My Boston Floor

I just had to google the date of the Boston Marathon:  April 18.  Yup, that is how on top of it I am.  Just recently, I realized there was a decent chance I would be able to run the marathon.  I didn't think it was in the cards for me as Dave and I had been focusing on family expansion, and here I am towards the end of January with my same family of 3 (6 if you count the animals).  So, it looks like maybe I will be able to run Boston after all.

So, I booked my spot on the floor of a friend's hotel room this morning.  I promised to split the costs, and a floor is fine with me.  I love that I can roll like that, and thankful that I have friends that let me crash.  

I am now 12 weeks out.  It is really time to get my butt in gear.  I am out of shape.  I am up 10 pounds, and it is not coming off.  Actually, it just keeps climbing up.  I just texted my neighbor to see if I could bring my king cake to him.  I have to really start to buckle down here, and it always seems harder in the winter.  My mileage is barely in the 30s.  I feel kind of screwed, but not beating myself up about it.  

And it is interesting because I thought I was totally fine- like 100% fine- if I didn't run the Boston Marathon.  Maybe it is because the majority of the people I know have run the marathon, so I forget how special it is.  But my husband and mother-in-law both told me they don't know a single person that has run the Boston Marathon, and I would be the only person they actually knew.  It made it feel slightly more special, even though it is just a marathon per se. 

So with that in mind, I am going to see if I can go and use it as a celebration of all of my hard work and the decades of running that have brought me so many friends, travel, and opportunities.  I am not completely sure I will get to run it, but I do have my Boston floor reservation booked just in case!  And honestly, I really hope I do make it there!

My morning run with Bill, a perennial Boston runner.  Everyone bailed on us because of the impending "winter storm," which gave us a slight dusting of snow and perfectly good roads.  I was ready to sleep in too, but Bill wouldn't let me.  I feel the silent push from my friends to get my mileage up.    

Spark

I am swimming again.  I have never actually stopped swimming, but I am REALLY swimming again.  with Gil Stovall, my most favorite swim coach.  (Thank you thank you thank you Gil for coaching again!  I have been hounding, texting, and begging him to start up another program.  He is so tolerant of me- I am super grateful.)

If you are in Memphis and not swimming with us, I don't understand.  Come!  What an amazing coaching resource for us.  

  

So this is week two of 4:20am wake-ups, and I am still pumped.

Some thoughts the team environment and how it really brings me a spark of joy and enthusiasm:

It really hit me today how much I thrive in a team environment.  I have been excited to wake up, I love seeing my friends, I am focused during my workouts, and I am appreciative of my coach.  I was able to reflect on the fact that I have spent almost every day of the majority of my life in an athletic team environment.  Practice with friends is just what I did!  I am an intrinsically motivated athlete.  I can train on my own, race on my own, and do the work on my own.  But I find it interesting that as my opportunities to train with others have dwindled over the past few years due to losing our Master's Swim program and my schedule as a mom, my spark was a little dull as well.

But I feel like even in the past two weeks, that spark has really started to brighten!  My training has more purpose to it, I am working harder, and I am loving it.

And it makes sense.  When I started doing some of my running with my running group (the GeneralOWLS... lol!) this fall, my running spark was ignited again.

And the bike?  I can't remember the last time I rode with friends.  Maybe 3 x in the past 3 months?  Dull spark.

So, it is not that I can't train by myself, as I am certainly comfortable doing that quite a bit.  It is more that a team environment is a very familiar and fun thing for me, and has been for a long time, and I seem to enjoy it, so I am just in a happy spot and need to make sure I keep taking advantage of these group opportunities, because being with a team isn't a given as an adult.

And those were some thoughts that I had, as I left swim class super chipper this morning.  

And Isla and I are watching Nemo right now, so "just keep swimming" is certainly a good thought on which to finish the day.