Garden party

We finally got to enjoy a real summer day in our garden. My dear friend Aisling came out with her kids Owen, Liam and little Anna (not so little anymore and holds her own with the boys!) After an outing at one of our favorite parks in Leuven (pencil park or Mikado park at the Philips site) we had lunch and then spent the rest of the day relaxing in the back yard. Aisling brought some delicious apple pie she had made with apples she had brought all the way from their granny's tree in England - it was absolutely delicious.

So, not much exercise to speak of, besides swinging with Anna, pushing Liam and Felix on their swings, playing Follow the Leader and walking on the balance beam...

Biking, Bartok, Hospital, Harry Potter & Far Away Friends

It was a weirdly filled day today. Florian and I biked to our piano lessons, where I finally was able to play my Bartok piece convincingly enough to make our teacher, Johan, happy with it! Yay! Then we biked home - kaching! - 40 minutes total to log in!

Then we had to be at the hospital at 2 pm for a head x-ray for Florian's upcoming othodontic treatment. Since it is quite pleasant weather, we biked down - kaching! - another 15 minutes to log in!

After waiting at the hospital a little bit (I had my Bayeux tapestry to work on, since it was still in my bag from piano lessons, and the boys amused themselves making really tall towers with the duplo blocks - funny how they seem just a bit too big for the "play corner" anymore), they finally took Florian's x-ray, and we noticed we had plenty of time to make the afternoon show.

First we stopped at a school supply store to stock up on some things Florian needs for high school. Then we headed over to the theater, bought our tickets and were sitting waiting for the new Harry Potter to start, when lo and behold, our friends Leen and Jef and their son Lucas walked in! Now normally it might not seem strange to run into friends at the movies, but these particular friends happen to live in London! So it was quite weird and funny to see them, and after the movie was over we stood in the parking lot catching up while the boys biked around together. Finally we said our goodbyes and headed home - kaching! - another 15 minutes of biking to add to my log!

By the way, Felix says this Harry Potter is not as scary as the last one because he hardly needed to put his sweatshirt over his face at all (but I think I still saw it over his head out of the corner of my eye a couple of times)! Of all the teachers, Snape is still my favorite. And Harry and his friends are getting awfully grown up!

A bad case of frititis

I got my Sanefit workout in today, raced around trying clean the house, took my 8-year-old to his friend's house to play, my 12-year-old shoe shopping (and he is very particular about his shoes), all the while dodging all the traffic which is all messed up in Leuven due to road construction, took the older two back home so they could play on the computer, finally did the groceries, went back to pick up Felix....and suddenly driving home did not feel like cooking AT ALL. Do you know this feeling?

So Felix and I were just passing by our neighborhood frite place and it didn't look too busy, so we pulled over and went in and ordered some delicious Belgian frites for dinner, took them home to cheers from the older two, who couldn't believe their mother actually did this wonderful thing and ate them and enjoyed them...and now I have a stomach ache. Ugh. I knew there was a reason I stopped eating them a while back! Hope you all have something healthier for dinner!

My running support team

Stefaan and I got up this morning, rounded up the boys and headed off to the park where we run just about every Sunday around the lake. Stefaan always asks how many loops we are going to run, and full of optimism, I tell him, and then we start running...and he makes sure I stick to what I said! If we came to run seven, by God, we are going to run seven, and there is no way he is going to let me off the hook! So today it was six and even though at halfway I was having those internal arguments with myself about how maybe five loops would be okay (after all I hadn't been able to run much all week), I knew it was pointless because I was running with Stefaan and he was going to say, "We came to do six, we're going to do six." So we did our six loops, which is 8.4 kilometers, in 56 minutes. It seemed like we were actually running at a pretty relaxed pace, but when I checked it was nearly as fast as last week. But it ended up being a good run, and if I had to, I could have done another loop (but I didn't tell Stefaan!) So Stefaan is my ultimate running partner and I truly don't think I could have gotten this far without him making sure I do my loops around the lake every Sunday!

Jenny and Mark of course are also a huge support to me: both great inspiration and good coaches, too. I sent a copy of my training plan to them to see what they think about it, and Mark sent back a thorough assessment:

"After I approximated the miles run based on time and added up the weekend long runs (converting those to miles since I can think better that way), I think you are going to be doing enough miles to prepare yourself.
Your longest run looks like 16.8K which comes out to 10.4 miles (using 16.8 X 0.62). This should be close enough to 13.1 so that the race distance won't be a shock. Some people do more for their longest run but a lot of plans don't. So, I don't think there is any real consensus on whether you need to run 13.1 to prep for 13.1. 95% of trainers say you don't need to run 26.2 to prepare for 26.2 but there is less said about half marathon prep.

The cross training is excellent and will add to the volume of your aerobic training. I've been adding a little bit of yoga into my training since I'm starting to feel stiffer as I add the miles on.

I think the only thing that Jenny and I wondered about is if you would get tired of running around the lake that many times. You will probably be ok since you are only running there once per week, but it looks like you are going to circle that lake 100 times. What I remember of it, is that it is a very nice lake so that helps.

With this plan I predict that you'll have a really good half marathon experience, showing up there injury free, and completing the course with a much deserved sense of accomplishment. You will also get a half marathon PR!"

Thank you, Mark. It is a huge reassurance to know that the distances I plan to run are going to be enough. Also I had never even considered that I was actually going to be running around the lake more than 100 times! This really blew my mind away and then I started thinking about how we have been running around the lake nearly every Sunday, sometimes clockwise, other times counter clockwise, in all seasons, ever since I figured out that once around that lake was exactly 1.4 km in the spring of 2006. How many times could THAT have been? So I just checked in my running log that I have been keeping since January of this year, and we've done 70 times around the lake in 2007 (including this morning). Whoa. That's 98 kilometers. Around the same lake. Running is an odd sport, isn't it?

Total kilometers this week: 11.8
Year-to-date: 342.5

Blueberry fields forever

Say hello to the sheep at Blueberry Fields Farm, where we pick our blueberries every summer (www.blueberryfields.be). We had a gorgeous day for "plucking" (as the boys say) with friends Catherine and Marleen who joined us. Between the six of us and in about an hour we picked more than 8 kilos. This is not as much as we usually pick, but this year we were on a field with smaller bushes and we had to crouch and bend over a lot more and we got tired of it a lot faster. I am sure most of ours will get eaten up before I can get some in the freezer. Our favorite way to eat them is fresh with Greek yogurt and honey - yum! You all probably know how healthy blueberries are with all those antioxidants, but did you also know they are especially good for sorting out digestive problems, especially diarrhea? They are also excellent for the eyes! And tea from blueberry leaves is recommended for diabetics.

Therefore, no workout today, but lots of fresh country air - must be good for something!

Cabin fever

We have been a little cooped up this week, with the gloomy weather. I can tell because the boys are getting really rambunctious and I am feeling very sluggish - why does it work that way? They seem to get more energy and mine is sapped! Thankfully the sun is expected back as of tomorrow.

Yesterday I did do my SaneFit strength workout and between each exercise I did jumping jacks, step ups, and general flailing around like a mad woman to work up a sweat - it worked! I have one more workout this week and then a full three workouts next week and I will have completed the six weeks! The creator of the program, Beverley Caen, asked me to write a testimonial about it when I am done, so that makes me even more motivated to complete it in style.

Tomorrow we are going to a blueberry farm in Limburg to pick blueberries and get some long overdue fresh air. Hopefully it won't be too mucky, but just to be on the safe side, we'll be sure to take our boots!

Tired Tuesday

I had one of those nights where you have a hard time sleeping because your thoughts keep going through your head like socks in a tumble dryer, so I was tired this morning. My plan was to take a walk and I really needed the fresh air! I did two kilometers briskly which took 20 minutes.

A very dear friend of mine emailed saying she was enjoying the blog (thank you Joy!) but that it seemed like a lot of exercise. And I just wanted to clarify that it has taken me quite some time and lots of baby steps to get to this level, because I think it is so easy to get discouraged by people who seem to do a lot of exercise, and then feel like, what is the point, I will never be able to do that much! And the number one thing that I do NOT want to do is discourage anybody!

As a kid, I never measured up athletically. As an adult, I have come to realize that exercise is essential for my mood, my health, and maintaining my weight. As I get nearer and nearer to perimenopause, even more so! So I tried many things....exercising at home, walking, biking, Tai Chi, Yoga, swimming, Body Pump classes and more recently running. And bit by bit, I figured out what suited me best, and I started doing more and really making it an integral part of my life. First it was biking with the children to school. This became so ingrained that I really missed it during the school vacations! I actually didn't feel awake on the days we didn't have that morning bike ride. Then as the kids were older and all in school, I tried fitting some other kind of exercise in on one or two days per week. It really was baby steps all the way, very gradual.

I am also lucky to have another very dear and adventurous friend (Jane, you know who you are!) who was always getting me to try new classes with her. She is the one who got me to go to the gym with her, a place I was totally intimidated by and would have NEVER gone to on my own. And thanks to her, I am still going today and actually sometimes really enjoying it! So it certainly doesn't hurt to have an ally to accompany you through the uncomfortable and novel aspects of exercising.

What I would encourage everyone to do is look at your current level of activity and make a commitment to increase it just a little bit, whatever you are willing to do, and maintain this until it becomes second nature. Then you can add a little bit more. Once you get the ball rolling, you'll be amazed at the places it takes you! Look at me - who would have ever thought I would be running races? NO ONE, least of all myself.