My Mom the Runner

July 19, 2015 by 10 Comments

I recently saw this fun questionnaire on both Angela‘s and Sue’s  blogs giving a kid’s perspective on life with a mother runner. I thought it would be fun to play along and luckily my youngest son was game (Son #1 continues to enjoy life at sleep-away camp!)

level of crazy

1. What does mom eat before a run?

“I don’t know cause I don’t see you before your runs…maybe a protein bar?” No, but a good guess.

2. How far does mom run everyday?

“20 – 26 miles.” — Seriously who does he think I am?!

3. What was mom’s favorite race?

“The B.A.A. Half.” — He clearly doesn’t remember that I was injured going into this race and limped my way through it.

4. Why do you think your mom runs?

“Just to run!” — That made me laugh!

5. What injuries has mom had from running?

“Not sure…a knee injury or something.” — I like the “or something.”

6. Do you like going to mom’s races?

“Yes cause it’s fun to cheer you on!” — Aww, best answer!

7. Have you learned anything from having a mom who runs?

“Not that much…well maybe something about running.”– hmmm…

8. Does having a mom who runs make you want to run?

“Yep makes me want to run with you, but I don’t want to race.” — Interesting since he’s been talking about running a 5K?!

9. What’s your least favorite thing about having a mom who runs?

“That you run too much!” — Well sure he thinks I run too much, he also thinks I run 20 miles a day!

10. Do you think you’ll run when you are your mom’s age? And how old do you think your mom is?

“I don’t think I’ll be running at 48, but I think I’ll be playing in a men’s lacrosse league like dad.” — I knew he’d get the age right…I also could have guessed the rest of his answer. I live in a lax-obsessed household!

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Filed Under: general musings, kids

June’s Ultimate Coffee Date

June 6, 2015 by 19 Comments

The Ultimate Coffee Date

Busy morning ahead, but before I get going I’m making a little time to join with one of my favorite link-ups, The Ultimate Coffee Date. Thanks to Coco, Lynda and Deborah, as always, for hosting! Be sure to check out the link-up and see what the other ladies are dishing about.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I’m in the homestretch on all of the school projects/concerts/field trips, etc. After May Madness, things are starting to wind down a bit. I did spend yesterday in my youngest son’s class room helping out with a project – it was a sea of glue sticks, construction paper and stickers, but I survived and made my kiddo happy so it was all worth it.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I cannot believe my oldest son is leaving for overnight camp in just a few weeks! He’s really excited and I’m excited for him…but I’m going to miss him terribly!

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that returning to running after a short hiatus is hard…harder than I thought it would be. Some days I feel like I’m starting from scratch and I’m working on not being too hard on myself.

If we were having coffee together, I’d tell you that I survived my 3-day refresh, and did lose a few pounds. I’ve got a lot of thoughts to share on the whole thing, but my boys are waiting and lacrosse calls, so I’m gonna save that for a separate post. 🙂

If we were having coffee together, what would you tell me? 

 

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Filed Under: injuries, kids, Ultimate coffee date, Uncategorized

Thursday Thoughts – Things that make me smile

December 11, 2014 by 14 Comments

christmas lights Christmas lights — I love how my boys still oh and ah at Christmas lights as we drive through town. Makes the early sunsets worth it 🙂

Runs with my hubby — For the past month, my husband J has been joining me for my weekend runs. We’ve never run together before so this has been a lot of fun and a great way to kick on the weekend! Run with Jack

 

Hockey Fever — My youngest son has been completely bitten by the hockey bug, which means we’ve been spending lots of in hockey rinks all over New England. While I’m not loving the cold toes and fingers that come with sitting in the stands, seeing how much fun my little guy is having just warms my heart!

hockey fever

 

What’s been making you smile lately?

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Filed Under: 3 things, family running, kids, Thursday Thoughts

Wicked Half Marathon Recap

September 25, 2013 by 7 Comments

countdown_wickedHalfOn Saturday I headed up to Salem for the Wicked Half Marathon. This race was to be a training run for me – a chance to make sure that the stomach issues which have plagued me during races this year were behind me and a chance to test my race pace.

Well nothing about this day went as planned.

Given the fact that I’m still sick a couple of days later,  I can now say that I was battling some kind of bug during the race. The wheels came off the wagon at mile 5 – for the first time ever in a race I made a porta potty stop and struggled to keep running/walking through mile 10. Just after the 10 mile marker I was only walking. My stomach was a nightmare – I was really nauseous and had the continual feeling that I was going to be sick. I seriously thought about packing it in and taking a DNF but what kept me going was my kids out along the course.

Boys at wickedSince the course was open to traffic, J and the boys were able to leap-frog me along the course, so I saw them multiples times. They cheered their hearts out and it really kept me going – the boys even came and ran along with me a little bit. I wanted them to know that even when things don’t go well that you don’t give up! So when I just didn’t think I could manage a shuffle any more, I walked.

I ended up connecting with a woman named Dawn whose ITB had her walking since mile 4! We stuck together and encouraged each other and the other “walking wounded” we encountered along the way.  As we passed the 12 mile marker, we talked about trying to run it in. Dawn really didn’t think that she could but she knew I really wanted to try (I just couldn’t bring myself to walk across the finish line!) so she encouraged me to give it a shot. I did and ran/shuffled to the finish. I waited for Dawn to cross the finish and we gave each other a big hug! Isn’t it amazng how quickly you can bond with another runner over the course of just a few miles?!

Best moment – my son telling me he was proud of me! Doesn’t get better than that!

Every race experience teaches you something about yourself right? So I take this experience and dig in for the next couple of weeks and get ready for the BAA Half.

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Filed Under: #13in2013, kids, lessons learned, race report, Wicked Half Marathon

Friday Ramblings

August 9, 2013 by 3 Comments

Sitting here in a quiet house with the dog at my feet and coffee cup in hand…

There has been at least one, if not both, boys home sick since Tuesday! I was happy to see both smiling faces heading off to camp this morning – I swear there’s nothing worst than seeing your children not feel well 🙁

Between the sick kids and my cranky left hip, running has been a bit challenging this week. I am trying very hard to not get hung up in the miles I’ve missed, knowing that the cross-training will help and getting this hip happy is priority one!

Changes in family plans means I’ve needed to change up my fall racing schedule – I won’t be running ZOOMA in September so I’ve been on the hunt for another race to use as a “tune up” before I get to the B.A.A. Half in October. Though I think I’ve now found the source of my recent GI issues, Coach Bennett thinks it will be helpful to put my body through “race conditions” and see how I respond. So I think I’ll be adding this to my schedule:

countdown_wickedHalf It’s run on a beautiful course through Salem & Marblehead – Can. Not. Wait!

Seriously, how is it Friday again already? I feel like I just finished coming down from last weekend’s birthday fun and here we are again. Don’t get me wrong – I love seeing Friday arrive, but this summer is flying by way too fast! We still have a number of things left on our family summer bucket list!

We’ll get one more item checked off tomorrow as we’ll be catching a Boston Cannons’ game! My hubs J was elected to his lacrosse league’s all-star game (so proud of him!)  and they’ll be playing their game before the Cannons. So the boys and I are going to go cheer on our All-Star and then we’re all hanging out for the Cannons’ game afterwards!

How are you doing with your Summer Bucket list?

Do you run tune-up races?

 

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Filed Under: #13in2013, BAA, crazy week, fall racing, Friday Five, kids, Lacrosse, race calendar, running coach, Wicked Half Marathon

A run with my son

June 21, 2013 by 6 Comments

Now that we’re officially registered for my son’s first 5K, he’s been eager to start training! Since he tends to be an early riser, we agreed that maybe trying to run before school would be more practical than waiting until after school (when I know running with mom is not going to be nearly as appealing as hanging out with his friends!)

So yesterday was suppose to be our first run….my early-riser was sound asleep when I went into his room and I just didn’t have the heart to wake him. Last night I told him if he wanted to run it was up to him to come and get me — well guess who was standing over me well before 6 this morning!

my new early morning running partner!

my new early morning running partner!

waiting for the Garmin to find a satellite

waiting on the Garmin

The last time we ran together it was a pattern of sprint, stop, heavy breathing, walk then sprint again – ah yes, the concept of pacing is lost on a 10-year-old boy! So I suggested that our main goal was to slow down a little so we could keep going without stopping.

He agreed to try and then asked if he could wear my Garmin 🙂  So he had important lesson number 2 of the morning – you need to be patient while you wait for the Garmin to find a satellite!

Finally we were off! He went out fast again but I realized if I could keep him talking it would force him to slow down a bit. He was doing great and I just loved the look on his face – just smiling and talking. We had only one short walk break before turning for home – a huge improvement over out last outing!

Leaving me in the dust

Leaving me in the dust

While we’d planned a half mile run, in the end we made it just over a mile! He was very psyched and is already planning our next run – great way to start a day!

 

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Filed Under: family running, just having fun, kids

Weekend wrap up

June 17, 2013 by 6 Comments

You know it’s been a l-o-n-g weekend when you are actually happy to see Monday morning come so you can slow down!

It was a weekend of….

….6 – yes 6 lacrosse games! Unfortunately our guys came in second at the tournament, but played their hearts out!

….the final baseball game of the season

….collecting more trophies

…..manning the concession stand and other various tournament duties

…..wrapping up yet another school project (seriously teachers…just let it go!)

…..a relaxing Father’s Day dinner

…..and yes,  just over seven and a half miles run.

Looking forward to a quiet week! 🙂

How was your weekend?

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Filed Under: Crazy weekend, kids, Lacrosse

Friday randomness

June 14, 2013 by 4 Comments

It’s Friday! It has been another one of those crazy weeks where I feel like the hamster wheel has been running at full tilt. So here’s some heavily- caffeinated randomness coming your way…..

  1. We’re still drowning in school projects and other end-of-school year activities. This afternoon’s special treat is listening to my son’s fifth grade class recite poetry during the “Coffee House” – yeah I know you’re jealous!
  2. We still have two weeks to go before school is over – thank you Mother Nature! And if the chaos in my house this morning is any indication, we may not make it!
  3. Thursday track workouts continue — yesterday, despite not feeling my best, was a great session of 800-meter repeats. Always great to crank out a solid workout especially when you’re just not feeling it.
  4. As I mentioned earlier, I have started keeping a food journal to see if I can figure out what’s behind my race stomach issues. It’s interesting to step back and really look at what you consume throughout the day. One glaring thing that is jumping off the page for me is just how little water I’m drinking!
  5. We will be spending our weekend wrapping up the boys’ sport seasons — there will be at least 4 lacrosse games possibly 6 (it’s a tournament) and 1 baseball game. Somewhere in there I hoping to squeeze a long run in and maybe tend to my neglected garden if the rain holds off.

What have you got planned for this weekend?

 

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Filed Under: Friday Five, general musings, kids

Family running

June 12, 2013 by 7 Comments

385

Finally have a race set with my son – it will be his first 5K! Can’t wait!

If you have kids – do you run/race with them?

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Filed Under: #13in2013, family running, kids

Thursday Thoughts (aka 3 Things)

December 20, 2012 by 9 Comments

1.
You know that feeling at the beginning of week when you have a mile-long to do list,you’re staring at the calendar trying to figure out how to wedge in one more commitment, and then you get thrown a curve ball and all plans go haywire? Well, my curve ball came in the form of having kids home sick on two different days. On the good side, both boys are feeling better and I got some quality snuggle time with my kiddos 🙂

2.
I did make it to the chiro this week for another appointment. After seeing him twice a week for the past few weeks I’m happy to report that the majority of my ITB pain is gone! We’ve agreed to take a couple of weeks off and then see how I feel as I start to build my mileage back up – fingers crossed, nothing will flare up.

3.
The lottery gods were unkind to me for the Cherry
Blossom 10 miler lottery, so it stays on my race bucket list for another year.

I did lock in the early bird rate on Boston’s Run to Remember for the end of May, but am still on the hunt for another half marathon or 10-miler for the spring – Any suggestions?

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Filed Under: 3 things, Boston's Run to Remember, chiropractor, ITB, kids, race calendar, to do list