Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Let's Get Physical

Yes, that song is running through my head now.

The girls are still sleeping horribly (and so am I). I am still failing a class even after a second attempt at a quiz. The class is hard! However, one thing going well for me is running.

I am taking advantage of having grandma here to help, and filling my racing schedule. When E is home, we either have to take turns running a race or find one that allows strollers. Since it is just me running right now, it makes it easier to register for a race. I have a 10 miler in October, a half in November (and maybe a 10K), I am still deciding about December, a half in January, a full in February, a 15K in March, and a half in April (Star Wars at Disney World). I know I will add a few more before the season gets into full swing. I was following Jeff Galloway's plans, and it was a great way to ease me into running, but I wanted to work on my times. I decided to try Hal Higdon's plan for my next half. Training started a few weeks ago, and it seems to be working. I went from running 3 days a week to 5 days. My legs are responding to the fatigue. Some runs start off a bit sluggish, but I finish strong. I am starting to see faster times more consistently despite the wretched heat and humidity we still have here. I have no clue if it will translate to longer runs, but I am excited to see if it works. My biggest hurdle is still the mental aspect. The minute I decide I am tired my body shuts down. I have to yell at myself not to slow down or stop. I start playing the "run to each lightpole" game. I am working hard on fighting the mental fatigue that has always plagued me. Some runs end up emotional runs because I feel like it is the only time I can truly think about everything going on. I consider it free therapy. I have set my 3 goals for the half in November. I am still not sure if I want to share them at this point, but I am going to fight to meet my A goal. 

Friday, September 25, 2015

Time

It has been over a month since I have updated although I do write some great blog posts in my head while driving to and from school. School is taking all my free time. I am behind in every class thanks to the unorganized program I am in, but I am trying my hardest to catch up. The classes are harder than I thought they would be. Plus the girls are really clingy. On top of school for Hannah, Meeghan, and myself, we are dealing with a deployment. E left a few weeks ago, and the girls are not handling it well. Meeghan doesn't understand so she is super clingy. Hannah is fine during the day, but clingy at night. All this means that nobody is sleeping well. I get up at 5am to get my run in for the day since I know trying to run during the day won't happen. I tried to run after putting the girls to bed last week, and Meeghan stood at the window screaming for me. My mother-in-law is here to watch the girls while I am in school so that does help, but I am still struggling with trying to fit in all of the study time. For every hour I am in class, I am supposed to spend 2 hours at home studying. That would be 20 hours a week. Not happening! I no longer have any expectations other than passing these classes. C is for cookie and that is good enough for me.