The Talent Show That Wasn't

Beech Tree puts on an annual talent show. Last year, Keely participated - singing Bubbly by Colbie Caillat with her best friend, Julia. This year, we knew Keely would want to participate but the question was with whom? She wavered all year it seemed, changing songs and groups of friends. In the end, it came together in one night just before the tryouts (using that term loosely, because everyone gets in). She decided to sing Trouble by Taylor Swift with her friends Riley and Catherine. The surprise entry was from Quinn, who decided to play his saxophone (alto sax, as he corrected me when I described his talent on the signup sheet). We were quite surprised, pleasantly of course that he wanted to do this. He tends to be a bit more reserved when it comes to getting up in front of crowds, unlike his sister. He also seems to think things like this are a bit embarrassing – I’ll never forget the year he wouldn’t dress up for the Halloween event at school, he was seriously the only child not in costume but he just wasn’t into it and he held his ground. Similarly, he won’t do pajamas to school or silly things like that. So hearing that he wanted to participate was a nice change. He chose the theme from The Pink Panther and practiced diligently for weeks (until all his time got sucked up by his yearlong and science projects). He also surprised me a bit further – he was an emcee for the event with two of his classmates (one his best friend, Jack and the other another good friend, Tali). So you can see why we were quite excited for the actual event. I saw some of the rehearsal the day before and it was pretty good. Nana even took the train down from NJ to be here to watch the show.

Alas, it was not to be. The East Coast weather struck again. I swear, I really wish we were still in Utah where weather didn’t affect anything – not even feet of snow would cancel school. There was a tornado warning that afternoon and the school got spooked by talk of another derecho (the storm that hit last summer, knocking out power and downed trees) so they canceled it nearly 3 hours before the event. Of course, the weather ended up a non-issue by the scheduled show time so it was really canceled for nothing. They did get to perform for the school during the day, and from what we hear there is a videotape of that performance which we are to get on CD. Nothing yet though, but I’m still looking forward to watching the entire show. I’ve seen Keely’s performance, and they did really good – and from what I hear, Quinn’s rendition of The Pink Panther was his best yet. I can’t wait to watch my budding performers!

A Tale of Two Runs - ZOOMA Half 2013

Last year, I trained for my first half marathon. Once I found the ZOOMA half in early June in Annapolis, I knew I wanted to do it. I had a great experience…although not what I expected because of poor weather and having to drive to the race early that morning. It turns out that was a blessing in disguise. I was eager to run this race again this year, only my 2nd time at that distance. After my great experience with the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, I was hoping to not only beat my time but break 2 hours.

However, the week of the race my body conspired against me, or so it seemed. I got an infection and had to go on antibiotics on Tuesday. My doctor told me to go off of them on Thursday to get them out of my system…her worry was an increased risk of tendonitis. I did indeed stop the medicine on Thursday but not for her reason, but because it was causing me horrible stomach issues. Running already does a number on your GI system, so having a problem like this was a big cause of concern for me. I stopped the medicine, hydrated well and hoped that my stomach issues would clear. They did, for the most part. However on top of all of that, I started feeling ill on Wednesday night – the beginnings of a head cold. Again, not ideal for running a race. I thought I could fend it off…and I think I did a pretty good job with vitamins and hydration, but I wasn’t 100%. Nevertheless, I still felt confident – ready to rock the race and do my best, hoping for a PR.

The weather cooperated this year, so we headed to Annapolis on Friday evening. After picking up my bib and tee, we found a nice Irish restaurant for dinner. A pre-race meal is pretty critical, and I was unsure what to order. I chose a chicken and cheese quesadilla, which was fine but again, I’m not sure if it was the best thing for my already upset tummy. I slept pretty well in the hotel, but having to get up and hole up in the bathroom for nearly two hours was not ideal. I also forgot my Gatorade Primes…something I usually have the night before and the morning of the race. Staying in a hotel the night before was not something I was used to…and not having all of my ‘normals’ threw me off. It was just another thing that was not ‘right’.

The weather on Saturday morning was already hot and steamy at 7 AM when the race started. I walked the half mile to the start. I still felt pretty confident, but within the first two miles I felt very sluggish and tired. I even thought about turning around at the 10K mark, unsure I could finish the half distance. I started with the 1:50 pace group, trying to push myself and started off very fast – probably too fast. My first two miles were in the 8:30 MM range. I felt the entire race that I couldn’t keep up, that people were passing me. Actually, it wasn’t a feeling – it was true. A PR was not to be. I knew that pretty early on, but was still hoping to beat my time from last year. When the 2:10 pacer passed me between Miles 11 and 12, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I was beat, I didn’t even think I could finish. I felt intense nausea the entire last mile. I only saw James and the kids near the finish. When I saw them, I was relieved and I shouted to the kids ‘Run with me!’. They did, and that helped propel me to the finish line. Even then though, I felt like I was so slow. I couldn’t move my legs. It was horrible. The photos of me crossing the finish and immediately after are telling – I’m totally beat and exhausted. The heat, humidity, hills (they changed the course and it was much more hilly), my body...a lot of things worked against me. It was a tough day, but I must remember that I still ran 13.1 miles again!

I think I will take a break from ZOOMA Annapolis. I love the tees, small number of runners, neckalce instead of medal - but there are a lot of other races to choose from that weekend and I need to find something new and fresh. I am now running as much as I can…2-3 times during the week and a long run on the weekends. I’ve been running 8-10 miles on the long run. I think I have picked a fall half, one close to home so no traveling involved. I’m sure I can get used to races away from home, but it will take a few more before I get that routine down. I still want to beat 2 hours…so that is what I will train for all summer and into the fall.

A Trip to Brooklyn

We spent the first weekend in May in New Jersey, but the real purpose of the trip was to see Jess, Jon and Ethan. We had not seen them in just over a year...a fact that is both sad and unbelievable. Time just goes so fast, and we made attempts to meet up for a weekend in the Fall but schedules did not mesh (mostly our schedule, because it seems we have something going on every weekend). So anyways, instead of try to meet in a neutral location we decided to drive to NJ and use that as home base to meet up with them in their territory. We spent Saturday with them, exploring their 'hood and surrounding areas. It was a beautiful day, perfect for outdoor activities and that was good since we planned to spend the day at the Brooklyn piers. We walked from their apartment to Pier 6 and then down from there all the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. On the return trip, we took the upper elevated walkway above the piers...enjoyed the views of NYC and fantasized about living in one of those brownstones (if only we had millions of dollars). We ate pizza at Grimaldi's, which I understand is legendary and the pizza was definitely worth the wait. The day went quickly, and we had a lot of great conversation and laughter. Ethan was the center of attention. Quinn and Keely both dote on him, and he took full advantage of the extra attention and care. And Jess and Jon got to enjoy an almost parenting-free day, even offering to rent Keely for a day or a weekend or even more if we'd let them :) We had a great day, and we can't wait to see them again. We swore it will not be another year...and still hope to meet up for a weekend in Philly but most likely next will be them traveling to our house again, hopefully in the summer!

GOTG 5K

The seasons of Girls on the Go (GOTG) and Young Men in Motion (YMIM) wrapped up with a 5K on Saturday morning. The run was held at a local middle school and run in the neighborhood streets. It was a low key event, only serving the youth programs at three local elementary schools. Keely chose James as her buddy runner, which meant I was to run with Quinn. He missed it though since he was attending his first Boy Scout campout, so that meant Keely ended up with two buddy runners.



She did really well, running almost the entire time. She complained of a stitch or two, but pushed through. I honestly think it's because James was with us...he doesn't take the complaining and makes her push on, where I would probably say it's okay to walk a bit, all the while irritated in my head that we are walking :) In any event, the first part of the run was two loops around the neighborhood and then a small loop to get back to the start/finish line. I was timing us, and we were making great time...too great actually, so much that I thought we cheated or the course was too short. We finished in 27 minutes, 15 seconds. An amazing 5K time for not only Keely, but me as well! When we got home, James mapped the course and it turns out it was only 2.9 miles. It was still great time...had we ran the extra two tenths, we still would have finished under 30 minutes. Keely finished first of the GOTG participants from her school, and also beat all of the boys from YMIM from her school. A great day overall! We missed Quinn, but it was fun to spend time with just Keely and to enjoy running together on a crisp April morning.

Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Back in December, I started thinking about my 2013 race calendar. One of the first dates on my list was the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler. The race is huge, with entry only by a lottery system. On my first try, I was happy to be selected. There were 17,500 runners so I’m not sure how hard it was to get in, but I was happy nonetheless.

My winter training has been tough, I’m not going to lie. I took it easy after completing my first marathon, but as the calendar turned to 2013 I knew I should kick it back into higher gear. My goal was to work on speed. I've been running around a 10 minute mile pace since mid-last year, and I want to get faster. I flirt with faster paces but only for small distances. I often go out fast on runs and get slower as the miles tick by, so my average pace still drops closer to 10 mm. This winter was tough because it was cold, and most of my training was done on the treadmill. Try almost 6 months of running 2, 3, 4 times a week on the treadmill and it just gets old. There are only so many shows I can watch. I cannot handle running consistent paces, it just gets so boring. I mixed it up a lot, and almost none of my runs were single speed. I did intervals and repeats…pushing my speeds higher for shorter distances. I had no idea if it was helping at all, but it did seem to help my motivation. Still, I was only running 10-15 miles a week.

April 7^th quickly was upon me, and I’m staring down 10 miles with my longest runs since the MCM being just less than 7 miles. It really wasn't the distance that worried me. When you've conquered 26.2, anything less seems easy. I just wondered how my splits would be, and if I could make my goal time of 1 hour, 30 minutes (9 minute mile pace).

Race morning was very chilly for April, starting in the low 40s and only gaining a few degrees to the upper 40s. The sun peaked out though and it really was perfect weather. There were light winds that increased as we traveled into Hains Point. My first two miles were fast, 8:30 pace. As typical for me, I dropped my pace as the miles wore on. I watched my splits though, and was pacing well at just over 27 minutes for my 5K, and 55 minutes for the 10K. And then it was almost over. Like I said, 10 miles feels so fast when you've run for three more hours. I knew I would be flirting with my goal, and I kept telling myself to push harder because I knew I would be disappointed if I was just over the goal. I had quite an internal battle those last three miles, constantly calculating and talking myself into running harder and keeping the same pace. The only hill to speak of in this race is in the last half mile, and it was tough. I was so relieved when I crossed the finish line…in 1 hour, 29 minutes, 22 seconds. Mission accomplished!

I felt great overall. It was nice not to be going into a race with an injury. No pain, no cramping, and my nutrition went well. I drank nothing but Gatorade starting on Friday night, ate mostly carbs on Saturday and the pre-race dinner of pancakes and eggs seemed to work well (I also ate this before my half last June). I woke up at about 5:30 AM on Saturday morning, and had a piece of toast with honey, a banana and Gatorade watered down. I also had a Gatorade Prime the night before, and another one about 20 minutes before the race. Post race recovery was good. I was only a little sore, and nothing major. This was the longest distance I have run in my new sneakers. Speaking of which, I switched from my ever constant Nike Free to a new brand and a true zero drop sneaker, Altra Intuition. I made the switch a few weeks ago. It was a different feel from the outset, and I’m sure most of it is in my head (most of running is mental) but I think I like them. They have a ton of room in the toe box, and I think it was better on this 10 miles. I only had one toe with a small blister, and the ones that normally bother me were fine. I was lusting for my old sneakers and I tried them on a week or so ago, and I was floored by the difference. They just don’t feel right anymore, and I knew then that I couldn't go back. Altra comes from Utah, they are a company formed by runners for runners and I think they've got a good product. I tried on just about every ‘minimalist’ shoe on the market and kept coming back to this one.

My next race is on June 1^st when I will participate in the ZOOMA Annapolis half marathon for the 2^nd time. It will be my first repeat distance since I starting running consistently. Since March 2012, I have run a 10K, 10 mile, half, and full. I’m excited to focus more on one distance. My goal is to beat 2 hours for the half. That will be 10 minutes faster than my first, and will mean I keep under a 9 mm pace for the entire 13.2. It’s not too lofty of a goal, considering my performance this past Sunday.

In other running news, Quinn ran the ½ mile kids run on Sunday morning and finished 10^th! He got a pretty nice medal for his efforts. Also, the kids are finishing up their 5K training programs at Beech Tree. Next Saturday is the 5K. Quinn will not be participating because he will be camping, so we will run with Keely.

Spring Break

When we found out the newest member of our family was to enter the world in late February, we pinpointed Spring Break to travel to Florida to meet her and spend time with the rest of her family. I knew that was the only possible time we’d have to do this before summer break, and I didn’t want to let the opportunity slip by. Airfare was booked and the trip was much anticipated by everyone. 

Like all good things, it came and went so very fast and now it is but a memory. We all wished we could have stayed longer but it couldn’t be…work, school and life called us home.

We traveled to Florida on Tuesday and spent five days, including Easter Sunday. We didn’t have hopes of doing much aside from spoiling a toddler and baby, helping with cooking and housework. I’m pretty sure we were helpful guests, and we even managed to see a few new things while we were there. 

There were the usual walks to the park and beach…so close to their house…walks with Nutmeg, often long boarding around the neighborhood for Quinn, and a couple of runs in the perfect Florida weather for me. On Thursday, we drove up to Viera and explored a nature preserve where we saw lots of birds and a few alligators. The bird watcher in me was enthralled trying to decipher the calls and identify the various species. We drove to Cocoa Beach on Friday and watched the first annual dog surfing competition…yes, I said dogs. Quite a site! We also stayed and watched some tandem surfing…think ice skating on surf boards complete with the men lifting women high above their heads, all while riding a wave. Again, quite a site! As the weather warmed up…it was in the upper 60s on the first day and low 80s the last…we spent more and more time at the beach. The water was chilly but the kids didn’t mind.

We kept some of the Easter traditions…dying eggs, egg hunts, baskets…but mostly it was a time to relax and spend time with family. I often pondered how people live in a place like that and get actual normal life activities done…I just wanted to chill out and was ready for a nap by 3 PM each day.

We had a great trip and can’t wait to see them again. Plans are already set for some fun summer time visiting, and I know that will be here before we know it!

Catching Up

There have been many blog-worthy events in the past month or so, but for some reason whenever I think about writing about them it seems like a chore. This gets me back to a topic I keep re-visiting, and really need to address…that this blog is not the best outlet for me to record the happenings of life anymore. I do so like to go back and read about past events and I love that we have a historical record of these years, but I just don’t seem to find the time like I used to. I’m not quite sure the reason but I do know that it’s true. I know that if I found the time more regularly, then it wouldn't seem so taxing when I think about how far behind I am in posting. I’ll try to work on being more regular about writing, and hopefully get back to a routine.

So now to catch up….

Keely had her acting debut in the first annual drama club production at Beech Tree Elementary, ‘You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown’. She played Sally in one scene, and participated in singing throughout the play. There were many children participating, and to be fair to everyone they promised a speaking part to anyone who wanted one. That meant lots of kids playing each character. As an example, Keely was one of five or six Sallys. They practiced for many months, each Monday and even added morning practices for the two weeks prior to the performance. It was a cute production, the kids did a great job. The only trouble was that the sound system was not too great and it was hard to hear some of their lines.

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Quinn ‘graduated’ from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts with his Arrow of Light ceremony. This was our first time at one of these events, and it was even more special since Quinn was a major participant. The ceremony was very ritualistic and serious, and Quinn enjoyed himself and seems excited about taking scouting to the next level. He is now a part of Troop 875, which meets every Monday evening and goes on camping trips once a month. While cub scouting was a family affair, boy scouting is up to the child. Quinn goes to meetings on his own, and makes a choice to participate as much or as little as he wants. It helps that his best friend and his older brother are in the troop, and he knows a good amount of the other boys. He looks so young though in comparison – he was one of the oldest in the cub scouting pack, and now he’s on the opposite end of the spectrum as one of the youngest. So far, he’s enjoying attending the Monday meetings and looking forward to his first camping trip coming up in a couple of weeks. He missed the March campout due to Odyssey of the Mind…

Speaking of that, James coached Quinn and four other 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders in an Odyssey of the Mind problem. I roped him into it, and in retrospect if I were him I would have been mad at me. The team was definitely a challenge, but he’s a good sport. Thank goodness he has the patience of a saint. They met once each week starting after Thanksgiving and ended up with the competition in March. Their problem was ‘The E-Mail Must Go Through’, and they had to send and receive three e-mails, one with an attachment, and each had to pass through a spam filter. They learned a lot and had fun, the most important part. I’d say it was our first and last experience with this program, but who knows – maybe Keely will want to participate.

I made a New Year’s resolution to increase my volunteer time, both at work and personally. So far, that’s only panned out personally. I am now a part of our neighborhood’s newsletter committee, and that’s been fun. Without the team that stepped up, the community newsletter would not exist anymore and we’ve improved the format and distribution so it’s already been a big success. I also volunteered to be a part of the team running and executing the Fun Fair at the kids’ school. I ended up on the Café committee, taking care of selling food and drinks at the event as well as running the Bake Sale. James got roped into another volunteer slot here – he sold hot dogs for four hours. We met a lot of nice people through the committee and it’s nice to help out. Coming from a school that required volunteer hours, it’s nice not to have to do it but to be able to choose where we want to help out. It was also a fun day for the kids. They played and ran around with their friends the whole time, and Keely even one a basket full of spa sleepover supplies. Very fun for her!

We had a family decision to make in March. Both kids will be attending new schools in September. Quinn will be matriculating to middle school. He chose to attend Poe, our neighborhood school. Because he was in the advanced program, he could have gone to the Center school, Glasgow MS but he didn’t seem at all interested in that school. He set his mind to Poe and didn’t look back. Quite honestly, I don’t see the difference since he will be in all Honors classes at Poe and the choices look the same at both schools. We attended the open house and it seems like a good school. There are only ~900 students in three grades…unlike Glasgow with over 1,200. He’s a bit nervous, and it will be quite different for him – only 11 of the 5^th graders from his school are moving on to Poe so he will not know a lot of kids. But his two best friends are going on with him, so that will help.

The more dramatic decision pertained to Keely. She is only allowed to stay at Beech Tree this year because her brother is grandfathered as a 5^th grader. The boundary adjustment that took place last year is in full effect, and to get her to stay at Beech Tree we would have to fill out a form applying for a transfer and state a hardship – the most viable option being child care which is obviously not really the case for us. With the transfer, it would also mean no transportation for two years. There would also be no guarantee she would be able to stay for 5^th grade. For a lot of these reasons, and because we feel that she will be fine, we decided not to apply for a transfer and accept her placement at Mason Crest. This new school in our neighborhood opened this year, and we’ve heard great things about it. Keely knows many of the students there because they made the switch from BT at the beginning of this year. The teachers are supposed to all be fabulous – the principal seems great too and it’s a brand new facility. She will be able to attend for two years, and then matriculate to middle school with a lot more of her peers. Her biggest issue was her friends. Her best friend has applied to stay at BT, and that’s her biggest issue. But they will play and see each other lots still…and she will still be playing soccer and doing Girl Scouts with the same friends. In sum, it means more friends for her and since she’s a social butterfly, I know she will be fine. We had a few teary nights, but she’s now adjusted to it and hopefully she’ll be fine in September when school starts. She also will most likely be in the AAP class – if she doesn’t get accepted into the program, then we will make an effort to have her placed as a guest. This has been a huge factor in her motivation – I don’t like that she would be in a class with all of her friends (not to mention a lower student teacher ratio at BT) but at MC, we are more than willing to have her join the AAP class. She really wants to excel in that class and I think that overrides her desire to be with her friends. After all, it is school and learning is the most important thing.

I think that about catches us up…with the exception of our recent trip to Florida. I will cover that in a separate post.