Easy Run!

We are doing a 5K race in Fort Worth tomorrow afternoon so we thought it would be a good idea to get out for an easy run this morning - especially when we woke up to see that it was a balmy 60 F and the sun was trying to peek out behind the clouds. The town where my parents live has all these nice wide trails that run behind the neighborhoods, so it's never hard to decide where to go:



An easy pace and good company mean an enjoyable run! I will say my abs are pretty sore from all those planks, mountain climbers and crunches at boot camp yesterday, but other than that, I feel pretty good. It's nice to have been able to participate in all this exercise - it helps to make up for the good food and wine we have been enjoying!

Hardest. Workout. Ever.

Christy, Stefaan and I went to bootcamp this morning and ended up doing the hardest workout I have ever done, the infamous Bootcamp Poker.


Shayla had a full deck of playing cards. Each card represented an exercise and the number on the card tells you how many reps you have to do:

• Spades - deadlifts
• Hearts - pushups
• Clubs - mountain climbers
• Diamonds - wall squats (10 seconds x value of the card)
• Jokers - 1 minute of burpees
• Red face cards - 1 minute of C-crunches
• Black face cards - 1 minute in plank
• Aces - one lap (1/4 mile) on the treadmill

She shuffled the cards and started at the top of the deck. Now my mom has done this workout before and blogged about it but I never fully got how hard it was until I had to do it myself. And yes, we did the entire deck of cards! At the moment my arms feel like wet noodles and I could barely get in and out of the car!

Bravo to Christy for doing this on her birthday. We were planning to treat her to Starbucks afterwards but we were all so starving we ended up going out for a late breakfast instead!

We are all kind of relieved to have a 5K race to go to on Friday so that we have a reason (excuse?) to not go to bootcamp! I think I will be sore for days...

Bootcamp and Yoga

Yesterday was bootcamp again with Christy and Stefaan. Shayla put together another tough workout for us and finished the session with a series of planks. It was a hard workout and I definitely am feeling it in my glutes today!

Later I went to yoga class with Mom, Jenny and Mark to get a good stretch. I loved Heidi's class! It was called "Weekend Warrior" and is specifically intended for people who run or do other sports during the weekend and want to get a good stretch in at the beginning of the week, which we definitely got. I've done yoga for many years but it is always fun to do something different - I always learn something new. "Shoelace" pose was a new one for me. (You lie on your back, pull your knees up towards your chest and cross your ankles, then grab your ankles with your hands and pull the feet gently towards you - gives a good stretch to glutes and hip flexors!) I also enjoyed that it was in a very warm room - the yoga class I do at home is in a pretty chilly room and it makes a big difference.

Running and Bowling

It was a very nippy 26 degrees (-2 C) outside yesterday morning but with lots of sun and a beautiful blue sky so Christy, Stefaan and I decided to go for an easy run together. We looped around the nice trails they have here that go between neighborhoods. It was pretty cold at first but once we got warmed up it wasn't too bad, and it sure helps to have nice conversation while you're at it! We ended up doing 6 km, but I won't post the Garmin map because I messed it up by turning it off when we bumped into Jenny and Mark who were returning from a 17 mile run, and then forgetting to turn it back on when we continued on, and then doing the same thing again when we took a quick stop at Starbucks. Duh!

Later we all headed out to Main Event, a place where you can bowl, play video games and even laser tag! We are all big bowling fans and had three lanes going for quite a while - it was great fun. My best score was a 124 - I was more than pleased! (Yes, I do jump up and down and whoop it up when I get a strike!) The last thing we did was field a ten man team in laser tag. I had never done laser tag before, but I paired up with my niece and we did pretty well watching each other's back and taking our opponents out best we could. Laser tag really brings out your inner beast!!! By that time we were all pretty hungry so we all headed out to Bari's, one of the family's favorite Italian places - yum!

Boot Camp

On Friday, Stefaan and I joined my mom and Christy for boot camp up at the gym where they work out, TransformU.

If you follow my mom's blog, you know she sometimes has some really tough workouts there! Because it was Christmas Eve, Shayla came up with a "12 Days of Christmas" workout:

just like in the song, we had to do the exercises on the board in a sequence where you added an exercise everytime (see picture)!

It was an excellent workout - and very creative! We were sweating buckets but having a good time, and by the end, my legs felt like jello. Awesome!

We are going to try to get up there for a few more workouts while we are here - and try to keep a lid on the damage being done with all the cookies around here!

Merry Christmas!

Have a wonderful day surrounded by those you love!

Best wishes

Amy

Meeting Kim Clijsters!

While doing a bit of last minute shopping imagine my surprise when I saw Kim Clijsters plastered all over the women's department at Kohls!!! Of course I had to get a picture - especially since Kim looks so awesome in the posters. And yes, I did buy that flashy top in the picture and a couple of workout bottoms. Kim, you rock!

PS: for anyone who doesn't know who Kim is, she is one of the top women tennis players and Belgian! (and we are proud of her)

Now we are about to sit down to our Christmas Eve dinner...everyone arrived safely! Hope you all are enjoying the evening!

It's A Miracle!

I just chatted with my neighbor in Belgium early this morning and we are realizing that it is a miracle we made it here for Christmas...

...if we would have left on any other day this week, we would have had a huge problem.

Here are some pictures I took in our neighborhood the day before we left - in the meantime we got another 10 cm of snow for a total of 25 cm - I can't wait to see the pictures Kristel is going to send us of our house and buried car... but am so grateful we made it here.


We are looking forward to Jenny and her family getting in this evening so we can all have a festive Christmas Eve together...but before that, my mom, Christy, Stefaan and I are about to go to boot camp - and yes, I am scared! More on that later...

In the meantime, wherever you are and whatever weather you're having, I wish you a very happy Christmas Eve!

(PS the last picture is the lane that leads up to my two oldest boys' high school...it was like a fairy tale castle with all the snow!)

We Made It!

We had a lot of hurdles yesterday...

• a packed train


• heavy mist


• very long lines to check in


• no plane at the departure gate


• when it finally arrived, a mechanical problem


• late departure


• missed our connecting flight

In spite of all of that, we arrived only four hours later than planned, so we feel very lucky!

Lucky that everything actually went smoothly and we are now here with our family. And it felt so good to finally lie down in a bed last night!

Looking Back at 2010

We got another 5 cm dumped on us again last night - I am determined to get some photos to share today because in spite of all the hassle it is really beautiful... however there are a lot of issues at the airport and we are not yet sure about getting out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

I just got an email that suggested doing an evaluation of your goals from the past year through answering the following questions:

1. Think about every goal you set.
2. Write them all down, in detail, including the reasons you had for setting each goal in the first place.
3.Think about how you went about reaching these goals. Which steps did you take? Did you ask for help and did you receive it?
4. Finally think about this: What are you proud of, and what have you achieved this year?

A snowy morning with nothing better to do but worry about our flight tomorrow meant this was a great distraction for me - here are the biggest goals I set this past year and my evaluation of them...sorry if it's a long post (and it's not the wine this time, Char, I swear I've only got a cup of coffee here!):

- Run the 20 KM of Brussels and raise money for the Giraffe Project: I asked everyone I could for help raising the money (thanks to everyone who supported me!) and I followed a training program all spring to be ready to run the race. I asked my husband to go with me and support me on the day. I ended up raising a bit more money than my goal amount, I finished the race and I had a great time doing it, especially running with some of the other team members. I was really proud of myself for this, and it felt great to finish such a well known and difficult course in a reasonable way, feeling strong even at the end, in spite of the horribly long climb at the end!

- Complete New Rules of Lifting for Women: I started this early this summer and I worked on it very dilligently. Towards the end of half marathon training in October I felt I had to put it aside as the heavy lifting was interfering with my longer distances and my recovery (I have issues with my right leg). I have completed thus far the first four stages and I have two to go (5 and 7). I was pretty proud of myself for doing this program - I had to conquer a lot of fears I had about working out in the "back room" at my gym. In the meantime I felt like I was getting a bit sick of it so I am not sure if I will still finish it but if I do it will be in the first months of 2011 when we get back from Texas, or switch to another program that gets me more excited!

- A 10 K PR: I was really looking forward to running the 10 K in Mechelen because I knew with my training I was primed to get a PR. My disappointment was huge when we arrived at the race venue to see that the posted distance was actually 9.7 kilometers and not 10! And according to my Garmin it was even 9.6. I was mad, really mad, that day... But I know that had it been a full 10 K, I would have had my PR, because I ran fast that day, thanks to my husband who kept the pace up and stayed slightly ahead of me the entire time, while I was grumbling the whole way!

- get a PR at the Women's Half Marathon: right up until race day I was not sure if I was going to be able to do this. Intellectually I knew I was capable but I always had my doubts. Jetlag, the Florida heat, etc... There were a lot of factors I didn't have control over and I decided to give it my best shot but at the same time have a good time running the race (it's all about balance, right?) The first half of the race went really well, the second half was tough (heat and tired, very tired, legs) but I didn't give up and ended up meeting my goal. This is definitely one of my proudest moments this year, because it was something I really wanted to accomplish but was never sure about, even right up til the last mile.

- get a 5 K PR and get under 30 minutes: I wasn't sure about this one, either, but four days after my half marathon PR I was feeling a bit more confident and with my two speedy nephews I ran the Clearwater Turkey Trot and accomplished yet another goal! I was also very proud of this one - two PR's in one week!

- complete NaNoWriMo: this summer, on a whim, I signed myself up for National Novel Writing Month, committing myself to writing 50,000 words in the month of November. I was not sure I would be able to do it but I decided to try. In spite of a week long trip to Florida during the month, I still managed to complete my word count! I am very proud of this accomplishment, and even though my "novel" is not finished, I continue to work on it, albeit a lot more slowly than in November. We shall see what happens with it...but my hope is to get to a point where my story is told and I can start doing some serious editing on the manuscript.

- finally one of my life long goals that never seems to go away (that is I never seem to accomplish it to my satisfaction!) is weight loss. While lots of people have said to me this year, since I started New Rules, "Wow, you look great, you've lost weight!" the sad truth is that in actual pounds I have hardly lost a thing, but I guess I do look better and a lot of my clothes got too big. So this is an ongoing goal for 2011! But those goals are for another post because my coffee is cold...

Go and change yourself

Go and change yourself.

Yesterday when I was watching the cross country race in Brussels on TV, at the end they interveiwed the male winner, Ukrainian and European champion Sergiy Lebid. The interview took place in English and at the end, the Flemish journalist said to the sweaty and shivering Ukrainian runner, "Go and change yourself." With which he meant, "go and change your clothes", which makes perfect sense in Dutch (ga je omkleden). But it struck me when he said it. Go and change yourself. What an idea...why not? If only it were so easy to just go and change yourself, like you can change your clothes. Maybe it is that easy! Like the famous Nike slogan, just do it... go and change yourself.

Something to think about during this holiday season when it is so easy to get wrapped up in the hectic pace, loads of fattening holiday food and drink, bad weather and lack of time getting in the way of exercise...at the end of the day it is all comes down to choices we make every day that mean that we change or we remain as we are...so just do it...go and change yourself!

And have a wonderful week!

Oh NO! More snow!

Nope - did not run today! Stayed inside and watched the women's cross country race in Brussels while I did my ironing and watched the snow fall outside the windows.

Those women are amazing - some of them in sleeveless tops and short shorts. BRRRRRR!

At the moment we have 13 centimeters (yes, we actually measured it) and more falling. It has been snowing for the last seven hours non-stop. Over 2,000 people had to spend the night in our airport last night (photo above) and again tonight because they can't fly into London Heathrow.

It will be very interesting to get the kids to school tomorrow...and we are keeping our fingers crossed that we make it out of here on Wednesday!

Red Red Wine

I am sitting here blogging with a glass of wine. Red wine. I don't think I've ever done my blog with wine. Usually it's green tea and it's early in the morning - or - it's after I take Felix to school and then it's with a cup of coffee.

But right now I am having a glass to celebrate that I got my Christmas shopping done! It was actually quite pleasant to be in town this afternoon. The sun came out mid morning and that helped a lot with the condition of the sidewalks and the enjoyment of being outside. Way better than that gray crap, spitting snow and rain - bah.

We got more snow dumped on us last night and this morning. I almost cancelled with Linda, we had agreed to do the Sh'Bam class at my gym together today. But it was so incredibly slippery out, it was really scary to drive over there with the car, but we did it, very slowly, and made it just in time for the class to start, so Linda did finally get to try it out.

There was a special deal at the gym in the month of December where you could bring a friend for free to a class. She had never been to my gym so it was kind of fun to show her around. The class went better for me than last week because I was a tiny bit familiar with the routines. I still didn't do all the spinning around moves - that just makes me way too dizzy! Linda thought it was okay too, but she felt the music was too loud, which is true. I am not that crazy about the music in this class, except for the Black Eyed Peas "Tonight's Gonna Be a Good Night" and Madonna's "Like a Little Prayer", those are fun to hear. In spite of that, I don't think I will do the Sh'Bam class on a regular basis once we get back from Texas in January. It's just not my thing and even though I am sweaty I never feel like I get a "real" workout like I do with running or weights or even the elliptical.

So then I showed Linda "my" treadmill and she tried it out, then she tried the stationary bikes while I ran a fast kilometer (5:42 - that's pretty fast for me) just to shake my legs out and then we headed home because we both had kids that would be home at lunch time from their exams.

So then after making sure they got home safely and feeding them a hot lunch, I walked downtown and started the last big push of Christmas shopping and I got it all done! yay me! It was busy in town, but I had my little list of places I needed to go and I moved along pretty quickly and got home at 5:30. It was pretty coming back in the dark with all the holiday lights and trees lit up.

So now my legs are tired and I am relaxing a bit before making some pasta for dinner, enjoying a well deserved glass of red wine. Shopping sure does take a lot out of you! But now I feel very relieved that it's ALL DONE. Now I just have to start thinking about packing for everyone...

My mom called this afternoon to tell us that the high temperature is supposed to be 67 F in Texas next week when we arrive! Hurray! I can't tell you how much we are all looking forward to some warmer weather after three weeks of non-stop winter and cold. I know we sound like big babies to those of you in the Midwest and Northeast but here in Belgium we just aren't used to extremes. The weather here is usually mild - rarely too hot and rarely too cold - but my son keeps saying it's all because of global warming and that things are changing. I hope not! My husband and I definitely want to move somewhere warm when he retires but that's not for another 20 years!

I kind of like this blogging with a glass of wine - I could get used to this! Hope you all are having a happy and relaxing Friday, wherever you are, and that you're able to put aside the stresses of the season and kick back and enjoy the cheer. Have a great weekend too!

Treacherous Ice

Treacherous...yes, indeed, it is...

We woke up this morning to what looked like clear streets and sidewalks but very quickly realized, walking to school, that the pavements were covered with "black ice" - and the ambulence sirens in the distance and the bikers falling all around us confirmed that the situation was treacherous. Felix and I made it to school on foot without falling in spite of a few slips and slides, I was hoping that Florian and Gillis made it to their school safely and made it home again at lunch...

At lunch they both came in with stories of falling on their bikes, luckily neither one was seriously hurt and they are now both upstairs studying away for tomorrow's exams. Phew. Right now it's pouring down rain. Weather forecast is predicting more snow and ice for the next few days - I sure do hope our flight on Wednesday will make it out of here!

Since I wanted to avoid being on the icy roads as much as possible, I did a really good yoga workout at home with Yogatoday.com - now it's time to go get Felix - hope I don't slip and fall!!!

PS: A recipe I submitted made it to this blog!

More snow!

Yes, it's snowing again! I think we have had, in the past two weeks, as much snow already as we normally have in a entire winter. Right now, there are big fat flakes falling from the sky. Lovely - if you don't have to go anywhere.

My youngest son is home sick so I probably won't be going anywhere except maybe the post office. Just going to stay home and make some warm soup and perhaps some cookies...

(Photo of the Groot Begijnhof in Leuven: Makoekis @ Flickr)

Meeting Jackie McFee

Remember the cute tanks my mom and aunt wore during the half marathon last month? I also bought one for myself and wore it to the gym for the first time last week. Very flattering and cute! While we were at the expo we actually met the designer, Jackie McFee, at her booth when we bought the tops - we all ended up getting the same one. Jackie was one of the main sponsors of the race (she also did the awesome tote bags we recieved), and her design work benefits the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, so it is all for a very good cause.


I wore my new top to my first Sh'Bam class on Friday - so even though I felt like a total clutz, at least I still looked cute! The class was basically a very high energy aerobics class and even though it wasn't supposed to be as hard as Zumba, I thought it was pretty complicated - but then anything with "grapevines" and all those other classic dance steps is really not my thing. I have to be extremely careful not to fall on my butt!

My calves were surprisingly sore yesterday, from the Sh'Bam class, I guess. Today I went out for a run OUTSIDE! It was actually sunny and not too cold - this has been the first time I managed to run outdoors since I got back from Florida. It felt good, too! I have to say I definitely prefer running to aerobics class any day - nothing complicated about running, just put one foot in front of the other, and repeat, repeat, repeat....No fancy footwork required. But still, I look forward to spring and summer when I won't have to wear so many layers...and can show off my new tank top outside too!

Too Much Testosterone!

I got to the gym today and the weight room was crawling with high school boys! My gym works together with some of the local high schools and so sometimes there will be classes there, using equipment or taking group classes. Today, it seems, they were learning how to use free weights.

So I quickly adjusted my plans and decided to get a good run in on the treadmill. I haven't done much running at all since I got back from Florida - mostly because of the weather being so lousy for outdoor running - and I have to say it felt REALLY GOOD to pound away on the treadmill and work up a good sweat. I ran for 45 minutes and did a good 6 km. Felt great!

The weight room was still really hopping so I decided to do some weight machines, which I haven't done in a long time. The fun thing was, I can do a lot heavier on them now than I could in the past!

While I was stretching, one of the group class instructors, An, stopped to ask me to try their new class on Friday, Sh'Bam. It's sort of like Zumba, but with easier dance steps and top 40 music. So I told her I would come and try it out - so now I know what I will be doing on Friday. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that I don't fall or trip...it will definitely be a new challenge for me!

Still cold!

Yep, it's still cold here...at least the snow melted during a brief warm up on Sunday so we can get around easier. Yesterday when I biked to the gym the temperature on the Stella building said "-0". Minus zero? How can it be minus zero? The funny thing is, when I biked back home, it said "0" - just plain zero, so that must mean it got warmer.

Workout wise, I am working on finishing stage 5 in New Rules of Lifting for Women. I should be able to get that done before we leave for Texas for Christmas.

Other than that, just getting ready for Christmas and trying to stay sane with a sick husband at home. And next week it's final exams for my two oldest boys so they will be home studying in the afternoons and expecting lots of TLC and treats from me. Thank goodness I can escape to the gym every now and then!

Hello Winter!

My exercise for today was walking back and forth to school while trying not to slip on the icy sidewalks hidden under a fresh layer of snow that fell last night (lower body and core for balance!) and then when I got home, shoveling snow (upper body and core - again for balance!). What a good workout! (But brrrr...I'd really rather be running my butt off in Florida...)

I also had to take the big pumpkin I got from a friend off my front porch and inside, before it froze. We don't have pumpkin in cans here in Belgium, so I usually cook one or two pumpkins each fall and make my own puree, which I freeze, to use in baking and soups. Then the first thing I do is make this recipe for the best little pumpkin cake ever!

Pumpkin Cake
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2/3 c sugar
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, ground ginger and nutmeg
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
Juice and zest of 1 orange
3 T olive oil
1/3 c raisins
3 T pumpkin seeeds, toasted
3 T sunflower seeds, toasted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a loaf pan. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add pumpkin purée, orange juice and zest and oil, and stir gently to combine all ingredients. Stir in raisins and 2/3 of the toasted seeds. Pour batter into prepared pan, sprinkle with remaining seeds and press into top of loaf. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Very yummy - enjoy! And wherever you are - keep warm!

I did it!

Yay! I did it! 50,028 words in 29 days - phew! The story is not finished so I have a bit more work to do but at least the pressure to get so many words written every day is done. It was an interesting challenge and I often felt like giving up but now I am so pleased to have finished! Woo hoo! November has been quite a month - wonder what December will bring? Right now I just feel like celebrating!

PS: My mom wrote a great race report of the Half Marathon we ran together last weekend with lots of pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving & a new PR!

Wow! Can you see how surprised I am? A new 5K PR today at the Clearwater Turkey Trot: 29:40!!!




I ran it with my two nephews, Andy and Tom (NOT those two guys in the picture above!) Jenny and Mark ran really fast way ahead of us and grandma brought up the rear. Everyone did well and grandpa got pictures of all of us finishing.


It was great fun, especially going out for breakfast at Perkins afterwards in our matching Turkey Trot race shirts - very festive!

On the way home we spotted an alligator at the entrance to my sister's neighborhood and we had to get out to get a better look - you can just see him at the edge of the water. He was about three feet long, so not dangerous to people. Still, I didn't want to get any closer!

After a cool off in the pool it's time to get serious about making Thanksgiving dinner. Hope you all have a very happy day!

Day of Thanks: Sunny and Warm!

Gosh, the weather has been just gorgeous here and I have been enjoying every minute of it, knowing what I have to go back to this weekend! (Fran mentioned something about snow in our part of Europe this weekend - ew!)

On the way back home from St. Petersberg on Monday we stopped in Clearwater to have lunch at Frenchie's on the beach and took a walk up the shore afterwards. My legs were still pretty sore but the sand and cold water felt good on my tired feet.

Yesterday, Jenny, Dad and I went and got the groceries for Thanksgiving, and then I talked everyone into lunch at one of my favorite spots, a local Mexican place. After lunch we stopped at Target, another must-do when I come to the States!

The plan for today is making pies and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, going bowling, and in the evening Jenny's parents-in-law have invited us over to their place for dinner and a sunset on the beach. And I nearly forgot...we are all signed up for the local Turkey Trot 5 K tomorrow - which will be a first for me and I am looking forward to it - but definitely not thinking of another PR!

Day of Thanks: PR!!!

I am so happy - I PR'd with a time of 2:18!!! The course was beautiful, but once the sun came out, it started getting hot. The first ten kilometers went really well, it took me about an hour but then it started getting harder. I really had to push myself at the end but I did it! Here are some pictures - we are having a great time with Jenny, Mark and their boys, Mom and Dad, Aunt Patty and Jay, and some of Jenny's running friends.

Here are the details (you will notice I forgot to turn my Garmin off until about 4 minutes after crossing the finish line!):

Day of Thanks 15: Safe Flight

Landed safely in Chicago after an uneventful and reasonably comfortable flight! I am definitely thankful for that! Now I have four hours to wait for my next flight to Tampa. Found a spot in the lounge and am going to work on my NaNoWriMo project. I am hoping I can get a lot done because the last few days I have gotten a tiny bit behind on my word count and I would like to get caught up before I get to Florida! Think four hours will be enough to write 4,000 words???

Day of Thanks 14: Fast (for me) Four!

Lots to do today so I decided to do a circuit workout at home followed by a fast short run. It was very chilly this morning but it looked like the sun was going to come out so I started out by warming up on the bike, taking Felix to school. Then when I got home I did the following circuit 4 times:

• 10 stationary lunges
• 10 squats
• 10 push-ups
• 10 bent over dumbbell rows
• 10 shoulder presses
• 10 biceps curls
• 10 French presses
• 10 weighted crunches

I got my running jacket and hat back on and went out to do my run while I was still warmed up. I ran to the Finnish track, did two loops there and ran back:

I was keeping an eye on my average pace and I was really happy with how speedy I was (for me)! I am so grateful this run went well, especially after doing that circuit workout first. I used to hate doing weights first before a speed workout or HIIT, but now I kind of feel like the way you feel after doing a good weight session before running mimics the tiredness you get far into a long run. So it seems like good practice to me.

After I got home I did some yoga to stretch my legs out good - they are going to be cramped for a long time in the plane seat tomorrow. I am feeling ready for Sunday and am looking forward to seeing everyone in Florida! And oh, yes, some sun!

Day of Thanks 12: High and Dry

This weekend Belgium experienced the worst flooding in many years and several cities in our province were completely under water, and there are areas where people are still unable to return to their homes. More than 2000 families were evacuated and there were 5 deaths.


In the meantime the rain has stopped but ground is so saturated that the water is just moving from one neighborhood to another, flooding more houses. One of the hardest hit areas is just north west of Brussels, where all my in-laws live; thankfully none of their homes were flooded.

I can't even imagine what it must be like to have a meter of water in your house, but I am so grateful that our house stayed dry, and I feel so bad for everyone whose didn't.

Everything in the flooded houses is ruined - all appliances, the furniture, clothes, the entire electrical installation. It's really bad.

The problem here is that Flanders is so built up with houses and roads that water doesn't have anywhere to go when there is too much of it. Which ends up being a disaster for people in certain areas.

My leg is feeling better so I am just doing a few easy taper runs this week in order to keep it that way. This morning, I ran in the cold and fog for about 40 minutes and 6 kilometers and it felt good. I am definitely looking forward to some Florida sunshine this weekend, I just wish I could bring some back to Belgium when I come back - we could really use it here.

Day of Thanks 11: Treadmill Ten

Don't laugh... but seriously, today I am thankful for my gym membership and the row of treadmills there! I had to do 12 km today and I don't know if this has been on your news but we are having a terrible situation with rain and flooding here. It rained, hard, all day long yesterday and in many areas people had to be evacuated out of their homes. So even if it would not have been raining this morning, I still wouldn't have been able to run outside because the ground is completely saturated and the paths are nothing but muck and mud. And you know how I hate to get my running shoes all yucky!

Well, it was still raining hard when I got up this morning so off I went to the gym at 9 am when it opened, got on my favorite treadmill and got started. The good thing about the treadmill is that I was able to practice my target pace for the half marathon next week, which went well. I ended up doing 10 K in 65 minutes, with plenty of slow downs for recovery which makes me feel confident about being able to get a PR next week (my previous half marathon PR was 2:27). That said, my main goal is to have a great time running the race. For me it is a fine line that I look for when running a big destination race: I want to be happy about the time I get, considering all the training I have put in, but at the same time I want to enjoy myself during the race itself and have a great memory of it afterwards.

Anyway, the only bummer about today's run is that, while my knees were fine, the entire back side of my right leg was painful basically the whole time and it is sore and stiff now. I am going to have to baby it the next few days and be real careful about what I do this week.

I hope it's sunny where you live and that you have a great Sunday!

Day of Thanks 10

Today I am thankful to Fran, who held a virtual race and sent me a nice little present for participating in it! When I opened my mailbox today, there it was waiting for me. The present is a pink and silver purse decoration with beads and I am going to hang it on the new black bag I bought for my trip - it will look great. Thanks, Fran!

Terrible weather here in northern Europe and both Fran and I are worried about our runs this weekend - I just heard the weather report and it doesn't look good. Since I only need to do 12 km this week, I will probably just get up on Sunday morning and go do it at the gym. I'll do what I usually do with a long run on a treadmill - break it into little segments, like 4x 3 km or something like that. And tell myself it won't be too bad...

I haven't done much this week except for walking and biking. I have been nursing a sore knee since I did weights at the gym on Tuesday and decided to give it a good rest. I want everything to be feeling good for the big day next week!

Day of Thanks 9

Today I am thankful for the city I have lived in for the past 21 years: Leuven, Belgium! Last night my friend Linda and I had tickets to see the opera Rigoletto at the beautiful theater downtown (see picture), and we just biked there from home in ten minutes, parked our bikes right in front of the theater, went in and enjoyed the performance immensely and then after having a drink in the theater's bar, headed home together, passing all the partying college students on our way. I don't often get downtown at night and it made me realize what a pretty place it is. I am so lucky to live in a city that is large enough to have so much to offer in the way of culture, restaurants and shopping, as well as being small enough to make everything easy to get to by foot or bike, pretty safe and clean and beautiful too! Yay for Leuven!

Curious to know more about Leuven? If you click HERE you can see a little promotional video about this great little city. Enjoy!

Day of Thanks 8

Today I am grateful for my laptop. It has made my life much easier since I got it last year and the biggest benefit has been that I am able to work and write without that terrible shoulder pain I used to get after being on our old computer for more than half an hour at a time. With the laptop I can really sit in a position that is comfortable for me and the shoulder pain I struggled with for so long is finally pretty much resolved. So it was one of the better investments I have recently made. The only downside is that my kids love it too, and it's sometimes a struggle to get them off of it!

Today was supposed to be an easy run, but I didn't put my exercise clothes on this morning because it was freezing cold and raining out and I had to wait at home for a package delivery and wouldn't have time before my kids get home at lunch time. I just saw this video on another blog and realized that those were just excuses!



Did you hear any excuses you sometimes use? I heard a few of mine.

Day of Thanks 7

Just a short post today as I am off in a few minutes to the gym to do weights and HIIT on the treadmill. Today I am grateful for Earl Gray Green Tea by Twinings. I never enjoyed green tea until I tried this one, and now the first thing I do every morning is brew a cup before sitting down at the computer, early in the morning. A healthy way to start the day. Yum!

Update: back from the gym and while my weights went okay, man, did my legs feel like cement blocks for the treadmill run! Must still be recovering from Sunday. So I quickly readjusted my expectations and instead of alternating fast running with easy running, I alternated fast walking with slow running. I did the same amount of time but at a pace my legs could handle. We'll see how things go for my easy run tomorrow...

Day of Thanks 6

Today I am thankful for my fellow bloggers and the supportive comments they leave! It always means a lot to me. I do feel very confident right now about race day, in spite of my hips and legs still feeling a bit beat up this morning. My son wanted to walk to school instead of biking, which I was glad about, since it gave me a chance to get some gentle movement in my legs. But I was not my usual peppy self - was definitely walking slower than usual which my "hates to be late" son let me know more than once on our way this morning!

A quiet but busy day today to get caught up on some projects and get some things done around the house. For some reason there always seems to be plenty to do! Have a good week!

Day of Thanks 5

Today I am grateful that my last long run before the half marathon is DONE! Woo hoo! What a relief. I am feeling it now, but it went really well. It helped to know Fran was out there at the same time running her 12 today and Stefaan stayed with me for the first ten kilometers. The weather was chilly but fine enough for running, and we even had a little bit of sun, which was pretty through the orange and yellow leaves that are still on the trees.

There were lots of other runners out today, and we noticed many big fluffy dogs, for some reason. The route was my usual:



With 20 km under my belt I feel confident now about being able to finish the half marathon, but I am still not sure about getting a PR on the big day. With the paces I have been running it will be on the edge, I think. We shall see.

Now we are off to the in-laws for one last family get together this afternoon, then tomorrow the boys all go back to school, it's back to business as usual for me, and the big countdown to my trip to Florida starts! Have a great Sunday and good luck to all who are running the NY marathon today!

Day of Thanks 4

Today we are all grateful for: no cavities! Yay! All four of us had a good checkup and no one has to go back for another six months. What a relief.

We had a good shopping trip after the dentist and met my husband at the Indian restaurant for dinner. For the third time in a row I ordered the Jogi Thali, a plate with little bowls of spinach curry, chickpeas, lentil dhal, basmati rice, salad and the most delicious roasted eggplant, broccoli, green peppers and onions - yum! I know I am boring for not trying something new but I just love this meal.

Today errands to do and children to take to activities but I am determined to get a lot of water in and spare my legs as much as possible for my 20 k tomorrow. I stocked up on gels and am going to load up all my electronics today as well. Fran and I are both hoping the weather here in Northern Europe is going to turn to our advantage because right now it really sucks - windy and pouring down rain. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the weatherman is right when he says it will be colder but dry tomorrow. Please, please, please!

Hope you all have a great Saturday!

Day of Thanks 3

Yesterday I did my run around the Finnish track. It was so windy! The leaves were swirling around and at one point I really felt like I was running up against a wall. It was kind of fun and I really pushed my pace for two of the six loops I did around the track. That brings me to what I am thankful for today: my Garmin! I am so glad I finally got it because it has really added another dimension to my running. The best part is getting home and seeing how many calories I burned!

Up early again this morning to write. Felix was also up early so I had to half listen to Nickelodeon shows while working. You don't need coffee if you can listen to Miley Cyrus dubbed into Dutch early in the morning!

This morning I'll be off to the gym for weights and cross training on the elliptical. Then we have dentist checkups and haircuts for the boys, some shoe shopping (I wish my nails grew as fast as my kids feet), and hopefully dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant, if my husband makes it back in time from work this evening. Fingers crossed!

Day of Thanks 2

Today I am thankful for the new on line appointment system at my doctor's office. My regular doctor is not always available for same day appointments because she works very limited hours. If I need a same day appointment I can go on line and see which doctors in the practice have a spot open. Sometimes I'm lucky and my doctor has a spot, and otherwise I can pick and choose from the others and the times that suit me, without having the stress of hemming and hawing while on the phone with the receptionist. Much better!

I got up early this morning to get my writing in and now it's 8 am. All three boys are still asleep and the house is peaceful. I love that about vacation weeks! My middle son has a friend coming over this afternoon so before that I need to get my run in: plan says 6 times around the Finnish track, which means a total of 8 km (the Finnish track is a loop of 1 km and it is 1 km from our house). I will wait til the kids get up to head out.

Yesterday I ran for a bit more than 45 minutes around the neighborhood at a nice slow pace. It was blustery and windy, the leaves were blowing around, but it was pretty warm, so it went well. It is unseasonably warm this week - we are supposed to hit a high of 15 C today! But by Sunday, the day I am supposed to do 20 km, it will be back to cold. Oh well, as long as it's dry...and a little bit of sun would be nice...is that too much to hope for?

Thanks so much to everyone who has offered to read what I am writing for NaNoWriMo! I knew I could count on my mom and my sister for sure, but I am really flattered to have a whole crew of willing readers. So as soon as I get to a point where I feel good about what I've put together you will be hearing from me.

Finally, I am so excited to have won a prize in Fran's Pink Dress Race! Thanks Fran! What a lovely surprise! Something to look forward to in the mailbox is always nice...

Finally a quiet day...

We had a nice visit with my husband's aunt, uncle and cousin yesterday. It was fun to hear how Veronique (the cousin) is doing with her Start to Run program. Her mother rides her bike along with her and they go in the forest that is nearby their home. It sounds like she's doing well - I think I will be able to convince her to do a race with us in the spring!

Unfortunately on the way home we got in a lot of traffic and it ended up taking us twice as long as normal to get back. Bah! That's why I am so glad today we can have a quiet day - the boys are off school the rest of the week and today we don't have anything on the calendar (except sports for them later this evening). I got up early this morning and had the house to myself and got a good chunk of writing in. I plan to do a run (45 minutes easy on the schedule) and do some yoga later today.

As for the "novel" - I don't know why but I have a hard time calling it that - I think it's the same feeling some of us have about not feeling we are "real runners" when we first start out - anyway, it is going well, but I don't want to talk about it too much, because I am afraid I will lose my steam! As I get further along I might ask those of you who are interested to be readers - would love to have some feedback when I've got something I feel comfortable sharing!

And last but not least, I just read AJH's post on her blog about "30 Days of Gratitude", a project started by fellow running blogger Middle Name Marie. The idea is to post one thing you are grateful for each day in November. This is a great idea and even though I have missed the first two days, it's never to late to start something new and positive, right? So today I am grateful for having a quiet day to regroup and feel calm again after the past busy four days.

Busy being sociable

November 1st is a holiday and my husband has today off too. So we have spent the last couple days being very sociable and in a few minutes we leave for a lunch invitation at his aunt and uncle's house, plus the newbie running cousin will be there.

On Sunday after the 18 km, I actually felt pretty good. I was hobbling around a bit but not terrible and we spent the afternoon with our friends Catherine and her husband Lode, and visited the Breendonk Fort, a site near Mechelen that was a German prison during WW2. It was sobering and very grim to see that but it was very interesting. We ended the day with dinner at a Moroccan restaurant, which was warming and cheery after the oppressive feeling of the prison camp.

Yesterday our youngest son had a badminton tournament in the morning - he ended up playing the singles final, and lost but was very happy to have made it to second place! Then in the afternoon, my husband's goddaughter (almost 2) and her parents and big sister (almost 4) came over for cake and coffee and then dinner. We got all our old Duplo out of the attic for them - it's a big change having a toddler and a preschooler in the house! The littlest one was having a great time banging on the piano!

This morning I got to the gym right when it opened and did my weights (back to NR stage one) and a HIIT workout on the treadmill, which went really well! I thought I might be a bit stiff or heavy in my legs from Sunday but it felt really good. Then it was back on my bike to get home in time to have a shower and make sure all the boys were showered and dressed before we need to head off to see the family (which we need to do like right now!).

And since yesterday I have been getting up early in the morning and working on my writing for National Novel Writing Month - see my little word counter to the left here on my blog? Crazy days! I will glad when things calm down again a little bit. Have a great week!

Happy Halloween! + PINK DRESS RUN UPDATE!

Happy Halloween! I am really scared! Today I need to run 18 km and yesterday all day I was anxious about it. I do feel better about it this morning. I know it will be tough but that's okay, I am prepared to go out and just do it. I just hope the sky clears up a little bit, it is looking mighty gray right now. I am prepared, my Garmin is loaded, my mp3 is loaded, all my running clothes are clean, I rested my legs yesterday and didn't do anything silly (like walking downtown or going hiking) and I made sure I got in carbs and enough water yesterday. The only thing I don't have is gels! Ooops! I will have to take sports drink (if there is some in the pantry) or some of that powdered drink mix I got at one of our races. I knew I was going to have to take water with me - the water fountain at the swimming pool is shut down for the winter and I can't really see doing 18 with just tap water from the bathroom at the soccer field. Bah! So it will be time to get my water belt out again. Oh well...

Just two of these long runs and then one cut back Sunday and then the race! I am getting really excited about it - hanging out with my sister and her family and my parents and aunt, enjoying some nice Florida weather, and having a nice flat race course to run right along the Gulf and through St. Pete. Not to mention my first Thanksgiving in the US in 21 years!

A cousin of my husband just started running this fall, doing a Start to Run program, and she is really enjoying it. I told her if she wanted to do a race this spring, there were a couple we were going to do and she could join us. I was trying to explain to her how motivating it is to be signed up for a race - I have always felt this is the best way to keep myself to my running schedule. I am not sure I convinced her, because she says what she likes about running is that she can do it all by herself.

Finally, today is the day of Fran's virtual "Pink Dress Race" and I have planned to wear the pink running hat my sister gave me for my birthday a year or two ago...or if it is too warm and not windy or raining (please, God, please!), a pink running shirt...we shall see once the sun comes out! I most likely will post my picture and race report much later today or tomorrow morning because we have plans with friends of ours for this afternoon and are going out to dinner with them this evening. But good luck to everyone who is participating!

I did it! As you can see by the picture above I wore the pink hat (and my flashy Paris Marathon Asics). Here is my run:



It went surprisingly well - it was not too cold and even though we regularly had spitting rain, there was never any wind, so that was good! Stefaan ended up staying with me til kilometer 14, which was a first for him. For fuel I ended up taking 500 ml of powdered endurance drink and two dates, which seemed to work out well. I didn't even mind wearing the water belt too much (especially since Stefaan carried it back home for me after he left me at km 14). I felt pretty good most of the way - although now I am hobbling around a bit. Next week 20 and then I am done with long long runs until race day - woo hoo!

Spiralizer Madness!

I am having a ball testing out the spiralizer I got in Brussels on Tuesday! This pictures shows the spiralized zucchini (on the left) - it is delicious with vinaigrette on it. I made another gorgeous salad with spiralized zucchini today (but was too lazy to take a picture). I was lucky enough to have a nice organic zucchini I bought at our brand new organic supermarket - Bio Planet - which had its grand opening today. It's a gorgeous store and even though it was super busy today I was glad I took time to go. I'm sure I will be shopping there often in future!

After stopping at the new store, I headed to the gym for an interval workout. The gym was dead but Annick and Agnes were both there so I chatted with both of them before getting started on the treadmill. It went okay but my right glute has been really sore - ever since doing one-legged deadlifts last Friday. Even with really light weights, there is something about the right side of my lower body that just cannot do the one-legged deadlifts without being in serious discomfort the whole next week afterwards. This is the third time I have had this problem after doing them, so guess what? No more one-legged deadlifts for me!

I also felt that the intensity of Stage 5 of New Rules was interfering with these last, tough weeks of getting ready for the half marathon - the degree to which my legs felt like cement blocks last Sunday was really worrying me. So I have decided to save Stage 5 for after I get back from Florida, and in the meantime, I will go back to Stage 1 for the next three weeks - hopefully this will keep me from backsliding without interfering from my half marathon training.

So tomorrow, weights and elliptical at the gym, but a little bit easier program...

Slurps in Brussels

Slurps is the name of a vegetarian restaurant in Brussels that I have been dying to try out since it got a four-star review in our newspaper last year. So for our annual birthday day out together, I told my friend Aisling that this was where I really wanted to go - and we had a wonderful lunch there yesterday. The first course was a samosa with spinach and sweet potato, with a beautiful little salad on the side. The second course was seitain-quinoa croquettes with a creamy wild mushroom sauce and basmatic rice. Everything was delicious and beautifully presented. We treated ourselves to a glass of delicious fruit wine by the Belgian winery "Roisin" - Aisling had the rhubarb wine and I had the quince.
Unfortunately everything was so good, we were too full for dessert but we did have some warming ayurvedic tea to finish off. I would definitely recommend this restaurant - aside from the wonderful food, the dining room is cosy and elegant, which is not always a feature in vegetarian restaurants. Prices were also very reasonable - the two course lunch we had costs 12.50 euros.



After our yummy and warming lunch we headed back out into the cold blustery wind to find another new place we wanted to check out: Mmmmh - a cooking store with all sorts of cooking gadgets, appliances, special ingredients, cookbooks and even cooking classes (kind of like a Williams Sonoma store in the US). I treated myself to two new cookbooks and a spiralizer gadget to make "spaghetti" out of vegetables like zucchini and carrots.

We had a good time as always together and way too soon, it was time for both of us to head back home and make supper for our kids. We parted ways on the metro and I was lucky to get a train back to Leuven without having to wait. Of course I had to try out the spiralizer - I made carrot spaghetti for the kids as a side and zucchini spaghetti for myself, which I had with a vinaigrette as a salad.

This morning I needed to get a 40 minute easy run in but it felt so cold - I was not in the mood at all. But I knew it would bug me all day if I didn't get it done, so I just bit the bullet, dressed warm - with my new running hat my sister sent me for me birthday - and headed out. As always, once I got started it wasn't too bad and yes, now I am happy I got it done and out of the way.

Right now I'm waiting for the kids to get home for lunch and I've got a pot of Quinoa-Potato-Chickpea-Leek soup on the stove - a recipe from one of my new cookbooks. It smells great and I can't wait to try it. If it's good I will translate the recipe and post it (the cookbook is French).

Have a great Wednesday!

Cut back week - thank goodness for small favors

I was so glad this week was a cut back week on long run mileage - I was just pooped.
On Saturday the weather was terrible - cold, windy and rainy - so I was preparing myself to have to go to the gym and do the run on the treadmill. But when I got up on Sunday the sun was shining and it didn't feel as cold. So we set off with a goal of between 10 and 12 km in mind. Stefaan was determined to stick out the whole run with me if it was no longer than 12, but I had my Ipod with me just in case he decided to head home early.



The weather alternated between sunny and surprisingly warm, and spitting rain and wind. I don't mind rain but when it is combined with wind it really gets me down. My legs were feeling like cement blocks the whole time and I was so glad when we hit our turn around and could head home.

I have two more big Sunday long runs on my schedule before race day on November 21st. This is the point in training for a long race that feels like the 8th month of being pregnant: you are getting uncomfortable enough to just want the big day to arrive so you can be done with all of it!

Do you like to write?

I think most people who keep blogs do like to write. Writing can be so cathartic and rewarding, and it is a way of communicating with others but also with yourself, since having to put your thoughts down in writing forces you to clarify what you are thinking.

I recently discovered a great website that is wonderful if you are interested in expanding the writing you do on a daily basis: it's called 750 Words and the idea is to write 750 words every day. The idea is based on the writer's practice of "morning pages" - that is, the first thing you do in the morning is write three pages on anything that comes into your mind. It's a great way to get your writer's flow going, use it for "brain dump" or just rant about whatever you want in the privacy of your own mind! The website makes it fun because you get badges for writing so many days in a row and there are other neat features that keep you motivated. Intrigued? Check it out - I love it!

Another great writing challenge is National Novel Writing Month which is coming up in another week or so. The idea is to write a 50,000 word novel in one month, November. This is a big challenge and I have always been a bit scared to sign up for it. But this year I decided, what the heck? It's worth a try, right? I already have my story idea stewing in my head, but I'm not going to say anything more about it til I'm done - I don't want to lose steam talking about it when I am going to need to be writing about it. To complete 50,000 words in one month you need to write about 1700 a day... please wish me luck and perserverance! Oh, and...anyone wanna join me?

Brr and Yum!

It has gotten chilly here the last few days - this morning when I biked to the gym it was 6 degrees Celsius (no idea what that is in F but I can tell you it was chilly). I had my fleece hat and warm gloves on and I really needed them!

I got to the gym to do the second workout of stage 5 in New Rules. I really like the exercises in stage 5 - there is nothing that freaks me out, and the nice thing is on this particular workout I can do all the exercises pretty much in one spot - I snag a bench when I get in and I don't have to move until it's time to do planks and reverse wood chop on the cable machine.

Fran was interested in this program (New Rules of Lifting for Women) and asked if I would post what the exercises are, so here you go:

Today's workout (which is actually Stage 5 workout A) has you doing:

• One armed dumbbell snatch
• a circuit alternating dumbbell single leg Romanian deadlifts and bent over rows
• a circuit alternating dumbbell single arm overhead squats and incline bench presses
• a circuit alternating plank and reverse wood chop on the cable machine
• a plyometrics circuit with squats, lunges, lunge jumps and squat jumps (I haven't been doing this circuit, I have substituted 25 minutes of interval training on the elliptical for this part - I haven't been able to get up the courage to be jumping up and down in the gym like a crazy lady!)

My Tuesday workout (Stage 5 workout B) is:

• Barbell Romanian deadlift/bent over row
• a circuit alternating single leg squats and wide grip lat pulldowns (I usually do the wide grip lat pulldowns in a straight set because it is hard to get this machine at my gym; then I add the single leg squats to the next circuit, which works better for me)
• a circuit alternating back extensions and an arm exercise called "YTWL" (I think Lori has a video of this move on her blog - it's a pretty cool exercise!)
• a circuit alternating swiss ball crunches, swiss ball jackknifes, and side crunches
• prone cobra
• HIIT - 15 minutes of 1 minute fast, 2 minutes recovery (I always do mine on the treadmill)

You can also do three workouts per week if you want, and then you would just alternate between A and B til you finished the stage (each stage is 8 workouts total, except for the first stage which is longer). I was doing three workouts per week in the summer, before I got busier with the half marathon training. I really like this program, I think I have made a lot of progress with it, but it helped to have done a more straightforward and simpler program first (I did Body for Life the summer before), especially if working out with free weights is new to you. If anyone has other questions about it, just let me know!

One of the other things about New Rules is the nutrition side of the program, which is basically clean eating, but they also really want you to have a recovery shake or something with protein after working out - and this is where the YUM comes in - I finally found the most delicious post-workout shake. I love it so much I am looking forward to having it while I am busy doing the workout. It's simple: 200 ml of plain soy milk, two scoops of hemp protein powder, a banana, a teaspoon of pure cocoa powder and a teaspoon of instant espresso powder - blend and enjoy - Yum!!! To me it tastes like something from Starbucks...a treat!

In case you're interested you can read my sister Jenny's race report for the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco - reading it makes you feel like you were right there with her! She did great - I am so proud of her!

Two Tofu Recipes for Tuesday!

I just got back from the gym - I started Stage 5 of New Rules, the workout with the HIIT run at the end. This combination of exercises is one of my favorite ones in the whole book, so I was enjoying myself. Then when I got to the treadmill Annick was there, so we were running together. It is always very motivating to have a buddy when you are trying to do intervals!

I promised Marcelle I would pass along two of my favorite tofu recipes, as she is trying to experiment with learning how to use it. These are super easy and a good way to get accustomed to using tofu. If anyone tries them out, be sure and let me know!

Tofu Chocolate Mousse
1 box silken tofu, about 12 oz/330 g.
150 g dark chocolate, melted
125 ml warmed soy or rice milk
1 t vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix well. Chill.

Creamy Tofu Berry Pudding
1 box silken tofu, about 12 oz/330 g.
150 g. fresh or frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
1 T lemon juice
1 T agave, honey or other healthy sweetener of your choice

If using frozen berries, allow them to thaw a bit first. Then combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix well. Chill.

Both recipes make 4-6 servings, depending on how large your portions are. Bon appetit!

Great Job, Jenny!

My sister got a 3:43 in San Francisco and finished well! I am going to have to wait til she gets back home on Tuesday to hear all the gritty details but in the meantime I am a very proud big sister.

Good Luck Jenny!

My sister Jenny is running the Nike Women's Marathon today in San Francisco - so I want to wish her lots of good luck and an awesome race! What could be better than being handed a Tiffany box from a fireman as you cross the finish line? Definitely something to keep you motivated to make it to the end!

My motivation today was simply to make it home before it started raining. It was so chilly and gray when I started out. Stefaan did the first 8 km with me, til we got to the water fountain at the park. Then he headed home and I did an extra figure "8" on the road on the other side of the park. Then went back in the park, got some more water and took another gel, did one half loop around the lake and headed home. I could feel it getting tough around 14 km but just kept plugging along, thinking about how it is going to feel in the half marathon when 14 means I still have 7 to go! Of course, it will hopefully be sunnier and warmer and definitely flatter in Florida as compared to here, so that might make a tiny difference in how it feels...



Hope everyone has a happy Sunday, whatever distance you do. In about three hours Jenny will be getting ready to run 42 km out there in California...I'll be thinking of her all day til I hear how she did. Fingers crossed!

Hectic Week!

It was definitely a hectic week with our workshops (went well), yesterday I was helping a friend cook for a benefit dinner that will take place tonight (Stefaan and I are going - it's delicious Indian food and the proceeds support a project in India). Then my youngest, Felix, got home from a week of "sea camp" - I really missed him and was so glad when he got home.

I also hit the gym yesterday and finished Stage 4 of New Rules! Yay me! I will start on Stage 5 next week and plan to finish it by the time I leave for the half marathon in Florida in November.

In the meantime, I have 17 kilometers on my schedule for tomorrow. And yes, I plan to charge up my Garmin and my Ipod - hopefully no mistakes this time! Wish me luck!