C25K Week 1 - Success

One week down. I survived. It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Maybe that's because I ran really, really slowly. Whatever works, right?

Apparently one of the local wild turkeys has also taken up running - on Wednesday, a turkey popped out onto the path far in front of me and ran on the path ahead of me for several minutes. Maybe it felt like it had to keep up with the turkey that took up deck climbing last April:

Or maybe it was the same one, trying something new.

Nick decided to walk with me while I ran yesterday (I'd run ahead during the running intervals and walk with him and the baby during the walking intervals). Unfortunately I got distracted by getting the baby ready for the walk and forgot to put on a bra. I won't forget again.

C25K Day 1 - Success

I did it. I ran a series of 60-second intervals, interspersed with 90-second walking intervals. For 20 minutes. Yay!

The 60 seconds of running was about my limit. And my running pace may have been slower than my fastest walking pace. But that's all right. I ran of my own volition, and that's what matters.

I started out going along the "swamp path," but the air was smokey when I got to the swamp - either someone was burning brush or there was a forest fire. So I turned around. I didn't want to breathe smoke or be trapped in a fire. [See, sometimes I have common sense!]

Insanity

I've never liked running. I disliked it even when I was little. I was always the slowest runner in the group. My little league softball coach once decided to demonstrate how one should turn and run to catch a ball rather than backpedal because running forward is faster than running backward. Unfortunately, he chose the slowest runner on the team to run forward (me) and the fastest runner to run backward for the demonstration. I think that I won the race, but just barely. In my eyes, I've only ever seen running as something one should do when being chased. Those who run for "fun" are insane. [Walking is another thing entirely. I love taking walks.]

I've decided to start the Couch to 5K program. That's right, I'm choosing to run, yet no one is chasing me. Why? I like hiking, but I can barely make it up a hill. I can walk for miles, but I can't breathe if I go up an incline or if I break into a run. Since I can't go hiking several times a week, I figured that the best way to build my endurance is to start running.

I decided this sometime in the winter, figuring that April would be a good time to start, since we would probably start hiking on the weekends in late May. And April would be warmer, so I'd be less inclined to skip a run because of the cold.


The Plan: Run the C25K program every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If I don't successfully complete the running intervals, I'll repeat that day for the next run.

The Goal: Build endurance for hiking

Wish me luck.

Half

You are half a year old today, little one. Showing how precocious you are, you started crawling at five months and pulling yourself up to standing at five months, one week. You've perfected navigating 90-degree turns that switch between furniture when furniture walking, though you've only taken a couple of steps laterally.

We've been in a rough patch regarding sleeping, but we're slowly working our way through now. We've discovered that you like sleeping with Buxey, Daddy's favorite childhood stuffed dog.

Right now you are growling at the books on your bookshelf. Growling and giggling seem to be your primary forms of communication. I love the personality that you are developing.

Speaking of the bookshelf, you can now reach the top shelf and you are steady enough on your feet to pull down some of the books. Such chaos you cause! We don't mind, though, because you like playing with the books and you are starting to show interest when we read to you.

Happy half birthday, little one.

Shelves

One of the things I love about the new furniture arrangement is that Annika has easy access to her toy/bookshelf now. She digs through the toys on the bottom two shelves to pull out her favorites. I was hoping that the books would be safe for awhile longer, but they are in a bit of danger. So far she's only been able to pull a few books down, but it won't be long before she figures out how to pull them all down. I may need to find another location for the non-board books so that they aren't destroyed, but having the books so accessible means that I'm more likely to pull them out over the course of the day to read to her, rather than waiting until bedtime.

Second to a water bottle

I was feeling a bit reluctant to leave for school this afternoon. Annika had just woken up from a nap, and even though we squeezed in some cuddling before I had to leave, it wasn't enough for me. My backpack was at my feet, and as I was putting my jacket on, Annika came crawling over. "Don't feel too bad," Nick said. "She's going for the water bottle." Sure enough, her attention was on the water bottle in the outside pocket. It was the first thing she headed for when I got home this evening, too. At least she wanted to cuddle with me after she played with the water bottle.

Tired

There are many things I could be doing tonight, but I'm too tired. Mindless reading it is.

With intent

We're at the age now where I wonder which actions of Annika's are governed by intent, and which is merely happenstance. Did she intend to pull her hat out of the pile of winter clothes, or did it simply fall to the ground while she was playing with the pile of fabric, attracting her attention? She certainly pursues the cat with intent, and when she was upset this morning, she crawled directly to me, curving around Daddy to get to Mommy.

Looking for more space

Nick and I spent the entire afternoon and part of the evening rearranging furniture in the office and living room. The only thing that didn't get moved was the futon in the office. Nick and I are now completely exhausted. There are a few more things to be done/put away, but they can wait until tomorrow.

An hour (or so) on a Saturday morning

Nick does the dishes for half of the week (4/7ths, actually), and I do the dishes the other half of the week. Nick only washes dishes once a day, so last night's dinner dishes were still in the sink.

Nick's at the laundromat this morning, so although it's in the middle of his dish cycle, I decided to do the dishes as a thanks for doing the laundry (he always does the laundry). Especially since he's going to help rearrange a whole bunch of furniture tomorrow.

Into the kitchen I went. I put away the dishes that had been drying in the drainer while Annika played on the floor, stopping now and then to distract the baby from the cat's food dishes, the shelf with the baby cups on it, and to block off the litter box. By the time the dishes were put away, Annika was showing signs of being tired. We sat down in the office, nursed (briefly - she wasn't especially interested), and I put her in the swing. I did a few things on the computer, hoping that she'd fall asleep, but it didn't happen. Off to the kitchen we went again.

Shortly before 10, I decided to turn on NPR. I've gotten out of the habit of listening to the Saturday morning shows - it just doesn't occur to me to turn on the radio instead of Pandora. Morning Edition was currently playing, so I checked the local NPR schedule to see if Car Talk was on at 10 or 11 (11, so I listened to the rest of Morning Edition while getting things done). Annika was curious - who's talking in the living room, Mom? I guess I don't listen to non-music much when Annika is around.

Annika played with the Roomba while I worked on dishes. She turned it on and got it spinning in circles. I rescued the poor thing (the vacuum - Annika was having a great time) and docked it again. The next time she turned it on, she actually hit the proper cleaning button, and the robot took off for the bedroom, hoping to escape the crazy baby. I quickly picked up the baby toys littering the floor in three different rooms and let the vacuum do it's thing. And went back to dishes. The baby crawled off to the living room.

I checked on her a few minutes later; she had pulled DVDs off of their shelf. I blocked the shelf with a couch cushion and left the baby in the living room. After washing a few more dishes, I checked on Annika again, just in time to see her topple over and start crying. A quick cuddle and she came back to the kitchen with me, then took off into the bedroom to find the Roomba. I checked on her after washing another dish or two - she was having a grand time watching the Roomba, particularly when it ran into her.

The Roomba decided to make a break for the office, and Annika chased after it. A couple of dishes later, I heard some unhappy noises. The robot won't play with me, Mom - it keeps going under the futon. Back to the kitchen I go.

I realized that the empty state of the cat's food dish meant that Nick didn't feed her before heading out with the laundry, so I washed the cat's food bowl, whistled for the cat, and fed her breakfast. Annika came into the kitchen as well and headed directly for the cat. I scooped up the baby, stuck her into the bouncer so that I could finish wiping the stove down and the cat could eat in peace, then headed into the living room to listen to Car Talk while nursing the baby to sleep. [Listen to Car Talk? Check. Nurse baby to sleep? Check. Baby stays asleep? Try again.]