Savoring the Easy Life

This past week was a big one for me, in terms of running. Actually, one might say it was small. You see, it was the next-to-last week with only four scheduled runs, and it was the last time to only have one 5-miler. I was to run 3,4,5,3. It was interesting, to say the least.

The weather heated back up, so night running was my best option early in the week. On Monday I headed to my old neighborhood. Long story short, I had a bit of 'runner dementia' and kinda-sorta forgot where I parked... so my planned three mile run turned into four. "No problem, " I thought. "Now tomorrow I can 'just' do three miles." And so it was.

When it came time for my first 5-miler (in over four months, mind you) the plan was not executed verbatim. Our day began with Chasen having a dead battery, so some car swapping was in order, as well as a trip to the auto parts store, so my residential course to begin at 9 AM turned into the main drag at 10 AM. It was near drudgery, I tell ya! It was hot, sunny, slow... ick. I didn't expect miracles, so in a way I was right on par.

But then came Saturday morning. I was 'only' supposed to do three speedy miles, so I headed to the old 'hood and kicked it into high gear. Even though I am still doing a walk-run combo, I really gave it all I had. Most of my running stints were done at sub-11 (which is very fast for me these days) and my final burst was at --get this!-- a 9:33 pace. Wowee zowee! That's what 62 degrees with a breeze will do for ya!

Now I am entering what I call the final truly 'easy' week of training, yet also the first 'hard' week of training. You see, I have three five mile runs on the schedule this week, as well as four miles of speedwork on Saturday. That's still just four runs total (that's the easy part) but each are more than my usual 3-4 miles (that's the hard part). And the week after that I break into my full-blown training, i.e. five days per week. Wish me luck. I've got fifteen weeks to get it all together!

Firsts

Ah, another week of "firsts" for us. Isaac begin his other new school on Monday, first and foremost. I am over the moon to report that it went so, so well! We were lucky enough to discover that the son of an acquaintance was going to be in his class, so I arranged for them to have a playdate at the park the day before school started. I wanted Isaac to have a familiar face around him. Apparently, it worked, because dropoff went smooth as silk. The other little boy, well... not so much. But that poor fella had never been to any sort of Mother's Day Out, nursery, etc. (to my knowledge).

Here is Isaac before the second day at the new place. I was too nervous for cameras on day one.

I was supposed to run on Monday, but I was just wiped out. This mothering stuff can really take a lot out of a gal! Since I am still, technically, in the "base building" stage of my training, I so no need to fret over shifting my schedule by one day this week. I had bigger fish to fry.

On Tuesday Chasen left for a business trip to Philadelphia. That meant I HAD to get my run done while Isaac was at school. I opted for the treadmill because I had tons to accomplish during the short time Isaac would be at Mother's Day Out. I was supposed to go four miles, but I only made it three. Oh well. What's one mile when you're feeling so worn out?

Wednesday, when I was a 'single parent' Isaac chose to wake up at 4:55 AM. Good gravy! That just meant that I could get started much, much earlier than anticipated on a cheesecake 'first' - a wedding cake style cheesecake! A friend asked me to create a chocolate cheesecake for a couples bridal shower she was hosting. And so I did:

Three layers of chocolate cheesecake, plus chocolate covered strawberries.

Bride and groom toppers, complete with a tulle veil for the bride.

Birds eye view. I was proud of my creation. Not a morsel was left at the end of the shower, she said.

That day, in addition to being woken before the roosters, I felt a sore throat coming on. Just what I needed, right? I opted for rest instead of a run. Then it was time to get Isaac, and a few short hours after that it was time for Wednesday night church. No rest for the weary.

On Thursday I was ecstatic to discover that the temps had dropped dramatically. So I dropped Isaac at MDO and ran from there. I did four amazing miles on the "real road" and felt great. Whoo hoo - it's about time. And that night -- hallelujah! -- Chasen returned.

Friday is my only weekday without MDO, so it is automatically a rest day from running. Some friends invited us to go to a local "bounce warehouse" type place. We got a group rate, and Isaac had the time of his life at the indoor bounce for almost 2.5 hours! Check out his feet as he gets to the bottom of this big slide. So cute!

Friday night outing to eat pizza. My boys LOVES some pizza. "Nummy pizza," he says.

Helping me "paint" some oil on the top of some homemade bread dough. He's my best helper.

Today I headed to my old neighborhood for four miles. They were pretty awesome! The best part, though, was being able to knock on a running friend's door for an "emergency running potty break." Gotta love runner friends - they always accommodate because they know how it is.

Here is my fearless little monkey at the park with Chasen, giving me an hour or so of "peace."

This has been one of those weeks where I feel like I have done it all. I guess most are that way for a stay-at-home-mom, but some are more monumental than others. The coming week is projected to be a lot calmer. Famous last words...

Will It Ever Get Easier?

After a month with no Mother's Day Out, it was finally time to send my sweet boy back to school. He was ready... I was certainly ready... and my running schedule was primed and ready. After a bit of a brouhaha with his fabulous school from last year, we decided to try a new place. Prior to this I would have told you that you could drop off Isaac off with the devil himself and, so long as he had some toys, Isaac would be happy as a clam. So the first day of school came and I had no worries!

Isaac, age 2 1/2, shows off his backpack and monkey nap mat before we left for the new school.

Let's go already, Mommy! I've got to go and hang out with my peers.

We arrived without incident. The new place is literally less than a mile from our home. Yippee!

All smiles with a helicopter before silly me made a big mistake.

We met his two teachers and then I skeedaddled out of there. But I forgot something and had to go back into the classroom. That was the undoing! My 'cool as a cucumber' boy lost it. I felt an inch tall. It was awful. That is the worst feeling -- like you're leaving your child somewhere they desperately don't want to be. It is HARD on a mother. I didn't cry, but I felt awful.

Alas, I had to get home. I was running a big Labor Day cheesecake sale and I had to get started baking. That week I baked NINETEEN cheesecakes. Oh my aching feet!

Here he is before his second day of school. Still all smiles at home...

On Isaac's second day of school, I wised up and dropped his stuff and hightailed it out of there. But not before he got an unfeeling look on his face. Ugh! Again, I felt bad. But when I picked him up his teacher said that it only lasted about two seconds past my departure. That was great to hear! And he received high praise, so all was not lost for week #1 of school.

However, the cheesecake biz got a harsh self-review at week's end. After all of the painful hours on my feet, I didn't have the profits one would think I should have. I decided I could do one of two things: quit this little venture OR raise my prices considerably. I opted for the latter (which may cause the first... LOL). We'll see what happens. As it stood, though, that hard week was NOT worth it, financially.

But then came Saturday. A good friend asked if I wanted to take Isaac to the Delta Fair in Memphis. I was nervous as a cat about putting Isaac on his first kiddie ride. It did not look as secure as I would have liked. Off he went with me worrying up a storm.

He smiled the whole way around the race car track!

Here is Isaac and his BFF, Phoenix, doing exactly what they shouldn't be doing.

Here is my brave boy getting harnessed up for a big, big jumping time!

Look at him go! Not a care in the world!

Look at that smile! I love those twenty cute teeth!

He is way up there. Not a single worry is evident (not even from me).

This is the new background on my desktop. Love that fella!

There they are in the monster truck enjoying every rough riding second.

Isaac honked his horn nearly the entire time he was on this ride.

This experience taught me a couple of things. 1) My boy is growing up quickly and certainly not a baby anymore. 2) This is why I stand on my feet for hours on end baking cheesecakes -- so I can spend a bundle in the heat letting Isaac have the time of his life. Worth every cent!

Most of the time, though, it doesn't cost a dime to have a great day. Labor Day was no exception. We decided to go to a local park and we were approached by two men from the local newspaper (well, the local edition for our neck of the woods for the Memphis paper). I chatted it up with the reporter while the photographer snapped away. The very next day Chasen and Isaac made the FRONT PAGE!

Here are the new local celebrities working the backhoe in nearby Hernando, Mississippi.

After that we went to see Isaac's most favorite things: tractors.

At the end of the three-day weekend it was time to go back to school. Uh oh. But day three went better than one and two. And by day four, they said he was really coming out of his shell. Oh happy day!

My little monkey just adores his monkey nap mat.

He also likes getting filthy dirty outside on a nice afternoon.

Obviously Isaac going back to school and the cheesecake biz took up a lot of my time, energy and thoughts over the past two weeks. But I am happy to report that I only missed one base training run. At this point I have completed fifteen runs, and the last several were actually done outdoors because the weather miraculously cooled off this week. I have to say, though, that the treadmill treated me much nicer than the open road. It has just been tough, even with better temps. You'd think after fifteen runs I'd feel like my old self, but I don't. Apparently it is going to take a while longer. Three mile runs were OK, but 4-milers were killer. Just four miles! Ugh. I still have two semi-easy weeks ahead of me before I start doing 5-milers at the drop of a hat. By then I'll have 23 runs (give or take) under my belt and hopefully I will be ready to get down to business.

This week Isaac's other new school begins, so we have another "new school" experience to look forward to. Oh yay. I'll have my game face on this time, though. Between the two new schools, I'll have four mornings to myself. That should help my running mojo return, I think. I have designed my running schedule around his Mother's Day Out schedule, so I will soon be running Monday through Thursday, with another run on Saturday. I hope I can pull it off -- the Mississippi Blues Marathon is a mere seventeen weeks away!