I always thought that if I could have any superpower, I'd want it to be flying. I wouldn't use it all the time, maybe just to get out of traffic or hop on up to NYC for a weekend. But today has me thinking that the ability to manipulate time might be a great and useful superpower. At a dreadfully boring office party? No problem...just speed up time a little and you're outta there in a flash. Can't stand the thought of summer ending and putting your baby on a school bus? Slow down those hands of time and make those beach days stick around just a little bit longer.
Sweet snuggles
My big girl
Camryn's first funnel cake
Bucket o' beach beers
Solving the world's problems over Sun Chips
So there's no fighting over who goes first
BBFL - beach buds for life
While I can't say sending Camryn off to kindergarten was any easier than when Brynn started, it was definitely different. Different because unlike 5 year old Brynn, 5 year old Camryn knows that school inside and out. She's been there countless times and even knows her teachers and classroom because Brynn had them as well. The fear of the unknown has been quelled for her, and certainly for me as well. I know she is in the best of hands at that school, and I can't wait for her to skip off the bus and tell me about her day.
Brynn was off to school like a seasoned veteran, but even her send off felt so different this year. Not one of our bus stop buddies from last year still lives in our neighborhood, and I really missed seeing them race to be first in line to board the bus...not to mention getting to chat with their moms, too! A new school year has brought new faces and new opportunities for friendships for us all.
These big moments in our lives always make me think of Peggy...as a retired school teacher herself, I know she would have been so tickled to see these first day of school photos of the girls. Missing her adds another layer to an already emotional day for me, but luckily, I've had my buddy Jude here with me today to provide some comic relief, much like he did the day Peggy died.
The first day of school wasn't the only thing causing the pit in my stomach when I woke up this morning. After nearly six months of a runner's nightmare combo of rest and rehab, I started Day 1 of a training plan today. EEEEEEEK!!!! Much like the first day of school, I was both nervous and excited about today's intervals. Would I remember how to run fast? Would it hurt? Would I pee or poop or puke??? Oh God, please don't let me poop or puke! Yeah, peeing a little during speed work is almost inevitable and I came to terms with it a long time ago.
Since I was going solo, I went as late as I could to give daylight a chance to break. I stepped out the door and was punched in the gut by 80 degrees and what felt like 118% humidity. Hot and sticky, just the way my knee (but not the rest of my body) likes it. I was dripping with sweat after the calisthenics this old lady has to do before running a single step these days, and hit the road at a nice, easy pace. After about a 14 minute warm up and quick little pep talk to myself, I was off and sprinting my first 400 in ages.
My training plan called for 8x400s at a 1:41 pace, with 400m rest intervals in between. On my way out to my designated interval spot, I was doing the mental math of all of that and decided to do only 4x4oos instead. My longest run in recent weeks was 6 miles and that was nice and slow...I didn't think 6 miles with speed work thrown in would be wise right now. But let me tell you how incredible those four little 400s felt!!!
Splits
1:38, 1:27, 1:31, 1:32
I think I started off a little timid out of the gates, but I'm pleased that my last three intervals were a little more consistent with each other. In an attempt to keep me from doing too much too soon, the 1:41 target pace was based off a 5k time much slower than my best. We'll see how the rest of this week goes and determine if I can step it up a little next week. A little being the key words here. Even with just four sprints, my hamstrings were like
That familiar burn felt so good, and I'm hopeful that my hamstrings will be all that ache tomorrow. I'm confident in my decision to cut the workout short, and I have made an oath to only loosely abide by the training plan. I do solemnly swear that I will listen to my body and ease my way back into this running thing. I have achieved my goal of running a marathon, and from here on out, there is no race or PR so important it's worth risking injury. I'm working on setting goals for the fall, and the top three go a little something like this:
1. Stay healthy
2. Stay healthy
3. Stay healthy
Because like Metallica says,
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