Week 2 -"Staycation Week"

"A rolling stone gathers no moss."

A full week has flashed by since my last entry. This was not intentional; the time has just slipped away.

The week has been full of activities and time with the family. The girls are on Spring Break this week and we had decided after searching for a vacation spot to do a “Staycation” instead.
Last Friday started the morning off with leg weights. Since this was the last day in the office I hunkered down and got all the loose ends tied up so there would be minimal items left on my plate.

Sarah was busy at home as well. When I arrived home two men were carrying out our old office desk and putting it in the back of a truck. Sarah had totally cleaned out her office and is in the process of remodeling it. Paint, new desk, new look, new everything is in order.

Saturday was my long run. We were heading off to NC to stay with my P’s for Easter so I wanted to get the run in before we left. I ran the Cumming Greenway for 13 miles at marathon pace. It still amazes me that during Taper time every workout continues to be a struggle. I planned to run a positive split on the 13 miles and came in 45 seconds ahead of the total pace. Doubts filled my head the whole way. “How am I going to run 26.2 miles when 13 miles is tough? “ I guess these thoughts hit us all occasionally. I just cannot think about it and focus on the run in the next two weeks.

After the run, we packed the car and headed to NC. Arriving at my P’s house around dinner time we hung out and had a great dinner.

Sunday was Easter. The weather was perfect. Low 80’s and not a cloud in the sky. We attended 8:30AM service and then came home for an Easter Egg Hunt. The girls, though they are getting older still enjoy the thrill of the chase as they searched and collected eggs in the backyard. After a candy infusion, we headed out on the boat. The water was around 60 degrees but that did not deter the girls from playing off the side of the boat. We were out on the water for about 2 ½ hours until we made our way back for an Easter Dinner. Before dinner, Sarah went out for an 8 mile run. After her return, we had a feast.

Monday, the girls, my father and I headed down to the boat pier and fished for perch at around 7AM. They were not biting that well as we only caught five fish. I wanted to clean and fry them for breakfast but the girls would have no part of that and released them while I was fishing off the front of the boat. Sarah and I had planned an Open Water swim after breakfast. The water temperature was around 60 degrees. In our wet suits, the temperature was just right. My father dropped us off about 1.25 miles from an island in deep water. We swam to the island as my father and the girls trolled beside us. Reaching the island, Sarah and I decided to swim around it to make almost a full 2 mile swim out of it. After the swim, we hung out on the island for a while then made our way over to the Rusty Rudder in the boat for lunch. We had a great lunch out on the deck in the nice weather. We decided to head over to the Duke Emporium after lunch to check out the visitor center in the boat. All-in-all, we were out on the boat for 5 hours.
Tuesday, Ellie and I got up at dawn and fished some more. Very little bites with only one fish caught. This was the day we were heading home as well. We packed up and left NC around 9:30AM. Our short trip to my P’s was fun and everyone had a great time. The ride home for 3+ hours was uneventful. We unpacked, cleaned out the car and Ellie and I decided to clean all the cars in the sunny, warm weather. I took the top off the Jeep after we washed it and we headed out to dinner in the Jeep.

Wednesday was a day to sleep in. All four of us got up after 8AM, which is not normal for this household. Sarah headed off to Dynamo to swim and I headed off to run a tempo run. The pollen has plagued my sinuses this year and was not into a track workout. Sarah swam 3900 meters while I ran a 6-mile tempo run, 2 EZ, 3 @ 6:34’s and a 1 mile cool down. This run went a lot better than the long run on Saturday. The rest of the day, we went shopping. For me shopping is like running 15 miles on a treadmill. It is boring and the thought of walking around while the girls try clothes on is mind numbing. However, I wanted to hang with the females of my household, so I made the best of it. One the way home we were starved, so we swung by Johnny’s Pizza for a pie and a pitcher of beer. To end the night we went to the movies. The girls saw, “Alice in Wonderland” while Sarah and I saw, “The Green Zone”. It worked out perfect. The movies started and ended within a minute of each other.

This brings us to Thursday again. The weather outside is threatening to rain, which I am hoping for. The cleansing of the pollen would bring some relief to my sinuses. Grace is off to The Panhandle with her friend and her family for a couple of days. Sarah, Ellie and I are going to paint Sarah’s office and putz around the house today.

The Staycation is going by too fast. One more day and it will be over. We have had many activities and it is not over yet.