Back to school...

First day of school - too bad there wasn't any sunshine this morning for the traditional pictures!  Oh well, at least it wasn't raining, that's something, right?

 

 

I always enjoy the news on the first day of school - the reporters interviewing parents and teachers and excited (and always at least one or two crying) kids.  The funny thing about living in a small country is that you often see people you know on the news - and today, what a surprise, the location was the grade school where my kids went, I could see a few of their former teachers in the background, and the Minister of Education was being interviewed by a reporter who went to high school with my husband! LOL!

Here's the link in case you'd like to see the news report. (The guy with the mustache who keeps walking back and forth in the background is not one of the minister's henchmen but actually was one of my kids' fourth grade teacher - ha ha!)

Sunday spectating...

The very last day of summer vacation here and the boys decided to go play squash one last time.  So Stefaan and I headed for a walk downtown to enjoy the good weather and take a look at the big cycling race going right through our city: the Grote Prijs Jef Scherens.  Tom Boonen, the current Belgian road racing champion, was also racing, and easy to spot in his jersey in the Belgian colors:

We watched about four rounds, but couldn't stay for the finish - we had to get home to feed our hungry squash players!  And oh yes, not to forget - my husband had to get his annual treat of a Brussels waffle with whipped cream:

 

Naughty, naughty...  ;-)

 

Now all that's left is making sure everyone is ready for the first day of school tomorrow morning!

Have a great Sunday!

Out for a spin, final installment

Yesterday I went back to the gym.  I hadn't been since before our trip, which has really been bugging me (I hate paying for a gym membership and not use it) but when we got back the weather was actually really good, too good for exercising indoors.  And then it got hot (too hot for exercising outdoors but also too hot for exercising at my gym since they don't have airconditioning). 

So yesterday it was raining.  Hooray!  A great reason to go to the gym.  I felt a bit sheepish going in, thinking everyone must be looking at me and thinking, Gosh, haven't seen her in AGES...  But of course, no one is ever thinking about you as much as you'd like to think they are, so I knew I was being ridiculous. 

The neat thing is that I wore my new Nike Frees to the gym for the first time and they were perfect!  I did one of my old favorite workouts: 30 minute hill walk on the treadmill, some upper body weights, 20 minutes on the elliptical, and then abs and stretching.  The shoes were great, they felt like a comfy slipper and had plenty of grip on the machines.  And of course, they look cute, too.

I think they'll be okay for short HIIT runs on the treadmill, but I won't use them if I do longer.  And I think I'm going to excuse them permanently from outdoor runs.  If I run from home, too much of my running is on pavement and for me, I've discovered, it's better to cushion the pounding with my old faithful Asics.

So that's it for my adventures in minimalist shoes.  The funny thing is, when I tried them on at the store, my sister said they would be perfect for the gym.  And so they are.

Out for a spin, part 2

After I wrote my last post, I was looking to see if there were other reviews on the Nike Frees out there, just to have an idea of what other bloggers thought about them.  I came across this review which reminded me of one important fact I had kind of forgotten: you have to build up slowly and give yourself time to get used to running in minimal shoes.  You will be using muscles you are not used to using, and they will be sore!

So I decided to give my shoes another shot at a short run.  And I paid more attention to how I was running, how my feet were landing and how it felt.  It actually felt better than the first time, but OMG!  My legs (especially my calves) and both my hips were very sore all day afterwards (and yes, I did remember to stretch!)

So...I'm going to give them a few more tries before I decide not to use them for running...

The saga continues...

Out for a spin

We did not do a ton of shopping while we were in the States last month (except for a wild two hours at Urban Outfitters in Salt Lake City) but I did treat myself to a new pair of running shoes, a snazzy looking pair of Nike Free Run 2 in this gorgeous teal blue and gray. 

I've never thought minimalist shoes were anything for me but my sister convinced me to try them on.  OMG - they were so comfortable!  And very light - almost like wearing a well fitted slipper.  I had to get them. 

I wore them a ton during our trip.  They were comfortable in the car, for short walks, driving, and on the elliptical in the hotel gym they were perfect.  I was so in love with my new shoes that during a rain storm in Jackson Hole I took them off and walked across a busy downtown street barefoot rather than get them wet! 

But...I hadn't run with them yet.  I was kind of intimidated.  They feel so light and, well...free!  I am used to big clunky running shoes that protect you from all the shocks and bumps of running, and give you a little bounce in your step.  With these, the bounce was going to have to come from me or not at all.

So yesterday all I wanted to do was a short run and I decided it was time to try them out.  I convinced my youngest son to come along with me, so it ended up being an interval run (intervals like this: "Okay, Felix, we'll run to the next intersection.  Stop and wait for me when you get there, and then we'll walk for a few minutes together before we run again (and you get ahead of me again)!")

I put my darling shoes on and off we went.  We only did 4 kilometers but already I could feel that my Frees were never going to replace my classic Asics on longer jaunts - I really do need the support, I could feel it.  But I still love my new Frees and they will be awesome for in the gym...and everywhere else!

Eventful weekend

On Saturday my friend Ingrid and I had plans to do one of our long hikes together.  It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm and we decided to go on the walking paths around Huldenberg.  We didn't realize there was a local bike race being held in the town, though - when we got there a lot of the center of the village was blocked off and there were food and drink tents set up and a few carnival stands.  Not quite the atmosphere we were expecting but we figured it would at least guarantee a nice cold beer after our walk so we found a parking spot in a little side street and decided to set off.

While we were standing on the corner of a this little side street with another side street, consulting our map and deciding which way to go, an empty Mercedes with a horse trailer hitched to it suddenly rolled across the intersection and right into the house on the other side of the street!  We were stunned.  There was no one else around, so we finally decided to go notify one of the policemen who were standing around in the center of the town for the bike race.  When we had done that and came back, there were some neighbors out and they seemed to know who the car belonged to.  It seems the brakes on the car must have given out, and it simply rolled away...later we realized how lucky we were - engrossed in our map I don't think we would have seen or heard it in time if it would have been aimed at us, and we probably would have been hit.

Anyhow, we walked for a good two hours, through fields, little wooded areas, paths that weaved us through little rural neighborhoods.  Along the way we stopped for galloping horses and racing cyclists hurtling down a 17% grade hill at 90 km an hour - quite impressive!  We were hot and thirsty and so glad when we got back to the town center and could sit in the shade and drink a well-deserved Hoegaarden!  Boy, did that taste good!

Yesterday morning Linda and I headed out bright and early for a free guided tour of our city's Botanical Garden (picture right).  It's a lovely place - we have always gone here to take the photographs for all of my kids' first communions and confirmations - but I never visited it as a tourist before!  It was interesting and I learned a lot - and enjoyed the morning sunshine and chance to catch up with my friend.  Thankfully there weren't any runaway cars, galloping horses, or flying cyclists - I don't think I could handle so much excitement two days in a row!

A few impressions...

Four weeks on the road together, depending on each other and supporting each other with suprisingly little irritation (in our daily life we don't spend nearly as much time together as we did on this trip) - after nearly 20 years of marriage we really do make a good team!

One thing that will always stick with me - the incredible natural beauty to be found in South Dakota and Wyoming - just feeling the immensity of the wide open spaces makes me humble.

Three awesome teenagers who gracefully put up with four weeks of close quarters with their parents and little privacy from their brothers, not to mention long days in the car - what a lucky mom I am to be blessed with these kids! 

Thanks to the friends and family who welcomed us so warmly...it was a pleasure to spend time with you and I am grateful to have you in our lives.

Now it's back to "regular" life but the memories will last forever...