Taking The Long Way Home

I've decided to move the "Kim & Lauren" posts, about our upcoming half marathon adventure at Disneyland, over to my other blog, PositivelyVegan . I think it's a better fit, and I hope you'll head over there right this minute and sign up to Follow By Email, "Like" me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or "Join This Site." PV is growing and taking on a life of its own, and I'd love a nice big audience to go along with it. You don't have to be vegan to enjoy a good meal, or to learn something new. Come on over and see what's cooking. We're having fun!

Kim: We have no Lauren again this week. She's having too much fun, and I'm not going to be the one to pin her down to homework when there are so many other things she can be doing. She's still in the race, and she's still training. My girl is doing great, so you're stuck with me for now... There's no such thing as time. I know this. That doesn't stop me from sort of obsessively timing my morning runs. In my own defense, I want to know how I'm doing, so I'm at least pretty sure I can finish the race in the alloted time frame. I want to finish that race. So I think it's a good idea to keep track of my progress, so I can push harder gradually, as I go, rather than freaking out in the last three weeks because I'm too slow to finish. It make sense to me, but maybe I'm wrong... It seems every time I go out to set a personal best, I'm delayed by everything from malfunctioning gadgets, to road work, to cute little puppies that just make m...

Kim: It took me a week to catch my breath after the big Seattle trip. This week I came up with a new, more serious, training schedule, and then just to make sure I stay motivated, I signed up for a 5K next month. What? Well, sure, why not? I mean it sounds like a big deal, bit it's just a smidge over 3 miles - 3.1 to be exact - and I do that twice a week already, with a longer run on Fridays. I think it will be good to do a "real" race before the half marathon, and besides, it's for a good cause. It's being put on by the local hospital, which I avoid like... well, like a hospital. But in this case, all the money raised goes to people in the community who are dealing with cancer, not just for medical stuff, but for things like groceries, bills, daycare, and other everyday things. While I refuse to "run for cancer" (what we fight, we feed, and what we focus our attention on gets stronger), I'm more than happy to run for people! That's where my a...

Kim: I'm really sorry - I have nothing for this post this week. School is out, but it's still at the front of my focus. We're on our way home now, by way of Ashland, San Jose, Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon. If I'm lucky, I'll get to run on the Rim Trail. If not, I'll pick it all back up when we get back to Taos. For now, I'm just too distracted to even think about the race. I have time though. Plenty of time. I'll check in again next week... Lauren: Shit Happens Last week I ran my butt off. I was strong and determined. I was excited and proud to share my life and running successes with the people I cared about. My mom was in town and I was on top of the world. On Wednesday there was a huge personal jolt in my life.... CRASH. Shit happens, people make new decisions, stuff changes and people like me don't deal with that very well. When all I could feel was my world crashing around me I sought comfort in the family I was lucky to have around an...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Well... As expected, nothing is as expected. My cooking course is taking up huge amounts of physical and mental energy, as well as most of my time. The weather is mostly very "Seattly," which is dam...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Make a plan and plan to change it...  I hurt my foot last Friday. It had been bothering me a little bit for a few days. It felt like my shoes were laced too tight, so I kept loosening them, and kept running. T...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Last Friday I "ran" 9 miles, and felt amazingly good afterwards. My perceived problem at the moment though, is that I'm still doing a lot more walking than running. So I've switched gears this...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: Some days this is just... really hard. I am not a natural runner, or if I once was, as a kid maybe, I've forgotten everything I knew. I'm learning it all again, and I'm willing and eager to learn....

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim : First, brief apologies for being late this week. Lauren is moving, and I've been in Santa Fe for a little Bead Fest break. We have a loose plan to blog each Wednesday, but we also know we have to stay fl...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: This week my knees are happy again, so I'm back to testing some running. I've been reading a lot about form, and the difference between old school "heel striking" and mid-foot or forefoot st...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Kim: When I was a teenager, my grandmother, Florence - Gramma to me - was this tiny, soft spoken woman with an iron will and a relentlessly cheerful outlook on life. She drove me nuts finding silver linings to every...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. Lauren: “There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it when it’s convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results...

Kim and Lauren are a mother/daughter team, training to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September of 2012. Kim, the the 50-something mom is vegan, and is training at the literally breathtaking altitude of 7,000 feet in Taos, NM. She has never been any kind of athlete before. Lauren, the 20-something daughter, is mostly vegetarian, and is doing her training in Seattle, WA. Running isn't new to her, but distance running is. This weekly blog, written by both of them, documents the journey, and hopefully, will inspire a few others to follow a dream, do something that's harder than they ever imagined they'd do on purpose, and enjoy the entire journey. Find all the entries by entering "Kim and Lauren" in the "search this blog" box to the left. This is the first installment of the "Kim and Lauren" posts, which we'll do about once a week as we train for the Disneyland Half Marathon , coming up in September. Go back to my last post for my fir...

Just a couple of days ago I was thinking, I really need to come up with a way to trick myself into exercising more regularly . It was just a passing thought, and I didn't put any further energy into it at all. But thoughts are creative little beings all on their own, and I had turned one loose. Yesterday morning I was having my tea in bed and checking my email, like I always do in the winter, and my phone rang. It was my daughter Lauren, who sounded a little bit stunned, and laughingly told me that she'd just signed up to run the Disneyland Half Marathon in September. This is a first for her, and being a supportive mom, I said something like, Great! That's so cool! And then jokingly I said, Maybe I should do it with you ... to which Lauren said, Yeah Mom! You should! Do it!  Somehow, within about a minute, I was actually considering it, and within an hour I was signed up too. How did this happen? I am not a runner, or any other kind of athlete. It has never ever occu...