Three things Thursday

1. I signed up for the bike maintenance course!

Truthfully, I can't say it will put me that far out of my comfort zone anymore, because Jen and Nicole signed up for it with me. I'm good with that though. I can go outside of my comfort zone by swimming in open water sometime. I'm happy with feeling comfortable taking a class I need, with a couple of awesome buddies.

2. I went to McDonald's today

It wasn't planned. I was going to do lunch at a local cafe with a couple friends, but when we walked in, it was PACKED. Since we had 6 children between the three of us, we couldn't just squeeze into a corner, so we ended up walking down the street to the local McDonalds.

I have to say, I was so unimpressed. It's been a long time since I've been there. First of all, they don't even display the majority of their menu. What's the deal with that? Do they make an assumption that everyone has it memorized? Their french fries were super heavily salted. Their "grilled cheese" is disgusting. My kids like grilled cheese, but I make it with real cheese and actual bread. At McDonald's it's just a bit of melted, processed cheese between two pieces of tasteless bun. I could go on, like mentioning how incredibly dirty the the play area was, but I'm done.

I know this may sound really judgy, and I don't mean it that way. Fast food has it's place and I truly think that for most people, it's fine in limited quantities. Has McDonald's just grown too big for it's britches though? Have they sacrificed the last vestiges of quality and service because people have just made it a habit to go there?

3. My run yesterday was a trudge

Some days you have great runs, others not so much. I was running at the track and hadn't been able to talk any of my running buddies into coming with me. I only intended to do 6km, so it should have been easy. I can actually get decent speed most of the time when I do shorter distances now. Lap after lap, I was going so slow. And, it was just hard to keep going. I felt like I could have gone faster speed walking.

Happy Spring!

I've been reading blog posts lately about how some of you are getting out on your bikes. I'm jealous, but I am taking it as a sign that spring is coming - to some parts of the world at least.

Yes, that's right. It's spring now. The first day was Sunday.

This is the view from my back door today. It's spring alright.

I'm back!

For real this time. I'm feeling strong and motivated. Not quite healthy, but not too far from it either.

Yesterday, I spent the day flip flopping on whether I should go to my swim program.

I had a headache that that wouldn't go away, and I still got out of breath walking up and down my stairs. Perhaps I shouldn't go. Perhaps I needed more rest and it would be better to give it a day or two...

On the other hand, I am getting so much out of this program. Even if I my energy was still low, surely I could still benefit from the technique refinement. And I was starting to feel like a giant lump. I needed to do something and swimming was probably a good choice for getting back to it...

But, maybe I keep getting sick because I'm not letting myself fully recover? What if I am stuffy in the water and can't breath? Not a good place to be unable to breath...

I paid for this course, darn it! I don't waste money like that. And I was feeling better, at least somewhat. I don't think I've ever regretted a workout. If it was truly bad and I honestly felt horrible, I could always bail halfway through.

So, I went.

And like usual, something clicked for me. We were doing some one armed drills that made me feel like I might just drown. Then back to the swim. And I felt different somehow in the water. I felt faster. On a whim, I timed myself on my way back. I swam 25 meters back down the pool in 30 seconds. To some of you, that may not be fast, but let me just say that the fastest I have ever timed myself doing 25 meters was 30 seconds, and that was at a full out sprint. This time, I was just going at a moderate, sustainable pace. So, despite my recent whining about swimming better, but not faster, I may have actually made some headway on speed too.

The best part of the whole night was how good I felt afterward. I had found the workout hard, but it had given me that great feeling of euphoria that I get after a really good workout. It reminded me of why I am doing this and that I want to do it more.

Sometimes it is hard to decide when to get back to things after being sick. I think the most important part of that decision is the decision to get back to it. Having said that, I'm glad I made the decision when I did.

Going outside your comfort zone

So, I've decided that I need to learn how to maintain my own bike. At least for the basic stuff. I've got a year of free service, and then I'd like to learn some of the less basic stuff as well.

Lots of bike shops in Calgary run classes, but they're basically only over the winter and won't be offered again until the fall - when their mechanics are less busy. The university however, does offer a class that still runs this time of year.

My hold back? I'm convinced I'll be the only person in the class that is: A - female and B - over the age of 22. Chances are also good that it will be taught by somebody approximately half my age. Maybe I'll be really lucky and it will be a former student of mine... (I run into those on a semi-regular basis. The last time it was a pharmacist that was filling my son's prescription. Weird...)

Ridiculous really.

There is no good reason to avoid taking the class for any of these reasons. I just think I might be somewhat uncomfortable. Then again, I've always been happy to learn something from somebody able to teach it.

And sure, I could also learn this stuff from a book, but if I'm going to start tinkering around with my very expensive and pretty road bike, I'd like somebody there to reassure me that I'm not breaking it.

I guess that means I'm signing up for the class.

When is the last time you went outside your comfort zone?

My mind is ahead of my body...

...and I think it's a good thing.

The last couple months, I've been almost constantly sick. It's been hitting me hard, both mentally and physically. I've been feeling lethargic and tired so often, even in the brief spaces between illnesses.

Today, I am wanting to get out there and be active, but I know I can't yet. I'm pretty much exhausted by walking across my house. It probably doesn't help that my stomach still feels off and I'm not eating much. The run that I had hoped for today isn't likely to happen.

But the thing is, I feel like I'm getting my motivation back. I'm getting excited about being able to run, bike and swim. I've been having a hard time pushing myself lately and going through the motions. Now, I feel like I have to hold myself back - but just for a little bit longer.

I have my drive back and I'm not going to waste it.

Now, if I can just avoid any more colds and flus and gastro bugs...

It's a good thing I was ahead on my training...

...because I just seem to be getting sick time after time after time.

I thought I was going to build up to 24 or 25 km (15 - 15.5 mi) prior to my half marathon. Now, I have already run 18km (11.2mi) a few times, but I fear I won't get my mileage much beyond that. It may end up being an accomplishment if I can even get back up to it...

What I thought was *just* a cold seems to be more then that.

It hit me hard shortly before lunch. Right now, I feel like I could collapse at any moment. In fact, I've spent the last couple hours in a somewhat collapsed stage. I've been laying in my bed while my kids play suprisingly well. I can barely get them fed, let alone do anything entertaining or fun with them.

Yeah, cheese, crackers and banana for lunch. Not exactly winning any mommy awards with that one.

Running? Yeah, definitely not happening today. I better be feeling a lot better if I'm going to manage a long run before the weekend's out.

Best laid plans...

A month ago, I probably could have run a half marathon. I only hope I can get myself back to that state in another month.

Seriously, what are your immune boosters? I know the handwashing one. But what else do you do to avoid getting sick? (Shipping off the 2.5 and 4 year old plague carriers is not an option.)

Deb's ABCs

This has been going around on the blogosphere for a while. You might say that I'm jumping on the bandwagon, but really the bandwagon came by ages ago, so I'm just running behind it. Never hurts to get an extra run in, right?

(A) Age: 33 - Though I keep thinking I'm 32 and have a sudden realization that I'm not anymore.

(B) Bed Size: Queen. We recently bought a new bed. Although we were very tempted to upgrade, we decided that we'd stick with the Queen. Besides, our kids don't sleep in our bed anymore. It would have been really tempting when they were.

(C) Chore You Hate: Cleaning the tub.

(D) Dogs?: Not likely. I'd love to have a dog to run with, but I don't want another being dependent on me right now. I'm good with my two children and am enjoying the fact that they are getting a little older. Getting a dog would be a return to sleepless nights and copious amounts of poo.

(E) Essential Start Your Day Item: Breakfast. I am not a breakfast skipper and never will be. If I don't eat shortly after getting up, you don't want to be around me.

(F) Favorite Color: Aqua. It was red up until recently, but I've changed.

(G) Gold or Silver? Jewelry and me don't get along well. For appearance, I prefer white gold or silver, but I'm allergic to my wedding ring (white gold). I've even had reactions to sterling silver, which isn't supposed to happen.

(H) Height: 5'11

(I) Instruments You Play: I used to play the flute, and kind of played the guitar.

(J) Job Title: Mom.

(K) Kids: Spud, 4 year old boy and Sweetpea, 2.5 year old girl.

(L) Live: Cochrane, AB - close to the mountains.

(M) Mom's Name: Janet.

(N) Nicknames: Deb is my nickname, as my full name is actually Deborah. Superstar.

(O) Overnight Hospital Stays? Gall bladder removal and both children.

(P) Pet Peeve: People who block aisles in the grocery store.

(Q) Quote from a Movie: I don't remember movies that well.

(R) Right or Left Handed? Right.

(S) Siblings: Older brother Ray, younger sister Gin. Yes, I am the middle child, which means I can lay claim to being the screwed up one in the family.

(T) Time You Wake Up? Depends on the kids. On a normal day, usually between 6:30 and 7:30. Can be easily be as early as 5:00 or, on the rare occasion, as late as 8:30.

(U) Underwear: Yes.

(V) Vegetable You Dislike: I like almost any vegetable, but I'm not a huge fan of radishes.

(W) What Makes You Run Late: Children.

(X) X-Rays You've Had Done: Teeth, chest, spine. Maybe others, but I don't think so. I've never broken a bone.

(Y) Yummy Food You Make: I make good pies, but I also make a killer butternut squash soup.

(Z) Zoo, Favorite Animal: Otters. They are so fun to watch.