How is it possible that in the 18 hours I'm awake during the day, I simply cannot manage to squeak in a blog post? Oh right...that little thing called life. The Psummer of Psimas is in full pswing, and I'm still trying to find a comfortable rhythm to the days and weeks. I'm terrible at planning out the day/week, but I do need a bit of structure to keep us all from going batty. I'm often torn between letting the kids continue playing when they're getting along and cutting it short to move on with our day (and preemptively avoid a cat fight). I've managed to get them writing in their journals every day, with the exception of weekends and when we were on vacation. We've entered a good chunk of time on their various reading logs, and I've even finished an entire book myself. I still need to pepper in working on some math, and aside from making their beds, their help around the house has been minimal (translation: me nagging them to the point that I can't even stand the sound of my own voice just to get them to put a bowl in the sink).
So I guess I should cut myself some slack about the lack of blogging...most people wouldn't expect someone who works 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to write a blog about running, would they? But writing is one of those things that makes me feel like me, so I still try to find the time to do it. Here goes...
Running - another thing that makes me feel like me - has been going really well. I feel like my road to recovery has been straightened and paved, covering up the potholes of a maddening spring. This week's workout is a 5 minute run/1 minute walk x 6, for a total of 36 minutes. Yesterday's session was about as close to perfection as one can get...the weather was cool and breezy, almost like a September morning here in Virginia Beach. Even the ocean had the rough surf that's reminiscent of the fall:
It's pure magic when a great photo op coincides with a walk break!
With the addition of another minute of running, my average pace gets faster with each passing week. It's such a boost to the confidence to see those numbers crawl back down to the paces I was running for my long runs - my 4th mile's split of 8:21 was enough to make me squeal with delight. A few times, I've been so distracted by the feeling of freedom in my stride I've forgotten it's time to walk. I see this as a wonderful sign that I'm ready to keep the forward progress going. A true test will be next week (assuming I make it through two more sessions of 5:1 without any issues), when I'll be running a full 10 minutes before taking a 1 minute walk break. Eeeeek!!!
That run was the perfect way to bring me back from the haze of four days in the Outer Banks. While I managed to sprinkle in some exercise every day, most of my time was spent either in my beach chair with my nose in a book ("What Makes Olga Run" by Bruce Grierson was a great read!) or taking photos and videos of the girls out surfing with their dad. Here are a few highlights:
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Little slice of heaven
One of my beautiful dinner companions
Gluttony at its finest...we were on vacation, after all!
My little storm watchers...Jim Cantore better watch his back!
Not really what you want to see in the sky before retiring to your measly little tent for the night.
Camryn was a lovely tent mate for the first half of the trip. She even managed to sleep through lightning, thunder, and rain being driven against the tent by 50+ mph winds. I, however, did not sleep, in case you were wondering.
Ran about 4 vacation miles and got a little stretching in before hitting the beach. Photo credit goes to Brynn on this one.
Borrowed a bike from the campground the morning after my run, was sure to bring the phone along this time to take some pics.
World's cutest library. There was even a bench right next to it so you could get started on your selection right away.
This snake is lucky to be alive. Thought it was just a stick and came millimeters from severing its rear end with my front tire.
Another thing that makes me feel like me - beach gymnastics.
Cookies 'n cream for Brynn
Strawberry for Camryn
Turkey, black bean, and pineapple burgers for Mom and Dad
Another beautiful evening on the sound
One of like a bazillion pics like this I took on our trip
These girls can't get enough of the water
Favorite photo from the trip
What weighs roughly 30 lbs. and loves, loves, loves camping? This girl!!!
Some unexpected rain made it a little easier to head home
Made a pit stop at Jockey's Ridge to watch some hang gliding
Racing down the dune
This kid...during the car ride home, she was poking me in the back of the head with a spatula, saying "Beyonce" over and over. Too many nights in Rodanthe to blame???
It was a great couple of days away from the daily grind, and we hope to make it back there at least one more time before the end of summer. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from when we went camping in Cape Cod every summer, and I can only hope we're creating some of that great stuff for my girls as well.
So I guess I should cut myself some slack about the lack of blogging...most people wouldn't expect someone who works 14 hours a day, 7 days a week to write a blog about running, would they? But writing is one of those things that makes me feel like me, so I still try to find the time to do it. Here goes...
Running - another thing that makes me feel like me - has been going really well. I feel like my road to recovery has been straightened and paved, covering up the potholes of a maddening spring. This week's workout is a 5 minute run/1 minute walk x 6, for a total of 36 minutes. Yesterday's session was about as close to perfection as one can get...the weather was cool and breezy, almost like a September morning here in Virginia Beach. Even the ocean had the rough surf that's reminiscent of the fall:
It's pure magic when a great photo op coincides with a walk break!
With the addition of another minute of running, my average pace gets faster with each passing week. It's such a boost to the confidence to see those numbers crawl back down to the paces I was running for my long runs - my 4th mile's split of 8:21 was enough to make me squeal with delight. A few times, I've been so distracted by the feeling of freedom in my stride I've forgotten it's time to walk. I see this as a wonderful sign that I'm ready to keep the forward progress going. A true test will be next week (assuming I make it through two more sessions of 5:1 without any issues), when I'll be running a full 10 minutes before taking a 1 minute walk break. Eeeeek!!!
That run was the perfect way to bring me back from the haze of four days in the Outer Banks. While I managed to sprinkle in some exercise every day, most of my time was spent either in my beach chair with my nose in a book ("What Makes Olga Run" by Bruce Grierson was a great read!) or taking photos and videos of the girls out surfing with their dad. Here are a few highlights:
Favorite photo from the trip
It was a great couple of days away from the daily grind, and we hope to make it back there at least one more time before the end of summer. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from when we went camping in Cape Cod every summer, and I can only hope we're creating some of that great stuff for my girls as well.
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