Yes I am a Diva

I have just returned from my 8 km Diva on the Run Race, the first in a series of three races that I am doing this year in the hope of finishing the last race (10 km) in 48 minutes. Here are my race stats:

Temperature: 4 degrees Celsius

Weather: Sunny, clear blue sky and stunning views across the water

Race course: Flat and fast, gravel and chip trail along the waterfront of Jericho Beach, Spanish Banks and Locarno Beach

Details: Run for women only; field of 217 Divas

Crowd support: My mum and dad, and a bouncy, excited super-cheerleader Jack

(now for the crappy part)
Finishing time: 49:36 chip time; placing 106/217 overall and 11/29 in my age group


So how does this happen? Race conditions can only be decribed as ideal; I have no injuries or physical issues at the moment; perfect pre-race breakfast of toast and honey and a banana (and perfect post-race meal of cold pizza and Coke).

Yet.

49 freaking minutes for 8 km! Sigh. I was getting SO frustrated with every step, overthinking it as I checked my watch yet again and KNOWING that I was so far behind my desired finish time of 45 minutes. I killed the last kilometer, going awesome fast, because I was so damn mad at the previous 7. But the whole race was a gigantic mental battle with my mind saying destructive things like "You can just walk. No one will know." and "Take a break. Who cares?" and "Your legs are heavy." I really needed the angel on the other shoulder saying positive things, but the only one who showed up this morning was the freaking race devil.

My dad took a couple of pictures. I'm going to go wallow in my misery and try a little harder on my next run. And if any of you want to volunteer to be my shoulder angel for the next race, I'm all for it.

I'm on the far right

I am officially a Diva.

Sexy Hoover

We got so many awesome gifts for our wedding (almost ten years ago) that we still use all the time. Half of them still feel like new, to be honest! The vacuum, on the other hand, has seen better days. That could imply that it has seen more use than some of our other gifts but sadly that is not the case. However, in its time it has probably sucked up more than a box worth of Cheerios so that has to count for something...
I picked myself up a beautiful new canister Hoover last weekend. Byebye to my upright and Hellooo Hoover, you sexy beast! After setting it up I hoovered the whole house (including the stairs which I always avoided with the upright) and I loved it! OK, not loved it so I will be vacuuming every day or anything. Ridiculous. But it is decent and POWERFUL. I was actually sore the next day from holding the thing back!
However. I have a sneaky feeling that the Hoover is alive. Everytime I turn my back on it, I'm pretty sure it moves. When I was vacuuming the dining room, I propped it up while it was still on, and went to move a chair out of the way. A split second later, Hoover nudged me in the back of the leg. I jumped and screamed a little (or a lot, I'm just saying) and tripped backwards over the thing. So it may be hazardous to my health and just a little bit possessed but this Hoover is mine all mine. But like the apron I inherited from Grandmother Hardy says: "Don't expect miracles". That is all.

Cinco de Jacko

Since I became lazy after my February posting blitz, our little Jack turned 5. Wait a moment for the shock to sink in... actually I've been waiting 11 days since his birthday and I am still shocked. FIVE! Seriously, now. It is surreal now, when someone asks how old my kids are. I say 5 and 6, and then I pass out a little because when did I get so OLD to have kids who are NO LONGER LITTLE? (And on a related note, my hair better hurry up and GROW so I can donate it before I am completely grey.)
So Jack turned five, and I am in the midst of writing his birthday letter that I will eventually post up here. But a quick word about his big day: fantabulous! We got him a fish for his birthday, fulfilling his most desperate birthday wish, and he just loved it. The fish has gone through a million names since: Fishy, Bluey, Wemily, Mike, and my favourite derivative from the boy who loves to change the first letter of names (my name is Bummy): Dike. Thankfully Dike has not stuck but Wemily might have.
His Lego party went very well with 17 little lego maniacs in attendance. Thankfully for us it was only two hours long! They had a really good time and we had a relaxing weekend afterward building a LOT of Lego.
Oh, and Happy St. Paddy's Day to all my kinfolk who share some Irish blood! Enjoy a green beer or two and look out for the leprechauns!

Another Cop-out Post

I know it's been forever since I posted (forgive me Father, and all that...) but here is a little something I stumbled across while procrastinating on my own post, that will be up in a couple of days. Here is one of those fun time-wasters: My band and the album I would produce.

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”
or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
Gone Fishin’

2 - Go to "Random quotations"
or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
Part of Daily Life

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

February in Photos Day 28

Briana and Rob brought Liam and Kieran over this weekend. The boys all had a great time playing, and one of the highlights of Saturday was a trip to Science World and the Lego exhibit that is currently there. Here are E&J staring at one of the gigantic creations.So that wraps up February in Photos! Hope you've enjoyed the ride. I'll be back to my sporadic (weekly?) posting schedule from now on!