I love watching old movies, and by ‘old’ I mean movies from the 80s. I don’t get to do it very often which is probably why, when I spy one on TV, I try to take 10 minutes to at least watch a little…even if it’s from my shower which, outside of running, is my only alone time these days.

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Last weekend I caught one of the greats, Say Anything, at the beginning. I can’t remember ever seeing the beginning of this movie and I was treated to an old scene, that I love more, watching as an adult. It’s the exchange between a real life brother and sister, playing on screen brother and sister (John and Joan Cusack):

Lloyd Dobler:  “Why can’t you be in a good mood? How hard is it to decide to be in a good mood and be in a good mood once in a while?”

Constance: “Gee. It’s easy.” (with more scarcasm then even I’m capable of) 

First off, who knew her character’s name was Constance? Second, I just love everything about this because YES, its a choice. Everything is. When you gain that perspective, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to do almost anything. Even marathon training on a treadmill…which the weather decided for me…but still.

WEEK OF FEBRUARY 9, 2015

RUNNING: My coach makes a lot of my training decisions for me, but I use my own mind to get me though it. Instead of constantly bitching this week about how much I had to run on the treadmill, I decided to embrace it and be happy I had legs to run on and a marathon with great friends to look forward to. I decided to put my head down and make it work. Hard.

As the weekend and my 14-mile long run approached, the forecast was calling for more snow (6-10 inches) with temps below zero, I had to face a hard fact – I was going to have to get it done inside. My marathon training partner Chrissie and I devised a plan to meet at the gym when it opened, pick a treadmill, and just get.it.done. It took 110 minutes with an average pace of 7:50. It actually wasn’t that bad but I hope I never have to do it again.

Total miles: 40

CYCLING: I enjoyed all of my cycling workouts this week because most of them were in the gym, listening to some new podcasts (links below), and not in my basement on the bike trainer yelling at the boys. Here’s one of my favorites from the week:

Warm-up: 10 minutes done as 5 minutes of 30 seconds alternating b/t 100 and 80 rpm, 5 minutes at 95 rpm or higher.

Main Set

Set 1: 3 x (2 min standing at 70 rpm in low Z2 then 3 min standing at >100)

Set 2: 3 x (2 min standing at 80 rpm in Z1 then 3 min sitting at 100 rpm in in Z3)

Set 3: 3 x (2 min standing at 70 rpm in Z3 then 3 min sitting at 90 rpm in Z1)

Cool down: 5 min easy

Total cycling time for the week: 2 hours

On the bike at the gym listening to Tina Muir's RunnersConnect Podcast!

On the bike at the gym listening to Tina Muir’s RunnersConnect Podcast!

SWIMMING: During these frigid days it is downright daunting getting into a pool! I try not to think about it too much before I just jump in. Brrrrrr. I had two great workouts this week and my lung capacity is getting bigger with each one!

Total: 4,500 yds

STRENGTH TRAINING: I’m still getting in one great strength workout per week but this is still my least favorite thing to do. CRS added some cable leg extensions and hip flexor work. I haven’t used cables since Say Anything came out in theaters. Seriously. Let’s just say it was comical and leave it at that.

Total time: 1 hour

Yes I'm using 3 lb weights to do 'Ys' 'Ws' and 'Ts' Also comical.

Yes I’m using 3 lb weights to do ‘Ys’ ‘Ws’ and ‘Ts’ Also comical.

FUEL: My local grocery/lunch place/workstation strikes again! This weeks special? Goat cheese, cranberry and kalamata olives on homemade whole wheat bread. I mean, really? I decided to go twice this week just to get it again.

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THINGS I LOVE: My babysitter. She is the absolute best! You know how hard it is to leave your kids (mom guilt anyone?) but she is amazing in every way. She brings her daughter Clara with her and the boys absolutely love her. She is also a wedding coordinator, photographer, party planner and super hero who sends me photos like this while I’m working:

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THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH: Making Valentines for 12 times 2. My boys handwriting is atrocious so I have to write the kids names and then their names after they do it on each and every Valentine. And, you can’t hand out candy at school…on Valentine’s Day. What the what? Last I checked there are no peanuts in candy hearts. When I was a kid (insert grandma voice here) we ate candy all.day.long at school on Valentine’s Day until someone threw-up pink puddles. #truestory What is the world coming to? Someone should make a decision to reinstate candy and holiday celebrations in school*.

*I wrote this before the boys came home on Friday. Guess what? They had no less then 10 lollipops each. #rebelmoms

This picture is not a good representation of the madness of stuffing 24 bags with pencils and erasers. #lame

This picture is not a good representation of the madness of stuffing 24 bags with pencils and erasers. #lame

TV: If you cannot decide to be in a good mood, go watch Jimmy Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets” series on YouTube. In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a series where the actual celebrity reads mean tweets that people write about them. They are equal parts vicious and hilarious.

The reactions of the celebrities themselves are sometimes the best part. It’s obvious that a lot of them don’t read their twitter feed at all!

Caution: like everything on this blog, there’s a lot of potty mouth in the videos. Be sure to stick your kid in front of the TV in another room before you watch these…

PODCASTS: I’m still in mourning after the end of Serial Season 1 but very hopeful and anxious for Season 2! In the meantime here’s some podcasts I’ve been geeking out to:

RunnersConnect Run to the Top – Featuring (among others) Tina Muir from Fuel Your Future with Tina

On Being – This is an interesting one suggested by a good friend of mine. It can be deep if you let it since it’s talks on a variety of topics about “what it means to be human and how we want to live.” It’s best reserved for a long run or when you want to ponder life’s mysteries.

RANDOM QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I always let him have my way!” – Alice, 99 years old, married to Dale for 81 years, when asked what the secret to their marriage was. 

Can you imagine being married for 81 years?

How was your week? Training? Running?

What do you think about making a decision to be in a good mood?

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