When it rains...

... it pours!

This saying couldn't be more true these days! 

(And - no. It doesn't literally pour. It doesn't even literally rain. Ok. Today it did literally rain. As in: water was falling from the sky. But that's not what I am talking about here. I am speaking figuratively. I may or may not be slightly annoyed by people's usage of the word literally these days. The best one I've heard to date: 'My husband is literally working his butt off.' Really?!?)

It's been quiet around here for a little while and that means that things haven't been going so well. It's not that I try to tell you only about the good and fun stuff on my blog. But I just don't feel like writing (or I get all cynical as in the paragraph above) when things aren't going my way. In that case I prefer to just go to bed, pull the cover over my head, and stop thinking. 

First, it was my foot. I didn't run for a week and thought that would take care of it. It didn't! So I had Kym Wilkens work on it a couple of times, laid off of it for another week - and it was better! Fantastic! I was planning on taking a couple of weeks off anyway, so this was good timing. I was back! Or so I thought...

Because then Karl went out of town and that's never a good thing. I'm a very independent person and don't mind my husband leaving. However, I do not enjoy being a single parent - even just for 5 days! Maybe it won't be so difficult when both kids are in school... or when we live close to family again... or when we can afford a sitter here and there... But right now it's not a whole lot of fun and extremely exhausting. The kids, however, love it because they know that they have my full attention 100% of the time. 

Of course, it doesn't help when I lock my keys into my car at 5:30 am in the pool parking lot. And after walking back home I can't find a spare key. And Karl doesn't answer his phone. And if I don't move the car by 7:30 I will get a $90 ticket. But even after biking back to the pool and paying the locksmith, Noah still made it to school on time! Score! Then Max and I hurried to the gym and I got my trainer ride in. With no time to spare, we mount our bikes and are on our way to the pool - again. I had decided that my little early morning mishap was not going to keep me from getting in my swim! So, while Max was hiding under the trampoline watching a movie, I squeezed in a little (and surprisingly good) 3600m. Double score!

Yep. I know. These kids have to put up with a lot. But I did play with Max in front of the pool on the grass for quite a while, and we stopped by his favorite 'candy store' to buy a lollipop on the way home. I actually think he was having a pretty good time... Tuesday is also track night - which means we all go to the track together. Mama* runs laps with about 100 of her closest friends and the kids all play on the in-field. Good times! But I am sure you can now see why, after 5 days like this, I need Karl to come home, so I can sit down and take a deep breath! I can usually find a way to get in my training but there is even less recovery or down-time than usual and it catches up to me after only a few days. 

*and Papa when he is here...

100m dash

Thursday afternoon we were back on the track! This time it was all about the kids. Unfortunately, Flagstaff doesn't have a track club for little ones, but they do have a cub track meet in the spring and there was no way we were going to miss it. The boys were really looking forward to it. 

200m dash

It was very inspiring to see these kids work so hard and give it all they had. I was impressed! There was no holding back and they were totally spent once they crossed the finish line. I will be remembering that the next time I am racing... I am talking about the kids in general. Not mine in particular. Noah (6) was more concerned about staying with his good friend, Jake, than anything else. Whenever Jake slowed down a bit, he would look back, and wait for him a little. Those two had a great time together! 

Max (3) was having a bit of a hard time during the 200m dash but he hung in there and finished! That's my boy! When it was time for the 50m sprint, they separated the little kids into age groups and Max was able to win his race!

Love this picture!

He was so proud of himself and kept talking about it for days. It was a delight! Because, you see, usually Noah beats him in everything. And Max hates it! So he was thrilled not to get beaten by anyone! 

So when Karl got home from his field trip, I was ready to roll. Except for that little glute/hamstring issue that I have been nursing for more than 2 years now and that decided to become more of a big issue after Oceanside. It was obvious that loads of stretching and foam rolling, and an occasional massage when I could afford it, wasn't going to cut it. So I had Kym work on my glute as well. It's better now but still there and by no means well. I am sure she could get it under control but I can't really take out a loan just so I can go see a chiropractor. So I will deal with it the best I can for now. 

I am getting tired of this post which means that you are probably already asleep. So I will make it short. 

I am sick. 

After a couple of days of decent training, I woke up Tuesday with a terribly sore throat. I was completely exhausted all day. Same on Wednesday. I was supposed to go on a not-overly-taxing 8-mile run. But I had to take a nap first. At 9 am. Then I made it a total of 2 slow miles and walked the 3rd one back to the car. Pathetic! We are still not sure if it's a really bad case of allergies or strep throat or just a head and chest cold. Who knows? Who cares? Everything always goes straight to my lungs anyway. It's super annoying but I am determined to fight it the best I can, be smart* about it, and hopefully be back at it by Monday. One can at least hope, right? 

*I am extremely tired of trying to be smart. Being smart is not my forte.