HA, HA, HA, HA

I'm going to run 3x a weeek?! I'm still laughing. I don't think I'll be even walking in the next week. Unless I get up at 5:00 am and start my runs it is not happening. (hubby leaves for work around 6-6:30) We are being hit my a major heat wave this week. Wednesday is going to feel like 105 with the lovely humidity. Walking is hard anymore. My breath is labored by just walking a mile.

This sucks.

Mom sure is fast

ER when she isn't pushing a 2yr old in a stroller
when she has some cool tunes blasting
when she is back to splits
when one of her kids can't even keep up with her on his bike
when she wants to get home so she doesn't have to listen (over her IPOD) to him bitchin about it.

My splits by mile:
1 10:11
2 09:24
3 11:81

Now lets take out all the stops for the following: (traffic, waiting for slow child and to tell child to quit looking at the fire engine) Because he kept steering into her as he was checking it out.

1 9:30
2 8:50
3 10:00 (ok...I walked for 25 seconds here which I refuse to take out of my time)

Not the most impressive run I have ever had and nowwhere near my normal 26:30 - 28:00 normal winter training runs (well the 26:30 was pretty much on a downhill incline) but it's a start and I know it can be improved upon. (especially since it is one of my hated routes)

Well I got out there did it. I'm going to try to go back to running 3x a week and maybe do the walking on 2 nights if possible.

Rantings

Things that pissed me off today:

people that don't wash their hands after peeing.
people who can't flush the damn toilet. (please!)
waiting at the MD's office.
waiting at the MD's office on the floor b/c there aren't enough chairs.
waiting for one (1) hour and 20 minutes for a doctor. When you leave and tell the nurse that you don't have time to wait for 1 hr 20 minutes she tells you that you are next. Right, sure.

It took me over 3 months to get this appointment and I probably should of waited, but after reading all there was from a Jan and April 2006 newsweek, diabetes literature and a 2005 Reader's Digest I just couldn't take it anymore. Back to the primary and ask for a full blood and blood sugar workup. Ugh.

My walking days are coming to an end. The days are getting shorter and I would rather pound at 3-5 miles in under 1 hour before it gets dark. On the 3 mile runs I can take the two older on bikes and if I haaave to I'll push #3 in the stroller.

Ok that's it for the posting. #3 will wither away and die if he doesn't get some kind of food in him.

Walk not run

Ok. I'm pathetic (or feel that way) I'm back to walking. I'm doing those power walks (4 miles in 1 hour) I need to run, I want to run, but until the humidity clears up it just isn't happening. On a good note, my ankle has cleared up. I quess it was the lazy week at the beach that did it. I can actually walk down the stairs in the a.m. like a normal person, not a 80 yr old lady. I hope to get a 40 min (5mile) run in Friday or Saturday.

Our race in September has been called off. (by us) Running partner #1 is going to Roar to the Shore and I just can't handle not running near my personal best. Pathetic (2nd round) yes, but that's just the way my mind works. I need a race to compete in to get me back into excellent running form, I just don't know which one. Well, anyone who lives near the dropped race...I advise you to head over there for a great party afterwards. The race isn't close enough for me to pop into and I would have to book a room and is it really worth it? Last year we went camping and had our families with us. This year we wanted to sleep on a bed before the race and party after. And it's at the beach...which I love. Oh well.

later:

i'm getting in a half hour run then an hour of power walking in 1/2 hour. How exciting.
Seriously...i'm excited.

Beach lessons

What I learned on my vacation:

That I felt sorry for anyone who didn't live near the beach. It would suck driving more than 2 hours to get to any ocean. For my bad karma thoughts everyday on the beach was super windy. Though 1/2 mile from the beach it was super hot.

Jelly fish discust me. Even if they aren't the "stinging" kind they are still gross.

My children love to pick up jelly fish and throw them. That discusts me even more.

When you eat shitty food for 7 days you feel like shit.

Crabs are more expensive the closer you are to the ocean.

Water parks are very expensive.

My kids could play minature golf (putt-putt) 24 hours a day.

I hate minature golf and would rather undergo a pap smear instead.

Having a cautious child is nothing to bitch about. (even though I did bitch about it)

My 2 years old is not cautious.

My 2 year old thinks it's funny to be swept up into the ocean.

My 5 year old can now jump in the pool and not drown in 3 feet of water.

My 5 year old can drown in 3' 6" of water which my husband was not aware of. (5 year old did not drown, just cried while I yelled at husband)

I can be a real bitch.

Gas is much cheaper in Maryland.

Where do these people work to afford these beach houses?

7 eleven coffee sucks.

My 7 year old can be a drama queen.

Running at the beach, though it is flat is horrible when the humidity is ungodly.

I have never seen so many runners in my life as I did when I ran for 20 minutes at the beach.

Husband is still making fun of my bitching when I passed him at minute 18 on my way back.

I'm scared to get on the scale.

Ant Bu11y

Warner Bros is coming out with a new movie called The Ant Bu11y. This is one movie my children will not be allowed to see. Why? Because I have become the Ant queen bully in my own home, with my subjects (children) following my kill orders on occasion. The battle has been waged in earnest. So far I have gone through 2 gallons of bleach, 1 bottle of windex, the ant exterminator man (2 trips starting in April) and peppermint. (yes ant's don't like the smell of peppermint, my kitchen smells like a candy factory) I think the ants have a condo community set up somewhere along my property (it's a secret society b/c no one can find it) I'm betting they have rail service, a barter system and I know they have an army. They were trying to colonize my sink with the itsy bitsy nacho chip in it the other morning. Score: Ants -- still alive
Me -- out about $200+, 20 hours of time and several very clean cabinets, kitchen floor and sparkling sink. Battle still being waged.

I ran with the kids on bikes and the baby in the stroller on the 4th to compensate for later drinking. For every mile you have to push a 30lb toddler in a stroller should count as 2 run miles. Thank goodness for my new best friend, gatorade. He kept me in check during the heat. I got 3 miles (or shall I claim 6?) with some rest breaks so I could block traffic from running over my children.

All in all the 4th was fun. The kids had the best time on the slip-n-slide into a mud puddle then a jump in one of those big white trash pools that was pretty discusting after a couple hours of 10+ children doing the same thing along with two drunk adult males.

Baseline

I've started my training again. I've set up my baseline run. I run out for 20 minutes and run back for another 20 minutes. I want to cover more ground in the 20 minutes out and at least finish off at the start on my way back. Sounds pretty easy right?

This all came to me on Sunday morning in the middle of my PMS haze (btw where the heck is it?!) I got pissed b/c I had been up since 6:30 with the toddler and my husband was still sleeping like a baby (as always). So at 9 am I stomped upstairs, put the running clothes on and said "i'm running, bye". Next time I decide to run I should check out the weather. Who knew that they humidity was at 98% so early in the morning. The run was easy on the way down (maybe b/c I ran downhill the entire way) The run back that was another story. Uphill with 1/10 of mile on flat ground (or so it felt) I finish on a huge hill and was pretty impressed with my time back to the start. During the early climb on the final hill, my body sent me all sorts of signals to stop. These included dizziness, not being able to really run in a straight line, my heart doing strange things, my lungs gasping for air and all the hair on my body standing at attention. Of couse I only stop when my watch beeped my 40 minutes were up. Why? Because I am not a quitter. It took me 5 min to walk up the rest of the hill (and I was already halfway up) I don't know of anytime that I walked that slow. I've actually walked faster 10 hours after having a c-section with my third child.

So my baseline is set. I plan to do this run at least once a week. I would like to get running partner #1 out there with me. We both love the experience and benefits of hill training and with her along it'll keep my pace in check and we can chit chat so I don't die next time. I definately need to stash gatorade or water on the end part of the route too.

I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I'm not where I was in January 2006. I can't even imagine running a half marathon, much less an 8 mile run. I don't even think I can pace a 4 mile run in 9 min miles anymore. The heat/humidity has a lot to do with this set-back. I know of runners who do a normal 10 mile run have to cut it short in the humidity we are experiencing right now.

I'll keep trucking along and hope that I can kick out a 5k in September, under 26 minutes. That's the goal set right now.