July 2006 Archives

There was a helicopter hovering nearby, but you can still hear Anna's squealing-giggle above the noise.

Anna & I went to the zoo today. I felt like we ought to go since we're members and it has been over a month since we went. She loved it. We saw the giraffes, elephants, the monkeys, and we saw a tiger and a lion up-close. We also rode on the carousel again and went to the petting zoo to check out the goats.

It was super hot today though (thankfully we went as soon as she was done with breakfast so it wasn't too miserable out) and we were both wiped out by the time we made it back to the hot, hot car. She is also acting like (maybe) her teeth are bothering her as she did not want much breakfast or lunch.

Sharon came out to visit this weekend! I know in my heart of hearts she really only came to meet Anna since I'll see her again at her wedding this fall, but I won't let that get to me too much. Anna thought Sharon was okay and although I wouldn't say that they're best friends, Anna did make up a strange little sign for Sharon that was pretty cute.

Of course, a post about Sharon would not be complete if I didn't mention that I finished three books this month: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith and Dr. Mom's Prescription for Preschoolers by Marianne, M.D. Neifert as well as the Complete Book of Women's Running that I have previously mentioned. Sounds like I'm on a roll and I've made my stack of next books to read.

My shoes have been rubbing me the wrong way lately so I thought I'd stop by the local running store and get a new pair. My suspicion that my shoe-size had changed since I had Anna was correct. I went from an 8 to a 9 (according to the guy at the store anyway). While I was there I picked up the new iPod/Nike+ receiver for the Nano. I'm excited to try both the shoes & the receiver (will track distance, pace, and calories on the Nano). Of course I'll report back when I have some data!

Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 42:36
170 avg
12:04 in THR
29:21 high HR
01:11 low HR
7:15 AM 76 degrees & 80% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.2

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 67.6
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 27:45
163 avg
17:49 in THR
09:39 high HR
00:17 low HR
6:10 AM 76 degrees & 82% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 5

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 64.4
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 28:11
166 avg
15;25 in THR
12:33 high HR
00:13 low HR
6:10 AM 76 degrees & 93% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 2.5

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 61.9
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Anna has made a lot of progress with her spoon and fork over the past week or two.

Coloring after we dried off from the rain.

Anna & I had quite a bit of fun this morning playing out in the rain. She stood with her hand in the water coming off of the roof for a while. I finally convinced her to step away from that (it was just too much fun!) walk out and stomp in the puddles for even more rainy-day fun.

I ended up coming back home almost at bedtime on Monday and I don't think that that timing worked out well. Anna acted kind of nervous and went to grandma! But she did let me & Craig put her to bed without question. I think it was kind of like those movies where the husband is presumed dead for 20 years but shows up on his wife's doorstep and expects her to have waited for him... I think Anna had given up hope of her mother & father returning and had latched on to Grandma. So when we came back on Monday she had to rearrange her thoughts. At least she didn't cry when she saw me!

Worried mother calling on the phone from Paris.

Even Gertie had a fun time while I was away!

Thanks for taking such good care of Anna (and Gertie), mom!

Looking down the Champs Elysees. Photo by Craig.—he is going to go through his photos of the parade & cyclists and I'll post those later.

The original agenda today was to go to a flea market, but since I was really starting to not feel well (I suspect I got what Anna had last week) I was having second thoughts. Craig realized that today was the day that the Tour de France would be running up the Champs Elysees so we decided to make that our focal point of the day.

We left in the morning for the Musee Rodin only to find that it was opening late that day due to "technical difficulities" so we decided to just walk up to the Champs Elysees and see what was happening. A lot of people were already camped out to get the best spots along the course and we bought a few souvenirs and then sat down for lunch. I was really not feeling well, so we finally went to a pharmacy and negotiated some medicine that would help me out. I walked back to the hotel after the parade started as I didn't have th energy to wait around for the bikes. By the time I got back to the hotel I felt much better (thank you, French medicine!) but I still took a 45 minute nap. Craig came back shortly after and we spent a low-key evening near the hotel.

Versailles as we approached it from the train station.

One of the rooms in Marie-Antoinette's buildings.

All Eiffel Tower Photos by Craig.

We went out to Versailles today since neither of us have been there and it's not likely that Anna will be into going there for a while if we are back in Paris again soon. Versailles is H U G E. If this place seemed extravagant to me today I can't imagine what a commoner would have thought back in the day it was actually used by the royal families. We did get the audio tour which was nice. Versailles is just huge though and with jet-lag and (what I now know was) the beginning of a flu/cold, I was requesting a lot of breaks in the shade of trees! Thankfully it was overcast for the second half of our stay so at least the sun wasn't beating down on us as we walked the grounds.

After a break at the hotel and dinner at a cool restaurant, we went to the Eiffel Tower. The top level was closed, but the view from the second deck was just fine. I'm sure the lines were shorter tonight than they are during the day, too.

We made it back to the hotel on the last train of the night.

Sunset near Notre Dame.

We got a good view of the rollerbladers from a cafe on the corner.

Craig was at CDG waiting for me so we walked down and got on the train for the city. The train was hot and a bit stinky and I fanned myself with my map of Paris.

We dropped my stuff at the hotel and then went out to get something to eat (a Montagnard Panini for me—yum!: tomato and goat cheese) and check out the toy store I wanted to see last time we were here. We walked up to Places des Vosges and found a few things to buy on the way. Of course I am most attracted to the kids clothing/toy stores. I called home to see how things were going (my mom says all is well, Anna is doing great). We took a break on the way back for some fresh-squeezed orange juice at a cafe in front of the Centre Pompidou and made our way back to the hotel for a siesta (fatigue struck prety hard when I sat down at the cafe as I had only slept two hours on the plane).

After my siesta I took a shower and we went to dinner at Vieux Bistro and then we walked down to a cafe to situate ourselves before the rollerbladers of Pari Roller raced by. Then it was off to bed because once darkness finally fell around 10 PM I felt exhausted again.

Today was better than yesterday! It helped that I got up and went a bit earlier and since I know I'll be sitting on the plane all night, I am really glad I went.

Distance: 2.6 miles
Time:27:42
169 avg
11:51 in HR
15:44 high THR
00:07 low HR
7:10 AM 76 degrees & 65% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 5.2

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 59.4
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Anna is back to herself, thank goodness! I am getting nervous for my trip to Paris without her. I'm not worried about my mom taking care of her or anything like that, but this will be the first time she's been left overnight for several days without me or Craig there to take care of her. I'm sure it will work out just fine but I can't not worry, I guess that's part of being a mother.

...
I was having a hard time getting myself to leave. Stopped at the grocery store to get some Luna bars, continued on to the airport. It felt simultaneously strange and OK as I processed what I was doing. Why did this sound like such a good idea two weeks ago when I booked my tickets?

My flight was an hour late so I took a momemt to appreciate that Anna wasn't with me so that I didn't need to be stressed out about it. The flight was pretty empty and there was an open middle seat next to me which was really nice. Several hours into the flight a woman fainted which caused quite a stir. She seemed to be fine and I never did hear the details. The rest of the flight was uneventful as was going through security at the airport. Of course I am constantly wondering how it is going at home!

Even though I walked in CO, it has been over a week since I have run and I could definitely tell today. It did not help that it was sunny & humid, either!

Distance: 2.6 miles
Time 27:18
176 avg HR
05:38 in THR
21:15 high HR
00:25 low HR
7:45 AM 75 degrees & 71% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 2.6

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 59.4
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Anna & I went to sign language class and she was acting clingy and shy. We went to the doctor to get everything checked out and to rule out an ear infection. She was perky and fun in the waiting room and she seemed to be over it (finally!). I did get a prescription for Zantac for her since the sickness seemed to be dragging on and I thought maybe she had a reflux flare-up. Thankfully we didn't need to use it since she seemed be back to her normal self since we entered the waiting room at the doctor's office. Now at least I feel better about leaving her tomorrow for my trip to Paris to meet up with Craig.

We got up early and went to the airport but Anna felt hot again so I gave her Motrin just to be on the safe side. We were lucky and the flight wasn't full so Anna & I got a row to ourselves and Grandma & Grandpa got a row to themselves. I will never not buy a seat for my child again. We are two people after all! Anna did great on the flight again and took a long nap after we ate some lunch at home. However we tried to go out to eat for dinner and she lost it in the restaurant. This is really unusual for her so we went home and I have decided to call the nurse in the morning.

Anna is still acting not-herself and I'm beginning to wonder what the specific problem is. The rash is getting better, she's not hot, but she's still cranky (especially after her nap). We went to story hour with Rachel & Sam (Jacob & Grandma went on their own to read books and solve puzzles) at the library and Anna sat through most of it although we had to get up and leave toward the end because she was starting to fuss. I am excited for story hour to start back up at our library (they're done for the summer) so we can try it again. Overall, we took it pretty easy today since we just weren't sure how Anna was feeling.

Anna woke up super sad this morning. She seemed better after she got somebreakfast (and Motrin) in her. She was not hot though which was a step in the right direction. She was in a pretty good mood the rest of the morning but, apparently, I should have given her some Tylenol before her nap as she woke up about 2 hours in and was crying/inconsolable for about 30 minutes after that. She was in a great mood though after her Tylenol kicked in and we had fun with Jacob & Sam at their house again in the afternoon. She has a rash on her trunk though and that seemed to be worse today than yesterday.

I really regret that we didn't try to get a picture of the three kids this afternoon!

Distance: ~2 miles
Time: ~27:52
24:34 in THR
1:18 high HR
4:08 low HR
Walk around neighborhood w/Anna in Volo. Sunny and no shade but nice temp.

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.6
Miles Walked: 7.3

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 56.8
Miles Walked: 14.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

After a great evening out at the restaurant without Tylenol or Motrin, I was surprised and disappointed that Anna woke up crabby and sick again; I guess whatever she has is going to last more than jus 24 hours. We drove down to Opa's and Anna seemed to like getting out in the car and seeing a new place. She really liked Opa's birds (although one was too loud when he talked so we had to admire from afar). She though Opa's "little dog" was cute, but she seemed to like the piano the most. She gently pressed down one key at a time and play a nice little tune.

We went out to lunch with Opa, Anita, Brian, & Ross, but the service was so bad that Anna & I ended up leaving with my mom shortly after the adult meals arrived I did eat a bit of my lunch and thankfully they served Anna first). I couldn't make a sick kid sit in her highchair while we ate after she had been sitting in it for over 30 minutes already. I think if she hadn't been sick she would have been just fine as she would have had more of an appetite, too.

She fell asleep in the car for about 10 minutes on the way up to Grandma & Grandpa's and then also took a decent nap at their house. She was a bit crabby after her nap but just before bedtime the Motrin kicked in and shew as happy and playful and I almost felt bad sending her to bed. But she wanted to go to bed and rest so I didn't feel too bad.

Little things:

• At Nana & Papa's she liked to point out the elk and deer mounted on the walls: "eh," "dee." "eh," "dee."
  
• She was saying "dumpemout" (dump them out) when she dumped the crayons out of the cup at the restauarnt.
  
• She is saying more and more two-word phrases like "little dog," "big clouds," etc.
  
• She is identifying colors. I thought this was a fluke at home; that she was just repeating what we had said earlier but she named the colors of the crayons at the restaurant and then identified colors of blocks at Grandma & Grandpa's house. (red, blue, orange, yellow, green)

Anna will, when prompted, say Nana, Papa, and Ross. She doesn't need prompting to point out Riggs the Dog and say "woof" though. I told her that since Riggs is a big dog he says "woof" in a deep voice so now, instead of her old, high pitched "ruff, ruff" she used to do, all dogs say a deep "woof."

Anna was still fussy today and she also felt hot again. I've been giving her alternate doses of Tylenol and Motrin but it seems to be hit-or-miss. She was feeling better after her afternoon nap so we did go out to dinner with Anita, Brian, & Ross. She loved going through the tunnels on the way to the restaurant and didn't get why we could go through them "again" as we continued on the road. There were three tunnels each way and her face was just filled with excitement each time we went through. Anna was quick to give Riggs some goodnight kisses when we got back.

I met Erin R. for lunch which was great. She is due with her first child in September and I won't get to go to her shower in August so I was really glad to see her.

Anita & I went on a walk with Riggs after I put Anna to bed for the evening.

Distance: ~2.7 miles
Time:50:12
136 avg
31:52 in
5:49 hi
12:31 lo
w/Anita & Riggs
7:45 PM 72 degrees and 31% humidity

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.6
Miles Walked: 5.3

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 56.8
Miles Walked: 12.9
Miles Biked: 8.5

Anna did really well again for the first part of the day and Corrine, Owen, & Raisa were up to spend the day which was fun. Sometime after her nap (3 hours, just like at home!) she got crabby. Our only theory is that the massive amount of cherries she ate this morning made her gassy. I gave her some Mylicon and she went to bed at 7 PM. Hopefully tomorrow will be better since I am leaving her with Anita & Brian while I meet Erin R. for lunch!

I went for a walk from Brian & Anita's since I knew at this altitude I would be having a pretty rough time if I tried to run. I did end up jogging some downhills and flat areas but definitely stuck to walking the hills. It was really cool and low-humidity so it was actually kind of chilly when I started out.

Distance: 2.6
Time: 42:25
144 avg heart-rate
4:21 low HR
35:49 in THR
2:15 high HR

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.6
Miles Walked: 2.6

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 56.8
Miles Walked: 10.2
Miles Biked: 8.5

Anna was an awesome little traveler today! I was a cheap-skate and didn't buy her a seat on the plane and although it wasn't really the worst experience ever, I was wishing I had just forked over the money and gotten her a seat: for the extra space. Anita & Ross were waiting for us at baggage claim and then we met Corrine for lunch. When we got to Brian & Anita's, Anna was pretty excited to see Riggs the Dog again. She went right up to him and giggled and followed him around. I got her stuff set up for a nap and she slept for two hours: perfect! She also went to bed just like at home so I was really pleased with how the day went.

Anna finally got the hang of holding onto her own ear of corn today after playing with some pretend corn at playgroup this morning.

I know there are little things to update but I'm drawing a blank, so hopefully I'll make a post in a few days with a list of new animal noises she's making and the other stuff she's up to.

Today was too sunny so I was less comfortable than yesterday but I am glad I went because I will enjoy my day off tomorrow that much more.

Yesterday at the dentist (my first crown!) my dentist asked if I was a runner because my blood pressure was so good. Also, I had a fasting blood test a few weeks back and I have brought my tricglyerides down to normal which is great since I've been working on that for a few years now. Of course I have to keep working at it, but it was great to hear that I've made some progress.

The next few weeks are going to be hectic scheduling wise so I've really got to stay focused to keep up with my running 3-4 days each week.

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 3.2 miles
Time: 43:03
165 avg heart-rate
00:17 LOW HR
28:43 IN THR
14:03 HIGH HR
7:00 AM, 76° and 74% humidity
Most inspiring song: Can't Get You Out of My Head—Kylie Minogue

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.6

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 56.8
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 8.5

I was feeling wishy-washy on what distance to go this morning. So I set out to do at least 3.2, then thoguht about 4.4, then just decided to go for the entire 5.4 I had originally planned. It felt good although I could tell that I worked way too hard on Saturday (shin splints) at the race. I will wait a few more weeks before I increase distance again.

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 5.4 miles
Time: 63:21
171 avg heart-rate
00:10 LOW HR
20:09 IN THR
43:02 HIGH HR
6:50 AM, 76° and 82% humidity
Most inspiring song: Let's Go Crazy—Prince

This Week:
Miles Run: 5.4

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 53.6
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 8.5

This is me (in blue) finishing the race! Photo copyright race organizers.

I did my first local race this morning. Of course I was nervous at the start because I think the last time I ran in a race was the Cherry Creek Sneak with Erin F. (when was that, Erin?) and I didn't really remember how it felt. Anyway, this race is a small group of about 50 people so that is even more intimidating. My ultimate goal was to not finish last and I did that. I won't lie and say I was comfortable at the pace I chose to run at, but I am happy with my time! (I had resigned myself to finishing around 40 minutes before the race so I was pleased to do it in 9 less minutes!)

I finished 40th of 50 runners and 8th of 13 female runners and my "official" time was 30:47.

Edited to add: I biked with Anna in the trailer (and Craig rollerbladed) to the park this morning after I had some breakfast so I've added 2.6 miles to the biking totals (it took 16:46 round-trip).

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 3.1 miles
Time: 30:45
183 avg heart-rate
00:10 LOW HR
01:21 IN THR
29:14 HIGH HR
8:00 AM, 76° and 65% humidity
Most inspiring song: shuffling feet behind me

This Week:
Miles Run: 12.4
Miles Biked: 2.6

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 48.2
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 8.5

Just about everything is a hat in our house.

Anna had her 15-month appointment this morning and she did a pretty good job. She didn't like the shots, of course, but she recovered pretty quickly. I didn't really have any questions for the doctor since Anna seems to be doing everything she's "supposed" to be doing. The only thing we need to work on is using utensils at meal-time (she can put the fork/spoon in her mouth but doesn't scoop/stab the food). We did talk about turning her car-seat around (she's just over 20 lbs so I'm not in a particular rush). Since she's not complaining about being rear-facing, I'll probably just leave her for a while longer.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 20 lbs 4.5 oz (25th percentile)
Length/Height: 31 inches (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18.25 inches (90th percentile)

Corrine & I went out in 90% humidity this morning. It is definitely the sun and not the humidity that slows me down on the days I have gone out with Anna. It was fun to run with someone and makes me consider joining a local seemommyrun group.

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 28:19
160 avg heart-rate
00:27 LOW HR
22:09 IN THR
05:43 HIGH HR
5:55 AM, 74° and 90% humidity
Most inspiring song: talking to Corrine today

This Week:
Miles Run: 9.3

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 45.1
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 7.9

Craig went to work today so the rest of us went to the pool. It was perfect because althoug the skies looked threatening of rain, the weather was great (not too hot and relatively low humidity) and there was no one else at the pool. However, Corrine, Scott, Raisa, and Owen's stay was too short!

We went out for seafood tonight (I got chicken!) and Anna tried and liked the fried alligator appetizer that was ordered. She liked my broccoli, the bread, her french fries, and Raisa's ice cream, too.

Corrine & I went to the Y this morning because it was raining pretty hard outside. I found that I run slower on the treadmill and I can't not watch the numbers on the machine—and it's not necessarily motivating. I did run at a bit of an incline though, since I don't get much of that around here when I'm outside.

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 2.4 miles
Time: 31:08
162 avg heart-rate
00:23 LOW HR
19:40 IN THR
11:05 HIGH HR
7 AM, inside
Most inspiring song: talking to Corrine today

This Week:
Miles Run: 6.8

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 42.6
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 7.9

Anna signing "monkey."

It is raining a lot now. It didn't rain before Rachel & Mat came then rained the whole time they were here. It didn't rain in between Rachel & Mat and Corrine & Scott, but it is now raining again. We were able to take a few portraits this morning and then went out to lunch, too. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to get out and do something fun!

Playing "cars" on the stairs. You can see that Anna thinks her cousins are pretty cool!

Owen, Raisa, Corrine, & Scott arrived this afternoon. Anna seemed to like her cousins right away but remained a bit unsure of her aunt & uncle throughout their visit (warming up a little at the very end, of course!).

We just got a little bit of rain on us, but we were prepared with two umbrellas so we didn't get wet. Photo by Craig

[I'll post some of Craig's parade pictures later!]

We had fun at the parade this morning. We pretty much parked, walked up to the corner, found a great spot for Anna to see and then the parade started. Anna enjoyed the marching bands, the horses, the baloons, and bubbles... The best part was that Anna was waving her little flag for most of the parade so she appeared very patriotic.

This morning I walked downstairs to find a small, dead, reptile on the tile at the bottom of the stairs. I was wishing I had gone downstairs before Craig left so he could deal with it. I repeated to myself "at least it's dead, at least it's dead, at least it's dead..." and got the courage to sweep it up and take it out to the trash can in the garage. So that's what Gertie was doing last night when she was running around the house like a wild-cat! At first I thought it was a lizard but there was no tail, so, either the tail is somewhere else or it was a frog (it was on its back and I'm not familiar with the details on lizard or frog bellies). It was very small so whatever it was, it was a baby. I hope it was a fluke that it got in the house no matter what it was!

I was actually really nervous before setting out for this morning's run. I haven't run 4 miles for a very long time, so I was thinking I might have to walk a bit. Surprise, surprise: it was easy. I ran at my THR for the first half, taking it easy so I'd have energy to get home. Then I decided to pick up my pace a bit on the way home and I felt great!

I am doing a variation of this training schedule for the ten-miler in October. I have been trying to run 3x/week and am going to step it up to 4x/week this month OR 3x/week plus a cross-training day. Since I have 15 weeks to train instead of the schedule's 10 I am going to play around with it a bit. I'm also referring to the book Bonnie recommended, Runner's World Complete Book of Women's Running by Dagny Scott. My ultimate goal in doing this ten-miler is to run a ten-miler. I don't have a time in mind yet as I'm hoping I'll be moving a bit faster by October than I am now!

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 4.4 miles
Time: 51:55
166 avg heart-rate
00:18 LOW HR
31:50 IN THR
19:47 HIGH HR
7:30 AM, 73° and 82% humidity
Most inspiring song: I'm Still Standing—Elton John

This Week:
Miles Run: 4.4

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: 40.2
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 7.9

Today was a lot better although my legs felt a little tired from the start. I easily stayed below my THR for over the first half of the run. I am just so impressed that Anna is such a good little stroller companion, I guess she likes getting out with me. Someone made a comment on her reading (Opposites by Sandra Boynton) in the stroller like it was the craziest thing they had ever witnessed. Not sure what that was about.

We also saw an older man that I believe I have seen running before. He runs like I do in my dreams (haven't had this dream recently): exaggerated motion and it looks like how I feel in my dream where I would describe it like "running through molasses." Putting forth all sorts of effort but not getting anywhere fast.

It was more humid today but the sun was behind clouds for a good portion of our run (and the path we chose today was more shady overall) so it felt better today than yesterday. I am feeling pretty tempted to get up at 6 tomorrow for my first "long" run just to not have to deal with the sun.

Here are today's stats:
Distance: 2.5 miles
Time: 29:19
167 avg heart-rate
00:09 LOW HR
15:21 IN THR
13:49 HIGH HR
9:00 AM, 78° and 65% humidity
Most inspiring songs: talking with Anna today.

This Week:
Miles Run: 8.2
Miles Biked: 4.9

Totals Since 5/14:
Miles Run: ~35.8
Miles Walked: 7.6
Miles Biked: 7.9