A Moment for Mother's Day

I love being a mom. I am thankful for my girlios. My own mother passed when I was young, around the age of my eldest daughter. My father remarried when I was in college. I have come to love my step mom and appreciate her very much. She's been great for my dad and is a fabulous grandmother to my girlios. It's been foreign to me because I didn't have a mom or mother figure from 10 to 20. With this in mind I am nervous yet optimistic about venturing into these years with my own girls. The mother-daughter relationship is the stuff bestsellers are made of. With three girlios, I expect at least three volumes.

Nemo and Dori photo bombed us!

As a youth, I never remembered Mother's Day. For a while, I would do something for my dad, but it didn't stick. Now, as a mom, we don't really celebrate Mother's Day well. It's at a terrible time of year for us. My husband has coached track for the past seven or eight years and May is track crunch time. He's zombie tired around this time. I've been taking classes and it's finals time.  Looking back on the last nine Mother's Days, I've been sick and called in for antibiotics. I've worked. I still cook and clean. My girlios selectively listen. This weekend even my dog is sick. My husband and I joke that he takes a nap on Mother's Day, and I take the nap on Father's Day. We generally don't do gifts for either day. This Mother's Day I'll set up coffee at church and study for my finals. Something normally happens during the weekend that disrupts 'ideal' plans, whatever that is. I don't expect anything except some sort of curveball.

This is not a gripefest. It's a commentary on a mom's life. I have had several mom friends comment that vacation is doing the same things as every other day in another place. It makes me laugh and cry because I identify. But, that's the joy of being a mom. One of the things I loved about teaching was that no day was the same. It's the same thing in the motherhood. And the hours are much much longer.

So what's my point. When my husband and I got married, I wanted to stand at the end of the aisle and take in the moment before things moved so fast and were over. A minute or two to look at my husband, look around and absorb it. Very Ferris Bueller of me. Unfortunately, the musicians couldn't follow the program, and I didn't have that moment. Don't get me started. It upsets me more than finding out one of the cameras didn't work during our wedding photo shoots. I digress.

I wish all the moms an absorbing moment this Mother's Day. A chance to mentally stop time, cherish your children at the age they are, relax in the chaos and be loved on a little. Good job moms. Kids of all ages, clear some space for your mom, mentally, physically and emotionally. She's amazing.

Happy Mother's Day!

Cheesy Thoughts on the Wisconsin Half Marathon

First of all let me say how blessed I feel to have people to run with on a regular basis. I've run for a long time and often it has been alone. I enjoy running alone, but in the past few years I've come to love running with people too. Whereas some people might get together to catch up over coffee or a meal, I have found a lovely group of people that I can catch up with on a run. A lot of talking goes on during a run. Last week I ran a race with Bobbi, and this week I ran a race with Kate. I cherish my running friends, especially with my crazy schedule.

That being said I was super excited to see Julie in the car when Kate and her family picked me up for the Wisconsin half this weekend. I haven't seen or talked to Julie in a long time. Our schedules are different, and she's expecting her first child this summer, (looking super cute btw). I have missed her, and it was good to catch up a bit.

Kate picked me up at 5:45 am which in retrospect may have been a little later than we should have left. The race started at 7 am. Let's just say it was another National Anthem that I had to stay seated for. We did get great parking, but we missed the pictures with the running club and the blogger picture and the picture with my friends from church. We did make it to the porta potties, and that's where we were when the race started. It's chip timed, and we weren't racing so no rush.

I ran the Wisconsin half for its inaugural and second year. This is it's fifth year. The last two years I have done Pittsburgh with my sister, which I highly recommend. When people say "hill" at the Wisconsin, I snicker. "Hill" in Pittsburgh has a completely different meaning. Wisconsin is flat and it is sort of an out and back course. There's a roundy bit at the beginning, but the course overlaps at two points. It was so fun to say "Hi" to so many people I haven't seen in a long time. Spring has finally sprung in the Midwest, and it's running weather.

Kate and I didn't have any time goals. We wanted to have a nice race, and that's what we got. The weather was perfect. Overcast and 50s with the sun coming out after the finish. I wore a jacket and periodically took it off and put it on during the race. The race flew by, or at least that's how I felt. We caught up on new life developments during the first few miles. Ooohed at the lake. Said hello to many many people. Had fantastic ridiculously sweet Gatorade. When we stopped for Gatorade the second time, about 6 miles in, they gave me a full glass of Gatorade which is nearly unheard of in a race. Kate asked me what was taking so long. I can't drink and run at the same time. I said, "They gave me a full cup." She replied, "You don't have to drink it all." I couldn't waste it. I drank it all.

Kim captured our smiles at the finish.

The only thing that bothered me was my jaw. I had a stuffy nose for a day or two prior to the race. My sinus cavities under my eyes hurt with the pounding of the pavement. I think I was trying to stabilize my head by tightening my jaw. Of all things, I don't think I've ever had running pain in my face before except for the occasional exercise induced headache.

At one point Kate remarked that how amazing it is that we could be out here running 13.1 miles and how our bodies allow us to do over and over again. We happened to be at a point where the race stretched out, and I could see a lot of runners ahead of us. It was pretty amazing. This was my third half  marathon of the year. Kate and I have both done multiple marathons. I am definitely a distance runner. Being able to run is truly a blessing. I do not take it for granted.

Around 11 miles I was ready to finish, but we ran into many friends at that point in the course so it was meet and greet until the end. 2:16:37 official time. Smiles all around. We kept it fun. Some of our training runs sucked so a fun race felt great. Bonus: another cute shirt and a medal/bottle opener.

On mission from Gouda

After the race there were even more people to greet. Wisconsin has a beer and brat (wrapped in a tortilla) available after the race. Since I'm not really a fan of beer I was happy to have a diet Pepsi, which came in handy later in the day. The brat tasted fantastic. I've learned the secret to good tasting food. The hungrier you are the better it tastes. Rocket science. We managed to get home in time for me to coach the afternoon soccer game, have a play date and introduce my girlios to Star Wars. It was May the 4th after all.



Medals, Brats and Smiles

Bear Trax 20K Race Recap

I had so much fun at the Bear Trax 20K with Bobbi, and since I have two races in seven days I don't want to forget to recap it. We had a grand time. From the pictures, thanks to Bobbi, it looks like we did more posing than running. Not true. There was also hills, mud, vitamin Oh, laughter, a running bear and cookies. FYI: the guy in the bear suit finished long long before us.

I love running with Bobbi. Actually, I love talking with Bobbi and running with her is a bonus. She's a mom, and we have a few kids at similar ages. I had a chance to unload some of my mom woes on her and find out that I'm not alone. It's very comforting. We both currently have weepy offspring. She also has a science brain, and I can be even more geeky.


The picture doesn't show the royal purple and the lime green

The Bear Trax 20k and Brownie Shuffle 5k are run in Lapham Peak, WI which is on the north portion of the Kettle Moraine forest preserve. We arrived early thanks to Bobbi, and the race shirts were a pleasant surprise. Super cute. Already wore it this week. Bobbi and I had recently gotten Nathan Hydration Vests. We decided this was a good race in which to test out our vests. It was nice to have another person to help make adjustments. Although Bobbi had a few more problems with hers during the run we both loved our vests. Like any set of moms given extra storage space we filled the pockets. Bobbi brought a real camera. I had my phone and half a box of Kleenex. The vests were awesome.


This may or may not be at the top of a hill

Bobbi can kick my running butt any day. She's gotten so much faster and stronger in the last year. I wanted to make sure that she knew that I was sorry if I slowed her down. I'm slow and cool with it, but I don't want to be a burden to faster runners. However, hills were a great leveling field. We both pooped out. The course was so hilly, but it was beautiful so I forgave it. After two days my quads did too. Honestly, by the last two kilometers, I was ready to be done. Did I mention that it was beautiful? It reminded me of cross country skiing in northern Wisconsin as a kid. I would definitely do this race again.


This may also be at the top of a hill. Catching my breath.

At the first aid station they offered us cookies. That chocolate chip cookie was fantastic. At the last aid station we had a sugar cookie, and its aftertaste hung on until the end. Not so good.



I really am a tree hugger.

There was a lot of vitamin Oh. Here's what I like about vitamin Oh. It's good for me, even though I may not like it at the time. And it is very open to interpretation. Oh, dear me. Oh, look how pretty. Oh, my legs are going to fall off. Oh, look another hill. Oh, let's take a picture. Oh, I can feel my heart beating out of my chest. Oh, I should do more hill work.



Happy Me! So pretty!

It took us about 2 hours and 40 minutes.The course went all over the place. Mud, sand, roots, rocks. It was chip timed, but I really didn't care. As Bobbi's shirt said, "Run Happy." By the end other people were using the trail because it was a gorgeous day. The race started out overcast, and by the end the sun had come out. One man asked how long the race was. When we said that it was 12 miles he gasped and exclaimed, "12 Miles?!" We laughed. At the very end a man with no shirt ahead of us was running the trail but wasn't part of the race. He turned, and we almost followed him except the race director yelled, "Don't follow the naked man!" Good advice.



Looking good at the finish.

Tomorrow is the Wisconsin Half Marathon. Wish me fun!

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Protein Scones

This recipe is adapted from an oatmeal-raisin scone recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book circa 1989. I grew up with the Joy of Cooking as a cookbook staple at my house, and my husband brought the BH&G cookbook into our marriage. I confess I use it more than Joy. If I needed know what to do with fresh goat's milk, Joy would be the place to go. If I need a meal in half an hour, it's BH&G all the way.

I've made the oatmeal-raisin scones many times before and added cranberries/white chocolate chips or raisin/chocolate chips or even made them according to the recipe. Stunning. I know. Last week as I noticed my rarely used chocolate protein powder, Muscle Milk. Since I've drastically reduced my milk consumption and making a smoothie gets the blender dirty, I haven't been using it very much. I do use my vanilla protein for an overnight refrigerator apple oatmeal cup which is fantastic. More on that later. School is almost over. Anyway, I thought adding a couple of scoops of protein powder to the recipe would be delish, and I could offset the ooky aftertaste with a little buttermilk. After making it, I declared myself a genius, and the next day made another batch. Yesterday I made substituted 1 cup of brown rice flour and 1/4 cup of coconut flour for the white flour and added 1/4 cup of peanut butter. Very good and really filling.

This was the last of the gf peanut butter model. All gone.

I know it's not a traditional scone as it uses egg for a binder. It's definitely not low cal, low fat or sugar free. That, however, often translates into delicious. On another note, because I am a lazy cook, I don't often roll out my scones and cut them into cute triangles anymore. It gets another dish dirty, and I'm probably not caught up with dishes anyway. I mix the dough to the right consistency in the bowl, deliberately using a large bowl, and then scoop out the scones with our ice cream scoop. Lazy but effective. Scones are fast and tasty.

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Protein Scones

Fresh out of the oven...soon to tummy

1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
1/3 cup butter
1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 beaten egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Cut butter using pastry cutter or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Mix in protein powder. Stir in oats and chocolate chips. Combine egg, buttermilk, milk and vanilla extract in another small container. Stir into flour mixture until moistened. Add tablespoons of more milk if needed until dough makes large ball or teaspoons of flour if too moist. (If you want) move dough to lightly floured surface, pat dough into 7-inch circle. Cut into 12 wedges. Place on baking sheet. Brush with milk (again, optional). Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Serve warm.

Tweak and substitute with what's in your kitchen. I probably will.

The Week (or so) in My Open Toed Shoes

Last week was so emotional. It's hard to believe that the Boston bombings were just 10 days ago. And within that 10 days, a plant blew up in Texas leveling a town.  Our area hit an all time record for rain fall in April. April's not over yet. Roads, homes and schools flooded. It snowed, hailed and graupeled. A family friend died, and we mourned his passing. The days were dark, cold and overcast. The sun came out once, maybe. And it rained some more.


Seamus the Weather Dog

Dailymile sent me my weekly review yesterday and instead of the usual "Awesome, Gnarly or Terrific", it didn't really comment on my four mile week total. Hmm.

I've become an old woman, or my dog and I really are becoming more alike. One of my dogs, Seamus, will sense a front coming in about four to six hours before. If there's a thunderstorm, he shakes like a leaf. Weather systems now give me headaches. I feel them coming. Not acute pain, just dull constant annoyance. I long for them to pass or it to rain to relieve the pressure. I had a headache all week.




Birkies and a Dora BandAid

I also had a toe ache. After my 20 miles in two days, my toe began to throb. I'm fairly familiar with black toenails. I've gone a full year with all my toenails. That's very exciting. I own purple nail polish so I can match the black toenail accordingly. I expected the pain to subside. Sleeping the first night after acquiring a black toe nail is very uncomfortable. Expected. When I ran with Kate on Tuesday, the pain increased. And the pressure didn't subside. Running was out for the week. Granted, I didn't want to run in the blah weather, but I also didn't want to put on a shoe. Ouch.


By Saturday, it was time to do something about it. I won't go into details, but my husband took care of it. I was a little squeamish. The relief from the pressure was fantastic. It's healing up pretty well. I'm eager to run again. And I am eager for warmer weather.

It's also been a time to take stock and be thankful. Hug my girlios. Cherish my husband. Celebrate what I've been given. Attempt to relax. Enjoy this moment before trying to plan the next. Smile at the little things. When I saw the sprinklers on in the rain yesterday, I truly cackled. Ugly laugh slipped right out.

Me, My Girlios, Dad, StepMom & Friend Post Fun Run

On Monday, my family did a Boston Solidarity Run at the Runner's Edge. I couldn't do the one with the running club because of my Shrek toe. It was so nice to run in the sun. My girlios ran too. They were all rock stars. And my six year old is a machine. She ran almost the whole thing, and I don't think she sweat. She's been asking me to run fun runs. This summer, we'll take on a 5k together.

Monday was also the warmest sunniest day in a while. My girlios spent a lot of the day outside, making up for the last week. Another front and headache came through yesterday, but the forecast looks good. A lot of sun, warmth, healing, growth and all those things this Spring brings. I'm glad. We could use it.

A Runner's High and Heartache

 This is not the post I expected to write today. Today was my last day teaching a 5k class at the homeschool group. My students completed a 5k today. I had one sick and one injured student, but the other 14 ran/walked/finished a 5k within the class period. For some of them it was their first 5k. For others, it was just a chance to stretch their legs. My top runner came in under 23 minutes and runs barefoot. My second runner took several minutes off his PR. Everybody finished. It was an exciting day for me. I don't feel qualified to teach a running course. I run for my own joy, and that's what I wanted to share with my students.

The weather was great. 60s and windy. I made cookies.
I brought bananas. My running club, GRC, donated bags and stickers. I ordered medals, which I love, and I medaled the students when they crossed the finish line. I hooted and hollered when they finished. I tried to simulate that race feel. The joy of a race. That feeling of accomplishment. The love of running.

An hour later, one of the other moms told me about Boston. I felt like I got hit in the gut. I couldn't believe it. My heart hurt more and more. I could tell I was spiraling down when I heard there were fatalities. When we pulled in the driveway, one of my favorite running songs came on the radio - Switchfoot's "Dare You to Move." I completely lost it. Tears and gasps. Why would anybody target a marathon? Why would somebody try to destroy something I love so much? The Boston Marathon is something I know I will never run, but I respect it dearly and the event staff and the runners and the spectators who support the runners and the city.

I've been soaking in the media information intermittently today. It's overwhelming. Horrible. My heart truly breaks. I can tell that I'm moving through different stages of grief too. I feel helpless. I've been praying. I'm terribly angry. Right now, I want to make shirts that say, "I am a runner, and I'm pissed off." Don't mess with my love of running. I'll keep praying. Try to find some way I can help. Pray some more. And grieve. And run. And run.

Impromptu Race: South Shore Half Marathon

So life is hectic. Last week I was became overwhelmed. The crazy pace I usually keep went completely off balance.  My paperwork load doubled. I got a jury summons for finals week. My brain was not gelling on my school work. Time was crunching. The girlios were crabby, and I joined them. Sleep has not been easy. Too much on my mind. On Friday I took my first rest day in 34 days of running and felt guilty about it. That's just wrong. I needed a break. For me, a race is a break.

So yesterday, I ran my first official race of the year. It was my second half marathon this year. (Our running club did a DIY half in February. Didn't get a chance to blog it. Bad bad blogger.) I did the South Shore Half Marathon a few years ago. I didn't really decide to run until race morning. My dog won't let me sleep again until I've fed him if my alarm goes off. I had been texting Kim back and forth about going the night before while staring at my studies. So after feeding the dogs I headed up to Milwaukee on Sunday morning to register and race. South Shore is normally on Saturday which means it conflicts with my husband's track schedule or our soccer schedule. This year it was on a Sunday. After talking to my husband about it, he put a twenty on the table and said, "Go run." He's such a keeper. One of the great things about South Shore is that it's 20$ race on race day. It can be as low as 13.99$ if you sign up early. There are no medals and no shirts. You get snazzy running (garden) gloves, chip times and snacks from Aldi. And a great out-and-back rolling course along and near the lake.

I was so excited about the diet cola because I had been craving a diet coke all week. When I had it later in the day, it was the worst diet cola I've ever had. It tasted like a melted watered down diet cola Slurpee. Ook. Yes, I still ended up drinking it. It took me a few hours, but I drank it.

I met up with Kim and two other bloggers, Jessica and Rachel. It was pretty windy and in the low 40s when the race started. I knew I was overdressed for the wind at my back. Wind and I are not friends. I sported my Ruu, which got a lot of looks, and I felt really bright for an overcast day.

In retrospect I guess I did have some goals. Secretly, I wanted a 2:15. Last year at this time, I came off an injury and ran a 2:27:32. Midsummer, I ran 2:14:49.  I wanted to feel like I've make some strides in speed and strength. I also wanted to leave it all on the course. I run happy and generally, that doesn't involve emptying the tank in a race. I genuinely wanted to end this race tired.

It was pretty clogged on the trail at the beginning. I'm slow so it doesn't really bother me. I'll pick a person to pace behind for a while and either let them go or pass them depending on how I feel. My legs felt like lead which I didn't expect because I had taken two rest days, the first two rest days in over a month. Generally, I don't bring music to a race. This time I was going to listen to tunes on the way back after the turn around. However, I put them on between mile 3 and 4 and took off running. My pace increased substantially. There were some puddles on the course and in going around one of the big ones on the way back I soaked my socks and shoes. Blah!

I didn't wear a watch so I had no idea how fast I was going. I did know that I was exhausted on the second half. The tank was emptied early. The wind was making my eyes water, and I may have had red eye. I've had a lot of eye allergies lately. Sometimes when I run in the Savannah my eyes get bloodshot, and I don't know until I've stopped at the bathroom. Then I realize why people I've passed look at me funny. The second half of the race was a struggle to run happy.

Two awesome parts of the course were when a little boy ran to meet his father at mile 11.5, and the song that came on when I saw the finish line. The dad picked up his son while he was running, and the whole family, including mom, had smiles on their faces. It encouraged me on the course. So cute and special. It reminded me of when my girlios ran me in for my first marathon. When I saw the finish line, Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" came on. No explanation needed.

I finished with a clock time of 2:18:36 and an official time of 2:17:05. I'll admit I was a little disappointed. I worked hard. My body hurt. I tried. Looking today, I was 20th in my division. For me, that's decent. I left it all on the course, and today my knee is still angry. It's also a good baseline for the Wisconsin Half next month.

Here's the group after pic, including Alyssa, who was doing 20 that day. They went off to lunch (super jealous), and I came home to return to my world of studying, laundry, dishes, groceries and girlios with a half marathon under my belt. And homemade mac-n-cheese, thanks to hubs.