HL/WWSG week of 5 May

[Leslie Ferguson]

I'll have to take a little respite from my normal first week of the month post - I seem to be running out of steam right now (more to follow). Last week was a good week and we heard from all the regulars - plenty of great things going on with family, not-so-good news about family health issues, great trips/vacations being had, and school years coming to a close.

Laura K - Overcoming having to put her cat to sleep; doing preventive medical exams (mole checks); trying to get a handle on her allergies; recommitting to a healthy exercise regimen; and coping with industry trade shows and sales.
Me (Les) - Vacationing in Cincinnati with a bunch of folks from the CL Bulletin Board (Virtual Running Buddies); having a great race (results and great time regardless) in Cincinnati; spending quality time with LW; and just having time to spend in "God moments."
Karen - Extending her contract for kickboxing until 2009; DS#2 and his tornado project at the science fair; DD#1 b'day coming up tomorrow; DD having her un-birthday at school (kids with summer birthdays); MIL getting out of the hospital after a short stay (prayers for her recovery); and getting a "new toy" (an elliptical trainer) delivered and set up this week.
[b]Laura -[b] Swim banquet (complete with inconsiderate parents and their kids); DS and DD doing well - DD placing in her section at DECA nationals; still having issues with her back; celebrating passing the Bar (probably the source of her stress and back issues); getting ready for spring/summer in Colorado; and DS getting his first suit. :eek:

This week - I'll be taking it a little easy in the workout realm. Partly because I still have a day's travel to get home and partly because I need to let my ankle get un-unhappy with me. Also, I'm going to be out of town for 4 days starting Thursday as part of my ordination process.

Healthful living - listen to my body and still exercise as much as I need to. Make sure I take my requisite "health days" especially following the upcoming weekend (7 of us doing group dynamics drills with 4 counselors/psychologists).

The rest of the story from this past weekend and the reason I'm not home right now. I did really well (place wise) yesterday. I think I mentioned that I was first in my age group but I just found out that I finished 20th overall (out of 952 racers). :eek: I had no idea! We had a great race this morning and the crowd support was certainly a lot better today than yesterday. I had a successful run and had a fun time but it was an absolute mess at the start - 9033 runners at the starting line jammed onto a 2 lane street (probably the worst starting set up I've seen in a long time - especially at a race like this one). Race conditions were good - cooler than yesterday but still a good temperature (probably in the upper 40s at the start). There was a little wind to contend with at the start, crossing the river, and coming into the finish line but nothing too terrible. The finish area was cool and they had great swag and food at the finish line - a new flavor of oreos, gogurt, ice cream, plus the obligatory apples, oranges, bananas, gatorade, pretzels, and chips. In all I'd call this weekend a rousing success for everyone involved. Even LW is getting turned on and will be starting walking training to do the RnR half marathon in Virginia Beach in September.

The trip East was pretty decent until we got to West Virginia it was fair and a pleasant temp most of the first couple hours. But we pretty much had rain from the WV/KY border all the way to Beckley (50 miles southeast of Charleston). It will be a nice drive the rest of the way home tomorrow. On the down side from this weekend my ankle has started singing but thank goodness for Excedrin Migraine - no pain to speak of now. LW is have lots of "fun" with her blisters but nothing that can't be cured with a good soak and a couple bandages.

It will be a great trip home and nice to put my feet up for a while there before starting the rest of the week in earnest. So until later friends, I hope you all have a great week.

Peace,
Les

[Laura]

Les! Congratulations on your excellent run! How exciting for you. That is great that LW wants to walk a 1/2 marathon. I can't wait to see pictures from your time with the VRBs. It sounds like it was a great time for everyone.

Not much going on here this weekend. DS had a swim-a-thon and swam the maximum amount of 5000 yards. Considering Sat. a.m. practices are sometimes around 7500 yards at faster intervals, this was really a piece of cake.

DD is out looking for jobs today after school.

My niece is coming to stay with us for a few days so I need to head to the store. She is a social worker and has a client here in CO even though my niece lives in WA. (The girl started in the foster care system in WA so they are still responsible for her). Anyway it is nicer for her to stay with us than a hotel down in Pueblo CO, and it will be nice to visit.

I did my Pilates DVD this a.m. and hope to get a run/walk in later today. Take care.

[karen w]

Les-Congratulations!!! What a spectacular accomplishment at the race over the weekend. I hope your ankle does not sing too loudly or too long for that matter. I am eager to see pictures as well.

We had another busy weekend, and I think that is going to be the M.O. until the end of the school year. At least, it has eased up somewhat by not having to take the kids to Tae Kwon Do. Among other things, I tried our new elliptical over the weekend. I'm not sure what to do with all of the buttons/programs yet, and I did not put the chest strap for heart monitoring on while I was using it, but it will be a fun toy. It was "tough" too! A new form of workout that I'm not used to, so I'll build up slowly. Yesterday I biked for 30 min., did my abs, and the elliptical for ~10 min. That was enough for me! And speaking of toys....on a different front....DH was at Costco yesterday and they were demonstrating a kitchen toy which he bought me....A Vitamix blender/processor. I tried it out yesterday by making a salad dressing and a vegetable cream cheese spread. Boy-o-boy is that one powerful toy. The kids and I are going to have fun making fruit smoothies and slushies this summer. I'm already thinking about a chocolate banana one when the 'nanners on the counter start getting spots!! :D

As for today....DS#1's b-day!!! I had a VERY BAD tummy ache 10 years ago!! :eek: As for the present day.... I had my swim and a good boxing class. At home I did some cleaning out of the basement and boxed a few more things up for donation. When I got to Goodwill they would not take them since they had ran out of carts! I moaned and groaned at them that it is always something everytime we try to donate things there! So I drove over to Salvation Army and they gladly accepted the stuff. Phooey to Goodwill this time! Nothing much more to add for today.

Have a great evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

My "usual caveat" - note the time and I made a mistake about when I have to go back to work... tomorrow so...

Thanks Laura and Karen, I'll make sure I pass your good thoughts and congratulations to Kathy. I'll post out the good pictures from the weekend once I get the chance.
Laura - I hope everything goes well with your niece and her client. IMO it's good that the "original" caseworker keeps the case for a while so things don't get dropped into the cracks. Congrats to DS on his swim-a-thon. I hope that DD's job quest goes well. How is your back doing? Better I hope.
Karen - 2 new toys. WOW!!! All my new toys are things I can wear when I run. Go figure. I hope DS had a good birthday and I like your comment about having a "bad tummy ache" 10 years ago. ;) I hope your week isn't too hectic.

It was great to get away and both Kathy and I had a fabulous time this weekend and she is getting better every day. I think I'll be fine with another day off of running. She's still nursing a couple blisters that haven't popped yet but those will come. At least now she can walk without pain when the blister touches down - a good sign. BTW - she still snickers when she thinks of herself as a "Pigger." Our trip back to Norfolk was good even if the wind chill this morning was in the 30s when we left WV. :eek: Then top it off with rain most of the way from I-81 to home, ~150 miles. It's nice to be home.

I'd love to post more but I have to be ready to go back to work, even if for only two days. :rolleyes: I'll try to put something down tomorrow before I leave work so until then...

May you all have peace,
Les

[tmsl]

Just a pop in to say HI! Hopefully a little quieter week for us and chance to actually get to the gym, the later half of the week. Tonight I will go to knitting group, not sure if DH is going to the gym.

Allergy doc decided it is time for shots for me. I go in Friday to be retested so they can figure the shot mixture. No allergy meds this week because of that and I am clearing my throat quite a bit. It will be worth it though, as I had shots as a kid adn they helped very much. Isn't wonderful that we can develop NEW allergies as we age?? :eek:

I'll try to post more later in the week, just wanted to say Hi!

Laura K.

[karen w]

Laura k.-Hope the week goes by quickly for you without your allergy meds.

Les-Still looking forward to seeing some pictures! But no pressure!!! :D

I had a busy day as usual. An excellent swim this morning. Then I hit the grocery store before kicking class. Kicking was also excellent, and I was a good girl today. I stayed for my BBC class even though I knew we were going to spend the whole hour sparring, and that is my least favorite portion of black belt requirements. It went pretty well, though. We did alot of drills with kicking/blocking kicks today with our right/left roundhouses. After getting home, putting groceries away, and devouring lunch, I did some cooking for dinner tonight and tomorrow(I'm one step ahead of the game for tomorrow!! ;) ). I made spaghetti sauce for tomorrow, and used my new panini/grill to make us all very yummy grilled paninis tonight for dinner.

Tomorrow is more swimming and boxing. ??BBC??

Have a good night all!

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - It sounds like you are doing well and learning how to use all your new "toys" - good for you. WTG with your workouts and getting ahead for tomorrow, I wish I was as successful today. :rolleyes: Because of my tardiness today I didn't get enough things done in prep for this weekend. I should be able to get them done either tomorrow evening or Thursday morning before I have to leave but it would have been nicer to have more of the raw data I needed. Oh well, things just aren't going as well as I'd like these days.

As for my day, I rode for just over an hour this evening. I can't tell you how far I went because my computer is dying. There were plenty of times that it was registering 0.0 mph and I was moving rather smartly.

Tomorrow I'll probably run but that will depend on how well I do getting my stuff for this weekend put together.

I did hear from 'Nettie. She's doing a little better and lurking a little on the boards. Maybe she'll drop in for a little "peep" - nothing long required, just a Howdy. ;)

Time for sleep and good dreams so until tomorrow - peace and pleasant dreams to all of you my dear friends,
Les

[karen w]

I am going to try to be brief tonight as I am bit tired and the throat is a bit scratchy....uh oh!!! :( I did have a good swim and I went to boxing this morning. I also stayed for my BBC class since the instructor decided we would do "weapons" today. I was curious to give it a try. We did Nunchakkas. It was fun, but humbling at the same time. My boys both have a set, so if I do more of those classes, I'll use their nunchakkas. (they have the soft padded ones;not the hard ones like I used today....ouch! :eek: ). Tomorrow I will swim and anything after that will be determined by the feeling at the moment! :p

And in unrelated topics. . . I AM AN AUNT AGAIN!!!! Yesterday SIL(second oldest brother's wife) gave birth to 7#10 oz. 20" baby girl. Mom and baby are doing well.

Hope everyone had a good hump day. Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry for two short responses in a row. Lots going on here and I need to make some phone calls to the West Coast to complete all the information and projects I have for this coming weekend.

I'm sorry you aren't feeling well Karen I can't imagine why you might be a little under the weather. :rolleyes: Be careful with those hard sticks - I spent a few hours overcoming a bad whack many years ago (felt really stupid when I did it too).

I rode this evening for almost 1:20 - felt good and was even better once I put air in my tires. :eek: I'll be out of battery after tomorrow afternoon for a while - probably back home late Sunday afternoon. I'll try to check in before leaving Norfolk tomorrow but if not have a great weekend and be good to yourselves.

Until later -- peace,
Les

P.S. Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there.

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for the Mother's Day wishes. My kids keep telling me they have "little secrets" they can't share with me this week! :D Did not know you were doing more traveling this week, Les. I hope all goes well.

It's been another quiet week here. My throat is still a bit scratchy, but I really don't feel sick, so today was another day as usual....sorta. I had a bit of company. I had a great swim early in the morning. But after breakfast that little soft spot in me(Yep, I have one!! :p ) decided not to make DS#2 go to school today. He has a case of poison ivy around one of his eyes, and the eye was swollen partially closed this morning. He really could have gone to school as he's feeling OK, eating, breathing fine etc...., but is VERY self conscious about his looks. To quote him...."I look hideous!" I told him I'd write a note saying he could wear a hat today. He wanted me to write a note telling the other kids not to tease him!! If it were only that easy. Anyway, I put some hydrocortisone cream around the area, gave him a benadryl, and called him in absent so he was my buddy. He came with me to kickboxing. He read and played his game boy there. After we both had lunch, I whipped his butt at Shrek Operation. :D He did not know he was dealing with a mom who did her internship in general surgery!!! :D Then we made some cookies and watched a bit of TV together before getting the others from the bus. I do hope he learned his lesson finally, although I doubt it. You see, EVERY year he plays in our woods and gets poison ivy even though he knows what it looks like and we keep telling him to stay out of there! :rolleyes: Oh well. Fortunately, it is looking a bit better this evening, so I'll probably ship him off to school tomorrow.

Have a good evening everyone,
Karen

[tmsl]

Hi Karen! I didn't want you to feel alone in cyberspace. :eek: Poison Ivy around the eye?!? Yikes, that can't feel good. I'm sure you (and DS) enjoyed the buddy time you had together. Enjoy your "secrets" later in the weekend.

I actually have made it to the Y two days in a row!!!!! I am definitely showing myself how a few months out of the gym puts you back at sqaure 1. DH and I both were glad to be back in the swing of things and hope we can find the time to continue. We have a lot of change ahead of us this summer and it has been hard to find time for everything. Karen-it amazes me how consistent you and Les are with your workouts. Do you ever get burnt out from the workouts? I'm sure the new things you have added over the years has helped, ie. tae kwon do, new elliptical, etc.

We hope to have a generally quiet weekend. I have my allergy test this afternoon and I hope that doesn't bother me too much so I can go to the gym again. There is a Parade of Homes in our area this weekend so we will probably go peek at a few of those. Always nice to dream and pick up a few decorating ideas.

Les~hope you are having a great trip. I believe it was for your ordination stuff (for lack of better word), but maybe I am wrong???

Have a great weekend all!!

Laura

[karen w]

Laura-Hi! Thanks for keeping me company. Glad to hear you're back in the swing of things, too. I hope the allergy testing is uneventful for you today. And yes, I do burnout at times from the same routine. Swimming is my passion, but there are days where I need to take a break from boxing. Today was probably one of them, but I went anyway. Fortunately, the weekend breaks up the routine a bit, and I do have a few different choices for when the doldrums hit. Unfortunately, I have just gotten to the point where if I don't do something, I don't feel good...never really wake up and get the day going. :rolleyes:

So yes, today I swam and boxed. Like I said, swimming was good as usual, and although boxing class went well, I really did not have my heart into it today. That and it has been a VERY VERY wet rainy gray day. I did send DS#2 off to school even though his face probably looked worse today. It really is not bothering him. He felt better about going to school today. I think yesterday was just the initial shock of waking up to a half swollen face! I told him if people ask that he should reply...."well, if you think this is bad, you should see the other guy!!!" :D Rest of the day was a few errands and laundry. Tonight DS#1 has cub scouts.

Weekend plans: DH works; me-bike +/- elliptical and abs; DS#1 has a scouting lake cleanup event tomorrow but that might get rained out; DD has a play date and a school project; religion on Sunday etc....

Have a good weekend,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Bumping out to next week's thread.

Peace,
Les