gad a whole week just flew by

this is the way it's bound to be for the rest of the year Im thinking! LOL Time is just going to fly away and Im going to be left sitting here wondering where the hell it all went!
Im finished the term now and on my summer vacation. Over a month later than usual. this working is for the birds ;) kidding, I do love my job. I just also really like to have spare time.
Im trying to remember where my Monday went. I think I might have cleaned. It was a holiday here, so the kids were here. I just cannot remember what we did. OH yes my mother was here. And we forgot Taylor's swimming; Holly spent the entire afternoon throwing up, crying, and sleeping; poor little thing, not much of a holiday for her :( ate at In Laws, got kids to Dog meeting, went to a meeting of the Cabot Trail Relay team to get organized (sort of), and then home. It was chilly.

Tuesday morning I got up with purpose but still managed to not really get things done in a timely manner LOL I did eventually get out to do my long run which was now 3 days overdue; 16.1 km in 1:43:40. A friend picked me up while I was still a km from home; good timing, we had some coffee and a chat :)

I spared softball for a team I know; that was fun! Ive not played much in years but sparing, which doesnt really give me a great deal of practice, but it is still fun to get out and play. I could use some batting practice LOL. Foul, Foul, and Foul.

Wednesday I finally did it; I went to the pool and I went for a swim! I did laps...boring LOL and Taylor says running is boring; at least the scenery changes. Swimming is hard SIGH I did 80 laps for 2 km total in about 1:15 and took lots of rests between and worked on my stroke a bit but in my mind Im flying and in reality I bet I looked like I was drowning HEHEHEHE ah well, the swim got done.

After the kids were picked up it was time for judging; the kids spent 3 hours judging 4H projects and I spent 3 hours standing and watching. SIGH. Fun times.
By the time we got home and ate it was time for kids to bed and then I followed LOL.

Thursday was warming up; I left late again and went for a 10 km run. 1:01:30 was not bad considering I was trying to go easy. Feeling pretty confident LOL I did not expect to get so wet on that run; it totally rained on me.
I planned a bike ride for the evening but plans foiled; I stayed at Holly's soccer practice instead, helping the coach with little things I can handle. LOL It was warm; the kids complained about the heat! IMAGINE!

Friday...I should be tapering a little for a race this weekend right? Ha funny. I havent trained enough to taper.
after a trip to the dentists, I did get on my bike and I headed out with no plan for an easy ride. I didnt push too hard anywhere; I even stopped for a snack because OOPS it was lunch time and I forgot my snack. SIGH. By the time I got home I had over 24 km on the bike.
I also had a sunburn. Poor planning went into that bike ride LOL

Afternoon was spent running kids around. By the time I was finished we had no kids home for the night. We celebrated by sleeping a lot.

Saturday I wanted a little Loosen Up run but it was not to be had; Taylor's school yard sale had to be dealt with first; and that took until 1230; picked up Annika to go home where we packed for Cape Breton and went off to that.

It was only partly sunny partly cloudy threatening rain when we left. LOVELY weather. Warm tho.

this is where it's about to get wordy and photo-filled so I will end this post. Unfortunately Im short on photos of the run; gonna have to go look for some.

Swim FAIL. Weekend run FAIL. Giggle.

I did NOT manage a Friday swim. It was my last day of work and I wanted to get in on time. I was trying to figure out; Id have to pack up stuff to get ready for work and shampoo, stuff like that. So we were late but I just went to work from dropping kids off.
Friday after school I had an unexpected opportunity to run when I brought T home from swimming rather than taking her; she wasnt feeling well. So she watched Annika while I went for a nice slightly raining 8.25 km run. I went up the hill and back down and it was a nice stress reliever.

Saturday? nothing. Nada. I had a 4H class for scrapbooking and that was time consuming. COULD have gone super early and really I should have. Ive no discipline!
Ditto Sunday. I was CRANKY and cold and allergies were kicking my ass and I just didnt go. In fact I was sick to my stomach after taking something for the allergies and I just layed down. Not enough eye drops in the world...and head aching.
By after supper I was feeling a little more human and I did go to our ball hockey game; our beloved goalie is away so I subbed for her. I let 2 super easy goals in but I made some good stops and we tied a very tough team. WINNING ;) at least for us.
And my Glenabbey Run Club friends met me when I got home and out I went for a nice 4 km run/walk on our road for a nice 4 km :):):)
I mean it about the triathlon training. Im really going to do it LOL. Scott even bought me a new book; it has a couple of plans in it for all sorts of lengths and goals and seems very comprehensive and mentions things I might not have thought of :)

Now tomorrow. It's a holiday and I seem to have some company so Im not really aiming for an early swim. Wednesday?
But I do owe me a long run. 16 km on the plan. And I really do need to do this! :P
Have I mentioned my Cabot Trail Relay leg? for convenience and no witnesses to my dismal result Im running a 2 am leg. 2 am! When normal people sleep. It should be an experience. And cold I am betting.

Biking, Check. Swimming? Do I hear swimming?

LOL So Monday was a rest day. Kinda by choice. I think I may have too many rest days in the run of a week. I kinda had 3 last week. Im a fan of rest days LOL. Gee, I wonder why those 5 pounds are still hanging around?

Feeling a little more ambitious today tho. Tuesday and Wednesday workouts have been successful. Feeling a little less tight, a little less uncomfortable.
Tuesday night I ran while Holly was at soccer tryouts. It did not rain on me! There were some massive puddles but the sky was dry. It was very humid :) I ran trails around the soccer area and it was really nice :) A little long, 9 km by the time I landed but I still had time to stretch and sit and wait for Miss to be finished. Tryouts went well, she made the competative B team. The A team had no 4th graders on it SIGH. Her birthday month really might hold her back; there are 6th graders trying out but she will be moved to U14 before she gets there :(

9 km in 55 minutes, better time. I stopped to adjust, walked up a hill, some other stuff....its a good time.

Wednesday :) Still super gloomy. I spent the day unfortunately in sessions for OHS and WHMIS so lots of sitting which was really super hard on tailbone and lots of complaints all day lol. But by the time supper was over I was ready to push myself out the door; bike ride and run. BRICK ;) or Jello whichever ya prefer. I used the littler bike which is pretty fast; and chose a less hill-ridden route; no where around here is flat but at least there was no 6 km climb to deal with. Rolling hills and 19.9 km in 58 minutes :) Close to my goal of 20 km in an hour :) Then I parked the bike and changed hats; dealt with the dogs and ran off to do 20 minutes running. Legs were less jello like- it was far warmer tho. :) 3.1 km in 20 minutes, then walked to home. FAIL on the stretching this week; not sore today tho.

Swimming. I planned to start yesterday after buying the cap and goggles, but had the training sessions. Planned to start today. But the pool times did not mesh with my schedule so well. So M-W-F I can drop the kids off at school and hit the pool for 2 hours I think. NOt that I would swim for 2 hours. But its a nice window. So tomorrow? I will swim tomorrow!

Ive been checking out the Triathlon schedules and Im not thrilled to see that most of them require membership to TriNS which is going to cost an extra 20-40$; I just want to try one! LOL Its a costly venture; Im undecided at the moment. I actually got a little excited about a Parlee Beach Tri...but that would require day membership to TriNB as well...so I need to pick a province and stay there LOL.

Brick

OOOh Thursday I did my first BRICK workout!
And although hard, I thought it was pretty cool.

I planned to do an hour on the bike then 20 minutes running.  It wasnt too far off that :)

I decided to do Harmony Ridge which is over 6 km up hill then rolling and downhill on the way back, then flat and a nice long uphill to home.  The weather was heavily misty and occassionally sprinkling but chilly. My feet were most cold!  Hands were next LOL.

The bike ride was ok; was on the green bike with it's new and smoother tires; knobby on the edges for trails but smoother in the middle for roads, it's got a good comfy seat and I do like it loads.  Im not sure it's as fast as Taylor's Bike....gotta get that one a new seat :):)
The road is terribly bumpy; very jarring when hitting larg pot holes and nasty cracks lol but I did like the bike ride portion.
About the time I get near home and Im climbing the over a mile of hill, I get kinda tired LOL need to build up some more endurance for biking.  So 18.8 km biking in 68 minutes more or less. Not really horrible.  If I pick a less hilly ride I might get faster; last ride was up another mountain ;)
So I got home and my Glenabbey Run Club was trotting down the road; I quickly parked my bike in the garage, changed hats, had a drink of water, and ran out. My feet were SO numb; really cold!  And my legs; well I dont think BRICK quite describes them but it sounds better than a JELLO workout lol.  I definitely felt wobbly.  Ran up the hill and down, met with the group about the time I finished my 20 minutes ~ 3.25 km; we jogged and walked a bit more, had a good stretch, and went home for Grey's!  :):):) I liked the BRICK workout and will do another this week.
Im going to swim; might have mentioned previously but Im going to start this week at the pool in town; there are times that work for me, for Lane swimming, and one punch card should get me through until the town pool opens, where we get a family membership and I can swim a couple of times a day, every day, for no charge (other than the membership). Will do a couple of swim/bike BRICKS during that time which I hear are not as hard since swimming is mostly arm-focused and biking leg-focused.

Friday? I cant remember that day LOL.  I THINK I went for a walk with the girls on the road; they had some drinks along and I just walked and enjoyed sone conversation.  LOL
Saturday it DIDNT rain all day!  LOL No sun, but no rain!  I totally got a TONNE of gardening done!  Lots of bending and squatting and pulling made me quite tired!  Moved some plants and bushes.  Filled a bunch of cups with plants to sell at Taylor's yard sale if they live; Holly was a little hard on them LOL but she did such a good job LOL! Might do a few more with different varieties :)

So I ended up missing my run on Saturday; one thing led to another and I went to bed with Annika :)

Sunday morning; What a day Sunday was!  Sheeeit! 

I took Annika to the church for Drama early (9 ish) and planned for my long run right away; stopped at In Laws to be sure the kids got where they needed to be and socialized for an HOUR! ooops. didnt mean to stay quite so long but got some important information lol.  I was then really worried about getting in the run before it was too late, and getting to other things on time; and also it was threatening to rain and was really wet, I didnt want to have wasted an hour of no rain and then run in the rain SIGH.

I scooted to the trail near town so my drive was less, then I ran on the trail to the Church and back again, for a total of 14 km.  It didnt rain hard thank GOODNESS and it wasnt that cold; I took off my coat within a short time but forgot my belt to hold STUFF and therefore needed the pockets.  At half way I had a half a Cliff's bar; my first. And I liked it! :) Thank goodness since I bought a whole box.  Very easy to go down which was a relief since I had no water. I usually carry or hide water for runs over 10 km but I forgot my handheld.  It was really humid anyway.

Ran back to the car and I dont know if it was sweat or heavy mist but my hat was SOAKED and dripping off the brim. LOL. 
I had a Yogurt drink while driving home where I showered SO fast and drove back to town to meet the kids for Taylor's Musical at the school.  That took a few hours and then I took littles home for an hour and supper before the book ends had to be back at the church in Old Barns for a play dress rehearsal.  How many trips today? it takes 25 minutes to go to Old Barns SIGH.  and 25 back.   Luckily Scott was back to take them that time because I was DYING for a nap before Ball Hockey.

Ball hockey SIGH.  I was SO tired. I KNOW I should not do my long run on the same day as Ball Hockey but when else should I? It never seems to work out so Im just DOING it.  I will deal with the consequences. I think even being that tired I can still run longer than a lot of people. Just not so fast. LOL
Ball hockey game was rough and I banged my head hard on the wall thank GOD for helmets.  we did pretty good and only lost 2-0 LOLOLOL. 

After a drink it was home and to bed with sleepy kids who were a little grumpy Monday morning.
Weeeknd is over.

Rock n Run Mirimichi

Thanks to a friend ;) Im now considering this Half Marathon; it would be an awesome weekend for a family campout?  :):):) I wonder if I could swing it alone?

It's still Raining and Im sure it isnt raining MEN!

Although I cannot imagine what else is going to come from the sky, it's not men. Still Raining!  Im really affected by the weather; all this rain is just SO depressing and I think it makes me sleepy! I want to go home and curl up in blankets and sleep all the time!  I think I feel it's colder than it really is, because it's so damp and crappy, I bundle up and end up too hot; more on that.

So the rain has sort of affected my running; I claim to be hardcore and not mind the rain but it is SO hard sometimes to go out in the cold rain and get wet.  Not that I wont sweat and be wet anyway; not that it is that cold. It is just hard! LOL If it rains while I am out, it's not as hard; but leaving the house or the car in the rain; that is hard.

Monday was a day of inactivity; a rest day. Unplanned, not really called for (just had one Thursday) but it is what it is.

Tuesday I Leapt out of bed (not really) and did my daily round of P90X Shoulders and Arms. It was good. It wasnt long. I had to get moving to get to my wonderful First Aid course on time, spent the day watching videos and listening to some emergency First Aid stuff, had WIFI which made my day but felt way too guilty to actually spend much time on it; during breaks and stuff it was a nice relief tho.  Tuesday evening Holly had her first night of Soccer tryouts and it poured.  It was gross. I dressed for the run but rather than getting it in, I totally sat in ME's van and chatted.  LOL Watched some of her soccer but they were on the other side of the field and I was getting wet. total run FAIL.

I payed for it tho.

Wednesday the wind howling woke me. We have this bird feeder on the bedroom window (how smart IS that?  A bird feeder on the window of the room we sleep in? Yoiks.)  Anyway it is there, and the lid was blowing up and knocking on the window. Not quietly. So by 5 am I was awake listening to this noise. Figured I might as well get up as lay there listening to the knock knock. I had a long day ahead, beings Im so tired already.  The video I put in was Kenpo (Kickboxing sorta) and I actually kinda enjoyed it as a change. The kicking wasnt too bad, the stretching at the start was pretty painful for the poor tailbone.  I do not think I am ready for Yoga X but I might try Plyo this week.  It's pretty high impact tho :(

Wednesday evening Holly had another soccer tryout so I again dressed for running; the rain had been less for awhile and there was actually dry spots on the road so I thought I might luck out.  For the second night my GA Run club ran without me SOB Im lonesome lol.  while driving there were some sprinkles but I was still hopeful. I didn't hesitate too long, I watched Holly for a bit then I headed out on my run; planned to go to the end of the trail and back, then whatever was needed to get to a nice countable mileage around 4.5.  Miles. 

I was super cold so I dressed as tho it were -5C, I swear. almost. It was super windy with 50 K gusty winds. I put on a snug hat (not a cap) and gloves, had on a tank, long sleeve shirt, and my coat.  I was hot within 3 minutes lol so started undressing. And it was like that the entire run; constantly adjusting wardrobe.  Gloves off first. Then hat. No elastic so hair was in my eyes. It started to sprinkle rain a little; no biggie. I was hot. I undid the zippers of my coat.  Hot. Took off my coat. Hot. It started pouring; I put the coat back on to reduce the wet of my shirts.  I stopped for a few minutes under the overpass. The rain let up a little, so I went back out. Relief was short lived.
I got to that end of the trail and turned back. Now the wind that was kinda at my side and back was at my side and face. UGH. It rained harder. I ran faster.  I stopped again under the overpass but I was fooling myself and the rain did not let up.  POURING.  The rain hitting my face was like little ice pellets (no it was NOT that cold. but it was that windy LOL).  My head was wet and cold and I was getting one of those cold headaches so I put my hat back on but it was wet and I was soon hot. Left it on.  I eventually zippered back up the jacket.  I was almost to getting gloves back out but despite the wind I was still pretty hot. And soaked right through.  7.2 km in 44 minutes. Would have been faster if I had not kept stopping to adjust the malfunctioning wardrobe.
Before I got back to the car the rain did kinda lighten up and got harder a few times but It didnt stop.  I think this is punishment for skipping the Tuesday night run which in retrospect would not have been that bad since it never rained THAT hard the whole evening. SIGH.

I climbed into the back of my car ;) and put the seats down, and proceeded to strip all wet clothing off (in phases of course) and put dry clothes back on.  I like to think I did this without anyone seeing anything with the rain, fog, and tinted windows. That's my belief anyway. THEN I went back out in the rain with my dry clothes on to watch Holly playing soccer again.  That didnt last long as the rain was hard and wind was blowing. She came to the car a few minutes later and she was an ice cube. Poor little thing. While we were driving home she stripped and bundled up in my coat.

I slept well last night.

This morning? nothing so far. Will see how the day goes ;)

April Recap

A bit late but April wasn't a great month SIGH
Runs: 83.05 km.
Days off after injuring Tailbone: 6.  6 Very long days.
Hip Hop Abs: twice. Because I cannot do Ab Ripper right now; too tailbone intensive. Experience tells me its going to be ages before I can do that entire thing again. 
24 workouts
9303 calories burned (explains the 4 pounds I put on and cannot shake.)
Longest Run: 14 km in 1:30. 868 calories burned.

UGh what a month. Im just feeling better now; had a better weekend but then feeling pretty sore today; overdid the run last night? I dont think so; but muscles are still so tight, it's uncomfortable. :( And still so SLOW!  I need to see massage therapist NOW! LOL!

Back on the Road...

wow I have no idea why but last Thursday I had a non-scheduled rest day. I cannot even remember what we did...just that it wasnt a whole lot. I think it rained. A lot.

Im kinda off the wagon with P90X again. Ive no idea why its so easy to get derailed these days.  Back at it today I hope!

Friday was a better day; worked and saw the grads before they left forever :(:( Picked up little kiddies and then Taylor at her Heritage Fair, Then we met Scott and he took the Swimmer to her meet in Halifax; me and the littles stayed home, and although I could not convince Holly to go to her dog meeting, we did meet the Glenabbey girls on the trail and did our run before heading to Ball Hockey; We played really well; wish we could SCORE more.  We did have it tied at 1-1 for a long while (I scored a goal!!) before they got a breakaway and pulled ahead by 1 at the end SIGH.  Another really close game :)

Saturday morning we were up super early and all of us went off to Halifax for Day 2 of the swim meet :) We spent most of the morning at the pool watching and waiting, then left for a break at lunch where we went to the Museum of Natural History to see Sue T. Rex before she left for another location. The girls have been Begging to go for months! :)

I thought Sue was awesome :) I cant get over her anatomy; So odd!  And checking out all of the old injury sites and even just the size of her was pretty overwhelming :) :)

After we visited point Pleasant Park and I decided not to run there, we took T back to the meet.  I don't know the park at all, and I was concerned about getting lost, or not knowing where I  might end up to find scott and te kids again, waiting in the chilly wind for a ride, no water, etc.  Too many unknowns but Im going to check out a map and maybe run there another day because it looked nice (bummer about the trees; cant imagine what it looked like before Juan wiped it out :()
While Taylor was warming up I did manage a short run at that end of Hfx, and although I mapped it out, and knew where I was going, I got completely lost and ran all the way DOWN to the water, which meant I had to run all the way UP to get back to my start. It was nice but it was also very creepy, I was on some pretty shady streets and had to run through 2 groups of rowdy looking men outside a hotel, and past some guys who made a few comments and whislted (mostly comments about "bouncing" over in their direction UGH men are gross) but all in all it was a nice sunny run :) an hour later it was raining so I did good to get where I did when I did :)

5.5 km 34:10 minutes :) Hill training hehehehe

We got home from the meet very late that night and slept in a bit on Mother's Day, after which we had breakfast, then lunch was Chinese food at the In Laws home, then the kids went fishing while I photoed LOL; eventually we did make it home and although it was supper time I went out for my LONG RUN Ugh conditions were less than perfect as I was kinda hungry; I took my handheld water bottle but it was SO warm ugh and it wasnt even hot out; I think I need to put some ice cubes in it next time.   12 km in 1:18:31 which isnt great but at least I did the whole thing without dying which feels better than last week.  UGH I had a really upset stomach from about 8 km on, had to walk a couple of times til it settled :(

I have loads of hope for today LOL~!

Case of the Sleepies

Still not able to sleep so well. Maybe I could use some ear plugs?  Or a good knock on the head?
Yesterday was a busy day :) after taking kids to school I did P90X  Day 8  Chest and Back; it went well. Then I did HipHopAbs GIGGLE and I dunno if it is helpful at ALL! LOL. 
After work I went for an 8 km run which was windy and REALLY HARD. I feel like I am putting my top effort into it and not getting any speed. Muscles complaining too much LOL tailbone sore last night...more than usual.  But it was 8 km in.
Holly and I took the dogs for a walk; she ran another 1.5 minutes walked 3.5 minutes and did really well :) I walked.
And then the Glenabbey Run Club had another nightly walk/run.  I need to get them onto a more regular schedule. LOL Its not really exercise but activity.

I wonder if these nightly runs are interferring with my sleep? Ive never been so great at exercising too late at night since it tends to keep me awake but I would think after being active sleep would be good and solid.  Not so much.

Drinking my water and NOT paying much attention to what Im eating :) No wonder I cant get rid of my last few unwanted pounds :) 

What I've been up to :)

More catch up posting :) It is Tuesday morning and Ive been slack. In many ways :)
Friday despite planning loads of things I didnt do much other than play a ball hockey game. It's so hard to get back into that sport; Im not ready for Ice hockey to be over; running that rink is so much less fun than skating it. and slow!  And nasty. Yeah for the 3rd year our first game was against the nastiest team in the league, and we generally lose to them by very high scores. This game?  0-1.  We lost, but with that score, this is like a win. It is in large part thanks to our awesome goalie, she was simply amazing and kept all but one ball out. But to our credit, we did keep the play in their end way more than usual, and had some good chances :) I hoep this is a sign of a good season to come :)  I only had one injury, when a SUPER AWFUL player from the other team choose to check me from behind rather than let me beat her to the ball, and laughed all the way to the penalty box. Because apparently it is fun for a 19 year old to push down the old woman who was beating her ass to the ball.  SIGH.  A few bruises but otherwise ok. I hate the idea of being injured over something stupid, I dont love ball hockey THAT much. 
Speaking of injured, tailbone hell continues.  Im moving easier in a lot of ways, same in others. If I have to spend much time sitting I get super uncomfortable and have a lot of trouble getting up.  Driving is about the worst!  because there is no position I can sit in that does not directly impact the tailbone.  I hope this ends soon.
Saturday I kind of managed to do very little for most of the day, before finally putting on sneakers and heading off on a run. It was nice and sunny and a little warm, but windy, and rather than wait for Sunday to do a long run (forecast Rain) I  turned a different way and did the long run on Saturday.
I could only do 10 km. I walked 3 times. My butt and hamstrings were SO tight, I was running this stiff, short-strided shuffle, and no matter what I tried I could not loosen up.  Misery. I was really tired really early, legs were heavy and knees were complaining.  LOL Im glad I could go 10 km, but it was very humbling.  Im getting really worried about the Cabot Trail Relay; long, hilly, with a time limit SIGH.
But the long run is done for the week; 1:09. Walked a bit at the end.
Sunday I did nothing. I think I took this Weekend of no Commitments a little too far and other than some gardening I didnt do a thing ;)
Monday I jumped back in, up at 530 am with P90X Legs and Back workout.  It was ok, legs were tired, hands sore (gardening?).  At suppertime I went 6.4 km up the hill and back, 41:20.  Then I did 3.5 km more with the Glenabbey Run Club walk/run program. I was thinking about doing these runs in little shoes; maybe a little barefoot or neat running would be good for my feet/legs?  But its been pretty cold so far.

Now It is Tuesday morning. I woke VERY sore this morning and with little sleep after listening to Scott snore for hours.  Good times.  I thought after the kids left I should go for a bike ride. After some mechanical issues (flat tires, seat in a way low position) I got off and did 19.6 extremely hilly km.  It was good, a little slow, but good.  Tailbone was ok (no pressure there) but the seat of the bike was SO AWFUL I was numb in the nethers very fast and that was way more painful than the biking. It's Taylor's bike but I think even she deserves a better seat :) gonna go get us one later today maybe. LOL if I want to borrow that bike, I need it to be sitable.  UGh.  Another 1:09 active. 
Mapmyrun keeps track of my calorie counting but I dont think it is very accurate. I checked out a couple of other calorie sites and apparently it is anywhere from 50-100% low.  My bike ride this morning burned 400 calories according to MMR; on another calorie site it said 800. GADS. Whatever...ive got my hour in today :):):)
Another walk/run session tonight. Run tomorrow :) Maybe take in a ball practice tonight? OR go to 4H meeting? LOL!