Thunder Road part III - post mortem

Ok.  So I really didn't see this coming, but I PR'd Thunder Road again.  (Insert huge cheesy grin here).  It was tough though.  I started off moving well and just went with it.  I was running at a 9:10 pace for the first eight or nine miles.  I was going to PR!  Then the hills started taking a toll on me, and the mile markers started getting farther and farther apart (or so it seemed).  I walked while getting my eater at the water station after mile marker ten for a few seconds and my legs were really cramping.  But I kept running.  The hills after mile marker eleven were brutal.  I wanted so badly to walk up the hills, but I promised Alex* I wouldn't.  I shuffled along, cramping in my side and my legs.  I kept running.  By then I knew a PR was an option, but not a guarantee.  Somewhere in mile twelve I picked up my pace.  When I saw my friends and family near the finish I got that extra burst to finish strong. 

2:02:08 

Nearly a minute faster than last year, and few minutes faster than I thought I would run that day.  I was thrilled!!  This was an accomplishment that I only achieved because of the support of my friends and family, and especially because of my Alex.  

* Alex got up early before my race and wished me good luck while the rest of the house slept.  I hugged him tight and I told him that at some point my race would get really hard and I would want to walk, but I wouldn't walk because I would think about Alex and his good luck and that would make me keep going.  He liked that and gave me a huge smile. 

Thunder Road part III

Tomorrow I am running the Thunder Road half marathon for the third time.  It's a very hilly race through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Charlotte.  I know how hard those hills can be.  I am not planning on a PR.  But I am really excited to do this race again.  There is something really comforting in returning to an event year after year. 

I've loved this shirt since I first saw it in 2009.  I figure after three times I've earned it.  Flat is for sissies.  =)

Happiness



Happiness is making your very first nutella and banana sandwich.  Yum!!



Courage

There are a number of women in my life who are recovering and recuperating from injuries or surgeries (or about to have surgery).  They all seem to be making progress, but each of them wants to be further than they are now.  I completely understand this.  It is frustrating not to be completely self sufficient or not to be able to do the things that bring up joy (and sanity).  Some of my girls will not walk for weeks, some will walk but cannot run or cannot do the "normal" things that make up their lives.  No matter what the situation, each wants to be doing more and feeling better.
When I broke my leg three and a half years ago, I was in the same place.  For a month, I hopped around on crutches before I could put weight on my foot.  I could make myself a cup of coffee, but I couldn't bring it to the table to drink it.  I could feed and change Isabel (who was three months old at the time) but I could not carry her.  I had a five year old, a three year old, a three month old and four weeks on crutches.  My worries about losing baby weight and maybe training for races were long gone.  I could not prepare a meal for my family.  I could not do laundry.  I needed help.  I needed to heal.
These are the times in our lives when we need accept both our limitations and (when needed) the help of others.  Our bodies need time to recover and recuperate and we owe it to ourselves to take that time.  It takes some degree of courage to do this; courage to accept that we cannot do the things that we want to do; courage to lower our expectations of ourselves.  This is a difficult thing to do.
For my girls who are living this right now, I hope that they can be gentle with themselves as their bodies heal.