I feel like I have commiserated previously about going out for a run and feeling like my legs were carrying around bricks. Without having reread any past posts, I am going to presume I did utter this sentiment and I will do it again.
I went for a run Wednesday, mid-morning. It was 10:42 a.m. It wasn't raining, although it had been raining heavily all morning and there was a break in the rain. I was dressed to go running from the moment I got the girls up to go to school. Got to be prepared at any given moment because you just never know when it will be dry enough to dash out the door on a day like this (showers followed by monsoon like rains followed by sun). I had on some capri running skirt ensemble and a long sleeve tee. But, I saw a glimmer of sun, so I changed just before I headed out the door into a short sleeve tee. I had a cup of coffee earlier in the morning when I was getting the girls the breakfast, but I usually have coffee before I go for a run (just for a little extra kick) so that was not unusual. At 10, I remember thinking I should probably drink some more water so I did have some, but probably not enough though. I didn't want to drink too much because I didn't want to be bloated and have to pee along my run. I really just wanted enough to hydrate me at that moment. However, I wasn't planning on going for a very long run, 5-6 miles. I should have known what was happening at that moment, but once again (a recurring theme, hindsight...grrr).
I put the Beast in her crate and headed out the door. Music on. Check. Mapmyrun on. Check. 10 second countdown begins and I'm off. The first thing I notice is I feel like I am moving a bit slower than usual and it feels warmer than I expected. I was wishing I had put shorts on instead. Too late now, I've left the house and there's no turning back. Now, the other thing I'm thinking is where to go. But, dang why does it feel so difficult? I'm not even a mile in and I'm really sluggish. Granted, it usually takes me a couple miles to get into my groove (why don't I add some Deee-Lite, a little Groove is in Heart, remember that? to my running mix? What ever happened to them anyway?) I had to cross a busy street, Powell, and of course those drivers aren't stopping for nothing; even at the cross-walk. I had to put myself out there, one foot precariously in the cross-walk and fortunately, someone stopped and I was able to dash across the street like a game of Frogger. I kept going and it continued to feel like I had cinder blocks for feet. I actually started getting what felt like a shin-splint, which I never get: not good. The best way to make this go away is to keep running, right? Just after I take a short walk because, WTF? I walk about 5 seconds and decide to go up a hill, maybe the problem is I need some more heat generated in my legs to warm my muscles. So, up a slow incline of Clinton where not only does that make the shin splint subside, but I also decide it's time to turn up my running so it doesn't feel so sluggish. Except, the only thing I can think about is how dry my mouth is. Not good. That and how warm i'm feeling. I'm actually wishing it would start raining so I can at least get some water in my mouth and cool off a bit because some clouds will invariably cover the sky, bye-bye sun and the temperature will drop. Yippee! But, nooohhh, why would my running prayers be answered? They wouldn't.
I was able to speed up and feel like myself for another mile or so, but even the sight of puddles made me even more thirsty than before. Why didn't I drink more water? It's not good when the only thing you can think about on a run is how thirsty you are. I am convinced that was why my legs felt like lead and my feet like cinder blocks. Lack of hydration. Then it made me think about my favorite hydration/electrolyte replacement. Nuun. When I first had it, it was at a race expo and I thought it was bad. It's hard sometimes to drink those thinks when you're just moseying around not needing electrolyte replacements because they just taste like diluted Kool-Aid. But now, it's my favorite! Then just the other day I was reading that Kara Goucher has partnered with Nuun and had a giveaway on Facebook (which I didn't enter, but I thought about it).
I don't carry water or any other beverage with me when I go running shorter distance runs. I find that it just slows me down and its unnecessary, as long as I have hydrated well prior to my run. And in this case, I failed to hydrate well prior to my run and I am suffering the consequences now. My focus is off. My form is off. I am a mess. I am inordinately exhausted at a time when I should be feeling good. You know it's bad when not only standing water looks appealing, but you start thinking about asking strange people if you can have a cup of water from their kitchen, you know like they are volunteers for my run and their house is a hydration station.
I'm not even sure at what point I was when the run started to feel decent, but even though I was thirsty as all get out and just wanted to end the misery. I reached a point where I was able to fall into a comfortable rhythm; I just tuned into my music, tried to take my mind off my thirst (which was no easy feat. Really, I just kept thinking about George Costanza, saying that line, "these pretzels are making me thirsty!") There was no fixing my pace at that point, the damage had been done early on; now, I just need to focus on finishing. Then as I ran across Holgate down 52nd to Steele I thought I felt a raindrop. Could it be? I felt what could have been maybe 10 raindrops. Wow, way to throw me a bone when I'm about 2 miles from my house. The clouds did come, which was nice, and there was a little bit of a breeze. The even nicer part, was I was able to hit all green lights for the rest of the way home (really, red lights are the bane of my running-in-the-city existence, that and cement streets and pot holes - recall Charlie Hales!).
In the final stretch, I am cruising. Feeling great, I've been non-stop for a while now and any kinks brought on by being ridden with thirst seemed to have worked themselves out. I am still thirsty, but I have found my groove...as usual, it took me a couple miles to find it, but now that I'm here, I am at cruising altitude and if I had hydrated I would be able to go a couple more miles, but now that I am within a mile of my house I am excited but can kick it up a notch. I will hydrate when I get home. Note to self: drink more water. Drink, drink, drink because your run depends on it. A good run depends on it. Now that I am home, just under 6 miles, probably my slowest in months, it has started to downpour.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Monday, May 19, 2014
Race pace blues or maybe another marathon in my future...
Post race do you look at your results and they are (1) not what you expected? (2) different than your time-keeper you used during the race? This post could go a multitude of directions. It could become a rant about Mapmyrun or it could go the inward self-reflecting, accept who you are at this moment, touchy feely direction. I haven't totally decided, yet. But, let me tell you how I am feeling and there may be an intersection of emotions.
This weekend, while most Portland runners probably stayed in town to do the Rock n' Roll half-marathon, I opted to save myself some money, because that one cost a whole lot of money and after having done it once, I'm not totally sure what all the fuss is about. I, however, am all about a well priced race, so I entered a smaller race in Keizer, Oregon. The Keizer Iris Run which was first mentioned to me by the law librarian and it fit in with my training schedule (I was looking for a half in May) and the price was right ($50) versus $80+ (like the Rock n' Roll or Hippie Chick, with a discount code, yikes!); check and check. I had trained pretty well. Then maybe three weeks prior to, I started having some back pain and that put a kink in my training and I just didn't feel like running, but I would go anyway and would really suffer the consequences. I popped my pills and saw my acupuncturist and continued with my training and thought I was feeling well enough (beside, I'd already paid for the entry, I'm going).
The first couple miles felt okay. I always feel like the first three miles are my warm-up miles anyway, so I am always slogging through those just to get into a rhythm. I thought, 'if I can just get myself through the first 9 miles, I should be okay'. My music played on, a little Madonna, a little Fitz and the Tantrums, some Willie Moon, all seemed to be going just fine. I ran alongside some older gentleman for a while - not talking, just keeping the same pace, but he must have entered the 10k because I didn't see him after the 10k turnaround. My pace felt faster according to mapmyrun. For the first 2 miles she said I was running 10 min/miles, then for miles 3 and 4 she said I had sped up to 9 min/miles. Granted, I did feel like my pace was faster, but not unbearable. It was so flat out there and the scenery was so rural and picturesque that you really began to just feel the ground pass under your feet effortlessly (in the beginning, toward the end, it passes with great effort where you wish there was a golf cart to give you a ride a couple of blocks). Eventually, I couldn't convince myself that I could I could carry on this effortless charade any and all the things you know about running being a mental as well as physical sport, well, it's all true. I fall victim to it often and when I know that I can continue running because I am physically strong enough and capable, mentally I start to shut down and walk a few steps. Those few steps walking is the kiss of death for me because it is so hard to regain that momentum I once had going (which is why I try to limit it to a few steps only). Curses! I didn't make it to the 9-mile mark. Grrr!!! That's okay. Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure I can leave some roadkill behind (you know, when you pass another runner, i.e., roadkill). Eventually, I make it to the turn around and I had been playing cat and mouse with these two guys. They passed me, I passed them, they passed me and after the turn around I only saw one of the pair. I kept him in my line of vision along with this other woman wearing turquoise leggings; those two would be my rabbits and I the greyhound. The big guy was like a tortoise, he wasn't moving terribly fast, but more of a moderate and constant steady pace, that's actually hard to beat, very admirable component. Turquoise legs was running similar to my pace but she would stop and walk every now and again and eat a energy gel pack or just take a breather. So that was my opportunity to strike, but I had to catch up to her first and I did not want to expend much energy because after running 10 miles, you have to save some in the tank for the last three to get you to the finish. I was able to pass the big guy at mile 10 and I never saw him again. Yay! My mapmyrun said I had slowed down and was now running 10.56 min/mile (that was my split pace, so I was really showing signs of exhaustion at that point), but my running still looked fluid. I was able to speak to volunteers and sound like a normal person. I passed turquoise legs by just trying to run a steady pace and stay focused. There were a couple little hills in there, and I tend to do well on hills, and then we were about to be back in the neighborhood so I knew the misery was about to be over. Good.
Aaah, the rain started. It was predicted, but it hadn't drizzled at all until the last mile of the run, really?? Harumph! I stopped and walked a moment and while I was walking, turquoise legs ran passed me. I saw her and just thought, that's fine, I'll catch up to her, but I need a breather now. (I should have known what was happening, this happens at every stinking race I do, especially towards the end...my give a shit was about to break. Why didn't I see it coming? Grrr. You know what 'they' say about hindsight.) Anyway, I did start running again, and I did surpass turquoise legs as she was donning a jacket (seriously, what's a little rain? What kind of Oregon runner are you that you stop in the middle of an organized run to put on a rain jacket? Huh? I don't even know how many times I've gone running in rain, both a little drizzle to a monsoon: I survived (she would have too, just saying). Anyway, while she was putting on her jacket, I passed her highness. Now, there is less than a mile to go according to mapmyrun and I figure at this point I could probably keep up running to the finish line, right (but, dang, I am so flipping exhausted! Why do I do this to myself? Yes, I can do this, easy peasy lemon squeasy, just keep going, just keep going. Why can't Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire come on when you need it? or MIA come on for some extra motivation. The right tunes can carry me through and at that moment, I don't recall what was playing but it was not the right tunes, I know that much is for sure. I ran several blocks then I walked a second or two, then ran, then walked half a second, then these ladies that I had passed a while ago passed me and you know I didn't think much of it.
Then this other lady that I had never even seen had come out of nowhere had passed me, what?? That's fine. I continued running for and passed a couple, the woman was wearing a shirt of Whibdey Island marathon/half-marathon. I thought I'd look that up later because I'm sure that's a scenic run. Then, the unthinkable thing happened...turquoise legs passed me running. I just didn't care anymore. I started running, but just couldn't muster up enough energy to catch up to her or continue running for very long. I was on E (at least until I could see the finish line). Because when I see the finish line, I can run again, but not super fast, just fast enough to have a respectable crowd finish running across the line. As it turns out, she ultimately finished 2 seconds ahead of me. 2 seconds! (but the real kicker is, she is 4 years older than me...argh!)
After finishing and turning off my mapmyrun, she said- and it took me a little bit of time to get my phone out of my pocket and save the run and all that, she said my pace was 10.47 min/mile. I usually don't believe she is 100% accurate, but I try to believe there is some hint of truth to her numbers. Perhaps she is within +/-5 min/mile, or maybe that's being too generous? Sam asked me how I did, because the family couldn't make it to the run with me, I told him what mapmyrun said and he congratulates me. I'm feeling pretty good, too. I guess congratulations weren't really in order yet; they were premature until the official race results were posted. Then they were and I was dejected. I needed consoling. My pace, my official pace was 10.56. mwah, mwah. After seeing that this afternoon, my mood fell flat. Its amazing how you can go from feeling good when you believed your pace was 10.47 to be demoralized when the real pace is posted, like high school grades, for everyone to see, or who made the team after try-outs: 10.56. I tried to keep this in perspective. Thinking back on how going to weightwatchers, which I have been going for ages (imagine counseling in a group with a bunch of know-it-alls, blech) and when you have a bad weigh-in, they've said you should not let that weigh in ruin your day or your week. Yes, it can be depressing, but think about what you can do to change so it doesn't happen again the following week. What little changes can you make? So, that's what I've tried to do with this race result. I have gone back and looked at my last couple race results. The last couple half marathons I have done are the Vancouver Lake Half, which was January 2014 (that was a horrible course, I might add) but I finished that one in 2:21:53, the next race I did was the Roaring River Half and I finished that one in 2:24:06. So, this one is right in the middle, meaning I didn't do as bad as thought, but I could have done better than I did. I finished in 2:23:08.
What could I do for the next one? I could try to not let mental focus break down right before the finish line, in the last mile. And, not be so hard on myself. Naah, i'm not going to stop doing that, that's part of my make up, it's who I am. I'll adjust my playlist and make sure I have more motivating music to keep me going. Maybe I should train for another marathon or ultra? Maybe that's what I need??
This weekend, while most Portland runners probably stayed in town to do the Rock n' Roll half-marathon, I opted to save myself some money, because that one cost a whole lot of money and after having done it once, I'm not totally sure what all the fuss is about. I, however, am all about a well priced race, so I entered a smaller race in Keizer, Oregon. The Keizer Iris Run which was first mentioned to me by the law librarian and it fit in with my training schedule (I was looking for a half in May) and the price was right ($50) versus $80+ (like the Rock n' Roll or Hippie Chick, with a discount code, yikes!); check and check. I had trained pretty well. Then maybe three weeks prior to, I started having some back pain and that put a kink in my training and I just didn't feel like running, but I would go anyway and would really suffer the consequences. I popped my pills and saw my acupuncturist and continued with my training and thought I was feeling well enough (beside, I'd already paid for the entry, I'm going).
The first couple miles felt okay. I always feel like the first three miles are my warm-up miles anyway, so I am always slogging through those just to get into a rhythm. I thought, 'if I can just get myself through the first 9 miles, I should be okay'. My music played on, a little Madonna, a little Fitz and the Tantrums, some Willie Moon, all seemed to be going just fine. I ran alongside some older gentleman for a while - not talking, just keeping the same pace, but he must have entered the 10k because I didn't see him after the 10k turnaround. My pace felt faster according to mapmyrun. For the first 2 miles she said I was running 10 min/miles, then for miles 3 and 4 she said I had sped up to 9 min/miles. Granted, I did feel like my pace was faster, but not unbearable. It was so flat out there and the scenery was so rural and picturesque that you really began to just feel the ground pass under your feet effortlessly (in the beginning, toward the end, it passes with great effort where you wish there was a golf cart to give you a ride a couple of blocks). Eventually, I couldn't convince myself that I could I could carry on this effortless charade any and all the things you know about running being a mental as well as physical sport, well, it's all true. I fall victim to it often and when I know that I can continue running because I am physically strong enough and capable, mentally I start to shut down and walk a few steps. Those few steps walking is the kiss of death for me because it is so hard to regain that momentum I once had going (which is why I try to limit it to a few steps only). Curses! I didn't make it to the 9-mile mark. Grrr!!! That's okay. Don't beat yourself up about it. I'm sure I can leave some roadkill behind (you know, when you pass another runner, i.e., roadkill). Eventually, I make it to the turn around and I had been playing cat and mouse with these two guys. They passed me, I passed them, they passed me and after the turn around I only saw one of the pair. I kept him in my line of vision along with this other woman wearing turquoise leggings; those two would be my rabbits and I the greyhound. The big guy was like a tortoise, he wasn't moving terribly fast, but more of a moderate and constant steady pace, that's actually hard to beat, very admirable component. Turquoise legs was running similar to my pace but she would stop and walk every now and again and eat a energy gel pack or just take a breather. So that was my opportunity to strike, but I had to catch up to her first and I did not want to expend much energy because after running 10 miles, you have to save some in the tank for the last three to get you to the finish. I was able to pass the big guy at mile 10 and I never saw him again. Yay! My mapmyrun said I had slowed down and was now running 10.56 min/mile (that was my split pace, so I was really showing signs of exhaustion at that point), but my running still looked fluid. I was able to speak to volunteers and sound like a normal person. I passed turquoise legs by just trying to run a steady pace and stay focused. There were a couple little hills in there, and I tend to do well on hills, and then we were about to be back in the neighborhood so I knew the misery was about to be over. Good.
Aaah, the rain started. It was predicted, but it hadn't drizzled at all until the last mile of the run, really?? Harumph! I stopped and walked a moment and while I was walking, turquoise legs ran passed me. I saw her and just thought, that's fine, I'll catch up to her, but I need a breather now. (I should have known what was happening, this happens at every stinking race I do, especially towards the end...my give a shit was about to break. Why didn't I see it coming? Grrr. You know what 'they' say about hindsight.) Anyway, I did start running again, and I did surpass turquoise legs as she was donning a jacket (seriously, what's a little rain? What kind of Oregon runner are you that you stop in the middle of an organized run to put on a rain jacket? Huh? I don't even know how many times I've gone running in rain, both a little drizzle to a monsoon: I survived (she would have too, just saying). Anyway, while she was putting on her jacket, I passed her highness. Now, there is less than a mile to go according to mapmyrun and I figure at this point I could probably keep up running to the finish line, right (but, dang, I am so flipping exhausted! Why do I do this to myself? Yes, I can do this, easy peasy lemon squeasy, just keep going, just keep going. Why can't Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire come on when you need it? or MIA come on for some extra motivation. The right tunes can carry me through and at that moment, I don't recall what was playing but it was not the right tunes, I know that much is for sure. I ran several blocks then I walked a second or two, then ran, then walked half a second, then these ladies that I had passed a while ago passed me and you know I didn't think much of it.
Then this other lady that I had never even seen had come out of nowhere had passed me, what?? That's fine. I continued running for and passed a couple, the woman was wearing a shirt of Whibdey Island marathon/half-marathon. I thought I'd look that up later because I'm sure that's a scenic run. Then, the unthinkable thing happened...turquoise legs passed me running. I just didn't care anymore. I started running, but just couldn't muster up enough energy to catch up to her or continue running for very long. I was on E (at least until I could see the finish line). Because when I see the finish line, I can run again, but not super fast, just fast enough to have a respectable crowd finish running across the line. As it turns out, she ultimately finished 2 seconds ahead of me. 2 seconds! (but the real kicker is, she is 4 years older than me...argh!)
After finishing and turning off my mapmyrun, she said- and it took me a little bit of time to get my phone out of my pocket and save the run and all that, she said my pace was 10.47 min/mile. I usually don't believe she is 100% accurate, but I try to believe there is some hint of truth to her numbers. Perhaps she is within +/-5 min/mile, or maybe that's being too generous? Sam asked me how I did, because the family couldn't make it to the run with me, I told him what mapmyrun said and he congratulates me. I'm feeling pretty good, too. I guess congratulations weren't really in order yet; they were premature until the official race results were posted. Then they were and I was dejected. I needed consoling. My pace, my official pace was 10.56. mwah, mwah. After seeing that this afternoon, my mood fell flat. Its amazing how you can go from feeling good when you believed your pace was 10.47 to be demoralized when the real pace is posted, like high school grades, for everyone to see, or who made the team after try-outs: 10.56. I tried to keep this in perspective. Thinking back on how going to weightwatchers, which I have been going for ages (imagine counseling in a group with a bunch of know-it-alls, blech) and when you have a bad weigh-in, they've said you should not let that weigh in ruin your day or your week. Yes, it can be depressing, but think about what you can do to change so it doesn't happen again the following week. What little changes can you make? So, that's what I've tried to do with this race result. I have gone back and looked at my last couple race results. The last couple half marathons I have done are the Vancouver Lake Half, which was January 2014 (that was a horrible course, I might add) but I finished that one in 2:21:53, the next race I did was the Roaring River Half and I finished that one in 2:24:06. So, this one is right in the middle, meaning I didn't do as bad as thought, but I could have done better than I did. I finished in 2:23:08.
What could I do for the next one? I could try to not let mental focus break down right before the finish line, in the last mile. And, not be so hard on myself. Naah, i'm not going to stop doing that, that's part of my make up, it's who I am. I'll adjust my playlist and make sure I have more motivating music to keep me going. Maybe I should train for another marathon or ultra? Maybe that's what I need??
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Happy stinking mother's day...it's a sham
Mother's Day is over, what a sham of a holiday. I was chatting with the daughter of a client yesterday and she was saying how she thought Mother's Day is another Hallmark holiday, opportunity to make some money. I would tend to agree. I adore my children and I know they love me...even though Eytan did say she wanted to write a book called, "Mommy Go Away for 90-Years". This morning, she crawled into bed with me to tell me a menagerie of things, one of which was "I love you, Mommy, I never want you to go away" (I guess she's putting a hold on production on that book). Ayelet tells me, almost daily, "I love you so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so much" and hugs me at the knee caps. They both make me little trinkets both at school and at home while I'm making them breakfast, snacks, and dinner. They pick flowers for me, make me mud-pies and all sorts of things to show me how much they love me, daily. So did they need Sunday, May 11th to tell them something they already knew? Or to remind them to do something they already do instinctively? No, because what that did for them was tell them to wake at 6:15 a.m., traipse into my room, and wake me, from my peaceful slumber to tell me, "Happy Mother's Day!!" Bleary eyed, actually, I don't even know if I opened my eyes, now that I think about it, it was so stinkin' early. Perhaps one eye was open, as I said, 'thanks girls, that's sweet, now can you go lay down in your beds and talk quietly for a while, it's really early.' They came back maybe 30 minutes later. At that point, I figured it was over. Sam had said the night before he was going to take the dog running in the morning and we were planning on going to my parent's house for brunch. So, I was encouraging him to get up and go early since we were already awake, rather than lay around in bed under the guise that he was going back to sleep. Its not happening. Get your butt up, take your dog and go running and get it over with so we can get this day moving, the clock is ticking. It never fails that we are the last to arrive anywhere because ... well, we just are. Finally, Sam takes Barni and goes running, I help the girls get dressed and tidy up the house, get dressed. Then Sam gets back and remembers there is a dead chicken at the school he was going to bag to remove so when the kids return on Monday, they don't have to see a dead chicken. Now, where is the key to the gate? It was hanging on the hook by the door and now its not. Again, the clock is ticking, and its stuff like this that affect our arrival times. Sam looks around the house and outside. I continue to get dressed, the girls watch Wild Kratts. I look in my car for the key and clean out my car at the same time, no key, Sam sits and waits and watches Wild Kratts with the girls. Whatever, we'll look for the key later but at the very least Sam should get in the shower so we can leave because at this point, my mom has already called asking when we are coming over. Ugh! Well, since you can hear the television in the background, you know I am still at home, so I haven't left my house yet. I don't know when I'm leaving, probably when I get in my car. I'll call you when we're on our way. But, as I am on the phone, I get a glimpse of the floor and see it is covered in dog hairs. So, while I am waiting for Sam to shower, I vacuum the floor. I move some furniture, the ottoman, the arm chair, the couch and voila! the key is under the couch. Amazing what you find when you look and move furniture. I give the key to Eytan and tell her to go give it to Daddy and tell him I found the key. Eventually, he strolls down the stairs, gets a garbage bag, goes up to the school, bags the dead chicken, and back home. Now, to get the stuff we are taking to my parent's house for brunch. A quick stop for coffee and out to Troutdale. Oy vey. Of course, there is an accident on the freeway, why wouldn't there be? This is why we show up when we do. We stay in T-dale for a while, have brunch, visit with the family and then it's time to go.
As we head home, I'm feeling the pressure of waking up at 6:15 and that 10.91 mile run from Saturday begin to catch up with me. I'm like a zombie at the wheel. I just need to make it home so I can lie down and take a nap. Sam said he'd take the girls and dog to the river since the weather was so nice. I was able to nap while they were gone. Then when they came home it was go time again for mommy. Sam cleaned our chicken coop, I played with the girls on their bikes on the sidewalk out front. Then I asked Ayelet, 'Is that goat out?' Then realizing both goats were roaming freely, it was time to herd some goats. I raced back home to get some work gloves and a rope, not knowing how easy/difficult this would be and told Sam, "THE GOATS ARE OUT!" On my way back up to the school my neighbor Katie was out because she noticed the goats were out and was going to help. Between the two of us, we managed to get Stormy and Joey back into the gated area. But not before noticing all 6 chickens were out as well. What is this?? At this point, my other neighbor Peggy Sue was there to help wrangle animals. Eytan and Ayelet helped collect chickens because they love that. We have our own chickens and catching chickens and petting chickens is something they know how to do and they love to do it. Eytan caught a chicken and put it back in the gate. Ayelet chased, which is her usual course of action. Peggy Sue caught two by the tail-feathers. Katie got one back in and I got another in. Eventually, all the animals were back in their rightful home. Sam locked up the gate better than he did in the morning and we all departed. Good thing all my neighbors are friends.
Back at home, time to clip nails and I smell something just putrid. I thought it was Barni farting. Then it occurs to me, it was Ayelet's feet. Oooh, my gosh it was horrid. It smelled like a toilet, actually like a porta-potti. Sam said they had walked around in the Willamette. Ugh, that explains it, that river is disgusting! And, Barni had been thrown in and forced to swim (the dog hates water, but we love to see her swim). Between Ayelet, Eytan and Barni they all smelled like crap. My stomach was flipping. The girls got baths, but Barni somehow got overlooked. Then in the middle of the night I woke to go to the bathroom to a horrible smell in our room because her bed is in our room. Barni has funked up our room because she did not get a bath and now she has funkdefied our room and I am being smoked out.
That was my mother's day. This is why I say it is a sham. From beginning at 6:15 a.m. to the next day funking up my bedroom smelling like crap, happy stinking mother's day.
As we head home, I'm feeling the pressure of waking up at 6:15 and that 10.91 mile run from Saturday begin to catch up with me. I'm like a zombie at the wheel. I just need to make it home so I can lie down and take a nap. Sam said he'd take the girls and dog to the river since the weather was so nice. I was able to nap while they were gone. Then when they came home it was go time again for mommy. Sam cleaned our chicken coop, I played with the girls on their bikes on the sidewalk out front. Then I asked Ayelet, 'Is that goat out?' Then realizing both goats were roaming freely, it was time to herd some goats. I raced back home to get some work gloves and a rope, not knowing how easy/difficult this would be and told Sam, "THE GOATS ARE OUT!" On my way back up to the school my neighbor Katie was out because she noticed the goats were out and was going to help. Between the two of us, we managed to get Stormy and Joey back into the gated area. But not before noticing all 6 chickens were out as well. What is this?? At this point, my other neighbor Peggy Sue was there to help wrangle animals. Eytan and Ayelet helped collect chickens because they love that. We have our own chickens and catching chickens and petting chickens is something they know how to do and they love to do it. Eytan caught a chicken and put it back in the gate. Ayelet chased, which is her usual course of action. Peggy Sue caught two by the tail-feathers. Katie got one back in and I got another in. Eventually, all the animals were back in their rightful home. Sam locked up the gate better than he did in the morning and we all departed. Good thing all my neighbors are friends.
Back at home, time to clip nails and I smell something just putrid. I thought it was Barni farting. Then it occurs to me, it was Ayelet's feet. Oooh, my gosh it was horrid. It smelled like a toilet, actually like a porta-potti. Sam said they had walked around in the Willamette. Ugh, that explains it, that river is disgusting! And, Barni had been thrown in and forced to swim (the dog hates water, but we love to see her swim). Between Ayelet, Eytan and Barni they all smelled like crap. My stomach was flipping. The girls got baths, but Barni somehow got overlooked. Then in the middle of the night I woke to go to the bathroom to a horrible smell in our room because her bed is in our room. Barni has funked up our room because she did not get a bath and now she has funkdefied our room and I am being smoked out.
That was my mother's day. This is why I say it is a sham. From beginning at 6:15 a.m. to the next day funking up my bedroom smelling like crap, happy stinking mother's day.
Monday, May 5, 2014
What's really important?
Last week Jane and I were planning to go out to do some route scouting for our 3/4 marathon, but by the end of the day I had texted Jane and she said she was over-heated, sunburned and exhausted and pregnant to boot so I did not feel I was in any position to tell her to get off her tuchus and go out as we had planned. That would make me really seem heartless (even though I did want to get out there), I remember how much it sucks being pregnant when its warm. We decided to go out the following morning before work. I failed however to clarify if we would be going out by bike or on foot. I showed up prepared to walk any distance in comfy Puma's and Jane's first response was, "Where's your bike!?!?" Oh, crap. Always, always, important to clarify details such as this. Fortunately, it was not a complete waste of our time. We did figure out a great route which we are completely in love with. You'll have to stay tuned, i'm going to create a Kickstarter account to raise money...because this 3/4 marathon is for an important cause as well. We had a nice walk through the neighborhood and talked about all sorts of things. Why people are out in the middle of the day and not at work. Whether Eytan's teacher is unconsciously suppressing females from speaking up in class. Orange is the new black. Lot splitting. Gentrification. You name it, we cover a lot of ground when we get to talking. Eventually, we wrapped up and we both headed to work.
Just I was thinking all was good and I would do my work and head home at a respectable hour, at around 2, I remembered I had agreed to be a running buddy with Girls on the Run, a volunteer organization to empower girls and show them they can set a goal and achieve it. Curses, I completely forgot my running clothes and I forgot my lunch because I wasn't planning on staying at work all stinking day. Grr. And, it was hot that day too. Wouldn't this be just my luck. That's when you have that moment of quickly trying to gather all your stuff to leave your work and think: do I have time to go home and get some running clothes and then make it to where I need to be by 4:15? Every second seemed like five minutes had passed and I was moving more slowly than the last second. What is going on??? Turn off the computer, or hibernate. Do something, shut down mo-fo!! shut down!! Then dash out to the car. Google map how far this park I need to be at is located from where I am. Hmm, is it really possible to make it to my house and risk my kids asking and freaking out about why I'm home but not staying home and why they can't come with me versus just going home and bailing on Girls on the Run or going to the park to volunteer just in the wrong clothes? Now, I'm on the freeway and holy moly, where did all this traffic come from? Okay, that solves that problem. I clearly cannot go home first because there is no way I will make it back to southwest Portland in time. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if I will even make it on time; i'm stopped in traffic, hungry, eating tic-tacs and drinking water. Delicious. Now my head is starting to hurt as well...wonderful. Why did I not put those maxalt (migraine medications) in the glove box??
I make it to Gabriel Park on time and there were so many girls and running buddies! I was the most fashionable, wearing a black pencil skirt and yellow cotton tee with matching green and yellow Puma's from my route scout with Jane. Of course I was wearing earrings and lipstick, because I had just left my office unlike every other running buddy who was dressed appropriately for the occasion, wearing running attire. I figured it was more important that I show up for my young runner inappropriately dressed than not show up at all. I am a woman of my word and if I could encourage someone else, that's wonderful. I met my runners: Sophie and Tessa. They were great, fun and unique. I was concerned about my own ability to complete the practice 5k in shoes that aren't really meant for running and a bra that was not meant for running either...really, everything about my outfit said: sit at a desk and answer some questions, not run in 90 degree heat. But, I managed to do it as did my girls. It did take a bit of cajoling to get one of them to keep motivated, but the temperature was a barrier.
In the end, I was so glad I volunteered and I am looking forward to running with Tessa and Sophie for the Starlight Run. I'm glad that email from Oregon Women Lawyer's came and caught my eye and I volunteered with Girls on the Run. I feel like I am generally able to distinguish what's really important in my life and in this case I did the right thing and I am so glad I did. I would definitely volunteer with this organization again. I can't wait for Eytan and Ayelet to be involved so I can run with my girls.
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