running is hard and simeon is amazing

Simeon today - one week old!

In the most important news EVER...sweet Simeon Lee Smith was born at 10:10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 23!!!  He weighed a glorious 6 lbs., 2 ounces and is practically perfect in every way.  He has already had his surgery to close his back (6 long hours) and to place his shunt (1 1/2 hours) and he is now recovering in the NICU.  He handled both surgeries really well!  Simeon is a beautiful little boy who has brought his parents (and the rest of his family!) so much joy.  In a situation where so many things "could" have gone wrong on his delivery day, so many things went perfectly right and everyone is very grateful and thankful for that.  In his first seven days of life, Simeon has displayed so much strength and tenacity.  I am in awe of him.  Simeon is reminding me every day that I need to just do this and quit complaining.  Seriously, look at this kid:

Just a few hours old - resting in the NICU.  His back was not closed yet.

Simeon recovering from having his shunt placed.  This is the face of a little boy who will literally get anything he wants from Aunt Camille.

In much less important news (that is, news about me), it turns out that running is hard.  Running for a long time is even harder.  Who knew?  I never honestly thought that this would be easy, but I did kind of think it would be easier.  Like, when I first started driving a car I wasn't very good...but the more I did it the better I got, until it was effortless.  I didn't really have to push myself when I was learning how to drive.  But boy do I have to push myself like crazy when I run.  I watch people at the gym and at races who seem to run so far so effortlessly, and I wonder if they ever felt like a two ton elephant lumbering along at a glacial pace?  Please tell me they did...or there is no hope for this two ton elephant.


I don't know if I'm just not that good at running, or if it's this hard for all beginners.  Right now I feel like I'm not progressing any.  I can't seem to really push past three miles, and honestly I'm pushing it to do that much.  It's like my body seems to think that three miles as the longest distance ever...how do I tell it I need to work up toward ten more miles?  I feel like if I told my legs that, they would just detach from my body and walk away saying bitch, you cray.  Seriously.

As for my weird, sleepy feet issue, a friend of mine who is a really avid cyclist advised me to purchase The Stick.  It's a massage tool that is used a lot by cyclists and runners to work out stiff muscles and improve circulation.  I've been using it multiple times a week for a few weeks now and I do think it's making a difference.  I'm no Dr. Spaceman, but my gut tells me that my feet lose circulation because I have really terrible circulation and muscle tone in my legs.  So we're working on that.  When I use the stick, I actually feel sore afterwards (that really good "I did something" soreness), so I'm happy about that.

I'm going to start posting my weekly stats on here (pace & distance) and I hope that will help me notice the concrete improvement.  The half is in just over four months, so I'm stepping up my training to 4-5 days of cardio a week (3-4 running days) and 3-4 days of strength training a week.  I know, that's 9 days a week, but I think I can do it.  :)  Hopefully by posting concrete statistics, this two ton elephant will feel a little more confident.


If you want to read a beautifully written story of Simeon's first few days, read my sister-in-law's blog.  Just make sure that you get your kleenex handy.  Seriously, read it - her blog is the good stuff, unlike this one.  Just promise you'll come back to my blog afterward.

slow and steady

I'm not sure if I am still bummed out about my race last weekend or if I have actually hit a wall...but running has been slow-going this week.  I feel like I weigh a million pounds and that this is not getting any easier.  My calf muscles are so tight, and when I run they burn and feel like stiff little robot legs.  I have upped my stretching and have been doing jumping jacks and stretching every morning and night as well as before and after running.  I've been running 2 miles every day this week and I'm discouraged that I still feel so stiff in my legs.

Must keep going.

A few miles of humility

Yesterday I ran the Big Peach 5k in Atlanta.  This was my first race since I have decided to train for the half marathon, and my second 5k ever.  I don't have an official time because the timer fell off of my shoe.  Based on my own watch, my time was about the same as it was at my first 5k.  Of course, I wanted my time to be better - at least ten minutes better.  Over the past few months as I have been training, I know that I'm definitely becoming a better runner.  I can run almost three times as long as I could in January.  About a month ago I started thinking "this 5k is going to be easy breezy."  I figured, I've done this once and I now I'm a better runner, so I'm going to just blow it out of the water with little effort.  

I guess it was a combination of that attitude, at lots of traveling, and a gym only open from 9am - 5pm all combined to make me not push myself very hard the past few weeks.  Part of me wonders if I was sabotaging myself because I do feel on some levels that I will fail at this half marathon.  Is failing earlier easier, instead of getting closer to my goal and then failing?  I don't know.  I do know that the feeling of disappointment in myself that I felt yesterday is not something I'm a huge fan of.  Running a race is not like writing a paper, or taking a test, or making a presentation.  In those situations, quick thinking and your brain can compensate somewhat for lack of preparedness.  No amount of smarts or quick thinking can compensate for lack of preparedness during a race.  There are very few things that you can hide behind when your out of breath and your calves are burning.

Getting to the race yesterday started out stressful.  I originally gave myself plenty of time to drive to the Marta station and then ride the short distance to the race.  That was all well and good until I got on the wrong train and rode about 15 minutes on the wrong line.  I turned around and rode back to the original station so that I could get on the right train.  I still had a decent amount of time until the race...and then the Marta train stopped and we were told it was out of service.  So I got off that train, and waited for a new one.  I did eventually get to the starting line about six minutes before the race started.  I had planned to be there an hour early.  Thankfully, my friends were able to get my race number for me or else I definitely would not have started on time!!

Mile one started out well.  I felt good, and really wasn't winded until the end of the mile.  I stopped to walk once to fix my race bib which I had pinned on poorly in my haste and was scratching my stomach.  Mile two started to get hilly, and I starting running the flat portions and walking the uphill portions.  At about 1.75 miles, my right foot started tingling and then fell completely asleep.  I stopped and relaced my shoes, which didn't help.  I stopped again and took my foot out of my shoe to let it regain circulation.  Also didn't work.  I walked for a while with my shoes untied.  By that time, my left foot had fallen asleep.  Begrudingly, I had to walk the last half of the 5k.

I'm mad at myself about the feet because I think it happened because I had slacked off in my training over the last few weeks.  My feet would fall asleep when I first started running, but as I started being more consistent (and better) in my running, it happened less and less.  If I had been better and more diligent the past few weeks, I don't think my feet would have fallen asleep yesterday.

Moral of the story:  I need to work harder and train harder.  Simple as that.