Pleased to hear that this little running log is encouraging those of you with similar goals!  Looking forward to hearing about yours!

Happy, happy!  Joy, joy!

Weird thing that happens when I run (not always, but relatively frequently)… the bottom of my feet lose sensation.  One time in a trail race, I could not feel my left foot for at least 3 km.  My Dr. suggests that my nerve endings are simply very close to the surface of my feet and get a bit crushed when doing high intensity weightbearing exercise.  I’ve always had trouble with my feet… since I was 8 or 9 years old… plantar fasciitis, Severs Disease – related to growing – and then had bone die in my right foot (you can look all of these up).  Plantar fasciitis frequently returns with a vengeance when serious running takes place.  *Sigh*

Every time I give the boys a bath, I think I should post about this… available at Babies R Us for around $5, this is one of those “gimmicky” baby bath products that I have never regretted purchasing.  The Shampoo Rinse Cup has a silicone band across the front which you place over baby’s forehead and the water pours back onto his head and not over his face… it really works, BUT, your child needs to be able to grasp the concept of tipping his head back when you dump out the water (or you need to figure out a way to tip his head back)… my older son was at least 2 1/2 before he mastered this (actually, maybe a bit older)… once he did, it worked perfectly.  Still waiting for my second guy to be able to follow the instruction.  Also, only put water in the back section, closest to the handle, otherwise, the water spills out.  A worthwhile purchase, nonetheless.

FYI – I can easily map out my runs using Gmaps Pedometer (although estimating distance on trails is tricky).  It’s a great tool for tracking distance and new routes.

Having actually registered for the 5 Peaks event has really motivated me.  For those of you not familiar, 5 Peaks, is a trail running series that has courses across Canada (BC, Alberta, Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, and Quebec).  The season consists of 5 races, all off-road, usually on pretty sloped terrain… i.e. peaks.  Here in Ontario, 5 Peaks races are held at conservation areas, mountain bike facilities, and cross country ski trails — all very beautiful and more than challenging.  There are two distances you can register for at each race: a Sport course, which is typically around 5 km; and an Enduro course, which is 12-14 km.  There is also one half-marathon (21km) distance each year.  The best part is the family atmosphere!  Always lots of families around — where mom or dad is running the long course — and the kids under 10 can run in the Kids Challenge, a 1 km trail race.

I started trail racing in the 5 Peaks series in 2004; I’ve raced three full seasons (around being pregnant and having babies).  Don’t let the word “race” fool you — I am not speedy… I’m not last — but, definitely nowhere near first.  I think my first year was my fastest year.  Anyhow — for me, it’s really just about the achievement of finishing… and the pain.  Lol.  Looking forward to getting back on the trails.

The truth is… at the moment, it’s mainly just about losing weight at this point… baby weight is long gone, but not the extra 15 lbs I put on while pregnant with my second son because I couldn’t stop eating Voortman’s vanilla wafers… and the 5 lbs I’m pretty sure I have gained since January because I just haven’t been disciplined with my eating.  The motivation: I’m not loving how I look in photos and I need to be able to wear all of my pants this fall – comfortably, I might add – because there is next to no budget for new clothes for Mom.

And also, I’m going to do something crazy: I’m going to register for the last 5 Peaks trail race of the season – 13 km in Albion Hills.  Race day is October 9 — should be plenty (?!!) of time to get my distance up.  There’s also a 1 km kids’ race, which I’m going to register my son in — he’s going to love running his little heart out on the trails!

So, this past week, I have attempted to run everyday — which I did except for Wednesday, so I ran twice on Thursday.  There’s a 4 km perimeter of roads around my home and then I typically dip down one street 500 m and back to make up 5 km… a good amount of uphills make this a sufficiently challenging route (and it means that I’m never more than 1-2 km from my house in case someone needs me).  Running these days is a slog, my legs feel like lead, and 5 km feels more like 10 km, all I can think about is getting my legs to turn over — but, it should get better.

Today’s run: 6 km in the river valley out and back; sky was more overcast, so made for slightly cooler conditions; ran entire distance, including last 600 m which is completely uphill; legs felt heavy still, but overall a better run than the last few.

Future plans: HILL TRAINING, squats and sit ups, increase distance to 10 km in the next 3 weeks.

Thanks to many of you who have inspired me to do this (even though you don’t realize it)… Vanessa S, Glenda B, Karen D, Shannon F, Lisa S & others!

A few updates for you:

1. I am so pleased to report, and my accountability partner, Jacquie, would be so proud — I am still reading the chronological One Year Bible Online… and we are just about to the half way mark!  This has not been an easy commitment and on more than one occasion I have fallen up to three weeks behind — but, each time, with gentle coaxing from J, I have gotten back on track… as of today I am just two days behind in my readings… that is amazing for me!   My perspective on God and His love has really been changed through this journey — I know it’s often difficult to grasp how a quote, unquote loving God could possibly “allow” such terrible things to happen in the world… but,  I now realize that it’s our definition of what LOVE really is that needs to be challenged and re-shaped.  We really need to understand what it is that God requests and requires of us and our true hearts’ condition that needs relentless renewal.  Do I have all of the answers yet?  No, course not — that’s why Bono wrote, “He moves in mysterious ways”… we’re not supposed to know everything…. but, it’s all good and my soul is more than satisfied.
2. Sponge Flower Creations is super!!  If you look at the Etsy site and see only 7 sales… that’s not even remotely a reflection of the buzz and the activity… where to begin?  Need to dedicate more time to product photos because there are many new designs, such as these 3″ square magnets or coasters.  Have completed projects for an art teacher, volunteer gifts for a public school, the mom hearts for pre-school, magnets for my MIL’s lawn bowling club, and cuff links for my husband’s internet marketing group.  Many referrals to friends and a couple of fundraisers coming up… if you want to check out what’s new, you must stop by…
3. … the Jump in 2 Summer: Backyard Mom Fair & Fundraiser on Wednesday, July 7 — right here in my backyard!  I will be hosting several moms who have home-based businesses including Tupperware, AVON, Usborne Books, Gotcha Covered Baby (super-cute!), Lovable Labels, PartyLite, Massage by Erica, and of course, the always enjoyable Sponge Flowers!  Through BAKE SALE and amazing GIFT BASKETS donated by our mom businesses, we will be raising money for the Ratanak Foundation to support rebuilding of families and lives in Cambodia, especially in the sad area of child exploitation.  Contact me for more details at spongeflowers@hotmail.com.

As for my latest obsession… I’ve been doing a lot of Picnik-ing.  If you haven’t been to Picnik… you should!  It’s an online post-processing website – offers many fabulous effects to make your photos more outstanding than they already are.  There are many, many free features… I recently upgraded to the Premium version for about $25 and haven’t been disappointed!  Funny… my friend recently confessed that she was reluctant to edit her digital photos because she feared “losing” the original — and I admitted to the exact same hesitation!  But, when you see how exciting your photos can become by cropping, changing the exposure and adding effects such as “Cross Process,” “Gritty” (my new favourite), “Dots and Dots,” “Cloning,” text (with tons of font variations), frames… and even some great touch-up features like teeth whitening and changing eye colour… you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about!  With Picnik, I’m creating images like this:

and this…

So, if I don’t get to return to my blog for another month (oh, dear!!), there’s a lot here to chew on!  See you real soon!

Tagged: AVON, Bible reading, fundraiser, Lovable Labels, mobile massage, mom business, mompreneur, PartyLite, photo editing, photography, Picnik, Tupperware, Usborne ]]> http://spongeflowers.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/picnik-ing/feed/ 0 deirdrespeak strawberry art Corey large magnet Chase large magnet Corey B&A Lily art B&A