A Kind of Daydream

Ok, I get it.  My brooding inner 16 year old needs to give it a rest.  Done.  I'm feeling a bit more lighthearted on this day of love.  Speaking of love, I have pictures of my smallest loves to share from the park yesterday. Getting these two hoodlums to sit together is no easy task!

My silly Valentines.

Nothing like sibling love.

Seeing these pictures makes my heart smile.  Despite yesterday's post, I was actually in a good mood for most of it.  My morning at the park with the kids was fun.  I love climbing with them on the jungle gym - going down the slide, hanging on the monkey bars - those are all things I wouldn't have done in my previous life.

Then in the late afternoon, just before dinner, we went for a neighborhood walk. Actually it was mostly a run as I was either chasing, or being chased.  I noticed that every time Myra started running she'd break into squeals of laughter.  I thought to myself, "look what running does" and ran with more joy just to hear her.  The kids are good little runners.  We need to build up their endurance, it'd be fun to make it around the whole block without stopping.  Marek's got it in him, Ms Myra needs a bit more time I think.  I just had a funny thought, put my Garmin on them to see how fast they go!  Maybe I should organize a neighborhood foot race with age groups: 0-2 year olds, 3-4 years olds...ha ha.  We'd need finisher's medals and bibs...ohhhh, I'm loving this idea!

Can you feel it?  I can.  I'm coming out of this funk a little bit. I went to the gym after work with a plan to lift weights (legs/shoulders) and then take a spin class.  I was wrapping up my 3-minute warmup walk when I got a sudden urge to run - no doubt driven by all the calories over the last few days.  In any case I cranked the speed up to 7.3mph and started running.  And it felt amazing.  I felt like I could run forever, I felt strong and limitless and entirely in love with running.  I still had to do legs for weight training, not to mention a spin class ahead of me, but I just had to run.  I decided to try for a mile at that pace, an 8:13 minute mile.  And guess what?!  You know what!  I did it!!  Fastest mile ever for me.

Whew!  I felt so good as I started into my strength training routine.  Legs and shoulders but no core because I'm giving them a rest.  I did all I could before Glen's spin class started up.  The class was great, even with Glen embarrassing me a bit by telling everyone to check out my (too big to miss) ad hanging in the window.  Thanks for that one Glen!  I had to bow out of the class after 45 minutes to finish my strength training routine.  My legs were superstars.  I asked, and the answer was a wholehearted YES!  I love this body of mine.  I did some stretching and headed home.

Miguel and I had plans to go to dinner but my mom got sick so that fell through.  Things were still not bad for me because Miguel made dinner.  I had a hearty meal and then spent the next couple hours playing with the kids.  And then I had a little bit of chocolate, despite my better judgment.  But that's ok, it's a holiday after all, right?

Well, there you have it, I'm back!  I'm still fighting the food cravings and doing all I can to stay on track.  And now wondering why in the heck I let these periods of...food indulgence, overeating, binges, whatever - why I let them get to me.  It's been years, and I've seen them come and go so why did I get so down?  Eh, it's probably all the other stress and whatnot.  Let's just hope I learn from this, and that I focus on being grateful that I'm coming out of it.

I'm off to relax and then climb in bed with a good book.  I think I'm going to give Frankl a rest and go back to Born to Run...I want to ride this wave of good feelings.  Oh, that reminds me!  I added the Dipsea as a possible 2014 race.  It's a month before the Vineman Half-Ironman so obviously I can't do both.  Vineman is probably a stretch though so maybe 2014 is my year for the Dipsea.  Never heard of the Dipsea?  Hey runner, what rock you been living under? 

First run in 1905, the Dipsea is the oldest trail race in America. It is run every year on the second Sunday in June. The scenic 7.4 mile course from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach is considered to be one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The stairs and steep trails make it a grueling and treacherous race.  Because of its beauty and challenge, it is a very popular event, and because of safety and environmental concerns the number of runners is limited to about 1,500. While racers enter from all over the world, the Dipsea is primarily a Northern California event and the entry process is tilted slightly to favor local contestants.

The Dipsea would be so. cool.  So cool.  But 2014 is still just a kind of daydream, I'll have to let it rest and simmer for a while and see what life has in store for me by then.