I am OLD!!!

So Thursday morning, we decided to rearrange the bedroom.  Not a big deal at all.  We turned the bed, swept, and then I attempted to lift the bed to pull the rug out from under it.

Attempted...

Suddenly my back hurt and I was on the floor.  I caught my breath and got up, which is when everything went blurry.  I did not pass out- I remember carefully falling back to the ground while recalling how to take a tackle in rugby ("knees, hips, shoulders, nice ball").  Instead of "nice ball", I gently placed my head on the ground.

Two hours later, two ibuprofen later, a heat pad later, here are the things I have learned:

1. 30 is different than 29.  If I had done this two months ago, I would be fine, because I would still be young.
2. Everything you lift requires balance, which means it requires lower back muscles: a teapot, a teacup, the toddler onto the potty (ouch!), a book, my foot to scratch my knee (only tried that once), the iPad... everything
3. Those sticky heat pads are amazing.
4. It is an excellent idea to own, in a family, at least one automatic transmission automobile in case of injury.  I know that I could not put in the clutch on our Honda if you offered me a million dollars.
5. My son can be incredibly gentle when he really believes he has to.  He has been so kind and has not climbed on my.  This is highly unusual.
6. My son has a wicked sense of humor.  When I move wrong, it takes my breath away.  So on our way to his room, he started panting like Mama.   Too bad laughing also hurts...

By Friday I was only walking like a troll when I had been sitting too long, and the ibuprofen continues to help.  Little Man and I even went on a short stroller run, which I finished up with walking lunges because I know they'll help my back and they make my passenger laugh.  He calls them "funny yoga walkin'".

Summertime Excuses Not to Run

1. It's already too hot outside.
2. Too many kids on scooters trying to kill me.
3. If I ran, I'd have to shower.
4. My running clothes are all dirty.
5. The gym (and its air-conditioned treadmills of bliss) is 20 minutes away.
6. There are spiderwebs all over the trail.
7. Everyone else is having their first glass of wine (normally this is an excuse for afternoon/evening runs, but you never know).
8. Breakfast/lunch/dinner was too heavy.
9. I feel dehydrated.
10. I feel too hydrated and there are no potties on the trail and there are too many other runners and bikers to pee in the woods.

Just a little silliness, really, as the heat wave makes running outside pretty darn difficult.  Little man and I ran Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and each time I was bathed in sweat for almost an hour afterward as my body tried to cool itself off.  The stroller's nice breeze prevented my passenger from sweating even a drop, but I looked like a swimmer.  Even in the heat, though, the runs felt great.

And then came yesterday.  Forecast of 100 degrees and a heat advisory; sometimes it's not an excuse not to run, it's a good idea.  At least when you're running with a toddler.  So I took a rest and yoga day and will do the same today before working at the running store.  Today is an excuse day: excuse #1, actually.  I could have left the bambino at home, but by the time I got up at 7:00, it was already hot and steamy and, well...

I can always find an excuse not to run.  I am not as good at hearing how lame those excuses are and going out anyway.  Tomorrow morning, for instance, I need to run 6 miles.  It's the first long run in my training plan for the Cannonball Half Marathon in October.  At 7:00 a.m., it will be 77 degrees and 82% humidity.  Yuck.  I will make some lame excuses and hopefully acknowledge how stupid they sound and then run.  I have no goals for time on a hot, humid day, but I have to run.

home and halfway through the year (plus a little...)

After a fun-filled week and a half of beach and family, we are home.  I ran 8 times at the beach, covering 24 miles and setting a PR in the mile.  Little Man fell in love with all things ocean and, if asked, can tell you all about the amazing rides on the Ocean City Boardwalk.  He and I did one of those spinning, up-and-down, vomit-inducing rides.  He started spinning us and the 100-pound weight difference between us did the rest; we spent the entire ride revolving at breakneck speed.  He giggled, yelled happily, and smiled.  I just yelled and held onto his little wrists for dear life.  I held on so tight that I was surprised that he didn't have bruises this morning. He was slippery!


In January I pledged to run 1,000 miles this year.  As of July 12, I have run 381.4 miles.  I can safely say that I will not make my goal at this rate, so I am changing it to 800.  This will still require some work, because I have more than half to go.  I have to run an average of 76 miles per month for the next 5.5 months.  Can I do it?  Sure.  Will I do it?  Gosh, I hope so.  It doesn't have to be fast or pretty, but I want to make my goal.  I really do.

Looking back, I've completed a lot of goals already this year.  I have set personal records in the mile, the 5k, and the marathon.  I plan to run the Cannonball Half in October and the Greensboro Gobbler in November, and I really want to finally run a 10k.  There's a great one in September... we'll see.

Mile Race and Two-a-Days

The beach is great!  Little Man is finally old enough to love the water, as well as rides and other silliness.  Just a few pictures of our stay so far...

in his "ocean jacket"

Riding a Thomas lookalike in Ocean City

Sunset.  Do you see the moon, Mama?

My silly boy

Monday night at 6:30, a few hundred runners lined up for the American Mile race at the end (that is, the literal end) of Longport. There were people sporting race shirts from as far back as the seventies and LOTS of kids who ran really fast. Everyone in town who was not running was spectating.

The race started and the dodging of small children began. My favorite group was three ten-year-old girls who ran slowly, in a line, with their arms stretched out to both sides so that no one would pass them. Thankfully their arms got tired pretty quickly. We ran with the wind at our backs on a very flat road with no turns: perfect conditions. It felt easy. I finished in 6:30, and I had no clue if that was worthy of a win.  Dinner seemed more important than waiting around for awards, so I walked on home.

See how happy I look?  This is right before I started

passing people...

Last night a very kind friend brought over my lovely bronze medal for a third place win in 30-39.  I am beyond happy.  (I may have worn the medal until bed time...)

My dad and I ran TWICE on Saturday, I ran twice on Monday counting the race, and I ran solo yesterday.  My Garmin is FULL of workouts since I didn't bring the USB port to transfer them.  Since we pretty much sit around all day, my legs feel fresh even with the extra work.  We rode to the Atlantic City Boardwalk this morning (bikes are allowed until 10:00 am) and Dad and I will most likely do 5 this evening.  So, I love the beach.  And we get to stay longer!

Beach Running

We arrived at the beach early this morning; that is, in the middle of the night. The plan was to split the trip into two days, but we changed our minds and got to the beach just before 2:00 a.m. It was so great to wake up, even a bit tired, and already be there.

My dad and I ran together for the first time in a while is morning. We did three easy-ish miles. We are doing the Cannonball Half Marathon together on October 8, and it will be his first half in a few years. This week we will do a few long runs as well as a mile race on July 4. A flat mile race followed by food and fireworks- what could be better? There might also be a quest for a new pair of running shoes for him, if we can find a running store in the area.

After the run we hopped into the perfect and unusually warm ocean. That must be the perfect cool-down! I plan to run solo tomorrow before it gets too hot. It will be hard to take a rest day here, because the weather is great and the days are blissfully free. I love vacation!