A weekend in New York

Today is normally Motivational Monday, but I will resume MM next week. I only had one submission, and I forgot to post a reminder, so it'll just make more sense to wait until next Monday.

I got home from NYC yesterday, and I have to say, I enjoyed it much more than I anticipated! I've been to NYC several times: at 16, I went with a friend, but don't remember much; I went in 2011 for The Dr. Oz Show; I went in 2014 for the Purina Better With Pets Summit; and then this weekend, I went to speak on a panel for Prudential. In 2011 and 2014, I was traveling alone, and had NO knowledge of the city. I'm terrible at directions and public transportation, so I found myself frustrated and unable to really make the most of the trips.

I was really excited that I had enough SkyMiles for Jerry to go with me on this trip, because Jerry loves to explore (and learns directions quickly). An old friend of ours, Mike, moved to NYC last year, so I got in touch with him to ask if he wanted to get together while we were there. That ended up working out really well, and made the trip so much fun!

On Friday morning, Jerry and I had to get up super early to leave for the airport. Our flight was at 7:25, so we left the house at 5:30. I took Xanax for the plane, which I hate taking because it makes me so tired, but it helped make the flight go by pretty quickly. (Usually, I have wine before flying, but I wanted to save my calories for NY!).

When we arrived at La Guardia, we took a shuttle that I'd reserved to get to our hotel. We stayed at the Hudson, which was literally a block from Central Park. The last two times I went to the city, I wanted to check out the park, but wasn't able to get there; this time, I wasn't going to take any chances ;) I booked the Hudson through a deal on Priceline (the kind where you pay for a hotel in a particular location, and then they tell you the name of the hotel--kind of a gamble). I was really happy with it, though--it was small, which was expected, but very clean and well-kept. A great location, too! (Prudential gave me a travel stipend for my hotel and flight, but everything was more expensive than I imagined, so I was glad to get a deal where I could).

We dropped off our bags at the hotel, and then right away, we went to meet Mike at the 9/11 Memorial (another place I'd wanted to visit the past couple of trips). The Memorial was AMAZING. We didn't have time to do the museum, which I've heard can take all day, but just seeing the reflecting pools was really touching. I should have taken more pictures, but honestly, pictures couldn't possibly do it justice.

We were starving for lunch by that time, so we met up with Mike's wife, Renee (who was working, but off for lunch) and went to a restaurant/bar called Irish American Pub to get some food. I got a chicken sandwich that had roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella, which was so good! It was really big, so I only ate half of it.

Mike said we could see a great view of the city from the Staten Island ferry, which sounded fun, so we walked around a bit and then headed to the ferry. It was a gorgeous day, and perfect for a ride on the water!

We took the ferry round trip, and then went to Mike's apartment in East Village. I really enjoyed that area of the city more than the touristy parts I've seen. It had a more comfortable feel to it, if that makes sense. Anyway, it was fun to see where Mike lives. We walked to a park to watch the dogs at the fenced-in dog area, which was entertaining. Made me miss Joey! For dinner, we walked to a bar in Mike's neighborhood that had free pizza on Fridays. I tried a watermelon beer there, which was awesome! Jerry and I made our way back to our hotel on the subway without getting lost, so it was a success ;)

On Saturday morning, I got ready to go to the Prudential panel at the BlogHer conferences. The conferences were at the Hilton, which was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. Jerry and I walked downstairs, and were shocked to see that it was pouring rain outside, and thunder storming. I had plenty of time to get to the hotel, so we just waited under a pavilion while it stormed.

When the rain stopped, we grabbed breakfast from a street vendor and walked to the Hilton. We sat in the lobby for a while, and Jerry went over the panel questions with me so I felt more prepared. I was probably overthinking things, but I had never been on a panel before, so I was nervous. Then Jerry left to meet Mike for a Yankees game.

I popped into the expo to go meet a reader named Pam, who said she'd be working at the WordPress booth. She was super nice! And almost had me convinced to switch to WordPess ;)

After chatting for about 20 minutes, I went downstairs to the Prudential lunch/conference. I was too nervous to eat lunch, so I just talked with the other panelists until we got started. I'll write about the panel in a later post, but once it got started, I felt much more comfortable--and it went well! I was very inspired by what the other panelists had to say.

When the panel was over, I decided to go back to the hotel to change clothes (it was CRAZY HOT outside--in the 90's and just as humid as Michigan). I threw on some comfy clothes and then headed to Central Park. I grabbed some lunch from a vendor on the way (chicken and rice) and when I got to the park, I sat down on a rock to eat (and people watch). Being a Saturday, it was super busy in the park. I was glad that I had decided not to go for a run there, because there were so many people that it would have been frustrating to navigate. It was a great time for people-watching, though!

Jerry sent me a text saying that the game was over, so he and Mike would come meet me. I was really craving a yummy dessert, so we got a couple of Red Velvet Whoopie Pies to take back to Mike's place. Mike, Renee, Jerry, and I sat outside in the courtyard of Mike and Renee's apartment and chatted for a few hours before it was time for Jerry and I to head back to the hotel. We had a really difficult time making our way back, because there was some sort of change on one of the subway lines, so we spent a good hour walking up and down stairs at the station, asking directions, and trying to get cell service. We did finally get back to the hotel, though.

Our shuttle picked us up from the hotel at 6:30 yesterday morning to take us to the airport, so we had to get up early. We were both really excited to see the kids, though, because we hadn't seen them in a whole week! We had a great time in New York, but it felt good to get home. We celebrated Noah's birthday last night, and took him to get his new bike (he said opening the card at camp was very exciting).

Now, it's back to the norm! Taking a week (almost) off of blogging was recharging. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

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Staycation/blog break

I've been having a fantastic week away from the computer, but I wanted to write some stuff down before I forget it all ;) I use my blog as a journal, and I hate to leave a big gaping hole in it. My kids have been at camp all week, so Jerry and I have spent some good, quality time together. I've also had time to unwind and just veg, which is exactly what I needed. I won't go into all the details of the week, but here are some notables:

Sunday:

The kids left for camp. Jerry and I walked to the bar to play Keno and have a couple of drinks. We each played $25 on Keno, and ended up winning $170! I always play four numbers, and once in a while, I'll hit all four (which is a $72 win). That night, though, I hit all four TWICE. It was exciting, because our whole evening was paid for--we shared a burger and had drinks, plus the Keno--and we still had money leftover.

Monday:

Jerry was off work, and we went for a run in the morning. I was scheduled for three miles, so he did the run/walk with me, and it was really nice. We chatted the whole time, and it went by quickly. Then we went to the thrift store for some clothes, where I bought a couple of dresses and summer tops. Then we drove down to Toledo for lunch and to go to Sam's Club. A pretty low-key day, but it still went by really quickly.

Tuesday:

Jerry had a short day at work, so when he got off at 3:30, I met him at a park with our bikes. I wanted to try and do a long bike ride, going through not one, but THREE Metroparks. From the park that we started at, through all three Metroparks, and back, it was 26.5 miles. The farthest I'd ever ridden was 20 miles, and the farthest Jerry had ridden was just 7. We were up for the challenge, though, even though rain was in the forecast. 

It was extremely humid, and the ride actually had a lot of small hills (tough on a bike!), but it made for a good workout. We had a headwind on the way out, so I was really excited to get to the halfway point so we could turn around. Shortly before we turned around, I took a picture of the sky, because it looked really pretty (although it looked like it was going to open up and downpour any second).

I didn't edit or filter this pic--that's just how it looked!
A little scary when you're miles away from the car.

We took a quick halfway-point photo, and then headed back toward the car. A couple of minutes later, it started sprinkling. And just a couple of minutes after that, it started pouring rain. Running in the rain is fun, but riding in the rain? Not so much. I was getting pretty muddy from rain splashing up my back from the tires on my bike. We were able to go a little faster on the way home, thanks to the tailwind, but it was still tough going. We both felt FANTASTIC when we got done, though! I was dying to take a shower, but I felt really accomplished with the ride. We did 26.45 miles!

We were both starving after that, so we asked Nathan and Kendall if they wanted to meet up for dinner. Jerry and I each took a quick shower, and then headed to Anson's, our favorite pizza joint, to meet Nathan and Kendall. I had a piece of chicken-bacon-ranch pizza and a piece of reuben pizza, and both were delicious! We sat and chatted until almost 10 pm, and then finally headed home.

Wednesday: 

I ran three miles in the morning, and then spent literally all day relaxing and watching One Tree Hill. I tried a new recipe for dinner, Sesame Chicken by BudgetBytes.com, and it turned out really good. It was 12 PointsPlus.

After dinner, Jerry and I went to watch the kids' last baseball game--yes, even though our kids weren't there playing! Noah and Eli asked us to go, so they could know what happened, so we watched a couple of innings. Then we went to McDonald's to get a cone for dessert. My favorite way to spend 5 PointsPlus :)

Thursday:

I had planned on running 12 miles in Central Park this weekend for my long run, but Thomas suggested that I do it at home Thursday, and then if I really wanted to run in Central Park, do a shorter run. After my disastrous long run last Friday, I didn't want to risk that happening again, so it made more sense to get the run done at home. Also, the weather was in the high 50's when I woke up, which is much nicer than the 80's in midday when I'm in NY. 

Due to last week's fiasco, I was falling behind on my long runs. I really needed a good long run this week, so I made it a goal to do 12 miles (run/walk). I wore my Camelbak, so that I would be SURE to have enough water. I brought a Gu and a pack of Shotbloks. And I just prayed that I could make it through all 12 miles!

I set my run/walk intervals for 2:30 run/0:30 walk, and I planned an out-and-back route near my house. I figured if anything went wrong, it would be easier to call for a ride when I was close to home! ;) The run was pretty uneventful, thankfully. I didn't have any real issues. I kept my pace nice and easy when running, because I knew the last four miles would be a challenge. The last time I ran 12 miles was in December during the Santa Hustle Half-Marathon with Nathan. That was the race where I stress fractured my leg. 

Thankfully, today, I didn't have ANY issues with the leg--not so much as a twinge! I was very conscious of my running form, so I could try and do what my physical therapist said to correct it. As suspected, the last few miles were killer, and felt like forever. After hitting mile 10, though, I was VERY determined to get in all 12. My legs were tired, but I knew I could do it. I felt like I was running through water that last mile, but my pace stayed about the same.

I was ecstatic when I got back home and collapsed on the porch hit mile 12! 

My pace was 11:07, including the walk breaks, which isn't bad at all. 

Tomorrow, we leave for New York. We have plans to meet up with a mutual friend, Mike (actually, it's because of Mike that I met Jerry!) tomorrow evening. Saturday, I have the panel with Prudential, which I'm pretty nervous about. Jerry is going to a Yankees game while I do that. And we come home Sunday morning, so it's a pretty short trip. I probably won't be writing again until Sunday or Monday. Hope everyone has been having a great week!

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Camp, hair cut, and a short break

Well, the kids are gone away to camp. It sounds strange, but I started missing them before they even left! Sometimes, they drive me crazy with the tattling and arguing with each other, but when they aren't here, all I can think about is how sweet they are and that I miss them.

Noah's 11th birthday is tomorrow, and I won't even be able to talk to him! The camp doesn't allow phone calls (so that the kids can enjoy camp without being bogged down by phone calls, which makes sense). This morning, I made a card for Noah and tucked it into his suitcase, so hopefully he'll see it when he gets there. I wrote on the envelope that he must wait until Monday to open it.

I included a little coupon inside that says "This coupon is good for one new bicycle of your choosing", so when he gets home, we'll take him to pick out a bike. Eli just bought a new bike using his own money, but Noah didn't want to spend his money on one, even though his bike is getting pretty rickety. I think he'll be excited to open the card and get a bike.

I can't believe I forgot to mention this a couple of days ago, but I cut my hair. I was getting really irritated with it, because it was feeling scratchy through my t-shirt on my back, so I did what any sane person would do--I grabbed a pair of scissors and went to down. I cut off about eight inches, which was really drastic for me; but apparently it wasn't too drastic, because Jerry didn't even notice, haha. Usually, I wear my hair up or braided, so it probably wasn't as noticeable. Here is a photo from March, where it was down and shows how long it had gotten; the pic on the right was from when I cut it a couple of days ago.

Anyway, I'm going to try and stay pretty busy this week. It's supposed to thunderstorm Tuesday, so Kendall (Nathan's girlfriend) and I made plans for an Orange is the New Black marathon at my house. She also just signed up for the Tour de Troit in September, so I'm glad I'll have someone to ride that with! We're going to try and do a long bike ride together this week sometime. Jerry and I are planning to have a date night tonight--I'm not sure yet what we're going to do.

When I was running through the park Friday with the kids, we could hear dogs barking to the right of the park; as I ran by, I noticed that there was an animal shelter there. So, I was thinking about stopping in to see if they need anyone to walk the dogs once in a while. I love that park, so it would be really convenient to pick up a dog and walk through the park. I think I'll stop in there this week.

Lately, I've been thinking about taking a short break from the blog, and this week seems to be a good time to do it. Everything is fine--I'm still on track with Weight Watchers, running three times a week, etc., but I just feel like I need a mental break from blogging. On Friday, Jerry and I are going to NYC for a couple of days, but I'll be home Sunday. So, I'll probably resume blogging on Sunday or Monday. (If the urge strikes me to blog this week, then I will; but if I don't, it's just because I'm taking a short break).

My plan for the extra time is to whip my house into shape (easier when the kids aren't here) and get some stuff together for a garage sale; but if I get sucked any further into One Tree Hill, who knows if that will happen! Jerry and I canceled cable a few weeks ago, and I started watching One Tree Hill on Netflix. Several readers had suggested it to me before, but when I read the description (basketball) I wasn't interested. I wish I had known there is actually very little basketball on the show, and mostly just teen drama! ;)

Well, if I don't write, I hope everyone has a great week!

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A long run (err, duathlon?) with the kids

Well, after all the good runs I've been having lately, I guess I was due for a bad one. And unfortunately, today's was that run.

I had 10 miles planned, but Jerry was working, so I couldn't just leave the kids to go run. I didn't want to do 10 on the treadmill, so instead, I decided to take the kids to the Metropark and let them ride their bikes alongside me while I ran. I've been really tired lately, and actually slept in until 8:00 this morning! After having breakfast, and getting everyone ready to leave, we'd gotten a late start. I even stopped at a pharmacy to buy a tiny screwdriver (like for eyeglasses) to change out the battery in my Garmin heart rate monitor; but even with that, I couldn't get the screws out to change the battery. I'm super bummed that I can't use any of the functions that use the heart rate strap just because I don't have a screwdriver small enough.

Anyway, we finally parked and headed out at 11:15-ish. The kids packed water and snacks in their backpacks, and they loved riding on the bike path.

It was really hot and humid today, which I fully expected, but I guess I had forgotten just how tough those conditions are to run in--especially midday, when the sun is in full force (the sun always drains me). The first couple of miles, I felt great! (I was doing 2:30 run and 0:30 walk segments.)

My pace was slowing pretty dramatically, but again, I expected the heat to take a toll. Noah was so kind to carry a water bottle in his bag for me, so I was drinking water every mile or so. I told them we'd stop and take a break at the five-mile mark before turning around and heading back to the car.

Once we stopped, I had a very hard time getting going again. I felt really drained of energy, and I wished I'd brought some fuel with me. Normally, I don't need fuel for a 10-miler, but I also don't run in the middle of the day--and today, I definitely needed something. (The kids had Pringles, which wouldn't have made very good fuel...) Every time I tried to run, I had a really hard time moving. It was like my legs just stopped working. At around mile 5.5, I decided to call my mom for a ride. I could have toughed out for a mile or two, but not 4.5!

My mom wasn't able to come get us, so I tried my dad. No answer. Jerry was working. I called my friend Andrea, but there was no answer. Meanwhile, I was trying to jog a little and walk a little to keep going--I turned off the run/walk alert on my Garmin, because I was ignoring it anyway. I was doing much more walking than running at that point. I felt bad for the kids, because even though they felt fine, it was going to take us at least another hour to get back to the car if I couldn't run.

When I couldn't get a hold of anyone, I started feeling panicked. We were over four miles away from the car, and I knew I couldn't run anymore. I was having a hard time catching my breath (mainly from panic at that point), so we stopped in the shade while I cried calmed down and tried to think of a plan. I was thinking that I wished I could just stumble upon a bike on the side of the path, so we could ride back; and then I remembered that Eli's bike has pegs.

I got on Eli's bike (which was ridiculous, because my knees were practically at my chest) and Noah stood on the pegs, holding onto my shoulders. Eli rode Noah's bike, and we (slowly but surely) made our way back to the car. I had to stop often to stretch my legs out, because they were so cramped on that bike--but I just couldn't fathom the thought of running any more.

We rode the last few miles back to the car, and I was exhausted. The kids were doing fine, but today just wasn't my day. It was definitely an adventure (and lesson learned) though!

The boys look so grown-up. Noah will be 11 on Monday!

I took the kids out to McDonald's for lunch (because by that time, it was nearly 1:30!), where I was tempted to eat everything on the menu, but I got a grilled chicken southwest salad, for 10 PointsPlus.

Today's run put a big dent in my self-confidence as far as my return to running, but I know that it wasn't my stress fracture bothering me. If it had been 20 degrees cooler and/or no sun, I'm sure the outcome would have been different. If I attempt to run in the afternoon again, I'll definitely make sure I'm better prepared for the heat. The boys had fun riding their bikes, though, and the adventure was... interesting... so I'm happy about that! Hopefully next week's long run will be better (I may be running it in Central Park!).

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Ranch Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I was craving boneless chicken wings like crazy recently, but I've been avoiding them--they always make me retain a ton of water weight, and I just generally feel like crap when I eat them. I decided to try making a buffalo chicken dish for dinner that would have the same flavor that I was craving, but not so much of a caloric nightmare. I ended up making a super easy crockpot chicken that was so good!

I just cooked two pounds of chicken breasts in the crockpot (cover with water, cook on high for 3-4 hours until the chicken is tender). I threw the chicken (discarding the water that it was cooked in) into my mixing bowl for my Kitchen Aid mixer, and mixed it on low for about 30 seconds until the chicken was shredded (saw that tip on Pinterest, and it is AMAZING--such a huge time saver, and my hands don't get so tired from shredding chicken!). Then I added 1/2 cup water, 3 Tbsp. ranch dressing mix, and 1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce.

I wrapped some in tortillas for the kids, but I made lettuce wraps for Jerry and me, and they were phenomenal. Definitely crushed that craving for wings!

For two of them, with a touch of Bolthouse Farms Ranch dressing, there were just 5 PointsPlus. (Probably good with blue cheese, too, but I prefer ranch with my buffalo chicken.) I had leftovers for lunch today.

This morning, I had a three-mile run on the schedule. The weather was glorious for running, too--it was 58 degrees and only about 45% humidity. I changed the run/walk segments to 2:30/0:30 (increasing the running by 30 seconds), because I've been feeling good lately.

It ended up being a fantastic run! The first mile or so, I felt a little stiff, but I wasn't trying to push the pace or anything, so I just ran however it felt most comfortable. I can tell my endurance is improving since I started running again, because the 2:30 running portion seemed to fly by--and I definitely felt like I could keep going. It was an uneventful run (no bird issues, haha), and it boosted my confidence a little. My splits were 10:39, 10:49, and 10:13.

After my run, I took a quick shower and then headed to Weight Watchers. The last couple of weeks, I went to a different center on Tuesday mornings (still with Glenda, my leader); but I wasn't able to go yesterday, because the kids had baseball practice, so I went to my Wednesday meeting. This week, I was only down 0.4, but I expected that--my weight went up 1.5 pounds a couple of days ago, for some reason, and I'm still waiting for it to fall back down. But either way, I'm happy to see another loss on the scale.

At the meeting, we talked about taking time for ourselves, to do something positive for one (or all) of three categories: 1) Body, 2) Mind, or 3) Spirit. Glenda asked if we do something for ourselves each day, and what category it falls into. My "unwind" time each day is usually spent by playing solitaire or some other game in the evenings. I love to read a good book, but I haven't been reading much lately, so usually I will play a game.

This afternoon, I went to pick up my bike from the bike shop (I dropped it off last week for a tune-up). Jerry came with me, because he's been wanting to get a bike for a while, so we looked at bikes for him. He ended up getting the same bike that I have, only the male version of it. He was (obviously) very excited ;)

The kids were very excited, also, because they've been wanting us to go for bike rides together as a family, but Jerry didn't have a bike. So this afternoon, we headed out for a bike ride around the neighborhoods with the kids.

Now, we have to head out to the boys' last baseball game. Their team has two more games next week, but since Noah and Eli will be at camp, they'll have to miss them. I wish their season was longer--it's so fun to watch them play! After the game tonight, Sarah and her husband are coming over, as well as Nathan and Kendall. Should be a fun evening :)

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Sunday Funday

I had a really great day with Jerry and the kids on Sunday. Noah had been asking if we could go on a picnic, but with all the rain we've gotten this spring/summer, it hasn't worked out. Sunday ended up being absolutely gorgeous outside, and perfect for a picnic.

We packed some turkey sandwiches and fruit, and then headed to Elizabeth Park. Jerry and I used to go there all the time when we were dating, but it had been YEARS since we were there. I forgot just how pretty it is! And, of course, I forgot to take pictures of the view (we sat on the riverfront side).

After we ate our lunch, the boys played catch with a baseball. I took off my shoes, and just laid on the blanket under a tree--it was so comfortable, I could have slept there all day.

We stopped at a playground before leaving the park, because they had a huge piece of equipment that none of us had ever seen before. It looked kind of like a spiderweb of ropes going up a pole. The kids wanted to try it, and after watching them play for a little bit, Jerry and I decided to climb to the top as well.

It was really fun to climb, but definitely a challenge--and considering it went up so high, I was surprised that they even have that on a playground for kids to play on! Doing stuff like that always makes me grateful that I lost the weight when I did. Six years ago, I never could have climbed that (nor would I have even attempted to). The kids thought it was funny that Jerry and I climbed it (and I didn't know it at the time, but Noah used my phone to take a video of me climbing to the top, haha).

When we left the park, we headed to a place called 3 & Up. It's a board game lounge that we've been wanting to check out for a while--they have over a thousand board games, and you pay by the hour to play as much as you'd like. You can even bring your own food and drinks, or have food delivered there! They also have an "electronic free" policy (no cell phones), in order to get people to connect with each other in real life, which I think is a really great idea. Because of that, I didn't take any photos; but we had a lot of fun, and the time flew by!

We played a few old school games that I thought the kids would enjoy. I saw some others that I was dying to play, but I'll have to go back with my childhood girlfriends to get the full experience--Dream Phone, Mall Madness, Girl Talk, etc ;) The guy working there suggested a game called Tsuro for us, and Jerry and I both really ended up liking it, so we'll probably buy it online. One of the things I like about the board game lounge is that you can try out games to see if they are worth buying. I wish it were closer to our house (it's about a 45 minute drive), but it is definitely worth the drive to spend quality time with family or friends.

We finished the day off with movie night at home. I've been wanting to watch The Birds lately, because of getting attacked while running, but my kids are way too scared to see it ;) We ended up choosing a movie about running (I can't remember the name of it now! But it wasn't very good). The whole day ended up being a lot of fun, and I'm glad we got to spend a quality day with the kids before they go to camp next week. This is the first year they're both going to be gone at the same time for nearly a week--it's going to feel so strange not having them home! It will be the longest I've gone without seeing them, but they're super excited for camp.

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Motivational Monday #114

Happy Motivational Monday! I hope everyone had a great Independence Day weekend. I had a really fun day with Jerry and the kids yesterday, which I'll write about tomorrow. I had another good week on Weight Watchers (today marks 47 days binge-free!). It was kind of difficult a couple of times this week--I was getting thoughts of, "I can just do one MEAL without counting points..." or "It's a holiday, I don't have to count for a holiday...". I know those statements aren't true, though. I've used that sort of reasoning several times in the past, and it always leads to getting way out of control.

I know that one meal isn't going to make me gain back 100 pounds, but it most likely will make me lose control and eat poorly over several days or weeks (or even months). Anyway, as tempting as it was to throw my Points to the wind, I stayed on plan. The scale rewarded me by being UP a pound today, but my official weigh in isn't until Wednesday, so hopefully it'll be back down by then.

Today, I had three miles on the schedule, and the kids were asking to go swimming at the rec center, so I decided to run on the indoor track while they swam. I did 2:00-run and 0:30-walk intervals for the first two miles (each mile split was EXACTLY the same, at 10:21.2), and then for the third mile, I just ran the entire thing. I was really thrilled to see that I completed that last mile in 9:36. Last week, I did it almost a minute slower, at 10:35. (Granted, I can't really compare indoor track vs. outdoor running, but I am still happy with it.) It's fun to see my running improving after my stress fracture!

Here are a few stories for Motivational Monday. Enjoy!

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Liz used to hate running, but in March, she decided to start doing it for any weight loss benefits she may receive. Not surprisingly, she became completely addicted to it. She had her first race last Sunday, and PR'ed her 5K time, finishing in 39:05! (Liz blogs at Running for the Weekend)

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Staci had to stop running for most of this year due to illness, but she is proud to say that she is back to training! She is going to be running the Race for a Soldier Half Marathon in Gig Harbor, Washington this September. She is especially excited about this race, because the proceeds go toward supporting soldiers who are returning from service. She is fundraising for the race, and here is the link to her donation page. (Staci blogs at Panorama Runner)

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Margaret tends to set "safe" goals, which she realized is holding her back a little in her running lately. She participated in the Elmhurst "4 on the 4th" race this weekend, and at the starting line, she chose to line up between the 9:00 and 10:00 pace runners--although she had a secret goal to finish at or just under 34:00 (which is an 8:30/mile pace). She pushed herself hard, and ended up finishing in 33:38 (an 8:25/mile pace)! Her kids also did very well, and had a little bit of competition at the very last stretch--her daughter (11) was ahead of her son (9), when he passed her with just yards left in the race. Then her daughter pushed past her son, to finish just two seconds ahead of him! Margaret is now training for a Labor Day Half. She blogs at Running Through 4th Grade.

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Renee ran a Fourth of July 5K this weekend, and PR'ed by over two minutes! It has been her goal for over three years now to run a sub-30:00 5K, and she was finally able to do it. She finished in 29:29! She gave it everything she had, and was left with nothing in the tank when she crossed the finish line, but she has a shiny new PR to be proud of. Renee blogs at With Brave Wings She Runs.

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Congratulations on some great accomplishments! You can read more stories on the Motivational Monday Facebook post.

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Fireworks

I'm going to keep this pretty short, because I'm spending the weekend with Jerry and the kids. Hopefully everyone had a nice July 4th today!

Last night, Jerry and I ended up taking the kids to see the fireworks. The State Park does them, and the park gets really crowded with people arriving all day long to claim a spot on the beach for the fireworks display. I didn't want to have to get there super early, so we decided not to go to the park. Instead, our friends Joe and Amber said we could park at their house and walk to their neighborhood park, where you can see the display from there.

First, we made pita pizzas for "Pizza Friday". We don't always do Pizza Friday, but the kids asked to yesterday. After my run, I was craving salt like crazy, so I added some salty (and delicious!) toppings to my pita pizza:

Feta cheese, green peppers, black olives, and hot banana peppers--pretty much my perfect pizza. I love those square pitas. The whole pita is 150 calories (4 PP), so with the sauce, cheese, and toppings, my whole pizza was only 9 PP.

We left to see the fireworks at around 8:30, and there weren't a ton of people there yet. We set up our blankets and chairs right next to the lake.

I was curious to see how Joey was going to react to fireworks. I've heard stories of dogs really panicking from the noise, so I didn't want to leave him home alone; but having him there could have been disastrous, too. Thankfully, he didn't care at all about the noise. He was really excited and curious, more than anything. And he was most interested in the birds (Swallows) flying over the water eating bugs.

It felt like forever before the fireworks started. We thought they were going to start at 9:45, but it ended up being closer to 10:15. It was really fun to chat with the kids, though, while we were waiting. At home, they have so many distractions; it's nice to talk to them when they are fully paying attention.

It was surprisingly cold, so I was glad I changed into a sweatshirt before we left. The park filled up quickly, and there were dozens of people there. The fireworks ended up being farther away than I'd thought they would be, so it was a little disappointing. Next year we'll have to try to go out on my dad's boat to see them. Usually, that's what we do, but he was really busy yesterday and wasn't able to go. Regardless, we had fun.

Noah asked me if we could go on a picnic tomorrow, and we haven't done that in a long time, so I thought it was a fun idea. I'm not sure what I'm going to pack for our food, but I think we'll go to a park that Jerry and I used to go to when we were dating (for any of you locals, I'm talking about Elizabeth Park).

Anyway, I hope you're all having a fantastic holiday weekend! Don't forget to send me your Motivational Monday submissions tomorrow. I probably won't be writing a post tomorrow, so I just wanted to write a reminder today.

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Long run in the Metropark

I attempted to write a post a couple of times yesterday, but it was another crazy day, so I finally decided to just wait. The days during the summer seem so much busier than during the school year for some reason.

The boys had baseball practice yesterday morning, so I decided to take Joey with us and then walk him while the boys were practicing. There is a large loop of about four miles from the baseball fields. It's not an ideal place to walk a dog, because there aren't sidewalks and cars go pretty fast down that road, but we walked a couple of steps off of the road and into the grass in most places, so it wasn't bad.

At one point, we were going to pass by my friend Andrea's house, so I sent her a text to see if we could stop and get some water for Joey (it was only 66 degrees outside, but I wasn't sure how long he should walk before needing water). We stopped and I let him drink from the hose, then I chatted with Andrea for a few minutes before we finished our walk.

That had taken an hour and 15 minutes, and the boys' practice was two hours long. When we got back to the baseball fields, Joey and I sat to watch them play.

It felt really good to go for a long walk. I've gotten used to doing a couple of shorter walks with Joey each day, but to go walk for over an hour (in nice weather!) was great.

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The weather was looking really good for a long run this morning, too. I had eight miles on the schedule. The kids stayed the night at my parents' house last night, and I ended up sleeping a little longer than I would have liked (7:00). It was still about 60 degrees, though, so definitely great running weather for July!

I decided to go to the Metropark to run, in the hope of avoiding defensive birds. I know there are birds in the Metropark, but I hoped that they would be used to having people around, walking on the bike paths, and wouldn't be so aggressive like the ones around here. I parked at the high school, because I don't have a Metropark sticker for this year, and then I decided to do an out-and-back. The park is three miles, but the car was a half mile from the park, and I figured I could just run a little out of the park at the far end to hit four before turning around.

I set my Garmin to the run/walk intervals of 2:00 run and 0:30 walk; and I also set the face to show only the distance. I didn't want to see the pace at all, because my whole goal was to just finish eight miles--the farthest run in a long time--regardless of my pace. As I ran through the park, I was happy to see that my theory about the birds was right. There were a lot of birds, of course, but none of them swooped in very close.

I was feeling pretty good, and the run/walk ratio was perfect. No issues with my stress fracture site.

When I got to the far end of the park, I ran through the entrance/exit and onto a road. I just planned to run it for a half-mile or so before turning around. Apparently, those birds didn't get the memo that people aren't out to hurt them, because TWO black birds dive-bombed me. After that, I wanted to get back into the park ASAP, so I just turned around early. Back in the park, all was cool again.

I saw a couple of interesting things on the way back. A huge slug was was crossing the bike path.

Shortly after that, I thought I saw a big nightcrawler ahead, but when I got closer, I saw it was a leech! I've never seen a leech outside of the water before. It, too, was crossing the bike path.

(I did see some cute bunnies, too, but they were too quick for a picture). When I got back toward my car, I realized I was going to have to run past it for about a quarter mile in order to get in eight miles. I hate having to run past the car! But I did it, and I felt really great when I was done. Eight miles is no longer "easy" for me, even when doing the run/walk method, so I was happy to have accomplished it.

My pace from last week had improved quite a bit, too (of course, last week was a humid, hilly run in St. Louis, and not the flat Metropark here). My average pace was 11:01--so close to sub-11. I noticed after I stopped to take a picture of the leech during mile seven that I had forgotten to pause my Garmin. So if I hadn't taken the picture, my pace would probably have been in the 10's. Maybe next week!

Tonight, we're supposed to go watch the fireworks somewhere. The State Park is usually super crowded, so I think we'll go park at our friends' house and walk to the beach. It's a nice day for it! We haven't gotten rain in a couple of days, so it's starting to dry out :)

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Wave pool, birds, and flooding

Thanks for the great responses and suggestions on yesterday's post! If there is one thing I love, it's listing out goals. I had actually spent quite a bit of time making a vision board for the post yesterday, but it wasn't approved by Prudential for some reason, so I couldn't post it. I can share it here, though:

I adore that picture of Eli with the powder all over him. I had taken a shower, and 10 minutes later, Noah and Eli had emptied an entire container of baby powder in my living room! Seeing how cute they looked, I couldn't even be mad--I just started taking pictures and laughing. That picture reminds me to laugh off the small things.

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Yesterday, I had plans to get together with my friend Sarah, who is in town from Arizona. My kids have been begging to go to the wave pool, but it's been raining every day for about six weeks now. It was supposed to rain in the evening yesterday, so Sarah and her almost-three-year old son, Alex, planned to meet us at the wave pool at 1:30. We hoped to get in a couple of hours of swimming before the storm.

We ended up being the only people there at first! Usually, the wave pool gets pretty packed in the summer, but I imagine the impending storm was keeping people away. I like when it's not crowded, because it's much easier to watch the kids. Jerry was off work, so he came along, too. It ended up being a lot of fun! I mostly hung out with Sarah and Alex in the very shallow end while Jerry took Noah and Eli to the deep end, but during a few wave sessions, I went out there and joined them.

It ended up raining at around 3:00, so we stayed a little longer (you really can't feel the rain when you're in the pool), and then headed home. It was a fun (and kind of exhausting) couple of hours.

This morning, my mom called and asked if the kids and I wanted to go for a bike ride with her to check out the flooding from the Raisin River. It's been big news around here--with all the rain we've gotten, the river is extremely high, and has caused flooding over roads. I told her sure, but I wanted to get my run done first.

I had three miles on the schedule, and I decided to do the whole run with run/walk intervals of 2:00 run and 0:30 walk. My physical therapist told me I could run a mile once a week, but otherwise, keep doing the intervals. I felt really good from the very beginning of the run this morning! I didn't really feel like I was pushing the pace too much, but after the first mile, I saw I'd completed it in 10:16 (which included the walk breaks). I was excited to see that!

Once I saw my first split, I was hoping to keep the next two around the same pace, so I think I pushed a little harder on the running portions. Second mile was 10:04. And the third mile was sub-10, at 9:50! It's kind of mind-blowing to me to hit that pace when I'm walking for 30 seconds every two minutes. My average overall pace ended up being 10:03.

I tried to take a post-run selfie because I was feeling so good after my run, but Joey was way too excited to see me. Because, you know, I was gone for a whole 30 minutes.

That large spike in the last half-mile was when some birds were getting a little defensive. I know it's getting old that I've been talking about the birds, but I can't get over how crazy they are! Last Wednesday, I went out for a planned three miles: walk one mile, run one mile, walk one mile. Well, just two minutes into the walk, I got attacked by a couple of birds. I thought they were Purple Martins, but my dad later told me they were probably Swallows, which look similar.

It was terrifying! One grabbed a hold of my hair, and while I was swatting at it, the other swooped in from the front. I started running hard, but they were relentless. They kept following me! I ran for a full two-minutes at the hardest pace I could while flailing my arms to keep them off of my head. Check out this graph of my pace:

I finally made it to a busier street, where I darted across while the birds stayed on the other side. I spent the whole rest of the mile catching my breath. My throat and lungs were burning, even though I'd only run at an 8:00 pace for a total of 2 minutes. I ran a slow pace for the second mile, and then I just didn't want to go back down my street after that, so I stopped at my parents' house and asked my mom to drive me home. Because of birds! Crazy, right? I hope that their babies grow up quickly, so they can stop being so defensive.

After my run today, my mom and I took the boys on a bike ride. We drove toward the river, and then parked and rode on the sidewalks. I couldn't believe how high the river was when we got to the riverwalk.

Normally, you can go walk under that bridge, but the water was so high that it was completely covering the sidewalk. We went the other way, and discovered that the road was actually closed because it was totally flooded over:

There was no way around that, so we just turned around and headed back to the cars. I've never seen the streets flooded this badly! And we're still getting rain every day.

After we got back to the cars, I decided to take my bike to the bike shop, since I already had it with me. It was way overdue for a tune-up, and I was having an issue with my front brakes. I dropped it off there, and it should be ready in a few days. I think on Sunday, I'll try and do a long ride (maybe 20 miles).

Well, I'm off to the boys' baseball game!

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