The Long and Short of Things

Ok, so I haven't blogged in awhile and there's a lot to blog about, but for now just wanted to share that after a scare with what was thought to be a fractured foot, I'm fracture free. My doctor is referring me to a Sports Medicine doctor to see if they can help me figure out the source of the pain and get me running as close to pain free as possible for the rest of the year. At some point I may need surgery or some other form of treatment, depending on what we find, but from what it sounds like, as long as there are no new injuries this year, I should be able to complete my goals for this year. I got permission to run last night and went out for three miles and it felt great! I'll just be doing lots of icing after running, and some Tylenol before on long run days. Once I get in with the Sports medicine doctor I'll let y'all know how that goes.

Parker was 9 months last week. Lots of crawling, pulling up on things and trying to walk. I'm exhausted all the time. Konnor and Mckenzie help me a lot by trying to keep him entertained. He's a beautiful baby, but even with the ear infections under control (I'm assuming) he isn't the happiest baby we've ever had. We are so busy and crazy that there isn't a lot of picture taking but I'm hoping to get a few of the kids this week!

Another reason I hope we get some pics this week is that I got a new and much shorter hair cut! Way more convenient for motherhood and a year full of running. The girl who cuts my hair is a good friend and also friends with Callie's Nana. When she heard what I was doing she immediately made a contribution. I'm super excited that we are getting closer to being half way to our goal. This is such an important contribution we are making and it's going to help change a lot of lives.

Last week was an important week for SMA. All of the charities and foundations that I'm following so closely were in Washington DC. Here is GSF's experience in D.C. These organizations are passionate about spreading awareness and helping improve the lives of not only the kids who have SMA, but their families dealing with the disease as well. I encourage you to drop in on some of their websites every once in awhile.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with new pictures, good running news and longer mileage!

The Hospice 10k

This seems to be the year of glitches and frustrations. You guys know we've had lots going on so I won't go into all of that, but let's just say as of Friday night I was pretty sure there was no way I'd be running Saturday morning. But, when the alarm went off Saturday I got up and got ready and Aarik did the same and we headed over to the Hospice Run. Neither of us felt well, or well prepared, but we figured the distances we were running were short enough we could walk back if we needed to. They had a record turn out which is great for them and their fundraising efforts, a bit frustrating for some of the runners. Apparently, record turn out means they give your t shirt away to someone who registers the day of, and they start the race 45 minutes late, and they are "looking into" posting the results online so people who paid for timing can hopefully find out what their finishing times were.

Okay, to the positives- it was gorgeous weather! Couldn't have been more perfect for the distances we were running! Since they started the 5k thirty minutes before the 10k (???) Aarik was finished and rested enough to think about taking a picture with his cell phone when I finished. He never runs with his phone, so it's fun he did this time!

Hopefully the Hospice people got one of Aarik. We both ran the whole time, and finished somewhere around what our average times are for racing these distances( 54:33 for my 10k and Aarik said he thought his time was 25 something), nothing too shiny. The course was crazy hilly and so it always makes you feel good to finish something challenging; my legs are paying the price today. There wasn't enough time for the extra 3 miles we had planned on running after, so we went straight home. Sorry, not much of a race update. Hopefully the next two will be more positive experiences, with more pictures, and more to talk about!

There were two more donations this week! Aimee, Callie's mom, and I usually do a little text message "high five" of sorts when we see a new donation. It helps get us closer to our goal, but more importantly it's another donation closer to finding a treatment, or cure, for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.  EVERY donation is special. EVERY donation makes my heart happy. EVERY donation counts. A donation can't be too big or too small. I want to share a story of one of the donations because it is awesome to have the opportunity to do that. There is a story behind every donation. This is such an amazing opportunity to be an important drop in the bucket that has to be filled to beat this disease. It's exciting to be getting closer to the half marathon next month, and then to be able to officially register for the big show, the 26.2 miles, just a few days later. We are all really looking forward to seeing the support roll in as we approach the goal race. We are grateful to everyone who has donated so far and gotten us on the path to exceeding our goal, and to all of the people that will donate along the way too. Each donation is a little morale boost for me when I'm struggling with getting out the door and putting in the mileage. It holds me accountable :) I imagine it's also a morale boost to Callie's family. I know it means so much to the people at GSF.  Feel free to share anything I post here. Please feel free to share the fundraising page and the marathon effort, tell people about the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, and help us spread the word, and make people aware, that this disease is out there and it's something that can be beaten! Thanks for all y'all are doing to get us where we want to go!

*** Update 4/16/12*** Results were posted here are mine. Nothing to be proud of, but I finished. Aarik's are here.

If You're Wondering Why

it's important to me to raise awareness and money for Gwendolyn Strong Foundation in honor of Callie to fight SMA, this is EXACTLY why.

I've seen this exact thing happen to people I love. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, without warning. Please consider clicking on the "Donate" link on the side of the blog to make a donation to help end SMA.

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired and Upcoming Race

I hope everyone had a great Easter holiday! We had a fairly rushed weekend. But I managed to get the kids to cooperate for (just) a few pics.

Wondering why I look so old and crappy in my picture? Parker has had an ear infection for over a month now and is on his third round of antibiotics. This is very new to us since none of our kids have ever had an ear infection, or antibiotics for anything.  Also, during the past month, everyone (except me) got RSV and then everyone (especially me) got a stomach virus. I haven't slept for more than a couple of broken hours a night for over a month now. Have been locked inside the house with vomit and crying and snot for a month now. Literally running on empty. The days are starting to run together and I constantly have that aching feeling in the pit of my stomach from lack of sleep. It's been a month since I hit the mileage I set out to hit for both the week and my long run on Saturday. It has been both frustrating and disheartening. I am so grateful for my children and for motherhood, but it is safe to say that this has been my least favorite, most unhappy, month as a mom thus far. Parker is constantly screaming and crying and only wants me. I can't get out the door, and when I do it is rushed or to go to the doctor. Most days it doesn't feel like it is is smart, or safe, to drive. This, too, shall pass (right?!?!?!).

Having shared all of that, my 10k is this weekend, here in Winston. So when I woke up yesterday and didn't want to run because I was too tired, I got dressed and went anyway. I cried the whole first mile. I actually hated running. HATED it. Thought about never doing it again. Working around sleeping schedules and nursing schedules and new work schedules and trying to run after being dehydrated from puking for two days, it was just terrible. But then, thankfully, I found an easy pace, noticed the wonderful weather and fresh, non infectious air, and the fact that I could actually exist as a person for a few miles and I ran 8 miles and could have kept going if I didn't have to be back in time for Aarik to leave at a certain time. It was a better "easy" pace than I used to run (by almost 30 seconds), but still slower than I've been running so it was enjoyable. Now, I have hope that I can actually run the 10k Saturday, slow though it may be. Normally the 10k is my favorite distance. It's actually the distance that made me realize that I love running. When we were trying so hard to get Parker here and instead kept experiencing miscarriages I went through a really hard time. During that time a friend called up and asked if I wanted to train for the Cooper River Bridge Run with her. I'm so grateful for that call and that experience. It was the first time I'd ever run an entire race and at a distance I didn't think I could achieve. I actually felt in control of my body and proud of myself. When a few weeks later I ran the Hospice 10k, and ran it 5 minutes faster on a harder course, I was hooked. While I doubt I'll run this 10k anywhere near as fast as last time, it will be nice to go and run a race at this distance again, and hopefully with a little sleep under my belt it will be an enjoyable experience.

If anyone out there has any tips for staying motivated when your motivation is being drained from you every waking minute, PLEASE feel free to share! I'll try to update after the race on Saturday morning, if not before then. Have a great week!