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By kilax, May 8, 2016 8:31 pm

Highlight of the Week: Running a solid race at Wisconsin.

Monday | May 2, 2016: 20 m ride + teaching strength class
Indoor Ride Time: 1:15:05, Pace: 16.0 mph avg, Difficulty: easy/medium, Felt:good, sore quads from Sunday!
Strength: Sand bags and Slam Balls, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Tuesday | May 3, 2016: 4 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 60°/62°, Time: 33:08, Pace: 8:16 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: hot
Wednesday | May 4, 2016: rest
Thursday | May 5, 2016: rest – massage day!
Friday | May 6, 2016: teaching strength class + 3 m run (incl. 5×1:00)
Strength: soft balls and cones, Difficulty: easy, Felt: not good – bad headache
Loc: hood, Temp: 82°/83°, Time: 24:52, Pace: 8:17, Difficulty: medium, Felt: OMG SO HOT
Saturday | May 7, 2016: Wisconsin Half Marathon
Loc: Kenosha, Temp: 67°/52°, Time: 1:53:07, Pace: 8:37 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: fine
Sunday | May 8, 2016: rest

Notes:

• Last week I complained about runners not acknowledging each other on the Chicago Lakefront Trail… this week, it was all about too many tourists out around the museum campus, not paying attention to what they were doing! Ahh, tourist season. A good reminder for everyone to pay attention to their surroundings, especially if on an exercise path. And during commute time in busy areas. And… all the time. Please.
• I normally feel antsy not running my typical amount during taper, but this time, I felt so lazy and didn’t want to run at all. And this week, I tried to get extra sleep (I took a nap one day on lunch break, slept a bit after work another day, and used my Friday off for a nap! – maybe I was intuitively doing this?! (pdf here)). I’ve just felt so tired lately.
• So, yeah. Really lazy this week. Hopefully this is not a sign for how all of May will be!

Link to Training Week 341

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By kilax, May 7, 2016 5:25 am

I was a bit suspicious when I got a card in the mail addressed to “Mom.” Was Data actually thoughtful enough to remember Mother’s Day this year? And to send me a card?!

But when I saw what he wrote inside, I knew for sure, it was from him. Awww.

Happy Mother’s Day!

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By kilax, May 6, 2016 4:11 am

Time for a hodgepodge of house updates!

We purchased a used mower! This was exciting for Steven to research. He had a lawn mowing business in high school, and wanted to get something similar to what he had then. And he found it on Craigslist from a nice farmer south of the city (of Chicago). Next up… building a shed to put it in. 

Hola, toro.

Part of the FHA 203k Streamlined work on our house was replacing the sliding glass doors in our dining room and living room, because they were rotted. The new doors were installed when we were in Dallas (thank you, Bobbi, for taking care of Data!!!) and it was nice to come home and see them – they’re gorgeous! And it’s been so nice to use them! Next up… we’ll get a new door like this in our bedroom, too! W’e’re just waiting for it to come in in the next couple of weeks. This wasn’t part of the original scope of work, but they did so much less work on the roof, we asked for more work to be done on other things. 

No photos, but also, as part of the FHA 203k Streamlined contract, we’ve had parts of our roof and attic worked on. And redone, over and over again, because the contractors aren’t very good at communication. Fun times. Next up… fixing up the attic and putting insulation in it ourselves, since the contractor wouldn’t clean it out as well as we wanted before putting insulation in. Sure, put insulation right on top of spots soaked with animal urine (?!?!). 

We had a different water treatment system installed (by a separate contractor, outside of the FHA 203k Streamlined work). The aerated water treatment system didn’t work, so we had that one taken out, and the hydrogen peroxide one installed. So far, so good! We’re drinking the water again, my baths don’t stink like sulfur, and my clothes are… less smelly. That clear tank in front of the two black tanks in the system below is the hydrogen peroxide, which we have to fill when it gets to a certain low point (not yet). Next up… keep track of how much of it we use/how much we spend on it (beyond this initial install). 

New smaller system on the left, next to our water heater, on the right.

We had been waiting on the downstairs bathroom to be mostly done to get matching hardware for it and the upstairs bathroom. We ordered that and started installing it yesterday. It’s so nice to have the toilet paper on a bar! Like, really nice! Ha ha. Next up… get more drywall anchors to finish the upstairs install!

Best photo on my blog, ever

And! We hung up our first picture! Just three months after moving in. Ha. Next up… hang up more around the house!!!

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By kilax, May 5, 2016 6:24 am

• Ha, I started looking for the MBP bracelet while my snister was here and after she left. I had a feeling she left it here! I found it Tuesday am when I went to get dressed – she had attached it to the hanger of a new shirt I got when I was with her. Ha! Good one, snis, good one…

• My second race of the year, the Wisconsin Half Marathon, is in two days! And today is my second (!!!) rest day/pre-race massage day! I put in miles, but didn’t train as hard as I could have, on the roads, or in the kitchen. Going for a PR or running “for run” will be a race day decision, depending on how I feel, and the weather. I’d rather have a solid race than go out too hard and die, as I have the last two years. I don’t want to end the spring racing season with that feeling. Again. But I’ll bring this pace band just in case. (Also, this race doesn’t have the best monthly timing for me, so there’s that.)
• Christina did a lot of research and found a house for all of us (ten people!) to rent when we’re in Alaska! I really appreciate that she did all that hard work and coordinated everything. It looks like the place will have some great views:

• It’s been so nice to use the new bathtub, but I seem to have lost my hot bath stamina – I can’t stay in there as long as I used to without getting dizzy/too hot. I’ll have to build it back up. Maybe I should write a training plan? Ha ha.

• Really random thought: I never volunteered at a race last year! I need to make sure I do that this year!

Link to Random Thoughts Thursday 97

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By kilax, May 4, 2016 6:16 am

I was pretty excited to see my calendar indicated the most important holiday of the year…

Ha. Of course it does. It’s a Star Wars calendar (from the Dollar Spot at Tarjayjay – score!).

I don’t have much planned for Star Wars Day! I do have my Millennium Falcon shirt on. Maybe today will be the day I finally buy The Force Awakens? I know, I know. It’s a shame I STILL don’t have it.

Oh gosh, I have to share the cutest thing – while discussing Star Wars with Luca during our Dallas trip, we found out he has a unique way of pronouncing “Millennium Falcon.”

One of our presents for Luca was this Hot Wheels Death Star case that came with an X-Wing, a Y-Wing, a TIE fighter, and the Millennium Falcon*. I think we’d actually discovered his unique take on the name before he opened his gift, but playing with the toy prompted this conversation:

“Luca, say ‘Millennium.'”

“Millennium!”

“Luca, say ‘Falcon.'”

“Falcon!”

“Luca, how do you say the name of Han Solo’s ship, the Millennium Falcon?”

“Millennium Balcony!”

Ha ha, love it. He’s too cute.

May the fourth be with you!

*Luca thought it was the Hot Wheels Millennium Falcon he already has, but alas – he has the one from The Force Awakens with the rectangular satellite and this was the one from Return of the Jedi with the circular satellite. Phew. I also explained the difference between his black TIE Fighter and the gray one we got him.

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By kilax, May 3, 2016 5:40 am

… if you visit, we may put you to work!

We were stoked for Christina and Will to visit because we wanted to spend time with them, and show them the new house, but also… because we had a HUGE project list we thought they could help us with! Muah ha ha. Ha. (Actually, this is Steven and Will’s thing – they love working on projects when they’re together – and they update each other on projects when they’re apart, too!)

Steven had been enthusiastically working on his project list with Will for about a month, making sure he had all the parts and pieces, and brainstorming the best way to do things. Unfortunately, they hit a huge hiccup when they went to install the hood for the kitchen – the hood is designed for 8′-0″ ceilings and the space where we’re putting the hood is 7′-0″ tall due to a soffit. So they had to figure out how to fit all the required stuff in 1′-0″ less of space, and spent most of the time on that, which was not one of the “fun” projects on the list!

But working on that meant they painted the wall behind the hood/fridge area (yay!), which was half painted when we bought the house. And now the hood’s up (and sounds like a jet engine when you turn it on):

I’ll have to post a picture when it’s all finished and the house is not a construction zone! I still need to post pictures of what the rooms in the house look like!

They did have time to install our wireless antenna outside (and run cables from it through the attic), cover openings in the attic (to keep animals out), shorten an old shower curtain rod (from our townhome) and install it, and add accent lights on the stairs.

It was raining hard when they installed the antenna. Eek!

How many men does it take to install a shower curtain rod? Three.

Data spent a lot of time supervising*!

My to do list with Christina focused on sprucing up the first floor bathroom and the guest bedroom, and finding a rug for the foyer. I needed her design input as well as support while shopping (because I hate to shop and search for things and be around crowds and get REALLY frustrated). And we were successful! I love the new bed set we got for our guest bedroom. We’d been using a red one forever that was in good condition, but made the room feel so heavy. This feels fresher:

We also found time to goof off, too:

We live super close to the Jelly Belly Wisconsin Warehouse, which you can tour. We weren’t planning on stopping, but we drove by and Christina wanted to check out the shop so we did, then decided to do the tour. It’s as lame as people have told me, but we had fun! And we enjoyed trying lots of different flavors of Jelly Bellies!

Their trip here was a crazy whirlwind! They got in late Thursday and left early Sunday. We were successful in cramming A LOT in though. I hope they get to come out again soon… and that we get a chance to go to their place in Kansas this year!!!

*Data does not seem to be freaked out by construction noise at all. Steven and Will were cutting something in the kitchen and I was thinking “Oh man, I hope Data’s not freaked!” Then I walk in to the kitchen and Data is sitting on the floor, watching them. Ha ha.

Comments Off on Training Week 341

By kilax, May 1, 2016 5:43 pm

Highlight of the Week: My BiL accompanying me on my long run!

Monday | April 25, 2016: rest
Tuesday | April 26, 2016: 4 m run
Loc: hood, Temp: 41°/41°, Time: 33:14, Pace: 8:18 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: okay/tired (need more sleep)
Wednesday | April 27, 2016: 6 m run
Loc: Chicago Lakefront Trail, Temp: 46°/46°, Time: 50:18, Pace: 8:23 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Thursday | April 28, 2016: 12 m ride + 10 mins strength + 5 m run
Indoor Ride Time: 45:16, Pace: 15.9 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: VP Woods, Temp: 43°/42°, Time: 45:07, Pace: 9:01 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: tired/stressed about getting things done
Friday | April 29, 2016: teaching strength class
Strength: Sandbags and slam balls, Difficulty: medium, Felt: good but so tired
Saturday | April 30, 2016: 10 m run (w/Will on bike)
Loc: DPRT, Temp: 44°/46°, Time: 1:28:03, Pace: 8:48 avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Sunday | May 1, 2016: teaching fitness boxing + 3 m run (incl. 4×400) + 10 m ride
Strength: Boxing and body weight moves, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good
Loc: hood, Temp: 47°/46°, Time: 26:14, Pace: 8:44 avg, Difficulty: medium, Felt: not so great
Indoor Ride Time: 40:09, Pace:14.9 mph avg, Difficulty: easy, Felt: good

Notes:

• My sleep schedule was messed up this week because of flights (three nights with less than four hours of sleep) and it really threw me off. I am going to focus on getting better sleep this week!
• My left knee felt fine last week, then on Friday at class, I tweaked it doing a side lunge. I only felt it then, but I am definitely keeping an eye on it!
• April recap time! In April I ran 185 miles and cycled 114.4 miles. I taught 8 strength classes, 1 fitness boxing classes, and 1 outdoor cycling class. I rode my bike 7 times outside of class, and also did 5 strength sessions at home. My coldest outdoor run was 21°F and my warmest was 67°F.
• It’s a bummer my April schedule only allowed me to teach fitness boxing once! I am on schedule to teach it three times in May and twice in June! That’s more like it, ha ha!

Link to Training Week 340

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By kilax, April 30, 2016 11:30 am

Today was my 100th run of the year!

And I got to do it with my brother-in-law, Will! Yay! I always love it when someone will ride slow with me while I run.

It’s hard to believe we’re one third through 2016! Craziness! I’m doing well on my few goals for the year:

• a weekly (average) running mileage of 40 / 786 miles – averaging ~45 a week
• speedwork once a week / 22 speed sessions – averaging 1.25 sessions a week
• cycling at least once a week / 36 rides – averaging 2 rides a week
• strength training outside of class once a week / 20 sessions – averaging 1.15 sessions a week

Hoping to keep it going!!!

Comments (6)

By kilax, April 29, 2016 6:34 am

… were said to me yesterday afternoon: “your shower will be ready to use in the morning.” (That’s when the grout will be dry.)

Yesssssssss. The bathroom’s not done, but it’s nice to have two working toilets and two working showers when we have guests (my snis and her husband) visiting!

I’ve been saying this a lot (if not on here, in person to friends) about how I can’t wait for the contracted construction to wrap up. I’m extremely grateful we could have this work done, but it’s wearing us out. We cleaned the house as much as we could for Christina and Will’s visit and it was so nice to have things not be super dusty… if only for the evening. Ha ha! We also put away as much as we could and it’s nice to have things tidier, again, if only for awhile (it’s hard to put things away when you have to shift them from room to room as work moves around). Anyway. Wah wah, be grateful, Kim. We’re getting there! And I plan to buy some epsom salts and soak* this weekend!!!

*We did have a different water treatement system installed Wednesday, which seems to work – so no sulfur smell!! I need to update you guys, and update this post!