I participated in the Illinois Marathon 10k today. I set my phone to play my favorite Couch to 5k interval workout (Week 4: walk 5 min, run 3, walk 90 seconds, run 5, walk 2 1/2, run 3, walk 90 seconds, run 5) and then I repeated it until I was done.
My surgically enhanced foot felt no pain, but now at the end of the day, it's a bit puffy. I dipped my left foot with the Plantar Fasciitis in ice water when I got home, and then I've been stretching my feet and calves the rest of the day. And besides a general ache when I stand up for the first few seconds (that actually feels more like it's coming from my pelvis) I feel pretty great.
It was fun, and unlike other big city races I've been in, I had a pack of people around me until just past mile 5. Then it thinned out. I think people started to walk around 4, so they fell a bit behind.
I was not fast. But I also was not injured. I'll totally take that. It was, actually, only 12 minutes slower than my uninjured time back in 2010 when I ran a 10k in 90 degree heat in Baltimore. :-) I was in much better overall shape then (and 25 lbs lighter) but I am terrible at exercising in heat.
Much better to be walogging in 47-52 degrees than in 90 degrees.
I had a good time participating. I know that because I was smiling and thanking the police and volunteers. I didn't do that at the trail run 5k a few weeks ago. That was the first, so it was harder, and I had unreal expectations.
Today was just about perfect.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Same Old, Same Old
MacTroll and I ended up leaving X-man (who had a case of strep throat last week) with KTDID on Saturday and flying off to California to look at houses. We toured six. Online two looked very promising, and four looked -- okay. In the end, One looked awesome, one looked okay (but was in the our second choice school area versus the first choice) and the rest were ugly to meh.
So we put in on the first house we walked through, but there were many bids, and ours did not get chosen.
We're going to go back at the end of May with X-man to look again (unless, while Joel's there) he visits a house that he finds fantastic.
In other news, I've been weeding the gardens and mulching (per our buyers' request). We have to leave everything else as is, and I don't want to look at empty garden beds for the summer, so I put in some mixed wildflowers today.
Tomorrow I'm going to walk/run the 10k at the Illinois Marathon. I guess I should be getting to sleep very, very soon for it. My race starts at 7:40ish a.m. I'm just going to turn on a low week number of couch to 5k and do it 2-3 times, and consider it a good workout.
I also started to track my walks with Lily. Since my surgery, I haven't walked her as much as I used to. And I've been kind of lazy about taking care of my workouts, so she's got some extra weight. I have reduced her food, but we've also been out a few times doing my old short running path (around 3.5 miles), but at a walk. I found a new Dog Walking App and downloaded it. This way, I can track the mileage and speed, without using my Nike run app, to track my walking workout.
So we put in on the first house we walked through, but there were many bids, and ours did not get chosen.
We're going to go back at the end of May with X-man to look again (unless, while Joel's there) he visits a house that he finds fantastic.
In other news, I've been weeding the gardens and mulching (per our buyers' request). We have to leave everything else as is, and I don't want to look at empty garden beds for the summer, so I put in some mixed wildflowers today.
Tomorrow I'm going to walk/run the 10k at the Illinois Marathon. I guess I should be getting to sleep very, very soon for it. My race starts at 7:40ish a.m. I'm just going to turn on a low week number of couch to 5k and do it 2-3 times, and consider it a good workout.
I also started to track my walks with Lily. Since my surgery, I haven't walked her as much as I used to. And I've been kind of lazy about taking care of my workouts, so she's got some extra weight. I have reduced her food, but we've also been out a few times doing my old short running path (around 3.5 miles), but at a walk. I found a new Dog Walking App and downloaded it. This way, I can track the mileage and speed, without using my Nike run app, to track my walking workout.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Key Up the Adventure Music
You may remember a long time ago, when it rained so much I found a baby catfish stuck with it's head in a sewer grate in my subdivision because the lake at Dana Colbert Park overflowed, and then poured over the two ditches and drained down the access sidewalk to the park into the grate west of my house.
Well, with our torrents of rain this week, it happened again. Yesterday evening as we were returning MacTroll's rental car (his flight from NYC was grounded because of the floods in Chicago, so he didn't get to Illinois until midnight and then spent the night in Lisle before driving home on Thursday afternoon), when I spotted another one. This time, MacTroll jumped out and went over and helped the dude get free of the grate pushing him through. As he was doing so, another smaller fish jumped out of the grate.
This morning, when we took X-man to school there were two smaller catfish with heads too big to go down the grate. I couldn't leave them there to die, so I got a bucket and put them in the bucket (using a towel to pick them up because -- ewww)!
I hate catfish they creep me out. Catfish and Asian Carp. Bleh! I put them in the bucket and put cardboard on top, so they wouldn't flip around, and then, Mactroll laughing until he cried at me freaking out, drove me to the lake on the far side (where there are loads of baby geese and ducks) and watched me toss them back into the lake.
I've now washed my hands about a dozen times.
I imagine, if there are others, swimming around in the extra drainage areas that when the water finally stops falling from the sky, there will be a fish feast of a great magnitude for the coyotes and hawks.
Funny how I'm okay with them getting eaten by other wildlife, but I'm totally not okay with getting killed in a storm drain grate.
Oh, and I really hope when they post "Don't litter" on the grates because that water returns to streams and creeks with actual wildlife, that it's true. Because maybe those fish that were lost down the grate will survive on there.
All I know is that if I were a prospective house builder, I would NEVER buy those two lots that have the water overflow problem.
Well, with our torrents of rain this week, it happened again. Yesterday evening as we were returning MacTroll's rental car (his flight from NYC was grounded because of the floods in Chicago, so he didn't get to Illinois until midnight and then spent the night in Lisle before driving home on Thursday afternoon), when I spotted another one. This time, MacTroll jumped out and went over and helped the dude get free of the grate pushing him through. As he was doing so, another smaller fish jumped out of the grate.
This morning, when we took X-man to school there were two smaller catfish with heads too big to go down the grate. I couldn't leave them there to die, so I got a bucket and put them in the bucket (using a towel to pick them up because -- ewww)!
I hate catfish they creep me out. Catfish and Asian Carp. Bleh! I put them in the bucket and put cardboard on top, so they wouldn't flip around, and then, Mactroll laughing until he cried at me freaking out, drove me to the lake on the far side (where there are loads of baby geese and ducks) and watched me toss them back into the lake.
I've now washed my hands about a dozen times.
I imagine, if there are others, swimming around in the extra drainage areas that when the water finally stops falling from the sky, there will be a fish feast of a great magnitude for the coyotes and hawks.
Funny how I'm okay with them getting eaten by other wildlife, but I'm totally not okay with getting killed in a storm drain grate.
Oh, and I really hope when they post "Don't litter" on the grates because that water returns to streams and creeks with actual wildlife, that it's true. Because maybe those fish that were lost down the grate will survive on there.
All I know is that if I were a prospective house builder, I would NEVER buy those two lots that have the water overflow problem.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Awareness
Wow, it's been a while since I blogged. So sorry! There has been a lot going on. Most of it is just general life stuff and moving consolidation.
Yesterday, though, I had made a unilateral decision not to talk to X-man about the Boston Marathon bombings until we had found out more. Given his anxiety levels about danger these days, I thought it to be better.
Than, while I'm cleaning up dinner last night, X-man tells me his co-teacher was in Boston watching her father run the marathon. He asked if we could look up his time. I had know idea that his teacher was there. I explained that I didn't know his teacher's maiden name, so it would be hard to find him.
But I guess I had some kind of odd expression on my face. And my social cue clueless kid asked me what was wrong. "Wrong? Why do you think something is wrong?"
"You pushed your eyes together."
Oh. Crap.
So I told him. He was worried, but he felt better when I e-mailed both of his teachers to see if they knew if she was safe. Indeed she was, and so was her HUSBAND, who was running the race. They got back to me by bedtime, so I got to go in and retuck X-man in with the new news. And he went to bed and was okay.
MacTroll looked into moving our blue Mazda RX-8, and it was going to be more than he wanted to pay for a 9-year-old car. So last week, we took both of our cars in and traded them in on a new Toyota Rav-4. We used our Illinois tax refund to make up the rest. And now we're living as a one car house. Since he's not around a lot, it's a pretty easy adjustment.
We also went to Slumberland and got a new queen-sized mattress. We downsized our bed from king to queen last week, and I'm loving it. But the mattress on the bed is kind of gross, old and torn up from prior moves (before I got hip to mattress covers for moving). Anyway, they deliver it on Friday and take away the old mattress. So when we relocate, we'll only have two beds. Our queen and X-man's full. Now I just need to Craigslist X-man's 5-year-old iMac and donate his toddler table. But that will have to wait until next week.
X-man had his school carnival on Friday. He was very particular about the games he played. He won the Book Walk six times, because he loved the short line. And he found the books to be of more substance than the prizes. But if he had to wait in a line longer than 3 minutes, that game didn't get played.
MacTroll and I leave for California on Saturday afternoon. We're going to go look for houses. Of course the four I liked last week have already sold. This is going to be an interesting process...
That reminds me, I need to remind our attorney about getting us purchase Power of Attorneys this week.
Yesterday, though, I had made a unilateral decision not to talk to X-man about the Boston Marathon bombings until we had found out more. Given his anxiety levels about danger these days, I thought it to be better.
Than, while I'm cleaning up dinner last night, X-man tells me his co-teacher was in Boston watching her father run the marathon. He asked if we could look up his time. I had know idea that his teacher was there. I explained that I didn't know his teacher's maiden name, so it would be hard to find him.
But I guess I had some kind of odd expression on my face. And my social cue clueless kid asked me what was wrong. "Wrong? Why do you think something is wrong?"
"You pushed your eyes together."
Oh. Crap.
So I told him. He was worried, but he felt better when I e-mailed both of his teachers to see if they knew if she was safe. Indeed she was, and so was her HUSBAND, who was running the race. They got back to me by bedtime, so I got to go in and retuck X-man in with the new news. And he went to bed and was okay.
MacTroll looked into moving our blue Mazda RX-8, and it was going to be more than he wanted to pay for a 9-year-old car. So last week, we took both of our cars in and traded them in on a new Toyota Rav-4. We used our Illinois tax refund to make up the rest. And now we're living as a one car house. Since he's not around a lot, it's a pretty easy adjustment.
We also went to Slumberland and got a new queen-sized mattress. We downsized our bed from king to queen last week, and I'm loving it. But the mattress on the bed is kind of gross, old and torn up from prior moves (before I got hip to mattress covers for moving). Anyway, they deliver it on Friday and take away the old mattress. So when we relocate, we'll only have two beds. Our queen and X-man's full. Now I just need to Craigslist X-man's 5-year-old iMac and donate his toddler table. But that will have to wait until next week.
X-man had his school carnival on Friday. He was very particular about the games he played. He won the Book Walk six times, because he loved the short line. And he found the books to be of more substance than the prizes. But if he had to wait in a line longer than 3 minutes, that game didn't get played.
MacTroll and I leave for California on Saturday afternoon. We're going to go look for houses. Of course the four I liked last week have already sold. This is going to be an interesting process...
That reminds me, I need to remind our attorney about getting us purchase Power of Attorneys this week.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Let the Freak Outs Begin
Since I have a spouse who likes to collect stuff and doesn't realize how much stuff he has, and I have a son who is no good at transitions, and I have a dog who is very protective and three cats who are stuck in their ways, I'm the person who has to keep the "crap" under control in our house. I think every household has this person, if there are more than one person in the house. The one who makes sure holy socks get thrown away (I guess in olden days they'd "darn" them, but now I just go buy new ones).
This week, MacTroll and I are giving away our king-sized bedframe to a friend of ours. X-man very rarely climbs into bed with the two of us, we instead walk him back to his bed and lay down with him. He's not a baby any more. There's no need for the extra space for the sometime visitors. And, honestly, sometimes I feel there's a giant canyon at night between MacTroll and I. The dog likes to fill in that space, but I don't what her there. I want the canyon to go away.
So, we moved our queen-sized bed frame into our bedroom this morning after walking X-man to school. I'm wiping down the old frame and carrying it down to the garage. This Saturday, I will transport it up to my friend and her husband and their two little girls.
The guest bed has a mattress that's a bit old, and it suffered in our move from Virginia to Illinois 10 years ago (ripped a bit). So, we're going to run out next week when MacTroll is home all week (he leaves today for California) and get a new one for it. We figured it would be cheaper on this end than on the other end.
But it also means that if I take three pictures off the wall, I can pretty much close the guest room door and never enter it again until we move. One room -- empty -- and ready to belong to the new family.
We close on this house on June 21, but the housing selection in California has been kind of slow in the neighborhood that is our first choice. We have schools identified that fit the bill for X-man, but we need to go out and drive around the neighborhoods again. So, MacTroll and I are headed out there on April 20-23. We'll likely have to go back again in May, but when we do, we're going to take X-man, because he's starting to have some issues with the transition. This is not to be expected. This is a major life change. It helps him to know that what is going on and when as much as he can. So he can repeat it to himself and get more comfortable with the idea, even though his acceptance last fall is starting to turn into anxiousness. And I admit, it's hard not knowing where you're going to sleep on the other side. But I want him to feel included when we go.
And we'll see where we land.
This week, MacTroll and I are giving away our king-sized bedframe to a friend of ours. X-man very rarely climbs into bed with the two of us, we instead walk him back to his bed and lay down with him. He's not a baby any more. There's no need for the extra space for the sometime visitors. And, honestly, sometimes I feel there's a giant canyon at night between MacTroll and I. The dog likes to fill in that space, but I don't what her there. I want the canyon to go away.
So, we moved our queen-sized bed frame into our bedroom this morning after walking X-man to school. I'm wiping down the old frame and carrying it down to the garage. This Saturday, I will transport it up to my friend and her husband and their two little girls.
The guest bed has a mattress that's a bit old, and it suffered in our move from Virginia to Illinois 10 years ago (ripped a bit). So, we're going to run out next week when MacTroll is home all week (he leaves today for California) and get a new one for it. We figured it would be cheaper on this end than on the other end.
But it also means that if I take three pictures off the wall, I can pretty much close the guest room door and never enter it again until we move. One room -- empty -- and ready to belong to the new family.
We close on this house on June 21, but the housing selection in California has been kind of slow in the neighborhood that is our first choice. We have schools identified that fit the bill for X-man, but we need to go out and drive around the neighborhoods again. So, MacTroll and I are headed out there on April 20-23. We'll likely have to go back again in May, but when we do, we're going to take X-man, because he's starting to have some issues with the transition. This is not to be expected. This is a major life change. It helps him to know that what is going on and when as much as he can. So he can repeat it to himself and get more comfortable with the idea, even though his acceptance last fall is starting to turn into anxiousness. And I admit, it's hard not knowing where you're going to sleep on the other side. But I want him to feel included when we go.
And we'll see where we land.
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