A Lucky Runner

Saturdays are normally a day we reserve for family activities but Miguel had to work so the kids and I were flying as a threesome.  We had a birthday party in the morning, a pirate themed party, which was so fun.  The weather was gorgeous and they even had a pinata!  I'd had a pretty big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast so I wasn't that hungry at the party.  I still ate a sandwich and some chips.  Oh, and cake of course.  Myra got into the spirit of the party.

Aye matey, the pirate's life for me!

And I got into the spirit of warm weather!  Only four more days until spring officially starts.

After the party we all came home and enjoyed some down time.  I had been toying with the idea of walking the Emerald Across the Bay 12k the next morning (today) but when TTOTM started and I considered how cold it would be at 8am, I decided against it.  Just didn't sound like my idea of fun.

So Miguel and I went out for dinner.  It was a long day for both of us but we rallied.  We started in the bar where I had a vodka & soda or two.  We were eventually moved to a table but had been happier in the bar so we went back.  The restaurant just felt too bright.  Dinner was good.  For some reason steak sounded good to me so I ordered a cajun rib-eye, which came with spinach and jalapeno mashed potatoes.  I've had cheesecake on the brain lately so I had that for desert.  It wasn't as good in real life as it was in my head.  By the time we got home around 10:30pm I was exhausted and was asleep by 11pm.

The kids slept until 8am this morning.  Woo-hoo!!  I was actually awake before either of them.  I have a friend who needed a head-shot for her business so I ran to her house and took a few pictures before...wait for it...a neighborhood waffle party!  You heard right, a waffle party.  Our neighbors own a waffle truck and invited the neighborhood over to indulge.

And indulge we did.  We have a lot of kids in our neighborhood and they got to run around and play while the adults socialized.  It was a yummy gathering.  I had my camera so I snapped a few pictures of the sweet faire.

Freshly ironed

With chocolate sauce (I had mine with caramel and chocolate).

I hope you're not feeling too jealous right now!  I ate mine and then I might have finished off one of the kids, which was practically whole.  But at least I didn't take the offer to take some home.  Two crunchy/sweet/savory waffles with caramel, chocolate and whipped cream is probably enough for one day...or even for a month!

After the waffle party we took the kids to the soccer field.  Miguel had a game later in the afternoon so we took the kids early so he could kick the ball around with them while I got some exercise.  I had a plan to take a 30 minute walk.  We were in Sausalito, just a few blocks from the Mill Valley-Sausalito trail so I headed toward that.  But within a few minutes I felt the urge to run.  I was all alone with myself and it didn't take long to convince myself it was ok to run as long as I took it really easy.  And I agreed with myself that I would stop if I felt winded.  I'm so easy to please when negotiating with myself.

I started running and for the first few minutes my body felt a little weird, like I was moving in places that aren't used to moving.  It wasn't a bad feeling at all, just different.  But within about 5 minutes I settled into an easy, comfortable pace.  I coughed a little bit here and there, which I think was probably good for my lungs.  My doctor actually said they used to recommend a jog around the block to help clear out the lungs.  This turned out to be a bit longer than around the block, I think I ran for about 35 minutes.  I didn't have my Garmin on so I have no idea of distance or pace, other than "easy".

It felt so wonderful to be running!  The weather was pristine and my legs moved with ease.  There were only a few moments when I felt like I was working and each time I just slowed down.  I'm curious to know my pace but it's probably better that I don't.  Running by feel was what I really needed to do and seeing my pace could have messed with my attunement.  The most important thing was the positive feeling I had.  I just love running.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!  WW posted the above on their FB page this morning and when I saw it I was reminded of something I've been told a time or two, "You're so lucky you like running."  Sometimes I take the time to tell the person about how I hated running for years, how I didn't start to like it until I trained for my first half-marathon and experienced the long run.  Something about a longer distance made running click for me and we've been in a beautiful love affair ever since.  Maybe I got my first runner's high, maybe it was a matter of confidence ("I can run, I really can!"), or maybe it was about relaxing - something you have to do on a long run - more likely it was a combination of all those things.  All I know is, I stuck with running for years despite not really liking it and eventually, I got lucky.