Run Streak Week 3

Monday, June 9: 1.69 miles in 16:03.  Push-ups and stretches afterward.

Tuesday, June 10: 1.02 miles in 7:37.  Like the day before, I went with Tim and he kind of dictated the pace and the route.  I struggled to keep up in the oppressive humidity in the middle of the afternoon.  My attitude toward running at this point was at its absolute lowest.  At exactly the one-mile mark I slowed down and pushed stop/save on MapMyRun.  I told Tim he could go on but he slowed down too and we walked the rest of the way back to the condo together.  At the time I stopped I figured we were maybe a quarter mile from home, but we were actually over half a mile away and it felt like it took a long time to get back.  The whole way I stared at Tim's back as we walked single file along the busy highway and thought about how he was probably annoyed at me.  Oh well.  Push-ups and stretches afterward.

Wednesday, June 11: 1.63 miles in 12:10.  Push-ups and stretches afterward.

Thursday, June 12: 2.45 miles in 20:16.  I ran by myself at a slower pace and enjoyed this run much more.  But for some reason MapMyRun paused and I didn't figure it out until a few minutes later, so I'm not sure exactly how far I went.

Friday, June 13: 1.33 miles at 11:40.  I went in the morning and that was a good thing because it got stormy later on.  Again I ran by myself, and I'm thinking maybe Tim and I aren't the best running partners at this point.  We are at different places.  He likes to go faster and farther, and I'm happy that he's in such great shape and has such dedication.  And at least I can still brag that I ran a mile last week in 6:30, and his fastest was about 6:40.:)

Saturday, June 14: 1.01 miles in 7:43.  This was the day we left St. Augustine and arrived at Disney.  I was pleasantly surprised when Tim told me there is a running trail very close to our resort, a big loop that goes around a pond.  The loop is a little less than a mile long.  A bunny hopped across the trail right in front of me and I was charmed.  There were also signs every so often with little factoids about different years in history, which were also interesting to read.  By the time I was done with my little run at dusk I decided that I'll believe this place is magical if I don't wind up with any new mosquito bites.  Having said said, I was really not in the mood for a run at all by the end of this day, and if not for the challenge it never would have crossed my mind.  That's the whole point!  I started to become overwhelmed thinking of how hard this would be for me in the days ahead after so many hours walking around parks to find the will to knock out a mile run.  One day at a time.

Sunday, June 15: Streak broken.:(  My first full day at Disney -- which would be a joke to most people because Timmy and I were back at our resort by 3:15 -- kicked my butt.  I still would have gone if it hadn't been storming from about 6 p.m. on, with torrential rain.  By the time it stopped I was passed out for the night.  Womp-womp-womp.

Run Streak Week 2

Monday, June 2: 1.02 miles in 6:34, then three sets of 10 push-ups.

Tuesday, June 3: 1 mile in 10:50.  This was a rest day for me, so all of us went to the park next to our hotel and I ran laps at a very relaxed pace, with the kids running along off and on.  No other exercises except sun salutations in our room.

Wednesday, June 4: slow 3 mile run after we got back from dinner.  I hate to post the actual numbers, but I'll do it to keep myself honest.  3.02 miles in 28:27.  My belly was so full after a dinner of cheeseburger, fries and an ice cream cone, that I had no desire at all to go running.  Once I got going I was OK, and it was a relief as always to get away by myself for awhile.  But I really wished I'd skipped the ice cream.  Not worth the pain!  After I came back I did a few sets of push-ups, squats, and a lot of stretches in the fitness room.

Thursday, June 5: My only opportunity to run was early in the morning after Tim had dropped Delaney off at school, and before he and Annie left for Beaufort, SC.  I did sun salutations in our room and then went to the park and did 1 mile in 8:29.  I should have tried to do another fast one, but at this point I'm worried about the possibility of injury after so many days straight of running.  I've got a whole month ahead to improve my times.

Friday, June 6: Of all the days, THIS was the day I had multiple excuses not to run.  Tim and Annie had already left, and I was there with Delaney and Timmy.  While Delaney was in her last day of school from 8 to 12, I was getting my pre-vacation pedicure.  It needed several hours of being careful and wearing flipflops so I could be sure the polish was set.  Once I picked up Delaney from school, we immediately started driving to Beaufort to meet up with Tim and Annie at the hotel on the air station.  The trip took us all of six hours even though we stopped only once.  Then I unloaded the car while Tim went out to get us dinner from Moe's.  He was gone for a long while and we ended up having dinner at around 7.  I had one of those big old burritos, and more chips and salsa than I should have.  I was so hungry, and it was so nice to have a full belly.

After dinner Tim was in and out of the room multiple times for reasons I can't remember, and at one point he took Annie with him to go somewhere or do something.  He left the hotel door propped open by the deadbolt.  Maybe he was bringing in more bags or getting a cup of coffee -- even he can't remember for sure.  When they came back, Delaney rushed to the door to open it for them, but before she could, Annie kicked it in.  (To Annie, doors in new places are like conquests, especially when she knows her brother or sister wants to open it first.)  Next thing I knew, Delaney stumbled away from the door howling in pain.  I ran over to her, and when I saw her toe I wanted to cry myself.  In fact I couldn't even hold back the tears because that had to hurt like hell.  The big heavy door had torn a layer of flesh off the side of her big toe, and it was raw and bloody.  Thank God Tim was calm and collected enough to assess it and know that it just needed to be cleaned and bandaged.  I just kept looking at the dangling flap of skin and the blood and raw looking tissue, and I was worried it needed professional attention.  There was an ugly bruise too.  He got our first aid stuff out of the car.  We were missing peroxide and some kind of infection-preventing ointment or spray (our Neosporin had disappeared, it seems), so he went out and got those really quick.  I just tried to comfort Delaney, and I gave her a dose of ibuprofen and a mint so that maybe the sweetness would distract her.

We had her ice the toe and let the wound air out for awhile before bandaging. 

When he got back I felt like I should stick around for when he cleaned it because she was so scared.  But Tim said, "Go do your run.  We don't need you here."  I hesitated, but when Delaney didn't say she wanted me to stay, I put on my shorts and running shoes, grabbed my phone and headed out.  Once I got outside and started to run, I saw lightning flashes and heard thunder rumbling.  I decided it wasn't safe and headed back in.  I was sure I was off the hook now but Tim said, "It's just heat lightning."  Then he said I could go to the gym down the street if I was worried about lightning.  "But it's quarter after 9," I protested.  Maybe there was a day back when I was in college that I might have walked into a gym after 9 p.m., but that day is past.  And this was a Marine base that is unfamiliar to me, full of unfamiliar Marines who will all look up and be like, why is this mom here?  Then Tim got that look on his face that I dread, the look that says if you break the streak, you are a quitter and a disgrace.  In the face of that I had no choice.  Back out I went.  It turned out that the lightning was no concern at all compared to the way people were driving on that base.  Clearly, speed limits are not enforced at this installation because someone went flying by me going at least 45 in a 25.  At least the lightning helped light up the way for me so I could see the breaks in the sidewalk because I didn't dare run on the road.  One lousy mile, and it took me almost 10 minutes.

Saturday, June 7: Florida day, yay! I woke up wanting nothing more than coffee and peace and quiet like always, but of course that was not to be had.  The car needed to be packed, and the coffee in the continental breakfast room tasted like it had been filtered through a dirty sock.  I wanted to go find a Starbucks, but Tim said I had to go running first and then we'd get a good cup of coffee.  With that carrot dangling in front of me, I headed out into the damp morning air for a mile run.  It ended up being a mile and a half, just because I didn't really know where to go.  I sweated like crazy -- the humidity was just unbelievable.  I was grateful later on, after the three-and-a-half hour drive, the unpacking and grocery shopping, that I could relax and spend time with family instead of worrying about fitting in a run.

Sunday, June 8: First full day in St. Augustine.  Mom stayed with the kids while we ran 1.66 miles at an 8:12 pace.  After that I did a couple sets of push-ups and a plank for about a minute.

Run Streak Week 1

Monday, May 26: 12-minute long run in and around the (old) neighborhood.
Tuesday, May 27: I ran circles for 10 minutes around the park next to our hotel while the kids were on the swings.  Tim had a softball game.  Dark clouds rolled in and I could hear thunder, but I was like, I can do it!  Again, I am just assuming it was a mile.
Wednesday, May 28: I did two miles on the hotel treadmill.  The first mile was a quick pace (or just FEELS quick on the treadmill), about 8 miles an hour.  The second was pretty slow, but I don't remember the pace.  After that I did four sets of 10 push-ups.
Thursday, May 29: I could only manage 10 minutes of running in place in the hotel room. Tim was at the house all evening while the movers finished loading our stuff.  It was a stressful and tiring day and I snapped at Tim when he dared to suggest that running in place might not count.
Friday, May 30: I finally used MapMyRun!  3.06 mile run around downtown, completed in 25:30, averaging 8:20 min/mile.  Just a leisurely run.
Saturday, May 31: I set out to run a fast mile at the park with MapMyRun, but I forgot my phone was on silent and I listened in vain for the voice to tell me I'd completed a mile (Where are you, Voice?  Did you foget about me?).  I ended up doing 1.33 miles in 9:18.  The mile was completed in 6:52.  Afterward I did 4 sets of 10 push-ups.
Sunday, June 1: MapMyRun malfunctioned and I do not know how far or how fast I went, but it was another leisurely run for a few miles around downtown.  Tim said MapMyRun has been doing that to him too, and he has to keep turning it back on.  I'm guessing around 3 miles at about an 8:30 pace.  Afterward I did a few sets of squats and lunges, and a few of my favorite stretches from Piyo.

Tim did not end up bringing his pull-up bar after all.  He's been getting up early to do his runs, and he's been doing his pull-ups at the gym.  I look forward to doing some runs together while we're in Florida.

As far as making good choices in the restaurants .. that's working well some of the time.  We had dinner at Five Guys the other night and all they have are burgers and fries, so what can you do?  At a couple of other places, I've chosen sweet potato fries over regular fries.  Does that count for anything?  Because when I'm starving -- and I am because we don't buy breakfast and lunch out, just eat the snacks in our room -- I can't pick veggies over fries.  I just can't.  But I know I should.

Have running shoes, will travel

Tomorrow kicks off a crazy month of transient living until we get our house in South Carolina at the end of June.  We will check into a hotel and stay there for 10 days until Delaney's done with school.  After that it's St. Augustine for a week, Disney for a few days after that, another hotel, a beach house in SC for another week or so, and then hopefully we'll be moving into a new house right after that.

We realized long ago that a whole month of living in various hotels and resorts, and eating meals out all the time, would spell disaster for us both from a fitness standpoint.  I had kind of resigned myself to it, saying, "It's just a month.  We can go back to our good habits after that."  But then as it got closer Tim started saying, "We've got to come up with a plan."  I reluctantly agreed to maybe, just maybe, go along with whatever plan he came up with.

A couple days later he emailed me the link to the Runner's World Run Streak, with the question, "Are you in?"  The challenge is this: to run at least one mile each and every day, beginning Memorial Day and ending July 4.  That's 40 consecutive days of running -- eek!  I've been lucky if I can manage two runs per week these last few months.  I wasn't so sure about 40 days in a row.  It seemed like overdoing it, and I didn't want to end up hurt.  But I read the FAQs, and one of the questions was basically, isn't running every day bad for you?  The answer was that the only requirement to keep the streak going is one mile, as slow and easy as you want it.  One slow and easy mile never hurt anybody, so that's what we can do when we need a rest day.

I'm in!  But it's a little daunting.  There are always so many reasons why it's not a convenient time to go for a run, things like 'I need my blow-dry to last until tomorrow night', or 'it's too hot out right now', or 'it's too early and I haven't had enough coffee', or 'I know I should run, but I could really use a nap', and then, 'Oops, the day got away from me -- no more time for running.'  Then there are the kids with their many needs.  They need to be fed multiple times, bathed, put to bed, all that stuff.  It's going to require a lot of teamwork between me and Tim to make this work, and it's going to take me just doing it instead of making a million excuses as to why I can't.  I'm going to have to manage my time a lot more effectively, which is hard to do on any regular day, let alone on a vacation.  I might even have to become a morning runner (gulp!).  But every time I get worried about how I'm going to manage it (especially on the Disney days), I tell myself it's JUST 1 MILE.  If that's all I can do for seven days in a row, then that's enough.

We're both going to try to make the best choices we can at restaurants too.  I'll choose a salad or vegetables over fries whenever possible, and try to limit the breaded and fried seafood.

So I'm putting it out here because once it's on my blog it's official.  I also put myself on some kind of board with the other people who are taking part in this challenge, so that will help.  As another layer of accountability, I will try to check in with Laura on Fitness Mondays whenever I can.  Last, but certainly not least, I'll have my husband to answer to if I fail to do a run.  He is also imposing a schedule of push-ups, pull-ups and air squats on us both.  He even plans to bring his pull-up bar wherever we go, and set it up wherever we happen to be staying.  He might be a little cray-cray, as Delaney likes to say.

I started the streak with a 12-minute run after I got the kids to bed.  I assume it was over a mile.  I did a shorter, easier run because I just went running a few miles yesterday.  I'll try to be better about keeping track of my mileage, and I have an app on my phone for that.  I do not like to use the app because I think the voice sounds condescending, but I can get over that.

Here goes!

20 questions answered by Annie on her 5th birthday

1. What is your favorite color? Purple.
2. What is your favorite toy? My baby doll.
3. What is your favorite stuffed animal? My lion.
4. What is your favorite thing to sleep with? Lion.
5. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries.
6. What is your favorite cereal? Kix.
7. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Kix.
8. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Tomato soup.
9. What is your favorite dessert? Strawberry shortcake.
10. What is your favorite drink? Milk.
11. What do you want to eat for your birthday dinner? Spaghetti and meatballs.
12. What is your favorite animal? A tiger.
13. What is your favorite book? Ladybug Girl at the Beach.
14. What is your favorite song? Red (by Taylor Swift).
15. What is your favorite game? Sorry!
16. What is your favorite TV show? Sofia the 1st.
17. What is your favorite movie? Frozen.
18. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the swing.
19. Who is your best friend? Abigail.
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A princess.

One last North Carolina birthday: Annie turns 5

I've been telling myself, once Annie's birthday has come and gone, I will focus on moving stuff.  Now that time has come, so we'll see what I can start getting done between now and when the movers come right after Memorial Day weekend.  

Her birthday was fairly low key, but as always I was surprised at how much energy I used planning the details.  I always look forward to my kids' birthdays and I always want them to be special even though the parties are never huge and I'm not the Pinterest queen (so far from it!).  I don't bake cakes either.  So the details that I am left to fuss over are things like: the invitations look like junk mail; will they get lost in backpacks or thrown away on sight?  Will at least half of the kids I invited be able to come?  Should I get the helium tank and balloons or just a bunch of balloons from the grocery store on the day of? (The answer turned out to kind of be both. I got the helium tank and balloons for the house on the day of her actual birthday, and I picked up a giant Mylar balloon at Walmart the morning of the party.)  We ordered a cake from Walmart, but on the morning of the party we found out that the order had been lost, so Annie picked one of the ready-made ones.

We had the party on Saturday morning at the paint-your-own-pottery place downtown.  It was on the smaller side and ladies-only -- partly because that's what Annie wanted but even more importantly, because space was limited.  It ended up working out so well, and being one of the easiest parties I've ever thrown for one of the kids.  For one thing, the place was already decorated and I didn't need to worry about any of that.  Once all the little girls were settled in, the hostess took over and managed the painting portion which took the first hour.  I was free to just chat with the other moms, and not have to worry about anything.  Annie had lots of fun painting her little cupcake, surrounded by her sister and six other little girls we know from bible study, preschool or the Y.  It was a great way for all of us to get to spend time with friends before we have to say goodbye.

I tried not to take it personally that she didn't want to be in this picture with me.  The only reason she's in the frame is because I threatened to take her presents away.

On her actual birthday, which was yesterday, she got to be the birthday girl at school and later on, we Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa while doing cake and presents here at home.

A perfect May weekend

I told Tim the other day that lately I'm just living for weekends, and he said, "Isn't that what everybody does?"  Yeah, but it's May, and we're so close to being done with school for the year, done with being up at 5:45 every weekday morning .. I never get used to it.  I drag myself out of the bed, and sleepwalk through the first hour of the day, and somehow go through all the necessary steps to get everyone going.  Then there's every afternoon with the "Hi Delaney, how was your day?" followed by nag, nag, nag to get an oppressive load of homework completed while her siblings run around outside.  Then there's the old witching hour every afternoon, with kids hovering around the kitchen glowering at me (Annie!) or whining or fighting amongst themselves.  There's the making of dinner, which is going much better since I have a good system in place, but still gets old.  I know that none of these things are out of the ordinary in the life of any mom, and I know that I have it a lot better than most.  I am just so ready for a change of scenery, and knowing we are this close makes all the little frustrations seem bigger.  I am always so relieved when I can say another week is done.  And on weekends, the witching hour does not exist.  And I get to sleep in. Weekends are magical.

I especially couldn't wait for this weekend.  Since this was our first Saturday in several weeks that we haven't had soccer games, I was giddy with anticipation of finally going to the beach.  So giddy that I attempted this horrible sketch of what's supposed to be a happy person with sunglasses on.  Once I put something on the whiteboard, it is a sure thing.  I just hoped the weather would cooperate.  When I checked the forecast first thing Saturday morning, it said clouds all day and high in the 80s, and I was OK with that as long as it didn't rain.

We got there at 20 of 9, and there was exactly one other family arriving at the same time as we were.  It was kind of overcast and just a slight chill in the air, but it warmed up quickly.  As the morning went on, more and more people came.  The water was way too cold for Tim and me, but the girls jumped right in.  Timmy played at the edge.  They were all so happy.  Timmy must have told me about five different times, "I love the beach and I love the water."  Me too, Buddy!

I could have stayed there all day, but eventually we started to run low on water and we could tell the kids were getting tired even though they wanted to keep playing.  We left around 12:30.

Wearing my new Bruno Mars hat as an extra layer of sun protection.  Too little too late, says the big wrinkle between my eyes, but I still like it.

I may have slept in but Tim did not, so we had this delicious lunch, and not just the leftover pizza I would have thrown into the cooler.

Timmy doing his own version of sun salutations.  I don't know where he gets it from -- I've never done any of this stuff at home.  Maybe I should.  He seems to be a natural.

At some point later in the day, Tim sneaked them out to get my Mother's Day gift.  I wondered later why Tim would buy me live flowers when we're moving in two weeks.  But then I remembered that a) I asked him to never buy me another expensive bouquet of dead flowers again; and b) he knows I won't keep them alive for very long anyway.:)  They are so pretty, aren't they?

The next day we went to Mass, and for whatever reason -- we just felt like it, I guess -- the girls and I dressed up a little more than we usually do.  We wore our Easter stuff.  Now from what I've observed, in the south people always dress up for church.  At first that made me uncomfortable -- probably because I was wearing jeans --  but then I got a few dresses and I actually like it now and appreciate it.  Still, I immediately noticed that everybody else looked extra nice today and there were lots of new faces besides, just like on Easter Sunday.  When we got inside, we saw all the little First Communicants waiting in the back and I was like, 'So that's why!'  We dressed up for them without meaning to.  When I saw those kids, including a little boy who lives down the street, filing down the aisle with their hands folded prayerfully, I was surprised to find myself getting choked up.  I can't believe that's going to be Delaney next year!  She was just a baby.  They were all just babies!  It goes so fast.  

When we got home I asked Tim to take this picture of us.  Annie refused to smile.  Ornery Annie, we love you so.

As I look at this picture I couldn't be happier or prouder to be their Mama.  This is what I was born to do.  They are some incredible little people and each one of them has brought us so much joy.  I love my family so much, and this fun weekend with them was such a gift -- the perfect reward after a long week.