I still can't believe I'm doing this - I finished my second marathon this weekend. I beat my prior time by about 7 minutes, which was great! I had fun and finished injury-free. Yippee!
There were lots of things to like about this race. The scenery was beautiful and interesting. Desert landscape with Joshua trees, cacti, and a surprising number of flowers blooming. Snow-capped mountains in the distance. Red rock canyons.
Weatherwise - couldn't have asked for better. 50s and overcast to sunny, but not too hot. No wind or dust.
The hotel (Casablanca) and food were very good, especially for the price. I liked that this was a small race, so we never had to contend with crowds or lines. I noticed several people (usually older men) stopping by the wayside to pee during the race - made me smile a little - but I totally understood as there was really nowhere to hide - the open landscape just didn't allow for privacy. Luckily for me I did not over-hydrate, but even so I probably could have- and would have- made it to the next porta-potty.
I changed two things about this marathon compared to my first one. First, I decided not to carry water. I relied on the aid stations. That worked fine and it felt good not to have that water belt on. I did carry gel, shot blocks and jelly beans but ended up mostly fueling on the free stuff along the way - bananas, gummy bears, pretzels, M&Ms, and Hammer gel. Great variety and wonderful volunteers at the aid stations!
The other change was my run-walk ratio: this time I tried running 4 minutes, walking 30 seconds (instead of running 4, walking 1 minute). This worked well, especially on the downhill part. On the uphills (of which there were several) I added in some extra walk breaks. I didn't allow myself to push too hard, and I think I did well on the hills. I know I felt stronger going into mile 21-22 than I had at Top of Utah.
Between miles 22 and 26, though, I suffered. I developed a persistent pain in my front left thigh and it steadily increased to become pretty severe at the end. (My smart friend Tammy diagnosed it as a psoas muscle spasm). I was a little worried about a possible stress fracture, but I'd felt this pain before at the end of my first half marathon. I slowed down and unhappily watched 3-4 people pass me in the last mile. I debated walking the rest of the way, but I still hoped to beat my prior time so I gutted it out. At the 25.5 mile aid station, the volunteers must have seen my pain because they looked concerned and asked me if I was all right. I gratefully accepted their offer of ibuprofen and shuffled as triumphantly as possible to the finish. Total time: 4:51:31. Yay!
Walking was very slow and painful for 5-10 minutes until I stretched, rested, drank a lot of water and ate a donut. My psoas muscle let loose its death grip and since then I've been FINE - just the normal post-long-run muscle soreness. Tammy and I blissfully reveled in long showers, a delicious lunch, gentle recovery walk (to get M&Ms - very important, you know!) and a buffet dinner with lots of dessert. It was so nice to have that relaxing evening - and champagne buffet breakfast next morning! - with new and old friends and good food and conversation.
So all in all, a very satisfying weekend. Now I am going to enjoy a few weeks of recovery - shorter, lighter workouts and time with family at Thanksgiving. I am blessed and grateful.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Honesty
I've been practicing gratitude more lately, spurred on by Facebook friends and the season of Thanksgiving. And I truly AM grateful almost all of the time. There is so much to be thankful for.
But...I also realize that most of my blog and my "public image" (like MauldenNews) is highly self-selected to highlight the good stuff and gloss over the ugly realities. And so this post is an attempt to balance it out.
Please understand that I'm not out to vent or rant or complain, either. I'm just stating the facts for the record. I'm hoping this doesn't come off as whining. If nothing else, then when I'm 90 and demented and reading back through this blog to remember what my life used to be, I'll get a fuller picture.
OK, here goes. The uglies:
1. Our kids have both been in trouble this month for poor behavioral control - specifically hitting, clawing, and biting. Sam especially has been aggressive in preschool, to a worrisome degree. He clawed 2 kids in the face at McDonald's and made 4 of his classmates cry and got sent to the principal's office. Now I am the mother of the class bully. Today we had another long, protracted tantrum from Alle - uncontrolled rage, screaming, crumpling up her schoolwork. These are getting less frequent, but now Sam is starting to give us a lot more attitude. Last week I put him in time out and he took off his clothes and pooped on the rug.
Our efforts at discipline seem only partly effective. I don't know how much of this behavior is attributable to our lack of parenting skills, but it's hard to feel there's not at least some correlation. It's stressful. I am worried they won't have friends. I never realized before how much of kids' behavior is deeply internalized by the parent. Even if others promise that they don't feel your kids' bad behavior reflects poorly on you - you feel it does.
While I'm being honest here, I must say that being on anti-anxiety medication has helped me a LOT! :-)
2. Our house is kind of a mess most of the time. I don't care about this as much as I used to. I'm not really worried about it, but thought I would just put it out there.
3. Bryan and I argue about plenty of things - these are pretty standard, from what I know, but we are not exempt. Parenting, household chores, TV/computer time, and money are some of our favorite subjects of contention. We aren't very consistent about making time for just the two of us. We used to argue less. Maybe we are getting more opinionated and stubborn with age...uh oh.
4. I've been eating cake, cookies, chocolate, and too much Halloween candy recently. I tend to wait until the kids are in bed so they won't see me and demand that I share.
5. I've had to wear my glasses for the past 6 weeks (due to a very bad contact lens prescription and bad fitting by someone who made mistakes and didn't know how to fit them - long story, going on for almost a year). I still feel ugly and yucky in glasses. I have to fight the urge to withdraw from society.
6. I've had things on my to-do list for a year and I just don't feel like doing them, so I don't. I never used to do this (procrastinate)...what's happening to me??
7. Sometimes I dress like a real frump.
But...I also realize that most of my blog and my "public image" (like MauldenNews) is highly self-selected to highlight the good stuff and gloss over the ugly realities. And so this post is an attempt to balance it out.
Please understand that I'm not out to vent or rant or complain, either. I'm just stating the facts for the record. I'm hoping this doesn't come off as whining. If nothing else, then when I'm 90 and demented and reading back through this blog to remember what my life used to be, I'll get a fuller picture.
OK, here goes. The uglies:
1. Our kids have both been in trouble this month for poor behavioral control - specifically hitting, clawing, and biting. Sam especially has been aggressive in preschool, to a worrisome degree. He clawed 2 kids in the face at McDonald's and made 4 of his classmates cry and got sent to the principal's office. Now I am the mother of the class bully. Today we had another long, protracted tantrum from Alle - uncontrolled rage, screaming, crumpling up her schoolwork. These are getting less frequent, but now Sam is starting to give us a lot more attitude. Last week I put him in time out and he took off his clothes and pooped on the rug.
Our efforts at discipline seem only partly effective. I don't know how much of this behavior is attributable to our lack of parenting skills, but it's hard to feel there's not at least some correlation. It's stressful. I am worried they won't have friends. I never realized before how much of kids' behavior is deeply internalized by the parent. Even if others promise that they don't feel your kids' bad behavior reflects poorly on you - you feel it does.
While I'm being honest here, I must say that being on anti-anxiety medication has helped me a LOT! :-)
2. Our house is kind of a mess most of the time. I don't care about this as much as I used to. I'm not really worried about it, but thought I would just put it out there.
3. Bryan and I argue about plenty of things - these are pretty standard, from what I know, but we are not exempt. Parenting, household chores, TV/computer time, and money are some of our favorite subjects of contention. We aren't very consistent about making time for just the two of us. We used to argue less. Maybe we are getting more opinionated and stubborn with age...uh oh.
4. I've been eating cake, cookies, chocolate, and too much Halloween candy recently. I tend to wait until the kids are in bed so they won't see me and demand that I share.
5. I've had to wear my glasses for the past 6 weeks (due to a very bad contact lens prescription and bad fitting by someone who made mistakes and didn't know how to fit them - long story, going on for almost a year). I still feel ugly and yucky in glasses. I have to fight the urge to withdraw from society.
6. I've had things on my to-do list for a year and I just don't feel like doing them, so I don't. I never used to do this (procrastinate)...what's happening to me??
7. Sometimes I dress like a real frump.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
October MauldenNews
Hello everyone - hope you are enjoying a happy fall season.
October was a good month for hiking. We had mostly warm weather. The colors in the mountains were great this year - maybe because of all the water?
The kids got their school pictures: first grade...
and preschool...
I went to Washington, D.C. for work and enjoyed running and biking in Rock Creek Park. Very nice!
October 30 was a very special day for all of us - Alle's baptism day! At the end she put her hands up to make butterflies on the screen - a nice touch and very much "in character" for her.
And finally - of course - Halloween!
Love you all,
Sarah
October was a good month for hiking. We had mostly warm weather. The colors in the mountains were great this year - maybe because of all the water?
The kids got their school pictures: first grade...
and preschool...
I went to Washington, D.C. for work and enjoyed running and biking in Rock Creek Park. Very nice!
October 30 was a very special day for all of us - Alle's baptism day! At the end she put her hands up to make butterflies on the screen - a nice touch and very much "in character" for her.
And finally - of course - Halloween!
Love you all,
Sarah
Thursday, October 13, 2011
one reason why I love living here
We didn't get all the way to the top today, but we had a wonderful time.
Trail was Butler Fork, up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We went part way to Mount Raymond.
Trail was Butler Fork, up Big Cottonwood Canyon. We went part way to Mount Raymond.
prayer for the day
I saw this poem today and wanted to remember it.
Real Presence
Let my heart be a wide and welcome harbor
where my children come to rest.
May these arms stretch wide and strong
to hold his fear, her hurt, their tattered sense of self.
May there be a solidness within me
on which their pain may crash
and recede
and I remain.
Let my presence be an island to them
in storm-tossed seasons,
rising up from troubled waters to offer
shelter, respite, and firm dry ground.
May they find in me
a haven to tend to battered souls
until the day the certainty of such solid ground
launches them to sail uncharted waters unafraid.
-Tom McGrath
Real Presence
Let my heart be a wide and welcome harbor
where my children come to rest.
May these arms stretch wide and strong
to hold his fear, her hurt, their tattered sense of self.
May there be a solidness within me
on which their pain may crash
and recede
and I remain.
Let my presence be an island to them
in storm-tossed seasons,
rising up from troubled waters to offer
shelter, respite, and firm dry ground.
May they find in me
a haven to tend to battered souls
until the day the certainty of such solid ground
launches them to sail uncharted waters unafraid.
-Tom McGrath
Monday, October 10, 2011
September MauldenNews
Ah, September - you were glorious this year. Warm and sunny, but not too hot. I'm sad you're gone now, especially as we went from 80 to 40 degrees and SNOW in the first week of October...it always seems wrong to me when we get snow before the leaves have a chance to change color. Anyway, on to the news.
Started the month with the Salt Lake Half Marathon, thanks to my friend Tammy (who took the pictures). Of course, she blew me away (yes, she walks faster than I run) - but it was fun, and scenic, so who cares?
Then it was off to church camp.
Sam got to ring the bell to call everyone in to supper.
I never get tired of watching hummingbirds!
Next came the Top of Utah Marathon - woo-hoo! It was AWESOME, not only because I - of all people! - actually ran a marathon, but because I got to do it with my brothers Tim and Daniel, and wonderful friend Tammy (who again left me in her racewalking dust). AND - to top it all off - mom and dad came to visit and cheer us on to the finish!
Tim, Daniel and me - smiling because the finish is in sight! And you can't really tell that our clothes are all wet, can you?
LOVE my moose medal!
Post-marathon thoughts...every time you do something new, you learn some things. Well, I learned two things. Actually, three. One - don't believe the weather report. Two, don't get rid of extra clothing too soon. We started off with a nice cold, drenching shower at the starting line so our feet were squishing in our shoes. Then we had rain, drizzle, rain, clear skies, rain, lightning, thunder, hail, rain, sun. (The course was beautiful though!) During the "clear skies" I was warm so left my wet jacket at the drop box at mile 7, only to WISH I had it at mile 11 when it dumped buckets on us again along with stinging little balls of hail. Luckily, it cleared up again and we made the final push to the finish in the sun. The last 3 or 4 miles were really hard. Interestingly, I could feel my hips, thighs, and feet hurting but not my knees, calves, or ankles. Rounding the last corner to see the finish line, Bryan, and my mom and dad, was WONDERFUL. Crossing the finish line - even BETTER! and finally being able to STOP running - the BEST!!! Really, it was a crazy, awesome experience that I never thought I would have.
The third thing I learned was that after a marathon, I don't feel much like chasing my kids around. I mean, REALLY...do...not...feel like it. A babysitter should be a post-marathon requirement. Finally - to quote another Galloway runner as she tearfully crossed the finish line of her first marathon: "I've never been so miserable in my life!...and I can't wait to do it again!"
The last bit of news for September - we ended the month in peach heaven. Our lovely peach tree made outstanding peaches this year. Big, juicy, beautiful peaches. Our apple tree also produced decent apples, for the first time in years. We bought a fruit picker (basket w/prongs on a pole) and went fishing up in the trees for peaches and apples with the kids. Wish I had pictures - but don't - so use your imaginations. It was fun to see the kids cheer for each other each time they snagged a fruit. I'm always looking for cooperative, team-building games for the kids - so it was fun to discover another one.
Final pictures: Alle's many talents: pajama biking, tree climbing and monkey-bar-hanging; Sam showing Grandpa how to use a stomp rocket.
Started the month with the Salt Lake Half Marathon, thanks to my friend Tammy (who took the pictures). Of course, she blew me away (yes, she walks faster than I run) - but it was fun, and scenic, so who cares?
Then it was off to church camp.
Next came the Top of Utah Marathon - woo-hoo! It was AWESOME, not only because I - of all people! - actually ran a marathon, but because I got to do it with my brothers Tim and Daniel, and wonderful friend Tammy (who again left me in her racewalking dust). AND - to top it all off - mom and dad came to visit and cheer us on to the finish!
Post-marathon thoughts...every time you do something new, you learn some things. Well, I learned two things. Actually, three. One - don't believe the weather report. Two, don't get rid of extra clothing too soon. We started off with a nice cold, drenching shower at the starting line so our feet were squishing in our shoes. Then we had rain, drizzle, rain, clear skies, rain, lightning, thunder, hail, rain, sun. (The course was beautiful though!) During the "clear skies" I was warm so left my wet jacket at the drop box at mile 7, only to WISH I had it at mile 11 when it dumped buckets on us again along with stinging little balls of hail. Luckily, it cleared up again and we made the final push to the finish in the sun. The last 3 or 4 miles were really hard. Interestingly, I could feel my hips, thighs, and feet hurting but not my knees, calves, or ankles. Rounding the last corner to see the finish line, Bryan, and my mom and dad, was WONDERFUL. Crossing the finish line - even BETTER! and finally being able to STOP running - the BEST!!! Really, it was a crazy, awesome experience that I never thought I would have.
The third thing I learned was that after a marathon, I don't feel much like chasing my kids around. I mean, REALLY...do...not...feel like it. A babysitter should be a post-marathon requirement. Finally - to quote another Galloway runner as she tearfully crossed the finish line of her first marathon: "I've never been so miserable in my life!...and I can't wait to do it again!"
The last bit of news for September - we ended the month in peach heaven. Our lovely peach tree made outstanding peaches this year. Big, juicy, beautiful peaches. Our apple tree also produced decent apples, for the first time in years. We bought a fruit picker (basket w/prongs on a pole) and went fishing up in the trees for peaches and apples with the kids. Wish I had pictures - but don't - so use your imaginations. It was fun to see the kids cheer for each other each time they snagged a fruit. I'm always looking for cooperative, team-building games for the kids - so it was fun to discover another one.
Final pictures: Alle's many talents: pajama biking, tree climbing and monkey-bar-hanging; Sam showing Grandpa how to use a stomp rocket.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
This is Our Song - September 11, 2011
We sang this in church today, the tenth anniversary of September 11. I want to share it because to me, it expresses an alternative response to "God Bless America"-style patriotism. It's by Lloyd Stone, written in 1914 and published in the period between the two world wars. The tune is "Finlandia," perhaps known best as the music to the hymn "Be Still, My Soul."
This is my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But other hearts in other lands are beating
WIth hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.
My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine;
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
O hear my song, O God of all the nations,
A song of peace for their land and for mine.
I love what this song says...it goes beyond "God Bless America" to acknowledge the hopes and dreams of those in all nations. Even Afghanistan and Iraq. This morning in church I was reminded of the aftermath of September 11 on the world in the past ten years. Of course I am deeply saddened at the losses we sustained and I can't even pretend to imagine the pain borne by those who have suffered personally from that. But our unnecessary "war on terrorism" has compounded that suffering, caused even greater death and destruction (especially in Iraq and Afghanistan), billions of dollars spent on war instead of a thousand better uses, the revelation of the use of torture and other abuses by our military, and the loss of much respect and credibility in the world's eyes. I found myself wishing I had been more outspoken in the last 10 years about my opposition to more war as our response to terrorism. I don't know exactly what the solution is, but I'm pretty sure this strategy is not it. So I pray for peace, and for justice to be done, and for the courage to speak and act, however I can, for healing and redemption.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
CirculMagic Shop is going to Voltron Fest
CirculMagic Shop is happy to announce we'll be sharing the dancefloor at Voltron Festival, Turkey.
| Live | MAIN STAGE LIVE ACT .................................. AKÉS (Hellchedelic Records) - Portugal ANTAGON (2to6 Records - Damaru Records) - Germany ATOMENTAL (Shakra Records - Karmatic Records) - Switzerland AUDIODIDAKT (Alice D Pro - Wild Seven Recordz) - Israel BOMBAX (Free Radical Records) - Germany CALYPTRATUS (Bionic Instinct Records) - Germany COSMIC IRON (Sonic Tantra Records) - Israel DARK WHISPER (Alice D Pro - Shaman Films Media) - Italy DEMONIAC INSOMNIAC (Active Meditation Music) - Macedonia FAREBI JALEBI (Parvati Records) - Australia FRANTIC NOISE (Dark Prisma Records) - Argentina GIDRA (Acidance Records) - India JAHBO (Parvati Records) - Denmark KARMATIC SKULLS (Karmatic Records) - Switzerland - Portugal KASATKA (Bionic Instinct Records) - Germany KASHYYYK (Kamino Records) - Mexico LOOSE CONNECTION (Catawampus Records) - Wales (UK) MAGMA OHM (Shaman Films Media - Tremors Underground) - Brazil MEGALOPSY (Dark Prisma Records) - Argentina PARANDROID (Manic Psycho Pro - Dharmaharmony Records) - Germany RAWAR (2to6 Records) - Portugal RED (Mighty Quinn Records) - Russia SETH (Bhooteshwara Records - Active Meditation Music) - Macedonia TECHNICAL HITCH (Insomnia Records) - Israel -Z- (alpha & antagon) (Moondrop Crew) - Germany All of these artists are %100 confirmed and sadly the Main Stage Live Act line up is closed.. Thanks for understanding about not offering us to be added the line up.. |
| DJs | MAIN STAGE DJ SET ............................... ABBYSS (Full Om) - Turkey ABSOLUT (2to6 Records) - Sweden ALPHA (Interzone Pa) - Germany ANKUR (Seres Music - Acidance Records) - Germany ANT (Mind Expansion Music) - Germany BLUB (Karmatic Records) - Austria CANNIBAL CROW (Psycrowdelica) - Germany COOPER (Cosmic Plasma) - Romania CORIOUS (Lycantrop Records - Urban Antidote Records) - Germany DEPTHCHARGE (Industraum Records) - Turkey EKO (Mind Expansion Music) - Italy FILTRO (Dark Prisma Records) - Argentina GIUSEPPE (Parvati Records) - Italy HYPERWATT (Noise Poison Records) - Switzerland - Austria IGNIS (Damaru Records) - Germany IKEN (2to6 Records) - Austria LILL’ LI (Dharmaharmony Records) - Denmark LLOYD POZITIVIST (Damaru Records) - Wales (UK) MILOWATT (Noise Poison Records) - Austria MADEMOISELLE CHAOZ (Pixan Recordings) - Germany MITRA (Damaru Records) - Germany NAIMA (Acidance Records) - Austria PHILOSO (Free Radical Records) - Austria SPACE FREAK (Freak Out Pro) - Turkey TILAKA (Karmatic Records) - Switzerland UNTERWEGS (Industraum Records) - Turkey All of these artists are %100 confirmed and sadly the Main Stage Dj Act line up is closed.. Thanks for understanding about not offering us to be added the line up.. |
| Chill | Alternative Stage Live Act and Dj Set line ups are waiting the offers and presentations of international artists and djs. Please feel free to let us know about your music or sets for the Alternative Stage by sending your infos to: 01depth.charge@gmail.com with the subject headline: "Voltron Fest Alternative Stage". Voltron Fest 2012 Alternative Stage's line up was started to be designed and thought by Baran Elitez (Depthcharge - Industraum/Fall From Cloud - Turkey) .. Please feel free to contact him in case you are about Alternative Stage of his thoughts.. |
| Deco | FARBENSPIEL (Industraum Deco) - Turkey + MORE !!! .. The Decoration Design Idea of Voltron Festival is waiting to hear nice, new intelligent ideas from international deco teams and/or individual deco artists to be able to create real nice psychedelic village!.. Please feel free to let us get infos about your artistic ideas, especially "deconstructively articulated organism designs" of yours if you have or are able to create, mapping and other visual designs for the whole or fragmented part of the festival, by sending your infos to: industraum@live.com with the subject headline: "Voltron Fest Spatial Design". |
| Location | Tba near Antalya.. |
| Entry fee | You will be able to get your earlybird tickets of Voltron Festival according to the schedule below: Jan 2012 -- 40 € -- limited to 250 Feb 2012 -- 45 € -- limited to 250 Mar 2012 -- 50 € -- limited to 250 Apr -- 55 € Ma -- 60 € Jun -- 65 € Jul -- 70 € Aug -- 75 € 23 Aug 2012, at the festival door: 80 € How to buy presale tickets will be announced in December 2011.. |
| Infos | 23-24-25-26-27 AUGUST 2012 VOLTRON FESTIVAL in TURKEY |
Monday, September 5, 2011
Tutorial 2 - cutie de lemn cu cercuri quilling pentru bijuterii, agrafe, clame
De ceva timp ma tot gandesc cum sa reconditionez o cutie de lemn, simpla, in ceva dragut si util. Dupa mai multe idei prea complicate, m-am oprit la una simpla. Am vopsit cu uleiuri cutia in doua nuante de albastru. Una mai deschisa in interior si jumatate din exterior si un albastru inchis pentru baza exterioara a cutiei. Apoi pentru ca recent am descoperit puterea cerculetelor de hartie m-am apucat de urmatorul proiect:
Nu ai nevoie de multe lucruri.
-o cutie simpla de lemn
- un lipici de hartie
- fasii lungi de hartie, oricat de inguste, oricat de colorate. The choice is yours!
- o unealta de rulat pentru quilling. Dar le poti rula si freestyle.
- un lipici pe baza de rasina
- lac de hartie si o pensula.
Pret: 20 ron
Brosa Quilling Pe Suport Metalic - Nuante de albastru
Pret: 25 ron
Quilling Brooch on metal handle with hues of blue
Price: 25 ron
Sunday, September 4, 2011
August 2011 MauldenNews
Hello all,
I hope you're all well. Here's what we've been up to...
Alle (the girl formerly known as Alex) turned seven! She and her friends had a great time at the Kangaroo Zoo - a big room full of inflatable slides, bounce houses and glow-in-the-dark mini golf.
We also celebrated Sam's 5-year anniversary with us. We went hiking in the mountains. Even though Sam has a lot of energy, he still needs a ride now and then.
Other hiking snapshots: Albion Basin, at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The lower picture shows some glaciers in the distance.
"Back to school" day was August 22 - Alle is in first grade, and Sam is in preschool 3 days a week. First day pictures:
I saw Sam's teacher the evening after his first day, at the school's welcome picnic. "First he tried to take over the class. Then we sat down and explained the rules. He didn't like them. But then he got into cutting and pasting and he did great. He knew the names of all the sea creatures, even the manatee! Does he know how to read?"
As for me, August meant more marathon training - I completed my longest two runs EVER at 20 and 22 miles. (!) After each long run I've been taking ice baths (helps recovery, decreases inflammation and prevents soreness). I'm not sure which is harder, running for 4 hours or sitting in an ice-cold tub of water for 20 minutes, but I admit both activities qualify me as officially NUTS. Alex watched me entering the ice bath one day and got a great laugh at my screams and gasps. Then she wanted an ice bath too, but sticking her feet in was enough. Overall, I'm really, really happy with my training this summer. I am so lucky to be able to do it - I enjoy the scenery, new friends, time outdoors, time to myself to think and reflect, and tougher legs. :-) HOO-YAH! I highly recommend the Galloway program. Looking forward to running the Top of Utah marathon with Tim, Daniel, and Tammy on September 17.
Bryan took a trip to Kansas City to visit family and check out a job opportunity. We haven't made a final decision yet, but we'll let you know...stay tuned.
And finally - my book report for the month:
Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn - haven't finished it yet - but definitely a gripping read. Written by a husband and wife Pulitzer prize-winning journalist team, it draws a detailed portrait of the issues women and girls face in much of the world - kidnappings, forced marriages of children, sex trafficking and slavery, maternal mortality, infanticide of girls, denial of education, honor killings, etc. It's very hard to read at points, but also enlightening and hopeful in some accounts of progress being made. One reviewer states that it "should be required reading for every global citizen" and I agree.
Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner - not surprising that I enjoyed this because I already like to keep journals. But there were some new ideas and writing techniques I appreciated, as well as some stuff that was a little too weird for me.
Collapse by Jared Diamond - explores the question, "Why do societies choose to collapse?" Fascinating accounts of ancient and more recent societal collapses and the factors that lead up to them. Pretty eye-opening! If you're not already concerned about environmental issues, you probably will be if you read this.
And that's our news 'o' the month! Hope you are well and as always, let me know what you've been up to.
I hope you're all well. Here's what we've been up to...
Alle (the girl formerly known as Alex) turned seven! She and her friends had a great time at the Kangaroo Zoo - a big room full of inflatable slides, bounce houses and glow-in-the-dark mini golf.
We also celebrated Sam's 5-year anniversary with us. We went hiking in the mountains. Even though Sam has a lot of energy, he still needs a ride now and then.
Other hiking snapshots: Albion Basin, at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The lower picture shows some glaciers in the distance.
"Back to school" day was August 22 - Alle is in first grade, and Sam is in preschool 3 days a week. First day pictures:
I saw Sam's teacher the evening after his first day, at the school's welcome picnic. "First he tried to take over the class. Then we sat down and explained the rules. He didn't like them. But then he got into cutting and pasting and he did great. He knew the names of all the sea creatures, even the manatee! Does he know how to read?"
As for me, August meant more marathon training - I completed my longest two runs EVER at 20 and 22 miles. (!) After each long run I've been taking ice baths (helps recovery, decreases inflammation and prevents soreness). I'm not sure which is harder, running for 4 hours or sitting in an ice-cold tub of water for 20 minutes, but I admit both activities qualify me as officially NUTS. Alex watched me entering the ice bath one day and got a great laugh at my screams and gasps. Then she wanted an ice bath too, but sticking her feet in was enough. Overall, I'm really, really happy with my training this summer. I am so lucky to be able to do it - I enjoy the scenery, new friends, time outdoors, time to myself to think and reflect, and tougher legs. :-) HOO-YAH! I highly recommend the Galloway program. Looking forward to running the Top of Utah marathon with Tim, Daniel, and Tammy on September 17.
Bryan took a trip to Kansas City to visit family and check out a job opportunity. We haven't made a final decision yet, but we'll let you know...stay tuned.
And finally - my book report for the month:
Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn - haven't finished it yet - but definitely a gripping read. Written by a husband and wife Pulitzer prize-winning journalist team, it draws a detailed portrait of the issues women and girls face in much of the world - kidnappings, forced marriages of children, sex trafficking and slavery, maternal mortality, infanticide of girls, denial of education, honor killings, etc. It's very hard to read at points, but also enlightening and hopeful in some accounts of progress being made. One reviewer states that it "should be required reading for every global citizen" and I agree.
Writing Down Your Soul by Janet Conner - not surprising that I enjoyed this because I already like to keep journals. But there were some new ideas and writing techniques I appreciated, as well as some stuff that was a little too weird for me.
Collapse by Jared Diamond - explores the question, "Why do societies choose to collapse?" Fascinating accounts of ancient and more recent societal collapses and the factors that lead up to them. Pretty eye-opening! If you're not already concerned about environmental issues, you probably will be if you read this.
And that's our news 'o' the month! Hope you are well and as always, let me know what you've been up to.