September 17, 2012

Stolen

We had a bit of a dramatic evening yesterday. My kids were taking their showers and getting ready for bed when my parents stopped over on their bikes and asked if the boys wanted to go for a bike ride with them. I told the kids they could after they got their pajamas on. Eli said he couldn't find his bike all day.

Eli is ALWAYS losing things, so I didn't think anything of it. I walked into the backyard, and saw a bike--but it wasn't Eli's. Noah said it belonged to the boy that lives behind us, so I returned it and asked if they knew where Eli's bike was... they didn't know. I went back home and circled the house, thinking he just left it in the yard somewhere, but it was nowhere to be seen.

My dad and Noah rode their bikes to a couple of the kids' friends houses, to see if it wound up there, but no luck. We finally realized someone had actually stolen Eli's bike. He just got this bike in July, when we went to my sister's house. Remember how the other kids had bikes to ride, and Eli didn't, so my sister took him to Wal-Mart to buy a bike? It wasn't a super fancy bike or anything, but it was brand new, so I was bummed.

I put the kids in the Jeep and we drove around the neighborhood, looking in all the yards to see if we could find it. We didn't. Whenever I saw kids outside playing, I stopped and asked them if they'd seen the bike, and said that we would give a $5 reward to them if they brought it back. ;)

Eli was feeling really bad, and when it was time for bed, he said, "Mama, I feel weird. My stomach feels weird, like I did something wrong." (Basically, he was feeling guilty). Of course, I told him that it wasn't his fault that his bike was stolen. I had a hard time falling asleep because I was just pissed that someone would do that. Our neighborhood is very safe and we've never had problems like this before. At midnight, Eli came into my room and said that his stomach was hurting because he feels bad that someone stole his bike, so I let him sleep in my bed.

This morning before school, Jerry said he would take Eli out for a drive again to look for the bike. About 15 minutes later, Eli came in, boasting, "We found it!" It was in the neighborhood next to ours, in somebody's yard. The seat had been jacked up as high as it would go, so it was probably a teenager that took it. I was so relieved!

Eli asked if he could wear a tie to school today... doesn't he look adorable?!



After the boys got on the bus, I did my run. On the schedule was 60 minutes easy running with 8 pick-ups (30 seconds fast). I don't know if I mentioned this on Friday, but my left knee started hurting during my 20-miler. My "bad" knee is my right one, and it finally seems to be fine--but it was my right knee that started hurting on Friday :(  I took it easy all weekend, and it felt okay.

I didn't want to run outside today, since the treadmill really does seem to help with knee pain; so I planned to do my run on the treadmill. I decided that the very second my knee started hurting, I was going to stop--I wasn't going to run through the pain, like I did in the spring (and wound up with a bad injury). I started out at 6.0 mph, which is actually starting to feel a little too easy now--I think I need to change it to 6.1 or 6.2 for my "easy" pace. But today, I really wanted to take it easy, so that was good.

I even did my pick-ups at an easier pace of 7.0 (I "should" be doing more like 10.0 for the sprints). I felt totally fine until mile four, when I felt a small twinge of pain in my knee. Just like I'd promised myself, I called it quits. My next run is on Wednesday, and I'll do the same thing if I have to. Thankfully, as soon as I stopped running, my knee felt totally fine and it hasn't bothered me the rest of the day. Hopefully I can avoid injury this way. I used the foam roller when I was done.


Some of you were asking about muesli, and if it tastes like granola. It doesn't taste like granola because it's not sweetened. Granola has a ton of sugar in it, which is what makes it crunchy. It's kind of like "candied" oatmeal. Muesli is just unsweetened raw oats with dried fruit, seeds, and nuts. It has a chewy texture, rather than crunchy like granola. But as far as health food, muesli trumps granola.

If you like oatmeal, and dried fruits and nuts, then I'm sure you will like the muesli. If the muesli isn't sweet enough for you, then you could try adding some maple syrup or honey to the liquid that you soak or cook it in. Muesli is really easy on my stomach, so if I eat before a run, muesli is a good choice (that's what I had before my 20-miler on Friday). I also have it for dinner sometimes when I don't feel like cooking. The only drawback is the tiny portion size! It stays with you for a while though--I don't get hungry for at least a few hours after eating it.


I am SO ready for my favorite fall TV shows to start! Hopefully next week? Parenthood started last week, but that's the only one (that I watch) that has been on so far.

16 comments:

  1. That happened to my sister when we were younger! We found her bike behind a neighbors house. All the stickers had been torn off and the seat was all weird. I'm glad everything turned out ok! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Poor kiddo. I hope his stomach settled down. I'm glad you found his bike. :) He looks very handsome in his tie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Glad you got his bike back :o)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your poor little guy! So glad they found it. But it would give me the chills too. We have a great neighborhood-I'd hate to think of some jerks messing it up.

    I need to try the cold museli. It sounds really delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So glad you found it! Having things stolen is THE WORST!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hope your knee pain was just a flukey thing!

    ReplyDelete
  7. he looks adorable in his tie!! Glad you found the bike :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. He is so handsome!

    Q- how do you suggest I handle temp runs? I start incorporating 1 a week starting today. Is there a right or wrong way? I was going to up my pace every 5 minutes and then the last 5 minutes go back to my easy pace.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What you're describing is more of a progression run--where you get faster and faster throughout the run. A tempo run is a run that is meant to be run at a harder pace than normal; you should feel like you want to slow down, but it shouldn't be hard like a sprint. If your schedule says, for example, 5 miles with 3 miles at tempo pace--you would warm-up for a mile at an easy pace, then run 3 at a comfortably hard pace, then go back to easy for a mile. Does that make sense? Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions!

      Delete
  9. Glad you found the bike and yes....Eli is absolutely adorable in that tie! What a stud!

    Sometimes I wish I had the option of not making dinner, and just having something really healthy and low fat JUST FOR ME! Like oatmeal or I might even try muesli. But hubby always expects meat and potatoes or something equally fattening, so I'm stuck. I know sometimes you have to cook for Jerry too, I'm guessing he was working last night so you had the luxury of making something for the kids and then just having something you wanted for yourself. My hubby is weird too, in that he thinks we should always eat the same things. He doesn't realize how hard that it for me sometimes. I make his lunch and it usually consists of our leftovers from the night before, but if he knew that most of the time I pack myself something completely different (I really try to eat light at lunch), it would upset him. Isn't that odd???? He loves that I have lost weight, but he would just as soon that it didn't affect the eating habits he has grown used to over the last 42 years. I guess he's just a guy.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Handsome young man you have there. Glad the bike was found, that is an awful feeling.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So glad the bike was found! Thanks for the explanation on Muesli. Sounds wonderfully yummy and filling.

    ReplyDelete
  12. So glad that you found his bike! Its a shame that you have to just about nail everything down these days.

    I had some really good muesli on a cruise this Spring, it was basically what you have described except that it was honey sweetened. Kind of reminded me of cold oats in a jar, but better.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad you guys found the bike! We've had my bike stolen and it had my bike trailer (for the baby to ride in) attached once (and we've also had our double jogger stolen, too) and it SUCKS! So glad you found yours!!

    Also? I didn't know Parenthood started last week already! GGGRRR! I guess I'll have to hurry and watch last weeks on Hulu before watching the second one tonight! Yay! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hey Katie -- I've only recently found your blog and I love it. You are very encouraging and inspirational. I have about 85 more lbs to lose (only 12 down so far) and I want to run again. I used to run about 10 yrs ago before I had twins and put on a bunch of weight.


    One thought about your knee -- have you considered a chiropractic adjustment? I have had trouble with my left knee for about 30 yrs., but about 10 yrs ago I went to the chiropractor for a back adjustment and I mentioned my knee. She adjusted it, said I had some slight arthritis, but as long as it stays adjusted, it's fine. Now, I rarely have knee pain and when I do, I just know I need it adjusted.

    Thanks again for your great blog.

    ReplyDelete
  15. i've been reading your blog for a few months but this will be my first comment! you're really inspiring and very fun to read!

    i think the main difference between muesli and granola is that granola is baked in the oven and muesli isn't. if you make your own granola and control the amount of sugar/honey and oil you put in it it's actually not that unhealthy (in small doses). though the store bought varieties definitely have too much sugar! some brands of store bought muesly can also have sugars, so always check the ingredients and nutrition information. i prefer granola because i like the crunch, mushy oats aren't really my thing. in my country granola isn't very known so i started making my own. it's easy to find great recipes on the internet, even at sparkpeople's recipes.

    keep up the good work! i hope the knee thing doesn't happen again!

    ps - sorry for my english, it's not my main language.

    ReplyDelete

I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

Featured Posts

Blog Archive