11 Things To Do in 2011

These are not resolutions. Resolutions don't work.  These are goals.  Each follows the S.M.A.R.T. system of goal-setting (I penciled it all out but won't subject you to the whole mess!)  I aim to accomplish the following in 2011:
1.  Complete my third marathon (Grandma's Marathon, Duluth, MN, June 2011)
2.  Break 5 hours in the marathon.  If I don't accomplish this at Grandma's, I'll be looking to run my fourth marathon in the fall. 
3.  Complete my first triathlon (I'm aiming for Albert Lea in May if the logistics work out, otherwise I'll have to do more investigating to find a tri to practice for my next goal.)
4. Complete a half-iron distance triathlon. (Chisago Lakes, July 2011)
5.  Run 1000 miles. (This is a little bit lofty, but attainable if I work hard towards the next goal.)
6.  Follow my training plan (with reasonable exceptions for illness or injury.  I am also allowing myself one "I don't feel like training today" day per month.  These can be banked if not used, but cannot use more than two per month.)
7.  Read one book per month.  This may not sound like a lot, but with all the other things I have going on, getting time to read can be a challenge.
8.  Follow a cleaning schedule.  I found one online and modified it to fit our house and needs. 
9.  Reduce the amount of stuff in our house by donating clothing and other things we no longer use.  I've already got a good start on this.  The in-laws took four bags of clothes for Goodwill last time they were here. 
10.  Learn how to use a pressure-canner.  I've done this with my mom before but have never been confident enough to do it myself.  I'd really like to can my own beans - much cheaper than store-bought and no BPA-lined cans!
11.  Go camping at least once per month from May-September.  This may mean putting up the tent in the yard a couple times, but I'd really like Liam to get used to camping early. 

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope you accomplished your goals for 2010 and good luck with your goals for 2011!

Give me an apron and call me...

Suzy Homemaker!  I made yogurt!  And cheese!  They're both pretty tasty if I do say so myself.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures before I put them away in the fridge.  Oh well, next time. 
For the yogurt, I used this recipe from the blog "A Year of Slow Cooking".  It was in the crockpot a long time, but took hardly any hands-on time.  Super-easy!  I did use a packet of yogurt starter instead of regular yogurt (the store was out of my preferred brand.) 
The cheese was technically a failure since I was trying to make paneer.  I ended up with ricotta instead.  Oh well, Italian instead of Indian will be on the menu this week.  I used this recipe from saveur.com.  Saveur is absolutely my favorite cooking magazine.  I have never made a recipe of theirs that I didn't like.  Not sure what didn't work for me, but I will be trying it again.  Even if it turns out as ricotta instead of paneer again, it is delicious and cheap!

Weekly Training Log Dec 20-26, 2010

Due to snow, no vehicle, and more snow  I did not complete any workouts during this time period.  None yet this week, either.  Gotta try to get on the treadmill tonight.  It's just incredibly hard to get the motivation up at 9:00PM or later.  Jeep is in the shop today for tires and goes in Thursday for some other repairs.  Can't wait to have a vehicle back so I can go swimming again!


HBBC points Dec 18-24: 5.55 points for run and cool down on Sat. the 18th.  No other points this week.

Weekly Training Log: December 13-19, 2010

I finally got back into workout mode this week.  I've started exercising at noon while Dave's home to watch the baby.  Much nicer than working out at 9:30PM!
Here's the recap for the week:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Ran 4 miles,easy, 40:00
Wednesday: Tempo Run: 1 mile warmup, 1.17 miles @8:34 pace, .83 cooldown = 3 miles, walk 0.3 mile additional cooldown
Thursday: AM- Cycle on trainer 45 minute easy spin; PM - swim lesson - 900yds (45 minutes)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Ran 5.25 miles, 51:50, walk 0.3 mile cooldown
Sunday: Off- I was going to swim but took a nap instead. 

HBBC points: (Sat. Dec 11- Fri. Dec 17)
Running: 3 (Sat.)+4 (Tues.)+3.3 (Weds.)=10.3
Biking/Swimming: 2 (30 min. Sun.)+6 (45 min bike, 45 min swim Thurs.)=8
Total points for week = 18.3

Weekly Training Log Dec 6-12

I just got back into training after a (too long) break.  Here's the summary for the week:
Monday: none
Tuesday: Ran 3 miles on treadmill, 30:00, 1% incline, felt better than I thought it would!
Wednesday: none
Thursday: Swim lesson, 45 minutes, total of 800 yds
Friday: none
Saturday: 3 miles on treadmill, 28:53, 1% incline; The run felt fine, but I was exhausted afterwards.
Sunday: 30 minutes on bike trainer, moderate effort, included 10 minutes 1-legged drills (5 each side)

HBBC points (Sat., Dec. 4 - Fri., Dec. 10):  3miles running= 3, 45 minutes swimming = 3.  Total= 6 points

Snow...blech

This is what I woke up to this morning.  There is a driveway under there somewhere. 

This is Parka.  Now you might think that a dog would be smart enough to come in from the cold/snow, but in Parka's case, you would be wrong. 

His breed (Siberian Husky) wins out over any common sense this dog may have when it comes to snow.  And I really am not being mean when I say he doesn't have much.  He's a very happy-go-lucky dog who just happens to not be very smart.  My other dog, Katie (a German shepherd/husky mix), is smart enough to be tucked up in her warm bed in the garage.  Parka has one also, he just chooses to be outside instead. 

So I guess I won't be going anywhere today.  I was really looking forward to having brunch with a group of ladies this morning.  It's been a long time since I've done anything social, especially without the baby.  Oh well, there's always next time.  For now I think I'll stay tucked up on the couch with my coffee and my computer and be thankful that everyone I love is safe at home. 

Weekend Events Dec 11-12

There are FOUR events on Saturday and one on Sunday for our area!  Check one of them out, brave the snow!  But if you have to drive to get there, be very careful.  They are predicting a lot of snow overnight. 
Saturday, Dec. 11
1. Jingle Bell Jam, New Ulm, 4 mile walk/run, 3PM
http://www.heartsbeatback.org/event/jingle-bell-jam-4-mile-walkrun-0

2. Lake Crystal Indoor Backwards Triathlon, Lake Crystal, 8AM


3.  Polar Bear Run Group, Mankato, 7:30 AM, runners of all abilities welcome


4.  Reindeer Dash 5k run and Kid's Santa Sprint, Mankato YMCA, 9AM


Sunday, Dec. 12
Holiday Lights Bike Ride, Mankato, 5PM


As always, check out http://www.mankatomultisport.com/ for more info.  From the area?  Join the Greater Mankato Multisport Club to get regular updates on area events and great deals from sponsors.

Breaktime is OVER!

After two weeks off, I finally got a workout in today!  I was dreading the first one after so long a break, but it didn't feel nearly as bad as I thought it would!  I was able to maintain my usual "easy" pace on the treadmill for the whole 3 miles.  I had to work a little harder towards the end to keep it up, but overall I'm very happy!  I'm looking forward to getting back into a workout schedule now that I no longer have the greenhouse to run.  The plan for this week is to put in some miles on the treadmill, go to my swim lesson on Thursday and swim again on Sunday.  Next week I'll add the bike back in also. 
And now, off to eat some peppermint ice cream (the real reason I got on the treadmill tonight, I bribed myself!)

The missing weekly training log...

Well, I didn't do any training last week so therefore no training log.  Last week at the greenhouse was crazy since it was our final week of being open.  I am finally a stay-at-home mom!  There's a few things I have to wrap up but for all practical purposes my only job is to raise my son.  Right now I'm frantically trying to clean the house before an in-home appointment tomorrow so no workouts for this week yet either.  So, back to cleaning...

Weekly Training Log

Wow this past week went by fast!  I didn't get much working out done.  I have all sorts of reasons why, but won't bore you with the details. 
Here are the only two workouts I managed to do this past week:
Monday: 1.8 miles - was doing a tempo run and started to feel dizzy on the treadmill so I quit where I was at.
Tuesday: Cycled 30 minutes on trainer.

Bootie Buster points this week: (Sat 11-20 to Fri 11-26): 2 points for veggie-eating the 20th & the 21st, 5 points for running (3.2 Sat, 1.8 Mon) and 2 points for biking on trainer on Tues.= 9

This next week is promising to be crazy as well.  Four more days at the greenhouse until I am officially a stay-at-home-mom!  I'm not going to worry about trying to fit in workouts this week, too many other things that have to get done.  If I get to the end of the day and have the time, I'll work out, but I'm not going to stress out trying to fit it in.  Next week I'll actually be able to work out while Dave is home instead of at 9:30PM after Liam goes to bed.  Working out that late has really screwed up my sleep schedule and now I'm fighting to get much sleep at all. And I'm off to bed now to lie awake for who knows how long...

Weekly Training Log: November 15-21

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: off - extremely tired, thought I was getting Dave's illness so took some time off and tried to get some sleep.
Thursday: Swim lesson, total of 65 yds
Friday: off, worked late getting floral orders done
Saturday:  Finally, I felt like working out!  3 miles on the treadmill, 29:00.  20 seconds faster per mile than my usual pace and it felt good!  Maybe that time off was okay.
Sunday: Marathon house-cleaning wore me out!  No run today,couldn't get to pool to swim because of icy roads.

The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge started with Saturday's workout.  I earned three points for my run on Saturday and two points for eating 7 servings of fruits/veggies both Saturday and Sunday.

It's back on the horse today.  Going for a tempo run on the treadmill tonight since I'm running a Turkey Trot on Thursday, my regular tempo day.  Biking planned for tomorrow and just an easy run Wednesday night.  I'm afraid the hills on Thursday may kick my ass!

Bootie Busting Here I Come

I just signed up for the 2010 Holiday Bootie Busting Challenge ( see button on right sidebar).  I'm hoping this will help get my motivation back up and keep it there!  The challenge starts tomorrow, November 20th, so of course I have to start off tomorrow with a good run!  I don't have much hope of winning the challenge.  I know there are a lot of people that put in more miles a week than I can.  Last year's winner had 442.6 points!
I am making it a personal goal to meet the following benchmarks during this challenge:  Running: 84 miles; Biking (on trainer): 14 hours; Swimming: 9 hours.  Meeting these goals will net 176 points for the challenge.  Secondary goal will be 200 points from exercise. BHAG will be 225 points from exercise. 
I also need to focus on the eating fruits and veggies.  Um, yeah, I think I ate 2 servings of fruit and one veggie today.  Not so good.  Speaking of eating, I am pretty sure I'm short on calories today.  Time to go have a snack.  I think I'll see what I have for fruits or veggies!
If you want to join, sign-up ends at the end of the day on November 20th so don't procrastinate.  Get your butt over there and sign up now!

Have you seen my motivation?

Wow, it seems that my motivation disappeared when the snow came.  I haven't even been running outside for the past month.  It's not like I have to go out in the snow!  But alas, all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep.  I think this week may be an adjustment week and I'll just take it easy, try to get a couple swims and an easy run or two in and not worry about it.  And I'm going to try to go to bed super-early all week.   Ugh, super-early must mean now, I'm pooped!

Weekly Training Log

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 60 minutes on trainer
Wednesday: Tempo run, 1 mi w.u., 1.25 mi @ 8:34 pace, 1 mi c.d.
Thursday: Swim lesson = 300 meters
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Off, no really good excuse, just tired.
Sunday: Swim- 500 meters total, 1/2 kicking/balance drills, 1/2 swim

Saturday Seven: Reflections on the week

Seven random thoughts from this week:
1)  This is my new favorite oatmeal recipe.  The only thing I do differently is eat the banana separately.  I don't like banana-flavored things.  One thing to note is that when you take it off the stove it is really runny and looks like oatmeal soup.  Never fear, as it cools to eating temperature it will absorb the extra liquid! And, I've decided almond milk is awesome.

2)  Low-sodium V8 makes great soup.  Add spices of choice, heat & eat!  Bonus: it's good for me!

3)  People that are "so sad that we're closing" the store but never shopped there before it was all on clearance annoy me.   If you liked the shop so much, why weren't you patronizing it before?

4)  Our mail lady is awesome.  She's afraid of our dogs (I don't blame her, the one is kind of evil toward strangers) so she brings any packages that don't fit in the mailbox to the shop instead of leaving me a card and making me go to the post office to pick it up.  I heart her. 

5)  I hate winter.  I really want to bring Liam outside to introduce him to snow for the first time, but every time I look out I decide that the warm living room is much nicer.  I'm going to try really hard to get my lazy butt out there after his nap.  Now if only I knew where the camera was...

6)  I don't know how anyone can afford to buy baby food.  Seriously, more than $1 for 5-7 ounces of ____(fill in the blank: peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc.)  Crazy! 

7) Dave got a deer!  I can't wait to eat some nice lean venison.  We ran out sometime last spring and I was missing it.  I need to grind some for burger ASAP.  I can't stand store-bought ground beef! 

Swim Lesson Update

I had my first swim lesson today!  We found out that I suck.  The good new is, I can only get better! 
We just worked on kicking and breathing today.  She asked me at the very beginning if I had  problem putting my face underwater, I said no.  I was wrong.  It was a very strange feeling to exhale underwater.  I think it was the pressure against the exhale that bothered me.  I don't remember that being so bothersome.  I got the hang of it, on and off.  Same with kicking.  Sometimes it worked, sometimes not.  Assigned drills for the week include kicking only and kicking/breathing. 
Swimming is definitely going to be my biggest weakness for the triathlon.  I need to work even harder than I thought, but I think I'm up for the challenge!  I think I'll try to get to the pool again Saturday.  We'll see what Liam is up to and whether Mom & Dad can watch him. 

Swim Lesson Tomorrow= Nervous

I'm a big girl, one would think I could certainly go to my first swim lesson without getting my undies in a bunch.  Nope!  I am soooo nervous!  It's been YEARS since I've been swimming.  I mean, actually swimming, not just goofing around in the water.  I know how to swim.  I took all the classes up until the lifeguard class.  There was NO WAY I was going off that high board.  I'm sure my technique is terrible after all these years, thus the private lessons.  Also, I've never gone to lap swim before.  I have no idea how that works.  I am so afraid of being slow and being in someone else's way.  Worst of all, I am afraid of looking stupid.  I am not good at that.  I hate being the person who doesn't know what he/she is doing!  Aaaack!  Just thinking about it is making me more nervous! 
Time to stop thinking about it.  It's 9PM, the baby is asleep, and I need to go do a tempo run on the treadmill.  And wash my new swimsuit. 

Local Races

There are two 5K's in Mankato this Saturday:
5th Annual ROTC Vet's Day 5K
Turkey 5K Fun Run & Food Drive

There is also the Diva Dash 5K in Centerville and the Gamehaven True Cross-Country Run (5 mile) in Rochester.

More info on these races can be found at www.mankatomultisport.com or at the Greater Mankato Multisport Club's Facebook page.

Weekly Training Log (late again!)

Aaack!  I'm late again posting my weekly training log.  Here it is:
M: Ran 7 mi, treadmill, 73:08
T: cycle 30 min, trainer
W: Off- was completely exhausted, went to bed @ 9:30
Th: Tempo run, 1 mi WU, 1 mi 8:34, 1 mi CD
F: Off
Sat: Off again.  I was busy getting things ready for the baptism these two days.
Sun: Ran 6 mi; ran w/ sister, sister-in-law, and dad, 1:02:51
Weekly mileage: 16 miles
Monthly mileage (November): 16 miles
Yearly mileage (since Oct 1, 2010): 65.3

I am exhausted again today like I was Wednesday.  I may go to bed by 8:30 tonight if I can get everything done.  I left a cooler of baby food at the greenhouse, and I need to go get it.  I can't stand the idea of throwing away 11 ounces of milk.  I work hard to make that stuff!  Anyway, L is already asleep so I need to get a hold of Mom or Dad to sit out here with him while I go to town.  Their phone is busy.  So I wait. 

Race report and Weekly Training Log

Well I don't know if you could actually call it racing at the speed we were going, but we had a good run.  Liam and I met my friend Traci at the St. Peter Halloween 5K Fun Run Saturday.  I was worried about it being too cold for Liam but it ended up being in the upper 40's to lower 50's by race time and I had him bundled up pretty good.  I had made him this hat and mitties the night before.  He only wore the hat, my mitties still need perfecting.  

We started the race way too far in the back.  It's so hard to tell if people are runners or walkers.  Also, you never know if they are starting too far forward or back!  We dodged through the walkers for about the first 5 minutes and then hit a nice mid-ten-minute pace.  Pretty good for me with the stroller.  And then we came to the hills. I did not, however, feel any guilt about the slow pace up the hills as there were 3 other ladies with strollers running up every hill right next to me.  I looked down at the Garmin at one point to find that we were "running" at 13:34 pace.  Okay, so technically that pace may not be called running.  But uphill with a stroller, it sure felt like it!  We went up a couple big hills toward campus (Gustavus Adolphus) and turned back in the direction of the finish.  We were sure it had to be all downhill from there!  What?!? We turn the corner and there's another hill?  and another?  and another?  (Okay, so a couple of these were just small rises but when you're tired, pushing a stroller, AND you thought you were all done with hills, if it looks like a hill and feels like a hill, then it IS a hill!)  Finally with about 3 blocks to go, we hit the downhill.  Boy, that felt good on my tired legs!  And although I didn't have enough energy to take on anyone trying to outsprint us at the finish, we finished steady and I'm proud to say we ran the whole way.  Oh, and we beat a girl from high school that we never really liked much.  Sixteen years later you would think that wouldn't matter much.  It does.  Girls are petty.  I know this to be true because, to my dismay, sometimes I can be very petty.
Liam managed to stay awake for about half the race.  He was very good and just took it all in until the point where he fell asleep.  Traci said he was just looking around and watching the people that passed us and the people we passed.  He's a good little running partner!

(Okay, this is sideways, it keeps flipping it when I add it to the page!  Sorry, but you'll just have to turn your head.)

Weekly Training Log:
Monday:  Off
Tuesday:Ran 3 miles on treadmill, easy 30:00
Wednesday:  Ran hill repeats on the treadmill.  4x 0.25miles at 4% incline with 0.25 mile rest at 0% incline.  Warmup and cooldown.  Total= 3 miles
Thursday:  Was supposed to be yoga, but Liam was too fussy to drop off with mom, so rest day it is.
Friday:  2 miles easy on treadmill to stretch out legs for tomorrow.
Saturday:  5K Fun Run in St. Peter.  Time was 35:08.
Sunday:  Was supposed to be long run, but I'm wiped and I think I'm getting an inner ear infection.  I've been dizzy the last day-and-a-half.  Skipped run.  Started taking antihistamine for ear, hope to feel better and get back on track tomorrow. 
Weekly mileage: 11.1 miles
Monthly mileage: 49.3 miles

Ready To Race

I should be packing for the race tomorrow instead of messing around on the computer.  Liam and I are going to St. Peter for the Halloween 5K Fun Run.  It's promising to be quite cold in the morning.  Hopefully it will warm up a little before the race starts.  Poor Liam is going to be all bundled up like a little Eskimo!  I did make him a new fleece hat and mitts for the occasion.  I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow to post. 
The Garmin Forerunner 205 arrived this morning!  I'm all set to use that tomorrow for the first time.  I'm excited to see just how it works.  Also, I've joined a new social media site for athletes, Strands.  It allows for training tracking in great detail (think heart rate, weight before and after a workout) and is compatible with my new toy, the Garmin.  I don't know how social I will be, but the tracking aspects of the site seem to be something that will work well for me. 
Other new stuff that arrived this week:  a Mountain Hardwear running top (purchased with Moosejaw points), Strength Training For Triathletes, Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open Water Swimming, a Nike Shortini (I'm not sure I'm comfortable in a regular swimsuit with my current post-baby body shape), and TYR Technoflex 4.0 goggles.    Time to stop spending money for a while! 

I'm gettin' a Garmin!

I tried SOOOO hard all morning to not purchase said Garmin.  Amazon.com had the Garmin Forerunner 205 on sale for $99.  A heck of a deal, and I'm a sucker for a good deal.  By 1PM I had myself convinced that "Santa" will bring me $100 like he has every year for the past 20-some years and that this would be my Santa present.  So I bought it.  And then I got free 2-day shipping! It should be here on Friday, I'm so excited!  Sure hope "Santa" brings me that $100!

This morning I was worried that I wouldn't be able to run.  I was getting down on the floor to play with Liam and something in my left SI joint popped.  It's been painful on and off all day when I've shifted my weight wrong and especially going down stairs. It's the same side that bothered me when I was pregnant so I wasn't surprised, I guess.  My sister (a PT) says that since I'm still breastfeeding, I'm still hypermobile and that I should get a massage, having them concentrate on the gluteus med.  Oh shucks, a massage!  Ultimately, I had no pain while running tonight.  I'll be crossing my fingers that it doesn't decide to cause a problem. 

Resisting Couch-potato-ness

The only run you regret is the one you didn't do.  I heard a saying similar to that on a podcast today.  I had to keep repeating it to get myself off the couch and to the treadmill tonight.  The wind is blowing so hard outside that it makes me just want to curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea.  And now that I'm done with my run, I think I will!

Monday Stuff

Not much happened during my posting hiatus.  Just basic training and day-to-day stuff.  We were gone for a wedding this weekend.  I did my best to work my training around it, but ended up just not having a good run Sunday night.  I hadn't felt good for much of the day (dizzy) so I wasn't too surprised.  Hopefully getting my eating and my schedule back on track will help.  I was a little disappointed that I didn't get to run the route that I had mapped out in White Bear.  Oh well, there's always next time. 

I called the Y about swim lessons on Friday.  They were going to have the swim coach call me as she is usually the one who helps people with technique.  I'm anxiously awaiting her call!  I'm trying to figure out how to schedule the greenhouse hours for the next 6 weeks around my swim schedule.  I may have to go really early one morning out of the week.  Or only  go twice a week.  We'll see. 

We have decided to close the greenhouse the week after Thanksgiving.  I just can't feasibly go through a holiday season by myself with no daytime help.  Hannah is good help, but she doesn't get here until 3:30.  We've also decided to close at 5PM instead of 6PM starting today.  It makes me sad to see it close after all our hard work but I'm trying to be very practical about it. 

Looking forward to a good week!

Belated Weekly Training Log

I was supposed to do this yesterday.  Oops!  Here's the summary of last week's training:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday:  Ran 3.1 miles on treadmill, 30:15
Wednesday: Brick: Bike 40 min on trainer, Ran 2 miles on treadmill
Thursday:  Yoga
Friday: Ran 3miles on treadmill, easy
Saturday:  Bike 30 minutes on trainer (was supposed to be 40, but we were running late for a wedding)
Sunday:  Ran 2 miles on treadmill.  Was supposed to be 6 miles, but I started out not feeling that good and stsill didn't feel good by the 2 mile mark so I stopped. 
Weekly Totals: Run 10.1 miles, Bike 70 minutes
Monthly Totals:  Run 38.2 miles, Bike 90 minutes  Yearly totals are the same as I didn't start keeping track until October. 

More Motivation

The swim goggles and cap showed up today.  Now I have one less reason to avoid going to the pool.  I may as well give in and go, I can't exactly do a triathlon without swimming!  I hate going place that I'm not familiar with and, even more, I hate people seeing that I don't know what I'm doing.  I'm just going to have to put on my big girl panties and go.  Can't go tomorrow morning, I have floral arrangements to do.  Maybe Thursday.  The problem is I no longer have part-time help during the day at the greenhouse.  I may have to close down the shop for a morning "appointment" so I can go get a membership set up, tour the place and inquire about swim coaches. I wish I could go tomorrow and just get it over with.  We'll see how early Liam gets up.  If we can leave by 8AM, we could be back by 10AM for Dave to take him for the morning.  Hmmm.......

Weekly Training Log

I've decided that Sunday's post should be a recap of my training for the week.  It helps keep me accountable. 

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Ran 3 miles on treadmill: tempo run, tempo mile was 9:18
Wednesday: Ran 3 miles on treadmill, easy day
Thursday:  Ran 3 miles outside with stroller.  Very windy!!!  Second half against the wind was very slow!
Friday: Rest
Saturday:  Put bike on trainer.  20 minute easy ride
Sunday:  Long run, 6 miles.  They were slow but I did all 6 without walking!

Of course since I ran long today, I get to eat a few more calories.  Supper was delicious; spinach salad with homemade dijon vinaigrette, Outrageous Garlic Soup (a new recipe), and gruyere toasts.  Add a glass of Reisling and I had the perfect supper.

I have had some conflicting thoughts on whether or not to track my weight loss in this blog.  I have decided that there will be no disclosure of weight but I will document my progress.  Weight will be tracked as W minus X (like a time countdown, you know, i.e. T minus 10).  My weight after losing the pregnancy weight (sometime in August) was W minus 42.  This morning's weigh in put me at W minus 36.  My weight loss progress will be logged with my weekly training log. 

Looking forward to another great week of training, eating, and hanging out with my boys!

Biking In The Basement

I finally gave up and put my bike on the trainer.  There's no way I'm going to get outside with it more than a couple times yet this year.  It's just so BORING to ride my bike in the basement!  Maybe I need to repaint down there and hang up some motivational something.  I also think I need to tape (yes, tape, we don't have a DVR) some triathlons, bike races, adventure races, etc to watch while I'm down there. 

I am encouraged by my first ride.  It's been over a year since I was on the bike.  I read on one of the triathlon websites (can't remember which) that bike cadence during the race should be 90-95 rpm.  I thought I was never going to get anywhere near that.  Turns out that's about what I do on an easy ride.  So basically I just have to work on keeping that cadence in the harder rides, up hills, etc... 

I was going to do my long run today.   The weather looked beautiful but unfortunately it was really windy (25-35mph).  I didn't want to buck that with the stroller or subject Liam to it.  The wind is only supposed to be 5-10mph tomorrow so I held off.  I'm scheduled to run 5 but I'm aching to run 6.  We'll see what I feel like tomorrow.  Now I must tend to the dishes, diapers and getting a good night's sleep!

It's Friday!

Hooray for Friday!  I've decided that the greenhouse will now be closed on Saturdays.  I've lost some of my weekday help which makes my week less flexible.  By Friday I'm pretty much shot.  I also don't have that many customers on Saturdays.  Might as well take the time off to spend with family, exercising, and cleaning the house.  Maybe I'll even be able to find time to work on the thank-you notes for all the stuff we got after Liam was born!

The breakfast cookies were yummy!  I will definitely be making those again.   Although next time I may follow the recipe.  I used butter instead of margarine and used a half cup of canola oil in place of a half cup of applesauce (I ran out of applesauce).  They were definitely tasty but a little calorie heavy with the extra oil.  I am usually a butter girl, but the margarine would eliminate all the saturated fat and cholesterol so I'll try them that way next time and see how they taste.   I can't wait to play with different fruit and nut combinations!

Happy Friday!

Run + Stroller + Wind =

Success!

I was sure I was going to be writing about my running failure tonight as I ran out with the wind.  It was only a three-mile run but that first mile-and-a-half felt way too easy and the wind was still whipping by.  I turned around to return home with a sense of impending doom.  Surprisingly, the next half-mile wasn't so bad!  It was the half-mile after that that just about brought me to a standstill.  And when I say standstill, I'm only exaggerating a little bit.  I ran with both hands on the stroller (I normally only run with one), leaned into it and pushed as hard as I could, all the while trying to maintain a pace that could be considered running.  Thank goodness it was only half a mile!  I managed to run the entire three miles, pausing only briefly to put on my brightly colored windbreaker as the sun started to sink below the horizon.  Hooray for me!  That's three runs this week.  I'm on track to make my goal of four runs with days to spare.


I tried a new breakfast cookie recipe tonight (with a couple modifications).  I'll let you know how they taste tomorrow.  I'm done eating for the day.

I'm also done being awake for the day.  Off to bed for me...

We Have A Plan!

Talked to my sister last night.  She is game for all the crazy ideas on the bucket list as well.  First goal?  Ironman!  This will be a two-year training commitment.  We are looking at doing a half-ironman distance tri next summer and I think we're aiming for Coeur d'Alene in 2012.  Of course Kona would be the ideal but with three of us trying to get into the same race (her friend Caroline has also joined the craziness), we're being realistic and thinking Idaho is the place to go.  Even then, we're all going to have to camp out by our computers when registration opens.  Registration for most Ironman events closes within hours. 

I had a great treadmill run last night while Liam was napping.  After a slow warm-up mile I felt pretty good and decided to do a tempo run to push my pace a little.  My tempo mile was 9:18!  I know this seems slow, but I haven't been able to run that fast since I was 25 pounds lighter than I am now.  If I can shed some of this weight in the course of my training, I should be able to increase my pace even more.  This is a small victory, but very encouraging to me, nonetheless.  (Especially considering I just started running regularly last week.)

My biggest battle is going to be swimming.  There are three pools within 30 miles all with varying levels of coaching (from none to a master's swim club) and varying times for lap swim.  Once I'm done at the greenhouse I'll be able to swim in Worthington in the late morning.  This would work the best for me since I'm not a morning person and the best for Dave because he will probably be awake by then to take care of Liam.  The two closer pools only have lap swim in the wee hours of the morning but are significantly closer and cheaper.  I'm going to try to go to Mountain Lake twice next week and see how that works out for all of us.  This means I have to wake up at 5:30.  Wish me luck!

The Bucket List

This is not a "before I kick the bucket" list.  This is a "what do I want to fill my bucket with" list.  These are some of the drops I would like in my bucket.  Let me preface it by saying I was watching a triathlon on Universal Sports at the time I wrote this.  I get overly ambitious while watching triathlons. 

The Bucket List
Alaska
Summit Mt. Rainier
Windom Peak
Yukon River Quest
50-miler
100-miler
Badwater
Through-hike the Superior Trail
Rim-to-rim-to-rim of the Grand Canyon
Ironman
More backpacking in Glacier

Now some of these are obviously way beyond my abilities right now.  OK, most of them.  A girl can dream, can't she?  Isn't that what a bucket list is for?   Sure, there are many other things I would like to do.  This short list are the ones that have been in the back of my mind for years.  The ones that when brought up I say to myself, "Boy, wouldn't that be awesome." 

Here's to filling all our buckets with something awesome!

My very first blog post

It occurred to me the other day that blogging may be a good way to keep myself accountable to all the crazy ideas I keep coming up with.  If I write them down and someone reads them then I have to follow through, right?  Not that anyone will over read my blog.  I may not even tell anyone about it for a while.  It's scary to think that I may suddenly have to follow through with all my crazy plans! 

About the name:  Coming up with a name for a blog isn't as easy as one may think.  You want it to sound catchy, smart (but not too smart), and want it to reflect on you personally so that when people see it, they think, "Oh, yeah, I can see why she picked that."   And trying to focus on just one area of my life?  No way could I narrow this down to just a cooking blog or just a mommy blog or just a fitness (or lack thereof) blog.  Therefore we have "Another Drop In The Bucket".  All the pieces and experiences of my life coming together in one bucket. 

My next dilemma:  How do I structure my posts?  Do I post as something "important" happens? as whimsy strikes? once a day?  This is yet to be determined and may vary from day-to-day. 

Anyone reading this:  Welcome!  I hope you enjoy reading my blog.  If you don't, stop reading, silly.  Yes, it's that simple.  I have no expectations for readers, followers, or groupies.  This blog is mostly for me to have a place to sort out and document my hare-brained ideas.  If you enjoy it, please let me know.  If not, please sit quietly and don't ever tell me.

Thanks for taking the time to get this far!