Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Running While Remiss

I've been terribly neglectful of this blog of late. Real life has a way of getting in the way of blogging life. Now all the boys are in college & settled into their schedules. I'm meeting tomorrow with the other two moms in our little co-operative homeschooling arrangement. Our school year (for my almost-7-year-old) begins on Monday. I'm also doing some creative (hopefully) stuff for a friend's store in town. All these things have contributed to my dereliction of duties.

However, I HAVE been running! I did 13.5 instead of 16 this Sunday but considering that's 13.5 miles more than I could have run 4 months ago, I'm not complaining. No major problems, I just tuckered out and it was getting HOT outside!

I've got another 16 miles to run this Sunday while I'm in Chicago. I hear they actually have water & gatorade for runners along Lakeshore Drive because there are so many on Saturday and Sunday. That would certainly be nice. I'm a little bit nervous about it seeing that Jim won't be able to do the whole thing due to hamstring problems. He usually keeps me motivated when I'm ready to quit and go home. Also, I don't particularly like the idea of running by myself in a city where I'm not familiar with the route. I guess that's why I'm hoping there are lots of runners when I start out that morning.

One of the things that's tough for me when I run is just the sheer volume of time it takes to complete those long runs. I am slow to begin with but even if you're a little quicker it still takes a chunk of time. Is this just me? I guess I don't like always having to arrange something for Carrie week after week so that we can get our running done. I know that in the long run it's good for her to have healthy, fit parents but in the short term, she has a few really boring hours every week. Parental guilt. Does it ever end?

Along with neglecting my own blog, I've been lax in visiting some of yours. Some of you have posted such poignant words lately that provoked a lot of thought.

It's getting late. Time to get some sleep before I have more of that insanely good cornbread that I shouldn't have made tonight. Call it delicious but definitely don't call it health food.

'Night all!

5 comments:

Amy said...

Julie at slowbikefastlife.blogspot.com runs in Chicago, right downtown if I've paid attention. I'm sure she'd be able to tell you a good place to run that isn't too scary, or tell you what the route is like if you already have an idea of where you are going to run. She is very helpful and supportive.

Anonymous said...

Wow – 13.5 miles is awesome – congratulations! I really admire that your commitment to keep at it even if Jim can’t go the whole distance.

Carrie only has six weeks and three days to have a few boring moments, and hopefully it will help her appreciate her mom time even more. Since you’re one of the most “there for her kids” moms I know, maybe you could give yourself a six week vacation from mom guilt too.

Can you even imagine how awesome we’d think it was if mom had run a marathon at 49? The inspiration and example you’ll give Carrie (and the rest of the kids) will be worth a little boredom.

Enjoy your 16 in the windy city this weekend!!

FLS (finish line sister)

Anonymous said...

Even without children I sometimes feel guilt about the time it takes for the long runs. For instance, last weekend I did 15 miles at a nearby National Park. While my husband was asleep during much of time away, that still meant getting up at 3:00 AM, leaving my house by 4:30 AM to start running by 5:00 AM. The run took about 2 hours and 45 minutes and then we have some cooldown/stretching time. Then drive back home. Plus I had to ice bath and such... I feel a little guilt too for all the time it takes out of the day, but I know I'm an easier person to live with now too so I try to balance those feelings!

Pokey said...

The time factor in running IS a big deal. It is definitely hard when you are juggling family life and a zillion other things.

Wish I had good advice, but I dont. It's just got to get squeezed in whenever possible in my book!

Anonymous said...

I am just likeyou and get nervous when I'm in a city I'm not too familiar with but want to run outside.

And I'm also like Jill - no kids, but still feel guilty at how much time it is taking out of my time with Bill. I gave up the fantasy of being speedy gonzalez after running distances longer than a 5K. (and even at that short one, I still am not the fastest, by far.)