Wordless Wednesday

My attempt at some American Flag pancakes.

One of the wild outfits Elise put together.

I told Elise we could have a special Mommy/Elise date and she wanted to go on a hike!

Playing with flags in the car on our way to Riverside to run.

Elise reading to Lil Cutie.

Elise loves playing with the snakes and gets super messy!

Elise consoling Tesla over the fireworks.

Carter wanted me to take a picture of his Lego creation.

Oma and Opa sent Elise Hatchimals so she wanted to call them so they could see her open them.

Carter reading his new book to Elise.

Elise reading her Shine a Light books.

Carter poured and flipped the pancakes on his own for the first time!

 

Taking Tesla on a walk.

Run OK Virtual Half

The local running store whose race team I run on was putting on this virtual event. When I saw the medals I was super excited because they were so cool. I realized it would be my 20th half marathon and what a perfect medal to commemorate my 20th half! I had planned out my Boston Marathon build for the September 14th race with a 5k on the 4th of July. You had until the 5th of July to complete the virtual race so I decided to sign up for the half and use it as a tune-up for the marathon and to judge where I was at with my training. Then they cancelled Boston and switched to a virtual event for that race so I decided to put marathon training on hold and focus my training toward this half. Everything was going well until about 2 weeks out from the race when I started struggling with fatigue and dizzy spells along with light-headedness. I'd put in some strong tempos with 6 miles at 6:51 pace and then following that up with 7 miles at 7:09 when it was much warmer and more humid and I hadn't fully recovered from doing speed work in over 100 degrees a couple days beforehand. Two weeks out from the race I had planned an 8 mile tempo. I took off on the tempo and just didn't feel right. Things quickly started going downhill and I decided to scrap the tempo at 5 miles to save my legs for the race. That convinced me the race likely wasn't going to go how I hoped.

Originally I thought it would be cool to run my first ever 1:33 half. I've run 1:30 once, 1:31, 1:32, and 1:34 three times each, and 1:35 and 1:36 once a piece. So from 1:30-1:36, I'm only missing a 1:33. Then after my tempo at 7:09 pace I figured I'd shoot for sub-1:35. After my failed tempo I just hoped to maybe pull off sub-7:30 pace which was the pace I was training at for Boston when it was supposed to happen in April. While that was a bit discouraging, I knew I had to accept that whatever was going on with my body was causing me to really struggle with my running. I did hold onto hope that a couple weeks of easier running would bring me back around. I got up at 5am and was off and running a little before 6am. It was 75 degrees with 90% humidity and a 74 degree dew point. I knew the weather wasn't ideal and I was kicking myself a little bit for not running the half earlier in the summer before it got so darn hot and humid, but there was nothing to be done about that now!

I thought about taking off at 7:30 pace and working my way down to a faster pace. Starting out conservatively is always smart, but I hated to hold back too much at the beginning in case things ended up going better than expected. There was still that part of me that believed I might be able to pull off something decent. I decided to take off and just run what felt right. I went through my first mile in 7:11 and figured maybe things were going to go better than I expected. Mile 2 was 7:06 and then mile 3 was 7:11. I was excited that maybe I would be able to pull off a 1:33. I definitely felt like I was running a pace that I could maintain and was confident I would be able to pick up the pace for the 2nd half. Miles 4 and 5 still felt good at 7:16 and 7:19. I was approaching 6 miles and the turn around and started to fade a bit. Mile 6 was 7:23. I turned around at 6.55 miles and ate my Gu. I hoped once I ate my Gu I would get a 2nd wind but realized that wasn't going to happen when I hit mile 7 in 7:32. At this point I had a nice layer of sweat all over my skin but it wasn't evaporating so I wasn't getting much relief. I still felt okay but not great and I knew the rest of the race was going to be a struggle.

Mile 8 was 7:30 and I told myself to get back under 7:30. I was excited when I went through mile 9 in 7:25. I figured I'd be able to hold under 7:30 pace for the rest of the race. Thomas planned to meet me at the 10 mile mark so he could run the last 5k with me. When I started to struggle I began to count down the miles until I'd get to run with Thomas. I'd tell myself, "Just 2 more miles to Thomas." I hoped once I met up with Thomas I'd get a pick me up running with someone and things would turn around a bit for me. Then mile 10 was 7:40 and I really started to feel rough. I was really excited to see Thomas waiting for me by the trail! He took off with me and I explained what pace I had been hitting and what I had dropped off to. I started breaking out in goosebumps and felt really weird around in here. It was nice to have Thomas with me but I was still having a very hard time. I've never wanted to walk during a half more in my life! We went through mile 11 in 7:48 and that was all due to me struggling, it had nothing to do with Thomas taking a bit to get down to pace or anything. Mile 12 was back down to 7:40. With a mile to go Thomas told me he was struggling and I was on my own for the last mile. I couldn't wait to be finished and tried to push as much as I could. I went through mile 13 in 7:30. Then I took off going faster and knew I needed to keep an eye on my watch so I knew when I was finished. I planned to go a bit over 13.1 to 13.12 or so to make sure I actually finished a half marathon. I turned the corner and looked down at my watch, surprised to see I was at 13.12 so I stopped my watch and started walking. I ran the last portion in 7:13 pace.

I walked back to Thomas and we walked a bit of a cool down together. This was one of the least fun halves I've run. But I pushed through to finish which took more toughness than some of my fastest times. And now I've run a 1:37 so I've finished in every time from 1:30-1:38 now except for 1:33 as I was also missing a 1:37 so there's that. I finished in 1:37:29, an average of 7:26 pace per mile. I wasn't planning to run the virtual Boston when they announced it. Then my brother-in-law, Paul, mentioned it would be cool to have the swag from what would likely be the only ever virtual Boston Marathon. I hadn't thought about that at all. I just thought about the fact that I didn't want to run a virtual marathon, haha! My friend Sara is doing a Beyond Boston series and after reading multiple people voice the same sentiments as Paul, I was a bit more interested. When the details about the virtual race were emailed out and I saw it was only $50, I suddenly really wanted to do it! So after finishing this race I sat down and planned out a training block consisting of all easy runs working on getting up to one 20 mile long run before September 14th. It only gives me 10 weeks to train for the virtual Boston, but I don't plan to try to actually race the marathon. I just want to finish it, the same kind of mentality I had for the 2017 Route 66 Marathon. I think it will be good for me to focus on easy running to give my body time to recover from whatever I have going on right now. If I were focusing on a shorter distance, I'd be tempted to run some speed work and tempos. Training for virtual Boston, I'll focus on the long runs and take everything else easy. If I feel like doing a little speed work, I can, but mostly I'll just take it easy from here on out. I think that's just what I need!

What I Read: June

This month our library opened back up for curbside holds pick-up. That was super exciting and led to me reading my first actual library book since the beginning of January! At the start of the new year I decided to start working through my stacks of books I've either been given over the years or bought super cheap at Goodwill and the out of circulation books from the library. Then everything shut down and my only option was the books I was working through in my stacks. So it's been a while since I got to experience that thrill of having a book I've been waiting on come in and then picking it up and holding it in my hands. It's such a wonderful feeling and I still get excitement over it every time! I have been reading ebooks from the library but it's just not the same as the excitement of picking up a book on hold! Our summer reading program started on June 22nd. To complete the program adults had to read 3 books and I was finished with the program before the weekend rolled around! I'll be working on our Summer Reading Program Bingo page now which is always so much fun to complete. I usually try to go for a blackout.

Books:

• The Woman Who Stole My Life by Marian Keyes- Another one my mom read and then gave to me. It was cute and I really enjoyed it. I cracked up every time she sat down to work on her book and just typed ass. It was just what I needed, something fun and uplifting!
  

• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri- I really liked this book. It was short stories with the last 3 short stories going into the lives of the same 2 people. It ended on a very surprising note. There were a few stories that were pretty sad but I always love the way she writes and the perspective she gives.

• Tulsa 1921: Reporting a Massacre by Randy Krehbiel- As the 99th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riot approached, I decided I wanted to read some books to learn more about it. This was the first one I chose because the Public Library had it on a list about the riot and it was currently available. I learned a lot through the book. It was pretty obvious it was written by a journalist because it was fairly dry. At the end of the book he quoted Senator Lankford, "Ninty-five years ago this week the worst race riot in American history broke out in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And in five years the entire country will pause and will look at Oklahoma and will ask a very good question: What's changed in 100 years? What have we learned in 100 years?" Then Krehbiel said, "A lot, it is fair to say. And yet sometimes it seems not so much." It was the perfect ending to sit and marinate with and think about where we are not just as a town, but as a country. We are currently getting a lot of attention in Tulsa and Lankford's quote from 4 years ago seems so prescient.
  

• The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty- I got so excited when I found 3 of Moriarty's books at Goodwill I hadn't read yet. I spread them out so I could really enjoy them. Plus her books are ones you kind of devour and it's nice to come up for air between. This one was so good it was always hard to stop reading. I'd say it's a 4-way tie between Big Little Lies, Three Wishes, What Alice Forgot, and this one for my favorite books of hers. So basically I have loved all of her books I've read except Nine Perfect Strangers. I'm so glad I still have some of her books I haven't read yet. Between her and Joshilyn Jackson I know I still have some wonderfully fun books I can pick up when I need something fun and crazy good to read.
  
  

• The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead- I kept seeing this on book lists and then our really awesome local book store posted an event they will be hosting with Colson Whitehead virtually on July 6th. I decided to buy tickets for the Zoom event and wanted to read a couple of his books beforehand. Since this was one I'd been seeing a lot I decided to read it first. It was sad and reminded me of the movie Sleepers which I saw way too young (long story but my parents didn't know we watched it) and it traumatized me. At times it was really hard to get through and it made it even worse knowing the book was based on an actual "juvie" school for boys that existed. It was really neat how he totally tossed everything on it's tail at the end. I'm interested to see what he shares about this book during the event.

eBooks:

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie- This was our book for June's book club. I really enjoyed it. It was a quick, easy read and I wanted to keep reading to find out who died next and how. I thought it was fun she started the book with an old nursery rhyme which was a theme throughout the book. I liked that she gave you enough information about the characters to understand what was going on but not so much that you cared much when they died. I was invested in the story line but not in the characters. That was perfect for me after crying my eyes out at the death of a character in one of my books during May.

• The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman- I was scrolling through ebooks I'd put on my for later shelf in my app. I saw this one was by the same author as Garden of Small Beginnings so I decided to read it. It was so cute and I finished it pretty quickly because I enjoyed it so much.
  

• American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins- Wow, this book was so incredibly good. It was well written and included so many aspects of migrants making their way from South America and Mexico to America that I hadn't known about. I've always felt that people who would be willing to risk their lives to arrive in our country must have a very dire situation at home. Why else would they leave their home and everything they know to travel to a country where they don't speak the language? Especially if they have children! If there was ever a situation in our country where my children's lives were in danger, you better believe I would do anything in my power to help them escape. This book really hit me right in the heart. It was heavy and sad at points, but also so important. I tried to tell Ty about it but he didn't want to hear the story since it was sad. The reality is that so many people in our world live this. I hate that.
  

• Know My Name: A Memoir by Chanel Miller- Chanel was the woman sexually assaulted by Brock Turner on Stanford's campus. Her book was so amazing. It wasn't her whole life, it focused on the assault and the impact it had on her life. She is a wonderful writer and did such a great job helping you feel what she felt throughout her experience. If you have ever said a woman was lying about being assaulted or said it shouldn't count because the victim drank too much, you need to read this book. It was so powerful. Even if you haven't, I think this book is worth the read.

• The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden- The parent of a past student recommended this book on Facebook because her daughter read it and then she read it. I really like her daughter and thought it would be fun to read a book she had read, so picked this one out. It was really good and a super quick read. 

Audiobooks:

• Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout- I kept seeing this on book lists and then came across it on a list of audiobooks so I decided to try it. At first I didn't really like that the story would all the sudden veer off from Olive and introduce you to some other random characters, it was almost like a novel interrupted by short stories every now and then, but then I realized she was using those stories about other people to show all the small little ways we impact other people in life because each story would have some little connection to Olive. I didn't like that pretty much every married couple either hated each other or had a weird and/or unhealthy relationship, but I did like the book. It was interesting. I did find that after I finished the book, I kept wondering about what happened to some of the random characters introduced in one of what I thought of as the short stories. She could easily write multiple different books following the lives of those characters.

• Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets, & Advice for Life by Ali Wong- I was listening to an audiobook about the Salem Witch Trials and found it interesting as I was doing chores. But when I'd listen to it while running my mind kept wandering and I would miss a lot of information. I decided to download something that would capture my interest better on runs and listen to the other audiobook while doing chores. I loved this book. It was funny and entertaining and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
  

• The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Shiff- I listened to Cleopatra by Shiff also as an audiobook. I don't think I like her as a writer very much. Both topics were something I was really interested in but the way she writes seems to me to be a little jumbled and jumps from idea to idea a bit much without seeming to be cohesive and fluid. It was really interesting to learn more about the Salem Witch Trials though.

• Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok- This was an interesting story and kept me wondering and unsure for most of the book. I didn't feel super strongly about it one way or another though, it was just okay. It reminded me a little bit of Where'd You Go, Bernadette the way it was written and how you didn't find out until the end what happened to Sylvie Lee.

Wordless Wednesday

Elise made Tesla pretty.

She left everything on until I realized she was still wearing it and took it off for her.

We've been taking a walk every day and Elise started taking her stroller with babies in it each day. Then she decided to take her Belle cart and Carter said it was embarrassing.

But when she got too hot and tired he pushed it home for her.

When your librarian is awesome and gives you a bag so you can take home all your pine cones!

Carrying lunches home from the school.

Just hanging out reading in Elise's bed.

Elise asked me to take a picture of her.

Carter looked through their recipe book and wanted to make a peanut butter fruit dip.

Elise with her special "banana split" we made with the peanut butter fruit dip.

The kids with their first ever personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut! They earned it through the Book It Program!

Posing with the giant Magna Blocks tower they made!

She made herself a snack at Uncie Taco's house while I was taking care of the dogs.

Watching Zuma dig in Thomas' backyard.

She wanted to try out sitting in Carter's seat on the way home since Carter stayed home with Ty.

Elise showed Carter the Reese's spread Thomas had and they both made toast with it.

She wanted a picture with the flower in her hair.

Went to vote in the primaries.