Playing catch up after being sick

Hello all!  I haven't dropped off the planet.  I've just had the worst chest cold for over a week.  I've read that it's ok to exercise when you have a head cold, but if it's down in your chest, it isn't a good idea.  My lungs hurt, they feel like they're still full of junk, I still have a cough, and I felt achy and terrible for what seemed like forever.  I'm trying to play catch up with my training now that I'm finally feeling better.  I skipped 3 runs, 3 strength training sessions at the gym with VK Sista, and 1 yoga class.  *GASP!*  I felt like a lazy fat pig.  I swear my ass got fatter.

Anyway, I started trying to get back into the swing of things last Thursday by going to the gym with VK Sista.  I took it pretty easy.  I started with 3 miles on the stationary bike, then we did arms, back, and finished off with core by doing planks on a bosu ball.  We filmed it for another VK Sista who said for every 1 minute plank video that she got for her birthday, her coach would have to do 1 minute of planks.  Here's a couple screen shots of our video.  It was pretty funny….

Friday I decided I'd finally try to get a short run in again.  I jogged with the stroller about a mile to yoga class.  (Pretty slow pace since I felt like I still couldn't breathe.)  And then I spent yoga trying not to loudly sniff, or drip snot all over my yoga mat every time I did downward dog.  It was lovely.  Then I jogged with the stroller back home.  Here's my daughter enjoying the ride, blowing dandelion seeds….

And that brings me to today!  I went for a 22 mile ride around Lake Sammamish with VK Sista, and another friend who I'm going to call "The Cheetah" because she's my crazy runner friend who's at about a 7 minute pace.  We had a really fun ride at a really quick pace.  We finished in just over 90 minutes.  I'm feeling much better about my cycling now.  That day on Vashon must have been just an "off" day for me because I felt great today.  (Only had to blow my nose once!)  I could have gone even faster.  We finished our first 10 miles in about 35 minutes… and then we slowed down and chatted.  A 60-something year old guy randomly inserted himself in our pace line and we pulled him up a hill.  He said, "Thank you!  35 years from now, you'll understand how much I appreciated that!"  :)  (35 years?  We must look young!)  Here's a couple pics from our ride...

VK Sista, Me, The Cheetah

VK Sista taking an unsafe selfie of our high five!

I really wanted to get a 10K in today to help make up for my lack of running but it was a crazy day after the ride.  We had so many out-of-the-ordinary errands that it just felt like it wasn't in the cards.  I was really determined to get a run in though.  So after dinner (we went out and I had a giant chicken sandwich, salad, AND a beer)  I did a 5K on a track, belly full of food.  Not my fastest ever, but I did it!  I got a new plantar sleeve for my other foot and that seemed to help the pain I was having on the right side.  I need to do some googling on how to KT tape my ankles for my next half marathon this weekend though.  My husband brought the kids to the playground while I ran, and he filmed me going by so I could check how my Chi Running was doing.  I look pretty aligned actually…

Here's just a pic I took of my watch at the end of my run so I can submit it as a virtual 5K for the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon and get a free t-shirt!  ….

And here's just a little fun fact to end my blog entry today…  My niece joined track at her elementary school.  How freaking cute is she!?  She looks super fast, doesn't she?   :)

How to maintain half marathon endurance level

It has been 3 days since my first half marathon and I'm still sore.  Not as sore as I was the first two days…  that was pretty killer.  My calves were so painful I looked like an old lady walking up and down the stairs.  I'm "normal" workout sore as of this morning, so I decided I better get a recovery run in.  I did an easy 30 minutes around my neighborhood using my favorite Rock My Run HIIT IT mix and did run/walk intervals.  Funny that I still did a 12:30 pace.  It's weird that I always seem to go faster when I get out of my head and I don't really try.  (I really need to write a blog about cycling vs. running.  Someone remind me to do that!)

Here's a couple pics of my half marathon "injuries"…

My bra strap was rubbing

Aaand… I have a couple blisters.  Ouch.

And here's my new favorite picture of all!!!!  I put my 13.1 and Vanderkitten VIP sticker on the back window of my car.  I love it!  I'm so excited!  :)

Woo!

Anyway… now I'm in maintenance mode.  I mentioned in my last post that I really didn't know what to do next with my training schedule since I did my first half 8 weeks before my schedule said to.  It's weird for me to just give it up after I've been so organized and consistent with it for the past 12 weeks.  I wanted to know how many miles per week I needed to maintain my half marathon endurance level, so I did some googling.  I was finding articles saying I need to be running 25 miles per week on average.  Pshaw.  I don't even do that right now.  I follow Jeff Galloway's walk/run method (even though I don't do much walking) and I've used his Run Disney Half Marathon Training plan.

Here's a brief summary of his plan:

Two 30 minute runs during the week, and then alternating 3 miles, and a progressively longer run, every other weekend.  I thought this was totally do-able with my busy schedule… you know, a job, two kids, cycling, etc.  And it's been great!  Better than great since I got to my goal faster than anticipated!  But the maintenance plans I was finding were for crazy hardcore runners and that wasn't going to work for me.  I did three things:  I emailed a runner friend who always gives me great advice;  I started a post on the Vanderkitten VIP group asking advice from fellow kittens;  And I emailed Jeff Galloway on his website, not expecting a response.

I DID get a response, from Jeff Galloway's program director, almost instantly.  He said to do 30-45 minute runs on the weekdays, and at least 5 miles on the weekends.   And then do a half marathon distance at least once every 3 weeks.  He said not to go longer than a month because that's how long your body will hold on to your endurance.  I asked if doing a 5K twice on the weekdays, and a 10K on the weekends, and do a half marathon once a month would work (along with cycling events) and he said yes, as long as I wasn't trying to race all of those.  Sounds good to me!  I also got almost the same response from my runner friend which was great validation.  The Vanderkittens also agreed with his advice but told me to at least try to do one interval run per week to help with speed.  Okay then, I have a new plan!

My posts won't start with Week _ Day _ anymore, which will be weird.  It's just me, going with the flow.  I'm going to do another half marathon on April 4th, and then the weekend after is the Daffodil 5K Challenge (Four 5K's in four cities in one day.)  I'll just sign up for what looks fun, and what my friends are doing.  And make sure I get going on my cycling.  The STP is going to come up quick and I'm really going to feel it with my lack of training.  And THEN after the STP, I'll start Jeff Galloway's Marathon Training plan for my first Marathon in December.  Oh wow that's so far away, but I'm really intimidated by it.  Wish me luck!

My first half marathon! (Or Week 12 Day 3!)

I finished my first half marathon today!  THIRTEEN POINT FREAKING ONE BABY!!!  Insane.  I can't believe it.  I was watching the weather all week and it kept saying it should be scattered showers here and there.  Lies I tell you!  It was pouring when I got up.  Sane people would say, "Ha.  Screw this" and go back to bed.  Apparently I'm insane.  I really wanted to wear some Vanderkitten gear but I knew I'd have to cover it up with my running jacket.  So I took a quick vanderselfie (Ha, that should be a new hashtag!) on my front porch before heading out...

I look thrilled.

This is what the weather looked like when I was on my way to Seward Park!

I got there a little early because I wanted to make sure I found parking.  I have no idea why I thought it might be crowded.  Who else is this crazy in this weather?  The half marathon is called The Sporty Diva and I knew there was only 24 of us signed up.  (And I think at least 10 of those people didn't show.)  When I got out of my car, cousin yelled at me from her car asking where I was going.  I was going to find a bathroom but I joked that I was escaping.  I was soaked before the race even started.  I might as well have just started out by jumping in Lake Washington.  (Husband told me before I left to make sure I didn't step in the BIG puddle… that's the lake.  Yeah, thanks for the stellar advice babe.)

The route was a flat 2 miles out, and 2 miles back.  There were people there doing 4 miles, 8 miles, and then us EXTRA crazy people.  We had to do that "loop" 3 times, and then head out again and back until our Garmins said 13.1.  They were supposed to mark that spot with flour so we knew where to turn around… but ha… mother nature said flour would not stay on the ground.  So it's a good thing we had GPS.  I started out with cousin and her brother keeping a great pace.  I PR'd my 5K time (35:14), and my 10K time (1:15:00)!  We just chugged right along!  

At about the 7.5 mile mark my hips started hurting.  Cousin was complaining hers were hurting too.  I think it was because the trail was un-level.  It sort of slanted slightly towards the lake.  When we'd run out 2 miles, it would hurt, but running back would be ok.  We stopped to use the bathroom and I got down on the ground and did a little yoga.  Pigeon pose.  It really helped but then I was all muddy...

Wet and muddy!  But see!  I completed the whole thing in these crazy shoes!

Here's a selfie since I had my phone out.  We're a lot wetter than we look.

We took off again and I PR'd my 15K time too (2:01:00)!  Then things sorta started going downhill (around mile 10).  I wasn't tired, I was feeling really good actually. (I had a shot block every 2 miles.)  BUT my ankle started killing me, and not the ankle that usually hurts me.  My left one was all KT taped up, and I had my plantar faciitis sleeve on.  I figured maybe I was overcompensating for it because it was my right ankle that started hurting.  That was totally new.  I also thought it could be because we were still on our way out, and I hoped it would feel better when we turned around and went the other way.  Cousin and her brother are absolutely fantastic people because they stuck with me no matter what.  We sorta speed-walked until the turn-around, and it started feeling better.  Not 100% better, but at least 50% better.  I could "run" but it was more like a slow trot.  I think next run I need to KT tape both ankles, and probably get another plantar faciitis sleeve just in case too.  

When we came back in to the start/finish line, I heard "GO KIM!" in the distance.  And I thought, "That sorta looks like BFF!"  AND IT WAS!  She drove about an hour down south in the pouring rain just to surprise me and cheer me on at the finish!  She knew we didn't get a babysitter so husband wasn't there and she decided it was her duty to make sure she was there (since she got me into this mess  in the first place!)  I was so excited to see her!  It gave me the energy to turn around there and run down that extra 1/4 mile and back to make it a full 13.1!  I finished my first half in 2:51:00!

Cousin, her brother, and me at the finish!

And here's a selfie with my BFF!

So…. now what?  I finished my first half 8 weeks before I was supposed to finish a half.  12 weeks of training and I did my first half marathon.  What do I do with my training schedule now?  I'm supposed to do 12 miles in 2 weeks.  That seems silly now.  Cousin wants me to do another half with her in 3 weeks but I'm only supposed to do 3 miles that day.  And then the week after that is the Daffodill 5K Challenge where we do 4 5Ks in 4 cities in one day.  I think I'm supposed to be coming to the end of my training schedule and tapering for my Disney Half right around then.  So, what do I do?  How do I just maintain where I am and do all the races I want to do?  I don't start marathon training until June.  AND I have to work on getting more cycling in.  I guess I need to start googling what my next step is.   

Week 12 Day 1 and 2~ Last week of prep for my first half this weekend!

Well, not much to report.  Tuesday VK Sista' had a dentist appointment and we had plans to have dinner with my dad anyway so we didn't go to the gym.

BUT I picked the kids up from school and turned on Mickey Mouse for my 2 year old and told my 9 year old to keep an eye on her, and jumped on my treadmill upstairs.  My husband came home right as I finished and I heard him say, "Where's mommy?"  Oh, ya know… just upstairs running a 5K…. NBD.  :)  

Thursday I wanted to go for a run around the neighborhood to try out my new hydration pack since I'm doing my first half marathon on Sunday and they only have water stops every 4 miles..  I bought a Nathan's women's specific one from REI.  I wasn't going to take my dog but she was looking at me with those puppy dog eyes and I'm a sucker.  She did really well though.  I really don't like running with a backpack but I can't imagine one that would be any better than this one.  It doesn't bounce around all over or anything.  It's just annoying having something on my back.  Hydration is important though so hopefully I'll get used to it.  I only did 20 minutes around the neighborhood because I was running late and had to get to work.  So I did an extra mile on the treadmill when I met VK Sista' and husband at the gym in the afternoon.  We had arm day… and then went to Road Runner Sports for their St Patty's Day party!  Free green beer!  How could we not go?  We got free mugs that say "Kiss me, I'm a runner!"  And cousin, and a couple other friends were there.  Fun fun!  :)

A couple of kittens having a beer

Well, my next post will be all about my first half marathon!  I even bought a 13.1 sticker to put on my car!  IF I live!  If not, then this shall be my last post.  Thanks for reading, I'll miss you all.  lol.

Week 11 Day 2 and 3 ~ Juggling life around training

My goal was to blog after every single training run but the 30 minute runs on the weekdays are becoming so uneventful that I just don't have anything to say about them.  At least not enough for a whole blog post.  I did my 30 minutes on Thursday, not very fast.  I ran from my house to a park down the street that I sorta forgot was there and did laps around a small track while this guy who looks like he could do a marathon in about an hour kept zooming past me.  And then I ran home, picked the kids up from school, and went to the gym.  See?  Week 11 Day 2: Blog post done.  Okay onward to day 3....

 

My training schedule said 3 miles.  I figured that was going to be super easy and I have the whole weekend to do it, I'll fit it in somewhere.  My son's 9th birthday was Friday so we took him to Great Wolf Lodge with his cousins Friday night.  I was going to try to hop on the treadmill there and do my 3 miles really quickly on Saturday morning but the kids stayed up so late that they actually slept in.  We got up about 8:30 and went down for the breakfast buffet so we could get as much water park time in as possible.  I figured chasing a toddler around, and climbing a ton of stairs to go on water slides was enough exercise for one day, but I planned to do my run when we got home.  That didn't happen either.  We were only home for about a half hour before we had to take our son to a hockey game for boy scouts.  AND my Vanderkitten jacket was finally delivered to my office so I had to run down and pick it up!  I could not wait! 

 

Sunday morning I was going to get up and go on my run before VK Sista' came over to go on a ride.  But oh yeah!  Daylight savings time!  Ugh.  I lost an hour so there went my time to run.  My brother and his girlfriend came over to babysit the kids so my husband could come on our ride too.  We wanted to take VK Sista' over to Vashon Island because she's never been.  We planned on doing a 25 mile ride, and I was going to do my 3 mile run after.  Well with those killer hills on Vashon, I pretty much died.  I don't know if it was just on off day, and I have a lingering cold AGAIN, but I just could not keep up with VK Sista' and my husband.  I just peddled and peddled and felt like I was standing still.  By the time we finished our ride, I had nothing left.  No run for me.  I walked up a couple hills though.  Maybe I got 3 miles on foot in somewhere? 

 

 

Anyway....Since I got my awesome new VKVIP jacket, I wanted to replace this "before and after" photo that I use here on my blog with one in my new kick ass gear...

 

But ya know, I really think I look slimmer in the color run photo so I haven't decided if I want to change my profile pic yet. 

 

 

 

I had VK Sista' take the photo for me and she started taking rapid shots with my phone and yelling "Paparazzi!"  Hahahaaa.  I love the last shot the best!  Like, "Give me my phone you crazy lady!"

 

The absolute best part is that when I uploaded the pic to the Vanderkitten VIP group page, Facebook doesn't recognize the old me!  I think that's pretty crazy!  Makes me smile!

 

 

 

And here's some photos from our ride on Vashon...

 

We stopped at a winery for a tasting because we missed the last ferry.  We had some time to kill.  Husband and I joined their wine club so now we get free tastings every time we ride on Vashon.  What a perfect reward at the end of a killer ride!!  ... and it made that last hill to the ferry a lot less scary!

 

So... I'm a wife and mother, and this weekend was crazy and I had to juggle a lot.  So what... I missed my 3 mile run, but I got a ride in.  (A brutal ride.)  So that's life.  Cousin talked me into doing a half marathon with her this coming Sunday.  I spontaneously signed up.  (AAHH!)  My training schedule says 11 miles.  What's 2.1 more?  I was trying to justify not getting my 3 miles in, thinking, "Well, I'm doing an extra 2.1 this weekend.  I shouldn't be ready for a half yet.  I should be tapering anyway."  But I don't need to justify anything.  I got done what I could!  Holy cow though!   My first half marathon this weekend!  Crazy crazy!  I really feel like I'm ready and I'm not nervous about it though.  Here's a photo of me crossing the finish line of my 15K... still smiling and feeling good!  I think I'll be ok!  (I hope I'll be ok!)

Week 11 Day 1 ~ The run that turned into a hike

After running 9.3 miles on Sunday I really wasn't looking forward to my run on Tuesday.  Usually my long run is on a Saturday so I have an extra day to recover.  I suppose that's why they call your next run your "recovery run" though and I decided to just go for it... no matter how slow.  Luckily since Chi Running is freaking amazing, I really wasn't as sore as I thought I would be.  I was feeling it in my core the most, and that's awesome actually.

 

So I decided (I realize I say "I decided" a lot in my blog.  I need to visit thesaurus.com or something.  Sorry.) to take my dog down to Seahurst Park near my house and jog around back and forth down there.  I knew the path was only maybe a mile long but it was a gorgeous day, the park is right on the water, and it's just a couple miles from home. 

 

First off, Chi Running with my dog is impossible.  I can't look straight ahead because I have to look down at her and make sure she doesn't start wandering in front of me and I trip over her and break my neck.  Second, I can't swing my arms like I'm supposed to because I have to hold her leash and pull on it once in a while and say "heel" so she stays with me.  She may be fired as my running buddy unless I email my instructor and ask her for tips.  We'll have to go on extra walks instead. 

 

So we jogged about a mile and I noticed a trail at the end of the park that went straight up the hill.  I didn't know there were trails up there.  (In my defense we've only lived in this area a little over a year, and the park was closed for renovations until a few months ago.)  I so decided (see, there I go again.  Thesaurus, Kim.  Thesaurus) to run up the hill and see where it went.  It was steeper than I thought so my morning run turned into a hike.  It was gorgeous up there.  Views of the Puget Sound, huge trees, a creek running through, and super nice people saying good morning.  When we got to the top, it ended up in a nice neighborhood, and I took a different, narrower trail back down that weaved around a lot.  That's when my Garmin got all stupid again and kept pausing on me on switchbacks like my last trail run.  How freaking annoying!  I was out there 17 minutes more and a little more than a mile further than it said.  So I added that in manually on Strava.  Gotta get credit for every single mile, right? 

 

When we reached the park again, we ran back to the car.  All in all, a gorgeous active morning, but not a whole ton of running.  That was A-Okay with me!  (Also I had the gym to look forward to with VK Sista' later in the afternoon.)  Here's some photos from my hike....

 

Doesn't this look like something straight out of a fairy tale?

I thought our shadows looked cool

Few from the top

A little bridge over the creek

Week 10 Day 3~ Hot Chocolate 15K

Yesterday was the Hot Chocolate 15K (9.3 miles) through downtown Seattle, and then up Aurora Ave and back down.  Looking at the map freaked me out.  It looked so far!  I was so, so worried about my foot/ankle injury, I felt sick.  I decided to wear my vibrams.  I used KT tape, my plantar fasciitis sleeve, compression calf sleeves, and my toe socks too.  My amazing husband came with me to zig zag through side streets on his bike, and brought my regular running shoes (minus my custom insoles which I'm hoping I can return) just in case I wanted to switch shoes.  I couldn't eat breakfast I was so nervous.  Husband made me oatmeal and I just couldn't do it.  At the last minute, I ended up force feeding myself a cliff bar, and I took my AdvoCare Catalyst.  That's as much as I could handle.

I was really worried about my BFF finishing the race.  I was supposed to start in corral J and she was supposed to start in corral L due to the pace we entered when we registered.  I was going back and forth about whether or not to drop back and start with her in her corral.  I was thinking about it all night and all morning.  I came to the conclusion that I trained for this and she didn't.  That it wouldn't be fair to be picked up by the fail bus with her when I put in so much time and effort week after week.  I'd have to leave her behind eventually, and I'd be stressed about running to catch up with where I should have started out.  So I made the decision to part ways at the very beginning and send her all the positive energy I could.  Here's our pic together before the race:

A friend of mine who is at almost every running event I attend was going to be there and was assigned corral K.  She needs an alias for this blog.... um... since she's kind of family in a weird round-about way, I'm going to call her "cousin".  We usually have a similar pace so I thought I would at least drop back one corral and do the race alongside her.  Well, she had friends who were in corral G so she said we were going to cheat and start in that corral.  That made me nervous starting out with people who were even faster than we were.  And you're allowed to drop back, you aren't supposed to join an earlier corral so I thought we'd get in trouble.  No one seemed to notice.  I started my Garmin when I crossed the start line, and we were off!

I practiced aligning my body and using my Chi Running techniques.  I would swing my arms back with my music, I'd practice a tight core, move my hips, let the road drag my foot back, tilt forward.  Practice practice.  I was doing great.  Nothing hurt, I wasn't out of breath, and I just happily jogged along and chatted with cousin and her brother, and ate chocolate marshmallows at the different candy stops.  She was getting over the cold that I had a couple weeks ago so she was having a tough time.  She'd stop to walk and blow her nose, and hack up crap and spit on the side of the road.  Oh man I remember that. Sucks!  She kept trying to convince me and her brother to run off without her but like I've always said, as long as I'm not dead last and in danger of failing, I don't care how long it takes.  Our average 13 minute pace was just fine with me. 

It was fun running along empty streets!  I've definitely never been inside the Battery Street Tunnel without a car!  Here's a few pics...

Cousin and I at the start line

Inside the Battery Street Tunnel

 

I found my husband every few miles.  He was pretty easy to spot.  Tall guy in a bright green cycling jacket.  He'd cheer me on and take some photos.  Love, love, love him.  Here's one he took of us at around the 5 mile mark...

He asked if he should just stay there and wait for me to turn around and reach him again, or continue up ahead but I said my foot felt fine so he could hang out there.  Just after the 5 mile mark, my ankle got that little painful twinge.  I thought, oh no!  I should have told him to keep going, I may need my shoes after all.  5 miles was right where my ankle started hurting during my 8 mile run.  But I calmed down, practiced my Chi alignment, and the pain magically went away.  Woo!  That workshop was worth every freaking penny.  Chi Running FTW!  At around the 6 mile mark, cousin and her brother stopped to use the bathroom and I decided to head off on my own.   All the way up Aurora Ave and back down again.  Look at that hill in the distance!  ...

Here's a pic my husband took of me when I made it back to where he was waiting... almost the 8 mile mark.  Still feeling good and smiling! 

 

 

 

I kept thinking how weird it was that I wasn't tired.  I never hit that "wall" I sometimes feel coming on.  Like where my body just feels like it weighs a thousand times more than it does and it just can't run (or pedal) anymore.  Never happened.  I don't know if it was the chocolate stops, Chi Running, the excitement of the race.... who knows but it was awesome!

When I reached my husband I gave him a quick kiss and asked if he had seen BFF.  He told me that they had started turning people around the other direction and that she was about 2 minutes ahead of me.  Oh no!  Well, at least there was no actual "fail bus"... just that they made people turn around so they could open the road back up.  Ugh.  That freaking sucks.  I kicked it into high gear and tried to catch up to her.  I found her and tried to offer some encouragement but I don't think it really worked.  We passed the sign that said 8 miles, and her Garmin said she did 6 so she had to cut 2 miles off of her run.  She said she wasn't going to take the finisher medal because she didn't really finish.  I told her I was proud of her just for trying and took off.  I wanted to try to finish the 9.3 miles in 2 hours.  We really should have taken a selfie when I found her, but I didn't think about it until later.

I finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes.  Not too bad!  I got my medal, hot chocolate, and the best chocolate fondue I've ever had with lots of yummy stuff to dip! 

 

 

 

And the crazy thing was that I still felt good!  I just did 3 5K's in a row, and I really feel like I could have kept going!  Less than 4 miles to the half marathon mark.  I could have finished 13.1 in less than 3 hours I think.  I think I'll be A-Okay for May.  I'm finally not nervous about it anymore!

I fessed up yesterday in a text to BFF and told her that when she registered for the 15K, I booked my Disney trip.  I told her that if she puts in every single mile, no matter how slow, from here on out... I will do the Disney Half at her pace.  We'll goof off and take character pics, and just have a good time.  No nervousness, lots of breakfast.  I hope that made her day a little better.  And husband said a lot of people kept the required pace and were turned around anyway and were really mad.  Pretty sure the clock started when corral A left.  How stupid is that?!  They really should issue an apology or something because the people who started out last, should have had the same opportunity at a 15 minute pace as the elites.  Seems backwards to me!  If BFF started in our corral, she would have made it all the way.  I was thinking later that she should have taken her damn medal and then just kept going around town on her own until her Garmin read 9.3 miles.  It wasn't her choice not to finish. 

Anyway, when I got home I headed to the hot tub with a celebratory beer and left my compression sleeves on.  Felt amazing.  I even wore them in the shower and then let them air dry so they felt cold after.  Brilliant!

I'm so sore today.  It's a good sore though.  I'm using muscles to run that I haven't used before.  My core is so sore it hurts to laugh.  I'm going to have a 6 pack soon!  Ha... I can hope!  :)