First Day of Summer

Tuesday was the first offical day of summer!

The kids are finally done with school.  We had been informed that the last day of school would be Friday, June 17th (following some post-haste adjustments to in-service and mini-days), but as I stood in the kitchen reading the notice--on April Fools Day while we were all home for yet another snow day--I knew it was an unintentional joke. The real last day of school ended up being on a Monday, and a half day at that. I am not aware of anything other than end-of-school-year parties taking place that day. Frankly, I applaud the teachers just for showing up. Especially the two who are retiring. Oh wait: one of them left for space camp last week. Oh well, good for him!

I had a day off as well. I will end up working four weekend days this month--very unusual for me--and so I find myself needing to take some time off.   For someone who is usually scrimping and saving (take a long lunch to attend a school event--work late; leave early for choir--work through lunch; etc) and often ends up using little bits of vacation time anyway, having the potential to be OVER time for the month is very unusual. The best part is that two of those weekend days "worked" were at a conference on Cape Cod.   Rough life, eh? [Actually, while I did have fun, I was pretty exhausted after that trip so I do feel like I deserve the time off.] 

Here's what we did:

We all slept in (or rather, awoke and arose of our own accord as opposed to being jolted awake by alarm clocks or cranky parents), had Mac's for breakfast [sorry Clean Food Challenge participants: I am not like you. But more on that later.], lounged around on the deck feeling sticky and getting caffeinated, and watched the chickadees squabbling and gorging at our new birdfeeder.

I made lists: groceries, what James needs to take on his youth group mission trip, what the kids need for clothing, shoes, etc for summer, etc. I love lists.

Alan stayed home to work--discussion groups to manage, papers to grade, comments to be commented upon, comparisons to make between the UMaine campus and the neighborhood where Jack the Ripper wrought havoc...just the usual stuff of online teaching.

The kids and I made sandwiches and packed them in a plastic tub along with crackers and cheese and M&Ms, filled our water bottles and went shopping.

First stop: Goodwill

We blitzed the place. At one point I had a kid each in 3 of the 4 changing rooms with conversations like this taking place:

a kid: "uhhhhh... Mom?" 

me: "Doesn't fit? Take it off.  Next item!"

 or

a kid: "Iloveit, Iloveit, Iloveit..."

me: "Great! Take it off. Next item!"

They each picked a reusable tote and we filled them with summer pants, tee shirts, and a fleece for James. Shirts, skorts, fleece and flip flops for Madeline. Shorts, shirts, pants, fleece and camouflage faux-crocs for Jeremy. A folding step stool for me. 

Here they are (annoyed with me for doing the mom-with-the-camera thing, and look at that, James is tormenting his brother) just moments after the actual equinox.

Aaaaaah summer...

Second stop: Hands of Hope Thrift Store

Didn't buy anything but I think the kids sat on every couch and comfy chair in the store.  .

Third stop: next door to K-Mart

We were just going to get water bottles... but then we saw bathing suits, and we needed flip flops, and underwear...so we ended up spending a while in there. The boys were a bit antsy while Mad tried on suits (with no luck) and we were all near faint from hunger but we survived, used the restrooms and escaped retail mediocrity soon enough.

Fourth stop: Bangor City Forest

By now it was after 3pm and we were starving! We sat at the picnic table, swatted flies, and watched a bird who seemed very interested in us (and may be the inhabitant of the nest under the picnic shelter).  Somewhere between Goodwill and the forest the kids had all managed to don at least one new article of clothing. James had on a giant Fred Flintstone tee shirt. Madeline had a new pink top. Jeremy had on his new "crocs".

  Armed with our water and the camera we embarked on a short walk.   We saw a frog.  

I got a phone call from Alan on his new cell phone.   I think he did little to no work following the arrival of the T-Mobile delivery.   We had a brief conversation which ended with me saying something like "I'm in a bog. I'm going to enjoy nature now. G'bye." And suddenly we were truly IN a bog! We had turned onto the Bog Trail while I was on the phone, not one of us ever considering that the name might be an intentional indicator of what to expect along the way. Duh. James pioneered the way across the first (and ultimately, the most daunting) obstacle. This involved me standing on a floating log to steady it while each in turn made their way across a series of logs, a teetery plank, and some smaller logs more aptly called sticks, while grabbing onto me, some tree branches, and James in turn.   Jeremy lost his balance and stepped one foot right in the little body of water almost up to his shorts!   He quickly pulled his foot out but the croc stayed behind! "My croc! It's LO-O-OST!" He valiantly reached in to try to find it, but didn't right away and seemed reluctant to try again. I was dreading reaching into the murky water myself but thankfully there was a "bloop" sound and up it popped like a surfacing whale. Yay! Crocs float! 

our water crossing

survivor Jeremy

sometimes the path was clear

sometimes not so much



There was some nervousness about not know what lay ahead and we were greatly relieved to make it back to the road. 

Jeremy said he never wants to do the Bog Trail again!  But he does want to go back to Bangor City Forest.  Well, duh!

Fifth Stop: HOME!

Jeremy got a much needed foot bath and we all relaxed for a while.  I don't even know what the kids did, really, because Alan and I spent the next hour+ playing with our new phones.  Oooooh technology is cooooool.  I don't think I made an actual phone call on it until Wednesday. 

I did drink LOTS of water all afternoon and evening.  Emilie's doing a cleanse (see Clean Food Challenge 2 if you're interested).  I explained it this way to a friend recently:  can you imagine me eating no bread, no chocolate and no cheese?!?  The answer is No, not even for just a week.  I think it's a great concept.  For people who are not me.  I did decide that I could do the drink-a-gallon-of-water-a-day part, though.  I used to drink lots of ice water at work all day and have sort of gotten out of the habit, so I figured I'd ride Emilie's wake a little and do that part and since her cleanse week started Tuesday the timing was perfect.  I managed about 120 oz the first day and the full gallon yesterday.  But the straw on my EMMC water jug disintegrated [let's see, the last time I was in the hospital I was having a baby and my youngest child is 7...yeah, time for a new water bottle!] so Alan bought me a new one last night.  Now I just have to chug two of these bad boys a day. 

purple of course!

Easy peasy lemon squeezy, says Jeremy who has comandeered the old jug and is doing his best to keep up (ooh lemon! good idea buddy!).

Alan and I wrapped up the first day of summer watching a DVRed movie, the end of which failed to record.  Ahhg!  That's okay, though, because I was a little distracted by frequent pee breaks.

I also re-started my 100 crunches a day goal and officially registered for the Flamingo Four-Miler on July 17th (anyone want to join me?).  Also, I am home today (and blogging) because I have a summer cold, so Yes, summer is here and summer is welome (although I could do without the hacking cough)!



The New Face of Nana Lois

My mom has been legally blind all my life.  If she is conscious, she is wearing glasses.  Thick ones. 

If you ask her a queston while she is lying in bed, her first response is "wait a minute, let me put my glasses on" as if she cannot process information or formulate a response without them. 

Every Soule family cat learned early on (first, to bug Dad, because he's the morning person, but in his absence) the way to get Mum up in the morning is to bat her glasses off the night stand. 

She wears them on the boat, at the beach, in the pool and even on the Matterhorn ride at Disney which was a huge mistake because they were immediately flung from her face and smashed to bits.  We know because they were mailed to her later by the lost and found department.  But that's another story entirely.

But all that has changed.

My mom recently had cataract surgery on both eyes (one week apart) which had the bonus advantage of a dramatic reduction in her nearsightedness.  We came home from Cape Cod a few weeks ago to find my mother sitting on the couch knitting...with no glasses on.

I find this to be very strange.  Mum, without glasses, not looking comatose.  Weird.

Here she is (with Dad, naturally) enjoying dessert on Father's Day:

Big Lake Half Marathon: Photographic Proof

[I posted this on facebook but here it is for my blogfriends.]

The Big Lake Half Marathon was a pretty typical one of these events, even down to the professional photographer who camped out on various parts of the course and at the finish to take pictures of us passing by at our wildly varying paces.  The images are all then loaded onto a website where you can find the ones of you (by bib number) and purchase them in various sizes or as digital files to upload on your blog.

Or you can be ultra-cheap and send all your friends the link and your bib number and let them look at the watermarked previews instead.  Enjoy!

My bib number was 16 and Alan's was 17 (that's how early we registered for this thing!).  There are even a few of us holding hands just before the finish line (at which point Alan dropped me like a hot potato to check his garmin.  That's love!).

http://nuvisionactionimage.com/storefront/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=10097

Big Lake Half Marathon 2011: Race Report

Time for a classic, long, bloggy race report largely built around a series of pictures...

1. Here are all the things I planned to wear and/or take with me on race day laid out on a chair in the motel room the night before.   I was really pleased with all my wardrobe choices.  Although I took obvious care with color-coordination and even ironed the SOuLE MARKS logo onto the thigh of my capris, I was very careful to choose comfort and practicality.  I had the track jacket and a pair of long pants on in the am and post-race but was very happy that I chose a loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirt and capris to run in.  The weather was fabulous--cool and slightly breezy, sunny but not glaringly so..just perfect.  There were thunder storms saturday afternoon and evening, but not a drop during the race.



2. Here is Alan ready to go.  Across the little pond you can see the crowd of runners forming at the starting line.  I found a picture online taken from the start, and I think you can see Alan standing here very tiny in the background. 

3.  And here I am in the same spot, sporting my froggy greenness.  At this point, I determined that there was no sense pretending I could get through the lengthy port-a-potty line (just behind the camera), so we gave up and headed to the start.  I wasn't desperate and figured I'd take a pit-stop at the aid station around mile 3 or so.  Emilie always cries after a big race; I get choked up at the start.  The combination of nerves and excitement and starting line pomp gets me all verklempt, but other than that I was feeling good.  I saw a woman who looked exactly the way I felt at the start of the MDI Half: she was visibly teary, looked exhausted and was hovering near a tall, supportive-looking fellow.  I don't know what ailed her but I felt sooooo sympathetic.  It made me realize how incredibly lucky I was to just feel normal.

4.  This is the part for which there are no pictures (unless I eventually find some on the web). 

The horn blew and we mosied our way to the starting line for about a minute and then we ran. 

We ran along the bodacious curves of Letter S Road (actual name) and into the center of Alton.

Alan ran with his music on (they changed the rules on that about a week before the race, much to his relief);

I ran music-free for a while, enjoying the spectators and thanking the volunteers holding traffic for us.

Alan cautioned me to watch my speed--I was keeping pace with him--but I felt good. 

A mile and a half in, we ran past the finish line (ready and waiting for our return),

and a bank of port-a-potties (which I ignored).

We ran past our motel and I had no desire to stop for a nap.

We ran past a giant billboard that said "Got Pain?" and I fished out my cell phone and managed to find the camera function and take an almost passable photo while still running and keeping pace with Alan. 

I finally put one earbud in and settled in to listen to some music.

I started wondering where we'd seen that pit stop when we drove the course the night before.  I was quite convinced it was before the long steep climb and when we hit a nice downhill stretch I pulled ahead, figuring I'd be taking a break soon.

5.  This is the view from the Scenic Overlook (around mile 5 I think--we took the picture the night before).  By the time I got here I was chatting with a girl named Daija and feeling A. amazed to still be running non-stop particularly since you have to go UP to reach a view like this, and B. like, where in the world is that pit stop anyway??

6. [A few more photo-free segments here] I finally found the pit stop just before mile 6 (waaaay further out than I thought it would be) and lost several minutes standing in line for it.  I made good use of the time, though, stretching, refueling (dried cherries, dark chocolate covered almonds, cashews and M&Ms) and sucking down lots of water (no reason not to when you're about to pee anyway).  Alan blew past me while I was in line and I watched him pull farther and farther ahead and disappear around a bend.

7. Back on the road, I hit the turn at the top of the loop that told me I was about half way through and brought me back down to lake level.  The downhills were a little tricky--I felt like a runaway tractor trailer desperately trying to brake--but then the course was weaving and winding past gorgeous homes, in shady lanes, with many ups and downs.  I tried to keep myself chugging along, hoping to be not too far behind Alan by the end, but I didn't have the momentum any more to run non-stop. Every now and then another water stop would come along, most with music, some with people in funny costumes, all with smiling friendly volunteers.  They all made me feel like a million bucks even though they didn't know me.  A barbershop quartet even sang to me about being 16 (my bib number).  I didn't need water thanks to my Camelbak, but I took Gatorade at every chance.  This is noteworthy because I hate the stuff: I can only stand it during races.

8. Around 2 hours in, I decided that it would be prudent to refuel some more, so I pulled out a free Gu-like thing that came in Alan's goody bag.  It was strawberry-banana flavored and reeeeally thick.  I purposely started sucking on it between water stops so I wouldn't be tempted just to ditch it in the nearest trash can.  This was wise. When I finally told myself to imagine it as mashed bananas it made more sense to my palate and wasn't so bad.  I think it helped, but can't be sure.

9.  By this time, I felt like I'd done an awful lot of walking, and I was quite certain that Alan was approaching the finish line well ahead of me.   On the other hand, I thought maybe I'd kept the walking breaks pretty short because my time was looking good.  My general goal was to do better than MDI which was 3 hours and 13 minutes and I really wanted to break 3 hours.  My estimates made that look very attainable, but the longer I've been running, the less I trust my math.

10.  And then something strange happened:  I turned a corner and was starting up a kind of fierce little hill when I looked up and saw a familiar figure.  There was Alan not far ahead of me!  I said something like "Holy &@#$! that's my husband!" to no one in particular, and then I got me some motivation.  I caught up to him about 2.5 miles from the finish and we stayed together until the end.  I really hope that somewhere there's a picture of the two of us crossing the finish line hand in hand.  We were very much together but apparently my bib (attached to my belly--no comments please!) crossed the line before his (attached to his thigh) because the official results put me one second ahead.  We weren't announced by the guy with the mike by the finish line chute because another guy was using the PA system to give out the age-group awards somewhere nearby.  But as I said in my previous post, that's OK; we were there for us.  Our net times were 2:46:56 and 2:46:57.  That put Alan about the same as MDI and gave me a PR of about 26 minutes.  I'll take it!

11. Post-race, we drank lots of water and wandered through the food line and then got in line for massages.  We probably spent 45 minutes in that line, but it didn't matter.  We had ice cream.  Homemade. With chocolate sauce. And various other foods.  Our medals and tech tees are awesome and colorful and everything was really well organized from online registration right through bag pick-up. There was supposed to be a chance to vote for your favorite water-stop in the "Big Lake Battle" but we never saw anything about that and Alan said the pizza wasn't very good (I opted for a bagel and cream cheese) but neither was a big deal.  And I made friends with a great gal named Lucy who kindly took our picture. 

See how happy we are to have made it into the massage tent? 

This lady gave a great massage AND she hammed it up for the photo op!

12. Back at the motel, I realized we didn't have a good picture of our logo-bedecked thighs.  Alan's was on a scrap of fabric pinned to his shorts and mine is ironed right onto my capris (I scorched it a little in the process).  I did so well these last two races, since the inauguration of the logo, that I think I'm going to have to be superstitious about it. 

Anyway, nice job, legs (all four of you!).



Race Report: Animal Orphanage 5k 2011

[I know, this isn't THE EXCITING EVENT that you're eager to read about, but I have to do this in the proper order.  I slapped these photos into a draft post right before we headed off to NH expecting to finish it from the motel room, but when we got there Alan's laptop said "detecting no available networks" so we were wireless-less...until a brief period on Saturday afternoon...but that's for the next post.]

THIS post is about the Animal Orphanage 5K (and pet run) on May 1, 2011, involving all five of us plus Nana and Gumpy.  We gathered at the Old Town YMCA sporting the matching tee-shirts I made.  They have our names on the front...

...and our new logo on the back.  [In case you can't see it in this picture, it says "SOuLE MARKS" and has a shoe print.]

These photos were all taken after the race and we don't have much in the way of "during" shots because we were all IN it so we had no one parked at the finish line to witness.  The official results show this, however:

62  12/28      81 Nancy Marks          42 F                   31:41 10:12
63  14/20      80 Alan Marks            43 M                  31:55 10:17

Yes, folks, it finally happened: I chicked* my husband.  Woo hoo!  He got an early lead while I sort of checked in with the kids at the start and then I spent a long time trying to catch up.  At mile 2 I was just about there and then *gasp!* he stopped to walk!!  I didn't expect that and when I patted him on the back and said "get moving" I thought he'd follow but it just wasn't his race.  I had my best 5k ever and he was disappointed to have backslid from the week before.  I'm sorry for him but I gotta admit, it felt good being the first Marks over the line for a change!  He said he figured it was just a matter of time before I caught up to his pace.  I always figured his long legs would keep me at bay... 

In other dramatic news, James and Madeline earned awards for 1st and 2nd in their respective age groups!  James ran the first 2 miles without stopping (which was his goal) and Madeline ran the first mile and a half (more than her goal) without stopping, and Jeremy ran the whole last tenth of a mile really fast (we wouldn't let him run before that). Nana and Gumpy crossed the finish line as walkers hand in hand.  Go team!!!!  Here, the kids show off their tees, ribbons and smiles back home on the deck:

Everyone had fun and it was a great day for Team SOuLE MARKS!!

*chick (verb), in road racing, when a girl finishes ahead of a guy, often dramatically.  To be chicked is to be beaten by a girl.  Alan is of course accustomed to having lots of women finish before him, but never his wife.  Until now.  he he he

Race Report: 4.20 Healthy High 5k

On April 20th (4/20), Alan and I ran the "Healthy High" 5k, a little race in its 4th year, put on by the Alcohol and Drug Education Program at UMaine.  This was our first road race of the season and a big deal for me because it was the anniversary of my first road race ever last year.  A lot of the races we have planned for this year are repeats of last year with the simple goal of doing better than we did last time.  One reason why I chose this race last year is because it starts and finishes at the UM Rec Center which is across the street from my office.  The race starts (theoretically) at 4:20pm (ten minutes before the end of my normal work day) right next to the lot where I park for work every day.  This makes it very convenient for me, although not-so-much for all the other university employees who are trying to bolt from campus at 4:30.  My advice: next year plan to run or spectate.  So there.  Actually, that's my one big suggestion to the organizers: get the whole campus involved--make it a super fun event to watch, have contests for the best cheering section, etc.

So anyway....the weather was crazy all day long!  Way crazier than last year.  This April 20th included a strange assortment of rain, slush and hail.  Several hail storms in fact.  In the end I was really glad that the roads were clear--no slush at all--even though I could still see white on the grass in a few places.  I do sort of almost a little bit regret that I can't claim bragging rights for running in a hail storm.  That would have been bada$$, man...!

We left Mum & Dad at our house with the kids and Stacy joined them, too.  They all stood across the street in the mist and the cold to wait to see us pass and then the kids and the Gumps drove to the finish line and to hang out at the Rec Center after.

I had a great run and I owe a of it to bib #1, Dr. Dana, the VP for Student Affairs at UM.  I fell into step with him shortly after the start and felt really comfortable there so we ran the whole way together.  Neither one of us wanted to stop running so we just kept each other going.  And he is so well know and well loved on this campus that every step of the way someone was there clapping, cheering, cracking jokes, waving and smiling.  And he greeted everyone he knew, even shaking hands with the volunteers and asking after family members, but he never stopped.  Together we kept a very consistent, relatively easy pace.  It was kind of like being in a parade with a politician, but it totally worked for me.  Remember how much I love external motivation?  Well, it turns out that I don't even care if it's really being directed at the guy next to me.  I ate it up.

I only have a few shaky, damp looking pictures on our camera and haven't gotten Mum's off their camera yet,  but someone was taking finish line shots and I found this one on the web.  You can see Dr. Dana in the background--I didn't dust him exactly, he paused to talk to the race organizer, one of his star employees.

Finally, a half decent picture of me running.

Alan did GREAT!  He knocked 2 minutes off his time from last year and finally broke 30 minutes (net time).

The race was well organized.  Laurie Sidelko's done a great job creating and developing the event.  They added a 10k this year, and had several sponsors and tons of snacks waiting for us at the Rec Center.  I know they were disappointed with the turnout--they had 500 people pre-registered but a lot of no-shows on account of the weather.  You can't contral that, especially not in April in Maine.

Official Gun Times:

152/259 Alan Marks 30:00

190/259  Nancy Marks 34:01

Up And Running

I have to start by apologizing for having taken an unintentional blogging hiatus.  I've been so ridiculously busy, but mostly having fun, and I've composed many partial blog posts in my head, but haven't come close to typing them up and downloading suitable pictures...hence my accidental vacation from the web.  I didn't realize quite how bad I've been until today when I learned that A. Liz in Texas called my mom and asked if I'm all right because--bless her heart--she follows the blog and noticed I'd dropped off the face of the blogosphere! and 2. I tried to log in and couldn't remember my password. And not just for a minute, but completely couldn't come up with it and had to answer my security questions just to get in.
Recent events that should have warrented blog posts (and still might) include:

Me singing and dancing my way through the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s in the Bangor Rotary Show,
me acting in All My Murders (put on by Bangor Community Theatre so that means I helped produce it), 
Alan acting like--and probably wishing he was--a single dad while I was busy playing,
baking cheddar apple scones (yes, Emilie, they're everything you said they'd be),
falling in love with Chocolate Silk,
transitioning to running outside again,
the most convoluted car swap ever: me running 8.57 miles one Saturday as my commute home from a choir retreat and Alan running 10 miles the same day to retrieve the car from where I left it (don't try to make the math work--Alan added in an extra loop),
me running 9.69 miles the following Saturday while spectating the Kenduskeag Stream Race,
Alan running 15 miles (in circles at the Rec Ctr) and subsequently registering for the Maine Marathon (October 2nd),
both of us running our first race of the season (the Healthy High 5k--also the anniversary of my first road race ever),
Easter, and the return of Boy Bunny (watch for a guest post by James. Pester me if it doesn't happen soon.),
a successful Administrative Professionals Week event for my IAAP chapter held yesterday at Hollywood Slots,
Madeline in the 5th & 6th grade Disctrict V Chorus concert just today (with a solo, no less!).

And--oh yeah--we're at 1 WEEK until the Big Lake Half Marathon.  Yikes!



Liz has been reassured, my password is reset, and tomorrow the whole family will be up and running...the Animal Orphanage 5k.

With matching tee-shirts no less.

Spring in My Step?

Here's a (long-winded) synopsis of my last three runs:


Last Saturday
The whole family went to the Rec Center: all 5 of us, plus my mom and dad, plus my sister and niece (visiting from Vermont).  Alan went earlier than the rest of us to get a start on his planned 12 mile run.  He wound up doing 11 and it was a long time before he finally made it to the hot tub.

I sent the kids off to the pool with the rest of the gang and joined Alan on the track to do my 5 miles.  I know he was pacing himself for a much longer run, but it still felt good to run past him a few times.  I felt good about my pace, had a nice kick on the last lap, bought a bottled water at the front desk, and changed into my swimsuit.

I swam and visited with the kids and mum and dad and then sat in the hot tub where I visited with Helen and Sam.  And Brenda who used to sing in our choir and her little boy.  And then I swam some more.  And hot tubbed and visited more.  And had complicated logistical discussions with mum.  And sent Jeremy home with dad.  Then got James and Madeline out of the pool but got side-tracked by the sauna.  Then we spotted Emilie, so we went back in the pool and visited with her and her kids, and her brother.  And then visited with Robin, who I've known forever, and her two girls. And then Alan finally arrived so I hot tubbed some more....!

By this time I was starving and dehydrated (despite the 20oz bottle which I drained).

When we finally got out of there, we went straight to Subway and then home to wolf it down.  I had a 6" chicken and bacon ranch sub, sun chips, a caffeine-free orange soda, 2 chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk. 

For dinner that night, the whole gang came over and we had a pork loin that mum brought, baked potatoes, carrots, etc, and then two desserts: pumpkin pie and sticky rice with fresh mango slices.  And I think I had a bottle of Sangria. 

For some reason, my stomach was a total mess on Sunday.  hmmmm...wonder why?

Monday evening
Madeline and I went to the Rec Center in an attempt to combine my Monday run (3.5 miles on the schedule) and our weekly Tuesday night cross-training session.  I had no oomph and only managed 2 miles at a rather slow pace.  Madeline did 1.1 after initially hoping for 1.5 or more.  Later, we tried to play ping-pong but they could find no balls, and they also had not basketballs available--small wonder: the place was mobbed with students just back from spring break who apparently were suffering from some sort of hang-out-and-shoot-hoops withdrawal.  She was bummed and we had to leave to pick up James at scouts so we didn't even have time for the pool.

In the car on the way home, I managed to 1.) get mad at Madeline for being overly cranky about it, B.) get mad at James for being rude when I picked him up, and 3.) back into an adult scout's pick-up truck in the parking lot.  Fortunately, there was only a small ginch on our bumper and a corresponding clean spot where I rubbed some dirt off the other vehicle.  I stopped at Thriftway for some snacks for my still not entirely settled stomach.  Oy!

By Wednesday, however, things were looking up.  I emailed Emilie with a daring proposition: to join her and her sole sisters for the last 6 miles of their 17 mile run this coming Saturday.  I determined that--while welcome to join them--I'd have to go to Hampden (foreign running territory to me, and "frickin' hilly" as Emilie put it) and they'd be running around a 10:45 pace.  I hit the Rec Center after work, before Rotary rehearsal.  I did the full 4 miles on my schedule and--aiming to see if I could keep up with the gang--my splits were as follows:  10:37, 10:38, 11:12 (including a 20 second water stop), 10:45 (nailed it!).  While I was really happy with this, I realistically emailed Emilie the next day to postpone my attempt to (literally) run with her crowd.  Yes, I managed to hit the pace for 4 miles on a nice cushy indoor track.  6 miles outdoors on hilly terrain is a whole different thing, baby.

So my plan for tomorrow...(oh, yikes, I mean, today! How did it get to be midnight?!?)... is to 1. go to bed! 2. have a power-boosting delicious breakfast with the kids 3. run on the track for 3 miles and then attempt a 5k loop outdoors.  Maybe.  That's sounding rawther ambitious all of a sudden.  And I know it's going to get cold again tomorrow.  But the main point is to GET OUTSIDE! because before I know it, I'm going to be standing in the middle of a road waiting for someone to say "go!" and I really need to get used to running on actual terrain again before then.

Plus, it's (technically almost) spring!!!

Spring in the Air and On Our Plates

Everyone seems to be blogging about how great they feel, how fast they're running, how far they've come...and with springlike weather and snow melting everywhere it's no wonder we're all feeling a bit of a lift!

I, too, am feeling much better.  Last weekend was a bit rough:  I overdid it Saturday and my stomach rebelled all day Sunday and I couldn't sooth it with the calming fizz of a coca-cola and I was still really wanting the caffeine....and then Monday at the gym was a bit rough, too, but I'm feeling much better now.  I still want coke, but I don't need it, although even Alan was advising me that it might not be a bad idea to post-pone the remainder of my observance of Lent until after the Rotary Show.  So far, I'm holding steady at no caffeine of any kind, but next week is "hell week"* so we'll see how that goes.

Back to now and feeling good, though [she asserts, through clenched teeth from spending the last hour composing this post, trying to duplicate an earlier recipe search, and doing internet calisthenics just to upload two pictures].

Tonight, was my first evening spent actually at home with my family with no extra guests and no scheduled activities in, well, quite a while.  Madeline and I went to the grocery store and bought what we needed for a nice family dinner.  I'd been wavering between two different pasta dishes that I found on the Food Network site so I opted to make both for fun and variety and added difficulty (you know, like adding an extra revolution into your platform dive).  We pan-fried some small steaks, threw together a salad, and spent most of our time on the pasta, dirtying as much cookware as possible (also worth more points).

Both recipes were from the adorable Giada de Laurentis (LOVE her!).

One was Penne a la Carbonara but we used orechiette aka "little round hat" pasta, for both dishes.  I pretty much followed the recipe but cut it in half and skipped the parsley.  It was predictably rich and creamy.  The pancetta was nice and salty and super easy because I found some pre-cut in the gourmet deli section.  James (my fellow alfredo lover) has a new favorite and already has dibs on leftovers tomorrow night.

The second was my favorite.  It was so simple and so delicious!  In fact, I didn't bother to print the recipe; I just watched the little video online and was able to wing it from memory.  Now, I can't for the life of me find the video, but search-master Alan found the recipe for me here: Little Thimbles Sciue Sciue.  The "thimbles" are the pasta she uses and "sciue sciue" (pronounced "shway shway") is a description of how free and easy it is to throw together.  So easy I can recap it like this:

Cook the pasta al dente.  Heat some olive oil in a large pan.  Cook up some minced garlic.  Dice tomatoes and cook with the garlic.  Meanwhile, chop fresh basil and cube some fresh mozzarella.
When the pasta is done, drain it and toss with the tomatoes and garlic.  Fold in mozzarella and basil. Serve immediately.

Not pictured, but also included in our good-for-us dinner: thin steaks with a little garlic, salt & pepper, spinach and mixed green salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, cheesy focaccia bread and chocolate soy milk.  The whole meal was subtitled "it's good to try new things".  The chocolate Silk elicited responses ranging from "Can I have some with breakfast, too?" (Jeremy) to "I tried something new; can I have regular chocolate milk now?" (James) to "I'll have the rest of his!" (Madeline).

By the time we finished cooking it was 7:30pm and by the time we'd eaten and cleared the table and I had thoroughly soaked the floor by the pot sink (more bonus points) it was past Jamie and Madeline's 8:30 bedtime so no movie night after all.  But hey: I found some time to blog, for a change!


*"Hell week" is a common theatre term for the week prior to a show opening.  Rehearsals are long, tempers are short, everything goes wrong and everyone's in a panic. And somehow, a sort of catharsis is achieved and it all comes together.  Or so we desperately hope. No really, it's going to be a great show!

Nancy, Unplugged

No, I am not on a campaign against the Coca-Cola company.

I have officially given up my preferred caffeine delivery system for Lent and I am, therefore, officially in withdrawal.

Wednesday was day 1 and it wasn't bad at all, but my day was non-stop break-neck pace from 8am to 8:30pm, so I really didn't have time to notice my caffeinelessness.  Until 9pm when I suddenly lost all oomph and began yawning incessantly.  I had a bowl of cereal for dinner and crawled into bed to faceplant in the latest Runners World magazine.   Aaaah....

Thursday, I was draggin'.
It was a good thing that I carefully planned to drink the last coke in the house on Tuesday because otherwise I might have failed right off the bat. Yesterday--as any addict would--I found myself seriously asking "why am I doing this?  I like coke and it's not that bad for me, and most days I only have a little one, and then I drink water the rest of the day, and it settles my stomach.....".  But I was good.  I popped some ibuprofen and filled my travel mug with ice water and today has been much better already.  I'm sluggish, but I have a fun day off from work to enjoy...at a slighter slower pace than usual.

A few observations for my own edification:

~It know Coke is bad for me!  All those calories!  All that sugar!  Of course I should quit! 
~I know that I always say I'm giving up Coke for Lent, which means that--on a technicality--I could drink Pepsi [bleck!] or coffee [uhg], or any number of flavored, foamy, delectable, dessert-like beverages [yum!] or otherwise deliver caffeine unto my blood stream if I reeeeeeeaaally feel I need to.  But I will try not to cheat.

~I know that some people--on a liturgically-based technicality--give things up for Lent but allow themselves to indulge on Sundays (Lent is 40 days, plus Sundays). But I consider that cheating, too, so I don't do it.  It only prolongs the addiction, and it means cheating in front of the support group that ought to be backing me up.

~And finally, I also know that on Easter Sunday I will start the day early with 20 ounces of coke-y wondrousness and that is what will get me through two long church services, a big breakfast, and an egg hunt, followed by a huge family dinner at our house.  After that, I'll back off a bit and be better off for having abstained.   Until around Christmas when I'll probably be calling myself a "coke-head" again and occasionally worrying that someone will overhear and get the wrong idea.

Cinderella and Her Prince Go Shoe Shopping

A modern-day, mixed-up, fairy-tale follow-up:

* * * * * * * * *

Poor Prince Charming!  He thought he had it bad when he went traipsing around the kingdom asking random women to try on his glass slipper.  I imagine him patiently maneuvering around over-protective chaperones(you're who?  and you want to what?! with all the single ladies in the castle??) and delicately redirecting over-zealous wannabes (No, dear, you are not the one.  Now would you please allow my footman [pun intended] to accompany you to the nearest hospital to have your toes re-attached?).

But did you ever think about them later on, after the reunion of the precious slipper with its mate and the patient prince with his Cinderella?  Well, obviously a girl can't go around wearing glass slippers every day, even--or especially--magical ones.  So let me take you to Once Upon a Time, say...17 years down the road....

The Prince and Mrs. Charming have taken up running (a natural extension of the midnight dash).  Purchasing their first pairs of running shoes had been a fun little birthday shopping spree.  In the year since, the Prince has replaced his with the exact same model such that the princess recently complained that there were 3 pairs of size 14as in various stages of wear taking up serious real estate on the kitchen floor. 

The Princess, on the other hand, is ready to upgrade and needs to explore her options.

She scours product descriptions and reviews, in books and magazines, online, and in the stores.  Finally, she is ready to start trying things on.  She's already in love with something called Nimbus 12s which cost $125, are praised for their cushiony feel, and make her think she might fly if she wears them.

So, the Charmings take advantage of a kingdom holiday and retain a nanny for the royal children.  First, they spend a couple hours at the village rec center and enjoy a relaxing pub lunch, and then it's on to the shoe shopping.  They go to a very expensive sporting goods store where the sales woman checks over the wear on the princess' old shoes and basically confirms what the princess already knew about her feet and her running footwear needs.  The prince raises eyebrows at the exhorbitant prices, asks occasional questions, but otherwise waits patiently.  The princess assures the sales lady (and her prince) that she is sensible enought not to choose her shoes based on color... but that she does not want orange.  "You can call it tangerine, or melon or whatever you want but it's really just orange and I don't like it."  She has an affinity for purple and the saleswoman is delighted to produce a hideously expensive and funky-soled Mizuno Wave Creation 12 in shades of plum. 

The princess likes.  They feel bouncy and comfy and fun.  And like they cost 140 bucks.

Next, they go to Dick's which has a bigger selection and better sales.

The princess finds the famous Nimbuses (Nimbi??) and discovers that they are not for her at all!  Disappointed (and a little relieved), she tries on many more pairs of running shoes.  She's starting to feel like another famous fairy-tale character in an eternal quest for "just right"....  The prince is more actively involved here, finding things for her to try on and pointing out technical details like which ones have more arch support.  The princess/brown-haired Goldilocks wants lots of cushioning, something that hugs her arches...and pretty color choices.  The prince wishes not to break the royal bank.

Princess/Goldilocks still loves the cost-a-king's-ransom Mizunos, but she has found a less expensive alternative.  They fit well, feel good, meet all her picky standards except one: they're white with orange accents (the company calls it "Sun" *scoff!*). 

So they go to one more store where Princess/Goldy is lusting over goofy looking KSwiss shoes with tubing on the soles.  The prince doesn't think they look very durable but Goldy thinks they are super comfy...and they're purple (shown below in a different color which makes them look so not exciting). 

By now the prince is searching every shelf, every brand, every style for size 7s that might satisfy His Royal Darling, while fending off PTSD flashbacks to those evil step-sisters flocking and flirting and hacking off their heels....  Instead of one shoe and a thousand potential princess, it's one princess and a thousand potential shoes!

They finally return to the castle empty-handed (although not exactly barefoot), but armed with enough information to make an informed internet purchase.   Now it's one PC and a hundred thousand potential shoes....!  Mmmm....more shopping!

*     *     *     *    *     *     *     *     *

A few days later (on pay day, to be precise), I made my final selection.  The aforementioned "Sun" colored shoe was in fact, the Brooks Ghost 3, and does, in fact, come in several colors.  You'll be surprised to learn that I chose the bugg-y looking color palette over the purple-y one.  I'm liking these bright greens and blues...

I had a 15% discount code for RunningWarehouse.com so I ended up paying $108 for my hundred dollar shoes, plus a cheap pair of socks, plus a pair of not-so-cheap Thorlos, plus a pair of borderline-pricey Injinji toe socks for Alan to try.  And I got a free shopping bag.  You can't argue with that!

But here's the ultimate punch line:  AFTER I placed my order, I was flipping through (read: drooling over) a Title Nine catalog and they featured a very familiar looking pair of shoes--MY shoes!  In MY color choice even!--under the heading "Goldilocks Runners"!!

Just right!!

Counting Down and Up-Dating

10

weeks

or

70

days

until we run



I hijacked Mum's personal planner today and wrote in the dates for all our major events for the year.  I wan to be sure we have the Gumps "booked" for race support (or, in some cases, babysitting).  We might even get them to enter a 5k or two.  I'll keep you posted! 

And now, because I'm on my mesozoic laptop (read: big, old, slow) I'm refusing to spend another age adding much more to this blogpost, so here's a synopsis of the week: 

Lots of logistical calisthenics to accommodate running, rehearsal and social schedules.  Nancy drags Alan on a shoe-trying-on excursion so she can fall in love with $140 running shoes (funny story for a future post).  Madeline is selected for District V chorus along. I do my first treadmill run (very slooooow, much fiddling with settings, have to learn to time it so I can watch a whole TV show instead of missing the dramatic conclusion, felt super dizzy afterward).  Sponsors and a second speaker are found for Administrative Profs day event (much to my relief).  I'm approved at work to go to a conference in Montreal this summer.  The kids go to Nana Mary's in Milo from Thursday until today; Madeline yanks out a baby tooth.  Alan and Nancy enjoy Wii time without the kids.  Mad and I both get our nails done (an early birthday treat for her).  I hit all my miles for the week but don't do any cross-training.  More snow + fluctuating temps = lots of icicles.

WHYDTWTMYFP?*

First off, I do hereby most sincerely apologize for causing that debilitating feeling of emptiness that surely must have ensued when I didn't provide one of these stirring posts last week. 
(You may stop laughing now.)

Also, I was going to regularly include my "not so proud" moments but I've decided not to hold myself to that, partly in the spirit of ACCentuating the positive, and partly because I don't feel like typing [and you don't feel like reading] "I ate a lot of junk" every week.  Let's just say that one's a given until I say I'm proud of not doing that. 
(Don't hold your breath.)

Getting on it with it--

This week I am proud because...
~Twice, I ran three miles with negative splits.  oooooh...don't get all excited: I'm still slow.
~I scheduled a session with a trainer at the Rec Center specifically to learn how to use the treadmills.
~I worked on planning the Administrative Professionals Week event coming up in April.
~I made a poster for BCT's upcoming play (All My Murders).
~I seem to be juggling work, running, choir, IAAP, BCT, Rotary... AND my husband and kids still recognize me as someone who resides in the same household (so far).


Sources of inspiration this week include...
~Lots of awesome posts by various bloggers I follow, especially Marathon Mama whose phenomenal whit and humor on any subject from superbowl half time shows to gynecologists to the Boston Athletics Association regularly causes me to come this close to shooting oatmeal out my nose and onto my flat-screen monitor.  This is especially dangerous on days I put dried cherries in there [hey! that's something good I've been eating].  Perhaps next week I'll be proud of learning not to read funny blogs while eating breakfast...but probably not.

~A photo of me! in the MDI Half that I happend to find on the 5k sports facebook page.  The streaming sunlight reminds me of the excitement I was feeling and conveniently obliterates all memory of stress, discomfort, and general anxiety.  I feel like that pig in Zuckerman's barn.  You know: RADIANT.

Have an awesome weekend everyone.
*What Have You Done This Week To Make You Feel Proud?

WHYDTWTMYFP*?

Wow, last week went by quickly--very full!--and I'm already overdue on my "cheers and jeers" post.

This week I am proud because...
I guilted my mom into reading my blog!
I got my parents to get a membership at the Rec Center (by dragging them there and arranging for them to get a tour while I got started on my run).
I got in almost all my planned running miles (minus one tenth due to a lap-counting error). 
Alan rocks (see previous post extolling the virtues of my hand hubby).
James brought home a report card with all As and Bs--way to go!
I wrote and conducted a choral tribute to our interim choirmaster. The choir sounded great and it was very well received.

I am less proud about...
Inadvertently lying to you in this post last week: I did NOT get in all 6 days of training (I missed Sunday 2 weeks ago and again today).  I wasn't just slacking, though; Sundays are often ridiculously over-booked. I may have to examine how realistic my expectations are there.
I am behind on my crunches and have been eating junk food all week.
Also, we are disappointed that our team did not pull off a last-minute Superbowl win (while we were eating said junk food).  *Darn*

*What Have You Done This Week To Make You Feel Proud?

Coming Clean

Do you remember that our dryer broke the week before Christmas? 
And that, for my birthday, Alan took loads and loads of sopping wet clothes to the laundry-mat to dry them?
And did you know that we haven't done laundry since then??
Yes, we have an obscene amount of clothing in our home, and yes, 98% of it is dirty.  Well...95%, now because....

IT'S ALIVE!!!

The new washer and dryer arrived in late January and Alan has been slaving away at getting everything hooked up.  This means that he has done major plumbing, carved various holes in the walls of our bathroom (yes, I'm Ok with that),  installed a vent, run a new electrical line up from the basement, and attached a stacking kit.  Oh yeah, and actually moved the things into place (with some lifting assistance from Gumpy).We're talking serious handyman work and I am so very proud and thankful for my dear, sweet, wonderful, talented, strong hubby.  He is very tired.

And now there is some serious washing being done. It's a little daunting, sitting on the john and seeing this giant tower of appliances looming in front of you....but the whole family is sooooo in love with the pretty digital read-outs, lift-off-seems-imminent-spin-cycle, and the lilting chimes of the "wash complete" song....

This just in from Jeremy: "Mommy, the dryer is done!" 

Sweeter words have never been uttered!!!  OK, so I exaggerate...but only a little.

What's A Girl Gotta Do...

...to get her own mother to read her blog??

My mom recently informed me that she's been following Emilie's blog in order to keep up-to-date on Emilie's mom, Beth, and her breast cancer fight.  This is both laudable and understandable. 

But I had to ask (hopefully):  "Have you read my blog lately, Mom?"
And she replied (without apology): "Well, no."

So I wonder, What's a girl gotta do?!? 

Fortunately, I recently discovered an option in my blog settings where I can type in email addresses and new posts will automatically be sent to them.  Eureka!

So, to my PARENTAL UNITS who have theoretically just received this via email: 
Did it work? and Don't dump your daughter in the spam folder!

Also, to Stacy, who asked a long time ago how she could get blog updates via email: 1. thanks for caring, and 2. ta da!!!  (I hope...let me know if it worked).

And to the rest of you:  Thank you so much for actually following me! 
Now, MOM, it's a cold, snowy day, when most everything has been closed or cancelled; isn't this a great time to catch up on all those posts you've been missing?!?


Who, me?



WHYDTWTMYFP?*

The Biggest Loser theme song asks:
What Have You Done Today To Make You Feel Proud?

It's a great question, and I keep trying to incorporate it at home with the kids (i.e. conversation-starter at a family dinner), but haven't really made a regular habit of it.

I've been thinking about my food diary and how it's not helping me change my ways because no one else sees it.  It's harder to write down "Breakfast: one slice of tollhouse pie" if you know it's going to be public.  While I'm not quite ready for full disclosure (and that would be ultra-boring reading!), I do think it would be helpful to regularly proclaim "the good" and fess up to "the bad and the ugly".  Plus, I'm really trying to blog more consistently. 

Thus, I am hereby starting a weekly blogpost of accomplishments and confessions (just the highlights, I promise). 
Here goes:

This week, I am proud because...

~I worked out 6 days out of 7, which is what my Hal Higdon training plan says I'm supposed to do (last year, I basically blew off the whole "cross-training" concept).

~Alan and I have been doing much better at planning dinners ahead.  This amounts to "real" meals (although we're still pathetic about fresh vegetables), much less stress, and more time spent together as a family.

I am less proud that...

~I didn't do all the running mileage I was scheduled to do, but I'm ok with that.

~The tollhouse pie entry? Yeah, that was true (It was warm and melty and accompanied by a caramel latte and I change my mind; I'm not sorry after all!).

And now the question goes to you:

*What Have You Done This Week To Make You Feel Proud?

Quick: Say Something Inspiring!

So, the latest crazy news is that I've had not one, but two people whom I respect and admire call me "inspiring" recently, while a third one wrote "we bow to their buffness" referring to Alan and me completing the MDI Half Marathon.  Seriously? Are you sure you mean me?!?  'Cause I certainly didn't start out trying to inspire anyone (other than myself) and I know I don't qualify as "buff"!  It's a neat feeling, though, and it gives me hope that we might have some positive effect on our kids. 

Even more surprising is that all this comes afer a 3 week hiatus from blogging.  I may have lost momentum online, but I have been keeping more or less on top of the physical stuff so far. For example, while I haven't exactly done 30 crunches every day, I have done the equivalent of 30 crunches every day.  I haven't run as often as I planned to in January, but then again, it's January (you know, that month right after Christmas that starts off with sleep deprivation and a sinus infection followed closely by three family birthdays?).  I should have known I wouldn't have much energy and it's OK because I am getting going now, and my training plan for the Half doesn't actually begin until February.  I'm even adding in fitness sessions on the Wii and Madeline and I have a weekly gym date.  I'm keeping my food diary (subtitled "the Good, the Bad and the Ugly"), although my nutritional intake is still pretty deplorable.  That's ok too, though, because the point is simply to pay more attention at this point; I can add loftier goals later.

Since long before my dreams of fitness kicked in, the New Year has always brought dreams of organization. I think running has finally taught me how to set goals and actually meet them and I'm applying this to other areas of my life as well.  For the first time I can remember, I was actually ready for a birthday party 10 minutes before the starting time: Jeremy's cake (complete with sugar-cube-igloo and cavorting penguins) was fully decorated and on display, the favor bags were assembled, the craft materials were ready and waiting, and I even had my make-up on!

I recently bought a book called One Year to An Organized Life.  I haven't totally bought into the dream boards and journaling aspects yet (it gets really involved with self-analysis, psychotherapy, and affirmations) but I used some of her more basic advice to conquer our upstairs bathroom.  With the imminent arrival of our new washer and dryer (coming Wednesday! Becoming operational...um...whenever Alan gets all the water, electrical and venting hooked up) I really had to clean out and completely reorganize all our storage in there.  It is sooooo much better now!  I'll post after pictures once the appliances are in (no, I wasn't tasteless enough to take before pictures. Gross.).


Since I have no words of wisdom of my own, I'll stick with the motto used by the Campaign for Mount Holyoke:

ACCOMPLISH GREAT THINGS.
It only works, though, if you realize that even (or especially) the little things are the truly "great" ones.

Oh, and if you want REAL inspiration, Read Emilie's latest posts here, here, and here about her totally awesome, brave, funny mom.