Patience; the new endurance sport.

What a beautiful run in the fresh, luscious morning rain. The freshly blooming everything and rushing river have me filled to overflowing with a daily quota of green beauty and fragrance.  I got new shoes last week and now they only have 14 or so miles.  So they feel great.  Although, I have yet to use them for a long run so I'm not sure if I should use them for Saturday-- or stick to my old faithfuls that are 26.2 miles short of 500.  I ran 4 miles today (instead of the 5-6 I wanted) trying to hold back,. I remembered last Fall,  right befor SGM,  I ran into Sasha on the trail who told me I was running too fast.  So today, and all week I will make a conscienteous effort to go easy.  Of course, when I got home, I did a million things, thereby negating all effects of the 'easy' run....Whatever. 

I ran 3 easy miles with my resentful 10 year old son tagging along.  He'd WANTED to come, he'd been ASKING to come with me (on MY runs, in the mornings).  We've run 2 miles together lots of times with pretty good success.  So I picked the day I'd be running the easiest, gave him  plenty of warning the day before, and got him up, while my daughter was at soccer.  He whined the whole way, lagged behind much of the time, but then would sprint meters ahead of me.  He walked maybe 1/3 of the distance. I was trying to keep in mind all of the things my Dad would said to me while we ran.  But I was too scared of my Dad to be that resentful or lag that far behind.  So I didn't even know what to say but to keep running slowly and be positive and encouraging when he did pick up his heels.  I want him to like it, eventually. He ran an 8 minute mile this year at school (down from 9 m/m last year) and won the Presidential Physical Fitness award (only 1 of 2 winners, if you can believe that).  So I thought he'd be ready for 3 .  I hope we get to do it many more times this summer to practice and improve his consistancy. In the meantime, I don't know what I did to my back/pririformis yesterday.  I leaned over to pick something up and put it in the garbage, and it was like someone plucked a guitar string in my lower back down through my leg. I iced/ibuprofened and everything, but it's still sore and I'm not walking without pain.  Darn, I almost made it 100% to the start....I've been so careful. I'll panic manana if it's not any better.

Thank you to Josse who blogged a positive affirmation that I chanced to read just before bed. " I WILL get better"  I said this over and imagined it over again as I went to sleep (while lying on top of a blue gel ice pack and 800 mg of Ibuprofen).  I woke up and the pain was about 70% gone.  I  took my daughter to soccer and then ran a really easy 3.  It is so lush outside it almost brings me to tears.  I can't wait for Saturday just because I'm pretty sure it's going to be a beautiful cool-ish day going down the canyon. Just as I was stretching my finish, Sasha and Jeff passed and invited me to another mile. So we jogged and chatted about Sarah and Kimya and Saturday.  I've now been sitting on ice for over 48 hours, and I have to warn you (in case you didn't know) ice really does burn your skin.  In a panic to get that piriformitis under control, I've left pillowy red welts on my bum from sitting on blue gel ice packs.

Ten years ago today the nurse midwife looked at my huge belly and said "You do realize you're pregnant? Surely you understand that the baby has to come out sometime."  This she said to me as I was 2 weeks overdue with no labor in sight.  I liked that lady.  She talked tough and grew up with cowboy brothers on a farm in Wyoming.  She had the hands and skin to prove it. Her confidence in birthing stuff won me over and eight hour later, in spite of my reluctance to turn myself inside out that day, she delivered my son and handed him to me in a single motion. He was hot, 98.6 degrees, and steamy fresh.  It was shocking.  It was surprising how he was not there one second, and then right there the next.  Within five minutes I couldn't believe I'd ever lived any part of my life without him.  Now it's my job to make him dislike me enough to want to move away from me and make his own life.  Weird how that works.  Happy Birthday Son! Thanks for ruining my lower abdomen, it's not your fault....really. No problem.

ZERO miles and good luck sleeping tonight.

RivertonPaul made my day with his posts.  "True beauty includes a full figure".  "You can't afford to be skinny!".  AMEN to that.  (Really, who wants to nibble the meat off a bone when you can have the whole steak :)   That's just what I needed to lighten my day because I always gain 3 pounds taper week without trying.  I'm trying to be calm about it.  But wish I could have eaten a dozen cupcakes to have at least DESERVED gaining that much weight.  I'll bet carb loading is overreated anyway. 

First of all, I am happy to report that I achieved my goal of finishing the freaking marathon without breaking more stuff.  Yay!  So to that end, I'm at peace.  I hated being licked at SG last fall.  I know people don't care about their finisher medals, but it smarted not to finish, and be beat by my hip and the weather than shrank all my tendons.  I am again, a marathon finisher.  But really, I went into it knowing that I would sink my time.  I was sort of looking forward to underachieving and having fun, which I did. Tons.  Maurine, who we will now refer to as Miles, picked me up at 4:20 a.m.  I forgot or failed to bring any single support item, including my Garmin (who cares anyway, right?).  Miles loaned me one of her old watches (which around mile 24 came in handy to see just how badly I was botching the race :)  Seriously, it was so fun. I rode the busses Miles (on Sherpa detail for Marion), Marion, and Smooth.  The weather was PERFECT, there is just no way to stress how perfect it was.  I went across the starting line with absolutely no expectations except to finish.  I was filled with the awesome beauty of the canyon, did love Carterville Road instead of the trail,  and by 13.1 had run my fastest half marathon ever--I was 1:54 by the watch and 1:57 by the timer. For a while there, I considered a 3:50 finish, but my back/hip really started to ache by 15 and kept it SLOW after that.  Around the time I slowed down a very annoying Englishman wanted to pace with me and began talking about how the Pakistani's and African Immigrants are ruining England, and how there are only 5 "whites" on the city council in Manchester and Leeds (the whole place is like 70% Packi's he said) ( I then  pointed out that at least it was representative of the population and offered that I was married to a foreigner, and then he finally shut up and fell back--which was my goal).   Funny, I love to share my weekday and long runs with friends when I can, but I do not like to talk or listen to you talk during races. Mile 18 was my house, where I had to wait about 3 minutes because every kid in the neighborhood had made me a sign and a cheering squad that was 'not quite ready' by the time I was going by.  Quick kisses and hugs all the way around, then gorgeous home turf running.  What a gorgeous day, did I mention that?  The birds were so loud, the river so wide and clean. Ahhh.  But I was hurting and knew that I wouldn't really know where I stood time-wise until mile 24.  No Bathrooms for 2 miles at the end of the race sucked.  I had to wait literally 10 minutes (3 people deep) for the one port-a-potty in 5 miles.  As I expected, by that time I was over 4:00 and just gave it up compeltely and started stopping to stretch, walk and jog.  It was very liberating to do whatever the heck I wanted to do.  Then as I was coming to the end, there were all my kids (mine and the neighborhood) waiting to run me to the end.  My finishing picture will have at least four 12 year old girls ushering me to the finish.  I could not have been happier.  Smooth came in next , AnnaLisa.  Then I checked the numbers for Josse (awesome) and Sasha and Jeff.  It made me very happy for them.  Then I sadly noticed that if I had held a decent pace from 23 miles on, I would have placed 5th in my division.  That was sort of a bummer to realize it wasn't as much of a throw away race as I'd imagined...oops. I guess there's next year.  Then a bit later Marion and Miles.  It made me cry to see them. Inspiring for the amount of support Maurine offered, and the insistance and will of Marion to finish.  Then I drank 2 free bottles of chocolate milk, ate a creamy and went home with my whole gang.  What a happy day!