I have recovered my knitting mojo. I am back in my groove and have projects lined up for the rest of the year. Currently I am finishing up yet another pair of socks...shocking I know, but I do love to knit socks. I have the pattern memorized at this point. After the socks are done I am onto a linen wrap for my conference in September. I picked a color called pewter which I can dress up or dress down in those cold conference rooms.
Next in my lineup for the year will be six snakes starting with one for Grayson. He already has his bunny which he loves and his turtle/frog which he doesn't spend enough time with. But the snake will be perfect for a growing little boy and I have five nephews who will also like them. Oh and I have to make a Christmas stocking for the G man before the holidays. Guess I better stop writing and get back to knitting....I have a lot to do in the coming months!
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Monday, May 27, 2013
Race Etiquette
Grayson had his first race under his belt and his first PR...who knows what the time was, but they finished well before Mom did. Now this is a big race for seacoast New Hampshire and the proceeds go to a great cause so it fills up year after year. They do not limit it to just runners and there are a fair amount of walkers to participate. Great, I am glad you are out there, but you need to learn some etiquette!
This year they sent out an email to participants prior to the race outlining things like where to park, where to line up, and where to be in the lineup if you are a walker or a running with a jogging stroller. Apparently 90% of the walkers missed the email or chose to ignore it. The entire beginning of the race was jockeying for positioning and I did a crazy amount of the bob and weave to get around people who shouldn't have been in front of me to begin with. Seriously I was ready to lose it if I had to pass one more person out for a Sunday stroll in jeans!!! I think I lost at least a minute at the beginning.
Here are my hard learned lessons of road race etiquette.
1. If you are slow, don't line up at the front! Leave that space for the fast people.
2. If you are going to pass someone, look behind you first before making your move. You don't want to trip up someone who is already in that lane.
3. That being said, the runner in front of you has the right of way. If you are going to pass someone, yell "On your left!"
4. Don't spit or blow a snot rocket unless you are well out of the way. Nothing says gross like being downwind and getting hit!
5. Don't cut across everyone as you are heading into a water spot. You can usually see a water stop well in advance so plan accordingly.
6. Don't point out pretty scenery. I once did this to a girl as I was passing her. I said "Hey look at that pretty house." She looks up to her left, then trips over her own feet and fell off the road. I felt terrible. How was I to know she wasn't all that coordinated.
8. At the finish line, keep moving. Don't just stop...it creates a crazy bottleneck at the end.
7. Enjoy yourself. I don't take running all that seriously and I like to enjoy my road races. It's nice to see a whole group of people together who do the same thing you do.
On our ride home, John did mention that he has no desire to run that race again because it was such a cluster. I kind of have to agree as I like the smaller races. I also like to know where the proceeds of the race are going. I think that was biggest reason we didn't do the Color Run in Loudon because I couldn't find anywhere that the proceeds were going to charity. I have no desire to pay for a race (especially one that is over $25.00) where the money isn't going to help someone other than the race promoters. I have a big problem with that! I run because I enjoy it, I run road races because I know some of my hard earned money goes to a good cause.
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| Megan and I posing before the race |
This year they sent out an email to participants prior to the race outlining things like where to park, where to line up, and where to be in the lineup if you are a walker or a running with a jogging stroller. Apparently 90% of the walkers missed the email or chose to ignore it. The entire beginning of the race was jockeying for positioning and I did a crazy amount of the bob and weave to get around people who shouldn't have been in front of me to begin with. Seriously I was ready to lose it if I had to pass one more person out for a Sunday stroll in jeans!!! I think I lost at least a minute at the beginning.
Here are my hard learned lessons of road race etiquette.
1. If you are slow, don't line up at the front! Leave that space for the fast people.
2. If you are going to pass someone, look behind you first before making your move. You don't want to trip up someone who is already in that lane.
3. That being said, the runner in front of you has the right of way. If you are going to pass someone, yell "On your left!"
4. Don't spit or blow a snot rocket unless you are well out of the way. Nothing says gross like being downwind and getting hit!
5. Don't cut across everyone as you are heading into a water spot. You can usually see a water stop well in advance so plan accordingly.
6. Don't point out pretty scenery. I once did this to a girl as I was passing her. I said "Hey look at that pretty house." She looks up to her left, then trips over her own feet and fell off the road. I felt terrible. How was I to know she wasn't all that coordinated.
8. At the finish line, keep moving. Don't just stop...it creates a crazy bottleneck at the end.
7. Enjoy yourself. I don't take running all that seriously and I like to enjoy my road races. It's nice to see a whole group of people together who do the same thing you do.
On our ride home, John did mention that he has no desire to run that race again because it was such a cluster. I kind of have to agree as I like the smaller races. I also like to know where the proceeds of the race are going. I think that was biggest reason we didn't do the Color Run in Loudon because I couldn't find anywhere that the proceeds were going to charity. I have no desire to pay for a race (especially one that is over $25.00) where the money isn't going to help someone other than the race promoters. I have a big problem with that! I run because I enjoy it, I run road races because I know some of my hard earned money goes to a good cause.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Rain, rain go away!
Welcome to spring in New England. We went from warm humid weather to a cold drenching rain with a chance of snow in the higher elevations tonight. And to course we have a road race tomorrow. Last night we went in search of a rain/weather cover for the jogging stroller and managed to get our weekly grocery shopping in. Now we can kick back and enjoy the rainy holiday weekend.
The cover should do the trick since Grayson will be participating in his first of many road races and we want him to stay warm and dry. A dry baby tends to be a happy baby. We will be running as a family in a 5k that supports an organization near and dear to my heart. Back in college I was lucky to be one of the first to intern at Steppingstones now known as the Krempels Center for those living with brain injury. This day program offers its members a chance to relearn skills to enhance their quality of life. They offer classes in cooking, writing, photography and much more. It is a client centered approach and UNH students majoring in occupational therapy, speech therapy and therapeutic recreation all run the classes. The program has come along way since its first year and it wonderful to see how successful the program has become. I just hope it dries out enough so we aren't completely drenched!
And on another note I went on my first real call since the baby was born. I had been to a medical call here and there, but made it to my first MVA the other night. Felt great to be back in the thick of things.
The cover should do the trick since Grayson will be participating in his first of many road races and we want him to stay warm and dry. A dry baby tends to be a happy baby. We will be running as a family in a 5k that supports an organization near and dear to my heart. Back in college I was lucky to be one of the first to intern at Steppingstones now known as the Krempels Center for those living with brain injury. This day program offers its members a chance to relearn skills to enhance their quality of life. They offer classes in cooking, writing, photography and much more. It is a client centered approach and UNH students majoring in occupational therapy, speech therapy and therapeutic recreation all run the classes. The program has come along way since its first year and it wonderful to see how successful the program has become. I just hope it dries out enough so we aren't completely drenched!
And on another note I went on my first real call since the baby was born. I had been to a medical call here and there, but made it to my first MVA the other night. Felt great to be back in the thick of things.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Happy Mother's Day!
Hats off to Steve who finished 3rd in his age group at yesterday's Big Lake. Yes it rained and the sun did come out for a few minutes. I stepped out the door for my morning run and made it two minutes before the rain started. Grayson went to his first of many races and then enjoyed a nice lunch at Lydia's in Wolfeboro. It's been a great weekend. I have been super productive and got all of the 0-3 month clothes packed away and the drawers are filled with 6-9 month clothes. All hand me downs! I owe a big thank you to my friends who have little boys just slightly older than Grayson. He can go all summer and fall and probably not repeat an outfit more than twice.
I did get some knitting done in between loads of laundry. I intended to get a lot more done, but a two hour nap won out. I guess that is what happens when your weekend days start at five am. Grayson had such a great day...he was in a great mood all day! We did try to not swaddle him last night, but that lasted until two am. After his second diaper change (he drank SO much yesterday) I put him in his swaddler to try to make it the rest of the night. We once again made it to five. So five am is my new eight am. Although getting up that early does make the weekend seem to last longer!
Finally a happy Mother's Day to my mom and all of the moms out there.
I did get some knitting done in between loads of laundry. I intended to get a lot more done, but a two hour nap won out. I guess that is what happens when your weekend days start at five am. Grayson had such a great day...he was in a great mood all day! We did try to not swaddle him last night, but that lasted until two am. After his second diaper change (he drank SO much yesterday) I put him in his swaddler to try to make it the rest of the night. We once again made it to five. So five am is my new eight am. Although getting up that early does make the weekend seem to last longer!
Finally a happy Mother's Day to my mom and all of the moms out there.
big lake
Tomorrow is the Big Lake Half and I am having a serious case of runner's regret this morning. Back in December I raised a fuss about not running because of the increased price and even then I thought I could still maybe do it. Then Grayson was a week late and came via c section. So no exercise of any kind for 6 weeks. Even if I had been thinking about a half that plan went out the window with the surgery. And I was ok with it as the snow continued to pile up outside. Who wanted to train for a half on the treadmill? Certainly not me...I had a snuggly baby at home to cuddle with instead.
And once spring did come, I just didn't have the endurance. I could handle 3 to 4 miles, but no way was I going to attempt more. I was still ok with my decision to skip the half this year. Until today that is. Steve-O is coming up this afternoon and we will have our usual evening of pre race fun. It will be spaghetti and the Bruins. And I am making homemade brownies as my consolation prize. Tomorrow we will get up and going through the usual morning routine. I am going to pack up the baby and take him to watch his first of many races.
The weather forecast is even Big Lake appropriate...partial sun and possible rain showers. Which means it will probably monsoon in the morning. A sunny day for Big Lake isn't usually in the cards.
I am now in process of deciding on my next big event, it will either be the Applecrest Half on September 8th or the 9/11 stair climb on the the same date. The Half might just win out this year because I have built in babysitting. The race runs through the streets of my hometown.
And once spring did come, I just didn't have the endurance. I could handle 3 to 4 miles, but no way was I going to attempt more. I was still ok with my decision to skip the half this year. Until today that is. Steve-O is coming up this afternoon and we will have our usual evening of pre race fun. It will be spaghetti and the Bruins. And I am making homemade brownies as my consolation prize. Tomorrow we will get up and going through the usual morning routine. I am going to pack up the baby and take him to watch his first of many races.
The weather forecast is even Big Lake appropriate...partial sun and possible rain showers. Which means it will probably monsoon in the morning. A sunny day for Big Lake isn't usually in the cards.
I am now in process of deciding on my next big event, it will either be the Applecrest Half on September 8th or the 9/11 stair climb on the the same date. The Half might just win out this year because I have built in babysitting. The race runs through the streets of my hometown.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Monday musings
It was back to work for me this am and despite Grayson's cold he seemed more like himself today. He is back to conversing and smiling! Much better than the continuously sleeping baby we had all weekend. He still isn't 100 percent with his snotty nose and runny eyes, but he is definitely on the mend. He does look quite sad and it's heartbreaking to hear him cough. I had hoped he wouldn't get sick within the first few weeks of daycare, but that was not to be the case. At least he wasn't alone in his misery with his dad also being sick.
I looked up my race times and finished my second 5k with a time of 32.05 which was a heck of an improvement over the 34.58 from a month before. It's amazing what you can do ten pounds lighter. I managed to lose all of my pregnancy weight in just about 13 weeks. Pretty good considering I was not allowed to exercise for the first six weeks. I am thankful I had a winter baby in what happened to be a very snowy and cold one. Made those six weeks worth staying in. Not that we completely followed the rules because I had wicked cabin fever. Winter happens to be my favorite season and even though I couldn't be out on my sled or skis, we did enjoy some nice times outside.
Shaping up to be another busy week and I am already looking forward to the weekend. We are going to head over to Alton to cheer on a dear friend who is running the Big Lake Half and I know I will feel some pangs of regret that I am not running it as well. I debated a lot during December, but the c section sealed the deal that it was not to be this year. I probably could have done it, but my heart wasn't really in it. That and the two bras could not possibly be comfortable for two plus hours of running. Maybe next year.....
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| Grayson fell asleep snuggling his bunny |
I looked up my race times and finished my second 5k with a time of 32.05 which was a heck of an improvement over the 34.58 from a month before. It's amazing what you can do ten pounds lighter. I managed to lose all of my pregnancy weight in just about 13 weeks. Pretty good considering I was not allowed to exercise for the first six weeks. I am thankful I had a winter baby in what happened to be a very snowy and cold one. Made those six weeks worth staying in. Not that we completely followed the rules because I had wicked cabin fever. Winter happens to be my favorite season and even though I couldn't be out on my sled or skis, we did enjoy some nice times outside.
Shaping up to be another busy week and I am already looking forward to the weekend. We are going to head over to Alton to cheer on a dear friend who is running the Big Lake Half and I know I will feel some pangs of regret that I am not running it as well. I debated a lot during December, but the c section sealed the deal that it was not to be this year. I probably could have done it, but my heart wasn't really in it. That and the two bras could not possibly be comfortable for two plus hours of running. Maybe next year.....
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Second 5k of the season
I joined up with Megan to run another 5k. We did the Barrington Peeper 5k which we also ran last year. It's a pretty course that winds out and back through a small neighborhood. It was going to be my first 5k with the jogging stroller, but both John and Grayson have been sharing a cold. They stayed home while Mom took to the roads. I shaved off several minutes from my dismal performance back at the beginning of April. By my watch I finished at 31.46 and probably could've done just a bit faster if I had put my mind to it. But I felt good and managed to run the entire course because there were no steep hills like I had encountered in the last race.
Also started planning for the second annual Barnstead Firefighters Association 5k. I secured permission to use the road from the select board. Next our sponsor letters will go out and I am going to get started on pictures for our t shirt. I am hoping to boost sponsorship this year by targeting more local businesses. Who knew we had so many businesses right here in town.
Heading into another busy week and already looking forward to next weekend. At least the weeks fly right by...hopefully the boys will shake their colds and Mom will avoid getting it!
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