Is it weird?

That I have NO inkling of desire to run a full marathon?

I am truly in awe of those who do – yet I can’t muster the desire in my own brain.

I am tackling my first HM in a few weeks, with the RNR Half in January….and then I could see myself picking a couple more HM’s in 2008 and work on improving my PR’s. Nowhere in that plan does the thought of a full marathon enter my mind.

It’s like when I was in college – when a business student graduates with an accounting degree, it’s assumed….almost expected….that the graduate go on to be a public accountant, or even specifically a CPA. It was just the norm. However, I always knew that was not the career path I wanted, and that I wanted to only work in private industry. And here I am.

Running seems similar to me. Fresh out of the box, a newbie runner learns to conquer the 5K……then the 10K……then the HM…….and then the BIG DOG: the Marathon. It’s the natural progression.

I have been pondering this a lot lately – especially with reading so many inspiring stories of marathon successes.

So what is wrong with me?

Lazy? Complacent? Insecure?

I haven’t figured it out yet. When I do, I guess I will let you all know.

Back to the Grind

So today it is back to the swing of real life – work, kids, football practice….the only thing missing is school, which starts back up tomorrow. Ahhhhhhhh…….no more vacation for the weary. If only I could be independently wealthy and lay on the beach in Mexico every day, where the only worry was about making sure we had applied enough sunscreen and what we were going to eat for dinner. :)

But sadly, I am a working stiff….so here I am. Back in the office today after a week and a half. My brain, however, is still on the beach. :P

So I lied a little bit in my last post……THIS is actually where I could be found last week…..see my icky feet? Sorry, that was pre-pedicure at the spa.

Mexico was just amazing. The beaches, the resort, the pina coladas……..we just really had a blast. The kids had a great time and it was truly just a relaxing vacation. A large contrast from our typical family vacations which usually include the chaos of an overly expensive theme park crowded with thousands of cranky kids and their respective cranky parents. No one was cranky this week though – how can you be cranky here?


Our resort - the Mayan Palace.

And how could a morning run like this ever be anything but fantastic?

I got smart during the second time I ran and actually took my cell phone with me. I didn’t take it the first day (which actually had better scenery) since it didn’t work anyway! I forgot the value of a camera on a good beach run.

Morning is low tide in the Sea of Cortez, so in some of these pics you can see just how far out the tide really is. In some places, you could walk for over 100 yards to reach the water. I tried to stay on the hardest surfaces possible, which was this…

Some spots were hard to run on because the ridges were SO hard….so it was feast or famine – deal with the hard packed sand with ridges, or brave the mushy stuff that gave the old legs a good workout. I did a bit of both.

My original goal was to avoid the tide pools and keep my feet dry….but there were just so many amazing sea critters and shells to be explored in the tide pools, that I ended up tromping right through them. I am STILL working all the sand out of my shoes!

I only ended up running two mornings last week – Monday and Wednesday. After that, all the sun, pina coladas and ungodly amounts of Mexican food consumption caught up to be and I became lazy. Oh, and combined with the fact that I got a wicked head cold on about Thursday….so that’s a decent excuse right?

The runs weren’t the most rigorous I’ve ever had – probably just over 2 miles each – with a lot of breaks for exploring. Oh well, I could have just stayed in bed right? I figured any run was better than nothing.

Here’s just a little bit of the Mexico experience for you….

The cutest boys on the beach... :P



The finest in beach architecture: :
And its creators:

D and his best friend R in the back of the beach quad:

Hubby driving the boys...

Me and Hubby.....who couldn't manage to have dinner overlooking that sunset every night?

All my boys at the famous JJ's Cantina....just another dive-bar in Mexico as far as I was concerned!

And the boys again...right before we left :(

In the course of a week, my kids got to see a live octopus, collect more shells than one can even imagine (especially the large conch shells), ride a quad-type beach pilot vehicle (picture above), swim and dig in the sand until their hearts content, and just have an overall great time. I hated to come back. If you ever get the chance to go to Rocky Point, DO IT! It is a great place.

The only downside of the trip was the return home. It took us almost 2 HOURS to get back across the border, which was NOT fun. I was miserable with my cold and I just wanted to get home. Sadly, I had to call Pat when we were just outside of Gila Bend and bail out on him for the Race for the Cure on Sunday. It was just too late, and I was feeling too lousy. I couldn’t even fathom the thought of having to get up early the next morning to go run with thousands of other people. I am a really *team* person, and my motto is to never bail on your team at any cost….so I felt like a schmuck. I had been looking forward to this race for quite a while, but I had to be smart and listen to my body…..I needed sleep more than I needed another race tshirt. Sorry again Pat for being a party pooper!

I felt better my Sunday night, just in time to tackle the piles of laundry that awaited me on Monday morning. Sometimes I swear that there are 30 extra people hiding in our house that wear our clothes while we are gone. I have no idea how a family of 4 can produce so many dirty clothes. So that is what I did ALL day yesterday. Blech.

I was tired last night after finally getting the kids to bed….and was actually laying on the bed with hubby watching TV at around 8:30……wanting so badly to climb under the covers and call it a night……but I drug my butt outside for a quick run….probably just over 2 miles. I had to do SOMETHING since I hadn’t run since last Wednesday. Oh yeah…and there is something about a wee little half marathon looming over my head in 26 days. HOLY CRAP.

Which brings me to today. I had to work(blah) and D had football tonight, so we are back on the rollercoaster. I need to get another short run in this week, and a long run this weekend. I know Lisa’s TRI is on Sunday, so I’ll have to see if Pat wants to SlowPoke around with me on Saturday morning. Otherwise, it will be solo. I have no choice but to get in a MINIMUM of 8 miles. Then I am planning for 10 miles the next weekend. Then……..well, we’ll cross that bridge when I get there.

Time now for me to catch up with you all and see what I missed over the past week!

Adios, amigos!

Remind me again why I DO NOT have 4 kids? Oh yeah, I just got done babysitting my 14-month old TWIN niece and nephew this morning. *sigh* I am definitely ready to go lay myself on the beach.

If you're wondering where I am during the coming week, I'm under here

Unless of course, I'm busy running along the beach. :P

GOOD LUCK to Pat, who is going to kick some tail at the Casa Grande Half this weekend!

See you all soon!

Warning signs of an impending run

Last night I had all the signs: I was tired, exceptionally cranky, fed up with both my husband and my boys, had a day of lousy food choices, and didn't even have the teeniest desire to go out for a run.

THAT is when I know that I NEED to run. All he warning signs were present, so it was time to move my tail out the door.

So amazingly enough, I did.

It ended up being pretty good, despite its lousy beginning. I started off on a leg of road from my house that, for the past year, I had deemed a .25 mile section. When I looked at my watch and it read 4 minutes, I nearly lost my mind!!! I couldn't figure out how in the world I was running a 16 minute mile!!!! :( That set the tone for the first couple miles of the run, and I ended up turning off my watch so that I wouldnt continue to frustrate myself.

Funny enough, when I got home after the run and mapped the route, the segment in question ended up being just over .31 miles, LOL!!! So a 12 minute mile was much more acceptable to me!! So I guess I got frustrated for nothing really....at least it didnt make me mad enough to quit the run.

I ran one of my tried and true 3 mile routes, and then continued on for some more since I was feeling good at that point. It's crazy to me that the first 2-3 miles of all my runs really STINK until I find a groove. I know that if I can move my tail for at least 2 miles, it usually gets better. I guess I just have a really long *warmup* period! :)

By the time I made it home, I felt much better. Kids were in bed, and I was actually able to speak to Hubby without snapping at him. Ahhhh, what a difference a good run makes.

Total mileage: 4.62 miles
Pace: pokey style...no one really knows :P

They must have been hard up

How funny is it that my silly ramblings got included on this Top 100 Health and Wellness blogs on this nursing website? I think they are a million other bloggers with more profound things to say......I think the *slow poke appeal* is what did the deal, LOL! Thanks to Emil (whose blog is also on the list), for pointing this out. Definitely made me laugh!!

So here's what I've been up to today....


Gotta love Playhouse Disney Live! I took T (along with two other girlfriends and their kids) and we just had a blast. My just-turned-3-year old has probably been to more concerts in his short young life than I have! He's seen the Wiggles, Doodlebops...you name it. It's funny the money we will pay, the crowds we will battle and the utter chaos we will endure to allow our kids to see their favorite heros. I am a real sucker for kids' shows.

Now the fun is over and I get to start packing. I need to get a run in tonight, which won't be feasible until after 7pm when Hubby gets home.

Any locals need a slow poke run tonight? I need someone to kick my butt.

Short Run

Due to some technical difficulties, Lisa has bestowed upon me the honor of posting our run report from last night….which will be about as short as the run itself! ;) Rest In Peace, dear Java-Computer….you will be missed….but hopefully soon replaced! :)

Last night we met up with a group of other women in our neighborhood, a group that happens to be training for the Komen Race for the Cure in a couple weeks, and knocked down a 2.2 mile run. I have no idea how fast or slow we ran.

It was pretty much uneventful, other than it was humid than all heck and I made a GREAT sweaty, stinky first impression on these women that I ran with for the first time! I thought it was cooler outside than it was, so I wore a cotton t-shirt. Very BAD IDEA. Oh well, a little sweat never hurt anyone to my knowledge.

I got to meet Java-Son, who ran circles around us…..literally. The child is fast. But what kid his age isn’t? They live to run (and it shows) and have tons of energy. Last night I deemed him our Energizer Bunny.

On my lengthy .75 mile drive home, I contemplated parking and getting some more mileage in. It was nice to not be tuckered out by a 2 mile run, and I felt like I needed some more.

But then the image of my disastrous house, along with piles of pre-vacation laundry waiting anxiously for my return popped into my head and I went home. Duty called.

I was glad to find that the kidlets were in bed and I could get some things done. My little son had made me feel bad about leaving to go run with the group – a classic case of Toddler Induced Guilt. “I not want you to run” he pleaded as he watched me get dressed. Most of the time I run when my kids are in bed and they don’t see me leave. They are not used to me actually leaving the house for some MOM time.

I am glad in many ways that running has forced me to be a bit more selfish. It forces me to take time for me, just because I want to. I am a working mom, although I don’t work as much as one might expect. I am afforded a great salary, with great flexibility to put my family first, while only working a few days in the office each week. Yet still, I hate leaving my kids once I am home. Last night was good for me. It forced me to tell my son that, YES…..mom IS going to take some time for herself. And it felt good.

So, let’s see what the rest of the week brings:

Tonight – I might try to go to the gym for some weight training, or a short run
Thursday – short run
Friday – rest
Saturday – run with GGT – no real mileage goal, I think we are planning on an hour run (30 min out, 30 min back) since that is really all the time I have that morning.

Saturday afternoon we leave for Mexico. I am taking all my running paraphernalia with me, in the hopes I can at least get several short runs in during the week. We get back the day before Race for the Cure.

By that time, it will be 28 days until Big Sur and 6 days until my 35th birthday. YIKES!!!!!! I had wanted to complete my first half marathon BEFORE my 35th birthday, but the folks in Monterey just weren’t very accommodating. :P

I hate Mondays

I wish I had time for some deep thoughts today, but I'm just spent. Tired, cranky and ready for vacation....which happens to be in 5 days! ;P

I am hoping for an easy, short run tonight with a group of gals in my area....if that doesn't pan out, then I'm doing it solo. I am big time on the motivation train after Saturday's run, so I have to keep up the momentum!

I was wondering if this is what the farm animals along the canal were thinking on Saturday?