A few weeks ago I signed our family up for a holiday special at the Homecourt YMCA that is just a few blocks away from our house. Basically, it's a free 6 week membership and if you or a family member workout at least twice a week during the 6 weeks, they will waive the registration fee if you decide to sign up. We've been meaning to sign up for the last year, so it was kind of a no-brainer.
Gloria and I have really been the only ones to take advantage of this great deal. It's been a fun, bonding experience for us. Not that we hang out together or anything. I run on the treadmill and she walks around and meets everyone. I'm not sure exactly what she does but she's usually good and sweaty by the time we leave.
She made friends with a girl about her age last week whose father teaches a class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It's geared towards kids ages 10-18 and teaches all kinds of skills while offering a pretty good workout. Tonight, as I was finishing up on the treadmill, I could hear shouts coming from across the gym that sounded something like, "Go, Gloria!!" I had no idea what to expect but I had my camera phone ready. . . Gloria and her new friend were wrestling on the mat while the rest of the class stood by and cheered them on. It was kind of a strange sight but the coach was closely supervising and handing out words of encouragement as they wrestled. I could tell Gloria was having a good time so I just sat back and watched. She had a real sense of accomplisment afterwards and I think it was a positive experience for her. It was also probably her first experience with a competitive sport. She still surprises me sometimes with her confidence and people skills. Kind of strange for someone who's been homeschooled all her life. . . :)
I just logged 7 miles on the treadmill and 5 of those were running without stopping!! Considering that my record before now is 3 miles without stopping and about 5 total, I needed to make a note of it for posterity! Whew! Maybe I'll run that 10k in the spring after all. . .
I've lived in and around Boise for a very long time. 27 years to be exact. So I'm pretty familiar with the Boise Greenbelt. We've gone for long bike rides there and nice, scenic walks. I've even walked from the shop to the library by way of the greenbelt several times. I've been looking forward to running on the greenbelt for several weeks because I'm getting tired of my same old neighborhood route and because it's such a pretty place, right along the river. Well, it finally happened on Saturday. And it wasn't all I had hoped it would be. Lucy and I walked from the shop to the first mile marker which was probably about a half mile. One of the reasons I've been wanting to run on the greenbelt is that it is clearly marked in 1/10th mile increments. I don't think my 5k (3.1 miles) route at home is very accurate, so I wanted to time myself on a "real" course. We started out OK except that I was tired from lack of sleep the night before so I think I was dragging just a little bit. There were also a lot more distractions for Lucy than when we run at home so I spent a lot of time and energy reigning her in. Saturday probably isn't the best day to run on the greenbelt if you're trying to be serious about it because once I hit the park it was all over for Lucy. Too many kids and bikes and frisbees flying by. I kept running and pulling her along almost to Broadway and then I had to stop and walk. Of course, I couldn't stop until I had hit my 2 mile point so I could check my time. (I ran the two miles in about 22 minutes so I'm thinking my route at home is not quite 5k.) Then, we had to turn around and go through the park again so I decided to just walk for a mile until most of the distractions were behind us. At the zero mile marker under the bridge by the library, we started to run again. I had my music in my ears and was trying to concentrate on the music but all I could think about was how crazy this was and what, exactly, was I thinking????? I wanted to give up and lay on the grass and never run again!! Just as I was about to stop, this Switchfoot song came on my MP3 player:
I matched my pace to the beat, concentrated on the words and ran the rest of the way to the shop. I still wanted to die, but this song was just the reminder I needed. . . I'm not giving up any time soon. . .
GONE Switchfoot
She told him she'd rather fix her makeup Than try to fix what's going on But the problem keeps on calling Even with the cellphone gone She told him that she believes in living Bigger than she's living now But her world keeps spinning backwards And upside down Don't say so long, and throw yourself wrong Don't spend today away Cuz today will soon be
Gone, like yesterday is gone, Like history is Gone, just try to prove me wrong And pretend like you're immortal
She said he said live like no tomorrow Every day we borrow Brings us one step closer to the edge (infinity) Where's your treasure, where's your hope If you get the world and lose your soul She pretends like she pretends like she's immortal
Don't say so long You're not that far gone This could be your big chance to makeup Today will soon be
Gone, like yesterday is gone, Like history is gone, The world keeps spinning on, Your going going gone, Like summer break is gone, Like Saturday is gone Just try to prove me wrong You pretend like your immortal your immortal
We are not infinite We are not permanent Nothing is immediate We're so confident In our accomplishments Look at our decadence
Gone, like Frank Sinatra Like Elvis and his mom Like AL Pacino's cash nothing lasts in this life My high school dreams are gone My childhood sweets are gone Life is a day that doesn't last for long Life is more than money Time was never money Time was never cash, Life is still more than girls Life is more than hundred dollar bills And roto-tom fills Life's more than fame and rock and roll and thrills All the riches of the kings End up in wills we got information in the information age But do we know what life is Outside of our convenient Lexus cages She said he said live like no tomorrow Every moment that we borrow Brings us closer to the God who's not short of cash Hey Bonoi'm glad you asked Life is still worth living, life is still worth living
The dogs are really enjoying this exercise phase I'm going through. I can't take them at the same time because they just mess around so I've been making them take turns. As soon as they see me getting my tennis shoes on in the morning, they both run for their leashes and pace excitedly until I'm ready to go. On the days that I walk, I take Emma. I've tried to run with her but she has a tendency to stop short and I have a tendency to trip so it's just safer to take a nice, long walk when I'm with her. She's one of those dogs that needs to stop and smell the roses (and the hydrant and the grass and the garbage can) so I try to just enjoy the scenery with her.
Lucy, on the other hand, is very focused and aware. Emma looks down, Lucy looks around. I feel much safer when I'm out with Lucy. It's almost like she understands what I'm trying to do and she helps me set and keep a good running pace. She's rarely distracted and I think she would do her best to protect me if she needed to. She's the perfect running mate!
We've settled into a pretty nice routine and both dogs have added something to my workouts that is unique and interesting. Besides, they get me going in the morning so it's kind of like having two personal trainers at my beck and call!!
The kids are finally feeling better after taking about a week and a half off from school. Today we managed to finish most of our school work by early afternoon so we headed to one of my favorite places EVER: The Library!:
The sky was a little overcast but it was a beautiful, spring-like day so after the library we walked a short distance to the greenbelt on The Boise River. . .
I didn't have a chance to scope out a running route on Saturday like I had planned so I took the time to study the map and make a plan for this weekend. . .
Turns out the zero mile marker is right under the old bridge next to the library. From this point there are 4 different trails that are clearly marked in half mile increments. . .
After scoping out the trail situation we spent some time exploring the Anne Frank Memorial that sits between The Library and the greenbelt. . . It's an amazing memorial. . .
I love this part of Boise. . .
It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon after being cooped up for way too long. I'll close this post with a relevant quote that is engraved on a stone in the middle of the memorial:
While I don't want to go on and on about running ad nauseum, I did a lot of thinking about it over the weekend and I'm excited about running a 10K in June. This is a pretty big step for me. I've been more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of a girl for the last several years due to the nature of our crazy life but I'm actually setting training goals and looking for some accountability. I don't really want anyone to nag me about it or even necessarily ask me about it, I'm just going to casually list what I'm doing on the side bar of my blog and see how it goes. It's working so far since I already ran and did my strength training this morning just so I could get this started!! I'm a little anal that way. . .
Since my blog has always been about pictures and I'm not planning to put any pictures of me running any time soon, I'll include a YouTube video every once in awhile of songs on my MP3 player that keep me moving. Here's one of my favorites:
