My family LOVES Christmas. Chelsea is especially joyful this year about the upcoming holiday. She loves the lights, the music, and the fact that everyone walks around with a smile on their face (well, most of the time). They have already started playing Christmas music on the radio - Chelsea is in Heaven! ;-)
The other day we were listening to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.
Chelsea, "Mom the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph."
I said, "oh?".
Chelsea, "they were just 'using' Rudolph. They are so mean!"
So I said, "yes, but when Rudolph came through for them in a tight spot they were happy and admired him."
Chelsea, "oh no, Mom, they 'used' him! It's like when there is a kid at school who is not popular, then he/she becomes a famous singer. All of a sudden the other kids want to be their friend after they treated them so badly!"
I said, "Well that's an interesting view point, but don't you think the other reindeer decided that Rudolph was probably an OK reindeer after all? Can't they change their opinion?"
Chelsea,"no Mom, they are just really mean reindeer. I don't like 'the other reindeer'."
Something for all of us to think about this holiday season.... :-)
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
The week in review
This has been a pretty good week.
I ran twice this week - on Monday we ran around the 'parking lot' again. This time I did 3 1/2 miles and ran about 15 mins of that. On Thursday we ran the "mother of all hills". I'm not so sure about that, but the hills were long and somewhat steep. We walked/jogged about 1 mile to the neighborhood with the hills. Then went through the "hill circuit" twice. Then another walk back to the parking lot. It was a total of 1 hour and 40 min. I was definitely tired after all that!! I have no idea where I was, I just followed everyone else. It seems like a very nice neighborhood. There were no street lights, so I couldn't really tell... I'll have to drive around and see if I can find it in the daylight! I felt pretty good running last night. I am a little sore today, but not as bad as I thought. :-) More running tomorrow! The goal is to run about 20 minutes with walking in between.
Tomorrow we have our 2nd swim meet of the season. This time it is a "B" format meet. That includes the 500 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 back, 100 IM, 100 breast, and the 400 free relay. More new experiences for the new swimmers. We're at the Bartlett Rec Center this time - so closer to home. Chelsea is going with me to be my 'recorder'. I really think she just wants to flirt with the cute boys on my team... :-)
What I am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to: The Eagles Concert on Sunday night! :-)!!! Are you jealous????? :-)
I ran twice this week - on Monday we ran around the 'parking lot' again. This time I did 3 1/2 miles and ran about 15 mins of that. On Thursday we ran the "mother of all hills". I'm not so sure about that, but the hills were long and somewhat steep. We walked/jogged about 1 mile to the neighborhood with the hills. Then went through the "hill circuit" twice. Then another walk back to the parking lot. It was a total of 1 hour and 40 min. I was definitely tired after all that!! I have no idea where I was, I just followed everyone else. It seems like a very nice neighborhood. There were no street lights, so I couldn't really tell... I'll have to drive around and see if I can find it in the daylight! I felt pretty good running last night. I am a little sore today, but not as bad as I thought. :-) More running tomorrow! The goal is to run about 20 minutes with walking in between.
Tomorrow we have our 2nd swim meet of the season. This time it is a "B" format meet. That includes the 500 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 back, 100 IM, 100 breast, and the 400 free relay. More new experiences for the new swimmers. We're at the Bartlett Rec Center this time - so closer to home. Chelsea is going with me to be my 'recorder'. I really think she just wants to flirt with the cute boys on my team... :-)
What I am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to: The Eagles Concert on Sunday night! :-)!!! Are you jealous????? :-)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Gas prices
Unreal gas prices!!! I paid $1.67 for gas (with my Schnucks card) the other day. A total of $27.75 to fill up my tank!!! That is amazing considering I paid $70.00 just a couple of months ago....
Saturday, November 8, 2008
third day of running
I have followed through on my committment this week - three days of running! :-) I ran Thursday at school during my planning period. 10 bouts of 1 min running, 1 min walking with a 5 min walk at the beginning for warm up and 5 min at the end.
Today I ran 12 bouts - this time 1min 15sec run and 1 min walk. So a little more running today. I actually walked a little more than 1 min between runs just because I could. I decided I'm not going to kill myself. I have plenty of time to keep going. I don't have to be in a hurry to get to my goal.... I'm trying to be very sensible and not set myself up for failure.
I'll go run with my "group" on Monday night again and see what is next in store for me. It's supposed to rain on Monday so I'll have to be a little more motivated to run in the rain and cold.... :-(
Another exciting event this week - our first swim meet of the season! It was a good one. Both the boys and girls got second place! I had two kids qualify for STATE and we had 32 County qualifying times! The new swimmers were very nervous, but swam very well. We had been out of the water for almost two weeks due to a broken heater in the pool, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But they came through with flying colors! The "veteran swimmers" stepped up and helped out a lot!!!! Our next meet is a week from today at the Bartlett Rec Center - so close to home. :-)
It's a beautiful weekend here - lots of colors on the trees and the weather is finally turning colder! YAY!
Today I ran 12 bouts - this time 1min 15sec run and 1 min walk. So a little more running today. I actually walked a little more than 1 min between runs just because I could. I decided I'm not going to kill myself. I have plenty of time to keep going. I don't have to be in a hurry to get to my goal.... I'm trying to be very sensible and not set myself up for failure.
I'll go run with my "group" on Monday night again and see what is next in store for me. It's supposed to rain on Monday so I'll have to be a little more motivated to run in the rain and cold.... :-(
Another exciting event this week - our first swim meet of the season! It was a good one. Both the boys and girls got second place! I had two kids qualify for STATE and we had 32 County qualifying times! The new swimmers were very nervous, but swam very well. We had been out of the water for almost two weeks due to a broken heater in the pool, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But they came through with flying colors! The "veteran swimmers" stepped up and helped out a lot!!!! Our next meet is a week from today at the Bartlett Rec Center - so close to home. :-)
It's a beautiful weekend here - lots of colors on the trees and the weather is finally turning colder! YAY!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Alone or in a group...
There have been times in my life when I have been able to set a goal and reach it - by myself, all on my own, just working at it steadily each day. I started myself on a running program 8 years ago after watching other people race in the Tulsa Run. It's a 15K race through downtown and along the river in Tulsa. I always wished I could do that too. So after years of 'wishing' I decided to make it happen. I followed a running program that I found on line - someone recommended it to me. I really liked it - and it worked! I ran my first 5K at the end of May in 2000. That was a great accomplishment. I don't think there is anything more satisfying than achieving a goal you set out to do! I really felt like I could do anything! So my next goal was to train for the Tulsa Run. I trained 4 days a week that summer and fall. On Sunday mornings before church I would run with a Tulsa Run Training Group. I remember on one of those mornings I decided to just try and keep up with all the 'fast' runners and just go as long as I could. I was amazed that I could run at a 10min mile pace!!! I went 6 miles that day (although I did slow down towards the end...). It was then that I realized I could go 9 miles (15K). It wasn't really that much further! I entered the Tulsa Zoo Run in September which was 10K. That was my first experience at running "K's" instead of "miles" so it took me awhile to figure out my splits - I was so used to using the 1/4 mile markers along the river running path. My vivid memory of that Zoo race was all the kids that were running. It was a race that benefitted Tulsa Public Schools so lots of PE kids running for their school. I ended up running with a couple of middle school kids and we were just encouraging each other to finish without walking!!! :-) I was really glad I had someone to encourage - that kept me going!!! Anyway, the big day came for the Tulsa Run. What a rush that whole thing was!! There were so many people - unbeleivable! All along the route there were people cheering, music playing, entertainment in front of peoples houses. It was kind of like running through a party!:-) The very beat part of the race was having Nigel, Kirsten and Chelsea cheer for me at the beginning, the middle and the end of the race. They drove all over the place to do that! :-) I can still recall that great feeling of finishing. I have a picture of me at the finish of my race! After that, I trained again for all three of those same races the next year. It wasn't quite as exciting as the first year, but pretty close! My sister Debi and her husband Hartley came and ran the race with me! That made it double the fun!!! :-)
There are other times in my life when I need to have help accomplishing a goal. This is one of those times.... I have joined a running class that has a coach. I went to my first session last night. It was dark (thanks to the time change), but not too cold. We train on Mondays and Thursdays at Shelby Farms in the parking lots that surround the "Agri-center" building. Our coach, Mark, has plotted out a one mile course around two of the parking lots. It was a very interesting first session. He actually "taught" us how to run - the correct form (head up, shoulders back, swing arms with elbows behind your back), "talking technique" (I have to be able to say "When I eat, I will make healthy choice, When I eat, I will make healthy choices" without gasping for breath),pacing oursleves, etc... We walked/ran a total of 3 miles, although only about a mile of that was actually running. Lots of walking breaks in between. Mark says the goal is to increase gradually to let my body adapt to what I am demading it to do. My commitment is to go to "class" two days a week and then run around my neighborhood on a third day (either Saturday or Sunday). He says there is not really any bad weather days, only bad clothing days. :-)
My personal goal is to get back into running shape and then continue to train, with the ultimate goal of losing weight! To what extent (race?) I'm not sure. I just know that training with a group will help me accomplish my goals this time around. Mark says he can get us ready for a marathon if we want. Again, I'm not sure.... My sister, Debi, is such an inspiration in this area. She has become the master at setting unbelievable goals and then reaching them (2 ironman triathlons this year!!!). So maybe by next December I will be ready to tackle the Memphis Marathon or the 1/2 marathon. They hold it every year the first Saturday in December. Who knows? If I follow through with this goal maybe Debi and Hartley will come and run with me?
I will keep you posted on my progress in this area.
There are other times in my life when I need to have help accomplishing a goal. This is one of those times.... I have joined a running class that has a coach. I went to my first session last night. It was dark (thanks to the time change), but not too cold. We train on Mondays and Thursdays at Shelby Farms in the parking lots that surround the "Agri-center" building. Our coach, Mark, has plotted out a one mile course around two of the parking lots. It was a very interesting first session. He actually "taught" us how to run - the correct form (head up, shoulders back, swing arms with elbows behind your back), "talking technique" (I have to be able to say "When I eat, I will make healthy choice, When I eat, I will make healthy choices" without gasping for breath),pacing oursleves, etc... We walked/ran a total of 3 miles, although only about a mile of that was actually running. Lots of walking breaks in between. Mark says the goal is to increase gradually to let my body adapt to what I am demading it to do. My commitment is to go to "class" two days a week and then run around my neighborhood on a third day (either Saturday or Sunday). He says there is not really any bad weather days, only bad clothing days. :-)
My personal goal is to get back into running shape and then continue to train, with the ultimate goal of losing weight! To what extent (race?) I'm not sure. I just know that training with a group will help me accomplish my goals this time around. Mark says he can get us ready for a marathon if we want. Again, I'm not sure.... My sister, Debi, is such an inspiration in this area. She has become the master at setting unbelievable goals and then reaching them (2 ironman triathlons this year!!!). So maybe by next December I will be ready to tackle the Memphis Marathon or the 1/2 marathon. They hold it every year the first Saturday in December. Who knows? If I follow through with this goal maybe Debi and Hartley will come and run with me?
I will keep you posted on my progress in this area.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Nov 1st
Today would have been my Mom's 82nd birthday. As my sister reminds me: "She has been gone a staggering 14 years (I can't believe it has been that long). Before she got sick at the young age of 45, she was athletic, a golfer, a tennis player, a leader in the Girl Scouts. She raised 5 daughters. I use to be amazed at the thought that she used a whole loaf of bread to make our lunches. My mom was one of the strongest, most persistent people I have ever met."
I was 15 when my mom was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis. She eventually passed away from complications from that disease. I was 37. I watched her struggle at times with her health, but she always seemed to have such a positive outlook that nothing would deter her from living a full life. She spent the last few years of her life in a wheel chair, but could still draw a smile from all those that knew her. Her grand kids loved to 'ride with grandma on her wheel chair'. :-) She didn't like having all the health problems, but that didn't seem to discourage her. She just kept on going.... kind of like the energizer bunny. :-) That was my mom. I hope I am 1/2 the woman she was.
I was 15 when my mom was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis. She eventually passed away from complications from that disease. I was 37. I watched her struggle at times with her health, but she always seemed to have such a positive outlook that nothing would deter her from living a full life. She spent the last few years of her life in a wheel chair, but could still draw a smile from all those that knew her. Her grand kids loved to 'ride with grandma on her wheel chair'. :-) She didn't like having all the health problems, but that didn't seem to discourage her. She just kept on going.... kind of like the energizer bunny. :-) That was my mom. I hope I am 1/2 the woman she was.
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