Team Mac

Last night I officially began training with Team Mac. No, I am not training with Rogue for the first time since the Fall of 2004. It's not really weird to make the change because Mac was my coach at Rogue for 3 different groups. My standing PR for the marathon (and half marathon) is from Boston 2006, after a season of training from Mac. I was in the best running shape of my life. Now that he coaches a group on his own, I've decided to go with his workouts rather than the groups that are available at Rogue.

I really like the way Mac runs his workouts. He always knows exactly what pace you are supposed to be running for each interval, and most of the time he makes sure that you are right on pace. He is very attentive as a coach, and even the shortest of workouts can be downright brutal. I like his philosophies on marathon training, and have seen personal success as a result of the hard work put into running his workouts. If I train hard and do what he says to do, I have no doubt that I will see success in the Fall.

Last night, those of us who were not recovering from Boston did a 5k ladder workout. We did 2 miles warm-up, followed by 20 minutes of Mac's drills and other exercises. The ladder was 100-200-300-400-400-300-200-100 at 5k effort with 100 easy jog between. 1 mile cooldown. 5k pace is pretty tough for me right now, so needless to say it completely kicked my ass. I haven't done a real workout in who knows how long. As painful as it was, I loved it!

In no way am I blogging about this to knock the programs offered at Rogue. They have an excellent traning program, and I have enjoyed training in the many groups that I have participated in. The program that I was interested in joining this year wasn't going to work out the way I thought it would, and I wanted to try something different this summer rather than joining a 'fall marathon' group. For summer training, I have done the Rogue Fall group twice and the Rogue Pikes Peak group the summer between them. I still love the folks at Rogue, and am open to joining another group some time in the future...just not this time around.

I remember now...

We saw Superbad last night. It has been recommended to us by multiple people since it came out, and we were prepared for the crudeness of it. Hilarious movie. So gross and so funny!

Until I remember

Until I remember what I had originally wanted to blog about today, I'll share some things that happened or that I thought about yesterday...

Felicia (Chad's beautiful pewter-colored kitty) discovered a new spot to lay on yesterday. She basically likes to lay on our bed all day, separate from the other two cats with me in the office. Yesterday, I caught her sitting on our blue recliner two separate times. She also has begun to explore the windowsills. She has a spot in the dining area where she will lay for hours basking in the sun.

I was in a funk yesterday. I didn't want to do anything. I didn't want to work. I didn't want to clean. I didn't want to run errands. I didn't want to run. I did, however want to snack all day, so I tried hard to stick to my nutrition plan. Ultimately, I was within my calorie limits all day, but I was so grumpy trying to resist all of my cravings.

I haven't left the house since Sunday at about 6:00pm. Not one step outside. I was in my pjs and unshowered, and since I didn't feel like doing anything about either of those two issues, I was too embarrased to be seen outdoors in the middle of the day in my condition. The blinds have been open, so I have enjoyed the sunlight, but I think today it will feel good to be outdoors. Thankfully, I did shower this morning and put on some fresh clothes.

Headline: 'Vegan cooks cow!' I prepared filet of beef last night for my hubby. He is a carnivore, so I don't feel like I need to deprive him of the food that he likes to eat, just because I don't eat meat. Generally our kitchen is very veg friendly...The only animal products that are in our fridge/pantry are a couple of chicken breasts, a frozen fish filet, parmesan cheese, a small container of eggs, and maybe a little bit of dairy milk. These are all to support my husband's diet. I don't blame him for not wanting strictly veggies and soy products every day. Also, we got the filet for free...we used the Central Market coupon for $10 off, so it's not like we actually paid for it.

Anyhow, he reported that the filet was good. I prepared it according to a method I found on Food Network.com (seared on both sides, then finished in a hot oven). Next time, I will cook it a few minutes longer in the oven, because it was a little bit pinker than Chad typically enjoys. However, I did seek Chad's approval of the cooking time after I took it out to check it. He thought it looked okay and told me not to put it back in the oven.

I forgot

I was going to tell you something, but I can't remember what I was going to say!
Stay tuned...

Did you have a good weekend?

I did...

Friday night - went to dinner at South Congress Cafe, where I can get a salad that is Meredith-friendly and delicious. Also got to have a lovely glass of wine.

Saturday - woke up really early and registered for the Texas Round-up 10k. I ran 4 warm-up miles on my own to be sure that I got in all of my mileage, then headed to the start line. There were lots of running friends running this race, so it was great to see everyone. My race plan was not to 'race', but to treat it as a hard workout. I can't believe I'm so freaking slow! I honestly went as steady as I could without my heartrate spiking too much over 180. Basically, that puts me at a 9:17 pace. I've got a lot of training in front of me to run a marathon at 8:00 pace.

After the race, Chad and I cleaned up and went to Wahoo's Fish Taco for lunch and headed to his house to do some cleaning. We are busy preparing his house to put on the market. I was feeling pretty lousy, so I had to take a nap on the couch. Can I tell you that it is hard to diet and run long in the same day. I think my body needed more fuel at that point.

Later in the evening, we headed back south and met my dad and Rose for dinner at CM Cafe and got in our grocery shopping errand over with. I love shopping for produce at Central Market.

Sunday - We woke up to the sound of rolling thunder and were excited that we could sleep a few more hours rather than getting up to go run. When we finally got up at 9:00, we enjoyed a leisurely morning at the house and a late run around 11:00. Because of all of the rain, there were lots of puddles on the trail to run around, but one stretch between South First and Congress proved to be a problem...It was a mud pit. I stepped carefully through 90% of the path, but there was a point where I had no choice but to step in soft ground. Of course, my shoe sunk down to the laces into the mud! Gotta love a good mud-caked shoe less than a mile into your run. Oh well!

We worked on the house some more on Sunday and really saw some progress being made. Afterwards, a drive through a couple of neighborhoods that we like left us both motivated to get the rest of the work finished soon. We prepared dinner at home last night - Rosemary bread/homemade pesto paninis with sweet potato fries. So yummy!

Man Laundry - evidence

This is evidence that man laundry is huge. Can you believe that the two of us created these piles (nearest to far - synthetic workout clothes, whites, darks lighter fabrics, darks heavy fabrics)?

The darks were so numerous and created such a huge pile that I had to split it into two loads, which will still be very full in the washer. I am quite certain that the white load and the workout clothes will not fit completely into the washer, so I'm probably going to have to split those as well.

Oh, and not pictured is a load of sheets.

We are generally not wasteful with our laundry. Chad re-wears some things if they are not really dirty. We also reuse our towels, as evidenced by the hanging ones still on the wall hooks. Also, since I work from home, my clothing does not accumulate like his does. I often work in my pajamas or in a tank top and shorts, so I am really not used to all of these clothes. (not complaining, I promise)

I just find it amazing, that's all. It is a good thing that I work from home and can wash these during the day. Otherwise, our weekends would be full of laundry.

Because you really want to know if I ran this week...

Sat - 10.1
Sun - .6 (I was going to run 2-3, but I was tired from Saturday's run and traveling to Boston. Plus, I was on my feet in Boston going to the expo and such.)
Mon - 4 miles
Tues - 7 miles
Wed - 4.2 miles
Thurs - 7 miles

Total - 32.9 miles
I am ready to start training for St. George!

Toenails...or lack thereof

No, I don't have any more pictures of hanging toenails to post. Don't worry, I'll spare you this time. After losing my right middle toenail a while back, the left middle toenail came off a few days later. Each time these nails came off, there was very little tissue still holding the nail to the nail bed, so they were easy to 'peel away'. (I was down 2 toenails)

Last week, I noticed that my right second toenail was separated from it's bed, and when I went to inspect it further, I had to cut almost half of it off. It was getting snagged on the sheets and socks, so it had to go. (2 1/2 toenails off)

Well, on Wednesday night the left second toe nail was completely coming off, too. It pulled off and was attached on the left by more tissue than you would normally want. It was a tough call whether to cut it off (with possibly some sharp parts of the nail left over) or just peel it off for a cleaner result (with a little pain involved). I chose to peel and suffer with a little temporary pain. The pain was similar to a nagging hangnail. (3 1/2 toenails off)

Peeling = bad idea for a runner

I went out for my 7 mile run yesterday, and noticed that it was a little tender every time my left foot struck the ground. Multiply that times the number of foot strikes in 7 miles of running, and by the end of the run my left second toe was swollen so much that it would not bend and the corner of the nail bed was oozing through my sock. I cleaned it up and tried to go to bed.

At 2:45 this morning, my toe was throbbing and so painful that it woke me up. I could hardly walk to the bathroom to try to clean it up again. I put some antibacterial gel on it and wrapped it in a band-aid. I also took 3 Advil to try to reduce the pain. Seriously, I thought about going to the hospital it hurt so bad. I thought that it was infected to the point that it would enter my bloodstream and that I was going to die. I tend to overreact just a little and become a hypochondriac.

Band-aids on a throbbing toe are not a good idea when you are trying to go back to sleep. It intensifies the throbbing sensation and makes you want to focus on your pulse instead of relieving any pain. I thought over and over about going to the hospital...it was excruciating. Eventually I had to remove the band-aid because it was so bad. For people suffering with nerve pain, I get what you go through. It is tough to focus on anything else. Thank goodness the Advil kicked in and I was able to wake up this morning semi pain-free. I will probably have to take more Advil today.

I wonder if any more of my toenails are going to come off...there aren't any more that were bruised at the marathon. I look hot with 3 1/2 missing toenails, by the way. :)

Chores that I need to do...

I've got some chores that are staring me in the face today. Maybe if I blog about them, I will actually get them done

• wash clothes, especially now that we are back from our trip
• vacuum the house
• clean off all surfaces of clutter and put items back where they belong
• clean bathrooms
• replace dead plants in flower box

Some thoughts about dieting...

I've been watching my nutrition now for a week. I have officially been on Meredith's plan for 7 days as well as I have been running regularly at respectable distances. The nutrition is coming much easier for me this time around. I have Melissa for support throughout the day, and Chad is being great, too.

Since the last time I blogged about my weight, I have lost 4 pounds. Really. I have not been overly hungry, except for a few times where I was forced to go further between meals than I intended.

Here are my post-week 1 thoughts -

• I had developed too many bad eating habits.
• When I am focused on my diet, it is really easy to eat well.
• Healthy food can be hard to find when you are eating out.
• The general public's view of healthy food is drastically different than mine.
• 4 pounds of weight loss feels pretty good.
• Water consumption helps me be less irritable.
• I am sleeping better now that I am eating better and exercising more.
• Chai tea (made at home, not the sweetened, pre-prepared stuff) is a comfort food for me.
• I am a grazer in the kitchen.
• It is really easy to consume a lot of calories if you do not intentionally count them. I can guarantee that the great majority of people in America have no idea how many calories they consume in a day and that it is not even close to 2000-2500 that is on all of the nutrition labels.
• Sweet potatoes are good if you are a sugar-holic trying to lose weight.
• Kashi GoLean Crunchy bars are really tasty---some other nutrition bars are packed with calories from sugars and fats.
• I like knowing what time I am eating and monitoring the amount of time that passes between meals and snacks. Sometimes it is hard to stop what I am doing to eat, just because it is the right time.
• Sticking to my time schedule prevents me from getting hungry.

Boston 2008 - a wife's perspective

Since my husband, Chad, qualified for Boston this year and I didn't, it was my turn to make the trek to Boston as a spectator. His plan was to 'run easy' with Duane and enjoy the course. We made our wedding plans for March before he qualified for Boston, and I honestly thought he would be able to get in a few more runs in than he did. I guess the craziness and fun of the wedding and honeymoon plans got in the way of his training. It seemed like he didn't mind the lack of running. There were times that he chose not to do some of the miles, not because we had some other obligation. I have a little guilt about my influence on his lack of preparation.

Cut to Boston - Monday morning - After dropping off Chad and Duane at the buses to Hopkinton at 7:00, Jennifer and I enjoyed a leisurely morning. We got Starbucks, and I ran my 4 miles along the Charles River. It seemed like it was a great day to run...cool and cloudy. The marathon start for wave 1 was at 10:00am, so we left the hotel in time to drive to mile 11 on the course (around Natick). The crowds were somewhat rowdy and fun in Natick, so it was nice to have a good spot to see our men. We were hoping to see as many familiar faces as we could.

We were able to see Team Hoyt (inspiring). Here is a video of them running by. If you do not know about Team Hoyt, you need to get with the program :).



As the elite men came by, we started predicting the order in which we would see the Austin folks...Probably Ken, Moody, Charles, Neugebauer, etc. We realized that we missed Lance and were a little bummed. How in the world could we miss him if he was so far at the front?

In Natick we missed most of the people that we were looking for, but managed to see a few Rogue shirts to cheer for. Charles came by looking great and waved. Chad and Duane were very easy to spot, as we already knew what they were wearing. Duane's green shirt stuck out well, and Chad's Texas running hat was also easy to see in the crowd. The guys surprised us by darting over to the side of the road and giving us huge sweaty hugs and probably cut off a few people in the process. I don't think I have ever felt so great as a spectator as the moment when Chad gave me that hug. They both looked happy and like they were having fun, and I was so glad that he was finally getting to run Boston for himself. (In 2006, he was not very much further down the road in Natick when he joined in to run with me in my Boston marathon.) Jennifer and I took a couple of pictures of them and sent them on their way. How fun!!!


I helped navigate us to our second spot at mile 20 and hoped that we would get there in time to see them pass. We were getting the 'automatic runner alerts' that Chad had set up to be sent out that announced when he had passed certain timing mats during the race. We watched the half-way announcement come in and just after we arrived in Newton and found our spot, we saw the 18.6 alert come through. If you know anything about the Boston course, you know that Newton means hills, and we strategically decided to be there so that we would cheer the runners on during the hardest part of the race. We were literally 20 paces after the 20 mile mark, so we were seeing folks starting to break down physically and mentally. There were many people walking at this point in the hills.

Based on who we saw come through the crowds, we knew Chad and Duane would be there any minute. We saw funny costumes like the man dressed like a ballerina princess and the two men running with big bunny ears. We also saw Charles, but the entire front toe box of his running shoe had been cut open and revealed bloodied toes and blisters. Ouch! (Charles would later tell us on the plane ride home that his shoe predicament involved blisters that felt like a jammed toe, not being able to put back on his shoes, running at least 4 miles barefoot on the course, and (luckily) a paramedic with a pair of scissors.)

Chad's mom called us after he had passed her and let us know that we needed to look for Duane first by himself, as Chad had sent him on ahead to run faster. We also knew that the guys were past 19 miles. Hmmm...at that moment, they should have been really close to 20, where we were. We kept expecting to see them any minute. Thoughts of cramps, walking, medical tents, beer, and all of those things that tired runners experience entered our heads. Surely we didn't miss them. We were looking at everyone coming through! There was no way that we missed them! We waited until we were absolutely sure until we finally gave up, resigned to the fact that we had indeed both missed seeing our husbands. Bummer...(We found out later that Chad was probably running very close to the men in bunny hats. We must have been too distracted by the bunny hats to see Chad. grrr...)

We hurried to the finish and saw the minutes on our clock click away. We knew that Chad and Duane had originally intended to run 3:30:00 or so. Judging by the pace on the alerts, we figured they would hit this goal or be a few minutes over. After missing them in Newton, we feared that they were in the medical tent and hoped that we would get another runner alert on the phone soon. 3:38 clicked by on our clock. Uh-oh. 3:45. Oh no. All we could do was park the car and head to the finish line area. We dutifully walked to the family reunion area and found the letters J,K, and L. This was supposed to be the spot where we were to meet up.

Runner Alert! Yay! Chad Jones has finished in 3:48. Wow...he must have been hurting. Poor guy. We stood and waited for them for what seemed like an eternity. It honestly felt like we were there for an hour after we got the alert. Jennifer spotted Chad's Texas hat in the crowds of tired runners and our two sweaty/salty husbands came towards us. I could do nothing to help Chad's muscles feel any better. I couldn't get rid of any bit of the pain for him. He was smiling big and limping big, so I just had to hug him and tell him how proud I was of him.

Hopefully he will post some of the pictures and video that he took from the course. (Pictures and video were part of his 'running for fun' plan this year.)

Boston - We made it!

Chad and I flew to Boston yesterday afternoon for the marathon (he's running, not me this year). There were lots of folks on our flight that we knew...Charles C, Paul S, Mike P, Chris N, and a few others that we recognized like my college organic chemistry professor and Kristin Armstrong (with her running gal-friends). Can I also tell you that JetBlue is great? We flew Jet Blue to NYC last April, and it was such a treat to fly them again. The TVs in the seats are the best, plus you get free snacks that are reasonably portioned.

Today we watched the Women's Olympic Trials for the marathon, and it was incredible to witness Deena Kastor's move to catch first place and utter destruction of the lead pack. The first couple of laps, there was an obvious leader followed by a lead pack of 10-15 women. After Deena's move, the pack disintegrated to a line of women who couldn't keep her pace. We were cheering for the Austin contingent (Desiree, Cassie, Lori, Chris) with our friends Kate and Ken. They made these awesome signs that the ladies recognized and acknowledged when they ran by each time they made the loop. We also saw Joan Benoit...incredible!

The expo was so much more crowded this year. Chad was able to get a ton of Boston gear this year (you are supposed to on your first Boston, right?). Now he is set to wear all of his BAA stuff anywhere and everywhere to assert his status as a BQ runner! Gotta love it! I got a couple of running hats and a cute Nike shirt...who cares if I didn't run it this year? My PR is from Boston 2006, and I am here to support my husband.

Tonight, Chad and I are going to take it easy, and then tomorrow I will go around with Jennifer (Duane's wife) to cheer for everyone.

Running Goals - check!

My last running goal was : April 12-18 -run five times for at least 3 miles at a stretch & run a total of at least 25 miles

I did it!
Here it is...
Saturday April 12 - 8.7
Monday April 14 - 3.7
Tuesday April 15 - 7
Wednesday April 16 - 3.7 + weights
Friday April 18 - 4.8

Total mileage - 27.9 Yay!
If I can do this again next week, I am ready to start marathon training at the start of May.

Things I am thinking about today...

• I saw our electricity bill today, and I was so excited that it was less than I thought it should be. I figured that with two of us here at the house, we were using more hot water, washing more clothes, doing more dishes, using more lights, etc, so naturally the bill should have been higher. The excitement lasted about a minute until I realized that this bill included the twelve days we were on our honeymoon and weren't even here to use most of the electricity. Maybe we should brace ourselves for next month.
• Chad and I leave for Boston tomorrow. I am so excited for him to experience everything for himself this year. It's not too bad that I still get to go to the expo and get all of the freebies, too. Hopefully the weather will be good for everyone...chilly for the runners, but not rainy. I think I am going to have to pack some winter clothing to stay warm, even in 50 degree weather.
• I am worried about how I am going to stick to my nutrition plan in Boston. I am going to try my hardest to eat right and not splurge just because we are on vacation. Even in the two days that I have focused on my diet, I can already feel a difference in my body and the scale is starting to budge.
• I am a slob sometimes. Really, I go through phases. Today I have some chores to do because I created some messes yesterday and was too lazy to clean them up.
• The lottery for St.George is in a couple of weeks. Tara and I are already guaranteed an entry, but it will determine if Chad makes it in or not. I already have a block of hotel rooms reserved in St. George because they usually completely fill up for the weekend. I will likely give a few of the rooms away...I wonder who else from Austin is going to run it this year?

Gym visit - sore butt

Last night, Chad wanted to go to the gym rather than run, so he talked me into joining him. It wasn't a hard decision at all. I was planning to run 4 miles, so I went to the gym and did my quick run/weight routine. I like to run a mile, do weights, and then finish with the rest of my running mileage. Here's what I did...

Run 1 mile
Weight workout - Leg press, Leg extension, adductors, assisted chin ups and dips, leg lifts on standing ab thing
Run 2.7 miles (approximate)
2 sets of 10 lunges - very slow to maximise pain :)

My butt hurts today, but it is a good pain. Oh, and the chin ups and dips made my chest sore as well. That is pretty standard for me.

What would Meredith say?

I have got to lose some weight to be able to run fast again. Last night was yet another breaking point where I hopped on the scale and freaked out because the number was higher than I wanted it to be. The cause of the weight gain is because my lifestyle is much more sedentary than I am used to, even though it has been over a year since I started working from home. Also, I am consuming more calories absentmindedly throughout the day.

So, what is different about this weight freak-out versus the ones in the recent past? I have a little plan...I have my weight goal charted so that I can keep track of the pounds lost and the date that I dropped the pounds. I am going to write down everything I eat and drink to be more mindful of what I am putting in my body. I am including my weight in my training log so that I can correlate it to the amount of exercise that I am getting. I am scheduling in time throughout my day to 'move more'. I will be doing various exercises throughout the workday to help burn some extra calories.

Nutrition wise, I am somewhat back on Meredith's plan for me. I have reviewed what she did for me last year, mostly because I know it works. I will be mindful of the balance of carbs/protein/fat at each meal and snack, and make sure that my calories count. No absentminded eating for me.

Random thoughts for today

• I think I like my new heart rate monitor. It is taking a while to get used to the features on my watch, but I am learning. Being able to report my average heartrate for each run is something cool to add to my training log.
  
• Working from home is much harder on your body than you would expect. I think I am much lazier than when I was teaching, and I know that I eat all day. I have got to consciously change some of my habits if I am going to get back in perfect running condition.
  
• Our cat Miko is such a good kitty. She is a constant companion all day long, and she purrs really well (though not as well as Felicia).
  
• I have to go to the doctor on Thursday, and I am nervous about the outcome. I don't really want to blog about the details, but please keep me in your thoughts. Don't worry, it is a minor issue compared with what other health problems people are having.
  
• One thing that I am not looking forward to about running this summer is having a runners tan. Also, I am much more careful about sun exposure than I have been in the past, so it's not like I'm gonna go out and tan darker in my bathing suit anymore to get rid of the running lines.
  
• I was debating donating my hair again (I did Locks of Love a few years ago), but I don't think I have it in me to let it go another inch just to have it cut super short again. I think it is very selfish of me to think I might donate and then decide not to, especially because the recipients of the hair would love to be able to have their own hair at any length. I have got to let go of the selfish guilt. Donating hair once is more than most people do...I don't have to do it again just because I am close to the donation length.
  
• I found out today that there is a lady that works for my company internationally who has a name that is really close to mine (my new name, that is). I won't write it here because I try to keep my work life and personal life separate, and because at least one person from my work might be reading this blog. Anyways, her name is like my first name with an 'a' instead of the 'e', pronounced like 'Nadia' Jones. Pretty cool. Our emails are going to get mixed up all the time now, so I sent her an email letting her know who I am today.

Running Goals - week by week

I met my goals for the week of April 5-11. In case you don't remember what I was trying to do, my goal was to 'run 4 times in the next 7 days for at least 3 miles at a stretch. If I can do at least one of the runs over 4 miles, that would be an added bonus.'

I am pleased to report the following runs -
Saturday, April 5 - 6.7 miles
Sunday, April 6 - 4.25 miles
Wednesday, April 9 - 3.75 miles
Friday, April 11 - 3 miles (cutting it awful close!)

My goal for the week of April 12-18 is to run five times for at least 3 miles at a stretch. I would also like to run a total of at least 25 miles for the week.

Wine and Food Festival Weekend

This weekend is the big Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival here in Austin. Like the past couple of years, Chad and I will be helping his mom and step-dad, Karen and Jim Johnson, at a couple of events. Karen and Jim own Alamosa Wine Cellars, and invite us to help them pour wine at the events so that they are able to get out behind the booth, mingle with friends, and sample the awesome fare.

I'm looking forward to both events that we are helping at - the Stars Across Texas event tonight at the Hilton is always a huge, fun night, and the Sunday Fair in Georgetown on Sunday is a more relaxed, casual day. I am looking forward to tasting some good food and wine and to helping out with the winery duties. It is always a fun time!

If you are going to either event, come over to the Alamosa Wine Cellars booth and say hi!

Losing a toenail..last stage

After the marathon in February, I found that the middle toes on both of my feet were bruised. The right toenail was the most affected, and after a couple of weeks it was completely black. For all of you who have experienced this, you know that once the blood is drained (which is completely painless) it ends up leaving a separation of the nail from the nail bed. If you are able to keep this nail attached at all to your toe, you are lucky, but what often happens is that it begins to separate and come off completely. My toenail took about 6 weeks to finally get to this point...

Provence - Southern France - The rest of the honeymoon!

After a week in Paris, we took the TGV train down to Avignon to begin our tour of southern France. We chose Avignon due to its proximity to the Cote du Rhone wine region and because it was close enough to drive to Nice, which is where we were to fly out of.

Taking the TGV from Paris to Avignon


Avignon was nice, though I think we would have enjoyed it much more if it was summer. We were spoiled by Paris, and the walking around was not nearly as scenic or spectacular as what we had already seen. It is definitely a slower paced area of France compared to Paris.

Click on picture to enter day 8 album.


On day 9, we took our car and drove from Avignon to Saignon (just outside of Apt), but we took the scenic route. We went through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Vanosque, and then once we checked into our hotel in Saignon, we backtracked through lots of villages in the Luberon. It was a fantastic day ended by a great meal at the little restaurant owned by our hotel.

Click on picture to enter day 9 album.


Cherry Blossoms near Vanosque - at least something was blooming!


On day 10, we drove from Saignon to Nice. Chad was given the option of the quick highway or the long back way. Chad chose the scenic route, and we were both glad that he did.

Driving through the tunnels at the Grand Canyon


Click on picture to enter day 10 album.

Wretched Vile Nastiness

ewww...I picked up Strawberry Banana soy yogurt by mistake. I thought it was just plain Strawberry, but apparently I should have turned the container a little more to the right. Strawberry Banana is so nasty.

Not one to waste, I am going to suffer through eating it. Bummer. I do this about once every couple of years and I am mad that it has happened again.

Progress on To-Do List and Goals

Last week, I posted some to-do items for the first week of being a wife...Here is what I did...

1. Edit pictures and upload to Picasa website (Check...They are all edited and uploaded. I have not finished the captions for days 8-10, so I have not made them public.)

2. Print pictures at Wolf/Ritz Camera and create photo albums. (Almost check...I have printed them, but I need to pick them up and start on the albums)

3. Write thank you notes for all wedding gifts and move boxes out of living room. (Check...Thank you notes have been written. I need to finish addressing them and put them in the mail. All boxes are out of the living room.)

4. Clean house top to bottom. (Not really a check, but close...I cleaned the sink/counters/mirror/toilet bowl/shower in bathroom, washed the bathroom rugs, vacuumed all other rugs and hard floors, and worked on removing a lot of the clutter on counters...Not a top to bottom cleaning, but it looks a hell of a lot better than a week ago.)

5. Officially change name with Social Security and proceed in changing it on all other documents. (Check...Done, with Social Security, DPS, and Time Warner Cable.)

6. relax and enjoy being a wife (Check...I would say that I definitely did this week. Slept in on Saturday morning and still ran. I cooked several times this week and felt very successful. I used the word 'husband' several times just because I could. you know...wifey stuff.)

Update on running goals...I put it out there on Friday that I wanted to run 4 times this week with at least one run over 4 miles. Check to part 2 and on my way to overall goal...I ran 6.5 on Saturday and 4.25 yesterday.

I was able to also do some bonus items this week...
- exchanged digital cable box for HD box. Chad and I are now in High Definition!
- took the girly cats to the vet for their yearly shots on Tuesday...Felicia needed dental work on Thursday, so I have also been vet tech, administering antibiotics and pain drugs.
- Helped clean and paint some of Chad's condo on Saturday.
- Went out to fancy dinner to celebrate Chad's step-dad, Jim's 61st birthday. We went to Zoot.
- did more man-laundry
- oh, and I worked, too.

I thought this was a running blog...

Well, it would be, except that I haven't run much lately. I ran on Tuesday. 3 miles. We ran in France. Twice.

My goal starting tomorrow (Saturday) is to run 4 times in the next 7 days for at least 3 miles at a stretch. If I can do at least one of the runs over 4 miles, that would be an added bonus. St. George registration has opened and I have guaranteed entry this year...time to start training again.

Paris - Honeymoon Days 6 and 7

Click on the pictures to link to the albums.


By day six, Chad and I felt like we had already seen most of what we wanted to see. At this point everything was bonus. We started off the day at the Trocadero Metro stop and made our way to the River Cruise boats beneath the Eiffel Tower area. Our river cruise was relaxing, but we probably would have enjoyed it a little better had we done it on one of our first days. We had already seen most of what was involved in the tour.




For me, the highlight of the day was dinner...I absolutely melted in tears at dinner. I don't know how to explain it, but I was just completely happy. I was overwhelmed. I think I have a small inkling of how I am going to feel at the sight of my first child...if it is even close to the joy that I felt on that night, I am in for such a treat. Ask Chad how moved I was.



On day seven we took one of the RER trains to Versailles. We enjoyed it, but I was expecting more. Perhaps it would be better in warmer weather when we could enjoy the outdoor part of it. I enjoyed seeing everything inside...the audio tour was about the limit of what I could take, though there would be at least one more audio tour on our trip yet to come.

When we got back to Paris, we went to get our big souvenir...a watercolor painting from the Montmartre area. Yeah, I think a lot of people do that, but we have our first piece of art now as a couple. For our last dinner in Paris, we went back to our spot on Ile Saint-Louis that we enjoyed so much for lunch early in the week. We got the table at the window and had a lovely evening.

Reims & Paris - Honeymoon Days 4 and 5

(Click on our pictures to link to the albums.)

We took a day trip to Reims to visit the champagne caves on day 4. It was a great day getting to see something different than Paris.



Video of us on the TGV train


Descending into the caves



Day 5 was definitely one of the most memorable of the whole trip. We were ready to sleep in, so we woke up at about 10:00 am and went for a run in the mist and rain. The weather had cleared by the time we got out to lunch and to start our day. We visited the Rodin museum, which was neat, and then spent some time walking around the Saint-Germain area. It became overcast and started raining and sleeting on us at the Jardin du Luxembourg.




After a much needed crepe and chocolate chaud, we continued touring and decided to end our day at the Eiffel Tower. We should have realized that the on-and-off periods of clear and rain would continue, despite the glorious weather at 5pm.

I don't think Chad or I will ever forget the lines and the sleet at the Eiffel Tower. It took us close to 4 and 1/2 hours to get up and down.

Paris - Honeymoon Days 2 and 3

Days 2 and 3 are uploaded to my albums with captions and maps. Please enjoy! Here is also some video that I shot...

(These videos are not playing with sound on my computer...can you hear them?)

This first one is after a couple of glasses of wine at dinner. I shot it sideways and sound like I'm about 10 years old. I am really embarrassed about my voice :).



Here I am spinning underneath the Eiffel Tower. There were lots of folks there at night doing the same. We wanted to go to the top that day, but it was too late and they had closed the summit.



This one is from day 3...we were outside of the Sacre Coeur and there was a French singer shooting a music video. There was a crowd watching her and taking her picture, so I thought I would do the same. I have no idea who she is.

Paris - Honeymoon Day 1

I have the first day of shots completed on my Picasa website. The first day of our honeymoon consisted of the following...

• Check into hotel
• unpack a few clothes
• walk around a little and have lunch
• See the sights - Place Vendome, Tuileries, Seine, Champs-Elysees, Arc de Triomphe, etc.

On my Picasa Albums, I have included captions and maps on most pictures to identify where we were at each spot. Please enjoy!