The family that runs together...

Yesterday after dinner, Zdenek and I settled in to watch (and fast forward) through the previously broadcast Boston Marathon. Boston is always one of the year's highlights, and yesterday's race proved to be an especially exciting one. (I was, however, a bit perturbed to see that the conditions were conducive to a blistering fast, record-setting pace, and thus couldn't have been more different from the day I ran Beantown. Maybe someday I'll have a return showing to try my luck again; given the new qualifying standards and procedures, though, I doubt it.)

Watching Ryan Hall give his post-race interview, I was, as always, awestruck by his positive attitude and accomplishments in the sport. And then I began daydreaming about how happy it would make me if Ryder becomes a serious runner (let alone a world-class one). When compared with other sports (e.g. swimming, hockey, baseball, cycling), running is convenient, cheap, and will likely keep you in good shape for the rest of your life. Indeed, I can point to a lot of fat ex-swimmers and ex-hockey players, but very few fat ex-competitive runners. This is due, I think, to the simple fact that running can be maintained without teams, coaches, and fancy facilities: once a runner, always a runner. And while I never want to be that parent, and Ryder will certainly have to find his own passions in life, I hope that I can nudge him in the running direction just a little. He might, after all, stand a chance at being semi-competitive: great endurance runners tend to be short (check), and have strong hearts (hopefully, check).

Happily, we're on our way to setting him on that course. Zdenek was cleared for running last week, and we enjoyed two "family runs" in Central Park over the weekend. It's great to have my husband back at my side, and also nice to have someone share the load when pushing Ryder in the Chariot. I look forward to the day when Ryder can cycle his little bike beside me on my morning run, and then, someday, run beside me (until he leaves me in the dust altogether). And even if he's never world-class, I hope that he, like his mom and dad, is able to find joy and good health in the simple ritual of putting one foot in front of the other.

A head start

I was delighted to read this in the NY Times this morning, again confirming that running and pregnancy go hand-in-hand, and hopefully Ryder will reap the benefits for many years to come.

Timing

The update: Zdenek is still dealing with broken metatarsal bones and has been unable to run, but today he heads to the doctor to (hopefully) get the go-ahead to resume normal physical activity. In the meantime, he's managed to fit in a couple of bike rides, but that's clearly insufficient to keep him both happy and as fit as he'd like. Our cumulative sleep deprivation is starting to wear on both of us, and, though Ryder is obviously the love of our lives, I can admit that it was kind of nice last night when he went to bed at 7 pm, and we enjoyed an "adults only" evening (consisting of leftovers for dinner and the BBC news) before heading to bed. (Of course, even though Ryder slept well, neither of us managed to do the same, as I think we've actually forgotten how to sleep more than a couple of hours at a stretch. I can't believe it, but it's true.)

In other "I can't believe it" news, a funny thing happened a couple of weekends ago when I headed out for an eight mile run in the Park. Zdenek took Ryder out in the stroller to enjoy the sunny weather, and we agreed to meet back at home for lunch in about an hour. I managed to beat them home by about 5 minutes, and when Zdenek came home, he told me that he thought had seen me running in the Park, but wasn't convinced it was me. Why? Because I was too fast. That's right. You read that correctly: Too fast. Apparently, he saw a girl who looked like me, was dressed like me, and ran mostly like me, except that she was much faster than he was accustomed to seeing.

Turns out, it was me, and indeed, I am faster these days. I haven't run over 8.5 miles in four or five months, but I am managing to post my fastest paces ever, even with only bits and pieces of sleep to fuel me. I think it's due to having (a) limited time to fit in the miles, and so every mile must be run quickly, and (b) 10 fewer pounds on my frame. I really feel that, if I began serious training, I might be able to crack 3:20 in a marathon right now. The sad irony is that just as I'm posting good times, I have no time to put them to good use.

Perhaps once our schedules even out a bit more, I'll try for a 10K race sometime soon. I've never raced that distance before and so I wouldn't even know what to expect, but it can't hurt to try something new. And besides, 2011 will need to be the year of running quickly, because parenting is the only endurance event on my calendar this year.