Friday, November 27, 2009

Post Thanksgiving Blahs


I'm just going to admit it: I'm not much of a holiday girl. I used to be, evident by a storage room in my basement overflowing with Christmas decorations, but that was another life-time ago.

I go through most of the motions, for my kiddos, but they are starting to get too old to really care if I stress for days dragging 28 boxes of holiday decorations out of the basement or burning 15 kinds of Christmas cookies, which I yell at them for eating anyway because they're too fattening (well, maybe they do like the baking, even if the edges are black). Why do I do it? Just because it's what's expected of society? You burn cookies, you over-eat, you stress over what gifts to buy (or what you can afford), you remove half your house to accommodate 28 boxes of decorations, you end up putting up a tree all by yourself because no one wants to hang more than 3 ornaments, you enjoy it for a few days, then spend 2 full days taking it all down and getting house back to normal. Just the thought of it all makes me stress! I don't know, I'm sure it's just me, but I think I'd rather spend the time doing something fun with my kids rather than trying to be like Martha. Or half of Martha. Even just a fraction of Martha (thank God I haven't taken any illegal Martha stock trading tips).

My 14-year old boys (twins!) are skiers. Not just casual, recreational skiers, but really, REALLY GOOD skiers. Their dad takes them a lot and I get to hear updates and reports - which "bowl" they skied; how steep it was; how many falls, or not, they had; how fast they fly....and each time, I hear the excitement about the day in their voices. I don't ski anymore. That, too, was another life ago. But it's their passion. Like my running. Well, maybe not to the level of "obsessed" like my running, but truly, they love it and get so excited this time of year as the mountains are now showing-off their pearly whites. The boys are biting at the bit to get up there and do their thang!

Here's my skiing whine and why I don't participate: 1) I HATE to be cold. I'm fine with the skiing part as I can keep moving and keep warm but riding up that lift is excruciatingly cold - I shiver the entire time. And once my toes are cold, like 15 minutes into it, then everyone around me gets to hear about it and well....enough said. 2) I have very large calf muscles. From guess what??? Wearing ski boots are agonizing on my calves and I don't love the sport enough [because how cold it is] to go out and spend $900 on customized ski boots. But I do love my kids.

So here I am, two days after Turkey day, finished with all my reflecting on what I'm grateful for, and now entering the marathon taper stress of questioning every....single....thing; the holiday madness stress; and just more life stress. Oh boy, oh boy! So I decided I am going to only pull out 4 boxes of decorations this season so that I can bank the other 24 box time to spend one day with my boys skiing. I may not SKI for long with them but I want to "see" not just "hear" their joy! It's brought a big smile to my face today as the idea popped into my head. I may not always have the brainiest of ideas, but I think this is a good one. And I don't even think I'll begin the 4 box festivities until after I get back from Tucson.

In running news: I took Thursday off from running, day after my 22-er. I couldn't believe how un-sore I was - how very un-normal like of me. It felt good to not walk around with sore quad muscles all day. And to top that, I didn't have a cramp in the calf muscle, which has also been the norm for many months. Yeah to that! Friday: On my schedule was 5 miles at a pretty quick pace. Since I just did this exact run on Tuesday, I opted instead to do 5 miles of hill repeats. Trainer man is on vacation so I couldn't ask his opinion (and frankly, it's time to stop being so needy... and well, okay, I won't get into the "well okay" stuff) and since uphills are my nemesis, I opted for this route. I take my clients on hill repeats all the time and know its one of the best workouts. I do them, just not enough. There is an almost 1/2 mile hill near my house so up and down 5 times I went. Felt good. Felt strong. Yeah to that, also! Saturday (that would be right now): I didn't sleep well last night, at all, and then got up with twin 2 at 5:30 as he set out to go mountain climbing today with his buddy in crime. The two of them are big into mt. climbing - not that that is a bad thing, but it gets out of hand sometimes, which I won't get into now either as this blog is long enough already. After he left, I went back to bed for awhile, sans sleep of course, and am now sitting here debating whether to go out for about 8 easy or bag the run and go to gym for core work and a swim and do 8 at race pace tomorrow. My legs are a little stiff from the hills yesterday so I think plan B is best. This will also force me to do some stretching, which I repeatedly vow to do daily yet rarely do.

And here's my ADD moment story (mostly for kindred ADDer Californian, Meg): I took college daughter shopping last night, avoiding pre-dawn fear-for-your-life madness because, afterall, I had coupons and could use them just as easily in the evening as I could at 3AM. Guess what I forgot sitting at home on kitchen counter??
And I was going to add some real pics of mine but I can't find the cable to download them.... hum...

Happy Miles to all!!

14 comments:

Beth said...

You sound just like with me with holiday decorations. This year I failed to pull out any Easter, 4th of July, or Thanksgiving decorations that I have stored away. I'll try to put up about half of the Christmas stuff I have. Thanks for stopping by my blog! I loved yours and will keep visiting.

Unknown said...

Same with me on the decorations, it's all me getting them dragged out and setup, except my 6 year old is non-stop trying to get everything out and put on the tree.

I haven't quite got this taper thing down yet, I'm wanting to go go go.

Unknown said...

OMG, you kill me!! LOL at this post. Yep, have done the coupon thing more than once :)!

lifestudent said...

ok, I really am not a fan of the holidays either. I think I stress all the small stuff, but to the point that the whole season becomes unbearable. Or else, I stress so much that the expectation of the holiday itself become so huge that its impossible to be met, and I end up disappointed. ARRH. Holidays. Are they almost over yet?

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh Jill, I'm stalking you now lol.. No seriously, I saw your blog site in your profile and decided to check it out. I've also checked out Gary's Margerine site. I'm with you on the decorating.. got my tree up yesterday (3 hours) and finished up decorating today. I do it for the kiddos too, but man it's a time cruncher. I didn't run today, but already had a good week in, so back to it tomorrow. My real name is Lisa Miller, aka Running Chick 6560. I'm on Facebook under the name Lisa Miller, but like I said, I never go on there, and really only use it to keep in touch with my brother and sister in Kentucky, and nieces and nephews. I got bored with it real quick when I would post my running achievements and got no comments LOL... I know where I need to be... See ya in the Loop! :)

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I'm right there with you in the Christmas-y keeping up with everyone-ish. I like to buy someone something because I just heard of a need or saw something I know they'd love not because the calendar said I was to buy for them. Grrr. With little kiddos, I still do the whole big deal and they still love it so I love that they enjoy it but - okay a few cookies aside - I really dont like the commercialness of the holidays.

Of course you said the same thing only WAY funnier!!

You got some great runs in. Awesome not being sore from your 22miler.

Suzy said...

Too bad you left the coupons at home. I've done the same too many times to count.

How neat you are from IA. ADP and I were in Ames for a few years. Where were you?

Anonymous said...

At the Smith-Shepherd household, we came up with the fabulous idea of leaving up our indoor Christmas lights year-round. So when the season rolls around, we just plug them in. Done! Of course we have no kids and we both hate Christmas, so ...But the lights are also fun to watch spin around when we're roaring drunk, so they actually serve a useful function.

And I LOVE black-edged cookies. What's the fun in a perfect cookie? Give me one with personality anyday! You seem like a really, really great mom. Never give up on the cookies. It's what moms do.

And Yes, I've signed you up for our bungee-connected rim-to-rim-to-rim run. As long as nobody revives that whole bathroom issue thing again ...

Katie said...

LOL! I only have two boxes of decorations, and yet I consider myself quite the holiday girl! I hate having a lot stuff though, so we haven't accumulated many decorations. (Isn't that why running is so awesome? You don't need lots of stuff to do it! Soooo simple.)

Sounds like you're all set for your marathon!

juanitagf said...

Never tried downhill skiing...maybe someday. I would be afraid of hurting myself and not being able to run... Now that would be tragic!

Unknown said...

Hi Jill! I just found your blog, it's awesome! You know I'm the scrooge of the south, so I'm right there with you! I have so much to learn about running and your blog is just what I need. Only now I'm confused about the ibuprofen...I read that it really lowers your sodium level. So I've just been starting off w/tylenol and ending w/ibuprofen. Like I said...this Georgia peach has a lot to learn!

Anonymous said...

Oh gosh, I hate skiing so so much. I'm only an hour from Tahoe and I refuse to go! I just don't like to be that cold for that long!

Sounds like you're ready to go on your marathon. I'm excited for you!

Mikey B said...

I am right there with you on the Christmas decorations. The roof is outlined with lights only to make the girls happy. Fortunately, the wife and daughter absolutely LOVE putting up the tree and indoor decs, so I leave that up to them. It's a mutual understanding that I have Grinch DNA within me.

Great job on the 22-miler and no soreness. That is a great sign for your runin Tucson. Hang in there.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Ugh! I know what you mean about all the unnecessary things we do around the holidays. Good choice on spending time freezing/skiing with your family!

22 miles and not sore? Sounds like you're ready for that marathon!