Life With a Side of Crazy

Boy, here we are.  Near the end of August.  I'm grabbing a minute to write because I know I won't have much of a chance for the next couple weeks.  The summer is wrapping up with a sprint to the finish.  Here are just the highlights:

~ My boy celebrated a birthday this last weekend.  For accomplishing the amazing feat of surviving for eight years in this family in this world, he was rewarded with copious amounts of Legos, Nerf guns and cash not to mention cake, ice cream sundaes and root beer floats.

~ My husband's 20th year high school class reunion was the same weekend.  For not having gone to the same school and only knowing a handful of folks who did, it was a pretty nice time.  Every one was very friendly and chatty and the food was good.  I was really hungry by the time the food was brought out and let's just say that if I'd been a heavier gal, folks would have been whispering about the amount of food and/or the number of trips I made to the buffet.  In my defense, I had run that morning and hadn't eaten much all day because of trying to get to the reunion on time.  So buffet time came, and I dove in.

~ We're approaching the start of our first year of truly homeschooling.  I was feeling a bit of anxiety about it, considering I had NOT spent the summer gathering curriculum as I intended, but then I ventured into a local store that is chock full of not only homeschool curriculum, but a plethora of teaching aids, workbooks, games, and classroom supplies (i.e. bulletin board stuff!!) and my fears dissolved.  I had to firmly steer myself away from the pretty bulletin board decorations and other classroom wall items into the homeschool section.  And I'm so glad I did.  Within an hour, I had chosen our curriculum for the year and breathed a sigh of relief that it included a Teacher's Manual.  Hallelujah!  I don't have to try to figure out how to explain what a conjunction is, or how to multiply fractions!  The book basically has a script for me!  Needless to say, I feel MUCH better about our upcoming school year.  Not only do I get to buy school supplies (times two actually - some for school, some for home) but I get to buy workbooks and flashcards and pretty things for our walls!  It'll be like playing school!  But for real.    {gulp}     Uh oh.

~Running is going well.  I've been out several times this last week but only for about 3 miles at a whack.  I need to start upping those distances considering the next 1/2 marathon is in about four 1/2 weeks.  I'm definitely not going to be trying to PR this one but I really want to do it.  So I will and we'll see what happens.  Overall, it just feels great to be back out running.  I'm hoping that once the school year starts, I can get back to some kind of regular routine instead of just trying to squeeze in a run when I can.

~ My daughter's 5th birthday is Labor Day weekend.  We're thinking of heading east to the rodeo and to see family.  Although I think if that happens we may come home with pink cowboy boots.  (No, they wouldn't be for me.  Mine would be RED.)

All in all, it's been a full and fun summer.  We've hung out with friends, met some new ones, carried on some traditions, discovered new places and events, and basically just grabbed hold of life and held on for dear life.   And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Crazy suits me.

Destiny?

I've had the last week off of work and have enjoyed every minute of it.  We had no specific plans but I did want to try to run twice during that week to see how my knee would hold up, especially with only a couple days rest in between.

I'm happy to report that I had practically NO ITB pain!  WOOT!  I did a 30 minute run, paying attention to the levelness of the roads, and I was pain free.  Once I felt a twinge but as soon as I moved to more level ground, it went away.  Needless to say, I was about shouting with joy at being able to run again.  However, I can definitely tell a difference in my endurance so that'll have to be built back up.

The second run was three days later and a bit longer.  I think my legs were just hungry to RUN because I ran the fastest mile I've ever run (9:05) and even with walk breaks averaged a 10:18 pace over 3+ miles. 

Oh man, it just felt GOOD to run.  Yah, I was breathing pretty hard and my legs were protesting almost the entire time but it was GREAT.  Even now, when I'm driving home from town, I can't wait to get back out on my country roads and put in more miles.  I want to do my 10 mile route again, faster than last time.  I want to hit my driveway, exhausted, sweaty and drained and feel that sense of accomplishment again. 

I was talking to a friend about running while back, lamenting how I didn't think I'd ever BE a runner in spite of my efforts and she was, like, "Dude.  You ARE a runner.  Anyone who spends the amount of time you do reading about, thinking about, talking about, and planning runs IS a runner." 

I have to confess, I kind of think I was born to be a runner and I'm just now discovering it.  My mom said I was *running* at 9 months old:  not walking, but full out running. And she said I never fell.  As a kid I LOVED running downhill, crashing thru the woods and brush, teetering on the edge of losing control.  I have had dreams for years where I run and run like Forrest Gump and love that feeling of freedom. 

The more I run, the stronger I get, the more I want to run, the stronger I want to get.  I may never be the fastest, it may never truly be *easy*, but it doesn't matter.  Running has tattooed itself on me and I don't think it's gonna fade for a while.

Destiny, perhaps?

Waiting to Run

The Seattle Rock 'n Roll Half was over four weeks ago.  The local half is in eight weeks.  I've only run three times since Seattle and every time my IT band hurt.  Not as badly as during the race, and actually a bit less each time, but it still hurt.  The furthest I've run since Seattle is three miles. 

Every day I think about running.  Every day I think I'll give it another try.  Every day I worry about my knee hurting if I do run.  Every day I worry about losing the fitness I've achieved.  Every day I yearn for the freedom I feel when I'm able to just run and run.

But.  I know I'll get there.  I'm not giving up on this running gig.  I'm doing other things to hopefully combat my injury and prevent it from happening again.  I'm working on getting stronger.  My head is still very much in the game; I'm just waiting for my body to catch up.

It's just that patience has never been my strong suit.