Category Archives: Family

15 May 2012

Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium

By Nicki

I am a sucker for a zoo so I didn’t bat an eyelash – marathon on Sunday or not – when my daughters planned a trip to the zoo on the Friday of my time in Pittsburgh. The five of us – my youngest, my two daughters, my one daughter’s girlfriend and I – heading out fairly early as Susan had to work later in the day. I should have made the call that a zoo would be busy that close to the end of school but didn’t. We managed to work our way into line around several school groups. Below is a photo synopsis of the day. It was very warm and the animals were feeling it, even before noon.

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9 May 2012

Pittsburgh Marathon – The Last 13.1

By Nicki

The second half of the Pittsburgh Marathon saw me with the 5:30 pace group. This time would still be a PR for me so I was okay with being here. I spent some of the time chatting with a pregnant woman who was talking about roller derby. I overheard her talking about teams from Central NY being in town the night before and, since I am basically from Central NY, I had to ask. She was all excited when I told her where I was actually from as she was a founding member of the Ithaca Suffrajets (I am sure I am spelling that wrong). It was nice to hear something about home as I was running in Pittsburgh. The area here has more in common with PGH than Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Pacer Marcela was running a five minute run and one minute walk. I kept up with them for a bit, though not sure how many miles.

Some time during mile 16 mile (about 15.5 from the course map of where aid stations were) my toes started to bother me again. I passed one aid station. At the aid station near Point Breeze, I took a tongue depressor and sat on the curb. My feet were an issue and I wanted to make sure I was not blistering. The tongue depressor – this is ingenious and the first time ever I have seen it – had Vaseline on it. I took time to apply to both my feet and hoped this would help. Of course, this meant I lost touch with the 5:30 pace group but I was feeling better.

Unfortunately, I learned a big lesson. I should have gone under the aid tent. The curb was slightly shaded but the shade is not the reason for the tent. After being down so low, my legs started cramping in about another mile. At one point, I was telling someone that my legs were cramping bad – they would cramp off and on from mile 17 until the finish – and the woman gave me a salt packet to have. She also passed on that she would wait to take it with water – which I had with me so no need to wait. I took what I could of the salt but could not eat the entire packet. Downed each little bit with water. It dawned on me at this point that my stomach had been bothering me at mile 15 and I had failed to take my Clif Shot (would have been number 3). This failure may have loomed big in the reasons for my time goal failure. I only ended up taking two Clif Shots and should have had more – at least four.

Homewood was wonderful! The line dancers performed beautifully. The church that came out – fantastic! This particular area is the one my daughter questioned the most and I noticed it seemed a bit more rundown – like the Pittsburgh of my time at WVU – but it was not a bad area – at least not in the daylight of a Marathon Sunday. I actually am not sure if I could pick a favorite neighborhood. I loved them all. I felt most comfortable in the Strip District and the South Side area as I had been there before. I also liked downtown but that is because that was the finish.

The biggest surprise was seeing my kids in Bloomfield. I had, somewhere around mile 18, I think, called my daughter to tell her not to look for me. The cramping in my legs – both hamstrings and calves – got to me and I looked to stop at an aid station and not go on. I had heard at least one, if not more, person doing just this – or worse, not making it to an aid station and the police having to radio to get you help. I wanted to end this on my terms. Thankfully, she didn’t pick up and I knew they would be waiting for me somewhere so I kept going.

I walked with my kids – at least the girls – for a bit in mile 23. I knew that there was only a 5K left to do but I was getting bitchy. Both Elise and Suz offered to run it with me. Neither was dressed for the heat so I told them no. Would I have finished in under 6 hours if they had? Who knows! Certainly not me. I really left all I had out on the course so I do not know if cutting five minutes of my time would have been possible.

Somewhere just before I saw the kids, the fluid stations starting having ice. From that point on, if just a cup of ice was offered, I took it. I was way too hot and needed to cool down somehow. One aid station had disposable gloves filled with ice. I took one and tucked it in the racer back of my shirt. This kept me cooler for about a mile. I had not seen a glove on the ground in a while when I finally dropped mine. Ice in the Gatorade and water also made it much easier to consume fluids. I am not a huge sports drink fan so to drink it warm, or even hot, is hard to do.

In mile 25, there was a duo playing. This part of the course is a part we had already run in mile 1 or 2. This duo had been playing when we ran by this spot at the beginning. They were still playing. This motivated me as other spots bands were packing up as the runners were fewer and coming sporadically. As a back of the pack runner, I appreciated these two guys staying out there.

As we were in downtown again, I started looking for my kids. I didn’t know where they would be – a ways from the finish line or at the line. I saw the girls on Smithfield Street. Elise again offered to run the last half mile or so with me. I knew I could do it from here so convinced her not to worry. There was a guy – not anyone I have ever seen before with a finisher’s medal around his neck – along here also. He grabbed my hand, reminded me that only 1% of the population cross the finish line and I could do it. He gave me a little push and sent me off.

I rounded the last corner to see Michael. We were going to try to meet before the race. There was a small hope that we would run with each other for a mile or so. We never found each other at the start. I remember yelling to him that I thought Pittsburgh hated me. Next I saw Danny and Maggie, Suz’s girlfriend. He was manning the camera.

Holy heck! I crossed the finish line!! Finally!!!!

8 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Family, Fitness, Just my Thoughts

8 May 2012

Pittsburgh Marathon – First 13.1

By Nicki

The race itself is recapped in this post and the next as I am wordy. All race photos were taken by my kids (either my daughter or my son). Most were taken in Bloomfield , between miles 22 and 23.

Being in the last corral – or even in the corral in front of me, we all were around the corner from the start line. We couldn’t hear the gun but knew the start was near when the volunteers started moving the corral gates. A loud round of applause went up when the corral gates were moved. Approximately 20 minutes later, we all crossed the start line. This is a new record for me. I have never taken that long to reach a start line. My previous longest was at the 2010 Boilermaker 15K when it took me 8 minutes to cross the start line. I feared the crowded field would make it impossible to see potholes or manhole covers. I didn’t want to twist something right at the start.

Music started almost immediately. In the first two miles bands went from rock to Celtic, from groups to duos to individuals. Amazing music and never did the sounds overlap.

Cheer groups started in the Strip District. This area should have been where I saw my kids first. I had traveled with my 17 year old son and 25 year old daughter; my 23 year old daughter and her girlfriend live in Pittsburgh. We had just been to the Strip on Saturday to get vegetables for Cinco de Mayo. I love this area!!! I could shop at some of these places all the time. I have run through the Strip District when I was in Pittsburgh in September for my daughter’s college graduation. I tried to stay in the middle of a still crowded field as I didn’t want to miss the kids if they were on a side of the street I was not. I didn’t think I heard of saw them but would not find out I was right until the end when Suz told me they all went back to sleep.

After the Strip District, we crossed the first of five bridges – the 16th Street bridge. My plan was to take a Clif Shot every four and a half miles. Near the end of this bridge, I downed my first one. The first five miles came to an end shortly after and I was a little faster than I wanted to be. I had hoped to run this distance in an hour. I looked at my Garmin and it said 56:17. While that seems close, those almost four minutes would haunt me in the end. I also noticed that while the pace group which was in sight – the field was still crowded – was not stopping to walk a bit after each mile. I am not sure why not but that was okay also. Walking was done through the fluid stations. I was drinking a sip or two at each station and used my own water after my Clif Shot. I had not planned to walk the first five miles but the plan was to start for 20 seconds at the end of each mile and through fluid stops, starting after five miles.

 

Miles 6-10 sort of blur together for me. I remember I would get near Pacer Marie and then a fluid stop would come up and I would lose contact with her. I thought I was way behind her as we went past the Liberty Bridge (we had already crossed four of the five bridges in the race – three in the first five miles and one, West End and over the Ohio River, just before the end of mile seven) but I just could not see her. We are about the same height but seeing the hat and balloons made me realize I was still in touch with the group.

Around 5.25 (a guess as I may have looked at my Garmin but it is all mush in my brain now), the first group of kids waiting for high fives came along. Being a mother, I went out of my way to get to those kids so anyone with a hand out got a high five. I would continue this process with few exceptions along the entire route.

About mile 8, I had to take off my right shoe due to my toes bothering me. This has happened almost every run during this training – both before and after I got my Pure Connects so I do not think it is shoe-related – and is relieved by a quick massage of the toe area. It would plague me again later in the race but that quick massage did the trick here.

My Garmin seemed to be about two-tenths of a mile ahead of the mile markers on the course. Just after mile 10 went past on my Garmin, I had to stop for a bathroom break. Yes, there was a line at the bank of six porta-potties but not nearly the line that there had been at earlier ones. I was fourth or fifth in a line which grew while I was in it. One poor woman came up the line asking if she could cut the line as she had just gotten her period. I didn’t care one way or the other. This is where I truly lost Pacer Marie. I never saw her again until I saw her at the finish line in passing.

My time through mile 10 was 1:57 so I was ahead of my plan of hitting here at two hours. I should have realized then that I had probably started too fast. I definitely slowed down as mile 11 included the bathroom stop and it was about three minutes slower than the previously slowest mile of the race.
I ran the next couple of miles with whoever was going the pace I needed to run. None were outstanding. The 5:30 pace group came up around the halfway mark. I spoke to Marcela and jumped in with them. This was near the Pitt campus. Being a West Virginia Mountaineer, my memories of Pitt are all football games and frat parties. The Backyard Brawls while I was in Morgantown were phenomenal! This particular day I was just happy for tall buildings as that meant shade. Living outside “town,” I forget that it is always warmer in town and cities – real cities like Pittsburgh – have little or no shade. Tall buildings provided shade in more than one area of the course.

Half the race has gone past. I am about 15 minutes off my half PR from April 1 (on a half course that is at least as hilly as this marathon course). Worse is that the time on the clock at the half point is set to gun time. Gun time is 20 minutes more than my Garmin is telling me. I know that part of the reason I was so slow at the end of Wineglass back in October is that I ran the first half so quickly. This first half is not quicker than my half PR – which is what I did at Wineglass – so I am still hoping to finish with a PR in this race but there are 13.1 miles left to go.

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23 April 2012

Ch-Ch-Changes

By Nicki

Change floats in the air like the pollen this time of year. The spring musical just wrapped up at our local high school – my youngest’s last high school Drama Club production. I am excited for him to start a new part of his life. I am excited to start a new part of my life. Yet, the tears flowed at both the cast party on Saturday night and as that curtain closed – truthfully, during the final musical number – on “Grease” yesterday.

Number six will have a shortened summer. How short, we are not totally sure yet. That will be determined this week. If he wins a state competition he is headed to, he will lose the first five days of his summer, leaving for a national competition the day after graduation. As it is, his summer will be approximately a month shorter than his classmates as he starts college July 31st.

As a father of another senior said yesterday, the tears are not for the boy-man leaving home. The tears are for the child who has been gone for a long time. The tears are for the child that no longer enjoys playing on a playground but prefers the car keys. The tears are for the friendships that will end for that child as high school ends.

The tears flow not because of grief or doubt. The tears flow because of joy and anticipation. Joy that high school is coming to a close but has prepared the child for college, for life. Joy that new friendships are on the horizon in a new place. Anticipation of new learning. Anticipation of new growth. Anticipation of new friendships.

Tears will continue to flow as prom comes and goes, as graduations come and go. Tears will mark a new part of life just as they marked a new birth years before.

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12 April 2012

Becoming a Vegetarian

By Nicki

If you are what you eat, exactly what are you? I have to admit that my self-image – if I am what I eat – has had some times when it would be a rather bleak picture. Back in January, basically at the start of my training for my May 6th marathon, my 25 year old daughter wondered if I would give up meat, along with her, for Lent. She was figuring this would make it easier on her to be sure she wasn’t just eating side dishes for 40 days.

I had been a vegetarian in the late 70’s while a college freshman and sophomore. I knew this would be a challenge for both her and myself as I would still need to feed a growing teenage boy who had no intentions of giving up meat. I decided I was up for both the menu planning and the cooking challenge.

There were a few bumps along the road. My youngest – that growing 17 year old teen – is a culinary student at our local BOCES. We had constant heated discussions about quinoa. I would tell him it is a complete protein. He would counter with I was serving him a side dish for dinner. This would happen at least once a week.

I started out the Lenten season thinking I would do theme nights on my menu planning. Soup one night early in the week would leave leftovers for lunch for the remainder of the week. My daughter vetoed this idea by saying she doesn’t like soup that much. She took to finding recipes and making a weekly plan. I would then add meat for the two meat-eaters in the house and buy groceries.

Funny thing is I made a 9 pound ham for Easter dinner. Daughter and I did not eat it. I know, way too much ham for just two people. I did manage to freeze two meals worth of ham, a ham bone for fall soup making and still have leftover ham in the fridge for the boys to use for sandwiches this week. Daughter and I have not had meat since February 22.

Keep an eye out for what I believe some of the benefits to our new-found vegetarianism are.

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3 April 2012

Quarterly Review

By Nicki

April has arrived! I am looking back over all the things I wanted to write about this year at the beginning of the year and realizing I didn’t get many of these writing “projects” done. Now, with a quarter of 2012 behind me, I am going to take a look at how I am moving on my goals for the year. Some of you may call these goals resolutions. If you do, no time like the present to give a look see and find out if you are keeping up with your own expectations.

My goal of running a race a month, with the exception of January, went down the tubes quickly. I did not run a race in February. I picked one out and set about to register. Once I got the time and the money in concert – having both together makes online registration so much easier, doesn’t it? – the inaugural Lake Effect Half had filled its registration. I have to say I am okay with that as the weather that day lived true to the name. Lake effect snow filled the air and the path of the runners. Maybe in 2013. I have made up for that lack of February race by running two in March and have registered for two in May so that will put me on my way to a my total annual goal of 15.

I am eating healthily. Currently, I am down 8 of those 25 I want to take off by my son’s wedding in August. If I get to the remaining 17, great! If not by August, hopefully by December as failure is not a favorite of mine.

I am still working on my decluttering, or getting lighter, in my home. I keep thinking this will happen on its own but we all know that thought process is just wrong. I will have to start concentrating more on this. I am thinking I will make a weekly list on Sundays of what I want to accomplish by the following Saturday. This may make it more reasonable.

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16 February 2012

A Year Ago

By Nicki

One year! Just last year at this exact time, I spent the day trying to fit all the “stuff” into the car. My two youngest sons – then 16 and 20 – were heading with me for my initial marathon. Part of the attraction to come with mom lay in the location of that first marathon. I ran the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon last year in February. My then 16 year old rode a 100K bike ride the day after the marathon.

Into the car went his bike. This item had to be in the car as the weather was questionable up north here. Consequently, to keep the bike in good shape, we took the wheels off and put them in the trunk. The bike frame itself rode in the back seat with my son.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To make things just a bit more interesting – as we all know what happens when we make plans, my youngest is in a vocational education program for culinary arts. He, just as he is today, had a skill competition that would see him arriving back at BOCES approximately 7 pm. We could not leave for South Carolina until he returned. I did consider leaving from the competition site but that would have been a longer drive.

So, at 7 pm two days before my first marathon, my sons and I set off for the drive to Myrtle Beach. Thankfully, the 20 year old could split the driving with me. We literally drove through the night, taking turns with driving duties and sleeping in the car – probably not the best idea for the night before the night before the marathon. Oh well!

I am missing the thought of heading south right now. Good luck to all of you running in Myrtle Beach on Saturday!

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14 February 2012

Ten Things I Love About Running

By Nicki

Back in December I did a “Why I Run” piece for Another Mother Runner. Now here I am with a top ten list of what I love about running. This one comes from those wonderful runners at #runchat

10. I love that running gets me outside, even in the winter.

I use to be an outdoors person. I would hike and camp. I loved being in the Adirondacks or any area to hike. Then, I had children. Being in the back yard with a plastic kiddie pool is just not the same as finding a lake to swim. Now, though, winter or summer, spring or fall I am outside because of running.

9. I love running because it makes everyone equal.

Okay… I admit I am not the fastest person around and do not finish at the top of even my age group. Running, though, puts me in a group of people who are all trying to better their own personal times. I do not need to compete against that 20 year old who runs a 4 minute mile when racing a 5K. I can run my 5K and just try to be me.

8. I love running because of the example it lets me set.

I truly believe that parents do more than teach children morals and values. Parents teach children by what they do, in addition to what words may come out of their mouths. By running, and showing that health and activity are important to me, I set an example for my children.

7. I love that running helps me maintain my weight.

If you have followed my blog for long, you know I am on a journey to a healthy lifestyle. Running has become a huge part of that journey. Along with making me eat more healthily, running helps with my weight control. (You may want to check out Healthy Lifestyle Journey Part I and Part II.)

6. I love that running lets me listen to music.

When you are a mom to six kids – even once the kids are adults, the music being played is frequently not what I would pick. I do, occasionally, put my foot down in the car with my “I’m the driver so I get to choose the music.” When I load up my mp3 player with running music, the music is all me. A recent four miler found me, in mid-February, listening to Christmas tunes still. That would not have been a good thing as far as the kids are concerned. A sampling of the artists included Amy Grant, Avenge Sevenfold, Brad Paisley, Martina McBride, Deni Bonet, and The Kinks to name a few.

5. I love that running allows me to help others.

While not a long time runner, I have helped several people to start running. I have run “first races” with many friends. I love being able to help others and running allows me another way to do so.

4. I love the camaraderie of running.

Before I considered myself a runner, before I ever ran my first race, I wrote about the camaraderie of running. To this day, the helpfulness of others – whether on a group run or in a race – still makes me keep coming back to running.

3. I love the sweat of running.

I admit it. I am a sweater. I know that some say women don’t sweat, they glisten. I have news for those people. I sweat! No two ways about it. I love to get out in 75F with high humidity and sweat or in 32F and sweat. It does not matter to me how far I have run as long as I have gotten sweaty.

2. I love the health aspect of running.

As I have told many people, I am not running to something. I am running away from the heredity my parents have tried to give me. Running has helped me keep many health issues that I am sure I would have inherited by now at bay. I will keep running and hopefully, keep those things not in my life.

1. I love the people I have met running.

Probably more than anything else, I love people. I am not one to go to a lot of parties. I do not like hanging out at bars. I do like to go to sporting events but don’t meet many people at those. I have, though, met a ton of people through running. Some of these people are “virtual” friends but I have also met a lot of local and not so local people who are also runners.

1 comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Family, Fitness, Just my Thoughts

18 January 2012

Weather and Health

By Nicki

Winter weather has finally hit the area I live in. By last year, the school was running out of snow days and the number of two hour delays that had occurred were plentiful. Districts in my area were wondering what they were going to do with February, which is routinely a worse month than January.

This year is just the opposite. We seem to be getting the cold weather – the highs at my home yesterday did not reach double digits, putting a real squash on my running outside – but not the precipitation. And even the temperatures seem to be on a ping pong table, bouncing between below average and above average. We have seldom had two or three days of average temperatures in a row.

Unfortunately, the weather is taking its toll on my household. My youngest is still finishing his senior year of high school. For some obscure reason, his bedroom seems to be the coldest in the house. This is extremely odd as my bedroom is larger and is an addition to the house and built on a concrete slab. He thinks he is getting an ear infection. He got one last winter when we had an extremely cold – below zero overnights – snap. I have done everything I can to help him prevent this infection, if indeed he has one. I have reminded him to put a hat on when he goes outside. I have suggested he sleep upstairs in his brother’s bed as this particular brother is at college. I have suggested various clothing, as alternatives to what he chooses to wear. I have also suggested certain foods – mostly those that the average high school student would prefer to not eat.

What do you do when you feel a child is getting ill? Do you immediately call a medical professional or do you attempt to use some holistic methods to prevent or “cure” illness?

 

6 comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Family, Just my Thoughts

10 January 2012

Single Parent Christmas

By Nicki

Do you ever wonder what single parents do on holidays? I know my experience is not typical. I spent the first ten to twelve years my ex and I were separated having him to dinner and my house Christmas morning. We waited, all but stockings, for him to come over so he was with the six kids for the big part of Christmas as far as kids are concerned. He would also, on occasion, come to Mass with us on Christmas Eve. Usually, this was because one or more of the kids would be singing, doing liturgical dance or serving on the altar. He would not come if this was at midnight but one of the earlier masses.

The past three years the kids – the youngest is now 17 – have gone to his, or his girlfriend’s, home on the evening of Christmas. This is a bit more difficult as we always have a large dinner at some point in the afternoon. Now, to accommodate the kids going to their dad’s, I try to arrange for dinner to begin before 2 pm. I have succeeded for three years.

The first year, the kids left and I did also. I went to the movies. My younger sister frequently goes to the movies on Christmas Day so I figured this was a good move. Well, may have been a good move but was not a good movie. I look for escapism in a movie. I do not want a movie that might well be too closely patterned after actual life. I did not get what I was looking for in the movie.

The second year, the kids left and took me to a friend’s home. Joan and Brian tend to have a lot of extended family over after dinner on Christmas evening. They do a Yankee swap and I had been invited to bring some cookies or other dessert item and come along. I had a great time but it was a logistical nightmare as the kids had to drop me off and then come get me after they were done at their dad’s. We did not have enough cars to go around that year and I, while having a good time, felt compelled to leave when my children arrived.

This year I did what I love to do when I have the house to myself. I turned the television off. I turned the Christmas tree and some Christmas music on and picked up a good book. I could very well have gone to the friend’s home again. I had some vague plans of doing so but decided I needed some quiet time to myself. I enjoyed reading. Kids were here and there after being at their father’s. One came home and left again. Others came home and played video games. One stayed at her dad’s. One was dog sitting. It was a great evening all around.

Single parents – whether moms or dads – have to learn to put any petty jealousies of the other parent aside for the sake of the children. Either pretend to be friends for one day or find a group you can hang with while the kids are with their other parent.

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