tis the season…

…for…oh, here’s a rundown…a little running humor;)))

thanksgiving.  tons of food.  wonderful family.  great girlfriends our boys have.  routine back in session come monday.  chats with hubs.  he gets an a for accepting my running, especially this week.  8, 18, 5, and it’s only wednesday.  re-doing bedroom for daughter.  nasty leak = way more time & money than we knew we would spend.  but it’ll look so good.  christmas at coteau friday.  i’m working.  i’m shopping.  saturday morning jingle bell jog.  i’m running.  saturday night coteau celebration.  i’m going.  with handsome hubs & 3 other couples.  i’m baking.  dang.  forgot.  i’m baking.  for the cafe’ on friday.  cuz…that’s where i’m working.  biggest downer – someone close to me had a bad relapse…drinkin’ & druggin’.  damn.  hate that.  God help him.  handy dude is here.  he’s great.  plus the roofer.  plus some random person who i assume, and hope, belongs to one of the dudes i know…   homework is waiting.  my quads are screaming.  i cold-plunged in our pool last night up to my rear.  painfully cold.  yet, wonderful.  i’m weird.   hubs yesterday after 18 and we were going upstairs to deal with the room crisis, “are you sore?”  me, hesitatingly, “yeah,” and then smiling, “but i love it.”  “course you do.”

hmmm…

idk what to call this post.  i’m deeply grateful, yes.  i’m minutely stressing, alternating with cutting myself some slack.  taking in the moments and not forgetting what this week off with my children is all about. 

that’s the grown up part of me.

the baby-ass part still lives.  sigh…i didn’t get to run yesterday.  i had to keep at bay the crappy badditude that exuded from my pores.  i really tried to stifle it.  HATED scratching off a frigging rest day.  it was not a rest day.  it was a GREAT day, but a GREAT day WITHOUT running, crunches, steps, weights of any kind…unless you count me carrying my daughters Christmas dresses & assorted sundries through the mall.  we DID get manicures.  that was really nice. 

i guess the bottom line is i just feel a little off this week because my beloved routine is out the door.  i WILL bask in the goodness.  so far today – one batch of muddy buddies happily being munched on by my daughters at this moment; two gloriously delicious gingerbread cakes waiting for their rightful owners – my former mother in law, who I ABSOLUTELY ADORE.  that lady is a post by herself…   And my housekeeper, who keeps me sane and my house divine.  Oh, and I did do 4 miles on tm.  so, good things abound.  just had to vent a little.  wind is picking up, clouds are building.  gotta get gas, deliver a cake, go to Rouse’s, figure out who’s coming & where they’re gonna sit. 

right now – shower…peace, y’all.

wanting it all…

great, busy weekend filled with tons of good things…stm beat northshore in the first playoff game of the season.  i ran a great 10K saturday morning – 49:53…sweet!!!  i continually trusted in Jesus and knew He would get me through it better than i ever could on my own.  yep, He blessed me abundantly! dinner at ruth’s for little one saturday night.  my beautiful son drove in, cancelled plans all weekend to spend time in town.  he went to Mass this morning with his friend, who happens to be one of my favorite girls   lunch after Mass today to celebrate my daughter’s 11th bday.  pedicures in the afternoon with my daughters…

FAST FORWARD — TODAY IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, Y’ALL!!!!!!

one of those exceptionally busy weeks.  so much to say and i know i’ll forget a lot…let’s see…i’ll just work backwards

today – didn’t want to run.  just emotionally tired. but, i continually beat myself up – do you wanna bq or not run and look like you live at DQ???  well, whassitgonnabe slacka????  here i type.  sweaty.  4 + miles done.  i knew i had it in me.  wanting to bq got me out the door.  it’s funny how my legs plodded along – how do sports photographers at races make my what-i-thought-were-okay legs – look like corn-fed hamhocks?  eeewww.  when will the image leave my brain???? 

anywho.  yeah, i got it done.  i even managed to put away the rest of the halloween decor!  made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookie dough for thanksgiving cookies…it has been a good day.  a great day, really.  i guess i’m secretly anticipating next week – it’s a heavy running week and a week out of school.  well, it hit me this morning.  “Jesus, I trust in You.”  He always figures out a way for me…tho i’m sure it’s not “figuring” for Him; He’s Jesus.  He makes it all happen.

yesterday – didn’t want to run in the neighborhood.  it was just plain hot.  and humid.  so, i ran in the parking garage that i like in lafayette.  5+ miles.  my upper quads are a little ticked off.

tuesday – cross-country meet – MY DAUGHTER IS AMAZING!!!!!  she’s in 5th grade, tiny little sweet thing that she is, and ran with the varsity in the State Championship XC meet in Natchitoches! 23:47 y’all!!!!  Now that IS AMAZING!!!  she gave it all she had, too.  i am so super duper proud of her.  hubs says she has the heart of a lion.  i see it, too.  she’s a beautiful little person.  she kicked some BUTT!!!  And she placed 32nd in STATE!!!!  She was running against kids all the way up through 12th grade!!!!!!!!!!!!!  wow.

alright.  that’s it for now.  Advent will be here very soon.  Whatcha doin to prepare?  i’m just trying to peel back the layers and keep it real.  amazing what one finds when peeling back layers…especially with God’s loving hands doing the peeling…sall good.

don’t hate me, hal.

wow.  some days are just full of surprises!  you already know that last, last weekend was jacked around – no running whatsoever – made for a very running week last week! saturday past was XT with my step son – bike riding – sunday was 4 miles on tm – fast.  yesterday was 7.  today.  was going to be…something…i wasn’t sure – i was contemplating the following before i made my decision:

hubs was standing in kitchen about to go to work.  i needed a feel for his day so i could get a feel for my day – running-wise…

tomorrow is doctor appt for little one – early – will chunk into morning, no doubt. no biggie.

thur – doctor appt for me mid-morning – that day is screwed for the long run, yes?

friday – mandatory rest day cuz cajun cup is saturday morning & i’m not messing around with my legs the day before a race, come hal or high water~heehee…seriously, folks.

so, hubs says:  i’ll be in depositions today.  huh???  say what, honkey?  depositions????  that means you’ll be busy, right?  (which means my phone will remain pretty quiet for a couple of hours.)  i guess it would be a good day for my LONG RUN…yes, he concurs, it probably would…kiss, kiss, bye.  i spin around & look at the cat – he sees the craziness in my eyes that no one ever sees!!!!  MOVE, ROBIE!  i was still in my jammies at this point cuz the weather is nutso & well, i didn’t know what in the hell i would be doing today.

i got my 15, y’all!!!!  yes, i did!  i’m pretty stoked about that!  my long run is done.  sorry, hal.  i know it’s all outta wack & disorder is the order of the day sometimes, but you know, i got that run done. 

i even had a potential interruption – in the form of one of my favorite people on the planet – my son.  he was in town & i thought we’d have lunch.  he wanted to eat early.  i was still pounding it out on the asphalt.  i realized, i couldn’t get there without getting there – there are no shortcuts in a 15 mile run.  you can’t jump to 12, 13 or 14…you gotta lift those feet & pump those arms every step of the fricking way.  that’s it.  very basic.  i was heartfully disappointed that i wasn’t going to see my son, but at the same time, i thought, i was 5-6 miles away from finishing; he could have waited.  this run was important to me and to my training.  he knows what i am putting into this round of training.  he’s very independent, which is good, but still leaves me missing him & wanting to hug & make the sign of the cross on his forhead one more time before he heads back to college.  well…God knows.  my son knows, for that matter.  and here i sit, with my badass mother runner shirt on – yes, it’s true.  i’m gonna go make a tuna fish sandwich & finish undecorating halloween stuff…

peace, y’all.  make sure your loved ones KNOW they are loved.  tell them.  show them.

crown jewels…

i’m a running mom with a rough week.  busy weekend past meant no running OR cross-training on Saturday or Sunday.  that meant 5 full days of these miles:  7 pace, 4, 7, 4, 14. no rest for the weary.  got my 7 pace miles on the treadmill because 6th grader was home SICK on Halloween throwing up & well…you know…it wasn’t pretty.  poor baby.  she had a miraculous recovery as the witching hour of 6 p.m. approached.  then we had her birthday.  this weekend we have a party for both girls, including a smallish sleepover – each was allowed to invite 4 girls and it’s Father-Daughter Dance tonight, Homecoming football game for my step-son, and of course, Homecoming dance tomorrow night for him, as well, and then my sweet college boy is driving tonight with his frat to watch LSU kick some Alabama bootie.  All this seems to kind of squeeze out the miles from the picture, no?  BUT I MANAGED!  Cuz I wanted it.  Bad enough to squeeze them in however I could.  Bad enough to run with too many “miniature” candy bars cruising through my system, too many bad carbs wreaking havoc on my body and then, BAM, IIIIiiii’mmmmm bllllloooooooated!  Huh?  Oh, yes, thank you for visiting, mother nature.  All this stuff happening during the longest week of running I think I’ve ever had.  36 miles. 

so, the long run.  The crown jewels of a marathon training program.  Don’t mess with those miles.  Come on, you can sneak 4 or 5 miles in here & there, but 14 miles???  That takes planning, people.  the long runs can’ t be jerked around.  they must be treated delicately.  thoughtfully.  can’t go out too strong, gotta save some in the tank to finish.  don’t wanna finish walking, do ya?  I check the weather for the week, I check EVERYONE”S schedule for the week.  Normally, I pick the coolest day of the week I can find to make it more pleasurable.  And if rain is called for, that’s even better.  I don’t melt.  And talk about a serene run.  In the rain, that is.  Just the sound of the drops & my feet.  Very few cars.  No golfers.  Surely no runners or bikers.  Love it.  I prepare bottles of hydration the night before, I calculate how many laps I need to complete said long run and work it out in my brain where those miles will be run in my neighborhood – today – nice – 14.  that equates to 5 laps to the gate.  2.8X5=14.  the aforementioned made for a bumpy start to the 14 miles.  hubs had just left for work, feeling queesy.  i, feeling codependent, felt a little guilty about running and being so darn happy about it.  one lap.  click.  pause.  potty break.  hey, i never said it was gonna be pretty.  that’s why i like to run in my neighborhood.    back out to get those other 4 laps.  i pressed the wrong button on my run keeper & “finished” & saved the darn run!!!  huh?  wait, go back!  couldn’t.  good thing was I knew i had 5 laps to do & that’s what i did, darn my fumble fingers.  got them done.  felt good.  strong.

now i gotta get busy doing real things.  corsages for dance.  clean the car.  laundry.  move the bed out of the way for Wii Dance Party 3 to be played by a bunch of sweet little girls. 

Thank you Jesus, for this day, and the for the ability to do what I do.  Please continue to bless me abundantly and help me live according to Your will.  Let me reflect You.  Holy Spirit, take me over and let me come along for the ride. 

Surrender.  Peace, y’all.