Is this realistic?

What a busy chaotic great couple of weeks! I am glad school is out for summer now - I need the break! Off to go get caught up on all the posts

I'm all caught up now!

StayCool that's awesome about the job offer. My job is great in all regards except the salary. I've always said that the amount of flexibility and freedom I get it worth $5000 in salary so unless I got an offer that was more than a $5000 increase I wouldn't take it. Just recently I decided I was going to look for a new job because the lack of money was becoming more important than the flexibility. I did tell my boss a few months ago that I would leave if my salary didn't go up. Well yesterday my boss took me out for lunch and told me the board had approved a nice sized raise for me and that there were more in my future so it looks like I'm staying put (which I'm very happy about!)

Now that school is out I'm ready to get back on track. I have still been walking and our pool opened up again on Monday so I've started back at the pool but I haven't been "working it" if you know what I mean. Now that I don't have to take my youngest to before school care I'm planning on going to the pool every morning and I'll do my walking at lunch. That will leave my evenings free for kid time.

dizzyr said:

I'm all caught up now!

StayCool that's awesome about the job offer. My job is great in all regards except the salary. I've always said that the amount of flexibility and freedom I get it worth $5000 in salary so unless I got an offer that was more than a $5000 increase I wouldn't take it. Just recently I decided I was going to look for a new job because the lack of money was becoming more important than the flexibility. I did tell my boss a few months ago that I would leave if my salary didn't go up. Well yesterday my boss took me out for lunch and told me the board had approved a nice sized raise for me and that there were more in my future so it looks like I'm staying put (which I'm very happy about!)

Now that school is out I'm ready to get back on track. I have still been walking and our pool opened up again on Monday so I've started back at the pool but I haven't been "working it" if you know what I mean. Now that I don't have to take my youngest to before school care I'm planning on going to the pool every morning and I'll do my walking at lunch. That will leave my evenings free for kid time.

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Welcome back and congrats on the raise. Extra money is always good. And I hope you can start making some progress of your own now that things have settled down. StayCool is back on track so hopefully you will be too very soon.

Moved my long run to today because of the rain that will be here tomorrow. I got in 9.32 miles before work. My plan called for 9 but I was hoping to do 10 but I just didn't pick a long enough route. Its OK though, I did at least what the plan called for so I am good with that. Other than that, not much else for me to report today.

Waiting2goback said:

Did I read that correctly, you are enjoying your time on the road? That's awesome that the motivation seems to have returned, regardless of the type of activity.

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I do enjoy my time on the road. Mostly because I really really enjoy the solitude. That in itself is relaxing. Last year I thought running was crazy. Now it is something that I enjoy most of the time. lol

dizzyr said:

StayCool that's awesome about the job offer. My job is great in all regards except the salary. I've always said that the amount of flexibility and freedom I get it worth $5000 in salary so unless I got an offer that was more than a $5000 increase I wouldn't take it. Just recently I decided I was going to look for a new job because the lack of money was becoming more important than the flexibility. I did tell my boss a few months ago that I would leave if my salary didn't go up. Well yesterday my boss took me out for lunch and told me the board had approved a nice sized raise for me and that there were more in my future so it looks like I'm staying put (which I'm very happy about!)

Now that school is out I'm ready to get back on track. I have still been walking and our pool opened up again on Monday so I've started back at the pool but I haven't been "working it" if you know what I mean. Now that I don't have to take my youngest to before school care I'm planning on going to the pool every morning and I'll do my walking at lunch. That will leave my evenings free for kid time.

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Yay for the raise at your job. I'm glad they rewarded you for all your hard work.

Waiting2goback said:

Moved my long run to today because of the rain that will be here tomorrow. I got in 9.32 miles before work. My plan called for 9 but I was hoping to do 10 but I just didn't pick a long enough route. Its OK though, I did at least what the plan called for so I am good with that. Other than that, not much else for me to report today.

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It rained all weekend at my house and will continue through this week as well. Blah. I'm glad you got your run in. I spent the whole weekend in my kitchen painting and stuff. It is starting to come together but I would've loved to get outside and move. It was kind of cold to do in the rain.

I just had my meeting about that position. They did not offer me hardly any money and it sounded more like me being a figurehead than actually taking on the actual role. So I said thanks but no thanks. And I asked her to revise the job description because what she was describing was not reflected in the job description at all. She seemed surprised but then said she would reconsider and get back to me by the end of next week. Honestly I was kind of insulted. Oh well. I do like what I do currently so at least there is that.

StayCool said:

I'm on the verge of being able to wear normal size clothes rather than having to shop in the plus section of the store.

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I missed this the first time around. That's a good thing, even if your figure isn't what you'd like it to be. Neither is mine!

Waiting2goback said:

Good job on the 6 miles. I haven't been running with my water belt but I may need to break it out soon too as the miles increase. I felt sick all day yesterday after my hill workout. I am wondering if it was dehydration as I was drenched when I got back home.

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Yes, that's dehydration and it's super dangerous. Even in the winter I carry water for anything longer than about 5 miles and now that the heat and humidity have started, I need a big bottle. Remember your salt tabs, too.

Waiting2goback said:

And one last thing for me to get anxious about, but this is good anxious, where to stay for marathon weekend. AS Sports, POFQ, WL, or Contemporary. I narrowed it down to those 4 I think. I can make a case for all of them.

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I stayed in POFQ for the Princess Race and Coronado Springs for marathon weekend. They were both nice and I'd go to either one again. I have a huge desire to stay at the Contemporary one day, just because it is so iconic - and being on the monorail for marathon weekend is supposed to be nice. The only caveat there is that you still end up having to bus back to the hotel because the monorail isn't running during the race. (At least that's what I recall.)

StayCool said:

Eh, family shouldn't care so much anyway, right?

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No, they don't. Thankfully. The bottom floor is a bit of a disaster though - they tried to hang a curtain rod that I hadn't gotten around to doing and ran into a road block when what we thought was drywall was actually wood. And the screws that came with the rod weren't long enough for some reason. The mess never got cleaned up, so I need to hang the darn things and clean up. And a few other projects like putting away the winter clothes (I know, it's almost July...and yet it was cool enough on Saturday that I actually had to pull out light jackets for people to borrow.

StayCool said:

The job will come with some prestige in the community I work in I guess. Prestige is not a good enough reason for me to do anything though. I don't tell people what I do for a living now and I definitely won't if I take the new job. lol It will come with a big raise and a big jump in responsibilities.

It is awesome that you have family that will run with you. Mine (extended family) think I am nuts. lol

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I didn't mean prestige so much in the "Look at my cool job" sort of sense, but rather when it's time to be assessed for promotions, there are some jobs that stand out and some that tell people that you've given up the ghost. I turned down a big name job but in my case I'm in a job that still has a decent sense of being engaged and competitive.

I am lucky that I have family that will run with me. Mom actually started after I brought her out for a group 5 mile run, which at the time was the longest she'd ever run. My brother was a three sport athlete in high school, but fell off until he realized his kids were giving him a run for his money. Between hiking with the Boy Scouts and realized that his eldest is going to be a real athlete, he's had to get more active. It was cute this weekend when my brother and his wife were comparing their Jawbone data and talking about calorie allowances. They've both lost a lot of weight in the last six months and since they're both competitive, it was fun to watch.

dizzyr said:

Just recently I decided I was going to look for a new job because the lack of money was becoming more important than the flexibility. I did tell my boss a few months ago that I would leave if my salary didn't go up. Well yesterday my boss took me out for lunch and told me the board had approved a nice sized raise for me and that there were more in my future so it looks like I'm staying put (which I'm very happy about!)

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Great! That's wonderful. And very cool that you were confident enough to make your case to your boss.

Waiting2goback said:

Moved my long run to today because of the rain that will be here tomorrow. I got in 9.32 miles before work. My plan called for 9 but I was hoping to do 10 but I just didn't pick a long enough route. Its OK though, I did at least what the plan called for so I am good with that. Other than that, not much else for me to report today.

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That rain was a doozy! We got it all day Saturday. Thankfully there's a lot of stuff to do in DC inside. We took the boys to the Botanical Garden, where my youngest nephew attempted to take out an endangered cactus by falling into it. He still has prickles in his hand. Then a few other museums and birthday dinner for the four of seven visitors I had celebrating birthdays.

StayCool said:

I just had my meeting about that position. They did not offer me hardly any money and it sounded more like me being a figurehead than actually taking on the actual role. So I said thanks but no thanks. And I asked her to revise the job description because what she was describing was not reflected in the job description at all. She seemed surprised but then said she would reconsider and get back to me by the end of next week. Honestly I was kind of insulted. Oh well. I do like what I do currently so at least there is that.

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That stinks. You were definitely mislead and I'm glad you pointed out that the description was badly written.

No official workouts for me this weekend. Our Saturday run got cancelled because of the storms and Sunday wasn't an option because of our plans. The National Zoo is on a hill though, so I got a great workout that day anyway. My legs are actually more tired today than they would have been after a six mile run. Back to the grind this week!

StayCool said:

I do enjoy my time on the road. Mostly because I really really enjoy the solitude. That in itself is relaxing. Last year I thought running was crazy. Now it is something that I enjoy most of the time.

I just had my meeting about that position. They did not offer me hardly any money and it sounded more like me being a figurehead than actually taking on the actual role. So I said thanks but no thanks. And I asked her to revise the job description because what she was describing was not reflected in the job description at all. She seemed surprised but then said she would reconsider and get back to me by the end of next week. Honestly I was kind of insulted. Oh well. I do like what I do currently so at least there is that.

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That's great that you found something you enjoy. I agree 100% about the solitude. I do some of my best thinking when I am running.

It stinks about the job but it's good because now you don't need to make a decision.

Chiomaca said:

I missed this the first time around. That's a good thing, even if your figure isn't what you'd like it to be. Neither is mine!

Yes, that's dehydration and it's super dangerous. Even in the winter I carry water for anything longer than about 5 miles and now that the heat and humidity have started, I need a big bottle. Remember your salt tabs, too.

I stayed in POFQ for the Princess Race and Coronado Springs for marathon weekend. They were both nice and I'd go to either one again. I have a huge desire to stay at the Contemporary one day, just because it is so iconic - and being on the monorail for marathon weekend is supposed to be nice. The only caveat there is that you still end up having to bus back to the hotel because the monorail isn't running during the race. (At least that's what I recall.)

No, they don't. Thankfully. The bottom floor is a bit of a disaster though - they tried to hang a curtain rod that I hadn't gotten around to doing and ran into a road block when what we thought was drywall was actually wood. And the screws that came with the rod weren't long enough for some reason. The mess never got cleaned up, so I need to hang the darn things and clean up. And a few other projects like putting away the winter clothes (I know, it's almost July...and yet it was cool enough on Saturday that I actually had to pull out light jackets for people to borrow.

I didn't mean prestige so much in the "Look at my cool job" sort of sense, but rather when it's time to be assessed for promotions, there are some jobs that stand out and some that tell people that you've given up the ghost. I turned down a big name job but in my case I'm in a job that still has a decent sense of being engaged and competitive.

I am lucky that I have family that will run with me. Mom actually started after I brought her out for a group 5 mile run, which at the time was the longest she'd ever run. My brother was a three sport athlete in high school, but fell off until he realized his kids were giving him a run for his money. Between hiking with the Boy Scouts and realized that his eldest is going to be a real athlete, he's had to get more active. It was cute this weekend when my brother and his wife were comparing their Jawbone data and talking about calorie allowances. They've both lost a lot of weight in the last six months and since they're both competitive, it was fun to watch.

Great! That's wonderful. And very cool that you were confident enough to make your case to your boss.

That rain was a doozy! We got it all day Saturday. Thankfully there's a lot of stuff to do in DC inside. We took the boys to the Botanical Garden, where my youngest nephew attempted to take out an endangered cactus by falling into it. He still has prickles in his hand. Then a few other museums and birthday dinner for the four of seven visitors I had celebrating birthdays.

That stinks. You were definitely mislead and I'm glad you pointed out that the description was badly written.

No official workouts for me this weekend. Our Saturday run got cancelled because of the storms and Sunday wasn't an option because of our plans. The National Zoo is on a hill though, so I got a great workout that day anyway. My legs are actually more tired today than they would have been after a six mile run. Back to the grind this week!

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I have news I have news I have news!!!!!!!! I JUST BOOKED MY NEXT DISNEY TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!! The plan is to arrive on Jan 22nd which is the day before my youngest turns 10 and then come home on the 28th. I don't want to take my oldest out of school because she will be in high school now but they have a semester break that week for provincials but only grade 10 and up write the provincials so she gets the week off. Everything just screamed book me book me and I did There's nothing like a trip to motivate me to 1. lose weight and 2. stop spending money on crap food eating out.

I booked at Caribbean Beach Resort - I have read some not so good reviews but I gotta go with my gut and that resort just speaks to me! I originally booked it for our last trip and then at the last minute upgraded to Animal Kingdom and didn't regret it but I really would like to try CBR especially now that it's been refurbished. The POR resorts don't do anything for me and Poly and Contemporary are out of my budget. I did consider All Star Movies but in the end went with CBR and I'm super excited. If when they release the Jan sales (usually first week of October) they do what they did before an extend it to end of March for Canadians I may change my dates to spring break but I'm thinking I'll stick with January and make it a Christmas present for the girls. The last trip we went on both my dh and I celebrated our birthdays on the trip and we came home the day before my oldest daughters birthday but she wore the pin all week so this will be my youngest daughters turn.

Woohooo!

Well Dizzy- that's awesome news and the good news is, your two goals go together. If you stop eating out you will most likely lose weight. Hopefully this trip will be your motivation and you can set some goals for what you want to lose before your trip.

I'm a bit jealous you booked a place, or that you could make a decision so easily. I am still torn. But, I will decide soon.

I got in my 4.68 mile easy run that was on the schedule today. Tomorrow is 6 miles of hills.

Just my daily accountability post. I didn't get to run today. When I woke up to run it was thundering and lightning out so I had to wimp out. I felt so guilty all day. Tomorrow is a rest day from running and I actually should follow that as I have a race on Friday. I will be doing a P90X workout in the morning. Everyone have a good night.

Waiting2goback said:

Well Dizzy- that's awesome news and the good news is, your two goals go together. If you stop eating out you will most likely lose weight. Hopefully this trip will be your motivation and you can set some goals for what you want to lose before your trip.

I'm a bit jealous you booked a place, or that you could make a decision so easily. I am still torn. But, I will decide soon.

I got in my 4.68 mile easy run that was on the schedule today. Tomorrow is 6 miles of hills.

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That's so awesome that you can say 4.68 miles is easy!

I have been planning my return trip since I got back in 2013 so I've had lots of time to pick a place! That being said when it comes to things like that I'm pretty good at making decisions unless its a case of all things being equal. In this case I can't afford deluxe so my choices are Value or Mod. Of the mods All Star Sports doesn't appeal to me at all. All Star Music and Pop Century appeal to me but only a little bit. All Star Movies and Art of Animation would be definite options but I'm banking on there being a free dining offer and they are both often excluded or limited plus if I'm getting free dining I want regular dining not quick serve. For the mods the POR resorts don't appeal to me - its just not my style. Coronado Springs looks nice but I haven't really looked up anything about it. Right from day one the two resorts that jumped out at me were Caribbean Beach Resort and Animal Kingdom. For our first trip I booked CBR but I really thought the trip would be a once in a lifetime so I upgraded to AKL since it was my #1 choice and my girls really wanted to stay there (plus we were only going to be there 4 nights so it was more doable). Whenever I thought about staying somewhere else I would think about CBR again so I'm going with my gut and I'm pretty stoked about it! It's definitely my style.

Waiting2goback said:

Just my daily accountability post. I didn't get to run today. When I woke up to run it was thundering and lightning out so I had to wimp out. I felt so guilty all day. Tomorrow is a rest day from running and I actually should follow that as I have a race on Friday. I will be doing a P90X workout in the morning. Everyone have a good night.

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Don't feel guilty - you've been doing great. Today is Canada Day so it's a day off for us My girl are at my inlaws at the lake and being spoiled so it was just me and my dh. We went to Olive Garden for lunch and then to see a friends new place. Now we're having a quiet night watching movies while I start obsessively planning the trip! It was a nice relaxing day but not so good for exercise!

dizzyr said:

I have news I have news I have news!!!!!!!! I JUST BOOKED MY NEXT DISNEY TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!! The plan is to arrive on Jan 22nd which is the day before my youngest turns 10 and then come home on the 28th. I don't want to take my oldest out of school because she will be in high school now but they have a semester break that week for provincials but only grade 10 and up write the provincials so she gets the week off. Everything just screamed book me book me and I did There's nothing like a trip to motivate me to 1. lose weight and 2. stop spending money on crap food eating out.

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Congratulations on the trip! Sounds like it should be great for all of you, especially the youngest. I remember you talking to them about a January trip.

Waiting2goback said:

Just my daily accountability post. I didn't get to run today. When I woke up to run it was thundering and lightning out so I had to wimp out. I felt so guilty all day. Tomorrow is a rest day from running and I actually should follow that as I have a race on Friday. I will be doing a P90X workout in the morning. Everyone have a good night.

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We got that storm at 1am and the lightning strikes were so close together over my house that they looked like strobe lights. And it rained again today and it's supposed to rain off and on all weekend. Ugh. I am going to try and get my long run in tomorrow morning no matter what the weather is since I have the day off. That way my 4th of July 5k is just a recovery run and I'll get to sleep in on Sunday. Other than lots of walking over the weekend, I haven't gotten in any workouts due to my workload and exhaustion level.

dizzyr said:

Coronado Springs looks nice but I haven't really looked up anything about it.

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I liked it, but since it was during marathon weekend, I didn't do much. I'm a foodie though, and I have to say that the food didn't really appeal to me as much as I'd hoped. I'll bet the dining plans are a good deal for a family, I wish there was a more customizable option because it just didn't work for me. Drinks, appetizers, that sort of thing, plus my desire to eat at some of the Signature restaurants just didn't work out well. I liked the snack credits though

It looks like I spoke too soon earlier about my own job not changing. The first time the move didn't work because I am too senior than they were looking for. Monday afternoon I was told that I was going to interview with the 3 Star to be the new Senior Executive Assistant, and yesterday it turned out to be less of an interview than a job offer. I'll be learning a lot, but my hours have gone from great (7:30am - 5pm, usually, with workout time) to Ugh (6am - 6 or 7pm and possibly later if it's a bad day). But it comes with a parking spot so that will help a little. Will have to see how this affects my workouts and training. There are four people in the front office, so I should be able to work out during the day but that's not helpful for running this time of year.

dizzyr said:

That's so awesome that you can say 4.68 miles is easy!

I have been planning my return trip since I got back in 2013 so I've had lots of time to pick a place! That being said when it comes to things like that I'm pretty good at making decisions unless its a case of all things being equal. In this case I can't afford deluxe so my choices are Value or Mod. Of the mods All Star Sports doesn't appeal to me at all. All Star Music and Pop Century appeal to me but only a little bit. All Star Movies and Art of Animation would be definite options but I'm banking on there being a free dining offer and they are both often excluded or limited plus if I'm getting free dining I want regular dining not quick serve. For the mods the POR resorts don't appeal to me - its just not my style. Coronado Springs looks nice but I haven't really looked up anything about it. Right from day one the two resorts that jumped out at me were Caribbean Beach Resort and Animal Kingdom. For our first trip I booked CBR but I really thought the trip would be a once in a lifetime so I upgraded to AKL since it was my #1 choice and my girls really wanted to stay there (plus we were only going to be there 4 nights so it was more doable). Whenever I thought about staying somewhere else I would think about CBR again so I'm going with my gut and I'm pretty stoked about it! It's definitely my style.

Don't feel guilty - you've been doing great. Today is Canada Day so it's a day off for us My girl are at my inlaws at the lake and being spoiled so it was just me and my dh. We went to Olive Garden for lunch and then to see a friends new place. Now we're having a quiet night watching movies while I start obsessively planning the trip! It was a nice relaxing day but not so good for exercise!

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It is still weird to say 4 or 5 miles is an easy run.

I go through the same thought processes too. There are resorts that have no appeal to me. Then there are the different price ranges. I REALLY want to stay on the monorail but I just don't feel right spending the money. Then I think, why not go in the middle and stay at a moderate but then I say to myself, if I am not staying on the monorail why not just go cheap and use the savings to eat at some nice places this trip. I have been winning some contests this year and they come with a gift card of my choice. Of course I pick Disney. So I can use that to offset the cost. Oh well, I will decide soon before there are no rooms even left.

Enjoy the planning. Sometimes I think that is one of the best parts of the whole trip.

Chiomaca said:

We got that storm at 1am and the lightning strikes were so close together over my house that they looked like strobe lights. And it rained again today and it's supposed to rain off and on all weekend. Ugh. I am going to try and get my long run in tomorrow morning no matter what the weather is since I have the day off. That way my 4th of July 5k is just a recovery run and I'll get to sleep in on Sunday. Other than lots of walking over the weekend, I haven't gotten in any workouts due to my workload and exhaustion level.

I liked it, but since it was during marathon weekend, I didn't do much. I'm a foodie though, and I have to say that the food didn't really appeal to me as much as I'd hoped. I'll bet the dining plans are a good deal for a family, I wish there was a more customizable option because it just didn't work for me. Drinks, appetizers, that sort of thing, plus my desire to eat at some of the Signature restaurants just didn't work out well. I liked the snack credits though

It looks like I spoke too soon earlier about my own job not changing. The first time the move didn't work because I am too senior than they were looking for. Monday afternoon I was told that I was going to interview with the 3 Star to be the new Senior Executive Assistant, and yesterday it turned out to be less of an interview than a job offer. I'll be learning a lot, but my hours have gone from great (7:30am - 5pm, usually, with workout time) to Ugh (6am - 6 or 7pm and possibly later if it's a bad day). But it comes with a parking spot so that will help a little. Will have to see how this affects my workouts and training. There are four people in the front office, so I should be able to work out during the day but that's not helpful for running this time of year.

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Yeah, lots of thunderstorms here this week too. It has thrown off my training plan a bit. But the weather seems to have turned and we are in for some good weather. I have my 10K tomorrow and it will be nice for that and not humid from what they say, which is good. I have to run this one hard. My assistant manager ran it a couple years ago and all he does is complain how hard it was. He was 24 when he ran it. I told him I am going to crush his time so I don't have to hear him complain anymore given I will be 17 years older than him at the time we both ran it. My wife is bringing the kids to see me, so that will be cool. It will be the first race, and probably only one they will see me run anytime soon.

So I don't know if I am supposed to congratulate you on the new job or not. I can't tell from the tone of your post if you are excited or not. I mean it's good that you are that respected that they give you the job but the hours sound like a lot. Are you excited or not?

My day was interesting. I didn't wake up for my P90X workout, which has me bummed a bit. I used to love those workouts and now I can't get out of bed for them. I need to force myself to do it. But, then I went to work and just as my day starts who walks in but my brother. I can't remember if I have shared anything about my family but I haven't seen him for 17 years. My parents sued me 17 years ago and my whole family sided with them. So, it was weird seeing him. I didn't want to help him but he walked over to me. Thankfully it was a quick issue so I didn't need to spend much time with him.

I came to some realizations after he left and thought about the interaction a bit though. I felt at peace with myself. It was a bit unusual. Hard to explain without knowing all the details I guess.

I had my race tonight. I just got home and showered. It was a busy day. My time wasn't what I was hoping for and I was down during the race because I was pushing as hard as I could and I just didn't get any faster. My finish time was 54:21. I realize it is a decent time. My pace improved from last year, so that's good. But, I am way off from the pace I need to qualify for Boston.

But, on the ride home I thought about it all. I was thrown off before the race as the wife brought the kids and she was stressed out dealing with them, which had me stressed and worried during the race. We went out to eat before the race and the service was horrible so I ate later than I wanted and I got a cramp during the race, which slowed me down. The course was VERY hilly so that slowed me down a bit. And the start of the race slowed me down too. People got into the 8:00/mile pace staging area who had no business being there. It took me a while to get around all of them.

My coworker that ran the BAA race also ran this one. This is a different one than the one I ran with. She was supposed to be there today too but she bailed. Anyway, he did 5:00 slower on this course than Boston, which was very flat.

My whole point is, I talked myself of the cliff on the way home. I was thinking I have no way to get to 7:00 miles but given all the factors I am still willing to put in the work and try. The challenge is so much fun. The races are so much fun. I still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do but lining up with a goal at each race keeps me so focused and excited.

Now that the weather is back to normal and my races are over I can get back to my normal training schedule on Sunday.

Hope everyone is doing well and has a safe holiday weekend.

Chiomaca said:

I didn't mean prestige so much in the "Look at my cool job" sort of sense, but rather when it's time to be assessed for promotions, there are some jobs that stand out and some that tell people that you've given up the ghost. I turned down a big name job but in my case I'm in a job that still has a decent sense of being engaged and competitive.

I am lucky that I have family that will run with me. Mom actually started after I brought her out for a group 5 mile run, which at the time was the longest she'd ever run. My brother was a three sport athlete in high school, but fell off until he realized his kids were giving him a run for his money. Between hiking with the Boy Scouts and realized that his eldest is going to be a real athlete, he's had to get more active. It was cute this weekend when my brother and his wife were comparing their Jawbone data and talking about calorie allowances. They've both lost a lot of weight in the last six months and since they're both competitive, it was fun to watch.

That stinks. You were definitely mislead and I'm glad you pointed out that the description was badly written.

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I didn't think you meant that. Although being where you are at in the military is pretty cool!

It is awesome that you are all active together. My parents are not the greatest examples. Definitely not into healthy eating and they both smoke. Blech. I did smoke but I quit 9 years ago thank goodness. So I didn't have the greatest starting point but I am trying to get my kids off to a better start which helps motivate me.

As far as the job, I think she was really surprised I said no. She started asking about what kinds of changes I would be willing to make with my schedule after I turned her down. So maybe she is really considering it but I'm not going to hold my breath. She said she would get back to me by the end of next week so I guess we will see. I'm off all next week anyway.

Waiting2goback said:

That's great that you found something you enjoy. I agree 100% about the solitude. I do some of my best thinking when I am running.

It stinks about the job but it's good because now you don't need to make a decision.

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Yup. The job stress is gone.

dizzyr said:

I have news I have news I have news!!!!!!!! I JUST BOOKED MY NEXT DISNEY TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!! The plan is to arrive on Jan 22nd which is the day before my youngest turns 10 and then come home on the 28th. I don't want to take my oldest out of school because she will be in high school now but they have a semester break that week for provincials but only grade 10 and up write the provincials so she gets the week off. Everything just screamed book me book me and I did There's nothing like a trip to motivate me to 1. lose weight and 2. stop spending money on crap food eating out.

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Woohoo!!! That is so exciting.

Chiomaca said:

It looks like I spoke too soon earlier about my own job not changing. The first time the move didn't work because I am too senior than they were looking for. Monday afternoon I was told that I was going to interview with the 3 Star to be the new Senior Executive Assistant, and yesterday it turned out to be less of an interview than a job offer. I'll be learning a lot, but my hours have gone from great (7:30am - 5pm, usually, with workout time) to Ugh (6am - 6 or 7pm and possibly later if it's a bad day). But it comes with a parking spot so that will help a little. Will have to see how this affects my workouts and training. There are four people in the front office, so I should be able to work out during the day but that's not helpful for running this time of year.

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Yeah for the new job and the challenge. Boo for the long hours. Hopefully you will be able to get some kind of routine going.

Waiting2goback said:

I had my race tonight. I just got home and showered. It was a busy day. My time wasn't what I was hoping for and I was down during the race because I was pushing as hard as I could and I just didn't get any faster. My finish time was 54:21. I realize it is a decent time. My pace improved from last year, so that's good. But, I am way off from the pace I need to qualify for Boston.

But, on the ride home I thought about it all. I was thrown off before the race as the wife brought the kids and she was stressed out dealing with them, which had me stressed and worried during the race. We went out to eat before the race and the service was horrible so I ate later than I wanted and I got a cramp during the race, which slowed me down. The course was VERY hilly so that slowed me down a bit. And the start of the race slowed me down too. People got into the 8:00/mile pace staging area who had no business being there. It took me a while to get around all of them.

My coworker that ran the BAA race also ran this one. This is a different one than the one I ran with. She was supposed to be there today too but she bailed. Anyway, he did 5:00 slower on this course than Boston, which was very flat.

My whole point is, I talked myself of the cliff on the way home. I was thinking I have no way to get to 7:00 miles but given all the factors I am still willing to put in the work and try. The challenge is so much fun. The races are so much fun. I still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do but lining up with a goal at each race keeps me so focused and excited.

Now that the weather is back to normal and my races are over I can get back to my normal training schedule on Sunday.

Hope everyone is doing well and has a safe holiday weekend.

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I'm glad that you were able to process everything about the race and turn it into a positive. That still isn't a shabby time. And I know you can get to the 7 min/mile mark.

As for me, well the last week has been crazy. Yesterday was my husband's 50th b-day and we spent most of it getting ready for our party today. Thankfully I have a tent because the weather is awful. It is raining and blah. It looks like it might clear up in time for tonight but that doesn't help me much. Normally I make all sorts of "bad" foods for the party. This year I changed it up some. I have the standards, burgers, dogs and chicken. My hubby does clams. I made a huge veggie platter and a fruit salad. I also made a cucumber salad. All things that are pretty healthy. It is dish to pass and I have a big cake for hubby's b-day but at least I have go to's. I'm not going to totally be good because I did make a ton of jello shots. Just a bit better than last year.

I hope that everyone has a great and safe 4th of July.

Waiting2goback said:

It is still weird to say 4 or 5 miles is an easy run.

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Wait until you get to the point where it's "just" 8 or 10 miles.

Waiting2goback said:

I go through the same thought processes too. There are resorts that have no appeal to me. Then there are the different price ranges. I REALLY want to stay on the monorail but I just don't feel right spending the money. Then I think, why not go in the middle and stay at a moderate but then I say to myself, if I am not staying on the monorail why not just go cheap and use the savings to eat at some nice places this trip. I have been winning some contests this year and they come with a gift card of my choice. Of course I pick Disney. So I can use that to offset the cost. Oh well, I will decide soon before there are no rooms even left.

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I think I'd stay on the monorail if I were to do Dopey, but that I wouldn't feel too deeply into it for a single race or even Goofy. Disneyland is easier

Waiting2goback said:

So I don't know if I am supposed to congratulate you on the new job or not. I can't tell from the tone of your post if you are excited or not. I mean it's good that you are that respected that they give you the job but the hours sound like a lot. Are you excited or not?

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The general response from people is "Congratulations?" I know I will be learning a lot and seeing a much broader range of issues than I saw as a single subject matter expert. Stuff my new boss does goes to the President on a regular basis and it will all pass through me. So,kinda cool. The bummer is that his first meetings start at 7am, and we have to be in before that to be ready. I'm actually being brought in to help transition a new guy, but both the current one and the new one are supposed to be great people. I've talked to the current guy to register my desire to have a life, and that went over better than I had expected. It will take some adjustment, but I think it will end up being a good thing.

Waiting2goback said:

But, then I went to work and just as my day starts who walks in but my brother. I can't remember if I have shared anything about my family but I haven't seen him for 17 years. My parents sued me 17 years ago and my whole family sided with them. So, it was weird seeing him. I didn't want to help him but he walked over to me. Thankfully it was a quick issue so I didn't need to spend much time with him.

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Waiting2goback said:

But, on the ride home I thought about it all. I was thrown off before the race as the wife brought the kids and she was stressed out dealing with them, which had me stressed and worried during the race. We went out to eat before the race and the service was horrible so I ate later than I wanted and I got a cramp during the race, which slowed me down. The course was VERY hilly so that slowed me down a bit. And the start of the race slowed me down too. People got into the 8:00/mile pace staging area who had no business being there. It took me a while to get around all of them.
...
My whole point is, I talked myself of the cliff on the way home. I was thinking I have no way to get to 7:00 miles but given all the factors I am still willing to put in the work and try. The challenge is so much fun. The races are so much fun. I still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do but lining up with a goal at each race keeps me so focused and excited.

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You've really come a long way in the last year. Both of these things would have really thrown you for a lot longer before. Congratulations on moving past them both. As for the run - we all have good ones and bad ones and this one you had a lot of extra stresses. Were the kids excited to see you run?

StayCool said:

As for me, well the last week has been crazy. Yesterday was my husband's 50th b-day and we spent most of it getting ready for our party today. Thankfully I have a tent because the weather is awful. It is raining and blah. It looks like it might clear up in time for tonight but that doesn't help me much. Normally I make all sorts of "bad" foods for the party. This year I changed it up some. I have the standards, burgers, dogs and chicken. My hubby does clams. I made a huge veggie platter and a fruit salad. I also made a cucumber salad. All things that are pretty healthy. It is dish to pass and I have a big cake for hubby's b-day but at least I have go to's. I'm not going to totally be good because I did make a ton of jello shots. Just a bit better than last year.

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Sounds like you're going to have a good time tonight! I watched baseball the last two days, and stayed in yesterday to see how my pup does with fireworks, which turned out to be surprisingly good. I ran six miles yesterday to get in a longish run and then a 5k today. I don't know if you guys remember the young man I posted about who wanted to run a 5k every month to change his lifestyle. He joined Team RWB after his first 5k, where he saw some of us, and now he's doing a bunch around the country with different RWB groups. His July race in DC was with us, so after we finished the 5k, most of us turned around and went back for him. For the group I was with, that meant an extra mile in each direction, but a horde of us finished with him. It was a pretty cool event. Not planning much tonight since I live on the wrong side of all the road closures in DC. I will probably walk somewhere local to grab dinner since I'm sick of the leftovers from last weekend, and I think most of them are off by now. You can see the fireworks pretty well from the waterfront near my house since I live just off the Potomac River.

Chiomaca said:

Wait until you get to the point where it's "just" 8 or 10 miles.

The general response from people is "Congratulations?" I know I will be learning a lot and seeing a much broader range of issues than I saw as a single subject matter expert. Stuff my new boss does goes to the President on a regular basis and it will all pass through me. So,kinda cool. The bummer is that his first meetings start at 7am, and we have to be in before that to be ready. I'm actually being brought in to help transition a new guy, but both the current one and the new one are supposed to be great people. I've talked to the current guy to register my desire to have a life, and that went over better than I had expected. It will take some adjustment, but I think it will end up being a good thing.

You've really come a long way in the last year. Both of these things would have really thrown you for a lot longer before. Congratulations on moving past them both. As for the run - we all have good ones and bad ones and this one you had a lot of extra stresses. Were the kids excited to see you run?

Sounds like you're going to have a good time tonight! I watched baseball the last two days, and stayed in yesterday to see how my pup does with fireworks, which turned out to be surprisingly good. I ran six miles yesterday to get in a longish run and then a 5k today. I don't know if you guys remember the young man I posted about who wanted to run a 5k every month to change his lifestyle. He joined Team RWB after his first 5k, where he saw some of us, and now he's doing a bunch around the country with different RWB groups. His July race in DC was with us, so after we finished the 5k, most of us turned around and went back for him. For the group I was with, that meant an extra mile in each direction, but a horde of us finished with him. It was a pretty cool event. Not planning much tonight since I live on the wrong side of all the road closures in DC. I will probably walk somewhere local to grab dinner since I'm sick of the leftovers from last weekend, and I think most of them are off by now. You can see the fireworks pretty well from the waterfront near my house since I live just off the Potomac River.

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I remember saying that a couple times last summer about "just" doing 8 miles. My mileage will begin increasing quickly here. I was supposed to do my long run today but I took the kids to an amusement park yesterday and my legs were sore from the race so I decided I will move my long runs to Mondays as I have Mondays off all summer. It makes sense to do it on a day off as opposed to going to work after anyway. So, tomorrow is 11 miles already.

I will say Congratulations then. It sounds like a cool opportunity to be working with someone so high up. It can't hurt for career advancement as well, if that's what you want. The hours may stink but you'll figure out a schedule and get to do the stuff you want I am sure.

You know what is funny to me. I used to always be bothered by my family stuff but in this case my time is bothering me way more than seeing my brother. By the end of the day that I saw him I had already forgotten about it whereas I am still replaying the race in my mind.

Is that guy you are talking about Derek Mitchell? I friended him on Facebook and the stories sound very similar. He is now trying to get into the Guinness Book for the heaviest person to complete a marathon. Assuming it is the same person I love following his progress. It would be hard not to join him and encourage him to finish.

Waiting2goback said:

I remember saying that a couple times last summer about "just" doing 8 miles. My mileage will begin increasing quickly here. I was supposed to do my long run today but I took the kids to an amusement park yesterday and my legs were sore from the race so I decided I will move my long runs to Mondays as I have Mondays off all summer. It makes sense to do it on a day off as opposed to going to work after anyway. So, tomorrow is 11 miles already.

I will say Congratulations then. It sounds like a cool opportunity to be working with someone so high up. It can't hurt for career advancement as well, if that's what you want. The hours may stink but you'll figure out a schedule and get to do the stuff you want I am sure.

You know what is funny to me. I used to always be bothered by my family stuff but in this case my time is bothering me way more than seeing my brother. By the end of the day that I saw him I had already forgotten about it whereas I am still replaying the race in my mind.

Is that guy you are talking about Derek Mitchell? I friended him on Facebook and the stories sound very similar. He is now trying to get into the Guinness Book for the heaviest person to complete a marathon. Assuming it is the same person I love following his progress. It would be hard not to join him and encourage him to finish.

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Mondays sound like a good day for a long run! I hope it went well today.

I took the dogs out for two miles this morning before I went in to work to try and work a little extra energy off. It was a 12 hour day today (longer for two of the guys in the office - we need to figure that out better) and super high stress. If you were to watch the news, one of the lead stories today was what we worked on from the time I arrived to about 1:45 this afternoon. That's the rough part. The cool part is that I have a boss who believes in collaboration and I feel like I made a real contribution in preparing him for a tough afternoon. For career advancement - yeah, this moves me right into the light. I don't necessarily need the limelight, but it can't hurt.

Derek Mitchell is the guy I was talking about. If you see pictures of him crossing the finish line at his 5k, I'm in the crowd behind him. It was a cool moment.

Chiomaca said:

Mondays sound like a good day for a long run! I hope it went well today.

I took the dogs out for two miles this morning before I went in to work to try and work a little extra energy off. It was a 12 hour day today (longer for two of the guys in the office - we need to figure that out better) and super high stress. If you were to watch the news, one of the lead stories today was what we worked on from the time I arrived to about 1:45 this afternoon. That's the rough part. The cool part is that I have a boss who believes in collaboration and I feel like I made a real contribution in preparing him for a tough afternoon. For career advancement - yeah, this moves me right into the light. I don't necessarily need the limelight, but it can't hurt.

Derek Mitchell is the guy I was talking about. If you see pictures of him crossing the finish line at his 5k, I'm in the crowd behind him. It was a cool moment.

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No, it was a pretty bad run. One of the worst I have had in a long time. I was scheduled to do 11 and I was only able to pull off 4.5 and that was a complete struggle and every step hurt. My legs were just hurting the whole time. They felt like lead. I looked at Runkeeper when I got home and I finished at 12:30 min/miles. That's the slowest I have been since my marathon. While I am disappointed I know I did the best I could. I could have given up right away but I squeaked out as much as I could. It happens from time to time.

So you are already in your new job? There was no transition period? It's cool to have such an important job.

I like watching his progress. What's best about his story is that he is so public with it. He can't slip at all because so many people are watching him and will hold him accountable. He can't really fail now.

Just stopping in to keep myself accountable. I did my P90X workout this morning. I have a 4 mile easy run scheduled in the morning and my legs are still hurting. I am hoping sleeping in my compression socks will help. We shall see.

Oh, and my wife informs me today that she intends to join a gym and plans to workout early in the mornings and that we need to work out a schedule so we can both workout. Just what I need. It's hard enough fitting in all these workouts as it is, now this. The good news is, I highly doubt she will stick to it for very long. She is looking for gyms with no contract so she can cancel any time. So, it may be short-lived. But still enough to possibly throw me off track.

Waiting2goback said:

No, it was a pretty bad run. One of the worst I have had in a long time. I was scheduled to do 11 and I was only able to pull off 4.5 and that was a complete struggle and every step hurt. My legs were just hurting the whole time. They felt like lead. I looked at Runkeeper when I got home and I finished at 12:30 min/miles. That's the slowest I have been since my marathon. While I am disappointed I know I did the best I could. I could have given up right away but I squeaked out as much as I could. It happens from time to time.

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I know how that feels, and the runs feel this way more often now that the summer heat has kicked in. I ran 3.2 this morning with the dogs at about the same pace as your run, though that was more because dog #2 is a reluctant runner. He's more of a trotter, who grudgingly indulges my desire to run.

Waiting2goback said:

So you are already in your new job? There was no transition period? It's cool to have such an important job.

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Yes, started the job on Monday. There are two people in the front office that take care of the big boss, and I'm one of the two - the other guy is there to show me the ropes and make sure I don't foul anything up too badly for the next two weeks. Then he and the boss move on and a new big boss moves in and I get to teach him. Life in the military is transient and the learning curve is steep. And I'm tired. The dogs are NOT adjusting well to my new hours. I've been getting home around 7 - 7:30 and so they do their business then and aren't interested when I take them back out at 9:30. Then at midnight they need to go, so out we go. Argh. My saint of a dog walker has offered a second quick walk in the early evening before I get home, and she took them out today. Here's to hoping I don't have yet another midnight walk in my future. 4:30 comes early.

Waiting2goback said:

Just stopping in to keep myself accountable. I did my P90X workout this morning. I have a 4 mile easy run scheduled in the morning and my legs are still hurting. I am hoping sleeping in my compression socks will help. We shall see.

Oh, and my wife informs me today that she intends to join a gym and plans to workout early in the mornings and that we need to work out a schedule so we can both workout. Just what I need. It's hard enough fitting in all these workouts as it is, now this. The good news is, I highly doubt she will stick to it for very long. She is looking for gyms with no contract so she can cancel any time. So, it may be short-lived. But still enough to possibly throw me off track.

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It sounds like your progress is inspiring more than your co-workers. I hope you guys can work something out that lets you get your training in. What do your kids do during the summers? It does sound like she's not planning to stick to it though.