lots of core. Lots of folks didn't show thanks to some major downpours right before class. Wednesday is my absolute most favorite workout - Tempo. < grin > Gilbert will be flying in from somewhere and will be late, so we will probably start ourselves off on our own.

I have a recurring Wednesday dilemma that I need to sort out. Elijah now has piano right near the TLT from 3:15pm - 4:15pm on Wednesdays (thank goodness it moved from Mondays at 5:15pm). So, I will be right there for an hour, and then I'll drive him home and turn right back around and drive right back down to where I started from. I'm thinking of doing my Wednesday workouts while he's in piano to save time, gas, money, CO2 in the air...but I'll miss seeing my friends in class. I might try an every-other-week sort of thing.

Let's close today's blog with a poem.


She sweeps with many-colored brooms,
And leaves the shreds behind;
Oh, housewife in the evening west,
Come back, and dust the pond!

You dropped a purple ravelling in,
You dropped an amber thread;
And now you've littered all the East
With duds of emerald!

And still she plies her spotted brooms,
And still the aprons fly,
Till brooms fade softly into stars -
And then I come away.

-Emily Dickinson

Go Team Cop-a-Fila!

Last year, I ran my heart out in the Fila Relays. It was hot and dusty, and I struggled and hated it. During the run, I knew I was slowing down (went out way too fast). I didn't care at the time, but as usual, after the race and once I'm feeling fine, I start kicking myself for going so slow, or better yet, not going faster.

This year I really did try to find a team, but then I went on vacation. When I got back, everyone was matched up. I did a half-hearted attempt to find a team all the way up to race day. At that point, I just planned to run along side Sarah since I talked her a.) into joining Gazelles and b.) into running the relays.

It was such an enjoyable experience this year. The weather was much better, and I was going to run Sarah's pace. I thoroughly enjoyed running with her, and it was refreshing to enjoy a road race (I don't usually enjoy road races).

David ran blazing fast...a 13:52. Yowzers. Elijah and Joshua were sweet angels patiently waiting for us. They both finally were rewarded with food and a seat to watch the band right as that crazy storm was about to hit. We high-tailed it outta there much to Joshua's chagrin (he was really into the guitar playing). I looked for Sara, Yvette, or Gayatri to say farewell, but I had no luck as it was quite chaotic as people fled to their cars.

We got to the van, and I saw Gayatri on the course just past the 1-mile marker. I ran over to her and offered to run the rest of the way with her. I would have if I hadn't just eaten a plate of food and if she hadn't assured me that she would be fine (the rain was about to start). She is so awesome. She finished her race in the pouring rain. Go Gayatri! And her teammates waited for her to finish...in the pouring rain! Go Team Cop-a-Fila!

Saturday morning, I headed down to Runtex with Elijah, Joshua, and their bikes in tow. Gayatri's back was hurting, so she bowed out. I found Minnie waiting though, and we found an exhausted David after his 17 mile run. Minnie, the boys, and I took off for an easy jaunt around the 4-mile loop and left David to recover.

I'm so proud of my boys. It's not easy riding your bike on such a crowded trail, up and down little hills. They did well. The first 2 miles were fairly slow thanks to the hills and a man knocking Joshua over (the man was not watching at all and just walked right over Joshua as Joshua turned right off the 1-mile marker bridge). Fortunately, Joshua is a tough kid, but it shook him up fairly bad. He didn't want to ride anymore, but he did.

At the Mopac water stop, Minnie headed off alone to be on time to her meeting. The boys did amazing the 2nd half. They were 100-200 meters in front of me, and they never had any struggles. I felt good running. Not sure what pace I was going, but our 2nd half was at least 10 minutes faster than the first half (there was a long stop after Joshua's crash in that first half).

Sarah and I decided not to do the Burnet Tri. We just haven't trained for it. I don't really know how I trained for triathlons last year. I was just as busy then. I'm a little sad knowing that I won't have done a single triathlon this year, and what is slightly pathetic is that I had hopes of doing the triathlon series this summer.

I think I'm just tired of dragging my kids around for work outs. Tired of finding chunks of time to bike long enough and run long enough and swim long enough. It's a workout just to get in the workout, and this summer, I was happy just going to running class. David has also been running all the time these past several months. It's not easy finding time for two parents to train every single day for the amount of time you need/want to train. I'm the one that stepped aside. I'm the one that let David have the time he needs/wants to train for his marathon. He is motivated, he is ready, he is loving training. I can't say those things at all about myself.

I can say though that "I am having fun!"