Life on the Roller Coaster

Lots of ups and downs this week.

Down: Twenty-six lives in CT cut short.

Up: I ran fourteen miles on Saturday without my injured leg bothering me!

Photo borrowed from Judy Loy

Down: My entire body hurt because of that run.

Up: Made a super yummy dinner for my grandparents on Sunday.

Down: Got a huge list of projects at work that needed to be finished this week.

Up: Went to a Christmas party for my running club and saw my friend who fell and broke his rib and clavicle.

Down: Had a rough recovery run on Tuesday and noticed the neuroma in my foot flaring up.

Up: Picked out Christmas gifts with the kids for their teachers.

Down: Can’t figure out what to get my grandparents.

Up: Mailed my sister’s family’s gifts and they arrived in time.

Down: Mailed my parents’ gifts and they won’t arrive in time.

Up: Seeing Nathan happily read a new book out loud to his little brother after school.

After school reading.

Down: Seeing no movement from the Haitian government to start the new adoption process and allow us to move forward.

Up: Hearing two families from our agency exited IBESR with dispensation super fast. Adoption timelines in Haiti appear to be speeding up.

Polar Express Day at school = pajamas!Down: Hearing my grandfather sound afraid to deal with my grandmother’s wrath over moving (last Sunday). I gave him a major pep talk.

Up: Hearing my grandfather express interest in taking next steps towards moving (yesterday).

Down: Having an even worse run on Thursday and now feeling the foot pain from the neuroma more than ever. Unsure how I will run twelve miles this weekend.

Up: Finding out my friend is finally pregnant after four years of trying.

There’s more, but that gives you an idea. Right now I’m smiling because of how excited my little boys were this morning as they headed off to school in their pajamas for Polar Express day. They have been more excited about that than Christmas itself.

Marathon Training Is In Full Swing

Photo by Carter Anderson Fine Portraiture

Yes, I’ve decided to train for a marathon. More specifically, I am planning to run The Chosen Marathon for Adoption in New Braunfels, TX in late October. Technically I will run the half marathon, which is 13.1 miles.

In order to accomplish this I joined Katy Fit once again, this time their full marathon and half marathon training program. I have several other friends who have done this and swear by it, plus my buddy Dr. Scott runs it. They have literally hundreds of participants of all shapes, sizes, ages and paces.

The goal race of Katy Fit’s program is the Houston Full and Half marathon in January. Since my planned half marathon is much earlier than that, I am training with the people aiming for the Houston full marathon. Once I finish the Chosen half marathon I will decide whether to keep training with them and work towards 26.2 miles in January or back off and just run another half marathon.

Here’s the skinny: Katy Fit gives me all the tools to accomplish this huge goal. I just have to do my part and put in the miles. I’ve only really been at it for a week and a half but so far it kind of sucks. I’m running four times a week, mostly on the treadmill but with one long run in the insane Texas heat and humidty on Saturday mornings.

I thought I could manage it easily with the gradual increase in distance but the heat and frequency of runs has made it tough. I’m having to back way off of my normal 5K pace, which wasn’t that fast to begin with. My legs are pretty much sore all the time now. It’s not an injury, it’s just fatigue and muscle breakdown/recovery. I’m trying to eat better and hydrate more to help that. I make sure to stretch a lot after every run.

It’s possible that my mental/emotional stress is also affecting my runs. It’s been a brutal week in that regard, being a loyal alumnus of Penn State. Additionally my grandfather is back in the hospital with a lot of confusion and a fever. Plus one of my husband’s close friends had a heart attack and died this week. Even our adoption process has been more of a strain than a source of joy lately.

I’m still determined though. I believe I have the fortitude to stick with it. I know how much the running helps my stress and it certainly is great for my waistline. It’s a long road ahead and I’m hoping cooler weather will vastly improve my attitude about the whole thing. But who knows when cooler weather will arrive.