New Hampshire Marathon Recap

 A few months ago I decided to shoot for a fall marathon to see if I still had it in me. My last marathon was Boston 2014 and I felt really burned out after that, so I did shorter races for awhile and switched clubs and coaches. I picked a fall marathon - mostly based on scheduling and convenience. I wanted a marathon within driving distance on a free Saturday. That narrowed the options to one: the New Hampshire Marathon on October 3. I put it on my calendar and started training. One of the perks about being part of the BAA Running Club is that they have great coaches and a well-designed marathon training plan. I followed their plan, modifying it a bit here and there to add hills and work in a few races. I increased my mileage, ran several long runs over 20 miles, and ran hills as much as I could. After I signed up for the marathon, I read about the course and was genuinely scared. It starts with several miles straight uphill, then goes over rolling hills for awhile, then goes downhill for the last few miles. This sounded like a disaster since it's flat around where I live. There are a few hills, but they aren't huge and they are avoidable. I decided to not avoid them, and made it a point to start my runs on Beacon Hill most mornings. One of my long runs I started by doing repeats on Beacon Hill before running out to Newton and running the rolling hills and then subsequent downhill of the Boston Marathon course back into the city. All this is to say I trained very specifically for this course. But I still wasn't sure it was enough. When people asked me what my goal was for this race, I'd say, "Somewhere between 3:10-3:40, maybe more."

On Friday night, we drove up to New Hampshire and stayed with my BYU cross country teammate Ember. She lives close to the course and had even run it before, so she gave me some tips and spoiled my family with a pasta dinner and a slumber party. She made a huge breakfast on Saturday morning. I was nervous but managed to eat a little bit of a bagel, and thankfully the kids did their part in consuming breakfast. We packed up and headed to the starting line. It was partly cloudy and in the high 40s at the start. It warmed up into the 50s during the race, but was really great marathon weather.

The course was open to traffic, so Scott and the kids decided to drive around and cheer me on. Above that would be Phoebe and Oliver near the start. The New Hampshire Marathon is not a big race. Because it is known as a slow and hilly course, anyone that wants to run a fast time (for instance, if trying for a Boston-qualifying time) goes to another marathon: Twin Cities, Hartford, St. George, New York, Chicago are all within a few weeks of each other and are much flatter and faster. There were about 250 marathoners and another handful of 10K runners. We started together in Bristol and the 10K runners turned somewhere after the second mile. The first few miles were straight uphill so I went out very conservative - 7:30, 7:24, 7:20. After the 10K runners turned, I didn't see any women ahead of me.

 I saw Scott and the kids around mile 3. There was a fire station there and they managed to get a tour and sit in the trucks. And cheer me on, of course. I was still heading uphill - 7:28, 7:11, 7:22, 7:19, 7:22, 7:12. I ran with another runner for a mile or two, then he fell behind and I plodded on, keeping the next group of runners in sight.

It took me a few miles, but I finally caught up to these two guys. This is around mile 10, a.k.a. Devil's Hill. This was probably the worst climb of the race; it was steep and the road curved around so every time I thought I was at the top I turned the corner and there was more. 7:50 for this mile - my slowest split of the course. I grabbed a box of raisins at the top from Bruce and kept running, munching on a raisin every few minutes. A few more ups and downs - 7:15, 7:25, 7:41. Mile 13 was a long hill up a country road that led to a turnaround point. I ran with those two guys up until the turnaround. I checked my watch, which had me at about 1:40, and felt pretty good so decided to leave that group behind and venture off into no-man's-land.

 This picture is somewhere in mile 14 or 15. I was enjoying the downhill - 7:19, 6:32. I had Scott bring my phone and headphones because I was actually considering listening to music (which I never do on normal runs since it's almost always dark and creepy), but never got bored enough to demand it when I ran by. I still felt great! I clicked off a few more miles of rolling hills - 7:25, 7:20, 7:34, 7:28.

 This is somewhere around mile 20. The course ran by the western edge of Newfound Lake and was amazingly gorgeous here. The views of the lake and surrounding mountains were spectacular, the clouds and sun even looked amazing, and the foliage was just about at its peak. Add in Bruce's high-five and I was still feeling pretty good - 6:59, 7:12, 7:17, 7:31.

 I passed a few guys who clearly went out too fast. I felt bad for them; I've totally been there to that land of stabbing quad pain when downhills feel awful. 7:33, 7:28, 7:14.

And here was the final 2/10ths of a mile! I managed to pick up the pace and make it to the finish line without feeling completely dead! 3:12:59 for the win! I must admit that winning a marathon was on my lifetime bucket list, so I am happy to check this off. Not my PR, but I felt like it was really solid for this course.

I crossed the finish with blue lips and cold hands, so I went straight to the locker room and got a hot shower and dry clothes. I bundled up with a coat and hand-warmers, which worked quite well. There was a small awards ceremony where I collected my prize ($300 and a medal), then we piled into the car and headed onto our next adventure: Acadia!

Fall fun

Every year our neighborhood has a pretty rocking block party complete with bounce houses, pony rides, face painting, food and activities. Phoebe fell in love with the ponies years ago and looks forward to riding Tigger and DoubleUp every fall.

 Guess who showed up at the block party this year? "My guys," as Phoebe calls them. Even though she sits in Engine 2 at least once a week, she still spent a fair amount of time buckled in.

 The day of the block party was quite hot, so Oliver and I hung out in the shade when possible. Oliver is 16 months now. We started a mother-baby music class a few weeks ago and he seems to like it. We are still working with Early Intervention and will be for at least another year. He has language delays - doesn't talk, doesn't seem to understand or follow simple directions - and a few sensory quirks. It's hard to know how concerned to be as some developmental delays clear up on their own, but it never hurts to be aware early on.

 A few weeks ago I won Red Sox tickets! I answered a trivia question from a real estate newsletter (from one of my former GBTC teammates who is a real estate agent) and won two tickets. Somehow we have lived in Boston for a decade now and haven't been to Fenway Park, so it was time. I took Bruce because he really wanted to go.

 My next-door neighbor is an usher at Fenway Park, so we met up with him and he gave us a little history of the stadium and showed us around a bit. He is from Trinidad, so on a 65-degree night he wore a heavy coat, winter hat, and gloves with hand-warmers in them!

 He took our picture for us, got Bruce a baseball at the end of the game, and got us awesome seats.

 We sat in our ticketed seats for awhile (pictured above while we did The Wave), then moved to our neighbor's section for a plusher view. We ate peanuts (Bruce ate the shell and all; I guess he had never seen a whole peanut?!) and Cracker Jacks, cheered the Red Sox against the Tampa Bay Rays (Red Soc dominated!), and had a great time. Bruce said, "This is the best day I've had in two decades." Yes, he is nine years old.

 Also a few weekends ago, Scott didn't have to work and wanted to take advantage of whatever nice weather was left of this year. He picked Bruce up from school early and drove to New Hampshire to go backpacking in the White Mountains.

 They hiked a few miles to a campground where they stayed for the night.

 They saw some beautiful views, ate lots of trail mix, and enjoyed some father-son time.

 When they hiked back to the car, Bruce ate almost an entire package of Oreos on the way home. Awesome.

Phoebe was crazy jealous that Bruce and Scott were having a fun trip without her, so she and I visited the fire station to try on turn-out gear and sit in the trucks. Again.

Countdown to Boston

Today there are only 12 days until the Boston Marathon! The hard part of training is over; it's Taper Time! I haven't had much opportunity to race lately, but last weekend Scott was off work so I ran the Upton 15K. I've run this race before (in 2012 and 2007), but this year's strategy was a lot different. I have always had some specific pace in mind, but because I am not as fit and my racing know-how is rusty, I went with the listen-to-my-body approach. I picked up the pace when I felt good, slowed down when I didn't feel good, and ignored my watch the whole time. I saw the mile markers and pushed a button on my watch to mark the time, but made a conscious effort to not look at my mile splits until afterward.

I ran better than expected: sub-7-minute pace for 9+ miles, finishing third among the women. I won't be running that pace, but I think I'm going to use this strategy for the first half of the marathon. Speaking of which, it's nice to stress about the race itself now and not as much the logistics. I emailed the marathon organizers about my addiction to breastfeeding and they're accommodating my request to bring a pump. Oliver will still be a total grouch on Marathon Monday, but maybe that will motivate me to go a little faster during the last half of the marathon.

This week at the Raymond Residence

1. The infamous thong shirt finally made its way to the garbage can. It just needed a last hurrah at the cross country reunion first (see above, with Coach Shane).

2. Halloween happened! Bruce was Darth Vader, Phoebe a firefighter, and Oliver a lion. We did trick-or-treating at the fire station (pictures to come soon) and a quick stint at a school party, and then took cover from the rain at home. Instead of rainy trick-or-treating, we watched a movie and ate popcorn at home. I'm a little sad that I don't have kids' candy to pilfer this year.

3. Phoebe had a firefighter-themed birthday party! We invited a few of her friends over, played a few firehouse games, broke the traditional pinata, and ate macaroni and cheese and cupcakes together. When Scott lit her birthday candles, she backed away, citing the fire hazard.

4. I got sick. On Sunday morning, I woke up to a sore throat, fever, and headache so nasty that it hurt to open my eyes. I stayed home from church and laid in bed all day. On Monday, the fever was gone but my head was still foggy and I was still exhausted. On Tuesday, I started hacking. On Wednesday, my voice vanished. Scott reminded me to go get my flu shot.

5. On a related note, our pediatrician recommended that Oliver get RSV vaccinations throughout the next few months because preemies are susceptible to the sickness and can get much sicker from it than "normal" kids. Unfortunately, our insurance company won't cover the shots because they only cover preemies to 31 weeks and 6 days (Oliver made it to 32 weeks by TWO HOURS). Our pediatrician appealed without success and when I looked up the cost of the injections ($8,000-16,000!!!), I think we are going to just hope we luck out and not get sick this year.

6. Bruce and Phoebe are enrolled in 100-mile Club at school and we have been spending most mornings walking or running laps at a local park. At first, Phoebe was determined to do just as many laps as Bruce. That fervor has faded back into her pokey ways. Yesterday while Bruce walked a mile, Phoebe walked one-fifth of a mile and managed to pet two dogs, fill her pockets with rocks and acorns, find a leaf to give to her teacher, poke at some trash on the ground, accept a rose from a homeless man, and walk backwards.

Oliver just woke up from his nap, so that concludes this update!

When we weren't in the hospital...

 ...we did have some fun.

 Now that it's ridiculously hot, we head to the splash park every day. Phoebe insists on wearing her swimming cap "to keep the water out of [her] ears."

 Bruce did a week-long community soccer camp in a nearby park. While he played soccer...

 ...Phoebe hung out with her buddies from the neighborhood.

 She also made friends with some EMTs from the fire department. She invited them to her birthday party and was thrilled when she scraped her hand and they slapped a band-aid on it stat.

 We went bouldering and hiking last week.

 Scott used his crash pad that we got him for Father's Day.

We have been saying goodbye to lots of friends lately too. It's that time of year when half of our friends graduate and/or move on to bigger and better things. This is my Argentine sister, Alicia. She came here with her five kids and husband so he could attend a year-long program at Harvard. When I first met her kids, they didn't speak any English at all; I downloaded a translator app on my phone so we could chat. Now the kids are fluent and Alicia picked up more English than I did Spanish. I will miss them.

Glamour Shots by Ellen

Ellen came to visit last night and brought her camera along (of course!), as well as chips and guacamole and tales of her many adventures (some of which make it to her fantastic blog). On her blog, she says I'm "one of [her] favorite people," which I think is a distinction way better than being named to this (which, being bored in a hospital, I've read about now).

Bruce the Wolf, Phoebe the Ninja, Emily the Boat, and Scott the Doc

 Last week we attended Bruce's Cub Scout troop's Blue and Gold Banquet. He completed all of his "Wolf" requirements and got some bling for his shirt; I'm still trying to figure out what all this scouting stuff means besides more sewing for me. One of Bruce's requirements was to learn how to cook a meal; he chose macaroni and cheese, of course. He can now turn on the stove independently (which scares me), and has made his classic dish twice without help.

 Besides providing grub at the banquet, the scouts had fun activities for kids. The theme was "knights of the round table" and there was an obstacle course complete with stick-horse-riding, cardboard-wall-climbing, catapult-slinging (pictured above), and cave-crawling. Phoebe jumped right in with the boys and had a blast.

 Phoebe blended in with the boys again when she was invited to a friend's birthday party. It seems she was born among a wave of boys, and almost all her friends are boys. This was a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle"-themed party. Phoebe hadn't heard of them, but wondered why these ninjas looked different than the ones Bruce plays with. Still, she enjoyed pounding the bad-guy-ninja balloons, chucking ninja stars into a bucket, and swiping candy from a ninja pinata.

 She was also excited about eating frosting that made her tongue pink. She may have eaten a little cake too, but mostly frosting.

And because seeing photos of me on the blog happens as often as a bigfoot sighting, here I am at 22 weeks. Just last week I felt like I doubled in size and had a few really sluggish days when I was really glad for a nap. Overall though, I'm still feeling pretty good. I'm still running 4ish miles a day and have been going at a respectable pace for the past few months, but I feel my pace will slow very soon. I've felt the baby kicking around for a few weeks, but just this week the kicks have been big enough that Bruce and Phoebe can feel them too. They like to put their hands on my belly and wait for a "high-five," as Phoebe calls them. Phoebe makes up elaborate stories about tickling the baby, making him laugh, giving him high-fives, and so forth. Sometimes she says she hears him laughing. She is so excited for Knox, as she calls him. Everyone has a different name for him; Bruce likes Edmund and Scott is on a Greek-mythology-kick with names like Apollo and Perseus (still!). I like Elliot right now, but I change my mind about every other day.

Scott is pulling really random shifts in the ER lately. He often works overnight, which means he sleeps in during the mornings and I have to try to keep kids quiet (impossible) or get out of the house. Afternoons are nice though because Scott can spend time with the kids or work on projects around the house. He put together a whole wall of wardrobe-type closets in our room last week so we now have more storage space. Next up is painting the living room and Bruce's bedroom. Anyway, Scott enjoys the fast pace, immediate reward, and quick thinking that the ER requires. Most nights it sounds like he spends 60% of his time sewing up lacerations on drunk college kids, 30% of the time diagnosing stupid stuff people shouldn't show up at the ER for ("Yes, those bumps are completely normal, sir" and "Vomiting? Nausea? When was your last period? You're pregnant"), and 10% of the time finding and treating a real problem. He has made a few rare diagnoses that he was proud of, dusted off his Russian language skills for a few patients, and perfected his sewing skills.

Perhaps he can sew all the badges and beads and whatnot onto Bruce's shirt; it won't flinch and curse as much as a drunk college kid.

Happy Birthday to Me

 After last year's epically disastrous birthday, I was convinced that this one was going to be much, much better. And it was. Scott had the day off and put together a surprise birthday party for me. A few friends came over, sang the birthday song, and ate some really awesome cake that I didn't have to make. That would be me in my jammies blowing out a bunch of candles (we didn't have enough candles; does that mean it's already time to start lying about my age?).

Even better, I had breakfast in bed complete with waffles from my new wafflemaker. We had an awesome Belgian wafflemaker for a few years; I got it for Scott as an anniversary gift a few years ago, and it finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago. I was super-sad about it (*see backstory below), so Scott got me a new one.

* On our wedding night, we stayed at a hotel that had a make-your-own waffle breakfast bar with one of those cool rotating wafflemakers. The next day at the wedding reception, somebody asked how how our hotel was - you know, the winking, ha-ha-you-newlyweds kind of asking. While I blushed, Scott didn't even hesitate: "The waffles were amazing."

Family Photos

 Today we spent five minutes after school taking a family picture. Scott was home for the day (because he will be working all night tonight) and Christmas card/ family calendar season is coming up, so we grabbed a friend and a camera and snapped a few photos of the four of us.

 I forgot to tie up my scarf so it looks less weird and the kids are making weird faces, but I did comb my hair and convince Bruce to cover up his Star Wars shirt with a sweater, so we will count it a small success.

Scott finished up an elective month on the MGH stroke service. He worked with some amazing physicians, learned new things every day, and spent a lot of time with patients doing weird neurological tests to figure out what part(s) of their brains were not fully functional. As for me, my hip is still on the mend; it has improved a lot, but there will be no fast Turkey Trot for me this year. Scott's parents, brother Mark, and sister Nancy and her husband are coming to visit for Thanksgiving next week. I already assembled and froze the butterhorn rolls, baked and assembled a pumpkin roll, and am planning on doing some more cooking and baking this weekend.

Patience is a virtue.

Patience is a virtue that I needed on Labor Day. I ran the Cape Ann 25K, my longest race (or run, for that matter) since the Boston Marathon in April. I have had less time to train and more miles on the treadmill than I care for, so my training has been geared more for the 5K-10K distance.

But I ran this race a few years ago and loved the course; it runs around the perimeter of a peninsula with cute seaside towns, beaches, quaint homes, etc. And despite being close to the shore, it is notoriously hilly. Scott had the day off, which sealed the deal: I was going to race.

The race began and within a mile, I was packed tightly with three other women. We hauled along, patiently for the first mile and then quicker the next mile and quicker the next. I didn't want to chance running 13 miles by myself, so I hung with the quick ladies and hoped for the best.

At mile 4, one lady slowed down and lost contact with the pack. At mile 7, one lady stepped to the side of the road and dropped out. That left me leading and one other woman shadowing me. Way. Too. Close.

She kept clipping my heels, throwing out apologies occasionally. I understand a few clips of the heel, but I thought she would adjust her stride and give me more room. After all, we had the whole road to ourselves now.

The heel-clipping continued and I envisioned myself falling into the pavement and being unable to get up. I had been running hard for more than an hour, was feeling tired, my legs were tightening up, and the frequent stumbling was getting to me.

I moved to the side so she could go around me. She tucked herself behind me again. I slowed down. She stayed behind. I was annoyed.

In most long races, polite runners will take turns leading because it is more work than the "drafting" position. I was annoyed that she refused to lead, but it is a race and I respect that strategy too.

I do not, however, respect the trying-to-trip-your-opponent strategy.

Somewhere between miles 11-12, she clipped my heels for the umpteenth time and I lost my temper: "GET AHEAD OR GET OFF ME!"

I have never yelled at someone during a race and I rarely lose my temper, so I might have surprised myself more than her. As soon as it came out of my mouth, I thought about what a bad idea it is to make your opponent mad mid-race; she can use this against me!

I picked up the pace abruptly and opened a gap between us. I could hear people cheering her on in the last few miles, but still pulled out the victory in 1:42:38. The runner that slowed at mile 4 had a late surge and finished in second behind me, so the heel-clipper ended up in third. I scored some sweet prizes: a framed fine art photo of a sunset on Cape Ann, and supposedly some money will come in the mail.

My patient pace paid off, but I have some work to do with that virtue.

Thanks, Gloucester Times, for the photo.

Race 3 of 3

I have run a race every weekend for the past three weekends. First, it was a 5K. I ran a 17:55 on a flat course and finished third behind two women who have run in the Olympic Trials. The second weekend, I won the 10K at a local university track meet in 36:57. This past weekend, I ran a hilly 15K in 56:00. I won and reclaimed my course record (I broke it in 2007 and then someone else broke it).
My pace per mile doesn't vary much lately. Six-minute-per-mile pace seems to be my go-to pace. I have traded any speed that I once had for the endurance needed in the marathon. If only I could hang onto 6-minute pace for the full marathon. Maybe someday.
For now, I have two weeks until the Boston Marathon. The tough training is behind me, the races gave me confidence, and now I am ready to rest my legs for Marathon Monday.

Run, eat, sleep, run, eat.

Happy Tuesday!

My Sundays are reserved as my Sabbath Day when I can relax, ponder, pray, and sometimes sleep past 6 a.m. My Tuesday nights are reserved for the gospel of running - track practice. I have often thought how imbalanced my life might look if someone just looked at the 12 hours between 7 p.m. on Tuesday and 7 a.m. on Wednesday. It goes something like this: run 3 miles to track practice, run 6-8+ miles during the workout, run 3-5 miles home, eat leftovers for dinner around 9:30 p.m., head straight to bed, wake up between 5:15-5:45 and run another 6-10 miles, eat breakfast.

But from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., I am fully enveloped in Mom Mode. And because I get my morning run, I am just fine with that.

Weekend Update

Youngest to oldest, here is the latest:

• PHOEBE is growing up! She has been stringing phrases together for awhile, but now she is talking in full sentences and paragraphs. She loves the color pink, picks out her own clothes, loves swimming suits, and has a really funny robust loud laugh. Phoebe just stinkered, laughed at herself, and said, "There's a sheep in my bum. Silly sheep."
  
  
• BRUCE signed up to do a dance in a Cub Scout fundraiser talent show. When it was his turn, he got on stage while I cued the music. He looked out at the crowd, got a look of terror, and ran out in tears; my genes emerge. On a more positive note, Bruce had a few playdates this week and created a lot of cool stuff. Check out his blog soon.
  
  
• EMILY is keeping the kids happy and fed, trying new recipes, and running lots and lots. I ran 75 miles this week, including a rainy 22-mile run where I ran out to Concord with Anna and then took the train home. The treadmill has come in handy this month, but thankfully I don't have to run on the "dreadmill" (as Anna calls it) exclusively.
  
  
• SCOTT started his final rotation in the hospital, this time in the medical ICU. His daily hours aren't too bad (6:30a-6:30p), but he stays overnight every fourth night and comes home exhausted. When he tells me about his day, it usually starts something like this: "This is the saddest story..." He had Saturday off, so we hung out, watched movies, and cleaned the house.
  

20 miles on the Vineyard

Last Saturday was an adventure. I woke up early, picked up some friends, and headed to Cape Cod. I parked the car, hopped on a shuttle to the ferry, then took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. By the time I reached the island, it was 10:15. The Martha's Vineyard 20-miler started at 11.

I stashed my pocket with jelly beans and chucked my backpack on a bus to meet me at the finish. I chatted with my friends, Colin and Ariel, whom I had convinced to come race. They had never run more than 14 miles, but are planning to bandit the Boston Marathon so decided a 20-miler was inevitable. And why not at beautiful Martha's Vineyard?

The weather was fantastic. Mid-40s. Maybe a few clouds in the sky, but mostly sunny. It was windy, but it was a tailwind for the first 8 miles along the shore. Not bad.

Mile 1 - 6:26 oops, too fast.
Mile 2 - 6:34 caught all the ladies by this point.
Mile 3 - 6:37 much better. Ran with a biophysicist that I'd met on the ferry. Nice guy, but by the sound of his breathing I knew he wasn't going to stay at this pace. Poor guy.
Mile 4 &5 - 12:58 somehow I missed the mile marker. Biophysicist dropped back and Mike from my team, the Greater Boston Track Club, started running with me.
Mile 6 - 6:35 picking out my future summer home.
Mile 7 - 6:39
Mile 8 - 6:48 still feeling pretty good.
Mile 9 - 6:35
Mile 10 - 6:42 Another GBTC guy, Ken Ross, catches me and Mike.
Mile 11 - 6:40 turned away from Nantucket Sound in Edgartown. Now running into the wind - boo.
mile 12 - 6:45 Mike and Ken take turns leading, shielding me from the wind.
Mile 13 - 6:42 There are some gentle hills here, and for the next few miles.
Mile 14 - 6:37
Mile 15 - 6:48 There is a hill here and the wind gusts are strong as we run by an airstrip.
Mile 16 - 6:52 Clinging to Mike and Ken. I know if I run alone, I'll fall apart.
Mile 17 - 6:48 A few guys from a competing club team catch up. One of the guys ran this race in 2007, the last time I ran it. He reminded me that we'd run many miles together during that race, and then I'd dropped him with a few miles to go. His friends said something like, "Don't make her mad." Ken surges forward, Mike drops back, I carry on. Pretty sure I'm a little delirious by now; I think I even called Mike "John." Sorry.
Mile 18 - 6:30 Freshly motivated, I drop Mr. Bitter-about-2007 again.
Mile 19 - 6:45 This mile was so long. When will this end?!
Mile 20 - 6:39 Cross the finish, hobble to a high school locker room and hot-shower myself back from my hypothermic state to reality again. Grab a bowl of minestrone soup and wait for Colin and Ariel. They finish around 3 hours and are actually happy to have come (yea!).

We stuck around for prizes (which turned out to be tiny medals) and then barely caught the ferry back to the Cape. Glad we caught it for many reasons, but mostly because Ariel needed to attend her own surprise birthday party that night. :)

Because I drove our friends, I didn't have room in the car for Scott, Bruce, and Phoebe. They spent their Saturday fine-tuning their Mario Kart skills.

Photo via http://www.mvtimes.com/marthas-vineyard/article.php?id=9608

"What do you do?"

I get asked that question fairly frequently (three times this week) and I still never quite know what to say.

Stay-at-home-mom?
Freelance writer?
Nanny?
Amateur athlete?
Personal assistant?
House cleaner?
Chef?
Concierge?

None of those titles cut it.

Here is an "uneventful" day...

Thursday, Feb. 9
6:00 wake up, stumble to the bathroom.
6:15 run out the door to meet up with my two fav running partners, Kate and Anna. We run six miles today, a little less than usual because two of us are racing a 5K the next day.
7:30 jump in the shower. Phoebe wanders into the bathroom, strips down, and joins me while Bruce watches PBS Kids.
7:50 family prayer, then Scott heads off to the lab.
8:00 off to school: Phoebe in the stroller and Bruce on his bike. I walk-jog since he is faster on wheels. Does that count as more mileage? We find two pennies (Bruce and I have an ongoing competition to see who can collect the most change) and dodge several trash cans on our four-block jaunt to school.
8:25 back home again. Vacuum crumbs off the carpet (Miss J is scared of the vacuum, so I do it before she shows up) while listening to NPR.

8:30 finally eat some breakfast: cereal and toast.
8:40 Miss J's mom drops her off for the day. Today she requires an extra hug.
9:00 fully engaged in pretend play with Miss J and a doll house while Phoebe feeds me fake food she cooked up in her play kitchen. I negotiate a fight over a baby stroller.
9:20 feed Miss J a bottle of milk and change her diaper. Phoebe wants to help too - a little too much.
9:40 read three Curious George books.
10:00 girls go down for morning nap. I enter my monk-like state, trying to be quiet while answering emails, paying bills, writing. Today I scan my water bill and coach our new property manager, download videos from camcorder, pay my credit card bill, draft an email to my church congregation (it's my job/calling to send out a weekly announcements email and create the programs for services), read scriptures, schedule doctor's appointments.
11:50 party is over, Miss J wakes up.

12:00 drink my daily ferrous sulfate, heat up lunch. Today it's white bean-arborio rice soup for me and fish-spinach-potato for Miss J. Spoon-feed J and myself.
12:45 Phoebe wakes up, needs snuggling.
1:00 feed Phoebe, do dishes, collect tiny Box Tops scattered throughout kitchen drawer, watch helplessly as bookshelf gets unloaded by Miss J.
1:30 write notes for J's parents. I keep a log of what she eats, things she does, etc. Change a diaper and help Phoebe go potty.
1:50 clean up a few disasters: toys, books everywhere.
2:10 bundle up and load ladies into the double stroller.
2:30 go to pick up Bruce at school and find he has a playdate planned: all I have to do is say yes. I do, and he goes home with a friend and I take the ladies to the park. Then to the store to get diapers (I forgot to tell J's parents I was out - oops). Then to Goodwill to grab some more pants for Bruce (blew out the left knee on three more pairs, got too tall for another two pairs = time for more pants).
3:30 feed J another bottle of milk. She's getting sleepy. We read Poppleton books.
4:15 nap no. 2 for J. I read a few more books with Phoebe while J falls asleep, then we start making dinner. Phoebe washes and hands me the potatoes. I peel them.

5:15 J wakes up. She jumps on the rocking horse.
5:30 J's dad picks her up. I try to give him the highlights of the day while Phoebe yells in the background: she climbed into J's crib and got stuck.
5:50 Scott walks in with post-playdate Bruce. We sit down to dinner: chickenless chicken for me, chicken for everyone else. Mashed potatoes and salad for all.
6:20 head out with Phoebe. We pick up a friend and do our weekly grocery shopping. Phoebe likes to come so she can pick out yogurt and Arthur-shaped macaroni and cheese. She gets orange stickers in the checkout line and covers me in them.
7:30 we finish shopping before our friend and wait in the car. Phoebe eats half a bagel, then bashes her head against the car seat while yelling "nuts!" and then laughing at herself.
7:50 drop off friend and all her groceries.
8:00 carry nine bags of groceries and Phoebe from the car to the elevator. So glad we have an elevator.

8:15 Phoebe is pajama-ed and in bed. She's asleep within two minutes. I put groceries away.
8:30 answer emails, read about Costa Rica (more on this later, but we are going!), post videos from camcorder, clean up junk pile that accumulated on my desk during the day.
9:00 Scott rubs my feet while I eat ice cream and watch TV. Wonder how I got this lucky.
10:00 Head to bed. Wonder how I can race the 5K at this time the following night.

* update: Ran at 10:30 p.m. on Friday's Boston University Valentine Invitational and stayed awake, running 17:43, a post-Phoebe PR!

Birthday No. 30

The day began nicely. I rolled out of bed and went for a run with my running partner, who wished me a happy birthday and gave me a hug as soon as she saw me.

Then I got home to the normal chaos: Bruce getting ready for school, Phoebe running around half-naked and yelling that she's hungry, and Scott frantically searching for his keys. I guess he found his keys because a few minutes later, I realized he was gone. I thought maybe he was getting a fancy surprise out of the car or something, but after a few more minutes he still hadn't appeared. I called him. He said he was worried about catching his shuttle and forgot to say goodbye - and happy birthday. He later blamed this oversight on cold medicine that he had taken.

Bruce was excited about my birthday and had a breakfast-in-bed menu planned, but I wasn't in bed and Scott left so couldn't help with the breakfast prep. So I made my own breakfast - egg whites and toast - and ate it at the table.

I walked Bruce to school, walked home with Phoebe, and waited for Miss J (can't call her Baby J anymore because she is almost walking) to come over. She came and we played, then I put the girls down for a nap. I had two normal hours before things started to get wild.

Scott came home after his interview and wasn't feeling well. He went straight to bed, and I was totally jealous. Then I fed the girls lunch and we walked to school to pick Bruce up. Bruce planned a playdate with a friend, so I inherited one more kid for the afternoon. As we walked home, the friend started doing the potty dance. By the time we got into our building, he was spinning in circles. The cramped quarters of the elevator were too much for him and he totally lost it. He left a big puddle, which he then tracked down the hall to our condo.

I threw some snacks to the girls in the stroller, sent the friend to the bathroom, and enlisted Bruce to get him fresh clothes. I spent the next few minutes sopping up urine on the elevator, and scrubbing the elevator, hall, and our floor. Not too long after that, a neighbor boy knocked on the door to play with Bruce. We're up to five kids now.

A few minutes later, I got a phone call from a resident in our building. The garage door broke, and I'm the go-to person/condo association prez who takes care of such things. I was about to go check the door myself when Miss J put a present in her diaper. I changed her, checked the door, and made the call.

Eventually, Bruce's friends went home and Miss J's parents picked her up. Scott wasn't up for cooking, so we had pizza for dinner and ginger-chocolate cake for dessert (I made it the day before). I opened my presents - a nice shirt and a stepping stool for the kitchen (and a pot rack that Scott put up the weekend before) - and went to visit a friend who had broken her ribs. I came home exhausted and collapsed into bed.

Thankfully, the next day was better. After hearing about my birthday adventure, my running partner sent flowers and took me running shoe shopping. We went hiking as a family. Phoebe made peace with the potty and has been inventing her own potty dance. I went to my track club's holiday party and stayed 3x as long as I thought I would.

Another decade down. I was hoping to run 30 miles or do something crazy with the number 30, but I think I just had 30 disasters. Better luck next year.

"The Battle in Seattle"

I had an exhilarating, exhausting weekend.

I boarded a nearly-empty flight to Seattle on Friday night. After six hours of junk TV (thanks to JetBlue, I now know what the Kardashians are up to these days), movies, and running magazines, I arrived at the Seattle airport. I took the train and finally arrived at the hotel where my team was staying at 12:30 a.m. I threw my stuff on the floor, brushed my teeth, collapsed into bed, and fell asleep immediately. I woke up 7+ uninterrupted hours later and felt fantastic (it was about 10:30 a.m. Boston time). I ate a little breakfast, chugged some water, watched TV, chatted with teammates, and generally enjoyed kid-free relaxation.

Mid-morning, I boarded a bus with my team and we headed over to the cross country course. It was overcast, barely sprinkling, and cold - just what I thought Seattle would be like. During the warmup, I felt soreness in my ankle (rolled it in Friday morning's 30-minute shakeout run!) and was coughing the last few sputters of a cold out; I needed a good warmup and a prayer that I wouldn't feel that crappy during the race. Done and done.

Finally, race-time rolled around and I lined up at the start with my team. Because there were so many teams at the start, only two of my teammates could toe the starting line. Everyone else had to line up behind them in our narrow box at the start. I took my position behind our two fastest girls and sprinted out when the gun went off. I am typically more conservative at the start of a race, but this was Nationals! The course was also narrow and there were 300 other fast women fighting for the front. The first 3/4-mile was fast, but I could not have slowed down if I wanted to: it was like riding a wave, with lots of skinny elbows hitting me.

The course was fairly flat, but soggy from the sprinkling and the previous two races held on it that day. The footing was spongy, but my legs felt remarkably good, the pain in my ankle disappeared, and the wheezing in my chest evaporated. I focused on catching runners ahead of me one by one, and pushing the pace harder every time I felt too comfortable. Only once during the race did my brain start its excuse reel: "you're tired from the flight 12 hours ago." I put excuses out of my mind and reminded myself that I came all this way to run my best.

I achieved my goal: I ran hard during the race, so hard that I had a lousy finishing kick. I finished 84th out of an extremely competitive field, third for my team, with a 21:56 in the 6K. I warmed down, happy to be exhausted, and felt my cough and ankle pain return.After the race and some celebratory chocolate chip cookies, I went out for burritos and hours of chit-chatting with Laura, one of my former BYU XC teammates. I love getting together with my old teammates because no matter how infrequently we contact each other, it seems we always pick up right where we left off. Somehow they never age either?! Despite being 36 weeks pregnant, Laura came and yelled her loudest at the course (I knew it was her when I heard her cheer "GO MAAARRRRS!").

I met up with my team again for the evening, exchanged race stories, managed to get a shower at some point, and headed to the airport for a red-eye back to Beantown. I arrived in Boston at 8, went straight to church and put a skirt on in the bathroom, and soaked up three hours of meetings before coming home and crashing on the couch.

Despite the exhaustion, my trip was fun and rewarding. I love my family, but I also love not having to deal with kids on an airplane and not worrying about diapers and snacks right before I'm supposed to race. It was great to come home to Scott, who installed a pot rack in the kitchen while I was gone; Bruce, who is so excited for my upcoming birthday that he has already written out my breakfast-in-bed menu; and Phoebe, who followed me around saying "What-chu doin?" while I unpacked.