Comeback trail

I thought I was being turbo nice. My father-in-law is forearm deep in golf heaven with his buddies so I invited my mother-in-law over for dinner. We had pot roast, roasted veggies and biscuits. I even made potatoes for Mark and MIL and watched them drink wine – that’s how nice I was.

We were having a nice meal when my MIL began chatting about an auction at work to raise money for a scholarship fund. One of the items up for bid was registration for the Fort-4-Fitness race – whichever distance the winner so chose.

Mark and I ran the half-marathon last year, both of us scoring major PRs. He came in with a 1:34:xx and I smashed my sub-2:00 goal with a 1:54:12.

I know the half-marathon isn’t a possibility this year – I’ll be two months post-partum come race day and that is barely enough time for a regular person to train. I have, however, been eyeing the 10K race and the 4-mile distance. The 4-miler allows strollers so baby boy could participate in his first race. I have even made plans to make him his own race bib.

Even though I have been thinking about it, I haven’t bit the bullet. And now I don’t have to. My MIL won the registration at the auction and is gifting it to ME. Yes, me. She’s even offered to push baby boy during the race as she’s walking and he won’t be old enough for the jogger. I’m a bit sad that I might leave baby boy behind – I’ve been a bit sentimental about running my first race with him – but at least he’ll still have his first race under his diaper band.

I couldn’t be be more grateful or excited as to have my comeback race set. Now excuse me as I ponder whether I want to up the ante and do the 10K.

In the long run

Workout: ~3.3-mile run

I was starving this morning. “Acidy, stomach eating itself” starving. I rolled over to Mark and told him that I had to eat but I didn’t have to run.

“You told me not to let you punk out,” he said.

Dangit. Why doesn’t he remind me that it’s been eight months since I had a Big Mac (last time after RnR Chicago) or that I haven’t bought a new pair of non-running shoes since … well, I cant remember? He stinks.

So we ate, got some work done while our tummies rested and got dressed before we lost our motivation.

It was 32 degrees so I decided to brave it with just tights, a compression top and a short-sleeve race tech shirt (United Run for the Zoo 10K) -- no gloves or headband. Mark, on the other hand, wore a T-shirt, two jackets, a hat, gloves and his beloved Adidas pants.

Denali went naked. He’s such a stud like that.

We had no real plan for the run – no idea where we were headed or if it would be 2.5 miles or 3. We started my required block-walk warmup when we saw the crazy German shepherd from down the street (which has attacked Denali), and we quickly decided to turn around, head down a different street and run a giant 2.5-mile triangle.

The first half-mile was pretty meh. I was a bit slow and I kept having to fuss with my tights, which were falling off my butt. I stopped to adjust the tie as to not moon the entire neighborhood but still keep circulation to my midsection. I seriously can’t wait to wear shorts with an elast-o-band.

After that stop, it seemed to be smooth sailing. I felt pretty good, and we weren’t forced to stop at traffic intersections nor inclined to stop to allow me to catch my breath. Mark and I chatted about needs/wants for a potential house (we made an offer on a different house) and mentally rearranged furniture to see how it work in a new space.

Soon enough, we were heading up the hill to the half-mile to home marker. I was feeling good but tired and ready for a break. Thankfully, Denali obliged by popping a squat. Mark had the foresight to bring a bag. Well, to grab a bag from home and make me carry it during the run. I returned the favor and made him carry the poo.

Anyway, I took an extra breath and got ready to go again when we were passed by a tall, lanky runner in shorts and an Indy Mini shirt. Across the street, going in the opposite direction, was another runner who was decked out in tights, cold weather gear, fuel belt and water bottles. He was out and planning to be out for a while. I couldn’t help but wonder what the two guys were training for. Long runs in the winter? Come on! And then I realized it’s mid-March and spring marathons and half-marathons are just around the corner. The long runs are getting farther and more and more people will be heading out to the trails. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit jealous.

So I did what I could do. I ditched Mark and Denali at home and ran around the block to make sure I got in at least 3 miles. If Mark wouldn’t have been sure to yell at me, I might have made it 4 miles. Didn’t you know -- it’s the new long run!