"And it's root, root, root for the home team..."

Yesterday, as I was pretty much spattered in mud and dirt from the yard, my cousin, who happens to live down the street from the "new" old house, stopped by to see how I was doing. She happened to have two tickets to the Padres VS the Diamondbacks, right behind home plate on the lower level of Petco Park. I hadn't been to Petco Park yet so I accepted the tickets. I cleaned up and went home for a change of clothes... Since Michael was up to his ears in work and couldn't get away, I took my son, Erik. We rode the trolley into Dowtown, just so I wouldn't have to deal with parking. While on the ride, Erik comments that "baseball is such a tedious and boring sport." Whatever... With in a minute of finding my cousin and her friend, and being seated, the Padres scored... I turned to DS and said "Boring?" It was a good game, and being up close behind home plate was "wicked awesome." The Padres won 2-0.

It's back to the "new" old house today and I'm planting my veggie garden AND more clean up work, probably the kitchen drawers... I was kind of concerned that I wasn't getting enough calories yesterday, especially protein, but I sort of made up for it at the game... The protein was still lacking and a hot dog and Cracker Jacks at the game probably weren't the best choices.... Carb loading starts tomorrow.

Peace

3 Day Weekend

Three day weekends usually means food fest, and I also had my share of not so great food choices, but much to my amazement, I stepped on the scale today to find that I actually dropped weight... I was expecting to top off at a high weight but I guess keeping busy kept the weight from creeping up. I also suppose not pounding down beer helped keep the weight down.

This was a busy three day weekend... Graduations, paiting the house, heavy duty cleaning, digging, more cleaning, cleaning, and cleaning. There's so much dust and imbedded dirt at the "new" old house... I've decided that painting isn't all it's cracked up to be. I just can't get into the "zone" for wall painting all the same color, plus trim that requires an oil based paint, unless it's a mural or something fun like watercolors... I am so ready to hire a painter... At the rate we're going, the house will be painted by next year. A painter could crank it all out in less than a week.

Michael and I decided to spend the night at the "new" old house. This time we slept well. We even got up early enough to take a short drive to the beach area for breakfast. That was great.

We did have a couple of friends come over to the house -- We barbecued and watch the sunset last night, so that was a nice way to end the weekend.

No scheduled workouts or runs this week, but that doesn't mean I'll totally slacking. I'll be at the house doing more clean up work...

Marathon day on June 4 -- just 5 days shy of my birthday!

Peace

Graduations

I thought we were finished with all of the graduations last year, but life goes on and people still attend classes and graduate from somewhere. We have two junior college graduations today, and luckily they're both at the same college. One is my former PT, who is taking the long route through night classses for accounting, and the other is our marathon partner's girl friend, graduating with business admin. It's tougher to work full time and attend classes, so it's only fitting that they would choose to go through the ceremony and celebrate this milestone
No real workout today, but I'll be busy with other things. Tomorrow I have plans to do a 2.5 miler and do some work on the "new" old house.

Peace

Runner's High

I was feeling sort of guilty for not getting any runs in, so after I did my errands for the day I went to the lake. It was about 1:30 and not hot out. Part of the lake path was blocked off due to pipe work or some sort of construction, so I didn't get in the full 10K distance, but that's okay. There were very few people at the lake, the sun was out and there was a nice cool breeze. It doesn't get any better than that. I felt incredibly euphoric afterwards. It's hard to explain, but it's one of those moments that, as a runner, you look forward to. I did my run in exactly 45 minutes. When I got home I mapped out my run on mapmyrun.com. I did 5.52 miles in 45 minutes, which is an average mile of 8:09. I guess when ya feel good, everything falls into place. I can't remember the last time I had an average mile under 8:15... The weird thing is that I wasn't trying for time. I just wanted to run. Color me happy!

Peace

10 MORE DAYS!

Reality Check:
10 days left until the marathon... I haven't run in about a week... This is not the way I wanted to handle my taper but, perhaps, it will be better this way. This cold is "running" its course and the foot is less sore, plus one room is just about finished being painted, so there are some good things to down-time.

Things that went right:
*Down time to recoup.
*Everyone is starting to feel better.
*One room painted!
*I put new innersoles in my running shoes. The old ones already broke down and were amazingly compressed when compared to the new ones... (I always put a different inner sole for high arches in my running shoes.)

Things that need improvement:
*I'm feeling a little "guilty" for not getting the taper runs in... I do realize this down time may keep me from getting injured on M day.
*Set up a time for the window mfg to come out to the "new" old house... The old windows are falling apart.
*My weight is slightly up. As long as I don't hit 130, then I will be okay.
*Make a plan of action for workouts after the marathon.
*Sign up for the Coronado 4th of July 5K we always participate in.

Peace

Minty Fresh!

I wasn't planning on doing much today, my throat is still sore and dry, and the "get up and go" is gone, BUT my SIL called and wanted to help paint one of the rooms at the "new" old house. So I ended up bringing lots of liquids and talked myself into energy... If I were by myself doing the painting I would have thrown in the towel and only worked on one wall. We actually painted one entire room, minus the trim and closets, which require a different paint color and type. I chose a very pale mint green for the walls. The color sample looks almost white with a hint of green. After we painted the entire room my SIL says "It looks like tooth paste!" This is one of those wall colors that changes with the time of day. When the first wall was painted it looked more on the white side, but as the day progressed it looked more like mint flavored Crest.... I hope I can live with that... So, for whatever it's worth, painting was my workout today....

Peace

Chicken soup and a lot of liquids...

Well, it's baaaaaaaaack... We were all hit with yet another cold. This time it starts out with a sore throat, then it's all downhill from there. If there's any consolation is that we all have this cold NOW, so I'm hoping it will run its course this week and I'll be good to go by the marathon on June 4th. Evan is just about over it, and my son, Erik, is in bed... Sheesh... He has finals this week... The chicken soup is already simmering on the stove, I just need to make some brown rice to go with it. Evan's daycare is closed today, since his daycare provider and her child has this cold as well. So guess what I'm doing? Spending the day with Evan!

I'm doing okay with this slight set back, but I was planning a good 10K distance run today at the lake, but it's not going to happen, and I feel rather fluffy from the carbs I deliberately ate last night thinking I was going to run today... The upside is that I can get some laundry done and out of the way, but I'd much rather run than do laundry...

Other stuff...

I was poking around the SDRNR Marathon website. This year a person can sign up to do the run at the expo, up to the day before the event. Registration used to close in late April. I wonder if they're having problems with funds due to higher city fees OR if they just want to raise more money for the sake of more money for their charities... Hmmmmmm.

On Saturday Michael and I went to an anniversary party for a colleague. We got all dressed up then we drove way out to the middle of nowhere, or just about, and we came upon their house... This house looked like a resort. It wasn't quite my taste but it was beautiful. The master bathroom was as big as my livingroom, diningroom and kitchen put together -- I could deal with that... The house layout was definitely set up for a party. No neighbors to deal with, and the most breathtaking view. When we arrived at 6:30 PM, there was a ton food already set out. The hostess said something like "have some hors d'oeuvres... Dinner will be served at 9." Dinner???? After some socializing, a couple of drinks (mine were all non alcoholic) and dancing, dinner was served, and that was quite a spread as well. They served Persian cuisine, so all the meats were quite lean, and the side dishes were, for me, different but quite delicious... After dinner was more danicng, then dessert... Dang... Dessert... mini cream puffs, a gazillion cream puffs... With as much food as was served, I really didn't over indulge too much, but it sure would have been easy to throw caution to the wind and pig out.

Peace

Growing the "Stairway to Heaven."

These roses are actually called "Stairway to Heaven." On one single stem grew a cluster of about 12 roses, so it looks as if I went "Martha Stewart" on the floral arranging.

My left foot is still somewhat sore, but it's not that bad. Michael and I went for a 2.5 mile walk this morning. I will get some runs in before the marathon, I just don't want to aggravate the foot and cause more issues. I think it will be fine.

PEACE

Prelude to the weekend...

Usually, at this time of year, we have what is called "May Grey" or "June Gloom" weather. We get night and morning low clouds that come off the coast, but no rain. Sometimes the clouds burn off and we get a nice day. It makes for great running weather, but other than that, it's, well, grey and gloomy. Today I woke up to a gorgeous sunny day. I'm doing more yard work today, but at the house I'm still at. Granted, it's not as labor intensive as the "new" old house, but I'm getting in my share of squats pulling weeds and the startings of Spanish fan palms, which (in my opinion) are just as bad as weeds...

Reality check:
My weight is already up, just from tapering. I realize I haven't been 100% on the mark with food the past week, but I usually don't have such a drastic spike up. I need to be even more diligent with my food intake. TTOM is just around the bend, so I know that's probably a slight factor. I don't want things to end up like last year, a good 10 pounds up after the marathon... We are running tomorrow but it will be more like a 4 miler, kick back, easy run.

Things that went right:
*The "Yard Work Workout"... I'm still in the process. I weeded along the roses, cultivated soil and fertilized everything in the front yard. Now I get to do the back yard.
*Got my hair trimmed yesterday.

Things that need improvement:
*No more cookies, sweets, candies, and other fun foods are allowed in the house for the next few weeks... (We'll see how long that lasts, since Michael is really good about brining those in the house.)
*I need to stretch more. I'm sore from" downward facing dog" yesterday...
*Michael and I are invited to a party tomorrow evening... I need to figure out what to wear.

Peace

Look at my Ford!

I had date night with Michael last night. We went to the little fish place up the street, where most of their staff knows us. We had a new server, and all was well, some what uneventful, but that's good. Right as we were finishing we hear this voice in the distance say " I saw you on TV!" It was one of the staff who usually waits our table. She saw Michael on the news, all of his 15 seconds. It was too funny.

Reality check:
Nothing says "good morning" better than a 2 1/2 year old grandson in my face, at 5:45 AM saying "Good morning, Mimi! Look at my Ford!" (His favorite toy is a red remote control Ford monster truck -- he even sleeps with it!)

Things that went right:
*I did an about an hour of yoga -- Rodney's Yee's Power Yoga - Total Body.
*I got up an hour earlier today, thanks to DGS.

Things that need improvement:
*I need to unplug the phone when I do yoga at home, just so I can make it though without any interruptions...
*I still can't do some of the yoga poses without falling over
*Start sanding the floors at the "new" old house...

Peace

Life Goes On...

I didn't sleep all that well last night. DH said I tossed and turned all night... Yes, I have a lot on my mind, and my mind wouldn't shut off...

Reality Check:

Things in life aren't always as they seem... Just when I think things are peachy and all is right with the world, something happens to shake things up... I just found out that my sister and her husband are getting separated. It's hard to see the people you love be in so much emotional termoil... This is a complete shock.

Things that went right:
*30 minute HIIT cardio on the recumbent bike at the gym. It helped to pedal off some of that pent up frustration...
*I was GLAD I had my Ipod today because the gym music was wrong!
*Food and liquid intake is squeaky clean today.

Things that need improvement:
*Get to bed early tonight.

PEACE

Happy Feet!

This morning I made my way to the chiropractor's office. He said that one leg was shorter than the other today, adjusted that, then worked on my feet. I always feel like jello when I leave there -- that's a good thing. I set up my next appointment on the Tuesday before the Marathon, so I should be good to go. I am dealing with a sore foot left foot, though. It's not bad. He said it was caused by my right side being off, causing my left side to over compensate.

Reality Check:
Now that I'm tapering it would be sooooo easy to back off and do next to nothing. Can't do that. Gotta keep moving...

Things that went right:
*My chiropractor visit.
*UBW with resistance bands - high reps.
*Eating more chicken, apples and bananas.
*My running shoes FINALLY went on sale. Saved about $25! Bought a pair for later in a different color!

Things that need improvement:
*I ate a couple of those Chocolate Caramel Cookies (Rolo Cookies) Luckily, there's nothing left so the temptation is gone! (But they were sooooo good!)
*Pay bills.
*I have to fit in HIIT recumbent bike tomorrow morning.

PEACE

Today's Blog is brought to you by the letter "G"...

This is a "game" I found on Shpprgrl's blog, which she found through Wordnerd... I figured, what the heck... My assigned letter from Shpprgrl is "G."

Wordnerd said......
"The pointless point of the game is for me to give you ten words that start with my letter and then a brief description of what those words mean to me. And here's where you come in. Mention in my comments section if you'd like a letter of your own, and I'll happily pass one along to you."

Now I have to think. Oww....

1. Green Tea Extract - Something I add to a gallon water with lemon and apple cider vinegar. (It takes some getting used to.)

2. Gatoraid - I use Gatoraid's "Propel" before, during and after I run. I can only use regular Gatoraid after I run, only because the flavors upset my stomach while running...

3. Gloria - My mother's name. For some reason she didn't like her name. I thought it was great.

4. German Shepherd/Labrador retriever - My dog.

5. Grey - The color of the sky due to early morning and night costal clouds during May and June. I prefer to run outside in the morning when it's like this because I don't over heat.

6. Gewurtsraminer - A German white wine that's on the sweet side. We usually have a bottle on hand for our friends who don't like dry wines. (Not that I'm a big wine drinker or anything... I gave up alcohol until after the marathon.)

7. Grape Juice - I really like grape juice. We weren't allowed to have grape juice very often when I was a kid because my mom didn't want to deal with the stains.

8. Gardening - I wasn't much of a gardener until I got married. I'm not sure what changed but (since marriage) I do have more of a knack for gardening and really enjoy it. Maybe I'm more patient with age? I'm not sure. Someone once told me that it had to do with happiness and that plants pick up on that vibe... Well, I'm not sure about that, either, but I do know that I can get something, besides mold, to grow and look pretty.

9. Glucosamine - Something I take twice daily, along with a plethora of other supplements.

10. G, the musical note - One of the 4 strings on a violin. An open note "G" doesn't require using fingers. Just in case, the four strings are E A D G, from right to left or G D A E from left to right. The only reason why I know this is because my daughter took Suzuki method violin lessons in the second grade. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" becomes quite over-played.

Good Day!

Time To Taper!

Last week was an off week, but the break did me good. We're STILL passing around some sort of flu bug here and we're not getting it at the same time. I just hope that was all I have to deal with and I'll be fine from here on out. Little Evan was feeling "off" over the weekend. He sure was cranky.

The weird thing about last week was my body fat percentages dropped on both my Ormon and Tanita. Perhaps it's because I didn't workout or run and didn't need the extra carbs, which is just a guess. My weight stayed the same.

Reality Check:
It's taper time! I am so very much looking forward to this mileage taper and change of routine.

Things that went right:
*I'm feeling better.
*I did my LSD run on Saturday - just a little shy of 20 miles.
*Michael gave me a women's sized Ironman watch for Mother's Day.
*The cookie recipe that I posted a couple of days ago is downright sinful! OMG... It's definetly something for the free day or PMS... Which ever comes first...

Things that need improvement:
*Plan out the next three weeks workouts and running.
*Pay close attention to my carb intake. I don't need as much these next three weeks.
*The reason Michael gave me the watch for Mother's Day is because he lost the other Ironman watch. He says it's in the house SOMEWHERE but he doesn't know where he put it...
*My animals also gave me Mother's Day presents... I can't begin to tell you how it felt to find a dead rabbit, bird and mouse on the floor by MY side of the bed on Sunday morning. I'm the luckiest mom ever...

PEACE

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

PEACE

Runnin' Down A Dream

I sorta did my 20 mile run today. I think we were about a mile and a half shy of the 20, but we were physically done. Oh, in "we" I'm referring to Michael and our friend Sam, who we coerced into signing up for the marathon... I'm sure he was cursing our names for a while after signing up, but now he's hooked and is going to run the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon with me in October. Michael is still undecided about that one. I don't know how long today's run took since Michael lost my watch... I'm having some ankle issues which feels more like muscle strain, so I'm doing RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation.) Sam runs about my speed so it was cool to have someone to pace with. The funny thing is that we both kept telling each other "if you feel like you need to go faster, then go ahead." We never went any faster to get ahead of the other. I'm hoping that Sam and I can finish the marathon together. It felt weird to finish at different times than my brother (who finished an hour and a half ahead of me) and Michael (who finished about 45 minutes after me.) It would be nice to share the moment of crossing the finish line and receiving the medal with someone I know and care about. Even though I didn't have my stop watch, I ran a better pace than normal. I don't know if we'll be able to always run together but it would be cool to schedule something every month.

Okay... I'm still laughing. If you haven't already, take a peek at Katiefeldmom's May 12, 2006 blog entry. I'm so not computer savvy to paste the video here. I couldn't get it to work on my site... This video made my day. I needed the laugh!

Michael, the kids and I are going to brunch tomorrow morning for Mother's Day. I enjoy going out to brunch. I know a lot of people who think brunch is a waste of time and money, (*AHEM* Michaels side of the family) -- but Mother's Day is always bittersweet for me, since my mother passed away 20 years ago. I relish in the family I have, and I enjoy going out with them to brunch because it puts them in a festive mood, and it takes them away from other responsibilities in their lives like work and school. I don't really need anything for Mother's Day, well, just one thing... I would like to see my front area of the house CLEAN. The front area is the kitchen, dining area and livingroom -- which are all in one semi-big area. It's not messy, it just needs some cleaning...

I still haven't made the cookies yet. I need to go out and get a bag of Rolos...

PEACE

Something for the free day...

I found this recipe on Bisous' blog. I haven't made this cookie recipe yet but there's a little voice inside my head that's telling me that this weekend would be a good time to have some of these cookies! Any cookie recipe using Rolos has got to be yummy!


Chocolate Caramel Cookies

2.5 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
30-40 Rolos, depending on how many cookies you make.

-Heat oven to 375
-Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl
-In large bowl beat sugar and butter, add vanilla and eggs, beat well
-Add flour mixture and beat just until mixed
- Shape enough dough to cover 1 rolo well
- Place on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 7-10 minutes or until slightly cracked.
- Cool on cookie sheet 5-7 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack. Makes around 40 cookies.

She mentioned using Hershey's Treasures because the store didn't have Rolos, and they still turned out yummy.


On the fitness front: (oh yeah, remember that?) I am planning my 20 miler for tomorrow.

Peace

Dog day afternoon...

I went outside intending to snap some progress photos of my seedlings. Instead, I was just about knocked over by my dog, Logan, a German Shepherd/Labrador Retriever mix. My dog does all of the typical dog stuff, like chase tennis balls, dig holes IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAWN and buries her favorite toy, Booda. (Booda gets all nice and seasoned, Logan unburies it later THEN walk in the house doing her "I'm so happy" strut, and plops Booda in the middle of my just washed kitchen floor.) Her "different" thing that she does is chase bees. I have a some sage and salvia growing in my current backyard and that's where those pesky bees are. I'm surprised she hasn't been stung yet... She even barks at the bees, especially when she can't bite one, which is 99% of the time.

Oh yeah, here's a progress photo of my seedlings. I have corn, carrots, yellow squash, poppies, and tomatoes started. I tried to grow bok choy but it never germinated.




My son is taking a black and white photography class at the JC. I am extremely impressed with how much technique he has picked up in just a semester. He's just gone full on with some amazing photos. I'll post some of his photos after the semester ends. I still won't let him borrow my newest camera, though. That's MY PRECIOUS!

Peace

Almost as good as new...

I'm feeling a little better now. Resting for a couple of days did help, but I'm trying not to go overboard today because there's always so much to do. I did go out to the "new" old house today to check mail and do some light gardening. Since my son and I already dug up and tilled yet another planter area next to the house, it was ready for plants, so all I had to do was dig holes for the plants, which was easy. I planted a Spanish lavender and what I had left of the dianthus. I need to buy more mulch OR just figure an obcure out spot in the yard to make my own, but I'm not ready for that yet.



Since I left the camera at home, I "dug up" these Spanish lavender photos from the internet.

It feels weird taking a week off from any sort of workout or running, but I really needed it. I'm still debating on if I should do my scheduled 20 miler on Saturday... It depends on how I feel. Just for $#its and giggles, I weighed myself on my Tanita scale that also gives a body fat percentage number. On the Tanita, it's consistently up to a good 6% on the high side, and it usually gives me numbers anywhere between 24% to 30%. In reality, the number is probably more like 20% to 22%. For the past three days (since I've been sick) it's been measuring at 19% and 20%. Hmmmmm. I also have an Ormon hand held device, which has been a little more consistent, and has been giving me average readings of about 21%, 22%, so I checked my readings on that, too, and it came in at 19%. I'm not sure what to think, other than not carb loading has brought my body fat percentage number down. The funny thing is that my weight has stayed the same. I just find it strange that the Tanita number is so low. My PT friend say I should take a peek at caliper readings, and that he'd do that for me. I just need to get the calipers.

It has been fun reading everyone's 25's. I'm amazed how many people think their list is boring, but I don't think anyone's list is boring, in fact, I've learned a lot about my blogger buddies and little bits about their journey through life. It makes everyone more "real" in that we're just not words on the computer, but that we've had all different and similar kinds of life experiences. Perhaps I'll post another 25 later on, as others have done.

Peace

A Week Off

I'm taking a self imposed week off from working out and running, and working on the house. I had a tough time with fatigue over the weekend and pushed myself way too hard to get some things finished. Perhaps it's a flu bug that's been going around, but I just needed stop and listen to what my body is saying...

At the house over this past weekend, we did more yardwork. I actually remembered to bring my camera along and captured one of the zillions of reasons I love the house and the property, even though it needs a tremendous quantity of work... It's the sunsets.


I'm still playing around with the settings and lenses. The picture above was taken with the auto setting with the 17.5-45mm lens.


This is the same vantage point, I switched the setting to "Sunset" and switched to the zoom lens, 40-150mm.


Same zoom lens, zoomed out, set to "Landscape."


Finally, the sun is just about to set! I used the same zoom lens and reset it back to "Sunset."

These are photos were taken facing west from the back porch at the "new" old house, looking towards Mission Bay in San Diego, CA.

I feel blessed.

PEACE