Running Running Running

The past fall, winter, and spring have been packed full of running for our family. I can't even begin to say how proud I am of all of us! Megan and Adam started out with Cross Country last summer, mainly as a way for Adam to make some friends before starting his freshman year at Moorpark High. It was fun to see THEIR relationship morph - still a love/hate relationship, but now they consider each other best friends. Which is good because both of them struggle socially. Anyway, back to the running. WHO KNEW that Adam was such a great runner??? He really took to distance running and is one of the top freshman on the team (he has a rivalry with one of the other freshman that pushes him to race harder). Plus, he loves running. Like when he gets really upset about something, chances are I will find him out running around our block. So healthy! Megan didn't like the distance running so much but did it anyway for Adam. She had a lot of fun.
Skip forward to spring and track season. Here, Megan came into her own. She decided to try running hurdles, just for kicks, and found out that she can jump like a deer! I am still in shock that Megan can hurdle! She is only 4'11, for heaven's sake! I had to see it to believe it, and then she goes and breaks the school record. Wow. Megan also runs the 100, the 4x100 relay, and the 4x400 relay (which I know from my track days is a killer race and usually made me puke). Now, a word about track meets. They are the longest and boring-est sports activity EVER! I have sat there for 12 hours before, just to watch my kids run for a total of about 15 minutes each. But it has been worth every minute. For the most part. It is best when Chad and I can trade off. But so rewarding to see them excell!

And then, after Chad broke his ankle last fall and had surgery to place a titanium plate and 13 screws, we didn't think he would ever run again! But he started running a few weeks ago and is now up to 2 1/2 miles! So proud of him! And mostly, pain free.

As for me, I ran two major races this spring. I ran the Chesebro Half Marathon in Agoura in March (my time for the 13.1 miles was 2hrs 30 minutes - not as fast as I wanted but at least I finished!), and the S. CA Ragnar Relay in April (the Ragnar is a 200mile, overnight race with a team of 12 people running 3 legs each. My total distance was 14miles, and my average pace was 10:33)

I loved the half marathon!

It pushed me to edge of my ability and I felt such a huge sense of accomplishment afterward! I wasn't running it for speed, but now I want to run another half in November (the Santa Barbara half) just to beat that time. The Ragnar? Well, the running part, I LOVED. But the no sleep, grumpy, emotional part...not so much. I am just grateful that Chad was our van driver during that crazy 36 hours, because he kept me from having a major meltdown. I don't do well on no sleep, mentally or emotionally. At all. There were two specific incidents that about did me in, both occurred AFTER I ran my last leg. Go figure. Anyway, Chad wants to do it next year SO SO SO bad...I am not so sure about that. Maybe if we can put together a team full of people I don't know, so that if I make mistakes or have a meltdown, I don't have to face them at church the next day...and put up with all the comments (enough already!).
But back to the running part. My very favorite leg was a 7 miler, at 10:30pm, in the middle of nowhere, with no one running anywhere near me. It was pitch black, no traffic, and all I did was settle into my happy running place - "the zone" - and ran my heart out. It was awesome! I was eating energy beans and sucking water out of my hip holsters on the go, so I didn't have to slow down for anything. I had a pace of 9:55 - a PR! I was so happy at the end of that 7 miles - practically euphoric! I beat my teammate (who I was supposed to pass the "baton" (slap bracelet) to at the exchange point) by about 5 minutes, so I was waiting around for awhile. Which kind of stunk. But the reason why was because I ran so much faster than they expected that I came in sooner (that, and I think they had trouble finding parking). I can deal with that. That was also the exchange where I saw an entire field full of strange lumps...finally figured out that those were runners rolled up in sleeping bags, laying right in the dirt, trying to get some sleep! Wow. Crazy!
The other two legs were tough ones both physically and mentally, because of heat and terrain. But I managed to run straight up a nasty, 4 mile hill (affectionately nicknamed "hell hill") without stopping, so I felt pretty good about that. I was pushed right up to the edge in every possible way during Ragnar...but I survived and came away from the experience feeling amazed at what the human body can do...what THIS human body can do! I have always hated my short, stubby legs...but they can sure power me up hills, and they are so muscular that I think that is why I haven't gotten injured yet ( I run upwards of 35 miles a week, with hardly a twinge). Like my older brother once told me: "your legs are like tree trunks. but hey, you will never get knocked over in a flood!" So I am taking stock and being grateful for what God gave me. Every. Day.


You'd think we would get sick of all this running. But we don't. Instead, we all just sit around and talk about it all day. And when we aren't together, we are texting, emailing, or Facebooking each other about it. We plan what races we can run together in the future. We brainstorm ways to increase speed and endurance. Even Sophie loves it! (Sam, not so much. But I've got plans for him...)
SO GLAD we discovered running!