Me and The Boys

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow (Thankfully!)

So, after reveling in the glory of my amazing 20-mile run Saturday morning, I developed some soreness in my lower left leg. Sort of in the same area of the shin splints that gave me so much trouble for so long, that seem to finally have been held at bay (knock on wood) by a combination of custom orthotics, lots and lots of PT, and lots of corrections to my running form - that same area that will probably forever be an area of concern to me, and where even the slightest twinge has me on the phone with my physical therapist. 

It was in that area, but also a little lower, right around the inside of my ankle. At first it wasn't too bad, but as the night went on, it got worse. And as I was laying in bed going to sleep, it was throbbing.

I went to sleep with images of me spending hours upon hours with an aqua belt on, jogging back and forth in the deep end of the pool at the Y. Not quite a nightmare, but pretty close.

And when I woke up, I was really scared that that vision was going to become a reality. I was almost limping around the house. Not. Good.

I was doing my best to not totally freak out, though, and the boys (just Gabe and Dante) and I carried on with our day - which was really fun, and did a great job of distracting me. We went to a pancake breakfast fundraiser for their school, then to run a few errands, then out to lunch, and then I took them to Monster Mini Golf. It was fun to just hang out with the two of them, without having to chase Carmine around. We had some good laughs, and I almost forgot to worry about my ankle.

And, as it so happens, as the day went on, the pain seemed to be fading, and by the time I was in the kitchen making dinner, I realized that it was just about completely gone. Odd. Wonderful, but also very odd - that a pain so bad it had me almost unable to walk normally a few hours earlier had now all but disappeared.

It felt 100% normal this morning, so I decided to test it out for a few miles on the treadmill, so I'd have an idea of whether or not I'd be able to carry on with my training this week. Two miles, and all was well.

As I ran, it occurred to me that the only thing I did differently during my run Saturday was wear the compression socks. It also occurred to me that perhaps, by now, I should know better than to try something new on a 20-mile run. But I really never imagined compression socks could result in pain.

I'll never know for certain if that's why I had the mystery 12-hour ankle pain, but it seems like an awfully large coincedence, so I think I'll save the compression for post-run recovery for the time being.

And happily, I'll be back at it tomorrow, for my tempo run. I have a race on Sunday (5K), so I don't want to do both my speedwork and my tempo run - I think that's a bit much for the week before a race. So I'm going to drop the speedwork. I feel like the tempo is more of a crucial element for my training - I'm getting so much out of those runs - so I'll do that tomorrow, and an easier-paced run on Thursday. 

I have pretty high hopes for this race. I know I'm in the middle of marathon training, and I shouldn't get too hung up on a 5K, but I haven't raced since early December, and I've got several weeks of speedwork under my belt, and I know that's going to translate into some pretty good speed.

I feel pretty confident I can at least run my current PR of 21:57, and I'm hoping I can run even a little faster than that. Gotta get to work on my goal of running a sub-21 5K this year.....

I am bound and determined to START SLOW, though. It's really difficult for this race, because it's such a flat course. But I want my first mile to be over 7 minutes - and after that, all bets are off.

There's one very small hill on the course, just after the one-mile mark, and once I get up that hill, I'm going all out : ) 

It's going to hurt really bad, but I'm also going to love every minute of it!

Wow

Did you ever have one of those runs where you felt so great the entire time?  Where it felt like your body was on autopilot, and your legs were like windmills, and you were just flying down the road without a care in the world?

Today was one of those runs for me - which would be awesome enough in and of itself - but add in the fact that it was a TWENTY-mile run, and there's your wow factor!

Never in my life have I come back from a 20-mile run and honestly felt like I enjoyed the whole damn thing. Every mile, every minute, every step. That was one of the most fun, enjoyable, pleasant runs I've ever had - and did I mention I ran TWENTY miles?????!!!!!!

The weather was a huge factor, for sure. I remember heading out for my 20-milers this summer while I was training for Hartford, stepping out into the July and August heat and humidity, and feeling exhausted before I had even begun.

But today it was crisp and cool - but not too cool - when I got to the beach, and I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise, and I was so excited to get started. Unlike this summer, I wasn't dreading this run. I wasn't consumed by thoughts of how far I had to go, and wondering how on earth I'd ever keep up a reasonable pace for 3 hours.

I was just anxious to get running. So I did. It was in the mid-30s when I started, but I was brave and donned my shorts. I knew I'd warm up quickly, and I had a mid-weight shirt and a light vest on, and gloves and hat, so I figured any chill in my legs at the beginning would be offset by being warm and toasty on top. And I was right!

I also was wearing my compression socks for the first time. I thought I might look completely ridiculous in them, but when I put them on, I decided they made me look like an elite athlete - not ridiculous at all : )  And the super-long socks plus shorts combined for a sort of capri-effect, so the slight chill I felt in my legs was barely noticeable, and gone completely after about 2 miles.

I ran the first loop of the Gansett course. (How awesome it is that I can train on the course every single week if I want to?!)  The first loop is 16 miles, and I've run most of it on other long training runs, but there were a few short sections that I'd never run, so I was looking forward to checking them out for the first time.

I was moving along pretty quickly in the first few miles, and kept trying to slow down, but having great difficulty doing so. My body just seemed stuck right around an 8:30 pace. I was a little worried that I was going to pay for that in the later miles, but I was feeling so good, and not running terribly fast, so I didn't stress about it.

One of the sections of the course I hadn't ever run takes you down a small side road out to a lighthouse, which was a nice diversion from the long, straight Ocean Road stretch. Then it's up past another beach, and down toward the harbor in Galilee. The stink of the fishing boats is not always a pleasant thing first thing in the morning, but I do like running through the harbor, and past the Block Island ferry landing (lots of memories tied to that spot).

Then it was on to Great Island - a very small loop through a slightly hilly neighborhood. And let me emphasize - really slight hills. The entire course is flatter than either of the other two marathons I've run, which is going to be a very welcome change.

As I exited Great Island and headed out the escape road from Galilee, the sun was beating down on me, and there was not even a hint of a breeze, and I actually felt a little warm during that one-mile stretch. But that was the only time during the whole run that I felt the least bit uncomfortable. And on a 40-degree day, feeling slightly warm isn't all that terrible. The sun on my face felt fabulous!

At this point, I was at about the 11-mile mark, and still feeling amazing. I felt so amazing that I kept telling myself not to think about how amazing I felt, because I was going to jinx it. I was still running about an 8:30 pace, too, and had kind of given up on trying to slow down. 

During every one of my 20-milers this summer, I hit a horrible spot somewhere between the 13 - 18-mile mark. And I was assuming today would be no different. I was waiting for it. And waiting. And waiting.

And it NEVER CAME.

12 miles, 13 miles, 14 miles, 15 miles....right on to the end. Still having fun, still feeling good, still running well.

I had a little bonus around the 13.5-mile mark, too - I met up with two friends from the running club, and they ran the final 6.5 miles with me, which was great. I don't know if I could have kept up the 8:30 pace for those last 6.5 miles - I still felt so awesome, I suspect I probably could have - but I was perfectly fine with slowing down a bit, especially since it meant I'd have company!!! 

We did an out-and-back route along the ocean, chatting away, and when we got back to our cars, I had completed 20.43 miles in 2 hours and 59 minutes, for an average pace of 8:43. Yay!!!!! 

And I felt good. Really good. Unbelievably good.

When I got home, I still felt good. I was sore, and tired, but not overly so. And my stomach felt great, and I was able to eat right away, which is not usually the case. I think part of the reason my stomach didn't get all icky feeling is that I didn't drink as much water as I did on all my summer long runs. I drank plenty, and was very well hydrated, but I have to drink so much more water when it's hot out, I think it tends to make my stomach really unsettled.

But not this time. It was so nice to be able to refuel without feeling like I was forcing myself to eat.

And then - the energy! Boundless energy, like I've never felt after a 20-miler! Usually I want to lay down and do nothing for several hours. I'm rarely able to indulge that feeling, but I always feel  it.

But today was the complete opposite. I felt disappointed that I had nothing planned, and Scott was out with Gabe and Dante, so it was just me and Carmine.

I wasn't about to just sit around the house and let all those good endorphins go to waste, so I showered and changed and brought him to the park for a while. And after we got home, I had all three of the boys out playing in the front yard for nearly 2 hours. (Last week they were out there in full snow gear, this week Dante wasn't even wearing a coat! Between that and my run this morning, I've spent most of the day outside, which is a wonderful thing, since it's almost the end of January!)

Needless to say, this whole experience has definitely given me a huge boost of confidence for Gansett, and has also made me view 20-milers very differently. I know I can't expect them all to go that well, but just knowing that they CAN go that well is very encouraging : )

Oh, and Carmine said a new three-word sentence today - he came over to me when I got home and grabbed at my compression socks, laughing and saying "Mommy big socks."  I told him not to laugh - all the cool kids are wearing them : )

Wait For The Beep

My wonderful husband bought me a Garmin 405 for Christmas, and in addition to being completely surprised, I was thrilled, and couldn't wait to try it out! I've had a 305 for a long time now, and have put many miles on it.

The 305 is a fabulous GPS watch, and if Scott hadn't decided to splurge on me, I probably wouldn't have been upgrading anytime soon. My only real complaint with the 305 was how big and clunky it sometimes felt - but I had gotten used to that, so it wasn't even that much of an issue.

The 405 has a little bit of a learning curve to it - particularly getting used to the touch bezel, which is a little sensitive and temperamental at times - but now that I've been using it for a few weeks, I'm feeling more comfortable with it, and am mostly really happy with the upgrade. I've read some reviews that detail complaints with the bezel going haywire in wet/humid conditions, but I've yet to encounter anything like that, so I'll just have to wait and see if that's an issue (and hope that it's not).

The best feature, by far, is how simple it is to upload my workouts to my computer. I was able to upload them with the 305, but the Garmin software you had to use to view it once uploaded was horrendous, and mostly useless to me, so I never really bothered with it.

The 405 has a great wireless connection, and the data is uploaded pretty quickly into Garmin Connect and the Garmin Training Center software. I'm still figuring out what the differences are between the two, but so far, the Garmin Connect has been great for reviewing my runs, comparing them (love that feature!), and checking out elevations and different routes - good to be able to go back and see exactly what that awesome 8-mile route was (you'd think I'd remember, but sometimes the exact details get a little foggy).

The Garmin Training Center, as I learned earlier this week, is where you can input specific workouts, then send those workout specs to your Garmin, and simply call up the workout and press "start" when you're ready to go. This was EXACTLY what I needed for my track workout this week, which, once again would have to be done off the track.

It took a few minutes to enter the workout on my computer - 400, 800, 1200, 800, 400 (400 RI) x 3 - but once it was in there, I sent it to the Garmin, and presto - there it was, ready to go! And when I got to my recently discovered 'track substitute' neighborhood, I just pressed the button, started running, and waited for the beeps.

It was so, so nice to not have to think about how many repeats I had done - was it time for an 800, or a 400?  When you're really pushing yourself like that, it's tough to keep track of what lap you're on. Honestly, I think even if I had been at the track, I might have programmed this one in, so that I wouldn't have to worry about tallying up the repeats in my head.

And can I add in here that this was a particularly INSANE track workout? When I first read it in my training plan, I thought it was a typo. That is by far the longest track workout I've ever done, and wow, did I feel it!

Some of the repeats flew by - 400s feel so easy after you've done several 800s and 1200s - but others seemed to take forever. I was really hitting my targets, though - the 400s were coming in around a 6:30 pace, and the 800s and 1200s were all in the range of 6:44 to 6:53. Talk about feeling accomplished! 

I was thinking a lot about the marathon while I was circling around and around, but I was also thinking about the 5K I'm doing next weekend, and wondering just how much I can shave off my current PR of 21:57. It's going to be really fun to test out how much speed these 4 or 5 weeks of interval training has afforded me. 

First up, though, is my first 20-miler tomorrow. Luckily, the weather is going to cooperate. It'll be chilly when I start - mid-30s - but right around 40 by the time I finish. I may even wear shorts and just put up with being a little cold at the beginning, because I know as I get through the first 5 or 10 miles, I'll be warmed right up.

I'm looking forward to getting this done. I know I still have two more to go after this, but getting that first one out of the way will feel good. Hopefully actually running it will feel good, too - well, as good as running 20 miles can feel, anyway.

Ready to Re-Charge

I don't write a lot about how we deal with Gabe's ADHD here, but I am constantly thinking about it. It's a pretty pervasive force in our lives, and I'm always reading and learning and trying out new tactics. And I used to feel like we'd eventually find a system or a method that worked, and all would be well.

But as the days and months and years have gone by, I've realized that there is no single 'solution.' This is something we're going to be working on forever, and every day, every month, every season, every holiday is an opportunity for a curveball to be lobbed at us, just when we felt like things were going smoothly.

I mention holidays, because the Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas season definitely threw us for a loop this year. The levels of hyperactivity seen in this house were like none we had ever experienced before. And although Gabe is the one who was diagnosed with ADHD, Dante is a very silly, rambunctious 6-year-old, and is definitely a force to be reckoned with, too, and the two of them feed off of each other, so it's very much a group effort!

And I will be the first to admit that my reactions are often (very, very often) not the calm, soothing, controlled response that they should be. I struggle with my own issues in regards to all this, and just as Gabe's behavior has highs and lows, so does my capacity for dealing with it.

The seasonal chaos spilled over into school a bit, too, which was our real concern. There was no real bad behavior - nothing harmful, nothing mean-spirited, nothing that would even raise a red flag if it happened once in a while - it was just a constant struggle with not waiting to speak out in class, and making unnecessary noises (humming, etc.). Generally being a distraction to the rest of his classmates, and not being respectful of the classroom rules.

Like I said, nothing that would cause much concern if it was a rare event, but it was happening EVERY single day - and his classmates were complaining about it. And as I looked back at his daily calendar (which has color-coded symbols to reflect his overall behavior each day), I saw that the problems started right around Halloween, and continued right through Christmas break.

My memory isn't great, but I'm fairly certain I recall a very similar pattern last year. And as it did last year, the behavior seems to have magically corrected itself now that the holidays have finally come to an end.

So now that we've seen and dealt with this pattern of behavior two years in a row, I'm going to literally write something in my calendar for next October, to remind me to put some extra systems in place for that time of year, to try to keep us all on track.

That time of year is tough on me, too - my mind is buzzing with a million things to get done, and my patience runs thinner and thinner as the holidays draw closer and closer. So a reminder to all of us to be mindful of those factors, and work really hard to keep them from sabotaging our daily routines, will be a good thing.

I'm also making some changes now that I hope will stick with us throughout the year, one of which is less TV time. In the holiday rush, I got lazy, and often let the boys watch TV when I was busy with housework and projects (which was a lot of the time). I'm not against TV, but it had gotten a little out of hand - as evidenced by Carmine walking in the house, hopping up on the couch, and demanding to watch "Mickey! Mickey! Mickey!"

One idea I'm trying is my version of an "idea jar." Instead of a jar, I got an envelope, glued a magnet to the back, and stuck it on the fridge. Inside the envelope are tickets with ideas for things to do. Some are just ordinary suggestions - Legos, watercolors, Matchbox cars - but there are a few different ideas, too - write someone a letter, read a book and draw a picture about what you read.

It's a small thing, but when there's an hour 'til dinner, and everyone is bouncing off the walls, and also complaining that they "don't know what to do," I no longer have to come up with an idea on the spot - they can choose one for themselves. Last night all three of them happily painted watercolor pictures for a good 45 minutes. It was lovely : )  And not having the constant background noise from the TV made me feel calmer, too.

I also signed us up for this program - The 10-Day Family Recharge - which looks fabulous. I don't think we need to completely overhaul our lifestyle, but I do think some reminders will be good for all of us. Reminders to really appreciate each other, and try to not get too caught up in the insanity that is our daily life. It is a bit insane, but it's awesome, too, and it's all too easy to lose sight of that as you're yelling at your 6- and 7-year olds to get their gloves on so we don't miss the bus and your 2-year-old is sobbing for Daddy, who just went to work.

I don't anticipate major changes, but I do anticipate subtle ones. Hopefully a little more patience on my part. Maybe a little less bickering between Gabe and Dante (hey, I can dream, can't I?) 

I guess the big thing I'm hoping to get out of it is a small shift in my way of thinking. I spend too much time focusing on the million lists I'm constantly making in my head - what I need to do, and where we need to go, what we're planning next month, and the month after that - and not enough time just being with my kids and enjoying the crazy, funny, sweet little boys they are. A little more connection, as they really start to grow up and tackle some of the tougher things life is going to start throwing at them. A little more calmness, so that they know if they have a rough day at school, home will always always always be their safe haven. (I think they know this already, but it bears repeating and reinforcing).

In any case, I think it will be a fun experience for all of us, and I'm excited to get started next week - after my first 20-miler on Saturday, for which the temperatures are going to be up near 50 - thank you, Mother Nature!!!!!!

A Taste Of Spring - At the End of January

Once again, our oddly mild winter treated me to another perfect day for running today.

It was almost 50 degrees when I woke up at 5:30am - drastically different from Sunday morning, when it was in the teens.

Sunday I met with a friend at the beach for an easy 10 miles, and the temperature never got above 15. As with the previous week's frigid temperatures, though, I was dressed properly, so I felt fine once we got moving. It was nice to have some company again, too. I did all but one or two of my long runs solo when I was training for Hartford, and I don't mind running alone, but it's awfully nice to not have to go it alone all the time.

Today was a solo run, but it was my favorite - the 8-mile tempo - so I didn't mind. I was looking forward to putting on my favorite playlist and enjoying the beautiful day - which was so warm that I wore shorts and short sleeves, and was perfectly comfortable the entire time. Unbelievable, given that it's the end of January!

I won't go on and on about how much I'm loving the tempo runs - I've done that enough already. I'll just say that it went well, and I managed to run the exact same route I ran for last week's tempo, and ran it 17 seconds faster (7:25 pace for the full 8 miles). Not a huge time difference, but enough to provide another confidence boost, so I'll take it : )

The real challenging part of my day was still to come, though. Carmine had his 2-year checkup scheduled for 11am. He's not a fan of the doctor, and every appointment I've brought him to, he's gotten progressively worse and worse.

Today was no exception to that pattern. I've never seen a 2-year-old child so stressed out, and nervous, and downright terrified. I had to fight with him just to get him undressed, and the screaming that started then barely let up for the remainder of the appointment. It was really difficult, and really, really upsetting.

I don't know why he's so deathly afraid, either. He's never had anything other than routine checkups and vaccinations. No painful procedures, nothing that would have traumatized him in any way. And nothing they do at these checkups is even remotely invasive - he freaks out at the simplest things, like having the stethoscope placed on his chest.

And it wasn't the normal "I'm scared" or "I'm angry" cry that kids have. It had a different tone to it. That may sound crazy, but moms (and dads) will understand. You know your kids' cries, and they are distinctly different. This was more of a "I'm terrified and incredibly stressed out about this, and I can't believe you're holding me down so they can do these things to me" cry. As if we moms don't carry around enough guilt already.....

I was seriously a little shell-shocked when it was finally all over. He's not due for another checkup until he's three, and between now and then, I'm going to use every trick in the book to try to get him to stop being so scared of the doctor, because I do not want to have to go through an experience like that again.

Neither Gabe or Dante was ever this bad with doctors, so this is all uncharted territory for me, and has kind of caught me off guard. I think the third child feels it's their mission to keep you on your toes, and make sure you are well aware that, just because you've done this twice already, you do NOT have it all figured out - not by a long shot.

The only silver lining to this cloud is that once we leave the doctor's office, he forgets very quickly about how traumatic it was.

We listened to his "They Might Be Giants" CD in the car on the way home (his new favorite), and he spent a good part of the afternoon stomping around in the mud that surrounded one of the few small piles of snow left in the yard, and shoveling that snow into his Tonka dump truck. Thank goodness for short attention spans and even shorter memories.

Two!

So, our baby is two - or, as he says, "Doo!"

And as much as he tries to act like he's one of the big kids, he has also fully embraced the 2-year-old behavior that earned this age the "terrible" title.

His favorite words are "NO!" and "MINE!" and they must always be yelled. Come to think of it, almost everything must be yelled. 

If Gabe or Dante picks up a toy and starts to play with it, it instantly becomes the only toy in the house that he wants to play with and HE MUST HAVE IT IMMEDIATELY!

He's still a big fan of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but is also now an avid watcher of Phineas & Ferb, a show that we only recently let his big brothers start watching. Such is the life of the third child. He'll now sit on the couch and demand "Ferb! Ferb! Ferb!" instead of "Mitt-mey! Mitt-mey! Mitt-mey!"

Everything is a game. And almost everything is a game called "I don't want to do what you want me to do, so I'm going to run away and make you chase me - isn't that hysterical?!"

Getting his diaper changed and getting him dressed are contact sports. I literally have to head him off at the pass and tackle him - which is exactly what he wants me to do.

It's all fun and games - until we're running late for the school bus, and Carmine is only half-dressed, and Gabe and Dante don't have their coats on yet, and are yelling and fighting over who gets to open the door. Then it's not so fun anymore.

Everything he says is repeated 3, or 4, or 5, or 17 times - as many times as it takes you to acknowledge what he's said, and agree with him.

This leads to me listening to him yell frantically in the backseat of the car "dump truck! dump truck! dump truck! dump truck!" any time he spots any kind of truck-like vehicle on the road.

Have I mentioned how completely and utterly obsessed he is with trucks? He eats, sleeps, and breathes trucks. Other vehicles are appreciated, too, but not quite the same way trucks are.

We learned this weekend that he also loves the snow. He was out there stomping around in his big boots, and "fuffeling" [shoveling] the driveway with Daddy.

Just as exciting as being out in the snow, though, was sitting in the house and watching the snow plow. "Dump truck! Dump truck! Dump truck!"

He still struggles to find words, and still has some very mangled pronunciations (strawberries are "raw-rhee"), but his vocabulary has exploded, and he's working really hard on putting sentences together.

He has a lot of two-word sentences ("Mommy coat. Mommy hat. Daddy shirt. Hold plate" and so on), and has even occasionally put together some three- and four-word sentences. It's so exciting to have him really conversing with us.

And he really does make sure he's part of the conversation - especially at dinner. One of the cutest things is when Scott will sit down and ask Gabe and Dante how their day was, and then he'll ask Carmine, and Carmine will nod and answer "good."

He loved his birthday - well, most of his birthday. He loved the kitchen we got him, and is having so much fun cooking. He spent 10 minutes yesterday morning making me syrup. There were plates of syrup, bowls of syrup, cups of syrup, pots of syrup. Yum, yum, yum. Syrupy goodness.

He also loved opening the rest of his presents. He ripped right into them, and as he saw what each one was, he'd yell out "whooooooaaaaaaahhhhhhh!"

And he spent a good part of the morning running around the house yelling "Hot Baby To You! Hot Baby To You!" which had Gabe and Dante (and me) giggling hysterically.

What he didn't love was us singing "Happy Birthday" to him. As soon as we started singing, he started yelling "No, no, no!" I thought he was just being his usual ornery self (When I went in his room yesterday morning and said Happy Birthday to him, he also yelled "No, no, no!")

But as we continued singing, he got more and more emphatic. And by the time we finished (yes, we sang the whole song, even though he clearly was not even coming close to enjoying it), he was sobbing. Even the promise of a slice of cake couldn't calm him down.

A few minutes of snuggling with Mommy did the trick, though, and after that and some of his Mickey cake, all was well. Definitely made for a memorable 2nd birthday celebration.

I'd expect nothing less from our adorable, excitable, and exceedingly enthusiastic little boy : )

Around and Around and Around

I wasn't able to get out to the track early this morning for my speedwork, but it was a pretty nice day (chilly, but sunny and not too windy), so I didn't want to get on the treadmill. I hate to resort to the treadmill unless it's absolutely necessary.

There's no track near the gym, though, so I headed down the road a bit, and was planning on just going back and forth on a straight, relatively flat stretch of road. Not the most exciting workout venue, but no more boring than an oval track, right?

I did my first two repeats on that flat stretch of road, and then realized that I was right at the entrance to a neighborhood that's comprised of a very large, flat loop of road with cul-de-sacs branching off of it. Bingo!

I headed in, and started making my way around the main loop road. It was perfect! It turned out to be just about a half-mile, so about halfway around was one repeat, and the next half was my rest interval. There was a small incline at one end of the loop, but nothing too terrible. And although I was still running in circles, it didn't seem as torturous as the track sometimes does.

The first few repeats were on the slow side - 1:40 and above - but then I got them down closer to 1:36 and 1:37, which was more where I wanted to be. Even ran one 400 in 1:34, which is a 6:18 pace! Yowza!!!

In the end, it was a great workout. I was supposed to do 10 x 400, but I even threw in an extra, to make it 11. And I am seriously considering doing several more 'track' workouts in this neighborhood. It's just different enough to throw me off and keep it from getting too monotonous. A nice little discovery to add a twist to my training : )

On an unrelated note, my baby is about to turn two years old, and I cannot for the life of me figure out where the last two years went. It seems like just yesterday I was waddling around, nearly two weeks overdue, wondering if he was EVER going to make an appearance.

We won't have a big party for him. We did that for his 1st, and from now until his 5th birthday, we'll just do quiet family parties - just the grandparents and us.

I am planning a fabulous Mickey Mouse cake, though, and will be trying my hand at decorating with fondant for only the second time. It was a little tricky the first time, but fun, too, so I'm looking forward to it. And if it doesn't come out quite right, I don't think the birthday boy is going to mind. He'll be too busy shoving fistfuls of cake in his mouth to worry about whether or not the decorating was up to par!

Classic New England

I wrote all about my frigid long run on Sunday, and the main thing to take away from the experience is that it really wasn't too bad at all (and way easier than a long run in summertime heat and humidity).

But in classic New England weather fashion, I was out on the road for my 8-mile tempo run just two days later, wearing SHORTS!  It was cool enough that I needed long sleeves, but not too cold for shorts - two days after wearing double layers of everything, including hats and gloves. Craziness!

The tempo run was, as all my tempos on this training plan have been, incredible. I can't get over how great they make me feel. There's some suffering, sure, and there are definitely several times during the run where I feel like I wish I could stop, or slow down considerably. But then I'll hit a nice flat stretch, or even better, a downhill, and the happy thoughts return.

The plan I'm using this time is generally working out really well for me. It's not quite as rigid as the plan I used last time, and I feel like it's also not wearing me down so much. Obviously, I still have twelve more weeks to go, so there's plenty of time for me to get worn down and burned out. And I know some of that will occur.

But overall, it seems like a better fit. The speedwork is about the same - insane track workouts that always scare me when I first look at them, and that hurt while I'm doing them, but that are definitely paying off.

The long runs are definitely different. They're all run at a slightly slower pace than I did my long runs last time, and I think that's a good thing. It's obviously important to get in those 14-, 16-, 18-, and 20-mile runs, but the last plan had me running them pretty darn close to race pace, and it was really tough on me, both mentally and physically, to do that week after week after week.

On this plan, the tempo runs are where I'm really building up both my speed and my endurance. Every week is an 8-mile tempo, except for a few weeks where I'll do a 10-mile tempo. Obviously 8- and 10-mile runs don't even come close to comparing to a marathon, but if I can hold a 7:30 pace for runs of that distance, I feel pretty confident that I can hold between an 8:15 and 8:20 pace for the marathon - especially if I'm doing it once a week. The obvious benefit is that I'm running long enough that I'm buildling some endurance, but not so long that I'm completely trashing my body. 

Also different is that I'm only doing three 20-milers instead of five. You have no idea how much of a relief that is to me. Not to mention how insane it seems that I'm relieved to "only" have to run 20 miles three times. But mentally, not having those two additional 20-milers feels so freeing.

And frankly, I don't know that running five 20-milers had that big an impact on my performance in Hartford anyway. I don't know that it was really necessary, and I even wonder if it affected me negatively, making me feel more beat up and burned out than I should have been.

I'm not knocking the plan I used last time, because it worked - I got my qualifier, and I didn't get injured. But to say it was intense is a huge understatement. And this time around, I feel like I'm training really well and I feel like I'm definitely going to be prepared for race day, and will probably even be able to PR, but I don't feel as mentally and physically drained as I did while training this summer.

Part of that is the slightly more flexible training plan, and part of it is that I'm cutting myself a little slack. I only had two months of downtime before picking up with training again, and it was a battle at first to get my head back into training mode.

But now that I'm here, I'm focused, but I'm also not obsessing. I spend so much less time looking at my Garmin during my runs, and almost no time at all poring over my plan to see what workouts are coming up next. In fact, there have been a few mornings where I almost forgot to check to see what was on the schedule.

It's an approach that's working much better for me. I love having goals, and I have goals for this race, and I am driven to do my best to reach those goals. But I also don't want it to consume my every waking moment. I have my qualifier, and if 3:43 stands as my PR for a while longer, so be it. It's a PR I can be very proud of, and if I can beat it, it'll be great, but if I can't, that'll be ok, too.

What I'm most looking forward to in Gansett is running on my home turf - running a race on the roads that I know like the back of my hand, and passing all the familiar sites along the way; and seeing Scott and the boys, and hopefully at least a few of my friends, out on the course as I run.

It's going to be a great experience, and I'm making sure that the training is just as great. It's not going to be without its ups and downs (already had some of those downs, in fact), but I'm determined to make sure the prevailing mood is one of fun. After all, running is FUN, and that's why I do it, right?  : )

So far, so good. Let's see if I can keep it up for twelve and a half more weeks.....

Things I Learned While Running 18 Miles in 11 Degree Weather

- If it's not terribly windy, 11 degrees really doesn't feel too bad once you start moving.

- If you do run into a headwind, it feels like you'd imagine 11 degrees feels like - COLD!  And you're running - into a headwind. Double ouch. (Luckily there was only a small amount of that today)

- Headwinds in 11 degree weather definitely call for a Balaclava, and I'm really glad I went out and bought one yesterday. It was so simple to pull it up over my mouth when the wind kicked up, and slide it back down when I didn't need it. Perfect!

- When it's really cold like this, I need to wear two pairs of gloves. I did that today, and my hands only felt cold at the very very beginning of my run - the rest of the time they were nice and toasty.

- When it's really cold like this, I also need to wear two pairs of tights. I never once felt too warm or too cold.

- If it's cold enough, the water in your handheld water bottle will turn into a slushy.

- Gu is much, much, much more palatable when it's cold. The chocolate flavor came very close to tasting like a Fudgsicle, which is way better than the artificial chocolate sludge it usually tastes like.

- It's not without it's challenges, and it takes a lot longer to get dressed (all those layers!!!), but I'll still gladly take cold-weather running over running in the heat and humidity any day.

- I didn't mind running in the frigid cold today, but I am sort of hoping it's slightly more reasonable when I have to go out for my first 20-miler in two weeks.

- A bad long run is totally demoralizing and depressing. A good long run is amazingly empowering!

- Running 18 miles in 11 degree temperatures makes you feel pretty tough.

Carmine Milestones and Antics

Big milestone for the Big Ragu this week. His first haircut.

My baby is getting all growed up.

I'm really feeling surprisingly ok about it, though. I was a little melancholy, thinking about the fact that this will be the last time we'll ever go for a 'first haircut,' but really, I'm ok with that. This is our last baby, and I feel so confident that that's how it was meant to be. He's completed our family, and we're good : )

The haircut experience, on the other hand, was far from good. He was too confused at first, I think, to get upset, so the first few minutes he was pretty quiet. But then he caught on to the whole thing and the squirming and protesting and hand-swatting began.

We urged the woman to speed it up and just do the best she could, but there were still quite a few tears - and I ended up having to trim a few spots in the back a little bit more after we got home (with him strapped into his booster seat in front of an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse).

But all in all, it could have been a lot worse. And since his cute baby curls had turned into a combination mullet/rat's nest/baby dreadlocks, it was definitely time.

That first haircut does instantly make them look older, though. He's still got his little baby face, but he looks so much more like a little boy. A little boy who's going to be two in just a few weeks!

A little boy who has fully embraced the terrible twos, and has made it his personal mission to make as much noise and create as much chaos as he possibly can - and is excelling at fulfilling that mission.

Case in point - while I cooked dinner the other night, and the boys played a game of Bingo at the kitchen table, Carmine grabbed a toy from the living room and proceeded to whack it on the edge of the kitchen table over and over again, all the while grinning at me and yelling "BANG!  BANG! BANG!" 

And in true 2-year-old fashion, one of his favorite words is "no." When I tell him we're going to the gym, he says "No, Mommy." And when I finish my workout and arrive to pick him up from the gym daycare, he says "No!" and follows it up with a glance around the room and a very emphatic "MINE!"  as if all the toys in the daycare room belong to him, and we can't possibly leave, since the other kids would then be playing with all of 'his' stuff.

This month's choice for most dangerous hobby (last month it was trying to slide down the stairs instead of walk, and previous choices have included such fun activities as standing on the kitchen table and diving headfirst off the edge of the couch) is closing doors. As soon as we enter a room, he whips around and yells frantically "shut door! shut door! shut door!" With all the door shutting - which, truthfully, is really door slamming - going on, it's only a matter of time before someone's fingers get smashed.

Our little danger boy is also a good helper, though, and one of his favorite things to do is put his dirty clothes into the laundry basket. When we get him ready for bed, we hand him each item and he runs and throws it in the basket and runs back giggling. Who knew laundry could be so much fun?

Like any little brother, Carmine wants to do everything his big brothers do, and although we watch our fair share of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which, despite all their protesting and complaining, Gabe and Dante end up being completely captivated by), he's also watched lots of Scooby-Doo, and just the other day he grabbed the remote and started asking for "Ferb," so I guess he's just become Phineas and Ferb's youngest fan.

His eating habits are still horrendous, but we've all learned how to deal with it, and since Scott and I have made a concerted effort to ignore all his antics, meals have at least gotten slightly more peaceful. We still aren't ready for a family meal out at a restaurant anytime soon, but we're at the point where we can get through a dinner at home without any blood-curdling screams, so I'll be happy with that progress for now.

He's a handful, and he's a ton of work, and he can make me want to tear my hair out at times, but there is nothing quite like seeing him come running across the room in a little half run/half skip that he does, with a huge grin on his face. Or watching him carefully drive his trains around the wooden tracks, yelling "Choo-Choo DAY!!!  Choo-Choo DAY!!!!"  Or hearing him up in his crib while he's supposed to be napping, singing and bouncing and saying "hot baby, hot baby, hot baby." 

He does everything to the extreme, and while that can be exhausting in regards to the bad behavior, it is absolutely exhilirating and rewarding beyond words when he applies it to the good stuff : )