Running Renaissance: Road to Paris 2024

[GollyGadget]

Well done on what sounds like a pretty tough course only further complicated with snow and ice. EEK!

Sorry you had a bad week leading up to it and that you are now feeling better though and Bucky looks adorable in her heart antennae. The medal rack is all kinds of awesome. I have got to figure something out for my medals at home as well!

Thanks! The heart antennae are definitely her least favorite. She's never tried to take anything off before.... she couldn't shake those off quick enough!

I'm happy with how the medal rack turned out. I've never run any challenges and don't have a ton of medals but there are a fair amount. I could use some more awards for the shelf though...

Well done! Great recap!

Thank you!

 

[GollyGadget]

Week 5: Almost back on course (Feb 19-25)
Apologies for so many delayed posts. I’m still trying to catch up on all the other threads as well. As you now know, I was sick and basically unable to do anything for a few days. Then, last week I was traveling for work. I always expect to have all this awesome downtime in the evening to do whatever I want, but it never ends up that way. Instead, I end up working close to 12 hours and then crashing into bed sometime just after 8pm from exhaustion. Anyway, I intended to get all caught up last week and didn’t, but I’m here now!

I mentioned on the running thread a few weeks ago that I was going to Louisiana but was then didn’t provide any details about where exactly I’d be going. That’s because I had no idea! We did a lot of driving and I stayed in 4 different hotel rooms over 4 nights. It was difficult to remember my room number by the last night. I consider myself pretty well traveled. There are a lot of places I haven’t been, but I have also been to a lot of places. Italy, Greece, Thailand, Vietnam, and all over the Caribbean to name a few. Generally, I have a pretty good idea of what I am getting into but traveling around Louisiana felt like I was in a foreign country. I haven’t quite been able to put my finger on what was so different about it, but it didn’t resemble any of the other places in the US I have ever been.

I don't have any pictures to share this week, so here's a puppy gif for good measure:

M – EA 5mi
As I mentioned, I was traveling for work. However, my flight wasn’t until 7pm so I had a few hours to spare beforehand. I still had to go into the office for a few meetings but I was able to sneak out a touch early and took Bucky for one last jog around the neighborhood before my departure.

Side note – Please remind me to never take evening flights again. I’m always ready for bed by 8pm so I don’t know why I ever think they’re a good idea but somehow I’ve fallen into that trap twice in the last month. On top of me not being a night owl, my connection was delayed due to thunderstorms and I was worried if I would make it to my destination at all. I needed to be ready to go at 7:30am so I wasn’t going to have time to fly in the next day. In the end, I arrived an hour later than intended so it wasn’t a big deal but I would have liked that extra hour of sleep!

Tu Wed– EB 7mi
This easy run was originally scheduled for Tuesday and I had good intentions to make that happen. Unfortunately, life didn’t really agree with me. I didn’t get to my hotel until 1 am Tuesday. I function best on a solid 8 hours of sleep. That was completely out the window and so was waking up early to run before my 7:30 meeting. My plan was just to run after the day of meet and greets. The tricky part here was that I didn’t have my own car so my fate was mostly out of my hands. The group went for dinner right after the day and I’m no good at running after a meal. Plus the travel had wiped me out and I was practically sleeping in my entrée. I promised myself to wake up early on Wednesday (scheduled rest day) and make up the run then.

Luckily, it was no problem waking up Wednesday. Due to my state of exhaustion on Tuesday, I went to bed really early and woke up at 4:30 am on Wednesday. Plenty of time for a run! Unfortunately, it was still dark and my hosts had warned me not to go out alone in the dark, so down to the treadmill I went. The hotel had fancy TV treadmills which I was excited to see because I wanted to watch some Olympics. I quickly found MSNBC and thought for sure there’d be Olympics on that channel. Turns out it was Fox News and not MSNBC. Assuming the news channels were just labeled wrong, I went down one channel to CNN…also Fox News. I tried flipping a few more channels to the Food Network…also Fox News. At this point, I figured the cable must just be messed up and I could probably at least watch the local NBC channel…nope, also Fox News. I couldn’t believe it!

Thankfully, I had brought my phone and it had the NBC Sports App. I managed to watch parts of the Germany/Sweden and Finland/Canada men’s hockey games. I don’t talk about hockey a whole lot here, but it’s my favorite sport by a landslide. I find it so fun to watch. It was disappointing to not see any of my fav NHLers, but still fun to watch. I made it through my 7 miles then headed up to the shower before the day began.

Th – 2x2mi @ T
The US Women’s hockey team was playing for the gold medal late Wednesday night. Initially, I planned to stay up and watch but I’m absolutely terrible at staying up late so that plan quickly changed. Instead, I was able to watch a replay of the game during this workout on the treadmill. The run itself wasn’t awesome. Somehow, I thought I only needed a 1.5 mi warm up instead of 2 so that was cut short. Then I made it through the first 2 mi of T and took a 2 min walk break. I was too spent for jogging. I started up the next interval and quickly started playing mind games to try to get myself through the last 2 miles of T. This only worked for about half a mile when I felt like I was about to get sick all over the place. I’m guessing that, even though I was inside, the humidity and temperature was much higher that my body was used to. Disappointed, I ended up cutting the run short.

F – EA 6mi
This is where things start to go sideways. I had to wake up around 4 am on Friday for my departure flight so I knew running before was out the window. I was scheduled to land early afternoon and would have plenty of time to run once I got home. After getting harassed at ORD (I seriously hate Chicago sports teams and it’s all because of a few of their rude fans) and my flight getting delayed again, I finally made it home around 3 pm. Of course, this is plenty of time to run an easy 6 miles but I was too excited to be home and I just wanted to spend my time with my dog and husband. I rationalized that this was no big deal and I could squeeze this in on Sunday.

Sa – LR 9mi EB 6mi
When I asked my husband what we were doing Saturday, he told me we were going to the gym. Being the supportive wife I am, I obliged to his hour workout and decided to go for my easy run. This wasn’t scheduled to be a blind run but my fitbit wasn’t able to pick up GPS inside, so it turned into one. My brain must have been in a total fog because I thought it was supposed to be Easy B pace and not Easy A. I also thought that pace was 9:00 and not 9:22. I tried to focus on finding the quicker of my easy paces which actually takes a lot of mental focus for me. I usually just space out during runs. Since the GPS wasn’t working, I don’t have mile splits but my total time was 55:38 for a 9:16 pace. I consider that a success for trying to nail the pacing, even though I didn’t know what the numbers were, I knew the effort I needed and nailed that.

Su
I intended to have my long run on Sunday, but after a slew of excuses it just didn’t happen. I somehow rationalized that the weather was going to be better Monday and I could just run then…even though there was already another run scheduled for Monday. It’s already Tuesday, so I can tell you that I decided just to skip the long run and do my best to stay on schedule this week. It hasn’t been a great few weeks of training and hopefully, I’ve learned my procrastination lesson. I was beating myself up over all the missed runs so far, 5 in total. Two of them are 100% my fault, but the other 3 couldn’t be helped due to some weird illness that put me out of commission for nearly a week. Then I remembered that running is supposed to be fun and I shouldn’t stress myself out over it. I still want to get better at following the plan, but I don’t need to dwell on all of the mistakes. Time to pick myself up and focus on what I can accomplish going forward!

Weekly Time: 3:37:03
Weekly Miles: 22.2/34.2…better than the week before but still not ideal
Yearly Miles: 145.5/1254 (11.6%)
Weight Progress: I was back down half a pound from the week before. This is still a goal of mine, but right now I’m focusing on getting back on the running track. Once that is all settled, I’ll figure this weight thing out.

This week’s schedule: Goal for the week is to get back on track. No more skipping! I’m a bit nervous about the long run, due to the other missed runs so far. Paging @DB for advice here. My plan is just to go out and see how far I can get. I’m feeling confident about at least 10 or 11, but 12 seems like it might be a stretch.
M – EA 6mi
Tu – Tempo 5mi
Th – EA 6mi
F – EB 7mi
Sa – LR 12mi

 

[michigandergirl]

Love the new medal rack!

 

[DopeyBadger]

Can you remind me which runs have been missed or cut shorter than scheduled thus far?

 

[GollyGadget]

Love the new medal rack!

Thank you! Luckily we have lots of empty wall area because we still haven't really decorated after living here for 3.5 years.

Can you remind me which runs have been missed or cut shorter than scheduled thus far?

Thanks for coming to the rescue once again even though I forgot to properly tag you! Here's an image of what my training has looked like:
What concerns me the most is the two missed long runs, both 8 & 9 miles. I also missed a tempo and two easy runs while I was sick. Only one run has been cut short and that was the T run last week. I ran one 2 mile interval and only made it 1/2 mile into the next interval.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Thank you! Luckily we have lots of empty wall area because we still haven't really decorated after living here for 3.5 years.


Thanks for coming to the rescue once again even though I forgot to properly tag you! Here's an image of what my training has looked like: View attachment 305413
What concerns me the most is the two missed long runs, both 8 & 9 miles. I also missed a tempo and two easy runs while I was sick. Only one run has been cut short and that was the T run last week. I ran one 2 mile interval and only made it 1/2 mile into the next interval.

Thoughts on this?

 

[GollyGadget]

Thoughts on this?

I feel confident that I can complete it. Do you think that's the best course of action to take? I noticed the longest run went from 15 miles to 11, which is a bigger adjustment than I was expecting. That said, I don't have any doubts about completing a half marathon after only getting to 11 miles. I mean, I did just run a marathon with a max distance of 16 miles.

I'm sure I could make it 9 or 10 miles this weekend, but something about the 12 scared me. I just want to commit to whatever is best from here on out. Be that try to go for the 12 or adjust down the mileage.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I feel confident that I can complete it. Do you think that's the best course of action to take? I noticed the longest run went from 15 miles to 11, which is a bigger adjustment than I was expecting. That said, I don't have any doubts about completing a half marathon after only getting to 11 miles. I mean, I did just run a marathon with a max distance of 16 miles.

I'm sure I could make it 9 or 10 miles this weekend, but something about the 12 scared me. I just want to commit to whatever is best from here on out. Be that try to go for the 12 or adjust down the mileage.

The reasoning is that the training plan needs to be progressive. Since the long run of 8 and 9 were both missed, and the total mileage has been 24, 13, and 22 (instead of 29, 32, 31) I needed to scale back the plan. So I aimed to take you from where you are to safely as high as you can go (better to be on the starting line than to risk injury because you pushed too hard). Would it be possible to complete a 12 miler this weekend? Sure. Would it put you in the best position to succeed given the last three weeks of training? Probably not. I think it will hurt more than help. So I went through and pulled back the plan a touch on the easy days and long runs to try and compensate for the change in schedule. The overall training load is still plenty high to suggest a sub-1:50 is a good goal. The sub-1:45 will come from how well you can hit the remainder of the plan (both duration and pace). It is still within possibility to hit 1:45 given we have 9 weeks remaining. But from here on these last 9 weeks are critical to the success you'll have on race day.

And yes, having those longer long runs would have been more beneficial. But the buildup to them needs to be appropriate. I didn't change the 8 mile HM Tempo runs (60 min max) and those will be the real critical test as to whether a 1:45 will be achievable. And success on the 8 mile HM Tempos will come from all the hard work on every other run between now and then.

 

[GollyGadget]

The reasoning is that the training plan needs to be progressive. Since the long run of 8 and 9 were both missed, and the total mileage has been 24, 13, and 22 (instead of 29, 32, 31) I needed to scale back the plan. So I aimed to take you from where you are to safely as high as you can go (better to be on the starting line than to risk injury because you pushed too hard). Would it be possible to complete a 12 miler this weekend? Sure. Would it put you in the best position to succeed given the last three weeks of training? Probably not. I think it will hurt more than help. So I went through and pulled back the plan a touch on the easy days and long runs to try and compensate for the change in schedule. The overall training load is still plenty high to suggest a sub-1:50 is a good goal. The sub-1:45 will come from how well you can hit the remainder of the plan (both duration and pace). It is still within possibility to hit 1:45 given we have 9 weeks remaining. But from here on these last 9 weeks are critical to the success you'll have on race day.

And yes, having those longer long runs would have been more beneficial. But the buildup to them needs to be appropriate. I didn't change the 8 mile HM Tempo runs (60 min max) and those will be the real critical test as to whether a 1:45 will be achievable. And success on the 8 mile HM Tempos will come from all the hard work on every other run between now and then.

Thank you for the thorough explanation. It really helped me understand the consequences of missing runs. Obviously, I know that I shouldn't but it is difficult to really understand the true impact.

Tempo runs are my least favorite so I definitely noticed they didn't change. At least you gave me some extra motivation to get them done!

 

[GollyGadget]

Week 6: It’s Almost Spring! (Feb 26-Mar 4)
Happy March Ya’ll! March is one of my favorite months of the year. The temperature is warming up but not too warm and the sun is staying up a lot longer than in December. Plus, St. Patrick’s Day marks the unofficial beginning of beer tent season. The only downside of March is DST. When will it go away???? I really enjoy late Feb/early March when I’m no longer driving to work in the dark. BAM! DST comes along, forces me to move my clock forward for no good reason and steals my joy. I’ve learned to combat this with a fancy sunrise clock so it’s like the sun is up (in my bedroom at least) before I have to get out of bed. Husband isn’t such a fan of it though because it also means the sun is up in his bedroom waaaaaaaaay before he needs to wake.

Anywho, enough rambling. Here’s my Feb 2018 recap….
Previous Month: 61.9
February 2017: 41.1
February 2018: 89.6
Year to Date: 151.5
Mileage Goal Progress: 12.08%


Even though I was a bit of a slacker the last couple of weeks, this was my best February yet! At least, I think it was. I only started tracking these sorts of things last year…so let’s just roll with it. I’m still a bit behind on my 2018 goal of 2018km but it’s still within reach. Right now I have to average just over 100 miles for the remaining 10 months. Obviously, I haven’t reached that 100 mile barrier yet in 2018 but I got pretty close this month. Had I stuck to my training, I definitely would have surpassed it. March has 140ish miles on tap so I’m feeling good. I didn’t get really serious about my running until June of last year and I only had one month that was under 120 miles after that which was September and included a taper plus recovery time.


In racing news, I did not get selected for the NYC Marathon lottery. I knew my chances were poor so I wasn’t really counting on it but that didn’t stop me from refreshing my NYRR account several times on Wednesday. No reason to dwell on what isn’t meant to be though! We’ve officially decided to make the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon my “A” race this fall. I’ve heard good things about the race and Indy is within driving distance so it will work out better logistically anyway. My goal for that race is going to be to earning a guaranteed spot in Chicago for 2019. Assuming they don’t change the times, that means sub 3:45:00. My fastest marathon to date is 4:08:56, but hey, what’s 24 minutes? Oh, like a minute per mile? Cripes! Right now, my half PR indicates a 3:50 is possible, but my more recent 10 miler race forecasts a 3:40. I just gotta find a way to stay motivated and stick to the training. Maybe a Chicago poster will find its way to my walls….

Tu – EA 6mi
Last Monday I was not in a very motivated place. I wrote my journal entry to try to write myself out of the funk but it didn’t work. I went home and took a nap instead….

By Tuesday, I was still not motivated, but I knew it was time to put up or shut up. Plus, my friend sent me a heads up that the medals were announced!

Real talk, I thought it was a Pegasus in front of a castle. Apparently, it’s the spires from Churchill Downs…whoops. I’m still going to continue imagining it as a castle though

Anyway, I finally went out for a run. The weather was nice but I was still lacking the motivation. It’s really a small miracle that I completed 6 miles. At first my goal was just to get to 1.5 miles, then I could turn around and at least then I’d get 3 miles completed. 1.5 turned into 2 which turned into 2.5 which, at that point, might as well be 3. The whole time out was pretty miserable. I just wasn’t in it. Finally, around mile 4 I started to feel a bit better about the run but that quickly went away by mile 5. The important thing is that I got it done and was officially back on track.

W – Tempo 5mi
With the delayed start to my week, my tempo run was to be completed on Wednesday. I had a team building event that evening so I knew I needed to schedule a specific time window in order to complete the run, shower, and make it for the work outing. As that time window approached, I found myself stuck in an internal argument about where to run. I really struggle with tempo runs. In fact, I’m half convinced that coach doesn’t like me and that’s why he makes me do them (of course, he might just want me to be better). My only other tempo run had been on the treadmill and I was on the struggle bus the whole time. However, the good thing about the treadmill is that it forces me to keep pace. The main reason I dislike tempo runs so much is the pacing. I can never seem to quite get a handle on it. Eventually, I decided I better just get outside and try to pace myself.

Off I went for an easy two mile warm up, totally dreading the tempo miles. Goal pace for tempo is 7:58 and my first tempo mile clocked in at 9:23…going to need to speed up. So I try pushing it the next mile, 9:03…still a minute off. Try again, faster this time, 3rd mile at 8:47. Woo! I made it under 9 but still a ways off. I was getting pretty frustrated at not being able to find the pace but I also knew I only had 2 more tempo miles to go. I also had forgot my headphones and was stuck listening to my thoughts this entire time. At some point, my brain got fixated on the current situation at America’s schools and gun control. At this point I started getting angry. Mile 4—8:37. I’m no longer focused on hitting that magic 8:00 mile. I’m trying to go faster but I’m also about ready to burst at the seams because of all the frustration building up inside of me. Why can’t the politicians just work together on some legislation that makes sense? Why do our kids need to go to school in fear? Why are we living in a society where active shooter drills are necessary? Why were thousands of innocent people, my husband and friends among them, shot at in Vegas? Why? WHY????????????

My anger pushed me all the way to an 8:24 final mile, nearly a minute faster than the first. So, maybe that’s the trick. Just run angry.

Th – EA 5mi
Billy was nice enough to revamp my schedule on Wednesday due to some less than stellar training, which changed a few of the rest of my workouts. Thursday was an easy 5 miles around the neighborhood. For the first time in months, the sidewalks were clear of ice, snow, and puddles so I ventured onto the golf course a bit. There were still a few snowy spots there but it was easy enough to navigate on an easy run.

I also found a few more running relics around my house to put on the new display.


F – EB 5mi
Friday was scheduled to be a blind run. I didn’t have a whole lot of expectations going into it considering how bad I was at pacing for my tempo run when I was using my watch to pace. Plus, I was bringing Bucky and she’s not particularly good at pacing either. EB for me is 9:22. I did run with my Fitbit, gotta get credit for those steps after all, but I avoided looking at any of the pacing. I tried to dial in on a comfortable easy pace that required some effort. All of my splits ended up being too fast. Only one was within the desired +/- range at 9:16. The worst offender was an 8:46…whoops. The run itself felt easy so I’m not getting too worked up over it. My next blind run is at long run pace and 3 of the 5 miles were in the range for that…so I’ll just pretend that’s what I was going for.


Sa – LR 7mi
Heading into Saturday’s run I was a little bit nervous. It was my 5th day in a row of running and I could feel it in my legs. We spent the morning running errands around town and by the time we got pack, my feet were already sore. Being the champion he is, my husband encouraged me to go out for my run anyway. The run itself actually went quite well. I started out a little slow and ended a little fast but I’m happy that I completed the mileage with an average pace of 9:10 which just barely squeaks in the +/- 10 seconds on the 9:00 desired pace.

The return of the long run also meant the return of podcasts for me. This run called for an older episode of TED Radio Hour which focused on procrastination. Something I’m great at! It was really interesting and they discussed the good things that can come from procrastination like solving complex problems and being creative. Of course, it also talked about how procrastination can get in the way. My favorite part was this guy telling me it wasn’t my fault when I didn’t exercise. I have the same ability to make rational decisions. The problem is my brain has this extra character, the instant gratification monkey, which is only focused on doing things that are easy and fun.

So for those of you who are really good at following schedules and plans, I envy you. The monkey doesn’t let me do it. I’m getting a bit better at keeping the monkey at bay, but it’s difficult. If you want to listen to the whole thing, check out the podcast here: https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/490624293/slowing-down

Weekly Time: 5:03:48
Weekly Miles: 31.3
Yearly Miles: 176.8/1254 (14.1%)
Weight Progress: Same as week before

This week’s schedule:
M – EA 5mi
Tu – 10 x 2min @ I …Ahhh! 7:07?!?!?
Th – 2 x 2mi @ T
F – EA 5mi
Sa – LR 9mi

 

[DopeyBadger]

Only one was within the desired +/- range at 9:16. The worst offender was an 8:46…whoops. The run itself felt easy so I’m not getting too worked up over it.

my first tempo mile clocked in at 9:23…going to need to speed up. So I try pushing it the next mile, 9:03…still a minute off. Try again, faster this time, 3rd mile at 8:47. Woo! I made it under 9 but still a ways off. I was getting pretty frustrated at not being able to find the pace but I also knew I only had 2 more tempo miles to go. I also had forgot my headphones and was stuck listening to my thoughts this entire time. At some point, my brain got fixated on the current situation at America’s schools and gun control. At this point I started getting angry. Mile 4—8:37. I’m no longer focused on hitting that magic 8:00 mile.

So your blind easy felt easy at 9:16 average and a 8:46 faster pace, but struggled getting the tempo down to the desired range of 8:00ish (with most around 8:30-9:00). Why the difference?

 

[GollyGadget]

So your blind easy felt easy at 9:16 average and a 8:46 faster pace, but struggled getting the tempo down to the desired range of 8:00ish (with most around 8:30-9:00). Why the difference?

That's a good question. I hadn't noticed the overlap so thanks for pointing that out. My guess is that it's mostly mental. I've been asking myself recently if I dislike tempo runs because I'm bad at them or if I'm bad at them because I dislike them. Chicken or egg?

Either way, I definitely psyche myself out before the tempo. I'm always worried about maintaining a quicker pace over distance even if I've done it on race day. The other piece that plays into it is having the same focus I would on race day. My mind likes to wander and before I know it, I'm solving world hunger while going at my easy mindless pace. Finally, I just struggle in general with finding the pace. I've seen my Fitbit bounce from an 8:20 mile to a 9:20 mile in just a few steps so I never know what my true current pace is. I also just get worried about going out too fast, crashing, and not making it back to my car. This leads to me being over cautious at the beginning.



Totally unrelated but I can't miss my opportunity for this soap box. There are a lot of studies indicating that boys and girls have similar math aptitudes at a young age. The difference is girls are told they aren't as good at it, their interest declines and as a result they stop trying to be good at math. Correlation can become causation. So please, let's break this gender stereotype and keep girls interested in math and science. Do whatever you can to encourage kids no matter their gender! There's no reason to be knocking kids down for no reason.

 

[DopeyBadger]

Totally unrelated but I can't miss my opportunity for this soap box. There are a lot of studies indicating that boys and girls have similar math aptitudes at a young age. The difference is girls are told they aren't as good at it, their interest declines and as a result they stop trying to be good at math. Correlation can become causation. So please, let's break this gender stereotype and keep girls interested in math and science. Do whatever you can to encourage kids no matter their gender! There's no reason to be knocking kids down for no reason.

Well G if is going to be an Astronaut Crossing Guard she won't be able to skip out on her math and science. And as a father in science, I definitely keep it at the forefront of all our discussions. Echoes, rainbows, rain, gravity, etc. ask G about them and she'll have some great answers.

That's a good question. I hadn't noticed the overlap so thanks for pointing that out. My guess is that it's mostly mental. I've been asking myself recently if I dislike tempo runs because I'm bad at them or if I'm bad at them because I dislike them. Chicken or egg?

Either way, I definitely psyche myself out before the tempo. I'm always worried about maintaining a quicker pace over distance even if I've done it on race day. The other piece that plays into it is having the same focus I would on race day. My mind likes to wander and before I know it, I'm solving world hunger while going at my easy mindless pace. Finally, I just struggle in general with finding the pace. I've seen my Fitbit bounce from an 8:20 mile to a 9:20 mile in just a few steps so I never know what my true current pace is. I also just get worried about going out too fast, crashing, and not making it back to my car. This leads to me being over cautious at the beginning.

How do you think we should overcome this mental hurdle? Because all the data says you can definitely do this workout. I guess I would ask to try and hit the pace in the beginning and if you can't hold it then so be it. But let's see if you can actually hit it. I mean, it's certainly not an easy workout. But it should be accomplishable based on what you've done. But if not then we can try and come up with some workarounds.

 

[GollyGadget]

Well G if is going to be an Astronaut Crossing Guard she won't be able to skip out on her math and science. And as a father in science, I definitely keep it at the forefront of all our discussions. Echoes, rainbows, rain, gravity, etc. ask G about them and she'll have some great answers.

I love reading about G's interest in space on your journal. I have no doubts that you are doing a great job keeping her interested. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the teachers who are grading boys and girls differently. Or maybe it's some random stranger telling a little girl that space is for boys... I actually witnessed this happen while out shopping recently. My husband had to escort me out so I didn't cause a scene but I kind of regret not causing a scene. That girl needs to know that it's cool to like space and dinosaurs and sports and any other "boy" things. More importantly, that lady needs to know she was doing a disservice to our future.

How do you think we should overcome this mental hurdle? Because all the data says you can definitely do this workout. I guess I would ask to try and hit the pace in the beginning and if you can't hold it then so be it. But let's see if you can actually hit it. I mean, it's certainly not an easy workout. But it should be accomplishable based on what you've done. But if not then we can try and come up with some workarounds.

I have no idea! My next tempo run is next week. I'll try to go out "fast" and nail the pace. Worst case, I can't hold on but at least then we'll know.

 

[DopeyBadger]

I love reading about G's interest in space on your journal. I have no doubts that you are doing a great job keeping her interested. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the teachers who are grading boys and girls differently. Or maybe it's some random stranger telling a little girl that space is for boys... I actually witnessed this happen while out shopping recently. My husband had to escort me out so I didn't cause a scene but I kind of regret not causing a scene. That girl needs to know that it's cool to like space and dinosaurs and sports and any other "boy" things. More importantly, that lady needs to know she was doing a disservice to our future.

Yea G has worn a Star Wars sweatshirt before. She really likes it. All of the sudden she didn't like it anymore. Said "it was for boys". I asked her who told her that, and she said it was one of the boys in her class. I told her to not worry what he said and to continue to wear the sweater if she liked it. It's true that no matter how much I try to impress upon her to be "her", she's going to run into people who think differently. I'm hoping I can curb that as much as possible.

 

[jennamfeo]

I love reading about G's interest in space on your journal. I have no doubts that you are doing a great job keeping her interested. Unfortunately, sometimes it's the teachers who are grading boys and girls differently. Or maybe it's some random stranger telling a little girl that space is for boys... I actually witnessed this happen while out shopping recently. My husband had to escort me out so I didn't cause a scene but I kind of regret not causing a scene. That girl needs to know that it's cool to like space and dinosaurs and sports and any other "boy" things. More importantly, that lady needs to know she was doing a disservice to our future.

My 6 year old daughter can name you 26 dinosaurs in alphabetical order. She LOVES dinosaurs. She plays baseball. She (although has never seen them) likes Star Wars. She also loves pink and sprinkles and unicorns. For her birthday this past weekend it was Ninja Turtle themed with a Spiderman bounce house. And whenever she says something to me like "that's a boy color" I correct her and say that anyone can like anything. So I am right there with you and would have also probably made a scene.

 

[GollyGadget]

My 6 year old daughter can name you 26 dinosaurs in alphabetical order. She LOVES dinosaurs. She plays baseball. She (although has never seen them) likes Star Wars. She also loves pink and sprinkles and unicorns. For her birthday this past weekend it was Ninja Turtle themed with a Spiderman bounce house. And whenever she says something to me like "that's a boy color" I correct her and say that anyone can like anything. So I am right there with you and would have also probably made a scene.

So happy to hear this. I had a pink wedding with dinosaurs so you can definitely like both!

 

[jennamfeo]

That's amazing!

 

[ZellyB]

So happy to hear this. I had a pink wedding with dinosaurs so you can definitely like both!
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That is epic!

 

[GollyGadget]

That's amazing!

That is epic!

Thanks ladies! It was quite the party.