I want to be a part of it: NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Jim Lentz wrote:Nice long run, Natalie.

A book that helped me with major situational depression in the past is Feeling Good by Dr. Burns.

Thanks Jim, I'll look it up.

I hope things with your daughter are neither long nor strenuous for either of you...

And I'm glad you described cake pops as you did. I've been curious, since they look amazing, but aren't vegan, so I'm glad to know I'm not missing much.

Hope your daughter doesn't have to be on antidepressants too long. Lots of side effects and withdrawal problems potentially. But hope it's a short term issue regardless....

Why is she going to Israel? Sounds really exciting!

A lot of your running seems to be hilly no? Wish we had a few more hills here. We do have some but you have to work them into the run intentionally as a lot of the area here is flat.

Mike MacLellan wrote:I hope things with your daughter are neither long nor strenuous for either of you...

Thank you.

And I'm glad you described cake pops as you did. I've been curious, since they look amazing, but aren't vegan, so I'm glad to know I'm not missing much.

They can definitely be vegan. There are lots of vegan cake recipes, and icing can easily be vegan, but it will be the icky kind, unless you're allowed to eat butter.

jon c wrote:

Why is she going to Israel? Sounds really exciting!

She's going for JCC Maccabi Artsfest. She's a dancer, and that's what she'll be doing.

A lot of your running seems to be hilly no? Wish we had a few more hills here. We do have some but you have to work them into the run intentionally as a lot of the area here is flat.

Ok, first, as promised:
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Next, Jon, you aren't kidding... my runs have hills! As you can see, everything was going great until about 8.5, then, watch out!

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The first long run is always great to get in the books. Well done.

Natalie, that trip looks like a wonderful opportunity for her! Very cool!

I hope Sarah is in better shape when she comes home. She gets a little break at home now?

We are in Israel now. Gabe is in a camp, J in a tennis kitana.

The texture of cake pops sounds awful, but the taste...

sorry to hear about Sarah - dealing with depression at a young age can be tough, so I hope she comes out of this fine. Sounds like a great trip - I hope she has a great time.

The cake pops look delicious! Nice job on the running, and keep up the good work. Sorry to hear that Sarah is struggling with depression. Maybe when she gets home from Israel she could start seeing a counselor or therapist to help her sort her feelings out and learn how to cope with it as she's recovering. And if she does need medicine, most of them are pretty safe and don't have many side effects. Kids are pretty resilient, and she'll get through it.
Very cool skydiving pictures, by the way!

Do I have a blog here?

Lots going on this week, so I haven't had time to blog... only to log.

I managed to pretty much stick to the plan, running 3 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday (I don't even remember this one!), 3 on Wednesday, and 5 today. Today was a 30 minute tempo run sandwiched between the first and last mile.

Sarah's braces came off on Monday. What a thrill it is to see your children smile when the braces come off! Sarah's teeth are perfect and she's been very diligent about wearing a tooth positioner this week. We're getting ready to go get her retainers in a few minutes. She actually has been seeing a psychologist and we're now going to try really hard to find ways to avoid having to take medication. We talked about exercise, getting out of the house, opening yourself up to other people... She actually has been in a very good mood this week. Lots of smiles! She's been skyping her camp friends and is looking forward to Israel.

Adam had orientation on Wednesday and Thursday. I think the amount of exhaustion one feels at the end of a day of college orientation is directly related to how many boring slide shows and powerpoint presentations you have to sit and watch in a darkened auditorium. They started really early to and interfered with my running schedule. I managed the three miles on Wednesday evening, but it was brutally hot even though it was a gorgeous day and cool morning. Same yesterday, and I ended up putting off the 5 until this morning. That means I'll probably do my long run tomorrow, another 5 on Sunday, and then I'm totally screwed for a rest day!

I see an emoticon that I need to use....

Good luck on all counts - your training, Sarah's health, and Adam's venture off to college! I've go that one coming up this next year.

Training is looking good and nice long run to boot. Just reading up and see depression is in the air! My best wishes to you and your family on supporting, encouraging, guiding her to move from sad to happy, worry to wonder, fear to excitement. I know many people who take medication and they are very very functional both at work and with family. The problem tends to happen when they play god and go off of medication. I ain't no doctor but I do know god created drugs for a reason to be used when needed no shame it that, the shame is not doing anything about it.

I'm glad Sarah seems to be having a pretty good week. I'm not anti medication but many do have side effects that are pretty miserable. I'll just say they they never helped me and the best thing I ever did for depression was run (that is why I started running, actually).

Nice long run! I'm glad things are on track for your training program!

Some good miles and good news!

I did my 11 mile long run today. As Freddie would say, "I'm not gonna lie..." it was hard. I woke up early again (6:15 for me is early) and was tired on awakening. If I wasn't busy tomorrow, I would have slept longer and done a shorter run and done the longer one as scheduled, but I didn't have that luxury. It was 7:30 by the time I got out the door. Initially, i was going to do my standard 10-11 mile route, but I decided to stick closer to home. For some reason, by staying closer to home, I feel like I'll be done sooner, but that's not true, because all of the close to home routes are very hilly. And my quads were sore. They have been sore for two training cycles, and I don't understand it. You would think they would get stronger! But they seem not to be. Of course I did do a tempo run yesterday, but the ordinary schedule calls for a pace run on the day before the long run...

Anyway, when I got home all I wanted to do was lay down, but I couldn't. I'm a host for my niece's baby shower tomorrow and I volunteered to make the cake. Phew! What a project it turned out to be. I've literally been working on it for over a week, considering that I made two batches of fondant and on batch of gum paste, made a gum paste teddy bear and baked 4 sheet cakes. Last night I made the frosting -- it's a mousseline buttercream, so not your typical powdered sugar concoction. Anyway, today I put it all together. My back hurts... my legs hurt... I'm tired... !!! The shower is tomorrow and I need to be there by 11:30. Oh... and during a break in the action, I made the curry/grape chicken salad.

Here is a photo:

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What's happening is, the mousseline is too soft to hold the weight of the cake covered in fondant and is getting squished. Believe it or not, these were all cubes to start. I should have gone with the confectioners sugar icing, but I hate that stuff.

Awesome job getting in your 11 miler today no matter how tough it was you got it done.

Love the cake! Want to next day mail one of your homemade cakes?

Good job on your run - I wonder why the quads are sore? Must be the hills - anyway, I know sometimes the runs feel better than others. Great job on the cake! You've got some talent there!!!

Enjoy the shower tomorrow - it will probably hurt to see the cake cut up!!!

Good job getting the long run done. Hopefully your quads will adjust to the extra stress of the harder workouts and leave you alone on the runs.
That cake is ADORABLE! Are you sure you're not a professional cake-maker in your other life? And I didn't notice the blocks were squished until you pointed it out. I'm sure it'll be a huge hit tomorrow.

That is an awesome cake! I know cake baking and decorating is pretty time intensive but you did a great job!

I hope you figure out what is keeping your quads sore and figure out how to resolve it somehow.

that's a busy day - get some rest.

The cake is cool - funny how it looks like the bear weighs a ton!

Michael Enright wrote: funny how it looks like the bear weighs a ton!

The bear DOES weigh a ton! At least for a cake decoration. It's about 4 ounces, which is how much gum paste I used to make it. You can see where the leg fell off and I had to stick it back on. I am not a fan of that stuff. I'm of the opinion that everything on a cake should be edible without the risk of breaking a tooth. You would not want to eat that bear!

Aw! It is all so cute. They will love it.

Hang in there on the running.

The heat here is tragic. BUT, it's amazing what a good plan can do for you. Knowing I couldn't run well in the muck that is outside, I decided last night to take it to the indoor track again. That meant I could sleep later! Yay!

I did other stuff all morning and made it to the gym by 11:00. It wasn't especially cool on the track (8 laps = 1 mile), but for some reason, I felt great. Was it my Frees? Was it my music? I have no idea, but I finished 6 miles in just under an hour and didn't have to make any stops. In fact, I didn't even feel like I'd run afterward, which made me feel a little guilty, but the clock verified that I ran, and so I must have...

I did try to concentrate on using my core more to run rather than allow gravity to force me into a heavy stride. I guess I was thinking more forward movement.

That was easy!

Natalie Wolf wrote:The heat here is tragic. BUT, it's amazing what a good plan can do for you. Knowing I couldn't run well in the muck that is outside, I decided last night to take it to the indoor track again. That meant I could sleep later! Yay!

I did other stuff all morning and made it to the gym by 11:00. It wasn't especially cool on the track (8 laps = 1 mile), but for some reason, I felt great. Was it my Frees? Was it my music? I have no idea, but I finished 6 miles in just under an hour and didn't have to make any stops. In fact, I didn't even feel like I'd run afterward, which made me feel a little guilty, but the clock verified that I ran, and so I must have...

I did try to concentrate on using my core more to run rather than allow gravity to force me into a heavy stride. I guess I was thinking more forward movement.

That was easy!

too funny! 8 per mile isn't bad. I used to run on an indoor track when i worked on campus at U of Wyo. 10 laps per mile. The one at our Y is 13!! EEK!

Nice job Natalie!

Hey, Gabe is supposed to have climbed Masada today, at dawn. It is hotter here, but not as hot as it will be in August. Kids in his group were all issued Camelbacks for the whole trip. I thought that was curious. Not a bad idea, but unusual. I wonder if there were problems with some other group?