Sunday, June 29, 2014

Hani, Hani...come and dance with me

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday.  And I got really excited when I realized my age is the title of a Dave Matthews Band song, so naturally I had to use a line for the title of this post.  And I'll give you a hint...it's NOT #41!!!  Not that there's anything wrong with being 41.  I'm just not.  Yet.

36.  That's 18 x 2.  Thing is, I'll take me at 36 over me at 18 any day of the week.  At 18, I was timid.  I was insecure.  I was lacking confidence in a big way.  I hated my body.  I hated my skin.  I'm pretty sure I even hated my haircut.  I always felt like the ugly duckling in my group of beautiful friends.  How on earth did I survive?  No no, I would never go back to 18...unless maybe it was to slap my 18 year old self around a little.

At 18, 36 seemed oooooold.  And on paper, I look the part...I have a husband of 9 years, a mortgage, a sensible car, and I'm an active volunteer at my children's elementary school.  I have other 30-something year old friends and we talk about 30-something year old stuff...husbands, kids, wrinkles, gray hair.  

Despite all that, I often hesitate when people ask me how old I am.  It's not a memory issue.  It's an age issue...as in I don't feel my age, so I have an issue remembering it.  I mean, I can still do this:


Without a doubt, I have running to thank for feeling as good as I do.  I haven't always loved running - I started about 7 years ago to try to lose some baby weight after Brynn was born - but it has done so much for me in the short time it has been a part of my life.  Running keeps me sane (although some might say this is questionable).  Running keeps me honest.  If I don't work at it, it shows.  If I don't eat well at least 90% of the time, my runs are miserable.  If I drink too much the night before a run, I pay for it dearly.  The truth is, running is hard, and living anything other than a healthy lifestyle when I'm not running is going to make it that much harder.  And signing up for races fulfills the competitive spirit that has hung on inside me since my days as a competitive gymnast.  Will I ever win a race?  Doubtful.  But I can always strive to be better than I was, and the atmosphere of friendly competition found at these races is so much fun.  I've loved climbing the ranks over the years, and I've also loved high-fiving the ladies who edge me out to place higher than me, as they push me to work harder as well.  35 was a year full of PRs for me - I earned one at every distance minus the 8k (because I didn't run one) - and it's exciting to think with enough hard work, I can still get better despite getting older.

I was so happy to be healthy enough to start my birthday with a run.  Back in April, when I was in that dark place of "injured runner" status, I desperately asked the magic 8 ball if I would be running quality miles by my birthday, which seemed ages away.  It's reply:


As silly as it was, I clung on to this "certainty" to help get me through the rehab process.  And by June 28th, there I was on the boardwalk at 5:30am, ready to get in some miles.  Finishing a pain-free run with a view like this (and a quick chat with a new friend) was icing on the birthday cake:


The rest of the day was spent on the beach with my guy Ry and my girls, Mama Fancy included:

Mom calls that her Gary Busey hair.  Incredibly accurate comparison.

Brynn partied a little too hard at her cousin's sleepover the night before, because she asked to cuddle with me and fell asleep on my lap shortly thereafter.  

Happy Birthday to me, indeed!

This huge crab was reeking havoc on us, scurrying at our feet and hiding under our beach chairs and cart...with my horoscope sign being cancer, I thought his presence was entirely appropriate.


From the beach, Mom took the girls back to her house to spend the night, giving me and Ryan a little time to be off duty from the parenting thing.  We rode our bikes with our neighbors out to our favorite Mexican place...I couldn't resist putting my new basket to the test:


In case you're wondering, that there in the Surf n Santa insulated cup is a jalapeno infused margarita, courtesy of the Smiths.  Ice cold, yet spicy and delicious!

 The dinner was delish:


As was the company:


And the view:


After dinner, we stopped off at home to grab some long sleeve shirts and cruised down to the oceanfront to hear one of our favorite local bands play at one of our favorite spots.  I probably annoyed Ryan by stopping by the aquarium to snap this shot, but he got over it:


The band sounded great, and the old guys tearing up the dance floor provided endless entertainment:


One last shot of a potential geriatric love connection and we were back on our bikes and heading home.


It was kinda neat ending my birthday fun at the oceanfront, right where it started 18 hours earlier.  It was such a great day, and I'm thrilled that it began with a run, just like the 8 ball told me it would.

What a wild ride 35 was for me.  Forget the curveball...I think life threw me some high heat, and the best I could do was foul it off.  I think 35 was a solid at bat, but now I'm ready to step up to the plate and knock 36 out of the park...but not without a little help from my friends.

Jeffrey Maier, helping Derek Jeter's ball get over the fence 18 years ago.  Photo from USA Today.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Gone to Carolina

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:

 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. 

The tan will fade, but the memories last forever.  #summer #quotes

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Back to life

After a successful increase in running time last week, I was more excited than nervous about stepping it up again this week.  While I still have a little bit of fear that my runs won't be pain-free, that fear is somewhere in the back of my mind, buried under a pile of some other useless crap instead of front and center.  I'd like very much for it to stay way back there...I think it's good for it to be present to keep me from doing too much too soon, but it doesn't need to be all up in my business like a helicopter mom.  I got this.

Monday was my first day of running 4 minutes, walking 1 minute.  Still feeling a bit nervous running by myself knowing there's a creepy guy stalking runners in my neck of the woods, I thought it would be the perfect time to finally connect with Kristy from Breath of Sunshine.  She had just raced over the weekend and needed some easy miles, so it was a perfect fit.  We met at the oceanfront as the sun was coming up, and chit-chatted our way through just over 4 happy, healthy miles.  It was a beautiful morning at the beach, and maybe the stunning sunrise was symbolic for what could be the beginning of a friendship that's just as lovely.


I tried to recruit another buddy for my second 4/1 run this week, but that didn't work out.  I felt more comfortable getting the solo miles in at the oceanfront, where there are plenty of people out and about, even at the crack of dawn.  A former patient of mine, who I'd see when I was doing my own physical therapy a few months ago, was out doing her usual early morning boardwalk stroll today, and I was able to chat with her for a second during one of my walk intervals.  She said my therapist was wondering if I'm still doing my rehab exercises now that I'm running, and I told her to make sure she tells him emphatically YES!!!  Diligently.  Here's photographic proof:

Karen does clamshells by the seashore

Today's run was even better than Monday's, and little by little, I feel like I'm getting my groove back.  I logged 4.3 miles today, and my splits were 9:20, 9:14, 9:12, 9:04.  I'm still following the rules of my return to running program with easy paces, but I'm noticing that "easy" is getting faster each time I lace up.  Since I have a hard time not knowing what comes next, I took a peek at what the program has in store for the next few weeks.  And oh boy.  Next week is 5 minutes running/1 minute walking x 6, and the following is 10 whole minutes of running/1 minute walking x 3.  I don't want to get too excited because I don't know how the 5 minute intervals will treat me, but it's fun to have something to look forward to in the very near future.

I'm coming out of the dark of this injury, and I can finally picture myself running well again...someday.  While most days I curse my knee and what it's put me through, I have come to realize I'm grateful for it as well.  This experience has made me a smarter runner, which can only make me a better runner.  

true we learn more from pain than pleasure

Running that marathon in spite of the pain showed me that I'm tougher than I realized, but this injury has shown me that I am not invincible.  I am learning that running has a firm grip on my heart, and my life - and certainly my outlook on life - is just better when I'm running.  Running gives me time with my thoughts, allowing me to neutralize any extreme emotions I may be feeling.  I need running in my life, and I'm learning I'll do whatever it takes to keep it there.  

they keep you alive


Saturday, June 14, 2014

School's out for summer

Is it me or are these school years going by faster and faster???  This year has certainly been one for the books for my little family.  Camryn started the school year having little interest in letters and the sounds they make, and now she's sounding out words and writing in her journal every day.  I hope her school is ready for the most confident kindergartner to walk through their doors.  

Brynn continues to impress and amaze me.  She has the most creative mind and kindest heart, and I feel incredibly lucky to be her mom.  Both of my girls played soccer for the first time this year, and I have truly embraced my role as soccer mom.  Brynn ran the Wicked Monster Mile for the first time this year, and she and Camryn added a Turkey Trot and another Shamrock event to their race resumes.  They are racking up the finisher's medals, and I love that they are off to an early start participating in a sport it took me a lifetime to fall in love with.  

I plan to spend this summer being as much of a yes mom as I can be for my girls.  These little girls showed great patience and understanding while both of their parents trained for their first marathon.  Ryan and I often traded time with our kids for miles out on the road, and we often had little left in the tank after our Saturday morning long runs.  Somehow, they didn't seem to notice...or if they did notice, they didn't seem to mind.

These little girls not only survived a year that brought great sadness to our family with their grandmother's death, but they thrived.  They showed a sweetness and love to their Grandmommy in her final days that most adults could learn from.  They hugged her and kissed her in spite of her physical appearance being drastically altered by chemotherapy and its horrific side effects.  They sacrificed being loud, rambunctious kids to be calm, quiet, mature versions of themselves when visiting Ryan's parents every weekend of the fall and winter months.  They showed no fear when attending the first wake and funeral they'd ever been to, and their curiosity and subsequent questions brought a humor to a difficult time that without a doubt carried us through.  

So while I'm certainly proud of my children's academic achievements this school year, I am bursting with pride over how these girls handled the emotional challenges they were faced with since school started in September.  I'm ready for lots of laughter, smiles, and "yes, we can do that's" this summer.  These little girls deserve every bit of fun that's coming their way.


And just to stay true to the purpose of this blog, a snippet about my running this week...

It was a fantastic week.  My intervals of 3 minutes running, 1 minute walking had me feeling more like myself than I have in a really long time.  Life threw me a curveball with the creepy guy stalking runners in my area, but I employed a not-so-secret service detail to accompany me on my runs this week:

Photo: Ran fearlessly with my bodyguard this afternoon. 3.42 miles, 9:23 min/mile pace. Seeing sub-10 even with 1 min walk breaks after every 3 min makes me want to pop some bubbly!
Ryan running at what must have been a dreadfully slow pace to keep me safe


My brother Kevin, following me on the beach cruiser, Camryn and Jude in tow, while I pushed my neighbor's kid in the stroller.  If creepy guy happened to see this circus, I'm sure he thought "Ain't nobody got time for that."

Next week's challenge is 4 minutes running, 1 mile walking, and I'm excited to kick it off with Kristy from Breath of Sunshine.  I've been following her blog for a few months now, and it is well-written, real, and inspiring.  I think we are somewhat kindred spirits, and I'm thrilled to finally meet her next week.  I haven't been on a first date in a while...what do I wear???



Thursday, June 12, 2014

I say hey...what's going on???

I haven't been able to write as often as I'd like lately, which can be attributed to 1) a flurry of Fancy orders to complete before the end of the school year, 2) playoff hockey, and 3) it's just too damn hot in the room over the garage where my desktop computer is (no laptop, blogging on iPad is less than ideal).  I had started a typical post a few nights ago and never got to finish, but recent events have prompted me to take this one in a different direction.  I'm now on Day 3 of trying to finish this post.

I posted on Facebook earlier this week that the local news has been nuts lately.  The national news has been disturbing also, but when the news in your own backyard is filled with crazy -  shootings, stabbings, an elderly women being beaten to death in her own home, a woman running someone down with her car while her kids roamed free in the backseat, some dude assaulting someone then setting himself on fire - it's more than a little unsettling.  Hitting even closer to home are the recent reports of female runners being stalked, and in some cases chased, by a man or men in their truck.  There have been at least three reports of this in my immediate vicinity, and it's got me pretty spooked.  These incidents are happening on busy roads in the middle of the day, not in secluded areas at dawn or dusk.  One of the women who was chased had her babies in a jogging stroller.  THIS IS NOT OK!!!

I have never felt unsafe while running close to home.  This isn't to say I'm careless though...I make sure my husband knows where I'll be running, I never have headphones on, and I wear brightly colored and/or reflective clothing if I'm out when it's dark.  My head is on a swivel, and I am keenly aware of my surroundings.  I know full well that bad things can happen to even the most cautious of runners, but I have never felt unsafe...until now.

I have found myself on edge these past few days...looking at every white truck on the road to see if it has the black rims each of these women reported to the police.  I see women running alone and I want to either shout to them to be careful, or follow them myself to keep them safe.  I even skipped the early morning run I planned at the oceanfront because I couldn't find a buddy to go with me, and I'm too nervous to go by myself right now.  THIS IS NOT OK!!!  

I wasn't sure when I would get yesterday's run in.  It was starting to make me antsy.  And then my knight in shining armor showed up.  Ryan got home from work relatively early, and since he has a race this weekend, he only had to run three easy miles.  As luck would have it, my 3 minute run/1 minute walk x 8 turns out to be roughly 3 miles, and he so kindly agreed to slow his roll (and push the double jogger) so we could go together.  

When we first started out, I was irritated.  The kids were exhausted from a hot and humid field day, so they were quite whiny.  I wanted to go alone, but I didn't feel safe, so a run with my favorite people (whiny and all) was better than no run.  

My knee loved this run.  Maybe it was the heat and humidity keeping my muscles loosey goosey, or maybe it's just my frickin' time to feel good running again.  I felt a freedom in my stride that hasn't been there in four months.  For the first time since February, I didn't feel timid.    My steps felt comfortable and natural instead of clumsy and awkward.  I allowed myself to push the pace a little bit instead of holding back and being careful.  

It was high fives all around when I checked Map My Run to find my average pace was 9:23 min/mile, which was almost a minute faster than my last outing of 3 minute intervals.  While it wasn't my intention to cut time so drastically, I just did what my body was telling me to do.  I'm sure if I continue to feel good, my body will try to tell me to be more aggressive than the program has mapped out, but I'll work to let my brain take over and be the voice of reason.  My brain is already winning arguments when my body wants to slack off on warm ups, cool downs, and rehab, and I will continue to do what it takes to return to the sport I have come to love so much.  Sometimes that means lying on the floor with my legs in the air.


And then doing it again because my kids think it looks funny:

When I think about the brutal winter weather, illness, injury, and now psychopaths on the loose in my very own stomping grounds, it would seem as though something or someone is trying to keep me from running.  Whoever you are, it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than that to keep these Fancy little feet from lacing up.  Ya heard???


Thursday, June 5, 2014

Smiled at the rising sun

I shared a new goal at the end of my last post, and I'm pleased to let you know that I took a small step toward reaching it yesterday.  It was National Running Day, and as luck would have it, I had a run/walk session on the docket for today.  Furthermore, the running stars seemed to align, and J&A was having a celebratory fun run on the boardwalk at 6am.  What a great opportunity to give being more social a try!  

After a 4:45am wake-up call (and just one pounding of the snooze button), I got in the car and headed north to the oceanfront.  Unsure what the parking situation is near 31st Street at that hour (read, is there free parking up there at 6am?), I parked at 1st Street and rode my bike to King Neptune where the run was officially starting.  



I scored a sweet new J&A hat just for showing up, and the event was featured live on the morning news, which was kinda fun.  I made sure I didn't forget my warm-up , but apparently I didn't make sure to remember my watch.


Normally not a problem, but trying to do specific intervals of 2 minute runs and 30 second walks is a bit challenging to do without a timing device.  I did have my phone with me, so I just used the Map My Run app to time the intervals too.  This was a bit of a nuisance, as I had to keep tapping my screen and look at it to stay on track.  #firstworldrunnerproblems.

Today's session was a lesson in swallowing my pride.  Until today, all of my run/walks have been done around my neighborhood, which isn't exactly in the public eye.  To be completely honest, I felt a little embarrassed during my first couple of walking intervals.  Walking on National Running Day?!  Lame.  I worked my tail off during the past year to gain the speed I had before this injury, and it bugged me that I wouldn't be able to show it.  But all I did was remind myself that not a single person out there was even remotely concerned about what I was doing, and I became more comfortable and was able to focus on the task at hand.  

I finished my workout with an average pace of 10:18 min/mile, and I was pleased with that.  I really worked hard to keep my pace slower than what my body wanted to run on this gorgeous June morning.  I'm doing my best to run smart, not hard, and my body seems to be thanking me for it.  

The daily grind awaited at home, so I left J&A just as 13News was doing another little segment on the group run.  


I didn't click with anyone in particular on this group run, and I didn't walk (or should I say ride?) away with any new running buddies, but I had a good time getting out and enjoying a beautiful morning with the sea.  Would definitely do it again.

It felt like noon by the time I got home, but it was only 7am and time to get the girls ready for their day.  After getting Brynn on the bus and Camryn off to camp, I headed down to Sandbridge to join my friend on a bike ride.  I saw this guy crossing my path before turning down my friend's street and had to get out to snap a pic for my girls:


Seemed a bit symbolic for how my runs feel these days!  With my bike being such a big part of my morning, I got another handlebar shot during our ride for good measure:


Same bike, different drink!  Our beach cruise ended up being around 10 miles, bringing my grand total of miles biked to about 14.  On National Running Day.  Oh well...if I could have run the 14 miles, I would have!

I'm pleased with how the knee has held up this week, and I've got my fingers crossed that I continue this steady forward progress of recovery.  I find myself wanting to make plans for races in the fall, but I'll hold off a bit on that.  This summer is going to have to be about living in the now.  Not a bad way to live.

Brightened my day