Kristy Maute

Standards of Success

Forth grade has been a hard year for Cole. For whatever reason he hasn’t been engaged in his school work or his learning. Maybe it’s puberty. Maybe he is bored. He has mentioned not feeling liked by his teacher. It’s been a hard year.

I understand. Sometimes we find ourselves in a chapter of our lives when we aren’t invested. Sometimes we have to learn to stay afloat. Sometimes we get stuck there. I’m trying to teach Cole to survive fourth grade.

I don’t know the context, and I wasn’t in the classroom, but the other day Cole came home from school upset. His teacher had told him he was going to fail his SOLs. While I wasn’t there, I can imagine what happened to spark this comment. Cole was careless on an assignment. Cole didn’t listen when his teacher tried to help. I’m sure she got frustrated. I know he wasn’t engaged. Her threat was meant as a gentle warning.

Her words hit a place of insecurity in Cole. He doesn’t like to fail. After we worked through the tears and sorted out the facts, we talked about doing our best for no one but ourselves. We reminded him that it’s his responsibility to show up and try his best. Not trying, not caring, not investing aren’t options because he’s only hurting himself.

Monday was the start of the Standards of Learning tests. More than anything, I want Cole to walk away from fourth grade feeling accomplished. I went through the list of reminders:

Pay attention to the details

Read slowly and carefully

Read twice

Check your work

Check your work again

Be confident

You are smart

You are capable

And….you aren’t going to fail!!!

And then I couldn’t help but hug him and whisper more words of encouragement before the bus arrived.

My dear Cole. The world is full of people who will tell you that you can’t, that you won’t and that you shouldn’t. People will think you aren’t capable. People will roll their eyes when you are brave enough to say your dreams out loud.

Prove them wrong.

Go do it. Try and try again. You will never fail if you are trying. Don’t do it for them though. Do it for you. Do it so that you never have to wonder what you’re capable of achieving.

The world is your world to conquer.

All week his world and his conquering has come in the form of testing. He got home from school on Monday and whispered I proved her wrong. I know I did good.

Fourth grade is almost over. Fifth grade will bring with it new successes and new lessons to be learned. I hope, if nothing else, Cole learned that only he can determine if he will be successful in life. It’s up to him and no one else.

The world is his world to conquer.

Sunday Salad: Cilantro Lime Cucumber Salad

When we made plans for a cookout with friends last weekend to celebrate Christian’s birthday, I knew I had to find a cucumber salad. It’s one of his favorites. I never make it. Another one of his favorites, cilantro. The recipe below was a no brainer. And it was an instant hit.

Recipe from The Food Charlatan

Cilantro-Lime Cucumber Salad
Yield: 5-6 side servings

Ingredients
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
black pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cucumbers, very finely sliced (see photos)
4 tablespoons minced cilantro, to taste

Instructions

Head on over to her blog to read how to make it!

My only modification was to double the recipe. I had ten mouths to feed, and this produced enough for everyone.

In party celebration mode, I forgot to take photos. Good thing Pinterest is filled with them!

Another great summer salad for our weekly rotation!

The End of Another Chapter

“I see my life as an unfolding set of opportunities to awaken.” ~Ram Dass

Today I loaded up all my personal belongs, and I walked out the front doors of a place that has been a home to me for five and a half year. It was my last day at work. This is something I’ve wanted for a while now. I could never fully invest myself in this job. I was never attached. Perhaps it was the work, perhaps is was the environment, perhaps it was so many other things. While I was never invested at work, my life became rooted over the five and a half years I worked here.

I moved in with Christian. We got engaged. I ran my first race ever. We got married. I graduated from grad school. I got pregnant. I had Chet. I pumped for a year on every one of my breaks.

This job was never meant to be a life long job but it gave me a life. It provided a backdrop for my world to bloom.

Before I left my job for good today, I knew I had one thing left to do. I ran one last lunch break run around the Municipal Center. I can’t even guess how many times I’ve run this circle: slow runs, pregnant runs, post baby runs, speed workouts. This two mile loop plus a favorite trail have been my go to running route. I put on my running clothes for one last time today, and I ran my favorite route. I’ve officially said goodbye.

It was surreal walking out the front doors today. I said goodbye to some very special friends who have been a huge part of my life. I said goodbye to my favorite lunch date.

Monday is waiting for me. I can’t ignore my heart whispers any more. Its time to invest myself into something I love. It’s time for a new chapter.

Sunday Salad (Cinco de Mayo style): Mexican Salad

It’s not Sunday, but I took today off to enjoy my last (!!!!!!) sick day at my current job. I go back to work (for only three more days!!) tomorrow, so it feels like Sunday to me.

AND it’s Cinco de Mayo. My taste buds are 100% Mexican so this is a holiday I always celebrate. Tonight’s menu: fajitas and Mexican salad.

Mexican Salad

Ingredients:
1 can corn,drained and rinsed
1 can black beans,drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, chopped
2 avocados, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil (I used coconut oil)
2 Tablespoons lime juice (I used a whole lime
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Optional: (add to taste)
jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
fresh cilantro leaves
(I didn’t add these but did add a diced red bell pepper)

Directions: Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, red onion, and avocado. Toss to coat. Cover and chill salad until ready to serve. Can be eaten by itself or with tortilla chips.

This one was super easy to make. Chet did all mixing.

I ate mine as a dip with blue corn chips. Christian added it to his fajita bowl. Both were a win! My Mexican taste buds are happy happy!

Christian’s dinner. I forgot to take a picture of mine!

Flying Pirate Half Marathon, Race Report

The goal: sub 2 hours

The result: 2:18:29

I did everything right going into this race. I only missed one training run. I was hydrated. I was relaxed. I rested my legs. I wrote down my goal times the night before the race, and it felt like a no brainer. There wasn’t a doubt in my head that I was coming home with a 1:xx finish time.

Race morning went smooth. I was joined by friends JP and Meagan, and Christian dropped us off at the start. Everything went according to plan. I had my goal times written on my hand. I was ready to run.

As I crossed the start line, I focused on staying controlled. By mile two, my stomach was telling me it had other plans for today. My mind shifted from running to finding a portapotty.

Mile 3 goal time: 28 minutes but no faster than 27:15

Mile 3 results: 27:25

Just after mile 3, I found a portapotty. A quick stop and my stomach felt better. I was back to running. Christian was up ahead at mile 5 so I shifted my focus to finding him. By the time I saw him, my stomach was rebelling again. I took some Gatorade from him in hopes of some relief but no luck.

Mile 5 goal time: 46:30

Mile 5 results: 46:15

Another portapotty stop at the mile 6, and I knew my race plan wasn’t happening. It didn’t feel any better after my bathroom visit. I walked ahead, and found my running coach just in front of the 10k marker. We chatted for a few minutes. I considered dropping out, but after only a moments hesitation, I knew I needed to finish.

Christian stuck with me at this point. I ran walked. We chatted. He kept my spirit light with lots of inappropriate humor about my race turning to crap.

Mile 8 goal time: 1:13:30

Mile 8 results: 1:21:11

As we approached the Wright Brothers Memorial, sadness took over. I was disappointed, but I felt even worse that I let people down. Lots of people made sacrifices for me so I could run my perfect race. I still feel guilty. I cried which is not an easy thing to do while running and battling stomach cramps.

At this point, I came across another local blogger Reading Runner Girl. She saved me from feeling too bad about my race. We chatted for a while before she went ahead.

Mile 10 goal: 1:31:30

Mile 10 result: 1:41:47

I said goodbye to Christian just before mile 10 when the roads turned to trails. The whole time I was running (and walking. And using the bathroom), I told myself I would still race the last 5k. I could at least push myself there. When I hit he trails, I tried but my stomach didn’t respond well. I was back to run walking. Fortunately the trails were beautiful. Seriously, the trees were gorgeous. If I had my phone with me, I would have taken photos and finished 10 minutes later.

Finish line goal: 1:59:20

Finish line result: 2:18:29

With friends surrounding me post race, there was no need to feel disappointed in my run. Bad runs happen. Shamrock half was a huge success. Cherry blossom 10-miler was another surprise success. The Flying Pirate half just didn’t workout. When you run races year round, some of them won’t go according to plan. They all can’t be perfect. I know that one bad race doesn’t define me as a runner, and it certainly doesn’t impact my goals for the future.

Am I disappointed the day after the race? Yes and no. It’s hard to run a race below my potential. I want a do-over. My “fight for your race” attitude disappeared at mile 6. I do wonder what I could have accomplished if I had stayed engaged with my run instead of giving in to my stomach issues. These are all lessons learned for another race. I am glad that I wasn’t stupid on the race course. I finished healthy, and now I get to start my summer race season. It’s time to focus on speed and short races, and I’m starting the summer healthy! That’s a huge win for me!

On to the next race!