Keep on Truckin’ thru Winter

I didn’t quite know what to write about today, but then it came to me.  I read my cousin Alexia’s post about the skunk, (and I’m really enjoying her posts, BTW!) and I went swimming today.  I know those things have nothing in common so I’ll ramble explain.

So it’s winter… and I think we can all agree that it’s not been fun.  Thankfully, North Carolina wasn’t hit hard this year at all (hopefully I’m not jinxing it right now!).  We only had 4″ a few weeks ago, and it melted in a few days–see pics below.  The days have been dark, cold, wet, dreary, you name it.  I find it the most depressing time of year.  At least Nov/Dec you have Thanksgiving & Christmas to look forward to.  In late February and early March, there’s not much.  The weather sucks.  Not great for morale.  For me, work has been very overwhelming, Asher has had a 3-month long cold, plus an ear infection, and been waking up at night again, Gabe has various attitudes and little yelling fits, and my long runs have been disrupted by lots of GI distress.  The point of Alexia’s post mentioned above was that bad things definitely happen, and those things can get the best of us.  The skunks can win.  Winter can give us the blues.  Work can make us feel like giving up.  Children being sick can make us worry to no end.  And the GI distress?  Well, that makes me just want to quit training for this half marathon.

We did the whole “spring ahead” thing two nights ago, and I’m still sooooo sleepy because of it.  I got an hour less of sleep, Asher woke up twice, and to be honest, I did not want to do my 9 miler at all yesterday.  I went back and forth… should I go to Salem Lake, or just run on the “dreadmill” at the Y?  The sunny shone in our freshly cleaned house (the Lord blessed me with a wonderful husband!!), and I knew what I had to do.  The trail beckoned.  Praise the Lord, my nutrition plan worked (chicken + sweet potato + salad for dinner, oatmeal before bed, eggs + toast for breakfast, half a banana, and 4 hours between breakfast and the run!)  I felt more grateful than I can explain to get thru that 9 miles.  I’m so glad I didn’t give up and just stay home.  It boosted my confidence in my running ability, but more than that–I sorted through all the stress about work, and Asher’s ear, and Gabe’s attitude… it all fell into place.  And I was about to give up on my goal to PR during the half marathon, but the dream is still alive!  A few iPhone pics from the run, today’s swim, and hanging with the boys after–don’t mind my “one armed runner” pic 😉

On Mondays (like today), my training plan is “active recovery” in the 82* pool at the Y.  I could have skipped… I wanted to skip.  I wanted a big nap in the car!  But my sore legs told me that swimming would be more beneficial.  It felt amazing… 600 yards later, I emerged refreshed.  Legs feel better, morale is better.  I refuse to allow work, stress, family worries, etc to beat me.  It’s been a real challenge, and sometimes my attitude sours.  But Spring whispers around the corner.  The sun gives us sweet Vitamin D for an hour more now.  And there’s so much to look forward to… races, little baby Asher getting big & doing fun things like waving and talking (and oh Geez… walking soon!)  A friend’s wedding, my birthday, planting my garden and some new flowers.  We are almost there.

Enjoy some pics from the last few weeks!