Day 11.3 - Wednesday - Williams Street

I tried to get up a bit earlier (4:40) this morning to give the body more of a warm up, but I fell back to sleep and awoke at 4:57 so that didn't work out too well. I did tru to do some stretches & rotations to loosen things up and that seemed to work a bit. I started at the YMCA and ran for 17:30 out and then back. I wore my Asics, Nike Jacket & Nike tights, hat & gloves - it was pretty chilly this morning.

I felt great on the way out. I had eaten poorly on Tuesday while being home with Brian & his ear infections, but still weighed in at 219 to start the day so that probably helped my perception that I was feeling good and going faster. I made it all the way to the intersection of High and First streets in Painted Post before turning around. The return trip seemed to take longer and much more energy, but it ended up being faster by about 20 seconds. I did some "bounding" strides and took some liberties with my stride in the "sitting" motion that I do to alleviate the stress on my calf muscles and I also did a few sections running on my toes.

All in all, it felt good. As the day wore on though, my knees were killing me much more and I was getting up and down like an old guy, putting a lot of weight on my hands / arms to assist. My shins & calf muscles are better, but at what price?

Gotta love the Asics, though. They feel great when I run and seem to be the easiest on my lower legs of all my sneakers.

Day 10.7 - Sunday - Canada Road

I took a couple days off to rest the knees & calf muscles. I was still a little sore on the run, but I pushed on because my weight was only 219! Yeah, I'm in the teens!!!

I parked at the Small Fry Football park and ran up to route 417, then right towards Walmart, then right again down Daniel Zenker Drive, and right again past Healthworks. I wasn't up to 30 minutes so I turned up Canada road again. It ended up being 2.9 miles I think which I was happy with in the end.

I wore my NB sneakers and my InSport tights which weren't that great. My Nike shirt was a good choice, too. I didn't get onto the road until 7 am so it was much warmer than normal.

day 10.4 - Thursday - Highland Hills

Finally down to 220 today!!!!!!

Didn't run until 8am this morning because it was cold and I was up a little late. After dropping off the boys I went home - I thought of running at Sullivan Park, but I didn't want to walk into the building in my tights - TMI, ya' know?

So I ran from the house down Lexington and took a right onto 3rd, then a left onto Hamilton (downhill), and then a left onto 2nd. Then zigged back down Lexington and went right onto first down to Washington using the Alley to come down the little intersection between Bridge, Denison, and Sunset. I ran up Sunset - with a headwind no less - to Field, left onto Field uphill to Cintra Lane and then down the alley to Lexington. Up Lexington with a right onto first continuing to Field...eventually I ended up in front of the Balcerek's house at 30:10 and at about 2.7 miles.

I ran in my NB sneakers, & nike tights & jacket. I was cold in the wind but eventually had to remove the hat & mittens because of overheating. I plan to run again on Saturday. Now it's a few hours later and I'm preparing for the varsity lax game at the stadium. Surprisingly, my legs are feeling better and I've been fueling well. I didn't do much stretching this morning, but I've been trying to make up for it in the office.

Day 10.1 - Monday - noon - Highland Hills

Brennan kept me awake for over 1.5 hours last night. I'd been up late on the weekend watching TV. My left knee hurt, my calves hurt, and it was cold and rainy. So when my alarm went off at 4:50 am, I turned it off and went back to sleep and resigned myself to missing my run today, even though I'd planned on doing some hills for the first time in forever.

Then, my 10-11 meeting ended and I didn't have anything else going on until 1:30 so I stepped out to talk to Applebee's about the league sponsoring and went home to grab some lunch. On the way, I realized that I had enough time to get in a run and since I had to referee Tues, Thurs, and Friday, it made more sense to skip my Wednesday run instead. So I grabbed my Asics, my blue Nike tights, my Nike jacket, a long-sleeve shirt, and ran out the door.

Getting to the bottom of Lexington was the easy part - but it was tricky with a wet surface and my muscles still hurting. But I got down there, and took a left running up Sunset all the way to Field. Then I turned around and ran all the way down Sunset to Bridge, and then ran up Sunset to Field again (I think - it's a little confusing trying to remember at the moment). Then I jogged down Sunset to Fox, and ran up Fox to Cintra Lane. I went left on Cintra to Hamilton,etc... whatever. Eventually I got home.

There were a couple walk breaks in there and I wasn't setting any speed records, but if felt great that I was so excited to run and that I put as much effort into the run as I did. My shins are shaking - sewing machine leg you might say - but my calf muscles feel a lot better than they have in a while. Hope I'm not too sore to ref tomorrow!

Day 9.6 - Saturday - Jones Rd - 35 minutes

I didn't get to run until 10:30am because Annie didn't feel well and Allison woke up early. I had to worry about heat for the first time in recent memory. I still wore my tights because I feel they help my legs and they feel great, but I definitely suffered some extra heat because of it - glad I wore a short-sleeve shirt. My Asics Kayanos were fabulous as usual - I should get another pair.

I parked at the Fire Dept and ran up Forest, onto Jones, and all the way to the metal gate in 17:30. The return trip was nearly identical. Right off the bat my calves hurt, but I stuck with it. My left shin, again, was an issue but it went away. It's sore now a few hours later - I did NOT take Alleve prior to the run so that may have something to do with it - I'll have to track it. Taking tomorrow off and then running on Monday. Not sure what the schedule will be since I'm reffing Tuesday & Thursday. I like the current rotation though - easy 30 min run day 1, timed fast run on day 2, and long run on day 3. I do have to keep my shins in order, though. Hopefully I can drop some weight and have a positive effect that way in addition to the stretches I'm doing. Maybe if Annie doesn't go to Florida I can add some strength training, too.

Day 9.4 - Thursday - West High 2 miles

I refereed in Horseheads last night but still got up to run today. I was a little tired as Brennan is still teething and I was up quite a bit. I even gave him a bottle at 5 so I was a little late getting out the door. I wore my Brooks ASR trail sneakers w/ tights and my RRS jacket - good thing because there was quite a chill this morning.

The first mile was 9:07 and mile 2 was 9:13 which is pretty good consistency for a total time of 18:21. It's short of my time a couple weeks ago when I ran in under 18 minutes, but not too bad considering. My weight was 223 this morning so I'm going to try to focus on getting lighter and faster. I'm only running 3 days a week now due to refereeing in the afternoons so I need to pick up the intensity.

Day 9.2 - Tuesday - Jones Road

Just got back from VA last night and stayed up late, but my body wouldn't let me sleep in today. I had an easy run in my NB1224's along Jones road. As usual I parked at the Fire Dept and ran up and back. It felt a lot easier than my last run out there, but I think I covered about the same distance. My weight was up to 223.4 after the trip which wasn't too surprising, though I did do a good job of staying away from junk - didn't eat a single piece of cake!

During the run not much bothered me until about the 18th minute when my left shin - I know the spot - which I hadn't felt all run, suddenly was stabbingly painful for 2 strides, and then it went away. It felt fine thoughout the day so maybe it finally "popped" itself back into place. I'll find out tonight as I have a game to ref.

Day 8.5 - West High Track 2 miler timed

Today we leave for Virginia so I didn't want to take too long, but I also wanted a decent workout because I was down to 221.4 today! I changed my mind a couple times on the way out there - should I run 30 mins on Jones road again, or should I go to the track. In the end, I chided myself for being so indecisive and went with what I had planned to do.

I ran in my Nike tights & jacket which was a perfect compliment to the conditions. My Asics were great, too. My first mile was 8:59 and my 2nd was 8:58. My first lap was 2:10 and it went downhill from there. I'm surprised that my 2nd mile was as fast as my first since I specifically didn't allow myself to sprint or pick up the pace - I didn't want to be exhausted for the drive. In general, at this stage in my return to running and considering my age, I was happy with 17:57 which shaved a whole minute per mile off my regular jogging pace.

Thursday 7:14am

Brennan woke up at 11 for milk and since he didn't want all 4 oz, I just left the bottle in his crib - that was the only time I saw him and he is still asleep at 7:14!!!

Brian woke up at 5:30 with what sounded like Croop cough. I gave him a drink & he went back to sleep.

Alli came into the master bedroom at who knows what time, but not only woke me up, but also fidgeted / complained enough to keep me awake for a while until I got smart & went to the spare mattress on her floor. She just woke up.

I emailed work & school letting everyone know to expect me / us late, but I'm still going to try to get Alli to school on time.

Wednesday 11:03pm

Brennan went to sleep around 8:10pm. Brian went down around 8:30pm. Alli went down around 9:15pm - she was watching TV w/ me. Brian has since been up and awake nearly the entire time. I went in there once around 9:30 and he was totally naked because he had peed a bit in his pull-up and wanted a new one, and also wanted his Batman PJ's on. Another time he had pushed his pillow off the bed and knocked his water against the frame which made me think he'd gotten a boo-boo. Another time he actually did get a boo-boo while playing w/ his Spiderman toy. I think now he is asleep.

Brennan just woke up and would only eat 2 oz so I left the bottle in w/ him. I've got a little more clean-up in the room here, and then I'm crashing for the night. Not planning on waking up before 6am.

Forgot to give Brennan Tylenol and Alli her eye drops tonight.

Wednesday 8:15pm

Of course, Mrs Santilli dropped off Allison while I had just finished changing Brennan's poopy diaper and I was just about to change Brian's! Brian was funny - I told him I had to go upstairs to change Brennan's poopy and he looked at me and said, "Dad! Look at my poopy tail!" Can that kid possibly be any sweeter or cuter????

Georgina said that Allison was good and ate a good dinner. The boys had mac & cheese and choc-chip cookies. Brennan only had a couple bites, but it gave me a couple minutes to poop in peace. Guess it was just that time of day for the Nordman boys.

Wednesday 10:28am

Everyone got dropped off fine. Alli was done crying by the time we got to school - she cried AGAIN, this time because she couldn't be in the seat next to Brennan. It was not a fun morning and I think there's too much excitement in her life these days so I'm looking forward to her relaxing at home & watching a movie. Tonight is her night at Salsurita's so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Miss Linda has a full house w/ Brendan & everyone. After dropping off the boys I had a jog along Forest Drive & Jones road. I made it to the Y for a shower & to get my card scanned - gotta keep track of my Y visits so we can get reimbursed. I'd like to start going every weekday and when I don't run, I can do abs or something.

Day 8.3 - Jones Road

Annie is in Germany this week so I've been waiting for a chance to run. It was wicked cold & windy yesterday so although I worked from home, I didn't go - plus I was still resting my shins. Today it was snowy, but I'd made up my mind to get it done. After dropping off the boys I parked at the Forest View Fire Dept and ran from Fieldview to Jones and then down Jones until I got to the last "turnaround" before the gates. In total it was 3.2 miles and it took me 31:13. Wow - a palindrome!

I wore my Brooks Adrenaline 8's which already have a few miles on them, some starter tights, and my army jacket & shirt.

I'm going to try to keep on the grass / dirt trails for a while as it definitely seems to be helping my shins. Today was a hard run as there was a nasty headwind on the way out, and of course, I was too hot on the return. I specifically threw in some run hard / jog soft moments as I was trying to do more than 3 miles in 30 mins. My breathing was, for the most part, 3/3, but once I got to the pavement on Jones on the return, I was going 2/2, though I'm not sure if I kept that up the entire time back. It was a good run and I could really feel it when I finished. I walked around the Fire Dept a couple times to cool down, and then did a slow jog on my toes once around, followed up by some light ballet stretches. I started thinking about incorporating some speed work once a week, but I need to maintain my 30 mins, 3 times per week for a while to make sure I'm okay with it. Besides, my refereeing should give me some extra work & sprints, too.

Wednesday 7:02am

Not good so far. Everything tickles Allison and she's kicked me several times. Refusing to listen, too. I almost put her outside when she was screaming, but it's only 30 degrees and I thought better of it and gave her some hugs to calm her down instead. Now onto the boys...

Wednesday 2:44am

That was weird. Brennan woke up, not crying, just doing that "uh-uh-uh" thing he does to get attention. I made him a bottle and he only drank 1 oz. Maybe it was cold? After 10 minutes of trying to get him to drink it, I gave up and put it in bed with him. He had no problem with that and lay right down. Hopefully I won't see him again until 7, but I'm skeptical.

Tuesday 10:40pm

Brennan just woke up and decided to have 3 oz of milk. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. I was impressed that he ate a whole piece of pizza, but I forgot to supplement it with yogurt or anything because he stopped wanting the pizza. If he wakes up every 3 hours, that's going to be another trip at 1:30am and 4:30am........yeah......

Tuesday 9:04pm

Not a whole lot different today from yesterday. The boys were good initially, but little B was whiny from 6:30 until tub time. Alli didn't want a tub but she didn't give me any hassle. Brian didn't want a tub because we were watching Evan Almighty but when I agreed to carry him up he was fine. Brennan got Tylenol at 7, and 4 oz of milk at 7:45. Why is it Brennan can have yogurt and cheese, but not milk???

The boys had Red Baron pizza for dinner and I ate over half of it by myself - I was starved for some reason. Mrs Santilli said that Allison didn't eat much of the grilled cheese she was provided, but Alli was eating cereal the second she walked in - I even let her have cheese crackers in bed. Hey, I'm tired.

It's 9:08 now and I'm going to take out the garbage and then go to bed.

Tuesday 8:39am

Kids weren't bad this morning, but not good either. I planned to take off this morning so I slept in . Brennan tried to wake up at 6:15 with a couple "uh-uh-uh-uh" remarks, but there was no crying so I let it go and he stopped by 6:19. Alli woke up by herself at 6:55 and started getting herself dressed. In general, the kids didn't immediately do what they were told / asked to do, but found other things to do instead. Alli decided to clean up her room at one point - what's up with that?

Got Alli to school at 7:55, got the boys to Linda's around 8:10. Gonna work at the house (dishes, vacuum, trash, etc...) and then go into work.

Monday 11:05pm

Brennan woke up and had 3.5 ounces.

The big kids were good going to sleep. I read 1 book for each and that was it. Everyone was in bed by 9pm.

Monday 7:59pm

Brennan is down just now. I tossed him around playfully before putting on his diaper and he loved it. He also sat still while I got him dressed which was nice. I gave him a 4 oz bottle and around 2.5 oz I realized that I hadn't given him Tylenol and he immediately stopped drinking and put in his paci. We came downstairs and I attempted to feel his top teeth which made him reel. I gave him the Tylenol and we went back upstairs where he finished off his entire bottle without hesitation.

While doing that Allison decided to wash her hair with conditioner - oh Lord. Not sure how much she used, but the tub water feels like blood it's so thick. She & Brian don't want to get out just yet so I'm doing this. I hope to have them down by 8:30. Just by typing that, I'm sure I'm jinxing myself.

Monday 7:03pm

Georgina just dropped off Allison - both girls were pretty happy / excited. Alli had an accident and Georgina put some of Catherine's old clothes on her - overalls & panties. I'll send extra's tomorrow. G said they'll be later tomorrow as it is their Salsurita's night.

Brennan had a little more yogurt after my last post. I think I'll bring it up to the bathroom and see if I can get even more into him. Alli & Brian are eating Cheez-its while watching "Kid Songs" now. Brennan is eyeing them and.......yes! He reached in the bag and took his own cheez-it. WHen I was feeding him earlier, he kept wanting to alternate between having a bite of food and taking a drink. Is he imitating us or just learning to "wash it down"?

Monday 6:41pm

Just finished dinner w/ the boys. I had chicken fries, but Brian didn't want any. Brennan had 1.5 himself. Little B also had strawberry yogurt, some bagel, and some formula. Brian only wanted Blueberry yogurt, but I gave him strawberry because that was leftover from Brennan. He had about 2/3 of it, but then wanted Blueberry - the "white" kind. He meant vanilla and fortunately I figured it out. He had 1/3 of that so 1 full yogurt for Brian at this point. No news on Alli so I'm assuming Georgina picked her up okay. I'll put the kids in the tub around 7, and then try to get Brennan to eat some oatmeal before bed. I'll try to give Brian some more, too - doesn't seem like he ate enough.

Monday 8:32am

It's 8:30, I'm online and "working" so the morning went fine. I actually had all the kids down in the kitchen at 7am, though they were pretty finicky eaters. Alli spent a lot of time entertaining Brennan which was extremely helpful since I had to run around looking for her Barbie - we never did find it. I also got the Easter Baskets into your car, clothes for Brennan, and diapers & pull-ups for the boys. I should have done that last night, but I was tired and figured I'd be up early enough to do it.

Alli didn't want to buy and since she was doing so well w/ Brennan, I had time to make her a lunch and a snack for stay-n-play. When we got to school the green flag wasn't out yet, but Allisons assistant teacher - Mrs Jones? - got out of her car and walked right past us so I enlisted her help to get Alli inside and Alli had no problems with that. Actually, she's the one that shouted - Look! It's my teacher! She did her hair today, too :-)

Monday 5:40am

Brennan woke up at midnight and 3am - right on schedule. He ate almost 4 ounces each time. Alli was kind enough to wake up at 3am as well so I didn't have to make a separate trip. She wanted to sleep with me, but I still find the master bed / mattress uncomfortable so I slept on her spare until she decided to climb in as well. Now I'll get ready for the day.

Sunday 9:22pm

After dinner we played in the basement for a bit. Then Alli & Bri watched a Strawberry movie while I got B to eat some oatmeal. The big kids were in the tub by 7:10. I washed both of their heads and then let Brennan in. At 7:30 I took Brennan out, gave him some Tylenol, and tried to give him a bottle. He drank 3.5 ounces and appeared ready for sleep when Alli butted in to ask for help getting a dress. Yes, I was pissed, but nary a naughty word nor a cross tone escaped my lips. I put B down & tucked him in and he went right down. After getting Alli dressed I went to get Brian. We brushed teeth and that's when I heard Brennan. I lightly scolded the older kids for making so much noise that they woke up the baby and told them to pick out a book and I'd be in to read to them after I got B to calm down. B didn't want to calm down so after a few minutes I just put him back - he cried for a couple more minutes, but I didn't check my watch when it stopped. I snuck downstairs because I was tired and didn't want to read to the kids. Alli came down in 10 minutes with a nasty look on her face, wanting to knwo why I hadn't read to her. She snuggled under a blanket while we watched "Newhart" on channel 9, and "Extreme Home Makeover" on channel 4. At 9pm we came upstairs - Brian was fast asleep!!! I read Alli one book, got her some ice water, and here I am. Night-nights. I'm goign to get up early and clean up the room a bit. I did get the dishwasher run and swept the floor, and most of the laundry got done yesterday, but it'd be great if I can clean up a bit. I'll probably take a half-day on Tues or Thurs to get ready for the trip, too.

Sunday 5:10PM

Just finished "dinner" after playing outside w/ the Z clan. ZBrennan went down the slide and caught his leg, but he's walking on it fine now. Owen didn't listen to his mom and right away she said, "That's it - we're going home." Good for her - you should have seen how tight her grip was on his wrist when he was trying to get away.

Brian had most of the chicken from a lunchable; Brennan had some cheerios, 1 oz of milk (formula), half a yogurt, and a couple little pieces of chicken nugget from Brian's meal; Allison had 3 or 4 french fries leftover from this afternoon and some little pieces of chicken left over from the piece I tried to feed Brennan. At 6 I'll go with grilled cheese and see if I can get them to eat more.

Sunday 3:29pm

I just got off the phone with you and went upstairs to get Brian. Alli followed me upstairs and was reading "The Missing Tooth" book while I changed Brian's poopy diaper. When the change was done Brian got up and was walking over to his train table when he said, "She's ruining my life".

'Nuff said - I just spoke toyou on the phone.

Sunday 2:22pm

Just got back from Sams. Actually went in twice because I forgot the $5 check / coupon for Enfamil. Got diapers, wipes, pull-ups, and 1 pair of pants for work to replace cargo pants that have blue stain. After 2nd trip I got fries at Wendy's for the kids and gave Brennan bottle that I had along. He drank 3 oz, but still started griping around the country club all the way home. I gave him a paci - it disappeared. I gave him another and same thing.

Right now the kids are eating their fries - they were too hot at Wendy's. Brennan is having cheerios because he turned his nose up at yogurt, Kidz bar, french fries, and chicken nuggets. He slept until 12:30 - a 2.5 or 3 hour nap!!! I thought it would only last 45 mins or so and I missed out on a chance to play with the kids who spent a lot of that time outside on the swing set / trampoline. They also watched Strawberry Shortcake & had pop corn for lunch :-)

Expect B to go down again around 3 or 3:30 - maybe he'll sleep in the stroller if we go to the park. Brian warned us that it's really muddy, though, so we may stay here.

Sunday 10:01 am

Had a quick shower after "helping" Alli spell Brian, Brennan, Mommy, Daddy, and Nordman. Just as I finished Brian poked his head past the curtain : "There you are daddy!" He told me that Allison was calling me because she needed more ice water. I told him to tell her I'd be right down. He left the bathroom, maybe got to the top of the stairs, and came back, "Daddy - are you dry yet?" It was pretty cute.

Time to get teh diaper bag ready - heading to SamsClub shortly for diapers, wipes, pull-ups, and yogurt. Happily, I found a 1/2 full baby Tylenol so that can wait until tomorrow.

Sunday 9:27am

You left not long ago. The kids played nicely together. I turned off the TV because Brian wanted me to read Johnny Appleseed to him, but he kept insisting the guys name was Eric. Allison finished a painting in "her" craft room - I had to close the door because Brennan kept trying to eat paint brushes. So far this morning I've given Brennan a 2 oz bottle 3 different times and he has nearly finished each one. He also had Eggo waffle, Cinnamon/Raisin bagel, and Honey Graham Kidz bar which he loved. I just put him down for a nap.

I've been harping on Alli & Brian to eat some shredded wheat cereal, but had limited success. I'll push it again when I'm done with this because if they get too hungry, the day could turn ugly, quicly.

Day 7.6 - 30 mins @ West High

I haven't run since Monday due to shin splints and today I went crazy wearing my new Asics Kayano 15's. I ran 30 minutes non-stop on the dirt track at West High and my legs feel fine! I slept well the night before and got to the track around 7:30. There was a nasty head-wind on the back stretch (I ran counter-clockwise) but I made it through. I still had 25 seconds to run when I completed 3 miles. There were some puddles on the track and a few soft spots, but I'll take that over shin splints anyday.

Love the new Asics!

Day 7.4 - Thursday - no running

Haven't run since Monday I think, and my shins are a LOT better. I've been stretching a lot and doing the heel-toe walk recommended on Runners world. I might run tomorrow, or may just ref on Saturday and see how that goes.

My weight has been 222 the last 2 days in a row and I was pretty active today so both my belts are getting too loose :-)

Day 7.3 - Wednesday - Lots of shin / calf pain

Didn't run today because my legs hurt so much. I did a game in Bath last night and my shins / calves hurt so much I was frequently out of position. I walked for 10 minutes and will try to do that a couple times today as well as the lower-leg exercises recommended on Runners World. I'll keep you posted. I wore my new InSport tights and the new Asics Kayano 15 and they were great - at least for a walk they were.