Priorities

Yup, another post about that kitty up there. He's starting to act like himself, even if his legs still aren't cooperating. For the first time since Friday, he rolled over when we petted his tummy (he's the weirdo cat that likes his tummy rubbed) and you can tell he's more there in his eyes.

With all that said, I had a 10 mile run scheduled this weekend for Shamrock training. I honestly haven't been the best at my training to date, but I was getting back into the swing of things. Friday I was stressed so much that even though I knew I had a 10 miler Saturday morning, I slept until 11:00 a.m. I guess the body needed the rest.

And then I made the decision that this 10 mile run isn't as important as making sure my cute Pooka is ok. I know he's just a cat to some, but he's one of the first pets I've had that I am responsible for. Sure, I had pets as a kid, but you know who really takes care of them. Pooka (and his brother Higgy) were mine. I was in college when I brought them home. They moved out with me when I rented a townhouse with a friend. They moved home with me when she bailed on the townhouse 6 months before my wedding. They moved again when hubby and I married and moved into our own townhouse. And they moved again when we moved to PA. They are my friends and my responsibility and right now it is my responsibility to make sure Pooka is ok.

I have plenty of time to get a long run in for Shamrock. I didn't run more than a 6 miler in January last year when I was training and this year I ran a 9 miler. I will be fine. One weekend of taking care of a special kitty won't derail my plans and you know what? If it does, if I don't run a PR, if I run a slow race, if I walk more than I want, if I come in last? It doesn't matter. What matters is my sweet little boy who needs me.

Still taking any prayers or positive vibes you might be willing to spare for my little friend. Thank you!


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Mental Mindset (running)

The  last time I ran 10 miles it looked like this.  Yup, snow everywhere.  It was the end of January and I was 6 weeks out from the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  I was nervous, but kinda excited.  Not only was I going to run 10 miles for the first time, I was going to do it in the snow.  Bad-ass baby!

And I did. It was kinda boring. I had to run around lots of snow, un-cleared sidewalks, and watch out for ice.  But, I did it.  And it would be the longest run before the Princess Half Marathon.  For reasons I can't remember, I never managed to get my 12 miler in.  I would like to say it had something to do with snow, but I have a feeling it had more to do with being lazy.  I didn't run that week.  The following week I ran 8 miles.  I had high hopes of running my 12 that day, but uh, it was the windiest day ever. Windy as in siding was coming off someone's house, a mailbox came out of the ground, and someone's lawn ornaments were rolling down the street.  That 12 mile run went down to 10 then 8.  I decided I wanted to live to see the Disney Princess Half Marathon.

And I ran the Disney Princess Half Marathon the following Sunday.  Ran the whole thing with only having run 10 as my longest training run.  And last Saturday I had a 10 mile training run.  Now, I have no desire to run.  I feel like it's time to run the Philly Half Marathon.  I am ready to go.  I'm not prepared for another 8 weeks of training, of running, of not racing in the Philly Half Marathon.  What's up with that? 

As I've said in the past, I love this program.  I love how it works with my lazy running attitude.  I'm just not sure I was prepared for being this  prepared for Philly already.  I'm going to need major motivation for the next 8 weeks...

One small step for Chris...

...one giant leap for Chriskind.  LOL!  Well, it's not really that dramatic really.  But, today was the first time I have ever run double digit mileage.  So, before heading out today, I grabbed this photo of me in the front yard.  I do have feet (would make running a little difficult if I didn't), but they were swallowed up by the snow. 

This is what it looks like around these parts with all the snow we've been receiving lately.  When out on my runs, the sidewalks are much clearer than they've been in weeks.  Which is really nice honestly.  But, the snow is about that high on either side of the sidewalks.  It seems kinda strange to be running through about a foot or more of snow.  There are still a few places where there's slushy snow on the sidewalks, but it's really much much better.

It was a good run.  I was feeling really good overall.  Really kinda dreading being out there for 2.5 hours, but in the end it wasn't too bad.  I distracted myself with weird things (such as why do people not clear their driveways and if I get through this, I can have an iced Blueberry coffee.) to get through it.  At one point, I was using fractions to get through it (a quarter of the way through, a third of the way through).  Honestly, this was probably a bad idea as I'm really bad at fractions.  But in the end, it worked out.  ;-)

I'm really happy with today's run.  Got my 10 miles in with only one tiny little walk break.  I run an area during the last 2 miles that had a really steep hill to it.  I didn't realize this when I chose to run there.  Just couldn't make it all the way up that hill...

Just a 5k to go now!

Oh!  And look, Garmin kept track of my run for me.  :-)