Back to normal

There are so many things I could be writing about: Sydney's birthday party, AJ at the Whipper Snapper races, Sydney at the playground, Father's Day. Heck, I still have a bunch of pictures from the Renaissance Faire to share, and that was more than a week ago.

But hey, since one of the benefits of blogging is a little thing called total editorial control, I'm dedicating today to writing about me.

I survived the half-marathon. Not only did I finish the race, I shaved five minutes off my time from four years ago. Not bad for a 40-year-old.

And I could have been 15-20+ seconds faster if I hadn't veered off course to give quick kisses to my biggest fans. Jeff managed to drag two tired kids out of bed, get them dressed, (he even attempted to put pig tails in Sydney's hair, he told me later) drive through the I-35 Mega-Project into Duluth, find a parking spot and get to the race course in time to cheer as I passed. Compared to that, running 13.1 miles seems almost like a walk in the park.

He also managed to snap this shot right after I took off again. Can you find me?



I'll give you a hint, I'm the blonde in the light blue shirt and royal blue shorts. Here's a better shot, after I finished. I love this one:

I almost wish it didn't feel so good to run those last few miles past the cheering crowds along London Road and Superior Street. I almost wish it wasn't such an incredible adrenaline rush to round that last corner and push toward the finish line, to look up and see the clock showing a time that was far better than your wildest dreams. Almost.

Last week I was simply hoping to be able to finish the race. I was telling people this half-marathon would be my last, that the training was simply to hard on my legs and it wasn't worth it.

But now, everything is different. That feeling of accomplishment after four months of training and two hours, four minutes and forty seconds of hard running... is just too awesome to pass up. I'm hooked all over again and am wondering what other race I can sign up for so that I don't have to wait another year to see if I can run that far even faster.

My legs ache. If it's true, as the motivational line says, that pain is merely weakness leaving your body, then I bid adieu to a whole lot of weakness in the last 24 hours, particularly from my thighs and calves when encoutering stairs. But it's so worth it.

And now it's back to reality. Making the kids' lunches, plus cupcakes to send with Sydney to daycare, and focusing again on work. Part of me knows I should give my legs a couple days to rest and recover. But at the same time I can't wait to lace up my shoes and go running again. My new goal is to run a half marathon in less than two hours. How tough can that be?