not so sure

i showed this photo to seamus. she laughed and said it was a silly photo. i told her it was me and she said no it wasn't. i told her again that it was to which she said again it wasn't. then i asked her how she could tell it wasn't me. she looked and looked and thought about it and finally said, there is no watch in that picture. ... apparently, this is what i look like.
but duuuuude i have been packing on the pounds this past week. its been so bad. it started with thursday night going out to dinner and CHOWING down followed by out to dinner friday night where i CHOWED down again. we went to our neighborhood mexican resturant where they have the best ever tortilla soup which is what i normally get but noooo, i had to get the giant carne asada and chile relleno and i CHOWED down. then i followed that up with GIANT CHINESE dinner outtting on saturday where there was loots and loots of beer consumption and CHOWING down. out of control and that mixed with being sick mixed with missing some workouts due to sickness and weather ala crap, mixed with this being a rest week has all resulted in MASSIVE WEIGHT GAIN which totally bums me out but i am non stop STARVING.
poor sirus totally threw up at dinner tonight. i wasn't home yet but apparently he was at the dinner table eating dinner and then out it came. when i came home little guy was laying on the floor cuddle in pillows and a blanket. now he is up being all crazy but he was sick just then for a little.
i have a 1000 yard swim TT tomorrow. i told my coach i was a bit freaked out about it and she said she was glad to hear that since that would mean i am taking it seriously! i still have my sore throat but i hope it doesn't affect my time. i went swimming on wednesday and my shoulder seemed to be ok, but the throat, i just don't know what to do about that.

blowing mc blowerstien

so here is the deal. last week was a record week, but then this week was a record breaking week. over 22 miles of running, over 103 miles on the bike, but i think only 2.6 miles swimming, but still it was a good week. i skipped out on friday's swim since i have been kind of sick and i cut the bike ride on friday short by 15 minutes, too. throat is sore, there has been some coughing, what the hell and then the super what the hell my shoulder has been hurting. my left shoulder has always kind of hurt even with the tiny bit of swimming i had done last year it would hurt. when i met with the swim coach she helped me learn to rotate more and keep my stroke infront and that seemed to help then i think i slept wrong or something on it and now its been hurting all the time. it felt fine on saturday but then today its been killing me. i think carrying sirus around this morning didn't help it. my coach suggests that i need to stretch out my pecks and some other things and maybe that will help, damn i hope so. i think eric is just sabotaging me since i told him i might wind up beating him out of the water. here is a photo of where it hurts: but gosh i hope it gets better soon. i took today off and then i'm not going to swim again until wednesday. then she is going to have me do another 1000y tt on friday!! yikes!
eric did a 5k race on saturday. his first ever that wasn't at the end of a triathlon or while pushing kids in the stroller. he did great. he was 11th overall which was his bib number, too. but then he came in 2nd in his age group! this was his benchmark race so now he is thinking he might do some running training and see what happens!
the kids did the kids 1k race and wow!! they were both kind of freaked out when i told them i registered them. seamus was worried it was going to be a full 5k like the last one she did and was happy to hear it was only 1k since 5ks is a lot of ks. sirus was worried because he said he wouldn't be able to keep up with seamus but i told him it was ok and that i would run with him. but wow! he ran super fast for quite a while!! he was booking, i hadn't ever seen him run so fast but then he said his tummy was starting to hurt so we slowed it down and eventually we walked. he did run accross the finish like. he got a medal, too. it was his first one ever. he had gotten ribbons before but this was his first medal and boy was he proud. seamus had gotten medals for her triathlons and she was happy to get one for this race but sirus was so excited and wore his all day.
today we picked up a desk for sirus's room. we figured that maybe if he had his own desk he would start to draw some more or somethin. he was very excited and was more happy to have someplace else to drive his cars and trains...
today i had alreayd decided i wouldn't ride but then when i woke up it was snowing followed by torrential rain storm followed by sun and wind storm followed by hail followed by rain followed by snow, repeat, etc.

snow and hail

i liked swimming wednesday morning, ok the actual swimming was COLD but i liked it because it gave me the rest of the day to rest and then thursday was my actual rest day. friday morning i had thought that i would take it easy on the swim. i woke up and got myself there. it was 26 degrees out. i was freaking out because i didn't want the water to be like on wednesday. on the way to the pool i mentioned my concerns to one of the other ladies and she said that was very unusual to have it be so cold. i walked out side into the 26 degree weather in just a swimsuit and went over to the water. it felt nice. i got in and it was actually quite nice, thank goodness. i did my warm up and then started the actual warm up set. the coach guy was standing there looking like he was freezing - no hat, i don't think he had gloves. we did a kick drill with kickboards. he handed one to me and it was covered in ice. next thing you know i had completed 3000 yards. thats was more then i was planning for this "take it easy while swimming" day. the coach noticed that i am doing a way better job rotating, which i felt like i was totally getting down and i swam for a few hundred yards breathing out the left side. it made me a little dizzy but i didn't drown like has normally been the case. we did a bunch of backstroke which was kind of fun. except i smashed my toe on the plastic rope thing. later in the day i discovered i had smashed my hand into the rope, too because not only is my toe all bruised but my hand is all bruised and it looks like it was in a fight. real wierd. there is a little old man who comes to swim as we are finishing up. he wears a speedo and i always talk to him a little bit. friday morning he sat on the edge of the pool and said "nice water and pretty girls, what more could anyone ask for" or something like that. when i got out, my flip flops were covered in ice. that was a weird sensation.
when i got home i got on the trainer for 1:45. and then, eric made stuffed burges for dinner and i had 1.5 of them. totally delish.
today i went for a trail run. totally fun but my hand froze. i had no idea they were frozen until i went to get in my car and i had a tough time dealing with my keys. i had to stop for gas but couldn't get my credit card out of my wallet. because of this and the fact that it is pouring down a combination of slush, hail & rain, I am resolving to the fact that I will ride the trainer tomorrow. for 3 hrs.
this week was a record traning week. I finished up with 19.47 miles running. Its killing me that I didn't get to 20. Had i run on the road today I would have been over 20 for sure. I finished up with 98.94 on the bike. Grr, this kills me too, but i have no real reasons why i didn't make 100, but 98.94 is still a damn lot. I also finished up with a record 4.66 miles in the pool which is absolutly amazing and probably my greatest feat ever!!
the kids are amazingly adorable. seamus & sirus had a few sleepovers this week. they just get in their sleeping bags and crawl into bed. they are so good. seamus had school photos this week, too! can't wait to see them!

those jeans

i took them back. not only that but i wound up getting a pair of shoes, a shirt and a different pair of pants for less then 1/2 of their cost, so i was pretty darn happy. the pants i did get are less hoochy and eric only went "eh" to them, but i like them and they are a little bit more my age i think.
lsat night the kids were being funny. i was chowing down on a bowl of frosted mini wheats mixed with frosted flakes because as is many times the case lately i was STARVING and the kids were eating their raviolis and peas and carrots. sirus decided he wanted to put in his cup of milk and fish them out with a spoon. i said nothing since i needed a refill on the cereal. seamus went and stood next to him and he would scoop them out and feed them to her and say " here you go princess" and then he would take a turn. it was pretty cute.
training has been going well. i switched pool. today was my second day at the new pool - and OUTDOOR pool in washington in march. yes it was damn cold. monday wasn't so bad, it was like 51 when i got there and the water seemed fine. today it was like 37 when i got there and the water did not feel fine at all. the other ppl said that the heat must have shut off over night or something since it was way colder then normal. i contemplated that maybe this swimming thing was not for me but instead decided that it will just make me better prepared for ice cold race day water. it took a few hundred yards to warm up but it was good. part of the main set was a IM where we were to do 50 butterfly, 50 back, 50 breast and then 50 free. i told the coach i was going to do a different stroke for butterfly and he said ok. but then a set or two down the road it turned into the same thing but 100s. this time the coach told me i had to do the butterfly. yeah, not only that but he walked the length of the pool deck beside me making sure i was doing it! he said i did ok but needed to work on the kick. he said by the end of the length i was starting to get it which is funny because i thought that was when i started to drown.
new pool arrangement is way less expensive then the other. i was paying $15 a pop and going twice a week (i could have joined the club for $130 a month but i would have only used it to swim, so drop in was more flexible). but for that i got salt water pool 8 minutes from my house. now i am paying $55 for 4 weeks, up to 3x a week. i thought it was way far away but really its only about 20 minutes from the house and only then about 15 or so to work after. when i told my xterra coach that i could now go M-W-F, please pick which days you want me to go she replied with go all 3. I did not expect that but i am going to try. it will make me a better swimmer, i am so going to kick some ass this year. i hope.
i'm in a high volume week. i have one more next week then a rest week. but this week will wind up with a little over 4 miles of swimming, 100 miles on the bike and 20 miles of running, and hot damn, i feel awesome. that is the part that is amazing to me. i feel damn good. a little tired but totally awesome.
last week though was a different story. i went on the 5 pool tour and wound up with some issues. i had been a little sick, which corresponded with my last rest week which corresponded with eric's bday and some after work - work commitments. then the next week i was feeling better, like i thot prolly 90-95% until i went swimming at the club i had been going to. i started coughing and coughing like crazy, my chest was tight, and i had to drop to the back of the slow group. i wasn't sure i'd make it through the workout. i covered the distance but i just couldn't breathe. once in the locker room i started to feel better and the coach said the air quality was bad and there were issued with chlorine gas. man was i feeling it. wednesday night seamus got sick and was puking all night so i wasn't about to get up thursday morning. friday i met renee at a new pool which turned out to be pretty nice. but about 3/4s in my nose felt like it was being pried off of my face. and i wound up with a sore throat that lasted all weekend. i chalked it up to the tuesday experience and just not dealing well with chlorine. so i was worried about the OUTDOOR pool. on monday i got through the swim a-ok! no issues! the coach (who is 19 by the way) told me that the pool has less chlorine and is cleaner than the indoor pool. so i really do think that i must have a chlorine sensitivity.
sunday i met some of the girls for a 2:45 bike ride. it started out nice but with about an hr to go it started raining and it just kept raining. and i still had an hr run to do! the girls went home but i ran and felt great!! it was awesome! i am interested to see what happens when I start doing some intensity.

just keep swimming just keep swimming

today i met up with my old neighbor is totally awesome. when we lived in our old house she was always offering to help me out swimming but i never took her up on it instead trying to get her to go open water swimming instead. she wasn't too keen on that but really who can blame her. but i have been swimming a ton (for me) since the beginning of the year and my shoulder has begun to hurt and my coach kept telling me to get some 1/1 attention so I sent our old neighbor an email asking for her help.
she met me at a pool in seattle, i have been on quite the pool tour lately. This was my 4th pool in two weeks. i wasn't sure on what to expect, but hot damn i learned a lot. by the end of the hour she had totally changed my stoke, had me comfortably breathing on both sides and just cutting through the water smoother then I have ever felt, and my shoulder didn't hurt at all! i could hardly beleive it!!! she said starting out that my stroke was pretty good but the changes she had me make made a world of difference. i need to work on swimming down because I was swimming like / she had me float for a while and determined that i am a sinker! i need to work on rotating more - the key to aleiving the shoulder pain. and lastly i need to use my arms like a windmill! she explained it all in a way that i can totally visualize and actually do. she said i did a good job because i followed direction really well, sometimes a little too well. but all in all its so awesome. now i can't wait until the next masters swim session to see how it goes. she said we can meet up again in a few weeks to see how its going.
but today was pretty much the end of my rest week. i've got 2hrs on the bike tomorrow followed by 45 minute run. weather is saying its going to rain which is going to BLOW ASS. yes i said it. especially since it was so beautiful today, reaching almost 60! last sunday when we started out it was 28 degrees but sunny. 28 and raining would kind of mean snow. or ice, which would mean not riding on the road. runnign this morning it was coooold with some ice on the puddles in the wetlands.
i got bullied into buying jeans that were twice as expensive as the ones i had set out to buy. grr. they look good i think but really after trying on 20 pairs they all blend together. and eric is learning! he is so good. i tried them on for him and his initial reaction was "wow, those make your butt look really good" then he changed it to "wow, your butt makes those jeans look good' or something funny like that. he also had the bonus of getting to see me in my silly swimsuit today. he made my day by telling me i looked like a swimmer in it and that really i didn't look so silly after all, despite the clouds and the rainbow and the birds on my arse.

papers

i need to find the notes i took from disney world so i can organize a post about the trip. it was so fun and there were so many great moments of the trip that i want to make sure to capture it all. just not now.

i think i have a little bit of illness. just an annoying cough that started saturday night. earlier in the week both eric and i were exhausted. i have been getting up at 5am for workouts all week and eric would wake up and start his day at the same time, so on thursday we decided to go to bed at 8pm. that sounded great. we crawled into bed and both passed out until probably 11pm when eric got up to go throw up. over and over and many times thoughout the night. our night of good rest was not very restful. poor guy though, he was so sick. not sure if he had scome food poisoning or the stomach bug going around, but luckily by the morning he was a about 50% and then well enough on saturday to want to do some trail work, although I spoiled his plans to do so.

training has been going really well. i've been having a ton of fun and have been feeling great. this week was my highest volume and i am now heading into a rest week. i managed 6:15 on the bike, 2:45 running, 2:30 swimming and 1:30 weights for a total of 13hrs, and i feel great!! i'm tired and ready for my rest week but I am amazed at how good i feel. all this should wind up in me being faster, right? as part of my rest week I have a 30 minute zone 1 bike today which i don't know if I will even break a sweat on and then later in the week a 20 minute zone 1 run, which i don't know how i will do that, isn't that walking? but I am pretty excited, i think i am making progress!

yesterday alone as a feat all in its own. 2:45 on the bike followed by 45 minute run. when we started out on the bike it was 28 degrees! burr! my hands had never hurt so much before but about 45 minutes in i was ready to take a layer off and my hands were better. i don't know why 8 yr old gloves with holes in all the fingers wouldn't keep me warmer. i had an antire enteurage, if i could spell it, for the bike ride, too! renee, xtie, amy and eric and the kids all for the first leg and then janet joined for the last leg. no one wanted to join me on the run but man, i felt great, i couldn't beleive it! i kept wanting to run faster but had to hold back to stay in zone 2.

friday i rode around the lake by myself. i spent a good 1:35 worrying about having to ride up the big hill on the way home. oh i was worried. last year i stopped 3 times trying to get up it in my only attempt. as i got closer and closer i started thinking about how my feet were too hot, how my sunglasses were bugging my ears, how my hair was falling down in my hat under my helmet. then it was time and i just went up it. each time i reached one of the spots where i had stopped before i rejoiced! now i can go up it whenever i want!

i see a guy outside with short sleeves on, is it warm?

sirus is funny

i'll get back to disney world at some point but sirus was just so funny tonight.
i picked out his thomas the train jammies but sirus didn't want to wear them since they don't protect him from monsters the same way that his gld bug jammies do. apparently thomas has tried to run over him in the past...
then he went on and on about everything he had seen at disney world. how on the safari we didn't see any lions but we saw elephants, giraffes and zebras. he told me how on the ride Dinosaur! he would jump out and say boo to the dinosaurs but they were never afriad but when i asked him if the dinosaurs said boo to him he said no because dinosaurs don't talk.
then he told me how he didnt see oswald, daisy or henry (thank goodness) and no speed racer even though he was looking all over for speed racer. i had never heard the little guy talk non stop for so long before.
total adorableness.

catch up

first, i had ordered a new swim suit a while back. its called "bright blue rainbow" on the website. since i have no idea what the deal is with swim suit sizing i ordered a 32. that sounded like a good size. on their site it is the equivalent of a small, a medium, a 4. All sizes i fit in. until it showed up and it was a mini suit. eric took one look at the design and the size and wondered to me if maybe it was a child's suit not intended for adults. i sent it back and asked for a 36, which was either a medium, large or extra large, i really couldn't tell. when it showed up it fit better but i still could have gone up another size i think. anyway, i decided to wear it on thursday. i was a little self consious because it really is a rediculous suit but whatever. i walked into the pool area and as i was chit chatting with a friend before getting in i noticed that several of the people in the pool who were waiting for the work out to start kept looking at me. i have been there enough to know they weren't sizing me up to see if i was fast or not, so i assumed it was more of a "OMG, what is she wearing!?!" i got in the water, did a few warm up laps and then the coach came. the first thing she said when she got there was "does that have carebears on it or something?" it doesn't but i do wish it has a unicorn.
she had us doing a timed 500 that day. i had just done a timed 1000 the day before heading out on vacation so i thought, heck, i'll do it but just swim it for the yardage. that was until she split us into heats, had everyone else get out of the pool, had people counting laps, timing and everyone else was cheering, etc. good lord, i didn't expect any of that. so i had to try, ya know. so i did and i won my heat of slow people! i was so excited and i was happy because it was the first time i had ever really pushed myself swimming and i didn't drown!! i was thinking about how i wouldn't drown because if i needed to i could stand up at any minute but at no time did i think about quitting, slowing down or stopping, unless i was drowning of course. it was a big breakthrough for me.

onto disney world, which will be a multi post post because it was a long trip. jan 15 started with swimming, the timed 1000 which was excited because i was totally freaked out about doing it and then i told the swim coach i was going to do it, so she gave me my own lane then had everyone else do a straight 800, so that was kind of cool. then i went to work and got through the day. i came home and finished packing. luckily our flight on friday wasn't until almost noon so we were able to get up and weren't rushed. eric's friend logan came, we gave him the run down of hwo to take care of the cats and the house while we were out then off to the airport we went. checking our luggage was fun because the ladies were so excited for us to go to disney world, i was kind of suprised. we went to our gate only to be moved to another gate. then we got on the plane and sat there. and sat there and sat there some more. they needed to replace a part on the plane, they didn't have one on the shelf so they were going to take if off an plane that was already in the shop getting fixed. our layover in dallas was 2 hrs, but i saw that 2 hrs just creep away. finally i got off the plane and talked to the lady at the desk. she confirmed that we would definitly miss out connection unless our connection decided to be late (my itinerary said that the flight out of dallas had a 50% chance of being on time...). she said we had two choices. go home and come back on saturday for a direct flight that would get us to orlando at 5:30 pm or take the flight to dallas, spend the night then get on a morning flight that would get to orlando at 1:30. we opted to try the dallas route, since there was the very small chance that we would make our connection despite the delay and can you imagine trying to tell the kids that we had to go home when we had been going on and on about how we were on our way to disney world? FINALLY the plane took off. luckily we let the kids watch so much TV and they have been on such a trance over bendaroos. i actually found some at a toy store and those peices of yarn covered in wax entertained those kids for a good 2.5 hrs straight. i couldn't beleive it! so we got into dallas a little earlier than expected and then eric ran ahead. gthe monitors said that our flight was still there, so i grabbed the kids and we ran and ran. we caught the tram and then ran some more. you should have seen little seamus! she had her hello kitty rolling suitcase dragging behind her as she ran faster then i could run while pushing sirus in the stroller. she was amazing! then we got to the gate and the flight was gone. the lady there said she had seen we had been booked on a flight the next day so they didnt even think to check to see if we might be in. grr. in the mean time i was freaking out because we had already paid for our hotel at disney world, plus that extra day of meal plan that is required of each nights stay plus the entire day of park tickets. for a family of 4, that adds up. LUCKILY, mom had gotten us travel insurance so it all worked out in the end but only after i bit eric's head off while looking for the disney phone number and crying to sirus in the bathroom since i didn't have a change of underpants for him with me... ugh. but then we got to our dallas hotel and went for dinner and had a cocktail. seamus, always good with her comedic timing managed a "daddy farted" right when the waitress showed up, followed by a "i keep daddy a secret at preschool". nice. we all had a good nights sleep, went to denny's in the morning for breakfast, saw steve's doppleganger and then headed to the airport and on our way to orlando!!!
that flight was good, the kids played with bendaroos the entire time again and seamus boasted about how she didnt sleep at all from seattle to dallas and then on this flight either, although sirus managed to fall asleep 10 minutes before landing. we got to orlando, we got on our magical express and finally got to the hotel where we saw grandma!! we were still wearing our clothes from the day before since our luggage had been inaccessable and it wasn't to the airport yet but we said who cares and we gathered ourselves all together and headed over to the magic kingdom. grandma had gotten the kids adorable baseball hats with mouse ears and the kids loved them! that first night in the park we did a ton! we went to pirates of the carribean, peter pan's flight, aladins magic carpets, and big thunder railroad. i think there were a few others but that's what i can remember off the top of my head. then we watched the electrical parade but its not called that any more but i can't remember what its called. it was better then i remember it and the kids loved it! they both had huge smiles on their faces and when i asked sirus if he had ever seen anything like it ever before he said "nothing like it ever before". i was so excited to finally be there and to show the kids this great adventure.

the bachelor

goodness, i am so embarassed for these people. its so awkward and i can't even deal with it. what are these girls thinking? and really, if these dudes were so awesome, would they be on these shows? i have to admit, i totally loved the Joe Millionaire show with that dude Evan i think was his name. i was addicted to that one for some reason. i haven't ever watched the bachelor before. but this is rediculous. but gawd his face has got to be exhausted from all that fake smiling!
the show that we have recently started watching and enjoying is Total Drama Island on Cartoon Network. Its Survivor but a cartoon. Its kind of funny.
Oh no! one girl wrote him a poem! more embarassing!!! and now they are cooking hotdogs.
training is going well. went to work early to lift weights and run on the treadmill. i also decided to wake up early so tomorrow it will be easier to wake up for swimming!
first day back at work was ok but my neck started hurting which it hasn't been a problem since before thanksgiving.
not too many days now until we leave for Disney World!

Happy New Year!

we spent the night in but all in all if was a nice evening. eric grilled up ribs on the big green egg! we had run out of charcoal probably a month or more ago and we just yesterday got some so we were all loving the return of the egg!

then eric and i stayed up until about 1030 drinking lemon drops which were damn tasty. i could have drank a ton more of them but was worried about getting sick, so i stuck to two.

today is the last day of my first week of official training! I'd say that first week went pretty well after the extreme soreness wore off. now only like 40 more left until race day! I was thinking of that last night - its going to be like waiting through a pregnancy! oh the misery but the excitement and preparation at the same time!

I am still off of work for 4 more days if you include today. i hate to say it but we are going nuts. its too cold and wet to be outside now that the snow is gone, we don't want to spend money, we don't want to let the kids watch tv or play sack people, so we are having a time of it.

we did take the kids to see the movie Bolt. I wasn't too into it but wound up actually liking it. It did have some parts in it that were quite scary and then at the end i couldn't believe it! spoiler here - Penny almost dies in a fire! She is all passed out due to smoke inhalation and Bolt curls up next to her and they are getting ready to just die. WHAT? you can't put that in a kids movie???? I was horrified especially since seamus keeps talking lately about how our house hasn't ever caught on fire and stop drop and roll and she got all worried while reading Spider Saves Christmas when Lady Bug's xmas cookies catch on fire in the oven and Spider has to put out the fire with the boxes of water he got his friends for xmas. uuugh. other then that, it was a pretty good movie.

i have no resolutions this year. i think last year i was going to floss "most" days of the week and that was it, but i think that didn't last very long, i can't remember.

i do have big goals for the year. i need to look back to jan 08 and see if i can find my goals and see if i met them. i did have a pretty great 2008 though. the kids are awesome and continue with their awesomeness every day. eric is great and i am very lucky to be married to him. i am very fortunate that my family is all safe and healthy and that i have a good job.

as for 2009, I will quote seamus here - what's gonna happen?

more days off

i don't have to go back to work until jan 5. that is so awesome. last week the days were taking a long time but this first day of this week seems to have flown by and i am afriad that the rest of the week will fly by as well.
yesterday i met up with renee for 1000 yards of swimming. 200 warm up, 500 drills then 300 swimming. i didn't do a very good job with the drills. i tried to do these wacky ones from the video i had watched and i was pretty sure i was going to drown. i was pretty tired by the end of it all though but i was only in the pool for 1/2 hr. renee came with me and there was a water babies class going on at the same time. i have been expecting to get sick but i haven't. last year whenever i would go swimming i would wind up sick. my nose was always messed up and i always kind of feel like arse. i realized today that i think that maybe i have not gotten sick at all is because its a salt water pool. that plus when i lift the weights i make sure to wash my hands before i leave the gym.
today i did some lifting again. i think its getting better. i managed to get in most of the lunges this time, but i am still not able to do any real push-ups. i'm supposed to do as many real ones as i can but by the time i get to them my arms are pretty tired.
when i came home i had a 1 hr zone 2 ride on the trainer. i suppose of i really wanted to i could have gone outside but i opted for the trainer and a new episode of the Tudors. the garmin is totally fun. i have been entering the workouts into the program and the load it onto the watch. then it just keeps track of everything. and then i can look at it and the funny red line and wonder why the red line always stops a minute or two short of the supposed time i used it for. so that is a little annoying but its ok.
tomorrow i have to wake up at 5am for swimming. that might be tough since i haven't been waking up very early any day since like november. :) but the masters swimming is fun and i can see progress already from it, i am going to get soo fast!
i talked to my coach on the phone on friday. i had met her once almost a year ago and she is the awesomest of all awesome. and i was totally nervous about calling her, and then we get such bad reception here that I hung up on her! but i called her back and she is so nice. i had a ton of questions to ask her since she is so fascinating but at the same time she probably answers those same questions a billion times a week. she did send me a funny email the other day saying she was up at 2am because she was hungry and so she had a bowl of cereal. eric laughed and asked what kind of influence she might be on me since i am such a cereal fanatic. i was just happy to hear it because she's just a normal person, too, just an amazing athlete!
i on the other hand just keep eating way to many cookies. they are almost gone and will then be replaced by the candy...

weights

so i lifted weights on tuesday and i was dying. i wasn't supposed to start my official training until yesterday but i just couldn't wait. so i did the weight routine and then did a 30 mintue run in zone 1 but i couldn't beleive how slow zone 1 was so i was a little above zone 1.
the weights didn't seem like that big of a deal until i got to the lunges. i could feel my arse losing all of its sagginess with each lung. but i could also feel my quads hurting. then a few more exercises and it was to the leg extentions. good lord do i have the weakest legs ever! so i have to ask the coach if i should do the weights first then the biking or running or does it matter which order? in this instance i ran first then weights. but the leg extensions were embarrassing and yeah. well, a few more things and then i was done.
wednesday i was so sore that i was really worried that maybe i did something bad. eric suggested i rude the trainer for 30 easy minutes which i did but then i wound up having tired and sore legs :( we had already gone sledding in the morning and hiked through the snow and up and down the sledding hill and i felt fine doing that, but any time i stopped for a few minutes i was in trouble!
xmas eve was the best xmas eve ever. and then xmas was the best xmas ever! seamus got roller skates from santa. she had been saying for months that she was hoping santa would bring her roller skates and sure enough he brought them. but when she opened them, she wasn't very excited. when i asked if she wanted me to take them out of the box she tentativly said yes. then i asked her what the matter was and she said she was a little bit scared. that all ended once she had them on and skated all around the living room carpet. by the end of the day she was doing little spins and getting around like and old pro. the kids also got candy land which we played a ton. later aunt xtie, jon and grandma came. it was snowing like crzy all day and we were concerned that they wouldnt make it but they did. we had an awesome dinner and then more presents! it was likely the best christmas ever.
friday was day 1 of my new training and my legs were still sore! but i headed out the door to the gym (i got a 1 week free pass to get me through the holidays!)
I got out of the cul-de-sac but then had to come to a stop at the light while trying to leave the neighborhood. when the light turned green i was stuck. i couldn't move. i tried to get out through 2 cycles of the lights then called eric to come help me. jsut then an older guy in a pick up turned into the neighborhood, got out his shovel and started digging me out! then eric came and between the two of them i wsa able to get on my way.
they gym was weird and really crowded. i can't even count the number of conversations i witnessed that were of kids home from college talking to random adults about "how long are you home for? Do you like school? Whats you major?" etc. that was kind of funny since all the girls had been fake tanning. i also got to see one of my favorite things at the gym. i love the girls who walk on the treadmill at like 7 or 8 incline but then hold on for dear life so that they are actually still perpendicular to the treadmill itself. i love it and laugh every time. i think its great when anyone makes an effort to stay active, but some things just make me laugh.
i used a little but less weight this time, but the lunges were still tough and the leg extensions were still embarassing. when i left i got stuck in the gym parking lot. three different people walked by and no one offered to help. the car was stuck about 1/2 way out of the spot so i jumped out, put on my awesome new rain boots eric got me for xmas and i started kicking the snow out from under the car.
then back in to try again. i was sitting there trying to decide if i was going to have to call eric when two of the trainers from in the gym came to my rescue and pushed me out. :) that was nice of them!
then home for a 1hr ride on the trainer zone 2.
the rest of friday was uneventful except the duraflame log in the fireplace!
today nothing thrilling went on. i did a 30 minute zone 1 run on the treadmill and ate a butt load of cookies. eric is somehow showing incredible will power with the cookies but i am not. its really bad and i fear that i am going to be tipping the scales at 250 here any day now.
tomorrow is some swimming and likely more cookie consumption.
8 more days off from work which is totally awesome.

snow blast 2008

eric took the kids sledding. check it out.

and here is a close-up of what was actually happening:


monday i tried to go to work. i backed out of the driveway, drove down into the cul-de-sac to get some momentum then tried to get up the hill. i didn't make it. while sliding backwards i put the car into park, reverse, drive. you name it, i did it all and the car just slid. somehow it magically turned completely around and came to a stop right at the driveway. i decided that was a sign to pull back into the garage and not go into work. the neighbors said the whole thing was very elegant.

eric later tried in the station wagon and did the exact same thing but the other direction. Please see here:



i love sammamish. the snow storm is just another reason why. i mean, come one! we have one of the best sledding hills right in the neighborhood. even sledding down our own road is a ton of fun. and the trails behind the house are amazing! This first photo is the first snow where sirus wondered why we kept throwing snowballs at him.






i've been out on the trainer a few more times. i started to watch the Tudors. I am 1.5 episodes into the 12 episodes or so. i also lifted weights for the first time in a billion years and I am suffering. ugh.

now its christmas eve!

snow snow snow

man, its snowing like crazy! we were all laughing on wednesday when all the schools were closed in anticipation of the big snow day and no snow came. i got up and went swimming thursday morning and there was a very light dusting, really nothing at all. but boy, just 1.5hrs later and there were inches on the ground. i headed home and decided to go home instead of into work. that decision was solidified when the car slid right past the driveway and i had to go down he block and turn around again.
i worked from home but took a break to go out for a quick snowball fight with the kids. it was pretty fun but very funny because sirus kept asking why everyone was throwing snow balls at him. we came in and had real homemade hot cocoa with marshmallows. then later on we went out for some sledding. our street was pretty fun to go down but we eventually opted to try the big hill. we hiked over there and the kids and eric went down a few times. there were quite a few bigger kids who were ruling the hill and seamus quickly decided she was done after two runs where the snow sprayed right in her face. talk about complete meltdown. in viewing distance of the house they both started crying like it was the end of the world. we got them inside and wrapped them up in warm blanket and they sat in their burritos for the next few hrs.
friday was a bit better so i went into work for a few hrs. it was quiet and only a handful of people were there. later we went shopping just to get out and about.
saturday was more snow. i rode on the trainer while watching nip/tuck. heading out to the garage to ride i had on a shrt sleeve shirt, a long sleeve and a super thick winter zip up jersey. i kept them all on for almost 10 minutes. trainer riding is ok, well, thats prolly cuz i've only done it twice so far. there was a big wind storm and i was concerned about the trees but everything seemed in one peice so we were lucky.
sunday was even more snow. eric has shoveled the driveway 3 times already this weekend. her took the kids to the store and i fell asleep. i just zonked out. i must have not slept very well due to the wind because i was out for about an hour. when i woke up it was snowing like crazy. eric and the kids had stopped at mcdonalds so the kids could play at the indoor playground. that was genius. i'll have to remember that one. when they got home i headed out for a run. it was 26 degrees and snowing. i had on big wool socks and my running shoes. i had on knickers and my running pants. i had on a long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve shirt, heavy long sleeve shirt and yellow wind breaker. knitt hat, sunglasses and fuzzy gloves. 8 minutes in i stopped to take the heavy long sleeve off and the sleeves off my wind breaker. it was tough running. up hill and downhill and on the ice and through the snow. it was hard but i had fun sort of and just kept thinking that it was just like running in sand in maui only colder. i was also thinking a lot about how nice its been seeing so many people out walking. we usually don't see anyone walking to the store or just about but since the storm hit everyone is walking all over. i hope they keep it up.
now we are supposed to get another 3-5 inches. i imagine i might work from home again. we will see. i have one of eric's christmas presents in my office, so i need to go get it!

2008 stats

i launched google analytics sometime in March.
Since then this site has gotten 801 visits and 1220 page views.

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There is lots of peeing in there - apparently i know how to tag a site for pee.

exhaustion sets in

this week was tough.
it started with a bad nights sleep monday night in anticipation of swimming lessons on Tuesday morning. swimming was actually pretty good, but it was followed by work.... she had us do some planks on the pool deck before getting in the water and i was paying for that for the next few days.
i rested on wednesday but did go to a cookie party with seamus in the evening. then thursday was swimming again during which i kind of freaked out about the thought that i had already been up for an hour and a 1/2 and still needed to go to work - see a trend? after gettig out of the pool i had to drive to seattle to drop my car to get serviced - two messages were appearing: Serivice Now! and Airbag Fault!. Then to work I went. then off to get my hair cut and a visit with some of the FS folks i worked with back in '97-'99. The the long drive home. Friday I got up headed to work and at lunch had to drive into seattle to pick get my car. friday night we did nothing.
saturday was the kent christmas rush. i was feeling tired and it was cold and wet and i thought maybe i wouldn't do it but i went anyway. i started out way too fast, partly because i always do and i do'nt know how to race properly and partly because they let prolly 10 or so young boys line up on the front line and i wanted to get past them.
i about died in the race and thought i might just sit back and let christie catch up then run with her. but i just kept running. ppl were passing me but i wasn't passing anyone. i prolly let 2 women pass me but not any after the turn around but that put me in like 12 or 13th place. there were no mile markers so i couldn't tell how i was doing or anything but i felt like arse. i was running hard but i don't know if it was as hard as i could go. but i did finish in 23:38 which was god for me but not my best. i should have been able to be faster i felt but all in all i was ok with it. then came awards. based off of last year's results i figured i would get into top 5 in my age group but seeing as i knew i was at least top 13 overall, i figured i would place somehow and sure enough i did, i won my age group and got a funny plaque which i have hung on a random nail that was already on the wall in our kitchen! xtie came in 3rd in her age group and took 2 minutes off her time from last year so that is great!!
saturday then invilved another cookie part with me and the kids and then a party at one of eric's friends house which will likely be the only adult holiday event for us this year.

it snowed last night and eric took the kids sledding in the back yard!

Burger Meister Meister Burger

i like that the Burger Meister Meister Burger told Kris Kringle that he is obviously a non-comformist and a rebel.

today was the WonderGirl 5k. I volunteered as a coach for the girls. The whole experience was a bit different then i expected it to be but it was fun and I am happy i did it. i was very nervous before the first practice since i was afriad the girls might not like me but i think they liked me by the end, although i am pretty sure they think i am the weird coach that only comes on mondays. i expected the program to be more running based but it was indeed more about positive feelings, etc. Its a great program, just not what I expected. Today was the end of season race. it was an untimed event and everyone had race #1. it was fun to see the girls and to see them at the top of the big hill and then again at the finish line. as an added treat seamus ran with aunt christie and sirus ran with eric. seamus ran up the big hill! i was so proud to see her at the top of the hill! sirus ran to the bottom of the hill, the took a ride in the stroller up the hill, but then got out to run a bit when they saw me. seamus though wound up not having a very good race which makes me sad. apparently she was so intent on passing people that she went off the trail to run in the grass and she tripped and fell. that led to some crying and major frustration turned into there are all these people cheering but none of them are cheering for me. so sad. whenever we do these races we always expect to run and push the kids in the stroller. we ask them if they want out and seamus is always the first one to say she wants to run. sirus is usually the one to say no way. but this race was just too long. it was afterall 4k longer then any other running race she had ever done! but she recovered well and by the time we got into the car she was laughing and having fun and so full of energy that she must have run around the house for a good hr or more. sirus was a treat this time because he actually wanted to run! he rode a lot too, but he ran more then ever. he ran all the way through the finish shoot, but everyone was cheering too loudly so he put his hands up to his ears as he ran. all of the girls were forming a tunnel for the other girls to run through as they finished and sirus ran right through that tunnel!

later we were off to do a lacate threshold test! i wasnt sure i ws up for it. but xtie leant me her awesome new garmin and the weather was nice and eric was up for it, so i agreed. i was supposed to do an easy 15 minute warm up with a few short bursts. those bursts kicked my arse and made me have 2nd thoughts about this whole test thing. then i was to run 30 minutes at the fastest pace i figured i could hold for that entire time. i was to hit the lap button on the garmin at the 10 minute mark to get my average HR for the last 20 minutes. yikes!
it was 50 degrees and about 9 minutes in i had to take my shirt off and run with just a sports bra. i generate so much heat these days! i was dying. but i ran and i ran and i ran really hard. 22 minutes in got a cramp right below my ribs and had to back off for a minute or so. and the next few minutes th threat of the cramp was always there. i'm not sure if i ran as hard as i could but when it was finally done, i wanted to cry. i just wanted to cry, like really, i had to pretty much fight it from happening. but the average HR over the last 20 minutes was 182. i think i was working pretty darn hard. i passed a woman on her bike!

so now for some reason my coach wants me to try to get out on the bike some, too. what? she wanted to do the lactate threshold test on the bike but since i would be "right off the couch" she wants me to get out a bit first. yikes! and i am going to throw in some swimming with a swim coaching group next week. yikes!!

1:56:30

so i took one of the muscle relaxers friday night. and wow, i slept great! eric said i tossed and turned all night but i was totally asleep. i had a tough time getting up in the morning but i was happy to have some good sleep for the first time in like forever it seemed.

we went for a a 3.5 mile family jog. heading back to the house is a hill and eric and i started sprinting it. we started at the bottom of the hill at an 8:34 pace but maxed out at a 5:42 pace at the top of the hill. we were dying but it was fun.

we watched a few episodes of Nip/Tuck season 3 and then I tried to go to bed at around 10:30. Yeah, that didn't work very well. I don't know when I actually fell asleep but I know that when te alarm went off my shirt was drenched in sweat. I thought that was a bit odd.

we all got up, I had PB&J and then we loaded the car. I drank some coffee and water on the way to the race. It took 21 minutes to get downtown and we avoided the mercer st exit and went to stewart instead. We wound up a block from the start about 40 minutes before the start of the race.

i got out of the car to hit the potty line but quickly returned to change my clothes since it was warmer then expected out. I had nickers, a running tank top, a long sleeve, gloves, and a throwaway t-shirt on top. I also wore a visor so the heat could escape out the top of my head.

i did a quick little jog to the starting line, like not even 2 minutes and felt great! i hit the potties then found some of the girls! then i went back to the potty line and then lined up for the race start. i found the 2hr pacers. i asked them if they were going to hold the sign up the whole time and she said no, they would drop ita few miles in but they would still be keeping the pace. last year i got screwed by the paces since i didn't know they were going to drop the sign and i got too far back. they dropped it not even 3 miles in and were never seen again. this time my plan was to stick to them like glue.
before the race even started i moved to the side and took the throwaway shirt off and then got back in line with the pacers. then we were off. it was tough to stick to them but did my best to keep right in line with them and dodge all the runners. not even two miles in i took the long sleeve and my gloves off. i tied the shirt around my waist and tucked the gloves in my pocket.
i saw eric and the kids in the international district rigth before heading up onto 90. i took the outside lane which was longer and steeper, i'll try to remember that for next year.
at some point i realized yet again that I don't know how to work my watch so i missed a split or two and the time on my watch was totally off.
we hit the 5k mark at about 27 minutes which was pretty much right on target.
the tunnel was hot and humid and i heard lots of complaints.
but then next thing i knew we were headed down onto lake wa blvd and 5 miles were done! those miles flew by. a bit after mile 5 i started to move ahead of the pacers. i kept looking back to see if they were right behind me or not. if they were i was just going to drop back but after a while they were no where to be seen.
then i saw the kids and eric again waving and cheering from up above! it was so fun to see them!
i hit the 10k mark in 54:08 gun time. i had fun along the lake and just did my thing. i don't remember seeing the lake. i remember leschi but nothing after that really. i vaguly remember running past kurt cobain's old house and making a right turn before the switch backs.
next thing i knew it was time to hike it up galer. i shortened my steps and bent at the waist and just went up it. then turned onto madison. one of the best parts of the race is the top of madison when you turn into the arboretum since its lined with spectators and everyone is cheering.
the arboretum is tough because its downhill and although i was happy it was no longer up hill, i decided its the arboretum that really does a number on me, not so much interlaken.
then to my surprise i saw eric and the kids again! i watched as people a head of me slapped hands with the kids and then it was my turn. eric said that lots of people were happy to see the kids there and it was almost like when you hold the door for people at a busy place - when do you just decide to leave? apparently people were crossing the road to get to the kids to slap their hands and one guy even slipped and fell right on his arse! i guess he was ok though.
then off to the right and towards interlaken we went.
one spectator was very misguided and told us that we were almost to the top. yeah, no we weren't we crossed the busy road and i almost lost it when i thougth i was the police man telling the runners to stop so the bus could get through but i don't know what was actually happneing there.
then into the real interlaken. i slowed it down and just ran up it. i was doing ok but when i would get tired i would slow it down a bit. then i would speed it up and get tired again so i would slow it down. it went on and on and on. i started getting the chills and got a little concerned but i kept going. i knew i would be too warm if i put on my shirt. then we hit the 10 mile mark. even though i messed up my watch i knew that i would really have to blow it to not get under 2 hrs.
i kept running past the water station (a first for this coarse!) and kept going.
onto lakeview and the false flat. it was killing me but then i saw eric and the kids AGAIN! at mile 11! i was so happy to see them!
right when we were about to head over I-5 i saw a woman wonder off to the right and just go down head first into bushes. i yelled for volunteers but kept running. i felt a little weird about that. then down down down and over and then down then past the 12 mile mark! a little later i saw a guy wonder off to the left, put his hands on his knees then he went down, too. after the race xtie said she saw 3 people passed out in those last two miles with EMTs all around them. I hope they are ok. my theory is that they weren't prepared for it to be as warm as it was. that is the only thing I can guess since i had never seen that any other year.
i kept running until i got to the last stretch where we dip under a road and then have to run back up the other side. i just couldn't do it. i was done. i felt horrible and i was tired. i stopped and walked about 5 steps then started running again.
i couldnt remember how the finish worked, i thought they made you run around the block but they didnt! so next thing i knew i was headed to the finish line!
and i saw a 1:!!! not a 2: but a 1: and i was close enough that it wouldn't turn into a 2: !! i crossed the finish line, got my medal, gave back my chip then headed to recovery. i downed a bottle of water in about 20 seconds. i grabbed a space blanket put on my shirt and gloves and grabbed some soup! eeewww, it had noodles, but i drank all the broth. then i had some chocolate milk and headed outside to find eric and the kids.
i walked to the meeting area and waited for like 1/2 hr then asked a guy who was waiting that entire same time if he had a cell phone. i called eric and found out they were on their way on the monorail! i met them when they got off of it and then we all got back on.
we stopped at westlake center and the kids road the carosele which was really cute.
then we came home. sirus had a hard day of spectating so he fell asleep on the way home and is still asleep right now!
i have to say that i am happy with my finish time but not happy with how i felt that last mile. but i did recover pretty quickly. i'm tired but not dead to the world.

all the girls that i had been on my long runs with did well. and everyone seemed to have a fun race.

i am happy to have the race over and the 2hr curse be lifted. now that the 2 hr mark is in the bag i can go out faster next time and see what happens!

also a big accomplishment for me is getting up to te 30 miles per week mark and realizing i felt better and less tired running 30 then when i was doing 15-20. guess that is why everyone was telling me to try to get to 30.

now off to some relaxing!

the pain in my neck

i have been having terrible pain in my jaw and neck since the end of september. it was so bad that after a few days i made an appointment to start up massage again (different side of my neck this time though) but while i was waiting for the appointment i decided that i was in so much pain that my teeth must be rotting out and i had to make an appointment with the dentist. they got me in right away and said my teeth were in better shape then they had ever seen them. ok, so granted the last 5+ years or so i have been pregnant or recovering from pregnancy and everyone knows what that can do to someones gums!! anyway, teeth were fine, no grinding, nothing. dentist told me to relax. so that is what i tried to do. so weeks and weeks later, i was about to totally lose it. can't sleep, on the verge of crying constantly, wondering if i was on the road to alchoholism since the only thing that seemed to help was a tasty adult beverage or two. so i went to my doctor who told me to go back to the dentist. which i sisn't. until today - about two months since the pain started. i told him that i haven't been able to relax and that running seems to help (to which he commented that it looked like i have been running alot - which i took as a compliment) and that it was time to make a night guard. yeah so that is a terrible process. once which wound up with all kinds of gagging and horror all over the place. ok, that is a bit dramatic but the nice lady kept telling me to breathe through my nose which i couldn't do becaue the stuff stunk so badly, but i had mascara all over my face, drool all down my front but most important, they got a good impression and i didn't need to do it again. i need to go back in a week for a fitting then he suspects i will come back once a week for the next few weeks while my jaw heals from all the swelling and whatever that has been going on. i asked him to shoot my jaw up with something that would take away the pain which he said he could do but that it would just be novicaine and wouldn't do any good really. he gave me muscle relaxers and offered to give me prescriptions for pain medicine and sleep stuff, both of which i turned down. i sure wanted both but its best in my opinion to not take those. heck i have my aleve now. both he and the pharmacists said that the muscle relaxers wont affect my race on sunday and that they might actually make it better but both suggested i try them on a training run first. hope i don't get a random pee check! there are big expectations for the race though! both the magic 8-ball on my desk and the race time predictor say i should finish in the low 150s even potentially below. Yikes! i really have no idea what to expect, but i think i will take it conservatively and hang out with the 2hr pacers for the first 1/2 of the race, then if i am feeling good i will speed up for the 2nd 1/2. lasy year i stuck to a pacer, i can't remember which one but about 3 miles in they dropped their sign and i never saw them again. that pacer was no good.
but now i have some uncertainty, mixed with muscle relaxers mixed with opps, got a flu shot when i was picking up my prescription, topped with thanksgiving, so we will see. i am pretty excited though!!
seamus made me shed a tear earlier when eric asked her what she is thankful for this thanksgiving. she answered with "my mom and my dad". i thought that was sweet. both of those kids are so sweet and i am totally thankul for them, that is for sure. i have a ton to be thankful for and i hope everyone has a happy and safe holiday!

trains

sirus was so funny this evening. he was in the playroom playing with his trains track. i suggested he get all the trains from out of his toy box and bring them which he did. then when it was time for dinner he didn't want to come to dinner instead he said "i want to play with my trains all night long". eventually we got him to dinner then he went back up and played the whole night. when i went to get him to put his jammies on, i overheard him telling the trains that they were getting tired and were going to need to go to bed soon and he was bringing the two tiny little beds we have over and lining them up against the tracks.

seamus stinks

seamus is a funny little girl. she is a big talker and talks all the time. she uses good grammar for the most part and knows a ton of words. but instead of saying think she says stink. Its pretty funny. she is totally capable of saying think but just says stink. so she stinks all the time.

she also has a tendency to say stirty instead of thirty. that ones not as funny, but its cute non the less.

sirus has on some pants today that make his legs look long. maybe they are longer these days since he got his new bed and all.

my face hurts like a biatch. i don't know what the problem is, but i went to the massage lady today and she spent an hour massaging my face. i wanted to throw up i was in so much pain. it feels better but its really getting old.

i got some good news today!!

stuff

a few weeks back we ordered a big boy bed for sirus. we didn't really mean to but we found a great deal on, gasp, a bunk bed. i was totally against getting a bunk bed but the lady told us we can swap up all the peices and wind up with two twin sized beds. so we went with it. now our guests can share a twin with no mattress. anyway, the bed will be picked up tomorrow. we picked up the mattress for sirus today. we put on his snazzy new super man sheets and its 5 minutes to bed time. i am a little sad about the whole thing, sirus is y little guy after all.
i went for a 9 mile run today. it was a little under 10 minute pace and it was so fun. i felt great and had so much fun just talking away the whole time. alledgedy this type of run should help me? we'll see in two weeks i guess.
i did a 5k today at work. it was put on by the same guy who did the snoqualmie 5k. this race was a fundraiser for the community's ptsas at the two elementary schools. i wasn't sure what to expect since i have not been feeling fast by any means and i was kind not feeling it for the race. plus i had already gone about 24 miles that week after recently bumping my mileage up to 30 for the past few weeks. i woke up and was feeling skinny which was enough of a good day already for me. especially since the day before i had to change my pants once i got to work since the ones i wore were just too tight. bleck. i did wear my fancy new old lady shoes and got a compliment on them and they were pretty comfortable... so that sort of ofset the issue with the too tight pants.
so we got to the race site and unloaded the kids. we went in and picked up our number and the kids shirts. then off for a little warm up. i was told the coarse would be hilly and to not expect a pr, so in my warm up i ran the coarse backwards to what looked to be the last hill in the race.
then it was time to line up. i loved the start because the timing company guy was like, if you expect to finish in 17 minutes or less, please line up in the front. you could almost hear a pin drop while everyone looked around like, what? it was just too fast. then he said anyone expecting a 7 minute pace to go to the front. i would love a 7 minute pace but i wasn't thinking i would do that. i did wind up a row or two back and managed to get tripped up at the start.
so then we were off. 3:34 into the race i realized it was going to be a looong race. i held onto the front pack for the first mile - 7:05. i was pretty stoked by this since it was pretty hilly and windy and turny. then in mile two i almost cracked. we went through the neighborhoods and up some more hills, around a culdesac and past the water station. then the mile 2 sign - 7:40. Yikes! then i did crack. i rounded a bend and thought it was the hill i had run too in my warm up but it wasn't. and then i did the unthinkable. i walked. and got PASSED. then i started up again but managed to get passed by two young kids - an 11 yr old and a 7 yr old. next thing i knew i was rounding the corner and headed back to the school. i was so excited except it didn't go back the way i had warmed up - you had to run around the parking lot! then to add insult to injury, eric and the kids were standing at the turn around and i got confused and ran around them and the parking divider instead of infront of them and the divider!! i gave up a second or two there and could have broken 24 had i not run the extra few feet but anyway i was happy to be done.
i came in 3rd in my age group. the top 3 overall ladies were all in the 40+ category, and the girl who passed me on the hill was 20-29, so it all kind of worked in my favor. i got a trophy and was able to give it to the kids so that was pretty fun.
then we got pancakes. with chocolate chips. i will come back next year!
but i do have to say that at no time during this race did i feel like i wanted to drop out of the race (even though i stopped to walk) and at no time did i question why i enter these things or why i run at all. eric said i wasn't really racing then, which is possibly true. i did go home and take a nap though, i was worn out.

i ran to work today. that was fun. better then the last time i ran to work, but i still don't know how to dress, i was too warm. but i didn't have to stop at the conveniently located honey bucket and i felt pretty good. i was a minute slower then last time... but i took it easy to start out with but then cranked it up on and off for the last 20 minutes. i also had my new headlamp which by the time i got around to leaving the house i now longer needed and the new reflective vest, that again i did not need but wore anyway!
eric and the kids picked me up from work and on the way home seamus said she would like her nails to be red like a little girl at preschool. so after dinner and mandatory halloween candy i got to painting seamus's finger nails. then i painted my soon to be not so grody toe nails and then sirus wanted his toenails painted, too, so i did that. then eric was all passed out asleep right next to us so we painted a few of his finger nails too.
i was worried about the pants i had packed to wear today because they are my skinny jeans and i haven't been skinny enough to really wear them since like february i think. but i packed them anway. then last night i was feeling puffy and thick and because even more concerned that i'd run all the way to work and have no pants to wear. turned out the pants were actually fine, it was the shirt i had packed that didnt fit! ok, so that pants didn't really fit either but the shirt i could not manage to deal with. so i put on my coat without a shirt on and wore it all day long. it was a sweet coat i had gotten while shopping in NYC with jen back in september. i think i am going to get some old lady shoes, too.

good night licorice

so sirus is still calling seamus licorice and it is so cute. he pushed her earlier today and i told him he needed to apologize so he went right over, hugged her and said "i'm sorry licorice'. then tonight before he went to bed he went running from her room caling out "good night licorice". i asked him why he called her that. he said its a happy word. i asked him where he learned and he said the leprechauns, those who are responsible for a lot of things in our house.
today i went for a 12 mile run with the girls. it was a lot of fun. it was quite a bit slower then i normally go. i am trying to figure out what speed or effort i should be doing these run. i am contemplating getting a coach for the up coming season since i have quite a few goals. i talked to eric about it who thinks going with a coach would be a good idea. now the hard part - finding one and paying for it. i thought i had an idea and it looks like i was about right if i was looking for just a running coach or just a cycling coach, but ya throw in that whole tri aspect of it and that just ups the $$... plus i haven' found any who mention anything about xterras or mtn biking. so i have some work to do there.
but i have just completed two 30 mile weeks in a row and i feel great. i feel better then when i was just at 15-20. hopefully can keep it up and hopfully it results in some better results. i definitly feel better, so thats a plus!
except i'm not tired and i should realy go to bed...
work has been good but exhausting and kind of stressful.. but yeah, thats the way it goes.

licorice

almost every mornign i ask the kids if they had any dreams. sirus usually says yes adn then says they were about cars. i can't quite beleive him but maybe i should. this morning he said his dreams were about haircuts. then he went on to call seamus licorice for the rest of the morning. I am pretty sure he proclaimed while we were all cuddling this morning "i will call her licorice" and then he did. I can't wait to go home and see if it continues.

the funny things that sirus says

yesterday he said "lets go amigos" and took off running. i am sure he probably learned this from his girlfriend dora the explorer but it was funny to hear him say it.
seamus is showing us her geniusness lately. the other night we were reading a book of mine from when i was little, i think its sammy the seal. she has been saying words a lot lately and sounding them out as she says them. i asked her if she wanted to find some words in the book to sound out and read and she did. she managed to sound out and read Sammy, happy, no (to which she got up and showed me how she had written that already), over, fun, zebra and hippo. then i asked her if she could find the word zoo on the page which she said no to and instead went to her desk and wrote it for me instead. I almost fell down, i had no idea she could do all of this. and now she hasn't done it since. thats ok.
the new james bond movie is coming out soon, i can't wait. we went to see Zach and Miri Make a Porno. while i loved Jay in it because he is one of my favorites, it really wasn't a very good movie. we had seen Burn After Reading a few weeks back and that was good. Or maybe i was just drunk? i did have a few before going to the movie but i think it was funny anyway.
then, there is the election. i really don't know what to say. when they announced on tv that obama had won ohio i cheered out loud and clapped my hands! the whole night was pretty emotional, but it sounds like it was for people all around the world. its really an amazing feeling! when i left for work in the morning i told the kids to remember this day since history was going to happen. they both looked at me like i was crazy so i told them i loved them and headed off to work.

halloween and stuff

yesterday was halloween. i was SOOO excited, probably as excited as seamus! the kids could not wait to go trick or treating! they ate dinner and then finally it was dark. off they went. my heart melted as i watched them dressed as wonderwoman (no wig since it made seamus's forehead itch) and as superman, both holding their pumpkins with one hand and eric's hands with their others. i watched them walk out the driveway on their big adventure. the original plan was for them to do our street then go to one other. i stood in the play room and opened the window. i heard them walking back past our house. i could hear sirus yapping away about something in his totally excited high pitched voice. they were walking very fast! i heard them go up to the house accross the street and i heard their little voices yell out Trick or Treat! and then thank you before they left. Then i watched as they went to the next house and then off of our street.
and then i waited. and waited and waited some more. so i went outside and lit the candles in the pumpkins. then i scattered fake spiders around. then i waited. i ate some candy. then finally two girls stopped by.
then eric and the kids came home and started sorting their loot. they lined up their candy in big long lines on the living room floor. sirus picked out all of his tootsie pops out of his line and brought them over to show me. he unwrapped on then quickly went back to put the others "back in line". later he picked up a peice of candy and asked eric what it was. eric told him it was a snickers to which sirus replied, what does snickers do? does it snick?
3 more groups of kids stopped by the house but that was it. we have waaay too much extra candy left but i think i ate way more then my share yesterday (can you say two cupcakes and a rice crispie treat for lunch?) to even find any of it appealing today.
the whole halloween thing wore me out though. sirus got up and went potty all by him self this morning at 6:50. it was so dark out and i was so passed out that i had no idea what time it was. after a while he crawled into bed with us and he just layed there touching my face with his little hand. then seamus came in to cuddle for a bit, too. she kept telling us how much she loves all of us so eventually i had to tell her to be quite because we were still sleeping. i am so mean. eventually eric got up and the 3 of them went downstairs. i on the otherhand slept until 10am!! wholey moley!
today was the first day of the medicine that will allegedly fix my toenails. we'll see in april since they should be done by then.
i got up, had some breakfast and coffee. then i got dressed to go running. i stepped outside and immediately stepped back in to wear LESS clothing! it was warm out today, totally amazing!
i headed out on what i knew would be a beast of a route. i had already done 20 miles this week plus the extreme halloween so i was a little beat but i wanted to get in a long run this weekend. not even 20 minutes in i took off my longsleeve and just ran in my shorts and tank - it was that nice out! then it rained and i was still warm! the first 1/2 hour had considerably more up hill then i had imagined it would. then it was downhill for about a mile. it was that downhill that started to bother my knees and calves. i started thinking about where i might stop and ask eric to pick me up! then i turned onto a nice farm road and passed the pumpkin patch where we got out pumpkins this year. it was quiet and there were a ton of leaves on the road. and i kept going. eventually i made it back to the main road and down another hill, through the scary tunnel and onto the trail. at the one hour mark i was right by the house with the helicopter landing pad in their yard. and i was beat. i stopped and had a gu. then off i went. i figured i had anohter 15 minutes to the bottom of inglewood which turned out to be right on. i stopped and rested there a bit and headed up. i ran almost 1/2 way up but then had to walk. earlier in the week eric and the kids took the bus and met me at work. we all ran home together which was a ton of fun, although eric pushed the kids up the big hill - the whole hill, all the way up! so i ran the whole thing that day too. then that same day we sprinted the last .3 mile getting up to 11mph by the end. that totally killed me.
but today, i walked some of the hill. i did start to run again at the top and ran pretty well until i got to the stop light. the last section to our house is always really long. there is a hill, which is fine but everything after the hill takes forever and is totally painful. i trugged through it and got to the house. finally.
i stretched and went right to the shower. i was pretty sure i was going to pass out in the shower. i didn't but i did have to get out and then sit on the couch for a good 1/2 hour or more still in my bathrobe.
so that was today and a few of the previous days. nothing too thrilling going on.
i am planning for 2009 already, which i am totally stoked about!! it does mean i will have to do some swimming though so i have to figure that whole thing out...

halloween night

sirus: what is this?
Eric: thats a snickers
sirus: what does that do? does it snick?

sirus

such a cutie. not sure if i told the story of how he was out running around with eric and seamus. apparently he had a hard time keeping up and told eric his legs were too short and that he needed new ones.
i went to an auction the other day. i got sirus a kick bike, a tiny little bike that has no pedals. it is much smaller then the bike seamus already has and with sirus's little legs he won't be ready to try her bike for a long time. i lost out the bidding on the blue bike, so he wound up with a pink one. it was a fundraiser for the breast cancer fund and he likes pink anyway...
the next morning after both kids discovered the bike, seamus came up to me while i was getting ready for work. she gave me a hug and said "thank you for getting sirus his own little bike". i thought it was so sweet. then another 10 minutes later sirus came up gave me a big head and said "mommy, thank you so much for my new bike". i wanted to cry. those kids are so sweet. i asked eric if he prompted him to do it and he said no.
it reminded me of when we went to NY the kids stayed at grandma and grandpas. i had taken all of the trains that sirus didn't take with him and lined them up on his night stand. when we got home from picking them up, about 5 days later, he went into his room and was practivally speechless - he said "oooh mommy! thank you so much for my trains!". he is just so adorable. today he is losing his voice. his little voice is so adorable right now.
yesterday at dinner seamus asked me if i lost weight. that made me laugh.
yesterday i ran almost 10 miles with feather. i vented to her the entire time about all the shiat that has been going on. apparently i have been holding alot in because i bitched for the whole 10 miles straight, and the run went by so quick! it was incredible!!
pain in the neck and jaw is still there but a bit intermittent. i have been taking advil and getting massages and such and its been working somewhat. i feel better for the most part.
halloween is this weekend and i can't wait. the kids went to the halloween carnival at seamus's preschool on saturday. seamus was so excited to go she could hardly contain her self. i made sirus some superman pants. he was so excited to wear them but he did not want to wear the superman red shorts over top of them. he got over that. seamus wore her wig and blue eye shadow and some little red gems glued to her face. the carnival involved 7 or so stations and at each was a little game like tossing bean bags or rings onto a target of some sort. after they completed each they got a prize. the kids loved it. they collected all of their prizes and then spent the afternoon and evening practicing trick-or-treating. very funny stuff.

yikes!

and to top it off, i found a grey hair! on MY head!! plucked that sucka right out of there, but sheehs!

need to get things started, again

dude, i am a mess! its sooooo bad, what happened, how did this happen? yuck. double yuck.
so yuck that i went out with a friend last night who was commenting on how she would like to wear jeans to work occasionally, and i looked at my own get up - dirty, baggy (but considerably less baggy lately) jeans that were being worn for the 2nd day in a row, ratty, oversized t-shirt and a grey hooded sweatshirt, unbrushed hair and no makeup. i had worn this to work. and my friend made the comment that i am a boss even.
i had a terrible dream last night that someone asked me why i was wearing my wedding ring on the wrong finger. i was like, what do you mean? i had a weird amnesia where i couldn't see all of my fingers. while finally realizing this, my hands started to cramp and my fingers started bending backwards at the joints. the top most joint bending totally back, then more and more. i fell to the floor and started screaming. i don't remember it being painful, just freaky as hell. i just screamed and screamed. i was in a hospital and they brought in a gurney. then i woke up in bed huffing and puffing, totally exhausted/
that plus the lingering pain in my neck and jaw that isn't going away.

sticky tape

sirus just turned 3. on friday. he is too cute to be 3!



one of the cute things he does, and yet more evidence that he is male is that he thinks tape will fix everything. specifically "sticky tape". the kids were playing in the box that the new kitchen chairs came in. it tore all down the side and the first thing sirus asked for was sticky tape to fix it. so cute.

yes, new kitchen chairs to go with the brand new grown up style kitchen table. we were in NYC from Sept 9-13 and while there we sawl jen l! and she had a fabulous kitchen table. for some reason she didn't want to pack it up and send it to us in seattle, but she did tell us where she got it, so we got it too. we are copy cats but imitation is the best form of flattery.
while in new york eric and i CHOWED down. we spent so much money on eating out it was REDICULOUS. DAMN tasty but expensive. we went to one place and i ordered the open faced lasgana which was so amazing i can't even describe it but i will try. picture giant noodle on a giant plate with all the best sausage and cheesey goodness on top, served super hot! it was soooo good! also in NY we saw LIZ who took us to the DONUT PLANT where i had an awesome strawberry donut, it smelled so good and
strawberry. she also took us to momufuku or something liek that where we had a plate of HAM, a bowl of tomatoes, some pork goodness and a few good beers.
we went on the haror lights cruise, to the top of the empire state building, through the east village, time square (which i made eric walk like 5 miles to get to because i only knew how to get there from 55th & Broadway, when in al actuallity we were less then 3 blocks away when we started out), we attempted to go to the MOMA on free friday but it was pouring and there were 589237470236 people in line, eric went to ground zero and central park. jen took us to see south pacific at lincoln center where we saw MICHAEL KORS who left his tickets to the show on the floor by his seat. i went to starbucks plenty, the Google offices, my offices and what else. i don't know but my shoe broke the 2nd night we were there and i went shopping with carrie to get some flip flops. i was amazed that i was abe to walk 20 miles in those things.

then after we came back from NY i got ready to go to atlanta for lisa's wedding! i was so excited about this trip, it couldn't get here soon enough! i flew out thursday on the red eye and didn't sleep a wink. i did however watch the sex and the city movie which i thoroughly enjoyed. lisa volunteered her fiancee to pick me up at the airport which was fun since i hadn't ever met him and he had never met me. she sent him out the door with a sign that had my name on it and a photo from my wedding almost 7 years ago - a photo that showed my face from the side! anyway, it al worked out a-ok but altanta had no gas! totally unreal!
anyway, we got to the house, and after i was over my speechlessness of its amazingness i was so happy to see lisa and her family. later that evening we go dressed for the rehearsal dinner and wound up hanging out on the porch until past midnight. the wedding was saturday and lisa looked amazing. she looked like she stepped right out of a magazine! the wedding was great and the reception was fun. i drank way to much but ya know. we all hung out sunday as everyone headed off to the airport one by one. i was really happy to see all the girls, it had been so long.

but after all of that traveling and such, i have gained a ton of pounds, haven't run in what seems like weeks and i have a terrible sore throat.

sirus is not a girl

seamus is certain of this because when you look in his drawers there are no skirts.

also, potty training is done. this is amazing. there is still a threat of accidents and nightime protection has to happen but still, all day every day. amazing.

pf changs china bistro

it sucks the life out of you, or out of me at least.

but i was impressed that seamus was able to pick up and eat an entire pot sticker with chop sticks. a slippery steamed one at that!

on the trail

eric and the kids picked me up at work and we headed over to marymoor. yes, we drove to the burkegilman. we are who we make fun of. but the hill is just too dangerous and steep while towing the kids.

anyway, we were riding along. i was in the front and eric was following while pulling the kids.

a guy pulled up next to eric and said "yeah, i could follow behind that all day long"

to which eric replied "yeah, it really catches a big draft"

then the guy rode away.

then eric said "hmm, not sure if he was talking about the trailer or your arse." but then we laughed at the prospect of it being my arse and it catching a big draft.