With all this talk about Boston...

My crazy self may just go and sign up for another marathon one day. Last year at this time my Dad was preparing to run the Boston Marathon. As I live tracked him that hot and humid day, I found myself inspired, ready to run and conquer 26.2. I was ready to go out train hard and qualify. Then I remembered 1) I really did not enjoy my first and only marathon in fact I vowed to never do that again and 2) to qualify for Boston I would need to run the 26.2 in 3:40, that is almost 2 hours faster then I completed my first. Oh man...those were some pretty big obstacles.
Here it is almost a full year later and I still have not finished another 26.2 and I have not broken 2 for a half marathon. Yet, I am still inspired by all of the athletes (male and female) who are preparing to run Boston on Monday. I am inspired by the women in the GP Runners group who are racing to qualify in a few weeks. I am inspired by anyone that puts one foot in front of the other and completes any marathon in any amount of time, it is not an easy task.
I dream of being fast enough for Boston. I dream of completing the training to run that fast. I think it will happen someday down the line if my training continues to go well and I continue to improve. Until then I will focus on how far I have come instead of how far I want to go....

Fever free = #running #runhappy #treadmill #brooksrunning #procompression #proform #smallstepsseriouschafing

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Transition to stay at home mom "signing bonus" from the husband #dryer #domesticgodess #smallstepsseriouschafing

In all seriousness this was not actually a "signing bonus", it was simply replacing the broken dryer that never shut off, took forever to dry, and well stopped working for the second time in 6 months.  But there is some truth to the title, I am now a full time stay at home mom (at least for the most part).  Do to the husband's new position, demanding schedule and travel it was really what was best for our family.   It has taken several months for me to come to terms with this transition and to finally embrace the change.  See, I have working since I was 14, sometimes I even held 2 jobs, if I wanted something I worked for it, including a trip to DC and Europe when I was in High School (that is a ton of hours at McDonalds back in the 90's just so you know).  That is 19 years of employment, 8 of which were at my current employer.  Needless to say I felt a bit lost, like a part of me is missing.  It was not until these last few days when a change in attitude and a change in perspective really helped me to settle in and embrace my inner stay at home mom/wife.  I have never fully been 100% focused on my family because there was always work, and because I did not have a set schedule, work found it's way in at all hours via phone or email.  Now, all I have is my family, and that is more then enough.  I know eventually I will find my way back into the workforce (and I do plan on picking up some "work" here and there to stay connected because I really did love my job) and find a career that "fits" but for now, I am going to be mom and a wife (and of course a runner because once I kick this virus again I will have plenty of time to train!)

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For the love of the game #baseballisback #springtime #parenting #smallstepsseriouschafing

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My newest love = Trail Running

This weekend I joined some running friends out on the Potawatomi Trails to conquer some hills and some miles.  I have never actually run on these trails, or have I ever run longer then 6 miles on a trail surface, so this was a completely new experience for me.  Since we would be out there a while I traded my normal Amphipod running belt for a Camelbak Octane XCT.  It was one of the toughest runs (I did just over 13, runner John did 24! 11 of which were solo! Now that is bada*s!) I had ever done but I will say one of the best.  The trails were challenging, the up, the down, the leaves that hid the rocks and sticks, but it was also so beautiful, so peaceful and calm.  My Camelbak came in handy to not only hydrate me (I drank 40+ oz of water on the trail yesterday), but to hold my 1/2 zip since I was way to warm out there (even with just a tank, tech tee and arm sleeves I was over dressed for me and was drenched and freezing by the end of the run).  I loved it out there, the adventure of a new trail, the hills, the different challenges then a road run help to keep running fun and interesting for me.  I am hoping to conquer Bayshore and then find some more time on the trails for a bit...

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Just over 13.2 on the #Potawatomitrail #trailrunning #runhappy #runmichigan #smallstepsseriouschafing

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Saturday morning #trailrunning! #bringit #camelbak #procompression #brooksrunning #smallstepsseriouschafing

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