Run Log: June 2013

Running in June has been getting back into the swing of training.  The difference is I'm not dieting as well (as my weight shows)  My IT bands are not fully recovered and my stupid right foot has been a little tweeky.  I need to STRETCH and do some yoga.  But I've gotten up into the double digits for my long runs and I decided I needed to run 5 days a week.  I'll never be able to run over 30 miles a week in four days.  This was the first week for that...so we'll see how that goes.  I'd like to get to Camp Stig and start to run there.  And then there's my shoe drama.  My feet feel like I need new shoes...but I don't want to get new ones this far from the marathon, because I don't want to run in old shoes for the race.  So I think I'm going to alternate between my Asics and see if that doesn't help.  If nothing else, it'll buy me a month & then I'll be ready for that new pair anyway.

June's totals:
106.32 miles for the month 
537.35 miles for the year
0 biking miles for the month
118 biking miles for the year
311.99 miles in my black, pink & blue Asics ~  They are serving me well...
371.36 miles in my now retired white & blue Asics ~ wore them for two runs with the possibility of rain ~ but not the actual run in the rain {go figure}


My WEIGHT:  This morning, after my run the scale said 135.  I'm not really happy about that...as I know my eating habits have sucked.  Cookies & cheese & ice cream & Hershey Kisses...  Time to be a little more healthy about what I put in my face.

Some interesting facts:
Longest run this month: 10 (two times)
Favorite place to run this month: My 10 mile run from Ag's house to Edgewater Park and back.  It was fun to do a training run in a place I've done a few races.  Such pretty houses around there!
# of bags of Candy Cane Kisses left in my cabinet: 1 ~ I've opened two this month.
# of books I read this month: Four...I love summer
Monthly mileage record: 107.5 ~ April 2013.  Two record months in a row!
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  13.5  Sunday, April 6, 2013

PR's:
5K: 22:45 (Rabbit Run 10/30/11~ but I think it was a short course)
10K: 52:02 (Cleveland 5/15/11)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)
half-marathon: 1:47:35 (Cleveland Half 5/19/2013
marathon: 3:50:05 (Akron relay {team run} 9/24/11)

#16

#16 ~ The third Shopaholic book, Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella. Another wild tale with lots of improbable twists and turns and Becky coming out on top due to her wit, innate kindness, and good luck.  It's a cute summer read, but I'm done with the series.  {I think there are three more}  I've had enough of Becky and the same old story.

fl: We are pleased to confirm your new joint bank account with Mr. Luke J. Brandon, and enclose explanatory documentation.  ll: Shopping shall be defined as a relaxing activity.

That's me

The most amazing shoes now belong to me. On sale for 50% off with a $5 off coupon AND a 30% discount ~ I saved more than I spent.  I know that Kohl's is always on sale, but $22 for a pair of amazing shoes is a deal.  Now I'm all set for my black dress at Sara's wedding. 

Then, at Melt for lunch, I look down and my fly is unzipped.  Yep. So, like the normal person that I am, I quietly zip them back up and go in eating...or

I loudly proclaim, "My fly is down!"  And laugh hysterically.  

I'll leave the truth up to you.  

AND then ~ walking in the backyard {thank God I had on tennis shoes}I feel something squish under my left foot.  I look down and there, laying on it's back is a DEAD CHIPMUNK.  When I stepped on his lower half his top half rose up.  When I looked down to see what had squished...there's this dead chipmunk curling up at me.  

It's a good think I'm practiced at handling surprising incidences so I did not go running and jumping and flapping and screaming like a little girl.  

up & away

You would think it would get easier ~ but it doesn't.  Not really.  I drove my 15 year old {baby} to the airport today & he flew {by himself} to Orlando.

Why is that so difficult?  It does have quite a bit to do with my fear of flying...on some level I consider it a form of child abuse to subject my child to flight...but it's more than that.

When Jacob was 13 he flew alone for the first time to visit my parents in Colorado.  I walked him to the gate, sat with him until they called his flight, and just about had a heart attack when I watched him disappear down the jet way.

Last summer, age 14, the line at the ticket counter was really long ~ so I sent him through security himself.  Then, as I was walking back, I noticed the line was gone...so I got a gate pass and went to meet him.  I think he was as glad about that as I was.  But it proved to me he could handle it on his own.  So this summer I walked him to security, watched him go through & drove home {with a phone call & a few texts}.  He made it Orlando just fine, found his friend & will have an excellent week.  My seasoned traveler.  

But, how difficult it is for this mom to watch her baby walk away to a place I'm unable to rescue him if trouble arises.  I think that's really the issue.  Letting go.  Literally.  

Daisy Days

I love this happy white flowers with the crazy petals.

This little guy is reaching for the sun.

Just one of the many blooms on my giant snowball bush.

The cone flowers are starting to bloom ~ greeting the morning sun.

I love this silly planter that I found at my FAVORITE Middle Ridge Gardens ~ for an unbelievable price.  So glad I stopped in that cold April day and found him ~ perfect for the crazy ornamental grass plant.

Another of my crazy daises.

#15

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer is book #15 for the year.  Really interesting book.  I've actually "checked it out" from the digital library twice...and didn't get around to reading it until the second time.  It's intense.  It centers around a father/son who is killed in the World Trade Center on September 11.  But it starts with World War 2 in Germany.  The main character is Oskar ~ the son of the man killed ~ who is living with secrets and lies...and discovers that all people are living with secrets and lies.  Oskar is an odd little duck {certainly living on the autism spectrum, if you ask me}  He has the best observations on the world.  He constantly refers to being sad as having heavy boots ~ and isn't that how feeling sad really FEELS?  All of his idiosyncrasies come out in the story, and he is so lovable.  There's also the parallel story of the father of the man killed and his mother ~ this is the story that stretches back to Germany.  This story is harder for me to follow ~ are there things that time can not make better?  I certainly hope I never have to answer that question for myself!
The question asked over and over in this novel: What is Living and what is just existing?
This would be a great book club book.
Quotes:
p71 ~ That secret was a hole in the middle of me that every happy thing fell into.

p88 ~ I shook my tambourine the whole time, because it helped me remember that even though I was going through different neighborhoods, I was still me.

p156 ~ "It's not a horrible world," he told me, putting a Cambodian mask on his face, "bu it's filled with a lot of horrible people."

p161 ~ "Which was your last war?" He said, "Cutting down that tree was my last war!"  I asked him who won, which I thought was a nice question, because it would let him say that he won, and feel proud.  He said, "The ax won! It's always that way!"

fl: What about a teakettle?  What if the spout opened and closed when the steam came out, so it would become a mouth, and it could whistle pretty melodies, or do Shakespeare, or just crack up with me?  ll: He would have told me the story of the Sixth Borough, from the voice in the can at the end to the beginning, from "I love you" to "Once upon a time..."  We would have been safe.  {and then there are 15 pictures of a man falling up into the World Trade Center}

Oriented

We spent a very busy two days at the University of Cincinnati.  But I think Patrick is ready to go.  

There are so many emotions...but not so many words.  Exciting...anxious...happy...sad...mostly proud.  

Get your grill on

My mother-in-law bought this for my hubby as a joke for Patrick's graduation party. He finally took it out of the box today.  The only draw back... When you have a beer in the insulated bottle holder, don't bend over to pick something up. 

cleaning up

Today is the day to clean up my computer desk.  For the graduation party I just threw all the crap into my desk drawer {the desk drawer of my desk from school which I purchased for $15.00 and made Mike bring home...and now it sits in my front room, until the time I'm allowed to take it into my new classroom ~ I'm thinking no one will care come the 2014-2015 school year}
And here are two things I need to record for posterity:

This is over a year old & it sat in my car for the longest time.  It reminds me of how important it is to have support when you are training for something that is difficult.  I could not have trained for my first half without certain people & now that I'm preparing for a full...well, I totally rely on my running friends for support and encouragement.  I'm glad that other people feel I'm an encouragement to them.  It also reminds me of how much I enjoy run club...and it really just makes me laugh.  Bill is an amazing character in my life & I 'm going to really miss him at the middle school, as he'll be at an elementary next year.  I hope we can continue to run together.

Then there's this.  How did my mailbox, which had been fine for 10 years (really more, since it was here long before we were) suddenly become a foot too short?

So we had to say goodbye to George's steel reinforced giant Madison blue mailbox & replace it with a boring tan Step 2 plastic box...which will be lucky to last the winter.  

#14

#14 ~ the first book of summer vacation was a great summer read ~ the second in the shopaholic series Sophie Kinsela's Shopaholic Takes Manhattan.  It's a cute series with a sometimes hapless and sometimes brilliant main character, Becky Bloomwood.  This time Becky ruins her financial career (really, how did she ever have a career in finance?) and finds her passion in fashion.
The characters are purely fantasy ~ and it is a fun read.

Quotes:
p70 ~ And my father once bought a whole island without telling my mother... {made me laugh ~ as I want an island...}
p91 ~ You love people despite their flaws.  Lucy obviously doesn't mind that Tom's got clammy hands--and he obviously doesn't mind that her hair's all flat and boring.  It's quite romantic, I suppose.

Good Words: {I love the Brittish}
p119 ~
                       natter

{to talk casually, especially about unimportant matters}

p122 ~  
                      canoodling
 {to kiss and cuddle amorously}

p159 ~
                 kerfuffle

{a commotion or fuss, especially one caused by conflicting views}

fl: Ok, Don't panic.  Don't panic. ll: Thank you for choosing Second Union Bank, and I am sure this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.

Graduation week

It's all over now. 

The last day of school was NOT spent at Stanton Park...due to rain ~ BOO ~ but, my grades are done & my classroom is packed into boxes ready to be moved to room 240 at the NEW Middle School.   I said goodbye to room 136 ~ a very good room that I will miss...and it's SUMMER!

Patrick GRADUATED with honors from Madison High School on Saturday, June 8.  I did not pull a Frankie Heck and start sobbing in the middle of commencement~ I had that moment the Sunday before ~ when on my way to Walmart, I passed MHS and the sign out front said, "Best Wishes Class of 2013" and I just lost it.  Sobbing all the way to Walmart, thankful that I was the only one in the car.

After graduation we all went to lunch at Joey's and then while Patrick made the party rounds, Mom & I prepped for the party.  Sunday came & it was the best day of the week ~ sunny & 75 & beautiful! {It was a GIFT as the weather has been so rainy & cold!}It was CRAZY doing the party that weekend, but I think the party is going to be crazy whenever you do it.  I was exhausted Sunday night, but so thankful that it was all over.  I will do that again when it's Jacob's turn!

Jacob and I had to take one last trip to Homer Nash Kimball Elementary School to take picture of their fifth grade tiles.  Under the heading "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission" I asked Shannon if we could take down the tiles...and she said, "No".  The board has not decided what they are going to do...but she'll let me know if it's going to be ok'ed.  

And our final adventure ~ was really an adventure.  We went to hike around Squire's Castle...I've always wanted to go there ~ and after seeing it, I wished I'd taken the kids there when they were little.  It's pretty cool.  And then we went to follow the not-so-well-marked trail.  Turns out there are MANY trails ~ and we kinda didn't know where we were.  It ended up that we made it out just fine (finally found an EXIT sign ~ which really didn't lead to the exit we wanted, but we could figure out where to go from there) and then we ate Dairy Queen to make it all better {Which marks the second day in a row of eating Dairy Queen!}  

Dad's a pirate because he's got some double vision issues...Not a fun way to spend the week...seeing two of everything.

#13

 Book #13 ~ Sophie Kinsella's Confessions of a Shopaholic is a fun little story.  As the opposite of a shopaholic, there were moments that it was just maddening.  Who can really be that irresponsible?  People who do their jobs like Becky Bloomwood does generally piss me off.  But as a character in a book ~ whom I did not have to work with ~ she's lovable & fun.  The characters are all a little over the top, but that makes for a good story.  Of course...the book ended with a cliffhanger, so I went and checked the next one out right away.  It may be the summer of Sophie!  {not as good as the summer of Janet, but you can't beat Stephanie & Lula}

Good Word:
page 248 ~

 gobsmacked

It means ~ utterly astonished; astounded ~ and I think it's fun to say.

quote:
page 248 ~ "I shan't dare to go to the loo all morning..." {I just love the British terms...}

fl: Ok. Don't Panic.  It's only a VISA bill.  ll: "Hello, yes.  I'd like to leave a message for Mr. Smeath."