The Muddy Monster

I ran in the Muddy Monster 5k run this weekend. It was a beautiful day. I am always sooooo surprised by how difficult it is to run outside. This was on grass and some gravelly trails, but mostly grass, it was really difficult. In some spots the path was sort of narrow so my speed was slowed and runners really had to watch the path for ruts and sticks, etc. So my time was much slower this time - 33 minutes and 18 seconds I think. I walked quite a few times also, which I tend to do apparently. I have a real problem motivating myself to keep running. What I need is a way to watch some TV show while I run these things...then maybe I could keep up a decent pace while distracted by mindless entertainment. Oh well, it was a fun run and a great weekend.

The race has a facebook page...alot of fun costumes and some really fun pepole to race with.

These two won first place. Very nice, excellent costume, and he was giving away candy. Love that they were so into the whole thing.

The winning combo

So I finally realized last night why I run. Why I haven't quit, like I've quit so many other exercise plans. I don't love to run, honestly, anyone that says they do, I think is lying at least a little bit. I love how I feel afterwards, I love how it feels to finish a race that other people are in..and to finish ahead of a lot of people feels great. But the running part, it's generally awful. But..I figured out why I do it anyway. It's something I've finally figured out that I can do for myself. I keep myself on task, I'm not a slacker about it, I hate it when I let anything get in the way of my regular treadmill time. Also, let me be clear - I'm not running a 5k every night. My treadmill has programs that let me burn X calories in X time and I typically choose the 400 cal/40min program which involves plenty of walking. I run a little faster during the fast parts and according to the treadmill I burn around 450cals. I also watch tv on the iPad while I'm doing it - I'd quit for sure without that. Anyway...that's the thing. I do it because I want to, it's sort of my "thing" and I don't want to stop doing it. Also, it works. My legs and behind have never looked so good.

I'm running in the MuddyMonster next weekend and I think I'm going to dress up. Maybe a bumblebee...from what I've heard about the facebook photos..I could have a shot at a costume prize if I make just a little effort. It doesn't start until 10 which I love and it's all trails and grass, which is soooo much better than road running.

The other part of this combo is yoga or pilates or piyo or some sort of core exercise. I actually WANT to get out my Tracy Anderson post pregnancy DVD and see if i can do more of it now. I've been taking a piyo class at a local gym and so far I really think its working. It's slow progress, but I believe it works. So I think I'll take at least one more session of the class and then I'll have to decide if its still worth the hassle of going to class, or if I can find a suitable pilates/yoga/something DVD to do the same thing. I think actual yoga or pilates poses are key though, so i'm hesitant to give it up. We'll see how it works out.

Random note. I love RunKeeper I know Dooce mentioned it on her blog recently, which I thought was pretty cool, but I was also like HEY I USED IT FIRST. It's a really nice program, and it works on my windows phone and so i have my music, runkeeper and phone all in one, which is awesome. It tracks your gps location and pace and elevation as you run, then it maps it all out for you online, which you can then share with others. It's just cool.

Okbye.

Remind me

Maybe if i blog about it, i'll remember to do it.

MOVE FFXI CHARACTER TO TOWN AND SUSPEND ACCOUNT AGAIN.

As much as I want to play it, the game is just too large and I can't possibly catch up right now. The cost just isn't worth it. Maybe when both girls are teenagers and can't stand to hang out with me anymore, maybe then i'll have time to play again.

Plus I really need to focus on getting to and winning a level 50 Horde on Gears3 with my hubs and brothers. That game turned out to be much more addicting and much less frightening than I thought. Fun stuff.

Smart Kids or Maybe Not

So from what I've read in a few places, here, for example, kids brains do not fully develop until they're nearly 20 years old. Thank God for that.

So..here's some background. I get my oldest dressed in the morning for school. Usually I wake her up, pick out her clothes and help her get dressed. Sometimes I leave the drawers in her dresser open so that closing them doesn't wake the other kid. So a couple weeks ago, I left the two bottom drawers open, so I don't wake the other kid and we can just get moving. Remember that, I left 'em open.

So, she comes home from school that afternoon, wanting to play her Nintendo DSi, great. I say, I put it upstairs, in your room, on the floor, in front of your dresser. So she goes upstairs to grab it. About five minutes later she comes down, Mom, I can't find it. What? I know it's there, I put it there myself yesterday AND I saw it this morning. So I go up, to help her look. I walk into her room and I almost dropped a F bomb. She's standing there, with the bottom drawers of her dresser STILL OPEN. She's actually walking AROUND the open drawers "looking" for the DSi. I said ... Are you [in my brain #$#%@#!] kidding me? Did you LOOK WHERE I SAID?! She looks at me. Then sticks out a foot, and pushes a drawer closed. Voila! There is it, RIGHT WHERE I SAID.

My mind was seriously blown. How can you look in a place you cannot see? Without  MOVING the things that block your view. She was walking around the open drawers. It still blows my mind now.

Thank GOD their brains are still developing.