Running From Pancakes

Today was pancake day!! I had a blast hanging out with Sophie's class! I managed to run 2 griddles at once, and made 3 boxes worth of pancake mix! It smelled so good in the room, and all the kids ate a ton!

We were both in our pj's.Again, I say it's a shame that we don't look more alike : )

Em and Myles were doing their best to fit the 60's Day that the rest of the school was having.

Beautiful sky, we left early to get Brian to BART, then to school.

Then we made pancakes!, She's a great flipper.

They ate 2cds and 3rds, and then I got hugs from everyone and headed home.

Now's a good time to mention I did not eat ANY pancakes : ) It is a gray, windy, stormy day today and I really just wanted to come home and relax w/a good book for a few hours before Myles got out of class....but instead I geared up and headed out for my last solo run for the next 2 weeks as the kids will be on winter break.  For some reason my hand sometimes glows.

It was raining, although hard to tell here. There were a few other people out there, but mostly it was empty.

Again, you can't tell how windy and rainy it was,the rain was sideways and it looked to be snowing leaves.

I may or may not have stood in this tunnel for a few minutes : )

I got done with about 45 minutes before Myles got out, so I headed back to Sophie's room to see what they were up to. Minute to Win It, of course! Don't they all look so comfy in their pj's?

This was a game of building as many 2 story snow men as you could in 1 minute, I was told to play, suggested the kids put one in each nostril and then stick them together, it works better that way. I did not win the game, but did succeed in getting one kid to try the nostril trick.

Sophie is in a split 3rd/4th grade class. Truly a special group of kids! They really are all great, well behaved, hard working kids. You must make this picture bigger to really get an idea as to how "special" they are : )

Of course, such a special class is the result of such a special teacher, lol. Ms. Cattalini was also Emma's 2cd grade teacher and is wonderful.

Gems From the Week

Saturday service.

Service break!

Saturday The Beast had a 'boys party'. She made those eggs behind Myles, they were filled w/party favors. Myles does a mean robot dance!

The cake had dry ice in the top.

It was raging.

Tuesday there were multiple x-mas recitals to dodge since they were staggered by grade, so first Sophie and I climbed the hill by the school and visited with some horses.

Showing off her trail heels. Her teacher made her take her shoes off when she got back to class : )

Then it was Em's turn to dodge. We got coffee and hot cocoa and walked around the gardens at the park.

Totally normal school outfit....if you're a trail runner in your spare time : )

At school right now they have the Country Store. The school collects gently used stuff, then opens a store for the kids. The idea is that it's a way for the kids to buy and wrap gifts for their family. Everything is very cheap, like between a quarter and $3. The kids took their change, and came home with arm fulls of wonderful little goodies.

Myles class had a ginger bread (Graham cracker) house decorating party.

This is from today - Sophie's class had their winter party. They made snow globes, marshmallow snow men, picture frames...all sorts of winter goodies.

Also from today. After helping in Sophie's class I headed to Ems class to help with Native American day. My job was gluing the parts of a Pueblo village together as the kids made it and all the accessories - fire pit, ladders, water well, pots, garden.  They could only use things from outside to make everything, so rocks, sticks, grass, leaves, mud. The teacher built the buildings before hand and the kids decided where they placed them and then made everything else.

The week before winter break always leaves my head spinning a little bit. There's just so much going on, and 3 different classes this year to remember what's happening on what day and who needs what sent in to class for what project, and what I've signed up to do in each class, and not forgetting to pick up Myles at 11:30, and that the girls get out at 1:15 all week because of conference schedules. Tomorrow I have Myles home due to some class activities he's dodging,(which means I'll be pushing a 6 yr old beast of a boy in the jogger for my run with the Beast ) and then Friday I'm wearing pj's to Sophie's class and making pancakes for them, which I am really looking forward to! I'm so glad I get to be so involved in their school life and activities. It's a 'good' busy!!

Stiff

Sums up how I feel right now.

Brian and I have some goals set and some races we have our eyes on, which is a good thing. It has meant, however, dialing everything back in. Nutrition, workouts, and runs...back in check, big time.

We haven't been training for anything for a long time! Since we both work the same way, this has meant we've really relaxed in what we eat, how often and how long we run, as well as workout.  Don't get me wrong, we have still been running and working out, just not with a specific purpose, which for me takes a little too much intensity out of both activities.

Today started week 3 of me getting back to my 'training' ways. There have been some great runs in there, and many tough workouts. Many days of waking up sore(workout sore, not injured sore) and not letting it stop me from getting my workout/run done.  Today (and every day I can manage it time wise) was a workout - run - workout day.  It feels so good to pull off double days with a solid run in the  middle!  The year of our first marathon I trained this way, but with it being run - workout - run..2 a days at the res = getting you into great shape!  Currently, I am admittedly far from my best shape, but it feels great to be getting back to a similar routine!  Todays run felt solid. I was able to shave 2 minutes off my previous time for this route, and it was raining, which automatically makes me feel tougher.

Nothing hurts, I'm pain free and uninjured....but man am I stiff at the end of the day!
(I am stretching and rolling, no worries)

I'll post what runs we are doing as soon as we register and it's official, but there should be some full's and a 50k on the list!

Today.............

I spoiled my kids.

I bought them gifts because I wanted to see their faces smiling and totally surprised and happy.

Even though it was raining, I did not pick them up in the pick up line, but walked to each of their class rooms and met them outside, and was greeted with hugs, smiles, and "what are you doing here?"

We went to the ice cream shop and sat and talked and had ice cream.

Tonight, we will go to Costco, and when they ask to sample every sample we pass, I will for once say yes (against my better judgement : )

Why? Because I have 3 amazing, healthy, happy kids.

It's all too easy to get in the rut of dropping off/picking up/, doing homework with them, making them clean their rooms and pick up their junk laying around the house, eating dinner, going to bed, getting up and doing the whole thing again.....and then an event happens, and you pause, and realize how grateful you are that you have 3 kids to tell to clean their rooms, to make dinner for, to do their laundry. 

Our false sense of security is what keeps us sane.  We could what if ourselves into being hermits. Most of us dont' do that. We assume we are safe at home, but really, we aren't. We assume our kids are safe at school, but really, they aren't. We think we are safe driving to the store, but we aren't. The list could go on - theaters, the mall, walking down the side walk, going for a run....we never are truly safe. Anything could happen anywhere, anytime. But to exist, to function, to live  a normal life, we have to assume we are going to be safe. I have to laugh when I hear concerns about me running alone...the reality is none of us are safe doing anything. That is the state of the world we live in. I heard someone on the news today say "so what do we do to prevent this from happening again?" The 'expert' said, "Nothing. We can't prevent it from happening again. It will happen again."

Today is a good reminder to soak in everyday. Enjoy every second. Hug your kids. Play with them. Laugh with them. Tell those people in your life who you love that you love them. Things could change in an instant. Be grateful for who and what you have right now.

Finally!!

I am so excited to finally be able to show you just how hilly the reservoir is! After, what....4 years now of me rambling on about how hilly this thing is, you can finally see the elevation profile!! Remember, too....it's only been since September that we weren't pushing the jogging stroller around this thing. I used to push Em around it in one, and Brian would push the double with Myles and Sophie in it, for 3 laps sometimes!
Today, it was just the Beast and I knocking out 2 laps. The Beast kept saying how happy she was we weren't pushing strollers!! I love this little run, it's just one hill after another and always feels like a good workout. I know we aren't talking hills like MT hills, but they are significant little boogers that make running the entire loop a killer workout (for the record, i did not run the whole thing today, walked 2 of  the hills).

Testing....

Just seeing if I can actually embed my routes from Running Ahead, the site I use to log my routes, distance, and elevation.
 


Wow!! So now you can see what I'm talking about when describing my adventures! I'm thinking of adding a "favorite trails" page, and could use this to provide a map and clear elevation chart so people would know what they were getting into.

You can use the drop down on the map to change the view, I always like satellite, shows more what the area looks like and the terrain.

By the way, this was Mondays run w/Brian.

Running Non-Solo Style

Not too long ago, the norm was that Brian and I ran together on a weekly basis. We would meet on his lunch break 3 days a week and knock out a quick 5 miles, then do a long run together on the weekends.  A few employment changes later, and we rarely run together.  In the past few days, we've managed to pull off 2 runs together. Sunday morning we hit the trail as a family, like the good old days when this was an every weekend event. Monday after dropping the kids off at school, we headed out Stage Rd to Wall rd and back down Secret trail to BBQ Terrace. It's definitely a challenging run, around 9.6 miles and 1400 ft of gain, especially after having done 7.6 miles the day before, and having a small time window to work with between dropping the kids off, and kindergarten getting out.    Good times!

We managed a route that included a bit of dirt, this was a farm we ran by.

A different house with chickens.

This is on a trail that cuts from Northgate Rd to Castle Rock rd, a beautiful house in the foothills.

Back on the Canal trail, still managing to avoid the paved stuff.

 Here's some pictures from yesterdays run on Diablo w/Brian-

No shortage of water to run through!

This is not a creek crossing, it's the trail near the cut up to Wall rd.

There was quite a mud/debris field right before Dusty - the cut up to Wall.

There were a few ponds that had not been there before the rain started.

This is on Secret trail, looking back up at the ridge that Wall Rd runs along.

Another big mud field....I just can't imagine seeing the creeks flowing as high as this mud indicated they were at one point.

More pictures here.