Most of you who know me know that I like to pack lots of good stuff into my life. In no particular order:I am a full time lawyer in private practice (read: slave to the billable hour and marketing). I write articles, I give presentations and I spend lots of hours billing (and generally kicking @rse, thank you very much).
I constantly try to squeeze in as many miles as possible to be a decent marathoner.
I have 2 active, awesome kids, with lots of school activities, soccer games, etc.
I am married to a great guy who also fills his plate to the brim. He is also a private practice attorney who runs and plays lead guitar in a popular local band. Oh yeah, and he shares my kids and has to deal with me and my nutty schedule.
I spend a lot of time doing community service work. Most recently, I started a Girls on the Run program in my community and coach 2x per week. I am also the president of the board of directors of a non-profit organization that provides services to adults with developmental disabilities and/or traumatic brain injuries.
Cool, huh? I am one lucky chica. And generally, I am really good at maintaining balance and fulfilling all of my roles well.
Unfortunately, this weekend I hit that "something's got to give" place.
I am in full swing with Girls on the Run and have been running around like crazy getting ready for our rehearsal 5K. I have ordered medals, been making signs, coordinating with volunteers, creating a route, organizing parents, etc. Add to that a deadline for an article on Monday, a board meeting on Wednesday, GOTR on Tuesday and Thursday, an out-of-town presentation on Friday, regular work and family life, and a complete SLAM by the stomach flu mid-week. By this weekend, I was spent and frankly, FRAZZLED.
Add to that our gardens are a disaster. Our vegetable garden had weeds 3 feet high and my flower beds were inundated with thistles. We obtained a couple estimates to have outside help, but they were outrageous.
I had lots of work to do this weekend, along with a 20 miler on tap. I planned to run a local 20 mile race on Saturday morning to get my miles in. But my stomach was still a disaster and getting up at 5:00 am after a LONG week did not sound like a good plan. So I went for a 9 miler on Saturday and decided to defer my long run until Sunday. During my run, I began thinking that maybe this Grandma's thing was simply too much. ..... But then I had an awesome run. I CAN DO THIS!
This morning was different though. I realized my kids and I couldn't do the garden this year unless I rearranged my priorities. So I did. I worked for a couple hours, then bagged my long run to pull weeds, plant vegetables and clear flower beds. It sounds silly, but gardening was so important to me when I was a kid. It is a great process. And my kids love it too. From planting to harvesting and then ultimately making salsa and other goodies, it is a real treasure for them. And me. And I was not going to let it fall by the wayside while I attempt to take another swing at a marathon just because my training this winter/spring fell short of my hopes (aka sucked).
And as I thought of it more, I am really glad I am getting snap back into my legs and my paces are improving. But why lose out on other important parts of my life to take an abbreviated stab at a second chance? I am registered for Chicago in the fall. For now, I need to enjoy training and shorter races. Ramp up later. Duh.
So it looks like Grandma's is out. I am crazy, so I reserve the right to change my mind, but for now, it looks like the wise decision.
Now, I am off to dinner with my fabulous boys, then meeting with my GOTR coaches to make more signs, bib numbers and put together last minute logistics..... A busy weekend. But good choices. I think.
Oh, and congrats to Joe Positive for completely dominating the Cleveland Marathon today in 3:11:10. A 20 second PR, 1st in AG, 3rd o/a masters women and a flippin' negative split!! That seriously rocks!!
I am in full swing with Girls on the Run and have been running around like crazy getting ready for our rehearsal 5K. I have ordered medals, been making signs, coordinating with volunteers, creating a route, organizing parents, etc. Add to that a deadline for an article on Monday, a board meeting on Wednesday, GOTR on Tuesday and Thursday, an out-of-town presentation on Friday, regular work and family life, and a complete SLAM by the stomach flu mid-week. By this weekend, I was spent and frankly, FRAZZLED.
Add to that our gardens are a disaster. Our vegetable garden had weeds 3 feet high and my flower beds were inundated with thistles. We obtained a couple estimates to have outside help, but they were outrageous.
I had lots of work to do this weekend, along with a 20 miler on tap. I planned to run a local 20 mile race on Saturday morning to get my miles in. But my stomach was still a disaster and getting up at 5:00 am after a LONG week did not sound like a good plan. So I went for a 9 miler on Saturday and decided to defer my long run until Sunday. During my run, I began thinking that maybe this Grandma's thing was simply too much. ..... But then I had an awesome run. I CAN DO THIS!
This morning was different though. I realized my kids and I couldn't do the garden this year unless I rearranged my priorities. So I did. I worked for a couple hours, then bagged my long run to pull weeds, plant vegetables and clear flower beds. It sounds silly, but gardening was so important to me when I was a kid. It is a great process. And my kids love it too. From planting to harvesting and then ultimately making salsa and other goodies, it is a real treasure for them. And me. And I was not going to let it fall by the wayside while I attempt to take another swing at a marathon just because my training this winter/spring fell short of my hopes (aka sucked).
And as I thought of it more, I am really glad I am getting snap back into my legs and my paces are improving. But why lose out on other important parts of my life to take an abbreviated stab at a second chance? I am registered for Chicago in the fall. For now, I need to enjoy training and shorter races. Ramp up later. Duh.
So it looks like Grandma's is out. I am crazy, so I reserve the right to change my mind, but for now, it looks like the wise decision.
Now, I am off to dinner with my fabulous boys, then meeting with my GOTR coaches to make more signs, bib numbers and put together last minute logistics..... A busy weekend. But good choices. I think.
Oh, and congrats to Joe Positive for completely dominating the Cleveland Marathon today in 3:11:10. A 20 second PR, 1st in AG, 3rd o/a masters women and a flippin' negative split!! That seriously rocks!!
And also congrats to Salty's sister for completing her first marathon!!
4 comments:
Although I also reserve the right to change my mind, I think marathons are out for a while. I gots other things to do with my running and the rest of my life. I'll be back some day and so will you!
And a garden is a perfectly good thing to which to divert your attention away from the marathon--just ask my husband :) He spends all the time he used to spend running 80-100 mpw tilling and planting and irrigating and on and on and on. It's hard for him to not have the time to devote to training, but running a small farm on our 1 little acre is very fulfilling. There's always another marathon.
PS by balancing all that, you are my hero!
And thanks for the shout-out! My sister rocks!
We runners are a fickle bunch, do what works for you and know we'll always be here to support you any which way. I'm supa jealous of your garden, wish I had a little piece of outside for my own.
You have to prioritize and everything on your list (save the garden IMHO!) sounds pretty important.
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