Alright, I'll jump in.
My running has taken a back seat for a long time now and I have gotten away from it for a while. There's been a few reasons for that. First is having a wife that has been running and training a lot. Ever since this marathon journey started 2 1/2 years ago, she's gotten the bug and has been going at it virtually non-stop. After the first one in Minocqua in Sept, 2020, she's now run 4 more in just over a year's time. J&J last July, Indy in November, Boston in April, Chicago last week and she is scheduled to run Mesa in February. I had an entry into it as well but I've transferred it to her Sunday long run partner (my friend that I wrote about at J&J) as one of our kids has an out of town event that weekend anyway and I don't have much interest to run it. But, basically it's been run a marathon, recover for 2-3 weeks, then start training for the next one.
Being on the other side of that is tiring. I say that only to be aware of what training is like for the significant other. I've also told her that after Mesa, she needs to have a break. Her goal at this point is to run all 6 majors which I'm on board with. And I'd actually run any/all of them with her that I'm able to get into as well. We entered the lottery for Berlin for next October, but I'm looking forward to Mesa coming and going in February and her just taking some time off from training.
Anyway, that's been one reason. Aside from the time thing, since it's hard to have both parents committing that much time to run a lot, I've just been personally "turned off" from training because of all that she's done. It's a dumb thing but it is what it is. I see her having to get out there to get a run in so she doesn't fall behind and it makes me not want to do it at all. In addition, work and other things that have been going on since I ran J&J a little over a year ago has made it tough as well. But, now with kids back in school, her work schedule being better, and a break from the summer weather and I've gotten back into a little groove.
This has been mostly from a health standpoint. I need to be active. I need to do more than I was. So, for the last month, the plan has been to do SOMETHING every day. On the days I'm not coming back from work, I'm running. That's 4 days/week. The 3 days during the week after I work overnight, I've been lifting weights. I've successfully kept that up since I started a few weeks ago. I'm in a good routine now. I feel better. Runs are enjoyable again and don't feel awful. I'm running anywhere from 3-5 miles per run and getting up to about 20 mpw which is good enough for me. And if my night of work isn't too bad, especially when the weather has been nice, I've gotten out a couple extra times. This is sustainable and it's helped me reconnect with what the rest of you have been doing. Weight is slowly coming back down. Energy levels better. Trying to eat less. And, if I want to get out for a run with someone, I can do it without feeling like I'm going to die.
As for the family:
-- Wife is doing well. And while I "complained" up top, I'm actually incredibly proud of what she's been able to accomplish and she's in a great spot. I enjoy watching her do well. I like traveling for her races. She works less now and we are getting to enjoy more time together. I really have a lot to be thankful for. We are leaving for Hawaii early Tuesday and will be there for a little over a week. Going for a medical conference with another couple friend of ours and will be celebrating the Mrs. birthday while there. Can't wait to get a few runs in over there as well.
-- Our oldest is a senior in HS and we are going through this college search for the first time. I have a couple trips planned with him coming up at the end of this month and toward the end of November. He's got a short but varied list of choices that includes here, down south, the NE, and the west coast. We will see where that adventure brings us. After a challenging time during Covid with him, he's growing up into a wonderful young man. Has a job at Panera, doing well in school, started driving this summer, has stopped playing soccer but has gotten into rock climbing which he does 2-3x/week on his own. And hopefully will continue on this path in the right direction. I'm happy
-- Our middle one is now in 4th grade. She can be a challenge but things are in a much better spot now with her. She has transitioned from gymnastics to cheer. She loves it and it's a better fit for her. However, along with that, she has a lot of travel stuff coming up with her cheer group that is going to keep us busy between her and our youngest (will get to in a moment). Thus, starting in November, and especially from Jan-Mar, we will have something virtually every weekend and traveling out of town at least a couple times every month. This is going to be a tough stretch but I'm looking forward to it.
-- Our youngest is now in 1st grade. She is our most responsible one. It's kind of funny how that goes. She's excelling in gymnastics and is starting on a competitive team this year. It's crazy....she goes to the gym 9 hours every week! But she loves it, so we keep it up for now. Along with our middle one, we will be traveling out of town and having other meets here as well. Our calendar is pretty nuts. We will finally be able to catch our breath in April.
In addition to the above, the two youngest are also doing rec soccer and the middle one is doing some choir. I read that and it seems like SO much, but the reality is that it's pretty manageable at this point and they are enjoying all they do. That's all I can ask for. So, luckily, we've got health on our side and the time to enjoy watching them grow and do things they love doing. And that has been making my time out on my runs that much better. I either go when I take them to one of their activities or I try and go while they are in school so that it never takes away from time that I can otherwise spend with them when they are home. THAT has been the biggest thing that I don't miss about training and why I have no desire to rush back to it at this point. One hour soccer practices are perfect to get 3-4 easy miles and still catch a bit of them out there.
Sorry for the long post, been a while, but I've really enjoyed reading a lot of the more personal posts in here lately and figured it was time to share a bit on my end. Just very thankful for how things are going and looking forward to see how the rest of this year plays out. Along those lines, having seen a few of you from this thread recently and a couple more upcoming (stay tuned!), it really is amazing what this journey into running has done for all of us. Literally life changing. This is such a special group.
