a life beyond running shoes.

spectacular weather this past week. i hit my highs and lows of training. long run: 20 miles week total: 32.85 recovery from my 18 miler last week was slow but i did some stretching and yoga before i hit the sidewalks with the jog stroller for the first time in this training process. my high was my speed work. i did 5 one-mile-repeats and hit a first in the fast mile division. i didn't have anything left at the end of that mile but i was not dying. a narrow division but significant. long run today was my all time low for training. i really had not given myself enough recovery time between these two long runs but i wanted to get the distance in.... i got it in. if i could have quit at mile 13, i would have! thank you stef for telling me stories from mile 13 - 18. and tiffany, thanks for the company for miles 6 - 12. i was at least conversational still....poor stef got no conversation. i really could not have done this alone....any of it. thanks for all those who have run with me ...

boys and i went to do some garden clean-up after church. we picked up trash, raked leaves, and met neighbors. it is part of sustainable flatbush . they are starting a community garden across the street from our new worship space. it is on the property of flatbush reformed church, the oldest worshiping church in brooklyn. i don't have pics, but their website might later. we came home and daddy was starting dinner: short ribs. ....braised over many hours in wine and herbs. farmer's market roasted potatoes with rosemary from our garden. the last of the csa tomatoes cooked with butter and shallots for a tomato soup. watched family movie. played. ate. laughed. it was a great day of rest. and this is just too cute: (she is counting in case you can't figure that out)

thanks to my friend, 3 peas (whose pictures are better than mine), we found out about a real farm in queens. there is a petting zoo. there is a pumpkin patch. there is a corn maze. it is literally 3 acres. we skipped the animals and went straight for maze. we got lost. found our way. lost a lunch box. found the mailbox clues with pieces of the map. lost our flag. and had a great time! and we love halloween. and so does my sister who sends tees every year.... this year takes the cake!!! i love retro. did i mention that my 5 year old picked out a star wars tee and my heart did a flutter.

frankly, i could not resist. melanie rehak takes time to work in the kitchen of applewood restaurant in park slope, brooklyn (where she lives) and makes observations between choice and compromise all while taking the time to follow the chain of food before it gets to the restaurant. applewood is my all time favorite restaurant. it is where part of my journey of seasonal, local eating began. rehak has read wendell berry and michael pollan. again, how could i resist?! and i think she (and the owners of applewood) strike a balance between eating with convictions (local, sustainable, seasonal) and personal reality (a picky eater that will only eat bananas for breakfast - which in ny this is not local....in case you didn't know that about the northeast). the wrestling with convictions and compromise. and i loved her adventures with the fisherman and vegetable farmers. she learned a lot and still let her child eat cheerios. that is a lady i could be friends with. it did remind me of he...

we moved out of baptist church of the redeemer and few blocks over to historic erasmus hall high school. they actually have a chapel that we are renting. it seats 800. there are 45 of us. it dwarfs us, but we get to pray for more neighbors..... that we might reflect the neighborhood we are worship in..... that we might know better how to serve our neighbors.... that we might learn how to be good neighbors.... and that we might reflect jesus in it all. it was really cool to be there. there were a few hiccups.... a learning curve.... the load up, the set-up, the tear down, and the transport it back. did i mention it is all in our basement. (by the way, you could pray that we will be amazing & gracious tenants and can get a closet for storage as part of the deal) it was a cool sunday! by saturday we just might be ready to do it all again!

(peanut is #5) weather has not been my friend....until today. fall is here! cooler weather, soccer, apples, change out the clothes...which means my favorite cords that i have not worn for two full years. but in terms of running: long run: 18 miles. weather: 52 degrees at 6:15 when i left the house. had company for 11 of those 18 miles. thank you jessie & tiffany. so very, very helpful. got to take in the changing scenery of the park as i did almost three and a half loops in there. the leaves have the hint that they might change colors soon. the air was crisp and cool. i even wore a long sleeved technical tee....of course, it chaffed my underarm.....but details, details. it was a good run. my legs are tired....but i did run 18 miles. week total: 35 miles (since 18 was supposed to be last week and slight cold and then rain postponed it to this.... two week total) i got in a hill workout and a easy run the week before the debacle of trying to get this 18 miler taken care of. no eas...

across the barriers that divide race from race: reconcile us, o christ, by your cross. across the barriers that divide rich from poor: reconcile us, o christ, by your cross. across the barriers that divide people of different cultures: reconcile us, o christ, by your cross. across the barriers that divide christians: reconcile us, o christ, by your cross. across the barriers that divide men and women, young and old: reconcile us, o christ, by your cross. confront us, o christ, with the hidden prejudices and fears that deny and betray or prayers. enable us to see the causes of strife, remove from us all senses of superiority. teach us to grow in unity with all god's children. amen. this sunday will be our first sunday in new worship space. historic building in flatbush. very awesome. very awesome, indeed. god is kind and generous...... pray we can move deeper into loving our neighbors.

so the warning has been issued...... this is about feminine hygiene. most specifically tampon alternatives. so for my brother....skip this post. in my attempts to live a greener lifestyle and make changes both small and large, i did a bit of research on tampon alternatives. this is what i found: the diva cup . it has been three full cycles now and i am just posting because i wanted to be able to give a full account of the product. i won't go back. BUT there is a learning curve. i just now feel as if i have the hang of it.....both gross factor and technique. it really does take getting used to and i am not sure how you would use it if you had to change it out while in a restroom without a sink nearby. again, too much information, but on my heaviest days i "empty" twice a day.....and at night still wear a pad. which was true prior to this experiment as well. i did read all the questions posted on their website, read the instructions multiple times, and read other bl...

peanut is loving soccer. what a fun moment to realize i was on the side-line for my kid's soccer game. i'm a soccer mom! he was super cute. loves guarding the goal, trying to figure out passing, and is able to rejoice over another teammates scoring....he is a good team player. i love seeing his heart grow and expand as he engages the world that is daily getting bigger. then there is little bit. who is trying to refuse engaging the world at all. during soccer today, he sat on the bench. he refused to enjoy himself. hum.....can anyone say stubborn. his heart is in a rough place right now. he wants to be a big kid but has had lots of changes to his world that i think are leaving him insecure and nervous....so he digs his heals in....against us, the soccer coach, and school. i realize what a battle it is for my kid's heart. i fight to help him against himself. praying for grace, wisdom, gentleness, firmness, consistency, cuddles.....with every step of the way. boy, he can be...

maybe we have turned one. of course, this is after total day of set-backs due to a bike accident on the way to school. peanut was limping all day because he got his foot caught in the bike wheels.....i could see there was no quick emotional recovery in sight. we had a home day on tuesday. but as of today: we have had no tears from kindergartner extraordinaire. he had a "great" day yesterday. he loves music class and mr. a. he likes to eat lunch with zion. and he likes to do homework. but i have to say, it is tough to get some play-time, a snack, and homework done all before dinner. phew. it exhausts me! little bit on the other hand..... has switched to morning pre-k class. hopefully this will eliminate the entire morning of "i don't want to go." they had an apple party today. it was great! but there were tears at drop-off. we did have a family adventure to really cool playground after school one day. and this little sweet pea and i played play-dough all mornin...

it walks around without assistance. it eats lunch in the cafeteria. it learns how to share, write letters, and play keyboar d. it participates in gym and dance. it is not happy. transition to kindergarten has been tough on both of us. he doesn't like it. i miss him. i don't like that he doesn't like it. that breaks my heart. i had this moment in the store last week where i realized that i only had two children with me. somehow, how i saw myself was acutely aware of how others saw me.....normal. no one commented on the fact that i had two boys and "finally got my girl" or "wow, your kids are close" or even "are they all yours?" i was just a mom with two kids. nothing remarkable. i wanted to wear a sign that said, "my other one just started kindergarten!!" the tension of how much easier it was to navigate my day in opposition to missing my oldest kiddo. it is weird not to have him around all day. it is fun to interact with t...

(photo from ditmasparkblog.com - liena) but please go to this link.... new york times photos from new york city's tornado watch 2010. totally wild. i mention it because i did a longer run this morning and i was aghast at the tree rubble in prospect park. at the end of the long meadow there were trees down all over the place. i also had looked through these pics this morning because i failed to realize just how late sunrise had gotten in the last couple of weeks.....so i had about 15 extra minutes to kill before sunlight. some of the pics are amazing! but back to training.... long run: 11.5 miles it was 59 degrees at 6am. again, the hint of fall is upon me and i am loving every minute. and i have to admit that today was a killer run. i hit my stride, was going through my prayer list, thought through women's prayer breakfast this morning, mapped out next week's run, and then failed to be able to complete simple mathematics. that was the hint to head home. i ran home har...

phew. we are in total survival mode. peanut is not loving kindergarten. in fact, he doesn't even want to put clothes on in the morning to go. but.....we are working on learning to love school. yesterday was music class. that was a winner. now, if we could not have tears tomorrow. that would be a winning day. little bit love pre-k. he has made friends with the most rambunctious kid in his class. the teachers are going to have to watch them closely.....a tussle is only a matter of time. did i mention the friend is about five inches taller and about twenty pounds bigger? yeah, that's my little bit.... small but tough. speaking of tough: teachers saw his head bleeding. that is how they knew he had bumped it. one stitch; one tie. no novocaine. no tears. not a single one. so if i could get one to stop crying and let the other one know that is is okay to cry....even for blood and stitches.....we might survive this year.

i read YA (young adult) fiction. but the times says i am not the only one. it makes me feel better. i anticipated it publication date. august 24th. it was in my queue at the library in may. i was #64 . my copy came september 6th. it took me three days. i tried to not disappear from my family. i only read after the kids were in bed. i still ate dinner with my husband. i tried. but it was hard. mockingjay . suzanne collins. conclusion of the hunger games triology. it was actually debated at our community group dinner the other night but had to make the "spoiler alert" announcement. there were four of us who had read it and two in the middle. (see, i am NOT the only one) it is a captivating triology. not for the light-hearted. but character driven, fast-moving plot, diostopic thriller of sorts with a love triangle and lots of war. it is a rebellion we are in the middle of when the book opens. brutality was more severe in this one but i was satisfied with the ending.....my fr...

running across brooklyn bridge this morning. on mile 6. the sun is starting to warm me; the morning chill is finally leaving. it hits me.....september 11th. i take it in.....they aren't there. the towers. the hole in the sky-line is not as noticeable now because i have adjusted, gotten used to it, and don't notice except in old movies that they are still there....that is jarring. i had quite a few miles to be reflective this morning. i still get gripped by the stories of people i know (or don't know) who were there/here. those who weren't. those who lost someone. those who didn't. those who were affected. those who just remember. it is a visible poignant memory in new york. it is on all our fire trucks, stations, police cars, murals, stickers, t-shirts, postcards. and yet, i had forgotten. it wasn't until half-way through my run that i realized it was today. in part, it has become part of the scenery, the backdrop of the city. but what am i to reflect on? rememb...

two down.....only one to go. on both series i have been working through: l ittle house . finished l ittle town on the prairie and these happy golden years . i have to admit that i actually stayed up late to finish the courting relationship between laura and almanzo. it wasn't like i didn't know they were getting married at the end but i was still engrossed enough to sacrifice sleep to finish. it was such a sweet story. almanzo riding every friday night to pick up laura from her first teaching job that was 12 miles away. i was fascinated by laura's capacity for memorization and humiliated in my own lack of such a skill. if i were not in the middle of two other books, i would be picking up the final book this weekend. i will be sad when the story ends. dragon tattoo series. the girl who played with fire . engaging. heavy. dark. mysterious. psycho killer-thriller sort of thing. again....stayed up late one night to finish....in a totally different kind of engaged way. i ...

last night was the kick-off our our fall community group. we had them all over for dinner...... it was also the first day of school. which means it was a bit of a full day..... pulled pork in the crock pot - check. quinoa cooked - check veggies - check drinks - check (people bringing) floors swept - um...nope. counters wiped off - um...nope. salad made - um....nope. we used all but one of our plates and all of our forks..... we finished every bite of food. it was a good reminder that my house does not have to be clean, organized, or put together nor does the food have to be amazing in order to open my doors and say, "come on in." i just hand over the knife and delegate cucumber chopping, wine pouring, and corn shucking. it was a good reminder for me and a good night to start off the fall!

seriously. we are just starting today. everywhere else the world began a least a week ago.....our cousins began almost a month ago. but today we join the ranks and started school. peanut - kindergarten little bit - pre-k i can't believe i have a kindergartner. oh my!!! i asked peanut this morning who i was going to talk to all day..... he answered, "the other two." thanks, pal! i'll remember that.... but just to clarify.....you are my chatty one. i can't believe little bit is in pre-k. i can't believe for two hours i will only have one child to contend with....maybe i can get her to nap that whole time and i might have a thought once in a while. they both wanted daddy to take them to school this morning....ah, so be it. i only birthed you but i realize that the sun and moon hang on this dude....i love him that much too! but....there were no tears from peanut. considering he cried, screamed, and would not let go of my leg for six weeks last year....i wou...

long run: 14.5 miles. weather: 60 degrees at 7:30 am. got to 70 by finish three hours later. as i headed out the door, brooklyn was buzzing....actually thumping. it was the morning of the west indian day parade. that would be the largest parade in new york city. it totally trumps thanksgiving. they actually aren't even close in size and number of people. i mean half of brooklyn shuts down on labor day for this event. i was hearing it all gear up as i started out the door..... i did my long run this week on labor day since my pavement pounding partner could do some of it with me. it was a spectacular run. she met me at mile 5 in downtown brooklyn. we ran across the brooklyn bridge with amazing weather...sunny, breezy....then headed back to prospect park for half a loop. i dropped stef off at her apartment then finished the last two miles solo. mile 13 was brutal but sheer determination helped finish the last mile. week total: 28.5 (i did two 4 milers but then did 6 on fri...

we had a stoop sale yesterday. think.....yard sale - brooklyn style. words will completely fail to convey the uniqueness of this experience. it was a block event. okay....only 5 families had stuff out. visualize if you will: two picnic tables in front of our house. plates, books, clothes, baby stuff cover the tables. then underneath....bins. i brought out all the bins of storage (for kids' clothes). there were about 6. i went through each one and divided them by size (for interested parties to peruse and purchase said adorable items), what to send to cousins, what to donate to charity, and what to take to consignment shop....and what might actually fit my children. we were set-up from 9:30 to 2:30. i had spent friday in the basement sorting and organizing for our "grand event." i had one gentlemen ask me if i had any suits for kids. ummmmm......nope. $2 on kids books. $1.50 on novels. $1 on glass bowls. i made $4.50....total. peanut (5 year-old) sold lemonade....