Chris left a little later for work this morning...

He got a little distracted... The boys didn't have school today:)

Indianapolis Marathon 2011

I did it. It's done. Thank goodness! (Warning: Do not read this post to be inspired; it is actually quite negative, my first marathon was more inspiring)

My first marathon I enjoyed my training so much more than this time round. I think this time it's because I've been more tired (I think that's due to the fact that now I have three kids and Chris is a lot busier than when he was in school), I've been trying to avoid injury by running at a slower pace (it's not as fun if you can't push yourself and see your time improve), and at the very beginning of the training I changed my running form from heal striking to running on the pads of my feet (I've loved the change because it's allowed me to run longer distances but it's put extra strain on my achilles and calves.)

Back in July a friend in Chicago suggested I start training and run the Indianapolis marathon with her and a couple other girls from church. I really wanted to but who was I kidding?! I'd been running but it was sporadic and the most I'd run at a time was three miles. I told Chris about it and he was such a great motivator that I decided heck, why not start training and see how it goes? I can bow out if it's too much I thought. Problem #1: I don't bow out very well; I hate quitting.

My first week of training was 3, 4, 3, 7. My first three-mile run I ran half on my heals and half on the pads of my feet and since then I've been running on the pads of my feet. Problem #2: not allowing myself sufficient time to adjust to a new running style. After every long (Saturday) run I was sore as my body tried to adjust to being pushed beyond its capacity. These muscles had no base to go off of.

Problem # 3: Not figuring out how to avoid injury. Whenever my IT band flared up (my previous injury) all I’d do is slow down my pace and maybe not go out for one of my runs during the week. My friend, Stephanie, (the one who also ran the marathon) had been telling me about the foam roller specifically for the IT band and how wonderful it was. I finally made the time to go buy one just two weeks from race day. My knee gave me lots of pain in my 19 mile run and was uncomfortable in my 20 mile run (I had slowed my pace down for this run to 10 min miles. I typically aimed for 8:50 to 9:20 min miles on long runs and 8:20 and below for pace runs). Anyway back to the foam roller. I started too late and I should have figured out or gone to a specialist or running classes (something!) to find out what all I should be doing. But in my little head, I was thinking maybe this is enough. I had just finished a 12 mile run when I got the roller, so all I had left for long runs was an 8 mile run. I did a pace run and ran it averaging 8:10 min miles and felt fine. Hmmmm… maybe I could try to qualify for Boston after all, which became problem # 4. When training for my first marathon I realized after my 20 mile run that qualifying for Boston was within my grasp. I was ahead of pace to have a qualifying time on my first mararthon until I injured my IT band. Thinking back on this made me believe, I might be able to try and qualify this time, which was a bad idea.

So race day came (quick side note: Wednesday that week I woke up with chills, headache and sore throat, rested lots in hopes it’d go away. Friday came, still there. Went to the doctor, strep throat, but cleared to run the next morning). I slept better than I’d ever slept before a sporting event. I woke up once at 2:00, ate a bagel, drank two cups of water, took my antibiotic and tried to go back to bed (took me an hour). Then at 6:30 the alarm woke me up.

I felt good and ready, a little nervous, and unsure as to how to run but ready to get it done. I started off feeling fine and thought why not keep a good pace and see how it goes. To qualify for Boston I’d have to run it in 3:40 or faster. I started off running with the pace group 3:45 and felt fine up until… mile 10 when I felt my knee flare up and I knew I had to pull up. I slowed my pace down but knew it was bad news. By Mile 14, I didn’t know what to do. Last time I just sucked it up and ran the whole thing but paid dearly for it afterwards. I wanted to be smarter especially knowing I had to do my regular day to day activities and no one would be around to assist me in my recovery like last time. At Mile 14, I made one of my better, harder choices: I stopped, stretched, and walked. Do you know how weak I felt?! Mile 14?! You have to know something about me… I. hate. walking. And for a race? I didn’t do cross country in high school but two of my sisters did, and their coach always said, “You can run as slow as you can walk.”

As people passed me I wanted to shout out, “I’m not walking because I’m exhausted or giving up, it’s my knee”. From then on out, I took MANY breaks to stretch and walk. I kept thinking I
shouldn’t finish because I was hurting me knee more by continuing. But who likes to quit? See Problem # 1. It was hard seeing all the pacing signs pass me by seeing how far behind my goal I was getting. Somewhere around mile 18, I changed my form to allow my right leg to be as straight as possible when running to put minimal strain on the IT band. I’m sure I looked funny/awkward. Finally by mile 22, I saw Chris and the boys. It was THE highlight of the whole race. And since there was no running for time I took my time and gave hugs and fives and chatted about how I didn’t feel great. I finished at 4:27:33.

Stephanie and me after the race

Afterwards I was sore. Whenever you run at different paces you are using either new muscles or using muscles differently by changing the cadence. I was all across the board on my pace and I also walked (speed walked) a good deal. My calves were on fire! After my nice, long shower I rested by my sleeping Miles while Chris took the older two swimming with our friends the Watkins and their two girls. Then when walking to lunch, I felt like my calves were going to split with each step they were so tight. I was cursing myself for finishing and worried if I felt this bad now how would I feel tomorrow morning. After lunch I came back and iced (should have done this first thing). I started out with just one bag of ice for my knee but by the end of the night I went to bed with seven bags of ice all over my legs.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling better than I thought. Thank you ice! And on our way home I sat in the back seat by myself with my legs covered with bags of ice for two hours before I couldn’t take it anymore. Then when we got home I took an ice bath for about 15-20 mins. I truly believe the ice, and me not running the whole marathon, has made all the difference in my recovery. I was sore and walking funny Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was walking normal. Occasionally I have a little pain, but I’m feeling great. I’m not sure when I can go out for a run again. I tried running from my car to the museum on Friday and could tell my knee still needs time but hopefully not too long.

So now I have completed two marathons and strangely enough I still want to do another one. BUT I’ve got to figure out how to avoid injury allowing me to run at faster paces. Because it’s not going to be fun for me to go out and run a slower pace when I know I can do better. If I’m going to enjoy it I want to push myself and strive to be better or it loses its appeal. We’ll see when my next marathon will be… For now triathlons are next on my agenda:)

Halloween 2011

With Halloween on Monday I felt like this year Halloween was never ending. We started on Saturday by going to Clark street and trick or treating the shops on that street. It was really fun. This year Jared was a ninja (he's known he wanted to be a white ninja since last Halloween), Spencer a pirate, and Miles Peter Pan.There were lots of people on Clark but it wasn't too overwhelming. At their "headquarters" they had games set up for kids, things to decorate, and food to give out. They had two bounce houses set up along the way. We stopped at one and played for a good 10 mins.Then we came home, I finished preparations on our chili and we were off to our church Halloween party. (Jared pretty much wore his mask the second half of the day. When he took it off to eat his little cheeks were so red.

Kids doing a parade to show off their costumes:

I loved Marcus' Michael Jackson getup. He even has eyeliner on:)

On Monday Miles and I hit both Spencer's and Jared's class parties. Below is Spencer with his friend Noah.

Spencer really looks out for Miles whenever we visit.

We came straight home after Spencer's party and Miles was tired so I started to lay by him for his nap when I suddenly remembered Jared's school was doing their costume parade at 12:00. For some reason I was thinking 1:00. It was 11:55 when I remembered. I scooped Miles up, grabbed Spencer and rushed out the door with the stroller. We ran and few blocks and there right in front of us getting ready to cross the street was Jared with his class! Phew!
His teacher was Wendy, their teacher's aide was Tinker Bell and the other Kindergarten teacher was Peter Pan.
Back in the classroom they played games, ate food and watched Peter Pan.
That night Chris came home early and we started our trick or treating at 5:00. We were just planning on doing the street by our house, lots and plenty of candy, but ever since we've been here we've heard raves about Burling street just a few blocks down. The kids were in good spirits so we went for it. That street was crazy crowded but fun. All, most, of the houses are totally into Halloween all decked out and giving lots of candy. There were a few haunted houses that Miles and Spencer refused to go up to. The people handing out the candy looked too scary and the music was too eerie for them. (the pictures we took on Burling didn't turn out very well because it was darker by then so all the pictures are of the street near our home.)By the end their bags were pretty full and heavy. But Miles still insisted on carrying his own. He also snuck too much candy in between homes. He was sick the next day and I honestly believe it was from too much candy!

Coming home getting ready to view the loot.

Their piles, Jared, Spencer and Miles

Dentist + Doctor

The Monday after Spencer's birthday, on a Saturday, he had a field trip and then a dentist appointment where he got his first two fillings. Below is a picture of Jared and Miles on the left and Spencer on the right watching a movie.Spencer did great. At first he did not want to walk back to the work space but he warmed up quickly and was fine. The doctor didn't put anything to sleep or give him any gas and he did great. Only once did he squirm and that wasn't very much. The doctor must have done a good job because he's willing to go back:)

Then on Tuesday he had his 4-year-old check up. He hasn't had shots since he was two and this visit he had 5! Yowzer! He was not a fan and cried like crazy until I got out a treat. I could have spread out the shots between his 4 and 5 year check ups but I wanted to get them done all at once.

His stats were:

Height: 41 1/2" 75-90%

Weight: 42 lbs 90%

BMI: 17.1

So last year when I took him in, the doctor said his BMI was high, 17 then, but still ok. This year he fell into the "too high" area. She said I could consider putting him on skim milk and watching what he ate. I liked the way she said consider but I was still not content on her advice. Finally at the end after saying everything looked great I asked her how serious she was about me putting him on skim milk and what exactly was she wanting me to do with his diet because honestly I have no concern over this child, I'm not about to put him on skim milk, and I'm okay with him having a little fat, in fact I think kids need fat (I'm not saying eat alot of candy). She agreed with me and said even though his number is in the higher range she wasn't worried. She said kids that usually fall in that category have rolls of skin over their underwear and are chubbier in general where Spencer isn't, he's just dense. In fact at one point during the check up she said, he's got the build of a football player. So there you have it. He's a dense, big boy:)

Spencer's First Field Trip

Ever Since Jared's first field trip in pre-k Spencer has wanted to go. We often tagged along by driving and meeting up at the destination but Spencer has been anticipating the bus. His first field trip was the Monday, after his birthday, to a pumpkin farm with animals, hay ride, mazes, and more.

Waiting in his classroom

Spencer held his chaperon's hand often at the beginning.

He looks so big getting on the school bus!

Miles wanted to get on the bus too and cried and cried. This kid is begging to go to school already every morning when dropping of Spencer.
Miles cried when we didn't get on the hayride but was easily distracted with the animals.

Dinosaur eating pumpkin

Spencer was a quiet observer. Never saying if he wanted to go anywhere or do anything just happily going along.
Right when we got there Spencer asked me when he got to eat. (I think this was something he looked forward to more than the location). So when I asked him what his favorite thing was when driving home I wasn't too surprised when he said, "Lunch!"

Scientist of the Week

In Jared's class one student gets a bag full of experiment ideas for a week. During that week they practice the experiments and then on Friday they pick one and present it to the class. A few weeks ago it was Jared's turn. He picked the Lava Lamp. You fill a container with water, add food coloring, then oil and then salt to produce a lava lamp effect.

Below he is getting everything ready (Mrs. Lowe, his teacher, is in the picture too):

Halfway through the experiment:

Showing it to each table:

Halfway through showing off the bottle there were lots of kids out of their seats trying to see so Mrs. Lowe had Jared go to the front of the room to wait for everyone to get organized. Well Jared took it very seriously, a little too seriously, and waited til everyone was seated and seated the right way.

It was fun being in the classroom and talking with the other students. I wish I was able to get in there more but unfortunately Mrs. Lowe doesn't have parent "helpers". I'll be able to get back in there in January when I'm signed up to be a parent reader where I'll get to read to the class so that will be fun. Till then...

Spencer is FOUR!!!

Birthdays stress me out. My kids are at the age where they want birthday parties and I can't just give them anything without them caring. I worry about the party and what I'm going to do, who I'm going to invite, having a plan and making sure I have everything. And for presents I stress about getting them something just right. I hate spending money on items that are played with for a day and thrown to the side in less than a month or worse a week.

I wasn't keen on inviting all of Spencer's class but who should I invite from the class. There are only four other boys (of whom I don't talk much with their mom's) so I didn't want to just do boys. So the whole class it was! But I learned my lesson with Jared's party last year. Presents are welcome! I really don't like having kids bring presents but honestly if I would've said no presents we'd have 15 kids +parents in our home. (I have not yet been able to justify $200-500 parties held at a "cool" facility).

I wanted to have the party on his birthday but back in September he got an invite to a birthday party on his birthday. Seriously! Some people are on top of things. Three weeks early! So we had his party on Friday. I bought pirate invitations and after paying $15 I decided I could do better and cheaper too:) Here was the outcome:

I also made his pirate cake:

And a pirate pinata:

The decor for the party:

Action shots at the party:

Take note of the girl in brown with polka dots at the head of the table. I will refer to her later in the post:)

His actual birthday was packed! I slept in til 7:15 when the boys woke up, made waffles, opened presents:
Went to a party from a girl, Abbey, in Spencer's class. They had a magician there and it was entertaining and the kids loved it.
When leaving the party Abbey ran up to Spencer and gave him a hug good-bye, ran away, and then ran back and gave him a kiss on the cheek to which Spencer wiped his cheek off with his sleeve.

Then we were on our way to a boy's birthday party, Sean, from Jared's class at Lil' Kickers. Traffic was bad and we were already running late. It took us about 30 mins to get to our next location to which Jared was relentless in talking about the kiss Spencer received. "Why did she kiss him?" "Spencer do you want to kiss her back? On the lips?" "Do you want to marry her?" "I think I may have been kissed before." etc...

We finally arrived 30 mins late. Jared played soccer with friends while Spencer, Miles and I watched. While eating pizza they got the inflatables out. Spencer and Miles joined in on the action this time. They had a blast! Below is Jared, Tadgh, and Spencer on a giant slide (the favorite).

Then we came home, played with presents (legos, Dagedars, Phineas and Ferb figurines, balls, and walkie talkies). I only made one cake and Chris picked up four gourmet cupcakes that we ate on his birthday.
We all went to bed exhausted and happy. Happy birthday little Man!

And real quick I wanted to post a little more about Spencer... This man has turned a corner this past four to six months and he is so much enjoyable! Not that I didn't enjoy Spencer before, he just whined all the time. And I don't know why, but nothing gets to my nerves more than whining. He still whines but it's more normal and not excessive. He talks so much more. I love his conversations, I love his expressions, I love his giggles, I LOVE being his mom.

Somethings I want to remember about Spencer:

"Mom, I like you"

"Will you play with me? Say yes"

"Can I have some candy, say yes"

He loves school. Never has he complained or not wanted to go.

He likes to tell you what to say when playing with him.

Gets along wonderfully with girls, seriously!

Loves lasagna and lasagna bread (french bread)

Loves his primary teacher at church Sister Monson and therefore so do I!

Loves candy, always asking for it and is he my child that will sneak it and hide and eat it

Loves Wild Kratts

Everyday he asks for a frozen strawberry

Can't wait to pick up Jared from school

One of his favorite books is the chapter book of Peter Pan

He's a cuddle bug. He loves me to hold him and just snuggle.

Very sensitive, sweet hearted, tender little man:)

I love you Spencer James!