Saturday, April 02, 2011

Lining up.

Yes it has been a while.  And no, I have not been hanging my head down low worrying about my 20M race.  Your comments were wonderful and helpful, and I moved on.  Instead, I have been "doing the rest of my life" and training on the side...  Not the priorities a pro would have but my profession IS the rest of my life and training is the icing on the cake.  Some days...

Life that have happened in the past 3 weeks:
- the remodel of our kitchen
The project has taken MONTHS but was completed 2 weeks ago.  It has taken a LOT of cleaning and dusting since, but we're loving it.  

- spent time with a much-loved friend from Holland who I had not seen in too long.  2 days of shopping, talking and drinking wine ensued.  Interspersed with a NASTY twofer which included 3M at 7:32 min/mile.
The fuzziness was in the camera, not in my mind!   
- attended my daughter AND my son's school plays:
Sophia as "little Alice" in Alice in Wonderland (sadly, there were no good photos of Felix's play) 

- moved into my new study and unpacked all the books which have been boxed for nearly 2 years!

But do not fret.  In the middle of the various domestic crises (today's crisis is the discovery of moths eating our carpets, we've already overcome the weekend where we had no electricity and the main drain was blocked) I have kept my eyes on the prize.  This one:

I have been training, hard.  And I have been planning.  Boston is coming close.  Packing up and organising a family of 4 to travel for 16 days is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you.  But having a goal focuses the mind.  Now - to be fair - my children's goals lie firmly in Orlando.  10 days of theme parks.  (Tips on healthy, wholesome restaurants would be VERY gratefully received).  But on Friday April 15th our gang travels from Orlando to Boston and then the focus will be on the marathon.  I am looking forward to meeting people, going to the expo, and - of course - the race.

Of which more shortly.  I am pondering a post on goal-setting, but I'm scared to do it.  Scared to put myself out there.  Give me another day or so.  I will be back.

17 comments:

Running and living said...

I love all those books! I dream of having a room filled with books, like I had growing up. This is so unusual for the US, though:)
I'll miss meeting you, but I will be tracking and thinking about you. You are going to do great. I completely understand about putting your goals out there. Do what makes you most comfortable. Have a great vacation and good luck in Boston!

Road Warrior said...

I can't wait to meet you. Get to Boston quickly and safely!

Amanda@runninghood said...

OH my, your house is gorgeous!!!!!! Your kitchen...so perfect!! And those books/study...my dream!! I like you more and more every time I read about you! Such an exciting time in your life...kitchen done, race coming...lovely!

Emz said...

LOVE
love
LOVE
the kitchen!

I was happy with my sweet letter too!! YAY!!

Unknown said...

i love hearing and seeing your life. Its such a treat! I am excited for your trip, it will be worth the prep work and SMART training.
Cheers!
LC

Irish Blue said...

Petra, good luck in Boston. I'm so excited for you!

Wow, your house looks AMAZING! We've been remodeling too since fall and just finished. So glad it's over!

Much love,
Melisa

lizzie lee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
lizzie lee said...

What a gorgeous kitchen and library.... Come and decorate my kitchen!!!!!

And your daughter is an awesome Little Alice!!!

Hope to talk to you while in the US... one advice...don't walk too much in the theme parks...please, rest... those parks can be killers!

Jill said...

My lord, girl, you have a lot of books and what an grand place to store them all!! Very jealous over here, but so glad you got them out of boxes and diplayed.

And so cool your kitchen is done, it looks fabulous and I bet you are enjoying it to the max (full of green veggies, of course :)).

I saw your daughter's pic on FB, she is the perfect image of Alice - I bet you were so proud of her...of both of them :).

Still sad not to see you in Boston but one day we will meet, I am certain (we must plan something when my heel will let me run again!)...in the meantime, you are going to get quite the workout in those theme parks so I hope you're staying closeby so you can rest your tired legs after lots of walkling. And relax by the pool at the end of the day...ah!

Much love!!

Aka Alice said...

I am green with envy at both your kitchen (love the clean lines!) and the library (gush..books...yay!)

Wish I had some specific recommends for healthy food in Orlando. Sadly, I've never been there. My best suggestion is to use YELP! (The website) I get great local recommendations for restaurants (and just about everything else) through that.

You will have a fabulous time on your vacation!

ShirleyPerly said...

WOW, what a kitchen! And yr study looks like a library!! Very impressive!!!

Again, I'm glad we will see each other in Orlando. I understand completely that it is your family time so I promise not to intrude for very long but it will be wonderful to meet you since I won't be in Boston after all. Looking forward to then!

Fran said...

Looks like you've been busy with fun things!

I'm so jealous of your books, boy you sure got a lot of them. And your kitchen: love, love, love it!

You can set a goal but you can also choose to keep it to yourself and let us know afterwards. Maybe less pressure?

Have a safe and fun trip to Orlando and Boston.

misszippy said...

The kitchen looks gorgeous! And the study is awesome as well. I think I could spend all day in a room like that.

You've got your goal. Period.

Anonymous said...

I am ridiculously jealous of that kitchen!!!!!! And in my dream home, I will have a library too!

Anonymous said...

I think your kitchen is FAB and I look forward to seeing it in the flesh one day!
I am dreaming of having book shelves too, my books are all boxed up and likely to be so for ages.
Have a great time in US and enjoy your marathon! I know you will!
We are skiing in verbier at the moment, lots of quiet evenings in mmmm!
love RosieX

Drusy said...

Wow, what a huge transformation from the kitchen concept we saw last fall. It's beautiful. I think we'll HAVE to come check it out!
Good luck at Boston!

Runner Susan said...

Your kitchen is LOVELY. GORGEOUS. FANTASTIC. Am drooling.

Best in Boston, hugs and kisses.