Little Shadow.

So I am dying to know from more experienced moms out there....what do you do when you have a shadow? I am honored, shock and completely blessed.

Yes. I also, sometimes actually have to get things done AND also at some point in my life would like a moment when someone is not following me or hanging on to me.I was having this conversation with my friend the other day.

I have never been so busy or exhausted in my life.In my younger days, I was a work a holic. Working sometimes 90 hour weeks and averaging 70 hours week. For years. I loved it. I was tired, but it was what I wanted to be.

Then, I was a full time working mom. I worked 40-45 hours a week and commuted 90 miles round trip each day. I was tired. I was really tired. And pretty cranky.

Then I had a job share. I worked about twenty hours a week, but had two weekdays off and the weekend. This was a good balance.

I still work about twenty hours a week, but I work five days a week. I am a real stay at home mom while here. I cook three meals a day, scrub floors, scrub bathtubs, go to the park, cuggle, read, paint and all of the other fantastic things that a stay at home mom does. When my kiddo heads to nap time, I head out to work.I am exhausted. I have also never logged as many miles as I am currently which I am sure ads to my tired level.

I feel like I do not ever have a moment to myself. At least when I worked full time, I had lunches, shopping, etc. Any suggestions on the ever asked question of work life balance? Suggestions requested.

Oh, and I love my little shadow.

RT's knee surgery.

Ralph is having knee surgery in the morning. I am taking him at 5:30am then I am taking my mother in law to the train at 11:30am (after bringing my man home to rest) then I am going to go for ten miles....and take G to the nanny while I work.

I have to get some major miles in.

Stat.

Has anyone had a hairline ankle fracture....what does it feel like?

Fresno entry complete.

I am not running the Silicon Valley Marathon this Sunday. My best friend is turning thirty (the personal chef) and we are going with our honies to Chez Panisse for dinner. Needless to say, I do not think that after a night of celebrating thirty years of one of my dearest friends that I would be in any shape to run the next morning.

So, Fresno is next on my list.

I am a little apprehensive because it is a Boston qualifier. Not apprehensive because I wonder if I will qualify for Boston. I don't know if my body will physically allow me to ever run Boston. But because often smaller marathons like Fresno sell full marathon entries to half marathon runners.

Not a problem if you are really trying to qualify.

But if you are a slower runner and all of the slower people have no intention of running the full twenty six point two, you are alone and isolated for the last thirteen miles.

I have met some great folks being slow.

But it is infuriating that race coordinators do not factor in the psyche of slower runners.

I guess they do not consider us runners.

Go figure.

It is raining sideways.

We got back from LA last night...late. This morning we woke up to the pitter patter of rain. Sideways rain. I really love running in the rain, but this is sideways with thirty mile per hour winds. I think I will be staying in and doing P90X Cardio instead.

When I run, I have a cloud clearing effect. When I run marathons, I feel like I can master the world problems from the thoughts that I have on the road. Anyone that runs will agree that there is something so freeing about placing one foot in front of the other. Over and over and over again.

I also become very emotional. This is something that I do not understand. I traditionally do not listen to music for the first half of a marathon. It gives me something to look forward to on the second half, and during the second half when I feel like I can not go any further the music makes it easier. It is a distraction from the torture I am putting my body through.

I am known to sing and dance down the path towards the finish line if I really like a good song. I am also known to be sobbing as I am running too.

The funny thing is, I just don't care.

The people around me, think it is cool.

What are the odds? There is a certain camaraderie among runners. Something that is so sadistic about our souls that binds us together and makes us understand and not judge one another.

I think there also becomes a point where you are so exhausted that you just don't care.

There are many reasons that I run, this is certainly one of them.

The serious crisis is over.

I have not needed my Garmin since we returned from Miami. I knew I took it out of my bag and put it away. With last week being a rest week, there was no need to really track mileage. Furthermore, I have a pretty good gauge of a six/seven/eight mile loops that are around my house.

I don't like to run "races " with a GPS. Often, mile markers are one to three tenths off (farther) than what the Garmin reads. I think this is really a product of not being an elite runner and starting farther back on the course. Especially in larger marathons.

So yesterday, I wanted to make sure I went for a LOOOONG walk. Begin the search for the Garmin. I can't find it, but seriously that is not that big of a deal. My legs were like Jello, physically exhausted. Looked for fifteen minutes. No big deal.

This morning I decided that I needed another long walk and wanted actual tracking information. Begin search. Text Ralph. Text three more times. Are you screwing with me dude? Do you have it and not want me to know.

Freaking out.

Freaking out.

Feeling tears start to well.

Keep looking.

Look at the picture frame on my desk where I hide it from Gia. Everyday.

Look behind the dern frame. There is the dang Garmin.

Found it. And feel like a total idiot.

Feeling pretty good.

I am feeling pretty good today. I went for a six mile walk with Gia and we came home and did some pilates. Thinking that I will be walking between six and ten miles daily and have my first run on Monday.

I can't find my Garmin.

Marathoning is such a great experience.

I will write about some thoughts that I had on the Cowtown marathon.

#2 in the series, complete.

Finisher. 5:56. I told you it would be slow.

Cowtown mornings.

I am sitting here listening to my coffee brew and trying to chug down another twenty some odd ounces of water. Under normal circumstances I am a hydration freak, but for some reason when I really need to, or the pressure is on, I can not for the life of me get enough water into my body. Go figure.

Yes, the coffee may assist in dehydrating me further.

But, it will make me run faster.

Ha, ha, ha, ha.

I can not tell you how relieved I am that there is a seven hour time limit and the weather looks to be a very nice mid seventies high. I choked down some glucosamine tablets (Melaleuca Replenex to be exact, which are the stinking BEST) and I am about to get up and consume some sort of bar.

I really loathe eating prior to running. Does anyone else out there feel this way? I just don't see any other viable solution when facing 26.2.

Have a good day, and I will let you know what my glorious finish time is later today. Much later I hypothesize.

I'm a slacker.

Not in the running sense, but in the blogging sense. I am running CowTown this Sunday and it has a seven hour time limit....woo hooo. Given that my knees are a little tender and I am running two more marathons in the next five weeks, I have a very good feeling that I will be taking this one a little slowly. I don't race to win it, I race to finish.

Life has been hectic. I turned thirty. RT and I went to Miami, I am working, mommying, wifing and all of that jazz. Sometimes I have these crazy ideas and then I let them slip to the wayside....like two blogs. But, when you slack you just have to get back in the game.

One thing I think to is that I am better at all of my roles when I take a little time to run and blog. So here's to the new start, back to being a more consistent blogger. Running shoes out. Ready to go.

Oh, also anyone out there that has custom orthodics...is is worth it?