Frog N Kiwi

No Fools Around Here

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

Can I just say this is my absolute least favorite day of the year, ok minus the fact it’s our friends daughters birthday…that is April 1st only redeeming quality.

I just don’t think there is anything funny or caring about playing jokes on people, and making them feel stupid.  That’s just my opinion, the majority of the world disagrees with me.  Thankfully no one targeted me today, so I wasn’t too irritated. 

Instead of playing jokes on anyone Sky and I spent the morning at Frog n Kiwi.  She had a nasty cough for  weeks, and while I don’t feel like she was sick that whole time, other parents don’t know that.  Out of respect for others I keep her home from public play places/classes when she’s like that. 

The only problem was she asked to go to Frog n Kiwi every day for over a month.  It was getting ugly the longer I had to keep telling her no.  So, even though it’s spring break I braved it and took her to play, and for the first 45 min it was just Sky and one other tot.  Perfection!  It actually wasn’t all that busy thankfully.  She had a blast!

How cool are my nails?!
 

Once we got home Sky was happy doing her own thing/enjoying a snack (she was tired!) and I got to read for a bit.  I have a hard time fitting in even 30 minutes to read my books, and I happen to be in middle of a really good one.  It was really nice to have a few moments to myself to kick up my feet and read a few pages.   

It got even better when I got an evening run in!  I am so excited that the training schedule once again allows me to make it to run group.  I miss the Tuesday night group when I can’t be there.  When I’m in the midst of the double digit long run weeks I just can’t swing Tuesday night and then Wednesday morning with the stroller group.  My legs are getting closer and closer (as in my last year of being in my 30’s starts in 2 days!) to 40 and getting tired easier.  I had to skip the run group the last several weeks, and it was so nice to rejoin them tonight for a lovely sunny evening run!   

In fact it was such a nice evening that I took a little detour on the way home because the beautiful colors in the evening sky were calling to me!

Not the view from our house.  I found a great spot in Steilacoom to get a pic of the sunset.
I love living in the PNW!  Look one way and it’s the Puget Sound…look the other way and it’s Mt. Rainier.  Tons of green, lot’s of trees, mild winters, pretty great summers, and very few (if any) poisonous spiders/snakes.  Not bad at all!
——————

Tell me…Group running or solo running? 
I like a little of both!
Thoughts on April Fools Day?

5 Miles Did Me In

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

Good news!!!!  Apparently her arm is all better!  Mark’s ability to pop her elbow back in seemed to have done the trick!  I planned on getting her into the Ortho regardless, but after 2 hours of trying to get through on the phone I was told by the hospital operator that the main line to the office was down and they would not transfer me to a back line (nurses line), so I gave up. 

I opted for play time at Frog n Kiwi instead and figured if she was hurting after I would try and get through again.  At this point I’m in favor of skipping the Dr. visit/cast and seeing how her arm does.  If it pops out again I’ll admit I was wrong and we will go in, but I really just don’t want to go through the whole cast thing again if we don’t absolutely have to.

Proud Mommy moment…another parent came up and told me that Sky was playing so nicely with the other kids, and really good at taking turns.  Yes!!!! 

Sky’s arm may be pain free today but my legs sure aren’t.  Yesterdays run did me in.  I was so worn out and felt run down the whole rest of the day, and my legs were sore and tired.  They felt like they didn’t want to hold me up at all.  I’m still sore today, but not as bad thanks to foam rolling!  It’s mildly concerning since it wasn’t a super fast pace nor was it a long run.  5 miles is usually no big thing for me, so not sure what the deal is.  I hope I’m not getting sick, but that would totally explain it.  I’m resting today, skipping run group tonight, and will get back at it Wednesday with the stroller group.

I’m probably one of the few runners that skips runs/takes rest days as easily as I do.  I’m motivated, but I guess I’m not overly motivated.  I have a pretty good grasp on don’t want to vs shouldn’t, and I think today is a shouldn’t run day.  Never mind that I don’t really want to run in the dark, in the wind, and in the rain, but if this was strictly a I don’t want to thing I would make myself do it.

How do you get yourself out the door for a run/exercise when you don’t feel like it? 
I try to continually have a race on the books so I have something to train for and motivate me. 

Yippy For Indoor Playgrounds!!!

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday (and again today) Sky and I hit up Frog N Kiwi for a little play time.  Since our play dates and classes were all cancelled this week, and I didn’t feel up to standing around in the cold while she played, Frog N Kiwi was the perfect solution!

Sky is such a good sharer and really good at taking turns.  What she isn’t good with is playing with others, she isn’t mean to other kids at all, she would just much rather play on her own.  Such an only child thing, but we are working on it!  
 Climbing and sliding…two of her favorite things! 

 Twirling on the fireman’s pole.

She was one tired girl when we got home.  I think we were there for close to 3 hours with her playing the entire time!  More and more it takes lengthy morning play time/activity for her to be tired enough to take a good nap.  I do my best to tire her out, because I’m just not ready to give up my 2-3 hours of nap time…I get so much done!  
I love the set up because I can sit and read or look at FB and Pinterest while she plays, but still see the whole room and keep an eye on her.  Plus, she can see me too which is important.  She is getting better at running off and playing without Mommy, but every once in a while she looks around trying to find me, just to make sure I’m still there.  Controlled independence for both of us.
Once she went down I decided is was Christmas Gifts in a Jar time!  My kitchen went from this…
…to this in 2 hours!!!!
Some jars are not pictured.

I’m not totally done decorating the jars, but at least everything is made!  I’m not going to share what I made because that would ruin it for those that I’m giving them to.  I will say that while everything is made from pantry items and technically edible, it’s not all for eating!
Super thankful that I’m feeling better today.  Still coughing crap up, but feeling good enough to go to run group tonight.  Michelle and I were planning on joining the 5 mile group, but that’s going to be a game time decision for me.  I’m probably already pushing it by running in the first place, so may just do 3.  
Does anyone else do handmade gifts?  Tell me your go to item!!! 

Anyone else not so patiently waiting to see Catching Fire?  I really hope I find time to sneak away and see it this weekend!

2014 Running Goals!

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

No, it’s not to run a marathon.

Thank you to those of you that suggested I have a marathon in my future.  Your belief in my running ability is greater than my own!  I’m just not there yet.  I’m not saying it won’t happen, but I’m not ready to say yes either. 
 
The biggest issue is dedicating the time to training.  There is a big difference between 2 hour training runs and 4+ hour training runs!  I know it can be done and schedules can be worked out, but I just don’t want to do it at this point.   
 
My second biggest issue is that I have yet to finish a 1/2 and feel like I have another 13.1 in me.  I know training would help with that, but see above paragraph.  Lastly if I had to stop running tomorrow and never do another race I could do so without regretting not having run a marathon.  If I start feeling like my running life is incomplete without 26.2 then I’ll do one.  Until there is a compelling reason though, I’m happy to cap it at 13.1.

So what is my running goal then?  A little backstory first…I mentioned Saturday that I had an awesome run with Sky.  I totally expected it to suck.  My legs were sore from having just done 70 squats, I always run slower when pushing the stroller, and my music was dead.  I wasn’t planning on pushing the pace since felt like my legs were still recovering from the last 1/2. 

Imagine my surprise when I got home and took a look at the splits and saw that I was a full minute to minute and a half faster than my normal stroller running pace.  No wonder it felt so hard!

Finishing a 3 mile stroller run in 28 minutes made me realize I can do so much better than my current 5K PR!  I had already been thinking 2014 would be the year to go for a BIG 1/2 PR, so I’ll just add in a 5K PR as well!    

Here’s what I’m going for:
-5K – St. Paddy’s Day 5K – 25 minutes with a stretch goal of 24 or less (current PR 27 ish).  Depending on how it fits into the training schedule/camping schedule I may do the 4th of July 5K as well.  It’s a downhill, point to point crazy PR course! 

-1/2 Marathon – Tacoma Narrows Half – 2:15 with a stretch of 2:10 (current PR 2:20 ish).  The understanding with this one is since it’s early August, and heat can be an issue, that if it’s hot I will abandon a PR attempt since I have a history dehydration and all but blacking out when it’s hot.  If it’s too hot I’ll just aim to go slow and finish or let someone else run instead.  I love this course and felt awesome when I ran it this year.  I really feel like I have a big PR (previous 1/2’s have been run injured/heat issues/or hard hilly course) I know I can shave significant time and this is the course to do it on!

I’m a let’s have fun runner, if I don’t enjoy it then it’s not worth doing.  So, you won’t catch me doing speed workouts, or hitting the track (I despise both!).  But, I will focus on form, cadence and pace, and working for it from start to finish.  I start slower than I need to, and need to focus on leaving it out on the course…I have more kick at the end than I should.  It’s going to be challenging, but I’m excited just thinking about it!

Since I can’t seem to post without sharing pictures of Sky here are a few from play time at Frog n Kiwi this morning:

She seems to always be climbing and jumping.  The cast didn’t slow her down much from either activity and now that it’s off it’s even worse! 

Do you set yearly running goals? 
I do, it keeps me motivated and gives me fresh challenges.

How far ahead to you set your race schedule?
I look as far ahead as possible.  I want the opening day registration discounts!

Speed work, Yes or No?
No, never, ever, ever.  A friend of mine has a coach that says “speed kills” I wholeheartedly embrace that thinking and avoid speed training at all cost.  If I naturally speed up because I’m running more (which happens by the end of every training cycle for me) and/or running more efficiently then great.

  

     

 

 

Captain Sky

~ todaysadventureis ~ Leave a comment

We started the day with play time for Sky at Frog N Kiwi.  It was raining, and the counter install was going on in the master bath (so f’ing excited to have the master bath done sometime soon!), since Sky isn’t always a fan of strangers in her space I though getting her out of the house would be a good idea.  Actually, she ended up being way interested in the install and wanted to help the guy, so was good she was not underfoot the whole time! 

Her favorite thing to play on this time around…

 

…I think she felt like the Captain of the playroom up there.  She jumped off and climbed back up over and over and over. 

The best part was it wore her out and she took a super long nap!  While I wish that meant I got to drink champagne and eat bon-bons it actually meant I had 3 hours to clean out and re-organize my closet.  Every time we decide to downsize on the big pieces of furniture (in this case I’m listing the Thomasville Hutch in the living room) it means I have to find somewhere to put the stuff that said large pieces of furniture store. 

I was able to get rid of enough stuff and more compactly organize the shelving in my closet to make room for all the scrapbooks, books/novels I won’t let go of, and all the candles and holders.  We plan on openly displaying the chotchkies in the hutch.  We make a point of getting local art when we travel, so we have some pretty cool pieces, but they are sort of hidden in the hutch.  Mark has a great idea for unique shelving in the living room to display some of the stuff.  And, we are ready to ditch some stuff we have on the walls currently so will replace them with some of the cool stuff from our travels. 

Finished the day turning in 3 miles with the run club.  It felt so GREAT to be back!!!  I knew it was going to be hard, but I got it done and while my legs are dying trying to get back into the running groove they felt stronger than I expected. 

It was so nice to catch up with my running friends and get up to speed on what is going on.  I really missed the store and running groups while we were gone.  They have become such a part of my life every week that I really missed it. 

Bring on the stroller group and our new route tomorrow morning!!!