The Neverending Montage-Novel.

So, here it is:

Unfortunately, it's long and it might (actually, probably will...) bore you after the first two frames or so...

It does tell my marathon day story, pictures, and all!

Hope you enjoy.

Every Inch.

Every inch of my body hurts today. (Awesome.)

Yesterday afternoon I said to Josh, "I should have run faster...I'm not even sore."

Hah. That must have been the runner's high talking, which was inflicted by the endorphins.

My toes are so sore, that I crinkle them up anytime Michael comes near me so that he doesn't step on them. They're so painful that I can't wear close toed shoes, but my Birkenstocks are just DANGEROUS around a boisterous two year old.

Working on the montage, but it's taking awhile. I'm walking around in a haze of exhaustion and grouchiness today. (Lucky Michael and Josh...) Even if I finished the montage tonight, it probably wouldn't make much sense anyway....

Keep checking back, friends.

Worn Out.

The lack of sleep for the past two weeks has finally caught up with out little Michael. I know he is tired when he opens the hall closet door in search of the Mai Tai, a handmade carrier we used during his infancy. It turns out, even at two years old, the carrier makes him feel comfy, cozy, and safe.

We dance when he's in the Mai Tai, we cook~which he really likes!, and we take pictures with photo booth! Bedtime was not a struggle this evening, it appears that we have overcome the not sleeping through the night hurdle, yet again.

Josh and I are thankful for the full night slumbers. And, if you knew the truth Michael is probably just as thankful as his Mama and Papa, as he was ready for bed around 5:30 pm.

We're looking forward to our weekend. There's only a week until the marathon, I'm starting to get a little nervous...

If you would have told me that we would be re-visiting crying it out, I would not have believed you.

You can see where I'm heading with this...getting Michael to sleep has been a huge, huge, HUGE!! pain in the derriere for the past week. I'd love to use another word, actually...But, I'm working on the foul mouth that I used to have, so I won't.

It's taken about thirty minutes for Michael to settle himself this evening. Thirty minutes of whining, which then escalated into crying. Awesome.

So fun, right? And, we used our date night for politics last week? Seriously? What's wrong with us?

*******************

Okay, so changing moods, now...

Today was just wonderful! Really, aside from thirty minutes of whining when my nerves are shot; we've had an awesome day!

This morning we packed up and went on a train ride with our friends. Michael had a ball with his buddies.

We were home for about an hour, and then we headed out for a wedding. (Yes, Michael was invited.) We foolishly turned down my parent's offer to babysit.

The wedding was beautiful. Relaxed, elegant, and on the most beautiful farm...ever. Seriously. We're talking Southern Living beautiful.

I have lots of precious photos to share, so I'll probably make a montage or something. Stay tuned for a review of today's events.

Oh. And, there's a race tomorrow. Ten miles. I can do ten...

A Child and Five Years Later.

Oh, to be young and sprightly again!

About an hour ago, I got home from the 20 mile race and googled my previous time. I ran this race about five years ago, and haven't done it since then. In my mind, I was thinking that I was pretty close to running the same that I did five years ago. Ha. It seems that I am, sadly, mistaken. Five years ago, I ran this race about eight minutes faster. Ummm...."HELLO, KATE!!" That's a lot faster!

Don't you worry, I do have my excuses. Here's a "CONDENSED" list of my excuses, in no particular order:

1. I have a child. A sweet, beautiful, happy, healthy little boy. : )
2. A man (a fellow runner) yelled at me about a mile and a half into the race because I was wearing "EARPHONES." He was rude. I was rattled.
3. Just in case I wasn't aware of the rule, a woman ( a fellow runner) then yelled at me...because I was wearing "EARPHONES". She was also rude. I was rattled, again.
4. My necklace got caught in the blasted earphones, which I put around my neck so that I didn't offend anyone else. I had to stop. Rip the necklace from the earphones and then carry on.
5. Josh has all this "grunge" music on the Ipod. I can't stand it, so I stopped AGAIN to change the playlist.
6. My shoes are old, I bought them in May. That's a lot of miles...way too many miles, in fact, for a pair of running shoes.
7. My feet, especially my nails are now throbbing.
8. I didn't look up my previous time, so I just gave myself a three hour time limit. (Hey, it worked..)
9. I got up at four, which is my new wake up time these days.
10. And, well...I'm a little bit older, more mature, and so on...

Actually, despite my whining, I am very happy with the race. My legs feel good. I really felt strong the second half the race and I did what I set out to do; which was to run 20 miles in less than three hours. How could I possibly be disappointed with the eight minute time differential? This was a fantastic way to prepare for the marathon, it's so important to practice focusing on running a long distance before race day. I prefer the chunking method myself. I like to break the course up in quarters. I seriously doubt my marathon time will be eight minutes slower this year, so I'm really not concerned. I was right on target, for my marathon pace. No worries. : )

As for the blasted Ipod, there was a "RULE" that EARPHONES! were not allowed today. And, in my defense, it's a well known fact that this rule exists FOR EVERY RACE. So that, in the event of a bike or a car mowing you over; a lawsuit is not involved. Like I would sue someone for MY negligence. After I was chastised by my fellow runners, I thought to myself; I should have said, "Peace be with you." That's what I would have been saying at that point in time if I was at home.

Today's run was really wonderful, honestly. Ignore the moaning and groaning. I am always filled with a sense of gratitude for my health and for having the opportunity to share this experience with such dear friends.

And, now, please give yourself a pat on the back for reading this novel of a blog entry! I hope you weren't bored with all this rambling about running. Michael B stories will resume shortly!

A Cross Post.

This is a cross post.... It doesn't have much to do with the little guy, but it does mention a k-h and her marathon training. Read on, if you'd like...

I've been deviating from "the sacred plan" lately, which, always irritates me. I'm a stick to the plan!, follow the rules!!, kinda person.

Last week's running did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. I managed to get in the two 5 milers and the 13 mile long run, but I ended up missing the 8miler. My plan was to run the eight miles on Sunday, even though we were at a football game about three hours from home the night before. Naturally, I just couldn't drag myself out of bed on Sunday morning. So, I skipped the 8 miles.

This week, I thought about trying to squeeze eight in on Monday and then do three 5 milers during the week. Didn't stick to that plan either... So far, I've done two 5 milers this week, however the plan calls for three 5 milers and then a 20 mile long run on the weekend. The long run won't be a problem, and they usually aren't because of my running group. Tomorrow I can get in the five with a running friend. So, this week I'm on target...I just can't let go of the missed eight miles from last week.

Because I just can't let it go, I'm contemplating running just a little bit on Saturday to get in 40 miles for the week. Who am I kidding? I'd like to run 5 on Saturday, and that' s not "just a little bit". As long as I run slowly on Saturday, it shouldn't ruin the long run for Sunday....Except, well, Sunday is actually a 20 mile race. I know, how do you "race" for 20 miles? If I figure it out, I'll blog about it.

This is just a glimmer of what goes on in my head during marathon training. It's so annoying. Things used to be easier pre-Michael B; I had a shower in my office, and we lived about ten minutes from the running group. I wouldn't change a thing about my life right now, though. I am so, SO, SO, grateful for our baby, for my new teaching gig, and for our running-friendless home/neighborhood.

The two morning runs this week have been wonderful, however. The full moon is beautiful right now. It's so bright, I feel like it lights my little path in the mornings.

There are only thirty days until marathon day!! How did that happen??? And, after the twenty miles this weekend, it's all down hill. (Aside from the marathon, of course...)

Check out the RunHappy link to the right for more of this nonsense....

While the Cat's Away...

....the pool boys will play.

I've been gone for approximately 20 hours or so. Rarely do I spend the night away from my guys.

One of my BFF's (best friend forever) of ALL TIME, Carrie, is having a baby soon. (She's the one who lives around the corner.) My other BFF's( Nikki and Amy) and I had a sleepover in order to prepare for Carrie's baby shower; which was this morning.

It was great to spend the night and day with my girls. We're pretty much like sisters, the four of us; which is fun because up until a month ago I didn't have a sister.

While I was gone, Josh took Michael to the park and to see his Great Grandparents. My Grandmother hooked him up with an awesome lunch...you name it, he ate it. Thankfully, I caught Josh and Michael B before they went to the pool. I quickly changed and we headed out for a little dip.

Michael has been a little off since we've gotten home from Texas. In addition to the tremendous amount of sleep he's been getting, he has also been a little lethargic. I'm not to sure what his deal is, maybe we've just worn the Dicken's out of him and he's still trying to catch up? Anyway, he enjoyed himself at the pool, but he wasn't full of gusto. Just something to keep an eye on, I guess...

Marathon training starts tomorrow for me! Thank goodness, I need some motivation right now...

The Great Race

Unfortunately, I can't seem to make these any larger...Maybe my father in law will help me figure this out next week sometime.

Happy and Grateful

We've made it through some mighty big changes in the past few months, one of them being the move! Now that we've got our computer back in order and we are getting some window treatments today, things feel like they are finally starting to settle down. Especially now that the marathon is over...

These pictures are from our mini vacation, which was last weekend. We really had a wonderful time visiting with my brother and his fiancee. The weather was gorgeous on Saturday, warm and sunny. We actually put Michael in shorts! The following day, marathon day, the weather turned...

The marathon was absolutely AWESOME and completely humbling!! I had a fantastic race and smiled pretty much every step of the way. Miles thirteen to twenty were accompanied by down pour of rain and gusts of wind. Delightful. But, thankfully, it was a warm rain. The IPod proved to be a great running partner, except for when it got stuck on "In My Room" by the Beach Boys on the final half mile. I can't think of a less motivating, pump you up kinda song. There were a number of moments when I began to tear up thinking about how much this marathon meant to me and far I have come since the last one. Michael and Josh were not able to make it to the finish line, as the weather was terrible and logistically it would have been too difficult on Michael. My time was great, 3:51.17. Still a good ways off of qualifying for Boston, but a tremendous improvement from the last marathon I ran a few years ago.

What Marathoning is All About

It's 4:45 am, the alarm clock is sounding off and the rain is pouring outside. Grumbling in my head, I roll out of bed, put on my running clothes, and reach for some coffee. I waited and waited for a ring from a running friend to say, "hey, it's too wet this morning...let's reschedule for tomorrow." But, that call never came and I headed out the door to find my friends.

After about the first mile and a cup of coffee, I realized that the rain felt great and I felt so thankful to be outside running. The fresh air, being with friends, and enjoying the early hours of a Saturday morning, were all a blessing. Thirteen miles in wet shoes and wet clothes is not as pleasant as a brisk run in 45 degree weather with no wind, but it was worth every mile.

At one point on our run, we go past a golf course and we noticed the number of people actually turning into the parking lot--like they were planning to golf in this wet weather! So, I said to a friend, "how can one enjoy golfing in this weather...I really don't get it!" As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I realized that was probably what anyone driving in their WARM, DRY car was thinking about us as they zoomed past.

The Starbucks and the warm shower were also a great treat after the run this morning. Only two weeks to go 'til race day!

(Josh just said this is turning into my "life story" website. I told him no...just Michael and running.)

Time to Taper!

Twenty miles down. Twelve next week, eight the week after, and then MARATHON DAY!! Tapering could not have come at a better time...with all that we are going to be doing within the next few weeks. The run today was just perfect. The air was crisp, the leaves were full of color, the wind was barely blowing... I could not have asked for a better morning. Last weekend I had horrible stomach cramps after my run, but today ...Nada. Keeping up with Michael while Josh is working today is posing its challenges, but the good news is...he's taking a nap!