Run Streak Week 4 (I blew it last week but I'm forging on!)

Monday, June 16: We got back from Magic Kingdom late afternoon/ early evening, and I ran what I assume was a mile because my phone was dying and needed to stay on the charger.  I hung up my running clothes afterward to use again, which is something I ordinarily would never do, but I knew that I probably wouldn't be doing laundry during our four days at Disney.  I'm used to doing laundry constantly -- and complaining about it too -- but oh, how I miss washing my clothes on a regular basis.

Tuesday, June 17: We did a day at Hollywood Studios and returned for an afternoon of catching flies and then a quick dinner before going to Magic Kingdom for the parade and fireworks.  As we stood waiting for the fireworks to start with increasing impatience, I said I wanted to go running when we got home.  Ha!  My plans were foiled again.  I didn't get back to the room until about 10:30, and I was very tired and sore after holding Timmy for so long and carrying him all the way to the bus.  And then carrying his sleeping little sack of potatoes body from the bus to our room. Tim has kept up his streak because he goes first thing in the morning before the rest of us are up and about.  But I love my sleep too much, fitness challenges be damned.

Wednesday, June 18: After our day at Animal Kingdom I ran the loop behind the resort which Tim says is actually 1.6 miles.  I did push-ups afterward.  Oh, and since we didn't go anywhere until later in the morning, Tim did the laundry while I was still sleeping.  We had clean clothes again!  He's a keeper.

Thursday, June 19: We said goodbye to Tim's mom and sister and to Disney, and drove back to Beaufort, SC to enjoy the hospitality of the air station for a couple nights again.  The location services weren't working on my phone, but I figure I ran anywhere from a mile to a mile and a half after my nasty McDonald's dinner.  I can't wait until my diet is consistently healthy -- or mostly healthy -- again.

Friday, June 20: Easy 2-mile run and push-ups afterward.

Saturday, June 21: We moved into the little Harbor Island condo, and this is the last place we'll stay before we get the keys to our house on Parris Island.  We have a washer and dryer in the kitchen here -- wahoo!  And there's a pool and the beach.  I waited until nighttime to do my little run, and that was a mistake.  It was a cloudy night so no moon, and pitch dark because one of the island's regulations is we have to turn out all the lights so as not to confuse hatching turtles.  I was nearly blinded.  And for a private island, it sure gets its share of traffic.  I kept running off the road and shielding my eyes as headlights passed, in an effort to preserve my life and my night vision.  One lousy mile in 10:45.

Sunday, June 22: I made sure to do my run when it was still light out, but after the heat of the day was past.  I set out at 7:15.  It went much better this time.  Two miles at about an eight-minute mile pace.  Every time I think about how short and slow my runs are I remind myself that I AM doing something and that's better than nothing.  This challenge has been the best thing for me.  Even when I'm doing the bare minimum or little more, I am getting it done.  Even when it's inconvenient, even when there's ice cream and wine waiting for me, even though I do wish I could have made my nice blow-dried-for-dinner hair last one more day -- I am still getting it done.  And my knees are not complaining.  Yes, I did miss those two days at Disney.  Tim is in a special class of runners who could manage to get it done at Disney.  I think what has kept me from running more often before taking part in the Run Streak was a perfectionist mentality.  So many conditions had to be met in order for it to be a good time for a run.  I had to be not recently showered.  I had to go at least three miles to make it worth my while.  It couldn't interfere with my evening relaxation time.  It couldn't interfere with my morning sleeping-in time.  I had to be in clean running clothes.  The stars had to align in a certain way.  It went on and on.  It's a wonder I even managed once or twice a week runs.

Our first family 5k

We had a great time, and the girls did well, even though we kept them out way later than usual. The race started at 7:15. As we drove home home, Delaney said a couple times, "Mama, dark. Mama, dark." We laughed, realizing that Delaney doesn't even know what nighttime looks like!

We started all the way in the back of the group, because that's where all the other strollers were, and we figured we'd be one of the slowest ones in the herd. That turned out not to be the case at all, and it was a challenge for Tim to maneuver our extra-wide stroller around all the slower people, for about the first half-mile. There is no sneaking around anybody with that thing. The crowd began to spread out as time went on, but not much. I thought Tim was going to have to start running people down. I was pretty impressed at the pace he was able to keep while pushing that stroller. I offered to take over for at least half the course, but he wouldn't hear of it. Eventually he told me why: when we run a 10k in October, he wants it to be my turn. Isn't he a sweetheart?

Our finish time was 28:27, and we were both really pleased by that, especially considering all the time we were just barely jogging. I was hoping for 35-40 minutes. Alone, we can run three miles in a good time, but with the stroller, we didn't know what to expect. Amazingly, Tim credited the stroller with keeping us at a good pace. He said it was pulling him along for most of the way, even giving him the momentum to power up a good little hill.

After we finished, we hung out for a little while at Barnett Field, where everyone was spread out on the grass, listening to a band. Delaney couldn't wait to do some running of her own, and visiting with all the dogs. Very soon after, we were all worn out, sweaty and ready to go home.


Now, in a blink of an eye, this weekend is done, and it's another busy week for Tim at EWS.