Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Not bad for a septuagenarian

Just when I'd lost hope at placing at a race ... I received a strange-looking package in the mail yesterday with a plaque inside. No, it's not what you think. Read on. I just cut and paste the exchange on Facebook. This way everyone can see the funny comments my friends and family made! (Last names and pictures omitted for privacy.)




15 hours ago via Android ·  ·  ·  · Share

  • MarjorieVallerieStefanie and 15 others like this.

    • Krystal You look good for your age!
      15 hours ago · 

    • Leslie lol
      15 hours ago · 

    • Kimberly Still better than I could do! :-)
      15 hours ago · 

    • Rachel Haha! I actually entered into the Athena (150 lbs.+) division, and for some reason it registered everyone's age in that division as 99. LOL!
      14 hours ago · 

    • Kristie They must be psychic, and predicting a long and fruitful running career for you! :)
      14 hours ago ·  ·  1 person

    • Julie OMG, LMAO!


    • Julie OMG, that means you got BEAT by two other 70+ year old women! This was funny and then it got even funnier!!! LMAO!
      14 hours ago ·  ·  2 people

    • Laura My, having a child has aged you!
      14 hours ago · 

    • Sandy Rachel, you are just ahead of your time!
      14 hours ago · 

    • Melissa  Nice!
      13 hours ago · 

    • Rachel Goal for next race: come in FIRST in the 70+ div.
      13 hours ago · 

    • Jack If you're over 70, how old does that make your mom and I? Very depressing! At least you can start getting senior discounts.
      12 hours ago · 

    • Chris Hilarious!
      12 hours ago · 

    • Stefanie LOL!!
      2 hours ago · 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Proud to be an Athena

Ok, kids! Time for a race recap.

As I've mentioned about a jazillion times, I ran the Jog Into Spring 5K yesterday. Here's how it went:

It was a new experience being a mom and running a race. Just the little things that you take for granted (like being able to go to bed "early," for example, or waking up and doing your pre-race routine, get thrown for a loop when you have to tend to a little person). Luckily, Derek was there for support just in case it turned out to be a poor sleeping night for Lorelei. It wasn't really that bad, but she did get up at around 5 am. By the time I was done feeding, burping, and changing her, it was 5:45. My alarm was set to go off at 6:45, and I tried to go back to sleep, but after a little while, I thought: If I fall back asleep now, there is NO WAY I'm going to feel ok in only one hour. I'm going to be miserable, cranky, and groggy, and I'll probably snooze my alarm and then have to rush and feel panicked.

So, instead, I just took a hot shower, made some coffee, and had a leisurely breakfast. Then, in about an hour, Derek woke up, and we got ready together. We timed it pretty well, and Lorelei got up at around 7:30 for the day, so I fed her and we were ready to go by around 8.

We got to the Independence Civic Center by 8:20 or so, and I got all my race-day stuff. It felt so good to pin on a bib again! And I almost forgot how to attach the D-tag. Ha ha.

It was a bit chilly (like around 40 or 45 degrees), but I knew with a little warm-up, it would be fine, and I always appreciate that kind of weather for running (for me, 60 is already too hot!). Derek walked Lorelei around in the stroller while I did some jogging around. I was still feeling a bit sick (no voice, cough), so I knew I wasn't going to push it. (I did make sure I could breathe deeply, and I could -- there was no mucus in my lungs or anything.) I was still happy I was racing.

As I was getting ready to start, I saw my mom and Jack, who were waiting there, and my mom got this picture of me:


I was excited, but also a bit nervous. What if I couldn't finish? What if I came in last? It's funny to have these fears after having raced so much. But still, it had been a long time, and what if I was rusty?

We started off with a little jingly bell, which was funny. Shortly after we began running, I realized two things: 1) this course was kind of hilly and 2) this course was SUPER boring! Ack! All school buildings, convention center circumferences, and the like. Oh well.

For the first mile, I really had to keep talking to myself: Don't worry if people are passing you; just let them go. Don't worry if you feel tired; you're still warming up. Don't worry if you have to walk; you're only human. And so on! Oh, and I didn't wear a watch this time, but as I passed mile one the woman keeping time said, "11:04." Ok! Much better than I thought. Based on my "training" for this race (or lack thereof), I was expecting more like 12:xx or even 13:xx.

During the second mile, this older guy caught up to me, and we exchanged hellos and "good job"s. It turns out that he hadn't been racing since '09 either, and that Renee Roche (who this race is dedicated to) was a relative. That gave me a little more motivation to keep going. It's always good to find someone really close to the cause to send the message home: I can run. I can keep going. Some people aren't as lucky.

We did run through a fairly nice (and again, hilly!) residential section during the second mile, as well as a water station (thank god), during which I walked to drink. But that was the only time I walked! Yay! At the second mile, my time was 23 minutes. So just under a 12-minute mile.

The third mile was ok. It wasn't as bad as it usually is. It was a sort of modified out-and-back course, so I started recognizing things, and the end went fairly quickly. Right at the 3-mile mark, a stroller mom passed me (dammit! How on earth do they race with those things?!), but I kicked it into high, or maybe medium-high, gear. The clock read 35:50 with about 100 yards to go. I tried to make it under 36:00, but it didn't happen! Oh well! 

But the online official time was actually 35:53, due to the good ol' 10-second delayed start or what have you. So that made the last mile around 12 again, and the last .12 around a minute. Not bad! That made my pace for this race 11:38/mile.

I am really satisfied with this. Based on how I was feeling leading up to this race, and the wild card of no sleep, I would have expected a time closer to 40 minutes. This 5K time was just about a minute slower than my first 5k ever, during which time I was admittedly in much better shape (although inexperienced at racing). I am very confident that I can get my time back down in the low 30s by the fall. (Hello goals!)

Me, Derek, and Lorelei after the race
Also, I hadn't mentioned this before, but I entered into the Athena (150 lbs. +) division for women. Did I place? Wellll... I got fourth. Out of five. HAHA! But still, I was super proud to enter into that division. To me, "Athena" doesn't say "overweight" or "lumbering." It says "powerful," "strong," and, at least for me, "determined."

So all in all, it was a good race, and a great birthday present to myself. And I'll consider this a PRPB (PR Post-Baby!).

Hope everyone else had a great Saturday!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Birthday Race

I did it! I finished my first 5K since December 2009!!

Official time: 35:53 / 11:38 pace

More details to follow!

Monday, April 4, 2011

I've run an average of 0.114583 per day this year!

I just looked at my daily mile stats, and so far I've run a total of ... wait for it ... 11 miles in 2011!! Haha! That is hysterical. It feels like more than that. Oh well. At least I've run 6 of those 11 miles during this week alone!

Ok, so less than a week until the 5K. Two things that are bugging me:

  1. I think I might be starting to get a little bit sick. The plus? I don't feel too much worse today than I did yesterday, and in fact I think I feel better this morning than I did last night. Good sign. So far, I've just got a teeny scratchy throat, dry cough, and feeling fatigued. No other cold symptoms yet. Derek has been dealing with an awful cough, though, for what seems like weeks now. Actually, it's been a little over a week. Ugh, I hope I don't get what he had. And I also hope that Lorelei doesn't get it.
  2. It's supposed to rain next weekend. While I've not only run in the rain (sorta fun), but also raced in the rain (really fun, but really hard), it's not the best opportunity for my family to stand outside to cheer me on. That kinda sucks, because mom and Jack are coming in on Thursday and part of Saturday was going to be them coming to the race. Well, I guess I'll look online at the course, and see if there's a nearby store they can wait in until I pass by, or until I finish.
Other than that, it's just another day here in the Cleve! Oh, except that I recently made a decision: we've started to supplement Lorelei's diet with a little bit of formula. As I agonized about in great length in another post or two, it's really kind of ... sucking the life out of me (no pun intended, lol). So I am still breastfeeding, but also giving her up to 2 ounces or so of formula per day if she is still hungry soon after nursing. This gives me a physical and mental break, and it also takes the pressure off to pump if I have to be away from her for a few hours at night -- something that I seriously need to do once in a while or I'm gonna lose it! So since we started this (last week), I have been feeling a lot happier in general. We're using Gerber Good Start Gentle Plus, and it's worked out great. No weird reactions, no refusing a bottle, etc. Great relief.

Oh, another thing: I'm going to start reviewing the ABC Family show Make It Or Break It on Mondays/early Tuesdays from now on! If any of you watch the show (or even if you don't, haha) feel free to check it out at CliqueClack TV's website.

How is everyone's Monday going?

Friday, April 1, 2011

That Mom Friday: Dirty Little Secrets

I realized I haven't done "That Mom Friday" in awhile. Which I consider to be a good thing, because it could potentially mean I haven't felt like "that mom" recently enough to warrant writing about it.

However: I did come across something great in a book I'm reading (well, in the bathroom, which is the only reading time I get nowadays...) The book is called I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids: Reinventing Modern Motherhood (by Trishia Ashworth and Amy Mobile).

It provides a truthful look at how moms beat themselves up on a daily basis when they take stock of all the things they're not doing instead of taking pride in what they are doing. The book has helpful and funny ways of learning to stop comparing ourselves to other mothers and just enjoy time with our kids.

Every few pages or so, there's a little part of the page sectioned off for a "Dirty Little Secret," where moms confess things they've done that maybe they're not so proud of -- or simply things to get them through the day. A couple of my favorites are:


  • "I tell my daughter, 'You are only two years old. It says right here on the package you can only have two cookies.'" (page 146)
  • "I tell lies. Soccer's been canceled; we can't go. Or the pool's not open; we can't go." (page 142)
and, my personal favorite, one I can definitely relate to:
  • "I like to go to Starbucks alone. I like the adult sippy cup. I get to drink the whole coffee while it's still hot without interruption. My 'latte name' is Kim, and in my mind she's still single and living in the city with no kids." (page 165)
This makes me think I ought to come up with one or two of my own. Of course, they won't be secrets, because I'm sharing them, but it'll be nice to get it off my chest. Ok, here's one:

  • Some days, when Derek is working late and I have a lot of stuff I have to do, I just want to keep putting Lorelei back into the swing after each feeding so that she'll be occupied and I won't have to hold her all day!!
Before I became a mom, I had plenty too, such as ...
  • I would be happy if I never had to work again. I don't think I'd ever get bored of sitting around watching TV all day.
  • Sometimes I think I am always looking for something to be stressed/upset about. I can't just let myself be content and happy. If I'm having a perfect day, suddenly I'll look for what's wrong, such as that load of laundry that has to get done or the fact that I should have run 4 miles instead of 3.
What are some of your "dirty little secrets?"