Back To School! Back To School!

In the beautifully sung words of my Aunt Shelly...

"It's the most wonderful day of the year!!"

Back to school! I am so excited for a dependable routine and a more consistent schedule I could jump for joy! Yeah! HoooRay!

I think my kids were secretly itching to get back to school just as much as I was!

This year, Mr Blue Eyes is in the 4 year old Preschool class. His teachers are Ms Jenelle and Ms Christa and when he grows up he still wants to be a Fireman like his great-uncle Mat!

Mr Blue Eyes' Preschool had this great Welcome display this year and I need to make sure to tell them how cool it was for the first day of school. I wish every school took the time to do this! Great for first day pictures.

My Brown Eyed Girl started First Grade this year! Holy Cow!!! Where in the heck did the time go. It's like I blinked my eyes and she went from crawling and babbling to running, jumping, counting and reading! She is in Mrs Forsythe's First Grade this year and when she grows up she wants to be a Dolphin Trainer. 

 

I am pretty sure that our vacation to Mexico in January planted that seed.  

It will be an amazing year filled with great memories and adventures. I can hardly wait to enjoy the ride! I love you my little love bugs.

Little Ducks

Almost 2 weeks into Operation Marathon Training or Bust - in case I failed to mention, I am training for my very first marathon this fall - and I am already struggling with fitting in the mid week runs. Training is hard. Training for a marathon is harder. Training for a marathon while trying to balance a husband, kids, career, sleep, and personal well being is the hardest.

While training for my half marathons, or just trying to stay in shape, I have always found it very easy to squeeze a quick 2 mile run in just before Handy Man got up and left for work in the morning. I would slip out the door before his alarm went off and by the time I was strolling down the driveway he would be backing out of the garage. We would exchange a morning kiss and tell each other to have a great day. My long runs have always been on Sundays, so no issues there.

But this marathon training is pretty demanding. My mid-week run schedule looks something like this this week - 3 miles, 7 miles, 4 miles!!!

I dropped the kids off at daycare on Tuesday and squeezed in a quick 3 miles no problem. Of course it was already getting hot and I had to shower at Grandma's house before heading into the office. But I made it work.

Yesterday I was totally panicked about how I was going to fit a 7 mile run in when I had the kids all day. If I ran before Handy Man left for work I would need to leave the house by 3:50 am - ummm H-E-double hockey sticks NO! 

So I loaded up the troops and their bicycles for the very first time and we headed to the trail.

Mr Blue Eyes and my Brown Eyed Girl were totally pumped for the bike ride. I explained we would try to go 3.5 miles out and then 3.5 miles back to the car. We packed water and I made lavish promises of heading to the pool after we were all done.

Helmets - check
Bottle of water - check
Sunscreen - check
Bathroom stop - check

We were off!

It took about 5 minutes to get ourselves organized on the trail. Initially, I thought it would be better if they rode their bikes out in front of me. I thought this way I could keep a better eye on them. I think they were a little intimidated by the "rules of the trail" that we had gone over in the car on the way to the trail - stay to the right, don't get too far out in front of mommy, watch for fast bikes, how to pass walkers...

I quickly realized that my little ducklings needed to just rely on following their momma duck. 

In single-file-line we set out on our maiden voyage. 

My little ducklings were quaking all the way. Spotting grasshoppers and butterflies. Pointing out pretty flowers and noticing the prairie dogs barking at us as we passed. I got the occasional question of what something was called and they cheered as we completed our first mile.

They were laughing and smiling and I was told I Love You Mommy about every 1/8th of a mile. 

They were having a blast! And although there were a lot of distractions and several stops for a drink of water, they were smiling and peddling right along with me. One of our water stops was by the fire department's training center. The firemen were testing their hoses and trucks out. A very nice fireman walked over to us and told the kids what they were doing. It was pretty cool. Mr Blue Eyes told him he planned to be a fireman when he got big.

I was thoroughly enjoying the run and wondering why I didn't start this sooner with them this summer.

At almost 2.5 miles in, my little ducklings started letting little chirps slip out about being hot or their legs starting to hurt a little. By 3 miles I knew is was time to turn my little ducklings around or we were going to be in trouble. 

I found myself  coaching my little ducklings all the way back those last 2 miles.

The pool was waiting for us - keep peddling.
There is more water in the car - keep peddling.

I had to help push their bikes up a few hills on the way back.

I had to bribe them with ice cream once we got to the pool.

The water is going to feel so awesome - keep peddling. 

We can rest in the car on the way to the pool and then in the water - keep peddling. 

You are so awesome - keep peddling. 

No, I can't go get the car. A) I can't leave you here alone, B) I can't drive a car on the park path, C) if you don't ride the bike you have to walk - keep peddling.

Slowly but surely, breaking frequently, and a lot of encouragement, my two brave little ducklings made it all the way back to the car. 6.5 miles they peddled their little legs on their bikes. A few little tears from my Brown eyed Girl that last mile but in reality not too shabby considering we didn't have any major meltdowns. 

They were such troopers! I am so proud of them!

I wonder if they are up for a shorter, 4 mile ride tomorrow?!?

Sole Sisters

Since the very first day I laced up a pair of running shoes - of course I have only called them running shoes for the last two years because prior to that all athletic shoes were tennis shoes - and decided to make myself into a runner, I have leaned on the help of my friends to keep me accountable in my training. For my very first 5K, a mud run, I talked my dear friend Lisa into completing the Couch25K training program with me.

Neither one of us had ever run or attempted to run any sort of race. We were horse girls. Pretty much the only time we ever ran was when we realized that the gate had been left open and the horses were loose. Lisa and I started the Couch25K program and mostly ran solo because of our crazy, personal schedules. Just before the mud run, we met a few times at the local high schools track and cheered with exhausted joy when we realized we could both actually run for twenty minutes straight, WITHOUT STOPPING!

About two years ago, I got the insanely brilliant idea to start training for my first half marathon. It just so happened that one of my very oldest friends was also thinking about training for her first half. Our goal races were a week apart from each other. We began swapped training plans and commiserating on the fact that we were eventually going to have to work up to running ten miles for one of our long runs.We had the brilliant idea to start meeting every Sunday morning so that we could run those dreaded long runs together.

Accountability. Motivation. Comradery.

We bought our very first pair of real running shoes the same week. It was the first time either one of us had ever had a stride analysis completed let alone paid more than $100 for a pair of shoes! We started meeting every Sunday as agreed and something magical happened.

Each Sunday morning we met in the same parking lot. We swapped sarcastic looks of impending dread and both admitted that it took every ounce of will power to pull ourselves out of bed. Countless times we admitted we almost baled on the other but somehow mustered up the strength to find our sports bras and running shoes in the dark, while our husbands and children snored quietly in the warmth of their beds. We'd sigh as one or the other would officially announce the weeks distance, typically one mile longer than the week before. Flip-belts, ear buds, chewing gum, running app and running shoes tied secure, we would bound down the trail and work at getting another long run over with.

We started referring to each other as Running Buddies. Buddies who met on Sundays and the occasional shorter 5K or 10K race.

Mile after mile each Sunday we tried to forget the aches and pains in our muscles and joints. We tried to ignore the internal unrest between the little voices in our minds. One voice telling us to push on and the other trying to convince our body to walk, stop or just fall down and call for an ambulance. We did this by talking about life.

We talked about our husbands, kids, family, friends and careers. Not just the casual and politically correct versions of our lives but the really private, behind closed doors and shielded hearts kind of conversations.

We found common ground not just in running but in the struggles we felt being working mothers who were time-strapped and life-balance-challenged. Desperately trying to solve the worlds problems in a 24 hour day while fighting off the urge to hop in the car and never look back in the rear view mirror. We have shared hopes and dreams, greatest fears, successes and failures.

I have watched her watch her mother die this year.

We have talked honestly about our selves. Not just the people and things in our lives, but the actual  girl wearing the running shoes. Our struggles with self esteem, the flaws in our minds and in our DNA. Our purpose and our truths. We have listened to our foot-fall patterns over concrete paths and tried to accept the things we cannot change while hoping for the strength to manage the things we can.

The reality is, we have became more than just running buddies.

This weekend, my running buddy and I left the hustle and bustle of our lives in Denver and escaped into the serenity of the mountains. For two whole days we dug deeper into our soles and came out better friends, maybe better women. My thoughtful running buddy gave me this gift the night before I ran the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon.

It's the truth.
We are much more than just running buddies.