Feeling tired

Well, it had to come eventually. This week, I am not particularly motivated to train. Monday I did a 12 mile bike ride, nice and easy. This morning I ran and tonight I did my swim class. Tomorrow I'll do my 6am spin class. And Thursday morning I'll swim with the group (hopefully at the Rez) and run in the afternoon. Friday I plan to do the 5:30am spin class before heading to Chicago for the weekend - where Rosa and I plan to visit her health club on Saturday. And I'm just not all that psyched about any of it. All I want to do is sleep. Sleep late, nap, doze, go to bed early ... being horizontal is the key. And it's not that I'm particularly tired, btw, just lazy. Interesting. Someone said that it's 20% training and 80% mental, this training/racing thing (not that I'm in it for the racing anyway, so it's mostly just the training part - getting through it.) On good mental days I am PUMPED that I am doing this (and thanking Wendy every day for introducing the concept to me!) but on lesser days, I'm tired before I start, mentally, and have to really kick myself HARD to do the workout. I guess this is normal, but it sure is annoying. I much prefer remaining pumped at all times. Ah well. *yawn*

home safe

My boys are back! Everyone had a BLAST camping. No one remembered syrup or flashlights and the camera battery died after one picture, but everyone was filthy, tired and happy when they returned today. I'm so glad they weren't snowed or rained out this time! Here's the one pic - Sam digging for dinosaur bones.

This morning we went to Lakeshore and I ran the Bolder Boulder ... on the treadmill. B-O-R-I-N-G! Luckily I had my music with me. The course was very good - it knew all the hills and everything. I do NOT like running on a treadmill but it was better than nothing. Mae played happily with Elise (our neighbor) at daycare. Then we took Ole back to the dog park where he played even more enthusiastically than yesterday. Mae OFFICIALLY is off training wheels - she rocked today. I will try and get some video tomorrow. She played in the little water park too. I took a nap (ahhhh...) while she watched (the very same) Kipper and then we did a quick grocery store trip for the week and came home to chill before the boys got home. It's great to have them home. Next week: the last week of summer camp for all three! And my 8th grade reunion over the weekend, so a short week for me. Fun!

a good saturday

The boys are safely camping and Mae and I had a great day today. Heather arrived at 6am so I could drive to Denver to do my brick with Sylvie. We biked 21 miles and ran for 30 minutes. I am abnormally sore afterwards (I haven't had any soreness after bricks) but she was going at a pretty good clip on the run, so that may have been it. It was cool and gorgeous this morning. I came home and walked Ole since Heather and Mae were not at home. They returned and I put Kipper on for Mae while I took a nap. She was especially kind and let me sleep for 1.5 hours. After Kipper, she got herself a cheesestick, some goldfish crackers and a fruit leather and got her water bottle out of her backpack. Then she colored up a storm in her My Little Pony coloring book. It was a delicious, lazy nap. Then I did some much needed cleaning (I had lost the kitchen entirely but I found it again - whew!) while Mae played with the hose in the backyard. She washed her dishes, gave the dump trucks car washes and watered the garden and trees. She had a BLAST out there. Then we took Ole to the dog park in Louisville (he swam a ton - loved having the ball tossed out into the water) and then Mae played in the little water park area in the kid park. When it started thundering, we took off for home. We watched the Mae & Ellen in China 50 minute video that we unearthed in the basement last week. It is soooo precious. MAN she was adorable as a baby! Cutie pie. She was yawning by 5:30 so I put her to bed at 6 and she was OUT in 5 minutes. I finished up the last of the decluttering and tidying and plugged in to the laptop. Ahhh.
In the morning we'll head over to Lakeshore so I can do my long run and then we plan to return to the dog/kid park. This time I'll bring my camera!

whew

The boys are off to Veedavoo (sp?) to camp with friends while Mae and I hold down the fort here. I had planned to go on this one with them (it is car camping, after all) but after a week on vacation, I am still feeling behind on my training. After we saw the boys off, Mae and I went to Lakeshore where she happily (!) went to daycare while I swam (1000 meters, but I had to rest almost every 50. I know my coach would tell me NOT to rest. Oy.) Then we had dinner at Noodles (where else?!), DQ and a quick romp in the dinos (that girl can climb! what a monkey.) She, of course, put up a major fit about going to bed, but passed out in 5 minutes .. ahhh. I went through the boys' room eliminating paper clutter and books we don't read. Tomorrow I'll attack Mae's room and the linen closet. I found some of Mae's bday presents today - she is going to love the doll crib. I can't believe she's almost 4. I mean, in some ways I can't believe she's NOT already 4 since she acts so mature, but the Pre-K piece is still a shock to me. This is her last year of preschool ... I guess it goes by more quickly when it only takes 2.5 years (she started Caterpillars in January.) Nuts!
Tomorrow my sitter comes at 6am so I can do a brick with Sylvie. I think we'll do some cleaning in the afternoon and maybe dinner at the pool tomorrow night. The basement is being worked on so I'm very encouraged by the forward motion! Hopefully we can list the house as soon as it's finished. Happy weekend, all!
Mom, this pic is actually from China in '06. Happy memories of that day, our first tour day.

bloodwork

My bloodwork came back with a ferritin level of 18 and low Vitamin D, so this morning I had an iron IV and picked up some supplements. It wasn't that fun and I am soooo groggy from the Benedryl they gave me, but all in all, a quick and easy way to get the iron (it would take up to a year of serious supplementation to get the same amount as from one IV.) *yawn* There is track practice tonight but I am going to my swim class. I've decided that I need to devote 3-4 days per week to my swimming or it's going to be a problem. Time is running out and I need to get the mileage in SOON!
I also had a Vitamin B-12 shot last week, since I was in the throes of my cold. It worked like a charm! Less than 12 hours later and I felt great. I think I'm hooked! I'm also going to bump Ted's VitB and see if he can kick the sniffles he's acquired.

one week back and getting into the swing again

Our vacation was fantastic. Although we missed our flight out and had to return the next day, it was an easy flight and a fun 2 days in Cinci. Then we all drove out to Indiana to spend the week at Patoka Lake. We hung out on the party barge, were treated to delicious dinners, and had smores almost every night. The kids got to fish, swim, game with their cousins and spend time with their aunts and uncles. I had a minor breakthrough with swimming. On day 2 on the boat, we came to a nice swimming spot that had an island about 400 meters away, or so. So I swam there and back 3 times, nice and easy, focusing on keeping my legs straight and being mellow. It was really good for me. I also got some good runs in, but no biking. So, once home, I jumped in full force and have been doing double workouts most days. These means that I am wiped at night, but I'm hoping to up my iron intake and improve my energy. Today Sylvie and I did a brick in her neck of the woods, up to Golden and back from Denver. It was lovely, and it stayed nice and cool for us. The run went well too. Thursday's swim at the Rez was disappointing. I had hoped to do the full 1000 meters, as slowly as it took, but I got some ear pain after the 1st bouey and only made it to the 2nd before turning around. I still got about 600 meters in, but it was a bummer. Tomorrow is the long run (I'm going to do a 7mile run I used to do with the marathon group - haven't run it in years so I'm looking forward to it) and I plan to get in some pool time in the afternoon to try to crank out 1000 meters to PROVE to myself that I can do it! Tuesday's track workout was INTENSE. It was about 95 degrees and we were doing 1200s. Oy! I felt like puking the entire time, but I did it and that's what matters I suppose. I do think the track workouts are helping me run a touch faster than my normal slog, so that's good. All in all, an intense week (Wednesday and Friday I biked on my own) but a very motivating one. It was nice to have that break; it refreshed me enough to give me a breath of fresh air.
We took some pics (on moeltini) from our vacation, but we mostly just enjoyed each other and forgot to even get the camera out.
Today we spent the day emptying the basement into the garage. We thought it would be a two day ordeal, but it took just under four hours and we have a lot less stuff than I thought we did - always a pleasant surprise! They start on the foundation tomorrow, so it's the hot laundromat for me til this is over. Oy!