3 Things Thursday.......Childless Edition

1.  I have been childless since Tuesday.  What does a runner mama do when she has no kids....hmmmm...she goes and runs 13 miles at 9 am on a Wednesday morning.  She also might go to Pinkberry, Whole Foods and Lululemon.  Nothing like being footloose and fancy free.  ( and yes I bought 2 new running skirts at Lulu  shhhh.....please do not tell my H or crazy ladies who right crazy comments in Runner's World magazine.)

2.  What does a mama do after her long run when she has no kiddos at home?  She walks in the door, gets a shower, puts her pj's on and hunkers down on the couch.  I watched about 6 hours of bad tv.  I don't think that I have done that in years.  My house was clean, I was not worried about lunches/meals.  It was the absolute perfect afternoon.

3.  I ran 5 miles this morning after my 13 yesterday.  Am I crazy thinking that I might get another run on this afternoon?  Maybe on the TM while I watch more bad tv.  It definitely might happen.

Happy Thursday!!

Look what Came in the Mail

On Monday a package arrived from OnlineShoes and boy was I excited because I knew what was inside....a saucy new pair of Mizuno's which I wore today on my 13 mile jaunt.  What is it about a new pair of shoes to give you that bounce as you take off? Yay!

16 Mile Friday

Well....this was not the most conventional 16 miler, but I can chalk it up in the books.  I started at 5 am and met my friends.  Our plan was to run for 2 hours and then finish whatever we had left on our home treadmills.  We made it an hour.  By the time we finished at 6 am, it was 87 degrees and 100% humidity.  I have honestly never felt air like this.  It was hot, thick, hazy and then there was this strong hot wind blowing.  Really unbelievable.  We were wheezing, sweating and limping.  We were done.  Take II....after having to run some errands I decided that I was going to finish those last 10 miles.  I had an hour and hopped on my treadmill.  I knew that I could get 6 miles in before I picked the kiddos up.  1 hour later I was in the car picking up the kids from camp.  Take III....threw some lunch in front of the kids and then hopped by on my treadmill for 4 miles.  Let's just say that took a lot of mental toughness.  Even though I had a show on I just wanted off.  That had to be the longest 4 miles I have ever run.  Long story short I finished...WOO-HOO!  I immediately went and hopped in the pool with the 4 kids following behind me.  It felt so good.  Now off to clean up the house and then out tonight with friends.  (Oh, and hopefully some rest before tonight.)  Happy Friday!!

Three Things Thursday

1.  I could write about the heat, but I think that we all know about it.  Whether it is the heat dome over the center of the country, the high heat and humidity in the Northeast, it is definitely out there.  If you are out there working out, running, walking your dog please take precautions.  It is really hot.  Take it easy, rehydrate and even consider moving it inside for the next couple of days.
2.  With that being said I have a 16 mile run on tap for tomorrow am.  Start time 5 am.  Our goal is to run for 2 hours and then whatever is left we will hit our Mills to finish.  I already have my clothes laid out, have planned out my am meal and I have my snacks ready.  We are feeling a little bit behind in our training, but I am confident that once October 9th comes we will be ready to hit the streets of Chicago.  Special thoughts out to a member of our running group, Ms. G, who is really suffering with PF.  She is off to my "witch doctor" (Dr. Looney) this am to help with the pain and to get back on track.
3.  Summer laundry YIKES!!!!!  We have a pool in the backyard which is awesome except for the amount of towels and bathing suits and clothes I am washing every day.  I am having a hard time keeping up.  What they don't tell you is that even though it is "summer vacation" it is still a lot of work:)  Do I have a little count in the back of my mind as to when school starts?  I have to admit, YES!  Please don't hate me....I am not wishing away summer, but selfishly I miss my routine.
Happy Thursday....Remember stay cool!

The Races are Coming....The Races are Coming

I am officially back from the 03257.  (Blue Ridge Summit, PA) and hit the pavement at 5 am for an eight mile run.  We made it 5 miles before falling to the humidity.  The air was so thick I felt like you could taste it.  I then popped on the treadmill for 3 miles and officially got my 8 miles in for the day.  We are officially in the dog days of summer.  Heat and humidity and then afternoon thunderstorms.  That is another reason to get my runs done early.  I hate when thunder throws you off.
Starting August 2nd and through the 21st I have 4 races.  The Yankee Homecoming 10 miler, Beach to Beacon, Falmouth Road Race and finally the Gloucester Road Race.  I love races because they give me a goal and they all fit pretty well into my training schedule.  The only one that I am doing by myself is the Falmouth Road Race, but I am okay with it.  I love that course, it is so, so, so beautiful and it is a nice morning run.  The only thing that gets you usually is the humidity.  (Humidity seems to be the buzz word this summer.)
So Race Season here I come.  My favorite time of year....now if I could only get a bit faster.

TTT.....It's Izzie's Birthday Edition

1. Today is my last born's birthday. Isabelle Cate Warren came into the world 5 years ago today with her cord knotted twice and sunny side up. After having a girl and then two boys we were thrilled to have another girl. Izzie, as we all know her now, sees the bright side of everything. She's happy go lucky, slow to get mad and loves to "play jokes" on her brothers and sister.

2. All Izzie wanted for her birthday was a camera. We ended up getting her a little Kodak digital camera that she can use in the water too. As of right now I have had my picture taken about 1000 times and now she is outside chasing the neighborhood cat because she has been meaning to get a picture of him. She is leading the kids' around on her own picture treasure hunt. She is lucky that Siri and Ben are so good to her. They seem to be following her around.

3. The best line of the morning was when she woke up, stood on the bed and screamed, "I grew, I know I grew. Look at me Mama!" She then went to weigh herself and she was up a pound from yesterday. I didn't have the heart to tell her is was probably because she didn't go to the bathroom yet:) It makes me appreciate my last little one. Everything is still an adventure to her, exciting, new and cool. It makes me want to bottle her up and keep her 5 forever.

Happy Birthday Izzie!

What.....We Have an Eleven Year Old

She will start by telling you that she would prefer no pictures on my blog, but since it is her birthday she will let it slide. 11 years ago today we had our first child. Siri was 2 weeks early, was serious early on and even though we have 4 now still acts like an only child. (we find this funny since she was an "only" for only 13 months). She said "yellow" at 9 months and "please" and "thank you" by a year. She has been riding horses since she was three and doesn't have a passion for anything else. (including school:) She loves her friends, but has no time for girl funny business. She is very MESSY....(which kills anal me) and will definitely give us a run for our money. She has taught us to laugh things off and roll our eyes but, also taught us to be parents. Happy Birthday Sis! We love you!!!!

Hazy, Hot, Humid and Hilly

I have made it to my vacation and am enjoying hanging out with my mom, dad and sister. We spent all day yesterday eating my mom's home cooking and then today spent the day at the pool. It is very, very hot here. 96 today. Needless to say we are a little toasted from our day at the pool.

After enjoying coffee with my mom until about 10 am I decided that I better head out on my run. I had no plan, threw on my Newtons and off I went. At first the 90 degree temp really didn't bother me to much until I realized that a/I didn't bring my water bottle and b/ I had not had breakfast, but A LOT of coffee. I went one way, another way and finally hit mile 3. At mile 3 I decided that I would run 6 and took a turn that I was sure was totally downhill.....guess what it was not downhill at all....not only was it not downhill, it was uphill for a mile. Oh and it was in the sun. At one point I swear I was hallucinating and saw a lemonade stand to my left.....No such luck....but, I kept going. Finally, I turned up my mom's street (another hill) and made it home in under an hour. I was soaking wet and so hot and so thirsty! How I just wanted to hit my mom's basement and watch tv for the afternoon. But, 4 kids were waiting and off to the pool we went.

How are you all beating the heat? Swimming, movies....??

Three Things Thursday

1. Well....after my early morning proclamations I overslept this morning and missed my 5:15 run. I am guessing that my body is tired and running that early was not meant to be. I am now beating myself up about it, but know that I will get a run in at some point today. arrrggghhh.....okay time to get over it.

2. I have to pack and get ready for an early morning wake up tomorrow. We are driving to PA tomorrow am. The little kids' have been with my mom for 2 weeks and now we are going to spend the week and come home next Friday. I am looking forward to sitting on my mom's patio and relaxing. I will get to spend time with my sister and her kids' as well. It will definitely be a nice break.

3. Is it me or is the summer flying by? We got out of school very late (June 24th) and now July 4th has already passed. We are trying to fit in as much fun in July before football starts August 1. At the same time, I forget how much I appreciate my "self time." I am enjoying the kids', but man cleaning up behind them is driving me crazy. And honestly this is just the two big kids, Yikes when all 4 of them are together again. Oh well, maybe that is supposed to be the fun of summer. Learning to let go and enjoying the moment.

Now...off to pack and get my run on!! Happy Thursday!!

It Got Hot Here

It is hot here in good ole' NH. Hot enough that after laying by the pool for an hour the kiddos were ready to come inside. I have been getting my runs done at 5:15 and am loving it. There is nothing like finishing your run by 6:15, stopping to get a coffee and being ready to watch the Today Show by 7 am. Definitely kind of nice.
We spent the weekend in Maine and had a blast. I am down two little kids right now so it was just me, T and the two big kids. We beached, kayaked, shopped and ate our way through Southern Maine. I also ran the LL Bean 4th of July 10K. Very fun race. Good crowd support and the race was put on really well. What I loved was the post race food. There was watermelon, lemonade, bagels, muffins, coffee etc...you name it they had it. My time was not my fastest by any means (56:46 Garmin time), but I had a great time. The humidity was 100% when the race started and miles 4 and 5 were straight up hill. What made this race special was that my parents used to run this race every year when they still lived in Maine. My Dad's fastest time....47:00. Yikes, that is fast.
I am in the middle of week 6 for Chicago training. I have a 14 on the schedule for tomorrow morning. Can I tell you I am tired already and I haven't even run yet. I am definitely feeling that running spark once again. I had a couple of weeks where I just didn't have it, but thankfully it is back. I think that my 3 rest days last week were good for me.
Happy Wednesday! Hopefully you are staying C-O-O-L!