no excuses

There was a time when I was decidedly not a runner.  Not only was I not a runner, but I prided myself in not being a runner.  My line to all my runner friends in college was, "I run when chased... sometimes."  But college was a time of partying, drinking and late night burritos, not a time of fitness.  Granted, I was a lifeguard and still jumped into the pool to swim laps a few times a week, but running was out of the question.  My stance on running was so accepted, that I remember one of my friends expressing her surprise when she heard that I ran for a bus.  I still can hear her tone of voice when she said, "You ran?!?"
I was thinking about that time of my life and how much has changed while I was out running in the Carolina heat and humidity this morning.  I got a late start (about three hours later than my usual start time) and it was hot.  Running in the heat is a lot harder than swimming in the heat.  Go figure.  I was having a tough time trying to keep my pace (because I not only run now, but I follow a training plan) and getting pretty discouraged when I remembered that voice.  "You ran?!?"  It is truly amazing what you can do when you decide to stop making excuses and just do it.*  Yes, I ran.  Today I ran seven miles at a 9:29 min/mile pace in ninety degree heat and humidity.  I'm slower than a lot of people, but I'm faster than a lot of people too.  I am I certainly faster than all the people who still think that running is not an option.

* while I have no intention of doing PR for Nike, the slogan fits.

The hammer

Devin is a bit of a drama queen.  This is not new, but what we are dealing with is more akin to what I would expect from a teenage girl than a seven year old boy.  Lately I have been hearing, "This is the worst day ever!" for such trivialities as:

• learning that a friend cannot sleep over
• needing to turn off the PlayStation/TV/DS
• generally not getting to do things Devin's way

At first we tried to ignore the drama, but over time it really grates on you.  Today I had to bring down the hammer.  After learning that it was indeed another 'worst day ever' in Devin's world (this time because of an accidental deletion on the PlayStation.  Never mind that we went to a movie with nine little boys from the neighborhood today and he got to play PlayStation for a hour - far longer than I usually allow) I asked him how today could be the worse day ever, when he said yesterday was.  Then we talked about how sad it was if every day was so horrible and how we need to create our own happiness.  Nothing seemed to connect with Devin and he continued to lament his awful life when I sent him to his room to think (and to calm myself down). 
When he returned I gave Devin a vocabulary lesson.  He learned the meaning of the words "selfish" and "spoiled" and "brat".  We again talked about all the good and wonderful things in our lives for which we should be grateful.  This resulted in more tears combined with a declaration of how damaged his feelings were by my vocabulary lesson.  And yet, I could tell that I still was not getting through to him. 
As I was putting Devin to bed, I started talking to him about the day that Brianna died.  I explained that she had been sick and in the hospital for a couple days when the doctors wanted to do a test to check her heart, and when they did the test her heart stopped working.  She could not breathe.  She could not talk.  She could not see.  She could not smile or laugh or sing or dance.  I told Devin that I knew that the day that Brianna died was the worst day ever for her parents (my sister and brother-in-law) and for his cousins.  I told Devin that day was the worst day ever for Grandma and Grandpa and for Andy and I and I was pretty sure it was the worst day for his other aunts and uncles and cousins too.  And I asked him if he thought that today was as bad as the day that Brianna died. 

I think he is starting to understand.

to tri or not to tri...

That is the debate. 
It's summer.  For the past ten (or so) years, summer for me has been triathlon season, unless of course I was pregnant or nursing a new born.  Those summers I had a legitimate reason to sit out a season.  But now it's summer and I love triathlons.  I love training, I love racing and I love trying to better my previous race times. 
Last weekend Andy did his first sprint tri and I was so excited for him.  He had a great race and it was really fun to encourage him in this new achievement.  But I love competing too, and I am starting to miss triathlons.  Last summer was tough because I was training for tri's and Andy was working out a lot.  He had made a new commitment to becoming a healthier person and I was absolutely behind that*!  We found it challenging to manage our training schedules while caring for the kids and trying to get workouts done before the Carolina heat set in each day. 
Now this summer I have been running and swimming, but I only started training for my half marathon (racing on Labor Day) a few weeks ago.  Part of me thought I might so a tri this summer, but between my other training, and all of our summer travel plans, I thought it would be difficult to do everything that I want to do.  I had my eye on a race in August (between our trips to Chicago and Boston) but haven't registered yet because I'm not sure how to manage all the training.  It is difficult to find time to training for three sports while caring for three kids.  Plus, I am already committed to running three times per week to prepare for my half marathon.  So the question is: can I realistically train in swimming and biking in three days each week (because we all need a rest day)?  I'm not sure that I can.  To be fair, I know that I could go out tomorrow and complete a sprint triathlon.  But I have completed a lot of sprint triathlons.  If I do another one, I want to be competitive.  I want to do well. 
Now Andy is thinking about training for another tri in a couple months and he is not really excited about both of us vying for workout time in the morning, especially since I am starting to do longer runs.  Is it realistic that we could both train?  Should I just focus on the half marathon and let him be the reigning triathlete in the household this summer?  Should maintain my current training and then go out and wing it in a sprint triathlon and hope for the best?  I wish I had an easy answer.

Andy after finishing his first Triathlon!!

*  For the record, Andy has lost 50 lbs since last spring and looks amazing.  Hubba Hubba!

the left side

always the left side.  again the left side. 

The weekend before I was supposed to start training in earnest for the half marathon I started feeling that all-too-familiar, none-too-fun ache in my left hamstring and lower back.  I stretched and stretched and decided to give it a little time to heal.  But I really didn't stop running.  In fact, during our week on the beach I ran even more, since the waves were way too crazy for *real* swimming and I didn't have a gym.  So my hip started complaining too, and now I am following my own advice and, "listening to my body".  I am back at the chiropractor, shortening my runs, stretching and icing and hoping that all will be better soon.  While I am frustrated to be doing this again, I am glad that I still have a couple months until the half marathon.

beach people

It's official; the beach vacation is over. As we were walking through the sand to the board walk, Isabel said to me, "But Momma, I'm not ready."

Moments later (as we were walking to the showers to rinse off before our four hour drive home), Devin told me that this was a great vacation.

When we asked Alex what his favorite part of vacation was, he said "everything". 

While we will all be glad to get back to our home, friends and our routines, I truly believe that we Blake's are meant to be beach people.