I knew I was going through a rough time it's no surprise that I have been sleep deprived and undernourished due to stress the last few weeks. But I was just maintaining and keeping an eye out for the light at the end of the tunnel. But I thought I had a lot more drudgery ahead and was just trying to keep my head down and survive. But last week was a dozy! Thursday night it all blew up and I got maybe 2-3 hours of sleep and lot of stuff changed very quickly. Last minute I had to decide if I would bail on my half marathon on Saturday. When I mentioned this to my parents my mom said it wasn't even an option. She said not only will I not bail on my half marathon but I will not pull out of my half iron distance in May! She just said no, exercise is what you need, and you won't give up! So last minute they took care of my son during my half on Saturday. I know you guys probably get tired of hearing me say how awesome my parents are but SERIOUSLY!!!!!! Without them I wouldn't be half the person I am today!! SERIOUSLY! They have gotten me through so much and know me so well that they put themselves through tough times just to make sure I get it done! I already ask so much of them in taking care of my little guy during the week and now they are taking on some night and weekend duties so that I can finish the last 4 weeks of my triathlon training instead of pulling out!
So Friday night was the first night in probably 3-4 weeks I got a full night of very restful and recovery sleep! I slept for about 9 1/2 hours and that's even with having to get up twice in the night to tuck my son back in. I woke up feeling rested, optimistic and ready to go. My son was excited to see his grandparents which meant we got out the door early and it was a good thing because I showed up to the race finish instead of the race start!! I didn't realize in the emails it said it was a point to point and I put the wrong address in my phone. My phone was about to die so it took me a while to find the new place but I finally made it, a little stressed and a little less ready to tackle this. I was freezing and it was cloudy and rainy, a nice soul gave me their silver race blanket and said to use it and just toss it at race start. So nice!! Then I saw a fellow ABQ Sole Sister and introduced myself. She said she wanted to hold 9:30 miles and I thought there was no way I could maintain that with still recovering from sleep deprivation and having lost 5 lbs in two weeks. But we started chatting as we went off then another girl joined us that was doing 50 states and was in from CA. They pulled me at a 9:30 pace for 10 miles!! The last 3 I kept slowing down a bit but then talking myself into speeding back up as I realized I was pretty darn close to a PR. I refused to give up even though my hands were so red and cold I couldn't feel them and the cold drizzle kept pelting me on my face was frankly getting quite annoying. But I pushed through to what I think is a PR at 2:05:50. I say I "think" because my watch said 13.03 instead of 13.1 but I'll take it. My hips were paying for it and I slept with my compression socks on but I was so happy for the kindness of strangers and family and a race that made me realize I had arrived at that light at the end of the tunnel without even realizing it in the middle of a storm, literally and figuratively.
One thing that amazes me about my son is that he already understands certain things about his mom. He knows I don't like to leave him and spend all day at work but he tells me it's ok mom. He's sad for me but is happy as soon as I say I'll see him as soon as I'm done working. But when I have to leave for a run or bike ride on the weekends he doesn't even get sad. I say I have to go for a run and he happily chirps Ok mom see you soon, run fast!
Sunday it was another cold and rainy day and there was snow in the mountains that I was supposed to be biking towards. Luckily my tri coach who is the most amazing awesome coach and she doesn't know it but I call her my friend when she's not around :-) could sense that I was needing some help by my posts on daily mile and insisted on riding this with me. She showed up and picked a different route and pushed me to test my legs on a day they were shot. And when I totally bonked around mile 40 and could barely keep myself moving up the hill she was so patient and cheerful that I couldn't find it in me to complain. I feel so lucky to know someone like this. By the way she was getting in about 80-90 miles that day after a 14 mile run that morning!! She inspires me to push through the pain!
After a hard, exhausting, rewarding weekend with lots of support I am sleeping better again, 3 nights of about 9 hours of sleep in a row now and I'm eating again like I need to so that I'm fueled right for my training! Sorry for the super long post and this isn't even half of what I'm feeling but all I can say is Thank you to anyone who has ever supported me with kind words or a smile it really does mean a lot! My son and I had a dance party when I got home from my ride and even though every jump was painful the laugh and smile on his face as we spun, threw his stuffed animals at each other and jumped up and down made it all worth it!
 |
| My reminders every morning to keep going! |
 |
| My son asking me to take a picture of him with his "goggly eyes" aka minion goggles |
So Friday night was the first night in probably 3-4 weeks I got a full night of very restful and recovery sleep! I slept for about 9 1/2 hours and that's even with having to get up twice in the night to tuck my son back in. I woke up feeling rested, optimistic and ready to go. My son was excited to see his grandparents which meant we got out the door early and it was a good thing because I showed up to the race finish instead of the race start!! I didn't realize in the emails it said it was a point to point and I put the wrong address in my phone. My phone was about to die so it took me a while to find the new place but I finally made it, a little stressed and a little less ready to tackle this. I was freezing and it was cloudy and rainy, a nice soul gave me their silver race blanket and said to use it and just toss it at race start. So nice!! Then I saw a fellow ABQ Sole Sister and introduced myself. She said she wanted to hold 9:30 miles and I thought there was no way I could maintain that with still recovering from sleep deprivation and having lost 5 lbs in two weeks. But we started chatting as we went off then another girl joined us that was doing 50 states and was in from CA. They pulled me at a 9:30 pace for 10 miles!! The last 3 I kept slowing down a bit but then talking myself into speeding back up as I realized I was pretty darn close to a PR. I refused to give up even though my hands were so red and cold I couldn't feel them and the cold drizzle kept pelting me on my face was frankly getting quite annoying. But I pushed through to what I think is a PR at 2:05:50. I say I "think" because my watch said 13.03 instead of 13.1 but I'll take it. My hips were paying for it and I slept with my compression socks on but I was so happy for the kindness of strangers and family and a race that made me realize I had arrived at that light at the end of the tunnel without even realizing it in the middle of a storm, literally and figuratively.
Sunday it was another cold and rainy day and there was snow in the mountains that I was supposed to be biking towards. Luckily my tri coach who is the most amazing awesome coach and she doesn't know it but I call her my friend when she's not around :-) could sense that I was needing some help by my posts on daily mile and insisted on riding this with me. She showed up and picked a different route and pushed me to test my legs on a day they were shot. And when I totally bonked around mile 40 and could barely keep myself moving up the hill she was so patient and cheerful that I couldn't find it in me to complain. I feel so lucky to know someone like this. By the way she was getting in about 80-90 miles that day after a 14 mile run that morning!! She inspires me to push through the pain!
2 comments:
Sounds like your coach is pretty awesome! I love the way your son supports you!
Sorry life has been crazy but glad to read you finally got some night's of good sleep in. No sleep is the worst for me. UGH
Yay for great parents, I am so glad mine live so close to me, I don't know how I would survive motherhood without them.
and Congrats on your half marathon!
Post a Comment