Yesterday I ran the Las Vegas Rock and Roll marathon. I had hoped my running buddy would be coming to run with me but she didn’t want to. I had some other friends who were planning on attending initially but their plans changed. The only people who made the trip this year were two of our best friends. As a result, we had four days together in which we had a lot of fun and laughs. I’m glad it worked out that way.
There was a drawback Brek and I discovered when we got to the race start—we weren’t going to be able to start near each other or even at the same time. I went up with the marathoners and she waited for her half marathon group to start a bit later. This is when I met Carl, or possibly when Carl met me. He was an older, Middle Eastern gentleman who decided after meeting me to take my hand and pull me up to corral five, because he said we were going to pace fast and would need to be up front.
I told him I’d try, but I had a cold (notice the breaking voice) and he was asking me to pace a full two-and-a-half minutes under my normal pace. The race started and I tried, truly I did. Carl said he wasn’t going to leave me, but he eventually did, although it wasn’t until after four or five miles. During that time I’d managed to keep a 10:03 minutes/mile pace which for me is pretty good.
After he went on a head I put in my headphones and ran alone. I looked ahead, thinking of Carl from time to time and tried putting on a burst of speed each time. If it wasn’t for the water/hydration stops I could have kept a better pace, but I was sweating a lot as the day was warm and I was overdressed.
I did well pace-wise up until about twenty miles, at which point I lost speed significantly and just wanted to be finished. My husband messaged me at mile twenty-five because he was worried I was slowing down so. I told him I was find, just exhausted and I’d see him shortly.
Through the whole race I thought of Carl and tried to be faster than I felt. He was ahead, but he was still with me. Even with the cold, I ran under a five-hour marathon, which was good, but I’d hoped for 4:40 or less. There’s always next year though…
Carl texted me today to see how I did. How sweet.
The Big Boy Update: At the Veterans day parade my son went to the other day he saw a tank and a helicopter. He was duly impressed to see them up close since he’s seen many in his cartoons but none in person.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter went to a local parade with my in-laws for Veterans Day. She loved the bands and music, even getting out into the street one time to dance.
Fitness Update: Rock and Roll Las Vegas 2016 yesterday with at 4:56 finish time.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Sunday, November 13, 2016
RNRLV
Tonight is the Rock and Roll Las Vegas marathon, half marathon and 10K. My good friend is running the half marathon, my husband is in the 10K and I’m in the marathon—or rather I’m signed up for the marathon. I’m debating on running the half since I’ve got a cold which is dragging me down.
I think my body is fine to run the marathon distance: I haven’t been sore from the New York marathon a week ago and I’m recovered on all fronts other than the pesky cold side of things. At any rate, I won’t know which race I’m running until this evening when I reach the half/full split. At that point, I’ll have to make a decision one way or the other.
I’d really like to run the marathon: the course has been changed since last year with less hill climbing, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, “less long, gradual slope climbing” and more downtown/strip areas. It should be an easier race from that perspective, but I’ve got a cough and my voice is cracking and, well, this cold is just making me tired.
On an entirely other subject, I have a bruised knuckle. My right index finger’s third digit is a nasty shade of purple. It appeared yesterday, looking like I’d punched someone or something but only made contact with the index finger knuckle. Since I haven’t punched anyone or hit anything, it’s a mystery. It hasn’t hurt and is fading today, but it’s a strange random happenstance with no known cause. And I do like to know why.
The Big Boy Update: Papa sent me a text telling me he had been reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone to the children yesterday. After he had finished reading, my son explained how the movie was different than that part of the book.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was at Nana and Papa’s piano this morning. After playing the high notes she moved to the other end. After hitting a few keys she told Papa she was playing, “bad guy” sounds.
I think my body is fine to run the marathon distance: I haven’t been sore from the New York marathon a week ago and I’m recovered on all fronts other than the pesky cold side of things. At any rate, I won’t know which race I’m running until this evening when I reach the half/full split. At that point, I’ll have to make a decision one way or the other.
I’d really like to run the marathon: the course has been changed since last year with less hill climbing, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say, “less long, gradual slope climbing” and more downtown/strip areas. It should be an easier race from that perspective, but I’ve got a cough and my voice is cracking and, well, this cold is just making me tired.
On an entirely other subject, I have a bruised knuckle. My right index finger’s third digit is a nasty shade of purple. It appeared yesterday, looking like I’d punched someone or something but only made contact with the index finger knuckle. Since I haven’t punched anyone or hit anything, it’s a mystery. It hasn’t hurt and is fading today, but it’s a strange random happenstance with no known cause. And I do like to know why.
The Big Boy Update: Papa sent me a text telling me he had been reading Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone to the children yesterday. After he had finished reading, my son explained how the movie was different than that part of the book.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was at Nana and Papa’s piano this morning. After playing the high notes she moved to the other end. After hitting a few keys she told Papa she was playing, “bad guy” sounds.
Which One Is It?
This afternoon as I was taking a break from very important Las Vegas vacation activities, I thought it might be a good time to call and talk to the children. I called and my mother-in-law answered. She gave me an update on their day and then asked the children if they wanted to talk to me.
I spoke with my son first. He was interested in telling me about something that happened…oh, wait, he got distracted and handed the phone over to his sister. She told me about a few things that happened and then she, too, left the phone to get back to the very important business of being on vacation with Nana and Papa (also, I think they had the iPad at this point).
My mother-in-law talked to me some more as my husband came over. I asked him if he wanted to talk to the children and he said sure. My daughter came back on the line and I asked her if she wanted to speak to daddy, to which she said, “yes”. I gave the phone to my husband who started a conversation with her.
About two responses later he mouthed to me, “which one is it?” He didn’t know which child was on the line. This happens to all of us I think. My daughter and son can and do sound very different, but they can also sound a lot alike. It’s hard for us as parents to even tell them apart. The good thing is, they never seem to be bothered if you think it’s the other child, they just laugh and tell you you’ve got it wrong.
The Big Boy Update: The children went fishing on the lake today with my in-laws. When they came back to the dock, my son offered to jump out and help tie the boat off. He doesn’t yet know how to tie the ropes, but he did jump out and help hold the boat to the dock—not bad for a five-year-old.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: While out fishing on the boat today, my daughter’s line got caught under the boat. This isn’t a good thing as fishing line wrapped around a boat propeller isn’t ideal. Everyone looked and listened for signs as they moved the boat around to try and free the line. My daughter heard it against the boat hull she said. They were able to untangle the line and free the boat and head back to shore.
I spoke with my son first. He was interested in telling me about something that happened…oh, wait, he got distracted and handed the phone over to his sister. She told me about a few things that happened and then she, too, left the phone to get back to the very important business of being on vacation with Nana and Papa (also, I think they had the iPad at this point).
My mother-in-law talked to me some more as my husband came over. I asked him if he wanted to talk to the children and he said sure. My daughter came back on the line and I asked her if she wanted to speak to daddy, to which she said, “yes”. I gave the phone to my husband who started a conversation with her.
About two responses later he mouthed to me, “which one is it?” He didn’t know which child was on the line. This happens to all of us I think. My daughter and son can and do sound very different, but they can also sound a lot alike. It’s hard for us as parents to even tell them apart. The good thing is, they never seem to be bothered if you think it’s the other child, they just laugh and tell you you’ve got it wrong.
The Big Boy Update: The children went fishing on the lake today with my in-laws. When they came back to the dock, my son offered to jump out and help tie the boat off. He doesn’t yet know how to tie the ropes, but he did jump out and help hold the boat to the dock—not bad for a five-year-old.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: While out fishing on the boat today, my daughter’s line got caught under the boat. This isn’t a good thing as fishing line wrapped around a boat propeller isn’t ideal. Everyone looked and listened for signs as they moved the boat around to try and free the line. My daughter heard it against the boat hull she said. They were able to untangle the line and free the boat and head back to shore.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Five and Five
Today I have two five-year-old children. It’s always fun to tell the children how they’re the same age for the next month. They’re older and a little more savvy now so they get into the, “but I’m five and three-fourths and she’s only just five,” conversations.
My children are with my in-laws while my husband and I are in Las Vegas for the Rock and Roll marathon. We called the children a bit ago to wish my daughter happy birthday and tell them we missed them. They were happy to talk to us, but it was apparent fairly quickly they were busy with other things. My son, for instance, said, “mom, do you want to talk to your favorite friend, Papa?” I told him sure. He realized he didn’t even know where Papa was a that point so he offered up Nana to talk to me next.
I’m glad they’re happy and having fun. We’re getting together with close friends for dinner shortly. We haven’t had a chance to spend much time with our friends lately and are looking forward to the next few days.
The Big Boy Update: My son was pointing out one of his classmates as we drove off after school. I wasn’t sure which one he was talking about so he helped me by saying, “see that lady in the brown skin? She’s just beside her.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wanted to know where dad had gone the other night. She was in her bed with the lights out and the door to their room shut. I told her dad was in the basement and hadn’t gone anywhere. She said, “but I heard the door wobble.” Their bedroom door upstairs will wobble in the frame just slightly when the front door or garage door are opened due to a change in pressure or air flow in the house. I told her dad hadn’t left, Walter had come over to work on their pinball machine. My little girl is paying attention to things other children with sight might not notice.
My children are with my in-laws while my husband and I are in Las Vegas for the Rock and Roll marathon. We called the children a bit ago to wish my daughter happy birthday and tell them we missed them. They were happy to talk to us, but it was apparent fairly quickly they were busy with other things. My son, for instance, said, “mom, do you want to talk to your favorite friend, Papa?” I told him sure. He realized he didn’t even know where Papa was a that point so he offered up Nana to talk to me next.
I’m glad they’re happy and having fun. We’re getting together with close friends for dinner shortly. We haven’t had a chance to spend much time with our friends lately and are looking forward to the next few days.
The Big Boy Update: My son was pointing out one of his classmates as we drove off after school. I wasn’t sure which one he was talking about so he helped me by saying, “see that lady in the brown skin? She’s just beside her.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wanted to know where dad had gone the other night. She was in her bed with the lights out and the door to their room shut. I told her dad was in the basement and hadn’t gone anywhere. She said, “but I heard the door wobble.” Their bedroom door upstairs will wobble in the frame just slightly when the front door or garage door are opened due to a change in pressure or air flow in the house. I told her dad hadn’t left, Walter had come over to work on their pinball machine. My little girl is paying attention to things other children with sight might not notice.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Just About Five
My daughter will be five-years-old tomorrow. My husband and I leave to go to Las Vegas in the morning for the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon and a fun weekend with friends. We celebrated tonight with my daughter and my in-laws since we’ll miss seeing her tomorrow.
She wasn’t upset because her birthday party isn’t for another week, her school celebration is next week, she’s going to have a fun weekend with Nana and Papa and she’s already gotten several presents. So to her, the actual day of her birthday isn’t the only thing about turning a year older.
She decided she wanted to go to a hibachi restaurant tonight (“the place with the fire in front of you when they cook” was the phrase she used). Nana and Papa arrived and we headed off. She did have a good time at dinner and so did my son.
We came home had Hello Kitty Carvel ice cream cake, she opened a present of two dresses from Nana and Papa, there was a bath and then two tired children went to bed. Now I have to get myself ready so I can get up at far-too-early o’clock to head to the airport.
The Big Boy Update: My son was manic this afternoon. I’m not sure what it was, but he was particularly excited at dinner, yelling out to the hibachi chef how he was hungry. After he had been served a few things he said out loud, “it’s the best salmon in my life! It’s the best food in my life!”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: After my daughter was done eating dinner she and my son wanted to go play outside the restaurant on the sidewalk with Nana. It had gotten chilly so I asked my daughter if she wanted her vest. She said no, turned to keep walking but turned back again and said, “remember, I’m never cold”.
She wasn’t upset because her birthday party isn’t for another week, her school celebration is next week, she’s going to have a fun weekend with Nana and Papa and she’s already gotten several presents. So to her, the actual day of her birthday isn’t the only thing about turning a year older.
She decided she wanted to go to a hibachi restaurant tonight (“the place with the fire in front of you when they cook” was the phrase she used). Nana and Papa arrived and we headed off. She did have a good time at dinner and so did my son.
We came home had Hello Kitty Carvel ice cream cake, she opened a present of two dresses from Nana and Papa, there was a bath and then two tired children went to bed. Now I have to get myself ready so I can get up at far-too-early o’clock to head to the airport.
The Big Boy Update: My son was manic this afternoon. I’m not sure what it was, but he was particularly excited at dinner, yelling out to the hibachi chef how he was hungry. After he had been served a few things he said out loud, “it’s the best salmon in my life! It’s the best food in my life!”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: After my daughter was done eating dinner she and my son wanted to go play outside the restaurant on the sidewalk with Nana. It had gotten chilly so I asked my daughter if she wanted her vest. She said no, turned to keep walking but turned back again and said, “remember, I’m never cold”.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Neither Key Nor Meter Stopped Them
Today is my mother’s birthday. I called and had a chat with her earlier in the day while the children were at school. When they got home friends arrived before we had a chance to call and talk to Mimi and then after the friends had left the children went to get dinner with dad.
They got home with hibachi food bags and my husband’s cell phone rang. He was off on a work call for some time during which the children and I ate dinner and talked about our days. They like to do the “up and down” parts of their day a lot, with my daughter typically having several “up” things because lots of things make her happy—that and she likes to talk about her day.
When we were done eating I told them we were going to call Mimi and wish her a happy birthday. I put the cell phone on speaker, placed it on the table and both children hovered around it, waiting for Mimi to pick up. When Mimi picked up the phone they said hello and happy birthday and my mother told them she was so pleased they’d called.
Then, they sang the happy birthday song to her, just the two of them. My children weren’t particularly on key or singing in the typical time. They weren’t even singing the words at the same time, but it was…dare I say it?…”precious”. I wish I could have recorded their little song.
The Big Boy Update: When I told my children at dinner it was Mimi’s birthday, my son asked me, “is Mimi celebrating with anyone today? Is Gramps clapping for her right now?” I told him I’d write the questions down for him and he could ask her when we called. He forgot to ask her while we were on the phone, so I told him I’d write his questions in this blog post tonight so Mimi could let him know.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wrote her name in braille three times today. She’s done it with assistance before, but this is the first time she’s done it all by herself, including the leading character that indicates a capital letter is to follow.
They got home with hibachi food bags and my husband’s cell phone rang. He was off on a work call for some time during which the children and I ate dinner and talked about our days. They like to do the “up and down” parts of their day a lot, with my daughter typically having several “up” things because lots of things make her happy—that and she likes to talk about her day.
When we were done eating I told them we were going to call Mimi and wish her a happy birthday. I put the cell phone on speaker, placed it on the table and both children hovered around it, waiting for Mimi to pick up. When Mimi picked up the phone they said hello and happy birthday and my mother told them she was so pleased they’d called.
Then, they sang the happy birthday song to her, just the two of them. My children weren’t particularly on key or singing in the typical time. They weren’t even singing the words at the same time, but it was…dare I say it?…”precious”. I wish I could have recorded their little song.
The Big Boy Update: When I told my children at dinner it was Mimi’s birthday, my son asked me, “is Mimi celebrating with anyone today? Is Gramps clapping for her right now?” I told him I’d write the questions down for him and he could ask her when we called. He forgot to ask her while we were on the phone, so I told him I’d write his questions in this blog post tonight so Mimi could let him know.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter wrote her name in braille three times today. She’s done it with assistance before, but this is the first time she’s done it all by herself, including the leading character that indicates a capital letter is to follow.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Other Marathon Memories
Just a smattering of things/thoughts from the NYC Marathon on Sunday I didn’t get into the post yesterday…
Busses are loud: I was trying to nap on the way to start village in the bus. Have you ever been lulled to sleep by the vibration of the engine in a car or vehicle? This bus was both loud and shaky. It also uses fossil fuels. Someday maybe we’ll be in electric busses, moving much more quietly to and fro.
Multi-national event: I heard there were race participants from something like one-hundred forty countries. Throughout the event, from the expo the day before to the start village and at the finish line we heard pre-recorded announcements in many languages.
Bye Bye Beatrice: I mentioned yesterday we had planned on donating things like our outerwear to one of the charity bins before the race start. I am easily cold or chilled and I didn’t want to part with my $10 jacket I’d gotten from Wal-Mart. It made no sense to keep it as I was already getting hot in the start lanes and we hadn’t even begun running yet. I tried tying it around my waist and a man behind me said, “you’re killing me with that jacket.” That one comment started a jovial conversation across four of us. We’d come back to the jacket from time to time and because I was the brunt of most of the conversation, I told them I’d named the jacket ‘Beatrice’ and I just wasn’t sure I could let her go. After about ten minutes more of laughter and protests on my part, I ditched, ‘B’ (as she’d been nicknamed by then) into a donation bin to cheers from my new found friends.
The Depths of the Porta Potty: My best friend commented on this and I agree, she’s right: you only step up one small step to get into the porta potty, and yet the “material” below looks far deeper than the distance from the top of the seat to the ground. Is it an optical illusion facilitated by that blue black liquid, or is it our fervent wish that things are farther away than they actually are?
Good Luck: We were wished good luck by many people before the race on Saturday. I’ve told people thanks before and explained how we don’t run fast but we make it there eventually. This weekend I decided to cut the speech short and just summarize by saying, “we don’t need luck, we just need lots of time”
The Big Boy Update: Tonight in the tub either my husband or I said something, I’m not sure which. My son piped up, “grown-ups can even be funny sometimes.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter plays doctor apps, animal apps, and educational apps on the iPad. She was showing me a frog on one of them the other day and said, “do you know what this frog needs all the time like me? Eye drops.” Speaking of eye drops, we did three drops in ten seconds tonight. She is pretty much my eye drop hero.
Post Race Tiny Run: Two miles today. Not too sore, but neither of us really felt like running, we just wanted to test out our muscles. We’re doing post-race okay.
Busses are loud: I was trying to nap on the way to start village in the bus. Have you ever been lulled to sleep by the vibration of the engine in a car or vehicle? This bus was both loud and shaky. It also uses fossil fuels. Someday maybe we’ll be in electric busses, moving much more quietly to and fro.
Multi-national event: I heard there were race participants from something like one-hundred forty countries. Throughout the event, from the expo the day before to the start village and at the finish line we heard pre-recorded announcements in many languages.
Bye Bye Beatrice: I mentioned yesterday we had planned on donating things like our outerwear to one of the charity bins before the race start. I am easily cold or chilled and I didn’t want to part with my $10 jacket I’d gotten from Wal-Mart. It made no sense to keep it as I was already getting hot in the start lanes and we hadn’t even begun running yet. I tried tying it around my waist and a man behind me said, “you’re killing me with that jacket.” That one comment started a jovial conversation across four of us. We’d come back to the jacket from time to time and because I was the brunt of most of the conversation, I told them I’d named the jacket ‘Beatrice’ and I just wasn’t sure I could let her go. After about ten minutes more of laughter and protests on my part, I ditched, ‘B’ (as she’d been nicknamed by then) into a donation bin to cheers from my new found friends.
The Depths of the Porta Potty: My best friend commented on this and I agree, she’s right: you only step up one small step to get into the porta potty, and yet the “material” below looks far deeper than the distance from the top of the seat to the ground. Is it an optical illusion facilitated by that blue black liquid, or is it our fervent wish that things are farther away than they actually are?
Good Luck: We were wished good luck by many people before the race on Saturday. I’ve told people thanks before and explained how we don’t run fast but we make it there eventually. This weekend I decided to cut the speech short and just summarize by saying, “we don’t need luck, we just need lots of time”
The Big Boy Update: Tonight in the tub either my husband or I said something, I’m not sure which. My son piped up, “grown-ups can even be funny sometimes.”
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter plays doctor apps, animal apps, and educational apps on the iPad. She was showing me a frog on one of them the other day and said, “do you know what this frog needs all the time like me? Eye drops.” Speaking of eye drops, we did three drops in ten seconds tonight. She is pretty much my eye drop hero.
Post Race Tiny Run: Two miles today. Not too sore, but neither of us really felt like running, we just wanted to test out our muscles. We’re doing post-race okay.
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