Running Around the Maypole ~ the May Dingo Thread - Page 17

[tjsmama]

penelope~Ugh. And more .

jl~ And kind of at the counter-offer throwing in the tractor!

jo~Just FYI...when I took swim lessons a couple of years ago, my coach told me that I have a good kick for a triathlete. Which is to say, I barely kick at all (you know, it's all about conserving your legs for the bike and the run, not because I suck at kicking ). So, essentially, you're a natural triathlete!

Originally Posted by Realrellim 

However, I am pleased to say that her recent Bolder Boulder times are slower than either mine or tjsmama. (She's probably run-jogging with one of her kids, so I'll be quiet now.)

Thanks for all the compliments, ladies! And jaygee...Skirt Sports clearance. Of course.

Just another fun-filled day in paradise...Y, lunch, two different Michael's (because, of course, NONE of the tractor pans at the first one had the instructions in them, which I could look up online but needed to at least know if I had the right tips and food coloring for ), a trip to the library...

I decided that while the Wilton recipe for buttercream is ok, I really want to try another recipe that's not quite so sweet, so I tested out a tiny batch of a swiss meringue buttercream. It was pretty good, an definitely less sweet, but was a little TOO buttery. I think I can work with it, though. Here's hoping I don't regret trying to fix something that's not really broke.

rr~Spin class. Nothing too exciting to report there, except there were a lot of jumps that kind of hurt. Oh, and I met a girl in the class (who I've seen around the Y a few times) who's in (my) nursing school and graduating in December, too, so that was kind of funny. Then I headed off to the treadmill for my now-routine brick, but only got a little over half a mile in when I started getting a weird leg/hip/butt pain. So, I quit. No sense trying to push through. Here's hoping it was just a fluke and that it's gone tomorrow for track.

[bec]

Sparkle - LOVE that video!  That was amazing!

tri class tonight for me.  We were supposed to have an outside brick of 15 miles on the bike and a 3 mile run, but it is thunderstorming right now, with the promise of it being an all day thing, so we'll see.  I have terrible visions of spin/track brick work in my future!

[tjsmama]

Track workout, done! I really, really hate getting up at 5 for 6 am track, but I LOVE being done and home by 7:30! Today's workout: 5x400, 3x200. And now, to get ready for a bike ride...

[JayGee]

Nice job, Gaye!  Hope you had a good ride.

RR ~ 45 minute spin class

NRR ~ tornado watch through 9:00pm tonight.  I'm DONE with this weather!

[1jooj]

I ran today! For the first time in I-have-no-idea-how-long. On the bright side, it was all in metric so I don't really know how slow I was.  I did two running blocks with a little walking before, between and after, for a total of 30-some minutes on the TM and something under 5k but maybe not too far under, so...definitely not bad, all things considered. Then, I took the kids to the pool for an hour and a half, during which I barely swam at all.

And this afternoon, dh dropped me off at my friend's hotel! How awesome to get to hang out with a friend I have not seen in 10 years (!), on the other side of the world.  She's over here on business, and I am so lucky she has a little down time in her schedule to see me. We just hung out and chatted, and then her colleague joined us and we chatted some more, and then went out for a nice dinner together downtown, and I just took a taxi back to my hotel (it's past metro time). If she has more time off, we'd like to meet up again. Dh took the kids, and actually got called out to work, and got a sitter through the hotel and let me stay out! So great to see her, and she looks wonderful, like she is loving her life. This is my Everest-climbing friend, next on to Kili. Amazing woman.

Going to have a great sleep tonight and a slow morning with my kids. I am sure they have stories to tell about the babysitter.

[Realrellim]

tjsmama--I meant to tell you those were nice tri pics!

1jooj--yay for a run!

JayGee--this time of year is hard because of that. If it's any comfort, Colorado's tornado season doesn't really get into gear until June.

So, it's somewhat sunny outside and I decided to try a run with J. Did it, but can't believe how slow I was (like 12:30+ miles). Legs felt dead, my HR was elevated, and every time I stopped and some times that I didn't I'd start coughing and had a really hard time stopping. Ugh ugh ugh. I'm hoping tomorrow brings improvements though I think I might hold off for my very little bit of speedwork until Friday, for all the obvious reasons.

Opinions needed: if the cough doesn't settle down by Friday, should I go visit the doctor again and see if there's anything else that can help? The thing I hate is that anything can irritate my throat (food, breathing, whatever) and I get stuck in a coughing fit. My dad has cough-variant asthma, and I keep wondering if an inhaler might help me stay on top of things (or whether I'm being paranoid and this is all just part of being sick).

Also, I hate the fact that once the cough gets going, it leads to incontinence. This is true even if I've just used the bathroom. Heck, I can be sitting on the toilet, having just squeezed out everything I can, and then I'll have a coughing fit and more comes. It's bad.

[Plady]

Ugh Lisa!  That cough sounds terrible!  I've got a lesser version of that going on and I've been using Zicam's cough suppressant spray with a nasal decongestant in it.  It really helps numb my throat so it isn't so easily irritated and then I guess it dries up whatever runs down my throat while I'm lying down.  I skipped my early morning pool workout because of it and I think I'm feeling a bit better.  Maybe you could give yourself a little more down time?

JayGee -The tornadoes going on in your neck of the woods (well, at least it seems all very close on my dd's placemat map) are terrifying.  Do you have a basement?  I hope so, or some subterranean shelter.

RM - Thinking of you and your school choice.

Jo - You sound like you are really going to thrive over there.  Does it feel like you're really there to live or does it feel like the beginning of a long vacation (not that the two are mutually exclusive experiences!).  I love seeing the pictures and your stories.  It's all so exotic and exciting.

Gaye - As one who has never spun, how do you do jumps? 

JenLove - How's the deal going?  What kind of tractor?  Is it in good condition?

I spent the morning home alone ( - it never happens) and I hauled two huge trash bags full of goodies out of the kids' room for Goodwill.  It's going to feel so good to drop that off tomorrow!  I also unpacked the remaining tidbits from about 8 different rubbermaid bins we'd packed up in Mexico and which had still not seen the light of day.  Some stuff went directly to GW and some things still need shelves but I put them on windowsills for now and it was a real pleasure to get those bins out of the rooms.  Our place has been decorated in Rubbermaid red, blue and teal for waaaaay too long!

[bec]

Well, it is looking likely that I'll be able to be outside tonight, but just barely.  I doubt we will be able to do the entire workout before having to call it quits.  The rain looks like it will start right around 7:30 or so.  We'll see how it goes!

[Runningmommy]

Hi there!  Thank you sooooooo much for your support, understanding and input on the school issue!!!!!  YOU LADIES ROCK!!!! 

Plady~it feels so good to cull and organize!!  yay for you!

kerc~wave!

jaygee~I'm tired of the weather too.  Why can't it just be nice out???!

Jo~happy to hear you found a place to call home!  So Paris is on a world tour for a bestie??weird. 

jenlove~yay for your new home!!

real~sorry about the cough and what it causes. that is a bummer.  kegels??  don't know if that would help?

bec~thanks for the kind words!!  Have you found your work out mojo again?  Hope you get your work out in before the rain!

geo~wave!

Hi everyone!

RR: ran 4 something today, heart wasn't in it and needed to fit it in between lounging in bed on teh first day of summer break and calling my dad, and making it to a meeting.  It was fine. 

NRR: my ear issue that I have been dealing with (having trouble hearing, the ear infection, difficulty clearing up the fluid in ear)?  visit to audiologist and ENT ended up coming home with hearing aides.  Yup.  how fun is that??!!   Really though, as much as that stinks to be 38 and need hearing aides, I'm so stinking happy it wasn't something awful (like tumor/cancer) and that there is such awesome technology out there to give me the gift of hearing again that it makes it all worth while.  So there it is.  Now to come up with the $6.2K to pay for them.  yikes. 

[tjsmama]

real~Cough-variant asthma, huh? I guess that's exactly what I have. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like me to a T. I rarely, if ever, have shortness of breath or a tight chest, or any of those symptoms. Just lots of coughing. It certainly would be worth a visit to the doctor if it doesn't clear up. I wish I had gone a LOT sooner when I had the bronchitis that started all of this. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't have ended up with the asthma.

plady~Jumps are just where you stand up and sit down to a count (usually a 4 count...so up-2-3-4-, down-2-3-4) and on and on. For however long the instructor would like to torture you.

rm~Wow. Hearing aids?! So glad you can hear again! And seriously, yikes on the $. Not covered by insurance??

We had a nice ride this morning. Kind of cool and overcast, but we got a nice 17-ish miles in. Relatively easy, but then again, not so easy since I was pulling the trailer! I rode with the two girls who are doing the Courage Classic with me, so it was a nice little training ride.

And then I dropped DS off at school and had the best afternoon. I had picked up a groupon for sushi a few weeks ago, so I had a lunch date with two girlfriends for wine and sushi, followed up with some starbucks and sitting in the sun. And then reality hit and I had to go pick my kid up from school.

[Realrellim]

Plady--yay for all that decluttering and a morning at home alone.

RM--eek on the hearing aides! I've heard they are expensive, but wow!

tjsmama--good to know. I know I'll end up with it eventually because I already sound like my dad when I laugh a lot. I'll laugh, and then I'll cough and cough and cough and sound *exactly* like he does after he laughs hard.

So my free session with the personal trainer at the gym was scheduled for this afternoon and I figured I'd more or less tough it out. We did one circuit of weights and then I declined doing it again, afraid of pushing too hard too fast so we did a couple of very quick core-specific circuits instead. I ended up feeling basically normal afterward, except for the stupid cough. I'm getting congested and coughing a lot tonight, but I can almost feel energy returning. Maybe I sweat out some of the bad stuff? One can only hope. On the kegels: I've been doing them and doing them and doing them. It's a lot like when I'm pregnant and throwing up: all the energy is in expelling mucous and other various fluids from the body. Light/medium coughs are ok, but not the all-out coughing. Though, it's probably not helping that I'm pushing fluids like crazy and needing to pee all the time anyhow....

I'm hoping to bike to school pick-up tomorrow. They're doing an assembly to say goodbye to our very awesome principal and then a reception afterward for current and past students and parents. Translation: parking will be a madhouse. He is *very* well loved. His wife (and kids?) will be there too and although we do see them at church, I figure we ought to say hello anyhow. And, it would be nice to get a few more miles in this week.

[LaLaLaLa]

Good morning!

It sounds like everyone except me is having a very productive running week.  Gaye--great pictures from your race!

Real, sorry about the coughing issues.  If you think it's something asthma related, I'd definitely get it checked out.  It suchs to have something interfere with your breathing.

RM, wow, those are some expensive hearing aides!  It's great that something could be done for your hearing, though, and it wasn't a big scary problem.

So on Saturday night after we went to the benefit thing at the ice-cream place, DS threw up a couple of times.  I figured he'd just eaten too much, which is not unusual for him.  Then on Tuesday night I had the worst stomachache and decided that it was actually a bit of a stomach flu, not overeating.  I was queasy all day yesterday but still had a whole bunch of stuff to get done.  Today I'm feeling better, but DD woke up this morning feeling crummy.  Ugh.  Looks like no running until the weekend.

At least the weather is finally nice here!

[JayGee]

RM ~ yikes, those are some expensive hearing aids!  DH needs one too, but he's denying the fact.  All those years in the cockpit of an airplane destroyed the hearing in his left ear.  Now he just makes me yell and repeat myself continuously .

Lala ~ boooo for stomach bugs.  But I am glad the weather is shaping up out there.

Jo ~ loving your updates here, FB and the blog!

Real ~ good idea to take the bike

Today is DD2's end of preschool picnic.  It's pouring rain, but we're having it under a big pavillion so it's still "on".  I can't believe my baby is done with preschool.  Where the heck did the last 5 years go?  And why am I suddenly regretting not having that fourth child DH and I were tossing around 3 years ago???  Luckily, we were spared in last night's storms.  Lots of tornado sirens, wind and rain, but no real damage, thank goodness.  I'm not sure what I'm doing in the running/biking/swimming department today.  If I do anything it will have to happen after the picnic, but before the childcare at the Y closes.  Plus, I am scheduled to bring my bike in to have my new aerobars installed!  Woot!!!

[Mel38]

Gaye - you look amazing in your pics! You rock star.

RM - Thank goodness it's fixable, though spending the $ is a drag. And on the middle school topic, keep us posted! I didn't chime in, but we have also had our MS struggles. DD1 was homeschooled for those years, and I'm still debating what to do with DD2. I still have 2 years to get something figured out, choose a school or decide on homeschooling. I hope you figure out something that feels right for your family.

Real - I agree with all the others about seeing a dr. about the coughing. It sounds seriously annoying to have that hanging over your head.

Jo - I saw your pics up on FB from your visit with your friend - you look radiant!! You are so pretty anyway, but the picture was fantastic. When does your school year start, btw?

JG - Any chance of getting a ride in with those new aerobars? Sounds fun.

La4 - so sorry to hear about that tummy bug. You might have already had it, too, after feeling crummy yesterday. Hope everyone is feeling better soon.

Plady - Good job on the decluttering. How did our parents manage to raise a family without a single plastic bin? How?

RR: Last Sunday's tri!!

I set my alarm for 4:30 so that I would have time to shower, eat and finish packing my things in the car. For breakfast, I had a peanut butter sandwich and coffee, then a banana and water in the car on the way over to the race site. I arrived at about 10 till 6, so I had time to pump up my tires and make my way over to the transition area. Still lots of time to pick a good spot, get my number and get marked, etc. I met a few people from my tri group and another group that I had ridden with - spent some time chatting with them. I didn't feel really nervous once I got my transition area set up. Really, not until the waves started grouping up for the swim. At that time, I just spent a few minutes with my own thoughts and remembered my mantra.

My goal was to be steady on the swim. I did not want to ruin the whole thing by panicking or losing my rhythm by getting out of breath, and I knew I might try to go out too fast. The water was surprisingly nice, it was warm and not as gross as I thought it might be. It felt so nice compared to pool water, actually, that I really enjoyed the swim. I did bump into a lady on the way to the first buoy, and one other time on the 3rd leg (different lady), but otherwise, I thought the sighting went pretty well. The swim was 600 yards, and I don't remember feeling any fatigue, though I do remember being glad that I was done with it! My DH was waiting to snap a picture of me getting out of the water, but he actually missed me and only got a nice rear shot of me jogging toward transition.

My goal here in transition was to be calm and not get flustered. Considering that, it actually went pretty quickly. I gulped some water and a bit of fuel, because I am not good at drinking on the bike and I knew I would need something to get me through the ride. It was 13 miles,

I started out on the bike breathing kind of heavily until my legs got warmed up. I pushed myself, but nothing too crazy, just enough to feel like a good, steady effort. Many people passed me, but seeing the time now, it was actually better than I expected. I only passed maybe 2 or 3 people, usually on mountain bikes. I really do need to practice drinking/fueling on the bike. It's just too long to go without, I think, and it kind of came to bite me in the rear during the run.

This next transition took a little longer than it should have because of switching shoes, drinking, fueling and generally just spending too much time there. Then, the run... well, I was just pooped from the ride, and it took me probably the whole first mile just to feel like my breathing was regulated. By then, of course, the heat just made me feel very tired. I really did not feel like I could have run it any faster. The last 1/2 mile was so hot, I could not wait to be done. I did manage to lay down a decent sprint at the end, but still.

At the end, I met up with my family, hit the port-o-potty (which was just unspeakably disgusting, but I guess that's par for the course), got some refreshments and then my DD helped me clear up my transition area and drove back home with me. It was all over before 11 a.m.! What a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

So, overall, the time was 1:31:07! I was super excited about that, because my initial estimates were around 1:45. This puts me right in the back of the middle of the pack. Not a bad place to be! I am definitely planning on doing another one, maybe in August.

[sparkletruck]

Mel38 - your description mad em smile and kinda want to weep. Im so happy for you

[JayGee]

Mel38 ~ wonderful tri report!  It sounds like you had a great time AND did well too.  Can't ask for more than that.  You've motivated me to finally open up my wallet and register for races!

Aerobars are installed (also giving me that hankering to race another tri....), but it's raining so no ride 'til tomorrow.

DD2 is done with preschool.  All of my children are now out of the preschool phase.  Yes, I cried today.....

[bec]

I feel your pain, JG on the kids growing up!  I am grappling with the idea of Abby as a kindergartener!  Where did my baby go?!

Melissa - AWESOME race report!!!!

I did some cross training today.  No, not THAT kind of cross training!  I did 45 minutes of cardio on 3 different machines today.  15 minutes of Rowing, 15 minutes of elliptical, and 15 minutes of stairmaster.  Over 500 calories burned!

[sparkletruck]

... whereas I did do THAT kind of cross-training as well as the kind where I rode intervals on the bike for nearly and hour and, wait for it, did 7 whole minutes of pain free running within 25 minutes of c25k

and yet, despite all that, I too am feeling bittersweet today, as my dd1 leaves the school where she has been for 4 years to move ds' school next year. I didnt expect to feel sad, as Im glad to be leaving, but I do

and RM - lots and lots

[Naughty Dingo]

Hi guys.  What's up?

Sorry it's been a while..... Life...

Bec and REallim, on my recovery days I have been doing lots of yoga, lots of upper body and stomach, and some specific exercises to strengthen my lateral sides.  I am able to get my heart rate up with some short reps of high intensity stuff like jump roping. I still think I need to add more sleep to the equation.

Zubeldia, your babe is still pretty young and you are nursing, that in itself will delay your return to ovulation.  With my body, I would ovulate but then my progesterone phase of the cycle would be ridiculously short, so I couldn't get pregnant at that time.  There was a magical point with all my babies, when they stopped nursing a lot at night, that my hormones kicked in and my cycle normalized.  Believe in your body and all the amazing things it knows how to do!

Plady, sorry I haven't been on in so long.  For your kitty I would do 1) a needle aspirate (which can be done unsedated) if pus comes out, great it's an abscess and it can be treated.  If nothing comes out, or abnormal looking cells come out, then proceed with 2) the biopsy under anesthesia. For a small surgical biopsy, a lot of local anesthetic can be used around the biopsy site with a very light plane of anesthesia.  Also it is a quick procedure.  Depending on what the pathologist says the mass is, and its prognosis, you can decide if you wish to pursue 3) a bigger scale mass removal surgery with more anesthesia.  With all that said, I anesthetize animals with heart disease frequently, I just take care with the drugs I choose, and as always monitor very carefully.  This might all be moot if you've already gone in!  I wish I could be the vet of the dingo commune . 

Jo you guys should totally have another marriage!  I am currently fantasizing about re-getting married with Mr. Dingo, we are such different people now than we were at age 25! I feel like life is much more meaningful now and I deeply appreciate him and our marriage in ways I couldn't before.  I totally want a do-over!

Gaye your'e killing me with the buttercream talk, OMG yum.

And Nic and all the rest discussing middle school.  Ugh, middle school.  Not looking forward to that........ Nic you should get in some yoga and let your body integrate all of the changes.......

Things are good at the Dingo house.  Kids are finally all healthy, the weather is pretty decent, and the Badasses at my work are improving their attitudes!  Woohoo.  I did have a couple bad appointments this week, where in both cases, the parent wasn't standing up and doing their job as a parent to make tough decisions, having a bad effect on everyone.  The horror story one was a little critter that came in with one of the worst leg fractures I have ever seen :(  both bones were broken, jagged pieces were poking through the skin, and the paw was pointing backwards.  The lady was like "Oh I thought you could just snip it off......." Um no.  I made an estimate for surgical treatment ($200, which is dirt cheap, but definitely a lot of $ for a hamster right?) and an estimate for euthanasia.  She refused  both because " I love animals too much"  the teenage daughter was in hysterics, the mom wouldn't choose to treat or euthanize the poor little creature, and the dad was on the phone saying to the daughter "Oh you can just get another one..." In the end, she declined all my recommendations, and took him home.  She told me that if he didn't chew it off she would cut off his leg with a scissor. I felt so crappy.  I definitely failed to get her to see what needed to be done, though I am not sure it was possible.  She needed to be able to say to her kid "This needs to be done, and we can't to the other option because it is too expensive, end of story" but she couldn't, and the poor little creature is going to suffer.  Grrr.

I am getting stomach flip flops. Only three days until Marathon day.Woohoo! I totally have that I'm-so-tired-and-my-knee-hurts-and-I-think-I'm-getting-sick-and-I'm-sure-it-will-be-90-degrees-and-my-running-outfit-is-going-to-be-all-wrong-and-an-emergency-is-going-to-come-in-at-the-end-of-my-shift-and-I'll-miss-the-expo constant fretting which usually means all is well and all will be great come marathon day

Oh well, that's how it goes......

Have a great evening, ND

[MelW]

I've been MIA for a couple of busy days- keep starting a post and then deleting when I don't have time to finish. I'm just going for it this time, finished or not...

jo-glad to hear you got a run in! I always run in metric, and it feels terrific!

mel- Congrats on the amazing tri! Your descriptions are fantastic.

ND- Good luck with the marathon!!

RM- I'm glad that there is a solution for your hearing loss, but sorry it's such an expensive one.

Real- Hope you're feeling 100% soon.

JenLove- Thinking of you and the house offer- hope all is well...

Tuesday I saw the chiro again, and left feeling disappointed in the whole thing. She felt that my pelvis/hips/spine were in pretty good alignment, and that running would just come with time (and many more adjustments). I tried to explore the possibility of muscle imbalances/weakness, and her only suggestion was to agree with a plan for "strength training"- no ideas about where the weakness may be, how to fix it, nothing. Went home and called my extended health plan, discovered my physio coverage is crappy for the first 12 visits (which are really not in the budget right now), but chiro and acupuncture are well covered. Called the acupuncturist who saw me same day. He's also an akido instructor and had some helpful concrete suggestions about posture and balance and muscle weakness (left glute is much weaker than the right, etc.). And then had a really overwhelming acupuncture session that I cried through. Whatever he did to my "chi" was a bit overwhelming- which he did warn me about in advance. It was a combination of acupuncture and therapy, I think, since his suggestion was that family issues often manifest themselves in the pelvis. I'm still trying to sort through everything...

RR- I've been biking daily, at least for the school run. Today was my big planned gym day, but I forgot that they close the weightroom to run classes on Thursday mornings