After my terrible 9.5 miler on the 11th I decided to take a week off of running to let my legs (and brain) re-coop. I started getting a sore throat half way through the week but I just chalked it up to allergies. Saturday I ran the Armed Forces Day 1 miler with KK, my 4 year old. After running a few kids dashes this was her first 1-miler and she was so excited to run a "real" race with the adults. She was so cute in her little tech gear with her Nike's, and race bib pinned on. FREAKING ADORABLE. This was the inagural race so I heard the total count was 114, perfect number for running with a child next to you- not much danger of getting run over. The race started running from the Ferry Terminal through a tunnel and then onto city streets. It was so funny because they announced that we had to run fast because the ferry was actually on time today- that got a good chuckle. So we took off running. KK was flying, when she puts her all into it I can't even keep up with her. Thankfully for me she doesn't yet have the stamnia to keep that pace for more than 200 yards or so. We took a few walking breaks but she would hold my hand and tell me when we were running and when we were walking. The course ended coming up a slight hill before turning down to the finish line. KK was walking up until we saw the finish line and then she took off like a rocket and actually left me in the dust. We ran a 13:27 mile. I was so proud of her. Her face was lit up and she was loving it. A few people reserving their spots for the parade sat in their chairs and cheered for her. James and Bailey were waiting at the finish line and of course then Bailey wanted to get out of her stroller and run. I un-buckled her and we ran up and down the sidewalks a few times.
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| Crossing the finish line with KK |
Sunday I was really congested and knew that it wasn't just allergies. It was my brothers 21st birthday and the girls and I went out to my parents for dinner, James had to work. My family had gone to the comedy club with my brother the night before but I couldn't get babysitting and James had to work. Blah. I went home wondering how I was going to feel the next day. I could feel my sinuses plugging up by the second. Monday I went to work but left early and went to the doctor- got some antibotics! Sinus infection + ear infection + all heading towards bronchitis = almost 3 full days in bed for me. My husband was wonderful and kept the girls out of my face, let me nap A LOT, and ensured I was taking my medicine.
Today I'm still kind of hacking up a lung. I'm going to skip my Saturday morning run- if I'm feeling ok enough I might head down to the YMCA but I'm not going to push myself hard back into my old training schedule. I've decided I really like half marathons. Don't get me wrong I am still floating on cloud 9 from running Eugene and I WILL do more full marathons but back to back is just too exhausting. I have so much more going on in my life right now that needs a majority of my attention. Plus with training for a marathon I focused so much on running I stopped doing other forms of exercises that I enjoyed- I didn't have time for it all. Half Marathons are a distance that require training but I can fit into my lifestyle. I can do an insanity a few days before a training run and not be worried about destryoing my quads for my long runs. Ten miles takes a much smaller chunk out of the morning than 20 miles, plus it's cheaper- don't need as many GU's! :) Maybe I'll take this summer to work on speed. Still planning on hitting 800 miles, but it's going to be with lots of 5 milers, not 18's!
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| Pre. Inspiration to be SPEEDY! |
I am signed up for RNR Seattle June 22nd. I haven't 100% jumped ship and decided to tone down to the half but the thought has crossed my mind. I am however completely skipping Green River on June 1st. I might take that day to fit in an easy jog with my dad and help him prepare for his first half marathon in October. He still hasn't signed up but it's in the talks and my fingers are crossed. I plan on running Eugene marathon again next April but I'm not going to even look into another marathon before then. Afterall most people don't even run one single marathon in their lifetime and I've already crossed it off my bucketlist.
My last couple runs have been really hard and I'm trying to bring myself back down to earth too. It's hard for us "tough mother runners" to find balance. Hang in there.
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