Hi, all! Yes, the training continued during the holidays... along with some overeating and presents. : ) Christmas Eve I did a nice bike ride because, well, I didn't feel like the gym on Christmas Eve and it was a gorgeous morning. Then after gorging ourselves at the Polish Wigilia dinner I made (with a little help from the Polish Deli up the road), Christmas Day was exercise free. Angelfish & Ladybug were super excited that Santa Claus had come and we had a blast seeing how excited they were and keeping them from seeing the tree until Grammie and Papa were up and ready. They loved the doctor's kit and golfing stuff that Santa brought them, and had a great time playing with those and reading the books that Uncle Rob, Aunt Sue & Cousins Laura and Julia gave them until Nanna and Poppop arrived. And then it was the unwrapping extravanganza! They were so excited about unwrapping presents that they were unwrapping every present they could get their hands on - even if it wasn't for them! We had to stop them, of course, but it was rather cute. I think they're favorite gift of Christmas was the kitchen that Grammie and Papa got them. Every night Ladybug tells us that she's going to make popcorn (her current favorite food) for Baby Jesus and picks up the toy kitchen phone at least once and calls God. Angelfish likes to play with the blender and serve up drinks and get the boiling sound going on the toy stove. She also assists in the cooking of popcorn for Baby Jesus. The two of them are a hoot!
The day after Christmas, I did another bike ride... in fact, I pushed myself and did my 40 minute route in 30 minutes. And then followed it with a 30 minute walk (shin splints are still acting up a bit). Then we watched "Belle & the Beast" as the girls' like to call it, and played on the playground a good bit, said good bye to Nanna & Poppop when they had to head home, and tried to find a nice, fake Christmas tree for a good price. All I have to say is that the Orlando shoppers do not mess around with the day after Christmas sales - everything good was gone and the stores were a bit messy!
Saturday, I have to admit, I did not work out... the girls woke up right when I did and I didn't want to miss the time with them, so we played instead by going to Cocoa Beach. Being spoiled by the white sands of my hometown's beach, Cocoa Beach paled by far in comparison, but it was a beach and the girls had a lot of fun jumping over the waves and "building Cinderella castles" in the sand.
My Sunday workout and subsequent activity may have made up for it a little bit! Sunday I did my first 3 sport brick ever and it was hard but great! I did a hard 3/4 mile swim training (working on technique and speed drills) followed by a 30 minute bike at 95-100 RPM, followed by a 10 minute run (and I ran the entire thing) and a 10 minute walk to cool down (plus stretching of course). This coming Saturday (I'm trying to rearrange my workout week so that from now on I have Sundays off instead of Mondays so I don't miss 2 mornings in a row of wake up and breakfast with the wonder twins. I love seeing their faces in the mornings!) will be my next tri brick with a little more time spent on the bike and the run. That afternoon we went to Sea World with the girls which was fun, but definitely not a good idea crowd wise after Christmas. We won't do that again! We got soaked by Shamu which was the big highlight for the girls I think (who didn't like it at the time even though we were able to keep them dry with a poncho we bought, but like to talk about it ever since and tell us that Silly Shamu got us wet!) But we walked all over and a lot of the time had to carry one of the girls. I think the best part was the dolphin show, which Anglfish slept straight through!
Monday was my off day and I needed the recovery time! The girls for some reason got up at 4:30 am and were playing in their room and while we got them back to sleep by around 5:30 am, they were up again at the usual 6:30 am wake up. (And we had a little trauma with Ladybug pooping on the living room carpet next to the Christmas tree... I still can't figure that one out.) So, we fed them and dressed them and Mr. Darcy took them to daycare (to keep with the normal routine) and after Mr. Darcy got back we slept until 10 am! I can't remember the last time that happened... then we went to daycare to chat with the administrator about giving Angelfish especially (but Ladybug too) more mentally challenging activities since they don't want to move the girls up to the next rooms and Amanda is appearing to need more challenge. We'll have to see how it goes... if they don't want to challenge her to the level she needs we may have to find alternate arrangements. They admitted that our girls are very advanced and that their teachers commented on that, but they just don't want to move them up because there are other children older than them. I had to explain that age doesn't mean much but that mental challenge is imperative. Anyway. We'll see how it goes. Afterwards we tried to see a movie, but everything looked like fluff or bad, so we skipped that and walked around the shopping area a bit and then watched "Becoming Jane" - the (fictional) movie about Jane Austen based on some true facts that Angelfish gave me for Christmas. It was really enjoyable and I'm glad she bought it for me!
Today was back to work... so this morning I did a 40 minute bike ride and could still feel some stiffness in my front quads during the ride. Hopefully that will be worked out for tomorrow's swim run. But it was a nice ride although you can tell more people are off than at work around here because the cars were still parked at the houses or people were just leaving while I was biking. A good ride even though it was in the low 50s. Of course, it will be in the 70's later in the day. We've been wearing shorts!
That's the update. I hope all had a very Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The weather outside is frightful/delightful...
I have "Let it Snow" stuck in my head, which is pretty ironic since the weather here is a little chilly (in the 50s) but not cold and super sunny with blue skies. But, there are worst things to have stuck in one's head! Unfortunately for me, I heard the song over and over again through my entire swim at the gym this morning - an entire 3/4 of a mile swim with that song. I thought I'd be done with it and then the song would return. (I was running behind today so I had to cut something down a little... more on that in a moment.) You would have thought it would have been wiped clean during my 20 minute walk/run because I was listening to the gym piped in music.... which made me laugh because almost every song I heard had a running theme this morning. My left leg is rather painful today - it even hurt while swimming for a little bit. But I think the pool water (which was a little cooler than usual today) may have helped some... that reminds me... I have to ice my legs in a moment here.
As for why I was running late, well we slept later than we should have. It was a bit chilly this morning and Bill was cozy. While Mr. Darcy offered to wake the girls and get them ready himself, I like seeing my children's faces in the morning and I hate not getting to do it. Even on days when they are grumpy and hurt my feelings by telling me they do not want me. Yes, that's the stage they're in right now. They love Mommy one minute and then the next tell me "I don't want you. Go away." Angelfish was pretty easy this morning - as she is most mornings. She was cheery and wanted to be held and talked to and was happy to choose the shirt she wanted to wear and have some yogurt for breakfast. Ladybug was not. She did not want to get up and was grumpy enough that I told her to just join the rest of us when she was ready. A few minutes she appeared and was happy for a couple of minutes but strangely part way through changing her clothes she got mad at me for no reason and ran off and told me not to touch her. I ended up having to wrestle her into her shirt after which she pushed me and told me, "Go away. I don't want you. " and then she started pushing my legs (I was standing up) and told me "Go workout. I don't want to see you." So, I picked up my stuff and told Mr. Darcy that Ladybug was being extremely mean to me and that either she needed a time out or that Santa needed to be told that she was being mean to her Mommy. And I left. Luckily, somehow the hose was in the way of the garage door this morning so I couldn't close it and when I came back into the garage I heard poor Ladybug screaming, crying and banging on the door to the garage. When I opened it she grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss. I don't know if she was worried about Santa not bringing her a gift or if she really was upset that she hurt my feelings, but it was nice to be able to tell her that when she says she doesn't want me or that she doesn't want to see me that it hurts my feelings and makes me want to cry and to ask her not to do it again.
Never a dull moment when you have two 2 1/2 year olds with a big vocabulary and a detailed sense of what they want (or don't want)!
BTW, I heard on the radio that the high on Christmas is supposed to be 80. 80? Yes, 80. Insanity. Christmas is supposed to be cold so that you can hope for snow! Oh well. Shorts it is.
As for why I was running late, well we slept later than we should have. It was a bit chilly this morning and Bill was cozy. While Mr. Darcy offered to wake the girls and get them ready himself, I like seeing my children's faces in the morning and I hate not getting to do it. Even on days when they are grumpy and hurt my feelings by telling me they do not want me. Yes, that's the stage they're in right now. They love Mommy one minute and then the next tell me "I don't want you. Go away." Angelfish was pretty easy this morning - as she is most mornings. She was cheery and wanted to be held and talked to and was happy to choose the shirt she wanted to wear and have some yogurt for breakfast. Ladybug was not. She did not want to get up and was grumpy enough that I told her to just join the rest of us when she was ready. A few minutes she appeared and was happy for a couple of minutes but strangely part way through changing her clothes she got mad at me for no reason and ran off and told me not to touch her. I ended up having to wrestle her into her shirt after which she pushed me and told me, "Go away. I don't want you. " and then she started pushing my legs (I was standing up) and told me "Go workout. I don't want to see you." So, I picked up my stuff and told Mr. Darcy that Ladybug was being extremely mean to me and that either she needed a time out or that Santa needed to be told that she was being mean to her Mommy. And I left. Luckily, somehow the hose was in the way of the garage door this morning so I couldn't close it and when I came back into the garage I heard poor Ladybug screaming, crying and banging on the door to the garage. When I opened it she grabbed me and gave me a big hug and kiss. I don't know if she was worried about Santa not bringing her a gift or if she really was upset that she hurt my feelings, but it was nice to be able to tell her that when she says she doesn't want me or that she doesn't want to see me that it hurts my feelings and makes me want to cry and to ask her not to do it again.
Never a dull moment when you have two 2 1/2 year olds with a big vocabulary and a detailed sense of what they want (or don't want)!
BTW, I heard on the radio that the high on Christmas is supposed to be 80. 80? Yes, 80. Insanity. Christmas is supposed to be cold so that you can hope for snow! Oh well. Shorts it is.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The weekend workout!
This weekend and today were full of good workouts. Saturday I went for an hour long bike ride and felt like I could have gone longer despite trying to keep a good pace. I love those rides! I rode through the neighborhood, out past Timbercreek Highschool and took a big loop that goes around and up to Bella Vida and the shops near there and then cycled back into the neighborhood and around here. I did about 12 1/2 miles or so. The weather was warm and nice, with super blue skies, so it was great! Then we got a lot of Christmas stuff done - we wrapped all of the presents for everyone except for the girls and got a shower in (very important after that 1 hour bike ride) before Rob, Sue, Julia & Laura arrived. We had a good time with them and the girls played really well together! And Angelfish & Ladybug even used the potty a time or two!
Sunday I did a 30 minute bike ride followed by a 20 minute walk/run (5 minute walk followed by 12 minutes alternating between running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. I can run longer than the 3 minutes but my left shin doesn't really like it.) I think I'm going to have to do as much running as possible on the treadmill because my left shin was hurting pretty badly after the run. Ice is being applied and all will be well again at some point. And knock on wood, it's only my left shin. After the international triathlon is over, I may just train for the swim and bike aspects of the triathlon and then run in the races. I think if I lengthen the swim trainings I can probably keep up the endurance side for the running. We'll just have to see.
Today it was in the 40s when I biked. I couldn't bring myself to get to the gym to swim today. I wanted to actually swim, but I didn't want to pack my bag and have to get in the car to do it. Mondays typically are off days, but with Christmas on Thursday I am using Thursday as my off day from training. So I switched Thursday's run to Friday's swim & run (instead of swim & bike since I am adverse to doing my bike workouts on a stationary bike unless absolutely necessary - like when I start doing all 3 together on Sundays between now and my February 1st tri), took the bike from Friday and moved it to today. There's no way I'm missing the girls' waking up on Christmas morning all excited even if I do like training for my triathlons.
It dawned on me this morning that my workouts will be getting even harder after I finish my 1st triathlon in February. The reason? The next triathlon is a lot longer than the one in February... more than twice as long on the swim, more than twice as long on the bike and 3x as long on the run. I have to admit that at this point, I am a bit frightened of it. I think I'll definitely be able to do the swim and then the bike... it's adding on the run at the end that gets my nervousness going. But, as my primary goal is to raise as much money as possible for cancer research and to FINISH the race, I should be ok because even if I end up having to walk, I'll still be moving along and getting it done. My 2ndary goal is to finish the race and not only swim and bike but also to run the entire last 6.2 miles like you're supposed to since it's well, a run at the end. And my tertiary goal is not to come in last place out of all the entrants... but at the same time, even if I come in last, I'll have at least finished it!
Tomorrow is a swim and run (on the treadmill with lots of ice and walking too) at the gym, which is probably a good thing because it's supposed to be chilly the next few days! And it will help in preparation for the eating fest on Christmas Eve with the Wigilia! YUM!
Sunday I did a 30 minute bike ride followed by a 20 minute walk/run (5 minute walk followed by 12 minutes alternating between running 3 minutes and walking 1 minute. I can run longer than the 3 minutes but my left shin doesn't really like it.) I think I'm going to have to do as much running as possible on the treadmill because my left shin was hurting pretty badly after the run. Ice is being applied and all will be well again at some point. And knock on wood, it's only my left shin. After the international triathlon is over, I may just train for the swim and bike aspects of the triathlon and then run in the races. I think if I lengthen the swim trainings I can probably keep up the endurance side for the running. We'll just have to see.
Today it was in the 40s when I biked. I couldn't bring myself to get to the gym to swim today. I wanted to actually swim, but I didn't want to pack my bag and have to get in the car to do it. Mondays typically are off days, but with Christmas on Thursday I am using Thursday as my off day from training. So I switched Thursday's run to Friday's swim & run (instead of swim & bike since I am adverse to doing my bike workouts on a stationary bike unless absolutely necessary - like when I start doing all 3 together on Sundays between now and my February 1st tri), took the bike from Friday and moved it to today. There's no way I'm missing the girls' waking up on Christmas morning all excited even if I do like training for my triathlons.
It dawned on me this morning that my workouts will be getting even harder after I finish my 1st triathlon in February. The reason? The next triathlon is a lot longer than the one in February... more than twice as long on the swim, more than twice as long on the bike and 3x as long on the run. I have to admit that at this point, I am a bit frightened of it. I think I'll definitely be able to do the swim and then the bike... it's adding on the run at the end that gets my nervousness going. But, as my primary goal is to raise as much money as possible for cancer research and to FINISH the race, I should be ok because even if I end up having to walk, I'll still be moving along and getting it done. My 2ndary goal is to finish the race and not only swim and bike but also to run the entire last 6.2 miles like you're supposed to since it's well, a run at the end. And my tertiary goal is not to come in last place out of all the entrants... but at the same time, even if I come in last, I'll have at least finished it!
Tomorrow is a swim and run (on the treadmill with lots of ice and walking too) at the gym, which is probably a good thing because it's supposed to be chilly the next few days! And it will help in preparation for the eating fest on Christmas Eve with the Wigilia! YUM!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Run & Swim
Hey all! This morning I did a 20 minute run and a 15 minute swim. I was running a bit behind schedule (aka I overslept and so did Mr. Darcy and the girls) so things got abbreviated. But the good news is that I did a half mile in the 15 minutes I swam. I was pretty pleased with that.
My voice has not yet returned although it is partially back. Maybe it can't remember if we live in Atlanta or Orlando these days... the good news is that we finished the Christmas shopping and the rum cake is ready for tonight's party. Now if we can only get the presents wrapped, presents mailed and the christmas cards mailed we'd be in good shape!
Speaking of good shape, not only am I in better physical shape but I've evidently shrunk enough to wear the next size down. : ) So there's a happy side effect of all my training.
In other training news, both Angelfish & Ladybug were wearing underpants when they left for school today after they both successfully emptied their bladders from the night before into the potty! WHOO HOO! Let's hope they keep it up! Those Disney princess underpants were the best purchase I've made yet...
Tomorrow is a bike ride, so keep your fingers crossed that I will remain accident free. I feel like I need one of those OSHA signs "job site accident free for _ days" except in my case it would be "biking accident free for _ days"...
My voice has not yet returned although it is partially back. Maybe it can't remember if we live in Atlanta or Orlando these days... the good news is that we finished the Christmas shopping and the rum cake is ready for tonight's party. Now if we can only get the presents wrapped, presents mailed and the christmas cards mailed we'd be in good shape!
Speaking of good shape, not only am I in better physical shape but I've evidently shrunk enough to wear the next size down. : ) So there's a happy side effect of all my training.
In other training news, both Angelfish & Ladybug were wearing underpants when they left for school today after they both successfully emptied their bladders from the night before into the potty! WHOO HOO! Let's hope they keep it up! Those Disney princess underpants were the best purchase I've made yet...
Tomorrow is a bike ride, so keep your fingers crossed that I will remain accident free. I feel like I need one of those OSHA signs "job site accident free for _ days" except in my case it would be "biking accident free for _ days"...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Back from Little Rock...
Angela's funeral was yesterday (Wednesday) and there was a visitation Tuesday evening as well. It was nice to be able to see those who knew and loved Angela and to be able to reminisce about the way she was. I got to know Bryan's parents a bit too (very lovely people) and one of Bryan's good friends from college. It was good to be able to spend time with them and not be alone waiting for the events to happen. We all have such wonderful memories of Angela, and at times I felt like she was just going to walk around the corner and say hey and sit down for a chat.
I think the eulogy I gave went well - many people said it was good and the best compliment was that I did Angela proud.... which was my aim. I feel a bit more at peace after the funeral and know that Angela is with God and is no longer in pain and is at peace... and if I play my cards right I'll get to join her in heaven some day too. : )
While in Little Rock, I worked out some. Wednesday morning I got up and swam a mile in a rather interesting pool. It was half the size of the pool I've been training in, so I had to do twice as many laps... and the pool went from 3 ft deep at the shallow end to 5 ft deep at the "deep" end. So there were times when I was dragging my knuckles on the bottom of the pool! It made me laugh a bit. This morning, I went on a 40 minute bike ride which was nice and invigorating and helped me get back in the swing of things on the bike. I must say biking is very fun and I've missed it. Of course, I started thinking how nice it would be to have a road bike instead of a hybrid, but I need to keep those thoughts at bay because road bikes are not exactly inexpensive.
Somewhere between leaving the church yesterday, flying home, and arriving home from the airport around 1 am last night I lost my voice. If you see it, please tell it that I miss it and would like it to come home! Tomorrow I hope to do a run and swim combo at the gym... maybe I'll find my voice along the road somewhere! : )
I think the eulogy I gave went well - many people said it was good and the best compliment was that I did Angela proud.... which was my aim. I feel a bit more at peace after the funeral and know that Angela is with God and is no longer in pain and is at peace... and if I play my cards right I'll get to join her in heaven some day too. : )
While in Little Rock, I worked out some. Wednesday morning I got up and swam a mile in a rather interesting pool. It was half the size of the pool I've been training in, so I had to do twice as many laps... and the pool went from 3 ft deep at the shallow end to 5 ft deep at the "deep" end. So there were times when I was dragging my knuckles on the bottom of the pool! It made me laugh a bit. This morning, I went on a 40 minute bike ride which was nice and invigorating and helped me get back in the swing of things on the bike. I must say biking is very fun and I've missed it. Of course, I started thinking how nice it would be to have a road bike instead of a hybrid, but I need to keep those thoughts at bay because road bikes are not exactly inexpensive.
Somewhere between leaving the church yesterday, flying home, and arriving home from the airport around 1 am last night I lost my voice. If you see it, please tell it that I miss it and would like it to come home! Tomorrow I hope to do a run and swim combo at the gym... maybe I'll find my voice along the road somewhere! : )
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Angela King Kinder
One of my best friends in the world, the one I have mentioned as my inspiration for my international length triathlon to raise money for cancer research, Angela King Kinder died Sunday, December 14th at 12:40 am. She is survived by her husband, Bryan; her father, her mother, her sister, and a step-father and many others who loved her very much.
I didn't work out today because I was up last night thinking about her and trying to put the finishing touches on her eulogy and got little sleep. Tonight I'm up making plans for flights, cars, and hotels without it seeming real at all. Everything is a bit numb. We took the girls to Disney today because Megan has been talking about it for almost the entire week without any prodding from us, and we took them to see Santa for the 1st time. (Megan marched right up and sat with him but Amanda who had been chomping at the bit to see him while in line had to be held next to him.) It was fun to see their faces light up, but at the same time it seemed surreal and as though I wasn't truly there. I know Angela would want me to live each day to the fullest, but I guess I just need some time to grieve. The only solace I have is that she is now at peace and is whole again and truly cancer free. But I will miss my dear friend... her emails and calls, and having our mid-life crises together (whenever that will be) as we had always planned. For a long time we talked via email at least once a week, and I will miss her insight and her wit.
Once I have mourned my loss, I will celebrate her life. Her favorite holiday was Halloween and I will be certain to do Halloween up right every year from now on. And at some point, I will take my children to Japan because it was a place that Angela always wanted to visit but did not get a chance to go. And I hope in some way I will be able to spread awareness of sarcoma - the cancer of the connective tissue that in 1/2 of its victims is completely resistent to chemotherapy and radiation - like it was in Angela. There's not alot known about sarcoma because only 10,000 people each year get it in the United States so not much research is done about it. The problem is, that statistically 50% will die and depending on the type of sarcoma you are diagnosed with (in Angela's case high level, undifferentiated sarcoma) you're the ones who will make up that 50%... and many times it's not even diagnosed in time because it's thought it might be another kind of cancer at first. It doesn't have to mestastize to kill either. You have one tumor and have a biopsy done before removing it, and that seems to be enough for this killer to spread. Angela's started with a tumor in her forearm. After a 2nd biopsy, intensive radiation and chemotherapy (which left it unchanged), it was removed. 3 months later it appeared for the 1st time in the lining of her lung. Then a 2nd time. And during the surgery to remove the 2nd lung tumor, as it was being removed it burst. Her chest cavity was flushed with water to remove and cleanse as much as possible, but a short time later another tumor appeared on her lung and one on the connective tissue surrounding her heart. She had a 2nd round of terribly intensive chemotherapy (the 1st was with the one in her forearm and had been coupled with radiation) which did nothing to stop the tumors from growing but made her violently ill (despite the anti-nauseas medicine). When the scans showed that the tumors had continued to grow and that the one on her heart was essentially the size of her heart now, she decided to take the remaining time she had and life it to the fullest she could. She ate sushi at her favorite place (several times), had a peach cobbler a neighbor made her, and spent as much time as she could with her husband. And about 1 month later she passed away. She was so brave in her decision and her only fear was that she would upset those she loved, especially her husband, in wanting to end chemo. But he knew she was in pain and miserable and didn't want to be that way at the end and his love for her supported her decision.
So, as you see, my triathlon training is nothing in comparison to what she and he endure(d). May she rest in peace for eternity. She will live in my heart all my days.
Love to all.
I didn't work out today because I was up last night thinking about her and trying to put the finishing touches on her eulogy and got little sleep. Tonight I'm up making plans for flights, cars, and hotels without it seeming real at all. Everything is a bit numb. We took the girls to Disney today because Megan has been talking about it for almost the entire week without any prodding from us, and we took them to see Santa for the 1st time. (Megan marched right up and sat with him but Amanda who had been chomping at the bit to see him while in line had to be held next to him.) It was fun to see their faces light up, but at the same time it seemed surreal and as though I wasn't truly there. I know Angela would want me to live each day to the fullest, but I guess I just need some time to grieve. The only solace I have is that she is now at peace and is whole again and truly cancer free. But I will miss my dear friend... her emails and calls, and having our mid-life crises together (whenever that will be) as we had always planned. For a long time we talked via email at least once a week, and I will miss her insight and her wit.
Once I have mourned my loss, I will celebrate her life. Her favorite holiday was Halloween and I will be certain to do Halloween up right every year from now on. And at some point, I will take my children to Japan because it was a place that Angela always wanted to visit but did not get a chance to go. And I hope in some way I will be able to spread awareness of sarcoma - the cancer of the connective tissue that in 1/2 of its victims is completely resistent to chemotherapy and radiation - like it was in Angela. There's not alot known about sarcoma because only 10,000 people each year get it in the United States so not much research is done about it. The problem is, that statistically 50% will die and depending on the type of sarcoma you are diagnosed with (in Angela's case high level, undifferentiated sarcoma) you're the ones who will make up that 50%... and many times it's not even diagnosed in time because it's thought it might be another kind of cancer at first. It doesn't have to mestastize to kill either. You have one tumor and have a biopsy done before removing it, and that seems to be enough for this killer to spread. Angela's started with a tumor in her forearm. After a 2nd biopsy, intensive radiation and chemotherapy (which left it unchanged), it was removed. 3 months later it appeared for the 1st time in the lining of her lung. Then a 2nd time. And during the surgery to remove the 2nd lung tumor, as it was being removed it burst. Her chest cavity was flushed with water to remove and cleanse as much as possible, but a short time later another tumor appeared on her lung and one on the connective tissue surrounding her heart. She had a 2nd round of terribly intensive chemotherapy (the 1st was with the one in her forearm and had been coupled with radiation) which did nothing to stop the tumors from growing but made her violently ill (despite the anti-nauseas medicine). When the scans showed that the tumors had continued to grow and that the one on her heart was essentially the size of her heart now, she decided to take the remaining time she had and life it to the fullest she could. She ate sushi at her favorite place (several times), had a peach cobbler a neighbor made her, and spent as much time as she could with her husband. And about 1 month later she passed away. She was so brave in her decision and her only fear was that she would upset those she loved, especially her husband, in wanting to end chemo. But he knew she was in pain and miserable and didn't want to be that way at the end and his love for her supported her decision.
So, as you see, my triathlon training is nothing in comparison to what she and he endure(d). May she rest in peace for eternity. She will live in my heart all my days.
Love to all.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Attack of the Stomach Virus...
No, I'm not becoming slack with my workouts even though I've only gotten to workout once this week. Unfortunately, we've had a household of sickies this week. Ms. Amanda has been home since Monday morning. The poor thing fell at school on Monday and had to get liquid stitches under her chin. Tuesday morning she woke up with a fever and headcold and has been home until this morning (Friday). Wednesday evening Bill threw up a few times but then was fine in the morning, but Thursday morning Megan threw up and stayed home. Yesterday morning I didn't throw up but I wish I had... I suffered with very painful stomach cramps all day long and other stomach issues, which have for the most part subsided. But, in the night Megan started coming down with Amanda's headcold. She hasn't had more than a 99 degree fever yet, but that's exactly how Amanda started.
So, the likelihood of my running the 5K run tomorrow in Maitland is about 5% at best. But, I'm hoping that if I feel better by the end of the day today, I'll at least be able to get back on the workout scene. I have been missing it something awful! Besides, I need to be able to do my triathlon in February without making a fool of myself... not to mention making sure I'm in some kind of decent shape to start my Teams in Training training!
Wishes for good health to everyone!
So, the likelihood of my running the 5K run tomorrow in Maitland is about 5% at best. But, I'm hoping that if I feel better by the end of the day today, I'll at least be able to get back on the workout scene. I have been missing it something awful! Besides, I need to be able to do my triathlon in February without making a fool of myself... not to mention making sure I'm in some kind of decent shape to start my Teams in Training training!
Wishes for good health to everyone!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Back to Training!
My hiatus from training was a little longer than I had hoped, but things happen in life. I had a very difficult weekend with my friend. I spoke with her on the phone the Thursday before I left to see her and we had a nice 2 hour call. Unfortunately, by the time I got to see her Thursday evening, she was slipping alot. She is no longer able to have a conversation and while she seems to be aware of what is going on around her in some sense, she spends 95% of her time with her eyes closed seemingly asleep and is on oxygen "as needed" but even on oxygen she is restless and has some difficulty breathing. While it was very difficult to see her that way, I am still very glad to have gotten to spend time with her and to be able to say goodbye. She completely shocked me when I was leaving to go to the airport because I'd been talking with her and sitting with her on and off all weekend without much of a response, and when I told her my goodbyes and was about to leave the room she opened her eyes and asked me to wait (her voice is low and it is hard to hear her these days when she does talk) and after starting her sentence and falling back asleep a few times she finally got her question out - she asked me to do her eulogy. I promised her that I would and promptly burst into tears. I am so honored that she asked me and it is obviously something that she must have been thinking about a good bit. I think leaving was one of the hardest things I've had to do. This whole stupid cancer thing is just completely unfair; the only thing I can guess is that God agrees with me that she is super wonderful and wants her home earlier than we would like.
I didn't work out Monday because it is traditionally my off day and I was exhausted from my trip and from not getting home from the airport until 11:30 pm or so the night before and decided to give myself some slack. Unfortunately, Tuesday morning Amanda woke with a fever and was feeling miserable, so no work out yesterday. Today Amanda is still sick but Bill had a meeting near the house at 9 am so I was able to wake up early and get to the gym by 6:15 and home by 7:45 so I could work out and he could still take Megan to school and head to his meeting. Hopefully Amanda's cold will break soon.
Today I walked 5 minutes, ran 3 mins/walk 1 minute for 15 or 16 minutes and then walked 5 minutes and then hit the pool and swam about 3/4 of a mile. I had to cut it a little short to get back to Bill and the girls, and I was a little sluggish in the pool today. Since Bill is going to work from home after his meeting ends, I am hoping to get a bike ride in at lunch time too. I really missed the workouts the past several days and am happy that I'll be back at them and am even more determined to do so after seeing my friend. We have to find a cure for cancer. This stuff really is awful and painful to see someone (and their family) go through.
On the potty training front, Megan was climbing in our pantry this morning (not allowed, but it was when I wasn't home) and found some princess underpants that I was hiding to use for her Potty Party (if we ever have a weekend that I can do it... perhaps this weekend if Amanda is better by then). We've been having a time and a half to get her to use the potty in the mornings and have been sending her to school in pullups. Well, she saw those panties and marched into the bathroom and went potty so she could wear a pair! Then Amanda wanted to wear some too and she went poopy in the potty! So, we have 2 little ladies in princess underpants today! Let's hope they want to keep wearing them so they keep them clean! : )
I didn't work out Monday because it is traditionally my off day and I was exhausted from my trip and from not getting home from the airport until 11:30 pm or so the night before and decided to give myself some slack. Unfortunately, Tuesday morning Amanda woke with a fever and was feeling miserable, so no work out yesterday. Today Amanda is still sick but Bill had a meeting near the house at 9 am so I was able to wake up early and get to the gym by 6:15 and home by 7:45 so I could work out and he could still take Megan to school and head to his meeting. Hopefully Amanda's cold will break soon.
Today I walked 5 minutes, ran 3 mins/walk 1 minute for 15 or 16 minutes and then walked 5 minutes and then hit the pool and swam about 3/4 of a mile. I had to cut it a little short to get back to Bill and the girls, and I was a little sluggish in the pool today. Since Bill is going to work from home after his meeting ends, I am hoping to get a bike ride in at lunch time too. I really missed the workouts the past several days and am happy that I'll be back at them and am even more determined to do so after seeing my friend. We have to find a cure for cancer. This stuff really is awful and painful to see someone (and their family) go through.
On the potty training front, Megan was climbing in our pantry this morning (not allowed, but it was when I wasn't home) and found some princess underpants that I was hiding to use for her Potty Party (if we ever have a weekend that I can do it... perhaps this weekend if Amanda is better by then). We've been having a time and a half to get her to use the potty in the mornings and have been sending her to school in pullups. Well, she saw those panties and marched into the bathroom and went potty so she could wear a pair! Then Amanda wanted to wear some too and she went poopy in the potty! So, we have 2 little ladies in princess underpants today! Let's hope they want to keep wearing them so they keep them clean! : )
Thursday, December 4, 2008
My Poor Bike...
So today I woke up and thought to myself, I should not work out today. I didn't sleep well last night and didn't fall asleep until after 1 am. (I think it may have been the coffee I had around dinner time, now that I think about it.) So I stayed in bed until we got the girls up and got them ready and fed them breakfast. .. I was still in my pjs when the girls and Mr. Darcy left. But then I felt guilty because I may not get to work out the next few days while I'm in Arkansas. So, I decided to go for a bike ride because it was cool but not all that cool.
While I was riding, it seemed like something was a little off. Either me or the bike, I wasn't sure. And a few minutes before the incident, I almost just biked home. But, I still didn't listen to my gut and kept going. A white cadillac pulled out in front of me rather quickly so I slowed down some and when the car pulled to the stop sign and stopped I was far enough away that all was well. The car started to turn and then for some unknown reason slammed on its brakes... at which point I had to slam on my brakes. For yet another unknown reason, I braked with my left hand instead of my right like I normally do. (The left brake controls the front wheel, the right brake the back wheel.) This caused the front wheel to completely stop and throw me over the top of the bike on to the road (thank goodness for my padded biking gloves and my guardian angel) and the bike to then come over top of me and land on me. Again, my shoes unclipped from the bike pedals (thank the Lord because it could have been very ugly if they hadn't) during the crash. Other than a nasty cut on my left elbow (which again could have been worse if I hadn't been wearing a thick long sleeve fleece), I just have one or two minor scratches (no blood even) on my legs and had a lot of bike grease all over me. A very nice man stopped his car and asked if I was ok and looked rather concerned. I thanked him and told him that I was ok (which amazingly I am). The car that caused the problem however just kept on going and didn't even notice that I was laid out on the road. (All I will say about that is... I believe in karma.)
My bike, however, is not as happy. The chain is no longer on the gears, my handle bar extenders (since I can't get the aerobars because of my hybrid bike's handlebar structure, I got these) are scratched up, there are a couple other scratches on the bike, and the brake lines were all tangled up (but have since been untangled). Luckily I was only about 1.75 - 2 miles from home because at first I had to carry the bike because I was slowly working on the brake lines (I couldn't wheel the bike at this point). But after about 1/3 of a mile, I put the bike down twice and they untangled enough that if I had the front wheel backwards I could wheel the bike. And then I noticed that I could probably move one of the lines and it would fix the issue (as I was walking) and tada! the front wheel could now face forward and be wheeled instead of carried.
Bike shoes are not meant for walking long distances... so the walk home was a little interesting. Doable but interesting because bike shoes lean you back a little so your weight while walking is on your heels and mine also angle the ball of the foot area so that you have maximum impact on the wheel and are the most efficient while biking. This is not the same as efficient while walking, but when I ran the last little bit of the way home the running wasn't so bad. The irony was that on my walk home, I remembered that when I got hurt skiing a few years ago (I pulled my IT band and was airlifted from the mountain because they thought I broke my femur... my only helicopter ride so far and I didn't get to see a thing!) I had thought to myself that morning, I should take the day off from skiing and guilted myself into going because it was toward the end of our trip and we had paid a decent amount for the ski lift passes. So, I have duly noted that I need to listen to my gut instincts on these things !
I am hoping that my darling hubby will be able to take my bike to Orange Cycle tomorrow on his lunch hour or on the way home from work... it's not far from his work and that way they can fix up my bike in time for me to use it when I return from my visit to the Central Time Zone. But, we shall see! I will write more when I return from Arkansas!!
While I was riding, it seemed like something was a little off. Either me or the bike, I wasn't sure. And a few minutes before the incident, I almost just biked home. But, I still didn't listen to my gut and kept going. A white cadillac pulled out in front of me rather quickly so I slowed down some and when the car pulled to the stop sign and stopped I was far enough away that all was well. The car started to turn and then for some unknown reason slammed on its brakes... at which point I had to slam on my brakes. For yet another unknown reason, I braked with my left hand instead of my right like I normally do. (The left brake controls the front wheel, the right brake the back wheel.) This caused the front wheel to completely stop and throw me over the top of the bike on to the road (thank goodness for my padded biking gloves and my guardian angel) and the bike to then come over top of me and land on me. Again, my shoes unclipped from the bike pedals (thank the Lord because it could have been very ugly if they hadn't) during the crash. Other than a nasty cut on my left elbow (which again could have been worse if I hadn't been wearing a thick long sleeve fleece), I just have one or two minor scratches (no blood even) on my legs and had a lot of bike grease all over me. A very nice man stopped his car and asked if I was ok and looked rather concerned. I thanked him and told him that I was ok (which amazingly I am). The car that caused the problem however just kept on going and didn't even notice that I was laid out on the road. (All I will say about that is... I believe in karma.)
My bike, however, is not as happy. The chain is no longer on the gears, my handle bar extenders (since I can't get the aerobars because of my hybrid bike's handlebar structure, I got these) are scratched up, there are a couple other scratches on the bike, and the brake lines were all tangled up (but have since been untangled). Luckily I was only about 1.75 - 2 miles from home because at first I had to carry the bike because I was slowly working on the brake lines (I couldn't wheel the bike at this point). But after about 1/3 of a mile, I put the bike down twice and they untangled enough that if I had the front wheel backwards I could wheel the bike. And then I noticed that I could probably move one of the lines and it would fix the issue (as I was walking) and tada! the front wheel could now face forward and be wheeled instead of carried.
Bike shoes are not meant for walking long distances... so the walk home was a little interesting. Doable but interesting because bike shoes lean you back a little so your weight while walking is on your heels and mine also angle the ball of the foot area so that you have maximum impact on the wheel and are the most efficient while biking. This is not the same as efficient while walking, but when I ran the last little bit of the way home the running wasn't so bad. The irony was that on my walk home, I remembered that when I got hurt skiing a few years ago (I pulled my IT band and was airlifted from the mountain because they thought I broke my femur... my only helicopter ride so far and I didn't get to see a thing!) I had thought to myself that morning, I should take the day off from skiing and guilted myself into going because it was toward the end of our trip and we had paid a decent amount for the ski lift passes. So, I have duly noted that I need to listen to my gut instincts on these things !
I am hoping that my darling hubby will be able to take my bike to Orange Cycle tomorrow on his lunch hour or on the way home from work... it's not far from his work and that way they can fix up my bike in time for me to use it when I return from my visit to the Central Time Zone. But, we shall see! I will write more when I return from Arkansas!!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Another day in the pool and on the treadmill
So, the treadmill. I have to say that while my legs do not hurt as badly while using the treadmill, it is boring. I miss the scenery and the outdoors while running... which is somewhat odd because I never thought that I noticed the scenery and the outdoors while running because running is very difficult for me. I think my ancestors must have been more of the aquatic kind than the land kind way back when because put me in the water and I'm great, but land based sports are more difficult for me (although I like them just the same - even running has grown on me). Or maybe it is just because the first sport that I did as a child was swimming and I did it for a few years (from 3rd through 7th/8th grade) that were physically formative. Thoughts to ponder. But the treadmill was boring... I did 20 minutes- 5 minute walk to warm up, a 3 minute run alternated with a 2 minute walk for 10 minutes, and then a 5 minute walk to cool down. The other people in the gym probably thought I was nuts because as I was walking down the stairs from the cardio section to the locker room (you have to go through the locker room to get to the pool), I was putting on my swim cap. I got a few strange looks, but hey - it saved me some time!
Then I got down to my bathing suit (I'm not brave enough to run in my bathingsuit or my triathlon clothes at the gym just yet) and jumped in the pool. The pool was crowded today (compared to some of the other days)... with me at the pool every lane had a swimmer and when I left the pool someone came to replace me. I was glad I was leaving when I did because I don't really like having to share a lane, but I do it if I have to (of course). One of the regular swimmers was booking it today too. I didn't lap him once and he looked like he was giving himself a hard swim - he was drinking water on his breaks! Perhaps that's a good idea, I don't know, but I don't think I could ever drink water while pausing between laps. Of course, I'm the person that prefers to swim with nothing in her stomach and then eat afterwards. The interesting habits of fellow swimmers and gym members. The other interesting thing I saw today was a woman on a treadmill with the incline really high to the point that she was holding on to the front of the machine in order to walk. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed a little silly because she's getting help to do something that she obviously couldn't do on her own. Maybe she should build up to it?
Anyway, it was a good workout and I felt nice and refreshed afterwards (especially once I realized that I had put my locker key in the OTHER shoe not the one I was looking for it in.... the workout must have made me a little forgetful. AHH. Another topic to research - does cardio activity make you forgetful for a short period of time after stopping? I know that long term memory is supposedly increased by cardio activity, but what about that 5 -7 minutes just after stopping???)
Tomorrow is another run day with some weights afterwards (if I have time for them). Then there will be a small hiatus (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for the blog because I leave tomorrow in the late afternoon to go visit my friend who is dying of sarcoma for the weekend. It's funny writing that because I don't think of her that way, but I don't want to use her name for her privacy and it's the only way I know how to describe her for my blog readers. To me she's really this awesome woman that I've been friends with since I was 12 who I can say anything to and who can say anything to me. We've had squabbles but always made up... if I was ever to have a sister, I can imagine based on my other friends with siblings, that she would have been mine (without the jealousy of wanting affection from Mom and Dad though). I have a ton of great memories with her and am annoyed that she is dying. I'm not angry with anyone, just at the fact of it. I know it is somehow part of the big plan that is life/God/etc., but it just really annoys me that someone so wonderful is going through so much and despite her positive attitude can't defeat the cancer hanging out in her lung and on the connective tissue that surrounds her heart putting her in a lot of pain, making her short of breath, depressing her heart rate (although at the moment it is in the lowest range of what is considered ok) and increasing her pulse rate. GRR. But the thing that makes me happy is the fact that I will get to go and spend some time with her and perhaps that is all I can ask for right now.
Until tomorrow...
Then I got down to my bathing suit (I'm not brave enough to run in my bathingsuit or my triathlon clothes at the gym just yet) and jumped in the pool. The pool was crowded today (compared to some of the other days)... with me at the pool every lane had a swimmer and when I left the pool someone came to replace me. I was glad I was leaving when I did because I don't really like having to share a lane, but I do it if I have to (of course). One of the regular swimmers was booking it today too. I didn't lap him once and he looked like he was giving himself a hard swim - he was drinking water on his breaks! Perhaps that's a good idea, I don't know, but I don't think I could ever drink water while pausing between laps. Of course, I'm the person that prefers to swim with nothing in her stomach and then eat afterwards. The interesting habits of fellow swimmers and gym members. The other interesting thing I saw today was a woman on a treadmill with the incline really high to the point that she was holding on to the front of the machine in order to walk. Maybe it's just me, but it seemed a little silly because she's getting help to do something that she obviously couldn't do on her own. Maybe she should build up to it?
Anyway, it was a good workout and I felt nice and refreshed afterwards (especially once I realized that I had put my locker key in the OTHER shoe not the one I was looking for it in.... the workout must have made me a little forgetful. AHH. Another topic to research - does cardio activity make you forgetful for a short period of time after stopping? I know that long term memory is supposedly increased by cardio activity, but what about that 5 -7 minutes just after stopping???)
Tomorrow is another run day with some weights afterwards (if I have time for them). Then there will be a small hiatus (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) for the blog because I leave tomorrow in the late afternoon to go visit my friend who is dying of sarcoma for the weekend. It's funny writing that because I don't think of her that way, but I don't want to use her name for her privacy and it's the only way I know how to describe her for my blog readers. To me she's really this awesome woman that I've been friends with since I was 12 who I can say anything to and who can say anything to me. We've had squabbles but always made up... if I was ever to have a sister, I can imagine based on my other friends with siblings, that she would have been mine (without the jealousy of wanting affection from Mom and Dad though). I have a ton of great memories with her and am annoyed that she is dying. I'm not angry with anyone, just at the fact of it. I know it is somehow part of the big plan that is life/God/etc., but it just really annoys me that someone so wonderful is going through so much and despite her positive attitude can't defeat the cancer hanging out in her lung and on the connective tissue that surrounds her heart putting her in a lot of pain, making her short of breath, depressing her heart rate (although at the moment it is in the lowest range of what is considered ok) and increasing her pulse rate. GRR. But the thing that makes me happy is the fact that I will get to go and spend some time with her and perhaps that is all I can ask for right now.
Until tomorrow...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A dark and rainy Tuesday...
Well, that's how it started out anyway... oh and cold. We woke up this morning to a bit of rain and a cold front that was moving on through Orlando. It was about 50 degrees this morning and windy, but it had stopped raining when I set off on my 40 minute bike ride (I did about 8 miles... so I'm getting a little faster without too much effort). With the wind, it was a bit chilly which my legs complained a bit about until they got a little numb. I still plan to buy the long winter bike pants, but it's just difficult to pay for them because they're a bit expensive. In one of the books I read, it said that triathlons are an expensive sport because you need some gear and then get to wanting stuff that can make you faster, sleeker, etc. I've been trying to resist the urge for the faster, sleeker, but numb legs may be starting to fit into the needed gear category... but $110 for a pair of pants is a bit much, and even when you find a $60 sale pair, it's still hard to swallow. Besides, I haven't gotten pneumonia yet so I probably don't really need them that much, right? Perhaps Santa Claus will be nice to me and they will magically appear under the tree. Of course, I also asked santa for racing sunglasses that I can wear while running and biking (I feel a bit like a diva when using my normal sunglasses so I don't wear any right now and it's sunny alot here in Florida), a bigger and better workout bag, and a new travel cosmetic bag... so the odds probably are not high on the biking pants - especially after Mr. Darcy's reaction when I told him what I found on line in the biking pant arena. Oh well.
Back to the ride itself. It was really great, although I think a lot of people are returning to work (and running a bit late) today because there were more cars out and about in the neighborhood this morning. After being honked at by a car because I was riding on the side of the road and being yelled at to get on the sidewalk by the same motorist, I am even more cognizant of the fact that people do not realize that by law bicyclists are supposed to ride on the ROAD not the sidewalk... plus I don't trust people driving to pay attention (especially those on their cellphones) and not run me over! Luckily I have not had a bad experience first hand, but I have seen motorists almost hit bicyclists before. YIKES! But, I returned unscathed to the house with the sun shining but still a bit of chilliness. : )
Some good news is that my legs don't hurt today - even after running on the treadmill a little bit yesterday. YAY! I'm icing after every workout and am supposed to before bed too (I keep forgetting to do it before bed though) and am doing calf and shin strengthening exercises and more calf stretches too. So there is hope for running after all! (Which is good because it would completely stink to swim, bike and then have to walk the run!) So, there is hope for tomorrow's run and swim workout!
Some bad news is that Ladybug is refusing to use the potty in the mornings and this past weekend and yesterday wanted to only wear pullups. I'm tempted to go cold turkey with underpants and no pullups with her, but they say not to push the potty training. So, my hope is again that Ladybug and Angelfish (who is showing sporatic interest only in the potty) will be potty trained by the time they leave for college. : ) They're a hoot though. Ladybug likes to pose while sitting on the potty and asked me to take her picture the other day. Angelfish likes to poop in the potty, but evidently doesn't mind being wet because she avoids peeing in it most of the time (which tells me that just like her adversion to crawling when she was younger, it's not that she doesn't know how it's more that she doesn't want to... so we have to get a motivator for her. Too bad stealing toys won't work on potty training like it did to get her to go straight from refusing to crawl to walking in just a short period of time.) The girls are also smart enough to use it as a tactic to delay going to bed at night too. Of course, I'm happy to be blessed with intelligent children although sometimes I have to remind myself of that when I realize I'm being played like a fiddle by 2 1/2 year olds!
Back to the ride itself. It was really great, although I think a lot of people are returning to work (and running a bit late) today because there were more cars out and about in the neighborhood this morning. After being honked at by a car because I was riding on the side of the road and being yelled at to get on the sidewalk by the same motorist, I am even more cognizant of the fact that people do not realize that by law bicyclists are supposed to ride on the ROAD not the sidewalk... plus I don't trust people driving to pay attention (especially those on their cellphones) and not run me over! Luckily I have not had a bad experience first hand, but I have seen motorists almost hit bicyclists before. YIKES! But, I returned unscathed to the house with the sun shining but still a bit of chilliness. : )
Some good news is that my legs don't hurt today - even after running on the treadmill a little bit yesterday. YAY! I'm icing after every workout and am supposed to before bed too (I keep forgetting to do it before bed though) and am doing calf and shin strengthening exercises and more calf stretches too. So there is hope for running after all! (Which is good because it would completely stink to swim, bike and then have to walk the run!) So, there is hope for tomorrow's run and swim workout!
Some bad news is that Ladybug is refusing to use the potty in the mornings and this past weekend and yesterday wanted to only wear pullups. I'm tempted to go cold turkey with underpants and no pullups with her, but they say not to push the potty training. So, my hope is again that Ladybug and Angelfish (who is showing sporatic interest only in the potty) will be potty trained by the time they leave for college. : ) They're a hoot though. Ladybug likes to pose while sitting on the potty and asked me to take her picture the other day. Angelfish likes to poop in the potty, but evidently doesn't mind being wet because she avoids peeing in it most of the time (which tells me that just like her adversion to crawling when she was younger, it's not that she doesn't know how it's more that she doesn't want to... so we have to get a motivator for her. Too bad stealing toys won't work on potty training like it did to get her to go straight from refusing to crawl to walking in just a short period of time.) The girls are also smart enough to use it as a tactic to delay going to bed at night too. Of course, I'm happy to be blessed with intelligent children although sometimes I have to remind myself of that when I realize I'm being played like a fiddle by 2 1/2 year olds!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Walk/Run & Swim to Start Monday Off Right!
This was a little bit of a rough morning to get going. I didn't want to get out of bed, Mr. Darcy was sleepy, and Ladybug at first refused to get out of bed and then spent the morning crying or arguing about getting ready for school and breakfast. She even hit and kicked her Mommy and told her to go away! Angelfish even said that she was sleepy when I woke her up, but after a few minutes was her usual cheery morning girl. She even tried to share her muffins with Ladybug to help Ladybug feel better about getting up.
But, once I finally got out of the house (after Angelfish pointing out I had on my swim suit and then pointed at my running shoes and said "you go running in swim suit") I headed to the gym. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill and discovered I like running outside better, but my legs seemed to like the treadmill a little bit better than the road. It was a 5 minute walk, 10 minutes of alternating 1 minute walk and run, and then a 5 minute cool down. Then straight to the pool (note to self, I will bring my goggles and swimcap to the treadmill so I can bypass the need to go into my gym locker before the swim) where I swam about 3/4 of a mile. I would have done a full mile but was running short on time and didn't want to be late to work. I have to say that it felt good to lap a guy who was swimming while doing a 100 m pull (that means I wasn't even kicking). Of course, it was interesting to notice that for a few laps after he was swimming harder and trying to keep up with me. I won out in the end. : ) Yes, that competitive streak comes out. Just be glad we're not playing monopoly! My Teams in Training coach gave me some calf strengthening exercises to do as well as an icing regimen.
Normally, this would be a Sunday brick, but I took this coming Sunday's workout and moved it to today because I leave Thursday evening to visit my friend in Arkansas and will be gone until very late on Sunday. I'm going to try to walk/run while I am there, but we shall see. I want to focus on spending my time with her, but hope I won't tire her out either. I'm a little nervous about the trip because I want to have a nice visit but it's a little odd to have the fact that she is dying of cancer putting an odd perspective on things. I got to talk to her the other day which was wonderful. Unfortunately her voice is not back fully so she sounded like she had larygitis pretty badly, but it was still great to hear her perspective on things (politics, etc.) as well as just catching up on life. (Hopefully I didn't bore her with stories of the girls and their antics.) I am very much looking forward to seeing her! And I bet Little Rock will be a bit colder than Orlando...
Oh and btw, my bike is just fine. Mr. Darcy and I figured it out and all is well. Yeah! Until tomorrow...
But, once I finally got out of the house (after Angelfish pointing out I had on my swim suit and then pointed at my running shoes and said "you go running in swim suit") I headed to the gym. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill and discovered I like running outside better, but my legs seemed to like the treadmill a little bit better than the road. It was a 5 minute walk, 10 minutes of alternating 1 minute walk and run, and then a 5 minute cool down. Then straight to the pool (note to self, I will bring my goggles and swimcap to the treadmill so I can bypass the need to go into my gym locker before the swim) where I swam about 3/4 of a mile. I would have done a full mile but was running short on time and didn't want to be late to work. I have to say that it felt good to lap a guy who was swimming while doing a 100 m pull (that means I wasn't even kicking). Of course, it was interesting to notice that for a few laps after he was swimming harder and trying to keep up with me. I won out in the end. : ) Yes, that competitive streak comes out. Just be glad we're not playing monopoly! My Teams in Training coach gave me some calf strengthening exercises to do as well as an icing regimen.
Normally, this would be a Sunday brick, but I took this coming Sunday's workout and moved it to today because I leave Thursday evening to visit my friend in Arkansas and will be gone until very late on Sunday. I'm going to try to walk/run while I am there, but we shall see. I want to focus on spending my time with her, but hope I won't tire her out either. I'm a little nervous about the trip because I want to have a nice visit but it's a little odd to have the fact that she is dying of cancer putting an odd perspective on things. I got to talk to her the other day which was wonderful. Unfortunately her voice is not back fully so she sounded like she had larygitis pretty badly, but it was still great to hear her perspective on things (politics, etc.) as well as just catching up on life. (Hopefully I didn't bore her with stories of the girls and their antics.) I am very much looking forward to seeing her! And I bet Little Rock will be a bit colder than Orlando...
Oh and btw, my bike is just fine. Mr. Darcy and I figured it out and all is well. Yeah! Until tomorrow...
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The joys of Thanksgiving...
Hi, all!
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving full of turkey, sweet potato pie, glazed carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing (if you didn't forget to cook it like I did), pumpkin pie and pecan pie - and lots of family and friends! We had a good thanksgiving too. We ate all of the above (except for the pumpkin and pecan pies) and then while the girls and Mr. Darcy napped, I went on an hour long bike ride. It was awesome! I combined two of my loops and added a little bit too and did around 12 miles. I think I could have gone farther in that time frame, but I was pretty full when I left! Later we took a 2nd bike ride and I pulled the girls behind me... that ride was about 4 miles long. And then we went and had pie with our good friends the Englert/Maira's! (Oh, and I skipped the Turkey Trot 5K at Lake Eola since my shin splints wouldn't let me run and it was going to be around 38 that morning, I didnt' want to drag Mr. Darcy and girls out in the cold to watch me walk... so we all slept in!)
Friday I did another bike ride - this one my usual 40 minute route. Saturday I hit the pool and swam a mile. This morning I woke up, and did a 30 minute bike to be followed by a 20 minute walk, except I never made the 20 minute walk because well, I took a turn a bit too fast toward the end of my ride and ended up having a little accident. I am completely fine other than a bruise forming on my left leg and being shooken up. The bikes brakes are acting wierd and there's a mark on the pedal from it's interaction with the road. I must say that I think my guardian angel was acting overtime for me... it could have easily been a lot worse. So, I have to take the bike into the shop. After trying to figure out the bike on my own, I decided to skip the walk. Unfortunately, though, I ate about 1/2 a dozen cookies or so for breakfast (left over from our Christmas tree trimming)... yes, I'm someone who eats under stress. The good news is that the cookies are pretty much gone now so I'll be back to healthier eating by tomorrow. : ) Let's just hope the bike isn't going to need a big fix.
Anyway. I am thankful for the time with my family and friends... and for escaping my little accident unscathed! Happy December (tomorrow anyway)!
I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving full of turkey, sweet potato pie, glazed carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, stuffing (if you didn't forget to cook it like I did), pumpkin pie and pecan pie - and lots of family and friends! We had a good thanksgiving too. We ate all of the above (except for the pumpkin and pecan pies) and then while the girls and Mr. Darcy napped, I went on an hour long bike ride. It was awesome! I combined two of my loops and added a little bit too and did around 12 miles. I think I could have gone farther in that time frame, but I was pretty full when I left! Later we took a 2nd bike ride and I pulled the girls behind me... that ride was about 4 miles long. And then we went and had pie with our good friends the Englert/Maira's! (Oh, and I skipped the Turkey Trot 5K at Lake Eola since my shin splints wouldn't let me run and it was going to be around 38 that morning, I didnt' want to drag Mr. Darcy and girls out in the cold to watch me walk... so we all slept in!)
Friday I did another bike ride - this one my usual 40 minute route. Saturday I hit the pool and swam a mile. This morning I woke up, and did a 30 minute bike to be followed by a 20 minute walk, except I never made the 20 minute walk because well, I took a turn a bit too fast toward the end of my ride and ended up having a little accident. I am completely fine other than a bruise forming on my left leg and being shooken up. The bikes brakes are acting wierd and there's a mark on the pedal from it's interaction with the road. I must say that I think my guardian angel was acting overtime for me... it could have easily been a lot worse. So, I have to take the bike into the shop. After trying to figure out the bike on my own, I decided to skip the walk. Unfortunately, though, I ate about 1/2 a dozen cookies or so for breakfast (left over from our Christmas tree trimming)... yes, I'm someone who eats under stress. The good news is that the cookies are pretty much gone now so I'll be back to healthier eating by tomorrow. : ) Let's just hope the bike isn't going to need a big fix.
Anyway. I am thankful for the time with my family and friends... and for escaping my little accident unscathed! Happy December (tomorrow anyway)!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Ode to a Warm Pool
warm pool, warm pool
I have dreamt in waking moments
toes numb and in a vision of mist
of you - a warm pool
and thanks to $35 a month at LA Fitness,
you are all mine!
Yes, I broke down and got a gym membership so that I can swim. The pool was awesome! Highly chlorinated and warm. I swam a mile and wanted to do more but, alas, I had to go to work. They even had a bathing suit spinner so my suit wasn't sopping wet in my bag as I drove home. I love it! I'll have to leave earlier in the mornings to get there and back, but I think it will do me some good. I may need to start training for running on the treadmill too in order to avoid more shin splints. I'm going to ask my Teams in Training coach her opinion. I'll miss being outdoors as much, but I will not be giving up my outdoor cycling never fear!
But, yes the highlight of the day will most likely be the swim! How I missed my long swims (and lapping the guys swimming in the pool with me - they were in other lanes, though)!
I have dreamt in waking moments
toes numb and in a vision of mist
of you - a warm pool
and thanks to $35 a month at LA Fitness,
you are all mine!
Yes, I broke down and got a gym membership so that I can swim. The pool was awesome! Highly chlorinated and warm. I swam a mile and wanted to do more but, alas, I had to go to work. They even had a bathing suit spinner so my suit wasn't sopping wet in my bag as I drove home. I love it! I'll have to leave earlier in the mornings to get there and back, but I think it will do me some good. I may need to start training for running on the treadmill too in order to avoid more shin splints. I'm going to ask my Teams in Training coach her opinion. I'll miss being outdoors as much, but I will not be giving up my outdoor cycling never fear!
But, yes the highlight of the day will most likely be the swim! How I missed my long swims (and lapping the guys swimming in the pool with me - they were in other lanes, though)!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Shin Splint Stink!
Oh, yes. My shin splints have not gone away in my left leg. I think they were on the mend and then I did that run last week... they probably weren't healed all the way and I made it worse. Today I was supposed to run, but walked instead for 45 minutes. I stretched beforehand paying particular attention to my calf muscles. During the walk, no pain. At end when I stretched again, I had to close my eyes because of the pain. I forced myself to stretch anyway, took a hot shower, took 2 advil and put an analgesic patch on the spot where it hurts. I really was wanting to run in the 5K on Thursday so I could eat without guilt and get a good gage of where my running is at these days. (I guess I like running more than I think I do because even on my walks lately, my body has wanted to break into a jog at the very least and I have to reign myself in.) All I have to say is that Shin Splints Stink! But, I am bound and determined that this leg will heal and I will be able to run in my triathlon February 1st. Come h@ll or high water!
Ladybug did awesome yesterday with her potty training. She is still refusing to pee on the potty first thing in the morning at home, but once she gets underpants on at school she was a champ! She came home in the same clothing and underpants that she had on all day and only had one small accident at home right before bedtime! Go LADYBUG!
I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the padres on both sides decided to stay home, but we have some fun plans for our little family. Thanksgiving morning is the 5K Turkey Trot down at Lake Eola. Bill and the girls are planning to be my cheering section (When Angelfish sees me in workout clothes and running shoes - she knows the difference between my running shoes and my biking shoes - says "You go running."), and then afterwards are going to see if the girls will run in the Tot Trot (it's only 100 yards for 2 year olds). Then we'll come back home and cook Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, cranberry sauce - not from a can, green beans, glazed carrots, sweet potato pie, rolls, and pecan pie), watch the Macy's Day parade on TV, and eat! The next day we'll get our Christmas tree and decorate it and the house for Christmas while listening to Christmas music and drinking cocoa and eating cookies. We may head over to UCF for their Holiday Light show and whatever Christmas movie is playing too. At some point we'll try to get pictures for our Christmas card - either on our own (I have some ideas) or somewhere else. It will be nice to have 4 days together!
I'm trying to find an inexpensive club with a heated pool at the moment so I can try to resume my swimming... the quest never ends! Hasta Luego!
Ladybug did awesome yesterday with her potty training. She is still refusing to pee on the potty first thing in the morning at home, but once she gets underpants on at school she was a champ! She came home in the same clothing and underpants that she had on all day and only had one small accident at home right before bedtime! Go LADYBUG!
I'm really looking forward to Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the padres on both sides decided to stay home, but we have some fun plans for our little family. Thanksgiving morning is the 5K Turkey Trot down at Lake Eola. Bill and the girls are planning to be my cheering section (When Angelfish sees me in workout clothes and running shoes - she knows the difference between my running shoes and my biking shoes - says "You go running."), and then afterwards are going to see if the girls will run in the Tot Trot (it's only 100 yards for 2 year olds). Then we'll come back home and cook Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, cranberry sauce - not from a can, green beans, glazed carrots, sweet potato pie, rolls, and pecan pie), watch the Macy's Day parade on TV, and eat! The next day we'll get our Christmas tree and decorate it and the house for Christmas while listening to Christmas music and drinking cocoa and eating cookies. We may head over to UCF for their Holiday Light show and whatever Christmas movie is playing too. At some point we'll try to get pictures for our Christmas card - either on our own (I have some ideas) or somewhere else. It will be nice to have 4 days together!
I'm trying to find an inexpensive club with a heated pool at the moment so I can try to resume my swimming... the quest never ends! Hasta Luego!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Attempt at Swimming, Lots of walking & biking
Friday there was no workout and thus no blog. I woke up Friday feeling almost as though my head was going to pop off because it was rather stuffy and I was coughing to the point it probably wasn't going to be a good idea. But, as it was, Mr. Darcy had a business meeting in South Florida at FAU so I needed to take the girls to daycare that morning (aka "school") as it was. So, the plan was to workout during lunch. Except when lunch rolled around, it was all I could do to keep my eyes open so I straightened and swept a little (since we had our friends Jen, Steve and Audrey in town this weekend) and then after work went to get the girls and ended up falling asleep on their bedroom floor after we put them down to bed. But, I must have needed the sleep because I did a good bit better the next day.
In fact, I felt so much better that before we headed off to Disney for the day with Audrey, Jen & Steve, that I woke up around 5 am and biked for 45 minutes. 2 things I learned: 1) I REALLY need to buy those long biking pants and 2) they do not leave the giant lights at the high school football stadium up the road from our house on all night like we thought they did. There was a bit of a stretch on the road there that I was super glad I bought the more expensive bike lights with more power because it was pitch black. Just me, in the bike lane with a little bit of reflective gear and bike lights hoping to God that there would be no drunk driver around. But overall, the ride was a good one and I returned rejuvenated... just in time for the sun to come up.
After getting the kiddos dressed, fed and in the car we headed for a marathon day at Disney. It was a blast!!! Ladybug even did a good job telling us when she had to go to the potty and most of the time we made it in time, as did little Audrey (who did even better than Ladybug with it). Angelfish even joined in and went pee on the potty a few times too! We wandered around somewhat aimlessly and hit a bunch of different things, saw Mickey, Minnie & Donald Duck, and even had dinner at the Liberty Tavern where we had pictures with Minnie, Goofy, & Chip and Dale while eating. Angelfish took a header down the stairs after trying to jump on Chip (who didn't see her coming), but she was perfectly fine. I knew she was ok when I got her up and she didn't cry but shouted "my bread!" (She dropped it while going head over feet.) We even stayed late for the electric light parade (or whatever they call it these days). Ladybug rather liked it and Angelfish said she liked it but Mr. Darcy said she was afraid because some dry ice mist got on her and then Captain Hook shot of a cannon of mist and it hit her straight on (Mr. Darcy too - he said it didn't hurt just startled her and him.). When I told her that Daddy said she was scared she said "no like cloud." They were both out by the time we got on 417 to go home.
We were all tuckered out though, because even my internal clock (the one that wakes me up to work out around 5:30 or 6 am on the weekends) didn't wake me up until 6:45ish - just in time for Ladybug to run in the room and climb in bed with us. And we pretty much dragged all day. We had a fun morning with our friends - chatting and the girls playing, and then when we put the girls down for their nap, we slept too! So, I switched my off day for this week from today to Sunday.
This morning I went for a 20 minute walk. Unfortunately, after my walk/run deal last Thursday I woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain in my shin, so it's back to ONLY walking for now. The idea was to walk for 20 minutes, swim for 20 minutes and then walk about 5 minutes home. (In case you're wondering, I found a pair of old goggles that I forgot I owned this weekend.) Well, the 20 minute walk went just fine. I got to the pool, took off the clothes that were over my swimsuit, put on my swim cap and googles, noticed that I could see my breath in the air, stretched a little more, and then put my foot in the pool. You know a pool is cold when you put your foot in the pool and involuntarily your leg jerks it back out of the water. So, I tried again, this time being conscious of not wanting to yank my leg out of the water and tried to put both feet in the water quickly and my right foot involuntarily jerked out (it was the 2nd foot I put in). And at that point, my mind told me that this is exactly what it would feel like if I were going to swim in a tall glass of cold water that had ice in it. I am sorry to say that I did not brave it out and get all the way in and swim. I wanted to swim, but I also didn't want to either suffer from a heart attack because the water was so cold it shocked my system and I want my cold to continue to leave my body. I will be emailing the Teams in Training folks to see if they know of a heated public pool nearby so I can try to find a way to still swim, but until then the swimming may have to go on hiatus (and it's my favorite so I am not thrilled about this notion). Instead of swimming I walked another 28 minutes, and part way through realized that it is not likely that I will be running in the Turkey Trot on Thursday. I will definitely walk the 3.1 miles, but I'm not sure that my shin splints are at the point that my leg can take running it. We will see on Thursday morning, but it is most likely that I will walk (quickly of course) the Turkey Trot and still try to run the Reindeer Run in Maitland on December 13th. All in all the end goal being that I will be able to run in my triathlon on February 1st! So for today, the walk ended up being just under 50 minutes instead of the original plan, but I'm still out there... it will take more than shin splints and an icy pool to stop me!
The saga continues...
In fact, I felt so much better that before we headed off to Disney for the day with Audrey, Jen & Steve, that I woke up around 5 am and biked for 45 minutes. 2 things I learned: 1) I REALLY need to buy those long biking pants and 2) they do not leave the giant lights at the high school football stadium up the road from our house on all night like we thought they did. There was a bit of a stretch on the road there that I was super glad I bought the more expensive bike lights with more power because it was pitch black. Just me, in the bike lane with a little bit of reflective gear and bike lights hoping to God that there would be no drunk driver around. But overall, the ride was a good one and I returned rejuvenated... just in time for the sun to come up.
After getting the kiddos dressed, fed and in the car we headed for a marathon day at Disney. It was a blast!!! Ladybug even did a good job telling us when she had to go to the potty and most of the time we made it in time, as did little Audrey (who did even better than Ladybug with it). Angelfish even joined in and went pee on the potty a few times too! We wandered around somewhat aimlessly and hit a bunch of different things, saw Mickey, Minnie & Donald Duck, and even had dinner at the Liberty Tavern where we had pictures with Minnie, Goofy, & Chip and Dale while eating. Angelfish took a header down the stairs after trying to jump on Chip (who didn't see her coming), but she was perfectly fine. I knew she was ok when I got her up and she didn't cry but shouted "my bread!" (She dropped it while going head over feet.) We even stayed late for the electric light parade (or whatever they call it these days). Ladybug rather liked it and Angelfish said she liked it but Mr. Darcy said she was afraid because some dry ice mist got on her and then Captain Hook shot of a cannon of mist and it hit her straight on (Mr. Darcy too - he said it didn't hurt just startled her and him.). When I told her that Daddy said she was scared she said "no like cloud." They were both out by the time we got on 417 to go home.
We were all tuckered out though, because even my internal clock (the one that wakes me up to work out around 5:30 or 6 am on the weekends) didn't wake me up until 6:45ish - just in time for Ladybug to run in the room and climb in bed with us. And we pretty much dragged all day. We had a fun morning with our friends - chatting and the girls playing, and then when we put the girls down for their nap, we slept too! So, I switched my off day for this week from today to Sunday.
This morning I went for a 20 minute walk. Unfortunately, after my walk/run deal last Thursday I woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain in my shin, so it's back to ONLY walking for now. The idea was to walk for 20 minutes, swim for 20 minutes and then walk about 5 minutes home. (In case you're wondering, I found a pair of old goggles that I forgot I owned this weekend.) Well, the 20 minute walk went just fine. I got to the pool, took off the clothes that were over my swimsuit, put on my swim cap and googles, noticed that I could see my breath in the air, stretched a little more, and then put my foot in the pool. You know a pool is cold when you put your foot in the pool and involuntarily your leg jerks it back out of the water. So, I tried again, this time being conscious of not wanting to yank my leg out of the water and tried to put both feet in the water quickly and my right foot involuntarily jerked out (it was the 2nd foot I put in). And at that point, my mind told me that this is exactly what it would feel like if I were going to swim in a tall glass of cold water that had ice in it. I am sorry to say that I did not brave it out and get all the way in and swim. I wanted to swim, but I also didn't want to either suffer from a heart attack because the water was so cold it shocked my system and I want my cold to continue to leave my body. I will be emailing the Teams in Training folks to see if they know of a heated public pool nearby so I can try to find a way to still swim, but until then the swimming may have to go on hiatus (and it's my favorite so I am not thrilled about this notion). Instead of swimming I walked another 28 minutes, and part way through realized that it is not likely that I will be running in the Turkey Trot on Thursday. I will definitely walk the 3.1 miles, but I'm not sure that my shin splints are at the point that my leg can take running it. We will see on Thursday morning, but it is most likely that I will walk (quickly of course) the Turkey Trot and still try to run the Reindeer Run in Maitland on December 13th. All in all the end goal being that I will be able to run in my triathlon on February 1st! So for today, the walk ended up being just under 50 minutes instead of the original plan, but I'm still out there... it will take more than shin splints and an icy pool to stop me!
The saga continues...
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Running in the mist...
This morning was another cool one and with the different lakes and retention ponds in our neighborhood (as well as the pools) the air was cooler than the water... so there was a lot of rising mist. Luckily for me, my morning walk/run was not as ill fated as the poor gorillas (and DIane Fossey) in "Gorillas in the Midst" however! I did a 5 minute walk to warm up and then did a 1 minute run alternated with a 30 second walk for 10 minutes and then a 5 minute walk to cool down. Lots of stretching for my lovely calves to help with the shins. My left shin has some residual pain when you touch it and a little when I start running, so I will need to still take it easy with these runs. I'd rather not get a stress fracture anytime soon!
But, it really was a beautiful morning - the sky is clear and blue, the air is crisp, and with sweatpants, a hat, gloves, a shirt and a fleece it felt like 70 instead of the upper 30s/lower 40s! Tomorrow is supposed to be a swim day, but I haven't quite made it to the store to replace my errant goggles and it's supposed to be another chilly morning, so I may substitute a bike workout instead.... especially since I'm either coming down with a slight head cold or my sinuses are continuously upset with the chilly weather that warms up to around 70 each day. I don't want to tempt a cold to come on. But, it's still tempting to jump in the pool and swim even if it's not heated. We'll have to see what wins out tomorrow.
Ladybug did well with the potty training yesterday and yesterday evening and this morning ANGELFISH peed on the potty! She rocks! I just have to get Mr. Darcy to be more excited and act more like a cheerleader when she goes. Of course, such things lead to the girls catching me going to the bathroom and telling me, "You went pee pee in the potty Mommy! You're such a good girl! What a big girl you're getting to be! I'm so proud of you. Let me give you a hug and a kiss." (Literally. This happened 2 days ago.) All the while they're clapping and smiling - just like I do when they go. What more can we ask for? Hopefully a few less sofa surprises - last night I asked Ladybug if she needed to go potty and she tells me no. A few moments later she gets up to hug me and her pants were all wet along with a puddle on the sofa. I guess she didn't need to go because she already went on the sofa! Luckily we have leather sofas so it wasn't too hard to clean up... the parenthood adventure continues!
The girls are looking forward to this Saturday when we "go to Mickey Minnie house" with our friends "Audey," "Miss Jen" & "Mr. teve." Mr. Darcy and I are looking forward to a visit from our friends Steve & Jen & Audrey too!
Have a Happy Thursday, everyone! Friday is right around the corner!
But, it really was a beautiful morning - the sky is clear and blue, the air is crisp, and with sweatpants, a hat, gloves, a shirt and a fleece it felt like 70 instead of the upper 30s/lower 40s! Tomorrow is supposed to be a swim day, but I haven't quite made it to the store to replace my errant goggles and it's supposed to be another chilly morning, so I may substitute a bike workout instead.... especially since I'm either coming down with a slight head cold or my sinuses are continuously upset with the chilly weather that warms up to around 70 each day. I don't want to tempt a cold to come on. But, it's still tempting to jump in the pool and swim even if it's not heated. We'll have to see what wins out tomorrow.
Ladybug did well with the potty training yesterday and yesterday evening and this morning ANGELFISH peed on the potty! She rocks! I just have to get Mr. Darcy to be more excited and act more like a cheerleader when she goes. Of course, such things lead to the girls catching me going to the bathroom and telling me, "You went pee pee in the potty Mommy! You're such a good girl! What a big girl you're getting to be! I'm so proud of you. Let me give you a hug and a kiss." (Literally. This happened 2 days ago.) All the while they're clapping and smiling - just like I do when they go. What more can we ask for? Hopefully a few less sofa surprises - last night I asked Ladybug if she needed to go potty and she tells me no. A few moments later she gets up to hug me and her pants were all wet along with a puddle on the sofa. I guess she didn't need to go because she already went on the sofa! Luckily we have leather sofas so it wasn't too hard to clean up... the parenthood adventure continues!
The girls are looking forward to this Saturday when we "go to Mickey Minnie house" with our friends "Audey," "Miss Jen" & "Mr. teve." Mr. Darcy and I are looking forward to a visit from our friends Steve & Jen & Audrey too!
Have a Happy Thursday, everyone! Friday is right around the corner!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Wind chill factor?
This morning I did a 33 minute bike ride. Not sure if I am just getting faster in general or if I was just so cold that I had to pedal faster, but I did my 40 minute route in only 33 minutes and well, since it was under 40 degrees and I was wearing biking shorts, 2 sport shirts (one long sleeve), and an insulated vest, and my legs were bright pink and a bit number. I think I may need to invest in a pair of long biking pants. It took 45 minutes for my legs to no longer look like they were pink. Frostbite in Florida? Not sure if that's possible, but I don't want to chance it.
As usual, my bike rides are very cathartic. I never come back home without an even cheerier disposition than when I left on the ride. Biking rocks! I got home as the girls and Mr. Darcy were leaving (he had a meeting at 9 pm at UCF so he didn't have to leave as earlier as usual because he didn't go into downtown first) and they were wearing sweaters with mittens. Mr. Darcy couldn't get them to wear their winter hats. Angelfish saw me getting off my bike and she asked "you go run now?" I told her no that I just finished with my bike ride and today was only a one sport day. With that, she ran into the garage and jumped on her little bike and rode it right down to the bottom of the drive where Mr. Darcy stopped her. She wanted to go for a ride! The only way we could get her into the car was to promise we could go on a ride later. So, I know what we'll be doing after work/school today!
On the potty training front, parts of the day are going well and others are not as much. Sometimes Ladybug is realizing she has to go almost right before she actually goes. So, it's still a start and she is showing promise. Her daycare teacher said that Ladybug is doing really well and that we all want it to happen overnight, but that it just doesn't go as fast as we want. And Ms. Anita is wonderful (not to mention that she has 5 children of her own), so I'm sure I just need to be more patient!
Tomorrow is a run day... so we shall hope for warmer weather!
As usual, my bike rides are very cathartic. I never come back home without an even cheerier disposition than when I left on the ride. Biking rocks! I got home as the girls and Mr. Darcy were leaving (he had a meeting at 9 pm at UCF so he didn't have to leave as earlier as usual because he didn't go into downtown first) and they were wearing sweaters with mittens. Mr. Darcy couldn't get them to wear their winter hats. Angelfish saw me getting off my bike and she asked "you go run now?" I told her no that I just finished with my bike ride and today was only a one sport day. With that, she ran into the garage and jumped on her little bike and rode it right down to the bottom of the drive where Mr. Darcy stopped her. She wanted to go for a ride! The only way we could get her into the car was to promise we could go on a ride later. So, I know what we'll be doing after work/school today!
On the potty training front, parts of the day are going well and others are not as much. Sometimes Ladybug is realizing she has to go almost right before she actually goes. So, it's still a start and she is showing promise. Her daycare teacher said that Ladybug is doing really well and that we all want it to happen overnight, but that it just doesn't go as fast as we want. And Ms. Anita is wonderful (not to mention that she has 5 children of her own), so I'm sure I just need to be more patient!
Tomorrow is a run day... so we shall hope for warmer weather!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
My goggles broke!
It was rather cold this morning and it was supposed to be a swim day. I love swim days, so I decided to wait until this afternoon in the hopes that the weather would be warm enough. The pool was still frigid when I got there this afternoon at a little after 2 pm, but I figured I walked 7 minutes to get there I might as well jump in... and then my goggles' strap broke. I tied the strap, tried to put them on again and they broke again (this time in 2 places) so I tied both of those places and tried one last time and the strap broke a 4th time. All this while I'd been standing in the really cold pool water up to my knees on the 2nd step into the pool, and well, my feet were numb. I decided this was a form a divine intervention that obviously meant I should not swim today (as my goggles are now completely useless and I need to go get new ones).
So, instead (no - I didn't just let myself off the hook for the day, although it was tempting due to my frustrations with the goggles), I did a 45 minute walk that included a 5 minute run. Only 5 minutes because I'm trying to let my shin splints completely heal up. Oh, and I found literature online that indicates my theory about high heels and shint splints is true. I found some extra stretches that should hopefully help too.
As for Ladybug's potty training we're zig zaging, it seems. She had only one accident yesterday at school but insisted on wearing pullups again this morning. I wish she would make up her mind. I read that this is more stressful for the parent than the child, and I believe it now!
So, instead (no - I didn't just let myself off the hook for the day, although it was tempting due to my frustrations with the goggles), I did a 45 minute walk that included a 5 minute run. Only 5 minutes because I'm trying to let my shin splints completely heal up. Oh, and I found literature online that indicates my theory about high heels and shint splints is true. I found some extra stretches that should hopefully help too.
As for Ladybug's potty training we're zig zaging, it seems. She had only one accident yesterday at school but insisted on wearing pullups again this morning. I wish she would make up her mind. I read that this is more stressful for the parent than the child, and I believe it now!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Weekend workouts and Monday morning...
Hi everyone. Sorry for the weekend hiatus on postings... it was a busy (but fun) weekend that did not entail getting a chance to be on the computer. Saturday morning I got up with the chickens (not really, but it sure seemed like it... it was more like 6:30 am), both girls and Mr. Darcy were still sleeping, and jumped on the bike. I decided that since I'll be racing on open roads that perhaps I should venture out of our subdivision. So, I eased into it. I did the 1st 1.5 miles in the neighborhood starting with the usual loop and then turned right instead of left at the exit of the subdivision and I was off! I went past the high school (Timbercreek), past the shopping center with Starbucks, ColdStone and Little Anthony's and went into a subdivision called Bella Vida. I did the big loop of the outer portion of their subdivision (probably 2 miles), and then back out to Avalon Parkway (or whatever it's called). Had to stop at the traffic light and darn if my right foot didn't pop out of the binding even though I didn't think I turned my foot at all. I REALLY need to figure out how to tighten that binding. I'll be out there with the hex wrench later today. The light turned green right after my right foot popped out. So I had to peddle with my feet not clipped in. But as I got myself out of the intersection and into the bike lane, I was able to pop my feet back in with no problems. Then I continued back into the subdivision and went down to the village area (where the shops are), rode by the Village Green where they were setting up the Farmer's Market for the day. It's kind of fun to observe that kind of thing while riding by - like a little vinette of someone's morning. Then the normal loop to get home. A nice 40 minute ride.
When I got home, the girls were having breakfast at the table and Mr. Darcy was looking disheveled while making coffee. I chatted with the girls and they informed me that I looked cold even though I was hot and sweaty. I told them I was hot and Angelfish offered me some ice. I love how their minds work.... they're so imaginative and creative at this age. Then Mommy got ready to go shopping with her friend Jen and Daddy got the girls ready to go to the park with Nick, Alex and Colin. Unfortunately, the girls refused to nap so when Mommy got home Mr. Darcy was at his wits end. He had 1/2 an hour of alone time and then we went to Kim's house for their neighborhood barbeque and so Bill could talk with Kim and Sean about the house they want to build.
Sunday, it was 50 degrees when I got up to swim and run. I was exhausted so I decided that I would make Sunday my off day and do the run (the required piece) on Monday. I went back to bed and didn't wake up until 8 am when the little ladies woke us. It was great! We had breakfast and played and watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode, after which the girls asked if we could go to Mickey's house. So, we decided to pile in the car and go to Animal Kingdom. We had a blast! The weather was cool (high of 67) and compared to other times of the year the park was relatively empty. We got some great pictures of the girls! Mr. Darcy rode the Mount Everest rollercoaster and loved it - we tried to keep an eye for him and take a picture, but we're not positive it was him that we took a picture of! Evidently, though, our mistake was that we didn't take the girls on the safari ride. We took them out on the train to the conservation station where they pet goats, a tortoise and a Malaysian rodent (with subsequent hand washing, of course), but that evidently was not enough. On our way out of the park (which was precipitated by a flurry of pushing, kicking and pulling of hair by the two people riding in the stroller), Ladybug informed us that she wanted to see a tiger, a bear, and giraffe and didn't want to leave until she did. Unfortunately, we had to explain that even in Animal Kingdom they didn't have tigers and bears, but Mr. Darcy mentioned they might have some lazy lions. So then we had the chant from both Angelfish and Ladybug to see the lazy lions. Somehow we distracted them and the ride home was spent with Ladybug and Angelfish making up stories (very creative ones at that) and songs for the ride home.
This morning (Monday) was colder than yesterday morning, so no swimming. I couldn't bring myself to do a cold pool this morning. BUT, the good news is that I decided to put my legs to the test and see how my shins were doing. I walked 5 minutes, ran 10 and walked another 5. I think I will keep to walking for the rest of this week, but am pleased to report that the pain after stopping was just a twinge and very short lived. It's amazing how easy it is to run when it's colder, by the way.
On the potty training front, Ladybug didn't want to wear underpants (only pull ups) all weekend and after Friday night (which btw on Friday she had no accidents at school and the 1 she had at home was because she was just a little too late in getting to the potty but she recognized she needed to go while we were playing and stopped to try to get there), she didn't even want to use the potty. This morning she asked to wear pullups not underwear. So I feel like we're going backward instead of forward after all our progress on Friday. Perhaps we will get potty trained eventually.
Oh, and all you Gator fans will be happy to know that whenever Angelfish & Ladybug saw an alligator at Animal Kingdom I would ask "what do we say when we see a Gator?" and they would respond "Go Gators!" (and Ladybug would even do the Gator chomp with her arms)... Little Gators in training! Happy Monday!
When I got home, the girls were having breakfast at the table and Mr. Darcy was looking disheveled while making coffee. I chatted with the girls and they informed me that I looked cold even though I was hot and sweaty. I told them I was hot and Angelfish offered me some ice. I love how their minds work.... they're so imaginative and creative at this age. Then Mommy got ready to go shopping with her friend Jen and Daddy got the girls ready to go to the park with Nick, Alex and Colin. Unfortunately, the girls refused to nap so when Mommy got home Mr. Darcy was at his wits end. He had 1/2 an hour of alone time and then we went to Kim's house for their neighborhood barbeque and so Bill could talk with Kim and Sean about the house they want to build.
Sunday, it was 50 degrees when I got up to swim and run. I was exhausted so I decided that I would make Sunday my off day and do the run (the required piece) on Monday. I went back to bed and didn't wake up until 8 am when the little ladies woke us. It was great! We had breakfast and played and watched a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode, after which the girls asked if we could go to Mickey's house. So, we decided to pile in the car and go to Animal Kingdom. We had a blast! The weather was cool (high of 67) and compared to other times of the year the park was relatively empty. We got some great pictures of the girls! Mr. Darcy rode the Mount Everest rollercoaster and loved it - we tried to keep an eye for him and take a picture, but we're not positive it was him that we took a picture of! Evidently, though, our mistake was that we didn't take the girls on the safari ride. We took them out on the train to the conservation station where they pet goats, a tortoise and a Malaysian rodent (with subsequent hand washing, of course), but that evidently was not enough. On our way out of the park (which was precipitated by a flurry of pushing, kicking and pulling of hair by the two people riding in the stroller), Ladybug informed us that she wanted to see a tiger, a bear, and giraffe and didn't want to leave until she did. Unfortunately, we had to explain that even in Animal Kingdom they didn't have tigers and bears, but Mr. Darcy mentioned they might have some lazy lions. So then we had the chant from both Angelfish and Ladybug to see the lazy lions. Somehow we distracted them and the ride home was spent with Ladybug and Angelfish making up stories (very creative ones at that) and songs for the ride home.
This morning (Monday) was colder than yesterday morning, so no swimming. I couldn't bring myself to do a cold pool this morning. BUT, the good news is that I decided to put my legs to the test and see how my shins were doing. I walked 5 minutes, ran 10 and walked another 5. I think I will keep to walking for the rest of this week, but am pleased to report that the pain after stopping was just a twinge and very short lived. It's amazing how easy it is to run when it's colder, by the way.
On the potty training front, Ladybug didn't want to wear underpants (only pull ups) all weekend and after Friday night (which btw on Friday she had no accidents at school and the 1 she had at home was because she was just a little too late in getting to the potty but she recognized she needed to go while we were playing and stopped to try to get there), she didn't even want to use the potty. This morning she asked to wear pullups not underwear. So I feel like we're going backward instead of forward after all our progress on Friday. Perhaps we will get potty trained eventually.
Oh, and all you Gator fans will be happy to know that whenever Angelfish & Ladybug saw an alligator at Animal Kingdom I would ask "what do we say when we see a Gator?" and they would respond "Go Gators!" (and Ladybug would even do the Gator chomp with her arms)... Little Gators in training! Happy Monday!
Friday, November 14, 2008
A good day in the pool and on the bike...
It is a gloriously nice day in Orlando today. The sun is shining and the sky is blue and so far it's not super hot. Of course, it is expected to reach 84 today so it will be hot. But that keeps the pool from being so cold, so I really shouldn't complain!
I swam 1 mile and then hopped on the bike for a 30 minute ride (so probably about 7 miles+). It was great! I don't know if a lot of people took the day off today, but there wasn't as much of the usual car traffick this morning so the bike ride was even better than normal. And I passed the same woman I seem to pass almost every morning with the very yippy Collies. This woman wears a huge hat that covers her face and generally a baggy long sleeve sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants. I can't help but think to myself every time I see her that 1) I'm glad she walks her dogs on a leash because I think they'd try to bite me if they could; and 2) she has to be hot under all of that gear! But I digress... the swim bike combo is my favorite workout by far. Now if only I could like running as much, but I have to admit while I still don't like it, running is growing on me (like a fungus!)... when I don't have shin splints that is. : ) Oh, and I have a theory about my shin splints. I think my shin splints might be directly related to my wearing heels for all these years. I know that wearing heels does something to the calf muscles (I think it makes them be in a tightened, shortened position) and tight calves are directly related to shin splints. I think I may be on to something here, but if only I could find a way to discover if I'm right!
Anywho. On the other training front: Megan had a successful potty morning. I decided not to take no for an answer this morning about the potty. I walked her into the bathroom and told her I wanted her to go potty. She told me no, so I prepared her to sit on the potty and placed her there. She cried and said no, and I told her calmly that it was her decision, but that if she did not go pee on the potty that she would have to wear a pull up to school that morning. I also told her that Ms. Alizette (one of her teachers) told me that she goes potty for her at school and asked why she would go for Ms. Alizette and not for Mommy. (I wanted her to connect the idea that going potty can be applied everywhere.) And then I bribed her. I told her that if she went pee on the potty not only could she wear underpants but she could also have a sticker (the holy grail in our house right now is stickers). She told me to "get out of the potty room, please" and I asked her if she wanted privacy and she said yes. So, I went just outside of the bathroom and she put the potty seat back on the potty, climbed up and went PEE! YAY!! It was great! So, she got lots of praise and hugs and kisses (and she looked very pleased with herself as well) and 2 star stickers too. It was so cute because after she got the stickers, she asked if Amanda could have a sticker and I told her that stickers were for going pee or poop in the potty. So she walks up to Amanda and shows her the stickers, and says "You no want stickers too? Hmm?" (Megan says Hmm? just like yoda. I love it!) Amanda says "yes!" and Megan tells her "Go pee in potty!" Unfortunately, at that point Amanda decided she was more interested in eating. But 1 out of 2 isn't bad!
I swam 1 mile and then hopped on the bike for a 30 minute ride (so probably about 7 miles+). It was great! I don't know if a lot of people took the day off today, but there wasn't as much of the usual car traffick this morning so the bike ride was even better than normal. And I passed the same woman I seem to pass almost every morning with the very yippy Collies. This woman wears a huge hat that covers her face and generally a baggy long sleeve sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants. I can't help but think to myself every time I see her that 1) I'm glad she walks her dogs on a leash because I think they'd try to bite me if they could; and 2) she has to be hot under all of that gear! But I digress... the swim bike combo is my favorite workout by far. Now if only I could like running as much, but I have to admit while I still don't like it, running is growing on me (like a fungus!)... when I don't have shin splints that is. : ) Oh, and I have a theory about my shin splints. I think my shin splints might be directly related to my wearing heels for all these years. I know that wearing heels does something to the calf muscles (I think it makes them be in a tightened, shortened position) and tight calves are directly related to shin splints. I think I may be on to something here, but if only I could find a way to discover if I'm right!
Anywho. On the other training front: Megan had a successful potty morning. I decided not to take no for an answer this morning about the potty. I walked her into the bathroom and told her I wanted her to go potty. She told me no, so I prepared her to sit on the potty and placed her there. She cried and said no, and I told her calmly that it was her decision, but that if she did not go pee on the potty that she would have to wear a pull up to school that morning. I also told her that Ms. Alizette (one of her teachers) told me that she goes potty for her at school and asked why she would go for Ms. Alizette and not for Mommy. (I wanted her to connect the idea that going potty can be applied everywhere.) And then I bribed her. I told her that if she went pee on the potty not only could she wear underpants but she could also have a sticker (the holy grail in our house right now is stickers). She told me to "get out of the potty room, please" and I asked her if she wanted privacy and she said yes. So, I went just outside of the bathroom and she put the potty seat back on the potty, climbed up and went PEE! YAY!! It was great! So, she got lots of praise and hugs and kisses (and she looked very pleased with herself as well) and 2 star stickers too. It was so cute because after she got the stickers, she asked if Amanda could have a sticker and I told her that stickers were for going pee or poop in the potty. So she walks up to Amanda and shows her the stickers, and says "You no want stickers too? Hmm?" (Megan says Hmm? just like yoda. I love it!) Amanda says "yes!" and Megan tells her "Go pee in potty!" Unfortunately, at that point Amanda decided she was more interested in eating. But 1 out of 2 isn't bad!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
OUCH!
So, turns out that tomorrow is pool day on my training schedule (followed by a bike ride). Today was supposed to be a 5 minute walk followed by 10 minutes of alternating walking 60 seconds running 30 seconds and then a 5 minute cooldown. Well, I did a 25 minute walk and 5 minute cooldown due to my shin splints. I thought they wouldn't hurt too badly today since I had a little time off, but instead today my left leg decided to throb about 3/4 of the way. I was tempted to run a little bit because my music was so good, but I think my run lasted all of 20 seconds because it hurt too much. But, the good news is that it will heal. A little ice and advil will do wonders! I just hope I'm able to run by the time Turkey Trot comes on Thanksgiving. If not, I may just walk the 5K instead of running it.
On the potty training front, Ladybug has had a bit of a set back. Yesterday she had 4 potty accidents at school and this morning she peed all over our foyer while announcing that she was going pee rather gleefully (unfortunately we were in the kitchen and didn't get to her in time to get her to stop and sit on the potty for the rest of it). We ended up getting her to sit on the potty afterwards and then had to put her in a pull up because she kept saying that she wasn't going to tell anyone when she had to go pee. Not sure what we're supposed to do in these situations. I suppose we'll figure it out as we go (at least I sure hope so)!
I can't wait to swim tomorrow! It's hot here in ol' Florida!
On the potty training front, Ladybug has had a bit of a set back. Yesterday she had 4 potty accidents at school and this morning she peed all over our foyer while announcing that she was going pee rather gleefully (unfortunately we were in the kitchen and didn't get to her in time to get her to stop and sit on the potty for the rest of it). We ended up getting her to sit on the potty afterwards and then had to put her in a pull up because she kept saying that she wasn't going to tell anyone when she had to go pee. Not sure what we're supposed to do in these situations. I suppose we'll figure it out as we go (at least I sure hope so)!
I can't wait to swim tomorrow! It's hot here in ol' Florida!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
I'm back and so is the hot weather...
So it's been a couple of days... sorry for the hiatus. Saturday I did not work out because I headed to the airport for my morning flight to Atlanta where I was for training... I'm a Regional Director of Recruitment for the Southeast for Alpha Xi Delta (my sorority) and I had to find out what I was supposed to be doing. It's going to be fun and challenging, but a good bit of work. The weather was cold compared to Florida, but beautiful fall foliage and chilly evenings are what Fall is all about. Sunday morning I walked with my friend Nealy for 45 minutes (it was chilly... my hands were a little numb at first) and had plans to hit the pool at the hotel at some point, until I found out that the outdoor pool was not heated. Temperatures in the 50s and an unheated pool just didn't work for me (despite the fact I've probably done it on a brisk morning here), especially when I could have lunch with my friend Nazrina instead! Monday was my normal day off from the workouts (last Monday I worked out to make this past Saturday my day off) and unfortunately I didn't get to workout yesterday because Mr. Bill was in Richmond with work and our refrigerator was on the fritz again so between getting that fixed, getting the girls to school, working all day, restocking the refrigerator, and being with the girls in the evening - no workout.
But this morning, I had a nice 40 minute bike ride and did about 10 - 11 miles. The weather is so warm here it was in the mid-60s while biking this morning and the high is supposed to be around 81 today. But, it made for a good ride (although I was sweaty by the end of it). Nothing eventful on the ride other than being successful at stopping without accidentally unclipping both of my feet from the pedals (until I started going again - I need to figure out how to tighten the clip in pedal part so it's not so easy - biking without using your feet is a bit of a problem). Someday I'll get it. I'm getting there as it is and loving every minute. I also practiced taking the turns at faster speeds... I stopped breaking into the turn weeks ago and have been leaning in to the turns, but now I'm trying to do it faster. Lance Armstrong I am not, but maybe someday (but female of course... Lancita perhaps?)!
I think tomorrow will involve the pool...
On the potty training front (yes, the pool water made me think of it), Ladybug is doing rather well although it's a little perplexing. She's wearing her underpants all day at school (with only 1 accident each day so far), but she refuses to go potty at home. It makes no sense to me, but I know it is common among the toddler set. I figure that this week I will let her wear the pull ups in the evenings at home and then next week we'll start with the underpants (and perhaps plastic sheeting for the sofa - just joking!) in the evenings too. Baby steps. Now if only Angelfish would get on the band wagon too. She wants to wear underpants but only over her pullup!
But this morning, I had a nice 40 minute bike ride and did about 10 - 11 miles. The weather is so warm here it was in the mid-60s while biking this morning and the high is supposed to be around 81 today. But, it made for a good ride (although I was sweaty by the end of it). Nothing eventful on the ride other than being successful at stopping without accidentally unclipping both of my feet from the pedals (until I started going again - I need to figure out how to tighten the clip in pedal part so it's not so easy - biking without using your feet is a bit of a problem). Someday I'll get it. I'm getting there as it is and loving every minute. I also practiced taking the turns at faster speeds... I stopped breaking into the turn weeks ago and have been leaning in to the turns, but now I'm trying to do it faster. Lance Armstrong I am not, but maybe someday (but female of course... Lancita perhaps?)!
I think tomorrow will involve the pool...
On the potty training front (yes, the pool water made me think of it), Ladybug is doing rather well although it's a little perplexing. She's wearing her underpants all day at school (with only 1 accident each day so far), but she refuses to go potty at home. It makes no sense to me, but I know it is common among the toddler set. I figure that this week I will let her wear the pull ups in the evenings at home and then next week we'll start with the underpants (and perhaps plastic sheeting for the sofa - just joking!) in the evenings too. Baby steps. Now if only Angelfish would get on the band wagon too. She wants to wear underpants but only over her pullup!
Friday, November 7, 2008
A bright sunny day...
So with the change in time has come brighter mornings for working out. This morning I hit the pool and swam just under a mile and then biked for 25 minutes. While I set out a little later than some other mornings, I was startled while swimming to realize that I wasn't watching the sunrise as I breathed during laps... instead the sun was bright and up over head. It was a nice change of pace! Of course, that means that it's darker earlier (i.e. when I get the girls from daycare around 4:30 it's already getting darker), but it was rather cheery especially after yesterdays news. Plus it wasn't nearly as chilly for the bike portion of my morning workout. I must say I love my newly improved bike. I feel like I can ride for miles!
Last night we went to dinner with the girls and tried a new (to us anyway) pizza place called Little Anthony's. It is the best pizza we have had since we left Atlanta and the prices were reasonable too! So, we finally have found that family pizza joint here in Orlando. On the way to dinner Ladybug and Angelfish were whining for juice. Angelfish piped down after 5 times of our telling her that she could have her juice when we got to the restaurant, but Ladybug continued. I finally (after the 20th time of hearing it) told her that I heard her and I understood that she wanted her juice and I promised that I would not forget that she wanted her juice and that as soon as we got to the restaurant Mommy would be certain to give her the juice, but that Mommy would much prefer it if she did not keep repeating it. The best part was Ladybug's response, which was "Ok. Mommy in charge." And then Angelfish of course had to stick up for Daddy, as though his authority had been impuned and said "Daddy in charge too." Mr. Darcy and I laughed and said that both Mommy and Daddy were in charge... to which Angelfish replied "I in charge too." I asked her if she was in charge of Angelfish land and she said with a big smile "YES!" and then I asked Ladybug if she were in charge of Ladybug land and she said "OH YES!" and we all had a good chuckle.
Ladybug will be starting uncharted territory this coming Monday... her daycare has asked us if (with our permission) Ladybug can start wearing "big girl underwear" instead of pullups because they really think she is ready because she does such a great job of going potty at school. So this evening she and Mommy (and Daddy and Angelfish if they want to go) are going to buy her some big girl underwear. As Elmo on Elmo's Potty Time says, "Hurrah for underpants!" I'll keep you posted on, I'm sure (and I'm certain it's exactly what you want to know about - triathlon and potty training all rolled into one... but that's life in our household at the moment!!).
Happy Friday!
Last night we went to dinner with the girls and tried a new (to us anyway) pizza place called Little Anthony's. It is the best pizza we have had since we left Atlanta and the prices were reasonable too! So, we finally have found that family pizza joint here in Orlando. On the way to dinner Ladybug and Angelfish were whining for juice. Angelfish piped down after 5 times of our telling her that she could have her juice when we got to the restaurant, but Ladybug continued. I finally (after the 20th time of hearing it) told her that I heard her and I understood that she wanted her juice and I promised that I would not forget that she wanted her juice and that as soon as we got to the restaurant Mommy would be certain to give her the juice, but that Mommy would much prefer it if she did not keep repeating it. The best part was Ladybug's response, which was "Ok. Mommy in charge." And then Angelfish of course had to stick up for Daddy, as though his authority had been impuned and said "Daddy in charge too." Mr. Darcy and I laughed and said that both Mommy and Daddy were in charge... to which Angelfish replied "I in charge too." I asked her if she was in charge of Angelfish land and she said with a big smile "YES!" and then I asked Ladybug if she were in charge of Ladybug land and she said "OH YES!" and we all had a good chuckle.
Ladybug will be starting uncharted territory this coming Monday... her daycare has asked us if (with our permission) Ladybug can start wearing "big girl underwear" instead of pullups because they really think she is ready because she does such a great job of going potty at school. So this evening she and Mommy (and Daddy and Angelfish if they want to go) are going to buy her some big girl underwear. As Elmo on Elmo's Potty Time says, "Hurrah for underpants!" I'll keep you posted on, I'm sure (and I'm certain it's exactly what you want to know about - triathlon and potty training all rolled into one... but that's life in our household at the moment!!).
Happy Friday!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Return of the Shin Splints
It's like a bad version of the Star Wars movies, although I'm really hoping this won't turn into a trilogy (or even worse a six movie saga)... my shin splints are back. Luckily though this time it's only in one leg (the left). I thought they might be making a return, but I didn't want to believe it... but this morning I did a 5 minute walking warm up and intervals of 30 second sprint and then walking back to the start (essentially 15 minutes worth of them) and then a 5 minute walk cool down. By the time I started stretching my legs at the end of the workout, I knew. So, I'll be on advil and ice and walking only for my "run" workouts the next few weeks (probably 4 weeks because evidently the 2 1/2 weeks wasn't long enough last time). Good news though is that my 1st sprint triathlon isn't until February 1st... long enough to recover and get back into it for the big day.
But, I know I can do it. As some of you know one of my dearest friends on this earth is battling cancer right now. She has been my friend since the 1st day of 7th grade when she asked if she could sit next to me in English class and another friend decided to sit with a different person in class and our other friend was late to class. I just could say no - she was new (it was a small school) and she looked a little lost. As fate would have it, we were inseparable from that point forward... pretty much until we graduated and even after we have stayed very close. It's always been nice to have someone who knew you in the awkward, gawky, braces stage and who you have such a history with. For an only child, she has always been the closest thing to a sibling that I've had - we had our tiffs and yet we always looked out for one another and as adults I think we love each other all the more for all those memories (both as kids and the ones we've made in our post-childhood years). Unfortunately, her cancer has not responded to chemo and radiation and due to where it is located is inoperable as well. She is a private person, so I hope she's not feeling upset that I've mentioned this all in my blog. I just needed to talk about it I guess, but also to express that she is my inspiration to do not only the sprint triathlon but also to take on the international distance triathlon that I will do in order to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For all that she has gone through, I know that my triathlon experience will not even come close to comparing to what she endures or for that matter what her husband, parents and sister endure. I love her more than trees (if she reads this she'll understand... it's one of those childhood things between us) and I know I can't do anything to change what she is going through even though I so desparately want to. My fundraising for cancer research and support services for cancer patients and their families is only a drop in the bucket, but at least I can try to do something... so if you (the readers of this blog) would like to help add to my drops in the bucket (if you haven't already), please donate in support of cancer patients like my friend and their/her families as well as my triathlon endeavors via the following website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/miatri09/kmartinmou I will be eternally grateful. I know I am blessed to know my friend like I do and I hope I make her proud as well as earn money for cancer research.
God bless you all!
But, I know I can do it. As some of you know one of my dearest friends on this earth is battling cancer right now. She has been my friend since the 1st day of 7th grade when she asked if she could sit next to me in English class and another friend decided to sit with a different person in class and our other friend was late to class. I just could say no - she was new (it was a small school) and she looked a little lost. As fate would have it, we were inseparable from that point forward... pretty much until we graduated and even after we have stayed very close. It's always been nice to have someone who knew you in the awkward, gawky, braces stage and who you have such a history with. For an only child, she has always been the closest thing to a sibling that I've had - we had our tiffs and yet we always looked out for one another and as adults I think we love each other all the more for all those memories (both as kids and the ones we've made in our post-childhood years). Unfortunately, her cancer has not responded to chemo and radiation and due to where it is located is inoperable as well. She is a private person, so I hope she's not feeling upset that I've mentioned this all in my blog. I just needed to talk about it I guess, but also to express that she is my inspiration to do not only the sprint triathlon but also to take on the international distance triathlon that I will do in order to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. For all that she has gone through, I know that my triathlon experience will not even come close to comparing to what she endures or for that matter what her husband, parents and sister endure. I love her more than trees (if she reads this she'll understand... it's one of those childhood things between us) and I know I can't do anything to change what she is going through even though I so desparately want to. My fundraising for cancer research and support services for cancer patients and their families is only a drop in the bucket, but at least I can try to do something... so if you (the readers of this blog) would like to help add to my drops in the bucket (if you haven't already), please donate in support of cancer patients like my friend and their/her families as well as my triathlon endeavors via the following website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/miatri09/kmartinmou I will be eternally grateful. I know I am blessed to know my friend like I do and I hope I make her proud as well as earn money for cancer research.
God bless you all!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
I love to bike!
Yes, it is true. I love to bike! I never biked as a child really, and for the life of me I have no idea why. I learned to ride my cute little turquoise blue and white bike and got a few scrapes from falls on the rocky asphalt of the street that I lived on, but I never really did any bike riding. Even in college... I walked everywhere. Mr. Darcy loved his bike and rode it all over campus and in fact, Bill had to convince me to buy our bikes this past summer. And now I am addicted to riding! I love the sound and the feel of the wind as I bike and the fact that I enjoy the exertion as well as the scenery. For some reason, I don't feel the same way when running. With running it's just hard for me and I don't really notice the scenery other than to pick my next goal of what to run to so I can get through it.
So, as you might have guessed, today was a biking day for training. 40 minutes and probably about 10 miles in Big Gear 3 and Little Gear 4. I really should probably join a biking club so I can find out the right terminology for all these things... I just need to find one that is encouraging to newbies. Our neighbor told Mr. Darcy that the first time she did a road race people made fun of her because she had a kickstand on her bike and had left the little bag with the flat tire kit and pump on her bike. How encouraging is that? But I think I might try to find a group at some point... perhaps after the Teams in Training Triathlon in May. Focus on one thing at a time!
So, as you might have guessed, today was a biking day for training. 40 minutes and probably about 10 miles in Big Gear 3 and Little Gear 4. I really should probably join a biking club so I can find out the right terminology for all these things... I just need to find one that is encouraging to newbies. Our neighbor told Mr. Darcy that the first time she did a road race people made fun of her because she had a kickstand on her bike and had left the little bag with the flat tire kit and pump on her bike. How encouraging is that? But I think I might try to find a group at some point... perhaps after the Teams in Training Triathlon in May. Focus on one thing at a time!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting in Florida and still getting to run
So today is Election Day. The day the political parties have been preparing for for what seems like years now. We got up, got Angelfish and Ladybug ready for school (Angelfish looked very cute in her pink pants and flower top; Ladybug is on a dress kick so she wore a pink Minnie Mouse dress with turquoise shorts underneath - she picks her own clothes these days... and while not what I would pick she still looks like a cutie!), took them to daycare and got to the polling place at 7:25 am. It opened at 7 am. Back in our Georgia voting days, that would not have resulted in a very long wait - an hour at most. BUT NO.
THis is Florida. The home of the infamous hanging chads. We waited in line to vote for THREE & A HALF HOURS. That's right - 3 1/2 hours or 210 minutes. (As Bill put it, we could have watched a movie while we waited.) Luckily, I had dressed in my running garb because I thought I might have time to run after voting... well, there happened to be a walking path next to the line we were waiting in and my lovely husband decided he was secure enough in his manhood to hold my purse for me - so I skipped the 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down, and ran for 10 minutes and came back into the line. He had only moved about 3 feet forward, so I probably could have done it a 2nd time but I could tell that he wasn't thrilled with holding my purse. So, at least I got a run in even if it wasn't very long!
And eventually, I even got to vote. Why did it take so long to vote? There was ONE voting machine. (We had actually both tried to early vote last week and the lines were 2 1/2 hours long then... if only we had known!) We asked one of the poll workers if she knew why they only had one machine and she told us that they requested another one from the state and they were told no. Absolutely ridiculous. BUT, we still voted. So, if things don't turn out the way we like we have the right to complain all we want...
SO GET OUT AND VOTE (if you haven't done so already)!!
THis is Florida. The home of the infamous hanging chads. We waited in line to vote for THREE & A HALF HOURS. That's right - 3 1/2 hours or 210 minutes. (As Bill put it, we could have watched a movie while we waited.) Luckily, I had dressed in my running garb because I thought I might have time to run after voting... well, there happened to be a walking path next to the line we were waiting in and my lovely husband decided he was secure enough in his manhood to hold my purse for me - so I skipped the 5 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down, and ran for 10 minutes and came back into the line. He had only moved about 3 feet forward, so I probably could have done it a 2nd time but I could tell that he wasn't thrilled with holding my purse. So, at least I got a run in even if it wasn't very long!
And eventually, I even got to vote. Why did it take so long to vote? There was ONE voting machine. (We had actually both tried to early vote last week and the lines were 2 1/2 hours long then... if only we had known!) We asked one of the poll workers if she knew why they only had one machine and she told us that they requested another one from the state and they were told no. Absolutely ridiculous. BUT, we still voted. So, if things don't turn out the way we like we have the right to complain all we want...
SO GET OUT AND VOTE (if you haven't done so already)!!
Mixed Bag of Training Tricks (Sat. through Mon.)
So, it's a mixed bag when it comes to my training the past few days. I found out that I was overestimating how far I've been biking... but I also discovered that the pool is pretty much twice as long as I thought it was so I've been doing distances that are twice as long as I thought I was doing (so I'm not so super slow after all! Yay!) The good news on the biking front though is that I went to the bike shop (Orange Cycle - if you need to go and Thjis is working he was really helpful) on Friday and got clip in pedals and the shoes to go with it and a more comfortable saddle (along with some other gear like biking gloves so my hands don't hurt as much when I ride, tire changing stuff, etc.). I did a bike on Saturday and on Monday (today) and I am fast compared to before and am biking in harder gears because otherwise it's just too easy for training. Biking with pedals and clip in shoes makes everything so much more efficient that I did my normal route and then added a little over a mile in the same time it used to take to do the original route. I already liked the biking but now it's even better! I also found out that one of my neighbors is big into biking so I'm going to mosey over to her house sometime this week to chat with her a bit.
Sunday I did a 25 minute swim followed by a 20 minute walk run. The pool guy was there testing the chlorine levels and I asked him if he knew how long the pool was and he said "about 25 feet long in each direction"... I didn't quite believe him because I thought it was probably about 12 1/2 feet long, so I paced it off knowing that my foot is around 9 to 10 inches long and adding extra by taking a mid-size step and sure enough, it appears to be around 25 feet long (it might be a foot shy, but close enough). So I felt better about my times from the other day and boy did my workout seem a lot easier than normal! I had bought some triathlon specific clothing (i.e. you can swim, bike and run in it without having to change or add clothes) and tried it out. The shorts were a trip because they have a built in pad like regular bike shorts but not as bulky so it's not like running in a diaper after swimming... but they added boyancy in the pool so I had to adjust to that. Not sure they're as quick drying in the bike pad area as I thought they would be, but then again I went straight from the swim to the run without the biking in between (which probably would help get some of the water out) and it was rainy and cool out during my run. (Amanda asked me if I was going pee pee when I was talking to her after coming in from the workout because a little water was running down my leg.) But I definitely like the tri clothes better than trying to pull running clothes, etc. over a wet bathing suit.
This week's workouts are going to be a little different than usual (i.e. Monday is usually my day off, etc.) because we have voting in the National Election on Tuesday and Saturday through Monday morning I'll be in Atlanta for a different type of training (I'm the regional director for recruitment for the Southeast for my sorority - Alpha Xi Delta). So, I switched Saturday's workout to Monday and am going to try to split my Sunday workout into Saturday and Sunday (although I need to see if the hotel I'm staying at on Sunday has a pool) so I at least do something on those two days even if it's not as intense of a training session as usual. But, fear not my dear friends... tri training will happen!
Sunday I did a 25 minute swim followed by a 20 minute walk run. The pool guy was there testing the chlorine levels and I asked him if he knew how long the pool was and he said "about 25 feet long in each direction"... I didn't quite believe him because I thought it was probably about 12 1/2 feet long, so I paced it off knowing that my foot is around 9 to 10 inches long and adding extra by taking a mid-size step and sure enough, it appears to be around 25 feet long (it might be a foot shy, but close enough). So I felt better about my times from the other day and boy did my workout seem a lot easier than normal! I had bought some triathlon specific clothing (i.e. you can swim, bike and run in it without having to change or add clothes) and tried it out. The shorts were a trip because they have a built in pad like regular bike shorts but not as bulky so it's not like running in a diaper after swimming... but they added boyancy in the pool so I had to adjust to that. Not sure they're as quick drying in the bike pad area as I thought they would be, but then again I went straight from the swim to the run without the biking in between (which probably would help get some of the water out) and it was rainy and cool out during my run. (Amanda asked me if I was going pee pee when I was talking to her after coming in from the workout because a little water was running down my leg.) But I definitely like the tri clothes better than trying to pull running clothes, etc. over a wet bathing suit.
This week's workouts are going to be a little different than usual (i.e. Monday is usually my day off, etc.) because we have voting in the National Election on Tuesday and Saturday through Monday morning I'll be in Atlanta for a different type of training (I'm the regional director for recruitment for the Southeast for my sorority - Alpha Xi Delta). So, I switched Saturday's workout to Monday and am going to try to split my Sunday workout into Saturday and Sunday (although I need to see if the hotel I'm staying at on Sunday has a pool) so I at least do something on those two days even if it's not as intense of a training session as usual. But, fear not my dear friends... tri training will happen!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Ladybug fought the playground and the playground won...
Hi, all. Sorry for the lack of an entry yesterday, but I never quite was able to work out and we had a little trauma in our household. It was cold enough yesterday morning that Mr. Darcy told me he didn't want me to swim until it warmed up a little because he didn't want me getting sick (it was 46 out), so I decided to workout on my lunch break. Well, fate it would seem had other plans. I got a call around 10:30 am yesterday from daycare and Ladybug had slipped while playing with Angelfish on the jungle gym thing (which is made of plastic) and hit her head a little bit on the way down. She hit it just right and somehow had a gash on her face below her eyebrow (right where her brow bone is). So, in a panic I went to get her and take her to the emergency clinic the pediatrician's office suggested since none of the doctors who do stitches were in the office at that time. When I got there it didn't look all that bad but it was open (although it wasn't gushing blood like I thought it would be) so I took her to the clinic. They were great with her, but it was a bit traumatic (probably more so for me in the long term than for her) because they had to strap her arms and legs down on to a board (it looked like a blue papoose) and her head had to be strapped a certain way so that they could get the liquid stitches where they needed to be without getting in her eye or her touching it. But Mighty Ladybug is strong enough that she could bust out, so I had to hold her hands down too while blowing on her face while they were putting the liquid stitches on. The whole time she was crying and yelling "I don't like it Mommy." When they cleaned out the area before doing the stitches, I saw how deep the gash was and I almost started crying but didn't want to scare her. Other than a huge black eye (it's not swollen shut but it's pretty bad) and the steristrips on her face, it's ok now and she was in a good mood today and went to school in her Daisy Duck costume. A different type of cardio work out.
Today was a run day, so after we got the girls in the car finally (poor Mr. Darcy was rather late to work today) I went for a 20 minute session. I walked 5 minutes, ran 10 and walked another 5. It's a slow build up but it's a good one all the same. Eventually I'll be able to go longer. We know I can run 22 minutes if I need to, but they say the slow build is better for building the longer distances. I have the day off today, so in a few minutes I'm heading to daycare for the Halloween parade and the girls' Halloween parties, then I'm going to do a little shopping, have lunch and go to the bike shop to get some things (like a tire change kit, lights, etc.) that I need/want to make riding a bit easier and enjoyable. Tommorrow is scheduled to be a 45 minute ride and I may do an hour to make up for missing yesterday... we shall see.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Today was a run day, so after we got the girls in the car finally (poor Mr. Darcy was rather late to work today) I went for a 20 minute session. I walked 5 minutes, ran 10 and walked another 5. It's a slow build up but it's a good one all the same. Eventually I'll be able to go longer. We know I can run 22 minutes if I need to, but they say the slow build is better for building the longer distances. I have the day off today, so in a few minutes I'm heading to daycare for the Halloween parade and the girls' Halloween parties, then I'm going to do a little shopping, have lunch and go to the bike shop to get some things (like a tire change kit, lights, etc.) that I need/want to make riding a bit easier and enjoyable. Tommorrow is scheduled to be a 45 minute ride and I may do an hour to make up for missing yesterday... we shall see.
Happy Halloween everybody!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
A brisk bike ride...
No worries, I did my workout this morning... I'm just posting later in the day today. Today was a 30 minute bike ride and about 14 miles long in mid40 degree weather. It was a good ride and very cool to see a mist rising from the water retention ponds in the neighborhood (evidently the water was warmer than the air)... rather Halloween like. The drawback? I should have opted for the sweats! I was wondering toward the end of the ride why my leg muscles were so tight today. Turns out they were cold! When I got home and went inside, I realized that my legs were freezing (even to the touch). So, perhaps my "I'll get to hot if I wear sweats" thought before the ride was a little silly. I stretched out really well to make sure that I didn't pull anything, but I have learned my lesson!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
BRRR...
It has gotten a little chilly in the mornings these days. We've hit that time of year that I remember from college.... it's chilly in the morning but by lunchtime it's warm again. SHorts with shirts and sweatshirts! You know it's bad when you go for your swim and the water is actually warmer than the air temperature (but thank goodness all the same because I almost didn't go through with it when I got down to just my bathingsuit, swim cap and goggles). I swam for 20 minutes and then ran for 20 minutes this morning.
Unfortunately, a late start gave me no time afterwards to get a good stretch in (although I did stretch some). I'm definitely seeing an improvement in my running. I was supposed to do an alternating 3 minute run 2 minute walk, but the first time I did it it seemed too easy so I just ran for the full 5 minutes the 2nd time around (and I felt like I could have run longer too...)
So why did I get a late start this morning? Miss Ladybug decided that she did not want to get dressed but instead wanted to sit on the counter in the bathroom and put lotion on (over and over and over again) and wanted to watch Mommy floss and brush. WHen I left the bathroom and turned off the light she demanded that I "come back to bathroom and turn on light"... having to stick to your guns with a 2 year old is very frustrating and makes you feel really mean. But, I eventually got her to the point where I could pick her up and tote her into the kitchen (the girls will be good athletes... they both are super strong and when they're having their fits where they kick you need to watch out!), and since Daddy had a meeting at UCF today he got to handle her from there while I worked out. Go Daddy! Angelfish on the other hand was happy to get dressed, see Daddy, Mommy & Ladybug and eat eggs (the girl is on an egg kick at the moment, but I'm not complaining! last week she ate 6 eggs over 4 days by herself!), play with Minnie and give Mommy kisses when she left. At least it wasn't a morning with 2 screamers!
Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm looking forward to Halloween on Friday! Ladybug and Angelfish can't wait to go "trick treat"... we'll see how it goes!
Unfortunately, a late start gave me no time afterwards to get a good stretch in (although I did stretch some). I'm definitely seeing an improvement in my running. I was supposed to do an alternating 3 minute run 2 minute walk, but the first time I did it it seemed too easy so I just ran for the full 5 minutes the 2nd time around (and I felt like I could have run longer too...)
So why did I get a late start this morning? Miss Ladybug decided that she did not want to get dressed but instead wanted to sit on the counter in the bathroom and put lotion on (over and over and over again) and wanted to watch Mommy floss and brush. WHen I left the bathroom and turned off the light she demanded that I "come back to bathroom and turn on light"... having to stick to your guns with a 2 year old is very frustrating and makes you feel really mean. But, I eventually got her to the point where I could pick her up and tote her into the kitchen (the girls will be good athletes... they both are super strong and when they're having their fits where they kick you need to watch out!), and since Daddy had a meeting at UCF today he got to handle her from there while I worked out. Go Daddy! Angelfish on the other hand was happy to get dressed, see Daddy, Mommy & Ladybug and eat eggs (the girl is on an egg kick at the moment, but I'm not complaining! last week she ate 6 eggs over 4 days by herself!), play with Minnie and give Mommy kisses when she left. At least it wasn't a morning with 2 screamers!
Don't know about the rest of you, but I'm looking forward to Halloween on Friday! Ladybug and Angelfish can't wait to go "trick treat"... we'll see how it goes!
Monday, October 27, 2008
It's Monday!
Well, my Sunday workout didn't happen but since Mondays are supposed to be "off" days, I just switched them up. Today was a brisk 35 minute bike ride. Fall weather actually sort of arrived this morning here in Orlando. While biking it was about 57 degrees... I was actually wearing a light sweatshirt! Whoo hoo! It was about a 7 mile ride, so it was a nice way to start the day.
Of course, the girls refused to wear sweaters or long pants on their way out the door this morning. Ladybug is sticking to her color theme of orange lately. She leaves the house almost always wearing something orange these days. Yesterday was the exception - she insisted on wearing a pink Minnie Mouse dress. Perhaps it was because we spent the day with her grandparents in Mount Dora and she wanted to dress up? Today was blue and purple plaid shorts with a peach colored top. She is definitely no slave to fashion! Angelfish was happy to wear a purple shirt with flowers on it and a pair of jean shorts. She accidentally left her lovie - Minnie Mouse - on the kitchen table so ol' Minnie got a much needed bath today while she was at school. : )
This week should be a bit of a quiet one. But then, you never know!
Of course, the girls refused to wear sweaters or long pants on their way out the door this morning. Ladybug is sticking to her color theme of orange lately. She leaves the house almost always wearing something orange these days. Yesterday was the exception - she insisted on wearing a pink Minnie Mouse dress. Perhaps it was because we spent the day with her grandparents in Mount Dora and she wanted to dress up? Today was blue and purple plaid shorts with a peach colored top. She is definitely no slave to fashion! Angelfish was happy to wear a purple shirt with flowers on it and a pair of jean shorts. She accidentally left her lovie - Minnie Mouse - on the kitchen table so ol' Minnie got a much needed bath today while she was at school. : )
This week should be a bit of a quiet one. But then, you never know!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The day after Gator Gallop...
It's the day after Gator Gallop and I can still move! I wasn't even achy. I ended up staying the night at Lauren's (Mr. Darcyis super cool) because she had an extra ticket to Gator Growl - I haven't been in forever. It was a lot of fun, but a little strange to be on the alumni side of things. Steve Miller Band did a good job and the comedian was pretty funny too, but the ones "back in the day" are still my favorites. So, this morning Lauren and I did a 3 mile walk before I left to come home to Bill and the little bits. When I got home, Mr. Darcy and I decided to take Angelfish and Ladybug to Animal Kingdom. We had a blast. I'm a bit tired from all the walking with that, but it was great. The girls loved the animals (although Ladybug wasn't overly thrilled with the end of the safari ride when you go at 35 mph and there are gun shots because you're supposedly chasing poachers) and we were able to get some more great shots of the girls with the characters. It's still a little old for them in many ways, but we had a great afternoon there. Then it was dinner, playing at home, and bedtime for the ladybugs...
Tommorrow is a "brick" day (working out in 2 of the 3 sports in the tri in the same session) and then shopping with a friend. Also, I've decided definitely to do the International length triathlon in May to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma society (and Mr. Darcy is fully on board with it too). So there will definitely be more postings.
Tommorrow is a "brick" day (working out in 2 of the 3 sports in the tri in the same session) and then shopping with a friend. Also, I've decided definitely to do the International length triathlon in May to support The Leukemia & Lymphoma society (and Mr. Darcy is fully on board with it too). So there will definitely be more postings.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Go Gator Gallop Go!
It was a dark and stormy day... okay, it wasn't dark but grey and it wasn't stormy just rainy... but still! Today I ran in the Gator Gallop with my good friend Lauren. We got up and got ready, set up chairs along the parade route (it's Homecoming weekend at UF), had an egg with cheese and toast & some water, and then walked 2 miles to the UF track. We signed in and got our t-shirts, did a good bit of talking and stretching, and then they shot the starting gun! (3 minutes early, but hey. I wasn't in charge.)
I met my goal of running the entire 2 miles without walking once. I may be slow, but (using my best Forrest Gump impression) I was RUNNING! I finished in 22:21, which is a little over 11:10 per minute. So, I was pretty happy... I may not be fast but I ran the whole time. : ) Then we walked a bit to cool down before we sat and watched the parade. It was a little disappointing because a few floats (including Albert and Alberta) chickened out because of the rain. What's a little rain? By the end of it, we were rather stinky and wet. So, we picked up Lauren's soon to be step-daughter, Lexi, who was in the parade with her gymnastics team (she was doing cartwheels, walk overs and splits all down the parade route and is cute as can be!) and then headed to publix for a sub and an apple and then headed back to Lauren's for a well deserved shower. PEEE UUUUU! I was one smelly girl!
But happy all the same because I met my 2 goals for the race: 1) finish and 2) run the entire race! (Yes, I know. I aim rather high don't I?)
I met my goal of running the entire 2 miles without walking once. I may be slow, but (using my best Forrest Gump impression) I was RUNNING! I finished in 22:21, which is a little over 11:10 per minute. So, I was pretty happy... I may not be fast but I ran the whole time. : ) Then we walked a bit to cool down before we sat and watched the parade. It was a little disappointing because a few floats (including Albert and Alberta) chickened out because of the rain. What's a little rain? By the end of it, we were rather stinky and wet. So, we picked up Lauren's soon to be step-daughter, Lexi, who was in the parade with her gymnastics team (she was doing cartwheels, walk overs and splits all down the parade route and is cute as can be!) and then headed to publix for a sub and an apple and then headed back to Lauren's for a well deserved shower. PEEE UUUUU! I was one smelly girl!
But happy all the same because I met my 2 goals for the race: 1) finish and 2) run the entire race! (Yes, I know. I aim rather high don't I?)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Another day in the Pool
It was supposed to be a running day, but I'm running in the 2 mile Gator Gallop in Gainesville, FL tomorrow as part of UF's homecoming festivities so I decided to switch tommorrow's schedule swim with today's scheduled run. The pool was actually warmer today than yesterday, but then it was probably about 10 degrees warmer outside this morning than yesterday morning too. It's Florida, folks, it doesn't stay cool for long in these here parts!
I tore up the pool today too (or at least it felt that way at the time). I did a quarter of a mile in about 9 minutes flat and a half mile in about 17 minutes. Watch out Michael Phelps! HAHAHAHAHA! To give you an idea of how slow that is, the women's world record in the 400m is 4:01.53 and in the 800m is 8:16.22. So basically half my time. Of course, now I'm wondering if the pool is as small as I think it is and maybe I'm swimming more than I think at a time... I'll have to get out the yard stick and get back to you. There is the possibility that I am just that slow, though.
Today, I'm having lunch with someone I met through the Alpha Xi Delta Alumnae Association here in Orlando and then this evening I'm driving to Gainesville to hang out with my friend Lauren and run in Gator Gallop with her tomorrow. GO GATORS! When I get home Friday afternoon, we'll be taking the girls to a movie on the lawn here in our neighborhood. Bill couldn't be more excited because the movie is "Back to the Future" one of his all time favorites. So, if you need to find me the next few days try my cell!
I tore up the pool today too (or at least it felt that way at the time). I did a quarter of a mile in about 9 minutes flat and a half mile in about 17 minutes. Watch out Michael Phelps! HAHAHAHAHA! To give you an idea of how slow that is, the women's world record in the 400m is 4:01.53 and in the 800m is 8:16.22. So basically half my time. Of course, now I'm wondering if the pool is as small as I think it is and maybe I'm swimming more than I think at a time... I'll have to get out the yard stick and get back to you. There is the possibility that I am just that slow, though.
Today, I'm having lunch with someone I met through the Alpha Xi Delta Alumnae Association here in Orlando and then this evening I'm driving to Gainesville to hang out with my friend Lauren and run in Gator Gallop with her tomorrow. GO GATORS! When I get home Friday afternoon, we'll be taking the girls to a movie on the lawn here in our neighborhood. Bill couldn't be more excited because the movie is "Back to the Future" one of his all time favorites. So, if you need to find me the next few days try my cell!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
A Cold Pool and Evil Ants
Today was a 30 minute swim and a 20 minute bike ride. It was great, but a little surprising. How? Well, this is Florida and it's been HOTter than I could have imagined. It's almost the end of October and the highs are still in the low 80's for goodness sake. I'm still wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts and wondering when Fall is going to start... until I remember that I live in Florida now and there are two seasons - summer and spring. Last night the lows were in the low 60's and they were suggesting that people wear a jacket on the radio! (You just need a sweater... a jacket??) Anyway, the surprise was a nice cool morning and a rather cold swimming pool. So cold that when I dunked myself to try to acclimate a hair before starting I wondered if I was going to give myself a heart attack. Luckily, no heart attack.
Then, I got out of the pool and headed to the bike (not wearing contacts this morning so I was a bit blind). Only to discover that evidently my sneakers smell good to ants (I checked for snacks from the liliputians but found none) because I had to knock a ton of them off my shoes before being able to bike and one of them had the audacity to actually bite me! But the ride was good once I conquered the ant army...
Angelfish and Ladybug had their pictures taken at school yesterday and wore dresses to school that they picked out of their closet. Amazingly they coordinated with each other... they were really cute. Hopefully the pictures turned out well. I'll keep you posted. Ladybug wanted to wear her dress to bed last night, but when we told Angelfiah we were having pasta for dinner and she needed to keep her dress clean the next thing we knew she was running around in her pull-up shouting "I'm naked! I'm naked!" After dinner we played in the park across the street from our house - the girls were playing frisbee with us (if only I was about 2 feet tall, we might be able to get something going), and Ladybug kept telling us she wants to put on her bathing suit and go to the beach. This is day 3 of her talking about the beach, so we may try to head to Cocoa Beach this weekend (barring rain). That will be interesting, so stay tuned!
Then, I got out of the pool and headed to the bike (not wearing contacts this morning so I was a bit blind). Only to discover that evidently my sneakers smell good to ants (I checked for snacks from the liliputians but found none) because I had to knock a ton of them off my shoes before being able to bike and one of them had the audacity to actually bite me! But the ride was good once I conquered the ant army...
Angelfish and Ladybug had their pictures taken at school yesterday and wore dresses to school that they picked out of their closet. Amazingly they coordinated with each other... they were really cute. Hopefully the pictures turned out well. I'll keep you posted. Ladybug wanted to wear her dress to bed last night, but when we told Angelfiah we were having pasta for dinner and she needed to keep her dress clean the next thing we knew she was running around in her pull-up shouting "I'm naked! I'm naked!" After dinner we played in the park across the street from our house - the girls were playing frisbee with us (if only I was about 2 feet tall, we might be able to get something going), and Ladybug kept telling us she wants to put on her bathing suit and go to the beach. This is day 3 of her talking about the beach, so we may try to head to Cocoa Beach this weekend (barring rain). That will be interesting, so stay tuned!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)