Happy Sweet 16 L.Dub!!!

16 years ago today Lucas joined our family and life has never been the same. Through the years, he has brought us a lot of joy and laughter. He has bled us dry of money for new clothes and high tops to match every outfit, miles and miles of driving to practice, games, movies, and ...... yeah lets not even get into the groceries thing. I wouldn't trade one single minute!

I hope your day has been great and wish you many, many, many more happy birthdays. Wish Beefcake a happy birthday!

Now I have to go and find my lucky license plate socks for his Drivers test tomorrow......

Let's Recap and Look Ahead

Been off the blog train for a few days, enjoying some family time with my family and Mike's.
The Saturday before Christmas, I got up early for a run before we left to pick up Mike's mom and grandparents from the Madison airport. Got in a few miles by myself when I was surprised to find the SWAT team coming up behind me and they twisted my arm to join them for the rest of their run and for breakfast afterwards. Mike and Nick met me at the restaurant and then we took off for the airport after a quick shower. It was foggy out due to the warming temps and all the snow that was quickly melting. When we arrived we were glad to see the planes were still arriving as scheduled. About 10 minutes before they were due to come in from their connecting flight from Detroit as noon, that changed and everything was cancelled and rerouted. The plane was sent back to Detroit. Many phone calls and a long day behind us, they finally arrived at Midway airport in Chicago about 9:30pm only to find their luggage was lost in space and we waited a long while more while they filed their lost luggage claim. Finally arrived at our house after 1:00am.

Christmas Eve Day we drove to Merrillville Indiana to meet Uncle Mike who was taking the grandparents (his parents) to Ft Wayne for Christmas. We picked them up again later in the week at the same place.

(Here's a picture from the Christmas festivities of my nephew Jacob encouraging his sister Izzy to climb the stairs, apparently by channeling Satan...... My mom is the spotter)

Christmas was nice. My parents, my sister and family, Mike's mom, and his brother and family were there and we enjoyed good food, fun, and a cut-throat game of television trivia.

We spent endless hours with Mike's mom and grandparents shopping, laughing, ate every single thing in sight, and as usual it was over way too quick. We really cherish the time we get to spend with Mike's family. They all live in North Carolina now, so the togetherness opportunities are few and far between - I wish they were closer.... we really miss them.

We dropped them at the Madison airport New Years Eve day, and then we got ready for a quiet night at home watching movies and tearing down the holiday decorations. I am always so relieved when I can put that stuff away and get back to normal. By New Year's I feel like Christmas threw up in my living room.

Today, my parents left for their winter in Costa Rica, so we won't see them again til spring when the snowbirds return.

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Top 5 Funny Phrases from the Week:

1) "How does it feel to work for a company that sucks balls?" (Overheard being asked by the guy in front of us waiting to make a lost luggage claim at the airport)

2) "If someone put a gun to your head and said Poop or Die could you do it?" (I don't know why this came up......)

3) "I'm calling the police" ..."Well, I'm calling Wapner."

4) Dookie

5) Asked by Mike at Blockbuster: "Does this movie have humping in it? I can't watch a movie with humping with my grandparents..." (The movie was Georgia Rule....... the guy was technically right - no humping - but they say "Boner" and Lindsay Lohan took off her underpants and gave some guy a blow job........... I blame the Blockbuster clerk for that embarrassing moment)

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Status of My Goals for 2007:
*Complete my first Duathlon and my first triathlon, then continue to do as many as physically and financially feasible: DONE!
*Complete a 10K race or more: DONE, Several times! Also did my first half marathon
*Compete in at least 1 bike race: didn't do, not because there were not opportunities but because my focus changed from working on my strength - the bike -to focusing on my weakness - running.
*Learn to Mountain Bike: Done, but not well. Had a really hard time conquering my fear of falling down. Crashing....... not so much fun.
*Graduate from Ball State with a BS in Nursing, thereby making me qualified for the job I have done for the past 10 years...................... : DONE!!!!!! (Finally)
*Continue to gradually lose weight into the 150 range or better, and maintain without significant gain: Didn't do this. I held most of the year in the 170-175 range, and after a low point of 160-ish this summer, I found that I was not able to properly fuel my training as I increased my volume. I gave myself permission to focus more on maintaining my weight and on increasing my fitness and endurance. Still a long range goal, but lower on the priority scale (no pun intended).
*Learn to run with my nutjob dog without injuring either of us ;-) : Well, I found a good tool to run with her manageably (the Gentle Leader Walk Harness). Problem is it abrades her across the chest so we can't run often or it leaves her with a mark. We'll keep working on this at least on short runs this spring.

I also updated my mileage spreadsheet .

Here is the upshot:
Running miles: 594.88

Biking Miles: 1885.7

Swimming yards: 57,950 (or 32.93 miles)

My unofficial goal for the year, never having set an annual mileage goal before was a stab in the dark at 2007 total miles for the year, so I guess GOAL MET and exceeded at 2513.51 miles. Now I have a benchmark for 2008 and can set a more aggressive goal.

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My 2008 Dashboard:

I know some of you all don't believe in New Years Resolutions, but I think it is important to have goals to work towards to focus attention in the right direction. The concept for goal setting we use at work is something that they call Dashboards. I think of these goals like the dashboard of the car, something that is always in front of your vision as you move forward.

So that's what I am putting out there this year - my personal dashboard, my vision for the year 2008.

* Complete 2 Half Iron Distance (70.3 mile) Triathlons. We are officially registered for the Spirit of Racine and Iowa Pigman. If all goes well with them, we will get registered for IMWI for 2009.

* Complete my first marathon. The plan is for the Madison Marathon in May. Maybe there will be more than one, but let's just say one for now.

* Do the Danskin Sprint Tri with my sisters. (No pressure girls - it's just for fun!)

* Maintain my weight in the 160-170 range (after taking off the Christmas 10 of course). Maybe even dip into the sub-Athena arena as long as I can manage my endurance nutrition at the same time.
* Run a sub-30 5K. (borrowed that one from Misty, good goal)

* Get my spring cleaning done before December for a change. (Thought I should throw in a person non-exercise goal)

Mileage goals:

Run: 1,000 miles

Bike: 2,008 miles

Swim: 100,000 yards

Merry Christmas To Y'All!

Hope you all have a great day, get lots of good stuff, and eat til ya puke.

(Or enjoy that Chinese food and movies! )

We have lots of company this week so we will catch up with you all next week.

The Fastest Thanksgiving Day Parade.... a/k/a The Berbee Derby

The past few days I have been feeling gunky, crappy, feverish, and generally like poo. I have snuck in a few rounds of yoga, but that's about all the strenuous activity I've felt like doing. So the past few days I have been wrestling with what to do about our Thanksgiving Day race. We had planned to do the 10K at the Berbee Derby, but after honestly assessing my current status, we opted for the 5K instead. On the positive side, I have a camparison to last year but I also really wanted to do 10's as much as possible from here on out.

Got up early and spent a half hour hacking and blowing the gunk out of my nose and lungs - (where does all that crap come from overnight???? I just don't get it!). It was a balmy 26 degrees outside, so we loaded up on the cold gear to get ready. It snowed a little yesterday, just a dusting really and overnight the slushies had frozen so there was a sheet of ice under the snow to boot.

My mom and dad pulled up to come along and spectate. My mom got out of the car and asked "are you sure you guys want to do this??" - funny. My sister pulled up a minute or so later, and off we went to Madison.

Here we are in the "staging area." I think we all have about 4 layers on and it was still nippy out.

This is our little group before the run started. R->L: my sisters friend Audrey, Mike, Michele, and me.

After a while we got started and it was a nice course, kind of hilly which I recalled from last year. I was moving along pretty good, but had to stop a couple times to walk a little, just the effects of the past week catching up with me.

I looked around at the finish line area for my mom and dad but really there were so many people I just couldn't see them. My dad was on picture duty along the finish. My mom got recruited to strip chips at the finish. Had I known, I would have found her to strip mine!

It was cool that they came to watch - it's always good to have a fan club. Next time we need to get them some bells! I realized standing at the end of the chute waiting for Michele and Audrey that my pants felt weird. I had on 2 pair of lycra pants - blue tights with some looser Adidas pants over the top. While I was running I thought I felt the pants slipping down so I kept yanking them up while I ran. While I was standing there, I looked down to notice I was blue tights from the knees down and I had yanked the overpants up to my knees, all bunched up at the crotch, thereby discovering why I was getting a few funny looks.

Final time by my Garmin: 35:36

Official Time: 35:42 (5K: 1376/1639 overall, age group-87/113 )

Not to shabby for Mrs. Cough-y.

Then we quickly drove home to finish the Turkey Day spread. Mike and I did all the prep Wed night so all we had to do was have the kids pop the buzzard in the oven while we were gone, then we had to stick the dishes in the oven or turn on the crock pots when we got home, quick shower up and voila - dinner was served! Went pretty slick to do all the prep ahead - I think I will do that again for sure.

Here is a pic of Mike and I, my mom and my nephew Jacob draining the drippings from the bird to make gravy. Mike poked a hole in the side of the aluminum roaster and made a stream into a sauce pan. Kinda messy but it worked.

It wouldn't be a Keeney meal without the obligatory picture of the food. The meal was really good and we were thankful to be able to share it with family.

This is my niece Izzy, who will be one in a couple weeks. She is so fun!

After dinner, we played some Scene It and other TV trivia games. Here are Lucas and Michele gloating over their win.. I think they cheated.

Whew! They're over!

What a busy few weeks we have had getting ready for the holidays. It's so much fun to get ready, but so nice to be done too! We had my family over for Christmas dinner, which was fun. Mike and I made steak and turkey kabobs, lots of veggies, a variety of fresh fruits, mashed potatoes, and a few other things. The veggies were probably cooked a little long, but overall the meal was pretty good if I do say so myself. It's tough to steam big bunches of vegetables. We made strawberry mousse for dessert which was yummy and easy - just fresh strawberries, fat free cool whip and strawberry Jello. Just 70 calories per serving. Overall a healthy, fairly low-cal meal that tasted pretty good. I have been beating myself up for days now for dipping into the Christmas cookies and Chex Mix and blowing a pretty good meal. It's so hard to be good all the time!

My parents got us subscriptions to RW and Triathlete magazines and Michele and Jeff gave Mike a couple really cool training books that we keep looking through. They got me a cute pink bike jersey too - perfect choice, I am loving the pink this year. Several weeks ago, I had a discussion with my niece Taylor about those sports headbands and hair ties that are rubberized and how I had bought some headbands at the Adidas outlet and was disappointed that they didn't have the rubbery part to make them stay put when I exercise. Anyway, she remembered that and got me a set of the sports bands. I thought that was pretty cool that she remembered that and was so thoughtful. She is a pretty neat kid.

We had a few nice days to run, including a nice 4+ miler around the neighborhood the afternoon of Christmas Eve. I just feel spoiled by all the mild weather we have had this month - I wish it would stay like this the rest of the winter, but that's not too likely. A girl can dream...........

I took a 20 mile spin on the bike yesterday afternoon too. It was pretty cold out for that - about 36 degrees - but not too windy and the sun was out which seems to at least make it feel warm even though it's not really. Every time I take a bike trip this winter I learn something or at least think of something else I need for winter riding. It's really just a trial and error process to put the right outfit together to stave off frostbite. I suppose I will have it down by the time Spring comes then I will have to learn it all over again next year! I think I have it down now - several layers of jackets and fleece, bike shorts with thermal running leggings over top, neoprene booties over my bike shoes, and my Sub4 running beanie with a fleece neck gaiter over that so I can pull it up and down as needed. The gloves need some work - the fingers got pretty cold this last ride so I need something a little more substantial. I'll need to dig around in the glove bin in the closet for a different pair to try. I think I'll try some toe warmers too on the next ride. The feet stayed pretty warm, but did start to numb up about 2 or 3 miles from home.

We went to the bike shop last night and got ourselves a little Christmas present - a Blackburn Ultra trainer. Now we will be able to ride our bikes indoors all winter long in the comfort of our living room. Santa is also bringing us each a new pair of running shoes. Mike got the new Brooks Beast and I am going to try the Asics Gel Nimbus from Jamie at FootRX.com. I think I have figured out why I gravitate to mens running shoes. Ladies standard widths are a B and mens standard are a D width. Since I have some pretty wide Flinstone feet, I have always bought wide ladies (a D width) in regular shoes, but ladies tennies have always felt too narrow, especially Nikes. The light bulb has clicked on - I like mens tennies because they are D width - DUH!

Baby Day is here!!!!!!!

My sister had a beautiful baby girl this morning, Isabel Renee. She was 7# 8oz born at 8:07. Mike and I were at the hospital as early as decently possible and I got to hold my brand new girl - how exciting!!! We took Jake and Taylor to lunch in the cafe afterwards, then went our for quick shopping fix.

Went to Rogans and tried on a billion running shoes for Mike's birthday present (He is 39 today by the way!) but came out of the store shoeless and in need of some input from others. Anyone tried running in the Brooks Beast?

Berbee Derby - Like a Thanksgiving Day Parade Only Faster

Today was the Berbee Derby in Fitchburg (by Madison). We got up early and roadtripped with Mike and I in one car, and my sisters Tracy (here from Denver) and Michele, her husband Jeff, and my nephew Jacob in another car. The race was huge. It was a 5K Run and walk, and a 10K - there were 2500 participants expected, including Jeff, Mike, and I. My new Forerunner arrived in yesterdays mail, so I was good to go although I forgot to turn it on at first and then forgot to stop it. The race was awesome, the course was a little hilly, but i still ran 35.23, an 11:24/mi pace. I think was a personal best and a thansgiving MIRACLE! Results and info can be found at www.berbeederby.com

Lunch at my parent's house was good too. Had a little turkey and vegetables. I tried asparagus (ick) for the first time and brussels sprouts (super ick) but can now take credit for living on the edge and trying something new.

Here are a few pictures from today. The top one is Jacob and I messing around at my mom's house. The others are Mike and I and my kids, we were shooting for a Christmas card shot - what do ya think? Hope y'all had a great Turkey Day!

Anniversary Pictures from the Zoo Run Run 9-23-06

Here we are on our 17th wedding anniversary after running in the Zoo Run Run in Madison. We had fun with this one - Mike wore a bowtie and I wore a clip on veil. We had matching Dri-fit tees made up too.

Mike got to the finish before I did and some lady told him "If you want to be married another 17 years, you better go back and find your wife!"

Had a blast with this race, although it was very hilly and challenging. I actually tripped, somersaulting down the street, about 1/8 mile from the finish line and sprained my ankle.