Just Another Monday

Just another Monday, but a great run! Finally felt some legs and could actually run again without dying. This week and next week will be the most mileage for our race and I am ready. WE have an 18 miler this weekend and a 20 miler next weekend. This weekend is Mothers Day! I am really hoping for my new running shorts. I need new shorts really, really badly.

I am also in the process of trying to recertify for my NCBTMB. The thing is you have to take 50 CEU's every four years. I did all of mine last week, and the Ethics course also. Now I just have three more practicum massages and I will be done with that. The only problem? I forgot that it takes 10 days to mail anything from here and they probably won't get my stuff in time.

Dang I have never done that before. I just really lost track of time and am having so much fun that I did not think about it at all.

The course I took was an Ayurveda for Massage Therapists course. I enjoyed it and and am really ready to move along in my Ayurveda studies. Still trying to set on a date and place to go in India next year to do some more studies. And of course I still have those three massages to get done for three very lucky people.

Long, Long, Long Run and Week

For some reason this has felt like the longest week in the world. I guess because we have started a new session of class, and I had a long run, and my daughter and her family are trying to get ready to head back to Hondurus for a few days, and my periods are getting incredibly far apart.

Nothing bad of course, just lots of reasons for it to seem like a really long week. It is actually great to start classes up, and our school room is taking on a beautiful feeling, I love it!

Today was our 16 mile run. We had to wait until late afternoon to take off as my running partner was taking a final downtown. That turned out to be a really good thing because things had cooled off considerably and we had a wonderful run. It is amazing how much better long runs go when it is under 80 degrees!

My son-in-law went to the Honduran embassy last week to get his passport renewed as it was about to expire. Turns out they did not have the "machine" to do this and informed him that it would "just be easier" for him to go back to Hondurus to take care of this. Easier for who? That is a 15 hour bus trip and my poor granddaughter has been crying all day just thinking about going back on that long bus trip.

Then the really good news, the cycles are getting farther apart. Up to four and a half weeks now, could this really be the beginning of the end? And for the bigger question, will I get more mature now? Somehow I doubt it!

Distance Junky

I have decided I am a distance junky. Well I always knew I sucked at short races, especially sprints, but I am really loving distance. It is like I actually come to life about an hour of doing the sport. The only exception would probably be swimming, just because swimming back and forth is so darn boring. Oh yeah and the windtrainer or treadmill would also be the exceptions here, gotta be outside.

In the past when I have participated in sprint or even olympic distance triathlons I have not done too well. Unless of course there were no other old ladies there and then attrition comes into play for sure.

When I did Ironman Utah a few years back I actually placed in the upper third of my age group. In looking at my stats, because I do that and am actually pretty weird about it, I have finally figured out, don't enter short fast races.

My daughter always wants me to do 10k's with her and I refuse. It takes me 10k just to get warmed up and get the blood out of my stomach and into my legs.

Today I did a 9 mile run. For about the first mile I was thinking about how long this run was going to be. By mile four I was feeling pretty good and thinking how glad I was to be doing another loop. I was even able to kick it out a bit by mile 9, it felt sooo good.

When my daughter and I were training for Tamarindo marathon last year we so enjoyed our long runs. In fact we decided that after the race we would continue our long runs once a week. Needless to say we did not. Now that I have something to train for and am back on the long runs I am remembering how darn good it feels.

I am trying to talk my friend here in Costa Rica into doing the San Jose marathon with me in Dec. I think I will have to talk until Dec. to convince her!

Happy Dia de Amor

I love Valentines time. Not just the day, but the whole week. Everyone seems just a little bit nicer, even if they are just trying to get chocolate, but it is just nice. When all the kids were young I was a very good consumer and went all out buying all the kids candy and gifts. Being in Costa Rica, where commercialism is not quite as healthy I don't spend as much. We still like a treat and little gift.

This year we went out Friday night with my daughter and her hubby to a movie and then to Outback Steakhouse, where the only thing we felt we wanted to spend the money on was a sandwich. I mean give me a break, ribs are $30.00? That is freakin ridiculous. We all had a great time, and I paid for eating the Bloomin Onion on our long, really long, run this morning.

We got lost and ended up running for 2:17. I was supposed to be up to 1:30 at this point. Needless to say I am beat. It was really hot this morning also about 85, so that took its' toll. But we survived and will be having a great Valentines with the kiddos making Valentine cookies tomorrow. They love making cookies, so this will be a fun activity, plus give them a little treat.

It is also Chinese New Year so we will be eating Chinese food for dinner. I am thinking they are pretty right on about the year of the Tiger. A year of lots of movement and change. My daughter and hubby will be moving to Hondurus in a month or so. Man are we going to be bored without our exciting party partners around :(

BUSHED

This is what a sleepover will do to you. My daughter had baby over for a sleepover on Fiday night and this is her Sat. night. She ended up playing with the nephew instead of niece, she crashed before the party even began! You can check out pics of the great sleepover party at my daughters web site.

The real thing is that I can relate to this pic. Today we finally did the long run we were supposed to do on Sat. We had to change our long run days around due to work hours. So we ran 16 miles this morning. I can't and don't even want to move a muscle. I am bushed. It would not be so bad if it did not take us so stinkin long to run that far.

We ran as long as it takes really fast people to finish a whole marathon. Actually not even really fast people, just kind of fast people. The good thing is we did it and only have four more long runs until the big day, cool beans. Now I am going to start eating my way through my house and try to recover.

WEEK GONE

Man when you have a long run comming around these weeks tend to fly by! Tomorrow is our 16 miler and I am trying not to think about it too much. My daughter said she would be over in the morning, but not too early because we have to do some warm weather training, to do our long run. I just gave her a duh look and said "is it already Sat?"

Baby went to sleep over with her sister and niece. They were going, her and niece, to build a fort and sleep in it. She just called to tell me good night and was mad because her sister woke her up. My daughter told me she thought her eyes were open and she was still awake. She always looks like her eyes are open even when she is sleeping.

So tomorrow I will post pictures of our long run and of us limping around, should be interesting.

LET THE CLASSES BEGIN!

Time to go to work, yeah! We will be beginning classes again Monday. Since the weather is perfect we are excited to get started going again. It is fun to teach and clear out the ole' brain cobwebs that tend to gather with inactivity. Oh wait I do blog so I guess the brain is not sleeping too much.

I don't know about you but some days I feel like the only thinking I do is when I write a blog. Even then not too much :) Tomorrow is long run day and we are looking forward to getting the 14 miler out of the way. Kind of like labor, every pain only lasts once. With the long runs you only do each distance once.

I had to cut my exterra hat into a visor because it does not fit over my dreads anymore. They are getting out of hand for sure.

HEAVEN IN A BAG

I am now convinced that I am not the only one that loves sweetened condensed milk! My daughter bought me one of these little puppies today and woo hoo, it was great. Just ignore the can of hot chocolate in the background, just check out the little bag of chocolate sweetened condensed milk.
My son was trying to convince me that this little bag of sweetened milk was worse for me than coffee. I don't know about that, but I do know that it tastes soooo good. Now I know it is not too good for me, but it does taste good.
Now I am thinking that I can use these for long runs instead of goo packets, probably about the same thing. Oh yeah now I just fit them into a healthy nitch so it all works out good. So for every two miles I run I get a packet of sweetened condensed milk.
Long run tomorrow, I have two packets left!

HAPPY THOUGHTS

Ever have one of those days? I mean one of those, those days? Well this is one of them and I am trying really hard to be really positive. Thinking happy thoughts, "Biggest Loser" is on tonight, Maleah got to school on time today (helps when it is the 12:30 day), Rick is recovering from his stomach flu, Micah has not called with bad news, his lawyer has not called with any bad news, I had a great run in the warm sunshine, I found my lost bank card, I remembered all the muscles I was teaching in the kines class this morning.

Yeah it is a good day after all. Maleah was ready for school an hour before it was time to go. She finally agreed to let Hannah pick her up after school so I could go for a "talk" with a guy who needs English teachers. I love teaching and we are already half way done with our massage class, so looking for something to keep me busy.

Rebekah and I are also working hard on getting our "No Excuses" program going. Lots of research and leg work to get ourselves organized. Thank goodness this one does not entail doing another web, or blog site! Just lots of fun motivating people to take care of their one and only precious body they will ever, ever have. Doesn't that sound fun!

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Ever had one of "those days?" Today was definately one of those days for me. I was totally looking forward to doing a long run with my daughter and woke up really early, not being able to go back to sleep aaugh!

Finally got to her house and she took me on the long run from you know where. We went over hill an dale, "oh yeah mom, I forgot there were so many hills".

She does like to school me once in awhile when I get too cocky or something. Just likes to put me in my old place and make sure I know who is the younger of us. It was actually fun, except for the getting lost part! A really beautiful Costa Rica day which was great, at least it was not raining also.

I spent the day out after waiting by the phone all day yesterday for word from my sons lawyer. We have been awaiting word from the prosecuters office for almost a month and in the mean time my son has decided he wants to go to trial. I guess we had best buckle our seat belts and get ready for another ride.

I am just very thankful for being able to talk to him often and keep up with him. I sent him a card yesterday with the above pic of his little sister. Those are his favorites pics, the ones with his sisters. The Post office has a place you can go to create a letter, or card with your own pictures, and write it up, and they deliver it. It is awesome I can write to him once a week and he will actually get it in about three days. Now isn't that a miracle? I love technology!