Seaside sand mermaids

Sunday, June 29, 2008

My good friend from high school ventured down to the Florida panhandle with her family, so we managed to meet up with the kids.

We’d actually hoped to meet up and run, but lack of babysitters and the Florida heat were prohibitive, so we settled on breakfast and a trip to the beach.

Actually, the breakfast part was not entirely planned. I had gotten up with TONS of extra time, so the kids and I lolled about the house, specifically avoiding breakfast so that we could stop on the way to Seaside for bagels. There’s lots to pack when you’re planning an outing - with potential for beach time and still hoping for a possible run. I had my purse (stocked with water and snacks), a beach bag with towels, swimsuits, sunscreen and swim diapers, a beach toy bag with shovels, pails, and more sunscreen, a run bag with shoes and a running outfit, and then a diaper bag with extra underwear and outfits for Jackson (see potty training post). I had loaded all this in the car, and was getting the kids ready - and trying to convince Jax to potty one last time before getting into the car. Riley was up and in her dress, but barefoot. So, I told her to get her shoes on while I continued wrestling Jackson into some shorts and a tshirt. After I’d loaded up the car, and went to buckle Jackson in, I noted Riley had gotten in the car and even managed her own seatbelt.

So, we were on the road, with 30 minutes to spare for breakfast on the way. We had just gone through the tollbooth on the Midbay Bridge when Riley piped up “Mommy, did you get my shoes?”

“Ah, no, Riley, I told you to get them”

“Oh, well, I couldn’t find them”

“Riley, THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR, RIGHT BY THE PIANO!”

“Oh”

So. we drove to Destin, then turned around and drove back over the bridge to home where I unbuckled her and sent her inside to pick from the 2 pairs of shoes that were sitting by the piano, or the 3 that were hanging in the shoe holder in her room.

She eventually wandered back out, and we got on the road.

So, as we were sitting in Seaside eating breakfast with my friend and her family, I was rubbing Riley’s back when I noticed there was weird smoothness along her waist. I peeked down the neck of her dress and confirmed my suspicions.

“Um, Riley... why aren’t you wearing underwear?”

“Oh, I forgot.”

She forgot. and in a short dress, too. You’d think that would get drafting - especially when Mom’s made a special trip back to get your shoes, maybe you’d grab some panties too.. . I couldn’t help but laugh. Fortunately I had about 10 pairs of Mickey Mouse underwear packed for Jackson, and Riley was okay with borrowing one.

So much for self sufficiency in dressing!

The demise of my Treo

So, there’s not been many posts lately. And I’ve a very good excuse.

After the marathon, I took a week off to tour about San Diego, then came back and ran a little bit. I was on-call that weekend, so I had to run with my cell phone. AND, I had no secure pocket for my cell phone, and my camelbak where I usually stash it had been sitting under the kitchen sink with old Accelerade in it for the past 2 weeks (nice science project). SO, I stashed the cell phone in the front of my jog bra (my running skirt does have a pocket that will hold the phone - but it bounces all over the place, threatening to pull the skirt down (speaking of, see footnote below...) and even wound up bouncing out of the pocket once and skittering along the asphalt where I accidentally kicked it. And yet it survived). It’s very humid in Florida, and remarkable hot at 6AM, AND I had made the not-so-bright choice of running with my fastest friend for this run. So, on the way home, the phone began to ring and buzz all on its own, and ceased to function. I think it was the humidity in the sauna of my jog bra.

Anyway, since I don’t have a phone with me at all times any longer (I had to revert to my old cell phone, instead of my palm treo - the camera is no good, it doesn’t hold a charge longer than 10 hours, and there’s no snooze on the alarm... bummer), there’s no way to capture all those crazy, spur-of-the-moment antics - usually provided by Jackson.

For Example: I had dropped by work on a Friday afternoon after taking Riley to dance in order to check on some lab results. Jackson was with me, and was napless. While waiting for the labs to come back, we were hanging out in the nurses’ station. Jackson was dancing about in his hand-me-down shorts that don’t stay up very well (the boy has no butt). For some reason, he decided to pull his pants down to his ankles and flash all the nurses. He was still wearing a diaper and a mischievous grin - but it sent everyone rolling on the floor. This was all the encouragement he needed, and he continued pulling his pants up and down until I found a safety pin and secured them to his shirt in the up position. He was very much chagrined.

Oh, and the picture above is actually from the parking lot at Legoland in San Diego - neat color effect.

So, Brian and I are now eagerly awaiting the release of the new iphone on 11 July.... which he advises me he’s already been looking for a protective case for it.

San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon

I ran the Rock n Roll Marathon on Sunday. It was a much better experience than Disney! Not sure if it was just that I had more experience or the actual marathon itself, but having crowd support along the entire course was great (as opposed to Disney, when so much of it is service roads). Or maybe it was just that I was happier with the outcome. Anyway, here's my run-down of the event.

I got up at 4:20 on Sunday (my alarm was set for 4am - but for the day before, so I didn't get up until Judy knocked on my door), and I slept MUCH better than the night before my last marathon - when I was up from 12-2 giving Jx breathing treatments.) Then Judy dropped me off at the start line at 5AM. It was also a much more peaceful place compared to Disney - it was in a park rather than a parking lot, and the music was much more subdued. There were booths set up for water, coffee, Accellerade, bananas and bagels free for runners, and I picked up a bottle of accellerade (too nervous and couldn't eat) which I consumed with a packet of salt (yuck) and then turned my bag in to UPS truck number 8 that would transport my gear to the finish. Then I ventured over to my designated corral, hopping up and down periodically to keep my legs warm (I'd turned in my yoga pants with my gear bag, but kept the long sleeves Aunt Judy gave me as a "toss-shirt" until just before the start. I had signed up for a 3:40 pace group the day before at the expo - even though my goal time was 3:45 (it was my goal time because in order to qualify to run the Boston Marathon, I had to run it in under 3:45:59).  As I was hopping about in the number 4 coral I met up with a few other people who also had signed up for the 3:40 pace group.  One was an active duty chaplain in the Air Force (he was wearing one of the race number t-shirts they were selling at the expo - a great idea, they would take digital picture of your race number and print it onto a technical tshirt right there at the booth.  That way you didn't have to bother pinning your number to your shirt and being annoyed (as I usually am)  by your arm hitting the pins throughout the race.  However, they failed to take into consideration my concern when chosing race tshirts - they were white, and since I seem incapable of drinking from those paper cups at the aid stations and running at the same time (always wind up wearing most of the  drink) I had chosen a black running shirt that would hide all those pink Accellerade splotches.)  I also met a couple of women (both from the Kansas City area - they hadn't met before the race) who were also trying to qualify for  Boston.  After the national anthem and lots of cheering (right out in front of a bunch of apartments at 630AM... most of the tenants were out groggily peering at us with a cup of coffee in hand) and some well-wishes from the local general (a girl, too), we were off.  It took me about 1:30ish minutes to cross the start line, and then I tried to stay just behind the 3:40 pacer.  He was going pretty slow - about a 9:10 pace but I figured he knew what he was doing.  The first 2 miles were through a downtrodden area of San Diego (bet no one usually runs THERE at this hour!) with lots and lots of billboards proclaiming "I lost ME to METH".  The pace group leader was still going slower than "pace", but I still figured he knew what he was doing.  Then at about mile 4, we were running through a much nicer part of downtown, and some guy came up behind me and said "Hey - 3:40.  Aren't you off your pace?"  And I thought "Yeah - why is that?" and then ditched the pace leader for the rest of the race.  That guy was nice, though.  Ran with him for the next few miles.  He was a 58 year old plumber who lives and runs in the San Diego.  He gave me a hill by hill breakdown of the upcoming course.  I then ran on my own for a while, although I chit-chatted with people along the way.  Then I struck up another conversation with a "Marathon Maniac" from about mile 13 on.  He's a member of this group - the marathon Maniacs - that runs multiple marathons yearly.  He was on marathon number 72, and had run another marathon the weekend before, and was planning 28 more before the following April.  He was a high school science teacher (I think also in his 50's).  Anyway, there were bands along the way, some good, some iffy.  There was this really good blues band at about mile 9, and then a pretty good rap one somewhere in there.  After about mile 20, though it was all a blur.  That last 6 miles is highly under respected.  I had the family meet me at about mile 12.  Ry had made a sign for me.  When she was talking about making it, I suggested some peppy slogans such as "Yay Mom!" or "Keep on Rocking Mom!"  But no - she had her own idea.  So there she and Jx were, ringing their "Saturn" cowbells (also from the expo), holding her sign that read "I'm Here Mom"  with lots of hearts and flowers.  I ran over and gave them a hug and kiss and off I went.  I should have had them meet me at mile 22 ish, too.  I was going to have them meet me at the finish, too, but as I began to evaluate what that would entail (it was on a Marine Base, so they would have had to get there 1.5 hours early, ride a shuttle onto the base, go through bag inspection... all just to see me for a couple of seconds (and Ry wouldn't even give me a hug at the end - she's very adverse to Mom-contact post-run due to all the sweatiness).  They probably got a better view of me anyway - the local NBC station had a live web-cam trained on the finish line!   AND I finished in 3:44:17!  (chip time)  and yes!  this is JUST under the time I needed to QUALIFY FOR THE BOSTON MARATHON!  So, I suppose I'll be in Boston next April!  It also takes the pressure off of me for the MCM marathon in Washington DC in October.  Although I would like to try and finish in the 3:38 ish range...  who knows, training in this summer heat is going to be miserable.  I do think I'm going to run the next one for a charity, though.  The Fisher House (where we stayed for a while when we were in Denver after Jackson was born) has a team that I might run with.

There were lots of photographers along the route - and thanks to a trick from Aunt Judy, I can share them with you!  I keep trying to look cool for the camera - and raise both arms in a sort-of victory hurrah as I pass the camera.  Unfortunately, I am not now, nor have I ever been cool, so I mostly  just look like a spaz.

The finish line was cool .  There were volunteers manning stalls where you could prop your feet and have someone snip off your chip on your shoe, then there were volunteers to put your medal around your neck, more to give you a wet, icey towel, and then another barage to take your picture, then more to drape the space blanket around you (I still don't get this one - I'm HOT after I run, I see no need to swathe myself in a mylar sheath emblazoned with the rocknroll emblem.... but when in Rome...   Then lastly there was a gauntlet where you could get water/accellerade/bagels/powergel/powerbars/oranges/bananas and what not.  This I don't much get either - I have a really hard time eating anything for the day or so after a marathon.  I had packed some Endurox (a recovery drink - tons o protein) in my gear bag which I mixed with water and drank (i'm very lazy when it comes to mixing and shaking... hence, imagine chunky gatorade...) and then I grab an armload of orange quarters (sure, maybe I should be polite and only take one so that those behind me can have oranges as well - too bad.  This is all I can stomach after running.  ) Then I found Judy and Jenny and wandered through the many vendors.  One was selling on-the-spot engraving for your medal - which I got.  And then there were the obligatory oodles of runners collapsed about the med tent with ice saran wrapped to various body parts.  Most everything we bypassed and headed for the shuttle back to the parking lot. ( I tried to find the tshirt that read "Yeah I run like a girl... try to keep up" that I had seen at the expo,  but to no avail.)

Once home there were hugs all around (I was no longer wet sweaty, so Ry deemed a hug acceptable), grabbed a quick shower and headed to Sea World.  I was still sporting my pace tattoo (a wet-and-stick temporary tattoo that has the time at which I need to be at each mile marker to make the 26.2 miles in my goal time) mostly as a badge of honor (that incredulous look other moms shoot at you as they say "you ran a marathon this morning, and now you're walking around SeaWorld?" is very gratifying) but also because it is so dang hard to get off.  I generally did okay as long as I kept moving, but there was definite limping after I'd been sitting for a while.  And the next day at the zoo was a little more painful - especially going down stairs and hills.  But then by the third day at Legoland I was pretty much back to normal, and by Wednesday I felt great.

Later in the week, someone asked Ry if she was going to run marathons when she grew up. She replied “No, too much work.”