Monday Motivaion: No we NEVER have THAT argument...

We all have our issues.  

One of mine is organization. I LOVE being organized, having things tidy and in line.  I am terrible at this. : / This conundrum causes some stress but I'm getting better at dealing with it. I'm also getting better at trying to organize my life bit by bit instead of all at once. I still fail mightily, but ah well.

Okay, so combine my (i) desire for organization, (ii) my lack of (consistent) skills (and follow through!) in this area, and add (iii) the fact that there are a lot of details TO organize in a family of 7 and you get = stress and irritation sometimes.

Mark and I are pretty good partners in our marriage and family. We share the load on MANY MANY tasks and we have plenty that are typically "our" jobs. For example, Mark handles the vast majority of the cooking and grocery shopping.  I handle the bulk of our financial matters and managing the kids' schedules (making appointments, etc).  

Of course, it is so easy to feel like what I do is far more time consuming than what he does. (Never have this issue? Well, stop reading then!)

A couple of months ago, Mark ran across this app for our Android phones that has been a huge help! It's called "Do It Tomorrow".  It's extraordinary simple.  Basically, you just type in your "to do" items.  Once you "do" them, you click on it again, and it's crossed off. Any items that are not crossed off at the end of the day simply transfer to the next day automatically. Mark and I share an account which has been an enormous help in several ways:

1) It allows both of us to see some of those nagging little things that the other was handling. A subtle reminder that I don't do everything. ;)

2) It allows us to list things that need to be done, that could be done by either of us, and we can easily see if the other one has done it.

3) It allows us to put an item on that the other person needs to do but keeps forgetting about. 

Of course, it has its limits. I don't use it heavily for items that I consider just "my" to dos (like work deadlines).  But it has been a great asset for us to jointly manage our family obligations and to be aware of the other's contributions.

Yep, it works for me!

What a weekend

Well, it's Friday and the weekend lies before me. And it's 49 degrees and raining. Boo.  So hard to believe that on Monday it was 90.  NINETY.  

Now, I'm not a big fan of weather in the 90s ... but today I think I'd trade. :)  So, in celebration of the crummy weather, I thought I'd remember all the fun of our warm last weekend! 

On Friday, we mini-road-tripped to my in-laws for a night of fun. 

 

 Poncho does not love road trips, but looks reasonably happy here

 

There was giggling. Mostly by me.

Saturday was fairly quiet and mostly recovery. We were all SOOOO tired.  Despite this, I got the cleaning/organizing bug (this hits about twice a year, so I try to run with it).

 

I sorted out some serious issues in my craft area and began to tackle the kids' clothes. We moved out winter and moved in summer stuff. Apparently this was a bad choice since I have already had to dig out more pants (stupid 49 degrees).

Sunday and Monday involved a lot of warm weather fun, particularly with the slip n' slide. Not nearly as cool as a pool, but does not destroy the lawn!

 Perry gets thirsty too!

Sunday morning I set my alarm for 6 a.m. to sneak in a long run before church. I was able to eek out 10 miles in the nick of time. It made for a bit of a stressful morning, but was so worth it. I love that I can whip out 10 miles (even slow ones) without walking and without being sore at all. SCORE.

 The sun over Reed's Lake

Turtle friend along the path.  I saw this little guy again when coming back around 

and I'm pretty sure she was laying eggs!

What a great weekend! Very fun, productive AND relaxing at the same time. Seriously, when does that ever happen?  Looking forward to some more soccer this weekend and hopefully more decluttering! (Told you - on a kick)  Fingers crossed it warms up a bit. :)

Three Things Thursday... In Pictures

 (1) The school year is winding down. Some of the kids had field day today.  Love this boy's smile. 

 (2) We recieved a pretty important piece of mail this week.  Our I-800A was approved!  That's step one of the immigration approval we need from the U.S. gov't to bring JS home!  Big smiles all around. :)

(3)  This past weekend, especially Memorial Day, was HOT.  The kids enjoyed the slip n slide, but not nearly as much as Perry (as you can see).  In addition, Monday was Perry-the-Platypus's birthday!  One year old.  Still SUCH a puppy. Sigh. :)

Race Recap: Girls on the Run Celebration 5k

This past Saturday was the culmination of Grace's Girls on the Run (GOTR) experience.  GOTR does it right with a "Celebration 5k".  It's not really a race since it's not timed. And there are SO MANY girls that they are released in heats. So the competition piece is missing. GOTR is much more about self esteem and teamwork and that is reflected in everything they do.

The girls could select a "running buddy" to run the race with them if they wanted. Grace asked me and I was - of course - honored and excited!

Here we are the morning of the race before heading out. 

Notice our matching running skirts (a first for me, but fun!)  :)

Pre-race with the school flag on the football field. (Yep, very very sunny!) As you can see, we were one of the first teams on the field.  Before we knew it, the field looked more like this:

See Grace and I down front? And see the approximately SEVENTEEN HUNDRED girls behind us?  

Um, yeah, that was just for our county. Intense.

Here we are approaching the start line.  

Mark was able to capture these photos.  He brought the kids and 3 grandmas (!) to watch the start, but they headed out to various soccer games, so it was Grace and I for the rest of the race.

I actually took my camera on the run, but was too lazy to upload/organize the photos.  I have been officially spoiled by my camera phone. : / 

How did the race go? Well, it was HOT.  Like 80s hot.  And most of the girls were tired before it started. You see, they had to arrive at the field BEFORE 8:00 a.m.  And then they hung out with their team all bursting with excitement. And then the party started. Music blaring, girls dancing. Opening ceremonies began around 9:20 ish? Lots of talking while we baked in the sun.  Then organized stretching that went on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.  A good warm up, but it was a lot, especially considering the conditions.  The first heat of runners didn't take off until about 9:45.  

Grace did excellent. I think she walked a bit more than she wanted to (I just followed her lead) but it was very hot and she was baking in her cotton t-shirt. :(  However, she did tell me that I made encouraged her to run more than she probably would have alone. I think that was a good thing.  As we neared the stadium for the finish, she wanted to finish strong and ran the last 1/2 mile (+) at a good pace! We sped around quite a few people for a strong finish.  I of course embarrassed her, but she didn't seem to mind too much. :)

 

Proud girlie post-race

Nice bling!

All in all, this was a great experience for me and (I think) for Grace as well. She admits she doesn't "love" running, but she really enjoyed her experience overall and loved the GOTR lessons and teamwork activities.  I'm so thankful she had this opportunity. I had a blast on Saturday and hope she does it again next year. It makes me wonder if I had participated in a program like that when I was a kid, would I have started running sooner? 

For those of you who have a GOTR chapter in your area, consider volunteering as a "running buddy" for the Celebration event.  A lot of girls did not have anyone to run with (there were about 600 "buddies" and 1700 girls) and you could tell that most of the ones that did really liked having the company. For me, it was an incredible event to be a part of and I really enjoyed the energy.

Race Recap - Fifth Third Riverbank Run

 Hang in there - it's a long one.

Whew.  Where to begin.After enjoying the race expo on Friday, I was pretty fired up for Saturday's race. Yet, I was feeling pretty nervous as well. Despite that, I slept fairly well Friday night and woke up ready to go about 6 a.m. Saturday morning. I was not feeling hungry at all, but forced myself to eat some peanut butter toast and banana and drank a bit of coffee. I slipped into my race outfit, particularly enjoying my Team Sparkle skirt.  Perry followed me around and refused to back off when Mark tried to take my photo. Ah well, good thing he's cute.

I left my house shortly after 7 a.m. and leisurely headed downtown. I went using side streets and decided to just grab a spot on the street.  It wasn't a very long walk downtown and it was free. Bonus! I caught the end of the first 5k heat:

 I meandered around, just taking in the atmosphere. Although it was barely 7:30 a.m., the party was hopping! The official post-race party began at 7:30 a.m. and was open until 1:30 p.m. I believe. That was a little crazy to me since my race wouldn't begin until 8:20. I made my way through the party plaza and caught the 10k before the more than 6000 runners took off:

Then I headed down and found a very long line for the porta potties. Admittedly, there was probably many others available with shorter lines, but I was hesitant to leave my spot (where I could keep an eye on the line up). Fortunately, my turn came with plenty of time to spare. From there, I headed to the 25k staging area.  Admittedly I have limited experience, but I thought this was very well organized.  There were volunteers with big blue signs lined up to organize people into groups based on pace (in 30 sec intervals). The race encouraged people to line up realistically, sticking with a pace they could maintain the entire race. Obviously many people ignored this, but they tried.

Per my previous goals, I slipped in with the 11min/mile folks. As I was standing there and more and more people swelled around me, I was thankful that I am not claustrophobic! A few factors came into play: (1) I am short, (2) West MI folks are tall (dang Dutch), (3) there was nearly 7000 runners in the 25k race!

 

 

 Along with the blue line-up signs, there were also yellow pace signs.There were pacers between 7 min/mile to 12 min/mile (every 30 sec).

 

I had lofty goals in the back of my mind of sticking with the 11 min/mile pace group for the first 7 miles or so and then, hopefully feel good enough to start moving ahead (still had that sub 2:45 goal in the back of my mind).  Well, it quickly became apparent that 11 min group wasn't feeling easy that day. Actually, the weather was overall excellent, the day started out remarkably humid. Not super hot by any means, but definitely warmer and more humid than my training has been. 

My new goal quickly morphed into staying with the pace group. I realized quickly it was going to be a mental race for me, even more than physical. I had already run this distance so I knew my body could do it, but I just knew that the mental aspect was going to rear it's ugly head eventually. 

I didn't take any photos while running. It took all of my energy to run! But it was actually a nice route the majority of the way. Early on I started chatting with one of the pacers and then with another runner for a couple of miles. I run by myself the vast majority of the time, so it was nice having someone to chat with. Unfortunately, she decided to hit the porta potties around mile 4 and I never saw her again. :(

Around mile 6.5-7 the course turns back around and heads back toward the downtown area.  This is where the hills begin. Now, Michigan is not particularly hilly and I don't run specific "hill" workouts. But there are several decent hills on a few of my regular routes, so overall I felt pretty strong at first. Well... none of my regular routes has that many rolling hills. These really took a toll by mile 10.  By this time, our pace group had whittled down significantly and there were many people walking all around me. Ugh. So hard to keep going! But I hung with the pacers and grew more and more thankful for them as the miles passed.They took the time to learn my name and they kept an eye out for me.  There were aid stations about every 1.5 miles or so and our group was naturally broken up a bit through them. As we proceeded down the course, there was always at least one pacer that kept a look out for me to make sure I was still with them (often yelling - "hey, where's cat!?")! There was also another runner I attached to. We didn't talk too much but we kept an eye for each other. She mentioned at one point that if she fell behind, she'd look for my sparkle skirt and catch up. :) She had a distinctive headband, so when I fell back, I was sure to look for it too! As a side note, we crossed the finish line very close together, which was kind of cool.

I thought the overall spectator support was fantastic.There are a few areas that are kind of sparse, but just when you really need a boost, it seemed like there was a band or a cheerleading squad or a wonderful woman with her hose (so refreshing around mile 13?). I still can't get over how much the cheers add to the overall experience. If I ever do run a marathon, I think I will need to plan on a fairly well established, well-spectated event. I'll need those cheers to get through! 

As we passed the zoo, we had only 2.5 or so miles left. Prior to the race, I really thought the last couple miles would be pretty easy and the excitement would carry me. Umm... no. The last 2 miles were a.w.f.u.l. I couldn't believe how seriously I considered stopping to walk. Seriously - I ran that entire way and at mile 15 I STILL seriously considered stopping! As we ran into downtown I couldn't help it, I told the pacer I didn't think I could keep going. She didn't even acknowledge it (or maybe didn't hear me). Instead, she kept up the positive talk and urged me on. As we were less than a quarter mile from the finish (and the finish line was in sight) the pacers yelled for me to push forward.  And somehow, I did. I stopped thinking and just let my legs stretch out. I picked off a few people down the homestretch and crossed the finish line.  

Final chip time - 2 hours 50 min 35 seconds.

It felt incredible.  My legs halted, shaky and I seriously wondered if I was going to fall!  But I stayed upright and kept walking forward, grabbing some water.  I knew Mark couldn't be there, but one of my best friends had planned to bring S and G down for the finish. I looked around at the thousands of people and wondered how on earth I was going to find them!  I stared kind of blankly around and before long I heard my name!  I turned and saw these faces grinning at me. And that was pretty incredible.

 

After oodles of excellent hugs I got to hear a little bit about the part of the race they got to watch. I threw on a sweatshirt and we headed into the post-race party. With registration, every runner had a free drink ticket and I was definitely going to use mine! 

 The beer tent was intense, but I made it through.  And enjoyed that beer.  We also just stood around a bit,soaking up the post-race atmosphere. Calder Plaza was humming with the beer tent, BW3 lunch spot and dueling pianos.  The girls enjoyed climbing on the sculpture, La Grande Vitesse:

 After a bit it was time to head home. I just wanted a shower!  I wasn't too sore, but I did make the mistake of not stretching out nearly well enough. But the rest of the weekend was fairly lazy and I got in some well-deserved relaxation.

 Overall, I thought the entire race process was incredible. I definitely plan to do it again next year and even if I weren't going to do the 25k, I would want to do the 5k or 10k.  The upside to doing the shorter race is that I would have been able to see the elite runners finish.  This year, the overall male finisher Robert Letting finished in an incredible 1:14:54.  Even more impressive, first place woman finisher was Janet Bawcom who finished in 1:24:36, setting a new record for US women! Butch Martin broke the handcycle record, finishing in 41:04. Just blows me away.

In the interest of full disclosure, there was a downside to the race. For some reason, my race results were not posted as expected on Saturday. Nor Sunday. :( I saw on Facebook that other runners were having some trouble as well. I called the race number this morning and they were very nice and looked into it right away. The women called back within moments and said my results were now showing up online. I have no idea why there was a delay, but it certainly wasn't earth shattering. I'm thankful to have an official time and only a teeeensy bit bummed out that it wasn't officially a sub-2:50 time.  

Nevertheless, I know I ran as strong as I could have and I am so proud of myself. :) 

The 25k is a somewhat unusual distance, but was a lot of fun. This race was considerably more exciting than the half marathon I ran last fall.  The extra 2.4 miles isn't a lot more, but certainly was a different challenge, but not such a grand leap as a marathon. The Riverbank Run is the largest 25k in the country and is the official US Track and Field race at that distance.  I would say for those looking to add a Michigan race to their resume, this is an excellent one to hit! 

Riverbank Run - Sports and Fitness Expo!

It is no secret I'm a bit nervous for tomorrow's race, but I woke up this morning already thinking about the Riverbank Run Sports and Fitness Expo!  When I ran the Grand Rapids Half Marathon last year, I went to that expo as well. It was fun, but not nearly as large or well-attended as the Riverbank Run (same was true for the race).  The Riverbank Run is a true West Michigan baby and lots of people get involved, including plenty of non-runners.  I'm already l.o.v.i.n.g. the local support and feel of the race (although it makes me a tad nervous too! so many people!).

I am lucky to work downtown, so headed over to the expo/packet pick up on my lunch.  On my way I crossed Calder Plaza, already being prepped for the after-race party tomorrow.  

 Expo just beginning but plenty of people already headed in. In fact, I almost immediately ran into a friend who is running the 10k. She must have seen the fear excitement in my eyes and gave me a good luck hug. Thanks D :)

 Packet pickup was very well organized.  For some really odd reason, my section was the only one that had a line.  But I was able to check the list for my number, line up and get my packet within 5-10 minutes, so still very easy.

The expo itself was cooler than these photos suggest. Quite a few interesting booths and some decent samples. Gazelle Sports had a mega both (really, a complete small version of the store!) that was too fun - I had to leave before spending money. :(

The expo space is pretty large, so there was plenty of room to maneuver around and check things out at your own pace. The GR Marathon expo was in a much smaller space last fall and was set up almost like a maze - you were shepherded through the booths and finished at packet pick up. It wasn't very easy to go back in and just browse where you wanted.  Points for RBR!

 

 I did not escape the expo without dropping some money though. I decided I really wanted a hoodie, so gave myself an early Mother's Day gift. :)

Getting fired up to run tomorrow!  Here's hoping the rain and storms hold off  : /

Three Things Thursday - Race Edition

With the Riverbank Run 25k looming over me coming up this weekend, I thought it only fitting to devote my "three things" to the race! :)

(1) I shared a bit about my last long run here.  What I didn't mention is that was my last run, period.  That means, I went about 10 days with no running at all. Initially, while S was in the hospital, it wasn't practical.  Then, I was just ... exhausted. Even the thought of walking my dogs was painful.  Fitting in a 3 mile run was just out of the question.  I still regret this a bit because I think it would have helped me deal with stress.  But, in any event, I didn't run. As this week started and the race inched closer, my doubts began creeping up significantly.  I had this mental block and did not want to run.  I don't know if it had anything to do with the fact I was out running when S was taken to the hospital (?) or just the random fears that creep in any time I go for a period of time without a regular run. But it was weighing on me. Last night Mark really pushed me to go - he knew that I was afraid and if I didn't go running last night, I might not be able to do the race mentally.

(2) So, last night I ran 6.5 miles.  That's a rather long mid-week run for me, but I knew I needed more than my typical 3-4 miles.  Honestly, overall, the run was pretty bad. : /  My pace was slow, my body felt plodding.  I didn't eat a real dinner but I had grabbed a bite here and there and the food was not sitting well at all. :( Everything was irritating me. I had forgotten to take my necklace and earrings off and I hate when they bounce around. So I stopped and took those off. I took my handheld water bottle but wish I hadn't. Annoying. But, after all that, I finished.  And I felt better the last mile and a half than I had the rest of the entire run. That left me feeling less freaked hopeful about running 9 more on Saturday... 

(3) Race Goals - Back in January, I developed a pretty ambitious training plan. I followed it for several weeks.  My initial goal was to run the 25k in under 2 hrs 45 min, which averages to a 10:37 pace.  That's a little fast for my long runs, but seemed like a conservative goal.

Once we started working toward our adoption in February, I grew much more lax with the plan.  Yet, I did a fairly good job about keeping up my long runs, so I was feeling okay. I abandoned all speed work and just focused on getting 2-3 weekly runs in (about 9-10 miles) and one long run on the weekend. Unfortunately, that morphed into 1 long run every OTHER weekend. But ah well.  But my initial goal seemed a bit lofty, especially since I was still walking on many of my long runs.  So I set a new goal of averaging sub 11 min/miles, which would be right around 2 hrs 50 min.  I wasn't too far off this mark when I did 15.5 a few weeks ago.  

However, given the last couple of weeks, I'm tempted to revise my goals again. I want to finish the race. I want to enjoy it. I want to NOT fall apart.  I wish I was comfortable being more ambitious than that, but right now, I have to work with what I've got.  I guess those would be my "a" "b" and "c" goals, with me trying to accept that "c" is the most realistic. I don't want to be disappointed.  Given that I nearly threw in the towel completely yesterday, I simply want to be proud of myself for running the distance, period. Feels a little wimpy to say that, but I know I need to be realistic and find a way to fully enjoy the experience.

In any event, I WILL be crossing that finish line in just over 48 hours.  And someone will place this medal around my neck.  :) And, for now, that's enough for me.

Zombie Dash and the Week that Disappeared...

Last weekend, I already had plans for last Monday's post - a simple weekend recap of a 5k race + a 16 mile long run and maybe some cute family photos.  Well, Sunday afternoon, life intervened.

I'll back up to Saturday 4/28.  My oldest daughter and I (along with a friend) were all set to run her first 5k race.  She played basketball this winter and has been running track, so it seemed like a good time.  And she was too excited to miss the Zombie Dash.  I mean, what could be cooler to a 15 year old than trail running while being chased by zombies?  :) The race shirts were pretty epic too:

 

S and I with one of the zombie volunteers. This lady was intense - stayed in character the entire time pre-race.  Kind of spooky really.  Hard to get the full effect, but her make-up was incredible.

 Us runners were "survivors" and there were a few good costumes there too.  

Here are some army guys, ready to save the day!

This may have been my favorite costume - a zomBEE. hahahaha  :)

The race was a lot of fun, but there some surprises. I'd never really run on trails before and the dirt (and hills!) make for a harder run.  However, that effort was balanced out by the walking. Yes, walking.  More than a few areas on the trails were very narrow - single file.  So, if someone in front of you walked (and many did) everyone walked. This was frustrating at times.  Not a good race to "race" but not so bad if you just go with it to have fun. I think our final times were in the low 40 min range.  Even at my slowish pace, that's a slow 5k.  But it was also nice to enjoy it and not have it go by so quickly.

On Sunday we went to church and I got ready for my long run without a firm plan.  I wanted to do a minimum of 10 miles, but also really wanted to hit the 15+ mile point once more before the Riverbank Run. I was kind of secretly hoping to do 16 miles.  Unlike my last 15.5 miler, this run wasn't very comfortable.  My body felt heavy and it was humid.  But I had slogged through over 10 miles and thought 16 seemed attainable, even though some walking was involved.  Around mile 10.5, I heard my phone ring.  This is unusual in itself, since I frequently forget to turn my ringer on. And it was also odd that I answered it. But I did.

It was my husband.  Initially I was annoyed - why was he calling? He knew I was running.  Long story short, something was wrong with our daughter, S.  He didn't know what it was, but she wasn't herself and it scared him.  I told him to take her directly to the ER.  I called my neighbor to come get me (I was still well over 5 miles from home at this point) and started running toward where her car would be coming. She rushed me home, I found another neighbor to watch the other kids, and hurried to the hospital. I didn't even take the time to change - just grabbed a sweatshirt. (yes, pity Mark and everyone else - I STANK).

The next few hours and days are both a blur and yet firmly etched into my memory.  I realize it seems cryptic, but I'd rather not get into sharing private medical information on a public blog. I will say I had to sit and watch my oldest daughter as sick as I've ever seen her.  I had to hold her hand, not knowing what was wrong and not knowing if she'd be okay. It was the scariest week of my life.

I love my children - all of my children. And this week proved that to me a million times over.  As I watched S lying there, so sick, my heart broke for her, worried for her, ached for her. I was not able to hold S as an infant. We did not have that time together.  Nevertheless, that was my baby lying there. A mother's pain is such a unique and powerful thing.

Long story made very short, S is okay and we expect no real issues going forward. It was a very crazy, stressful week.  But so many positive things as well. I was reminded again of my love for S.  I was reminded again (and again) of how wonderful and supportive our family and friends are; how much others love my family too.  I was blessed with gifts of food, of time. I was reminded that such love and kindness is not a debt to be repaid, but a gift to pass on to another family when the time comes.

So, as I sit typing, it is now Wednesday, May 9.  My mind roams over the past 10 days and comes up both full and empty.  It's as if that time disintegrated.  But it doesn't matter.

Because it's time for us to look forward. And the future is bright.

Next Steps

 [image source]

As a follow-up to this post, here is a brief run-down as to where we are in JS's adoption, and what comes next:

Just to be clear, we still have a looong ways to go.  Technically, our dossier is missing one document - immigration approval from the U.S. government.  In fact, because we needed a completed home study to see that approval, we didn't even send the forms in until a week or so ago!  Since it can take several months :( we don't have our approval yet. Fortunately, our agency is allowing our dossier to get a "head start" on translation. Yay! This is huge and I"m so thankful. Once we get our approval (form 171h), we'll send that along to Colombia as well. Oh, and before we can get our approval, we'll have to be fingerprinted (again). Fun fun.

HOPEFULLY, shortly thereafter our dossier will be finished and submitted to the ICBF (the Colombian government agency that handles adoption approvals).  Once approved by ICBF we can (hopefully!) formally accept JS's referral and talk about travel to bring.him.home.  If everything goes perfectly (ha) we are still hopeful this may occur in early fall.  Knowing that things never do seem to go perfectly, I am hanging my hopes on traveling before the end of the year.  

In the meantime, we are focused on readying the house (Mark is building another set of bunk beds and an armoire for the boys), learning/refreshing our Spanish (Mark has been enjoying the monthly subscription to Rosetta Stone) and applying for grants and fundraising.  This last part is a tad stressful and, frankly, a blow to my pride, but it's all about getting JS home as soon as possible.  :)  

So, that's where we are in a nutshell!  So, so nice to be moving on to the next step.  Hopefully our documents will make it to Colombia sooooon!