Random thoughts

What a busy fun filled few days I've had.  Here are some photos from my sister-in-law's annual Christmas Eve party.

On Christmas morning we headed back to my sister-in-laws for gifts and breakfast; I think everyone had a great time and was happy with their gifts.  That afternoon we went to see Gulliver's Travels (so so movie) and then had Chinese Food to dinner; my husband is Jewish so we "blend" holiday traditions.  We laughed about it and look forward to next year.

On Sunday, I participated in a Pacific Northwest Operation Jack run in Tigard, Oregon.  This was also my run for Katye's 12k of Christmas virtual run.  First off, I SUCK at pictures at races; please forgive me and I forgot my "virtual bib".  The course was a loop,  just shy of a mile and open for 6 hours; everyone was asked to run a minimum of 6.1 miles in honor of Sam's 61st marathon, a couple of folks did 30+ miles.  These folks are my heroes.  The conditions were terrible; it was 39 degrees, pouring and windy for the entire morning.  Going into the event I decided I would shoot for half marathon distance, I started out by myself (it was a very small event) and I gutted out the first 7 laps.  I was seriously thinking about stopping but I met two great gals & we kept each other company and got through my 15 laps (about 14.25 miles).  It was the slowest miles I have done in months; I probably shouldn't be too hard on myself my training has been terrible.

I was reminded this morning that Boston is in 111 days; I must get serious about my training.  Here's my plan for the next two weeks, it is fairly ambitious I hope I am up to it:

Monday -  6 miles

Tuesday - Rest

Wednesday  - 6 - 8 miles

Thursday - 6 - 7 miles. Warm up 2 miles.  Run 2 x 1 mile @ 8:25. 2 minute jog rest between the miles. Then 2 x 200, hard.  2 miles cool down. 

Friday - Rest

Saturday - 6 miles

Sunday - 10 - 12 miles

 

I'm going to work on 2011 goals and a race schedule this week; stay tuned and have a Happy New Year!

Terrific Tuesday

I'm working to get things sorted out and back to some sort of normal existence.  I'm adjusting to the whole grandparent idea and I know it will be awesome to be a grandma.  Here's a photo of the parents to be, they are very excited and looking forward to becoming parents:

I'm also keeping my perspective on the flood; it is an opportunity to do a little remodeling, get some fresh paint, do a little purging, etc.  Here are some photos, it's hard to get a perspective of the water in the dark but you will get an idea:

This is our family room, looking from the kitchen

This is another view of the family room

One bathroom, minus the tile.  We're still waiting to find out if the tub has to go

The view down the hall

What is left of the "Duck" room

You can now pass between the kids rooms, would have been cool when they were little :-)

The front of the house as the water was subsiding

The strength of the water pouring through the yard

The water was about 3 feet deep at the peak of the flooding; that is our mailbox

Another view of the Cul de Sac

I'm working to get back on track with working out; I went for a 4-mile really fun run last night to look at Christmas lights and then to dinner with friends.

On the 26th I will be participating in an event to support Operation Jack; it is 6 hour event, run a minimum of a 10k or as many miles as you can get in within a 6 hour window.  I had been hoping to do 15-18 miles but I don't think I'm quite ready.  My new goal is 13.1 but you never know what the day may hold.  I'm really stepping out of my comfort zone for this event as non of my normal running buddies will be there; I sure hope to make some new friends and I know I am supporting an awesome cause.

Take care everyone!

Pure and utter chaos

I am behind reading blogs, I am behind with holiday tasks, I am behind with work and my exercise routine is in the toilet and I may be getting sick........Right now I either need to laugh or I will cry........

To back-up.....I have been traveling a lot for work and it has taken its' toll on me in many, many ways.  I generally really love to travel for work because that is the "fun" part of my job; working with customers, doing system implementations and integrations. etc.  My normal time in the office is necessary, challenging but not the part of my job I like the best.  I was in Chicago two weeks ago and Reno last week.   I'll be heading back to Chicago in early January, Orlando near the end of January, Washington DC and New York in February - my husband HATES it so that makes it that much harder.  As many of you know it can be difficult to maintain an exercise regimen on the road; my training is in the toilet and Boston is looming on the horizon.

Kick in the gut #1:

My step-son's girlfriend is pregnant; I haven't even met her.  Meg has been through this situation and I hope I can muster all the support and courage that she did.  This is not something ANY of our kids are ready for; we're heartsick, but will be as supportive as we can. I can't even begin to process all of the emotions I am feeling right now.

Kick in the gut #2:

Our home flooded last Thursday night; luckily we have flood insurance.  We live adjacent to a "small" creek and it rained close to 2 inches in a little more than an hour; the creek just couldn't contain the volume of water.  Parts of our home had 6 inches of standing water; other parts 2-4 inches.  The entire first floor of our home is basically uninhabitable right now.  We're STILL waiting for the insurance adjuster so come out, so we can't move things out, clean-up and try to settle in.  We may be able to get displacement assistance, but it is not usually covered with flood insurance claims; it is covered with home owner's claims - isn't that weird?  This flood could have been much, much worse; thankfully our family and pets are safe and sound, no one was injured.  On a positive note, I had been wanting to replace the flooring in my bonus room; I will get to now :-)  Unfortunately, we also will have to replace our less than one year old hardwood floors; along with four bedrooms of carpet; three tiled bathroom floors and I'm sure many more things that we don't even know about yet.

Both of these priceless little items happened during my business trip to Reno so my husband had to deal with most of it himself; he is a saint.

I had been registered for a half marathon yesterday; even though my life was in shambles and my training less than stellar I decided it would be good for me to go run the half.  It turns out it was a great decision; I took it really easy, saw a million friends and got out of the house & away from reality for a few hours.  I treated this a a long, slow weekend run and it felt really good to get a few miles in.  Isn't this logo and medal cute?  Don't you just love my race number too......

Have an awesome day everyone!