My Life in Pictures

(Click To see my Bones in Motion Log for this run with all the data, maps and graphs.)

Today, we took a slow run down to our usual pre-winter running grounds. This used to be a nice run for us that was quite scenic, picking up the bike path that runs alongside the Rock River. In the fall, we could watch the boats go by, watch the Water ski Team practice their pyramids, and watch a whole host of birds and critters go by. Quite a different story these days. The river is flooded and much of the neighborhood that the bike path passes is underwater after the snow melt from massive quantities of snow, followed by the last week or so of torrential rains. Our path is closed from the hospital through Riverside park, our usual turnaround spot to head back towards home. Today, we ran into Riverside Park a different way and this is what we saw.

This first view is from higher ground coming down into the park after going through the Riverside tunnel and turning right. You can see a street branching to the left. Going forward from there you see a house and what used to be a street in front of it. This next shot is a little closer up of the same area.The part underwater? Yeah, that's our run path, there along that tree line.

See that line of posts sticking out of the water? That is the spot where the path becomes a run/bike-only blacktop path. If you look closer, you can see the street sign there behind it. It normally stands about 8 feet high, but most of it is submerged.

See Mike crying? This is the spot where the path goes underwater inside the park. Behind him is normally a winding path that goes behind that stand of pines and around to the right, back to the spot where the street sign looks to be about 2 feet tall. Not running there today buddy!











Here is the sign pointing to the start of that Kiwanis trail from Riverside park. Apparently its a true triathlon trail now. You can run, bike, AND swim on it!



















Here is a shot of the pavilion where I normally would refill my water bottles for the first time on my long runs last summer. See that speck in the middle of the picture? Yeah, that's a park bench. We didn't wade out that 200 yds or so to sit on it though. Not today.

Here is another park bench in the middle of the river. No thank you, I'll just stand on shore.

When I took this picture, I patted the pocket of my jacket I had taken the camera out of and had a mini-panic attack that my cell phone was not in it. We then back-tracked our steps around the park Family-Circus-style for the next ten minutes. Then I patted the pocket of my tights and realized my phone was in my pants pocket. I forgot to take a picture of Mike's happy face ;-)

Looking back through my camera, I realized we never posted pictures of our bike fittings, so here they are. What a difference it makes to have someone make your bike just the perfect fit for you and the way you ride. It was an awesome experience!

And last but not least is a picture of Nick with Mike after picking him up in Bessemer Michigan to bring him home last Sunday. we had just stopped for lunch about an hour back south into our drive home. Notice how high the snow is around them. Did I mention this was in April? Insane. This same day in Janesville, it was in the 60's sunny, warm and beautiful. Best day for a bike ride all year. It's a good thing we like this kid!

Keep your fingers crossed for Nick tonight. We interviewed yesterday for the Rock River Charter School yesterday and we will find out on Monday if he can get in right away. Best case scenario is he can start right away in the self paced e-learning program and he moves quickly enough through it to complete the coursework in time to walk the stage with his graduating class in June. I've been crossing my fingers, toes, legs, arms, and eyes since yesterday, which might account for why I was running so fricking slow today!

Pomp and Circumstance, the Indiana version

We left Friday morning for Muncie, Indiana to attend my graduation ceremony from Ball State - our family in our car and my parents following us. It was a pretty good trip, with a brief issue south of Chicago where we had to have one of the tires fixed due to an embedded bolt (it took less than an hour to fix, so it was really barely a blip on the radar screen.
As you can see from the picture, we were very happy to arrive in our hotel room! We went to dinner at the Olive Garden and then drove around the campus trying to get acclimated to where we needed to be in the morning. Mike and I had planned to get a run in on the BSU campus, but the tire stop put us behind so we decided to forgo it. We went back to the hotel and messed around in the tiny pool and hot tub, then went back to our rooms to get some shut eye.
Indiana is an hour ahead of Wisconsin time (something about them not observing daylight savings time or something) so I was struggling to make sure we were getting up at the right time and getting out the door.
After a night of TERRIBLE sleep on a tiny pull out couch, we were up at 0530 WI time- ouch. We got some breakfast in us and got ready. The flyer I got in the mail about Commencement said I had to report to line up at 0915, so I was there early enough for that - found out too late that I could have reported as late as 0955 and still been on time - not sure why I needed to be there so early but whatever.
Since I had done my entire degree through distance ed and transferred credits for UWW and BTC, I had never officially been to campus as a student nor had I met any of my classmates except through email. I found myself standing in line chatting with a lady who I eventually figured out was one of my fellow RN to BSN nurses, Claudia Scoggins. I don't think there were any other distance ed nurses there to meet which was too bad. It would have been kind of cool to chat and put a name with a face after nearly two years of emailing and discussion board posting together. That really was the only downside of doing the online degree - there is just not the personal touch of meeting real live people in person.
The ceremony was long, and the key note speaker chose an obscure topic (language extinction ). It was pretty cool to see all the rituals like the hooding of doctoral candidates and trying to figure out what the various regalia (sashes, hats, cords, hoods, etc) meant. It was a long ceremony, and I know my kids got a little bored, but I hope they got something out of it or at least a little motivation to get there themselves.

The campus it self was gorgeous, all brick and glass looking. We got a lot of nice pictures afterwards. We took a bunch in front of the "Frog Baby" fountain. My mom says when she went to college there that people would go rub frog baby's head for good luck before a test. Now he was moved outdoors and made into a fountain. You can see frog baby in the background to the right of my son Nick.

We also took some pictures in front of a little fountain at another part of campus. My mom gave me a little photo album with pictures in of my sister and I splashing in this same fountain when we were really little, so it was kind of cool to recreate that.

This picture is of me and my mom. What you can't see is that there is a HUGE pricker bush behind the sign. I am basically standing on the middle of it. OUCH.....

This is my dad and I. He has a picture that looks a lot like this from when he graduated and I was really little, standing next to him in his graduation gown.

My dad cut short a fishing trip to Canada to come to this. He drove two days by himself to get back in time and then drove another 5 1/2 hours from Janesville to Muncie. How cool is that?

I know this was a really long weekend for my family and I appreciate everyone coming along and being so supportive. We drove through my mom's hometown of Elwood IN on the way there and back. I got to see some of the Elwood highlights and share them with my family, which was cool for me. Brought back a lot of good memories for me and made a few new ones too.

Also a big thanks to my sister and her family for looking out for my screwy dogs. I know that was a huge deal and I really do appreciate it.

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Got in a quick 5.1 miles on the bike trail last night when Lucas was at Passing League. Felt good to get out there and get moving again. I hadn't had time to get any exercise in since Tuesday, so glad to get my butt going again!

Are you for real?

The past few days have been interesting.

1) I still cannot seem to get the magic marker off my leg from the tri on Saturday. My theory is that my skin is sooooo dry that the marker soaked through to the bone. (does anyone have a secret trick to getting that crap off??)

2) Due to #1 and the fact that all my work and social clothes are either cropped pants or short skirts, people have had some really strange comments about why I have numbers on my leg.

Here are a few:

- while out to eat at the Speakeasy with the tri club Saturday night, a sweet young boy (who looked about 12 but was probably more like 16) who was seating people asked me why everyone had numbers on them......"Is it like a concentration camp thing?" Sadly, he was completely serious. I took a big breath in and explained that we had all done a triathlon that morning, they write our race numbers on our legs and arms. He said "Oh" and was obviously processing the info, then he asked "OK. Did you finish?" I just looked at him and stopped talking since I was getting nowhere. he was very cute, but very dim.

At work several people commented on the numbers.

- "Why would you want to do a triathlon? It's so much work......." (Exactly the point, beating obesity one mile at a time
- "How come you didn't wash it off?" (Umm yeah..... why didn't I think of that?)

-"was that your finishing time?" (Yeah, they write your time on your leg.....wth??)

So, what the strangest comment you have gotten?

Monday we took a super slow bike ride with the SWAT folks - lots of stops and then one guy spoked out and had to wait for the SAG wagon to come get him. Got rained on and chased by a dog. Not really my favorite ride, but whatever we got out of the house for awhile.

Tuesday was SWAT practice. I went to work at 0600 forgetting it was Quarterly QA meeting day. We meet at 4 to accommodate our medical directors schedule (who by the way did not show up) SO did not get out of work til 5. Practice starts at at 5 at the pool so we were late and I was quite possibly the most ornery person ever. Got like 400 yds in, then biked out Afton Rd and back cranking out my frustration. Took a short (2.25 mi) run on the bike path loop and called it a day.

Tonight, we did some necessary errand running so not really much time for exercise, but that's OK.

Tomorrow, who knows..... big run after work? Maybe a big bike? Maybe I'll bike tomorrow and do a big run Friday morning before we take off for Indiana. We'll see what the mood is, plus I gotta pack still........

Figured out today I should have enough credits (and a 4.0 GPA) to qualify for "summa cum laude" honors at graduation. At last, the compulsive A student thing pays off...... (my study motto has been "nothing less than perfection is failure"---- basically driving myself crazy is just my thing).

MTBs return

Tonight Mike and I did another Monday Mt Bike Ride with the Velo Club beginners group. It actually was just Mike and I, led by Larry and Janet. I guess maybe with the holiday coming up the group was kind of sparse. Mike went off into the single tracks with Larry and Janet and I took off on our own.

Janet did NOT try to kill me tonight. I know usually I report her homicidal intentions by dragging me through the single tracks, but tonight she cut me a break and we worked instead on confidence. We started on the wider grassier trails and gradually made it in towards the meatier single track stuff deeper in the woods, but she would do a quick run through some single tracks, then take a loop through some wider trails. That was perfect for me - just enough single track to get some practice in, yet not so much that I got flustered with it and started making stupid moves and worked my panties into a bunch. Once I get all twitterpated I might as well pack it up and go home, and I never got there tonight.

Larry on the other hand apparently was fixing to kill Mike. (you didn't really think we would BOTH have a good night at the same time did you? What would we have to gripe about then?? SHEESH!)

I should also mention that I am nearly done with my last 2 classes and will finally graduate from my program in a couple short weeks. I had a near miss with papers this weekend though, so I made myself a little nervous. There were 3 MAJOR papers due before the class ends, one due each week. Well while I had some time off last week, I spent a lot of my time working on 2 of the 3 papers, not so much (or at all really) on the third one. Well - long story short- I was doing them in reverse order and I realized Saturday like at 9pm that the one I hadn't started was actually the one due Sunday by midnight. I stayed up til 2AM working on it Saturday, then got up at 6:30 Sunday to work some more. By about 2PM, I had a finished product to submit. Voila! Somehow I managed to pull the paper out of my ass, which apparently was where I have been storing my brain lately.

I.CANNOT.WAIT.TO.GET.THIS.OVER.WITH. AND.WORK.ON.WORRYING.ABOUT.WHETHER.OR.NOT.WE.CAN.DO.AN.IRONMAN.

I need something new to obsess about for a change.

Big Bike, Big Run, Big Rain

Well, I haven't written in few days so let's catch up.
Sunday, Mike and I took a really big bike ride through the country, first with my sister and her husband Jeff on her "maiden bike voyage." After a 16 mile loop, we dropped her off at home to relieve grampa of baby duty and Mike, Jeff, and I took a little harder ride out to Afton and around back to town. It was the first time I had biked with Jeff and we had a lot of fun. It's nice to bike with folks at about my same level. I like the Velo club rides too, but this was more fun. We headed out to Afton and started west on Plymouth Church. The wind was wicked bad and at one point I heard Mike holler from behind me "you are biking at a 45 degree angle!" so I was hoping that the wind would not die down quickly since I would likely land on my nose! We had a pretty strong tailwind back into town, so that was nice.
Monday Mike and I set out along the bike trail for our first 10 mile run. We left from the Lions Beach trailhead and headed out on the trail that ends on the far north side of town behind the Home Depot. I did my PB for distance, although t was kind of slow since I was just not feeling it the first couple miles. It was almost 80 out for the first time this year and I was hot, drank too much from the water bottle too soon and made myself feel kind of nauseous so I ended up walking a bit the first mile or two. I eventually found my groove and Mike caught me on the way back and brought us in together. I like to run with him, but it always seems like I am holding him back from where he could be, so I try to wave him ahead after a while. I am a strong enough runner now that I WILL keep going even after he takes off ahead. Again after the long run I suffered a while, I think due to hydration/nutrition issues during the run. I have got to figure out what works for me for the long runs. This time I tried some dilute Cytomax and 1 shot block every 30 minutes. The Cyto was DISGUSTING and I think contributed to my gutache. The shot blocks were ok but weird. Either way, they didn't work the way i had intended to keep from feeling icky afterwards. I will have to keep working at it and hopefully get it figured out before it gets hot out.
Yesterday, we took the night off, since Mike had a doctors appointment in the evening. It was supposed to rain, so I didn't do the VElo Club ride, but it ended up the weather held and I could have gone.
Today is rainy and cold, very windy. I had part of my Peds Rehab clinical rotation tonight after work so I didn't get home until almost 6. I am taking tonight off as well since I got home so late. I have lots of homework to get done before Friday so I will work on that tonight so I can play outside tomorrow after work instead of burying my head in a book and writing papers.

Spin Class is not for the faint of heart

I did my first spin class at the Y tonight with Mike. I had a blast, but boy-o-boy was it a workout! We did a 50 minute class tonight. I think on Saturday morning we will go back for the 90 minute class and see if we can hack it.

The hardest part of the class was all the standing up we had to di simulating hills and something she called "continuous sets" where we basically stood up and sat down rpeatedly over and over and over for a whole song - KILLER!

My butt and thighs are on fire so I know I got a good workout.

In other good news, I went to conferences for the boys tonight and heard good things. We are far from perfect but I also did not leave feeling like the worst mother on earth, so I am chalking it up in the win column.

Today is my mom's birthday, so gotta give a shout out to the birthday girl in Costa Rica where they winter. Happy birthday mom, here's a picture of you thinking about your birthday cake (kidding!) .


(Sorry, mom but this picture really gave me a giggle!) By the way, I saw Sally C today and she wants to know if you got the phone message from her singing you a song...... if not I guess someone else in Central America got a serenade from Sally. (that makes me giggle too)
Be sure to check out Mike's tribute to my mother too. Growing older is hell, and it's a kids job to remind you of it every step of the way!

Rainy and Cold in the Land of Beer and Cheese

Rain, rain, rain, rain. Today was not only rainy and drab, the temperature dropped from 50s this morning to a chilly 35 by the time I got out of work. I did 30 minutes on the indoor bike today, but wasn't motivated enough to brave anything outside.

I registered for my next round of classes this week. As a graduation requirement, I have to take an online phy ed class. No really, I'm serious, quit laughing. I started reading the textbook while I was on the bike and got 2 chapters done in a half hour. How much can really be said about goal setting and the transtheoretical theory of change as it applies to higher level wellness and fitness? I think that basically I have to read this incredibly dry book and commit to 3-5 days of fitness walking or greater for 10 weeks supervised by an exercise professional. It will be tough, but I'll give it a whirl. What a joke, but sometimes you just have to jump through the hoops because the man says so. LOL. I think I will take a stab at submitting the past 11 months of exercise logs and my evaluations from the exercise physiologist I already work with and see if I can get a pass. Worth a shot anyhow.