Dingos Back to School! ~ The Running Mamas Thread

[doctorjen]

This is the thread for all interested in forward motion, from very beginning runners to Boston qualifiers, and all in between. We love to chat, running and otherwise, so be prepared to jump in and move fast if you're new!

There is a race list maintained, feel free to pm to be added. I'll also keep a race results list, so we can all see what we've been up to this year.

Originally Posted by kerc

Dingo n. An MDC mama (or soon-to-be mama, or mama in her heart) with the desire to move forward at a run or walk. She supports her fellow dingo in each dingo's quest to find balance and reason in her life.

Requirements to become a dingo: Posting on this thread goals for the day, week, month, year, or decade. OK if starting couch to 5k or running and ultra marathon.

Identifying features of a dingo: Posts often here, facebook, daily mile. Starts to get antsy during extended time off for injury or sickness. Found on the road, on the dreadmill, in the pool, or on a bike.

origin of the term: Naughty Dingos on Tour

[doctorjen]

Here's the race list for the September thread. Please PM me if you'd
like me to add something for you!

: dingo race list
:

LaLaLaLa - Littleton 5K - September 26
tjsmama - Rock-N-Roll Denver Marathon - October 17
JayGee - Jill Behrman 5K - October 23
kangamitroo - Philadelphia Half Marathon - November 21
Nickarolaberry - Women's Half Marathon St. Petersburg - November 21
eksmom -Atlanta Half Marathon - November 25
eksmom - Walt Disney World Half Marathon - January 8
babybugmama - Walt Disney World Half Marathon - January 8 (1/2 of Goofy challenge)
babybugmama - Walt Disney World Marathon - January 9 (Completion of Goofy Challenge)
Nickarolaberry - Walt Disney World Marathon - January 9
modmom - Disney Princess Half Marathon - February 27
Nickarolaberry - Sarasota Half Marathon - March 13

The Preggo Dingo List

Realrellim - It's a girl! Welcome baby Julia!
VeganCupcake - It's a , welcome Li'l Cupcake!
Jenlove - It's a girl! Welcome baby Valentine!

Other places to find the Dingos:

: cooking blog :

knitting blog

We have a private Yahoo group. Submit a request to join and mention your MDC
username in the request so we know who you are.

We also have a private location map. Send a PM to eksmom to get info
and join up.

Why are we called the Dingos?
See this post

[doctorjen]

Dingos 2010 Race Results List

Running Mamas Do Amazing Things!

mommajb - Hang Over Classic 10 miler - January 1 - 1:23
tjsmama - PF Chang's Rock-N-Roll Arizona Marathon - 4:53:54 (very first marathon!) - January 17
tjsmama - Chilly Cheeks Winter Duathlon - 1:21:03 - January 23
grnmtnmama - Singlespeed USA - February 6- Women's Champion!
cornflakegirl - Surf City Half Marathon - February 7 - 1:47:07
Nemesis - Frozen Feat 5K - February 13
ashcav - Hyannis Half Marathon - February 28-1:49:02
bec - Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathon - March 7
Nickarolaberry - Sarasota Half Marathon - March 14 - 2:18:57 (PR!)
Eaglevoice - Newport Spirit 10K Run - March 21 - 1:01:38
doctorjen - Spring Valley Walleye Club 5K - March 27 - 30:33
doctorjen's ds2 - Spring Valley Walleye Club 5K - March 27-39:54
bec - Des Plaines River Half Marathon - March 27 - 2:23:ish
poppywise - Oakland Half Marathon - March 28 - 2:49 (PR!)
zubeldia - Run for the Border Half Marathon - March 28 - 1:58
bec and bec's dh (very first!) - Reach Out and Run 5K - April 10 - bec 35:10, dh 35:04
eksmom - Komen Race for the Cure 5K - April 10 - 33:05
Plady - Whidbey Island Half Marathon - April 11
mommajb - Flying Pig Half Marathon - May 2-1:55
ashcav - Marine Corps Honor Run 5K - May 8 - 22:53 (PR!) (and ashcav's mom's first 5K - 32:30!!)
memiles - NARAL Run for Your Rights 5K - May 8 - 28:21
cornflakegirl - Palos Verdes Marathon - May 15- 3:58:40
Penelope - Papillion Half Marathon - May 16 - 2:13:26
ashcav - KeyBank Vermont City Marathon - May 30 - 4:10:47 - 1st Marathon!
tjsmama - Bolder Boulder 10K - May 31 - 56:52 (PR!)
doctorjen and ds2 - Streator YMCA Memorial Day 5K - May 31 - 31:20- 41:05
Geofizz - UACA 5 Miler - May 31 - 44:50-(PR!)
bec - Naperville Women's Triathlon - June 13 - 1:50:18 (recovering from stress fracture and required to walk the run!)
doctorjen - Steamboat Classic 15K - June 19 - 1:38:34 (automatic PR, because first time racing this distance!)
kerc - Grandma's Half Marathon - June 19
Realrellim - Habitat Hobble - June 19 - 42:13 (pushing a double jogger on a trail!)
tjsmama - 5430 Sprint Triathlon - June 20 - 1:49:46
tjsmama - Slacker Half Marathon - June 26 - 2:12:48
doctorjen - Toluca Double Diamond Dash 5K - June 26 - 29:28
CathToria - Aflac Irongirl Atlanta Triathlon - June 27
doctorjen - Streator Run for Glory 5K - July 3 - 28:03 (course was probably a little short)
bec, dh, and dd1 - Freedom Classic 5K - July 3Realrellim - Rendezvous Run for Independence 5 miler - July 3 - 51:11 (pushing the double jogger!)
Plady -Firecracker Run 5K - July 4 - 29:30 (PR!)
tjsmama - Boulder Peak Triathlon - July 11 - 3:27:04 (PR!)
Penelope - Missoula Half Marathon - July 11 - 2:17
tjsmama - Ironman 70.3 Boulder - August 8 - 6:51:31 (PR!)
doctorjen and ds2 - Mr. C's Run for Your Life 5K - August 13 - 32:27
doctorjen - Boo Milby 5K - August 14 - 30:05 (running with beginner group)
tjsmama - Highlands Splash Mash Dash Triathlon - August 21 - 1:27:38 (3rd in age group!)
Penelope and family - Strides 5K - August 21 - Fundraising walk
Penelope - Ultra Mud Run - August 28
zubeldia - Pumpkinman Triathlon - September 11 - 1:27:28
doctorjen - Chicago Half Marathon - September 12 - 2:07:27 (PR!)
Many Dingos and friends - Griffin Patrick Run - September 24 (chose our own distance, location, date and ran to honor beloved baby Griffin born silently, and all babies loved and lost)
Realrellim - Panerathon 10K - September 26 - 1:06:30 (with the double jogger!)
Penelope - Omaha Half Marathon - September 26 - 2:35 (injured)

[Penelope]

Shiny new thread smell!

[doctorjen]

Decided we ought to have a September thread - and this is the first time in a long time I'll make it on page 1!

My life feels crazy. My job is making me kind of nuts. On the plus side I've been running - half marathon in 10 days! My last long run was Sun, and I did 12 miles at a pretty good clip (average 10:17 pace which is fantastic for me) so it'll be interesting to see how the actual race goes.

I've been reading with interest all the kid/school discussions. My little dd has started 2nd grade this year, and I definitely need to touch base with the teacher after a few odd things have happened. First, she brings home spelling words that we are supposed to work on every evening for a spelling test on Friday. The words seemed to be a big jump in difficulty from first grade words, and even the first week it took her most of the week to learn them. Turns out, she tells me that she and 2 other kids get "special words" by which I think she means more advanced words, and they take a different test than the rest of the class. She missed one word on the first test. To my surprise when she brought it home, the word she missed wasn't on the list we were given? Weird. It'd be nice to know your kid is getting differentiated teaching, you know? Then, there is apparently some kind of positive behavior thing called "filling your bucket" going on. The kids have a bucket each. If another child thinks you've done something nice, they write it on a slip of paper and put it in your bucket, which is called "filling your bucket." If you are doing something not so positive, the teacher (or apparently another kids?) may refer to you as being a "bucket dipper." On Friday, we came home to a message on the answering machine from a little girl in Caroline's class wanting to know why Caroline didn't fill her bucket today, since 2 other little girls apparently did, and ending with the statement that she needed to get off the phone now and go find better friends. She didn't leave her name (and I didn't let Caroline listen to see if she recognized her!) I need to talk to the teacher, because it sounds like the idea is to promote positive behavior, but in practice it sounds like it could easily turn into a popularity thing, with kids just "filling the buckets" of kids they already like. Anyone else familiar with this bucket thing?

The other 2 kids seem to be settling in - Cath has a hard year, with a lot of difficult classes, and she has a driver's permit! Justin is in 8th grade this year and has 4 accelerated classes as well, but he seems to be doing well and to be anxious to get going, so that's good.

I'm hopelessly behind on personals, but I think of you all often and hope to be better about posting this month.

We could sure use some folks to sign up for some races, BTW!

[JayGee]

Thanks Jen! I was just thinking that the race list is looking a little sparse. I hope to add a 5K to it in late October. Probably the Jill Behrman 5K that I do every year. I'll PM you the details.

The "filling the bucket" thing sounds good in theory, but it sounds like it could definitely turn into a popularity contest. I can't imagine the gall of that girl calling Caroline and saying such a thing . Sheesh.....

I need to rethink my screentime policies for the school year. Since John has gone to Illinois during the week, I've been a little more relaxed about the kids watching TV (more for my own sanity than anything else ), but it's getting out of hand. The SECOND they walk in the door, it's "Mom, can we watch..." and when I say no, they head right to the computer. Starting tomorrow, the new rule is one On Demand show that they all agree on, at bedtime. And that's IT.

DH is on his way home for a 4 day weekend . He just told me he spent an hour chasing trains along the railroad though, so he'll be home closer to midnight than 11, as expected .

[kerc]

hi, I'm Kristin and I am a procrastinator. In other words I've got about 12 hours to plan my first lecture of the semester.

[eksmom]

OK, I've got 2 for the race list . Will send a PM.

DrJen, I think the bucket filling thing sounds like it has potential to be misused, and this girl is just the one who caught on first. I would absolutely let the teacher know. In our school I believe that phone call would qualify as bullying.

DD's teacher apparently hands out very small amounts of candy from time to time for behavioral rewards and I also found out that in the spring the teacher is going to get duck eggs for the class to hatch and raise. No word on what happens to the ducks after this - if they make it that far. This goes against my beliefs as an ethical vegetarian but I am trying to decide how and whether to fight that battle. Not that either of these things is on par with poor C's phone call.

3.6 miles in 35:30 tonight at the gym. Trying to decide whether to go to Xtreme Training class tomorrow. I'm thinking maybe not, actually. A rest day would be nice.

I floated some pony bed sheets to Emma Kate tonight along with the idea of sleeping in her bed with a nightlight and monster repellant spray. She was very taken with the sheets and seemed amenable to the whole idea.

I have a wild hair (hare?) to take the kids camping this weekend. There's no soccer, no music performances and I have Monday off. Hmm...

[LaLaLaLa]

Hooray for new motivating thread!

Oh, and I'm running my local race this month--Littleton 5K on September 26th. That's a Sunday, right? I think that's the right day. My friend was supposed to run with me, but something at her temple came up at the last minute. I'm a bit relieved to be on my own again; I was getting concerned about embarrassing myself.

Doctorjen, that bucket thing sounds crazy. Definitely talk to the teacher immediately; if it's already derailing, it's not going to make for a good year. At DD's school they have some cheesy saying where the first letters spell HEART, so that's sort of the theme of the school. Each classroom has a heart jar, and when the whole class is being particularly kind or helpful, the teacher puts a plastic heart into the jar. I think maybe individuals can earn hearts for the class jar, too. When the heart jar is filled, the class gets an extra-long recess or a popcorn party. I believe with the morning announcements, the principal congratulates any classes that filled their heart jars. It encourages kindness while being non-competitive.

Today we went to a birthday party for three boys who were all in DD's class last year, including her very best friend. We only managed to see him once this summer, but to my relief he and DD were stuck to each other like glue at the party. This is a big relief to me; I was so worried he would forget about her and move on over the summer. They will be in the same first grade class, so I hope they'll remain close.

I feel a cold coming on so I didn't run this morning. Tomorrow depends on whether the hurricane hits. We're in New England, although not right on the coast, so I'm hoping for cool weather and maybe some drizzle. I'm hoping to not be without power all day, especially as I volunteered to babysit a friend of my kids' whose mom spaced out on the fact that her college teaching job started a week before her son's kindergarten. My kids are super excited to have a playdate and tonight at the dinner table I made them brainstorm a list of ideas of what we'll do if we have pouring rain and hurricane winds all morning.

[tjsmama]

No time to chat, as I'm cramming medication administration info in before my 7am (!!) lab in the morning.

[Realrellim]

Originally Posted by kerc

hi, I'm Kristin and I am a procrastinator. In other words I've got about 12 hours to plan my first lecture of the semester.

DrJen--I haven't heard of the bucket thing, but I hope a conversation with the teacher helps smooth things out.

R's class is doing something with cards this week (last week was Hawk High Fives, which were just little pieces of paper with her name on them). There's green which is good, after which there's apparently "warning" and "oops." No word on whether "oops" is the end of it or if something happens if one has an "oops." There's also apparently "superstar." R said she hadn't gotten that, but maybe she would in first grade. Or next week. You know, sometime.

In cool news, R's school offers after-school foreign language classes for everyone, and it's only $50 for the semester. Fall options include sign language, Spanish and Chinese. R says she wants to take Chinese.

Got a nice 7-mile commuting/tempo run in today. I headed out with the double, stopped at the library, picked R up at school, and ran back home. Five of the miles were tempo pace, though there was a 10-minute break while I waited for school to let out.

[1jooj]

drjen, I'd be concerned about both the bucket filling, the term "bucket dipper" (too much potential to become the new classroom epithet), and that little girl's manipulative approach to succeeding. I wonder whether she came up with those words herself, or if a queen bee parent helped out. Either way, I guess you know who to watch for a while.

eksmom, ask about the ducks. When my ds's K teacher did this with chicks, I offered (and she accepted) to take the chicks to my farm when they were ready to leave the classroom. As it turned out, we had a storm and the power was out long enough for their temp to drop and not one egg hatched. When I think of how some kids handle animals, I hate to think of day-old hatchlings in a classroom.

La, good luck with the hurricane.

Real, a friend of mine runs a language academy that does after-school and summer programs. They are partially funded on State Dept grants because of some of the languages they teach (Chinese, Arabic, Hindi, Farsi), and they do experiential stuff around the cultures. Kids love these classes and I really believe it's a mind-expander. And the grants help keep prices down, opening the opportunity to more kids, which is really great.

I made it to my coffee by the skin of my teeth this AM. So tired, because I have been getting up and staying up and working all day long (no kids so I don't fatigue like I had been when they were home ). I went back to sleep after my alarm and awoke with 20 min to squeak in my coffee. Shwew, made it.

We're in the final days of Ramadan and I am feeling it. So looking forward to running again, and trying to build a positive attitude about starting over with no endurance or speed.

JenLove, are you interested in moving down here for a week later this month? I want to go to Germany. I don't want to say mean things about my mom...suffice it to say she's not interested in helping me out.

[Penelope]

<yawn>

Just getting ready to head out to run here... I'm prepped for today's classes, more or less, including my ind. study gals with whom I'm gonna read a lot feminist theology this semester. It's finally cooling off, such that I wore jeans around the house yesterday (!) and will probably wear pants instead of a skirt to work. Mmmmm, fall.

I am super-frustrated with dh who keeps promising me he'll get up earlier to help get the kids going, but *every day* waits until the last second, does a whirlwind to get ready, and leaves for work barely on time instead. If he were awake/useful in the evenings, I'd bite my tongue, but it was his night to do dishes since I cooked and the kitchen is still full of dirty dishes. He did help the kids with homework, as did I, but also spent at least 1.5 hours watching TV. Drives. me. bonkers. I tend to really need peace and smooth sailing in my home, so I will soothe/smooth over rather than create conflict about this... so it's a lovely little reward for his bad behavior. Sigh. I am outta ideas.

[Nickarolaberry]

Had a totally crazy day yesterday which I will detail later. Let's put it this way...I was so aggravated I went out in the evening and ran 5 miles at what for me is warp speed. There was a rocket up my butt.

Another 3 this a.m.

My race list (you can put this up DrJ, thanks! )
Women's Half Marathon (Nov. 21)
Disney Marathon (Jan. 9)
Sarasota Half Marathon (March ??)

[JenLove]

I was wondering who was going to admit it was September.

Jo - I don't think we have any plans. FB me!

I'm still trying to nail down specifics for a playdate picnic this evening (why is it so darn hard to get people to commit to an hour or two)? Geez.. we started planning 2 weeks ago.

I squeezed in some yoga yesterday while Val read books. Ommm!

Happy Friday, Dingos!

[bec]

Drjen - That bucket thing is just crazy. I'm a little shocked that the teacher couldn't have foreseen this as being a problem. Katie's class has a couple of incentive programs. They get star sheets for bringing their homework in on time, and if they collect enough of those, they get a prize from the star box. They also have "comincioli (the teacher) cash" for other things. Sometimes they get it for behaving well, or returning something signed from home, or other things. Anyway, they can use it to "buy" prizes. They can also use it if they forget something. So, they can rent a pencil or scissors, etc. I can't remember what the incentive program is in Emily's class, but it is teacher controlled, not student controlled. I also don't like the term "bucket dipper". And, that phone call is definitely bullying.

We had curriculum night last night, and got good feelings from both teachers. I hope this is a good year for them!

I hope to add to the race list soon.

[JenLove]

Addition to race list ~
Sept. 11 "Leap of Faith 5K"

[1jooj]

JenLove, I will FB you after I discuss with dh! I have 2 friends close by who can help, and a couple coworkers willing to stop in here and there, so I should be able to spread the work relatively thinly. Maybe with all that support, my mother will be shamed into helping out some, too.

My dd's K teacher did "D__ Dollars." This year, her teacher is doing a program where classroom seating pods work together to earn card punches. I like the idea of a team effort, and I know this teacher is good at keeping things positive.

[Geofizz]

The bucket thing lasted two weeks in DD's class last year, discontinued for reasons similar to the behavior DrJen's seeing. It seems to be part of the "moral development" lesson plans that circulate out there. DD's class this year works on a system that makes sense to the kids and teacher. The teacher reports that she has only issued consequences twice in the 15 years she's been using it. DD indeed reports a quiet classroom with everyone on task :

3 miles this morning. Looking forward to a cooler weekend.

Phil is insisting on continuing to interview until we can contact this one sitter's references - probably generally wise, but it's cutting into my running time. Last night's was a total dud, we ended the interview after 12 minutes. At least I got to take the kids to the pool one last time.

Our 'to do' list for the weekend is already a mile long. We've got lots of prep work to do to make this all work!

[Nemesis]

I'm already signed up for the 10K in May.. Since it's a deferred registration from this year.

I'm hoping I get to run tonight, and then next week I start the Smart Coach suggested program. Not sure it's going to work out, but it's worth a shot.