Columbus marathon
I do understand that any issues I have post-race/with running in general are self-inflicted so I try not to complain, but Ashley, her boyfriend John, and I did a half marathon last Sunday and I'm still tired. I trained very well for it, and ran most of it, until I got a little wheezy at mile 9ish, and now I'm pooped. The rule of thumb is the same number of recovery days as miles run, so I can actually be lazy for 6 more days, but recovery doesn't mean sitting on the couch all day, it just means no training. I've actually been doing a reverse taper, which is working well, I'm just tired.
I had a crappy winter last year. November sucked for a variety of reason, December was full of Erin being extra miserable, January and February were full of daycare germs and a URI that lasted for a month, March continued to be dark, etc. I sat a lot, I went from my couch to Nationwide Arena for hockey games and then back home to my couch. It was pretty grim.
When the kids moved in at the end of April, I had no choice but to get off the couch. I had Sebastian. Nic was ostensibly not working, but he had papers and book chapters to write and research - which were all about Argentinian cinema and consisted of watching movies on his ipad, but whatever. It's what he does and it's a job. I also started running again, a little bit at a time. My treadmill is right in the family room, but it had become invisible. I also decided to stop eating processed sugar.
And wow. I've lost a bunch of weight, and it's the easiest weight I've ever lost. (And I've lost and gained weight a lot "" of times in my life.) I just kept moving and didn't eat sugar. Once I quit eating sugar, I didn't want to eat it, which is nice. It took a few days, but then it was easy. I eat whatever else I want, including all the cheese, but getting off the couch and eliminating sugar makes it so that I just sort of eat healthy things without giving it much thought. It's not like a "diet" at all. I don't even think about it, and I just keep losing weight, slowly but surely. I found a whole new wardrobe in the back of my closet.)
I also discovered Blue Apron. A friend sent me a free week, and wow. One thing I did all summer was cook every night. For three months I made all sorts of meals for the four of us, and I really enjoyed it. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. The minute the kids left, my mind went blank. I had no idea what to cook.
So for three meals a week, someone else is thinking for me. I like that. I just follow the steps, no extra ingredients, just enough fairly healthy food for two. I sometimes miss being creative about food, about recipes and ingredients, but I'm giving my brain a break for right now.
I guess I can let myself relax for a few more days. When we get back from Vermont, there are things to do. I love this house and I'm still glad we bought it, but it needed/needs all the things. We spent the summer replacing the roof, the siding, the window, the gutters. Since we moved in we've replaced the kitchen appliances, the garage doors, the back doors, the furnace, the AC, the grill, the gas logs in the fireplace, you name it, we've had to replace it. We just spent over $2k on plumbing the other day, because the pipe going into the basement was also going through the wiring into the electric box, and was old and leaking. Good times. It's a great house, but clearly never taken care of.
We also redid the patio in the back this summer, and took out all the dead trees and bushes. We're waiting for new ones to be planted, but it hasn't rained in ages, so it's too dry right now. Replacing the broken fence is also on the horizon.
The kitchen sink and countertops are a mess, as are the bathrooms, but we've pretty much spent all the money we made when we sold the house in Pgh. The original plan was to put in a pool, but that went by the wayside by May.
This is not the time of our lives to be doing all this, but it's not like we can go back in time and not buy this house. Or not move to Columbus. But it's certainly going to delay Larry's ability to retire. At this point, he's just focused on the resale value. It's weird to feel young and be doing all these things, but in the back of your mind you know very well that your mortgage is going to outlive you. I don't like it.
Anyway, summer was full of workmen, which Sebastian loved a lot. He had a good time watching them all, and it was too bad that they moved right as the guys started redoing the patio. He loves a good backhoe.
Apparently, after not posting in so long, now I can't shut up.
Seba in Vermont
I had a crappy winter last year. November sucked for a variety of reason, December was full of Erin being extra miserable, January and February were full of daycare germs and a URI that lasted for a month, March continued to be dark, etc. I sat a lot, I went from my couch to Nationwide Arena for hockey games and then back home to my couch. It was pretty grim.
When the kids moved in at the end of April, I had no choice but to get off the couch. I had Sebastian. Nic was ostensibly not working, but he had papers and book chapters to write and research - which were all about Argentinian cinema and consisted of watching movies on his ipad, but whatever. It's what he does and it's a job. I also started running again, a little bit at a time. My treadmill is right in the family room, but it had become invisible. I also decided to stop eating processed sugar.
And wow. I've lost a bunch of weight, and it's the easiest weight I've ever lost. (And I've lost and gained weight a lot "" of times in my life.) I just kept moving and didn't eat sugar. Once I quit eating sugar, I didn't want to eat it, which is nice. It took a few days, but then it was easy. I eat whatever else I want, including all the cheese, but getting off the couch and eliminating sugar makes it so that I just sort of eat healthy things without giving it much thought. It's not like a "diet" at all. I don't even think about it, and I just keep losing weight, slowly but surely. I found a whole new wardrobe in the back of my closet.)
I also discovered Blue Apron. A friend sent me a free week, and wow. One thing I did all summer was cook every night. For three months I made all sorts of meals for the four of us, and I really enjoyed it. It's been a long time since I've been able to do that. The minute the kids left, my mind went blank. I had no idea what to cook.
So for three meals a week, someone else is thinking for me. I like that. I just follow the steps, no extra ingredients, just enough fairly healthy food for two. I sometimes miss being creative about food, about recipes and ingredients, but I'm giving my brain a break for right now.
I guess I can let myself relax for a few more days. When we get back from Vermont, there are things to do. I love this house and I'm still glad we bought it, but it needed/needs all the things. We spent the summer replacing the roof, the siding, the window, the gutters. Since we moved in we've replaced the kitchen appliances, the garage doors, the back doors, the furnace, the AC, the grill, the gas logs in the fireplace, you name it, we've had to replace it. We just spent over $2k on plumbing the other day, because the pipe going into the basement was also going through the wiring into the electric box, and was old and leaking. Good times. It's a great house, but clearly never taken care of.
We also redid the patio in the back this summer, and took out all the dead trees and bushes. We're waiting for new ones to be planted, but it hasn't rained in ages, so it's too dry right now. Replacing the broken fence is also on the horizon.
The kitchen sink and countertops are a mess, as are the bathrooms, but we've pretty much spent all the money we made when we sold the house in Pgh. The original plan was to put in a pool, but that went by the wayside by May.
This is not the time of our lives to be doing all this, but it's not like we can go back in time and not buy this house. Or not move to Columbus. But it's certainly going to delay Larry's ability to retire. At this point, he's just focused on the resale value. It's weird to feel young and be doing all these things, but in the back of your mind you know very well that your mortgage is going to outlive you. I don't like it.
Anyway, summer was full of workmen, which Sebastian loved a lot. He had a good time watching them all, and it was too bad that they moved right as the guys started redoing the patio. He loves a good backhoe.
Apparently, after not posting in so long, now I can't shut up.
Seba in Vermont