So Now What?

You wake up and you realize that the high you've been riding on since your A Race is fading.  That eagerness that you greeted each day with isn't quite as bright and when the alarm goes off, rolling over and sleeping in seems like a great idea.  I mean, why not?  Your race calendar is clear for awhile.  Why not?  You trained hard for months.  Why not roll over and relax your body deserves the break, right?  But now it's two weeks later and you wonder why you ever thought all that hard work was so appealing. 

 

Can you identify with that little "after race" scenario?  Most of us can.  It's completely normal to take that break, to let up on the self-inflicted pressure to always push.  But it is a slippery slope into an all day popcorn eating, snuggie wearing all day movie-fest as your ass grows attached to the couch.  So how do you give your body, brain and spirit that much deserved and needed rest while maintaining your momentum towards dreams to come?

 

Here are a few ways I avoided or at least lessened that slide into couch potato-ism.

 

 

 Reconnect with family. 

During all that training I often had to tip the scales to time budgeting towards my training and sacrificed time with family to get those needed hours on the trails.  Post race make it a priority to spend time with your loved ones, sharing your race tales but also letting your family know just how much their support meant to you.

 

 

Play with your kids.

Okay you probably had to squeeze this in during your training too but after your race move that fun kid time up on the priority scale.  Color, blow bubbles, play Barbies, ride bikes, paint or jump on the trampoline because you asked them to do it with you instead of waiting for them to ask you to join them.  It's amazing how great you will feel simply playing.

 

   

 

Visit places you love.

Everything takes time.  We each only have a limited number of hours each day and when we are training that time is limited even further.  Once your race day is over use some of that extra time to see those places that you hurried through before and enjoy looking around.  Take a walk through your neighborhood or hike those trails you were running on.  Breath in all those little things you might have missed on your way to that race day goal.  Make time to go to that restaurant you avoided while training and enjoy a great meal or visit your mom who still lives in your hometown.  Where ever  or whatever those places you love are take the time now to enjoy them.

 

 

 

Get outside.

Simple enough.  Mow the grass, plant a garden, hand wash the car, pull weeds, fly a kite, use your kid's swing set when they are not looking.  Just get outside.

 

 

 

 

Go for a Run.

 

Of course in the days and weeks following you big race you are going to go for a run.  Duh!  But as you work towards moving past your latest challenge give yourself time to remember that there were other reasons why you run, aside from that race that seemed to consume your life.  Remember that you love to run.  Maybe you love being outside.  Maybe you love feeling closer to nature, or God or yourself.  Maybe you love pushing your body and feeling it respond.  Or maybe you just love being able to eat an extra cupcake and not have it show on your waistline.  Whatever that reason get out there and remember it.  Run with no plan other than to enjoy doing it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make a New Plan

 

Whether your new plan includes more racing, a year full of the joy of running, focusing on your family or furthering your education; moving forward should include a deliberate plan to help keep you working and avoid that tempting snuggie. 

 

For me, I've packed that snuggie away in exchange for a bathsuit since the littles and I will be spending a lot of our time in the pool and I've penciled a new plan to carry me through May 2014.  But for now I'll just stick to running because I love it, eating healthier and keeping the squirt guns loaded.

Three Things Thursday - Sick Kid, 9000 miles & A Good Read

Having a sick little one is so challenging, physically and emotionally.  I've wanted nothing more than to help him feel better but I knew it would just take time.  That didn't help LBM when he was unable to eat anything because his throat hurt so much.  Thankfully yesterday we turned a corner and he seemed much more like himself.  We even got outside for a while!  The fresh air must have helped him because I had to negotiate all afternoon and evening to keep him settled down for fear of a relapse.

What the geese were thinking: 

Yeah, right we are the ones that they blame bird flu on.  Go back inside before you infect us all!

 

With LBM feeling better I wanted to get back on track and get a planned run in but the super secret spy had an evening activity so it was the treadmill.  I've been keeping the miles lower and slower the the training plan calls for due to a really aggressive training run this Saturday.  Have I mentioned that although I am not fast, running slow really sucks.  Running really slow on the treadmill sucks even more.  That was how I felt at .94 miles.  I seriously wanted to stop.  My mind was making all kinds of excuses about why I could stop.  I mean LBM wasn't completely better.  Never mind the fact that he was running around the basement playing like a mad man while I was running.  I told myself that I had 40 mountainous miles to run this Saturday.  But I also knew that if I ran my scheduled miles I would hit 9000 miles for my streak.  So after a little online whining and thankfully some votes of confidence telling how I could do it, I rallied, pushed my pace and finished my 10 miles.

9,001.70 streak miles - 2/27/13

 

 After having so much trouble getting my run going I decided that I needed to reset.  I needed to remember that I am excited about pushing for the 100 this year.  At times I get so focused on how much work I need to do, how intimidating the goal seems, how I feel so unworthy of accomplishing it, that I forget I want to do this because I love it.  I love running through the woods.  I love playing in mud.  I love challenging myself now not waiting until...fill in the blank...there are hundreds of excuses.  So I refueled with some yummy fish tacos and re-read some Relentless Forward Progress. 

 

Great book for ultra runners at any level.

 

What do you do to get over those mental excuses?

Do you find yourself using your kids as excuses to slack?

Fish tacos?  Love'em or not so much?



All Kinds of Busy

I only have a minute to share a few great things from my day so far.  After my morning run which was again a major sweat-fest, I did something a little out of character for me.

I painted my finger nails.  Now I remember why I don't do this very often.  It takes a long time and then I don't want to do anything that might mess then up.  Well that will last until we jump in the pool.  At least they will look nice for our Friday Family Date Night tonight.  Like the rest of the country we are going to see Brave.  The kids have been dying to see it!  And it was great ammunition to get them to be active and behave today. 

Like when I said we were going to a walk to get a little exercise.  S'ghetti girl actually ran!  She was just eager to have you workout over and hit the pool but she did leave LBM and I in the dust. 

But in our defense I was getting in a little backpacking practice with my wiggle little 30 pound pack.  I should be in great shape to hike Old Rag again soon!

Where is your favorite hiking spot?  with the kids or without?

Do you "do" your nails?

Do you bribe your kids to keep them active?

Get out and LOVE the weekend.  It's going to be a great one!

2 weeks or 132.4 miles

It's been two weeks of summer vacation. It's been two weeks since I punched a time clock.  It's been two weeks of doing what ever we want.

 

We have spent a lot of time at the pool playing with family and friends.

When we weren't pool side, we were busy attempting to begin process Big Move.  Having never moved before I did not realize several things.  First just how much stuff I have that I never move or use at all.  And just how attached I can get about all the unused stuff. 

It's going to take a lot of running to offset the stress of going through, getting rid and relocating a lifetime of stuff.  I think I am off to a healthy run to pack ratio so far!

Any helpful hints on how to make the move less stressful?

Do you organize it all as you move or once you are relocated?

A 30 pound pack

Weekends are always fun and filled with little surprises.  This weekend was no exception.  I was looking forward to a slightly extended weekend in Virginia.  With the mild weather I had dreams of miles on the trails on Old Rag Mountain.  This is a picturesque mountain that I drive by every time I travel between VA and PA. 

The dream was altered when we got to Virginia and found the super secret spy struggling with a bad cold.  Being the good wife I made certain he got lots of sleep Thursday evening in the hopes that he would be up to hanging out the kiddos Friday while I scampered up a mountain side.  Unfortuately sleep did not cure his ills.   But being the determined person I am I did not allow that to stop me from getting out and enjoying the trails. 

It just added a very wiggly 30 pound pack to my resistance training and one grumbling 10 year old.  After packing LBM up the switch backs, I climbed ahead while S'ghetti girl and LBM rested to see if they would be able to continue.  It made for a great workout and an amazing time on the mountain.

In the end I think both kids enjoyed trying "climbs" they weren't sure they could do.  I know that I was very proud of how they continued on (okay LBM was getting carried most of the time) even when they were tired.  It wasn't the training I thought I would get that day but if the next day was any indication, I got a great full body workout. 

Five days to Hashawha Hills 50k

Have you ever climb Old Rag? 
Running Hashawha?  Ever done it?  Tell me about your experience.

Three Things Thursday

Three Reasons Why I love

the Fire on the Mountain Trail 50k so much

even though it felt like it handed me my tush this year

I can sleep in my own bed, get ready in my own bathroom and still make it to the race on time!

I get to take my kids to race packet pickup and enjoy creating some great memories by having them share in my racing adventure.

I get to run here.  Breathtaking!

Today is day # 550 and in NINE more sleeps I'll be running the Stone Mill 50 miler.

The TN mini-cation

Our mini-cation started Wednesday evening after working all day, I picked up the little kids and headed home to gather our bags and get Army Son

who isn't in the Army any more so he'll need a new bloggy name soon.

We drove the 3+ hours to our VA house thinking that we were planning to drive through the night after meeting the MIL and FIL however they had decided to spend the night in VA with us.

After a night's rest in VA I headed out bright and early for my morning run and then we headed south.

At first I was in our truck with the kids but with the MIL and FIL driving their mini-van it wasn't long before I joined them for a little more leg room.

It was hard to leave this much back seat fun!

Once in TN we briefly checked into our condo and then it was off to Mexican Night with the extended family.

Ready for some fun!

We took over the place.  We enjoyed catching up with family we don't get to see often. 

We eat wonderful food. 

We left a mess!  With full bellies we head back to our condo needed some sleep only to be kept awake by a huge thunderstorm!  Although the mattresses in our condo were so hard I doubt we would have slept much anyway.

Even though I didn't feel very rested I was determined to get out early so that the rest of my day was open for family fun.   

 Hubbs was going golfing with his uncle and the kids and I were hitting the beach but not before I admired some of the amazing properties in the area.

You can file this under:  Things I see along my way.

I also also a Raw Water project going on in the area.  Working in the water industry, I had to stop and talk with a crew member.  What a geek!

After a HOT run and Insanity we were off to the beach.

Army son decided to forgo listening to his mother the sunscreen and lay in the sun...in TN sun!

With my hands full making sure LBM didn't drown himself, I neglected to wake up remind Army son that he was in the sun and still had not put on sunscreen. 

Photo refused by Army son

Once I noticed that Army son was french fried getting a little too much sun, the little kids played on the playground to get into the shade.   

S'ghetti girl was all about the photo-op' in her new bathing suit.  But she really needs sunglasses.

What do you do?  If your kids wear glasses do you usually buy prescrip sunglasses for them?

I could hang at the beach the entire vacation but with Army son feeling the effects of too much unprotected sun time it was back to the condo to clean up and meet up with Hubbs for the shrimp boil.

The little cousins enjoyed getting to know each other.

Family reunions are very hands on in this family.

We had a great time working together to prepare the meal while the cousins rode four-wheelers and caught up on all things fun.

Day # 412 

Hubbs and I shared Running Partner Appreciation Day by sharing a run while Army son watched the sleeping little ones.  Thanks dude!

It was the second longest run he has taken since his knee surgery.  Although it was challenging due to the heat and elevation, he proved that he can outpace me in the short distance every time!

Nothing like keeping me in my place.

After our run we got a call that MIL had twisted her ankle the evening before after leaving the shrimp boil. 

Maybe a little too much wine?!? 

She had iced it through the night but it was still very painful and swollen. 

They were going to the hospital for x-rays. 

The official family reunion luncheon was held at the state park.  It was a nice gathering of many of our extended family. 

Some of the older cousins were already planning their next way to escape spending time with the grownups activity,

laser tag.  We enjoyed our meal and conversation although we were still waiting for an update on MIL.  Finally word came that they would not make it to the luncheon the ankle was broken.

After the news the MIL had broken her ankle, FIL asked us if we would head back that evening so that we could share the driving and they could break up the 11+ hour drive by sleeping for a while at our VA house.

We all decided to finish our day at the beach while FIL got prescriptions and packed up to leave that evening.

Although our time was short in TN we always enjoy getting to spend time with extended family and our own.

Even though things didn't go as smoothly as we might have liked, nothing beats a little time away together.  I am impressed with how my family has grown to be able to simply roll with our circumstances.  

This will be a mini-cation to remember and one my MIL will likely not live down anytime soon.