Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Endless Summer

What a wild weekend! Number One Daughter and I, after much hemming and hawing and waiting til the very last minute, thereby ensuring that our favorite cheap one-block-from-the-beach bed and breakfast would be full, finally decided to escape from our high-powered negotiating with multinational oil companies, and head for Rehoboth Beach, Del., for the weekend. We ended up in a not-so-clean, over-priced motel which apparently had been smokers' headquarters for the previous century or so. We did not linger.

Exhibit A

We left D.C. at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, and drove straight to the Rehoboth Yoga Center, where we took a 90-minute Svaroopa class, which is about as far from Bikram as you can get. I have actually fallen asleep in this class, it is so soothing and relaxing. This is my kind of exercise!

We checked into the foul-smelling motel, and high-tailed it out of there to the beach. Saturday night we were invited for dinner with our good friends Dan and Bob. Yum. Bob, who is an ex-Marine (ex-some military branch), and a marathoner, said he'd run with me Sunday morning. We met at 7 a.m., and headed to a local trail, which was either 3.6 miles one way, or 3.9 (I'm going with 3.9) depending on which Web site you use. It was beautiful, woodsy, meandering thru marshes and creeks. I had warned Bob that I was slow but he was a Really Good Sport about it! We discussed everything as we ran: relationships, men, men, relationships, men, family, hydration, men. You know, the usual. NOD ran 3.5 miles and waited for us in town. Bob and I ran for 1 1/2 hours, so I either ran really well, or, um, not. But, we had fun!

Blister Update: Better! No blister pain on the 7- or 8- miler! I'm now wearing asic socks, and back to the Nike Pegasus.

Plantar Fasciitis Update: My foot was wrapped for the 7- or 8-miler, and no pain! Wrapping came off later during a romp in the ocean.

Sunday night was fireworks night at Rehoboth. NOD and I hung around the beach and took 1,000 pictures of each other. OK, of me. Still. Fun!

Monday, we headed back to the beach, intending to leave early to get back to town, except I couldn't tear myself away. The water was perfect (well, except for a little problem that the lifeguards told me were "sea lice"; but if you read that article, that's not what they were; whatever they were, they bite and sting like crazy). Otherwise, it was all good.

START RANT: At one point I took a little walk on the beach and was literally astonished at the number of overweight children I saw. It was truly frightening. I was an overweight child, so I know firsthand what it's like. Their parents should be shot and jailed. Or the other way around. No, wait, that's judgmental, isn't it? But really, it makes me sad to think of their futures. Really scary. (Watch "Honey, We're Killing the Kids," a show that scares the bejesus outta me.) END RANT.

We left Rehoboth around 8:30 p.m., arriving back at la petit maison at 11:30, got up at 6:30 a.m. on the fourth for the Potomac Cure Autism Now 5k, which I also ran last July 4.

In a sadly familiar pattern, I waited til the morning of the race to register, thereby costing myself an extra $30 bucks. Sigh. But, this year was special, because NOD ran with me!! NOD ran cross country and track in high school, and let's just say it wasn't her favorite sport.

(This is a hilly course, but it seemed less hilly to me this year than last. Is it possible that I'm fitter??)

It was humid, and hot. Race was slated to start at 8, but didn't til 8:10. The course description read:
The 5K course runs through beautiful shady residential neighborhood streets with a long downhill finish.
Now, I don't want to say that anyone outright lied about the shade, but there was no shade.

This was NOD's first race since high school, and first race with me, so i was very excited. I didn't expect that I would beat my PR of 31:13 set just in April. If I could beat last year's time, I would be very happy.

July 4, 2005: 33:50 (10:53/mile)
July 4, 20052006: 32:41 (10:32/mile)

This year's splits:
10:38
9:57
11:15
.50

(Kinda all over the place, huh? Well, that 9:57, I'm deliriously happy to say, was on an uphill! And it's entirely possible, though I won't swear to it, that I slowed down on the last mile because I was catching up to NOD. And what 19-year-old wants their 49-year old mother beating them?? So, I was either being a saintly mother, or I just got lazy. I don't really know.)

All in all, it was a GREAT fourth of July, and to celebrate, we're listening over there--------->
to a Canadian indie rocker, Allison Crowe.

Enjoy.

13 comments:

Nancy Toby said...

Awww, you gave up your PR just so you wouldn't embarrass your daughter? That's true devotion.

Sand lice? Ewwww!!!!

Donald said...

Maybe your daughter was slowing down so you would catch her? Just thinking out loud...

Sounds like a great day. Except for the lice. And the lack of shade. But other than that, very nice.

Lara said...

That sounds like a great holiday! So glad to hear that your blisters are at bay too. I promise I won't tell anyone you have sand-cooties.

David said...

Oooh. Girls really do have cooties?!!?!
Nice 4th then. NOD needs to step it up. She's slowing you down!
Foot check sounds promising. Heal thyself!

MNFirefly said...

Awesome race! I personally hate hotels that STINK...ewww!

I agree with you on the overweight kid rant. My son (who's 9 and only 8 inches SHORTER than ME) is creeping into that in-between of overweight and "just a phase" before a major growth spurt (just like I need to know what that is). His ped told him to less pop, more water or drink diet pop - hoping that his dad follows the rules. END of my rant.

Rich said...

When I was growing up, it was drilled into me to always finish all the food on my plate. Nowadays, bigger portions means enough food on just my plate to feed more then just me. It's a daily head-on collision.

If I stop running, I will start expanding, as sure as the sun rises in the east.

Rich said...

oh ... and nice running and racing BTW!

21st Century Mom said...

Much 4th!

Sounds like fun.

Maybe it was your training on California hills that helped you with those little bumps you have in DC?? Just a thought.

Taunya said...

I'm glad you hear that you might be over the worst of your blister problem! Sounds like a nice weekend (sans the stinky motel). All the more reason to stay on the beach.

m said...

Other than the motel it sounds like it was a good vacation. I hope those stinkin sea lice are gone b/c we are heading down there Sunday.

Too bad you couldn't run one of the Seven Sisters and Two Brothers races while you were there. The after parties are pretty rockin. Gotta love flat ground races.

L*I*S*A said...

Sounds like a great little vacation. Congrats on the race, too. :)

Dori said...

So glad you're able to run! I was worried about that plantar fasciitis. Nice that NOD raced with you. She resembles you a lot. Do people ask if you're sisters?

Mark said...

music by and for Canadians? That's the topping on the cake for this post.

You're swell.

(and darn smart putting that arrow in the post for those of us coming here from bloglines)