Feel good video of the year

I saw this on Topher's blog last week and kept going back to see it because it cheered me up and my boys love the music. So I decided to share it here too. If you pay attention, you might even see the Atomium. I hope it makes your heart sing.



Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Voorgoed uit ons midden, voor altijd in ons hart

We said our goodbyes to Johan on Saturday. It was a day filled with deep sorrow and many, many tears but we were so grateful afterwards to have been able to share it with his family, friends, fellow students, and the numerous people whose lives had been touched in some way by Johan. He will be missed by so many, yet he will live on in our hearts.

My wise friend Joy said to me: "It's so strange how death is an inevitable part of life, yet we never get used to it....We have to endure this to carry the candle in our hearts, I firmly believe."

Be still an instant and go home with Him, and be at peace a while.
Course in Miracles, p. 341

Farewell to a dear friend

Johan, we are going to miss you enormously. Your humor and good cheer, your passion for music and your talent for awakening the same in your students, and your friendship.

It was a privilege to have known you and we wish your family the strength to bear this unfathomable loss.

We will never forget you.

Fresh start

It may sound weird but I love Mondays, they always feel like a fresh start to me. Everyone is off to school, work, and we are back in our routines. Well, for one more week, at least, sort of. This is the last week of school, so next Monday will be a completely new kind of routine (and then only eleven days til Jenny and her family come to visit - woo hoo!!!).

Today my oldest is home as his exams are all finished so he pretty much has the whole week off, except for some activities, bringing his books in, and picking up his report card on Friday. So we are heading off to do some summer shopping for him and having lunch out together - at Greenway perhaps, a favorite of ours!

Our youngest had his big 9th birthday celebration this weekend - on Friday we took him out to dinner and he chose Thai House...on Saturday four of his friends came for a party...and on Sunday afternoon all the in-laws were here for the afternoon. Luckily it was nice weather and everyone could enjoy sitting outside.

So you will understand why it took me so long to blog! We did get our long run in yesterday, we did 6 loops around the lake (8.4 km) in 53 minutes, it was very humid out - we kept saying this is what it's going to be like for the Hottest Race, only twice as hot! But the sweat was dripping into my eyes - I really need to start wearing that headband again!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Perfect running weather

Yesterday was perfect running weather. Sunny, but crisply cool with a very slight breeze at 8:30 am. I walked the boys to school and took off from there for 45 minutes with some hills. My runs seem to take me further and further afield these days! I ended up doing 6.6 km, enjoying the green, the flowers and shrubs and trees, the horses in the field - it felt really good!

For those of you who are struggling with the heat, Kristen Armstrong's most recent blog is full of her take on running in hot, hot, hot Austin TX right now:
http://milemarkers.runnersworld.com/2008/06/some-like-it-ho.html

Wherever you are, enjoy your day!

Mom, throw down some money, the ice cream man is coming!!!

Who remembers the Eddie Murphy routine about the ice cream man??? No seriously, there was mild panic in the house yesterday evening when the clanking bell of the ice cream man was heard down the street! Luckily our neighbor Kristel had flagged him down a few weeks ago and begged him to slow down (he used to fly through our street) two nights a week. What a treat for the boys! (Want a lick? Psych!)

Unfortunately it's just not really ice cream weather yet here...the temperature is still quite chilly and yesterday it was supposed to rain. So I decided to do my long run at the gym. It still amazes me how busy it gets there around 10 on a Sunday morning...of course I was there by 9:15, I am so paranoid about not getting a treadmill (there are only 8 of them).

Normally I had to do 7 loops around the lake, which means 9.8 km, so I decided to do a nice even 10 on the treadmill. I started out by doing 2.5 in 18 minutes, taking a potty break (that is the wondeful thing about being at the gym!), and then comitting to the remaining 7.5, which ended up taking me 53 minutes. Whew. It is a long stretch on a machine, I have to admit. But I was pleased when I was finished and headed home, in spite of the fact that it was gorgeously sunny and I actually could have done the run outside. Oh well.

Short Update

Just a quick "week in review" as we are now in June which means:

• full swing exam week for our oldest
• last month of school, i.e. school outings, presentations, etc. for the two younger ones
• the dire need to plan outings with my friends that we've been putting off for months and must do before school is out!

Aisling and I got together on Monday and ended up taking a wonderful hike through the Meerdael woods, from one natural spring (Zoet Waterbron) to another (Meerdaelbron). It was perfect weather, all hot and sunny (we were cool in the shady forest) and it took us 1 hour and 45 minutes. I mapped it later on Map My Run and it was about 7 km. Not too bad considering we were babbling away the whole time!

Linda and I had planned a "professional" outing to Brussels on Tuesday to a very posh herborist shop on Place St. Catherine. It's a gorgeous shop, and in the back they have a room where all the walls are full of those little wooden pull out drawers, with every dried herb imaginable. We also hit the huge Asian grocery store which is right in the neighborhood, spent a good long while looking at all the specialities, and came out with heavy bags! We're planning to do some experimenting over the summer for our fall workshops.

Today, it was pouring down rain, so I headed off to the gym for a run. I did 5 km in 35 minutes, and then I had to rush off to make sure I would be in time to pick up my oldest from his first exam, Latin, and take him home for lunch and more studying. With our odd schedules the next ten days I am going to have to be very vigilant about getting my runs in!

Lazy Sunday - Not!

It's Father's Day here so we got up and made pancakes for Stefaan and he got to open his presents. Then I dragged him off to the lake for our long run!

We did 6 loops (8.4 km) in 55 minutes and it all went nice and easy, except for that predictable tough point I always hit somewhere between loops 3 and 4. You know, when the running feels hard and your legs feel like cement and your mind is going, "Why am I doing this? What is the point? Am I crazy? What did I ever think was so great about running? I don't have to do this. I could quit. Then I could sleep in on Sundays and drink wine on Saturday evening...bla, bla, bla"

And so it keeps on, my disobedient mind, until I focus on my legs and soften up my stride so it feels better and think about how lucky I am to be able to run. And remember that I always hit that hard spot, nothing unusual about it, and just push through it and it will pass. And it did.

Happy trails to you all today!

Tough Tempo Time

I needed to do a tempo workout today, which normally I would have done on Tuesday. On the schedule was a "8-6-4-2" interval workout, which I usually enjoy, but today it was tough.

First of all one thing about this workout is that the first interval is 8 minutes, so you have to pick a tempo speed that feels challenging but that you are still able to maintain for 8 minutes. Normally I think I am probably way too conservative (Jenny and Mark have told me before that I am probably capable of running faster than I think I can); today I plugged in 10 km/hr and it felt so hard! I think it must have something to do with the fact that I did a run on Wednesday and cross training yesterday (not to mention all those lunges), and am just more physically tired in general. Usually my tempo workout is on Tuesday, and I usually do no cardio on Monday (because it is the day after my long run), so I am more rested.

But I kept thinking what Mark or Jenny (yes, they are my gurus) said one time, about the hard workouts being the ones that make you progress. Plus, it seems that changing things about your workout schedule is also very beneficial - we don't want our body getting too complacent or comfortable, or it stops improving!

So I really really REALLY wanted to stop but I kept going, and pushed the speed up a notch at each successive interval. Boy was I glad when I was done! I ended up doing a total of 5.6 km in 40 minutes (this includes warm up and cool down).

I was a "test client" this week for an exam in food therapy at the school where I got my diploma (that was why my workout schedule was all mixed up). As a "test client" you are interviewed by the student and have to tell as much as you can about your eating habits and lifestyle so they can write up a therapy plan for their exam. So I was yapping away, and the very nice person interviewing me said at one point, "You are very disciplined."

This just stopped me in my tracks, because I have never really thought of myself as disciplined, although that was always one of the qualities I always wished I had more of. A few years ago, I was reading one of Marianne Williamson's books* and she was discussing the idea that we wish we were a certain way, and how we can get there. Well, Marianne's advice is so simple: practice what you want to become, and you become it. I remember writing in my journal: "Practice being disciplined and you become a disciplined person."

And so I guess I would have to say that this is one of the benefits I have reaped the last two years in this crazy running adventure: by practicing being committed to my running workouts and not giving in to my feelings of wanting to stop every time it feels hard (which is often in running), I guess to my surprise I would have to agree with my interviewer, I have become more disciplined! And this has spilled over into other areas of my life.

And so when one of those hard workouts pops up, and we perservere and buck up and just do it, not only do we improve physically, but we become mentally stronger as well. How cool is that?

By the way, tempo runs totally embody Marianne's idea: Practice running faster and you become a faster runner! Now I just need to practice believing I can run faster!

*I just went to verify which book I was thinking of and it is "The Gift of Change" which was published in 2004 and is wonderful. Another favorite of mine by Marianne Williamson is "Everyday Grace".

It's Raining Again

Do you remember that song? It's been going through my head the last few days. All it took was hearing it once on the radio and this week's weather and I am stuck with it!

Seriously, the weather is bad, we had a huge storm on Tuesday, a lot of our neighbors' basements were flooded and some of the streets look dangerously close to flash flood conditions. Hardly June, but oh well. So I went down to the gym today for cross training.

My legs were still sore (thanks a lot, Christy!) but 40 minutes on the elliptical actually felt really good. Then I did some upper body weights and yes, LUNGES. But I decided I was far too enthusiastic on Monday, and limited myself to one set, which I will repeat on Saturday. Maybe I'll try two sets next week.

Poetry in Motion?

I got a lot of biking in yesterday, but not my run, so unusually for me, I needed to get a run in on a Wednesday. It was supposed to be 40 minutes with hills...but as I walked home from dropping the boys at school I was wondering to myself how I was going to manage that when just lowering myself into a chair is difficult! Can one actually run on lunge-tortured legs? I really was not sure this was going to work, especially when just walking I could still really feel how tight and painful my inner thighs are!

I am happy to report that it went (to my great surprise) fine! My legs did seem to tire more quickly than usual but for the rest they didn't bother me at all except on the downhill parts - which are always tough for me. It did take me slightly longer to finish my 6.2 km route; 44 minutes. But that's okay. So I guess running muscles are not exactly the same ones you need for lunges? Or is it just because they are used to running but not used to lunging? Hmmm.

So I wasn't exactly poetry in motion (she blinded me with science!) during my run, but the Daily Om did have a nice little reminder this week about how important it is to include movement in your life:

Poetry in Motion: Moving Our Body
Our bodies love movement... If you are feeling stuck, ready to release old energy, or eager to feel more alive, try moving your body. By giving your muscles a chance to do what they were created for, you may find that all areas of your body and your life benefit as well.

Many times we can be so busy that we forget moving our body is even an option. Some of us remain seated at our computer for hours every day or rush from task to task ... When we are caught up in crossing items off our to-do lists, we tend to neglect all the opportunities there are to enjoy our bodies in the process of living. If this is true for you, begin looking for opportunities to move.... See if you can sense your bones providing graceful support, your muscles and tendons expanding and contracting in just the right measure, your lungs changing pace to fill deeply with fresh air. Movement is a vital celebration of life. It is a way to proclaim your own existence and relish in the joy of being alive. Today, and into the future, give yourself the gift of your body in motion.

I often find that the Daily Om has something pertinent to say! www.dailyom.com

Congratulations Mark!

Mark finished the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon in 3 hours, 24 minutes yesterday - way to go! Quite an accomplishment, considering he didn't even think he would be able to run it a few weeks ago. We are proud of you, Mark!

I managed to talk Christy into joining me on Viv's Weight Loss Challenge (what was she thinking) if I promised to do lunges in exchange (my most hated strength exercise). So I did them this morning, as part of the weight workout I am adding three times a week (Mom's recommendation - she is right - to help rev up the metabolism a bit). I HATE LUNGES! My legs feel so wobbly afterwards, ugh. I have never been a huge fan of strength workouts...I always tend to "forget" about them when planning my training for running races.

Weight Loss Challenge

Over on Lily's blog I noticed that she has joined a weight loss challenge for the month of June - just what I need to get some momentum going! Eating a healthy vegan diet has not been a problem at all for me - but I still tend to eat too much. And like Lily says, just training for races is definitely not enough to lose weight. You have to make a real effort with the eating habits as well.

All the information about the challenge is over at Viv's blog (www.imnotfittorun.blogspot.com) as well as her email address if you want to join in - don't worry, she has promised not to post anyone's weight on the WWW!

Easing Back In

For those of you who are busy training for marathons, I know 5 times around the lake (7 km) really does not qualify as a long run, but that was our distance this morning as we ease back into our routine. It went really well, took us 48 minutes, and we both felt good and could have continued on - but the plan said 5 and we decided to STICK TO THE PLAN (ha ha)! I hope I have the same attitude when the plan says we have to do 9 times!

My brother-in-law Mark is running the San Diego marathon today so we are thinking of him and hoping it goes really well for him. He sure deserves it after all his perseverance (including actually finishing in the hellishly hot Chicago marathon last fall) and struggle with his hip injury. Go Mark!

One of Mark's favorite things when he comes to Belgium is to get a hot sugar waffle at the train station, and he was feeling sorry for me that the Belgian waffles are not vegan. Luckily Christine came up with a vegan version of them! Check it out (pictures and all) on her blog: http://christinevardaros.blogspot.com/2008/05/vegan-waffle-party-huge-success.html We will definitely have to try her recipe when Jenny and Mark visit next month (yay!) - but you can still walk to the train station, Mark, and get a "real" one if you want!