RNC_Blogs

The most wonderful time of the year

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:46:44 +0000

It’s almost here – the weekend when I make my annual trek to the nation’s capital – you guessed it, Ottawa Race Weekend. For iRun, it’s practically Christmas! I’ll be hanging out at the iRun booth at the expo for a while on Friday and Saturday – please stop by to grab a pin and a copy of the current issue, and don’t forget to bring that pile of change off your dresser to throw in the buckets for Mark Sutcliffe’s $50K Run for a Reason in support of the Ottawa Hospital! I’ll also be donning my pace bunny ears once again for the travelling street party half marathon.

Without further ado, but with plenty of apologies to Andy Williams, I give you my newly-written running carol in honour of Ottawa Race Weekend!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
With the kids a-cowbelling and everyone telling you “be of good cheer!”
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

It’s the hap-happiest season of all!
With those taperful-greetings and pre-expo meetings when friends come to call!
It’s the hap-happiest season of all!

There’ll be parties for hosting, with pasta and boasting and someone with nail-less toes.
There’ll be scary race stories, and tales of the glories of marathons long, long ago.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
There’ll be lots of skin showing and legs might be glowing when race time draws near.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

There’ll be no time for coasting, and it could be roasting, and blisters are part of the show.
There’ll be pain inventories and plenty of mores that get chucked right out the window!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
There’ll be water cup throwing and cheers to “keep going” when finish lines near!
It’s the most wonderful time!

Yes the most wonderful time!

It’s the most wonderful tiiiiiiime! Of the year!

…as the day is long…

Sat, 19 May 2012 23:26:42 +0000

Today:
- Ran 11 miles, half of which were cross-country and trail;
- Painted the basement walls
- Painted the porch pillar and the repaired tuck pointing in the foundation
- Mowed the lawn
- Repainted the bathroom door, where Gabe threw a fit and bashed it because Sam was taunting him on the other side
- Got stuck in traffic due to an incredibly bloated 5K being held downtown, directly in front of the church where the kids had play practice
- Felt like collapsing. Several times.

For the record, ventilation when painting is hugely overrated. The dancing spiders in the basement agreed with me, just before offering to choreograph me into their strange yet beautiful reel…

Permalink | One comment PLEASE CLICK THROUGH TO COMMENT! (Otherwise I might miss it entirely...)

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Uncategorized.

One more (half) sleep

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:54:15 +0000

Eric’s been away this week on business, but he gets back in the wee hours tonight, so YAY. I’m in that wildly swinging state of mind that comes from the exhaustion of not sleeping (“What was that bump downstairs? WAS IT A BURGLAR?!”) and the hopped-up boredom of having spoken to…well, have I spoken face-to-face with anybody besides the kids since he left? I honestly can’t remember. All a blur.

I’ve been cleaning, organizing, purging, what have you, in our thrust toward getting out of this place. This week, it’s been all about the kids’ rooms. You would not believe the amount of crap I’ve tossed or donated, or maybe you would, if you’ve got kids. I’m working on a theory that it multiplies…mates…breeds when you’re not looking. Look here:

SpongeBob doesn't even wear a watch...

I remember buying a SpongeBob watch for Gabe – one watch. So why did I find two? And this is just one example of the mysteries I’ve given up trying to solve. Don’t even speak to me of Legos. I mean it; I’ll have to start throwing them at you. And the next kid who asks me for a piece of paper gets pushed into the towering pile of notebooks, each with two or three doodles contained inside, I’ve plumbed from every corner of their playroom.

Still in my pajama pants; I didn’t even manage to get dressed today. Good thing I decided upon waking that it was going to be a rest day; my lats are destroyed from my brilliant plan of doing ten burpees after each mile of my six-miler on Tuesday. I can barely lift my arms. But it’s a good agony, right?

Permalink | No comments PLEASE CLICK THROUGH TO COMMENT! (Otherwise I might miss it entirely...)

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Completely random, Fitness and Health, House and Home, Pictures and movies.

Sometimes

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:24:47 +0000

Sometimes life gets so big, and so busy, and so exhausting, from the big to the small things, ceiling to floor, that at the end of the day, sitting back and going through it all in your head seems too much. “I don’t have the energy to remember it all” you say to yourself. “I barely had enough to get through it the first time.”

Days pass like that, and weeks, and before you know it, you are going to start forgetting those moments you were too tired to recall just then but didn’t really want to forget.

I don’t want to forget.

In April, Sam and I ran two 5Ks. I need to recap those more thoroughly, and I will, but let it suffice for now to say that they had their ups and downs, and that he continues to run and plan for his triathlon next month, as well as for another 5K (Race for the Bacon!) and possibly one of the shorter Lighthouse Run distances (two or four mile).

The week after the second 5K, on May 5, I ran the Wisconsin Half-Marathon on a complete whim. I needed something to cheer me up in a huge way, make me feel strong and mentally whole again. See, the week before, our house got burglarized. Yes, again. Yes, really. This time, they kicked in the door; I was only out of the house for a few hours, but when I came back, I found the door standing open, lock smashed, and most of our electronics gone, as well as my jewelry. Needless to say, this second violation (within two years!) has us all feeling very traumatized in various ways. We’ll be moving as soon as we can; I hope that helps.

That’s one set of feelings I wouldn’t mind forgetting, actually. Somehow, I doubt I ever will.

On a better note, Sam got into the second of the two charter schools, the smaller one. We’re thrilled! Also, one of his school friends got in, too, so he’s happy he’ll be seeing at least one familiar face there. Now, to get through the rest of this year! I can’t believe how quickly it’s coming to an end; I nearly missed signing them up for their playground programs, since my brain didn’t register that it was That Time again. We’re just getting from day to day; looking ahead more than a few days into the future feels impossible. Swimming, basketball, running, church…it makes a pattern that keeps us constantly in motion.

I hope to be back with more details soon. Here, have some pictures:

Robo-Gabe

Sam's first 5K

Empty jewelry box

Lego time

At the pool

Permalink | 6 comments PLEASE CLICK THROUGH TO COMMENT! (Otherwise I might miss it entirely...)

Want more on these topics ? Browse the archive of posts filed under Completely random, Familial things, Fitness and Health, House and Home, Meta, Pictures and movies.