It was raining here yesterday, and I just don’t love running enough to go out in the rain. So once work was finished the 3 kids and I headed to the gym, which provides free childcare. By “childcare” I mean a big space with lots of toys, computers, a climbing area and even a mini-gym, devoted to kids. And the 4 or 5 adults who have the job of watching them. There’s not a lot of “care” going on, but now that my youngest is 4 years old I’m not as concerned as I used to be.

The 8 year old informed me that he wanted to play basketball with the adults who were shooting around in the main gym. Gulp. But Husband lets him do it, so I left him there and promised to check in on him later. Put the 4 year old and 10 year old into childcare. Of course the 10 year old was pouting and eye-rolling the whole time. I mean, really, Mom! I have to stay with the little kids? I’d given him the option of staying home alone, but once we were at the gym, I wasn’t about to let him hang out in the cafe.

Anyway, I finally made it to the treadmill about 20 minutes after we arrived. Needless to say, I was pretty distracted. I eventually ran about 3.6 miles, but that included: one trip to the windows overlooking the main gym to check on the 8 year old; one trip downstairs when I couldn’t see the 8 year old; one trip to gather up the 8 year old who was tired of playing basketball and wanted to run on the treadmill next to mine; numerous “conversations” with the 8 year old about how the treadmill works; one trip to the bathroom because the 8 year old had to pee; and finally one mile all at once at my usual pace.

When I collected the 4 year old and 10 year old from childcare, they seemed pretty happy. And the 8 year old did get to shoot baskets for 20 minutes and walk a mile on the treadmill. So everyone had a great time and Mom even got a little exercise in. Emphasis on a little.

Today’s forecast calls for more rain. Sigh. I wasn’t able to run in the morning before Husband left for work, and I really shouldn’t be using nanny time for exercise since I’m supposed to be working. Wish I had a wife who could watch the kids while I exercise. Ha, ha.

By 9:00 on Monday night, I could barely keep my eyes open (I’d done the long run on Sunday morning). I went up to bed at 10:00 (missing my Jon Stewart fix) and tried to read. Fell asleep with the book on my chest by 10:15. Husband came upstairs about 10:45 and asked if I wanted the alarm set so I could do my short Tuesday run in the early morning. Apparently, I grunted at him and turned over.

So, the long run did exhaust me – it just took about 40 hours to take effect. Didn’t even notice Husband getting out of bed at 5:15 for his spin class (ugh, not for me!). But after getting a good night’s sleep, I felt pretty good on Tuesday. Went downtown for work (I usually work from home) and was very productive.

Even though I missed Tuesday’s run (I am not one for running at the end of the workday) I am looking forward to making up for it tomorrow. Guess that’s what they mean when the gurus talk about getting enough rest for us old folks. Will have to keep that in mind for next weekend.

At my pace, 7 miles means running for more than an hour. My Dad (a runner when he was younger, now a walker) says that an hour is kind of a milestone. If you can keep your feet moving for more than an hour, you can probably go a lot farther than that.

But I have a little problem. The sweet little iPod that Husband gave me for Mother’s Day refuses to work. Which means the Nike+ isn’t working, and also that I have to run 7 miles WITHOUT MUSIC.

Surprisingly, this turns out to be not so bad. I’m out the door by 6:45 am, which is really nice on a Sunday. Running without music turns out to mean that I have to think. I hardly ever have an uninterrupted stretch of time to think, let alone nearly 70 minutes. By the end, I’ve almost got the health care reform crisis figured out.

Just kidding. I have no idea what to do about health care reform, except that I’m pretty sure bringing a loaded gun to a presidential town hall meeting would achieve absolutely nothing. I did decide on new furniture for the 10 year old’s room, though!

A few hours later, I headed to the local Apple store. Even though it looked packed, a salesperson approached me right away and in less than a minute she’d solved the problem. Who knew that you need to reboot an iPod every now and then? (Probably everybody except me.) Very glad to discover I didn’t need to shell out another $150 for a new iPod. And kudos to Apple for great customer service on a busy Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, I can’t believe I actually ran for 7 miles yesterday. In a row. Without walking (although I do plan to walk through some of the aid stations at the actual race). And I am functioning normally today, no lingering effects from my longest run EVER.

However, I am REALLY glad that the schedule calls for a day of rest on Monday.

I took the kids to the grocery store once we arrived, to buy breakfast and snack foods (we stayed in a place with a kitchen), and I let them each pick out a “special” item. Somehow, this year they decided that “special item” meant they each got to choose one box of cookies, one drink they can’t have at home, and one sugar-laden cereal. Since I have three kids, that was a LOT of junk.

I remember when the older ones were 4 and 2. We went on vacation and I told them they could each pick out something special at the grocery store. They chose coloring books. Those days are long gone.

Of course, I got to choose a box of cookies too. I may have also eaten one or two of their cookies during the week. And we had ice cream every day. All that eating adds up, and a lot more quickly than it did when I was 30. Or 20.

So, I really did have to do that running.

After Husband left, my parents arrived. I think they understand that vacationing with three kids is not so much a vacation for the mom unless there are other adults to help out. Hear, hear.

Tuesday morning they arrived at our place and I set off down the road. We vacationed in a beach town, and the houses in our area were mostly small and older. But when I ventured away from town a little, sticking to the beach road, the houses got progressively newer and larger. And the “for sale” signs multiplied too. It’s not a good economy for a town that makes most of its money from tourism.

Anyway, my little Nike+ figured out when I’d gone about 1.2 miles, then I turned into the fanciest development I’d seen yet. Beautiful lawns, private pool and beach access, tennis courts. I had no idea this part of the town existed. Running can be good for exploring.

Eventually I turned around and headed back. Ran the same route (but went a little farther) on Wednesday, but Thursday we had torrential rains in the morning. That seemed like a good excuse to me for staying in and having an extra muffin. (I really love vacation!)

Friday morning I actually did the last of the three weekly runs. Unfortunately, my iPod didn’t. I have no idea what’s wrong, but I after I went through every menu to choose my run distance and playlist, it refused to actually play any songs. Sigh. I’m going to hit the Apple Store today.

I decided I had to change the second half of that theory this year if I wanted to keep on track for the half-marathon.

So . . . Higdon’s training schedule calls for long runs on Saturdays, and shorter runs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We were supposed to leave at 10:00 am on Saturday (August 15), which meant that if I wanted to do the 6 mile run on schedule, I had to get up early. Really early.

I’m a terrible sleeper anyway the night before a vacation (or a test, or the start of school, or basically anything more out of the ordinary than a PTA meeting). So I was up at 5:30 am and ran my 6 miles.

It was fantastic. I don’t usually say that about exercising, but it was really great. The weather was beautiful and I ran through an outdoor mall that’s not too far from our house. There’s something about being in a public place that is usually mobbed, when it’s completely empty. When I got back and told Husband, he said I’d never look at the mall the same way again.

Anyway, we left on time for vacation. Sunday and Monday were a breeze, since they were “rest” days.

Then it was time to actually do some exercise while on vacation. Did I mention that Husband went back home on Sunday so he could work for a few days? Stay tuned . . .

Here is the title of the first book that comes up when you search our card catalog for books by Hal Higdon:

Masters running : a guide to running and staying fit after 40

Argh!!!  I can’t just train for a race now using regular guidelines?  I need a special book because of my advanced age??  Guess that’s better than a “geriatric” pregnancy.

But really.  Am I supposed to go for a checkup to make sure I can do this?  Is this one of the things that 40 means?

I don’t go to the doctor for checkups.  Hardly any of the women I know do.  We hit the OB/GYN once a year.  Mainly now it’s the GYN part we use.  I think I need to start having more checkups.  Different checkups.  This is definitely not the fun part of turning 40.

Meanwhile, the library awaits.  Fortunately there are some other books by Hal Higdon too.  Like:

Marathon : the ultimate training and racing guide

Maybe I’ll get them both.

Also – it turns out that my 10 year old’s camp has some great running paths. Ran a 5K on Tuesday the 11th and 3.6 miles on Wednesday the 12th after camp dropoff.

Even better, a lot of the people who are out on the paths are older and out of shape. I passed so many walkers/joggers! Great for my ego. Then a bunch of moms from the camp passed me. Guess I’ve got a long way to go.

However – I immediately discovered that I can’t use the cute little pink armband I’ve been running with for 2 years, because my iPod no longer fits in there with the Nike+ chip attached. Dug out the armband that came with the Nike+.

When I finally wedged the iPod in the new armband, I discovered that you CAN’T SEE THE IPOD SCREEN. I had to pull the iPod back out to set up the workout and music. Then shove it back in the holder (it’s really snug) and hope it hadn’t turned off automatically before I pushed the center button.

I can’t believe this is the way it’s supposed to work. How am I supposed to program the iPod if I can’t see the screen? Who designed this armband? What were they thinking?

If anyone is reading this and has some suggestions, I’d really appreciate them. Because as it is right now, the Nike+ isn’t going to be accurate. Sigh.

Still managed to run 4 miles. For what it’s worth, the new gadget told me I ran 9:36 miles. Never knew before how fast (well, slow) I was running, except for the three races I’ve run. At least that’s nice to know.

This morning I dragged myself out of bed, put my contacts in and threw on some shorts and a top from a women’s exercise clothing store that will remain unnamed but that I will call Van Pelt. I think this top is really more for yoga, but I feel very fit when I wear it.

I only went in Van Pelt the one time, after Husband gave me a gift certificate. I’d been complaining for months that I didn’t have any cute workout clothes and that the spandex shorts I had used since college must have shrunk in the wash. Also, they were starting to fray. Yet I hadn’t bought anything to replace them, so I just kept wearing them (or stayed away from the gym).

I think Husband is slightly amazed at my lack of interest in shopping. I’m not a fan of spending money, I’m generally not crazy about the way I look in clothes, and I always feel like the salespeople are trying to put one over on me. Not a good combination when it comes to walking into a women’s clothing store. Honestly, I’m just not that into it.

Anyway, Husband nagged me about using the gift certificate for months, so I finally did. Figured that the sports bras I’d also had since college could probably use to be replaced too.

Yet what did I walk out of Van Pelt with? 3 sleeveless tops, one pair of yoga pants, and an exercise “skirt” with shorts underneath. They didn’t have any sports bras that would be useful for someone with more than an A cup.

Hello, doesn’t this place sell women’s exercise clothing? I’d think that would be a number one item. Maybe it’s not cool anymore to wear a sports bra that really straps you in. I don’t relish the idea of getting hit in the face as I run, though.

Also, Van Pelt is REALLY expensive. Or maybe it’s just that I hadn’t bought exercise clothes since about 1990 (you all know I’m turning 40, so you can figure out when I was in college, no point in lying). No, I’m not so out of touch – I think it *is* expensive. I will have to check out the selection at Target. Love that place.

Back to this morning, and dragging myself out of bed . . . I did make it out the door, and I did run 3.7 miles. I have no idea where that fits into a training schedule.

That’s my next step. How much am I supposed to run? And when? Not like, “WHEN will I fit it in around the 3 kids and my full time job?” More like, “how many weeks before the race I am supposed to be able to run 6, 8 or 10 miles so that I can finish this thing?” I’m sure the Internet has something to say about that.

I’m going to start by finally installing the Nike+ chip in my running shoes.  http://www.apple.com/ipod/nike/  Husband got this for me as a surprise more than 2 years ago.  TWO YEARS.  He bought it in April 2007 and gave it to me for Mother’s Day that year.  This thing has been sitting in my closet, literally gathering dust.  God knows I have enough stuff in my closet.  Time to get this out.

OK, I have it in front of me.  It is very, very small.  But the user’s guide is really, really thick.  Wait, only 18 pages are in English.  The rest is in French, German, and another language whose symbols I don’t recognize.  Re-learning French might be a project for when I turn 45.  Right now I’m going to concentrate on running.  And getting this gadget in my shoe.

I have a brilliant idea.  This is a perfect project for one of my older boys!  Like when we got the Wii remote charger, I just handed it off to them and said, “Make it work.”  And they did!  At least, I think they did.  I don’t play the Wii.  I just tracked it down (this was in 2007, when they were still hard to find), paid an ungodly amount of money for it, and handed it over.  Also, I am the member of the family who puts the remotes and games away in the little area I’ve designated as “Wii storage.”  And sometimes I break up disputes.  Also, I make sure they’re not playing games that are too violent either for them or their little brother.

Back to the Nike+.  This is great.  I’m finally going to get it in my shoe, my kids will have a project, and then I can post my progress on this blog.  So you can all track it along with me.  Gulp.

Husband has been asking me for months now what I’d like to do for my birthday. Have a party? Large, small, blowout, modest? We just went on a special vacation for our anniversary, so I don’t want another big trip.

I’ve given it a lot of thought, what to do to celebrate this milestone. I want to do something positive, something that reflects the changes I’ve made in my life over the last few years.

Since my youngest son was born, I’ve made a great effort to stay fit. This is not always fun. I love to eat often, and Husband likes to eat a lot, which is not a good combination. And I don’t just like to eat healthy leafy things. One of my all-time favorites is an apple fritter from Dunkin Donuts. I still can’t go a week without eating one of those.  Mmmm.

To compensate, I’ve started exercising. Not just half-hearted half hours on the StairMaster, like in college, but running. And some yoga, too. As a result, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I am more fit at almost 40 than I’ve ever been in my whole life. Well, there was one summer during college when I swam almost 50 miles. I was in pretty good shape then too.

But that only lasted for a summer. I’ve been exercising pretty regularly now for over 3 years. So for my 40th birthday, I’m going to give myself a fitness challenge that I’m not sure I can meet.

I’m going to run a half-marathon.

There’s one coming up in my city this fall. It would be easy to sign up for that. There are probably lots of local running groups that are training for it. But this isn’t just to do it. It’s for my birthday. My FORTIETH birthday.

I’m going to run the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas.  http://las-vegas.competitor.com/