Look What I Did Today?

Today I went to Runner's Alley in Nashua, NH and bought myself a treat. Yes you are looking at them. Pink and purple Vibrams. I have been wanting a pair for a while. Reading MCM Mama's posts about them and one of my training besties wearing them for short distances made me think I that maybe they are something that I want to try.

I spent the day walking around in them. Modeling them. Seeing an old lady shake her head and say, "You kids' wear the strangest things today." (Kid....I'll take that) and coming up with a little training plan in my brain to running in them. Start slow on the mill and build up to run a 5K on June 9th. (Is this possible?) They are definitely for fun. I don't have any notions of running far in them. I really love my Mizuno's, but who knows, right?

The best part. When we returned home our friend was working in our yard, looking at my feet he said, "You have Vibrams?"

"I just bought them, we'll see what happens."

"That is all I wear to run. I am up to 6 miles in mine. You won't want to go back."

A/ I didn't even know that David ran. B/ It is funny to think of him in Vibrams. As Siri said when he was leaving, "Mr. Dave, you are very COOL!"

Here's to a happy weekend friends. Think of me on Sunday morning. Our race starts at 7:30. Wish me luck!

3 Things Thursday....Respect Edition

1. I am running the Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon this weekend. Am I prepared? Nope, not the least bit. I ran 10 miles on Monday, 6 on Wednesday and 4 this AM. When did I become so nonchalant about a half marathon. Honestly, I am running 13.1 miles. The first time I did a half I had a training plan, I changed my eating, in fact I think that I dropped 10 pounds. Now...I am like whatever happens happens. Scary and I am a little scared about how my body will feel after. I definitely am not respecting the distance.

2. I have not been respecting my body. I have been in 4 kids sports hell. Yes even my four year old is playing lacrosse and who said she would help coach....yes, you guessed it ME. Have I ever mentioned that I played Lacrosse in high school and college. It is so fun and I love seeing the girls in their goggles with their sticks, but I have no time for this. Thankfully it is only on Mondays from 6-7, which was my free night, but hey why be free. Oh anyway back to respecting my body. I have been eating JUNK. Anything that I can stuff into my mouth on the run. I am not feeling great. My stomach is bloated, my face looks a little bloated uhhh....I just feel disgusting. I was describing this to my Chiropractor yesterday and next week (starting Monday) I am going to do a cleanse. No caffeine, dairy, nothing white etc...and I am going to drink some fiber powder and pop some detox pills. It is just for a week and I am hoping that it is going to jump start positive eating.

3. Respecting my time....I am definitely not respecting my time. I am going in so many directions that by the end of the day I fall asleep wherever I am. I don't know how you working Mamas, school Mamas etc... do it? If I had to go to a job or school every day you might find me hanging from a bridge. So shout out to all of you that work so hard everyday! Wow!

Happy Weekend everyone!

It's Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!! We have been blessed with a beautiful day her in the Granite State. It is bright and sunny and even a bit warm....After spending the day at a lacrosse tournament yesterday we were all very tired, but don't worry because all 4 kids were up by 6:30 to start our breakfast in bed tradition. At our house it is actually funny, the kids make breakfast (with hubby's help of course), bring it up to me and then proceed to help me eat it:) This morning they were very excited about the present part of the show....Izzie (age 4) took everything out of the bag and described it to me. 3 new charms for my bracelet......a few treats from RunningSkirts.com (hmmmm....could it be the email that I sent H..at work?) and then a special treat from my husband...a pre-order on the new Garmin touchscreen. I was so excited, I am suprised that you didn't hear me screaming in your town or state....I am a sucker for gadgets and when I played with the Garmin 610 at the Boston Marathon expo I loved it. It is a little sleeker than the 310 and just fun. Wow I was one lucky lady!

On another note I ran a treadmill 10K the other night at the gym, (my friends were playing tennis) in 50:45 which is 13 seconds faster than my 10K PR from October. I am hoping to break 50:00 this year at a race. Fingers crossed....

I hope this mother's day finds you all healthy and happy. I hope that fun days and running are ahead of you and maybe even some cute treats too.

Three Things Thursday

1. I have no edition today. It seems like this week is flying by. Mostly with kids' sports and activities. I have been able to run 3 times this week and will run tomorrow and hopefully Sunday in between lacrosse games. I am feeling pretty good. A little quad pressure still, but nothing that is sidelining me.

2. I went to Body Pump the other day and am still having a hard time sitting on the toilet. uhhh...why, why, why....I know that I need to go to the class. I need strength training, but man it is so hard. I will not give up, but I think that I will need to take it a bit slower to start.

3. A very special shout out to EMZ who begins her 24 hour treadmill run for charity tomorrow. Please go to her blog or even give her a small donation. It is for a great cause and I know that you won't regret it.

....And I Cried

Last night as I was going to bed I turned on CNN. That is when they said that the President was going to make a speech. What, why would the President make a speech at 10:30 at night? What happened? Oh great. I started to feel that sense of impending doom and was actually a bit nervous. Finally, Wolf Blitzer let the world know what had happened and it was then that I started to cry.

I couldn't figure out why I was crying. I remembered that day 10 years ago very well. I was a mom to a 3 week old and a 12 month old. My 3 week old had colic and had been crying since the moment he was born. My mother had left the day before to go home and I was in my living room with my 22 year old sister in law watching the events unfold. It seemed like I stood there for hours watching not able to process the what's or why's...just glued to the TV. I listened to people tell their story. People knew someone who had died, who was supposed to get on the plane in Boston and didn't. People who had cousins and dads and moms and kids now without dads and moms. It was all overwhelming, but as time went on we moved on. I still remembered it every year on the anniversary. I felt sad for the soldiers who were in harms way because of these events, but it did not cross my mind every day.

Last night though it all came back. I cried for the heroism of the Navy Seals and all of our troops. I worried about an acquaintance whose husband is a Seal and wondered if he was okay. I cried for the families who had lost husbands, moms, dads, daughters and sons and I think that I cried for not remembering these people more often. I was emotional and even shed some tears tonight while watching the news.

So maybe no matter what your politics we can do a better job of just remembering the tragedy. A better job of praying for those in harms way and being thankful for all that we have everyday.

It's Saturday

1. I had a plan to get up and run today. It is gorgeous outside. Sunny, bright and warm. Unfortunately, after driving for 8 hours yesterday I woke up to a very sore hip. I am hoping to let it stretch out through out the day and then to hit the treadmill tonight.

2. Today is the last day of April. I am glad to see it go. We had a very cold, wet April and I am ready to move onto the spring and summer. While May is super busy. Lacrosse and riding for the kids, 2 half marathons for me (Heartbreak Hill Half and the Run to Remember) and Trav has some traveling for work I am excited.

3. I am slowly getting my eating under control. While I was on vacation last week I definitely slacked off, but tried to do the right things. Now that I am home in my own surroundings I am looking forward to getting everything under control.

4. Did I mention last night that we found our back door open and realized that none of our animals were in our house? 1 6 month old Corgi and 2 indoor cats. It was like a jailbreak. We found them all in the back yard. Needless to say the dog smelled like dog poop and required a tub and one of the cats threw up upon their return into the house. uhhh...nothing is ever easy:)

5. and finally #5 oh #5......I have a 4 year old that will not stay in her own bed. I wake up and she is there. I bring her back to her bed, wake up and she is back. It is never ending. Any ideas? We have done the sticker chart and it worked, but after she got her prize she went back to her wicked ways. Bad dreams seem to be the culprit.

Now...off to get ready for a day of Lacrosse! So glad it is not raining.

It's HOT!

Okay....I know that I have been complaining about the cold for the past 5 months. You know the normal complaints. "I am tired of dressing like a snowman to run." "I wish my shoes wouldn't slip in the ice." "I can't wait to wear my skirt and tank top, it is so much easier...." Today I got my wish. I had on my skirt, my t-shirt and socks. I hit my normal route when visiting my mother's house and I was flying. At one point I looked at my Garmin and it said 8:30....whew I was running fast today! It went on for about 2 1/2 miles then I returned to my mom's neighborhood. Did I mention at this point I needed water. It was hot...I was sweating the 3 cups of coffee that I had this morning were starting to come out of my poors. I had 6 miles on my agenda, but I was beginning to think that that was not happening. Maybe I am not as ready for the heat as I thought.

Now, I am back in my mom's neighborhood. Her house is in the middle of ......HILLS....there is a hill leaving her street, a hill coming back to her street and hills coming the other hills. These hills aren't just little rolling hills, they are huge, straight up in the air hills, my pace dropped to 10:30 at one point, but I kept going. Finally, at a little over mile 4 I saw my mom's, my legs ran toward there and I followed.

Dr. Looney had said no hills for awhile. He obviously has never been to BRS, PA, because no hills is no option. 6 on the agenda for tomorrow. Fingers crossed! (oh and planning to start a bit earlier before the heat)