So, if you know me at all, you know I function on three things - running (and sorta biking and swimming), sarcasm, and caffeine. It's science. Or being a mom. Or having a ridiculously crammed full life where I refuse to stop for a second to breathe. Ever. Something like that. The last few weeks have been a fine mix of all three - which one is saving my sanity, I'll never know, but I suspect they all play their part. Whatever it is, I keep running, that's for sure.
When we last left our hero (me?) I was busy running from one crazy scenario to another - even though I continually posit that life is gonna calm down in 2020, I sure don't help make that happen. Greg and I moved out of our first home a few weeks ago and launched into life in our new dream house, fraught with all of the wonderful ups and downs that go with new home ownership - shitty sellers, random glitches with school schedules, new routines and even though it's only 15 miles from my old house - new grocery stores (don't get me started on this), utility companies, and neighbors.
Whew. Luckily, we have a cache of amazing people that made the whole actual move possible - come move day we had a dozen friends who showed up for twelve hours of manual labor with minimal bitching and all they asked for (ok, we gave it without asking) was carbs and beer (which is technically a carb but deserves it's own credit!) We woke up at Sunrise Dr at 6am and went to sleep at our new home at 11pm - a whole house moved in one day with minimal glitches (thanks for your sense of humor, guys!)
That was two weeks ago - the end of a little chapter that took the better part of the last four months of our lives and upended it into something totally unrecognizable. I haven't blogged much about things since then, because to be blunt about it, I'm having a tough time managing to keep all my balls up in the air (TWSS?). Post move,first I got sick. Then Greg got sick. Then the kids did. And since then we have had a slew of issues related to work, the house sale, injury and training, and a million other small things that have crept up, throwing our world off kilter. I'm not alone on this one - it seems that even when you claim to be an endurance athlete, you have your limits. And I found that when I hit them, I hit them hard. Everyone's got a breaking point where they run out of reserves.
Which led me back in time. Back in 2011, Greg did his first Ironman at Lake Placid. If you aren't familiar with the area, its a damned gorgeous venue - I've done the race twice and it never fails to amaze. The swim is pristine, the bike has amazing mountain views, and the run is iconic. The race finishes at the Olympic Oval, and one of the tests of the marathon is at mile 24 (which is mile 138 of mile 140 of the whole race) you turn right on the course - 400 yards from the finish - and have to do a mile out and back before you can become an Ironman. This feature is both inspiring (you are almost there! You can hear the finish line! You WILL be an Ironman!) and also disheartening (you are almost there! You are NOT YET THERE THOUGH!)
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| New Adventures in the new home! |
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| New House Toast! |
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| Marcus, always our lucky guy :) |
Which led me back in time. Back in 2011, Greg did his first Ironman at Lake Placid. If you aren't familiar with the area, its a damned gorgeous venue - I've done the race twice and it never fails to amaze. The swim is pristine, the bike has amazing mountain views, and the run is iconic. The race finishes at the Olympic Oval, and one of the tests of the marathon is at mile 24 (which is mile 138 of mile 140 of the whole race) you turn right on the course - 400 yards from the finish - and have to do a mile out and back before you can become an Ironman. This feature is both inspiring (you are almost there! You can hear the finish line! You WILL be an Ironman!) and also disheartening (you are almost there! You are NOT YET THERE THOUGH!)
The finish line of an Ironman is a party. More so at Lake Placid than any other race I've ever seen. There's music. There's shouting. There's dancing (not usually by those finishing, but hey, it happens). Nine years ago, Greg was a 14:40 finisher. At mile 24, he could see the finish line. He could hear the music. Ironman, in their infinite wisdom to encourage athletes, when Greg hit upon that pivotal mile, chose the tune "Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne as music inspo to blast on the loudspeakers for all competitors in proximity to hear.
Yep. You heard that right. WTF.
I don't know where I'm running now, I'm just....running on...running on empty
Super appropriate. Super unnecessary. Talk about having to dig deep in your headspace, as EVERYONE at mile 138 is literally running on empty! And somehow, he finished those last two miles of the race and had his moment of glory. He got through it and tasted victory. He WAS AN IRONMAN.
And that's me right now. Somehow I know I'm at mile 24. I can see the finish line. There, is, in fact, light at the end of theoval tunnel. After months and months, some of the pieces are falling into place. The kids are in school. Half the boxes are unpacked. For the first time in months, I'm able to set aside the crazy anxiety that the last four months have been and have a decent run (which is really important, as the season officially starts in two weeks at Running of the Green 5 Miler!)
So, I'll keep running on
- running on empty
- running blind
- and running into the sun.... somehow it'll get me to the finish line of this phase of life, and onto the next Ironman - this one really lasting 140.6 and no more!
Super appropriate. Super unnecessary. Talk about having to dig deep in your headspace, as EVERYONE at mile 138 is literally running on empty! And somehow, he finished those last two miles of the race and had his moment of glory. He got through it and tasted victory. He WAS AN IRONMAN.
And that's me right now. Somehow I know I'm at mile 24. I can see the finish line. There, is, in fact, light at the end of the
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| Training in Webster with my new crew - they keep me on my toes! |
- running on empty
- running blind
- and running into the sun.... somehow it'll get me to the finish line of this phase of life, and onto the next Ironman - this one really lasting 140.6 and no more!
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