Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Random Tuesday Thoughts

I miss riding the ponies...and showing with my mom

I miss my mom too....

Mentally preparing a checklist of what I need this weekend for the race and night in Fredricksburg. This will be the first time I have spent so much time away from Phene. I am a little sad :(

Grandma Alice is coming to visit for a few days which I am looking forward to.

And our air conditioner only needed some freon. (WHEW!!! Relief (!!!!!!) that we don't have to replace it! WOO HOO!!) So today as soon as I get home I am turning that thing on! No more sweating all night long and legs sticking to the couch!

Phene might be going through the "terrible twos". She's not really being bad...but very demanding, and testing and pushing every limit possible. Funny she can be so aggravating sometimes...and then the next second she is melting my heart by giving me a kiss or saying something funny. BELIEVE me she knows she's cute and she works it!

Ran 3 miles in 22 min this morning. When I started the run I was feeling so good. It was one of those RARE easy runs and I felt like I was running so fast. I get to mile 1 and I look at my watch and I am at 9 minutes...WTF! I seriously thought my pace was fast...guess not...kind of brought me down. I finished the 3 miles in 22 minutes which meant I really did run the last 2 miles pretty fast. Did I really run under a 7 minute mile there? Who knows....

I want a Garmin Forerunner...I don't necessarily need one...but wow they seem cool! I might just have to figure out how my NIKE watch works, it does pace, etc...I have just been too lazy to figure it out. I think if I survive the 1/2 marathon I might just see what I can do about getting a Garmin for Xmas.

Here Is little Phene doing her new most favorite thing painting!


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Austin Children's Museum

First we had a great carb flled breakfast at Cracker Barrel...YUM! Phene took a little break outside on the rocking chairs.



Yes we did know where we were going even if we are country folk!


Mommy and Phene pose in the big city!


Phene was really excited!


She Dressed up in the construction zone...


She cooked us some food in the kitchen...


We did some crafts...


Phene posed for some pictures...cheese!!


She loved the slide...she loves any slide...


She checked out the fish...


Mommy tried to pose for a pic with her...but she was too pre occupied.


And she did some more sliding...



Phene and her daddy (my handsome husband)


And this picture is the best one in my opinion, I just had to include it!


We had a great day and it was so nice to be in the air conditioning (since it was almost 100 outside!!) I am sure we will go back at some point this summer.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Thursday

So after a horrible 3 mile run on Tuesday night I was dreading running this morning. But it wasn't so bad. The north wind has picked up and at least that kept me from drowning in my own sweat. The days are getting hotter here and pretty soon summer will be in full swing, which means 100 degrees all day, every day. And pretty soon I know we will have to break down and turn on the air conditioner! :(

Plans for this weekend:

-Sean and I have tomorrow off and we are planning to go to the Austin Children's museum with his step sister and her son Maddox....pics hopefully by the end of the weekend.

-5 Mile Run with Jessica in Georgetown Saturday morning. Last 5 miler before the 10k next Saturday!! I am kind of curious about what are time will be this week. Town Lake is pretty flat and we got a great time, but Georgetown is up and down hills almost the whole way. Stay tuned.....

-Clean the house

-Sunday go with my dear friend Jen to our favorite thrift store :)

If you get a chance take a look and read some of this ladies blogs...A fellow blogger recommended it...laugh out loud funny!

http://granolasdodallas.blogspot.com/


(And yes I am that blogger challenged that I can't add a html link that you can click on....geeezzz Rain!)


Have a good weekend all!!

And by the way....
I am craving a Po'boy Shrimp sandwich....

Monday, May 23, 2011

Attitude Adjustment

There is nothing like running in 96 degree weather (with 70% humidity) to turn your attitude around!

I was having a moment yesterday, yes, I will call it a moment. Instead of doing something completely useless I decided I needed to run. To clear my head and sort some things out.

The park that is usually packed with people on the weekends was pretty much empty. Was I the only one crazy enough to be running in the heat??

I ran..I sweat!!!!...I ran some more...I cursed....I SWEAT...and I cursed some more. It was nowhere near my easiest run. I only went 3 miles but geeezz it felt like 6!

It never ceases to amaze me though what running can do. I was tired, but I felt better emotionally. It's like all my negativity got shook up, loosened, and seeped out with every drop of sweat.

My thought for today is Hallelujah for running!

And on another note...I met Jessica at Town Lake for a super fasty fast 5 miles at a 7.02 pace! Woo hoo we had a great time! It was nice to run in a new place, and even nicer to run with my running partner who I am REALLY missing during the week!!!

Friday, May 20, 2011

I Just Want to Run




This guy is awesome....and I know my husband is going to say it's because he's good looking or something to that effect. But that has nothing to do with it. (He reminds me of Forest Gump to be honest) This guy is a powerhouse!

Yesterday while on Runner's World I came upon an article about this guy and his trail racing feats. Which led me to a you tube video of this guy running and winning the Miwok 100k race in 2010. (Which by the way looks like the most beautiful run I have ever seen scenery wise.) Just watching this guy run makes me want to put on my shoes and get out there. And to see the list of the races this guy has won and raced in, it's just truly amazing. Inspires me a little to push myself beyond these things that I think limit me.

What's holding me back? I have nothing in my way. I have a husband who supports my running, I am young, I don't have any major issues physically, I have the drive, I have the want...I just need to get out there and set some more goals for myself and get to hitting the pavement a little more often and start upping my mileage.

I just want to run...My body and my soul are aching to be pushed...I want to run in the rain...I want to run in the snow....I want to run up the steepest hill...I want to run in the forest...I want to run on the beach...I want to sweat...I want to run until my legs are screaming at me..and then I want to run some more.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Observations and Confessions

-Generally people's lives are a lot shittier in real life then on Facebook (part of the reason I am not on there anymore) Do I really need to present myself as the perfect person, with the perfect kids, perfect life? I shouldn't even get started on why I am anti facebook!
-I spend way too much time on craigslist, I should be getting paid for how many hits I give them on any given day. I can post and reply to ads with my eyes closed.
-I absolutely hate hate hate pictures of myself (Stay tuned I am trying to work on this one)
-I have noticed that people don't care about their spelling, and I find it kind of sad.
-People are so judgemental. Myself included.
-I need a vacation. I mean not like a Bahamas type vacation....but a mental vacation. I would like to stop worrying, stressing, etc... for one whole day. Does this vacation exist???
-Yes I have a Chihuahua...a little tiny alien looking purse dog, pathetic I know! But he is the sweetest little thing and has surpassed my expectations!
-I would have loved to get a college degree. I absolutely love learning new things! I just am horrible with homework, essays, and tests. I failed miserably at school and wish I would have tried harder.
-Just when I think I am going to get a good nights sleep the dog is puking up a plastic toy all night long.
-Bob Marley is my go to music. I never get tired of him and like almost every song.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I am Jack's Complete Lack of Energy

First let me start by saying I had a really bad dream last night. it was so realistic and when I woke up I just couldn't shake the yucky feeling the dream gave me....bad start to my day. I ran a great 4 miles in 30:50 which I am super happy about, but it was a hard one and GEEZ was it humid! I miss Jessica.

You would think with all the running I am doing, and all the water I am drinking, and with the going to bed at 8-830p almost every evening that I would be feeling great. It's just the opposite and I am wondering why? The mornings are pretty good but by mid afternoon I am dragging and my eyes feel heavy and I am exhausted!

My first thought is that maybe I am eating too many carbs and too much sugar? I did a cleanse awhile back and cut out 99% of the sugar and carbs out of my diet, and I felt a lot better and had a lot more energy. So, my plan is to not go back to a complete cleanse diet, but to really limit the sugar and carbs. No fun!! :( I will give it a week and I will see if I start to notice that I feel a little better in the afternoons.

And I always find it odd that even though running kicked my a$$ this morning and I really struggled...It's mid day and I want to go back and out and run another 4 miles! It's a love hate with this running, and the harder it is and the more I struggle the more I want to do it. There is nothing else like running!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Identity or Lack Thereof

I am new to this whole blogging thing and while viewing my blog I noticed I can go to the "next blog"....hmmm....very interesting! There are so many blogs out there about all kinds of things. Family blogs, religious blogs, photo blogs, dog blogs, on and on, there are thousands of them, millions of them!

Good photos, bad photos, no photos, all photos...one liners, two pagers...men, women, teens....and some blogs with WAY too much information! Super interesting to scan through them though. It's amazing to me how many people have a true writing talent! I found this one blog this lady writes about her children and the experiences of motherhood, she wrote this blog about boogers...boogers you ask? YES boogers....it was hillarious...and relateable...I loved it.

One reoccuring theme on almost all blogs by mothers was the issue of identity after having children. I don't think about this much but I guess I started thinking about it after reading some of these blogs. I mean who am I really now? Mother? Wife? Stepmother? Rain? I mean who am I really now? What do I like? What do I not like? What are my goals? Do I even have goals anymore? I love being a mother, and it's part of who I am now for sure, but I can see how it swallows you whole. You just become another person. I don't think I will ever go back to being the Rain I was before.

I know I am still very young and have a lot of life to live. But reality is I am not independently wealthy, I have a home and responsibilities, and as much as I would love to be footloose and fancy free to do whatever I want, I wonder if I would really love that....and I wonder what I would do?

I feel like there are these unreachable things I would love to do...travel being at the top of my list, and then there are these things within my reach that I feel like I don't have time for. Like Horseback riding for instance. I have horses, and I don't ride as much as I would like to...or much at all really. Maybe once a month I get out there with them. And it wouldn't be hard to make time, but time is what I feel like I am lacking.

I do make time for running, but mostly because I can use my "work" time to do it. I think if I had to run in the afternoons, or evenings, or more on the weekends I wouldn't be as dedicated as I am. I feel like the time I am not off work just flies by and there are always 10 things that NEED to be done before these things that I WANT to do can be done.

To tie this all together I guess maybe mother's don't have the time to find their identity. And it's funny that motherhood/life though frustrating and time consuming, has it's own rewards that make it all worthwhile. I am not a cup half full person but I would like to be. And I would like to take motherhood as an oppurtunity to maybe find the new Rain. To make new dream and goals. I already feel little changes rippling through my life that are redefining who I am.

Whew....ok I am done rambling. Happy Friday all!

.

Phene Original

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Random Running Thoughts

I love Eminem....




I need to rent Black Swan...


I really like Tyler Shields photos...


I miss Phene on the days I work...


should I really dye my hair?...

Can I run this 4 miles in under 32 minutes?...

I wish I could call in sick this week...

I really need to find a cute pair of ballet flats (can't believe I left my last pair at a hotel in California...so irritating!)...


What should I make for dinner?...

I miss my running partner :(...

Should I cut my hair short?...

Can I really run a half marathon?...

IT'S HUMID, I might pass out...

Monday, May 9, 2011

Jailbreak Run






Here are some pics from the Jailbreak run this last Saturday. It was a lot of fun! And great to switch it up to do something different. I think we would have got a great time too, but we got a little lost and had to double back. I am glad we did it, and might be fun to try one of these types of races again in the future!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Start-->Restart

Well I don't know how much I have to say, but I thought maybe some people out there would like to know what's going on in my life. I haven't really written much for years, though when I was younger I used to write all the time. So, bear with me as I get back in the swing of things.

My newest most depressing news is that my running partner here at work (Of almost a year??) is leaving the company! We have religiously ran three days a week for months and months. She has forced me to run in the freezing cold, rain, heat, bad days, good days, and all those days in between! Maybe I shouldn't be using the word force...let's say...she has inspired me...pushed me...held me accountable! I will miss her so much, and I am not looking forward to dragging myself out there 3 days a week without her company and conversation :( But.....we do have some runs planned. This weekend we are running an adventure mud race! June we are running a 10k....and in October we are planning on running a 1/2 marathon together. So, hopefully there are many more runs together in the future!

As mentioned above we are running an adventure/mud run this weekend called "Jailbreak"
http://www.runthejailbreak.com/jailbreak-austin.php
Should be tons of muddy fun!!! We have been doing some push ups to prepare, but some of the obstacles look grueling! With obstacle names like "police blockade", "perimeter fence", and "wilderness mystery"....to say the least it should be interesting!! We will take pictures and I will fill you in on all the dirty details!

In other news, Phene has turned 2 and is talking up a storm. Her new word is diarreha...she thinks it's quite funny! Josie does too! :) Her newest phrase is "try again". Hearing her say all kinds of new things is amazing. Pretty soon I know she will be talking my head off!

Josie is going to start horse riding lessons a couple times a month. Should be a fun thing to do for the summer. Maybe she will be riding Jelly by next year sometime?

So come back soon to see pics of my run!