Has it been this long?

Wow.

Two years.  Another kid.  Even less sleep.  Way more stress.  Many fewer miles.  And yet, an infinite amount of happiness.

I'm not sure that I can wrap up all that's happened in the span of a single blog post, so I won't even try.  The major highlights included:

• Zdenek, Ryder, and I welcomed a daughter / little sister in October 2013.  Her name is Clara, she is adorable, and we all love her to pieces.
• Ryder is growing up much too quickly.  He is full of spunk and personality, and cracks us up many times a day.  Mom and Dad are proud to see that he's becoming quite the little athlete, and he's obsessed with racing (by foot, bike, or vicariously though any sport he can find on tv).
• Zdenek and I run way less.
• Zdenek and I don't cycle at all.
• We are in a terrible state of limbo right now (and have been for some time), which adds a significant amount of stress to our daily life.
• We are also a happy little family, and, in the grand scheme of things, extremely lucky.

More to come (hopefully).

Hello from the Great White North

Ryder and I have been in Calgary since Wednesday and, though we miss Zdenek a (metric) tonne, it's nice to be back in my original hometown: I had a great haircut and highlights on Friday at a high-end salon that still cost me much less than in New York City. And yesterday at the mall, I was suprised to find that my frozen yogurt was free, because the customer ahead of me (whom I never even saw) decided to "pay it forward" and buy the next customer's snack. For a moment I thought there might be a hidden camera -- these things just don't happen in Manhattan!

Blog posts these days obviously are few and far between. In the few moments I have between feedings and diaper changes, I'm usually trying to sneak in a shower or a run, or grab something to eat myself. Running is going well, and I feel fantastic when I'm doing it, but I wish I had time to fit in more than 20 miles each week (and thank goodness for Baba, or I wouldn't even have the opportunity for that!).

Fortunately, I've found a baby jogger / bike trailer / cross-country ski carrier that Ryder can use ASAP, and it has the added bonus of being made by a company headquartered in Calgary! Zdenek and I have already settled on our colour (red -- to match both of our bikes), and he's going to place the order this week. By the time Ryder and I are back in the Big Apple, Central Park will be our oyster (or at least that's what I'm hoping). It's going to be tough pushing around an extra 35+ pounds on my runs, but I'm willing to do it for the sake of getting outdoors with my little guy and fitting in the upper body strength training that I've been neglecting of late.

Recipe for a perfect winter morning

A perfect morning goes something like this:

1. Waking up after eight full hours of sleep.
2. Seeing the first dusting of snow on the ground.
3. Heading out for a 4.5 mile run with my husband in the cold winter air.
4. Having Central Park mostly to ourselves because New Yorkers can't handle it when the mercury dips below freezing.
5. Running a relatively easy ~9:20 pace without needing to stop once.
6. Enjoying a bagel with Nutella for breakfast, while laughing out loud reading this.

Still going...

I am delighted to report that, at 36.5 weeks and only three days away from being officially “full term,” I am still running. This morning, despite grey skies and extremely windy, frigid weather, I was all too happy to be out there on the bridle path, looping the reservoir and breathing in the fresh air. I have been able to avoid the gym for almost a week now, and the longer I can stay away, the better.

Yes, it is slow running, but I think it’s still a moderately respectable 9:45-10 min/mile. True, I have to stop and walk from time to time and at very unpredictable intervals (sometimes I can go 15 minutes trouble-free, but sometimes I need another break after two minutes), but I figure that’s the least I can do for the sake of my internal organs. No, I’m not doing the distance to which I am accustomed, though I did manage 11 miles over the weekend (over two days, but who’s counting?) and four more this morning. And while I know I look extremely cumbersome / unattractive -- I wear some combination of Zdenek’s large running shirts, my tights, and a large support belt under my waist -- at this point, I am beyond caring. I’ve accepted that it has become (and will surely continue to be, even after the +1 arrives) a matter of putting one foot in front of the other, and taking it day by day.

Quick reminders

This week marks the beginning of interval repeats, which is probably my least favourite part of marathon training (tied with hill repeats, that is). I’m not very good at running quickly, and I feel awkward when even attempting a sprint. My body type surely is not cut out for fast-twitch muscle action. And intervals tend to just leave my legs and lungs burning without, it seems, having much impact on my overall performance. I don’t feel that I get much faster throughout the six weeks of interval training, and I certainly don’t improve very much from year to year. What, then, is the point?

Yesterday I received awful news about the health of someone I know quite well and like very much. It’s heart-wrenching news, really -- the kind that makes you shake your head and wonder about the unfairness of life, and why bad things seem to happen to good people. It’s the kind of news that makes you pause to think about how short and fragile life really is, and how we should all count our blessings on a daily basis. It’s the kind of news that makes you feel like any complaint or gripe you might have is undoubtedly minor and almost embarrassing to mention.

Heading home from work yesterday evening, I felt tired and sluggish. I wasn’t feeling particularly excited about running, let alone about the prospect of running 1200 m repeats. But any hesitation I had quickly gave way to the realization that I should just be thankful that I can run, and I should remember how good it feels to work my body hard. I feel wobbly but strangely refreshed after a hard workout. I enjoy my dinner and a glass of wine that much more. I sleep like a log. I know that I’ve done something good for my health and my body and my state of mind. I feel proud of my effort.

It is no lie that, as I ran back on forth on the relatively flat stretch of East Drive last night, I thought several times about how lucky I am to be running. The news I received yesterday provided ample motivation for me to keep going. To be sure, I wasn’t running for anybody or in tribute to anyone -- it doesn’t even make sense to me how my act of running could possibly be for anyone else. I recognize that running back and forth as quickly as I can (which is not very quickly) is a selfish (and some might say, pointless) activity. But I know that someday -- hopefully later rather than sooner -- I won’t be able to run. Maybe I’ll get injured or sick for an extended period of time. Maybe the other demands in my life won’t allow time for such a self-indulgent activity. Maybe I’ll eventually get old and running will hurt too much to be worth the effort. I’m not sure what will spell the end of my running days, but I know that it will come.

And so last night, in spite of the fact that I’m not very good at running intervals, I tried to enjoy the burning sensation in my legs and the labored breathing in my lungs, and all that they represent. It may be hard to believe, but I know that, someday, I’ll miss it.

Six good reasons

In spite of all the work I have to do, and even considering that I could have used more sleep this week than I have obtained thus far, I am in an extraordinarily good mood right now.

1. It appears that I may be close to tying out a major project (or, at the very least, the first iteration of it) that has been a long time in coming.

2. It is a beautiful, sunny, warm autumn day!

3. I had a super-duper fun time riding my bike today and yesterday, and an equally super-duper fun time running on Tuesday. In fact, Tuesday night's run in the unseasonably warm fall weather was smokin' fast (for me), and all of my troubles seemed to melt away in the first 1/2 mile. Our bike rides yesterday and this morning required only booties, and we're taking it a bit easier, enjoying the scents and sights of fall in Central Park.

4. There is only one more day until the weekend.

5. There is only one more weekend until the New York City marathon!

6. My salad at lunch was delicious, and the deli guy gave me a sixth topping for free (I chose asparagus).