High on Life!

Tonight I ran my first post-baby race with my Mom, Dad, (uncle) Kevin, and Dave. In hindsight, it was fantastic. During the race, I was struggling to feel strong and graceful. The 5k "scramble" coursed along the Connecticut River, on a paved trail and through the woods. Race conditions: hot and sweaty, not too big a crowd, and overall pretty quiet. As mentioned, I've been running a bit - a few miles here and there, nothing significant, but felt it was time to register for an organized event and get officially back in the game. I fare better with a clear goal, and have lots of supportive family who consider races social events.

The race was tricky because I didn't have my iPhone with music or the sports tracking app that notes my distance and pace. There were no mile markers (or none that I saw), and I had no watch. (Guess I was taking the minimalist route.) All I could see were the people passing me, and I felt like I was sucking pond water. But I also felt that I was running pretty hard. I thought of the Runners World magazines I've been leafing through, and their 'rah rah running' attitude, and powered through.

I love you Emmeline

The course had looped around so I figured at least we were halfway done. Then a bunch of elite runners (you know, the guys with lean, chiseled bods) lapped me, and I thought, You've got to be kidding. I have to loop around again?! My soul was crushed. I started repeating a mantra: "I love you Edie. I love you Emmeline" to keep propelling forward. It was difficult to not walk, but I didn't. I came upon a guy walking, and I said out loud "C'mon you can do it!", which sounds cheesy but he started running again, and thanked me cheering him on. I told him it felt good to hear those words myself. Cheering crowds go a long way for a runner's mental state; a quiet course is harder to keep the energy up.

I love you Dave

My goal was to finish under 30 minutes, and I crossed the finish line at 26:40. I was impressed! Throughout the race, I had NO idea where I stood, but you have to remember that you don't see all those behind you. I met up with Dave, my Mom, Dad, and Kevin at the finish line/beer tent. Mom and Kevin both placed for their divisions, and we hung around the Hartford waterfront drinking Harpoon and eating Moe's burritos. It was a great ending, and my mom wrangled me into running another 5k on Sunday.

I love you Edie, and Curious George!

By the way, those elite runners who lapped me? They got off track and had to loop around to get back on the course. Yep, that's why I don't want to lead the pack....

Gone woodchuck huntin'

This blog is dedicated to Becky, who suggested not so subtly that I need to update it. I am fully aware that it's as stale as yesterday's Elmwood Bakery donuts, but I swear I have a good excuse. School, work, babies, toddlers, the sun is shining. I promise I'll up my blogging game when my class ends on Sunday. I will even post pictures.

For now, here are some recent highlights.
1. Emmeline is my little pork chop, my happy girl. She learned to laugh, although she's still working on it. Dave and I went away to Chicago a few weeks ago, and she must've ate round the clock while we were gone. She is also a spitter and a cat-napper, both distinct from Edie. Her favorite pastime is bathing, and her favorite food is milk, hands down.

2. Edie and I have been tracking a woodchuck/beaver in our backyard each night around dinner. We spy on him as he munches grass, stands on hind legs, and does his herbivore-type things. We spy from the yard and from windows around the house. I need to look up what this critter is. Edie suggested maybe a monkey or a polar bear, and my Animal Encyclopedia wasn't much more helpful. It has a bushy tail so I'm thinking it's not a beaver. And why would a beaver be in our backyard with no water?

Edie wants to name him Emmeline, but I suggested Woodward. Naming him Emmeline could get confusing.

Can we call him Woodward?

3. I went to the driving range with my mom last night. First I had to blow the bug carcasses out of my golf shoes, then find shorts that don't make me hate life, then downed a mini Coke and a mini Twix bar for good measure. We hit some balls; every 10th one went straight or far (not both). Then we had a beer on the patio and watched white guys tee off, which was fun, and do ridiculous "golf stretches", which was funny.

4. I'm taking an online class through UMass' planning program. It's an intensive 6-week course, ripe with discussion forums (interaction with colleagues is mandatory, the more the merrier), academic papers to slog through, poignant essays to write (with citations),  group projects to coordinate, and so on. The class is about planning for climate change adaptation, and it's an intense topic. Some of my peers are incredibly smart and poignant. I thought I was a good writer, but damn it's been 10 years since I was in school. I enrolled as a test of whether I could hack grad school now, and the short answer is: I can't. It was a great, short term test and I'm glad Dave encouraged me to try it. Even though my dream is to pursue graduate school, something would suffer (relationship with my husband and girls, I'd never work out, I'd skate through my coursework, etc). I'll need to defer my grad school dreams, but I'm ok with that now.

5. Dinner is an "each man for himself" thing these days. I miss cooking, but will again in the near future.

6. My mom and I are doing a 5k next week! My first race since October!? I've been running a few miles here and there, finally getting back in the swing of it, and it feels great.