2015 - A Year in Revew

How has it been 6 months since I visited my little space in the world?  Well, that's pretty much 2015 in review.  It has been that kind of year.  A year ago, I sat down to look forward.  I set goals for myself and for my family.

1.  I am going to run a marathon.  (A gimme, I know!) -Nailed it!  Not only did I run one marathon, I ran TWO marathons in 2015.  Started the year with the Goofy challenge and ended the year with the Marine Corps Marathon.  They were hard.  I cried.  I wanted to quit, but I finished them both.  I am a marathoner!!
2.  My family will eat clean 5 out of 7 days every week.  - Not so much.   Striving to do better in 2016.  
3.  I will drink at least 60 ounces of water every day.  (Ideally, I will drink half of my body weight in water.  I am shooting for that, but I will be happy with 60 ounces.) - Did pretty well here.  Some days were better than others, but overall, I am happy with my hydration this year.  
4.  I will continue to run at least 3 days a week. - And then some.  Training for 2 marathons in a year will help with that.
5.  I will PR the 5K.  (Hey....a goal should stretch you, right??) - Not even close.  Did I even run a 5K this year?  Either way, I did NOT find any speed in 2015.  
6.  I will budget to pay off the van early - Again, not so much.


So, I met some goals and didn't quite meet others, but there was A LOT that happened in 2015.  It was the year of the challenge....in every sense of the word.  

January

• I RAN A MARATHON - and a half marathon at the Goofy Challenge.
• We spent a magical week in Walt Disney World.

February

• I started a new job at a school library.  I loved it.

March

• I ran 2 half marathons - the Tobacco Road half and Shamrock.
• I ended the job that I had started.  (Thanks school politics!)

April

• My sweet, baby boy turned 4 years old!  He's not a baby anymore.  
• We put an offer on a house with no thought or planning or anything.  It was accepted, so then we had to sell our house.  We did...in 4 days.
• I started another new job in a second grade classroom.  This one was only temporary, which I knew going in.

May

• I sang at Lincoln Center in New York City.  It was an amazing experience and a great trip with my husband!

June

• I ran the Run for the Dream Warrior Challenge in Williamsburg.  
• My big boys turned 8.
• I went camping....slept in a tent, on the ground....for the first time in 20 years.  The things we do for our children.

July

• We took a family vacation to Niagara Falls.  It was a great adventure.
• Joshua had eye surgery...again
• I got offered a job...that I didn't even know was open at a school I didn't even apply to.  A real job.  A full time job!
• I started a 3 year certification program in church children's music with a week at the Chorister's Guild Institute.

August

• We moved to our new house.  
• We spent a magical week in Nags Head - my happy place.
• I started my new library gig.
• I ran the Dumbo Challenge in Disneyland, earning my Coast to Coast medal for running a half in Florida and in California in the same calendar year.

September

• The big boys started third grade and the little man went to 5 day preschool.

October

• I ran the Marine Corps Marathon.

November

• I ran the Harbor Lights Get Lit Challenge

December

• Ran the Surfin' Santa 5 Miler 

It's been quite a year - not a bad year, but a memorable year.  There were lots of changes for our family - a new house, a new job, a new routine, a new normal. 

Hopefully 2016 finds us settled into our new normal!

Tearing my Hair Out

There is never a dull moment in my house...in my family....in my life.  There are mythical people that don't do much.  They clean their houses.  They rest on the weekends.  They sleep in and stay up late and have fun all of the time.

I am NOT one of those people.

In fact, right now, I am overwhelmed.  I am doing too much.  I am drowning.   There is too much going on.  I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

That is what my world is right now...Chaos.

1)  We are moving.  I am packing the entire house.  Every single time I think I have things together, I find something that was out of place and just gets thrown into a box.  In the middle of this whole adventure, I am going out of town.  I won't be here for a lot of the moving.  I am overwhelmed by the boxes and the stuff.  I am seriously about to have a meltdown about Legos.  I am seriously having a meltdown about useless junk that we don't need, but that people keep sending to my house.

2)  My timeline for this move situation is compressed....like a slinky.  There is a week.  We have to move into a house, move out of a house, set up a house, and get settle. In a week.  Every box needs to be unpacked in 7 days.

3)  I got a new job.  It is going to be a challenge.  It is going to be a time management challenge.  I will work until 4:30 or 5:00.  I am going to have to do some significant reorganizing in my new space.  It is going to be very labor and time intensive.  This has to be done before I can actually start my job.  I can't teach in the space I have.

4)  I am running another marathon.  I am terrified of the time limit.  I don't think I am going to make it.  I am afraid that I am going to fail.

5)  I am struggling with the leadership roles that I am in.  I love volunteering my time and working with the people on my teams.  But things are different.  There is tension that I don't understand.  I don't have time to fight with people.  I don't have time for games.

There is a light.  In 5 days, I will have my house packed.  In 5 days, I will be driving to my conference.  In 5 days, my part is done.  I will pick back up when I get back.  I am taking control of my house when we move.  I am not going to worry about feelings anymore.  It is my house.  They are my children.  I make the decisions about what comes into my space.

There is light.  After the move, once everything is unpacked, I get a week in my happy place.  I get to sit on the beach and watch my children play.

There is light.  I have amazing people in my life.  I have a supportive husband who just goes along with my crazy ideas.  I have an amazing group of friends who pick me up when I am down and encourage me along the way.   I have wonderful kids.  They aren't perfect, but they are mine.  We have work to do, but they are on their way to being good people.  I have a team of people.  For whatever reason, the vibe in out of whack.  I hope to figure out why.  But, I am not alone.   I have friends who are willing to give up their time to help me get my world in order.

There is light.  I am fortunate to have a job.  I am very, very excited about it.  I can't wait to start.

There is light.  The marathon has a finish line.  I will get to it.

 It will all work out.  It will all be okay.  The world will realign and my chaos will settle.  I know it will.  There might be stress until then.  But, there is always light.

Another recap

It's been a long time.....again.  Let me catch you up....again....

1)  My little guy turned 4.  I am not sure who let him grow up, but he did.

2)  We accidentally bought a house.  We didn't mean to.  I mentioned that epic IEP meeting in my last post.  We thought for about 2 seconds that we might have to change schools, which meant we started looking at new houses.  As we were looking, we started feeling cramped in our current house.  Then we found it....our forever house.  

It's everything we want.  There is room in the house for the kids to play.  It's on 3 acres.  There is a place for my husband to have a man cave in the garage.  There is a barn.   It's been a long...long....long process, but we are finally ready to move.  Our house sold in a week.  We are very blessed.

3)  My oldest babies turned 8.  Again, who said that was okay??

4)  We took a family camping trip.  All of the boys were in heaven.  I guess I am going to have to go camping more often.

5)  I started running for Girls on the Run Hampton Roads.  I am a SoleMate.  I didn't think I wanted to be, but I am. Which means...

6)  I am also a member of the J&A Training Team.  I got a marathon training plan in my email a couple of weeks ago and I am off and running.  I feel a little dirty, like I am cheating on my beloved running coach, but I hope he understands.  The Training Team was part of the Solemates package.  There are many, many days that I want to send him my training plan to make sure that it has his seal of approval.  We'll see how it goes.

7)  I am running a LOT....like a lot.  I started this running journey with 3 days of running a week.  Then Coach upped it to 4 days a week.  Now I am running 5 days a week.  I am running a lot.

8)  My running group makes me happy and keeps me going.  I tell them what I have to run and they show up.  They are fantastic and I love every second and every mile that I am with them.

9)  We took a trip to Niagara Falls.  I still need to get a video together, so watch for that.

10)  I GOT A JOB!!!  The stars aligned.  I am not sure where I am in my journey with God.  But, this opportunity was divine intervention if I have ever seen it.  I filled out an application for a neighboring school system.  With this system, you apply for individual positions.  I got a call from a school that I had not applied for.  I agreed to an interview and had no idea what I was interviewing for.  Come to find out, it was a Reading Specialist position.  It would have made me happy, but it is not where my heart is.  At the end of the interview, the principal mentioned that she had a library position open.  We chatted about that for a few minutes and I left.  The next day I had a phone interview with the library supervisor for the city and the next day I was offered a position.  God was looking out for me.  I am really excited about this adventure.

So, there you have it.  You are all caught up.  I am going to try very, very hard to keep up with my writing.  I mean, I have marathon stories to tell you. 

A quick recap

Sometimes I just don't get around to writing.  Sometimes I think about it and something else gets in the way.  That has happened a lot since the Marathon...way back in January.  So, let's recap:

1 - I ran a marathon.  I had a great week in Disney.  My brother got married.

2 - I spent 24 school days playing librarian at a pretend job that pretty much got given away right under my nose.  I loved those 24 days.  I worked harder than I have worked in years.  It was amazing.  I pray every day that there is a library job for me in the fall.

3 - I fought another epic IEP battle for Child #2.  I don't want to say that I won, but they agreed to do things my way.

4 - I ran 2 half marathons.  The first was in the Tobacco Road Half in Cary, NC.  It was 7 miles of trail and 6 miles of hills.  I mostly hated it.  Great medal!  Not my favorite race.  The second was the Shamrock Half in Virginia Beach.  It is a race that I swore that I would not run again.  So, I ran with a first time half marathoning friend.  I still don't love that race, but I loved the company and I especially loved the mimosa stop at Mile 5.

5 - Oh, I signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon.  It's in October.  I just hope I can beat the bridge.

So now you are all caught up.  Life is calming down a little, so I can get back to my regular posts.  :)

It's Like Riding a Bike

I haven't been a very good partner since the marathon.  I haven't kept my dates.  I have been doing other things.

Here's the thing - time keeps ticking away.  March 15 and the Tobacco Road Half Marathon are coming up quickly, with Shamrock right after.  I'm not ready.  I have never been this unready for a race.

I don't think I am going to be injured, but I am definitely undertrained. 

I've been pretty good about my long runs.  I built up to 10 miles today.  It wasn't pretty.  Things just weren't right.  It happens.

I haven't fueled very well since...well, since Thanksgiving, if we are being honest.  Bad fueling means bad running.  It is as simple as that.  I haven't been hydrating and I haven't been eating clean.  Eat like an athlete, train like an athlete.  I am going to do better with this.

My clothes just were not working.  My bra rubbed my back and now there is a hot spot.  My underwear...well.....

I have misplaced my interval watch, so I had to use my husband's watch.  It beeps for 10 whole seconds every minute.  It wasn't what I was used to.

I slept in a little.  We didn't have any bagels.  I had half of a yucky banana.  I was cold.  It was just not a good day.  

I sound a lot like Alexander.  I might as well move to Australia.  (I bet there are great races there!)

But you know what?  Even with all of the bad, I ran 10 miles today.  I did it at 1:1 intervals.  I had to dodge ice.  I had a stiff headwind on the way home.  I wanted to turn left and go home at 8 miles instead of turning right to add some distance.  

I got it done today.  One mile at a time.  I was tired after the marathon.  I took some time off.  Now I miss training.  I waited a little to long to make this decision and my March races are going to be hard work.  Once March 22 comes and I cross the finish line at my third Shamrock, it's on.  I'm taking on the Warrior Challenge in May (5K, 8K and a half).  I'm going to Disneyland to run the Dumbo Double Dare Challenge (10K and Half).  I'm running the Marine Corps Marathon.  I've got work to do.

Calm Before the Storm

Queen Elsa is mad.  Last week we got 2 inches of ice.  It stuck around for 4 days.  We lost 3 days of school.

This week, we got about an inch of snow.  It closed schools for today.  We are also expecting between 5 and 8 inches of snow for tonight and tomorrow.  Schools are closed for tomorrow already and Friday is not looking good.  

I haven't run outside in almost 2 weeks.  

Luckily, the day warmed up and the snow melted on the roads and the sidewalks.  The cherry on top - my husband came home early. 

Just like that, the forecast changed!

I laced up my shoes, convinced Child #1 to join me for a few miles and headed out.  

Child #1 was a little whiny, so we took a few breaks and had a snowball fight.  When he was chasing me to throw a snowball, he forgot that he was running.

After 2 miles, I dropped him off at home and headed out for 3 miles by myself.  They felt great!  

I am so glad that we headed out for a few miles!!

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day to run.  It was in the 50s, slight breeze, but nothing too bad.  Saturday was also chock full of things going on, so I didn't get to run.

Instead, I ran on Sunday....when it was 24 degrees.  Yep, 24 degrees.  I really, really thought about skipping my run.  I really, really thought about staying warm in my house. Then I remembered that I am running a half marathon in a month.  Then I remembered that I am running another one the week later.  Then I remembered that my running has been sporadic at best since the Marathon.  So, I sucked it up and got dressed.

The wind chill on this 24 degree day brought the real feel temperature to a balmy 17.  (Hey it was up from the -2 of the early morning!!)  I threw on my compression sleeves, my running tights, a skirt, 3 shirts (two had thumb holes, which I used), a pair of gloves, and my hat.  Looking back, I needed another layer on my legs, but overall, I was perfectly dressed to take on 24 degrees with 25 mile an hour winds.

Now, you may be wondering why on earth I walked out of my door.  One of the races that I am running is the Shamrock Half Marathon.  (Yeah, I know....I said that it wasn't my favorite and I wasn't planning to run it again.  One of my friends decided to make it her 1st half and I am going to pace her to keep her company.)  It is ALWAYS windy at Shamrock.  It is entirely possible that it could and exact copy of this weekend for Shamrock.  If you don't train in it, you can't race in it.

I set out for my 8 miles into a pretty stiff headwind.  I reminded myself that it would be a tailwind at the end.  I started out with :90/:30 intervals.  After about a mile or so, the wind was winning the battle and I was getting tired.  So I switched over to 1/1 intervals to get through the miles.  The wind was biting and the cold was taking my breath away, but the run was feeling pretty good.

Even at 1/1 intervals, I was running at a pretty decent pace.  I haven't seen paces like that since I started marathon training.  I mean, it was distantly related to my goal race pace.  I still have some work today, but I was back in the ball park.  That was very exciting!!

As I turned back into the neighborhood for my last mile, I started running back into the headwind and my body started to get cold.  My legs tightened up and I really didn't want to run any more.  It was ugly, but I finished that last mile.  


While I love me some cold weather running, I like living in the South because winter is not normally this bitterly cold.  Thanks for the arctic, Elsa, but you can turn it off and let it get a little warmer!

Putt Putt and Dole Whips - A Goofy Adventure Day 3 (after the race)

After the half on Saturday, I got some food, took my ice bath, and got a shower.  Then I had to entertain my children for the afternoon.  We had planned to play mini golf one of the days of the weekend, so we headed to Fantasia Mini Golf.  The wait for the Garden course was almost 2 hours, so we made a reservation and went to do some exploring.   

We drove the streets of the half marathon course, which ended up near the Polynesian Village Resort.  Do you know what we can get 
at the Polynesian Village Resort?

DOLE WHIP FLOATS!!

After our little treat, it was just about our tee time, so we made our way back to the golf course.  There isn't much to comment on the golf course.  It was typical Disney magic!  The course was hard, but luckily, we don't play for keeps.  Here are the pictures from our fun-filled afternoon.

Sorcerer Mickey greeted us at the entrance

All of the holes were introduced in rhyme and held a clue to how to beat the hole.

Music notes all the way around the whole. 

The steps on the left played tones as the ball bounced down!!

They tried to get the ball into the mushroom that pops up for at least 10 minutes.

Have you ever seen putt putt water that clean??

This was on the wall of the cave.  So cool!

The statue played a snippet of the symphony when the ball came near.

Can't play putt putt without a selfie.

Russ forgot that you don't stick your hand in the water in Florida. 

The elephant had a little surprise.  Watch the video......

The buckets dropped water.  Luckily, everyone stayed dry.

Lots of people missed the hole.....

Pretty cool finish

We play a lot of putt putt...like every single day on our beach vacations.  Normally we feel rushed from behind or we sit and wait for the people in front of us.  Not so at Disney.  Even with the course pretty crowded, we never felt pressure to hurry up or slow down.  We might have to play putt putt at Disney again next time!