Race Plan for 2012

Since I need to have a little accountability to my race schedule or I may not do what I say I want to do. I'm going to post my plan for 2012 here.

Jan 29 Tinkerbell Half Marathon
Feb 11 Campbell Valentine Fun Run 10K
April 1 Lavaman Triathlon
May 6 Wildflower Oly Triathlon
July 28 Barb's Race (70.3)
Sept 9 Big Kahuna (70.3)
Oct 7 San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon
Jan 13, 2013 Phoenix Rock & Roll Marathon

I'm hoping by publicizing my plan it will help keep me to it.

My Hiatus

I guess when I took a hiatus from working out, I took one from blogging as well. I've been enjoying the last two months preparing for the holidays and enjoying time with my family. I love the me time I get when training, but I have also enjoyed the family time recently. My little boy is growing up. I can't even call him a baby anymore, he's just getting so big and talking so much.

Alex has a new friend named Pippa, he is an Elf on Shelf. Right now, Alex doesn't get the concept of Pippa watching over him and why he is there, but he is enjoying the morning routine of looking for Pippa.

This weekend I ran 3.1 miles in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and I rode my brand new bike on a nice 12 mile bike ride. I have signed up to do the Lavaman Triathlon in April again so I guess it is time to return to working out. Especially since after Thanksgiving turkey, my midsection has swelled a bit.

So now that I've returned to training, I'll be back to blogging.

San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Since I missed posting last week, I have two posts today...

On October 2, I ran the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It was a cloudy and cool morning, perfect weather for running. With around 10,000 racers, we were divided into 16 corrals based on our estimated finish time. Since my estimate was 2:45, I was is in corral 12. I was there about 30 minutes before the start of the race so I found some friends from Team in Training to chat with before heading to my corral. About 10 minutes before the race started, I made my way to corral 12. There were probably about 500 people squished into a 20ft by 20ft square.

The problem with being towards the back of 10,000 runners is that when the gun went off, we didn’t even move. By the time the people in front of us started moving, we could still only walk a little until we got about 60 feet from the actual start line. Thank goodness our race time didn’t start until our tag on our shoe crossed the start line.

For the first mile, I was able to hold about an 11:30 min/mile pace which was just a little faster than my estimated pace at about 12:35. During the second mile, I settled into a 12:20 min/mile pace. We started passing the bands during the second mile and then roughly every mile after that. With songs like We Will Rock You, Dirty Deeds, and Welcome to the Jungle, it helped me keep up the pace. I held about a 12:30 min/mile pace until around 8 miles. Then I started to feel myself slipping. Although the music kept coming, I had trouble pushing. Then at around 11 miles the hip pain from the previous weekend kicked in with a vengeance. It took every bit of will power to just keep running. Once I rounded the last corner though, I forgot about the crazy pain. I could run through anything for the last 1000 feet. That is exactly what I did, I sprinted to the end faster than at any other point during the race. Thank goodness I did, because although I didn’t make a new personal record, I tied my last one and added another finisher medal to my collection.

A very long 18.5 miles

On September 25, I attempted my longest run to date in preparation for running a marathon on October 23. I was supposed to run 20 miles on the actual marathon course. I’ve been preparing to run the marathon since July and running consistently since May. I felt like I should be ready.

I parked my car at the start line and started my run along the course. The first few miles were nice easy rolling hills. The hills would have been great on a bike, but they weren’t too bad running either. Around 7 miles, I happened upon a porta-potty I decided to take advantage of. I took off my head phones, and by the time I put them back on after using the restroom, my music was off and my phone had died. Not very good luck for a long run in the middle of nowhere alone, but at this point it was almost as far back to the car the way I came as it was to just finish my run. So I continued along the course.

The hills started getting steeper, and it wasn’t the up hill that hurt as much as the down hill on my hips and knees. At around 14 miles, my hip was aching to the point of almost intolerance. At 15 miles, I gave up running. I borrowed a phone from a cyclist and attempted to call my husband. He did not answer, so I left a message, and I rested for about 30 minutes. I figured I couldn’t stay where I was since I was alone at the reservoir park. At this point, I continued along the course. This involved more rolling hills, and one last large hill. I walked another 3.5 miles back into town. By the time I made it into town, my hips and knees were throbbing. I made another call to my husband, who finally returned my call and came to get me. The lessons I learned on that day are way more important than the fact that I will not be running the marathon in 4 weeks.

Lessons Learned

1. Always check your cell phone before leaving on a long run
2. Don’t run an unknown course, at least drive it first
3. Tell someone exactly your course and when you should be home
4. Make sure your husband keeps his phone on him at all times during your run
5. Pick a flat easy course for your first marathon

Just a 10K

It's funny, 10 years ago, if you'd said that running 6.2 miles was a long distance, I would have agreed whole heartedly. Today, however, as I prepare for my first marathon in a month, it's just a 10K.

It was actually a great 10K. I ran the entire distance except for water breaks, because if I run and drink, I don't actually get the liquid in my mouth, more like all over my face. Many people would find a 10K in 1:17:02 to be a bad time, but for me, someone who could barely run a solid 3 miles just a year ago, that's a great time.

Some how in one year, I've learned to really love running. Now, if only I'd learn to really love my bike then I'd have a true love for triathlon.

Self Doubt

My marathon is in six weeks, which means I have four weeks of training left. I have run 16 miles to date. Which is fantastic. It's further than I've ever run before. But is it enough? I ran it in less than 4 hours which was approximately 14:45 min/mile. That's really good for me, but to finish the race in the required 6.5 hours I need to run the entire 26.2 miles with an average of 14:53. That's scary for me. I mean that means I have about 8 seconds per mile to give up.

I know I'm a financial analyst and I'm just analyzing the numbers WAY too much, but I'm scared that I won't finish. I've told so many people that I'm doing this race. I already didn't finish my first triathlon when I did it, and granted I've now finished 4 triathlons. I just hate to fail again. To this day, I'm bound and determined to go prove to myself I can finish that triathlon. I don't want to have another thing that I have to prove I can finish.

It's like this little tiny seed of self doubt that I had just a couple of weeks ago has totally invaded my brain. It makes me want to just go out an run the total 26.2 miles just to prove to myself I can complete the distance, but I know that will just mess with my training. There is a reason I am working from a training schedule. I just feel like I should be running more or doing something different. I don't know how to get back the confidence that I had when I started this crazy quest to finish a marathon. I originally gave myself plenty of time and worked from a plan which took me from 6 miles to 26.2 miles. But my legs just gave out last week, I couldn't complete the 16 miles on my plan so then it was last weekend for 16 miles which means I'm a bit behind in my plan.

I have tons of self doubt, doubt about whether I can even run 26.2 miles. Especially if I have troubles with 16 miles. I know I'm in the minority that I've even run 16 miles at one time. But I have bigger dreams than the majority. I have to finish the 26.2 miles and I want the medal so I have to do it in 6.5 hours, but right now that is really scary.

Gardening Hurts

That sounds really weird coming from someone that has done 4 triathlons and is training for a marathon, but I hurt more have gardening than after running. First, we dug up the plants in the back yard planted against the foundation. They were ugly. And we replaced them with the over growing ones from the front yard. Of course, instead of using a shovel, I decided to dig the up with my hands so I wouldn't destroy their roots. We also replanted our herb garden in a window box planter so they would have some extra room. Then, I weeded 2/3 of the front yard, skipping the part where the bees were hanging out. Lastly, I replaced the over grown plants with some annuals which will hold me out until spring. This all sounds lovely, but I did it all without gloves, and obviously without balance because while trying to actually use the shovel, I fell over and landed in a rose bush. Both me and the rose bush survived, but it was probably a scene for America's funniest home video's if we'd caught it on video. I'm glad we did not.

I've decided that maybe holiday weekends are more dangerous than just going to work.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cycle for Life

On Saturday, we attended the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cycle for Life in Santa Cruz. Mike cycled 25 miles in honor of our son, and we met the staff of the CF Foundation and some other CF patients. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

After Mike left the starting area, Alex decided he wanted to go for a ride. He walked over to our SUV and started knocking on the door, and when I opened it and picked him up, he pointed to his car seat and said "seat". He helped me buckle him in, and then he said "Go!". This may not sound like much for a two and a half year old, but two months ago, Alex had a vocabulary of about 4 words. He had great difficulty expressing what he wanted and he would just have a fit. Now I'd say his vocabulary is probably approaching 20 words, and he is as expressive as ever. He wanted to go for a ride in his car seat, and, in his own way, he told me. This was a huge accomplishment.

We went to meet Mike and the turn around point for his ride. It was what they called the "Strawberry Rest Stop" on Highway 1. When we got there I understood why. It was a farm house with strawberries painted on the outside. I'm not sure if it was a market during normal business hours because it was only 8:30AM, if it was, it was not open, yet. We waited for Mike to arrive at the rest stop which was stocked with water, peanut butter, energy bars, and Sizzle Sticks (red licorice). The migrant workers were working in the background, harvesting what looked like green onions. Mike eventually arrived at the rest stop. Although exhausted, he was doing pretty well. He took some snacks and liquids, said hello to Alex and I, and then headed back into Santa Cruz. After Alex and I made a quick stop and changed a diaper, we met Mike back at the Finish Line where lunch and drinks were waiting.

As usual, everyone at the event adored Alex. He even got a special invite to be a representative of Cystic Fibrosis patients at another CF Foundation event, Broc Glover's Breathe Easy Ride - Bay Area on October 1. We met two very special Cystic Fibrosis patients, Brett and Katie. Both had lung transplants earlier this year. As Brett put it, they traded in one set of problems, for another, but also a huge extension of their lives. The lung transplant will not cure Cystic Fibrosis, but the CF had done such great damage to their lungs through pneumonia and bronchitis type sickness that they would not have survived without it. I could not have had the conversations with these patients or other parents of CF patients one year ago. It was still just too scary to think about the future. I'm glad I was able to talk to them today. They were very inspirational and gave me great hope for the future of Cystic Fibrosis treatments.

The best advice I got, was something you hear every day, but we all tend to forget. "You can only take it one day at a time."

Running and more running

I still haven't solved the shoe dilemma. In the mean time, I'm still running. It hurts at times, but I'm not giving up and I'm not stopping.

I ran in my first 10K last Sunday in the Felton Race Thru the Redwoods. I've completed three half marathons, four triathlons and even a 5K, but some how I've never done a 10K. I figured it would be nice to have a real 10K time, but little did I know this was not the race to be basing my progress in training. In the middle of a nice, relatively flat and down hill race, there was ONE very steep hill climbing 300ft in about 3/4 mile. That ruined any opportunity to have a great time. However, it was a really fun race, and will be a nice annual event.

This week, I ran a great 4 miles on Wednesday, it was my interval run, 1/2 mile hard run with 4 minute rest in between for 6 repeats. I was exhausted, but it felt really good. Then on Thursday, I was supposed to run 5 miles. Well, I'm lucky I made it home. I ran 1.5 miles from home and then I hit a brick wall. I tried for another 1 mile to get into my rhythm, because sometimes it takes me 2 miles. Unfortunately, I was done physically, but was now 2.5 miles from home. I walked the rest of the way home, with little attempt at running. I figured at this point, I just wanted to make it home. My biggest mistake was trying a run on one of the hottest days in the mid-afternoon. I was just dehydrated. Oh well, lesson learned.

Tomorrow is my longest run to date. I will be running 14 miles. Let's hope I get my running legs back because walking 14 miles will take much, much longer than I'm planning.

The Terrible Twos

I finally understand what people mean when they say "The Terrible Twos". This weekend we went camping with Alex. We had a great time, but we had a really hard time controlling him. Whenever we would say (or yell) "NO!", he would laugh at us and run away.

There was a road between our campsite and a big open grassy area. The first time we realized we had a problem, Alex was standing on our side of the road and looking at us. I told him "No, come here!" and instead of coming he decided to test me by taking a few steps into the road while giggling. He knew he was doing something wrong, we could tell by the look on his face. At this point, I got up and carried him back on to the campsite. No sooner did I sit back down in my chair, he was at it again, but this time when I said "No!", he was off and running away and giggling the whole time. This time I brought him back to the campsite and put him in his stroller, but he was completely content to just sit there and watch the world around him. This routine repeated multiple times on our trip. There just isn't a good place to put a two year old that is really punishment while camping.

Until this point, we have not really needed or used time outs. I'm not really sure he even truly understands that they are supposed to be punishment. The thing is the running away while laughing really scares me. What if there had been a car coming, or what if that dog he ran towards had been actually vicious? He's my little boy. I don't want anything to happen to him, and he doesn't understand that the world is not a friendly place.

Running Shoe Shopping

For most of my life, I have avoided every opportunity to run. But here I am training for a marathon. I only have one issue, running shoes. Last November I bought a pair of Asics Kayano 16, which I loved. I trained for and ran two half marathons and two triathlons in those shoes. They gave me some minor blisters, but nothing unexpected after running 13.1 miles. They have over 300 miles on them, and now just plain hurt when I run in them.

I know it is time for new shoes, but it is not as easy as it seems. I went to one specialized running store. They video taped me running on a treadmill and they had me stand on a special pad to check how I stand. Then they put me in the Asics Cumulus 12 and off I went. I figured since I went to a specialty store and they went through all that to check me out, they had to be good. It couldn't have been further from the truth. The shoes hurt, from the moment I ran just 3 miles in them. I thought it would improve, so I ran another 3 miles. Then it was back to the store to get their advice. They sold me a pair of insoles which seemed to improve the feeling of the shoe, but after running 5 miles, I was sure it did not. So once again, it was back to the store. I told them that I just wanted to order the Kayanos again.

Little did I know, running shoes, like cars have newer improved models. So when the Kayano 17 arrived, I went running in them. For three weeks everything seemed fine. Then as I started moving into longer distances, I noticed that my arches and calves were aching a lot. At first I just thought it was from running more, but then it got extremely painful. So once again, my running shoes were hurting me. So I decided to go to a different running store. The only issue was they didn't carry my size in stock. No matter what shoe I wanted, I'd have to order it. So I tried on a couple of shoes in a close size, and asked them to order one for me. So now I wait, and in the mean time I get to choose between my Kayano 16 with too many miles on them or my Kayano 17 that don't fit right.

I have always hated buying shoes. I have odd shaped feet with a wide forefoot, narrow heels and high arches. But I've never really cared about running shoes before because I was only running a few miles. Now trying to train for a marathon without shoes is proving to be very difficult.

Dogs and Tragedy

A friend of mine made a post today that upset me more than I thought it would, but when I thought about it, I realized why.

His post was about a woman who was killed by her pit bull type dog. From the post, I understand his opinion to be that this breed should be outlawed.

But what happens to the dogs if this breed were to be outlawed (let's say nation-wide). They would have to be put down or even worse kept illegally. I have a very hard time with the idea of a friend being told that their dog must be put down because it has been designated as part of an unsafe breed when her dog has done nothing to deserve to be put down.

I do agree that something needs to be done about dog related deaths that are increasing, but no matter what, I do not believe it is always the dogs fault. We need to look at the circumstances. In the case my friend was talking about, a woman was found mauled to death by her family pet. Which, of course, is awful, but they were keeping two pit bull type dogs on property that was less than 1/10th an acre and a house that was less than 590 sqft. This is not good conditions for such a large breed. There is no mention of the history of the dog or the circumstances. I still believe that in most cases the owner is at fault for the death in the case of dog caused injuries.

I do admit there are issues with pit bulls. They account for more than 23 of the 34 dog related deaths in 2010. Across the previous 5 years, they attribute more that 1/2 the dog related deaths to pit bulls and pit bull mixes. That's still only 85 dogs out of a conservative estimate of 450,000 pit bull mixes in the U.S. Even if you attribute 1/2 the annual dog attacks to pit pulls which would be about 250 per year over the last 5 years that still 1335 dogs out of the 450,000. Why should we blame the 448,665 dogs that did nothing wrong?



My resources for those interested...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States#cite_note-153
http://happypitbull.com/basics/myths-and-facts/
http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/ownership.asp
http://www.akc.org/

God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours by Regina Brett

I admit, I have not read the book, but I have seen quotes from the lessons and the lessons listed in several places and have been wondering about the source. So I figure, credit should be given where credit is due. I know that nothing here is new, and it is definitely not ground breaking, but I think that it is a simple book with a simple idea and some real lessons that we should all carry through our lives.

God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life's Little Detours by Regina Brett

Lesson 1 – Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

Lesson 2 – When in doubt, just take the next right step.

Lesson 3 – Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

Lesson 4 – Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Lesson 5 – Pay off your credit cards every month.

Lesson 6 – You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Lesson 7 – Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

Lesson 8 – It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

Lesson 9 – The most important sex organ is the brain

Lesson 10 – God never gives us more than we were designed to carry.

Lesson 11 – Make peace with your past so it doesn’t screw up the present.

Lesson 12 – It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

Lesson 13 – Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Lesson 14 – If a relationship has to be kept secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

Lesson 15 – Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

Lesson 16 – Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Lesson 17 – You can get through anything life hands you if you stay put in the day you are in and don’t jump ahead.

Lesson 18 – A writer is someone who writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

Lesson 19 – It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Lesson 20 – When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

Lesson 21 – Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save anything for a special occasion. Today is special enough.

Lesson 22 – Overprepare, then go with the flow.

Lesson 23 – Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

Lesson 24 – Start saving 10% for retirement as soon as you get your first paycheck.

Lesson 25 – No one else is in charge of your happiness. You are the CEO of your joy.

Lesson 26 – Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

Lesson 27 – Always choose life.

Lesson 28 – Forgive everyone everything.

Lesson 29 – What other people think of you is none of your business

Lesson 30 – The passage of time heals almost everything. Give time time.

Lesson 31 – No matter how good or how bad a situation is, it will change.

Lesson 32 – Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick, but your friends will. Stay in touch.

Lesson 33 – Believe in miracles

Lesson 34 – God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

Lesson 35 – Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

Lesson 36 – Growing old beats the alternative. Dying young looks good only in movies.

Lesson 37 – Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

Lesson 38 – Read the psalms. No matter what your faith, they cover every human emotion.

Lesson 39 – Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting for you to discover.

Lesson 40 – If we threw our problems in a pile and got a look at everyone else’s, we’d fight to get our own back.

Lesson 41 – Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of now.

Lesson 42 – Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful, or joyful.

Lesson 43 – All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

Lesson 44 – Envy is a waste of time. You already have everything you truly need.

Lesson 45 – The best is yet to come.

Lesson 46 – No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up for life.

Lesson 47 – Breathe. It calms the mind.

Lesson 48 – If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Lesson 49 – Yield.

Lesson 50 – Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

Vancouver Friends

This weekend we had friends visiting from Vancouver and one staying at our house. It made for another crazy weekend.

Our friend John was picking Sonja and Zafira up at the airport and dropping Sonja off on Thursday night. Their flight was late, so they didn't make it to our house until midnight. Although I had spoken to Sonja on the phone and over e-mail, I'd never actually met her. When she arrived it was a hello, how are you, nice to meet you in person, here's the kitchen, bathroom, your bedroom, good night kind of evening. Alex had long been in bed, and I needed to hit the sheets as well. The next morning I got up at 6:30am for work.

Friday was a fairly normal day for us because they went to Napa for the day. I went to work and Mike, Alex and I had turkey burgers and corn for dinner. But Saturday was a bit nuts. I got up at 6:45am to go running, because I am training for a marathon and needed to get a run in before everyone got going that morning. I drove out to the trailhead only to find that my new Garmin Forerunner 305 didn't have a charge. Since it was half the reason I was looking forward to running on Saturday, I turned around and drove home to charge it. I left for the second time at 8:15 to attempt my run again. I ran 10 miles that morning in 2hr 21min. I was fine until about mile 8, and by the time I was done, I felt like most people were walking faster than I was running. I drove home showered, changed and went to lunch and shopping with the girls (Zafira, Sonja, myself and Robin). Then that night Mike and I made dinner for Zafira, Sonja and John. Zafira and Sonja adore Alex (how can you not). They had a blast playing with him the whole night.

Sunday kind of followed Saturday's routine. I went swimming in the morning at 8:30am. Then, home to shower and off to the farmer's market. We had lunch with our friends to celebrate John's son's birthday, and then back home for Alex's nap. We ended that night with dinner out with our friends in San Jose at La Pinata. Thankfully, they were very tolerant of Alex's need to get up and wander around a few times, and even our exits and entrances to keep him entertained.

If it sounds like we never stopped this weekend. We didn't. I need a vacation from my weekend.

Last week's workout schedule

Last week was the first week in a really long time that I actually kept to my workout schedule. Tuesday was my track day, and I actually went to the track. I ran 6x400m intervals with 400 between each one. I ran 400m in 2:25 consistently each time. That was even while having to change lanes multiple times to avoid the one runner running the wrong way on the track, and another man who was walking the track and almost seemed to be bird watching. I was actually impressed with my time. I hate track, but it was nice to get a time on short distances.

On Thursday, I decided to see what my current time would be for 3 miles. I hadn't really timed a 3 mile run in several months. At first I was a little embarrassed to be pushing myself so hard on the public roads. I was sweating profusely due to the heat and huffing and puffing my way along. As I rounded my last corner and headed up my street, there was a man and his son walking on the sidewalk. At first, I didn't think they were going to give way and after 3 miles of running I wasn't sure I would make it around them, thankfully at the last second the father stepped aside and let me pass. I made it to my front lawn, and almost made a dive for the grass, but decided against it since they were right behind me. I ran 3 miles, estimated by mapmyrun.com, in 38:08. It wasn't my best time, but certainly better than I likely would've done 5 year ago.

Saturday was my long run. I was supposed to start at 7:30AM and run 8 miles. But I was counting on my inability to sleep past 6:30 lately to get me out of bed. I woke up at 6:30, but immediately fell back asleep and woke up at 7:30AM. I was late from the moment I climbed out of bed and we had a birthday party later that day so I had to get running, literally. I wanted to run my eight miles on a trail and I needed liquids and food to start so by the time I made it to my run start it was 8:10AM. After much trial and error with hydration systems for longer distances, I have finally had success with the hydration backpack. The other nice thing about it is there are plenty of pockets for keys, phone, nutrition, etc. I put on my fabulous backpack and headed out on my run. Thankfully, unlike the rest of the country we are not experiencing the extreme humidity and heat here in California, so the temperature was quite mild in the low 60s when I started. My currently long distance plan is a 3:1 run:walk. It is the only run:walk plan that I have been able to maintain from beginning to end of my run, and it is working fairly well for me. I have my phone setup for the interval and I turn on my GPS run tracker and then shove it in the pocket of my backpack. There are two different bells for the run and walk portions and I have learned that it works best if I don't watch the time during my run. On Saturday I ran my 8 miles in 1:51:05. I was happy with that, and rushed home at a little after 10AM to shower and head to the birthday party.

My best friend's disease ...

My best friend has CVID, Common variable immunodeficiency. I've learned a lot about this disease in the last year or so that I never even knew existed before she was diagnosed. And that's kind of the thing, unless you are directly affected by it most people don't even know this disease exists.

I have done a few seasons with Team in Training and I think the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a great cause which I have no problem fundrasing for, but everyone knows about cancer and Leukemia. Anytime I mention my best friend and her disease, I have to explain it. It's not AIDs, but it is an immune deficiency, and it's not an STD or something she caused. At least with a disease like cancer, all you have to do is say cancer and people sort of get it. With CVID or Cystic Fibrosis (which my son has), it takes an explanation of the disease before people start to understand. I often go out in public with her and she wears a surgical mask to help protect her from germs. She is always getting looks from people. They just don't understand. She's not SARS paranoid or just a germaphobe, a simple cold to someone else can be so much more serious for her.

I admit when I first met her I thought she was a hypochondriac. How could you not? She was always sick with something. Even doctors told her, that her illnesses are her imagination, or due to anxiety. But if you spend time with her. You start to see. When she was really sick, she looked really weak and sometimes could barely talk for long periods. Most recently she has been feeling better. She has looked healthier and happier than I think most of the time I've known her. This is due to being diagnosed, and getting treatment.

This is a very difficult disease. It's not easily explained and certainly not easily treated. But my best friend inspires me. She is generally a happy person. She has made the best of a bad situation. It would be so easy to crawl in a hole, but she fights. She is one of the strongest people I know.

Vacation and Running

I've been a little MIA lately. We went on vacation. Before you ask why are we vacationing while my husband is unemployed, it was to my parents house. Which is cheaper than being at home since we don't have to buy the food and we drive my parents cars. Alex spent most of the time we were there in the pool. He loved it.

I ran 4 of the 7 days we were there. I think that's the most I've run in one week and it was in some of the hottest weather I've ever run in. The first day, I didn't listen to my mother, who told me I needed to get up at 6AM, and woke up late and didn't start my run until 7AM. I regretted that decision. By the end of my run at 8AM, it was already 100 degrees and the sun was beating down on my head as I ran the last mile. I also finished my water bladder with about 10 minutes left in my run. Not such a great first run on vacation. Lesson learned by day two. I packed another 20 oz of water and I got up earlier and was running by 6:30AM. Still not the 6AM my mother suggested, but better than starting at 7AM. I also ran into the sun on my way out so on my way back the sun was behind me. I finished my run at 7:30AM and it was a mere 93 degrees and ended with 10oz of water left. The last two runs were similar to the second one and I improved each day running the 4 miles in a little less time each day. This means I should be in great shape to run at home where the peak temperature is less than it was when I got up in the morning in Scottsdale.

Unemployment

My husband lost his job last Monday. I've spent the last week trying to figure out what to say about this in a public forum. To say I'm frustrated would be an understatement. Other people saw it coming, but my husband went along in bliss, just ignoring that there was a problem. So here we are trying to figure out how to live on one income when we couldn't afford our expenses on two incomes.

We are presently 25,000 in debt, partly from dental work for my husband, partly from traveling, and partly from just plain overspending. We have a 4000 a month mortgage, yes, that's 4 grand. That's probably more than many people make a month and that's our mortgage. We also have a two year old, and well, that isn't cheap either.

I've at least come to terms with our circumstances, and my husband is out there searching for a job. So hopefully this comes to a conclusion soon, because we won't survive more than about 6 months on one income.



Drug shortages

Five years ago I wouldn't have been able to tell you what is Mucomyst let alone Acetylcysteine. These two drugs have one purpose to thin mucus so it may be coughed up. It is a very important drug for anyone with Cystic Fibrosis. Right now, there is a nation-wide shortage of this ever so important drug. Mycomyst is the original drug, but it is no longer manufactured. The remaining drug Acetylcysteine is manufactured by three companies. One of those companies is having manufacturing contamination problems. So now it is down to two manufacturers and they can not keep up with the additional demand.

Alex takes Acetylcysteine daily to help prevent build up of mucus. He takes it more than once a day when he is sick. To this point, we have just taken it for granted that it was available. The biggest problem we've had was that they want to give it to us in 30 ml bottles, but he only takes 2ml per day and the bottle only lasts 4 days so we end up throwing out medicine when we have a 30 ml bottle. Now, I'm lucky if I can find it in any size bottle. I didn't even know there was a problem until last month when I went to pick up his refill from Walgreens. They didn't even bother to let me know about the backorder until I showed up. They just had their automated system call me and tell me there had been a delay in one of the medications. Then when I showed up, the pharmacist just stated it so matter of factly that it was on back order until at least July. Uh, no. He needs this every day, and we are low. After a little convincing, she called another pharmacy and found it. But when I showed up to pick it up, they only had 30 ml bottles, that would only last us 2 weeks. This pharmacist was much faster to react. She called around until she found the right medication for my son. Walgreens just lost a customer. Unfortunately, the pharmacy that had the drug was closing, but they would have it for me the next day. It took 3 pharmacies and a few hours to get the Acetylcysteine last month, and that was only a one month supply.

Roller Coaster Ride

On Friday, I was told that I was going to be offered the job I had interviewed for and it included a promotion. I was ecstatic. It isn't that I don't like my job, but I've been doing it for 6 years and I was ready for something new. Then yesterday, just 5 days later, I was told the job requisition was being frozen because the company is going through layoffs. It was a total roller coaster ride. I just wish they had never told me the job was mine. I had told people, I had told my lead. My manager already knew. I feel like I'm totally screwed. My manager knows that I'm itching for a promotion, but I don't want her to think I'm not happy. Ugh what a mess.

To top it off, I did an assessment of our current finances to figure out that in the last year that we have accrued $25K in credit card debt. No, it did not just happen overnight, so many things have contributed. One year ago we bought a new house that is testing our ability to stay on budget. Well we have proven we are not so good at it. I was putting away money for the property taxes, but they were higher than I calculated so we were short. I put it on the credit card. That just added to the debt already there, ranging from vacations to just overspending in monthly expenses.

It's been a rough few days, but hopefully it will get better. Hopefully, I am not part of the layoffs. That would really suck, going from having two jobs, to having no job.

Not so Vegan...

I did really good at the whole Vegan thing for a few days, then came pizza and lasagna on Tuesday and a latte with milk on Wednesday. I stayed vegetarian, but that whole cheese and milk thing is hard. I have absolutely no will power when it comes to cheese, I want to, I really do, but when it's just staring me in the face, I am terrible. I never really thought about how hard it is to avoid cheese. Restaurants stick cheese on everything from your salad to your burrito. It's hard to say, "can I just get a bean burrito", it doesn't even sound good, no meat, no cheese.

However, I am learning not to mind skipping those things when at home. We made mushroom Stroganoff last night with soymilk and fresh wheat fettucini. Other than being a little too thick (should've added more vegetable stock) it was really, really good. I've also learned to really love hummus. Yes, i know, it's just beans, but add some garlic and jalapeno and it's pretty good. So I guess that's progress.

Going Vegan

I'm going vegan, well for 28 days any way. I'm a hard core meat eater, I eat it at least 2 times per day and if you include eggs it would be almost always 3. We are also getting rid of most of the artificial food in our lives. The crap that is making this nation fat. I truly believe that, but it's hard. That means dinner takes about 30-60 minutes to cook every day. For two working parents with a two year old, that's a lot.

But I'm doing this for my son. He is eating way too much processed crap. We give him graham crackers whenever he is hungry and nothing else is available quickly. It's terrible, and totally my fault. So I'm making a change. A drastic one. We are going vegan for 28 days, and Alex well he's going vegetarian. He still gets his milk and eggs. Neither of which do I see a real problem with when it comes to a two year old.

This is a test, to see if I can really do it and improve my health drastically. Then I'll be happy to add back in some meats, cheeses and eggs, but only when I really want them and will truly appreciate them. No more adding chicken to a dish just to add chicken. That's just crazy. And I'll skip the cheese on most things because it's just fat. If someone were to call cheese what it really is, processed fat, I guarantee that many people would stop eating it. Oddly enough I think the thing I'll miss most is a good steak, fish, and eggs.

Let's see how this goes. Taking it one day at a time. I've made it 3.5 days (pumpkin bread made with butter on the first day, oops)

Boys and Baseball

We took Alex to his first baseball game on Sunday. The plan was to get up have breakfast, go grocery shopping for lunch makings, make lunch, catch the train to the game, go to the game. The day did not go as planned.

I made lemon cornmeal pancakes for breakfast as a part of our attempt at a more natural lifestyle through a 28 day venture into a vegan diet. Thankfully, that was fine. They tasted great, never missed the eggs or the oils.

I left my husband at home to get Alex ready for the game while I went to the grocery store. I wanted some items I wasn't sure I'd find at my local Safeway, so I headed to Whole Foods. The only problem with this plan was that I was not familiar with the store. Instead of heading in, picking up mustard, hummus, tortillas, and mirin and leaving, I wandered aimlessly through the store picking up any item I came across that we might need during the week, ranging from pasta sauce to vitamins. When I got home, I expected to find my husband and son ready for baseball. Instead, I found my little boy sitting in the entry way in his orange pajama top and a diaper playing with his trucks. Although very cute, he was definitely not ready for baseball.

My husband took him away to finish what he should have done while I was gone, got him dressed. I got started on preparing lunch. My husband figured out that the tickets were not electronic as I had thought, but needed to be printed. Almost an hour later, we were finally getting into the car to head to the train station. The only problem, I realized my medication was sitting on my desk at work, so a stop at work was warranted. So instead of catching the train, we drove to the ballpark. Parking at the ball park was $30! Yes, thirty dollars. That was more than we paid for each of our seats. At this point we didn't have a choice.

Just as we were heading to the park, I realized, I'd forgotten the bread for our sandwiches. We had everything, but the bread. Now, we needed a grocery store again. We walked to the grocery store got pita bread and a few other things, and walked back to the ballpark.

After a morning of what seemed like a comedy of errors, we actually made it to the baseball game before the first pitch. I was absolutely amazed. The weather had forecasted rain, but looking at the sky, we really didn't think it would rain. We enjoyed our hummus and veggie pita pockets in lieu of the typical ball park food of hotdogs and beer. I really didn't miss the greasy hotdog after my jalapeno hummus. By the end of the game Alex had figured out when to cheer and even mimicked the guy in front of us who was booing at one point. It was adorable. After the 7th inning we figured we might be pushing our luck on Alex's nap time, so we decided that although the game was tied 1-1, we would leave. Before we left, we got a printed certificate commemorating Alex's first baseball game.

Overall, it was a fun and unique experience for Alex's first baseball game.

Mayonaise Jar and Two Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem, almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class
and had some items in front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students, if the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured
them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively
filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided,
'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - family,
children, health, Friends, and Favorite passions –
Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --The small stuff.

'If you put the sand into the jar first,' He continued,
there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for the things that are important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

'Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
'I'm glad you asked'.

It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.'

Please share this with other "Golf Balls"

About me and my son

I am Amanda, mom to a beautiful little boy, full-time financial analyst at Lockheed Martin, and a wife to my husband of almost 5 years now.

In addition to my primary roles, last year I took on the great challenge of training for an Olympic distance triathlon which I completed in April. I am now training for the San Francisco Nike Marathon in October. All with Team in Training, which requires significant fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

My son, Alex, is 2 years old. He is my whole world and I treasure every minute I get to spend with him, which is a lot fewer minutes than I'd like.

Alex was born with a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot and had open heart surgery at 10 weeks old. It seems like that was forever ago now, but it is always on my mind as to how it might affect his future. Alex also has Cystic Fibrosis, which to date has caused very few issues. He has had a few more sinus infections than he probably should have had at 2 yo, but other than that he is doing very well.