McG 5 Alive

September Half-marathon

2009-09-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

You must all think I fell off the edge of the planet, but I am still here and I'm still running. I joined the Running Room half-marathon clinic and have been training like a maniac since June. I've been running 5 times a week: 3 of them with the group and 2 on my own. I did 7 weeks of hill repeat training, culminating in a 9 hill repeat run (appr. 10 km in total) that damn near killed me on the last hill. But I felt great the next day. The half-marathon is September 27th and I am ready ready ready. Oh...I have one minor setback. I have a head cold from H.E.Double Hockey Sticks. (Hell). I'm misreable and conventional cold medication is making me feel worse instead of better. So I went to a naturopath today and got some "Deep Immunity" tincture. I have to kick this cold to curb and FAST. The tincture is based on Asparugula...or something equally giggle worthy.

Wish me a speedy recovery for a speedy race.

Finally, reporting the half-marathon

2009-05-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

I ran the much anticipated half-marathon on May 10th. Sorry I didn't report on it sooner, but I think I needed some perspective first. It didn't go too bad. I had some fun with some great friends and about 80% of the run was enjoyable.

However...

I didn't do as good as I had hoped.

The weather totally wasn't on my side. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

I got up at 6 am and ate my good, healthy breakfast. I snuck out of the house while Bill and the kids were sleeping. Great thing to do on Mother's day. He he. I met up with Amer, Karen, and Sandy at Officer's Square. We had a great warm-up. At 8 am, off we went. We ran two laps around Queen Street/Ste Anne's Point drive. That was the first 5 km. Karen and Sandy shot ahead. Amer and I were keeping a pretty good pace so we stuck together.

Then we crossed over to the green, ran across the train bridge, and then out the Marysville trail. At the 7 km mark, I hit a teeny tiny wall. The problem was that I was running with Amer, and his pace is faster than mine...so I started way too fast. When I told him I needed to pace myself, he said nonsense...you'll push through it. So for 2 km, I tried to keep up with a 26-year-old man/boy, and it wasn't helping. I told him to go ahead. At first he didn't want to leave, because he is a gentleman and didn't want to leave me behind. That is very considerate, but his fast pace was hurting my lungs. So at the 9 km mark, I ordered him to go and so he went. So then I had a really enjoyable run from the 9 km mark to the 18 km mark. It was sublime. I found a great pace bunny. A man about my age or older who passed me, and then I'd pass him, and so on....we chuckled about it.

At the18 km mark, all hell broke loose. See, it had been drizzing for most of the run. I love drizzle. Keeps the temperature down. You don't get hot and sweaty. Love it. At 18 km, it started to pour buckets and buckets of rain. Sometimes, it rained sideways. I never stopped, I slugged through the rain soaked completely to the core. The train bridge was the worst. It was like running through a very thick (.5 km) wall of rain. It was even hard to see. I never wanted to quit. I was too close to the finish for that. But I knew I was going to suffer for it.

When I rounded the bend, Sage and Corena were waiting at the finish line. Bill and Jackson had to leave because of the rain. Amer was waiting for me with just 200 yards left to go. He yelled at me to sprint...and I sprinted. He was a great support. By the way, Amer has lost 100 pounds in the last year, and the half-marathon was his way of celebrating him. He did amazing.

I crossed the finish line, got my finisher's medal. Hugged Sage and Corena and then kept motoring. I had to keep moving so I wouldn't plummet my heart rate. Amer tried to hand me a hypothermia blanket, but I just walked away to do a round of officer's square. By the time I came back, I forgot all about the blanket. Still soaked to the core, and now cooling off rapidly, my fingers went completely numb.

I got a post-race leg massage. I had to sign a release form, but my fingers wouldn't wrap around the pen, so Corena filled it out for me. While I had my massage, Sage laid on the ground under my face and talked to me. It was cute.

While driving home with Sage, I started to shake. I mean shake. Not just a little shudder. I was shaking from the very core of my being and I was cold beyond belief. Sage called Bill at home and asked him to get some blankets and hot chocolate ready. I got home, pealed off the wet clothes, and climbed under the blankets. It took nearly two hours for the shaking to completely stop. When I got the feeling in my fingers back, I reached for my laptop and wikipedia'd "hypothermia". I'm pretty sure I had stage one Hypothermia. Bill and the kids took great care of me. They took turns snuggling with me to warm me up. Jackson thought it was funny, because I was shaking so much, he was shaking too.

My time was 2 hours 26 minutes, which is exactly the time I ran my last half-marathon in 2003. I had expected to do much better (at least 2:15, so I was disappointed.) Amer did 2:09, Karen did 2:07, and Sandy came in under 2 hours. No pics of Sandy or Karen, because Sandy was a hypothermic too, so they went home immediately. Now, all of us work together, so we were a funny sight to see on Monday in the office. We were all walking very slowly and with a LOT of pain.

After a week of post-race recovery, I registered for the St John Marathon, which is in September. Even if it rains, it surely can't be that cold. I also registered for a Running Room half-marathon 16-week training clinic. It starts on June 1st. Last week, I ran a 5 km run for Brain Tumor research, with Corena, in 32 minutes. I have a race this Sunday coming. I'm going to try to do it in 30 minutes. I also went back to my weight-training class. My lesson learned is that I need more strength training, in order to get a longer stride. Hey, what can I say? I'm a work in progress. :-)

Taper week :-(

2009-05-03T14:19:00.000-07:00

Taper week sucks. It's so hard to down-shift after such a gruelling weekly load of mileage, blood, sweat, and tears. I went for a 10 km today (my usual long run day) and it nearly broke my heart to turn around at the 5km mark. I could have gone for another 5 km before I'd long for home and big glass of chocolate milk. Anyhoo, I came home. As I was stretching on the front deck, Sage was putting Parker (our dog) out on the back deck. She slammed her finger in the patio doors. I heard her screaming. I ran inside and Bill already had her in the bathroom. She was in rough shape. Her finger is mangled. It broke the skin. She'll lose her fingernail. From the last knuckle down, her finger is a mangled mess. It took over an hour for the worst of the hurt to go away. She is feeling much better now. But what a crazy time!

One more week!

2009-04-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I seriously don't post enough on this blog. The problem is that I keep forgetting my passwords. This has to be forgiveable because I have about a dozen passwords I have to maintain in my head, mostly for work. Ug.

One week, three days until the Half Marathon and hell ya, I'm ready. I did my last training long run with my friend, Amer, last Sunday. We ran 18.5 KM along the Marysville Trail. It was very pretty along the river. Amer recently lost 100 pounds over a year period. He is very proud of himself and he's a great runner. Faster than me, I'm sad to say, so I usually slow him down. Though today, I ran 9 km with Amer and JS and tried to keep up with them and found it wasn't too hard. Men are just naturally faster than women. We did an average 6 min per KM pace, though that includes a small walk at the turnaround. Without the walk, we would have been 5.3 min per KM, I'm sure.

My iliacus is sore. No, that's nothing obscene. It's one of my hip flexor muscles. I just stretch it out with some yoga. Three weeks ago, I donated blood. Big MISTAKE. It made me really sick with low iron and high blood pressure. I thought I was going to die, so I went to the hospital and then got me on an ECG machine fast! My BP was 160 over 105. No worries about long term effect. Today, I am 117 over 77. Healthy as a horse, except my aching iliacus.

So I have three, maybe four, short and easy runs left before the big day. Saturday, Tuesday, Wedsnday, and Friday I'll go no longer than 5 km and probably run at half-M pace. Just to keep it light. There are plenty of people from my office registered for the race. Karen, Sandy, Amer, and I are doing the half. Some guys put together a team for the Marathon Relay (each team member does 7 km relay segments for a total of 42 km), and a few registered for the 5 and 10 Km. My workplace is full of active people. I LOVE it.

I might not get the chance to post again until after the race. I will post my results and pictures for you to see. :-)

Knees and Toes

2009-03-31T16:52:00.001-07:00

Not long to go now! May 10 is zooming up fast. I'm up to 16 Km on my Sunday run. So far, I've had very few muscle or joint problems, aside from my pedestrian accident in my driveway. That injury is gone, but the lingering after effect is that I can't fully pull my right foot up to my ass. This is a very important running stretch. So I do it slow and careful, and pull it as far as it feels comfortable. It doesn't hurt any other time, so it's all good.

I typed much more than this, and then it disappeared. I have no time to write it again. :-) All is going well. My pace is improving. My endurance rocks. I feel great. Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty. That be all ye need to know. (Yeats)

Lincoln 5 KM

2009-03-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

It was a great day for a run! Our team, Hot S-Tough, came in third place in the all-girl team category. It was my first time standing on a podium! Thank heavens for Pam, because without her time of 26 minutes, we wouldn't have placed. I did 31 minutes (with a bad knee!! :-)) and Dianne did 32 minutes, which was her personal best. My personal best is 29 minutes, which occured about 6 years ago, I think! The course was VERY hilly. The field was big for a winter race. I think there were over 100 people. There were only 9 teams though. Sage ran too. She placed third place overall in the 800 metre event. Her friend Sophie placed fourth. Here are a handful of race photos. Enjoy!!

Good news, bad news, good news, bad news

2009-03-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Good news: Lincoln 5 KM road race is this weekend.
Bad news: I tore my PCL ligament on Tuesday, when I fell in my driveway.
Good news: It feels much better, may be able to run with a knee brace and Advil.
Bad news: I can get through the 5 KM, but I may have to avoid next week's long run.
Good news: My long run is up to 13 km.
Bad news: My dog has been diagnosed with food allergies (not related to training, but the vet bill and the special food costs have totally bummed my day)
Good news: My speed (before the injury) has improved greatly.
Good news: It's Friday.
Good news: Spring is coming and I might see my driveway and lawn soon. It may take another month of melting, but I KNOW Spring must come soon.

Ouch, My Toe

2009-03-01T11:40:00.000-08:00

So, I have been steadily building up my running base and today, went for my first over 10 km run. I did 12 km, adding that to the 8 km I did yesterday and the short runs I took on my lunch hours, I've clocked 25 km in one week. And I did a Yogo-Pilates class on top of that! So...um....yow-cha. I hurt. My upper abs hurts. My glutes hurt. My right big toe hurts. I have a yucky looking blister on it. I put Vitamin E and a band-aid on it. I remember now that when I trained for a half-m back in 2003, my toes bled near the end of my training. Its a sock issue, so I'm going out to buy some Nike socks this week. They are the best in my humble opinion (IMHO). I also have a headache because I didn't drink enough water. Typically I don't hydrate at 10 km or less, mostly because I hate carrying a water bottle. I have a MEC water system, but I hate the feeling of water slooshing around in a bottle on my back. I'll have to suck it up though.

I've been doing about 15 - 20 km a week for the last month, appr. My legs are slimming down, my abs have re-appeared. My muffin top disappeared. And my booty back in shape again. First time since Jackson was born! So the weight-loss side effect of training is very very welcome.

Now, I just have to keep my week-day routine (hills and speed) and starting two weeks from now, I'll add a kilometre onto each Sunday's run. And invest in some bandaids and Advil.

Life is good.

Training Update

2009-01-28T07:59:00.000-08:00

Until last week, I was able to get some good outdoor mileage, but then the barometer fell to geezly cold temps. I've moved indoors to my gym to run on the treadmill on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I'm hoping to keep my Sunday long run outdoors. In fact, I'm going to run with a group from the Running Room at 8:30 Sunday mornings. Brrrrr.

This Sunday, I'm running the Frosty Five for the Canadian Cancer Society. I'm on my lunch break now, and debating whether I should see if there are any sales at Sport Chek. I can't find my neck warmer! I think one of the kids used it to play dress up with.

My friend Karen joined a half-marathon training group. She tells me what she learned, and then I apply it. One thing she said she learned was how to enforce your posture. She said to swing your arms like they are on train tracks. That will keep my shoulder's square and keep me from leaning forward. I tried it at the gym yesterday. Unfortunatly, my train tracking put my fingers in direct line with the treadmill's panic button. So, at 12-minute-mile pace on a 3.8 incline, I hit the panic button which shut the machine completely down. I jumped my legs off the mill and onto the side platforms, so I didn't go flying backward like in the cartoons. My heart was pounding hard though!!!

January, starting to ramp up

2009-01-08T06:47:00.000-08:00

My husband bought me some good running gear and accessories for my training effort. I got a new pair of 'go fasters", an iPod Nano, a Nike+iPod training system, and an Under Armour shirt. I already have a great MEC winter running suit, so I'm good for the winter now!

I started increasing my distance last sunday by going 11.5 km, while keeping my other runs the same (about 4 -6 km). I'll keep my Sunday runs at approx. 10 km until mid-Febuary and then start adding mileage. Race day is May 10th!! I did a half-marathon in 2:20, so my goal is 2:10 this year. Since its been so long (2003), I'll just be happy doing it and won't worry too much about my time.

Oh, and I lost the weight I gained and then some. I'm back to my pre-Jackson weight, which certainly helps with my speed. Less weight to carry on my 'go fasters". lol

Progress....nat

2008-11-26T12:31:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in awhile. Its been a busy fall. I went to Boston on business. That was nice. Took Jackson to school today for a kindergarden orientation. He did really well, but he had a hard time sitting still. He was like a Mexican jumping bean. Even so, he paid attention and did all the tasks he was asked to do.

Now remember, this blog is all about my training so...

The training isn't going too bad. I have good winter running gear. Just bought a new MEC physique jacket. I need a new pair of winter runners and I've had no luck at at the local stores. So I found a pair I like on Amazon. They are Asics and I wear Asics normal runners, so I'm confident the fit will be right. I sent the link to Bill and said "buy me these for Christmas". ha ha. I'm also going to get a pair of yak traks; they attach to your boots or sneakers to create traction, much like chains on your tires. I've been out running in the snow twice (we just got snow this week) and I was slipping a little. I had to take shorter steps to compensate. Sage has good sneakers and she was bounding ahead of me. That might have something to do with the fact that she's 9 and full of crazy energy, while I'm 39 and pushing myself. ha ha.

The no-aspartame/no cola diet is still sticking. I feel great, but a strange thing happened. I gained weight! I don't get it. I exercise every day, which is more than most people. I cut out nasty colas and sweeteners, and I GAIN. At any rate, I figure my body will right itself if I keep a consistent lifestyle. I just hope it does so, before the the staff Christmas parties!! Maybe my weight is just 'wigging out' without all the chemicals to suppress my appetite and artificially accelerate my metabolism.

So New Year's Eve...that's the night I will go online and register for the half-marathon. I did the same for the last half-marathon I ran. Its a great way to start the new year!

2008-11-05T18:21:00.000-08:00

41 days aspartame free and I feel healthier than ever. I cut down to one coffee (milk only) a day. I drink lots of water, and 3 white teas a day.

I was doing well on a regular running schedule. I had to move indoors to the gym treadmills, because its dark so darn early. When we move to our new office, where we will have our own in-office bathrooms, I'll start running outside on our lunch hour. I ordered my new MEC jacket a couple of days ago. Can't wait until it comes in.

I have a few days of work imposed exercise rest. I have two weeks of work to cram into one, because I'm going to Boston on training next week. I'll try to make up some workout time on the weekend. I hope the hotel has a nice gym, otherwise it will be yoga or pilates in my room.

Oooh, get this. My Boston friends are taking care on me in my off-training hours. Pat is taking me to the factory outlet mall shopping on Tuesday night (Girls Night Out = GNO). Then Pat, Chris, and Mike are taking me out to a Thai restaurant and then we are going to see Pam Mayne's (another mutual friend's/excoworker) play at a community theatre. She directed the play and her husband directed it. I'm really looking forward to it!

Top Ten Reasons to Run a Half-Marathon

2008-10-27T19:14:00.000-07:00

10. God gave me two legs so I should use them.
9. I did it before, I can do it again.
8. Only 1 percent of the population has ever run a half-marathon.
7. Its only 2 hours and 15 of my life.
6. Everyone was born a natural-born athlete, we just grew up, got lazy, and lost our way. Its time to return to it and celebrate it.
5. My last half-marathon was 6 years ago. I lost my bragging rights and need to get them back.
4. My kids can't run with me. Its the only "me" time I have.
3. Running is the best weight management and therapy tool there is.
2. I turn 40 this year; can't think of a better way to kick off the second half of my life.
1. Because I can. I absolutely can.

Conditioning at its best!

2008-10-19T08:54:00.001-07:00

I went on a team-building adventure with my co-workers yesterday. We went to TreeGo and spent three hours on a tree-line obstacle course. Holy cow!! Talk about physical conditioning. Today, my triceps, upper abs, and lats are sore. My legs aren't as sore, which means I was working it wrong. I should have used my legs more and my arms less. Same rule applies to rock climbing. It was my first of many trips to TreeGo, so I'm sure I'll get better!! Here are a couple choice pics and videos.

2008-10-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know this is completely unrelated to my theme, but look at them!!!

I have a Theme!

2008-10-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Lainey B - otherwise known to me as Elaine, suggested that I come up with a theme for my blog. I thought that was a great idea. I thought about it for a few days, and came up with no good idea. My life seems too scattered. I'm 5% this and 5% that, totalling up to 115%. I do enjoy writing about the kids...somewhat. And I know some of you enjoy reading about the kids...somewhat. I can't make my blog all about the kids. My whole life seems, at times, to be about the kids. Why should I let them take over my blog topics too. So I will try to keep everything non-kid-related, but the occasional mention of a report card, dance recital, tooth extraction, or skinned knee may slip in. Forgive me. Always a mom.

Aside from blogging, what other activity of mine is interesting enough to blog. Gardening, heck no. I only plant shrubs and bulbs that can take care of themselves. Scrapbooking, heck no. I tried it and found I don't have the attention span. I just slather everything up with glue, paste on some pictures, scribble some silly drivol, and hope that I did better than a fifth grader.

So each night, while I am out running and daydreaming of running in another half-marathon, I think and think and think about my blog theme. Whenever I'm in Sportchek, repeatedly checking to see if they finally got in my new favorite trail runners, I wonder what I should pick for a blog theme. When I'm soaking in a bath of epsom salts with sore gams, I search my brain for a blog theme......

A light bulb.....

Training for the Fredericton Half Marathon!

Perfect.

Stay posted...

Life unscripted

2008-10-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Turkey Day weekend coming up! Traditionally, I don't cook Turkey, since I don't eat Turkey. I usually roast a chicken. This year, I'm going to stop being so selfish and actually cook a turkey. I still have to find my elusive turkey. I have been trying to buy only local produce, so my plan was to buy a turkey at the market on Saturday. My friend, Christie, recalls that you have to reserve your market turkey. This might be getting far too complicated. I might call Pete's Meats tomorrow and see what the 'skinny' is on Turkey.

Its been a buy week, but things are winding down. The Run for the Cure was last weekend. It was first time working behind the scenes instead of participating on a team. It was fun!! I only had two regrets. One was that I wasn't running. I love running. :-) To compensate, I went ran the night before the event....and the night after....and the night after... yeah, I'm a bit crazy. My other regret was that I wasn't in Halifax. It was more nostalgia than regret. I really enjoyed spending the day with my new friends and old friends on the RFTC committee. I got to sit down and enjoy a hamburger with Karen. I saw Kathy Chisholme, with Imogen and Tess. I saw Bridgitte! I hugged lots of people! I had my two favorite girls with me: Sage and Mercedes. They were phenomenol. Mercedes and another volunteer decorated the Memory Tent and then worked as cheerers on the run course. Sage did sundry duties, including holding the finish line tape. It was a long day, arriving at the run site at 8:00 am and not getting home until 6 pm. Also, surviving on two coffees, one hamburger, and four of Beth's mother's pink chocolate ribbons. I was hungry!!!

After the run was done, my life immediately started to settle down. It was the busiest fall of my life!!

Sage almost started Judo this week, but we arrived late and in Martial Arts, that's a little frowned apon. Don't want to disrespect the Sensai. In future weeks, I promise not to make her late, which should be easy. The Judo lesson is at the school, so she just stays after school. She'll need the lessons to fend off the boys soon.

We have a great weekend planned with Mom and Dad coming to visit. It's also our weekend with Mercedes. Her other set of grandparents (lucky kid has four sets of grandparents) are visiting Fredericton too, so she'll divide her time between both houses. We have special plans for all the ladies of the house on Saturday afternoon.

Well, its 10:42 and I still have about 2 hours of overtime to put in...but not until after a bubble bath. :-)

Happy Week-iversary

2008-10-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

As of 10:21 this morning, it's been exactly one week since I quit Aspartame. The worst part is over. I feel mostly great. I didn't get all the aweful withdrawal symptoms I read about. My legs did feel heavy for a few days and I did have a headache. I get terrible cravings at 10 am and 3 pm everyday. I counter the 1o am craving with Coffee and the 3 pm craving with orange juice.

On a side note, I did a hill run tonight. I haven't run a hill (a real hill) for over a year...maybe. It was easy peasy. However, I noticed my hip muscle was sore on the way back. Its still aching. I took a bath in Epsom salts and took 5 children's Advil. Still hurts.

I forgot to mention that my little gymnast has packed in her gym career and became a dancer. I guess 9 hours of training a week was a little bit much for a 9 year old. She's done gymnastics for 3 years, so I thought the transition would be difficult. But no! Its so easy. Finally, Sage has a life and we love it. No more driving to and fro Kingswood 3 times a week, no more A535 rub, no more expensive fees, no more aches and pains. No more stress of 'not being perfect'. Gymnastics is a very demanding sport. It hurt to see the girls standing on the balance beam, tears streaming down their faces, being forced to back walkover after backover. Anyway, on to a much healthier activity. Sage is taking Lyrical Jazz, Tap, and normal jazz. Its only 3 hours a week and it's so much easier on her and on the family. Turns out she is a natural. The teachers have been buzzing about Sage since she started. Of course, she has all the strength, flexibility, and discipline from gymnastics and for that I'm thankful to the gym and her old coaches. With less hours training, she's been doing normal kid things like riding her bike with her friends, taking an afterschool sketching class at the school, and the cross-country running team. She's is home for supper (and no spending suppertime on a balance beam doing tricks) and she's sleeping better at night. All good things. Also Mercedes is in the same dance school, but in a different group of course. Both girls are excited to share a hobby for the first time!! Mercedes has danced since she was five. She is 15 now. She is taking Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop. You know what they say, a family that dances together stays together! :-)

Next time I post, I'll write about Jackson and all his boy wonder. He's growing like a weed, going to be tall like his dad. He's the comic of the family. More next post.

Day 5 without Coke Zero

2008-09-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Coke Zero was my emotional crutch. My dear friend in a time of need. It calmed me down and set me straight when my busy life got me tied up in a bunch.

Today....I'm having just one of those type of days. Without Coke Zero, I only have my nails to bite and my hair to pull.

To start, the robot who is supposed to make my life easier is bugging the crap out of me. Its our Roombo, a vacuum cleaner robot. Twice, it followed me into the bathroom, with complete disregard for my privacy. Then, it decided it was lonely and took Sage's Dance-dance-revolution pad for a stroll through the house. Holding its hand...i mean power chord, the two bumbed around the living room until I caught them and separated them.

God, I crave a coke zero.

I did some work on the Run for the Cure memory tent today, but had to stop when I couldn't find my new scalloped-edged scissors. I looked and I looked and I looked. I even quoted my dad "Those scissors didn't just get up and walk away!".

God, I crave a coke zero.

I got pulled over by a cop at 10:30 this morning for speeding. My first time ever!!!! He was nice through. He said "where are going in such a hurry this morning?" I said meekly "home". He said "Does this happen to you often?". I said "This is a first. An absolute first.". I sat in my car, he sat in his, checking out my license and registration. I silently prayed that Bill didn't incur any unpaid parking tickets while driving my car. My report must have came back clean, because he let me off with a warning.

God, I crave a coke zero.

So, I have a poster half made, a crazed robot roaming the house looking for his lost-date, and a tarnished police record.

I really crave a coke zero, but I'm going to make it though.

Sweet Poison

2008-09-25T12:23:00.001-07:00

I know I'm late getting the message through my head, but Aspartame is sweet poison. Just google it and holy crap....

All my health ailments that my doctor couldn't solve, are actually symptoms of my Aspartame addiction. Hell, ya. I'm addicted. I drink no less than two and sometimes as much as five coke zeros a day. Rather, I DID. Yesterday, I quit.

I'm tired of having dizzy spells, fainting, losing balance, being moody, etc. Dr. R. told me that I have a perpetual inner ear infection. He ordered up blood tests, which showed nothing. I know I'm addicted, because when I want a coke zero, I have to have it. Ask Bill what its like when I want coke zero!!! Even Sage knows what I'm like when I get the craving.

So now that the withdrawal has set in, I'm bound and determined to stick it through. I had a whole honeydew melon today, two apples, a plum, a michelina meal, and drank about 10 glasses of water to try to get through the day. I've had a wicked headache and I'm very fidgety. I look like a wiley junkie.

I'll keep you posted about my progress. By the way, Aspartame is sweet poison. I advise you cut it out of your diet too.

Doctor What's-his-name Rules!

2008-09-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

What a night! We knew Jackson was having an Asthma episode. It started on Friday. We have all the right meds to manage it at home. So we thought. Last night, he went to bed wheezing and although he slept, it was very restless sleep. His breath was shallow and he was purring and mewing like a kitten. It was a strange sound to describe. I asked him later if you had any dreams last night and he told me he dreampt that bees kept stinging him in the back. Bill slept (or non-slept rather) with Jackson until 6 am, then I took over. I listened to him breathe for about 15 minutes and then yelled for Bill to start packing a bag. His puffer obviously wasn't doing its job.

It was 7 am by the time we got to the hospital. Jackson is very accustomed to the routine so he's very compliant with the nurses. When we were being registered, he saw a black EMT. He said, "why is that man that color?" I said he was black. Jackson said out loud, "he's not black, Mommy, you got the color wrong, he's BR-OW-N." The man heard and gave Jackson a big smile. Then when we went into the waiting room, there were two black boys about Sage's age. They were twins. Jackson said "Mom, there's two brown boys." I love the curiousity of a child....so innocent. We waited for a little more than an hour. Not a bad wait at all. Then we got a great ER room. It wasn't a bad morning at all. Jackson is so good in these situations. One of our neighbors was in the ER with her mother, who was brought in from her nursing home in the middle of night. So we got to visit a little.

The doctor who attended Jackson was outstanding!!! He walked in the room singing "I'm going to Jackson, going to mess around, I'm going to Jackson, look out Jacksontown." Well, he won us over right there. He had us at Johnny Cash. Bill sings that song all the time around the house. Even Sage knows most of the words "We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout."

The doctor pretended to get all his body parts mixed up. He examined Jackson's toes instead of his ears, etc. Then when Jackson showed him where ears really are located, the doctor pretended to look for birds in Jackson's ears. He made little twitter sounds in his ears after he looked. Jackson was as enamored of the doctor as he is of Perley the Magician. The doctor prescribed the normal dosing of pedia-pred (aka speed for kids) and sent us on our way. He yelled after Jackson as we were leaving "Whenever I'm sick, I put bologne in my shoe. Try it, Jackson." Jackson giggled about the doctor all the way home.

I napped for about two hours when we got home. Two hours is definitely not enough, but Bill had to go to work for the afternoon. Jackson's friend Hunter was in to play for a little bit and now all is quiet. Jackson is watching a movie and I'm blogging. Sage is out playing. Its peaceful.

Oh...and you know why his meds weren't working. His preventative puffer was empty and his rescue inhaler was over a year past the expiration date. So now we have fresh puffers! Hopefully, we will do a better job of Asthma management.

2008-09-18T15:23:00.001-07:00

Sage arrived home safely, carrying a coffee cup. Taylor was also holding a coffee cup. I didn't have to say a word. Sage said quicky, "Its hot chocolate." Taylor said "Mine's cappuccino"

Cappuccino

Enough said.

Night of Firsts

2008-09-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

It's a night of firsts:

First time I saw a man riding a giant unicycle on the trail. I'm not kidding!
First time I let Sage go to the store with her friends without parental supervision. I wish I was kidding!

While I was out having a rather crappy jog, Sage called me on my cell phone. My cell phone was tightly esconced in the secret pocket of running bra at the middle of my back. I had to contort myself to reach it. By the time, I got it, she hung up. I stupidly put the phone back in the secret pocket.....And...then she called again. After listening to her sound off all the reasons why I should let her go to the store with her 11-year-old friends (she's only 9 ), I finally gave in. I told her this is a TEST. Was this against my better judgement? Well, I'll be able to tell in about 15 minutes.

But I don't think I made a mistake. My parents let me go to the Lawton's Drug Store on the Bedford Highway in Halifax when I was much younger than Sage. Heck, my grandmother even sent me to buy her "smokes". So I went to the store all by myself with $1.75 and the flap from grandmothers Peter Jackson's. Nothing bad ever happened to me. At least none that I can remember.

Oh, earlier I said I had a 'crappy' run. Just so you don't think I'm a curmudgeon, I'll explain. Parker, my black lab, is my regular running partner. Tonight, he was more 'regular' than ever. I had to stop to let him poo a few times. Thank goodness for the doggy doo doo bag dispenser on the trail. Needless to say, my average speed was much lower than normal. It was 7.8 km per hour....typically I'm 10km per hour. I walk at 6.5. Oh well, there's always tomorrow. I'll just leave poopy Parker at home.

Plugging my nose and diving in

2008-09-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

After following Krista Ds blog during her trip to China, I decided its time for me to give blogging a whirl. I'm not sure if I have enough going in my life to make my blog posts as interesting as Krista D, but...I am a writer, so I can embellish.

So to start a little about me and mine. My husband and I own an apple orchard in the high mountains, with a stable full of horses, and dazzling views out our country house....ooops, I'm embellishing. Now, we are suburbanites eaking out our existance by working our brains into mush. Bill is part owner, co-CEO of OrangeSprocket Communications. www.orangesprocket.com. I am a technical writer at Q1, network security company. We have three kids. Technically, "we" have two kids together as in two kids that share both our DNA. Bill has a daughter, who was two when I met her. Instant family! Kaboom! That was 13 years ago. I haven't been outside the house since (except to work my brain into mush in the office.) We also have a three-year-old black lab. Are we busy? Hell, yah. Are we happy? Mostly, yah. We get so caught up in school, gymnastics, dance, soccer, daycare, household duties, volunteer duties, work duties, that we often don't get to take a deep breath for sometime weeks on end. But when we do, we enjoy it. We have a great family and a great life.

Oh, my husband just told me that he's gotten our son (the youngest) into country music. Arrrghhh. Sigh. I give up. I'll have to dose Jackson with some Metallica to get his music priorities straightened out.