May 20, 2014

Field trip to the museum

I got out of bed pretty early to run this morning, because I was going to be chaperoning a field trip for Noah's class today. I figured if I got up at 6:00 to go run, I could be done, showered, and dressed by 7:00--yay for three-milers!

It was SO nice outside. Because it was so early, it was really quiet and peaceful. It was warm enough that I wore just a tank and capris, and there was just a little breeze. It made me remember when I used to get up early to run all the time, because I was only doing short runs, and I just felt really nostalgic when I stepped outside today.

On my schedule today was a three mile tempo run. I didn't want to get nervous about trying to maintain a certain pace or anything, so I told myself I'd just go out and run fast for 3 miles--whatever that pace ended up being. My best runs usually happen when I don't overthink them! I started running, and my legs felt great, and I was sure it would be a good run.

Then, a quarter-mile in, a dog that lives on the end of my street ran at me, barking like crazy. This particular dog is NEVER leashed, and the owners are never outside with him. He's given me problems several times, and I've witnessed him nearly get hit by a car a few times, too. The owners are just really irresponsible. I had zero patience for it today. Usually, when dogs come at me, I get terrified and I freeze up. Today, though, I was pissed that the dog interrupted my nice run, so I started yelling, "NO! GO HOME!"

The dog kept barking, but stopped coming after me, so I started running again. Then the dog ran into the road, and I yelled again, just as a car came by. The dog ran back into his yard, and that was that. But from now on, every single time I see the dog outside without a leash, I'm going to call the police. Not only for my sake, or the sake of other people, but for the dog's sake, too--he lives on the corner of a busy road, and I'm surprised he hasn't been hit by a car yet.

Anyway, the rest of my run was uneventful, and I was really surprised at how good my pace was! My target tempo pace is 8:36-8:51, but I just tried to run "fast"... and ended up finishing with an 8:12 pace over all. That's 27 seconds faster than my 5K time trial last week!


My 5K PR is actually 25:44, so it was faster than that, too. That PR is pretty outdated, though (from 2012). I wish I'd run a 5K when I was my fastest, in the spring of 2013. My time trial then was 24:03, but I never made it "official" by racing. Anyway, I felt really great about my run today! I feel pretty confident that I can do an 8:30 pace for the 8K on Memorial Day.


Noah's field trip was to the Henry Ford Museum. I wrote about that place before, when Jerry and I went. There were 27 kids from Noah's class going to the field trip, and 21 parent chaperones. I really didn't want to go, but when I asked Noah if he wanted me to sign up to chaperone, he really did. Most of the parents were only chaperoning their own kids! I had Noah and one other boy.

The kids were the most interested in the trains. My favorite exhibit is a section where you can see items that represent each generation. I get so nostalgic while looking at all the things from the 80's and 90's! I kept saying, "You guys! Look at this--I used to play with this when I was a kid!" and getting pretty geeked out. I was showing them an exhibit from the 1990's, and the kid who was with us said, "Man, I wouldn't want to live in 19-ANYTHING. It's awful!" I thought that was hilarious.

There was a new exhibit called "Women Who Rock" and it was all female singers from through the years. There were clothes that each of them wore, and some other personal items. It reminded me of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. I'm not a big music person, but I like to look at the clothes. I'm always amazed at how tiny they are! Of course, Noah and his friend asked me, "Who is Britney Spears? Who is Whitney Houston? Who is Billie Holiday?"

A few other things I found interesting:

I was shocked when I saw the size of the Super Size fries container. It's been a
while since they took it off the menu, and I forgot just how big it was. I used to
eat a whole container, along with a big sandwich and soda.

Does anyone else remember these styrofoam containers
from McDonald's? 

This was from a bedroom replica of a teenager's room from the 80's/90's era.
I recognized quite a few things on the shelves!

An artificial sweetener that was banned in 1969. Makes me curious if this will
happen with the artificial sweeteners on shelves today.
This was in the Rosa Parks exhibit, along with the bus that
became infamous. Reading these "suggestions", it's hard to
believe that it was just in 1956, and not the 1800's!

These were the seats on an airplane! (I can't remember the year of the plane)

I'm not usually very interested in history, but some of these things were really fun to see. I've been to the museum a handful of times, but I still find new things every time I go. It was a great day with Noah!

18 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2014

    How old is Noah? At our school, once kids hit second grade they put a limit of 2 parent chaperones per class. I havent figured out their reasoning but it is a real bummer as I know my daughter would love for me to go with! They draw parent names out of a hat :(

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    1. Noah's in fourth grade, but they've never had a limit on chaperones. I always thought my kids would think it was "uncool" for me to go, but I guess that will come later ;)

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  2. Katie, I"m with you on the beauty of early-morning short runs. I usually do 3 to 4 miles at 6:00 a.m., and it's so peaceful then! I have no problem getting across the streets and no one to pass on the sidewalks. I love it!

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  3. The museum pictures are so interesting! I didn't realize they had stuff other than cars at that museum! We will have to check it out this summer.

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    1. I'm not a history/museum person at all, but they have a LOT of interesting things in there! It's worth checking out.

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  4. I totally remember the styrofoam containers!

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  5. I was just at The Henry Ford in April, but it looks like you saw some things I either missed or are new since I was there. It was our first time there, and I really enjoyed it. Looks like a trip back is in order.

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  6. I love any and all museums!! I totally nerd out about History, especially 1900-1950. It absolutely fascinates me.

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  7. Sometimes when I tell my oldest son (12) about things like how McD's used to use styrofoam boxes or how Taco Bell sauce used to come in cups with foil lids like the dips at McD's are he looks at me like I'm crazy and I realize all my "how it used to be" stories just cement in his mind how I'm really really old. LOL ;)

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    1. I know, right?! I was getting SO excited at seeing the things from when I was kid, but I realize I was acting just like my mother would have acted at a field trip when I was a kid ;)

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  8. I totally agree with you about the dog. Those owners are very irresponsible. If you start calling the peace officers about this dog, maybe the owners will realize they are putting their pet in danger. I like how strong you are sounding about the dog now, maybe it will start leaving you alone with yelling at it.
    I love museums, I find it so funny to realize things I loved as a kid are now museum peices, sigh...guess I am starting to reach dinosaur age.

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  9. how do you do your tempo runs versus pace? I was under impression that tempo was something like warm up for 1 mile gradually inc pace then hold the tempo pace for mile 2 and then cooldown mile three whereas pace runs are run at your goal race pace. im interested to see how you do them!

    i think youre right on the money with the dog situation. i would call the cops too. so annoying.

    great run! awesome that you ran faster than your pr! good luck at the 8k this weekend :)

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    Replies
    1. Tempo runs are described differently by different coaches, and what you wrote sounds like Hal Higdon's description. By RRCA standards (and how I define a tempo), a tempo run is a "swift, sustained pace, generally for 20-30 minutes"--a run done at a pace that you could race for about an hour. And yes, there should be a warm-up first. So it might be a one-mile warm-up, followed by 25 minutes at tempo pace, and a one-mile cool down. The tempo pace is usually slightly slower than 10K pace. A "race pace" run is a run that is done at the goal pace for the race you're training for.

      By this definition, the run I did wasn't a tempo, because it was too fast for a tempo run. But because I've been feeling so burnt out on trying to stick to target training paces, I've been basically running by feel. I felt like running fast, so I did! Hopefully this makes sense ;)

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    2. yes that makes complete sense! thanks for explaining. i like your way better! haha! and yes youre right on the money on that- i use hal higdon. and i totally understand what you mean by running fast when you feel like it. when you feel good you just wanna go! today though- i felt tired and sluggish but i was way behind schedule. i finished the run at 6:55 and needed to be in the car showered by 7:10. ha! i ended up sprinting my run practically!

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  10. Keep up the good running! and hope you did good at the 8k!

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  11. The museum looks like fun. When I've went to museums in the past with the kids I think I always enjoy them more than the kids lol

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  12. Those airplane seats look terrifying!

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  13. Congrats on your quick 3.11 miler this am! That is a great time! I'm with you on the dog thing. Ugh. If you turn and actually walk or stomp towards them and yell they tuck tail and run away. I have a gf who carries pepper spray due to a terrible dog in her hood. (BTW have you seen the recent video with the dog attacking the little kid and the cat attacking the dog?! If not CHECK IT OUT!) sorry - ADD moment :)
    Anyway my husband did alot of work for Ford in Detroit and said he has been to the museum. I am currently looking for flights to Detroit to go! And the shelf pic - WHO DID NOT HAVE A CABBAGE PATCH KID?? My brother even had a red headed boy! I actually still have the box mine came in. There is a Baby Land General is the Cabbage Patch hospital in Cleveland GA. We grew up visiting there. Fun times! Sorry to puke on you but the museum took me back! I must go!

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