Three Things Thursday ...

And the beat goes on - For the past 17 days, I have been training solely on heart rate. At times, it has been super frustrating, like when I averaged an 11:06 pace for a 90 minute run. But, the more I work at it, the easier it becomes and I am no longer hating it when I have to slow to get my heart rate back in range. I no longer feel the pressure to run faster or longer. I just trust that I'll get the results I want if I stick to my zone.

And those results are coming. My pace is getting faster, not fast, but faster. This past week, I've had some killer runs. And I even had one run that allowed me to run at what I would have considered "conversational" pace prior to this whole experiment.

• 4 miles at a 10:17 pace, avg HR 141
• 5.8 miles at a 10:20 pace, avg HR - 150
• 4.26 miles at a 9:23 pace (the treadmill makes it much easier), avg HR - 147
• 6.85 miles at a 10:13 pace, avg HR - 147
• 9.9 miles at a 10:06 pace, avg HR - 147

Those paces get me excited and the best part is that I'm almost never going out of range. When I see it creeping, I just dial it back a little. The thing I struggle with the most is running closer to my upper limit of 155 when I am not on the treadmill. I have found that if I am not sitting at 145-147, I will almost certainly have to walk up hills. If I run with this buffer, I can almost always run the entire time without spiking on climbs. And since I'm not an expert, I'm not really sure if I'm approaching this the best way.

Bully Drama - Remember that "Doodle is my bully" crap from last week? Well, the drama continues. Two days ago, I got an email from Doodle's teacher saying that Doodle and her accuser were sent to have a meeting with the guidance councilor after the teacher received an email from the accuser's mother. Apparently, the girls were brought together to discuss how to better manage their issues. After the meeting, it was decided that the girls should "spend some time apart" for the next few days. I'm psyched about this. Doodle is psyched about this.

When I asked Doodle what happened at the meeting. She said, "We talked about what to do when we get mad at each other." Then I asked her what the other child's specific issue was and she said, "That time I opened my juice and it squirted in her eye. She said I did it on purpose, but it was an accident."

Knowing that my children's drink cups have a tendency to build up pressure from the Nuun that I put in them, I know that they often squirt when they open the spout. I also know that all of us have been hit by the spray. And I fully know that it was truly an accident. In fact, the very next day, Doodle squirted herself in the eye. What I didn't know was that a six year old would immediately assume it was malicious. Why would she think that? Aren't parents still teaching their children that people are essentially good? I know, I am.

Ugh. Whatever. I'm just frustrated by the whole situation.

Crazy Dizzle - If for some reason you're not following me on Twitter, you probably missed the gems that came out of Dizzle's mouth recently. In a matter of five minutes, she hit me with both of these ...

"Mom, I'm a vampire because my face is white and I like to stay up late." (No, Dizzle, your face is white because you are, in fact, white.)

And ...

"I wish Tom Brady could be our step dad. He's like a millionaire. But, it would never work because you're still married to Dad."

For that, I had no words.