November 1, 2010

Sunday Run and Halloween!

Sunday Run:
Sunday was my first "long" run since my marathon.  I was scheduled to run 7miles and I was itching to get out and run!  The weather was beautiful and I was looking forward to being outside.  I know soon enough that I'll be doing the majority of my runs inside on the treadmill, so it was nice to have a 65 degree day!

I know fully recovering from a marathon takes time, but my legs have just felt a little off on my runs lately.  This run was no different.  But, after about 3 miles, my legs actually started to feel "normal" again!  It was a great feeling and I decided to ignore my Garmin and just run.  It was awesome.

When I got about a 1/2mile from my house, "Sweet Child of Mine" from Guns-N-Roses (yes, I have that song on my training playlist!) came on.  It instantly reminded me of my cousin Denis who passed away years ago.  He lived with us for awhile when I was in high school and he was obsessed with GNR.  Something about the song coming on, the beautiful weather, and feeling good on the run, made me point to the sky and say, "This one's for you Denis." I sprinted all of the way home, and the song ended exactly when I reached our driveway.  I got a little teary eyed when I finished, but it also brought a smile to my face remembering him at a happy time in his life, rocking out to GNR.  :)
  
Halloween
Halloween was great this year!  My husband took the boys out trick-or-treating while I stayed home to pass out candy.  Here is a picture I took before they headed out:
My oldest was the transformer Optimus Prime and my youngest was Spiderman.  In this picture, I told them to pretend they were using their super powers and these are the poses they came up with!  I love it! :)

The Switch Witch
source
My husband and I decided to try something new this year.  I read somewhere about the idea of the "Switch Witch" and thought it was awesome.  So, here's how it works.  On Halloween night, we had the boys pick out 10 pieces of their favorite candy.  The rest was put into a big bowl and placed on our living room coffee table.  When the boys are sleeping, the Switch Witch comes, takes all of the candy, and leaves a special toy for each boy in its' place.  Of course, it takes a little planning to buy an awesome toy for each boy ahead of time, but it was so worth it.  Our boys were so excited about it and it was a great way for us to get rid of all of the candy without dealing with the tantrums that may have occurred if we just took the candy away from them.  Now, they have their 10 pieces to eat and then it's gone!  I don't know about all of you, but if there is candy around, I will eat it.  I think I've actually gained several pounds from grabbing a piece of candy here and there over the last couple of days.  I love candy, but there is such thing as too much of a good thing.  So, my husband took the whole bowl of candy to work with him so the other employees can eat it.  Let them deal with the extra pounds! :)

23 comments:

DRog said...

Great job getting in the longish run so soon after your marathon! This time of year is usually brutal with all the candy - goodwork!
Derek

Dawn said...

What a good idea!!! I hear you on the candy gaining;))

Great job on your run! I am a wee bit jealous of you....7 miles!?! I have done 10 miles before...but maybe twice in my life. And this was just "getting back into it after your marathon"!!!! You inspire me:))

kizzy said...

great halloween post...Happy halloween..

Congrats on your race,..

--kizzy marmot

Kevin said...

The Switch Witch is a great idea. My friend calls it Dad Tax and steals half the peanut butter cups.

Kevin
http://halftriing.blogspot.com/

Christi said...

I love GNR! I am glad that you had a great run to that great song.

Switch witch sounds like a great idea!

KovasP said...

GnR is always a good choice.

Unknown said...

Switch Witch! The tricks parents play on their kids. Looking back, I wish my parents did that to me - I was a chubby kid and DID NOT need that candy. Oh well, I survived. :)

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh... I love the switch witch! Awesome idea! The boys look cute!

And congrats on a great run back!

funderson said...

whatever...G 'n R rules! : )

Unknown said...

The Switch Witch ...what a great idea!

Nothing like a little Axl Rose to get the blood flowing - i have a bunch of old GnR songs on my shuffle too. Always makes me think of the days in junior high and high school.

Emz said...

65 degrees = heaven.

sounds wonderful! WAy to go!

YAY on the office candy donation! GNR - love them!

Velma said...

What a great idea with the switch witch. Our kids donated the extra candy to a care package for the troops.

I love GNR!!

TRI714 said...

I have 3 GNR albums on my Ipod- I'm more of a fan now than I was then. I also think there great to run to. Green day seems to be good also. My son is weird, not a big candy kid? oh, great costumes.

ONEHOURIRONMAN said...

The switch witch would eat all the candy at our house....

Jason said...

I love the idea of t switch witch. My step-son actually doesn't even look for the candy and he will be 5 in January. ODD. He did go as The Hulk and we had him make the angry face. I will post pics tomorrow during Observations and Musings.

Great job on getting back out there and being able to have those memories. Little things in life to cherish.

Chef Amber Shea said...

How sweet that Denis was "with you" for the end of your run :)
I love the Switch Witch idea!! I'm going to have to use that someday when I have kids!

Julie said...

Love GNR here too! And I love that my boys love it too!

Switch Witch is a fantastic idea!

Julie said...

Woo hoo for an awesome run Aimee! I always get emotional when I hear certain songs that juggle my memory too:) Sounds like it was a good memory...I love GNR:) I am glad that the legs are feeling back to normal. If I could do it all over again I would of never run the 5K trail race one week post marathon! I am feeling better now but not perfect. The boys look so cute in their costumes. Last year my little guy was Spiderman...same costume:)

Take care!

Matt said...

What marathon did you run? (Just started following your blog!)

Jill said...

The Switch Witch needs to come to the mountain climbers' house - OMG we have way too much. Mine would most likely want something like crampons or ice axes or iPods...toys for 15-year olds are way too expensive!! Anyway, that candy needs to go away so I stop eating it!!

Your muscley boys are looking awesome!!

Heidi Austin, PT, DPT said...

what a good idea! you are such a healthy mom :)

Regina said...

Love the switch witch idea!!! I just stashed the candy up on a very high cupboard that no one can reach which makes it a real effort to get at it. I may try the switch witch thing though.

Love the costumes!

RunToTheFinish said...

oh my that is the most awesome idea ever!! except i woudl be the witch who kept the candy and got fat