17 Miles (!) and a "New" Camera

Nope, I did not run 17 miles Saturday. 17 is my total miles for last week, the highest in a year. I did run 7 on Saturday with some running buddies, and that was the first time in a year, too.  Despite the humidity and the fact that they are too fast, it was so much fun to run with a pack. We ran Salem Lake, a 7-mile gravel loop around a usually lovely but currently very low body of water.

Over the past month or so, I've steadily increased the mileage with no real problems.  My knee is still off from all of that driving and sitting on our trip to Memphis and the beach, but it's improving slowly.  In late July/early August, I was running 5 times per week, but lately that has dropped down to 3-4 times as the run length of the individual runs has increased.  Back then, I was running 2-3 miles at a time, but now I run at least 3.  This week the goal is to run 5 times, including an 8-mile long run this weekend.  Morning runs still work well as long as I get out of bed.  I might need to invest in an alarm clock because Alfie isn't waking up at 5:45 anymore to remind me.

In other news, I'm using a new (to me) camera.  Craiglist, you might ask? Ebay? Goodwill? Try a snowpile on the Washington Mall.  Last year (or was it two years ago?) while visiting family in DC, we came across a digital camera.  We brought it home, looked at the pictures, and put the word out on Facebook about a lost camera belonging to someone who had graduated from some special program that I no longer remember- there were pictures from graduation on the camera.  We waited, but no word.  Put the camera away, forgot about it, moved...  About a month ago, I started thinking about a camera of my own.  Way back when, I had a Pentax K100 (still do actually, but who uses film on a regular basis anymore?).  As much as I would love another SLR, they are pricey and not portable.  So this brings me back the the orphaned camera: it's little, so unlike the DSLR, you can actually take it on a walk, run, hike, or bike ride without trouble. It's free, which is awesome. And, it seems to take pretty good pictures, although I am not used to the delay yet- lots of blurry toddler shots.

You can expect to see a lot more pictures from now on, starting with these:

The Bambino posing with the meerkats at the Science Center.  Because of a recent obsession with The Lion King, the meerkats are quite popular.  Did I mention he refers to himself as Mister Pig?  Now if only they had a warthog, some hyenas, and a lion...We go to the Science Center a lot these days- Bambino loves it, Alfie doesn't care, and it's got so many different things to do: he even got to pet a bearded dragon this time!

Me posing with the tyrannosaurus who roars at you.  The first try, I looked too happy; then, Jenn said that I should have protected the baby.  At this point, Bambino saw something else to do so we gave up trying to get an appropriate dino-pic.  (The hat Alfie's wearing is more than just a hat- it's also a nursing cover and, oddly enough, her favorite lovey.  She holds it, sucks on it, occasionally sleeps with it... pretty adorable.)

Finally, a picture from our walk yesterday.  Alfie won't be old enough to run in the jogger for another few months (you're supposed to wait until six months unless the babe is in an infant seat, which this stroller doesn't allow), so we've been walking the neighborhood.  Bambino adores it because he gets to be the big brother.  Alfie tolerates it, some days better than others.  Yesterday, for instance, she did great for about fifteen minutes before becoming a screaming puddle of anger, waking the neighborhood from its siesta with the lungs of an opera star.  Bambino very sweetly and calmly tried to calm her down: he tickled, he sang, he grabbed toes, until he finally just tried to ignore it.  Hopefully she'll enjoy running more than strolling, because we are going to do a lot of it this fall and winter!