Spring Fever=13 miles

I was supposed to go to the gym today to lift and swim, but it was such a beautiful day..there was no way I was gonna do that. So instead I ran 13 miles. I have been stressing over the fact that I have the Tom King half -marathon coming up in a few weeks and I had not done any major mileage so I decided to just go for it today. I am now covered with that nice salty frosting we all love, and I have a pounding headache, but other than that I feel great. I am not sure how long it took, because my Garmin wasn't charged so I didn't have anything to time me, but I'm guessing maybe 2:15. I didn't run it fast because it's the first long run I've done in over a month. It was actually kinda nice just to go the pace I felt like going instead of racing a timer. The sun was out, the wind was blowing, and it was just a PERFECT day to run. The first 6 miles was really easy and I know I did them in under an hour, but the last 7 wasn't as kind. It still wasn't horrible, though. I had to walk some, and that's fine with me because the way I see it if there had been water stops I would have walked through them... so what's the difference? Ok..Shower time. I HAVE to wash this salt off and get some Advil in my system before my head explodes. I need to stretch this time, too. I can already feel my legs getting tight.

Update: Ok now I feel like total frickin' crap. What kinda idiot goes and runs 13 miles without training? The most I have done in a WHILE is 10, and that was 4 or 5 weeks ago. Hello??? I've managed to eat everything we have in the house, and later I am going to be scouring the streets for some pills. (Ha) I'll be fine tomorrow (I hope?) but right now I am suffering! Note to self.....Please don't do that AGAIN!

1st grade School Production

Uncle Sam

Connor, Barrett, and Grahm

Daddy, Connor, and Mommy

Tonight we went to Connor's President's Day program at his school. It was so cute and he had a speaking part at the very beginning. He was Uncle Sam. He would have taken over the entire production if they had allowed it. He's one of those people that HAS to be center stage at all times. My other son is the exact opposite. He HATES doing those little school productions. But, I have a feeling Connor will do Drama Club and Choir and anything else he can do to be on the stage as he gets older. They did a quick P.T.O. meeting beforehand (Yawn) then the kids sang some songs and talked about the different presidents, then it was over and we went to the classrooms to visit, and now we're home.

I took Connor to a doctor's appointment today, then I dropped him off at school and me and Christy went trail running. We did the 2.5 mile White trail and then ran some on the 2 mile loop. We ended up doing around 4 miles in all. I am really proud of Christy because she is taking this running thing seriously. Her plan is to be ready for the Cinco de Mayo 5k (on May 5th ..Duh) and I have no doubt she'll be ready for it. She wants to be able to run the whole thing without stopping, and I told her if she sticks with the training plan, I will buy her a new pair of running shoes before the event. I'll even do it with her. I have a Half-marathon the week before so I won't be ready to run a 5 k the next weekend anyway. It'll be fun. I ran the Party run with Cora last summer and it was one of the funnest runs I did because I could relax and enjoy it for a change. No pressure to beat my time or any of that craziness, or sickness I usually experience before a race. I think I will even dress up. I LOVE dressing up for races. Anyway, today has been a much better day. Tomorrow the plan is to hit the gym around 1:15, then swim around 2:00. I am really going to try to get all my swims in during the week because I want to do well in the swim class I have paid 40 bucks to be a part of. It's a waste of cash if I don't do my homework.

Help me out of this hole!

I'm not sure what's up with me lately, but I have done nothing but sleep for the past 3 days! I went swimming last night, but I slept most of the day yesterday, I slept all day Saturday, and today was a repeat. I think I may be dealing with a bit of depression for reasons I won't explain, but this sleeping crap has gotta stop. There's NO WAY I could be tired enough to sleep for days. I go to bed at night around 12:00, and get up at 7:00. That's decent.

Today I had one dog, and I went back to bed. My friend Christy called and forced me out of my room. I am usually the one pumping her up and motivating her, but today she was the "Tow Truck". She talked me into going for a run and lifting..which I did...but only half-ass. I do feel better though. Usually when I am feeling stressed or depressed, I immediately start exercising because I know it helps. I used to take prozac but I found running worked a lot better, with the added benefits of what running does for the body in general. Depression runs rampant in my family so I always have to keep in in check because it can take over if I am not careful. It has before, and I vowed never to let that happen again...no matter what. I had it bad after the birth of my second son. It was Post Partum depression and it took a couple of YEARS to shake. It got better with the prozac, but I found I didn't even need it anymore when I started training for the Country Music Marathon in October of 2003. So, I stopped taking it in March of 2004 and I have been fine. I hope this sleeping stuff isn't a sign of depression creeping back in. Whatever it is..I'll find a way to shake it off. Life is too good for me to be unhappy for any reason!

Swimming Lessons week 1

Aquatics Center

Coach Dee

Tonight was the first night for the new triathlon swimming lessons being held at the Williamson County Rec Center. There were a ton of people there, and the ones I knew were Valerie, Mary Thom, Wayne, and Martin. Dee was the coach and Ashley assisted. Ashley also teaches on Monday and Wednesday nights, but I can't make those so I was thrilled to learn about the one opening up on Sunday nights. We are going to meet for 5 weeks, then practice on our own during the week (She said 2 or 3 swims) then we should be ready for a tri or a master's swim team. I am SOOOOO glad I have been swimming some for the past 2 months because I would have been pitiful. It was a difficult work-out for me, but there were some people there who had not been swimming since they were kids so I know it had to be rough for them. We started off by doing 100 yards freestyle so we could get warmed up and she could see how we looked. There were 5 or 6 to a lane so it was chaos at first, but we got the hang of it. Then we put fins on and grabbed a kickboard, and swam 100 yards on our side hanging on to the board with our face out of the water. Then the other side. Then we did the same thing on both sides with our face IN the water and taking a breath every 3 secs. We had to make sure our legs were STRAIGHT and we were kicking from the hips. That was HARD. The fins started to hurt my feet so I took them off, and it slowed me down but I didn't care. Then we had to tread water with our hands out of the water, and once again kick from the hips. WOW!! That was REALLY HARD! I couldn't do it but she said if I had fins on it would be easier, so i put them back on and sure enough...it was. I am going to try and swim again on Wednesday and Friday and do the same work-out if possible. I don't think I can do it tomorrow since I swam tonight, but I might. The best part for me was seeing Valerie. I haven't seen her in months so I hope we can start running and hanging out again. I've missed her. She moved to Nolensville last summer, and it's really not that far from Brentwood, but it's a pain to to go running like we use to because the drive kinda sucks. We both work weird random schedules so that makes it even harder, AND she home schools her youngest boy on Tuesday and Thursday...which are my running days. But, we talked tonight and we are going to make more of an effort to see each other. :) What an awesome work-out, though! I can't wait till next week!

Had a "Ball"

Me and JessikaWelby, Jessika, Emmit, and Me

Yesterday..after my 3.5 hour coma, I was cleaning out Zeke's crate (My goat) and the phone rang. This was around 5:15pm. It was Jessika and she said she had an extra ticket to a formal event and she wanted me to go and be at her house by 6:00. I laughed and said NO WAY because if you could have seen me, you'd understand. When I went and told Doug about it, he questioned why I wouldn't go, so that made me question it too. I hardly ever go to any dress up events, so I said WHY NOT and I tossed up my hair, threw on a dress, put some make-up on, and headed out the door in less than 20 minutes. Now my make-up only consisted of some mascara, eyeliner, and lip gloss.... and this is painfully obvious in the photos, but whatcha gonna do? It was a record for me to get ready to go anywhere, and that's all the time I had by the time I made my mind up to go. Standing next to Jessika, I probably looked like a troll. (Oh well...Who cares? ANYONE who stands next to her looks like a troll. HA!) Luckily, I had washed my hair that morning because it smelled like smoke from the night before. ( I went to Tullahoma..lots of smokers down there..hehe) I really didn't have time to fix it though, so it had the "I meant to make it messy" look working.

My "date" for the night was Jessika's room-mate, Welby. I have met her numerous times but we had never really hung out. She was a lot of fun. We didn't get to sit with Emmit or Jessika, but we sat with a really fun group of people who were already pretty lit which made it even better. This one guy in particular, Cameron, had me laughing so hard I think I even snorted during one of the speeches. (Who brought me??) I LOVE comical people, but they tend to get me into trouble. Hey... I wasn't the only one amused by his antics, and the whole table was pretty rowdy so I don't think anyone noticed the tears of laughter running down my face. I think anytime you are really supposed to be prim and proper, (like at weddings or church or any dress up event) and something is funny, it makes it even worse. At least for me.

There was a Silent Auction going on, too. I wanted the cabin getaway and bid on it, but this woman out-bid me, then she hovered around the table until the time ran out, and I couldn't go back and re-bid. Welby bid on some acid peels and Botox, and she won hers. She told me I could do the Botox. Woo-Hoo! I need it on my forehead. After the auction, we left because we were both getting tired. (How could that be after the nap I had earlier?? ) Jessika and Emmit drove separately which is good because they usually don't come home till the sun comes up. It was fun and I am glad I got to go. I would have missed out.

Stress

Here's the latest...On Wednesday I was supposed to go to the gym and lift, but I didn't get off work till time for the kids to get home from school, so we went to the pool instead. I swam for a half hour but I tried to swim the whole time. On Sunday night I am starting a Triathlon swimming class that I am REALLY looking forward to. It's at the Williamson County Rec center and I think it will help me. Mary Thom, Jessika, and Valerie are going to do it as well.

On Thursday I ran the 5.8 loop at Percy Warner Park. It wasn't a good run because I could barely lift my feet from the ground. My leg muscles really hurt in the pool the day before from running the 5k on the track, and I think I was tired on Thursday because of the swim on Wednesday.

On Friday I ran another 6 miles with Kelli, and this time it was much easier. We set out to just do 4, but we decided to keep going and it felt fine. Well, up until the last mile, then I started slacking. I haven't lifted weights since Monday so I hope to do that at some point today. The Boys had basketball games today, and apparently they were supposed to go to Baseball evals today as well but I didn't find that out till I was at the game. The last email I got said they were tomorrow afternoon, but I guess they changed them because they thought it would get rained out. It's pouring down rain today, though!! Bailey has already missed his, but Connor can still go to his after his game. Unfortunately Bailey needed to go to his because his age group starts pitching this year, (instead of machine pitching) and he's a catcher so they needed to see what he could do as far as catching. Maybe they'll have a make-up day. I would like to think I am not the ONLY parent who didn't get the memo, but that would be typical Laurie fashion to be the last to know.(Sigh). It's just one more thing to add to my list of reasons I have been voted the "Crappy, Disorganized Mother of the Year Award". I wish that once...just once, I could be the hero and know what the hell I am doing as a parent.

Update: Connor went to his evals and Doug saw a previous coach there and he told him there would be a make-up day because apparently I am NOT the only one who didn't know about today. When I checked the email, it had been sent early this morning, but I didn't check it till later. Oh well. It was a good day for a nap anyway. Me and Bailey decided to take one and I slept 3 .5 HOURS!! (I guess I was tired. )We'll call this my "Rest Day".

22:59!!!

I was supposed to do Speed Sessions tonight at the track and do a 5k time trial, but it's supposed to rain so Mary Thom and I went to the Vanderbilt track and did it. I used the virtual trainer on the Garmin and set it for 26:00 because I thought there was no way I would do better than that on a boring track. Well....I beat the heck out of it. 22:59 was the final time! I am absolutely thrilled, and I almost wonder if it's right. It has to be right, though. The distance says 3.11 and it stopped timing me at that and a message came up that said "You Win!" Mary Thom did a 24.30 which is a P.R. for her as well. I called everybody I know and gushed about this P.R. I just set. It feels so good to see the times dropping..I HAVE to tell people. Nobody cares, but oh well. Then I went by Fleet feet to show them the Garmin and log my time so they could give it to the coach. Since they know me at least they were impressed. I don't think I could do a time like that on the road...yet...because the road isn't flat like a track, but still...I'll take it!

UpDate: As it turns out it DIDN'T rain at all. Not a drop! But Doug and I have been married 8 YEARS today!!!!!so we went to Stoney River to celebrate so it all worked out anyway. I can't believe it's been 8 years.( We have been together 11) We have been through hell and high water and we are still here. Happy Anniversary, Doug! I Love You!!

Finished Product!

I am excited. There is a bidding war going on for the house we put up for sale last week. It turned out to be beautiful. The inside is even better than the outside! (Click on the photos for a larger, more detailed look.) My husband is a real estate agent/property manager/remodeling business owner and this is our latest project. It started out as a run-down "crack house". We gutted the whole thing and it's pretty much brand new now. We put a huge deck on the back, and rebuilt the storage shed. On the inside every single thing is new. It was pitiful but now it's chic. I LOVE it and I would live there in a heartbeat if I were single. It's got three bedrooms, 2 baths, and the master bath has a garden tub. Hardwood floors through-out, and stainless steel appliances., tiled floors in the kitchen and bathrooms. There's a fireplace, new driveway, and landscaping! It's a little cottage! I have like a million pics and I wish I could post them all. One bad thing, though...It had a window unit air-conditioner and floor heaters, so we put a central unit in. Someone STOLE the thing off the side of the house less than a week later!!!!! Can you believe that? I have never heard of anyone stealing an air conditioner off of a house before. We ended up having to pay for another one out of pocket because of some insurance B>S> which we are still trying to get straightened out, but the new one has concrete post surrounding it and it is chained to the house somehow so if they take this one, half the house will go with it. I don't see how they could get this one though. There are now lights all over the outside at night and it would be a helluva job anyway with the posts in the way.

Run it off!

After the previous post...Mary Thom called and wanted to go for a run, so I jumped on it. We met in the BelMont area and ran about 6 miles. I way overdressed and was burning hot, (even though it was only 36F)and I am still sick so my breathing was off, but I was glad to be out running on this beautiful sunny day. Everybody and their dog was out running as well, so it was great! I didn't stress over anything. We were going to do 10 miles but opted out because we have a 5k time trail Tues night at Speed sessions. (I am NOT looking forward to this. It's supposed to rain again and I just don't think I can go out there and run like that on a track in the rain. Already made that mistake last week) I hope he'll just take my time from the Preds Run last weekend. We'll see. This day had FLOWN by though. I think I'll go rent a movie tonight and curl up with the kids and some popcorn. They are out of school tomorrow for some reason so they can stay up later. On a sad note...the Girl Scout Cookies arrived shortly after my run. Cookies are one of my biggest downfalls. Oh well, at least I ran today.

UPDATE: We rented the animated film"Open Season". Pretty good....funny, but very Shrek-like with the bear and the buck taking the place of Shrek and Donkey.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!VENTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to stew over this while I write, then "Let it go"....
I have been grooming this Shih tzu for about 2 years now. This man is a member at my church. He is VERY hard to deal with wants the dog in and out the door in an unreasonable amount of time, and is just a big whiner when I can't meet his demands. I bend over backwards for him and I always have, but it's never good enough. This past time I groomed the dog (A month ago) he made the appointment THE DAY BEFORE so I was already booked, but I fit him in anyway. His dog is a full-coated monster that is ALWAYS matted to the bone so he take almost 2 hours on a good day. Knowing this, he should realize I can't get the dog done in the half hour he thinks I should, especially considering the fact that I had 7 other dogs booked that day. But I took him in anyway because I want to try...once again... to make him happy. He called over and over wondering why the dog wasn't finished yet, and why I told him to bring it so early if I couldn't do it right then. The truth is I have no idea how my day will go so if the dog is there waiting, I can get to it when it is convenient for ME if he wants me to squeeze him in. If he makes an appointment and wants me to start right then, then he needs to book in advance and be there at 8:00am. Otherwise, be there at 9:00 so I can get my husband to bathe the dog and I'll get to it when I can. Well, he was ticked when he picked him up, and unhappy about the de-matting charge I added, and I didn't hear from him again till today at church. I asked him where he had been and he said he wasn't happy with the time it takes me to do his dog, and the price I charge so he's going somewhere else. He also said I have too many dogs there. Now I have worked at other shops, and I can tell you most dogs are there ALL Frickin' DAY! Where is he taking him that he is in and out? And considering the shape that dog's hair is always in, it takes an eternity no matter what!! I try to be off work everyday by 1:00 or 2:00, and he has NEVER been the last dog out the door, (He's usually the first) How much faster can I be? And as far as pricing goes, if someone is grooming him cheaper than me then they are screwing themselves, and will get a gut full after about the 3rd groom and the price will go up. Mark my words! He bitches that it's "Just a bath" Bla Bla Bla..but I can groom THREE DOGS in the time it take to bathe and brush that damn dog, so if that's the case I am actually UNDERCHARGING him. And, most shops have 30 or 40 dogs there at a time! I do on average 7 or 8 a day....(sometimes more, but I'm on the lazy side so that's usually it) Does he think he's the ONLY person in Brentwood with a dog that needs grooming? And if I am so bad, then why do I even have other dogs there to begin with? I must be doing something right to be so booked. And do I not deserve to make some money...or should I just be grooming a couple of dogs a day just for the "fun of it" . What is this guy thinking with that comment? It just makes no sense to me either way. Screw it. He'd die if he took a tour of the holding area of most shops. There are dogs piled to the ceiling! The truth is I've always wished he would just take the dog somewhere else, but I have to admit I am insulted that my best wasn't good enough. What an ASS!!!!!!Ok....I have vented. Deep breath...Let it go :)

So Very sick

As it turns out...there's A REASON I don't do Cold and Wet. I ran the Speed sessions Tuesday night in the rain...and I even knew better, but I didn't think I would REALLY get sick. Well, Wednesday morning I woke up with a BAD cold. It serves me right. I am so stuffed up, I can't do anything but sneeze and blow my nose. My throat hurts, and I am exhausted. I can't breathe at night so I have to sleep with my head propped up, and I have throat spray by the bed to calm the coughing. It's awful. The bad part is I have had to work during all of it. No calling in sick for me. I was supposed to go lift and swim on Wednesday...didn't happen...run Percy Warner yesterday...didn't happen...But I did get to the gym today for my microfit test. I figured I'd do horrible on the cardio since I can't breathe but I scored excellent on everything surprisingly. I weighed 131lbs today and my body fat is 15.8%. Not too shabby. My weight range is 128-133 depending on the time of the month, etc. I have been as low as 119lbs last year, but that is way to thin for me. I don't worry a whole lot about my weight anyway...I usually go on how my clothes are fitting.

AFter I did the Fit Test I went and did upper body with the weights. I am changing the way I lift and I am going to try the Body For Life program as far as the weight training goes. I don't think I need to do the diet because there are not enough carbs which I need for the running I do, but I definatly think I need to improve my eating habits. I don't think I eat enough, and when I do eat, it's all the wrong stuff. I usually wait till I am starving, then I cram junk down. It's bad. So..I am going to try to choose better food, and eat 6 times a day like the book says. Just more carbs than the book calls for. I'll never be able to run a half marathon or train for it with that tiny amount of carbs.

Cold AND Wet

As it turns out...I guess I WILL run when it's raining and cold. I said in the previous post that I wouldn't. Well, tonight was speed sessions and it poured down. It was raining on and off all night, but the temp was around 57 which is decent if it rains. Tolerable. So....I decided to go ahead. When I got there, the rain had stopped so I went to the track and started my warm-up, and of course it started back...HARD! By the time I made it back around I was soaked to the bone. I dressed in layers even though it was hot because I figured I could take stuff off if I got wet., but it didn't take long to be drenched all way through. I went a stood under an overhang and thought about leaving. It was ridiculous to try and run in that kind of rain, but then it let up again so I headed back to the track. By this time the wind was starting to pick up and I was getting cold. By the time I made my mind up to leave, I saw Mary Thom, and I figured if she's man enough to be there, then I'll stay and be a man, too. As it turns out, we were only 2 of seven men who were crazy enough to show up. Jeff was also there, but Melissa was smart and stayed home.

So, the work-out tonight was a one mile warm-up, and 4 mile repeats with a minute rest between them. The first miles was good, but felt really super fast. We only had to run it in 8:40, but I swear it felt like an all out sprint. I don't know if it was the cold, or if I was just tired, but it was hard. It did it, though. The second mile was really bad. I started getting the chills and I had to walk about 100 meters because I started feeling like I might throw-up. I caught up with Mary Thom again though and got really hot for some reason, so I stripped down to the last layer. The third mile was decent, although the rain started back and was really pouring hard. Since I had stripped down, I got so cold my teeth were chattering and I was ready to quit. After the third lap, I got confused and started walking because I thought we had completed the mile, but Mary Thom informed me we had one lap left. I dug in and ran it. I was seriously done after that one, but somehow I managed to complete one more mile. I am not sure where I found the strength or courage to do it because the rain and wind was BAD. I could feel the temp dropping with every cold, miserable lap, and we started talking to each other to get through it. Stuff like.."Well, if we had been out in the middle of nowhere running and it started raining like this...we'd just be stuck and have to run and finish. This is no different". Mind games to get us through. We finished it though. I am so proud of myself. The trip home was rough, and I got in the shower and ran all the hot water out trying to get warm, then I had hot tea..then I ate like a pig. But...I DID IT!!! Thank-You Mary Thom. I would have just left if you hadn't been there!

Lastest work-outs

I guess I need to update my work-outs since I haven't done so in the past few days. Sunday I ran with Jessika and Kelli. I was really tired and my feet and hip were hurting so it wasn't a good run. Since Jessika is training to do the Full marathon this year, she needed to do 14 miles, so I went with her for 8 or 9 of them. I lost count and my Garmin wasn't charged so I am not sure exactly how far, but too far for me that day in my opinion. Kelli went 5 miles due to time limits while her kids played with my kids. I would have been more than happy to call it quits with her but I went another 3or 4 with Jessika. By the time we came back to the house again, the Garmin was charged enough for her to take it and finish her run.

Then Monday I went to the gym and lifted, and after that I swam. I have to say my swimming has improved a ton over the past couple of weeks. I had one really BAD day, and after that it's been good. I swam more laps than I have been...ever, and it's starting to feel natural instead of that drowning motion I have been doing.

I am supposed to go to speed sessions tonight, and I really want to take Bailey with me, but it looks like it will be raining so I am not sure we'll go. I don't mind being cold, and I don't mind being wet, but I can't deal with both at the same time. Hopefully it will stop long enough to sneak in a run. Bailey wants to try and do a 5k in the next few months so I promised him I would help him train. He'll probably whip my butt when he runs it!

i would love to spin tonight but my right shoe refuses to clip into the pedal. I need to take it to the bike store but I am not sure if it's the pedal or the shoe and to take the bike I would need to get the bike rack out of the attic. I'm feeling lazy though. I guess I could just take the pedals off and putt them on the bike there to see what the deal is. Hmmmm...I'll call them and see what they think.

Today's Masterpiece...Old English Sheepdog

This is the before photo..He's had a bath and is all brushed out, but desperately needs a haircut!

This is the After photo...He can see!!!!

I took about 2 inches off. Elisa (my fellow dog groomer)and I did two of them this way, and ganged up on them to get the job done faster! It used to take 3 hours each start to finish, but they had a bath today and they only took and hour and fifteen minutes each to complete. I felt the need to show one of them off, and I will try and post others from now on as I take photos of them. if u click on the photos, a larger more detailed pic will come up:) Don't do that on any pictures of me though! HA!

Jessika spanks me in the Preds 5k

Here's Jessika...Laughing at me...Taunting me!

Yup!! I am a little P.O.'d. Not at her! Just my inability to stay strong in a race. Here's the story...

I have been doing everything I thought I was supposed to do to get ready for this Preds run which was held yesterday. I hit a P.R. (25:36)last week while doing a speed session,so I wanted to at least beat it and try for a 25:30. I ran Sunday and I did speed sessions on Tuesday, but that's all the running I did all week because I tend to do better on races if I taper a little. I know that sounds silly for a 5 k, but it usually works for me. I tried to eat right all week..... with the exception of the 600 cookies I think I ate. I went to the gym and swam and lifted on Thursday. Meanwhile, Jessika ran endless miles because she is training for the marathon. (Full) She ate whatever, and went out every night.

Yesterday morning she showed up for the Preds run and wasn't even sure she wanted to run it! She didn't even think she wanted to get a chip because she didn't care about her time...she just wanted to finish. All I can say is "WHATEVER!" We ran together for about the first mile, then she took off and was GONE! I couldn't keep up with her no matter what. I don't know where it came from! She has never been competitive like that when we run. It was crazy. I would totally expect that from Melissa (Who didn't show for this one.BOOOO), but Jessika has never acted like she even cared. My chip time...25:52. Jessika's chip time...25:08!!!OMG!!!

So..It just makes me question...Does training even matter?. I am so happy for her as far as her time, and she is extra excited because it lit a fire for her next race because now she has a time to beat. But, it sucks for me because that's a big gap I have to try a close next time we race. It seemed so effortless for her, and I thought I was gonna puke!

A Road Bike Trainer in my ATTIC!!!!!!

OK....ALL WINTER I have been thinking about getting a trainer, talking about getting a trainer...shopped for a trainer, compared priced on trainers, and so on and so on. Well, yesterday my husband over heard me talking with a client about getting a trainer and he informs me we have a brand new one in the attic, and it's been up there for 3 years!!!!!!! WHAT???? He bought it 3 or 4 years ago when he bought his bike, used it once, then put it in the attic because it was in the way. I had absolutely no idea, and I am ticked because I have been stressing over it all winter, when I could have been using it! So last night we got it down and I hooked it up to my poor, lonely road bike and road for about 45 mins. I watched Ren and Stimpy and The Smurfs with the Boys while riding. I can't believe it. I know he has heard me discuss the need for one. What I can't understand is why he just now told me we had one. In fact, he was making fun of me paying off my bike the other day and being sarcastic about me never riding, and I said I couldn't ride in the cold, and I needed to get a trainer so I could ride it. Did he mention we had one? Nope! Not a word. WHY?????

Snow Day!!

Friday morning we had a snow day. Well, actually we had one yesterday as well, but I have no idea why since it didn't snow...but today we awoke to about an inch! My Great Aunt, Mildred passed away Wednesday night, and I had to go to her funeral Friday, but since we never get snow, I left the kids at my mother-in-law's house to play in it. They didn't really know er that well anyway, and kids pretty much hate funerals, so I was more than happy to leave them. Here is a pic of the Snow Man they built. ( I knitted the scarf as a gift for Mrs. Hester, and the hat is an old Titans hat.) There's also a pic of the bridge in the Hester's back-yard I think is nice. The kids had so much fun playing in the snow. I wish we had snow more often!

Thursday I ran Percy Warner with Jessika. I didn't do a s well this time as I did the week before, but I think it was because of the run I did Tuesday. We did it in 1:04. This isn't a bad time at all, but I had to walk some of the hills and I just didn't have the same energy. I lifted weights and swam on Wednesday, and I feel like I am back at Square one with the drowning...I mean swimming. I couldn't even swim one lap, and I was all over the place with my form. I think it's because I have only been able to do it like once a week lately. I really suck, though.

Saturday I didn't do ANYTHING but sleep. It was one of those days for me. Depressed, tired, and cranky. But Sunday after church I managed to run 6 miles with Mary Thom. I really need to do a long run of about 11-12 miles at some point this weekend, or I am going to get behind on my training. I hate long runs, though. Especially if I have to go alone. The problem is I have 2 basketball games I have to attend on Saturdays, and it makes it hard to hook up with anyone for running because my schedule is all messed up. I have "windows" of opportunity to run, and no one wants to wait on me. I can't blame them. They have a life, too. But this usually means I am on my own, and I have never been good at that when it comes to long runs.