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July 9, 2017

Savage Beast

We took a trip to the Glades this evening so I could test out my camera before our big trip. If you’ve never been to the Everglades before, it is hard to imagine what it looks like. It doesn’t look like a swamp. It’s a peaceful, beautiful, slow moving river teaming with wildlife.

The most savage beast of the glades is the American Alligator. Fishing here comes with the added challenge of having to reel in the fish before the gators can steal it. The big gators will often sit below the fishing dock waiting for someone to reel one in and then they’ll pounce. Tonight we saw several large alligators in the water, which was great. Additionally, we also saw several baby gators hanging close to shore in the weeds hiding from the larger gators and other predators.

The Mayor had a lot of luck fishing for blue gill and tilapia with worms. Goalielocks was fishing for bass, but the bass were not biting. He had a near miss with a gator and gar. Gars are a pain in the butt to catch as they’ve got very sharp teeth (and a lot of them) and they’re hard to get off the line. The gnats were out in full force, so we only stayed out for about an hour and I got plenty of practice with the new camera.

June 12, 2017June 12, 2017

My Loud Life

There used to be a time, probably about ten to twelve years ago, that if you wanted to reach me the best way was to call me. The problem with phone calls, especially once you have children, is that it isn’t until you are on the phone that the children need you desperately. It is one of the Murphy’s Laws of parenting. This also applies to anytime you go to take a shower, bath, or sit down to relax.

Without fail, even still, when I am on the phone, my boys and my puppies become the neediest and loudest creatures on the face of the planet. No matter where in the house I hide, they will track me down. The matter of course is always urgent in nature, like needing more gems for mobile game, hunt a lizard (Athena) or to locate the Roku remote. Serious business that dad can’t resolve and that can’t wait for another minute.

My boys came with three volume settings: loud, louder and loudest yet. This comes in handy in restaurants and stores where they’ll make horrifyingly embarrassing comments that you hope and pray nobody overhears. Then you say prayer that if by chance they did overhear the comment, they didn’t judge you too harshly. It is also convenient for long car rides, which thanks to travel hockey we have many, where they can argue loudly for hundreds of miles as we drive across Florida.

Life in a house full of boys is only quiet when they’re sleeping or when they’re scheming. With the Mayor and Goalielocks, this can be a dangerous proposition. You never know what scheme they’re cooking up or what animal they’ve captured and hid somewhere in the house. As a boy mom, when there’s silence and they’re not sleeping, you know something is about to happen.

The truth of the matter is when the Mayor finally graduates and life quiets down, I think I’ll be a little lost. My days and nights are full of noise from the puppies to the mini hockey games upstairs to every interrupted phone call, but for almost eighteen years that’s all I’ve known. Until that day comes, I’ll enjoy the madness and the brief respite my yoga mat provides.

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May 7, 2017May 7, 2017

Our race

As tryout week winds down and my hockey mom nerves unravel, I can feel the tension leaving my shoulders and my stomach. Friday night we had our last tryouts for the fall season. Regardless of the outcome of tryouts, the ultimate decision is equally stressful. I skipped the Monkey to get home earlier with the Mayor, so I could attempt to get to bed early in preparation for the Firefighter Eric Patrie 5k on Saturday morning.

I’m not a morning person, so when I have a race or early hockey game, I usually set several different alarms to ensure I’m out of the house in time to get to the event. I prefer to get to the race about an hour early, so I can warm up, eat a little something, hit the bathroom and get acclimated for the race. Saturday morning was not that morning.

I had set my Fitbit alarm, which usually works all of the time. It doesn’t, however, work when you forget to put it back on after you shower. I also set the alarm on my phone, but apparently it was for pm and not am. Instead I awoke to my hubby saying aren’t you supposed to be somewhere by now? It was 6:05 am and the answer of course was yes!

I ran out of bed, woke up Jake and gave him a ten minute warning. We rushed to get ready and head towards Delray, so we wouldn’t miss the start. I grabbed almonds in a rush and popped few on the way along with a GU gel. We made it in time to park and head to the starting line before the scheduled start, but it felt rushed and our muscles (much like the weather by Florida standards) were cold.

I had hoped to log a PR, but I was tired, cold and under the weather. Honestly, I didn’t feel like running at all and was really craving the comfort of my bed and down comforter. Nevertheless, Jake and I along with our KU running crew, including Evie the sweetest dog, made our way to the starting line. It was a gun to chip race, so Jake and I stayed near the front of the start corral to avoid the inevitable starting line traffic jam.

As I ran the first mile, which felt like five, I fought through the desire to quit, the desire to walk, the desire to go back to bed and tried to maintain a decent pace. It was a tough mile and slower than I wanted, but not horrible over all. I grabbed some water continuing on to mile two. Maybe it was me, maybe it was the weather or maybe it was the route, but mile two seemed to last forever. I tried to maintain my pace as best I could and saw only a little degradation in pace between mile one and two.

Mile three beat me up. The unusually cool and dry air dried out my throat and tightened up my lungs. I had to stop to use my inhaler and was feeling the pain. At this point, I had a choice to continue to walk and get comfortable or to run the remainder and try to hit my goal. I chose to run. It hurt, it wasn’t pretty and in the end I missed a PR by tenths of seconds, but I did it. I fought through the fatigue and pain to do my best.

Initially I was disappointed by my time (28.33) , but I think I was being too harsh on myself. Two and half years ago, I ran my first 5k at a time of 34 minutes. I started training in earnest last fall and whittled my time down to a PR of 28:32. It’s not earth shattering fast, but it represents a lot of hard work and a lot of forward progress. I didn’t feel 100% physically Saturday morning, but I didn’t let it stop me from giving 100% in the race and that was Saturday morning’s victory.

Meanwhile, Jake finished 6 minutes ahead of me, but was also disappointed by his time. It was slower than his PR of 21 minutes, but he still placed in the top 3 of his age group. This was a very fast and competitive race, so I was happy to see how well he fared against the competition. Even with the trophy, he was still disappointed with his result.

Even though my time wasn’t where I wanted to be, I love the feeling of finishing a race. I love the excitement of the start and the excitement of the finish. I love seeing a first time 5k runner come through the finish line. There is no better feeling finishing something you didn’t think you were capable of finishing and theirs is nothing better than seeing that sense of pride on a runner’s face as they finish their first 5k. Joe – your KU crew was proud to see you cross the finish line and do great your first time out. Can’t wait to see what you do in your second 5k!

Neither of Jake nor I, hit a time we were thrilled with Saturday, but we had a great time with good friends supporting a great cause. For Jake and I, its back to training and working towards better results and greater distances.

If you’d like to know more about this event, here’s the website.

May 6, 2017May 7, 2017

11 years – Happy Birthday to the Mayor

11 years…

Boy oh boy, my baby, my Zak-Zak, the Mayor is 11 today. While it’s completely cliché to say that time has flown by, it would also be completely true. As a baby, the Mayor channeled his inner 80 year old man. He was a complete curmudgeon in every sense of the word. And then he hit the dreaded toddler stage and a miracle happened. He became the happiest, sweetest boy you could ever imagine. He’s still an incredibly happy, sweet boy unless he’s hungry. If he’s hungry or tired, you should run away and hide….

As the youngest of 3 boys, the Mayor is a tough as they come be it on the ice or in a game of mini hockey. He was the perfect addition to the family. From day one, he’s loved his brothers even if Colin wanted to put him back after holding him once. Colin spent a lot of time in the corner when he was younger, but he was never alone. The Mayor always had to join him and keep him company. It was the sweetest thing.

He’s got a zest for life and food that’s unsurpassed. Since we was young, he could eat pretty much everyone I know under the table while weighing almost nothing. Yes, I’m completely jealous and I’m still trying to figure out where he puts all the food. He loves food so much that when the boys first started skating at Skate Zone 7 years ago, he ate skittles off the very dirty floor. The hubby and I were convinced he’d end up in the ER that night with a serious stomach bug. Much to our delight, he didn’t get sick and in fact hasn’t had a stomach bug since that day. I’m pretty sure he’s got an iron gut and probiotics for life off those dirty skittles.

Hockey is his life and it has been since 2006. For his 3^rd birthday, he proudly rocked his Minnesota Wild jersey as he enjoyed his hockey themed cake. He played his first hockey game when he was 4 years old as a defensemen in front of his big brother Goalielocks. Nobody was allowed to touch his brother. In the years since, he’s enjoyed the travel hockey life and the friendships that come with it. He is a rink rat through and through.

His heart is as big as his appetite and I’m so proud to call him mine. Today we celebrate him. Please help me wish the Mayor a very happy 11^th birthday and his birthday buddy (my brother Justin) a very happy birthday.

May 4, 2017May 7, 2017

Getting out of my own way

Exhaustion, pure utter exhaustion from the emotional weight of the last couple of months and a hectic hockey mom schedule, has become the scapegoat for missing my post Zumba run these past 3 weeks. During Zumba sessions, I dial back my mileage to mitigate the abuse to my body, but these runs are still important for my training. My goal is to eventually break 27 minutes in a 5k and to complete a 10K in under 60 minutes. Without these runs, my pace falls off and my endurance wanes.

This weekend Jake and I are running our first 5K of 2017, the Eric Patrie 5K in Delray. Both of us are looking for a new PR in this race, which will be tough given the increase in temperatures since our last 5K in December. In order to even be close to my PR (28:32), I knew I’d have to log some miles tonight. So despite being tired and hungry, I ran.

My treadmill has become an important part of my bedroom furniture serving as a fully functional clothes and handbag hanger. In the Florida spring and summers when the weather is stormy, it serves a different purpose. It actually functions as a piece of exercise equipment. While I prefer to run outdoors, I’m glad to have the option of running indoors when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

In spite of sheer exhaustion, I got in a nice 20 minute run. The run felt good and as usual I felt even better afterwards. It would have been easy to skip the run given I already taught Zumba tonight, but in order to achieve my goals I had to run. The point is sometimes the only obstacle between us and our goals is us. Paolo Coelho said it best, “people are capable, at any time of their lives of doing what they dream of.” Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way.