I came across this article the other day and it struck a cord with me. It's a total crap shoot if The Pilot will be home on holidays. I almost just assume he WON'T be around on holidays and then if he is going to be around, its a bonus. Somehow we hit the jackpot this year and he was home on Thanksgiving AND will be here for Christmas.
But for those times when he isn't home, we just celebrate a little early or a little late. I would say that of all the holidays, Christmas is the only one that I have a hard time with if he's not home. Especially since I'm off work and being home alone on Christmas stinks. I think the last time that happened though I hung out with my parents. And that's probably what I will do in the future when The Pilot is off flying other families to and from their holiday gatherings. While I'm sure The Pilot would rather be home on holidays, the extra money is kind of nice. It's also nice to see that The Pilot does still have a passion for flying, despite the cons of the job like working on the holidays.
I'm curious though, how do other pilot families or families who have a member who works on the holiday handle the absence? Do you celebrate early or late? What did you do when little ones came into the picture? Does your pilot mid working holidays?
Friday, December 21, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Success!
Over a year ago I wrote a post about successes and failures. Back then I was celebrating the fact that I paid off my credit card debt. I've been credit card debt free since then also. My new goal was to pay off my car at least 18 months before the end of the loan.
Well every last extra cent (after retirement and the emergency fund savings) went towards that car. And yesterday, I made the final payment on my little blue roller skate! I was also able to pay it off 2.5 years early! It is such a relief to have that off my shoulders. It was very tempting, especially in the last 6 months to not make the extra payments. It would have been easy to take that money to finish up the remaining projects around the new house but I kept plugging away at that loan instead and I'm so glad I did.
Like I mentioned in the past last year, I contemplated not sharing this "publicly" especially since I was ashamed at the time that I had gotten myself into some debt. It's not really anyone's business but at the same time, it happens to even those who try to plan well. I knew I wasn't the only one in a similar situation. I also am aware that it could have been a lot worse. I've been lucky enough to be employed through this whole economic crapper. I also didn't want this post to come across as "look how great I'm doing, I paid off my car and I had all this extra money to do so!" I wanted to share because it was hard. It's not like we have buckets of extra money. I thought through every single purchase I made over the last year. I asked myself, do I NEED this? While I still made some questionable purchases from time to time (yes, Pilot, I NEED to put Christmas lights around our light post out front) but for the most part, I stuck to my plan.
You know, my master plan to "live the dream". My dream to retire by the time I'm 32. Oh wait....that's only 3 weeks away. Crap. Oh well.
Well every last extra cent (after retirement and the emergency fund savings) went towards that car. And yesterday, I made the final payment on my little blue roller skate! I was also able to pay it off 2.5 years early! It is such a relief to have that off my shoulders. It was very tempting, especially in the last 6 months to not make the extra payments. It would have been easy to take that money to finish up the remaining projects around the new house but I kept plugging away at that loan instead and I'm so glad I did.
Like I mentioned in the past last year, I contemplated not sharing this "publicly" especially since I was ashamed at the time that I had gotten myself into some debt. It's not really anyone's business but at the same time, it happens to even those who try to plan well. I knew I wasn't the only one in a similar situation. I also am aware that it could have been a lot worse. I've been lucky enough to be employed through this whole economic crapper. I also didn't want this post to come across as "look how great I'm doing, I paid off my car and I had all this extra money to do so!" I wanted to share because it was hard. It's not like we have buckets of extra money. I thought through every single purchase I made over the last year. I asked myself, do I NEED this? While I still made some questionable purchases from time to time (yes, Pilot, I NEED to put Christmas lights around our light post out front) but for the most part, I stuck to my plan.
You know, my master plan to "live the dream". My dream to retire by the time I'm 32. Oh wait....that's only 3 weeks away. Crap. Oh well.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
10 miler....plus .36 because I suck at math
I'm only running about a week behind on my blog posts....sigh.
On December 9 I tackled my 10 miler. During the workout I realized that I wasn't sure if I ever even said what I'm training for here on the blog. Oops. I'll be heading back to Disney World in a couple weeks for my 9th year involved with Disney's Marathon weekend. I'll be doing the 1/2 marathon this time around. It's pretty amazing to me that this Gym Class Dropout has been involved with racing that long already. How did that happen??
Anyways. I met up with my fellow Disney fans, Lisa and Mary. Those crazy girls are doing the Goofy Challenge, despite my warnings. :) While they are faster than me and typically going longer distances, we meet up together and I run a couple miles with them and then drop off. When they circle back by me, I'll run a little more and then drop off again. Rinse and repeat. It's nice to have something to look forward to. And an added bonus of running with people who are faster than me....I'm running faster. I've been doing a run/walk combo and my run "breaks" are at a faster pace than I was a year ago at this time. Unexpected but awesome!
It's doing wonders for my average pace. My 1/2 marathon PR pace (running, not race walking) is about 12:45. My average for this workout was 13:07. Considering I was doing walking in there too, I'm pretty pleased.
I felt really great through the entire workout. I never really hit a wall and could have easily kept going. That's always reassuring to know that, especially with a 13.1 mile race fast approaching.
I ended up with that little extra .36 onto my 10 miler mostly because I cannot do math mid-run. Hell, I can't do math when sitting with a pen and paper. That's another story though. I considered going onto 11 miles just to make it even but decided against it. Besides, The Pilot was home work the weekend and was waiting on me.
Last year I was on Mission: Epic PR Attempt at the Disney 1/2 marathon. This year, I'm going into it without a real plan other than to just enjoy myself and have a fun, safe race. No real time goals or anything. Of course the faster I go, the quicker I can get onto having a magical visit at Disney World but also, the faster I race, the more likely I am to be waddling around later. So maybe my goal is more along the lines of, go just fast enough to maximize the weekend getaway but not so fast that I'm sore and miserable. I'll let you know how that works out. Ah the life of a slow moving endurance athlete. I know my priorities. :)
On December 9 I tackled my 10 miler. During the workout I realized that I wasn't sure if I ever even said what I'm training for here on the blog. Oops. I'll be heading back to Disney World in a couple weeks for my 9th year involved with Disney's Marathon weekend. I'll be doing the 1/2 marathon this time around. It's pretty amazing to me that this Gym Class Dropout has been involved with racing that long already. How did that happen??
Anyways. I met up with my fellow Disney fans, Lisa and Mary. Those crazy girls are doing the Goofy Challenge, despite my warnings. :) While they are faster than me and typically going longer distances, we meet up together and I run a couple miles with them and then drop off. When they circle back by me, I'll run a little more and then drop off again. Rinse and repeat. It's nice to have something to look forward to. And an added bonus of running with people who are faster than me....I'm running faster. I've been doing a run/walk combo and my run "breaks" are at a faster pace than I was a year ago at this time. Unexpected but awesome!
It's doing wonders for my average pace. My 1/2 marathon PR pace (running, not race walking) is about 12:45. My average for this workout was 13:07. Considering I was doing walking in there too, I'm pretty pleased.
I felt really great through the entire workout. I never really hit a wall and could have easily kept going. That's always reassuring to know that, especially with a 13.1 mile race fast approaching.
I ended up with that little extra .36 onto my 10 miler mostly because I cannot do math mid-run. Hell, I can't do math when sitting with a pen and paper. That's another story though. I considered going onto 11 miles just to make it even but decided against it. Besides, The Pilot was home work the weekend and was waiting on me.
Last year I was on Mission: Epic PR Attempt at the Disney 1/2 marathon. This year, I'm going into it without a real plan other than to just enjoy myself and have a fun, safe race. No real time goals or anything. Of course the faster I go, the quicker I can get onto having a magical visit at Disney World but also, the faster I race, the more likely I am to be waddling around later. So maybe my goal is more along the lines of, go just fast enough to maximize the weekend getaway but not so fast that I'm sore and miserable. I'll let you know how that works out. Ah the life of a slow moving endurance athlete. I know my priorities. :)
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Jingle Bell Run +5
On December 1, I participated in the Jingle Bell Run 5k benefiting the Arthritis Foundation. Never underestimate the power of e-mail and social media. A former TNT teammate put together a team for the Jingle Bell run as her husband has a form of arthritis. I saw it on Facebook and got an email about it and before I knew it, I was one of 111 people on the team, "Jon's Jinglers." This is the only time it is even remotely appropriate to have anything to do with a friend's husband's jinglers. Anyways, we ended up being the largest and top fundraising non-corporate team. Pretty awesome!
I talked my co-worker into doing it with me. You remember her, the co-star of the Best Race Photo EVER.
The race was a blast! We were both doing it for fun and didn't really have any plans other than to finish. So we ran some and we walked some and laughed a lot. We entered the non-timed division so we weren't wearing timing chips. I did wear my Garmin though because the 5k was part of my warm up for my ultimate 8-mile workout.
After the race, I quickly headed home, shed a few layers (I was way overdressed...you'd think I had never raced in the winter before!) and grabbed The Pilot. I drug him around our neighborhood for about 3.5 miles. His knees don't take kindly to much running so I ditched him at the house (love you, Pilot) and headed back out on my own in order to finish up my 8 miles for the day.
It was such a fun morning and a great way to break up what could have been a pretty boring 8 miles. No land speed records but that certainly wasn't the goal. My ultimate goal for the day was to support a friend while not bailing on my intended 8 miles. Success!
I talked my co-worker into doing it with me. You remember her, the co-star of the Best Race Photo EVER.
I'm amused that it looks like she's wearing a Santa hat when in reality it was the person standing behind her.
When a former TNT teammate asks us to help her out, we show up in full force....
in Santa hats and crazy socks. LOVE these people!
After the race, I quickly headed home, shed a few layers (I was way overdressed...you'd think I had never raced in the winter before!) and grabbed The Pilot. I drug him around our neighborhood for about 3.5 miles. His knees don't take kindly to much running so I ditched him at the house (love you, Pilot) and headed back out on my own in order to finish up my 8 miles for the day.
It was such a fun morning and a great way to break up what could have been a pretty boring 8 miles. No land speed records but that certainly wasn't the goal. My ultimate goal for the day was to support a friend while not bailing on my intended 8 miles. Success!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tale of the Traveling Treadmill
Once upon a time I decided my parents needed a treadmill. I was in college at the time and suggested they buy one so they could use it to get healthier and I could also use it when I came home on the weekends (keep in mind this was before my marathon days). My sales tactic must have worked because they bought one! I think I used it a handful of times, as did my parents before it was doomed for a life of solitude in their basement.
I'm not exactly sure of the details but I'm sure it had something to do with my parents' getting sick of looking at it, gathering dust. They were about to get rid of it when my brother offered to take it. It relocated to his basement where I know both he and his wife used it occasionally. Heck, I even used it once at their house when I was training for some race and was babysitting my niece. I think I knocked out a few miles after I put her to bed for the night.
When The Pilot and I bought the new house and had a basement large enough to accommodate some workout equipment, I started thinking about where we could find a treadmill on the cheap so I could avoid paying for a gym membership for the winter months (when it's too dark for me to workout outside before or after work). I remembered the last time I was in my brother's basement, the treadmill had some kids' toys sitting on it. Ah.... Hey big brother?! How about you let me take that off your hands. Think about how much extra space you would have in yourman cave toy room basement.
And so the treadmill, all million pounds of it, made the trek back to this side of town. I think at this point it has more miles on it from riding around in the car than it does from actual use. Hopefully I can change that. Despite its age, it still seems to work. It's pretty noisy and I think the backlight on the display is burnt out because it's really hard to see the pace/distance, etc. but that's ok. I usually cover up the display with a towel anyways. If I don't, I stare at it and it's like watching paint dry. Sloooooow.
So it's been in the basement for several weeks now but up until recently, I was still getting most of my workouts in outside. But now its dark by the time I get home from work so it's time to get into a routine of hitting the dreadmill. I don't typically mind cold weather but I have a strong dislike of rain so the treadmill will also come in handy when it's just too darn wet to be outside.
That is what I realized that running/walking on a treadmill in a basement is a lot like being locked in a cell. Not that I've ever been in a cell but check out my view from the treadmill:
Wow. This is 100 times more boring than the treadmills at the gym. At least at the gym you can eavesdrop on your neighbors. To make it worse, we don't have a TV hooked up in the basement yet. There was ONE outlet in the basement (other than for the washer and dryer) and it was being used for the treadmill. And it is on the opposite wall from where we have a TV and DVD player set up. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks my dad will be able to come over and run more outlets throughout the basement to solve this problem. At least then I could watch some TV instead of staring at the sky out that tiny window or at the concrete wall.
In the meantime I'm stuck with listening to my iPod and being constantly reminded that my playlists suck in terms of motivating me to move more. I'm now soliciting song suggestions! Anything to keep me on that treadmill for 30+ minutes at a time and moving faster than a 16 minute mile. And go.....
And in unrelated but crazy cat lady news, I have started an all out war of keeping one of the cats from removing the Christmas tree skirt to build forts with. She's the devil in a furry package. And if you happen to be at my house, please don't judge us by the amount of cat fur on the tree skirt (or any surface really). I am losing this war.
I'm not exactly sure of the details but I'm sure it had something to do with my parents' getting sick of looking at it, gathering dust. They were about to get rid of it when my brother offered to take it. It relocated to his basement where I know both he and his wife used it occasionally. Heck, I even used it once at their house when I was training for some race and was babysitting my niece. I think I knocked out a few miles after I put her to bed for the night.
When The Pilot and I bought the new house and had a basement large enough to accommodate some workout equipment, I started thinking about where we could find a treadmill on the cheap so I could avoid paying for a gym membership for the winter months (when it's too dark for me to workout outside before or after work). I remembered the last time I was in my brother's basement, the treadmill had some kids' toys sitting on it. Ah.... Hey big brother?! How about you let me take that off your hands. Think about how much extra space you would have in your
And so the treadmill, all million pounds of it, made the trek back to this side of town. I think at this point it has more miles on it from riding around in the car than it does from actual use. Hopefully I can change that. Despite its age, it still seems to work. It's pretty noisy and I think the backlight on the display is burnt out because it's really hard to see the pace/distance, etc. but that's ok. I usually cover up the display with a towel anyways. If I don't, I stare at it and it's like watching paint dry. Sloooooow.
So it's been in the basement for several weeks now but up until recently, I was still getting most of my workouts in outside. But now its dark by the time I get home from work so it's time to get into a routine of hitting the dreadmill. I don't typically mind cold weather but I have a strong dislike of rain so the treadmill will also come in handy when it's just too darn wet to be outside.
That is what I realized that running/walking on a treadmill in a basement is a lot like being locked in a cell. Not that I've ever been in a cell but check out my view from the treadmill:
Remind you of a jail cell?
Wow. This is 100 times more boring than the treadmills at the gym. At least at the gym you can eavesdrop on your neighbors. To make it worse, we don't have a TV hooked up in the basement yet. There was ONE outlet in the basement (other than for the washer and dryer) and it was being used for the treadmill. And it is on the opposite wall from where we have a TV and DVD player set up. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks my dad will be able to come over and run more outlets throughout the basement to solve this problem. At least then I could watch some TV instead of staring at the sky out that tiny window or at the concrete wall.
In the meantime I'm stuck with listening to my iPod and being constantly reminded that my playlists suck in terms of motivating me to move more. I'm now soliciting song suggestions! Anything to keep me on that treadmill for 30+ minutes at a time and moving faster than a 16 minute mile. And go.....
And in unrelated but crazy cat lady news, I have started an all out war of keeping one of the cats from removing the Christmas tree skirt to build forts with. She's the devil in a furry package. And if you happen to be at my house, please don't judge us by the amount of cat fur on the tree skirt (or any surface really). I am losing this war.
Monday, November 26, 2012
I think they are trying to kill me
Why hello there blog! Sorry to have neglected you over the last few weeks...months. I keep telling myself that its a sign that I'm too busy living my life. Or something like that. But the blog is also an outlet to put it all out there. If not, I tend to over analyze life. In the middle of the night. Not cool.
My blog tagline is "random thoughts from a slow moving endurance athlete." So let's talk about that. Despite the lack of blogging, I have in fact been getting my sweat on lately. And The Pilot has been getting in on the fun. Now before your mind goes in the gutter., I'm talking about working out together. The Pilot has joined me for a couple walks/runs/shuffles and it's been fun to spend time together that doesn't involve multiple trips to the hardware store (the "adventures in moving" continue.).
We did a 4 mile walk a couple weeks ago, then last weekend he joined me for a 5 mile run/walk. We got some fresh air and saw some bison on that one! On Thanksgiving morning we headed out the front door and enjoyed 3 miles together before stuffing our faces (as much as a vegetarian can on that carnivorous holiday). We even managed to lock ourselves out of the house in the process. Let's just say that The Pilot was very thankful to live just 3 miles from his in-laws, who happen to have a copy of our house key. :)
Over the weekend I was scheduled for 7 miles which was a little bit too much for The Pilot. Plus, I wanted to try to run more and The Pilot's knees don't take to running so much. He stayed home to study (you want your pilots to know their stuff don't ya?) while I hit the trails. I was planning to stay close to home but after some Facebook stalking, I realized some buddies would be out getting in some miles. And so I invited myself to join them (It will be no surprise if they STOP posting their training plans in advance).
What started as a 7 miler turned into 8.14 miles because it was just so nice out and my body seemed to be cooperating. Here is what went down.
My friends Kim and Sam really pushed me yesterday while my so-called friends, Lisa and Mary tried to kill me. End of story.
Not really. You can see in the splits below that I was hanging with Kim and Sam for my first two miles. They are crazy fast walkers and sometimes walk the same pace I usually run. I was huffing and puffing to keep up with them but held on for nearly 2 miles. I then turned back to meet with more friends who are training for Goofy (I tried to warn them) and who were on day 2 of their long miles. They had 18 on their schedule and I decided to try to join them for at least a mile (I have to be honest. It was mostly for social reasons, not really because I wanted to try to run faster.).
Look what happened at mile 4. 10:38? You betcha I was sucking wind and seeing stars. I stayed with them for a mile when I cried uncle and dropped off. Lucky for me though, they stopped just ahead of me when they ran into Kim and Sam and I was able to catch back up. They took off again and by then my heart rate had calmed down from "you might need medical assistance" to "slightly jacked up" so I decided to try to run a little longer with them. I made it about a half of a mile before I was dying again and dropped off to walk. Then it happened again. They ran into some other purple people on the trail and had stopped to say hello (see what I mean about wanting to run for social reasons??) so I once again caught up to them. The heart rate cooperated enough to let me run with then for one final time before it was time for me to turn around (or else I would have gotten sucked into an 18 miler than than 8).
After I turned back around to finish up my workout, I went with a run .75 mi, walk .5 mi. It seemed to work and it turned out that I was able to keep my average pace pretty decent considering the crazy heart rate and stops and starts. In all, it was a great workout and I'm glad I made the trek to turn it into a social workout rather than heading out on my own. I know for a fact that I couldn't have fun a 10:38 mile if I was by myself. I'm not even sure that I would have wanted to....running is for crazy people. ;)
My blog tagline is "random thoughts from a slow moving endurance athlete." So let's talk about that. Despite the lack of blogging, I have in fact been getting my sweat on lately. And The Pilot has been getting in on the fun. Now before your mind goes in the gutter., I'm talking about working out together. The Pilot has joined me for a couple walks/runs/shuffles and it's been fun to spend time together that doesn't involve multiple trips to the hardware store (the "adventures in moving" continue.).
We did a 4 mile walk a couple weeks ago, then last weekend he joined me for a 5 mile run/walk. We got some fresh air and saw some bison on that one! On Thanksgiving morning we headed out the front door and enjoyed 3 miles together before stuffing our faces (as much as a vegetarian can on that carnivorous holiday). We even managed to lock ourselves out of the house in the process. Let's just say that The Pilot was very thankful to live just 3 miles from his in-laws, who happen to have a copy of our house key. :)
Over the weekend I was scheduled for 7 miles which was a little bit too much for The Pilot. Plus, I wanted to try to run more and The Pilot's knees don't take to running so much. He stayed home to study (you want your pilots to know their stuff don't ya?) while I hit the trails. I was planning to stay close to home but after some Facebook stalking, I realized some buddies would be out getting in some miles. And so I invited myself to join them (It will be no surprise if they STOP posting their training plans in advance).
What started as a 7 miler turned into 8.14 miles because it was just so nice out and my body seemed to be cooperating. Here is what went down.
My friends Kim and Sam really pushed me yesterday while my so-called friends, Lisa and Mary tried to kill me. End of story.
Not really. You can see in the splits below that I was hanging with Kim and Sam for my first two miles. They are crazy fast walkers and sometimes walk the same pace I usually run. I was huffing and puffing to keep up with them but held on for nearly 2 miles. I then turned back to meet with more friends who are training for Goofy (I tried to warn them) and who were on day 2 of their long miles. They had 18 on their schedule and I decided to try to join them for at least a mile (I have to be honest. It was mostly for social reasons, not really because I wanted to try to run faster.).
Look what happened at mile 4. 10:38? You betcha I was sucking wind and seeing stars. I stayed with them for a mile when I cried uncle and dropped off. Lucky for me though, they stopped just ahead of me when they ran into Kim and Sam and I was able to catch back up. They took off again and by then my heart rate had calmed down from "you might need medical assistance" to "slightly jacked up" so I decided to try to run a little longer with them. I made it about a half of a mile before I was dying again and dropped off to walk. Then it happened again. They ran into some other purple people on the trail and had stopped to say hello (see what I mean about wanting to run for social reasons??) so I once again caught up to them. The heart rate cooperated enough to let me run with then for one final time before it was time for me to turn around (or else I would have gotten sucked into an 18 miler than than 8).
After I turned back around to finish up my workout, I went with a run .75 mi, walk .5 mi. It seemed to work and it turned out that I was able to keep my average pace pretty decent considering the crazy heart rate and stops and starts. In all, it was a great workout and I'm glad I made the trek to turn it into a social workout rather than heading out on my own. I know for a fact that I couldn't have fun a 10:38 mile if I was by myself. I'm not even sure that I would have wanted to....running is for crazy people. ;)
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Time Suck
I know I'm pretty late to the bandwagon but I finally got on Pinterest. And it has proven to be an even greater time suck than Facebook. I could probably lose HOURS of my life looking at random things. I even have myself convinced I NEED a sewing machine for Christmas (are you reading this PILOT??).
After two failed Pinterest recipes, I finally had a success. Ironically, the success wasn't an edible recipe. I made floor cleaner!
The new house has dark wood laminate floors on the first floor. They show every single cat hair, leaf and speck of dust as well as every spot and streak from the Swiffer Wet Jet. I found a DIY "miracle" cleaner on Pinterest that seemed to work wonders specifically on wood laminate. I figured it was worth a shot.
I also purchased the Rubbermaid Reveal which is like the Wet Jet but with a reusable pad and a bottle to use your own cleaner.
It was easy and I only ended up needed to purchase the essential oils since we had everything else. Here is the slightly modified recipe I used (I eliminated the orange essential oil):
And so the Pinterest addiction continues.
After two failed Pinterest recipes, I finally had a success. Ironically, the success wasn't an edible recipe. I made floor cleaner!
The new house has dark wood laminate floors on the first floor. They show every single cat hair, leaf and speck of dust as well as every spot and streak from the Swiffer Wet Jet. I found a DIY "miracle" cleaner on Pinterest that seemed to work wonders specifically on wood laminate. I figured it was worth a shot.
I also purchased the Rubbermaid Reveal which is like the Wet Jet but with a reusable pad and a bottle to use your own cleaner.
It was easy and I only ended up needed to purchase the essential oils since we had everything else. Here is the slightly modified recipe I used (I eliminated the orange essential oil):
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 cup alcohol
- 2-3 drops dish soap (I used Seventh Generations dish soap)
- 5 drops lavender essential oil
- 3 drops peppermint essential oil
And so the Pinterest addiction continues.
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