Running Around the Maypole ~ the May Dingo Thread - Page 4

[JayGee]

Erika ~ I hate carrying anything when I run, so if I am going longer than 7 miles or so, I'll plan a loop or an out-and-back and park a water bottle at my turnaround point.  In the summer, I plan runs that go through parks so I can cruise past a water fountain.

Real ~ that's stoopid (to borrow a word from Gaye!)  $150/child is an exorbitant fee, especially for families with multiple children.  Was there any talk of sliding scale based on income?

Geo and Penelope ~ have a fantastic run and a great meetup!  I want to hear all about it, of course!

Well, the crud seems to have passed from DD1 to DD2 who spent the entire night coughing.  I really wanted to get to the Y for spin class this morning, but now that's off the table since she's sick.  After all my epic workout weeks over the last month, this week will go down as the crappiest.  Seven day = one run, one bike to school.  That's it.  Boooooo!

[Plady]

Real - Wow!  That's incredible!  I keep wondering when we as a society are going to dig in our heels and demand that we change our funding priorities.  I mean, families who are working themselves to death have to shell out for everything but Exxon gets a pass on taxes?  Really? 

Um.

So any of you have experience with ovarian cysts?  I'm suddenly wondering if that could be the source of my pain.  I've been calling it hip, because it is but it's most intense in my pelvis just above my hip joint in front.  At least that is where the sharp stabbing pain comes from post-run/post-walk/post-sitting-too-long.  Going online with Dr. Google I see that I've got plenty of the symptoms.  I don't know whether that's a worse idea than random and causeless debilitation but at least I've got my annual exam today to ask about it. 

Oy.  Okay, coffee time.

[bec]

No time for personals, but I'm off to the Mini!!!!!

[JayGee]

Have a great race, bec!!!  Wish I was there this year.

[mommajb]

Race smart bec and have fun!

[tjsmama]

Back from my long run, and I don't know how I did it, but I DID...I had the (lofty, in my mind) goal of trying to hit my middle 4 miles at 9:30 pace, and I DID it! It wasn't pretty, but they were 9:39, 9:35, 9:23, 9:17! And then I hobbled back home because I was just flat out DONE at that point! Who knew I still had it in me?! Maybe the Bolder Boulder won't be quite as ugly as I've been thinking it will be. But it probably will.

And now time to get showered and commence what is going to amount to three days of nonstop crazy...


p.s. GO BEC GO!!!!

[sparkletruck]

GO Bec!!!!!!!! :broccoli

On the funding/school/fiscal nightmare; I am wading in it. My kids school - granted; a charter, but doing such an amazing job!!!!! - lost a huge amount of funding and will have to DRASTICALLY change how they operate. It is a small school (<200 kids) and they are looking at firing 3 teachers!, changing class size etc. The school is having a meeting Monday at which, I have heard a rumor, they will ask that parents pay $500 for each child next year, in order to keep some of the teachers. We are fine with this to the degree that we can afford it, and can likely give more to cover some kids that cant, BUT, this is not a long term solution, and the disregard of the state govt. for education is breaking my heart and PISSING me off!!! Meanwhile, dd1's music teacher is moving out of the state b/c her dh just lost his job as a member of the NM symphony orchestra which was just disemboweled; i.e. the NM symphony orchestra is no more I should mention that our state taxes are notoriously low

Also meanwhile, I read a profile of gov. Jerry Brown (in the NYT online, fyi) in which he describes having failed in negotiations w/ republicans about the budget: he offered very big cuts, and moderate increases in taxes, and they wanted very very very big cuts in spending and no increases. He said he may just have to cut severely with the hope that people will finally start demanding to pay higher taxes once they experience what its like to have all the cuts. But of course he thinks that would be a nightmare scenario. Still, I am one of those people who wants higher taxes, in my state at least!!!! Grrrrrr.....

[Runningmommy]

I got to meet up and have dinner with Bec and her friend Sarah!  :)  :) :)  Totally forgot to take pictures!  Argh!!  Soo much enjoyed my time and can't wait to see them in the morning!!

RR: 5miles this morning.  felt good, even getting off the TM 5 times to deal with ds1.  Yes,five times.  sigh. 

got to get to bed so I can get up early and meet the dingos! 

[Plady]

Go Bec!  Have a great race!~ And, so jealous of your meet-up with RM!  And Penelope and Geo too!  Enjoy!  But remember the pictures!!!

Just spent the entire day painting a big drop at the theatre.  It was such a simple design I really thought I'd get it done in no time but I didn't even finish and I was there from 9-6 with an hour for the dr. and 20 minutes for lunch.  Insane.  But I love it there so the only downside is missing kids.

Dr (well, NP) is sending me off island for an u/s to rule out cysts.  She doesn't think I have them but some of my symptoms caught her attention so we'll see.

Jo  - Thinking of you in the last days of crazy transition-part-1. Hope it's all moving along at the right pace.

Jen~Love - It makes me feel all fuzzily and warm to think of any chance of you taking over jo's pad.  That would be wicked cool.

Mommajb - How are you these days?  How's the move moving along?

DrJen - My goodness!  Dingos on the move everywhere!  How's your transitioning going?

Gaye - Wow!  Nice pacing!  I'm iompressed!

Sparkle - I'm with you re:taxes - well, at least if they would go to basics like education and healthcare.  Do I really have faith that they would? Hmmmmm.  But yeah, I was totally mystified by the public here when they voted against an income tax that would only kick in for those making $250k and up.  It was Bill Gates' dad's idea too.  You'd think it would be easier to tax the itsy bitsy minority that has all the money but I guess enough of us are delusional enough to think that there's a ship out there with our names on it...

So I know I'm not supposed to drink any alcohol during the first phase of Atkins but I made a little cocktail with vanilla stoli, frozen blackberries (from 2 summers ago - I have to clear out the freezer you know?) and a little bit of fresh mint.  Oh lala! 

[Realrellim]

JayGee--that's awful. I hope you can get out this weekend at least.

sparkle--I agree with you about the taxes/services issue. They're trying the "no taxes/no services" thing in Colorado Springs this year, by literally not maintaining several city parks, no flowers, eliminating bus routes and leaving a large number of street lamps dark, among other things. The Springs is very conservative, so we'll see if they walk the walk, so to speak. (Also, I'll note that it's a huge draw for tourists--but maybe not so much when people stop at a park only to discover that the bathrooms are locked and there are no garbage cans and the grass is brown and dead.)

bec--have fun at the mini!

tjsmama--WTG on that awesome run!

RR: did my tempo last night on the treadmill. Despite the anger, it was still painful: 6 miles total, 4 at tempo. Anyhow, at least it's done. Today I biked to pick R up at school again.

NRR: cleaned house at the Skirt Sports warehouse sale this morning while R was on her field trip! I got a bunch of stuff for $15 apiece (Cruiser Girl bike skirt, tri top, two short-sleeve bike jerseys [one of which matches a bike skirt I bought at their last warehouse sale] and some biking knickers) and a pair of tri shorts for $2. Awesomeness! Sierra Designs and Kelty were also having warehouse sales but I thought I'd spent quite enough and headed home instead. Two of the items will be my Mother's Day gift.

[Realrellim]

Back again!

DrJen, can you put me down for the Middle Park Half Marathon on July 9?

And also the Grand Park Run for Independence on July 2?

I'm so excited. The 1/2 will be in Granby, CO, a mere 10 minutes away from where we stay when we go up there. I love 1/2s, I love running up there, so this is about as awesome as it gets.
Edited by Realrellim - 5/6/11 at 10:52pm

[kerc]

Originally Posted by Realrellim 


NRR: cleaned house at the Skirt Sports warehouse sale this morning while R was on her field trip! I got a bunch of stuff for $15 apiece (Cruiser Girl bike skirt, tri top, two short-sleeve bike jerseys [one of which matches a bike skirt I bought at their last warehouse sale] and some biking knickers) and a pair of tri shorts for $2. Awesomeness! Sierra Designs and Kelty were also having warehouse sales but I thought I'd spent quite enough and headed home instead. Two of the items will be my Mother's Day gift.

Shut up! (said in the nicest way possible). I LOVE my 2 new skirt sports skirts. So awesome.
 

2 walks this week (2 days in a row- 4 miles thursday, 6 miles friday.). and now I'm feeling like maybe I can run again in my life. Yay. See above note about loving skirt sports, I need to justify my purchases.

Yesterday was a super long day. We'd talked about taking the kids canoeing, dh even got the canoe on the car himself. I had no phone and no watch and didn't get home until late. Now the girls want to do today. Clouds loom big. I'd love it if it were well received to wake them now (630am) and go. Someday my youngest will be my partner in such outings. Rain later today, for sure.

Paying for school. Here's an idea: how about all the shops downtown that serve lunch begin charging a 50 cent surcharge per day on every meal. Send it all to the schools. Or charge a giant tax on a big vehicle purchase: 5 grand on a mercedes for instance. Or maybe we can just make companies pay taxes like the rest of us because it totally feels like picking on people to figure out who is going to pay more.

[JayGee]

Real ~ those are some great deals at Skirt Sports!!!  One of these days I'll break down and get a running skirt.

Plady ~ that sounds delish!  I have an Atkins question for you (and anyone else who has done low carb).  Is it normal to feel absolutely horrid for the first few days?  I've tried numerous times to eat low carb and I feel SO bad by the end of the second day that I end up bingeing on carbs just to get rid of the feeling.  I'm wondering if some people just can't go with that few carbohydrates....

I was supposed to do a 42-mile bike tour this morning with a friend, but the weather forecast was for thunderstorms from 2:00am-noon and I hate riding in storms so I backed out.  Of course, it's sunny and gorgeous out  today.  Stupid weather forecasters.  Instead I went to Kettlebells this morning which was a good workout too, just not a beautiful ride through the farmlands of Southwestern Illinois.  Sigh.

[Naughty Dingo]

Hi Guys, The month of April is over and I am so glad.  My calender was jammed full and on top of it all, in true Dingo Family style, my minivan's side exploded out and I didn't have a vehicle for over a week of the crazy busy time.  Sometimes you just have to say "Whatever" and walk away LOL

Will have time to catch up on all you lovelies, can't wait.

Ran my first race of the year.  20K and it went great.  Managed an 8:50 mile pace for a 1:50 finish.  I felt pretty good, definitely wouldn't have been able to maintain the pace though. I am really fit this year, and have (finally!) lost the baby weight, and have no idea what my goals should be????????.  I am doing a 20 mile race next weekend with lots of hills and no pace teams.  I need to think about this......

Exciting news, as a present to myself I have two sessions with personal trainer.  My goal is to improve my running performance and overall balance my body's fitness.  I can't wait.  REally really really!!!!!!!

Funny, I bought an Oinky pig toy for my dog an he thinks it's the best thing ever.  Its totally annoying because it oinks all the time, but he carries it everywhere and asks for fetch.  Gotta love retrievers. 

Have an amazing weekend, Ladies, can't wait to spend more time with you this month!!!!!!  Love, ND

[MelW]

JayGee- Hoping the cough/crud passes quickly

Sparkle- Good luck with the charter school. As a Canadian (who pays taxes on my taxes) I love your plan. But I was raised by socialists, and happily vote for smart tax increases (I currently have a hate on for sales taxes, but will gladly pay more income tax and gas tax).

Plady, hope you get some answers w the ultrasound

RR- Got a swim pass this week and did a serious kid-free swim for the first time since I was pregnant. My pass is the worst photo ID I've ever had- pixellated b&w and impossible to even see that I'm a human. If you guessed dog it wouldn't ne unreasonable. Yesterday was a ton of yardwork and compost turning and the toughest bootcamp workout in ages! The trainer hurt his back so he leading but not doing, and he pushed us waaay harder. I hurt all over, but in a good way.

[mama_y_sol]

Hi everyone!  This thread moves so fast it is hard to keep up.  It's nice to read such supportive posts though :)

I have a question for you all:

I just registered for the Honolulu Marathon in December.  I need to buy a belt to carry water bottles on long-er runs.  It would be great if I could try some belts on, but I don't think that is an option- going to have to order one online.   I'm looking at Fuel Belts, but am open to any other brand.  

Do you use a water bottle belt for long runs?  If yes, what kind do you use and do you recommend it?

tia

[Naughty Dingo]

Tia, I have a fuel belt and I love it.  I have the one with 3 fairly large bottles, a small bottle, and a little pocket.  Mr. Dingo has a different type (forget the kind) which I really like too. Once you run with one you won't go back.  I have run marathons where they ran out of water and it was really stressful.  Having a belt gives you independence, both in races, and in training runs.  They are comfortable and with the little pickets, you can pack energy gels, phone, etc. They don't chafe or rub, and don't flap around when you run.  Definitely a wise investment.

ND

[bec]

I'm back!  And successful!  This was such a huge hurdle for me.  I finished, felt strong, and, most importantly, did not hurt myself!  I ran slow and consistent.  Final chip time was 2:43:20.  Garmin time was 2:35, but we stopped a couple of times to pee!  I ran with a friend from my tri class that does this race every year.  She is a ton of fun to run with, very calming, very experienced, and just a joy to be with.  It was awesome seeing my friend Sarah and Lisa near the finish line, and so much fun having dinner and lunch with them!  Honestly, the day could not have been better.  I don't, actually remember much of the run, but it was comfortably hard, with very few places where I really struggled.  And those places were not physical struggles, but overcoming the mental hurdles.  I had a little tendonitis throughout, but nothing very serious, and for much of the time, felt nothing. 

Anyway, I'm home, victoriously feeling like I can run without injury!

[tjsmama]

Nice job, bec!

tia~If you go back just a page or two, someone else just asked the same exact thing! Summarizing my post, I prefer a camelbak.

real~I mean this in the nicest possible way, but you SUCK. Last time I hit the Skirt Sports sale, they hardly had anything in my size. My friend and I talked about stopping in this morning, but given my previous experience, we skipped it. Of course, you're tiny, so those size S samples fit you, whereas I need a M. Oh well. I couldn't really afford even screaming deals right now, so it's all good.

In a nutshell...I am exhausted. And still have to do my homework for tomorrow's patients. Blech.

I started off by driving up to Boulder for a ride with a friend. It was a gorgeous morning for a ride, and we had a great time, although my legs were definitely feeling it between yesterday's long run and my general lack of bike conditioning at the moment. We did one loop of the Boulder 70.3 course, and that was plenty. Kind of sad that I was over 1.5 mph slower on that one loop than I was for the full course last summer. Oh well. It'll come back, right? I hope?

Then it was a dash home, jump in the shower, and off to the school carnival. Train rides, wagon rides, bounce houses, cakewalks, cookie decorating, tattoos, and digging in the sandbox for treasure...

And right after that, we headed off to a birthday party. With a "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" theme, if that tells you anything. Um, can you say candy? I mean seriously...holy candy.

Needless to say, DS was a wreck when we got home, and bedtime was NOT pretty. Sigh.

All right...must.get.homework.done. NOW.

[Realrellim]

kerc--it sounds like you're ready to justify another skirt purchase.

JayGee-that's so frustrating! It happens here too. I'll delay a run because I think it's going to rain and doesn't, but of course if I head out on the run it does. That's how I ended up riding in the rain to school pick-up on Wednesday.

ND--congrats on your 20K with such an awesome time!

MelW--I'm about your swim pass story!

mama_y_sol - I use a couple of different kinds. My favorites are by Ultimate Direction. I have the women's Strider and that's what I usually use. For longer runs where there aren't water fountains to refill my bottle, I have one of the waist packs with a 26 oz bottle that also has a smaller, 10ish oz bottle for the front and a gel thingy. It's kind of like their Solitaire. I just looked on their website and I'm not sure they carry what I have anymore, but the Solitare looks pretty nice. I love my Strider though. And recently I just got a Nathan 2-bottle belt. What I like about that: that I can get either of the bottles out and back in one-handed, and that the pocket is big enough for my phone, some gels, my keys, etc. It's not my favorite though.

BTW, if you get a fuel belt make sure that you can get the bottles in and out easily. I was going to get one, until I realized that it was a struggle (for me) to get the bottles out or in without using both hands. And, the little pocket on it wouldn't even hold my very tiny cell phone either. Also, make sure that your elbows won't hit the bottles when you run. I've noticed that on some packs too, unless I can wear it low enough on my waist.

bec--yay for such a great run!

tjsmama-- Hmm, would it be insult to injury to wear them when I see you for dinner this week? If it makes you feel better, I'm telling myself that my new bike stuff will make me look fast even if I'm still averaging a pathetic 8-10 mph. On biking, I'm sure your speed will come back because you, unlike me, are fast!

RR: ran 3 after dinner with the double jogger. R's been in tears every morning this week, and today may have been too much for her. My city is celebrating its centennial and one of the buildings up on a high hill had an open house where they let you go up the tower and check out the 360-degree view. It was awesome. So we did that and then the three of us packed up and went to a birthday party this afternoon. The breakdown hit after dinner, when she wanted to go running with me and help DH mow the lawn, simultaneously. She was wailing so loudly that I told her to get in the stroller so she could calm down. It worked (just like when she was a baby!) but bedtime was ugly. She's so overtired, and despite being put to bed at 8:15, she was still awake at 9:15 mostly due to being difficult.

Both kids are asleep now, so I really need to get back to grading (ugh).