London Calling

13 Muggy Miles

Saturday's long run went pretty well.  It was muggy and almost felt like we were running in Louisiana instead of northern Illinois.  I think that I mentioned I run with CARA on Saturdays.  The 10 minute mile group stops every 2 miles for hydration.  I've been keeping my GPS watch on during those breaks to give me a better idea of my actual finish time for the marathon.  I really love my Garmin.  No more guessing how far I've run when I'm solo or if I'm going to fast/slow. 

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Gobbles

I can't help but smile when I watch Violet play.  She's so animated and wonderful and wild and so different and so similar to her brother.  

We've been spending a lot of time in the water lately, and Violet has been using an old pair of London's goggles.  The frames around the eyes are designed to look like a frog.  She just loves them and wears them everywhere:  in the pool, in the tub, at the dinner table and tonight she even wore them (on her head) to bed.  What makes her goggle fascination even more fun is that she calls them her "gobbles." 

"Mom!  Where are my GOBBLES?  I need them for school!"

"Mom!  I need my GOBBLES to go to bed!"

I can't help but giggle.  Tonight, she went to bed in a princess dress (of course) and her gobbles.  She was holding her favorite lamb (who used to play the music to "Jesus loves me").  Her three "babies" --  tub toys including two rubber duckies and a mermaid -- were wrapped in their own individual blankets and slept on the floor next to her.

As I rocked her, I looked down at her beautiful face (with the gobbles resting on her head) and felt  all kinds of love welling up.  She is fantastic and I imagine that my mom would just eat her up.   When I watch Violet play sometimes, I wonder if she is anything like my mom.  I feel like I can see it in her spirit and smile.

It's been two years since my mom passed away.  Yesterday, my good friend lost her mother.  My heart breaks for her.  I don't know that I have any words of wisdom to share.   I'm still sad and I still need my mom and I still think of her almost every day.  I guess it gets "better."  I guess.

 

First Marathon in 7 years. Can I do it?

It's been a while since I've put in this kind of mileage. My last marathon was Chicago in 2004. In January 2006, our son was born. I ran a few half marathons and then our daughter was born in November 2006. Training has been a bit more difficult to schedule since baby Violet joined the family. Still, I've finished a few half marathons and actually got a PR in the Wisconsin half this May.

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Sharing my challenges, successes and what I've learned with Proline Sports Nutrition as I raise money for Prentice Women's Hospital in memory of my mom. LisaRuns.com

Our summer triathalon

We've been busy this summer!  Swimming, biking, running ... mostly swimming because it's been so hot.  Big brother Taylor was only in town a week, so we did our best to have fun with him in that short time.

There was a big graduation party
And swimming, of course
And Chicago style pizza
And Korean with dad
And time in the city
And lots of hugs and kisses

Then ... when big brother returned to TX, we went to Wisconsin for a one-night adventure in Lake Geneva at the Abbey.  The kids had a blast!  And we did too.  We finally took advantage of a hotel's babysitting -- and this one was great.  The kids went to a play room and watched a movie and made s'mores and told us that they had much more fun than we did.  At the end of the night, we returned to our room to find our two kiddies asleep and a responsible looking young lady watching over them.  When we left, we promised that we'd go back again.

This week life is back to normal -- well normal if you live in an oven.  Wait, a humid oven.  Or if you like to sweat -- a lot.  I'm in Minneapolis for a few days at the Car Craft Summer Nationals -- yeah, a car show.  My work is so glamorous!  I'll be back late Friday night so that I can spend a full weekend with the kiddies and ... you guessed it ... swim, bike and run.