multi taskin it

My busy busy life. Last week we were at the TKD gym three times...soccer three times....hockey one night...Shaun plays ball, and hockey. I do what I can to get workouts done. I have often thought of lobbying race directors for coming up with a category called "Working Mom's/Wives With Limited Time To Train" We would have our own group, no age groups...we would high five each other on the run and be ultra supportive because we all know what it took to get there and not have our families fall apart in the process.

I know...I'm totally dreaming.

Sunday brought my Mother's Day Sunday swim. I snuck out of the house while everyone was still cozy in their beds. And felt no guilt. Sometimes I feel guilty leaving on Sundays knowing that I might be missing something fun that the boys say or do or I am missing their sleepy eyed stumble out of the bedroom with their crazy hair.

Was a good swim...not one of my best but not my worst either. Was a fun swim with Jenna and Tisha there. They both like my bum as Tisha grabbed it full on and Jenna smacked it with a flutter board...The first part of the main set was 4 x 200 meters doing them "gearbox". So the first 50 of the first 200 is hard then the second 50 of the second 200 is hard...and so on. I led those 200s and was starting to fade at the end. Then we had 100 meters easy, and then 4 more 200s...decending pace with the last one all out.

I said to Jenna "YOU are leading this b*tch!!" And sure enough we did them just a second or two faster every time!! For the last one we lined up head to head, little bit of trash talk and a dive into the pool, and I was out touched by Jenn!!! My strategy was to stay just behind her the whole way and then catch and pass her the last 50....but as we all know, she is much tougher than me and we were an all out sprint the last 25 meters!!! Was FUN!!! And I could hardly breathe afterwards...for several minutes...hahahahaha!!!

The rest of the day brought some Mother's Day activities, hanging out with the boys...milking it for everything...We had a date at my Mom's place for supper and I thought that it would be a great opportunity to get a ride in. It was cold and windy. Yak. Like really cold and really windy. My mom came and picked up the munchkins and took them to her house and I jumped on my mountain bike and it took me one hour and 45 minutes to pedal out to her acreage. Was very happy I was not on my tri-bike as the traffic was crazy and there were many times I had to hit the side of the road in the gravel. However, I phantom clipped in and out of my pedals more that a couple of times!! I hit the wind for the last 5 km and oh my god...I geared down...down...down and just spun my way all the way to her house. I was hardly moving for much of it and luckily there were no crosswinds...just a nasty full on head wind. Oh the fun of living in Sask!!!

Today was another power class at the gym. Was a good one with yet, more new excerises and there were about 12 gals there today. My legs are feelin the love I have given them the last 24 hours...

ouch

New gal + new workout + better music + more weights = sore body!
Got up at 4:50AM today. That is early. Even for me. I wanted to hit the gym and make my power workout. Grabbed clothes, iPod, water and towel and ran to the truck and made my way to the gym. I know I said I could walk there but there is a rumour around our area of some break ins...with a knife...(Jenna...did you know this...?) and

a) I don't want to be walking by myself at that time of day

b) time to get a gun...?

Anyway, get to gym by 5:05AM and oh shit...forgot my running shoes!! The plan was to run for 30-40 minutes before the power workout. Race home...sneak into my house...because my friggin spouse in on HIGH ALERT with the knife rumours...race back to the gym...get on the treadmill.

Every treadmill has a television at this place. I could go to my office gym and that would be fine, but boy, oh boy....this new place is spoiling me! Took me 25 of the 35 minutes to figure out the television and choose a channel. We have peasant vision at home...as in about 5 channels...what to watch...WHAT TO WATCH!!?? And there was no hockey on this morning...

Got to the power class and had alot of fun. The new gal was more interactive and had some different workouts. We do seriously about 700 squats and 500 lunges...okay...I am kidding...but can't wait to see what the legs feel like tomorrow!!

The only thing I am missing is my wardrobe from lululemon....

I get home just after 7:00AM and my kids are UP. And running around the house with their hockey sticks. They have moved all of the living room furniture and set up "nets" and shooting balls against the wall....another reason to live in a small old house....how many times should we re-paint before they leave home??!! All the while my spouse is snoring and still asleep...I don't think he would hear an intruder...do you??

i love my couch

My couch rocks. It has sleeping powder in it as if you dare lay your head down, off to sleep you go. And then there is hockey on television day and night. Lay on the couch. Watch hockey. This has been my existence. I do have to wander upstairs every now and again, to make sure my children and fed are alive but I have been enjoying my time of leisure.

I decided that today would be my day of getting back at something. What? I am not sure yet but I want to do something fun and new. I am seriously considering the 5km swim challenge in Kelowna in August. Why not?

Yesterday was Sunday swim. I wasn't going to swim but my hubby's golf plans were cancelled and I was feeling restlless so off to the pool I went. Was an okay swim. Can sure feel I have not been in the water for a month!! Sucking wind. Big Time. Turned out to be more of a visit but my "back at it plan" did not officially start until today so I had no guilt hanging on the wall for the majority of my time there.

There is a beautiful new gym built just up the street from us. I could walk there if I wanted to. The joys of living in an older neighborhood where the houses are small and cheap (relatively) and now everyone wants to be in that area. We are getting all sorts of stuff built just around the corner. I bought a pass! To a GYM!!! OMG what has become of me?? I went to my first power workout today. Or as in some circles, they call it a workout with weights. To loud music. Okay, so I did not really appreciate the loud music and there were only three of us there and I thought that with a workout like that, is not form and technique ultra important? So you don't get injured? Maybe I am naive but I thought the instructor would be showing us more one on one technique stuff? Anyway, besides that very insignificant critique....I really enjoyed it!! We did enough weight stuff in my swimming days that I know the basics. And how many squats can a human body do before 6:00am?

Well, I will tell you.

About 200!!

And if you think you are fit...try to keep up to that instructor gal who friggin grinned the ENTIRE time!! I did not so much appreciate that either.

But the facility is gorgeous. Brand new and has absolutely everthing. Even a steam room that I will be taking in. I won't be totally giving up my swim/bike/run as I do enjoy that, I just need a change of scenery and pace and atmosphere.

Police Half Pics

Jenna rippin it up!

Chuck heading straight for the blue whales at the finish....

Tisha and CoryF

Chuck and Tisha

Me, Chuck and Tisha...Matthew was taking the picture so that's why the angle is "up"!!

Jenn looking strong at the end!!

BOSTON

Where to start.

Pre-Run - We had been in Brockton, MA for the first few days of our trip as it was dead set in the middle between Boston and Cape Cod. I could not be that close to Cape Cod and not go!! It has been on my life's list of places to see and I was bound and determined to go. The weather was rainy and windy and cold so we did not do any ferry rides to Martha's Vineyard or Nantucket so I guess I need to go again someday!!! We drove around the area and I loved it. The houses are so old and quaint and weather beaten. We saw some gorgeous places, had lunch at a little restaurant, spent about 2 hours in an antique store...cheaper than a museum and super cool to see all the stuff in there. My kids loved it too. There was an ancient typewriter that Mattehew called "An old computer." So cute. Lots and lots of stuff to see. Too bad the weather was so crappy because there was plenty of outdoor stuff to see but it was cold and wet and that stuff would not have been very fun!! The next day we drove down to Newport, Rhode Island. Another place on my to see list. On the way we took a wrong exit and ended up in Fall River, MA and there was the Battleship Cove. It looked interesting so we stopped in and toured the ships. Very, very cool. It was like a walk back in time. They had the ships set up as if WWII had just ended and the ships were left as is. I really enjoyed it. You could rent a cot and sleep on the ship for a night. The day we were there, they were hosting 600 boy scouts!! EEK!!

On Sunday we headed back up to Boston as Manulife had booked us a room at the Fairmont at Copley Square. The same hotel that Liz Taylor celebrated her 3rd honeymoon at. It was a beautiful hotel and lots and lots of history. We walked to the race package pick up, only a few blocks away. That was ultimate crazy. Too many people for my liking. And to haul two kids through that...yikes!! The hotel was the center of the run and many of the elite runners were staying there. The security was crazy!! Some of these runners are big celebrities....apparently. We had dinner with Manulife on Sunday night which was very nice and small and the guest speaker was Denise Robson. I had not heard of her but she is a 41 year old single mom of three and runs a 2:41 marathon. She only took up running 4 years ago when she was going through her divorce. She had a slide show that showed her at her very first marathon in cotton shorts and a t-shirt! She was very modest and had all sorts of tips for the course/run and she was very funny. And about the size of my 7 year old. She sounded like she was just trying to figure out this whole marathon thing as well. I enjoyed her talk.

To bed. I had a wicked, wicked headache the night before. I could hardly see straight. This always happens at that female time of the month. I hate it but not much I can do about it. I was wiped and tired and took half a bottle of migraine pills because sometimes those headaches can last for a few days and I had a friggin Marthon to run in less than 12 hours!!! shitty

THE RUN!!!

Manulife had secured me a vip pass so I had to just get up, walk out the front door of the hotel and there was a vip tent across the street. Water, gatorade, bagels, power bars....everything one would need. We waited just a little bit and we had buses come by and pick us up to take us to the start line. It was about an hour drive out there and I sat beside the coolest gal. She was also with Manulife and we got all of the company's problems solved in that hour!!! She was a great person and I hope to keep in touch with her. She did her first marathon on her 50th birthday last year!! In Hopkinton, we had the school gym to hang out in and kill time. Again, all sorts of drinks and food and our own bathrooms....no line ups!!! This was very interesting as some of the elite runners were there and it was super cool to watch them warm up. When you see those with numbers less than 100....you know they are fast!!! And they are ALL teeny tiny people!! I have concluded I will never be a fast marathoner unless I can shrink about a foot and loose 40 pounds. Seriously. There was a guy there that had WON the olympic marathon AND Boston in the same year...another guy slept on the bleachers the entire time...did no stretches etc. It was fun to just be in their company!!

When it was time for Wave 2 to head to the start line, again, we just through our bags on the vip buses and did not have to stand in line for anything. I hope this does not sound like bragging, but it was really cool to not have to think about anything!! Shaun and the boys even had passes to the bleachers at the finish line so they would not have to fight the crowds.

My wave was waaaaaaaay at the back with the rest of the invites/charity runners. People had costumes, signs, it was very fun. There were 6 guys in full army combat gear...they ran the whole distance!! In boots!! And 70 pound packs!! Shaun said the crowd went crazy nutso when they came to the finish. Even moreso than the winners of the race!! There were NO pace bunnies....someone had told me there would be pace bunnies, but there were none. Just an FYI for those of you who do this race someday!!

First 5km - Legs feel good. You know how sometimes your legs feel a bit heavy or tired those first few minutes of a race? This was NOT the case!! I was good to go from the start. I wanted to RUN!! But the plan was to go out sllllloooooowwwww. Even Denise, the night before, said "Those first 10km are a net downhill. Run them slow. If you feel like you are going too slow, that is the correct pace!!" So I just jogged along and high fived the kids and cheered and waved and smiled and let 100s of people pass me. Seriously, I was starting to think absolutely everyone was going to pass me!! To put this in perspective, my race number was 25994...there were 28000 people in the race...this was as if I started at the front of the local SK marathon...There were still almost 2000 people behind me!!!! WOW!!! And a sea of people ahead of me!! The entire run, there were 6-10 people around me. I was glad that I decided to carry my drink with me as for the first several aid stations, I could not get near them.

6km - 15km - Justin's advice was to take the first 5km super easy, just get my legs under me and let the crowds pass me. Done. Then settle into a pace that I think I can hold for the rest of the day. I was doing that. It was fun!! It was easy!! I was totally pumped and how steady my 5km splits were!! I was the BOMB!!! Ha ha!!

16km - 20km - Still feeling really good. I was shocked at how good I was feeling. It was like I was out for a Sunday run along the river bank in Saskatoon...except there were thousands of people cheering!! And police were everywhere!! I was having a blast. I was reading the signs people made, the Red Sox were playing and every so often someone had a sign with the current score, people dressed up in costumes, ran through Wellesly college scream tunnel...those girls were fun!!

21km - 25km - STILL running good!! I can totally nail this thing! I know the Newton Hills are coming, but I still feel really good!! WTF? I had so much confidence and I was on top of my nutrition and I was happy and I was RUNNING THE BOSTON MARATHON!!!

26km - 30km - A super steep downhill at 25km...my legs had started to get tired but I was still in control and pretty sure of myself. I was NOT going to let Heartbreak Hill break my heart!! and then OUCH...my right quad did not want to be part of the fun any longer...damn it was hurting...I had to stop and walk a few steps on that downhill and I tried to run again, but it was too much!! Shitty. I did NOT want to walk felt like I had very few options. Let's face it, I wasn't going to be winning any money at this thing and I did not really feel like having a bum leg for the rest of the summer and honestly, I was feeling like I was in uncharted territory with that downhill running!!! Like I had not trained for it at all!!

31km - 42km - The decision was made. Just get through this run. My leg was hurting and I felt like I was dragging it. I ran up the first 2 of the Newton Hills...but walked Heartbreak. I was kind of glad I did walk it!! The people and the noise and the craziness!! It actually was a bit overwhelming at times...you feel like you are at the Olympics...there were places where the police had to hold people back and we had to run single file!! That was NUTSO!! From about 35km to the end it is a gradual downhill....OMG my friggin quad on my right leg!! I had to put the pain aside and just get this mother f*cker done!! I was a bit dissappointed that I was feeling like I had not trained "properly" for this run but not much I could do about it...

Once we were getting closer to Boston, the crowds and the people were about 10 deep on the sides of the street. I was very happy Shaun had the boys in the bleachers so they could sit and see the race. I would have been worried if they had to be in that mob.

I ran the last mile. I think. I actually don't remember. You take a few twists and turns and that f*cking Citigo sign, you can see FOREVER!!!

Finish Line - Done!! I wasn't as emotional as I thought I would be. My leg was really hurting and two volunteers appeared on each side of me and escorted me to the vip tent...I just kept asking if I could sit down...all I remember is the guy saying "Let me look at you...are you okay? Do you need a wheelchair? What can I get you? Let me help you." Once I was sorted out, I just went straight to the hotel. My legs felt like they were on fire. I could not stop shaking. I was spent!!

Thoughts - This was a GREAT experience. I was so happy to have this opportunity. I may never get there again!! It was good to have my family there and know they were looked after. There was a delicious chocolate cake waiting in our room when we got back. Luke and I ate it ALL!! Ha ha!! I needed to get something in my stomach very quickly as I felt queasy and still shaky. I was disappointed with my leg for all of about 7 seconds...what's one to do??!! You just keep going, enjoy the experience, love the day, know that it will all be over very soon and savor every single last second as I may never get to do this again....