A New Record

Today I ran 14 miles - a personal distance record for me. I've been pretty down about running since the Unplugged half marathon. I was talking to Adam about it and he was asking me why I started running in the first place. Above all else, running for me is extremely therapeutic and lately I've gotten away from that part of it. The run today was a nice time to just be alone and run without worrying about pace or anything else. I also really love running with the jogger. Before Alice came along, Jack and I spent so many miles together. Yesterday Jack and Alice joined me for five miles, and as tough as it is to push 60+ pounds, it's so rewarding. I think taking steps to making running less serious will help my mentality toward the sport. My mom and I are doing a relay next weekend and each leg is 6.5 miles so I'm excited to run truly for fun and for an easy distance. Here's to an easy running week and low-key race weekend with my mama.

Three Years Ago Today.

It's hard to believe that it's been three years since we were sitting in pre-op, waiting for Jack's kidney surgery to begin. That was a trying time and he's given us a few scares thrown in for good measure. When I'm up with Alice in the middle of the night - diva baby doesn't like to sleep - I need to remind myself the blessing of a healthy babies. Here's some pictures from Jack's time in the hospital. He was such a trooper.

peace

I had every intention of writing up a post-race recap after last weekend's half marathon. I ran a tough race, in many ways much harder mentally than physically. Then April 15 happened. My 2:07:50 non-PR was inconsequential and writing a full post recapping my crappy race felt stupid. Alice and I ran five miles today through Shelburne Farms. It was quiet, peaceful and meditative. Reflecting on the the past week and trying to make sense of why things like this happen. A supportive and welcoming community, runners spread peace.

Race Day

Unplugged half marathon is tomorrow! I'm pretty excited and a little nervous!

Eight Months Old

Alice is now eight months old! Here are some recent pictures of the little ones. I'm trying to be better about taking actual photos with my camera instead of with the iPhone all the time. Next step is actually printing some.

#solesisters

Running friends are the best friends. To say I was in an unpleasant mood this morning is an understatement. Getting up before sunrise on less than three hours of sleep and I'm not looking or feeling so hot.

My car was supposed to get the winter tires taken off this morning and the dealership is right near Melissa's so the plan was to run 14 with her. After the rough night, I texted her this morning saying I still wanted to run but wasn't sure how many miles I had in me - most likely not the 14 we planned. She was still on board. I ended up canceling my appointment (forgot to get the tires out of storage and doing this task at 7 am was clearly too much work), packing up the jogger and bringing my sleepless baby with me.

Melissa, Sirius, Alice and I headed out for a 7 mile loop and within the first mile my attitude had turned around. We ended up completing 8 slow and steady miles in the cool sunshine. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing friend and the runs are so much more than just running. If I wasn't meeting her, I would not have gotten out of the house this morning. She's there through good days and bad and everything in between. #soulsisters

A Few Hours Ago

Just nine hours ago I was giddy with excitement, looking forward to tackling my longest run to date. Then a twenty pound blonde woke up at 11, screamed until 2, then got up for the day at 4:30. Needless to say, I've got my grumpy pants on this morning. Not sure how far I'll make it - pray for Melissa :).

Hello, April

I'm running my ninth half marathon next weekend! I'm pretty excited and nervous all at the same time. Coming back to running after having Alice has been quite the adventure.

Needless to say, I failed the 31 day running challenge again but I'm determined it will happen this year! After last weekend's long run, I've taken it easy this week with Pilates on Monday and three four mile runs during lunch. Long run on tap for tomorrow then it's taper time. Happy Running!