Last band competition, last field show for the year

We shall try again with the day by day.  While it did help me to stay motivated to write, I was still very late in publishing (whoops).

Monday: Band competition day Fort Hayes State.  We headed west to our last band competition.  Our band isn't hugely competitive, so we only do two "competitions" where we just compete against a rubric of standards.  I was a ball of nerves because at the first competition they did, they only marched two and a half songs.  Due to weather, ACT testing, and not being able to practice other than during class time, they just haven't had a ton of time to get the third song memorized.   I am happy to say even though they had some rocky parts to the third song, overall, they recovered nicely and got it done!  They received another superior rating with all ones from every judge.  I am SO freaking proud of these kids and how hard they work in the little bit of time they get to practice.  There is this part of me that wishes that could practice more because the talent is there.  

A little side note and a question for parents.  Of course, Andrew is our one and only and he acts like an only child for sure.  I have always tried to be at all of his big competitions no matter what the sport, because my mom didn't always have the chance to be there for me, due to her job and work hours.  I am very lucky that I have PTO and a job where I have a team that can take over for me when I am gone.  Now here is the problem.  He wants to be with us all the time and I would like for him to spend time with friends some.  I worry about the lack of friends and while it doesn't bother him per se, I am a mom, so I worry.  No one came and sat with him and while people tried to get him to do things with them, he was just not interested.  I don't want to NOT go to these things, but I also want him to spend time with his friends as he is with me all the time.  So, what advice do you have?  I had big hopes for band that he would find his tribe and while he has sort of, I'm just not seeing the level of friendship with others that I see with a lot of kids his age.  He is not me I know this, but again, as the mom, I worry.  I don't want him left out and I don't want him to sit alone and not participate.  I also know I can't micromanage him and his friends or friendships either.  

Also, side note part two, Ollie and I got a sunrise run in before we left for Hays.  I forgot how much fun it is to run when the world is quiet, but also DANG, that is a lot of semi traffic that I have to deal with on my old running route at 6 am with no sidewalks.  Running in wet grass over who knows what is oh so much fun.  

Tuesday:  Upper body work out.  Nothing special just some good old lifting.  

Wednesday: Bass lessons and rest day.  I'm a little upset and here is why.  The music school keeps losing teachers, not because of anything they are doing I don't think, just because people are figuring out that teaching at night is a lot and teaching every night can be super tough.  I've been there with dog sports and teaching, so I get it.  Especially if you have a full-time job and this just supports said job.  Andrew is not having fun right now with all of the changes and wants to discontinue lessons until things are a bit more stable.  I am on the hunt to find him a private teacher, one that we can stick with for a while.  I have reached out to one of his previous teachers but haven't heard anything back.  I'm not sure if we just take a break for now and wait till summer and find more stability or what.  I have already found a trumpet lessons teacher for the summer and have a couple of summer music camps on his radar for marching band and trumpet.  To be continued.

Thursday:  Rest day and a little adventure.   I had seen an ad pop up on my Facebook about a big band coming to downtown Manhattan that was playing a free concert.  I figured what did we have to lose in free except gas to drive to Manhattan.  We walked by on our way to the pizza place at the end of downtown and saw no one.  Hmmm.  This is an event space and it was super empty.  I tried scanning all of FB to find any clues and nothing.  When we were done eating, we thought we would at least try the door and see if they were somewhere in the building.  We could hear something from upstairs and sure enough, they were all in an upstairs room jamming out.  Andrew smiled the entire time, and my coworker joined us as well.

  

Friday:  Game night and a good lower body work out.  This was the last time we would get to see the field show this year.  We will have one more time to hear the music at the concert next week.  Unfortunately, Tony got sick in the parking lot and had to go back home, and Andrew and I had to get a ride back to the school post-game.  It was a super thrilling close game, but we won and the field show was good.  I think they marched better and sounded better at the competition, but it was good for only like 3 times doing the whole show on the field.  I am super proud of this little band and all its accomplished on just a few practices a week.  Tony had a rough night that included vomit and diarrhea and then a low-grade fever.  Sigh.  Praying we don't all get this.  

Saturday: Overtime work and 3-mile run.  I am tired but I do love getting that extra money on my paycheck.  I only had to work two shifts as our new employee took the third.  I had other plans for the day but ended up hanging out at the house.  

Sunday:  Sick day.  The stomach bug finally found its way to me and between puking and diarrhea, I was just trying to survive.  Add on a fever all night Sunday night and you got it, miserableness.  Ollie didn't leave my side all day, cuddling with me and checking on me by licking me.  She truly was sweet all day, which is truly not like her as she is a daddy's girl.   

Y'all have a great week.  If you smell bleach, it's because I have bleached bombed our entire house.  I don't like it when we all get sick.  

A week day by day

If you are new around here HI!   I did a little introduction and about me in the last week's blog post. I am full on team winter for training, but if I have to pick a season that is my absolute favorite, it would have to be fall.   I wanted to do a day by day break down this week as that is how I wrote for years.   I am hoping it will motivate me to write more and better as well as help me to be motivated to get my base back up and get long runs back on my agenda.  I would like to get to half marathon shape this winter to make easing into full marathon shape a little easier when my training block starts for Chicago (IF i get in).  

Monday:  Rest day.  I had parent teacher conferences all afternoon and into early evening and I wanted to focus on those.  All glowing reviews for Andrew.  Half of his teachers didn't even know he had ADHD, which is how we want it.  It means his meds are on point and he hasn't outgrown them, plus he's using his coping skills correctly and we don't need to advocate for him.  I stressed to all teachers that we want an open line of communication good and or bad if needed, and we are a team willing to do whatever we need to.  They all seemed on board and great fits for my little ginger racer.  Now that he has settled into high school, I can't wait to see what a great year he is going to have.

Tuesday:  Upper body lift.  Currently on a 78-week streak of at least one work out involving weights using my Peleton + app.   No, I don't own a single piece of Peleton equipment however, I saw a blog post about the app and have really really enjoyed using it over the last couple of years.  Am I already dreading breaking this streak with my upcoming surgery?  YES!

Wednesday: 3-mile run.  Just Ollie.  4:1 run walk intervals.  She is such a spaz, but I love her.  She got lots of love and cuddles from her number one fan, her daddy.  I've never had a dog so attached to Tony, it's honestly kind of fun.  She still wants to run with me though so let's keep it that way.  

Thursday: 3-mile run.  Both dogs.  They are actually doing really well together so maybe this will become a thing.  4:1 running: walk intervals.

Friday: Rest day.  I had big plans for this day post work.  This week is KSU's homecoming, and they do a huge parade and pep rally.  It's always fun to go to and watch, especially with the fun themes they do for the floats and clubs.  Unfortunately Tony had to work late, one of the many joys of owning your own company that sometimes bites you in the butt.  After being a little salty and also missing the band pub crawls, I settled in and watched our local boys get a road win over a very tough undefeated football team.  While it wasn't my ideal night, it was nice being toasty warm in our house, drinking good beer, screaming at the computer, and having hot pizza.  

Saturday: 3-mile run.  I had to be up early to work, but then it was run time.  I briefly thought about a "longer" run but since this is my first three day run week in a long long time, and I voted against it.  Maybe next week.  My body is still getting used to these new Saucony triumphs and all the dang changes they have made to them.  Post running, we all got dressed and headed to the Pumpkin Patch in Alma.  It makes me so sad to think that this may be the last time we go.  Andrew is simply too big to do most of the activities, so we just walked around, had some good food truck food, and then grabbed some pumpkins and left.  

Sunday: Lower Body lift and let's go CHIEFS!  We decided to go into Manhattan and watch the Chiefs play with other fans.  We headed over to Old Chicago, one of our most favorite restaurants before it moved to the other side of Manhattan.  Yeah, yeah, I know Manhattan isn't that big but it sure was nice where it was on "our side" of Manhattan for many years.  Chiefs won, we had great food and amazing beer. 

Okay that is my weekly run down!  Let me know if you like for me to break my training down day by day or what.  Have a great week! 

Hi, hello, hey there!

WOW!  How am I suddenly getting so many views?  I barely write anymore, so feel free to look at years past for training and running blogs where I broke down mileage, training days, and races.  These days I am doing equal parts lifting as running, and I'm down to one red aussie, but I still call it running with reds.  I tend to do more live videos on my Facebook page Running with Reds.  These days I find it easier to just talk through things than write.  Since I have so many new people joining me, I thought I would re-introduce myself before sharing some pictures of my week.  

My name is Michelle and my family and I live in a cute little oz themed town in Kansas.  I moved here from Tennessee in 1999 to go to grad school and other than a brief stint in Colorado, I've lived in the Flint Hills ever since then.  I don't imagine we will ever move, but if I could pick, I would move back to Colorado or even Canada or England.  I loved my time working in both countries and when I retire, would love to move to England permanently.  I am a scientist by trade, right now working in cattle nutrition/rumen microbiology/animal science.  My master's degree is in food safety/food science, but I have dabbled in molecular genetics, cancer research, entomology, and algae research the last few years.  My hubby owns his own business which can be very stressful at times.  I am glad I got to work for him for a few years when our grant ran out at KSU, as I got to watch my kiddo grow up without the stress of an exact 9-5, and to be able to coach girls on the run and track club since my working hours weren't so strict (yes, working all night post coaching happened sometimes).  I miss coaching SO much and would love to get involved somehow with some sort of sports coaching, as it truly is one of my passions.  I have a son who is very involved in fine arts including band and choir and is extremely artistic, while also racing race cars, go figure.    He has played a variety of sports for years but is taking a break from all things athletic to concentrate on his music/art and the dirt track.  Over the years I have had horses, dogs, shown dogs in dog agility, and have ultimately become an ultra-runner.  I have run from as little as one mile up to 50 miles and have loved mostly every minute.  I run with one or both of my current dogs and have run with a dog going on 15 years now starting with Miller and Harley and then my bestest girl Stella, and now with Boom and Ollie.  Stella and Boom have both run multiple 50k races and Stella a 50 miler with me and Ollie is just starting out her distance career.  While I haven't been in a serious training cycle in a while, I am dipping a toe back in by entering the Chicago marathon for next year where we both turn 50.  One or more of my running partners is going to run with me and I am keeping my fingers crossed we all get in!

Okay enough about me!  This is how our week went down.  

Andrew had his first band competition.  They eeked by with a superior rating against some awesome bands that practice every day and do big band camps.  We only are allowed 2 practice days a week during school as we are all inclusive.  That means we allow all kids in all sports and activities to join in, but the downside is no afterschool practice.  We only do 2 competitions a year which kind of makes me sad in a way because when I was in band, we were at competitions every weekend for months, but with the lack of practice, that is probably the max his band should do.  They still don't have a full field show on the field yet and have just 3 months in gotten two songs memorized and all the sets memorized for those two songs.  Sigh.  I think they have a ton of talent and did super well for just two days a week, but dang it, they could be SO much better if they were allowed afterschool or weekend practice. I get making it fun and taking the stress off of kids to be perfect and I am not just saying this because my kid is out there, but this is a dang good band with a ton of talent.  

I borrowed a friend's digital camera and while the above photo is not mine, I took 300 photos and they all look like ants to me.  Sigh.  I guess you need a super zoom lens to get good shots like the one above.  Photo credit goes to Kimmy Shaw.  

The latter part of the week was spent seeing an ENT about my very angry thyroid.  It's been about a year since my thyroid decided to blow up the size of an avocado, and some days it really is uncomfortable and I kind of would like to start the process of removal.  The ENT luckily agreed, doing yet another ultrasound to show me that basically the right side of my thyroid is a giant fluid filled cyst that is making my thyroid angry and inoperable with it's job of providing me with TSH.  My surgery is set for November 5th and my mom is coming from Tennessee to take care of me.  Yes, I am almost 50, and I still prefer my mom to come take care of me.  

Three works out with two runs to boot.  The weather is finally cooling off a tiny bit, and I am ready to run again.  Eventually I will go back to two work outs a week lifting and three runs with one run being a long run.  Come on fall, show me all of your glory.

We may have a new tradition of Ziggy's on game nights (when the raiders are away of course), and then a night cap at Manhattan brewing.  We had so much fun just having a date night with the KSU band playing and some good beer.  For those who aren't from around these parts, Manhattan is a pretty small town, and the KSU band is pretty big, so they do band pub crawls on Friday nights of home games.  We like to catch them at one or two of their stops and listen to them play.  Mark my words, some day, this will be my son!

It's great to meet all of y'all and hope y'all stick around!  Have a great week!!!!

Blank pages

Been staring at a blank page for a week and a half now.  Here are some pictures, since I can't find motivation to write.  

She hates when I lift.

Don't worry, fall is coming.  2 runs, 2 lifts this week.

First cool night and a live band and some good beer.

Andrew's bass guitar teacher at one time.  He played many solos and was amazing.

I love that she lets me drag her to all of my crazy ideas.

Oztoberfest, here we come!

The wicked witch threw a fireball at me!

World's largest Toto!  Yes, we embrace the Oz theme to the fullest here.

My little flying monkey and her new friends.

The cowardly lion with his mini figure of the cowardly lion.

These boys and their luck.  They won not one raffle prize, but two raffle prizes full of gift cards to local businesses.  

Another night, another band.  While the Grateful Dudes aren't exactly my style, you can't pass up sitting outside, enjoying the fall weather, and drinking beer provided by a local restaurant.  

I was brave and they behaved.   Mostly.  

Chiefs win (barley), KSU was off after the loss on the road, the raiders had a bye week before two road games, and Tennessee won.  

Y'all have a great week!

Band Mom era

SO much going on in my head right now.  Very busy at work (good thing), tired with our crazy schedule (good thing), stressed about things I can't control (bad thing), and now looking at a consult with an ENT to decide about taking my thyroid away.  Life always has to be interesting, doesn't it?

Three lifts and one run this week.  If the weather could cool off ever so slightly, Ollie and I could get back to running.  

We've been doing some short off leash sessions post running and she's been doing great.  I think we are slowly getting to a good relationship where we can all have fun and maybe do some off leash running without me worrying about her making a break for a different county.  

We had homecoming week and another home football game in which the band got to play in uniform.  I love how handsome he is in his red and black! Our neighbor was in the court this year, so we had to snag a picture with him before they left.  

Again, for only practicing basically twice a week, they sound and look really good.  There is so much potential there, just wish they could practice more and clean some stuff up.  We only have band basically twice a week for an hour and 20ish minutes and then once a week for an hour.  That's it.  No afterschool, no weekends, no nothing.  

That's all for this week!  Mother nature canceled our racing plans and ended our season thanks to a lot of rain due to the hurricane in the Pacific.  We ended up top 5 in points for the season and can't wait till the banquet.  Bring on next year and more fun and learning!  Have a great week y'all!

Hello?

It's funny that now that i have zero time to write and be present for my blog, I have so many readers now.  Welcome to my chaos dear readers!  Spoiler alert, running with a red did happen this week although it was Ollie and she isn't red, but boy have I been looking at red puppies lately and having some major FOMO.  

Also, I've probably said it a million times but I am SO READY FOR FALL.  I love lifting but I am ready to run and be outside and have cool crisp air in my face.   

I will be honest with you since this is space where I put crazy things in the universe.   I've been thinking about a few things, and I have several goals I am considering.  All of these things probably will take time and will probably be in the future, but I want it down on paper somewhere.  

1.  I am seriously considering getting a power lifting coach and doing some power lifting competitions.  I LOVE lifting and I love having goals.  I have found a few plans online that are only 3 days a week AND I would still need some running time for Ollie and I's mental health, so stay tuned.  

2.  I miss having horses.  My coworker has horses, and I didn't realize how much I had stuffed my horse loving self into a box and locked that away.  I am not going to rush into just owning any horse but if the right one comes along AND my coworker could board my horse at her place, that might work.  

3.  100k.  Sigh.  I miss running for hours on end and pushing myself.  I don't have two whole weekend days to give right now, but if I could find something that I could do in the spring and I could train all winter around Andrew's racing season then it's a maybe.

4.  Dog agility is always in the back of my mind, especially with Ollie being such a perfect size.  She still has a long way to go, but she's slowly gaining my trust.  The only problem is my trainer is in Kansas City now and that is a 2-hour drive one way.  I would need some help with ollie as she is very different than any dog I've ever trained.  

Okay back to reality now.  Two lifts and one run for the week.  I think the whole family is fighting something off and we all feel not quite right.  I felt like pure dog crap Saturday morning but had to go to work and then I had to get the mowing done and ran out of time for working out.  I know, excuses but it is what it is.  Sometimes rest is the best thing for you.  Plus, we had a lot of fun things come up towards the end of the week and I was all about having some fun. 

We went to Third Thursday in Manhattan and watched the big air guitar competition.  Yes, I typed that correctly and you read it correctly, AIR guitar.  It was so much fun and now Andrew wants to watch the documentary that was done on big air competitions globally.  We ended the night having some pizza at AJs with my coworker and just talking and listening to Bluegrass music.  

We also had another round of Friday night lights.  We lost a young man in our community last week due to an accident, and the community has rallied to stand behind the family and support them.  

The game was very emotional at several points we were all bawling.  Both teams had moments before and after the game that just made me glad we live in this tiny community.  We have firsthand been recipients of the love of this community when Tony had a brain tumor and had to have emergency surgery.  To honor this kid on both sides was truly amazing to watch and I don't think I've ever heard an entire football stadium FULL of people that quiet. We all left the game in silence and self-reflection.  That could have been any of us as parents losing a kid and being in their shoes.  

Overall, the band did improve which blows my mind with only technically 2 practices a week for an hour and half each.  They played Hard day's night/Magical mystery tour and added a new song minus marching sets, Elanore Rigby.  I can't wait to see this whole show come together.  They also marched at the State Fair this week and got all superior ratings.  

We ended the week racing again at Washington Kansas.  We've raced here several times this year and I feel like he is getting SO close to figuring this track out.  We have two more races this year, both at Clay Center and of course there is already lots of rain in the forecast.  Sigh.  I know he's a little frustrated at his finishes but there is improvement every single race.  

I am proud of his improvement and his ability to push this car a little hard each race.  I am also so proud that his little buddy for his heat race win as it was a BATTLE!  We also battled rain around the track all night and finally we got a huge shower that canceled the races.  I am glad we got some seat time, and I am thankful for all the friends that we got to spend some time with post-race.  

Keep your fingers crossed we at least get 2 more races and maybe 3 and end the year on a good note.  

Have a great week y'all!  It's ALMOST FALL!

Part Two: I am way too busy (and I never hit post)

Another race week and Andrew made the poster:) It helps that a big part of our racing family is the social media person now.

Ashton got lots of awesome pictures of Andrew.  I feel like I am going to spend way too much money with him.  I know, I'm a sucker and photographers know it.

Unfortunately, rain spoiled our plans to race at Clay center.  Hard to believe just a year ago this weekend we were putting Andrew in Bo's car for a test drive.

Still trying to find sponsors for Andrew's car.  I suck at asking people for money.  This is why I am not in sales or business for that matter.  I struggled with asking people to pay the bills they owed for work we did for them.  

Since it was a home football game, we got to do a band pub crawl, or should I say we parked our butt at Manhattan Brewing Company and listened to the pep band when they came through.  Then we headed over to the new pizza place Ziggy's and had pizza and more beer before heading down to the Aggieville bar district for dessert.  My coworker is now living in Manhattan so we can steal her away and make her go with us.  Minus the crazy driving and the already drunk kiddos, it was a fun night and the energy was infectious.  Oh to be young and dumb again.

Saturday night was a rainout at our racetrack but further South, it wasn't.  The boys headed to Salina Speedway for a night of racing and rain.  This popped up as they were leaving and then the bottom fell out later at the track and drenched them all.

Have a great week y'all!