Getting Back in the Saddle

Temperature 59, Humidity 35%, it was time to get back out there.

1.00 Mile
13:02
Run 7 min, Walk 30 sec.

I haven't run in four weeks and two days. The two weeks before my mother passed away, I guess it was just cold out. And then the two weeks since my mom passed away, well, I haven't felt like doing much of anything.

So that's where I've been. I've been here, assessing my own mortality (since the 6 year old is now asking questions about if we're going to die, good for him to process it and good for me, too:-)). Thinking about what I want to do when I grow up since 40 is around the corner.

My father has been so calm and together. They were so incredibly organized with their insurance and finances that he had that all taken care of within a week. We call him every night with all that stream-of-consciousness yet blissful little kid stuff that distracts us and reminds us that life continues. I have relied on his strength.

My students and school have been great to me, making a huge donation to American Cancer Society in my mom's memory and just being overall kind souls.

So I am getting "back" in the saddle, giving myself permission to run "just" a mile today was my first step:-)

My Mom...

My mom passed away Tuesday night.

We are in shock.

Viewing and informal service Saturday. Dad is very organized and composed, I believe he knew this was coming. He worshipped her.

Sleep well, Mom.

Going Long

In anticipation of the Giants underdog win tomorrow, today I went long!

5.75 Miles
1:16:17
13:16 / M
40 degrees F

And there were even hills! Down AND up!

It was great, but I'm whooped! :-)

PS--Mom update: out of the hospital, basically quarantined for about 2 months. She can't go to stores, can't see us or our kiddos, just has to avoid germs for awhile. But she should be ok...and her hair is growing back (don't know if I mentioned that earlier...), which makes her happy. We are optimistic. Always.

Windy & Giggly

3.25 Miles
43:58
13:31 / M
Temp 45 (wind made it feel like 38)

Good temp to run, though the wind almost bowled me over the first few minutes till I got warmed up. Pleasant run. I was laughing out loud at some silliness in the podcast I was listening to, though; running a major road at rush hour, the drivers must have thought I was a crackpot, giggling while jogging...

Mom update: She caught some sort of infection, still in ICU awake & alert, lots of antibiotics and test to find where exactly it is. She is hanging in there but wants to just go home--they yell at her when she tries to use her cell phone:-)

Wishing on a star

Got back out there tonight, first run in two weeks, but it was time. I didn't want to procrastinate any longer, lest it becomes a thing, you know?

2.00 Miles
27:14 = 13:37 / M

Talked to my mom before going out, that is what mentally pushed me out the door. You may remember she's fighting breast cancer. She's done with chemo & radiation (hair is starting to come back:-)) but has had a cough/cold/bronchitis issue for the past month. Well, she was admitted to the hospital Monday--she is now in ICU with pneumonia. She sounds so weak and tired. She has had the crummiest year and I just feel so helpless. And after I was done with the phone call, I just had to go out to run. Not fast (you know me) or far, but it was time--I had to run, just because I can.

As soon as I got outside I looked up and gasped--there were so many stars! Living near NYC, really clear, starry nights are not that frequent. But here's the amazing tihng: five minutes into my outing, on my first walk break, I saw a shooting star! I made a wish, and I just knew at that moment that she will be ok. The grin stayed with me for a moment longer, then it was back to jogging and enjoying folks' Christmas lights on this quiet, starry night.

I've sure never had a "spiritual" connection with anything while running, I'm usually just chugging along, trying to keep moving forward. I guess this is just the same, trying to keep moving on, but this time, with a little sign from Heaven that says things are going to be ok.

Peace.

By the Sea

Spent a few rainy days by the Jersey Shore. Where the rains fell for three days and my 5 yr old developed a 103-degree fever by noon the first morning...actually, I think that's pretty good timing to get sick while it's raining at the beach, he's not missing any outdoor fun. We came home a night early so he could sleep in his own bed and we could all dry out and his fever is gone, yippee!

One of the few bright spots of this little Shore jaunt was my solo run the first morning. I decided to opt out of the 5 Mile Race on Long Beach Island (an hour south) due to the travel time and the late start--I would have missed out on beach time with my kiddos and left the husband in charge of two nutty kids on the beach alone. In the spirit of Teamwork Parenting I stayed put and had my own mock 5 mile race.

At 8 am Sunday, I ran the Seaside Heights boardwalk, past closed rides and carnival games, and (this was the cruellest part of the super run) past a Dunkin' Donuts coffee stand! Oh! I had a great time glancing at and listening to the roar of the sea, watching morning joggers and roller skaters, and just soaking up the atmosphere of this new place. I still contend that running has opened up a whole new door while traveling and I've gotten to know places better than I would have in my non-running days. So I had an hour of wonder and zen (and a little sucking wind, but not too much:-)) and before I knew it, 5 miles had come and gone!

5.10 miles
1:04:41 (12:40/mile)
Temp: 64 & cloudy Humid: 53%

The splits are a little funky due to Garmin not kicking in for the first few minutes (cloudy). But it went something like this:
Mile 1 - 12-ish min
Mile 2 - 12:38
Mile 3 - 13:39
Mile 4 - 13:20
Mile 5 - 12-ish min

One observation about running here: Around my own neighborhood, folks say "Hi" as they pass each other while jogging/biking. And this is near NYC, where you just don't say "Hi" to strangers (we just don't trust that around here!), but the exception seems to be that while out exercising you may greet your fellow pavement warriors. Conversely, on my run "Down the Shore" (as we say here in Jersey), no one said hi as they passed each other. Strange! Maybe because it's a vacation area, transient and in flux so that there are very few actual locals...? Just found that curious.

Hope to get a 3 miler in today. I will have to run between the raindrops.

And a Mom update: My mom has her last chemo treatment today, thankfully. It's been rough on her physically, not to mention emotionally. So after today, she gets through the after effects gets a little break, then starts up daily radiation treatments for about 6 weeks. Then another round of a special drug for her particular cancer. All till next June. Thanks for the prayers for her:-)

Back to back runs, whoa!

3.40 miles
41:05 (12:05/mile)

Snuck in a 3 miler today because:
1. It was 72 degrees at 8 pm tonight--I HAD to get out there!
2. I have a cold coming on, I'm trying to sneak that run in the before I'm feeling too crummy.
3. We have snow in the forecast Friday, HA! It was 80 this afternoon!

A little bummed that the sciatic pain started up mildly in mile #2. I sprayed cold H2O on it in the shower after the run (not an "ice bath," but not the hot shower I really would have preferred), so I hope the cold water and couple days of rest before this weekend's long run works its magic on that pain!


My mom went for her post-op follow up today. She found out her tumor had been a little bigger than previously thought (bummer). And that she now needs to see an oncologist to decide on chemo or radiation. She is not thrilled with that (I think she was hoping for *nothing* after the operation), but she is staying positive. It still did not spread, that is what is helping her keep the faith. Peace.

Good news, cold news, cool news

The best news first, my mom's operation went well! The doc thinks she got all the cancer, and best news of all is that it did not appear to have spread. Lab tests will confirm that later this week - seems like my mom caught it early and will LICK it.

The cold news is that it was in the 20s today and I bailed on the run. Lame. And I heard it's going to snow tomorrow. Crud.

The cool news is that my mom's hospital is in the town where my HM will be on April 29. In fact, it's on the HM route! So after I left my mom, I drove about half of the HM route. This really whet my appetite for this HM, I really am getting excited! And found out there is a training run put together by the run club organizing the HM, complete with water stations(!) this Sunday on the route as well, so I *think* I am going to do my 10 miler with the training run! I've never run with people, that should be interesting.

Modify & Adjust

Was supposed to do 10 miles today. Wanted to run a 5K next weekend. Had to swap them due to child-rearing issues. No dh this weekend, and not very many people can handle both my active children. So I drove an hour to see my mom & dad one day before her surgery tomorrow and had a lovely visit--and snagged 35 minutes of babysitting to do the 5K today.

So I'll just do the long run next weekend. Life happens. This is do-able, I'm grateful to have gotten a 5K in today (though I would have LOVED to run two seconds per mile faster for sub-11 minute miles, but the fact is I'm getting a little faster and that makes me smile:-))

Quick One

Had to work late to prepare for sub Monday (I'll be @ my mom's operation) and to recover from leaving early last two days to tend sick younguns. Couldn't work too late because dh is leaving for our church youth retreat (that I am supposed to go on, too, since I'm a fellow youth leader, but, alas, we don't want anyone to have to take care of BOTH our kids in our absence--one, maybe, but both of 'em? Yowzers!).

So I snuck in this little gem, better than nothing, but as Wes said, when there's a will there's a way:-)
1.59 miles
17:45 (11:09/mile)

LOL to Javamom, I do the same thing when I keep people from cyberspace in my prayers ("God, please watch over Supermum...well, YOU know who I mean, God!")

So thanks for the prayers & good vibes for my mom. I'll try to get in a 10 miler somehow while dh is gone, if not, I'll report back next week to let you know how she did:-)

Peace out.

:-( No Run Today

No run today, two sick kids, dh working late (after staying home in the a.m. with kiddos so I could work 1/2 a day, then we swapped so he could get in nearly a whole day @ work).

Kids finally sleeping. Tired mama. No run:-(

Weekend not looking good either. DH gone on church function, me home with two sick kids and babysitters gone. Bummer, I was hoping for a 10 miler.

Mom has surgery Monday to remove cancerous tumor. Hope that it has not spread.

Peace out.

Personal Best Run! and Thanks:-)

For the run that almost wasn't! My son got to run with the wrestlers again after school, but I didn't know they were going to run, so I hadn't brought my sneaks & "playclothes" (as my son calls them). So no run after school. But that turned out ok because here is what I did tonight:

3.10 miles
33:52 (10:55/mile) My fastest 5k ever. ME! Sub-11 miles!

(ok, so I thought I was going to vomit at the end...)

Here are the splits, they are not negative, but I am still basking in them:
Mile 1: 10:50
Mile 2: 10:51
Mile 3: 11:06 (had to wait for cars in the snow banks a few times:-( )
Mile .1: 1:04

On a more serious and grateful note, thank you all so much for your supportive comments and your prayers and thoughts for my mom. I plan to tell her about all this support from so far away. Wow. Peace.

Recovery Run & Tough News

2.65 miles
31:07 (11:44/mile)

I did R10/W1.5 and variations on that theme in this slow run.

Now the tough part. My mom, just found out Friday that she has breast cancer. She was vigilant and found the lump herself (she had been for a routine checkup the month before and nothing was found!). We're optimistic that she will beat it, since it appears she caught it early. But the family is in a little shock. Her surgery is a week from next Monday, the doc will prescribe radiation or chemo after, depending on what she finds. So, please, some blogoshpere prayers for my Mom would be much appreciated, if you are the praying type. I'll be doing Relay for Life for the second year in our town with our school & church, has a whole "close to home" feeling this time around.

Peace.