The Not-So Long Run

We all survived the Birthday Bash. For a small celebration, it sure took it out of me. The gang of boys was late in getting settled in the tent. I stayed up a bit longer to be sure that all of the little boys were asleep and happily dreaming. The dog sat guard outside the tent all night long. I had high hopes that these boys would sleep in a bit, but no such luck.

At 7 am, I heard the sliding glass door open and all four of them came into the house. It’s funny how those little bodies can make so much noise when the walk. It sounded much like a stampede might sound. I made my way downstairs to be parental, but was more like a sleepy child until the 2nd cup of coffee kicked in.

I was tired and my eyes hurt. By 10 am, I was ready for it all to be over and began to worry that the parents would not be coming for their offspring any time soon. These kids sure had energy. They were back at it – tackling each other in the tent, playing tag, and doors were slamming shut all over. I gathered up each child’s things and piled them together with the “goodie bag.” I wanted to be ready when the time came for each to depart.

My head was swirling, and I was figuring in my head how I would get the required 6 miles done. Thank goodness that this week is a step-back week. 6 miles is not a hard thing to fit in and I planned for YaYa to ride his bike as I ran behind him on the bike trail. But, I didn’t have to do that even.

Things were nice a quite after the last kid left and my husband agreed to stay home with the kids. They were planning to go through the neighborhood selling the coupons that the football team has to sell – $200 worth – due on Monday!

Anyhow, I went to the bike trail anyways and managed to fit in a 5 1/2 mile run before my JC appointment. I kept trying to remind myself that this was supposed to be at “long run” pace even though the run was no long at all. I didn’t pay much attention to the pace reading on garminia, but watched the distance and the time of day closely so as not to miss my appointment.

I tried not to be too upset when the girl in turquoise blew past me in the last mile. I heard her coming; her footsteps were quick. After she passed, I marveled at her defined arm muscles and made a note to be more diligent in getting my strength workouts completed.

At the JC Centre, the question finally came. I’ve seen the girls looking at me. I’ve guessed what they were thinking, but nobody until today has asked the question. One of the Jenny girls said, “Why are *you* here?” Obviously, she knew why I was there. I gave her a puzzled look and repeated the question. Then I smiled and said, “Do you mean, why am I trying to loose weight?” She nodded and said that she could see that I was fit.

So with the 12 eyes turned my way and the corresponding ears tuned in, I admitted that it was for my running goal. I said that after trying 10 times to qualify for Boston, I needed to get serious about the extra weight that I gained 8 years ago (with YaYa’s pregnancy). It was about time that I lost it. I added that I already felt the difference with the 5 pounds that I’ve lost so far – my running is easier and my heart rate has come down a bit. They were satisfied, and hopefully encouraged to continue with their own goals…for their own reasons.